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Managing Director & Senior Partner; Global Leader, Global Advantage Practice
Related Expertise: International Business, Joint Ventures, M&A, Transactions, and PMI
Joint ventures remain popular as a valuable approach to global business alliances, but with a distinctly new look. Previously, they were viewed primarily as a way to reduce risks or costs, or to expand into new markets. Today's international joint ventures often involve established and emerging market players—a combination of mature companies and start-ups—joining together to pool their distinctly unique capabilities and resources to create something truly innovative.
For example, SoftBank, Alibaba, and Foxconn announced in 2015 that they had created a joint venture that would combine their expertise in artificial intelligence, manufacturing, and e-commerce to produce and commercialize humanoid robots. Similarly, global automotive giant VW and Cymotive Technologies, an Israeli cybersecurity start-up, announced a joint venture the following year to develop data security solutions for the next generation of VW vehicles.
Joint ventures can provide a relatively agile model for partnering in an increasingly digital and dynamic world. BCG's dedicated joint venture team—spanning geographies and including BCG specialists, seasoned joint venture managers, and academics—conducts ongoing research in this important topic.
Make no mistake: Despite their popularity, joint ventures are not without risk. Their advantages can be offset by misaligned interests and business objectives, lack of commitment, unclear governance, problems with talent, and operational inefficiencies. BCG's own research indicates that 19% of joint venture managers were dissatisfied with the value created, and 73% thought the venture could have been better.
International joint ventures can go off track in a number of ways. And while it is important for joint ventures to be carefully planned and managed at each stage of their life cycle, the initial set-up phase is the most important of all. While a sound set-up can't guarantee a joint venture's success, a poor set-up will inevitably lead to failure. Any issue overlooked during the initial design will certainly surface later on, possibly when it is already beyond repair.
In short, the set-up is the cornerstone of every successful joint venture. A successful set-up covers the fundamental design of the joint venture, aligns all partners from the outset, and ensures a functional organization throughout the partnership.
To help organizations address the critical questions that ought to be raised as each joint venture is designed, BCG has developed a detailed playbook that identifies the 13 essential building blocks for successful joint ventures. We can help multinational companies—and, in particular, those planning to partner with firms in emerging markets—to set-up strong joint ventures based on the careful design of each key element:
Crafting each building block requires thoughtful consideration of alternative solutions. Here are a few examples of some of the most critical challenges companies face, and the kinds of solutions they've developed as they've set-up new international joint ventures.
Without exception, executives designing new joint ventures must deal with core questions of governance: How will decisions be made? How large should the board of directors be, and how should it be composed? Which executive positions should make up the board of management, and how should they be filled?
Some of the most important decisions involve the management board. Such decisions must be made within the context of the joint venture's envisioned degree of autonomy. And they must take into account whether the joint venture places greater priority on operational efficiency or on merging broad capabilities and local knowledge.
The particular circumstances of each joint venture, of course, will result in different challenges during the set-up period. For example, going into a 50-50 joint venture involving a large German car manufacturer and an Asian auto producer, the German partner was interested in a governance structure that would provide a leading position while maximizing the transfer of knowledge and skills between the two companies. The joint venture achieved these goals by:
Over the years, BCG has developed a rich database of organizational structures for joint ventures that encompass a variety of industries, geographies, and deal configurations. The database can provide great examples and a useful starting point for discussions about governance design.
Some joint ventures are designed to accomplish a specific task, in a specific context, and then end. Others, like marriages, are created for an unspecified time frame. Either case requires an exit strategy, and every partner in a joint venture should have one.
More specifically, companies need to define triggers for an exit, exit mechanisms, as well as a methodology for valuing the stakes when dissolving the venture. Situations that might trigger an exit could include change of control of a venture partner, material violation of an agreement, inability to operate, bankruptcy or insolvency of one of the partners, or a material change in the scope of the business. In other cases, an exit is initiated when the joint venture's task is fulfilled or the context changes. Different conditions might trigger a variety of exit mechanisms, ranging from options for one party to sell its stake or buy out its partner to simply dissolving the joint venture.
Consider the example of a pan-Asian telecommunication joint venture that was suffering from poor performance. The minority partner unsuccessfully sought an external buyer for its shares. However, thanks to the "put option" that was written into the joint venture exit strategy, the majority owner was obligated to buy those shares at a preset price. Without an explicit exit strategy, the minority partner could well have faced an unappetizing choice between sticking with a losing venture or simply eating its investment.
IP protection is emerging as another key topic in setting up international joint ventures. Both the benefits and risks associated with IP can be enormous because IP protections can literally decide a partnership's failure or success. Indeed, the risks can transcend the joint venture; there have been situations in which a company has stolen its partner's IP and then used it to compete globally against the partner's parent company.
Despite such significant risks, IP is often a cornerstone of the joint venture, and IP sharing is a common feature in the process. It is used variously to convince a partner to join the venture, to improve the value creation of the venture, or to commercialize the IP as an outcome of the venture. However, the vision for sharing IP must be accompanied by measures for protecting IP ownership throughout the life cycle of the joint venture.
IP protection was a major concern for a mature-market-based engineering company that set-up a joint venture in China to produce and commercialize power distribution products such as switchgears and transformers. The European partner transferred its core R&D know-how into a separate entity, in order to maintain full control of its valuable proprietary IP and to strictly limit the type of information being shared with the partner. At the same time, less-valuable IP at the application level—involving manufacturing, assembly and engineering know-how—was readily transferred to the joint venture to increase its efficiency. Additionally, some key components were imported from Europe or sourced from a separate joint venture in China, as a further protective measure.
The ultimate goal is to ensure that IP protection receives thorough consideration from the outset of the joint venture planning.
There's no doubt that companies stand to reap tremendous benefits from international joint ventures. The opportunities can be hugely attractive both for established companies and for new start-ups in emerging markets. But the potential for failure should not be underestimated. The best way to enhance the odds of success is to draw upon the experience of others to design a solid set-up.


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subset: commoncrawl


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WALTHAM — It's the Summer of Love, with a slew of NBA teams, including the Celtics, chasing after Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love, hoping to obtain him with an attractive trade package.
Celtics forward Jared Sullinger could be part of that package, though he's trying not to think about it.
"You just stay out of the headlines, and then some of the headlines, you can't even validate them, because some of them are fake," Sullinger said Wednesday, after the Celtics worked out draft prospects at their training facility.
"You just do your thing. Summertime is about team, but at the same time, it's about you, too, and players are really made in the summertime and not during the season."
Love recently visited Boston for a weekend, creating a frenzy among fans hoping the Celtics deal for him.
"I didn't even pay attention to it until somebody brought it to my attention," Sullinger said. "It's life. He was in Boston. Boston is a great city to visit. Get over it."
And of the potential that the Celtics roster will change dramatically this summer, Sullinger referenced the team's front office, saying, "That's not my job — that's where you've got to let Danny [Ainge] and Austin [Ainge] and [Mike] Zarren do their job.
"I'm just kind of laying low. My job is to be the best basketball player coming into next year that I can be. I'm out of that circle."
Leading by example
After saying that he planned to spend more time than usual in Boston this offseason, Celtics captain Rajon Rondo has been a consistent presence at the practice facility.
"I think Rajon — and I'm saying this from my own opinion — but I think he's anxious to get back out there and to get back out playing," coach Brad Stevens said. "You can tell that from his work ethic. He has been with our small groups a lot in the last 8-10 days. That's not always the case with a guy as seasoned and accomplished as him.
"He only played 30 games this year and I don't think he ever felt like he was as good as he truly could be, at least game to game to game, stringing multiple games together. That was in large part due to coming back [from ACL surgery].
"Now he's had a little bit more time to strengthen, to get in the weight room, to work on his skill stuff. I think he looks great, first of all. Physically, he looks fantastic, and he's been working hard, and that sets a great tone for the younger guys that come in. That's really helpful."
Workout week
The Celtics will bring in more lottery-caliber players for workouts this week, including Arizona forward Aaron Gordon and Creighton forward Doug McDermott on Thursday. Michigan State guard Gary Harris, Michigan guard Nik Stauskas, and Kentucky forward Julius Randle are scheduled to work out Friday . . . Stevens said assistant coach Jay Larranaga will coach the Celtics' Summer League team in Orlando. Larranaga also coached that team last summer.
Baxter Holmes can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @BaxterHolmes.


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Abortion advocates from Amanda Marcotte to Robin Marty to Katie Halper vilified Indiana legislators for introducing legislation which would require women having RU-486 medication abortions to have two ultrasounds, one before the abortion and one after.
If you read the text of the legislation it doesn't require transvaginal ultrasounds just that the abortionist before the abortion "(c)onduct ultrasound imaging or oversee fetal ultrasound imaging" and after the abortion "confirm that the pregnancy is terminated by conducting ultrasound imaging."
Marcotte called the requirement, "(r)itualized humiliation for the one in three American women who will get an abortion in her lifetime, at the behest of a prudish state."
Halper claimed, "The bill makes no medical sense, whatsoever, and is a clear attempt to discourage women from taking RU 486, by adding two unnecessary trips to an abortion clinic and two unnecessary uncomfortable procedures to it."
Is an abortion clinic which requires two ultrasounds (at least one of which and likely both are of the transvaginal variety) also making "no medical sense" and humiliating women? Are they trying to discourage women from having abortions? Are they prudish?
Because that's what Preterm Abortion Clinic in Cleveland requires.
From their Abortion Services - Medication page:
During your first appointment, you'll have lab tests, a medical history review, and an ultrasound.From their follow-up appointment web page:
You'll take a pregnancy test and meet with a nurse to go over information about how you are doing physically. If you had a surgical abortion, you will have a pelvic exam. If you had a medication abortion, you will have a trans-vaginal ultrasound. (Please wear a two-piece outfit.)


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Trigonometric Functions
Cornell University
PhD. in Mathematics
Norm was 4th at the 2004 USA Weightlifting Nationals! He still trains and competes occasionally, despite his busy schedule.
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Cornell University
PhD. in Mathematics
Norm was 4th at the 2004 USA Weightlifting Nationals! He still trains and competes occasionally, despite his busy schedule.
I want to talk about the opposite angle identities. First let's review these definitions a function is even if f of -x equals f of x,a function is add is f of -x equals -1/2 of x. What does that mean?
This says that if you take opposite inputs you get the same output. That's what it means to be an even function and an odd function is a function where opposite inputs give opposite outputs. So we'll see that actually all the trig functions are either even or odd that's what we are about to show.
So let's take a look at the unit circle. Here's the unit circle with angle theta drawn on it and this is point p(x,y) and you know that x gives me the cosine of theta and y gives me the sine of theta. So I want to find out what the cosine of negative theta is. And I've drawn negative theta.
Negative theta will be a reflection of positive theta across the x axis and so the coordinates of this point q which is a reflection of point p, would be the same for x and opposite for y. And that means the cosine of negative theta is exactly the same as the cosine of theta. So we just proved that cosine is even.
Now what about sine? Well the y values are opposite so the sine of negative theta is minus y and y is the sine of theta. Sine is not function.
Now what about tangent? Tangent, remember the identity tangent theta is sine theta over cosine theta. Tangent of negative theta would be sine of negative theta over cosine negative theta. Now sine of negative theta is the opposite of sine theta and cosine of negative theta is cosine theta, let me write that down. Negative sine theta cosine theta and there we have it. That's exactly minus tangent theta.
And so tangent is not a function. Like I said all the trig functions are either even or odd cosine is even, sine is odd and tangent is odd this would be really important identities later on.


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Steak 'n Shake Overland Park, KS Added to "Rated Kid Friendly" Restaurant Directory
KIDS, 12 and under, EAT FREE on Saturdays & Sundays – with a paid $8 adult entree. Each kid's meal comes with a choice of fries, mandarin oranges or applesauce. The KID'S MENU features Grilled Cheese $2.29, Steakburger $2.49, Mini Corn Dogs $2.49, Mac n' Cheese $2.49, Mini Steakburgers $2.79, Hot Dog $2.79 and Chicken Fingers $2.79. Kids receive a coloring placemat with crayons and a FREE car cruiser. Visit Steak 'n Shake


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Day 2 and it feels I have done/seen so much already. This morning was up and ready for the 20 minute ferry crossing to Herm Island. What a remarkable place to set foot on. One and a half mile long and less than a half mile wide this island has so much to offer. No cars, just pure natural splendour. On arrival I was met by Lesley Bailey whom lives on the island. Incidentally there are just 60 permanent residents who live there and nobody is allowed to live there unless working towards the upkeep and running of the island. Lesley gave me a perfect introduction to what I can do, see, explore and gave me the perfect starting point.
The first thing to do for me was a hike around the full coast! Terrific. A walk for all abilities and every turn producing view after view, inland or looking out to sea. Cliff tops, beaches and bays. Loved it! Amazing how these hidden white sanded bays are so so quiet but breathtaking!
Right in the centre of the island is a springtime treasure. A short woodland walk, but within this woodland lies the biggest and purest bluebell population I myself have seen. So hard to justify in photo.
After the miles comes refreshment and there is lots of choice by the harbour with tavern, hotel and gift shops, all is taken care of. Later in the afternoon it was back to Guernsey. And as you approach St Peter Port from the water you get a real sense of its grandness. Built up from the waterside, old buildings rising up before you from the harbour, boats in front. Quite obviously the busiest part of Guernsey but busy as I know it is not.
So, into the evening and off to the west and Cobo Bay, for the sunset. Wow! People had been telling me about this for 2 days and yes, they were right, it is a stunning sunset. You could watch it from the bay wall as I did or choices from in front of the pub, fish and chips shop or hotel. The photos below show what kind of sunset I had today.
Tomorrow? More island hopping, across to Sark and more miles underfoot I am sure, looking forward to it 🙂


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TheBigLegoski said:Dive!
Just do it.
Check your wall.LostInTranslation said:At lunch I decided to take the plunge on the Quinjet City chase on Amazon at £55.99 using my £25 gift card (quiz winnings!) so paying £30.99, which I was very happy with until I saw about an hour ago it had gone down another fiver. Tried to cancel and reorder but it was already despatching so I couldn't. Oh well, still a good bargain!
Now you can have yesterdays smug feeling all over again. And £25.99 for a quinjet... Are you sure it wasn't this one ;)LostInTranslation said:@MattsWhat - I have done, and have just concluded a chat with a very nice person called Pankaj who refunded me the £5 difference. Thanks so much for the tip!
It's arrived...xwingpilot said:Debating whether or not to get #30051 (which would be my first polybag).
Having the mini X-Wing to go along side the UCS X-wing appeals, but I've been having evil thoughts about leaving it sealed, and that might start something I may live to regret...
Check this video. :o)TheBigLegoski said:Wow!
Does he have issues?
They are also just doing it:
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text: By credit card, you should make the payment through the Paypal. The paypal accept the International Credit Card, like Visa/MasterCard/American Express/Diners Club/JCB. Paypal offers a secure method to send money from your credit card without telling online shops your credit card numbers. You choose which method to use on the second-to-last screen of the online checkout process, and this screen gives you instructions how to make the payment.


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We're bringing public school and online learning together in a way that works for students and their families. Authorized through a Charter Contract by Ferris State University Charter Schools Office and available to K–12 grade students all over the state, Michigan Connections Academy is a public school designed by experts in online education. It's a great way to learn from home, or anywhere else, without paying tuition.
Your child is unique. They have their own passions, their own dreams, their own way of learning. And their individual needs may be best met through an online school vs. a traditional school setting. At Michigan Connections Academy, we give all kinds of students the chance to follow their hearts and prepare for the future they desire. Perhaps your child is a musical virtuoso. Or maybe they're a sensitive thinker who prefers to work alone. A budding athlete? An entrepreneur? Whoever your child is—whoever they want to become—we can open new possibilities for them.
Michigan Connections Academy is a great fit for students who want to:
With online schooling, your child will have new opportunities to learn and grow. The better prepared your family is for online learning, the more your child can get out of it.
Parents and caregivers at Michigan Connections Academy are their child's Learning Coach. Being a Learning Coach gives you the chance to be a part of your child's learning, celebrating their victories and lending a hand when they need extra help. The younger your child, the more you'll want to be by their side. But no matter your child's age, their teachers will be readily available to work and collaborate with you. And you'll have plenty of resources to make sure you—and your child—stay on track for success.
Learn About Parental Involvement
Empowering Parents in the Role of Learning Coach
Collaboration is at the heart of learning. At Connections Academy, parents work closely with teachers and other parents to form a powerful community of Learning Coaches that help keep students on track. Our online learning portal is full of tools and resources to make things easier from scheduling lessons for every subject to juggling a family calendar with school activities.
Explore useful resources, watch informative videos, see sample schedules and take an interactive quiz that can help you make the right decision for your child.
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Here's the latest article from the Gospel site at BellaOnline.com.
Christmas Music Review
Music from Bishop Paul Morton and Zomba Gospel is reviewed.
Please visit gospel.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Gospel.
To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Gospel located here -
I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!
Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!
Candace Walker, Gospel Editor
One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com
gospel Newsletter
December 23 2008 Gospel and Christian Music Newsletter
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The Beatles: Rock Band Full Tracklist Confirmed
Full albums will hit the rhythm game following release, with the first being Abbey Road on October 20 for $16.98 (1360 Microsoft Points). The track 'All You Need Is Love' will be available on Xbox 360 tomorrow for $2 (160 MS Points), arriving on other platforms later.
Click on through to see the full tracklist organised by setting and era.
Caven Club (1963)
- Twist And Shout
- Boys
- Do You Want To Know A Secret
- I Saw Her Standing There
Ed Sullivan Theater (1964)
- I Want To Hold Your Hand
- Can't Buy Me Love
- A Hard Day's Night
- I Wanna Be Your Man
Shea Stadium (1965)
- Ticket to Ride
- I'm Looking Through You
- Eight Days A Week
- If I Needed Someone
- I Feel Fine
Budokan (1966)
- Day Tripper
- And Your Bird Can Sing
- Drive My Car
- Taxman
- Paperback Writer
Abbey Road (1966-1967)
- Yellow Submarine
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band*
- With A Little Help From My Friends*
*Played as a single track.
- Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
- Getting Better
- Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows
- Good Morning Good Morning
Abbey Road (1967-1968)
- I Am The Walrus
- Hello Goodbye
- Hey Bulldog
- Back In The U.S.S.R.
- Dear Prudence
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Abbey Road (1968-1969)
- Helter Skelter
- Revolution
- Birthday
- Octopus's Garden
- Something
- Come Together
- Here Comes The Sun
Rooftop Concert (1969)
- Dig a Pony
- I've Got A Feeling
- Don't Let Me Down
- I Me Mine
- I Want You (She's So Heavy)
- Get Back
- The End
And as a bonus, enjoy watching the gorgeous opening cinematic for the umpteenth time.
From The Chatty


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Customer Service & Shipping - Customer service ourstanding, such patience with my lack of computer skills, delivery right on target.
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Talk about a Rocky Mountain high! Take a Sunset jeep ride to a Colorado mountain barbecue; get a backcountry BBQ cooked up by the toughest forest rangers in the mountains and experience some spooky Ghost town q! don't forget the greatest gadget: a bug-chasing barbecue light. Plus our bbq gadget of the week.
Think you can grill? Get ready for "Memphis in May," nicknamed the Super-bowl of Swine. It's wild, wacky and colorful. Three days, tons of smoke, ribs, shoulders and whole hogs and one winner takes it all. Who'll be the champion? Plus our BBQ gadget: "The Big Green Egg."
Get ready for a wild ride with The All American Cowgirl Chicks the All-women trick riding team that grills and thrills. Plus a BBQ sauce spa treatment that has one woman covered in sauce. How BBQ changed Dallas, the TV show, and a totally Texas red, white, and blue BBQ. BBQ gadget: collapsible grilling tools.
BBQ takes Seattle! From the world famous Pike's market – we're grilling with the guys who know how to toss fish.– to an ancient native village where salmon is roasted on cedar stakes. And Seattle's BBQ pastor. This is beauty and BBQ combined.
Hold on tight for some high flyin bbq. We're soaring over Seattle with BBQing paraglidders, riding bulls and eating steak in Texas, running Rocky mountain rapids, and hitting the fast lane with the Mario Andretti drivers – tune in for the most thrilling grills around.
It's BBQ to the max. Hit the windy city for a hard-hitting rugby match topped off with a pig roast. Then ride the gondola to the top of Aspen Mountain for a BBQ during a summer snow storm, and hit the sand with some high-flying dune buggy riders cruising and grilling along the California Coast.
Chicago's on fire! We're celebrating Chicago and the Cubs by grilling up some Chicago style hot dogs, then it's time to serve up the blues with some smoking brisket, and feel the 1700 degree heat inside the Weber grill kitchen. It's windy city BBQ.
Get ready for some real spice behind the grill. From the Mariachi Divas on stage for some smoking music, and spicy carne assada, to the women serving spice from behind the grill at Chicago's hottest hot dog joint. Even cowgirls spice it up with a real western spice-rub in the rockies.
The craziest BBQs ever! Forget charcoal, we're grilling on rocks! How about a gas station that serves gas and tri-trip? And what about smoked tofu?
When it comes to fish, it doesn't get any fresher! From salmon in Seattle, to albacore in California, and a taste of New Orleans, see how to grill, smoke, and serve seafood sizzling!
Its a BBQ engagement party on the beach in Santa Barbara hes popping the question and the grill is going strong. Meet the couple that loves BBQ almost as much as each other! Then, they surf, and their guys grill, plus turn a raging bonfire into a smoking salmon sunset dinner. Grab your towel -Weve got the beach and the bbq!
The Big easy is going BBQ! Cap off a Louisiana swamp tour with a Cajan-spiced BBQ. Then prowl the night with grillin jazz man, and see how Mardi Gras really gets going with some great New Orleans grillin.
Want a true taste of the Big Apple? Bobby visits the biggest BBQ in New York City...on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid! Then, it's baseball and BBQ--Coney Island style. He'll check out a backyard BBQ showdown in the heart of Queens, and visit the Big Apple's BBQ University! Plus, this week's grilling gadget: the propane level indicator.
The steaks are sizzlin' and the brisket is smokin'. This is the BBQ show for carnivores. We go from a ranch in California cattle country to deep in the heart of Texas in search of the best beef you'll ever BBQ. Then it's off to Louisiana to see how one commander's love for brisket is keeping the troops at Louisiana's naval air station very happy. Plus our grilling gadget of the week: the pig tail.
We go behind the scenes for BBQ's biggest bash. Then California's Creole Queen is celebrating her birthday with a BBQ bash. And San Francisco's grilling – we've got a BBQ bash going on Fisherman's Warf.
Nothing says "Thanks" like a BBQ Reward. Just ask the US-Coast Guard where they work hard, then, get a BBQ reward. Tulane University architecture students cook up a storm - a reward for designing and building their own grill. Then it's a Santa Barbara 'cue with a view, and a step back in time for barbequed oysters on Oyster Bay. Plus, our Grilling Gadget of the week: The Brush Hog. Coast Guard BBQ Tulane BBQ Builders Bacara Resort BBQ Oyster Sloop Gadget: Brush Hog
Enjoy some wet and wild wakeboarding action before spinning into a cool, California, cycling cue. Then, paintballers play hard and grill even harder. And the Derby Dolls skate and scrape their way into some extreme BBQ action.
When it comes to BBQ, it can get pretty wacky. Just ask the folks at the giant computer search company Google. Then, see what its like to grill artichokes in the artichoke capital of America. And then, BBQ thats gone to the dogs
Grab your passportwere traveling the globe. Well, our taste buds are. Our journey begins at a traditional hot luau in Hawaii. Then its onto San Franciscos Chinatown, plus the best grilled Greek food outside of Greece. And find out what the Pope has to do with BBQ.
Take a step back in time as we explore BBQs of the past. From the battlefields of the Civil War, to the grillers keeping historic Route '66 alive. Then, a Chuckwagon Cook-off that celebrates the Texas roots of BBQ cooking. And the fishy treat that's making a comeback on Monterey's historic Cannery Row.
Aloha! Welcome to the Big Island of Hawaii where the weather is hot, and the BBQ is even hotter. Hit the road for an ATV Adventure Cue, and ride the waves to a BBQ at the beach. Then, where to find the freshest grilled lobster in Kona. And, get a birds-eye view of a volcano as we tour the region by helicopter.
The only thing better than great BBQ is a 'cue with a view! Bobby hits the desert for a horse-riding cowboy BBQ. Then, a couple's dreams come true when they tie the knot on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii. He'll smoke salmon in picturesque Big Sur, California, and savor a tropical sunset BBQ at the beach.
Get ready for some of the wackiest ideas in BBQ like cooking with coffee in Kona, Hawaii. Then, it's cheese on the grill. And if that's not enough, how about a chocolate factory where the sweet treat is grilled.
There's nothing better than BBQ by the bay. And we're doing it all over the U.S. from Oyster Bay, to Monterey Bay, to San Fran. Fire up the grills and just add water!


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Carpet Padding
When it comes to carpet and carpet padding, there are many options to choose from. So what exactly is carpet padding and how do you choose it? We're going over what carpet padding is, what it's made of, and how to choose the best carpet padding for your home. As you prepare for carpet installation in your home, don't forget to consider the best carpet pad to install, as it will change the way your carpet functions.
Carpet padding is a material that's placed underneath your carpet. It can be made out of a variety of elements, including foam, fiber, nylon, and other materials. Carpet padding helps to minimize the stress on your flooring, reduces noise, increases cushion and comfort for your feet, and controls and minimizes stains from going into your sub-floor for easier cleanup.
For starters, a carpet pad works to not only make the actual carpet more comfortable to walk on but will also increase the lifespan of yourcarpet. In fact, a luxurious carpet pile won't remain that way for long without a carpet pad under it. Without a carpet pad to protect carpet from wear, there's nothing behind it absorbing the shock of everyday foot traffic. Different carpet pad options will have different capabilities to reduce walking fatigue and different levels of shock absorption, among other characteristics. Therefore, selecting carpet padding can be just as important as deciding on a specific carpet style.
When you're deciding on a carpet padding for your home, think about your lifestyle needs and the anticipated amount of foot traffic in your space. You don't have to worry about looks; that's what your new carpet is for! Focus on maximizing the attributes you need most within the budget you've set, and you will be golden. If you're replacing the carpet in high traffic areas, such as your living room, it's best to choose a pad that is durable and can withstand heavy foot traffic. Sometimes a flooring store will throw in free carpet padding to entice shoppers on making a carpet purchase, but that add-on may not be the high-quality pad your home requires. You need to assess the thickness, weight, and material of the carpet padding needed. Thankfully, technological advances have produced great options for your home, no matter what life is like inside. To determine if the carpet padding you're interested in is an ideal thickness and softness for your space, you can start by stepping on samples. This will give you an idea of how the padding feels underfoot, without leaving you guessing about what it might be like under your new carpet. You'll notice that some carpet padding feels firm and sturdy, while others feel soft and luxurious. Again, consider your home and the factors that will help you decide what carpet padding is best.
There are several different types of carpet padding on the market today. Some of the carpet padding types include bonded foam carpet pad, synthetic fiber carpet pad, memory foam carpet pads, and felt pads. Each carpet padding is unique in its construction and features, and the right carpet padding for your home depends on your lifestyle and carpet needs.
Bonded foam carpet pad – commonly referred to as "rebond" carpet pad - is the most commonly used option in the United States. These foam pads are made from 100% scrap and recycled foam and have a multi-colored appearance as a result. In addition to this eco-friendly factor, bonded foam also offers a great combination of durability and value. If you have an active home with kids and pets, which may see its fair share of physical activity, bond foam would be a good fit. This is especially true if you are investing in relatively inexpensive, easy to clean carpet for a kid's playroom. Something like prime foam that has air pockets and can potentially collapse over time, would not be a great fit for the same amount of activity.
For an area that will see greater foot traffic, like hallways and TV rooms, you may think that a thick pad would be the best fit to absorb ALL of the steps. However, a thicker carpet pad can actually damage a thin carpet as it has too much give to be paired with a short-pile. In this instance, a thinner carpet pad with a heavier weight will be better suited for the volume of steps that the area will see. Generally speaking, 6 pounds is a good minimum carpet pad weight for a residential carpet. Commercial settings that will see the most extreme foot traffic need the extreme durability offered by a synthetic fiber carpet pad.
Just like memory foam mattresses, memory foam carpet pads are supremely soft and feel amazing to walk on. However, this option has its limits: memory foam will not perform well under high-traffic situations, and stretching the carpet backing will damage the actual carpet over time. This cloud-like option is the best fit for crafting cozy bedrooms and luxuriously comfortable living rooms.
If you are laying down carpet for a room, hallway, or inlet with atypical dimensions, felt pad makes a great, customizable option that's easy to cut and fit your desired area. Similarly, if you didn't opt for carpet in a specific room, but you want to add an area rug to give the room warmth and softness, you can cut an area rug pad to fit your specific rug size. Just like with wall-to-wall carpet, you get all the added comfort, durability, sound insulation, and temperature insulation, as well as prolonging the life of your rug!
Carpet padding is made of a variety of materials, depending mostly on the type of padding. For example, bonded foam carpet pad is made from 100% scrap and recycled foam. It's likely that you've seen this multicolored carpet padding because it is one of the most popular out there. Synthetic fiber carpet padding is made from synthetic fibers that are put together to make padding, and memory foam carpet padding is just as it sounds – made of memory foam. Lastly, felt carpet padding is made from a combination of materials such as wool and synthetic fibers.
Ready to talk to a flooring Expert? Contact your local Carpet One Floor and Home now! Click here


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Haydon Kerk Motion Solutions, a brand of AMETEK Precision Motion Control, has expanded the capabilities of its precision lead screw products. Haydon Kerk, recognized globally as a leader in linear motion, has applied its many years of experience and knowledge of precision thread rolling to a new range of lead screw sizes. Its "Micro" Series lead screw assemblies are 2 mm (5/64-in) diameter screws with available standard leads ranging from 0.3 mm (0.012-in) to 2 mm (0.079-in) per revolution and in a variety of nut configurations manufactured using self-lubricating acetal.
This remarkable product line is an enabling technology, opening up a broader range of designs. The Micro Series allows for the miniaturisation of products, reduced power consumption, and weight reduction without sacrificing performance or reliability. Developed in response to growing demands in many markets that utilize miniaturised mechatronic systems, Haydon Kerk has offered micro screws on a custom basis for more than 10 years. Now, with the introduction of the Micro Series, anyone can take advantage of standard designs, existing tooling, and quick delivery to bring their products to market swiftly and cost effectively.
Kerk Brand Micro Series lead screws are available as stand-alone components or integrated into the high-performance Haydon can-stack linear actuators. Manufactured of premium grade 303 stainless steel, Kerk Micro Series lead screw assemblies provide exceptional performance, long life, and require no maintenance. High-accuracy threads with superior uniformity deliver precise motion, and reduce noise and vibration. An optional Kerkote TFE coating, a permanent dry lubricant, extends nut life while reducing friction and drive torque requirements.
In addition to the 2 mm Micro Series lead screw product, Kerk precision lead screws also are available from 3 mm (1/8-in) up to 24 mm (15/16-in) and with leads ranging from 0.30 mm (0.012-in) to 76.2 mm (3.000-in) linear travel per revolution. All screws are made from the same 303 stainless steel as the Micro Series. Lead screw nuts can be customized using Kerkite high-performance polymers and molded into just about any shape imaginable, perfectly suited for application-specific requirements.


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It's that time of year again- cue the rain or scorching heat- schools around the UK are gearing up for Sports Day! That one day of the year that seems to cause so much controversy about winning and losing, where dad's around the country pull hamstrings and mum's compete in flip-flops. The competitive spirit is rife among the parents as we are scowled at by the 'every one's a winner' and the 'it's not the winning, it's the taking part that counts' crowds. Who are they kidding? It's all about the winning! We all want to win in what ever we do and if we don't, then what is the point in trying? Why would anyone bother practicing to be the best at something only to be told that it's not fair to have a winner? After all, if no one wins on sports day, what is the incentive to run faster or jump higher?
What about the kids who only excel in sport and not in academics? Why should these kids have their 'moment to shine' taken away when they spend the rest of their school life struggling in the lower maths set? Surely, we should be celebrating sporting talent as much as academic prowess.
My kids are ultra competitive and I can safely say, "I blame the parents!" We both have sporting backgrounds and competed nationally, in our sports. Though we really don't mind which sport they choose, we have given our children ample opportunity to find, and participate in sport and openly encourage competitiveness in their attitude towards it. To be honest, the competitive streak runs through our everyday life, with most bed times going something like this:
Me: "Upstairs please, it's pajama time!"
The boy: "No"
Me: "Come on, you've had an extra 5 minutes, let's go."
The Boy: "But it's still light outside…….."
Daddy: "I'm gonna win!"
The Boy: Up the stairs like lightning
But when it comes to sporting competition, though I think it healthy to want to win, our children also need to be able to lose with grace. A hard lesson, but a very important one, after all, as adults, we regularly 'lose'! There really aren't that many big winners in life and a great way to learn, is to turn a failure around. Of course, it's not a great feeling when you lose and you don't want your kids to go through that, but it's all about bringing a positive out of a negative and motivating an improvement.
Lou came 6th in her last gymnastics competition, though she was called up for this position, to her, she'd lost and she had a face like thunder! After the presentation, she stomped around and nothing I could say would snap her out of it, so I left her to stew for a while. Once she was calm, we looked back at the video of her performance and chatted things through. She pointed out what had gone wrong and how she could improve while I praised the fantastic bits of the performance. I told her how proud I was of her and that, with a bit more practice, she could medal next time. By then, her friend had finished her section of competition and won the age group! I fully expected this to tip Lou over the edge and re-start a jealousy-fuelled paddy, but I needn't have worried as Lou raced up to her training-buddy and sincerely congratulated her saying "I'm so proud of you!" I was so impressed with her mature attitude that it almost brought a tear to my eye. That afternoon, she completed her gymnastics home-conditioning program five times through, determined to improve her next performance!!
Ooh and just to finish this off, all you new parents, who don't yet know the protocols of children's party games, allow me to enlighten you! The rules have changed since we were attending these functions, so please take note:
- No one loses.
- When playing musical bumps/ chairs/ statues being 'out' is akin to winning and you give a prize (yes, to every child!)
- Pass-the-parcel must have enough layers for every single child to unwrap one (you may need several parcels!). You must therefore, be paying attention to ensure the music stops on every child during the game. You guessed it- each layer has a prize! It is also customary for the birthday child to win the main prize, even though they have just been given 30 or so, presents!! They cannot possible lose on their birthday!
- You need lots of prizes.
- Everyone is a winner!! Every time!!
How do you feel about our 'everyone's a winner' culture? Do you think we should shelter our kids from failure and only introduce the concept later on? Or, do you think competition should be encouraged from an early age? Should Kids Be Allowed To Lose?


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At Marysville Getchell High School, students and sports teams are Chargers. There's a lightning bolt in the logo.
They are Grizzlies at Glacier Peak. The high school logo is an aggressive display of the mascot's sharp claws.
Both schools are quite new to Snohomish County. Marysville Getchell opened in 2010, and the Snohomish district's Glacier Peak in 2008.
What if Marysville-Pilchuck High School were brand-new today? Would anyone choose Tomahawks as the name of its sports teams?
"I don't know how that name was chosen," said Gail Miller, assistant superintendent of the Marysville School District. "I know it was a long time ago."
The issue of American Indian names as school mascots, which has come up before in Marysville, is back in the news.
On Sept. 26, the state Board of Education passed a resolution urging school districts to quit using American Indian references for mascot names. The resolution has no teeth. Aaron Wyatt, board spokesman, was quoted in an Associated Press article as saying there would be no consequences for schools that keep Indian mascots.
The Washington board's action followed an Oregon Board of Education vote in May banning American Indian mascots, nicknames and logos. Schools there have five years to switch.
Miller said Friday the Marysville district plans to discuss the state board's recommendation with the Tulalip Tribes. "We'll begin that process, with our board and with the tribal board," she said.
The possibility of dumping the Tomahawks came up about a decade ago, Miller said. "That included some discussion with the Tulalip Tribes. At that point, there was not a lot of energy for it," she said.
Face paint or any Indian regalia is now banned at games, she said. In the past, fans at Marysville-Pilchuck sports events have been seen doing a gesture known as the "Tomahawk chop."
In 2004, a Seattle consulting company, Strategic Educational Investments, visited the Marysville-Pilchuck campus and talked with students and others before recommending that the school do more to combat perceptions of racism. Then-Principal Tracy Van Winkle asked for the report in her first year at the school.
Among other issues, Van Winkle said at the time she was troubled by how some students were treated when they visited classrooms to talk about a school decision to do away with a chant that accompanied a Tomahawk-chop cheer.
The Washington Board of Education first took action in 1993 when it passed a similar resolution. Meadowdale High School, in the Edmonds district, changed mascots from the Chiefs to the Mavericks after 1999.
"The interesting thing about this issue, there are a lot of opinions," Tulalip Tribes spokeswoman Francesca Hillery said Friday. "It's context-based. There is no unified voice for this issue."
Indeed, current Tulalip Tribes board member Don Hatch, interviewed by The Herald in 1993, stood up for the Tomahawks nickname.
"Native Americans have so many things taken away already," Hatch said in 1993, when he was a member of the Marysville School Board. "When you take away that, you take away another part of us. It's part of our people's notoriety," Hatch said of the Tomahawks name. "As long as it is not done in mockery," Hatch said in 1993.
In the years since, many opinions may have changed.
"Issues like this are always worth revisiting," Miller said.
Names using American Indian references can also be an honor, and the Marysville district has involved the Tulalip Tribes in making that happen.
About five years ago, the district needed to change the name of Marysville Junior High to bring consistency to its middle school system. The new name is Totem Middle School — the mascot is the Thunderbird.
"In naming that school, we did go through a partnership with the Tulalip Tribes," Miller said. The tribes commemorated the new name by carving and raising a totem on school grounds, she said. "It was a joint discussion — what it should be," Miller said.
With Columbus Day coming this week, Miller also talked about the broader issue of teaching history that may be troubling to many students — whether the subject is slavery or the American Indian wars.
"It should be a balanced view, looking at the things that happened to all the groups involved," Miller said. "The way we study history has changed in the last few decades. I think we should study history in the broadest way possible."
And the Marysville-Pilchuck Tomahawks? Should they be relegated to the past?
That's up to the community.
"Sensibilities do change," Miller said. "We have a deeper understanding of the impact. It's certainly worth a discussion."
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, email@example.com.
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Microsoft Corp. introduced on Wednesday pricing for its suite of online services targeted at corporate customers and a revenue-sharing plan to encourage other companies to sell the software company's products.
The company plans to charge corporate customers a monthly subscription of $15 per user for a suite of "hosted" software, which includes e-mail, Web meeting, collaboration and messaging applications running on Microsoft's computers. Microsoft Online Services is part of the software maker's effort to capitalize on the shift by corporate customers to abandon their own in-house computer systems for "cloud computing," a less expensive alternative.
The company built its business selling software to run on individual machines, both computer servers that power entire businesses and personal computers. But, in recent years, it has invested billions of dollars in massive data centers, which are the basic infrastructure for a wide range of Web services.
It has started offering corporate customers the option of having Microsoft run their e-mail, collaboration or sales programs on the software giant's computers and delivering those applications over the Web as a monthly subscription service. "We're seeing customers, partners and even competitors embrace this flexible approach to the cloud," Stephen Elop, president of Microsoft's business division, said in a news release.
Microsoft said it signed a number of new online services customers including Nokia and Danish shipping and oil group AP Moeller Maersk.
The company's software suite is priced at $180 a year for each subscriber while rival Google Inc.'s competing product, Google Apps, which comes with e-mail, messaging and document sharing, costs around $50 a year per user.
Microsoft argues that its offerings are more advanced than Google Apps. Technology administrators can manage Microsoft Online Services' accounts in the same way it deals with accounts of users running on their own computer systems.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said it will share 18 percent of the subscription fees with companies that bring in new customers to the online service suite in the first year and 6 percent each year over the life of the contract. By employing a revenue-sharing model, Microsoft said it can probably add more customers than it could alone and it could encourage other companies to build applications to work with its online services.
The company also introduced Deskless Worker Suite, which includes stripped-down online versions of its Outlook e-mail application and SharePoint collaboration software for $3 a month per user.
The software suite is targeted at workers such as nurses and factory employees who have traditionally not been given e-mail accounts or other forms of productivity software. By offering a low-cost product that can be accessed through a Web browser, Microsoft believes it can broaden its base of users.
(Reporting by Daisuke Wakabayashi; Additional reporting by Eric Auchard in San Francisco; Editing by Derek Caney)


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Christmas markets to fill Lancashire with festive cheer
Christmas markets were popular in the Victorian era, and present-day festivals often take inspiration from these historical celebrations, as well as from European influences, such as Germany.
Mulled wine, crafts, food, music and winter activities will help get shoppers in the Christmas spirit across Lancashire's towns and villages, starting with Preston's Winter Wonderland, which runs from November 19 all the way up to January 4.
There will be an ice rink, handmade gifts and tasty treats filling the flag market. Attractions also include a festive fairground with 'ice road truckers' and a big wheel, and a heated indoor 'Merry Monk Tavern'.
Santa and his reindeers will also make an appearance, as well as carol singers and bell-ringers.
In Chorley, Father Christmas will be at Astley Hall every weekend in December, and the town centre will come alive with festive music and entertainment every Saturday in December.
Plus, a magical, talking post box will be making a return to Market Walk for children to post their lists and letters direct to Santa. A festive Ferris wheel is at the Flat Iron car park with Christmas food stalls nearby.
Lancaster Brewery will host Christmas market evenings on November 26, 27 and 28, featuring live music, carol singing, a mini funfair and Santa's Grotto. The brewery, based in Lancaster Leisure Park, Wyresdale Road, will also offer mulled wine, hot food, winter cider, and gift stalls.
There will be entertainment and stalls set up along Hough Lane on November 28 for the annual 'Christmas in Leyland' event.
The Festival Market in Morecambe is hosting a 'Spirit of Christmas' event through the daytime on November 28 and 29, and running into the evening on the Sunday. Santa will arrive on the Saturday and the famous Coca-Cola truck will be parked on Central Drive on Sunday.
The festivities will also include gift stalls, a charity mince pie bake-off, entertainment from choirs and brass bands, Punch and Judy, balloon sculptures, a magician, fairground rides and face painting.
Hoghton Tower hosts the 'Crafty Vintage' company for a special festive weekend on November 28 and 29, with food courtyards, a cocktail bar, guest singers and entertainers, and an eclectic mix of over 100 traders selling retro wares and crafts. Entry is £3.
Towneley Hall will be the place to be for the Burnley Christmas Craft Fair on November 29, with stalls selling hand crafted goods and gifts, festive music and entertainment.
Also on November 29, the Colne Christmas Extravaganza at Colne Muni in Albert Road will feature a food festival, stalls, bands, singers, donkey rides, face painting, fireworks, and clogg dancers.
Entertainment will include carousels and children's rides on the Precinct, Darwen Brass Band, Barnoldswick's Town Crier, a barbershop choir, the Pendle Jazzmen and the Lancashire Wallopers.
A Dickensian-themed celebration with street entertainment and stalls makes up the Whalley Pickwick Festival in Whalley Village Centre in King Street, Clitheroe, on the evening of December 3. There will be music from pipe and brass bands, live acts on a main stage, children's entertainment, reindeer, festive foods, and Father Christmas himself.
Meanwhile, stalls, food, mulled wine, Santa's Grotto and merriment galore will take place at Huntley's Country Stores in Whalley Road, Preston, for a two-day Christmas Festival on December 4 and 5; open in the evening on the Friday and throughout the day on Saturday.
Hosted by Hawkshaw Farm, Longsight Road on the A59, the Ribble Valley Christmas Fair is a new festive event organised by the coordinator of the successful Clitheroe Food Festival. It takes place on December 4 to 6 and will include seasonal demonstrations from party food, chocolate treats, winter beauty and gift wrapping, to wreaths, Christmas floral displays and cocktails.
Father Christmas will take families on a festive tractor ride to his special barn grotto where he will introduce his baby farm animals, and there will also be street foods, a bar, carol singers, an ice rink, live bands and musicians. Entry is £6.50.
Crafty Vintage late night Christmas markets come to Brockholes Nature Reserve in Preston New Road, Samlesbury, from December 4 to 6. Entry is £2, and it also runs throughout the daytime on Saturday and Sunday.
The Legacy Rainbow House in Saltpit Lane, Mawdesley, will hold its first Christmas Fair on December 5, with carols, a brass band, stalls and food. Father Christmas will be in his grotto to welcome the children and there will be donkeys and a Victorian ice cream barrow, whilst parents can get into the Christmas spirit with a glass of mulled wine.
The grounds of St Catherine's Hospice in Lostock Hall will be transformed for the Christmas Festival the weekend of December 5 and 6. Attractions will include a giant snow globe, Santa's grotto, gift stalls, a craft fayre, ice rink, and on the Saturday only, reindeer. The annual fund-raising Santa Dash and Rudolph Rumble take place on the Sunday.
'Longridge Does Christmas' on December 5, 6 and 7 for a weekend of festive family fun and Christmas shopping, and the Garstang Victorian Christmas Festival, featuring live bands, singers, stilt walkers, Punch and Judy and Santa's grotto in High Street, is on December 7 and 8.


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SEATTLE – Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) hardware chief gave employees a sneak peek at a 'selfie' phone featuring a 5 megapixel forward-facing camera at an internal meeting this week, a source at the company said on Tuesday.
Stephen Elop, the former Nokia CEO who now runs Microsoft's devices business, showed off the phone in front of thousands at the company's annual employee meeting in Seattle on Monday.
The 4.7 inch (11.9 cm) screen 'selfie' phone, plus another high-end Windows Phone, are expected to launch soon, according to tech news site The Verge, which first reported the news. [eap_ad_2] The 5 megapixel camera on the front of the device is much more powerful than Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone 5, with a 1.2 megapixel front camera, and the Microsoft phone's screen is larger, making it better-suited for users who want to take pictures of themselves.
Microsoft is jumping on the selfie bandwagon after rival Samsung (005930.KS) launched the Galaxy K Zoom earlier this year.
The 'selfie' craze, or taking a picture of yourself and friends, hit its peak earlier this year when Ellen DeGeneres posted a shot of Hollywood luminaries at the Academy Awards which became the most popular message ever on Twitter. Oxford Dictionaries named 'selfie' its word of the year in 2013. (Reuters)[eap_ad_3]


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"Why is SEO harder for small businesses?" This question has popped up a couple of times in our organic keyword referrers. We've been saying for months that SEO is getting harder, and that it's especially difficult for SMBs to excel at. But why? Why is SEO easier for the big dogs? Make no mistake, it is – even if it's getting harder for them too.
Here are 10 reasons why smaller businesses struggle to succeed at SEO.
This is the #1 reason SEO – and everything else! – is harder for small businesses. It's an old saw but it's true: You have to spend money to make money. The reason companies spend money on marketing and advertising is because they deliver ROI, but sometimes there's a tipping point. For example we've seen small businesses that didn't see ROI from PPC until they raised their daily spend, counter-intuitively. SEO is the same way. If you can devote more money to your search engine optimization efforts, you'll see better returns. Bigger companies have bigger budgets they can allocate towards hiring more employees, bringing in top-notch consultants, investing in "big content" and great web design, and so on.
OK, I lied: This is tied for #1. Time is money, and if you have less money you also have less time. Fewer heads on the marketing team means that everyone is juggling multiple tasks and nobody can focus 100% of their time on SEO. Some businesses are so small they have just one or two people doing EVERYTHING, making SEO exponentially harder. Real SEO takes a lot of time. Creating worthwhile content, optimizing your web pages, promoting your assets and securing links, running A/B tests – none of this is easy. Small businesses end up doing a rush job or neglecting it altogether, resulting in underoptimized sites with poor rankings.
When you're short on resources, SEO-related tasks always seem to get pushed to the bottom of the list. Blogging and other forms of content creation are a prime example – everyone's got the best of intentions, promises are made ("I'll get you that blog post by the end of the week!") but nothing ever really gets written and published. The fact is, if you wait to do SEO until everything else is done, you'll never do any SEO. That's why big companies hire a dedicated SEO – no excuses.
Again, this is essentially a resource problem. An SEO specialist who lives and breathes search has time (and incentive) to follow industry publications and keep up with the rapidly changing search landscape. They'll know if Google has released a big algorithm change or other significant update that could affect your rankings and strategy. They'll hear about new techniques and be better able to judge what's worth trying and what isn't. SMB marketers are often too busy trying to keep up with their own industry vertical to spend any time following the twists and turns of SEO. Here at WordStream, we have an advantage because search marketing is what we do – we have to keep up with search. But what if you sell shoes or medical equipment? Your morning reading is going to look very different.
In SEO we love to whine that Google favors brands, but the truth is, everyone favors brands. All other things being equal, Google ranks big brands higher in the search results because they have user behavior data indicating that people click more often on recognizable brand websites. So if you want to compete on a keyword that bigger brands are also going after, you'll have to work that much harder to prove your small business marketing blog content is relevant and worth the user's time. For a lot of branded keywords, you'll never be able to beat the bigger companies.
Big businesses weren't born that way – they started small and grew. So big companies have generally been around longer. If you've been operating as a small business, doing well but staying small, for many years, that's great – you'll have an advantage. But lots of small businesses haven't been around that long, and it's tougher for them to rank because their younger websites haven't accrued authority and a great link profile yet. This is why it's harder for new websites to rank on competitive keywords. Aside from the fact that Google likes older domains, big brands have simply been doing SEO longer, so they've more things and they know what works and what doesn't. They can repeat past successes and repurpose their content assets, rather than starting from scratch all the time.
If you're a small business, chances are your site isn't just newer, it's smaller too. You have less content and fewer pages overall, which amounts to fewer keywords you can possibly target and fewer opportunities to rank. Really big websites get more traffic in part because the sea of search queries they have the potential to rank for is so much bigger. And big brands have bigger websites because (you guessed it) they have more resources to funnel toward creating content, and because they offer more products and services. Think of Amazon and all the individual pages they have for each and every product they offer!
Your itsy-bitsy marketing budget rears its ugly head again. Enterprises can afford to invest in great software. The in-house SEO at a big company has tools at his disposal that automate away some of the time-consuming tasks involved with search marketing. They can afford to buy up for better analytics, better keyword research, better reporting tools, better conversion optimization tools, etc., etc. Small companies are often stuck with free, which makes it harder to gain a competitive advantage. More manual work also takes more time.
Big sites and brands with great reputations tend to get links without even trying. It also helps to have some weight behind your name when you actively reach out for links. If you're trying to get media coverage in a big publication, it helps enormously if they've already heard of you. Barring that, it's great to be able to say that your business has been mentioned in other notable venues – it's like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval. But smaller businesses are less likely to have brand recognition on their side.
Bigger companies tend to have a personal relationship with Google. They may have a dedicated rep. If something goes south ("Holy crap, our rankings fell off a cliff overnight!!") they can call their contact at Google for help. Small businesses will have a lot more trouble figuring out what to do. It's a dirty little not-so-secret secret, perhaps – like the fact that it's much easier to get into an Ivy League school if your family name is on one of the buildings – but big brands spend a lot of money on Google advertising (like $50 million a year). And that means they've got connections inside, and Google is invested in keeping them happy.
Now listen: We're not saying you should give up on SEO. In fact, you have to do at least the bare minimum SEO if you want to have a reasonably viable presence online. Basically, if you have a website, you want to accomplish three things:
These tasks, especially the second two, involve the principles of web design, usability, and conversion rate optimization as much as they do SEO. But to accomplish #1, you're going to have to think about search engine optimization. Of course, you should have other sources of traffic for your site – PPC/remarketing, social media, email marketing, word of mouth – but if you neglect SEO, you're leaving a great potential source of brand-new leads untapped.
The trick for small businesses is figuring out what you can accomplish given your limited resources. Also, remember that there may be ways that being small actually helps you! For example, small business are often more agile, and more willing to experiment. So stick with it, cover your basics first, make sure your managers know SEO is important, and investigate new opportunities as you can find the time.
Do you work at a small business? How do you deal with the challenges of SEO? If you don't, why as your small business turned to advertising?
Elisa Gabbert is WordStream's Director of Content and SEO. Likes include wine, karaoke, poker, ping-pong, perfume, and poetry.
See other posts by Elisa Gabbert
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This highly compact luminaire packs a punch with an output up to 1040 lm, making it ideal for applications in hotels and residences.
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This Focus Lighting Limited Warranty applies only to products purchased directly from Focus Lighting & Fixtures Ltd.Read more


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WordPress Themes & Ecommerce Solutions
Themezilla is one of the biggest names in WordPress design and innovation. Part of the Pixel Union family, we're all about making amazing WorldClass themes and ecommerce solutions. Stay in the loop by following us on Twitter.
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First and foremost, thanks for purchasing one of our files. We truly appreciate it. Support for all our themes and templates is conducted through the Themezilla support forums. Make your way over with your Item Purchase Code to create an account.
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Featured File: "Scope" – Agency / Business WordPress Theme
Scope is the perfect theme for the creative agency, freelancer or general business. Strong lines, strong colours and a bunch of great features to keep you busy.


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Swype is now even more customizable with brand new Star Trek™ keyboard themes and an all-new Emoji keyboard.
• Own the Original Swype Keyboard that Started it All – Accept No Imitations
Swype is all about YOU. Whether you're a fast tapper, exact typer or a Swype Ninja, get ready for a better, faster keyboard experience that gets smarter the more you use it. Swype pays attention to the way you input text and creates a personal language model that follows you from device to device. Swype – the world's most powerful keyboard.
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BILINGUAL SUPPORT – Swype now lets you enter words from two languages at once! Words suggested by Swype will automatically adjust to your bilingual language preferences.
MORE CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS – Swype lets you customize your keyboard including long-press delay, vibration duration, keyboard height and mini left/right keyboards in landscape mode.
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8 January 2013
Molly Gives Her Take On Hunger
Molly, a 13-year-old girl from the Mathare slum in Kenya, talks about the meals she receives every day in class through WFP's school feeding programme. Last year, Molly starred in a series of videos she made herself using a camera lent to her by WFP, which showed how those meals make a difference in the lives of children like her. Her videos were watched and shared thousands of times by people all over the world. Watch Molly's Videos | Watch 50 Takes On Hunger


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Covenant Health has again been named one of "America's Best Employers" by Forbes magazine and is the highest-ranking Tennessee organization to receive the designation this year. Only seven Tennessee firms made the list of 500 top large companies.
Covenant Health was ranked 38th on the list this year, the health system's second year to be ranked as one of America's Best Employers by the national business publication. The 2017 lists include the best large and midsize companies in the U.S.
Companies and organizations in the top 38 along with Covenant Health included such major institutions as Mayo Clinic, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Costco, Facebook, Sandia National Laboratories, Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts, Duke University, Publix, Michelin, Southwest Airlines and NASA. Covenant Health was listed 10th among hospitals and healthcare organizations and is the only East Tennessee healthcare entity selected in 2017.
"Covenant Health is proud to receive the Forbes designation for the second year in a row and to be included in such a prestigious list of national and international companies and organizations," Covenant Health President and CEO Jim VanderSteeg said. "Our employees make a commitment to support our health system's pledge of excellence, which includes putting our patients first, excellence in everything we do, and making Covenant Health the first and best choice. This commitment creates a workplace environment that instills pride among all of us at Covenant Health.
"Our employees are essential to our health system's success and to accomplishing our mission of improving the quality of life in our communities," he added. "I am grateful for their expertise and dedication and for the compassionate care they give our patients every day."
Forbes partnered with statistics firm Statista to compile data from a survey of more than 30,000 U.S. employees, 84 percent of whom work full-time. Employees were contacted anonymously online without the involvement of their employers, and respondents represented the U.S. workforce by gender, age, region, education and ethnicity. According to Forbes, the direct score which determines placement and title as a top employer is derived from the question: "How likely are you to recommend your employer on a scale of 0-10?"
"We have some of the best and brightest healthcare professionals at Covenant Health, and we celebrate individual and team performance and shared best practices throughout our system," said Debi Welch, senior vice president of human resources. "We have a strategic focus on attracting top talent and providing professional development opportunities, beginning with new team members and throughout our employees' careers. These opportunities help create an outstanding work environment at Covenant Health."
For more information about the Forbes list, visit https://www.forbes.com/best-employers/list.


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16 Natural Ways to Support Heart Health
This blog does not intend to provide diagnosis...
In this article:
- Risk Factors for heart disease
- Medications can help reduce risk factors
- Foods for a healthy heart
- Supplements for heart health
- Other Heart-Healthy Supplements
- Live a heart-healthy lifestyle
Heart disease is a leading killer in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Unfortunately, as more countries adopt the Western lifestyle in place of their ancestral diets, heart disease will continue to progress. In the United States, alone, deaths due to heart and vascular disease unnecessarily kill almost 1 million people every year. High blood pressure is one of the leading risk factors for heart disease—more than 1 billion of the world's 7.6 billion people have high blood pressure.
Chest pain is a primary reason a person visits the emergency room. After graduating from medical school, I was frequently asked why I went into Primary Care, Family Medicine to be specific. The main reason was my interest in preventive medicine. I would always say, "I would rather help patients prevent a heart attack than trying to treat one after it already happened". I am confident that I am on the right path.
Consuming a heart-healthy diet, not smoking, and participating in routine exercise are the three of the most important things one can do to prevent heart disease. These three things are more important than any doctor-prescribed medication ever made.
Risk Factors for heart disease
- High blood pressure – makes the heart work harder than it's designed to
- Smoking – causes blood vessel damage and promotes clogged arteries
- Diabetes – causes blood vessel oxidative damage
- Obesity – places extra stress on the heart
- Elevated homocysteine – causes oxidative damage to blood vessels
- Elevated C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation (Learn more about inflammation)
- Family history of heart disease – healthy living can reduce this risk
- High cholesterol – contributes to clogged arteries
- Elevated LDL (bad cholesterol) – contributes to clogged arteries
- Elevated triglycerides – contributes to clogged arteries
- Elevated Lp(a) in blood – genetic risk factor
- Diet low in fruits and vegetables – person lacks antioxidants needed for protection
- Diet high in animal-based foods – hormones and chemicals in animal products increase risk
- Sleep apnea/lack of sleep – puts stress on the heart
- Chronic stress – elevates cortisol levels, which promotes heart disease and hardening of the arteries
- Depression/anxiety – elevates cortisol levels, which promotes heart disease
- Unresolved conflict – elevates cortisol levels, which promotes heart disease
- Feelings of guilt – elevates cortisol levels, which promotes heart disease
- Diagonal earlobe crease – genetic risk factor
- Male pattern baldness – genetic risk factor
The more risk factors a person has, the higher one's risk. The presence of a few risk factors does not mean a person will definitely have a heart attack or stroke. Therefore, reducing as many risk factors as possible is very important to reduce risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke and ultimately, death.
Medications can help reduce risk factors
Modern medicine has a few tools in the "doctor toolbox," which can be helpful in reducing risk factors. In those who are at risk, medicine can play a very important role, especially when diet, lifestyle, and supplements are not sufficient. Unfortunately, daily medication use is the only measure many will commit to. This is a dangerous strategy, however. Doctors use blood pressure-lowering medications and cholesterol-lowering medications to try and reduce risk, but living a healthier lifestyle should also be part of the equation.
Foods for a healthy heart
Choosing the right food to consume is one of the most important ways to prevent heart disease and lower inflammation in the arteries and heart. The heart health benefits of a Mediterranean diet have been proven by multiple studies. A 2013 study in the New England Journal of Medicine, for instance, concluded, "Among persons at high cardiovascular risk, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts reduced the incidence of major cardiovascular events.".
A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and beans is key, but a variety of other foods can help:
- Nuts – unsalted brazil nuts, pine nuts, almonds, cashews and walnuts. Nuts are rich in linoleic acid, a unique, healthy anti-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acid
- Seeds – unsalted pumpkin, chia, and sunflower seeds
- Fruits – organic fresh fruits. 4 servings per day, minimum
- Dietary lignans – found in flaxseed, green tea and strawberries
- Leafy greens – collard greens, spinach and kale, to name a few. 6 servings/day
- Soy products – organic tofu, edamame, miso, tempeh
- Fish – eat wild (not farm-raised) fish, but no more than once per week due to possible mercury contamination (low-mercury fish options include trout, whitefish, salmon, anchovies, and many more).
- Red meat and poultry – eat only grass-fed and hormone-free meat and free-range poultry
- Extra rich olive oil – high in oleic acid, an omega-9 fatty acid. Only cook with olive oil at low and medium temperatures
- Coconut oil – ideal for cooking at high temperatures and healthier than canola oil
- Light sesame oil – acceptable for cooking at high temperatures, has various health benefits
- Green tea – good for the heart.
- Purified water – avoid sugary drinks
Supplements for heart health
Taking supplements is a part of a regimen that many follow to help improve cardiovascular health.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is a crucial vitamin, and it plays a significant role in collagen, the main component of arteries. According to a 2009 study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which studied people from the United States, more than 7 percent of people six years of age and older were vitamin C deficient based on blood tests. More than half surveyed consumed suboptimal amounts in their diet. Vitamin C levels are also lower in those who smoke tobacco. Studies show a diet high in foods containing vitamin C is good for the heart. A 2017 study in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry demonstrated that rose hips, which are rich in vitamin C, helped prevent atherosclerosis, the precursor to heart disease.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for heart disease according to a 2013 study in Nutrients. A Harvard University study showed that people with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood had 80 percent less risk of heart attacks when compared to those with the lowest levels. A study from Germany showed those with lower vitamin D blood levels were five times more likely to die from sudden cardiac death when compared to those with higher vitamin D blood levels.
Additionally, a 2017 study concluded, "… the levels of blood vitamin D were significantly lower in heart attack patients, especially in America and Asia, and sufficient blood vitamin D levels might protect against the occurrence of heart attacks." Suggested Dose: Vitamin D 2,000-5,000 IU daily, for life.
Omega-3 Fish Oil
Omega-3 essential fatty acids consist primarily of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). A 2014 study in Nutrition Journal showed that the majority of Americans do not consume enough omega-3 essential oils. They can be found in a variety of food sources, including fish (mackerel, cod and salmon are among the richest), walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, and natto.
A 2017 study in Future Science showed omega-3 oils can reduce the inflammation leading to heart disease. A 2017 study in Atherosclerosis showed that higher levels of omega-3 in the blood could reduce death from heart disease by 30 percent.
Drug companies manufacture and sell patients a pharmaceutical grade fish oil, which has been shown to lower triglyceride levels by 50 percent. However, non-pharmaceutical prescriptions do the same at a fraction of the cost. Suggested dose: Omega-3 fish oil 1,200 mg daily or 3,600 mg daily.
Krill oil
Krill oil is taken by many as an alternative to omega-3 fish oil. Krill oil can help reduce risk factors for heart disease. Krill oil can lower Triglycerides, a type of fat that circulates in the blood.
Krill oil also lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol, a leading risk factor for heart disease. A 2017 study of 662 patients in Nutrition Reviews showed LDL could be reduced in those who consumed krill oil. Other studies have shown consistent findings. Suggested dose: Krill oil 500 mg to 2,000 mg daily (an alternative to fish oil)
Coenzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) plays an important role in the health of mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells. Since the heart is the most active of all organs, it produces and requires the most CoQ10 in order to meet its metabolic demands. However, in those with cardiac disease, higher levels of CoQ10 are required.
A 2017 study, which reviewed 14 other studies, showed an important benefit of CoQ10—the results showed those who took CoQ10 were 31 percent less likely to die from complications of congestive heart failure.
A 2014 study in Medical Science Monitor showed that 50 mg of Coenzyme Q10, when taken twice per day, could be beneficial in reducing muscle aches caused by prescription statin drugs. Other studies have been conflicting. Coenzyme Q10 may also reduce bad (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, and LP(a) blood levels. Suggested dose: CoQ10 –100 mg three times per day or 300 mg once daily.
Red Yeast Rice (RYR)
A 2008 study showed that RYR, when combined with lifestyle changes and omega-3 fish oil supplements, LDL (bad) cholesterol could be lowered by up to 42 percent—a result similar to drugs like atorvastatin (Lipitor).
Another 2008 study from China reported in the American Journal of Cardiology, included nearly 5,000 people who all took Red Yeast Rice for almost 5 years. The researchers concluded that longer-term therapy with RYR significantly reduce recurrence of heart attacks, prevented new heart attacks, and lowered the risk of dying by 33%. The researchers stated that RYR was safe and well tolerated.
A 2015 study showed similar findings, leading researchers to conclude "…RYR might be a safe and effective treatment option for dyslipidemia (high cholesterol) and cardiovascular risk reduction in statin-intolerant patients". In other words, they concluded that RYR is a good alternative in patients who could not tolerate cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
Spirulina, a potent antioxidant, provides another weapon in the cholesterol-lowering arsenal. A 2008 study of the Mexican population showed spirulina could lower cholesterol values and blood pressure in test subjects.
A more recent study from 2014 showed that 1 gram of spirulina taken daily could lower total cholesterol by 16 percent when taken for 12 weeks. It also lowered triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol. A 2015 study confirmed spirulina's cholesterol-lowering benefits. Taking spirulina in addition to prescription lowering medications is acceptable.
Spirulina can be used as a supplement, and many manufacturers sell it in a pill or powder form. The powder formulation is best when adding to foods. If using spirulina powder, I recommend adding it to a smoothie.
Other Heart-Healthy Supplements
- Magnesium chelate – helps the heart and arteries to relax
- L-carnitine – helps optimize mitochondrial function, important in those with congestive heart disease
- L-Arginine – an amino acid which is helpful for angina and congestive heart
- Folic Acid or methyl-folate- helps lower homocysteine, a risk for heart disease
- D-ribose – theoretically helpful in those with heart failure
- Niacin – helps increase good cholesterol (HDL). Facial flushing is a common side effect
- Vitamin B12 or methylcobalamin – helps lower homocysteine, a risk for heart disease
- Essential oils – chamomile, wintergreen, peppermint, and lavender. Can be diffused in the air or taken internally. Helps reduce stress, which can negatively affect the heart.
Live a heart-healthy lifestyle
Heart disease is a leading killer of people all over the world. Tobacco cessation, a healthy diet high in fruits and vegetables and routine exercise can prevent premature death from heart disease in those who choose healthier lifestyle options. Walking at least 10,000 steps per day is a good goal for most. A good night sleep also plays an important role in preventing heart disease. Frequently, people chose vitamins and supplements to help further control risk factors and improve outcomes, especially when dietary and lifestyle changes are not sufficient.
- Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet Ramón Estruch, M.D., Ph.D., Emilio Ros, M.D., Ph.D., et. Al N Engl J Med 2013; 368:1279-1290April 4, 2013DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1200303
- Journal of The American College of Nutrition 2017, Vol 36. Mp 6. 434-441 Association between Urinary Phytoestrogens and CRP in the Continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
- Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Nov;90(5):1252-63. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2008.27016. Epub 2009 Aug 12.
- Heart Advis. 2015 Oct;18(10):10.
- J Nutr Biochem. 2017 Jun;44:52-59. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2017.02.017. Epub 2017 Mar 21.
- Kienreich K, Tomaschitz A, Verheyen N, et al. Vitamin D and Cardiovascular Disease. Nutrients. 2013;5(8):3005-3021. doi:10.3390/nu5083005.
- Papanikolaou Y, Brooks J, Reider C, Fulgoni VL. U.S. adults are not meeting recommended levels for fish and omega-3 fatty acid intake: results of an analysis using observational data from NHANES 2003–2008. Nutrition Journal. 2014;13:31. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-13-31.
- Bäck M. Omega-3 fatty acids in atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Future Science OA. 2017;3(4):FSO236. doi:10.4155/fsoa-2017-0067.
- Atherosclerosis. 2017 Jul;262:51-54. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2017.05.007. Epub 2017 May 6.
- Sorin Ursoniu, Amirhossein Sahebkar, et. al. for the Lipid and Blood Pressure Meta-analysis Collaboration Group; Lipid-modifying effects of krill oil in humans: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, Nutrition Reviews, Volume 75, Issue 5, 1 May 2017, Pages 361–373, https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuw063
- Lei L, Liu Y. Efficacy of coenzyme Q10 in patients with cardiac failure: a meta-analysis of clinical trials. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders. 2017;17:196. doi:10.1186/s12872-017-0628-9.
- Skarlovnik A, Janić M, Lunder M, Turk M, Šabovič M. Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation Decreases Statin-Related Mild-to-Moderate Muscle Symptoms: A Randomized Clinical Study. Medical Science Monitor : International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research. 2014;20:2183-2188. doi:10.12659/MSM.890777.
- Suksomboon, N., Poolsup, N. and Juanak, N. (2015), Effects of coenzyme Q supplementation on metabolic profile in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Pharm Ther, 40: 413–418. doi:10.1111/jcpt.12280
- Amirhossein Sahebkar, Luis E. Simental-Mendía, Claudia Stefanutti, Matteo Pirro, Supplementation with coenzyme Q10 reduces plasma lipoprotein(a) concentrations but not other lipid indices: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Pharmacological Research, 2016, 105, 198
- Simvastatin vs Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes and Supplements: Randomized Primary Prevention Trial Becker, David J. et al. Mayo Clinic Proceedings , Volume 83 , Issue 7 , 758 - 764
- Lipids Health Dis. 2007 Nov 26;6:33.
- Sci Food Agric. 2014 Feb;94(3):432-7. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.6261. Epub 2013 Jul 10.
- Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015:486120. doi: 10.1155/2015/486120. Epub 2015 Jan 22.