Is Microsoft Hiring for Production of the New Xbox?

Rumors

by Miranda Quillen Jul 29th 2012 3:18PM

Now before you start thinking?correctly?that Microsoft doesn?t build the Xboxes themselves, they do have to manage production and the supply chain. That sort of thing is exactly what Microsoft is now hiring for. Though the listing is now closed, it did include that???The Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Information and Services (MSCIS) Finance team is growing rapidly?.

While an estimated 10,000 dev kits have already been produced and distributed, once they commit to construction details quickly become set in stone. We?re not likely to see a full reveal until next year?s E3 but there?s plenty of time before that for some juicy leads, so keep your fingers crossed.

Source: http://www.dualshockers.com/2012/07/29/is-microsoft-hiring-for-production-of-the-new-xbox/

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Mental Implosion

Private roleplay between ZacheryTC, Kyren.Laili and Vanillasugar41

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This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Mental Implosion?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "Mental Implosion"

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"At the heart of mercy is love."

OOC: Unknown

Vanillasugar41

Member for 0 years

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Weew, *Starts making charry...)

............?../
..........{/..*.`;
........{/?./`?
?~ (?..).._.)
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UNICORN

Kyren.Laili

Member for 0 years

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Um, Kyren, quick question: How can Samil alternate between mortal and Fallen Angel when he gave up those powers as a sacrifice to ressurect Lanuya? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the sacrifice, since you cannot get the gift back?

ZacharyTC

Member for 0 years

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Zach, to answer your question: Samil's powers were taken, making him a mortal for now. When we start the first plot he will be offered position as Angel of Death instead of being a demon he will be a fallen angel, working his way to being a true angel. Does that make sense?

Oh yeah, and do you guys want to hear the idea I had for the first plot? It will be focused more around Samil and David and less around Lanuya. The one afterwards will be a tad more focused around the new girl who you will be meeting. :)

Vanillasugar41

Member for 0 years

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Makes sense, and I'm curious as to what the plots are. I'm kind of envious, since you come up with really good ones, and I'm aspiring to be a fiction writer! :)

ZacharyTC

Member for 0 years

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Really? Me too! Please tell me when you publish something! I would love to read it.

I digress: So Tamar Hagar comes to see how David is doing and meets up with Samil sort of in private. She tells Samil that she can restore his powers and make him a fallen angel. Then, if he does what is good in the sight of the lord and (instead of killing innocents) he kills the wicked, he may even be able to achive status as the "High Angel of Death". (Samil can also keep his name since it means "venom of God" and it would make sense.) Then she meets with David and informs him of the proposal made to Samil and (if he accepts) David must make sure to keep him in line.

Meanwhile, Lanuya has been struggling to keep herself under control because her two kittens (which held most of her sanity) had died and left her weakened; constantly putting Lanuay at risk of an explosion. Samil may struggle with his task to become fully restored (how much is up to you Kyren) but in the end they get attacked by a large and powerful band of demon mercinaries who wish to use Lanuya's fragile state to thier advantage. Samil and David would need to kill them and in the end Samil would kill the head demon leader and be awarded the full powers of the Angel of Death. What do you think?

Vanillasugar41

Member for 0 years

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Hmmm.... This could work! I'll even have David hand Samil his repeater pistol, since its laser ammunition is anti-demon! He will still keep the one-shot for himself, so he can blast away at some demons, too!

ZacharyTC

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Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started! :D

Vanillasugar41

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Analysis: Internet stock collapse dents Silicon Valley

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Social media companies, once hailed by their Silicon Valley boosters as world-changing businesses with limitless potential, are instead proving a sobering reminder of how investors can be seduced by Internet hype.

With a few exceptions, the first wave of social media firms to trade on the public markets has delivered a disastrous performance that conjures memories of the dot-com bust of 2000.

"Farmville" publisher Zynga, which went public in December at a valuation of $7 billion, is trading around $3.15 a share, more than 68 percent off its $10 IPO price.

Daily deals site Groupon, touted as the firm that could reinvent local commerce, has fallen from its $20 IPO price to about $7.15 in nearly nine months. Music service Pandora Media has dropped from $16 at its June 2011 IPO to around $10 on Friday.

And on Thursday, the 800-pound gorilla of the group, Facebook Inc, reported tepid results that shaved some $10 billion off the company's market cap. The stock has gone straight down since its botched May initial public offering and now trades over a third below its $38 IPO price.

"The VCs, the private equity guys at the early stages, already cashed out and made their fortunes," said Peter Schiff, chief executive of Euro Pacific Capital. "Everybody else who ran to buy the stock at the IPO at a sky-high valuation ended up holding the bag."

"A lot of these companies are going to make a quick buck and flame out," he added. "Just look at 10 years ago."

If an investor had sunk $1,000 into any of the four erstwhile dotcom darlings, he would have anywhere from $317.50 to $706.45 left over. That same wad of cash in LinkedIn would have more than doubled, to about $2,200.

But many VC firms -- such as early Facebook backer Accel Partners -- made a killing on the IPOs by getting in the door first. Early backers in Pandora, for instance, may have picked up shares in the firm for as little as around 50 cents apiece.

Other early investors held on and got singed. Some of Wall Street's top names, from Fidelity and T. Rowe Price to Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have watched paper losses pile up to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

It's true that a few companies with more of a business focus -- notably LinkedIn Corp -- have done much better. The jobs-networking site is trading at about $100, well above its $45 IPO price from May 2011. Yelp Inc, the local reviews company, is holding above its $15 IPO price from March.

Startups in areas like data analytics and enterprise software like Splunk Inc have also fared well.

But the wipe-out among consumer-oriented social media companies has raised concerns that the entire sector is fad-driven. While the public companies are profitable and showing strong growth -- unlike the class of 1999 and 2000 -- it is not clear how sustainable that is.

"People just can't figure out how these companies are going to make money and justify these huge valuations," said Michael Yoshikami, founder of Destination Wealth Management.

The euphoria around Internet stocks, Yoshikami added, has faded. "It's different from six months ago," he said.

Venture capitalists fear the high-profile stock busts will take a toll on the next wave of companies trying to go public. To some extent, they say, they already have.

"It's going to have a chilling, sobering effect," said Tim Chang, managing partner at Mayfield Fund. "It's especially hard to make the argument of why a company should be valued at $1 billion or more."

WINNERS AND LOSERS

One sign of Wall Street's skepticism: about 63 percent of the shares available for shorting in Facebook are currently getting shorted, well above the market average of about 16 percent, according to Markit data.

A hedge fund manager who has shorted its shares since the IPO argued it is still too richly valued.

"You may love your favorite candy but if they are going to charge you $1,000 for it, you're probably not going to buy it," the manager said. "It's a great company, clearly. But if you look at the business, you say: well a year ago the revenues grew 107 percent year-over-year, this most recent quarter it grew 32 percent. It's clearly decelerating."

On Thursday, Facebook reported its first quarterly revenues of $1.18 billion. But executives warned a quickening shift to its underperforming mobile app was eating into results, and user and revenue growth slowed for the fifth consecutive quarter. The stock lost 11.7 percent in trading on Friday.

It has not helped pacify Wall Street that the tech firms' venture capital backers on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California, have enjoyed big paydays via IPOs. In the case of Facebook, Accel Partners sold 49 million shares at $38 apiece, reaping enormous profits.

Insiders have sold large chunks of their holdings in Zynga and Groupon, though the top executives still maintain large stakes in their companies. Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and other insiders netted some $500 million when they sold a portion of their stock in April at $12 a share.

Others were less fortunate. T. Rowe Price lost $61.4 million in its Facebook and Zynga holdings over two days. Fidelity, the largest U.S. fund, saw $126 million of its on-paper holdings evaporate over the past two days.

As Facebook has slid, Goldman Sachs' remaining holdings of 41.6 million shares -- according to its latest filings -- would have shed $624 million in value. Morgan Stanley, which now holds 11.34 million shares, would have seen its Facebook stock decline by $170.1 million since the public-market debut.

Crosslink Capital and Greylock Partners still hold all their Pandora shares as of the latest filings. That represents a loss of $210 million for Crosslink, which still holds 35 million shares, and $129 million for Greylock with 21.5 million shares. But both started investing years ago: for as little as 51 cents a share in Crosslink's case, and 77 cents a share in Greylock's.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers has stood firmly behind Zynga, choosing to hold onto 21 million shares though the stake would be worth $143.85 million less today.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who owns just north of half a billion shares, took his lumps as well, as more than $3 billion of his paper-wealth evaporate this week.

'DOESN'T JIVE'

Zynga's stock went into free-fall after it slashed its 2012 outlook from 23 to 29 cents to 4 to 9 cents, blaming weakness in existing Facebook games and a delay in its pipeline.

The results widely missed expectations set by company management at the end of last quarter, when Chief Operating Officer John Schappert said the company was "excited and comfortable raising guidance for the year."

On a conference call, BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield took Zynga executives to task for not warning investors. Chief Financial Officer Dave Wehner said it was company policy to only give guidance once a quarter.

But the earnings report "doesn't jive" with executives' recently upbeat comments, Greenfield later told Reuters. A handful of plaintiffs' lawyers announced Thursday they had begun investigating Zynga for breach of fiduciary duty.

Meanwhile, Facebook's executives took a conservative approach on Thursday, declining to offer their own forward-looking predictions.

In light of Zynga's bad miss, Wall Street analysts said that the lack of forecasts sapped investor confidence.

"The entire social media space may seem like a disaster, but it's perhaps that public markets have yet to see the right stocks. Firms like Groupon, Facebook, and Zynga require very aggressive user acquisition and the Average Revenue Per User is much lower," said Steve Place, a founder of options analytics firm investingwithoptions.com.

"However, if we look into different verticals of the social media space there are some decent ideas."

He cited real-estate site Zillow Inc, now almost double its IPO price.

But on Sand Hill Road, the mood these days is decidedly more subdued, a focus on returning to fundamental value.

"We'll see more discipline on private investments," with more focus on the sustainability of any competitive advantage a company has, said Roelof Botha, a partner at Sequoia Capital.

"There are private companies that we are investors in that have underlying defensibility and business models for which you do want to stretch on valuation," Botha added.

At Bay Partners in Palo Alto, partners have already noticed a certain dialing-back of the swagger with which some entrepreneurs walk into their office.

"I feel a little bit of humility, a little bit of reality creep in," said partner Salil Deshpande, whose investments include Buddy Media, which was sold to Salesforce.com for $689 million earlier this year. Early-stage entrepreneurs who a few months ago might have argued their nascent companies were worth $5 million might today accept a valuation of $1 million, he said.

Mayfield's Chang expects a hit to companies with what he calls "lumpy" business models -- less predictable, consumer-oriented businesses that rely on advertising and virtual goods, like Facebook and Zynga. Those businesses, he says, are reliant on their popularity with the public, a fickle group.

"The scariest is easy-come, easy-go revenue, kind of like Groupon," he said. "It can ramp up quick, but disappear quickly too."

(Additional reporting by Angela Moon, David Gaffen and Edward Krudy in New York; Editing By Edwin Chan, Jonathan Weber and Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-internet-stock-collapse-dents-silicon-valley-181108156--sector.html

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Video: First Lady addresses Olympic athletes

'Girl' reporters with HIV get taste of power

Mandisa Madikane and Sthokozo Mabaso are HIV-positive journalists with GlobalGirl Media, which sent them from their homes in Soweto, South Africa, to cover the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C. this week. "I know my voice is out there," Madikane said.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/48360640#48360640

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Tasty Food! - Home-Brew Recipes

Cool day dudes! As a matter of fact, we are living in a fast moving world where we hardly have time to ?stand and stare?! But still, what is the very purpose of our life and hard work? Its nothing but healthy life and lovely surroundings! So, how could we lead a healthy life if we are leading a robotic life? So, think a while. Though food should not be our greatest priority, we should make it a point to give the due preference for it as it is what that makes us healthy. Apart from health, don?t we wish to taste something delicious and mouth watering food too? After all, this is just a single life and we have all the rights to enjoy it to the fullest!

Let us begin this fun by eating both healthy and tasty food! Now, speaking about the eating habits of different regions, each area shines in its own specialty and tradition and in fact, people from other nations would have a special liking for the other nations? food and eating habits!

For instance, you might be an Aussie, you would have a strong liking to taste the Chinese long noodles and the nasi goreng from Indonesia. Is it not? That is why the food culture of the present world is getting completely mixed up that you could get whatever food you wish at any part of this world! So, if you are an Indonesian and you are away from your home, you need not be yearning for the nasi goreng from Indonesia. You could very easily get it any where around your new locality except that you have to spend a little! But definitely we would not mind spending a little more to get our favorite food at our nearest! Is it not true?

Source: http://www.bdliban.com/2012/07/26/tasty-food/

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Field Instructor: Customer Service (14223-139) - HigherEdJobs

This particular Field Instructor will deliver instruction for an occasional workshop on Customer Service. Therefore, the instructor should be proficient in work related Customer Service.

Field Instructors are required to professionally serve as a representative of the organization to all learners and vendors with whom he/she comes into contact. The instructor is responsible for delivering quality instruction to achieve workshop learning objectives as outlined in the syllabus. The instructor will adhere to the workshop materials provided, utilizing professional experience and expertise to supplement content and exemplify concepts. The instructor will create an inclusive learning environment that respects all learners and will exhibit responsiveness to inquiries from learners. The instructor will participate in curriculum review by providing feedback and will relay learner comments and concerns to the organization for purposes of continuous improvement.

Instruction

• Teach all assigned workshops in accordance with established timeframes, locations and platforms.
• Inspect on-site learning environments to ensure safety for all learners.
• Adequately prepare to deliver instruction. Preparation time will vary based on instructor experience and expertise in the workshop content
• Adhere to workshop outline to ensure achievement of learning objectives.
• Establish learner expectations for the workshop through reference to learning objectives.
• Create a context for the workshop materials by providing interesting and relevant examples.
• Appropriately challenge, engage and communicate with learners to encourage their participation and comprehension.
• Where required, track and document workshop attendance.
• Adhere to organization's standards for testing protocols, where applicable
• Fairly assess and document learning outcomes.
• Respond to learner's questions on a timely basis; refer questions to the organization as needed.
• Ensure workshop learning outcomes are achieved as defined by the syllabus.

Leadership

• Respond to customer service issues; when necessary, relay issues to the organization for resolution.
• Conduct end-of-workshop surveys to collect feedback.
• Provide feedback to the organization on content, instructional materials and workshop venues.
• Adhere to the intellectual property rights of the organization by not utilizing, repurposing or distributing workshop content beyond the originally intended purpose.

Development

• Provide required documentation regarding professional expertise and/or certification to the organization.
• Engage in professional development as required to maintain licensure and/or certification.

Education and Experience

• Appropriate academic degree and credentials based on the subject area/field of instruction and applicable accreditation requirements.
• Possess appropriate industry experience/expertise based on profession and applicable accreditation requirements.
• No previous teaching experience required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities, Competencies

• Content Expertise
• Written and Verbal Communication Skills

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise; employment in this job is an "at will" employment relationship.

Source: http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?JobCode=175653383

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New baby Shower party Project Suggestions for Much less Money

Baby shower crafts help to make a baby shower fascinating and enjoyable for both the new mother and her visitors. Men and women identify ideas for baby shower crafts in guide stores or on the net, a few are less complicated whilst others have a substantial degree of complexity. Moreover, a few crafting concepts are more expensive to put into practice than others. It truly is of great significance to possess this element in view to be able not for that large expenditures to just take you by surprise.

In order to help make sure that you hold the right volume of things necessary, think well with regards to the kind of occasion you wish to arrange. That is a happy time, and baby shower crafts are about offering men and women a chance to spend jointly and commemorate the appearance of the new baby. In addition to the supplies necessary, baby shower crafts also call for enough space for every man or woman to create.

Some individuals try to make the baby shower crafts a lot more fascinating by allowing the visitors to choose on how many baby shower crafts they want to try out their fingers on. Older brothers and sisters could also be involved in the activities because they can hence welcome the new baby into their family. The occasion is portion of your little ones? life, therefore, it really is excellent to help young children contribute and participate to baby shower crafts.

Some people in fact get stressed when organizing a baby shower, given that they want every thing to get wonderful. With baby shower crafts, you cannot be sure how the visitors will react and how considerably enjoyable they would have right up until the celebration is on you. Or else, all you can do is plan and hope. For some baby shower crafts, you could have each of the needed supplies close to residence, however, for other individuals, it?s important to buy groceries on purpose. Setting the budget for your baby shower should also incorporate the crafts expenses.

How long will the portion with the baby shower crafts just take within the bigger image of the celebration. It is important to not get entangled in very intricate crafting tasks given that they just take extended, they might prove hard to achieve and they might suck the power out of this friends. Because of this the keenness for other actions would drop and they?ll simply be looking ahead to going home. Which can be certainly something you would like to steer clear of? Program points carefully so that it does not come to that!

Have fun!

While you are searching for a great adventure, get the New York Yankees seat tickets right here. A person can easily also discover their scheudule by just Clicking Here.. Unique version for reprint here: New baby Shower party Project Suggestions for Much less Money.

Related posts:

1. Party Favor Ideas for a Memorable Baby Shower
2. Suggestions For The right Infant Shower Invitation
3. Home made baby shower favors
4. Tips in Planning a Baby Shower
5. The Right Timing To Send Out Baby Shower Invitations

Source: http://www.parentingskillsworksheets.com/new-baby-shower-party-project-suggestions-for-much-less-money/

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AirplaneMelon: L.A. Street Food Fest 2012 Recap

Tip #1: Take someone with a handicap placard.

Do you see this parking space? Do you really?I could have judo-rolled to the front gate. It was awesome.

We were a little worried about taking? my grandpa (bearer of said magic placard) with lines and crowds and wondered how much mobility would end up being an issue, but once we found a little nook by some drinking fountains to settle into, we used that as a base and ran around grabbing stuff and bringing it back to enjoy. Tata could also hold onto extra water bottles and coats and bags. It was much less of an ordeal than we were ready and willing to put up with which is a huge plus.

Another thing I will remember for next year is not to save desserts for last. If you try a few of your favorites first thing you'll barely wait in line. case in point: my mom saw a 20 layer crepe cake that looked spectacular. I told her to grab it but she wanted to wait after dinner. What a puritan.

"What?! No way! Try it now!" Turns out if you're the oldest of four and your Mom is the classic middle child, bellowing at her is still very effective.

She tried it and good thing because besides being muy delicioso, it was a total sleeper hit and was gone by the time we got back to the dessert side.

We washed down our samples with a hit of really tasty iced coffee from Secret Squirrel Cold Brew coffee. Besides having a good product to try they also gave out great sample sizes of their coffee concentrate! Sucking on the ice in the coffee held me over 'til we made out way to the west side of the Rose Bowl, what I'll affectionately describe as Food Truck Gomorrah :)

I got to try everything I was hoping to in my last post and so much freaking more I was sick it was great.

The thin crispy pigs ears from Haven were the ultimate bar food, the balls of lust? from Tiana Cafe with a fat piece of pork belly were indeed heavenly, the Kracken was fine but holy moly the Black Tide halibut ceviche with squid ink from Kokopeli was ice cold and just PERFECT.

Trying to balance 4 mini plates at a time? Not so awesome, so next year I'm going to join the cool kids and bring a little cardboard box tray to stash the goods.

I also got to try poutine for the first time and the cheese curds, gravy and excellently crisp fries from gravy Train will definitely be tried again. Before the next street food fest!

Best named food was the "Cachetada": a chorizo tostada with guac and a little chipotle aioli. My mom says "cachetada" is basically the Mexican word for a bitch slap. See? Educational too!

The uncontested winner from yesterday, although I had some pretty great stuff, has got to be the original Kogi Truck. I was totally ready to hate on this truck for no good reason and just assumed they were overrated ("who wants a sweet taco?!" see how dumb that sounds?) but crap they totally made me eat my words.

With hot sauce.

They had the most perfect quesadilla I've ever had in my life, and I'm not a huge quesadilla fan so that's saying a ton. The portion was generous, the tortilla was deliciously crisp, there was a great amount of cheese mixed in with a super generous amount of kogi, topped of with a kimchi sauce about as thick as a fluffy pesto. I had it 4 times it was that good. I'll be thinking about that one forever.

Now if only I'd had something to wash it down . . .

So I'm not going to rail against the sponsors or coordinators right now because I'm positive they've already gotten an earful from everyone else attending but I will say this: when I go back next year, I'm going to have a 3 liter camelbak full of ice water strapped to my back. Either the drinks I got were warm (bottled water, coconut water) or were cold but iceless and served in a thimble. C'mon Honestea, you're owned by Coke. You could spare a little more juice. I could hear people and having tiny portions loses more money in the long run than a few thousand bottle will cost you.

I will say that the good folks from Cascal stepped up with FULL CANS of ICE COLD refreshment and I for one will remember them for it. These were promoted as more "adult-flavored" sodas, not because of booze or anything but because they mix fruit flavors with aromatics like jasmine, chocolate and even magnolia for peet's sake. There's no alcohol but the company ferments it's ingredients, giving them a definite mixed drink taste. I enjoyed the Tropical and Crisp White flavors especially and think they'd be great mixers. And my whole all natural can had only 70 calories. Into it. Having one of those instead of a full Jamaica or something left me with plenty of insulin left to take on the desserts :)

The rest is a blur. Or a haze. Or a fog. Of powdered sugar.

Astro's Mini French Toast Donuts were 100% delicious. And they gave everybody 2 of those bad boys. Longboards Ice Cream handed out halved chocolate bananas covered in chocolate and awesome toppings like potato chips, oreos, or peanuts. I had the Bam Bam covered in fruity Pebbles! Sweet wheels offered the BEST BEGINET EVER along with a big half gluten free churro with homemade caramel sauce. Churro Borough had a delicious mini Ice cream sandwich made with horchata sorbet and lighter-than-air roundish churros but I bet the guy making them had the biggest hand cramps ever after. It looked painstaking but the kept the line moving really nicely. There was also a really nice confection called Tiger's Whiskers which was like a spun sugar made from honey wrapped around a peanut. That was awesome.

Source: http://airplanemelon.blogspot.com/2012/07/la-street-food-fest-2012-recap.html

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Go Green and Reduce Your Water Bill | Go Green Living Tips

Posted on21 July 2012. Tags: grass area, grass killer

Cutting back on the amount of grass you have to water is a great way to help cut back on water usage and your water bill. Here are some ideas to work with your existing lawn.

First decide how much lawn you want left. Next decide how you want to frame that area and what type of design or theme you want to do with the rest of it.

Say you want to use bricks to line the grass you want left. Create your design and lay the bricks around that area. Use some grass killer to spray over the remaining grass you no longer wish to have.

Using a tiller, till up the grass you have just sprayed. This will help the grass killer get into the soil to help prevent the grass from re-rooting. Once the soil is tilled up, you will lay down a weed blocker mat/tarp. This helps to prevent enough nutrients getting into the soil for weeds or grass.

Now you will lay down rocks or sand over the tarp. If you want to have a more tropical theme, you can plant a palm tree just outside the grass area you are keeping and lay sand down over the tarp to finish the look. Of course instead of bricks lining the grass area, I would recommend using some bigger rocks. Then I would say buy a few boulder style rocks to put in the middle of the sand in various places. You can also put in some stepping stones so that you can walk through your own desert oasis.

Another look is choosing a type of rock for landscaping. You can find a wide variety at your local home improvement store like Home Depot or Lowes. You will want to buy enough so that your rocks are at least three inches deep. If you want to use rocks I recommend using something like bricks to line the grass area you are keeping to help give it some contrast.

This is your yard, have fun with creating a look that expresses you and/or your family. This is a great way to turn your household into a greener household as well. You will be surprised to see how much you can cut your water bill just buy reducing the amount of lawn you need to keep watered.

Kristina is a mother of 3. She is a DIYer enthusaist who has experience with painting, plumbing, remodeling, decorating, and replacing household appliances. She has often found herself at HomeDepot or Lowe? ?View profile

Source: http://gogreenliving.org/go-green-and-reduce-your-water-bill/.php

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QuickBooks payroll choices - Business Accounting Software Inc ...

QuickBooks various payroll choices

Over one million businesses and organizations take advantage of Intuit?s flexible payroll choices.? With all businesses being different in some way, it?s no wonder there are so many options ? but how do you choose which one works best for you?

Here?s a quick overview to help you decide which of Intuit?s QuickBooks payroll options is best for your organization:

Basic Payroll is a low cost solution allowing you to calculate accurate payroll payments and either print the checks or deposit those payments directly into their bank accounts.? QuickBooks calculates the federal and state payroll taxes and withholds them from paychecks.?? You can then generate payroll reports to complete the federal and state tax filings.

Enhanced Payroll allows you to process your entire payroll, including Direct Deposit in just a few clicks.? QuickBooks calculates the federal and state payroll taxes, and generates completed federal and state tax forms for you.?? At no additional cost you can use ?E-Pay? to pay the taxes, and E-File to file the reports.

Online Payroll makes it easy for you to run to run payroll anytime ? anywhere in three easy steps.? Intuit calculates your paychecks with the federal and state taxes deducted, you then pay employees with Intuit?s free Direct Deposit, or print checks and stubs on your own printer. After processing checks, you can file your taxes right then or print completed forms on your printer.

You can also set email reminders to pay employees, taxes and file tax forms to help you stay on track without logging into payroll every day.? While QuickBooks software is not required, you can export the payroll data to QuickBooks when used to keep financials up to date.? There are also free apps for iPhone and Android as well as?free support from payroll experts.

Assisted Payroll reduces your tax penalty risk and helps you complete your payroll faster with personalize expert assistance.? Intuit helps with setting up your payroll and associated taxes, and even running your first payroll, if you need it.? Save time and don?t worry about dealing with the government with Intuit handling payroll taxes and filings (including year-end W-2?s) for you with guaranteed accuracy and on-time.

About Lillian Aaron

Lillian Aaron is inspired by small and mid-sized businesses. She understands the challenges they face and the tenacity required to build strong, growing organizations. Since 1983, Lillian has worked with businesses as a business process consultant helping them implement and support leading-edge products that drive efficiency and profitability for diverse clients. Her friendly, one-on-one consulting style helps business owners and managers feel at ease when adopting and learning new technology systems.

Source: http://www.basi-usa.com/quickbooks/quickbooks-payroll-choices-which-is-right-for-you/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=quickbooks-payroll-choices-which-is-right-for-you

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Video: GE Reports Q2 Earnings & Outlook

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/48255372/

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eurotrip! valencia style: long distance relationships

So the distance is not ideal. ?And I never considered myself one capable of maintaining a relationship with someone across the Atlantic Ocean, much less after only knowing him for two months. ?But hey, the good ones are few and far between. ?And if you think they're worth it, you'll give it a shot. ?You've got to go where life takes you... (although right now I don't know where that will be after my graduation in December.. nope, not even which country I'll be in).

I applaud fellow long-distancers who managed to stay together in the olden days. ?I honestly wouldn't be able to do it without skype. ?We skype nearly every day and there's a constant flow of messages through facebook and email. ?Oh how dependent we've become on technology. ?Waiting weeks for snail mail? Now that's love and dedication. ?Did I mention I'm impatient?

As for us? We'll see how it goes after his first visit to the US in T-minus three weeks, and take it from there. ?Surprisingly this was his idea. ?I was a bundle of emotions and stress before he suggested this calm and mature outlook on our relationship. ?Of course, then my sister's reality check of the difficulty in obtaining a visa also helped me to understand the unclear status of our future. ?But that's just one of the many reasons I love her, she always tells me the ugly truth that I fail to see. ?The epitome of tough love =)

In the meantime, I'm counting down the days till I pick him up from the airport. ?Although these summer classes are really helping to pass the time. ?Modern Political Philosophy, anyone? ?Oh yeah, it's as fun as it sounds.

Source: http://meginvalencia.blogspot.com/2012/07/long-distance-relationships_20.html

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iPhone 5 to Get Slim Down

Hi! Could you share your feedback about our News section to help us improve?

Q1) What kind of news do you like reading the most?

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Business Consulting Services - International Business Consultancy

?

We offer international business consulting services across 50+ countries, and make it easy for companies to find distributors and clients in new markets. Some clients use our business consulting services to open up their first overseas market, and other clients might be using our business consulting services to open up their 100th new market.

Wherever you would be interested in expanding your business, our business consultancy services enable you to ?test the waters? of new international markets without necessarily having to make any ?fact finding? trips or having to invest heavily in setting up local operations.

Not only does this enable companies to lower the costs associated with opening up a new market, but it greatly speeds up the process of establishing direct links with qualified clients, distributors, and other relevant business partners in the target market.

This is one of the key reasons why our international business consulting services are used by the leading government-funded trade development agencies of several countries, and it is why our clients are often surprised at the speed with which they find themselves actually doing business in the target market of their choice.

Our business consultancy services are regularly used by companies in the technology, manufacturing, financial, IT, hospitality, food and beverage, luxury, education, and service sectors, to name just a few. A full list of our business consultancy and B2B market research services is available as well.

If you would like to know more about how our range of business consultancy services can help you grow your business on the international stage then please contact us with details of your target market. We will then get back to you with details of what our business consulting services could potentially do for your business.

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Source: http://www.wearelava.com/business-consulting-services-international-business-consultancy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=business-consulting-services-international-business-consultancy

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Heat wave blisters U.S. states from Michigan to Maine

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/heat-wave-u-145357224.html

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Annan says agreement reached with Syria's Assad

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows United Nations-Arab League special envoy to Syria Kofi Anan, left, meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, Monday, July 9, 2012. International envoy Annan raised hopes of a revived peace effort in Syria, saying he has reached a framework with President Bashar Assad and would hold talks with rebel leaders. (AP Photo/SANA)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows United Nations-Arab League special envoy to Syria Kofi Anan, left, meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, Monday, July 9, 2012. International envoy Annan raised hopes of a revived peace effort in Syria, saying he has reached a framework with President Bashar Assad and would hold talks with rebel leaders. (AP Photo/SANA)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows United Nations-Arab League special envoy to Syria Kofi Anan, left, meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, center, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, July 19, 2012. International envoy Annan raised hopes of a revived peace effort in Syria, saying he has reached a framework with President Bashar Assad and would hold talks with rebel leaders. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, sits at right (AP Photo/SANA)

This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, taken on Monday, July 4, 2012, purports to show Free Syrian Army soldiers in the northern town of Sarmada, in Idlib province, Syria. Syria's military began large-scale exercises simulating defense against outside "aggression," the state-run news agency said Sunday an apparent warning to other countries not to intervene in the country's crisis. Arabic on their caps read, "God is great." (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO

In this citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, taken on Monday, July 4, 2012, a Free Syrian Army solider trains at the northern town of Sarmada, in Idlib province, Syria. Syria's military began large-scale exercises simulating defense against outside "aggression," the state-run news agency said Sunday an apparent warning to other countries not to intervene in the country's crisis. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? International envoy Kofi Annan tried to breathe new life Monday into his moribund peace efforts in Syria, saying he has reached a new framework with President Bashar Assad and would discuss it soon with rebel leaders. Opposition activists raised the death toll in the conflict to more than 17,000.

Annan, the architect of the primary international plan to end Syria's 16-month-old crisis, arrived in Iran late Monday for talks with leaders there. With the violence in Syria growing increasingly chaotic and diplomatic efforts faltering, Annan has said Iran, a staunch Syrian ally, must be a part of a solution to the conflict.

"We agreed on an approach which I will share with the armed opposition," Annan told reporters following a two-hour meeting with Assad which he described as "candid and constructive" Monday.

"I also stressed the importance of moving ahead with a political dialogue which the president accepts," he said. Annan did not disclose details of the framework he reached with Assad.

Annan's efforts to broker an end to the Syrian conflict as the U.N.-Arab League envoy have unraveled as the uprising that began with peaceful protests in March 2011 has spiraled toward civil war.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday that 17,129 people had killed since March 2011 are 11,897 civilians, 4,348 soldiers and 884 military defectors.

The group has a network of activists on the ground who document deaths and rights violations through eyewitness, accounts, hospitals and video footage. Another group, the Local Coordination Committees, says 14,841 civilians and fighters have been killed. The LCC does not report Syrian military deaths.

The government restricts journalists from moving freely, making it impossible to independently verify death tolls.

The violence has grown increasingly chaotic in recent months as rebels gain more arms, and it is difficult to assign blame for much of the carnage as the country spirals toward civil war. Activists have reported an average of about 100 people killed on some days in the past few weeks.

In an interview with the French daily Le Monde on Saturday, Annan acknowledged that the international community's efforts to find a political solution to the escalating violence in Syria have failed. He added that more attention needed to be paid to the role of longtime Syrian ally Iran, saying Tehran "should be part of the solution."

It is unclear what role Annan envisions for Iran, a staunch Syrian ally that has stood by Assad throughout the uprising. Tehran's close ties could make it an interlocutor with the regime, though the U.S. has often refused to let the Islamic Republic attend conferences about the Syria crisis.

Annan's six-point peace plan was to begin with a cease-fire in mid-April between government forces and rebels seeking to topple Assad, to be followed by political dialogue. But the truce never took hold, and almost 300 U.N. observers sent to monitor the cease-fire are now confined to their hotels because of the escalating violence.

"President Assad reassured me of the government's commitment to the six-point plan which, of course, we should move ahead to implement in a much better fashion than has been the situation so far," Annan told reporters Monday.

State-run news agency SANA said Assad discussed with Annan "mechanisms" that could ease the violence in Syria and told him the success of his plan hinged on regional countries ending their support for the "terrorism" in Syria. Damascus blames Arab Gulf countries Saudi Arabia and Qatar for fueling the crisis in Syria by funding the rebels.

Despite agreeing to a series of peace proposals in the past 16 months, the Syrian regime has repeatedly ignored its commitments and instead continued to wage a brutal crackdown on dissent. The rebels have also stepped up their attacks against government troops, dealing heavy losses among their ranks.

Annan said his team in Syria will follow up on the agreement reached with Assad.

"I also encourage governments and other entities with influence to have a similar effort," he added.

Russia, another strong of ally of the Syrian regime, said Monday it will not sign new weapons contracts with Syria until the situation there calms down.

Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, deputy chief of the Russian military and technical cooperation agency, told Russian news agencies on the sidelines of the Farnborough airshow south-west of London that Russia will continue, however, with previously agreed exports.

___

Karam reported from Beirut.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-09-Syria-4th%20Ld-Writethru/id-e4fc7ab170144c6aa5cf196ad8fc91bd

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Video: Great Dane births 17 puppies

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/48096022#48096022

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Drought Reaches Record 56% of Continental US

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/drought-reaches-record-56-continental-us-235924965.html

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'Savages' is brutal, stylish and not all there

Universal Pictures

Elena (Salma Hayek) and O (Blake Lively) in Oliver Stone's 'Savages.'

By Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter

To anyone who has missed the?Oliver Stone?of?"Natural Born Killers"?and?"U Turn"?while wading through the more recent and conventional likes of?"World Trade Center"?and?"Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," "Savages"?represents at least a partial resurrection of the director's more hallucinatory, violent, sexual and, in a word, savage side. This intense and unavoidably gory adaptation of?Don Winslow's wild best-seller about the incursion of Mexican drug cartel mayhem into the United States has been made in a jagged, darkly trippy style that well expresses the story's tense uncertainties. But the pronounced superiority of the veteran supporting players to the young actors playing the central romantic threesome throws the balance off and leaves a high-caliber-sized hole in the middle of a film that should nonetheless play well to blood-and-guts-inclined men internationally.

Winslow's 2010 novel -- the prequel to which,?"The Kings of Cool," has just been published -- is so vivid and propulsive that you can practically see a movie in your head while reading it. For all its insane violence and dizzying plot turns, the story spins on a fanciful but believable love triangle among Laguna Beach's two most successful independent pot growers/dealers and their hedonistic free spirit of a girlfriend.

More from THR: Photos --?Blake Lively, Taylor Kitsch walk the red carpet at 'Savages' L.A. premiere

With all the pressure the guys endure when a Mexican crime family puts the squeeze on them, the center, represented by the love story, has got to hold; it should beguile, entice, turn you on and feel special, as in?"Design for Living"?or?"Jules and Jim." Unfortunately, the trio, impersonated by?Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson?and?Blake Lively, seem rather junior league, the Triple-A team, where All-Stars are required. They're not bad, just not good enough when they have to tangle with the unbridled likes of?John Travolta,?Benicio Del Toro?and?Salma Hayek?as assorted cohorts and adversaries.

Lively's easygoing SoCal beach girl, commonly known as O (as in Ophelia, her birth name, and orgasm, a propensity for which she is well known), narrates the tale with noticeably less energy than the film itself possesses and an omniscience that makes no sense if you think about it. Within the first 15 minutes, she gets it on with both Chon (Kitsch), a hotheaded and hard-bodied former Navy SEAL, and sensitive save-the-world do-gooder Ben (Johnson), who's the best botanist ever to turn his talents to designer weed. Living in an enviable oceanside crib, they make and distribute superdope for discerning patrons able to pay for it and live the great life as a result.

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But while U.S. law enforcement has been persuaded to look the other way, such success attracts the notice of Elena (Hayek), a cartel queen whose losing battle with rival El Azul in Mexico has her looking for opportunities north of the border. Out of the blue, Chon and Ben receive an offer they're not at liberty to refuse -- to put their operation under Elena's blood-soaked umbrella. And, just in case they're thinking of cashing in and checking out, which they are, Elena's American-based goon Lado (Del Toro) kidnaps O and assures them the worst will happen to her if they make one false move.

The script by?Shane Salerno, novelist Winslow and Stone illustrates how, once infected with the cutthroat, when-in-doubt-kill-'em plague embodied in the drug lords' m.o., it's impossible to shake it; once you've crossed to the dark side, you can't go back. The gangsters impose the rules of the game, and it's instant?"Lord of the Flies": Everyone descends to the most brutal, elemental survival of the fittest level of human behavior, with no quarter given.

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To save O from execution -- held in a cage, she's viewable from time to time on a computer feed -- Chon and Ben are forced into a covert game of one-upmanship with their criminal bosses while still appearing to play by their rules. Through the auspices of their surfer/stoner financial whiz Spin (Emile Hirsch?in a brief, amusing turn), they move their money around and, to raise the rest of the cash they need to bail out O, come up with an ingenious scheme they can't get away with for long: robbing their bosses' bagmen.

This ploy stirs intense internal suspicion within Elena's organization, which is further disrupted by documents the boys procure from frantic DEA official Denis (Travolta), who's compromised up to his disappearing hairline and often is forced to improvise to save his skin. Stone and his collaborators depart from the novel significantly in the film's third act and smartly so, partly by expanding the Dennis role and especially by developing a propriety interest in the imperious Elena on behalf of the powerless O, creating some charged scenes and added emotional overlay (O's flighty mother, a character in the book, was played by?Uma Thurman, but the entire role was cut). The action-packed, Middle East war-style climax also has been gleefully toyed with to provocative effect.

But the story's progression moves one's interest and sympathies away from Chon and Ben, whose personalities are defined at the outset and never acquire further weight or psychological dimension. Although, as big-time drug dealers, they are technically criminals from the beginning, they certainly aren't meant to be perceived that way by Winslow or Stone; Chon's anti-social, shoot-first/ask-questions-later impulses are seen to stem entirely from his combat experiences in Afghanistan, while Ben is a latter-day hippie whose well-meaning urge to save the world marks him as ?the soft one? in the eyes of Lado, always on the lookout for an opponent's weak spot.

As Chon's all-action personality is readily apparent on the surface, Kitsch comes off reasonably well in his characterization of a battle-hardened vet who would seem to harbor a death wish. Forced to make a drastic transition from idealistic greenhouse genius to brutal, if unwilling, killer, Ben is by far the more conflicted and complex role, but his inner torment takes a back seat to the sweep of plot and action; he ends up being not very interesting, something for which Johnson is unable to compensate. In a role that, if one could pick any actress from the history of cinema, would have been played?most ideally?by?Tuesday Weld, Lively doesn't really live up to her name, coming off more slack than slacker. Crucially, a chemistry among the three leads never takes hold to seduce the audience into investing deeply in the privileged moments of the trio's inevitably short-lived romantic high.

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As if receiving charges of electric current at regular intervals, Travolta is manic and most amusing as the government agent forced into ethical and practical contortions to stay afloat; Del Toro entertainingly showboats while demonstrating dozens of ways to convey diabolical menace; and Hayek synthesizes ultimate elegance, motherly concern and complete ruthlessness as the Lady Macbeth of the Mexican drug world.

Stylistically, Stone summons up many of the visual and aural tropes of his creatively assaultive works of 15 or so years ago, to mostly strong effect; there's solarization and blood-soaked saturation, alternation from color to black-and-white and film to computer/video images, altered state-suggestive editing, warping of time and anything else he can think of -- all appropriate to the occasion. The re-creations of cartel charnel house torture are gruesome and pushed to the limit of mainstream acceptability.

The film is technically sharp, and the highly varied score -- a mix of original and source music -- is marked by the exceptionally dramatic use of the opening of Brahms' Symphony No. 1 in two key scenes.

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Source: http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/05/12584357-brutal-stylish-not-all-there-savages-takes-on-mexican-drug-trade?lite

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