Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Best Tips Available For Personal Finance - Finance Article Tips

Taking care of your finances can be difficult and stressful. One way to make it a little easier is to be educated about financial matters. This article will give you some great tips on how to better manage your money.

Although it can be a great deal, loading up on sale items at the store can be wasteful of both food and money if you go overboard and buy too much. The secret to stocking up is to buy things that you use regularly and use it before it expires. Purchase realistic quantities to make the most of the bargain prices.

Follow your credit rating. You have the option to receive a free copy of your credit report, and many ways to keep tabs on it throughout the year for free. You should check it at least two times a year to make sure that nothing unauthorized has gotten onto your report and that there are no signs of identity theft.

Set up an automatic debit from your bank account to your credit card account to avoid missed payments. You won?t have to worry anymore about forgetting your payment.

When trading in the Forex market it is important to watch the trends. You must stay up with the current trends. That way you will be able to make the right buying and selling choices. Avoid selling on down and upswings. You must be very clear in your goals when you do not ride a trend out completely.

Do everything you can to keep a good credit score. A good credit score is crucial to getting lower interest rates on credit cards and mortgages. Bad credit will have a negative impact on your chances for renting property and getting utility services. Using your credit cards wisely will help your credit rating stay in good shape.

Be suspicious of a credit repair company that guarantees that they will be 100% successful in restoring your perfect credit. A lot of agencies will make general claims about their capability in repairing your history. This is not at all accurate since what is affecting your credit is not the same as another individual with credit issues. Do not believe anyone who advertises miracles.

If you travel by air frequently, it might pay for you to sign up for one of the frequent flier programs. Frequent flier miles are a popular form of one of the many rewards that credit card companies provide. Many frequent flier programs allow you to redeem miles for reduced rate motel stays.

Nobody desires to go through losing their own home. What you should do is look at a home with more affordable payments, this can help make your financial situation better. The worst thing that could happen is getting evicted because your can?t make your home repayments. It?s best to be proactive about it.

As mentioned above, facing the reality of your finances can be a stressful thing to do. Getting your personal finances under control will also help you to control money-related stress. With the information in the above article, you will be able to better control your personal finances and reduce your stress levels.

About the Author:

The Retirement Group educates corporate employees that are transitioning or retiring with Netbenefits.

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98 Degrees Reuniting: Which Other Boy Bands Should Follow Suit?

O-Town, 'NSYNC make our list of boy bands that should get back together.
By Jocelyn Vena


98 Degrees in 1999
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ Getty Images

It's about to get 98 Degrees and hotter in the boy-band bonanza. Nick Lachey's old group is rumored to be getting back together to launch a summer tour.

Sources tell Rumorfix that the band, which has been on a decade-long hiatus, is about to announce a 15-city trek set to take place in July and August. A formal announcement should be made in the next week. One source told the site that the tour would serve as a thank-you to the band's fans.

Rumors of a reunion kicked off on Wednesday, when the band's website got a face-lift that includes a spanking new logo and a Twitter feed with the guys' official pages scrolling through the homepage. A rep for the band had not responded to MTV News' request for comment by press time.

Given all the love boy bands are getting these days (see One Direction and the Wanted), there are still some that might want to capitalize on the mania sweeping the world. Here are MTV News' picks for the groups we'd love to see get back together.

O-Town O-Town was the product of the reality show "Making the Band." Once managed by imprisoned boy-band impresario Lou Pearlman, the guys managed to put their reality-show pedigree behind them and launched a short-lived, successful run that included hits like the chart-topping "Liquid Dreams."

'NSYNC This would be the gold-star reunion. 'NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys were the two boy bands of the late-'90s revival that reached mega heights of fame and success. Several albums into their career, there appeared to be no stopping Justin Timberlake and the boys. But in 2002, they went on a "temporary hiatus" and have never looked back.

Westlife Westlife plan to break up later this year after they wrap up their 2012 tour. But now seems like the right time to keep it going a little bit longer. Given America's love for boy bands that hail from the U.K., Westlife, who found fame under the guidance of Simon Cowell and serenaded ladies with tracks like "Swear It Again," might just want to stick around and ride out this latest wave of boy-band love.

Which boy band would you love to see get back together? Tell us in the comments!

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Keep your Online Business Profitable with Email Marketing and List ...

E-mail Marketing and Subscriber Building A List: On Keeping Online Marketers Profitable

Considering that the advent of the knowledge technology, the web was an invaluable commodity to the majority of people. Here, they find ways concerning how to enjoy better paychecks even and never having to spend more money capital on developing a business.

Nowadays, many people are realizing the significance of marketing via email. Through emails, an online business can market their product directly through the clientele.

Generally, the primary function of e-mail marketing is usually to reach their target market as speedily so that as direct as you possibly can. They need to reach their audience in an attempt to sell their product and services that will benefit their clients.

However, some businesses use marketing with email to be able to maintain their contact and relationship making use of their customers.

The reason why marketing via email has grown in these unprecedented rate is founded on the fact individuals the virtual community will always be hungry for information. They sign up to information they are interested in.

Alternatively, not all people are willing to sign up for such information. They could be interested on your products once but may not interested to purchase again. Moreover, when you always send those emails that will not have their permissions, you could be accused of spamming.

Today, spamming is often a serious offense mainly in the realm of it. As the Internet is really a wild place, most authorities regard the privacy of each one person as valuable and so they still uphold this thinking even on the Internet.

With this, the creation of opt in list had gained tremendous acceptance. For the viability and feasibility to many online marketers, many people have realized how important subscriber lists come in marketing with email.

Basically, subscriber list means the report on emails of people that have decided to subscribe to your subsciber lists. Like this, you?ll be able to freely send emails that entail promotions, brochures, cool product announcements, and every facets of your marketing campaign.

When you build an subscriber list, you do not only increase the probability of becoming successful in email marketing but also supercharge your sales at the same time. For the reason that building an permission received list gives you the opportunity to keep in touch using your customers through getting email addresses address.

In this way, you can keep to promote your products and services by which they would like to try simply because they have opted to subscribe in your mailing list. Hence, whatever which you feed them, likelihood is, they will in all probability respond positively.

Actually, building an subscriber list is definitely letting the folks realize the charisma and magic of marketing via email. Like this, spams will probably be avoided, otherwise eliminated, and does not ruin the positive picture of e-mail marketing.

With spamming, e-mail marketing gets a disgraceful activity in the Internet. But with opt in list, online marketers can easily still boost their businesses through email marketing without needing to be worried about being charged with spamming.

In building opt in list, there are two types that need considering. The first one could be the single opt-in along with the other you are the double opt-in or even the confirmed opt-in.

In building single opt-in list, online businesses would merely employ a &ldquosign-up tag&rdquo within their internet sites so that each time a person visits their website, he or she can decide to subscribe in the business&rsquo optin list.

On the other hand, a confirmed opt-in list or double opt-in entails a confirmation message after the customer had decided upon the particular web site&rsquos optin list.

Usually, the confirmation takes place by replying over a system-generated message that requires a confirmation of the subscription or by hitting one of the links that entails the confirmation with the customer.

Whatever type of opt-in list you?d probably prefer, each possesses its own positives and negatives in relation to e-mail marketing. But nevertheless, both are made to give your web business the very best solution possible so that you can generate emails and permissions without needing to get into trouble.

Indeed, marketing via email is such a profitable business online. But it wouldn?t be complete and will never succeed without the opt-in lists. Both of these must always go hand-in-hand in order to be successful from the virtual world of Internet marketing.

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Unemployment rates fall in 29 US states

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Kim Kardashian Tops Forbes' Overexposed Celebrities List

Lindsay Lohan, Snooki and 'Octomom' Nadya Suleman also make the list.
By Jocelyn Vena


Kim Kardashian
Photo: Marianna Massey/ WireImage

Does it feel like Kim Kardashian is everywhere? Well, according to Forbes, she is. The reality starlet topped the publication's list of the Most Overexposed Celebrities.

The survey, conducted by E-Poll Research for the magazine, ranks celebrities based on "46 different personality attributes based on their polling data of Americans." What about any ties? According to the site, "ties on this list were broken by E-Scores, which measure a celebrity's 'marketing effectiveness' by combining awareness, appeal and other factors." For celebrities who didn't make the list, the average overexposed ranking is 5 percent.

Kim has an overexposed rating of 65 percent, and her sisters also made the list: Kourtney at #8 (with a 53 percent rating) and Khloe at #10 (with 51 percent).

Lindsay Lohan sits at #2 with an overexposed rating of 64 percent. At #3 is Snooki (64 percent), "Octomom" Nadya Suleman lands at #4 (62 percent), Paris Hilton is #5 (60 percent), Kate Gosselin is #6 (57 percent), Snooki's "Jersey Shore" pal the Situation landed at #7 (56 percent) and Levi Johnston splits the final two Kardashian sisters at #9, with a 51 percent rating.

"A decade ago, being overexposed was the kiss of death," E-Poll CEO Gerry Philpott told Forbes. "But today, it's necessary to fuel reality TV. If you want to be a serious movie actress, maybe you don't want high overexposed numbers, but if you're going to be a successful reality star, you need those numbers."

Who makes your list? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Lights on or off? Earth Hour faces new challenger

Saeed Khan / AFP - Getty Images

Seen here before and during Earth Hour last year, the Patronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are among the hundreds of buildings around the world that go lights out for the annual event.

Earth Hour, the annual event?that turns off lights as a statement for cleaner energy, marks its fifth year this Saturday. But a free-market think tank is trying to get some traction with its alternative: the Human Achievement Hour, when people are encouraged to leave lights on to show their appreciation for inventions "and the recognition that future solutions require individual freedom not government coercion."

In one corner is?the conservation group WWF, which helped start Earth Hour in 2007 and expects that landmarks that will participate this year will include the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

In the other corner is the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which isn't expecting to match Earth Hour's reach but aims to make a point when they battle from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. this Saturday in time zones around the globe.


"Gather with friends in the warmth of a heated home, watch television, take a hot shower, drink a beer, call a loved one on the phone, or listen to music," the institute says on its website.

"If you?re going to vote you need at least two choices," says Michelle Minton, the Competitive Enterprise Institute fellow who came up with HAH in 2009. "While I believe that a lot of people celebrating Earth Hour truly just want a clean and healthy environment for themselves and their families -- a completely reasonable opinion, which I share --?I felt their support was being used by the environmentalist movement to spread a message that is much less positive."

"Many environmentalists see humans as fundamentally destructive and want to force individuals to conserve," she adds. "Earth Hour is an attempt to convince lawmakers that the majority of the population wants them to clamp down on progress."?

Live Poll

Will you take sides?

As for the numbers,?Minton?figures "between 1,000-2,000 people knowingly celebrate Human Achievement Hour." The HAH Facebook page had nearly 200 people signed up as of Thursday afternoon.

About 60 people watched an in-house party during the hour last year,?Minton says, and the?event will be live streamed again this year.?

Earth Hour, for its part, says it has commitments in 135 countries -- and one International Space Station.

"Earth Hour will extend to the International Space Station for the first time," the organizers said in a statement. "Astronaut and WWF ambassador Andre Kuipers will experience Earth Hour watching over the planet for the the European Space Agency."

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

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The Mutual Fund Wealth Builder: A Profit-Building Guide for the ...

Your Dept Can Make You Rich - True?

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The Roaring 2000s Wealth Builder, Harry S. Dent, New, Audio CD

YOUR BREAKTHROUGH WEALTH-BUILDER'S MANUAL Ronald Price

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Friday, March 30, 2012

[OOC] Battle Styles

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Nightmares Realm?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

Nightmares Realm has a variety of battle styles to better fit any type of preference that the player might have. However dice is mandatory for the style that the player may choose.

Last edited by Markas_Graves on Fri Mar 30, 2012 1:09 am, edited 1 time in total. "Let The Words of My Mouth and The Determination of My Heart and Soul in Thy Sight O Erebos, My Strength and Redeemer."

"I Am The Shadow in The Darkness."

"When We Gaze Into The Blackest Oblivion, All We See is Ourself."

User avatar
Markas_Graves
Member for 3 years



Single - A one on one free for all battle.

Team - A team battle style free for all where up to five players of a team battle one another.

3 Way - A free for all battle style between three players combat one another.

4 Way - A free for all battle style between four players one another.

Handicap - A free for all battle style that pits players against opposing odds combat each other.
Type: 2 on 1, 3 on 2, 4 on 3 or 5 on 4.

Battle Royal - A free for all battle style where four to eight players combat each other.

Death - A free for all battle style where players combat each other in a battle to the death. +

Slave - A free for all battle style where the losing player character will become their IC slave for one(1) IRL week. +

Style must be agreed between all players involved +.

User avatar
Markas_Graves
Member for 3 years



Post a reply

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College Connect: Health Insurance: Pay the premiums and avoid ...

Posted By eselgroth

By VICTORIA ISON? of Ball State University

It?s easy to say. Get covered: when sickness strikes and you don?t have health insurance, physical or financial ruin is likely to follow.

But everybody knows that. And knowing it doesn?t change the fact that health insurance is notoriously expensive.

According to a report by a trade organization called America?s Health Insurance Plans, the average annual health insurance premium for single adults ages 18-24 was $1,429 in 2009.

Compound that with the tens of thousands of dollars many students have to pay in tuition and/or room and board fees, as well as the costs of textbooks, food and everyday life, and it can be tempting to pocket the $125 or more a month that would pay for a premium.

But tempting fate rarely turns out well, and being without health insurance when tragedy strikes could mean losing the financial means to stay in school.

That?s one of the reasons Valerie Lyon, an administrator at Cornell University and the chair of the American College Health Association?s Student Health Insurance/Benefits Plans coalition, says it?s essential that all students have health insurance.

She pointed out that while forgoing health insurance might save money for a while, disaster can strike at any time. What?s more, everyday medical needs or simple problems can turn into major financial burdens when healthcare costs aren?t mitigated by insurance coverage.

?I think people don?t really pay attention until something happens and then they wish they had made their decision differently,? Lyon said.

It?s not enough just to buy health insurance ? we have to buy good health insurance coverage that will fit within our means and cover our specific needs. Taking the time to shop for plans and sort through the fine print of often confusing policies can be well worth it in the end, and will feel especially wise in the moment when we?re faced with out of pocket costs and finding out our pockets aren?t as deep as we?d planned.

In looking for health insurance plans, we should be hesitant to sign up for so-called ?young invincible? insurance options. These plans prey on our youthful health (and our faith in it) and offer low premiums but very high deductibles.

Lyon said plans like these cover catastrophic healthcare costs ? such as prolonged hospitalization ? but leave students hanging when comes to the less dangerous but still expensive stuff: having prescriptions filled or even getting stitches.

Young invincible coverage can end up costing as much or as more as it initially helps users save, which is one reason it?s a good idea to consider what could happen in the future with your health before buying a plan.

?If the plan on the surface looks really cheap, it probably is really cheap in the benefits that it offers,? Lyon said. ?Really look at the details of the plan. What is the plan going to pay for the premium dollars that you?re spending? You really want to look for high value for your dollars.?

No matter what else is pressing on your budget, you have to prepare for the worst.

All it takes is one missed stop sign, one persistent virus or ? heaven forbid ? one mysterious lump. Faced with tens of thousands of dollars or more in hospital bills, that few hundred you were saving for textbooks won?t matter much.

Victoria Ison is a Ball State University freshman majoring in magazine journalism and Spanish.

?

Source: http://sabew.org/2012/03/college-connect-health-insurance-pay-the-premiums-and-avoid-the-pain/

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S.Korea economy grows 3.6% in 2011

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/korea-economy-grows-3-6-2011-041444847.html

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The Evolution of Online Marketing | Internet Business Opportunity Blog

Let?s take a quick stroll through the world of marketing to see what it was, what it became and what it now is?

Era 1 ? newspaper, magazines, radio broadcasts, direct mail, telemarketing, cold calling, television, infomercials?

Era 2 ? websites, banner ads, reciprocal links, ezine publishing, search engine optimization, pay-per-click, opt-in email, blogs?

Enter

Era 3 ? marketing via podcasts?

Similar to the concept of opt-in email, podcasting takes full advantage of technology in reaching a pre-qualified, self-selected audience that craves the information and expertise a podcaster provides. Podcasting gives the strategy of establishing yourself as an expert a whole new playground.

Podcasting is the ultimate tool for reaching a fully-qualified target audience. A podcast is an audio broadcast published to the internet.

The broadcast is delivered to subscribers via a feed, usually in an MP3 file format.

For years consulting and service companies have realized that the way to a client?s heart is through information sharing. Be it through trade shows, conferences, seminars, newsletters, or free articles, providing useful information on a topic that potential clients are interested in grabs them ? hook, line and sinker.

When a prospect first subscribes to a podcast, they likely aren?t ready to buy products or services from the podcaster?s company. Chances are they are just getting their feet wet, searching for information. With useful information delivered via a podcast day after day, weekly or monthly, the receiver will realize the value of the expertise demonstrated. Thus, when they are ready to become buyers rather than browsers, the podcaster has the lead.

As an advertising medium podcasts can be used just like a newsletter or press release. For instance, a tax consulting firm may publish a monthly newsletter giving updates on tax laws, information about tax shelters, tips for tax deductions and notification of available services. The newsletters will likely contain contact information and will encourage readers to contract the services of the tax consulting firm.

A podcast can be used in the same way. The only difference is, the news and information is delivered via an audio broadcast rather than through an electronic or print newsletter.

There are many advantages to podcasting. In comparison to other types of advertising, it is relatively inexpensive. Podcasts are delivered to a targeted audience, leave a lasting impression on subscribers and establish the provider as an expert in the field. Regularly published podcasts keep the provider?s name and contact information fresh in the minds of the recipients and vast amounts of business can be obtained as a result.

Source: http://i-bob.biz/the-evolution-of-online-marketing/

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Samsung tweaking Face Unlock to require blinking, smiling still optional

Samsung tweaking Face Unlock to require blinking, smiling still optional
Still paranoid about a friend sneaking past your four-dot-oh facial security and revealing all your little secrets? Worry no more, as Sammy's got a solution for you. The new feature is stuffed inside the tasty ICS being delivered now to global Galaxy S IIs, adding the need to blink in order to bypass the Face Unlock screen. Aside from the eyelash-flashing bit included in the upgrade, Samsung's Product Planning Team says they've also added Photo Editor, Beta Font, Snapshot and a novel S Go Launcher Pro. You can check out the full interview with Samsung's whiz-squad at the source below.

Samsung tweaking Face Unlock to require blinking, smiling still optional originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  sourceSamsung  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/8y9WcdOZ0SY/

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Silver and Gold Prices: Gold Price Lost $27 Today to Close at ...

Gold Price Close Today : 1657.90
Change : (27.00) or -1.60%

Silver Price Close Today : 3181.60
Change : 78.5 cents or -2.41%

Gold Silver Ratio Today : 52.109
Change : 0.427 or 0.83%

Silver Gold Ratio Today : 0.01919
Change : -0.000158 or -0.82%

Platinum Price Close Today : 1635.50
Change : -18.30 or -1.11%

Palladium Price Close Today : 649.15
Change : -9.20 or -1.40%

S&P 500 : 1,405.54
Change : -6.98 or -0.49%

Dow In GOLD$ : $163.67
Change : $ 1.76 or 1.09%

Dow in GOLD oz : 7.917
Change : 0.085 or 1.09%

Dow in SILVER oz : 412.57
Change : 7.74 or 1.91%

Dow Industrial : 13,126.21
Change : -71.52 or -0.54%

US Dollar Index : 79.16
Change : 0.112 or 0.14%

The

GOLD PRICE was knocking on the $1,685 ceiling, tough resistance, and fell back to take a running start at breaking down that door. It would take a close below $1,630 to embarrass me. Oh, and I might be embarrassed, but I'll hold the cards in my hand, thanks very much, until that happens.

GOLD PRICE lost $27 today to close Comex $1,657.90, with a low posted at $1,656.70.

The SILVER PRICE lost 78.5c (2.4%) and ended at 3181.6c. No damage to the chart yet, and won't be unless silver closes below 3140c. If I was bullish on silver yesterday 78.5 cents higher, what do you think I am today, tail-tucked and head-hanging? Nope, more bullish still because I can buy it 78.5 cents lower. I believe the metals correction ended on 29 December 2011.

Y'all never forget this: the risk you sit is greater than the risk you run. Sitting makes sure of only one thing: you go nowhere. It SURE doesn't guarantee you don't make any mistakes.

Currencies were flat today, dollar up 11 basis points (0.14%) to 79.159, comatose. Euro went from 1.3318 yesterday to 1.3317. Only the yen gained a little, 0.41% to 120.72c (Y82.84), assuring us that it has turned.

So what news sent stocks down along with silver and gold? None I found, and besides news events tend to happen concurrently with changes markets are already making, not as causes. So what WITHIN those markets sent them down?

The Dow lost 71.52 (0.5%) to close at 13,126.21. S&P500 lost 6.98 (.5%) to close 1,405.54. On the five day chart you see a gigantic leap up on Monday, through 13,100 to 13,250, then erosion Tuesday and Wednesday. Chart looks like a market that has rolled over preparatory to jumping off the bed. Dow must hold 13,075 or risk tanking when it breaks through support.

Okay, Moneychanger, so why doesn't the gold market look the same way? Five day chart isn't all that different.

Ahh, but the CONTEXT is. Stocks have been advancing since October dawned, trading into a tightening upward wedge, which pictures a market running out of buyers.

Gold, on the other hand, has been correcting since September died, then in February broke upward through the through the downtrend line, peaked, then traded back to that downtrend line for a Final Kiss Good-bye: a market running out of sellers.

Argentum et aurum comparenda sunt -- -- Gold and silver must be bought.

- Franklin Sanders, The Moneychanger
The-MoneyChanger.com
888-218-9226
10:00am-5:00pm CST, Monday-Friday

? 2012, The Moneychanger. May not be republished in any form, including electronically, without our express permission.

To avoid confusion, please remember that the comments above have a very short time horizon. Always invest with the primary trend. Gold's primary trend is up, targeting at least $3,130.00; silver's primary is up targeting 16:1 gold/silver ratio or $195.66; stocks' primary trend is down, targeting Dow under 2,900 and worth only one ounce of gold; US$ or US$-denominated assets, primary trend down; real estate bubble has burst, primary trend down.

WARNING AND DISCLAIMER. Be advised and warned:

Do NOT use these commentaries to trade futures contracts. I don't intend them for that or write them with that short term trading outlook. I write them for long-term investors in physical metals. Take them as entertainment, but not as a timing service for futures.

NOR do I recommend investing in gold or silver Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs). Those are NOT physical metal and I fear one day one or another may go up in smoke. Unless you can breathe smoke, stay away. Call me paranoid, but the surviving rabbit is wary of traps.

NOR do I recommend trading futures options or other leveraged paper gold and silver products. These are not for the inexperienced.

NOR do I recommend buying gold and silver on margin or with debt.

What DO I recommend? Physical gold and silver coins and bars in your own hands.

One final warning: NEVER insert a 747 Jumbo Jet up your nose.

Source: http://silver-and-gold-prices.goldprice.org/2012/03/gold-price-lost-27-today-to-close-at.html

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New EPA Regulations Are the Latest Attempt to Shutter America?s Coal Industry

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/epa-regulations-latest-attempt-shutter-america-coal-industry-161800541.html

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Amazon billionaire finds Apollo 11's engines

NASA file

The five giant F-1 engines on Apollo 11's Saturn 5 rocket loom large during preparations for the 1969 launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Amazon.com billionaire Jeff Bezos says his team has located the engines, which fell into the sea just minutes after liftoff.

By Alan Boyle

Amazon.com's billionaire founder, Jeff Bezos, says he's funded a successful effort to locate the mammoth rocket engines that sent the Apollo 11 mission on the first leg of its mission to the moon?? and now he's planning to bring them up from the Atlantic Ocean floor.

It's shaping up as the latest high-rolling undersea adventure, alongside film director James Cameron's dive to the deepest spot in the Pacific, British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Oceanic expedition?and the Deepsearch submersible project backed by Google's Eric Schmidt.

Bezos' effort plays off his longtime fascination with outer space ? a passion that is also driving his decade-old Blue Origin rocket venture. Like Blue Origin, the undersea recovery project is being funded from the dot-com billionaire's personal fortune.


Destined for museums
The five F-1 rocket engines were on the first stage of Apollo 11's Saturn 5 rocket, which dropped into the Atlantic just minutes after liftoff in 1969. In an online statement, Bezos acknowledges that the undersea artifacts, like other hardware associated with the space effort, still belongs to NASA ? and he imagines that one of the engines would go on display at the Smithsonian. But in today's announcement, he says he's asked NASA to consider having another engine sent to the Museum of Flight?? which happens to be in Seattle, Amazon.com's hometown.

Rocketdyne built more of the 18-foot-tall F-1 engines than were needed for the Apollo missions, and some of those surplus engines have been placed on display, either attached to Saturn stages or as standalone exhibits. One can be seen at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, for example, and there's another at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.

The idea of recovering Apollo 11's engines has been debated for more than 10 years, ever since Project Mercury's Liberty Bell 7 space capsule was raised from the Atlantic seafloor in 1997, said Robert Pearlman, editor of the CollectSpace website and an expert on space history and collectibles. NASA and the U.S. Navy had a good idea where the Saturn 5's first stage splashed down, which probably served as a clue for Bezos' search, he said.

In his statement, Bezos said the engines were located using "state-of-the-art deep-sea sonar," but it's not yet fully clear whether the sonar operation was done using deep-diving underwater robots ? as was the case with the recent Titanic mapping project ? or strictly with surface equipment. A spokesman for Amazon.com told me that no further details about the project would be shared today.

Pearlman was particularly intrigued to learn that Bezos was already in discussions with NASA about the potential disposition of the rocket engines. "If I were a betting fellow, I would say that Bezos is closer to mounting an expedition than the statement seems to imply," he said. "Which is really cool."?

Lessons from Liberty Bell
Curt Newport, the underwater salvage expert who orchestrated the raising of Liberty Bell 7, said bringing up the engines would pose significant challenges. He assumes that the engines are among other pieces of debris from the Saturn 5's first stage that are spread across the sea floor. "The information I found suggested that [the stage] broke up due to aerodynamic forces before it hit the water," he told me.

Verifying that the engines are from Apollo 11 rather than a different Apollo mission would require checking parts numbers against NASA's database, he said. And bringing up the engines would not be a trivial task.

"If they're intact, they're like nine tons each," Newport told me. "That is not going to be easy to bring to the surface."

Bezos said in his statement that the condition of the engines was not yet known.

Here's the full statement from Bezos, via his Bezos Expeditions website.

"The F-1 rocket engine is still a modern wonder ? one and a half million pounds of thrust, 32 million horsepower, and burning 6,000 pounds of rocket grade kerosene and liquid oxygen every second. On July 16, 1969, the world watched as five particular F-1 engines fired in concert, beginning the historic Apollo 11 mission. Those five F-1s burned for just a few minutes, and then plunged back to Earth into the Atlantic Ocean, just as NASA planned. A few days later, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon.

"Millions of people were inspired by the Apollo Program. I was 5 years old when I watched Apollo 11 unfold on television, and without any doubt it was a big contributor to my passions for science, engineering, and exploration. A year or so ago, I started to wonder, with the right team of undersea pros, could we find and potentially recover the F-1 engines that started mankind's mission to the moon?

"I'm excited to report that, using state-of-the-art deep sea sonar, the team has found the Apollo 11 engines lying 14,000 feet below the surface, and we're making plans to attempt to raise one or more of them from the ocean floor. We don't know yet what condition these engines might be in ? they hit the ocean at high velocity and have been in salt water for more than 40 years. On the other hand, they're made of tough stuff, so we'll see.

"Though they've been on the ocean floor for a long time, the engines remain the property of NASA. If we are able to recover one of these F-1 engines that started mankind on its first journey to another heavenly body, I imagine that NASA would decide to make it available to the Smithsonian for all to see. If we're able to raise more than one engine, I've asked NASA if they would consider making it available to the excellent Museum of Flight here in Seattle. (For clarity, I'll point out that no public funding will be used to attempt to raise the engines, as it's being undertaken privately.)

"NASA is one of the few institutions I know that can inspire 5-year-olds. It sure inspired me, and with this endeavor, maybe we can inspire a few more youth to invent and explore.

"We'll keep you posted."

More about space artifacts:


Last updated 6:15 p.m. ET

Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/28/10906114-amazon-billionaire-jeff-bezos-aims-to-bring-up-apollo-11s-sunken-engines

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The Spittoon ? DNA Tests Uncover African Ancestry and Surprising ...

As the series Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. begins its 10-week run on PBS, The Spittoon will feature posts from 23andMe?s Ancestry Ambassadors featuring their own stories about using DNA to dig into ancestry.

By CeCe Moore

You never know what a DNA test might reveal!

A few months ago, spurred on by my interest in genetic genealogy, my sister Erin decided to order a DNA test from 23andMe for my brother-in-law John Huffer. Since John has never known his father, we didn?t really know what his results would show. His mother?s family has a strong oral tradition of Native American ancestry, so we expected some mixed ancestry. However, what we found was unexpected.

Our Ancestry Ambassadors

Ancestry Ambassadors from left to right, top row, Dr. Ann Turner, Larry Vick, Shannon Christmas, bottom row, Dr. Tim Janzen, Andrea Badger and CeCe Moore.

As the series Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. begins its 10-week run on PBS, The Spittoon will feature posts from 23andMe?s Ancestry Ambassadors.?They?ll be writing about how they?ve used DNA to dig into the roots of their own families? histories.

With our Ancestry Ambassadors we?ve been lucky to bring together a group of people who are not just enthusiastic about ancestry, but who also have garnered a reputation in the 23andMe?s community of users as trusted sources and helpful guides.

We created our Ancestry Ambassadors group to help us build the best service possible. They?ve already helped, by spending a day and talking to our scientists, engineers and our CEO Anne Wojcicki offering ideas for improving 23andMe?s ancestry tools.

Members of the group ? CeCe Moore, Dr. Tim Janzen, Dr. Ann Turner, Andrea Badger, Larry Vick and Shannon Christmas ? also got a chance to learn a little bit more about 23andMe?s research mission.

Each member of the group had ideas about improving the overall experience of using 23andMe, including more voices from users. Opening up the blog to guests like our Ancestry Ambassadors is one way to do that.

His Ancestry Painting, in the image below, revealed that he has five percent African ancestry.? 23andMe?s Ancestry Painting examines the 22 pairs of chromosomes one segment at a time and determines for each stretch whether it was most likely inherited from ancestors in Africa, Europe or Asia and ?paints? the segments based on that different ancestry.

I had never investigated John?s family tree before, but my curiosity was piqued. Fairly quickly it became obvious that his was no run-of-the-mill genealogy. John?s mother?s line traces straight back to Madison Hemings. That name may be familiar to you. Madison Hemings was the son of Sally Hemings, a mixed race slave of Thomas Jefferson, our third president and author of the Declaration of Independence. My genealogy research clearly showed that Thomas Jefferson and Sally are John?s fourth great-grandparents!*

John has always especially admired Thomas Jefferson above all other historical figures and felt a special affinity to Monticello when he first visited there ten years ago, although he had absolutely no idea of his familial connection. When I first relayed my findings to John and my sister, they were, understandably, shocked. Once they started browsing the Internet in search of more information, they came across a very familiar photo on one of the websites about Monticello. An original of this very photo had hung in John?s house growing up. Further investigation shows that his mother had at least a vague knowledge of her family?s relationship to Thomas Jefferson and/or Sally Hemings, but did not share it with her children.

There have been a number of interesting ?coincidences? in regard to the Huffers and Monticello that make one ponder on genetic memory. When John and my sister first visited Monticello on an anniversary trip ten years ago, they loved it so much that they decided to go back the very next year with their daughter Courtney.

When Courtney entered the dining room of Monticello, she promptly passed out. Although her reaction could be attributed to the hot, humid day, it bears notice that this was the one and only time that Courtney has ever fainted. This was long before the family knew about their personal connection to the place or the families that lived there.? Courtney says that although she felt ?overwhelmed? at Monticello, she also ?felt at home?. Recently, the family visited Monticello for the first time since discovering their relationship to it and its previous inhabitants. John and Courtney both said that Monticello ?seems like a happy place? and gave them a sense of belonging.

Since John had never had any relationship with his father?s family and had very little contact with his mother?s side after a family dispute, he says it was as if they ?had no history?. Erin relates, ?It?s been fun for John to finally have a legacy of some sort, not to mention one as interesting as this,? and goes on to say that this discovery has finally given John and his siblings ?a sense of who they are and where they came from.? John?s young nephew Joshua tells me that learning about his illustrious roots has inspired him to strive to make more of his life and given him the confidence that he can achieve anything he desires.

John Huffer at Monticello

I am so happy for John, once a fatherless little boy, who can now take comfort and pleasure in the knowledge that he is directly descended from one of the founding fathers of our country! During his most recent visit to Monticello, he couldn?t help but wonder if his deep love of Paris is simply a coincidence or caused by the same unknown spark that made Thomas Jefferson fall in love with it so long ago. Or, if his interest in the art of brewing beer could have come from his forebearers, whom he learned on his visit were expert brewers at Monticello. It is wonderful for John and his family to finally have these types of questions about their ancestry to ponder; questions that most of us take for granted.

DNA testing has come full circle for genetic genealogy with John?s story. It is fitting that one of the very first public uses of DNA for genealogical purposes was the Y-DNA test in 1998 that originally addressed the controversy surrounding the paternity of Sally Hemings? children. Today, more than a decade later, the simple decision to test with 23andMe is what led John to make this illuminating discovery about his roots.

John and Courtney Huffer, descendants of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello

[*Although some Jefferson researchers had disputed the validity of the claims that Sally?s children were fathered by Thomas Jefferson, most of these doubts were put to rest after a 1998 Y-DNA test on Sally?s son Eston?s direct male line descendants proved that they carry the Y chromosome of Thomas Jefferson?s male line. Although Madison has no living direct line male descendants who could have their Y-Chromosome DNA tested to further support this claim, it is now widely accepted that Thomas Jefferson fathered all of Sally?s children. This is supported by oral histories of Sally?s descendants and analysis of the couple?s relationship and time spent together. Annette Gordon-Reed provides a detailed look at this evidence in her exhaustive study and Pulitzer Prize winning book, ?The Hemingses of Monticello?. The official Jefferson Monticello website also addresses this issue. John?s discovery has sparked my interest in this fascinating subject. As a result, I am spearheading an autosomal DNA project on the descendants of Sally Hemings. Although it is now generally recognized that Thomas Jefferson fathered all of Sally Hemings? children, it has been impossible to determine with certainty. The introduction of autosomal DNA testing has changed this. Through autosomal DNA testing of specific individuals, I hope to be able to demonstrate that the descendants of Sally Hemings share blocks of DNA with Jefferson?s ?legitimate? descendants. If it is not possible to procure DNA from any of these known descendants, I will seek DNA from descendants of individuals one step further back in Thomas Jefferson?s pedigree in an attempt to show that Sally?s descendants possess DNA from Jefferson?s ancestral lines. Since autosomal DNA undergoes random recombination with each successive generation, it will be necessary to test the oldest living descendants of these lines. DNA is the perfect tool for this because it does not harbor any prejudice or predetermined notions. Anyone who fits these parameters should contact me at yourgeneticgenealogist@gmail.com.

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CeCe Moore is a genetic genealogist specializing in the use of autosomal DNA for genealogy. She writes the popular blog?Your Genetic Genealogist and works as a television producer with StudioINTV.? CeCe is the Southern California Regional Coordinator for the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) and a member of Mensa. ?Her favorite genetic experiment is her seven-year old son, Nicolas.

Source: http://spittoon.23andme.com/2012/03/27/dna-tests-uncover-african-ancestry-and-surprising-connection-to-thomas-jefferson/

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