Saturday, February 25, 2012

Afghanistan: Riots over Koran Burning Subside, But Does Anger Still Simmer? (Time.com)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Time.com - Most observers expected the worst on Friday as the pious gathered at mosques for prayer. But, while violence did occur, it appeared to be much less than feared

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/time/20120224/wl_time/08599210760700

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Residential & Commercial Real Estate Agents - What's the Difference?

Few will argue that buying and selling real estate isn?t a specialized business transaction, or that when you want to buy or sell a house in Houston, hiring a Houston real estate agent isn?t the most common way to get the job done. It may be an excellent idea, but it doesn?t go quite far enough. All real estate agents aren?t the same, because there are two types of specialists: residential and commercial real estate agents.

When economic activity grows sluggish, agents from either camp may try to cross over in their efforts to keep business humming. Whether you are buying or selling or leasing a place to live, or contemplating a business-related real estate move, job one is to pay attention to which type of agent is offering assistance.

There are distinct differences between the residential and commercial real estate agent. Let?s take a look at the some of the major areas that make them different:

Types of Properties

The most basic distinction between a Houston commercial real estate agent and their residential colleague is the type of properties they deal in ? just about always determined by the intended use of the real estate.

For the most part, the role of the residential real estate agent is to help his client purchase, lease or sell a single family dwelling. On the other hand, commercial real estate agents help their clients find income-producing properties. They may be retail space, manufacturing or service locations, or any of the other types of real estate that house a business endeavor.

Valuation Methods

Not only is the intended use of the property different, so is the determination of market value. Houston residential real estate market value is determined by comparing it to recent sales of similar Houston properties. There are a wide variety of ways a commercial real estate agent? determines the value of commercial property. All of them deal in one way or another with calculating future income and return on investment.

Clientele

Commercial real estate agents deal with businesspeople ? building owners, tenants and investors ? who are, as a general rule, dispassionate about the transaction. The client?s main concern is to get a decent return on the investment. It?s business, after all.

Residential real estate agents, on the other hand, deal with people to whom the product ? the house or condominium ? usually comes to represent a significant emotional attachment. There?s far more emotion involved in the residential transaction and good residential agents will have much experience in handling the emotional component in such a way that it does not wind up compromising an otherwise sound transaction.

Source: http://www.cpzrealestate.com/residential-commercial-real-estate-agents-whats-the-difference/

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Friday, February 24, 2012

A tour to Pushkar, the charming town of Ajmer

A tour to Pushkar, the charming town of Ajmer

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Pushkar is one of the most popular tourist destinations of India beholding various temples, forts, mosques reflecting splendor of architecture on one hand and lovely lakes, forests and wild vegetation reflecting rich flora and fauna on the other hand. Thus, tourism in Pushkar offers to tourist an enduring journey across natural glories and architectural charm and fascinates them with these glories to the core. The city is the most popular as Pilgrim city of India. Pushkar tourism is flourished with various features such as the important temples that are the landmarks of the land and highlights of a traveler?s tour to Pushkar and enduring natural landscape. While devotees come to bow down their head and attain blessings of God, tourists visit this land just to experience the extra ordinary charm of the land. Thus, Pushkar is a complete tourist destination that makes your trip to Pushkar a delightful and a memorable journey.

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Pushkar is a charming town situated in the Ajmer district of Indian state Rajasthan. It is one of the oldest cities of India and therefore the authenticity of the soil of Pushkar becomes the major attraction of tourists during their trip to Pushkar. Pushkar owing to its various grand temples is considered holy and sacred among Hindu devotees. Large number of devotees flocks to this land in order to experience a religious pilgrimage to this land. Besides, huge number of tourist visits this land to experience the charming architectural glory of the land. There are wide number of tourist places in Pushkar and few of the most frequented tourist attractions of the city are: Pushkar Lake, Mother temple, Balotara, Yogyakarta, Srirangam, Bithoor, 52 Ghats of Pushkar and so on. All these tourist attractions are the must see for tourists making a trip to Pushkar. Thus, tourism in Pushkar comes to tourists with both natural and architectural delights.?

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Pushkar is well connected to the rest of the country through all major modes of transportation including rail, road and airlines. Also the land is well accomplished with wide range of hotels and resorts that offer comfortable stay for tourists during their trip to Pushkar. The hotels in Pushkar come to tourists in wide range including luxury and deluxe suite hotels to comfortable budgeted hotels and resorts. Thus, the land offers ample options of homestay for all budget travelers in Pushkar. Experience a stay in Pushkar and enjoy an enduring and memorable journey of lifetime.

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Source: http://travel.ezinemark.com/a-tour-to-pushkar-the-charming-town-of-ajmer-7d3431a81e05.html

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Asset Based Lending | Selby Jennings : Recruitment for the Global ...

My client a global investment bank are looking to hire a Director of Asset Based corporate lending to join the team in Chicago. You will US.

The Role:

  • Join a team of four professionals working on the Asset Based Lending team in Chicago covering all clients in the US.
  • This is a senior position and would suit a VP and Director level candidate with considerable experience of asset lending/ corporate lending across warehousing/ real estate/ receivables financing/ acquisition finance and commercial loans and lease
  • The role is working in a multi product integrated finance team and provide Asset Based Lending alongside Senior and Subordinated Debt
  • Successful candidate will work across accounts receivable management, asset-based lending, leveraged finance, leasing and commercial loans
  • Position is based in Chicago USA

The Candidate

  • You will need experience as an originator of ABL and commercial finance deals and have an entrepreneurial attitude.
  • You should be familiar with credit, modelling and the structuring of deals and ideally be working in an ABL function. The team are also interested in people from an advisory background or lenders of senior debt from a bank.
  • Skills in negotiating, structuring, analysing and executing new lending opportunities and loan re-structures/work outs and also negotiating loan and security documentation and portfolio management are important
  • Senior hire- my client will only hire a professional with track record in Asset lending/ securitisation/ corporate lending in the US market
  • Essential to have a suitable US work visa for this role.
  • My client will be conducting interviews from next week so if you are interested please get in touch as soon as possible

If you are interested in this role please send your CV to structuring@selbyjennings.com or call +44 2070194139 to discuss
http://www.selbyjennings.com

Type: Full-time

Location: Chicago

Category: Structuring Jobs

Apply Email: structuring@selbyjennings.com

Source: http://www.selbyjennings.com/current-vancancies/structuring-jobs/asset-based-lending-6/31963/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=asset-based-lending-6

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'Safe House,' 'The Vow' beat out new 'Ghost Rider'

In this film image released by Columbia Pictures, a scene is shown from "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance," in theaters Friday, Feb. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Columbis Pictures-Sony)

In this film image released by Columbia Pictures, a scene is shown from "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance," in theaters Friday, Feb. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Columbis Pictures-Sony)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The President's Day weekend box office was too close to call as the action tale "Safe House" and the love story "The Vow" competed for the No. 1 spot.

Based on Sunday's studio estimates, Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds' "Safe House" had a slim lead with $24 million from Friday to Sunday. That put it a fraction ahead of Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum's "The Vow" with $23.6 million.

The winner won't be known for certain until Tuesday, when studios will report final numbers for the long holiday weekend. Final numbers often vary from weekend projections, which include estimates for the size of Sunday's audiences.

No matter which one finishes on top, the movie business remains unusually brisk for winter, typically a slow season at theaters. The business uptick comes after Hollywood lumbered through a humdrum holiday season at the end of last year, when audiences were apathetic about most new releases.

"I still think people don't want to stay home, and if you give them good choices, you get them out," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal Pictures, which released "Safe House."

The top-five movies were bunched up tightly, with Nicolas Cage's sequel "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" opening a close No. 3 with $22 million.

Dwayne Johnson's family action tale "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" was No. 4 with $20.1 million. Reese Witherspoon's love-triangle comedy "This Means War" debuted at No. 5 with $17.6 million.

Starring Washington as a CIA traitor on the run, "Safe House" raised its domestic total to $78.2 million. Sony Screen Gems' "The Vow," which features McAdams as an amnesiac car-accident victim becoming reacquainted with her husband (Tatum), lifted its total to $85.5 million.

While "Safe House" and "The Vow" held up well, Sony's "Ghost Rider" follow-up came in below industry expectations, doing a bit less than half the $45 million the first one pulled in with its 2007 debut.

In "Spirit of Vengeance," Cage reprises his Marvel Comics role as Satan's bounty hunter, this time trying to save a child from the devil.

Released by Warner Bros., "Journey 2" is a modern take on Jules Verne's "The Mysterious Island." It padded its total to $53.2 million.

In 20th Century Fox's "This Means War," Witherspoon plays a woman who captures the hearts of two CIA agents (Chris Pine and Tom Hardy), the spy guys going from best pals to rivals as they pursue her.

Disney's English-language version of the Japanese animated hit "The Secret World of Arrietty" opened in narrower release and came in at No. 9 with $6.4 million. Based on Mary Norton's children's novel "The Borrowers," about tiny people living beneath the floorboards of a house, the film features a voice cast that includes Carol Burnett, Amy Poehler and Will Arnett.

The weekend's overall domestic revenues totaled $160 million, up 10.7 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Unknown" led with a $21.9 million debut, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

So far this year, revenues have soared to $1.42 billion, a 19 percent increase from 2011's receipts.

"Every weekend this year has been up vs. the comparable weekend a year ago, so Hollywood is definitely on a roll right now," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.

1. "Safe House," $24 million ($6 million international).

2. "The Vow," $23.6 million ($6.8 million international).

3. "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance," $22 million.

4. "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island," $20.1 million.

5. "This Means War," $17.6 million.

6. "Star Wars: Episode I ? The Phantom Menace" in 3-D, $7.9 million.

7. "Chronicle," $7.5 million.

8. "The Woman in Black," $6.6 million.

9. "The Secret World of Arrietty," $6.4 million.

10. "The Grey," $3 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-02-19-Box%20Office/id-6cd7c753aa5f4228afaa01cf8a672f39

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Monday, February 20, 2012

Health and Fitness ? Blog Archive ? Bikram Yoga

Take a deep breath, suck stomach and twist, twist, twist your,? Yuri said, his Brazilian accent. His body, the very fit to witness the benefits of this torture, you have the flexibility. Sweat is dripping from my body, under the towel, yoga mat will prevent me from side slip and that it is. Yes, I will do yoga. Better yet, I?ve learned in order to survive.

A few weeks ago, I signed up for Bikram yoga or hot yoga class. I have in the past, I participated in a class or two, decided to jump in to take advantage of special summer. To be honest, this is quite sad. I dragged a friend refused to return on the first day. However, after overcoming a first-class every day for five days, is recommended in order to pass the learning curve, I like shortness of breath I find?

People the best thing to do yoga and I have been discovered. ?Why?? I asked in class one day. As I saw my reflection in the mirror, I have tried to look past the red face, and I can see the potential of the mat of hair wet jiggly stomach. A temperature of about 105% humidity and 40 are probably literally dissolve the fat. Standing alone in the hot chamber of the heart beat of the roar of burning calories or help me. Whatever the reason, but it will work. In one to two weeks, I feel much.

One thing, you will need to Hyde certainly before class begins. A bottle of mineral water, novice nurses often on the other hand. I will also run. Instructor, it is recommended that you do not drink the water until after heating at all. Then, the entire class to take a cup with water first. I learned the secret of staying a few weeks after hydration. While, towels said after the training of women next to me: You should not feel compelled to secret ?is clear, you are if you have the time correctly, in front of the class two major classes of water . bladder during the class is to chug 20 minutes. of both ?

Another important tip is to wear clothes as much as possible as another. This can be a little ?difficult. This is, in the case of extra weight found a loose T-shirt around the waist and belly, go for it. However, the clothes were all soaked in, do not have the time Please note in particular, stuck like glue to your body.

In the meantime, continues the adventures of me in the hot yoga. I have found that after years of neglect on the biceps. And even if my body is too soft muscle still, I concentrate, you will learn how to meditation to relax myself, better health.

Incoming search terms:

Related posts:

  1. Before Starting Yoga
  2. The Oldest Style of Yoga
  3. Fitness Yoga Classes
  4. Kundalini Yoga Techniques
  5. Yoga Health Benefits

Source: http://www.aim2010.info/2012/02/bikram-yoga/

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Sunday, February 19, 2012

Ecommerce | Ecommerce Website | Web Design Websites ...

Published by witter | February 18, 2012 | | 390

E commerce in simple terms might be defined as Buying and selling of goods and services in an online environment or over electronic system like internet. Businesses around the world recognised the need of the hour to carry on their business activities in an globalised world where the element of time and economy occupy a considerable portion in any business.

Ecommerce might be Business to Business ecommerce or Business to Customer ecommerce. In business to business ecommerce the business transactions happens between two business where as in business to customer the transactions happens between seller and buyer.

The importance of ecommerce has been felt by many businesses around the world. No matter in which part of the world you live, it really takes only some seconds to make any business transactions. With the advance development of latest soft wares, coupled with strong and proven business functionalities, ecommerce has been one of the fastest growing industries in the world.

If a buyer wants to buy anything the first and primary source of getting information is the internet. This feature has revolutionised the business functions to adapt according to the customer style of buying things and make changes accordingly. The importance of making available all the products and services by a single click has made the ecommerce business more effective. This feature enabled many web design websites to focus more on web design functions which will enable the ecommerce business to get more customers.

The e commerce web site is prepared keeping in view the entire gamut of ecommerce functions. The more the effective features the better the ecommerce website which ultimately help the ecommerce businesses. The ecommerce shop when made available online resulted in tremendous response at its initial stages and continues to be one of the effective business type.There is a lot of increasing confidence among the buyers to buy products and services online, because of the increased safety in money transactions like payments by credit cards, debit cards, online money transfer and other sources of online transactions. Furthermore, the ecommerce software designed by web site developers is tested to ensure a quality application in every transaction.

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Website:

Source: http://www.1directory.net/internet-and-businesses-online/ecommerce-ecommerce-website-web-design-websites-ecommerce-software-5464.html

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Cure Phobias With Hypnosis

Why does this worry me?

Why do I panic in the car when driving?

Why am I prefer this?

Why do I panic/get nervous once I am going to talk to a cluster?

I recognize that flying is safer than driving, but why am I scared?

Sound acquainted? You do not need to feel nervous or panic any additional! Facilitate is here!

Things you ought to grasp concerning phobias:

1. Phobias can continuously be cured. With the assistance of Neuro Linguistic Programing and Hypnosis, the link between the reason for your phobia and the reaction you?re having can be broken making the opportunity for calmer behaviour to result.

2. Talking regarding a phobia doesn?t extremely help. Have you ever found yourself talking about a phobia or concern that you?ve got a found that it truly gets worse? Many folks even strive talking to themselves by saying, as an example, ?Don?t worry, don?t get nervous? etc, however what happens? They decline!

3. Phobias are all the same. I understand there are various totally different kinds of phobias, but essentially they all develop as a result of of one thing in the past and therefore the treatments concerned in fixing them are primarily the same. It?s not the phobia that is completely different, it?s the case in which it happens that?s different.

4. Phobias are all different. I apprehend I just said that they?re all the identical, and this can be largely true, but what?s totally different is true, as mentioned. This also means that the folks that have the phobias are all distinctive individuals and there are refined differences because of their personality or even in the actual phobia itself.

5. Phobias themselves don?t extremely tell the truth. I am going to offer an example here. If someone says I?ve got a spider phobia, it might extremely be a concern of being bitten and poisoned, or a fear of flying might be actually a fear of crashing and burning alive. Thus, the label for the phobia doesn?t usually determine what the real concern is.

6. Medicine don?t cure phobias. There is medication that can be prescribed, but like all anxiety medication, the symptoms come once the medications is stopped. Hypnosis offers a drug free treatment and cure.

7. Your life does not want to be limited by phobias. When people see me concerning phobias, it?s typically as a result of the phobia itself has effects on another area of their life. An individual with a worry of spiders cannot get pleasure from gardening. The person with a concern of flying cannot travel. The general public speaking phobic fears they can be viewed a failure for avoiding conferences and can not progress in their career. Hypnosis will modification all of that.

Writers Cafe has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Phobias, you can also check out his latest website about:
Electric Pet Fence Which reviews and lists the best
Petsafe Wireless Dog Fence

Source: http://www.1directory.net/health-fitness/cure-phobias-with-hypnosis-5376.html

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Saturday, February 18, 2012

Best Jackpots In Best Online Casinos ? Blog Archive ? Gambling ...

Internet marketing is a great way for corporations to further expand their target markets. What is something that many people like doing? The answer is gambling. With many casinos around the country and a city totally reliant upon it, Las Vegas, why shouldn?t casino companies take their business online? With many individuals unable to travel or whatever their case may be, online gambling would be great way for casinos to increase their revenue and online reputation.

Casinos have a reputation for being big cash places that always win. Very rarely will the house lose to a gamester. Their reputation is world renowned for their luxurious surroundings and expensive travel packages. Casinos need to break into a new market and grow their online reputation. More people are becoming more associated with the internet. They know its uses and they are willing to try new experiences with the computer. Casinos breaking into the online gambling community would greatly earn from doing so.

By using Internet marketing through their existing website and other websites such as Yahoo, the amount of business being drawn to them could actually be just as good as if people were present in the casino. The gambling business is large. A casino almost never loses and even with the money spent on internet marketing to promote their online casino business, they would no doubt make money. It would be a smart business move to go online.

The one dissimilarity from gambling online is that you do not get the full social experience of dealing with a dealer in a specific game. Also, people might not have full confidence in internet gambling as it could potentially be rigged and have the individual never win. People enjoy gambling because they get a thrill that they might win a great deal of money. Without actually being present in front of a machine or game table, the real factor is no longer there and people lose curiosity very quickly.

However, even with the downfalls of internet gambling, it is important for casinos to use internet marketing to grow their online reputation. It is crucial for more business. With the economy being the way it is, people are less willing to travel to a large exclusive casino. Making it easy for people to do it from the comfort of their own home can make for an increase of business. It is a wise business decision for large casino corporations to get in the online gambling scene.

fishbat is a web marketing firm that can help you with marketing and social media. call them today for more details!. Unique version for reprint here: Gambling and Internet Marketing.

Source: http://jackpotgenerator.com/gambling-and-internet-marketing/

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Top 7 Strategies for Writing Accounting Procedures | Article Outlet

[unable to retrieve full-text content]With these new processes and reports, the company now tracks Average Days Collection and past due rather than just Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) as the measure of their collection effectiveness. The result: an extra $350000 in cash. And, again, we explicitly see the crucial role of time and ... You might offer a discount of 1% if paid within 10 days else net due in 30 days. This is equivalent to 18 % annual interest and most businesses will take those terms. Shorten ...

Source: http://articleoutlet.net/2012/02/16/top-7-strategies-for-writing-accounting-procedures/

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Friday, February 17, 2012

Strengthen Your Family with Marital Counseling | DoDLive

From www.realwarriors.net

As service members and their spouses face the stressors of multiple deployments, seeking marital counseling both pre- and post-deployment is becoming increasingly common. Separation from a spouse or loved one, coupled with the uncertainties of deployments, may result in additional stress for military families.

However, DoD is taking steps to improve access to a continuum of counseling support for married service members and their families, and to inform service members and military families that seeking marital support is a sign of strength.

How Can Marital Counseling Improve Your Relationship?

Each couple experiences and handles stress differently. Although it?s clear that deployments can be stressful, so can the time before and after deployment. During these times, one or both spouses may experience feelings of sadness, irritability or other emotional distress. Also, some may try to handle their distress by withdrawing, picking fights or avoiding difficult discussions.

These feelings and behaviors are common for military families throughout the deployment cycle, so don?t put off seeking counseling support if you feel you need it. Addressing concerns before they escalate can help alleviate the pressures of deployment and improve your relationship with your spouse.

Understanding the Two Types of Available Counseling

Two types of counseling are available to service members and military spouses who are experiencing increased stress:

1. Non-medical counseling is designed to address everyday concerns, such as improving relationships at home and at work, stress management, anger management, adjustment after deployment, parenting and grief issues. Non-medical counseling is generally a short-term, problem-solving approach to enhance military family readiness.

2. Medical counseling is designed to assist with long-term issues, such as drug and alcohol abuse, psychological concerns, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, child or spousal abuse, suicidal ideation or other psychological issues that adversely affect a marriage.

Nearly every military installation has a family service or support center, chaplain support, child-development center or other service where spouses can get help, from crisis intervention to counseling, depending on their need. Use the information below to locate the resource that?s right for your family.

Use Non-Medical Counseling to Address Everyday Concerns

Non-medical counseling resources available through Military OneSource and the Military Family Life Consultant program can be used as preventive tools to address marital issues before they evolve into more serious concerns.

Military OneSource offers service members and their spouses free, non-medical counseling. Military OneSource can refer a service member or eligible family member to a licensed professional counselor in the local civilian community at no cost. This counseling can be conducted face-to-face or over the phone, and addresses non-medical, short-term concerns for up to 12 sessions per issue per person. For more information, call 800-342-9647 or visit Military OneSource.

Military Family Life Consultants are licensed, experienced clinical providers that hold masters or Ph.D. degrees and offer support to service members and their spouses. Like the counselors available through Military OneSource, they provide non-medical, short-term counseling for concerns like anger management or parenting issues. Importantly, Military Family Life Consultants refer situations requiring additional psychological health treatment to appropriate behavioral health agencies. Contact a Military Family Life Consultant through the appropriate resource at your home installation.

Army Community Services
Marine Corps Community Services
Navy Fleet and Family Support Centers
Airman and Family Readiness Centers
Members of the National Guard or Reserve (and their spouses) can call the Military Family Life Consultant referral service toll-free at 888-755-9355

All service members and families can contact the DCoE Outreach Center by calling 866-966-1020 or logging on to Real Warriors Live Chat for free, confidential guidance on contacting Military Family Life Consultants.

Relationship enhancement classes are offered by most installations and many civilian communities, either through family support or service centers, through chaplain services or in their counterparts in the civilian community. Many of these classes are held once a week over several weeks or are offered in a weekend retreat format. Examples include?PREP,PREPARE/ENRICH, Army?s?Strong Bonds, Navy?s?CREDO?and Air Force?s?MarriageCares?program.

Use Medical Counseling to Address Longer-Term or More Complex Issues

To receive medical counseling, service members and spouses from each branch of the military ? including National Guard members, reservists and DoD civilian employees who have deployed overseas ? can be evaluated and treated at a Military Medical Treatment Facility. Military personnel and spouses in need of psychological health care can seek help from a range of providers, depending on their condition. An excellent starting point for locating the appropriate medical counseling for you or your spouse is TRICARE?s?Find a Provider?web page.

For further information on eligibility requirements and support provided, visit TRICARE?s?Mental and Behavioral Health?web page, contact your civilian health care provider or call the?DCoE Outreach Center?at 866-966-1020 today.

Active duty family members can also log on to the?TRICARE Assistance Program (TRIAP)?which offers 24/7 web-based confidential counseling for families coping with non-medical military stressors.?TRIAP?uses video chat and instant messaging to provide quick and easy access to licensed counselors.

Reaching Out to Strengthen Your Family is a Sign of Courage

Unfortunately, reaching out for counseling to improve a marriage can sometimes be wrongly seen as a sign of weakness ? when in fact it is a sign of courage and strength. Fortunately, a wide array of counseling services is available through Military OneSource, Military Family Life Consultants, Chaplains, TRICARE, civilian providers and other options to help counter the stress married couples commonly experience throughout the deployment cycle.2 You are not alone ? so reach out for counseling support using the resources outlined in this article to strengthen your marriage and your entire family.

Check out these other posts:

Source: http://www.dodlive.mil/index.php/2012/02/strengthen-your-family-with-marital-counseling/

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Cisco challenges Microsoft, Skype merger in EU (AP)

BRUSSELS ? Networking company Cisco said Wednesday that it is challenging Microsoft's $8.5 billion takeover of Skype at the European Union's top court to ensure Microsoft won't block other video conferencing services.

The European Commission, the EU's competition regulator, cleared the takeover in October and the merger was completed later that month. Microsoft Corp. hopes that owning Skype will allow it to better compete across platforms with other tech giants including Apple Inc. or Google Inc.

But for Cisco Systems Inc., the world's largest maker of computer networking equipment, the Skype deal creates a serious challenger to its video conferencing systems.

"Cisco does not oppose the merger, but believes the European Commission should have placed conditions that would ensure greater standards-based interoperability," Marthin De Beer, the head of Cisco's video conferencing division, wrote in a blog post.

Microsoft said it was confident it would prevail in an appeal.

"The European Commission conducted a thorough investigation of the acquisition, in which Cisco actively participated, and approved the deal in a 36-page decision without any conditions," Microsoft said in a statement.

Cisco wants the General Court of the EU to check whether the Commission was right in clearing the Skype takeover without any concessions. It argues that the Commission should have required Microsoft to guarantee open standards for video conferencing, similar to what exists for mobile phone calls.

Such standards would eventually allow users of Cisco video phones to make calls to users of Skype and other services like Google Voice.

De Beer said that without these standards, Microsoft could "seek to control the future of video communications."

"Making a video-to-video call should be as easy as dialing a phone number," De Beer wrote. "Today, however, you can't make seamless video calls from one platform to another, much to the frustration of consumers and business users alike."

But Cisco fears that Microsoft will end up blocking Skype for users of other services, especially if it starts charging businesses for teleconferencing.

Skype, with roughly 170 million users, is by far the most popular voice-over-Internet service.

Antoine Colombani, a spokesman for the European Commission, said it will defend its decision in court.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120215/ap_on_hi_te/cisco_microsoft_skype

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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Cisco Wants Conditions On Microsoft-Skype Merger

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer discusses his company's plans to buy Internet phone service company Skype for $8.5 billion May 10, 2011, in San Francisco. Enlarge AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer discusses his company's plans to buy Internet phone service company Skype for $8.5 billion May 10, 2011, in San Francisco.

AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer discusses his company's plans to buy Internet phone service company Skype for $8.5 billion May 10, 2011, in San Francisco.

Cisco says it is challenging Microsoft's $8.5 billion takeover of Skype at the European Union's top court to ensure Microsoft won't block other video conferencing services.

In a blog post Wednesday, Marthin De Beer, the head of Cisco's video conferencing division, said "Cisco does not oppose the merger, but believes the European Commission should have placed conditions that would ensure greater standards-based interoperability."

He said Cisco, which offers the WebEx teleconferencing service, wants the European Court of Justice to get the Commission to create open standards for video conferencing, similar to what exists for mobile phone calls.

Such standards would eventually allow WebEx users to make calls to users of Skype and other services like Google Voice.

De Beer said that without these standards, Microsoft could end up with sole "control (of) the future of video communications."

Source: http://www.npr.org/stations/force/force_localization.php?station=KQED&url=http://www.npr.org/2012/02/15/146932411/cisco-wants-conditions-on-microsoft-skype-merger?ft=1&f=1001

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Against Value ? 23.2.2012 ? occursus

AGAINST VALUE IN THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES
University of Sheffield

Professor Dame Marilyn Strathern
Professor Tim Etchells
Emile Bojesen
and more? followed by discussion

Thursday 23rd February, 2012
7.15 pm
St George?s Church
Free Entry
All are welcome

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/faculty/arts-and-humanities/research-innovation/events-activities/againstvalueinaandh

The current crisis in higher education has required a spirited defence
of the value of the arts and humanities. Likely this defence has not
been sufficient to the task.

Last year, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of
Sheffield staged an event that aimed to articulate, discuss and defend
?The Value of the Arts and Humanities?. We heard about many ways of
valuing and reasons to value an arts and humanities education from a
newspaper columnist, a politician, a businessman, a Higher Education
administrator, and an academic critic of Higher Education policy.

This event does not offer a defence. It has not been curated to answer
the denigration of the value of the arts and humanities with a
palatable restatement of their virtues. This event offers a counter
proposition: that the task of the arts and humanities, both in their
creative and educative aspects, is to contest, to challenge, to
question, to undermine, to satirise, to offend, to violate, to
deconstruct, to degenerate, to critique, to undo, or to suspend
dominant and dominating assumptions of value. The purpose of the arts
and humanities, the purpose of the university, is to think against
value.

Inspired by the exploits of Dada artists refusing the discourse of
reason during the First World War, by the critique of audit cultures,
and of the damaging instrumentalisation of education, this event has
been curated to ask, if not answer, the following: Who owns value? For
whom does value speak? Does value arrest thinking?

The event will hopefully prove the start of a different conversation
about strategies of resistance that channel the resentment and anger of
students and scholars and inspire some of the following: patience and
slow thinking, happiness, negativity, indeterminacy, doubt, punk,
ambivalence, failure, dissonant thinking, dissident imaginations.

Please address any questions to Dr Sam Ladkin at
s.ladkin@sheffield.ac.uk?and/or Dr Bob Mckay at?R.McKay@sheffield.ac.uk.

PARTICIPANTS

Professor Dame Marilyn Strathern

Tim Etchells

***

What follows is a brief response to the event, The Value of the Arts
and Humanities, as sent to the participants, followed by brief
biographies.

?As far as I know, nobody has ever founded a university against reason?
- Jacques Derrida, on the ?unconditional freedom? of the university.

?Thus Euro-Americans frequently present knowledge to themselves as
though a condition were its reflexivity: one knows things because one
can reflect on why and how one knows.?
- Marilyn Strathern

The name of that is of course money,
and the absurd trust in value is the pattern of
bond and contract and interest ? just where
the names are exactly equivalent to the trust
given to them.
Here then is the purity of
pragmatic function:
we give the name of
our selves to our needs.
We want what we are.
- J.H. Prynne, ?Sketch for a Financial Theory of the Self?

?Competition generally raises quality?
- ? ? ? Lord Browne, BP

AGAINST VALUE IN THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES

Justification for education, in particular post-secondary education,
and more specifically justification for post-secondary education in the
arts and humanities, relies on two primary measures: economic benefits
to costs; and value as determined by the discourse of the humanities.
This holds true for the ways in which the arts are justified
politically in the UK. What justification do the arts and humanities
require? Are the arts and humanities, or should the arts and
humanities, be fundamentally opposed to value?

Three responses:

The authority of value: Who has the right to determine value, and for
whom do such values speak? The ever-increasing desire to re-affirm
already magnified hierarchies is at odds with principles of knowledge.
Knowledge works laterally, passed person to person, as much belonging
to the receiver as the giver. It is fundamentally, therefore, generous,
a generosity that is being too easily conscripted into economic models
of accumulation.

The teleology of education: The end-point of education (knowledge)
cannot (must not?) be determined in advance. In part this is a response
to the psychology of commodification and rule by audit. The first is
the expectation that knowledge, too, might prostrate itself for
consumption. Instead should knowledge be understood as in some sense
intractable, finally unknowable. The world provides infinite resistance
to the presumption of a totalizing comprehensibility. The second is
that knowledge should be set against the ever more prevalent logic of
audit cultures.

The teleology of values of audit cultures ? closing the loop between
policy (aims) and audit (outcomes) ? operates as a feedback loop
against what Marilyn Strathern describes as an ?open-ended and
ambiguous enquiry in the most serious sense?. The audit presumes
self-knowledge as the determinant of knowledge. The critique of audit
cultures is the knowledge that a defence of values academics generally
hold dear, trust, ?responsibility, opennness about outcomes and
widening of access? (3), might best be achieved by working precisely
against the auditing of those values.

Dada: Dada includes a hugely various set of affiliations amongst
artists and writers working in the first half of the twentieth century.
It was forged in the crisis of the Great War, and was international in
scope. It can be described as an expatriation of people, ideas, and
even the premises of art and language from nationalist and ?civilized?
values. Dada?s protest was not only against a system of value, but was
also a refusal to participate within the methodology, the rationality,
that underpinned that system. How might art making today, and forms of
argument, similarly have to refuse to participate on the ground
belonging to a system of values as well as to the values themselves?

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Source: http://occursus.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/against-value-23-2-2012/

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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

PFT: Moss' agent says 3 teams have called

Cris Carterx-inset-communityAP

After getting voted down by the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee for the fifth consecutive year, Cris Carter says he thinks the voters oppose his position more than they oppose him.

Speaking to Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin on WQAM, Carter suggested that he, Andre Reed and Tim Brown have been the victims of voters who just don?t appreciate the talent of wide receivers.

?I just think it?s the wide receiver,? Carter said, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. ?I think the modern-day wide receiver, I would say that his skill level is not appreciated. It?s not just about the numbers. It?s the ability to catch the football and put your talent on display.?

Carter may have a point. The receiver position lags behind quarterbacks, running backs, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs, with only seven receivers in Canton who started their careers after the 1970 AFL-NFL merger: Irvin, Steve Largent, James Lofton, Art Monk, Jerry Rice, John Stallworth and Lynn Swann. And only two of them, Largent and Rice, were selected in their first year of eligibility. Irvin and Lofton were each voted down twice before being selected, Monk and Stallworth were each voted down seven times and Swann was voted down 13 times before finally making it.

In Carter?s opinion, his own numbers compare favorably to Largent?s. Carter questioned why he has been voted down five times while Largent was elected to the Hall of Fame the first year he was eligible.

?If Steve Largent had 130 touchdowns he would have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But he didn?t, he had 100 ? and he was still a first-ballot Hall of Famer,? Carter said.

On that score Carter?s case isn?t quite as strong: It?s true that Carter?s raw numbers are better than Largent?s, but Carter played in a more passing-friendly offensive environment. When Largent retired he owned the all-time NFL records for catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Carter never owned any of those records.

Irvin said in his discussion with Carter that he hopes Carter joins him in Canton, and Carter said he has appreciated hearing that from many Hall of Famers, even if the Hall of Fame voters don?t feel the same way.

?When you all say something to me it really means a lot more,? Carter said. ?I can?t do no more. I appreciate what you guys are saying and doing and everything, but I pleaded my case those 16 years I played in the league.?

So far, the Hall of Fame voters haven?t thought that case was good enough.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/14/agent-three-teams-have-called-about-randy-moss/related/

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Sunday, February 12, 2012

How you can Learn how to Perform a Violin That has a Disability ...

Right now, an individual somewhere within the globe is choosing up a musical instrument. Understandably it is really for the first time, or not the primary time. The gamut of available instruments is as huge because the kinds of music developed from these instruments. The Musical Instrument Museum, setup in Phoenix in early 2010, will be the archive of more than 13,000 instruments. The diverse variety of stringed instruments and its appeal throughout genres may possibly inspire you to learn how to participate in the violin.

As a lot as instruments go, stringed instruments, including violins, have enjoyed worldwide attraction. Going movie scores have tugged in the hearts of audiences in the event the abundant vibrato of violins are performed. Violins happen to be a part of society for centuries. Violins were present throughout a range of new music genres, through the era of troubadours to Mozart, as much as and including contemporary moments, from blue grass to jazz to rock and roll, in addition to other variations.

The motives another person could be drawn to play an instrument could be the private or well-known appeal. A film theatre could possibly have audiences vowing to a minimum of attempt to study more if not engage in Vivaldi?s ?The Four Seasons,? a recurring composition which has touched generations of audio enthusiasts. Auto radios and satellite television expertise increase the excellent of tunes delivery each and every twelve months. A music composition may possibly develop into that far more inspiring and bring about listeners to learn how to execute the violin.

When anyone turns into inspired to phase further in to the music training zone, he or she can elect to hire a personal music tutor for lessons. Directors each on the net and in print kind listings at audio departments of region colleges, and commercial audio enterprises can provide required instruction. Must anyone search for extra formal instruction, enrolling with an tutorial institution might be additional appropriate. The moment registering with postsecondary institutions, which include school extension solutions, neighborhood colleges, universities, or other new music conservatories, scholars can select credit score or non-credit history instruction.

Supplemental mastering resources are readily available to round out someone?s tunes education. A stroll via an place audio keep can present tips about what?s about the market. When you surf the net, it really is easy to find the on-line songs stores. Hyperlinks and assistance, along with discover to online music areas or other resources are plentiful. On-Line films from both equally amateurs and specialists show primary violin competencies, to extra highly developed instrumentation. Tips on strategies, instruments and DVDs about all items connected towards the violin to cultivate interests and review.

Composition websites are many. Suggestions for learners can contain visualizing notes, taking part in notes in invert, marking your fingernails with notes, playing notes with eyes closed, recording perform, and playing air violin. Networking with people at concerts, casually, on-line, and in offline teams can increase the understanding knowledge, and build local community, competence and confidence.

Novice violinists should ascertain the research objectives and proceed to review content offered inside the marketplace with caution along with a program. Information at the same time as possibilities is usually over-abundant. Nonetheless, with a approach a person can deal with their objectives, and produce a approach whilst minimizing wasted means such as time and dollars.

Figure out what options will probably be used to aid objectives, and stick to the price range, with some home for versatility. Violinists can baseline their progress. Taping progress via classes with tunes tapes, video recording or each, can chart progress to starting to be a better violinist. Taping also can aid somebody grow to be relaxed executing in entrance of other folks, which may possibly come in handy if examine does contain community effectiveness necessities.

A musician need to come to a decision the quantity of time to get invested in his or her learning objectives. To grow to be environment friendly and powerful, a violinist can interact in marketplace investigation just before making purchasing conclusion, but not earlier than objectives as well as a price range are produced.

To discover the violin, a university student ought to adequately frame what he or she has in head. The types of tunes somebody wishes to discover, the types of new music compositions, or even the amount of ability are places of consideration to bear in intellect. As learners move beyond finding out standard violin, and develop into far more educated, music ideas is usually revisited. You can find numerous solutions to method learning the violin, which include avenues paved by seasoned violinists who will community within the musician group.

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Source: http://www.freevideosinfos.com/2012/02/how-you-can-learn-how-to-perform-a-violin-that-has-a-disability/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-you-can-learn-how-to-perform-a-violin-that-has-a-disability

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Saturday, February 11, 2012

Consciousness Emerges

Demystifying the Mind
This feature is the second installment in a three-part series on the scientific struggle to explain consciousness. To read the previous installment and see what?s in the next issue, visit sciencenews.org/mind

In one of science?s most iconic moments, Isaac Newton?s eye caught the red glint of an apple as it plunged toward the ground. He heard the leaves rustle in the light breeze and felt the warmth of the tea he was drinking at the time.

These sensory inputs streamed into his brain, where they met his vast stores of knowledge, his internal musings, his peculiar brand of curiosity and perhaps even a fond recollection of escaping the ground?s hold while climbing a tree as a boy. All at once, sights, sounds, emotions and memories converged to form a whole, rich experience in the garden that day.

It was this fortuitous experience ? perfectly ripe for a big idea ? that (legend has it) caused Newton to wonder why the apple fell not sideways or even upward, but straight down. Inspiration struck, ushering in a new understanding of gravity.

Newton gets the glory for figuring out that the same mysterious force pulls planets toward the sun and apples toward Earth, but how he did it hinges on an even deeper mystery: How his brain created a single, seamless experience from a chaotic flux of internal and external messages.

And that mystery isn?t confined to brains like Newton?s. In all conscious people, the brain somehow gives meaning to the external environment, allowing for thought, self-reflection and discovery. ?It?s not that conscious experience is one little interesting phenomenon,? says neuroscientist Ralph Adolphs of Caltech. ?It?s literally the whole world.?

Understanding how a rich inner experience emerges from fragments of data is a gargantuan task, akin to understanding the entire U.S. economy by mapping how all of its money flows. But rather than looking at the whole financial picture, insights can be gained from tracking a single dollar by its serial number as it jumps from wallet to cash register to bank.

Similarly, scientists are attempting to clarify the path that leads to consciousness by following a single, bite-sized piece of information ? the redness of an apple, for instance ? as it moves into a person?s inner mind.

Recent research into the visual system suggests that a sight simply passing through the requisite vision channels in the brain isn?t enough for an experience to form. Studies that delicately divorce awareness from the related, but distinct, process of attention call into question the role of one of the key stops on the vision pipeline in creating conscious experience.

Other experiments that create the sensation of touch or hearing through sight alone hint at the way in which different kinds of inputs come together. So far, scientists haven?t followed enough individual paths to get a full picture. But they are hot on the trail, finding clues to how the brain builds conscious experience.

The mind?s eye

One of the best-understood systems in the brain is the complex network of nerve cells and structures that allow a person to see. Imprints on cells in the eye?s retina get shuttled to the thalamus, to the back of the brain and then up the ranks to increasingly specialized cells where color, motion, location and identity of objects are discerned.

After decades of research, today?s map of the vision system looks like a bowl of spaghetti thrown on the floor, with long, elegant lines connected by knotty tangles. But there?s an underlying method in this ocular madness: Information appears to flow in a prescribed direction.

After planting a vision in a person?s retina, scientists can then watch how one image moves through the brain. By asking viewers when they become aware of the vision, researchers may pinpoint where along the pipeline it pops into consciousness.

One of the most fiercely debated stops for visual information is a small patch of wrinkles at the very back of the brain called the primary visual cortex, or V1. By virtue of its prestigious locale on the cortex ? the sophisticated outer shell of the brain where thoughts are formed ? V1 seems to many like a reasonable place for visual consciousness to arise.

But some researchers argue that V1 is too simple: Instead of the final authority, V1 may be a relay station that conveys the message to higher-ups, more specialized brain regions that have their say in what?s conscious and what?s not. ?V1 is kind of the battlefield,? says Masataka Watanabe of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in T?bingen, Germany.

A key way to study V1 is to make an object visible to the retina while keeping it outside the mind?s awareness. The eyes may see the object just fine, but the brain will completely miss it.

Scientists can do this by showing one picture to one eye and a different picture to the other. Because it?s impossible to integrate the two images into a single vision, people toggle back and forth. Input to each eye?s retina holds steady, while perception ? whether an image pops into awareness ? flips back and forth. Scientists can measure brain activity to track this perceptual switch.

As expected, cells in each retina react to the information the same way, regardless of which image the person perceives. ?This eyeball doesn?t really care if the brain behind it is conscious or not,? says neuroscientist Christof Koch of Caltech and the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle.

After a quick stop-off at the thalamus, the info heads to V1, where the story gets complicated. Functional MRI scans, which measure big changes in blood flow, have found that activity in V1 tracks with toggling perceptions. But other data call V1?s gatekeeper role into question. For instance, a technique that uses electrodes to measure the behavior of nerve cells found that V1 behavior did not change as perception switched.

Such conflicting findings stymied scientists until two new studies carefully separated out the confounding effects of a contaminator: attention. Attention is the focusing of the mind on a particular subject, often described as the mind?s spotlight.

?If you really want to understand consciousness, then you need to separate the effects of attention,? says neuroscientist Naotsugu Tsuchiya of Monash University in Australia.

Separating the two effects wasn?t an issue until recently, because people believed them to be the same thing. After all, the two often go together: Focusing on a tart, crunchy bite of a Granny Smith makes the experience more tangible, enhancing your awareness of it. And when attention is diverted, obvious things escape detection ? a slip called inattentional blindness. The most famous example comes from a study in which observers are asked to count the number of times a basketball is passed between people. Engrossed in the ball-watching, many viewers are oblivious to a man in a gorilla suit who ambles into the middle of the scene, beats his chest and ambles out.

Pay attention

But just because consciousness and attention are often linked doesn?t mean that they are the same thing. A gripping demonstration comes from a recent experiment?s subliminal spiders. Participants who were terrified of spiders watched a screen as pictures of a spider or an outdoor scene flashed for 20 milliseconds ? a split second that many scientists think is too fast to detect. None of the subjects could report what was flashed, indicating that the people who saw the spiders were not conscious of them.

Later, the participants were asked to walk into a room and touch a real tarantula. People who were exposed to the spider pictures got closer to the real spider than those who saw the natural scenes. The subliminal spiders desensitized people and reduced their fear, even though the participants were oblivious, psychologist Joel Weinberger of Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., and colleagues reported last year in Consciousness and Cognition. Though the pictures flashed too quickly to break into consciousness, the mind took note.

Most scientists accept that attention can occur in the absence of awareness. But evidence for the opposite idea, that conscious awareness can exist without attention, has been less clear. Some studies suggest that a person can report the gist of a scene ? describing whether it?s a library or a garden, for example ? even when a huge chunk of attention is siphoned away by a demanding task.

A recent study by neuroscientist Jeroen van Boxtel of UCLA and colleagues set out to cleanly separate consciousness and attention. Van Boxtel and colleagues study afterimages, the phenomenon at work when a person who has stared at a green square for a minute shifts the eyes to a white screen and a ghostly pink square floats where the green square had been. In the study, participants either devoted their full attention to a part of a screen where a half-black, half-white circle would cause an afterimage, or had their attention distracted by a counting job. At the same time, the team manipulated the participants? awareness of the after?image-inducing circle by showing it to only one eye while flashing a checkerboard pattern to the other eye. When the mind toggles to this dazzling pattern, the circle remains outside of consciousness.

In this way, participants could attend to something they didn?t see (attention without consciousness) and see something they didn?t attend to (consciousness without attention).

At the end of the experiment, once all the signals on the screen were turned off, the volunteers indicated how long the aftereffect lasted. Surprisingly, attention and awareness had different effects, the team reported in 2010 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: The more attention a person deployed, the shorter the afterimage lasted. The more conscious a person was of the stimulus, the longer the afterimage lasted.

Though some scientists are still skeptical, these results and others like them appear to separate attention and consciousness, meaning each may have its own role in the brain. ?The attentional spotlight picks out aspects of the environment and highlights them,? says van Boxtel. In contrast, consciousness may be a synthesizer that merges bits of information into a broader picture.

Recent studies designed specifically to clarify V1?s job show that when attention is removed from the equation, V1 behavior is no longer tied to consciousness.
In an fMRI study reported in the Nov. 11 Science, participants were either made aware of a striped pattern on a screen or not. Then, they either focused attention to the pattern or away from it. Like the study on aftereffects, this setup allowed scientists to separate awareness from attention. The fMRI signal in V1 didn?t change as the stripes became visible or invisible if attention held steady. But when attention shifted, so did V1 activity, Watanabe?s team reported.

More evidence comes from a recent monkey study, presented by neuroscientist Alexander Maier of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and colleagues last year at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. In this experiment, electrodes measured V1 nerve cell activity as monkeys either perceived or didn?t perceive an object, while either paying or not paying attention.

With fMRI studies and electrode studies in agreement, the results suggest that visual signals from the outside world don?t break into consciousness as soon as they reach V1. The same may be true for corresponding early cortical stops for auditory, touch and other kinds of sensory input.

?The separation of attention and consciousness is a beautiful example to show that you can make progress on this difficult mind-body problem,? Koch says. What?s more, the split calls for a careful examination of earlier studies to make sure attention wasn?t behind any results that were attributed to consciousness, he and Tsuchiya write in the February Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

Messages from the top

But the new findings don?t mean V1 isn?t important for consciousness. Signals leaving V1 flow on to increasingly complex areas: places in the cortex where memories, skills and thoughts reside. When these signals then travel back to the simpler cortical regions, conscious experience emerges, proposes cognitive neuroscientist Kaspar Meyer of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Perhaps the best evidence for Meyer?s idea comes from his work on how a small bit of information that stimulates one sense can generate a sensation elsewhere. While watching video clips of someone handling a ball of yarn, volunteers? brains filled in a sort of ?mind?s touch,? re-creating the sensation of the soft yarn, Meyer and colleagues reported last year in Cerebral Cortex.

A similar effect showed up for vision and hearing. Watching silent movies that are suggestive of a noise ? a crowing rooster or a finger hitting a piano key ? spurred a person to have the experience of hearing that noise, the team reported in 2010. What?s more, videos of sounds that were more evocative to people (such as a howling dog to dog-lovers) had a stronger effect on the brain.

These findings suggest that the path from the outside world to the brain?s inner experience is not a straight line. Scientists don?t yet know all the stops along that path, or which are most important (although candidates for such stops have been identified, such as a cortical wrinkle called the superior temporal sulcus).

What is now clear is that the brain is not a stimulus-driven robot that directly translates the outer world into a conscious experience. ?What we?re conscious of is what the brain makes us be conscious of,? Meyer says. ?While the images we experience may be influenced to a certain degree by information that?s incoming, we need to get away from the idea that they reflect exactly what?s out there.?

In the absence of incoming signals, bits of memories tucked away can be enough for a brain to get started with. That ability is on display every time someone imagines anything or dreams. A person sitting in a silent dark room can vividly picture mom?s face, even if she is thousands of miles away. And dreams can be incredibly vivid even when they aren?t linked to sensory inputs. ?That tells us that your brain, in the absence of any outside input, can generate this movie that appears totally realistic to you,? Meyer says.

In the Jan. 27 Science, Meyer proposed that, more generally, all conscious experiences could be thought of as what Nobel laureate and neuroscientist Gerald Edelman calls a ?remembered present.? From tiny slivers of sensations, scraps of memories and flashes of emotion, the mind makes something much bigger. In the blink of an eye, the brain creates the entire world.


Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/338294/title/Consciousness_Emerges

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Tips to leap increased ? Article Directory Site

Basketball can be described as extremely fast paced match played by means of a foot court (NBA) along with one basket on reverse sides. The sport starts off in the event the official tosses your ball in between a number of gamers, an individual from each individual workforce, while in the center using the courtroom. This is often often called the suggestion down. The other 8 avid players stand at distinct areas away from the mid-circle. The jumpers attempt to tip your ball to a number of their workforce members to realize the very first possession.

The aim is normally to score alot more factors than their opponents. With the specialised setting, the game is divided right into a couple of halfs or many quarters. Every single quarter will be 12 minutes extended. For the duration of each person, the offensive staff has a time limit in order to shoot the ball inside the basket. It is named the shot timepiece. The NBA principle facilitates 24 seconds for each possession. In higher education basketball, the shot clock is scheduled for 35 seconds. There are actually principally two ways to shoot and rating within a basketball game: capturing when the ball is enjoy and from a totally free toss line.

You will find a few solutions to score during accomplish. You are able to either possess a perimeter shot or perhaps push towards the basket. You can easily position 3 factors if you ever shoot the basketball outside of the arc. You can find furthermore versions for soar photographs this includes inside baseline, the main element, fade away, hook shot, and even more. Variations of shots generated throughout the paint contain dunk, layup, and tip-in. Complimentary throws are attained once the opposing team committs a specialised foul or presumably a particular foul. Two absolutely free place shots are awarded while in the party the opposing group committs any specialised foul or possibly a very own foul within the act of capturing or inside of workforce penalty. 1 free of cost throw shot is directed at the player who built an attempt and receives a foul with the operation.

Each player is allowed to commit 5 own fouls for each and every recreation to proceed playing. The 6th strong will immediately power the ball player to retire for other online game. Each individual participant is automatically away from your online game if he or she receives two technological fouls. The workforce is allowed to commits five fouls for each quarter well before getting into the penalty. Almost every foul designed while in the penalty will put their opposing team to shoot cost-free of charge throws. Inside occasion the situation where the scores are tied by the conclusion belonging to the last quarter (or with the summary from the laws time period), a 5-minute overtime interval is performed. If the score remains to be tied most suitable in the finish within the overtime time period, a 2nd overtime will most likely be performed, and so with right until a team wins a sport.

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Source: http://list-of-directory.com/recreation-sports/tips-to-leap-increased/

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Friday, February 10, 2012

Succeeding With Home Improvement Projects ? What You Need To ...

Repairing your house, or doing a simple remodel, will usually take some type of planning to get the job done properly. Accomplishing this task will require you to know how long it will take, cost, and exactly what you are striving to achieve. If you?re going to be hiring outside help, you should make sure you?re choosing the right person or company. To help you plan your home improvement project, we wrote this article to give you a few pointers and tips before you start. inox ograje

Home renovations are fun, but depending upon the size of the project itself, you may need to hire help along the way. It is always recommended that you look at the background of someone you want to hire before employing them to do the work that you need done. If you need to hire a contractor, make sure you get several estimates from many different sources. Contractors should be able to offer you a price you can afford. Hopefully, the contractor they give you the lowest bid is someone that you will enjoy working with. If you?re planning any major renovations, consider hiring a general contractor who can then be responsible for hiring anyone under him. This is the best way to go about hiring people in that a general contractor can supervise the entire project and get people working so your job is done the right way. vrtne ograje It?s always wise to think about energy efficiency when you plan your home renovations. This is a dual purpose improvement, because it will not only make your environment better, but will add to the value of your home as well. Just two examples of projects might be a newer hot water heater or replacing your older windows with energy efficient ones. You should also ensure that your home is as well insulated as possible. Making your home more green and energy efficient is one of the best investments you can make, and should therefore be one of your first concerns when making improvements. stopni ?ne ograje

Although you may know this, the type of material that is used for your home improvement project can greatly improve or diminish the end result. Many times it is necessary to use the best material to complete the job the right way, but if it is not in the budget, use something average instead. There are places where you can get perfectly good building materials at a fraction of the cost of home improvement stores. In some places, hopefully at a location near you, used material stores are open for business. These stores have virtually everything at a lower price including roofing materials, flooring, and appliances. Some newspapers, and periodicals, will have advertisements in the classified ad section for this low-cost merchandise. You may be fortunate and find that a construction company has excess materials of the kind you?re looking for. Careful planning, in the end, will save you money and time when doing home improvement projects. If you can hire an expert to help you with your home improvement project, you will definitely save money by getting this professional help. Don?t guess! Do only what needs to be done. Completing your home improvement project comes down to doing what needs to be done and planning ahead of time before the renovations begin.

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Source: http://anuzeroemissions.org/succeeding-with-home-improvement-projects-what-you-need-to-know/

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Thursday, February 9, 2012

You Can Buy Me Love, But Please Don?t Buy Me Gadgets

sadgiftValentine's Day is just around the corner, and the majority of us are likely scrambling to find that special gift. (The rest of us, meanwhile, are cursing couples.) A Valentine's Day gift is usually more important than others because it's a one-on-one situation, unlike Christmas or birthdays. Just one gift, to just one person — and it better be good. With that in mind, I'd like to address an article out of AllThingsD this morning that sourced information from PriceGrabber's Valentine's Day Dashboard Report. The report took information from February 4 through February 5, finding that various tablets, TVs and phones are hot items for gift-crazed Valentines. The information itself isn't that intriguing, but it did get me thinking about handing out gadgetry as a gift.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Vsd2mfLuYVs/

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Ohio judge grants new trial in fire that killed 9 (AP)

CLEVELAND ? A mentally disabled former drug dealer convicted in the fire deaths of nine people, including eight children at a birthday sleepover, won a new trial on Wednesday from a judge who said jailhouse snitches and other witnesses were unreliable.

U.S. District Court Judge Solomon Oliver overturned the arson conviction of 28-year-old Antun Lewis and said the bulk of the evidence against him came from "suspect witnesses, career criminals and jailhouse informants."

"In so ruling, it is important to note that the court does not find that Lewis did not commit the arson or that there was no evidence at all which would support a conviction,'" the judge said in a 95-page ruling.

"However, this is also a case that was marked by many unresolved questions. A new trial would provide an incentive for both sides to better develop the facts in this case."

Timothy Ivey, part of Lewis' four-member defense team, said he called Lewis, who's still locked up, to inform him of the ruling.

"His response is one of elation but one of vindication. I mean, he's maintained from the beginning his innocence in this case," Ivey said.

Oliver had postponed Lewis' sentencing pending a decision on his motion for a new trial. The judge earlier had ruled out the death penalty because of Lewis' low IQ.

Lewis had been charged with one federal count of arson because the house was rented with a federal subsidy.

He told The Associated Press in an exchange of letters from prison in 2008 that he knew the victims and would never do anything to harm a child.

The 2005 fire killed 33-year-old Medeia Carter, four of her children and four other youngsters attending a sleepover marking Moses Williams Jr.'s 14th birthday. More than 4,000 people attended their funeral at a convention center.

No motive was specified, but the prosecution suggested that Lewis was upset about a drug debt and wanted to get even. The defense repeatedly highlighted the absence of a motive, but the prosecution said it wasn't required to identify one.

Spokesman Mike Tobin with the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on the new trial ruling.

Defense attorney Angelo Lonardo said that Lewis has always maintained his innocence and that the defense is ready to retry the case. "We're just ecstatic," added Lonardo, who said jailhouse snitches looking for leniency had framed Lewis.

"It's always been our hope that the true people responsible for this will be charged as a result of our efforts. We continue to feel for the victims as we always have," he said.

Lewis had an aggravated arson conviction at the age of 12 and assaults on a school principal and probation officer before he was 15.

As an adult, Lewis has convictions for car theft, disorderly conduct, repeat drug and resisting arrest counts, drunken driving, fleeing and, while locked up, assaults on two fellow inmates.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120208/ap_on_re_us/us_sleepover_fire

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

DocX faces forgery charges over foreclosures

By msnbc.com news services

In one of the first criminal prosecutions in the post-housing bust era, DocX has been indicted on forgery charges by a Missouri grand jury, The New York Times reports.

A grand jury in Boone County, Mo., handed up an indictment Friday accusing DocX, one of the largest companies that provided home foreclosure services to lenders across the nation, of 136 counts of forgery in the preparation of documents used to evict financially strained borrowers from their homes, the Times said.

Lorraine O. Brown, the company?s founder and former president, was indicted on the same charges, according to the report.

DocX is a unit of Lender Processing Services of Jacksonville, Fla. Its employees reportedly executed and notarized millions of mortgage documents for big banks and loan servicers over the years. Lender Processing closed the company in April 2010 after it saw evidence of apparent forgeries in its documents -- a practice now called ?robo-signing.?

Robo-signing is the practice of a bank or lender service employee signing thousands of documents and affidavits without verifying the information contained in them.

?The grand jury indictment alleges that mass-produced fraudulent signatures on notarized real estate documents constitutes forgery,? Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, who is investigating DocX, said in a statement, according to the Times. ?Today?s indictment reflects our firm conviction that when you sign your name to a legal document, it matters.?

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Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/07/10340006-docx-faces-forgery-charges-over-foreclosures

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