“Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis, who made his money by coercing drunk young women to make-out while being videoed, has put his business into bankruptcy protection to keep Steve Wynn from getting his hands on the assets. Francis put GGW Brands LLC and other companies related to the brand under Chapter 11 protection Wednesday ...
The latest Chrome Experiment out of Google shows off the power of sync between devices with a fun little game called "Super Sync Sports". Head to google.com/supersyncsports on your computer and g.co/super on your phone or tablet (Android 4.0 and above), enter the code to get them synced up and you're off to the races. Literally. You use your phone or tablet as a controller, with the computer display as just a portal to view the game. Select a character, and you can run, swim or bike against the computer or friends that you invite.
It's a fun game to play, especially with more than one device, but it what it really shows off is the power of Chrome to provide real-time syncing between devices using just a browser. When on Wifi, there isn't any perceptible lag between actions on the phone and the response on the screen, which is quite impressive considering that you're just using an HTML5 game in two browsers.
Google loves to do fun little experiments like this, and when they show it off to the public it's even better. Hopefully this means that it is planning to leverage these technologies in user-facing Chrome products in the future. Head to the source links to learn a bit more about how it works and to play the game for yourself.
TryWebCopyCat.com Home Improvement Season 1 Episode 2 Part 2 Mow Better Blues After breaking Tim?s torque wrench that has been in the family for twenty years, Mark fears that he will be traded in after Brad and Randy make up a story about ?Peter?, their former brother that was traded in after he broke one of Tim?s flashlights.
We don't care if Adele was kidding about making a documentary: This obviously needs to happen! In the press room after her Oscar win, the "Skyfall" singer was asked if she now planned to appear on TV and Broadway, in order to complete her EGOT (Emmy/Grammy/Oscar/Tony) status.
In the past week, there have been a number of interesting healthcare stories that have been making noise in the digital world.
As we?ve seen on this blog, the number of healthcare apps are ever increasing and now this growth has been truly cemented and recognised by none other than Apple. For a while, Apple has been creating lists of its favourite apps for specific demographics, including children, parents and film lovers. The new Healthcare Professional (HCP) list categorises apps that HCPs can use for reference, medical education, imaging, patient education, personal care and patient monitoring. Although iTunes have only made these available in the US, what?s interesting is that the list includes apps from pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis and Medtronic. Understanding and keeping track of how to get onto the list could be crucial for pharma companies to gain more visibility for their apps and help bring greater HCP engagement?to mainstream attention.
Another story that garnered significant attention was that of the world?s first live-tweeted C-section. The Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston tweeted the whole C-section surgical procedure from beginning to end, with followers able to see the process in real time. Essentially an educational procedure, this garnered a large amount of traction, with an estimated 72,000 people watching the C-section live on Twitter and an additional 11,000 viewing it in another format. This is not the first time a surgical procedure has been live-tweeted, with the same hospital carrying out a live brain surgery and live heart surgery last year. The popularity of this is a clear sign of ?the educational value this type of digital format offers as well as perhaps whetting the (somewhat gory) appetite of many online.
As communicators, when creating campaigns we know how important it is to target the right audience with the right message. Previously, studies have shown women to be the influencers and decision makers in the household, and the results of recent survey have now shown that women are more likely than men to search for health information and advice online. According to a survey from the Pew Research Centre, 79% of female internet users vs 65% of male internet users went online to look for health information. These percentages overall are quite high, proving the potential reach an online campaign can have. This also demonstrates that when considering a digital campaign, it is important to think about whether it is right for your target audience, and the stats below, although US focused, provide a useful breakdown of which demographics are most likely to engage in the online space.
Former 'X Factor' contestant tells Mixtape Daily his Deadbeats & Lazy Lyrics is a shoutout of sorts to his father who 'was never around.' By Rob Markman, with additional reporting by Ade Mangum
All Critics (63) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (6)
We know where this is going pretty early on, but that doesn't prevent "Lore" from being riveting stuff, start to finish.
This striking, slow-building drama ... uses fractured, impressionistic imagery as a mirror of moral dislocation as the children make their way through an unfamiliar landscape.
It's a remarkable accomplishment.
Saskia Rosendahl is a highly expressive actress within the limited confines of her character, and the film is studded with memorable scenes.
"Lore" is the sort of movie you'd already expect to rip your heart out, but that doesn't diminish the tragedy when it does arrive.
If "Lore" is an upsetting and uncomfortable film set in a morally bleak landscape, it also offers a guardedly optimistic vision of the possibility of human change.
Shortland composes her shots with great elegance. Adam Arkapaw's damp, saturated photography is gorgeous. G?tterd?mmerung has rarely been so quietly compelling.
[A] complex portrait of a young girl with repellent beliefs gradually coming of age and to an understanding of what it means to be human in the face of some heinous experiences.
It isn't exactly a profound film, but Saskia Rosendahl's performance has considerable depth, and she interacts admirably with her siblings.
An unusual, constantly surprising post-WWII odyssey, this film may feel a bit thin and episodic, but it tells an evocative story with darkly moving emotion.
Shortland does an impressive job of evoking the rotten heart of a country turning in on itself.
The film is ultimately about a spectacular fall from innocence that feels both highly personal and universal.
As with all the best fairytales, there is a blackness and brutality at its centre.
Not even safety and sanctuary quite wipe clean the trauma slate. New autocracies lie in wait, ready to replace the old.
Shortland and her ferocious lead actress, Saskia Rosendahl, burrow so deeply into the thoughts of the stubborn, infuriating protagonist that you leave the movie unable to stop wondering what the rest of her life will be like.
A tough yet rewarding viewing experience!
Certainly sounds good on paper, but a little shallow and overstated in reality.
While prone to arty lingering, thus wasting time that would have been more wisely spent plugging gaps in the narrative, Shortland slathers the story in enough mud and horror to make it a compellingly visceral experience.
A provocative and emotionally complex drama with a terrific central performance from newcomer Saskia Rosendahl.
It's a close, intimate film - sometimes so close you can feel the breath of its characters in your face.
Shortland creates a palpable sense of atmosphere, and coupled with fluid camerawork and a verdant forest backdrop, Lore looks and feels a world apart from other World War II-set dramas.
This oblique and understated tale of lost innocence conveys both an individual's experiences and a powerful sense of a ruined nation.
Shortland's measured pacing and hypnotic visuals make this a mesmerising journey through a defeated landscape.
The result is a stimulating portrayal of an under-examined aspect of Nazism's terrible legacy.
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Actress Jennifer Lawrence falls as she walks up the steps to accept the award for best actress for her role in "Silver Linings Playbook" at the 85th Academy Awards on Feb. 24.
By Danika Fears, TODAY
While the 85th Academy Awards went off without any big hitches, a few fashion-induced flubs threatened to overshadow some of the night?s biggest moments. ?
Evening gowns can be rather pesky, after all. Jennifer Lawrence, wearing a voluminous dress, took a spill on her way up to the podium to accept her award for Best Actress. But the 22-year-old dealt with it like a graceful pro.
?You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell,? Lawrence said as fellow Oscar-goers gave her a standing ovation.
She wasn?t the only leading lady to have an awkward fashion moment. Meryl Streep lit up the Twittersphere after adjusting her dazzling dress while presenting on stage.
?Am I dreaming? Did I just watch Meryl pick a wedgie?? one Twitter user asked.
Jason Merritt / Getty Images
Actress Anne Hathaway arrives at the Oscars on Feb. 24, 2013 in Hollywood, California.
And then we came to this year?s Best Supporting Actress, Anne Hathaway, who got the night off to a buzzy start because of the unfortunately placed darts in her pale pink dress. Within minutes the actress had inspired a "@HathawayNipple" Twitter account.
?We?d just like to point out that we won Best Supporting Actress without *any* support,? the account tweeted after Hathaway took home her award.
But despite the Twitter explosions surrounding these more awkward moments, the ladies still have their gold statues to hold onto. And those last forever.
More: Les Nipplerables? Hathaway's dress draws attention Helen Hunt opts for H&M (really!) on the red carpet Oscar hair goes to extremes: Sideswept vs. windswept??
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. first lady Michelle Obama made a surprise and unprecedented appearance on Sunday's Oscars telecast when she presented the award for Best Picture, the first time a president or first lady has ever presented an Academy Award.
Appearing live on screen from the White House in Washington, almost 3,000 miles from the Oscars ceremony in Hollywood, Obama praised the work of the movie industry before announcing the Iran hostage drama "Argo" the Best Picture winner.
Wearing a silver evening dress, Obama said this year's nominated films had "made us laugh, made us weep and grip our armrests just a little bit tighter."
Obama added: "They reminded us we can overcome any obstacles if we dig deep enough and hard enough. They are especially important for young people. Everyday they engage in the arts, they learn to open their imaginations ... and strive to reach those dreams."
"Argo" director and co-producer Ben Affleck said he felt like he was "sort of hallucinating" when Obama presented the award.
"The fact that it was the first lady was an enormous honor ... it was very cool," Affleck said backstage after collecting the Best Picture trophy.
(Reporting By Tim Reid and Nichola Groom; editing by Mary Milliken and Sandra Maler)
After unboxing a pair of phablets at CES, Chinese mobile maker Huawei looks to be lining up a new flagship smartphone in its Android-based Ascend P line, ahead of the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona. Its MWC booth has a sign for an as yet unreleased Ascend P2 handset.
An investigation encompassing everything from fake NFL game jerseys to counterfeit Super Bowl tickets ended with more than $17 million worth of items seized and 41 people arrested, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The federal agency began its probe -- which it dubbed "Operation Red Zone" in reference to the area between the 20-yard line and goal line for a football team's offense -- on September 1, 2012, and wrapped it up on February 6.
ICE special agents, U.S. Postal Inspection Service members and state and local police officers nationwide conducted the investigation, in conjunction with the NFL and other top sports leagues.
They targeted international shipments of merchandise while also focusing on places where such items might be stored or sold, such as warehouses, stores, flea markets, street vendors and online vendors.
By the time they were done, authorities had seized $17.3 million in unlicensed jerseys, hats, T-shirts, jackets and other souvenirs, ICE said.
Plus, federal agents shut down 313 websites on which counterfeit merchandise was hawked. "The seized websites are now in the custody of the federal government," according to the ICE press release.
The effort -- which included the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center -- also looked at counterfeit tickets, specifically for the Super Bowl, the NFL's championship game. This led to the confiscation of 168 tickets valued at more than $154,000.
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Poe" star Chris Egan and "Miranda" actor Tom Ellis are ready to get hot and soapy for ABC.
Egan and Ellis have been cast in the network's drama pilot "Gothica," billed as a "sexy gothic soap set in present day that weaves together a mythology that incorporates the legends of Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein and Dorian Gray among others."
Egan has been cast in the role of Dorian (presumably, Gray), while Ellis will play Victor (presumably, Frankenstein).
Matt Lopez ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice," "Escape to Witch Mountain") is writing the pilot, which is being produced by ABC Studios and the Mark Gordon Company.
Trumbull Park Homes, a low-income housing development in Chicago, Illinois. Photo by Robert R. Gigliotti via Flickr.
In January, Smart Growth America released Federal Involvement in Real Estate, a survey of over 50 federal programs that influence real estate in some way. This post is the third in a series taking a closer look at some of the programs included in that survey.
Congress began the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) program in 1986 to incentivize the private sector to develop more affordable rental units for low-income households. Since its creation, the credit has created or preserved nearly two million affordable rental units across the country.
The program offsets investors? federal income tax liabilities, but the responsibility for administering the program is delegated to the states. States designate housing credit agencies to distribute a pool of tax credits from the U.S. Department of Treasury based on their population. In 2010, the amount of credits agencies received was equal to the greater of $2.10 per capita or $2,430,000. For example, the population of Oklahoma in 2010 was about 3.6 million people, so the state received about $7.7 million in tax credits, or 3.6 million multiplied by $2.10.
Housing credit agencies allocate credits to projects that also meet certain criteria set forth in state qualified allocation plans and Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Service code. Both guidelines specify rules and scoring priorities for the competitive allocation process. Eligible projects must be a residential rental property and restrict rent to low-income tenants. A LIHTC property must also remain affordable for at least 30 years. Some states may require a longer affordability period for certain projects.
Developers are also required to choose between the 20-50 rule ? which requires at least 20 percent of the units to be rent restricted and occupied by households with incomes at or below 50 percent of an area?s median income ? or the 40-60 rule, which requires at least 40 percent of the units to be rent restricted and occupied by households with incomes at or below 60 percent of an area?s median income.
Developers may sell the credits they receive to investors or a syndicator, who assembles a group of investors and acts as their representative. Through a limited partnership, an investor acquires a 99.9% or 99.99% limited partner share, while the developer sponsor set up one or more general partners with a .1% or .01% share. Typically, a real estate developer can cover construction costs with investor equity. The sale of the credits further reduces the amount of debt a developer incurs when constructing a project.?In return, the investor receives a dollar-for-dollar tax credit and other benefits for ten years. If the project were to stall or run into any difficulties, the most the limited partner can lose is the amount invested; however, the general partner can lose more than the amount invested.
However, partnerships are structured most often as limited liability companies (LLCs). A typical LLC consists of the developer managing the day-to-day operations of the project, and the credit purchaser as having a passive investor role. The developer still has a small percentage ownership interest (.1%), and the investor still has a large ownership interest (99.9%). All members of an LLC have liability that is limited to the amount invested. That is, if the project faces a setback, the most they can lose is the amount invested.
The housing credit provides many benefits for the federal government because the private sector takes most of the risk associated with building the projects. Investors may not reap the benefits from the credit unless the housing is built, maintained at a certain standard, and remains affordable throughout the compliance period. This model ensures that the program continues to fulfill its intended purpose of providing stable housing to low-income households, while developers and investors benefit from the return on their investments.
As members of Congress debate tax reform, they should consider protecting and preserving the housing credit.
Chinese hackers have hit nearly every Washington institution, according to unnamed intelligence officials.
?The dark secret is there is no such thing as a secure unclassified network,? one said in a Newser report. ?Law firms, think tanks, newspapers. If there?s something of interest, you should assume you?ve been penetrated.?
One?FBI?official had this to add, according to Newser: ?I?ve yet to come across a network that hasn?t been breached.?
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America?s big hope, the unnamed intelligence experts said in the Newser report, is that?China?gets so much information that its hackers just can?t process it.
Full article:?Chinese hackers have hit every Washington network, intel says (Washington Times)
Feb. 21, 2013 ? In a breakthrough for the field of particle physics, Professor of Physics Larry Hunter and colleagues at Amherst College and The University of Texas at Austin have established new limits on what scientists call "long-range spin-spin interactions" between atomic particles. These interactions have been proposed by theoretical physicists but have not yet been seen. Their observation would constitute the discovery of a "fifth force of nature" (in addition to the four known fundamental forces: gravity, weak, strong and electromagnetic) and would suggest the existence of new particles, beyond those presently described by the Standard Model of particle physics.
The new limits were established by considering the interaction between the spins of laboratory fermions (electrons, neutrons and protons) and the spins of the electrons within Earth. To make this study possible, the authors created the first comprehensive map of electron polarization within Earth induced by the planet's geomagnetic field.
Hunter -- along with emeritus Amherst physics professor Joel Gordon; postdoctoral fellow Stephen Peck; student researcher Daniel Ang '15; and Jung-Fu "Afu" Lin, associate professor of geosciences at UT Austin -- co-authored a paper about their work that appears in this week's issue of the journal Science. The highly interdisciplinary research relies on geophysics, atomic physics, particle physics, mineral physics, solid-state physics and nuclear physics to reach its conclusions.
The paper describes how the team combined a model of Earth's interior with a precise map of the planet's geomagnetic field to produce a map of the magnitude and direction of electron spins throughout Earth. Their model was based in part on insights gained from Lin's studies of spin transitions at the high temperatures and pressures of Earth's interior.
Every fundamental particle (every electron, neutron and proton, to be specific), explained Hunter, has the intrinsic atomic property of "spin." Spin can be thought of as a vector -- an arrow that points in a particular direction. Like all matter, Earth and its mantle -- a thick geological layer sandwiched between the thin outer crust and the central core -- are made of atoms. The atoms are themselves made up of electrons, neutrons and protons that have spin. Earth's magnetic field causes some of the electrons in the mantle's minerals to become slightly spin-polarized, meaning the directions in which their spins point are no longer completely random, but have some net orientation.
Earlier experiments, including one in Hunter's laboratory, explored whether their laboratory spins prefer to point in a particular direction. "We know, for example, that a magnetic dipole has a lower energy when it is oriented parallel to the geomagnetic field and it lines up with this particular direction -- that is how a compass works," he explained. "Our experiments removed this magnetic interaction and looked to see if there might be some other interaction that would orient our experimental spins. One interpretation of this 'other' interaction is that it could be a long-range interaction between the spins in our apparatus, and the electron spins within the Earth, that have been aligned by the geomagnetic field. This is the long-range spin-spin interaction we are looking for."
So far, no experiment has been able to detect any such interaction. But in Hunter's paper, the researchers describe how they were able to infer that such so-called spin-spin forces, if they exist, must be incredibly weak -- as much as a million times weaker than the gravitational attraction between the particles. At this level, the experiments can constrain "torsion gravity" -- a proposed theoretical extension of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. Given the high sensitivity of the technique Hunter and his team used, it may provide a useful path for future experiments that will refine the search for such a fifth force. If a long-range spin-spin force is found, it not only would revolutionize particle physics but might eventually provide geophysicists with a new tool that would allow them to directly study the spin-polarized electrons within Earth.
"If the long-range spin-spin interactions are discovered in future experiments, geoscientists can eventually use such information to reliably understand the geochemistry and geophysics of the planet's interior," said Lin.
Possible future discoveries aside, Hunter said that he was pleased that this particular project enabled him to work with Lin. "When I began investigating spin transitions in the mantle, all of the literature led to him," he explained. "I was thrilled that he was interested in the project and willing to sign on as a collaborator. He has been a good teacher and has had enormous patience with my ignorance about geophysics. It has been a very fruitful collaboration."
Lin had his own take: "The most rewarding and surprising thing about this project was realizing that particle physics could actually be used to study the deep Earth."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Amherst College.
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Journal Reference:
L. Hunter, J. Gordon, S. Peck, D. Ang, J.-F. Lin. Using the Earth as a Polarized Electron Source to Search for Long-Range Spin-Spin Interactions. Science, 2013; 339 (6122): 928 DOI: 10.1126/science.1227460
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
ATLANTA (AP) ? A federal grand jury indicted four former employees of a peanut company linked to a 2009 salmonella outbreak that killed nine people and sickened hundreds, leading to one of the largest recalls in history.
The 76-count indictment was unsealed Wednesday in federal court in Georgia. It charged the former employees of Virginia-based Peanut Corp. of America with conspiracy, wire fraud, obstruction of justice and others offenses related to contaminated or misbranded food.
Named in the indictment were company owner Stewart Parnell, his brother and company vice president Michael Parnell, Georgia plant manager Samuel Lightsey and Georgia plant quality assurance manager Mary Wilkerson.
FDA inspectors found remarkably bad conditions inside Parnell's processing plant in Blakely, Ga., including mold and roaches, and the company went bankrupt after the recall.
"When those responsible for producing or supplying our food lie and cut corners, as alleged in the indictment, they put all of us at risk," Stuart F. Delery, who heads the Justice Department's Civil Division, said in a news release. "The Department of Justice will not hesitate to pursue any person whose criminal conduct risks the safety of Americans who have done nothing more than eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
The indictment accused the Parnells and Lightsey of conspiring to defraud customers and obtain money through false and fraudulent pretenses. Wilkerson was charged with obstruction of justice.
A phone call and email to Stewart Parnell's attorney, Thomas Bondurant Jr., was not immediately returned. Reached by phone, Lightsey said he had no comment and referred questions to his lawyer, who did not return a call.
The indictment alleged the conspiracy lasted from about June 2003 through February 2009 and that peanut products were shipped after testing positive for salmonella.
Stewart Parnell, who invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying before Congress in February 2009, once directed employees to "turn them loose" after samples of peanuts had tested positive for salmonella and then were cleared in a second test, according to e-mail uncovered at the time by congressional investigators.
The indictment cited emails sent between defendants talking about contamination in the product.
A federal judge in 2010 approved a $12 million insurance settlement for more than 100 salmonella victims.
Even President Barack Obama expressed concern at the height of the product recalls, noting that his daughter Sasha ate peanut butter for lunch as often as three times a week.
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Associated Press writer Steve Szkotak in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.
? A U.S. cyber security company's allegation this week that the Chinese military is running cyber espionage operations from a high-rise complex in Shanghai appears to be turning into yet another thorn in the side of U.S.-China relations. Some Chinese analysts say the latest allegations could affect ties.
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Part of the building of 'Unit 61398', a secretive Chinese military unit, is seen in the outskirts of Shanghai, February 19, 2013.
??The report by cyber security firm Mandiant took direct aim at China's government. It says it can trace years of attacks on U.S. corporations to a specific division of the People's Liberation Army (Unit 61398).
Chinese authorities have rejected the allegations, while domestic media have alleged ulterior motives behind the report.
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On Thursday, a China Daily editorial argued what it said was the real reason for the accusation - a beefing up of the Pentagon?s Cyber Command. The piece said that in recent weeks, U.S. media have reported plans to aggressively expand Cyber Command in the coming years.
It also noted that two years ago when the Pentagon set up its Cyber Command there were similar accusations.
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Other Chinese publications dismissed the hacking allegations as baseless. The Chinese-language version of the Global Times mocked U.S. media coverage as hyping the report's findings.
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Cyber threats are among the increasing number of challenges to relations between the U.S. and China. Economic disputes have long plagued ties. And over the past year, island disputes in the South China Sea or between Japan and China have also become more intense.
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?We found that more and more tensions have happened in strategic affairs. This is not good," said Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Beijing?s Renmin University of China. "It is almost a bad omen.?
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Shen Dingli, a political scientist at Shanghai?s Fudan University, says that while the U.S. government has yet to back Mandiant's claim that the Shanghai building is the true source of the attacks, there is reason to be concerned about the situation.
?The situation looks bad and if China has done it, it is not appropriate. It would violate China?s own law. And this would make other countries' attacks on China kind of legitimate,? said Shen.
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Shen said while the accusations in the Mandiant report are questionable, there is no doubt cyberspace has become a new field of competition for the two countries and that both are active in carrying out attacks.?
?I think that China is probably doing it massively, a lot of attacks, and the U.S. is doing it more pointedly, to a particular place,? explained Shen.
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Professor Shi says because of that, the two countries need to talk.?
?At least this kind of claim and objection provides a chance that both China and the United States, both governments should face this kind of issue more directly and launch some dialogue and talks to discuss this,? stated Shen.
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Chinese and U.S. officials have discussed cyber security issues and the two sides have held unofficial or ?track two? talks as they are called. But analysts say that the engagement is not enough to meet the complexity of the challenges that come with cyber attacks.
Coldwell Banker Real Estate has been ranked No. 3 among organizations from all industries for its Coldwell Banker University training platform in the annual Training Top 125 by Training magazine, the training industry?s premier publication. This marks the fourth consecutive year Coldwell Banker Real Estate appeared on the annual Training Top 125 list, improving on last year?s No. 9 ranking and repeating as the best training organization in the real estate industry. Coldwell Banker? was joined by Verizon, Jiffy Lube, Farmers Insurance and CHG Healthcare Services in the top five.
?We are extremely honored to see our training programs ranked as best in the real estate industry, and it is rewarding to see Coldwell Banker recognized as one of the top three training organizations in the world among all industries,? said Budge Huskey, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. ?We recognize the growing importance of exceptional training programs in today?s evolving real estate industry and have further developed our Coldwell Banker University program to continue to provide our network with the tools and resources they need to reach their personal and professional best.?
Coldwell Banker University continues to emphasize performance based courses, innovation and new platforms to train the brand?s agents and managers. It now offers cloud-based content, facilitation of informal learning, video streaming and mobile learning, with the BlueViewSM agent portal now accessible on iPad.
Additional advancements to Coldwell Banker University include:
Investing in a standardized, cross-industry benchmarked quality measurement system that has helped document increased revenue as a direct outcome of courses
Expanding course offerings that demonstrate tangible business results
Enabling the sharing of best practices across the brand?s network of 82,000 sales agents
Developing course content that managers can use at the local level to directly train their agents
This is Training magazine?s 13th annual competition that evaluates organizational learning programs and judges companies on a range of qualitative and quantitative factors. The ranking also considers how closely such development efforts are linked to each organization?s business goals and objectives.
NASA's Mission Control lost contact with the International Space Station on Tuesday, temporarily leaving the $100 billion orbiting laboratory and its six astronauts without a means to communicate with Earth.
At 9:45 a.m., flight controllers in Houston were updating the software onboard the station?s flight computers when one of the station?s data relay systems malfunctioned, NASA said in a statement.
"The primary computer that controls critical station functions defaulted to a backup computer, but was not allowing the station to communicate with NASA?s Tracking and Data Relay Satellites," NASA explained.
An hour later, NASA was able to communicate with the crew as the space station flew over Russian ground stations. Commander Kevin Ford reported that the station?s status was fine and that the crew was doing well.
"The station is still flying straight, and everybody is in good shape," Ford said.
According to NASA's Johnson Space Center, communications were restored at 12:34 p.m. ET.
The International Space Station?built in 1998 by space agencies representing the U.S., Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan?is about the size of a football field and has the living space equivalent of a five-bedroom home.
It's been a rough go in the galaxy of late. Last week, a 150-foot asteroid buzzed by Earth, coming within 17,150 miles in the closest known flyby of a rock of its size, the Associated Press said.
The 17,400-mph brushback pitch came just hours after a meteor exploded above Russia, injuring more than 1,000 people, blowing out windows and shaking eyewitnesses with a blast equivalent of a 300-kiloton explosion.
I used to read blogs for fun. Now, the blogosphere is so cluttered that I turn to Pinterest for a refreshing browse.
Savvy social media users are no strangers to Pinterest, though the pinboard-style visual sharing site is still small enough that even an established publication like Money Magazine only has 320 followers, respectively.
Now is the time to take advantage of this rapidly growing social media site and start following the 10 best Pinterest profiles for money saving tips, tricks, and advice:
5,480 Followers
I was surprised to find just one board out of 40 devoted to coupons on the Coupons.com Pinterest page.
There were plenty of visual and money-saving treats, like the ?Money Saving Gift Ideas? board, which suggested this birthday gift: Tie a balloon to a photo, one for each year. How sweet!
I also liked the ?DIY & Craft Ideas? board. Overall, the profile is very nicely laid out with top-notch visuals.
340 Followers
The Bankrate Pinterest page delivers what it promises: ??tips and ideas that will make your life better on a budget!?
On the ?Go free, save green? board I found basic recipes for making natural household cleaners and the ?Thrifty, tasty eats? board had me running to the kitchen for a second lunch.
I immersed myself in the Discount designs board ? I can finally afford to turn my home into a magazine!
There?s also more serious fare, like ?Budgeting for babies? and ?Raising financially smart kids.?
1352 Followers
If you love all the money-saving advice on the Mint.com blog, then you?ll love Mint?s Pinterest page.?I liked the ?Saving $ in Style? board, which shared tips on how to negotiate medical bills and where to buy discounted gift cards.
Your eyes are in for a visual treat on the ?All Things Minty? board, where all shades of green reveal themselves in everyday objects.
There?s no lack of practical personal finance advice, either. Turn to ?Investing with Matthew Amster-Burton? or ?All Things Credit? for a quick hit of financial acumen.
165 Followers
Where else are you going to find boards titled, ?I got a BIG A** Deal? (aka: a bragging platform for bargain hunters) and ?Ethical Dilemmas$$?, a board where it?s okay to ask whether shopping at thrift stores deprives those that are less fortunate?
Plus, there are freebies and frugal tips that are so practical you?ll actually stop ogling Pinterest and turn off the computer altogether.
Disclosure: I?m 100% biased, as this is my Pinterest page!
628 Followers
I got completely sucked into Coupon Mommie?s ?Organizing? board.
Soda pop tabs create double hangars, wire pencil holders double as pantry shelves, cereal containers become car trashcans, and a simple wire clothes hangar becomes shoe storage.
Her board is full of genius ways to organize on a dime. Coupon Mommie, you have my vote.
8,833 Followers
I immediately fell in love with her boards: ?What?s for breakfast??, ?Frugal Inspiration?, and ?Teaching Kids About Money.?
Plus, there?s ?Organization Genius?, ?Kids Road Trip?, and ?DIY Home D?cor?.
If only I had all the free hours it would take to explore every nook and cranny of her boards!
320 Followers
The ?MONEY Game Changers? board has pithy quotes, so you?ll learn something even if you don?t click the full article.
I daydreamed through the ?Best Places to Retire 2012? board, visualizing myself lassoing mustangs in Kailispell, Montana and climbing mountains in Bellingham, Washington.
Money Magazine also has graphic-heavy boards, a nod to the publication?s original print format.
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Krazy Coupon Lady?s 34 boards dedicated to money-saving advice can be overwhelming, but if you manage to stay calm, you can?t beat the savings.
I especially liked the ?Extreme Couponing Basics? board and the ?Family Time on a Dime? board.
And I won?t lie: I clicked on the boards for ?Dream Checkout Boy? and ?Supermarket Footwear.? What lovely eye candy!
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With boards as diverse as ?Freebies?, ?Recalls?, and ?Animals?, this Pinterest feed has plenty of savings tips, with a lot of fun thrown in.
Eight of the 25 boards are devoted to various aspects of saving money, so be wary of distractions.
There is also a board composed entirely of video tutorials, like a 4-minute video on how to price match at Walmart. I certainly learned something new!
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I was almost turned off by the lack of glamour shots on her boards, but then I clicked on ?Frugal Money Saving Ideas? and saw that this gal loves vinegar as much as I do. She uses it to refill her Swiffer cleaning bottles!
I was also inspired to build my own drying rack and make my own foaming soap.
Make sure to check out ?Bulk Freezer Cooking Meals?, which has scores of easy dinner ideas that can be frozen.
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It only makes sense that a magazine with rich visuals would have a delicious Pinterest page.
The magazine is at your fingertips on Pinterest, and if you don?t subscribe, I recommend browsing the content on Pinterest over wading through the mag?s homepage.
For saving money, the best boards are ?New Uses for Old Things?, ?Easy Decorating Ideas?, and ?Real Simple Finds: Easy Entertaining.?
Beware: You may very well get sucked into buying a new couch if you browse ?Inspiring Living Rooms.?
Honorable mentions:
Julia Scott founded the money saving blog, BargainBabe.com.
Imagine our surprise when, upon firing up Sprint's Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 earlier today for some routine app updates, we saw the 4G logo light up (!) for the first time ever. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it appears that sometime in the past few days, Sprint's finally deigned to flick the LTE switch in a significant market -- namely beautiful San Francisco. We immediately grabbed our Optimus G and EVO 4G LTE review units and hopped in the car for some quick nearby tests. The verdict? We found pockets of LTE in Potrero Hill and SoMa, and nothing but CDMA in the Mission District -- that's two out of the three neighborhoods we checked. Speeds reached peaks of 16.7Mbps down and 9.4Mbps up with full signal but performance varied wildly, even block to block. Sprint had already enabled LTE in parts of Silicon Valley and had marked the city by the bay for one of its upcoming rollouts. Do you use Sprint and live in SF? Hit the comments and let us know if you're enjoying the sweet nectar of LTE in your area.
The founder of a decades-long scientific study that has proved the enduring benefits of early education applauded President Barack Obama's recent call for universal access to high-quality preschool in the United States.
"Investing in high-quality early education has dramatic and sustained payoffs not just for the children directly involved, but for society as well," said Craig Ramey, Ph.D., the originator and founding principal investigator of the Abecedarian Project, a scientific study of the potential benefits of early childhood education for economically disadvantaged children.
The most recent report from the project, published in the journalDevelopmental Psychology, found that, decades later, participants were far more likely than the control group to have been consistently employed and far less likely to have used public assistance.
"Think of it as a kind of educational compound interest," added Ramey. "From the moment a child enters kindergarten, the focus on achievement begins. When children are prepared, their early successes lead to more successes. But when they're not prepared, a lifelong struggle can begin. The spiral can be upward, or it can be downward, and that's the achievement gap that President Obama was describing earlier this week, both in his State of the Union address and his remarks yesterday in Georgia."
Ramey, a pioneer in understanding the factors that contribute to children's early cognitive development, is now a professor and distinguished research scholar at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. There he provides scientific leadership to the Louisiana Department of Education's efforts to assess its prekindergarten program. He also remains active with the Abecedarian Project.
The Abecedarian Project has been heralded for providing innovative insights into the factors that contribute to positive outcomes for at-risk children who receive intensive support in the early years of life. Ramey launched the project in 1972 as a carefully controlled scientific study of the potential benefits of early childhood education for children from low-income families who were at risk of developmental delays or academic failure.
Follow-up studies have consistently shown that the children who received early educational intervention did better academically, culminating in greater educational achievements as adults.
The benefits of early education are so scientifically defensible that policymakers should capitalize on President Obama's initiative, Ramey said. "The challenge is to find ways to provide that education so children ? and society ? can reap the benefits."
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Virginia Tech: http://www.vtnews.vt.edu
Thanks to Virginia Tech for this article.
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“Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis, who made his money by coercing drunk young women to make-out while being videoed, has put his business into bankruptcy protection to keep Steve Wynn from getting his hands on the assets. Francis put GGW Brands LLC and other companies related to the brand under Chapter 11 protection Wednesday ...
After unboxing a pair of phablets at CES, Chinese mobile maker Huawei looks to be lining up a new flagship smartphone in its Android-based Ascend P line, ahead of the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona. Its MWC booth has a sign for an as yet unreleased Ascend P2 handset.
