text:
Andrew Loog Oldham
It's not an overstatement to say that Andrew Loog Oldham held the future of rock in his hands.
He did PR for the Beatles, managed the Rolling Stones and produced such hits as "Paint It Black," "Get Off My Cloud" and "I Can't Get No Satisfaction"—need we say more?
In 1965, Tom Wolfe famously dubbed Phil Spector America's first "Tycoon of Teen".
Great Britain in the 1960s had its own version with Andrew Loog Oldham. Similarly eccentric, Oldham sported a one-of-a-kind mix of flamboyance, fashion, attitude, chutzpah, vision and business smarts. As co-manager of the Rolling Stones from May 1963 to September 1970, and founder and co-owner of Immediate Records from 1965 to 1970, he helped shaped the future of rock, and turned the music industry in the United Kingdom on its head. Along the way, between the ages of 19 and 23, he produced some of the greatest records in rock and roll history, leading Billboard to describe him as one of the top producers in the world, and Cashbox to declare him a musical giant.
He was born in London on January 29, 1944, during the Germans' nightly bombardment of England. His father, whom he never met, was Texas airman Andrew Loog. He was killed in June 1943 when his B-17 bomber was shot down over France. Raised by his mother Celia Oldham, the precocious teenager began working for Mary Quant during the day, at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in the evening and at the fabled Flamingo club after midnight. He also found time to form a (short-lived) public relations firm with Pete Meaden, the future manager of the Who. While still in his teens, Oldham was featured in the fashion pages of both The London Evening Standard and The Daily Mail.
In the fall of 1962, after stints as a PR flack for Peter Hope Lumley and the Leslie Frewin Organization, Oldham struck out on his own. Over the next year, he repped a host of British acts; visiting American artists, such as Chris Montez, Phil Spector and Bob Dylan, and a British tour featuring Little Richard and Sam Cooke. In January 1963, at age 19, he started doing PR for the Beatles, and within a few weeks had scored the coup of getting the Fab Four into Vogue. Every lesson Oldham learned along the way, he took to heart: Chris Montez' manager, Jim Lee, hipped him to the value of controlling publishing and production. Phil Spector similarly schooled him in the efficiency of controlling the recording process by paying for recording sessions upfront, and then leasing or selling the tapes to the record company. The tips would come in handy when it came time to manage the Rolling Stones.
Record Mirror's Pete Jones first told Oldham about an extraordinary six-piece group called the Rollin' Stones, who were causing weekly pandemonium at the Crawdaddy Club in the Richmond Station Hotel. On Saturday, April 21,1963 Oldham took the forty-five minute tube ride to see what all the fuss was about. "I'd never seen anything like it," he would later write. "All my preparations, ambitions and desires had just met their purpose…Everything I'd done up until now was preparation for this moment. I saw and heard what my life, thus far, had been for."
In need of a booking agent and financing for recording, Oldham took on Eric Easton as a partner, and a week later approached the Stones about managing them. Shortly thereafter he persuaded the group to add a "g" to the end of "Rollin'" and to drop its piano player, Ian Stewart, from full membership: he didn't fit Oldham's youthful image of the group. The dirty deed accomplished, Oldham approached Decca's Dick Rowe—still smarting from having turned down the Beatles—and landed the Stones a recording contract at a higher royalty rate than the four Liverpudlians had received from EMI.
In June 1963, with Oldham handling production, the Stones' first U.K. single, a cover of Chuck Berry's rather obscure "Come On," stumbled its way to Number Twenty-One. The group's next single, the Lennon-McCartney-penned "I Wanna Be Your Man" (secured via Oldham's relationship with the two Beatles) reached the Number Twelve spot in the U.K. In early 1964 Oldham suggested the group cover Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away." The result: a Number Three hit. On the Stones' first U.S. tour in the spring of 1964, New York DJ Murray the K had turned Oldham on to the Valentinos' "It's All Over Now." Upon Oldham's suggestion, the Stones covered it during sessions at Chess Records in Chicago, and topped the British charts that summer. For the group's first U.K. album, much to Decca's chagrin, Oldham insisted that neither the Stones' name nor an album title appear on the cover. During a standoff between the two parties, advanced orders doubled—and Decca caved. Oldham also penned the liner notes for the back cover, famously concluding with the line, "The Rolling Stones are more than just a group—they are a way of life."
While Oldham had become astute at picking cover material for the Stones, he also realized that for the group to achieve longevity they needed to write original material. To that end, he did everything in his power to encourage Mick and Keith to start composing songs. Although the Glimmer Twins' earliest efforts were largely forgettable, within a year they were penning classics such as "The Last Time," "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "Get Off My Cloud." In 1965 all three songs topped the British charts, and the Rolling Stones became a household name in much of the world.
As Mick and Keith honed their songwriting chops, Oldham learned the art of production. He recorded British artists such as the Nashville Teens, as well as American Gene Pitney. The latter's 1964 recording of an Oldham-produced, Jagger-Richards original, "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday," was a Top 10 single in the United Kingdom. That summer, Oldham also produced the first of four Andrew Oldham Orchestra albums, featuring the talents of session musicians Jimmy Page, Big Jim Sullivan and John Baldwin (whom Oldham renamed John Paul Jones), as well as Marianne Faithfull's cover of the Jagger-Richards-Oldham-penned "As Tears Go By" (which hit Number Nine).
Astutely, Oldham cultivated an image of the Stones as music's bad boys, feeding Melody Maker a line that would morph into the famous headline: "Would You Let Your Daughter Marry A Rolling Stone?"
"I was promoting the idea that the Rolling Stones were 'the group parents loved to hate,'" recalled Oldham, "based on my belief that pop idols fall into one of two categories—ones you wished to share with your parents and ones you did not. The Beatles were accepted and acceptable; they were the benchmark and had set the level of competition. The Stones came to be portrayed as dangerous, dirty and degenerate, and I encouraged my charges to be as nasty as they could wish to be."
With "Satisfaction" dominating the airwaves in the summer of 1965, Oldham, now 21, expanded his empire by founding Britain's first real independent label, Immediate Records, with Tony Calder. The label's slogan, "A new record company of tomorrow today," was changed in 1967 to "Happy to be a part of the industry of human happiness." With Jagger, Richards, Oldham and Jimmy Page handling much of the production, Immediate scored hits in the U.K. by Chris Farlowe, P.J. Proby and the U.S. group the McCoys. Further hits followed, with the Small Faces, the Nice and Humble Pie. During its turbulent five years, the label also released seminal recordings by Goldie (Genya Ravan), Nico, Rod Stewart, John Mayall with Eric Clapton and Fleetwood Mac.
While piloting the good ship Immediate and producing Stones hits such as "19th Nervous Breakdown," "Paint It Black," "Mother's Little Helper," "Lady Jane" and "Ruby Tuesday," the ever idiosyncratic Oldham messed with people's minds by taking out ads for records he had nothing to do with. These were records he simply liked, including the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and the Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreaming." Oldham's guerrilla ads for Immediate Records verged on the surreal. For the Small Faces' single "Itchycoo Park," he took out a front-page ad in New Musical Express featuring four children holding an upside down Itchycoo Park sign with no mention of the group—or the record—in sight. For the Small Faces' "Lazy Sunday" release, an NME ad contained nothing more than an image of a violent confrontation between students and police taken during the recent Left Bank Riots in Paris. Perhaps the best was Fleetwood Mac's "Man of the World" ad in 1969, portraying a British policeman smoking dope, Warhol's famous flower painting and four yellow Labrador Retrievers.
Oldham's empire collapsed nearly as quickly as it developed. In early 1967, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones were all busted on drug charges. Afraid of being arrested himself, Oldham decamped to California, where he helped Lou Adler and John Phillips with Monterey Pop, suggesting they book Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix and the Who. Meanwhile, the Stones felt abandoned by Oldham, while Allen Klein found them lawyers and stood by their side in court. By September 1967 Oldham was no longer managing the group. Immediate Records continued for another couple of years, but the company was unable to transfer the label's U.K. success to North America and was bankrupt by 1970.
Dogged by bouts of depression throughout his life, Oldham spent much of the Seventies, Eighties and early Nineties engaging in various types of substance abuse, surviving on production and songwriting royalties. He did manage to produce albums: one by Donovan in 1973, Jimmy Cliff in 1975 and the Argentinian artists Los Ratones Paranoicos and Charly Garcia in the Nineties. He married Esther Farfan, a Colombian model, in 1977 and moved to Bogotá in the late Eighties. By 1995 he had finally gotten sober.
Oldham is still called on for occasional production work. Most recently, he has found success as a writer, penning Abba: The Name of the Game (1996), Stoned (2000), 2Stoned (2002), Rolling Stoned (2011) and Stone Free (2013). He has also become a much beloved DJ on Steve Van Zandt's Underground Garage channel on SiriusXM radio. In 1998 the Verve released "Bitter Sweet Symphony," featuring a swirling ethereal string sample taken from the Andrew Oldham Orchestra's version of "The Last Time," originally released in 1965. The Verve's hit (and the lawsuit awarding songwriting credits to Jagger and Richards) inspired Oldham to reissue 1966's The Rolling Stones Songbook on CD in 2008, and he began recording under his own name for the first time in some thirty years: The Andrew Oldham Orchestra and Friends Play the Rolling Stones Songbook, Vol. 2 was released in 2013. Consisting of covers of Stones songs such as "Play With Fire," as well as "Bitter Sweet Symphony," the "friends" on the album included the Smiths' Johnny Marr, Elliot Easton and Captain Beefheart and Jeff Buckley guitarist Gary Lucas. In 2012 Oldham helped oversee the long overdue release of the Stones documentary Charlie Is My Darling, which he had produced.
It couldn't be more fitting that Andrew Loog Oldham is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year as Brian Epstein. The first two managers ever to be so honored, in shepherding the early careers of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, they played a seminal role in the creation of the modern world of rock and roll.
Inductee: Andrew Loog Oldham (born January 29, 1944)


text:
Due to technical difficulties beyond Y C Wee's control, the 85th edition of I and the Bird will not be hosted at Bird Ecology Study Group as planned. Still, as they say in show business, the show must go on! The IATB Players have put together a sensational performance as always. Sure, we may have to move our scheduled production from a swank Singaporean theater to the less opulent auditorium over at Divine Dove Nondenominational Church but once the performance begins, you won't even notice the smell!
Presenting Love and Birding, a Blog Carnival in Three Acts…
ACT 1: A crisp morning, October 2008. A man (MERLIN) binoculars sidles up to a woman (ROBIN) looking through a scope.
MERLIN: As the days grow shorter and the air acquires an element of dry crispness, there is little doubt that the equinox has indeed passed us by and that autumn is here.
ROBIN: So true. Is that original?
M: No,John E. Riutta said it. He waxes eloquent about the birds of the season too.
R: Have you read David Ringer's musings on the season as well?
M: Of course! By the way, haven't I seen you somewhere before?
R: Maybe at the Artificial Burrowing Owl Burrows in Chandler, Arizona?
M: Not there. How about at Cape May, when John Beetham saw his first Connecticut Warbler?
R: I don't believe so.
M: I know… in September when the Black-throated Gray Warbler showed up in Central Park.
R: Oh, don't get me started on that gray day. I was with my friend Carrie on the other side of the parkadmiring Blue Jays.
M: Well, I'm sure it was somewhere. By the way, my name is Merlin.
R: I'm Robin.
M: Really? What kind of Robin?
R: I don't follow your meaning.
M: You know, like Rick Wright writes… when is a Robin not a Robin? Polysemy.
R: A word or phrase with multiple, related meanings?
M: Precisely. Now may I be so bold as to ask for a gander through your scope?
R: Certainly. It's not every day a Rock Eagle Owl pops up in this area. I've seen them in India with Ashwini but never here.
M: India with Ashwini – that must be where we met!
ACT 2: One week later. MERLIN and ROBIN are scanning trees for fall migrants.
MERLIN: That episode of Lesser Adjutant CSI last night was fascinating, wasn't it? Who knew that storks in Sri Lanka were so creepy?
ROBIN: I really dug that battle royale between the White-winged Choughs and the goanna.
MERLIN: He was a "goanna" for sure! Seriously, those Australian monitor lizards are pretty cool. Still, I'd be content to watch a backyard feeder on TV as long as you're there.
ROBIN: Don't knock backyard birders. Eric Ripma at Nutty Birder has some sweet species at his feeders.
MERLIN: I didn't mean anything by it. Oh wait, there's a little gray bird up there…
R: Gray like a catbird?
M: No
R: Gray like a titmouse?
M: No
R: Gray like a butcherbird?!?
M: Maybe.. forget it, it's only a chickadee.
ROBIN: Only a chickadee?!? What do you mean only a chickadee?
M: Come on. I know what Amber Coakley says about the importance of all living things in the web of life but really, we're looking for special birds here.
R: Chickadees are very special to me. A Carolina Chickadee was the very first bird I ever skinned.
M: That's sick.
R: No, that's science. I was In The Bird Lab with N8.
M: In the lab with N8? Now I'm starting to find out who you really are.
R: Who I am? How about those golf clubs in the trunk of your car?
M: What's wrong with golf?
R: When guys like Rob Lowe and Tripp Isenhour are knocking birds out of trees on the golf course, don't you think it's time to turn in your clubs?
M: Speaking of turns, I don't care for the turn this conversation has taken.
R: Neither do I. I'm out of here! (exits stage left)
MERLIN stands forlorn, like a Peregrine that has just missed a Redshank.
ACT 3: Months later. MERLIN encounters ROBIN where they last parted.
ROBIN: Merlin, what a surprise.
MERLIN: No, Robin, a surprise is stumbling on a Piping Plover in the Great Lakes when there are probably less than 100 in that region a year.
R: Oh, you read Birdfreak too? I just downloaded their Guide to Taking Kids Birding.
M: Please don't try to change the subject. I've been searching for you for months. From the hawkwatch platform to the shore to the sewage ponds, I've combed all your favorite places. Where have you been?
R: I think I've been suffering from ABIM.
M: Come again?
R: Acute Birding Induced Malaise. A highly respected Senior Scientist at Audubon discovered it. It's when birds burrow so deeply into your soul, that you have a hard time functioning without them, yet they seem to be eating away at the rest of your life.
M: Are you sure it was only birds burrowing into your soul?
R: What do you mean?
M: Maybe you were frightened away by your feelings for me, the same powerful feelings I have for you.
R: Are you talking about love? In my experience, love lasts about as long as a frigatebird in the Finger Lakes. I gave that up years ago.
M: That N8 guy might have hurt you, baby, but don't give up on us. New research suggests the ostriches, emus, rheas and other flightless birds known as ratites have lost the ability to fly many times, rather than just once, as long thought. Could the ability to love be the same way?
R: Oh Merlin, it's true. I do love you. I love you like finches love nyjer seed.
M: I love you too! Let's make like Malaysian Zebra Doves and get out of here.
I hope you enjoyed this performance. As ever, the IATB Players enjoyed bringing it to you! And if you'd like a role in our next production, our next director is none other than N8 of The Drinking Bird, who isn't really a scoundrel but just plays one in the blogosphere. Send a link and summary of your best recent post on birding or wild birds to me or N8 (naswick AT gmail DOT com) by Tuesday, October 14 for the 10/16 show.
Jolly good show old bean!
All the world's a stage
And all the birds merely players
They have their exits and their entrances
And each bird in it time plays many parts.
(With apologies to The Bard)
Great show – as usual.
I've got Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard reading the script in my head. Not sure what I can take for that.
There is a sickness
Which puts some of us in distemper, but
I cannot name the disease; and it is caught
Of you that yet are well.
Great job!
Thanks Mike. You save the day. I cannot do any better.
Great work pulling that all together so quickly!
And it should be a shoe-in for the Tony for best bird-related work.
Lovely presentation as always, Mike!
Hi Mike. Your posting brought BESG back to life. I have just learnt that the site has been restored. Not sure what happened though.
*clapping loudly* Bravo! Bravo!
Way to pull it together in an emergency IATB session!
Awesome job with the pros Mike. You know how we all like a good story, especially a love story. Well done!
Great director of the Love Story,
and I love to see that the ending with my Zebra Dove.
© 2013 10,000 Birds. All words, images, and opinions are the property of their respective authors unless stated otherwise.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
When you hear General Motors, you probably think of Chevrolets, Cadillacs and GMCs. Or bailouts and the death of Pontiac in case you're not a fan of the company.
When I think of GM, it's all about funky Opels (as I'm always on the edge of buying a C Kadett), or how they ruined Saab for good. But for an Australian, GM is Holden, just like it meant Daewoo in Korea before they switched to Chevy there.
And since these foreign operations produce cars for very different markets, GM sometimes ends up making nicer cars through its subsidiaries than at home. Most of which never made it to the States.
But which one do you miss the most?


text:
Today, I'm excited to welcome author, Nina Amir to Musings. Nina is a fabulous lady and she comes with great advice for new and aspiring authors. This life is most definitely NOT a sprint. So, here you are, *big warm welcome* Nina brings you 4 tips for success in this crazy industry! Take it away!
4 Reasons You Need Tenacity to Succeed as an Author
There's so much more to writing a book than craft and ideas. Think about it. Eighty-one percent of the U.S. population says they want to write a book, but only two percent ever become authors. Statistics like that make you realize that it's not so easy to sit down and knock out a manuscript let alone publish a book. Those who actually achieve this goal have a special quality, and it has nothing to do creativity or writing skill. They possess tenacity.
Why Authors Need Tenacity
Most dictionaries describe a tenacious person as one who isn't easily stopped, who is stubborn or persistent, and who holds or grasps firmly to things. This is an important quality to have if you want to write a book. Here are four reasons why this is true:
- You must write even when you don't think you have time. Lack of time is the most-often cited excuse for not writing. You can always find time for the things you want to do. If you are a tenacious writer, you will find a way to write…no matter what. You might stay up later or get up earlier. You might hire a baby sitter, record your favorite TV shows and only watch them on the weekend (or stopping watching TV altogether), write on your lunch break, or devote two weekends a month to writing. You don't let go of your dream because of a busy schedule. You fit writing into your life because it is a priority.
- You must write even when you don't want to or feel you can't. If you only write when you feel like it, when inspiration hits or when you feel you can, you won't ever get that manuscript done. But if you are a tenacious writer. You write on a regular schedule and make yourself write. (Yes, you can do that…) No matter what, you get your writing done—sometimes even when you are sick! I've known writers to sit in hospital beds with their computers, and I was at mine just a day after my daughter was born.
- You must do things you don't want to do. You may not want to give up lunch with the girls or your favorite TV show, but if you really want to write that book, you'll do it—if you have tenacity. You'll also sit your butt in the chair after a long day of work or at 4:30 in the morning and you'll keep it there until you finish an hour of writing or 5 pages. That's what tenacious writers do, and that's how they finish their manuscripts.
- You must overcome obstacles. The road to becoming an author has many obstacles, and you must overcome all of them. Only someone tenacious can consistently tackle rejection, criticism (constructive or not), the need to take on jobs you don't like (such as promotion and project management), rewrites, self-doubt, and fear. Every day you must tell yourself, "I can do this! I will do this!" And, again, you must find a way.
Writing is Tough But Worthwhile
If becoming an author sounds like a tough road to hoe, it is. But when your tenacity helps you produce a completed manuscript, and then a published book, you'll reap the reward. The moment when you hold that book in your hands, or when a reader writes to say your book changed his or her life, you'll feel glad you placed yourself in that two percent and finished your book.
The Author Training Manual by Nina Amir
Anyone can publish a book and become an "author," but if you want to become a successful author with a profitable publishing career, you need a clear, step-by-step guide to help you develop book ideas that sell. In The Author Training Manual, expert editor and book coach Nina Amir reveals the exact process successful authors have used to create business plans and proposals for their books and teaches you how to view your ideas through the eyes of acquisitions editors and literary agents.
Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, plan to traditionally publish or self-publish, The Author Training Manual provides you with the tools you need to achieve your goals and become the author publishers want. Inside you'll find concrete steps, evaluations, sample business plans, in-depth training activities, editor and agent commentaries, and much more–all designed to help you stand out, from the slush pile to the shelf.
About the Author:
Nina Amir, author of How to Blog a Book: Write, Publish, and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time and The Author Training Manual: Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively, transforms writers into inspired, successful authors, authorpreneurs and blogpreneurs. Known as the Inspiration to Creation Coach, she moves her clients from ideas to finished books as well as to careers as authors by helping them combine their passion and purpose so they create products that positively and meaningfully impact the world. A sought-after author, book, blog-to-book, and results coach, some of Nina's clients have sold 300,000+ copies of their books, landed deals with major publishing houses and created thriving businesses around their books. She writes four blogs, self-published 12 books and founded National Nonfiction Writing Month, aka the Write Nonfiction in November Challenge.
Just Thought You Should Know:
The Author Training Manual will also be having a WOW Social Media Tour this summer. On June 30, we'll be having a review and giveaway of The Author Training Manual on the Muffin. So don't forget to tell your readers they'll have another chance to win a copy on June 30.
Author's Websites:
Nina Amir's website:
Nina Amir's blogs:
Nina Amir's Facebook:
Twitter: @NinaAmir


text:
Kappy necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 146 diseños de 47 diseñadores freelance.
We are a video search service driven by social network/crowd.
Our service helps people locate (traditionally) tough-to-find video clips/results when searching large collections.
We use information from large groups of people (social networks) to drive accurate results.
Video Scout
We need a logo for corporate image, website, business cards, etc.
Please take a look at this URL:http://www.kennylin.com/fink/blog/clock3d/clock3d_screen.jpgThe concept of the numbers exploding into pixels is a reverse image of what we are thinking...What if the left side of the logo had disparate pixels that organized themselves into our name/logo as you move to the right?Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
- Strong, declarative, contemporary design
- Not necessary to play off name of company (VideoScout), but IS desirable to play off concept of company service (video search).
- Company name should be in logo. Straightforward, contemporary and smart wins the day here.
- Interesting concept to give you some idea of what we're thinking: pixels concentrating/converging into an image (which is analogous to the many possible items in a video search concentrating into a result). For instance, pixels converging into a logo.
- Must be flexible for multiple media (e.g., business cards, website, letterhead, etc.)
- Vector format, please.
- Nothing cute or frilly - not our style.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
Alexis Agnello has lived through a whirlwind. The 32-year-old commercial banker and her husband, a 33-year-old landscaper, bought a house in North Buffalo, sold their old house – and had a baby – all in three weeks.
The couple lived in half of a two-family home but were tired of being landlords. Two days after an open house, they had three offers. The house they bought – after just five days on the market – had six offers. They won the bidding war by offering nearly $28,000 more than the listing price.
Welcome to real estate these days in Buffalo, long considered a sleepy market immune to the booms and busts that roil the rest of the country. Thanks to a big drop in the number of homes for sale, coupled with a rush to get low interest rates before they are gone, Buffalo and Western New York are living a seller's market not seen in years.
The result is a buying frenzy – and price increases that are distinctly un-Buffalo. Realtors talk about listings that drew half a dozen offers. The median sales price has risen each of the past 12 months and is up 6 percent just since January. Hunt Real Estate Corp. agent Robert Blake had a client offer $340,000 on a $315,000 home in the city – and still not get the house. Matthew Hamed and his fiancee, both pharmacists, found only about six homes in their price range in the city and not that many more in their preferred suburbs. Some bidders are paying all cash upfront, then refinancing with a mortgage after the deal closes. Others are forgoing inspections and other contingencies – or turning a blind eye to problems – just to get ahead.
"I personally have had some buyers who have really been through the wringer," said Robyn Cannata, a real estate broker at Hunt in Williamsville. "I am representing some buyers who have put in four offers, on four separate houses, and had to deal with multiple offers each time."
Said Susan Lenahan, head of the city office for M.J. Peterson Corp.: "It's crazy. I've been in business for over 30 years. I've never seen a market like this."
Tough competition
Rabbi Adam Scheldt, the new assistant rabbi at Temple Beth Zion in downtown Buffalo, experienced the listing shortage this spring when he came from Brooklyn for a weekend of house-hunting before starting his job. The 34-year-old Illinois native, who focused his search on North Buffalo, Kenmore and Tonawanda, lost the first house before getting his second.
Otherwise, he said only one other home fit his price, location and needs. "There wasn't a lot available," he said. "I've been very blessed in the whole process and search, but there was not a lot in my price range that was really worth buying."
Kristin St. Mary and fiance David Barber liked a three-story, white-and-gray home for sale on Bird Avenue, west of Richmond Avenue. The kitchen had been upgraded. The bathrooms were updated. The owners had added a mudroom. The house was well-maintained.
The $169,900 asking price was less than others the newly engaged couple had looked at. "We've seen other houses that needed more work," said St. Mary, 36, a local attorney and Syracuse native. "This house was great. It's move-in ready."
But although the house was listed only a day earlier, there was already one offer and another showing later in the evening. And the couple had lost out on another house after bidding $25,000 above asking price, only to be beat by a similar offer in cash. They eventually decided not to bid.
"People are snatching things up quickly," St. Mary said. "There's a lot of pressure."
Demand is up …
Unlike the "sand states" – California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida – Western New York never experienced the housing boom before the recession and didn't suffer the bust, either. The sales volume is consistent, and builders are cautious. Prices appreciate here, but not by extreme rates or to extravagant levels.
Nevertheless, the current activity reflects some changes from recent years.
For one thing, interest rates, while they remain at low levels historically, have ticked up and are widely expected to rise further as the economy recovers. That provides an incentive for buyers to act now.
"I'm very encouraged by this set of circumstances, but it can't last forever," said Peter Hunt, CEO of Hunt Real Estate. "So if you don't take advantage of it now, you may miss out."
And buyers feel more confident. Economic and jobs reports are better, stock prices are rising, and steady home price growth around the country means people "aren't worried they'll lose their shirt if prices go down," said Ken Fears, an economist with the National Association of Realtors.
"There were a lot of fence-sitters out there who were lacking the confidence to get back in the market, despite having low rates," Fears said. "With the spectre of rising rates on the horizon, the fear of missing out has taken hold. Those who are on the fence have realized they have a small window here."
... But supply is down
On the other side of the supply-and-demand equation, homebuyers have faced a smaller and declining inventory of good homes on the market, as sales increased but new homes weren't being added to the market fast enough to replenish it.
Nationally, the inventory in April was down 13.6 percent from a year earlier and the pace of sales means the current supply would run out in 5.2 months – well below the "neutral" pace of 6.5 months.
In Western New York, the pace of sales means the current supply of homes would run out in 5.8 months – down from 7.5 months a year ago. At its trough in December, the inventory locally was at its lowest point since March 2005.
"The market's hot, the listings are down," said Philip L. Aquila Jr., general manager of residential real estate for M.J. Peterson, and former president of the regional multiple listing service. "We're back to where we were pre-recession."
Return to normal
So what causes the low inventory? Aquila said it is a return to normal. During the recession, many people were forced to put homes on the market because they suffered financial trouble. Foreclosures soared, and banks eventually listed properties for sale, flooding some markets. And the struggling economy meant homes weren't moving.
Western New York was affected to a lesser degree but still experienced those factors. Now, though, there are fewer troubled homeowners under pressure to sell. Banks have worked through many problem loans and cleared out their inventories. And while there is still a risk of more foreclosed homes coming onto the market – the so-called "shadow inventory" – New York's slow legal process means it is unlikely to be a sudden flood here.
"I just think we're getting back to the normal buying and selling and listing houses before the recession," Aquila said.
There are other factors, too. Until recently, many homeowners chose to stay put and refinance their existing mortgages at lower rates. "Those people have taken themselves out of the market for a year or two," said RealtyUSA CEO Merle Whitehead.
"Sellers won't sell because they have to pay so much more to upsize or downsize," Lenahan said. "It's so hard to replace what they have."
New homes selling, too
For homebuilders, it has turned into a seller's market, too.
At Marrano/Marc Equity Corp., the region's No. 1 home builder, sales were already up 35 percent from a year ago before June – then the firm sold 31 homes in June. "I haven't been able to go back far enough to see the last time we did that," said John Manns, vice president of sales and marketing for the builder. "We're having a terrific year."
The builder constructs 40 "spec" homes every year, just to have a steady inventory of finished homes available when people come calling, so they don't have to go through the building process. This year, the firm has been "eating up that inventory," Manns said. And inquiries by realtors are up 40 percent,
"It's certainly a different picture today than it was a year or two ago," Manns said.
Essex Homes of Western New York had nine finished homes ready, "and they were all gone within two months," said President Philip J. Nanula. The past few years, buyers were cautious and wouldn't approve construction until their current home was sold. Now they move forward regardless, Nanula said.
"People are concerned that their house is going to sell quickly and they want to get started with construction," he said. "They're more confident now than they have been in the last three years."
The scarcity factor
Homes that are maintained or updated, if they are priced appropriately, get multiple offers and tend to sell quickly. Others just sit on the market for a while, although even some of those are getting second looks because the pickings are so slim. But those who qualify to buy them financially don't always have the money to spend on updating roofs, fixing mechanical systems or making other improvements.
That has created a scarcity factor for desirable homes – and the sellers know it. Indeed, instead of taking the first offer that comes to them, even if it is above the asking price, they sometimes counter and wait to see what else comes along.
Or, even if they have an offer in hand, they may still go ahead with an open house to drum up other interest. Some brokers even advise clients to offer high initial bids just to discourage such tactics by sellers.
"I really think we're seeing a really, really short supply of good homes, and when they are listed and listed at a good price, people are getting their price and sometimes more and multiple offers," said Annabelle Aquilina, a broker at Hunt, who has been in real estate for 28 years. "It's a great market."
email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Are you a diehard Marshmallow who's seen the Veronica Mars movie five times — but still needs a fix? If so, here's a little something that might help.
Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas has paired up with Jennifer Graham to write a mystery series that keeps the show's story alive. The duo also managed to snag Kristen Bell to narrate the audiobook version of the series's first volume, The Thousand Dollar Tan Line. Check out Bell channeling Veronica below:
The full audiobook — and the full book-book — are both available now.


text:
Suggest the page you were just viewing and our website
to a spouse,
co-parent, other family member, friend, neighbor, colleague
or co-worker!
If you know someone
considering or going through divorce or facing co-parenting
issues, let them know of our website and its resources,
and of our affordable and sensible family mediation process. Here's an easy
way to tell them about Divorce Resolutions®, Colorado
Center for Divorce Mediation™ and our award-winning
Simply complete this form, filling in the E-mail address of
the person(s) you wish to tell about us. Include your
name and
E‑mail address — so your friend does not mistake this message for
spam. Optionally, add a brief message to be included
in the E‑mail.
We'll forward the E-mail
with a link to the page you were viewing, and return you to our
NOTE: In compliance with our
absolute privacy policy, no information you provide on
this form is retained by us or shared with others for any
Type your message here.
Send E-mail in:
(with fancier formatting)
Plain text
Please click on the "SEND" button just once.
It takes only a few seconds
to send your E-mail(s).
More Clients'
Divorce Is Never Easy . . . That's Why
We're Here.™
home |
divorce mediation |
why choose us |
mediators |
how we work
for your family | tools & forms |
the latest! law & news |
contact us ||
Colorado DivorcePoint! law blog |
FamilyCraft mediation blog |
303-650-1750 | 8704 Yates Drive, Suite 220 | Westminster, Colorado 80031-3682
© 2003 - 2016 Divorce
Resolutions®, LLC | Site Map |
Divorce Resolutions® is a registered U.S. service mark.


text:
waizalf necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 598 diseños de 68 diseñadores freelance.
Ossens.com will offer collaboration software, web 2.0 & coaching/consulting services. The logo should visualize a process of focused collaboration and communication to leverage innovation, to build consensus, etc. Common phases of our solution processes:
- Before: Chaos, conflict, problem, crisis, opposed interests
- Creative but structured Process:
1. Brainstorming and voting on goals/requirements/win-conditions
2. Collection of and discussion over issues/hurdles/problems
3. Creation of and voting on solution alternatives
4. Reach an agreement
- After: Innovation, consensus, solution
Although the logo should symbolize these dynamic and creative processes, it should follow the KISS (Keep it strictly simple) principle to signal structure.
We are looking forward to your ideas and are trying to get back to you on each single entry! Please take into account our posts to the discussions below.
osensus - Tagline: focused collaboration
Osensus.com will provide thefollowing solutions:
- ThinkTank: Work together to create and evaluate ideas, co-innovate. Spot, shape andscale innovations.
- RequirementsMining: Work together to mine requirements for projects. Vote on importance andease of implementation. Identify and solve issues. Agree on scope.
- ProductSmithy: Co-Innovate on new products. Identify "Jobs-to-be-done" for yourclients. Identify features and issues. Develop creative alternatives and find innovativesolutions.
- CostBrake: Identify and vote on cost saving possibilities. Discuss on potential andfeasibility and agree on plans.
- RoundTable: Help conflict parties to get to know their positions. Exchange and understandeach other's in-depths interests and needs. Develop alternatives. Buildconsensus on solutions.
- VisionSmithy: Brainstorm on a bright future for your organization, team, partnership,etc. Identify and vote on objectives. Develop possible solutions. Negotiate andagree on common vision.
- StrategyWorkshop: Brainstorm and vote on objectives. Identify issues and hurdles to beconsidered. Develop alternatives and build consensus on strategy.
- RiskMitigation: Identify and vote on potential risks. Brainstorm on mitigationactions. For each solution Osensus.com will offer a processdescription, a web-based Virtual Coach video tutorial, innovative web 2.0 basedsoftware including workshop templates, as well as professional consulting andsupport services. The target groups are medium/large and/or highly innovativecompanies, projects and teams with focus on research and development and innovation.Please go to our software partner's website http://www.groupsystems.com and watch the 3-minute "ThinkTank Video Demo" to get a flash impressionof what kind of services and software we will offer.
We need the following Variants:
- Logowith tagline on transparent background: Height: 80-100 px. Width: 250-400 px.
- Logowith tagline on colored background
- Iconwithout Tagline: 128x128 px
- Pleaseprovide logo with background and icon after you got your first 4 star ratingonly.Our starratings will be as follows:
- 1 star: Not interested in a design of this nature
- 2 stars: Concept, font or layout was good but not alogo we would consider.
- 3 stars: Caught our eyes
- 4 stars: We like it
- 5 stars: Selected FinalistAfter thiscontest we will issue invitations for follow-up contests and tenders on developingour complete corporate identity: Individual logos for each single solution, webdesigns, Joomla Templates, flash demo and print design (business card, letter,etc.).
- Welike powerful but harmonic colors, waves, inspiration, energy, 3D / Web 2.0style
- Backgroundshould be suitable for web pages and PowerPoint presentations also
- Clearfonts (sans serif), Clear symbols
- KISS– Keep it strictly simple: As simple as possible, as complex as necessary
- The entiredesign must be original
- We need resizable and adaptable vector graphics (sources)– Adobe formats preferred
- Complexity,Confusion, anything too complicated
- Nocheesy/cartoonish graphics. No flowers. No recycled logos
- Bold,heavy fonts.
- Heavy checkered designs, rainbows, etc.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
- To turn upside down. Commonly used for boats and ships that capsize and turn through 180° so their hulls are above their superstructure, but it can refer to any vehicle in a similar position.
- (surfing) To roll upside-down with one's surfboard (usually a longboard) to allow a wave (usually an already broken wave) to pass over.


text:
Events Search and Views Navigation
Events for July 16, 2019
6:00 pm
At our Candelaria location; bring your vinyl, grab a beer, and chill out while we play it for the masses. Sharing is caring! Here's how it works: bring a record to the bartenders and they'll spin it for you and queue up the submissions. Peeps should make sure the vinyl is in good condition so [...]Find out more
7:00 pm
Every Tuesday is a chance to dust the cobwebs off all the useless knowledge you have accumulated through your years and actually put it to use. Sweet prizes every week and best of all - it's free! Here's some more info if you're really stressing it: https://www.geekswhodrink.com/about/shortversionFind out more


text:
Hiker Missing in Desert Could Still Be Alive: Police
(SAN DIEGO) -- A new air-and-ground search was launched Thursday for the 26-year-old hiker who disappeared in a Southern California desert on Sunday while camping with his family.
Guillermo Pino could have fallen into a mud cave or down a ravine in the "challenging" terrain of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. The park, which is the largest state park in California, covers some 600,000 acres and is filled with mud caves, steep dirt trails and ravines.
Pino was last seen Sunday, around noon, while camping in the park with his family, sheriff's department spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said Thursday. Pino was reportedly standing atop a cliff above where his family was standing, and asked them to climb up to him to bring him a pair of shoes. Pino had been exploring a network of dirt tunnels and caves that run through hillsides in the area, and had taken off his shoes and head lamp, according to ABC News affiliate KGTV. The family hiked up to meet Pino with his shoes, but when they arrived, he was not there.
"He was up there just enjoying Easter morning looking at the vista," said Caldwell. "We don't know if he fell into an open part of a cave and is trapped underground or somehow wandered off or if he fell or started exploring a cave and became disoriented."
Caldwell said that because of temperate conditions within the park, there is a chance that Pino could still be alive. Pino's family described him as a fairly experienced hiker with no known medical conditions.
Pino may have been able to find a small amount of drinking water collected in the caves, she said, although there is not much water in the park as a whole.
Helicopters, canines and dozens of volunteers combed the park for a fourth day Thursday, searching the "very difficult" terrain in the park. The area of the park where Pino disappeared is covered in mud caves and ravines, and is colloquially called the "Badlands," according to the sheriff's department.
"The topography is made up of an expansive honeycomb of caves," Caldwell said.
Surrounding counties and the U.S. Border Patrol have lent resources to the search for Pino. He is described as 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, wearing jeans and a red shirt with no shoes. Pino did not have any food or water, nor did he have a flashlight or a cellphone with him when he disappeared, the department said.
Family members and friends of Pino said it was his first time in the park, and he was enjoying the trip.
"We have been there lots of times before, but it was Guillermo's first time," Michelle Pino-Knaak, Pino's sister, told KGTV. "My husband and another walked all over that mountain retracing our steps. We saw his footprints but we couldn't find him."
Hajira Kahn, a member of the group, told KGTV, "We left the cave and saw him at the top, and he said, 'It's so beautiful up here.'"
Pino's sister, reached at the family's home, declined to comment. Other family members are continuing to search Thursday.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio


text: What is wrong with Paul Collingwood? because something is, i cant put my finger on it but for me he will never be a world class batsman. He has got a lot of runs this year, recently got a double century and has a very respectable average in the 40s. But there is something wrong with Paul Collingwood. Whenever i hear the name or see him bat i just cant help thinking to myself this man is not a test player.


text:
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (MarketWatch) — May Day's seasonally based advice to "Sell in May and go away" is not looking so good right now.
I say that not just because the stock market was stronger than expected in May — with the S&P 500 SPX, +0.28% up more than 2% for the month. It's also because the investment advisers with the best long-term records are finding no shortage of stocks that they think are attractive enough to add to their model portfolios.
Consider what I found upon creating a subset of Hulbert Financial Digest-monitored advisers who have beaten a buy-and-hold strategy in the stock market over the last 15 years. That's a long enough period to largely eliminate cumulative returns that were produced by luck alone.
• A hidden gem leisure stock
• 15 stocks for summer
• Hot airline stocks will soar
• See full Trading Strategies report for June
On the theory that these market beaters are more likely to be right about what's coming down the pike than the market laggards, I next constructed a list of stocks that the greatest number of them have recently added to their model portfolios. The 15 stocks listed below are what emerged.
(To be sure, in some cases, a stock would have appeared on this list but for also being recently downgraded by other of the top performers; in that event, I eliminated it from the list).
The 15 stocks that survived this winnowing process, in alphabetical order, are:
- Alaska Air Group ALK, +0.22%
- American Water Works AWK, +0.65%
- Ameriprise Financial AMP, +0.52%
- Apache Corp APA, +1.65%
- Arrow Electronics ARW, +0.54%
- Cardiovascular Systems CSII, +3.31%
- Comcast Corp. CMCSA, +0.72%
- EOG Resources EOG, -2.07%
- Foot Locker FL, +1.24%
- Hawaiian Holdings HA, -1.49%
- Helmerich & Payne HP, -2.76%
- LyondellBasell Industries LYB, -0.05%
- Manpower Group MAN, +2.13%
- Packaging Corp of America PKG, -0.38%
- Royal Gold RGLD, +1.94%
Notice that these stocks represent a diverse group of industries. In fact, just two sectors have more than one stock on the list: Airlines (Alaska Air and Hawaiian Holdings) and Oil Exploration & Production (Apache and EOG Resources).
This wide diversity of industries in turn suggests that the top performers, in effect, are treating this summer as a "market of stocks" rather than a "stock market" and that, accordingly, stock picking is even more important than usual.
Click here to inquire about subscriptions to the Hulbert Sentiment Indexes.


text:
Duluth, MN, is still completely flooded. Houses are wrecked, cars have sunk, and roads have collapsed. That just makes a perfect opportunity to go jet skiing straight through the scenes of destruction.
When climate change makes the most of the world ruinously uninhabitable and islands are swallowed up into the rising sea, these guys will be out there jet skiing, probably right above where Micronesia used to be.
(Hat tip to Nick!)


text:
The longer one lives, the more adept one becomes at reading the signs. My experience of dying and reincarnation is insight into the role of death and how everyone has returned as we are in the last days. The great population explosion is the result. Many come back to what they knew in their last life and that leads to addictions and a repeat of the same behaviour. Over the years of watching the number of things that cause death has grown and the pain of dying increased as evil is protected.
In these latter years there are far more things to cause addiction than ever. In my young days the war had handicapped the economy and the loss of men required to service industry was great. There were no luxury items available and alcohol and drugs were practically unknown in communities where such would not have been tolerated.
As the populations recovered, however, things took a different turn. A new industrial revolution began with food and alcohol leading the way. These were the chief money cows of the economy until fashion and other things came to the fore. Hollywood showed their audiences how good life can be with addiction to wealth and the use of drugs.
The economy is thriving and the greatest income is made from drugs and fashion. It is now the 'norm' for tattoos, body piercings, hard drugs, and other things to be a part of one's social life. All of these things make cancer and other scenarios possible.
Parties with drugs and alcohol involved often result in brawls, stabbings, and murder. There have been many violent incidences recently in Australia where uninvited guests ordered to leave parties have turned violent. They have killed for the sake of a few free drinks and are now in jail.
There is another more insidious death awaiting users of alcohol and drugs. It has to do with cancer, loss of brain function, or other things like homelessness, inability to work, and rejection by family and society. There are no answers to these problems because what they do is legal and the system is built for making money and putting lives at risk.
Individuals cannot wake up who are constantly seeking more alcohol or drugs to feed their addiction. They are like fish caught on hooks being gathered to another feast of the same. Their ultimate death is often excruciating and lonely and all because of money.


text:
Log In
Create & Share Travel Blogs
Add Photos & Locations
Explore Journeys & Destinations
My Photos
Add a Photo
Upload Multiple Photos
Online Photos
Import Past
Connect Future
Travel Photo
Cody, United States
Jul 21, 2018 12:00pm
Buffalo Bill Museum - Good to Know
2018 Summer Adventure
Jun 12 - Jul 30, 2018
After three summer trips, we decided it was time to head east. On this trip, we are going to push past the 'Rockies and take on not only the midwest geography, but weather as well!
View Travel Blog
Follow @jauntlet
Top Travel Destinations
20 locals living here
23 locals living here
Jauntlet Mobile App
Get Jauntlet for iOS or Android. For other devices, go to jauntlet.com on a web browser.


text:
Welcome to the Southern District of New York
September 11th Litigation Cases
Information for Counsel in September 11 Litigation
Unless otherwise noted, all hearings and conferences will be held in Judge Hellerstein's courtroom, 14D, 500 Pearl Street.
Cases involving claims arising out of, resulting from, or relating to the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001 and naming an airline, an airport security company, and/or The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have been consolidated for discovery and other pre-trial proceedings. Honorable Alvin K. Hellerstein, District Judge, is presiding. Counsel in such cases should familiarize themselves with Judge Hellerstein's Rules of Practice and Rules for Sept. 11 Consolidated Cases, as well as his rulings relating to the September 11 Litigation.
Filing of Correspondence
There has been some confusion about how parties in all cases pending before Judge Hellerstein related to the September 11 Litigation should file documents with the Court.
Images of certain orders affecting procedures and case management, and certain opinions, are accessible via the following hyperlinks. These documents and orders are also accessible via RSS.


text:
Nourison 2000 2206-BRN
Redefine luxury with Nourison's most popular hand-made signature collection featuring Persian and European traditional designs. The dense pile, splendid patterns, deeply compelling textures and intriguing aesthetics are certain to command immediate attention in any setting. Style and sophistication will be projected with this opulent, versatile and appealing collection of fine rugs that are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, including ovals, rounds and octagons. As rich in color as a page from a Persian manuscript, this premium rug fairly dances with floral motifs. The wine-deep burgundy contrasts gorgeously with the elegant black border. This garden of Paradise will add life to any room.


text:
What would be the simplest way of transforming a movie recorded by a Canon 7D / 5D in 60 fps, to a 24 / 25 / 30 fps one, to get a slow-motion effect ?
closed as off topic by ElendilTheTall, mattdm, Itai, dpollitt, Matt Grum May 22 '12 at 15:28
Questions on Photography Stack Exchange are expected to relate to photography within the scope defined by the community. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about reopening questions here. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
3This is a video question rather than photography: you'll likely have more luck over at the AV SE. – ElendilTheTall May 22 '12 at 12:29
@ElendilTheTall: That is true ... – Skippy Fastol May 22 '12 at 12:50
avp.stackexchange.com/questions/1773/… – rfusca May 22 '12 at 23:42
This is called conforming. You can do this with ffmpeg - a couple of examples:
Just load it into any video editing software such as Adobe Premiere Pro and adjust the clip speed. (Windows default Live Movie Maker does not allow you to do that but if I remember correctly you can do it in iMovie on the Mac) After you adjust the speed export the movie as 24fps video.


text:
Lieberman: Why Do We Have to Pay for PACER?
Better late than never?
Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut Independent, penned a letter to the Judicial Conference of the United States Friday to ask why consumers still have to pay to access court documents online.
The Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system currently charges a $0.08 per page rate to view officials court documents. But according to a provision in the E-Government Act of 2002, the Conference - which is the policy-making body of the Federal Court system - was supposed to have moved to a system whereby court documents were "freely available to the greatest extent possible."
"Seven years after the passage of the E-Government Act, it appears that little has been done to make these records freely available - with PACER charging a higher rate than 2002," Lieberman wrote. "Furthermore, the funds generated by these fees are still well higher than the cost of dissemination, as the Judiciary Information Technology Fund had a surplus of approximately $150 million in FY2006."
The senator demanded that the group explain whether it is complying with the E-Gov Act, how PACER fees are determined, and whether the Judicial Conference is only charging "to the extent necessary" for records using the PACER system.
Lieberman also expressed concern "that not enough has been done to protect personal information contained in publicly available court filings, potentially violating another provision of the E-Government Act."Originally posted to AppScout.


text:
Galt necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 83 diseños de 30 diseñadores freelance.
Home Security Wizard
I'm going to build a website that helps match consumers with the best home security monitoring companies in their area. A consumer will simply fill out a single form and get quotes from up to 3 different companies that will service them. The participating companies are well-regarded brands like Broadview Security (formerly Brinks) and ADT. I plan to start with the logo and then will submit a site design contest next (this is my first time to use 99designs so I'm excited about the process).
The target audience is any U.S. resident that owns a home. Customers also need to have good credit in order to qualify for a home security monitoring system. Customers often have families. The site will be helpful to homeowners who are interested in shopping for the best deal in home security monitoring.
In addition to the logo on the website, I will need a smaller 120x60 image (jpg or gif) of the logo. The logo design needs to be something that looks okay small. This may be a little challenging given the amount of characters. It should have a white/clear background.
Don't bother going to the website for inspiration because there is just a placeholder there now
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
8th Judicial District
Biography of Justice John A. Michalek
JUSTICE JOHN A. MICHALEK, is a graduate of Canisius Collage and the University of Albany Law School (Union College). He was first elected to the Supreme Court in 1994 and re-elected in November, 2009.
Justice Michalek has been no stranger to Commercial Law, cutting his teeth, long before there was a Commercial Part and Commercial Division since almost his first year on the bench, for example, BDO Siedman v Hirshberg, 93 NY2d 382. Later, even after the formation of the Commercial Division, Justice Michalek for some years has volunteered to receive commercial cases resulting from conflicts with the presiding Justice therein.
Justice Michalek was an Assistant District Attorney in Erie County (1977-1985), while there was the Chief of the Justice Court Bureau (1982-1985); Municipal Counsel Township of Hamburg (1988-1993), Interim Supervisor Township of Hamburg (1993), Town Attorney Township of Hamburg (1994). He was a founding Senior Partner at the Law Firm of Michalek, Villarini and Henry from 1985-1994. He also was the School Attorney for St. Francis High School/Athol Springs, New York from 1991-1994.
Justice Michalek is a member of The New York State-Federal Judicial Counsel and Advisory Committee, The American Judge's Association, New York State Bar Association, Erie County Bar Association, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Police and Judge's Executive Conference, New York State Supreme Court Justices Association, Past President Western New York Chapter, New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers as well as the Thomas Moore Guild and Advocates Club.
Justice Michalek was a featured Lecturer at the following Seminars:
"Life After Law School Basic Practice 101" for Newly Admitted Attorneys - Erie Institute of Law
"Introductory Lessons on Ethics and Civility 2011" - NYSBA CLE Program
"What Supreme Court Justices Want You to Know Conference" - The National Business Institute
His civic activities have included being a former member of the Board of Trustees Erie Community College, Vice Chair; Vice Chairman St. Francis High School Board of Trustees, St. Bernadette's Athletic Association, Canisius College Alumni Association, Albany Law School Alumni Association, Sponsor of the Dr. Leo Michalek Chapter of the St. Francis High School National Honor Society and grammar school basketball coach.


text:
EasyJet PLC agreed to buy 135 Airbus SAS jets worth about US$13.22 billion at list price as Europe's No. 2 low-cost carrier upgrades its fleet, risking an open confrontation with its founder, who has opposed the purchase.
EasyJet will take 35 current-generation A320s for delivery between 2015 and 2017, and 100 new-engine A320neos from 2017 to 2022, the Luton, England-based company said yesterday. The airline also has options to purchase 100 additional A320neos.
EasyJet is buying larger, more fuel-efficient airliners to replace old jets, helping boost seat capacity by as much as 5 percent annually. The agreement sets up a potential clash with founder and largest shareholder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who has been a vocal critic of a fleet upgrade and has demanded that management focus on profitability rather than growth.
"This is a great outcome for EasyJet, our shareholders and our passengers, and will ensure that EasyJet is able to continue its successful strategy of delivering profitable growth and returns to shareholders," EasyJet chief executive officer Carolyn McCall said in a statement.
The deal, which is subject to shareholder approval, comes three months after larger rival Ryanair Holdings PLC agreed to buy 175 Boeing 737 jets worth US$15.6 billion at list price. Both Boeing Co and Airbus offered compelling new-generation jets with improved fuel efficiency, in a "highly competitive fleet selection process," McCall said.
"Ultimately, Airbus offered us the best deal, and at a price with a greater discount to the list price than their landmark fleet purchase with EasyJet in 2002," she said.
Airbus's January list price for the current-generation A320s is US$91.5 million and US$100.2 million for the A320neo. Customers typically buy airliners at a discount. Stakeholders will be asked to approve the deal at a general meeting held at EasyJet's Luton headquarters on July 11.
While ranked second to Ryanair among Europe's low-cost airlines, EasyJet has dropped its early no-frills approach in favor of a model that offers ancillary services like lounge access and flexible tickets to draw corporate traffic. The move comes as network carriers including Deutsche Lufthansa AG and BA-parent IAG SA trim short-haul capacity. EasyJet attracted 10 million corporate travelers last year.


text:
wilton.pinheiro necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 21 diseños de 6 diseñadores freelance.
Bring travelers and agents closer by using a crowdsource portal similar to 99designs.com.
http://gowalla.com/ - great fonts, icons and images
http://www.pikilino.com/ - great banner to explain how it works
http://www.wanderfly.com - great travel form. Very visual and easy to complete
http://cheekymonkeymedia.ca/ - visual
Attached is a wireframe based on the current application.
B2Trip Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52nKv0JxKbM
The website is not available yet.
B2Trip Workflow:
1 - Traveler submit a trip request
2 - Agents receives the trip requests and can bid on them, offering a trip package
3 - Traveler award the winning agent. Payment.
B2Trip Benefits:
- No stress to plan a great trip - help from a professional
- More options to choose - better balance between price and quality
- Description: landing page for all users, focused mainly on travelers. Should look like something innovative and modern.
- Primary objectives:
-- Explain how B2Trip works for travelers and agents
-- Traveler create a new trip
-- Travel agents click on their special link for registration
- Secondary objectives:
-- Agents should feel that´s something travelers would be interested
-- Travelers should feel that professional agents are together with B2Trip
*Agent Form*:
- Description: after the user creates his account, if he is an agent, he will be redirected to a profile form to be completed. This form requests lot of information, so should be very well organized.
- Primary objectives:
-- Get the agent to complete the whole form
There are two simmilar websites on the web (we don´t want to be like them):
We don´t like fake photos like:


text:
Contact a Former Student
SIT Study Abroad is fortunate to have an excellent network of alumni available to speak with prospective and admitted students. Topics range from program selection, Independent Study Projects, and pre-departure preparation. Alumni love talking about their experience and serve as an outstanding resource to students contemplating studying abroad, newly enrolled students, and those already studying in-country.
The extensive network of SIT alumni mentors contribute to the success of current and future SIT students. We urge prospective applicants as well as current SIT students to contact these wonderful volunteers. Alumni contacts are available via e-mail and have generally participated in the program within the previous three semesters. An admissions counselor is cc'd on conversations to ensure questions are answered.
Please keep in mind, however, that program curricula, excursions, and other program components can vary depending on the semester; each mentor speaks from his or her own unique experience. While past participants usually offer exceptional insight and advice, we ask that you contact the staff in the SIT Study Abroad office in Vermont for the facts and guarantees pertaining to current programs.
We do not yet have contacts for all programs, but additional contacts are continually being added. In the meantime, if you wish to contact alumni from a program not listed, please contact our office at email@example.com, and we'll be happy to arrange a contact for you.
Any health or mental health questions should be directed to Student Health firstname.lastname@example.com or Disability Services email@example.com.


text:
How to Make Frontier's Corporate Office Listen
The Little Known Legal Weapon for Getting Complaints Solved and Getting Money Back
Learn How it Works and Get Started Today
Radvocate's mission is to empower consumers by spreading the word about consumer arbitration. We'll also help you file your claim, so you can get justice — and get compensated.
It's easy to feel like David fighting Goliath when a company you've done business with doesn't live up to their promises or when they make a mistake that costs you money. Sometimes you need the service they provide and if you don't pay the bill, even if it is wrong, they will cut off your service.
Phone calls with employees who don't have any power waste your time. Email complaints seem to go into a black hole, giving you no evidence they were sent and frequently not receiving an adequate response. Requests to speak to someone with authority at the corporate office can be ignored or take too long.
Or, they tell you they'll make things right and don't follow through, leaving you to begin the frustrating process all over again.
What can you do other than feel like a chump who was taken advantage of?
Use Arbitration to Settle Your Complaint with Frontier
Doing business with companies that leave you feeling powerless is frustrating. Most companies include forced arbitration clauses in their contracts to prevent you from taking them to court. Limited choices in our cable, internet, and cell phone service providers force many of us to do business with companies who have low customer service standards and unresponsive staff at their headquarters. Even when we have a choice, we may be locked in by a contract.
Arbitration helps you get a satisfactory solution for your complaint against Frontier without having to sue the company. When you request arbitration, the company has to do a lot of work and they lose control of the outcome. During arbitration, an independent individual (the arbitrator) is appointed who is familiar with the type of situation involved. The arbitrator has to be impartial. The arbitrator looks at the facts presented by both sides and makes a binding decision.
Arbitration is Fair, Just, Reasonable, and Transparent
Arbitrations handled by the American Arbitration Association® comply with the Statement of Principles of the Consumer Due Process Protocol which means:
The process must be fundamentally fair to all parties including the appointment of impartial, competent, and qualified arbitrators who conduct fair hearings.
A reasonable standard is applied to the arbitration process including the standards for access to relevant information, timing and location of the arbitration, and cost.
The transparency standard requires clear arbitration agreements that include all the necessary information and give each party the ability to hire their own representation.
An alternative to arbitration, in the form of small claims court and, in some cases, mediation, should be available.
The process should be just and allow the arbitrator to award the same relief that would be available in a court of law in a binding decision.
Arbitration Gives You Leverage
When you put a company like Frontier on notice that you are going to pursue arbitration, they know they are going to be required to pay expenses out of pocket. What's more, they may lose and have to give you what you are asking for on top of the expenses they pay for the arbitration process. Once the company knows they are going to incur an expense, they become more willing to meet your demands if your demands are reasonable.
If Frontier doesn't meet your demands, you can get a reasonable, fair, transparent, and just hearing without spending any money by using Radvocate to help you file for arbitration. Our help doesn't cost you anything unless you win.
You don't want to bring a nuisance case because you could be held responsible for the company's costs if the arbitrator believes the case is frivolous. But if you have a real complaint, you shouldn't have to worry about the possibility of having to pay the company's costs.
Leverage Leads to Faster Settlements
Once you begin the arbitration process, the company loses the advantage. You are on an equal footing with the company because the neutral arbitrator will view both sides of the issue without bias. The first step to give you the leverage you need to resolve your complaint is for you to formally raise your problem with Frontier.
And Radvocate helps you do so. We will send a demand letter to Frontier corporate offices to start the clock on them to resolve your case before you can file arbitration (usually 30 days but this depends on the length of time required by the arbitration clause in your contract).
In about half the cases, the company's headquarters makes an acceptable settlement offer during this period and the matter is resolved without going to arbitration. If they do not offer you a reasonable settlement during this period, the next step is to file the case with the American Arbitration Association. Radvocate will put together the official arbitration paperwork for you, and help you take the next steps.
Do I Need an Attorney?
If your case reaches arbitration, you might consider whether to hire an attorney. In legal terms an individual without an attorney is bringing their claim "pro se." If you decide to move forward without an attorney, you'll want to read the information available from The American Arbitration Association's Pro Se Case Administration Team.
Certain common complaints fall under specific laws that make possible compensation awards particularly high. For some types of complaints, like those involving robocalls or improper debt collection attempts, the assistance of an attorney can help you maximize the value of those claims.
What Can I Do Next?
Begin the process by letting us know below about your complaint against Frontier. Let Radvocate take the frustration of dealing with a big company off your to do list and help you get the satisfactory solution you deserve.
Radvocate offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you are not satisfied with our services, you will not owe us anything.