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I can just tell you a little background. But what excited me is the Department of Education came out with what hopefully will be some relief. This just hit the news. It's been coming. We're going to talk about what I think kind of created the student loan bubble. If you're a student and you need to get loan approval fast, you could get out one of the main stream providers King Of Cash as an example.
Because the way I look at it, it's an almost exact replica of the mortgage bubble. And it looks like some of the same defenses that people were able to use who had problems with their mortgages may come into line with student loans.
So before we get into this possible relief– which could mean some people's student loans actually being wiped away, which would be pretty awesome.
Again, depending on the circumstances. And that's what we're going to talk about. So first, let me kind of run through the parallels of student loans and subprime mortgages. So everybody's aware of the disaster created by subprime mortgages, and the housing crisis, and everything else.
Relationship Between Sub-Prime Mortgages and Student Loans
And what I will tell you is, I know from experience from people I personally knew who were in the mortgage business, a lot of folks who used to sell subprime mortgages made the transition to for-profit colleges selling people student loans after the financial meltdown happened, and they couldn't make the fast money in the mortgage business anymore.
And so you had a lot of these same despicable tactics that were being used in the mortgage industry back in the heyday, in the subprime days, that were trapping borrowers in toxic mortgages. All those folks took those honed skills of deception and went over to work for-profit colleges.
And then one of these big for profit colleges, Corinthian, blew up earlier this year.
I can remember, we did an entire hour program on the fact that a lot of these so-called colleges would bait and switch you by saying, we're going to give you a brand new computer, we're going to get you a laptop that's unbelievable, and all you have to do is sign up for this college. But the college wasn't much.
Absolutely, it was crazy. And I talked about this and apparently no one listened. No one at the Department of Education listened to me six years ago when I was ranting and raving on the radio about how this was going to be the next bubble. And I could see that the same practices that had been used in mortgages were now being used in student loans. And the writing was on the wall.
And so Corinthian, which owned Everest and a bunch of other colleges, they got popped because they were falsifying their placement numbers, what percentage of people were landing jobs. In one particular example, there was a graduate who went to work at Taco Bell, and they counted that as a successfully placed job tied to the student's training. I mean, this is the type of stuff that was discovered.
Creation of the Student Loan Bubble
What happened is because the Department of Education did not listen to me six years ago, Corinthian gave out $3.5 billion worth of student loans over the last five years.
Billion! $3.5 billion. So you have a for-profit college who was lying about placement rates and lying about the benefits of going to their school, using all of these old subprime mortgage techniques. All these guys who honed their skills taking advantage of people with toxic mortgages all went to work selling now student loans at for-profit colleges. And they racked up $3.5 billion.
Now, let me tell you, there is no house to foreclose on. And most of these people ended up with not much of an education according to reports now coming out. So that $3.5 billion bucks is pretty much wasted. And it all went into Corinthian's pocket so they could get rich.
One of the things I pointed out when I talked about this years ago, is that the president of a for-profit college was making like 10 times the salary of the president of Harvard. Because just they were making that much money. They were taking such advantage of students.
Could You Have Your Student Loan Discharged?
Here's what's going on now. And I think this is intriguing, and so I'm actually going to assemble all of my attorneys later today, and we're going to have a conversation about this.
So apparently there is a phrase, there is a clause in the promissory note of a student loan– and I don't have one of these. I would like to get my hands on one. But what I'm looking for is, according to some research I did, there is a phrase that says, in some cases you may assert as a defense against collection of your loan that the school did something wrong.
Now, that doesn't seem like– it's in quotes where I found it in the article. But that doesn't sound like normal legalese to me. I'm guessing that's not exactly what it says on the promissory note. But the idea here is that if your school broke the law, if your school committed fraud, if your school deceived you, you may be able to sue and have your student loan discharged.
What brought this to light is that the Department of Education has come out and they've identified around, 40,000 people who they feel fit this criteria, who were Corinthian students. And they're going to get $544 million worth of student loans forgiven to this group.
Now, remember Corinthian had total of $3.5 billion. So the initial 40,000, I think, is the kind of final round of students, the most recent round of students. But there's a lot of pressure right now on Department of Education to do something for everyone.
How Student Loans Impacts the Taxpayer
Now, the downside to this is, where's that $3.5 billion gonna come from? It's gonna come from the taxpayer.
So because the Department of Education screwed up and didn't monitor these guys, and let them rack up $3.5 billion worth of federally insured student loans, they, one, are now defaulting like crazy, and two, now have this potential clause that the students can fight back and possibly have the student loans discharged. That's a three a $3.5 billion problem for the taxpayers.
But, I think better on the taxpayers then on these individual students.
I mean, we spread it across the entire country. We all take a little pain because our government screwed up on this one. It's better than the students right now whose lives are potentially in shambles because of these toxic student loans they received from these toxic for-profit colleges without getting a good education.
Now, I'm sure there may be some good for-profit colleges out there. I'm not talking about the whole group. But I'm talking about the players like this particular one who were lying about placement rates and lying about job success rates. We can figure this out.
But this is a new mission for me. This is– a lot of people were negatively affected by this. I talked about this on my TV show years ago. I talked about this on the radio show years ago. It fell on deaf ears. $3.5 billion in loans with a college who was has been closed down for fraud and deceptive practices.
I would think all of those people should be able to get their loans discharged. And what about the people who made the payments? I mean, they're not entitled to any relief, I don't think. Just because you discharged the debt doesn't mean you can get your money back.
Bottom line, this is a huge problem. When you look at economic graphs that show the increase in student loan debt, the spike that came in student loan debt, it almost perfectly mirrors the type of percentage increases we saw in mortgage leading up to the crash, leading up to the bubble.
The Pain Cycle
And again, the same deceptive practices being used. The same types of sales techniques. One of the studies they did on a for-profit college quoted that they were using a sales technique called the pain cycle. Just all of these different things they built to basically scare people or fear people into signing up for the student loans and getting these for-profit educations.
Which they didn't really care if you graduated or not. They were going to falsify the placement and success rate records, and go on with life and keep milking this federal student loan. Because the crazy thing is, even if someone dropped out after– there's a time limit. It's not very long, something like 10 weeks or 12 weeks. As long as you attend a certain amount of time, they get all the money whether you continue the degree program or not.
The other interesting thing, is there's some other language in here which very much reminds me of mortgage. And that is, there's questions about whether or not your signature may have been forged on a promissory note. You know that's one of the big foreclosure defense techniques that lawyers use when it comes to mortgages.
It is going to be very interesting to see how this all plays out, and how this happens. But we're going to be at the front lines of this. We're going to make sure our listeners are aware of this, because I'm sure a lot of them are affected.
And right here– I pulled this off of the student aid, or one of the federal government websites for student loans– and it says that you may be eligible for a discharge of your Direct Loan or FFEL Program, FFEL Program Loan, in these circumstances– your school falsely certified your eligibility to receive the loan based on your ability to benefit from it training.
Caught In a Lie
The idea here is that if they lied about placement rates, and if they lied about the earnings potential you would have after receiving the degree, because these are required for calculating eligibility for these loans, if they falsely certified your eligibility, because they falsified those placement rates and those job rates and those potential incomes, then you may be able to– and because of that you would not have been able to get the student loan.
If at the end of the day they told the truth and said, well nobody actually graduates and nobody gets a better job, you would have been ineligible for the student loan. And so that's a one clause you can use in order to possibly get your loan discharged.
Another is that the school signed your name on the application or promissory note without your authorization, or the school endorsed your loan check or signed your authorization for electronic funds transfer without your knowledge. Unless the proceeds of the loan were delivered to you or applied to charges owed by you to the school.
So the big one here is if they forged your signature on the application or the promissory note. I will almost guarantee you there's some of that going on because forging signatures on applications was rampant in the mortgage business. And a lot of these same players went over to student loan. So that's definitely something, when I talk to the attorneys, we're going to take a look at and see.
And then the other is that your loan was falsely certified because you were a victim of identity theft. That's probably not going to apply to a lot of people. And then the school certified your eligibility, but because of physical or mental condition, age, criminal record, or other reason, you were disqualified for employment in the occupation in which you were being trained.
So this probably applies to some people. These for-profit colleges were using no discretion. And if the particular field that you were being trained in has a requirement regarding criminal record, requiring physical or mental condition, requiring age, and you didn't meet that, then again this may be a way for you to challenge that student loan and get it discharged.
From Bad to Worse
Right now, the only way to do this is to get an attorney actually sue. But the Department of Education is trying to change that. They're trying to put together streamlined program because so many people have been affected. They recognize that they dropped the ball on this. They recognize that a lot of people have been taken advantage of, and have been harmed by certain for-profit colleges.
And now it's time to clean up the mess. And as always, the big mess is going to cause taxpayers a lot of money. Do you know, Rob, one of the big techniques they used to find people to try to sign up for the colleges is they would set up sites for fake jobs. This actually happened.
So they would run an ad on Monster or CareerBuilder for a fake job in a particular industry. And then they would get all these resumes from people who were trying to apply for a job because they were unemployed.
And then if your resume showed you were unemployed, and if the resume showed that you were probably in a desperate state, they would now reach out to you. And that was a lead. That was a lead for them for a potential student.
And when you've got educational institutions operating in these manners, tricking people into sending their contact information in under the guise of employment in order to then be called by a slick salesman who was selling subprime mortgages six weeks before, and is now selling you on the idea of signing up for college, and is going to prey on the fact that you're unemployed, that you're looking for work.
You got to remember, when this trend started, the economy was in a bad place.
Remember that? There were so many jobless kids. They had gotten out of high school. They couldn't afford to the big schools.
And as explained six years ago, I remember it so clearly now that I'm thinking back, and during your dissertation I've been thinking about there were a whole bunch of kids that couldn't get jobs–
Not just kids, they targeted adults as well. Anybody who was out of work.
It was a bad economy. Nobody could get a job. And all of a sudden you get something that says, hey, you can have a little pocket cash, you can get a brand new computer, and we're going to throw in some kind of education, and we're going to accept everybody. That pretty much it?
That's it. And then we're going to saddle you with these loans. And now we're looking at the next big credit crisis in this country. And just as we're starting to see a housing recovery, all the articles now are talking about how foreclosure rates are hitting lows, delinquency on mortgages is at lows.
Everything– we have finally come out of the mortgage meltdown and the mortgage crisis. Most people have to have either regained equity because home values have increased substantially. Most people either regained equity over the last two, three years. Or worked through their issues and then got back on their feet.
And are now– we're getting back into a normal housing market from a delinquency standpoint. There's not as many people in foreclosure. There's not as much pain and destruction being caused in people's financial lives by the mortgage industry.
And now we have this next ugly beast rearing its head. And it's going to be student loans. It's going to be federally– again, just like mortgages. You know, mortgages were federally guaranteed because of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. And now we have a problem with federally guaranteed student loans going down the exact same path.
And then I think this bail out will be much, much larger. I think the loss to taxpayers is going to be much, much larger when the dust settles on this. Because again, with housing, there was a tangible item there. There was a house. There was something to live in.
And so when they came out with HARP, the Home Affordable Refinance Program, and they were able to lower people's payments considerably, it then became more affordable to stay in the home with the new lower payment than to walk away from the home.
There's nothing like that that can be done with student loans. If someone went to a college that was committing fraud, and that was falsifying documents, and that was lying about potential job placements and everything else we see going on here, there's nothing like that they can do. There's nothing they can do.
It's just funny. I just got a text. 941 area code. They said, "I worked for Corinthian, and everything you're saying is spot on. The school was full of lies, deceit, greed, large egos. I was a recruiter for one of them. "
"Management purposely lied to us and kept us in the dark on many issues, especially financial aid. I thought I was doing the right thing and helping people, but in the end of the day it was all wrong."
I'm telling you, this is a mirror image of the mortgage industry. And it's happening over there. And Corinthian is just the first to fall. I mean, don't think they were the only institution doing this. I think they're the first of many to fall.
I think the Department of Education, who never really in the past, Rob, has had to worry about enforcement– they probably don't even really have an enforcement division. I doubt they do.
Because if you look back when you had these institutions that had been around– nonprofit colleges that were institutions, and had been around for hundreds of years, and were ingrained in the communities where they were.
And again, there was only so many people that could attend on the campus, so there were some constraints to growth. And if you think about it, not everybody gets in because they only have so much classroom space and everything else. The industry kind of policed itself.
And then because of the rise of the internet and online education, which I think can be a great thing. I think people being able learn online can be a great thing. I think bringing the possibility for college education to people who otherwise would not have been able to take advantage of that is a great thing.
But as with any industry, when you have something new pop up like this, and the internet is boundless, and there's no constraints to growth, and there's no quality control in check, there's no regulation, there's no enforcement division over at the Department of Education to make sure these colleges are telling the truth.
And all a sudden you've got a for-profit companies realizing they can make billions of dollars. Remember, $3.5 billion in five years in student loans. That means they received $3.5 billion in revenue. So this for-profit college had– what was that– $700 million a year in income over the last five years for $3.5 billion.
When a company realizes that they can make $700 million a year by falsifying a couple documents, well there's apparently people out there that will take advantage of that. There are bad actors all over the place. The internet seems to boost some of this. And the internet seems to facilitate a lot of this.
And then it became this nameless, faceless beast sucking money out of the student loan system, saddling up and coming people, saddling people who are just trying to get back on their feet, saddling people who just want a better life with the debt and giving them almost nothing in return. And now it's time to pay the piper. And it's time to pay the piper as a society, as a country, as a government who let this happen.
If we're going to guarantee student loans, if our federal government– which I think is a good thing. I think it's a good thing that we want to make education available. But just like with every other government program, there's always going to be fraud. There's always going to be bad actors. There's always going to be people trying to take advantage of this system.
And if you do not police it, if you do not enforce it– imagine if the IRS didn't have auditors. Imagine if the IRS did not have any type of enforcement. Imagine if the IRS just trusted everyone to fill out their tax returns correctly and file them. It probably would not happen. A lot of people file correctly out of fear of audit, fear of repercussions.
Well, because the Department of Education had no enforcement division to speak of, no one to go out and regulate these, no one to go out and watch these colleges like Corinthian, who've now been shut down after saddling people with $3.5 billion worth of debt, we find ourselves in this situation we are in today as a society.
And again, it is now our responsibility because we as the taxpayers, we as the voters, allowed the people that we put in power to let the Department of Education not have any enforcement. And we're going to end up eating a who-knows-how-many billion dollar bill.
I mean, if just one single company, if just Corinthian had $3.5 billion– I'm going to try to find out before the end of the show what the total outstanding volume of student loans is. And again, not all of them are going to be bad actors. Not all of them are going to fit the criteria and will have taken advantage of students. But there's a bunch of them out there that I guarantee you have.
It is so amazing that this is hitting the fan again. And just like six years ago, I think we're the only people talking about it except for a couple of obscure articles out there in the marketplace. Because that is what this show does for people. Saving Thousands on the Saving Thousands Network, you're always exposing stuff like this, and people need to be looking into it.
Is Consumer Financial Protection Bureau going to be the best stop for people? We've got to figure it out. And because the problem here is, with the mortgage crisis, the lender was to blame. The person who actually loaned the money was to blame.
Where in this situation, the lender is the federal government under most of these programs. So how are they going to punish themselves? This is a little different because this is the recipient of the funds, which in the mortgage it would've been the home seller. That's basically who perpetrated most of this. And then the student loan is just kind of a byproduct of it.
But there's apparently over $1.2 trillion dollars in student loans outstanding. And then this– $1.2 trillion. All right, so again, this is a potential disaster waiting to happen. Years and years ago, it was only in the couple hundred million range, and now we're up to over $1.2 trillion.
And so what I look at is, whenever something grows that quickly, you've got to take a look at it. I mean, whenever there's such a strong growth– we saw it with mortgages. Outstanding mortgage balances swelled at an alarming rate and then it led to the bubble.
Student loan outstanding balances swelled an alarming rate, which is leading to this next bubble. This one hasn't really caught on yet, Rob. And it's coming. I mean, I think it's coming. I think enough people are affected. I'm surprised it's taken this long. But I think we're going to hear more about this and see more about this.
I'm disappointed that the mainstream media is not out there beating this drum. Particularly, if you think about it, there's now 40,000 people out there who should be able to get their loan forgiven if they were at one of the Corinthian schools that meets this certain set of criteria just released by the Department of Education.
But who's spreading that word? Who's letting these people know? Why aren't we out there beating the drum? Why aren't we out there letting everyone know? I'm going to do my part. I'm letting the couple thousand listeners I have here on the Saving Thousands Radio Network know what's going on.
But we need more than that. We need more people getting involved. I think get at the end of the day, a lot of our rules can protect– could have protected people from falling victim to these, right.
If we look at rule number one, shopping around, when you look at a for-profit college and costs 10 times as much as your local community college, that's probably not a very good deal. You probably should shop around and rethink that, and not sign up for the online college that costs 10 times more than community college. That's not a good deal.
The three-day waiting– rule number three– waiting three days to think about this. A lot of people were sold into the for-profit colleges using high-pressure sales techniques trying to close them immediately on the phone. If you take your three days to think about it, if you follow rule number three, that can be a big benefit.
Checking out, googling scam, googling reviews– I'm sure there's a lot of people sharing their negative experiences with these colleges online. And we've got to be more empowered consumers.
I mean, these colleges were preying on Financial Zombies. They were preying on people's desperation. They were forcing people to make quick decisions without weighing their options. They were definitely trying to keep you from shopping around. They didn't want you to do your research. They didn't want to do your homework.
They wanted you to sign on the bottom line, strap yourself with debt, and then they were laughing all the way to the bank $3.5 billion dollars later. Again, at just one for-profit organization. And I'm not even sure if they're the largest, Rob. I mean, there's lots of other big ones out there.
And like I said, I'm sure there are some people out there doing a fine job just like in any industry. When you look at the mortgage industry, there were people doing a good job all through the crisis that didn't get involved in the subprime and the toxic mortgages.
But it's the bad actors who are going to– the problem is the bad actors seem to have the meteoric rise to success because when you have $3.5 billion to play with, you can do a lot to grow, and set up more fake sites to get resumes, and run more radio, TV, and internet ads and everything else. A lot internet advertising was dumped into this.
And so the guys who are playing by the rules and doing it right don't have near the budget, so they don't grow as fast, and they don't blow up as fast. And what you see is some of the bad actors become some of the largest companies in an industry. And it's frustrating.
And I think this all comes down to enforcement. If the government is going to back something like student loans, or back something like mortgages, they've got to enforce it. If they just want to let the private sector do their thing, if the government wasn't backing student loans and it was all private money, then who cares?
But let me tell you, private money is smart. And private money would not have allowed– I mean, could you imagine a company, a privately owned corporation dumping $3.5 billion of their capital into this scheme with Corinthian before they figured it? I don't think so.
I don't think it would have taken a private company five years to figure this out. And so this, again, is if our government's gonna play in these financial industries, which I think there are some benefits to– I think there are some times when it's necessary– they've got to be willing to enforce it. And they've got to be able to enforce it, and smart enough to enforce it, and have the right rules in place. And again, we did not have that when it came to for-profit colleges.
Something else that is a whole different show, but you went over it a minute ago– and we did about two or three shows, and this again, was five to six years ago– you said, there's going to come a time when we've got to pay the piper, and we've got a lot of people out there that owe $1.2 trillion on student loans.
Now, that's a little bit different than this problem we're having out there right now. But these are people who are going to be owing $1.2 trillion. How's that going to affect their ability to buy a home? How's that going to affect their credit scores? I mean, this is serious when you're looking at that kind of money that's just standing out there. And you already pointed that out years ago.
Yeah, and we're seeing the effects, Rob. I was at a conference in Denver recently and we had an economist come in and talk about housing. And one of the big reasons that housing is not recovering at the rate it should– I mean, we're doing well. Things are good. But millennials and the younger generation are just not buying. People are buying homes later in life. There's a lot of these things happening.
And a lot of folks want to blame the mortgage industry, that the rules are too tight, that the guidelines are too tight. And that's just not the case. I mean, it's actually pretty easy to get a mortgage right now. We talked about this on yesterday's show.
What's keeping a lot of people out of the game is the student loan debt. When you look at the average amount of payments for student loan debt that people now have– and up until recently, if your student loan debt was deferred, we were able to not count against you in your qualifying ratios for a mortgage.
That has now been changed. Student loan debt has become such a problem that we now have to count an estimated payment against you even if your loans are not yet begin to require payments, which is a new guideline. So that is going to hurt some people.
But this student loan thing is definitely weighing on people's ability to purchase homes. When the amount of student loan debt has gone up so significantly, and those– I mean, people are making house payments on their student loans.
I mean, there are people out there paying $1,000, $1,200 a month for student loans. And they went to a college that possibly falsified information and had no intention of helping them succeed. And that is now replacing their ability to buy a home.
For some people it's replacing their ability to live on their own. They're having to live with roommates. They're having to rent an apartment and split it three ways because they're strapped with these student loans.
And it's just an unfortunate situation. It's one we let get completely out of control. If I saw this coming six years ago, others should have seen it coming as well. And just another example of us dropping the ball. As a society, we dropped the ball on this.
And then the guys who owned these big for-profit colleges made a lot of money because of it just like a lot of bad players in the mortgage industry made a lot of money. And now the burden is going to fall on the American taxpayer once again, unfortunately, to clean up that mess, and to undo and to pay back all of that money that was put into these people's pockets under these false means.
And it's frustrating. It frustrates me to no end. And I still don't think we are truly– as we sit here today, I think Corinthian was just the tip of the iceberg.
I think that enough is not being done. I think in another year or two, we're going to read about another one of these, and another one of these. And we're going to wake up 2 trillion. And we're going to have an even bigger problem when we could've stopped it right here today at $1.2 trillion.
Corinthian should have been the wake up call, but apparently it wasn't. Because I don't see any type of widespread enforcement happening. We're now trying to reactively deal with Corinthian and figure out what we're going to do with all the students who are strapped with this $3.5 billion in debt from a college who was shut down for fraud.
I mean, just think about how crazy that sounds. I mean, 10 years ago would you ever imagine a college being shut down for fraud? Because you picture University of Florida or Florida State– I mean, these are institutions in our lives. We look at colleges as something of credibility and trust and honesty. And that's not what these new for-profits are doing in a lot of cases, at least not the bad actors.
So this is something that's got to be addressed. Unfortunately, it's probably not going to be addressed soon enough. Again, I think if financial literacy– it all goes back to my goal, Rob– if financial literacy was being taught in schools, if we were teaching our young people, our kids, our future generation, to be more conscious about signing a note to borrow money, understanding the payments, understanding the interest, understanding the long-term obligation, understanding how student loans work, how credit cards work, how credit scores work.
The lasting impact– if you think about, Rob, you're on the phone with someone– again, I'm going to put myself in the shoes of one of these folks. I just graduate from high school. I can't get a good job. I apply for a job. I send in my resume.
And all of a sudden I get called by this shark of a recruiter for a for-profit college who is promising me the world, who is promising me a laptop, who is getting all hyped up, who is telling me he is the answer to all of my problems. All I have to do is e-sign some paperwork.
That paperwork appears in my email probably while he keeps me the phone. Because again, they want to close the sale on the first call. This is old school subprime mortgage tactics. They don't want you to wait the three days. They don't want you to shop around. They want to get you right now.
And all of a sudden, this person types of their name into a box on their computer screen, and it changes the course of their life financially for the next 10, 15, or 20 years. Rob, we're talking about a 10 or 15 minute phone call, and typing your name onto a screen.
And now your ability to buy a home is affected. Your ability to have a good credit score is affected. Your life is completely changed in moments because of the tactics used by these for-profit colleges.
I mean, just imagine that. Just think about that one little tiny mistake like that, because you got caught up in the hype, because you weren't educated, because you didn't understand the long-term risks and the long-term downsides. And you'd understand how debt works, and how loans work, and how interest works.
You didn't shop around. You didn't wait your three days. You didn't follow the financial ninja rules. And now you find your life changed, when your mind you were doing something great. You were going to go to college. That's all they were trying to do. They were trying to go to college, something is ingrained in us from a young age.
So we ingrain our children that they need to go to college, but then we don't arm them with the tools to make good financial decisions about choosing a college and going to that collage. And that's my big frustration. And that's where, I believe, if we can have financial literacy taught in schools, then we can see things start to change.
Well, I'm thinking now, when you brought up all these different specialty colleges, I started thinking, have you been home in the midday– I know you're so busy you probably haven't– but you walk by a television between like 9:00 in the morning about, oh, 3:00 in the afternoon when the majority of people are working.
And all of a sudden you get the commercials, and there's a specialty school that's going to teach you how to drive a truck, or go into IT, or be a beauty specialist, or any of these type of very special schools. I wonder how many of them were bad players as well. Because they're talking to the vulnerable people that are sitting at home unemployed.
Yeah, there used to be one of these. It was, like, a girl in pajamas.
I actually did some research on that company. And they weren't even a for-profit college. They were a lead generation company. Again, the parallels between this and mortgage are just so similar.
Just like during the boom, you had companies like Lower My Bills and Lending Tree and these lead aggregators who would advertise. And they would sell your name to four mortgage companies.
That's what these companies do. They run TV commercials promising you a better future through education. And then they sell your name to four of these for-profit colleges, of which at least one is probably crooked. I mean, just statistically with the size of Corinthian, one of the four if not all four are out to get you.
And now you've got four competing colleges all calling you nonstop relentlessly. I mean, I've heard stories, Rob, of people getting literally hundreds of phone calls after calling one of those ads.
And just one person after another trying to push them, sell them, talk them into attending the for-profit college. And again, it's so frustrating. It's something we've got to stop, we've got to regulate. And I think we're gonna get it worked out.
But I think it's going to take time. And it should happen right now, but it's not. And that's what's frustrating.
But it goes back– like you said, it goes back to if people had been educated as early as grade school, middle school, high school, they could have seen some of this stuff happening. If it looks too good to be true, if you know the smoke and mirrors– rule number five, if you know how the magic happens, it doesn't happen.
It's amazing, if people would just follow these rules, we wouldn't be stumbling. And maybe the government needs to have a class too.
This is going right up there with my financial literacy campaign in schools, giving the resources and putting together some help knowledge-wise for people who may find themselves in these situations.
I mean, if you were given a student loan under fraudulent terms, if you were deceived– see, the government requires all this disclosure to be given to try to help protect. But if that disclosure is fraudulent, if that disclosure is faked, if those numbers are fabricated, then how can anybody make a good decision?
We're going to try to put together roadmap. I'm going to talk to the attorneys. I'm going to rack up some billable hours, Rob, to figure out how we help people, how we help our listeners.
And then we'll be putting together some kind of guide or document on savingthousands.com to help people navigate the waters if they find themselves in the situation, if they find themselves falling victim to one of the student loan traps.


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Brazilian game producer Rudá Moreira is Sahara Penguins, a studio that counts with several repeating collaborators. Rudá is responsible for co-founding Sahara Penguins, actively helping to build the ecosystem of RING (Encontro de desenvolvedores de Jogos do Rio de Janeiro) from Rio de Janeiro.
January 2011 we made our first game together, at Global Game Jam. The game itself didn't work after the 48h. It was a real mess.
But it was fun! We had never made anything by ourselves, used art software for a purpose bigger then practicing, met so many people with the same interests in such short time… we had no idea we could actually make a game!
Since then, we've developed many games through game jams and we are quite proud as we can see improvement. We still fell like we are a long way from making something that actually shows what we are capable of, but we'll get there! ;D
Recently we going for authorial games. We made COLD TRAIL, a game about penguins, secret agents and push block puzzles! And have Swords N Spells on going, a Blockchain assets in a Real Time Tactics game!
Here our games!

subset: commoncrawl


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£55000 - £60000
Finance Manager - London - up to £60k - Growing Business!
Are you a fully qualified accountant or in the final stages of qualifying and looking to join a dynamic business that is experiencing growth with exciting times ahead?
Are you someone who takes ownership of your reporting and analytics, identifying trends and patterns from which tangible recommendations and actions can be taken to the long term benefit of the business?
What can you expect in this Finance Manager role?
Drive the impact and understanding of financial information through insightful reporting and interpretation to influence decision making and promote business performance across the Business.
Develop and maintain strong relationships with supported business areas (challenge constructively where required); including future strategic planning,forecasting and budget setting.
Monthly reporting schedules prepared for the corporate board.
Present industry, competitor, consumer and economic trends to provide context to strategic planning and decision making.
Development and analysis of KPIs (Financial and Operational). Providing analytical insight, monitoring and tracing to ensure targets and goals are met.
Continuous performance management and Budget optimisation with stakeholders
Build long standing cross functional relationships, challenge constructively and ensure professional objectivity
Attending meetings with key stakeholders as the Finance Subject Matter Expert to communicate and provide opinion and support on financial matters.
What is required for this Finance Manager role?
A fully qualified accountant (CIMA, ACCA etc) or in the final stage of qualification, within a similar role in a complex or multi-site business (i.e. Property, Retail, Hospitality etc).
Ability to apply technical accounting logic and reporting standards to data from a complex variety of sources and systems.
Ability to see beyond standard reporting and analytics, taking ownership for their numbers to have a tangible impact on the strategic direction and decision making of respective business areas.
A confident, self-starter with a positive attitude and the ability to maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, providing respectable and trusted opinion on financial matters, challenging where necessary.
You will have high attention to detail and the ability to meet tight regulatory and financial deadlines.
You will pro-actively stay up to date with professional and industry standards, regulations and legislation.
The role as Finance Manager offers a salary of up to £60,000 plus package! If you are interested in the opportunity and possess the skills necessary, then we would love to hear from you, please apply!
Web: www.admore-recruitment.co.uk
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Determining Cognitive Predictors of User Performance within Complex User Interfaces
"This study sought to assess the full extent of intellectual functioning across participants by administering the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI), along with administering a mirror-tracing task to assess their perceptual-motor skills. The participants scores on the individual factors of intelligence and perceptual-motor skills were then examined in relation to their search performance on a complex website interface." From an article by Michael L. Bernard, Chris Hamblin, and Brett Scofield in Usability News, a project of Wichita State's Software Usability Research Laboratory (SURL). Read the article... [via Webword]
Posted by seralat at 12:33 PM on July 26, 2002
Filed in: IA - Academic Approaches, Usability
Filed in: IA - Academic Approaches, Usability


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LB 01: The Art of Being You
KJ16 00 Achieving Your Goals
KJ16 01 Client Event Strategies (1 of 3)
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KJ16 03 Client Event Strategies (3 of 3)
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There is an era when people use VR devices instead of visiting theaters when they want to watch movies with friends or family.
SK Telecom and SK Broadband announced on October 12 that they will commercialize the Oksusu Social VR, which allows users to watch video content such as sports, movies and dramas with other participants in virtual reality.
Oksusu Social VR combines the functions of the Oksusu and the Social Community in virtual reality.
When one uses and connects to VR devices, one can enjoy and chat with other users about contents of the videos. Up to eight people can gather in one virtual space at the oksusu Social VR. You can choose the type of space and content you want to create a room and invite other users.
There are five types of virtual space: living room, theater, performance room, sports room and e-sports room.
The space will be expanded in various ways.
As it is a virtual space, it has various spatial composition. If you choose a living room, you can feel a comfortable house with modern interior.
The movie theater is designed to resemble a private mini-movie. The concert hall gives the audience a feeling of being able to meet the star in front of their eyes. The sports room resembles a sports bar where one can drink beer while watching real-time games. The eSports room reminds us of VIP seats in a large stadium that broadcasts games.
SK Telecom plans to add more space for various concepts in the future and allow users to decorate the space themselves. If you enter a virtual space, you can meet avatars of each user. It is a point of first person and can see 360 degrees.
Connectors can move their seats on the controller at any time. Unlike movie theaters or concert halls, you can talk comfortably while watching movies or performances. You can feel as if you were looking at a place.
VR industries are especially expected to have 5G and synergy effects. When 5G technology is introduced, VR contents can be enjoyed in real time through high-definition streaming method.
If 5G is commercialized on full-scale, it is planning to upgrade its VR to a level that provides UHD images with up to 16 times clearer quality than full HD images. It can also increase sense of immersion. For example, a virtual movie theater can be turned into an IMAX movie theater or a 360-degree screen.
The oksusu Social VR is available on Google Daydream and Samsung Gear VR. From October 12, you can download the app from Google Playstore or Oculus Store.


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Our History
Rarely can you find cobbled roads and a 12th Century Church with village stocks only 2 miles from a major manufacturing centre: this describes the village of Grappenhall or Gropenhole as written in the Domesday Book 1068 AD. The Church, dedicated to St Wilfrid's dates from 1120 and although largely rebuilt in 1530, still retains part of the original south wall. Inside can be seen a Norman font, an ancient 13th Century oak chest and some lovely 14th Century glass.
The Old Rectory fell into disrepair in the mid 19th Century and the Rector Thomas Greenall moved to the present rectory in 1855. During major restoration work in 1982, the present owners discovered a tunnel leading to the church and the Cruck Frame beams uncovered were found to date The Old Rectory to the 15th Century. The Old Building witnessed prosperity when the Bridgewater Canal was constructed in 1759. It brought trades such as snuff making and leather tanning to its banks.
It is ironic, that the old canal with its tiny hump back bridges and watery embrace, should help to isolate the village, since the invention of modern transport, allowing Grappenhall to retain its Olde Worlde charm.


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Cambridge MYC awarded MYA Step-Up trophy for most improved club in 2018
Cambridge MYC was pleased to awarded the MYA Radio League's Step Up Trophy at the MYA AGM on 1st December, which is for the most improved club in terms of participation in open meetings and championship events.
Ironically Cambridge MYC's increased participation has partly been the result of the club being without permanent water for much of 2018. Faced with nowhere to sail and not wanting to give up, members have been travelling to neighbouring clubs to sail and to compete in district championships.
Club Commodore Nick Lee said "For a club with only 6 or 7 members and no water, we have really appreciated the warm welcome that we have had from other district clubs this year. We have enjoyed sailing in bigger fleets and have certainly benefited from sailing with some of the top sailors in the District. We still desparately want our own water and the search continues into 2019, but whatever happens you can expect to see Cambridge MYC members 'on the road' in 2019."


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Revel's Vespa-Style Mopeds Are About to Take Over DC, and You Can Rent One
Forget those silly little electric scooters — we've got something better
Raise your hand if you've ever had a near-collision with a yo-pro (young professional) who was zipping to work on an electric scooter. So that's everyone.
Perhaps political strategist Michael Hardaway put it best when he told InsideHook about his aversion for the things: "They're for latchkey pre-teens in the suburbs. Not tax-paying adults."
On the other hand, there's no denying their appeal. The zippy little scooters provide a convenient "last mile" commuting method for those living or working in areas of the city whose public transportation options leave something to be desired, like Georgetown or the newly booming District Wharf.
And that's before you get to the hard data: DC was just ranked third-worst in the entire nation for traffic congestion, according to the 2019 Urban Mobility Report. That means that drivers in DC are now spending more time sitting in traffic, on average, than anyone outside of California. Even those able to commute by bus aren't faring much better. A recent report from the Greater Washington Partnership found that bus ridership has declined by 8% since 2010, largely due to poor service (the on-time performance of DC's buses rated at just 79%).
This is where rideshare programs like Capital Bikeshare — and yes, even those silly scooter services like Bird, Lyft, and Lime — swoop in to save your morning commute and lessen congestion on roads as a result.
The newest player in that game? Revel, an electric moped rental service originating in New York City.
Revel brought their rental services down to DC in mid-August, becoming the first company to secure a permit to operate mopeds in the city as part of a four-month trial program. And as of this week, any licensed driver can rent one of Revel's available 400 vehicles through their mobile application. The only other stipulations are that you're at least 21 years old and can pass a simple driving background check through the app.
Revel charges a one-time $19 registration free to verify your driver's license and driving record. After that, it costs just $1 to start your ride, and then 25 cents per minute until you arrive at your destination. Make sure to "end" your ride through the app when you're done, as you'll also be charged 10 cents a minute while it's parked.
As of right now, it's TBD whether the program will be renewed after the initial four months, so now is the time to try one out for yourself.
Just stay off the sidewalks, please and thank you.
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Stars, HGTV's "Flip or Flop Atlanta"
At a Glance
- Ken and Anita Corsini are the stars of the upcoming HGTV series, Flip or Flop Atlanta
- Founders of Red Barn Homes, LLC.
- Have bought and sold over 600 houses in Metro Atlanta since 2005
- Ken is the host of the popular real estate investing podcast The Deal Farm
- Anita is a high school math teacher turned real estate agent
- With Ken's sharp business sense and construction knowledge, and Anita's savvy real estate skills and design eye, they make a perfect team
Ken and Anita Corsini are the founders of Red Barn Homes, LLC. Having started the business in 2005, they have bought and sold over 600 houses in Metro Atlanta since this time. With Ken's sharp business sense and construction knowledge, and Anita's savvy real estate skills and design eye, they make a perfect team, complementing one another to transform homes every step of the way. Whether it's a home that needs a simple cosmetic makeover, or one that needs to be completely gutted, they can make it happen.
Ken Corsini graduated from the University of Georgia in 1999 with a Business degree in Risk Management. After spending 5 years in the corporate world, Ken's strong interest in real estate and entrepreneurial bent led him to leave his "day job" and start the family business. Two years after starting the business, Ken began working on a Masters degree in Building Construction from Georgia Tech. Upon graduating in 2009, he got his general contractors license – which has enabled the company to embark on a number of new construction opportunities.
Since starting the business, Ken has spoken at REIA's around the country and has written numerous real estate articles for real estate sites such as BiggerPockets.com and Realtor.com. He is also the host of the popular real estate investing podcast – The Deal Farm.
Anita Corsini certainly wears many hats, her favorite role is being wife to Ken, and mother of their three wonderful children. Anita has a bachelor of science degree in Mathematics from the University of Georgia, and a Masters degree in Mathematics education from Georgia State University. A former educator, she changed career paths when Ken sought to start the family business. In 2007, Anita got her real estate license before the birth of their first child, to play a role in the company and allow the opportunity to be with both the kids and her husband. Anita believes any home can be transformed into something beautiful, and is willing to go the extra mile to make it a warm and inviting environment for someone to love.
Ken and Anita star on the HGTV series Flip or Flop Atlanta.
We really enjoyed having them, and the audience just loved them.
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IT for Donuts is our regular feature where we explain a tech term or answer a question about business IT.
This time round, we reveal the secrets of the shift key. If you only ever use it to add UPPER CASE LETTERS to your text then you're missing out on its full power. Read on to learn more.
Learn keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts are a powerful way to be more efficient with your computer.
We've covered many of the most common and useful keyboard shortcuts before, and would highly recommend you start using them:
- Essential Windows keyboard shortcuts
- Three keyboard shortcuts I use a hundred times a day
- Shortcuts to use PowerPoint effectively
Once you get the hang of keyboard shortcuts, they become second nature and really speed up your work.
Where the shift key fits in
The shift key is a common 'modifier' for keyboard shortcuts. That means that if you hold it down while using a common shortcut, that shortcut will behave in a different way.
Most often, the shift key reverses an action on the screen. Here are some ways you can use it.
These shortcuts all work with recent versions of Windows. Most of them will work on Macs, too:
- When you're viewing a web page, hitting the Space bar will scroll you down the page. Hit shift + space to scroll up instead.
- You can scroll through open applications by holding the alt key and tapping tab. Hold shift at the same time to scroll the other way.
- The tab key can also be used to move you down through an online form. Use shift + tab to go back up through the form.
- You can hit the Windows key and M to minimise all open windows. Want to see them again? Hit Windows + M + shift.
Next time you're messing around with your keyboard, try the shift key. It has more powers than you might have thought.


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Choose a design that reflects your personality with the help of our professionals. We consider flooring, fixtures, furniture, paint, and more to complete the look you desire for your space.
We can handle jobs of all sizes - from newly constructed commercial kitchens to small residential powder room remodels, we're happy to lend an artistic eye to your project.
We also provide installations to all types of living areas and custom solutions based on the customers' specific needs.
Are you ready for an upgraded, modern, sleek design? Our designer is a master of combining the look you desire with the functionality you require.
Plus, we'll work with you to ensure the remodel or upgrade stays within budget.
We offer products Made in the USA.
Are you ready for a kitchen remodel? Upgrade to a family-friendly, functional kitchen. With over 23 years of experience, our designer is full of suggestions for you.
Our design and installation services come with a service guarantee and FREE delivery. With Ideal Flooring & Design, you know you're getting the best value for your money.
We love upscale, unique brands like Mohawk, Shaw, Earthworks, Phoenix Carpets, and more. Ask about our brand selections.


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Sports + Entertainment
Customer Experience Solutions modernize an organization and keep it competitive in today's world. Collectively, Riptide's leaders have driven countless examples of business impact.
Our Services:
- Voice of the Guest: Understand your fans and guests better
- Sports + Entertainment Advisory: Leverage our team's years of experience to create new experiences or enhance your existing ones.
Voice of the Guest
It's time to better understand the experience that you deliver to your fans and guests.
Get to know your guests
Learn their likes + dislikes
Recognize trends + identify solutions
Make changes that make the difference
Maximize revenue, compete + win
Riptide Partners enables you to go from talking about data, insights and improving the guest experience to doing something about it. We deliver actionable insights straight from the source, your guests.
Not just once a season or from one segment, we capture feedback after every event and from every segment – suite holders, season ticket members, individual ticket buyers and GA attendees. We then take that feedback and synthesize it for you into revenue driving opportunities.
Contact Us


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One Israeli has reportedly been seriously injured from a mortar attack from the Gaza Strip that struck an Israeli bus outside the coastal enclave.
In addition, incoming rocket alert sirens sounded in communities throughout southern Israel.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) killed at least 6 Palestinians in a military operation.


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Heidi Elva is an Artist, Musician, Producer, Composer, Poet, Creator of Mama-Art, Dreamer, Skeleton collector and Mama to Zion.
Heidi Elva grew up in a small town in New Zealand called Levin. It's not a famous part of New Zealand but it's very pretty with mountains that are snow capped in winter, a lake, rivers and lots of green rolling hills around it.
It also has two sets of traffic lights, lots of retirement homes and boy racers.
She currently lives the quiet life with her Colombian husband, Mauricio, their 1 year old son Zion and their blue staffy Maya Moon. Next to Skeleton Creek in a suburb of Melbourne called Sanctuary Lakes. SanctuaryAltona is surrounded by two big oil refineries and industrial warehouses.
In her dreams she sees overgrown secret gardens with ancient structures with glittering pillars and an altar with neon sacred hearts.
In her art, she explores escapism and mysticism, ancient rituals and pop culture.
She is very reclusive and rarely does shows or goes out. She still makes music. She also does visual art. She likes to stay in her comfortable cave a lot.
witchy // minimal // lo-fi // electronic // chillhop
"Traditional song structures are replaced with cyclical songs…. evoking images of 1940s film noir. Elva's voice is velvety and soft and it almost lulls you to sleep…. " Dom Alessio, The Brag (now Triple J)
"There is so much space in Heidi Elva's music…..Elva creates an atmosphere of low temperature and low light…a gothic touch…. made for listening almost by osmosis" Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald
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The anti-trust case against Microsoft in the US appears to have been resuscitated following a Supreme Court ruling in Nebraska that approved the continuation of a class-action case against the software giant.
The lawsuit had been blocked by a lower court, which said those named were not eligible to sue Microsoft as they had not bought Windows 98 directly from the company. However, a split decision by the Supreme Court - 4 to 3 - overturned this decision and returned the lawsuit to the lower court for further hearings.
The lawsuit alleges that Microsoft used its monopoly power to overcharge for Windows. There are precedents in US law that allow only direct purchasers of products to sue on anti-trust grounds. But the court noted that state law on the issue varies from federal law and in the case of Windows, end users affected by alleged monopoly abuse of pricing are typically indirect purchasers, or people who buy from middlemen such as retailers.
"To deny the indirect purchaser, who in this case is the ultimate purchaser, the right to seek relief from unlawful conduct, would essentially remove the word consumer from the Consumer Protection Act," the court said. Similar lawsuits against Microsoft were dismissed last year because of the same issue.
In a prepared statement, a Microsoft spokeswoman said: "Microsoft has been a market leader in delivering great software at very competitive prices and has even reduced prices while adding features and functionality to its products."
The lawyer behind the case said a next step in the case is to obtain judicial certification of the class of people who could participate. "We're set to move on, we should be able to show that a class exists. Microsoft has records; you have to register with them when you buy software," said Robert Hillis of Yost, Schafersman, Lamme, Hillis, Mitchell & Schulz.
The Nebraska ruling came at the end of a busy legal week for Microsoft. Elsewhere in the US, opening arguments began in Minnesota, in a class-action lawsuit that also accuses Microsoft of overcharging for software, where lawyers are seeking $452 million.
And, of course, there was the breakdown of anti-trust settlement talks with the European Union, which will announce on Wednesday a series of antitrust remedies, including a fine, that could also set a precedent that will make it easier to prosecute other complaints in Europe.


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April 23, 2020
Kenyon has temporarily adjusted its operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here.
The Kenyon community will gather for a reception celebrating the new Cox Health and Counseling Center at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23. The reception will be followed by a dedication of the building at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The Cambridge, Mass., firm of Graham Gund '63 H'81 designed the center, which cost $3.3 million. Key donors to the center include Dr. James D. Cox '60 H'97, a former College trustee for whom the building is named; Carl Mankowitz '66; Katherine Stautberg '87 and Timothy Stautberg '85; and the estates of Quentin Draudt '51 and Lee Meier '51.
Cox said he saw the need for a better space to care for students' physical and mental well-being. "Students needed facilities where they had privacy," he said. "That was particularly true with the counseling."
Located in the center of campus, the building boasts natural lighting, more examination rooms, a centralized nursing station, and separate waiting rooms and stairways for health and counseling services. Conference rooms built off the two lobbies allow students to hold meetings in the facility after the center has closed.
"It's the ultimate of great," said Patrick Gilligan, director of counseling services, of the new center. "It's not just the appearance and the aesthetic; it's the location."
Director of Health Services Kim Cullers, CNP, said the student response to the new building has been overwhelmingly positive. "Upperclassmen are really impressed with the facility," she said. "Many say it's nicer than their doctor's offices at home."
Cox, who will be on hand for the dedication, said he is humbled to have the building named after him. "I would feel just as proud of it if my name wasn't on it," he said. "It's like icing on the cake to have my name on it."


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Houston (CBS Houston) – Don't tell the Texans that Jacksonville is 2-11 and the third worst team in the NFL. From the Texans perspective the Jaguars are an athletic, talented unit filled with good players that can go toe to toe with any team in the league.
"They're a competitive team, they've got really good speed, a lot of good players, a really good young quarterback," Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said.
You understand the message. O'Brien can't walk into the meeting room and tell the team, "just show up on Sunday, and we'll win." He has to make sure his team isn't overlooking a bad team with just three critical games remaining on the schedule.
Pardon me while I use one of the most overused clichés in sports but "it's the NFL." There's truth to that though. The margin of error in the league is minuscule, and slightly above average teams lose to bad teams all the time, unless it's Cleveland.
"We don't really worry about the record because we see them on film, and they're a very athletic team," Texans cornerback A.J. Bouye added.
Jacksonville has won twice this year, proof that they can win although rarely. Those two wins came in their fourth and fifth game of the season, home for the Colts and at Chicago. Since the two wins, they've lost eight games in a row, half of those by a possession or less.
"Jacksonville's been in a ton of close games, they've been in one score games, field goal games, it just happens to be that they've ended up on the wrong side of it a number of times," O'Brien said.
The preseason hype for Jacksonville was high. They were a popular pick as the non-playoff team that would crash the 2016 playoff party. Those pundits are burying their heads in the sand now, but the reason for those predictions is because Jacksonville does have talent. The offense was good last year, usually late in games when the outcome had been determined, but still the pieces were there. They invested money and early round draft picks in the defense that would be improved. Long story short, it hasn't worked, but maybe this week it will?
It's not a must win by definition for the Texans, but for fans of the teams to continue any semblance of hope, it is a must win. The Texans are 4-0 against AFC South opponents this season, and have won nine in a row against division opponents. Last week's victory over the Colts have them in position to win their second straight division title. Last week was a small step forward; a loss this week would be a giant leap back.


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(Network Service Terminated as of August 31, 2012)
(My Street features a LAN mode)
After a little tweaking by myself, My Street for PS2 is now back online! Now hosted on a 24/7 DNS server thanks to Bobz of BobzEnt.info!
Here are some images of me accessing My Street online:
(US Central lobby, everyone else on the player list are SOCOM players)
(Hosting game lobby)
In order to play online, just set your Primary DNS Server in your PS2 Network Configuration to:
(24/7 DNS server hosted by Bobz of BobzEnt.info; As a bonus, this DNS configuration will also allow you to play any of the Tony Hawk PS2 games, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (Account Creation), Tribes: Aerial Assault, All-Star Baseball 2005, Blitz: The League, NBA Ballers, NBA Ballers: Phenom, MLB SlugFest: Loaded, Mortal Kombat: Deception, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Deer Hunter and Risk: Global Domination online as they, too, are hosted by Bobz)
If you have this game and would like to schedule a time to play, reply to this thread or schedule a game day over at PS2OnlineGaming.com.
See you online!
Special thanks to FreddY for providing the hosting method and to Bobz of BobzEnt.info for hosting My Street 24/7.


text:
Amazon: Sterline Rechargeable Wireless Water Flosser $27.99 (Regular Price $59.99)
- 2 nozzle heads and 3 pressure modes: Normal, Soft (sensitive teeth & gums), Pulse (stimulate gums)
- Large 200ml capacity and charging base
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Shipping is FREE with your Amazon Prime membership. If you don't have a Prime membership, this will ship for free with a $25+ order.
Want more out of your Prime Membership?
- Learn how to check your Amazon credit balance
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- If you don't have an Amazon Prime Membership, use THIS LINK for a free 30 day trial! If you decide you love it as much as we do, you can buy a full year for only $99, or pay just $10.99 per month!
*Remember that Amazon prices change frequently, and without notice. Please verify price before ordering.


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28 September 2019 (12 pm to 4 pm)
29 September 2019 (12 pm to 4 pm)
One of the largest and finest towers of its type in Scotland, it was home to the distinguished Erskine family, Earls of Mar, from the later 14th century until 1800. By 1693 a mansion, kitchen tower, brew house and other buildings had been added. In 1702 John, 6th Earl of Mar, began to convert the tower into an elegant modern house and created an ambitious and extensive planned landscape around his home.
In 1800 the mansion was destroyed by fire, but the tower survived. By the 1980s it was derelict. Alloa Tower Building Preservation Trust restored it to its likely appearance in 1712. The tower was opened formally by Her Majesty the Queen in 1997. A fine collection of Erskine family portraits from the Mar & Kellie collection is displayed, along with many items of family silver, while a DVD tells the story of the tower. Alloa Tower is owned and managed by the National Trust for Scotland.
Building Date: Late 15th century, with later alteraions
Costumed guides and medieval and later craft activities will be on display.
Last entry at 3.00
Special exhibition of memorabilia from the Mar & Kellie collection


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IBCN 2018: HRAS Mutations in Early-Onset Bladder Cancer
Recently, a study of few samples of young patients reported a higher percentage of HRAS mutations among the early-onset cohort compared to elderly samples. Due to the low sample size, the impact of these alterations of the age of onset and the frequency among young patients remain unclear and need further investigation.
The aim this study was to test the distribution of HRAS mutations among the largest cohort of early-onset cases to date and to compare them with a consecutive group of bladder tumors. 141 early-onset patients aged 45 years old or younger and 144 consecutive samples were used for comparison. After microdissection, isolation of DNA and amplification the five established hotspot regions of the HRAS gene were examined by using SNaPshot approach. Chi-squared and Fisher´s exact test were appropriately used for comparison between the two cohorts. Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test was also calculated.
A significantly higher number of HRAS mutations was found in tumors from the early onset cohort compared to the consecutive samples (15.6% vs. 5.6%, p=0.01). After stratifying the young samples according to the mutational HRAS status, we observed a significantly younger median age among the early-onset mutation carrier than for not mutated patients, with 32 and 40 years (p=0.01), respectively. This difference was not found among the consecutive cohort.
They concluded that tumors of young patients showed a significantly higher frequency of HRAS mutations compared to the consecutive cohort. Thus, the tested mutations might play a more important role for the development of bladder cancer especially among the youngest cohort of early-onset patients. These findings strengthen the idea of a different molecular scenario between consecutive and early-onset bladder cancer tumors.
Presented by: Robert Stöhr, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, German
Written by: Stephen B. Williams, M.D., Associate Professor, Division of Urology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX. and Ashish M. Kamat, M.D. Professor, Department of Urology, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX at the 16th Annual Meeting of the International Bladder Cancer Network (IBCN) October 11-13, 2018 - the Inntel Hotels Rotterdam Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands


text:
What Ethnic Rhinoplasty Can Do For You
Advancements in cosmetic surgery technology have been able to cater to the individual features and characteristics of one's ethnicity. At Cilento Facial Plastics, Dr. Ben Cliento has performed an extensive amount of ethnic rhinoplasties (also known as nose jobs) due to his expertise in facial surgery. Ethnic rhinoplasty is a specialty of rhinoplasty and was… Read More »
- Posted on: Oct 30 2018


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Val Scholz7 We wanted to open up cryptocurrency exposure to everyone and not just the enthusiasts. We've simplified the complex signup process, removed the high fees and brought cryptocurrency exposure to everyone at the touch of a button. 📲
Adithya Shreshti0 @valscholz Doesn't Revolut work in India? I tried signing up with my mobile number, I did not get the verification code even after multiple tries. I used my US number, received a verification code instantly. I prefer opening an account with my Indian number.
Val Scholz0 Hey @adithya, We're monitoring closely the Indian market but don't have a release date yet. We'll be launching our service in the U.S. in early 2018.
Alexandra Larson3 @valscholz No you didn't. Not being able to transfer cryptos to personal wallets / addresses shadows all the nice features you have just described.
Jp Valery2 Hey Val - congrats on launching! I'm just wondering, how are you dealing with people in north America ? My experience so far with the app and the customer service as à French living in Canada has been far from enjoyable and it feels like Canadian and US residents are not a priority. Is this going to be the same with the crypto service?
Val Scholz0 Hey @jpvalery, As we're launching in the U.S. and Canada in early 2018, we'll also be expanding our support team to be able to offer 24/7 support to all of our customers.
Jp Valery1 @valscholz it wasn't about availability but consistency and helpfulness 😄 I'm really looking forward to be able to use the app here, and buy/sell my cryptos (since Coinbase still doesn't allow us Canadians to sell our BTC/ETH/LTC,...).
Ravishankar2 Nice and Simple UI Well done Revolut 👍
Val Scholz1 @r_ravishankar Thanks! We're glad you like it :)
Ettore Tortora10 I'm a long time user of Revolut. It's a great service, killer UI and makes my life in the UK easier BUT there are tons of problems that they still need to fix, like the fact that often you can't use your card because their 3rd part card processor service is always down. I was hyped to check out the new Cryptocurrency feature, they've done some good PR on their twitter and FB but apparently, you can only use this feature if you're a Premium user (paying a monthly fee for few extra features - not really useful). This or you can invite 3 friends to unlock the feature. I'm not a premium user but I've invited 6 friends in the last 2 years although they don't seem to care about this. Real bummer...
Val Scholz2 Hey @error23_ , Can you send us a DM on our twitter account? We'll check your case and unlock crypto for you if that's the case. Additionally, our team is working hard on bringing processing in-house to prevent future downtimes. We expect this to happen in early 2018.
Ettore Tortora3 @valscholz Thank you, I will. I hope to see the in-house processor soon. EDIT: Great customer service on Twitter, they activated the feature in few minutes! Thanks again!
Matthew Clementson0 @valscholz I've also invited plenty of users over the 2 users I've had been using the service! I'll also send a tweet. Nice work, looking forward to using it. Ps please ask the team to look at the customer support process. Closing tickets overnight for non premium users who only have support until 10pm is not cool.
Kim Schulz1 @error23_ I was kinda annoyed to see that the crypto feature was a premium only feature. The price for the few extra features is extremely high for what they offer if you ask me. There are plenty of other ways they can already earn money on this business model - why not set these features free and instead get a lot more users (mastercard normally pay per user-signup so that alone would give a better revenue)
Devan Koshal1 Big fan of Revolut, premium user here since the first day I signed up. Use them more than any of my current accounts. Being from the UK, currently living in Canada, and making frequent trips to the UK/US the multi currency support has been flawless. Great work guys.
Nikita Akimov1 Hey @fr00tloops! Congrats on launching! Is there an option to withdraw your coins to another wallet?
Matthew Clementson1 @akimovnv I imagine they'll want to prevent us from doing something like this unfortunately. Otherwise we'll just use Revolut as an easy way into Crypto and then transfer out to other exchanges that currently don't accept GBP / USD transfer easily or without huge fees.
Nikita Akimov1 @matthew_clementson then I can't understand what does it have to do with decentralization. In the end we would have to trust Revolut founders not taking control over our funds lol :D
Matthew Clementson0 @akimovnv I think the fact that Revolut is offering this service shows how mainstream crypto's are becoming, coupled with that I'm sure the average person that invests in them now has no interest in the original motivations for creating them.
Val Scholz2 Hey @akimovnv @matthew_clementson Revolut is regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority of the U.K.) so you can rest assured that your funds are safe. We keep them in separate client accounts. For the initial launch, it was important to keep Revolut as a closed system in order for all of our partners to be comfortable. We feel that this first phase will really help drive mass adoption of crypto. In the future, we'll be looking at allowing users to send their Bitcoins to external wallets.
Felix Kaiser0 @valscholz The T&Cs read very differently. I read them as basically it's all my risk, no guarantees whatsoever. They probably even state BTC aren't FCA regulated.
Val Scholz0 @felixkaiser "For storage, Revolut uses a combination of techniques to ensure that your funds are safely and securely stored. The majority of funds are held in offline cold-storage vaults."
Felix Kaiser0 @valscholz I like that. But the question is: should Revolut still lose the funds, will they need to help me with the issue according to FCA guidelines (see your comment above)? I think not, because I guess the FCA has no guidelines about BTC.
Aleksandr Pasevin0 @akimovnv @matthew_clementson @valscholz is it possible to know how far in the future it will be possible to send cryptos to external wallets? (days, months, years)?
Raphael0 Hey @valscholz & revolut, great job adding crypto...I had a revolut account that got closed after brexit, i have a US address on there and still have my rev card. when you start supporting US customers, will i have to get a new card ?
Val Scholz0 Hey @idont_follow, I'm not entirely sure if that will be the case. Give me a shout when we're live in the U.S. and I see what I can do :)
Jijo Sunny1 Active user of Revolut here ✋ Love it! I can't seem to find the crypto option though. I did update. Should I wait, or do something differently?
Val Scholz1 Hey @jijosunny, you should be able to find Revolut 4.8 in the AppStore. Once you download the latest app, you can see the crypto product in the More tab.
Daeshawn Ballard1 This seems really interesting. However, I'm a little bummed it's not open to the U.S. to try.
Val Scholz1 Hey @imdaeshawn, we're working hard to launch in the U.S. in early 2018. Stay tuned 🙌
Alexandra Larson1 You do not own any coin, you buy/sell BTC and crypto contracts. You can neither withdraw / send or own any btc, that is a waste of source code.
Shawn Harris1 Not a bad service to work with bitcoin.
Val Scholz0 @rerushichijigan Thanks! :)
Taly0 Doesn't work in Russia 😒
Val Scholz0 Hey @illiiiillllilii, We already have offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg and since our founder and CEO is Russian, we're working hard on offering our service in Russia next year too!
Nik0 Whats the point to make it easy to buy, but impossible to transfer to my choice of wallet??? NO THANKS
Val Scholz1 Hey @nemtrd, We've seen incredible demand so far for an easy way to buy, hold and exchange Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. Revolut is regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority of the U.K.) so you can rest assured that your funds are safe. We keep them in separate client accounts. For the initial launch, it was important to keep Revolut as a closed system in order for all of our partners to be comfortable. We feel that this first phase will really help drive mass adoption of crypto. In the future, we'll be looking at allowing users to send their Bitcoins to external wallets.
Nik0 @valscholz I get it, I'm sure there will be a market for this and I wish you only the best. I just prefer to hold the bitcoins in my own wallet.
Woody1 Can you buy IOTA directly from hard currency or would you need to go via bitcoin?
Alexandra Larson0 @hugowoodhead You can't buy IOTA directly, and you can not use the BTC anywhere else. this feature is a waste of life
Melanie Brown0 Good service
Felix Kaiser1 How are these the best possible rates (I don't understand the definition of this). You're charging 1% (says the blog post), where do I see this when doing an exchange?
Lennart Brandt0 @felixkaiser Would like to know this too!
Ouriel Ohayon0 How do the rates of cryptos compare to exchanges like gdax or kraken? One big issue I see here is that you do not own your crypto. You can only sell it here and can't use it anywhere
Pietz Prove1 I signed up for a premium account to try this, but then found out it's a 1 year subscription. Very sneaky and shady how that's communicated by the app. Since I didn't want this, I was looking for the option to cancel the subscription. There is none. You're supposed to contact the support through the app. But that's not a problem because they have 24/7 support, right? Wrong. I was asked to wait 6 hours or communicate with a chatbot, which doesn't understand 'cancel premium' or 'cancel subscription'. In all honesty, how can I trust you with my money if this is the experience you give customers in the first 5min of using your service?
Toby Robertson1 The spread appears to be over £400
Toby Robertson2 @stars7up buy price @ 2244 12/12/17 : £12873 = 1BTC, BUT try sell 1BTC and I'm offered £12435
Toby Robertson2 I can't see any way of withdraw BTC and at this spread I need to see +£400 to take profit
|Bitcoin Cash


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Recently BookBub expanded their mailing list, or ratherm they separated their CA subscribers from the US list. I anticipate they'll do likewise with AU, with the UK and AU stores broken out.
Will Amazon follow suit and allow authors and publishers the ability to promote their KDP Select titles through a Countdown Deal in more than just the US and UK stores?
BookBub's reason for doing this seems clear. With just a single mailing list going to readers around the world, many are unable to take advantage of the deals, being restricted to buying only from their home country Amazon store. Better for public relations that they not know about the deals than be disappointed, or worse, clicking and finding the book they want for free is at full price in their countries store.
Recently, I contacted KDP and asked if they were going to offer Select promotional opportunities in other countries, particularly CA and AU. The response I received was full of the typical mumbo jumbo about being happy to assist me with my problem. But one line in the email caught my attention.
"Please note that we are unable to promise a certain time of release for this feature."
Would those of you who live in CA and AU be excited about being able to get free and discounted books? Would you authors in CA and AU take advantage of a new Select promotional tool?


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I saw The Art Museum
today and just had to blog about it! It's an art museum in a book. Oversized (3 feet across when open) and weighing over 17 pounds, it features over 2,500 large images of works of art.
This volume contains an unprecedented wealth of masterworks spanning three millennia and culled from 650 museums, galleries and private collections from 60 countries. It is organized by innovative color-coded, galleries, rooms, corridors and special exhibitions, which display the paintings, sculptures, frescos, photographs, tapestries, friezes, installations, performances, videos, woodblock prints, folding screens, ceramics and manuscripts that tell the history of world art.
It's not too late to order this book as a Christmas present for the art lover in your life. It would also be wonderful for a classroom. It retails for $200, but Amazon is selling it for half price!