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Common but brutal mistakes made in real estate
No doubt, an investment in the Real estate sector is regarded today as a stable, long term investment bearing very minimal risks. Landed properties are regarded as fixed assets because they offer lengthy benefits and have a much smaller depreciation rate. In fact, economic principles suggest that land is expected to only appreciate in value because it is a necessity without any alternatives. Hence, scores of people dabble into real estate affairs everyday with the hope of getting a good deal, whether they're buying or selling. But like any venture, mistakes are bound to occur, and while some mistakes may be negligible, others could strip you of your entire fortune. Here are our finest tips to help you avoid common regrets in real estate:
On Buying:
- Realize that investing in real estate is no child's play. The real estate industry all over the world is worth billions of dollars, and there isn't much room for fumbling or indecision. You have to be absolutely certain of why you want to buy that house in that city and be prepared to see it through.
- Don't buy a house only for its décor. Keep in mind that when buying a house, it usually includes much more than just the inside. You have to put the external structure, payment plans, and other key details into your considerations.
- Make sure you check out the neighborhood. This is a pretty standard advice, but you'd be surprised at how many regrets have been recorded because people overlooked this procedure. Familiarize yourself with the neighborhood before purchasing a property there.
- As much as you can, try not to buy a house just because a "most expensive" title is attached to it. While it may seem pretty cool at first that you live in the most expensive property in the neighborhood, the title will not rest with your house forever. Eventually, new and better structures will arise and you may be left with a severe case of buyer's remorse
- Have your house professionally inspected prior to making payment. Sometimes, the only way to spot that flaw is through the eyes of a home inspector. Be sure to get one and get an honest expert opinion before making any financial obligation.
- Many folks make the naive mistake of assuming the authenticity of every real estate ad on the internet. Sure, nowadays you can easily buy a house without physically seeing it via virtual tours on the internet. Their flowery language has been designed to make you fall in love with every property in their catalog. It may be convenient, but it can't hurt to go out and actually see what you are buying. Spare some time to make your own assessment of the potential property.
- Learn to be shrewd when hiring agents. Get referrals from friends who have bought property in the past and had an excellent experience with their real estate agents. The industry is flooded with fraudsters and scam artists posing as agents. Majority of regret stories stem from being swindled by fake agents and losing most or even al their investment.
On Selling:
- When you decide to sell your property, remember that it has to be attractive to potential buyers. The décor should not be about your personal taste, but about what can attract the buyer most.
- Waiting for the 'right season' to sell is a common feature in real estate. Typically, a higher number of real estate transactions occur in spring, but does that mean there won't be a need to buy or sell a house in summer? Real estate is all year long, so you go ahead and place that house on the market whenever.
- Sometimes, you are not able to sell your property because prospective buyers can't see it. Maybe it's so deep within the neighborhood that getting there can be a bit of a hassle to them. They are likely to overlook it and move on to another seller. You have a higher chance of selling if your property is reachable without much difficulty.
- Quoting ridiculous prices for your property will significantly reduce the number of prospective buyers. Unless you're dealing with a buyer obsessed with the 'most expensive pad in the corner' title, your sale price needs to be realistic and commensurate with average prices in that neighborhood.
- In trying to increase the value of a property, some people make the mistake of installing major upgrades or massive remodeling before pitching the sale. Usually, just a few tweak is sufficient since the actual selling price is not determined by appearance alone, so you may not recover the costs of a major renovation. Selling your property then becomes a loss.
- If you're really serious about selling your property, then you have to be willing to make an extra effort to market it. Placing a 'for sale' sign outside the house may not be enough to get it noticed. Explore other means to spread the message.
- Lastly, you may want to hire an agent. Selling a piece of property is not as simple as you may think. Agents know the gritty details of this complex process, so for your convenience, hire one. They can help immensely with marketing – placing your home on the multiple listing service, and notifying other agents about the availability of your property on the market.
These tips should help you succeed in your real estate endeavor. However, if you want to get a better idea of the latest prices and trends, you really should check out our unbelievably convenient property finder tool.
If you want to buy best real estate property then visit site


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One of the latest trends is Serendipidating. Serendipidating is putting off a date — or dating in general — in the hopes that someone better or decent will eventually come along. As a Dating Coach it's my job to keep up with the latest trends, and this is a dating trend you want to avoid, as it has the potential of screwing up your love life forever.
So what is it, really?
Serendipidating is essentially what I used to call FOMO, or fear of missing out.
When my husband was single, he called it BBD. Him and his friends were constantly waiting for a bigger and better deal to come along.
During my single days I fell into this trap all the time.
This was before there were dating apps, but I still used online dating to fill what felt like an endless dating funnel. I lived in Boston at the time, worked downtown, and had an active social life, so meeting a number of men wasn't the problem.
The problem was finding a man that I felt a connection to and could see myself in a long-term relationship with, and who felt the same about me.
When I was serendipidating, I never could seem to find myself in a happy long-term relationship, because in the back of my mind I always knew that someone better may come along.
We have to take a pause for a moment and start by looking at what 'better' even means.
Have you been searching endlessly for your Prince Charming who looks and dresses a certain way, only to find out that this guy is a player, or doesn't treat you the way you want to be treated in a relationship?
Or do you keep comparing every guy you meet to the instant chemistry you felt with your first love when you were 19?
"In fairytales the bad guy is very easy to spot. The bad guy's always wearing a black hat so you always know who he is. Then you grow up and you realize that Prince Charming is not as easy to find as you thought. You realize the bad guy is not wearing a black cape and he's not easy to spot, he's really funny, and he makes you laugh, and he has perfect hair." – Taylor Swift
I help clients to understand what they actually want and need in a relationship and how they can be the best possible partner themselves.
This is critical so that you don't get stuck in the endless cycle of trying to find a man who's more attractive than the last, or comparing every guy to an ex-boyfriend that you felt crazy chemistry with but ultimately didn't work out.
If your goal is to be in a long-term relationship then serendipidating will not get you very far.
With a sea of singles at your fingertips it is easy to get sucked into this pattern of wondering if someone better will come along, but life simply doesn't work like that.
If you put off every job interview, buying a house, or anything else in hopes of something better coming along, you will weaken your decision making muscle to the point where it doesn't exist anymore.
Plus, you will stop feeling grateful for what you have already because you're always looking to a future that doesn't exist.
You won't know how to commit to ANYTHING because you're always going to be waiting for that next best thing. This can set you up for a life of being single forever.
What is it about dating in the Tinder age that makes serendipidating so common?
There are just so many choices. Too many.
I tell my clients to imagine how different it may be if they were dating in the "Little Women" era.
For those of you who remember that classic story, it's extremely romantic in it's own way.
At that time your choices would've been limited to who is in your town and who you see on a regular basis. Therefore, you didn't have the luxury of constantly wondering who else is out there, or fearing that you could be making the wrong choice when it comes to a partner.
You would get to know someone very very slowly, and the mystery and romance would build.
Can you imagine how mind-blowing the sex would be after many long, slow months of falling in love with someone?
In the Tinder age when you can always find someone new to swipe on, let alone text with or sleep with right away to meet your need for connection, that mystery and romance is lost.
There are a lot of great advancements because of technology, but we almost need to create that mindset shift back to a simpler time.
If you're ready this and thinking, "Why bother? I'm too exhausted to go on another date" or find yourself swinging between back-to-back Bumble dates and swearing off dating entirely, then it's time to adopt a new mindset around dating.
It's so common and challenging to find a happy medium between dating fatigue and swearing it off completely.
I have two rules with dating: dating needs to be simple and it needs to be fun.
If it's no longer feeling simple or fun, something needs to change.
I work with clients on creating dating plans that work for them, so they have structure and boundaries around their dating life which keeps it from feeling like a full-time job.
When it's simple and fun you position yourself to meet someone because now you're giving off that positive vibe, whether it's with someone online or in 'real life'.
Love can happen when you least expect it, but it's usually when you're in a great mindset and are still putting yourself out there.
Serendipidating is the dating trend you want to avoid because the truth is that love doesn't usually look exactly how you think it will and relationships take work.
This is a beautiful thing because it's through relationships and the struggles that come with them that we self-actualize in the process.
We learn how to balance giving and receiving, being grateful for what we have, and striving to make it better.
Now, I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.
Have you ever done Serendipidating? What was the result for you?
Remember, share as much detail as possibly in your reply as hundreds of kindred souls come here each week for advice and your comment may just be the spark they need.
Thank you a thousand times over for adding your love and voice to this amazing community.
With lots of love,
P.S. Do you know how ready you actually are to find 'The One'? Take my free quiz to find out!

subset: commoncrawl


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About WISR
WISR is a research group concerned with studying how people interact in written form, in media such as email, blogs, microblogs (Twitter), and discussion forums. People have interacted in written form for a long time (letter writing), but until recently the vast amount of writing most people encountered regularly was monologic in nature: someone wrote, other people read but did not respond directly to the writer. Examples include novels, newspaper articles, or political campaign brochures. This has changed with the advent of electronic means of communication. Today, people routinely interact in written form many times a day, using email, text messages, chat, Tweets, or interactions on web sites including Facebook and responses to online articles and blogs.
There is much variation in the specifics of written dialog (as there is in spoken dialog), but it typically lacks physical co-presence of the discourse participants, it is asynchronous, and its communicative channel is broader, allowing for multiple communications in parallel. Written dialog thus is different from the prototypical case of face-to-face spoken conversation.
In this research group, we are interested in how disocurse participants are using written media to communicate. We assume that, as in the case of spoken communication, discourse participants may have social relations that pre-exist the dialog, and that they have communicative goals that may include social goals (such as forging new social relations). We are interested in how social relations and communicative goals interact to shape written dialog. Specific areas of interest include studying how social relations are expressed in dialog, and how power affects dialog.
WISR is based at the Center for Computational Learning Systems (CCLS) at Columbia University in New York, NY.


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Steven Westerbos
Dear visitor,
Since 2004 I am a user of a compression stocking. Despite my young age (then 21 years old), I was faced with the arduous task to get it on and for sure to take it off! This should be easier, especially for people who hardly can! After many hours of research and development (building on an ingenious instrument of my grandfather: 'James') we developed the Steve®.
Since its introduction on the Dutch market in 2008, there are already sold more than 15.000 pieces. Now a days we sell Steve 2® and Steve 2 Travel® in Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Norway, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the United States with the outcome that many compression stocking wearers are happy and self-reliant with Steve 2®. Do you have any comments about the Steve 2®, do you want to share your user experience, or do you have improvements, special requests or suggestions, we would like to hear from you. Indeed, we strive to offer you as much stocking convenience as possible!
Steven Westerbos
Director West Care ®


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Lincolnshire Police are appealing to identify two men, as it is believed they could help with their investigation following allegations of a dog bite and verbal abuse.
Last Monday (September 3), in the North Promenade, Quebec Road, Mablethorpe, it was alleged that a dog bit a child as they were walking past, causing minor injuries.
When the owner of the dog was asked about this, a second man allegedly was verbally abusive, before both men left the scene.
Police are appealing for anyone who knows the men in the picture to get in touch as we believe they can help us.
If you know who they are, get in touch with the police using one of the following methods:
• By calling 101, quoting the reference number 215 of September 3.
• By e-mailing firstname.lastname@example.com, including the reference number 215 of September 3 in the subject box.
• By contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.


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June 21, 2016. Business Security Podcasts Author: David Fearne
Arrow Bandwidth Special - Infosec 2016
Welcome to Arrow Bandwidth, the podcast from Arrow ECS to help the channel better understand the trends, technologies and concepts facing the IT industry today. #ArrowBandwidth
For episode 11 and 12 we come live, straight from Info Sec 2016 in London. We sit down with our partners, colleagues and vendors to discuss the latest and greatest trends in the work of security and beyond.
Episode 11 | Live @ Info Sec 2016 Part 1
David Fearne, Arrow Technical Director, @davidfearne
Co- Hosts
- Alex Kennedy, Arrow Business Manager – Check Point
- Alex Tijhuis, Solutions Technical Architect - Arrow
- Haydar Nergiz, Business Group Manager, Network and Security - Arrow
We talk to… (In order of appearance)
- Dave Willey, Business Sector Manager for Software-Defined Data Centre (SDDC) - Arrow
- Carl Leonard, Principal Security Analyst - Forcepoint @CarlLsecurity
- Shaun Newman, Director of Product Management - Corero @Corero
- Gail Carpenter, Senior Marketing Manager - NTT Com Security @NTTComSec_UK
- Dean Strutton, UK Distribution Manager - Brocade @Brocade_UK
- Steve Fowler, Arrow Business Group Manager for Ruckus
- Mark Russell, Arrow Business Sector Manager for Brocade and EMC @ArrowEMC_BSM
- Sian Rees, Arrow Business Development Manager for Ruckus
Episode 12 | Live @ Info Sec 2016 Part 2
David Fearne, Arrow Technical Director, @davidfearne
Co- Hosts
- Alex Kennedy, Arrow Business Manager – Checkpoint
- Alex Tijhuis, Solutions Technical Architect - Arrow
We talk to… (In order of appearance)
- Ed Callacher, Arrow Business Group Manager, Networking and Security
- Alison Nixon, Arrow Business Group Manager, Networking and Security
- John Dams, Arrow Managing Director, Networking and Security
- Craig Shepherd, Business Development Manager, Bytes Security Partnerships
- Kathryn Miller, Arrow Business Manager, Support Services
- Nelly Monkhouse, Arrow External BDM, Support Services
- Scott Dean, Arrow Internal BDM, Support Services
- Catherine Boyd, Arrow Business Group Manager, Support Services
- Jonathan Smith, Juniper SE
- Mina Yanni, Enterprise Account Manager, Kaspersky Lab
- Lewis Slaney, Enterprise Account Manager, Kaspersky Lab
- Tim Watson, Director of Marketing, Skybox
- Dale Fairbrother, System Engineer, F5
- Gary Nudd, Arrow Business Development Manager for F5
- Vince Payne, Arrow Lead Solutions Architect
- Paul Vaughan, Arrow Workforce Transformation Lead
Listen to the podcast on iTunes or SoundCloud
What did you think about our Infosec special? We'd love to hear from you in the comments.
If you have any questions or topics you'd like to hear David and Rich talk about, please let us know over on @ArrowECS_TheHub
Related Posts
EMC World 2016 - Matt's Diary
EMC Business Development Manager Matt Atkinson recent attended EMC World. Hear firsthand from Matt about his first ever EMC World experience and the latest announcements.
Arrow Bandwidth Episode 6 - Security 101: What are the threats of today?
This week we're shedding light on the deep, dark world of IT security, David is joined by joined by Lorcan Murphy, Pre-Sales Manager and Alex Tijhuis, Technical Architect.
A Day in the Life of an Arrow Apprentice: Progressing my marketing career through an apprenticeship
Having recently achieved a Distinction CIM Certificate in Professional Marketing, 22 year-old Louise Lenton-Bradley is taking career progression in her stride at Arrow UK.


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Munich's city centre is a pedestrian zone, so many of its
attractions can be reached on foot, which is also the most pleasant
way to explore certain parts of the city. The efficient and
integrated public transport system is excellent for getting around
beyond the centre. It consists of buses, trams, the U-bahn (subway)
and the S-bahn (suburban train) that operate from about 5am to 1am,
with hourly buses and trams servicing main routes throughout the
night. Tickets must be validated on entering stations or on
boarding, are transferable between all forms of transport, and
valid for two hours after being stamped as long as one travels in
the same direction. Fares are zone based and the system is
well-organised and easy to understand.
There are various day passes available as well as the Munich
CityTourCard, which covers all transport within the city
and includes discounts to the main attractions. Taxis are safe and
convenient, but expensive. You can hire a car easily but it is
often better to use public transport in the big European cities to
avoid frustration and confusion. You can also hire bicycles at very
little cost and this is a lovely way to get around.


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White House Chief of Staff Valerie Jarrett says that she doesn't use the "n word" — a term used by comedian Larry Wilmore while praising President Obama during his speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner.
Jarrett was questioned about her feelings about the use of the word at the White House during an interview with Kari Lake of FOX 10 Phoenix.
"Well, it's not a word I use," Jarrett said. "But everybody gets to make their own decisions about what they say."
Jarrett was reluctant to discuss the issue further.
"I think that it was hard to … it was unusual for a comic to talk in such personal terms about the president of the United States," she said, adding that it was a "big platform" for a comedian, but also a "risky platform."
Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest defended the use of the word, noting that the president "appreciated the spirit" of the comedy sketch.


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CSS will-change
CSS will-change
This article will change the way you think about CSS. Okay, maybe not really, but the will-change property is definitely an interesting piece of the development puzzle.
Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.Join For Free
The coolest name, isn't it?
Well, CSS is changing, and it will change, hopefully by adding more cool-name options.
There's a word that
will-change the transition in the transition-transform relationship. Can I just ask: how will-it-change how I work with CSS? (OK, I'm done!)
It's totally fine if you didn't hear about
will-change until now, we'll go over everything you need to know!
About will-change
The real purpose of the
will-change property is to warn the browser that a selected element will change in future processes, so the browser can set up appropriate optimizations ahead of time.
Posible values:
- auto - standard browser optimizations will be applied.
- scroll-position - the element's scroll position will be animated sometime in the near future.
- contents - the contents of an element are expected to change so the browser will not cache this element's content.
- [custom-ident] - specifying the name or names of one or more properties that you expect to change (e.g. transform, opacity, top, left,).
It is possible to declare multiple values with a comma-separated list.
will-change:transform, opacity;
Some properties will have no effect when specified in
will-change, because the browser doesn't perform any special optimizations for changes in most properties. It is still safe to specify them, though; it'll simply have no effect.
This property is not supported in IE, Edge, and Opera Mini; so keep that in mind.
Use sparingly. Adding
willl-change directly in a stylesheet implies that the targeted elements are always a few moments away from changing and the browser will keep the optimizations for a much longer time than it would have otherwise. So, it is a good practice to switch
will-change on and off on using script code before and after the change occurs.
Give it time. It is important to give the browser some time to actually do the optimizations. Find some way to predict, at least slightly ahead of time, that something will change, and set
will-change then.
Remove all instances of
will-change after the changes are made. The usual browser behavior for optimizations that it makes is to remove these optimizations and revert back to normal behavior as soon as it can.
Be aware.
will-change may actually influence the visual appearance of elements when used with property values, that creates a stacking context (e.g.
will-change: opacity), as the stacking context is created up front.
Don't apply
will-change to too many elements. The browser already tries as hard as it can to optimize everything.
Don't apply
will-change to elements to perform premature optimization.
will-change is intended to be used as something of a last resort, in order to try to deal with existing performance problems. Excessive use of will-change will result in excessive memory use and will cause more complex rendering to occur as the browser attempts to prepare for the possible change. This will lead to worse performance.
Published at DZone with permission of Tijana Dedic , DZone MVB. See the original article here.
Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.


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Ravens sign former UK wideout Chris Matthews to practice squad
Former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews, who came from obscurity to catch four passes for 109 yards and a touchdown in last year's Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, was signed to the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad.
The Seattle Seahawks cut Matthews, who played in college at the University of Kentucky, last week.
"You might remember Chris from Seattle," Coach John Harbaugh said. "He was waived by Seattle a week or two ago, so he's going to be on the practice squad for us. I'm sure he's planning and hoping to earn playing time in the near future."
Matthews had four catches for 54 yards in nine games this season for Seattle.


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….or not. In a few short weeks I will be turning 35. Oh, 35 you came too soon. I'm like 5 whole years to 40. I'm normally not a party girl, but I do recognize certain milestones require special recognition and 35 is one of those years. I've been tossing a few scenarios around in […]
Browsing Category: Me
Life / Me / Milestones / Mimi
Learn to Say H*ll NO and Other Habits to Adopt in 2014
I'm not much of a resolution girl but I have been in deep thought about new habits to adopt in 2014 to make my life easier, encourage personal growth and see the ideas in my head go from thought to manifestation. I am by no means an expert, but as I created my list for […]
Life / Me
What I'm Loving….
I am loving these leopard shoes that I found on the clearance rack at Target last year for $8. Been wearing them so much Mr. has taken to calling me Cheetah girl.
Me / Mimi
#AskAwayFriday with Beth
I'm totally late getting this up but Thanksgiving happened!! I'm linking up this week with Beth from Structure in an Unstructured Life. I told y'all I love to answer questions and I am trying to meet new bloggy friends so I joined in again this week!


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My apologies, these would be the steps you just referenced in your post:
I'm having this exact same issue. I tried the steps in the link. Still doesn't work. Oven was bought at Home Depot about 18 months ago. Please help!
@userBB31ATcmUO This type of issue will require service. You can find a repair center using the following link: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/service/location
I tried that, it says 0 providers in my area and to call 800-Samsung.
@ userBB31ATcmUO Can you drop a Private Message Here with the model and serial numbers of the stove? I would be happy to look into this.
Yeah I called the 800 number. On top of crappy appliances, you also have crappy customer service and I get to pay for all the repairs out of my own pocket. Way to go Samsung! Can you do one nice gesture and provide me with the part numbers I need to fix this oven, maybe I can still afford to buy the food to cook again in my brand new appliances.
@userBB31ATcmUO We are unable to diagnose the faulty part, replacement parts can be found on SamsungParts.com
Please get that to us as soon as you can.
Have you tried to call samsung? I have samsungs dvd player, phones, tvs. I had issues and called them and they were wonderful. No this moron on here that just askes for everyones model number and doesnt give anyone any answers...put the answer on here so everyone can see it


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One remarkable woman that we are sure you have never heard of ever is Florence Ilott. Recently she was trending on Twitter after her grandson made a memorial post following her death. And this small post on Twitter has captured the hearts of thousands of people across the globe.
The author & grandson Scott Pack used Twitter to post her story and ensured that the world knew about her amazing achievement. In fact, Florence Ilott enjoyed fleeting flame during the 1930s for being the first woman ever to sprint across Westminster Bridge within the 12 chimes of Big Ben at noon.
As a teenager in the 1930s, Ilott was working at the House of Commons and lived on the premises as she was part of the tea room staff. Apparently she on arrival at her job she cried through the whole night as the chimes of Big Ben ensured she never really slept well. But her roommates assured her she would soon get used to it, and soon enough she was sleeping happily and never had trouble with the chimes again.
And that is when she learned about the tradition that staff at the Commons or MPs had, which was to attempt to sprint across the Westminster Bridge at noon before the twelve chimes were struck. Ilot was actually an amateur sprinter, so she soon had people suggesting to her she should give it a go. Just before noon on April 14th, 1934, she was in her running gear waiting to hear the first chime.
There was even reporters and photographers from various media like Daily Sketch or Evening Standard, ready to witness the feat. And she made it across the bridge by the tenth chime, becoming the first person ever to achieve the feat!


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Four Treasures: Taiwan, Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou
This trip is fully booked. If you wish to be placed on the waitlist, please mail your completed reservation form along with a deposit check of $500 per person to the SAA office as soon as possible.
This amazing trip is limited to 20 Society members only and is expected to fill immediately so it is important to register now.
Four Treasures: Taiwan, Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou — April 7 — 21, 2019
Travel with the SAA as we explore four iconic areas famous for Chinese art, culture, history and diverse cuisines. Accompanying us on this memorable journey is retired UC Berkeley professor, Dr. Jeffrey Riegel, who led the much praised SAA 2013 China trip. Our planned itinerary starts in vibrant Taipei, continues to the beautiful mountainous northern area and then heads to the central part of the island. Highlights include visits to the National Palace Museum Taipei and Southern Branch, the Museum of the Institute of History and Philology, the Juming Museum and an afternoon at the studio of one of Taiwan's most celebrated ceramic artists, Ah Leon. From Taiwan, we fly to Shanghai, where we experience what makes the city so special including the Shanghai Museum, the Bund and the French Concession. Our stay also includes a visit to the studio of Liu Jianhua, the artist who created the Asian's amazing Collected Letters ceramic installation. We continue our journey with two nights in Suzhou, "the Venice of the East," home to the I.M. Pei designed Suzhou Museum and renowned for its gardens. We then go to Hangzhou with its beautiful West Lake and tour the extensive collections of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum and the Liangzhu Museum.
Trip application will be accepted BY MAIL ONLY and must include your check for the $500 per person deposit and the reservation form. Acceptance will be determined by the earliest postmark date and a waiting list will be established.
Note: Your registration for this event is consent to be photographed or videoed as a participant for SAA publicity purposes.


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Looking for something special but easy to do? This Pork Roast with Apple & Cider Sauce is the recipe you should consider! The catch? It takes a bit of time to cook, but it's well worth the wait… Make sure to choose a piece of pork with some fat so the meat stays moist as it roasts.
What you need:
- A knife and a chopping board
- An oven proof dish
- 2 pots for the sauce
- A pot and a colander for the pasta
Ingredients for 4 persons:
- 700gr – 1kg pork joint
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 60gr (~5 tablespoons) butter
- 50cl dry cider
- 30cl chicken stock
- 3 apples (I used golden)
- Thyme
- Salt & pepper
- Fresh Pasta (I used Tagliatelle)
Ready to go?
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
- Prepare the roast:
- Put it in an oven proof dish.
- Drizzle olive oil.
- Cut little pieces of butter and put them on top of the pork joint.
- Add salt and pepper, and the thyme on top as well.
- Put in the oven for 30 minutes, making sure to baste meat every 10 minutes.
- While the pork is in the oven, let's prepare the sauce:
- Pour 50cl of cider in the pan on high heat and make it reduce half.
- Add the chicken stock to 30cl water in another pot on high heat and make it reduce half.
- Then add the chicken stock to the cider, add salt and pepper, and make it reduce half again.
- Once the pork has been in the oven for 30 minutes, pour the cider sauce, and add the apple chunks.
- Put the pork back to the oven for 40 minutes, basting the meat every 15 minutes.
- Once ready, remove the dish from the oven, set it aside and cover it with aluminum foil for 15 minutes.
- Then, the final steps:
- Keep the apples in some aluminum foil so they stay warm.
- Same with the meat.
- Pour the sauce in a pot and boil for 5 minutes, adding a bit of butter (2 tablespoons).
- Cook the fresh pasta following package instructions (usually 2-3 minutes).
- Slice the meat.
- Serve everything on a plate.


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Why Scrapbooking is so important
On a recent trip to an area thrift store, I was horrified to see some old photographs of some individuals. What made me so sad was that these photos would end up in a place such as this rather than being treasured by the family. I could only imagine what could have happened. Perhaps when an older family member passed away, the family had no clue who these individuals were as there were no labels or names written on them. These photograps are some one's relatives and dear loved ones, and now they sit on a thrift store shelf.I hope that by scrapbooking my family's history into albums, they will be treasured heirlooms as the years go by and future generations are born. Scrapbooking is more than just making pretty show pieces to show your friends and family, even though if they are done right, they can show off our creative sides. Scrapbooking is creating a legacy of which to leave to our children and grandchildren.
Tomorrow at dMarie Daily: That Little Boy's Smile, by Heather G.


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The Woman Accusing Her Lithuanian 'Hero' Grandfather of Mass Murder in the Holocaust
American Silvia Foti grew up on stories about Jonas Noreika's anti-Communist exploits. Then she learned he called the shots in cities where 14,500 Jews were murdered
Want to enjoy 'Zen' reading - with no ads and just the article? Subscribe todaySubscribe now


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Reel Dad: Paying tribute to Curtis Hanson
The director loved movies. Writing for movies. And making movies.
When movie director/writer Curtis Hanson died last month, the film world lost a creator who dared to reach beyond the blockbuster to tell stories with complex narratives, rich characters and meaningful messages.
That's why his movies will last. No matter when we see them, or how often we see them, Curtis Hanson's films refuse to age. Just like the moviemaker himself, the films stay fresh.
Here are the best.
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Looking back, the choice was obvious. Before Oscar night, this wondrous interpretation of the stories of James Ellroy won every critics' award in sight. But the Academy fell for the scope and sizzle of James Cameron's Titanic and left Hanson to cherish receiving an Oscar for his screenplay and for supporting actress Kim Basinger. But L. A. Confidential was, clearly, the film of the year. Writer Hanson shapes what could have been a rambling collection of observations into a compelling narrative of deception and denial in the underworld of Los Angeles. Then director Hanson stages that screenplay with a consistency of style that makes the film as entertaining to watch as it is to hear. Years later, we may remember the movie as our first chance to watch Russell Crowe on screen. And there's so much more.
Wonder Boys (2000)
From the dark streets of Los Angeles, Hanson ventured to the musty hallways of academia for this remarkable character study of a man who must deal wonder why he may not live up to his potential as a writer, teacher and man. Michael Douglas, playing against type in the performance of his career, creates a three-dimensional look at what it takes, at middle age, to assess a life with reason and truth. Rather than deny his regrets, this man smothers them with layers of bad behavior. Instead of confronting truth, he prefers to blame those who accomplish more. But when a series of unexpected events and new people crash his life, the academic must look in the mirror without making excuses, a first step to realize that, any age, anyone can be a work in progress.
8 Mile (2002)
When this film was released, its success stemmed from the rare movie appearance of rap star Eminem in the lead role. Audiences were so dazzled by his presence they may have ignored the strength of the film. And many, including Academy voters, overlooked another award-calibre supporting performance from Kim Basinger as the rapper's mother. Together these performers create a credible look at the dynamics between parent and son when each becomes too proficient at disappointing the other. Like many parents, Basinger reveals the anxieties that can shape a child's life; like many children, Eminem offers the reactions that youth can restrict. Together they show us what parent and child should and can mean when both have the chance to express themselves. Even if, for one, that comes in the form of rap music.
The River Wild (1994)
Today it's difficult to imagine that, in the early 1990s, many in the movies no longer considered Meryl Streep relevant to big audiences. Yes, she could play any character and, yes, she could tell any story and, yes, she could make any movie moment beautifully work. But she was at an age where it was more challenging each year to stay in step. So Streep reinvented herself, with a flourish, in what could be a called a first-time action thriller starring a (then) two-time Oscar winner. As a mother on vacation, estranged from her husband and curious about a larger world, Streep is as credible shooting the rapids as dealing with the realities of her relationships. While nothing the actress does in the dramatic exchanges may surprise, what she accomplishes in the set pieces may astonish. Who would have known this woman who many believe can do anything on screen actually can.
Thank goodness for the archive of movies that enables a director's work to live on.
Rest in peace, Curtis Hanson. Thank you for so many marvelous movie moments.
Inside Curtis Hanson
Curtis Hanson liked movies that could talk.
Perhaps because he was a writer, maybe because he loved characters, this moviemaker used words to stimulate our imaginations for what his stories could be.
And, in a series of revealing interviews, for such publications as The Guardian, The A-V Club and Venice Magazine, Hanson revealed what it meant to make movies.
Take a look at some of Curtis Hanson's comments about Curtis Hanson.
Becoming Self Aware
"For me all good stories are about awareness. Self-awareness and lack of it, of how you get there and how you might fail to get there. I have deliberately tried to mix it up in my movies, because I enjoy visiting different worlds. However, thematically, I find that things keep coming up. Self-examination to begin with. You know, who am I, how did I get here and how do I become a better version of myself. Self-destructiveness, because that is the beginning or negation of self-examination."
Becoming a Movie Lover
"I grew up as a reader as well as a movie-lover, so many of the novelists I admired—and so many of the great filmmakers I loved—were self-taught. Consequently, their school was the school of life, and it was very much reflected in their work. I wrote some screenplays on speculation, because even though I wanted to direct, to direct you need a lot of money. Even for a cheap movie, you need film stock and equipment and actors. Whereas to write, all you need is paper and an idea, so I felt that writing might be my stepping stone."
Becoming a Movie Fan
"I'm a great movie fan. That love of movies is very much alive in me. I approach the movies I make as a movie-lover as much as a movie-maker. When I'm casting a picture, I think who I'd like to see in it if I was sitting in a theater. Who would surprise me? That's what I love about Michael Douglas' performance in Wonder Boys, because I feel like he surprises audiences that know him from very different roles in his other work. In L.A. Confidential, it was great to surprise the audience with Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe—two Australian actors that they didn't know at all—and let people discover them through the course of the film."
Becoming a Movie Maker
"I always loved reading...stories, storytelling and movies. There's that certain point in your childhood when you realize that there's someone who actually makes the movies. In terms of inspiration, the movie that stunned me most was Vertigo. It was just so hypnotic, sensual and scary at the same time. And it still is. A lot of things you see and love as a kid, you were right about."
Becoming a Movie Mentor
"Once you've gotten the opportunity to actually direct, have a story you're dying to tell, tell it the best way you can and make that your focus and don't be distracted by anything else. Also, be honest. If you don't know the answer to something, own up to it. By doing that, you're displaying an openness and a lack of fear. That'll make actors feel very comfortable because the miracle of acting, to me, is the total lack of fear they have to have. When they sense that lack of fear in somebody else, they recognize it and appreciate it."
Becoming a Surprising
"I look for characters that interest me, and a story that keeps me involved and makes me want to know what happens next. Then, after the fact, you look back and see some things that were common in both pictures or several pictures, as you mention. On the surface, Wonder Boys seemed like such a departure from L.A. Confidential—it's funny, it's contemporary, and so on—and yet at a certain point, I had a feeling that reminded me how I felt when I was shooting L.A. Confidential. I realized that in both movies, there are three main male characters and one female, and all of them are struggling to figure out what they're doing with their lives."
Becoming the Director of Michael Douglas (Wonder Boys)
"What I try to do is give each actor an environment in which they can do their best work. Then they go off and do the mysterious thing that they do. When I was thinking about the prospect of him in this part, I wondered if he would go all the way with it. Would he become this character, as opposed to playing it? What was exciting to me about the possibility of Michael playing this character was that, if he approached it with an absence of movie-star vanity and just let down all defenses, he would show us a side of himself that we'd never seen before. The thing that's so gratifying is that so many reviews have said it's not only the best thing he's done, but they also say he's more appealing than he's ever been. People really connect with him, and of course they laugh at him in a way they never did before, too."
Becoming a Movie Icon
"Yes, it's a very competitive business. Put simply, there are many people who want to make movies and very few opportunities for them to do it. I had a checkered early career, for sure, with a lot of very unhappy experiences where pictures got taken away, re-cut, re-titled... all the nightmares one hears about. Consequently, it's so gratifying to then make a picture that's successful and gives you leverage to have better circumstances than you've ever had, before the next time out."
Excerpts from The Guardian, The AV Club, Venice Magazine


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On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time since June 2006. The rate hike lifted the fed funds rate off the zero bound to a target of between 0.25% and 0.50%. In its statement, the Fed said "The stance of monetary policy remains accommodative after this increase, thereby supporting further improvement in labor market conditions and a return to 2 percent inflation."
This brief presentation by Robert Eisenbeis, Ph.D., Vice Chairman & Chief Monetary Economist at Cumberland Advisors, explains what happens now that the Fed has finally raised rates.


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