Internet Business Quick Tip: Choosing A Great Domain Name | Mad ...

When you start an internet business, choosing a domain name can be tricky. In this video we?ll show you how to construct and register a great domain name for your online business. For more internet business advice visit http://internetbusinesskickstart.com
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Source: http://www.mad-marketing-method.com/internet-business-quick-tip-choosing-a-great-domain-name/

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Keep police business off Facebook, NYPD tells cops - Technology ...

Tom Hays , The Associated Press ? ? ? 7 hrs.

The New York Police Department has begun policing how its officers use Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

An internal order made public on Thursday advises members of the nation's largest police department to be careful with what they reveal online ? even urging them not to disclose that they're on the force.

Officers "are to exercise good judgment and demonstrate professionalism expected of them while performing their official duties," the memo says. It also warns that "personal social media sites may be used against them to undermine the credibility of the department, interfere with official police business, compromise ongoing investigations and affect their employment status."

The guidelines bar officers from posting photos of themselves in uniform ? with the exception of those taken at promotion or awards ceremonies ? unless they have permission from the department. Officers could face discipline if they don't comply.

Police officials said the policy has been in the works for about two years, and arose out of concern that police officers' online postings could embarrass the NYPD or be misinterpreted as official police policy. The department punished more than a dozen officers after they made degrading remarks about revelers at the West Indian Day Parade in 2011.

"We believe these guidelines are reasonable and make sense," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Thursday.

The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, which represents 23,000 police officers, declined comment. In the past, the union has cautioned its members about what they post and who they interact with on the Internet.

The NYPD edict prohibits the posting on personal websites of crime scene photos or witness statements. It also bars officers from using social media to contact witnesses, crime victims or lawyers involved in pending cases, or to contact minors who aren't part of their families.

"Such communications may be deemed inappropriate or unethical and may jeopardize an ongoing investigation," it says.

The adoption of guidelines was first reported in the Daily News.

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/keep-police-business-facebook-nypd-tells-cops-1C9143650

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Food & Drink: HOW TO Cook Cubed Beef : How-to Cooking Videos

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Source: http://how-to-cooking-video.com/cooking-beef/food-drink-how-to-cook-cubed-beef/

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Approaching Menopause in a Healthy and Natural Manner | Jackie's ...

"The Plus Size Evening Gowns Bible: How to choose the right plus size dress for a wedding, cocktail evening, formal event or family party" focuses on helping curvy women find the perfect dress for all occasions. Plus size fashion news site Plus-Size-Magazine.com has created its second book dedicated to full-figured women who want to look great, and embrace their curves.

For curvy women, finding plus size evening dresses can be a real chore. All curvy women want to shine at special occasions or events, but this means there is more pressure on finding a dress that is really perfect. Their options are limited , it can be hard to find the right fit and it?s not always easy to find a beautiful evening gown on a budget. This is what inspired the writers behind ?The Plus Size Evening Gowns Bible?.

It?s about knowing which kind of dress works for which occasion, and how to invest in the right dress to save our readers money. Style guide ?The Plus Size Evening Gowns Bible? will show women how to figure out their body shape, choose the right lingerie, find a dress for every occasion, what to remember and what to avoid when shopping for a plus size evening dress, and tips on saving money with advice on the best places to shop online and offline.

With over five years? experience in the plus size fashion industry, we know the trials and tribulations of plus size shopping, and the kind of problems Curvy Women encounter when trying to dress fashionably and on a budget. Fit, price, lack of availability, limited choices.... Sound familiar?

You are not alone in your plus size shopping frustration! Many of our readers have asked us for solutions to their problems, and over the years we have enlisted experts and professionals to help us answer them. Use our fashion advice to arm yourself with actionable tips that fit your body type.

Table Of Contents

Introduction: Why is it so hard to find an evening gown that fits properly when you are a curvy woman?

Chapter 1 - Not all curvy women are made the same - do you even your own body shape? Here are the dresses that will best suit YOU.

Chapter 2: What are the 7 golden rules to follow? How to dress for the event, your age and your skin tone

Chapter 3 - Adele, Beyonc? and Kim Kardashian all have a secret... what it is? Shapewear! We show you how to choose the right shapewear for your body shape and how to use accessories to your advantage

Chapter 4 - Wondering which dress to wear for the festive season? Here's our guide to the best dresses for Christmas and New Year

Chapter 5 - Are you stressing out looking for a plus size dress for a special occasion? Or a dress you can wear more than once? Whatever formal event you have coming up, we are here to help

Chapter 6 - Looking for the perfect plus size cocktail dress? We show you how to shine like a star

Chapter 7 - What words of wisdom do the professionals have to say? We talk to Anna Scholz, navabi and IGIGI

Chapter 8 - Saving money: Where can you shop for plus size evening dresses on the cheap?

Conclusion: You will be the belle of the ball!

Source: http://www.jackiesbazaar.com/womensinterests/plus-size/approaching-menopause-in-a-healthy-and-natural-manner

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Deal of the Day ? Alienware X51 Core i7 mini Gaming PC with GeForce GTX 660 and Blu-ray

LogicBUY’s Deal for Friday is the configurable?Alienware X51 Core i7-3770 “Ivy Bridge” 3.4GHz Quad-core mini gaming PC for $999. ?Included features: 8GB RAM 2TB SATA III hard drive and Blu-ray (slot-loading DVD burner) 1.5GB GeForce GTX 660 graphics USB 3.0 Wireless-N AlienFX System Lighting Technology $1349 – $250 instant savings – $100 coupon code?= $999 [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/03/29/deal-of-the-day-alienware-x51-core-i7-mini-gaming-pc-with-geforce-gtx-660-and-blu-ray/

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BlackBerry makes $94 million on revenue of $2.7 billion, ships 1 million BB10 devices in 2013 Q4

This isn't quite the BlackBerry earnings story you're waiting for -- after all, the US figures covering the success (or otherwise) of the Z10 won't arrive until the next quarter. Instead, we're looking at the company's results from the end of the fiscal year to March 2nd, which shows that the smartphone maker made $94 million in GAAP income on revenues of $2.7 billion -- in contrast with the $125 million net loss it made in the same quarter last year. More importantly, however, it shipped out almost one million BlackBerry 10 devices during the three weeks of the quarter that they were available. In addition, it managed to push five million of its older smartphones and 370,000 PlayBook tablets out of the door, but saw user numbers fall from 79 million last quarter to 76 million now.

As revenue has remained relatively flat, the surge in profits can only be attributed to Thorsten Heins' aggressive cost-cutting measures, with the CEO remarking that the "numerous changes" he has implemented at the company have "resulted in [BlackBerry] returning to profitability." At the same time, Mike Lazaridis has announced that he'll retire from his position as vice-chair and director of the outfit he founded the better part of three decades ago. He'll exit the business on May 1st so that he can concentrate on his new enterprise, Quantum Valley Investments.

Update: During the conference call, Thorsten Heins has revealed that around two-thirds or three-quarters of the one million BB10 devices shipped have been sold.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/28/blackberry-2013-q4/

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Police: Slain Chicago infant's dad belongs to gang | Espn

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Source: http://espn.abantemindanao.com/351/police-slain-chicago-infants-dad-belongs-to-gang/

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Edward Corcoran: Capital Gain, Social Loss

Investments provide two major types of returns: dividends or bond interest based on company profits, and capital gains based on increasing valuation of the asset. Dividends and interest paid from real earnings help power the economy. Capital gains also help power the economy; but in addition they serve as a powerful system transferring wealth to favored individuals -- basically those with money to start with. Favorable tax treatment of capital gains exacerbates this effect. The favored individuals who receive capital gains become relatively better off; everyone else becomes relatively worse off.

Increased valuation of an asset may come from increased capital investment, as when a homeowner modernizes a kitchen or a company modernizes its facilities. Such increases are generally not treated as capital gains, but simply as capital increases. For companies, increasing profits naturally raise valuation as the return on investment increases, rewarding those who set up companies or manage their real growth. As valuations rise, much of the gains, however temporary they prove to be, may be siphoned off by owners and managers. Valuation is often based partly or even exclusively on expected profits, which may be purposefully hyped or even illusory. The dot-com bubble certainly illustrated that situation. An extreme example was Global Crossing; it's market valuation reached an astounding $38 billion the year before it collapsed in bankruptcy.

Obviously people who buy early and sell when the valuation is high reap significant capital gains, while those who buy at the high point experience significant capital losses. Neither of them have made any real contribution to the economy. Overall, the capital gains made by the winning group will offset the capital losses of the losing group. But the two groups are not equal. The winners are more often those with the assets to continually assess the market and adjust their positions, perhaps using insider information or at least information not generally recognized. The losers are often the smaller investors. It has not been unusual for brokerages to tout stocks to small investors at the same time that they have been selling off the same stocks themselves. Shrewd speculators can reap fortunes without making any positive contribution to the economy. An extreme example of that is the recently developed systems for instant trading. Buying and selling stocks with microsecond efficiency can systematically skim capital gains from the market, clearly at the cost of those unable to compete at that level and certainly without any positive contribution to the overall economy.

Major amounts of capital gains are also made by the general appreciation of the market as a whole. An upward climb of the Dow Jones Index or the overall level of real estate valuations will result in major capital gains for investors and speculators. The actual rise in the real asset values will almost always be much less. This rising tide raises all boats; but those without boats -- everyday people with no significant market presence -- lose out. The share of societal wealth held by those with assets increases; those with more assets get more increases.

For successful speculators and many homeowners, the rise in valuation is simply a windfall. People holding these assets not only receive an unearned income, but they also receive a very favorable tax break on the capital gains. The basic justification for the favorable tax treatment is that such capital gains provide investor resources that fuel market growth. So the gains result not only in a significant increase in individual wealth of investors, but are an essential mechanism for funding further economic growth. But how much of these capital gains are actually re-invested in economic development is not clear. Certainly much of this new wealth does not go into investment and some portion goes into further speculation. Indeed, speculators can get rich without making any contribution to society as a whole, while their gains are given favorable tax treatment.

Recent years have seen a steady increase in the share of wealth held by the very wealthy. As a result, wealth inequality in the United States is in the same league with the Ivory Coast and Cameroon. Within the overall U.S. financial system which methodically shifts wealth into the hands of the upper class, the favorable tax treatment of capital gains is one of the major facilitators of this trend. It is of course easy to understand why people who benefit from this system support it -- the same financial elite that bankrolls elections and supports an extensive lobbying effort in Washington. It is harder to understand why people who are continually short-changed would support a system that systematically increases the gap between the wealthy and everyday citizens.

The bottom line is that capital gains in general and their favorable tax treatment in particular are major mechanisms facilitating the continuing flow of wealth to the wealthy. To the extent that this favorable tax treatment facilitates economic expansion, the overall economy is mis-structured. Moving more assets to the wealthy should certainly not be a prerequisite for job development and economic progress.

?

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/edward-corcoran/capital-gain-social-loss_b_2846478.html

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SKorea, US begin drills as NKorea threatens war

South Korean protesters hit a huge banner with a picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a rally denouncing North Korea's recent threat and supporting South Korean President Park Geun-hye near the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 11, 2013. South Korea and the United States began annual military drills Monday despite North Korean threats to respond by voiding the armistice that ended the Korean War and launching a nuclear attack on the U.S. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korean protesters hit a huge banner with a picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a rally denouncing North Korea's recent threat and supporting South Korean President Park Geun-hye near the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 11, 2013. South Korea and the United States began annual military drills Monday despite North Korean threats to respond by voiding the armistice that ended the Korean War and launching a nuclear attack on the U.S. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korean Army soldiers work on their K-9 self-propelled artillery vehicle during an exercise against possible attacks by North Korea near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, Monday, March 11, 2013. South Korea and the U.S. on Monday kicked off an annual military drill amid worries about a possible bloodshed following North Korea?s threat to scrap a decades-old war armistice and launch a nuclear attack on the U.S. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korean protesters wearing masks hold placards during a rally denouncing the annual joint military exercises, dubbed Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, between South Korea and the United States, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 11, 2013. South Korea and the United States began annual military drills Monday despite North Korean threats to respond by voiding the armistice that ended the Korean War and launching a nuclear attack on the U.S. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A South Korean protester holds a sign during a rally denouncing the annual joint military exercises, dubbed Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, between South Korea and the United States, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 11, 2013. South Korea and the United States began annual military drills Monday despite North Korean threats to respond by voiding the armistice that ended the Korean War and launching a nuclear attack on the U.S. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korean protesters wearing masks hold placards during a rally denouncing the annual joint military exercises, dubbed Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, between South Korea and the United States, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 11, 2013. South Korea and the United States began annual military drills Monday despite North Korean threats to respond by voiding the armistice that ended the Korean War and launching a nuclear attack on the U.S. The letters read "When the war occurs, all 70 million people will die." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? North Korean state media said Monday that Pyongyang had carried through with a threat to cancel the 60-year-old armistice that ended the Korean War, as it and South Korea staged dueling war games amid threatening rhetoric that has risen to the highest level since North Korea rained artillery shells on a South Korean island in 2010.

Enraged over the South's joint military drills with the United States and recent U.N. sanctions, Pyongyang has piled threat on top of threat, including vows to launch a nuclear strike on the U.S. Seoul has responded with tough talk of its own and has placed its troops on high alert.

The North Korean government made no formal announcement Monday on its repeated threats to scrap the armistice, but the country's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported that the armistice was nullified Monday as Pyongyang had earlier announced it would.

The North followed through on another promise Monday, shutting down a Red Cross hotline that the North and South used for general communication and to discuss aid shipments and separated families' reunions.

The 11-day military drills that started Monday involve 10,000 South Korean and about 3,000 American troops. Those coincide with two months of separate U.S.-South Korean field exercises that began March 1.

The drills are held annually, and this year, according to South Korean media, the "Key Resolve" drill rehearses different scenarios for a possible conflict on the Korean peninsula using computer-simulated exercises. The U.S. and South Korean troops will be used to test the scenarios.

Also continuing are large-scale North Korean drills that Seoul says involve the army, navy and air force. The South Korean defense ministry said there have been no military activities it considers suspicious.

The North has threatened to nullify the armistice several times in times of tension with the outside world, and in 1996 the country sent hundreds of armed troops into a border village. The troops later withdrew.

Despite the heightened tension, there were signs of business as usual Monday.

The two Koreas continue to have at least two working channels of communication between their militaries and aviation authorities.

One of those hotlines was used Monday to give hundreds of South Koreans approval to enter North Korea to go to work. Their jobs are at the only remaining operational symbol of joint inter-Korean cooperation, the Kaesong industrial complex. It is operated in North Korea with South Korean money and knowhow and a mostly North Korean work force.

The North Korean rhetoric escalated as the U.N. Security Council last week approved a new round of sanctions over Pyongyang's latest nuclear weapons test Feb. 12.

Analysts said that much of the bellicosity is meant to shore up loyalty among citizens and the military for North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un.

"This is part of their brinksmanship," said Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based expert on North Korea with the International Crisis Group think tank. "It's an effort to signal their resolve, to show they are willing to take greater risks, with the expectation that everyone else caves in and gives them what they want."

Part of what North Korea wants is a formal peace treaty to end the Korean War, instead of the armistice that leaves the peninsula still technically in a state of war. It also wants security guarantees and other concessions, direct talks with Washington, recognition as a nuclear weapons state and the removal of 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

Pinkston said there is little chance of fighting breaking out while war games are being conducted, but he added that he expects North Korea to follow through with a somewhat mysterious promise to respond at a time and place of its own choosing.

North Korea was responsible for an artillery attack that killed four South Koreans in 2010. A South Korean-led international investigation found that North Korea torpedoed a South Korean warship that same year, killing 46 sailors. Pyongyang denies sinking the ship.

Among other threats in the past week, North Korea has warned Seoul of a nuclear war on the divided peninsula and said it was cancelling nonaggression pacts.

South Korean and U.S. officials have been closely monitoring Pyongyang's actions and parsing its recent rhetoric, which has been more warlike than usual.

One analyst said Kaesong's continued operations show that North Korea's cutting of the Red Cross communication channel was symbolic. More than 840 South Koreans were set to cross the border Monday to Kaesong, which provides a badly-needed flow of hard currency to a country where many face food shortages, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry.

"If South Koreans don't go to work at Kaesong, North Korea will suffer" financially, said analyst Hong Hyun-ik at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. "If North Korea really intends to start a war with South Korea, it could have taken South Koreans at Kaesong hostage."

Under newly inaugurated President Park Geun-hye, South Korea's Defense Ministry, which often brushes off North Korean threats, has looked to send a message of strength in response to the latest comments from Pyongyang.

The ministry has warned that the North's government would "evaporate from the face of the Earth" if it ever used a nuclear weapon. The White House also said the U.S. is fully capable of defending itself against a North Korean ballistic attack.

On Monday, Park told a Cabinet Council meeting that South Korea should strongly respond to any provocation by North Korea. But she also said Seoul should move ahead with her campaign promise to build up trust with the North.

North Korea has said the U.S. mainland is within the range of its long-range missiles, and an army general told a Pyongyang rally last week that the military is ready to fire a long-range nuclear-armed missile to turn Washington into a "sea of fire."

While outside scientists are still trying to determine specifics, the North's rocket test in December and third atomic bomb test last month may have pushed the country a step closer to acquiring the ability to hit the U.S. with weapons of mass destruction. Analysts, however, say Pyongyang is still years away from acquiring the smaller, lighter nuclear warheads needed for a credible nuclear missile program.

But there are still worries about a smaller conflict, and analysts have said that more missile and nuclear tests are possible reactions from North Korea.

North Korea has a variety of missiles and other weapons capable of striking South Korea. Both the warship sinking and island shelling in 2010 occurred near a western sea boundary between the Koreas that North Korea fiercely disputes. It has been a recurring flashpoint between the rivals that has seen three other bloody naval skirmishes since 1999.

Last week, Kim Jong Un visited two islands just north of the sea boundary and ordered troops there to open fire immediately if a single enemy shell is fired on North Korean waters.

Kim was also quoted as saying his military is fully ready to fight an "all-out war" and that he will order a "just, great advance for national unification" if the enemy makes even a slight provocation, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-11-Koreas-Tension/id-056530b526d046f39ff3bad575f08ba9

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What can Disney teach us about relationships? - Holy Kaw!

?The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else which makes you unique.? Walt Disney

Love looks beyond social status ? Aladdin

Don?t push love away ? Hercules

Some people deserve a second look ? Tangled

You can?t tell a book by it?s cover ? Beauty and the Best

Appreciate what you have ? Up

What?s your favorite Disney relationship and why?

Full story at ChaCha http://www.chacha.com/gallery/5659/what-can-disney-teach-us-about-relationships

Photo credit +JD Hancock
#HolyKaw #Disney

Author on Google+

March 9, 2013

Source: http://holykaw.alltop.com/what-can-disney-teach-us-about-relationships

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How the daffodil got its trumpet

Mar. 9, 2013 ? The daffodil is one of the few plants with a 'corona', a crown-like structure also referred to as the 'trumpet'. New research suggests that the corona is not an extension of the petals as previously thought, but is a distinct organ sharing more genetic identity with stamens, the pollen-producing reproductive organs.

The origin of the corona has long been a subject of debate in botany, and in the 1930s botanist Agnes Arber claimed that it was an extension from the petals. With its colourful petal-like appearance, it's easy to see why this was believed for so long. Yet by studying the corona's development and genetic information, this new study has shown that it is in fact related to stamens.

Dr Robert Scotland of the University of Oxford led the research, and was supported by colleagues at Harvard University, the United States Department of Agriculture and the University of Western Australia. The researchers were funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the United States National Science Foundation. The study is published online in The Plant Journal.

By studying the development of daffodil flowers, the researchers found that the corona only begins to form after the other parts of the flower are fully established. "This shows that the corona could not be a straightforward modification of either petals or stamens," explains Dr Scotland. "Since it develops independently of both, it is more accurately described as a separate organ."

The different parts of daffodil flowers are located on a small cup-like platform termed the 'hypanthium'.

The researchers analysed genetic activity in all parts of the daffodil flower, and found that daffodil coronas were genetically similar to the stamens and hypanthium, but not the petals.

"We found that the corona develops from the hypanthium, and is not simply en extension of the petals or stamens," says Dr Scotland. "The corona is an independent organ, sharing more genetic identity with stamens, and which develops after the other organs are fully established."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Oxford.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Mark T Waters, Anna M M Tiley, Elena M Kramer, Alan W Meerow, Jane A Langdale, Robert W Scotland. The corona of the daffodil Narcissus bulbocodium shares stamen-like identity and is distinct from the orthodox floral whorls. The Plant Journal, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/tpj.12150

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/strange_science/~3/1TTT7YekiGA/130309160248.htm

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Home Improvement Suggestions That Can Create A Significant ...

Have you been searching for ways to give your home's interior a "raise"? You don't must appear any longer! Read this report for easy jobs that you could undertake to improve your property.

Speak with your neighborhood friends about developing an instrument swimming pool area. Instead of acquiring pricey specific resources for one usage, acquire esoteric products from the neighbors who also enjoys redecorating assignments. The two of you may help by discussing recommendations.
Hence, razor-sharp and desirable entrance doorways can easily drastically enhance a home's benefit. Even though you can't change the full door, a jacket of painting and a new doorknob will give your aged front door a fresh appearance.
A single enhancement that will make life easier for you is replacing everyday paneling in areas with a lot of pipes with water resistant paneling. Drinking water-proof wall structure board is typically called "eco-friendly table." Most environmentally friendly boards are treated to face up to drinking water retention, and also the fungus that usually develops in moist situations.
Consider switching out each of the lights in your home for energy efficient ones. These light bulbs lessen your price in electricity bills, and they are eco-friendly they have a longer life-span compared to the conventional lights, and are generally greater in lumens for each watt. Replace aged light bulbs with power efficient lights as they blow out.
Take into account extra padding the sides of sharp furnishings if you have young kids or clumsy pets. You can also turn this in to an elegant do-it-on your own venture. This can be achieved with sometimes area protectors or foam adhesive tape. Also, make certain that all loose cords are secure in order to avoid the chance that your particular child may be strangled by it.
An air conditioner may stand out such as a sore thumb with your back garden furnishings, but it is a far essential product in numerous climate regions. If you think the air conditioner is detracting from the appearance of your home, you can use a trellis or latticework to conceal it. You can also attempt placing decorative grasses, for example pampas lawn, in the region, as long as you sustain 12 in . involving the system along with the beginnings.
Ordinary lampshades can make your whole space look uninteresting. Using acrylic color and stencils, you can include excellent models to your lampshades. Spicing increase your light tones can certainly make a surprising difference from the persona of the area.
Spend less on home improvements by signing up for together with your neighbours and setting up a 'community toolbox'. You won't need to spend some money booking or purchasing costly equipment as well as the proprietor may also grow to be a professional at functioning the goods. You can also industry suggestions along with your next door neighbor.
Review your home's drinking water consumption when preparation redecorating assignments. Low-flow alternatives to lavatories, heating units and shower area heads have become accessible. These kinds of fittings create your home show up contemporary and eco friendly, and also save some costs on the bills.
You should think about your alternatives in relation to home security systems as you are trying to sell your home. Of course, it may be needed if the home is within a bad neighborhood and no one is living there consistently to watch above it.
With any luck, these pointers can help you see what advantages redecorating can offer. Dealing with home remodeling tasks will make you sense very proud about your location. When you discover how to do your own home enhancement, it can save you dollars and then make useful adjustments to your home, all when having fun.

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Source: http://www.hellofour.com/blog/90902/home-improvement-suggestions-that-can-create-a-significant-difference/

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Patient Readers of our blog, we thank you. We have been very busy. I cannot believe we only have two more months left here in Ubon. And they sure will fly by fast with all of the upcoming events. God is going to do some great things here and we are pumped for Him to unroll them. First of all, I believe an update is needed for you lovely folks. And Id like to apologize for however many times you may have tried to come onto this site and found nothing new written here. Hopefully today, as you read this, you will be able to smile! :D

The 22^nd, Bekah and I flew from our home here to Bangkok. We took a taxi to a Guest House where we met up with Bekah?s mom and brother. Hugs were given; reunited family members. Bekah and I tried to keep her mom and brother awake-12 hour difference, let me tell ya what, doesn?t not do good stuff to your body-so we walked around to different malls around the Guest House. Got some grub. There was an Auntie Anne?s Pretzel Shop at the one mall and they were showing a video with a few people in it that we recognized! It was nuts! :D? Good to know they have videos enriching people here in Thailand about Amish people back in PA?.haha! That made us smile. We showed Bekah?s mom and brother some of our favorite foods here and they thought it was just as delicious as we do! We took a tuk tuk back to the Guest House after a day of walking around. Even though there were four of us Americans, we fit into the tinny little car. Good experience! Bekah, her brother, and I played games in the evening. That night, Bekah and I stayed up with a small 5-10 minute nap because our flight was at 6am the next morning to go to India. That meant that we had to leave at 3am from our Guest House. We got to India on the 23^rd I believe. We ate supper with some of the Indians we would be getting to know during the rest of the week. They were such sweet people! Bekah and I went out to get some slushies with some of her friends, then we called it a night.

On the 24^th we went to church. Bekah and I went outside and played games with the kids. I played table tennis (without a table, just hit the ball back and forth) with some boys and Bekah played matching games with the girls. I think we both had a lot of fun! Afterwards, a friend in India and Bekah?s brother tried to teach Bekah and I how to drive motorbikes. :D? That was exciting! We went to lunch with some of the people we met from the church and it was very delicious. I still think I like Thai food better than Indian food, but it was still yummy. We went to the beach afterwards. Bekah, her brother and I played games in our room later that day. We went out to eat supper with some friends. Then Bekah and I went to get some cold drinks with some of her old friends in India.

We had breakfast and then had a meeting with the church leaders where everyone shared what was happening in their lives lately. Afterwards, everyone went to the beach. We tried to teach some of our new Indian friends how to swim. (Indians don?t swim. They live next to the beach; they don?t swim in it. The area where we stayed in had a lot of Europeans vacationing there so we actually weren?t the only white people in that area! It was great!) It was fun to splash in the waves and make sand castles. We went to eat supper on the beach and then got our cold drinks with our friends once again.

The rest of the time we hung out with people at the church, went to the beach and had late nights eating cold drinks with our friends there.?

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On March? 1^st, we headed off to? our friends? house that live in another area of India. Our friends? family stayed with her at her house and so did Bekah and I. We stayed in one room with three Indian woman, Bekah and I and our friends? little girl. It was so cute to be there with a big family again. Indian tea is absolutely delicious! Yumminess. If I could drink that every day, my thirst would be quenched. We hung out with her family, went to church there, shared what we were doing here in Thailand, and played with the kids at the church. We went to a park with our friends? family, played games and ate home cooked Indian food. The people we hung out with were extremely kind, and I know it was nice for Bekah to see her old friends again.

On March 4^th, we said our goodbyes at the church and then headed back to the airport. We had short flights but long layovers. We played card games while waiting. Shout out to my sister, Christa, for telling me to bring from cards. I don?t know what we would?ve done to pass the time without them. We arrived at the Guest House on the 5^th, I believe. We went to parks in Bangkok and ate street food often. We went to visit our teacher, Khruu in Bangkok. Then, we met up with some of our friends that we made in Bangkok the first month we were in Thailand. It was good to see them again. We played more games and just spent some quality time together. It was nice to have more than two people in our little group.

Today is now the 8^th and Bekahs mom and brother are still working on flying back to America. Bekah and I arrived back in Ubon last night and were greeted with our leaders and two big hugs. It is great to be back. I had an extraordinary time in India and a great time in Bangkok. I still learned a lot and made new friends. It was good to catch up with some old friends as well. Last night we watched a movie and then went to sleep early this morning. Today was a down day, and I slept for most of it. Im still a bit tired I guess from everything that happened. Tomorrow we?ll be gone all day long.
Thanks for reading and for waiting. I think we?re back on schedule now. God has been good to us. Thanks for your prayers and support this whole trip. They are greatly needed and appreciated. We hope you have a splendid day. :D

Source: http://stepthailand2012.blogspot.com/2013/03/patientreaders-of-our-blog-we-thank-you.html

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Caffeine Improves Memory In Bees

Really? Because the only reason I remember where I left my mug is because I always leave it in the same spot; if I leave it elsewhere, I end up looking all over the place to see where it's gone to. So I tend to forget where my source of caffeine is. I've been known to occasionally take a clean mug at work because I forgot there was one on my desk already.

Then again, except for the queen which can live up to 5 years, drones and worker bees live significantly less than a year (4 months max.), all of which is

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/hPWopxrpnjo/story01.htm

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Carbon footprint of grid-scale battery technologies calculated

Mar. 8, 2013 ? Americans take electrical power for granted whenever they flip on a light switch. But the growing use of solar and wind power in the United States makes the on-demand delivery of electricity more challenging.

A key problem is that the U.S. electrical grid has virtually no storage capacity, so grid operators can't stockpile surplus clean energy and deliver it at night, or when the wind isn't blowing.

To provide more flexibility in managing the grid, researchers have begun developing new batteries and other large-scale storage devices. But the fossil fuel required to build these technologies could negate some of the environmental benefits of installing new solar and wind farms, according to Stanford University scientists.

"We calculated how much energy it will cost society to build storage on future power grids that are heavily supplied by renewable resources," said Charles Barnhart, a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford's Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP) and lead author of the study. "It turns out that that grid storage is energetically expensive, and some technologies, like lead-acid batteries, will require more energy to build and maintain than others."

The results are published in a recent online edition of the journal Energy & Environmental Science.

Most of the electricity produced in the United States comes from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants. Only about 3 percent is generated from wind, solar, hydroelectric and other renewable sources. The Stanford study considers a future U.S. grid where up to 80 percent of the electricity comes from renewables.

"Wind and solar power show great potential as low-carbon sources of electricity, but they depend on the weather," said co-author Sally Benson, a research professor of energy resource engineering at Stanford and the director of GCEP.

"As the percentage of electricity from these sources increases, grid operators will need energy storage to help balance supply with demand. To our knowledge, this study is the first to actually quantify the energetic costs of grid-scale storage over time."

Pumped hydro

The total storage capacity of the U.S. grid is less than 1 percent, according to Barnhart. What little capacity there is comes from pumped hydroelectric storage, a clean, renewable technology. Here's how it works: When demand is low, surplus electricity is used to pump water to a reservoir behind a dam. When demand is high, the water is released through turbines that generate electricity.

Charles Barnhart, a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford's Global Climate and Energy Project, has developed a novel way to calculate how much energy is required to build batteries and other large-scale storage technologies for the electrical grid.

For the Stanford study, Barnhart and Benson compared the amount of energy required to build a pumped hydro facility with the energetic cost of producing five promising battery technologies: lead-acid, lithium-ion, sodium-sulfur, vanadium-redox and zinc-bromine.

"Our first step was to calculate the cradle-to-gate embodied energy," Barnhart said. "That's the total amount of energy required to build and deliver the technology -- from the extraction of raw materials, such as lithium and lead, to the manufacture and installation of the finished device."

To determine the amount of energy required to build each of the five battery technologies, Barnhart relied on data collected by Argonne National Laboratory and other sources. The data revealed that all five batteries have high embodied-energy costs compared with pumped hydroelectric storage.

"This is somewhat intuitive, because battery technologies are made out of metals, sometimes rare metals, which take a lot of energy to acquire and purify," Barnhart said. "Whereas a pumped hydro facility is made of air, water and dirt. It's basically a hole in the ground with a reinforced concrete dam."

After determining the embodied energy required to build each storage technology, Barnhart's next step was to calculate the energetic cost of maintaining the technology over a 30-year timescale. "Ideally, an energy storage technology should last several decades," he said. "Otherwise, you'll have to acquire more materials, rebuild the technology and transport it. All of those things cost energy. So the longer it lasts, the less energy it will consume over time as a cost to society."

To quantify the long-term energetic costs, Barnhart and Benson came up with a new mathematical formula they dubbed ESOI, or energy stored on investment. "ESOI is the amount of energy that can be stored by a technology, divided by the amount of energy required to build that technology," Barnhart said. "The higher the ESOI value, the better the storage technology is energetically."

When Barnhart crunched the numbers, the results were clear. "We determined that a pumped hydro facility has an ESOI value of 210," he said. "That means it can store 210 times more energy over its lifetime than the amount of energy that was required to build it."

The five battery technologies fared much worse. Lithium-ion batteries were the best performers, with an ESOI value of 10. Lead-acid batteries had an ESOI value of 2, the lowest in the study. "That means a conventional lead-acid battery can only store twice as much energy as was needed to build it," Barnhart said. "So using the kind of lead-acid batteries available today to provide storage for the worldwide power grid is impractical."

Improved cycle life

The best way to reduce a battery's long-term energetic costs, he said, would be to improve its cycle life -- that is, increase the number of times the battery can charge and discharge energy over its lifetime. "Pumped hydro storage can achieve more than 25,000 cycles," Barnhart said. "That means it can deliver clean energy on demand for 30 years or more. It would be fantastic if batteries could achieve the same cycle life."

None of the conventional battery technologies featured in the study has reached that level. Lithium-ion is the best at 6,000 cycles, while lead-acid technology is at the bottom, achieving a mere 700 cycles.

"The most effective way a storage technology can become less energy-intensive over time is to increase its cycle life," Benson said. "Most battery research today focuses on improving the storage or power capacity. These qualities are very important for electric vehicles and portable electronics, but not for storing energy on the grid. Based on our ESOI calculations, grid-scale battery research should focus on extending cycle life by a factor of 3 to 10."

In addition to energetic costs, Barnhart and Benson also calculated the material costs of building these grid-scale storage technologies.

"In general, we found that the material constraints aren't as limiting as the energetic constraints," Barnhart said. "It appears that there are plenty of materials in the Earth to build energy storage. There are exceptions, such as cobalt, which is used in some lithium-ion technologies, and vanadium, the key component of vanadium-redox flow batteries."

Pumped hydro storage faces another set of challenges. "Pumped hydro is energetically quite cheap, but the number of geologic locations conducive to pumped hydro is dwindling, and those that remain have environmental sensitivities," Barnhart said.

The study also assessed a promising technology called CAES, or compressed air energy storage. CAES works by pumping air at very high pressure into a massive cavern or aquifer, then releasing the compressed air through a turbine to generate electricity on demand. The Stanford team discovered that CAES has the fewest material constraints of all the technologies studied, as well as the highest ESOI value: 240. Two CAES facilities are operating today in Alabama and Germany.

Global warming impact

A primary goal of the study was to encourage the development of practical technologies that lower greenhouse emissions and curb global warming, Barnhart said. Coal- and natural gas-fired power plants are responsible for at least a third of those emissions, and replacing them with emissions-free technologies could have a dramatic impact, he added.

"There are a lot of benefits of electrical energy storage on the power grid," he said. "It allows consumers to use power when they want to use it. It increases the amount of energy that we can use from wind and solar, which are good low-carbon sources."

In November 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy launched the $120 million Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, a nationwide effort to develop efficient and reliable storage systems for the grid. The center is led by Argonne National Laboratory in partnership with the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford and a dozen other institutions and corporations. Part of the center's mission is to develop new battery architectures that improve performance and increase cycle life -- a direction that Barnhart and Benson strongly support.

"I would like our study to be a call to arms for increasing the cycle life of electrical energy storage," Barnhart said. "It's really a basic conservative principal: The longer something lasts, the less energy you're going to use. You can buy a really well-made pair of boots that will last five years, or a shoddy pair that will last only one."

The study was supported by GCEP and its sponsors -- ExxonMobil, GE, Schlumberger and DuPont.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford University. The original article was written by Mark Shwartz.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Charles J. Barnhart, Sally M. Benson. On the importance of reducing the energetic and material demands of electrical energy storage. Energy & Environmental Science, 2013; DOI: 10.1039/C3EE24040A

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/QvQLlhLMIlc/130308111310.htm

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Matterport 3D camera aims to map your interior world, display it from the cloud

Startup Matterport's just closed a round of investor funding to bring its 3D mapping camera and "interactive viewing platform" one step closer to commercial production. The company, founded in 2011 and backed by the likes of Qualcomm Ventures, aims to let consumers build virtual, cloud-based maps of their homes, offices or other sites of interest -- using a special camera rig -- for eventual viewing on laptops or tablets. It's an ambitious project that's managed to raise nearly $6 million in funding so far. But despite that investment, details on the specifics of the system, as well as a visual of the actual hardware used are scarce. So this could all very well smack of vaporware. For now, though, Matterport's site is selling the dream -- literally, as you can sign-up to pre-order now. So if you want to take a gander at what those 3D indoor maps may look like, hit up the source below.

Filed under: Desktops, Cameras, Laptops, Tablets, Software

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Source: Matterport

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/07/matterport-3d-camera-cloud-based-virtual-maps/

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Smart Belt Buckle ? Belt buckle wallet

The current trend in wallets is the skinnier the better. No one wants to carry a thick stack of credit cards and cash in their back pocket anymore. It’s uncomfortable to sit on and can even cause back problems. Money clips make you carry just the essentials, resulting in less pocket bulk. But the Smart [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/03/07/smart-belt-buckle-belt-buckle-wallet/

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South Korea: We'll strike back at North if attacked

Kcna Via Kns / AFP - Getty Images

A North Korean military spokesman announcing the end of the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.

By Jack Kim and Louis Charbonneau, Reuters

South Korea's military said it will strike back at North Korea and target its top leadership if Pyongyang launches a threatened attack.

A top North Korea general, in a rare appearance on state television on Tuesday,?threatened military action against the U.S. and South Korea because of military drills between the two western allies countries that began March 1.

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Tensions have ratcheted higher across the Korean peninsula since the North, under youthful leader Kim Jong Un who took office just over a year ago after the death of his father, launched a long-range rocket last December.

The youngest son of Kim Jong Il succeeded his late father in 2011, becoming the third member of his family to rule the unpredictable and reclusive communist state.

He followed this with a third nuclear test on February 12, triggering the prospect of more U.N. sanctions that are due to be formally announced on Thursday after the United States and?China, the North's one major diplomatic ally, struck a deal to punish Pyongyang.

At the same time, North Korea has stepped up its military threats against South Korea and the United States, prompting the terse warning from Seoul on Wednesday that it would not stand idly by if its territory was attacked.

"We have all preparations in place for strong and decisive punishment, not only against the source of the aggression and its support forces but also the commanding element," Major General Kim Yong-hyun of the South Korean army told a press conference.

North Korea's bellicose rhetoric rarely goes beyond that, although in 2010 it sank a South Korean naval vessel, killing 46 sailors and in the same year shelled a South Korean island, killing civilians.

South Korea's new President Park Geun-hye had pledged to engage with the North if it dropped its nuclear plans but now faces the prospect of a hostile challenge early in her 5-year term.

The proposed fresh sanctions would explicitly ban the sale to Pyongyang of items coveted by North Korea's ruling elite, such as yachts and racing cars, a U.N. Security Council diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

In 2009, Italian authorities blocked the sale of two yachts worth more than $10 million that they believed were headed for Kim Jong Il, the current Kim's father, who enjoyed copious amounts of luxury brandy and fresh sushi in a country where a third of the population is malnourished.

The new sanctions will target North Korea's financial transactions, which often involve using cash couriers that make them hard to trace, and its criminal activities such as drugs and counterfeiting.

North Korea continues military drills and exercises in support of a top general's threat to back military action against South Korea and the United States. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports. ??

North Korea was slapped with sanctions in 2006 that banned the import of a range of luxury goods from jet skis to Harleys following its first nuclear test in a bid to hit the high-life of the Kim family and its hangers-on.

The impoverished country, whose economy is smaller than it was 20 years ago, has been subject to sanctions of some kind from the United States for almost all of its existence and since 2006 has seen U.N. sanctions imposed for its long range rocket and nuclear tests.

Despite the sanctions Pyongyang now has a nuclear stockpile sufficient for around half a dozen warheads, has made substantial progress in developing a long-range missile and is working towards miniaturizing a nuclear warhead for an intercontinental ballistic missile.

China has backed all rounds of sanctions and fell into line with the latest move in the Security Council, risking relations with its prickly ally.

About 200,000 Korean troops and 10,000 U.S. forces are expected to be mobilized for their "Foal Eagle" exercise, under the Combined Forces Command, which goes until the end of April. Separate computer-simulated drills called "Key Resolve" start on March 11.

Related:?

Kerry dismissive of Rodman's North Korea visit

Huge military exercise highlights 'rebalancing of US policy toward Asia'

North Korea's propaganda poets stay true to their muse

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/06/17206704-south-korea-well-strike-back-at-north-if-attacked?lite

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Get Things Done with Home Depot | TidyMom

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Do you have a room in your house that could use a fresh new look?? If you despise the prep or clean-up parts of a painting project, then you are going to love this giveaway!

Late last year, we got rid of the old carpet in our family room and replaced it with laminate wood flooring ? which I LOVE!

While all the furniture was out of the room, I decided it was the perfect time to get rid of the old dark color on the walls!

I decided to brighten up this room, get rid of the country decor and paint the walls a very light gray with white trim.? My curtains are yellow with brown and gray ? they are the inspiration for my new space.

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The folks at Procter & Gamble have a few products to make the dreaded tasks of painting prep and clean up a breeze!?

I have always been a big fan of the Swiffer Sweepers.? Not only are they great on furniture and floors, did you know they are? wonderful for getting? cobwebs off the corners of your walls and dust off the hard to reach places as well??The head of the Sweeper swivels a full 360 degrees, making it easy to move around corners and the pole allows for easy floor to ceiling reach, and baseboards, windows, doorways, too.

Since I choose to just paint our existing stained baseboards white, I needed to make sure they were good and clean.? That?s where Mr. Clean Magic Erasers came in!? Did you know you can now get them in select a size?? Those things are genius I tell you! I?m amazed at what all you can clean with the Magic Erasers ? they are unstoppable.

?Visit HomeDepot.com for lots of great painting and DIY tips.

So, here is where I am now.? After the new floors and new paint??..you know what came next right?? New furniture!!? You may not know this about me, but when it comes to making large purchases???I?m TERRIBLE! I can?t make a decision, so it usually ends up taking me months, or never, which is why you don?t see me updating our house too much.? I?m a terrible decision maker!

But sometimes when you see IT??.you just know it!? I saw this Martha Stewart Saybridge Sofa from Macy?s a few weeks ago, then it went on sale President?s Day weekend! and knew I found my true love!? It has the style and elegance I wanted, with the size my 6?4? husband wanted.

So the sofa and love seat will be delivered soon.? I actually received and email while I was writing this post that they are ready to schedule delivery!! {SQUEAL}

So next up, I?ll be looking for a new rug, new tables, get rid of the roll top oak desk (that was from my bedroom when I was growing up!) and possibly a new TV stand. And fun stuff for the walls! I want to keep the window treatments,? I purchased them last year, and love them.

How about you?? Can you decorate with your eyes closed, or are you like me and take forever to make every single decision?? At least I know it?s clean!

GIVEAWAY!

Procter & Gamble and The Home Depot are teaming up to help you ?Get it ready. Get it done. Get it clean.? They would like to give one lucky TidyMom reader a $50 Home Depot gift card as well as, a Swiffer Sweeper and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser #ReadyDoneClean prize package too. That way you?ll be covered for tasks like dusting your walls and baseboards before you paint, purchasing your paint & supplies at Home Depot. Do you have a room that could use a fresh new look?

?How to Enter:

Simply leave a comment on this post telling me what part of a painting project do you like most?? Is it cutting around the ceiling and baseboards?? Picking out color?? Maybe it?s moving furniture out of the way!? Let?s hear it!

Additional Entry: Share a link with info about this giveaway on any of your social media outlets. Return to this post and leave a comment letting me know where it was shared. Each place you share it will grant you an additional entry. Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc are all great places to spread the giveaway love! You can easily share by using the buttons at the end of this post.

Official Rules: No purchase necessary. Must be over 18. Giveaway will end on March 12, 2013 at 5:00 pm CST. One winner with a valid entry will be selected at random using random.org. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be selected. TidyMom is not responsible for lost or undelivered emails.? Prize: A $50 Home Depot gift card, a Swiffer Sweeper 2 in 1 Sweeping and Mopping Starter Kit, and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Select-A-Size

Disclosure:? This post is sponsored by The Home Depot and Proctor & Gamble, however all opinions and my love for Swiffer and Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are 100% my own.

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Source: http://tidymom.net/2013/getting-things-done-painting-family-room-homedepot-giveaway/

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Syrian rebels capture most of northern city

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian rebels pushed government troops from most of the northern city of Raqqa Monday, setting off celebrations in a central square where scores of cheering protesters tore down a bronze statue of President Bashar Assad's late father and predecessor, activists said.

If rebels seize control of Raqqa, it would be the first time an entire city had fallen into the hands of anti-Assad fighters. Rebels hold parts of several major Syrian cities ? several neighborhoods in Aleppo, Homs and Deir el-Zour, as well as suburbs of the capital, Damascus. They also control large areas in the countryside, particularly in the north.

The rebel advances are a significant blow to Assad, although during the past week his forces have regained control of several villages and towns along a key highway near Aleppo International Airport.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels are now in control of "large parts" of Raqqa, a city of around 500,000 on the Euphrates River, which flows through Syria into Iraq. A top police officer was killed and intelligence officers were detained, the group said.

Activists declared Raqqa "liberated" on opposition social media websites Monday. A photo posted on several pro-rebel Facebook pages showed people tearing down a huge poster of Assad and hitting it with their shoes. The activists said the picture was taken inside the feared Air Force Intelligence headquarters in Raqqa.

An amateur video posted online shows a large, bronze statue of Hafez Assad being torn to the ground by a rope tied around the statue's neck. The video shows people in the crowd taking photos and video on their cellphones as the statue crashes into the side of a fountain, while others fired guns into the air in celebration. People then rush to jump on the statue and hit it with their shoes.

"God be with the Free Army!" they shout.

The video appeared consistent with AP reporting.

Amir, an activist in Raqqa, said rebels were now in control of the city but that there were pockets of pro-regime elements still fighting.

The mood was euphoric in the city when residents and rebels toppled the statue in the main square, but "then the shelling began and everyone fled home," Amir said via Skype, with the crackle of gunfire audible in the background.

There were also airstrikes on the city and many casualties, he said, agreeing to give only his first name for security reasons.

Rebels have been making headway in Raqqa province for weeks, capturing the country's largest dam. On Sunday, anti-Assad fighters stormed the Raqqa central prison.

Earlier Monday, rebels launched an offensive to try to seize the military air base of Mannagh near the Turkish border and clashed with government forces at a historic mosque in the nation's largest city of Aleppo, activists said.

In Saudi Arabia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal together warned Assad that they will boost support to rebels unless he steps down.

Saudi Arabia has been one of the region's harshest critics of Assad's regime. In his discussions with Kerry, Saud said he stressed the importance of enabling the Syrian people to exercise their "legitimate right to defend itself against the regime's killing machine." Saud also complained that the Assad regime continues to get weapons from "third parties," a veiled reference to Russia and Iran, which have backed Assad through the conflict.

Kerry criticized Iran, Hezbollah and Russia by name for giving weapons to Assad's forces.

Monday's fighting came as a pro-government newspaper reported that opposition fighters killed 115 police and wounded another 50 in a battle Sunday over a police academy in the north. The daily Al-Watan reported that "terrorists committed a massacre" at the academy near Aleppo.

A government official, however, denied the report, and said instead that 27 government troops were killed and that seven were still missing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The report came a day after the Observatory said the rebels seized the police school in Khan al-Asal after entering the sprawling government complex with captured tanks. The Observatory said the battle left at least 120 soldiers and 80 rebels dead.

The Syrian conflict started two years ago as a popular uprising against Assad's authoritarian rule, then turned into a full-blown civil war after the rebels took up arms to fight a government crackdown on dissent. The United Nations estimates that more than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Assad maintains his troops are fighting "terrorists" and Islamic extremists seeking to destroy Syria, and he accuses the West and its Gulf Arab allies of supporting them.

The Observatory said clashes also were raging inside Aleppo's landmark 12th century Umayyad Mosque, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the walled Old City. The mosque was heavily damaged last year after a fire gutted the city's famed medieval market.

On Saturday, the Syrian army command said it captured areas in Aleppo opening a road between the government-controlled central city of Hama with Aleppo's international airport. The airport, the country's second largest, has been the target of a rebel offensive for weeks.

The Observatory said rebels on Monday destroyed the Assan bridge near the airport. An amateur video showed rebels blowing up the bridge, creating a thick black of smoke amid chants of "God is great."

The video appeared genuine and corresponded to other AP reporting on the events depicted.

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Associated Press writer Zeina Karam contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels-capture-most-northern-city-150143330.html

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