SEEDing Innovative Start-ups

One of the key challenges faced by?any start-up is securing funding for?the initial stages of development?and growth. To help address this need,?SPRING Singapore established the SPRING?Start-up Enterprise Development Scheme?(SPRING SEEDS) in 2001.

SPRING SEEDS is managed by SPRING?SEEDS Capital (SSC) Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned?subsidiary of SPRING Singapore,?and partners local angel and venture capital?investors to provide start-ups with equitybased?co-fi nancing. Since 2001, SSC has?invested more than $70 million in close to 200 start-ups and catalysed a further $90?million from private investors.

SSC?s capacity to support start-ups?saw a significant jump in 2011, with the?accreditation of seven new business angel?partners, bringing the total under the?Business Angels Scheme (BAS) to nine. Of?the $17 million in investment committed?so far in 2012, close to two-thirds, or $12?million, came from the investors under?the BAS, highlighting the growing role?that private sector investors are playing in?funding Singapore?s start-ups.

The importance of angels
While funding is the most obvious form of?support provided by early stage investors,?there is much more that they ?provide, says?Mr Tan Kai Hoe, SSC Chairman and Deputy?Chief Executive of SPRING Singapore. ?The?investors under the BAS have a vital part?to play in the seeding of young companies?because the start-ups require more hand-holding?and mentoring during the formative?stages.?

Angel investors bring extensive experience?that can determine the success of a?start-up. ?With the BAS, start-ups have?the opportunity to work with some very?seasoned angel investors, who bring?along a unique combination of business?expertise and fi nancial knowledge. Not only?do they understand the unique fi nancing?challenges of start-ups, they are also able?to provide the guidance and networks to help?these start-ups grow from day one,? adds?Mr Tan.

A diverse portfolio
Over the years, SSC and its partners have?invested in companies across a wide range?of sectors, from lobster farming and ?medical?diagnostics to surveillance technology and?alternative energy solutions. Despite the?huge variety, all SEEDS-invested companies?share key characteristics: innovative?products or services, high growth potential,?and scalability.

Kai Square, which develops advanced?surveillance and monitoring systems, is?a good example. The company has grown?from a four-man operation in 2006 to its?current headcount of 30, while revenue?has increased almost eight-fold in the past?three years. This performance led to Kai?Square clinching the top spot in the Deloitte?Technology Fast Track 500 Asia Pacific List,?which ranks the region?s 500 fastest-growing?technology companies.

Another SEEDS-invested company that has?recently received accolades is HistoIndex,?a spin-off from Agency for Science,?Technology and Research (A*STAR). It has?developed an innovative imaging technique?to assist in the diagnosis of fibrosis and?cancer. HistoIndex emerged as the winner?of IBM?s inaugural SmartCamp KickStart?Asean, held in ?Malaysia in September this?year, and went on to win the Asia Regional?Final held in Beijing.

Two high-potential companies that have?received SPRING SEEDS support, Biomax?Holdings and Third Wave Power, are profiled?in the following articles. Read on to learn?more about how they have benefitted and?grown with help from SSC and its partners.

Reproduced with permission from SPRINGnews December 2012 Issue. Published by SPRING Singapore.

Comments

comments

Tagged as: Entrepreneurs, From SPRINGNews, Grants & Schemes, SMEs

Source: http://mybusinesstechblog.com/archives/blog/seeding-innovative-start-ups

october baby sugarland 16 and pregnant ludwig mies van der rohe jamie lynn sigler mega millions jackpot black panther party

Buying New Real Estate The Easy Way - Maynas Eric

Do not let buying property intimidate you because there are terms you do not understand. Don?t be afraid. These tips can help you prevent and avoid this.

Make sure you are familiar with the types of housing available in the neighborhood you would like to live in. Knowing this information is important, since you probably aren?t interested in purchasing the biggest and most expensive house in your targeted neighborhood. If you do, your own home?s value will be reduced because of the lower value of other homes in the area.

Don?t give up even if your offer is turned down, as many sellers will search for ways to make it work. For instance, they may offer to pay the cost of new carpet, or cover some of the closing costs.

TIP! Ask the seller of the home to help with the closing costs before making an offer. An option is to ask the person you are buying the home from to lessen your financial responsibility by means of a buy down for a few years.

Credit Report

Before you start the process of buying a home, research your credit report. Immediately report any mistakes on your credit report, and contact the reporting agency and creditor to have inaccurate information removed. If your credit is stellar, you will have an easier time securing that much needed mortgage.

If you have sufficient funds, avoid purchasing a house that is in front of or behind a busy road. You might save a bit by purchasing the less appealing lot, but remember that the savings comes at a cost. Even if you can live with the noise, you will have a hard time selling this house later.

TIP! Hire professional inspectors to inspect the house that you are planning to buy. Get a professional to do this.

A good tip to use when shopping for a home is to request an itemized checklist from your Realtor. Realtors often have a home-buyer?s checklist that includes everything you need to do or consider when buying home, from figuring out what you want in a house to finalizing a mortgage. Such a checklist enables you to dot all i?s and cross all your t?s.

Before you look at a home, you will know its asking price is but your offer will typically be less than the asking price. If your seller is helpful, it should be fairly easy to decide on a final purchasing price that you?re happy with.

When deciding to purchase a large and commercial piece of real estate, make sure you get a trustworthy partner. When you have a partner who has a good financial standing and reputation, it is much easier to quality for the loan needed to purchase the property. A partner can provide help with credit and a down payment necessary to be qualified for a loan.

TIP! Do not purchase a property unless you engage in proper research. If you do not research the property you are interested in purchasing, you may make a bad decision and purchase a piece of property that will cost you time and money.

Real Estate

If you?re getting an appraiser, be sure they have 5 years experience. Hire an appraiser independent of any real estate office. Real estate agents use their own appraisers to determine how much a house is worth when selling it to buyers. So their appraiser may not be able to give you an objective opinion about the value of a house you are considering buying. Be certain the appraiser you get has their state certification or license.

If a new potential rental property has a garden, make sure you ask your landlord about it. Sometimes, tenants are required to maintain the landscaping at their expense. Other rentals include this service in the rent every month.

TIP! Unless you reside in a climate in which it is really needed, do not buy a house with a fireplace other than in the family room. It is a real hassle to keep up with cleaning multiple fireplaces and they are rarely used anyway.

Before buying a home, get an inspector to examine it. If the house you?re looking at requires serious renovation work, you need to know it before buying it. Some problems may be so severe that you won?t be able to live in the house until they are repaired.

Sex Offenders

Go online and check out if there are any sex offenders registered in the area of houses you want to buy. Although sex offender registries are available to the public, real estate agents are under no obligation to disclose information to potential buyers about registered sex offenders in the neighborhood. Make sure you learn as much as you can.

TIP! When purchasing a house, make sure you have enough room for current and/or future children. Think about the safety of a home and look out for potential hazards to young children like pools or long stairways.

If you want to buy a portion of a building, or perhaps the entire building, to open your own business, be sure that the building is in a nice, safe neighborhood. By placing yourself in an unattractive location, you dissuade potential customers. Talk to real estate agents and find out what prime business locations are available.

The current economic climate makes now an ideal time to consider investing in real estate. The market crashed, and prices as well as interest rates are extremely low right now. Apartment-dwellers should head over to the real estate agent?s office, and see about buying a new home. When the housing market corrects itself, your home purchase will begin to earn money as an investment.

Keep your options open. Finding a home with all of the features on your wish list may not be financially possible, but you probably can afford a few things. If you can?t find a perfect house in a certain area, perhaps try a smaller home or a different neighborhood with a better house.

TIP! Take a moderate approach to negotiating a real estate purchase. It can be counter productive to be too aggressive in your bargain hunting.

Foreclosure Properties

Closely track pre-foreclosure properties. If you can allow the time required to find investment properties, properties which are in pre-foreclosure may be an excellent investment choice for you. When a homeowner is unable to meet payment obligations and is in imminent danger of losing the house, the home is called a pre-foreclosure. You can contact local lenders to see if they have a list of per-foreclosure properties or you can run an ad which states that you are in the market to buy properties for cash. Whichever method you use, when you?re talking with the person who currently owns the property, you need to discover how much he or she owes, and offer this person potentially several thousand dollars over that amount. This will turn out to be a win-win situation and excellent bargain for you since they most likely will not owe what the actual value of the property is on their loan.

Buying property is feasible if you are willing to take the time to do it. You must simply be proactive in finding information and asking a lot of questions. In the final analysis, it?s well worth it. If you utilize some of the tips above, you can become a smart real estate purchaser, and, in time, you could become a renowned property tycoon.

TIP! A little research can tell you if you qualify for any type of down payment assistance. There are numerous programs currently available to a variety of home buyers.

Join me on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/maynaseric

Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/buying-new-real-estate-the-easy-way

ohio state football cyber monday lupus iCarly banana republic gap Victoria Secret

Carolina Tiger Rescue accepting Christmas trees for animal enrichment

'); if(infobox=='True' && ShowInfoBox_l679374_1==false){ jQuery("#player_infobarl679374_1").trigger('click'); ShowInfoBox_l679374_1==true; } }; if (false) { $.setup_player(Play_Conf); } //info bar setup jQuery('#player_infobarl679374_1').click(function() { var $info =jQuery('#player_info_contentl679374_1'); if($info.text()!=''){ var $content = jQuery('div',$info); //min heigth var min = $content.css('min-height'); var max = $content.css('max-height'); $info.slideToggle(600); ShowInfoBox_l679374_1=!ShowInfoBox_l679374_1; } }); });

? To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

PITTSBORO, N.C.--Christmas may be over, but your trees are in high demand because the Carolina Tiger Rescue wants you to drop them off for a handoff their tiger and lions.

?They like the stickiness and the smell of the tree,? said Robin Thomson, a volunteer with the Carolina Tiger Rescue.

Just like toys for Christmas, these trees are a holiday treat for the cats.

?It's almost like their Christmas present as well,? added Thompson.

A present paired with preparation. To start, volunteers douse the trees in scents like peppermint oil.

?Tigers have scent markers in their cheeks and down their neck. When they find an interesting smell they'll roll around in it, they'll eat it, they'll chew on it a little bit, and get a taste of it. They'll roll around in it to absorb it and get the most out of it,? added Horsfield.

The interaction the tigers and lions have with the Christmas trees is part of their enrichment. It helps keep them mentally and physically stimulated similar to the experience they would have in the wild.

?Without new enrichment they would go stir crazy, just like people would if they were left in an enclosure,? Horsfield said.

It's a tradition that enhances the lives of these animals.

?Whenever we have a successful enrichment it makes us very happy because the cats are happy as well,? Thomson said.

They're happy to carry out the Tiger Rescue's mission, to save and protect.

To donate your Christmas tree, be sure to remove all ornaments and tinself before hand. They also ask that you call in advance.

Carolina Tiger Rescue:

(919) 542-4684

Carolina Tiger Rescue.

Source: http://coastal.news14.com/content/top_stories/679374/carolina-tiger-rescue-accepting-christmas-trees-for-animal-enrichment

summerfest fidel castro rick santorum ozzie guillen castro comments phish gluten free diet barry zito

Sony Vaio VPCZ11NGX Care Software 8.1.0.10120 for Windows 7 x64

This utility will install an updated version of the VAIO Care Update software to add the following new features:
- Improves touch support for VAIO computers that have touch capability
- Enables model, serial, service tag information in the VAIO Care application
- Displays the MAC address in the "VAIO Status report"
- Optical diagnostics will now only display for models that have an optical drive
- Adds a link to the VAIO Data Restore tool application
- Adds Blu-Ray Disc diagnostics for models that have a Blu-ray optical drive
- Adds the battery graph feature to display the quality of the battery
- Enables the Seagate HDD diagnostics tools

It is highly recommended to always use the most recent driver version available.

Do not forget to check with our site as often as possible in order to stay updated on the latest drivers, software and games.

Try to set a system restore point before installing a device driver. This will help if you installed a wrong driver. Problems can arise when your hardware device is too old or not supported any longer.

Source: http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/Other-DRIVERS-TOOLS/Sony/Sony-Vaio-VPCZ11NGX-Care-Software-81010120-for-Windows-7-x64.shtml

bill maher seabiscuit dingo nba all star weekend malin akerman jeff carter chomp

Health & Fitness: The Most Effective Eczema Natural Remedies ...

Many people are turning to eczema natural remedies due to their effectiveness in relieving the discomfort caused by this condition. In addition, the natural solutions are a better option when it comes to treating and preventing skin diseases and disorders from occurring in the future. Eczema is normally characterized by dryness of the skin, inflammation, a persistent itch, and reddening of the skin. If left untreated, the condition worsens rapidly.

Skin inflammation, accompanied by flaking, persistent itching and red patches is very common in patients suffering from eczema. For you to effectively deal with the condition, you must find a solution that will provide fast relief from the discomfort, as well as address the underlying causes. Corticosteroids have been in use for many years to treat these ailments. However, these drugs only offer temporary relief.

Many eczema sufferers usually visit dermatologists and other skin specialists with the hope that they will find simple, yet effective cures that they can use in the comfort of their homes. However, they may be surprised to discover that their efforts are in vain. Home treatments such as moisturizers, balanced diet, Blueberry leaf lotion, emollients, herbal baths, and Lactobacillus Acidophilus provide a simple solution for them.

Appropriate skincare is necessary if one wants to prevent this condition. For instance, ensuring that the skin is moist and supple prevents skin irritation and itching. To achieve this, one is required to use a variety of skin moisturizers such as creams and lotions on a regular basis. These products consist of high quality moisturizing regimens that will help to keep the skin healthy at all times.

A change of diet is a great way of dealing with this condition, owing to the fact that everything that one eats affects his/her overall well-being. According to recent research studies, a diet with high acidic content has a direct link to the occurrence of eczema in many patients. For this reason, health experts recommend the consumption of natural kelp supplements, whose alkaline content neutralizes the acidity.

Natural remedies containing Blueberry extracts are some of the best skincare products that you could use to treat your condition. The active ingredient in these products is the Chlorogenic acid that is found in Blueberry leaves. It contains antimicrobial agents, which are very beneficial in dealing with skin disorders. You can use the Blueberry leaf lotion to provide rapid relief from skin inflammation, swelling and itching.

Emollients are some of the best home treatments for this condition. These creams seal and moisturize the skin to prevent moisture from escaping from its layers. They have some of the greatest properties that prevent the skin from flaking and itching and in effect, make it supple and moist. Unfortunately, many people are not aware about these products, even though they can work wonders for them.

Skin conditions are known to cause low self-esteem and lower one's confidence. If left untreated, most of the skin diseases cause discomfort and discoloration, and become very hard to treat. Skincare specialists recommend the use of eczema natural remedies and products such as lavender, chamomile, oatmeal and herbal baths because they are easily accessible and can be administered in the comfort of one's home.

Source: http://health-and-fitness-way.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-most-effective-eczema-natural.html

audacious pollen count mexico city first day of spring mexico earthquake aziz ansari aziz ansari

Source: http://genosyl.posterous.com/health-fitness-the-most-effective-eczema-natu

superpac steve appleton bishop eddie long madonna give me all your luvin video roseanne barr president green party day 26

Source: http://brucefarrell11.posterous.com/health-fitness-the-most-effective-eczema-natu

budweiser shootout animal house invincible jesse jackson whitney houston funeral video tyler perry whitney houston r kelly

Source: http://opoyfr.posterous.com/health-fitness-the-most-effective-eczema-natu

platypus platypus overboard east of eden weather radio indiana autoimmune disease

A Guide To Help You Prepare For Your Breast Augmentation ...

Related eBooks

Get the chest size you have always wanted by getting a breast augmentation. It is a very safe and affordable procedure that continues to make women appreciate their looks even more.

Source:A Guide To Help You Prepare For Your Breast Augmentation

Related Reading:

Body Contouring Surgery After Weight LossAre you among the tens of thousands of people who have lost a dramatic amount of weight?? If so, congratulations! You did it! Those years of struggling and failed diets are behind you. Perhaps you did it through weight loss surgery. Or, perhaps it was through diet and exercise. Either way, you have created a new body and a new life for yourself.????????????????But, now that the weight is gone, are you left with extra skin? If so, it likely causes you embarrassment and perhaps hygiene problems as well. Fortunately, body contouring surgery can help restore a more natural look to your body.
The authors of this book, respected plastic surgeons, have performed hundreds of body contouring procedures on weight loss patients, and they understand your concerns as you explore having reconstructive surgery. Among the questions they answer are:
?
??????????? ??? How soon after surgery can I have excess skin be removed?
??????????? ??? Which surgery should I have first?
??????????? ??? How many surgeries can I have at one time?
??????????? ??? Should I have a tummy tuck or a body lift?
??????????? ??? Will I have much pain after contouring surgery?
??????????? ??? Can my breasts be restored to normal?
??????????? ??? Where will scars from the surgery be visible?
??????????? ??? When can I return to work and resume physical activity?
??????????? ??? What about fees? Will insurance pay?
?
The book contains 136 color illustrations and photos, including dozens of "before & after" photos of surgery patients, as well as an appendix, resource section, glossary, and index.

Tags: cosmetic surgery

Source: http://www.jackiesbazaar.com/womensinterests/cosmetic-surgery/a-guide-to-help-you-prepare-for-your-breast-augmentation

in plain sight hunger games movie review bats hunger games review jeff saturday jason smith jon corzine

Twitter sunk woman's award after car crash

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sign_me_in.jsp?article=http://www.dailyreportonline.com/PubArticleDRO.jsp?id=1202582763977&rss=newswire

national enquirer whitney houston casket photo jk rowling qnexa kingdom of heaven national enquirer whitney houston arizona republican debate arizona debate

Business Manager, Office of International Affairs - HigherEdJobs

The Office of International Affairs is comprised of six units; Administration, International Student & Scholar Services, Study Abroad
Programs; AHA International, the Mills International Center and the component units of the forthcoming Global Studies Institute. The Vice
Provost for International Affairs reports to the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.

Responsibilities: The Business Manager reports to the Vice Provost for International Affairs and works closely with the heads of the individual units. This position is responsible for office management, the daily financial operations of the office, oversees the accounting functions and manages all personnel matters. Serves as a resource to the Vice Provost on all matters relating to personnel and financial matters.

Duties: Serve as a resource for all personnel issues to include managing searches, conducting yearly evaluations, insuring that OIA is in compliance with UO rules and regulations pertaining to employee evaluations, discipline, timely notice and contract extensions. Maintain personnel records and job description file for all OIA employees. Supervise unit accountants, computer technician and other employees as assigned by the Vice Provost. Analyze workload and recommend staff changes as needed. Develop and implement office procedures. Manage the Office of International Affairs to include arranging offices for all personnel; purchase, maintain, and repair office equipment; responsible for overall condition of the unit, liaison with other departments on campus (printing, mail room, facilities, telecommunications, business affairs, etc.). Solve problems regarding space issues.
Manage the accounting functions for the Office International Affairs to include responsibility for accounting policies and practices consistent with UO policies, supervision of fiscal records and preparation of financial reports, assist the Vice Provost with yearly budget preparation, supervise reconciliation of all OIA funds and audit fiscal records: responsible for all payroll functions of the unit. Serve as credit card custodian for International Affairs.

Minimum Qualifications:
Requires bachelor's degree and extensive accounting experience, three years of progressively responsible and relevant experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Demonstrated skills in personnel management, requires ability to communicate with a diverse group of individuals and exceptional organizational skills. Experience in supervising office support staff. Must have demonstrated experience in office management as well as demonstrated knowledge of finance, accounting, internal controls and generally accepted accounting principals. Knowledge of federal, state and OUS financial regulations. Ability to communicate financial information to an audience that does not have a financial background. Experience supervising staff with financial responsibilities. Finalist for the position must be able to successfully complete a criminal background check.

Preferred:
Master's degree, experience working in a higher education environment; international or cross-cultural experience; ability to converse in foreign language.
Salary: $60,000 - $70,000 (full time annual rate)

Application Procedure:
Prefer electronic submission of letter of application, resume, and answers to supplemental questions to intlaffjobs@uoregon.edu as one single PDF or Word document. Paper applications may be sent c/o Nancy O'Brien, Office of International Affairs, 5209 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403. Application deadline is 5 PM, January 15, 2013.

Supplemental Questions:
1) Describe your experience in office management including size of the office, number of professionals served by the office, and nature of the work performed. Specify your experience establishing office procedures, resolving problems with space and equipment, and analyzing and improving workflow.
2) Describe your experience managing budgets and preparing financial reports including size of budgets, type of financial reports prepared, experience using automated financial information systems and experience supervising staff with financial responsibilities.
3) Indicate your experience handling personnel matters including search and affirmative action procedures, personnel evaluations, and standard rules regarding maintaining personnel files.
4) Explain your experience communicating with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures; include travel to other countries as well as volunteer work.
APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 5 PM on January 15, 2013.

The University of Oregon is an equal-opportunity affirmative action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the American Disabilities Act.

Source: http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?JobCode=175705975

bks new dark knight rises trailer khloe and lamar oklahoma city thunder rajon rondo sunoco titanic ii

Grow Tents - To Have What You Dont!

For enthusiastic gardeners and plant growers, many a time they are faced with a daunting task of not being able to grow something which they would want to because the environment conditions are not right. This is where Grow Tents come handy!

Grow tents are special types of tents which are artificially built, complete with the right kind of environment to grow any kind of plant. The biggest advantage of having a grow tent is the fact that it functions without the need for soil. They are inexpensive and can be sold at a much higher price than in what they were assembled. As a result of it, many people are now switching over to manufacturing this Grow Tent and then selling them.
Here are some of the biggest advantages of having a grow tent over a grow box:

Very reasonably priced

Easy to manufacture

Coat of production is really very measly

A very effective, efficient and an easy method to grow plants faster

Ideal for small places and where there is lack of space.

Since they utilize the Hydroponic Systems, there are no hassles of getting the right kind of soil and the requisite nutrients. Hydroponic systems will be explained later on in the article.

Hydroponic systems allow the grower to manage different aspects of growing environment. It is easier to control humidity and also other growth factors like nutrients.

The plants tend to grow faster in a hydroponic system because of the artificial and scientific means of growing the plants.

There are different kinds of sizes available which makes it much easier to choose any kind of grow tent.

One of the major advantages of having a grow tent is the use of hydroponics. This system does not utilize any kind of soil and hence it makes the entire system very less messy. As a matter of fact, the method is not a new one and has been in use since ancient times like in the times of the Mayans, the Aztecs etc.

The quality of the plants produced with the help of this system is also much better because of the nutrients that are injected in the system. The use of hydroponics has made it much easier for the gardeners and enthusiasts to grow any plants they want in the privacy and comfort of their own homes. These plants which are grown are healthy, have fresh vegetables and are full of nutrients which make them a favorite with organic growers and users. They are superior in size, color and taste as well. Additionally, there is another advantage; people can grow off-season fruits and vegetables using the Hydroponic Systems.

About the Author:
Andrew Paul is writer who is specializes in writing on hydroponics, hydroponic systems, grow tents, water butts and many more. If you are searching grow tents for indoor gardening, visit at grosupplies.com.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Grow-Tents---To-Have-What-You-Don---t-/4352567

ufc 145 jones vs evans marian hossa philip humber red sox white sox chuck colson

A business plan? Start-ups need something else.

A business plan is great once entrepreneurs have tested the market and know what they're going to sell. But for starters, they really need to model their business.

By Dr. Jeffrey R. Cornwall,?Guest blogger / December 27, 2012

In this December file photo, 12-year-old entrepreneur William Zsigo enjoys one of his own chocolate confections as he poses for photos at his home in Haslett, Mich. Before entrepreneurs write up a business plan, they should model their business visually.

Greg DeRuiter/The State Journal/AP/File

Enlarge

When advising people about what they need to do as they get ready to launch a business, there are two distinct approaches recommended by experts.

Skip to next paragraph Dr. Jeffrey R. Cornwall

Jeff is the Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship and Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.

Recent posts

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

The first, which has been the traditional approach, tells aspiring entrepreneurs that writing a business plan is the first critical step.

In business schools the business plan was the core of our entrepreneurship curriculum for decades. ?Writing a business plan that?s thickness is measured in inches is still a rite of passage in many top entrepreneurship programs.

However, there is a growing chorus of experts questioning why business plans get so much attention.? After all, most entrepreneurs will tell you that once the business gets going it can quickly look fundamentally different than described in their original business plan.

Tumor boards may add little to VA cancer care

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Getting doctors together to discuss the best treatments for cancer patients in U.S. Veterans Affairs hospitals was only linked to a minor improvement in care in a large new study.

Analyzing the records of 138 VA medical centers, researchers found that the presence of a so-called tumor board - a group of cancer treatment experts - only affected seven out of 27 measures of quality and processes in patient care, and not always for the better.

"This does not support the hypothesis that tumor boards are doing a lot to improve care," said Dr. Nancy Keating from Boston's Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, the study's senior author.

Tumor boards are a standard part of medical care in the U.S. and are generally made up of several different types of doctors, including surgeons and radiation oncologists, who review patients' cases and make recommendations for their treatment.

The study's authors write in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that previous research found hospitals dedicate about 50 hours per month of their doctors' time to participation in tumor boards.

"It is interesting that despite the fact that tumor boards seem like a good thing and they are so well established, there is so little literature on them," said Keating.

She and her colleagues wanted to know whether tumor boards actually made a difference.

To do that, they linked together information and records from the VA's 138 medical centers on cancer patients treated between 2001 and 2004.

The team found that 75 percent of the medical centers had at least one tumor board that discussed most of the conditions the researchers were interested in: colorectal, lung, prostate, breast and blood cancers.

Then, using established national guidelines, the researchers developed a list of 27 markers for the quality and type of care patients received.

For example, the researchers checked whether patients with stage II or III rectal cancer got the recommended dose of chemotherapy and radiation before surgery to remove the cancer.

Overall, the researchers found the presence of a tumor board was only linked with differences in seven of the 27 markers.

"And some of those seven were actually a situation where the tumor board was associated with worse care," Keating said.

In addition, recommended care for specific types of malignancies, such as blood cell cancers, was more often seen in centers with no tumor board (56 percent) or only a general tumor board (61 percent) than in centers with tumor boards specializing in blood cancers (39 percent).

"This is a little bit off-putting because it challenges the conventional wisdom that tumor boards are a good thing," said Dr. Douglas Blayney, a professor of medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine in California.

"I think the main issue that remains to be answered: Did the recommendations of the tumor boards actually get carried out?" added Blayney, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study.

"We think patients benefit from having their cases reviewed at the outset, but we leave it to the medical system to get acted upon," he said.

Keating said researchers need to do a "deep dive" into tumor boards to find out more. She said they still need to know how the tumor boards are structured, and what types of cases are discussed.

Until then, "I do think that people and centers who are investing time and energy in their tumor boards should really think about how they are structured, and if they're set up in a way to improve patient care," she said.

Blayney told Reuters Health that he doesn't think hospitals should scrap their tumor boards based on these findings, because there are new possibilities with new technology.

"The promise of telemedicine technology makes extra use of academic centers available to patients who may live in rural locations and doctors who are remote from the academic centers," he said.

For example, the rural doctors of a woman with breast cancer can conference with a tumor board that specializes in breast cancer at a large, urban academic center.

"Again it's tapping into the knowledge and experience of a broad range of physicians," Blayney said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/UckC33 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, online December 28, 2012.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tumor-boards-may-add-little-va-cancer-care-210420042.html

planetary resources mothers day gift ideas natalee holloway scotty mccreery megan fox pregnant metta world peace suspension apple earnings report

Video: Grover Norquist Talks Taxes

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50314246/

how to make moonshine joel osteen emmy rossum jay z and beyonce the big chill tony blankley charles barkley

Credit Card Interest Rate Roundup | Bankrate.com

• 14.02% (all fixed)
• 14.59% (all variable)

For all the credit card users -- naughty as well as nice -- Santa Claus delivered no change to credit card rates this week. The average annual percentage rate for variable-rate credit cards is still 14.59 percent, according to Bankrate's latest survey of interest rates. The average APR for fixed-rate credit cards stayed steady at 14.02 percent for the 10th straight week.

Single people are increasingly judging dates by their credit scores, The New York Times reported this week. Unfortunately, high student loans and poor financial decisions are stalling their relationships, as suitors wait for their credit scores to improve, according to the story.

Source: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/rate-roundup.aspx

Kerri Strug Ledecky Nadia Comaneci Rebecca Soni Snoop Lion London 2012 Table Tennis badminton

Ban to be lifted on construction material imports to Gaza | Real ...

Posted by staff reporter
Thursday, December 27 - 2012 at 05:10 UAE local time (GMT+4)

Replication or redistribution in whole or in part is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AME Info FZ LLC / 4C.

The information comprised in this section is not, nor is it held out to be, a solicitation of any person to take any form of investment decision. The content of the AMEinfo.com Web site does not constitute advice or a recommendation by AME Info FZ LLC / 4C and should not be relied upon in making (or refraining from making) any decision relating to investments or any other matter. You should consult your own independent financial adviser and obtain professional advice before exercising any investment decisions or choices based on information featured in this AMEinfo.com Web site.

AME Info FZ LLC / 4C can not be held liable or responsible in any way for any opinions, suggestions, recommendations or comments made by any of the contributors to the various columns on the AMEinfo.com Web site nor do opinions of contributors necessarily reflect those of AME Info FZ LLC / 4C.

In no event shall AME Info FZ LLC / 4C be liable for any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, direct, special, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages, or damages for lost profits, loss of revenue, or loss of use, arising out of or related to the AMEinfo.com Web site or the information contained in it, whether such damages arise in contract, negligence, tort, under statute, in equity, at law or otherwise.

Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/ban-lifted-construction-material-imports-gaza-323867

ny giants brandon marshall ryder cup Kate Middleton Bottomless the Pirate Bay Hotel Transylvania looper

How Many Estimates Should I Get When Repairing My Car?

Nobody wants to spend more than they have to when getting a car or truck repaired. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to decide where to take a vehicle for auto, body, or collision repair in Bothell, WA, without first obtaining some type of written estimate. According to Jeff Odum of Evergreen Autoworks, it isn?t usually necessary to get three or more estimates when deciding where to take a vehicle for collision repair in Bothell, WA. On the body shop side, most vehicle owners only need one written estimate.

Of course, it hasn?t always been this way. In the past, Odum says most technicians would recommend getting a least three written estimates before getting any mechanical or collision repair work in Bothell, WA. The reality, however, is that written estimates don?t always tell the whole story anymore. It?s much smarter and more financially prudent for a driver to work with an auto body shop he can trust than it is to work with a shop strictly because it offers the lowest price.

If a driver trusts the people he is working with, then getting just one or two estimates is probably fine when dealing with either mechanical problems or collision repair in Bothell, WA. However, Odum says trust is an important element in this equation.

Any driver who wants to be sure his auto body repair shop is giving him a decent price can visit certain places on the web to find out the average prices for common vehicle repairs. For example, Odum frequently recommends that customers check out a website called RepairPal.com. Sites like RepairPal.com let drivers input their vehicle makes, the necessary repairs (for example: a water pump on a Subaru), and the location of the repair shop. In mere seconds, a driver can find out what the average price for those repairs in his or her market area.

No matter how many websites a person visits or estimates he requests, Odum says the issue really comes down to trust. If a person trusts the technicians he is dealing with, then he probably doesn?t need to run any Internet searches. If he thinks the repair company he is working with is being dishonest, then he probably shouldn?t be working with that company in the first place. If a driver doesn?t trust the auto shop he?s working with on the estimate side, then he?s definitely going to question the actual repairs they perform and the quality of the work in the end, says Odum.

Source: http://www.articlesrx.com/how-many-estimates-should-i-get-when-repairing-my-car/10133

nh primary david crowder band natalie wood van halen annalynne mccord billy the kid neville

booking trustworthy: knowles mesmer: Escalating Targeted traffic ...

Writing hundreds of articles within your related niche and creating them obtainable for distribution by means of write-up directories and ezines is one of the very best tactics for increasing targeted site visitors to your web site. Taking into consideration getting your articles published online is free, article advertising and marketing can also be most cost-effective approach for growing targeted site visitors for your internet site.

Here?s how article marketing by way of post directories and ezines drives site visitors for your web site:

* When your key-word wealthy report is published by established ezines which are very ranked by key search engines, your post could quite well zoom as much as the best ten results for that keyword search. This really is one thing you could hardly hope to attain on your own. Any individual who clicks on for the link and reads your post will also click on the link for your website, which might be accessed from the author?s box that?s featured at the finish of the write-up. An added benefit of obtaining site visitors employing this method is the fact that the visitors is most likely to be very targeted visitors, that is the only kind that matters within the finish. Whoever arrives at your internet site Haloti Ngata Jersey via this route has clicked on the link to your post and read your post. Since they are impressed with what they read, they would have quickly acknowledged your proficiency in the area and have now come for your site seeking the much more info from you.

* Writing an useful and informative niche-related articles and publishing them with reputed ezines establishes you as an authority in the field. This recognition can offer you the competitive edge against other businesses inside the identical niche as customers prefer to get from someone who knows what they are speaking about. An unexpected bonus- taking the time and difficulty to write articles and get them published through ezines and post directories indicates that you just will not be some scam-artist or fly-by-night marketer out to create several swift bucks on the web. Publishing articles on a regular basis with ezines and post directories offers you and your enterprise extra credibility and also helps you construct a rapport with your potential customers. Folks who get online and that are looking for the item you might be supplying, would choose to purchase from you rather than somebody they can not trust.

* Submitting your articles for the correct write-up directories aids you to build up important back hyperlinks by getting these post directories link to your optimized internet pages by way of your post. Acquiring many relevant back links assists you improve your search engine rankings, pushing your internet page to the prime 10 rankings for the optimized search phrases. Although this might not take place overnight, it is a certain fire method of sooner or later acquiring your internet page right where it might be observed to all those who matter.

* Some ezine publishers even archive their ezine on their web site. This offers prospective customers the likelihood to have a look at back concerns prior to they make a commitment to subscribe. Obtaining your write-up archived implies it can be viewed more than and more than again several years down the line, increasing your exposure tremendously and driving site visitors for your internet site several years after the write-up was initial published.

* One more way to enhance targeted traffic to your web site is by allowing ezine publishers to incorporate your articles in their free of charge Ebooks. This increases the exposure of the write-up much more and any person thinking about going to your website can simply do so by clicking within the link contained inside your resource box.

* Some ezine publishers enable their guests to republish articles that happen to be featured in the free of charge content directory on their internet site, the only caveat getting that the author resource box that accompanies each and every article is featured as well as the write-up. There?s no saying exactly where your articles are likely to finish up and who will likely be studying them! Your post could pique the interest of somebody who had till that moment not the slightest inclination to get whatever it?s you?re supplying. And when the good quality of one?s item matches the high quality of the report you?ll have converted yet one more curious visitor into a loyal consumer.

If you have been hesitating to submit your articles to ezines on the premise which you would like to get paid for articles which you write and publish, then it is time you woke as much as the extended positive aspects of post advertising by means of ezines and write-up directories. It drives site visitors that too, not any old visitors but good quality, targeted traffic stampeding for your website with out costing you a dime. Assume of all the money you would have spent to attract the same volume of prospective consumers by any with the much more Haloti Ngata Jersey traditional types of advertising.
Here are a number of elements that can enable you to select the best report directory to submit your post to:
* Appear for report directories that have been in company for greater than a year. Article directories which have been in existence longer would rank greater with the main search engines like google and would also have a bigger reader base.
* Article directories that function much less than 1,000 authors have not hit the massive time yet and are finest avoided. Look for post directories which have over a single to five thousand authors.
* Ideally, a great write-up directory must be powered by humans and should possess the name from the owner or the individual in charge clearly visible. Absence of either among these elements indicates that the owner doesn?t want to be held accountable and that the web site is totally automated, which signifies there?s nobody policing the high quality from the content. Much better to prevent being associated with such an internet site.
* If your e-mails go unanswered for greater than 48 hours it speaks of dismal lack of service and is an indication of worse to come following you join up.
Obtaining your post published in a handful of carefully chosen write-up directories and ezines will guarantee better exposure of high quality as opposed to getting your post published in numerous sub-standard write-up directories.

Obtain inexpensive Haloti Ngata Jersey from certified Ray Rice Jersey Online Store straight away with Prompt Delivery service, Score Payment & Incredible Customer Service from us.

Source: http://www.online-persberichten.nl/2012/12/escalating-targeted-traffic-with-write-up-marketing-by-way-of-haloti-ngata-jersey-report-directories-and-ezines/

kristin cavallari oscar nominations rough riders joy division norco rand paul detained asexual

Source: http://knowles-mesmer.blogspot.com/2012/12/escalating-targeted-traffic-with-write.html

hangover cure lebron james engaged auld lang syne end of the world 2012 pink martini aspergers

Source: http://nataetic.posterous.com/knowles-mesmer-escalating-targeted-traffic-wi

magic johnson jetblue pilot solicitor general neighborhood watch dennis rodman dodgers sale tami roman

Source: http://lefadn.posterous.com/knowles-mesmer-escalating-targeted-traffic-wi

shea weber greystone sidney crosby at the drive in alternative minimum tax modeselektor gran torino

Source: http://fcuyua.posterous.com/knowles-mesmer-escalating-targeted-traffic-wi

Jerry Lawler godaddy andy murray Samsung Galaxy S3 linkedin linkedin usps

Source: http://booking-trustworthy.blogspot.com/2012/12/knowles-mesmer-escalating-targeted.html

erika van pelt pat robertson hunger games trailer hunger games trailer in plain sight hunger games movie review bats

Newly discovered loris may be slow, but its bite is toxic

A new slow loris species was discovered in Borneo, named Nycticebus kayan.?The little primate weighs less than a pound.

By Jeanna Bryner,?LiveScience.com / December 14, 2012

The newly discovered slow loris primate (Nycticebus kayan) has a furry "face mask" distinct from other slow loris species.

Ch'ien C Lee

Enlarge

A new small primate with a toxic bite and distinctive facial fur markings has been discovered in the jungles of Borneo.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

The new slow loris species is found in the highlands of the island of Borneo and has been named Nycticebus kayan, after a major river, the Kayan, flowing through the region. The trio of scientists also found that two species previously considered sub-species in the Nycticebus genus are officially unique species.

"Historically, many species went unrecognized as they were falsely lumped together as one species," researcher Rachel Munds, of the University of Missouri Columbia, said in a statement.

Closely related to lemurs, the slow loris is found across Southeast Asia, from Bangladesh and China's Yunnan province to Borneo. To distinguish between species, the researchers focused on the seeming face masks of Borneo's slow lorises; fur patches cover their eyes, while their heads are covered with differently shaped caps. The examined photographs and museum samples for eight face mask features, finding there were four species of Bornean lorises. [See Photos of the Slow Loris Primates]

The new species to science, N. kayan, showed a dark, highly contrasting face mask, with dark patches around its eyes. From the specimen examined, the species is about 10.8 inches (273 millimeters) long and weighs about 14.5 ounces (411 grams). The other species include: N. menagensis, N. bancanus and N. borneanus. (N. menagensis had already been recognized as a species.)

The newly identified species illustrate the breadth of biodiversity yet to be discovered in the jungles of Borneo and nearby islands, the researchers noted. The slow lorises, as with other animals on these islands, face threats from human activity.

"The pet trade is a serious threat for slow lorises in Indonesia, and recognition of these new species raises issues regarding where to release confiscated Bornean slow lorises, as recognition by nonexperts can be difficult," said study researcher Anna Nekaris, of Oxford Brookes University in England, in a statement.

Munds, Nekaris and co-author Susan Ford of Southern Illinois University also note this week in the American Journal of Primatology that their results confirm the use of fur color and pattern as a valid way of distinguishing between species of small primates. Some researchers, they wrote, had claimed that because Bornean slow lorises are not a diverse group because they share similar cranial features and all are lacking an upper second incisor. The new study suggests otherwise, the team added.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?& Google+.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/vb7CefVcHKk/Newly-discovered-loris-may-be-slow-but-its-bite-is-toxic

detroit red wings jose canseco zimmerman derek fisher lyrid meteor shower hippocrates andrew breitbart

Tips And Tricks For Dealing With Commercial Real Estate ...

A compilation of tips and techniques, that beginners can use to start their investing in commercial properties, makes a great starting vantage. The tips that follow will help put any beginning real estate investor on the road to becoming a pro.

When you are choosing real estate brokers, you should find out the brokers? experience level in commercial real estate. Make sure that their particular business focus includes what you are interested in. Also, consider entering into an agreement that will be exclusive between you and that broker.

Real estate brokers for commercial properties have different areas of expertise. Full service brokers work with both landlords and tenants and there are agents representing tenants only. Consider hiring a tenant-only broker as he?ll have the most experience in dealing with situations such as yours.

Before paying any agent, check his or her disclosures; these can tell you a great deal about the agent?s character and ability. Dual agency is a possibility that you need to be aware of. Your real estate agency will represent each side of the transaction. In effect, while you are paying the agency, they also work for the opposite side; if you are a prospective tenant, for example, the dual agency represents the landlord, as well. When it comes to dual agencies, both parties should actually agree to it and it should be disclosed.

Look out for any motivated sellers. Sometimes you will find sellers who are willing and able to sell well below the market value. In real estate, not much happens until you find a good deal.

You should think about what neighborhood you are going to buy the commercial real estate in. Purchasing in neighborhoods that are in the upper price per square foot range will help for successful business because the surrounding owners have more money to spend. Yet, if you have a business that might thrive in a neighborhood where the not so well-off would opt to go to your business, then maybe that kind of neighborhood is for you.

Emergency maintenance is something you must include on the have to ask sheet. Ask in advance who will be handling any emergencies that arise. Have the phone numbers on speed dial, and know how long it generally takes stuff to get fixed. Use any information you can get from your landlord so contingencies are ready for the times your normal business operations are interrupted so you can safeguard your customer service and your reputation.

Try practicing patience and remain calm, if you are considering purchasing any commercial real estate. Don?t jump into a new investment too quickly! You might regret it if you are not satisfied with your real estate goals. It could be a year-long process before you begin to see investments in your market pay off.

Make sure you have everything together for your business when you are going to buy commercial real estate. Know exactly what kind of office space you will be using. If you hope to expand your business, you may want to buy extra space to save time, money and effort in the long run, especially if it?s a buyer?s market at the time of your purchase.

Properties are subject to a life-cycle similar to ours, where they will eventually parish if not ordered and maintained. You will have to pay for repairs and maintenance for your property; make sure you have a good idea of how much you will have to spend. The property might be in need of new roofing, or utility upgrades like wiring. Certain types of buildings require these upgrades more frequently than others. It is important to build these expenses into your long term budget.

If you have two commercial properties on your short list, you should buy the larger one, if at all possible. Finding the right bank to finance you might be hard, even if you are going for a smaller building. This is generally like buying something in bulk, the more you buy, the less it is is per unit.

The tips you have just read should give you a head start on investing in commercial real estate. These tips were put together in the hopes of increasing skill and knowledge, and improving your ability to either buy or sell in the commercial real estate market.

If you are dealing with Overseas Property Investment there is a lot to know. Hopefully this article has been just what you required as far as information regarding Overseas Property Investment. Take time to study and absorb the important information presented above to help you achieve success.

Source: http://www.davidstanleyredfern.com/general-news/tips-and-tricks-for-dealing-with-commercial-real-estate-2

thursday night football japan earthquake nhl Star Trek Into Darkness redskins Heisman watch John McAfee

Netflix Crippled On Christmas Eve By AWS Outages

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even those in the lighthearted holiday fare you were planning to watch on Netflix, which has been down since 1pm PST for some customers. Netflix confirmed the outage with a tweet on its official channel, though Netflix Cloud Architect Adrian Cockcroft said on Twitter that the service is still working on some devices.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/t4KWJwEQmFo/

philadelphia eagles obamacare Todd Akin Register To Vote Fox News Live Obama 2016 Who Is Winning The Election 2012

Love Of Family & Home: Merry Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas Friends!!

I just wanted to drop in today to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas, and?let you know how much I appreciate each & every one of you!! Thank you SO MUCH for reading this blog & for all of the sweet comments & emails you send my way!!

I hope you all are having a WONDERFUL day!!!

I'll be away from the computer for the next couple of days to spend time with my family & to recuperate from the holiday! I hope that you all will take some time off as well....you DESERVE it!!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!! Talk to you all real soon!!!

Source: http://www.loveoffamilyandhome.net/2012/12/merry-christmas-2012.html

carrie underwood American Music Awards 2012 oregon ducks oregon ducks rob gronkowski Coughing eddie murphy

Is This Santa Claus' Home Entrance?

I don't buy this whole Santa lives at the North Pole thing. Obviously—looking at this picture of this incredible ice structure by Sander Klaassen—the real Santa must live in Pleneau Bay, Antarctica. The fake Coca-Cola one is the one who lives in the North Pole, with the polar beards. [National Geographic] More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/I0VQbYG6umg/is-this-santa-claus-home-entrance

fashion star andrew bird lizzie borden lizzie borden iona taylor allderdice mixtape andrew bogut

Sacks of potatoes stand in for humans in Boeing's in-air Wi-Fi tests

15 hrs.

Jason Keyser , Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) -?If the wireless Internet connection during your holiday flight seems more reliable than it used to, you could have the humble potato to thank.?

While major airlines offer in-flight Wi-Fi on many flights, the signal strength can be spotty. Airlines and aircraft makers have been striving to improve this with the growing use of wireless devices and the number of people who don't want to be disconnected, even 35,000 feet up.?

"That's where potatoes come into the picture," Boeing spokesman Adam Tischler said.?Engineers at Chicago-based Boeing Co. used sacks of potatoes as stand-ins for passengers as they worked to eliminate weak spots in in-flight wireless signals. They needed full planes to get accurate results during signal testing, but they couldn't ask people to sit motionless for days while data was gathered.?

It turns out that potatoes ? because of their water content and chemistry ? absorb and reflect radio wave signals much the same way as the human body does, making them suitable substitutes for airline passengers.?

"It's a testament to the ingenuity of these engineers. They didn't go in with potatoes as the plan," Tischler said.?

Recapping the serendipitous path that led to better onboard wireless, Tischler said a member of the research team stumbled across an article in the Journal of Food Science describing research in which 15 vegetables and fruits were evaluated for their dielectric properties, or the way they transmit electric force without conduction.?

Its conclusions led the Boeing researchers to wonder if potatoes might serve just as well as humans during their own signal testing. Despite some skepticism, they ended up buying 20,000 pounds of them.?

Video and photos of the work, which started in 2006, show a decommissioned airplane loaded with row upon row of potato sacks that look like large, lumpy passengers. The sacks sit eerily still in the seats as the engineers collect data on the strength of wireless signals in various spots.?

The Boeing engineers added some complicated statistical analysis and the result was a proprietary system for fine tuning Internet signals so they would be strong and reliable wherever a laptop was used on a plane.?

Boeing says the system also ensures Wi-Fi signals won't interfere with the plane's sensitive navigation and communications equipment.?

"From a safety standpoint, you want to know what the peak signals are, what's the strongest signal one of our communications and navigation systems might see from a laptop or 150 laptops or 350 laptops," Boeing engineer Dennis Lewis explains in a video.?

In a nod to the humor in using a tuber to solve a high-tech problem, researchers dubbed the project Synthetic Personnel Using Dialectic Substitution, or SPUDS.?

The company says better Wi-Fi signals can be found already on three Boeing aircraft models flown by major airlines: 777, 747-8 and the 787 Dreamliner.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/sacks-potatoes-stand-humans-boeings-air-wi-fi-tests-1C7657751

maundy thursday fab melo google glasses kim kardashian and kanye west henrik stenson jobs act greg mortenson

Did NBC?s David Gregory violate DC gun law on Meet the Press? (Michellemalkin)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/272756554?client_source=feed&format=rss

prince fielder state of the union address 2012 obama state of the union 2012 2012 state of the union address jorge posada maurice sendak state of the union

`Fiscal cliff' leaves Boehner a wounded speaker (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/272554762?client_source=feed&format=rss

neville neville george lucas numerology the game new hampshire primary hue jackson

Video: Mad dash is on for holiday shoppers

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50283205/

daylight saving time 2012 grapes of wrath silent house nfl mock draft project m rubio colts

Help at hand when elderly relative's health fails

In this Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012 photo, Barbara Newman Mannix, founder of A Dignified Life, poses for a photo outside her office in White Plains, N.Y. The company stands in for family members who can't be as close as they'd like when an elderly relative begins to decline. (AP Photo/Jim Fitzgerald)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012 photo, Barbara Newman Mannix, founder of A Dignified Life, poses for a photo outside her office in White Plains, N.Y. The company stands in for family members who can't be as close as they'd like when an elderly relative begins to decline. (AP Photo/Jim Fitzgerald)

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) ? Marnie Schwartz was in California, a lawyer raising two toddlers. She was in no position to move across the country to care for her mother, who was living alone in New York and whose health was beginning to decline.

Schwartz's dilemma was similar to that faced by more and more Americans as the population spreads out, people live longer and giving up a job is out of the question.

"I needed eyes and ears closer to my mother," said Schwartz, an only child living in Malibu. "I needed someone to handle the medical, the insurance, the financial, stay on top of the daily caregiving, so the emotional strain wouldn't be overwhelming."

Those needs have fostered a niche that a variety of enterprises have been filling in recent years. Companies and individuals calling themselves advocates, care managers and advisers are willing to stand in for the family and deal with the maze of responsibilities that comes with the care of an elderly loved one.

With the aging of the baby boom generation, the 78 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964, calls for such businesses are expected to increase over the next 20 years.

Their service doesn't come cheap and it's generally not covered by insurance. But some customers have found it's worth the peace of mind.

Schwartz found her "eyes and ears" when a childhood friend told her about A Dignified Life, a small company in White Plains, N.Y., that specializes in elder care.

"I don't know what I would have done without them," Schwartz said. "They knew where to go with all these questions I had that would have taken me 500 phone calls. They deciphered what the doctors were saying. They got a ramp built at the house. They dealt with the plumber. They remembered everything, and they did it in a really human, caring way.

"In about a year and a half, as my mother's situation got worse, they became part of our daily life," Schwartz said. And in October, as her mother's health failed, "they told me it was time to get on a plane." She was at her mother's deathbed, she said, because A Dignified Life knew when to call.

Barbara Newman Mannix, who runs the company, said "experience and empathy" are required to do the job well. She vets, hires and monitors in-home caregivers, attorneys, nursing homes and more, guides a family through the financial tangles and makes sure an elderly person's wishes are respected. She can help arrange the sale of a house and pre-plan a funeral.

For an initial, $625 four-hour consultation, her company will evaluate a family's needs and come up with an "action plan." The family can then hire the company to implement the plan on an hourly or retainer basis.

Mannix started the company after navigating the maze during her husband's fatal illness.

"You're suddenly in crisis and the normal reaction is, 'What do I do, where do I go, who do I call first?'" she said. "People are lost. But we tell them there is a way to cope, there is crisis management, there are people that will help you who do what they do all day every day."

She said many people just don't have the personality for dealing with doctors and caregivers and insurance companies.

"It's time, it's energy, it's stress, it's consternation among members of the family," she said. "There's emotional baggage, and if you have children yourself you're being pulled in both directions."

Judy Rappaport, who runs Preferred Lifestyle Services in Jupiter, Fla., said most elderly people resist moving to a son or daughter's home.

"Everybody wants to stay home," Rappaport said. "Now we do what we can to make it possible for people to stay in their homes."

Most of her company's staffers are nurses.

"When we're hired, we go in and count the pills, check the food in the refrigerator, we talk to the doctors," she said. "We get a complete picture and we write up a report in lay language. The family knows what we'll do and what it will cost right up front."

The services can get very specific.

"We had one lady who wanted to play bingo and we said, 'No problem, we can get you to bingo.' But she was a German lady and she wanted to play bingo in German," Rappaport said. "We found a place."

Jullie Gray, incoming president of the National Association of Geriatric Care Managers, said membership is now near 2,000, up from fewer than 1,600 a decade ago.

Rappaport said the average fee for her clients is between $1,500 and $2,500 a month, not including the in-home caretakers' pay.

David Cutner, an elder law attorney in Manhattan, said he worries about elderly people exhausting their assets, but added, "People who have a substantial net worth and are not thinking about government benefit programs might well want to hire this type of service."

A much less comprehensive and less costly alternative is offered by CareFamily, which prescreens in-home caregivers and matches them to customers over the Internet. On Monday, the company announced a variety of online tools through which a family can remotely monitor a caregiver's attendance, provide reminders about medications and appointments and exchange care plans and notes via email, texting or phone.

The service would be included in the average $15 an hour fee paid for the caregiver, said CareFamily CEO Tom Knox. He said it can "cut costs while ensuring that the elderly can be well taken care of ? without the need to uproot seniors and disrupt families."

Yale Hauptman, an elder law attorney in Livingston, N.J., said many different services are available. His office is often called in by advocates who discover that an elderly person needs a will or power of attorney or a trust.

"We work with people who just do health insurance, cut through red tape, deal with Medicaid," he said. "We work with daily money managers, who make sure the bills get paid. We work with geriatric care managers on the medical side.

"The type of work these people do is absolutely essential. It's a combination of families living farther apart and the fact we're living longer."

Leslie Riley of Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y., said that when her sister-in-law began having mental and physical problems, relatives hired A Dignified Life, even though some lived nearby.

"We had no idea where to start," she said. "Barbara came in and helped us focus on what needed to be done. How to work with the doctors in the hospital. We needed to get power of attorney, we needed to provide health care proxies, we needed to figure out how to approach the financial situation."

"She had a checklist for everything," Riley said. "I would call her lovingly efficient."

___

Online:

http://www.adignifiedlife.com

http://www.preferredlifestyleservices.com

http://www.carefamily.com

http://www.caremanager.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-22-Aging%20America-Elder%20Advocates/id-d1d375f6d66244c4a700479400abf530

mashed potatoes Apple Black Friday nfl schedule how to cook a turkey emma stone Frys tryptophan