Qualcomm Q1 2013 earnings: $1.91 billion in profit on revenues of $6 billion

The folks in San Diego are making it rain once again, as Qualcomm has just announced its earnings for the quarter with $6 billion in revenues, which represents a 29 percent year-over-year increase and a new record for the firm. It seems the company's Snapdragon chips are everywhere you look these days, and it should come as no surprise that Qualcomm also hauled in a profit of $1.91 billion, which is a 36 percent hike over the previous year. Seeing that the company is so well off, it's also announced a cash dividend payment of $428 million that will go back to shareholders, along with stock repurchases in the amount of $250 million. In case you were wondering, Qualcomm managed to push 182 million of its SoC's out the door during Q1, which represents a 17 percent year-over-year increase. With the Snapdragon 800 due by mid-year, we've a feeling that it'll keep raining in San Diego for some time -- even if the nice weather says otherwise.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Mobile

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Source: Qualcomm Q1 2013 Earnings (PDF)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/huuy-nEH9nY/

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Vertigo Designs Land Spot in Lowe's Home Improvement Centers ...

We?re blown away to see our final packaging/signage design for MonoSystems in Lowe?s Home Improvement Centers in North Carolina. One of the only direct-to-consumer producers of wire management systems in the business, we?re glad to see our work placed in such a well respected store. We?re looking forward to producing future materials for MonoSystems and helping them grow as a market leader!

Source: http://vertigomediagrp.com/2013/01/30/vertigo-designs-land-spot-in-lowes-home-improvement-centers/

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Crystal Rhinestone Cap Veil, Juliet Cap Style Bridal Veil, Flapper Style Wedding Veil - Sadie by brendasbridalveils

This beautiful cap veil is made with illusion tulle with a cut edge and 36" in length. It features a crystal rhinestone headpiece (approximately 15" in length by 2.5") that hand sewn around the back of the veil. This veil is attached to two silver color metal comb for a secure fit.

The veil may also be made in custom lengths... please convo me for your custom length before purchase.

Veil length: approximately 36" (from the rhinestone headpiece)

Veil colors available:
-white (matte or sparkle)
-diamond white (matte or sparkle)
-ivory (matte or sparkle)
-dark ivory (matte)
-antique ivory (matte)
-champagne (matte)
-blush (matte)
-very pale pink (matte)
-silver (sparkle)
-black (matte)

Color shown in photos - ivory matte

___________________________________________________________
Please note:

-this item is made to order, please see current turn around time here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/brendasbridalveils/policy

-shipping information: http://www.etsy.com/shop/brendasbridalveils/policy

-rush orders are available at a small charge, please visit my policies for more information at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/brendasbridalveils/policy

-custom work... I have been professionally designing and creating bridal veils since 1988. If you can't find the veil or flower that you're looking for I do specialize in custom veils and flowers... just Etsy convo me.

Photography by Digitalive Images www.digitaliveimages.com
Dress courtesy of Net Fashion Avenue www.netfashionavenue.com

If you have any questions at all please do ask.

Have any questions? Contact the shop owner.

Source: http://www.etsy.com/listing/115813803/crystal-rhinestone-cap-veil-juliet-cap

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Blind dissident urges global pressure on China over rights

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng urged the United States on Tuesday not to let business concerns prevent it from pressing China over human rights, saying America must never "offer the smallest compromise" on its principles.

Chen is a self-taught legal advocate whose escape from house arrest last April and subsequent refuge in the U.S. Embassy embarrassed China and led to a diplomatic tussle that ended with him leaving China to study in New York.

He used a speech at a human rights award ceremony in Washington to call on the world to hold China to account for repression and to urge ordinary Chinese to look to the example of Myanmar as they struggle to win their rights.

"I sincerely hope that everyone - petitioners, human rights workers, civil rights groups, national governments and especially the United States government - will come together to encourage progress in human rights," said Chen.

"There should be no compromise, even if there are large business interests at stake - dignity, freedom and justice are more important," he said in translated remarks read in English by actor and Tibet advocate Richard Gere.

Chen received the 2012 Tom Lantos Human Rights Prize, named after a California congressman who was the only Holocaust survivor to serve in the U.S. Congress. Lantos died in 2008.

The activist, now studying law at New York University, said he felt a "profound resonance in my heart" with Lantos from their shared experience escaping persecution and dictatorship.

"We must not only remember the atrocities of the fascists, but also recognize that today authoritarianism is firmly entrenched, and that the barbarism of the authoritarian system is the greatest threat to civilized societies," said Chen.

Chen endured 19 months of harsh house arrest in his home village in Shandong province before his escape, but said his family members and contacts continued to suffer. Chen's nephew Chen Kegui was jailed for 3 years after using knives to fend off local officials who burst into his home after Chen's escape.

"Recently, many friends and neighbors who I have been in touch with by phone have been taken into custody by the authorities for questioning. They have been threatened and made to describe what our conversations have been about," he said.

CHINESE PEOPLE "MAIN ACTORS"

The United States bore a special responsibility to uphold and promote its basic founding principles, despite economic weakness that has prompted some deference to fast-growing power China over human rights in recent years, he said.

While "it is clearly difficult to shift attention away from issues of finance and the economy, remember that placing undue value on material life will cause a deficit in spiritual life," said Chen.

"You must establish a long-term plan for human rights and not compromise on it, ever," he added.

China rejects outside criticism of its human rights record as unwarranted interference in its internal affairs.

Chen, whose dramatic escape last year won him a wide following on China's social media networks, said ordinary Chinese must be the "main actors" in achieving their rights.

"Democracy, freedom and justice don't just happen. We must strive for them through action," he said.

"Last year, Myanmar lifted the ban on political parties, and last Friday it abolished media censorship. What the people in Myanmar do, we can do, too," said Chen.

The New Hampshire-based Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice has given previous annual awards to the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, Holocaust survivor and activist Elie Wiesel, and Paul Rusesabagina, a Rwandan hotel manager who hid and protected more 1,200 refugees during Rwanda's genocide.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blind-dissident-urges-global-pressure-china-over-rights-213355990.html

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Luxurious leather gear bags from Avallone

Avallone says their sophisticated City Messenger bags are for men, but I don’t see why women wouldn’t like them, too. ?These bags are certainly not the distressed leather bags often marketed for men. ?They are made of Italian Nappa leather with cow suede accents and silver-colored metal hardware. ?The bag measures 13.5″ X 10″ X [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/01/29/luxurious-leather-gear-bags-from-avallone/

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Chrysler sees higher 2013 profit as comeback continues

(Reuters) - Chrysler Group LLC, the U.S. automaker majority owned by Italy's Fiat , said its 2013 profit would come in toward the low end of its initial business plan, and it cut its 2014 free cash flow forecast by two-thirds.

The No. 3 U.S. automaker, which also reported higher fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, now expects free cash flow of $1 billion in 2014. In 2009, Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne had forecast $3 billion as part of his five-year business plan designed to help Chrysler regain its footing after its government-funded bankruptcy nearly four years ago.

Chrysler added that it expected free cash flow to shrink this year to about $1 billion or higher from $2.2 billion in 2012 as the automaker anticipates higher capital spending and slower growth.

But Marchionne, who had led both Fiat and Chrysler since 2009, was quick to add during a conference call with reporters and analysts that he expected the company's cash flow this year to be "well above" the $1 billion mark.

Chrysler's modified operating profit forecast of $3.8 billion in 2013 is nearly one-third higher than 2012 levels. Initially, Marchionne forecast a 2013 profit of between $3.8 billion and $4.4 billion.

Chrysler expects profit margins to rise to 5 percent from 4.4 percent last year. Revenue is expected to increase at least 9 percent to between $72 billion and $75 billion.

Since 2009, Chrysler has overhauled its lineup and emerged as the chief source of strength for Fiat as economic weakness in Europe hurts its sales. But Chrysler has also made its own missteps, as with the shaky introduction of its Dodge Dart compact car last year.

Fiat now owns 58.5 percent of Chrysler. The rest of Chrysler is owned by a retiree healthcare trust affiliated with the United Auto Workers union.

"While we are pleased to have achieved strong financial results in 2012, the enterprise we are crafting is not complete," Marchionne said in a statement.

Chrysler added that it planned to have 16 Fiat and Alfa Romeo models in its North American lineup by 2016.

For the fourth quarter, Chrysler reported a 68 percent rise in net income to $378 million from $225 million a year earlier, driven by higher vehicle sales in North America.

The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based company said its net income would rise to about $2.2 billion in 2013 from $1.67 billion in 2012.

(This story was fixed to correct in third paragraph to say "2.2 billion in 2012" from "2.2 billion in 2013")

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall in Detroit; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chrysler-group-earnings-rise-68-percent-strong-sales-120310794--finance.html

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New Apple TV coming?

Apple looks to have an update to the Apple TV set-top box in the offing, with an FCC filing revealing that Apple's created a slightly smaller version of the little black box sporting a new model number ? A1469. And it is a tiny size difference ? 93.78 square mm versus the current version's 98 square mm.

Apple has also rolled out a software update for the Apple TV ? adding Bluetooth keyboard support, Up Next and iTunes in the Cloud ? that includes a previously-unseen "AppleTV3,2" model.

Meanwhile, tech blog AnandTech has revealed that the updated Apple TV will pack an A5X processor (as opposed to the current version's A5 processor) and a new single antenna setup.

While an updated Apple TV is no?Apple iTV television set, it's nice to know that Apple still has one eye on your living room TV.

[via Engadget, 9to5Mac and AnandTech]

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Source: http://www.stuff.tv/news/apple-news/rumour-mill/new-apple-tv-coming

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Marketing is like Jelly Beans | Small Business Marketing Specialist!

By bluedressmarketing, January 28, 2013

Small Business Marketing, Ingrid Gee, Marketing Specialist talks about Internet Marketing for your business.

My clients often ask me, what do I need to do when it comes to marketing their brand on the internet? The answer is simple. Be like that fun bag of jelly beans you used to love at Easter.

Now, seriously what do I mean by that?

1. Create ?flavor?. Does your product have anything that looks ?appetizing? to your end consumer? Is it actually something that they want or need? If not, add to, modify, and tweak your product until it has relevant value to your end consumer.

2. Be colorful. With your message be creative, be interesting, be attractive. Have something in your ?branding? that will create an interest.

3. Be multifaceted. Create as many internet ?channels? and social sites as possible. The more the merrier. This will allow your information to be delivered across a multichannel world, yet be delivered in a digital format that has no expiration date. Search engines love multifaceted entities.

Ingrid Gee, Small Business Marketing Specialist, Blue Dress Marketing, Marketing Developed, Implemented and Managed to Full Circle! Organic Internet Search Engine Specialist. ingrid@bluedressinc.me865-951-5887

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Source: http://bluedressinc.me/2013/01/28/marketing-is-like-jelly-beans/

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Price vs. Incentives - Business Innovation Zone

English: ?Happy Hour? sign on a pub in Jerusalem (in Hebrew: all draft beers, 1 + 1 free) ?????: ?Happy Hour?, ??? ???????? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many new entrepreneurs and a few experienced business people try to use price changes to motivate sales.? While this sounds good on the surface, price is something you should take great care in changing.? It is better to use incentives to motivate behavior and let price remain constant.? Here are a few examples of using incentives to drive behavior:

• The first five customers receive a 50% discount
• 40% off all weekend on certain items
• 10% off for every referral up to 40%
• 1/2 price draws of beer from 4pm to 6pm

In each case the incentive has boundaries and attempts to drive a time specific behavior.? Another incentive usage is to accelerate payments.? In business to business transactions it is common to give a 1% or 2% discount for paying a bill within the first 10 days of receipt. ? In each case the incentive is targeted to a specific result.? In addition, the incentive result can be measured and analyzed for future use.?

?While some are advocating dynamic pricing, understand that changing prices frequently will lead to confusion and frustration.? By leaving the price stable and using incentives to drive specific behavior you will have a better chance of motivating the behavior you want.?

?

Source: http://bizci.org/price-vs-incentives/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=price-vs-incentives

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Arrests made in Brazil fire, funerals begin

AAA??Jan. 28, 2013?9:20 AM ET
Arrests made in Brazil fire, funerals begin
AP

A woman cries over the coffin of a victim at a gymnasium where bodies were brought for identification in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing more than 230 people as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. (AP Photo/Nabor Goulart)

A woman cries over the coffin of a victim at a gymnasium where bodies were brought for identification in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing more than 230 people as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. (AP Photo/Nabor Goulart)

A man stands around coffins containing the remains of victims after the bodies were identified at a gymnasium in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. A fast-moving fire roared through the crowded, windowless Kiss nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, within seconds filling the space with flames and a thick, toxic smoke that killed more than 230 panicked partygoers who gasped for breath and fought in a stampede to escape.(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Relatives and friends mourn on the coffin containing the remains of a fire victim at a gymnasium where bodies were brought for identification in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. A fast-moving fire roared through the crowded, windowless Kiss nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, within seconds filling the space with flames and a thick, toxic smoke that killed more than 230 panicked partygoers who gasped for breath and fought in a stampede to escape.(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Relatives and friends carry the coffin of a victim out of a gymnasium where bodies where brought for identification in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. A fast-moving fire roared through the crowded, windowless Kiss nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, within seconds filling the space with flames and a thick, toxic smoke that killed more than 230 panicked partygoers who gasped for breath and fought in a stampede to escape.(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A man carries an injured man, victim of a fire at the Kiss club in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, early Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Firefighters say that the death toll from a fire that swept through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil has risen to 180. Officials say the fire broke out while a band was performing. At least 200 people have been injured. (AP Photo/Agencia RBS)

SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) ? Brazilian police say they've made three arrests and are seeking a fourth person in connection with a nightclub fire that killed more than 230 people.

Inspector Ranolfo Vieira Junior said at a Monday press conference that the arrests are for investigative purposes. He says the detentions have five-day limits.

He declined to identify those arrested or the fourth person sought.

More than 230 people died early Sunday during the fire at a university party in southern Brazil. Police have said they think a band's pyrotechnics show ignited sound insulation on the ceiling, causing the blaze.

The Zero Hora newspaper quotes lawyer Jader Marques as saying his client Elissandro Spohr, a co-owner of the club, was arrested. The paper also says two band members were arrested.

Funerals began Monday in the city of Santa Maria, Brazil, where the blaze took place.

Associated PressNews Topics: General news, Commercial fires, Arrests, Bar and night club operators, Fires, Funerals and memorial services, Accidents and disasters, Law and order, Crime, Food services, Consumer services, Consumer products and services, Industries, Business
People, Places and Companies: Brazil

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-28-Brazil-Nightclub%20Fire/id-70db273f9bc74642b4c5b0dfe825f7a0

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The Enterprise Cool Kids

No, this isn’t a guest column by Aaron Levie. Though he and his startup Box, the poster child of the “sexy enterprise,” are definitely included in the bunch. “You should definitely kick Aaron off the list. Just to mess with him,” Zendesk founder Mikkel Svane commented when he heard what we were writing. With VCs voting with their feet and eschewing consumer startups this play period, we’re seeing a major shift of sentiment and momentum to enterprise startups. Perhaps the most major in a while, definitely as far as we can remember. Venture money that a year ago was going into consumer deals is now flowing into enterprise, as the Series A crunch and reticence about Facebook’s lackluster IPO has dampened investor enthusiasm?for photosharing apps and their ilk. In contrast to Facebook, a series of stellar enterprise IPOs like?Palo Alto Networks, Splunk and (perhaps the original enterprise cool kid) Workday have fired the collective entrepreneurial?imagination. “We see entrepreneurs come in every other day telling us how they’re going to reinvent Splunk,” Sequoia’s Aaref Hilaly tells me. “The successful enterprise IPOs serve as beacons for the companies that come after them.” Although the VC profits baseline has traditionally come from enterprise deals, they certainly weren’t media darlings. Consumer startups, despite their high beta and tendency to be outliers, were the bell of the mainstream tech blog ball. “Consumer technology tends to create fewer winners. Its easier to keep track of what a Facebook or a Twitter may be doing than myriad enterprise software vendors,” NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson notes. “[There it] may take decades to decide the actual winners.” But the hype is changing. Conversations about “the next Instagram” at Coupa, The Creamery or on Caltrain have been replaced with staid assessments about the future of Big Data, storage and the cloud. The mobile, social, local gold rush of 2011 has been put on pause, at least as far as consumer Internet is concerned. VCs are?staffing up with enterprise experts to handle the sharp shift in focus. We’ve even heard someone was working on something described only as, “a Path for enterprise.” While the phenomenon is recent enough that the exact flow of investment dollars from consumer to enterprise has yet to be captured in a study, the data points are beginning to pop up. For example 2012 was the?first year in First Round Capital’s history in which consumer companies were

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/cKwHfHFw1yc/

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Top 10 Factors in Using SEO Outsourcing Firm for Business Search ...

Outsourcing website search engine optimization to SEO firms nowadays has become more and more an inevitable direction to get one business website be found on major search engines. People go to search engine to find information about anything. For a business website, it only matters to get on top of search result pages for keywords that are being placed by users who are likely to purchase its products or services. So for any business search engine campaign, thorough keywords research must be the starting point of its website search engine optimization. The right set of target keywords is the cornerstone of all implemented SEO strategies.

Search engine optimization involves a lot of processes that business owners may not be familiar with. So, rather than spending so much time understanding the whole SEO process, business owners tend to outsource search engine optimization to SEO firms. A lot of SEO companies kept promising guaranteed first page ranking, and even rank 1 on a particular keyword or set of keywords. Their worlds were merely sugar-coated. No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on search engines unless they select only trivial keywords that they can make one business website to easily get on top ? and drop those highly competitive keywords that may actually lead to sales conversion.

Business website search engine optimization can be a costly strategy when employing SEO outsourcing firms that optimized for wrong keywords that do not generate sales. Thus, it is an important goal for all SEO strategies to translate search engine rankings to sales. For a business owner, the following are important things you should seek from an outsourcing company offering SEO services:

1. ?Sample of Previous Works/Portfolio

By making their previous clients as points of reference how they do SEO, business owners get a glimpse of ideas how an SEO outsourcing company helped other business owners generate sales out of SEO. A business owner can ask for some success stories of some clients previously handled by a particular SEO firm. By asking what sorts of keywords they helped on website to get on top, a business owner can assess if they are really good in implementing keyword-to-conversion schemes.

2. ?Following Search Engine Guidelines

SEO strategies are often categorized through colors ? white hat, black hat, blue hat, grey hat, etc. Aside from white hat SEO, there are risks involved in using other SEO strategies ? the worst would be getting one business website banned from a search engine. That would spell disaster for a business that had just started promoting a brand in the online community. So, the safest way would be to follow search engine guidelines and opt for white hat SEO.

3. ?Variety of Online Marketing Strategies

Search engine campaign is just one of the strategies online marketing together with email marketing and social media marketing. There can be two categories of search engine campaign ? pay-per-click campaign and organic SEO. When one business website struggles in organic search listing of its target keywords, other online marketing strategies must be implemented to support the business online marketing campaign. It is advisable to choose SEO outsourcing firm that can also implement other online marketing strategies for a one-stop shop of online marketing services.

4. Measure of Success: Result vs. Time

A search engine campaign is just like any other campaigns ? with set of objectives to be realized in a specific time. A simple Gantt chart may help one business owner to understand what he expected to get from time to time. The apparent parameter for the success of a search engine campaign might be the rankings on target keywords, but the end result will always be determined by conversion or sales generated out of the search engine campaign. So it is important for business owners to know the timeframe of their search engine campaign to determine how much they could spend for the entire duration of the campaign and what are the results to expect to get.

5. ?Experience of the SEO Outsourcing Firm

Search engine algorithms are always evolving from time to time, and so must a website?s search engine strategy. The expertise of an SEO outsourcing firm reflects its experience in dealing with search engine algorithms since time in memorial. The SEO outsourcing firm that understands SEO process completely always know what sorts of SEO strategies can be applicable for a certain business website. All these understanding of the whole search engine optimization process of an SEO firm is rooted from years of experience in implementing different SEO strategies that worked and those that did not worked.

6. ?Geo-Targeting Considerations

For a business that can only operate in a particular geographical location, it is important to put into context how users placed their queries in search engine. If an SEO outsourcing firm has related experiences in dealing search engine optimization targeting for a certain geographical location, there is a higher chances to dominate in search engine results pages for those geo-targeted set of keywords.

7. ?Global Target Considerations

For a business that can make transactions to different countries, applicable SEO would be targeting global markets. However, these global markets are often shaped by the majority of target customers. For example, if one business website is being optimized globally but major target customers are from the United States, the SEO strategies employed are usually dictated on how to optimize a website in a US context.

8. Most Important SEO Techniques

This consideration is involving a lot of how-to?s to make SEO campaign plan a success. SEO campaigns often work through combinations of SEO techniques. It is important for a business owner to determine if an SEO outsourcing company is using ethical SEO techniques. Black hat SEO and spamming has higher chances of being banned in a particular search engine. Some ethical SEO techniques are also getting obsolete through time. Any search engine optimization campaign must employ updated and working SEO techniques so all SEO efforts will not be wasted.

9. Communication Channels

Communication is always vital in any business process. There are a lot of communication channels for a business owner and an SEO outsourcing firm ? instant messaging, email, project management system (PMS), VoIP, web conferencing, etc. The bottom-line is that how can both parties communicate efficiently and get updated with the latest changes and modification of the business website and the SEO techniques being employed. Furthermore, it is also important to have a clear reporting system so that the SEO firm knows its responsibilities and the business owner can create schedules when to peek on what?s happening on the website search engine optimization campaign.

10. Dealing Confidentiality Issues

Every business has its own set of competitors in any search engine campaign. It is very crucial to keep all information used in the search engine campaign from any of these co-competitors to get ahead of search engine rankings. A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is often signed by both parties to solve this issue. It is also important to assure from an SEO outsourcing firm that it will be transparent to the business owners and share all information, techniques, and detailed SEO process so the latter can use it for its future search engine campaign.

Oftentimes, SEO techniques offered by SEO firms are useful for business search engine campaign. But unless these considerations are not clear to any of both parties yet, problems and delays will become an issue in the future. When all of the above considerations are met by an SEO firm, a business owner is assured of valuable SEO services.

Source: http://takeitrightaway.blogspot.com/2013/01/top-10-factors-in-using-seo-outsourcing.html

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Bank of America Shifts PR Duties to Burson-Marsteller | Agency ...

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

Source: http://adage.com/article/agency-news/bank-america-shifts-pr-duties-burson-marsteller/239446/

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How to Choose the Best Franchise Business in the Philippines ...

Many Filipinos are on the hunt for extra income. But since the Philippines is a country where unemployment is rampant, most people are not likely to find an extra job. That?s why buying a business franchise has become a popular choice among Pinoys.

Franchising is relatively simple because there?s no product to invent or a business model to test. A business that has opened its doors to franchising already has the track record of earning profits. All the franchisee has to do is choose the location and run the franchise efficiently.

Still, success is not guaranteed even with a franchise. And if one is not careful, a franchisee can easily lose his or her capital because the business proved lackluster for some reason. So choosing which franchise business to pursue is very important. There?s not a lot of freely available data which can help investors decide which business will succeed. Mostly it?s about gut feel.

Improving Your Chances

But if you're going to bet a considerable portion of your savings to a business venture, you would want to get the best information available to help in your decision. Although there can be many factors that will determine the fate of a franchise business, due diligence in doing the preliminary research will help you lessen the odds of failure.

If you feel like creating a checklist for this purpose, make sure you?ve got the items that we will discuss below covered. It?s not everything there is to check but it?s an essential list that I have learned from experience running a business franchise. It wasn?t ultra-successful but the franchise I owned taught me quite a lot about running a business.

1. You should be amazed by the product

I have written about selling and why it is the most important skill in business. When you?ve got a franchise of a business, you definitely have to give enough attention to how effectively you sell. But in order for you to become passionate about selling a product, it should be extraordinary in your own assessment. If you?re not convinced your product or service is any good, your effort to sell it will not succeed.

If you know your friends will like your product, you would eagerly endorse it. Because even without any selling experience, we all sometimes vouch for good products that easily convince others to buy. It?s a matter of being genuinely amazed by a product that ultimately attracts others to it as well.

2. Know exactly the target market

If you try selling something to the wrong market, you can end up with a lot of disappointments. Selling expensive stuff to a place frequented by Class D & E consumers, for example, would not work at all because no one will buy. It doesn?t matter how great the product you?re selling, if you?re pitching it to the wrong crowd your efforts will be in vain.

For inexperienced entrepreneurs, seeing a product sell in one place can lead them to wrongly conclude it can sell everywhere. But if you?re going to be really smart and careful, you?ll have to know the consumers who are drawn to the product. Study who they are and how you can reach them. Considering your franchise business prospect and the market that it serves, where would be the best place to locate your business?

3. Choose the best location

Because it?s difficult to select a location for a business, many business owners tend to justify going for a place that they?ve found affordable even if further examination reveals some dangers. Sometimes the only factor being looked at is foot traffic. Although the amount of people who will pass by to see your products is important, it?s not as important if they?re not the right people to buy them.

Just because location is very important, a future franchise owner should assess a business based on the locations he is able to tap. Usually, distance from the owner and rental costs will dictate what locations are possible. Given the possibilities, you can eliminate franchises that will not suit any of the locations you can think of.

4. Analyze cost projections

The cost of doing business is always a critical factor to consider in choosing a franchise. Doing your homework to make cost estimates will help you assess your potential to earn profits. It will also clearly spell out to you how much you need to sell if you want to succeed. The higher your expenses the lower your profit becomes.

Knowing where the expenses will go can also help with ideas for cost-reduction measures later on. But ultimately, it will help in assessing the risk of not selling well by showing how much loss you may incur. Knowing these things can really help you to decide if the business is something your risk appetite is ready for.

5. Know the marketing plan

Effective selling is actively done. So it's wrong to think that a franchise business will not need any marketing activity. Business owners who fail to understand this are often forced to take action when sales struggle to meet the target.

As a future franchise owner, understanding how your products will get to the attention of your buyers is necessary. Foot traffic will only get you so far. Getting serious attention as opposed to a useless glance from potential customers can only be achieved with good marketing. The franchisor should present their marketing plan and also help you create one for those nearer your location.

6. Study your competitive edge

You can have great products and a pretty good location but if your product isn't competitive enough, you will do badly. Oftentimes, competition is unavoidable. You don't need to shun them all the time. But you do have to learn your competitive edge over the others so that you can capitalize on your advantage.

A product that doesn't have a competitive edge based on your assessment should be avoided. Even if the terms of the franchise are favorable, it shouldn't lure you to make the wrong judgment.

7. Learn from other franchise owners

Last but definitely not the least, existing franchise owners are a great resource of information. Find them and talk to them. Invite them to lunch if you can. Their insights into the business are better than anyone else. You can use their experience to make a determination to buy the franchise or not.

Perfect information will never be available in any decision-making process. Same is true in choosing a franchise business. But it shouldn't stop you from knowing as much as you can before you go ahead. Oftentimes, your chances of success are made better because of it.

*Photo Credit: ekkun (Creative Commons)

Source: http://www.perakoto.com/2013/01/how-to-choose-best-franchise-business-philippines.html

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Devonshire Pine Furniture A Unique New Looks To Your Living ...

When planning a change about our living room furnishings, hows it to make that look as beautiful as possible by our innovative thinking and new interior design styles? And suddenly we started experimenting with almost each corner of the house and every household so that it perfectly matches with the new ideas. Is not?A good looking quality home takes some thinking about but when done correctly appears great and last for many years, hence a clear but distinct vision in choosing the furniture is of great importance in these regards.

Todays furniture market offers an extensive range of high quality variety which includes solid oak furniture, rustic furniture, pine contemporary furniture etc. with many ranges to choose from. These are available online or offline in all possible sale prices suiting all kind of taste and pocket sizes. Oak furniture is one such piece which provides a high quality and stylish finish which look fantastic in any room of the house. To brighten up the living room with oak tables to oak wardrobes, a huge range of oak living room furniture in stock are bundled up in the market. These include a comprehensive range of solid dining table, chests of drawers, solid oak dining tables, display cabinets, TV cabinets, sideboards etc.Beautifully crafted oak living room furniture enables us to shop some brimming and illuminating style for our home which actually makes a delightful focal point in any living room. The key to a congestion free living room is having the right storage solutions in place.A perfect blend of oak based shelving, DVD storage and bookcases, cabinets, drawers, boards etc. keeps our living room neat and tidy which in turn bring a contemporary and compatible feel to the attractive appearance of the room also.

Apart from this wide variety of oak furniture, Devonshire pine furniture is also in great demand these days. Itinclude stop quality hallmark products which value fantastically for money, price and excellent service even after long years of usage.The oak ranges or pine collections in the market are absolutely exclusive as these are prepared with utmost care during their machinery, assembling techniques and packing procedures when ready for delivery. The online details made it much approachable to the customers within a blink of eye.The expertise to select from the very best products and suppliers, modifications to the required standard specifications and customers needs made them exclusive for their increasing demand. They not only provide modern and contemporary designs and finishes but also offer a wide range of pine, oak, rustic and other variations in furniture which actually is the reason that they emerged out as one of the largest furniture selling company in the global market. The uniqueness of their designs, quality, looks, and firm services, commitment towards continuous improvement in terms of innovation in every possible aspect of their product and delivery proceedings helped them to earn such a huge name, fame and position in the furnishing market.

With Devonshire pine furniture every home is sure to find something just right from the vast collection to match each and every thought.This range of furniture is amazing and hence well worth a visit to these stores. Whats more, each item of this living room furniture shows an idea about the entire aesthetics and taste of the house.

About the Author:
Enhance your living space, dining room, bedroom and other space with excellent Devonshire Pine Furniture and Oak Living Room Furniture in different styles, finishes, colors and quality.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Devonshire-Pine-Furniture-A-Unique-New-Looks-To-Your-Living-Room-Beauty/4401536

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Obama not sure he'd allow a son to play football

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Football's first fan isn't sure he'd let his son play the game, in light of the impact it takes on its players.

"I'm a big football fan, but I have to tell you, if I had a son, I'd have to think long and hard before I let him play football," President Barack Obama tells The New Republic.

"And I think that those of us who love the sport are going to have to wrestle with the fact that it will probably change gradually to try to reduce some of the violence," Obama said. "In some cases, that may make it a little bit less exciting, but it will be a whole lot better for the players, and those of us who are fans maybe won't have to examine our consciences quite as much."

In an interview in the magazine's Feb. 11 issue, Obama said he worries more about college players than he does about those in the NFL.

"The NFL players have a union, they're grown men, they can make some of these decisions on their own, and most of them are well-compensated for the violence they do to their bodies," Obama said. "You read some of these stories about college players who undergo some of these same problems with concussions and so forth and then have nothing to fall back on. That's something that I'd like to see the NCAA think about."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-27-US-Obama-Football/id-d7f05d2c1e034bfea853b8849677a8c4

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Santa Clara Youth Rugby | Campbell Sports & Recreation and ...

Tomorrow, January 27, 2013, 9:30 am

6677 Camden Ave, San Jose, CA | Get?Directions??
FREE

On Sunday, January 27th, Santa Clara Youth Rugby Club (www.santaclarayouthrugby.com) will be hosting the Los Gatos Lions, Bowling Green and Palo Alto Seahawks Youth Rugby Clubs at Leland High School's all-weather fields.? Santa Clara Youth Rugby practices on Thursday evenings at Calabazas Park, and typically plays games at Butcher Park on Sundays, (depending on field conditions).

Youth Rugby is one of the fastest growing youth sports in the US with over 100,000 participants.? Participation has been growing since it was added to the list of Olympic Sports, it will appear in the 2016 Rio de Jainero Summer Olympics for the 1st time since the US won gold in 1924.? Northern California Youth Rugby is growing future Olympians.

Rugby is a contact sport that incorporates skills found in football, wrestling, basketball, and soccer.? It is a winter sport that typically runs from January-March, with an abbreviated summer "7s" season.? It is a great way to stay fit for spring sports, or get fit for the fall season in the summer.

Please come out to Leland High and? watch and talk with any of our coaches in the blue shirts.? Santa Clara Youth Rugby Club is currently looking for boy and girl athletes ages 7-14.? We look forward to seeing you on the pitch.

37.21997

-121.845259

primary

/events/santa-clara-youth-rugby

/locations/8680485

Source: http://campbell.patch.com/events/santa-clara-youth-rugby

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Akai launches MPC headphone series, we go hands on

Headphones, there's plenty to choose from these days that's for sure. But amongst the celebrity endorsed pairs, and the traditional brands there appears to be a gap in the market. Or, so thinks Akai -- the maker of the legendary MPC line of beat-machines -- as it's extending the brand to include three new sets of its own: the MPC Pro, MPC, and MPC Earbuds. Akai claims the new additions are designed for use with the kit of the same name, but looking at the design, we'd wager it's not shy of taking a slice of the more image-conscious / brand aware market either. The daddy of the bunch is the MPC pro (the lower of the two you see above. These come with 50mm drivers and an over-ear design, aimed at improving isolation. The MPC model (the other pair you see above) sport 40mm drivers and an on-ear design. Both the Pro, and regular MPC editions have a metallic red and silver finish, with foldable ear-cups. The baby of the bunch is the Earbuds edition, and these are designed for "active producers," or dare we say, sporty types too. The ear-hook design is reminiscent of other sports headphone buds to keep them in place. These, however, are Bluetooth enabled too. But, if you're worried about the latency while you're producing on the go, there's a connection for going traditionally 3.5mm-cabled too. Hear more past the break.

Gallery: Akai MPC headphones hands-on

When we first heard that Akai was venturing into the headphone market, we can't deny we were a little excited. The idea of something specific to the MPC hardware / music production, and potential for MPC-inspired design tickled us. In reality, it's hard not to think that it's more about extending the brand onto another line of products. The samples we saw on the floor were early prototypes, and not final models, so things may change, but the design and the three tiered approach suggests this is as much about market appeal as it is dedicated producer hardware. The metal finish looked well designed and reminded us of the Beats Pro line (a little too much perhaps). They fold in, which is always handy for easy storage, and there is also a mic for when using with your phone. Wearing them was comfortable enough, but with no audio to enjoy, we're unable to sample how they actually sound. So, if that turns out to be a strong point, we can happily take these as the serious producer headphones they claim to be, until then, though, we're reserving final judgement. Price and availability to follow.

Show full PR text

AKAI PROFESSIONAL ANNOUNCES MPC(R) HEADPHONES
­­
From concept to creation, Akai Professional now offers a fully immersive production experience with headphones and earbuds that match each new MPC in
design and quality.

Cumberland, R.I. (January 24, 2013) - Akai Professional, the name synonymous with music production, announces MPC Pro Headphones, MPC Headphones, and MPC Earbuds, premium personal audio devices each designed for professional music production with Akai Professional's newest line of MPCs. Akai Professional will exhibit the MPC Pro Headphones, MPC Headphones, and MPC Earbuds at Booth 6700 at the 2013 NAMM show, January 24-27 in Anaheim, California.

Akai Professional's new MPC headphones and earbuds are designed to match each new MPC in design, quality, and purpose. Each is designed to empower producers with the ability to hear their tracks and hone their craft with unmatched clarity and precision. In addition, MPC headphones and earbuds provide an exceptional experience for simply listening on the go to a personal music library.

MPC Pro Headphones feature powerful 50mm drivers and an over-the-ear design for premium isolation and comfort in the studio, while MPC Headphones come with precise 40mm drivers and an on-the-ear design ideal for portability and music production on the move. Both feature Akai Professional's unmatched expertise in tuning and frequency response, as well as fully adjustable headbands, pivoting ear cups, and gunmetal aluminum and steel construction for a solid, comfortable fit. Overstuffed leather cushioning on the headbands and ear cups provides a luxurious listening experience for even the most demanding studio sessions. An audio cable with 1/8-inch connector and 1/4-inch adapter is included for music production, and a communication cable with a built-in microphone is also included for use with mobile phones.

"Headphones are a huge part of the production process," said Dan Gill, Akai Professional Product Manager. "With the MPC headphones and earbuds, we're simply doing what we've always done-delivering the tools musicians need to get fully immersed in their craft."

Featuring lightweight soft-touch ear clips with aluminum trim and volume control, MPC Earbuds are flexible, powerful, and designed for the active producer. They're engineered to be multi-purpose with the ability to connect wirelessly via Bluetooth(R) to any compatible music player for casual cable-free listening, or to connect via the included professional audio cable for latency-free performance during music production. The built-in lithium-ion battery recharges easily via USB (cable included). MPC Earbuds deliver Akai Professional's superior tuning and frequency response for any track via precise 13mm drivers. Producers can go wired or wireless by connecting or disconnecting the included 1/8-inch cable from the Akai Professional medallion that is located on the cable between the earbuds. The medallion also includes a built-in mic for using MPC Earbuds with a mobile phone.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/24/akai-launches-mpc-headphone-series/

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Good Reads: 'purdah' culture in India, born good, finding purpose, a Jedi response

This week's good reads includes a young woman's perspective on India's 'purdah' culture, the morality of babies, on whether a life's purpose brings happiness, and an unusual petition to the White House for building a Death Star.

By Ben Arnoldy,?Staff Writer / January 21, 2013

Female staff members of a luxury hotel exhibit their skills after a 10-day self-defense course initiated by the hotel management and Delhi Police women?s wing in New Delhi, India, Jan. 17, 2013. A brutal rape of a 23-year-old student last month has sparked a national debate about the treatment of women and the inability of Indian law enforcement to protect them.

Altaf Qadri/AP

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?My first sense as a young girl of sexual menace came from my Indian grandfather. Let me be clear: He never even remotely sexually threatened or molested me. But he made sure I knew that the world in which I, a girl, was growing up was innately perilous to women.?

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So starts an illuminating first-person recollection of an American learning the rules of purdah ? or concealment of women from men ? on visits to relatives back in India. Her grandfather upbraided her for uppity talk and anything but simple dress, to teach her that the more invisible she was, the more safe she would be.

Mira Kamdar, writing on the Asia Society website, connects these lessons to the recent gang rape of a young woman on a bus in Delhi: ?It is clear ... that a purdah mentality still dogs Indian society. A woman who can be seen is seen as a woman available for violation.? But, at the same time, ?[r]apid modernization and urbanization in India have made women, especially young women, visible as never before.?

Babies born good

Parents, it turns out that your bundles of joy could also be described as budding altruists. Writing for the Smithsonian magazine, Abigail Tucker writes on a heartwarming new area of research that?s finding babies showing preferences for ?good guys? over ?bad guys? and a proclivity to help and care for others.

?These findings may seem counterintuitive to anyone who has seen toddlers pull hair in a playground tunnel or pistol-whip one another with a plastic triceratops,? notes Ms. Tucker.

But a series of cleverly designed experiments at Yale and Harvard universities are seeing an orientation toward the good long before parents would seem to have had much chance to shape behavior.

The eureka moment for one researcher came while passing a ball back and forth with a toddler. The ball got away from the scientist, and rather than get it, he faked an inability to reach it. Seeing his struggle, the toddler got up to retrieve it for him. Other experiments involved puppet shows in which one color puppet is shown helping or hindering another. Eye-tracking tests found infants as young as 3 months old preferring the helper.?

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of meaning

Whether we are born with it, or taught it, altruism looks to be key to our well-being as adults.

Emily Esfahani Smith, writing for The Atlantic, highlights a new psychological study that suggests ?a meaningful life and happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately very different.? Researchers interviewing 400 Americans found meaning in life to be tied up with being a ?giver,? while happiness was more linked with being a ?taker.? Meaning is also found in contemplating the future and the past, while happiness is fixated on the present ? and is consequently more fleeting.

From the nation?s foundational documents to the self-help aisles of bookstores, Americans are famously in pursuit of happiness. But that?s something of a mug?s game: ?Research has shown that having purpose and meaning in life increases overall well-being and life satisfaction, improves mental and physical health, enhances resiliency, enhances self-esteem, and decreases the chances of depression. On top of that, the single-minded pursuit of happiness is ironically leaving people less happy, according to recent research,? Ms. Smith writes.

The magazine goes on to cite data that roughly 40 percent of Americans have not found a ?satisfying life purpose.?

There will be no Death Star

A group of Internet pranksters raised the 25,000-plus signatures needed to get a response from the White House on their petition to have the US build a Death Star. The White House, to no one?s surprise, replied that the country would not be building the moon-shaped space station from the ?Star Wars? films that could blast planets into space dust. But the wording of the response, glorious it was.

?Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars? ? $850,000,000,000,000,000, according to one study ? ?on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?? wrote Paul Shawcross, chief of the Science and Space Budget at the White House Office of Management and Budget, and arguably the best communicator to emerge from the intersection of space science, accounting, and the federal government.

This smooth-talking Jedi then went on to highlight the gee-whiz stuff the government and the private sector are doing in space.
?[W]e?ve got two spacecraft leaving the Solar System and we?re building a probe that will fly to the exterior layers of the Sun. We are discovering hundreds of new planets in other star systems and building a much more powerful successor to the Hubble Space Telescope that will see back to the early days of the universe.?

In other news, the White House has just upped the signature threshold for a response to 100,000.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/TFtKZzT7T9E/Good-Reads-purdah-culture-in-India-born-good-finding-purpose-a-Jedi-response

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Gold hits nearly 2-week low as econ data saps demand

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold hit its lowest level in nearly two weeks on Friday, after upbeat data from the world's top economies suggested a global recovery is gaining traction, sapping demand for the metal.

Spot gold is the only precious metal in the red so far this year, down 0.4 percent from the end of 2012, while precious metals with industrial applications, including silver, platinum and palladium, have all risen in tandem with investor confidence in the economy.

Manufacturing in China and the United States grew this month at the fastest pace in about two years, while data suggesting German growth picked up boosted hopes for a swifter euro zone recovery.

Together with data showing a five-year low in U.S. jobless claims last week, the data sent Standard & Poor's 500 index to a seven straight session of gains on Thursday.

"It now seems that the stronger tone in global equity markets, coupled with a notable easing in European and US market tensions, is leading to short-term pressure on gold," said Ed Meir, an analyst at INTL FCStone, in a research note.

"We think (this) will continue for a little while longer given that negative chart picture are also contributing to the sloppier tone," he said.

Spot gold fell to $1,663.11 an ounce, its lowest in nearly two weeks. By 0320 GMT, it pared losses to trade flat at $1,667.44, headed for a weekly decline of nearly 1 percent, its sharpest loss in about a month.

U.S. gold inched down 0.2 percent to $1,667.30.

Though the 200-day moving average, at just below $1,663, provided some support for spot gold, technical analysis suggested that prices could test the lower level of $1,661, and possibly ease to the January 4 low of $1,625.79 over the next four weeks.

The price slump has triggered some physical buying interest, but many buyers were holding the purse strings on the sidelines of the market, with hopes that prices would further decline.

"There aren't too many orders, because prices are not low enough," said a Singapore-based dealer, expecting a further drop to $1,635 level to be a bigger draw to buyers.

Supportive of gold prices, Russia's central bank said it will continue to buy gold as it seeks to diversify its foreign reserves away from paper assets it views as risky.

Spot platinum inched up 0.2 percent to $1,680.99, on course for a 0.8-percent weekly gain, extending its winning streak to a fourth week, its longest in a year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gold-hits-nearly-2-week-low-econ-data-080521749--finance.html

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Tiger Woods Starts Strong At Torrey Pines In 2013 PGA Tour Debut

By Sean Martin, Golfweek

SAN DIEGO ? Tiger Woods? PGA Tour season began with a birdie, and his first round was completed in 68 strokes. It wasn?t always easy in between, but Woods is off to a strong start at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Woods played Thursday on Torrey Pines' more difficult South Course, where only four players bested his score. In 2012, the South Course played nearly three strokes harder than the North Course. The field plays each course once in the first two rounds, then plays the final two rounds on the South Course.

Woods? good start comes after a missed cut last week in his 2013 debut in a European Tour event in Abu Dhabi.

?I felt like I was doing a lot of good things . . . last week,? Woods said. ?Unfortunately, only for a few days, but I was doing a lot of good things. And I came out here today and basically did the same thing.?

Woods hit half of his fairways (7 of 14) Thursday, and 13 of 18 greens. His two measured tee shots averaged 316.5 yards, and he needed just 27 putts. He recorded an eagle, six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey. All three of his over-par scores came after tee shots that missed the fairway.

He had to hole a 7-foot par putt on his final hole, the par-5 18th, after his third shot flew into a bunker over the green.

Torrey Pines is one of Woods? favorite courses on Tour. He won five consecutive times here, from 2005 to '08 (four Farmers Insurance Opens and the 2008 U.S. Open). This is just his second appearance here in the past four years, though.

He skipped last year?s Farmers Insurance Open to play in Abu Dhabi (the events were held during the same week in 2012). He finished 44th at the 2011 Farmers Insurance Open while still in early stages of his work with instructor Sean Foley. He didn?t play in 2009 while recovering from knee surgery in the wake of his U.S. Open victory here, and missed the 2010 event after revelations of his marital infidelity.

We?re approaching the five-year anniversary of Woods? 2008 U.S. Open victory here. He relived that win earlier this week, saying he remembered two things from that week: the incredible pain from his stress fractures and torn ACL, and his horrible starts on the first hole. He double-bogeyed that hole three times in 2008.

He birdied it Thursday, holing a 30-footer after hitting his tee shot into the left fairway bunker. He missed his first three tee shots left, and was 1 over par after four holes. His opening birdie was cancelled by a double bogey at No. 4. He missed the fairway left on the long par-4 perched on cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, then pushed his approach short and right of the green and three-putted.

A 10-foot birdie putt at the fifth hole was followed by a holed bunker shot for eagle at No. 6 that returned him to red figures. Birdies at Nos. 8 and 9 allowed him to make the turn in 32. He reached 6 under par after birdies at Nos. 12 and 13, but bogeyed two of his final four holes.

?To battle back and get to 6 (under) at one point was a good job,? Woods said. ?A (68) . . . is a good number.?

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/tiger-woods-starts-strong_n_2546921.html

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Secret hearings held in killing of intern Chandra Levy

By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

The 2001 slaying of Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy is back in court, but behind closed doors: Records show a judge has been holding secret hearings in the case of the man convicted of killing her, according to the Associated Press.

Family photo via AP

Chandra Levy, a 24-year-old grad student from the University of Southern California, went missing in 2001 after completing a federal internship.

Hearings have been held for the past several weeks, with neither prosecutors nor defense lawyers revealing their purpose, according to court records obtained by AP. The next hearing will be on Feb. 7 in D.C. Superior Court; The AP and several other media organizations are petitioning to open the proceedings.

Ingmar Guandique was?convicted of first-degree murder in November 2010, nine years after Levy's disappearance and death, despite no DNA evidence linking him to the crime, and a lack of witnesses.

Levy's father, Robert Levy, told?KGO-TV in San Francisco?that he has not been told what's been happening in the secret court hearings. He said Guandique was a "convicted rapist and an illegal alien."?

But, he added, "if he's innocent of murder, he shouldn't be in jail for it."?

Police had initially questioned then-California Rep. Gary Condit -- who Levy was romantically tied to -- in their search for suspects, before determining he wasn?t involved. The following year, when Levy's remains were found in a Washington national park, authorities charged Guandique, who was already in prison for attacking female joggers in the same park, reported The AP.

Jacquelyn Martin / AP file

Ingmar Guandique, seen in 2009.

Levy's case stole the attention of the national media. Condit was never charged, but his political aspirations were ruined nonetheless.

Prosecutors had requested a life prison sentence for Guandique, an illegal immigrant from El Savador. Instead, he was given a 60-year sentence, which he?is currently serving.

After he was sentenced, Levy's mom, Susan, asked him if he was the one who killed her daughter, and he shook his head.

"Mr. Guandique, you are lower than a cockroach," she?told him at the time, according to The AP.

?

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/25/16698740-secret-hearings-held-in-killing-of-washington-intern-chandra-levy?lite

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Let's Make Those Book Chapters Open Too! | PLOS Biologue

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Following the launch of ?Translational Bioinformatics?, a PLOS Computational Biology collection presented as an online book, in December 2012, PLOS Computational Biology Founding Editor-in-Chief Phil Bourne discusses how open access can boost the availability and prominence of book chapters.

As authors, many of us have had less than satisfactory experiences in writing book chapters as part of a themed volume, or textbook that, when published, are expensive, inaccessible and cited and used infrequently through lack of availability [1]. It could even be argued we write them from some sense of obligation and need, but do not put our best science and efforts into them because we know they won?t be read and hence cited. Putting that thought aside, let?s just say that a lot of good science goes underutilized. Some finds its way into journal reviews and journals that specialize in such content, for example the Elsevier Current Opinions series, but much languishes. I, many of the PLOS editors, and the PLOS management have long wanted this situation to change; well now it has.

Phil Bourne

The value of themed hardcover volumes and textbooks was understandable in a purely print era. An era during which we frequented the library more, which is where these volumes resided, being too expensive for individuals to purchase. These volumes make no sense today in a digital, open-access world. We are proud to report that PLOS Computational Biology has taken the first steps to address this nonsense. Translational Bioinformatics, edited by Guest Editor Maricel Kann and Education Editor Fran Lewitter, is the first complete PLOS ?book? that can be accessed online as individual chapters or downloaded as a complete volume. An ePub version is now available too. The content is indexed, each chapter has a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) assigned and hence is resolvable (i.e., uniquely findable), and is indexed in PubMed and available as full text from PubMed Central, like all PLOS content.

Translational Bioinformatics can be used as a reference guide or textbook, and includes exercises. After review, the authors have had their hard work rewarded through a PLOS citation and greater accessibility to their work. The book uses the PLOS collection feature to bring the content together into a single entity while retaining the individuality of each article. ?While we regard this as an important step forward it does raise some questions.

The first question is who pays? Obviously we are strong proponents of open access, but also the first to admit there must be a business model if open access content is to be persistent. Certainly most of us have never made any money from writing specialized book chapters contributed to a volume, but would we pay a modest amount to have them published open access? This remains an open question at this time. PLOS met the cost of publishing Translational Bioinformatics, but if this approach to book chapters were to take off, someone will have to foot the bill. At this time PLOS are interested in furthering this cause and, as with all front matter within the Education Section of the journal, book chapters are not subject to publishing fees. If the demand becomes too great we will need to revisit this. Support for chapter content would seem an opportunity for a wonderful contribution by an individual philanthropist or foundation in furthering scientific dissemination.

The second question is what quality of review do we require of chapter content? In general terms solicited book chapters do not undergo the level of review found in a research article.? Unless the content is terrible, the editors soliciting the material are hard pressed to reject it having persuaded the authors to write it in the first place. Good editors, as we have here, will provide the level of review found in a research article. Moreover, with greater exposure and article level metrics (ALMs) applied to each chapter, the content will rise or fall on its own merits and the end result will likely be higher quality content than we have traditionally seen from book chapters. With regard to PLOS Computational Biology specifically we regard this book content as front matter in the Education Section and as such it has had significant review. We will be revisiting the issue of review, and indeed all aspects of the scope of our support for chapters, as demand increases.

Image Credit: PLOS

The third question is what do we lose and gain in an online book? Of course there are the obvious issues, now long debated, regarding eBooks versus physical books and there is no need to revisit those issues here. What are worth visiting are the specific issues surrounding a book publication by PLOS, an organization which is currently set up to operate as a journal publisher.? PLOS have been wonderful in making this project happen and paving the way for more through the notion of collections. Collections do present challenges when used to represent a book. For example, the collection has no ISBN or other book-like identifier defining the citation; books have editions whereas there is no notion of versioning in a collection. On the positive side the collection can become a dynamic entity, such that new chapters (with their own journal-like citation) can be added to the collection at any time.

Open questions there might be, but an exciting time nevertheless, with PLOS continuing to push the envelope regarding scholarly communication. Over time we will sort this out, but in the meantime enjoy Translational Bioinformatics, a new innovation in open access publishing.

[1] http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2012/08/29/how-to-bury-your-academic-writing/

Acknowledgments: Thanks to Maricel Kann and Fran Lewitter for editing a fine volume. To Editor-in-Chief Ruth Nussinov for useful input and to PLOS staff, Rosemary Dickin, Laura Taylor, Clare Weaver, Theo Bloom and Kristen Ratan for making it happen. This blog post will be published as an Editorial in the February issue of PLOS Computational Biology.

Philip E. Bourne is a professor of pharmacology and Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Industrial Alliances at the University of California San Diego, the co-founder of SciVee.tv, and Founding Editor-in-Chief of PLOS Computational Biology.

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Source: http://blogs.plos.org/biologue/2013/01/23/lets-make-those-book-chapters-open-too/

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