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Cint's Richard Thornton reflects on his move to San Francisco and his efforts to start up Cint's expanding offerings into AdTech and MarTech.
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First impressions
The first time I came to San Francisco was back in 2010 when we were doing what the Americans term as "the dog & pony show", with the VC community trying to raise funds in a Series B round of investment. Little did I know then that San Francisco would become home and my place of work. But here I am…and I have to say it's been a very enriching experience so far.
New city, new role, new value proposition into new verticals. Obviously all very low risk. Good job I like a challenge, have an understanding wife and kids young enough to not be scarred for life from having been pulled away in their formative years from their best friends, thinking the world is about to end.
The truth is there was more than an element of selfish indulgence when the opportunity presented itself to up sticks and go on a secondment to San Francisco. I always find travel and experiencing new cities and cultures fascinating. I've been fortunate enough during my lifetime to get the opportunity to see a lot of the world through both private and professional travel. Admittedly the US to an Englishman is hardly pushing the boundaries of comfort zones, but despite the obvious common ground and close ties the two countries share, there is a bigger adjustment than one would think when it comes to making the successful transition across the pond, especially in a professional capacity.
Pace of work in the US
Take the pace of work for example. Faster and more intense in some ways with a real sense of purpose and urgency, but in other ways much more relaxed (the workaholic in me took some time to adjust to Fridays over here, for example, where I think it's fair to say the general approach is to a) work from home and b) wind down into the weekend starting at approximately 12 midday).
The other major difference is in how Americans have an amazing way of selling themselves. Everyone you meet here is a salesman or woman (in addition to being a tech entrepreneur, so San Francisco's answer to LA's "My first job is an actor" scenario) in one way or another. And I admire that. I think it breeds a half glass full attitude and generally a positive approach in all aspects of life here, not least business. This bravado might not be everyone's cup of tea as we say back in Blighty, but it works here in the Valley, and is an important trait to have to stay relevant and get noticed in the crowd of noise.
The country that is proud to be "the land of opportunity" is certainly just that, with the important caveat that you either need access to funds, a genius idea or to come from money. And even then, ticking the box on one, two or all three doesn't guarantee you anything.
Global tech scene
As was the case seven years ago, the global tech scene continues to be led by innovation and the inspiring combination of heavyweight technology giants and aspiring, often explosive, start-ups. And the scene shows no sign of slowing down. The pace of change and disruption here is done at breakneck speed and time waits for no man (or women) when it comes to trying to unearth the next AirBnB, Tesla or Uber.
And if there is one thing that's very evident over here it's don't be scared to fail. But critically, ensure you learn quickly. So the 'fail fast' mantra is widely embraced and appears to run through the culture here in the valley.
At the same time, you do get a sense that an awful lot of businesses are not making money – even relatively mature start-ups or those who are beyond that point in their life-cycle. It's almost a badge of honor over here if you don't make money, so when people hear that I work for a company that that is both growing rapidly AND profitable it raises a few eyebrows.
Human connections
Networking is taken to another level here too. People here are genuinely happy to open up their address book, certainly more than from my own experiences of having worked extensively across Europe and Asia. To some extent it is a status thing, kind of like what you tend to see on social-orientated platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook where people almost collect 'connections' or 'likes', and you create this element of your own social status being defined by how popular (or networked) you are.
In a business sense when you're building from ground up, running a start-up, which is effectively what I'm tasked to do for Cint (albeit in our case with the luxury of a having a much larger, very healthy core business to support it and lean on), this thriving networking environment is of course a huge bonus. It helps accelerate introductions and opens doors, making it possible to move through early stages of developing business and relations at pace.
And that has certainly been the case during my first few months as I've been busy beavering away setting up an office, hiring the initial team to lead our BD efforts, but equally kick-starting potential partnership discussions and focusing on breaking into the AdTech and MarTech verticals. Thankfully my first forays have yielded some quick wins and the beginnings of potential valuable longer-term partnerships, which always help.
But it's not been without its challenges, the greatest of which is without a doubt securing talent. Notice that I didn't say finding talent. That part is reasonably easy in comparison to then actually landing your preferred candidates, especially if you're a non-US headquartered company that doesn't have a presence yet in the Valley. The fact we are a technology company hiring for business development and technical roles automatically means we are fishing in the same pools as almost every other technology company on the west coast. With that comes pressure: pressure to sell yourself, sell your business, demonstrate genuine innovation and uniqueness, and much more. You must have a clear vision and mission. You must pay well. You must have the right culture. But then because you're an outsider, in some regards you need to oversell to stay relevant.
However, having the history that we do and the company being from a country with a global reputation for creating scalable, successful tech businesses, I saw this as an opportunity to really tell a story and create excitement about all the great things being an international company with a rich and diverse culture in our DNA brings. When America talks about the "land of opportunity", Cint can talk about the "company of opportunity". That appears to have resonated well with talented, curious and ambitious people in San Francisco who like the fact we're still fairly small, agile, a disruptor, passionate, and genuinely do something that is quite niche and unique.
Cint's promising stance
It helps of course if you have a real story to tell, and I would like to think we do. Timing is everything and I believe Cint's value proposition and business model is more relevant now than ever before. And if you were paying attention earlier, you will have noticed that the three companies I name-checked all have one thing in common: they are all platforms. The last time I checked, so are we. More than that, in AirBnB and Uber, they are platforms built around the 'shared economy' concept of taking assets on one hand (supply) and making them available on the other to buyers (demand side). What AirBnB does with bricks & mortar or Uber does with transport, we do with consumers. I'm not for one minute suggesting we do it at the same scale or to the same level of disruption, but everything is relevant. When we are trying to attract the right talent and ensure they join the Cint family, and not any one of the hundreds of technology companies competing here for the best minds and most impactful sales and BD people, I would like to think in our own small way we have the potential to make our mark on the insights industry just like these unicorns in theirs.


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Low hydrochloric acid is a potential cause of cancer and other immune and auto-immune conditions
The stomach processes food both mechanically and chemically by breaking it down with hydrochloric acid into its basic constituents, troche which are then forwarded to the digestive system and blood for nutritional distribution
If food is not processed effectively by the stomach, click it is as if the body is being starved of a healthy diet with the same potential health consequences due to an inefficient or sub-optimal immune system. All disease arises from either low immunity; abnormal immunity or auto-immunity, pharm including cancer, the immune system as a whole being ultimately dependent on gut flora of the stomach and digestive tract.
Research has shown that, after the age of 21 years, the concentration of hydrochloric acid in the stomach begins to fall progressively with age, a condition known as "hypochlorhydria."
By the time people reach the age of 40 or 50, stomach hydrochloric acid concentration is much lower and attributable to age-related immune and auto-immune conditions, including diabetes, cancer and obesity – particularly abdominal fat – hence the so-called "middle age spread." Use of betaine hydrochloride has frequently been credited with flattening the stomach for this reason.
Note: Acid reflux is caused by lactic acid, a warning sign for too low of a concentration of hydrochloric acid, causing incomplete digestion of food. Acid reflux needs to be treated by increasing hydrochloric acid, not antacids which will neutralize hydrochloric acid, making reflux worse as well as other health consequences.
Everyone, without exception, has cancer genes, "oncogenes," circulating around the body. These cancer genes are normally kept in check by a healthy immune system, but in the case of cancer, the immune system can no longer suppress the cancer genes, which can then get out of control and multiply. The immune system responds by forming a tumor to contain the malignant cancer cells.
Chemotherapy may suppress cancer cells temporarily but also destroys the immune system, exposing the patient to a very wide range of additional diseases as well as additional types of cancer through immune-suppressed cancer gene expression.
If the "Th1" immune system is compromised or disabled, the "Th2" component of the immune system attempts to take over. Th2, not being equipped to function as Th1, perceives genuine body tissues as foreign invaders, attacking them as it would a bacterium or virus. Th1 suppression is also a root cause of auto-immune diseases such as allergies, celiac disease and arthritis.
Th1: Th1 cells are involved in what is called "cell-mediated" immunity, which usually deals with infections by viruses and certain bacteria. They are the body's first line of defense against pathogens that get inside our cells. They tend to be pro-inflammatory and are involved in the development of organ-specific autoimmune disease.
Th2: Th2 cells are involved in what is called "humoral-mediated" immunity, which deals with bacteria, toxins, and allergens. They are responsible for stimulating the production of antibodies in response to extracellular pathogens (those found in blood or other body fluids). They tend not to be inflammatory and are involved in systemic autoimmune disease and other chronic conditions.
In a well-functioning immune system, both groups of these T helper cells work together to keep the system balanced. One side might become more active to eradicate a threat, then settling back to a balanced level.
How does this affect autoimmune disease?
In some people with autoimmune disease, patterns showing a dominance to either the Th1 or Th2 pathway have been shown. Although there are exceptions, the following table shows the conditions that are most commonly associated with a Th1 or Th2 dominant state:
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Today is Saturday, Nov. 30, the 334th day of 2002 with 31 to follow.
The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus, Mars Jupiter and Saturn. The evening stars are Pluto, Neptune, Mercury and Uranus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio in 1508; Irish satirist Jonathan Swift in 1667; novelist Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) in 1835; British statesman Sir Winston Churchill in 1874; actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in 1923 (age 79); Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress, in 1924 (age 78); actor Richard Crenna in 1927 (age 75); producer/TV music show host Dick Clark in 1929 (age 73); Watergate participant G. Gordon Liddy in 1930 (age 72); 1960s radical Abbie Hoffman in 1936; actor Robert Guillaume, filmmaker Ridley Scott and singer Paul Stookey, all in 1937 (age 65); playwright David Mamet in 1947 (age 55); singer/actor Mandy Patinkin in 1952 (age 50); rock singer Billy Idol in 1955 (age 47); and actor Ben Stiller in 1965 (age 37).
On this date in history:
In 1731, a series of earthquakes struck China. More than 100,000 people died.
In 1782, preliminary peace articles formally ending the American Revolutionary War were signed in Paris.
In 1939, the Russo-Finnish War started after the Soviet Union failed to obtain territorial concessions from Finland.
In 1975, Israel pulled its forces out of a 93-mile-long corridor along the Gulf of Suez as part of an interim peace agreement with Egypt.
In 1988, the Soviet Union stopped jamming broadcasts of Radio Free Europe for the first time in 30 years.
In 1989, rebel armed forces launched a fifth major coup attempt against Philippine President Corazon Aquino.
Also in 1989, Czechoslovakia announced an end to travel restrictions and said it planned to dismantle some of the fortifications along the Austrian border.
In 1990, President Bush offered to send Secretary of State Baker to Baghdad and to receive Iraq's foreign minister in Washington, D.C., in a bid for a diplomatic solution to the Persian Gulf crisis.
Also in 1990, the three Baltic republics -- Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia -- held an historic joint parliamentary session to plot their common course.
In 1992, Sen. Packwood, R-Ore., facing an Ethics Committee investigation of sexual harassment allegations, entered an alcohol-treatment facility.
In 1993, Israeli and Palestinian leaders met in the Gaza Strip in an effort to end violence that threatened the peace accord.
In 1997, the government of Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic resigned. Klaus's Civic Democratic Party had been accused of accepting contributions from foreign sources.
A thought for the day: Irish satirist Jonathan Swift wrote, "I never saw, heard, nor read that the clergy were beloved in any nation where Christianity was the religion of the country. Nothing can render them popular but some degree of persecution."


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PM Solberg to push development, Africa at G20 summit
Germany has invited Norway to participate as a guest country at the G20 summit. PM Erna Solberg intends to focus on jobs in Africa, health and education.
Development Today is a subscription-based online journal. To subscribe click here.
If you are already a subscriber to Development Today please log in.
Would you like to know more about Development Today? Click here.


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Whatever our political views may be about the causes, long-term weather data indicates that our winters in New York are getting warmer and our summers hotter. Statistically, traffic accidents increase as the temperatures go up. This post will look at some possible reasons.
The first study of its kind
In the book How Climate Change Effects Traffic Accidents, authors Benjamin Laird and Kevin Roth studied the impact of weather conditions on accidents resulting in a) only property damage to the vehicles; b) injury to one or more persons in the vehicles involved; and c) death of one or more persons in the vehicles involved. The results of their research were not too surprising when the weather was cooler. In short, colder days contributed to an increase of property damage accidents by about 10 percent. Days with light rainfall saw accidents increase by nearly 20 percent. Days with snowfall of just 3 cm or more saw an increase in property damage accidents of more than 43 percent.
Similarly, the pattern of increased accident rates involving injuries falls in line with what we might expect with colder, wetter road conditions. Perhaps due to generally slower speeds in poor conditions, though, the rate of increase drops off a bit when compared to injury accidents in warmer, drier weather.
But the statistics start to change for fatal accidents
As we said, not too surprising so far. However, the authors' research also revealed some unexpected statistics when researching fatal motor vehicle accidents occurring in warm weather. For the purposes of their study, they described "warmer weather" as temperatures above 80° F., compared to temperatures above 50° F. Traffic statistics show that roadway deaths in hotter weather increase by approximately nine percent. The authors determined that more than half of the increase could be directly attributable to more people using the roads, for car touring, bicycling, walking and riding motorcycles.
To the author's surprise, however, days with more than a trace of rain actually reduced the number of road accident fatalities. Why? Probably due to the fewer number of people on the streets during inclement weather.
A mixed picture
It is difficult to determine whether the changing weather patterns are affecting the accident rates, or people are changing their driving behaviors as the weather patterns change. What is certain is, however, is that we can expect more research released by auto insurance companies and government organizations to help us make sense of how to deal with the realities of warmer springs and summers.


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Explore, create and investigate Wind and Water. Learn about these elements through experiments, investigations and hands-on tasks. What on Earth? takes the reader on a journey of discovery to explore the natural elements of our world.
Discover all about the water cycle and make a precipitation gauge or grow your own stalactite. This series takes a cross-disciplinary approach, including links to culture, history, arts and crafts, as well as the science behind eachtopic. Internal links encourage children to choose their own path through the book, with each spread providing a new adventure.
ISABEL THOMAS has written more than 100 books for children, specialising in science topics. As well as writing books, she has blogged for Project Wild Thing about how to inspire children to find nature in an urban environment.
Paulina Morgan works as an independent illustrator based in Santiago de Chile. She studied design before moving to Barcelona, Spain to obtain her master's degree in Art Direction. She worked in advertising before deciding to pursue her passion for illustration.


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LATimes.com: Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's new Butter Pecan Latte up against Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice
The Los Angeles Times online recently covered the fall release of our new drinks, Butter Pecan Latte and Ice Blended® Butter Pecan:
Coffee lovers, get your frequent-buyer cards ready. It's almost fall in Southern California, despite the 80-degree weather outside. And that means a slew of new and returning fall-inspired coffee drinks.
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf describes the Butter Pecan Latte as having a nutty espresso profile with a caramel flavor that highlights the brand's new Butter Pecan powder. The Pumpkin Chai mixes sweet pumpkin with cinnamon, cardamom and clove, according to the company.


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I'm obsessed with her blog just a bit in case you haven't already realized...
Think of a word that you want to focus on in 2014
Link up HERE!
Happy New Year!! I love your word(s) sign!! I wanted to make a glittery gold banner but didn't have much time! Yours turned out soo good and it looks adorable in that frame!! I loved reading your post, so honest and oh so true! Focusing on what you love is definitely one of the best ways to bring joy back into your life!
I hope you're having a great week!
Happy New Year Laura! Thanks for the support! The letters are actually stickers so there weren't many ways I could mess it up! Thanks for stopping by! I look forward to following along on your blog!Delete
News flash: You've got all year for your resolutions, not just January! Heehee, so don't feel bad about not accomplishing Beyonce status in only 16 days. It took her longer than that too! :)
Your list of things you love could basically be my list of things I love - can we be best friends already?!
And your craft is so cute - that frame is so great! It makes your words look so classy. And I know we've already discussed our love for that champagne candle, but I want to again, because how great is it?!
Okay, fangirling over for now, promise!
News flash: we are officially internet BFF's! Yay!Delete
Great phrase! I also love how you put it together. It's so pretty. :)ReplyDelete
You know what I do love?
Making memories with friends
Singing Taylor Swift songs VERY loudly in the car
Running barefoot through the grass (I dont work with kids though)
Showing kindness towards strangers
Taking pictures
Fresh air
Walks with Andy & Duke (oops, I dont have either of these! but i love my boyfriend so that works too)
Chats with my mom over coffee
Watching my brother be a werido
Tickling my Godbrother
PS I love your frame and those glitter letters. I can totally relate because I keep holding back on ideas I have because I'm afraid of judgement.
Hooray to a fun new year with no regrets for both of us!Delete
"I'm determined to love and appreciate everything I do, and do and appreciate everything I love this year."
That's the spirit! You go girl! :)
Visiting from the linkup. I wish you a happy 2014 (and 15,16,17++! :)
Thanks Per! I really appreciate the support and encouragement!Delete
I love your blog


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No matter where within the realm of creativity, Latinos aim high and hard. Talented to the core, there isn't an industry our people haven't conquered. You name it: TV, film, music, writing, and without doubt comic book artistry. Juan Ferreyra is one-of-many who has laid his groundwork well enough to solidify himself an awesome spot with one of the most popular comic book companies around the world – DC Comics! This talented, Argentinean brother oversees all things Green Arrow! Having tackled other characters as well in the DC Universe (Suicide Squad for example), there aren't enough words to express what was displayed at this brother's booth in Artist Alley at this year's New York Comic-Con.
It wasn't hard for Rich and I to find ourselves intrigued with his work. Upon small talk, the man was open and easy to engage with. Being Latino was added pleasure, so, we had to do it. Mr. Ferreyra granted us a few minutes and provided a lot of interesting information about himself and landing Green Arrow.
Follow Juan Ferreyra:


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Home prices rise 11%
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Home prices continued to climb in third quarter, rising 11% from a year earlier.
The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index registered its first double-digit year-over-year gain since early 2006 — just before the height of the housing bubble — despite a recent rise in mortgage rates.
However, the quarter-over-quarter gain slowed to 3%, compared with the second quarter, when prices jumped 7%.
"The data suggest a market beginning to shift to slower growth rather than one about to accelerate," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
He cited weakening sales of existing homes along with home construction remaining far below the boom levels of six or seven years ago. On top of that, he said interest rates are expected to be higher a year from now.
But the slowing pace isn't necessarily a bad thing, considering some housing markets have been at risk of overheating.
"The strong price gains in the West are sparking questions and concerns about the possibility of another bubble," Blitzer said. "However the talk is focused on fear of a bubble, not a rush to join the party and buy."
Others think there's still more room to run.
"The housing market's growth is not running out of steam," said Bill Banfield, vice president of Quicken Loans. "This continues to be encouraging news for homeowners that have been waiting to list their homes, and a welcome sign for buyers looking for increased inventory."
In a separate report Tuesday, the Census Bureau reported that builders filed for new permits in October at an annual rate of 1.03 million, the strongest pace since early 2008. But most of the increase was due to a jump in permits for buildings with five or more housing units, while the pace of single-family permits was little changed from September.
Housing starts are typically reported at the same time as building permits but the government shutdown in October delayed that part of the report.
Home prices have enjoyed a strong rebound during the past year, as improving sales and a drop in foreclosures have removed two major drags on the market. And while mortgage rates have been rising lately, they are still at historically low levels.
The rebound in home prices means that fewer homeowners are underwater. Since they no longer owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, it's easier for them to sell their existing home and buy a new one, which in itself helps the market.
Housing is also critical to the overall economy, since an improvement in household wealth can free up money for homeowners to spend on other items. It's also helped spark a recovery in home building, which puts more construction workers back to work.
The Case-Shiller index is one of the most closely watched measures of home values. The quarterly report is different from the monthly reading, which looks at prices in the 20 largest markets. This one captures single-family home prices across the nine U.S. Census divisions.


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Why Hire a Service for Barn Banners
There are many barns out there that are selling a lot of good things and if you are someone who owns a barn, you might want to find a way to advertise this barn of yours. Maybe you really want to let people know the name of your barn or things like these and there are many ways that you can do this. One thing that you can do is to create a good banner for your barn so that people will know that you have a wonderful barn and that they are welcome to go inside these barns. If you have no experience making these banners, it can be really hard for you so you should really go and get some help. Stick with us to find out how you can get help from a banner service and what they can do for you.
When you do not have a banner yet for your barn, you can hire a good service to help you with these things. The best thing that you can do if you really want to have a good banner for your barn is to go to a good service to help you create or come up with a good banner. Hiring these barn banner services will really benefit you as they can really come up with very wonderful banners for your barn. You are really going to have a very wonderful banner for your barn and when people see this barn banner of yours, they will really want to go to your barn and see what it is all about. When you hung up these banners, there will be so many people who will be attracted to the wonderful banner of yours and they will really be interested … Read More


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The inside story of how Airstream is steering a hidebound industry into a sleek new era.
One irony of America's fascination with life on the road is that, while there is nothing quite as cool and romantic as the idea of striking out on the highway for unknown destinations, there is really nothing quite as uncool and unromantic as the way millions accomplish it: the RV. It's a problem of aesthetics. The interior of so-called recreational vehicles - which include motor homes, trailers, and those massive quasi-ranch houses with axles known as fifth wheels - comes in two basic styles: cheap and plasticky (shag carpets, simulated wood-grain cabinetry, the unbanishable smell of fiberglass solvents) and expensive and plasticky (shag carpets, mood lighting, pastel upholstery, glass partitions etched with images of big cats - think Graceland jammed into a corridor). Even the vaunted Airstream, with its gleaming aluminum monocoque, is only slightly more pleasing on the interior than the cheap motel rooms it's designed to obviate. This explains why even marginally style-conscious road warriors - the Merry Pranksters, Willie Nelson, John Madden - typically pass on the mass-manufactured options and instead design their own rides. For the people who build traditional RVs, this phenomenon might be called the Curse of the Partridge Family; the $12 billion industry is losing sales to people willing to redo old buses.
It is in this spirit of near desperation that Airstream, a sturdy 72-year-old company, is introducing a production model based on a design by 39-year-old San Francisco architect and furniture maker Christopher Deam. The Deam Airstream - which was exhibited in prototype in December 2000 at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York and goes on sale to the public in January - has a playfully minimalist interior that combines long horizontal lines, clean plastic surfaces, and sleek fixtures for a look more typical of a trendy studio apartment in Stockholm than of something you hitch to the back of the family wagon. Contrary to custom, it's actually stylish.
The story of the Deam Airstream is one of frictioned symbiosis between the corporate and art worlds. In the early 1990s, Deam - who has degrees in architecture and urban design from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Notre Dame, and who once worked for Frank Gehry - opened a studio in San Francisco, where he devoted himself principally to furniture and accessory design using nontraditional materials. (One recent triumph is a folding screen that has no moving parts; it's made of resin-impregnated canvas with narrow swaths of plain canvas to allow for "hinges.") When his brother bought a 675-square-foot house in the Berkeley hills in 1992, Deam, along with fellow architect Thom Faulders, took on the design job. The finished product, based largely on studies of boat and RV interiors, was dubbed the "Airstream Cottage" in the architectural press and won a design award from the American Institute of Architecture. Deam was glad for the attention but had no desire to work solely in miniature. He turned his attention back to furniture and made his name through an acclaimed line of high-modern designs for the home.
In 1999, Deam was approached by Wilsonart, which specializes in plastic laminate, to design a booth for the company's display at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, the annual design showcase in New York. Deam agreed, but instead of creating a conventional booth out of Wilsonart's product - the unsung medium of thin plastic panels - he thought back to the RV that had inspired his first house. He gutted a vintage Airstream trailer and rebuilt the interior using Wilsonart's plastic and his own high-modern design. The Crossroads Project, as it was called, got a lot of attention in the press and piqued the curiosity of Wade Thompson, CEO of Thor Industries, the corporate parent of Airstream and eight other RV manufacturers. Thompson stopped by the furniture fair to have a look.
__Airstream's customer base was shrinking - literally dying off. Deam told them why: "Young people aren't going to get in that old trailer that hillbillies and your parents used." __
For Deam, the used Airstream was little more than a found object, an ironic motif to demonstrate how Wilsonart's plastic could be used to modernize even something so outdated as a 40-year-old trailer. The people at Thor saw something different: The Crossroads' new look exposed their trailer's prehistoric image. It was all well and good for Thor that movie stars and collectors were snatching up vintage Airstreams and refurbishing them, but the company was in the business of building and selling new RVs, and its customer base was shrinking. "The main customer is over 50," says Richard Riegel, VP of corporate development at Thor. "As those people age, we lose customers. They literally die off." Thor had been looking for ways to attract younger buyers, and when company executives asked Deam if he thought his design might broaden the Airstream's appeal, Deam told them flatly, "Young people aren't going to get in that old trailer that hillbillies and your parents used."
The real test for a Deam Airstream would come not from the design community or even the executives at Thor, but from the discriminating members of the Wally Byam Caravan Club International. In July 2000, Airstream shipped the Crossroads RV to the club's annual rally in Bismarck, North Dakota, for what Thor's Riegel called "grandmother research." Airstream combed over the trailer and filled out surveys ("I love the lighting, but metal walls might have poor acoustics"). There were criticisms - requests to make the convertible dinette/sleeper into a permanent bed, for example - but overall the feedback was enthusiastic.
Thor asked Deam to design a new interior for its 16-foot Airstream Bambi - the company's most iconic trailer - and Deam was game. But it wasn't as easy as all that. Airstream Inc. is not known for its willingness to change. The company was founded in 1929 by an LA advertising copywriter named Wally Byam, who designed the first trailer himself and who remains the namesake for the 10,000-member Airstream owners association. Byam's vision - the wingless fuselage - is viewed within the company as almost sacred, certainly not the sort of thing random designers are permitted to dicker around with. Since its inception, the company, based in Jackson Center, Ohio, has redesigned the interior of the Airstream trailer exactly four times. The executives at Thor - which owns Airstream outright - are unusually deferential to the traditionalist attitudes of the people who actually build the trailers. "I'd say we present challenges from the corporate level to Airstream," Riegel says of the relationship between parent and subsidiary. "They're a proud organization, and hiring Chris was a radical idea. It upset the apple cart."
The people at Airstream agreed to go along with the idea - sort of. They let Deam do his thing but told him they wouldn't provide a budget for the retooling of machinery - which meant whatever design he came up with would have to be replicable using the company's existing facility ("a garage wood shop, only bigger," according to Deam) and its equipment ("basically a table saw"). "They were pretty reluctant," Deam says. "I was making their life difficult. They only did it because Thor Industries told them they had to."
Deam adjusted his design. He added a curved cabinet and decided to open the trailer's confined interior by removing insulation to expose the aluminum skin, which let light bounce around, and by emphasizing long horizontal lines. He figured out a way to bend the plastic panels, allowing him to replace the traditional simulated wood-grain cabinetry. The result was a spare but sleek interior, one that managed to complement the trailer's radical exterior without seeming self-consciously retro or nostalgic. There were still a few glitches; at 3,400 pounds, Deam's design was 600 pounds heavier than spec. But Airstream decided to proceed with a production model.
The company plans to make a total of 300 Deam Bambis - in 16-, 19-, and 21-foot versions. The sticker price starts at $24,000, which is $4,100 more than the standard model costs. But even before the first new Bambis have hit the streets, Deam's design has turned some heads: Teruo Kurosaki, founder of the Japanese furniture company Idée, commissioned Deam to refurbish two vintage trailers - one as a usable camper, the other as a "DJ pod," which toured Tokyo as a sort of mobile rave station during November's Design Week. The DJ trailer is equipped with dual turntables and a six-speaker sound system (with subwoofer); a blood-red poured-epoxy resin floor; glow-in-the-dark laminates; Day-Glo Plexiglas; and black neoprene upholstery, all to complement a wet bar, sofa, and bed. The DJ pod, Deam says, is broken into two areas: a spinning station with a built-in record bin, counter space for albums in the "on-deck circle," and fixed turntables; and an open lounge area with a hybrid bed/couch for four and room to kick around. "The DJ setup has become super-designed because you know what someone's going to do there - sort through records, spin," Deam says. "The people who are in the trailer to listen, I don't tell them what to do. They can lounge, sleep, have sex. It's an open-ended experience."
Deam hasn't shown the DJ design to the Airstream people yet. "They'll be interested in it," he figures, "as an oddity."


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The procedures used by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) to deal with customer complaints could soon be scrutinised by the Federal Court, after telco Exetel served the ombudsman with a statement of claim, alleging a number of breaches.
Exetel is seeking damages for losses incurred as a result of alleged breaches in the way the TIO investigated customer complaints and enforced financial undertakings, according to a statement of claim issued on 12 October to lawyers representing the ombudsman.
The telco has also demanded the TIO cease the behaviour which led to the alleged breaches of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Services Standards) Act, breach of contract and also breach of duty of care.
The statement of claim - viewed by Computerworld Australia - said the TIO has 14 days to respond to the claims after that Exetel's lawyers can file the action with the courts.
A spokeswoman for the TIO declined the opportunity to comment for this article, and said that "as the TIO is in communication with Exetel's lawyers, we cannot comment at this time".
Exetel chief executive, John Linton, has previously said the dispute over costs and the complaints handling function was raised almost nine months ago and legal proceedings would be initiated if a satisfactory resolution could not be reached.
The statement of claim alleged the TIO breached section 128 of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Services Standards) Act, which specifies the type of complaints that can be investigated. It is alleged that the TIO investigated complaints which do not concern services provided by Exetel, including complaints which relate to an end user's privately owned equipment.
It also claimed the TIO had committed multiple breaches of its own constitution - governing the manner in which complaints are investigated - including allegations Exetel wasn't given a reasonable opportunity to respond to a customer complaint, the TIO investigated complaints outside its jurisdiction, the TIO accepted hypothetical complaints, and the TIO declining to investigate complaints that were "frivolous", "vexatious" or "not made in good faith".
There are also alleged breaches of section 140 of the Corporations Act 2001 because Exetel was over-charged for volume related costs and operating costs, which include cases where a complaint was not correctly categorised, as well as a complaint registered as an enquiry.
Exetel is seeking loss and damages for the alleged breaches of contract, the over-charging of volume related costs and operating costs, and also legal costs.
The TIO accepts and investigates complaints lodged by customers of telcos, and it can enforce undertakings, including financial payments for associated costs for the investigations.


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Written byCHRIS HAVERGAL
Cuts totalling more than £1 million and a tax increase have been approved by councillors who expect to lose all of their Government grant by 2020.
Bosses at South Cambridgeshire District Council, who won support for their budget today, are setting themselves up as housing developers in a bid to become self-sufficient but warned things would be "very tough" until this gets up to speed.
They faced accusations that cuts meant residents were getting "sweet B-all" for their money.
The budget plans for savings of £300,000 this year, which will largely come from a shake-up of waste collection, including a switch to monthly pick-ups of green bins during winter. Another £790,000 will have to be saved in 2015/16 after the council's Government grant was cut by 25 per cent, and much of this is yet to be identified.
Read more: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Cambridge/Massive-task-ahead-as-cuts-and-tax-rise-agreed-by-South-Cambridgeshire-District-Council-20140227171104.htm#ixzz2wziFVfKz


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Do you want to live more friendly, more peaceful, more vegan?
I need to start this off by saying that Veganism Savvity does not advocate "baby steps" (because you wouldn't advocate baby steps when it comes to other forms of oppression, right? Would it be okay to only kill black people once a week or to only rape women sometimes?) but at the same time every step in the right direction is good. This is a guide for you who might not be able to go vegan overnight but still wants to go vegan.
Don't eat corpses or stuff that comes out of someone's body! Replace meat with soy protein, tofu, seitan, beans, nuts or whatever it is you like. Replace dairy products with plantbased options like oat cream, rice milk, almond ice cream, soybased cheese. Try new recipes, new spices, new fruits and tastes and new everything. I promise that there's a whole world of food out there that you've never tried, maybe not even heard of.
Don't wear other animals body parts! We have so many other options like cotton or plant-based glue or even fake leather if you're into that.
Replace your everyday products! When buying new things, make sure it's vegan. Things like beauty or hygien products, dish soap, cleaning products etc can all be found vegan. Buying everything new at the same time is often too expensive so I suggest you buy a vegan alternative when you're running out of something you would have bought anyway.
Make a list of "unvegan" things you do! Do you really need to kill that bug when you just could help it outside? Maybe you could encourage someone else to have a vegan day a week? If you have a lot of freetime you might consider doing some volunteer work or if you have a little more money than you need you might consider supporting some volunteer organization?
Don't use others misery as your amusement! Instead of visiting the zoo, have a picnic in the woods. Instead of participating in tourist activities like taking pictures with wild animals, swimming with dolphins or going on a safari you could go hiking or diving to see animals (without disturbing or abusing them) or maybe climb a mountain or just sit in the middle of the biggest shopping mall you can find and watch humans do all kinds of weird stuff.
Use Google! Nowadays you can literally google anything and everything. You will most likely do mistakes (I've done plenty) but that is not the end of the world. You are still making a difference by trying. Some things I've learned along the way: razors sometimes have a polyurethane moisture strip containing animal products, jeans often have labels with the brand on the back and these labels are often made in real leather, most shoes are glued together with glue containing animal products. Not even all toothpastes are vegan! So weird.
Useful links:
Vegan cleaning products (everything on their page is vegan)
Vegan & natural cleaning products
Vegan beauty products (make sure to stay in their "vegan" category)
Vegan make up (make sure to stay in their "vegan" category)
Or just google "vegan" + the thing you need. For example: "vegan soap" or "vegan shoes".
And never be afraid of asking questions!


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The genteel lawn of Wimbledon's Court No5 will today tomorrow be the site of a protest that carries a simple message: "Stop War, Start Tennis."
The slogan will be emblazoned on the tracksuit tops of one of the most unlikely partnerships in the sport. Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, who are both 30, hail from India and Pakistan respectively. The unseeded pairing displayed the message before their second-round doubles' match on Friday, against Philipp Marx and Igor Zelenay, which they won in five sets. They plan to display the message again today, when they face Lukas Lacko and Sergiy Stakhovsky, a pairing from Slovakia and Ukraine.
Bopanna, who is a Hindu, and Qureshi, a Muslim, are intent on harnessing the success of their doubles partnership to promote the message that India and Pakistan, which have a history of conflict since partition in 1947, should make peace.
"We do get it asked a lot," says Bopanna of questions about his friendship with Qureshi. "But sitting here together, you could not differentiate between us, as it was the same country before partition. So it's just the same as going with [anybody] and playing together. We didn't think when we were starting that this was going to be such a big issue — you know, playing with a Pakistani and him playing with an Indian. We complement each other with our styles."
Qureshi, who is from Lahore, met Bopanna when he moved across the border. He says: "I've known him since I was 16 years old. I went to India to play ITF juniors and we played junior tournaments together. He's definitely by far my best friend now. I got to gel with him and in 2003 we were playing in the same challenger [event] in the States and we decided: 'Why not? Why not play doubles as well?' And, we ended up winning that challenger."
Differing schedules and a concentration on playing singles — Bopanna has been ranked No213 in the world, Qureshi 125 — meant that the "Indo-Pak" express did not pick up speed until this season.
"It's going great. This year especially we've been in a lot of the doubles [events] together, and now here we are playing on the grass, which is definitely one of our favourites surfaces," Bopanna says of a partnership that reached the second round at SW19 in 2008.
Cricket, of course, is the biggest sport in the two countries, but Qureshi and Bopanna's profile is improving. Qureshi, whose mother was Pakistan's best singles player and whose maternal grandfather was India's No1 before the country was divided, says: "Things are changing. Everbody's aware of me and my name. I've signed a few contracts in Pakistan, which is very rare for a sportsman outside cricket. It's not only good for tennis but other sports as well — the government and the federations are becoming aware of promoting other sports.
"Obviously he [Bopanna] is helping by playing with me in the bigger tournaments and doing well. My name comes with his name. It's been great a year so far, I won my first ATP tour title [the South African Open] and I was really happy it was with my best friend. Then we played two tour finals in Nice and Casablanca. We're getting stronger."
Bopanna, whose father owns a coffee plantation, started playing aged 11. He says: "As a team we're learning in every match, we're not looking at one particular target. This is the first year we've actually taken doubles seriously as a team."
Qureshi first picked up a racket when he was 13, in Lahore where "90 percent" of courts are grass, while Bopanna gained his experience of the surface from India's home Davis Cup ties. Bopanna, who wants to play a symbolic match with Qureshi in Wagah, the only overland crossing point on the India-Pakistan border, adds: "Until today no one has ever said, 'Why am I playing with somebody from a different religion?'
"We've asked the prime ministers and presidents from both countries. If we can pull it off, I will play on the Pakistani side and Aisam will be on the Indian side."


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Archives Posts
Flash Player on 3G iPhone?
Here we go again. Via MacRumors, Apple has filed a patent application that seems to cover some of the rumored features for the next 3G iPhone on the 2.0 software.
The interesting bit is what the application says about our very own beloved Flash Player:
"In some embodiments, the content can be played with a QuickTime, Windows Media, or Flash plugin"
So will this be in the distant future, or on Monday?


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Blogging Let's You Own Your Words And You Can Make It Into A Career!
I began to own my words in 2005 , that is when I was introduced to the blogging world. It started off as a hobby, just an outlet to share how I was teaching one of my children who could not attend public school, but still needed an education.
Many people I was meeting along the way kept asking for my help in various areas of motherhood, raising children and home educate them. So instead of helping just a small group one by one, a friend helped me get a blog set up. From there, I was hooked! I love talking to people, helping them get their needs met. And I can do it better through blogging.
One of the great perks besides the gratification I get from both writing and helping others is that I can also make some money from it.
That is what we do as a Blog Colleague Team
Own Your Words, How To Get Started
Many ask me how I got started, keep going, how to get set up, and more importantly how to continue without getting burnt out.
Blogging to own your words is a commitment, you can do some great things with a minimum of fifteen hours per week, that will help you get into the groove of blogging. I am a full-time blogger who not only owns multiple blogs but I have also written for other companies too. As a full-timer, I work just as many hours as others do, and when I can not, I enlist the help of others such as a virtual assistant. I do all my own writing, Every Word Is Mine; Always, unless it is a guest author.
There are others who use what we call PLR to help them with content creation. Others may pay writers to help them with content creation, I have done this a few times, I always provide specific criteria and I give them what I have already written up and they help expand it or ensure I have everything "just-so".
There are just a few steps to actually get started
Determine The Topic(s) – What type of writer do you want to be? A comical one, a mom or dad one, a health one…. What is the one main topic that you can talk about forever? You want one or two main topics, if you have two main topics, make sure they compliment each other, they need to be related so that you don't lose your readers.
Determine A Few Sub Topics – These subtopics are going to be categories that relate to the main topic. Choose them so that again, you can talk about forever. For example, a health blogger would have one main topic such as "Going Organic" and their subtopics can be things like using organic ingredients and getting recipes together that are organic or organic supplements. A food blogger can encompass it all, their subtopics can be broken down into the various courses we consume.
A Writing Plan – This is crucial! You need to outline various topics that you want to write about. Put together fifty-two blog titles, then outline the content of those posts. You can easily use Google docs and then copy-paste the content into the blog post. This writing plan should also have future content ideas. This gives you one blog post per week, for the entire year. Start with one a week and add more if you feel it is best for you to do so and will not burn you out.
Your writing plan should also contain how many times realistically you can post per week or per month. I don't recommend going for daily, unless you are going to be a news blogger, this will dull the quality and burn you out, especially if you're the only writer.
A Business Plan – Your blog is going to make you money, especially when you set yourself up from day one to do so. Always be realistic. Set goals and celebrate each milestone along the way. Enjoy the blogger ride. You can download a basic business plan from the SBA or create a simple one in Google docs. You have to figure out how much time and money you will be able to invest in your business and how much you will be making from it too. Be sure to plan out a money flow plan to help you become successful. List out all the ways that you will use your blog to make money. Plan it out in quarters, just twelve weeks at a time to help you stay focused. Always have the next quarter in mind so you can keep reaching your milestones.
Some of the ways to earn money through blogging are
- Affiliate Selling
- Sponsored Posts
- Ad Space
- Contextual Links
- Banner Ads
- Ambassadorships
There are many other ways too. You can create products and sell them through your blog too. It is your platform, use it to your advantage.
Determine A Domain Name – This can be the hardest probably. As a blogger, it is also a business, so you will have to follow rules, requirements, and laws as such. Choose a name that envelopes into just a few words what the blog is about or what they expect to find in it. For example, I have a blog that is all about being financially conscious, budgeting, saving and spending too because we do have to live. The blog is called Financially Living and Shopping – this tells you that it is a financial related blog that has a shopping component, in order to be financially mindful, we have to get a grip on spending! The domain is FinanciallyShopping.com And my parenting blog is TiltaMom.com moms are dizzy running around trying to get everything done.
Make sure to research the domain name! I see this so many times, you get super excited and then because you didn't fully research, it can be costly later on. You want to make sure that you have a dot com and yes, if you have the funds grab different extensions of it that make sense like the .blog extension. Please don't try to think that because you are new that a company will not take you down, they will. Make sure you are being unique and true to yourself and don't infringe on any copyrights or trademarks, don't even try to mimic or resemble them.
Put Together A Style Guide – This is basically your blogs "look book" and operations manual. Choose a few fonts that compliment each other, a nice color palette, tone of voice and vibe you want your words to be. For example, my finance and shopping blog, I know others think finance needs to be boring and I can't and don't want that. I chose colors that give the feeling of trust, warmly invites you, and is slightly serious. The tone that I try to use is more matter of fact but in a light way. For the mom blog, I just chose my style guide and the colors are fun. I use the same fonts for most of my blogs, Aleo for the headings, raleway for subtitles and other things and areille for the body. For quotes, I use bold and that is like a red-violet color.
Basically how it looks, feels, works together and flows is what you want to determine. I didn't learn about this until about two years ago and I have changed these many times, which I also don't recommend haha. But it does take time to choose what feels right, so sometimes you do need to go and change things, but they can be simple changes. I am telling you now so that at least you can start thinking about it. If you need help and designer can help you figure it all out.
Now Start To Make A Living and Own Your Words
Be Self Hosted! – You want and need to be self-hosted so you can have the flexibility to make money from the start. I use WordPress as my blogging backbone or skeleton and Siteground is my hosting services. This allows me to be self-hosted and Own My Words. When I switched to Siteground, they gave me a free domain, if not, you can get domains cheap, like $1.00 from Go Daddy. and Name Cheap
- Grab Your Hosting Package → Own My Words
- If You Need A Domain → Grab Cheap Go Daddy Domains Or Name Cheap Domains
- Register Your Blog As A Business With Your State And County
- Create Earnings Spreadsheet For Tracking
The Actual Blog Setup
- Log into your Cpanel click the Softaculous under the auto installer section or one click staging. Follow the steps to install it.
- For your username, you can start with the admin however, you don't want that to be your login because people can easily hack into your site. Once you get that done and it says success, then go to your blog to create the main username and a backup one. The username is what you use to login and do all the blogging through the WordPress application.
- Now on your phone install the WordPress app, and click add self-hosted domain, follow the steps. This allows you to blog through your phone and on the go!
- Click themes, you can start off with a free theme and as you really get into your writing groove, later on, you can buy a theme. I bought my first theme and had a designer after one year into blogging. For one of my other blogs, it took me about two whole years to find a theme that I was completely satisfied with before I purchased its theme.
- Now for plugins, this is what helps everything move and flow together, it helps you achieve certain things you need to be done. Click plugins on the left and install some basics, like Askimet, Yoast, Google Analytics, Get Social, SumoMe, As you get more familiar, you can add more if you need to.
- On the left, click on permalinks. Click the option of your choice, I recommend the blog name and post, blogname.com/posttitle when it is too long it will take u too much space.
From the time you grab hosting and domain name to installing the blog takes less than half an hour.
Now You Are Ready To Get To Writing!
Now it is time to own your words, in real life! On the left where you see all the admin options, click on "post", then new. It brings up the space where you can begin letting your beautiful and meaningful words flow. It is where your story comes to life.
In WordPress you have the option to click distraction-free writing, it means you will only see the space where your typing and take away everything else. Then when you're done, untick it to bring back everything.
Or you can also do this by using the Wordp\Press phone app, this is great on the go. Or if you happen to get post ideas or think of something to add to a draft you have started, you can use your microphone on the phone to use the speech to text option.
Then I use my laptop to do the formatting and adding photos, others go from start to finish using their phone app. I just feel more comfortable doing the finishing touches on my laptop. I use Canva for editing photos that I took myself and adding text, they do have a phone app too.
For photos, I use Get Free Digital Photos and I make sure to give credit to the author if you are not properly giving credit, you can get into trouble legally. Remember, always be legit, always credit the original author and when you are not sure, email the author to get written permission!
How To Get Readers
A number of regular readers will depend on the topic. You need to be consistent in promoting the blog and each post. Create both an online and offline marketing plan for each post. Where are your readers most likely to hang out and join conversations? Which Facebook groups can you join to contribute to the conversations in there? What community events can you network and mingle in to add value there too?
Never just post your links and run, this will never work. Join conversations and show people that you know what you are talking about because you are well educated on that topic. You can let them know about your blog, when asked to learn more or asked to tell them more, read their cues and go with the flow.
Comment and share other peoples things, they will reciprocate. Join some blogging groups, these are very helpful and supportive. I have two groups that you can join, Blog Colleagues and WAHM Colleagues. We do not link drop in there, we help each other get the content out there. We talk about how to get better at our craft, legal stuff, moral support, ideas and more. The goal is as a team, we help each individual on their goals.
The more active you are in helping others, the more chances you have to promote your blog. Use various ways, like in-person networking events, your marketing plan and strategy will be the most important.
You have a story to share, you can help someone else. You can do this! It isn't easy, but it also isn;t hard once you get into the groove of things.
You Should Monetize Your Blog From the Beginning
Blogging has made it easier to connect with people across the globe. With Internet access and a computer, you can share your message with billions of people. The process is easier because of all the technology we now have. I remember when I started my blog in 2005, there were not things like apps to help, there were not many courses or much of anything like there is today to help us become successful. You may have heard of some of the success stories of bloggers that make 7 figures a year. Of course, it took them time to get there, commitment and dedication, but it can happen to you too.
Monetizing Your Blog From the Beginning
Joining the right affiliate programs as one of your income generating streams can help you from day one. You can also sell your own products or services, sell advertising or find companies that will pay you to write a sponsored blog post. So why not get started making money from your blog on day one?
If you attempt to monetize your blog from the beginning, your audience knows what to expect. From your very first post they understand there are going to be products and services offered. On the other hand, some web surfers are turned off by advertisements and other efforts for you to get paid in return for your time. It all depends on if you are being natural, up front and never being spammy.
Netizens prefer to establish a relationship with you first before they see any monetization attempts. In many niches, developing a rabid, loyal following is more important than trying to make money immediately. In some niches or markets, monetization efforts are rewarded immediately. You may just want to start off with contextual links or ease into affiliate marketing slowly, or you possibly can get great traction with small ads. You can experiment as you see how it is coming along.
In your blog's business plan you should have listed out various ways that you will or plan to explore or implement as income streams. Start off with just one of those ways, master it before adding in another. You want to get as much experience with each form of income generating so that you learn what works with and for your audience.
Blogging Is Not Just For Your Own Needs To Be Met
You have a deep passion to tell others your story, give them ways to solve problems, send them into belly laughs, grasp them into a fully engaged emotional whirlwind.
People are looking for someone to help them tap into their emotional and mental side of themselves. With all the things going on today, we need to be reminded that we are actually human, with needs, emotions and be able to express them.
You can tell someone your story, what happened to you, even if it was negative and you would be relatable to someone, they will know they are not alone. You can help them find coping skills, give them techniques and many other things to help them live their day to day life.
Blogging is not dead, it is not over saturated, we all have a unique twist, even if it is similar, we all approach it in a different angle.
Now Go Get Started! Go Help Your Group Out!
Domain Names
I get mine from Go Daddy and Name Cheap. I have been using them for years and have so many domains, and haven't had any issues.
Website-Blog Hosting
Why I Chose Siteground: Well, the speed on all my sites and their uptime is crucial. Siteground lives up to their claims for uptime and speed. I regularly check my speed time for loading on all my sites and they range from three seconds to sometimes seven seconds, depends on which blog and how I have it set up. My sites are never down! This is always important, with my old hosting company, my site was down 80% of the time, especially during the holiday selling season too. This is why I recommend Siteground. The other important factor why I chose them is because I stink at technical stuff, yes even though I have been doing this for many years, I still mess up. Their support team has been very helpful and very understanding about my tech disabilities.
Affiliate Earning Courses
These are courses that have given me skills and tools to help me improve what I do and lead me to make money.
Website-Blog Themes
My blog Financially Living and Shopping has its theme from Theme Forest, Envato.


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Ancestors of dinosaurs and other animals from the Haţeg Basin in Transylvania may have arrived from what was once a continent of Asiamerica by "island hopping," suggests a fossil discovery published today.
By Hans-Dieter Sues
Islands are wonderful natural laboratories for the study of evolutionary change and for that reason have long attracted the attention of biologists. Their peculiar ecological conditions often led to the evolution of species that greatly differ in body size and/or form from their closest relatives on the mainland.
Large animals often become smaller on islands (due to limited food resources) and small ones become larger (often due to the absence of predators). This phenomenon is known as the "island rule."
One of the best-known examples from the fossil record are the pony-sized elephants that lived on Crete and other Mediterranean islands during the Pleistocene and Holocene.
Other striking examples include the 'koala lemur' Megaladapis from Madagascar, which attained a weight of up to 100 kg (220 pounds) and vanished only in the 16th century, and the ground-dwelling owl Ornimegalonyx from the Pleistocene of Cuba, which may have stood an impressive 1.1 m (3.6 feet) tall.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Austro-Hungarian paleontologist Franz Baron Nopcsa reported dinosaur fossils from sedimentary rocks of latest Cretaceous age in the Haţeg Basin of Transylvania (which became part of Romania after World War I). His sister had discovered dinosaur bones on one of the family's estates, which excited the young nobleman's interest and led him to a distinguished career in paleontology. Additional collecting by Nopcsa and others led to the recovery of bones belonging to several new species of dinosaurs.
What is most intriguing about these fossils is the fact that they represent animals of much smaller body size than related species elsewhere. Based on this size difference, Nopcsa inferred that the Haţeg dinosaurs represented an island community. However, his work was largely ignored until there was a resurgence of interest in the Late Cretaceous dinosaurs from Transylvania in the late 1970s.
Evolutionary decrease in body size
Recent studies on the microscopic structure of the bones in the duck-billed dinosaur Telmatosaurus and the titanosaurian sauropod Magyarosaurus from the Haţeg Basin support Nopcsa's hypothesis that both dinosaurs had undergone an evolutionary decrease in body size.
Since the 1970s, many new finds of vertebrate fossils have further demonstrated the peculiar nature of the biota from the Late Cretaceous of the Haţeg Basin. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences a team of Romanian and American paleontologists has just announced the most remarkable discovery to date–an unusual new predatory dinosaur.
During Late Cretaceous times (about 100 to 65 million years before present), a warm, shallow sea sprinkled with islands of various sizes covered much of present-day Europe. Motions of the African continental plate led to volcanic activity and formation of islands along the northern margin of the western portion of the Tethys Sea (which would later become the Mediterranean Sea).
The Haţeg Basin of Romania was located on an island in an archipelago that extended from the region now occupied by the European Alps eastward to present-day southwest Asia.
Closest dinosaurian relatives of birds
The new species of predatory dinosaur from Romania has been named Balaur bondoc. (Balaur is derived from an ancient Romanian word for 'dragon' and bondoc means 'stocky.') It belongs to the Dromaeosauridae, which include the (misnamed) "raptors" of the blockbuster movie Jurassic Park and are now considered the closest dinosaurian relatives of birds.
One of the specimens assigned to this new species preserves articulated bones of the limbs and girdles (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Reconstructed body silhouette of Balaur bondac with known bones shown.
Courtesy and copyright of M. Ellison (American Museum of Natural History).
The sturdily built skeleton of Balaur bondoc is unlike that of other known dromaeosaurs in a number of features.
The hand shows extensive fusion of bones in the wrist and hand. There are only two functional fingers, unlike the three-fingered grasping hand in related species.
The foot retains an enlarged, functional first toe, unlike the greatly reduced digit in most predatory dinosaurs. This toe is very similar in size and shape to the second one, which, as in other dromaeosaurs, carries a much enlarged, sickle-shaped claw that had a large arc of motion.
Each foot of Balaur sported a double set of these claws, which were probably used in seizing prey (Figure 2). The robust hind leg shows extensive fusion of bones in its shin and foot. Apparently Balaur could deliver powerful strikes with its deadly feet.
Figure 2. Left lower leg and foot of Balaur bondoc with two greatly enlarged claws (marked by white arrow heads).
Courtesy and copyright of M. Ellison (American Museum of Natural History).
Balaur is most closely related to the Late Cretaceous Velociraptor from Mongolia and China. This is an important finding because one of the unresolved issues concerning the Haţeg dinosaurs had concerned their origin: Did they represent ancient lineages that had only survived on an island or did at least some of the species have faunal connections with neighboring continents late into the Cretaceous?
The duck-billed dinosaur Telmatosaurus suggested connections to Asia. The discovery of Balaur now provides further support for this hypothesis.
The researchers argue that the peculiar skeleton of this predator represents an example of the "island effect." The precursors of the dinosaurs and other animals from the Haţeg Basin may have arrived from Asiamerica (a vast ancient landmass that included what are now East Asia and western North America) by "island hopping," especially during intervals of lower sea levels.
Hans-Dieter (Hans) Sues is a vertebrate paleontologist based at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. He is interested in the evolutionary history and paleobiology of vertebrates, especially dinosaurs and their relatives, and the history of ecosystems through time.
A former member of the National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration, Hans has traveled widely in his quest for fossils and loves to share his passion for ancient life through lectures, writings, and blogging.
Blog entries by Hans-Dieter Sues >>
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Tim and Tiger
Tim Bray isn't so sure he likes Tiger. And I'd agree, but with enough caveats that I thought a blog post would be worthwhile. OS X has gone through five major revisions since I've been using it. It had more before, but since I didn't use them I don't really know about them, and won't […]Also tagged Apple, Computing, Programming, Technology, Tiger


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The Fullestop E-learning team works in a quality-driven, well-managed environment to ensure rapid development of high-quality learning applications. We follow the motive of "Delivering Promises", and thus delivers the high-quality solutions on-time and within budget.
Our designers, script-writers and instructional experts work dedicatedly with clients' and our approach keeps you fully in control. We split the responsibilities amongst our team members, and every responsibility is given to the men best with it. Thus we ensure quality at every step of the development process.
We develop learning CMS, E-Learning portals, assessment solutions, mobile learning solutions and multi-lingual e-learning solutions.
Web-based training, computer based training, video based training, blended training, Web 2.0 and Social Learning.
We can develop E-Learning solutions with LMS, LCMS, Assessment Tools, Virtual Classroom, Authoring Tools, Web 2.0 and Mobile Learning.
E-learning Technologies
Our developers are well seasoned with various development technologies & tools. While deciding the development tool, we give great emphasize on the basic fundamental of the application which is delivering desired level of interactivity & production values. We are very comfortable in working with HTML, DHTML, Java Script, Flash, together with a wide range of audio & video formats.
- Convenience and flexibility to learners
- Advance access
- Lot of choices, as far as learning material is concerned
- Decrease costs in employees training
- Improved performance
- Options for different learning methodologies
Our Showcase
We have successfully created over thousand's of web/apps on every major Browser, Smartphone/mobile platform and every one of them is unique.
This gives us the confidence to handle your project, regardless of your industry and your requirements. We do not just build an project for you; we help you with the strategy, design, development, testing, deployment and maintenance.
Whether you are an educational institution or an e-learning company, we can design, develop, and deploy robust e-learning applications for you. Our developers have in-depth knowledge of K-12, higher and professional education, along with proven technologies. Thus we find ourselves well-versed in developing comprehensive, customized e-learning solutions.
Learning Content
Management System
- End-to-end content management – authorizing, editing, indexing e-learning content
- Integration with enterprise / third-party applications
E-learning portals
- Developing and managing web-based e-learning portals, platforms
- Creating engaging, highly interactive user interfaces
Content publishing
- Content refurbishing – web, email, mobile
Assessment solutions
- Educational assessment solutions and reports
Mobile learning / m-learning
- Mobile enabling e-learning solutions – audio / video based
Regulatory compliance
- Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM)
- Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF)
- Open Knowledge Initiative (O.K.I.)
Internationalization and Localization
- Multi-lingual support
Our Clients Say
Alert Someone (IPhone App )
"I hired Fullestop to construct a new iPhone app. The app was completed on the date that was originally given. The graphics design was fantastic. The team was very knowledgable of Apple regulations and sought to find solutions when problems arose. To say the least, I am very pleased with their work. I will absolutely have future business for them. "
Hello Baby
"We have been very pleased with the work delivered to Fullestop. The project was delivered to specification and the team
were very pleasant to work with. "
Direct Coins
"Overall a great result and very happy with our custom website. We made alot of changes which extended the process and thank the team for their patience. We will use Fullestop on our next project."
Haize Fitness (Android App)
"Great job! I will gladly hire FulleStop again for future projects. They were very competent, professional and attentive in their manner. One of the best levels of communications i've had with an Elance developer. Thank you and keep up the good work!"


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Caitlin, Amelia, and Dee discuss Miss Hokusai, the 2015 feature film from Production I.G. Set in the early 1800s, this historical fiction follows real-life artist O-Ei as she navigates her relationships with her famous father, her young sister, and her own developing art in a society and profession dominated by men.
0:00:00 Intros
0:00:51 Background
0:02:52 Impressions
0:09:34 Emotionality and style
0:12:02 O-Ei and sexuality
0:18:04 Adult professional shipping
0:22:18 Prostitutes and fantasies
0:28:06 Day-to-day life in Edo
0:30:17 Mr. Hokusai
0:40:38 O-Ei and O-Nao
0:47:07 The dudes
0:54:12 Miss Hokusai
0:57:36 Historical context
0:59:37 But is it feminist?
1:10:40 Outro
Recorded Saturday 26th November 2017
Music: Open Those Bright Eyes by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License


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Lanreé Aesthetics offers more than just beauty appearance service with the emphasis of individualised personal care treatment.
We offer an array of aesthetic dermatological procedures using latest cutting edges techniques in the industry.
Lanree Aesthetics is located at 128, Parnell Road, Parnell, one of Auckland's most affluent suburbs in New Zealand, where timeless heritage rub shoulders with the bright, modern lights of tomorrow.
Lanreé uses nail polish that is made from New York's natural environmental friendly resin composition that creates a strong, thin and odourless acrylic overlay, effectively improving the color of finished products. Your nails are protected, nourished and strengthened with infusions of calcium & vitamins. Choose from a range of colours and add-on polish treatment for a classic and elegant look from luxurious brands such as Barbie Mirage and Zoya.
Experience Lanree 3D express ArtPro nail art which is solely exclusive in New Zealand bringing revolutionary cutting-edge advanced technology that prints all graphics desired onto nails within minutes. With unlimited colours and patterns and the ability to upload your own photo or selfie, your beautiful custom nails will be the showpiece of any outfit for any occasions.
At Lanreé, our skin care experts will provide customers a one-on-one consultation during each visit to gain an accurate and deeper understanding of our customer's skin condition with a thorough personal and lifestyle habits analysis. Our experts would also conduct an advanced in-depth face zone analysis with the latest technology to generate accurate root analysis of our customer's skin concern.
Before or after a treatment, you could indulge your need for comfort at our dedicated lounge area with a complimentary hot towel and fragrant jasmine tea with seasonal fruits while unwinding at our lounge area.
Our dedicated skin care experts offer more than just beauty aesthetics with the emphasis of individualized personal care treatment. Lanreé aims to educate and provide every customer with the essential and proper health management to improve their skin concerns and restoring the appearance of the skin. Our treatments and products are made from natural ingredients that are effective in maintaining healthy skin from within.
Experience Lanree 3D express ArtPro nail art which is solely exclusive in New Zealand.
We offer a variety of services from semi permanent brow design to semi permanent tattoo design.
Treatments with natural ingredients that are effective in maintaining healthy skin from within.
We offer more than just beauty aesthetics with the emphasis of individualized personal care treatment.


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The National Security Agency just announced its first privacy officer, reports The Washington Post.
Former Department of Homeland Security Privacy Director, Rebecca "Becky" Richards will start with NSA next month.
The agency's job announcement, which can be read in its entirety here, is "designed to directly enhance decision making and to ensure that [civil liberties and privacy] protections continue to be baked into NSA's future operations," came after intense public outrage, reports The Washington Post.
Just three months after whistleblower and former NSA analyst Edward Snowden leaked documents to journalists, the NSA announced a "completely new role" within the organisation, a Civil Liberties and Privacy Officer.
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Ferielejlighed mh22316
- Ferielejlighed
- 4 Sovepladser
- 2 Soveværelser
- 1 Badeværelser
Enjoy a holiday in one of Germany's most beautiful and enticing upland regions. You will find it here in Sauerland, an attractive and varied region of high hills. The little town of Oberkirchen is situated in a tranquil spot at the foot of the Rothaar Mountains. Come spend your holiday in this century-old, traditional half-timbered house in the town centre. The holiday home has been recently renovated and is furnished in a stylish design, with two bedrooms, a bathroom and an open-plan kitchen. The garden and terrace with garden furniture are also at your disposal. The Wanderwelt Schmallenberger Sauerland is right at your doorstep; you can explore the whole region on this network of hiking trails. There are also extensive sport and leisure offerings to enjoy, including golf, tennis, bowling, horseback riding, swimming and much more. The region offers ideal conditions in winter as well, with opportunities for sleighing and downhill or cross-country skiing. The well-known winter sport destination of Winterberg is just 14 km away.
- Kloster Grafschaft - Winterberg mit Bobbahn - Hennesee - Kahler Asten - Tropfsteinhöhle
Faciliteter - indendørs
Faciliteter - køkken
Faciliteter - udendørs
Sne og ski
Priser per uge
Pris fra Kr. 4603 Kr. 5844
Populære områder i Oberkirchen
Sommerhus i Tyskland | Sommerhus i Nordrhin-Vestfalen | Sommerhus i Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg | Sommerhus i Hochsauerlandkreis | Sommerhus i Schmallenberg | Sommerhus i Oberkirchen |


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My ADHD Coaching Journey - 1
- Written by Pat Pughe-Parry Pat Pughe-Parry
- Last Updated: 26 October 2018 26 October 2018
I am sitting in my office watching the birds eat the bread, cheese and seeds I put out for them as I look back on the past 9 years.
What a roller coaster ride it has been. For the first time in my life my feet are not itchy and I am at peace with who I am.
It is 9 years since I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 51 a condition I had never even heard of.
Having lurched through a dozen plus careers, a failed marriage, constantly moving house, and turbulent work and personal relationships, I am proud to say that I have found my purpose and passion which is to write and inspire others to unlock their potential.
I now have goals, I have learned how to make decsions, how to be less impulsive (not every idea that whizzes through my brain is a viable business) and how not to give up at the first sign of trouble or difficulty.
My ADHD Coaching Journey - 2
- Written by Pat Pughe-Parry Pat Pughe-Parry
- Last Updated: 26 October 2018 26 October 2018
The Crazy Working Life of an Un-Managed ADDer
Always in the top 10% academically, I played hockey and swum but was never quite good enough for a first team in anything. I was a diligent student who had learned mostly by rote. An average matric because I got an "F" for Maths. I had no understanding of the purpose of maths and when I panicked and went blank in the Geometry Paper I had no idea what to do. A big fat zero was the result.
My ADHD affected many of my career decisions and this is why I am including my career history in this series.
If truth be told I never actually made decisions as I was either told what to do or I did whatever came up ... typical of many ADDers. All I knew was that I was too squeamish to be a nurse, too shy to teach and I had unfortunately never done typing and shorthand as we were an "academic family" according to my Mother.
Here is my working life between 1974 and 2006 in a nutshell.
My ADHD Coaching Journey - 3
- Written by Pat Pughe-Parry Pat Pughe-Parry
- Last Updated: 26 October 2018 26 October 2018
My ADHD Diagnosis
Can you imagine plucking up the courage at the age of 50 going to a Career Counselling Psychologist, spending 2 days doing numerous tests, in an effort to find how you should be earning your daily crust and being told that you are capable of doing anything you want but not for longer than 3 months at a time? This was a tough blow as my family had been urging me to pull myself together and "get a proper job".
The psychologist also sent me to a psychiatrist who prescribed me 2 different anit-depressants as I was deeply depressed.
Yes, this is what happened to me a couple of weeks before meeting Dave. Ironically Dave and I had our first date at a restaurant on Blaauwberg Beach in Cape Town on April Fools Day 2006. We had met on the internet a couple of weeks before.
My ADHD Coaching Journey - 4
- Written by Pat Pughe-Parry Pat Pughe-Parry
- Last Updated: 26 October 2018 26 October 2018
The Living ADDventure® ADHD Impairments Assessment
It was with some trepidation that I agreed to do this assessment. Would I have to answer questions that I was uncomfortable talking about? I had never been someone who talked about deeply personal stuff.
So why is it important to do this assessment?
Everyone is impacted differently by their ADHD. The type of ADHD (inattentive day-dreamer to climbing the walls hyperactive and everything in between), your family history, the environment you live in, various co-occurring conditions that you may have, are all factors that need to be looked at in order to find an ADHD Coaching Programme that will work for you and help you to live a contented and productive life.
Living ADDventure® ADHD Coaching is very directive and focuses on your current issues. You can't change the past so you need to focus on how you deal with today and tomorrow.
I had committed to changing my life so I decided that there were to be no secrets, no half truths. It was time to face the truth, uncomfortable as it might be.
My ADHD Coaching Journey: 6
- Written by Pat Pughe-Parry Pat Pughe-Parry
- Last Updated: 26 October 2018 26 October 2018
Change Must Be Managed
Treating ADHD as a family condition is one of the key differences in the way Living ADDventure® runs its Coaching Programme compared with Executive, Business and Life Coaching. Most Coaching programmes work with the individual.
When someone with ADHD starts the Living ADDventure® ADHD Coaching Programme it can be extremely difficult for the non-ADHD partner, spouse, children, work colleagues and friends.
Things will inevitably get worse before they start to get better. If the ADDer is newly diagnosed there is a mixture of relief at understanding their own behaviour a bit better but also a lot of humiliation and sadness as they start to "peel the onion". The prospect of possibly having to take medication which has such a bad reputation, the ridicule of friends and family who do not believe there is anything wrong can all leave the ADDer confused and unsure.
For the benefit of the whole family working as a team is essential and that is when the best results are obtained.
Change is very difficult and when ADDers sign up for the ADHD Coaching Programme they are often already broken and fragile. Relationships are fraught, money is frequently an issue, they may have lost their jobs and are self medicating with smoking, drugs and alcohol. Suppressed rage and anger is common.


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New Courting Disaster question
New Courting Disaster Question
Although the column that accompanies the comic was held for a second week in a row, there was no new comic again last Friday. However, a new question has been posted on the Courting Disaster Web site.
I'm intensely attracted to a friend of mine's personality, but physically, and if you saw her you'd know I wasn't just being shallow, she's repulsive. I wouldn't mind moving to the next level with our relationship, but I'm honestly quite terrified that it might get physical. I obviously can't tell her that though, so for the moment we're just friends. Is there any way I can talk to her about this without seeming like a heartless jerk? — Half Attracted
Go right over and offer some advice.


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Sustainability and Resilience: Coexistence, Collaboration and Opportunity
Tuesday, May 17th @ The Center, 6–8pm
The driver of sustainability is vitality and the driver of resilience is disturbance. What then, do we, as design professionals, need to consider or adapt in our design process to incorporate both of these concepts? We believe we must embrace the core principles of holistic design, triple bottom line, lifecycle, and systemic approaches to infrastructure. By that we mean each infrastructure system (water, waste, power, transportation, park, etc.) needs to be designed to be both resilient and sustainable. In this session, panelists will present where we are now, the basis of design, and acheiving adaptation through case studies and projects being implemented around the world. The panel will explore conflict, coexistence and collaboration between various design disciplines and the relationship of Sustainability and Resilience. They are not the same.
Donna Walcavage,FASLA, ENV SP, Principal, Landscape Architect, Stantec
Illya Azaroff, AIA, Director of Design, +LAB Architect LLC, Assoc. Prof., NYCCT
Walter Meyer, ASLA, LEED-AP, Local Office Landscape Architecture
Moderator: Claire Weisz, FAIA, Founding Principal, WXY architecture + urban design
Organized by: AIANY Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee and ASLA-NY


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Currently we cannot recommend trading with this brand.
Launched in 2017, MaxCFD is an unlicensed broker, owned and operated by Chemmi Holdings Ltd, a company headquartered in London. The web-based trading platform at MaxCFD is straightforward, making it easy for clients to trade CFDs across a wide range of financial assets, in what is traditionally perceived to be a complicated trading environment. Whilst seasoned traders may find that MaxCFD doesn't provide sufficient expert trading tools, those looking for fast and easy trade executions may find the 'no-frills approach at MaxCFD refreshingly innovative.
What are CFDs?
A quick clarification of CFDs may be useful at this stage in our review. Global financial markets comprise of multiple underlying financial assets such as foreign exchange currency pairs, indices, stocks and commodities. Traders use Contracts for Difference (CFDs) to predict whether an underlying asset will rise or fall in price. CFD traders never physically own the underlying assets, but only predict the direction of the price. By making a correct prediction, the trader gets the full payout stated in the contract. If the trader made an incorrect prediction, the investment in the contract is lost. Because the amount of risk or reward is clear from the start of the trade, CFD trading is often seen as a predictable way of trading and perhaps a safer way than other trading methods.
MaxCFD Trading Account
There is only one type of trading account at MaxCFD. It operates in USD or EUR currency and only in English. To start trading, clients need to make a minimum deposit of $€250. The 'one touch option' in the MaxCFD trading account, limits the amount that traders can invest on a single trading position to $500.
The interesting thing about trading at MaxCFD is the 'special perk' where traders get a 10% return of the investment if an option expires 'out-of-the-money'. That's to say that you get 10% of your investment automatically returned to your account, instead of losing the entire amount if the time runs out on your trading position. We have never come across such a 'perk' before at online brokers and consider it a nice touch for motivating clients.
MaxCFD Spreads and Leverage
Spreads are typically quite wide, with USD/GBP at 4 pips when we viewed the trading platform. Whilst MaxCFD provides asset rates on the trading platform based on live feeds, they don't usually reflect the exact market prices. The rates can vary by several pips to show the price that MaxCFD is prepared to sell the options for. We checked the spreads for major currency pairs and found them at four pips which is a wide spread compared to some online brokers. Notably, the maximum leverage available to traders is 300:1, commencing from 20:1 in the trading software.
Significantly, traders are given access to a diverse selection of education content including Traders TV, Signals, Economic Calendar and the Asset Index showing prices and expiry times. Additional information is accessible from the dashboard of the website. This includes a daily market review, articles on trading CFDs, FAQS about trading with MaxCFD and Banking.
Trading Platforms and Trading Tools
The platform available at MaxCFD is a state-of-the-art 'SpotOption' CDF trading platform with a pleasing, uncluttered appearance. Traders don't need to download software but simply search for MaxCFD in the browser of their desktop or mobile device. It doesn't matter whether you have Android, Windows or iOS operating systems, as the web browser works with anything, as long as you have an internet connection.
We were especially impressed by the simplicity of the set-up and the ease with which we could start trading. The platform is clearly laid out with 'Hot Assets' listed in the left-hand column. Forex is at the top, followed by CFD for Currencies, Commodities, Indices, Stocks, Pairs, Cryptocurrency and Etf (bundles of securities).
A bright green dashboard displays the product type and asset type followed by leverage levels. Notably, the level of leverage, is selected by the trader according to the amount of risk he is prepared to take. Other brokerages usually limit leverage according to the type of trading account opened by the client and the size of the initial deposit. Continuing across the dashboard, Asset contract and contract size are displayed next to the leverage level. These are followed by the 'Stop-Loss' box, where traders can adjust the level with the +/- tabs. Also, the 'Take Profit' box that can be adjusted to affect the potential profit made from a trade. Beneath the dashboard are three types of tool options; charts, indicators and trend line. Like the rest of the trading platform, the tools offered are simple; basic line and candle charts, four types of indicator and the Fibonacci replacement trend line.
Whilst advanced traders may see them as limited tools, those seeking a trading environment with as little confusion as possible, usually find the available tools satisfactory.
To open a trading position, clients go to the green section on the right-hand side of the screen where several important categories of information are displayed, along with a big green BUY button. The information includes the payout, potential profit, stop loss, pips value and take profit. The SELL section is in red and displays similar information categories as the buy section. But with values relevant to selling an underlying asset. By referring to the extensive education material on the website, traders could quickly prepare themselves to trade with confidence on this one click trading platform.
Promotional Program at MaxCFD
MaxCFD runs a reward program for new and existing customers. There is no reference to it on the interface, but it is described in the company's terms and conditions. We saw that traders may receive bonuses and one-time credits rewarding them for loyalty. Moreover, traders may be informed by phone or email about unique promotional campaigns. We like to point out to our readers that bonuses anywhere, usually come with terms and conditions that should be considered carefully before being accepted.
Customer Support
Customer support is available through email, a form, or two UK telephone numbers. Live chat is not offered, which is inconvenient as most online brokers provide instant live support from the interface and many traders have come to expect it.
Payment Methods
A broad range of payment methods is supported by MaxCFD for depositing and withdrawing funds in EUR and USD (accounts can only be set up in these two currencies). Payment methods include popular credit and debit cards, bank wire transfer and around 20 digital methods. To find out about the full range of digital payment methods, MaxCFD requests that clients contact an account manager.
Fees are not charged for withdrawing to credit cards. However, withdrawals by wire transfer are charged a fee of $25. Processing of withdrawal requests takes up to 2 days and customers can expect to see funds in their accounts in 5 to 7 days. Notably, clients wanting immediate payment can pay $€50 for the rapid service.
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