Posted by SBDC in Small Business General. trackback
Today, if you are in business, regardless of whether you are a small home based business or large organization, a strong internet presence is necessary not only to provide information of your business but also allows your prospects to reach you through internet from laptops or smartphones to access the details of services or products you are offering.
Let us look at what are the benefits of selling online?
Low cost to start, you can start selling online by creating a web page, take some pictures of products you are selling, put them in your webpages and start promoting your site to various places. The are many sites which offers free web page design and hosting services, all you need is to do the work, if you are going to start your online business with this method, your cost is literally zero.
Low cost to maintain, marketing cost can be an issue especially for business startup, marketing your business online can be very cost effective, you can join forums where people who are most likely to look for your products and services to market your business. For example, if you are selling automotive parts online, then go look for your local automotive forums where you can post pictures of parts you want to sell. Most forums do not charge members for selling online, your cost is again zero!
Selling online saves a great deal of time. You can work anywhere with your laptop and internet access, you don?t have to travel from your house to the office and get yourself stuck in the traffic every morning or evening. Advertising online provides the convenience of sending your message out to many people with a ?click? on the mouse! Well if you match this to the effort needed to spread brochures out from house to house, emailing out your promotional message saves you time. Looking at the automotive parts business, putting banner ads in automotive forums will automatically direct prospects to your website without having to spend a great deal of time selling. You can then put your precious time on other areas to grow your business and reap the benefits of selling online.
The beauty of selling online is that you can choose to work at the time you want, some people prefer to start working 4?o?clock in the morning and some at 12 midnight, you are not restricted to work from nine to five in an online business. You can reply your customer?s enquiries, process your customer?s orders or do marketing for your business at your convenience.
Bringing your business online allows customers to reach you from every corners of the world, prospects who speak different language can communicate with you through free translation website on their business?enquiries.? Payment can be secured through many online payment services.?Merchandises?can be arranged to be picked up by your local postage service provider. Doesn?t it sounds convenient?
Your online shop is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, it can never sleep! Your customer can access your website to look at the products you offer anytime they want. If you have a fully automated online system set-up, your business is running even while you sleep. You job is to check your bank account once you are awake!
Another benefits of selling online is the increase in profit from the sales of products or services throughout the whole world. The extended operation hour allow more customers to look at your goods and services, this give you greater chances for more sales and profits. ?These are some of the benefits of selling online comparing to bricks and mortar businesses. On the other hand, you can bring your offline businesses online to increase your revenue. Are you ready to go online and live in the virtual world to make some serious money?
Joshua See works with the world?s largest internet marketing, mentoring and coaching center to help individual or businesses build profitable businesses online using proven strategies to market in the internet. To see free videos on How to Market your Offline Business in the World Wide Web & How to Start a?Legitimate Online Business?that Earns 4 Figures a Day or more for life, go now to?http://www.biz3827.com
Ask women about their relationship, writes Jody Schoger, and "you?re apt to hear variations on this theme, 'He never blinked,' or 'He really showed me how strong a man he truly is.' In other words, you?re not apt to hear what it?s truly like for some women." On her blog, she publishes a first-person account from an anonymous contributor that rings true for many. The tl;dr: the impact of cancer is really, really hard for both partners in a relationship?before, during, and after treatment.
What does a cruise line owe you when your dream vacation turns into a nightmare? As passengers who were trapped aboard the ill-fated Carnival Triumph for five days earlier this month are going to learn ? it?s not very much.
The cruise line has very limited liability even when things go terribly wrong. This is all spelled out in the ticket contract.
?The Carnival passenger contract is standard,? said Steve Danishek, a travel industry analyst based in Seattle. ?They protect the cruise lines from all sorts of liability and make it incredibly difficult for a passenger to take any legal action against them.?
Carnival?s ticket contract specifically bans class action lawsuits.
?All disputes other than personal injury, illness or death must go through arbitration and they get to choose the arbitration company,? said Professor Martin Davies, director of the Tulane Maritime Law Center. ?That means if your claim is simply, ?you ruined my vacation,? then this has to go to arbitration.?
And that arbitration hearing will be in Miami, where Carnival is headquartered. This may discourage people from going this route, but experts tell NBC News it?s perfectly legal.
A Miami law firm that specializes in maritime cases has filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Florida against Carnival Corp. on behalf of all of the passengers on board the Carnival Triumph during its fateful cruise earlier this month.
The suit alleges Carnival was negligent because it allowed hazardous conditions ?to exist on its vessel which it knew or should have known was likely to cause injury, harm and damages to its passengers.?
The class action complaint claims passengers were given ?spoiled or rotting food that was unfit for reasonable safe human consumption, and were generally forced to live in squalid conditions that created a severe risk of injury, illness and/or disease.? The lawsuit alleged that the ?unbearable? conditions ?caused numerous passengers to vomit and/or become nauseous.?
The suit specifically asks the court to rule Carnival?s ban on class action claims to be null and void in this case because of the cruise line?s alleged negligence.
Carnival?s public relations manager, Aly Bello-Cabreriza, said the company cannot comment on pending litigation.
University of Washington Law Professor Anita Ramasastry said it will be an uphill battle for the passengers who file lawsuits.
?There is a chance a court would say that the arbitration clause and the class action waiver are unconscionable, especially for people who got sick because of the conditions on the ship,? she said. ?But that?s unlikely when you look at what?s been done in other cases.?
Compensation for a lousy cruise Carnival says it will give all of the 3,000 Triumph passengers a refund for their trip and transportation expenses. Everyone will also get $500 and a future cruise credit equal to what they paid to be on the ship.
In a statement on its website, the company also promised to reimburse everyone for all shipboard purchases made during the voyage, except gift shop and casino charges or art purchases.
This may not be enough to appease the angry passengers, but it is significantly more than the company was required to do for them based on the contract. According to clause 7(c):
?Carnival has the right without previous notice to cancel this contract at the port of embarkation or any time during the voyage and shall thereupon return to the Guest, if the Contract is completely canceled, his passage money, or, if the Contract is partially canceled, a proportionate part thereof. Under such circumstances, Carnival shall have no further liability for damages or compensation of any kind.
?Carnival could have pulled the ship to the nearest port, gotten everybody off and that would have been it,? Danishek explained. ?They would have owed nothing but a partial refund because they would have performed to the terms of the contract.?
Very few people read the contract they get when buy a ticket on a boat, plane or train or rent a car. These companies all have tightly written contracts that are designed to protect them from you.
Related:
Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The "Twilight" team finally has earned some love ? or loathing ? from Team Razzies.
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn ? Part 2" was picked as last year's worst picture Saturday by the Razzies, an Academy Awards spoof that hands out prizes for Hollywood's lousiest movies on the eve of the Oscars.
The finale to the blockbuster supernatural romance dominated the Razzies with seven awards, including worst actress for Kristen Stewart, supporting actor for Taylor Lautner, director for Bill Condon and worst screen couple for Lautner and child co-star Mackenzie Foy.
Adam Sandler was named worst actor for the raunchy comedy "That's My Boy," his second-straight win after 2011's "Jack and Jill," which swept all 10 Razzie categories a year ago. Pop singer Rihanna won worst supporting actress for the action dud "Battleship."
"Twilight" movies had been well represented in Razzie nominations over the years but had not won any key awards there. Razzie voters joke that as with "The Lord of the Rings" finale winning best picture at the Academy Awards, they were waiting for the last "Twilight" flick on which to heap their scorn.
"I have a pet theory, which is that the box office on 'Twilight' films is very impressive, but my theory is that instead of 40 million individual girls going to see it, it's 8 million girls going to see it five times each. People who love those movies just adore them," said Razzies founder John Wilson. "I believe the attitude of people who really love 'Twilight' movies toward this subject is very similar to the pomposity with which the Academy Awards addresses the whole rest of the world. Our whole existence is all about making fun of pompous, so 'Twilight' really is right up our alley."
The "Twilight" finale also won for worst screen ensemble and worst remake, rip-off or sequel. For worst picture, it beat out "Battleship," ''That's My Boy," the family flick "The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure" and Eddie Murphy's comedy flop "A Thousand Words."
Stewart's worst-actress prize came for both "Twilight" and her fairy-tale update "Snow White and the Huntsman."
In the five "Twilight" movies, Stewart stars as sullen teen Bella Swan, who falls for ageless vampire hunk Edward Cullen (worst-actor nominee Robert Pattinson) and finds herself at the center of a love triangle with him and her childhood pal, werewolf stud Jacob Black (Lautner).
Stewart set a consistent standard of emotional stoniness throughout the "Twilight" movies, Wilson said.
"Acting should involve having an expression on your face, and she is blank, other than the morose kind of half-Goth thing her character does," Wilson said. "I didn't realize Snow White and Bella were soul sisters, because of the very limited range of what she can do. I think it was Dorothy Parker who said about Katharine Hepburn that she runs the 'gamut of emotions from A to B.' Kristen Stewart is so expressionless she might as well be a brick wall."
Sandler's "That's My Boy," which also won the worst-screenplay Razzie, flopped at the box office and continues a gradual decline in receipts for the comic actor's movies.
"He's an enormous star who is on what I call the 'down-alator' of his career," Wilson said. "He's about to step off the same cliff Eddie Murphy stepped off about 10 years ago. Eddie Murphy has never come back, and Murphy is more talented."
8h ago - Following up on yesterday's confirmation of PlayStation 4 video game pricing, today Sony CEO Andrew House also confirmed that the PS4 won't support CD and SACD (Super Audio CD) formats.
To quote from ReijiAsakura's Tweet (via twitter.com/ReijiAsakura/status/304699622717267968):
Above: Milie Mackintosh shared a selection of adorable snaps with her pooch Herby on Twitter
Above: Mille Mackintosh had been chilling with the cute French bulldog the day after the BRITs
Above: Millie Mackintosh's pet pooch Herby is just too cute!
HOW cute do they look together?
Millie Mackintosh has been using her time away from filming Made In Chelsea snuggling up to her adorable pet Herby.
Professor Green's girlfriend shared a selection of snaps of her hugging the cute French bulldog on Twitter and Instagram yesterday. [ See also: Millie Mackintosh flaunts Pilates body in super-skinny leather trousers ]
She posted one pic of her cuddling the pooch with the caption: "Puppy snuggles!"
The 23-year-old was relaxing with her pooch the day after partying at the BRITs 2013, which she was feeling a bit worse for wear from.
[ See more celeb news: Millie Mackintosh flaunts her gorgeous face and new hair extensions ]
In the morning she tweeted the simple message: "#hungover".
If a photo is on Facebook and no one looks at it, was it ever even uploaded?
Poor attempt at a joke aside, there's something with which we need to come to terms: There are a lot of photos on Facebook that just sit around, taking up precious data storage space. The social network can't exactly delete these photos just because no one's looking, but it can store them in a more cost-effective and energy-efficient way.
According to the Oregonian's Mike Rogoway, Facebook's testing moving what he describes as "archival posts that people don?t need every day" into cold storagein the social network's data center inPrineville, Oregon.
As fun as it might be to imagine a gigantic meatlocker full of servers, cold storage refers to a data center in which most of the computers are asleep, with a few keeping watch ? and able to wake the others ? for incoming requests to view older items. Compare that to a hot storage data center in which all the computers are wide-awake and ready to show you the information you request almost instantly. (Of course, the difference in the time it takes to grab something from cold storage versus the time it takes to grab something from hot storage is so slight that a typical user could never even tell the difference. Think second or millisecond delays, rather than anything more dramatic.)
Facebook says, according to Rogoway, that "82 percent of its traffic is focused on just 8 percent of its photos." Given that detail, it's not exactly tough to understand why the company's considering cold storage data centers ? especially since they will cost the social network about a third less than standard data centers, offer eight times more storage, and run five times more energy efficiently.
Want more tech news or interesting links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.
AUSTIN, Texas ? ?Under a measure advancing in the Texas Capitol, local police officers could be convicted of a crime for enforcing any new federal gun control laws.
Rep. Steve Toth, a newly elected Republican from the Woodlands, said his proposal would prevent officers from carrying out any future federal orders to confiscate assault rifles and ammunition magazines.
"There's a federal law, there's a 30-round magazine right in front of you - what do I do?" Toth said in an interview. The measure known as the Firearm Protection Act "answers that question in spades," he said. It moved Tuesday to the House Committee on Federalism.
President Barack Obama has proposed federal laws banning such weapons, but no such laws currently exist.
Toth's proposal would create a Class A misdemeanor for police officers enforcing any new federal gun regulations. It also would establish cause for the state attorney general to sue anyone who seeks to enforce new federal gun regulations. It is one of several states-rights measures being offered by conservative state lawmakers nationwide in response to federal gun control proposals.
Courts have long upheld the federal government's right to enact new laws, which generally supersede state law. Asked how legal precedent for the supremacy of federal law would affect enforcement of his bill, Toth said he expects a legal challenge.
"It may end up in the Supreme Court," he said.
Several recently elected lawmakers gathered at a news conference Tuesday with Toth and Richard Mack, a former Arizona sheriff who successfully contested implementation of certain provisions of the Brady gun laws in the 1990s.
"The federal government is not our boss," Mack said. "If there's any place that that's applicable and true, it's the state of Texas."
Referring to Greg Abbott, the attorney general who helped draft the bill, Mack added: "And we've got a great attorney."
Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, R-Collin County and the most senior lawmaker who stood in support of the proposal, said it could become law "if it's not demagogued as an anti-Obama bill."
"This new group of freshman coming in, they're pretty bold," said Laubenberg, who is in her sixth term. "Pretty dynamic. Not just going to sit and let things happen."
Abbott's office confirmed its role in crafting the legislation but distanced itself from the criminal penalties it contains.
"The attorney general does not support a law that would provide any criminal penalties for police officers," said Daniel Hodge, Abbott's top assistant.
Akem, whose name is pronounced JAW-see uh-KEEM, has scholarship offers from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa. He was contacted by Ole Miss this week.
Jordan Brailford
Booker T. Washington, Defensive end
"He's probably the best defensive end I've coached," Hornets coach Marvin Dantzler says. Washington State is expected to extend an offer. Brailford has had dialogue with coaches from OU and Kansas State. Tulsa, OSU and Arkansas also are involved.
Nigel Carter
McLain, Wide receiver
McLain coach Jarvis Payne says Tulsa, OU, Michigan, Illinois, Memphis and Tennessee have expressed interest in the 6-3, 190-pound Carter. "He's a raw talent, but he's really good," Payne said. "He high-jumped 6-foot-6 in the state meet. He's an elite athlete."
MikeQuan Deane
Memorial, Defensive end
The 6-4, 222-pound Deane was invited to a Junior Day event at OU. Memorial coach Tony Daniels says Tulsa, OSU, Michigan and Memphis also have expressed interest. "He wants to play tight end (at the college level), but I could see him being a big-time defensive recruit," Daniels said. "He looks like a man among boys."
Dylan Harding
Jenks, Safety
Tulsa, Colorado State and Memphis have extended offers. Harding attended a TU Junior Day event and was invited to an Alabama Junior Day tour of the Crimson Tide facilities. Harding also has attracted interest from OSU and K-State.
Jeffery Mead
Union, Wide receiver
Clemson was the first to offer a scholarship to the 6-foot-6 1/2 wideout. OU, OSU, California and Washington State have offered. Southern Cal, Tennessee and Georgia Tech have expressed interest. "He's so athletic," Broken Arrow coach Steve Spavital said. "You redshirt Jeffery Mead for a year, and he'll be a stud."
Chandler Miller
Bixby, Offensive lineman
At the start of his sophomore season, Miller weighed 196 pounds. This week, he weighed 284. The 6-3 Miller holds two Bixby program records in weight-lifting and could play center or guard at the college level. Tulsa already has offered a scholarship. Duke also is expected to offer. Miller attended an OSU Junior Day event. His parents are OSU graduates, but "Chandler is in love with the University of Tulsa," Bixby coach Loren Montgomery said.
Steven Parker
Jenks, Safety
Parker could wind up being the highest-rated defensive recruit in Oklahoma. He already has received offers from OU, OSU, TU, Alabama, Nebraska, North Carolina and Washington State. Reportedly, Notre Dame also is involved.
Jeremy Smith
Berryhill, Defensive end
The 6-5, 230-pound Smith has received an offer from Tulsa. OU, OSU, Michigan, Tennessee, Memphis and Texas Tech are among other schools that have expressed interest. "This is all really about to hit for him, I think," Berryhill coach Pat Harper said. "He's a big, athletic, explosive kid - a prototypical defensive end. He averages about 40 yards a punt, without even trying very hard. If you put him at quarterback, he can throw the ball, too. He's the real deal."
Devon Thomas
Broken Arrow, Running back
In November, Thomas announced his commitment to OU. In December, he rescinded that commitment and announced his intention to sign with Oklahoma State. Thomas is among the fastest 100-meter sprint athletes in Oklahoma.
Additional 2014 area prospects expected to get major-college scholarship offers:
Tyler Base, Oologah, offensive lineman
Deangelo Brewer, Central, athlete (QB)
Coleby Evans, Union, linebacker
Lawrence Evitt, Wagoner, running back
Damian Howard, Broken Arrow, safety
Coleman Key, Broken Arrow, quarterback
Josh Kinzer, Owasso, safety
Bishop Louie, McLain, wide receiver
Carson Meier, Union, tight end
Daniel Moniz, Cl. Sequoyah, athlete (QB)
Cole Neph, Owasso, wide receiver
Slade Nordic, Bartlesville, running back
Cameron Oliver, Owasso, tight end
Trent Taber, Jenks, linebacker
Myles Tease, Booker T. Washington, wide receiver-defensive back
Brett Tye, Jenks, running back
Warren Walker, East Central, running back-linebacker
Austin has a national reputation as a business-friendly city. On the whole, that statement seems reasonable. But take a closer look into the restaurant segment of Austin?s business map. And remember, the restaurant/bar industry in the Austin area employs more workers than our much ballyhooed and tax-abated tech industries.
Business-friendly means that the city makes it relatively easy for companies to do business. However, after 14 years of observing and commenting on our local food scene, I would be hard-pressed to agree that the city makes things easy for our local restaurants. I went to lunch with a former high-ranking city official a few years ago, and she stressed to me how Austin was working on helping restaurants cut through the red tape associated with openings and renovations. While she seemed earnest, I have yet to see this alleged policy bear fruit.
It seems like virtually every week I hear another story of doom and gloom from restaurateurs who have seen their openings delayed by months because of mass confusion among the myriad inspectors who grant permits to restaurants. One friend of mine was told that he needed a new grease trap before he could open. So at the cost of time and quite a few dollars, he completed the task, only to have a new inspector show up and say he didn?t like the way the trap was installed. Too small! So my friend, much against his better judgment, had to put a new one in to placate the new inspector. By this time, he had lost his restaurant in San Antonio because he was six months behind opening his new store in north Austin. Ultimately, he was so far behind the 8 ball that he eventually had to close the north location as well. Luckily, he is doing very well with his original location, but no thanks to the city there!
That story, unfortunately, is not an isolated one in the Austin area. The one-stop policy for restaurant permits that the city official touted has not come to fruition. A downtown restaurant recently had almost a 7-month delay in opening because of multiple inspection screw ups. And dare we even mention the E. 11th street fiasco that made it virtually impossible for Ms. B?s and Primizie Osteria to operate?
And many others have had to watch as road construction (most recently at 4th and Colorado) drags on endlessly, months past the declared finish date. Another restaurant on Cesar Chavez died prematurely because the city decided to put in a new sidewalk. I distinctly remember trying to go there one Saturday night only to find a police blockade because crews were working on the sidewalk. On the biggest restaurant night of the week??? The owners later told me that they had seated 6 people the entire evening. That was, and is, completely insane. And yet it happens on a regular basis.
I can?t imagine the city doing to Apple or Google or Samsung or even the newest tech start up what it routinely does to restaurants. While I?m sure the intent may not have been to do harm, the ultimate results have been unpleasant for many new and existing restaurants, and ultimately, their customers. Come on Austin: recognize that the restaurant/bar industries deserve every bit as much respect as the other businesses for which this city routinely paves the way.
By Harmeet Shah Singh, Dan Rivers and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN
updated 9:53 AM EST, Wed February 20, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
David Cameron visits a memorial to a 1919 massacre in the Indian city of Amritsar
Cameron: "We must never forget what happened here"
British prime minister stops short of a formal apology for the colonial-era massacre
Hundreds of people were killed when British troops opened fire on unarmed protesters
New Delhi (CNN) -- UK Prime Minister David Cameron visited the site of the infamous 1919 Amritsar massacre by British troops in India on Wednesday -- but those hoping he might apologize for the atrocity were disappointed.
Cameron, the first serving British prime minister to visit Amritsar, a Sikh holy city in the northwestern state of Punjab, laid a wreath at a memorial to the hundreds killed in the massacre.
Writing in a book of condolences at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial, he described the massacre as "a deeply shameful event in British history." He added, "We must never forget what happened here."
However, he did not give a formal apology for the atrocity, which occurred while India was part of the British Empire.
A spokesman for Cameron said the British state had always described the massacre as monstrous, but that "we need to be careful about going around apologizing for things that happened 40 years before the prime minister was born."
Cameron's trip to India is focused on promoting closer trade and business links.
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, previously visited Amritsar in 1997.
In 1920, then-cabinet minister Winston Churchill condemned the massacre as "an episode which appears to me to be without precedent or parallel in the modern history of the British Empire ... It is an extraordinary event, a monstrous event, an event which stands in singular and sinister isolation."
The atrocity occurred when a British Army general ordered troops to open fire to disperse a crowd of unarmed protesters who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar.
A report by a British-led committee in the wake of the massacre put the number killed at close to 400, with three to four times as many people injured. Indian observers put the number killed at more than 1,000.
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MBL, WOODS HOLE, MADr. Bruce J. Peterson, a senior scholar at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) has been selected by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) to receive the 2013 Alfred C. Redfield Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors the career achievements of an aquatic scientist whose work is recognized for its importance and long-term influence. Dr. Peterson is being honored for "innovative and transformative studies of carbon, nutrient, and water cycles at process, ecosystem, and global scales." He will receive the award at the ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting in New Orleans on February 17.
Dr. Peterson has made seminal contributions in fields ranging from oceanography to limnology, biogeochemistry, ecology, and hydrology. Among these are his use of new methods of analysis, his excellence as a synthesizer, and numerous scientific publications.
"I'm surprised and very excited," said Dr. Peterson, who began his career at the MBL nearly 40 years ago. "This honor puts a capstone on my career and gives me an opportunity to reflect and put things in context, which is something I never would have done unless I received this award."
"This is the premier ASLO award and it could have not been presented to a finer scientist," said ASLO President John Downing.
Throughout his career, Dr. Peterson has studied the cycles that influence ecosystem behavior. His work is relevant to the management and prediction of ecosystem properties in Arctic streams and rivers, nitrogen cycling in headwater streams and estuaries, and the impacts of climate change on the freshwater cycle of the Arctic.
Much of Dr. Peterson's research has been based at Alaska's Toolik Field Station, where, for the last 30 years, he and his colleagues have conducted a nutrient enrichment experiment in the Kuparuk River. The experiment has revealed a general principle of how streams respond to disturbance and is being used as a prototype in the National Ecological Observatory Network, a National Science Foundation-funded observation system that will gather ecological and climate data over the next 30 years at more than 60 terrestrial and aquatic observatory sites across the U.S.
"Bruce has been, from the beginning, a wonderfully creative thinker about how ecosystems work," said Christopher Neill, Director of the MBL Ecosystems Center. "He thinks big and then engages others to think big with him. He's demonstrated that over and over again in his career."
Dr. Peterson also pioneered the tracer approach to investigation of the nitrogen cycle of streams. The technique, first developed for an experiment in the Kuparuk River, has transformed the study of streams and is now used worldwide. "That one experiment has led to many experiments around the world that use this approach," says Dr. Peterson. "I've been really fortunate in that regard, some of the experiments that I have developed with MBL colleagues and others have spawned whole networks of researchit's a real joy."
According to Dr. Peterson, a particularly rewarding part of his career has been working with Russian collaborators to study the freshwater cycle of the Arctic. "I lived during the Cold War and drills at school had us preparing for a nuclear attack," said Dr. Peterson, "My dad was an expert in anti-submarine warfare and spent his career tracking Russian submarines. So, it was particularly gratifying to travel to the great rivers of northern Russia and find that Russian scientists were willing to share information and help us understand global change in the Arctic." Now known as the Arctic Great Rivers Observatory, the NSF-funded project has made fundamental advances in the understanding of land-ocean interactions in the Arctic and has set the baseline against which to judge future changes in the Arctic.
Dr. Peterson received a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. He performed postdoctoral research on the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study and at North Carolina State University. He joined the MBL's Ecosystems Center in 1976, rising up the ranks from postdoctoral associate to senior scientist. Dr. Peterson is a member of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Estuarine Research Federation, and the MBL Corporation. In 2008, Dr. Peterson shared ASLO's John Martin Award with Richard Eppley of Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
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The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery and improving the human condition through research and education in biology, biomedicine, and environmental science. Founded in 1888 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, the MBL is an independent, nonprofit corporation.
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MBL, WOODS HOLE, MADr. Bruce J. Peterson, a senior scholar at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) has been selected by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) to receive the 2013 Alfred C. Redfield Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors the career achievements of an aquatic scientist whose work is recognized for its importance and long-term influence. Dr. Peterson is being honored for "innovative and transformative studies of carbon, nutrient, and water cycles at process, ecosystem, and global scales." He will receive the award at the ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting in New Orleans on February 17.
Dr. Peterson has made seminal contributions in fields ranging from oceanography to limnology, biogeochemistry, ecology, and hydrology. Among these are his use of new methods of analysis, his excellence as a synthesizer, and numerous scientific publications.
"I'm surprised and very excited," said Dr. Peterson, who began his career at the MBL nearly 40 years ago. "This honor puts a capstone on my career and gives me an opportunity to reflect and put things in context, which is something I never would have done unless I received this award."
"This is the premier ASLO award and it could have not been presented to a finer scientist," said ASLO President John Downing.
Throughout his career, Dr. Peterson has studied the cycles that influence ecosystem behavior. His work is relevant to the management and prediction of ecosystem properties in Arctic streams and rivers, nitrogen cycling in headwater streams and estuaries, and the impacts of climate change on the freshwater cycle of the Arctic.
Much of Dr. Peterson's research has been based at Alaska's Toolik Field Station, where, for the last 30 years, he and his colleagues have conducted a nutrient enrichment experiment in the Kuparuk River. The experiment has revealed a general principle of how streams respond to disturbance and is being used as a prototype in the National Ecological Observatory Network, a National Science Foundation-funded observation system that will gather ecological and climate data over the next 30 years at more than 60 terrestrial and aquatic observatory sites across the U.S.
"Bruce has been, from the beginning, a wonderfully creative thinker about how ecosystems work," said Christopher Neill, Director of the MBL Ecosystems Center. "He thinks big and then engages others to think big with him. He's demonstrated that over and over again in his career."
Dr. Peterson also pioneered the tracer approach to investigation of the nitrogen cycle of streams. The technique, first developed for an experiment in the Kuparuk River, has transformed the study of streams and is now used worldwide. "That one experiment has led to many experiments around the world that use this approach," says Dr. Peterson. "I've been really fortunate in that regard, some of the experiments that I have developed with MBL colleagues and others have spawned whole networks of researchit's a real joy."
According to Dr. Peterson, a particularly rewarding part of his career has been working with Russian collaborators to study the freshwater cycle of the Arctic. "I lived during the Cold War and drills at school had us preparing for a nuclear attack," said Dr. Peterson, "My dad was an expert in anti-submarine warfare and spent his career tracking Russian submarines. So, it was particularly gratifying to travel to the great rivers of northern Russia and find that Russian scientists were willing to share information and help us understand global change in the Arctic." Now known as the Arctic Great Rivers Observatory, the NSF-funded project has made fundamental advances in the understanding of land-ocean interactions in the Arctic and has set the baseline against which to judge future changes in the Arctic.
Dr. Peterson received a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. He performed postdoctoral research on the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study and at North Carolina State University. He joined the MBL's Ecosystems Center in 1976, rising up the ranks from postdoctoral associate to senior scientist. Dr. Peterson is a member of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Estuarine Research Federation, and the MBL Corporation. In 2008, Dr. Peterson shared ASLO's John Martin Award with Richard Eppley of Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
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The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery and improving the human condition through research and education in biology, biomedicine, and environmental science. Founded in 1888 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, the MBL is an independent, nonprofit corporation.
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Watch the Pakistan vs South Africa 2nd Test Match Cricket Live Streaming Online HD Video - February 14 - 18, 2013
South Africa. Despite my allegiance and the South African pace attack's penchant for dismissing Test sides for under 50, I was hoping for an even contest. Wish granted!
Pakistan vs South Africa 2nd Test Cricket Match Day 3 Live Streaming Link 1
Pakistan vs South Africa 2nd Test Cricket Match Day 3 Live Streaming Link 2
Saeed Ajmal stole the show and silenced the crowd. He was brought on in the 12th over and he certainly didn't disappoint. With figures of 5 for 41 in 25 overs, he persistently tested South Africa's vaunted batting line-up - much to the frustration of the Newlands faithful.
Feb. 15, 2013 ? Preliminary information indicates that a meteor in Chelyabinsk, Russia, is not related to asteroid 2012 DA14, which is flying by Earth safely today.
The Russia meteor is the largest reported since 1908, when a meteor hit Tunguska, Siberia. The meteor entered the atmosphere at about 40,000 mph (18 kilometers per second). The impact time was 7:20:26 p.m. PST, or 10:20:26 p.m. EST on Feb. 14 (3:20:26 UTC on Feb. 15), and the energy released by the impact was in the hundreds of kilotons.
Based on the duration of the event, it was a very shallow entry. It was larger than the meteor over Indonesia on Oct. 8, 2009. Measurements are still coming in, and a more precise measure of the energy may be available later. The size of the object before hitting the atmosphere was about 49 feet (15 meters) and had a mass of about 7,000 tons.
The meteor, which was about one-third the diameter of asteroid 2012 DA14, was brighter than the sun. Its trail was visible for about 30 seconds, so it was a grazing impact through the atmosphere.
It is important to note that this estimate is preliminary, and may be revised as more data is obtained.
A meteor fireball lit up the morning sky over Chelyabinsk in?central Russia, producing a shock wave that shattered windows and injured an estimated 500 people. Although much of the parent object likely burned up in the atmosphere, Russian authorities say that several meteorite fragments have already been recovered,?according to the Interfax news agency.
A preliminary analysis posted to the Web site of the Russian Academy of Sciences estimates that the object that struck Earth?s atmosphere?was a few meters in diameter, ?the weight of the order of ten tons [and] the energy of a few kilotons,? according to a Google translation. That ?would make the Chelyabinsk event a fairly common occurrence, although such strikes usually occur over less-populated regions, not cities of more than a million people. On average, a four-meter asteroid hits Earth every year, delivering five kilotons of energy,?Southwest Research Institute senior scientist Clark Chapman found in a 2004 analysis.
The Chelyabinsk?impact appears unrelated to the close passage of the 50-meter asteroid 2012 DA14, which is expected to zip past Earth at a distance of less than 30,000 kilometers around 2:30 P.M. Eastern time today?inside the orbit of some satellites. On Twitter, the European Space Agency stated that agency experts have confirmed that there is no link between the two events.
A dashboard camera captured some dramatic footage (below) of this morning?s event.
We will update this post as more information becomes available.
Donald Trump, the businessman, reality TV mogul and detractor of President Barack Obama, will be the keynote speaker at the Oakland County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner fundraiser this spring.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to share my thoughts and views with the Oakland County Republican Party and the great state of Michigan," Trump said in a release. "As the oldest, largest and one of the most influential Lincoln Day Dinners in the country, I could not have been more pleased to receive this invitation."
The dinner will be held May 21 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. Tickets to the dinner, which is the Oakland County GOP's primary fundraiser, cost from $75 to $750 for an individual ticket and up to $5,000 for a table of 10.
"We are thrilled to have Mr. Trump headline this year's event," David Trott, chairman of the Lincoln Day Dinner, said in the release. "The Lincoln Day Dinner is a tradition Oakland County has celebrated for 124 years, and it is only fitting that our keynote address is delivered by one of the most celebrated and recognizable entrepreneurs and philanthropists in the world."
A real estate developer, Trump gained additional fame as the star of "The Apprentice" TV show. During the last election cycle, Trump considered a run for president and later became one of the biggest proponents of the "birther" movement, questioning whether Obama was born in the U.S.
GENEVA (Reuters) - An estimated 40,000 people have fled a town in eastern Syria after three days of heavy fighting between government troops and rebels, the United Nations food agency said.
Rebels seized al-Shaddadeh in Syria's oil-producing east on Thursday after the clashes which killed 30 of their fighters and 100 Syrian government troops, a violence monitoring group told Reuters.
"A WFP (World Food Programme) team visited the area and estimated that around 40,000 people have fled al-Shaddadeh to al-Hasakah city (the regional capital)," the U.N. agency told journalists in Geneva on Friday.
Northeastern Syria was hit by four years of drought before the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad started nearly two years ago, resulting in high rates of malnutrition among children, WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said.
"The fighting and displacement only aggravates the misery of these people," she said, adding the agency had sent extra rations to the area this week.
Taking Shaddadeh brings the rebels closer to the provincial capital Hasakah, 45 km (30 miles) to the north in the surrounding Hasakah province.
The fresh displacement adds to an estimated 2.5 million people already uprooted within Syria, many living in squalid conditions in schools and other public buildings converted into shelters, according to the United Nations.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Back at the end of January we stumbled onto Cryamore, a great-looking action roleplaying game that was just settling into its Kickstarter campaign.
Cryamore tantalized us with gameplay that promised to recall elements of The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and The Secret of Mana - along a more modern Lili aesthetic - yet mobile gamers were left wanting: Cryamore was cagey about coming to iOS and Android at the start of its campaign.
Now, after 19 days of fundraising, Cryamore has exceeded its $150,000 stretch goal and confirmed support for an iOS, Android, and Ouya release.
Esmy and my shadow
The indie RPG follows the story of Esmyrelda Maximus (Esmy), a young adventurer who leaves her village to find new deposits of the energy-rich mineral cryamore.
Despite Esmy's enthusiasm, however, this mission won't be a simple task.
The prolonged use of cryamore has upset the island's fragile ecosystem and called waves of monsters into being. Esmy will need to battle these beasties while exploring the island and solving puzzles if she hopes to find the fabled stores of lost cryamore.
Thankfully, this will likely be an enjoyable quest for players as Cryamore features Unity-powered graphics, hand-drawn backgrounds, and an evocative soundtrack by composer Aivi Tran.
There are still 11 days left in Cryamore's Kickstarter campaign for those looking to secure backer rewards. Should Cryamore hit its $175,00 stretch goal, its developers plan to include an in-game arcade that will feature minigames for players to enjoy.
Photo Credit: Photos Courtesy of Universal Studios, Copyright 2012
Nikita Rector, Editor in Chief February 14, 2013 Filed under Arts and Entertainment, Top Stories
Identity Thief is an action packed comedy, filled with heartwarming moments. It is the perfect blend of family, friendship, fun, excitement and adventure.
Sandy Patterson, played by Jason Bateman, is a hardworking husband and father, who discovers that his identity has been stolen, and he is about to lose his job.
Diana, played by Melissa McCarthy, is an outlandish, crazy character who spends her days going on shopping sprees and hitting up the bar, using an id that reads ?Sandy Bigelow Patterson.?
Sandy flies to Florida to bring Diana to Denver, to clear his name, and quickly runs into many problems.
The two of them end up driving across the country, being chased by an angry bounty hunter, and two drug dealers looking for revenge.
McCarthy does an outstanding job in this film. Her character is hilarious and witty as she drinks, fights, sings, and dances her way to the top. But McCarthy also brings a more sentimental side to her character, as she and the real Sandy seemingly become friends.
Other cast members include: Jon Favreau as Harold Cornish, Amanda Peet as Trish Patterson, Tip ?T.I.? Harris as Julian, Genesis Rodriguez as Marisol, John Cho as Daniel Casey and Morris Chestnut as Detective Riley.
According to Box Office Mojo.com, Identity Thief held the number one spot in the U.S., after making $36.6 million during opening weekend.
This is an excellent movie, and I highly suggest it to anyone looking to have a good laugh.
Do note that it is Rated R for sexual content and language, and anyone under the age of 17 will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Tags: action, Amanda Peet, Box Office Mojo.com, comedy, Daniel Casey, Detective Riley, Diana, Florida, Genesis Rodriguez, Harold Cornish, Identity Thief, Jason Bateman, John Cho, Jon Favreau, Julian, Marisol, Melissa McCarthy, Morris Chestnut, Movie Review, Nebraska, NECC, Nikita Rector, Norfolk, Rated R, Sandy Bigelow Patterson, Tip 'T.I.' Harris, Trish Patterson, U.S. box office, ViewPoint
A nightmare cruise ended Thursday night, as the disabled Carnival Triumph was towed the final mile into port.
For a Claremore family, the ship can't dock soon enough.
"It sounds as though it probably should have never set sail," said Darren Gooch.
Eight days into a four-day cruise, Gooch, from Claremore, said his fellow passengers on the Carnival Triumph were dirty, hungry and angry.
He said he'd even broken up a fight between a husband and wife.
"The woman was yelling and hitting and she was screaming that she was gonna jump off the boat," Good said.
He shared some pictures from onboard the ship. One shows smoke outside his stateroom, after the ship's engine room caught on fire.
2/12/2013 Related Story: Family Concerned About Muskogee Woman On Stranded Cruise Ship
"The next thing we knew, we had people running, we had crew members
running, banging on the doors telling us to get our life jackets and get
to our muster stations, which is where the lifeboats are," Gooch said.After the fire, the power went out. Plumbing problems soon had toilet
water and sewage sloshing through staterooms. People were sleeping
wherever they could find a dry, safe space, even in lobbies and
stairwells, and up on deck in makeshift "tent cities"
"Everybody took sheets and tied them to the rails and slept on the
furniture out on the pool deck to protect themselves from the sun and
the wind," Gooch said.
Helicopters have been dropping in essential supplies, like fresh water, as the voyage stretched on.
Originally slated to arrive at Mobile, Alabama, Thursday afternoon, a
tow line snapped and added seven to 10 hours to the trip, as the
Triumph was tugged back to shore.
Gooch was on the cruise with his wife and four teenaged children.
They also brought his wife's grandmother and her sister, both of whom
are in their 80s. Gooch says Carnival has promised each of them a full
refund and a $500 check.
Today, if you are in business, regardless of whether you are a small home based business or large organization, a strong internet presence is necessary not only to provide information of your business but also allows your prospects to reach you through internet from laptops or smartphones to access the details of services or products you are offering.
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Public release date: 16-Feb-2013
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