Shaken or Stirred: Which Gets You Drunker? A Scientific Exploration [Happy Hour]

Some bartenders have a chip on their shoulders when it comes cocktails. Shaking waters it down, they say. Stirring is better. James Bond is a pussy. More »

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Whether grasping Easter eggs or glass bottles, this robotic hand uses tact

ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2012) ? It may be difficult to imagine, but pouring juice into a plastic cup can be a great challenge to a robot. While one hand holds the glass bottle firmly, the other one must gently grasp the cup. Researchers at Saarland University together with associates in Bologna and Naples have developed a robotic hand that can accomplish both tasks with ease and yet including the actuators is scarcely larger than a human arm. This was made possible by a novel string actuator, making use of small electric motors to twist strings. The robotic hand is thus powerful yet delicate and could one day be deployed as a helper around the house or in catastrophic scenarios.

"We wanted to impart our robotic hand with a broad spectrum of human traits. Its artificial muscles should be able to deliver enormous forces by simple and compact means," explains Chris May, scientist at Saarland University's Laboratory of Actuation Technology. The robotic hand was recently presented during a meeting at the Forschungszentrum Informatik in Karlsruhe. It is an example of some of the new steps taken in robotic research within the scope of the European project DEXMART. Over the past four years international scientists developed various concepts, especially focussed on increasing the versatility with which two-arm robots can be implemented. The European Union sponsored the research consortium to the sum of 6.3 million Euros.

"When robots help around the house or should save people from a burning building, they need to have hands which can grasp with strength but at the same time gently," explains Hartmut Janocha, Professor of Process Automation at Saarland University. The challenge lies in trying to make the necessary technology fit within the robotic arm such that it does not differ significantly from a human arm in terms of size and form. ?We came up with a simple, yet extremely effective idea: using strings that are twisted by small, high-speed motors, we are able to exert high tensile forces within a compact space," explains mechatronic researcher May. The sensorised and controlled robotic hand is able to touch diverse objects, to grasp and lift them and place them gently in a new position. Chris May demonstrated this in Karlsruhe with a delicate Easter egg and a heavy glass bottle.

Extremely strong polymer strings enable the Saarbr?cken researchers to lift a five kilogram load by 30 mm within a split second, making use of a small electric motor and a 20 cm long string. ?Each robotic finger, which like a human finger is composed of three segments, can be controlled precisely by means of the individual tendons ," describes Chris May the novel miniature actuator. The mini electric motors run at high speed and a small torque on the order of five Newton-millimetres. ?The capability of the robotic hand is so near to that of humans that the vision of robots as personal assistants in the household, in the operating room as well as in industrial settings is becoming ever more realistic. We presume that the combination of small electric motors with twisted string is interesting for other applications as well," the researcher reckons.

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Reader recommendation: Unbroken

Eric Maddox, founder of the Virtual Dinner Guest Project, sits at a table at the Epazote Restaurant in Santa Fe, N.M. Mr. Maddox hosted a virtual dinner here with diners in Ciudad Ju?rez, Mexico, in the fall via Skype. He and others have also held a dinner/breakfast meeting with a group in Karachi, Pakistan.

Eric Maddox created the Virtual Dinner Guest Project to bring people from different cultures together over a meal through a video link.

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Nonprofit Organizations as a Business Model | Time To Startup!

By Eva Rosenberg, EA

A friend came to me with a problem. For the first time, a client?s S Corporation was projecting over $300,000 in profit. He didn?t want to give it all up to the government in taxes, what?s his alternative?

As we brainstormed, one idea got more and more interesting ??setting up a tax exempt charity organization and contributing $150,000 to get it started. Why?

There were several good reasons, some that might appeal to you.

1) The client could get a donation worth up to 50% of his adjusted gross income.

2) He had an unemployed daughter who was struggling to find a decently paying job, in a tough economy. He could hire her as executive director to run the organization.

3) He and his family were passionate about boating. They could introduce their passion to young children, underprivileged teens, and even adults.

4) It wouldn?t be hard to get volunteers involved in a fun charity, that involved boating, fishing, scuba diving and healthy, happy outdoors fun.

5) Getting corporate donations shouldn?t be hard for something upbeat like this. In fact, they could get more than money, they could get the corporations to provide teams of volunteers.

6) With all that fun going on, getting free publicity would be a snap.

Does this sound like just too much fun to be tax deductible?

Charities don?t have to be about doom, gloom, pain, death, or illness. They can be designed to teach, to promote, to encourage, and to grow. They can be formed to protect something endangered (like moustaches), it can involve playing video games, get involved with celebrities, perpetuate fandom, play with comic books or baseball cards,? I could go on and on.

?

Why a charity, instead of a business?

A charity structure (or nonprofit, or exempt organization) is not for everyone. It does have some restrictions, which we?ll discuss in a moment. But it has several advantages.

Leave the sales pitch out of it ? Some people are absolutely unable to ?sell? their own services or products. Such folks are simply haven?t the courage to make a sales pitch for themselves. Yet, that same person might be the top fundraiser for the school; the church, temple, or mosque; the Little League; etc. Clearly, those people may have a harder time surviving in the business world. But?running a charity? Perhaps they can handle that.

Turn unemployment into a new career path ? Right now, over 8.3% of the U.S. workforce is unemployed. What?s worse, over 9 million people are under-employed. They have accepted lower-paying jobs just to keep the mortgage paid and to put food on the table. When you have been unable to find a job in your field or at your pay-grade within three months, odds are ? you won?t. Perhaps you can turn your passion into helping others with a non-profit organization.

Stop being unemployed ? change your life!

Perhaps being out of a job is a blessing. You now have the time to stop and think.

Step one:?

Decide. ?What would I love to do with the rest of my life?? If you don?t know, take some time to think about things and activities that make you happy ?it could be anything! The sky is the limit when it comes to your future.

?

Step two:

Decide how to turn this into a non-profit organization. Will it be a charity? A membership organization? Look at the range of things a 501(c)(3) organization may do. You can do anything except get involved in politics or influencing legislation.

?

Step three:

Write your mission statement ? a short paragraph about your organization?s purpose. It not only identifies what you do; but helps you narrow your focus to a specific set of goals.

?

Step four:

Walk through the steps outlined on the BizFilings site, to establish the groundwork for your organization. Watch the BizFilings Small Business Roundtable on Nonprofit Organizations.

Note: One of the key things you must understand about exempt organizations is that you don?t own it. Be very careful about who you put on your board of directors. They can vote you out of a job. So select people you really trust as voting officers or directors. Better yet, set up an honorary, advisory board of wise, connected and skilled people. They can help you grow, without voting you out.

?

Step five:

Decide how you will raise funds, after your initial donation. Will you have paid members, will you be able to raise enough donations from individuals? (Viral campaigns on the Internet help somewhat.) Will you chase after grants, or hit up your corporate pals for money? Or will you have one or two major fund-raising events a year. You will need to lay out your fundraising plan for the initial application to IRS and your state. You will need some mock-ups of brochures or flyers or advertising pieces you intend to use.

?

Step six:

Work out a budget. How many people will you hire and pay vs unpaid volunteers ? and how will you attract them?? How much will you get paid ? and when? Rent? Or work from home?? Read the information on the IRS?s Exempt Organization website. They have an entire section on the Life-Cycle of an Exempt Organization.

?

Step seven:

Have BizFilings set up your nonprofit organization

?

Then, go forth and prosper!

?

?

Eva Rosenberg, EA?is the publisher of?TaxMama.com?, where your tax questions are answered for free. Eva is the author of several?books and ebooks, including Small Business Taxes Made Easy. Eva teaches tax courses at IRSExams.com and CPELINK.

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The Fine Line Between Pain Management And Opiate Addiction ...

?When a patient is in pain, doctors seek to provide relief. But sometimes that relief causes more problems than it solves.

The latest example making news is war veterans suffering from pain and co-occurring post-traumatic stress disorder who are being prescribed potent opiate painkillers. Even though it is widely known that veterans with PTSD are at high risk for drug and alcohol abuse, a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows they?re twice as likely to get prescriptions for addictive painkillers as veterans with only physical pain. Even more concerning, vets with active substance abuse problems were four times more likely to get addictive drugs than those without mental health issues.

Vets with PTSD who are prescribed these drugs are more likely to suffer drug overdoses, self-inflicted injuries and suicides, according to the study. In addition to their addictive potential, opiate drugs can actually exacerbate certain emotional problems and only slightly reduce or even worsen pain. Side effects, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms can compromise the drugs? pain-relieving effects. In a 2009 study of 1,843 workers with back injuries, researchers found that only 26 percent of the patients on opioid painkillers experienced pain relief, and only 16 percent experienced improvement in physical function.

This is not to say that people should not be treated for their debilitating emotional and physical pain. Opiate painkillers can be highly effective for managing pain and studies by the American Pain Society and National Institute on Drug Abuse suggest that the majority of patients can take these medications without developing an addiction. But veterans (as well as other high-risk populations, such as chronic pain patients with a personal or family history of addiction or a co-occurring mental health disorder) need specialized care that goes beyond opiate-based drug therapy.

Alternatives for Pain Management

Unfortunately, many doctors are unprepared to help patients in pain. Surveys by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University suggest that only 40 percent of doctors received training to identify drug abuse and addiction, and less than half received instruction in pain management. And though there are efforts underway to prevent excessive prescribing of narcotic painkillers, including additional training for medical professionals, further research about chronic pain and addiction, and enhanced tracking and record-keeping to prevent doctor-shopping, it has yet to be determined how effective any of these measures will be.

In the meantime, doctors working with patients in extreme emotional and physical pain must strike the ideal balance with treatments that will reduce pain without doing additional damage. Here are a few of the alternatives that should be considered before an opiate-based pain management regimen is put in place:

Non-Addictive Painkillers

Many types of pain respond to non-opioid pain relievers, such as anti-epileptic drugs, antidepressants and anti-arrhythmic drugs, and anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen. While all drugs carry some risk, when used as directed these medications can deliver pain relief without putting the patient at risk for addiction or serious side effects.

Acupuncture

Pain relief is among the most popular uses of acupuncture. By correcting imbalances in the body and releasing endorphins and other pain-blocking neurotransmitters, acupuncture has been used as a complementary treatment for various pain conditions.

Massage

Stress, depression, anxiety and other issues can increase the body?s sensitivity to pain. Massage therapy, along with other stress management techniques, such as meditation, guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing exercises, can help ease tension and reduce pain. Massage has proven particularly effective in treating back and neck pain.

Diet & Exercise

A well-balanced diet can aid in digestion, reduce the risk of certain diseases and help the body function optimally. Exercise releases natural mood-boosters like endorphins and strengthens the muscles, which can help to prevent injury and pain. Yoga may be particularly effective in reducing tension and connecting mind, body and spirit. All diets and types of exercise are not right for everyone, which is why a health care provider should be involved in establishing each patient?s diet and fitness routine.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback trains patients to tune into various body functions, such as heart rate, muscle tension and body temperature, and control them to achieve a desired state of balance.

Physical Therapy

The stretching and strengthening exercises used in physical therapy may help restore function and ease various types of pain.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Therapy can aid those struggling with pain as well as co-occurring disorders such as depression, anxiety, PTSD and substance abuse in developing the skills to cope with their condition and improve their outlook on life.

Support Groups

Emotional support can come from family and friends, as well as support groups made up of people living with chronic pain and other conditions. In addition to feeling less alone, participants may discover pain reduction techniques that have worked for others.

Other alternative approaches that have been used to treat pain and related conditions are energy-based techniques, such as therapeutic touch and reiki, chiropractic care, hypnosis, dietary supplements and herbal remedies.

In some cases, opioids may still be required to control the patient?s pain. To reduce the risk of addiction, the patient must work closely with their physician and other treatment providers to follow a structured plan that sets clear boundaries and requires careful monitoring.

No patient benefits from undertreated pain. In fact, studies show that prolonged, untreated pain can lead to reduced function, depression, psychological problems and substance abuse. As doctors, we are called upon to find the delicate balance that allows us to prevent prescription drug abuse while ensuring adequate access to painkillers for patients in need. This is no easy task, but we can more closely strike this balance by learning about the signs and risk factors for addiction, communicating with our patients, and utilizing drug alternatives.

?David Sack, M.D. is board certified in addiction medicine and addiction psychiatry. ?As CEO of Elements Behavioral Health he oversees drug rehab and addiction treatment programs throughout the United States.

?photo?credit:?Jez Page

????Last reviewed: 30 Mar 2012

APA Reference
Anonymous. (2012). The Fine Line Between Pain Management And Opiate Addiction. Psych Central. Retrieved on March 30, 2012, from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/addiction-recovery/2012/03/pain-management-opiate-addiction/

?

Source: http://blogs.psychcentral.com/addiction-recovery/2012/03/pain-management-opiate-addiction/

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Google Using ReCAPTCHA to Crowdsource Street View Addresses ...

Gizmodo is reporting that ReCAPTCHA is now using street view address images its spam filter as one of those words you have to put in to verify you?re human. Their article quotes Google as saying:

We?re currently running an experiment in which characters from Street View images are appearing in CAPTCHAs. We often extract data such as street names and traffic signs from Street View imagery to improve Google Maps with useful information like business addresses and locations. Based on the data and results of these reCaptcha tests, we?ll determine if using imagery might also be an effective way to further refine our tools for fighting machine and bot-related abuse online.

Hopefully this means Street View will actually be useful beyond seeing how someone?s house looks, or searching for people caught unawares on camera.

This phenomenon was popping up as recently as last weekend for some users:

CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart. It is a spam filter designed to make sure only humans, not bots or other programs, can make it to certain web pages to leave comments or sign up for certain services. ReCAPTCHA takes words that cannot be read by computers and sticks them in CAPTCHA for a human to decipher. Since Google acquired the service back in 2009, it has already been used to digitize books, newspapers, and old time radio shows.

(via Gizmodo)

Source: http://www.webpronews.com/google-using-recaptcha-to-crowdsource-street-view-addresses-2012-03

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Should Investors Activate Gold and Silver Airbags? | Wall St. Cheat ...

Earlier this week, a fully loaded Brinks truck carrying between $3 million and $5 million in uncirculated loonies and toonies crashed on a snow covered highway in Ontario, Canada. The truck crossed the centre line and slammed into a rock, launching the coins in every direction. The accident is an unfortunate event, but can serve as an analogy about today?s fragile fiat currencies.

The current financial system serves as a global high-speed economic highway that is filled with many obstacles, including debt, bubbles and politics. Being the world?s reserve currency, the U.S. dollar is the truck that is one good bump away from losing control and crashing, causing a chaotic financial wreck. The U.S. official national debt now stands at over $15.6 trillion, representing about $140,000 per taxpayer. The record debt amount continues to increase as Washington gridlock is stronger than ever. The debt ceiling, which was raised last August to $16.394 trillion and initially expected to last well into 2013, is now estimated by Zero Hedge to be reached in September of this year. When Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, was recently asked how much he would raise the debt ceiling if given only one more request, he responded, ?No idea.? After $20 trillion and $50 trillion were floated as ideas, he finally conceded, ?It would be a lot. It would make you uncomfortable.? The dire situation in Washington and the dollar is causing states to prepare for a bumpy road ahead.

In a bill that advanced on Tuesday, South Carolina residents would be able to use gold and silver coins as currency. The measure was approved by the House Judiciary Committee and would allow people to use both precious metals as money, as long as businesses agree to accept them. Under the bill, gold and silver coins in the state would also be exempt from any sales tax, an action that presidential candidate Ron Paul has long advocated. Eliminating sales and capital gains taxes on gold and silver are key steps to returning precious metals back to a normal currency role. Last year, Utah became the first state in the country to legalize gold and silver coins as currency. The Utah law also exempts the sale of the coins from state capital gains taxes.

Don?t Miss: Silver Goes Green

As more states and individuals prepare for future turmoil, Washington continues to look for more ways to abuse the nation?s currency. Geithner is currently trying to receive congressional permission to strip copper and other valuable metals from pennies and nickels. He told a House Appropriations Committee this week, ?Currently, the costs of making the penny and the nickel are more than twice the face value of each of those coins,? according to Philly.com. Since 1982, pennies are mostly made from zinc and only contain about 2.5 percent copper. Meanwhile, the nickel is composed of 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel. Geithner hopes that minting changes ?will save more than $75 million? per year, starting next year. The U.S. nickel has not contained any silver since 1945 and silver was completely removed from quarters and dimes in 1965.

Although met with criticism, some governments are willing to eliminate certain circulated coins altogether. The Canadian government announced in its budget on Thursday it will withdraw its penny from circulation this year, hoping to save around $11 million annually. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said, ?Pennies take up too much space on our dressers at home. They take up far too much time for small businesses trying to grow and create jobs,? according to Bloomberg. That may be true, but the move also helps to hide the debasement of currencies from the public.

While elevated gold and silver prices flash a warning light to governments and fiat currencies worldwide, the signal is ignored by many. Investors looking to protect and diversify themselves against the current global financial system should strongly consider deploying gold and silver airbags. Individuals not willing to purchase gold and silver may want to consider picking up some U.S. nickels, while they still contain copper.

Kyle Bass, the Hayman Capital fund manager who correctly predicted the credit bubble, is a big believer in gold, platinum and nickels. In Michael Lewis? latest book, Boomerang, Bass explained that he purchased a million dollars? worth of nickels, totaling twenty million nickels. Bass explained, ?I?m telling you, in the next two years they?ll change the content of the nickel. You really out to call your bank and buy some now.?

Investor Insight: Endeavour Silver Produces Blueprint to Sprott?s Call to Action

If you would like to receive professional analysis on equity miners and other precious metal investments,?we invite you to try our premium service free for 14 days.

Disclosure: Long EXK, AG, HL, PHYS

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric McWhinnie at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com

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Source: http://wallstcheatsheet.com/investing/should-investors-activate-gold-and-silver-airbags.html/

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China's Biggest Commercial Real Estate Boom in 6000 Years ...

Most North Americans will stumble over the pronunciation, but Guangzhou, the third largest city in China, will be in the headlines regularly before the year is out. The city of 13 million residents is ushering in the biggest commercial real estate surge in its 6000-year history.

Despite current office vacancy of 12 percent that could balloon to 25 percent, big-name developers like Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. and Poly Real Estate Group Co., plan to add 18.3 million square feet? (1.7 million square meters) of Class A space to the city's bulging inventory this year.

The activity is unprecedented in this historic trading hub. It's also a gamble with odds, some say, on which even Las Vegas bookmakers would not bet. There are several reasons for such gloom. Foremost? is China's current economy. It's not as great as it was seven years ago.

China is targeting a gross domestic product growth in 2012 of 7.5 percent, down from 8 percent in 2005.? Last week, China reported its biggest trade deficit in 22 years, along with the weakest January-February factory-production gain since 2009.? Retail sales also trailed estimates of several economic yardsticks.

All bad news for the country as a whole and for Guangzhou specifically.

But the ever-optimistic developer brotherhood points to the thousands of construction jobs the new projects will create .and the new businesses that could surface to service the expected 120,000 workers in the new space.

Cushman & Wakefield data show that about 90 percent of the new space will be built in Zhujiang Xincheng, a zone twice the size of London that Guangzhou's government earmarked as its new central business district almost a decade ago.? Guangzhou R&F already has completed five office projects in the area.

Despite the calculated risks ahead in quadrupling the city's prime office space sector, Guangzhou still has much going for it.? The city, historically known as Canton or Kwangchow, hosts the annual China Import and Export Fair every April -a super bowl-like event among the country's business communities.

Preparing for near-future grow, Guangzhou's government in 2003 transformed

the Zhujiang Xincheng district into a financial center rivaling Shanghai and Shenzhen. That was followed two years later by a 200 billion Yuan (US $32 billion) plan to upgrade the whole city's infrastructure.

Although banks have been slow to accept this zone as a branch site, export and domestic- industrial companies have been drawn to the district. The 6.6-square-kilometre district features the regional headquarters of China Mobile, the world's biggest phone carrier by users; General Motors, the largest foreign automaker in China; and Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer.

Even with the new office supply, rents in top tier buildings are expected to rise from strong demand by tenants.

Average monthly rent at Zhujiang Xincheng was 279 Yuan ($44) a square meter in the fourth quarter, compared with 255 Yuan ($40) a square meter at Tianhe, Guangzhou's former central business district. That compares with 507 Yuan ($80) in Beijing and 414 Yuan ($66) in Shanghai. One square meter equals 10.76 square feet.

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Source: http://www.worldpropertychannel.com/asia-pacific-commercial-news/guangzhou-real-estate-market-office-space-for-lease-in-guangzhou-guangzhou-rf-properties-co-poly-real-estate-group-co-zhujiang-xincheng-property-listings-buildings-for-lease-in-tianhe-5472.php

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Video: Is Apple the Next Sony?

Before Apple, Sony used to be a staple in most households. How things have changed, with Edward Freeman, Business Roundtable, and Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Dean for Executive Programs.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46905435/

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Laughing in Church | Laugh With Us Blog

My name is Shari. I am a midlife Christian stay at home mom and Grammy. We have 7 kids, but only 3 left at home. They range from ages 11 to 35. I blog at Faith Filled Food for Moms and Grandmothers about my faith, parenting, step parenting, grand parenting, gardening, cooking, blended families, addiction, product reviews and everything in between.

Humor is a coping tool in our family to deal with the stresses of life, the different stages of parenting, or just plain getting through the day. My husband and I have been known to dance down the isles of the grocery store, sing in the department store, skip through the malls, and put on ?very special? performances for our kids? friends.
Our younger kids tend to complain to our older kids on occasion about our ?unique? parenting style, but of course the bigger kids simply smile, shake their heads and say, ?If we had to deal with them, so do you!?

Our family has been local missionaries in a church restructure and rebuilding for the past year. The church membership was down to about 60 members and most all of these members are elderly. One Sunday morning, not too long ago, we were all sitting in church together. It came time for giving and ?passing the basket? so our worship Pastor got up and started singing and playing the guitar. There was just silence (besides him singing.) Now the words were up on the overhead, so we wondered why no one else was singing. My husband and I just start singing anyway. It was rather awkward, but we?re used to being awkward.

I could feel the tension in my two teenagers that were sitting next to us. I looked over, and they were looking at us with funny smiles on their faces. My daughter mouthed, ?Why isn?t anyone singing? Stop singing! How embarrassing! Nobody is singing but you two!? She said this across her brother who is 15 1/2. He just sat there looking at her with a smirk on his face.

Well, we couldn?t resist singing even louder.? As our daughter, who is 13, was dying of embarrassment, and sinking deep into her seat, I turned to my son and whispered ever so calmly, ?Join us.?

The look on that child?s face was priceless. At first it was like the deer in the headlights stare, but then all of a sudden he and I started to laugh. He realized I was kidding him. We started laughing so hard and so loud, that my husband was even embarrassed. We tried to get back to being serious, but too late, everyone was staring at us.

Although we probably made a spectacle of ourselves, it was one of those rare moments that I got to wholeheartedly laugh with my teenage son. I wouldn?t change it for the world. We never did figure out why no one else was singing!

Related posts:

1. Fall Festival at our Church 2010
2. I?m Laughing on the Inside

Source: http://www.laughwithusblog.com/laughing-in-church/

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As Starbucks rolls out plan to sell beer and wine, some buzz is negative

Starbucks is introducing beer and wine to its beverage list in select locations, calling it a response to consumer requests. But many caf? chain regulars say they fear a change to a bar atmosphere.

Starbucks?has?been working hard?on new?beverages to sell, including energy drinks and a line of fresh juices, but the?strategy that is generating the most buzz ? both good and bad ? is the?Seattle-based?coffee house?s move to sell alcohol.

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The popular?corner caf? company, ubiquitous across the world,?has been cautiously rolling out a plan to sell beer and wine in select locations, beginning with a handful?in Seattle. Plans are underway to put the beverages on?menus?in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta by the end of 2012.

?We announced this because our customers requested it,? says Zack Hutson, a spokesman for Starbucks. He?says the company wants to provide a ?transition? environment,?where customers can ?relax and?connect? on their way home from work.

?The feedback from our Seattle coffeehouses have been very positive,? he adds.

But responses from both?advocacy groups as well as customers at non-alcoholic locations in southern California suggest that not?everyone approves.

?This is just a way for Starbucks to turn into bar bucks,? says Michael Scippa, public affairs director for Alcohol Justice, a northern California non-profit?based in San?Rafael that seeks to protect communities from ?the alcohol industry?s harmful practices.??He points to?what he calls the sobering statistics on alcohol-related damage, including everything from spousal abuse to driving fatalities and?incarceration costs for DUI-related crimes. His?group conducted a study four years ago that put that figure at some $38 billion annually.

The move to post wine and beer on the?daily menus alongside hot chocolate and milk ?normalizes alcohol consumption? in what has been up until now a very family friendly, social setting, Mr. Scippa says. ?We consider this a very damaging?message to send to young people who will see this when they come in with their friends and?parents,? he adds.?

Interviews with morning patrons at the corner Starbucks in Sherman Oaks, Calif., show mixed reactions, if slightly negative to the announcement that beer and wine?might soon be served.

?If it turns into a bar atmosphere, we definitely won?t bring him anymore,? says Elisha Larson, sitting with her 18-month-old son and her husband Joel, a minister, who come as a threesome about once a month. ?It will surprise me if it becomes that. People don?t think of Starbucks for wine and beer,? she says.

?I want to come here for quiet and to get away,? says Alexandra Gomez, an international exchange nanny from Bogota, Columbia. There, she says, the famous coffee shops are Juan Valdez, and they don?t serve beer or wine.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/xJe6yyfc_gg/As-Starbucks-rolls-out-plan-to-sell-beer-and-wine-some-buzz-is-negative

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Boxing performance,????? ??????,alternatively practical boxing fitness has a widespread order of benefits which individuals can go towards achieving. Boxing performance has been defined because the training methods of a fight gym,onitsuka tiger asics, combined with technological based strength plus conditioning,ken griffey jr sneaker,plus placed in a fitness training context whereby annexed physical capabilities is the primary goal. Boxing performance could be broken down into four key places of training surrounded technique,asics shoes sale, explosiveness,asics black, boxing conditioning and strength and conditioning. Additionally the combat manner Muay Thai is a supplementary factor.
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Improving Communications: Exactly how to Strengthen ...

Conference calls permit individuals to fulfill and also go over with others from anywhere in the globe. For multinational companies in particular, global conferencing is a valuable device utilized to connect with staff members, loved ones, and consumers throughout global borders.

While today?s modern technology has actually made global technique de communication considerably more simple as well as more advantageous, cultural and linguistic variations can offer a challenging hurdle to rise above. Differences in emphasises, idioms, conversation, jargon, abbreviations, etc., all trigger the complication among various parties. This predicament is intensified throughout intercontinental conferencing because of the reduction of graphics cues.

Have you detected that the more important and also knowledgable people think they are the reduced they tune in?

And also have certainly you spotted the best way unassertive most other individuals are in the existence of such individuals?

In some way the gap in between these 2 varieties of consumers keeps on raising till there is just one-way talk. It is unfailingly the one that is the much more arrogant of the two in the relation that performs most chatting and minimum listening. I am not at all confident that the additional individual in the relationship is truly listening either or simply pretending to tune in because of the need to suit the other?s ego.

Having a very good relationship by having the people you are in continual contact with is essential to your joy and success. It can easily help you stay clear of interference, get along better with your supervisors as well as colleagues, and also keep your household a tight knit unit. Just how are able to you find out exactly how to improve relationships in your life? Strong communication skills are the key. The observing grants a few strategies to aid you correspond to the greatest of your abilities.

Cours communication is more than merely speaking.
To be a good conversationalist, you need to not simply show your thoughts and also feelings efficiently, you must also pay attention intently by having others. Tuning in to folks as they communicate makes them feel vital, looked after, and also equal to you. In a marital relationship, cours communication is a bridge leading to greater intimacy, nevertheless only if it is constructed effectively between the couple. If you are a mom or dad, your premium talents in respect to listening and revealing yourself furnish your little ones with an instance to adhere to and also construct their confidence and also confidence.

Realize the sources of miscommunication. Idiomatic expressions or colloquialisms typical to one society can easily imply very different things in one more. During global conferencing sessions, recognizing social differences are able to help individuals stay clear of possibly destructive expressions or references.

One of the causes tuning in is never educated as a subject matter is that we accomplish not distinguish between ?hearing? and ? paying attention?. Hearing is a physical method that takes place naturally, offered there is no damage or impairment to brain or ears. Paying attention is a psychological procedure that needs work. Efficient listening is the result of a readiness to focus, to interpret, to analyze and to react to exactly what you listen to.

Poor audiences are not focused. Their minds are engaged by having other ideas and also not with the speaker?s message. They are impatient and also interrupt speakers or surface notions and also sentences for them. Poor audiences likewise alter the topic of the discussion without noticing or jump to inappropriate conclusions.

Want to learn to communicate or take courses in communication?The good news is that communication can be learned.Visit here communication interne for more good idea..

Source: http://officerelocationmagazine.com/improving-communications-exactly-how-to-strengthen-relationships-in-your-life/

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State and Local Public Finance: Property Tax Trouble in Duluth

Duluth is a city of 86,265 people, an incredibly important port city for the region and a hotbed for tourism. It also has a growing property tax problem. The City of Duluth, like many cities across the U.S., relies heavily on property taxes for its revenue. In the past five years and with a damaging recession impacting the city, it has increasingly done so.

In the past 5 years, Duluth's property tax levy has increased from approximately $10 million to $16.5 million, or 65%. In 2006, property taxes accounted for 8% of the City's revenue. By 2011, that percentage reached 15%.

In the past 5 years, Duluth's property tax levy has increased from approximately $10 million to $16.5 million, or 65%. In 2006, property taxes accounted for 8% of the City's revenue. By 2011, that percentage nearly doubled to 15%.?

Meanwhile, the population only grew from 85,170 people to 86,2015, an increase of only 1,035 people. During the same time frame, property taxes went from $118 to $191 per person, or a 63% gain.

The increasing property tax burden on its citizens isn't the only problem. Property tax levy outpaced the tax capacity in the last five years. The levy by the City increased by 50% from 2006 to 2011, while the capacity only rose 31%. During that time, the increase in levy was larger than that of the capacity for four of the last five years, with a 10 percent difference in 2009.


These dramatic increases would trouble residents residents of any city, but the citizens of Duluth in particular are feeling the pinch by these taxes.?Duluth's per capita income of $23,845 is good for 256th out of the 867 places in Minnesota, and it has a lower median household income than the state at large. The case can be made that relying on property taxes for a greater portion of the city budget is more harmful to Duluth residents than it would be in a wealthier city.


Additionally, Duluth is facing an aging infrastructure that has seen a 9.7% increase in maintenance costs in the past 10 years, and has had to reduce overall expenditures 6% in the last few years. In order to decrease the property tax burden, we recommend eliminating operations that require heavy subsidy and deliver few results, such as the Great Lakes Aquarium.?Duluth should advocate for a return to previous levels of Local Government Aid (LGA), which was cut $1.2 million in the 2011-2013 State Budget.?


Duluth should look toward developing its regional presence music, theater and other forms of arts culture, which will result in an increase in tourism dollars, sales taxes and motel taxes. Revenue from these gains can be used to help relieve the strain of property taxes.

Source: http://pa5113.blogspot.com/2012/03/property-tax-trouble-in-duluth.html

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French gunman's brother whisked to Paris intelligence HQ

PARIS (Reuters) - The brother of an al Qaeda-inspired gunman who murdered seven people was whisked to Paris on Saturday for further questioning and a police source disclosed he had said he was "proud" of his late sibling's killing spree.

President Nicolas Sarkozy summoned ministers and police chiefs to a meeting on Saturday to discuss the consequences of Mohamed Merah's massacre, which has raised troubling national security questions four weeks ahead of a presidential election.

Sarkozy is facing an uphill re-election battle and his chief intelligence adviser sought to head off media questions about the handling of the affair in the southwest city of Toulouse.

Abdelkader Merah, elder brother of the 23-year-old gunman who died in a hail of police gunfire on Thursday, was taken by car from police barracks in Toulouse for transfer to the capital, along with his wife, a judicial source said.

Both were arrested in the early hours of last Wednesday as negotiators sought their help in trying to persuade Merah to turn himself in. Merah's mother, arrested at the same time, was released on Friday evening, the public prosecutor's office said.

Her lawyer, Jean-Yves Gougnaud, said she told him "she saw nothing coming" and felt guilty for what had happened.

Merah was killed by a sniper after a gunbattle with police that ended a more than 30-hour siege at his Toulouse apartment, during which he admitted killing three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three soldiers in three separate attacks.

Abdelkader Merah and his wife, whose name was not given, were transferred to a detention centre at the headquarters of the DCRI domestic intelligence agency in Paris, where a judge was likely to decide in a matter of hours whether there were grounds for opening legal proceedings over possible links with Mohamed Merah's attacks.

Police have found explosives in a car Abdelkader owned, according to the public prosecutor leading the case. He was already known to security services for having helped smuggle jihadist militants into Iraq in 2007.

A police source said on Saturday that at a closed hearing in Toulouse he had declared himself "proud" of his brother's killings and had admitted helping Mohamed steal the scooter used in all seven murders. He had denied any knowledge of his brother's murderous plans, however, the source added.

DCRI head Bernard Squarcini told Le Monde newspaper on Friday that there was no evidence Merah belonged to any radical Islamist network and that he appeared to have turned fanatic alone.

Yet investigators are still trying to establish whether the young Frenchman of Algerian origin had any logistical or ideological support or really was a genuine "lone wolf."

Merah's brother, and a sister, were known to have studied the Koran in Egypt in 2010 and French police had in the past found links between them and a radical Islamist group based in southern France led by a Syrian-born Frenchman dubbed "The White Emir" by French media because of his fair hair and beard.

The shootings shifted the focus of political debate away from France's economic woes and played to the strengths of Sarkozy as he fights for re-election in a two-round vote in April and May.

Polls show that about two-thirds of voters approved of his handling of the Toulouse crisis, which reduced his challengers, chief among them Socialist frontrunner Francois Hollande, to the role of bystander.

Sarkozy's intelligence adviser, Ange Mancini, sought to head off increasing media debate about whether Merah could have been stopped before he started killing, saying the intelligence and police services had done an "exemplary" job and that it was always easy to ask after the fact if there were flaws.

"Obviously the aim now will be to dig deeper, not just to know more about the case in question, but to see whether there are other lessons, to try to identify whether anyone else might be heading down the same road," Mancini told BFM TV.

Mancini said Mohamed Merah appeared to have purchased guns and other weapons with around 20,000 euros he had seemingly got hold of from robberies or hold-ups.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said earlier this week that the question of any possible failings would have to be clarified in due course.

"I have a lot of respect for Alain Juppe but he is not an intelligence and intervention specialist," Mancini said.

An opinion poll released on Saturday appeared to contradict the idea that national security had shot to the top of the agenda for voters despite a week when national and international media provided round-the-clock coverage of the killings and the siege that culminated with a dramatic shootout and death of Merah.

The Ifop polling agency said 53 percent of people believed France faced a high risk of terrorist attack. It was the lowest worry score recorded since Ifop started sounding people out on the issue at the time of the suicide airliner attacks in the United States in 2001, when the number who perceived a high risk of terror attack was 78 percent, according to IFOP.

(Reporting by Yves Clarisse and Brian Love; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/french-gunmans-brother-faces-legal-proceedings-060352294.html

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Enjoy Your Vacations With Vietnam Holiday - Travel - EzineMark

Vietnam is an important tourist destination in South East Asia. Travel to Vietnam is surely going to be a wonderful experience for you. The country is rich in culture and heritage. The tourists who visit Vietnam love to stay in the locals of the country. The hospitality which is provided by the people of the country is worth mentioning. Tourism is an important source of income for the country. The per capita income of the people is highly influenced by the flow of tourist in the country. The people of the country are very warm and you cannot take your eyes off from the beautiful scenic views that Vietnam has to offer you.

There are a large number of Vietnam tour operators who can offer you with Vietnam holiday.

Search online and make sure to choose the best tour operator. They should be able to make your stay comfortable there and meet all your preferences. You should have a close look at the reviews and the testimonies of the tour operator and then take the service of the operator. Enquire if they provide discount on the tour packages.

Some of the top favorites of the tourists who visit Vietnam are as follows:

? Ha long bay cruise: it is a must for everyone who makes a visit to the wonderful land.

? Hanoi city tour: this is a wonderful city and has a lot to offer you. This is a very busy city in Vietnam.

? Hoi An Vietnam: visit hoi an to enjoy a thrilling beach life. It is a wonderful place where you can enjoy the sunrise and sunset in this beautiful country.

? Saigon: this is a westernized city in Vietnam.

There are a large number of small towns situated here and they reflect the culture and heritage of the country.

? There are big resorts and dining options available in Vietnam as well.

? If you are a budget traveler than there are cheap hotels available and if you want to make your stay lavish then there are a large number of 5 star and 7 star hotels available there.
?

The cuisine that is provided by Vietnam is worth mentioning. The country is never complete without the delicious cuisines that it has to offer to all its visitors. There is an ancient city of Hue which is very popular all over the world for the rich cultural heritages that it has to offer to the tourists. This is a very important sightseeing area in the country of Vietnam.

Source: http://travel.ezinemark.com/enjoy-your-vacations-with-vietnam-holiday-7d35020aee67.html

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Marine still outspoken despite facing dismissal

This undated photo released courtesy of Gary Stein shows the Camp Pendleton U.S. Marine, Stein, who has been criticizing President Obama on his Facebook page. Stein started a Facebook page called Armed Forces Tea Party to encourage fellow service members to exercise their free speech rights. He declared a few weeks ago that he would not follow the unlawful orders of the commander in chief. Stein also criticized Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for his comments on Syria. (AP Photo/Courtesy Gary Stein)

This undated photo released courtesy of Gary Stein shows the Camp Pendleton U.S. Marine, Stein, who has been criticizing President Obama on his Facebook page. Stein started a Facebook page called Armed Forces Tea Party to encourage fellow service members to exercise their free speech rights. He declared a few weeks ago that he would not follow the unlawful orders of the commander in chief. Stein also criticized Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for his comments on Syria. (AP Photo/Courtesy Gary Stein)

SAN DIEGO (AP) ? A Marine facing dismissal for running a Facebook page called Armed Forces Tea Party that criticizes the Obama administration is still speaking out but has been getting little support from military law experts and free speech advocates who say he may have crossed the line.

Sgt. Gary Stein planned to speak at a tea party meeting in San Diego County later Thursday, a day after the Marine Corps notified him that it is moving to dismiss him for violating the Pentagon's policy barring troops from engaging in political activities.

The military has had a policy since the Civil War limiting the free speech of service members, including criticizing the commander in chief.

David Loy, of the American Civil Liberties Union in San Diego County, said he has not followed Stein's case closely, but that based on what he has seen in the media he thinks there may be a legitimate concern on the part of the Corps about Stein appearing to be speaking as a member of the armed forces because of his Facebook page's name.

"The military has a very strong interest and appropriately so to remaining neutral," he said. "The last thing we want is our military taking side on political issues."

Former Navy officer David Glazier, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, agreed.

"He's really rubbing the government's nose in it," he said. "It's really hard to have sympathy for him."

Stein said he is not swayed. He said he received hundreds of emails from service members and the public in support of him.

"They're entitled to their opinions but I still think this is a freedom of speech issue," Stein said. "I'm standing up for the Constitution."

Stein, a nine-year member of the Corps, said he started the page to encourage fellow service members to exercise their free speech rights.

The Marine Corps said in a statement that it decided to take administrative action after Stein declared on Facebook that he would not follow unlawful orders from Obama. He later criticized the comments of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

According to Pentagon directives, military personnel in uniform cannot sponsor a political club; participate in any TV or radio program or group discussion that advocates for or against a political party, candidate or cause; or speak at any event promoting a political movement. Commissioned officers also may not use contemptuous words against senior officials, including the defense secretary or the president.

Stein said his statement about Obama was part of an online debate about NATO allowing U.S. troops to be tried for the Quran burnings in Afghanistan. In that context, he said, he was stating that he would not follow orders from the president if those orders included detaining U.S. citizens, disarming them or doing anything else that he believes would violate their constitutional rights.

Stein said in addition to being discharged, he would have his rank reduced to lance corporal if he is proven to be in violation. He said he was removed from his job at the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot in San Diego on Wednesday and given a desk job with no access to computers.

Stein was first cautioned by his superiors at Camp Pendleton in 2010, after he launched his Facebook page and criticized Obama's health care overhaul. Stein volunteered to take down the page while he reviewed the rules at the request of his superiors.

He said he determined he was not in violation and relaunched the page. Stein said he now plans to fight the charges. He had applied to extend his service, which was set to expire in a few months.

Former military prosecutor Lisa Windsor said since the Civil War, military members have been testing those limits and gotten in trouble. Now those cases can go global because of the Internet.

"I think they've been very lenient with him so far," Windsor said.

Stein said he will not wear his uniform when he speaks to tea party supporters but he likely will mention his case.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-03-22-Marine-Free%20Speech/id-50bc2bcea23644c7b802ab62a79f33e6

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Louisiana Primary Should Have Little Impact On GOP Race

Saturday's Louisiana primary should have little impact on the GOP presidential race.

Polls show Rick Santorum holding a low, double-digit lead over Mitt Romney as voters prepare to go to the polls.? While Newt Gingrich is forecast to finish third, the former House Speaker has vowed to carry on until the party's national convention.

Just 20 Republican delegates are at stake in the election.? Most of the remaining delegates will be awarded during a party caucus in April.

Outside of areas that hold other elections, turnout is expected to be light.? Only those registered as Republicans will be able to cast votes in the GOP primary.? The Democratic primary features incumbent Barack Obama and three little-known candidates.

Republicans may actually play a larger-than-usual role in electing an at-large member of the New Orleans City Council on Saturday. Turnout by GOP voters in New Orleans could help Stacy Head, who is one of seven candidates vying for the seat once held by Arnie Fielkow who resigned last year.? Head, a Democrat, is running with the endorsement of the Orleans Parish Republican Executive Committee.

In Mandeville, voters will cast ballots in a Mayor's race that features Donald Villere and businessman, Denis Bechac.? Villere is seeking a full term as mayor after serving out the unexpired term of the imprisoned former mayor, Eddie Price.? Villere first won election in March 2010.

The polls will be open from 6AM to 8PM.

Source: http://www.voodoo104.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=135361&article=9937931

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Posted March 22, 2012 by P A Thomas under Financial Services

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