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Hot tags Anatomy Anthropology and Sociology Mental Health Neuroscience Psychology
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This tag library is an archive and is no longer updated. For current content go to ABC News.
RSS | MapLand Management
Good planning maintains biodiversity on farms
Wednesday, 19 November 2014 [an error occurred while processing this directive] comments
Opinion Farming and native biodiversity are not mutually exclusive. Landscape planning is one approach that lets the two land uses coexist, explains Sue McIntyre.
Aboriginal burning boosts lizard numbers
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
The Australian Aboriginal practice of using fire to hunt sand goannas increases rather than reduces the numbers of this important species, a new study has found.
Wilderness areas 'need humans to thrive'
Monday, 22 July 2013
More people, not less, are needed in wilderness areas to stop species extinctions, an international conservation meeting is set to hear.
Planting forests may help overheated reefs
Wednesday, 5 June 2013
Any benefit tropical reefs gain from reduced sediment loads caused by a drier climate will be offset by increased sedimentation due to deforestation, Australian scientists have found.
Palm oil biodiversity 'can be saved'
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
The surprising biodiversity that remains in oil palm plantations can and should be protected, say researchers.
Soil fungi may not be effective carbon sink
Friday, 31 August 2012
Soil fungi may not be as effective at storing carbon and mitigating the effects of climate change as some scientists had hoped.
Scientists issue Antarctic warning
Monday, 16 July 2012
Policy-makers need to be more responsive to increasing pressures on Antarctica's environment, say an eminent team of scientific experts.
Fire-free farming in pre-Columbian Amazon
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Farming without fire in tropical regions, like indigenous populations did before 1492, may be the key to both feeding people and managing land more sustainably, according to new research.
Scientists measure human 'water footprint'
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Humanity uses around 9,089 billion cubic metres of water a year, mostly for agriculture, according to a new study.
Conserving Australia's wild beauty
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Photo gallery Take a trip around some outstanding natural areas in these beautiful photos from Bush Heritage, a national non-profit organisation that preserves Australia's unique bush by buying high conservation value land and caring for it.
Peak phosphorus fuels food fears
Thursday, 5 August 2010 [an error occurred while processing this directive] comments
Science feature Phosphate fertilises our crops. But as the global population increases and rock phosphate reserves run out, the race is on to reduce our use or find alternative sources of phosphorus.
Iron ore country
Wednesday, 14 July 2010 [an error occurred while processing this directive] comments
Science feature Australia's economy rides on the red rocks of the Pilbara, but scientists predict we may run out of high quality exportable iron ore within 50 years.
Dust in our veins
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Photo Gallery As a dusty haze spreads across eastern Australia we take a look at dust storms across the world, and what scientists are doing to control them.
Renewable Energy Slowdown
Thursday, 20 April 2006
Feature The renewable energy industry in Australia is in a 'holding pattern' and needs a kick start, according to experts in the field.
Recycling Reality
Thursday, 2 February 2006
Ever wondered what good you're actually doing as a kerbside recycler? You've been filling up your recycling crates with the detritus of a modern consumption lifestyle, but are your efforts making a difference to the level of rubbish ending up in landfill?


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Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is buying the Forum from the Madison Square Garden Company for $400 million in cash.
The deal clears the way for the billionaire to build a new arena down the street in Inglewood, California. Ballmer has been fighting with MSG over his desire to build a state-of-the-art home for the Clippers just a few blocks away from the Forum.
The purchase abruptly wraps up the litigation fight and allows the Clippers to move ahead on their goal to open a new arena when their Staples Center lease expires in 2024.

subset: commoncrawl


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Victron Smart BatteryProtect - 100AMP - 6-35 VDC - Bluetooth Capable
Smart BatteryProtect - 100AMP - 6-35 VDC - Bluetooth Capable
- Protects the battery against excessive discharge and can be used as a system on/off switch The Smart BatteryProtect disconnects the battery from non-essential loads before it is completely discharged (which would damage the battery) or before it has insufficient power left to crank the engine. The on/off input can be used as a system on/off switch.
- 12/24V auto ranging The Smart BatteryProtect automatically detects system voltage one time only.
- Bluetooth: programming made easy When using Bluetooth to program the Smart BatteryProtect any required engage/disengage levels can be set. Alternatively, one of nine predefined engage/disengage levels can be set with the programming pin (see manual). If required, Bluetooth can be disabled.
- A special setting for Li-ion batteries In this mode the BatteryProtect can be controlled by the VE.Bus BMS. Note: the BatteryProtect can also be used as a charge interrupter in between a battery charger and a Li-ion battery. See connection diagram in the manual.
- Ultra-low current consumption This is important in case of Li-ion batteries, especially after low voltage shutdown. Please see our Li-ion battery datasheet and the VE.Bus BMS manual for more information.
- Over voltage protection To prevent damage to sensitive loads due to over voltage, the load is disconnected whenever the DC voltage exceeds 16.3V respectively 32.6V.
- Ignition proof No relays but MOSFET switches, and therefore no sparks.
- Delayed alarm output The alarm output is activated if the battery voltage drops below the preset disconnect level during more than 12 seconds. Starting the engine will therefore not activate the alarm. The alarm output is a short circuit proof open collector output to the negative (minus) rail, max. current 50 mA. The alarm output is typically used to activate a buzzer, LED or relay.
- Delayed load disconnect and delayed reconnect The load will be disconnected 90 seconds after the battery voltage drops below the preset level. If the battery voltage increases again to the connect threshold within this time period (after the engine has been started for example), the load will not be disconnected. The load will be reconnected 30 seconds after the battery voltage has increased to more than the preset reconnect voltage.
WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals which are known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to P65Warnings.ca.gov.
Please contact your dealer for any returns, repairs or support issues related to this product.Quick Guide (pdf)
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Gartner: 2013 Tech Spending To Hit $3.7 Trillion
CIOs need to spend on finding and building a pool of big data skills, Gartner execs say.
October 23, 2012
8 CEOs Speak: IT Projects That Matter Most
8 CEOs Speak: IT Projects That Matter Most (click image for larger view and for slideshow)
Every budget is an IT budget," according to Peter Sondergaard, senior VP at Gartner and the opening speaker at this year's Gartner Symposium/ITxpo.
While that budget news is probably a surprise to all those CIOs currently in the throes of creating their yearly IT budget, the message makes some sense as the influences of mobile, cloud computing, social networking, and big data roil the corporate marketplace. Gartner, which is in the business of technology consulting and as such needs to create a new buzz phrase each year, calls this roiling the "nexus of forces" as technology spending increasingly accelerates outside of the IT departments.
Marketing departments are spending on social networks, sales departments are signing up cloud-based CRM, and individuals with credit cards are signing up for Dropbox accounts--all examples of the spread of technology budgets outside of IT. This seeping of technology beyond the confines of IT is not new, what is new is the acceleration of the spending. While the acceleration will vary by departments the trend is evident throughout the corporate environment. Sondergaard says, for example, by 2018 manufacturing will spend 90% of their technology budget outside of IT.
For those interested in trying to track IT spending, Gartner predicted at its conference that worldwide IT spending will surpass $3.7 trillion in 2013, which is a 3.8% increase from 2012. Major growth drivers include big data projects, cloud computing, and mobile. Worldwide IT spending will surpass $4 trillion by 2015.
While budget forecasts are just that--an educated guess at spending--the trends in technology were evident in both the keynoters and those tweeting in the audience. The role of the CIO is in the midst of changing from doing more with less to doing more with digital innovation. As Gartner research VP Mary Mesaglio said, "The CIO should not spend time automating back office but digitizing the interface between enterprise and customer."
[ The key to success is asking the right questions. Read Will CMOs Outspend CIOs? Wrong Question. ]
There were two notable data points made during this year's Gartner opening session.
First was the projected rise in IT employment particularly as it relates to big data and the forecasted inability to fill that need. The Gartner analysts predicted that by 2015, 4.4 million IT jobs globally will be created to support big data with 1.9 million of those jobs in the United States. That employment projection carries further weight when, as the Gartner analysts pointed out, each of those jobs will create employment for three more people outside of IT.
However, while the jobs will be created, there is no assurance that there will be employees to fill those positions. Sondergaard provided the dour prediction that only one-third of the jobs will be filled due to a lack of skilled big data applicants. One of the biggest tasks for CIOs is to rethink how to hire and train a workforce able to meet this demand for big data talent.
The other data point was what Gartner predicted would be a lackluster corporate reception to Windows 8. Sondergaard said there was no compelling reason for corporations to rapidly move to Windows 8 and further said, "90% of enterprises will bypass broad scale deployment of Windows 8 to at least 2014."
If Gartner is correct, those CIOs building budgets should be allocating their dollars to developing big data skills within their workforce rather than deploying Microsoft's new operating system.
Other data points of note made during the opening session included:
-- From 2011 to 2016, the business process services market will double in size to $145 billion as companies look for new efficiencies in the way they conduct business.
-- In two years, 20% of sales organizations will use tablets as the primary platform for field sales.
-- By 2015, 15% of all social media reviews and recommendations will come from social media participants being paid to write the reviews.
-- And in one data point, which IT can take as either a knock or an opportunity, 80% of executives today can name a critical piece of information they need but that IT is unable to provide.
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2012About the Author(s)
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New Features Policy
This policy doesn't apply to bugs. Check our Data Center Bug Fix Policy or Cloud Bug Fix Policy to learn about our approach to bug fixing.
How we choose what to implement
There are many factors that influence our product roadmaps and determine the features we implement. When making decisions about what to prioritize and work on, we combine your feedback and suggestions with insights from our support teams, product analytics, research findings, and more. This information, combined with our medium- and long-term product and platform vision, determines what we implement and its priority order.
How to track when features are implemented
Cloud products
We're continuously improving and updating our Cloud products. To see the latest changes, take a look at the Atlassian Cloud release notes blog.
Data Center products
When a new feature or improvement is scheduled, we'll update the fix version on the relevant Jira issue to indicate the earliest product version that will include the change. This update often happens close to the product release date.
For a summary of changes, see the release notes for your product:
- Jira Software | Jira Service Management | Jira platform | Advanced Roadmaps for Jira
- Confluence | Questions for Confluence | Team Calendars for Confluence
- Bitbucket | Bamboo | Fisheye | Crucible
Product roadmaps
We publish a public roadmap for Jira Cloud products, Confluence Cloud, Bitbucket Cloud, and our Cloud Platform. This lets you know what's coming soon and what we're thinking about for future updates.
The Atlassian Cloud release notes blog and Bitbucket Cloud blog may also contain information on upcoming changes.
We don't provide specific release dates for upcoming changes.
Feature and improvement suggestions
Feedback from customers like you helps us shape and improve Atlassian products for all teams. We're continuously learning, analyzing and interviewing customers to make our products more intuitive and user-friendly, and to meet feature requirements. We encourage you to share your feedback and how you're using Atlassian products through Atlassian Community, jira.atlassian.com, or directly within our Cloud products. Learn more about our plans and the latest changes via our Cloud Roadmap or Data Center Roadmap.
We get a large number of suggestions and feature requests. Your comments and votes on suggestions help us understand what you're passionate about and how you want our products to support you and your team. The most helpful information you can provide us when commenting on issues is how a particular suggestion would help you. If you describe your use-case to us, and how the suggested change would benefit you and your team, it lets us gain a much deeper understanding of the need behind the suggestion.
Suggestions often have an impact on what we work on, even if we ultimately choose not to implement a suggestion exactly as it's described. Our ultimate goal is to understand what you and all of our customers need and to create products that meet those needs. Occasionally, that'll mean implementing a suggestion as described, but it usually means working to understand the need behind the suggestion and how we can meet that need for as many users as possible.
While we endeavor to update and respond to popular suggestions, the volume we receive means there will often be occasions when we can't provide an update or response. We don't provide any compensation or credit for feature suggestions that we implement.
Join the conversation on Atlassian Community
Our Product Managers regularly post articles about new features and changes to the Atlassian Community. You can comment on these posts, ask questions, and discuss with our PMs and other Atlassian users.
Release terminology for Data Center products
Platform release (example: 4.0) contains significant or breaking changes. For example changes or removal of existing APIs, significant changes to the user experience, or removal or a major feature.
Feature release (example: 4.6) can contain new features, changes to existing features, changes to supported platforms (such as databases, operating systems, Git versions), or removal of features. These were previously referred to as 'major' releases by most products.
Bugfix release (example: 4.6.2) can contain bug fixes and stability and performance improvements. Depending on the nature of the fixes they may introduce minor changes to existing features, but do not include new features or high-risk changes, so can be adopted quickly. We recommend regularly upgrading to the latest bugfix release for your current version. These were previously referred to as 'maintenance' releases by most products.
In addition to the three main release types, a feature release can also be designated a Long Term Support release (formerly known as an Enterprise release), which means it will receive bug fixes for a longer period of time than a standard feature release.
Long Term Support releases
Long Term Support releases (formerly known as Enterprise releases) are for Data Center customers who prefer to allow more time to prepare for upgrades to new feature versions but still need to receive critical bug fixes. If you only upgrade to a new feature version about once a year, a Long Term Support release may be a good fit for your organization. For Jira Software, Confluence, Bitbucket, and Bamboo we will:
- Designate a feature release as a Long Term Support release, at least every 12 months.
- Backport critical security fixes, as outlined in our current security bug fix policy, and fixes relating to stability, data integrity, or critical performance issues.
- Make bug fix releases available for the designated version until it reaches end-of-life.
- Provide a change log of all changes between one Long Term Support release and the next to make upgrading easier.
Not all bug fixes will be backported. We'll target the bugs and regressions that we deem most critical, focusing on stability, data integrity, or performance issues. There may also be some fixes that we choose not to backport due to risk, complexity, or because the fix requires changes to an API, code used by third-party apps (also known as add-ons), or infrastructure that we would usually reserve for a platform release.
For Jira Software Data Center customers, we'll endeavor to allow zero downtime upgrades between one Long Term Support release and the next Long Term Support release, but can't guarantee that downtime will not be required, depending on the nature of the changes. The change log will indicate if a zero downtime upgrade will be available.
In the example below, version 4.2 has been designated a Long Term Support release. The number of bug fix releases and timing illustrated below is just an example, your product's release cadence may differ.
Further reading
See Atlassian Support Offerings for more support-related information.


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Jewish Candles Coloring PagePlease share this free coloring page. Thank you! Free Jewish Candles Coloring PageThis free religion coloring page can be used two ways. You can print the coloring page directly in your browser or download the PDF and then print it.Here are the two versions of this coloring printable: Jewish Candles Coloring Page PDF - Download, Best Quality Printable Jewish Candles Coloring Page - Print Directly From Your Browser, Easy Tips on Using the Jewish Candles Coloring PrintableThere are two icons above the free Jewish candles coloring page. The first is labeled "Download" which will prompt you to download the PDF version of this coloring page. Printing the PDF of this religion coloring page will produce the best results. The second icon is labeled "Print". Selecting this will take you to another web page that only has the Jewish candles coloring page so that you can print the worksheet inside of your browser. |
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Nick Jonas + Priyanka Chopra Reportedly Planning July/August Engagement
Are wedding bells in the distance for Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra?
According to The Indian Express, a June 27 article via Bollywood tabloid Filmfare reports the undercover couple will make their romance official with a surprise engagement next month.
Per the magazine, Jonas and Chopra jetted out to India over the weekend, where the 25-year-old artist met with Priyanka's parents and loved ones. There, the two supposedly made plans to become engaged toward the last week of July or in early August.
Chopra's cousin, Golmaal Again actress Parineeeti Chopra, even posted a video to Instagram of her hanging out the 35-year-old star during the Goa getaway. The film producer captioned another behind-the-scenes shot from her beachside vacation with Jonas, calling the pop star one of her "favorite men."
Although neither party has addressed the flash engagement as of late, it's not hard to believe the "Chainsaw" crooner could pop the question to Chopra in the weeks ahead. Rumors of their romance have been swirling ever since they hit the Met Ball Gala as each other's date last year.
Thought it wasn't until the duo was spotted attending the Beauty and the Beast Live concert at the Hollywood Bowl back in May that reignited their love connection.
The surprise proposal news comes just weeks after the musician was caught redhanded dropping a flirty comment under one of the Quantico actress' pics. Seeming to confirm their relationship, Jonas followed with a romantic Instagram Story of the star last week, captioning the video "Her," along with a heart-eyed emoji.
What say you of the flash engagement, romantics? Let us know in the comments below.


text: How to get your Nebraska state drivers license. You will need your learners permit prior to getting your 50 hours of practice in with you guardian of 21 years or older. Use our online drivers ed course or practice tests to prepare you for your written test. Driver training is not required but very helpful in preparing for your drive test. Check below for a 911 driving school location nearest to you. Once you complete your behind the wheel practice and driver training you will be ready to take your drive test and get your license. Check with your local DMV office for all licensing requirements.


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Alice Cooper Says He 'Lost 15 Pounds' Due to COVID-19
Alice Cooper has recalled the struggles he faced in recovering from COVID-19.
The rocker and his wife, Sheryl, were both diagnosed with the disease back in December. And though he didn't require hospitalization, Cooper said the coronavirus was still tough to endure.
"It wiped us out," he admitted in a conversation with AZ Central. "I lost 15 pounds. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat."
The rocker admitted he "didn't do any singing at all" during his recovery, but gradually he was able to work back into shape.
"Every day you feel two percent better. Then you get a little bit better, the next day a little bit better, until finally, you're going, 'Oh, wait a minute, I feel almost normal now,'" Cooper explained. "But it does take it out of you. I mean, it's like pneumonia. It takes a while to get your sea legs back under you."
These days, Cooper is "feeling pretty good." The shock-rocker estimated his health is "at least 95%" of what it was before contracting the virus. Both he and Sheryl have now received their COVID-19 vaccinations, and the couple has also taken an active role in encouraging their fans to do the same.
Cooper's most recent album, Detroit Stories, was released in February. The LP was a tribute to the Motor City, Cooper's hometown and a music scene which helped give his band's its initial break.
Meanwhile, the iconic singer is gearing up for a return to the stage, headlining his Coopstock benefit on April 24 in Mesa, Ariz. Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer, former Foreigner singer Lou Gramm and Asia featuring John Payne are also scheduled to perform.


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Uzbekistan local time |
The scientists consider Tashkent to be 25 centuries old - from the first settlements till the modern megalopolis with the towering buildings, crowded avenues and heavy traffic. On approaching the city at night one can see the glow of lights that cover half the sky.
read moreIn different centuries Uzbekistan's ancient cities played the main role on the Great Silk Road - this ancient transcontinental road. But the title "the Heart of Great Silk Road" is indeed obtained by Samarkand. The city is included into "The World Heritage" list of UNESCO - so great the significance of material and spiritual values concentrated here.
read moreAll those people who happened to visit Bukhara, most likely paid attention to the strange "shaggy hats" on the top of minarets. These are storks` nests. And the white bird of hope can serve as a city's symbol, symbol of its firmness and stability. More than once throughout its history this rich city suffered the invasions of various enemies.
read moreKhiva - city-museum, like Pompeya and Gerkulanum, but unlike those places it is alive city. As many Eastern cities, Khiva was born "on the water" - in the lower reaches of the Amudarya river and grew up on the irrigated lands of Khorezm oasis.
read moreShakhrisabz - hometown of Temur where everything somehow or other connected with his name. Here the lord was born and grew up, here his father Amir Taragai and spiritual advisor Shamseddin Kulyol as well as his eldest sons Jakhongir and Omar Sheikh were buried.
read moreOld Termez was formed on the right side of the Djaikhun - Amu-Darya in a place convenient to cross the river, at the intersection of Great Silk Road routes, five kilometres to the northwest from the city of Termez. Over centuries it was developing as one of the leading city of Bactria and then Kushan Empire.
read moreFor its fecundity and picturesque scenery Fergana valley is rightly called a pearl of Central Asia. For the most part the valley is surrounded by the Tyan Shan, Hissar and Alay mountains, and only in the west it is open for the Syr Darya River.
read moreKarakalpakistan, being a part of Uzbekistan, is an autonomous republic. Its territory for the most part encompasses Usturt plateau, Kyzylkum Desert and the Aral Sea and it has a rich history and culture manifested by many interesting monuments.
read moreNature of Uzbekistan presents an amazing variety of landscapes. The Aral Sea borders on the sands of the Kizilkum Desert; the Pamir mountain range - "The Roof of the World" protects the subtropics of Surkhandarya oasis from northern winds; fertile Fergana Valley is surrounded by the foothills of the Tian-Shan Mountains - "Sky Mountains".
read more


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Partners and benefits
We're always looking for ways to improve our network and service benefits for you. That's why we've teamed up with partner airlines to bring you extra perks that you can look forward to whenever you travel.
Enjoy more connecting flights, especially through codeshare arrangements. Gain access to more passenger lounges at airports around the world. And with a more rewarding Frequent Flyer Programme, earning miles just got easier.


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How to sell your Home faster for Top Dollar
Are you thinking about selling your home, or are in the process of doing so? If so, there's probably a mix of excitement and anxiety going through your mind. Selling a home can be a complex and emotional process.
You are, after all liquidating the biggest asset most people would ever own, and you want to sell it as quickly as possible and for the best possible price.
So what can you do to make sure you attract as many potential buyers as possible, and increase your chances of making as much money as possible from the sale of your home?
1. Hire the Right Real Estate Agent
Just like you wouldn't want to appear in front of court without an attorney, it's really not the best idea to try to sell a home without the right real estate agent.
A real estate agent is instrumental in getting you the best possible price for your home, selling it quickly, and avoiding legal issues.
First of all, a real estate agent serves as a buffer between you and potential buyers. Your real estate agent takes care of scheduling showings, evaluating buyers, crafting your property listing description, and marketing your property.
Also, selling your home is a highly emotional process. It's the place where you raised a family, created memories, and enjoyed spending time with loved ones. It can be difficult to be 100% objective about the market value of your home even in normal circumstances. But that becomes even more difficult when you're dealing with all the work that goes with moving out of your home, looking out for the next place to live in, and dealing with the selling process.
A real estate agent has no emotional attachment to your home, and can provide a data-based analysis on how much the buyer is willing to pay for your home. Because real estate agents' job is to market and sell homes, they bring experience and expertise in navigating real estate, negotiations, and marketing.
While those that choose to sell their home on their own typically do so in order to avoid paying agent fees, research shows that home sellers that use an agent typically net more than those that sell their home themselves.
However, don't think that every agent is as good as the next. You need to carefully consider the qualifications of whatever agent you choose, their track record, and the kind of marketing strategies they offer. Choose an agent that has a solid digital marketing plan, including a strong social media presence, and a good reputation in your area.
2. Price your home to sell from day one
At first glance, it may seem like a good idea to price your home as high as you possibly can. After all, there are always rounds of negotiation in real estate, and buyers can always negotiate and make a counter offer... right?
Sadly, that's a recipe for failure in real estate.
Buyers (and especially buyer agents) are more informed than ever, and have all the tools they need to know how much a home is worth, and what a realistic and market-data-backed final price tag should look like.
If a home is obviously overpriced, buyers won't have the patience or interest to spend round after round of counter offers., especially if there are alternatives in the market.
In fact, if the price for the home is too high, your home might not even show up in important areas of a MLS or property search sites. For example, if you price a $280,000 home at $350,000, it won't show up on a property search for homes up to $300,000.
Also, if your home remains unsold in the market for too long, it may start raising questions about whether there's something wrong with the home.
And opportunistic buyer agents and investors will know that the longer a listing remains in the market, the more it will cost you, and they'll start making ridiculously low offers. At the end, you could end up with a final price that's much lower than you could have hoped for.
By far the most effective way to attract buyers is to price your home correctly from day one.
Trust your agent's advice, and make sure you verify the data that they use to price your property. By pricing your property correctly from day one, you'll attract more qualified buyers, and your home won't get stuck in the market unsold.
3. Don't skimp on the looks
When you sell a home, looks are everything. It's what grabs a buyer's attention and helps them imagine what their life will be like in your home.
Which is why you need to do whatever you can to help them see the house not like somebody else's home, but rather their future home. And you should also make sure you present your home in the best possible light. Both for picture purposes, and also for live showings.
There are two scenarios in which your home would be viewed by buyers: one where the home is vacant, and one where you're still living in it.
If you decide to stay in your home until it's completely sold, make sure you at least do the following updates on your home:
- Replace all carpets
- Put a fresh coat of paint on the walls
- Update your appliances
- Update your light fixtures
- Get a landscaper to overhaul your yard
These are some of the most cost effective ways to improve the overall appearance of your home without investing a ridiculously large amount of money.
In addition, make sure you declutter your home, and remove all personal items that tie your home to you (depersonalizing). These steps will help make your home more appealing to buyers, since they will help your home feel "brand new".
On the other hand, if the house is already vacant, there's even more you can do. Hire a professional stager to further make your home look like something out of a luxury real estate magazine, and help sell your home even faster.
If you recently made any extensive renovations, or purchased new, brand new appliances, make sure these are mentioned extensively in your property description and are featured in your property pictures.
4. Use a professional photographer
Today, the vast majority of property searches by home buyers begin online. This happens way before they even reach out to a real estate agent, or even officially apply for a loan.
So in order for all of your efforts to make your home feel brand new are shown in the best possible light in your online listing, make sure a professional photographer does your home photos.
Professional photography can set your home apart from the competition, and it's instrumental in helping sell a home as quickly as possible. Buyers are far more likely to go visit or make an offer on a home with professional photography, than one without it.
While you may be able to skip some tips in this article, this one should ABSOLUTELY NOT BE SKIPPED. Hiring a professional photographer is one of the best possible steps you can take to attract more buyers. It's not an expense, it's a real investment.
5. Make your home as easy to show as possible
The easier you make your home to show, the more buyers will be able to see it, and the faster your home will be able to sell.
There are many ways you can do so.
First of all, if you're able to move to your new home/apartment before selling your current home, do so. That way your agent will be able to show your home to interested buyers more often, and you won't have to bother with leaving your home each time they show your home.
If that's not possible, ask your real estate agents or broker to set up your multiple listing service (MLS) to read "call first, lockbox". The "call first" notation ensures that you'll know when a buyer or an agent is coming to show your home.
Avoid limiting the times they can show and try to resist asking that they book "by appointment only".
6. Make buyers feel like they're getting a great deal
Few things motivate people more than the feeling that they're getting a good deal.
So if you really want to attract as many buyers as possible, you need to offer better monetary incentives.
One of the tools that can be best used to your advantage is how your agent's commission split is used.
While it may seem that your agent gets a disproportionately high amount of money for "just marketing your property", a high percentage of that commission doesn't actually go to your agent.
A significant chunk of it (typically 40-50%) is used to incentivize buyer's agents to market your home to their potential buyers, and bring a qualified buyer to you.
The better split that your agent provides for buyer agent's, the more it will motivate them to bring a qualified buyer.
So when interviewing a real estate agent, make sure you ask about how exactly their commission split will be used, and how much of it will be used towards the buyer's agent.
Examine what the typical commission split is in your area, and make sure your agent has at least a 50-50 split.
In addition, you can also make your deal more appealing by offering a few thousand dollars towards buyer's closing costs (which are traditionally covered by the buyer). Or if you really want to take it to the next level, you could even offer to pay for them completely.
7. Ask your agent to host agent and broker only open houses
Some top producing agents swear by the success of open houses, while others feel that the only purpose of them is to attract new clients.
But one thing that everyone can agree on is that open houses tend to attract more than just potential clients. Nosy neighbors and curious passersby tend to frequent open houses even if they have zero interest in buying a home.
So if you wish to hold an open house, make sure you host an agent and broker only open house.
By doing so, you'll be focusing on parties that have a financial incentive in seeing your property sold. In addition, by getting to see your property first hand, they will be able to tell their clients about it, and in essence, become additional promoters of your home.
In Conclusion
By using the strategies mentioned in this guide, you can increase the chances that you will sell your home faster, and by extension, at the highest possible price. But as always, the best possible strategy you can follow is to hire the best agent for the job.
A real estate agent can guide you through the entire real estate process, help you avoid common costly mistakes, and negotiate the best possible price. And if you pick an agent that specializes in your type of property and a proven track record, your agent will already be very familiar with the most effective marketing strategies that work in your area of service.


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Food security has taken on a new dimension almost five months into the Gulf crisis that pits a UAE-Saudi alliance against Qatar and for which there is no resolution in sight.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia would deny that they are attempting to starve Qatar into submission with their diplomatic and economic boycott that has forced Qatar to seek alternative food suppliers and alternative air and sea shipment routes. Yet, de facto, their strategy is to drive the cost of Qatari food and other imports up to the point that the wealthy Gulf state no longer can afford the more expensive imports.
In the process, the boycott has redefined the national security aspects of food security, particularly for small states that are more vulnerable to external pressures.
Food security amounted for the Gulf states in the first decade of the 21st century to ensuring access in a global market in which shortages were driving up prices. The Gulf states responded to the food crises and massive price hikes in 2007-2008 and in 2010-2011 by following in the footsteps of China South Korea and Europe and acquiring huge tracts of agricultural land in Asia and Africa.
Ironically, high oil prices were one driver of the increased cost of food that prompted some exporters in Africa and Asia confronted with domestic shortages to restrict exports. The restrictions were what prompted the Gulf states to go on their land acquisition binge.
At the time, food security was for cash-rich but soil-poor Gulf states a question of market supply and demand and ensuring the food supply chain at whatever price. That narrow definition first changed with the popular Arab revolts in 2011 that toppled long-standing autocrats and sparked civil wars and a counterrevolution. Some of those revolts, like in Syria, which started as a peaceful protest in demand of change before it deteriorated into a catastrophic civil war, were prompted in part by droughts that effected the agricultural economy.
With the revolts, food security took on a far greater domestic security aspect for autocratic Gulf leaders whose legitimacy was rooted in a social contract that promised a cradle-to-grave subsidized welfare state in exchange for surrender of all political rights.
The Gulf crisis, however, has taken the dimensions of food security for the Gulf as well as small states elsewhere to a new level. Food security no longer is primarily about commercial access or preferred access to world markets at times of shortages and rising prices. Control of agricultural resources in far-flung lands no longer provides necessary levels of security. The Gulf crisis has broadened the aim of food security, particularly for small states, to include a diversified supply, guaranteed shipping routes, and self-sufficiency to the degree possible as a means of defense against attempts to starve a small state into submission.
The defense and security as opposed to market aspects of food have taken on additional significance not only because of Qatar's need to fend off pressure on its food supplies by neighbours determined to undermine its independence and force it to adhere to policies devised in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh rather than Doha.
The most recent joint agricultural outlook of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) for the next ten years suggests that the food crises of the first decade of the 21st century are for now a thing of the past. "Prices for the main crops, livestock and fish products all fell in 2015, signalling that an era of high prices is quite likely over for all sub-sectors," the outlook said.
Food security is at the core of Qatar's ability to resist UAE-Saudi pressure. Its continued capability to do so will likely define perceptions of margins of manoeuvrability that small states have in relationship to big brothers. "It sometimes takes war or the threat of war to make countries look at their food security," John Dore, an Irishman who is helping Qatar become self-sufficient in dairy products, told The Guardian.
To compensate for the effects of the UAE-Saudi blocking of land, sea and air routes, Qatar initially shifted the bulk of its dairy imports from Saud Arabia to Turkey and Iran. Trade between Qatar and Iran has increased by 60 percent since the imposition of the boycott in early June.
Importing thousands of cows from Europe and the United States, Mr. Dore's operation, within a matter of months, has been able to supply up to 40 percent of Qatar's milk needs. He expects that the import of another 10,000 animals over the next year will make Qatar self-sufficient.
To be sure, Qatar's enormous wealth gave it a leg up in its ability to fund resilience and its refusal to cave into the demands of its bigger brothers. In doing so, it relied not only on its financial muscle but also on the relationships and dependencies it established by diversifying the client base for its liquified natural gas.
Nonetheless, the long and short of Qatar's fight is that how the battle in the Gulf unfolds and how the crisis is resolved will likely have far-reaching consequences for definitions of food security, priorities in shaping food security strategies, and the architecture of international relations as small states gain confidence, recognizing that size is no longer the only or main factor that determines their ability to chart an independent course.


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Oliver Soans, Director, Product Management, MDM & 360 Solutions
John Thomas, Director, Product Management, MDM & 360 Solutions


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7 Steps to Clutter Control
Better planning, smarter strategies reduce stress and save time. Get started now!
1. Enlist the help of a family member or friend who can be supportive, physically and emotionally, and help keep you on task.
2. Analyze each room, and list all the activities that need to be conducted in that space, recommends professional organizer MaryJo Monroe. Then sort items and toss, relocate, or donate items that do not serve the main function of the space.
3. Deal with the biggest items that are cluttering your room first so you can see an immediate impact. "Clearing a large amount of space will boost your morale," adds Monroe.
4. Install organization systems that are intuitive. Every item needs a home, and the home must suit the need. For instance, if the entry hallway is always cluttered with shoes, put a basket there to contain them.
5. Take decluttering in small steps. Working one room at a time or even a portion of a room at a time, such as the kitchen countertop, will prevent you from becoming overwhelmed and tempted to call it quits. "Doing something feels better than doing nothing," Monroe says.
6. When evaluating items that hold sentimental value, segregate the object from the memory. If you have Grandma's china but don't use it, consider keeping a teacup and saucer to display for that memory boost. Donating the rest to an appreciative family member who will use it is often a better way to honor a loved one's memory.
7. It's not only important to think in terms of getting organized but also staying organized. Employ a program of ongoing maintenance, even if it's only a few minutes a day, so that cleanup occurs while clutter is still in the minimal—not mountainous—stage.
If the task still seems daunting, or the situation has gotten a bit too out of hand, consider hiring a professional organizer who'll come to your home to help you prioritize and systematize. The nonprofit group National Association of Professional Organizers can help you find an expert in your area. For details, visit the group's website at napo.net.
Sometimes the mess that seemingly won't go away is a symptom of a deeper problem. Read more in "End Clutter Now!" March/April 2013.
Illustration by Gwenda Kaczor.


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Yes, yes, the "who" thing is getting tiring, but hey ~ they're owls. It's gotta be done. I posted about getting these owls for the great price of $15.00.
They are quite big {about 19-20 inches tall} and quite heavy. I envisioned them with an Anthropology type look, even though Anthropology doesn't seem to have anything like what I transformed them into. Here they are!
Simply done with a spray of good old white gloss paint! Well, actually four coats of good old white gloss paint.
They are ready to make their new home at my daughter's house, but I couldn't resist making up a vignette or two with them before they go.
Linking up with
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On The Porch
Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
Your Cozy Home at Cozy Home Scenes
Winter Blues Wednesday at DIY by Design
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Inspiration Friday At The Picket Fence


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[as prepared]
Thank you and it's great to be back at the National Press Club at a time when the city seems to really come alive again.
Anyone who visits Washington comes away with a sense of permanence and timelessness. All of the granite, marble and limestone that went into building the colonnades and statues that adorn this beautiful city speak to us of the enduring legacy of our great nation…of heritage and hope…tradition and trust…fairness and freedom…character and courage.
Collectively, these monuments also bear testimony to the enormous progress this country has made over the centuries…of men and women who were not afraid to embrace new ideas… and men and women who were not afraid to challenge the past and old ways of thinking.
However, the germination
of any idea…the cultivation of a concept…is only the beginning.
Then, begins the real work of teasing it into life, and growing it.
And that process never ends. It's one of continuous improvement. As
IBM's Thomas Watson said, "Whenever an individual or business
decides that success has been attained, progress stops."
I am a firm believer that true progress in an institution such as
the IRS is achieved by standing on the shoulders of those who have
preceded us. We build on their work and try to take it to the next
This has been my experience as Commissioner of the IRS. I look back to what the IRS was like before the major reorganization took place in 1998 and where we are today…a sustained arc of progress that had a very different beginning.
Looking into the rear-view mirror, there was a time that the IRS was thought of as an organization that seemed mired in the past…one that had not kept pace with advances in technology…one that was slow to adapt to emerging best practices in customer service and compliance…and one that was slow to recognize an increasingly evolving and changing taxpayer base and the broad implications that a global economy had on the tax system.
But standing before you today…standing on the shoulders of those who began reimagining what the Internal Revenue Service could be in the 21st century…it is gratifying to see and share with you the meaningful…and I believe, lasting progress that has been made.
As IRS Commissioner, I am the head of a 100,000 employee financial services institution that processes over $2.5 trillion annually for over 200 million individuals, businesses, and non-profits.
People often ask me how do you get an organization as big as the IRS to move forward on key initiatives. Two of the key factors are to set the right strategy, one which people believe in and you can explain, and then to stay focused.
I'm a believer in relentless and myopic focus on priorities -- not getting distracted by too many crises or incoming demands -- and making sure that you communicate these priorities clearly inside and outside the institution that you run to ensure there is broad support. This is much easier said than done -- especially in a government agency -- but staying focused and consistent over multiple years is a key to success.
So today, I wanted to share with you some of the results of four years of relentless focus on a handful of strategic priorities we set for the IRS. The priorities are:
- Creating new
capabilities and efficiencies through technology
- Rethinking and reimagining the IRS's relationship with paid tax
return preparers
- Leveraging data analytics for continuous improvement
- Enhancing our taxpayer service capabilities
- Transforming the agency to confront the challenges of a global
economy, and
- Positioning the IRS workforce to make sure that we are prepared
for tomorrow's challenges.
Let me begin with our efforts to modernize our technology, and one critical program in particular that's called the Customer Account Data Engine -- or CADE2.
You may have seen video footage from the 1960s, where very earnest looking people load enormous tapes onto mainframe computers to perform what was then a magical feat of automated data processing. Fast forward more than 40 years, and although the tapes are much smaller, and robotic arms move them from place to place, the IRS still operates some of its core systems using the same basic technology. You might ask yourself -- why?
The answer is complicated, and has at least three parts.
First -- because it works. The IRS was one of the first institutions to deploy data processing on a large scale and some of the original systems were truly engineering marvels. Although they were advanced at the time, there are now a dwindling number of people who understand the old systems, and it is incredibly expensive to train new people on this obsolete technology.
Second -- because the IRS has built an elaborate set of newer systems and technologies that compensate for the shortcomings of the legacy systems. This means that some of the key technologies -- such as those for telephone routing or exam selection -- don't need to rely on the old systems. It also means we have a very complex, fragile and interrelated set of old and new systems, the untangling of which is very complicated.
Third -- because there has been real reluctance to fund IRS technology in a way that is commensurate with its mission. The fact is that the IRS currently spends less than three percent of its budget on long-term enhancements to its IT infrastructure. When compared with large private sector financial institutions -- none of which come close to matching the number of customers that the IRS must support -- that percentage is shockingly low. The President has proposed a much-needed substantial increase in the IRS technology budget, in large part reflecting our critical mission.
With all of these factors in mind, when I arrived I initiated a broad review of the IRS technology portfolio. We pruned our portfolio of projects to focus on addressing the single most visible and complex issue that had been holding back the IRS for decades. Since the 1960s, the IRS had conducted its core account processing on a weekly basis. This processing included basic taxpayer information, such as your current account balance…whether you have outstanding amounts due…and whether you've made any recent payments.
I am pleased to report that this year the IRS successfully migrated from a weekly processing cycle to daily processing. This was a multi-year, incredibly complex undertaking that went to the heart of systems that process trillions of dollars in tax revenue. This is an incredibly important milestone for the IRS, one which we first set our sights on in the late 1980s.
The payoffs from this
change are quicker tax return processing for all taxpayers,
up-to-date information at the fingertips of our customer account
representatives, and a platform for more real-time analytics and
compliance. It is already benefiting taxpayers this year, and will
produce major benefits for the nation's tax system for years to
Our next key long-term priority is an initiative that we started
three years ago to look at how the IRS interacts with paid tax
return preparers. And here's the reason why we took on this
challenge. One of the most important tasks millions of Americans
have been tackling, and will be tackling over the next two weeks, is
preparing an accurate and timely tax return.
However, over the past 20-30 years, the way that taxpayers go about filing their taxes has dramatically changed. Today, more than 9 out of 10 taxpayers use a paid tax preparer or tax software. Despite the fact that paying taxes is one of the largest financial transactions that the average American family has each year, when I arrived at the IRS, there were no basic competency requirements for tax return preparers. In fact, while in most states you need a license to cut someone's hair, just a few years ago almost anyone could prepare a federal tax return for any other person for a fee, regardless of their level of experience or knowledge of the tax law.
Now, as the leader of the IRS, I am always looking for points of leverage -- and our return preparer initiative is just that. In essence, we shifted from a retail to a wholesale approach. We shifted resources from dealing with taxpayers one-by-one, to dealing with the intermediaries who deal with a hundred or a thousand taxpayers at a time. That's what I mean by leverage.
To give you a sense of scale, 95 million individual and business income tax returns were prepared by paid preparers in 2011…and that doesn't include self-prepared returns using software. The taxpayers served by paid preparers accounted for $5.7 trillion of income reported.
Given the importance of paid return preparers to the integrity of our tax system, we're now well into the process of ensuring a basic competency level for tax return preparers and focusing our enforcement efforts on rooting out unscrupulous preparers. We have registered over 840,000 return preparers and have begun administering a competency test for any preparer who is not a CPA, attorney or enrolled agent. These individuals also have to complete 15 hours of continuing education each year from IRS-approved providers.
Our next major priority is leveraging data analytics in order to continually improve our operations.
The IRS has always been an information intensive enterprise. But it's the organization of data and ultimately the knowledge and intelligence we extract from the information we receive that really matters. It can show us the areas of greatest non-compliance...and thereby, contribute to more efficient and effective compliance programs.
We have built a team of people with analytical expertise and connected them with our business units to continually improve our operations. They are working on multiple fronts, and the results have been impressive. Let me give you just one example of how we are leveraging data analytics, and how many of the strategic initiatives I have discussed come together.
Using better data on return preparers that we gained through our return preparer initiatives and faster processing cycles achieved through CADE2, we applied advanced data analytics to link tax returns that showed potentially serious compliance issues to the individuals who prepared them. We identified a number of preparers with apparently inaccurate returns and, depending on the type and severity of the issue, are applying different types of compliance tools.
The early results of this effort are encouraging, but we'll need to remain focused on testing different techniques to continually improve our ability to accurately assess the compliance risks and determine what types of compliance activities are most effective. Based on what we learn, we will continuously make adjustments and improve the program.
In addition to finding and stopping more fraud this filing season, there are other benefits to combining the expertise and knowledge of our data analytics… return preparer… audit…and technology teams. Bringing them together enables us to improve our ability to understand trends in non-compliance on a number of fronts, and be able to identify and react to emerging compliance issues faster.
The example I gave you is just one of many where we are using advanced data analytics to significantly up our game.
But the IRS is not just about compliance. While popular culture generally links IRS with compliance and enforcement, the truth is that the IRS interacts with the overwhelming majority of the population strictly on a customer service basis. And providing quality customer service is a key priority of mine...and every bit as important as enforcement.
We provide numerous options to assist taxpayers in preparing and filing their taxes -- from tax forms and publications…to electronic filing services…to toll-free telephone, in-person, and Web options for getting in touch with the IRS on specific issues.
Now, every year, the American Customer Satisfaction Index measures customer satisfaction across various industries and government agencies. While we have many measures of customer service at the IRS, this composite index is the main measure we use to track our overall performance.
In 1998, the IRS had hit
rock bottom. It reached an all-time low with only 32 percent of
respondents to the American Customer Satisfaction Index survey
voicing satisfaction with how we were doing our job. But over time,
the IRS pulled out of this downward spiral. Slowly, but surely, it
regained taxpayer approval as the IRS improved its services, such as
e-file, and began offering new ones through our Web site. All of
this hard work paid off. The numbers tell the story.
For 2011, the American Customer Satisfaction Index survey of
taxpayers showed satisfaction with the tax filing experience
reaching 73 on a scale of 100 among all individual tax filers. That
is our highest score since we began participating in the survey in
1994. I am especially proud of our continued progress in this
metric, given the new responsibilities handed to the IRS in recent
years…the increasing complexity of the tax code…and our continued
drive to cut costs.
However, as a leader I believe that we must never stop innovating to meet the service needs of an increasingly diverse taxpayer base, and we must serve taxpayers where they need it and when they need it.
One of our most far reaching innovations…and one of the most successful modernization programs in government…is e-filing. Once just a glimmer in our eyes, the e-filing rate for individuals has grown from 16 percent 15 years ago to over 77 percent last year. In addition to a better customer experience, the cost savings are enormous. It costs only about 15 cents to process an e-filed return – a fraction of the approximately $3.50 it costs to process a paper return. And with e-file, taxpayers get their refunds faster, with fewer data processing errors that can lead to problems later in the process.
Let me give you another good example of innovation in the service area. More and more, we are communicating with taxpayers who may not get their information from traditional sources, such as newspapers and national news. In response to this trend, last year, we unveiled "IRS2Go," our first smartphone application that lets taxpayers check on the status of their refund and obtain other helpful tax information on their iPhone or Android. You can expect us to continue to innovate in the service arena in the years to come.
Let me now talk about how the IRS is managing its responsibilities in an increasingly global environment. In a world where products are routinely sold after intellectual property is generated in one or more countries…where logistics and engineering are carried out in other countries…where risks are managed in a variety of places...and where components are sourced from multiple jurisdictions, figuring out what U.S. corporate income tax may be appropriate when the products go to market can be a challenge to say the least.
Both corporations and individuals operate in the global economy. For example, many individuals have global exposure through their investments and 401Ks. Yet, this fundamental shift to a more global economy has created a real set of challenges for the IRS. On the individual front, we have made putting a big dent in offshore tax evasion a major priority.
We view offshore tax evasion as an issue of fundamental fairness. Wealthy people who unlawfully hide their money offshore aren't paying the taxes they owe, while schoolteachers, firefighters and other ordinary citizens who play by the rules are forced to pick up the slack.
Over the past four years, we have significantly increased our resources and focus on offshore tax evasion, and the results have been substantial. We upped the ante in a meaningful way with our work on Swiss financial institutions -- where for the first time in history, a bank secrecy jurisdiction turned over thousands of names and account numbers.
As we increased our enforcement efforts and gained significant momentum, we gave taxpayers a chance to come in voluntarily and avoid going to jail. In a typical year, we used to get 100 or so taxpayers who used our voluntary disclosure program. For this program, we thought that figure would rise to maybe 1,000.
So, we are very pleased that through the end of 2011, we've had approximately 33,000 voluntary disclosures from individuals who came in under several special programs we started in 2009. To date, these individuals have paid back taxes and stiff penalties amounting to more than $4.4 billion, and the number continues to grow. We are now mining the information we have received to date and have launched our next wave of investigations on banks, bankers, intermediaries and taxpayers.
Collecting additional revenue for past misdeeds -- as important as that may be -- is not the only consideration here. It is perhaps more important that we're bringing U.S. taxpayers back into the system…back into compliance… so they properly report and pay their taxes for years to come. We have fundamentally changed the risk calculus of taxpayers who are thinking about hiding their money overseas, and we are well on our way to deterring the next generation of taxpayers from using hidden bank accounts to cheat on their taxes.
Now, we are also upping our game in the large business arena, particularly as it relates to international tax issues. We are shifting our international approach to be more strategic, and to view taxpayers through the prism of their business objectives and tax planning strategies. Indeed, our compliance strategy is starting to mirror the corporation's tax planning strategy.
The end game is a way of organizing our international compliance programs to: identify the highest compliance risks among our taxpayer base…work cases as effectively and efficiently as possible…not waste our and taxpayers' time on issues that do not pose compliance risk…and find appropriate ways to resolve cases as soon as possible.
We are also moving from information sharing to more coordinated action among government tax authorities on a global basis. I'm the chairman of the main global body of tax authorities, which is comprised of my counterparts from 43 nations, including those from all G20 nations. We have stepped up our coordinated efforts on offshore tax evasion by individuals, and have embarked on a project to conduct joint audits of certain multinational companies -- which should reduce administrative burden on a company and help increase compliance.
Now, after all that I've described…all of our service and compliance strategic priorities …one fact rises to the top…people are our most valuable asset and focusing on them is a strategic imperative. One of my core beliefs is that if we're going to serve taxpayers well, we must have engaged and motivated employees.
While I spent my first 90 days as Commissioner listening and learning, during that time I also launched what I called the Workforce of Tomorrow Task Force with the stated objective of making the IRS the best place to work in government. We put an emphasis on key factors including engagement, accountability, career paths and management to position the agency for excellence in the future.
We put together a framework of priority items -- from speeding up hiring…to training people…to getting rid of managerial burden. We dealt with the big issues like culture, but also everyday things like employees being asked to travel for work, but not having the technology they need to get the job done efficiently while they are out of the office.
I am heartened to see that the work we started four years ago has penetrated our 100,000 person organization. From 2008 to 2011, we jumped from 8th place to 3rd place among the fifteen large agencies with over 20,000 employees in the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government survey. While we still have a lot of work ahead of us, we are making significant strides in being a people-focused organization.
On top of the proactive
agenda I've just outlined, in recent years, the IRS has been called
on more and more to play a vital role in key policy objectives set
forth by Congress and the Administration. I call this final category
of work "incoming priorities," and it's must-do work that's critical
to the country's future.
The IRS is now recognized as a highly efficient and effective
institution to carry out important and high profile government
initiatives. Our portfolio of duties was greatly expanded during the
recession when we were called upon to help revive the economy. For
example, about one-third of the Recovery Act, or approximately $300
billion, ran through the tax system and the IRS.
That includes everything from the Making Work Pay credit, which gave
95 percent of Americans a tax break, to an expanded net operating
loss carryback that enabled us to push out tens of billions of
dollars to businesses when the credit markets were frozen. And we
have recently been asked to play a significant role in the
Affordable Care Act, because much of the "money flows" in that piece
of legislation are effectuated through the tax system.
The lesson learned here is that the IRS cannot afford to be rigid
and calcified. We must be agile and nimble enough to react quickly
to whatever the future may hold.
So four years ago, we set out with a clear strategy and intense
focus on six strategic priorities: technology modernization, tax
return preparers, data analytics, taxpayer service, offshore tax
evasion, and our people. The economic downturn and new policy
directions added two other major initiatives to our agenda. But by
staying focused, we have made significant headway in all of these
areas and have made lasting positive changes in our nation's tax
system which will position it well to serve the American people for
years to come.
Thank you for listening, and I would be happy to take some
Book/CDs by Michael E. Eidenmuller, Published by McGraw-Hill (2008)
Text Source: IRS.gov
Page Updated: 1/3/24
U.S. Copyright Status: Text = Public domain.


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The Boston Marathon is a week from today. But the expected pool of runners just shrunk. Dozens from Russia and Belarus are now banned from participating because of Russia's war on Ukraine. From member station WBUR, reporter Amanda Beland has more.
AMANDA BELAND, BYLINE: Katia Zykova has dreamed of running the Boston Marathon for years.
KATIA ZYKOVA: I just had a feeling that I need to be there and that this place is - really was something magical for me.
BELAND: Zykova lives in Russia. She first signed up to run in 2020. But the race was canceled because of the pandemic. She registered again this year. But when Russia invaded Ukraine, she was unsure if she could make it. With this ban, her decision was made for her. She says she's disappointed but supports the move.
ZYKOVA: If it can help even one people in Russia to understand that this war is so awful that you can't support it, if it will help people to think about it from this side, I am - I will take it.
BELAND: In a statement announcing the ban, the Boston Athletic Association says it will not recognize Russian or Belarusian flags or country affiliation until further notice. Russian and Belarusians runners who live elsewhere can still compete, but only as representatives of other countries. In the 2019 marathon, 46 Russian and Belarusian runners competed under their flags, none of them placed in the top 500 finishers. Nina Zarina is Russian, but lives and runs under the U.S. flag. She ran the Boston Marathon in the fall. She says she understands the sentiment but thinks the ban is the wrong way to support Ukraine.
NINA ZARINA: We don't choose the place where we were born. And I hope to see in future, the decision, that so powerful decision, will be made based on people actions, not only by the nationality.
ZYKOVA: Dan Fitzgerald gets both perspectives. He's a running coach and president of the Heartbreak Hill Running Company. It's named after the marathon course landmark Heartbreak Hill.
DAN FITZGERALD: The people with whom I empathize most, an athlete who doesn't get the opportunity that they've been training for is a terrible experience. But I think, under these circumstances, I support the ban.
BELAND: The Boston Athletic Association says efforts will be made to refund affected runners, including those from Ukraine who can't compete this year.
For NPR News, I'm Amanda Beland in Boston. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Glory Road
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Glory Road (1963) is a fantasy novel by Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (July - September 1963) and published as a book later the same year. It tells of the adventures of E. C. Gordon, (aka Oscar) and Star (aka Empress of the Twenty Universes) in their attempt to re-capture the "Egg of the Phoenix."
Glory Road
[edit]- I know a place where there is no smog and no parking problem and no population explosion...no Cold War and no H-bombs and no television commercials...no Summit Conferences, no Foreign Aid, no hidden taxes -- no income tax. The climate is the sort that Florida and California claim (and neither has), the land is lovely, the people are friendly and hospitable to strangers, the women are beautiful and amazingly anxious to please. I could go back. I could..
- Ch. 1 Introduction
- I was twenty-one but couldn't figure out which party to vote against.
- Ch. 1
- I object to conscription the way a lobster objects to boiling water: it may be his finest hour but it's not his choice.
- Ch. 1
- Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
- There is an old picture of a people traveling by sleigh through deep woods — pursued by wolves. Every now and then they grab one of their number and toss him to the wolves. That's conscription even if you call it "selective service" and pretty it up with USOs and "veterans' benefits" — it's tossing a minority to the wolves while the rest go on with that single-minded pursuit of the three-car garage, the swimming pool, and the safe & secure retirement benefits.
- Ch. 1
- It wasn't a war — not even a "Police Action." We were "Military Advisers." But a Military Adviser who has been dead four days in that heat smells the same way a corpse does in a real war.
- Ch. 1
- Regardless of T.O., all military bureaucracies consist of a Surprise Party Department, a Practical Joke Department, and a Fairy Godmother Department.
- Ch. 1
- Military policy is like cancer: Nobody knows where it comes from but it can't be ignored.
- Ch. 1
- There are wonderful night clubs in Nice but you need not patronize them as the floor show at the beaches is as good ... and free. I never appreciated what a high art the fan dance can be until the first time I watched a French girl get out of her clothes and into her bikini in plain sight of citizens, tourists, gendarmes, dogs — and me — all without quite violating the lenient French mores concerning "indecent exposure." Or only momentarily.
- Ch. 2
- I no longer gave a damn about three-car garages and swimming pools, nor any other status symbol or "security." There was no security in this world and only damn fools and mice thought there could be.
Somewhere back in the jungle I had shucked off all ambition of that sort. I had been shot at too many times and had lost interest...- Ch. 3
- I wanted the hurtling moons of Barsoom. I wanted Storisende and Poictesme, and Holmes shaking me awake to tell me, "The game's afoot!" I wanted to float down the Mississippi on a raft and elude a mob in company with the Duke of Bilgewater and the Lost Dauphin.
I wanted Prester John, and Excalibur held by a moon-white arm out of a silent lake. I wanted to sail with Ulysses and with Tros of Samothrace and eat the lotus in a land that seemed always afternoon. I wanted the feeling of romance and the sense of wonder I had known as a kid. I wanted the world to be what they had promised me it was going to be — instead of the tawdry, lousy fouled-up mess it is.
I had had one chance — for ten minutes yesterday afternoon. Helen of Troy, whatever your true name may be — And I had known it ... and I had let it slip away.
Maybe one chance is all you ever get.- Ch. 3
- ARE YOU A COWARD? This is not for you. We badly need a brave man. He must be 23 to 25 years old, in perfect health, at least six feet tall, weigh about 190 pounds, fluent English with some French, proficient with all weapons, some knowledge of engineering and mathematics essential, willing to travel, no family or emotional ties, indomitably courageous and handsome of face and figure. Permanent employment, very high pay, glorious adventure, great danger. You must apply in person...
- Words of an advertisement E. C. Gordon (later known as Oscar) keeps encountering. Ch. 3
- I picked up and balanced them all... and found there the blade that suited me the way Excalibur suited Arthur.
I've never seen one quite like it so I don't know what to call it. A saber, I suppose, as the blade was faintly curved and razor sharp on the edge and sharp rather far back on the back. But it had a point as deadly as a rapier and the curve was not enough to keep it from being used for thrust and counter quite as well as chopping away meat-axe style. The guard was a bell curved back around the knuckles into a semi-basket but cut away enough to permit full moulinet from any guard.
It balanced in the forte less than two inches from the guard, yet the blade was heavy enough to chop bone. It was the sort of sword that feels as if it were an extension of your body.- Ch. 5
- I knew, logically, that everything that had happened since I read that silly ad had been impossible.
So I chucked logic.
Logic is a feeble reed, friend. "Logic" proved that airplanes can't fly and that H-bombs won't work and that stones don't fall out of the sky. Logic is a way of saying that anything which didn't happen yesterday won't happen tomorrow.- Ch. 5
- Coffee comes in five descending stages: Coffee, Java, Jamoke, Joe, and Carbon Remover.
- Ch. 6
- A man who always obeys the law is even stupider than one who breaks it every chance.
- Ch. 6
- The person who says smugly that good manners are the same everywhere and people are just people hasn't been farther out of Podunk than the next whistle stop.
- Ch. 8
- I learned, first time out on patrol, that nothing hikes up that old biological urge like being shot at and living through it.
- Ch. 8
- "This is a crazy sort of country, you must admit. Utterly insane."
"Mmmm..." he answered. "Have you ever been in Washington, D. C.?"
"Well—" I grinned wryly. "Touché!"- Ch. 9
- Oscar, so far as I know, your culture is the only semicivilized one in which love is not recognized as the highest art and given the serious study it deserves.
- Star, Empress of the Twenty Universes, to Oscar. Ch. 10
- May it please milord Hero, the world is not what we wish it to be. It is what it is. No, I have over-assumed. Perhaps it is indeed what we wish it to be. Either way, it is what it is.
- Star, Ch. 10
- Natural law never takes a holiday. The invariability of natural law is the cornerstone of science.
- Oscar, Ch. 10
- An insult is like a drink; it affects one only if accepted. And pride is too heavy baggage for my journey; I have none.
- Ch. 10
- Sin is cruelty and injustice, all else is peccadillo. Oh, a sense of sin comes from violating the customs of your tribe. But breaking custom is not sin even when it feels so; sin is wronging another person.
- Ch. 10
- "An old family recipe:
'Eye of newt and toe of frog,
'Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
'Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
'Lizard's leg and howlet's wing — '"
"Shakespeare!" I said. "Macbeth."
"'Cool it with a baboon's blood — ' No, Will got it from me, milord love. That's the way with writers; they'll steal anything, file off the serial numbers, and claim it for their own."- Ch. 11
- Disturbing the ecological balance is the worst mistake any government can make.
- Ch. 12
- No evolutionary quirk can be considered odd if you use the way octopi make love as a comparison.
- Ch. 12
- There are things which cannot be taught in ten easy lessons, nor popularized for the masses; they take years of skull sweat. This be treason in an age when ignorance has come into its own and one man's opinion is as good as another's. But there it is. As Star says, the world is what it is—and doesn't forgive ignorance.
- Ch. 13
- Magic is not science, it is a collection of ways to do things — ways that work but often we don't know why.
- Ch. 13
- She drew the true paths in glowing red, false ones in green — and there was a lot more green than red. The critter who designed that tower had a twisty mind. What appeared to be the main entrance went in, up, branched and converged, passed close to the Chamber of the Egg — then went back down by a devious route and dumped you out, like P. T. Barnum's "This Way to the Egress."
- Ch. 13
- These Gates are not true gates; there is always a matter of timing. This one will be ready to open, for a few minutes, about seven hours from now, then cannot be opened again for several weeks.
- Ch. 13
- Karate and many serious forms of combat (boxing isn't serious, nor anything with rules) — all these work that same way: go-for-broke, all-out attack with no wind up. These are not so much skills as an attitude.
- Ch. 14
- A properly balanced sword is the most versatile weapon for close quarters ever devised. Pistols and guns are all offense, no defense; close on him fast and a man with a gun can't shoot, he has to stop you before you reach him. Close on a man carrying a blade and you'll be spitted like a roast pigeon — unless you have a blade and can use it better than he can.
A sword never jams, never has to be reloaded, is always ready. Its worst shortcoming is that it takes great skill and patient, loving practice to gain that skill; it can't be taught to raw recruits in weeks, nor even months.- Ch. 15
- I did the only really brave thing I have ever done in my life: I inched forward. Bravery is going on anyhow when you are so terrified your sphincters won't hold and you can't breathe and your heart threatens to stop, and that is an exact description for that moment of E. C. Gordon, ex-Pfc. and hero by trade. I was fairly certain what those two faint lights were and the closer I got the more certain I was — I could smell the damned thing and place its outlines.
A rat. Not the common rat that lives in city dumps and sometimes gnaws babies, but a giant rat, big enough to block that rat hole but enough smaller than I am to have room to maneuver in attacking me — room I didn't have at all. The best I could do was to wriggle forward with my sword in front of me and try to Keep the point aimed so that I would catch him with it, make him eat steel—because if he dodged past that point I would have nothing but bare hands and no room to use them.- Ch. 15
- There is a go-for-broke tactic, "the target," taught by the best swordmasters, which consists in headlong advance with arm, wrist, and blade in full extension — all attack and no attempt to parry. But it works only by perfect timing when you see your opponent slacken up momentarily. Otherwise it is suicide.
- Ch. 15
- I knew in three seconds that I was up against a better swordsman than myself, with a wrist like steel yet supple as a striking snake. He was the only swordsman I have ever met who used prime and octave — used them, I mean, as readily as sixte and carte. Everyone learns them and my own master made me practice them as much as the other six — but most fencers don't use them; they simply may be forced into them, awkwardly and just before losing a point.
I would lose, not a point, but my life — and I knew, long before the end of that first long phrase, that my life was what I was about to lose, by all odds.- Ch. 15
- Sword-play is an odd thing; you don't really use your mind, it is much too fast for that. Your wrist thinks and tells your feet and body what to do, bypassing your brain...
- Ch. 15
- He smiled at his own wit. The old bastard always had thought he was a wit. He was half right.
- Ch. 15
- Don't worry, customs are simple here. Primitive societies are always more complex than civilized ones — and this one isn't primitive.
- Ch. 17
- Center is the capital planet of the Twenty Universes. But Star was not "Empress" and it is not an empire.
I'll go on calling her "Star" as hundreds of names were hers and I'll call it an "empire" because no other word is close, and I'll refer to "emperors" and "empresses" — and to the Empress, my wife.
Nobody knows how many universes there are. Theory places no limit: any and all possibilities in unlimited number of combinations of "natural" laws, each sheaf appropriate to its own universe. But this is just theory and Occam's Razor is much too dull. All that is known in Twenty Universes is that twenty have been discovered, that each has its own laws, and that most of them have planets, or sometimes "places," where human beings live. I won't try to say what lives elsewhere.
The Twenty Universes include many real empires. Our Galaxy in our universe has its stellar empires — yet so huge is our Galaxy that our human race may never meet another, save through the Gates that link the universes. Some planets have no known Gates. Earth has many and that is its single importance; otherwise it rates as a backward slum.- Ch. 17
- The one thing that stood out as this empirical way of running an empire grew up was that the answer to most problems was: Don't do anything.
Always King Log, never King Stork — "Live and let live." "Let well enough alone." "Time is the best physician." "Let sleeping dogs lie." "Leave them alone and they'll come home, wagging their tails behind them."
Even positive edicts of the Imperium were usually negative in form: Thou Shalt Not Blow Up Thy Neighbors' Planet. (Blow your own if you wish.) Hands off the guardians of the Gates. Don't demand justice, you too will be judged.
Above all, don't put serious problems to a popular vote.- Ch. 17
- Rufo told me that every human race tries every political form and that democracy is used in many primitive societies ... but he didn't know of any civilized planet using it, as Vox Populi, Vox Dei translates as: "My God! How did we get in this mess!"
- Ch. 17, Vox Populi, Vox Dei is usually translated The voice of the people is the voice of God.
- I asked him how advanced societies ran things.
His brow wrinkled. "Mostly they don't."- Ch. 17
- The Emperor is sole source of Imperial law, sole judge, sole executive — and does very little and has no way to enforce his rulings. What he or she does have is enormous prestige from a system that has worked for seven millennia. This non-system holds together by having no togetherness, no uniformity, never seeking perfection, no Utopias — just answers good enough to get by, with lots of looseness and room for many ways and attitudes.
Local affairs are local. Infanticide? — they're your babies, your planet. PTAs, movie censorship, disaster relief — the Empire is ponderously unhelpful.- Ch. 17
- Why should anybody want power? I can't understand it. But some do, and they did.
- Ch. 17
- I may have seen what my mind could accept rather than exactly what happened. I mean "magic." How many times have savages concluded "magic" when a "civilized" man came along with something the savage couldn't understand? How often is some tag, such as "television," accepted by cultural savages (who nevertheless twist dials) when "magic" would be the honest word?
Still, Star never insisted on that word. She accepted it when I insisted on it.
But I would be disappointed if everything I saw turned out to be something Western Electric will build once Bell Labs works the bugs out. There ought to be some magic, somewhere, just for flavor.- Ch. 17
- She believed that a woman's costume was a failure unless it made men want to tear it off.
- Ch. 18
- Culturologists state a "law" of religious freedom which they say is invariant: Religious freedom in a cultural complex is inversely proportional to the strength of the strongest religion. This is supposed to be one case of a general invariant, that all freedoms arise from cultural conflicts because a custom which is not opposed by its negative is mandatory and always regarded as a "law of nature."
Rufo didn't agree; he said his colleagues stated as equations things which are not mensurate and not definable — holes in their heads! — and that freedom was never more than a happy accident because the common jerk, all human races, hates and fears all freedom, not only for his neighbors but for himself, and stamps it out wherever possible.- Ch. 18
- I know, as the prime lesson of my profession, that good intentions are the source of more folly than all other causes put together.
- Ch. 19
- What does a champion owe his lady when the quest is done?
- Ch. 20
- I was speaking of the amusing notion of chatter rule. 'Democracy.' A curious delusion—as if adding zeros could produce a sum.
- Ch. 20
- Democracy can't work. Mathematicians, peasants, and animals, that's all there is — so democracy, a theory based on the assumption that mathematicians and peasants are equal, can never work. Wisdom is not additive; its maximum is that of the wisest man in a given group.
"But a democratic form of government is okay, as long as it doesn't work. Any social organization does well enough if it isn't rigid. The framework doesn't matter as long as there is enough looseness to permit that one man in a multitude to display his genius. Most so-called social scientists seem to think that organization is everything. It is almost nothing — except when it is a straitjacket. It is the incidence of heroes that counts, not the pattern of zeros.- Rufo to Oscar, Ch. 20
- Your country has a system free enough to let its heroes work at their trade. It should last a long time — unless its looseness is destroyed from inside.
- Rufo to Oscar, Ch. 20
- Wherever you go, you will make yourself felt, you won't be one of the herd. I respect you, and I don't respect many. Never people as a whole, I could never be a democrat at heart. To claim to 'respect' and even to 'love' the great mass with their yaps at one end and smelly feet at the other requires the fatuous, uncritical, saccharine, blind, sentimental slobbishness found in some nursery supervisors, most spaniel dogs, and all missionaries. It isn't a political system, it's a disease.
- Rufo to Oscar, Ch. 20
- Scoundrels are predictable, but you're a man of honor and that frightens me.
- Ch. 20
- Would you force me to buy a new rug? I never keep one I've killed a friend on; the stains make me gloomy.
- Ch. 20
- You're not a fool, you're merely young.
- Ch. 20
- You were the key, first to be found, then ground to fit. You yourself act, you're never a puppet, or you could never have won. She was the only one who could nudge and wheedle such a man and place him where he would act; no lesser person than She could handle the scale of hero She needed. So She searched until She found him ... and honed him fine. Tell me, why did you take up the sword? It's not common in America.
- Rufo to Oscar, Ch. 20
- "Oscar, when you get home, don't expect too much of your feminine compatriots. You're sure to be disappointed and the poor dears aren't to blame. American women, having been conditioned out of their sex instincts, compensate by compulsive interest in rituals over the dead husk of sex...and each one is sure she knows 'intuitively' the right ritual for conjuring the corpse. She knows and nobody can tell her any different...especially a man unlucky enough to be in bed with her. So don't try. You will either make her furious or crush her spirit. You'll be attacking that most Sacred of Cows: the myth that women know all about sex, just from being women."
Rufo had frowned. "The typical American female is sure that she has genius as a couturière, as an interior decorator, as a gourmet cook, and, always, as a courtesan. Usually she is wrong on four counts. But don't try to tell her so.
...But don't misunderstand me; it evens out. The American male is convinced that he is a great warrior, a great statesman, and a great lover. Spot checks prove that he is as deluded as she is."- Ch. 21
- I explained the improvement and that I had done the drawing a better way to—
He cut me off. "We don't want it done a better way, we want it done our way."
"Your privilege," I agreed and resigned by walking out.- Ch. 22
- "I cannot rest from travel; I will drink life to the lees." A long road, a trail, a "Tramp Royal," with no certainty of what you'll eat or where or if, nor where you'll sleep, nor with whom. But somewhere is Helen of Troy and all her many sisters and there is still noble work to be done.
- Ch. 22, Heinlein here quotes Tennyson's poem Ulysses
- Does anyone ever get two chances? Is the Door in the Wall always gone when next you look? Where do you catch the boat for Brigadoon?
- Ch. 22
- Rufo might steal your cigarettes and certainly your wench but things aren't dull around him — and he would die defending your rear.
So tomorrow we are heading up that Glory Road, rocks and all!
Got any dragons you need killed?- Ch. 22


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11 Best Stoner Rock + Metal Albums
"Are you high? So am I!" Black Sabbath's Ozzy Osbourne infamously exclaimed on a live recording of "Hole in the Sky." The vocalist, Tony Iommi and the rest of the Sabbath crew got the stoner ball rolling before anyone even realized what the band was doing with those herculean riffs. It would be a while before heavy metal, the genre they spawned, would become fully realized and even longer before their impact was felt among the stoner rock and metal community that began to develop in the early 1990s.
With one unifying bond, both the rock and metal sides concocted their own version of the riff-centric, fuzz-drenched bass grooving stoner realm. The genre's parameters are often blurred with sludge and doom having a foot in both worlds, making distinct and complete "stoner metal" and "stoner rock" labels a bit ambiguous.
We've done our best to stay true to what, at the heart of it, not only sounds deserving of the genre tag, but feels deserving. It's admittedly a loose definition, but after scrolling through these picks, hopefully you'll understand the angle taken here.
Now, turn your attention to the gallery below as we count down the 11 Best Stoner Albums!
Follow Loudwire's 'Ultimate Stoner Rock + Metal' playlist on Spotify.
11 Best Stoner Rock + Metal Albums
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