text:
Job seeker spots likely scam in online listing
Applicant worries $3K check may be used to steal financial data
After losing his job just before Christmas, a northwest Missouri man said he thought he'd finally found a new one, until his offer started to show the earmarks of a scam.
Like many job seekers, he filled out job applications over the Internet and attached his resume.
"I was excited at first," said the man, who asked to remain anonymous.
He said a couple of days after responding to a newspaper ad for a nursing home maintenance supervisor, he received an email from another health care company. He said the email told him the company felt he was capable of handling another open position and would be allowed to work from home.
He said he was told he could interview for the job online.
"I thought, man, I can finally get something I can do at home and make some money," he said.
The emails asked him to set up an instant messenger account and to arrange the interview as soon as possible. After the interview and some writing tests, he was told that he was hired.
However, he said he was later told that he would need new software in order to perform the job. The company would send him a $3,000 check for him to deposit so he could buy what he needed. He said that's what raised his suspicions.
"When you put it in your bank account and then either write checks for their software or use your credit card, then they've got your information," he said.
He said he was also worried that if the company's check bounced, he'd be on the hook for it.
The man said that the more he checked out the company online, the more he suspected that he was about to be the victim of a scam.
"It just makes me angry that people can get away with that," he said.
Protect Yourself
Scambook offered consumers ten tips to help stay safe and protect themselves against scammers on places like Craigslist:
1. Trust Instincts: The number one rule is to trust gut instincts going into any transaction. If a Craigslist ad seems phony, don't proceed.
2. Stay Local: Craigslist is designed to be city/region specific and if anyone makes up excuses for why they cannot meet, it's a red flag.
3. Avoid wire transfers, cashier's checks and money orders: If something goes awry when making a wire transfer (through Western Union or MoneyGram for example), the money will not be protected. Exchange cash instead with large transactions being safely performed in a bank.
4. Never use online escrow: If someone insists on using an escrow website, cancel the transaction immediately. Online escrow sites are normally run by scammers.
5. Don't commit without seeing the goods in person: Make sure an item is up to standards and be cautious of those willing to buy an item without seeing it first.
6. Don't fall for job scams: Be wary of "employers" who don't require an interview and make sure to visit the job's physical location prior to sending personal information such as a credit/background check.
7. Use a counterfeit detection pen: This pen's ink will change color on wood-based paper, allowing consumers to detect fake bills because real money is printed on fiber-based paper. Visit a nearby office supply store or buy one online for $5.
8. Craigslist doesn't certify listings: Anyone who claims to be "certified" or "guaranteed" by Craigslist is likely a scammer.
9. Research the buyer and seller: Use both Scambook and Google to search someone by their name, email, or business name. Make sure their identity is not an alias and that this person comes up clean.
10. Don't give out more personal information than necessary: Don't release any personal information in a public listing. The only personal information consumers need to list in a Craigslist ad could be a free disposable phone number created by Google Voice. If someone needs to retrieve an item from a home address, put the item outside and do not let the buyer in.


text:
Obama talks border issues with Central America leaders
WASHINGTON — President Obama told Central American leaders Friday that they have "a shared responsibility" to halt the illegal flow of migrants across the southern border, a surge that includes thousands of unaccompanied children.
While the United States has "great compassion" for the children and other migrants, Obama said that those without proper claims to stay in the United States will be sent back to their home countries.
"We have to deter a continuing influx of children putting themselves at great risk, and families putting their children at great risk," Obama told reporters after meeting with the presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
The White House session took place as Obama and aides consider plans that range from increased law enforcement at the border to the establishment of refugee screening centers in Central America.
There is also a continuing congressional debate over a $3.7 billion budget request designed to answer the border crisis. The administration's plan includes more detention centers, immigration judges and attorneys on the southern border to speed up deportation times.
Republican lawmakers who met Friday said they are discussing a $1 billion package that would include sending National Guard troops to the border, a faster deportation system, and a change in the law so that migrant children could be sent home more quickly.
Obama said that he hopes Congress acts before leaving on its summer recess next week.
The three Central America leaders — Presidents Otto Perez Molina of Guatemala, Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras and Salvador Sanchez Ceren of El Salvador — said after the Obama meeting that they want American help in addressing the root causes of the immigration problem. That includes poverty and the rise of drug traffickers and criminal gangs throughout their region.
They and other officials from Mexico and Central America have called on the United States to address American demands for illegal drugs, a major factor behind the drug violence that prompts many of their residents to flee.
In his statement to reporters, Obama said "an unprecedented" number of border agents and other security resources have already been dispatched to the border, and more are on the way.
"In addition to being a nation of immigrants, we are also a nation of laws," Obama said.
Aides said Obama asked the three Central American presidents to urge their citizens not to make the often hazardous journey to the U.S. border and warn them they will be deported if caught.
The Obama administration has tried to deliver the same message via a public communications campaign in Central America, part of what White House spokesman Josh Earnest called an overall effort "to stem the flow (of migrants) at the source."
More than 57,000 migrant children have arrived in the USA since October, most of them from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, though Obama said that number has fallen in recent weeks.
"Initial reports show that our joint efforts appear to be paying off, and the number of unaccompanied children crossing the border this month appears to have dropped by half since June," Obama told his fellow presidents. "Of course, it's still too high, and so today we agreed to continue to work together."
Hernandez of Honduras said during a speech Thursday in Washington that human smugglers in his country take advantage of "ambiguities" within the American immigration system.
Smugglers give parents in Honduras "a totally wrong" interpretation of American policy, Hernandez said, telling them "'you can get your kids in the U.S.; we can do it for you.'"
Obama called on Congress to pass what he calls "comprehensive immigration reform." His plan includes a pathway to citizenship for people in the country illegally, a provision Republicans oppose as "amnesty" for lawbreakers.
The Obama administration is considering other proposals to try to address the sharp spike in illegal migration.
Among them: a pilot program to screen youths in their home countries, designed to determine whether they quality for refugee status. The program would start in Honduras, which has the most migrants, and could be expanded to other countries.
"This is still in the discussion phase," Earnest said.
Officials are also considering a request by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to dispatch National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexican border. The administration sent a team to the border this week to study whether the Guard could help.
Obama prepared for the Central America meeting in a phone call Thursday with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. They talked about ways to work with Central American neighbors to stop the flow of illegal migration, including an emphasis on "underlying causes" of the problems.
"They discussed the possibility of regional programs that would pool resources to improve public security and increase economic opportunities in Central America," the White House said in a statement.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze, Jr. are expanding their family! The Ringer actress is pregnant with her second child, Us Weekly can exclusively confirm. "She and Freddie are thrilled," a friend of the pair says. "They're amazing parents."
The couple met while filming the 1997 horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer and began dating three years later. They tied the knot in Mexico on September 1, 2002, and welcomed daughter CharlotteGrace in September 2009.
Gellar, 35, recently told Us that Prinze, 36, had been enjoying his one-on-one time with Charlotte as she filmed the first season of The CW's Ringer.
"He loves it. We fight over who gets to stay home," Gellar said of her stay-at-home husband. "You'd think it would be the opposite, that the parents would be like, 'No, I'll go to work!' but he's like, 'You stayed home for two years! It's my turn!'"
Sarah Michelle Gellar and daughter Charlotte in Los Angeles on April 12, 2012.
Credit: RAMEY PHOTO
"He and Charlotte have too much fun," Gellar added. "I'm jealous!"
Family comes first for the couple, who both grew up in the spotlight. "They still have date nights all the time and have a normal life," an insider tells Us. "They both came of age in Hollywood and love working, but their home life is more important to them."


text:
Because we know that plumbing problems don't always happen during regular business hours – and sometimes what looks like a simple DIY project can turn into a complex issue – at Roto-Rooter, our Mount Pleasant plumbing professionals are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
In fact, since 1935, we've been North America's premier provider of plumbing and drain cleaning services – and it's no wonder. Not only are our plumbers in Mount Pleasant, TX, trained to the highest industry standards, but because our team lives and works in the communities we serve, they also understand how your soil, the weather and even city regulations can impact your projects and your plumbing. Plus, because we stand behind all of our estimates and our work, you can budget for the work – and know that your plumbing problems will be taken care of the right way.
To schedule your appointment with a Roto-Rooter Plumber in Mount Pleasant, TX, call 903-597-7755 or use our secure online form.
Homeowners everywhere have relied on Roto-Rooter since 1935 for honest, professional advice on all types of plumbing and drain cleaning services. Large jobs or small, we do it all:
Counties: Anderson, Cherokee, Freestone, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Houston, Hunt, Kaufman, Marion, Panola, Rusk, Smith, Van Zandt, Wood
Have a Plumbing Question?
Visit our Frequently Asked Questions section to find answers to our top plumbing questions.


text:
Complementary Multi-Enterprise modules enable the management of multiple enterprises within the SigaFinance software.
Manage up to 3 enterprises in the software.
Minimum system requirements:
Recommended configurations:
Get all the support you need! Get free Customer Care Service for the first 6 months including unlimited technical support, group Internet training sessions, Internet updates and online data backup space on a secure server.


text:
"To Err is Human…to Air Guitar, Divine" — Björn Türoque
October 17, 2013
"All that is solid melts into air"
– The Communist Manifesto
Dan Crane was once a bored software producer. The he discovered air guitar. A true testament to the liberating power of the invisible instrument, air guitar was the catalyst that allowed Crane to leave his day job behind and pursue his dream of being a writer. Since then, his writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate,Elle, Nylon, Paper, Blender, Esquire and the Los Angeles Times. He also performs as Jean-Luc Retard in a faux French rock and roll band known as Nous Non Plus. For more on Dan, travel to his website
Björn Türoque (pronounced Bjorn too-ROCK) has participated in numerous air guitar competitions throughout the world. Since joining the circuit, he and his air guitar have appeared on CNN, VH1, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Last Call with Carson Daly, Fox & Friends, in a Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure special edition DVD, and in a Japanese girl band's music video directed by Doug Aitken. He's lectured on the subject at the Experience Music Project museum in Seattle, and is the founder of Aireoke: when air guitar meets karaoke. Björn co-stars in the award-winning documentary Air Guitar Nation, directed by Alexandra Lipstiz.
Now retired from official competition, Bjorn/Dan has been the Official Host & Master of Airemonies for the US and World Air Guitar Championships since 2007.
He led the World Record for Largest Air Guitar Ensemble at the San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino.
Björn's heroes are guitarist Jimmy Page, sculptor Richard Serra, and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Björn retired from official competition in 2005.


text:
Product Description
Additional Information
Additional Information
|Empire Labs
|Empire Labs
Free Delivery On All Orders Over £30
Secure Ordering & Payments Via PayPal
Discreet Packaging & Billing
Email Us:
Contact Form
Write to Us:
1 Moorgate Avenue, Crosby, Merseyside, L23 0UE, UK
This website requires cookies to provide all of its features. For more information on what data is contained in the cookies, please see our Privacy Policy page. To accept cookies from this site, please click the Allow button below.


text:
WM-DOLLS 140cm model
By height of 140 cm, the World Cup-Doll (TPE) weighs only about 23 kg!
The WM-dolls are realistic love dolls which were made easy and as pleasant as possible to make realistic sexual pleasure experienced. The experiences that you can have with this model stand for a natural woman in nothing. As these models are created, allow the look and the impression gained by the perspectives and proportions during sexual intercourse, the illusion as if you would look at a natural grown body.
Model Features:
- Pretty Face
- Selectable blue, green or black: eyes -
- Complexion: in natural, white or tanned selectable
- Nail Colours: 13 selectable
- Hair color and length: 6 wigs freely selectable
- Pubic hair: 3 classes (surcharge)
- Vagina and anus: firmly integrated or removable vagina (no extra charge)
- Internal finely worked skeleton and joints
- 3 inputs: mouth, vagina and anus
- Removable head (see appropriate additional head at the bottom, at an additional cost)
- Produced according to the latest standards.
- See CE certificate
Dimensions of the model:
- Height: 140 cm
- Weight: 23 kg
- Chest: small Breast / see Picture / Cup size A)
- Waist circumference: about 51 cm
- Hips: 74 cm
- Inlet depth vagina: 17 cm
- Inlet depth anus: ca. 16 cm
- Inlet mouth depth: 13 cm
Supplied with your WM-Dolls 140cm:
- A head model of your choice
- A wig for your choice
- Eyes of your choice
- A garment according to the manufacturer's discretion
Material: TPE / TPR (thermoplastic)
Thermoplastic rubber or thermoplastic elastomers are a new material with silicone-like qualities. Main raw material for the production of elastomers is natural or synthetic rubber, which is combined with the functionality of a plastic. This skin-like material provides a life-like feel, thus ensuring maximum fun.
The advantages of TPE / TPR at a glance:
- Odorless
- No plasticizers (phthalates)
- Excellent elasticity and strength
- UV-resistant
- Biocompatible
- Body temperature assimilative
- Environmentally friendly
Care and Use:
Please note that 125 cm doll is a little larger, but you should be careful with the WM-Doll 125 cm. Although naturally during sex, TPE is a very stretchy material, but this material also has its limits.
To prevent damage during sex on the sex organs, should be generous use a water-based lubricant.
The Doll is waterproof and can also be taken, for example, in the bathtub. However, one should pay attention to the Doll completely submerge in contact with water NOT.
For cleaning using a mild soap and clean warm water is recommended.
Warehousing and storage:
This Doll has to store does not have a hook in the neck and therefore can not be kept upright. The manufacturer recommends storing the Doll lying on his back. A slightly thicker foam is an excellent base, arms and legs should be as possible without concern to close to the bod.
Delivery time: within 11 days (+- 3 Days)
Cost for delivery is inside the gross price!


text: Lost launched an entire mythology on the wings of an airplane disaster, and so did Fringe. Now comes new conspiracy thriller The Event, which also milks post-9/11 anxieties about terror in the sky for dramatic tension in its opening moments. Debuting Monday at 9 p.m./8 p.m. Central on NBC, The Event tracks a chain of events that lead hero Sean Walker (played by Jason Ritter) to the pilot's cabin of a jet that is being steered for reasons to be explained by his fiancee's grim-faced father (Scott Patterson). Last fall's similarly impressive opening salvo for FlashForward failed to sustain the series beyond a single season. Whether The Event survives or perishes, it will surely not be the last in a long line of conspiracy-themed TV dramas. In the '90s, The X-Files masterfully exploited civilian paranoia about shadowy bureaucracies as series creator Chris Carter tapped into long-simmering suspicions that the U.S. government methodically conspires to withhold information about alien incursions. But after 9/11, secretive governments and extraterrestrials suddenly seemed far less threatening than terrorists, not just in Hollywood but on the nation's streets. As reported in the The Washington Post's "Top Secret America" series, 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies operating in about 10,000 U.S. locations dedicate themselves to surveillance or data analysis. Employed by 2010's bulked-up intelligence-industrial-complex, 854,000 people currently hold top-security clearances. With all that cloak-and-dagger activity taking place in the real world, it's no wonder that paranoia, intelligence-gathering, privatized black ops and bureaucratic in-fighting have gained fresh currency as small-screen fodder. Check the gallery for a sampling of post-9/11 TV dramas fueled by a decade's worth of prime-time paranoia. <script language="JavaScript" src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js" type="text/javascript"></script><object class="BrightcoveExperience" id="myExperience609923156001"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"></param><param name="width" value="650"></param><param name="height" value="630"></param><param name="playerID" value="102172222001"></param><param name="publisherID" value="1564549380"></param><param name="isVid" value="true"></param><param name="isUI" value="true"></param><param name="dynamicStreaming" value="true"></param><param name="@videoPlayer" value="609923156001"></param><param name="videoID" value="609923156001"></param></object><script type="text/javascript"> runMobileCompatibilityScript('myExperience609923156001', 'anId'); </script><script type="text/javascript">brightcove.createExperiences();</script> Above: The Event Key organization: The White House Conspiracy theory: The president of the United States (Blair Underwood) visits a secret holding area in Alaska and meets a prisoner of unknown origins (Laura Innes of ER). Setting aside its over-reliance on the now-tiresome gimmick of multitiered flashbacks, The Event's pilot episode looks promising.Warehouse 13 Key organization: Secret Service Conspiracy theory: Agents Pete and Myka (Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly) operate out of a top-secret facility in South Dakota that serves as a storage facility for supernatural artifacts collected and protected by the U.S. government. Season 2 of Syfy's Warehouse 13 concludes Tuesday at 9 p.m./8 p.m. Central when the duo take on cutely named villain H.G. Wells (Jaime Murray).Fringe Key organizations: FBI and Massive Dynamic Conspiracy theory: Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) spent the first two seasons of this Fox series on the trail of Massive Dynamic, a giant corporation that has its hands in all manner of mischief. Bucking the bureaucracy at every turn, Olivia and her team head into the Thursday's Fringe season premiere (9 p.m./8 p.m. Central) having finally confronted the man behind the curtain (guest Leonard Nimoy as mastermind William Bell). Now they need to make sense of a parallel universe populated by doppelgangers.Undercovers Key organization: CIA Conspiracy theory: J.J. Abrams' new espionage-lite NBC drama (debuting Wednesday at 8 p.m./7 p.m. Central) follows all-smiles spies Samantha and Steven Bloom (Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kodjoe), a husband-and-wife team that runs a catering business in between lingerie-and-tuxedo-clad assignments for the CIA. The pilot episode achieves some measure of authenticity whenever veteran character actor Gerald McRainey shows up as the happy couple's curmudgeonly handler Carlton Shaw, but this show is decidedly more upbeat than other entries on this list.24 Key organization: Counter Terrorism Unit Conspiracy theory: Gruff operative Jack Bauer seemed to hate his bureaucratic government overseers almost as much as the terrorists he continually pursued and pummeled. Prime time's most visceral response to the 9/11 attacks, 24 clocked in weekly as Bauer's screw-the-rules missions, abetted by CTU's unbelievably efficient computer geeks, got mired in intergovernmental turf wars.Rubicon Key organization: American Policy Institute Conspiracy theory: AMC's exceptional, slow-moving drama Rubicon, (9 p.m./8 p.m. Central, Sundays) takes a cerebral look at a federally funded think tank charged with tracking potential terrorist activity. Will, the fictional institute's star analyst (played by James Badge Dale) tries to solve the death of his mentor, which somehow involves a cloverleaf, encrypted crossword puzzles and the manipulative company known as Atlas. In place of gunplay, brainiacs furrow their brows and stare into space in an effort to connect the dots.Dollhouse Key organization: The Rossum Corporation Conspiracy theory: Who runs the assassin/escort service that employs mind-wiped "Actives" like Echo (Eliza Dushku)? In Joss Whedon's 2009-10 series Dollhouse, FBI agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) tried to free Echo from Rossum Corporation's sinister mind control.FlashForward Key organization: FBI Conspiracy theory: A network of loopy scientists play dice with the world's population by triggering a quantum event that moves consciousness forward six months during a collective two minute and 37 second blackout. To find the perpetrators, FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) and his colleagues try to detect meaningful patterns from seemingly random clues. Mirroring real-world rivalries, a FlashForward subplot involved an FBI agent who secretly worked for the CIA. The show was canceled earlier this year after a single promising season.John Doe Key organization: The Phoenix Organization Conspiracy theory: Borrowing from The Bourne Identity, memory-wiped title character John Doe (Dominic Purcell ) washed up on shore near Washington state at the beginning of this under-appreciated Fox series. Branded with a cryptic spiral-like mark on his chest, he spent the rest of 2002-2003's John Doe trying to figure out who he is and how he got there. Monitoring Doe's movements as part of a secret experiment: the Phoenix Organization.Follow us on Twitter: @hughhart and @theunderwire.See Also:Reboot This! 10 Sci-Fi TV Shows Ready for UpgradeReboot These Sci-Fi Shows Next, Wired.com Readers PleadMust-See Cult TV, From Danger Man to Firefly


text:
Berlin: Director Diao Yinan's Black Coal, Thin Ice, a detective thriller set in northern China, won the Berlin International Film Festival's main Golden Bear prize on Saturday. The movie also picked up the best actor award, which went to Liao Fan.
Black Coal, Thin Ice, Diao's third feature film, stars Liao as a former policeman-turned-detective investigating a mysterious series of killings in a gritty industrial region that started when he was an officer. He is drawn to a mysterious woman who appears to be connected to the victims.
"It's really hard to believe that this dream has come true — a dream that I've had for such a long time and that didn't come true for such a long time," Diao said as he accepted the Golden Bear statuette. "It's wonderful."
Liao told the jury he turned 40 on Friday and "this is the most wonderful birthday present you could have given me."
"Before I left Beijing to come here, I said to my mom, I'm not coming back if I don't win this prize," he joked. "Thank you very much for not leaving me in the lurch."
Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, a caper set in a fictional spa town in pre-World War II Europe with a strong ensemble cast, including Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray and Edward Norton, won the jury grand prize, which comes with a runner-up Silver Bear. Anderson presented the movie when it opened the festival on February 6, but couldn't make it to Saturday's award ceremony — so festival director Dieter Kosslick picked up the prize on his behalf.
The ceremony presenters read out what they said was an acceptance message from Anderson, in which he said he had previously received a "palme de chocolat" in a gift bag at the Cannes Film Festival — but "this Silver Bear is the first both full-scale and genuinely metallic prize I have ever received from a film festival, so I feel particularly honoured, moved and indeed thrilled to accept it." Kosslick said he is flying to the US next week and would deliver the award to Anderson.
Linklater is best director
American filmmaker Richard Linklater took the best director honour for Boyhood. Made over 12 years, it follows a boy — played by Ellar Coltrane — from first grade to college, watching him grow up as his divorced parents (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke) chart their course through parenthood and relationships. Linklater said he was accepting the award "on behalf of the over 400 people who worked on my movie all these years, cast and crew."
"It says best director, but I'll think of it as best ensemble," he said.
Japan's Haru Kuroki was named best actress for her part in The Little House, from veteran director Yoji Yamada, a film about a covert love affair in Japan set against the backdrop of World War II. Kuroki said she wasn't expecting the honour — "it's only because director Yamada has made such a wonderful film that I'm able to stand up here this evening."
Diao's winning entry was one of three Chinese films in the 20-movie competition this year. Another Chinese entry, director Lou Ye's Blind Massage — an adaptation of a popular novel that's set largely in a massage centre run by the blind — won the festival's outstanding artistic contribution prize for its cinematography.
German director Dietrich Brueggemann's Stations of the Cross, a tragic tale of a teenage girl in an ultraconservative Catholic community striving for spiritual perfection, was honoured for the best script. And the festival's Alfred Bauer prize for innovation went to 91-year-old French director Alain Resnais' Life of Riley, an adaptation of a play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn.
An eight-member jury under Brokeback Mountain producer James Schamus chose the winners.


text:
Thinking in terms of hyperlinks in digital history blogs…
How often are they used? Should they be used more often? If they are used, do they complement the information in the post or literally "take the reader away" from the post and original line of thinking? Do we really want to distract the reader with the information in the hyperlink?
I don't use them nearly as much now as I did when I started blogging. Nevertheless, thinking back to my comment about mouseover popups just the other day, there are times when popups just aren't enough. In some cases, I turn to Wikipedia for supplemental information, and end up creating a hyperlink. Until recently, however, I realized that I wasn't taking care in the way that I created hyperlinks. Ultimately, some of the hyperlinks I created were opening the linked information in the same window as my blog post, thereby swallowing-up or dominating the screen. Granted, the reader can navigate backward to the blog post, but is that really something that the author of the post would want? Instead, the hyperlinked information, at least I think in most cases, is information that one would want to supplement what is written in the blog post.
Maybe we do more justice to our blog posts by creating hyperlinks that open in a new window. When the user clicks on a hyperlink, a new window opens, but the new window is secondary in prominence within the window. The blog post retains its dominance as the primary window, but the new window is smaller and more clearly reflects our intent that the information in the new window is supplemental to the post.
Just a thought and something for the "for what it's worth" file when it comes to blogging.
Oh, and by the way, if you plan on using the mouseover popup feature I mentioned, just remember, keep the written content of the popup to a minimum. I've noticed that a reader has less than 4 seconds to read popup content before the popup closes. Getting the popup to come up again isn't so easy. A reader has to mouseover another popup, and then return to the popup that he/she was reading to get it to popup again. All-in-all, the "timed" popups can be rather annoying to a reader. Take a look at the popup I created above, in which I was writing about Wikipedia, and you will understand my concerns.


text:
Compare MINI Front Wheel Alignment prices near you with Who Can Fix My Car.
Enter your registration to see your competitive local repair quotes today!
Compare MINI Front Wheel Alignment prices near you with Who Can Fix My Car.
That was for new shocks,front discs and pads,2 front 19in tyres and a major service. All done in a day brilliant service. Car going great thanks Jamie
As per usual the service was fast, friendly and efficient. Regularly use this garage for company vehicle as well as my own.
Brilliant service from the guys, work was carried out efficiently (full service and MOT). Answered any questions in a friendly manner, wouldn't hesitate to book again. Best price i could find and the friendly attitude of staff was a nice bonus.
Although pricey I was kept to date, my car was picked up and dropped off and the team went the extra mile to get it done that day. Would thoroughly recommend
Great service from start to finish. Kept in touch regarding what was needed for car to get through the MOT
They try very hard to make sure the customer is happy. And spotted work I was aware needed doing. I am a proficient amateur but did not want to do my own mini clutch outside.
Great service at a great price
Highly recommended, very competetive price.
Really trustworthy and down to earth
They were really helpful and accommodating, and really reasonably priced for the work carried out, had a new cluch and duelmass flywheel . Will definitely use them again
Great Service! It is really difficult to find a person who you can trust with your car, and Patrick is that person! Honest and straight to the point. Finally I found someone I can trust and who can advise on my car's service! Recommend and will be my Mechanic from now on! Thank you Patrick and your team for the excellent service!
Upon inspection it was fond the internal knuckle was also damaged and they were quick to source a used part and replace with only cost for part. I find this garage to be genuine and explain the issue up front with photo evidence of damage and repair. Will use again.
This company has completely restored my faith in mechanics absolutely. They did exactly what they said they were going to do and communication was full marks from start to finish. I have no hesitation in recommending them at all times. I'm very grateful they are around.
I don't think words will express how happy I am with Patrick and the work completed by his team. I am very sceptical where garages are concerned but from the first call with Patrick to the moment I collected my vehicle, it felt honest and genuine. My car is a lease vehicle so it was imperative the work carried out was of a high standard. Patrick didn't only reassure me over the phone but when I did go and see him, took me around the garage showing work they had completed and in the process of completing. Only a confident person would be willing to do that. Also, the small touches go a long way. When I called up, he addressed me instantly by my name. Clearly had my number saved so it shows I wasn't just "another customer". The price was very competitive, the care and attention was second to none and I've said to Patrick, fingers crossed I never see him again, but if I ever do need work done, I know I'll be going straight to him with no hesitation.
Good price and service
Drew was really polite and the guys did a great and a efficient job on changing my brakes and discs... They provided me and my dog a warm place to sit and wait for the car and gave me advise on how to drive it until the brakes broke in! Highly recommended
Great service, quick turn over and fantastic price!
Very good service quick and no issues
I've been using this garage at current and previous location for years. Always helpful and good value for money. Taken both our cars here this week and got the usual great service.
Always offer competitive price and good service. Got charged for service and first mot as agreed. No extras added, like you usually get advised elsewhere. Definitely recommend.
Great stuff. Pleasant people.
Third time there. Good as always.
Job completed in time advised, offered to check and top up coolant foc after a week
Excellent, was all complete in no time, very happy as usual with INnOut Wednesbury
Fab thank you
Helpful, friendly, seemed to do a good job
Great communication and patience from Kyle who explained everything and made sure I was happy before going ahead. Even collected and delivered back as well. Really happy with price and service thanks Kyle & the team.
This was my first time having work done by this Garage, I recently brought a car and was searching for a good deal to have a full service done. I used WhoCanFixMyCar.com to search for various deals, which was best site I have come across looking for reputable dealers. I choose Eagle Auto because I liked that they would take the car wheels off and re-grease and make perfect fit. I also wanted my Header Tank replaced which the garage did as well as carried out my full service. The Car is driving well you do notice the difference, more power and sounds great. I did have the coolant light come on again and I checked the bottle and topped it up with a bit of water and everything was A ok :). I have confidence in this garage because I feel that they are honest in what they said from start to finish and I am very wary or apprehensive of garages in general. I live in Coulsdon, Surrey and don't mind how far I travel to deal with a good garage, I will be using this Garage again because their is a list of things I want them to do, bear in mind I could of still look around for the best deal, but I believe I have found my Garage.
Jobs all done and completed
Very good service overall.
4 reviews
Tie rods seized. Wheel locking nut key lost so they replaced them too. All done quickly while I waited.
The cost of Front Wheel Alignment will likely differ greatly depending on which MINI model you have. Combining the varying cost of parts and the difference in labour hours needed to complete the job, different MINI models will cost different amounts for Front Wheel Alignment. Take a look below at the average quote for Front Wheel Alignment on WhoCanFixMyCar.com for some of the top MINI models.
|MINI Model
|Average Price
|Get Quotes
|MINI Hatch
|MINI Convertible
This table uses data from quotes provided on WhoCanFixMyCar.com between 17/09/2019 and 16/12/2019.


text:
Rolls Neo Premium 28mm by Hallis Hudson Metal Eyelet Curtain Pole in a Spun Brass effect finish with Smoke Grey Teardrop finials and stylish cylinder brackets. A stunning addition to the ever popular Rolls Neo collection of contemporary metal curtain poles with a stylish, minimalistic look. * Available in 28mm. * Available in four colours, Stainless Steel effect, Chrome effect, Spun Brass effect and Black Nickel effect. * Available up to 4.8m in length. (3.0m and above is supplied in 2 pieces with a connector and extra support). * Longer lengths can be achieved using components purchased separately, please see related products.* Curtain poles are supplied complete with all fittings including cylinder brackets and finials, (no rings supplied). * Matching holdbacks, rings and recess brackets are available to purchase. * Matching curtain poles available in 19mm and 35mm diameter. If you are unsure of colour or finish please request a sample, this will then be added to the basket.
There are currently no reviews of this product.


text:
The Impact of Technological Events and Trends on Audit Evidence in the Year 2000: Phase I*
Gary L. Holstrum Theodore J. Mock Robert N. West
University of Southern California
This research project is an exploratory study that attempts to identify and analyze:
(1) the most significant changes in information technology that will affect future audit evidence,
(2) the impact of such changes upon auditing, and
(3) the nature of audit evidence in the year 2000.
The success of items two and three is contingent upon results obtained in the first phase of the study, which is reported in this paper. Phase I is designed to identify not only the relevant future events and trends but also the likelihood that these events may occur at various points in time in the future. To accomplish this goal, the researchers have performed an extensive review of the technological literature, interviewed experts in auditing and various technical areas, and solicited expert opinions via a questionnaire. A Delphi study will also be conducted to elicit and analyze experts' predictions of important future information technology events and trends.
Using these data, phase II of the research will identify and analyze the effects of predicted technological events and trends on audit evidence and the audit process. Scenarios will be developed to extract potential new strategies for dealing with future audit evidence, audit technology, and auditor roles. This paper is divided into six sections as follows:
1. Statement Of Problem And Need For Research
2. Review Of The Information Technology Literature
3. Research Issues And Proposed Methodology
4. Preliminary Findings Concerning Information Technology
5. Preliminary Findings Concerning Audit Evidence
6. A Tentative Scenario Of Future Audit Evidence
* The Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation is providing funding and other assistance for the research described in this paper.


text:
70% of Orders Ship in 48 Hours.
For guaranteed shipment within 1 business day, select 'Expedited Production Fee' during checkout.
70% of Orders Ship in 48 Hours.
For guaranteed shipment within 1 business day, select 'Expedited Production Fee' during checkout.
The Valspar Corporation is a manufacturer of paint and coatings based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Valspar was founded in 1806 as a paint dealership in Boston, Massachusetts. The Valspar name emerged in 1903 as the name of a clear varnish and became the company name in 1932. Sherwin-Williams acquired Valspar in June 2017.
MyPerfectColor is able match all of the Valspar paint colors so you can find and enjoy the colors you love. MyPerfectColor uses its expert capabilities to recreate the original Valspar color by matching the original Valspar color books and swatches. MyPerfectColor is not using Valspar paint.
The colors shown on this website are computer video simulations of the Valspar Color and may not match Valspar Color standards. Refer to Valspar Publications to obtain the accurate color. Please know that MyPerfectColor is matching the original Valspar color. If you intend to touch up paint that has been on your walls for years, know that your color has undoubtedly changed from the original due to exposure to light and age and the new paint may not match. You will achieve best results by re-coating the entire surface.
If you need more assistance, please feel free to contact us and one of our expert staff would be happy to help.


text:
Website Designed
Make a Website
List Your Business
The founders of this ministry felt, after much prayer and carefully deliberation, that God was leading them to establish an association of like-minded ministers and congregations. Multiple messengers' of God's Word would be united from the four corners of the world in joint evangelistic ministry and brotherhood by the Spirit through this association. They would answer one calling, unite for one purpose and be bound together to move towards one goal. This goal being to bring souls to the knowledge and saving grace of our Lord and Saviour and bring glory to His name! Therefore, the name of this new independent ministry would be... Evangelistic Messengers Association.
The ministers who were present at this gathering knew for certain the Holy Spirit had been leading them every step of the way in founding Evangelistic Messengers Association. All the participants agreed that from this Chicago gathering would come untold honors for Christ and innumerable blessings for countless thousands in all the many places wherever the seed of the evangelistic message would be planted. The Evangelistic Messengers Association was not brought forth to honor one man nor a group of men, but to honor and point to our Heavenly Father and to do His bidding.
Sincere men and women of God from across the United States began sending in applications requesting to join Evangelistic Messengers Association. Their letters were postmarked from Minnesota, Idaho, Texas, Arizona, Washington and many other states. All of these servants-of-God wanted to become associated with other faithful preachers whom God was also leading to become part of this independent ministry. Names of faithful, nondenominational pulpiteers came from Mexico, Canada, Haiti, Greece, the Philippines, Australia and other isles of the sea requesting to join this band of believers.
Down through the years, this independent ministerial outreach has continued to strengthen and grow. God was leading the ministry of E.M.A. into deep and lasting bonds of fellowship with other ministers in towns and cities not recognized by most people.
Since the Holy Spirit directed the meeting in 1933, there have been thousands of men and women carefully evaluated, and with prayer, ordained and licensed to preach and minister anywhere and everywhere throughout the world.
Co-Founders of E.M.A.
Rev. O.L. Ford and Rev. S.M. Smith O.L. Ford
Since 1933
Some two-thousand-years ago, out of a hot-dusty desert to the broad banks of the river Jordan, came John the Baptist preaching the acceptable year of the Lord. He came forth with a message of repentance and a divine mission to point to the Christ, the Son of the living God. Though John had a poor and humble beginning, his message was used mightily by God to bring men to accept the Saviour of all mankind.
Then jumping forward in time to the year of 1933, in a north-side-Chicago neighborhood, a handful of God's chosen servants also had an appointment with destiny. Like John, they too had received an unction by the Holy Spirit. None of these concerned Christians who were gathered together in earnest prayer and discussion that day were big business tycoons, railroad barons, or descendants of wealthy families. They were not meeting to put together another giant-financial conglomerate in Chicago.
It was a typical-wintry Chicago day on this eventful Friday in March. A raw-bone-chilling wind was blowing great drops of rain as it whistled down LaSalle Street. Stormy Lake Michigan tossed and churned just a few hundred yards east of the Walter Will's residence at 1426 LaSalle Street. However, weather was not the topic of the discussion that had brought together Rev. O.L. Ford, Rev. S.M. Smith, Rev. Robert Adkins and Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wills. Even though it was chilly outside, the hearts of these godly souls were warmed by the witness of the Holy Spirit assuring them that their meeting had a great purpose and divine destiny.
Remember too, this meeting was at a time when not-being affiliated with a mainline church meant many pulpits were closed and off limits to independent preachers. However, these visionary, missionary and pioneering spirits who were meeting together felt that recognition and dignity ought to be accorded men and women who were called to minister the Word of God even though they were not ministers in a denomination.
After much time in devoted prayer and heart-searching discussion, these pioneer preachers felt that God was directing them to birth an independent ministry that would be far reaching. The vision God had given them would launch not-only-one independent ministry, but thousands of independent ministries around the world!
No one on LaSalle Street, nor in all of Chicago or on the earth, knew what was happening in the Heavenlies as these men of God began to earnestly bombard Heaven for the beginning of the fulfillment of the independent ministry God had laid on their hearts. Only the Lord knew of all the ministers around the world who would one day launch into their God-called ministries because of this meeting.
As these men prayed and planned, an association began to emerge that would have absolutely no church denominational restrictions. This alliance of independent ministers and congregations would be held together by bonds of love and fellowship instead of creeds and bylaws.
E.M.A.'s First Office
Chicago - 1933
Many of these old timers dared to march forward and onward to blaze an independent trail as they preached the unadultered, uncompromisiing Word of God. Their brush arbors have long since fallen to the ground. Many of their church buildings are in decay and many of the saints who listened to their preaching have also passed from this life's scene.
E.M.A.'s first ordained ministers: Rev. O.L. Ford, S.M. Smith, Robert Adkins and many others have since gone home to their reward.
Though these first "evangelistic messengers" may at times, seem to be almost forgotten, the work these E.M.A. pioneers began shall never be lessened or diminished by the march of time! Today, sons and daughters, and even grandchildren of these early members of "the association," are spreading this same Gospel as ordained ministers of E.M.A..
Little David Dr. Ford today
Today's president and pastor of E.M.A. is Dr. J. David Ford, the son of Rev. O. L. Ford. Before David's birth, his father prophesied that there would be a son born into his and his wife Dorothy's household. He stated further that this son would carry on the ministry of E.M.A. where he, the father, would leave off. A baby boy was born into the Ford family in 1948, and as O.L. Ford had prophesied, David began preaching at the early age of five. When David turned 39, in 1987, he grasped the the torch of "independent" ministry that was passed to him and he has never let go!
Dr. Ford is still carrying on the work of E.M.A. in the same Spirit as his father and the other early founders. The labor of these faithful servants continues to produce more fruit" through the ministry of E.M.A. with the dawning of each new day.
Now you know the rest of the story... of how the oldest independent ministerial association in the world became a reality in 1933. Just as E.M.A. was a real answer to the prayers of many ministers in 1933 so it is today. E.M.A. is a ministry that has endured the test of time and continues to flourish across the US and in many countries around the world.
If God is leading you into an "independent ministry," E.M.A. stand ready to assist you.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Brother Ford at: (972) 349-1137 or by email at: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Enduring... Exciting... Eternal!
Ministers... Marvels... Miracles!
Accord... Adventures... Accomplishments!
Ennis, Texas U.S.A.
They foresaw a Christian fellowship of preachers and their congregations endeavoring to keep the unity of the faith, believing that in essentials we must have unity, in nonessentials liberty, and in all things charity.
They recognized that this was to be an association of congregations and ministers where only God's Word would be the rule governing conduct, and no one's own personal convictions would be imposed upon another.
As they further sought God's will concerning this, they realized the first step they were to take that day was to provide an association for independent, autonomous clergymen. Therefore, a nonprofit association was created to recognize and assist the nonaffiliated, independent preachers in responding to God's calling for their lives. Finally, God-called men and women with full privileges afforded them by ordination could go forth to carry out the Great Commission. Now they could enjoy the fruits of a certified ministry regardless of where they labored in the Lord's vineyard.
Please keep in mind that at this particular time ministers had to align themselves with a denomination in order to receive their ministerial credentials, regardless of where they felt the Holy Spirit was leading them to go. Women were barred from receiving ordination and were unwelcome in many ministerial circles.


text:
The bidding and estimating functions are so intertwined, you can consider bidding and estimating software to be the same. Most software developers do; thus, if you buy a bidding program, it does estimating-and vice-versa. This article uses "bidding" to describe either bidding or estimating. Bidding software is a powerful tool in your arsenal. In an upcoming article, we'll see the mechanics of using such software. Let's look now at how you can use this software as a competitive business tool.
Tip 1: Build your inventory Bidding software allows you to know the cost of the materials you'll use for a job. From the program, you can "take off" the details you need for building your physical inventory. If you have an inventory database, you can use a Windows-based bidding program to interact with it.
Tip 2: Get ready. Gather all the information you need, or ensure easy access to it. The more accurate your information, the more accurate your bid. Develop standard costs to use. For example, determine the cost of travel to a particular location, or the cost of providing a one-line diagram.
Tip 3: Aim for the best price. In 1996, a company bid $1.2 million on a job, while competitors bid as high as $3 million and as low as $700,000. Obviously, not everone knew how to hit the target. How did this company come up with the $1.2 million figure? They built a spreadsheet model of the costs involved and let the computer spit out the price. They could have done the same thing for less work, had they used bidding software. They were not the low bidder. Do you think they got the job? The next tip explains what happened.
Tip 4: Let your ammunition work for you. When the company met with the client, they arrived with printouts of the worksheets they used to arrive at their cost. They showed only the categories accounted for, not the actual numbers. This level of detail impressed the client enormously. None of the other bidders had used a scientific method to arrive at their bid price. The contract went to the firm that did it in software. A further development: this same firm got the nod for the other parts of the overall project, which ran close to $40 million. The small investment in software paid for itself. You, too, can hit your target-when you're prepared.
Tip 5: Know your stuff. This company's employees knew exactly what their costs were and how much they wanted to make from this job. Thus, they were able to negotiate from a position of strength. And because they didn't try to gouge the customer, they were able to negotiate from a position of integrity. This is perhaps the biggest benefit of being able to quantify what it takes to do a job. Finger-to-the-wind estimates may work fairly well-but it takes only one poor bid to wipe out your company. You can't afford to talk price without knowing your cost.
Tip 6: Show your stuff. You may need to lay your cards on the table and show the potential customer why your cost is accurate. The bid is the basis for your contract. In many jobs, an accepted bid is a de facto representation of the contract. In case of a dispute, the bid would count for more than what the customer says you meant. Are you bidding on the same project your customer thinks you are? Make clear what you are going to do.
Tip 7: Show you know. Use the bid to show you know how to do the job correctly. A plant engineer once found himself being forced to accept a low bid from a contractor he didn't like. He had used them before, and they cut too many corners. The engineer rewrote the bid requirements such that each contractor had to submit a detailed work plan. He was able to drop the undesirable contractor on that second round. However, it's common for the "cheap outfit" to get the job by providing too little information. As demonstrated in tip 4, you can force the competition to a higher standard-or out of the bidding.
Tip 8: Decommoditize the bidding process. Use the bid to show how you add value. In tip 7, you might show what steps you'll take to conform to the National Electrical Code. But, are you providing your own lift, or are you using the customer's? Maybe the customer would rather loan you a lift. Or maybe the customer assumes everyone provides a lift. Force the customer to ask your competitors to say what they are going to do. In a vague bidding situation, everyone looks alike. You then must compete on price, instead of workmanship and competence. Guess what suffers? That's right-workmanship, competence, and, ultimately, your reputation. Make your value clear-bidding software is the perfect tool for doing so.
Tip 9. Plan your work. Wouldn't it be nice if you could plan your work several months in advance? You can. The more accurate your bids, the more consistent your "hit rate" in getting work. So, you can determine some value, such as 40%, of all bids end up in sold jobs. As soon as you do a bid, plot the labor hours per week on a spreadsheet-multiplying the number by your "hit rate." You can then see future needs for labor, training, and equipment.
Tip 10. Find out why bids died before getting approval. If your price was too high, though, don't make the mistake of lowering it the next time around. Do not simply cut costs. Look for ways to improve efficiency and eliminate non-value-added steps. Your bid can give you intelligent information for doing this. For example, why all the trips from your supply house to a distant location? Maybe you could have ordered over the Internet. Or bought from a supply house or national chain with an outlet in your job sites' city. Or maybe your regular supplier could have drop-shipped to your job-site location.
Both content and presentation are key factors in bid acceptance. Maybe you lost the bid because you were off the mark as to what your customer really wanted. Maybe you need to make sure the bid includes a concept statement or executive summary. Maybe your bid was so detailed the customer just refused to look at it-or too skimpy for your customer to take seriously. Maybe your bid was excellent, but something else happened. If that was the case, then you know where to put your efforts.
Here's an example of a sales presentation gone wrong. Company A sent a delegation to a bid on a major project. They came equipped with spreadsheets, laptops-the works. Company B sent one person. Company A had an inferior bid, in terms of quality, price, and value. However, Company A got t he job. What was the deciding factor? Company B did not act like they wanted the work. What cinched the deal for A was when B's man pulled out his plane ticket, looked at it, and said, "I have a flight to catch." This was a $120 million deal. The customer left that meeting knowing which of the two companies would care more about him. And that is exactly what you need to show with each and every bid. Look through your bid process and your sales process, and see if this is what you are showing. If it's not, then you need to make a change.


text:
Fix It Yourself with FixYa
If you're having a problem with your fridge or dishwasher, or perhaps with your digital camera or iPod, you could try to find the toll-free number for customer support and call them. That is, if you don't mind sitting on hold for an hour, only to be told that your device is out of warranty, not covered by support, or that they can't help you. Worse, you might know what's wrong and just want someone to listen to you and give some advice about getting the part you need or how to find someone to repair what you know is wrong. That's where FixYa comes in. It offers you a way to share your knowledge to help other people fix and find workarounds for problems with their electronics, find help for your own problems, look up service manuals and troubleshooting tips, and even make a little money on the side.
When you buy a product, you expect at least some amount of support should something go wrong or if you need help with a feature or function. The most frustrating thing in the world is having a hand-me-down product or a new product where there's no support from the manufacturer, and being stuck because you don't know how to fix it and you don't want to spend a ton of money having someone look at it for you. FixYa offers free technical support and help for a number of consumer electronics: dishwashers, ovens, hard drives, cameras, and more.
On the front page, I saw questions posted by FixYa members a Logitech webcam, a Nintendo Wii, a GE washing machine, and a Kenmore dishwasher. The founders of FixYa decided that most manufacturer Web sites don't offer nearly enough information and support to effectively troubleshoot problems and leave the bulk of the research and troubleshooting to the product owner. Rather than provide real interactive support that is aimed at problem resolution, most companies offer a few FAQs or a "fill out this form and we'll get back to you never" page to get help.
FixYa wants to change the user experience by removing the manufacturer and replacing it with people who own the products and have had experience working on the products, and a live community of users who can provide solutions and rate them based on how effective or useful those solutions are.
If you're having a problem that you need help with, you can search for your specific appliance or device straight from the front page or scroll through the list of newly added problems to see if any of them match the issue that you're having. If you don't see the problem you're having, you can post it to the product page. If you want answers right away, you can use FixYa's live chat function to chat immediately with one of the FixYa members who have signed up as experts. If no one's online when you look, you can pick an expert from the list and send them a message with your question, and arrange a time to chat or get help directly from them. Additionally, if you search for an item first and find a matching product but no matching questions, you can click on the live chat option to see a list of available experts in the category you're looking at. This way, if you're searching for your model of dishwasher but don't see the problem you're having, you can click to chat with an expert and only see the home appliance or dishwasher experts. If you click to chat from the front page, you see all of the experts who are currently online.
If you're not having a specific problem or don't want to chat about it, you can also find product manuals and user-submitted tips and tricks on each product page. Scroll down the product page, and you'll also see some general information about the product, as well as the default manufacturer support phone number you can call for additional support. The service also allows you to archive your products' warranty information in your FixYa account, so you can easily call up service agreement numbers in a pinch. It also hosts a database of repair services and companies to help you find hands-on help for your appliance or device.
While FixYa thrives on the size of its user community and the people posting problems and product information to the site, the site would be nothing without the registered experts and users who have signed up to help other people with their problems. FixYa experts can keep track of new problems posted to the site by reading the newly posted problems on the front page or subscribing to the RSS feed. When you sign up as a FixYa expert, you can add categories of products that you're an expert in, and as you provide people solutions or help with their problems, you'll be rated on your professionalism and politeness as well as your technical experience. As you post solutions and fixes to problems that other FixYa members have, you become eligible to earn money from your expertise. Once you have enough solutions posted, you earn up to $5 per "solved" problem, and up to $15 per "solved" chat session. Top experts also have their names posted on the front page and their solutions featured in a slideshow, also on the front page.
FixYa is a great resource for do-it-yourself tech support for a wide variety of consumer electronics. I can get help syncing my PDA with one click, and find out how to fix a leaking dishwasher with another; and the massive user community and product database makes it even easier to find answers without having to dig through the depths of a manufacturer's knowledge base for model numbers and serial numbers. Add to this the fact that knowledgeable people are rewarded for sharing their time and experience with the rest of the community, and you have the makings of a successful service that can actually help people in the face of dwindling customer service budgets at many large companies. The next time you're having a problem with literally any device in your home, try taking a look at FixYa to see if you can get help there before diving into a phone menu jungle by calling the manufacturer.
Post by Alan Henry


text:
You've heard it many times: starting young is the key to saving for a comfortable retirement. But is it really possible to lock up long-term financial security your first five years out of school? That's the audacious suggestion in A Road Map to Financial Security for Young Adults, a report from mutual-fund company T. Rowe Price.
"Young investors can accomplish a lot in just three to five years," Stuart Ritter, senior financial planner, says in the report. "Financial security is not necessarily a 20-year endeavor."
(MORE: Student Debt Is Stifling the Housing Recovery)
The mistake young people make is that they see financial security as a long process, which leads to procrastination, Ritter says. But small steps early in adulthood can lead to big results over time. T. Rowe Price lists four primary financial priorities for those starting out:
• Save 15% of salary for retirement
• Get the right health insurance and renter's or homeowner's insurance
• Pay off high-interest debt like credit cards
• Build an emergency fund to cover three to six months of living expenses
The report looks at typical finances of a college graduate earning $35,000 a year and shows how this graduate can save for retirement, maintain insurance, build an emergency fund over three years and pay off student debt of $25,000 while amassing $87,000 of savings over 10 years. According to the report:
"The biggest obstacle for those starting out is not financial, but psychological: they have to make a significant mental shift to right-size their expectations and perhaps their level of patience … Many try to replicate, in just a few years, the lifestyle it took their parents a lifetime to achieve. They may be used to having a high-speed Internet connection, cable TV, smart phones, annual vacations, one car per driver and so on."
(MORE: Why Change Won't Sell)
There is some evidence that young adults get it. A recent TD Ameritrade survey found that both Generations X and Y, on average, began saving for retirement nearly 10 years earlier than boomers, who started saving at age 35. That time advantage is huge. To reach a goal of, say, $1 million, you'd need to save about $4,700 a year over 40 years. But over just 30 years, you'd need to save twice as much each year. Find your own cost of delayed saving with this calculator.
Retirement saving and insurance are lifelong costs, T. Rowe Price acknowledges. But paying off debt and setting up an emergency fund can be dealt with fairly quickly. Then you'll have greater ability to focus on long-term goals. Meanwhile, by starting to save early, you won't have to save so much later on. That's the basic argument for locking up long-term financial security your first five years out of school. You won't actually have achieved it. But you will be on a steady, sustainable path.


text:
State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, may go slow on recruitments during the next 2-3 years, a top bank official said here today.
According to A Krishna Kumar, Managing Director, the bank will try to maintain the employee strength at current levels even as it keeps expansion programmes in mind.
"We will see the extent of people who are retiring from the bank from all levels. So to that (extent) we may look at replenishing that stock. We will not try to increase. Right now, we have 2.23 lakh people working with us," Kumar said.
By March 2014, the employee strength may fall to 2.2 lakh, he said.
"So we will try to keep the figure constant between 2.2 and 2.23 lakh over the next few years. By reducing the staff all of a sudden, the other activity does not function effectively. But at the same time I should not increase my staff so much that my productivity and my expense becomes an issue," Kumar told reporters at a press conference.
As per SBI, the head count reduced by nearly 5,000 between March and December 2013. For the first nine months of the current financial year, SBI incurred Rs 17,225 crore towards staff expenses, up 35 per cent over the same period last year.
An RBI report last year said SBI ranks below the national average when it comes to business and profit per employee. As per data on the Indian banking sector, SBI's business per employee in 2012-13 was Rs 9.43 crore, compared with the aggregate for all banks at Rs 12.13 crore.
"There is reasonably good offtake in retail lending and housing loans. Probably even by March 2014, we don't see much offtake in corporate. But we will see fairly good offtake in retail and agriculture," he said.
On ATM operations, he said it is awaiting the RBI's decision on charging customers for using ATMs of other banks.
He said ATM operations break even only after there are 100-125 transactions a day and SBI-owned ATMs record 225-250 hits on an average per day across the country.


text:
New to yoga? Notable yoga experts offer these five tips.
"Along with your yoga mat and your towel, bring a sense of humor to class. Students who get hung up on doing everything 'perfectly' are less likely to come back." -- Seane Corn, creator of the "Vinyasa Flow Yoga" DVD series and national yoga ambassador for YouthAIDS
"Watch out for what I call 'self mutilation' -- spending your time talking to yourself about what you can't do. This will make your practice dismal. The more you stay connected to feeling the pose -- to breathing into the pose -- the better your experience will be." -- Ana Forrest, founder of Forrest Yoga
"To jump-start your practice, go on a yoga retreat. By temporarily shelving all the distractions in your normal life, you'll learn enough in just two or three days to make a big difference in your weekly yoga class experience." --Richard Faulds, former president of Kripalu
Whether you're looking to lose weight, tone up, or just feel healthier, we've got the tips and tricks you'll need.Get the Ideas
Our healthiest snacks for when you're on the go, at home, or at work.Get the Recipes


text:
Greinke opens Dodgers career with a gem
LOS ANGELES -- Pity the Pittsburgh Pirates, among others.
On Friday night, Zack Greinke made his Dodgers debut with a two-hitter for 6 1/3 innings that became a 3-0 win over the Pirates. And on Saturday night, he'll be followed by Clayton Kershaw.
"Facing those guys, it's like a one-two punch," said Matt Kemp, who finally landed a blow himself with an RBI double in the sixth inning, his first hit of the season, which was followed by a double from Adrian Gonzalez, his first RBI of the season.
Andre Ethier gave the Dodgers all the runs they needed with a two-out solo homer in the second inning off left-hander Jonathan Sanchez, making his Pittsburgh debut. Ethier is now 3-for-8 with a homer and two doubles off lefties.
But it was Greinke in the spotlight, striking out six without a walk and retiring 14 straight at one point. He was signed to a six-year, $147 million contract to team with Kershaw and give the Dodgers the type of tandem aces the Giants have used to win two of the last three World Series.
"We feel good about everybody we send out there," said catcher A.J. Ellis. "But it's nice to have two horses to set the tone. We've got 1 and 1A."
Those who recall the franchise's successes when Sandy Koufax teamed with Don Drysdale, or Fernando Valenzuela with Orel Hershiser, can appreciate the possibilities. Ellis isn't surprised that Kershaw, who threw a shutout on Opening Day, or Greinke, seemed to step it up from their Spring Training outings.
"This is just me speculating," Ellis said, "but I think Greinke -- and the same with Kersh -- you give those guys a game plan and a scouting report on how to attack hitters and sequence pitches and get guys out, that's when their stuff really shines through, instead of when they're just getting their work in.
"With Zack, his greatest strength is the ability to command his fastball and not leave anything in the middle of the plate. He really works the edges."
As advertised, Greinke used an assortment of pitches, with a fastball that touched 95 mph but hovered around 91, and he didn't make Ellis reach for many.
"Kind of what we expected," said manager Don Mattingly, who praised Greinke's command of both sides of the plate and "serious touch" on his offspeed pitches.
"My fastball was good, that was most important," said Greinke, who made 92 pitches. "Any time you can locate that, it makes all the other pitches better."
With elbow tenderness of the Spring apparently a thing of the past, Greinke said this start was better than any of his Cactus League outings. The only hiccup appeared to be a change of spikes, which he would not discuss.
Greinke left to a standing ovation after Andrew McCutchen's one-out hit past Greinke in the seventh.
"He's pounding the zone, getting ahead, using his offspeed pitches," McCutchen said. "We were aggressive, were making contact, hitting the ball hard. But he stuck with it, and threw a pretty good game. It's about making adjustments -- and I did. You have to adjust throughout the game, or he'll just continue to do the same thing."
On came Paco Rodriguez. McCutchen was thrown out trying to steal second, then Rodriguez struck out Pedro Alvarez.
Kenley Jansen recovered from a leadoff walk for a scoreless eighth and closer Brandon League pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the year.
Ethier said his Spring Training work with new hitting coaches Mark McGwire and John Valentin on how to hit lefties paid off on a pitch just above his waist.
"Obviously I'm doing something different, even though I don't know exactly what it is," he said laughing. "It's a combination of being relaxed and aggressive, looking for something I can hit in a certain zone. And when I get it, so far I'm not making a mistake and missing the pitch.
"I worked hard all spring. I came in and made a point of addressing it, I didn't shy away from it and this is the result."
Kemp's hit was more a relief to those watching than to him.
"Felt good to get a win, and it felt good to get a hit," he said. "I wasn't worried about me getting hits. I was just frustrated because not getting hits I'm not helping the team win. This is a new series, new outcome, we got a win."


text:
Food's New Foot Soldiers
Curt Ellis spoke at the 2011 Awareness Into Action Symposium about his new organization, FoodCorps. Now, his exciting work is featured in the NY Times. If you want to join up, let us know and we will connect you to Curt.
FoodCorps, which started last week, is symbolic of just what we need: a national service program that aims to improve nutrition education for children, develop school gardening projects and change what's being served on school lunch trays.
I've been looking forward to this for months, because it's such an up: 50 new foot soldiers in the war against ignorance in food. The service members, most of them in their 20s, just went to work at 41 sites in 10 states, from Maine to Oregon and Michigan to Mississippi. (FoodCorps concentrates on communities with high rates of childhood obesity or limited access to healthy food, though these days every state has communities like that.)
I'd be even more elated if there were 50 FoodCorps members in each state. Or 5,000 in each, which approaches the number we're going to need to educate our kids so they can look forward to a lifetime of good health and good eating. But FoodCorps is a model we can use to build upon.