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My daughter works for a nonprofit organization. The pay's not great but she loves what she does. So much so that she's now ready to take the next step in her personal career development plan — graduate school. As it turns out, though, there's only one university nearby that offers the curriculum she needs, and there are two big problems with its program.
To start, it requires a full-time commitment, which means she'd have to give up the job she's held for three years, along with the benefits package that comes with it. The program also costs more than $90,000 to complete — $90,000! — on top of her $200,000 undergrad degree, and for a position that'll likely pay less than $50,000 per year.
Coincidentally, I ran into a former student who's at the other end of the scholastic timeline. He was finishing his graduate work and needed advice on a serious matter.
My student was the first in his family to go to college. His mom and dad weren't wealthy nor were they financially savvy. However, they managed to save a little money for his schooling, but not nearly enough to cover all the costs. So they left it up to him to work out the details with the school's financial aid office. Six years later, he has more than $100,000 of student loan debt and too little cash flow to cover the monthly payments.
With these and other similarly disturbing stories in mind, it's hard not to conclude that higher education's more students equals more revenues business model isn't just broken, it's dead.
Costs are too high, curricula have relevancy and structural issues, and the mechanisms for delivering educational content are out of step with the needs and expectations of today's learner-consumers. In business school-speak: it's a valueless proposition.
The financial markets have also taken notice.
The Larger Issue
Recently, Moody's Investors Service ascribed a negative outlook to the higher education sector, attributing its problems to the weak economy's impact on family income and household net worth.
Frankly, it's more serious than that.
Higher education's future prospects are inexorably linked to its past — the legacy of financial hardship many college graduates are left to endure — as well as to the actions the schools continue (or not) to take today.
For example:
- College enrollments are poised to decline. But instead of responding by fundamentally rethinking program structure, content and delivery, not to mention systematically right-sizing the expense sides of their operations in the process, many schools appear only to be pushing at the edges of their profit and loss statements by curtailing discretionary spending, instituting tuition price-hikes that continue to outpace the rate of inflation, pitching (hopefully) lucrative corporate sponsorships and, when all else fails, tapping endowment funds, all in an effort to bridge their budgetary shortfalls.
- The most recent Federal Reserve Bank of New York report indicates that roughly 17% of total student loans are more than 90 days past due. This is in addition to the more than 8% of borrowers who became delinquent for the first time during the last quarter, in addition to the payments that continue to be 30 and 60 days past due. Moreover, if you were to consider the fact that less than half of total student loans are actually in repayment mode, you'd realize that in truth about a third of that segment are indeed one or more months past due. To put this point into even sharper focus — recall a similar delinquent-payment run-up to the subprime mortgage fiasco we're still working to resolve and you'll understand the cause for alarm.
- Fewer than five months remain before this past summer's deal to extend the government's subsidized student loan rate is set to expire. And yet, we've heard nothing about how Congress proposes to address a problem that seems to have been little more than a political contrivance. Meanwhile, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 20 million students attending some form of college at this time, with roughly two-thirds of all undergrads depending on student loans in order to continue their education.
Look, it's not just the economy. Believing that only encourages us to pin our hopes on better times ahead instead of motivating us to take the necessary steps to ensure that they actually come to pass. So let's begin by focusing on the student loan problem.
The easy money policies adopted by the government and financial services industry have led students and families to over-borrow their way into unmanageable levels of debt. These policies have also made it possible for the schools to over-spend on overhead as well as for projects that distract from the institutions' core academic missions, which fueled the upward movement in tuition prices.
The debt debacle is an issue that's national in scope. As such, it deserves an equally expansive response — a national workout plan, if you will — one that extracts concessions from each of the parties that have benefited from the excesses over the years.
Help for the Indebted
To start, I believe the government's recently implemented Pay as You Earn Repayment plan (PAYER), which calculates payment affordability at 10% of discretionary income and caps the repayment duration at 20 years, should be expanded to include all student loans regardless of:
- Origination channel and type (i.e., government, private, previously consolidated, etc.)
- Initial loan draw-down date (i.e., including loans taken out prior to 2007)
- Borrower type (i.e., students and parents)
- Payment status (i.e., loans that are current as well as those that are past due)
The PAYER plan should also address the "cancellation of debt" tax liability that borrowers face when their loan balances are forgiven before they're fully paid off.
Once the government opens the door for all education loans to be included in the PAYER plan, the private lenders should then be mandated to facilitate their unimpeded transfer into it — in other words, without the assessment of arbitrary fees on the way out.
What Else the Government Can Do
However, shifting to the government — and by extension, to the taxpayers — the totality of a financial headache so many parties were complicit in creating, should not take place without consequence. That's why it would make sense for the feds to also establish a student loan trust (SLT) that provides for the value of unrecoverable defaults that occur as well as the loan obligations the government ultimately forgives via the PAYER plan.
The SLT would be additionally supported by contributions from the private lenders and schools.
As it pertains to the lenders' part, it's worth considering an amount that's equal to the economic value of the interest rate differential for the loans that move into the government's program. For example, suppose a student owes $30,000 in private loans that charge an average 10% interest. The monthly payment for that debt would be $396.45 for 10 years. However, if the same loans were rolled into the standard 6.8% government program (the PAYER modification would be determined after the fact), the monthly payment would drop to $345.24, or 13% less. Therefore, the private lender's contribution to the SLT would be determined by multiplying that 13% discount by the value of the underlying debt.
Think of it this way: the math says that when a student borrows money at 10% for 10 years, it's as if he or she were borrowing nearly 15% more at 6.8%. This calculation helps to level the playing field. It also encourages more affordable private loan pricing practices going forward.
As for the schools, they too share fault by virtue of tuition prices that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and National Center for Education Statistics, now represent more than 40% of median household income (versus less than half that amount 30 ago), not to mention a graduation rate that hovers at the 55% level, with widely varying results for sub-sector institutions.
That's why it makes sense for the schools to contribute to SLT's funding at an amount that's equal to a percentage of the value of the loans that constitute the college's unique cohort default rate — the loans that have been defaulted upon by their former students. This would effectively hold schools financially accountable for their academic outcomes.
Bankruptcy Isn't the Only Answer
As for the borrowers, as long as the government agrees to loosen its PAYER plan eligibility standards and relax its refinancing protocols, and as long as the private lenders are prohibited from interfering with the transfer of these loans into the government's program, education loan borrowers should then have a reasonable chance of repaying all or most of their debts over time. Consequently, it's hard to rationalize revising the bankruptcy code to permit the discharge of these loans, because doing so would encourage borrowers to declare bankruptcy instead of rolling their private loans into the government's less expensive program.
However, should these changes not be enacted, the code should then be modified so that all student loan debt — government and private alike — becomes fully dischargeable in bankruptcy.
What More Schools Need to Do
Earlier, I talked about the measures schools are employing to bridge their budgetary gaps. I also discussed how they've strayed from their core academic missions. These days, in addition to delivering educational content, colleges are also in the real estate, food services, sports and entertainment businesses. Consider the vast tracts of land these institutions own and the dormitories, libraries, classrooms, administrative buildings, dining halls and sports facilities they've constructed on them.
With all that in mind, here are three questions worth pondering:
- To what extent is developing additional sources of revenue (such as through commercial-sector partnerships, sponsorships and non-academic real estate development projects) or tapping endowment funds a better way to go than fundamentally attacking cost structures from the ground up?
- To what extent can higher education as a whole rationalize a system of vast redundancies, where a dozen midrange private colleges in a given state are each supporting their own administrative and technological infrastructures?
- To what extent should the schools be in all these sideline businesses at a time when the need to develop and deliver higher quality educational content—both online and in classroom settings—conflicts with the economic realities of declining enrollments and increasing demands for financial assistance?
Higher education would become more competitive if in-market academic alliances and intra-sector consolidations were to occur, and the schools would also benefit by divesting their sideline businesses to those who specialize in the field (such as hospitality companies, REITs, and so forth) in favor of generating the investment capital that's needed to revitalize educational content and upgrade the technology required to deliver it. All these actions would drive down overhead costs and tuition prices in the process.
As for the revenue side of the equation, some schools are experimenting with stackable credentialing. As the authors of a recent McGraw-Hill Research Foundation paper suggest, deconstructing academic majors into clusters of targeted educational content permits consumer-learners with specific interests and limited resources (time and money) to acquire the education they need for the work they do or the careers they aspire to attain. The schools also stand to benefit from this buffet-style approach to learning via a broadening of the revenue base. What's more, the "stackable" feature of the individual certifications encourages learners to view them as pathways toward formal degrees.
Education is an integral component of the American dream. It represents a way out for the disadvantaged as much as it does a way up for us all. That's because an educated populace makes for a more prosperous and globally competitive nation. With what's at stake here, we cannot afford to continue taking such an inadequately incremental approach to solving so extensive a problem.
(Wondering how student loans may be impacting your credit? Check out Credit.com's truly free Credit Report Card for an easy to understand overview of your credit, along with your credit scores.)
Image: Ryan McVay


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Kim Kardashian files for emergency divorce
(CNN) — The clock is ticking for Kim Kardashian's July due date, and the 32-year-old reality star would really like to be divorced when she becomes a first-time mom.
Her attempts to split from basketball player Kris Humphries after their 72-day marriage has turned into a lengthy legal battle. Kardashian filed for divorce in October 2011, and Humphries followed suit by requesting a legal separation and an annulment on the grounds of fraud.
Kardashian, in turn, filed documents with the Los Angeles Superior Court about a month ago in an effort to end her marriage before she welcomes Kanye West's baby this summer, CNN's confirmed.
A source close to Kardashian told CNN that Humphries filed his own documents requesting to prolong the divorce on Wednesday.
"The divorce has been going on for a year now. She moved on a long time ago, and closed the door to that chapter," the source said. "Unfortunately, [Humphries is] doing everything and anything he can to drag it on as long as he can. He has a good career and good money, but he wants to keep his name out there as long as he can. We don't understand — they were married for a total of 72 days, but the divorce has taken a year."
CNN has reached out to Humphries for comment. Kardashian and West, who announced their joyful news around the New Year's holiday, are reportedly expecting their firstborn in early July.
"I do not want to be married to (Humphries) when I have my baby," Kardashian said in her court docs, according to People magazine. "I am requesting the status of my marriage be determined for now for not only my health and welfare but also for the health and well-being of my unborn child."

subset: commoncrawl


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HRinfodesk provides you with a way to stay on top of the most important developments and trends in the world of payroll and employment law. A subscription to the comprehensive and in-depth news and information service provides:
Managing Editor
Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B., was called to the Quebec bar in 1988 where she practised employment and labour law until 1999. Yosie is one of Canada's best-known and most-respected HR authors, with an extensive background in employment and labour law across the country. She is also the HRinfodesk Managing Editor.


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Alice Grange of Courtenay suffered for many years from self-esteem issues.
"Having grown up in a family with a mentally ill, alcoholic mother and surrounded by other dysfunctional friends and relatives, the wounds from childhood seemed insurmountable" says Alice. "I saw countless therapists but still the despair seemed bottomless. I didn't believe that I was worthy of love and success until I was introduced to EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). Then and only then did my life begin to shift in more positive directions."
That experience was so profound that Alice was inspired to become a certified EFT practitioner and now finds great joy in helping other survivors of child and adult abuse and trauma make similar changes to their lives.
"Helping others shift from an existence of pain, quite often physical pain, and despair, to living a life of hope and purpose is deeply satisfying," says Alice.
Due to the often-rapid results Emotional Freedom Techniques are gaining in popularity and are endorsed by influential authors including Wayne Dyer and Jack Canfield of the Chicken Soup series, and popular doctors including Dr. Oz, Deepak Chopra and Joseph Mercola.
EFT is a remarkable self-help tool. Louise Hay, spiritual leader and best-selling author of numerous books including You Can Heal Your Life, recently discovered the benefits of Emotional Freedom Techniques, (EFT).
After her first EFT session, she remarked that a fear she had been carrying around since childhood, was "pretty much gone!"
The benefits of EFT are not limited to abuse issues.
People frequently report lasting relief from physical ailments like head and back aches, and emotional stressors like anxieties, phobias, fears, grief, PTSD and learning difficulties.
"Some people have even used it to improve their golf handicap and get better test results," laughs Alice. "You can use it on anything."
Based on the ancient Chinese practice of acupressure, combined with modern psychology, Emotional Freedom Techniques, (EFT or Tapping), are simple, powerful and profound forms of healing that can quickly remove limiting beliefs and the impact of negative memories.
Alice is holding a Tapping Circle every Tuesday in February, starting at 7 p.m. Those who are interested in learning more can check out www.healingwithtapping.com, contact Alice at email@example.com or call 250-702-7570.
The suggested contribution is $25 per circle. One-quarter of the proceeds will be donated to the Comox Valley Transition Society in appreciation for their 25 years of service to our community.
— Alice Grange


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Portia Scott, retired managing editor of the Atlanta Daily World, died Wednesday, Oct. 2. She was 70 years old.
She had a long and distinguished career at her family's newspaper before retiring last year. The paper founded by her uncle, W.A. Scott II, in 1928 was run by her father, C.A. Scott, for more than 63 years.
She suffered cardiac arrest at home following a brief bout with ovarian cancer. Details of funeral arrangements will be announced by family members.
She was born to Ruth Perry Scott and C.A. Scott on June 9, 1943. She graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta and received a degree in journalism from Howard University in Washington, D.C. and a master's degree from American University.
She joined the newspaper shortly after college graduation and worked there for more than 40 years.
She took a couple of brief breaks from the newspaper to seek political office in the Republican Party, where she was active in state party politics. She ran against John Lewis of the fifth district in Congress, and she ran for a state Senate seat.
She followed in her father's footsteps as an active member in local and national Republican Party politics, including serving on a Presidential Task Force and Committees under both President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush.
She also was active in a variety of civic and community organizations. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the Atlanta Chapter of The Links Inc., as well as several other civic organizations dedicated to improving the city and the community. She was a member of Warren United Methodist Church.
She is survived by her daughter, Maryam Jordan, and son-in-law, Demetrius Jordan, as well as three grandchildren, two nephews, a niece and a brother-in-law. Her older sister, Jocelyn Scott Walker, preceded her in death.
(Portia A. Scott stands with her daughter Maryam Jordan at the 2012 Atlanta Business League Men of Influence event, where her father, C.A. Scott, was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame. Photo By M. Alexis Scott)


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A non academic view of business change & improvement
Stating the sometimes forgotten obvious:
A business is a living entity that embodies many functioning organs. It performs the best and is healthy when all the elements are working together in harmony. The physical components of this living organ includes sales, marketing, IT, logistics, accounting, etc. and its psychology is represented by the core values, cultures, and beliefs. A pain or a dis-functionality in any organ influences the effectiveness of the business entity as a whole – if you are ill mentally or physically you can not be fully productive.
An illness maybe addressed by a better diet or some vitamins or a few pills a day for a few weeks (process improvement, overtime, incentives, etc.) or may need more drastic measures such as chemotherapy or surgery (re-organization, firings, new IT systems, a new business model, change of partners, etc.).
Almost always, to cure an illness the prescribed actions have some side effects. A change in the sales force compensation plan, influences the accounting daily practices, may require new software, may increase returns and impact the resource needs at the warehouse. An improvement in the resource planning software impacts the practices at both payable and receivable ends, Promote the person who is not competent and deal with your good folks looking for another job, etc. etc. Sometimes we actually create the illness with our actions (cutting our hand with a knife or hiring the wrong person).
Stating the not so obvious challenge:
So BECAREFUL of what I call "THE RIPPLE EFFECT" – Make a decision about A and watch for the ripples impacting B. And every decision big or small has some ripples. So what should an entrepreneur do, not make a decision ? or lose time and opportunities by over analyzing and procrastinating on every decision?
You want to stay healthy, you have to monitor your heartbeat, your cholesterol, your blood pressure, etc. etc. and react quickly to avoid worsening of your situation. You want to run a thriving and healthy organization, remember to measure the "right" performance indicators and watch them closely with a broad inclusive perspective.
Yesterday, I met an entrepreneur, I asked her for some performance metrics about her business and the answer was "we are too busy to spend time on measuring, we will put some performance elements when we get a chance." Well, good luck! is all I can say; drive a car blindfolded and you will run off the cliff, and that is no accident.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Entrepreneurial Consideration: Managing the ripple affect
A non academic view of business change & improvement
Posted by Sid Mohasseb at 10:47 PM
1 comments:
- Anonymous said...
This is a nice blog. I like it!
- May 19, 2008 at 6:04 AM


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Student: Lauren (16) Rockland County, NY
Program: High School Precollege Workshop
Precollege Course:
HSX 121: Passion for Fashion Styling
Describe your personal style?
I would say my style fluctuates depending on my mood each day. I don't like to stick to one "Look." I express how I'm feeling through the outfits I wear.
Where do you go on your breaks from class?
I have only had two classes so far! On my first break from class I went to the pizzeria across the street.
What is your favorite thing about FIT?
My favorite thing has to be all the stylish people here!
Who or what inspires you?
I would have to say my two biggest inspirations are Rihanna and Rita Ora.
What do you want to do after you graduate from college?
After graduating from college, I want to continue to pursue fashion and collaborate with top designers.


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Re-discoverabilityAugust 24, 2004
Analyzing the way I interact with my browser highlights some downright quirky behaviour on my part, and a findability gap that needs filling.
In my 7 or 8 years on the web, I've never used bookmarks. Sites change, URLs go missing, and all too often when I need to find something again I turn straight to Google (prior Altavista, prior Yahoo). The half second it takes to save and categorize a page so I can come back to it later just never seemed to pay off.
Solutions that offer bookmark exporting, sharing and archiving don't feel like they're solving anything. That's too much conscious effort I'd need to spend to save a list of links which may or may not be outdated when I need them.
A solution like TrailBlazer is what I'd be interested in, were it simply an add-on to search my existing browser's history instead of a stand-alone browser. Searching an automatically-generated list of recently-viewed information is far more useful to me than having to manually save each link I find useful. Anything I haven't been to in longer than my history covers doesn't need to take up space when I can find it (or an equivalent) on Google.
So because of my reluctance to take action myself, instead of bookmarks I've learned to rely on auto-complete in the address field. All the shortcuts I'd normally create as browser buttons instead get typed as fractional URLs, thanks to Safari's lightning-quick ability to fill in the most likely match. google.com has become 'g', mezzoblue.com has become 'mez', etc. etc.
In fact, auto-complete is becoming so ingrained I've started clearing my history to influence what pops up. Occasionally a typo here and there will redirect my short strings elsewhere, or manually typing in a longer URL will override the short saved copy. Then it's time to flush and re-build; because the auto-complete buffers I rely on don't have that many enries, I can justify a total refresh. It's a light-weight, disposable, and unreliable system… but it works.
I wouldn't advocate anyone else getting used to this way of finding things. This reluctance to use bookmarks highlights the problem with re-discovering local information. Google usually works just fine as my backup brain when I need to find a web resource. When it comes to information I know I've seen but can't describe, my local tools just don't cut it. Spotlight looks great, but does it search the right things?
My quest continues. I'm sure there's something out there that does this already, that will search local histories and resources to find recently-viewed information. In fact, I'm sure I read about it recently. I just can't find it.
Reader Comments
well, i use a combination of bookmarks (not very well categorised though) combined with automatic bookmark upload/download http://www.splintered.co.uk/experiments/44/ , using my browser history, address auto-completion and google. so, a bit of a mix really…
sometimes, when a site i have bookmarked has disappeared, i try to see if there's an archived copy at the wayback machine as a last resort too http://www.archive.org
I thought I was alone in my "No-Bookmark" world. I have bookmarks for the dailies, but only because of Safari's "Open in Tabs" feature.
LaunchBar(v4) looks like it shows promise, but I haven't tried using its browser history indexed features yet. I'm interested if anyone suggests anything else.
At first I thought it odd that you had such a, well, unique, reason as to why you didn't use bookmarks. But reading on, it seems you've a valid point. Site do always change. Thankfully, the best sites have easy to remember URLs, and normally don't change without at least letting you know when you head to the old domain. Keep up the good work, though :o)
Up until about a month ago, I had been bookmark-free since ~1999 and Netscape 4.x. What changed a month ago? I realized I couldn't find anything.
Between Google, my browser history, NetNewsWire and LaunchBar, I was still missing things. Where was that example Cederholm published? Where was that one hack which applies only to Opera 5, Firefox 0.6.fish.3 and my toaster? These kind of important but rarely accessed docs kept evading me.
Then I turned to Safari's bookmarks page. Menu navigation for bookmarks never appealed to me with it's difficult to manage control and truncated items. Safari's implementation is as friendly as the window I spend most of my time in because it *is* the window I spend most of my time in.
I created bookmark folders on the left for the main topics like my design articles. You may only need to see how Dan added images to his mini-tabs once a year, but that once a year, you'll be thankful you have that article and the articles it built off of already listed together in your browser.
That's about all I use bookmarks for, just important articles or rarely used bookmarks (the Rasterbator for instance). Beyond that, my important bookmarks are all in NNW because what important site doesn't have an rss feed?
You should try using Stand - http://hetima.com/safari/stand-e.html
Stand has a history searcher, it's not mind blowing but man it's handy…
it's also got a few other handy features - syntax coloring for view source, bookmark searching, saved states…
p.s. Speaking of safari add-ons - you've used PithHelmet, right? Say goodby to ads…
Coupla Things:
1. Using LaunchBar will probably cure you of your auto-complete fetish. The behavior you speak of (typing "mez" or "g") is exactly what LaunchBar excels at. Furthermore, in LaunchBar, you don't even have to use the first letters; you can type in "blue" and Mezzoblue comes up instantly in Safari. And even further still, you don't need to type in consecutive letters. "Mzzbl" would do it as well. LaunchBar's ability to use smart word-matching algorithms makes it the best user-interface enhancement of all time, in my opinion. It will make you use Safari bookmarks more, because it indexes them by page title and not just by URL.
2. For your Dailies, you might benefit from instituting a one-click system via bookmarklet to publish these. Anytime I'm at a computer, home or work, I can click one bookmarklet and the URL/PageTitle I'm currently viewing is saved to a mySQL database which is pulled into the sidebar of my site dynamically and instantly. It takes the pain out of clipping.
3. Do you find that URLs to things you bookmark change that often? I'm just guessing here, but I have about 400 saved bookmarks and I'd be surprised if more than 30 or 40 of them (max) were rotted.
Hmmm. I've bookmarked nearly every site I've been to, yet I never use the bookmarks. Only perhaps once a year do I need a bookmark. Instead, I've relied solely on my memory or, as of late, Firefox's _Tab Extensions_. Just go to tab>load tab session>save current tab session, and all the tabs are saved. Only one problem with this: Somehow the tabs "expire" after a few weeks; after loading a session that has "expired," 75% of the the tabs will cause an error to pop up: ": is not a valid protocol." Then my memory or Firefox's history kicks in, and I re-create the session.
I still have a bookmarks list, way too big in fact. But I hardly ever use it.
Instead, I have a local .HTML homepage on my hard disk with links to all my frequently visited sites; each site is abbreviated to a single word or few characters, and categorised in a table-ish format. I either keep it open in my leftmost tab or summon it with a "new tab" gesture, and middle-click the relevant link when I want to go somewhere. In addition, it's got some smart scripting to automatically POST a login form to sites that require it, and an inbuilt search box with a selection of several engines.
It wasn't that hard to put together — I'm just amazed that more people don't have similar custom homepage setups.
Sounds like a quest worthy of a http://www.lazyweb.org/ request
Geez, no bookmarks, ever?! You're just crazy Dave, I mean how much time do you spend going to Google, typing something to search for and then actually following a link?
At the same time, I never really used bookmarks much until I became a devoted Firefox freek. I've since moved my bookmarks.html file through several Windows machines (along with a few rebuilds), and recently moved my bookmarks.html over to my new Linux machine. Same bookmarks, many different computers.
Yeah sure sites change, URI's die, but core documentation pages never change. If there's anything I couldn't do without, it's the elusive Javascript reference or some programming tip that I spent at least 5-10 minutes (usually more, because I get side-tracked) searching over and over again for (while tweaking my search query).
I surely agree, sorting through a browser's recent history is a chore in itself, especially when every dang page on a website has the same title! A search plug-in to examine browser history is a great idea.
I think Angus' implementation — especially his "smart scripting" form POSTs — is an important idea. It would be nice to see something similar hit the mass market. Perhaps a browser plugin that allowed you to "record" an HTTP transaction (basically keeping track of the HTTP headers you send) that allows you quick access to sites only accessible through a POST login.
I rarely use bookmarks in the "traditional" sense anymore thanks to http://deli.icio.us. A simple delicious bookmarklet makes saving and tagging a URL much simpler.
In terms of getting from about:blank to point B, a combination of the Sogudi plugin (built into Fireworks) for oft-visited locations, Bloglines, and Delicious serve as my jumping off point.
As a recent convert to Macs from Unix/Linux, I never used bookmarks per se. When using Linux I used the Galeon browser which has a start page with the last X sites you saw, and typically that was what I needed. Additionally, it had the ability to put a bookmark on that page directly, and remove it later if I didnt need/want it any longer.
Now that I have gone Mac, I use QuickSilver http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/ which I find more useful than LaunchBar for me, a quick key combo, start typing the URL hit enter and Safari does its bidding.
I never understood long lists of bookmarks, coworkers spend hours pruning theirs to the exact feng shuiness of being, literally having 100's. I don't get it.
I've never been one for bookmarks either. I tend to remember the URLs that I visit regularly, or I remember how I got there. Many a time have I browsed to mezzoblue to find something on someone else's site. I can somehow remember the path I took to get somewhere, but not what the destination was. Of course, I've got an unhealthy google addiction/reliance as a result of this way of browsing.
It's worked for me, and continues to. I am thinking of installing some sort of RSS reader so that I can at least keep track of the stuff that I read daily more easily.
I thought I was fairly unique in my non-use of bookmarks, but it seems I'm not.
IE only. It's probably what you came across.
Microsoft Research: Stuff I've Seen [PDF]:
Lots more links at this halfbakery page:
(As a sidenote: I realize you're probably using Safari, but in firefox/mozilla that functionality you depend on autocomplete for is implemented as custom keywords:
Incidentally, I've observed many people use autocomplete as a pseudobookmarks solution. I guess it just seems natural if you never really empty your history.)
Stand may very well have been the one I've been reading about. Thanks for the link!
Mike D:
I go back and forth between Quicksilver and Launchbar. Far from curing my auto-complete fetish, I suspect they've made me much, much more reliant on it. But neither really cuts it here — though they would if they search the same data Stand does.
Tried that once upon a time. Actually, quite a few times. Never worked, and these days the type of sites I'd add go into my copy of NetNewsWire anyway.
"…I spent at least 5-10 minutes searching over and over again for (it)"
Sounds like a task Google is better suited for anyway. Rather than save a list of links and try to remember which one *might* have the term I'm looking up, I'd rather just type it once and let Google sort 'em out. That's so much of a time-saver it seems like the obvious choice to me.
"I spent at least 5-10 minutes (usually more, because I get side-tracked) searching over and over again for"
Sounds familiar. Perhaps that's a unifying factor across people who don't bother with bookmarks.
I, too, have never really used bookmarks. Having a program like AppRocket (similar to LaunchBar, but for Windows) made me use bookmarks again since it indexed them nicely, but I decided to abandon use after my trial period ended.
I totally depend on Google + auto complete. Add Firefox's quick searching in the history and you are good to go. One thing I just started doing was adding a folder called "Clips" in my bookmark toolbar. It serves as a perfect temporary space for things that I don't want to lose track of, but will delete shortly. It works quite nicely.
I also don't ever use bookmarks, and the primary reason is simply that I switch browsers and computers all the time. If there was a single way to ensure that no matter which browser I opened on which computer had my bookmarks available, I'd probably use them. But, being a Mac user at home and a PC user at work, plus having a few "testing" PCs around the house, plus have five or six browsers on each machine (mainly for testing) — trying to keep bookmarks in sync would be an unbearable nightmare.
Plus, I have a good memory. :)
I've been bookmarkless for years. But early this year, I started using bookmarks and ordering/arranging them properly (by folders and separators) in Firefox.
Why? Because, I keep forgetting site URLs that interests me that I want (also need to) comeback later. Searching for that obscure domain.com/~userwithwierdnames type of urls is cumbersome. Relying to the browser history won't help either, it gets deleted or lost at one point or when I switch machines.
Right now, I may have a gargantuan size of bookmarks that I may not use or click on, but I feel that I'm more efficient with these than with nothing. ;)
If I could get a utility for Firefox that checks for broken URLs in by bookmarks, I'm happy.
I am a Safari lover, with Saft and Stand it is one excellent browser. But a really nice integrated feature that I love about Firefox is the sidebar. You simple tell the sidebar to display history or bookmarks. At the top is a search field which live searches through whichever one you have displayed. I have used the search history many many times before, it is a wonderful feature. I really wish Safari employed something similar.
Bookmarks also don't work for me.
I rely on auto-complete, Firefox' Google based "I'm Feeling Lucky" functionality and recently also on Furl - http://furl.net/
Furl is similar to del.icio.us, but it also saves a copy of the page you "furl" (= no linkrot). Other advantages are: excellent full text search functionality, several (optional) metadata fields, import and export functionality and, of course, remote access to your Furl archive.
Hi Dave. :)
It's true: most browsers do bookmarks badly. One of the reasons I fell in love with Phoenix v0.2 back in the day was that I could put drop-down folders in the link bar (turned out I could do this in IE, too; it's just harder). This made organizing on the fly a lot easier than opening a modal dialog or dragging through a narrow Favorites menu—a related point to your Fitts' Law article a few days ago.
Mark Pilgrim enlightened me about the usefulness of blogs relative to bookmarking content:
Since then, I've been following this pattern: if I find a useful site and it's dynamic (news, blog, etc.), subscribe to it in my news reader—I'll decide if it's still worth reading later. If it's static (referential), link to it on the blog—I can search through those by date or keyword. If it's dynamic and not subscribable, dump it into bookmarks—maybe one day I'll stumble across it again after it finally gets a news feed. ;-)
Have you tried Camino yet? It has bookmarks similar to Safari but with search that will search both bookmarks and history together and finds stuff pretty fast and on target.
Ever played with http://a9.com/ ? It's the Amazon-meets-Google search engine approach. You get to keep your regular Google search results, but it also keeps a running history of your searches to refer back to later. And being a web site, it stays with you wherever you go.
I have hundreds of bookmarks. Why? Well, I often search out obscure topics, which means trawling throuh pages and pages of Google results, checking large numbers of links, plus I pick up tips to sites from all over the place.
To find them again, without use of bookmarks, bearing in mind that I may not be back for 6 months would involve replicating the hours it took to harvest them, or find the site that gave me the link, not always easy or possible.
Mine are all ordered in folders and subfolders, so, hopefully, I don't have a problem finding them.
I've found http://del.icio.us combined with a couple of URL bar search keywords to be quick and useful:
Have tried beating with stick, to no avail..
Take a look at Safari Stand found at http://hetima.com/safari/stand-e.html. I picked up this link via http://www.hicksdesign.co.uk/journal/554/new-safari-stand-features.
I used to hate bookmarks, and I still hate traditional setups. I just can't get my head around them.
But on Opera and now Firefox (because Opera can't get through the new corporate firewall), I find folders full of categorised bookmarks on the personal toolbar invaluable.
I can open a folder-full as a set of tabs, which is great for catching up on all my blogs at once. Or I can scan through quickly and pick out the individual one I want.
The only problem is that they need periodic trimming, tidying and categorising or they can spiral out of control.
I seem to be using the same kind of system, without really knowing it. I do have some bookmarks, although I rarely use them and I rely on auto-complete for URLs too. I also seem to be like Ben in that I know where to find a link to a site I need, but not the actual site.
Maybe it's not quite as un-common as prevously thought, or maybe we're just some crazy eccentrics…
That's the beauty of RSS!
With NetNewsWire, I can stay updated with all the sites I regularly visit, and I don't have to actually visit the site to see if they changed.
About the other sites, that don't have RSS… they should!
But I'm the same way with bookmarks, especially because I use IE, Firefox, and Safari, and just bookmark URLs in whatever browser I happen to be using, I forget what browser I bookmarked the URL!
Sounds like you'd be an advocate for www.commonname.com Dave :)
Nice to know that there are others who work the same way I do. I used to use bookmarks waaay back in the mid nineties, but for the last several years, I find that whenever I do save a bookmark, it just sits there, unused, forever. Memory + autocomplete + Google + the search feature on my own site (which in a way acts as a huge bookmark list) is what I use, and it works pretty well ;)
I use elaborate hierarchies of bookmarks in Opera for sites I definitely want to visit often, but I've found that the history sidebar with its instant title/url search is very handy for those "what was that page?" moments, if you set a long history.
Since I use the FireFox plugin - Sage - to aggregate blogs I use bookmarks a bit more than I used to - but of course, not in the normal fashion. I have an rss directory of bookmarks including good ol' Mezzoblue and use Sage to read your (and other sites) RSS feed.
Occassionaly I will bookmark an item here or there, but it is just for a short while, like a note to myself to read this when I get the chance, then I delete the bookmark.
I have one persistant URL and that is for a software updating system at work we use to deploy updates to client systems. Its all web-based and I can never remember the address.
Bookmarks function less as URL shortcuts for me as they do a to-do list for browsing. I imagine if you use RSS readers more than I do (which is to say, if you use RSS readers, you use them more than I do), such apps accomplish the same task.
I used to use bookmarks to store URLs to articles that I knew or thought I'd need to reference again in the future. Though my primary browser is Safari, I sometimes end up checking something in Firefox and end up using that for a while as well. One thing that enables this easy back-and-forth is a program for OS X called Bookit, at
This allows me to sync bookmarks across browsers and between machines, and allows for all my bookmarks to appear similarly across browsers (groups, etc). Collecting and sorting bookmarks from multiple browsers keeps my list fairly short and forces me to organize and cull on a regular basis (approx. once every 2-3 months).
As for information retrieval, I've taken to printing webpages to .pdfs (this has made me love websites which have print-media stylesheets) and storing those .pdfs in a program called DEVONthink, which indexes contents of .pdfs (or RTFS, which are a little easier to work with). DEVONthink is kind of like a pre-Spotlight Spotlight (in fact, its technology has been referenced in many articles about Spotlight). So if I want to do a search for virtualhosts, it'll bring up everything from web articles I've saved to my own .conf files to the apache docs (which I've thrown in there for good meaures).
Working this way affords me two luxuries: referencing things quickly when I'm offline (which I increasingly prefer) and freeing me from having to clutter up my bookmarks with a bunch of articles whose URLs would probably change the next time I needed them anyway.
Server-side bookmarks anyone? http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=41742
I haven't tried it, but have been meaning to since I often use four computers on any given day - Mac & PC at work, Mac & PC at home.
I don't use bookmarks.
I place the links on my website.
What about combination of these two ways:
Using some feature/plugin, which would automagically bookmark those sites where you spent more than 30 seconds or so, and offering them in popup, when you type adress/keyword sorted by number of visits?
I actually use bookmarks for my searching; I take advantage of Bookmark Keywords in Firefox. It expedites my searching by allowing me to search (better) right in the address bar. Google is pre-bookmarked on install, so you can simply type "google <search terms>" and get the results. You can edit/assign keywords for any bookmark in its properties. Here are some examples of sites that allow this kind of searching:
I'm not as bookmark phobic as Dave, but I love autocomplete and Google. I've lost a few too many good sites to depend on that method completely though.
One funny little side note, though… when I worked in Japan, one of my Japanese co-workers remarked how odd it was that I always typed in URLs, and so did the other person in the office from Canada… It really emphasised the fact that latin-character only URLs are probably only easy to remember for a minority of the people around the globe using the web. (It also emphasized the fact that up until recently, even a lot of medium sized Japanese companies got sold into sub-domain style hosting where they don't buy their own unique URL…)
I've been finding myself using Opera's history panel, which has a real-time Quick Keyword Find.
You know what I'm imagining - Your browser history all saved in a google database with the google engine powering your search.
Ok thats a scarey though, Google with my entire history…!
But then it could have other benefits, such as tailored seaches in the main search etc… but scarey!
They've done it for email…
I'm the opposite: I use tons of bookmarks. Firefox lets me put folders on my bookmark bar, and depending on how I am working at the moment, I can pull down a needed link in a heartbeat, which lets me surf quickly when I am using only a few, selected sites. I have different categories, some for web development, another for color-related sites, another for food-related sites (I love to cook), still another for local stuff, etc; I have another called "Blog This," for the obvious use, which I go and clean out regularly (which is the only drawback to this method that I can see, other than link rot).
I'm relying more and more on bookmark keywords, ie: when I first open Firefox, it's muscle memory to type in 'xmouse' [enter] [ctrl+t] 'mail' [enter] (which loads up my website, a new tab and then my email). I also have several other keywords set up: wplocal takes my to my localhost-hosted WordPress login, wp takes me to my online WordPress login, gmail takes me to my gmail account login, hackers takes me to the WP hackers archives, plesk takes me to server admin section login, and so on. Obviously the sites I visit (rather than use, if you see what I mean) frequently, which are mostly weblogs, I tend to use Bloglines or URL-matching (as you have described) to get there.
I tend to avoid mouse usage, unless it can be done quicker that way, which is why I like keywords, and not clickable bookmarks.
In reference to comment 11: "I think Angus' implementation - especially his "smart scripting" form POSTs - is an important idea. It would be nice to see something similar hit the mass market." - well Opera has a Wand button. Visit a site with a log in form and you can click once on the button to log in.
A home page of links is what I use for some sites I check regularly. It's ideal for working with multiple browsers as you can set them all to display the same page!
Opera's keywords are an ideal solution to bookmarks. Like David House (comment 44) I have set up keywords for a wide range of websites. For example "mb" takes me straight to this site.
I have also started using Opera's built-in Notes panel, which allows you to copy text from a page and double-click on the note later to return to the page. It's superb for 'bookmarking' pages where I've posted a comment, so I can return to the exact page to check for updates. Plus notes allow you to type in many lines of text, so you can add more detail than a bookmark allows.
I wouldn't advise using Google for finding sites. What if it goes down, as happened recently? Plus if there's a lot of internet traffic, it'll slow you down. Plus you might get multiple search results to wade through. Sounds too much like a guessing game to me. Much better to bookmark a single link and use a clear folder mechanism to store it.
I believe the Omniweb 5 browser uses thumbnails of each site in its bookmarks. That sounds like a great idea as one problem with bookmarks is remembering what they refer to. (Some sites use obscure titling.) However, browsers like Opera also store the 'favicon' so you can tell at a glance which bookmark you want.


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So after getting a little addicted to playing Global Agenda and writing a few pieces on the subject for Massively, I started to notice this really odd wave of comments that actually confused me — people who refused to play GA because it was Steam exclusive. They didn't want to install Steam or deal with it, because they felt it was getting in the way of their gaming experience.
Some of the comments they had about it were absolutely venomous, such as how it hogged system resources, performed bad installs, updated games slowly, and was generally unwieldy. When I was reading their comments, I felt like I had gone back in time to the year 2004, when Steam first came into mainstream use with Half-Life 2, and the first "Steam Controversy" was born.
In fact, just as I'm writing this article, I went over and checked the Wikipedia entry on Steam. Holy shit, talk about being biased. If Wikipedia is to be believed, Steam is a buggy piece of crap that ruins video games, steals money from developers, and demands the sacrifice of first born children to the "My Games" tab before a game can be run.
Yet, even as I'm typing, Steam is running comfortably in the background, doing whatever it is that it does in the background. When I want to run a game, I open Steam, double click on the game, and it runs. Beyond that, Steam offers me some amazing, amazing, amazing deals on games that I'd like to play. Deals that go above and beyond their 10% discount on a game when you pre-order it. From the Steam Holiday Sale alone, I was able to buy nice gifts for all of my friends, add 10 more games to my arsenal, and not spend more than 100 bucks for all of it. The amount of money that I've saved through using Steam as my distribution service is just amazing.
So, let me try to wrap my head around some of these reasons for why you shouldn't use steam.
So I pulled up the ctrl+alt+delete service menu to see just how much memory Steam takes up when it's running in the background. Just so you all know that I'm not making crap up, I put the screenshot off to the side here. Click it if you need it blown up, as I know it's pretty tiny. But, even with the visual evidence, let me break it down for you.
Steam, in this photo, is taking up 8,680k of my memory. Compare that against Skype, which is taking up 12,236k, iTunes, which is taking up 32,976k, Thunderbird, which is taking a hefty 46,308k, and Google Chrome, the "lightweight browser" that's taking up a whopping 53,328k over two processes. For one instance of Google Chrome, I could run Steam six times. So don't tell me that Steam is hogging your precious resources, unless you're running on a really, really small amount of RAM. I'm running on 2 GB, personally, and Steam does not impact how my games run.
Shit, the only reason I was running iTunes in this screenshot was because I was playing Burnout: Paradise. And even while running iTunes, Steam, Google Chrome, and Thunderbird, Burnout: Paradise still ran at 60 FPS with everything turned on high. Don't tell me Steam ruins how your game runs.
2. Steam ruins installs
I have 36 games on Steam. Not one has misinstalled in the entire 4 year history of me using the program. Either I'm incredibly lucky, or Steam isn't a rabid misinstaller.
Oh, and if you're talking about how Steam automatically updates games when the developer pushes out a patch, then that's not Steam, that's the developer. If it updates and breaks your game, I'm sorry, but it really doesn't happen as often as you want to say it does. Once again, over my entire history of using Steam (and having 3 different computers, each with a different setup) I've never had a game break from an update on Steam. Ever.
3. You need to be online to play Steam games
If you're on dial-up, then this is a legitimate gripe. It does suck that you have to be online to play a Steam game, as Steam forces game authentication every time you run the game. However, for the rest of you silly geese who are on broadband, what the fuck are you complaining about? Sure, this might suck for those of you who have bandwidth caps in other countries, but I don't see Steam pulling down that much bandwidth when I'm playing. It's very light on the bandwidth if you're not playing an online game.
If you're in the US, you most likely can't gripe because we really don't have bandwidth caps around here. I'm constantly connected to the internet thanks to the wonderful advent of cable internet. I'm always online. If I wasn't online, I'd pretty much go insane.
Lastly, if you're bitching about adding Steam and you're adding it to play an online game, like Global Agenda, then go fuck yourself. "I have to be online to use Steam" is not a valid excuse when the game you're playing IS ONLINE ONLY ANYWAYS.
4. You can't sell Steam games back to the retailer or to someone else
No, and you can't sell PC games to GameStop either. If you don't want to use Steam because you want to sell your games, then just don't use Steam. But for online only games (like Global Agenda) then you really can't resell the game anyway because it's tied to your account. Once again, go fuck yourself. *smiles and thumbs up*
5. Steam is a trojan horse
Thanks alot, Direct2Drive, for making this really shitty comparison. Sorry that your download service doesn't offer a community panel, IM and voice chat services, automatic updates that don't suck, and competitive deals.
Steam is not a trojan horse. If anything, steam (and integrating games into Steamworks) lets developers utilize Steam's anti-cheat platform, their auto-update functionality, matchmaking and lobbies functions, and the very cool Steam Cloud which lets you keep your game saves and profiles online and take them wherever you go. As long as you're logged into Steam, you get your games and your saves. Very cool.
So, if you're still into hating Steam, then you're still pretty much stuck in 2004. If you still really don't want to use the program, then my advice is to just not use it and shut up about it. Go off to Direct2Drive or go shop at GameStop — you still have those options.
As for me, I'll be enjoying the Steam Cloud and my legion of affordable games.


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Hello there ! I bring forth the awesomeness of Trent Reznor , the mastermind behind the band Nine inch nails. A lyrical genius, this man has touched the souls of millions with his wonderful songs , including mine . I have nothing but respect for this man , now and forever . Dawn's a big fan too , just thought you might want to know that . You will learn how to draw Trent Reznor in 6(ish) steps , I hope you have fun and wish you good luck .
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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Today I have for you a very interesting foundation called Smashit from Sweden. You know I love a new foundation to play with and if there's something unique about the product, even better (plenty more reviews coming up!). NOTE: I will have 2 of these foundations to giveaway, read to the end of the post!
This hydrating fluid foundation is 100% Organic and contains sunflower oil and acerola cherry extract, and contains mineral pigments for full coverage finish which doesn't block the pores. It is supposed to be long lasting and water resistant, giving a HD finish. There is a low SPF of 6-7 with this so in other words, don't rely on it for sun protection, make sure you wear sunscreen too!
More pictures….
These foundations contain 50ml of product, so they are generous – they remind me of MAC face & body in presentation.
I have the full shade range here – it ranges from very very pale to a red based deep olive which is suitable for Asian skintones. The shade range is a bit difficult to match up to – before I saw the shades I automatically thought I was olive but seeing them in a person I was more of a beige with a dash of olive. They are working on more colours though. I think they need more neutral mid colours and also some deep shades.
The texture of this foundation is quite liquid but not runny. It reminds me of paint in texture and has that sort of mild paintbox smell – I mean like a kids non-toxic paint as opposed to Dulux! It's very rich in pigment and blends in beautifully.
Also there's a glossy look to it when you apply – it's a little strange but it soon settles in to a beautifully soft finish. It absolutely leaves a slight glow – don't know if you'd want this with oily skin but on my parched skin, it feels just lovely! It also covers redness nicely – the finish is sheer to medium and you can layer it.
Milk is very much a pale colour and beige and cream have more of a neutral beige base. Vanilla and Olive are yellow based (olive is too yellow and slightly too deep for me) and Sand is the darkest with quite a warm edge to it. As mentioned before, Beige is the colour I am most comfortable with but it blends in in a way that makes me think it wouldn't be the end of the world if a shade is slightly off.
Deionized Water, Micro Mineral Pigments, Tridecyl Neopentanoate, Sunflower Oil, Acerola Cherry Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Liquorice Extract, Ginseng Extract, Rosemary Extract, Sodium PCS, Glucose, Glucose Oxidase, Lactoperoxidase, Mica, Lauroyl Lysine, Silk Amino Acids.
Two winners will win their own full size foundation and a brush each! Please indicate which shade you want by using my swatches above- bear in mind there will be slight variations due to computer screens, photography variations and our very own eyes!
To win answer this:
Smashit Foundation is from beautiful Sweden. Name 3 of your favourite things from Sweden in the comments below to win!


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"I didn't know what city I was going to play in," said Teahen, during a Friday morning conference call to announce Teahen's trade to the White Sox, in exchange for starting second baseman Chris Getz and first baseman/third baseman Josh Fields. Rumors of the trade involving these three players began early Thursday morning, but none of the individuals involved really had anything confirmed. That confirmation came before the weekend began, with Teahen and cash considerations coming over from the Royals. And as for that position roulette experienced recently by Teahen? Well, general manager Ken Williams answered that question through his opening comments in Friday's call. "He's going to be the starting third base, and Gordon Beckham will be moved to second," said Williams of Teahen and the infield configuration. "I had a very good conversation with Gordon, prior to pulling the trigger on this deal, and he's all for it and ready to go."
The reason for the delay was the cash that Kansas City send to the Sox:
The Teahen trade was delayed because the money exchanged by the two clubs had to be approved by the commissioner's office, a common occurrence when $1 million or more is involved.


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Detroit: nowhere to go but up
Beyond the Rhetoric
Harry C. Alford | 8/8/2013, midnight
It has been a long and rocky ride down the economic slope for the Motor City. The first time I moved to Detroit was 1974. I was just discharged from the Army as a 2nd Lt. and motivated to excel in my new civilian career. Procter & Gamble hired me out of the University of Wisconsin, as I graduated in 1970. Knowing I was about to be drafted they placed me in Toledo, Ohio, for training and assured me that I would be placed in Detroit after my service. When I was discharged, I found the sales office to have left the city of Detroit and moved to nearby Dearborn. This was part of a big migration by corporate Detroit, which had given up on the city and its firebrand mayor, Coleman Young.
That was the beginning. Year after year and decade after decade, the businesses, White middle class and then Black middle class, left for the suburbs or other places. The declining tax base, increasing crime rate, blight and debt beyond belief became too common for any good. Authorities "kicked the can" down the street on an annual basis (pretty much like our federal government today). Now, Detroit is in very dire straits. It has a debt of $20 billion and can only generate about $1 billion per year for its annual costs. Bankrupt indeed!
I am glad to see the "bottom," because now we can only go up. Detroit is too big of a city with too great a heritage for us to turn our backs on. This is the stuff great things are made of. What we need now is a Project New Detroit Commission appointed by the Michigan governor. Members of this panel should be made up of non-politicians and credible business managers. If I ruled this matter, here is how I would throw down on the bleak situation.
There is rampant corruption. All city officials involved in any process where money is involved such as licensing, procurement, taxation, etc. should take a lie detector test and undergo a background check. If anyone resists, it should be considered a resignation. This should be handled by the city prosecutor's after he and his office goes through the same scrutiny.
Gangs are the biggest distributors of drugs and facilitate the violence and crime related to it. Gang leaders (captain level and above) are to be identified and then prosecuted for racketeering under the RICO statutes. No more leaders; no more gangs. Good riddance!
More than half the property tax owners do not pay their tax bills. Give them 90 days to catch up or make strict arrangements. Failure should lead to property seizure and quick auctions. This cash flow is critically needed for the city treasury.
The school system of Detroit is one of the worst in the nation. Effective immediately, there should be a charter school licensing system. All schools, must teach literacy and mathematics with some science to grade efficiency beginning with first through twelfth grades. Elementary public schools can be replaced with these charter schools whenever practical. High schools should be considered for merger with others or just closed when literacy and math levels are inferior. Libraries will be privatized.


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YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. - Georgia Southwestern traveled to Young Harris, Ga. Saturday afternoon looking to extend a four-game winning streak and further enhance their position to earn a spot in the Peach Belt Conference post-season tournament.
GSW held on to a late lead in the first contest of the day but failed to capture the sweep as Young Harris rallied to pull out a thrilling 3-2 decision in the second game.
On the day, Janna Anderson led Georgia Southwestern's offense as the senior went 3-for-6 with 2 RBI.
Game 1: GSW 5, YHC 4
Both teams started off slow offensively as the two teams combined for just three hits and failed to light up the scoreboard through the first three innings of play.
GSW's Nellie Moore broke the offensive ineptitude in the top of the fourth inning on a lead-off home run, her fifth of the season, to put the Lady 'Canes on the board.
Southwestern added to its slim lead in the fifth inning, scoring four runs off two hits to give GSW the 5-0 advantage. The inning was highlighted by a Janna Anderson double down the left field line that drove in a pair of runs.
Young Harris (23-22, 5-12 PBC) rallied late, scoring four runs in the final two innings, but Georgia Southwestern (27-22, 9-10 PBC) held on to capture their fifth-straight victory, 5-4.
GSW's starting pitcher Allison Pastor (13-7) earned her third win in a row as the junior threw a complete game allowing four runs off nine hits with a pair of strikeouts for the Lady 'Canes.
Game 2: YHC 3, GSW 2
Similar to the first game, both teams were slow in getting their offense going as the game was scoreless through the first three innings of play.
But unlike the first contest, Young Harris was the one to use the long ball to rev up their offense as the Mountain Lions were the first to strike when Kayla Jones hit a solo blast in the fourth inning to put YHC on the board first.
Southwestern's bats woke up in the fifth inning as the Lady 'Canes countered their first deficit of the day by scoring a pair of runs off two hits to pull ahead, 2-1.
Southwestern (27-23, 9-11 PBC) held the slim one-run advantage heading into the bottom of the seventh inning but unlike the first game, Young Harris' rally wouldn't be denied.
Playing on their last out of the game, the Mountain Lions delivered a single from senior Jen Spradling that drove in the the game-tying run quickly followed by the game-winning RBI-single from Amber Stratham as Young Harris (24-22, 6-12 PBC) went on to earn the come-from-behind victory in thrilling fashion to earn the split on the day.
GSW's starting pitcher Ashley Cavender (9-10) was credited with the loss as the sophomore allowed three runs off seven hits while striking out three for the Lady 'Canes.
Georgia Southwestern will return to action tomorrow as the Lady 'Canes travel to Dahlonega, Ga. for a PBC doubleheader starting at 2 p.m against sixth-ranked North Georgia.


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The Compass Community Center raised the second highest amount among South Florida organizations during a 48-hour online LGBTQ fundraising event.
The Lake Worth center received $3,593 from 114 unique donors as part of the second annual Give OUT Day, a day where thousands of people across the country donate to their favorite lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender nonprofits. The event began 12 a.m. Thursday and was extended an extra day, ending 11:59 p.m. Friday.
Continue reading "Compass receives more than $4K as part of Give Out Day"


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Residents describe unexplainable 'ghostly' happenings at downtown Clarkston home WITH VIDEO
Doors opening on their own and writings appearing on the bathroom mirror are just some of the unexplained events that Clarkston resident Chip Travis has experienced since moving into his home six years ago.
Travis is not the first person to describe ghostly experiences at this house on South Holcomb Street in downtown Clarkston, which was built in the mid-1800s.
Travis has named the ghosts George and Sara, after two previous owners. George Elliot, his wife, Victoria, and her sister, Sara Carran, moved into the home in 1917 and lived there for 50 years, according to the Clarkston Community Historical Society. In local legend, George was not welcomed in his home and was often forced to sleep outside in the barn.
Travis said that "there's absolutely no doubt in my mind" that at least one ghost is in the house.
After he moved in, Travis said he saw script written on the steam in the mirror -- all in German. He translated the words to mean, "Welcome" and "Do not be afraid."
"I don't want to chase them out. It's been fun. It's been very entertaining. I've never been scared," Travis said. "We've gotten ... gifts. Ping pong balls, for some reason. We recently received a little golden heart charm."
Kim Huttenlocher of the Clarkston Community Historical Society named Travis' home one of the "ghost houses" of downtown Clarkston.
After he was called by the society, Travis learned that these experiences weren't unique to him and that several previous owners described similar events.
Stephen Harlton, who now lives in Chicago, grew up in the house on Holcomb Street from 1976 through 1992 with his parents, Bruce and Kathryn, his brother, Matthew, and his sister, Elizabeth Pesola.
The five family members also described unexplainable events that happened in the house. Harlton said he never told anyone about the family's experiences -- until he heard from a friend still living in Clarkston that his childhood home was called a "ghost house."
"To hear similar stories of things happening 20 years later just blows my mind," he said. "I was always skeptical about ghosts and hauntings until I heard about Chip's experiences two months ago. It's too coincidental."
Harlton said his parents remodeled the house, room by room, and each time they built an addition or fixed a room, that's when the majority of unexplained events would occur.
For instance, his father tore down the old barn that previous owner George Elliot is believed to have slept in.
"My brother and dad were standing next to the barn and the construction workers had left. All of a sudden a metal rod fell off the building, coming at an angle toward them, and stuck in the ground right in between the two of them," he said. "I don't know if that was the ghost saying, 'Don't tear down my barn.' "
Another time, Stephen said his parents were remodeling the kitchen when they heard a loud banging at the door.
"It was a big glass door, and my dad looked over and no one was there," Harlton said. "We heard (the banging) again, and he went to the door. It was 8 at night, and there was nobody there. There was six inches of snow on the ground, and there was no footprints or anything."
When he was 10 years old, Stephen said he thought he heard the murmuring of several voices coming from downstairs.
"At first I thought it was my parents talking in their room, so I listened right next to their door, and it wasn't coming from their room," he said. "This was at 3 or 4 a.m. I stayed at the top of the stairs for a minute because I thought I was hearing things, but as much as I wish I was imagining it, I wasn't."
He said when he found out about these "hauntings" at Travis' house, he talked to his brother and sister, who told him about unexplained events they also experienced.
His sister said, "I was alone once playing with (her cat) Sammy in my room. ... I ran down the hall to mom and dad's room for her to chase me. I jumped in their bed and hid under the covers thinking she'd jump up. I felt what felt like someone rubbing their hands fast over the covers on me, so I threw the covers off and no one was there. Not even the cat."
Another time, Stephen said his mother was sticking her head out the window to talk to her husband, who was working on the roof.
"The second my mom pulled her head out of the window, the window slammed down right in front of her," Harlton said. "My mom was saying, 'That window could have killed me.' Those windows just didn't fall. They were almost impossible to get up or down because they would stick."
But current owner Travis said the events he has experienced seem friendlier than what happened to the Harlton family.
For instance, two months ago, a golden heart-shaped charm appeared on his dresser -- one he had never seen before.
Travis' girlfriend Elizabeth Wareck placed the charm inside a box, and the next time, she looked inside the box, it was missing.
A couple days later, the charm was found in the basement. Then Travis put the charm under a glass cup. But it went missing again -- and was found two weeks later in the same spot in the basement.
Other objects also have unexplainably moved. For instance, Travis was sitting in his living room one day when he thought he saw a groundhog or some brown animal run by the window. When he walked outside, he saw his brown welcome mat had moved from his side door to the front of his house, in front of a large window.
When doing renovations to the house, he looked under the patio and found concrete steps underneath, leading up to the window where the mat had moved. Upon closer examination, he noticed siding had been patched on the side of the house -- where another door used to be.
"It was like the ghost was saying, 'Yeah, that's where the door used to be, and that's where it should be because I'm going to show you," Travis said.
Travis said he's seen the "ghost" twice -- a dense smoky form passing through his fence outside and the same form passing through his arm and disappearing through the side door of his home.
Travis asked Bloomfield Hills resident Sheila Cummings to sage the home after he moved in. Cummings is in the process of being certified as a healing touch practitioner.
"The Native American custom is you tie sage into bundles, called a smudge stick. And what you do is light them. It smolders and smoke comes off the end. You walk through your house, wherever you want to clear any energy that isn't of the light," Cummings said.
Cummings said she asked the evil spirits to leave and feels the ghost that has remained is a friendly, female ghost. She wonders if that's why Travis now receives gifts -- in gratitude from the ghost for getting rid of the evil spirit.
"I think this ghost likes attention," Cummings said, with a laugh. "I think this ghost really likes Chip."
Contact Monica Drake at 248-745-4687 or email her at firstname.lastname@example.com. Find her on Twitter at monica_adele.


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Plesk: Configure your server's DNS for Workspace email
You can set up email for a domain name hosted on a server using Plesk.
Configuring your server to use email for a domain name is a two-step process. First, make sure your server isn't configured to use its own email services for your domain name. Second, set the proper MX records for your domain name to use email. For more information, see Checking and managing my MX records.
To Set up Your Email Using Plesk
- Log in to Plesk by entering admin as your user name.
- Click Domains.
- Locate the domain name, then click Open in Control Panel.
- Click Mail, and then click Change Settings.
- Deselect Activate Mail Service on Domain. Leave Plesk open.
- Click Websites & Domains.
- Click the icon for the domain name you want to modify and select the DNS option.
- Select the domain name, and then click Remove.
- For Record Type, select MX, and then do the following:
- Leave Mail Domain field blank.
- In the Priority field, type 0.
- In the Destination field, type smtp.secureserver.net.
- Click OK.
- For Record Type, select MX, and then do the following:
- Leave the Mail Domain field blank.
- In the Priority field, type 10.
- In the Destination field, type mailstore1.secureserver.net.
- Click OK.
- View the new MX records at the bottom of the page to make sure they are correct. It can take up to 48 hours for the changes to propagate through the Internet.


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A quotation by Harish-Chandra
I have often pondered over the roles of knowledge or experience, on the one hand, and imagination or intuition, on the other, in the process of discovery. I believe that there is a certain fundamental conflict between the two, and knowledge, by advocating caution, tends to inhibit the flight of imagination. Therefore, a certain naivete, unburdened by conventional wisdom, can sometimes be a positive asset.
Quoted in R Langlands, Harish-Chandra, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 31 (1985) 197 - 225.


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Williams Sonoma Signature Stainless Steel Utensil Holder
- Only at Williams Sonoma
Easy, hassle-free returns online and in-store for eligible items.Learn More
Earn 5% Back in rewards4 plus free standard shipping3every day when you shop with your Williams Sonoma credit card at Williams Sonoma.Apply Now Learn More
- Summary
We designed and developed our exclusive line of kitchen tools by drawing upon more than 50 years of culinary experience. Inspired by a bain marie cooking vessel, our utensil holder is crafted of heavy-gauge stainless steel. It's perfectly weighted to hold your most essential tools on the countertop, where they remain in easy reach.
- Designed and developed by Williams Sonoma, and exclusively ours.
- Made of nonreactive 18/10 stainless steel.
- Large holder is designed to complement and sized to contain our Williams Sonoma Stainless-Steel and Williams Sonoma Nonstick tool collections; available with a polished or brushed finish.
- Small holder is designed to complement and sized to contain our Williams Sonoma Stainless-Steel Prep Serve tools; polished finish only.
- Oval holder is our largest utensil holder in the collection, whose unique shape allows for an array of utensils from Nonstick to Stainless-Steel; polished finish only.
- Dishwasher safe.
- Dimensions & More Info
- Oval: 7 1/4" long, 6 1/4" wide, 6 3/4" high.
- Large: 5 1/2" diam., 8 3/4" high.
- Small: 4 1/4" diam., 5 1/4" high.
- Made in China.
- Use & Care
- Dishwasher safe.
- Shipping
Shipping Information
UPS can deliver most in-stock items within 3–5 business days. UPS is unable to deliver to P.O. boxes.
Shipping Rates
The shipping rate varies depending on your order total and shipping destination. View Shipping Options and Charges.
Next Day Delivery
For an additional charge of $26 per address, we can expedite delivery to most destinations. This service is not available for some oversize items, items shipped directly from the supplier (including perishable and custom-manufactured items), out-of-stock items and items to be shipped outside the contiguous 48 states.
Orders received by 9:00 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday will arrive the next business day; orders placed Friday through Sunday will arrive on the following Tuesday.
Return Policy
At Williams Sonoma, we take great pride in the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Attention to design, materials, safety and construction are our priority. Upon receipt, please inspect your purchase and notify us of any damage; we will arrange for a prompt replacement.
If within 30 days, you are dissatisfied for any reason, you may return your purchase for a refund of the merchandise value. An original receipt or gift receipt is required for all returns and exchanges. Returns with a gift receipt will be refunded in the form of a Merchandise Credit for the amount indicated on the gift receipt. Returns with original receipt will be refunded in the original form of payment, cash and check refunds over $100 will be issued as a company check (may take 14 business days from time of request).
For all cutlery returns (knife sets, single knives, cutting boards, knife sharpeners and knife storage), please contact us at 888.922.4108 to initiate the return.
We cannot accept returns on monogrammed, personalized, special-order items, custom upholstery, food, items shipped direct from the vendor or on items damaged through normal wear and tear. Final sale items ending in .97 or .99 cannot be returned.
Made to Order and Final Sale Furniture items are non-returnable and cannot be cancelled once the order is placed.
For returns of items purchased from your Williams Sonoma Gift Registry, we will gladly provide a refund or exchange for the merchandise within 90 days of your event or within 90 days of purchase, whichever date is later. View Full Returns Policy.
Bain Marie Utensil Holder, Polished
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Bain Marie Utensil Holder, Brushed
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Bain Marie Utensil Holder, Oval
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Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
Rated 5 out of 5 by AllieB from Beautiful and Functional I loved this so much that I now have 3. Spoons and ladles, spatulas and whisks, wooden utensils. They look great.Date published: 2017-11-20Rated 4 out of 5 by LTkitchen from Pretty, Functional, Fingerprint Resistant This is nothing but an utensil holder. It is pretty, can hold a somewhat large number of utensils (I would say aroun 10-15 spatulas). It is smudge and fingerprint resistant. I recommend this product.Date published: 2017-05-15Rated 5 out of 5 by Jmhyatt from This is the one This is the utensil holder that accommodates the variety of cooking utensils that I use regularly and want to have at hand. Most utensil holders have smaller diameters and utensils are either too crowded to readily retrieve, or I would keep some of them in a drawer. Problem solved!Date published: 2016-09-20Rated 5 out of 5 by CookingLove from Stunning on Countertop I purchased the Large Oval Bain Marie because I have lots of utensils. Currently, this is holding 17 items of varying size. (OK, my 5 wooden spoons are in an old cut glass gravy pitcher). Love the size. Love the shine. And I would give this as a wedding/shower gift.Date published: 2016-07-06Rated 1 out of 5 by gpsmom from Way too small for me I purchased the set of prep tools and the utensil holder was included. I would have preferred another utensil to the useless holder. It is so small that nothing else will fit in there so you'll have prep tools on display and real tools in the drawer or in another holder. Way too much clutter for my taste... again, it came in my set. I would never purchase this separately, or recommend it.Date published: 2015-11-10Rated 5 out of 5 by loxy from Absolutely Stunning This utensil holder is stunning for one. I love that it is easy to clean and is made of 18/10 stainless steal. As one reviewer described it is quite small at the top for putting multiple tools in it. If you have a lot of utensils I would recommend the oval design. It is quite large and is a unique shape. It can also hold a variety of utensil sets from nylon to stainless steel, however I prefer it only for stainless steel utensils. This is a beautiful holder and you won't regret the purchase!Date published: 2015-10-21Rated 2 out of 5 by loni from Attractive but tools are tight I am using this Utensil holder for the WS All Clad utensils as you might know they are very generous in size and are fantastic and very well planned in design. However, this particular holder is far to tight circumference to allow for easy access of tools or placing them back into such a small opening. I chose the round for more counter space. It is well made, has a rubber liner to prevent scratches or noise and is attractive easy to clean. Very tight fit for cooking toolsDate published: 2015-08-25Rated 5 out of 5 by cafe4 from Love this utensil holder. I love this Williams Sonoma Utensil Holder. It looks pretty sitting on my counter, is easy to clean, and is handy place for some of my tools.Date published: 2015-04-24


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Andy Sutton is the Head Designer at Gola, a British footwear brand. American Eagle began carrying Gola shoes in July 2011, but Gola has a heritage dating back to 1905. Gola is a great fit for AE because both brands have a strong tradition and style. Read below to learn a little bit more about Andy, who has designed some of the Gola shoes we carry exclusively on AE.com.
Where do you find inspiration?
I am lucky enough to be able to travel quite extensively around the world from Japan and the Far East, to Europe and the US. I try to take inspiration from everything I see rather than just looking at footwear. We also take influence from keying catwalk looks and emerging high street trends. As always, the internet is a great help in searching out new and exciting ideas. The Gola back catalogue is also a great source of inspiration and no matter how many times we look at it, you always find something new to take direction from.
Why do you think Gola is a great match for American Eagle?
American Eagle and Gola have many synergies, despite emanating from different sides of the pond! American Eagle offers on trend and affordable apparel, which can be easily teamed with any of Gola's footwear options to create a great casual look for both men and women.
How did you get into shoe design?
I was studying towards a product design degree in the UK and I needed to find a work placement for a year. On the off chance, I applied to Gola as I've always been a bit of a trainer geek (or should I say a sneaker geek!) and it had the added benefit of being based close to my hometown! Luckily with only one other designer working for the company at the time, they gave me a chance and following the 12 month placement I was offered a job on completion of my degree that I just couldn't refuse! I have now worked for the brand for 12 years and the company employs 16 footwear designers that work on a wealth of great brands.
Besides designing shoes for Gola, what are your other passions?
I love snowboarding, so I try to hit the slopes in Europe twice a year. Last year I also entered my first triathlon race, so as well as continuing with the triathlon training, my next goal is to take on an 'Iron Man' event, but the training is tough and with a new baby on the way, I am sure I will have plenty to keep me busy for the next few years.
What is your go-to outfit?
You will find me nearly always wearing jeans & trainers! The weather in the UK is not so great, so they just work for anything that is thrown at us – usually rain! Luckily I also have sample size feet, so I tend to get any cast-offs or styles that we decide not to run, so I am always testing out a new Gola style.
What is the coolest place you have ever traveled?
I love going to Japan and find that there is nowhere else quite like Tokyo for shopping and food. India and the Taj Mahal was a fantastic experience, as was Australia and Ayers Rock. But the "coolest" place was when my wife treated me to a stay in the Ice Hotel for my 30th birthday. The hotel is made entirely from ice and is on the edge of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, where temperatures regularly drop to -30 in winter.


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Howdy partners, and welcome back to DragoArt.com. In this next tutorial I thought I would take a break from the Final Fantasy characters and draw something cute and cuddly. So what I have for you all now is a tutorial on how to draw a Chibi cat. How many of you out there own a cat? I'm sitting here raising my hand because I own a cat myself. Now of course my cat looks nothing like the one I will be showing you all how to draw today, but he is cute all the same. Cats are a fun pet to have around the house because they act crazy and you can have fun with them by giving them a toy mouse or maybe even some catnip. The one thing I truly hate about owning a cat is having to look at a litter box, and how cats are not really known to be a loyal pet. They really only stick around because you feed them. They are nothing like a dog. At least dogs are loyal and they truly are mans best friend. But my cat Boots is pretty weird. My sister actually taught him the "lay down" command. How weird is that? He also runs down the stairs when he hears someone at the door, and he also runs after you when you are walking around. I guess cats sometimes have their "good qualities" but it's not often that you find a cat that doesn't get on your nerves. In this tutorial you will learn how to draw a Chibi cat step by step. This tutorial is so simple to learn from and you will have fun while you are drawing him/her too. I find it is always nice to draw something cute once in a while. I will be back with one more drawing tutorial for you guys and then I'm off for the day. Well not really off, just not drawing anymore until later on. Okay bye, be back soon.
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