Mobile Ads: Hipcricket Owner Augme Buys 5 Patents, 25 Pending Patents For Its Mobile VoIP Strategy

More developments in the world of mobile patents, and mobile advertising, as it happens: mobile marketing company?Augme Technologies?has purchased five patents?covering mobile VoIP and other technologies,?and a further 25 related patent applications, which it says it will use to spearhead its move into new services -- and the legal defense of existing ones. The move comes as mobile VoIP services continue to grow in prominence thanks to companies like Skype, Twilio and the profusion of smartphone apps that offer internet-based calling services. Separately,?Augme is currently in the middle of a?patent lawsuit?against Millennial Media. Augme is buying the IP from content distribution company Geos Communications, with the?financial terms of the deal undisclosed. The acquisition brings Augme's IP portfolio up to 14 issued patents and more than 60 pending patents in the U.S. and internationally.

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cnn latest news: Design and Implementation of Intelligent ...

Abstract

This subject stems from Shandong TV Station,and this project is set up by the Office of Science and Technology of Shandong Province, and pass through the Identification of the office.This paper provides the overall Intelligent integration-manage design of the room for transmitting,and based on this,supply software and hardware design of the project,this paper provides details of the system structure, working principle,hardware structure and software control strategy and programming method,and completed the installation,commissioning and trial operation.The system uses computer technology,network technology,communications technology,automatic control technology etc on the transmitter remote control,remote,remote testing.With features of the hills and the foot of the mountain cable communications, GPS automatic schools,fault alarm by sending SMS automatically. Supporting LAN and Internet dual-network interconnectivity,and taking effective mining,anti-electromagnetic interference measures. Achieving integration of real-time monitoring of the transmitter, television signal control and security.Using MCGS configuration software to develop a local server monitoring program, CX-Programmer5.0 to develop PLC Software.Even in the case without the local server PLC can work as usual.Controller Link cable network has the advantage of convenience installation,high speed communication,Security and reliability.Modular structure of the system aids maintenance,debugging and system upgrade.The result shows that the system has excellent performance,friendly interface and it is easy to use,and it create a technological conditions for the transmitter to achieve? Unattended,it was staying?.It has high practical values and Promote values.

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Swift Mortgage loan Guidelines for Dwelling Financial loans, Equity ...

If you are contemplating a mortgage loan loan, you might be wondering what alternatives are obtainable. Currently, there are lots of choices apart from the traditional strategies of obtaining a home loan. No matter whether you?re making use of for a home financial loan to get a new dwelling, a refinance personal loan, an equity loan, a HELOC, or possibly a reverse bank loan, it is best to be aware of what each and every bank loan entails.

Obtaining a brand new Dwelling

When shopping for a new property, you?ll need to be authorized to get a new house financial loan by means of a lender, or inquire the vendor to finance the home for you personally. Prior to applying at a lending institution, investigation your possibilities. Identify just how much ?house? you may pay for. Use on the net mortgage loan payment calculators to determine what the payments would be for different property loan amounts. Then, you?ll know what cost array you can store within, and regardless of whether or not you could afford to pay for the payments. Keep in mind, your income/debt ratio need to fit within the lender?s recommendations to qualify to get a traditional loan.

Healthy and ?Not-so-healthy? Credit Scores

When you have a great credit rating, then your income/debt ratio as well as the investment richesse you may have out there will probably be the main elements in determining property personal loan availability. On the other hand, if you?ll find flaws in your credit background due to non-payment or repossession, you?ll be limited within the type of house personal loan you may acquire. But don?t shed heart. Several homebuyers whose credit is ?not-so-great? do qualify for non-prime financial loans. Non-prime loans could be a bit higher-priced than prime loans or have greater interest, but you may still have the ability to get your aspiration household!

Creative Financing

Do not accept standard loans if you do not must. There are numerous creative approaches to finance a brand new household mortgage. In the event you do not have the required investment money or perhaps a down payment, some loan companies will finance the down payment for you in addition to the closing expenses. If not, the seller might be prepared to finance part with the financial loan to go over these costs. This may function even if the vendor does not have additional ?money to lend!?

Explain to the seller that it may be beneficial to him because of earnings taxes. He could possibly significantly rather claim an earnings of $100,000 than $120,000! Spreading out payments for $20,000 from the mortgage amount more than a time period of five or ten many years could make an enormous distinction on his taxes owing for that calendar year. Consult by having an accountant to find out if this might operate in your scenario.

Unusual Varieties of Home Financial loans

If you are worried about budgeting with a new home financial loan payment each and every thirty day period, attempt a FlexPay financial loan where a number of month-to-month payment solutions are offered to you each and every thirty day period. These possibilities incorporate fascination only payments, full-amortized payments, and minimal payments. There are also bi-weekly mortgage loans for paying out far more towards your high quality every year by means of a bi-weekly payment schedule.

Challenging Dollars loans are also readily available when there is a sizable quantity of equity built up inside a residence. The bank loan approval is based mostly additional about the property or property?s worth as opposed to borrower?s credit background or job/salary history.

Refinance Loans

In the event you strategy to refinance your home, there are numerous choices. A refinance indicates you might be re-evaluating the conditions, payments and curiosity of your mortgage. You may refinance to simply get the interest rate or payment lowered. Or, you may choose to preserve slightly cash out for oneself too. This can be known as ?Cash-out? refinancing. Cash-out financial loans are produced after you choose to refinance your house for greater than is owed on it. For instance, you owe $60,000, but desire to refinance for $80,000. You?ll pocket the additional $20,000 to utilize for dwelling repairs, remodeling or whatever else!

Reverse financial loans are out there for those over sixty two years of age who personal their residence free and very clear or have significantly equity constructed into it. They are able to get a month to month payment, a lump sum or even a line of credit. This will not need to be repaid till the borrower moves or passes away. Then, the estate can be marketed to pay the be aware.

An additional choice for leveraging your home equity will be to create a HELOC (property equity line of credit) which is secured from the equity within your residence. HELOCs could be used to pay debts, make purchases, or something else. Be conscious, nonetheless, that the interest rate can fluctuate monthly.

Now that you are armed with numerous selections for getting a home financial loan or refinancing your mortgage loan, check out with an online lender to find out what plan will perform most effective for you personally. Use the available tools and calculators to complete some budgeting on your own as well. You?ll be relocating in that new dream house very quickly!

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People smile when they are frustrated, and the computer knows the difference

ScienceDaily (May 28, 2012) ? Do you smile when you're frustrated? Most people think they don't -- but they actually do, a new study from MIT has found. What's more, it turns out that computers programmed with the latest information from this research do a better job of differentiating smiles of delight and frustration than human observers do.

The research could pave the way for computers that better assess the emotional states of their users and respond accordingly. It could also help train those who have difficulty interpreting expressions, such as people with autism, to more accurately gauge the expressions they see.

"The goal is to help people with face-to-face communication," says Ehsan Hoque, a graduate student in the Affective Computing Group of MIT's Media Lab who is lead author of a paper just published in the IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing. Hoque's co-authors are Rosalind Picard, a professor of media arts and sciences, and Media Lab graduate student Daniel McDuff.

In experiments conducted at the Media Lab, people were first asked to act out expressions of delight or frustration, as webcams recorded their expressions. Then, they were either asked to fill out an online form designed to cause frustration or invited to watch a video designed to elicit a delighted response -- also while being recorded.

When asked to feign frustration, Hoque says, 90 percent of subjects did not smile. But when presented with a task that caused genuine frustration -- filling out a detailed online form, only to then find the information deleted after pressing the "submit" button -- 90 percent of them did smile, he says. Still images showed little difference between these frustrated smiles and the delighted smiles elicited by a video of a cute baby, but video analysis showed that the progression of the two kinds of smiles was quite different: Often, the happy smiles built up gradually, while frustrated smiles appeared quickly but faded fast.

In such experiments, researchers usually rely on acted expressions of emotion, Hoque says, which may provide misleading results. "The acted data was much easier to classify accurately" than the real responses, he says. But when trying to interpret images of real responses, people performed no better than chance, assessing these correctly only about 50 percent of the time.

Understanding the subtleties that reveal underlying emotions is a major goal of this research, Hoque says. "People with autism are taught that a smile means someone is happy," he says, but research shows that it's not that simple.

While people may not know exactly what cues they are responding to, timing does have a lot to do with how people interpret expressions, he says, For example, former British prime minister Gordon Brown was widely seen as having a phony smile, largely because of the unnatural timing of his grin, Hoque says. Similarly, a campaign commercial for former presidential candidate Herman Cain featured a smile that developed so slowly -- it took nine seconds to appear -- that it was widely parodied, including a spoof by comedian Stephen Colbert. "Getting the timing right is very crucial if you want to be perceived as sincere and genuine with your smiles," Hoque says.

Jeffrey Cohn, a professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh who was not involved in this research, says this work "breaks new ground with its focus on frustration, a fundamental human experience. While pain researchers have identified smiling in the context of expressions of pain, the MIT group may be the first to implicate smiles in expressions of negative emotion."

Cohn adds, "This is very exciting work in computational behavioral science that integrates psychology, computer vision, speech processing and machine learning to generate new knowledge ? with clinical implications." He says this "is an important reminder that not all smiles are positive. There has been a tendency to 'read' enjoyment whenever smiles are found. For human-computer interaction, among other fields and applications, a more nuanced view is needed."

In addition to providing training for people who have difficulty with expressions, the findings may be of interest to marketers, Hoque says. "Just because a customer is smiling, that doesn't necessarily mean they're satisfied," he says. And knowing the difference could be important in gauging how best to respond to the customer, he says: "The underlying meaning behind the smile is crucial."

The analysis could also be useful in creating computers that respond in ways appropriate to the moods of their users. One goal of the research of Affective Computing Group is to "make a computer that's more intelligent and respectful," Hoque says.

The work was supported by Media Lab consortium sponsors and by Procter & Gamble Co.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Mohammed E. Hoque, Daniel J. McDuff, Rosalind W. Picard. Exploring Temporal Patterns in Classifying Frustrated and Delighted Smiles. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, 2012; : 1 DOI: 10.1109/T-AFFC.2012.11

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

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

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The Flames of Retribution

The Lessard Manor was an impressive structure of Victorian design characterized by expensive glass windows, tall steeples, stone gargoyles and extravagant gardens intersected by winding stone pathways. The entrance to the manor grounds was barred by an impressive wrought iron fence patrolled by two human guards. Small lanterns lined the pathways leading up to the manor house casting a warm glow through the dark. The gardens to either side were a stunning spectacle of well landscaped flora that had been well chosen to accentuate evening viewing and even the flowers bloomed beneath the silvery moonlight overhead.

However should one take a closer look, it would reveal that the gardens were merely an outward facade of beauty, overlaying a backdrop of decay where little could survive for long. Beneath the surface of the foliage and dazzling array of flowers, spots of mold and wilt could be seen cropping up here and there. The signs were subtle, but given a few months the picture of beauty would be rotted away beneath the taint that was beginning to infect it. It was a full time task to keep anything living within the manor grounds and everything that was planted eventually withered and died. It was only through meticulous care that the the facade was maintained.

Maria had led Riaze back to the city, it's nighttime lights glittering like starlight for as far as the eye could see. It was a place she was loath to tread, but her vehemence drove her on. Cautious and wary, she led them through shadow and back alleys to avoid the main routes until eventually they left the din and commotion of the city behind in favor of the pleasant gardens that lay at its heart. A few evening strollers passed by their position beneath the boughs of a tree, but none sparred them a second glance. Clad in the remnants of wolf furs and leathers she had acquired from her abandoned campsite on the way, Maria was at least passably modest enough to not draw too much unwanted attention.

Raising a hand Maria extended her finger to point to the manor beyond.

"Draugr," she explained. The pounding of her heart filled her ears as her chest heaved heavily from the run that had brought them here. The physical exertion had done little to stem the unquenchable fire that lay within her eyes and she shook with the anticipation of the damage she and Riaze could unleash upon the unsuspecting family within. Believing themselves safe within their city and behind their walls, their arrogance would be their undoing.

Turning to look at Riaze the fire burned hot in her gaze. "Draugr," she reiterated. He would come, he would share in the carnage with her. She did not need ask to know it would be so.

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Oil India eyes stakes in overseas assets

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What Things To Look For In Bowling Ball Reviews

Bowling ball reviews can be quite helpful for bowlers but what should these reviews cover? The first important factor with any bowling ball is the ball weight. Quite a few professionals state that a ball ought to weigh 10% of the bodyweight of the individual using the ball, with a maximum weight of 16 pounds. Many pro bowlers uses a ball that weighs 15-16 pounds but this weight is not good for every person. Someone who weighs about 120 pounds may be best with a 12 pound ball .

Any evaluation should also feature the cover stock of the ball. This is the ball covering material on the outside of of the ball. There are many options when it comes to cover stock for bowling balls. Polyester, which is also known as plastic, is one cover stock type and urethane is another. Bowling balls might also feature a particle stock cover or a reactive resin choice.

The price is also listed in most bowling ball reviews, and this can be an important element. A number of experts in the sports activity will spend large sums of money for a particle stock cover bowling ball while plastic designs commonly begin approximately $50. The cost of reactive resin balls will usually start with a price of around $100 and go up from there. Every individual differs and may have various criteria for what precisely is needed in a bowling ball .

Once the reviews have been applied to recognize several likely options then these can be narrowed down to a one pick by the individual, based on personal tastes and other critical factors. Once the best ball for the bowler is recognized then the ball can be bought and the finger holes custom drilled for the owner of the ball. There's a wide range of ball colours, shapes, and designs that offer a personalized touch, These balls can be found at any pro shop or on the web at a number of stores who cater to bowlers.

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Gary Giordano, Robyn Gardner Murder Suspect, Arrested For Indecent Exposure

Gary Giordano, the suspect in the disappearance of Robyn Gardner in Aruba, was arrested in Maryland for shagging some woman in the back of a car.

Giordano, 51, was found naked in the back of a Cadillac Escalade with Carol Bock, 45, of Tennessee. They were both arrested for indecent exposure.

They were discovered by Annapolis police responding to a call of possible sexual activity inside a car in a parking garage last Friday evening.

When officers shined a light through an SUV window, the pair were seen lying naked on a mattress in the rear cargo area, according to reports.

Even with a blanket hanging "in what appeared to be an attempt to conceal their activity,” the couple's cover was blown and they were busted.

Giordano had been a suspect in the disappearance of Robyn Gardner in Aruba in August 2011. He claimed she never returned from a snorkeling trip.

Authorities questioned his story and kept him in jail for months until a judge ordered him released last November. No charges have been filed.

The Robyn Gardner case remains unsolved; she was never found. The indecent exposure charge carries a $1,000 fine or up to three years in jail.

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LA becomes largest US city with plastic bag ban

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

The Ralphs supermarket chain is among those impacted by a plastic and paper bag ban approved Wednesday in Los Angeles. Many neighboring jurisdictions already have similar bans in place.

By Miguel Llanos, msnbc.com

Withstanding a strong lobby from the plastic bag industry, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a ban on single-use plastic bags at checkout counters as well as a 10-cent fee on paper bags.

With a population of 4 million -- and using?an estimated 2.7 billion plastic bags each year --?Los Angeles becomes the largest city in the U.S. to enact a ban and?joins 47 other cities in California alone.?

"This is a tipping point" for banning plastic bags around the world, City Councilman Paul Koretz, a ban sponsor, declared just before the 13-1 vote.

---

The industry counters that the ban will be bad for the environment and health and will cost local jobs.

Reusable bags "are hazardous because consumers seldom wash them, and they have been found to transport bacteria," Mark Daniels, chair of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, told msnbc.com, citing a case earlier this month of girls getting norovirus from cookies left in a reusable bag.

"Plastic bags make up a fraction a percent of the litter stream," Daniels added, citing a 2009 litter survey. "A policy to target and ban one product will not address the root issue" of pollution.

City staff countered at Wednesday's meeting that 43 percent of Los Angeles' trash is plastic and that the largest component of that plastic is plastic bags at 19 percent.

Live Poll

Are you OK with plastic bag bans?

• 184197

  Yes, they're a small but very symbolic step towards environmental awareness.

  62%

• 184198

  No, it's a minor problem that adds a burden to business and consumers.

  38%

VoteTotal Votes: 243

Daniels added that "reusables cannot be recycled" but city staff insisted standards would be adopted to make that a requirement.

As for jobs, city staff noted that the 750 jobs at companies making plastic bags in the area are not in the city, but in the county.

Large stores are allowed to phase out plastic bags over six months and then provide free paper bags for another six months. Small retailers will have a year to phase out plastic.

After a year, retailers will be allowed to charge 10 cents for paper bags -- a "disincentive" designed to steer consumers to reusable bags.

The council did back away from also banning paper bags, which would have made it the only city to ban both plastic and paper.

Koretz said the city would study the issue again in two years to see whether the 10 cent fee was enough to reduce paper bags.

The city ban was modeled on one enacted by Los Angeles County, with a population of 10 million. A?state court is hearing an appeal in a lawsuit against the county ban after the plaintiffs, a plastic bag maker among them, lost a lower court ruling.

Story: Bag ban taking shape across Hawaii
Interactive: The paper or plastic debate?

City Council members who supported the ban noted that the vote was about creating environmental awareness among Angelenos.

"Let's not stop with plastic bags," said Councilman Richard Alarcon.?

The ban will go into effect after a standard environmental review, which is expected to take four months.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

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Stars with Smarts: Celebs Who Made It to the Ivy League

From Harvard grad Tyra Banks to Yale alum Meryl Streep, see the Hollywood stars who boast some serious brainpower

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Rivera work poised to set new auction record in NY

This undated image released by Sotheby's New York shows Diego Rivera's 1939 oil on canvas painting "Ni?a en Azul y Blanco," (Retrato de Juanita Rosas a los Diez A?os de Edad) that will be auctioned with other Latin American artworks on May 23-24 at Sotheby's in New York. (AP Photo/Sotheby's New York)

This undated image released by Sotheby's New York shows Diego Rivera's 1939 oil on canvas painting "Ni?a en Azul y Blanco," (Retrato de Juanita Rosas a los Diez A?os de Edad) that will be auctioned with other Latin American artworks on May 23-24 at Sotheby's in New York. (AP Photo/Sotheby's New York)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Mexican artist Diego Rivera's 1939 oil painting "Girl in Blue and White" is headlining Sotheby's Latin American art auction in New York.

If it sells for the high end of its $4 million to $6 million estimate, it could double the artist's previous record of $3 million.

The painting, "Ni?a en azul y blanco," is a portrait of 10-year-old Juanita Rosas and is from a period in which Rivera captured the innocence of children. The muralist chose the work to illustrate a catalog for a 1949 exhibition celebrating his 50 years of painting, organized by the Mexican National Institute of Fine Arts.

"It is very typical of his work, especially of that period," said Carmen Melian, director of Sotheby's Latin American Art department. Rivera "painted through the years the children of the help at his home and the neighbor's, and in particular he painted Juanita several times," Melian said.

It's Rivera's most important painting to be auctioned in decades, according to Sotheby's, which has promoted it as one of his two biggest paintings outside of Mexico and says it is hitting the market at the right time. Just last year the Museum of Modern Art featured a solo exhibit of Rivera's work.

"What I love the most is that it was painted in his studio," Melian said of the painting. "I have been in his studio and the floor there has been dyed green, that's why it is green in the piece. And the white wall in the background, with its mix of blue and pink, is almost like a Monet or a Renoir; the front is more realistic, the figure of the kid pops out."

Rivera's current record is $3,082,500 for the 1928 oil on canvas "Baile en Tehuantepec," ("Dancing in Tehuantepec") sold in 1995 at Sotheby's in New York.

"Ni?a en azul y blanco" could even break the auction record for Latin American art, held since 2008 by Mexican Rufino Tamayo's "Troubadour," which fetched $7.2 million.

"You never know," Melian said. "You don't see a piece like this one very often."

___

Sigal Ratner-Arias can be reached at https://twitter.com/(hash)!/sigalratner

___

Online:

http://www.sothebys.com

Associated Press

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Small Business Loans and Small Loans to Business

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the decline in ?small loans to business? during the Great Recession and economic recovery that followed. Now I am back to tell you that data on ?small business loans? paints an even worse picture of the small business credit markets.

No, this is not a semantics test. ?Small business loans? and ?small loans to business? measure different things.

The more popular ?small loans to businesses,? reported recently by the Small Business Administration, uses data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Call Reports to track loans of less than $1 million, regardless of the size of the borrowers. The less popular ?small business loans,? produced by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), uses information gathered from the banks under the Community Reinvestment Act to measure loans of any size to companies with $1 million or less in revenue.

The statistics on ?small business loans? may provide a more accurate picture of the small business credit market than the ?small loans to business? figures because big businesses can obtain loans of less than $1 million.

The number of bank loans to small businesses dropped a whopping 68 percent between 2007 and 2010, and the dollar value of the loans declined 55 percent in inflation-adjusted terms. These drops are much larger than the 9 percent decline in the number of small loans to business and the 10 percent slide in the the real value of those loans observed over the same period.

Like the small loans to business numbers, however, the small business loan numbers show that the fall in lending to small companies didn?t just occur during the downturn but continued into the recovery that followed. From 2009 to 2010, bank loans to small businesses fell by 32 percent, and the dollar value of the loans declined 11 percent in inflation-adjusted terms.

The recent decline in small business lending more than offsets the expansion that occurred in the years prior to the downturn. As the figure below shows, the number of loans made to businesses with less than $1 million in sales increased 70 percent between 2005 and 2007. (That is much faster than the rise in the number of companies with sales of less than $1 million, which IRS data show only increased 7.4 percent between 2005 and 2007.)

But even after accounting for a correction for this period of easy lending, bank loans to small businesses have contracted severely. In 2010, the number of loans was at 54 percent, and the real dollar value of the loans was at 48 percent, of 2005 levels.

Source: Created from data from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council

About the Author

Scott Shane is A. Malachi Mixon III, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University. He is the author of nine books, including Fool's Gold: The Truth Behind Angel Investing in America ; Illusions of Entrepreneurship: and The Costly Myths that Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-05-20 | Recover From Emotional ...

?Annie, did you know you changed someone?s life? I can?t believe how I let one person decide how my life was going to be.?

Betty M

" I am doing much better. I am feeling the relief of authentically not wanting any more contact and it has been quite the journey to come to this place. I now know that my life lies ahead for me and I am excited about that and very welcoming of it, with or without a partner. I feel strong enough to move forward with all that I have learned..."

Lea R

"I feel a million times better now. You are a life saver."

Wendy S

" I am only on Step 3 of ?The Woman You Want To Be?, but my life has turned around completely. You not only saved my life, but you restored my happiness and faith in myself and life's goodness."

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"You?ve been like a miracle in my life.?

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Social Media for Small Business - Geeks & Nerds Online

Should a small business care about social media,or are sites like Facebook and Twitter just a waste of time? With more and more people going online to compare products and services before deciding where to spend their time and money, the business that?doesn't?have at least a rudimentary online presence is turning potential customers away.

Current studies on Internet activity are delivering statistics like these:

• About 4 out of every 5 who have internet access use the web to conduct research on products and services they plan to purchase
• About 6 of every 10 businesses are certain they have gained customers by creating a company blog
• Getting customers to come to you is about 62% less expensive than using advertising and other methods of going to them
• 9 of 10 buying decisions today have been influenced by social interaction
• Consumers trust the opinion of others they know (even if they only know the person online) more than they trust advertisements and company literature

You want customers, both present and potential, to see your offer as favorable and to take action towards accepting it?you want them to buy from you. Much of the influence you have over others, though, is about how they perceive you and your company. They need to believe you know what you are doing, that you back up your products or services and that others have gained from their business dealings with you. To wait for the consumer to put all that together on their own may mean that you attract few customers. The savvy business lets their particular abilities be known to all and easy to discover.

And social media is an excellent way to do that.

What is social media?

The first step towards an online presence is usually a website. Most small businesses need only a rudimentary landing page?a spot where potential customers can find basic information about the company. The primary things people want to know is what you do, where you are, hours you are open for business and how to contact you. That?s it. Those things should be evident and easy to find.

Unfortunately, may companies fall victim to the mistaken idea that they need a flashy or pretty site. The show becomes more important than the message, and the site ends up costing much more than it should but performs much worse than it should.

Beyond the company website

Having a website is fine, and most businesses would do well to have one. Even at its best, though, a website is like a billboard along the information highway. It announces your presence and invites people to contact you to find out more.

Social media, on the other hand, is vibrant and interactive. These internet tools?things like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and others?invite communication. And communication is good for you. It gets people talking about your business and recommending your skills to others. And that means more customers, appointments and orders. Social media messaging allows you to dialogue with those who have done business with you in the past and who may want to do business with you in the future.Used rightly, social media works.

How to get started

You probably already know someone who has the knowledge needed to get your company better engaged online. And don't think only young people know about social media, you may be surprised to discover many mature business leaders who have discovered the value of social media interaction and can help you put together a plan.

Don?t launch haphazardly, though. It is easy to start a free account online, but once you start broadcasting you are beginning to form the opinions of others about your business. You are ?branding? yourself. A smart first stop would be the local Small Business Development Center. Check the Small Business Administration website to find the office nearest you. They offer free and low-cost counseling to help grow businesses like yours. Their help can be invaluable.

There are three terribly important things you need to know before making your first post in social media:

1. How will social media help increase the profitability of my business? How will it affect the bottom line?
2. Who am I talking to? Who am I trying to reach via social media?
3. What do I want them to know, and how do I want them to react?

Like all business decisions, your social media plan should align itself with your company mission and strategy. Otherwise, it may hurt rather than help your business. Think about the big picture first?and how social media can help. Then get connected and get involved. You may be happily surprised at how many customers later tell you they found your business online.

Author: Lane Goodberry is a blogger who focuses on health and wellness topics.Read our guidelines to be a?Guest Author?at?TechGau.Org. Image Credit.

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War for Peace and Kenyata

In a land of extreme climates, can peace rule?

Owner:

Game Masters:

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?War for Peace and Kenyata?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

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.

Welcome! Please let me know if you have any questions or issues.
-Noroc

Noroc

Member for 0 years

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Home Remedies That Worked For Us - Penniless Parenting

Skeptical about using antibiotics and other prescription medication on your family?? Short on cash or lacking insurance, making a doctor's visit and buying the prescribed medication unmanageable financially? Unable to make it to the pharmacy but need to deal with a medical issue? Here are some tried and true home remedies that have worked for our family, oftentimes working even better than prescription or over the counter medications.
No, I'm not a doctor, nor am I any sort of medical practitioner, either alopathic or naturopathic (is that a word?), nor am I qualified to give any advice. This is just my sharing my personal experience with you; before using any of these, discuss them with your medical practitioner. I am taking no responsibility if these don't work for you or if they cause further issues for you.
(And in case you're wondering why all the disclaimers- it can be illegal to "dispense medical advice on a blog" and can possibly land you with jail time, as with this case. So this isn't medical advice, just some "anecdotes".)

Ringworm/Fungal Infections:
A few days ago, while bathing my son, Lee, my husband noticed this strange mark on my son's back. It was a ring of reddish brown about a centimeter in diameter and we couldn't figure out what it was. I thought it looked similar to ringworm (which I had once in my early teens), but not exactly, because the ring wasn't raised the way it was when I had it... A trip to the doctor confirmed that it was, indeed, ringworm, and the doctor prescribed him an antifungal cream to put on a few times a day for about a month, until it completely goes away.??"Its tough to make ringworm go away," the doctor tells me.
I can't buy medication in my area; the nearest pharmacy is a bus ride away and it was too late to go that day anyhow. I said I'd buy the medicine the next day.
But then I was thinking to myself- if the medication the doctor prescribed takes a month to work, it can't be that effective. Maybe before spending my money on that, I should see if maybe there are natural cures that work better than that that I can make with what is in my house.
I consulted Dr Google and found a treasure trove of resources with home remedies for ringworm. Lots of people recommended taping slices of garlic to the patches of ringworm, but they said that the garlic often burned the ringworm patch and was very painful. I decided not to subject Lee to that.

I read some more, and in different places, saw that tea tree oil (a well known antigfungal) was recommended, as was the sap from fig leaves; since we have a few fig trees growing nearby, and since I had tea tree oil in my home, I decided to first attempt to treat Lee's ringworm naturally, with those, and if that didn't work, then go on to the standard medical care.

On day one after the doctor confirmed ringworm as the diagnosis, I rubbed a bit of tea tree oil on the patch. 2 times that day.

The next day, I dabbed some sap from a fig leaf onto the patch. Lee said the sap itched him a bit.

On day three, I again put on tea tree oil twice.

By day four, no remnant of the ringworm remained.

Much less than the month long treatment had we decided to go with the standard care.

Just a note- if you decide to do this yourself, only leave the fig sap on for a little bit. If it stays on the skin, it makes the skin incredibly itchy. Fig sap is also used medicinally on warts.

Apparently the same fungus that causes ringworm causes athletes foot, so I assume that this treatment would also work for athletes foot.

Sore Throat:

My husband is not a complainer. When he's not feeling well, he doesn't complain, pretends everything is fine, and goes on like usual, working full, long days, despite feeling under the weather. So when my husband told me one day last year that his throat was killing him, I knew it was something serious.

I had him open his mouth, and oh boy, it looked scary. His tonsils were so swollen, and they had huge white lumps on them, so that his tonsils almost looked like teeth in the back of his throat, the spots were so large. I told him (as the daughter of a doctor)- there's no doubt in my mind- you have strep throat.

And Mike did what he never does- he actually went to the doctor! Who, of course, confirmed my diagnosis. Strep throat. And prescribed him a round of really strong antibiotics.

My husband finished the complete round of antibiotics, but still felt just as ill, and his throat killed just as much.

He read up online a whole bunch of different home remedies, from gargling with salt water, to gargling with vodka, to drinking vodka, to having honey and lemon, honey and garlic, etc... Nothing worked. Not the antibiotics, not the home remedies...

And then one person told him to try mouthwash. He was a little skeptical at first, especially as nothing had worked for him until then, but to his surprise, it worked! After using the mouthwash once, he started feeling better, and after using it a few times, the sore throat was completely gone.

Since then, whenever my husband is starting to feel his throat getting a little bit sore, like he's coming down with some bug, he gargles with?mouthwash once, and he prevents the sore throat from staying- he's fine right away after and doesn't get sick.

On Friday, I felt like I was starting to get strep or something. My throat was scratchy and starting to be painful to swallow. I gargled with mouthwash... I have felt perfectly fine since.

We use Aquafresh mouthwash. I know, probably not the cheapest or healthiest for you, I just know this one works, so this is what we're sticking with.

And no, I have no idea why it works.

So there you have it- 2 home remedies that worked for us.

Have you ever used these home remedies before? Did they work for you?

Are there other home remedies that you've used successfully to cure medical issues? What were they?

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Do the Asian Thing = Promoting Safe & Healthy Relationships ...

Lifestyle

20 May 2012

By Nancy Wong
Asian Women United of MN

To celebrate Asian American Heritage Month (May), AWUM collaborated with Asian American Press (AAP), Metro State & Century College to highlight the strengths of API cultural values to end domestic violence and to share thinking to stimulate discussion around this vital issue. AWUM interviewed & photographed several Metro State and Century College students, documenting each student?s voice about promoting safe and healthy relationships. We hope their words, thoughts & feelings inspire you to commit to ?doing the Asian thing?!???Do the Asian Thing? engages APIs, especially youth and young adults, to elevate social discourse about safe & healthy relationships within the API experience; this includes expanding or redefining cultural traditions and what it means to be Asian when it comes to romantic and familial connections. To AWUM, doing the ?Asian Thing? is to promote safe & healthy relationships.??41%-60% Asian Pacific Islander women report experiencing domestic violence in their lifetime. (Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence: www.apiidv.org)??The mission of Asian Women United of Minnesota (AWUM) is to end domestic violence by promoting safe and healthy relationships within the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community.??For more information about AWUM: www.awum.org or email: awum@awum.org.

Q: How can Asians promote safe and healthy relationship?

Nou Chee Xiong, Century College
Major: Undecided

Nou Chee Xiong

A: By being more open about it and sharing each other?s thoughts and being able to better communicate with each other.

Alvin Moua

Alvin Moua, Century College
Major: Environmental Studies & Minor: Law Enforcement

A: In order to promote safe & healthy relationships, you have to first live by it because it?s ?lead by example?. So, if you don?t do it yourself, how can you preach to others?

Lorena Hurshuajer, Century College
Major: Human Services

Lorena Hurshuajer

A: By speaking out.

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Obama mourns 'Queen of Disco' Donna Summer

[ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

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Is China?s crackdown on foreigners about crime or illegal immigration?

China's Public Security Bureau

China's Public Security Bureau's graphic announcement about the crackdown on illegal immigrants in Beijing. The Chinese characters say: 'Illegal immigrants, illegal residence, illegal work' and the fist is graphically spells out the crackdown.

By Ed Flanagan, NBC News

BEIJING ? China has launched a 100-day crackdown against illegal immigration and illegal employment in the wake of a high-profile sexual assault case involving a British national who was videotaped allegedly attempting to force himself on a Chinese woman.

The disturbing three-minute video surfaced on the Internet last week and has been viewed more than 8 million times on the Chinese video-sharing website youku.com, provoking outrage across China?s web-sphere.

The clip of the May 8 incident shows the 25-year-old British man standing over a sobbing ?Chinese woman on a street median before a Good Samaritan came to her rescue.? Following a brief scuffle, the attacker was then shown lying unconscious on the street before he is suddenly kicked by another nearby bystander ? much to the approval of netizens who commented online.

Police arrived soon afterward and detained the man, who was reportedly intoxicated, for sexual assault. He is allegedly still in detention, pending an investigation. ??

Officials from China?s Public Security Bureau told NBC News that their summer-long campaign against illegal immigration and illegal employment is simply an enforcement of procedures already in place and wouldn?t comment on whether this crackdown was the result of the attack.

The tactics the Public Security Bureau announced they would use are similar to the ones employed in 2007 and during the run-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Namely, spot checks of foreigners in Beijing neighborhoods frequented by expatriates, like the Sanlitun bar district and the university district of Haidian.

Police will also create a special hotline so the public can report suspicious foreigners. Security officials will also conduct door-to-door checks of homes owned or rented by foreigners to check visas and housing permits. A member of the National People?s Congress Standing Committee was also quoted yesterday by CCTV as saying they are considering creating special detention centers to hold foreigners found without valid visas.

?Foreigner vs. Chinese?
All of this is part of a multi-prong campaign ostensibly to rein in immigrants who commit crimes, have over-stayed their visas or work illegally in the mainland.

Despite the claims that this was merely a step-up of routine procedures, the tone of the announcement of the campaign ? posted on China?s Twitter-like service Weibo ? suggests a renewed urgency on the part of Chinese police.? In the announcement, a fist is seen smashing down on three words: Illegal immigrants,?illegal?residence, illegal work.

News of the campaign was unfortunately greeted with some anti-foreigner stereotyping ? a common ?foreigner versus Chinese? practice lamented in a column in the Chinese newspaper Global Times.?

But the police crackdown was generally seen as a positive development online. On Weibo one user wrote: ?[The campaign] should have happened earlier! If we don?t do this, there will be more cases of foreigners raping Chinese girls!?

Another user, however, noted, ?In fact, we don?t need this campaign now. Any foreigner who has seen the video or heard about this incident will behave. That?s the best lesson.?

Throughout the day on Tuesday, ?illegal foreigner? was a Top 10 trending topic on Weibo.

But missing from much of the public discussion online was the fact that the Briton believed to have sparked this new campaign was in China on a valid tourist visa.

Growing issue: illegal immigration
Though the timing of the Public Security Bureau?s campaign suggests a desire to associate the video with a toughening-up on street crime committed by foreigners, the focus of the campaign??checking documentation of foreigners ? seems to be centered more on dealing with illegal immigration.

A Global Times article on the crackdown noted that China rounded-up about 20,000 illegal immigrants last year and ? just like the United States ? had no idea just how many were still in the country.

?It's very difficult for China to deal with the problem,? the Global Times wrote. ?China lacks experience, hasn't made full preparations, and does not even know the exact number of illegal immigrants right now.? ?

The Global Times ? typically a nationalistic leaning paper ? appeared to be using the crackdown as an occasion to acknowledge the country?s need for immigration reform.

?China should create favorable and legal conditions for foreigners to live and work in the country,? the article states. ?On the other hand, China should be decisive in cracking down on illegal immigrants. It cannot afford to be an immigrant destination at this early stage.???

If the tenet about citizens of poor countries chasing opportunity in richer nations holds true, the 20,000 illegal immigrants China dealt with this year will very soon pale in comparison to the number of illegal immigrants in the United States as of 2011: 11.5 million.

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Protein RAL associated with aggressive characteristics in prostate, bladder and skin cancers

Public release date: 17-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Erika Matich
erika.matich@ucdenver.edu
303-524-2780
University of Colorado Denver

AURORA, Colo. (May 17, 2012) - We have known for years that when the proteins RalA and RalB are present, cells in dishes copy toward aggressive forms of cancer. However, until this week, no study had explored the effects of RAL proteins in human cancers an essential step on the path to developing drugs to target these proteins. From metastasis in bladder cancer, to seminal vessel involvement in prostate cancer, to shortened survival in squamous cell carcinoma, a study published this week in the journal Cancer Research shows that proteins RalA and RalB are associated with aggressive cancer characteristics in human tumors.

"But here's the interesting part," says Dan Theodorescu, director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the paper's senior author "it wasn't the presence of these proteins per se that predicted aggressive cancer characteristics, it was the signature of other genes changed by RAL activity in the cells that predicted poor outcomes."

RalA and RalB activity leads to a cascade of genetic (and gene expression) changes. Theodorescu and colleagues discovered the signature of these changes, and this pattern of turning up and turning down genes is what predicts aggressive cancers.

"It might not be presence of these RAL proteins themselves that drives cancer as much as their ability to drive genetic changes that in turn drive cancer," Theodorescu says.

In the three types of human tumors explored bladder, prostate, and the skin cancer known as squamous cell carcinoma panels of genes affected by RalA and RalB in turn predicted stage and survival.

"The RAL family of GTPases are cousins of the now well-known RAS family of oncogenes," Theodorescu explains. "These RAS family GTPases, are found in leukemias, lung cancer, colon cancer and others, and have been a focus of efforts to develop targeted cancer therapies. We imagine the related RAL family may provide a similar target."

Remove RalA and RalB from cancer cells and perhaps doctors can stop the genetic changes that cause aggressive cancer.

###

Support for the study was provided by National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute grant CA075115.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 17-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Erika Matich
erika.matich@ucdenver.edu
303-524-2780
University of Colorado Denver

AURORA, Colo. (May 17, 2012) - We have known for years that when the proteins RalA and RalB are present, cells in dishes copy toward aggressive forms of cancer. However, until this week, no study had explored the effects of RAL proteins in human cancers an essential step on the path to developing drugs to target these proteins. From metastasis in bladder cancer, to seminal vessel involvement in prostate cancer, to shortened survival in squamous cell carcinoma, a study published this week in the journal Cancer Research shows that proteins RalA and RalB are associated with aggressive cancer characteristics in human tumors.

"But here's the interesting part," says Dan Theodorescu, director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the paper's senior author "it wasn't the presence of these proteins per se that predicted aggressive cancer characteristics, it was the signature of other genes changed by RAL activity in the cells that predicted poor outcomes."

RalA and RalB activity leads to a cascade of genetic (and gene expression) changes. Theodorescu and colleagues discovered the signature of these changes, and this pattern of turning up and turning down genes is what predicts aggressive cancers.

"It might not be presence of these RAL proteins themselves that drives cancer as much as their ability to drive genetic changes that in turn drive cancer," Theodorescu says.

In the three types of human tumors explored bladder, prostate, and the skin cancer known as squamous cell carcinoma panels of genes affected by RalA and RalB in turn predicted stage and survival.

"The RAL family of GTPases are cousins of the now well-known RAS family of oncogenes," Theodorescu explains. "These RAS family GTPases, are found in leukemias, lung cancer, colon cancer and others, and have been a focus of efforts to develop targeted cancer therapies. We imagine the related RAL family may provide a similar target."

Remove RalA and RalB from cancer cells and perhaps doctors can stop the genetic changes that cause aggressive cancer.

###

Support for the study was provided by National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute grant CA075115.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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Get the Right Retirement Advice from Experts - Investment

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Fake pig ears latest China food scandal: report

AFP - Police in China are investigating after the discovery of a batch of "fake" pigs' ears reportedly made from gelatin, according to state media.

In the latest food safety scare to hit the country, the bogus ears were discovered in a market in Ganzhou city in the eastern province of Jiangxi in late March after a customer complained of a strange smell when cooking them, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported.

Food safety officials tested the "ears" and found they had been made from gelatin and the chemical sodium oleate, commonly used in the production of soap.

China's government has repeatedly vowed to improve food safety as people grow increasingly alarmed about the quality of what they eat, but scandals still occur due to weak enforcement and unscrupulous business practices.

Photos circulating online showed local officials examining a box of the fake ears, which appeared light-brown in colour and to have a plastic-like texture.

The China Daily quoted an expert as offering a sure-fire method for telling real ears -- a popular delicacy -- from fake ones, saying the genuine article should have hair and small blood vessels.

The Jiangxi provincial health department could not be reached for comment on the latest case.

The investigation into the fake ears comes as authorities launched a probe into vegetable sellers in the eastern province of Shandong for spraying cabbages with the harmful chemical formaldehyde to keep them fresh.

Last year authorities arrested more than 30 people over the sale of cooking oil made from leftovers scooped out of gutters.

And in 2008, milk was at the centre of one of China's biggest food safety scandals when the industrial chemical melamine was found to have been illegally added to dairy products to give the appearance of higher protein content.

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