Wednesday, December 26, 2012

No Ben Affleck? That's OK, Massachusetts Senate race still poised to be big.

If John Kerry's seat needs to be filled next year, it will be the fourth time Massachusetts voters have chosen Senate candidates in a six-year period. Actor-director Ben Affleck said Monday he won't run.

By Mark Trumbull,?Staff writer / December 26, 2012

Sen. John Kerry D-Mass., speaks with actor Ben Affleck during a meeting with foreign relations members to discus the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.

Jose Luis Magana/AP

Enlarge

Massachusetts seems to have a thing about Senate races. The state is holding elections more often than usual for US Senate seats, and in ways that garner the national spotlight.

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First, remember what's typical under the US Constitution: Each state has two Senate seats, with each coming up for election every six years, on a staggered schedule.

Then, think about this string of events: Massachusetts residents appear poised to cast ballots for the US Senate four times in a six-year period, or twice the typical pace. John Kerry (D) won a reelection vote in 2008. Then, after the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D), the state held a special election in early 2010 that drew national attention with Scott Brown's surprise Republican victory.

Then came the epic battle, just concluded last month, in which Elizabeth Warren took that seat back for Democrats. Now, a few weeks later, with President Obama nominating Senator Kerry to be his next secretary of State, the stage is set for another high-profile special election in the new year.

Mr. Brown, a winner in 2010 and a loser in 2012, may be back as a Republican candidate in 2013.

He won't be running against Ben Affleck. The actor-director on Monday took his name off the list of possible Democratic contenders.

But whoever ends up running, assuming that Kerry is confirmed as secretary of State, the race is sure to be a magnet for media attention and money. It would be one of the few opportunities in 2013 for voters to have a say about who sits in Congress at a time of hot fiscal debates and narrow division of power between parties.

Back in 2010, Brown's upset win foreshadowed the conservative gains later that year that would tip the House of Representatives back into Republican control. This time around, the race could become, in part, an early verdict on the performance of both parties on things like tax rates, budget deficits, and how to keep programs like Medicare and Social Security financially healthy.

Whoever wins would have to turn around and start campaigning all over again pretty quickly, since the seat is up for a scheduled vote in 2014.

How did Massachusetts get into this flurry of Senate activity?

Yes, the answer involves the death of one senator and the appointment of another to a presidential cabinet post. But it's also about decisions made in the State House in Boston about how to handle such vacancies.

Some 36 states let the governor wield the power of appointment to fill a Senate vacancy ? even if the unexpired term has years to run.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/0920a7zmmV8/No-Ben-Affleck-That-s-OK-Massachusetts-Senate-race-still-poised-to-be-big

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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

MintLife Blog | Personal Finance News & Advice | Should You Ditch ...

mortgage rates

In the past several years, many?homeowners?looking for lower monthly?mortgage?payments took out adjustable-rate mortgages to purchase or?refinance?their homes.

As both?mortgage rates?and short-term?interest rates?remain low, many borrowers are now wondering whether moving into a fixed-rate?loan?makes financial sense for them.

Here are a few things to consider:

Factors at play

1. Short-term interest rates are low.?Your rate is usually pegged to the 12-month Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate)?index.

The value is currently at .84 percent, and your margin is most likely somewhere around 2 to 3 percent, call it 2.5 percent (index + margin equals your interest rate).

2. Fixed-rate mortgages,?such as the?30-year fixed?rate mortgage, make an alternative to a fixed-debt structure.

3. You?ll need at least 3 percent equity in your primary home to refinance.

4. Can paying down the principal balance justify the refi??The return on equity by means of payment reduction will far likely outweigh your money market returns.

If, for example, it takes $50,000 to free up $400 per month, you?ll receive a 10.42 percent return on your money versus the 0.5 percent return from the bank.

Adjustable-rate vs. fixed rate

In a typical mortgage rate pricing pattern, you will usually see a spread of around 1 percent in a rate comparing a 30-year fixed rate mortgage with an adjustable-rate mortgage such as a?5/1 ARM.

For example, some borrowers?are currently being quoted rates of 3.24 percent for 30-year fixed mortgages and 2.4 percent for 5/1 ARMs.

So, with interest rates hovering near those historic lows, is now a good time to move from an adjustable-rate mortgage to a fixed-rate loan?

The answer depends on how long you plan to own your home and the amount of risk you?re willing to take when it comes to your monthly payments.

Switching to a fixed-rate loan would allow you to rest assured that your principal and interest payments would remain consistent throughout the life of the loan, whether you own the home for another three years or 30.

Sticking with an adjustable-rate mortgage, however, means that you?ll face annual adjustments to your interest rate and monthly payments.

For a?3/1 ARM, for example, the interest rate will be set rate for three years, then will reset every year for the remaining 27 years of the original 30-year term.

If you?re convinced that you?re living in the home of your dreams, then the stability and reliability that a fixed-rate loan offers may be more appealing to you than facing the annual payment uncertainty.

If, however, you?re likely to sell soon or tend to relocate often for work, then the lower interest rates and payments of an adjustable-rate mortgage might make more financial sense for you and your shorter-term ownership needs.

?Should You Ditch Your Adjustable-Rate Mortgage?? was provided by Zillow.com.?

Source: http://www.mint.com/blog/housing/should-you-ditch-your-adjustable-rate-mortgage-1212/

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Two die as passenger jet lands in Myanmar rice field - World News

Stringer / Reuters

Soldiers stand at the crash site of a Air Bagan plane in Myanmar, Tuesday.

By NBC News staff and wire reports

YANGON, Myanmar ? A passenger jet missed an airport runway in heavy fog and landed in a rice paddy, killing two people on the ground and injuring 10, state television in Myanmar said Tuesday.

The pilot of the Air Bagan plane touched down beyond Heho airport in Shan state, killing an 11-year-old passenger and a motorcyclist on the ground, MRTV said.

Four foreigners and the pilot were among the injured. The plane was carrying 63 passengers, 51 of whom were foreigners. MRTV said.

Air Bagan is one of five airlines operating domestic routes in Myanmar.

Stringer / Reuters

People gather at the crash site of a Air Bagan plane in Myanmar, Tuesday.

Owned by Tay Za, a local tycoon blacklisted by the United States for his alleged links to former military regime, Air Bagan was the country's first privately run carrier when it was established in 2004.

Agence France Press (AFP) reported that the aircraft - one of two Fokker-100s in the Air Bagan fleet - was forced to make an emergency landing two miles from Heho airport, which is the gateway to the popular tourist destination of Inle Lake.

Reuters contributed to this report.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/25/16140483-two-die-as-passenger-jet-lands-in-myanmar-rice-field

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How to cope with a slow connection away from home

19 hrs.

Q. ?I'm going home for the holidays, and my parents have a very slow connection. Do you have any tips for getting my work done effectively when everything's moving slower than molasses??

Separate your Internet-heavy work and postpone it?
A.?
Before you start making tweaks to your browser and computer, it's a good idea to take stock of what work you have and separate it into two categories. GigaOM explains:

Divide your tasks into bandwidth-heavy and bandwidth-light. Evaluate your routine web tasks and see which ones you can do with a slow connection, and which ones require a faster, more reliable one. This is especially important if your mobile Internet provider charges based on bandwidth usage instead of time. Aliza Sherman did something similar in a previous post, to help her work around bandwidth limits.

This is particularly useful if you know you're going to be stuck on a slow connection, but even if you get yourself in a bind, you can still do some re-prioritization quickly. If you have some Internet-heavy tasks that can't wait, you should delegate them to someone else if you can???heck, even offer to pick up some of your co-workers' Internet-light load if they can help you out.

Tweak your browser for low-speed connections
Chances are, your browser isn't exactly primed for slow Internet speeds. So, we recommend grabbing a second browser that you can tweak to work better with slow connections. Opera is a great choice, because it has a Turbo Mode that optimizes the Web for faster loading, but no matter what, there are a number of tweaks you can make to speed up your browser, like:

With these few tweaks in place, you should find things run a little smoother and you won't be stuck waiting for pages quite as long.

Use mobile, HTML or other low-footprint sites
These days, a lot of websites load up their pages with junk that isn't really a problem when you have a normal high-speed connection, but can really bog things down when your connection is limited. Some of them have alternatives in place.?

Gmail, for example, has a handy HTML version that you can use to cut down on the crap when you need to get into your email quicker. You can also see if a specific site has a mobile version, designed for smartphones. Most mobile sites will only load if you're actually on a mobile device, though, so you'll want to change your browser's user agent to make sites recognize you as a smartphone.

Work outside your browser whenever possible
The?more you stay in your browser, the longer you'll be waiting for pages to load. Travel website Gadling recommends transferring as much of that work outside your browser as possible. For example, if you write on a blog or do any work in Google Docs, transfer that to a desktop app like Microsoft Office or LibreOffice for the time being. Heck, you can even compose an email in Notepad while you wait for it to load???don't waste any time watching a progress bar when you could be doing something else.

When you do have to work in your browser, try not to put too much stress on it. Open one tab at a time, so you aren't trying to load a bunch of pages at once (since it'll take them longer, and you can only read one at a time). Close tabs you aren't using often, as they can often take up bandwidth even if you aren't looking at them.

Turn off bandwidth-sucking background apps?
With all the focus on your browser, you may forget that other apps like Dropbox might be taking up precious bandwidth in the background. Close any and all of those you don't need to do your work, or put them into offline mode so they aren't constantly checking if they need to sync. Some apps may require some foresight for this to work: Notational Velocity and ResophNotes will work fine without a connection, for example, but Evernote will require you to go into its settings and download your notebooks before it'll work in offline mode.

When all else fails, find better Wi-Fi?
No one wants to rush around all day trying to find better Internet, but if what you're using is just too slow, look elsewhere. Free Wi-Fi is everywhere, and if at first you don't succeed, find a faster hotspot. You won't be able to do this all day if you have work to get done, but you should be able to find something that's somewhat workable for the time being.

More from Lifehacker:

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/how-deal-slow-internet-connection-away-home-1C7660214

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2012?s most recommendable anime and superhero movies

Here?s a nice year-end wrap-up survey, goo Ranking looking at the animated and superhero movies that people would most recommend.

Demographics

Between the 5th and 7th of November 2012 1,049 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 58.8% of the sample were female, 10.2% in their teens, 14.6% in their twenties, 27.5% in their thirties, 25.1% in their forties, 11.0% in their fifties, and 11.7% aged sixty or older. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.

I?ve seen none of the Japanese ones on the list, but I enjoyed Brave, missed Puss in Boots as it had a very limited dubbed release, but I just saw Frankenweenie recently on a plane, and I thought it was really hilarious. I presume it is low scoring because it wasn?t released until after the survey was conducted.

Here?s a trailer for the top film:

Ranking result

Q: What animated or superhero movies of 2012 would you want to recommend to others? (Sample size=1,049)

Rank ? Score
1 The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki 100
2 Evangelion Q 80.2
3 Detective Conan ? Case Closed: The Eleventh Striker 75.2
4 One Piece Film: Z 68.6
5 Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles ? Animal Adventure 61.2
6 Puss in Boots 59.5
7 Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm Called!: Me and the Space Princess 36.4
8 Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie 33.1
9 A Letter to Momo 30.6
10 Resident Evil: Damnation 28.9
11 Soreike! Anpanman Yomigaere Banana Island 28.1
12 Brave 27.3
13 The Lorax 24.0
14= Library War: The Wings of Revolution 23.1
14= Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie 23.1
16= Pocket Monsters Best Wish 17.4
16= 009 RE?CYBORG 17.4
16= Blue Exorcist The Movie 17.4
19 Berzerk: Ougon Jidai Hen II Dordorei Kouryaku 16.5
20= Magic Tree House 15.7
20= Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie 15.7
22 Kamen Rider x Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen 14.9
23 Kamen Rider Fourze the Movie: Everyone, Space Is Here! 14.0
24 Tiger and Bunny The Beginning 13.2
25= Guskou Budori no Denki 11.6
25= Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Wizard & Fourze: Movie War Ultimatum 11.6
27= Movie Smile Pretty Cure! Ehon no Naka wa Minna Chiguhagu! 10.7
27= Macross FB7 Ginga Ryukon Ore no Uta wo Kike! 10.7
29= Movie Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage ? Mirai no tomodachi 9.9
29= Magical Girl Lyrical NANOHA The MOVIE 2nd A?s 9.9
29= Frankenweenie 9.9
32 Nerawareta Gakuen 7.4
33 Ultraman Saga 5.8
34 Fairy Tail the Movie: The Phoenix Priestess 5.0
35 Naruto the Movie: Road to Ninja 4.1
Read more on: 2012,anime,goo ranking

Permalink

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatJapanThinks/~3/c5mq7uYvQzk/

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Republicans Fight for Small, Democrats for Big, Business | The ...

As the tax debate continues, Republicans have a good opportunity to contrast their own support for small businesses with the Democrats' support for big business.?As Kimberley Strassel writes in Friday's Wall Street Journal, big business is backing President Obama's refusal to stop the looming tax hikes on the top 2 percent of income-earners. Those tax hikes?which are going to happen whether a deal to avoid the misnamed "fiscal cliff" is struck or not (as Obama won't agree to any deal that prevents them)?would sock it to small businesses and weaken them as competitors of big business.?(As I've previously argued, the GOP would be wise to pass legislation to stop the tax hike on the other 98 percent and provide spending cuts to offset the projected revenue loss.) ?As Strassel writes:

Wall Street

"The Business Roundtable let the cat out of the bag on Dec. 11 when it circulated a letter signed by 150 of its corporate titans sanctioning year-end income-tax hikes. The letter happened to appear a few hours after the White House leaked its offer to include corporate tax reform as part of any cliff deal. The reform, in theory, would lower corporate tax rates.

"Put another way, the Roundtable saw an opportunity to make the one million small American business owners who pay individual income taxes shoulder a big rate hike (up to 39.6%, from 35%) while radically lightening the tax load for the Roundtable's own corporate behemoths (to 28% from 35%). Any corporate tax reform hinges on closing 'loopholes' to pay for a lower corporate rate. Small business owners would lose tax perks along with everyone else?meaning they would pay even more?but they would not benefit from lower corporate rates."

Strassel ads:

"Some CEOs have taken to spinning bizarre economic logic on behalf of their position. Witness FedEx CEO Fred Smith, who recently explained that it is 'mythology' that raising taxes on small business kills jobs. But it was true, he said, that lowering corporate rates for big business will help create jobs. Track that logic.

"The White House is lapping all this up, using the corporate sellout to its political advantage. President Obama has appeared mainly with the big CEOs who agree with him, the better to present them as representative of all business, and the better to highlight their back-stabbing of Republican budget negotiators. By contrast, the National Federation of Independent Business?which remains opposed to individual rate hikes on its many small business members?has been treated like a pariah. That's the thanks that they, along with the Chamber of Commerce, get for holding true to the principle of tax reform and lower taxes for all businesses.

"The White House played a similar game with Big Business leaders during the health-care debate. Back then, the president promised that in return for their support of ObamaCare he'd give them corporate tax reform. Fool me twice..."

While big business cozies up to Obama once again, Republicans have an opportunity to enhance their reputation as the party of Main Street. But it won't be enough for GOP congressmen and spokesmen to continue repeating that they are looking out for small business. For this point to resonate with the public, they will have to directly contrast their support for small business with Obama's preference for big business, the natural ally of big government.

Source: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/republicans-fight-small-democrats-big-business_691098.html

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Monday, December 24, 2012

Awesome collection of photos of early computers | News | Design ...

EARLY COMPUTERS OLD PHOTOS

EARLY COMPUTER MODEL

WITCH - Year 1951

early computer models

Whirlwind - Year 1951

early computer models

UNIVAC I - Year 1951

early computer models

UNIVAC 1108 - Year 1964

early computer models

Pegasus - Year 1956

early computer models photo

IBM NORC - Year 1954

early computer models photo

IBM 7090 - Year 1959

early computer models photo

IBM 702 - Year 1955

early computer models photo

IBM 305 RAMAC - Year 1956

early computer models photo

Honeywell 200 - Year 1963

early computer models photo

ENIAC - Year 1946

early computer models photo

Datasaab D2 - Year 1960

early computer models photo

Colossus - Year 1944

early computer models photo

BRLESC I - Year 1962

early computer models photo

BESK - Year 1953

early computer models photo

Bendix G-15 - Year 1556

early computer models photo

AN-FSQ-758 - 1958

early computer models photo

AKAT-1 - Year 1959

early computer models photo

Z4 - Year 1944

EARLY?COMPUTERS?OLD?PHOTOS

About the Author

Source: http://theskunkpot.com/index.php/awesome-collection-of-photos-of-early-computers/

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Sunday, December 23, 2012

DaTechGuy: Under the Fedora 1924-2012 ? GraniteGrok

We here at Granite Grok note with deep sympathy, the recent passing of Pete Ingemi?s mother, Mary at the age of 88. In Pete?s ?Under The Fedora? column this week, he weaves a tale of history, family, and politics, and of the strong woman of great integrity who meant so much to all his family and friends. I was privileged to meet Mary twice during the past year, and she was a remarkable woman. Please enjoy Pete?s column:

Under the Fedora 1924-2012

Posted on December 20, 2012 By Da TechGuy

In November of 1924 Calvin Coolidge who came to the White House the year earlier after the death of Warren G. Harding, was elected in his own right to the presidency taking 35 states, 382 electoral votes and 54% of the popular vote vs John W. Davis? 136 Electoral votes and 28.8% popular and Progressive Robert M. La Follete who managed 16.6% of the popular vote but carried only Wisconsin.

Despite the prosperity of the nation and his own personal popularity Coolidge did not choose to run for president in 1928 and would retire from public life dying in 1933 at the age of 60.

Twelve days after Coolidge?s election in the state he served as governor, a Sicilian woman named Grazia gave birth for the seventh and final time. Grazia had come to America shortly before the eruption of Mt. Etna and follow up earthquake that destroyed the city where she and her future husband Antonio had lived. He had left Sicily before her and after a brief time in Brazil, would settle in Fitchburg Massachusetts There he would become a barber, marry Grazia, and raise their family at the end of a dead end street.

Two of their 4 girls and two boys did not live to see their sister Mary born. Steven died at birth and the oldest girl had died at age three. Mary would be baptized at the fairly new Italian Catholic Church, St. Anthony di Padua that her parents had been married in and would live her entire single life in the house on Matthews street where she was born.

???????????

On February 22, 1937 Congressman James Paul Buchanan of the 10th District of Texas died. His wife was considered a shoe in for the special election but had not yet decided to run. A congressional aide named Lyndon Johnson, wanted the seat. He visited his father a former three term state Rep Sam Johnson for advice. The elder Johnson as Biographer Robert Caro put it, didn?t have to think twice. ?She?s an old woman. She?s too old for a fight. If she knows she?s going to have a fight she won?t run. Announce now?before she announces. If you do she won?t run.? Lyndon listened to his father. Mrs. Buchanan didn?t run and after a hard fought victory he took his first step on the road to the White House.

In August of that year Angelina Garbarsi and her husband came from Boston to stay with their relatives on Matthews Street for two weeks as they did every year for the Annual two day Madonna Della Cava festival at Saint Anthony Di Padua celebrating a 13th century Marian Apparition in Sicily.

While Mary & her family (including older sister Lucy, Angelina?s Goddaughter) were strong Catholics, the childless Angelina was considered particularly devout and saintly, even for her time. She attended daily Mass and had taken the vows of devotion in honor of the Madonna Della Cava including abstaining from meat on Wednesdays for life. She had spoken to Mary and her godchild Lucy about the faith often during her annual visits and while Lucy?s devotion to prayer and her Godmother would be strong and lifelong, that November it would be Mary who would take that same vow on her 13th birthday that Angelina had taken the previous century. She would never break it.

?????????

June 1942 was a pivotal time for America at war. Off the Island of Midway the American Navy under Admirals Fletcher and Sprague would win the critical battle of Midway sinking four Japanese Aircraft Carriers and destroying the cream of the Japanese naval air force.

That same month Mary graduated from Fitchburg High School. Many members of the class of 42? would go directly to war. Some would not come back. Mary?s older brother Johnny was already serving in Patton?s Army and would eventually be awarded the Silver Star for gallantry. A cousin that Mary corresponded with regularly would be killed in action. Mary would use her math and typing skills sharpened on a Royal Typewriter that her father skimped to buy her to good effect as a secretary but he drew the line when one of her friends offered her a chance to join her in the program flying military aircraft domestically freeing up the men for combat It would be one of the biggest disappointments of her life and she would speak of it whenever an air show came to town.

??????????????-

In 1946 Winston Churchill gave the speech coining the term ?Iron Curtain? to describe the state of countries made puppets under Soviet control at the end of World War 2. It was a public declaration of the new reality of the conflict between the free west and the enslaved nations of the Communist world that would dominate life on the planet until the end of the 20th century.

In 1946 Mary would lay out an ultimatum to a 25 year old sailor named Dominic. They had met through a comedy of errors a few years earlier and when that sailor, who was a hardworking, gregarious carpenter returned from the Pacific he was anxious to marry her. Mary bluntly refused if he remained in the navy. Dominic wanted a future in the navy, but he wanted one with Mary more. They would marry the next year and raise five children in their 40 years of marriage.

???????????????????????

1968 would begin with the Tet Offensive in Vietnam a military disaster for the Communists but a Propaganda victory leading to the defeat of South Vietnam and causing Lyndon Johnson to not seek re-election. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy would be assassinated within a few months of each other and in November Richard Nixon would win his first term as president.

Just before Christmas in 1968 Mary & Dominic would move their five children to a much larger house built next door to Grazia who had been widowed the year before. It was largest home the family had ever had with 4 bedrooms three bathrooms to be shared by the children ages 5-20. Ironically, within a few years 3 of the five children would be married and gone.

?????????

In 1974 Richard Nixon resigned as a result of the Watergate scandal, a transformative event in American political history that is still felt today. Nixon was ill in body and mind at the end. He would recover physically and pols would consult him privately on serious matters but the miracle necessary to recover his public reputation would not come in his lifetime.

It would be a different story in 1974 for Mary. For the second of three times the miraculous would intervene in Mary?s devout catholic life. This occasion was in a near empty basement chapel at St. Bernard?s Catholic Church.

After Sunday Mass at St. Anthony?s Mary would attend the healing services of Fr. Ralph DiOrio at St. Bernards making prayer intentions for her ailing mother.

Mary didn?t tell Fr. DiOrio about illness that reduced her to an all milk diet keeping her from the spicy Italian foods that she so loved. After all she had somehow survived a horrific gas explosion more than a decade before, her terrible burns inexplicably healing without scaring thanks to a cream nobody heard of, purchased by her husband days before, from a salesman nobody knew that he applied directly afterwards from a jar nobody could find. That explosion and two unrelated illnesses had brought her so close to death that by age 50 she had already received the last rites three times. Between that and a life that included some gunplay in defense of her business & children during a long incapacitation of her husband, a limited diet was certainly not going to elicit complaint.

But that particular Sunday after the service ended Mary?s son approached the priest telling him of her illness and asking him to pray for his mother. Fr. DiOrio calling Mary over declaring: ?You?ve been coming here all these weeks and you never told me you were sick?? When Mary deferred citing her mother?s illness the priest insisted on praying over her. At the touch of his hand she collapsed. When she revived 15 minutes later he ordered her to go home and eat ?A good Italian meal? She went home and feasted on Italian food. To the amazement of her doctor who she visited that week, her illness was gone.

Later that same year she would get a job at the Safety Fund Bank in Fitchburg. Before the end of the year her experience from the business they owned brought her the position of head teller. She would stay their until her retirement.

?????????

1994 was a year of political change in the country. For the first time since the 50?s the GOP controlled the House of Representatives and the country would shortly move from deficit to surplus. The Republican Revolution and Contract With America would mark a resurgence of the GOP for years.

1994 would be a year of change for Mary. Her mother had died in 1986, Dominic died in 1987 and her final child would marry and move out the very next year. With an empty house Mary had thrown herself into her work but at age 70 she decided it was time to leave. Her life remained busy. She worked the polls for the city, attended daily Mass, and served the church in the senior?s group, and as a Eucharist Minister to the sick & homebound where one final time the miraculous would visit.

But the biggest change in her life was, for the first time in her life she had abundant free time for her grandchildren. Most were now teens, some had children of their own, but the two youngest 1 & 3 would get considerable attention from her in their formative years. By 2006 both of them and their father would take the Madonna Della Cava vow Mary had taken almost 60 years before. For her it was a source of considerable pride.

??????????????

2012 was a big election year for America; Barack Obama was re-elected and in Massachusetts Scott Brown was defeated after winning a special election two years before.

2012 was a full year for Mary. She watched her youngest grandson graduate from her Alma Mater 70 year after her class of 42. Her oldest daughter watched over her living in the house Mary was born in 88 years prior helped by a grandchild and his family. She spent the year surrounded by her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and her older sister Lucy still active at 91.

She still had her New Testament, falling apart from daily reading as two others had before. She had her pistol, but not her bullets, unknown to most and over her objections her oldest son had taken her ammo. She never owned a computer, a cell phone (let along a smart phone), a credit card or cable TV and she was happy.

On Nov 6th Mary voted for Scott Brown, Two years earlier Brown was the first member of the GOP she had ever voted for in 64 years and talked of it to Robert Stacy McCain.

Source: http://granitegrok.com/blog/2012/12/datechguy-under-the-fedora-1924-2012

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Ho Ho Holy Discount: Vatican tax-free store busy

(AP) ? Anyone left on your Christmas list just aching for a 65-inch Samsung 3D flat-screen television? Just your luck. The Vatican's duty-free department store has one on sale for ?2,899 ($3,840) ? a nifty savings over the ?3,799 ($5,032) it costs at Italy's main electronics chain Euronics.

Or how about some new luggage for the holidays? The Vatican shop stocks a variety of Samsonite Cordoba Duo carry-ons for ?123, a nice markdown from the ?135 on the Samsonite website. But if a last-minute shopping splurge is in order, the Vatican can also oblige: Take this leather-bound travelling trunk from Florence's "The Bridge" leatherworks, with its five drawers, plaid interior, six wooden hangars and shiny brass buckles.

At ?5,900, it comes with a matching leather golf club bag, just what every monsignor needs under his Christmas tree.

There's a little-known open secret in the Vatican gardens, a few paces behind St. Peter's Basilica and tucked inside the Vatican's old train station: a sprawling, three-story tax-free department store that rivals any airport duty free or military PX, stocking everything from Church's custom grade shoes (?483 a pair) to Baume et Mercier watches (ladies ?1,585, men's Capeland ?5,000).

There's a hitch, however. It's not open to the public, only to Vatican citizens, employees and their dependents, diplomats accredited to the Holy See and (unofficially) their lucky friends who, after stocking up on holiday must-haves, proceed to the checkout with their Vatican connection and the ID card that entitles them to shop there.

To be sure, Rome is no stranger to tax-free shopping. Embassies, nearby military bases and the U.N. food agencies all have commissaries for their employees, where imports of everything from American ice cream to French wine can be had minus the 21 percent sales tax included in list prices in Italy.

The Vatican has that and more, given that it's its own sovereign state ? the world's smallest ? operating in central Rome. At 44 hectares (110 acres), the Vatican city state is the physical home of the Holy See: the pope and governing structure and administration of the Catholic Church.

The Vatican Museums, home of Sistine Chapel, are the main profit-making enterprise of the Vatican city state, bringing in ?91.3 million in revenue last year alone. But other smaller entrepreneurial endeavors boost the Vatican's coffers as well, including the department store, the tax-free gas station, the stamp and coin collecting office, the Vatican pharmacy and its supermarket.

And in these days of austerity, their profits and bottom line are ever more important to the Vatican.

The Vatican is entitled to run such tax-free enterprises inside its walls based on the Lateran Treaty, the 1929 pact that regularized and regulates the Vatican's relations with Italy. But those regulations also limit the Vatican's customer base, lest all of Rome descend on the supermarket to stock up on Gordon's Gin (?8.50 a liter compared to the ?15 it can run in nearby liquor stores) or Montecristo No. 3 Cuban cigars (box of 25 ?84 ($110.95) compared to $164.95 on www.bestcigarprices.com).

About 4,700 people are employed by the Holy See and the Vatican city state; the Vatican's diplomatic corps ? the Holy See has relations with some 175 countries ? adds another chunk to the customer base.

Few people outside Rome know the department store exists ? there's no evidence of it on any Vatican website, no photos of its wares, no advertising outside the Vatican walls. Those who do know it exists seem to want to pretend it doesn't since the high-end luxury items on sale aren't necessarily in tune with either the sobriety or the salaries of the Vatican rank-and-file.

In fact, on a recent Thursday morning, nary a collar nor religious habit was in sight as ordinary lay folk milled around the spacious store during December's "extraordinary opening hours" ? extended to accommodate bargain-hunting Christmas shoppers who were rewarded with a wine tasting in the central atrium and piles of Brooks Brothers non-iron shirts and Burberry backpacks to choose from.

"More than the prices, it's the material," said Luciano, a bulky Roman, who refused to give his last name as he shopped for an overcoat with his wife and an obliging Vatican friend waiting at checkout. "This one I don't like ? I look like a priest," he muttered as he put the navy blue trench coat back on a hangar.

Cardinal Edmund Szoka, the American who sought to bring some order into the Vatican's finances as head of the Vatican city state, is credited with having made the department store what it is today, moving it into the Vatican's underused train station, a miniature version of Washington's Union station with a sweeping double staircase and glass-front window that frames the dome of St. Peter's a few meters (yards) away.

Szoka said he moved it from the basement of the Vatican government building to the train station for more space, since the station wasn't used anymore for passengers and provided the perfect, airy open space that a shop of its kind would require.

"Our principal motivation in changing the train station building into a department store was mainly for the convenience of our employees, as well as for those who could come into the Vatican and shop there," he said in an email from his home in Michigan. "Naturally, we expected a profit, but that was not the primary motivation."

Szoka retired in 2006, well before the global economic crisis hit. The current leadership of the "Governorato" as the city state administration is called, recently asked all department heads to come up with cost-saving or profit-making initiatives to help the Vatican get through the tough times.

"Any good administrator wants to save what can be saved," said Monsignor Giuseppe Sciacca, the governorato's No. 2. "It seems obvious, necessary."

The Philatelic and Numismatic Office, for example, recently started selling a special limited-edition stamp to help pay for the ?14 million restoration of the Bernini colonnade in St. Peter's Square after corporate sponsorship dried up amid the recession.

Vatican Radio announced in July it would be saving "hundreds of thousands of euros" in energy costs by stopping short -and -medium-wave broadcasts to Europe and the Americas, using other technologies instead.

Perhaps even more than the department store, the Vatican supermarket is a much-sought after perk for Vatican employees, and a boost to the Vatican's bottom line. And at Christmastime, it is as jammed as the department store, with lines snaking through the store and cars taking up valuable parking spaces inside Vatican City as shoppers pile their carts high with panettone, the traditional Italian Christmas cake which is the de rigueur gift for Italian holiday parties. Panettone can run ?25 a pop at Roman bakeries; in the Vatican supermarket, a high-end brand runs almost half that.

"The Nutella is just better here," said Maria Grazia Mancini, a Rome municipal worker who was doing a major pre-Christmas shop with her father, a Vatican employee. "The products here are for export ? the same brands but for export, so it's better quality."

While Sciacca is only too pleased to see the Vatican saving money where it can be saved and making it where it can be made, he was adamant that there are no plans to expand the customer base of the Vatican's little-known discount stores. Accords with Italy don't allow it.

"We shouldn't. And we can't," he said.

He spoke on the sidelines of the presentation of the Vatican's 2012 nativity scene, being unveiled Monday night and donated for the first time. The Vatican happily accepted the donated creche from the Italian region of Basilicata after its ?550,000 Christmas setup in 2009 was exposed earlier this year during the scandal over leaked Vatican documents.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-23-Vatican-Christmas%20Shopping/id-5f03d0ff7fa14846b15ef4607c97a569

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Russia says it won't host Assad but others welcome

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia's foreign minister says Moscow would welcome any country's offer of a safe haven to Syrian President Bashar Assad, but underlined that Moscow itself has no intention of giving him shelter if he steps down.

Russia has repeatedly used its veto right along with China at the U.N. Security Council to protect its old ally from international sanctions, but it has increasingly sought to distance itself from Assad.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters late Friday that countries in the region he wouldn't name publicly had asked Russia to convey their offer of a safe passage to Assad. He said that Russia responded by telling them to go directly to Assad: "We replied: 'What do we have to do with it? If you have such plans, you go straight to him.'"

Asked if Moscow could offer a refuge to Assad, Lavrov responded that "Russia has publicly said that it doesn't invite President Assad."

"If there is anyone willing to provide him guarantees, they are welcome!" Lavrov told reporters on board a plane returning from Brussels where he attended a Russia-EU summit. "We would be the first to cross ourselves and say: "Thank God, the carnage is over! If it indeed ends the carnage, which is far from certain."

Asked if Moscow could offer a refuge to Assad, Lavrov said that it has no such intention.

"Russia has publicly said that it doesn't invite President Assad here," he said.

He also said the Syrian government has pulled its chemical weapons together to one or two locations from several arsenals across the country to keep them safe amid the rebel onslaught.

"According to the information we have, as well as the data of the U.S. and European special services, the government is doing everything to secure it," he said. "The Syrian government has concentrated the stockpiles in one or two centers, unlike the past when they were scattered across the country."

U.S. intelligence says the regime may be readying chemical weapons and could be desperate enough to use them. Both Israel and the U.S. have also expressed concerns they could fall into militant hands if the regime crumbles.

Lavrov added that U.N. peace envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, would visit Moscow for talks before the year's end.

He said that Moscow has also invited the revamped Syrian opposition leadership to visit.

"We are ready to honestly explain that the emphasis on a military solution and the dismantling of the state institutions is disastrous for the country," he said. "Listen, there will be no winner in this war."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-says-wont-host-assad-others-welcome-132325388.html

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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Happy birthday, Lady Bird (Offthekuff)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/272543711?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Force a Little Christmas Cheer on YouTube Trolls with This Festive Censorship App

YouTube comments can be an unmoderated wilderness full of ill-will and lame obscenities the likes of which, well, the likes of which you've seen in YouTube comments. Maybe you're used to it, maybe you don't dare drift that far down the page for fear of losing yourself in the inanity. YuleTube can help change that by making those gift-giving comments elfin' festive. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/0GJ7g199_cQ/force-a-little-christmas-cheer-on-youtube-trolls-with-this-festive-censorship-app

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Deal of the Day ? Dell Inspiron 660 Core i5 Quad-core Mini Tower with 8GB RAM, 2TB HDD & GeForce GT620

Saturday’s LogicBUY Deal is the Dell?Inspiron 660 3rd Gen Core i5 Quad-core Mini Tower loaded with 8GB RAM, a 2TB hard drive, and 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 620 Graphics for?$449.99. ?This computer is equipped with Windows 8 (64-bit),?Wireless-N, a DVD burner, and an 8-in-1 card reader. ?It comes with a keyboard and mouse, 90-day premium [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/12/22/deal-of-the-day-dell-inspiron-660-core-i5-quad-core-mini-tower-with-8gb-ram-2tb-hdd-geforce-gt620/

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Friday, December 21, 2012

The top 3 secrets to a powerful TEDTalk, from our speaking coaches

Ever wonder how you can share your ideas with others with maximum impact?? Our public speaking gurus, Joni Bais of Great Communicators and Tara Phillips, reveal their top 3 tips for giving a powerful speech.

The TEDxAmsterdam stage at Stadsschouwburg. Photo by Jonne Seijdel

The TEDxAmsterdam stage at Stadsschouwburg. Photo by Jonne Seijdel

Q: Why did you decide to become a speaking coach?

Tara:

I?d been a life coach for a while when I decided that I wanted to give workshops, so I joined Toastmasters (www.toastmasters.nl) to learn how to

speak publicly. I got hooked! I love the creativity of writing a speech. I love the medium of the speech to communicate a message. I love the talk as a means of expression. After some years of it being a hobby, I decided to make it my profession by changing my coaching niche to public speaking. It was the best move I ever made. I have the best job in the world!

Joni Bais of Great Communicators

Joni Bais of Great Communicators

Joni:

As a filmmaker, I always asked myself during interviews: ?Why do people make their story so complex?? When I interviewed people I could hear the story, but had trouble understanding it. When I asked the person to explain it in simple language without the camera, it became a perfectly clear and engaging story. I found out that addressing a message is so much more than only the content. From that time on, I focused on how I could help my interviewees tell their stories, whether it be finding great metaphors, clear story lines, coping with fears or coaching use of verbal and nonverbal communication. The task is actually finding the essence of what you want to share. From that point on, interviewees asked me to help them on stage. Two years ago, I started Great Communicators with some partners in crime. We use spreading stories as a pressure cooker for personal and business growth. My mission is to set a speech free. There are so many beautiful stories, visions and solutions in this world, that don?t make it. Think of the professors who did great pioneering research, but are not able to bring it to the world. The world is waiting for change and therefore waiting for these stories to be shared. At Great Communicators, we help people to tell and share these stories in a great and fun way.

Q: How do you define a great speech?

Tara:

Being passionate about your message. Being caring and respectful of your audience. Creating a clear structure with fluid transitions. Humour. Keeping it simple.

Joni:

Of course this depends both on the context and on the aim of the speech. But in general I believe a great speech is not only a story that is fun and interesting in the moment itself. A great story has ingredients that make it easily shared by other people and has an effect; that people are struck by the speech and therefore change their behavior. A good speech will last beyond the moment you are listening to it.

Q: What are your top 3 tips for a powerful speech?

Tara:

Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. As the author Mark Twain once said: ?It takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.?

Joni:

Live your story: Know what you are talking about. Write it, feel it and chew it. If you are really living your story, people will feel it. When you master your content, you feel a lot more free on stage, because it gives a flexibility in sharing.

Shape your story: OK, you have a brilliant subject. The next step is to find ways to bring this subject across. Think of the very boring teacher and the most inspiring one you had. The same content, but a very different approach to delivering the story. As a filmmaker, I always try to make a movie out of a speech. If you just sum up the facts, it will be a very boring film. You need urgency, suspense, unexpected angles, useful metaphors and of course a voice-over telling the story.

Rehearse your story: Practice it in several ways and test it on an honest audience. But also alone: Loudly in your living room or even in a car, but also in your mind. Visualize your story. See yourself presenting from a birds-eye view, but also for your own eyes. Visualization is a very good way of memorizing your content, but also if you can?t make it a success in your mind, how on earth will this be possible in real life? You have to be convinced, before you can convince an audience.

Q: Jerry Seinfeld once joked that public speaking is the number 1 fear of most people, with the number 2 biggest fear being death. Meaning that, at a funeral, most people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy. Do you have any special tips for people who, like me, are terrified of public speaking?

Tara:

Tara Phillips, public speaking coach

Tara Phillips, public speaking coach

It?s funny, the ?fact? that most people put fear of speaking before fear of dying now seems almost part of our collective conscience. But did you know it?s a misquoted study? The source is ?The Book of Lists? by David Wallechinksy in 1977. A team of market researchers asked 3,000 Americans ?What are you most afraid of?. A list was then made of the answers, randomly. ?Speaking before a group? just happened to be in first place, behind ?Heights?, ?Insects and Bugs? and ?Death? at number 7. And so a myth was born.

However, it?s still there on the list. What can be done? Prepare. Prepare. Prepare! If you know what you are going to say, how you are going to say it and you know it inside out/upside down, then that?s half the battle. You will be confident by knowing you know it. Then, in the preceding few minutes before going on stage find some space to be alone and breath deeply. Right from the stomach. It has an amazing calming effect. Running your wrists under cold water for a minute or so helps with the sweaty palms and palpitations.

Joni:

It?s true! I don?t know many speakers who are not afraid of it. The only difference between an experienced speaker and a beginner is how they cope with the stress. Once a speaker said to me: ?If I don?t have wet and sweaty hands, I will be worried!? So maybe that is an interesting thought to start with: Everybody is afraid! There are ways to loosen the tension before you go on stage. But what is most effective in this case is to already have successful and positive experiences. What is the biggest chance to provoke one? Three things.

1. Feel confident about your preparations, know what you are talking about, rehearse.

2. Since the mind doesn?t know the difference between real events and imaginary events, visualize your speech. This is a very standard trick in sports psychology to maximize performance. Do this every day in a very positive way for 5 minutes.

3. Discover what you are thinking about yourself. What are you saying to yourself that causes the stress? For example, I know a lot of people who say: ?Who I am to speak in front of this audience?? You probably can imagine that this is not a really helpful thought! If you are getting queasy about what you are thinking to yourself, you probably need to change these ?mantras? into positive thoughts.

Q: Who is your favorite TED speaker, and why?

Tara:

My favourite talk on TED.com at the moment is Elizabeth Gilbert?s ?Your elusive creative genius?. It?s smart, personal, funny. The way she uses language is beautiful and thought-provoking.

As for sitting in the audience at TEDxAmsterdam, I cannot give you my favourites. A TEDx day is the sum of all its parts. It?s the whole package that makes it so magical.


Joni:

A short time ago I watched Amy Cuddy?s TEDTalk. As I?m fascinated by the subject of body language, I am always interested in new insights on this subject. This is a perfect example of a brilliant TEDTalk; she shares her vision clearly and simply and gives practical advice on what you can you to improve your body language on a daily basis. Finally, she shares her personal story so that the audience understands why she is so passionate about her research on nonverbal communication. After seeing the talk, I noticed that I thought about my own body postures and how to change them. A good speech is not only a nice story ? it really changes your perspective. A good story prompts you to think differently and even more, compels you to act.


Q: Which speakers have you particularly enjoyed coaching?

Tara:

Everyone is fascinating; with their own ?idea worth spreading?. Where else would I meet a sign language guru, a Russian musical prodigy and member of the Dutch Paralympic basketball team all in the same week?!

Joni:

Recently, I coached Katja Schuurman for TEDxAmsterdam and Lodewijk Asscher for TEDxAmsterdamED. Both professionals were so open to change and improvement. I think one of the reasons they are successful is because they don?t hesitate to ask for feedback. Both asked me several times what they could do better, even after so many performances. And that?s what I always notice with captains of industry, which is really inspiring to see. A lot of people don?t want to hear any feedback about their performance because it makes them feel so vulnerable. But I believe it is the only way to grow.

Training platform Great Communicators helps speakers optimize their performance and make their stories powerful. Triggered? On the 13th of December and the 8th of January Great Communicators organizes (Dutch) workshops on public speaking. Their 5 day public speaking training starts February 7th. Furthermore, you can connect with them for English and Dutch one-on-one coaching to help you with your presentation.


Further Reading:

Tara Phillips? Website

Tara Phillips on LinkedIn

Great Communicators Website

Follow Great Communicators on Twitter

Great Communicators on Facebook

Follow Joni on Twitter

Joni Bais on LinkedIn

Source: http://www.tedxamsterdam.com/2012/the-top-3-secrets-to-a-powerful-tedtalk-from-our-speaking-coaches/

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Exercise entrepreneur Jennifer Turner offers tips for holiday - theGrio

Jennifer Turner of ?Mad Cool Fitness.? (Photo: Jennifer Turner, Mad Cool Fitness)

Jennifer Turner leads her ?Mad Cool Dance Party? exercise DVD crew. (Photo: Jennifer Turner, Mad Cool Fitness)

Jennifer Turner leads her ?Mad Cool Dance Party? exercise DVD crew. (Photo: Jennifer Turner, Mad Cool Fitness)

- of 3

Exercise entrepreneur Jennifer Turner understands how important it is for the black community to have empowering tools for health. The graduate of Stanford Business School and seasoned communications executive might be buff now, but like many of us, has struggled with her weight. Now an African-American marathon runner and triathlete, Turner is using her personal experiences combined with her business acumen to teach others what she has learned on her path to wellness. Just in time for the holidays, Turner recently launched her?Mad Cool Cardio Dance Party DVD, an exercise extravaganza showcasing women of varying shapes and sizes using the joy of movement to get fit. This empowering DVD is just one part of her Mad Cool Fitness program, which aims to help all women seek a positive relationship with food while building wellbeing.

TheGrio.com chatted over email with Turner about the best ways to stay fit this holiday season, the recent controversy over black women and obesity, and tips for planning out your New Year?s goals for realistically building a healthier, happier you.

theGrio: What inspired you to create the Mad Cool Fitness DVD?

Jennifer Turner:?I wanted to create a fun workout that was for real women, featuring real women. There are so many DVDs out there with workouts that are either, a) difficult and are only targeted to a narrow segment of the population, or b) feature women of just one ethnicity, who have perfect bodies with subtle messaging that, ?if you do this DVD you will look just like me,? which actually isn?t true. Those women looked like that before they did the DVD. I would bet you dollars to doughnuts they?re doing a bunch of other stuff they?re not telling you about. Women not seeing themselves in fitness content is alienating and disheartening, especially when they don?t end up looking like the women on the TV screen. The Mad Cool Cardio Dance Party ain?t that kind of DVD. These are women from my fitness classes who are not professionals. The DVD is for and represents women of all shapes and sizes.

What fitness level would someone need to have to start this fitness program?

The Mad Cool Cardio Dance Party?is designed for beginners, [ranging] to the more advanced. There?s something for everyone in this DVD and moves are modified to create a low impact workout for those who need to be more mindful of their joints. Join us! We?re having fun!

Do you think the holiday season is a good time to start a new exercise routine?

Honestly, no. It?s too hard. Too many distractions and temptations. Part of the Mad Cool Fitness philosophy is to focus on positive habit building, to get personal systems and processes in place to position people for success in sticking to a new wellness program. That is really hard to do during the holidays for two reasons. One, your schedule is a little wonky because there are so many functions and parties to go to, you?re out late, etc.; and, two temptation is everywhere. You wouldn?t drop an alcoholic in the middle of a liquor store and say, ?Okay Jane, lots of good stuff in here, but you just figure out how you?re not going to drink.? Gotta go. Ho, ho, ho!? No! So don?t do that to yourself. You?re just setting yourself up to fail. Wait until you can really focus on implementing a wellness plan and have a better chance of being successful sticking with it. My advice is just to try not to dig yourself too big of a fa-la-la-la-la fat hole during the holidays, and then focus on the new plan, and new you, right after New Year?s.

Many people are afraid of gaining weight over the holidays. What are some tips for maintaining your weight despite all the temptations?

1.?Don?t Taste While You Cook. ?Tasting? is eating.? Seriously.? It counts.

2.?Watch the ?Drinky Drink.??Holiday cheer in a wine or champagne glass can really do you in with not only the calories, but also the hangover that keeps you from getting your behind out of the bed the next morning to go workout.

3.?Get up, Get Out, and Get Some Exercise! Don?t start the holiday days laying around in your jammy jams. Get up and get moving. You don?t have to run a marathon, but just do something.? And do it with a friend. Everyone needs support!

4.?Stop. Eat. Don?t Go Anywhere Hungry. ? If you are going to someone else?s house for dinner, eat before you go. Don?t go anywhere hungry because hungry quickly turns into what? HONGRY.

5.?Eat, But Don?t Repeat! Get one plate, get everything you want (preferably one dessert), enjoy it, and get over it.

6.?Control Your Portions. Don?t build an erector set-type pyramid out of that one plate of food, balancing jiffy corn bread on top of hot links.

7.?Have a Food Plan and STICK TO THE PLAN! You need a food strategy. Why? Because this is a fat war. Don?t go into a knife fight with a little BB gun. Go into your social events with a plan. If you can, find out what the menu is in advance and decide what you?re going eat AND STICK WITH THE PLAN!

8.?Eat early. Try not to eat late, get the ?itis,? go into the lazy boy, and fall asleep. It?s so bad, and yet so good. That sleep is some good sleep. We?ve all done it. Let?s not do it again.

9.?Leave the Leftovers Left. The holidays are like the gift that keeps on giving? to your behind. Stop the madness.? Eat once and be done with it.

10.?Give Food Away. I mean this not only for the leftovers that you are leaving left, but I also mean it at work. When your clients or business partners etc., send you food, take it immediately to your department kitchen. Run, don?t walk. It?s too tempting.

These tips should help people to STEP AWAY FROM THAT CHICKEN WING! ? and enjoy the holidays without crazy weight gain.

Who are your fitness role models?

I would say anyone who has struggled with their weight, conquered unhealthy habits, and come out the other side with a better version of themselves. In terms of people I know, I recently saw the urban revitalization strategist Majora Carter at my DVD launch event. We?ve emailed, but I haven?t seen her in person for about 18 months. I?m going to totally put her on blast, but I?m just so proud of her! She always looked great and now she looks even more AMAZING! And most importantly, the glow that was coming off her was something to see. I was just so honored and humbled when she said meeting me inspired her to change. Seeing her just made my whole year and has gotten me even more jazzed about next year.

And then of course Jennifer Hudson?s story is incredible. She has become a different person. I admire her and would love to meet her.

A recent AP story has detailed the fact that four in five black women are considered overweight or obese according to current medical definitions. What are your thoughts on this observation?

I live in East Harlem and based on what I?m seeing I would say it?s real. It breaks my heart to see black women who are not living up to their full potential and contributing to their communities to their fullest because they are in poor health. That?s why I started Mad Cool Fitness to hopefully play a role in changing this horrible statistic. The factors are myriad ? cultural, systemic in terms of lack of access to convenient, good food at reasonable prices, lack of wellness services (gyms, etc.), lack of safe, clean, inspiring open spaces where people can commune and engage in physical activity together. Lot?s of complex obstacles to overcome, but I truly believe they are not insurmountable.

Source: http://thegrio.com/2012/12/20/exercise-entrepreneur-jennifer-turner-offers-tips-for-holiday-wellness-launches-mad-cool-fitness-dvd/

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AVADirect Mini Gaming PC: The Kotaku Review

AVADirect Mini Gaming PC: The Kotaku ReviewThere are dozens of places to purchase a custom gaming PC on the internet. Companies with colorful websites with flash-animated front pages and rotating images showing off their latest products in the best possible light. Then there's AVADirect, a custom PC builder on the outskirts of Cleveland with a website that looks like it was built a decade ago.

Had I been surfing the web for a custom PC for my own personal use, I might have passed AVADirect right on by. After working in web design for five years prior to my stint here at Kotaku, it's become an instinctual thing for me?the flashier the website, the better the product. After spending a month with an AVADirect Mini Gaming PC, I've realized that perhaps some companies are too busy making kick-ass computers to make pretty websites.

AVADirect makes a wide array of custom systems, from slim media machines to powerful gaming rigs; notebooks to all-in-ones. They build them from OEM and retail parts, test them extensively and send them to your door with little fanfare. The Mini Gaming PC I tested arrived on my doorstep in a brown cardboard box inside of another brown cardboard box. No giant wooden crates, no custom-made boxes; just "Here's your PC, go play." So I did.

AVADirect put together quite the hardware lineup for $2143 (configurations start at around $850). We've got one of NVIDIA's top-of-the line cards in the GeForce GTX 680, the Intel Core i7-3770K running at 3.9GHz, a super-speedy 240GB SSD with a 2TB storage drive. 8GB of Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer memory with glowing red LEDs?that's just luxury right there. I can see them glowing behind the grill of the Bitfenix Prodigy case, behind the blue light of the 200mm Cooler Master case fan.

AVADirect Mini Gaming PC Configuration

? Case: Bitfenix Prodigy Midnight Black Mini Tower Case
? Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro M 850W Power Supply
? Cooling: Cooler Master R4 200mm Case Fan, Cooler Master A14025 140mm Black Case Fan
? CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K Quad-Core 3.5 - 3.9GHz
? Heatsink: Prolimatech Megahalems Rev. C CPU Heatsink w/ Dual 120mm NB-Blacknoise SilentPro PL-1 Ultra Quiet Fans
? Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe LGA1155
? Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ballistix Tactical Tracer
? Video: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB
? Storage: Seagate 2TB Barracuda SATA, OCZ 240GB Vertex 3 SSD
? Optical Drive: LG 14x/16x/48x BD/DVD/CD Blu-ray Disc Burner
? Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition
? Warranty: Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)
Price as configured: $2143.74
Sold at AVADirect.com

AVADirect Mini Gaming PC: The Kotaku ReviewThe choice of case in particular is an inspired one. The Bitfenix Prodigy is an excellent mini-ITX chassis, compact while still capable of hosting five 3.5 inch hard disks. Speed screws abound, making getting inside the case a breeze, and the whole thing is suspended by handles that maximize shock absorption while giving the system a truly distinctive profile. Between the excellent airflow the case provides and the fans AVADirect has packed inside, this is one cool-running machine.

It's not a system bogged down by bloatware either. The machine arrived with utilities to operate the Blu-Ray burner (another luxury), a few diagnostic tools and?I find this incredibly cool?the crowd-sourced medical research utility Folding@Home preinstalled. Every PC needs to come with that last one.

Contrary to my early efforts in the field, building a custom PC is more than just assembling a random selection of parts and placing them into a box. It's a choreography of components, making sure that each complements the other bits in order to create a unified being that'll sit on your desk judging you for years.

The AVADirect Mini Gaming PC I tested is just such a being, humbling the benchmark games I offered up as sacrifice, be they running at medium settings...

AVADirect Mini Gaming PC: The Kotaku Review

...or with all the bells and whistles dialed up to 11. Metro 2033 continues its trend of being a complete dick at higher resolutions, which is probably why its publisher just filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

AVADirect Mini Gaming PC: The Kotaku Review

With plenty of power and room for expansion, the AVADirect Mini Gaming PC is a wonderful choice for a PC gamer looking for a small footprint gaming with enough power to run today's more demanding games and the ability to keep up should those demands get even more demanding, all at a highly competitive price point.

As for AVADirect itself, it stands as proof-positive that a flashy web presence has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of product you produce.

I leave you with the cool blue glow of the AVADirect Mini Gaming PC. It will be missed. AVADirect Mini Gaming PC: The Kotaku Review

Source: http://kotaku.com/5969914/avadirect-mini-gaming-pc-the-kotaku-review

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