Travel light ? in cargo and in activities

You miss out on a lot on your vacation if you schedule too many activities, Hamm writes, and it usually winds up being more expensive.

By Trent Hamm,?Guest blogger / December 30, 2012

This December 2010 studio image shows a calendar. Don?t let yourself be burdened by a tight schedule on vacation, Hamm advises, and give yourself the freedom to explore the new things you find.

Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor/File

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I?ve gone on one vacation in my life where we had pre-bought tickets for activities on most of the days. I thought I was doing a great job in terms of bargain hunting. Oh, how wrong I was.

Skip to next paragraph Trent Hamm

The Simple Dollar is a blog for those of us who need both cents and sense: people fighting debt and bad spending habits while building a financially secure future and still affording a latte or two. Our busy lives are crazy enough without having to compare five hundred mutual funds ? we just want simple ways to manage our finances and save a little money.

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For one, we didn?t even end up doing some of the activities. We?d go out to eat after a long day with two or three of the activities, be enjoying a beverage out on a patio somewhere, and just decide to skip the evening activity so we wouldn?t have to rush our wonderful dinner.

For another, I can?t tell you the number of times we had to rush by things that looked interesting or that we wanted to explore simply because we?had?to get to some specific place on time.

If your travel plans for vacation are starting to look like one of the pages in your daily planner,?throw out those travel plans. You miss out on a lot if you vacation that way ? and it usually winds up being more expensive if you use a detailed itinerary, too.?

Turning a page to 2013

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Dany Laferri?re?s account of living through the 2010 earthquake in Haiti will be published in English next week.

Photograph by: John Kenney , The Gazette

MONTREAL ? Never having been much of an Apocalypse enthusiast, I?m glad the Mayans were wrong, for all kinds of reasons. Not least among them is that, having had a peek at some of the books to appear in 2013, it would have felt downright unfair to have been denied the reading experiences. But now that we know we?ll be around, here is an assortment of what?s in store the next three months or so. ?Pub dates,? as they call them in the business, are subject to change, so you might want to check ahead before sprinting out to the neighbourhood bookstore with your cash.

Right out of the gate, next week in fact, comes Dany Laferri?re?s The World Is Moving Around Me, the Haitian-Canadian?s account of his experience in and around Port-au-Prince at the time of the cataclysmic January 2010 earthquake. Written in a quick burst and published in French a mere 10 weeks after the quake, it now finally sees English-language publication, in a translation by David Homel, as the third anniversary of the quake approaches. Watch this column for more on it, soon.

Michael Crummey, after his extravagantly praised and popular Newfoundland historical novel Galore, does his bit to keep the Canadian tradition of the poet/novelist alive with his new poetry collection, Under the Keel. Late bloomer Peter Behrens, a Montrealer now living in Maine, is evidently still on a prolific roll; readers still absorbing his latest Irish diaspora novel, The O?Briens, now have the new story collection, Travelling Light, to look forward to. Saleema Nawaz returns in March with the much-anticipated Montreal-set novel Bone and?Bread.

Aleksandar Hemon has established himself as one of the most vital figures on the international literary scene since emigrating to the United States from Bosnia in 1992. His work has always drawn strongly on personal experience, but The Book of My Lives marks his first foray into proper non-fiction. Hemon writes of ?learning a new city, remembering the old,? the two cities being the only two in which he has ever lived ? Sarajevo and Chicago.

Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid showed a flair for capturing global geopolitical currents in fiction form with his 2008 book, The Reluctant Fundamentalist; the title of his imminent novel, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, would seem to indicate he?s up to something similar.

Karen Russell?s 2011 family saga, Swamplandia!, a master class in the comic-macabre, was one of the bigger cult novels of recent years and a Pulitzer Prize finalist to boot, so there will be a ready-made readership for her new story collection, Vampires in the Lemon Grove.

Every season brings one or two buzz-fuelled hits from relative unknowns, and right now signs are pointing to Eleanor Morse, whose White Dog Fell From the Sky has been drawing advance comparisons with Abraham Verghese?s Cutting Stone and the detective novels of Alexander McCall Smith. If either of those appeal to you ? they strike me as being quite different, which is intriguing in itself ? proceed accordingly. Also tipped for big things is Meg Wolitzer?s The Interestings, which follows a group of gifted teens into adulthood, and arrives bearing hosannas from Jeffrey Eugenides, who likens the novel to Virginia Woolf?s The Waves.

Literati will rejoice at news that a brace of writers? writers ? i.e. brilliant talents who have never sold quite as much as they deserve ? are back with new work. Short story master George Saunders has always pulled off the rare combination of innovation, accessibility, humour and gravitas; his new collection, Tenth of December, has been extensively previewed in The New Yorker and should be nothing less than great. James Salter, whose 1967 novel A Sport and a Pastime frequently shows up on the all-time-best lists of those lucky enough to have read it, is set to publish his first novel in more than 30 years, All That Is.

A titan of 20th-century letters, William H. Gass (trivia fans take note: His On Being Blue inspired the name of Blue Metropolis), is still very much with us, returning with the novel Middle C, his first work of fiction since 1998.

Also back after a lengthy hiatus is Antigua-born American Jamaica Kincaid with her novel See Now Then.

It may be getting tempting to take Malcolm Gladwell for granted, but cast your mind back 15 years or so, to a time before The Tipping Point, and consider just how unlikely it would have seemed then that an essayist/journalist working at the frontiers of social science should become a multimillion-selling author, as bankable as any airport blockbuster purveyor. Readers of all stripes, not to mention booksellers, will be glad to know that Gladwell will be back in book form sometime in 2013 with David and Goliath, a study of power and its uses, inspired partly by the Occupy movement.

Thanks to the readers who sent in their own Hallelujah stories after my interview with Alan Light, author of The Holy or the Broken, a study of the unique journey of Leonard Cohen?s song. Light has also written a fine Beastie Boys biography, and in part of the interview that didn?t quite fit into the feature, I asked him about the response to Adam ?MCA? Yauch?s death this year, and whether he saw any affinities between Cohen and the Beasties, beyond their being Jews who embraced Buddhism. ?We?re all kind of used to the deaths of rock stars,? Light said. ?But we still assume that means something dramatic or glamorous or somehow ?special? ? a plane crash or an overdose or a violent end, things that happen to people who ?aren?t like us.? But with Adam?s passing, this was someone we had grown up with, felt common interests and common cause with, who just got sick and died, like most people do. That really struck me as a different emotional experience than what Michael Jackson fans or Whitney Houston fans or whoever else went through.?

The Beasties and Cohen share ?the willingness to evolve, both personally and creatively,? he said.

?Cohen has always been a seeker ? most obviously through his various religious experiences, but also through finding different ways to write and make music; his embrace of songwriting in the first place, or synthesizers, or even his triumphant late-in-life tours, which surprised himself most of all. Both Leonard and the Beasties have refused to repeat themselves, when that?s what their fans most wanted and expected from them. But then, I guess that?s what being an artist is, right??

? Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

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Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Turning+page+2013/7753582/story.html

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Movie Reviews: Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Jack Reacher ...

Editor's Note: All reviews and information aggregated from?Moviefone.

Django Unchained

"A sharp shock of a film in an Awards season very full of movies so noble they become immobile. It's wildly unlikely to get much love from the Academy, and that's fine-bluntly, it's too good for them. With its bloody stew of history and hysteria, action taken from movies and atrocities taken from fact, Django isn't just a movie only America could make-it's also a movie only America needs to." Boxoffice Magazine.?Full Review.

"Exactly what you might expect from the fearless, controversial director of "Pulp Fiction" - it's overlong, raunchy, shocking, grim, exaggerated, self-indulgently over-the-top and so politically incorrect it demands a new definition of the term. It is also bold, original, mesmerizing, stylish and one hell of a piece of entertainment." Rex Reed of New York Observer.?Full Review.

"Django Unchained also has the pure, almost meaningless excitement which I found sorely lacking in Tarantino's previous film, Inglourious Basterds, with its misfiring spaghetti-Nazi trope and boring plot. I can only say Django delivers, wholesale, that particular narcotic and delirious pleasure that Tarantino still knows how to confect in the cinema, something to do with the manipulation of surfaces. It's as unwholesome, deplorable and delicious as a forbidden cigarette." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian.?Full Review.

Do you plan on seeing this movie? Have you seen it already? Leave a review of the film with a comment below.

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Les Miserables

"Stirring and striking, Hooper's epic musical won't be wanting for awards and plaudits. Danny Cohen's cinematography is stunning and Hathaway's Oscar is guaranteed." Neil Smith of Total Film.?Full Review.

"Russell Crowe's pained vocal stylings (they sound more like barks) as relentless Inspector Javert can be forgiven after hearing Hugh Jackman's old-pro fluidity in the central role of Jean Valjean, hiding a criminal past." Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York.?Full Review.

"Fortunately, this sprawling epic is well-anchored. There cannot be a better big-screen showman than Jackman." Elizabeth Weitzman of New York Daily News.?Full Review.

Do you plan on seeing this movie? Have you seen it already? Leave a review of the film with a comment below.

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Jack Reacher

"In terms of pure pop entertainment value, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more smartly constructed, beautifully shot, pulse-pounding movie this holiday season." Drew Taylor of The Playlist.?Full Review.

"A superior thriller, with Cruise and McQuarrie slotting together like a bullet in a clip. Like Reacher on the firing range, the aim isn't always true ? but the misses are fractional." James Mottram of Total Film.?Full Review.

"Tom Cruise is in fine form as mysterious tough guy Jack Reacher finally reaches the big screen." Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter.?Full Review

Do you plan on seeing this movie? Have you seen it already? Leave a review of the film with a comment below.

- - - - -?

Promised Land

"Krasinki's soft-sell script, lets the movie's ideas get absorbed without grandstanding or pretension. Its issues go down with a smile and common sense, which turns out to be exactly the right formula." Joe Neumaier of New York Daily News.?Full Review.

"Though the film eventually caves to sentiment and stereotype, its alert performances and muted rhythms offer much to enjoy in the interim." Jeanette Catsoulis of NPR.?Full Review.

"Director Gus Van Sant finds the human side of a knotty issue. No polemics. Just the face of a new America in crisis." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone.?Full Review.

- - - - -?

Monsters, Inc. 3-D

"It's the Pixar animators who keep grown-ups as riveted as the kids with visual marvels that dazzle and delight." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone.?Full Review.

"There hasn't been a film in years to use creative energy as efficiently as Monsters, Inc." A.O. Scott of The New York Times.?Full Review.

"Who doesn't need what this movie has to give?" Joe Morgenstern of Wall Street Journal.?Full Review.

Source: http://townandcountry-manchester.patch.com/articles/movie-reviews-django-unchained-les-miserables-jack-reacher-promised-land-and-monster-inc-3-d

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Obama touts Hagel, says no decision on defense secretary job (reuters)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/273909595?client_source=feed&format=rss

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The night sky's top sights for 2013

David Lillo / AFP - Getty Images

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

By Alan Boyle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Issei Kato / Reuters file

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Update for 8:50 p.m. ET: British educator-astronomer Stuart Atkinson has set up a blog titled "Waiting for ISON" to monitor the comet countdown. Atkinson is also in charge of "The Road to Endeavour" blog about the Opportunity rover on Mars; and The Gale Gazette, which keeps tabs on NASA's Mars Curiosity mission.

More about the coming comets:

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Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

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

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Kitchen Remodeling Basic safety Ideas You should know | Home ...

?Do you think you?re a homeowner who is looking to begin a kitchen remodeling project? If so, are you doing which project by yourself? While a large number of home owners make the decision to rent a professional company, others usually do not. Not only will you?ve control over the kitchen remodeling project, but doing all your own remodeling may save a little money. Although there are a number of benefits to remodeling your own kitchen, there are also numerous disadvantages. One of these disadvantages will be the risk of injury.

One of the many reasons why kitchen remodeling can be termed dangerous is because of the various tools that are utilized. Whether you are updating your kitchen lights, your kitchen units, or your kitchen floors, you will likely want to use a collection of tools; tools that may be unsafe when used wrongly. That is why it is essential that you know each of the tools you are using, which includes their hazards. Although there is a good possibility that you have used a container cutter or perhaps a saw just before, there is also a likelihood that you haven?t. Before starting your kitchen remodeling project, it could be a good idea to practice with as well as familiarize yourself with the various tools that you will be employing. When it comes time to be able to starting your redecorating, you should know how to safely utilize all of your equipment; thus losing risk of injury.

It is also important that you realize your own actual physical limits, any time remodeling your kitchen. Whether you are changing your kitchen roof tiles, installing brand new kitchen cabinets, or even installing a whole new kitchen counter top, you need to know the amount is too significantly to elevate. Lifting too much weight may result in again injury; for that reason, if you need the assistance of someone, ask for it. It is additionally advised that you simply keep your total ability to operate in mind. Even if you are trying to get your kitchen remodeling project finished as quickly as possible, it is suggested that you do not force yourself. When you?re tired and working, your safety factors are not only vulnerable, but the all round outcome of your project is also simply because more problems may be created. If you need a split, even for one hour, take 1.

When remodeling your kitchen, it is usually advised that you keep aware of your surroundings; this includes who else is in the cooking area. If you are upgrading with a pal or a family member, it is a good option to know in which they are at all times. This will help to prevent accidentally injuries. It is also imperative that you keep an eye on that may type in the kitchen if you are remodeling. If you?ve children, it can be a good idea to block the entranceway for your kitchen. Should you be unable to do so, you will always want to know if and when your children enter the upgrading area. If you have young children, it really is advised which you never leave your redesigning tools all over, especially large, sharp equipment.

Source: http://www.cohocton.org/207-kitchen-remodeling-basic-safety-ideas-you-should-know

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Spain?s recession-battered economy to grow and create new jobs in year 2014

Organiser of Spanish Halloween party where five died held

Barcelona News.Net - Friday 28th December, 2012

The owner of the company behind a giant Halloween party in Madrid that ended with a human stampede resulting in five deaths has been arrested. Miguel Angel Flores was detained because of the risk ...

Evictions rise in Spain

Barcelona News.Net - Thursday 27th December, 2012

Eviction proceedings in Spanish courts rose to a record 49,702 as of Sep 30, up 15.9 percent from the same period in 2011, authorities said Thursday. Total evictions so far in 2012 have topped the ...

Spain does not need European help for now

Times of India - Friday 28th December, 2012

Mariano Rajoy said on Friday that Spain did not need to tap for now the European Central Bank's bond-buying programme for troubled euro zone governments but did not rule out asking for aid in ...

56 of Female University Students Get Drunk in Record Time Spanish Study Suggests

Science Daily - Friday 28th December, 2012

-; Researchers from the HealthyFit group at the University of Vigo have studied university students' lifestyles; their analysis, which includes alcohol and illegal drug consumption habits, ...

P.M. Rajoy says Spain faces tough year ahead

Denver Post - Friday 28th December, 2012

MADRID-Spain's prime minister says the country's economy faces a tough year ahead as it grapples with recession, a deep financial crisis and 25 percent unemployment. In his end-of-year ...

Spains PM says does not rule out asking for European aid

The West Australian - Friday 28th December, 2012

Reuters ? Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy arrives at parliamentary session for the formal approbation of the budget for 2013 at Parliament in Madrid December 20, 2012. REUTERS/Juan ...

Spain sees very tough economy in 2013

Yahoo!7 News - Friday 28th December, 2012

View Photo Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy attends a parliament session on Spain's 2013 budget in Madrid on December 20, 2012. Rajoy warned Friday of a "very tough" year ...

Shares in Spains Bankia plummet for second day

Tampa Bay Online - Friday 28th December, 2012

MADRID (AP) -- Shares in bailed-out Spanish bank Bankia SA are falling for a second day, dropping more than 30 percent at one point during trading on the IBEX-35 stock ...

Recession batters Spain in final months of 2012

Times of India - Friday 28th December, 2012

unemployment and a banking crisis, Spain remains stuck in recession in the final quarter of 2012, the central bank said Friday. The eurozone's ...

Foreign money returns to Spain for second straight month

The West Australian - Friday 28th December, 2012

By Clare KaneMADRID (Reuters) - Foreign investors put more money into Spain in October than they took out, marking the second month running the country has benefited from an influx of capital.Spain ...

Spain Retail Sales fall by only -7.8 in November

Nasdaq - Friday 28th December, 2012

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - In Spain, Retail Sales (MoM) in the month of November fell -7.8%, beating consensus expectations of -10.0%, and marking an improvement from -9.7% in the previous ...

Iniesta No end in sight to Barcelona success

soccerway - Friday 28th December, 2012

Andres Iniesta believes Barcelona's current cycle of success can continue for many years to come.The attacking midfielder has been at the heart of a Blaugrana side which has set the standard in ...

Source: http://www.barcelonanews.net/index.php/sid/211656618/scat/943ff37d8bcb6116

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Post-Christmas Shopping: What To Buy With Your Gift Cards ...

Give yourself a romantic gift with Spicy Subscriptions' Spice Box.

Now you're shopping for yourself? Here's how to make it good.

Now that Christmas is over, and you've already found the perfect present for your loved ones, it's time to get down to the next order of gift-giving business: Tackling all of those gift cards.

Here's how to get the most bang for your buck for treating yourself, whether you have money toward Amazon or Walmart.?

More from YourTango: Weird News: When Facebook Stalking Exes Leads To Jail Time

1.?American Express
It's easy to spend this extra cash on food, drinks and cab rides, but why not treat yourself to something special ? something that will last all year long? Put your Amex gift card toward?Spicy Subscriptions,?a monthly service that sends an assortment of romance and intimacy products. Not only will it heat things up for you and your partner each month, but you never even have to set foot in an adult store. From personal toys to oils, the Spice Box is the flirty gift that keeps on giving. Try the Premium Spice Box for $20.95/month or the Deluxe Spice Box?for?$34.95/month.

More from YourTango: Is A Bad Credit Score The New STD?

2. Amazon
There's no better time to get yourself expensive beauty products than during the holidays ? and with an Amazon gift card they don't even have to be expensive. During it's year-end sale, Amazon is selling it's beauty products for 10% to 75% off. ?That means Burberry perfume, Chanel lipstick and more for affordable prices. StriVectin Deep Wrinkle Serum for?$35? Yes, please.

3. Starbucks
Ever feel like your Starbucks gift card isn't put to good use when all you can get out of it is a few drinks? This year, become your own barista and purchase your favorite syrups and sauces to make your own delicious drinks. You can even buy their seasonal items and serve up Peppermint Mochas long after Starbucks stops making them. Keep reading ...

Source: http://www.yourtango.com/2012169218/post-christmas-shopping-how-spend-your-gift-cards

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Red Sox get All-Star closer Hanrahan from Pirates

BOSTON (AP) ? If Joel Hanrahan can do for the Boston Red Sox what he did against them, they should be very happy with their new closer.

In the first of his two All-Star seasons, the right-hander posted back-to-back saves for the Pittsburgh Pirates with perfect ninth innings against the Red Sox in June 2011. He struck out Adrian Gonzalez, who entered the series batting .359, to end the second game.

"When people look back on me as a Pirate, that's the one that stands out the most to them," Hanrahan said Wednesday after being obtained in a six-player trade.

People such as Red Sox assistant general manager Brian O'Halloran.

"It definitely made an impression on me," he said. "It was not fun to be in the batter's box against Joel Hanrahan."

Now American League hitters will see what it's like.

Boston completed the deal Wednesday, also receiving infielder Brock Holt. The Red Sox gave up right-handers Mark Melancon and Stolmy Pimentel, infielder Ivan DeJesus Jr. and first baseman-outfielder Jerry Sands.

The Red Sox also announced the signing of free agent shortstop Stephen Drew, who agreed to a one-year contract early last week. The reported $9.5 million deal was contingent on Drew passing a physical. The former Oakland Athletic and Arizona Diamondback broke his ankle in 2011.

"We feel that he's going to be fully healthy for us," O'Halloran said.

The acquisition of Drew and Hanrahan are the latest in a series of moves designed to improve on a 69-93 record and a last-place finish in the AL East. The Red Sox already have obtained right-handers Ryan Dempster and Koji Uehara, outfielders Shane Victorino and Johnny Gomes and catcher David Ross.

Over the past two seasons, Hanrahan had 76 saves, fourth most in the National League, and a 2.24 ERA. Last season, he was 5-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 36 saves.

The six-year veteran will take over the closer's role that Alfredo Aceves struggled in most of last season before giving way to Andrew Bailey, who had missed most of the season with a right thumb injury.

In his first season with Boston, Bailey was 1-1 with a 7.04 ERA and six saves in nine opportunities over 19 games.

Manager John Farrell has talked with Hanrahan and Bailey and told them that Hanrahan will be the closer, although "we see Andrew as playing a very important role," O'Halloran said.

The Red Sox's search for a closer began when Jonathan Papelbon signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies after the 2011 season.

Hanrahan figured he was part of that quest when he heard his name in trade rumors involving the Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers.

"I got excited" when he learned of the trade, Hanrahan said. "Obviously, the Red Sox have a great history and tradition and it's a huge sports city."

In six seasons, 2 1/2 with the Washington Nationals and 3 1/2 with the Pirates, he's 22-17 with a 3.74 ERA and 96 saves in 117 chances. His best season was 2011 when he went 1-4 with a 1.83 ERA, 40 saves in 44 opportunities and just 16 walks in 68 2-3 innings. His control slipped last season when he walked 36 in 59 2-3 innings.

Hanrahan said hamstring and ankle problems affected his pitching mechanics.

"I don't think the walks are going to be a concern," he said. "I feel good going to spring training."

Hanrahan said he's never been to Fenway Park, but O'Halloran doesn't think he'll have trouble adjusting to the American League.

"Joel Hanrahan has the stuff to pitch anywhere," he said.

Holt spent most of last season at Double-A Altoona, then hit .292 in 24 games with the Pirates, all in September.

Melancon was 0-2 with a 6.20 ERA in 41 relief appearances in his only season with Boston. Pimentel spent the season at Double-A Portland. Sands and DeJesus were obtained in a trade that sent Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford to the Dodgers on Aug. 25.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/red-sox-star-closer-hanrahan-pirates-181900255--mlb.html

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Basic Internet Business Workshop | Fadzuli.com

Making your Fortune Online is easy when you
have a map that can guide you to take on the right direction to setting up
your own Online Enterprise and see Kachings!

From the Desk of Fadzuli Wahab,

Congratulations for being the few that manage to see this page. Out of the thousands of emails, facebook invites, you are the very few people that clicked our link and read this. We know that you are a busy person and your time is limited with your business, your work and your family. So I?ll do my best to keep this short.

You probably have stumbled upon this site via Google or have seen a link in Facebook or on a particular Blog to reach here. I have to be honest with you, its not by mere accident or by mere coincidence that you are here.

• You are here because you saw this very fanciful Banner on a Blog and wanted to know more.
• You are here because you were searching for information on Google to find out on how to set up your own online business.
• You are here because you were searching for ?Fadzuli? on Google, Yahoo or Bing.
• You are here because you were?mesmerised?by a story you?ve read from your Friend?s Website or Facebook Fanpage and wanted to know more.
• and more?.

As I mentioned earlier, you are not here by accident. Someone or something that I did or my friends did or Google engines has helped me to get you here.

This is what we normally coined as??Internet Marketing??- its a process to get people to come to this website to read this message and eventually get you to attend this workshop.

Yes I am going to be blunt!! I am going to sell you this workshop. At the end of this message I will be offering you a super great deal for you to consider.

If you can?t wait don?t continue reading?.. Just scroll down to the bottom.

?

My story?. Guidance..

In 2006, like many I was a hopeless person trying to find my way in this business world. Back then I just left University to pursue this world we called ?Business?. It was a strange place to be for a newbie. I didn?t know where to go and didn?t know what to do. Still I took up the challenge to embark this journey to be an Entrepreneur.

You don?t need to know everything. You just need a heart to start it and a strong will to continue this bumpy ride.

The first business that I took on was to sell this special Clay Soap made in Malaysia. It was made to serve a very niche market. With only $20 in my pocket, I embarked on it by purchasing a few pieces and then manage to borrow from my dad to buy a whole carton of the Clay Soap. Surprising the product caught on with the relatives with the help of my Mum. She?s this telemarketeer who would called up every single Aunt to let them know of this new product.

In a few months I took the product to the stores, built a website with just $150 for the domain and web hosting. ?And from there that $20 turn to hundreds per month offline. The product was selling very well offline, however the website I built did not garner much attention. The only way I know how to market back then was to email to a group of my friends and contacts in NUS.

To expand the business I need to know more people, so I signed up for an entrepreneurship?workshop at SMU which led ?to my Mentor known as Abang Abu. He then introduced me to a Malaysian Internet Millionaire ? Dr Irfan Khairi which opened the way for me to learn more about Online Marketing.

The lessons covered in the workshop by Dr Irfan Khairi was very simple to create wealth online. You just need a Page with all the information about your product or Service. Drive Traffic via the various ways & Monitor them. Sales will eventually be made and from there you have to implement after sales tactics to gain more business.

After that workshop, I implemented what was taught and there you go my online sales increased by 50% in 2 months. A simple strategy yet it works like magic! Till today I am receiving calls and orders for this product.

As you can see I am not a genius who figured out everything. I had to attend seminars and workshops to learn the Right Way of Marketing Offline & Online. I needed the right Guidance.

Similarly my mentor Dr Irfan also said the same thing. He was lost when he started his online business back then in University. In his first year, he managed to get only 2 clients. Only after he attended a seminar to learn the right way of Promoting, Choosing the Right Products, Setting up Systems then he started to have more customers.

If you want to get the real stuff done, find someone who can guide you.

Now you may think that I am making up all the stories above. Now let me show you some of our recent statistics from one of my online businesses and some of my track records.

Proofs

Click image above to view a clearer image.

Now what I have shown above is the recent sales statistics for one of my online businesses. Yes the truth is I have more than one website that are making money for me but let me tell you that if you can?t do for one, let?s not talk about doing it on multiple websites.

Now for Offline Biz, I have also helped to fill up several events from 40 pax classrooms to 600 pax.

In 2010, I was fortunate to help strategize an event which draws more than 500 people. I was one of the Speakers at this Untung Internet Seminar.

In 2011, I did it again..

In this round almost 300 people turn up for this event.

Whatever I have shown you above are real cases that happened. Now I must share with you that it is not impossible to have done what I have done. But you need to do the do!

All that reveal in this workshop because when you understand the basics and the fundamentals, its easy to do any other things.

The Workshop?.

And here I will like to share with you the upcoming workshop on Basic Internet Business.

Who is this for?

1. For beginners who wants to learn to have their own online empire.
2. For current business owners who have an offline business and wish to take their business online.
3. For those who tried online marketing before but have not made a single cent since they started..
4. For house wives to make a living from home .
5. For students to make extra income to cover their school fees.

Get your Basics Right.

In everything we do, it comes down to Basics. Imagine if you cannot count from 1 to 10. Would you be able to do Algebra?

Internet Business is the same, you must get the hang of the basic tools and basic steps to market your services. Then you can have the confidence to take on the intermediate and advance steps.

?

Thank You indeed Fadzuli. It was quite interesting and full of knowledge. I recommend the same for those who are eager to learn and develop their business.

?

?

?

Nezar Adwan

Bahrain

Basic Internet Business Workshop by?Fadzuli Wahab?is great!! Learnt something new today and most importantly get the chance to NETWORK with new entrepreneurs. This is so essential in business world.

How about you? Have you attended it?

Don?t miss the chance to attend it to learn the secret to internet business. My take away from the workshop is ?Don?t Turn off the Tap so soon. It?s just the beginning?.

Colourfusion
Singapore

www.colourfusionprinting.com

So here?s the topics that we will cover in this 8 hours Interactive workshop.

Part 1 ( Morning Session )
- What?s an Internet Business?
- Internet Business & Internet Marketing
- The potential of an Internet Business
- What can you sell online? Physical, Digital, Service, Events? Choosing the right Product.
- The 4 main components of an Internet Business ? The Website, The Traffic, The Payment Gateways & The Tracking Systems.
- Group Activity ? Yes you will be group up to work in small groups just before lunch.

?

Part 2 ( Afternoon Session)
- Fundamentals of Marketing
- Traffic, Traffic & Traffic
-?Magic Triggers ? Secrets that make people buy.
>> Magic Trigger Activity
- Building your list. Why is this crucial?
-?Communicating with your list and engaging them?
- Automation Systems. Is it possible to automate your business process?
- Lesson Summary..

Duration: 8 hours
Laptop & Mobile Broadband is optional.
No Pre-Requisites
Worth $330 per pax

$330 can be quite heavy for some of you. Hence, only for a short period I am giving you a huge discount to attend this workshop.

Workshop Fee

Usual ? SGD?$197

Sign Up Now
Now! Single ? SGD $72
Now! Double ? SGD $120 (Come with a friend)

Inclusive of Notes.

When?

Saturday, 5th January 2013, 9am to 5pm

or

Saturday, 2nd February 2013, 9am to 5pm

Venue:

45 Bussorah Street Singapore 199463 ( Level 2)

Opposite Sultan Mosque @ Bugis. See Map below.

View Larger Map

This Workshop Answers the following Questions?

1) Where am I right now?
2) What do I know about running or setting up an Internet Business?
3) What do I need to do Next ? Set up? Getting Traffic? Measuring Results?
4) How do I start from Zero?
5) Why should I do this.
6) What is a link?
7) And much much more..

Each participant will receive Answers to the following Questions at the end of the day.

How do I book my seats??Please read our terms first.

Terms & Conditions:

• Positions are confirmed after your Payment/Registration is made.
• There will be no re-funds if you fail to attend this workshop.
• Friend/Colleague can be your replacement if you are unable to attend.
• By attending this workshop, you will be providing confidential data to Fadzuli.com ( my company ). Hence we will promise you that we will never share your details / data to others.

Payment Instructions

Option 1 ? By Bank Transfer

Please transfer to the following account

DBS Current Account ? 106 901427 1

Early Bird

Now! Single ? SGD $72
Now! Double ? SGD $120 (Come with a friend)

After making payment, please fill in the form at the bottom of this page.

Option 2 ? Debit/Credit Card Payments

Single Seat ( $72 ) -?Click here to make Payment

Double Seat ( $120 ) -?Click here to make Payment

For Paypal payments, you will receive an Email Invoice by Paypal. Please use that as receipt. No receipts will be issued during the event.

After making payment, please fill in the form below.

basic internet business workshop

Source: http://www.fadzuli.com/courses/basic-internet-business-workshop-3/

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Desert Storm commander Norman Schwarzkopf dies

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Truth is, retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf didn't care much for his popular "Stormin' Norman" nickname.

The seemingly no-nonsense Desert Storm commander's reputed temper with aides and subordinates supposedly earned him that rough-and-ready moniker. But others around the general, who died Thursday in Tampa, Fla., at age 78 from complications from pneumonia, knew him as a friendly, talkative and even jovial figure who preferred the somewhat milder sobriquet given by his troops: "The Bear."

That one perhaps suited him better later in his life, when he supported various national causes and children's charities while eschewing the spotlight and resisting efforts to draft him to run for political office.

He lived out a quiet retirement in Tampa, where he'd served his last military assignment and where an elementary school bearing his name is testament to his standing in the community.

Schwarzkopf capped an illustrious military career by commanding the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991 ? but he'd managed to keep a low profile in the public debate over the second Gulf War against Iraq, saying at one point that he doubted victory would be as easy as the White House and the Pentagon predicted.

Schwarzkopf was named commander in chief of U.S. Central Command at Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base in 1988, overseeing the headquarters for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly two dozen countries stretching across the Middle East to Afghanistan and the rest of central Asia, plus Pakistan.

When Saddam invaded Kuwait two years later to punish it for allegedly stealing Iraqi oil reserves, Schwarzkopf commanded Operation Desert Storm, the coalition of some 30 countries organized by President George H.W. Bush that succeeded in driving the Iraqis out.

At the peak of his postwar national celebrity, Schwarzkopf ? a self-proclaimed political independent ? rejected suggestions that he run for office, and remained far more private than other generals, although he did serve briefly as a military commentator for NBC.

While focused primarily on charitable enterprises in his later years, he campaigned for President George W. Bush in 2000, but was ambivalent about the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In early 2003 he told The Washington Post that the outcome was an unknown: "What is postwar Iraq going to look like, with the Kurds and the Sunnis and the Shiites? That's a huge question, to my mind. It really should be part of the overall campaign plan."

Initially Schwarzkopf had endorsed the invasion, saying he was convinced that Secretary of State Colin Powell had given the United Nations powerful evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. After that proved false, he said decisions to go to war should depend on what U.N. weapons inspectors found.

He seldom spoke up during the conflict, but in late 2004 he sharply criticized Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and the Pentagon for mistakes that included erroneous judgments about Iraq and inadequate training for Army reservists sent there.

"In the final analysis I think we are behind schedule. ... I don't think we counted on it turning into jihad (holy war)," he said in an NBC interview.

Schwarzkopf was born Aug. 24, 1934, in Trenton, N.J., where his father, Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, founder and commander of the New Jersey State Police, was then leading the investigation of the Lindbergh kidnap case. That investigation ended with the arrest and 1936 execution of German-born carpenter Richard Hauptmann for murdering famed aviator Charles Lindbergh's infant son.

The elder Schwarzkopf was named Herbert, but when the son was asked what his "H'' stood for, he would reply, "H."

As a teenager Norman accompanied his father to Iran, where the elder Schwarzkopf trained the Iran's national police force and was an adviser to Reza Pahlavi, the young Shah of Iran.

Young Norman studied there and in Switzerland, Germany and Italy, then followed in his father's footsteps to West Point, graduating in 1956 with an engineering degree. After stints in the U.S. and abroad, he earned a master's degree in engineering at the University of Southern California and later taught missile engineering at West Point.

In 1966 he volunteered for Vietnam and served two tours, first as a U.S. adviser to South Vietnamese paratroops and later as a battalion commander in the U.S. Army's Americal Division. He earned three Silver Stars for valor ? including one for saving troops from a minefield ? plus a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and three Distinguished Service Medals.

While many career officers left military service embittered by Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was among those who opted to stay and help rebuild the tattered Army into a potent, modernized all-volunteer force.

After Saddam invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Schwarzkopf played a key diplomatic role by helping persuade Saudi Arabia's King Fahd to allow U.S. and other foreign troops to deploy on Saudi territory as a staging area for the war to come.

On Jan. 17, 1991, a five-month buildup called Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as allied aircraft attacked Iraqi bases and Baghdad government facilities. The six-week aerial campaign climaxed with a massive ground offensive on Feb. 24-28, routing the Iraqis from Kuwait in 100 hours before U.S. officials called a halt.

Schwarzkopf said afterward he agreed with Bush's decision to stop the war rather than drive to Baghdad to capture Saddam, as his mission had been only to oust the Iraqis from Kuwait.

But in a desert tent meeting with vanquished Iraqi generals, he allowed a key concession on Iraq's use of helicopters, which later backfired by enabling Saddam to crack down more easily on rebellious Shiites and Kurds.

While he later avoided the public second-guessing by academics and think tank experts over the ambiguous outcome of the first Gulf War and its impact on the second Gulf War, he told The Washington Post in 2003, "You can't help but ... with 20/20 hindsight, go back and say, 'Look, had we done something different, we probably wouldn't be facing what we are facing today.'"

After retiring from the Army in 1992, Schwarzkopf wrote a best-selling autobiography, "It Doesn't Take A Hero." Of his Gulf War role, he said: "I like to say I'm not a hero. I was lucky enough to lead a very successful war." He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and honored with decorations from France, Britain, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.

Schwarzkopf was a national spokesman for prostate cancer awareness and for Recovery of the Grizzly Bear, served on the Nature Conservancy board of governors and was active in various charities for chronically ill children.

"I may have made my reputation as a general in the Army and I'm very proud of that," he once told The Associated Press. "But I've always felt that I was more than one-dimensional. I'd like to think I'm a caring human being. ... It's nice to feel that you have a purpose."

Schwarzkopf and his wife, Brenda, had three children: Cynthia, Jessica and Christian.

___

Stacy was the AP's Tampa, Fla., correspondent when he prepared this report on Schwarzkopf's life; he now reports from the AP bureau in Columbus, Ohio. Associated Press writers Richard Pyle in New York and Jay Lindsay in Boston contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/desert-storm-commander-norman-schwarzkopf-dies-024850776--politics.html

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New Home Sales in November

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In each Economic Update, the Research staff analyzes recently released economic indicators and addresses what these indicators mean for REALTORS? and their clients. Today?s update discusses the latest new home sales data.

Sales of newly constructed homes rose in November by 4.4 percent from the prior month, and are higher by 15.3 percent from one year ago. The 377,000 annualized sales pace is the highest in nearly 3 years. However, there is ample room for further improvement to get us back to the pre-housing-bubble sales pace of 900,000 or so.
The median price of new homes jumped by 15 percent to $246,200. Higher copper and lumber prices are no doubt partly driving up the price of a newly built home. The faster rise in new home prices, with a widening gap against existing home prices, could be a forerunner for potential catch-up price gains for existing homes in upcoming years.
The inventory of newly constructed homes remains essentially at a 50-year low. Homebuilders need to ramp up production even further. Large national builders are tapping Wall Street funds to up construction activity. However, small local builders are having a difficult time obtaining construction loans.
On a technical note, this new home sales data are contract signings and not closings. Also, only single-family homes are included and not condos.

Source: http://comorealty.com/new-home-sales-in-november/

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Temple Run was downloaded more than 2.5 million times on Christmas Day

When a 33-ton shark tank suddenly exploded last week in along busy Shanghai pedestrian shopping mall,? it happened so quickly that not even one camera-happy bystander was able to film it. The moment, however, was all captured on closed circuit security camera. The dramatic just-released...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/temple-run-downloaded-more-2-5-million-times-022051491.html

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408 KSF Office Portfolio in Boston's Blossoming Seaport District ...

December 26, 2012

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

It?s been a busy couple of quarters for office transactions in Boston?s Seaport District and the change in ownership of the 407,500-square-foot Fort Point portfolio is among the latest. Clarion Partners L.L.C. purchased the group of six buildings from a joint venture consisting of Angelo, Gordon & Co. and National Development for $128.5 million.

The portfolio, which has a current occupancy level of 96 percent, was marketed by commercial real estate and capital markets services provider HFF on behalf of the seller. Included in the collection of office addresses are the 94,300-square-foot property at 33-41 Farnsworth St.; 34 and 44 Farnsworth St., featuring a respective 24,400 and 93,800 square feet; 332 and 374 Congress St., which offer 34,400 and 96,200 square feet, respectively; and the 64,200-square-foot 263 Summer St. All six of the one-time manufacturing and warehouse structures are of the brick-and-beam style that was popular during their development more than 100 years ago; a style that has now come to appeal to those tech and creative users that are flooding into the Seaport District or, as it is increasingly referred to, the Innovation District.

?These buildings have great bones and really lend themselves to today?s tenants, which require open spaces, abundant infrastructure and collaborative work environments,? Coleman Benedict, senior managing director with HFF, said in a prepared statement. ?The Fort Point office submarket is one of the most dynamic in the country. With a long list of tenants searching for a limited amount of available space, it is sure to continue to be so for years to come.?

Indeed, in Fort Point and other neighborhoods of the Seaport District, vacancies are on the decline and rental rates are on the rise. The submarket?s 10.3 percent vacancy rate in the third quarter marked a noteworthy drop from the 13.3 percent figure in the third quarter of 2011, according to statistics from commercial real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle.? And the demand for space can certainly be seen in the price tags, even in the Class B segment of the market, where year over year overall asking rents jumped from $29.97 to $36.38.

The increasingly positive numbers are hardly lost on the Fort Point portfolio?s new owner. As Gary Rufrano, a senior vice president with Clarion, said in a press release, the company plans to capitalize on the ?significant opportunity to add value to the portfolio by capturing the growth in the Seaport and by bringing rents up to market levels.?

It seems as though there?s a beacon in the Seaport District that?s attracting all players in the office sector.? They?re buying it, they?re building it and they?re leasing it.

Among the recent acquisitions was DivcoWest Properties? $106.8 million purchase of Brickman Associates? 362,600-square-foot portfolio, and Skanska USA Commercial Development?s $33 million purchase of Parcel L1 within the Seaport Square development, where the company will erect a 455,000-square-foot office tower.

Projects presently under development include AREA Property Partners and Commonwealth Ventures? 500,000-square-foot One Channel Center, for which HFF recently arranged a $170 million construction loan.? Leasing activity has also been brisk. In December alone, national law firm Goodwin Procter signed a letter of intent to relocate its home to 350,000 square feet of space in a build-to-suit commercial high-rise at the Fan Pier mixed-use waterfront development, and car-sharing network Zipcar Inc. announced that it will move its corporate headquarters from neighboring Cambridge, Mass., and park its business at 35 Thompson Place, occupying the 46,000-square-foot building in its entirety.

Source: http://www.cpexecutive.com/regions/mid-atlantic/408-ksf-office-portfolio-in-bostons-blossoming-seaport-district-trades-for-129m/

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Passengers recount Myanmar jet crash

AP

An unidentified injured man who was on an Air Bagan passenger place when it made an emergency landing Tuesday, talks to journalists in Heho, Shan state, Myanmar.

By NBC News staff and wire services

YANGON, Myanmar - When the "roller coaster" ride came to a halt, passengers aboard an Air Bagan jet that missed the runway and landed in a rice paddy field first felt relief -- until they saw the flames.

"We knew straight away we didn't have much time to get out,"?31-year-old Australian advertising executive Anna Bartsch told The Associated Press in an interview at a hotel on Wednesday.?

The Fokker 100 jet missed the runway at Heho airport in Shan state in heavy fog and crashed. A Myanmar citizen on a motorcycle was killed when he was hit by the plane and a tour guide aboard the plane also died, according to MRTV state television. Eleven people were reported injured.

The plane was reported to be carrying 71 people, including 48 foreigners.?

---

"We felt the first bump, then a few big bumps and then (started) sliding very fast," Bartsch told the AP. Her boyfriend, Stuart Benson, described the landing to AP like "a roller coaster" ride.

After the jet slid to a stop, flames erupted and passengers rushed to the front door, which had to be forced open, Bartsch told the AP.

"We didn't know then that the wings had come off," Bartsch said.

Watch World News videos on NBCNews.com

Bartsch told the AP that the pilot and co-pilot had bloodied faces and other people had serious burns.

"It's amazing that the injuries were not more serious," she said.

Air Bagan is one of five airlines operating domestic routes in Myanmar.?Owned by Tay Za, a local tycoon blacklisted by the United States for his alleged links to former military regime, Air Bagan was the country's first privately run carrier when it was established in 2004.?

In 2008, one of its planes overshot a provincial airport's runway and crashed, causing many injuries but no deaths, the AP said. After this crash,?it now has four ATR turboprops and another Fokker 100.

"We deeply apologize to all our passengers and to their family members," the airline's managing director Htoo Thet Htwe told the news conference. All passengers were paid $2,300, he said.

This article includes reporting by Reuters.

Stringer / Reuters

Soldiers stand at the crash site of a Air Bagan plane in Heho, Myanmar, on Tuesday.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/26/16168731-passengers-recount-chaos-after-myanmar-jet-crash?lite

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Ways to get kids into the giving spirit | Momaha Blogs

TODAY'S TOP PICKS
ConAgra Foods Ice Rink
1 p.m. - 10 p.m.
ConAgra Foods Campus
10th & Harney Streets
Costs: $5 including skate rental.
All proceeds go to Food Bank for the Heartland as a component of the Shine the Light on Hunger campaign.
Skate until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Momaha's Evening Children's Story Time
7 p.m.
Dec. 28
The Bookworm Bookstore, 87th and Pacific Streets.
Children encouraged to wear pajamas and bring a small stuffed animal. Ring in the New Year with a milk toast and munching on cookies.

MOMAHA BOOK CLUB
Jan. 13
1 p.m.
The Bookworm, 8702 Pacific St.
The book: The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J.R. Moehringer
RSVP: jloza@owh.com

EVERY THURSDAY
Momaha on the radio
7:30 a.m.
Bloggers Melissa Cruickshank and Heidi Woodard on the Pat and J.T. Show on Q98.5 FM. Call 402-962-9898 to join the conversation.

EVERY FRIDAY
Momaha live chat
2 p.m.
Visit with momaha editor Josie Loza and other moms.

CONTESTS

Win tickets to Sesame Street Live by clicking here or visiting omaha.com/contests

Source: http://blogs.momaha.com/2012/12/29466/

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How to make a website: could Seth Godin be wrong? | Jojet ...

Recently I read a thought provoking post from Seth Godin titled ?How to make a website: a tactical guide for marketers?; it didn?t sit comfortably with me so after letting it stew for a while I decided to make a rebuttal.

The aim of Seth?s article was to help business marketers communicate their website vision better so that the whole process went smoother and, ultimately, the website appeared quicker. Fair enough. However, there were some flaws in his advice.

Be careful what you wish for?

The gist of Seth?s advice was this:

Let?s make the process take less time and be less hassle. Browse other websites and find the tech elements you want for your website (a shopping cart like this, a homepage like that), mockup the website in Keynote or Powerpoint and use that as your specification.

However, I have some issues here.

In my experience of designing websites, you have to be mindful of reaching for the tech too early. It?s all too tempting to be lured in and to spend time ?researching? what the competition are doing, and mistaking that for a strategy for deciding what your website needs (?ooh! look, their pages fip like a book..WE NEED THAT!?). What is right for one company and one website is not right for another. And who?s to say that the websites you are looking at are any good?! You could be copying poor websites & poor techniques; this is hardly laying the foundations for online success.

Where you should start

Competition research is fine and has its place but, in my experience, it is more important that the client brings the following to the table:

• A clear idea of who they are & what their brand is
• Who their audience is and what motivates them to buy
• What products/services are they offering to their audience
• The buying process of that audience

This is stuff which markers should know really well (but don?t always).

And this is a gold mine of information which savvy website design companies will use as a starting point so that collaboratively we can create a highly polished piece of online marketing collateral.

Straw Man

If you have established the above information then, by all means, go further and map out how you think this experience should manifest itself online (e.g. a sitemap or mocking something up in Powerpoint). BUT treat this as a straw man only.

And use your straw man to communicate your vision to your web design team but the conversation should not be ?this is how it should look? or too prescriptive full stop. A good web design team will work with you on what you are trying to achieve and, armed with that, they can advise you on how that may be best achieved online. Brow beat your web design team at your peril.

Seth says ?Virtually all websites are not on the cutting edge of technology.? true, but that?s like saying ?Virtually all recipes can be made using ingredients you can buy down a local supermarket?; ?the skill is in understanding what ingredients to bring to bear for the end result; the magic is not so much in the ingredients; it is in the knowledge of how to bring it all together using a creative process.

Collaborative

I don?t want to start every paragraph with ?Seth says? but?

Last step: Hand the Keynote doc to your developers and go away until it?s finished

This is dangerous, dangerous advice.

Online success is rarely achieved by business stake holders and design creatives working in isolation; it is more likely that it is achieved by working?collaboratively to bring your vision online. The process is iterative. And it needs input & ideas from various business stake holders along the way. Web design companies do not possess a crystal ball and if you want to avoid that awful moment when the curtain gets pulled back on the project and you start finding fault then I would advise you to be part of the process (yes, design has a regimented process) from day one. Design process is what achieves results; the design is just an output.

What you should concentrate on?

A word not mentioned once in the post is something which I would consider critical: content.

Without good content a website is dead in the water. And by cherry picking the process and trying to decide on (for example) what navigation system you think you need on your website, we run the risk of not concentrating on what we DO need to focus on. And that is the actual content of the website.

• What content does the website need?
• What form will that content take? (text, video, audio, infographic etc)
• What content do we have already? (and what shape is it in?)
• What new content do we need? Who will create it?
• How will our content work on mobile?
• How will we measure the effectiveness of our content?

Indeed, some website companies will push clients to create the content first before any further web design is done; concentrating the mind of the client on creating top quality content to engage their audience. Once we understand the message we can see how it needs to be applied to the medium.

Cutting corners

Seth suggests that in following his advice you will achieve results with ?less time and less hassle?. However, be careful on the corners you cut, quality results require time & effort.

Perhaps I misunderstood the advice offered in his article but, if I did, my concern is that other people will have misunderstood as well.

Joel

p.s. one good bit advice from the post was ?Don?t do any coding.?, however, to me this is self evident. It?s like saying ?Unless you are a qualified dentist, don?t perform your own root canal work?.

p.p.s part of me suspects that Seth knew his article would raise eye brows in certain quarters; perhaps he is not adverse to link bait

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Source: http://blog.jojet.com/2012/12/24/how-to-make-a-website-could-seth-godin-be-wrong/

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Internet Marketing Rules Blog: Traffic Generation - Radio Ads And ...

Most internet marketing experts are excellent at generating traffic. And one reason that they are excellent is that they pay ALOT for the traffic that they do get. Now I?m not talking about a $100 advertising budget.

I?m talking about a $10,000 advertising budget, and MORE.

You can generate lots of traffic to your website also if you know that right ways to do it. Getting traffic is essential to your online business, and it?s a very important part of your online business success. If you can?t get traffic, you won?t get alot of sales. And without alot of sales, your business will fail very quickly.

In today?s lesson, I want to share some insights on how you can get traffic to your website the smart way. You have paid advertising and free marketing that you can choose from. Both can be extremely profitable for you. In fact, here?s the first way to get traffic to your website:

1) Run radio ads

If you?re an expert at you do, and you have identified a niche that has a pressing problem that needs to be solved, you should do any and everything that you can to go after this market. You will want to expand your marketing reach dramatically. And even though your business is online, you can still run radio ads and lead people back to your site.

Make sure you clearly state your website address. If there are any ?dashes? in your domain name, make sure to mention also. In fact, you will even want to spell it out for them just so they get it and understand it.

This way people can understand how to spell it when they type your domain name into their internet browser. Here?s another way that you can drive traffic to your website:

2) Podcasts

Podcasts are easy to make, and are free. With radio ads, you have to pay for a segment and you only have a minute or two to state your message. With a podcast, you can make it as long as you want, and have people download it from iTunes or your blog automatically. You will want to get set up with a service called ?Feedburner? if you?re going to pursue podcasting.

And the same thing applies with radio ads. When it comes time for you to state your website address, make sure you clearly state what it is, how to spell it, and to mention it at the beginning of the podcast and at the end. Podcasting is very popular and people will visit iTunes all the time just to hear your podcast.

These 2 traffic generation tips are things that are very simple and easy to do. Running radio ads will cost money, but you can reach so many people with a simple ad, and in return, get hundreds or even thousands of visitors to your website within a short period of time. I personally think that you should use both in your marketing arsenal today.

Good luck with using these 2 strategies to get more traffic to your website.

For more internet marketing secrets, simply visit the website below:
http://www.internetmarketing-rules.com/internetmarketing.html

Source: http://blog.internetmarketing-rules.com/2012/12/traffic-generation-radio-ads-and.html

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Home Improvement: Tips To Create Your Jobs Simpler | Top Free ...

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Source: http://sharebit.net/home-improvement-tips-to-create-your-jobs-simpler/

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