Small Details Matter When Choosing Home Decor | DirectBuy Home ...

If you are planning to update or replace a portion or all of your present home decor or if you?re decorating a home for the first time, there are a few things to keep in mind concerning your selection of decorative accessories.

Accessing The Impact Of Decorative Accessories

Just to get an idea of how decorative accessories impact the appearance of a room, walk into a friend?s home and be consciously aware of the items that immediately capture your attention. Take notice of what stays in your memory once you leave the room.

Visit a home furnishings store or browse through a home decorating magazine and observe the items and details that make the largest impression on the room design. Now, keep the results of this activity in your mind as you select items of decor for every room in your house.

Hardware Selection

When you think of decorative hardware, you probably think of door and drawer handles in the kitchen and bathrooms. While these are two areas where hardware can impact the decor, they are certainly not the only places where hardware selection impacts the room design. The hardware on your furniture can be changed to update the appearance of the furniture and the room. Curtain rods, clips and tie backs can also be considered decorative hardware.

You may want to select picture frames and mirror frames that decoratively work in conjunction with the hardware choices you make. If you?ve selected oil rubbed bronze or brushed nickel hardware, you might want to choose frames with the same finish.

Small Decorative Details

The pull chain on a ceiling fan can be among the decorative items you select that will capture the attention of visitors. If you simply have the standard or basic style switch plate covers in a room, replacing them with more colorful, elegant or theme related covers will have a positive impact on the room decor.

Versatile Decor

Your decorating style may remain the same for a long period of time. However, you might want to liven up the decor from time to time or make a few changes so that you do not become bored with the room?s design. Choosing decorative items that can easily be switched out as the seasons change is an excellent way to keep your decor interesting.

A display of candles is lovely on a coffee table or accent table. You can easily change the candles so that the colors coordinate with the seasons. Baskets are a popular decorative accessory. You can fill the baskets with seasonal items such as flowers in summer, pine cones in autumn and Christmas ornaments for the holidays. Rugs and pillows are also easy to rotate and store according to your mood or the seasons.

Lighting

The lighting you choose can have a dual purpose affect on the room decor. The lamp base should be a reflection of the decorative style you want to portray. Likewise, the type of shade or globe should coordinate with the basic decor of the room. In addition to enhancing the beauty of a room, the lighting you select will also determine or impact the atmosphere of the room.

When you begin a decorating project, there are many decisions that must be made. Choosing paint colors, floor covering and furniture ranks high on the priority list. However, if you take time to find the perfect accessories for a room, you will be amazed at how much they impact the overall beauty of a room.

DirectBuy is a leader in home decor and furnishings.? Enjoy name-brand products at exclusive confidential dealer pricing at DirectBuy.

Tags: DirectBuy, Furniture, Home Accessories, Home Decor, Window Treatments

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 26th, 2012 at 7:08 am and is filed under Home Decor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Source: http://www.directhomediscount.com/blog/home-decor/small-details-matter-when-choosing-home-decor/

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Time Management & Productivity Pro Laura Stack Looks at - PRLog

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PRLog (Press Release) - Sep 25, 2012 -
DENVER, Colorado, September 24, 2012 ? Some employees are better at looking the part than actually fulfilling their roles. In her latest blog titled ?Unstylish Efficiency: On Delivering Substance Over Style,? time management and productivity expert Laura Stack takes issue with those employees who work overtime to create the appearance of accomplishment, but fall short in actual productivity.

Stack likens the phenomenon to Billy Crystal?s iconic ?Fernando? character from SNL. Modeled after Fernando Lamas, Crystal?s Fernando hosted a superficial celebrity interview show, in which he often exclaimed, ?It is better to look good than to feel good,? and he told every guest, ?You look marvelous.?

According to Stack, Fernando captured the nonsensical ?style over substance? attitude that doesn?t work for very long if results aren?t being delivered.

In fact, Stack says that beyond a certain basic level, style doesn?t matter one bit if no results are delivered at the end of the day. ?

?If you let style dominate your thinking, you?ll eventually be revealed as the hollow shell you are and may very well find yourself on an express elevator to the ground floor,? Stack says. ?Even in the fashion industry where style seems to reign supreme, only results really matter.?

Stack says that only a laser-like focus on maximizing workplace productivity is going to guarantee the results that matter. Rather than wasting time developing a competent disguise, Stack tells readers to hone their time management skills, improve their abilities to block distractions, and prioritize task lists and schedules.

?Sure, you need to look and act professional at all times and present a personable front,? Stack says. ?But it?s more important to do everything humanly possible to meet and ideally beat your deadlines and serve up the best-quality results you can.

?Even when the final goal seems near at hand, don?t slow down! Instead, accelerate! Refuse to slack off until you?ve passed your goal.?

Stack advises those in management positions to lead with authority. A results-oriented attitude becomes even more essential to those responsible for an entire team?s results.

?Lead by example, working harder and more efficiently yourself,? Stack says. ?Nothing stimulates performance and drives team results like confidence and exuberance on the part of the leadership.?

Stack reinforces an ?honesty is the best policy? management approach. Leaders should strive to keep employees in the loop regarding company goals and the team?s role in moving the strategy forward. When milestones are reached, Stack encourages management to celebrate with staff.

?If you reward your people (and yourself) for performance, then you?re all more likely to produce the results you need, guaranteeing you avoid the bugbear of emphasizing style at the expense of substance,? Stack says.

?I?m not saying you can?t spice up your work with your own distinctive style and flair, but that can only take you so far, because spice alone doesn?t make a meal.?

Without the accompanying substance of productive results, Stack says style becomes no more than empty calories, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of everyone involved.
For more information on delivering productive results, visit TheProductivityPro.com website, Email Laura@TheProductivityPro.com, or call 303-471-7401.

About Laura Stack:

Laura Stack is a time management and productivity expert who has been speaking and writing about human potential and peak performance since 1992. She has implemented employee productivity improvement programs at Wal-Mart, Cisco Systems, UBS, Aramark, and Bank of America. Stack presents keynotes and seminars internationally for leaders, entrepreneurs, salespeople, and professional services firms on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in the workplace.

The president of The Productivity Pro?, Inc., a time management firm specializing in high-stress environments, Stack is the bestselling author of five books: ??What to do When There?s Too Much to do? (2012); ?SuperCompetent? (2010); ?The Exhaustion Cure? (2008); ?Find More Time? (2006); ?Leave the Office Earlier? (2004). The 2011-2012 President of the National Speakers Association and recipient of the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, Stack has served as a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, Xerox, and Office Depot and is the creator of The Productivity Pro? planner by Day-Timer. Widely regarded as one of the leading experts in the field of employee productivity and workplace issues, Stack has been featured nationally on the CBS Early Show and CNN, and in USA Today and the New York Times.

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/11983465/1

Source: http://www.prlog.org/11983465-time-management-productivity-pro-laura-stack-looks-at-delivering-substance-over-style-in-new-blog.html

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One Direction Are 'Going To Win' At EMA, Ed Sheeran Predicts

'Lego House' singer opens up to MTV News his EMA nomination, hitting the road and his wacky plans for his next album.
By Jocelyn Vena

Ed Sheeran
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1694454/one-direction-ed-sheeran-mtv-ema-2012.jhtml

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Extra GPs triple Superclinic staff | Northern Rivers Health | Fitness ...

New psychologist at the Grafton GP Superclinic Belinda Cooper with practice manager Nathan Riseley.

Adam Hourigan

GRAFTON'S GP Superclinic has tripled its staff since opening its doors just 11 months ago.

When the clinic started it could only provide GP services and had just eight staff, whereas today it employs 25 people and provides patients with physio, counselling, occupational therapy, speech pathology and tele hook-ups to specialists out of the area.

The clinic welcomed its newest addition yesterday, psychologist Belinda Cooper, who moved to the Valley from Darwin and is originally from England.

One of the areas Ms Cooper is most passionate about working in is counselling for carers.

"Carers remove a large burden from the State system and too often their needs are simply forgotten," said Ms Cooper.

Practice manager Nathan Riseley said he was happy with the way the clinic was progressing.

"We have over 3000 active patients on the books and we have managed to bulk bill 81.6% of them since opening," he said.

The clinic will expand its opening hours to 8am-8pm early next year and has just been accredited to help train the next generation of doctors.

Source: http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/story/2012/09/26/extra-gps-triple-staff-at-superclinic-grafton/

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RIM faced with another brutal quarter; focus on cash pile

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rim-faced-another-brutal-quarter-focus-cash-pile-130659901--finance.html

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Making Family Game Night Fast, Delicious, & Fun! #DipDipHooray ...

My family loves board games.?? But because my children are still young (almost 3, 5, and 8), they have a limited attention span.? My husband, Father Geek, has a plethora of games waiting on the shelf of his office for when they have greater abilities.? But for now, we like to keep our game nights simple.? Fast and yummy food, with simple, easy to play games.?? The time we share together as a family creating memories is really what it is all about!

Most nights of the week, I make homemade meals for my family.? It is work, but I consider it my contribution.? But sometimes it just makes sense to make an easy meal.? Too much cooking time can take away from family time.? Obviously I wouldn?t recommend eating prepackaged food all the time, but a quick fix every now and again is a great thing indeed:)

This is supper.? Okay, okay we had a salad too.? But it just doesn?t get any easier than this.?? And of course, the kids loved it!!? Through out the meal each kid would periodically say, ?dip, dip, HOORAY!?.? Chicken nuggets, french fries, and ketchup for supper?? This rules!

After a quick trip to Walmart, I was easily able to pick up all the necessary supplies for our family game night- including the cute dipping bowls.? Interested in my shopping trip??? Check out my Google + story.

Picking up some ketchup, fries, and chicken nuggets is so easy!

In the twenty or so minutes while dinner was cooking, I set the table for our fun.? The kids were especially delighted by the fun dipping bowls!

In no time at all, we were ready to chow down!

Daddy?s included!

My five year old loves ketchup so much even dips his spinach in it!

What a great meal!

The spark in his eyes, cues me in that he is up to something??

Oh know you don?t!!!

Don?t drink the ketchup!!!

After our ketchup feast, I mean supper, it?s time to bring out the games!

My boys first choice?? Star Wars Trouble!

With three little boys in the house, it?s just a given that anything Star War related is going to be a hit!

In this game R2D2 makes noises when you push down on the dice bubble!

And then inspired by the DipToPlay.com game of the week, we played a game of Pictureka!

I discovered Pictureka as the Game of the Week by visiting DiptoPlay.com.? By uploading the UPC codes from my Tyson chicken nuggets, Ore-Ida french fries, and Heinz ketchup I was able to unlock the Game of the Week and even play the online version.? As I write this, the Game of the Week has now changed to Jenga.? I love that game!? And the online version is completely addicting!

We took our chance with the card version of Pictureka.? We actually own quite a few Hasbro card games.? They are shorter than traditional board games, which is great with small children.

One of our new favorites is Clue Suspect.

This new version takes the traditional game of Clue and places it on fast forward without the game board.? My husband and I both thought it was brilliant!

By now my younger two boys were in bed and my oldest had a fun time handing out with the adults:)

And then of course I brought out dessert! Yum!

We had a fun time together with Nana playing games.

Do you have family game nights?

What games do you play? Do you look for easy meals during this special family time?

I can?t wait until my children are older and I can beat them at Monopoly:)

Be sure to visit DiptoPlay.com to join in the the Family Game Night phenomenon.

?

I am a member of the Collective Bias? Social Fabric? Community. ?This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias? and Heinz #CBias #SocialFabric, all opinions expressed are my own.

Source: http://themamareport.com/cooking/making-family-game-night-fast-delicious-fun-dipdiphooray-cbias/

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Biz Stone and Ev Williams On Why Founders Should Err On The Side Of Saying Too Much

Evan Williams and Biz Stone are probably still best known for their roles in co-founding Twitter, but what many people in the general public don't realize is that Twitter was actually born as just a small project within a technology startup called The Obvious Corporation. In recent months, Williams and Stone (along with Jason Goldman) have shifted a good deal of their focus back to Obvious, making it into a very unique kind of company -- part incubator, part investment vehicle, part idea lab -- with the simple goal of "creating products that matter."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/jAuWWV4sGCc/

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New back pain gene identified in largest genetic study of its kind

ScienceDaily (Sep. 24, 2012) ? Researchers at King's College London have for the first time identified a gene linked to age-related degeneration of the intervertebral discs in the spine, a common cause of lower back pain.

Costing the UK an estimated ?7billion a year due to sickness leave and treatment costs, the causes of back pain are not yet fully understood. Until now, the genetic cause of lower back pain associated with lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) was unknown, but the largest study to date, published this week in the journal Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, has revealed an association with the PARK2 gene.

The researchers, funded by the Wellcome Trust and Arthritis Research UK, say more research into this surprising association needs to be carried out in order to fully understand how it is triggered, but this new finding could ultimately pave the way towards developing new treatments in the future.

LDD is a common age-related trait, with over a third of middle-aged women having at least one degenerate disc in the spine. Discs become dehydrated, lose height and the vertebrae next to the discs develop bony growths called osteophytes. These changes can cause or contribute to lower back pain. LDD is inherited in between 65 -- 80 per cent of people with the condition, suggesting that genes play a key role.

Scientists compared MRI images of the spine in 4,600 individuals with genome-wide association data, which mapped the genes of all the volunteers. They identified that the gene PARK2 was implicated in people with degenerate discs and could affect the speed at which they deteriorate.

The researchers say the results show that the gene may be switched off in people with LDD. Although it is still unclear how this might happen, it is thought that environmental factors, such as lifestyle and diet, could trigger this switch by making changes known as epigenetic modifications to the gene.

Dr Frances Williams, Senior Lecturer from the Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at King's College London, said: 'Back pain can have a serious impact on people's lives and is one of the most common causes of sickness leave, costing both the NHS and UK economy billions each year.

'We have performed, using data collected from around the world, the biggest genome-wide association analysis of lumbar disc degeneration (LDD). We know that people whose discs wear out are at increased risk of episodes of lower back pain, but normal human discs are hard to get hold of to study so until now our knowledge of normal human biology was incomplete.

'We have identified a gene called PARK2 as associated with LDD. We have shown that the gene may be switched off in people with the condition.

'Further work by disc researchers to define the role of this gene will, we hope, shed light on one of most important causes of lower back pain. It is feasible that if we can build on this finding and improve our knowledge of the condition, we may one day be able to develop new, more effective treatments for back pain caused by this common condition.'

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by King's College London.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. F. M. K. Williams, A. T. Bansal, J. B. van Meurs, J. T. Bell, I. Meulenbelt, P. Suri, F. Rivadeneira, P. N. Sambrook, A. Hofman, S. Bierma-Zeinstra, C. Menni, M. Kloppenburg, P. E. Slagboom, D. J. Hunter, A. J. MacGregor, A. G. Uitterlinden, T. D. Spector. Novel genetic variants associated with lumbar disc degeneration in northern Europeans: a meta-analysis of 4600 subjects. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 2012; DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2012-201551

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/IOZsL7RPcXg/120924111821.htm

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Why Aren't Entrepreneurs Developing Innovative Solutions For ...

There are some 40 million rental units in America today. And that segment is growing fast as more Americans choose to rent instead of own in a tepid real estate market. While some technology providers have come to the rescue of landlords and prospective tenants, much opportunity remains.

With home prices down 34% from their July 2006 peak, resulting in more than $16 trillion in vaporized household net worth, you can?t blame Americans for wanting to move on with their lives. That typically means renting a home or apartment, as fewer Americans now believe that owning a home is better than renting, 63% today, down from 89% in 1996:.

That trend has fueled a rental market with the tightest demand in 10 years. Leading the U.S. rental market is the tech-heavy San Francisco Bay Area, with San Francisco rental prices up 15% and Oakland, Calif., up 11%, as of June 2012.

But tenants and landlords know that finding and renting a home or apartment is not a simple process. The finding part has been made easier with the emergence of Craigslist as the default mother of all U.S. rental listings. Yet the procedure of applying for a rental and getting your application approved remains arduous. Thankfully it?s now being addressed by a few savvy technology providers.

Online Applications

Landlords of multi-unit apartment buildings or home properties can now use a service from Santa Barbara-Calif.-based RentApp. As its name implies, this online service is designed to simplify the rental application process. Once a free account has been set up, a landlord can create a rental application by selecting from a menu of customary items, such as financial information, pets, etc. RentApp makes money by collecting fees from screening tenants, which start at $10 per ?screen.?

Once an application has been created, prospective tenants are sent a link to fill out the online application and RentApp can collect application fees, if a landlord has been set up with credit-card processing (a cumbersome process that screams for a Square-like solution). Landlords who have applied for background checking can then automatically screen each tenant. But background- and credit-checking require an on-site visit by an Experian representative, yet another tedious complication.

The good news for prospective tenants is that there?s no paperwork involved and applicants do not directly divulge social security numbers to landlords - adding an extra layer of security protection. Welcome to the 21st century!

Chicago-based startup RocketLease also offers online application creation, submission and screening, plus it lets landlords create an online property listing that applicants can use to review a rental offering and submit their application.

But when I tested their service I discovered that not only did RocketLease not actually have the iPhone app portrayed on its home page, it also prominently displays a landlord?s email address on its listing pages, which could lead to spamming. RocketLease has assured me that it will begin cloaking email addresses this week.

Digital Leases

Moreover, no existing service - and that includes other new-age outfits like E-Renter, which handles tenant screening but offers no online application submission service - lets one manage the entire rental process, in particular lease creation, submission and signing, plus rental payments.

To create a lease, many National Association of Realtors NAR agents rely on services like zipLogix, which is able to generate PDFs that must be filled out by hand, i.e. non-fillable PDF forms. But this service is not available to individual parties. Popular legal services, such as Nolo or Rocket Lawyer, offer leases that can be tailored to each landlord?s state - but none offers online fillable lease services.

Once a lease has been laboriously created, you can have it electronically signed by using Adobe?s EchoSign, which requires that each signatory field is manually specified. (Competitors to EchoSign include DocuSign and many others.) For rent payment collection, landlords have to rely on yet another service, like PayYourRent: or RentPayment.

Overwhelmed yet? Now you know why I agree with Sequoia Venture Capitalist Jim Goetz that it?s shocking to see how few entrepreneurs really focus on building products for businesses.

Considering that there are 40 million rentals and 223 million computers users in the U.S. with no easy way of applying and qualifying for rentals, you can?t blame me for ranting against the lack of common-sense application development in America. While there are certainly outfits addressing the rental market with tech-based solutions, my experience suggests that the playing field falls far short of what?s needed.

As a landlord you should not have to visit half a dozen sites to get a unit leased. Rental apps should be downloadable to a tenant?s mobile phone, filled in and signed directly from wherever they are. I know that day will come but it?s not here yet.

Submit your ideas to help revolutionize our software industry at our ideation engine and here?s hoping that your next rental experience is a seamless one.

?

Guest author and public speaker?Michael Tchong?is the founder of?Social Revolution, a San Francisco-based change agency, which seeks to transform the future through innovation and reinvention. Michael also founded four other startups, including MacWEEK and ICONOCAST, and authored Social Engagement Marketing, an easy-to-navigate guide to the world of social media. You can read his earlier ReadWriteWeb posts?here.

Source: http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2012/09/why-arent-entrepreneurs-developing-innovative-solutions-for-renters.php

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BedandBreakfast Tv ? Suggestions About Search engine marketing ...

Maryland

The most important purpose of Internet search engine marketing/ seo companyshould be to strengthen the rankings of a web site in search engine results web pages. The process involves optimisation both on off-page and on page. It also includes marketing via paid inclusions, placements and contextual marketing. Search engine marketing addresses two parts depending on the context, these kinds of areas are search engine optimization i.e. SEO, this boosts search rankings in the search engine rankings through adjusting or spinning the text within a particular website. The other area which SEM handles is Pay per click where web sites obtain targeted traffic using paid for online advertising. Search engine optimisation is definitely the most effective form of advertising and it has been growing more rapidly than other conventional methods of marketing and online marketing. Companies are investing billions of dollars on this kind of advertising, and since many marketers find it too difficult to learn the major search engines advertising complexity, the majority of them are relying on third parties to get it done for them. Apart from the big and recognized sellers of the services smaller organizations have evolved demonstrating just how much these these solutions are needed in the marketplace. There are four methods that internet marketing makes use of to maximize internet websites include; key phrase analysis and research, this basically means locating the most widely used and appropriate and popular keywords for a specific site along with the products they?re promoting, these keywords and phrases are then utilised in a means in which they best produce traffic to that exact website.

Website popularity and saturation i.e. does the internet site have adequate presence on the search engines. The presence of an internet site depends upon the number of indexed web pages within the search engine and just how many times customers are simply clicking the internet site. For a webpage to strengthen its reputation it should have the keywords right in an attempt to have higher rankings on search engine. Tailgate end tool, consisting of HTML validators and world wide web analytics resources, they make it possible to evaluate the achievement of any internet site by supplying information on the website as well as the individuals who go to it. Back-end tools can range from, site visitors counters to page tagging tools. Validators ensure that the web sites satisfy the W3C standards by examining the hidden regions of the sites and highlighting usability issues and potential problems.

The whois tools help in revealing the internet websites business owners and for that reason supplying information and problems that relate to hallmark and copyright. The fee based inclusions or sponsored listings, conversely entail internet websites paying search engine companies to be included in the firms end result internet pages. Nearly all search engine businesses provide for this service. The fee which will usually cover a year?s registration for any webpage acts as both a revenue generator and a filter for unnoticed submissions. The fee also makes sure that the website is catalogued on regular basis. Those people who are in opposition to paid item listings argue that the search engine results become getting about economic might rather than relevancy towards the consumer. Some websites allow paid for inclusions only other businesses combine both the paid and world wide web moving results others don?t allow paid inclusion whatsoever.

Therefore should you be looking to figure out far more on the subject of
seo company and actually fully understand all about the subject matter then you may want to think about further research. The quick way to do this is to simply click on the hyperlink and go to the web site it hyperlinks to. A truly professional seo company online

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Tags: seo, seo services, seo uk

Source: http://www.bedandbreakfasttv.com/suggestions-about-search-engine-marketing-techniques-and-seo-company/

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Currency spat reveals a nervous Chinese autocracy

The latest U.S.-China spat is all the more extraordinary because it is unnecessary. For years, Chinese economists have advocated liberalizing the exchange rate and allowing it to rise, weaning the country off its addiction to exports. But when President Obama suggested that last week, China's leadership reacted with a furious snarl. The central bank's vice governor accused Obama of "politicizing" the currency issue; never mind that his own boss had hinted at liberalization a week earlier. Then China's premier, Wen Jiabao, weighed in. Clearly referring to Obama's unremarkable remarks, Wen growled, "This is a type of trade protectionism."

What to make of this outburst? It is not right on the merits. If any country is responsible for protectionism and for politicizing the exchange rate, it is China: Beijing's leaders have made a political decision to peg their currency at an artificially low level, handing their exporters a competitive advantage. Yet China's outburst reflects the insecurity behind its confident facade. It serves as a reminder of how autocratic political systems suffer from the lobbies and gridlock that bedevil democracies.

The reminder is timely because China's financial comeback has made autocracy look good lately. The country's export-driven growth model made it acutely vulnerable to the global slump; at the end of 2008, growth fell to almost zero. Then China roared back, growing at 8.7 percent last year. No rival comes close to matching its dynamism.

But the currency flare-up hints at China's vulnerabilities. The government engineered its comeback with desperate measures: As well as the announced budget stimulus, it embarked on a largely unannounced monetary stimulus, which consisted of ordering banks to shovel loans out the door as fast as possible. Now, inflation is rising; the banks are wallowing in loans that will never be repaid; and the government is scrambling to close the monetary spigot. As the United States may discover in its turn, withdrawing a stimulus can be difficult.

The first worry for China is that lending won't come down fast enough. Banks have made commitments to finance projects and cannot easily back out; besides, money may leak into bubbly real estate projects via channels that circumvent the banking system. Moreover, even if lending is reined in, the banks may do so inefficiently: China sets monetary policy by targeting the quantity of loans rather than their price, so powerful state-owned enterprises are liable to get capital while more productive private firms are starved of it. Meanwhile, ambitious provincial politicians such as Bo Xilai, the party boss in the western city of Chongqing, may defy the central government. If he wants bank loans to build popular projects such as affordable housing, it may be hard to stop him.

So while China's leaders frequently sound smug, they are nervous. In the news conference at which he chastised Obama, China's premier also referred menacingly to "the unsteady, uncoordinated and unstable development of the Chinese economy." Amid all the uncertainty about how to let the air out of an asset bubble and bring runaway bank lending under control, the last thing Chinese leaders seem to want is to abandon the yuan's peg to the dollar, which they regard as a source of stability.

Again, though, this view is wrong on the merits. Chinese growth is unstable partly because of the yuan-dollar peg, which obliges the government to set interest rates with an eye toward the exchange rate rather than using them to manage the cost of capital. But the technocratic arguments are trumped by political pressures. Exporters lobby the government not to let the yuan rise, and the lobbying is effective. Nationalists reflexively oppose policies that Washington demands; no Chinese official wants to look soft on foreign policy. In conversations in Beijing this week, several Chinese analysts suggested that Google's protests against Chinese hacking were a deliberate provocation orchestrated by the Obama administration. Such is the climate of suspicion toward Washington.

Sooner rather than later, China needs to free its exchange rate and switch from rationing capital to pricing it. Sooner rather than later, China needs to rely less on exports that foreigners cannot afford to buy without borrowing too much and setting the stage for another credit crisis. But while China's autocratic system was good at quickly delivering a stimulus, it is not so good at tackling trickier structural challenges such as revamping its currency policy.

Good at spending money but not good at complex reform? Does that sound a little like American democracy?

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032401702_xml/~3/pFZ_SAOzugA/AR2010031803045.html

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VP Joe Biden headed to Florida next week

If it seems like barely a day goes by without the presidential candidates, their running mates, wives or surrogates in Florida, you are not imagining anything. That pace will only increase as the Nov. 6 election approaches. On Saturday the Obama campaign announced that Vice President Joe Biden will campaign in Florida next weekend, Sept. 28 and 29. No details were given.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tampabaycom/blogs/buzz-heds/~3/owEfWLzB-lo/vp-joe-biden-headed-florida-next-week

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PHOTOS: Latest in protests of anti-Islam film

A look at protests and events around the world Friday connected to the anti-Islam film "Innocence of Muslims," produced in the United States, and vulgar caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published in a French satirical weekly. At least 49 people, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, have been killed in recent violence linked to the protests of the film, which has also renewed debate over freedom of expression in the U.S. and in Europe.

___

PAKISTAN

At least 19 people were killed and nearly 200 injured as protests by tens of thousands turned violent in the cities of Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and the capital of Islamabad after the government encouraged peaceful demonstrations and declared a national holiday ? "Day of Love for the Prophet."

___

AFGHANISTAN

About 900 people peacefully protested the film in the capital, Kabul, chanting, "Death to America" and burning an effigy of President Barack Obama and a U.S. flag. A few hundred demonstrators also protested inside a mosque in the eastern city of Ghazni.

___

IRAN

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at the West over the film. Speaking at a military parade in Tehran, he said: "In return for (allowing) the ugliest insults to the divine messenger, they ? the West ? raise the slogan of respect for freedom of speech." He called this explanation "clearly a deception."

___

INDONESIA

The United States closed its diplomatic missions across Indonesia due to continuing demonstrations over the film. Small and mostly orderly protests were held outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, in the cities of Surabaya and Medan, and in other smaller towns. No violence was reported.

___

IRAQ

About 3,000 people, mostly followers of Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim groups, protested the film and caricatures of the prophet in the southern city of Basra. Demonstrators carried Iraqi flags and posters of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, chanting, "Death to America" and "No to America." They burned Israeli and American flags.

___

SRI LANKA

About 2,000 Muslims burned effigies of Obama and American flags at a protest after Friday prayers in the capital, Colombo, demanding that the United States ban the film.

___

BANGLADESH

More than 2,000 people marched through the streets of the capital, Dhaka, to protest the film. They burned a makeshift coffin draped in an American flag, and an effigy of Obama.

___

LEBANON

Tens of thousands of supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah movement held a raucous protest in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek. Later, a few thousand supporters of a hard-line Sunni cleric gathered in the capital, Beirut. Both demonstrations directed outrage at the U.S. and Israel over what they believed was a grave insult to Muhammad.

___

KASHMIR

Police enforced a daylong curfew in parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir's main city, Srinagar, and chased away protesters of the anti-Islam film. Authorities also temporarily blocked cellphone and Internet services to prevent viewing the film clips.

___

GERMANY

Several hundred people gathered in the city of Freiburg in southwest of Germany to protest the film. Some carried banners saying: "The dignity of the Prophet Muhammad is our dignity." Police banned inflammatory slogans. The Interior Ministry postponed a poster campaign aimed at countering radical Islam among young people due to tensions caused by the online video insulting Islam. Germany is home to an estimated 4 million Muslims.

___

NORWAY

About 70 people gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in the capital Oslo to protest the film, shouting, "Obama, Obama, we're all Osama!"

___

PHILIPPINES

Constitutional law professor Harry Roque of the University of the Philippines defied a ban by university officials and showed students the film's 14-minute trailer. He said the film was "trash and nothing but trash," and will not convince people Islam is evil.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos-latest-protests-anti-islam-film-205708653.html

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Video: Anti-U.S. Protests: 19 Killed in Pakistan

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/49126794/

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Village Center follows in founders' footpath | TheBurgs: Community ...

Posted September 22, 2012

Warm Hearth Village's new Village Center is expected to open by early 2013.

BLACKSBURG ? Construction on Warm Hearth Village?s new community center began a little more than a year ago, and residents have been eagerly awaiting the opening of The Village Center.

Warm Hearth Village?s Director of Marketing and Development Tambra Meredith said construction is on-schedule and should be completed in December with an early 2013 grand-opening date.

The Village Center will serve as Warm Hearth Village?s new welcome center for prospective residents and their families, as well as an activities center for current residents, Meredith said.

The center will be split into sections, or zones. When residents and guests enter the building, they will be greeted by the welcome center, which will eventually be staffed by resident volunteers, Meredith added.

?You?ll start there, and hopefully you?ll get a good sense of what the community is about and the amenities we offer,? Meredith said. ?Then, depending on the area of the village you or your family is interested in, we?ll take you out there and give you a tour.?

To the left of the welcome area will be a large, open community room with a stage, lighting and sound equipment able to host various performances. The room will be able to seat 150 residents at tables and likely double that in chairs alone, Meredith said.

The village?s current community room, Meredith said, seats about 100 people, and isn?t nearly large enough for Warm Hearth?s more than 500 residents.

?We?re hoping to forge a relationship with the theater community because they tell us they don?t really have a lot of places to perform,? Meredith said. ?We?ve tried to make connections as we?ve built this building, and we?re trying to meet needs while teaming up with the community to fulfill those needs.?

Just beyond the welcome area and community room, the center will also have a cafe for grab-and-go type meals for residents and their families. Beside the cafe, residents can enjoy a smaller activity room, a lounge area and access to a patio where they can enjoy their meals.
On the opposite end of the building, residents will have a space for fitness and wellness that includes a complete workout facility, as well as a saltwater pool that will host water aerobics and aquatic therapy.

?It?s an indoor saltwater pool, which is really nice for older bodies because it?s a little more forgiving, and the warm water is nice and therapeutic for exercising and swimming,? Meredith said. ?A lot of new pools are moving towards that so we did some research, and it looked like the way to go.?

But while the center offers the Warm Hearth community plenty of amenities and a nice, new face, it comes with a hefty price tag at $4.5 million.

Warm Hearth has taken a multi-faceted approach to garnering the funds needed for The Village Center, including using proceeds from home sales, tax credits, cash reserves, a low-interest loan and raising funds throughout the community with a ?capital campaign.?

?We?ve really done well with the support of the community,? Meredith said. ?It was a real grassroots effort from the start, and we?ve really seen this capital campaign for the Village Center kind of mirror that with community members stepping up to support us and our own residents taking an active role.?

As of Thursday, the village has raised 90.5 percent, or $1,357,654, of its $1.5?million goal. The campaign will conclude in December, Meredith said.

Currently, Warm Hearth Village is in the process of refinancing a tax-exempt bond they acquired in 1999 for the building of the Kroontje Center, said President and CEO Ferne Moschella.

?We?re heavily invested in real estate, and in this interest rate environment, you?d be a fool not to look at it,? Moschella said. ?It has nothing to do with the timing of The Village Center at all.?

Moschella said the timing was merely ?coincidental? and said looking to refinance the bond was standard business practice to look at an opportunity to save money.

n? n? n
However, Warm Hearth does plan to save a little ?green? in more ways than one. The center boasts many environment-friendly features throughout.

Project Manager Sara McCarter said architect Mark McConnel of Summit Studio has designed several green features into the building without compromising the building?s expected long lifespan.

?Our architect has designed a building that is sustainable, uses natural materials and is intended to last for many more years than typical buildings being built today,? McCarter said. ?It uses very old building techniques such as timber framing, but is modern to reflect our own time.?

The timber beams for framing, Meredith said, were sustainably harvested from the new center?s current site using horses by restorative foresters from the area. Worst-first techniques were used in choosing trees to be logged, she added.

The center was planned to be situated specifically to take advantage of passive solar radiation. That means the sun will shine in places where it?s needed based on the time of day and temperature needed in the space. The pool area will also use skylights to use the sunlight to naturally light the room.

These are just a few examples of a long list of green features Warm Hearth Village has implemented into The Village Center.

?Hundreds of meetings were conducted with our residents, and various experts will ensure that the building functions very well,? McCarter said. ?The building is timeless, simple and elegant. Its beauty will lift the spirits of anyone who visits.?

That was the plan for Warm Hearth Village founders Wybe and Mariejte Kroontje, who created a 100-year plan for the retirement community more than 37 years ago, according to Meredith.

The Kroontjes were Dutch nationals who immigrated to the United States after World War II and wanted to give a gift to America for their liberation.

n? n? n
In 1974, the Kroontjes gained a charter for the village, and Wybe laid out his plan. In that plan, the first two developments focused on establishing a continuum of care from independent living to long-term nursing care. The third part focused on constructing single-family homes and a community center.

The Kroontjes envisioned a retirement community that was modeled after care they had seen in the Netherlands, Meredith said. Care that focused on respect and dignity, not just housing, she added.

?Their mission was, and our mission still is, to serve all people of different socioeconomic levels,? Meredith said. ?We?re not just providing housing to people who can afford nice large homes, we?re also providing subsidized housing to more than 140 seniors who can?t quite afford the full cost of housing or retirement living. We?re driven by their goals and their dreams.?

Meredith said the board goes through a strategic planning process every three to five years where they look at Kroontje?s 100-year plan to identify things the village needs in order to be competitive.

?This has been a project our founders envisioned the village needing as it grew,? Meredith said. ?When we went to the master plan to think about The Village Center, where it would go and what it would house, it?s pretty much in the exact location that [Kroontje] specified.?
Kroontje wanted the center to be in a central location to everything he intended to develop in the future. He believed fitness and wellness would be a priority for seniors, Meredith said.

n? n? n
The project, Meredith said, has been a long time coming and is ?right on the money? when it comes to Kroontje?s 100-year plan.
McCarter believes the center will be more than just a new activities center for residents.

?Residents will now have convenient access to health and fitness programming and enhanced cultural programming right here on our campus,? McCarter said. ?The positive impact on the daily lives of our residents is something they deserve and something our founder and the staff of Warm Hearth Village have been eager to be able to provide for a long time.?

Related posts:

1. Rodney Justus named Employee of the Year at Warm Hearth Village
2. Shannon Boston named fitness director for Warm Hearth Village
3. Polished spas to open soon in Roanoke Co. and Blacksburg
4. Blacksburg club chooses to help charities
5. Kids Heaven Childcare offers new preschool program

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Source: http://blogs.roanoke.com/theburgs/news/2012/09/22/village-center-follows-in-founders-footpath/

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Success is a double-edged sword, even for hedge fund moguls

Ray Dalio, the manager of the world's biggest hedge fund firm, has achieved hedge-fund-mogul status. His success comes with certain trappings and pitfalls, Brown writes.

By Joshua M. Brown,?Guest blogger / September 21, 2012

A woman walks past an electronic stock board at the Jakarta Stock Exchange in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday. Ray Dalio is more than just a hedge fund manager, Brown writes.

Achmad Ibrahim/AP

Enlarge

Ray Dalio, with the winship of his hedge fund Bridgewater, has acquired a mystique of mythic proportions over the last year or two.? And with this success, the assets under management have followed.

Skip to next paragraph Joshua M. Brown

Joshua has been managing money for high net worth clients, charitable foundations, corporations and retirement plans for more than a decade.

Recent posts

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And that unfortunate thing that happens with all managers who get really big, really quickly, has started to happen to him.

Here's a quick idea from a piece in Forbes about the wealthiest hedge fund managers in America:

The current king of the hedge fund industry, Ray Dalio, can be found in Westport Ct., where he lords over the world?s biggest hedge fund firm, Bridgewater Associates, with about $130 billion in assets. He scored spectacular returns in the 20% range last year at a time when most other hedge funds struggled. Dalio?s net worth is $10 billion. He has not been able to keep his winning streak going so far in 2012, with one of his most prominent funds down by nearly 3% through the first half of the year. Now at age 63, Dalio is ceding more responsibility and selling ownership stakes in his firm to his employees and clients. Also on the drawing board: A new $750 million headquarters that if it gets regulatory approval will be built by 2017 in Stamford, Ct., to accommodate more than 2,000 employees, nearly double the number of people currently working at the firm.

This is not to say that it's time to write Dalio off as an investment manager, but make no mistake - he is now more than just a manager.? He is now a hedge fund mogul, with all the trappings and pitfalls that come along with it.? It is interesting to note how this sort of thing becomes unavoidable, no matter who it happens to. The payrolls get bigger, there are more families depending on him to keep succeeding and obviously more investors.? Life gets harder, not easier, should he continue on in his current role.

Don't get me wrong, I'd trade places with him in a moment?

Source:?America's Richest Hedge Fund Managers (Forbes)

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Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/PBxZN8wAous/Success-is-a-double-edged-sword-even-for-hedge-fund-moguls

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EU OK's Universal purchase of British label EMI

BRUSSELS (AP) ? Universal Music Group can buy the famed British music company EMI, including the hugely lucrative Beatles catalogue, the European Union's competition regulator said Friday, but must jettison some of the famed label's other big acts, including Coldplay and Pink Floyd.

Among EMI's assets that must go are Parlophone, home to those two British bands as well as Kylie Minogue and David Bowie. The Beatles, which is part of Parlophone, was exempted.

Universal will also have to sell off EMI's classical music divisions, its French and other local branches and labels that are home to Depeche Mode and The Ramones.

EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said that the fact that the companies involved trade in music made the case a particularly emotional one.

"This has been one of the most difficult discussions in my life as commissioner for competition because of ... the existence not only of an industry ? we are used to dealing with mergers between companies in very different sectors ? but the existence of a cultural dimension," said Almunia.

The EU's approval is just one hurdle cleared for Universal, which already represents Jay-Z, Nirvana and U2. The $1.9 billion purchase of EMI's recorded-music division, where talent is nurtured, still needs to get the nod from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Universal's rivals, like Warner Music and small independent labels, have strongly protested the deal, saying it could squeeze out other players.

"This decision has finally put a freeze on Universal's ability to expand further," Helen Smith, executive chair of Impala, an industry group for independent labels, said in a statement Friday. "However, this decision nonetheless reinforces what is already a powerful duopoly."

The Universal deal is one part of the break-up of EMI. Regulators have already allowed a group led by Sony Corp. to buy EMI's music publishing arm for $2.2 billion.

If the Universal deal goes through, its average market share in European countries would be less than 40 percent after the asset sales, Almunia said.

Simon Dyson, the editor of Music & Copyright, an industry newsletter, said it appeared Universal's global market share would rise from around 29 percent to 34.5 percent ? but that because the company was already such a big player, the acquisition was unlikely to drastically change the industry.

"A digital music service can't launch without a company that's got one-third of the world's music, but it also can't launch without a company that has one-quarter," he said. "I genuinely don't see this as big a deal as some of the critics."

Still, if the U.S. also approves the deal, it will mean that the number of major record labels drops from four to three.

Almunia said that was a concern for European regulators, and they are trying to remedy it by insisting that Universal sell about two-thirds of the assets they're getting rid of to one buyer, in the hopes of creating another significant player in the music business, even if it won't be as large as the old EMI ? which was already the smallest of the four "majors."

He hinted that the EU wouldn't want to see either Warner or Sony be the buyer of that chunk, although he said that it was up to Universal to decide whom they wanted to sell to.

Universal welcomed the announcement, brushing off suggestions that it is being forced to sell so much of EMI that the deal might not make sense any more.

"We are delighted Universal Music will retain over two-thirds of EMI on a global basis, contributing to the accretive nature of the deal," the company said in a statement.

The company noted that it is acquiring several iconic artists ? and particularly the Beatles collection. Almunia said the British sensation's songs were exempted from the Parlophone sale because companies themselves propose asset sales in competition negotiations. The regulator can only then approve or deny the proposal; it does not make its own recommendations for what should be sold off.

Dyson agreed that, even with the asset sales, Universal did pretty well.

"They've got arguably the two biggest bands in history ? the Beatles and the Rolling Stones," he said. "That's nothing to sniff at."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eu-oks-universal-purchase-british-label-emi-124447431.html

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