Book Reviews and Organizing Tips ? Surviving Motherhood

I have recently had the opportunity to try out several books and wanted to share my thoughts:

Healthy Foods A-Z: I thought this was super cute. I am always looking for new ways to get my kids interested in healthy foods and this is a cute book at that goes through their letters, while also teaching them the names of super healthy foods that are in the shape of a silly face. Cody seemed to really like it. They have the english word of the food and the spanish translation which was a bonus. The only thing I thought was confusing is that some of the food was in English and translated Spanish and some were Spanish and translated English. The confusion for me set in when the foods were categorized by the letters of the alphabet. I was going through the foods with Cody and ?A? for example, had a picture of celery with the Spanish word ?Apio? which starts with an A, but Celery starts with a C so it was a little confusing for me trying to teach him letters with the foods that went with the book.

Harriett?s Homecoming: This is a MUST READ if you live in the Cincinnati area! The book is about a falcon chick and her travels through Cincinnati!? It takes kids and parents to the Zoo and Botanical Garden, the Krohn Conservatory, Eden Park, Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati Museum Center, Findlay Market, and more, providing parents with a map of all of the locations in the back and informative sidebars on each page with history/information about each place Harriett stops. I thought this was such an interesting way to teach kids about their home town and give parents ideas on places to build in some family fun time!

Good People Everywhere: This was a winner of the Mom?s Choice Award, Honoring Excellence. I can see why. This book talks about all the good things people are doing around the world. It is simple, yet relays a powerful message. It is much easier to look at the negative in the world and this books reminds us and shows our kids that there are a lot of beautiful, kind and gentle spirited people in this world. This is the message I want my kids to see, read and feel in their core because it is true. There are good people everywhere? you just have to open your eyes, look around and you will find them :)

Absolutely Organize Your Family: I LOVE THIS BOOK! It is a great organizational book that is put in an?easy to read format and simplistic terms. I felt like I was able to keep myself pretty organized when I had Cody, but once Grayson was in the picture, I had to adjust and figure out a new schedule. As both the boys get older, we just keep getting busier so I have to keep us organized. She has some GREAT ideas on ways to organize all aspects of your family. My favorite part has been the chapter on Calendars. This is something that I have been thinking on because the calendar I currently use is just not big enough to write all of the activities we have as a family of 4. After reading this I do have a good idea on what I am going to do. What I liked about this chapter is that it really honed in on why we need to teach our children to be organized with their time-?in regards to free time, activities and school. If we can teach our kids this priceless lesson while they are young, they won?t struggle with the stressful demands on time as they get older! One idea she had for the little ones is to create a pictogram for the month so they know what they have going on each week. I knew this is what I need to do for Cody because every day he asks me what we are doing that day and wants a play by play. This way, he will be able to look and see what is on the schedule! Just another way to empower them :)

We LOVE books at our house (as you can see above??I totally set this up, but I wanted him to look up and smile and he told me??NO! I am reading?!!) ?and when we get bored with books we have here, we head to the library. We do about once a month since we get about that long to check them out. Now that both the boys pick out books from there, I had to come up with a place that they had a home or else we would have lost them all. Absolutely Organize your Family book gave the idea to get a basket to keep them all. Now we have a?basket under our coffee table where our library books belong. We read them and then we put them back in the basket. If Cody wants to take some upstairs to read before bed he knows that he has to bring them down in the morning and put them in the basket. Great tip :)

Have you read any good books recently? Any organizing tips you want to share? We would love to hear them!

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With Mobile Impressions, Tumblr Pushes Past 20 Billion Pageviews A Month

David Karp, the CEO of New York-based Tumblr, revealed some fresh stats about the micro-blogging platform's growth today. The company is seeing 20 billion pageviews a month, up from 15 billion at the beginning of the year, Karp said at GigaOm's Roadmap conference in San Francisco today. That's a growth rate of more than 30 percent per year. Compare that to 13 billion pageviews a month in September of last year, and a little over 4 billion pageviews a month in January 2011.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/T44jNFFGu_U/

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Anna Piaggi Dazzles In Final Photoshoot For W Magazine

fashionista.com:

When W started planning a tribute to fashion originals for its 40th anniversary issue, it obviously looked to the fashion original, the legendary fashion editor Anna Piaggi. The mag dispatched photographer Tim Walker to Milan to photograph Anna, just one month before she passed away at 81 years old.

Read the whole story at fashionista.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/03/anna-piaggi-w-magazine-fashionista_n_2069041.html

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US Officials Refute Right Wing Conspiracy Theories About Benghazi Attack (Little green footballs)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/260360491?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Important And Guiding Information On Fin... - Work On the Internet

Does the sound of Financial Planning Services stimulate you, or does it bring up terrifying concepts of something you would rather do tomorrow? Possibilities are, if you get thrilled about economical preparing, you have probably already done it. If you are thrilled about economical preparing, you pobably also know more about it than most individuals. Financial preparing is a topic that frightens most individuals, and consequently it is a topic that gets procrastinated, often consistently. In this post, I would like to discuss with you some concepts for strengthening your economical upcoming. Strong economical preparing is within your understand. You can live and retire in relaxation. You could even live and retire beginning, with the appropriate economical preparing. You owe it to yourself, and those you really like to take management of your economical lifestyle.

For an personal clean out of university who never did very well with arithmetic, the believed of economical preparing can be mind-boggling. The fact is, economical preparing is not restricted to the number-loving top level. For provided that you adhere to the primary guidelines, it may be as simple as 1,2,3.

First concept would be to identify genuine objectives. Your objectives may be short-term, medium-term, or long-term. The ones you would like to obtain in less than five decades are short-term. They could be furnishings for your family, a product new car, or your loving honeymoon vacation. Spending for your kid's expenses charges are medium-term, while retirement-related objectives like visiting are regarded long-term.

Next concept is on managing costs. Basically put, this is about cost management. Budgeting is not associated to self-deprivation. It's simply training self-discipline in not paying out more than what you earn. Your goals can get nearer to your hands when you have more benefits. Another element of cost management is keeping away from financial obligations. The most harmful cravings are bank credit score cards. Their simple plastic types creates us ignore that its still money that we are managing and getting rid of with every single run. Making use of bank credit score cards and not paying them on time creates us end up investing a lot more than the unique fees. Using cash creates us more careful of investing. You can also use services such as the Meritum Financial Group to help you effectively and strategically fix your finances.

The third concept is about preserving. Placing away at least ten percent of your once a month wage is an enhancement. Saving achievements are results of cost management initiatives too. You preserve even more if you funds successfully. You may even request benefits applications at your office where resources are instantly taken from your per month check so as you would no longer be influenced to invest it. Personal benefits are very important for urgent costs, and they become the resource of resources for your objectives.

Making an investment is the last concept. This is making your dollars develop. There are several types of investment strategies. You can spend by developing a corporation, deposit money secured and enabling it to develop over time, learning about ties and shares, or considering property. If we look at it this way, economical planning does not need too much of our efforts. You don't need an bookkeeping level to jot down objectives, funds, save, and spend. You can always consult economical experts if things get complex along the way.

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Source: http://www.workoninternet.com/business/reviews/miscellaneous/219676-article.html

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Sandy victims eager to get back to the office

4 hrs.

Anne D'Innocenzio and Mae Anderson , Associated Press

Nearly every office dweller fantasizes about the joys of working from home: Dressing in pajamas instead of suits, eating from the fridge and not the vending machine, listening to birds chirp instead of the boss bark.

But Superstorm Sandy has created legions of people who can't wait to get back to the office.

They include parents who have struggled to juggle conference calls while their kids scream in the background, families who have fought for days over the use of a single home computer and even executives who conducted business with the only device they had with reliable Internet access: their smartphone.

About one-third of Americans typically work from home, but massive flooding, power outages, transit shutdowns and school closings that followed Sandy forced thousands more from North Carolina to Maine to do so. And many learned that it's not all it's cracked up to be.

Related: Latest images of devastation from Sandy

Michael Lamp, a media strategist who has been working out of his one-bedroom apartment in the Brooklyn borough because his office in the Manhattan borough is closed, sums it up on his Twitter page: "I'm getting sicker of it with every hour that passes. I might be slowly losing it."

Lamp, who converted his coffee table into a desk, says he longs for face-to-face interaction with his colleagues. And he's finding it particularly difficult to share workspace with his live-in partner.

"I love him very much, but I would rather not see him 24 hours a day," says the 28-year-old, who proudly admits that he can't wait to greet his manager in the office. "I'm going to run to my boss's office and tell her I missed her face."

'Many more distractions'
Dr. Alan Hilfer, director of psychology at Maimonides Medical Center in New York, says it's normal to struggle with working from home. He says it "has its own set of difficulties" that people who don't do it often aren't always aware of.

"There are many more distractions than working in an office," he says. "Even people who do it on a regular basis find it much harder to structure and discipline their time."

Hilfer, who lives in Brooklyn and works in a hospital in Manhattan, knows the distractions firsthand. He was working at home on Thursday to avoid the difficult commute because of the storm's aftermath. But he kept getting distracted by storm updates on TV, projects he needed to get done around the house and his wife asking questions about what she should get from the supermarket.

"I had a whole list of things this morning I intended to do working from home, and I got about half of them done," he says.

With some school districts canceling classes for the week, children have become the biggest distraction for stranded employees who were working from home.

Brooklyn resident Deanna Zammit, a content director at media company Digiday, says she's grateful that her home and family were unscathed after Sandy. But she found herself overwhelmed when she had to work from home ? and watch her son ? last?Monday and Tuesday while her husband was away on a work trip.

"I've had to juggle taking care of a very energetic 5-year-old ? who only wants to jump on the couch ? and trying to get as much work done as possible under the situation," she says.

On Wednesday, with the added pressure of Halloween festivities, she gave up and took the day off. But on Thursday, she drove three hours to her parent's home in Westhampton, N.Y., so that she could finally get some work done at home.

"I kind of threw my hands up in the air and said I have to go to the only place I know that has free child care, and that is my parents' house," says Zammit, who acknowledges that she can't wait to get back to the office.

Cabin fever
Drew Kerr, a public relations specialist, also was eager to return to work on?Wednesday morning after losing power at his home in Westchester, N.Y., on Monday.

A big challenge was keeping his two teenagers occupied. To prevent the family from getting cabin fever, Kerr went to a deli to charge up everyone's laptops. He says he even ate his corn beef sandwich and onion rings slowly, so the devices could get as much power as possible.

But the next morning, he decided he'd had enough of working from home. Trains were down, but he was determined to get to the office. While he always vowed not to drive into Manhattan, he woke up early, hopped into his car, and did just that. It felt great to be get back to the grind. He even bought a bagel along the way.

"It's just me and my bagel and a working computer," Kerr says. "It's nice to have heat. It's nice to have electricity."

Paul Costiglio, another Westchester, N.Y., resident who lost power Monday, also misses the office. He had to commandeer the family's sole laptop so he could use it for his job as the director of communications for the New Rochelle School District, updating the district's Web site on school cancellations and responding to reporters' inquiries.

He explained to his children ? ages 5, 7 and 10 ? that "Daddy needs it for work." Then, later, Costiglio, his wife and kids huddled around the laptop in the dark and cold to watch movies such as "Spy Kids 3."

Costiglio said while he's eager to return to work, he's not the only one: "My oldest (child) even said she'd rather be in school than home without power."

A lack of power also weighed on Samantha DiGennaro, who has been trying all week to run a 35-person public relations company through her smartphone because there's no power at her home or office, which are both in lower Manhattan. Adding to her woes, about half of her staff also have been without power. To say the least, it's been difficult.

So DiGennaro has been using social media websites Facebook and LinkedIn to communicate and delegate tasks to her employees through her phone. And she's had to do that while constantly keeping an eye on the phone's draining battery.

"Doing everything mobile-y is very limiting, as much as we rely on mobile," she says. "Everything is taking triple or quadruple the amount of time that it ordinarily does ... I want to get out, get to the office and be 150 percent productive."

Similarly, Kathleen Webber, a college journalism instructor at the College of New Jersey, can't wait to get back to work after having been without power since Monday at both her home in Yardley, Pa., and at the college's campus in Ewing, N.J.

Webber has had to be resourceful: She's been grading papers by candlelight. But she desperately wants to work online, so she's been on the hunt for free wireless Internet service. First, she tried her husband's office, only to find the cubicles filled up. Then, she ventured to her local library and restaurants. But there wasn't one empty seat.

Next Webber, the mother of three teenagers, plans to hit up friends for Internet access.

"I may have to freeload," she says.

AP Business Writers Candice Choi and Christina Rexrode in New York contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/new-yorkers-eager-get-back-office-1C6839236

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Standard time resumes this weekend ? set your ... - West LA Land

by Klein Real Estate

It?s ?Spring Forward, Fall Back? time again!? This weekend marks the annual rite of passage in which we set our clocks back one hour, but there are a few things you should remember this weekend when you ?fall back? for Daylight Savings Times. First, remember to set your clocks back one hour before you go to sleep Saturday. Daylight Savings Time for 2012 officially ends at 2 a.m. Sunday in the United States and Canada. Second, make time to check and replace the batteries in your smoke detectors.

Not all areas in the United States observe Daylight Savings Time (DST). These include the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Hawaii and most of Arizona except for the Navajo reservation.?? Modern DST was first proposed in 1895 by George Vernon Hudson, an astronomer and entomologist whose day job was working as a cadet for the New Zealand postal service.? Since he came to highly value daylight hours for his scientific hobbies, he suggested seasonal time adjustments to the Wellington Philosophical Society, but it wasn?t until 1927 that the idea was launched on a trial basis.

Many countries have used it since the, although the practice has been both praised and criticized.^??For example, adding daylight to afternoons benefits retailing, sports, and other activities that exploit sunlight after traditional working hours, but causes problems for farming, evening entertainment and other occupations tied to the sun.^??Its effect on health and crime is less clear. Although an early goal of DST was to reduce evening usage of inefficient incandescent lighting (formerly a primary use of electricity), modern heating and cooling usage patterns differ greatly.? For the spring and summer seasons here at?Klein Real Estate?in West Los Angeles, however, we?ll take it!

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Source: http://westlaland.com/2012/11/03/standard-time-resumes-this-weekend-set-your-clocks-back-one-hour/

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"Vault is all power": Olympian McKayla Maroney | Sports + - Nuvo

Olympic medalist gymnast and noted Rihanna fan McKayla Maroney helped carry her team to gold at the London Olympics this summer after pulling off what is widely regarded as the most precise vault ever done. She's currently traveling with the rest of the Fierce Five as part of the Kelloggs Tour of Gymnastic Champions, which will make a stop this evening at Bankers Life.

Maroney's not 100% healthy = really, not even 75% when you consider her broken toe and fractured tibia. She's hanging in on the tour, however, and will appear to sign autographs and make one of her famous faces (we're counting on it) this evening.

I was so sad when I read that you had a broken leg.

I have a fractured ? well technically it's not fractured anymore ? I have a fractured tibia and a broken toe in a couple different places. I got surgery on that too. I'm healing up and getting better, so, you know!

I've read a lot about how girls who are injured push through the Olympics, or get injured afterwards. Have you found that to be common on your team?

Well. I don't know. Even before the Olympics I had a broken toe. I got there and I was in London for two days and my toe was already broken. If I did anything really it would re-break. I didn't know at the time that it was broken because I would just deal with the pain. It was really ? the bone just really snapped and it got really bad. I got into the Olympics already needing an intense surgery. I also had a fracture at the time that is healing right now. My legs were kind of done-zo at that time. I was doing bar and I was dancing and that kind of stuff. So, when I was doing bars and I did a dismount, my tibia got hurt. I had to get surgery on that and then I ended up doing my toe. I think all of the rest of the girls are pretty healthy. I'm just the special one. I was hurt at the Olympics though, so that's why [I had to have surgery.]

You are widely recognized as the best vaulter in the world. Vault takes place on such a short timeline. How can you describe those few seconds to us ? for someone who has never done it before, what does it feel like?

I don't even know how long a vault is ? like 15 seconds. One second you're at one at one end of the runway and the next second you're done at the other either on your butt or your feet. It's definitely a big thrill when you're running as fast as you can towards a stationary object that you'll hopefully be going super high off of. It's definitely a very interesting event. It's one of my favorites because you can use all of your power. On beam, you have to be more graceful. Vault is all power. It feels like you're flying when you're in the air, so that's my favorite.

I spent a summer in London studying and I loved it so much. What was your favorite thing about the city?

My favorite thing was just hanging out in the [Olympic] Village with the team. It was beautiful when we got there. People were saying, ?Wow, you literally brought the sun.? The weather there is crazy and we got really lucky. The sun was out all the time. I loved going to workouts and sitting on the bus and looking at the scenery.

After we were done competing we went on the London eye and walked around. It's really beautiful there!

Do you have any Olympic Village gossip for us that you can share?

Gossip stories?

Any gossip about all the athletes together? I heard it's really fun.

Us gymnasts, we really stay out of it. The whole entire time we were just with us five. We were there to get a job done, so not until after [competing] did we even go to the cafeteria. That was a big deal for us. We are pretty tight and safe, so we didn't do anything crazy. The craziest thing we did was walking around, us five together. There was Olympic rings in the Village and we climbed up to the top of them, really high, and sat on them. That's the craziest thing we did!

Obviously you've had an Internet explosion over your ?Not Impressed? face. What's the funniest thing you've seen your face pasted on to? What's the worst?

The funniest one for me ? I really like Lizzie McGuire. That was like my favorite show growing up. The little girl that was in Lizzie McGuire, they put me next to here and we were both doing the not impressed face because she does the not impressed face too. The other one I like is Charlie Brown. It's not even my face, it's like a cartoon.

The worst thing is when they say, McKayla, not impressed by ? I don't even know. It's ridiculous. They put me with Romney or whatever. Just not impressed with ... . silly stuff.

Now that you're kind of on a forced break because of the medical stuff and the end of the Olympics, you have time to think about what you want to do next. Do you plan to go to the Olympics in 2016?

Right now because I?m healing up, it's hard to say what I want to do, because i'm not healed yet. I can say that I want to go to the next Olympics, which is definitely true, I do want to go to the next Olympics, but at this moment in time, I?m not training. So I can't say it and mean it at the same time. But it's definitely a dream of mine. I'm not done.

What is your involvement on the tour right now?

Today I woke up super early in the morning and went to a grocery store and signed Kelloggs' boxes with the Fierce Five on it. I do a lot of stuff like that, pre-show and after-show autographs and meeting people. Everybody's really excited before the show. I tell them what's going to happen and they get really excited. I walk at the end and wave with the team and we clap around. It's a really good moment to at least be out of the floor. I did two Kelloggsshows. It's good to come back and do a little piece of it because I worked so hard to learn all the dances. I want to be there for my fans and have that moment.

What was the moment like when you walked into the Closing Ceremonies with the entire team?

It was so surreal. There was confetti falling and fireworks going and a huge stage. We were so excited. We were in our crazy little outfits. The Olympics were over, we finished our job and got our gold medal and my silver medal. We were just like, ?Wow, it's over.? It was finalizing. It's done. Crazy.

Are your parents on the tour with you right now?

No, they are not. Nobody's parents are here, but if [the tour] is in the place where they are, they hang out with us and we get to see our parents for a little bit. I'm not in California for any more stops, so I'm not with my family.

I was just thinking about how your dad was the quarterback at Purdue and thinking that it would be fun for him to come back.

He would love that!

You're so young ? all of you are so young ? and you've achieved at such a high level. You could go so many different directions and places. Obviously, so many different Olympian gymnasts have. Where would you ultimately like to see yourself when you're 40 or 50?

I would like to see myself go to another Olympics or at least another World Championships. I'm really not done yet, and I'm really young. Gymnastics for me is still fun for me, and it's important and I love to do it.

After that, my goal is to become an actress. I've wanted to do that my whole entire life, but it's kind of like gymnastics. You're doing it the entire day, so you have to choose one or the other. But I would love to do that, be the actor. I have other goals too. I would like to be a movie director. I have other ideas for that kind of stuff. I would love to be an actress, be a mom. I want to love what I do.

I know that you're showing up in your first role on Hart of Dixie soon.

I'm super excited for that. It was my first acting role ever!

What is your dream show to appear on?

I have a lot of different ideas. I don't have a dream show, if anything I want to be in a movie and playing a character. I don't know what kind of character I want to be, I can do anything, really.

If you were going to direct a movie, what kind of movie would you make ? right now?

I know that I want to make a Christmas movie.

Aw! Did you get to do any shopping in London?

I did. I'm wearing these special leggings right now that I got at Topshop. It's really only in London and NY and they just put one in Vegas. It's a really cool store ? five stories. All the girls just had a bunch of fun.

All right, McKayla. Last question. If you had to give advice to a young gymnast who is talented enough to possibly go to the Olympics, what would your advice be? Dealing with media, dealing with the stress, dealing with it all.

The most important thing is to stay true to yourself. No matter what the media does to you ? I obviously have experience in that with the not impressed thing. Especially after the Olympics you're always being watched and judged and everyone wants to be a good role model.

I really truly love when little girls come up to me and ask me stuff about that. And all the time, I will say to follow your dreams. If you're doing what you love and doing what yo

Source: http://www.nuvo.net/indianapolis/vault-is-all-power-olympian-mckayla-maroney/Content?oid=2506983

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Watch Space Shuttle Atlantis' final journey to the Kennedy Space Center visitor building (video)

It's always bittersweet when we see great vehicles on their way to becoming museum pieces, after all, they represent something pretty special. Space Shuttle Atlantis landed in Florida back in July, where it's been locked inside the vehicle assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center, which is where we got a chance to look inside. Now it's making its final journey, a 10-mile cruise along the road to the visitor center, where it'll hopefully inspire generations for many years to come. If you'd like to watch the operation as it takes place, then head on past the break to watch the livestream.

Continue reading Watch Space Shuttle Atlantis' final journey to the Kennedy Space Center visitor building (video)

Filed under: Transportation, Science, Alt

Watch Space Shuttle Atlantis' final journey to the Kennedy Space Center visitor building (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Nov 2012 06:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/02/atlantis-final-journey/

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Stocks sink as investors assess Sandy's damage

Stocks are ending sharply lower on Wall Street as investors assess the potential costs of Superstorm Sandy.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 139 points to end at 13,093 points Friday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 13 points to 1,414. The Nasdaq composite lost 38 points to end at 2,982.

Insurers plunged on expectations that losses from the catastrophe will eat into their fourth-quarter earnings.

AIG fell 7 percent, Genworth Financial 3 percent and Hartford Financial Services Group lost 3 percent.

Stocks rose in the morning after the government reported a pickup in hiring last month, but the rally evaporated quickly.

Two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was higher than usual at 3.6 billion shares.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-sink-investors-assess-sandys-damage-201343362--finance.html

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Comedian Starr arrested in Savile abuse case - TV

LONDON (Reuters) - British police arrested comedian Freddie Starr on Thursday as part of an investigation triggered by allegations that the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile sexually abused hundreds of children, media reported.

Police said in a statement they had arrested a man in his 60s on suspicion of sex offences. The man was identified by Sky News and ITV News as Starr, who earlier had offered to talk to police.

The allegations have shaken Britain's state-funded broadcaster with hundreds of people now coming forward to report abuse dating back over several decades by Savile, a household name in Britain.

Lawyers representing some of the victims have said their clients indicated an organised paedophile ring involving celebrities existed at the BBC during the height of Savile's fame in the 1970s and 1980s.

On Sunday, police arrested glam rock singer and convicted sex offender Gary Glitter, born Paul Gadd, as part of the Savile investigation. He was released on bail.

BBC Director General George Entwistle and his predecessor Mark Thompson, incoming Chief Executive Officer of the New York Times Co, have come under heavy criticism for their handling of suspicions about Savile.

At a recent parliamentary hearing Entwistle rejected claims that BBC bosses tried to hide allegations against Savile or suppressed an inquiry by one of their own news programmes.

Thompson, who was still director general in late 2011 when BBC's Newsnight shelved a report investigating the allegations against Savile, has said he did not know about the programme's investigation and had no involvement in the decision to axe the report.

The scandal has attracted attention in the United States, where Thompson's appointment at the New York Times has been questioned by senior journalists at the newspaper, who have accused him of involvement in a cover-up to protect his former employer's reputation.

Thompson has said he had approached his new employers to explain his role at the BBC and why he had not dealt with such an issue, despite being the director general and editor-in-chief of the world-renowned organisation.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said the sex abuse allegations leave the BBC and other institutions with serious questions to answer.

The revelations have shocked fans of the once highly popular Savile, who died last year at the age of 84, as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders.

ESTATE FROZEN

In a sign of preparation for claims, his 4.3 million pound estate has been frozen in response to the allegations.

Police working on the investigation are following three broad lines of inquiry: alleged offences by Savile, by others, and by Savile and others acting together.

Starr, 69, has publicly denied one allegation linked to a show Savile presented in the 1970s.

"The individual falls under the strand of the investigation we have termed 'Savile and others'," the police said.

"I'm being persecuted by the press saying that I have been with underage girls and I haven't - never will I go with underage girls," Starr told the BBC last month.

"I'm totally innocent. Totally innocent. I would never go with a girl like that ... I hope they question me, I want to clear my name. I've got nothing to hide."

The comedian, singer and impressionist was the subject of one of Britain's best-known tabloid newspaper headlines - "Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster".

The fictitious story in the top-selling Sun newspaper involved Starr eating a woman's pet hamster after she refused to make him a sandwich.

(Reporting by Matt Falloon and Stephen Mangan; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/comedian-starr-arrested-savile-abuse-case-tv-202849060--finance.html

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How Amazon Exploits Small Online Retailers - Deondesigns.ca

Small business owner Teri Noboa sold with Amazon for a short time in order to bring exposure to her shop, Childhood Way Boutique, a clothing store for kids with holiday fashions and gifts for baby showers. But that decision came with an unexpected price tag.

Two years after moving her shop to its own website, an empty Amazon storefront still cuts into her sales. Since Amazon has better search engine optimization (SEO) than the tiny Childhood Way Boutique, Noboa has some hefty competition ? with her own products.

Noboa, who has spoken out against Amazon on her blog, explains the problem?

Childhood Way Boutique sells a baby product called the Fabien Red Snake Diaper Bag. If you?re looking to buy this bag, you might Google ?Fabien Red Snake Diaper Bag.? Since Amazon has better SEO, its version of her bag shows up as the first result. While the Amazon version of the bag lists Childhood Way Boutique as the seller, that?s not actually true. If you buy the bag there, it comes from one of Noboa?s competitors, losing her another sale.

?Our store has been closed with them for two years now and if you google the name of my boutique Amazon links appear,? she said. ?We have sold on Sears, eBay, and others, and if we ask them to close the merchant account, the links disappear from Google. So why not Amazon??

She has a compelling theory: ?They use your name to lure people into buying from them.?

For more than a decade, Amazon has carved out a niche for itself as the online shopping network for every niche: The arrow in the logo is supposed to imply that you can buy anything at Amazon from A to Z. Since making everything available would be an impossible task even for the retail giant, Amazon has a Pro Merchant program for small businesses.

In return for padding the enormous marketplace with even more wares, sellers get to ride the coattails of Amazon?s SEO. While the relationship seems symbiotic, the trouble occurs when sellers attempt to leave Amazon. When that happens, for whatever reason, Pro Merchants? empty storefronts remain open.

So while their products are no longer available, they continue to be searchable. Amazon lists such items as ?currently unavailable,? as if they could be back in stock any minute.

A search on Amazon for ?We don?t know when or if this item will be back in stock.? shows hundreds of thousands of products.

This is what happened to Richard Sexton, president and founder of online furniture store Carolina Rustica. Sexton told Internet Retailer he stopped selling on Amazon because he couldn?t control the way his products appeared on the site.

Now, however, Sexton has to compete with the ghost of his own Amazon storefront. Due to the online retailer?s SEO dominance, a Google search for any Carolina Rustica product, like this Iron Artistica Scroll Rack, leads with Amazon as the first two results.

Shoppers who click on one of the first two links likely assume the rack isn?t in stock at Carolina Rustica ? inspiring potential patrons to potentially browse or purchase a product from one of Sexton?s competitors on Amazon.

Noboa and Sexton aren?t the only small business owners struggling with this issue.

Dani, a jewelry seller who runs 47stcloseouts.com and asked that we not use his last name, stopped selling on Amazon about two years ago due to ?disputes about product shipping.? Not only is his empty storefront still active, but all of his products, like this blue diamond ring, still appear in Amazon?s search, despite being listed as ?unavailable.?

The painful irony, of course, is that the ring is readily available ? just not from Amazon. Yet, Amazon?s ?unavailable? listing is the first result in a Google search for the product (Dani is number three), leading potential customers to believe its out of stock and to take their business elsewhere. Dani said he was shocked to learn Amazon had never taken it down.

?I?ve heard about many others, not just jewelers, where Amazon bans them from selling on the site and still keeps their products up as ?not available,?? he told the Daily Dot. ?They?re getting customers with our products, not linking to the available products on our sites, and then selling them Amazon products.?

According to one former seller, Amazon may be physically unable to remove pulled items. A seller who spoke to the Daily Dot anonymously told us that her former presence on Amazon hurt her current business significantly. She shared emails with us between herself and Amazon customer support, one in which an employee agreed to remove her images and another in which a second employee said Amazon?s Content Management System wasn?t able to do so.

?I had almost a thousand products on Amazon,? she said.

?They?re still there, images and all. It?s right there in black and white. Amazon will not remove the products. They have no code for it? You don?t need code to remove anything. You simply delete. What happened when the pedophile on Amazon was selling his how-to book? Amazon removed it fast.?

Amazon did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Jeremy Bencken, an SEO expert, told us that former Amazon sellers do have tools at their disposal ? if they were smart enough not to forfeit copyright on their images and descriptions. Even if Amazon will not take the pages down from their CMS, affected sellers could make a case to Google to remove the items from searches.

?[W]ithout that content, all you have are pages with keywords and no content,? he said. ?At that point, you might be able to report the pages to Google as being misleading since the product isn?t actually available and there?s no content.?

What Bencken didn?t know, however, is that Amazon sellers forfeit that copyright as soon as they sign up. According to Amazon?s Participation Agreement ? a binding, 15,000-word contract ? sellers give Amazon the ability to exploit their images and descriptions in any manner the company likes:

?You grant us a royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use, reproduce, perform, display, distribute, adapt, modify, re-format, create derivative works of, and otherwise commercially or non-commercially exploit in any manner, any and all of Your Materials, and to sublicense the foregoing rights to our affiliates and operators of Amazon Associated Properties.?

The agreement does add, however, that Amazon will ?will comply with your removal requests as to specific uses of Your Trademarks,? though not with removal requests that do not include a trademark, like product shots that don?t have watermarks.

You could argue sellers ought to read Amazon?s agreement more clearly, but that?s just adding insult to injury. Even when sellers like Dani and Noboa show up just a few spaces below Amazon in a Google search, they face harsh consequences. Bencken explains:

?There have been several studies that try to quantify the difference between a #3 and #2 ranking,? Benchken explained. ?If Amazon ranks #1 for my name, and I rank #2, then Amazon is getting 3X more traffic than more. Of course, this might not be true for branded searches, but as a broad average, it?s a good guide.?

Bencken recommends sellers combat Amazon?s search engine optimization by doing some optimization of their own. He suggests that sellers link back and forth with other sellers online to strengthen their reputations, shorten their URLs, and most importantly, register their own domains.

?I?d pretty much guarantee that if Childhood Way made the following changes, they would outrank Amazon,? Bencken said.

Amazon may have the advantage, but it won?t be impossible for sellers like Noboa to return to their pre-Amazon sales counts. The question that remains, though, is why they should have to work so hard to get back to that point at all.

Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/11/02/amazon-exploits-small-retailers/

Source: http://www.deondesigns.ca/blog/how-amazon-exploits-small-online-retailers/

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Ask the Edmonds Vet: More plants that can be harmful to pets | My ...

Home ? Blog ? News ? Ask the Edmonds Vet: More plants that can be harmful to pets

Ask the Edmonds Vet: More plants that can be harmful to pets

This column is the third in a series about plants toxic to dogs, cats and horses. A reminder that on Saturday, Nov. 3, Dr. Gross? will be signing copies of his latest book, ?Manhunt,? about a true crime family, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Edmonds Bookshop.

By Dr. David Gross

The story continues, with a focus on plants containing toxic alkaloids. Just a reminder, the toxicity of any substance is dependent upon the dose, the greater exposure the greater the toxicity. If you suspect your pet has ingested any of these plants get him or her to your veterinarian as soon as possible.

Plants belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae, the Kaffir Lily (Clivia Lily, Clivies, Caffre Lily, Cape Clivia, Kilvia), Daffodils (Narcissus, Jonquil, Paper White) the Barbados Lily (Amaryllis, Fire Lily, Lily of the Palace, Ridderstjerne) and the Hyacinth (Garden Hyacinth) all contain lycorine and other alkaloids. Ingestion of these plants results in gastric distress with hyper salivation (drooling), vomiting and diarrhea. Ingestion of large quantities of the plant, particularly of the bulbs, can cause convulsions, low blood pressure (hypotension) tremors and cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats).

The Autumn Crocus (Meadow Saffron) contains colchicines and other alkaloids. Ingestion of this plant can result in irritation of the oral mucous membranes (everything in the mouth and throat) bloody vomiting, diarrhea, shock, multi-organ damage and bone marrow suppression. This one is nasty!

The Yarrow plant (Milfoil) contains glycoalkaloids, monoterpenes and sesquiterpene lactones, all alkaloids and all toxic. Ingestion can result in vomiting, diarrhea, depression, loss of appetite (anorexia) and drooling. The Morning Glory contains at least four different indole alkaloids. After eating this plant your pet can show signs of GI upset, agitation, tremors, disorientation, ataxia (trouble with balance while moving) anorexia. The seeds of Yarrow can cause hallucinations.

The Burning Bush (Wahoo, Spindle Tree) contains both alkaloids and cardenolides. Ingestion can result in GI distress, abdominal pain and weakness. Large doses can result in cardiac (heart) arrhythmias. Bittersweet (Limbing Bittersweet, Waxwork, Shrubby Bittersweet, False Bittersweet, Climbing Bittersweet and American Bittersweet) contains euonymin and sesquiterpene alkaloids. Ingestion of Bittersweet can result in weakness, convulsions and severe gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and intestines).

Over 80 species of Larkspur can be found in North America, most west of the Mississippi River, but are cultivated as an ornamental almost everywhere. In nature the dwarf or low Larkspurs live on lowland slopes and grasslands and are generally less than three feet tall. Tall Larkspurs can grow to four to six feet and are usually found on upper slopes of mountain locations. These plants contain diterpene alkaloids and are more toxic to horses than other species. However horses will no usually consume these plants unless drought conditions exist and there is little else to eat. Dogs and cats have been poisoned from these plants but it is a rare occurrence. As the plant matures it is usually less toxic. Ingestion can result in neuromuscular paralysis along with gastroenteritis, muscle tremors, stiffness, weakness, and convulsions. Animals can die from either cardiac or respiratory arrest.

Ragwort (Golden Ragwort) contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids. It is not palatable but again can be a problem for animals that graze during drought conditions. Dogs and cats will usually not bother this plant, but there are some strange pets out there and poisonings have been reported. Ingestion causes liver failure, and many neurological problems associated with liver failure.
Periwinkle (Running Myrtle, Vinca) contain vinca alkaloids. Ingestion of this plant results in gastroenteritis and depression with moderate intake, tremors, seizures, coma and death if large quantities are consumed. The Lobelia (Cardinal Flower, Indian Pink) contains the alkaloid lobeline. Animals that ingest this plant can develop gastroenteritis, depression and abdominal pain. Large quantities can result in cardiac arrhythmias.

Ambrosia Mexicana (Jerusalem Oak, Feather Geranium) and Bittersweet (American Bittersweet, Waxwork, Shrubby Bittersweet, False Bittersweet, Climbing Bittersweet) may contain euonymin and sesquiterpene alkaloids. Animals ingesting these plants can show signs of gastroenteritis, depression, weakness and convulsions.

Dr. David Gross of Edmonds graduated from Colorado State University?s veterinary school in 1960 and was in private practice for 10 years. He retired in 2006 as Professor and Head of Veterinary Biosciences, at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Gross is the author of ?Animals Don?t Blush,? which describes the unique patients and even more unique clients of a veterinary practice in Sidney, Montana in the early 1960s.

Source: http://myedmondsnews.com/2012/11/ask-the-edmonds-vet-more-plants-that-can-be-harmful-to-pets/

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Obaidullah Baig paid glowing tributes late TV celebrity, intellectual ...

Karachi

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Touching and affectionate tributes were heaped on the late TV celebrity, intellectual, documentary film producer, and journalist Obaidullah Baig who passed away last month at a literary reference for him organized at the Karachi Arts Council Thursday evening.

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Noted journalist and columnist Ghazi Salahuddin recalled his days with Baig as a student and their friendship over the decades involving common intellectual interests. In his eulogy, Ghazi said, ?There was not a place where Baig was not known. It was not the fame of just any celebrity but he was looked upon with respect on account of his qualities of head and heart?, Ghazi said. He heaped praises on Baig?s intellect and scholarship and in that context, lamented the present ?de-intellectualisation? of society, as he put it. Talking highly of Baig?s TV programme, Kasauti, which shot him to him, Ghazi said that while Kasauti was a highly praiseworthy venture, he should have been even better known for his novels but nobody seemed to know anything about them. ?So much for the state of society?s intellectual development?, Ghazi exclaimed in a tone of futility.

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Recalling their childhood and teens, Baig?s cousin, Mazhar Ali Khan, said, ?We were nowhere in sports but were keen hunters and avid readers? and recalled how both savoured the bird meat and venison. Later, he said, Baig turned an avowed protector of wildlife and vowed never to eat the meat of hunted species again.

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?Baig was the epitome of a self-made person?, Mazhar Ali Khan said, and added that his life incontrovertibly proved that if there was a will, fame and success were sure to follow.

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Former Managing Director, Pakistan Television (PTV) paid glowing tributes to the departed and said that among his very many attributes, one that stood out was that he never foisted his opinions or intellect on others, in a tribute to his tolerance and magnanimity. He said that the vacuum created by Baig?s departure would be difficult to fill in.

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Urdu language scholar Prof Sehr Ansari narrated how Baig gave up eating meat and became an avid environmentalist. He spoke very highly of the intellectual attainment of the departed.

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Baig?s daughter Fatima spoke of her father with touching affection and recalled what an affectionate, caring, and considerate father he was. However, overcome with sentiment and emotion, she broke down and couldn?t continue her speech.

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Journalist Babar Ayyaz, also Fatima?s father-in-law, referred to Baig as a ?living Google? as a reference to his vast general knowledge.

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Mehmood Ahmed Khan, Vice-President, Arts Council, informed the gathering that Baig had produced 135 documentaries on environmental conservation and also talked about the Pride of Performance Award conferred on him in 2008.

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M Zaheer Khan narrated how the then Managing Director, PTV Aslam Azhar picked Baig up for the programme, Kasauti. ?I learnt so much from him?, Khan said. Speaking of Baig?s tender heart, he said that even though Baig?s financial condition was never very stable, he?d go out of his way to help those in financial distress.

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Asif Ansari outlined Baig?s professional career and said that he had produced over 300 documentaries on Sindh, its historical landmarks, and wildlife.

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Ahmed Shah, President Arts Council, concluding the proceedings, heaped eulogies on the departed and lamented that people like him, with that intellectual acumen and a zest for selfless pursuit of knowledge and an unflinching determination to change society for the better were so hard to come by.

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Prior to the speeches, a documentary tracing the career of Obaidullah Baig and his meteoric rise to fame was screened, starting with shots of Kasauti. Iqbal Latif compered the programme.

Source: http://pakedu.net/exhibitions-events/obaidullah-baig-paid-glowing-tributes-late-tv-celebrity-intellectual-documentary-film-producer-and-journalist-obaidullah-baig/

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China's real estate bubble overflowing into targeted US cities ...

The amount of money flowing in from global markets is incredibly strong.? To be more specific buyers from China are big players in many prime areas especially in California.? Access to high quality universities and prime neighborhoods is simply another factor that will keep prices inflated more than people may think.? Canadians have firsthand experience in this global real estate market push.? If you think our real estate bubble was amazing you simply have no idea what is going on in China at the current moment.? This past weekend, the Hong Kong government put on a 15 percent tax on property purchases made by foreigners.? There is no question that the market is overheating and the government is readily admitting it and even going to these extremes.? Put this into perspective with US real estate in 2007 when the Fed was still reticent to admit that we were experiencing a heated real estate market.? At this point it is too late and places where this hot money is flowing like a few Canadian cities will feel a pull back once the current trend stalls or even reverses.

China and Japan real estate markets

Not all markets in Asia are following a similar pattern.? I was talking with someone very familiar with Asian real estate and it is clear that the press throws all Asian markets into one pot.? That is clearly not the case.? Take a look at housing values over the last year:

Housing prices in Hong Kong are up more than 15 percent in the last year.? Price in Singapore are also on a fast pace upwards.? You?ll notice in the chart that the financial crisis merely set in a temporary lull and prices are now way above record levels.? But look at Japan and the trend hitting their property markets.? Keep in mind that China and Japan are the second and third largest economies in the world behind the United States.? This does and will have a significant impact on what is going to occur moving forward.

In California it is very common to see foreign buyers from China purchasing in prime locations.? This has picked up recently and tying that in with what is going on overseas, our prices might look affordable in the grand scheme of things.? A mania to us might be a hedge for hot money abroad.? It is interesting for California since in the late 1980s the boom in Japan pushed up real estate prices primarily in the commercial side of things.? We can include this foreign money flows for two of the last three bubbles:

The first bubble in the late 1980s came with the rise of the Japanese real estate boom.? In the 1990s certain areas in the Bay Area saw prices soar courtesy of the technology boom.? Today, we are seeing strong foreign buying from China.? This is another reason why you have places like the Inland Empire looking attractive to local Californians in terms of price while other areas never even corrected.? Compared to prime big cities and locations in China, many of the cities in California but also Canada look like excellent options to diversify a global portfolio.? There is also a demand for more tangible assets:

?(BusinessWeek) Last year the average price of a foreign-purchased U.S. home was more than $400,000, which is double the national average?so the search for good value might only extend so far. That high figure becomes even more impressive when one considers that buyers from abroad often lack credit scores and access to mortgages, and frequently opt to pay the whole price upfront. ?[S]ales transactions can often be completed quickly as many Chinese purchasers prefer all-cash deals,? Pamela Liebman, president and chief executive officer of the Corcoran Group, a New York real estate firm, writes in an e-mail. Liebman also says that her company has serviced more Chinese clients this year than at any time in the past, and that their interest is not just in residential real estate but in commercial property as well. Sixty-two percent of purchases by foreign buyers last year were in cash, according to the NAR. Zhao says many of the deals are for very large homes, capable of supporting several generations under one roof, which is a preference for affluent families.?

62 percent of foreign purchases were for all cash and the average price was $400,000.? Given that the median price of a US home is about $170,000 and a high number of buyers finance their purchase, foreign money is being very specific as to where they want to land and when it does land it goes in with all cash.? Fed or no Fed, low rates or high rates, if the boom continues abroad expect pocket areas to be held high as long as this trend continues.? The education component is very important.? Take a look at international figures from a top college in SoCal, USC:

13 percent of the students at USC are international students.? They represent 70 countries.? This is a trend that is hitting many top institutions across the country.? As higher education pushes many domestic students into debt, many top institutions seem to increase their tuition year over year.? Housing and education go hand and hand and the global demand is very clear in many markets, especially in prime SoCal areas.

What are your thoughts on this ongoing trend?

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Did You Enjoy The Post? Subscribe to Dr. Housing Bubble?s Blog to get updated housing commentary, analysis, and information.

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Source: http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/china-real-estate-bubble-china-buyers-california-real-estate-property-transaction-tax/

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NYC's Bloomberg endorses Obama (Washington Bureau)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/259912568?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Big Sean Gives Fans Song To 'Feel Good To' With 'Guap'

On his first single off Hall of Fame: Memoirs of a Detroit Player, Sean tells MTV News he wanted something 'inspirational.'
By Nadeska Alexis

Big Sean
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1696697/big-sean-guap.jhtml

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Across 1,000 genomes, rarities abound

Every person?s genetic instruction book is a trove of never-before-seen genetic variants, according to an ongoing effort to map human genetic diversity.

In recent years, scientists have discovered that humans carry far more rare genetic variants than anyone ever thought. Now, a major effort to map the diversity of humans? genetic makeup ? called the 1000 Genomes Project ? has turned up even more variety than researchers had expected. The project has now lived up to its name, completing a comprehensive sampling of 1,092 people from 14 different populations around the world, an international consortium of researchers reports in the Nov. 1 Nature.

Among the anonymous people sampled, researchers found 38 million single DNA unit changes, known as SNPs. Of those, about two-thirds are newly discovered and many are rare, found in less than 0.5 percent of people. These variants, along with small and large insertions and deletions and rearrangements of DNA, may affect health and disease risk and can help scientists trace humans? migrations around the globe.

??The magnitude of rare variation observed in human populations has really been driven home to everyone,? says Nancy Cox, a quantitative human geneticist at the University of Chicago. Large numbers of rare variants in the 1,092 study participants indicate that human population growth has been ?superexponential,? Cox says.

Rare variants tend to be new variants, springing afresh in every generation as DNA-copying machinery makes occasional typos. The more people added to a population, the more rare variants are added, too.

Genetic bottlenecks created when populations are squeezed by disaster, disease or migration haven?t wrung the multitude of variants out of the human genome yet, as scientists thought might happen. The researchers see evidence that evolution is at work, selecting against changes to many parts of the genome, but evolutionary forces have not had time to act against some of the freshest variants.

Meanwhile, how rare variants contribute to common diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and other conditions, is still a matter of debate. ?It?s almost unimaginable that it won?t make some contribution,? says Cox, who heads the University of Chicago?s genetic medicine section.

Scientists in the 1000 Genomes consortium attempted to get a handle on how much rare variants might contribute to disease risk, says Gil McVean, a statistical geneticist at the University of Oxford in England, and one of the project?s leaders. Among rare variants that would change the chemical makeup of a protein, one-quarter to one-half are predicted to damage the proteins functionally, the researchers found. On average, each person carries an estimated 76 to 190 of these rare variants, plus up to 20 more that either completely inactivate or cause a protein not to be made or have already been associated with disease. Each person probably carries one or two such variants previously implicated in cancer. ?

In addition to variants that alter proteins, the researchers found a plethora of others ? many of them also rare ? in parts of the genome that control gene activity. Such variants may have an important role in disease by altering switches in genes? control panels so that genes become too active, insufficiently active or active at inappropriate times. Each person carries about 700 to 900 variants that remove particular switches from genes? control panels, including an estimated 18 to 69 that are rare and show evidence that evolution is weeding them out.

Variants that add new gene-control switches are less common, with people carrying about 200 such additions each. ?Both losses and gains are bad news for the cell,? says McVean. He and his colleagues predict that such variants are likely to have weak effects on gene activity. But those slight changes in gene activity might make big differences in disease risk, he says.

Because rare variants tend to be new, they are usually restricted in geographic or ethnic distribution. For that reason, doctors someday will have to consider individuals? heritage when trying to figure out which of many genetic variants contribute to a particular disease.

If genetic analysis is ever going to be clinically useful, researchers will have to gauge the genetic diversity of millions of people, McVean says. Although the project has cataloged its eponymous number of genomes, he says, it will officially wrap up only after the researchers have deciphered the genetic makeup of 2,500 people.

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/346124/title/Across_1,000_genomes,_rarities_abound

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Weight Loss Maintainers' Secrets to Success | My Fitness Hut Blog

Have you asked yourself this question? Why can't I maintain my weight loss while others seem to maintain weight loss with ease?

Anyone who has been successful with weight loss maintenance will tell you it was not always easy. Matter of fact, there were probably many failures and adjustments along the way.

So, what are the hidden secrets of "weight loss maintainers?"

Its the things you practice on most days that helps you burn fat, lose weight, change your body and keep the weight off.

Consistency rules when it comes to transforming your body and maintaining your weight loss.

Practicing weight management can be a simple process---if you do it on most days. When you reach fat loss and weight loss goals, you have to manage your new body to remain successful. Keep working to maintain and improve your new body.

Christopher Sciamanna, M.D., discovered how to do weight managment the hard way: After losing 30 pounds, he described his new, lower weight as "shockingly challenging" to maintain.

He and his colleagues at Penn State University's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center decided to study weight loss maintenance.

Part of their study was to examine results found at the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR). For the past two decades, NWCR has focused on a single group of people. To qualify, they have to lose at least 30 pounds and keep the weight off for at least a year. The findings aren?t surprising.

The participants were successful primarily because of the following habits:

--Exercise at least an hour a day, almost every day
--Follow a low-fat, low-sugar, low-calorie diet
--Eat, more or less, the same foods all the time
--Minimize TV watching
--Eat breakfast

So, here are 8 things you can do on most days to practice weight management:

1. Healthy lifestyle habits produce a healthier body. This is a no-brainer. If you get adequate nightly sleep, limit excessive stress, don't smoke, limit excessive alcohol consumption, exercise regularly and eat healthy you will have a healthier body. Practice these type of healthy habits on most days.

2. Drink enough water every day. Your body is about two-thirds water. Drink water and unsweetened drinks (like green tea) most of the time. It will help you eat less and help your body function better.

Drink about half your weight in water every day. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, drink 75 ounces of water each day.

3. Here's some eating habits that will help you manage your weight:

--Plan and pack your meals with whole, natural foods that you enjoy.
--Don't skip breakfast. It gets your metabolism revved up and helps you eat less the rest of the day.
--Eat every 3-4 hours to maintain your energy and keep your metabolism active.
--Eat your food on a plate, not in a bag or jar. It helps you eat less.
--Eat with a purpose, don't just graze.
--Eat protein with every meal. It helps you stay full for longer and helps keep carbs from spiking your blood sugar.
--Eat at least 2 servings of a fruit or veggie at every meal.
--Don't assume that LOW-FAT means LOW-CAL, read the label.
--Eat heart-healthy fats. They are important for satiety and bodily functions.
--Don't eat fried foods.
--Limit alcohol consumption.
--If you eat at a restaurant, order healthy foods and skip the meal appetizers.
--Limit sugary and processed foods/drinks.
--Eat one serving at each meal.
--Eat healthy snacks, like raw nuts or low-fat yogurt, between main meals.
--If you stray from your meal plan, get back on it as soon as possible.

Good or bad nutritional habits don't just happen. Make an effort. You are what you eat.

4. Keep doing full-body strength training 3 days a week. Among other things, it builds/maintains muscle mass, speeds up your metabolism (the body has to work harder to maintain muscle) and helps improve your bone density.

Short interval cardio sessions of about 20 minutes each will help you maintain your lean body. Aim for 2-3 sessions a week. Too many long, slow cardio sessions will waste away your valuable muscle mass.

5. Walk as much as possible every day to help you maintain an active lifestyle.? All movement burn calories.

6. Keep your workout partner. It always helps to have someone hold you accountable and challenge you to do better.

Similarly, use group exercise classes and bootcamps for the challenge and to break the monotony of doing the same type workouts.

7. Keep setting and reaching goals to improve your body's composition, health and fitness. Always look to make progress, even if only by small steps. Otherwise, you will slowly digress.

8. Get enough sleep each day/night and stay away from long-term stress. These two imposters will wreck your metabolism and health.

Download your FREE 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program, to start building or keep your lean body.

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Source: http://myfitnesshut.blogspot.com/2012/10/weight-loss-maintainers-secrets-to-success.html

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Big Apple improvises to reopen for business

A customer shops at Andy's Deli in the dark, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in New York. Days after superstorm Sandy hit, businesses both big and small are facing a tough choice, to reopen or stay closed. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A customer shops at Andy's Deli in the dark, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in New York. Days after superstorm Sandy hit, businesses both big and small are facing a tough choice, to reopen or stay closed. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

People wait in line to purchase steaks while George Elizalde cooks the food on a grill in front of the Old Homestead Steakhouse in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. In lower Manhattan, some stores are open even though their power is still out. Others are busing essential employees to work. Days after superstorm Sandy hit, businesses both big and small are facing a tough choice, to reopen or stay closed. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Oscar Paulino, left, and Angel Hernandez move produce from the juice bar where they work into a refrigerated van in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. The juice bar, like most businesses in lower Manhattan, was without power and was trying to save some of their perishables. Days after superstorm Sandy hit, businesses both big and small are facing a tough choice, to reopen or stay closed. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

People shop in a candle-lit deli in New York's Tribeca neighborhood, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. In lower Manhattan, some stores are open even though their power is still out. Others are busing essential employees to work. Days after superstorm Sandy hit, businesses both big and small are facing a tough choice, to reopen or stay closed.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Commuters cross New York's Brooklyn Bridge, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. The floodwaters that poured into New York's deepest subway tunnels may pose the biggest obstacle to the city's recovery from the worst natural disaster in the transit system's 108-year history. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Two days after Superstorm Sandy brought business in New York City to a standstill, stores that lost power are again serving customers, albeit by flashlight. Companies with closed offices are setting up shop in coffeehouses. And the owner of the Skylight Diner is borrowing bacon from his neighbors because the restaurant's cupboard is bare.

The world's financial center is struggling to get back to work as it deals with a subway system that's still crippled by the worst damage in its 108-year-history and power outages in major sections of the city. That's kept both employees and customers at bay. As a result, big multinational banks are in the same proverbial boat as corner bodegas: looking for creative ways to get their businesses back up and running.

New York City is home to roughly a million companies of all sizes. While the impact of Sandy varies, the city's businesses face billions of dollars in damages and lost sales. So while reopening quickly is a priority, it can require resourcefulness and a smidge of creativity.

For Teddy Papaioannou, that meant calling in some favors. On Wednesday, the co-owner of the Skylight Diner was running low on supplies at his restaurant in the midtown section of the Manhattan borough, so he borrowed a few pounds of bacon from his neighbors who also are restaurant owners.

Papaioannou and his brother and father, who all own the diner jointly, were so eager to open that the three of them even chauffeured employees around on Tuesday and Wednesday. They picked up a total of 20 workers for various shifts over the two-day period.

"Closing for three days would ruin us for a month," he said.

Lost sales were a big motivator for other business owners too. William Badie, owner of Food Fair food market and deli, estimated he lost $8,000 because the store was closed on Monday and Tuesday. So he made sure he was open Wednesday. Only one of his usual three staffers could make it into work, so he paid for him to get there.

The 40-minute cab ride into Manhattan from the Queens borough typically costs about $35, which wasn't a huge cost, he figured, especially considering that he expected to make about $1,500 on Wednesday. But by afternoon, only two customers were eating lunch at a small table and another man bought a turkey sandwich. Still, Badie said he's fortunate because he never lost power and didn't have to throw away anything.

"It's very slow. There are no customers," he said. "But business is like that. You lose or you make. You can complain, but who is going to listen to you?"

In the lower section of Manhattan, where a massive power outage persisted, things got even trickier for businesses that wanted to reopen. Most stores were closed, but a few found a way to get customers.

Bareburger in the trendy Chelsea neighborhood in lower Manhattan was grilling burgers outside and giving them away, asking only for donations for the Red Cross. The restaurant, which has been in the neighborhood for a year, has lost several thousand dollars a day since losing power Monday. Workers iced down the restaurant's meat, but decided to grill after they realized it wouldn't be safe to eat after Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Deli & Grocery Corp. was open for business, just two doors down from a building whose facade had completely shorn off, making the exposed rooms appear like an open dollhouse, with decorated with beds, lights and furniture. The deli didn't have power, but a gas range was working so it was able to sell coffee, sodas and canned goods. Manager Tariq Mohamed Ali used a flashlight to see what he was doing.

Ali declined to estimate how much in sales the deli has lost, but he acknowledged that he really needs the subways to start running again and the electricity to come back so that customers can return. Otherwise, the deli may not be able to make its rent for the month. Still, he insisted that he opened so that neighbors would have a place to go.

"It's cold outside, so we wanted to give people coffee," he said. "If you do something nice it will come back to you."

For many of New York's technology companies and banks, the difference between opening or closing is not as clear cut as it would be for a grocery store or restaurant. Getting ? or staying ? open has been a matter of complex planning so that employees can work remotely.

Employees at Foursquare Inc., a social network that lets people tell friends and family where they are, were working from their homes or nearby coffee shops on Wednesday.

Though Foursquare encouraged people to work from home, the company also found space for about 70 people in Manhattan and some in the trendy Williamsburg section of the Brooklyn borough. There, regular tenants at a co-working space called Secret Clubhouse were joined by stranded employees not only from Foursquare but the gossip blog Gawker and the photo blogging site Tumblr, among others.

Meanwhile, financial giants such as Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley ? all with operations in the evacuated zone in downtown Manhattan ? were able to keep open by shifting work to offices in other areas of the city and neighboring states. Goldman Sachs said essential employees in the city were being shuttled to its headquarters in the Financial District, which a spokesman said suffered "minimal damage." Others were working in the company's backup offices in Connecticut and New Jersey.

Bank of America reopened its office in midtown Manhattan, but two offices downtown remained closed because they were in an evacuation zone. The bank also told employees who work elsewhere in lower Manhattan to work from home if possible.

"There will be a lot of cleanup in lower Manhattan," said bank spokesman Mark Pipitone. "And it's good to let the crews get their work done without the additional challenge of a few thousand more people moving through the area."

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AP reporters Bernard Condon, Anne D'Innocenzio, Christina Rexrode, Barbara Ortutay and Joyce Rosenberg contributed from New York.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-10-31-Superstorm-NYC%20Businesses/id-633908219aa94340a34b2b3cf05bd86c

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