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Dual Monitor Video Cards and Why they are so Great

2011-12-29T12:55:00.000-08:00

Multiple monitors(http://www.cinemassivedisplays.com/video-wall/) need video cards to work in certain computer systems. Dual monitor systems are no different. This is where dual monitor video cards come in. Basically, a dual monitor video card is a graphical input device that will allow a user to use more than one monitor in a single computer system. More popularly known as a graphics card, the video card is typically installed in the mother board.

A video graphics card is also known as a video adapter. Its purpose is to manage the many graphical duties of a computer system. A basic card is designed to receive the necessary data from the computer’s CPU and transform it into images. It then transfers these images onto the monitor via its cable.

A simple CPU is also capable of handling graphics without a graphics card. However, some applications require a video graphics card to relieve some of the load thereby allowing the system to render better graphics and video playback. The high-def visuals in today’s games and software won’t run on anything less.

A dual monitor video graphics card is no different. It is designed to work with a computer’s Operating System as well as other programs. This is allows it to enhance a user’s visual experience on more than one monitor. The modified features (after inserting the card) usually includes an expanded desktop, varying features and different windows and enhanced interaction between multiple monitors.

While some video cards are designed to support only two monitors, there are other devices that can let their users use as much as six or even eight. This technology was previously used to display a single uniform image on multiple screens thereby allowing for some very eye catching visual effects. However, nowadays, it can be used to display separate images in different screens.

A dual monitor video card can enhance the way you use certain applications. These include basic OS operations as well as customized software programs like programming software and financial programs. The resultant dual monitor setup would function the same way as its single monitor counterpart. For example, the mouse cursor can easily be navigated to the other screen as if there was no separation between the two. This allows a single user to work on two displays without having to connect them to separate computer systems.

In other words, a system with a dual monitor video card would recognize two monitors as a single screen. The program on display would then automatically stretch between the two. This would allow a programmer the space to program on one screen and run debugging techniques on the other without breaking a sweat.

In fact, there are also some computer games that allow players to use two screens like in first person shooters. For example, a game would allow a player to display the game dungeon on one screen and valuable info, like maps, weapon choices and inventory, on the other. This creates an exciting gaming experience.

Bush gathers heralds for environmental act

2011-09-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

Thursday June 15th 2006, 4:49 am
Filed under: List Your Home For Rent

Ever since the NY Times published news on President Bush’s preserving natural habitats, Notebook forwarded the article to many peers, including the anti-Bush. No response from them so far. Notebook suspects the news would be hard to swallow at first. After years of bashing the poor man for “destroying what left of the earth,” it will take sometime to utter simple praise like, “Good job.”

A notable praise printed in the pages of the NY Times, which doesn’t always agree with the president.

The president’s decision caps a century of protection efforts by both Republican and Democratic presidents beginning with Theodore Roosevelt and including Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. But none ever proposed the sweeping level of protection for these islands that is being put in place by the Bush administration.

President Bush is an interesting character, as Notebook learned over the years. The man went through many transition period and changed along with it. Recalling back in 2001, Bush said, “We don’t do nation-building.” Perhaps it was premature but who knew 9/11 would happen so soon. That attitude subside when Iraq came into view.

Just as soon as the critics dared him to confront Congress’s outrageous spending habit, he threatened to veto a spending bill if it went above his number, albeit a bit late. Just when the left dared him putting a woman in place of Justice Sandra O’Connor, he nominated one, but failed to follow through.

Each time critics piled on the message, “Bring them home,” referring to the American troops in Iraq, Bush says, “Stay the Course,” or “Be patient.”

Notebook is not foolish to join the bandwagon of calling for the president’s impeachment even if the Democrat become the majority in Congress. Impeachment should be reserved for serious crime that could damage the country beyond political bickering. After seeing the ridiculous Clinton trial in the late 90s, the idea of impeachment got cheapened.

Every president is entitled to the widest lattitude of operation, as wide as the public is allowed. The secret wiretapping by the NSA, in the public eyes, falls within comfort level. So long as they are willing to trade some privacy for security, the president is permitted to do so. Now, public view will change. One can only raise the image of 9/11 for so long before the crowd starts to think politics is in play.

For now, the public is a bit peeved about high gas price and will vote with that issue on the mind come this November. The public is also worried about global warming. After Katrina, the idea that the planet’s water level can rise and drown a city will bother many. Medicare and Medicaid will bother the Republican as well, just as Social Security. President Bush’s Republican party is not without trouble this fall.

Keep eyes on the president as the incoming weeks approach. His low approval rating number will prompt some level of desperation. Even for a man like him, Notebook believed that when his back is against the corner, the president will surprise the public, including acts like preserving the natural habitats near the home state of Hawaii.

Land - Private or Public?

2011-08-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

By: Short Term Rental Denver

Public land or private land?All we ever deal with on LandsofAmerica.com is private individuals selling their land they own. The Press Release below is the perfect opportunity to bring up the topic of Private vs. Public land - which is more enjoyable? Which is more available? Which is more accessible? All these answers depend on your own personal situation.

In Texas private land makes up 98% of the state so there is a lot that can be sold. In states like Colorado there is a lot of public land where you can just pull over to the side of the road and hike off fishing and hunting so there is not as much that can be bought and sold in general. One way this land is becoming more available is through smaller tracts of land for sale in Colorado.

Private land counts on the owners to fund and manage the land and the wildlife it serves. Private land relies on the members of government to manage it and the public to fund it through various means. It’s a special situation below because so many millions of people that love the outdoors are all coming together to make sure the public land is being taken care of properly.

It is rare to have 24 organizations representing every aspect of the Texas Outdoors to have a common voice. However, with critical funding issues facing Texas Parks & Wildlife, what better reason to unite? Millions of hunters, anglers, landowners, and others who share a strong interest in sustaining our conservation heritage are hoping to be heard by the Texas Senate.

Austin, Tx (PRWEB) February 7, 2007 — The organizations listed below represent millions of hunters, anglers, landowners, natural resource professionals and others who share a strong interest in sustaining our conservation heritage and Texas fish and wildlife resources. The issue that has brought this wide range of organizations together is the mutual desire to support the Legislative Appropriation Request submitted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

There are six primary funding issues at stake:

1. Restoration of the 10% reductions.

2. Fund 9 is dedicated sportsmen's dollars and needs to continue to be protected.

3. Support full park funding as proposed in HB 6.

4. Keep Rider 27 (as passed in 2005), allowing TPWD to spend revenues in excess of estimates.

5. Create flexibility for FTEs and capital equipment purchases.

6. Appropriate the Freshwater Fisheries Stamp Funds for hatcheries.

The Texas Senate Finance Committee, led by Chairman Ogden, will hear testimony from Kirby Brown, Executive Vice President of the Texas Wildlife Association, and other industry professionals this week. It is also expected that the House Appropriations Committee, led by Chairman Chisum, and the General Government Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Carl Isett, will hear similar testimony.

The following list of organizations have signed in agreement with the testimony to be presented by Kirby Brown: Audubon Texas, CCA Texas, Ducks Unlimited, Exotic Wildlife Association, Houston Safari Club, LBJ Fish and Habitat, Lone Star Bowhunters Association, Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, Quail Unlimited, Quality Deer Management Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Saltwater-fisheries Enhancement Association, Sensible Management of Aquatic Resources Team, Texas Association of Bass Clubs, Texas Bighorn Society, Texas Black Bass Unlimited, Texas Brigades, Texas Chapter, National Wild Turkey Federation, Texas Deer Association, www.TexasHuntFish.Com, Texas Organization of Wildlife Management Associations, Texas Wildlife Association, and The Nature Conservancy of Texas.

Kirby Brown has passionately summoned a wide range of organizations to send a clear message to the Texas Legislature, "We are willing to assist in whatever capacity we may to ensure that the use of our state's hunter and angler funds are put on the ground for the purposes intended."

To read the complete testimony to be presented by Kirby Brown, CLICK HERE
To read the original TPWD Legislative Appropriations Request, CLICK HERE
To read statements of support from the various organizations signed above, CLICK HERE

Tags: GENERAL RURAL LAND

Top Benefits of Choosing Solar Energy

2011-08-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

More than likely, you have heard a lot about solar energy lately. That is because this option is showing that there are excellent methods to reduce dependency on fossil fuels today. Many companies are making use of solar energy and many consumers are adding forms of solar power to their homes. Some heat their water with the sun's energy, some heat their pools with it, and others even power their entire home by using solar panel systems. Solar lights are even available to provide lighting for sidewalks, landscaping lights, and more. You'll find that this type of energy has a lot to offer consumers today. If you're not sure you want to try using solar energy, here is a look at some of the top benefits it has to offer you.

Benefit #1 - Great Resource

One of the big benefits of choosing solar energy is that this is a great resource. The energy from the sun is totally free. It's a renewable resource that is unrestricted. There is no worry about a shortage, you don't have to worry about production limitations, and you don't have to worry about high prices going up as well. With the great advances in technology, today it's easier than every to use the energy from the sun and solar equipment can even perform well on days that are cloudy.

Benefit #2 - Excellent for the Environment

Another benefit that you can enjoy when you choose to go with solar energy is that this option is excellent for the environment. With the production of solar energy, you don't have to worry about carbon emissions, noise pollution, greenhouse gases, fumes, and other things that can be damaging to the environment. This is an energy alternative that is one of the most eco-friendly options available today.

Benefit #3 - Offers Convenience

You'll also find that solar energy offers convenience, which is another huge benefit. You get the same dependability and convenience that you have come to expect with traditional energy sources. However, it doesn't have the high environmental and financial costs that traditional sources have. With this type of power, it's easy to get the electricity that you need without a problem.

Benefit #4 - Big Savings

Last, you'll also find that solar energy also offers you some huge savings when you begin to use it. When it comes to energy solutions, solar energy is definitely one of the most budget friendly options that you have available to you today. As you integrate solar power into your home, you'll pay less for electricity. In some cases, you may even make money if you have enough extra power to sell back to the grid. Also, in the long run, there is little maintenance to worry about, which also helps you to save some money.

These are just a few of the exciting benefits that can be enjoyed when you decide to go with solar energy. If you're ready to start helping the environment, consider using this type of energy for your own home.

Stock House Plans Vs. Custom House Plans, Which is best?

2011-03-06T15:22:00.000-08:00

One of the many critical decisions you will have to make when you build your house is the choice between a stock house plan and a custom house plan. The two basic types of house plans that can be purchased. Each type has its advantages and disadvantages. Below is a comparison drawn between stock house plans and custom house plans which should make the choice easier for you.

1. Primary Difference

Stock house plans are not custom designed for a particular person or lifestyle. They are typically designed to meet the needs of a wide range of home owners. Custom house plans are custom drawn for a specific client and property.

2. Origins of Development

Stock house plans have been pre-drawn by a variety of designers and architects across the country. They are developed after studying market needs and include features (like square footage, room dimensions, floorplan etc.) that the designers believe will be popular with homebuyers and homebuilders.

Custom house plans on the other hand, are typically drawn by a commissioned local architect or building designer that you choose. The architect will consider your unique lifestyle, your design preferences and the characteristics of your specific lot while designing the house plan.

3. Time and Effort required

Because stock house plans are usually purchased as-is, they involve a very simple and quick purchase process. The creation of a custom house plan is a complicated and time consuming process involving many meetings with the architect. The time frame for creating a custom design can range anywhere from one to six months. It can take even longer if major changes in the original plan are desired.

4. Degree of Customization

Stock house plans are not very customizable but minor modifications (like adding a bedroom, changing a foundation type, or modifying doors etc.) can be made by a local architect or designer at a modest fee.

However, special needs (like those of the physically disabled) cannot be addressed. Changes are extensively customizable in custom house plans. They reflect exactly what you need and want in your home’s design.

5. Cost

Stock house plans are considerably cheaper than custom house plans because they are simply reused plans, and you are paying for a single reuse of that plan. The designers of stock house plans basically rely on selling multiple sets of their plans to cover the cost of the time spent designing it.

Custom house plans are much more expensive because of all the time and effort that go into them. The fees designers and architects charge for custom design can vary greatly depending upon the services they offer. If you are only purchasing their design services, the fee will be considerably less than if you are purchasing design, engineering, and construction management services. In which case the fee can go up to thousands of dollars.

So which house plan type should you choose?

We recommend that you first sift through the thousands of stock plans available online, and find one best suited to your needs before you opt for a custom house plan. The internet is home to countless plans of architectural types.

There is a good chance that you will find something very close to what you are looking for among them. That said, sometimes a custom house plan may be a more viable option when you have some special needs to address, or you have an irregular lot which requires special building considerations. At the end of the day it’s your call.

2011 Hyundai Sonata

2011-01-05T09:12:00.000-08:00

The 2011 Hyundai Sonata is something of a departure for the Asian manufacturer. The word most often used to describe the previous models is “ordinary.” The new model has new styling, showing a sleeker, more sporty design philosophy.

Hyundai call it “fluidic sculpture,” we call it curvy, and we like it. It’s reminiscent of the newer Infiniti’s, with the curvature at the front and back and strakes running the length of the car. It certainly makes last year’s Sonata look a little ordinary.

Add to that, the liberal use of chrome, alloy wheels,, dual exhausts and good looking headlights and you have what is an attractive car. No longer will your eyes pass it over in the street, now it draws you in and makes you follow those curves from end to end.

Inside

Internally the trend continues. The fluidic sculpture continues with flowing shapes on the dashboard, decent materials and good quality finish. The driving position is good, with very few blind spots. The instruments are clear, and both analog and digital. All the controls are within easy reach and large enough to reach while not looking.

The center console has the climate controls and the information screen. Touchscreen navigation is an option, and well worth the extra cash, although it does lack a 3D view. All the buttons and switches feel solid under your hands, with smooth but definite movement from one position to the other. It also has Bluetooth, USB, and an optional iPod connector.

The audio is pretty good, with a standard AM/FM radio with a single CD with MP3 capability. There is an optional 7-speaker system available that is worth the money if you can afford it. The Limited version of the Sonata includes a six-disc CD changer, 8-speaker system made by Infiniti.

There is plenty of room in the front, with leg and headroom aplenty. The rear is a bit narrow for three adults, and the sculpted roof shows the compromise between design and practicality. Headroom is limited in the back for adults, but would be fine for the children. As far as new cars go, this shows Hyundai are learning what the US market wants.

The Flavors

There are three versions of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The GLS at $19,915, with a six-speed manual gearbox, six airbags, ABS, electronic stability control, keyless entry, power windows and locks, heated and powered mirrors, and Bluetooth connectivity.

The SE is $23,315. Increased to $26,000 with the optional Navigation and Sunroof package. The Limited model is $26,015 which comes with dual-zone climate control, auto-dimming mirrors and vents for rear-seat passengers. A $2,100 Navigation package adds touch-screen navigation, a rearview camera, and an Infinity audio system, bringing the fully loaded Sonata to just over $28,000.

Engine-wise, it’s the same motor across the range for now. That’s a direct-injection 2.4-liter four-cylinder that produces 198 bhp and 184 lb-ft of torque. The twin-exhaust on the SE adds a further 2 bhp and 2 lb-ft of torque. There is adirect-injection, 2.0-liter turbo-four on the cards for later, for those who want a bit more bang for their buck. There is also a Sonata Hybrid, which is a gas-electric, but that needs a review all on its own.

Driving

Behind the wheel is actually a nice place to be. We pulled up alongside a Honda Accord and were surprised at how good we felt. The motor pulls well and will get you to 60 in 7.9 seconds.Fuel economy for all Sonatas is EPA rated at 22 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway with the automatic gearbox. Manuals, are close at 24mpg city and 35 mpg highway.

Driving is smooth, although the noise builds up alongside the revs. Swooping along the highway is an effortless exercise and one we quite enjoyed. The SE test model had “sports” suspension, which held the curves well. Although no track day car, the 2011 Sonata is a decent car at a decent price. For families who want a new car to get them around, this is ideal. There are deals on new 2011 Sonatas but you’ll have to look hard for them. As they are already keenly priced, dealers are loathe to offer discounts. They are there though if you look for them.

Vehicle Type: 4-door sedan

Base Price: $19,915

Engine Type: direct-injection four-cylinder

Displacement: 2.4-liter

Power (SAE net): 198 bhp @ 6300 rpm

Torque (SAE net): 184 lb-ft @ 4250 rpm

Transmission: six-speed

Fuel Economy (MFR’S EST): 22/35 mpg (city/hwy)

What do you guys think about the '11 Infiniti M?

2010-12-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

The 2011 Infiniti M is really a new automobile entering shark infested waters. The luxury sedan marketplace is awash with German competitors like the new BMW 5 series, Audi A6, and Mercedes new E-class. The Infiniti brand has a great deal to do if it wants to make headway in this marketplace.

The new body design of the M series is much more muscular, much more aggressive but has flowing lines. The Japanese designer says it reflects the elegance of Japanese calligraphy. We’ll need to take his word on that, but the automobile is most certainly pleasing to the eye. You will find certainly elements of other cars in that body shape. There's a Jaguar XJ, a Dodge Charger, and also the grille of an old E-class in there somewhere I’ll swear it. Whatever the inspiration, the M series is really a extremely great looking motor.
Wood Glorious Wood

I’m not a fan of wood on a dashboard, but the interior or the M series does wood well. I prefer carbon fiber, plastic or even stainless steel, anything but wood. The M has changed my mind. It has been carried out so well that it looks as though nothing else will do. The finish is of a high-quality, it’s smooth and nice to touch. It makes you would like to run your fingers over and admire it.

The Lexus and Infiniti has usually had a few of the most supportive and comfy seats of any automobile. They support you, maintain you upright, and appear to caress you, like a hand that cups you although you drive. The 2011 versions are no various. Our test vehicle had leather seats, which had been gorgeously soft.

The controls are clear, logical and are within simple reach. The recessed navigation screen within the center console is clear, even in bright sunshine. The buttons and knobs are solid, and definitive in their movement, yet also soft and luxurious in a curious way. The instruments are also clear, backlit and also the small drivers info screen within the center has all you require.

The new M series has four guises, and presently two engines. The three.7 liter V6 within the M37 and M37x produces 330 bhp and 270 lb-ft or torque. The M56 and M56x has a 5.6 liter V8 delivering 420 bhp and 417 lb-ft of torque. The transmission is built to match with a seven-speed auto-box with Adaptive shift Control and manual mode with rev matching.
Power on Demand

Power is delivered on demand with no waiting, the changes are smooth and on time. This isn’t a sports automobile, but the power permits for a relaxed ride with no effort whatsoever.

On the road, there’s no mistaking this is really a large automobile. Cornering is fascinating, the suspension keeping you steady and minimizing body-roll, but the turning circle is substantial. That’s a little price to pay, as on the highway the lengthy wheelbase makes its presence felt. The ride is smooth, comfy and makes you would like to relax into those seats. The ride isn’t luxurious by any standard, it’s much more business-like than anything.

The 2011 M is really a polar opposite of the best-selling BMW 5-series correct now. BMW have toned down their automobile and made it much more sedate. Infiniti have gone the other way and made the styling much more aggressive and upped the power delivery. It also gets much more gas mileage than the 5, which is really a substantial coup.

* Vehicle Kind: 4-door sedan
* Base Price: $47,115 - $73,920
* Engine Kind: DOHC direct-injected inline 4-cylinder
* Displacement: three.7 liter V6, 5.6 liter V8
* Power (SAE net): three.7 liter V6, 330 hp @ 7,000 rpm, 5.6 liter V8, 420 hp @ 6,000 rpm
* Torque (SAE net): 270 lb-ft @ 5,200 rpm V6, 417 lb-ft @ 4,400 rpm V8
* Transmission: 7-speed automatic
* Fuel Economy (MFR’S EST): 18 mpg city/26 mpg highway (M37); 17/24 (M37x); 16/25 (M56); 16/23 (M56x)

Email Archiving and Its Impact on Your Life

2010-08-11T16:04:00.000-07:00

Email archiving can be a great way to ensure that you read and remember each email. Many email users do not pay close enough attention to emails the first time they see it. They either will categorize it in their brain as important or not important. Once they have done so, they will either move it to a folder, keep it in their inbox or send it to the trash.

Email archiving & Email backups allow email users who do not remember what they saw the first time to go back and check again. That way they will be able to consult their email and check to see if the situation was important. A Fortune 500 company actually tested email archiving in their offices to see if it would improve efficiency. They found that most employees improved their efficiency in the office by anywhere from 20% to as much as 50%. They were able to fire some of their secretaries or move them into other positions because they did not have to have people categorizing emails all day long!

Email archiving also allows individuals to gather more information. Some email programs allow different emails to be placed into different folders and categories. These folders can then be placed into filters and sub folders. The more complex you make your filing system, you may actually be making it so that you are being counter productive. It is simply easier to use email archiving to access whatever it is that you need to find. The software will basically search through the entire email database that belongs to your account. It will either be running a search string for an email, a name or a keyword. This information may be highlighted or otherwise distinguished so that the results can easily be read.

Email archiving can also be added to your web mail or desktop mail client as an additional software unit. These software units may or may not be compatible with your existing mail client. It is important to check the specifics such as operating system versions and other details to ensure that you will be able to continue to have access to your archiving tools. While there are a number of paid tools, many of them simply do not do that much better of a job. There are so many free tools available that do an excellent job of providing service

There are proven studies that show just how well email archiving can help a business. However, there are still millions of small businesses who have not gone out and implemented this amazing tool. It takes just a few hours to put the email archiving tool onto the web mail server and train staff. You may be able to get rid of as many as dozens of staff members. This can lead to lower overhead and a great possibility of profit for any company. Best of all, productivity is going to go up. Even if you keep staff, they can continue to work at a better speed.

Naples web design firms

2010-03-10T15:35:00.000-08:00

There are many Naples web design firms which are giving good services and which are extremely efficient in its service. This is because, the web designing business is extremely in demand and how much ever the web design firms are meeting the ever growing requirements of customers, there is still some business which is still pending in IT firms.

Therefore, this concludes a fact that, Naples web design firms are providing excellent services in IT field fulfilling the requirements of small and medium sized businesses. Naples web design firms use PHP, ASP, Java script, CSS and apart from this web designing services which includes Flash works, 3D modeling, 3D animation and many other designing works, are taken up by the web designing firms.

These collectively put in efforts to bring about a good change in the field of web design business and also ensure that customers may get complete advantage and benefit from the designing service given by the Naples. There are plenty of web designing firms in Napes and there are expert level professionals who are highly experienced in web designing and in web designing services.

Because of the growing skill and professional expertise in web designing, Naples has been building its web design firms and there are many good professionals who are highly experienced in web designing and who can bring a good change to your business.

Another huge advantage of Naples web design firms is web hosting and web designing services are offered at a very low cost so that even a small enterprise can approach with its project to launch its web site. In this pattern, more and more businesses can be launched on Internet and more benefit and advantage can be drawn from the Naples web design firms.

As per the results of web designing services so far rendered by the Naples, it is quite evident that for future there is expected to be an increasing demand for web designing services as more and more businesses will be approaching Naples web design firms with its business projects.

Therefore, there is a huge opportunity for the businesses to grow and also for the Naples web design services to grow in its web design business and also provide perfect benefits and advantages to its customers. Growing technology and advancements in changing technology has enabled Naples to review its performance and to improve its services on a quick pace to its customers.

Divorce and Children

2010-02-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

Divorce Rates & Collier County Parenting

Children are sponges for information, experience and knowledge. They soak it all up. We as humans remember everything that happens in our lives. Every single thing. It’s recall we have problems with, which is why hypnosis works. Everything is recorded and influences us, either consciously or otherwise.

There are many hardships that face a Naples family, events like divorce are one of them. This is one of the most traumatic times a parent can experience, let alone a child, and every effort must be taken to insulate them as much as possible from the problems it causes.

First and foremost, it’s important to include the child in the discussions if they are old enough to understand. They’ll find out anyway, so take the initiative and sit them down and talk to them, both of you. Explain what’s going on, what’s going to change, and what isn’t. Make great pains to tell them it isn’t anything to do with them, but you and your partner. Make sure the child knows they aren’t at fault, and that you love them and always will.

Divorce is messy and involves conflict, sometimes lots of it. Protect the child from as much as possible. Fight when they aren’t around. Do it while they are at school or at a friend’s. It isn’t possible to “schedule” an argument, but try to refrain from discussing emotive issues when the children are around. That’s when you’re more likely to fight, so avoid it if you can.

Also avoid putting your partner down in front of the child. Don’t forget, they are a product of both of you, so won’t take kindly to hearing bad things about them. It causes division within the family and within the child. A child feels they have to take sides, and will side with the parent they feel the closest and safest with. It also fuels dislike, which can turn into hate or anger. Avoid that at all costs, because it can lead to significant problems later.

When your child is around, talk about the situation as much as you, and they are comfortable with. Get them as familiar and as prepared for it as possible, while not making it all they hear. Don’t talk negatively about it at all, or about your partner. If you can’t be nice about them, don’t talk about them. Better to hear nothing, than hear bad things.

Lastly, and most importantly, don’t use the child as a pawn in the proceedings. Protect them, it’s your job. Think of it from their point of view. Everything they have ever known is changing, help them through it, don’t use their pain for your own gain.

Even in a place as idyllic as Naples, family events like divorce can turn a place, a house, town or city into a negative experience. Consider this when you’re dividing a household and make sure to minimize the effects as much as possible. Don’t use all your energy up on fighting your ex, save some to protect the children.

Transforming Financial CRM From Retention Mode to Growth Mode

2010-02-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.smarsh.com/prinsite/nr/default2.asp?siteid=12&webpageid=254
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Transforming-Financial-CRM-From-Retention-Mode-to-Growth-Mode-69138.html
http://www.salesforce.com/industries/financial-services/

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As financial institutions gear up for 2010, many companies are still on the long road to recovery after facing some of the most difficult challenges in years. Mortgage defaults and foreclosures, new regulations on credit card and bank fees, and the constant barrage of related news stories sent customer call volumes through the roof in 2009, as concerned consumers inquired about rates, terms, the threat of foreclosure and fees.

Service representatives were asked to do more than ever, in less time, all while financial institutions sought to hold on to their best customers, control costs and position themselves for future -- dare we say it -- growth. However, loyalty, customer retention and ultimately growth require well-executed customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. Customer touchpoints must be approached as opportunities to strategically improve profitability, not just control costs. As a result, providers need to take a hard look at how they currently manage their customer relationships and how they will advance these relationships and gain new ones in 2010.

Turn Obstacles Into CRM Opportunities in 2010

Many in the financial sector are glad to leave 2009 behind as the industry is starting to come out of the economic downturn that gripped the entire nation. Regardless of where institutions fall along the recovery continuum, obstacles can be transformed into opportunities by establishing customer management guidelines that are in line with the level of customer activity. The transformation starts by asking some tough questions. What are the specific goals that will advance the recovery of our company and customers? How can we continue to ensure customer loyalty? Are our goals clearly understood by every representative in the organization?

Experts predict that as the economy improves, customers will initiate more financial transactions in response to new programs and government incentives. Financial companies and their representatives must be ready to scale up quickly, yet cost-effectively, in order to take advantage of this increased customer activity.

Preparation means examining and learning from the past. Savvy managers can turn potential obstacles into opportunities to offer better customer solutions by incorporating customer feedback into program improvements. Leadership should consider: Have we asked our customers lately what they want us, as their financial institution, to do? Were our customer-facing processes as effective as they could have been during the mortgage default and foreclosure crisis? What do we need to do to improve our services? Do our representatives understand exactly what customers expect of us as recovery begins?

2010 CRM Trends

A new year is good time to look at current CRM practices to see which ones are working and which practices may need to be fine-tuned. There are some important CRM trends in the financial sector that you may want to incorporate into your planning.

Care versus revenue generation: Many financial institutions are still stuck in the mindset that care and retention should be the main focus of their CRM program. However, today's CRM leaders know that care and retention efforts should also drive revenue generation opportunities. This is no small task, as companies find it increasingly difficult to hang on to customers, but loyalty itself should be an important revenue driver. Satisfied -- and loyal -- customers have a much better appetite for considering additional products or services which, in turn, add more value to the overall customer relationship. Most importantly, this turns what used to be a cost transaction into a revenue source.
Growing call volumes: We all know that fallout from the mortgage crisis and financial impacts from the economic downturn in general drove record numbers of customers in need of account support to contact their financial services firm. Media coverage of foreclosures, credit card legislation and other timely events further contributed to a marked increase in customer contact -- especially call volume -- over the past year. This influx stretched many firms' CRM capabilities to the limits, and as market conditions improve, and government pressure to increase processing of loan modifications continues, financial institutions can expect call volumes to remain high well into 2010. Evaluating options like self-service Web and IVR (interactive voice response) solutions can help defer some of the volume. Evaluating analytics on root causes for current volume can also help identify opportunities to manage future volume.
Efficiency and flexibility of the workforce: Today's customer profiles demand that financial service providers enhance training to increase service representatives' efficiency and flexibility. Our first two trends -- call volume growth and the opportunity to expand revenue generation -- further support the need for representatives to do more with each call. This year, leading organizations are training representatives to not only address their customers' fundamental questions, but also to cross sell products and services that add value.

As part of these new roles, financial firms and their managers will do much more probing to understand the client's needs and should address each of these key questions:

Do our representatives have access to the information needed to address our customers' issues quickly and effectively?
Did we really look for a creative solution and resolve our customers' initial problem?
Will our solution really help the customer?
Were we able to add value by turning a service opportunity into a revenue generation opportunity?
Are we truly able to effectively represent a broader share of the public with more offerings?

Manage CRM Expenses in 2010

As service representatives are able to effectively represent a wider range of products and services, CRM strategists also see that the cost to serve and retain customers can change, creating a greater focus on efficiency and effectiveness metrics. There are specific ways financial companies can maintain good CRM, still manage expenses and turn a cost transaction into a revenue source. Three key areas of consideration are:

Are we meeting the customer's expectations while still delivering on contractual obligations?
Is the value our organization brings to customers offsetting the service costs?
Are we preventing additional unnecessary phone calls?

Outsourced and offshore CRM support by a dependable team trained on high-quality transactions is also an important consideration. Highly trained and certified associates can help companies scale quickly as new market demands dictate, while ensuring accuracy and integrity on every call.

As 2010 begins, the CRM expectations in the financial sector will be more demanding than ever before. There will be more customer inquiries and people to help. CRM will be a key differentiator for successful providers as objectives expand from retention to growth through revenue generation.

Official Google Blog: A new approach to China

2010-01-12T21:23:00.000-08:00

Official Google Blog: A new approach to China: "responsibly"

WTF

2010-01-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

Mo. town’s top police officer who also was Scout leader accused of having sex with boys

Posted on 07 January 2010

FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. (AP) — The top police officer in a remote Missouri town, a giant of a man who was also a Boy Scout leader, has been accused of sexually assaulting two boys, videotaping the acts and then destroying the recordings.

Kenneth Tomlinson II, 42, was arrested Tuesday and charged with 16 counts of sodomy. Authorities say he admitted having sex with the two boys, who are now 12 and 14. Tomlinson was jailed in Cape Girardeau County on $100,000 cash-only bond. Court records indicated he did not yet have an attorney.

Tomlinson joined the police department in Fredericktown — a community of 4,100 about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis — as a patrolman in 1997. He was promoted to captain, the top job, in April.

Mayor Danny Kemp, who said he was “floored” by the news of the captain’s arrest, said the progress Tomlinson made while supervising six full-time officers was impressive.

“He turned the department around,” Kemp said, inside his office just off the town square. “He was a great leader.”

But Vicky Manche, who owns an A&M Restaurant downtown, said teens derisively referred to Tomlinson — described by one city worker as 6-foot-2 and about 450 pounds — as “Baby Huey.”

“They ought to string him up,” Manche said. “It’s really pitiful when you put your trust in somebody and this happens. My grandsons are Boy Scouts so this hits close to home.”

Manche’s grandsons were not part of Tomlinson’s troops, and it was not known if the alleged victims were either.

The two boys told authorities that the sexual abuse began last spring. One boy is 12, but was 11 when it began, he said. The other is 14.

A probable cause statement from the Missouri State Highway Patrol said Tomlinson admitted to having sex with the boys and videotaping some of the acts. The statement said Tomlinson and the boys viewed the video on the camera screen, then he destroyed the recordings.

Joe Mueller of the Boy Scouts of America’s Greater St. Louis Council said he didn’t know if the victims were members of Tomlinson’s Boy Scout or Cub Scout troops. He said Tomlinson had led the troops in Fredericktown since 1998. His association with scouting has been revoked, Mueller said.

“Our heart goes out to the families of the children involved in the allegations,” Mueller said. “We have made it a fundamental part of our organization to protect youth members and adult leaders as well.”

Kemp said Tomlinson had no previous criminal record. He has been placed on unpaid leave from the department until the case is adjudicated. Sgt. Jason Gordon has taken over as interim leader of the department.

At the Mills Barbershop across from City Hall, owner Jane Mills said some of those getting haircuts found the allegations too difficult to talk about. Those who discussed it were mostly in shock, she said.

“It’s very concerning because he’s a policeman and a scout leader,” she said. “It’s very sad, and it’s an embarrassment that something like this could happen.”

Tiger Woods in the news

2009-12-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

And the Buzziest Billion-Dollar Brand of the Week Is...

Dumenco's Trendrr Chart: A Week of Tiger Woods

by Simon Dumenco
Published: December 04, 2009

"Tiger Woods" (Tweets Per Day vs. Google News Results vs. Google Blog Results)

Key:

"tiger woods" (source: Matching Twitter Posts per Day)

"tiger woods" (source: News Stories from Google)

"tiger woods" (source: Number of Blog Posts from Google)

The buzziest billion-dollar brand of the week is also the most-embattled brand of the week. You saw this coming: It's Tiger Woods.

Usually the Trendrr Chart of the Week focuses on one metric, but this week we're offering a three-course buzz buffet. A few notes and observations:

Tiger Woods

On Friday of last week, in the aftermath of his car accident, Tiger Woods was name-checked in 56,868 tweets. This week, thanks to the slowly unfolding post-accident scandal having to do with the state of his, um, married life, he came pretty close to matching that peak with 52,093 tweets yesterday.
As of yesterday, Google News was indexing more than 46,000 active news stories (considered active if it's been 30 days or less since their publication date) about Tiger Woods. Of course, he's pretty much always a constant in Google News thanks to his years of omnipresence in the sports pages, but his recent surge in, uh, newsworthiness due to his reported sexual prowess seems to be trumping anything he's ever done with his athletic skills.
The stats that Google Blog Search is reporting on "Tiger Woods" as a blog meme are pretty amazing: As of yesterday, Google was indexing 14,560,543 blog posts around the world that name-check him. Of course, that number is cumulative -- it includes years and years of sporty blogging about his exploits as a global athletic superstar (so just one sports blog might have hundreds or even thousands of individual blog posts mentioning him). But still, the recent jump is rather astonishing.
The smartest thing I've read about the rise and fall of Brand Tiger? Charles P. Pierce's "Is This the End of Tiger Woods?," posted yesterday on Esquire's blog. A brief excerpt: "Back in 1997, one of the worst-kept secrets on the PGA Tour was that Tiger was something of a hound. Everybody knew. Everybody had a story. Occasionally somebody saw it, but nobody wanted to talk about it, except in bar-room whispers late at night. Tiger's People at the International Management Group visibly got the vapors if you even implied anything about it. However, from that moment on, the marketing cocoon around him became almost impenetrable. The Tiger Woods that was constructed for corporate consumption was spotless and smooth, an edgeless brand easily peddled to sheikhs and shakers. The perfect marriage with the perfect kids slipped so easily into the narrative it seemed he'd been born married." The whole thing is definitely worth reading.

~ ~ ~

Dumenco's Trendrr Chart of the Week is produced in collaboration with Wiredset, the New York digital agency behind Trendrr, a social- and digital-media tracking service. More background here. A basic Trendrr account is free; Trendrr Pro, which offers more robust tracking and reporting tools, comes in various paid flavors (get the details here).

Simon Dumenco is the "Media Guy" media columnist for Advertising Age. You can follow him on Twitter @simondumenco.

25 Excellent Social Media Sites for Entrepreneurs

2009-08-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

25 Excellent Social Media Sites for Entrepreneurs

by Linda and Daniel Saltman on August 10, 2009

Are you an entrepreneur who has been seduced by social media tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook? If so, you may realize the benefits of displaying your resume, finding and staying in touch with business partners, employers and customers, and learning new information through these basic tools.

If you don’t use a variety of basic social media tools for networking, then you’ll learn a few below. Then, we offer a variety of social media sites designed just for entrepreneurs. Through these sites, you can network, build a Web presence, place ads, find funding and more – all needs required by the entrepreneurial soul.

The following list is alphabetized under both categories to show readers we do not favor one social media site over another.

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The Basic Social Networking Tools

Digg: Create a news niche by uploading information that’s useful to you and to others who want your information. This is a great place to find like-minded individuals who are interested in your information.
Facebook: Not just for kids, this tool can help you create ‘Pages’ that relate to your business where you gather ‘fans’ like ‘followers’ on Twitter.
Flickr: Share photos of your products or services, staff, convention photos and get-togethers to show that you’re a pro and that you like to have fun as well.
Friendfeed: Create a private group for your company or colleagues to collaborate on a research paper, coordinate an upcoming event, or give status updates on the TPS reports. Or, use Friendfeed as an aggregate to feed from your other social networking tools.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the business social networking leader of the pack. While you may be tempted to use your business as the ‘name’ for your LinkedIn account, you might think about a down-the-road situation where you sell that entrepreneurial business. Be yourself at LinkedIn, state what you do, and put enough information in your profile to show that you own a business and that you’re a human being, too.
Twitter: Use Twitter to show that a real human lies behind your brand. Some social media pros suggest you use a photo rather than your logo for an avatar, but use what feels ‘right’ to you.
YouTube: This tool is a no-brainer for film companies, entertainers and politicians. But, you can use videos as how-to guides, information hubs and more to promote your business.

Enterpreneur-Specific Social Platforms

BizFriendz: Increase your online presence and your sales as well as develop new business contacts and partnerships through this social media platform. Earn money while you build your network through ticket sales for events you create and through first- and second-tier referral fees from others who join your network and use BizFriendz’ enhanced site features.
Biznik: If you hate isolation, need more clients and customers, want to raise your visibility and need help with certain parts of your business, then Biznik might be right for you. While LinkedIn provides a great venue to seek new work, Biznik is for sharing ideas online and face-to-face.
Cofoundr: This community for entrepreneurs offers a global environment for entrepreneurs to find co-founders, to build teams and to get advice. This is a public beta offering, so getting in on the ground floor might appeal to your entrepreneurial spirit.
DreamStake: This is a collaborative platform for “creative entrepreneurs” who want to meet up with other talented individuals with experience across a wide range of disciplines. Find funding, legal and marketing expertise and software and design development skills at this site.
Ecademy: Create new contacts and friends, market your business for Google visibility, share your knowledge for opportunities to meet others and build your business with unlimited advertisements in the Marketplace.
Entrepreneur Connect: Create a profile, share ideas and make connections without feeling pressured to self-promote (which is discouraged at any rate). You also can create or join groups to network, create dynamic business-to-business relationships and get your creative juices flowing.
Fast Pitch: Fast Pitch provides a “one-stop shop” for networking and marketing. Increase your online presence with a 60+ page manual that shows you how to use Fast Pitch to its fullest potential.
Go BIG Network: Billed as the “Biggest Community of Startup Companies,” this social networking site offers ways to build a business plan, find funding, services and mentors. Think of this site as a Grand Central Station for entrepreneurs.
PartnerUp: This is another networking site for small business owners that offers material on how to build your business, learn more about being in business and opportunities to find a new business and even properties for sale or lease.
Perfect Business: Get the education and resources you need to succeed in business along with a venue that promotes meeting thousands of entrepreneurs, both novice and expert. Use this site to find potential business partners, clients and mentors.
Ryze: This social media platform provides a free networking-oriented homepage for you to use to make quality business contacts, deals and connections with clients, peers and friends.
StartupNation: This is an entrepreneur-to-entrepreneur site that helps self-starters get off the ground, market and build a business. This site also welcomes franchise owners.
StartupSpace: Develop a profile page for your business and invite friends to network. You can develop a blog, a group and/or a discussion and upload and share videos about your business and interests at this social network platform.
The Funded: This is an online community filled with entrepreneurs who research, rate and review worldwide funding sources. Share terms of service sheets, assist others with finding start-up funds and ask for help for your venture.
Upspring: Use this social media platform to promote your company and to increase offline sales, to develop new B2B contacts and to profile your business for online visibility.
Vator.tv: If you want to expand your video exposure beyond YouTube, try this social platform on for size. This is a place for emerging companies to showcase and market their goods and/or services. Get feedback, join the community and share news while meeting new entrepreneurs and customers.
Young Entrepreneur: If you’re a young entrepreneur, join over 50,000 other members to discuss start-up issues and more in forums, through blogs and by private messages.
Xing: Manage your business contacts along with seven million other members to this site. You receive a profile, a personal home page and messages as well as special limited offers on travel, electronics and more.

Google's Android To Invade Homes

2009-07-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

In a sign that Google's Android mobile platform has a future far beyond cellphones, San Francisco-based start-up Touch Revolution says a string of well-known companies will introduce a range of Android-powered household gadgets before the end of the year.

The devices will fall into three basic categories: home control devices, media control devices and home phones, says Bill Brown, Touch Revolution's vice president of marketing. All the gadgets will feature touch-screens in sizes ranging from 4.3 to 10 inches, support Android as an operating system, and connect to the Web through wi-fi or wired ethernet. Depending on their purpose, they will sport bases (for perching on a desk or kitchen counter) or have a flat, tablet shape for handheld use or for embedding in a wall.

Brown says the new devices capitalize on Android's strength as an open operating system with sophisticated communications features. The home control devices are designed to talk to major household systems, such as lights, locks, security and heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC). The media devices play a similar unifying role in the entertainment realm, allowing users to program their digital video recorders (DVRs), remotely control their stereo systems, and view TV listings directly on the gadget's screen.

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Touch Revolution is calling the third category of products, "smart phones for the home." These cordless phones, meant for indoors use only, will communicate via radio waves like typical home phones or through voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) on wi-fi.

Each of these devices could be programmed to do even more. A home phone could act like a digital photo frame, for instance, given the right software. As Android devices, they will be able to access the same applications written for Android cellphones unless the companies marketing them limit that feature.

Expect to see most of the products before the end of the year, in the U.S. and elsewhere. Brown says Touch Revolution is working with "companies with major brands" on upcoming launches. Touch Revolution provides the touch screens and Android features, encapsulated in a module. Its partners then customize the hardware and software, if they choose, and bring the product to market.

Why use Android at all? Brown says its partners liked the operating system's ease of use, openness and touch-centric features. They also regarded it as a bargain since Google ( GOOG - news - people ) is distributing it for free.

Though just 17 months old, Touch Revolution boasts some flashy credentials. Founder and Chief Executive Mark Hamblin spent more than five years at Apple ( AAPL - news - people ), eventually rising to senior product design engineer. While there, he worked on both the iPhone and iPod touch, according to Brown.

Opposites attract — how genetics influences humans to choose their mates

2009-05-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

Opposites attract — how genetics influences humans to choose their mates

Vienna, Austria: New light has been thrown on how humans choose their partners, a scientist will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Monday May 25). Professor Maria da Graça Bicalho, head of the Immunogenetics and Histocompatibility Laboratory at the University of Parana, Brazil, says that her research had shown that people with diverse major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs) were more likely to choose each other as mates than those whose MHCs were similar, and that this was likely to be an evolutionary strategy to ensure healthy reproduction.

Females’ preference for MHC dissimilar mates has been shown in many vertebrate species, including humans, and it is also known that MHC influences mating selection by preferences for particular body odours. The Brazilian team has been working in this field since 1998, and decided to investigate mate selection in the Brazilian population, while trying to uncover the biological significance of MHC diversity.

The scientists studied MHC data from 90 married couples, and compared them with 152 randomly-generated control couples. They counted the number of MHC dissimilarities among those who were real couples, and compared them with those in the randomly-generated ‘virtual couples’. “If MHC genes did not influence mate selection”, says Professor Bicalho, “we would have expected to see similar results from both sets of couples. But we found that the real partners had significantly more MHC dissimilarities than we could have expected to find simply by chance.”

Within MHC-dissimilar couples the partners will be genetically different, and such a pattern of mate choice decreases the danger of endogamy (mating among relatives) and increases the genetic variability of offspring. Genetic variability is known to be an advantage for offspring, and the MHC effect could be an evolutionary strategy underlying incest avoidance in humans and also improving the efficiency of the immune system, the scientists say.

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The MHC is a large genetic region situated on chromosome 6, and found in most vertebrates. It plays an important role in the immune system and also in reproductive success. Apart from being a large region, it is also an extraordinarily diverse one.

“Although it may be tempting to think that humans choose their partners because of their similarities”, says Professor Bicalho, “our research has shown clearly that it is differences that make for successful reproduction, and that the subconscious drive to have healthy children is important when choosing a mate.”

The scientists believe that their findings will help understanding of conception, fertility, and gestational failures. Research has already shown that couples with similar MHC genes had longer intervals between births, which could imply early, unperceived miscarriages. “We intend to follow up this work by looking at social and cultural influences as well as biological ones in mate choice, and relating these to the genetic diversity of the extended MHC region”, says Professor Bicalho.

“We expect to find that cultural aspects play an important role in mate choice, and certainly do not subscribe to the theory that if a person bears a particular genetic variant it will determine his or her behaviour. But we also think that the unconscious evolutionary aspect of partner choice should not be overlooked. We believe our research shows that this has an important role to play in ensuring healthy reproduction, by helping to ensure that children are born with a strong immune system better able to cope with infection.”

Fake DHS "photography license" for fake no-photos laws

2009-05-15T16:17:00.001-07:00

Fake DHS "photography license" for fake no-photos laws

Posted by Cory Doctorow, May 15, 2009 1:49 AM | permalink

All around the world, cops and rent-a-cops are vigorously enforcing nonexistent anti-terrorist bans on photography in public places. If you're worried about being busted under an imaginary law, why not download these templates and print yourself an imaginary "Photography license" from the DHS? Who knows if it's legal to carry one of these -- probably about as legal as taking away your camera and erasing your memory card for snapping a pic on the subway.

In the event you're stopped by overzealous law enforcement or security officials attempting to enforce fictitious laws, I've designed these fictitious and official-looking Photographer's Licenses. If you have Adobe Illustrator, you can download the EPS vector art file and print your own. You'll need a photo of yourself, and OCR (or a similar font) to fill in your personal information.

Diamonds pile up worldwide as consumers finally realize their worthlessness.

2009-05-15T14:04:00.001-07:00

Diamonds pile up worldwide as consumers finally realize their worthlessness.

By ANDREW E. KRAMER May 11, 2009

——————————-

Each day, the contents of the bags spill into the stainless steel hoppers of the receiving room. The diamonds are washed and sorted by size, clarity, shape and quality; then, rather than being sent to be sold around the world, they are wrapped in paper and whisked away to a vault — about three million carats worth of gems every month.

“Each one of them is so unusual,” said Irina V. Tkachuk, one of the few hundred people, mostly women, employed to sort the diamonds, who sees thousands of them every day.

“I’m not a robot. I sometimes think to myself ‘wow, what a pretty diamond. I would like that one.’ They are all so beautiful.”

It could be years before another woman admires that stone. Russia quietly passed a milestone this year: surpassing De Beers as the world’s largest diamond producer. But the global market for diamonds is so dismal that the Alrosa diamond company, 90 percent owned by the Russian government, has not sold a rough stone on the open market since December, and has stockpiled them instead.

As a result, Russia has become the arbiter of global diamond prices. Its decisions on production and sales will determine the value of diamonds on rings and in jewelry stores for years to come, in one of the most surprising consequences of this recession.

Largely because of the jewelry bear market, De Beers’s fortunes have sunk. Short of cash, the company had to raise $800 million from stockholders in just the last six months.

The recession also coincided with a settlement with European Union antitrust authorities that ended a longtime De Beers policy of stockpiling diamonds, in cooperation with Alrosa, to keep prices up.

Though it is a major commodity producer, Russia has traditionally not embraced policies that artificially keep prices up. In oil, for example, Russia benefits from the oil cartel’s cuts in production, but does not participate in them.

Diamonds are an exception. “If you don’t support the price,” Andrei V. Polyakov, a spokesman for Alrosa, said, “a diamond becomes a mere piece of carbon.”

In an attempt to carefully calibrate its re-entry on the global market, without forcing prices still lower, Russia is relying on two things: the Soviet-era precious gem depository — created to hold jewelry confiscated from the aristocracy after the 1917 revolution — and capitalist investors, whom Alrosa hopes will buy diamonds as an investment, like gold.

Russia is taking a leadership role in other ways, too.

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Sergei Vybornov, Alrosa’s chief executive, said that he had helped persuade the central bank of Angola — which, like Russia, is still relatively flush with oil money — to buy 30 percent of the production of Angola’s diamond mines, keeping these stones off the market.

And last fall, Alrosa began what it called the St. Petersburg Initiative, along with De Beers and other large producers, to invest collectively in generic diamond advertising, akin to De Beers’s promotion of the slogan “Diamonds are forever.” Russia assumed the task as De Beers has principally shifted to promoting its own branded gems.

Still, it is a precarious time for the Russian diamond company to assume leadership of the industry.

Until last year, De Beers produced about 40 percent of the global rough stone supply, and Alrosa 25 percent. But De Beers, which is prohibited under its European Union antitrust agreement from stockpiling, closed mines in response to the glut in rough stones. Russia is loath to do that, as authorities in Moscow, gravely concerned about potential unrest by disgruntled unemployed workers, try to keep workers on the payroll.

In the first quarter, De Beers reduced output by 91 percent compared with the previous year. The diversified mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton also curbed production.

Meanwhile, the market for wholesale polished diamonds, worth about $21.5 billion, is expected to fall to about $12 billion in 2009, according to Polished Prices, an analytical service for the industry.

Rough diamond prices have fallen even more, as much as 75 percent since their peak last July at some auctions.

The two markets are distinct. Typically, about 60 percent of a rough diamond is lost as dust or shavings in the cutting process.

Mr. Vybornov blames diamond traders who pledged diamond stocks as loan collateral for part of the world glut. When credit dried up last fall, banks and other creditors seized those gems and sold them, he says, flooding the market. By December, his company decided to withdraw entirely from the market rather than further erode prices.

Russia historically remained mostly a behind-the-scenes player, perhaps because Soviet authorities would have had to perform some ideological gymnastics to promote a product consumed principally by the rich of the capitalist world.

Instead, twisting politics, the Soviets concluded a semisecret agreement with apartheid-era De Beers to sell Siberian diamonds in a way that would not undercut the market.

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After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian diamond industry created a formal alliance with De Beers, selling the South African company half of each year’s production at a discount intended to subsidize De Beers’s generic diamond advertising undertaken in the 1990s, mostly in the United States.

Now, the Russians are in the driver’s seat.

Charles Wyndham, a former De Beers evaluator and co-founder of Polished Prices, said Russia had thus far managed the transition well: withholding gems to make more money in the long run rather than further depressing the market.

“Whatever one wants to say about the Russians, they certainly aren’t stupid,” Mr. Wyndham said.

Alrosa is seeking to jump-start demand by selling gems under long-term contracts to wholesale buyers in Belgium, Israel, India and elsewhere. Under these contracts, six of which have been signed, prices are set at a midpoint between the peak last August and this winter, and fixed for a period of several years.

“A diamond ring should not cost $100,” Mr. Vybornov said. “We don’t want that type of client.”

Alrosa is also working with a Moscow investment bank, Leader, a subsidiary of the Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom, to market diamonds to investors. Under the plan, investors would buy diamonds but the gems would not be released to jewelers for several years.

It is a program, essentially, of outsourcing the stockpiling function to investors in exchange for the chance to profit from a possible recovery in the market.

At one of Alrosa’s cutting shops in one of Moscow’s outer districts, Aleksandr A. Malinin, an adviser to the president of Alrosa, showed a typical collection that might become the basis for such an investment vehicle.

The gems fit in a felt box about the size of a laptop computer.

The larger stones, a circular-cut 10 carat flawless white and a princess-cut yellow, were estimated at about $400,000. The smaller ones ranged from $16,000 to $100,000. But the value of the box, while surely several million dollars, is something of a mystery just now given the depressed market.

How the buy-in price for the stones will be set, and how the company will determine when the price goes up and down, is unclear, Mr. Malinin said.

“We have to tell people that diamonds are valuable,” he said. “We are trying to maintain the price, just as De Beers did, as all diamond producing countries do. But what we are doing is selling an illusion,” meaning a product with no utility and a price that depends on the continued sense of scarcity where there is none.

At the Alrosa unit that receives diamonds, called the United Selling Organization, where about 90 percent of the output of the Siberian mines arrives for processing, Elena V. Kapustkina pours about 45,000 carats of diamonds though a stainless steel sieve every day to sort them by size.

“It’s just a job,” she said.

When asked whether diamonds had lost their romance for her, Ms. Kapustkina paused, looked down at the pile of gems on her table and blushed.

In fact, she said, her husband, a truck driver, gave her a half-carat ring 22 years ago. “Of course I love it,” she said. “It’s from my husband.”

Nearly one in three US homeowners owe more on mortgage than their home is worth

2009-05-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

Nearly one in three US homeowners owe more on mortgage than their home is worth

May 7, 2009 | 10:39 AM

The downturn in home prices has left about 20% of U.S. homeowners owing more on a mortgage than their homes are worth, according to one new study, signaling additional challenges to the Obama administration’s efforts to stabilize the housing market.

The increase in the number of such “underwater” borrowers comes amid signs that falling prices are making homes more affordable for first-time buyers and others who have been shut out of the housing market. But falling prices also make it more difficult for homeowners who get into financial trouble to refinance or sell their homes, and for others to take advantage of lower interest rates.

For instance, fewer will qualify to take advantage of a key component of the Obama administration’s plan to stabilize the housing market. Under the plan, announced in February, as many as five million homeowners whose loans are owned or guaranteed by government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can refinance their mortgages, but only if the mortgage loan is a maximum of 105% of the home’s value.

Government officials are considering an increase in that limit. “It’s a question that we’re looking at,” said James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie.

Real-estate Web site Zillow.com said that overall, the number of borrowers who are underwater climbed to 20.4 million at the end of the first quarter from 16.3 million at the end of the fourth quarter. The latest figure represents 21.9% of all homeowners, according to Zillow, up from 17.6% in the fourth quarter and 14.3% in the third quarter.

“What’s going on here is that you don’t have any markets that have turned around and you have new markets, like Dallas, that have joined the ranks” of communities where home prices have fallen, said Stan Humphries, a Zillow.com vice president.

Borrowers who owe far more than their home is worth may also be less likely to participate in another part of the government’s housing plan, which provides incentives for mortgage companies to modify loans to make payments more affordable. Thomas Lawler, an independent housing economist, said borrowers who owe 30% more than their homes are worth are far more likely to walk away from their property than those who owe just 5% or 10% more and expect prices to rebound. More than one in 10 borrowers with a mortgage owed 110% or more of their home’s value at the end of last year, according to First American CoreLogic.

There are some recent indications that the housing market could be beginning to stabilize. The National Association of Realtors pending home-sales index, for instance, increased 3.2% in March.

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Just how many borrowers are underwater is a matter of some dispute, with the answer depending in part on assumptions regarding home values and mortgage debt outstanding. Variations in home-price estimates can make a major difference in the number of borrowers who are underwater. In addition, borrowers who are already in the foreclosure process may be counted as being underwater if the title to their property hasn’t changed hands.

Kenneth Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, said underwater estimates can be too high if they use price data that includes a large number of foreclosures. Foreclosed homes tend to sell at a discount, he said, making it appear that prices have fallen more than they actually have.

Moody’s Economy.com estimates that of 78.2 million owner-occupied single-family homes, 14.8 million borrowers, or 19%, owed more than their homes were worth at the end of the first quarter, up from 13.6 million at the end of last year.

Part of the reason Zillow’s numbers are higher may be that it looks at mortgage debt taken out at the time the home was purchased and doesn’t adjust for any payments since made toward the outstanding mortgage balance. It also assumes that borrowers who took out home-equity lines of credit at the time of purchase have fully tapped the amount they can borrow. That approach can overstate the portion of borrowers who are underwater, Mr. Zandi said.

Mr. Humphries of Zillow calls his methodology conservative and said Zillow’s use of pricing for individual homes provides a better measure of home valuations than Mr. Zandi’s approach, which relies on market-level estimates of home values. He adds that Zillow doesn’t include foreclosures in its pricing models.

Write to Ruth Simon at ruth.simon@wsj.com and James R. Hagerty at bob.hagerty@wsj.com

Looking for SEO?

2008-03-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

Looking to hire someone to do SEO in Naples?
Hire me :)

B.M.Goodknight@gmail.com

I'm going to take the top results using just a little blog

2008-01-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

I'm going to take the top spots for naples seo terms using a silly blogger page. No, I don't hate the Naples SEO and web design companies, I just need some work :)

Naples SEO Service

B.M.Goodknight@gmail.com

A plug for Naples SEO

2008-01-20T10:03:00.000-08:00

I'm just posting this on all my old lost blogs to get a few links for my new naples seo blog. I'm looking for search engine optimization work in south west florida, wish me luck :)

Here's the blog by the way: Naples Search Engine Optimization

Trippy platform game

2007-03-03T06:24:00.009-08:00

This is one trippy platform/puzzle game. The music doesn't make any sense, every single sound FX is just plain wrong and the characters' are just ... weird! Still, I have no idea why, but the combination really works awesomely well to make an extremely addictive game!! You've got to try it.

read more | digg story

White Stripes Announce Icky New Album

2007-03-03T06:24:00.007-08:00

They're baaaaack! The White Stripes announced on their website late last night that their sixth album, which bears the excellently bizarre title of Icky Thump, will be released "as soon as corporately possible."

read more | digg story

Pentagon Whistle-Blower on the Coming War With Iran

2007-03-03T06:24:00.005-08:00

Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski (ret.), a veteran of the Pentagon with firsthand experience of the administration’s cherry-picking of intelligence, reveals why Bush thinks he can win a war with Iran, why few politicians are serious about withdrawal and why “when they call Iraq a success, they mean it.”Update: Full transcript added

read more | digg story

VMWare Fusion Beta 2 comes with "Experimental 3D Acceleration"

2007-03-03T06:24:00.003-08:00

VMWare drops a mini-bomb on the Mac virtualization world with its most recent beta, which features "experimental" 3D graphics acceleration. But, it doesn't support all games.

read more | digg story

Al Gore Would Love this PC

2007-03-03T06:24:00.001-08:00

ExtremeTech has a how-to on building an eco-friendly PC.

read more | digg story

Kucinich introduces bill to immediately end Iraq occ

2007-03-02T17:07:00.007-08:00

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced HR 1234, a bill to immediately end the United States occupation of Iraq, in the House of Representatives

read more | digg story

Latest Leopard build (9A377a) from Apple suggests much work ahead

2007-03-02T17:07:00.005-08:00

A new build of Apple's Leopard operating system released to developers this week introduces a handful of fresh features, but also carries with it a significant laundry list of impending issues that will need to be ironed out before any such public release is considered. Over 30 major bugs exist, some critical, making rumors of a March launch seem..

read more | digg story

5 1/2 Ways Politicians Can Take Advantage of YouTube Politics

2007-03-02T17:07:00.003-08:00

Here are 5 1/2 ways for political campaigns to take advantage of this unique opportunity by creating and uploading videos specifically for the YouTube community.

read more | digg story

RFID Staples! Brilliant!!!

2007-03-02T17:07:00.001-08:00

From the Sci-Fi channel's Tech blog:"In the not-so-distant future, as you're rummaging through piles of coffee-stained reports on your desk looking for the correct one for your meeting, you may be able to enlist technology to help you find it."Cool.

read more | digg story

Photo of Lightning Striking Neighbor's House

2007-03-02T17:05:00.003-08:00

This is amazing, the lightning is so close and the bolt is huge.

read more | digg story

The RIAA P2PLawsuit Letter Sent To College Students

2007-03-02T17:05:00.001-08:00

Justin McElroy at the Herald-Dispatch sends us a link to a PDF of the letter RIAA lawyers sent to college students, accusing them of infringing copyright and offering to settle if they identify themselves and confess.

read more | digg story

Microsoft Takes Email Design Back Five Years

2007-03-02T17:02:00.005-08:00

This is incredible - must read...

read more | digg story

Google GDrive isn't a rumor

2007-03-02T17:02:00.003-08:00

Google themselves have acknowledged that a GDrive is in development. Soon we will be able to use our G: to save and access files remotely.

read more | digg story

Geeks Take Down Dirty C-Level Executives - With Email

2007-03-02T17:02:00.001-08:00

Two geeks at a small tech startup find out that their CFO and a few other executives are not only planning on selling the company and terminating all the employees, but padding their own pockets with millions and screwing the board of directors/investors. The two geeks take matters into their own hands using linux, postfix and some ingenuity.

read more | digg story

Sony's Blu-ray Goof

2007-03-02T16:52:00.001-08:00

A reporter from PC Magazine showed up at a Sony event in NYC where the company was displaying their new AR laptop and mobile pc. While there, Sony was playing a Blu-ray DVD, "The House of Flying Daggers." But when the reporter ejected the DVD, it was really a DVD-R! Sony wasn't too happy.

read more | digg story

Google News gets foiled by 15-year old

2007-03-02T16:51:00.007-08:00

Tom Vandetta found an article that explained how to fool Google's news system by writing fake press releases. He then decided to see what would happen if he submitted a fake Google press release claiming the 15-year old New Jersey student was Google's youngest employee.

read more | digg story

Google Launches "Google Mars"

2007-03-02T16:51:00.005-08:00

Google has just launched a new service called "Google Mars" that lets you browse the martian land just as you would with Google Maps.

read more | digg story

Why windows takes so long to start up.

2007-03-02T16:51:00.003-08:00

Most of us have had a brand new computer at one time. It's a great feeling. You boot up windows and within 30 seconds you are surfing the net, checking your email, or playing your favorite game. 10 months down the road things aren't so nice anymore. You power up your computer and it seems to take forever to load.

read more | digg story

Google Calendar Is Launching Tonight

2007-03-02T16:51:00.001-08:00

It looks like Google Calender could be launching tonight! The official Google Calendar logo was found on Google's servers and calendar.google.com redirects to the actual CL2 login screen now.

read more | digg story

YouTube adds “Digg this” button!!!

2007-03-02T16:49:00.007-08:00

ouTube has introduced a hefty amount of new features. Among them is the possibility to block certain users, improved search (plus YouTube videos being indexed on Google Video Search), fixed messaging, more options for customizing channels, and several others.

read more | digg story

What America could buy for $145 billion dollars (the 2007 Iraq war budget).

2007-03-02T16:49:00.005-08:00

The Iraq war will cost Americans $145 billion dollars this year alone. That $145 billion could buy free tuition, room, and board for every student in a public university or college, and there would still be enough money left over to end hunger in America four times over. Digg this story and help spread the word on how our taxes are being spent.

read more | digg story

How I (color blind person) see the world!

2007-03-02T16:49:00.003-08:00

After 26 years I discovered that I see the world in a different way than all others see it!I'm a successful web designer, and a lot of people were asking me "so, what do you see!!". This post is to make you see what exactly I see.

read more | digg story

Senator Ted Stevens Downloads the Entire Internet and Complains It's Slow!

2007-03-02T16:49:00.001-08:00

Regarding a recent vote, Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) explained why he voted against the amendment (basic net neutrality) and gave an amazing primer on how the Internet works: "It's a series of tubes." and "...an Internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday." Story includes an mp3 link.

read more | digg story

PIC Kevin and Alex in GoDaddy's Super Bowl ad

2007-03-02T11:19:00.013-08:00

Bonus points to Alex for wearing a Diggnation shirt! (Ignore the other one I submitted- I didn't pay attention to it going to a page requiring a sign in. I'm lame and hang my head in shame for that.)

read more | digg story

Top Gear Gets Attacked by Rednecks

2007-03-02T11:19:00.011-08:00

The Top Gear crew gets attacked by rednecks while filming in the Deep South.

read more | digg story

Science Vs Faith. A simple picture says it all.

2007-03-02T11:19:00.009-08:00

This picture is funny and tragic at the same time.

read more | digg story

Amazing Folding Couch! Unbelievable Video!

2007-03-02T11:19:00.007-08:00

The sofa appears to be made out of hundreds of thin, flat chair-shaped silhouettes, joined together by some kind of membrane in an accordion that can collapse down into a dictionary-think chunk or be spread out for feet on end, as a divan, chair or sofa. (via BoingBoing)

read more | digg story

I will not throw paper airplanes in class

2007-03-02T11:19:00.005-08:00

See for yourself...

read more | digg story

Digg This and then replace just ONE bulb with a Compact Fluorescent...

2007-03-02T11:19:00.003-08:00

Typical bulb = 100w, a CF bulb that outputs the same amount of light = 23w, a difference of 77w. Multiply that number by total # of US Households (~120 million) & you can see that if every home switched out 1 bulb, then we would save about 9.24 Billion watts of electricity per kw/hour -Enough energy to curb emission levels of nearly 800,000 cars

read more | digg story

Water so clear it boggles the mind

2007-03-02T11:19:00.001-08:00

A single boat seemingly floats in midair in the beautiful crystal clear beaches in the Republic of Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

read more | digg story

In case of a terrorist attack... follow these hilarious signs

2007-03-02T11:18:00.001-08:00

The Dept. of Homeland Security has released these signs to help you prepare for an attack. Now safenow.org has provided their own interpretation, hilarity ensued.

read more | digg story

The Complete Ownage of a Woman

2007-03-02T11:17:00.003-08:00

I'll try to sum up a funny story that happened a few years ago: I got a vasectomy. I met a girl soon afterwards. She was nice and attractive but with a selfish streak that raised a big red flag. She was 32 at the time and I could practically HEAR her biological clock ticking. Regardless, she was a good lay, easy on the eyes, and reasonably g...

read more | digg story

How awesome is this for getting a test back from a professor?? [image]

2007-03-02T11:17:00.001-08:00

prof with a sense of humor

read more | digg story

What If Kid's Drawings Were Done With Skill?

2007-03-02T11:16:00.003-08:00

this is the result

read more | digg story

New York teen sues record Industry

2007-03-02T11:16:00.001-08:00

A New York teen, dubbed a pirate by the Record Industry, is counter suing them for defamation, violating anti-trust laws, conspiring to defraud the courts and making extortionate threats.

read more | digg story

pic of Aqua Teen "terrorists" laughing in court

2007-03-02T10:12:00.001-08:00

Honestly, God Bless these guys, the picture says it all. This thing was harmless and the Boston authorities over reacted, the news stretched the truth (what panic exactly?), and these poor guys get charged. Digg this to the top in support of Sean and Peter.

read more | digg story

A New Controler That Lets You Control Video Games with Your Mind

2007-03-02T10:11:00.001-08:00

Step aside Nintendo, Emotiv's got dibs on the ultimate game controller right here with their Project Epoc. It's basically a headset fitted with a bunch of sensors that "read" your mind and let you control video games (be it from your console or PC) via your thoughts. It'll be demoed at the Game Developer's Conference next week.

read more | digg story

2006-11-14T18:38:00.000-08:00

Look at how fast the cars go by as he passes them. It's like when you're on the interstate and you pass a broken down car off to the side...only faster.

Well Hello Thar

Dual Monitor Video Cards and Why they are so Great

Bush gathers heralds for environmental act

Land - Private or Public?

Top Benefits of Choosing Solar Energy

Stock House Plans Vs. Custom House Plans, Which is best?

2011 Hyundai Sonata

What do you guys think about the '11 Infiniti M?

Email Archiving and Its Impact on Your Life

Naples web design firms

Divorce and Children

Transforming Financial CRM From Retention Mode to Growth Mode

Turn Obstacles Into CRM Opportunities in 2010

2010 CRM Trends

Manage CRM Expenses in 2010

Official Google Blog: A new approach to China

WTF

Mo. town’s top police officer who also was Scout leader accused of having sex with boys

Posted on 07 January 2010

Tiger Woods in the news

And the Buzziest Billion-Dollar Brand of the Week Is...

Dumenco's Trendrr Chart: A Week of Tiger Woods

25 Excellent Social Media Sites for Entrepreneurs

25 Excellent Social Media Sites for Entrepreneurs

The Basic Social Networking Tools

Enterpreneur-Specific Social Platforms

Google's Android To Invade Homes

Opposites attract — how genetics influences humans to choose their mates

Opposites attract — how genetics influences humans to choose their mates

Fake DHS "photography license" for fake no-photos laws

Fake DHS "photography license" for fake no-photos laws

Diamonds pile up worldwide as consumers finally realize their worthlessness.

Diamonds pile up worldwide as consumers finally realize their worthlessness.

Nearly one in three US homeowners owe more on mortgage than their home is worth

Nearly one in three US homeowners owe more on mortgage than their home is worth

Looking for SEO?

I'm going to take the top results using just a little blog

A plug for Naples SEO

Trippy platform game

White Stripes Announce Icky New Album

Pentagon Whistle-Blower on the Coming War With Iran

VMWare Fusion Beta 2 comes with "Experimental 3D Acceleration"

Al Gore Would Love this PC

Kucinich introduces bill to immediately end Iraq occ

Latest Leopard build (9A377a) from Apple suggests much work ahead

5 1/2 Ways Politicians Can Take Advantage of YouTube Politics

RFID Staples! Brilliant!!!

Photo of Lightning Striking Neighbor's House

The RIAA P2PLawsuit Letter Sent To College Students

Microsoft Takes Email Design Back Five Years

Google GDrive isn't a rumor

Geeks Take Down Dirty C-Level Executives - With Email

Sony's Blu-ray Goof

Google News gets foiled by 15-year old

Google Launches "Google Mars"

Why windows takes so long to start up.

Google Calendar Is Launching Tonight

YouTube adds “Digg this” button!!!

What America could buy for $145 billion dollars (the 2007 Iraq war budget).

How I (color blind person) see the world!

Senator Ted Stevens Downloads the Entire Internet and Complains It's Slow!

*PIC* Kevin and Alex in GoDaddy's Super Bowl ad

Top Gear Gets Attacked by Rednecks

Science Vs Faith. A simple picture says it all.

Amazing Folding Couch! Unbelievable Video!

I will not throw paper airplanes in class

Digg This and then replace just ONE bulb with a Compact Fluorescent...

Water so clear it boggles the mind

In case of a terrorist attack... follow these hilarious signs

The Complete Ownage of a Woman

How awesome is this for getting a test back from a professor?? [image]

What If Kid's Drawings Were Done With Skill?

New York teen sues record Industry

pic of Aqua Teen "terrorists" laughing in court

A New Controler That Lets You Control Video Games with Your Mind

PIC Kevin and Alex in GoDaddy's Super Bowl ad