5 Time Management Tips For Real Estate Investors | The Niche Report

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We are all busy with life. Family, school, kids, work, church and on top of that some of you are trying to get your real estate investing off the ground. A few years ago, I ran across some great time management tips just perfect for real estate investors. After I applied these time management tips for a few weeks I noticed that I became more proficient with my real estate investing tactics and efficient with the time I spent in my investing business. Here is a copy of what I have up on my wall just above my desk:

Tip 1 ? Do not answer the phone or immediately respond to emails

When building your real estate business, you need to be strict about creating blocks of creative time when you can work on projects. Answering every phone call or email disturbs your work and flow, and doubles the length of time to get stuff done.

Be ruthless. Set rules. Have a block of time for communication and make it known to those who contact you on a regular basis. The more productive you can be during your workday means you?ll have more quality time to spend with your family and friends.

Tip 2 ? Respond to emails at a particular time and make that known to everyone who emails you

It?s very simple. Answer all of your emails at the end of the day. This prevents unnecessary email conversations from growing. Most emails ? even the ones that seem to be emergencies ? are not emergencies. Don?t train people to expect immediate responses from you. In fact, train them to expect a response at a given time every day.

Tip 3 ? Do not set expectations you can?t meet

Quick and easy access to you is an expectation that cannot be permanently met as your real estate investing business grows. While you might want to return every email immediately and personally, understand that as your number of real estate investments, offers and deals grows, you simply won?t be able to answer every email. So be careful about the precedents you set to avoid future disappointment.

Tip 4 ? Do not allow people to ?drop by?

Again, you must stop the interruptions. After all, what important person drops everything to receive unexpected visitors?

Is Donald Trump going to see you when you pop by the Trump Tower to check out his boardroom? Of course not. And while neither of us are Trump, we have projects that are just as important (to us) as he does to him.

Set your rules. Block your time. Bar the door.

Tip 5 ? Script Your Day

At the end of every working day, script or plan out your next day. It?s very simple. You should have a template that you can insert specific tasks into. For example, here?s the template I use weekly to plan out my day the night before:

5 am ? Gym

6 am ? Kids/Schools

7 am -Check Voice Messages /Tenant emergency emails

8 am ? Check Emails for deals/project communication

9 am -Social Media

9:30 am ? Study or Write about new Investing technique or Work on new real estate deal/project

12 pm-Lunch and respond to email

2pm ? Connect with team members/tenants

4-pm ? Pick up kids

4:30 pm ? Supper w/Family

5pm -Homework

6-Time with friends, family, and after-school sports

BreakthroughMarketingSecrets Craig Ballantyne, who first shared these tips with me a few years back, also share that ?some folks might be offended that you won?t drop everything to hear their tales of woe, or commiserate with them about life?s injustices, but remember, it?s your time, it?s your life, and it?s your dreams you are after.?

Although you may think this article is not really about ?real estate investing? this article is about helping you be a better ?real estate investor?. If you have control of your time and energy? ? you can better direct it towards activities that will make you money or better manage your real estate investments.

Best of Luck Investing & take charge of your life and your time!

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Source: http://www.thenichereport.com/articles/5-time-management-tips-for-real-estate-investors/

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Algeria president in France for tests after minor stroke

By Lamine Chikhi

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was transferred to France for medical tests on Saturday night after suffering a minor stroke, Algeria's official news agency said.

Bouteflika, who has ruled over the North African oil and gas producer for more than a decade, had an "transient ischemic attack" or mini-stroke on Saturday but his condition was not serious, the APS agency said, quoting the prime minister.

The 76-year-old is part of an older generation of leaders who have dominated politics in a country that supplies a fifth of Europe's gas imports and cooperates with the West in combating Islamist militancy.

He has rarely appeared in public in recent months, prompting speculation about his health.

"The president felt unwell and he has been hospitalized but his condition is not serious at all," Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal was quoted as saying by APS.

The president was then moved to France, on the recommendation of his doctors.

Bouteflika and other members of Algeria's elite have controlled Algeria since it won independence from France in a 1954-62 war.

In the early 1990s, the military-backed politicians overturned an election which Islamists were poised to win and then fought a conflict with them in which about 200,000 people were killed.

They also saw off the challenge of Arab Spring protests two years ago, with Bouteflika's government defusing unrest through pay rises and free loans for young people.

Bouteflika has served three terms as president of the OPEC member and is thought unlikely to seek a fourth at an election due in 2014.

U.S. diplomatic cables leaked in 2011 said Bouteflika had been suffering from cancer but it was in remission.

More than 70 percent of Algerians are under 30. About 21 percent of young people are unemployed, the International Monetary Fund says, and many are impatient with the gerontocracy ruling a country where jobs, wages and housing are urgent concerns.

A transient ischemic attack is a temporary blockage in a blood vessel to the brain. it typically lasts for less than five minutes and "usually causes no permanent injury to the brain", the American Stroke Association said on its website.

The attacks should be seen as a warning as a third of people who experience them go on to have a full stroke within a year, the organization added.

(Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/algerian-president-france-medical-tests-034747376.html

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Improvements To Increase The Energy Efficiency Of Your Home

No matter if you want to sell your house or are going to stay, you should make sure it always looks its best. You don't have to expend a lot of your home's livability and value.This article is going to go over some of the things that you can offer useful tips on making your home even better.

Use clear totes to organize your garage by type and frequency of use. Label these boxes and stack them. This tactic won't cost you a lot and easy way to protect your things from insects.

You only need PVC cement and PVC primer to attach a pair of PVC pipes.You need to make sure you use products made for this type of material. Make sure the pipes are dry before attempting to glue them together.

If you're hiring a handyman to take a look at some problems, be sure to have a contract. This way they cannot take advantage of you or add extra charges since everything is down in the end. If you do not have a contract, things could get ugly later on.

Choose a color scheme based on something already present in a room. It could be upholstery fabric, curtains or an area rug that you decide to use to build a color scheme.For example, if there's a rug with red, red, pick a dominant color from the three which can be utilized in more than 50% of that room. The other colors can be utilized as accent or secondary shades.

You should drain the hot water out of the hot water heater twice a year. A well maintained hot water heater will have greater longevity and efficiency. Just put a hose on the drain and release the water.

If you don't care for your lawn properly or you don't get it professionally maintained, consider installing a low-maintenance yard. This usually will consist of a few rock beds that contain plants that require little water.This saves both time and money used.

You can boost your home's value and add additional curb appeal by adding high-gloss paint to its shutters and front door. Homes that are made of light colored brick really look great with blue and red paints; while darker exteriors tend to favor dark greens or deep eggplant colors.

You may need a new roof if you notice your ceiling is leaking. Allowing the problem to continue can cause serious problems. Look to a reliable professional as soon as you can and get their opinion. Be sure the professional is knowledgeable and well-qualified.

A cheap way to make your home's appearance cheaply is to plant trees. Landscaping in the future is going to help increase your home's value. The little tree you plant today are going to be full and mature shade feature. You can also save when it comes to cooling costs with a tree placed in the right spot.

Major home improvements generally need permits and permission from your local Council before beginning any work.If you don't know a lot about the regulations that are in place or if you're thinking of changing a property's structure, consider getting the help of a professional so as to avoid making any costly mistakes.

Inspect your deck before summer season. There could be rotting wood that may need to be replaced. This will give you a beautiful deck for summer.

Put two coats of the flat paint on first, then stencil on glossy paint in unique designs. The glossy paint adds a unique visual interest.

Granite tile is preferable over a slab.A granite countertop made out slab is going to cost you in the thousands. You may be able to cover the same area with good quality granite tiles for far less money and it will look just as wonderful. You can take the money and be able to spend it on something else.

Consider a play room for the kids or a den for extra living area. This can make it easier for you to live in your home more pleasant and it will boost its value. You should of course do this project when you have accumulated the money to spend on home improvement projects.

It's odd how people often settle for the paint already in their homes.

The initial step in any good driveway is to keep it clear of debris and clean it regularly.

You must wait for a dry spell of weather to paint the outside of your project involves painting. This is crucial if you want to be successful at painting. On days that are humid or wet, paint dries more slowly on the walls, adding more time to your project. Painting on only dry days can cut time in half between your project time.

You should check the foundation of your home for cracks before cold weather sets in. Pests want to live in a warm home, so if they can't get into your home, so sealing any potential points of entry will help keep unwanted critters out.

If they're clogged and dirty, it has to go to more effort when cooling your home. You waste energy up if your air conditioner has to work harder. This can make your energy bill.

Don't underestimate the power of a good home improvement project. One weekend can make a huge change. Having read the article above, you now have a good idea about what your next home improvement project will be. All you have to do is pick one and get to work.

This post is also available in: French

Tagged as: garden, house, improvement

Source: http://des-law.com/improvements-to-increase-the-energy-efficiency-of-your-home/

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Down the Up Escalator

Barbara Garson tells the stories of Americans who have lost jobs ? and hope ? during the Great Recession.

By David Hugh Smith / April 26, 2013

Down the Up Escalator By Barbara Garson Knopf Doubleday 288 pp.

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The generation that went to Woodstock, fought with police against the Vietnam War, and later, enjoyed a "me" decade ? the "Baby Boomer" generation ? has taken part in transforming our economy into a system that many regard as genuinely hostile to "the people."

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Now a participant in 1960s social activism has written a book showing in sharp relief the impact of decades of downsizing and outsourcing on families and on some of the good-paying jobs that once sustained the American middle class.?

Down the Up Escalator: How the 99% Live in the Great Recession is a three-part opus in which Barbara Garson befriends and tells the stories of people who can't find work, people who are losing their homes, and people whose savings have evaporated.

Amid this contemporary Brothers Grimm collection are Garson's savvy views on how chunks of America ended up on a down escalator. She comments, "[U]nlike the Great Depression, the Great Recession didn't narrow the wealth gap.... For all our bruises we merely went into a deep pothole and emerged on the same rough and dangerous road."

Many of Garson's stories are heartbreaking. She tells of Alice Epps from California. When the interest on her adjustable-rate mortgage rose to 17 percent and then her son was murdered, she got behind on payments. Her herculean efforts to arrange a loan modification, and the thousands she paid in fees, did virtually nothing to reduce her debt or enable her to keep her home.

Some may disagree with Garson's view that too much capital has been invested in buying out competing companies, in real estate speculation, and in other schemes that do nothing to create new businesses and jobs to replace the well-paid ones lost in manufacturing and other business sectors. Others might take issue with her statistics, which often come from sources with a strong liberal bias. But there is no arguing with what's happened to millions of people who, during an earlier era, would be thriving, not struggling to survive.

And Garson is the perfect person to write a book about economic injustice. Since the '60s, she has been reporting on and advocating for populist issues. She played a key role in the Berkeley Free Speech Movement and she's written three other books on work and our financial system.

"Down the Up Escalator" starts with the stories of four funky New Yorkers she calls the "Pink Slip Club."? Garson describes the frustrations and indignities these professionals suffer looking for work after losing their jobs early in the recession. Garson keeps track of them for several years as they all fail to win back mid-level white-color positions.

Elaine, who'd worked in accounts payable for a broadcasting conglomerate, eventually starts to fantasize about scoring some hours helping in a hole-in-the-wall shop that converts records to CDs. Gerri, who had been an insurance adjuster, experiences similar disappointments, and becomes increasingly anxious as expenses bite chunks out of her shrinking savings. (Garson named these members of the Pink Slip Club after two of the main characters from the Seinfeld TV series.)

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/6BUeFJc2SNo/Down-the-Up-Escalator

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LG starts to find its niche, ships a record 10.3 million smartphones in Q1

By Karolos Grohmann DORTMUND, Germany, April 24 (Reuters) - Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho could not understand how his well-drilled side let Robert Lewandowski score four goals in Borussia Dortmund's 4-1 win on Wednesday but vowed that his team could still reach the Champions League final. The nine-times European champions have a huge task on their hands in Tuesday's home second leg after Mourinho acknowledged they had been outplayed in the semi-final first leg in Germany. "I saw a team that was better than the other one, mentally and physically. The better team won today. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lg-starts-niche-ships-record-10-3-million-000030774.html

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NFL draft: Central Michigan's Eric Fisher is No. 1 pick

NEW YORK (AP) ? Short on glam, slim on glitter and no sign of Manti Te'o, the NFL draft was still a solid B-plus.

As in Big, as in Brawn, as in Bulk, as in Beefy.

We're talking a scale-busting 600 pounds at the outset Thursday night with offensive tackles Eric Fisher of Central Michigan and Luke Joeckel of Texas A&M.

The first seven picks were all linemen: four on offense, three on defense.

"That's a lot of love for the big boys up front, which we usually don't get," Fisher said.

None of the teams making the first 32 selections went for Te'o, not even Minnesota, which had three first-round picks. The All-America linebacker's poor performance in Notre Dame's loss to Alabama in the national championship game surely was a factor. Still to be determined is how much the fake girlfriend hoax cost him.

Unlike the last few years when bumper crops of quarterbacks reigned, this was pure muscle, and lots of it.

Actually, not a single QB was selected until Florida State's EJ Manuel went to Buffalo at No. 16 ? the lowest since 2000, when Chad Pennington went 18th to the Jets.

No running backs were chosen, either, for the first time since 1963.

As for Te'o, he ran a 40-yard dash in 4.82 seconds at the NFL combine, slow for a linebacker. He improved at Notre Dame's pro day, but not nearly enough to go in the opening round. In January he acknowledged he was a victim of a hoax ? it turned out the dead "girlfriend" he talked about last season wasn't dead and never existed.

Fisher became the first Mid-American Conference player selected at the top when Kansas City's new regime led by coach Andy Reid chose the 6-foot-7, 306-pound offensive tackle.

"This is so surreal," Fisher said. "I'm ready to get to work right now. I'm ready to start playing some football. I can't process what's going on right now."

Fisher was followed by All-American Joeckel going to Jacksonville, defensive end Dion Jordan of Oregon to Miami, which traded up with Oakland, and Oklahoma tackle Lane Johnson to Philadelphia. Not a skill position player yet in sight ? a stark change from the last four drafts, when quarterbacks went first.

The procession of linemen continued with BYU defensive end Ziggy Ansah, born in Ghana, going to Detroit; LSU defensive end Barkevious Mingo to Cleveland; and North Carolina guard Jonathan Cooper to Arizona.

That made for a ton of beef after the first seven picks. In all, 18 linemen went in the first round, weighing an estimated 5,650 total pounds.

And they wore it well, with their designer suits that barely were ruffled when they each engulfed Roger Goodell in the now traditional bear hugs between draftee and commissioner.

"It's called a three-piece, right?" asked Joeckel, who sported blue checks with the vested suit, along with a striped tie.

Fisher was only the third offensive tackle picked No. 1, joining Orlando Pace (1997) and Jake Long (2008) since the 1970 merger of the NFL and AFL. It's also the first time since '70 that offensive tackles went 1-2.

Even without a high-profile passer, runner or tackler going at the outset, the fans in the home of the Rockettes were pumped. They chanted "U-S-A, U-S-A" when Goodell paid tribute to the first responders at the Boston Marathon bombings and to the victims of the West, Texas explosion. They roared when Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath began the countdown to the first outdoor Super Bowl in a cold-weather site by taking the podium and screaming: "New York; Super Bowl 48."

The crowd didn't seem to care that early on the picks were all heifers, not hoofers. No Andrew Lucks or RG3s at the top of this crop.

"What you're getting is a very athletic player, a great kid, smart kid, engineering major," Reid said of Fisher, who really began to draw attention with a strong Senior Bowl, showing he could handle the highest level of competition. "He can play any position along the line, and loves to play the game."

Joeckel didn't seem any less thrilled to go No. 2.

"I don't have words for all the emotions I feel," he said. "It's the best feeling of my entire life."

Miami, envisioning Jordan as the next Jason Taylor, sent its first-rounder (12th overall) and this year's second-rounder to Oakland. Then new Eagles coach Chip Kelly got a road-grader for his uptempo offense in Johnson.

"Tackle is not a very sexy position," Johnson said. "But it's a position of dire need."

The next big trade saw the Rams move up eight spots ? and send four picks to Buffalo to do so. St. Louis ended the pursuit of heft by grabbing West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin, who at 5-8, 174 pounds, could probably fit in the hip pocket of any of the guys picked ahead of him.

The New York Jets may have found a replacement for star cornerback Darrelle Revis ? traded to Tampa Bay ? when they picked Alabama All-American Dee Milliner. That was the first of three straight selections from two-time national champion Alabama: Tennessee took guard Chance Warmack and San Diego got offensive tackle D.J. Fluker.

Roll Tide, indeed.

Oakland used the pick it got from the Dolphins for Houston cornerback D.J. Hayden, who nearly died last November after a collision in practice tore a blood vessel off the back of his heart. He was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery.

Unlike with their choice of Milliner, which was met raucous cheers, the Jets next selection, defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson of Missouri, drew scattered boos and even a few "Who?" comments.

"I'm here to bring a championship back to New York," Richardson said.

Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, who also had a heart scare at the NFL combine but then checked out fine, went 14th to Carolina, followed by Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro to New Orleans.

Then came Manuel, although many analysts pegged West Virginia's Geno Smith as the top quarterback.

Former Patriots guard Joe Andruzzi, who carried an injured female runner to safety after the Boston Marathon explosions, displayed a jersey with the city's 617 area code and "Boston Strong" written on the front. He was supposed to announce New England's pick, but the Patriots dealt it to Minnesota, which took Tennessee wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.

Andruzzi, a native New Yorker, said, "There's a new saying in Boston: Boston Strong" before unveiling the jersey as "Sweet Caroline" was played on the loudspeakers.

Pittsburgh, which always seems to find standout linebackers, took the highest-rated one in Georgia's Jarvis Jones. His fellow All-American, Notre Dame's Manti Te'o, was still on the board.

But another member of the Fighting Irish, tight end Tyler Eifert, was chosen 21st overall by Cincinnati.

Atlanta's choice of Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant gave that family three brothers in the league. His older siblings Marcus and Isaiah preceded him.

One major surprise was the New York Giants' selection of Justin Pugh ? yet another tackle, but one who wasn't projected to go in the opening round by many draft analysts.

The round took 3 hours, 33 minutes.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bring-beef-draft-starting-ot-fisher-010459443--nfl.html

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LeFrak sued for discrimination in federal court - Real Estate Weekly

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The Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) and a woman living with AIDS who applied to rent an apartment at the 5000-unit LeFrak City complex in Queens filed a lawsuit in federal district court alleging that the landlord discriminates on the basis of disability and source of income.

According to a press release from Housing Works, Inc., after receiving a complaint from a client, Housing Works reported to the FHJC that its client had been denied an apartment at LeFrak City, which houses around 15,000 people, because she intended to pay her rent with a subsidy from the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA).

In response, the FHJC deployed undercover ?testers? to investigate the complaint. The investigation yielded evidence of systemic discrimination based on source of income and disability at LeFrak City and all other rental buildings operated by the defendants in New York City.

The lawsuit alleges that the LeFrak Organization and its subsidiary rental management company, Estate NY Real Estate Services LLC, treat applicants with rental assistance of any kind, including persons with a HASA housing subsidy, differently and less favorably from applicants with income from employment.

The complaint alleges that applicants who are employed are directed to an on-site leasing office at LeFrak City where they meet with a leasing agent, obtain floor plans, and view available apartments prior to having any income verified or completing a rental application.

In contrast, applicants with any type of rental assistance, including persons with a HASA rental subsidy, are required to go to a separate off-site leasing office, speak with employees behind a glass window, complete a rental application, submit to a credit and criminal background check, and provide other documentation to be placed on a waiting list and before any information will be provided about apartments for rent or available apartments will be shown.

The lawsuit alleges this differential treatment constitutes intentional source of income discrimination under the New York City Human Rights Law.

The complaint further alleges that the LeFrak policy of requiring written verification of the maximum rent amount that a government program will pay discriminates against disabled persons living with AIDS who are using a HASA housing subsidy.

According to the lawsuit, a LeFrak agent acknowledged to a tester that she knew HASA would not provide such written documentation and that without it her office would not accept an application or assist a HASA client to find housing operated by the defendants.

Funding for the testing investigation conducted by the FHJC was provided under a grant received from the Fair Housing Initiatives Program of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).

The plaintiffs are represented by the law firm of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady, LLP and Housing Works, Inc.

?Discrimination in housing is not merely odious, and offensive, but it is life-threatening for thousands of indigent New Yorkers living with AIDS. With affordable housing increasingly hard to come by in this city, it is critical that we ensure that apartments be made available to all, regardless of disability or source of income,? said Armen H. Merjian, Senior Staff Attorney at Housing Works.

The LeFrak Organization and its affiliates are one of the largest holders of real estate in the United States with buildings in New York, California, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington. Lefrak and its related entities control over 200 apartment buildings in New York and New Jersey.

LeFrak did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.

Other posts by REW Staff

Source: http://www.rew-online.com/2013/04/25/lefrak-sued-for-discrimination-in-federal-court/

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Is Facebook Targeting Links From TheBlaze as Spam? | TheBlaze ...

It has come to the attention of TheBlaze that some readers or sharers of our stories on Facebook have been experiencing problems.

In several cases, trying to access the link to TheBlaze?s story about Michelle Obama allegedly visiting the Saudi National in the hospital after the Boston bombings gave Facebook users warnings that the site could be spam.

In other cases, posting links ? any links ? from TheBlaze on Facebook resulted in a pop-up requiring a CAPTCHA code be filled out.

After filling out the code, the link would post just fine. Links from other media outlets though did not require a CAPTCHA code though.

Searching public posts on Facebook about TheBlaze revealed many were talking about potential problems and even calling it censorship:

TheBlaze contacted Facebook for comment on what might be causing this issue and learned from a Facebook Policy Communications?spokesperson that posts from TheBlaze ?were triggering a false positive on our spam systems,? which were recently re-calibrated.

The spokesperson said links from TheBlaze on Facebook should be working fine now.

Were Facebook users being unfair for jumping to censorship conclusions? TheBlaze has reported cases in the past where conservative bloggers have claimed Facebook unfairly shut down their accounts or penalized them for posts. Several pages for gun stores were recently shut down for violating Facebook?s policies as well. Conservatives have even launched their own social network as an alternative to Facebook.

But according to Facebook, in the case of TheBlaze?s links they have an explanation.

?

Related:

Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/04/25/is-facebook-targeting-links-from-theblaze-as-spam/

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Nothing bugs these NASA aeronautical researchers

Apr. 24, 2013 ? NASA's gutsiest scientists say they don't get bugged no matter what kind of sticky situation they find themselves smashed into.

The preceding dose of hyperbole is brought to you by a team of folks at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia who are studying ways to prevent the remains of insect impacts from adhering to the wing of an aircraft in flight.

While the effort is undeniably a goldmine for puns, the research is serious and positive results could help NASA's aeronautical innovators achieve their goals for improving the fuel efficiency of aircraft cruising across the country.

"We are the bug team," said Mia Siochi, of the Advanced Materials and Processing Branch at Langley. "It's important work, but we also have a lot of fun with it."

Anyone who has driven through a cloud of insects knows how quickly the bug guts build up on the vehicle, causing problems with visibility, clogging the air intake and radiator, and ruining the car's exterior finish.

The problem for an airplane is that its aerodynamic design is meant to have air move very smoothly across the body and wing surfaces, which is called laminar flow. When there is a disruption in that laminar flow, such as from the accumulation of dead bug parts, you induce the opposite of laminar flow, which is turbulence.

Finding ways to maintain laminar flow through all phases of flight is a big deal for the aviation community because it could save millions in fuel cost, while also reducing the amount of noxious emissions released into the atmosphere.

"It's major enough that people have been trying to solve this as far back as the 1960s," Siochi said.

The key to the solution of preventing insect residue build-up in flight is to find a non-stick coating or material of some kind that can be applied to an airplane's body and wings, and that will work with the unique chemistry present in a typical bug splat.

Not only is the intent to limit or prevent the initial adherence to the wing, but to increase the chances the bug residue will more easily erode or sheer off during the flight and leave the wing smooth again.

Understanding that insect biology and its interaction with airplane parts, and then coming up with a decent anti-stick coating is not as easy as you might think. For example, you can't use the same spray you might apply to your car's windshield to make rainwater bead up and roll off.

It's not just water you have to deal with.

"Yes, there's a lot of water in a bug, but there's also some biological components that actually impart the stickiness, and we have to deal with preventing those from sticking even though we know how to prevent water from sticking," Siochi said.

To help them learn more about insect adhesion to materials treated with various coatings, the bug team relies on a unique desk-sized wind tunnel -- the Basic Aerodynamic Research Tunnel, or BART -- equipped with tubing that connects from what they affectionately call "the bug gun."

It has proved to be a very effective tool for examining materials, coatings and insect splats, but the small wind tunnel doesn't exactly copy what's happening in real life.

"We're shooting bugs at about 150 mph as we try to mimic takeoff and landing speed, but the bug is moving and the target is stationary. In reality it should be the other way around," Siochi said.

Either way, the result is the same: sticky bug guts coat small wing surfaces.

Early tests show certain coatings can shrink the area that insect remains adhere to by 90 percent, and reduce the build-up, or height of the sticky bug guts, by 40 percent. But tests continue as there has been no "Eureka!" moment -- yet.

"We don't have the answer yet. We have some potential candidates, but we still have more work to do," Siochi said.

Part of the challenge, Siochi explained, is to make sure that the solution not only works, but that it is also practical.

For example, the coating should not have to be applied before every flight as that would be too time-consuming. Long term exposure of the coating on the wing or aircraft surface should not do any damage. The coating must not add so much weight that it costs more in fuel than it saves.

At least on that last point, Siochi doesn't see a problem.

"These are very, very thin coatings that we spray on, so the weight penalty is probably not there," she said.

The bug team is working toward conducting flight tests within the next two years.

All of this research by NASA does beg the question, how does a material scientist procure the insects she needs?

"By the thousands. In a tackle shop. With a credit card," Siochi explained with a smile. "After checking with our procurement officials and the legal office to make sure there were no regulations against using insects like this."

Initially, the bug team used crickets -- procured from a local tackle shop -- which were convenient to shoot uniformly in the bug gun, but also turned out to be too big for their small wind tunnel apparatus. So they switched to fruit flies.

"We get fruit flies from a fruit fly shop and we propagate them, so we have a supply of bugs that we've kept going for a couple of years now," Siochi said.

Siochi remembers one occasion when a shipment of fruit flies was delivered from California in the overnight mail, and she wasn't in the office to receive them, so they were delivered somewhere else instead.

So one of her colleagues was dispatched to hunt down this container of several hundred fruit flies and wound up searching all over Langley before finding them.

"Just another day of work for the bug team," Siochi said. "There's no doubt it's a real different kind of lab experience."

The effort is part of NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation project, which is managed by the agency's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/njQJJ78wipo/130424170125.htm

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Bayer cuts plastics outlook, as higher costs hurt

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Weak demand for Bayer's plastics and chemicals forced the diversified healthcare group to lower its outlook for its MaterialScience division, marring earnings gains at its farming pesticides unit.

First-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) edged 0.4 percent higher to 2.45 billion euros ($3.18 billion), which was slightly below the average estimate in a Reuters poll of 2.59 billion.

The shares were 1.6 percent lower in pre-market indications provided by brokerage Lang & Schwarz.

Core earnings at Bayer's MaterialScience unit, the world's largest maker of transparent plastics used in sports goggles, DVDs and car lights, slumped by more than a quarter.

The business lifted prices to respond to higher costs of petrochemical precursor materials, which depressed sales volumes. An expensive maintenance shutdown in North America further eroded profit.

Polycarbonates, the type of transparent plastic that is Bayer's specialty, are in ample global supply after lower-cost rivals in the Middle East, mainly Sabic, built new sites. Demand growth is only slowly chipping away at the supply overhang.

Bayer, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, cut the division's full-year outlook to stagnant adjusted EBITDA, where it had previously hoped for an increase.

The company, however, stuck by its group outlook for a medium single-digit percentage increase in adjusted EBITDA as new drugs such as its stroke prevention pill Xarelto are forecast to see a rapid uptake and amid strong demand for the crop chemical unit's herbicides and seed treatments.

($1 = 0.7695 euros)

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bayer-core-earnings-growth-tempered-high-feedstock-costs-054919654--finance.html

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Hyundai Thinks Suicide Should Help Sell Cars: The Pipe Job Ad ...

Hyundai, the world?s fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the world, apparently believes showing a man trying to kill himself in one of their vehicles is good marketing. The ad, called ?Pipe Job? and created by the ad agency Innocean Europe, depicts a man taping a hose from a Hyundai ix35?s exhaust pipe into the cabin, trying to commit suicide.

It then shows the man sitting in the cabin, waiting to die.

A few frames later, the garage lights come back on, and the man opens the garage door. The tag line is, ?The New ix35 with 100% water emissions.?

Yes, very tasteful. Maybe if you were brain and dead and haven?t been alive for the past three decades. Nothing like making fun of people with mental illness, clinical depression, or a disability, is there Hyundai (and Innocean)??

Warning, we?ve included a copy of the video below. Do not continue on if you don?t wish to watch it.

I can imagine some of the other ideas that Hyundai and Innocean are also discussing right now:

• A cancer patient is shown dying in a hospital bed, and asks for one last drink of water. They wheel her out to the ix35?s exhaust pipe and instruct her to drink away.
• Lawn need watering? Just start up the ix35 and continually drive it around the yard, letting the water from the tailpipe drip onto the grass.
• A poor family is shown holding their cupped hands under the ix35?s tailpipe, dying for a drink of water.

Here?s the offensive video. You?ve been warned, so don?t view it if you or someone you know has died by suicide in this manner:

This ad has particular poignancy for me ? and I suspect tens of thousands of other people around the world ? as I knew someone who took their life via this method. Rob was my childhood best friend, and one of the primary motivations for me going into public education and advocacy as my career rather than providing individual psychotherapy to patients. He died November 8, 1990, and his death is a memory that I?m reminded of nearly every week as I work on the resources that go to make up this site.

Seeing such a vivid depiction of the end of a man?s life ? to sell cars no less ? is not just in poor taste. It is thoughtless, and even mean-spirited. As though human life is worth so little, we can demonstrate someone failing at taking their own life to help promote the attributes of this stupid pile of metal. A Hyundai.

Criticism of the Hyundai Video

The Hyundai ad is incomprehensible in an age where we are finally making inroads in the public understanding of mental illness? Of reducing the discrimination and prejudice against those who have one. A depiction of suicide in the media ? even when reporting on a news item ? can up the rate of suicides temporarily, referred to as suicide contagion. Did the ad agency who produced this ad even know that? Did they care?

Does it make a point? If one can get past the gruesome darkness of the ad, I suppose the point that you can?t kill yourself in this particular Hyundai is noted. But really? Out of all the options you have to demonstrate a car?s eco-friendliness, this is the one you go with?

Hyundai North America is distancing itself from its European counterparts with this statement:

We at Hyundai Motor America are shocked and saddened by the depiction of a suicide attempt in an inappropriate UK video featuring a Hyundai. Suicide merits thoughtful discussion, not this type of treatment.

Further criticism and commentary can be found over on this article by Matthew Herper, Update: Hyundai North America Disavows ?Particularly Graphic And Dangerous? Car Ad.

I just have to shake my head that this ad got through multiple levels of management review and approval in two different companies. Everybody probably was congratulating themselves on producing an ?edgy? or ?thought provoking? ad ? while trying to sell pieces of steel on wheels.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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Catch up on other posts by John M. Grohol, PsyD (or subscribe to their feed).

????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 25 Apr 2013
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Grohol, J. (2013). Hyundai Thinks Suicide Should Help Sell Cars: The Pipe Job Ad. Psych Central. Retrieved on April 26, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/04/25/hyundai-thinks-suicide-should-help-sell-cars-the-pipe-job-ad/

?

Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/04/25/hyundai-thinks-suicide-should-help-sell-cars-the-pipe-job-ad/

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Mammal and bug food co-op in the High Arctic

Apr. 24, 2013 ? Who would have thought that two very different species, a small insect and a furry alpine mammal, would develop a shared food arrangement in the far North?

University of Alberta researchers were certainly surprised when they discovered the unusual response of pikas to patches of vegetation that had previously been grazed on by caterpillars from a species normally found in the high Arctic.

U of A biology researcher Isabel C. Barrio analyzed how two herbivores, caterpillars and pikas, competed for scarce vegetation in alpine areas of the southwest Yukon. The caterpillars come out of their winter cocoons and start consuming vegetation soon after the snow melts in June. Weeks later, the pika starts gathering and storing food in its winter den. For the experiment, Barrio altered the numbers of caterpillars grazing on small plots of land surrounding pika dens.

"What we found was that the pikas preferred the patches first grazed on by caterpillars," said Barrio. "We think the caterpillar's waste acted as a natural fertilizer, making the vegetation richer and more attractive to the pika."

U of A biology professor David Hik, who supervised the research, says the results are the opposite of what the team expected to find.

"Normally you'd expect that increased grazing by the caterpillars would have a negative effect on the pika," said Hik. "But the very territorial little pika actually preferred the vegetation first consumed by the caterpillars."

The researchers say it's highly unusual that two distant herbivore species -- an insect in its larval stage and a mammal -- react positively to one another when it comes to the all-consuming survival issue of finding food.

These caterpillars stay in their crawling larval stage for up to 14 years, sheltering in a cocoon during the long winters before finally becoming Arctic woolly bear moths for the final 24 hours of their lives.

The pika does not hibernate and gathers a food supply in its den. Its food-gathering territory surrounds the den and covers an area of around 700 square metres.

The researchers say they'll continue their work on the caterpillar-pika relationship to explore the long-term implications for increased insect populations and competition for scarce food resources in northern mountain environments.

Barrio was the lead author on the collaborative research project, which was published April 24 in the journal Biology Letters.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. I. C. Barrio, D. S. Hik, K. Peck, C. G. Bueno. After the frass: foraging pikas select patches previously grazed by caterpillars. Biology Letters, 2013; 9 (3): 20130090 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0090

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/apG4-pzYpt8/130424161114.htm

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Poll: Aging US in denial about long-term care need

WASHINGTON (AP) ? We're in denial: Americans underestimate their chances of needing long-term care as they get older ? and are taking few steps to get ready.

A new poll examined how people 40 and over are preparing for this difficult and often pricey reality of aging, and found two-thirds say they've done little to no planning.

In fact, 3 in 10 would rather not think about getting older at all. Only a quarter predict it's very likely that they'll need help getting around or caring for themselves during their senior years, according to the poll by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

That's a surprise considering the poll found more than half of the 40-plus crowd already have been caregivers for an impaired relative or friend ? seeing from the other side the kind of assistance they, too, may need later on.

"I didn't think I was old. I still don't think I'm old," explained retired schoolteacher Malinda Bowman, 60, of Laura, Ohio.

Bowman has been a caregiver twice, first for her grandmother. Then after her father died in 2006, Bowman moved in with her mother, caring for her until her death in January. Yet Bowman has made few plans for herself.

"I guess I was focused on caring for my grandmother and mom and dad, so I didn't really think about myself," she said. "Everything we had was devoted to taking care of them."

The poll found most people expect family to step up if they need long-term care ? even though 6 in 10 haven't talked with loved ones about the possibility and how they'd like it to work.

Bowman said she's healthy now but expects to need help someday from her two grown sons. Last month, prompted by a brother's fall and blood clot, she began the conversation by telling her youngest son about her living will and life insurance policy.

"I need to plan eventually," she acknowledged.

Those family conversations are crucial: Even if they want to help, do your relatives have the time, money and knowhow? What starts as driving Dad to the doctor or picking up his groceries gradually can turn into feeding and bathing him, maybe even doing tasks once left to nurses such as giving injections or cleaning open wounds. If loved ones can't do all that, can they afford to hire help? What if you no longer can live alone?

"The expectation that your family is going to be there when you need them often doesn't mean they understand the full extent of what the job of caregiving will be," Susan Reinhard, a nurse who directs AARP's Public Policy Institute, said. "Your survey is pointing out a problem for not just people approaching the need for long-term care, but for family members who will be expected to take on the huge responsibility of providing care."

Those who have been through the experience of receiving care are less apt to say they can rely on their families in times of need, the poll found.

With a rapidly aging population, more families will be facing those responsibilities. Government figures show nearly 7 in 10 Americans will need long-term care at some point after they reach age 65, whether it's from a relative, a home health aide, assisted living or a nursing home. On average, they'll need that care for three years.

Despite the "it won't happen to me" reaction, the AP-NORC Center poll found half of those surveyed think just about everyone will need some assistance at some point. There are widespread misperceptions about how much care costs and who will pay for it. Nearly 60 percent of those surveyed underestimated the cost of a nursing home, which averages more than $6,700 a month.

Medicare doesn't pay for the most common types of long-term care. Yet 37 percent of those surveyed mistakenly think it will pay for a nursing home and even more expect it to cover a home health aide when that's only approved under certain conditions.

The harsh reality: Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor, is the main payer of long-term care in the U.S., and to qualify seniors must have spent most of their savings and assets. But fewer than half of those polled think they'll ever need Medicaid ? even though only a third are setting aside money for later care, and just 27 percent are confident they'll have the financial resources they'll need.

In Cottage Grove, Ore., Police Chief Mike Grover, 64, says his retirement plan means he could afford a nursing home. And like 47 percent of those polled, he's created an advance directive, a legal document outlining what medical care he'd want if he couldn't communicate.

Otherwise, Grover said he hasn't thought much about his future care needs. He knows caregiving is difficult, as he and his brother are caring for their 85-year-old mother.

Still, "until I cross that bridge, I don't know what I would do. I hope that my kids and wife will pick the right thing," he said. "It depends on my physical condition, because I do not want to be a burden to my children."

The AP-NORC Center poll found widespread support for tax breaks to encourage saving for long-term care, and about half favor the government establishing a voluntary long-term care insurance program. An Obama administration attempt to create such a program ended in 2011 because it was too costly.

The older they get, the more preparations people take. Just 8 percent of 40- to 54-year-olds have done much planning for long-term care, compared with 30 percent of those 65 or older, the poll found.

Mary Pastrano, 74, of Port Orchard, Wash., has planned extensively for her future health care. She has lupus, heart problems and other conditions, and now uses a wheelchair. She also remembers her family's financial struggles after her own father died when she was a child.

"I don't want people to stand around and wring their hands and wonder, 'What would Mom think was the best?'" said Pastrano, who has discussed her insurance policies, living will and care preferences with her husband and children.

Still, Pastrano wishes she and her husband had started saving earlier, during their working years.

"You never know how soon you're going to be down," she said. "That's what older people have a problem understanding: You can be in your 60s and then next flat on your back. You think you're invincible, until you can't walk."

The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey was conducted Feb. 21 through March 27, with funding from the SCAN Foundation. The SCAN Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that supports research and other initiatives on aging and health care. The nationally representative poll involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,019 Americans age 40 or older. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

___

Associated Press writer Stacy A. Anderson and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Government long-term care primer: http://longtermcare.gov

AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research: http://www.apnorc.org

Aging America is a joint AP-APME project examining the aging of the baby boomers and the effect that this so-called silver tsunami is having on the communities in which they live.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/poll-aging-us-denial-long-term-care-072819461--politics.html

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Disorder rule linked to intelligence

23 April 2013 Last updated at 06:08 ET By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News

A modification to one of the most fundamental laws of physics may provide a link to the rise of intelligence, cooperation - even upright walking.

The idea of entropy describes the way in which the Universe heads inexorably toward a higher state of disorder.

A mathematical model in Physical Review Letters proposes that systems maximise entropy in the present and the future.

Simple simulations based on the idea reproduce a variety of real-world cases that reflect intelligent behaviour.

The idea of entropy is fundamentally an intuitive one - that the Universe tends in general to a more disordered state.

The classic example is a dropped cup: it will smash into pieces, but those pieces will never spontaneously recombine back into a cup. Analogously, a hot cup of coffee will always cool down if left - it will never draw warmth from a room to heat back up.

But the idea of "causal entropy" goes further, suggesting that a given physical system not only maximises the entropy within its current conditions, but that it reaches a state that will allow it more entropy - in a real sense, more options - in the future.

Alex Wissner-Gross of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US and Cameron Freer from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, have now put together a mathematical model that ties this causal entropy idea - evident in a range of recent studies - into a single framework.

"In the past 10 to 15 years, there have been many hints from a variety of different disciplines that there was a deep link between entropy production and intelligence," Dr Wissner-Gross told BBC News.

Continue reading the main story

The laws of thermodynamics

• First law: Energy can be neither created nor destroyed (although, thanks to Einstein's most famous equation E=mc2, energy can come from or be turned into mass)
• Second law: The entropy of an isolated system always rises. But put some energy in and order can be achieved - in a crystal of salt, in humans, even in galaxies
• Third Law: As the temperature of an ordered system - like that salt crystal - approaches "absolute zero", entropy approaches its lowest level. But never zero, because everything, everywhere is at least a little bit disordered

"This paper is really the first result that clarifies what that link precisely is... to the point that it's prescriptive - it actually allows you to calculate in a sensible way answers to questions that couldn't reasonably be answered before."

The simplistic model considers a number of examples, such as a pendulum hanging from a moving cart. Simulations of the causal entropy idea show that the pendulum ends up pointing upward - an unstable situation, but one from which the pendulum can explore a wider variety of positions.

The researchers liken this to the development of upright walking.

Further simulations showed how the same idea could drive the development of tool use, social network formation and cooperation, and even the maximisation of profit in a simple financial market.

"While there were hints from a variety of other fields such as cosmology, it was so enormously surprising to see that one could take these principles, apply them to simple systems, and effectively for free have such behaviours pop out," Dr Wissner-Gross said.

'Beyond luck'

Raphael Bousso of the University of California Berkeley said: "It has always mystified me how well this principle models intelligent observers, and it would be wonderful if Alex's work could shed some light on this."

Prof Bousso showed in a 2007 paper in Physical Review D that models of the Universe that incorporated causal entropy were more likely to come up with a Universe that contains intelligent observers - that is, us.

However, he cautions that although the new paper bolsters the case for causal entropy, the idea still lacks explanatory power.

"The paper argues that intelligent behaviour, which is hard to quantify, can be reduced to maximising one's options, which is relatively easy to quantify. But it cannot explain intelligent behaviour from first principles," he told BBC News.

"It cannot explain how that 'intelligent agent' evolved in the first place, and why it seeks to maximise future options."

Axel Kleidon of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Germany, who authored a 2010 paper in Physics of Life Reviews using maximised entropy to consider the machinery of life on Earth, said that the work "shows some very intriguing examples" but that only time would tell if causal entropy was as fundamental as it may seem.

"It seems that it is beyond just luck and coincidence," he told BBC News.

"On the other hand, I know from my own research that applying thermodynamics to real-world systems is anything but simple and straightforward... I think it is through more examples that (we will see) how practical their approach will be, compared to other thermodynamic approaches."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22261742#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Air pollution and hardening of arteries

Apr. 23, 2013 ? Long term exposure to air pollution may be linked to heart attacks and strokes by speeding up atherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries," according to a study by U.S. researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.

The researchers, led by Sara Adar, John Searle Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, and Joel Kaufman, Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Washington, found that higher concentrations of fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) were linked to a faster thickening of the inner two layers of the common carotid artery, an important blood vessel that provides blood to the head, neck, and brain. They also found that reductions of fine particulate air pollution over time were linked to slower progression of the blood vessel thickness. The thickness of this blood vessel is an indicator of how much atherosclerosis is present in the arteries throughout the body, even among people with no obvious symptoms of heart disease.

"Our findings help us to understand how it is that exposures to air pollution may cause the increases in heart attacks and strokes observed by other studies," Adar said.

The authors reached these conclusions by following 5362 people aged between 45 to 84 years old from six U.S. metropolitan areas as part of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution (MESA Air). The researchers were able to link air pollution levels estimated at each person's house with two ultrasound measurements of the blood vessels, separated by about three years. All participants in their study were without known heart disease.

After adjusting for other factors such as smoking, the authors found that on average, the thickness of the carotid vessel increased by 14 ?m each year. The vessels of people exposed to higher levels of residential fine particulate air pollution, however, thickened faster than others living in the same metropolitan area.

"Linking these findings with other results from the same population suggests that persons living in a more polluted part of town may have a 2 percent higher risk of stroke as compared to people in a less polluted part of the same metropolitan area," Adar said.

"If confirmed by future analyses of the full 10 years of follow-up in this cohort, these findings will help to explain associations between long-term PM2.5 concentrations and clinical cardiovascular events," the authors wrote.

In an accompanying Perspective, Nino Kuenzli from the University of Basel in Switzerland says: "the [Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution study] further supports an old request to policy makers, namely that clean air standards ought to comply at least with the science-based levels proposed by the World Health Organization."

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Journal Reference:

1. Adar SD, Sheppard L, Vedal S, Polak JF, Sampson PD, et al. Fine Particulate Air Pollution and the Progression of Carotid Intima-Medial Thickness: A Prospective Cohort Study from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution. PLoS Med, 2013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001430

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/fNMbl5NT8J4/130423172706.htm

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How to Obtain Degree in Internet Marketing - Learn Blogging Tips

Internet marketing is the new trend inside the marketing arena. Almost all business entities are getting on board the bandwagon of internet marketing. It?s not until 2010 or 2011 that the educational system has taken notice of the growing need for internet marketing professionals.

Currently, what we have right now are salespeople who are just trying to find ways to be successful at selling their products and services online. A small percent of them hits the bull?s eye but most of them miss their targets by a hundred miles.

It?s about time that the educational system steps-in and sorts this out for the next generation who would also like to get into internet marketing business. A lot of people are saying that this should have been offered sooner. And still a lot of them aren?t even aware that it already exists, well, it?s about time.

If you?re interested to get your degree on internet marketing then the first order of business is to take a look at the campuses in your area that?s offering this degree. If there?s currently none, then you have the option to take the course online or to go to the university or college that offers this degree.

Here are some of the noted campuses that offer a degree in Internet Marketing:

Provides practical education to internet marketing in their following campuses; Orlando, Detroit and San Antonio. They also offer it online. ?It?s a 3-year program whether you take it online or on campus.

?

With campuses on Minnesota, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. They offers an associate degree on internet marketing and also an internet marketing certificate.

• Associate in Applied Science in Internet Marketing ? is available on campus and online. It?s a 2-year degree, meaning you can get your diploma in just 18 months.
• Internet Marketing Certificate ? is recommended for professionals who want to increase their abilities and skills in internet marketing. This is also available online and on campus. Most professionals though choose online education, that way they are able to study in their most comfortable time.

?

Offering Bachelor of Arts in eMarketing online. It?s not a BS degree like what the other universities are offering, they use a different approach in educating their students on this field. The total length of the program, if taken full time, is 48 months.

Other universities that are offering a degree in internet marketing that you may want to look into are University of San Francisco, Kaplan University, Full Sail University, Strayer University, North Central University, Southern New Hampshire University, and other campuses that may be closer to your location. Most of these universities also offer a program online that may be of interest to you too.

If you want to pursue this, then you have to do your research on these universities. You?ll have to consider the program?s reputation, duration, location, your current financial situation, and if you?re a professional, your time availability. There are two options to get your degree on internet marketing, on campus and online. This is an investment to your future so be sure to look at all the options before jumping in. Good luck.

Source: http://www.learnbloggingtips.com/how-to-obtain-degree-in-internet-marketing/

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Italy president names center-left's Letta as new premier

By Barry Moody and James Mackenzie

ROME (Reuters) - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Wednesday asked center-left deputy leader Enrico Letta to form a new government, signaling the end of a damaging two-month vacuum since elections in the euro zone's third largest economy in February.

Letta, a youthful former Christian Democrat from the right wing of his Democratic Party, said he would start talks to form a broad-based coalition on Thursday. It will likely go to parliament for a vote of confidence by early next week.

The prime minister designate is expected to select a group of ministers, mixed between politicians and technocrats, under the guidance of Napolitano, whose own unprecedented re-election last weekend opened the way for an end to the crisis.

The new government will be backed primarily by Letta's center-left and the center-right of Silvio Berlusconi, which had hitherto repeatedly failed to cut a deal following inconclusive elections two months ago.

Formation of a government after a lengthy and turbulent political impasse will send a signal that Italy might at last be ready to make a start on much-needed reforms.

Accepting his mandate, Letta said he was surprised by the nomination and felt a profound responsibility on his shoulders. But he said he would not form a government "at all costs", warning that the warring parties must make compromises.

Italy faced an untenable "difficult and fragile" situation and the government must provide answers on jobs, poverty and the crisis facing small businesses in a deep recession, he said.

He added that European Union economic policies had been too focused on austerity instead of growth and that Italy's electoral and parliamentary system must be reformed.

Napolitano's choice of Letta instead of veteran former Prime Minister Giuliano Amato, who was said to have been his original favorite, indicated he had plumped for a more political figure who reflects a generational change in Italian politics.

The bespectacled and balding Letta, an urbane moderate who speaks fluent English, is 46 against Amato's 74 and is an elected member of parliament unlike the older, more experienced man.

He will be the second youngest prime minister in Italian postwar history and as a staunch pro-European is likely to be welcomed by foreign governments and markets.

MARKET RELIEF

Investors had already reacted with relief to the prospect of an end to the intractable crisis, with Italy's two-year borrowing costs on Wednesday tumbling to their lowest level since the start of European monetary union in 1999.

However, the country's problems are not over, with significant differences remaining between left and right over economic policy.

These were put sharply into focus even before Letta was chosen when Renato Brunetta, house leader for Berlusconi's PDL party, said they would only support a government committed to repealing a hated housing tax introduced by outgoing technocrat premier Mario Monti and paying it back.

The center-left agrees only to a partial reduction of the tax and many economists say such a move would leave a gaping hole in Italy's public accounts.

But Napolitano, who reluctantly agreed to serve another term as president, has made clear that he will brook no more endless squabbling between the parties and has threatened to resign if they do not unite behind economic policies and important constitutional reforms.

Chief among these is the repeal of a dysfunctional electoral law which was largely responsible for the post election impasse.

Letta, the nephew of Berlusconi's long-time chief of staff Gianni Letta, is close to former party leader Pier Luigi Bersani, who resigned at the weekend after rebels sabotaged him in the voting for a new president in a debacle that threatens to tear the PD apart.

Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party, Letta's PD and Monti's centrist Civic Choice movement had all said they would cooperate with whomever Napolitano chooses.

"Given the crisis the country finds itself in, the country needs a strong, a durable government that can make important decisions," Berlusconi said after meeting Napolitano on Tuesday.

The billionaire media magnate has exploited the center-left's divisions, with one poll this week giving the center-right an eight-point lead. This could be a worry for Letta if he forms a government, with Berlusconi tempted to pull the plug if he does not get his own way.

In February's general election, the center-left narrowly won a majority in the lower house but failed to win control of the Senate and was not able to form a government.

Italy's economy has been the most sluggish in Europe for more than a decade and mired in a deep recession since the middle of 2011, with no recovery in sight.

(Additional reporting by Paolo Biondi and Steve Scherer; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italy-president-set-announce-choice-prime-minister-054722232.html

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Do You Talk About Your Salary with Your Coworkers?

It's generally considered bad form to talk about your salary with coworkers, but it's becoming more common recently. So, we want to know, do you ever talk about salary with coworkers?

According to the Wall Street Journal, people are talking about their salary a lot more these days, and it's not necessarily a bad thing if you follow a few ground rules. With the taboo lifted, we want to hear it: do you talk about salary with your coworkers? How do you go about it?

Workers Share Their Salary Secrets | Wall Street Journal

Photo by John Lambert Pearson.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/puno9BNEBuM/do-you-talk-about-your-salary-with-your-coworkers-477837578

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Mac sales down slightly, but PC sales down much more

There wasn't great news for Mac enthusiasts in Apple's latest quarterly earnings report - Mac sales are actually down year over year. Apple sold 3.952 million Macs this past quarter, compared to 4.017 million for the same quarter a year ago.

Putting a positive spin on the news, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer noted during the conference call with analysts that while Mac sales are down 2 percent year over year, the rest of the PC industry is faring worse - sales are down 14 percent year over year, according to a report from IDC.

Even though unit sales are down, revenue is up - Apple raked in $5.447 billion in Mac sales for the quarter, compared to $5.073 for the same quarter a year ago. So while Apple may not have sold as many Macs, it made more money on them. Tim Cook attributes the difference to strong demand in iMac sales; no surprise, given that the supply of new, thin iMac models was constrained until the beginning of the year.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/FhnBH10QUG4/story01.htm

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