Personal Bankruptcy Tips To Help You File Like A Pro | Personal ...

Being in debt can be extremely stressful. In a quick amount of time, you can go from being in a tiny bit of debt to a situation that suddenly spirals out of control. Once that happens, solutions may be difficult to find. The article you are about to read will give you advice on dealing with your debts through bankruptcy.

Just because you have filed for bankruptcy will not necessarily mean you are going to have to give up everything you own. You can keep your personal property. In other words, your clothes, your television, your computer, your furniture, your jewelry and other household items are safe. Depending on where you live and what you?re filing for, you might be able to keep you home and things like you car.

The two main kinds of bankruptcy are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Make sure you understand them so you know what is best for you. All debt will be eliminated with Chapter 7. All of your financial ties to the people you owe money to will disappear. If however you enter Chapter 13, you will go into a five year repayment program prior to your debts dissolving entirely. It?s crucial that you know the differences between all of the various kinds of bankruptcies so that you may choose the best option for your situation.

When consulting with your bankruptcy lawyer, be sure to disclose all of your significant debts. No matter where the source of the debt comes from, you need to include it in your bankruptcy, or else it is still a debt you hold, even if it was a debt to another individual.

If filing bankruptcy is in your future, don?t waste any savings you may have attempting to pay off your debts. Retirement accounts should never be touched if it can be helped. Dipping into savings may need to happen, just don?t totally wipe it out, or you might not have much financial security later.

Make sure to include all of the debts that you want eliminated on your bankruptcy filing papers. If you forget to include any of your debts in the filing, you lose the chance to discharge them. It is up to you to ensure your debts are written down so you don?t need to pay bills that might have been discharged.

Always make your loved ones a priority. Going through a bankruptcy can be an excruciating experience. It takes a long time, it can be stressful, and people feel unworthy, guilty and ashamed. Many people decide to hide away from the world until the process is over. This is not recommended because you will only feel bad and this may cause you to feel depressed. Remember that it is not your families fault for your financial hardships and use this time to pull together and be strong.

Look into filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy. If you have less than a quarter of a million dollars in debt that is unsecured and a regular income, you are eligible to file a Chapter 13. Filing for this type of debt will ensure that you can hold onto your real estate and personal property, and will let you develop a consolidation plan to pay off your debts. Such plans generally take between 3 and 5 years to complete, at which point. a discharge will be granted. However, if you were to miss a payment, the court would dismiss your case right away.

If you are planning to file for bankruptcy, be sure to learn what types of assets you will be able to keep and which can be seized. To find an itemized list detailing assets exempt from bankruptcy, find the Bankruptcy Code. Prior to filing for bankruptcy, it is critical that you go over this list, so that you know if you can expect any of your most valuable possessions to be seized. If you don?t read this list, there is a chance that you might get nasty surprises when they take your things away.

Sometimes, financial crises just take place in your life and you do not have the chance to do much about them. Hopefully, this article?s advice has shown you that there are still plenty of steps you can take to improve your situation even when bankruptcy is in the picture. Use these tips to see positive life changes.

Teaching yourself what you can on the subject of stock analysis report can help you become an expert. Take in this info here to aid you, but continue searching around the web for even more information. By knowing all you can about stock analysis report , you?ll notice your confidence in the subject soar, and you?ll be much more successful.

Source: http://personalbudgetreport.com/2012/12/27/personal-bankruptcy-tips-to-help-you-file-like-a-pro/

limp bizkit stations of the cross nike foamposite galaxy bill maher seabiscuit dingo nba all star weekend

Hire a Home Improvement Contractor for Your Home ... - Audio Video

Whether you are managing the demands of a growing family, or are financially sound enough to invest in a home addition, you need to get in touch with a reputable home improvement contractor in Arlington Heights. That?s the first and most important step in a home renovation project. You might need to speak to a structural engineer also if you are planning on altering your home?s structure as well.?

You should talk to more than a few of them in order to ensure that you get the very best available home improvement contractor. But sometimes that will put you in a catch-22 scenario because you will be tempted to go for the lowest bidder. It?s even better if you can talk to every one of them individually to discover why their prices are the way they are. The lowest bidder will not always provide you with the best service; unless it is a newbie trying to secure an impressive portfolio.?

Stay away from the substandard companies and avoid the ones who show up at your door step promising you wonders. One of the very first things that you ought to check about the home remodeling contractor is his track record; demand references and be aware that they are liable to give you a few.?

Generally a firm hires out their contractors, so it is essential they?re both registered by the correct associations. All states have their own licensing firms that hand out Home Improvement Contractor Licenses. Check in the Licensing and Business Registration Information Section of your state to see if the company is included. Every thing you can do to your house will require a different type of contractor, for example a General Building Contractor. The firm and the contractor should be properly insured so you will be safe in case of property damage, worker?s compensation and personal liability.?

Keep these things in mind while selecting your home improvement contractor:

? ? ?Inquire about his experience

? ? ?Check for references

? ? ?Check if he is licensed and registered

? ? ?See if the firm is registered

? ? ?Make sure he has insurance coverage

?

For more interesting facts and tips about home improvement contractors,?click here.

Source: http://audiovideo.au.pn/2012/12/27/hire-a-home-improvement-contractor-for-your-home-improvement-project/

lamar d antoni fashion star andrew bird lizzie borden lizzie borden iona

Increase The Value Of Your Home By Making Home Improvement ...

TIP! Use wallpaper and varnish to make a backsplash in your kitchen. Select wallpaper that you like.

It is a wonderful undertaking to do home improvement jobs, regardless of your skill or knowledge. Don?t let the shows you see on T.V. regarding home improvement fool you. Home improvement includes more than just huge jobs. Read along with the tips above and apply the choices that seem beneficial to your individual needs.

TIP! You will be able to save a bunch of money if you live in your home while you do any home improvement, so try doing it room by room. This helps to ensure that your home is still livable, until of course the only bathroom needs to get worked on! Think about staying with friends then.

For storing materials, try placing them between floor joists or ceiling rafters. Pieces of molding that are long, and materials that are larger than that can be placed in this area with minimal effort. All you have to do is put some furring strips on floor joists or your rafters.

TIP! Sort your tools by project, in multiple tool boxes. You might have one toolbox for plumbing tools and assorted pipes, fittings, and connections used in plumbing.

Is your home too drafty? Lots of new products exist that utilize air as a means of insulation. That?s right, air! It operates in a manner similar to the principles behind bubble wrap. Air is pre-pumped into the cushions, which are then attached to your home?s walls and ceilings. It is a new and convenient way to insulate your home on a budget.

Are you looking to do some home improvement? Personalize your home without spending money by creatively arranging family photos. Purchase some decorative frames that will match your existing decor.

TIP! For complicated home improvement repairs, it may be wise to hire a professional. Professionals, like architects and contractors, are called professionals for a reason.

Install some motion detectors in the entrance of your house. By turning off the lights when no one is there to use them, these will save you money on your utilities. Motion detectors can detect thieves as their lights turn on due to their presence.

TIP! Home improvement tasks can be ?improved? by the use of the correct tools. Making sure you have the right tool for the job guarantees the work can be done right and as easy as possible.

Never go over your budget! Make sure to establish a budget so your costs don?t end up being absurd. Create a detailed budget and follow it as you work on your project.

TIP! If you want to resell your home, you should focus on the bathroom. Living rooms and bedrooms are quite changeable by the new occupants of the home, but a bathroom is far more costly to update, so it needs to be in good shape from the start.

Home improvement could be very enjoyable for anyone that wants to do it. You need to know a few things but you don?t need to go crazy researching about everything. Just remember this advice so you can being on your home improvement project!

MIC Masonry offers residential and commercial masonry construction and installation solutions. For more than 4 years, we have furnished custom brick masonry solutions for citizens of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania and the surrounding communities in a 40 mile radius. Regardless if you are a contractor, architect or property owner, we are ready and waiting to assist you with your next masonry venture. To guarantee that you are thoroughly pleased with our project, our crew of professionals takes care of one venture a time. We take our time to ensure the project is done correctly the first time. From landscape design organizations and architects to fence business and community developers, we have dealt with numerous organizations and individuals to create custom masonry structures that will last for ages.

SERVICES? OVER 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE

At MIC Masonry, we carry only the highest quality products and offer a extensive assortment of colors, styles, shapes and sizes. Our knowledgeable staff is accessible to support you with all facets of your building project. At MIC Masonry, consumer service is our priority. If you are in demand of any of the following solutions, contact us today!

Our Services Include:

• Brick, Block and Stone Work
• Hardscaping
• Landscaping
• Driveways
• Basements
• Retaining Walls
• Side Walls
• Flat Stone
• Decorative Stamp & Color

At MIC Masonry we can assist you in the choice of masonry materiels that are not only of high quality but also competitively priced. We have installed all of the diverse products that can be used in commercial masonry and domestic brick masonry development and repair.

We pride ourselves on being one of the more diverse masonry contractors. No job is too substantial or small for our services. MIC Masonry is completely licensed, bonded and insured. We stand on top of other masonry contractors in the Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania residential masonry construction business with our communication, quality of work, and fair rates.

Please go to our website at http://constructionandsuch.com/newcastleconcretecompany

Source: http://constructionandsuch.com/newcastleconcretecompany/increase-the-value-of-your-home-by-making-home-improvement/

mario manningham mario manningham williams syndrome hoya casa de mi padre corned beef and cabbage diners drive ins and dives

Monkey Brain Area Keeps Count of Kindnesses

Monkeys can be kind to their neighbors ? and they have a specific brain region which appears to record their good deeds. Image: Flickr/jinterwas

Monkeys might not be known for their generosity, but when they do seem to act selflessly, a specific area in their brains keeps track of these kindnesses.

The discovery of this neuronal tally chart may help scientists to understand the neural mechanisms underlying normal social behavior in primates and humans, and might even provide insight into disorders such as autism, in which social processing is disrupted.

Steve Chang and his colleagues from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, used electrodes to directly record neuronal activity in three areas of the brain prefrontal cortex that are known to be involved in social decision-making, while monkeys performed reward-related tasks.?

When given the option either to drink juice from a tube themselves or to give the juice away to a neighbor, the test monkeys would mostly keep the drink. But when the choice was between giving the juice to the neighbor or neither monkey receiving it, the choosing monkey would frequently opt to give the drink to the other monkey.

The researchers found that in two out of the three brain areas being recorded, neurons fired in the presence or absence of the juice reward only. By contrast, the third area ? known as the anterior cingulate gyrus ? responded only when the monkey allocated the juice to the neighbor and observed it being received. The authors suggest the neurons in the ACG respond to and record the act simultaneously. The study's results are published today in Nature Neuroscience.

?This is the first time that we have had quite such a complete picture of the neuronal activity underlying a key aspect of social cognition. It is definitely a major achievement,? says Matthew Rushworth, a neuroscientist at the University of Oxford, UK.

The anterior cingulate gyrus is known to be a region that is specialized for social decision-making in primates, and it is located in the same area of the brain as that associated with the generation of feelings of empathy in humans.

Being nice
?The great complexity of human social interactions and the huge variation in what we find rewarding compared with other primates prompts questions about whether the anterior cingulate gyrus operates similarly in the human brain,? Matthew Apps and Narender Ramnani, who work on neuroimaging and human cognition at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK, told Nature in an email.

Through the development of a specific part of the brain that experiences the reward of others, social decisions and empathy-like processes may have been favored during evolution in primates to allow altruistic behavior. ?This may have evolved originally to promote being nice to family, since they share genes, and later friends, for reciprocal benefits,? says Michael Platt, a neuroscientist from Duke University who is a co-author of the paper.

The authors suggest that the intricate balance between the signaling of neurons in these three brain regions may be crucial for normal social behavior in humans, and that disruption may contribute to various psychiatric conditions, including autistic spectrum disorders.

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on December 23, 2012.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=3c88476f2f7848b1ae02a7d7c60a7623

national signing day 2012 landon collins dorial green beckham mike kelly kristen bell colbert super pac colbert super pac

Health Front (Quality of Life Better After Quit Smoking) - Two Rivers ...

By Dr. Jerry DeCapua, Two Rivers Tribune Contributing Writer,

Life after cigarettes is happier. Quitting is hard, but for those who actually do it report less stress in their lives three years later. People who have quit smoking report that they?re moods are much better in the long run. The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and its Center for Tobacco Research made an assessment of the ?quality of life? indicators for people before and after they have quit smoking. The researchers concluded that life satisfaction could be another motivating tool for people who are reluctant to quit smoking. Smokers die 13 to 14 years earlier than nonsmokers on average. Once getting through the quitting part, the quality of life appears brighter.

A new analysis on the effects of vitamin D on bone health shows that it cuts fracture risk in older adults, but only when taken with calcium supplements. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force is recommending daily vitamin D doses of 1000 international units, combined with 1,200 milligrams of calcium to reduce fracture risk in those people over 65. Vitamin D needs may vary as to how much direct sunlight you receive and how much vitamin D is in your diet. Scientists note that acceptable levels are always a moving target, as well as somewhat controversial. Calcium should only be taken in powder or liquid form and along with magnesium for full absorption into your blood stream.

The Los Angeles Times reports, ?For many students, L.A. Unified?s trailblazing introduction of healthful school lunches has been a flop?Many of the meals are being rejected en masse. Participation in the school lunch program has dropped by thousands. Principals report massive waste?Acknowledging the complaints, L.A. Unified?s food services director Dennis Barrett, announced this month that the menu would be revised?The new menu, introduced this fall, was hailed as a revolutionary step by the nation?s second-largest school district to combat the growing epidemic of youth obesity, diabetes and other health problems. It was the latest healthful food initiative by the district, which banned sodas on campus in 2004. The food service program introduced produce while nixing junk food, salt, and fats. This year, L.A. Unified, which serves 650,000 meals daily, has received awards for improving its school lunches. However, the students, brought up on salty processed foods and sugary junk, panned the healthy program.

The L.A. school system will begin to reintroduce pizza, but with a whole wheat dough. Black eyed peas, Asian food, and other exotic entrees are out, while hamburgers are being brought back. The school system will try to stay within the federal government?s updated dietary guidelines.

Britain has a drinking problem. New research from the Department of Health underlines how excess alcohol affects almost every aspect of British life. More than 2.6 million children in the U.K. now live with a parent who drinks at hazardous levels. Mortality rates from liver disease among under-75s rose 16 percent between 2001 and 2009. Lost production because of hung over staff cost businesses 1.7 billion pounds a year. Britain is the staggering drunk of Europe. Alcohol consumption in France, Germany and Italy is down by between 37 and 52 percent since 1980. But the U.K. booze consumption is up at about 10 percent.

The Washington Post and Harvard World health News report that ?Scientist seeking to fight future pandemics have created a variety of Bird flu potentially so dangerous that a federal advisory panel has for the first time asked two scientific journals to hold back on publishing detail of the research. In the experiments, university-based scientists in the Netherlands and Wisconsin created a version of the so-called H5N1 influenza virus that is highly lethal and easily transmissible between ferrets, the lab animals that most closely mirror human beings in flu research.?

The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, created after the 2001 anthrax bioterrorism, has informed the scientific journals to censor the details of its findings.

###

Source: http://www.tworiverstribune.com/2012/12/health-front-quality-of-life-better-after-quit-smoking/

black friday deals Sephora Cyber Monday 2012 Walmart.com detroit lions NFL.com Thanksgiving Day

'Les Miserables': The Reviews Are In!

Most expect recognition for 'Les Mis' come Oscar time, like it or not.
By Ryan J. Downey

Anne Hathaway in "Les Miserables"
Photo: Universal

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1699373/les-miserables-the-reviews-are-in.jhtml

the curious case of benjamin button secret service prostitute rich ross april 20 jennifer love hewitt secret service prostitution 4 20

Jack Klugman: 1922-2012

Jack Klugman, who died Monday at the age of 90, was already 48 years old when he became a TV star, playing slovenly sportswriter Oscar Madison on ABC's adaptation of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple."

He was not unknown, being by that time the possessor of an Emmy, for his work on episode of "The Defenders" ("The Odd Couple" would earn him two more) and a Tony nomination for the original Broadway production of "Gypsy." But henceforth, and through seven seasons of NBC's "Quincy, M.E.," he would be better known, and beloved.

He had played Jack Lemmon's AA sponsor in "Days of Wine and Roses" and Juror No. 5 in the film "12 Angry Men." On "The Twilight Zone" he had appeared variously as a bookie, an alcoholic trumpeter, a pool player and a spaceship captain. He tended to play good guys, though sometimes good guys down on their luck, or driven to extremes, and when he played bad guys, they were of the sympathetic rather than socio- or psychopathic sort.

PHOTOS: Jack Klugman -- 1922 - 2012

Born in Philadelphia of Russian Jewish parents (a hat maker and a house painter), he was urban and Eastern and anything but posh and he never tried to disguise it, pronouncing "liver" as "livah" and "beer" as "beyah," and exclaiming "Whatevah? Whaddya mean whatevah?" as would any East Side Kid.

He had the slightly mournful face of a hound, when he wasn't animating its deepening folds with a smile. His voice, before he lost a vocal cord to cancer in 1989, was a trombone he could take from pianissimo to fortissimo in the space of a sentence.

Carefree and careless where Tony Randall's Felix is anxious and obsessive, Oscar is the well-adjusted member of "The Odd Couple," happy with himself if not always his situation. (He's the one you identify with, or heaven help you.)

To balance Felix's neurotic grandiloquence, Klugman stayed down to earth. He was a dramatic actor primarily, and he played Oscar straight: His reactions are always authentic, his exasperation colored with tenderness. This was a love story, after all.

In 1976, one year after the fifth and final season of ?Odd Couple,? Klugman went into the forensic pathology procedural ?Quincy, M.E.,? one of the first of a now-familiar breed.

As Quincy, Klugman was called gruff, because that is what we call older people -- he was 54 when the series began -- who raise their voices to express a strong opinion. He could certainly get loud -- loudness was a hallmark of his style -- but he never sounded strident.

"Quincy" is, at bottom, about passion, about a man who cares too much to settle for quick or easy answers -- Klugman pressed the producers to make it an issue-oriented show -- and while watching the star solve murders the police had somehow missed, we also learn about child abuse, anorexia, punk rock, and the dumping of hazardous waste.

Quincy had his lighter side: He lived on a sailboat, and, like Oscar Madison, he was something of a ladies' man. But we remember most the knit brow, the concerned look, the quick acceleration into a fifth-gear state of outrage.

The writing gets in the actor's way at times and the production can seem dated and laughable. But Klugman never does. He is right in the moment, then, now and forever.

robert.lloyd@latimes.com

?

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926554/news/1926554/

nerlens noel don t trust the b in apartment 23 world financial center shabazz muhammad angela corey zimmerman charged bonobos

Accenture's Outsourcing Business Drives Revenues As New ... - Trefis

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) reported its Q1 FY 2013 results on Dec 19 and the company reported revenues in line with the guidance provided. Revenue rose 5% y-o-y to $7.2 billion, driven by double digit growth in the outsourcing business. The consulting business showed a slight decline and this led to an earnings per share of $1.06, which is a 10% increase on an annual basis.?The consulting business had Q1 2013 revenues of $3.96 billion, implying a 3% decline annually while the outsourcing business revenues grew 9% to $3.26 billion.?Accenture?s operating margin grew slightly to 14.5% compared to 13.9% at the same time last year, leading to an operating income of $1.05 billion and net income increased by 8% to $766 million.

See our full analysis on Accenture

Outsourcing A Key Driver In Weak Macroeconomic Conditions

The outsourcing business has helped the company sustain the downturn in Europe and while the consulting business has shown a slight decline in the past year, the outsourcing business has shown consistent, double digit growth in the past year. The company expects this to be a primary driver for Q2. It also expects new business ventures in analytics, digital marketing and mobility to help grow the company in 2013.

The company guided that it expects?revenues to range from $6.9 ? $7.15 billion in Q2, 2013 and even raised the full year EPS on the bet that its new initiatives and outsourcing business will be successful. The company expects bookings for 2013 to be in the range of $31-$34 billion and EPS to fall between $4.24 ? $4.32.

Margins Will Increase For 2013

We currently estimate that the EBITDA margins for the company lies between 16% to 18% depending on its divisions and this is likely to increase as the company diversifies into high margin businesses such as digital market, analytics and mobility services. This is evidenced by the fact that the company expects operating margins to fall in the 14.1%-14.2% range, a 20-30 basis point increase annually. The company plans to make strategic investments in digital marketing to improve the Accenture Interactive line of digital marketing services. We expect new initiatives to be a key margin driver for 2013 and beyond.

We currently have a $70 Trefis Price Estimate for Accenture which is in-line with its current market price.

Understand How a Company?s Products Impact its Stock Price at Trefis

Source: http://www.trefis.com/stock/acn/articles/159991/accentures-outsourcing-business-drives-revenues-as-new-initiatives-help-margins/2012-12-24

faith hill metro north taco bell taco bell Breezy Point Seaside Heights nj transit

Health care tax hikes for 2013 may be just a start

FILE - In this Thursday, June 28, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington after the Supreme Court ruled on his health care legislation. New taxes are coming Jan. 1, 2013 to help finance Obama's health care overhaul. Most people may not notice. But they will pay attention if Congress decides to start taxing employer-sponsored health insurance, one of the options in play if lawmakers can ever agree on a budget deal to reduce federal deficits. (AP Photo/Luke Sharrett, Pool)

FILE - In this Thursday, June 28, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington after the Supreme Court ruled on his health care legislation. New taxes are coming Jan. 1, 2013 to help finance Obama's health care overhaul. Most people may not notice. But they will pay attention if Congress decides to start taxing employer-sponsored health insurance, one of the options in play if lawmakers can ever agree on a budget deal to reduce federal deficits. (AP Photo/Luke Sharrett, Pool)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? New taxes are coming Jan. 1 to help finance President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Most people may not notice. But they will pay attention if Congress decides to start taxing employer-sponsored health insurance, one of the options in play if lawmakers can ever agree on a budget deal to reduce federal deficits.

The tax hikes already on the books, taking effect in 2013, fall mainly on people who make lots of money and on the health care industry. But about half of Americans benefit from the tax-free status of employer health insurance. Workers pay no income or payroll taxes on what their employer contributes for health insurance, and in most cases on their own share of premiums as well.

It's the single biggest tax break allowed by the government, outstripping the mortgage interest deduction, the deduction for charitable giving and other better-known benefits. If the value of job-based health insurance were taxed like regular income, it would raise nearly $150 billion in revenue in 2013, according to congressional estimates. By comparison, wiping away the mortgage interest deduction would bring in only about $90 billion.

"If you are looking to raise revenue to pay for tax reform, that is the biggest pot of money of all," said Martin Sullivan, chief economist with Tax Analysts, a nonpartisan publisher of tax information.

It's hard to see how lawmakers can avoid touching health insurance if they want to eliminate loopholes and curtail deductions so as to raise revenue and lower tax rates. Congress probably wouldn't do away with the health care tax break, but limit it in some form. Such limits could be keyed to the cost of a particular health insurance plan, the income level of taxpayers, or a combination.

Many economists think some kind of limit would be a good thing, because it would force consumers to watch costs, and that could help keep health care spending in check. Obama's health law took a tentative step toward limits by imposing a tax on high-value health insurance plans. But that doesn't start until 2018.

Next spring will be three years since Congress passed the health care overhaul, but because of a long phase-in, many of the taxes to finance the plan are only now coming into effect. Medicare spending cuts that help pay for covering the uninsured have started to take effect, but they also are staggered. The law's main benefit, coverage for 30 million uninsured people, will take a little longer. It doesn't start until Jan. 1, 2014.

The biggest tax hike from the health care law has a bit of mystery to it. The legislation calls it a "Medicare contribution," but none of the revenue will go to the Medicare trust fund. Instead, it's funneled into the government's general fund, which does pay the lion's share of Medicare outpatient and prescription costs, but also covers most other things the government does.

The new tax is a 3.8 percent levy on investment income that applies to individuals making more than $200,000 or married couples above $250,000. Projected to raise $123 billion from 2013-2019, it comes on top of other taxes on investment income. And while it does apply to profits from home sales, the vast majority of sellers will not have to worry since another law allows individuals to shield up to $250,000 in gains on their home from taxation. (Married couples can exclude up to $500,000 in home sale gains.)

Investors have already been taking steps to avoid the tax, selling assets this year before it takes effect. The impact of the investment tax will be compounded if Obama and Republicans can't stave off the automatic tax increases scheduled at the end of the year if there's no budget agreement.

High earners will face another new tax under the health care law Jan. 1. It's an additional Medicare payroll tax of 0.9 percent on wage income above $200,000 for an individual or $250,000 for couples. This one does go to the Medicare trust fund.

Donald Marron, director of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, calls the health care law tax increases medium-sized by historical standards. The center, a joint project of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, provides in-depth analysis on tax issues.

They also foreshadow the current debate about raising taxes on people with high incomes. "These were an example of the president winning, and raising taxes on upper-income people," said Marron. "They are going to happen."

Other health care law tax increases taking effect Jan. 1:

? A 2.3 percent sales tax on medical devices used by hospitals and doctors. Industry is trying to delay or repeal the tax, saying it will lead to a loss of jobs. Several economists say manufacturers should be able to pass on most of the cost.

? A limit on the amount employees can contribute to tax-free flexible spending accounts for medical expenses. It's set at $2,500 for 2013, and indexed thereafter for inflation.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-25-Health%20Care%20Taxes/id-c670c0dfa8834affbe2bd32e772e2cfb

branson mo monkees songs rail gun harrisburg top chef texas great pacific garbage patch ben affleck and jennifer garner

Partial list of taxes and fees in health overhaul

Starting in 2014, President Barack Obama's health care law will expand coverage to some 30 million uninsured people. At the same time, insurers no longer will be allowed to turn away those in poor health, and virtually every American will be required to have health insurance ? through an employer or a government program or by buying it on their own.

For the vast majority of people, the health care law won't mean sending more money to the Internal Revenue Service. But the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans will take the biggest hit, starting next year.

And roughly 20 million people eventually will benefit from tax credits that start in 2014 to help them pay insurance premiums.

A look at some of the major taxes and fees, estimated to total nearly $700 billion over 10 years.

? Upper-income households. Starting Jan. 1, individuals making more than $200,000 per year, and couples making more than $250,000 will face a 0.9 percent Medicare tax increase on wages above those threshold amounts. They'll also face an additional 3.8 percent tax on investment income. Together these are the biggest tax increase in the health care law.

? Employer penalties. Starting in 2014, companies with 50 or more employees that do not offer coverage will face penalties if at least one of their employees receives government-subsidized coverage. The penalty is $2,000 per employee, but a company's first 30 workers don't count toward the total.

? Health care industries. Insurers, drug companies and medical device manufacturers face new fees and taxes. Companies that make medical equipment sold chiefly through doctors and hospitals, such as pacemakers, artificial hips and coronary stents, will pay a 2.3 percent excise tax on their sales, expected to total $1.7 billion in its first year, 2013. They're trying to get it repealed.

The insurance industry faces an annual fee that starts at $8 billion in its first year, 2014.

Pharmaceutical companies that make or import brand-name drugs are already paying fees; they totaled $2.5 billion in 2011, their first year.

? People who don't get health insurance. Nearly 6 million people who don't get health insurance will face tax penalties starting in 2014. The fines are estimated to raise $6.9 billion in 2016. Average penalty in that year: about $1,200.

? Indoor tanning devotees. The 10 percent sales tax on indoor tanning sessions took effect in 2010. It's expected to raise $1.5 billion over 10 years.

The 28 million people who visit tanning booths and beds each year ? most of them are women under 30, according to the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology ? are already paying.

Tanning salons were singled out because of strong medical evidence that exposure to ultraviolet lights increases the risk of skin cancer.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/partial-list-taxes-fees-health-overhaul-230948824.html

the lucky one pittsburgh pirates mariners mets shades of grey pittsburgh penguins record store day

Mom, aunt charged over home-alone fire deaths

By Alexandra Clark, NBCChicago.com

Police have charged the mother and aunt of two toddlers who were killed in an apartment fire in a Chicago suburb.

Early Saturday morning, 2-year-old Jaryiah and 3-year-old Jarvis Meakens were left alone with two other children when a fire broke out. The two toddlers died in the blaze.

Their mother Tatiana Meakens, 23, and aunt Britany Meakens, 22, of Englewood,?were each charged with two counts of felony for endangering a child causing death and two counts of misdemeanor for endangering the life and health of a child, according to a police press release.

Both were called in for questioning after police discovered the two had left four children alone to attend a party, police said.

Read more stories from NBCChicago.com

The two children who survived - a 7-year-old boy and a 4-year-old boy - were taken into the custody of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, while authorities conducted their investigation.

Saturday night, friends, neighbors, and members of the community mourned the loss of the two toddlers with a vigil and balloon release.

Tatiana and Britany are scheduled to appear in bond court on Monday.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/24/16122849-mother-aunt-charged-over-fire-deaths-of-two-home-alone-toddlers?lite

erin andrews erin andrews Pepco tour de france Magic Mike Anderson Cooper Gay adele

Web Hosting Choices For E Commerce Businesses | MustReads.Info

Data On Affordable Webhosting

Some suppliers just want your cash, while other much better internet hosting companies essentially want you to triumph. Which 1 you decide on to assist you will get your web site recommendations on the web is paramount to how instantly you style prosperity. Within the earth of web hosting, you may often learn oneself sharing a server with from one to one thousand or more other web pages, which makes it possible for webhosting corporations the power to keep tools and employees expenses in a bring down fee. It relies upon relating to the blog proprietor which kind of support he wishes to decide so he can kick off his homepage in the spending budget that he has laid apart for paying on his website. Some merchants source absolutely nothing but a tiny volume of disc space and minimum community bandwidth. Economically it is just a tremendously strong thought to host an internet site on an allotted spending plan meaning you ought to seek for a low-cost web hosting agency or a reasonably priced internet hosting business. With the persevering with prevalence of machine viruses as well as dreaded Spam troubles, you?ll need to guarantee the web site hosting enterprise you choose has an array of approaches for addressing them. This quite simply means that the hosting provider has tremendous technical programs in position and expert staff members obtainable 24 hours a day who are well-educated in addressing with these conditions. The online web hosting vendors have schemes like affordable internet hosting and inexpensive web hosting for availing their solutions. A person with confined The web know-how tends to be drawn by larger and more famous ISPs. The other crucial things that needs to be held in mind even when looking for an inexpensive hosting agency who is giving the facility of finances webhosting should be to examine concerning the web hosting firm?s credentials. You may get all of the important information using the web regarding the internet hosting companies that provide their companies at minimal or competitively priced costs or even freed from price tag.

For internet sites that desire a huge amount of protection (specially ecommerce web sites), dedicated server hosting can normally provide a higher degree of protection than shared hosting. The main drawback of upgrading to virtual devoted hosting is usually that you will need to be a good deal more technically proficient so as to administer the server. Though dedicated internet hosting is often a more expensive selection than shared internet hosting, one can find a large number of advantages to the utilization of a committed server. A web hosting bundle will can include sure purposes and attributes that happen to be standard to nearly all of the other internet hosting deals. With focused internet hosting although, you?re going to give you the option to implement virtually any software you should have for your personal internet site. This may be especially important and vital for amazingly specialised ecommerce capabilities. Dedicated hosting allows a buyer to customise their internet hosting working experience, which happens to be not in most cases the case with shared hosting expertise. If you ever or your company won?t possess your very own servers than you?ll have to hire both server space (shared web hosting) or a complete server (devoted web hosting) for you to host your site. You can must have committed internet hosting should your web site uses customized or especially unique computer software and programs.

Shared Internet Hosting Simplified can give you greatest facts for Internet Hosting Some Essential Options Of Cpanel.Be sure to check-out the published article for more details!

Author: mccrimonvenson834

Top Reads:

Filed: Internet
tags: best cpanel with free domain 2013, best domain registration service with free hosting 2013, best online website hosting services 2013, best web hosting firm for 2013, best web hosting for cpanel host 2013, web hosting facts for newbies 2013, web hosting for mid size websites 2013

Source: http://www.mustreads.info/web-hosting-choices-for-e-commerce-businesses/

michele bachmann donald trump Election 2012 map Election Results Map Early voting results BBC Dick Morris

How does a traffic cop ticket a driverless car?

Rapid progress means self-driving cars are in the fast lane to consumer reality. Is the law up to speed too, asks legal expert Bryant Walker Smith

EVER since the 1930s, self-driving cars have been just 20 years away. Many of those earlier visions, however, depended on changes to physical infrastructure that never came about - like special roads embedded with magnets.

Fast forward to today, and many of the modern concepts for such vehicles are intended to work with existing technologies. These supercomputers-on-wheels use a variety of onboard sensors - and, in some cases, stored maps or communications from other vehicles - to assist or even replace human drivers under specific conditions. And they have the potential to adapt to changes in existing infrastructure rather than requiring it to alter for them.

Infrastructure, however, is more than just roads, pavements, signs and signals. In a broad sense, it also includes the laws that govern motor vehicles: driver licensing requirements, rules of the road and principles of product liability, to name but a few. One major question remains though. Will tomorrow's cars and trucks have to adapt to today's legal infrastructure, or will that infrastructure adapt to them?

Consider the most basic question: are self-driving vehicles legal today? For the US, the short answer is that they probably can be (the long answer runs to nearly 100 pages). Granted, such vehicles must have drivers, and drivers must be able to control their vehicles - these are international requirements that date back to 1926, when horses and cattle were far more likely to be "driverless" than cars. Regardless, these rules, and many others that assume a human presence, do not necessarily prohibit vehicles from steering, braking and accelerating by themselves. Indeed, three US states - Nevada, Florida and most recently California - have passed laws to make that conclusion explicit, at least to a point.

Still unclear, even with these early adopters, is the precise responsibility of the human user, assuming one exists. Must the "driver" remain vigilant, their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road? If not, what are they allowed to do inside, or outside, the vehicle? Under Nevada law, the person who tells a self-driving vehicle to drive becomes its driver. Unlike the driver of an ordinary vehicle, that person may send text messages. However, they may not "drive" drunk - even if sitting in a bar while the car is self-parking. Broadening the practical and economic appeal of self-driving vehicles may require releasing their human users from many of the current legal duties of driving.

For now, however, the appropriate role of a self-driving vehicle's human operator is not merely a legal question; it is also a technical one. At least at normal speeds, early generations of such vehicles are likely to be joint human-computer systems; the computer may be able to direct the vehicle on certain kinds of roads in certain kinds of traffic and weather, but its human partner may need to be ready to take over in some situations, such as unexpected road works.

A great deal of research will be done on how these transitions should be managed. Consider, for example, how much time you would need to stop reading this article, look up at the road, figure out where you are and resume steering and braking. And consider how far your car would travel in that time. (Note: do not attempt this while driving your own car.)

Technical questions like this mean it will be a while before your children are delivered to school by taxis automatically dispatched and driven by computers, or your latest online purchases arrive in a driver-less delivery truck. That also means we have time to figure out some of the truly futuristic legal questions: How do you ticket a robot? Who should pay? And can it play (or drive) by different rules of the road?

Data protection is a more pressing issue. Many cars and trucks available today already collect driving data through onboard sensors, computers and cellular devices. But imagine taking a dozen smartphones, turning on all of their sensors and cameras, linking them to your social media accounts, and affixing them to the inside and outside of your vehicle. That is an understatement of a self-driving vehicle's potential data collection. Because consumer versions of such vehicles do not yet exist, we don't know what data will actually be collected or how it will be transmitted and used. However, legal issues related to disclosure, consent and ownership will mix with important policy questions about the costs and benefits of data sharing. Indeed, some research vehicles in Germany already have privacy notices printed on their sides to warn other road users.

Finally, what happens when things go wrong - or at least not as right as they might? Given that the vast majority of crashes are caused at least in part by human error, self-driving vehicles have huge potential to save lives. But they will not be perfect; after all, humans will remain in the design loop even after they are out of the driving loop. To what standard, then, should these vehicles be held? Must they perform as well as a perfect human driver for any conceivable manoeuvre? Or must they perform merely as well as an average human in a statistical sense? In any case, how should that performance be measured?

These questions will be considered explicitly or implicitly by the regulators who create new standards, the judges and juries that decide who should pay for injuries, and how much, and the consumers who decide what kind of car to buy. The uncertainty that surrounds the answers will affect the speed and price at which these new technologies are introduced.

Why do these questions matter so much? Because ultimately their most meaningful answers will, one hopes, be expressed in terms of lives saved.

Bryant Walker Smith is a fellow at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School and the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford University, California. His analysis of the legality of self-driving vehicles in the US came out in November (bit.ly/SVCe32)

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

Have your say

Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.

Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article

Subscribe now to comment.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/26e51f44/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cmg216289660B40A0A0Ehow0Edoes0Ea0Etraffic0Ecop0Eticket0Ea0Edriverless0Ecar0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

jet crash in virginia beach john tortorella nicki minaj beez in the trap video food network good friday f/a 18 f 18 crash virginia

The Telestration Tech Used by Sports Analysts is Now Available ...

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

Source: http://design.findfollowtweet.com/the-telestration-tech-used-by-sports-analysts-is-now-available-free-on/

Tate Stevens Miss Universe 2012 x factor x factor john kerry eastbay Samantha Steele

Building a team that leads to success in small business | SMALL ...

Romeo?s Tribe

Romeo Klyne doesn?t advertise. Not for customers. Not for staff. Not for decades.

Romeo is the owner of Romeo?s Trucking. He is a second-generation trucker who loves his industry and what it stands for as an ideal. Shining old-school long-nose flat-grill Peterbilts that at Romeo?s not only stand for the traditions of his industry, but they also create the image of a promise to customers: in a world where fuel prices, competition and price-obsessed customers drive most competitors to a myopic focus on decimal-point margins, Romeo leads his tribe on a different path. The old school trucks deliver old school values like respect, service, responsibility, and commitment.

Customers, drivers, mechanics, and office professionals respond in droves. They want to be part of that story. They want to be part of Romeo?s tribe. ?They find him, and they ask where they can sign up.

What You Need

The two things needed to move any small business from one level of performance to the next are a vision and resources.

Of the resources available to leverage growth: time, people, and money; people are the closest thing we have to a secret ingredient. That is why focusing on building the best possible team you can is important. There is nothing as effective or necessary for growing a successful business as a high performance team.

This is the first of a six-part series on the elements required to build that power team.

Design Your Tribe

Success is about fit. This extends to both customers and employees.

The best word to describe that fit is ?tribe?. Not community, not market, not segment or resource, but that very raw image of the tribe. Read?Seth Godin?s description here.

The tribe is about deeply shared elements: identity, values, tastes, desires, world views. But the tribe is also about people who don?t fit. A tribe has clear boundaries. Not everyone likes punk rock or rap or Harley Davidson bikes or lululemon clothing. In fact there are people in the world who hate those things. That?s OK. The tribe is defined as much by negative space as positive. You can?t have a tribe of everyone.

That?s how you know you are looking at a tribe. Tribes have fan(atic)s and enemies. If you don?t have fans?and?enemies, you don?t have a tribe.

The trade-off for a business is between degree of loyalty and size of audience. In marketing statistics language, there is a negative correlation between target market and expected loyalty. As with all of these equations, there are trade-off?s and sweet spots.

From a team-building perspective, if you are going tribal, you need to be OK with the fact not every person will want to work for you. You need to be clear you are stronger with one fiercely loyal employee, than with 2 or 3 who may be cheaper, but who will dial it in. There will be a cost to consider. Loyalty doesn?t come cheap, but that is a future article.

To begin your journey towards a power team built on tribal loyalty, you require two things: clear leadership, and a shared language.

Leadership

Leadership in this story has nothing to do with being a CEO. This leadership is based on an idea, a vision, or a value. Leadership in this process is anything that leads, and it is leadership because it compels some to follow. This seems like a circular argument, but the key word is ?compelling?. Whatever ?it? is, it is leadership if someone feels compelled to follow.

Power teams require power leadership.

As an employee, if you want me to join your tribe I must know that my life will be better as a consequence. I must believe I will be cooler, or feel more valuable, or feel a clearer purpose by joining your journey.

Language

Tribes are delineated by an insider language.

Check out Starbucks. Is it about the coffee? Not on your life, it?s not even good coffee. It is about the tribe. It is about the whole experience, not the least of which is the ability to order your coffee using a secret language no one who is not ?on the inside? could ever understand.

Sometimes when I stand in line and listen to customers place their orders it feels more like a rite than anything in the modern western world. A call and response.

Call ?What can I get started for you??

Response ?A venti half-sweet light ice heavy?lemonade?passion tea?lemonade.?

See? I told you. It?s not even about the coffee.

After the ritual exchange, you go to the bar and accept your drink, which by now feels almost?superfluous?? except you get to walk around outside with your clearly branded cup in hand identifying yourself as the member of a tribe.

The cup is part of the language too. And that is part of the secret of great brand and organizational tribes: the language of the tribe is?ubiquitous. It is not just words. It is a language of images, actions, attitudes, the music in the staff room, the trucks we choose to drive.

It is also exclusive. Literally. It is?language?that excludes.

Many repeat the phrase ?not everyone is a xyz company employee? without thinking about it too much. Because if they thought about it, most would stop using it. It is exclusive language, and in the world of political correctness and shallow uniformity, you aren?t supposed to exclude anyone. But if you want a tribe, you have to be able to stare the idea of ?not every person?? squarely in the face. If you decide to proceed, you have to accept you must draw a line in the sand.

The Rolling Stones did that when they decided they weren?t the Beatles. Steve Jobs decided that when he opted for control and design over price and ?open?. Romeo stands on that ground every time he buys another long-nose piece of iron instead of an ?aerodynamic? piece of?plastic for a truck. These are all symbols, all language that separates.

To have a tribe creates the possibility of great?loyalty, but to have a tribe you also have to know who and what doesn?t fit. There is no such thing as a power team with room for everyone, or that uses language everyone understands. That is an idea that makes people uncomfortable today, but it is the place you have to be prepared to go if that is the kind of loyalty and engagement you are really looking for.

The tribe is a pre-condition of true power teams. High performance teams require the bonds and the motivation to stick it out and take risks that only the sense of belonging to a tribe can evoke.

If you want me to give everything as an employee, I require that you make me feel a part of something special; a part of something so special I will make sacrifices to be a part of it; a part of something special that has a mission, and even has enemies. The world of the tribe is always a little crazy, a little unbalanced, a little too much. It is by definition not for everyone. But without it, a truly great team is not possible.

Disclosure: Romeo Klyne is a cherished client.

I work with business to redesign their futures. I help them become what their owners first?dreamed them to be? Want more out of?your?business??Contact me.?From my home base on Vancouver Island, I provide planning and coaching support to businesses across Canada. Or ??read my book!

Too shy to leave a comment? ?A?Google ?+1??or?Facebook ?Like??is sweet too.

Related posts:

Source: http://www.smbfundamentals.com/management/team-building/designing-power-teams-part-i

spanx aurora borealis gcb mary j blige dionne warwick patricia heaton arsenic and old lace

Egyptians vote on disputed constitution

CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptians began voting on Saturday in the second and final phase of a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution, but there was little indication that the result of the vote will end the political crisis in which the country is mired.

The vote comes a day after clashes between supporters and opponents of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. It was the latest outbreak of street violence in more than four weeks of turmoil, with the country divided first over the president's powers then over the draft constitution.

The clashes ? in which opponents of Islamists set fire to cars and dozens of people were hurt ? illustrated how the new constitution, regardless of whether it is adopted or not, is unlikely to ease the conflict over the country's future.

Saturday's vote is taking place in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces with about 25 million eligible voters. The first phase on Dec. 15 produced a "yes" majority of about 56 percent with a turnout of some 32 percent, according to unofficial results.

"I came early to make sure my 'no' is among the first of millions today," oil company manager Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz said as he waited in line outside a polling station in the Dokki district of Giza, Cairo's twin city on the west bank of the Nile. "I am here to say 'no' to Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood," he said.

Another Giza voter, accountant and mother of three Sahar Mohamed Zakaria, had a different take on Saturday's vote.

"I'm voting 'yes' for stability," she announced.

Zakaria has an unlikely ally in Fayoum, an oasis province 60 miles (100 kilometers) southwest of Cairo where Islamist groups have traditionally had strong support.

Hanaa Zakim, one of the province's Christians, said she was also voting "yes" for stability and an end to the country's deepening economic problems. Most Christians are seen to oppose the draft.

Speaking as she waited in line along with bearded Muslim men and Muslim women wearing headscarves, Zaki said: "I have a son who didn't get paid for the past six months. We have been in this crisis for so long and we are fed up."

In part, Egypt's split has been over who will shape the country's path nearly two years after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago.

An opposition made up of liberals, leftists, secular Egyptians and a swath of the public angered over Morsi's 5-month-old rule fear that Islamists are creating a new Mubarak-style autocracy. They accuse the Brotherhood of monopolizing the levers of power and point to the draft charter, which Islamists on the Constituent Assembly rammed through despite a boycott by liberal and secular members. They are calling on supporters to vote "no."

Morsi's allies say the opposition is trying to use the streets to overturn their victories at the ballot box over the past two years. They also accuse the opposition of carrying out a conspiracy by former members of Mubarak's regime to regain power.

If the constitution is adopted, Morsi will call for the election of parliament's law-making lower chamber to be held within two months while giving the mostly toothless upper chamber legislative powers until the lower house is seated.

The upper chamber, known as the Shura Council, was elected by less than 10 percent of the country's 50 million registered voters. It is dominated by Islamists.

Morsi was already gearing up for the next steps after the constitution's passage, making a last-minute appointment of 90 new members to the Shura Council, a third of its total membership. Current rules allow him to do so, but if he waited until the charter was passed he could only appoint 10.

Friday's appointments added to the handful of non-Islamists in the upper house, but preserved the Islamists' overwhelming hold.

A spokesman for the main opposition umbrella National Salvation Front dismissed the appointments, accusing Morsi of setting up a token opposition much like Mubarak did.

___

Associated Press writer Maggie Michael reported from Fayoum, Egypt.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egyptians-vote-disputed-constitution-061232913.html

hcg drops reason rally mad hatter azerbaijan ryan howard ps i love you ray charles

Happy birthday, Lady Bird (Offthekuff)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/272543711?client_source=feed&format=rss

buffalo chicken dip soul train nevada caucus ufc 143 what time does the super bowl start super bowl 2012 josephine baker

This week was brought to you by | All Over Albany

This week was brought to you by moon rocks, curling, christmas cards, the airing of the grievances and all matter of holiday frivolity.

It also came to you courtesy of the great folks who advertise on AOA --like Bilinski's healthy chicken sausages and champagne hams. Champagne hams are marinated in Glenora sparkling wine from the New York State fingerlakes region and a blend of brown sugar and spices.They're infused with champagne flavor - but the alcohol is cooked out. They're festive and fun and they're available throughout the holiday season at Price Chopper and Hannaford stores.

AOA advertisers help us keep you in the loop on things interesting and important -- or just fun and delicious. You'l find a list of them below. Please check them out when you can.

If there's something you want to pass along to the AOA Crowd, we can help Just send us a note at advertising@alloveralbany.com.

Stuff to do

The Mop and Bucket Improv Company -- where making stuff up isn't lying, it's a gift for fiction. You can catch them every Friday at 8pm Underground at Proctors, and soon they'll be performing every Saturday at The Comedy Works. Now playing: Spontaneous Broadway. Shows are based on audience suggestions, so every week there's something fresh and fun.

+The Breathing Room yoga space, classes in yoga, dance, pilates and more 399 Kenwood Ave Delmar.

+Troy Savings Bank Music Hall presenting virtuoso puppeteer Michael Cooper on January 26th.

+ The Hellions of Troy Roller Derby.

+ The Albany All Stars start their new roller derby season on January 19th.

Food and Drink

+Capital Wine and Spirits is stocked up on wine and spirits for your holiday party. Wine tastings every Friday.

+Classe Catering can cater your holiday party. You can find their holiday catering specials here.

+Capital City Gastropub weekend specials include: Sweet Tree Farms house-smoked, pulled chicken; Berlin's Best rainbow chard tossed with buttermilk and horseradish, compressed sweet potatoes, Baby bok choy, grits, black sesame seeds and lingonberries ($12), Kilycoyne Farms beef bolognese, gnocchi, grana padano, bone marrow and herbs ($14)

+ The fall menu at The Wine Bar and Bistro on Lark includes yumminess like grilled short ribs au poivre with balsamic and mushroom confit and mussels in lobster broth with white wine and applewood bacon. Nom.

+ The Schenectady Greenmarket has moved indoors to Proctors for the winter season. Sundays from 10am to 2pm.

+New Year's Eve is fast approaching -time to make your plans- come celebrate with us at New World Bistro Bar We're offering up a fabulous four course Prix Fixe Menu this year to help you ring in 2013. Menu preview and details on newworldbistrobar.com and our facebook page! Reservations strongly suggested, call 518.694.0520.

+The folks at City Beer Hall are now doing Saturday and Sunday brunch starting at 11AM.

+Our Daily Eats -- serving up fresh basil pesto, roasted nuts and seeds. They also have four granolas. Available at the Delmar Farmers Market, Schenectady Greenmarket and the Empire State Plaza Wednesday Farmers Market. Local retailers are listed on their website.

+ Honest Weight Food Coop has all the best flavors of the season.

Helpful stuff

+Start planning your healthy resolutions for the new year with an affordable personal trainer from Healthy Concepts for Life.

+Capital District Physicians Health Plan, offereing Cafe Well, a social network to help you get well and stay well.

+ Best Cleaners will pick up and deliver your dry cleaning to your home or office at no extra charge.

Stuff to Try

The College of Saint Rose -- offering 52 graduate degrees to help you find a career.

+Albany Public Library's mobile app --find locations and hours, check your library card account, learn about upcoming events, download eBooks, audiobooks, music and more. Check ISBN barcodes on books, DVDs and CDs to see if the library owns what you're looking for.

+The Weekend MBA program at UAlbany. Get your MBA in 22 months, while you work.

The Arts Center for the Capital Region offers classes in everything from painting and sculpture to dance and music to cooking. Learn something new in the new year.

+ Get a FREE MONTH of Wink High Speed Internet Service from Tech Valley Communications. Enter this code when you sign up for service at: www.winkinternet.com: w1n87k0

Source: http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2012/12/21/this-week-was-brought-to-you-by-143

barbara walters tupelo honey limp bizkit stations of the cross nike foamposite galaxy bill maher seabiscuit

New Music Business, Nielsen and Midem News, December 22, 2012

Last week, Variety laid out the impact of some of the key music industry events of 2012. Also, Nielsen announced it would be acquiring Arbitron to help better track the performance of radio and streaming services. Also, The Next Web announced the 30 music startups that will be at this year?s Midem conference that could be making an impact on the business in 2013. ?

?

?

The Year in Music, 2012

?

2012 was another year for huge change in the new music business, according to an article in Variety. Large music companies consolidated, digital distribution and streaming exploded, and people flocked to court and Congress. ?

?

One of the biggest events in music was the further consolidation of the major record labels. The auction process alone took almost a year, but Citigroup finally sold EMI Music?s publishing side to Sony/ATV in July for $2.1 billion and the recorded music half to Universal Music Group (UMG) for $1.9 billion in September. Universal?s absorption of the label was the first major music merger since Sony took BMG in 2004. EMI will continue to be run as an entity separate from UMG, run by former co-chairman/COO of Columbia Records, Steve Barnett. And Martin Bandier, former EMI Publishing head will move to Sony/ATV and continue to run the new entity that still houses the copyrights for huge artists like the Beatles and Taylor Swift. ???

?

Warner Music Group (WMG)?s reorganization this past year represented another major shift in the industry. Ex-CEO Edgar Bronfman, Jr. who orchestrated the label?s purchase from Time Warner in 2004 stepped down, and Stephen Cooper took over. And in November, WMG was rearranged into three different factions, with Warner/Chappell Music chairman-CEO Cameron Strang taking over publishing and the recorded music division. Earlier this month, he also took over Warner Bros. Records when Todd Moscowitz resigned. ?

?

Another industry change that made waves in 2012 was the unexpected ?For Sale? sign put on Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), held by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz. The sports and entertainment entity owns professional teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Galaxy and many venues, such as Staples Center and other L.A. Live properties. AEG Live holds Goldenvoice and pushes the yearly Coachella festival, Stagecoach and other music events that earn big bucks for musicians, labels and other companies alike. AEG is the second-biggest live events company, next to Live Nation entertainment and is predicted to be sold for anywhere between $8 billion and $12 billion. The sale is expected to make major waves in the already very competitive concert market. ??

?

Internet radio royalties were also big news of 2012. Pandora continued to push for Congress to pass the Internet Radio Fairness Act in order to decrease licensing royalties for Web radio. Pandora joined ClearChannel (operator of iHeartRadio) at a House hearing in favor of the bill in November. Pandora is also trying to get its listeners to write to their congressman in support of the company?s suit against ASCAP, filed in November. Of course, artists, music publishers and labels pushed from the other side to keep current Web rates and also to get royalties for their plays on traditional radio. ClearChannel made news when it agreed to individual revenue-sharing deals with some indie labels, including Big Machine, Glassnote and Naxos, which started a new war that will likely be a major focus of 2013. ????

?

EMI?s Capitol Records filed a lawsuit in January against the Massachusetts-based company ReDigi over whether or not digital music files could be sold as ?used.? The case is still pending, but Capitol says the company is just a hotbed for copyright infringement, completely based on unauthorized music copying. If the case comes out in support of ReDigi, it could set a precedent that would impact labels negatively; they would get no revenue from these re-sold products.

?

UMG v. Aftermath Records was another huge court case in 2012. The suit was filed by Eminem?s early-career producers and sued over royalties for downloads and ringtones. In September 2010, an appellate court ruled that royalties for downloads and ringtones should be set at a higher rate granted for licenses and not as ?sales.? The ruling has already been used as precedent in over 12 class action suit and individual suits filed against UMG and other major labels by artists like James Taylor and Kenny Rogers as heritage acts try to get higher digital royalty payments. Whether or not the landmark Eminem case will offer any help for artists going forward or will just produce more lawsuits by other artists will likely continue to be decided in the coming years.

?

The RIAA revealed that digital shipment of music had hit 50% of the market in 2011, for the first time in history. And this brought about new and unexpected partnerships this past year. UMG sold Fontana Distribution to digital wholesaler INgrooves in March, and the company became a full-service digital and physical distributor. At the same time, Orchard and Ioda merged. 2013 will likely see many new partnerships as similar companies join forces.

?

Spotify is now worth $3 billion, and 2012 was a big year for its growth. It got $100 million in new money from companies like Coca-Cola, Goldman Sacchs and Fidelity Investments in November. And in early December it hit 20 million users and 5 million paid subscribers (1 million in the U.S.). Critics are not convinced that a business based on 25% paid subscribers will work long term for a company that gets most of its users through its free, ad-supported arm. But others feel that streaming music is still establishing itself as a real force in the industry.

?

Electronic dance music (EDM) continued to be a huge money maker in the live sector last year. ?Mega-raves? drew hordes of fans to huge outdoor venues in the U.S. and overseas. And the music business seems to have caught on. Live Nation purchased British EDM promoter Cream Holdings in May and L.A.-based Hard Events in June. But Insomniac Events? Pasquale Rotella and Go Ventures ? Reza Gerami, promoters in charge of Electric Daisy Carnival and Together as One got indicted in March in a bribery and embezzlement case that also involved Los Angeles Coliseum and officials there. Although no decisions have been made, the dance music business has shifted cities in recent months, from L.A. to Las Vegas. ?

?

Will Nielsen Reignite Radio?

?

Nielsen announced on December 18 that it would be acquiring the major radio ratings company Arbitron, including all the outstanding common stock for $48/share. The sale has already been approved by the boards of both sides.

?

Nielsen CEO David Calhoun explained, ?U.S. consumers spend almost two hours a day with radio. It is and will continue to be a vibrant and important advertising medium ? Arbitron will help Nielsen better solve for unmeasured areas of media consumption, including streaming audio and out-of-home. The high level of engagement with radio and TV among rapidly growing multicultural audiences makes this central to Nielsen?s priorities.?

?

Nielsen will use Arbitron?s asset to grow its ?Watch? segment?s audience. Nielsen President of Global Media Products and Advertiser Solutions said, ?These integrated, innovative capabilities will enable broader measurement of consumer media behavior in more markets around the world ? We will also bring local clients greater visibility to empower more precise advertising placement and campaign effectiveness.? ?

?

William T. Kerr, President/CEO of Arbitron agreed that the merger would provide more insight about listening behaviors and potentially help turn radio into an even more powerful medium than it already is:? ?Radio reaches more than 92 percent of all American teens and adults because they love to listen to music, talk, news and information while at home, at work and in their cars ? By combining Nielsen?s global capabilities and scale with Arbitron?s unique radio measurement and listening information, advertisers and media clients will have better insights into consumer behavior and the return on marketing investments.?

?

30 Influential Music Startups to Descend on Midem

?

The annual Midem conference will take place in January in Cannes, France and will be attended by even more innovative tech startups than ever before, according to a piece in The Next Web. The conference has been steadily growing over the years into a major event for music technologists. This year?s Midemlab competition, a competition for startups and apps developers that showcases ?the most innovative startups operating in the entertainment field and proposing the latest digital innovations that help music executives, artists and brands to engage and monetize audiences? features 30 finalists. Midemlab highlights the most game-changing technological solutions to major music business problems, including artist-fan engagement and new revenue streams.

?

2012 winners included radio discovery app MPme, video stream service Crowdsuft and the guitar tutor game Wildchords.

?

This year?s 30 nominees are broken down into three categories:? ?Music Discovery, Recommendation and Creation;? ?Marketing and Social Engagement;? ?Direct to Consumer Sales and Content Monetization.?

?

Midem takes place January 26-29, 2013.

Tags: Midem, music and technology, New Music Business, Nielsen SoundScan, Radio Promotion

?

GET MUSIC BUSINESS HELP NOW!

?

Source: http://musiciancoaching.com/music-news-2012/new-music-business-nielsen-midem/

school shooting ohio billy crystal oscar winners 2012 billy crystal oscars 2012 angelina jolie oscars chardon high school christopher plummer

Mac Lethal?s Anti-Westboro Baptist Church Rap is Incredible

Honestly, he could have screamed "SUCK A DICK, WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH" for the entire 4-minutes and we'd have been on board with his message. But it didn't hurt that he went the extra mile.

Lyrics:

And I might suck at guitar -
but at least I've never protested a dead soldier's funeral,
and I might be losing my hair, but at least I've never judged a woman for thinking another woman is beautiful,
and sometimes, I mean sometimes,
I might even text message while I drive,
but I've never thanked God when a precious 5 year old child was shot, and died,
What's it to you? You got something so sick
just busting through you, nutty cuckoo,
it's so ugly brutal, how you let the money move you,
from being faceless to racist, straight spitting salacious hate fits
no better than Honey BooBoo sitting in her runny doo-doo
bloody voodoo -- the clock strikes midnight
now gimme that insight
human beings are so intelligent we gotta be a little bitty better than this right?
but nope, we keep on de-evolving
as billionaires keep on golfing
and the Mayans said the world was gonna stop
as the planet went a POP - but whaddya know? It keeps revolving
speed it up-
Every time I turn the television on
I see another thing reminding me that everything is wrong
I see news people interviewing 5 year old children
not even 30 minutes after witnessing a killing
i know its cliche, but do you remember the Middle East?
do you even care, do you wonder, do you feel at least
worried about how our troops are pulling through it?
do you ever get to thinking about these bullied students?
do you... do you ever consider
the homeless man that's sleeping under bridges every December
its freezing cold and all he wants is just a sweater or dinner
but not a single one of us can seem to ever remember
too busy caught up in the media frenzy, when a problem
child, gets a gun and goes Gangnam Style
he's taking a weapon, slipping the clip in
kids are dumpin and hitting the asphalt
I'm thinking half the kids in this country are on bath salts
(chorus)
Illuminati consumer hotties that do pilates
lotta loot and dollars to do photography
shoot her body, bada boom ba bada
azul, Assata Shakur just shot a cop
in Cuba, bounty the beauty's medulla oblangatta
monumental, menopausal mini-movie fame whores
and that don't really make sense but, either does the race war
I'm sick and I'm picking a fight, I switch on the brights, I'm slow roastin
I'm getting your mind so open, just like I'm Joe Rogan
Some people are just sick people
even the word retarded can offend people
and between me and the Westboro Baptist church
I'm the one paying taxes first!
I'd rather take a punch from Ving Rhames
than learn morals from King James
so all I'm saying is, even though I love The Constitution
the other day - some things changed

Source: http://www.brobible.com/music/video/mac-lethals-anti-westboro-baptist-church

tri international criminal court ios 5.1 apple tv update new ipad release pregnant jessica simpson international womens day