Junior dos Santos and Tim Boetsch show off their bruised post UFC-155 faces

Junior dos Santos and Tim Boetsch both walked away from UFC 155 with losses. They also walked away with seriously, seriously beat-up faces, as shown in this picture from the hospital.

UFC president Dana White originally suggested that dos Santos suffered a broken jaw from his five-round, title loss to Cain Velasquez, but tests reportedly came back negative. Boetsch had a huge cut during his loss to Costa Philippou, which is pretty easy to find in the above picture.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/junior-dos-santos-tim-boetsch-show-off-bruised-223611150--mma.html

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Self Publishing Books APE - Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur

It?s a natural step for bloggers to consider publishing; self publishing books is easier than ever before. And yet. That doesn?t mean the process is easy. If only..there were a single resource written by people who have been through the process. People who could provide you the details of how to self-publish. And that is why I jumped at the chance to get my hands on an early review copy of APE-Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch. As a young writer, actually publishing a book seemed like a pipe-dream, particularly given the fact that I also always dreamed of eating and having shelter. But given my dream to one day be published, I agreed to write a review of my experience of the book in exchange for a free PDF copy of the book.

From Blogger to Author?

I?ve considered several books over the years. Some for this blog, some for my poor, sadly neglected foodie blog What We Chow?and now, as my alter-ego pursues collaborative writing on?Dirty Girl?s Kitchen?(be warned, it?s truly for the?unapologetic?profane gal or guy) I seek another book opportunity. But, as kick-butt as self-publishing is, writing a blog is one thing, writing a book is another.

I?ve said many times that having a blog is a brutal task-master. A blog is a living, breathing entity, with a living, breathing audience. Writing a book is no-less a task master, just a different one from marketing to?distribution? And. Let?s face it. Reader expectations are different too. As a blogger, my audience will forgive the occasional typo, not so in a book. See, blogs are generally free but people purchase books and whether the price point is .99 or 4.99, the reader will expect an error-free manuscript. Guy Kawasaki says that after having 75 people review the manuscript of APE, multiple readings by the authors themselves, the copyeditor found 1,500 errors, this was after Guy?s?community?had already provided feedback and content suggestions. Talk about humbling.

What does it cover?

APE covers everything from?crowd-sourcing?editing to determining what your book?s price point should be. The book is chock full of resources for the writer, whether she?s written a blog or not. And for those of us who rarely do anything in print anymore, you?ll love the fact that all the links and resources are clickable links within the book as well as on the?website. There are suggestions that are still considerably important even when e-publishing. Then there are moments where Kawasaki literally says ?tradition be damned? and provides insight into why breaking the rules when e-publishing is important. Kawasaki brilliantly meshes the traditions of book publishing with the practicalities of e-publishing.

I appreciate that the book moves through the steps of self publishing in a logical way, but I still recommend reading it in its entirety before ever typing a single word. After reading the book, I can how some knowledge upfront will save hours later on. And given that writing a book is almost always an act of love (rather than money) saving time and being?efficient?are important.

The Social Role in Self Publishing

Many writers might think the only role for social media is in the marketing and promotional phase. But throughout the book, Kawasaki provides examples of how his social community made the book better, during each phase.

From crowdsourcing feedback to yes, marketing, the Kawasaki discusses how to leverage an active social community. Kawasaki also covers ways to mobilize communities such as KickStarter and IndieGoGo. While Kawasaki didn?t use these methods ?himself, he provides some examples of those who did. ?The authors of APE also continually underscore the need for feedback, which is very consistent with blogging. In the marketing world, we essentially do this through focus groups. But few writers have access to actual focus groups.

Practical Advice

Kawasaki provides several different ways to incorporate community feedback while writing your book. His approach to feedback from readers is very consistent with social media ethos, he invites it and acts on it. Perhaps this is one reason why his books have been so?successful. Or maybe its because he already had a large social media audience before he ever wrote a single book. I do wish Kawasaki would acknowledge this fact ? the time to build community is well before you need them. This goes for businesses and writers.

I?ve found myself referring, highlighting and returning to the book frequently. All in all, if you?ve ever thought that writing a book was in your future, I?d say 2013 is the time to grab that bull by the horn, and start with reading APE. I think you?ll find it well worth your time and chock full of?practical, easy to read advice. ?I?m sure there is no perfect path to self publishing, but I know this will be a resource that I enjoy having in my treasure chest.

If you?re looking for a copy yourself, here?s how to get one:

• Name: APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur?How to Publish a Book (ISBN 978-0-9885231-1-1)
• Ship date: 12/10/12
• Price: $9.99 Kindle ebook? (affiliate link)
• Website:?http://apethebook.com/

?

Source: http://akamai-marketing.com/wordpress/2012/12/28/self-publishing-books-book-review-ape-author-publisher/

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T R A N S P O R T A T I O N

Of course people travel by foot and by living and breathing animals. But, when it comes to longer trips, they have two different forms of transportation.

The main form being horse drawn carriage. Though, the horses aren't exactly the 'living' kind.

The horses they use to pull horse drawn carriages are made completely out of metals and are steam powered. Smoke and whatnot puffs out of their nostrils and they can travel far longer than a living horse can, not needing to sleep or truly eat like a real animal. Though, they do tend to move slower in the rain and cold weather.

As for carriages, there are three different basic kinds.

The kind that only seats one to two passengers and has an open frame and is typically made of wood or very cheap metal, which causes them to be easily breakable:
(This type being the least expensive and the most often seen around.)

The second kind is more expensive and is usually ridden in by doctors and priests and people of jobs along those lines. It is a semi-closed carriage, one that is made with somewhat materials than the cheapest one; usually metal and wood:

The third type is the most expensive and generally ridden in by rulers and their servants when they travel together. This one is usually made of metal and wood, though the materials are far better on this one than in the other two types. Note that it completely closed off, somewhat like what a car of today is:

Beyond the horse drawn carriages though, all walks of life take trains to further away trips. Though, the trains are separated by class and ranking amungst the people. The poorer folk sitting near the end of the train, while the more important sit in cars closer to the front:

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Apple Training Series - iWork 09

Apple Training Series - iWork 09
Pea--pit Press; 1 Pap/Cdr edition | ISBN: 0321618513 | PDF | 480 pages | 24.6 MB

Book Description
In the only Apple-certified guide to iWork ?09, you?ll learn to create everything from first-rate business presentations and newsletters to effective budgets and event planners. Focused lessons take you step by step through all aspects of Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. The self-paced book/DVD combo uses real-life material and practical lessons that you can apply immediately to your own projects. You?ll learn to:
? Master the iWork suite of tools quickly through fun, real-world projects
? Design a Keynote presentation from storyboard to Web export
? Add animated charts and custom backgrounds to a presentation with ease
? Publish great-looking newsletters and brochures in print and on the Web
? Build a professional marketing package from scratch
? Create expense reports, track budgets, and plan special events
? Sort, organize, and chart data using sophisticated spreadsheet calculations
The Apple Training Series is both a self-paced learning tool and the official curriculum of the Apple Training and Certification Program. To find out more about Apple Training, or to find an Authorized Training Center near you, go to www.apple.com/training.
About the Author
Richard Harrington is an author, Apple Certified trainer, and owner of RHED Pixel, a visual communications company in Washington, D. C., that produces everything from national television commercials to entertainment podcasts. Rich?s other books include Apple Training Series: iLife ?09.

? Si Vous aimer cette article cliquer sur +1 pour encourager le Posteur ? ?

Source: http://cazanet.com/books/livres/53673-apple-training-series-iwork-09.html

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Easy Ways To Green Every Room In Your Home | GreenWerks

Easy Ways To Green Every Room In Your Home

If you are in the verge of planning a home improvement project, it is time for you to incorporate some green, environment friendly products and services in order to perk up the energy efficiency of your home. A question arises about the need for going green. Well, going green has long term benefits. Apart from boosting energy efficiency, going green minimizes environmental degradation and improves the atmosphere we reside in. Here are a few simple and inexpensive ways to green every room in your home.

Useful Ideas to Make Your Kitchen Green

?First impression is the last impression? ? this saying holds true in the housing sector. For people visiting your home, the kitchen in particular will have a lasting impression if they find it to be well organized.?Countertops?are among the first things to be noticed in a kitchen. Some of the best ways to make them eco-friendly include:

• Opting for countertops made from durable, Green Guard certified materials is a great idea to go green in the kitchen.
• If you plan to buy wood countertops, ensure to check out salvaged woods that have the certification of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
• Choose countertops made from ceramic and porcelain materials, as they are environment friendly.
• Having stainless steel countertops and those that can be easily recycled is a great idea for an eco-friendly kitchen.

Apart from countertops, you must renovate currently used cabinets. It is also vital to recycle old appliances and ensure that you use only Energy star rated products in your kitchen.

Suggestions for an Environment-friendly Bathroom

From the moment we wake up each day until we go back to bed after a hectic day?s work, we use the bathroom the most. Molds in the bathroom can be unsightly and bad for the health. Living in areas having mold spores can cause major problems like asthma, sinusitis and nausea. The best way to put off molds is to install moisture-resistant drywall. Here are a few ways to make your bathroom eco-friendly.

• When you consider greening your bathroom, opt for tiles manufactured from natural clay or recycled materials.
• Ensure that you choose environment friendly countertops and cabinetry.
• While planning to go eco-friendly in the bathroom, particularly the faucets and shower areas, remember to go for low-flow or Water Sense-labeled models.
• Reprocess gray water gathered from sinks and showers in toilets.

Advice for Going Green in the Bedroom

Arriving home after a hectic work schedule, the bedroom is one place that offers you all the comfort and rejuvenates you after a tiring work day. If you are planning to make your bedroom more comfortable, then incorporate some eco-friendly ideas.

• Use materials that can be recycled and transform waste materials like tables, lamps etc into useful devices.
• The linens and mattresses for your bedroom or living room must be eco-friendly. It is vital to opt for materials made from natural fibers like bamboo, soy and organic cotton.
• In order to ensure that heat and air conditioning do not escape out from your room, invest in some good quality curtains to cover your windows. This will prevent heat and air from escaping out.
• In a bid to avoid wastage of energy, ensure that you properly switch off or unplug electronics every time you move out of the house.

Apart from this, it is also important to insulate your home to make it more environment-friendly. Insulating attics and roofs makes your home energy efficient and is ideal for comfortable living. Spray Foam Insulation, a kind of roof insulation, is gaining popularity because it can easily fill up small cracks and air leaks. Utilize these simple ideas to make your home more energy efficient.

About the Author

Rony Anderson is a writer and environmental enthusiast. Apart from writing about DIY guides and home improvement tips, he is concerned about creating awareness about environment. Simple steps like spray foam insulation, saving energy, using green building techniques and implementing right technology can help. That?s exactly what Rony loves to write about.

Source: http://www.greenwerkspro.com/easy-ways-to-green-every-room-in-your-home/

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Iraq Sunni rallies gather steam

RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters from Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority kept up a week-old blockade on a key highway on Thursday and readied mass rallies for Friday to demand concessions from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Protests flared last week after troops loyal to Maliki, who is from the Shi'ite majority, detained bodyguards of his finance minister, a Sunni. Many Sunnis, whose community dominated Iraq until the fall of Saddam Hussein, accuse Maliki of refusing to share power and of favoring Shi'ite, non-Arab neighbor Iran.

A year after U.S. troops left, sectarian friction, as well as tension over land and oil between Arabs and ethnic Kurds, threaten renewed unrest and are hampering efforts to repair the damage of years of violence and exploit Iraq's energy riches.

"The people want to bring down the regime," chanted some of about 2,000 demonstrators in the Sunni city of Ramadi - an echo of those used abroad during last year's "Arab Spring" and still a rallying cry for mainly Sunni rebels in neighboring Syria.

Some flew the old Iraqi flag, introduced by Saddam's Baath party and bearing three stars. It was replaced in 2008. Earlier in the week, Syria's rebel flag was also flown at the protests.

The main highway at Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, was barricaded for a fifth day, disrupting transit of government supplies along a key trade route to and from Jordan and Syria. Protesters were, however, letting most trucks, carrying private goods, pass along another road through Ramadi.

There was also a small protest in the northern city of Mosul. Activists, who want changes to laws on terrorism that they say penalize Sunnis, plan bigger rallies on Friday, the traditional day of rest - and protest - in the Muslim world.

"If the government does not deal seriously with the people's demands, we will take our battle to the gates of Baghdad," said Sheikh Ali Hatem Sulaiman, head of the Dulaimi tribe, which dominates Ramadi and the sprawling desert province of Anbar.

Recalling the role the Anbar tribes played in first fighting the U.S. occupation and then allying with U.S. forces and the Baghdad government to contain al Qaeda fighters in the region, the sheikh warned Maliki's administration that Sunnis might resort to violence - though it is unclear how ready they are:

"Just as we fought al-Qaeda and the Americans, we will fight the government inside Baghdad," he said.

Should Friday's protests provide a mass show of force, it may add to concerns that the increasingly sectarian Syrian civil war, where majority Sunnis are battling a ruler backed by Iran, will push Iraq back to the Sunni-Shi'ite slaughter of 2005-07.

Al Qaeda fighters appear to be regrouping in Anbar and to be joining rebel ranks across the border in Syria.

While demands so far focus on the anti-terrorism laws which Sunnis say are being used against them, one lecturer in law at Baghdad University said Sunnis might be emboldened to call for regional autonomy in Anbar and other provinces in the northwest where they are in a majority - a status similar to that of the Kurds, who won Western-backed autonomy from Saddam in 1991.

"I'm seeing greater determination to defy Maliki and if their demands are not met, the call to have their own region will be an inevitable consequence," said Ahmed Younis. "The Kurdish region could become a model for Sunnis in Anbar."

SECTARIAN SLANT

Sunni complaints against Maliki grew louder a week ago when, just hours after Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd seen as a steadying influence, was flown abroad for medical care, troops arrested bodyguards for Finance Minister Rafaie al-Esawi.

For many it recalled how Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni, was forced to flee into exile a year ago, just when U.S. troops had withdrawn. Hashemi, sentenced to death in absentia, told al-Hayat newspaper on Thursday that it was "fresh evidence of a plot to exclude Sunni Arabs from the political process".

Maliki has sought to divide his rivals and strengthen alliances in Iraq's complex political landscape before provincial elections next year and a parliamentary vote in 2014.

A face-off between the Iraqi army and Kurdish forces over disputed oilfields in the north has been seen as a possible way of rallying Sunni Arab support behind the prime minister.

Shi'ite rivals to Maliki, notably cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, have also looked to broader alliance, notably by voicing support for the protesters' grievances in Anbar this week.

But anti-Shi'ite rhetoric among them limits the chances for cooperation: "They lost a lot of sympathy by using these sectarian slogans," lawmaker Hakim al-Zamili, a Sadr ally, told Reuters. "I don't expect many Maliki opponents to join them".

An analyst at the Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies also doubted the protests would broaden greatly to threaten Maliki: "We are talking about demands that have a certain geography," said Yahya Qubaisi. "They are not national demands."

(Additional reporting by Raheem Salman and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-sunni-rallies-gather-steam-192458773.html

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The night sky's top sights for 2013

David Lillo / AFP - Getty Images

Comet McNaught shines above Chile in 2007. Will Comet ISON be as bright in 2013?

By Alan Boyle

Next year's most eagerly awaited shows in the skies above might not happen ? but that's exactly what makes them so eagerly awaited. There's nothing like uncertainty to build up the drama, and right now, Comet PANSTARRS and Comet ISON are surrounded by bright haloes of uncertainty.

The picture should be getting clearer in the weeks ahead for the comet formally known as C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS, which was discovered in 2011. It'll take a few more months to get a fix on C/2012 S1 ISON, which was first spotted this September. All we can say right now is, if the comets live up to their current high expectations, PANSTARRS could blaze as bright as Venus in March ? and?then, in November and December, ISON could outshine the moon to the?"Comet of the Century."

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"If Comet ISON can survive perihelion passage ...?then we are almost surely in for a?striking display in the morning sky as Comet ISON recedes from the Sun next?December," veteran observer John Bortle said this month on the Comets Mailing List. "Its immense tail, partly the result of our extremely favorable?viewing?circumstances in this case and just as with the Great Comet of 1680,?could well result in a tail of amazing length and surface brightness, even if?tipped by only tiny, relatively insignificant head."

The best part is that these comets will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere, unlike the spectacles created by Comet McNaught in 2007 and by Comet Lovejoy a year ago. Why let the Southern Hemisphere have all the fun?

PANSTARRS and ISON are just two of the highlights coming up for skywatchers next year. Here's my top-10 list for 2013, plus some bonus picks from Space.com skywatching columnist Joe Rao:

Jan. 2-3 for Quadrantid meteors: If the weather's clear, the Quadrantid meteors should put on serviceable show this year. The Quadrantids are sparked by debris from asteroid 2003 EH1, and appear to emanate from an area of the sky known as Quadrans Muralis, around the northern tip of the constellation Bootes. The peak rate is expected to reach 80 meteors per hour, but the glare of a waning gibbous moon could interfere somewhat. "Unlike the more famous Perseid and Geminid meteor showers,?the Quadrantids only last a few hours, so it's the morning of Jan. 3 or nothing," NASA says. Check out NASA's Quadrantids website for a video feed on the nights of Jan. 2-4.

April 25 for partial lunar eclipse: Three eclipses of the moon are coming during 2013?? and although none of them will be spectacular, they're worth keeping an eye on if you're in the right place. The April 25 partial eclipse will be visible from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. The other two lunar eclipses are a nearly imperceptible hint of a penumbral eclipse on May 25, and a somewhat deeper penumbral eclipse on Oct. 18-19 (visible, at least in part, from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia). Even if you miss seeing these eclipses with your own eyes, there'll be plenty of photo galleries showing the moon in its best light.

March for Comet PANSTARRS: The comet is due to streak past Earth on March 5 and make its turn around the sun, known as perihelion, on March 9-10. The prime time for observers at mid-northern latitudes will come after perihelion, when PANSTARRS will be visible in the evening sky. On March 12, the comet is expected to share the sunset's afterglow with a beautiful crescent moon.

Issei Kato / Reuters file

Clouds cast a pall over an annular solar eclipse as seen from Hirai Daini Elementary School in Tokyo on May 21, 2012. An annular eclipse is due to occur on May 10, 2013, and in November there'll be a hybrid eclipse that morphs from annularity to totality.

May 9-10 for annular solar eclipse: A "Ring of Fire" eclipse will roll across Australia, Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific, with a partial solar eclipse visible from a wider swath of the Pacific. If past history is any guide, some of us in North America will be watching the event unfold on the evening of the 9th, via webcasts from the scene.?

May 24-28 for planetary party: Mercury, Venus and Jupiter mix it up in western skies over a series of nights in May, with Saturn and the moon adding their shine. The main event may well be the Venus-Jupiter conjunction on May 28 ??but it won't be as spectacular as the double-planet feature we saw in February, because this one will take place so soon after sunset.?

June 23 for Supermoon: The moon goes full just after this year's closest approach to Earth, meaning that it'll look 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than it does at maximum distance. Last May's Supermoon made such a splash that I suspect this could turn into an annual moon-watching event.?

Aug. 11-13 for Perseid meteors: Annual meteor showers have their ups and downs, and the advance word is that 2013 will be an "up" year for the Perseids. The moon will be a mere crescent in the morning sky, cutting down on the glare. The flux of shooting stars is expected to be normal, peaking at around 100 meteors per hour.

Oct. 12 for moon observation: International Observe the Moon Night provides an opportunity for veteran skywatchers to show you the moon at its best?? no, not during the full moon, but during the first-quarter phase. That's when you can get a good look at the moon's craters and shadowy mountains. Check in with the InOMN website for updates.

Nov. 3 for hybrid solar eclipse: This hybrid is a strange one, starting out as an annular "Ring of Fire" eclipse and turning into a total eclipse as the moon's shadow races across the planet. The track of annularity-totality runs across the Atlantic, goes through the middle of Africa and ends up in Somalia. If you can't afford a cruise or an expedition, keep a watch on the webcasts.

November-December for Comet ISON:?Will ISON shine "brighter even than the full moon" a year from now? That seems hard to believe right now, but by next autumn, astronomers should have a good idea just how much of a phenomenon the comet could turn into. NASA's Curiosity rover may be able to snap a picture when ISON passes by Mars in September, and it could become visible to the naked eye in October. It's due to come well within a million miles of the sun at perihelion on Nov. 28?? and that will be the most dramatic moment for skywatchers. Some comets, like last year's Comet Elenin, break up when they slingshot around the sun. Others, like Comet Lovejoy, survive the encounter spectacularly. If ISON lucks out, we could well be raving about the Great Christmas Comet of 2013 by this time next year. (Just don't believe anyone who tells you it's a doomsday comet.)

Bonus round: Over at Space.com, Joe Rao's "13 must-see stargazing events for 2013" also include a close conjunction of the moon and Jupiter on Jan. 21, great evening views of Mercury from Feb. 2 to 23, and a holiday show featuring Venus in December. And don't forget the northern lights: Although auroral displays are hard to predict, the height of the sun's 11-year activity cycle should bring some great light shows to Earth's higher latitudes in 2013.?

More about the coming comets:

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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.

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/28/16217532-the-night-skys-top-sights-for-2013?lite

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Worms turn metal into semiconductors

1 hr.

Jesse Emspak, LiveScience Contributor

Worms are useful in the garden and great for fish bait, but one of their talents has remained hidden ? until now. Scientists have discovered that worms can manufacture tiny semiconductors. ?

At King's College in London, researchers fed an ordinary red worm, Lumbricus rubellus, soil laced with metals. The worm produced quantum dots, nano-sized semiconductors that are used in imaging, LED technologies and solar cells. The experiment was published in the Dec. 23 issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

The worms created these electronic components because of their ability to detoxify their body tissue. When worms ingest the metals, proteins in their body shuttle these "toxins" to tissues called chloragogen cells that are similar to a liver in mammals. In the case of?cadmium, a molecule called?metallothionein attaches to it to take it away.?Through several chemical steps the worm separates the metals from the organic molecules they are attached to and stores them in tiny cavities its body, but not forever: eventually whatever toxic metals the worm eats are excreted.?

Squirmy semiconductor factories
In the experiment the scientists spiked soil with cadmium chloride and sodium tellurite (sodium, telluride and oxygen). The ability of worms to process cadmium is well known, but it wasn't clear what they would do with the tellurium in the sodium tellurite.

The worms ended up making tiny particles of cadmium telluride, a crystalline compound that is also a semiconductor. Those tiny particles ? called quantum dots ? were then taken out of the worms' tissue. The dots themselves are only nanometers across. [Twisted Physics: 7 Mind-Bending Findings]

In biological imaging, quantum dots are used in place of dyes because they can be "tuned" to glow at specific wavelengths. Cadmium telluride dots, for example, glow green when hit with blue light. The researchers tested the dots on animal cells and found they worked as well as the ones created in laboratories.

The success doesn't mean that thousands of worms are to be sacrificed for dot-making, said co-author Mark Green, a reader in nanotechnology at King's College.

"The interesting bit is that semiconductor quantum dots, which emit light, were made in a living animal," he told Livescience via email. "The aim of the work wasn?t to come up with a new synthetic process of making dots that are better than bench-synthesized materials, it was just to see if we could do solid-state chemistry in a living animal ? and it appears we can!"

A dotty idea
Green said the idea occurred to him several years back when he was an Oxford University post-doctoral researcher. He heard a lecturer note that animals use certain proteins to get rid of toxic metals such as cadmium. Green realized he was doing something similar to make cadmium telluride quantum dots in the lab, sans worms.

He wondered if some extra chemical might spur worms to make their own cadmium telluride quantum dots.

"The big problem," he said, "was that I didn't know enough biology, and I could see immediately that trying to get the dots out of an animal would be a problem."

So Green shelved the idea for a few years, until he met Stephen St?rzenbaum, the lead author of the paper. St?rzenbaum told Green that he knew exactly where cadmium given to worms went: to the detoxifying chloragogen cells. Since the cadmium ? and thus the nanoscale dots ? would end up there, it would be relatively easy to get them out of the worm.

So they tried it. It worked.

"We were very surprised, didn't really expect it to work that easily," Green said.

The quantum dots Green and his team made aren't quite the quality of the lab-bench versions. That may change, though. "We'd like to think we can play around with some of the chemistry and make them better," Green said.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?& Google+.?

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/worms-turn-metal-semiconductors-1C7753891

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Illegal For Mississippi Residents To Home-Brew Beer ? CBS Houston

File photo of beer. (credit: PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) ? Catch-22 would be a good name for beer brewed at home in Mississippi.

The attorney general says home-brewing is legal in the state with a permit from the Department of Revenue. But here?s the catch: State tax officials say the law doesn?t allow permits specifically for home-brewers.

There are permits for commercial brewers and brewpubs, each running $1,000. And home-brewers arguably would also owe an excise tax of 42.68 cents for each gallon of beer brewed. Breaking the law is a misdemeanor that carries fines of up to $500 and jail time of up to six months. And here?s what would probably sting the home-brewers even worse: The police could seize the beer.

The upshot is that Rep. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, says he?s likely to introduce a bill in the 2013 Legislature to exempt home-brewers from permits and excise taxes.

?I was disappointed to learn you have to go through the Department of Revenue to do what I consider tantamount to cooking,? he said. ?We?re not talking about a product that someone is taking and selling. My approach is to try to create an environment where people who want to brew at home, can.?

Craig Hendry, president of beer advocacy group Raise Your Pints, said his members are hopeful that legal issues around home-brewing will be cleared up. Their lobbying would build on a victory earlier this year, when lawmakers passed a bill that allows beer with 8 percent alcohol by weight, or 10 percent by volume, to be sold in Mississippi.

It was Baria who requested the attorney general?s opinion earlier this year.

?For five years I have filed a bill to legalize home-brewing,? he said. ?The reason I filed it was we were told it was illegal.? But then Baria began to hear that maybe it wasn?t, so he asked Attorney General Jim Hood?s office to research the question. In August, Hood?s office said there was no difference between making beer at home or in a brewery. He said a home-brewer would need a permit, and the permit would have to be issued under the authority of the Revenue Department.

?Since the statute expressly declares the manufacture of beer (without distinction as to purpose) to be legal and then requires by criminal penalty a permit for same, it is our opinion that the commissioner of revenue by necessary implication has the authority to issue permits for home-brewing as well as any other type of manufacture of beer,? Hood?s office wrote.

But Kathy Waterbury, the Revenue Department?s spokeswoman, says the department does not agree that it has the authority to create a special home-brewing permit without an act of the Legislature. She noted that the existing permits are laid out in law.

Hendry, a Florence resident, said his group doesn?t consider the attorney general?s opinion a win.

?It didn?t reach our goal,? he said. ?We wanted it to be completely legal, not just legal if you have a license.?

Hendry said some estimates suggest as many as 2,000 home-brewers are making beer in Mississippi. He?s been doing it for 12 years, and says no other state that allows amateur beer making requires a license.

?Why would Mississippi go and be a little tighter than everyone else?? he asked.

There are some signs that Mississippi?s home-brewers are already coming out of the shadows. Brewing supply stores opened in Greenville and Jackson in December.

?They?ve told us as long as we?re not selling it or giving it to minors, they?re not going to come after us,? Hendry said.

He said home-brewers recognize that it?s illegal to do either.

?I can?t just take it to a party and sell 6-packs,? he said.

(? Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Source: http://houston.cbslocal.com/2012/12/25/illegal-for-mississippi-residents-to-home-brew-beer/

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Police investigate whether NBC's Gregory violated gun law

Washington police are investigating whether NBC's David Gregory broke the law by holding up what appeared to be a 30-round gun magazine on Sunday's Meet the Press after the network apparently got conflicting opinions about whether it would be legal for him to do so.

It is illegal in the district to possess a "large capacity ammunition feeding device."

Gwendolyn Crump, director of the Office of Communications for the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, told ABC News, "NBC contacted MPD inquiring if they could utilize a high capacity magazine for their segment. NBC was informed that possession of a high capacity magazine is not permissible and their request was denied. This matter is currently being investigated."

But ABC News has learned from an official at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives that NBC had reached out to the federal agency on Friday for advice before displaying the weaponry.

According to the ATF official, the agency noted that ATF doesn't enforce D.C. gun laws, but agreed to put the question to a couple of Washington police officers who've worked with the agency in the past.

The D.C. officers advised the ATF spokesman that Gregory could display the magazine, provided it was empty, the source said.

That turned out to be bad advice, as conservative media and gun rights activists were first to note. The ATF official describes this as a "misunderstanding," and says he hopes DC police will not bring charges.

Another Washington DC police officer and spokesperson Tisha Gant said the situation was "being investigated," but would give no other details including what exactly is under investigation.

A section in the D.C. criminal code says "no person in the District shall possess, sell, or transfer any large capacity ammunition feeding device regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm." The section stipulates that "the term large capacity ammunition feeding device means a magazine," or similar devices.

Gregory held up what looked like a 30-bullet gun magazine when interviewing the National Rifle Association's executive vice president and CEO Wayne LaPierre on Sunday. Gregory pressed the NRA head on whether fewer children would have been killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting on Dec. 14th if the shooter had access to less ammunition.

Since the interview, conservative media and gun rights activists said that Gregory appeared to have violated the district's gun law. Police subsequently confirmed they were investigating.

NBC News declined to comment through a spokesperson.

ABC News' George Sanchez contributed to this report.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dc-cops-investigating-whether-nbcs-gregory-violated-gun-170426968--abc-news-politics.html

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Early Childhood Obesity Rates Might Be Slowing Nation-Wide

About one in three children in the U.S. are now overweight, and since the 1980s the number of children who are obese has more than tripled. But a new study of 26.7 million young children from low-income families shows that in this group of kids, the tidal wave of obesity might finally be receding.

Being obese as a child not only increases the risk of early-life health problems, such as joint problems, pre-diabetes and social stigmatization, but it also dramatically increases the likelihood of being obese later in life, which can lead to chronic diseases, including cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Children as young as 2 years of age can be obese--and even extremely obese. Early childhood obesity rates, which bring higher health care costs throughout a kid's life, have been especially high among lower-income families. "This is the first national study to show that the prevalence of obesity and extreme obesity among young U.S. children may have begun to decline," the researchers noted in a brief report published online December 25 in JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association. (Reports earlier this year suggested that childhood obesity rates were dropping in several U.S. cities.) The study examined rates of obesity (body mass index calculated by age and gender to be in the 95th percentile or higher--for example, a BMI above 20 for a 2-year-old male--compared with reference growth charts) and extreme obesity (BMI of more than 120 percent above that of the 95th percentile of the reference populations) in children ages 2 to 4 in 30 states and the District of Columbia. The researchers, led by Liping Pan, of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, combed through 12 years of data (1998 to 2010) from the Pediatric Nutritional Surveillance System, which includes information on roughly half of all children on the U.S. who are eligible for federal health care and nutrition assistance. A subtle but important shift in early childhood obesity rates in this low-income population seems to have begun in 2003. Obesity rates increased from 13.05 percent in 1998 to 15.21 percent in 2003. Soon, however, obesity rates began decreasing, reaching 14.94 percent by 2010. Extreme obesity followed a similar pattern, increasing from 1.75 percent to 2.22 percent from 1998 to 2003, but declining to 2.07 percent by 2010. Although these changes might seem small, the number of children involved makes for huge health implications. For example, each drop of just one tenth of a percentage point represents some 26,700 children in the study population alone who are no longer obese or extremely obese. And if these trends are occurring in the rest of the population, the long-term health and cost implications are massive. Public health agencies and the Obama Administration have made battling childhood obesity a priority, although these findings suggest that early childhood obesity rates, at least, were already beginning to decline nearly a decade ago. Some popular prevention strategies include encouraging healthier eating (by reducing intake of highly processed and high-sugar foods and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption) and increased physical activity (both at school and at home). The newly revealed trends "indicate modest recent progress of obesity prevention among young children," the authors noted. "These finding may have important health implications because of the lifelong health risks of obesity and extreme obesity in early childhood." Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
? 2012 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/early-childhood-obesity-rates-might-slowing-nation-wide-215900133.html

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Self-Improvement Affirmations with Self-Hypnosis Audios Deal! | Self ...

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

Source: http://selfhelphypnosis.co.uk/self-improvement-affirmations-with-self-hypnosis-audios-deal

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Source: http://imudoa.posterous.com/self-improvement-affirmations-with-self-hypno

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Source: http://somuledet.posterous.com/self-improvement-affirmations-with-self-hypno

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A little bit of iPad holiday magic courtesy of iSimon

Is there any better way to get you in the holiday mood than a bit of extremely clever magic? Thanks to iSimon (Simon Pierro) we not only have the clever magic but it is all done with his trusty iPad too. He has posted twenty four iPad tricks on the lead up to Christmas and now has them all edited into one single video for our viewing pleasure.

I am sure you will agree after you have seen the tricks, that this guy is a very talented magician and the illusions he creates with the iPad are well worth watching. Sit back, relax and enjoy the video. If you want to see the tricks on their own, you can find everyone on iSimon?s YouTube channel.

Source: YouTube

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/-dM4604f0uU/story01.htm

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Drive Your self and Your On the internet Business to Success! - Bnr.Co

When you listen to the achievement stories of how some on the internet entrepreneurs turned from possessing nine-to-5 desk jobs with minimal pay into getting a web site which has grow to be a virtual money cow for them, it actually becomes tempting to join in and begin your really personal on the internet company.

But is the world wide web business market one thing that anyone can be effective at? What if you have no idea at all about how to start off? What are the tools that you want to have to boost your probabilities of earning a large quantity of profit? That is specifically what we will try to locate out here.

Do You Have What it Requires to Succeed in an On-line Company?

To answer the aforementioned queries, we require to check initial regardless of whether you actually have what it requires to succeed as an web company entrepreneur or not. Take a appear at the following checklist that you can use as reference:

1. What are your motivations to succeed?
Motivation is quite a big aspect when it comes to figuring out whether or not you have what it takes to succeed in an internet enterprise or not. Maybe you would like to have the freedom to work without having possessing a boss looking over your shoulder. Or, it could be that you want to have the opportunity to function correct in the comfort of your own house. Or perhaps you just want to appreciate the financial freedom that goes along with it.

No matter which of these things apply to you, you can use them as a motivational factor in succeeding in the on-line internet enterprise venture of your option.

two. How a lot perform are you prepared to place in for your residence enterprise?
An additional way to know if you have what it requires to succeed in your online company is to figure out just how much work you are willing to place in it. Would you like to slave away your hours and really perform hard in the world wide web enterprise that you have? Or will you be happy with the additional income that you will make by working only during your free time?

3. What on-line business opportunity do you see oneself excelling at?
Lastly, determine which type of web company opportunity it is that you see your self excelling at. For this, you need to make sure that you are acquiring involved in a kind of enterprise that you are passionate about, skilled and talented at ? or at least, be involved in one thing that you?re interested in.

At the finish of the day, it is not the online residence company itself that will work towards your good results ? but it is you who can do it for yourself. The more time, effort and passion you throw towards your on the internet enterprise, the a lot more rewards your enterprise will give you financially.

Source: http://www.bnr.co/business/drive-your-self-and-your-on-the-internet-business-to-success/

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Best SEO tips: Six-Star Cruising on Luxury Cruise Lines - kyiruf's ...

There are six cruise lines that are in the luxury class: Crystal Cruise Line, Cunard Cruise Line, Radisson Seven Seas, The Yachts of Seabourn, Silversea Cruise Line, and Windstar Cruises.

Crystal Cruise Line has received numerous awards for excellence. For the last nine years, Conde Nast Traveler has named Crystal "Best Large-Ship Cruise Line". Also for the last nine years, Travel + Leisure magazine has given Crystal the status of "World's Best Large-Ship Cruise Line". And for service, a Travel + Leisure reader's poll voted Crystal "World's Best". Crystal Cruise Line operates only three ships: Crystal Harmony, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity. These ships carry approximately 1,000 passengers each and Crystal Cruise Line boasts the greatest passenger space per guest of any cruise line.

Do you recognize the ship names Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth? These great ships come from Cunard, a name long synonymous with luxury and elegance in cruises. "With Cunard, the journey may be even more magnificent than the destination" states their promotional literature. Cunard operates just two award-winning luxury ships. The Queen Mary 2, launched in January, 2004, is known as the longest, tallest and largest ocean liner and carries 2,620 passengers. It is replacing the Queen Elizabeth 2 for transatlantic crossings but the QE2 will still be available for cruises.

Radisson Seven Seas is a small luxury cruise line. Small here means that the ships carry a small number of passengers. Fewer than 700 fortunate passengers per cruise are pampered by attentive staff. Radisson Seven Seas has been named by Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure magazines to be the "World's Best Small Cruise Line". Radisson Seven Seas appeals to the sophisticated traveler.

The Yachts of Seabourn cruise line advertises that they provide "Ultra Luxury" by "delivering the highest levels of personalized service to an exclusive group of guests aboard intimate, elegant ships that could visit the most enticing destinations worldwide." Seabourn sails three identical all-suite ships that cater to only 208 passengers each. Of course, dining and service is world-class.

Silversea Cruises is a new company, founded in 1994, for the express purpose of providing an ultra-luxury cruise experience aboard small and intimate ships with all the features of a large cruise vessel. The Silverseas ships Cloud, Wind, Shadow, and Whisper provide all-suite accommodations that between 250 square feet and over 1,300 square feet in size. Silversea vies with Radisson Seven Seas and Crystal Cruise Lines for the accolades of Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure in the world's best categories. Silversea Cruises has also has been named by Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure magazines to be the "World's Best Small Cruise Line" many times since its inception.

Windstar Cruises offers a totally different sailing experience. Windstar Cruises offers motor-sail-yachts instead of cruise ships. Yes, their ships actually have sails that are computer-controlled with the latest in technology. Windstar's four ships carry just 148 to 308 passengers in staterooms or luxurious suites, giving the feel of being aboard a personal yacht. Even with such a small fleet, Windstar Cruises sail to over 47 countries around the world.

If you're in the market for a luxury cruise, there are a number of excellent cruise lines to chose from.

Looking for information about cruises? Go to: [http://www.whatcruises.com]

'What Cruises' is published by Colin Hartness - An excellent resource for Cruises!

Check out more cruise articles at: [http://www.whatcruises.com/archive]

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Source: http://amyplund517.blogspot.com/2012/12/six-star-cruising-on-luxury-cruise-lines.html

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Source: http://kyiruf.posterous.com/best-seo-tips-six-star-cruising-on-luxury-cru

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Guidebox Launches To Become Your On-Demand TV Guide And DVR For The Web (And The iPad)

San Francisco-based Guidebox brings together full show and episode data from all the various websites and apps that have TV programs, ranging from aggregators like Hulu and Hulu Plus to branded network websites like CNN.com and CBS.com. As a result, it has what the most definitive collection of full episodes available all in one place.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/wlrL4oCB4Ao/

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How to Survive Family Holiday Gatherings | Care2 Healthy Living

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Oh, how magical to celebrate the holidays with family. Oh, wait? really? with?.family? @&#! with family?!?!?!

You don?t have to guess who?s coming to dinner. You know the cast of characters well: it?s the uncle who embarrassed you when you were 5, 10, 20, and counting, the sister who always had better clothes than you and always will, the brother-in-law who can?t understand why you would want to work for a non-profit, and the aunt who says: ?are you still single?? and makes that face like she?s eaten something bad.

It?s a party. It?s a zoo. It?s your relatives. You go in with an open heart, and they do surgery.

OK, maybe it?s not that bad. OK, maybe it is.

Quickly the Norman Rockwell family warmth around the holiday table degenerates into a Salvador Dali remix. The hardest part? Nobody else seems to notice but you: the proverbial knife in the back instead of in the turkey, the pie in the face rather than on the buffet. Oh how common are these mix-ups this time of year!

You emerge from these ?happy? occasions demoralized or in a red-hot fury, plot your revenge, schedule an extra appointment with your shrink and talk about your family the whole way home. You are incredulous. They ?gotcha again! ?Again??

It doesn?t have to be this way for you.

What exactly are you incredulous about? People being themselves. Exactly as they?ve always been, year after year. Why is it so hard to live with the way people are? Because you can?t accept it. Because you want them to be different.

Surprise! They are still the same. Surprise again! So are you.

As Albert Einstein once said, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results (Hmmm? wonder how he got along with his family?)? This year, do yourself a favor, if you want to thrive (and not go crazy) during the holidays, give yourself a gift: expect what?s most likely to happen. If you?re wrong and things go great, all the better! But if you?re right and history repeats itself, no harm, no foul, no 19^th nervous breakdown.

Three quick ideas for your cheat sheet:

• Don?t expect people to change: be pleasantly surprised if they do.
• You don?t actually need people to change. Really?your life will go on whether they change or they don?t. Who they are is not your problem.
• Get the explanation right: remember that people probably aren?t trying to drive you crazy, or be hurtful. They are just being themselves.

Here are some more ideas for keeping yourself safe and sane during family gatherings:

Be the Moving Part: In Your Mind

If we can?t change other people, if they?re just plain unwilling to budge, we can make the move and adjust and adapt to what we expect of them. Not to let that other person off the hook necessarily, but for ourselves. Expect the expected, or expect nothing. You had your life and everything you needed before you stepped into the gathering, and it will be waiting for you at the other side of it, too. Whatever happens in between does not change that fact.

Get Up, Stand Up: Be the Moving Part, Literally

The more something bothers you, the more you focus on it. Like chewing sounds or popping jaws, the more you notice it and decide that it?s noxious, the less you are able to wrestle your attention from it. Decide it?s not noxious (we don?t take jackhammer or lawnmower sounds personally, it?s just their nature). Get up, sit somewhere else, and focus on a new conversation.

Don?t Personalize it

Yes, some people are out to get us, but often even then, their mission comes from issues that long proceed us and are like a movie being projected on your screen. You are not the only theater where that film is showing. There?s a broad distribution. People usually are not even setting out to try to drive us crazy. Usually the people that drive us batty are just doing the best they can, stumbling carelessly, mindlessly, or maybe even because they are trying to help and think that they are doing a great service as the self-appointed emcee ?offering? their humor?for free!

It?s Business, Not Pleasure

Decide that this gathering may not be the warm-fuzzy of your holiday season, it may be more the ?work? portion of your holiday, and plan some other activity that you know will be more satisfying and like ?play? to you. Think: I don?t need this be the best night of my life. I can get my needs met elsewhere. Again, if you are wrong, and you end up enjoying yourself, what a delightful mistake you?ve made.

Have Compassion: Round Up Rather Than Down

You can pretend you get along, or lament that you don?t, or play the blame roulette. It?s your fault, it?s their fault. Or? you can let it be.

Instead of wishing that person ill, imagine the reasons why someone might act that way when it is frustrating to others. Put yourself in their shoes. Maybe it?s hard for them to be living this way. Maybe there are good reasons. Round up: maybe that person doesn?t want to be the bad guy. Maybe it?s all he knows how to do, or it?s the best he can do in the moment. Throw him a rope with humor, give him the chance to do something better (or different, anything different would likely be better).

Give Rather Than Receive

If you knowing going in that you?re not likely to get your emotional needs met from this crowd, consider doing a 180. Maybe this is your moment to be generous and bring the cheer and spread it around. You?ll leave knowing that you made a contribution to the greater good.

Count on Yourself to Keep Perspective

Though you can feel that these gatherings are interminable and unbearable, remember, the night will end, and you will go home. This isn?t your whole life, it?s just one slice (or sliver) of a big pie: it?s just your life there. Think of the many other facets of your life that you value. Maybe you have a ?chosen family?: friends, coworkers, whose presence in your life you appreciate all the more, courtesy of this moment. And, remember, one bad apple don?t spoil the whole bunch (girl). Maybe it?s not everyone in your family who is driving you crazy?maybe it?s just some of them?or more often, it?s just one lone person who rubs you the wrong way. Compartmentalize. Contain the spill, and enjoy every thing and every one else around it?you?re allowed.

Maybe these were lessons that Norman Rockwell?s family understood. ?And if not, well, Salvador Dali?s holidays, we can imagine that they were a lot more lively and made for much more interesting conversation on the car ride home. Happy holidays to all!

?Tamar Chansky, Ph.D. 2012 A version of this previously appeared at Huffington Post.

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Source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-survive-family-holiday-gatherings.html

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San Jose Real Estate Agent - San Jose CA Realtor Blog, News ...

If there ever was a turn around year, it has to be 2012. This was a recovery year across the US in the real estate housing market. Let's take a look at the statistics.

Sales are way up. According the NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun, the number of existing homes sales nationally for the month of November 2012 was a seasonally adjusted 5.04 million unit pace.?Up from 5.9% from last month and higher by 14.5% compared to last year's existing home sales.

Inventory is way down. According to Yun, the number of homes available for sale nationally in November 2012 is 2.03 million , down 3.8% from the previous month, and down 23% from last year.? At the current sales pace it would take 4.8 months supply to exhaust the national inventory.

Inventory in Santa Clara County is even lower. According to MLS data, November 2012 inventory was at only 1 month supply. This means that if we were to freeze the market right now and not allow any more listings, we would sell out all the homes?in 30 days!

Home prices have gone up. According to Yun, the national? median existing-home prices for all housing types was $180,600 in November 2012. This was up 10.1% from a year ago.

On the local front, the median sales price for SFH in Santa Clara County in November 2012 was $675,000. At the?beginning of the year in January, the median sales price was $485,000 according to data from MLS Listings, Inc. Our local SFH median sales price has increased 39% so far this year.

Our home values?did not go up 39% this year, so why does the median sales price show such a huge gain in the sales prices?? I believe that the sales in the more expensive areas like Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Saratoga, and Los Gatos have definitely skewed the numbers higher. In fact, this is a national trend.? According to?the latest national housing?statistics,?the number of transactions of homes priced over $750,000 has increased approximately 50% compared to last year. This was a great year to buy a more expensive home by using cheap money. Jumbo rates were at a historic all-time low.

It's interesting to study who the buyers are in this market, and also look at what they are buying. Recent national data shows that distressed property sales?made up?22% of all sales transactions (12% were Foreclosures and Short sales made up 10%), all cash buyers were 30%, investors made up 19% of all transactions, first time buyers represented 30% of all transactions. Last year first time buyers made up 35%. This may reveal that on a national scale, first time buyers are participating less in this recovery market compared to last year.

What about next year? Here's what NAR's economist Lawrence Yun said on December 20, 2012 in a Washington DC press conference. He said,?"2012 clearly shows a breakout in terms of both the home sales as well as home prices and we think that this trend will continue into next year. Because the factors that are driving improvement in the housing sector will continue to remain: job creation, household formation, low mortgage rates...?We expect continuing housing improvement going into 2013."

I believe that 2013 should be a?good year to buy a home. Interest rates may increase a bit next year and the price appreciation may not be?as extraordinary as 2012, but?it should be a good year to buy.?I think that it's safe to say that the local Santa Clara County real estate market will recover faster than than the national housing market. The numbers prove that. We have a stronger demand and a lower supply. This only places pressure squarely on home price appreciation. Our rents have increased close to 20% the past couple years and they will go up next year until new construction catches up. This is a great time to own property!

Source: http://sanjoserealestateagent.blogspot.com/2012/12/december-2012-update-and-outlook-for.html

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Microsoft, Google millions apart in Motorola patents case

SEATTLE -- Microsoft and Google's (GOOG) Motorola phone unit remain millions of dollars apart in their respective valuations of video and Wi-Fi patents at issue in a pivotal case before a federal judge in Seattle.

The outcome, expected sometime next year, could be a key development in the balance of power between Microsoft and Google -- and the rest of the technology industry -- in the running battle over ownership of the technology underlying increasingly popular smartphones, tablets and game consoles.

A trial, held Nov. 13-20 in the Western District of Washington federal court, was designed to settle the matter of how much Microsoft must pay Motorola for use of two of its standard, essential patents used in its Xbox game console and other products.

In redacted post-trial filings made public on Monday -- essentially its final arguments before the judge -- Microsoft argued that it should pay no more than $502,000 per year for Motorola's H.264 video compression patent, and no more than $736,000 per year for Motorola's 802.11 Wi-Fi technology.

Motorola -- acquired by Google earlier this year, partly for its valuable patent portfolio -- submitted a far larger valuation. In its filing, also made public in redacted form on Monday, Motorola said it was due payment of 2.25 percent of

the selling price of Microsoft products such as the Xbox and Windows 7 operating system that use the patents in question.

Motorola argued that a fair cross-licensing deal would result in net payments to Motorola which it would be willing to cap somewhere between $100 million and $125 million per year, solely for the H.264 patent portfolio.

For the 802.11 patents, it claimed a net payment of 1.15 percent to 1.73 percent of Microsoft end-product prices, which would mean millions of dollars more per year.

U.S. District Judge James Robart is expected to rule on the case early next year.

The case in U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, is Microsoft Corp. vs. Motorola Inc., 10-cv-1823.

Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_22216180/microsoft-google-millions-apart-motorola-patents-case?source=rss

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President Obama Supports Assault Weapons Ban, Closing Gun Show Loophole

During today?s news conference, White House spokesman Jay Carney confirmed that President Obama supports gun control measures currently being weighed by some members of congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The White House says President Barack Obama is ?actively supportive? of efforts on Capitol Hill to reinstate an assault weapons ban. [...]

White House spokesman Jay Carney says Obama would also support legislation to close the gun show ?loophole,? which allows people to buy guns from private dealers without background checks.

The president has pledged to address gun violence in the coming weeks following Friday?s deadly shooting at a Connecticut elementary school.

The president can only support these measures. He can?t unilaterally implement them himself. And it?s up to the public to put enough pressure on congress to get the ball rolling.

This entry was posted in Guns and tagged Congress, Gun Control, Guns, President Obama. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2012/12/president-obama-supports-assault-weapons-ban-closing-gun-show-loophole.html

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Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington on Chemistry

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Source: http://feeds.bet.com/~r/106andPark/~3/ZUU2KB4KCrE/jamie-foxx-and-kerry-washington-on-chemistry-106-and-park-3089.html

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