Nexus 4 in stock at UK Play Store [updated]

Android Central

Update, 12:45pm ET: Both models are now listed on the UK Play Store with 4-5 week delivery windows. Previously the 16GB model was shipping in 1-2 weeks.

Update, 12:05pm ET: Both 8 and 16GB versions of the Nexus 4 are now available to order on the UK Play Store. Brits can place their orders over here. (If you're seeing a "sold out" message, try refreshing the page.)

Update, 11:23am ET: Forum reports indicate that other European countries will be getting stock today too, as German emails are going out saying stock would be available from 5pm CET. However at the time of writing the German Play Store lists both flavors of Nexus 4 as shipping in 4-5 weeks. We'll keep watching, and keep you updated.

Original story: Just as it's previously done in the U.S. and Canada, today Google's sending out emails to prospective Nexus 4 customers in the UK, advising them that new stock will be available on the British Google Play devices store shortly.

The next batch of Nexus 4s will be available to buyers in the UK from 5pm GMT today -- less than two hours away at the time of writing.

But if earlier Google Play Nexus 4 launches are anything to go by, stock is sure to be snapped up quickly. The first round of UK stock sold out in under an hour on launch day, and the Google Play devices store has been slow and crash-prone whenever and wherever there've been Nexus 4s available.

Good luck to Brits attempting to get their hands on a Nexus 4. We'll be watching closely to see how long that second batch of Nexuses ends up lasting.

Source: Android Central Forums

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/mp9gGZkozzg/story01.htm

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Strike slows activity at busy Calif. port complex

Clerical workers picket in the rain at entrance to Pier 400 at the Port of Los Angeles Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. Cargo ships were stacking up at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as a strike by about about 70 clerical workers shut down most of the terminals that together are the nation's busiest port complex. Dockworkers were refusing to cross the picket lines even though an arbitrator ruled the walkout invalid on Tuesday. By Thursday morning, at least 18 ships docked and inside the adjacent harbors were not being serviced, port spokesmen said. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Clerical workers picket in the rain at entrance to Pier 400 at the Port of Los Angeles Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. Cargo ships were stacking up at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as a strike by about about 70 clerical workers shut down most of the terminals that together are the nation's busiest port complex. Dockworkers were refusing to cross the picket lines even though an arbitrator ruled the walkout invalid on Tuesday. By Thursday morning, at least 18 ships docked and inside the adjacent harbors were not being serviced, port spokesmen said. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

The Maersk cargo terminal, where container-handling cranes are in the up and idle position, is seen at the Port of Los Angeles Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. Cargo ships were stacking up at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as a strike by about about 70 clerical workers shut down most of the terminals that together are the nation's busiest port complex. Dockworkers were refusing to cross the picket lines even though an arbitrator ruled the walkout invalid on Tuesday. By Thursday morning, at least 18 ships docked and inside the adjacent harbors were not being serviced, port spokesmen said. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

A small group of clerical workers picket at the Maersk cargo terminal, where container-handling cranes are in the up and idle position, background, at the Port of Los Angeles Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. Cargo ships were stacking up at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as a strike by about about 70 clerical workers shut down most of the terminals that together are the nation's busiest port complex. Dockworkers were refusing to cross the picket lines even though an arbitrator ruled the walkout invalid on Tuesday. By Thursday morning, at least 18 ships docked and inside the adjacent harbors were not being serviced, port spokesmen said. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

A clerical worker pickets in the rain at the Maersk cargo terminal, where container-handling cranes are in the up and idle position, background, at the Port of Los Angeles Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. Cargo ships were stacking up at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as a strike by about about 70 clerical workers shut down most of the terminals that together are the nation's busiest port complex. Dockworkers were refusing to cross the picket lines even though an arbitrator ruled the walkout invalid on Tuesday. By Thursday morning, at least 18 ships docked and inside the adjacent harbors were not being serviced, port spokesmen said. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

(AP) ? A strike dramatically slowed activity at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach ? the nation's busiest cargo complex ? despite renewed efforts to end the walkout.

Seven of eight terminals in Los Angeles and three of six in Long Beach were closed to cargo container traffic Friday, the fourth day of the walkout, as dockworkers refused to cross picket lines set up by union clerical workers who claim shippers are outsourcing their jobs.

Officials said labor talks were being held but there's been no indication a deal is imminent.

The walkout involves clerical workers from a chapter of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, who typically make more than $160,000 a year. Dockworkers are a separate unit of the same union.

The clerical workers' contracts with 14 terminal operators expired 2? years ago. Ongoing contract talks broke off on Monday then resumed on Thursday, ran until midnight and were scheduled to continue on Friday.

The chief negotiator for the shippers remained hopeful about a resolution, saying the talks have been professional and courteous.

"There's a mutual commitment to go forward," said Stephen Berry of the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Employers Association. "The employers remain hopeful that there will be a quick resolution and we can get the cargo flowing again."

There were a handful of picketers at each terminal on Friday, said Phillip Sanfield, Los Angeles port spokesman.

Combined, Los Angeles and Long Beach handle 40 percent of the nation's import trade.

At least 18 cargo ships have been unable to load or unload since workers began the strike on Tuesday. A handful of vessels that were anchored offshore apparently left for other ports, Sanfield said.

There was no immediate word on how much the strike is costing the ports. November generally is a slower time for the ports because most holiday goods already have been handled.

However, there were concerns that a continued widespread strike could prompt retaliation from terminal operators. A bitter 10-day lockout at a number of West Coast ports in 2002 caused an estimated $15 billion in losses.

"Both sides in this dispute understand the critical importance of keeping cargo moving through the San Pedro Bay complex," said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Geraldine Knatz. "Time is of the essence and we urge a mutually agreeable resolution as soon as possible so that we can return to full operations."

At issue is the union's contention that terminal operators have outsourced local clerical jobs out of state and overseas ? an allegation the shippers deny.

Shippers deny outsourcing and have offered lifelong job security to the 600 or so full-time clerical workers, Berry said.

They also have offered to boost average annual pay from $165,000 to $195,000 and grant 11 weeks of paid vacation, he said.

The shippers claim the union wants contract language to permit "featherbedding" ? the practice of requiring employers to call in temporary employees and hire new permanent employees even when there is no work to perform

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-01-Port%20Strike/id-802c9449d9b1474e94339f91b384f094

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Biography | J. M. Gerraughty

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Jason Michael Gerraughty?is a composer of vibrant, dramatic, and bold music. His musical influences are diverse, ranging from the small-town New England municipal bands he performed with in his youth, to the orchestral, chamber, and gamelan ensembles he has performed with as an adult. He has worked with such talented musicians such as Lucy Shelton, So Percussion, Beta Collide, and Fireworks New Music Ensemble. Gerraughty?s music has been performed recently at the International Horn Society Symposium 2011, and at the North American Saxophone Alliance Region 8 Conference at West Point, NY.

Gerraughty earned his B. M. at the Hartt School, and his M. M. at the University of Oregon; he has studied privately with Ingram Marshall, Robert Carl, Stephen Gryc, Robert Kyr, and David Crumb. His music has been recognized by his colleagues: recent awards include the American Composers Forum Finale? National Composition Competition (Honorable Mention), The Gamper Festival of New Music at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and The ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards (Finalist).

Gerraughty currently lives in Port Jefferson, NY, and is pursuing his Ph.D. at Stony Brook University. His current projects include commissions with the Equinox Sextet and with Bass Clarinetist Lisa Preimesberger.

?

PERSONAL HISTORY

My music education began at the age of eight with lessons in horn. In my hometown of Nashua, New Hampshire, I studied privately with a local music teacher, repair technician, and general music man named?David Bailey. Bailey, a leader of multiple community bands throughout the state of New Hampshire, introduced me to?The Hollis Town Band, a small town municipal band that was charged with playing in official ceremonies for the town, as well as for entertainment during community events such as the Hollis Apple Festival. Playing with the Hollis Town Band and other ensembles like it were extremely influential upon my development as a musician. The music itself, mostly marches, pages out of the Great American Songbook, Dixieland, all mixed with some classic band pieces such as the Holst Suites, have always resonated with me. Playing for ceremonies and city functions instilled in me a sense of community that has carried over into the attitude that I take with music making today.

As time went on, I became more and more involved in the music making in my community. By the time I was thirteen, I had become the assistant conductor of the Hollis Town Band, and was in charge of rehearsing and conducting my own pieces for concerts. At this time, I started composing my first music. Under the tutelage of David Bailey, who slowly converted my horn lessons into conducting and music theory lessons, I was given exercises out of Fux?s?Gradus Ad Parnassum. With the help of musicians in my community, I was able to put on the premieres of some of my earliest work, pieces written for the community bands and pieces for small ensembles of band members. I joined the choir at my high school in order to get a premiere with them.

These early experiences with music making in New Hampshire greatly affect how I work with musicians who play my music today. I enjoy developing close relationships with the people I work with. These kinds of relationships foster a passion and excitement for the music being performed, and working closely with musicians helps them to become part of the creative process. This sense of community is extremely important to me, and factors into all of the music I write.

After graduating from high school in New Hampshire, I was offered a scholarship to continue study in composition at The Hartt School. After coming from a small New England city, I was inundated with art, music, and culture from all over the world. Knowing that I had missed out on a significant amount of standardized music education, I began auditing Twentieth-Century music history and music theory classes in an attempt to ?catch up? to my peers. Hartford was a stop for many performers and artists on their way from Boston to New York, and I was encouraged by my professors, Ingram Marshall, Robert Carl, and Stephen Gryc to experience as much as I could. I found myself spending many days walking through Hartford?s art museum, The Wadsworth Atheneum, taking in visiting exhibits as well as permanent pieces. I was particularly influenced by the works of Julian Schnabel, Jasper Johns, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Robert Rauschenberg. Easily the most significant piece that I witnessed during this time was Rauschenberg?s?Retroactive I. Its juxtaposition of popular imagery as a means of communication influenced me strongly. From this period onward, I began experimenting with musical techniques analagous to Rauschenberg?s process.

While studying at The Hartt School, I began to establish myself in the music making community of my fellow composers and performers. For two years, I organized and curated the Public Works new music concerts for the composition department. I remained active on the horn, participating in many premieres of my colleagues works, as well as performing in the Hartt Symphonic Band. My interest in visual art led to a fruitful collaboration with the Hartford Art School?s Digital Arts program, having several students create a music video to accompany my?Suite for Chamber Orchestra. I began to realize that these practices of collaboration were part of what I wanted to do with my career, and that in order for composers and other artists to succeed, they must form. For my hard work during my time at Hartt, I was honored with the Edward Diemente Prize in Composition from the Composition Department.

Robert Kyr, Professor of Composition at the University of Oregon, visited The Hartt School my last year as part of a West Coast Composers Symposium that the Composition department curated. After listening to him speak, and hearing what he was doing with his program, I applied to it and was accepted with a Ruth Lorraine Close Scholarship. Kyr had promised that his program would be very challenging, and I was interested in developing my compositional craft to as high a level as I could. Under the University of Oregon?s rigorous curriculum and the private instruction of Kyr and David Crumb, my creativity flourished and my music became more focused. During this time, I made it to the final round in the 2007 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards with my piece, Yellow No. 5. Later that year, I was selected to attend the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Brunswick, ME, where I was fortunate enough to study with Robert Beaser and Roberto Sierra. My piece,?Interrobang, was selected from amongst submissions from all the composers at the festival to be played during the Gamper Festival of New Music.

One of the hallmarks of the University of Oregon?s Composition curriculum is its focus on composers taking their musical community into their own hands. Composers have their works performed as part of composer-organized and composer-comprised ensembles and concerts, forming a tight support network for each other. As a member of one of such ensembles, the Eugene Contemporary Chamber Ensemble (ECCE), I have worked to create an environment where it is easy for composers to find outlets for their creative energy. I have also sought to enrich the musical community of the greater Eugene area, playing horn in various community ensembles and doing outreach programs to young students throughout the state of Oregon. As an inaugural member of the American Creator?s Ensemble at the Oregon Bach Festival Composer Symposium, I played with members of Fireworks New Music Ensemble and Beta Collide, premiering works by myself and several composers from all over the world.

As a composer, performer, and artist, I am dedicated to the advancement of my music and the creative endeavors of those around me.? I continue to support these individuals as part of a tightly-knit community devoted to the inclusion and propagation of new ideas and new ways of thinking.

Source: http://www.jmgerraughty.com/2012/11/29/bio/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bio

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Shoppers' habits not changed by garment plant fire

(AP) ? Before purchasing a shirt, shoppers will run their hands over the fabric, look at the price tag and wonder how it will hold up in the washing machine. Some might even ask if it makes them look fat.

The one detail, however, that is rarely considered: What are the conditions like for the workers making the shirt?

A horrific fire that raced through a Bangladesh garment factory Saturday, killing 112 people, has put the spotlight ? at least temporarily ? back on those workers and their sometimes treacherous work environment.

The factory, owned by Tazreen Fashions Ltd., made clothing for several retailers around the globe including Wal-Mart, Sears and The Walt Disney Co. All three companies have distanced themselves from responsibility for the incident, saying they didn't know that their subcontractors were using the factory.

Holiday shoppers have also maintained their distance from the tragedy.

"Truthfully, I hadn't even thought about it," said Megan Miller of Philadelphia as she walked out of the Disney Store in Times Square. "I had Christmas on my mind and getting my kids something from New York."

Shoppers from Cincinnati to Paris to Singapore all said the same thing: They were aware of the fatal factory fire, but they weren't thinking about it while browsing stores in the days since. Brand name, fit and ? above all ? prices were on their minds.

"Either our pockets get lighter or we have to live with more blood on our hands," said Amy Hong, a college student who was at a store in Singapore. "I try not to think about it."

Experts who survey shoppers say the out of sight, out of mind attitude is nothing new.

"When you talk to them about their biggest concerns, where something is made, or the abuses in some country, almost never show up," said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, which interviews 10,000 to 15,000 consumers a week, mostly on behalf of retailers. "The numbers are so small, I quit asking the question."

Convenience is much more important to shoppers.

Take Tammy Johnson who was at a Walmart in Bloomington, Minn. this week. She lives nearby and appreciates that the store has a large grocery section in addition to clothing and other goods.

"It's easier and it's cheaper," she said of her decision to shop there. "I hate that, but it is true."

Even those who want to make socially responsible purchases a priority have little information available to work with.

There's no widespread system in place to say where all the materials in a shirt come from let alone whether it was made in a sweatshop or not.

A label saying "Made in USA of imported fabrics" doesn't provide as much information to shoppers as they might think. Maybe tailors assembled it under good working conditions, but what about the people who wove the fabrics? Another label saying that a shirt is made from 100 percent organic cotton fails to say anything about the conditions of the factory in which it was made.

"What do they know at the point of sale about where it comes from, other than the tag?" said Paco Underhill, founder of Envirosell, which studies consumer behavior. "Our hearts are generally are in the right places. It's the question of making sure we have the knowledge and pocketbook to follow."

And it's not just clothing. It is hard to tell where televisions or laptop components are made.

Companies selling products say they even struggle to tell. Work is often given to subcontractors who themselves use subcontractors. While many major companies stipulate ethics and standards that their subcontractors must follow, policing them is a costly, time-consuming process that sounds easier than it is.

In the case of the Bangladesh factory, Wal-Mart said it had received a safety audit showing the factory was "high-risk" and had decided months before the blaze to stop doing business with Tazreen. But it said a supplier had continued to use Tazreen without authorization.

In recent years, consumers have become much more aware about the food they eat, and where it comes from.

Supermarkets are full of eggs laid by free-range chickens, organically-grown apples and beef from grass-fed, hormone-free cows. Some upscale restaurants now name the farm that provided them with pork chops. And customers pay a premium for these foods.

The difference: They perceive a direct benefit, since the food is going into their bodies.

Ethical choices when buying clothing ? or the latest version of Apple's iPhone ? are much more blurred.

Jean MacLeod, who was shopping at a Walmart on the south side of Indianapolis, is willing to pay more for goods if they are made in an ethically responsible manner and does it all the time when she buys food.

Walmart wants the best prices for its customers, she said, but the company also has power as a buyer to make sure factories have decent working conditions.

"They should be able to say, 'Look it, we don't want to buy from you unless you do things a little more our way,'" MacLeod said. "If they don't want to buy from them, then that means that factory will go out of business."

Arguments have been made that producing items with cheap labor isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Factories in the Third World can provide jobs with wages well above a region's average. They can help lift families out of severe poverty. The catch is that there are fewer safeguards to protect workers from being exploited from unscrupulous employers.

At the Bangladesh factory, locked exits prevented many workers from escaping after fire broke out.

It draws eerie parallels to New York's Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911, where 146 people died within 18 minutes of a fire starting in a factory with locked exits.

That fire was the catalyst for widespread changes in labor laws in U.S. But in the 100 years since, the desire for cheap clothing hasn't abated and costly labor has just shifted to factories overseas.

"To put it maybe too frankly, profit and efficiency and competition always trump safety and health," said James A. Gross, a labor relations professor at Cornell University.

Not every company sees things that way.

Los Angeles-based American Apparel promotes itself as a line of "sweatshop free" clothing. Its founder and CEO, Dov Charney, said that companies can control working conditions ? they just need to bring production closer to home. American Apparel knits, dyes, cuts and sews all of its products in-house.

"When the company knows the face of its worker, that's important," Charney said. "You can control working conditions and quality."

Yes, American Apparel spends more on labor, but it isn't as much as you would expect. Charney estimates that an imported T-shirt selling for $6 at Walmart would cost about $6.30 if produced domestically thanks to the company's massive scale.

"The consumer can care. They can buy from companies that are committed to fair trade and try to seek out those companies," he said.

Take Nike.

In the mid-1990s, the sneaker giant came under pressure to change its ways after numerous reports of child labor, low wages and poor working conditions. Eventually wages climbed, minimum age requirements were put in place and Nike increased monitoring at its factories.

But such change only comes after persistent public pressure.

"Clothes makers will always do what they want, but the buyer should educate himself," said Paris shopper Pierre Lefebvre.

Not all buyers have that luxury. Family budgets are tight.

"Especially with this economy, we like our money to go as far as it can," said Lesley Schuldt, who left a Cincinnati Macy's this week with five shopping bags worth of jewelry, cookware and gifts. "I have no idea where half the stuff I bought was made, but I imagine it was not in the U.S."

___

Associated Press reporters Amanda Lee Myers in Cincinnati, Josh Freed in Bloomington, Minn., Tom Murphy in Indianapolis, Meghan Barr in New York, Heather Tan in Singapore and Thomas Adamson in Paris contributed to this report.

___

Scott Mayerowitz can be reached at http://twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-11-30-Bangladesh-Factory%20Fire-Shoppers/id-a8268d1638ad41cd8848a9a9544b5c23

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Just When Was It A Great Idea To Take Out A Cash Advance ...

instant payday loans online Get unsecured personal loans in Lexington-Fayette, KY by using instant $ 300 payday loans online low apr .

Are you in the fiscal bind? Are you thinking of a payday advance to help you get out of it? Then, there are several crucial concerns to remember very first. A payday advance is an excellent choice, but it?s not appropriate for everyone. Getting some time to comprehend the details concerning your bank loan will help you to make informed fiscal choices.

While searching for a payday financial institution, usually do not worry about your credit ranking. All of that payday loan companies are going to appear and authenticate your wages and the cabability to repay the borrowed funds out of your after that paycheck. Some on-line places usually do not even run credit checks, and as an alternative rely on job confirmation alone and offer $700 right away to anybody.

Only take out a payday advance, in case you have not one other options. Payday advance suppliers normally cost debtors extortionate rates, and administration charges. As a result, you ought to explore other types of obtaining fast cash before, turning to a payday advance. You can, for instance, acquire some money from friends, or family members.

Payday loans certainly are a costly way of getting dollars that you require. Consider seeking an move forward by your job chances are it will be much less high-priced, and it can be simpler than you imagine. Just seek advice from your man sources business office to obtain the info, you will end up very happy you did.

The best recommendation you can get about pay day loans is that you must not use that type of bank loan except when totally required. It really is easy to have a payday advance by just signing your business, however, some unexpected scenario could come up before you could pay for it and produce an even more difficult circumstances.

Prevent getting a couple of payday advance at one time. It really is prohibited to take out a couple of payday advance up against the very same paycheck. One other issue is, the failure to pay back many different financial loans from a variety of loan companies, from just one paycheck. If you fail to pay off the borrowed funds promptly, the charges, and interest carry on and boost.

Pay attention of something keeping issues up if, your payday lending procedure will take greater than a half-hour. This sector is so licensed, automatic, and computerized that it is almost a scientific research now. Any payday lending procedure taking more than half 1 hour need to, probably be aborted to opt for one more financial institution who is familiar with what they are doing.

Make sure that you browse the rules and relation to your payday advance carefully, in order to stay away from any unsuspected surprises down the road. You should comprehend the entire bank loan commitment before signing it and receive your loan. This can help you produce a better option with regards to which bank loan you ought to accept.

Several payday advance loan companies will promote that they will not deny your application because of your credit rating. Often times, this really is proper. Nevertheless, make sure you investigate the quantity of interest, these are recharging you. The rates will vary based on your credit rating. If your credit rating is bad, get ready for a better monthly interest.

Request relatives and buddies to assist you to with dollars before you apply for any payday advance. Regardless of whether they generally do not provide you with the entire quantity you require, you can get a payday advance for any lower quantity. That could help you save funds in interest, so you do not have to pay for the payday advance firm rear as much.

Some pay day loans are called headline financial loans. They demand anyone seeking the borrowed funds to make use of the headline for vehicle as, security for the bank loan. This is certainly only an alternative if, the vehicle includes a clear headline with no liens connected. The headline is held from the loan provider right up until, the borrowed funds is completely paid off.

Even though the point of a payday advance is to get dollars in a hurry, don?t hurry on your own with the paperwork. Assess the stipulations of the bank loan carefully. The charges for low-settlement of this type of bank loan can be remarkably serious. It?s vital that you fully grasp your fiscal responsibilities and sense comfortable that you could accomplish them before making a responsibility.

Try not to come to be reliant on pay day loans, as appealing as it can certainly get. They ought to be thought of as an urgent situation-only source of information and never an extension of the typical paycheck. Phrases can get difficult and charges run high make use of them smartly so when a signal that you just possibly have to get your fiscal house in order in the near future.

Ideally, you possess discovered somewhat about pay day loans that you just did not know. Go ahead and take info you possess discovered on this page, and place it to great use. Usually do not make any hasty choices because they financial loans can be quite high-priced. It can be your best choice, but it really could also be your most detrimental.

Source: http://www.dgstradinginc.com/just-when-was-it-a-great-idea-to-take-out-a-cash-advance/

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6 Reasons Your Company Should Blog - Software & Business ...

Does your business blog? Are you wondering why companies blog? This question is becoming more prevalent in businesses today, and a lot of businesses have no idea why they need to be blogging. While you may not think your business needs a blog. There are a number of reasons why blogging is valuable to companies. Need some convincing? Here are 6 basic reasons why you should blog within your company.

1. It Builds Traffic There will always be a correlation between traffic and sales. The more traffic you have coming to your website, the more likely it is you?ll make a sale. With that said, having a blog you update frequently will allow you to

direct targeted traffic to your business website, thereby increasing the chances you?ll make a sale. By linking your blog to other social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, you?ll also be building traffic and connecting with your customer base. Whenever you publish a new blog post, make sure to post a link to it on your social media accounts to attract more prospective buyers and build your brand.


2. It Improves SEO
. Blogging adds more key-word-rich content to your website. This improves your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and helps you climb the ranks on Google and other search engines. Okay, great, but what does this mean? It means that people who are searching for a solution to their problem will find YOUR blog, and suddenly your business is known to the exact audience you need to be in front of. The trick here is to keep your blog content relevant to your target audience and your business.


3. It Increases your Credibility
People are more likely to purchase products or services from businesses they feel like they already ?know,? and having a blog that you regularly update can help foster a community and allow your readers to feel like they know you, even if you?ve never met face to face.

Every time you interact with your readers, by encouraging comments and responding to comments left, you are building your relationship with potential customers. By building those relationships, you are effectively creating a face for your brand, thereby increasing the likelihood of more sales. A blog is a simple way to do this, and allows customers to consistently reach out to you and stay updated on new developments, products or services offered by your business.

4. It Allows for Better Customer Service

By creating a blog for your business, it allows your customers to contact you. They don?t have to be put on hold, or wait for office hours to call you. All of the info about your company should be found on your blog, so customers who have any questions or want to find out more about your business can easily do so.

Additionally, a blog is one of the best ways to update customers on new products or services being offered. You can also respond to customer inquiries quickly and more efficiently, and you can gain valuable feedback from your readership while using that feedback to make improvements and build a better business, as well as business relationships, with your client base.


5. It Establishes you as An Expert

A blog helps establish you as an expert in your field, and if you regularly update it with relevant content, you reinforce the idea that you know what you are talking about. Making sure you update your blog frequently with content that is valuable to readers also helps establish you as their go-to person when it comes to your particular niche, be it consulting, editing or any other type of business.

By blogging regularly, you are building a visible presence on the web and also fostering relationships with potential customers while establishing your expertise for your particular niche.

6. It Gives you a Voice

Every business needs a voice, and a blog is a simple way to do that. These days, anyone can post anything online about a company, be it good or bad. By starting a blog for your business, you can help manage your reputation and give your business the voice and authority it needs to thrive.

The marketplace for any business is normally competitive, so by starting a blog that you update regularly, you are giving your company a voice on the internet. Customers can read your posts and establish in their minds that you are a credible authority, and you can interact with them frequently while establishing your reputation on the web.

While there are many reasons your business should have a blog, these are the most compelling reasons. If you haven?t started a blog for your business yet, you definitely should ? it?s a cost effective, easy way to interact with your existing customer base, gaining new customers and establishing your expertise.

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Source: http://blog.oasisky.com/6-reasons-your-company-should-blog/

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Show sheds light on Handel's hidden "Messiah" helper

LONDON (Reuters) - Anyone dusting off their copy of George Frederic Handel's "Messiah" in the run-up to Christmas this year might spare a thought for the unsung hero of the piece.

Without Charles Jennens, experts argue that the 18th century oratorio would never have been created, robbing Western choral music of one of its greatest works.

Handel House Museum, located in the cozy London home where the German-born composer spent much of his life, is seeking to put the record straight about a man who, for many reasons, has been passed over by history.

"The Messiah would not have been written without him," said the museum's director Sarah Bardwell of Jennens, who lived from 1700 to 1773.

For landowner and patron of the arts Jennens, the words to the Messiah were an expression of deeply held Protestant beliefs, and he was determined that Handel, a composer he had long championed, set it to music.

The words, famously opening with "Comfort ye", are not Jennens' own but carefully selected verses from the Bible as well as a small number of psalms from the Book of Common Prayer.

"If you listen to the words it's all to do with your relationship with God as in the individual, there's none of the big theological questions," Bardwell told Reuters.

"Everyone can relate to the Messiah, even beyond Christianity on some level," she added. "I think that's why Jennens is so instrumental."

FRIEND AND BENEFACTOR

Jennens, whose family fortune came from iron, was a friend of Handel and a major backer, subscribing to his music and providing the texts for "Saul", "Belshazzar", "L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato" and probably "Israel in Egypt".

So important did Handel consider Jennens that he referred to "your oratorio Messiah" in a letter to the librettist and made a detour on his way home from its premiere in Dublin to visit Jennens and tell him of its success with audiences.

The exhibition, "The Man Behind Messiah", includes Handel's autographed score of Saul which Jennens also annotated, suggesting changes to the composer's work including a different entry point for the words "impious wretch".

Yet Jennens' name never appeared on scores, helping to explain why his contribution is largely unknown. An intensely private man, Jennens had reasons for remaining anonymous.

As a "non-juror", or someone who did not endorse the Hanoverian royal dynasty that succeeded the House of Stuart, he was effectively barred from holding positions of authority.

And when, late in life, he published groundbreaking single-volume editions of some of Shakespeare's most famous plays, he was attacked by a rival, Shakespearean commentator George Steevens (Eds: correct), and, thus, once again overlooked.

"It's another reason he becomes kind of cut out of history," Bardwell explained. "It's been a fascinating insight into how people can just be written out of history."

Ironically, despite his fundamental role in the Messiah and some of Handel's other great oratorios, Jennens was not the biggest fan of a work that took less than a month to compose.

"He just thought Handel maybe rushed it off too quickly," said Bardwell. Ruth Smith, the curator of the exhibition, believes Handel had the manuscript for about 18 months before he started work on it.

"For it to be rattled off in three weeks, I think Jennens felt that maybe he hadn't done himself justice.

"I don't think he ever quite got over his opinion that it wasn't as good as he had hoped it was going to be. I think that also doesn't help his reputation. I'm not sure he ever quite recovered from that."

The Man Behind Messiah runs until April 14, 2013.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/show-sheds-light-handels-hidden-messiah-helper-230644755.html

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Eric Hartsburg Plans To Remove Tattoo Of Romney On Face

WATCH ERIC HARTSBURG DISCUSS HIS ROMNEY TATTOO ON HUFFPOST LIVE AT 12PM ET.

The indignities of losing a presidential race don't stop on election night.

Since Nov. 6, Mitt Romney has seen his Facebook followers dwindle, and his merchandise land in the discount bin. Now, a professional wrestler with a Romney/Ryan logo facial tattoo is planning to remove it, calling Romney's post-campaign performance "pretty shameful."

Eric Hartsburg told Politico the final straw came when the former GOP presidential candidate attributed his loss to President Barack Obama's "gifts" to minorities.

?It stands not only for a losing campaign, but for a sore loser,? Hartsburg said. ?He?s pretty shameful as far as I?m concerned, man. There?s no dignity in blaming somebody else for buying votes and paying off people. I can?t get behind that or stay behind that.?

Hartsburg, who said he hoped the 5-by-2-inch tattoo would make politics more fun, had initially resigned himself to keeping the mark.

?I?m the guy who has egg all over his face, but instead of egg, it?s a big Romney/Ryan tattoo. It?s there for life,? he told Politico after the election, saying he was a man of his word.

But the 30-year-old is now planning to fly to Los Angeles to have the tattoo removed, a year-long process. He hasn't ruled out getting another tattoo, maybe in 2016 when the "R" could do double duty for a potential Marco Rubio candidacy. Or, maybe, he said, he'll just get a yard sign next time.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/29/eric-hartsburg-tattoo-romney-face_n_2210646.html

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Embracing data 'noise' brings Greenland's complex ice melt into focus

ScienceDaily (Nov. 27, 2012) ? An enhanced approach to capturing changes on Earth's surface via satellite could provide a more accurate account of how ice sheets, river basins and other geographic areas are changing as a result of natural and human factors. In a first application, the technique revealed sharper-than-ever details about Greenland's massive ice sheet, including that the rate at which it is melting might be accelerating more slowly than predicted.

Princeton University researchers developed a mathematical framework and a computer code to accurately capture ground-level conditions collected on particular geographic regions by the GRACE satellites (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment), according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center, GRACE measures gravity to depict how mass such as ice or water is distributed over Earth's surface. A change in GRACE data can signify a change in mass, such as a receding glacier.

Typically, GRACE data are recorded for the whole globe and processed to remove large regional differences, said lead author Christopher Harig, a postdoctoral research associate in Princeton's Department of Geosciences. The result is a coarse image that can provide a general sense of mass change, but not details such as various mass fluctuations within an area.

With their method, Harig and co-author Frederik Simons, an assistant professor of geosciences, can clean up data "noise" -- the signal variations and distortions that can obscure satellite readings -- and then recover the finer surface details hidden within. From this, they can configure regional information into a high-resolution map that depicts the specific areas where mass change is happening and to what degree.

"We try to do very little processing to the data and stay closer to the real signal," Simons said. "GRACE data contain a lot of signals and a lot of noise. Our technique learns enough about the noise to effectively recover the signal, and at much finer spatial scales than was possible before. We can 'see through' the noise and recover the 'true' geophysical information contained in these data. We can now revisit GRACE data related to areas such as river basins and irrigation and soil moisture, not just ice sheets."

The researchers tested their method on GRACE data for Greenland recorded from 2003 to 2010 and brought the complexities of the island's glaciers into clearer focus. While overall ice loss on Greenland consistently increased between 2003 and 2010, Harig and Simons found that it was in fact very patchy from region to region.

In addition, the enhanced detail of where and how much ice melted allowed the researchers to estimate that the annual acceleration in ice loss is much lower than previous research has suggested, roughly increasing by 8 billion tons every year. Previous estimates were as high as 30 billion tons more per year.

Douglas MacAyeal, a geophysical sciences professor at the University of Chicago, said that the research provides a standardized and accurate method for translating GRACE data, particularly for ice sheets. The sprawling, incomplete nature of the satellite's information has spawned a myriad of approaches to interpreting it, some unique to specific scientists, he said.

"GRACE data is notoriously noisy and spatially spread out, and this has resulted in 'ad hoc' methods for processing mass changes of Earth's ice sheets that have wildly different values," said MacAyeal, who is familiar with the Princeton work but had no role in it.

"In other words, each particular investigator ends up getting a different individual number for the net change in mass," he said. "What this research does is figure out a way to be more thoughtful and purposeful about exactly how to deal with GRACE's notorieties. This method would allow researchers to standardize a bit more and also to understand more precisely where they are, and where they are not, able to resolve ice changes."

Simons compared the noise that previously obscured a precise view of Greenland's glaciers to fog on a window. For a small area such as Greenland, the GRACE signal can be easily overwhelmed by noise, which has numerous causes such as the satellite's orbital position or even the type of mathematics researchers use to interpret data, Simons said.

"Other researchers used less than perfect tools to wipe off the window more or less indiscriminately and quite literally left streaks on the data. They were thus less able to put the continent into the proper focus," he said.

"We effectively modeled then removed noise to get the ice-loss signal out of the data," Simons said. "We then recovered relatively tiny variations in ice mass that to others might have looked like noise, but that to us were shown to be signal."

The Princeton researchers found that Greenland lost roughly 200 billion tons of ice each year during the seven-year period studied, which falls within the range reported by other studies. The amount of ice lost annually could stack up on all of Manhattan to nearly 12,000 feet, or more than eight times taller than the Empire State Building, Harig said.

As expected, ice loss occurred in the lower, warmer coastal areas -- as opposed to the higher and colder interior, which gained ice mass -- but the melt was concentrated on the southeast and northwest coasts for most of the period studied. Indeed, many coastal areas showed no ice-mass loss, while the ice sheet on the southwest coast actually thickened slightly from 2003 to 2006.

But these trends were more complex when Harig and Simons got into the details. Surprisingly, the location of the greatest melt activity migrated around the island, shifting from the southeast to the northwest coast in just a few years. Ice loss on the southeast coast built up starting in 2003 and hit a highpoint in 2007. In 2008, loss on this coast began to recede and shift toward the northwest coast; by 2010, the southeast coast displayed only minor ice loss, while nearly the entire western coast exhibited the most severe melt. During this transition, melt also receded then picked up again on the northeastern coast with seemingly little overlap with activity elsewhere.

Details such as these can help scientists better understand the interplay between Greenland's glaciers and factors that influence melt such as ocean temperature, daily sunshine and cloud coverage, Harig said. That understanding can in turn help researchers determine how the Greenland ice sheet responds to climate change -- and how much more ice loss to expect. At current melt rates, the Greenland ice sheet would take about 13,000 years to melt completely, which would result in a global sea-level rise of more than 21 feet (6.5 meters), Harig said.

"Scientists are not totally sure what the driving force of the melt on Greenland is on short, yearly timescales," Harig said. "There is no certainty about which outside factor is the most important or if all of them contribute. Being able to compare what is happening regionally to field observations from other researchers of what a glacier is doing helps us figure out what is causing all this melt."

Michael Oppenheimer, Princeton's Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs, said that the new level of detail Harig and Simons provide on Greenland's glaciers not only gives insight into what is causing the glaciers to melt, but what could possibly happen if they do.

Unlike water in a bathtub, sea-level rise is not uniform, said Oppenheimer, who is familiar with the research but had no role in it. Higher waters in certain locations may depend on which part of an ice sheet melts, he said. And determining which part of an ice sheet is melting the most requires precise details of ice loss and gain for specific glaciers -- details that have largely been unavailable, Oppenheimer said.

"Nobody has really been able to take a look at an individual ice sheet and determine the influence that ice loss from different parts of that ice sheet could have on sea levels," Oppenheimer said.

"The details matter. Being able to pinpoint where and how much ice gain and loss there is tells you something about the driving forces behind it, and therefore how much we can expect in the future," he said. "A synoptic view at a high resolution is what GRACE always promised, and now this research has helped realize that potential. It's time to finally milk the data for as much detail as possible."

Harig is adapting the computer code -- which is available online -- to study GRACE data on ice loss in Antarctica and water accumulation in the Amazon River basin.

The paper, "Mapping Greenland's mass loss in space and time," was published online Nov. 19 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Princeton University. The original article was written by Morgan Kelly.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. C. Harig, F. J. Simons. Mapping Greenland's mass loss in space and time. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1206785109

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/O-MFOn0OH6o/121127191252.htm

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2012 Books: Slate Staff Picks

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Illustration by Lilli Carr?.

Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love, by John and Sherry Petersik
I have trotted off to bed every night for the past two weeks with Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love under my arm. It is so much more than just a pretty do-it-yourself resource book. It?s filled with charming personal narrative (I feel like I know John and Sherry Petersik?hooray for new fun friends!), easy-to-understand instructions for every level of project, and clever ways to improve your home and your life. In this age of tightened belt straps where it?s not always possible to buy new, John and Sherry make you feel good about using what you?ve got in a way you never knew you could.
?Holly Allen, designer

How Children Succeed, by Paul Tough
As an education writer, Paul Tough goes deeper than anyone I know. Some of the ideas he has brought to light?that preschool is a great government investment given the payoff later in life, that building character matters as much for success as academics?are so deeply ingrained in my own thinking that it?s hard to remember I had to learn them somewhere. Reading Tough?s new book, How Children Succeed, reminded me just why he?s so good. The book is a synthesis of all the latest research on learning, told in well-packaged chapters like ?How to Think? and ?How to Fail (and How Not To).? I learned so much reading this book and I came away full of hope about how we can make life better for all kinds of kids.
?Emily Bazelon, senior editor

The Man Without a Face, by Masha Gessen
This portrait of the inscrutable Vladimir Putin, is fascinating, illuminating, and above all brave?as you read about the price countless Russians have paid for crossing Putin, you can?t help but marvel at the courage it takes to tell his story so critically. Gessen (an occasional Slate contributor) chronicles Putin?s journey from KGB agent to St. Petersburg political operative to Boris Yeltsin?s surprise choice as acting president, and on to 13 years (and counting) as Russia?s undisputed top dog, regardless of the title he holds at any given moment. What emerges is a man whose greatest political strength is his willingness to be seen primarily not as a statesman, but as a world class thug.
?Andy Bowers, executive producer, Slate podcasts

The Half-Blood Blues, by Esi Edugyan
A different vantage point of Nazi Europe in the 1940s?seen through the eyes of a group of African-American jazz musicians who find their rhythm just as the world is trying to snuff out their musical genius. Not only did the narrator, Sid, capture me with his internal struggles and unique voice, but it made me think about how the war impacted music and all races in ways that I don't always associate with the Third Reich. I felt pulled into the story by their passion for music despite the threats they faced daily. But what ultimately makes this story so memorable is Sid dealing with his demons long after his musical heyday has passed.
?Tracey Coronado, director of human resources

Lionel Asbo: State of England, by Martin Amis
Martin Amis' latest chuckle-fest Lionel Asbo: State of England is a fabulous and much-needed antidote to the twee Downton Abbey view of England. Here is the unvarnished truth about us Brits: We are lower and trashier than any Kardashian or Jersey Shore habitu?.
?Simon Doonan, columnist

Zona, by Geoff Dyer
I'll endorse Geoff Dyer?s rambling, peculiar memoir of watching the 1979 Soviet art film Stalker, and then rewatching it again and again. The memoir?s subtitle is ?A book about a film about a journey to a room,? but it might have been ?A boring book about a dreary film about a seemingly-endless journey to a nondescript room.? I say that in praise: Both book and film scale the heights of monotony at a thrilling, breakneck pace, and once they?ve reached the summit wallow in a weirdly gripping self-indulgence. What makes these feats of tedium so fabulous? Dyer tries to figure it out.
?Daniel Engber, columnist

The Way the World Works, by Nicholson Baker
Nicholson Baker writing on Wikipedia is like John Updike on Ted Williams or James Baldwin on going to church in Harlem: such a perfect match of writer and subject, mind and matter, that the no-doubt hard-won wonderfulness of the resulting essay seems predestined, inevitable. ?The Pop-Tarts page is often aflutter,? Baker writes, about the Wikipedia page for Pop-Tarts. ?Once last fall the whole page was replaced with ?NIPPLES AND BROCCOLI!!!!!!??The Way the World Works, the somewhat grandly titled essay collection in which ?The Charms of Wikipedia? appears, is itself aflutter with sentences as good and better than that one, a large number of them about life?s little details. The book makes you think that perhaps attending to little things, and writing fine, fun sentences about those little things, might help one think about the big things, and how they have been broken.
?David Haglund, Brow Beat editor

On a Farther Shore, by William Souder
You may think you really ought to know more about the origins of the environmental movement and the life of its patron saint. Sure, of course you ought to. You like clean air and water and birds, right? But On a Farther Shore, William Souder?s biography of Rachel Carson, is not a chore or a lesson. It?s a delightful, fascinating, engrossing read about some of the most important insights of modern science. You?ll find yourself thinking about Carson whenever you take a walk in the woods or get trapped in an argument about how environmentalists are killing kids in Africa.
?Laura Helmuth, science and health editor

Enemies: A History of the FBI, by Tim Weiner
This is an astonishing book, jammed with revelations (at least one per page), gleaned from tens of thousands of pages of newly declassified files. The focus is on the FBI as a secret foreign-intelligence service (which apparently it was designed to be from the outset) and J. Edgar Hoover as an ?American Machiavelli.? Weiner tells the epic tale with captivating elegance. It?s even better, I think, than Legacy of Ashes, his previous, award-winning book about the CIA.
?Fred Kaplan, ?War Stories? columnist

The Defining Decade, byMeg Jay
In?The Defining Decade, clinical psychologist Meg Jay explains how to optimize the crucial years of your 20s, citing?stories from her practice.?Any recent college grad mired in a quarter-life crisis or merely dazed by the freedom of post-collegiate existence should consider it required reading.
?Chris Kirk, interactives editor

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=864d8b109319af2a1b0d27f60e685276

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