Tuesday 28 February 2012

Home prices tumble in December: S&P (Reuters)

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A labourer selects wooden planks as he works at a residential construction site in Hefei, Anhui province February 18, 2012. China's home prices fell in January from December, marking the fourth monthly fall in a row and showing that the policy-driven property market downturn is deepening, which will add to worries about a hard landing in the world's second-largest economy. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA - Tags: BUSINESS REAL ESTATE CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT)Reuters - Single-family home prices ended 2011 on a downbeat note as a drop in December prices sent the seasonally-adjusted index to its lowest level since 2003, according to a closely watched survey on Tuesday.


Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120228/bs_nm/us_usa_economy_homes_index

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Monday 27 February 2012

Alternate Publishing: POD to Finish a Series ? Fiction Notes

Alternate publishing has been a quiet, behind-the-scenes subject for the last two or three years, but I keep hearing people talking about how they?ve taken the plunge. The terms vary: self-publishing, indie publishing, niche publishing. Some authors are apologetic; some are arrogant; some are business-like. But more and more, people are taking their copyright into their own hands and asking: how can I make money with what I have written. This week, we?ll look at seven stories of people who have done exactly that. For every story told here, I probably know of two or three more similar stories.

Dusting off an old publisher?s hat

Guest post by Joni Sensel

My latest book starts with a mouse-gnawed, bedraggled hat, and I found myself donning an old hat myself to get this book to readers who were asking for it.

More than ten years ago, I started a small press and self-published two picture books. One earned an award, both sold out their print runs, and I got a terrific crash-course in publishing ? enough to know I?d rather write. I stuffed my publishing hat into a closet.

After four traditionally published middle-grade novels, however, I dusted off my DIY cap. Having published THE FARWALKER?S QUEST and its sequel (which were contracted individually), Bloomsbury didn?t even want to consider the trilogy?s finale. Though the books earned good reviews and even a little award notice, sufficient copies didn?t sell for the company to invest in the third.

Farwalker?s Quest was a 2009 Cybil Award finalist and a 2010 Bank Street College ?Best Book?.
REVIEWS

  • This is a solid and well-paced fantasy in which the journey is more important than the conclusion. The theme of finding and accepting one?s true calling resonates. ?School Library Journal
  • [T]he book is at once elegant and lyrical, while also offering an intensely paced and action-driven plot for readers who are seeking adventure along with poetic contemplation.
    ?The Bulletin of the Center for Children?s Books
  • This stand-alone fantasy has a unique setting with an intriguing history and a suspenseful plot. ?Booklist
  • The story offers crisp dialogue, an exciting plot, and strong secondary characters. ?Kirkus

Yet readers were asking for more. So I finished it myself.

I did plenty of homework, including talking with others who were self-publishing to finish a traditional series. These included Book 6 in Kevin Emerson?s Oliver Nocturne series (Scholastic) and Book 4 in Chris Eboch?s Haunted series (Aladdin). (Chris has since self-published several books, though not that one yet, I think. Kevin?s series finale came out last May.)

One thing I did differently was to hire my Bloomsbury editor, partly because I wanted more third-party sanction (and more confidence in the work). I got lucky; her moonlit editorial notes came dirt cheap. Since I couldn?t afford the busy illustrator who did the first two covers, I paid a friend, Kirsten Carlson ? who?d previously helped with marketing materials ? to create the cover. For middle-graders, I wanted a physical book, so I used CreateSpace. (Next time, if there is one, I?ll look at Lightning Source for their distribution options, or the new Apple app.) I formatted the book and did my own ebook prep, too. The latter took the most effort.

Pulling my print-on-demand (POD) proof from the mail was as thrilling as getting an ARC from New York ? just with more proofing pressure! THE SKELETON?S KNIFE was published in November, and readers I?ve heard from so far have loved it. Yahoo!

My marketing plan is, frankly, minimal. I didn?t do this to sell lots of books, and I haven?t?about 100 copies in three months, though that?s still more than I expected. Really, I just wanted closure and something to offer fans who asked for more (without mailing them pages in a three-ring binder!).

That said, I did the same social media, blogger outreach, and announcements I would?ve done if someone else had published it, but at a lower volume, in part because my audience is mostly those who?ve read the first one or two, anyway. I?m pleased to have gotten a great review from a recognized kidlit blogger, Charlotte Taylor at Charlotte?s Library, as well as several on the book?s Amazon page. My attitude hasn?t changed, though ? I?d rather write. Yes, I know marketing is part of the writer?s job. After four traditionally published novels, however, with equal effort on my part and distinctly different sales results, I?m not convinced there?s much relationship between the author?s efforts and sales. (And none of my editors have thought so, either. Others, of course, disagree.)

I?m not planning to self-publish again soon. I think there are good reasons and bad reasons to do so, and I?m leery of the bad reasons. I still want the experts? imprimatur and thus the confidence that I?m not embarrassing myself before my peers and readers. I also want to spend maximum time writing (regardless of the results).

I?ll keep my worn publisher?s hat handy, though. Whether I like it or not, it probably won?t be another 10 years before I need it again!

Related posts:

  1. Writing for Children Publishing Resources
  2. You Need a Series of Book Trailers
  3. March Madness: Competition in Publishing
  4. Sherman, Eliopulos, Linn, Mihalik: Meet Children?s Publishing Experts
  5. Author?s Guild: 2012 State of Book Publishing

Source: http://www.darcypattison.com/alternate-publishing/alternate-publishing-pod-to-finish-a-series/

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Sunday 26 February 2012

Oak Furniture ??? Bring The Beauty From Outdoors Inside Your Home.

Of course, any natural wood is beautiful. But the glow and warmth of Oak Furniture is hard to beat for fitting in with any kind of decor in any style of home. Therefore, from our woodland autumn walk we turn to the tree itself. From little acorns grow great big oak trees, and we need to be so thankful for that as it gives us the opportunity to have a piece of that forest in our homes. There are some stunning pieces of furniture that do the tree and the wood itself great justice.

It?s quite a romantic notion thinking of having a piece of ancient forest in your home. Well I am certainly a sucker for romance and if you are too, there are some rather romantic pieces of Oak Furniture. How about a sumptuous king size bed and a chest to store those cosy winter blankets. On the other hand, maybe a large oak framed mirror that will bounce light around a dark dreary room. A bookcase is a great way not only to display your books, whether you are into romantic poetry or books about World War 2 fighter planes, you can also have family pictures and mementos displayed on one.

Therefore, what other pieces of forest can you have in your home? Well there are storage ideas, side tables and some rather beautiful quirky pieces I?ve seen such as an origami table! This table is actually a rather useful drop leaf table that looks triangular until it is fully opened out when it is square. Oak Furniture can be traditional or it can be contemporary so there will be something to fit in with any other pieces you have. Furniture made from Oak is a stunning addition to any room and any setting.

Solid Oak Furniture is a joy to behold. The uniqueness of the patterns on each piece makes them virtually one of a kind. Any piece of solid oaken furniture you own will last you a lifetime. If you look after and care for the wood, you will have no problems with fading or marking of the wood grain. Solid wood doesn?t take much looking after and you will likely have received care instructions from the manufacturer or supplier of your piece of furniture.

You can get Oak Furniture in various different shades from the fairly light to dark wood almost. You are sure to find pieces to match other furniture you have. Who would have though we could have the glorious autumn season and romance all in one little written piece about Oak Furniture? Wood inspires, it has a warmth and feeling about it, and as it?s a natural substance, each piece is as unique as the tree it was fashioned from.

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Source: http://whs1997.com/oak-furniture-bring-the-beauty-from-outdoors-inside-your-home/

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Saturday 25 February 2012

The Info on Physical Therapy ? Loans Finance and Mortgage

[unable to retrieve full-text content]You need to make guaranteed to get a great physical therapist you should take into consideration people advised by associates and family members. Health and fitness insurance policy organizations and physicians also ...

Source: http://www.hyploans.com/the-info-on-physical-therapy/

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Friday 24 February 2012

Find Out All These Crucial Things About Sports activities Apparel ...

Acquiring in shape is significantly easier when you possess the proper sports attire to use. With countless on the internet sources, you can now find nearly any sort of clothes for physical fitness and exercising, running, actively playing sports activities video games, and so forth.

Numerous of those sports clothing things might be located on-line at a sports shopping mall in a selection of manufacturer names this sort of as NBA, NFL, NASCAR and NCAA, and at a sensible value. Here?s a quick information to sports apparel, and just how to select the clothing and equipment which can be appropriate available for you.

Apparel for Enjoying Sports (Sports activities Jerseys, Attire, and many others.)

When ordering things such as sports activities jerseys or any other attire for by yourself or your team, preserve in brain the fit should be cozy and the resources must be versatile. Throughout any energetic recreation this sort of as football, basketball, soccer, hockey, baseball, cricket and so on., there will likely be plenty of arm and leg movements. Be sure to order the suitable measurements and permit for a little moving place. Will not order items also huge as the clothes may be a hindrance if it is as well baggy. Spandex components are usually popular choices for these kind of sports activities. Concurrently it?s also possible to order gear this kind of as cricket equipment or boxing equipment together with your attire for that finest savings.

Monitor and Running Footwear

If you are involved with monitor at university or in the expert realm, the main target really should be with your working sneakers. Choose sneakers that match snug, but easily. The footwear ought to not slide on your own heel, nor should they damage your toes right after donning them for an hour or two. Be sure the shoes give adequate assist to your heels and arches. Also, purchase operating sneakers that experience lightweight on your own ft whilst jogging. Verify to generate confident the shoes have excellent treads to the bottom. Your jogging shoes really should be considered a assist, not a hindrance.

Fitness Education and Gym Routines

At the fitness center, or for the duration of fitness coaching, get sports activities garments according to the sort of workouts you will carry out. As an illustration, put on pants that match snugly throughout the legs if performing leg exercises, specially on an exercising bike or equivalent equipment. Loose-fitting pants could get caught inside the machinery and trigger injuries.

For aerobic-style health instruction, use leotards with leggings, bicycle shorts plus a jog top rated. Or, put on a snug-fitting t-shirt with boxer-style shorts. Will not put on clothing that is baggy, while it will hinder your body?s movement. For shoes, put on aerobic footwear if at all possible, but steer clear of jogging sneakers with large treads.

Sports Swimwear

If swimming in competitions, choose a bathing match that promotes speed and clean swimming. There are particular varieties of swimsuits which have ?vertical line? patterns inside the materials to channel water absent from the entire body. Opposition swimwear really should be slick, at ease, and allow for simple human body movement.

To discover these kinds of exclusive sportswear items used to be hard ? specifically for those dwelling within a small town with limited retailers. But presently, it is possible to store for every type of sports clothing and physical fitness apparel out of your own residence laptop or computer any time with the day or week.

On the internet sports searching malls offer all types of sports apparel, fitness put on, athletic materials, sporting goods-sports devices, sports activities memorabilia, and even more. And, you are able to normally have a excellent price for these things on-line. Utilize the guidelines earlier mentioned to decorate for sports activities accomplishment!

Source: http://www.goldfishpublishers.com/uncategorized/find-out-all-these-crucial-things-about-sports-activities-apparel-you-must-know

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Victorinox Swiss Army Slim Flight


Portable storage can take many forms, but here's a flash drive that's a dead ringer for something you might already carry?the Swiss Army knife on your key ring. The Victorinox Swiss Army Slim Flight (4GB) ($40 street) is a small, lightweight USB flash drive with an attractive design and a potent software package.?Although it may not be the cheapest drive you'll find, it's easily one of the finest looking.

Design
The Slim Flight (4GB) lives up to its Swiss Army name, with a handsome pocket knife?style swiveling cover, complete with an integrated clip to secure and easily open the drive. No larger than a traditional Swiss Army keychain pocket knife, the cover of the slim USB drive is metal, with a textured surface and the Swiss Army logo. Our review unit came in silver, but other colors?orange, pink, green, and blue?are available. The cover has a handy locking mechanism to keep the drive closed while it rattles around in your pocket or luggage, and the drive can actually be removed from the cover and swapped out for one with?more memory without your?having to purchase the entire product over again.

The "Flight" moniker comes from the fact that there is no knife component to this Swiss Army flash drive. Other models include a folding blade, but anyone who regularly deals with the TSA knows that you don't want your data to be confiscated at the airport.

The drive is also very slim, measuring 0.3 by 0.6 by 2.3 inches (HWD)?the same size as a keychain Swiss Army knife?and weighs only 0.4 ounce. No worries about blocking other ports when using the drive?this USB device is about as small as it gets.

Despite the small size, you'll be getting anywhere from 4GB to 64GB of storage capacity, with models ranging between $40 (for the 4GB model) to $225 (for the 64GB model). Our review model, the 4GB version, costs $10 per gigabyte, which is pricey, to be sure. The cost per?gigabyte lowers as the capacity?increases, with the 64GB model coming out to roughly $3.51 per gigabyte.

Features and Performance
The Slim Flight (4GB) comes with some software preinstalled, courtesy of Victorinox. The software includes encryption tools, zero-footprint anonymous browsing, password management, and automatic file backup. These sorts of tools are invaluable when travelling for business, where you may be separated from your laptop or don't have consistent access to any one PC. Unfortunately, these tools are Windows only.

Setting up the encryption is simple, but it does involve a few minutes and multiple steps, so be prepared to spend some time with the installation wizard. First you set up a password for the drive. Next, you have the option of creating an encrypted partition on the drive. When you set up the encryption, the wizard includes a slider that lets you choose how much of the drive you want to encrypt. You can choose anywhere from the full capacity of the drive to as little as 10MB.

The software also includes options for Internet browsing, letting you either sync your favorites and bookmarks between multiple computers or browse safely on any system. The safe browsing mode opens up its own copy of Internet Explorer in "no trace" mode which, as the name implies, leaves no traces of your browsing on the PC. The safe browsing utility also lets you delete the history, cookies, favorites, and temporary files of either the local Internet log files or the USB-based browser. Extending the online communication tools further, there's also a tool to back up and sync your Outlook files to and from the USB drive.

In performance tests, the Swiss Army Slim Flight scored 631 points in Futuremark PCMark 7's storage benchmark, slightly ahead of the Kingston DataTraveler Locker+ (8GB) ($14 street, 4 stars), which scored 623. Despite the slightly better performance, and identical read speeds (24.52 MBps), the Victorinox Swiss Army Slim Flight has a slower write speed. In our timed test transferring 4.93GB of data, the Slim Flight had a write speed of 5.82MBps, while the DataTraveler Locker+ pulled ahead with a speed of 9.65MBps.

All in all, the Victorinox Swiss Army Slim Flight is the sort of drive you want to buy if you aren't worried about losing your flash drive. It's attractive, but not too bulky to carry on your key ring. It's filled with goodies like bookmark syncing, password management and easy to use encryption. It's also a bit more expensive than generic drives, without being dramatically faster. It's a smart buy, but you'll pay for what you're getting.

More flash drive reviews:
??? Kingston DataTraveler Locker+ (8GB)
??? Victorinox Swiss Army Slim Flight
??? SanDisk Ultra microSDXC Card 64GB
??? IronKey Personal S200
??? Kingston DataTraveler 150 (32GB)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/CFtuiOka2V4/0,2817,2400504,00.asp

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Thursday 23 February 2012

Libya court orders civil trial for Gaddafi "loyalists" (Reuters)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Reuters - A Libyan military court ruled on Wednesday that 50 people accused of fighting for Muammar Gaddafi and helping a mass jail break by alleged supporters of the deposed leader should be freed and tried instead in a civilian court.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120222/wl_nm/us_libya_trial

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Mazatlan Real Estate Offers Art and Entertainment for Everyone: an ...

Mazatlan real estate always has the benefit of being in a city wealthy in culture.? During the early summer of 2009, Mazatlan has provided a lot of events ? from art exhibitions to dance shows and classical music to a thriving night life.

One example of Mazatlan?s cultural events is a presentation referred to as ?Mazatlan, Memories of my Country,? performed by the ?Danza T?llez? dance school.? The presentation was delivered in the ?ngela Peralta Theater, where the students of the academy gave the public a gorgeous show of attractive choreography.? The audience could sense the flavor of the sea, mixed with the fantasy of Carnaval and traditional regional music. The show lasted for two hours, giving a tropical and festive atmosphere, such as birds, shrimp, sirens (the sea witches), sea gulls, dolphins, confetti and light shows.? Numerous parts of Mazatlan were included ? The Three Islands, The ?Mal?con?, the Historic Downtown.? The presentation was divided into four parts Mazatlan?s history, the greatness of its individuals, its traditions, and its beauty and spirit.? The good quality of the dance reflected the professionalism and tough work of the academy?s students and its teachers, Doris Aguilar, Viviana Gonz?lez, Tania Cerrillo, Yayita Huerta, Malika Alan?s, Yolanda Campos y Laura T?llez, the principal of the academy.

The Municipal School of Ballet also presented 12 works, including ?Alice in Wonderland,? ?The Wizard of Oz,? ?The Umbrella Ladies,? ?The Mexican Nightingale? and the well loved Mexican Cri Cri.? These projects were brought about by the inspiration, imagination and leadership of Zoila Fernandez, who received training the Cuban School of Ballet. ??Fernandez says that she firmly believes that Mazatlan has a public which can truly appreciate high high quality dance.

Amongst other dance performances there are also selections from the repertoire of the Russian Ballet.? Also in the performance arts, Mazatlan offered a rendition of the ?Merry Widow? operetta, concerts by the Youth String Ensemble from Mazatlan Center for the Arts, and by Mazatlan Youth Symphony Orchestra.? Finally, Mazatlan?s IV Youth Festival included nightly concerts at 8:00 p.m.

Mazatlan is also a city which is wealthy in visual arts. This summer has seen the opening of an exhibition of paintings by Arody Garcia, and inauguration of expositions by Durango artists and paintings &amp sculptures by Manuel Salas &amp Salvador Salas.

Even though Mazatlan real estate offers plenty of high culture, there is also plenty of room for pop culture, specially in the world of music. Regardless of your taste in music ? pop, hip-hop, rock, salsa, merengue, trova, flamenco, mariachi, or, Mazatlan?s distinct contribution to Mexico?s musical traditions, live ?banda sinaloense? ? Mazatlan?s night life offers something for everybody.

Mazatlan real estate really enjoys a city wealthy in culture and entertainment.? The beauty and diversity of this city continue to make it 1 of the most appealing places for your second home.? To locate out more about Mazatlan real estate and uncover out more about the city itself, contact the LeadingMexicoRealEstate?? NETWORK??Your Expert????Property-Finders.?

Source: http://www.space-expectations.org/mazatlan-real-estate-offers-art-and-entertainment-for-everyone-an-overview-of-summer-2009.html

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Tuesday 21 February 2012

The Great Fulfillment Center for Your Business | Construction ...

Posted on February 20, 2012

In order to cater to the customers? demands you need processes with enhanced flexibility that can help you reduce risks and gain more profits. You need drop shipping service that provide dedicated and top quality order fulfillment center service for your business service. The solutions need to provide you with consistent support with a focus on optimum customer satisfaction. And the fulfillment centers should ensure that all services are delivered promptly without any misleading or erroneous information. You should also consider some of these points, which will eventually help you in the long run. This cost can vary from one company to the next, but you can get an affordable price from the company only. In addition, they have the advantage of transferring orders to different areas simultaneously.

Here are some of the most beneficial aspects of a drop shopping service solution. It works automatically in fulfillment process. You have a business or company that is developing, in this case, you need a marketing network that can extend the enterprise market. You can use the drop shipping service for your business service as an option to extend the network. With fulfillment center services, your customers or clients can easily contact your company if they are interested in your products or services marketed.

Source: http://www.pocahontascoal.org/the-great-fulfillment-center-for-your-business.html

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Monday 20 February 2012

Some Fun and Interesting Facts about Health and Fitness | New ...

New Health And Fitness.Org - Health Information You Can Use

In addition to the well known information that most of us are familiar with, there are some fun fitness facts that don?t get as much attention. It is very clear that the more you know and understand with all areas concerning good health, then you can perform the optimal solutions. Just remember that you are not confined to only one method, here, and that is the beauty of it.

Consistent efforts to work out will have a good effect on ensuring your bones stay stronger for longer. Those who should pay particular attention are women because of the loss of bone density. So the thing to do is to do what you can do, and that is where fitness enters the picture. If you want to keep your bones strong into old age, then you have to take good care of them, now. There are many compelling reasons for keeping your good health, and this is just one more to consider.

If you are overweight, then you know that burning calories the best is through exercising. It is well-documented that chronic obesity will lead to all kinds of medical complications for life. But the smartest approach is to just get started with being active and doing something. Remember that if you set your sights on the most important task at hand and work to get that done, then you can also do this. All you really need to do is learn new habits, and that can be done a lot easier than you think.

Your sleeping will improve once you are in the swing of things with your working out. When you have a good, strong work out, then your body will be tired and ready for sleep. There is a huge difference between busy work and actually hard and physical work you get from exercising. There are many things that can impact your ability to sleep well, and physical activity is just one of them.

Never again do you have to settle for the same old boring ways of getting in good physical condition. Everything about being in great shape and fitness levels is a positive, and it will increase your quality of life. So remember to keep learning about fitness and most importantly ? get out there and get moving.

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Source: http://newhealthandfitness.org/2012/02/19/some-fun-and-interesting-facts-about-health-and-fitness-5/

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