বুধবার, ৩১ অক্টোবর, ২০১২

Reverse Mortgages: 3 Ways You Can Tap Home ... - AOL Real Estate

By Gerri Detweiler

You may have heard of reverse mortgages as a way for seniors to tap the equity in their homes to pay for living expenses, but there are other ways that homeowners are using their homes to get by.

Many seniors are on fixed incomes, with Social Security payments providing a significant portion of their monthly income. In fact, Social Security provided at least half of total income for more than half of aged couples and nearly three-quarters of non-married beneficiaries in 2010. And it provided 90 percent or more of income for 23 percent of aged beneficiary couples and 46% of aged nonmarried beneficiaries. The average monthly benefit at the beginning of 2012 was $1230. It's no surprise, then, that reverse mortgages are often used to help cover essential living expenses.

What you may not have heard, though, are some of the creative ways homeowners are using reverse mortgages to help them navigate today's challenging economy. I recently interviewed Russell Silver, senior residential mortgage consultant for US Mortgage Corporation, on my radio show "Talk Credit Radio." (The firm also sponsors some of the show's podcasts). Following is an edited excerpt from that interview.

First, the basics. "A reverse mortgage is a federally-insured mortgage, only available to homeowners 62 years or older," explains Silver. "Basically a reverse mortgage is just what it sounds like: You do not make payments. As long as you own your home you're not obligated to make any mortgage payments, you're only required to pay your taxes and your homeowner's insurance."

"If you have a mortgage on the property currently and do a reverse mortgage, the old mortgage is paid off, and a new reverse mortgage is put in place. Whatever you want to use the money for, you can use it and nobody's going to tell you what you can do and can't do with the money."

[Credit Score Tool: Get your free credit score and report card from Credit.com]

Here are some ways his clients, and other homeowners, are using reverse mortgages:

1. Have a say in how your heirs spend their inheritance.

If you're like many seniors today, the equity in your home will be a major part of the inheritance you leave your heirs. As much as you hope that money will be put to good use, there's often a nagging worry that it will be wasted. Maybe you're worried that your granddaughter will use it for that plastic surgery she's been hinting about. Or that your money will end up in the hands of your son's freeloading girlfriend.

Or maybe you'd just like to see your kids and grandkids enjoy your money now rather than after you are gone. A reverse mortgage may help you accomplish that. Silver explains:

I can't even tell you how many grandparents or even parents we speak to that want to take out a reverse mortgage to help out their kids. A lot of people use it for their kids' or grandkids' college educations. One couple took their entire family on a cruise for their 50th wedding anniversary. It was something they never ever would have been able to do otherwise.

2. Take care of yourself.

It's no secret that rising health care costs are squeezing many seniors' budgets. You, your parents or grandparents may worry about the costs of prescriptions and copays, and be downright terrified that you won't have the money you need for more intensive care. Silver explains how some are using a reverse mortgage to fill the gap:

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One of the most important things that clients are using these loans for is long-term health care. When you get older, you might want to live out the rest of your life in your home, and maybe get a home attendant or nurse.

It's very easy for the kids to say 'don't worry, we'll take care of you' but when people get sick, you have not only the expense but are you able to take time off from work, to care for people? It's not easy especially if you have family where maybe mom and dad lived in Florida but the kids are up north. How is this going to be done?

One of our clients lives quite a distance from her daughter and decided to get a reverse mortgage so she can ensure her health care needs are taken care of without becoming a burden to her daughter.

Some homeowners use the proceeds of a reverse mortgage to purchase long-term health care insurance or to hire the help they need to stay in their homes.

3. Get out of foreclosure.

It sounds counterintuitive that someone who is in foreclosure can use a reverse mortgage to get out of foreclosure. But Silver says it's being done all the time. He explains:

One of the great things about the way the government set this program up is that there are no credit requirements. You can be in foreclosure or you may just have completed a bankruptcy, and you can still qualify.

Basically, this works for someone who has equity but can't afford to make the payments anymore. They take out a mortgage that will pay off the bank that's foreclosing. And now they go forward with no payment for the rest of their life, as long as they live in that house. (Homeowners must continue to pay taxes ? if required ? and insurance, however.)

We speak to so many bankruptcy attorneys, foreclosure attorneys, real estate attorneys or financial planners or accountants that have clients that really are in trouble at this point and they need help and this is a great way out."

Educate Yourself

To help protect seniors, the government instituted mandatory, independent reverse mortgage counseling. Anyone considering a reverse mortgage must get this counseling before obtaining a reverse mortgage.

See more on Credit.com:
Will 2013 Be the Year You Can Finally Get a Mortgage?
The Complete Guide to Personal Loans
What's Really in Your Credit Report

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Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2012/10/31/reverse-mortgages-ways-you-can-tap-home-equity/

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LawCall - Alabama Personal Injury Blog ? Prince Glover Law ...

WVUA hosts LawCall every week on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. This week the topic will be ?18 Wheeler Accidents? with Bob Prince hosting. Attorney Coe Baxter will be the guest speaker. Please email us your legal questions anytime at lawcall@wvuatv.com. Each week, questions will be answered on the air. LawCall can be found on channel 6 if you have Charter Cable, or channel 3 if you have Comcast Cable and live in the Tuscaloosa area. It can also be found on channel 23 if you have satellite and live in the surrounding areas.

Source: http://princegloverblog.com/lawcall-18-wheeler-accidents/

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Open webOS on the Galaxy Nexus is starting to look good

Work continues on Open webOS for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (and likely will for some time), and today the webOS Ports team has brought a video of UI scaling. As you can see, it's looking more and more like a working smartphone user interface (and animation is getting pretty smooth, too), though we wouldn't recommend getting anywhere near this as a daily driver yet.

More: webOS-Ports; webOS Nation



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/gWgiNt51VwA/story01.htm

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SB Podcast 018 | 40 Years of Exercise Wisdom: Strength Training ...

KB PressThis is a special episode. ?In this session, I was very honored to interview long time strength coach, movement expert, and former competitive athlete,?Mark Reifkind.

You?ll learn a ton in this information packed interview, where we discuss the theme of?strength?training over the age of 40.

Mark has extensive experience, as an athlete and an elite strength and performance coach. ?The knowledge and passion he shares is unbelievable.

Here?s just a few samples of what we cover in this episode:

  • The difference between training for health and training for performance.
  • What is the unique blend of training and skill development that the kettlebell offers?
  • What type of training methods are best as we age to prevent ?breakdown.?
  • What is ?length-tension? and why is this important?
  • Discover the 7 primal movement patterns.
  • The #1 most important thing we need to remember in exercise training.
  • Should people over 40 train heavy?
  • 2 specific actions you can take after listening to the interview?
  • And (seriously) so much more!

Get your notepad and pen ready to learn from a man with over 40 years in the trenches of athletic training and performance. ?Make sure you listen all the way through to take it all in.

Subscribe to the podcast!??>>>>>click here.

SHOW NOTES (things discussed in this episode).

You can find out more about Mark on his website, GiryaStrength.com. ?Mark?s DVD?s are Restoring Lost Physical Function, Lats, The Super Muscle, and Mastering the Hardstyle Kettlebell Swing. ?

The upcoming workshop in South Florida this January is Grumpy Old Men: Training Over the Age of 40 by Mark Reifkind, Dan John, and Tom Furman. ?Learn to train properly as we ?mature.? ?This is a workshop not to be missed! ?(Please note:?I have no affiliation with this workshop, I just believe this is an outstanding learning opportunity.)

If you don?t have it, get the great book, The Swing by Mark?s awesome wife, Tracy. She is truly an inspiration to all of us!

And, the book I am currently reading on the topic of ?practice? is Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better?by Doug Lemov et al.

To learn more about primitive movement and Primal Move, click here.

Please SHARE this valuable episode!

And, make sure you enter your email above to get much more great information and updates, including instant access to the Stealth Fat Loss Report right now! ?See you on the inside.

Source: http://stealthbody.com/sb-podcast-018-40-years-of-exercise-wisdom-strength-training-over-the-age-of-40-interview-with-strength-coach-mark-reifkind

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Hurricane Sandy: Tracking the Storm via Google and Social Media ...


If you haven?t heard about Hurricane Sandy by now, you?re probably completely disconnected from the world. The unique storm off the East Coast has been getting the kind of attention any business would dream of getting. Understandably, the attention is coming from the recognition that the storm could be one for the record books.

I, for one, have prepared more than any other time in my life. I don?t think I?ve gotten everything I need for days, but I?m hoping to rely on my two years of Peace Corps food rationing skills (had to make those goodies from home last a long time!) and experience with hours upon hours of no electricity to make it through this. I?ve got water, a full gas tank, extra food, and most importantly, all of my portable electronics are fully charged.

Meanwhile, other businesses and people are getting prepared and helping others gain as much information as possible. Google has taken a very interesting step today. They?ve decided to launch an interactive map concerning the storm. Social Media on the population-heavy East Coast has also helped spread information as millions prepare for the storm.

Google Now Does Hurricanes

According to Stan Schroeder at Mashable, ?Google is helping those affected prepare for the storm with a dedicated crisis map.? Please correct me if I?m wrong, but I don?t recall Google doing this before?at least not to this extent. To me, the idea is brilliant and meaningful. Google cancelled their Nexus launch event and instead released this interactive map, which is great. You can check out the detailed map at the Mashable link above.

Google has packed a great deal of useful information on the interactive map. You can follow the path of the storm, view affected areas and predictions, find important emergency locations, and much more. Schroeder also writes that ?Google has also launched a special Sandy crisis map for New York City,? where you can find evacuation zones, shelter information, and much more. I?m really impressed with the effort behind Google?s maps. They?ve done the right and admirable thing to put their vast resources to use for a public service.

Everyone Helping Out

The BBC is also reporting that both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have removed their paywalls. They hope to provide as much information to as many people as possible. But these two newspapers aren?t the only places online helping those who will live through this storm. Social media, likely because of the millions affected by this storm, has kicked into full gear.

According to an AFP story, ?social networks [are] abuzz with the latest news, tips and reassurances.? #Sandy has been a top trending topic on Twitter as well as on Tumblr and other platforms. Facebook groups have been popping up to help people communicate and prepare.

Accuweather even hosted a Google+ Hangout so that people could ?get their questions ? answered in real time by their meteorologists.? There are apps-a-plenty available from organizations like the American Red Cross, which are loaded with information. Despite the seriousness of the storm, people have even taken the time to be humorous about the situation.

Technology at its Best

I find it wonderful to see all of this great technology be fully utilized at time when we need it most. Companies like Google earn a lot of brownie points in my world because they go out of their way to help. Fifty years ago, heck, even 20 years ago, there would be millions of people still worried with lots of questions unanswered. Now we can find out answers in a matter of seconds.

Hopefully I?ll be writing more news pieces throughout the week, but the storm may be knocking out power and internet over much of the East Coast. To everyone in the areas to be affected by the storm, be sure to learn as much as you can. Let?s hope this isn?t too terrible.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/hurricane-sandy-tracking-the-storm-via-google-and-social-media-0318432

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Stocks see first two-day weather closing since 1888

CNBC's Bob Pisani has the latest on whether the exchanges will remain closed tomorrow.

By NBC News wire services

Updated at 6:30 p.m. ET:?For the first time since the Great Blizzard of 1888, U.S. stock markets will be closed for two consecutive days due to weather.

The decision to close financial markets for a second straight day on Tuesday was made during a call between industry executives and regulators on Monday, Reuters said. The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market both said they intend to remain closed for business again. The bond market will also remain closed on Tuesday.

The NYSE shuttered its operations on Monday?as Hurricane Sandy neared landfall on the East Coast, bringing about the first unplanned shutdown since the September 2001 terrorist attacks.

NYSE Euronext and Nasdaq OMX Group , the largest two U.S. exchange operators, said they intend to reopen Wednesday, conditions permitting. The bond markets will also close on Tuesday, with traders aiming to reopen on Wednesday.

Wednesday is a key trading day because it marks the end of the month, when traders price portfolios. With New York still to feel the full impact of the storm, fears remained that wind damage and possible power outages could test the ability of markets to reopen. New York's mass transit system, which most employees use to get to work, also remained shut and it was unclear when service would be restored.

The broad effects of the market shutdown - the first for the NYSE in 27 years due to weather - were beginning to become more apparent by Monday, as analysts estimated banks and trading firms could lose tens of millions of dollars in revenue.

Some companies postponed their quarterly earnings, and banks closed branches in the Northeast, while promising to waive certain fees in hurricane-threatened areas.

Disaster modeling company Eqecat said the storm is likely to cause insured losses of $5 billion to $10 billion, and economic losses of $10 billion to $20 billion.

The trading closure also threatened to delay IPOs of at least six companies, while Facebook Inc employees were prevented from selling shares in the social media company after a "lock-up" on trading expired.

"If you go two days, you really start to create some serious financial stress for some players that need to get something done," said Jim Paulsen, of Wells Capital.

As Hurricane Sandy began battering the U.S. East Coast on Monday, many Wall Street employees stayed home. Major Wall Street banks had planned to open with skeleton staffing, but with the stock and options markets closed and the bond market closing at noon, many people said they had little to do.

"There's nothing to do, so I'm just relaxing," said one New York-based equities trader at a large global investment bank, who spent most of the day in his pajamas, staying in touch with his boss and clients via phone and email.

Steve Gerbel, who runs hedge fund Chicago Capital Management, said that when he called a Goldman Sachs Group Inc trading desk on Monday, he got to talk to employees from its Salt Lake City office for the first time.

Since markets were closed, Gerbel said he would spend most of the day dealing with paperwork that he typically put on the back burner, and his employees would do the same, or clock out early.

"I predict my office will never be cleaner than it will be today," he said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://marketday.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/29/14778477-hurricane-sandy-to-keep-stock-markets-shuttered-tuesday?lite

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How sweep it is: Giants finish off Tigers

DETROIT (AP) ? Kung Fu Panda, The Freak, The Beard and all their seed-throwing buddies are on top of baseball ? again.

They may be under the radar, unappreciated and unexpected. But they're unassailable, the winner of two World Series titles in the last three years.

Their sweep of the Detroit Tigers, completed Sunday night with a 4-3, 10-inning win, was simply historic.

No National League team had swept a World Series since the 1990 Cincinnati Reds.

No NL team had won twice in a three-year span since the Big Red Machine in 1975-76.

"I'm numb, really, the fact that we've won two World Series in the last three years," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "This will sink in, but right now, I'm kind of speechless on that."

This happens in the NL only slightly more often than appearances of Haley's Comet. They are just the fifth NL team to accomplish the feat since the 1907-08 Chicago Cubs, joining the 1921-22 New York Giants, the St. Louis Cardinals of '44 and '46, the Los Angeles Dodgers of '63 and '65, and that Big Red Machine.

And these Giants did it with small ball, becoming only the fifth big league team ? and the first since the 1982 Cardinals ? to win the title after finishing dead last in home runs during the regular season.

"Our guys had a date with destiny," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said.

Marco Scutaro delivered one more key hit this October, a go-ahead single with two outs in the 10th inning against Phil Coke.

On a night of biting cold, stiff breezes and some rain, the Giants sealed the title when Sergio Romo got Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera to look at strike three for the final out.

"Tonight was a battle," said Giants catcher Buster Posey, the NL batting champion. "And I think tonight was a fitting way for us to end it because those guys played hard. They didn't stop, and it's an unbelievable feeling."

Posey, the only player in the starting lineup when San Francisco win the 2010 clincher at Texas, celebrated with his teammates in the center of the Comerica Park diamond. In the clubhouse, they hoisted the trophy, passed it around and shouted the name of each player who held it.

"World Series champions!" hollered outfielder Hunter Pence, who started the pregame seed-tossing ritual.

Pablo Sandoval, nicknamed Kung Fu Panda, was benched for most of the 2010 Series and then went 8 for 16 this year, including a three-homer performance in Game 1, to win MVP honors.

"I was ready for the moment," he said. "I was waiting for the opportunity to be in the playoffs again."

Cabrera delivered the first big hit for Detroit, interrupting San Francisco's run of dominant pitching with a two-run, wind-blown homer over the right-field wall in the third.

Posey put the Giants ahead 3-2 with a two-run homer in the sixth and Delmon Young hit a tying home run in the bottom half.

San Francisco then won a battle of bullpens.

Ryan Theriot led off the 10th with a single against Phil Coke, moved up on Brandon Crawford's sacrifice and scored on a shallow single by Scutaro, the MVP of the NL championship series. Center fielder Austin Jackson made a throw home, to no avail.

"We were very adamant that we have to step on their throats," Giants pitcher Barry Zito said. "We saw what they did to New York."

Santiago Casilla got one out in the ninth for the win. Romo struck out the side in the bottom of the 10th for his third save of the Series.

The Giants finished the month with seven straight wins and their seventh Series championship. They handed the Tigers their seventh straight World Series loss dating to 2006.

"Obviously, there was no doubt about it," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "It was freaky. I would have never guessed we would have swept the Yankees and I would have never guessed the Giants would have swept us."

The Giants combined for a 1.42 ERA, outscored the Tigers 16-6 and held them to a .159 batting average ? third-lowest in Series history ahead of only the 1966 Baltimore Orioles (.146) and 1966 Dodgers (.142).

"This was the worst day of my career," Tigers catcher Alex Avila said. "They played great, and we didn't. It's that simple."

The NL has won three in a row for the first time in 30 years. San Francisco won six elimination games en route to the title.

Once again, San Francisco took an early lead. Pence hit a one-hop drive over the center-field fence for a double and Brandon Belt tripled off the right-field wall on the next pitch for a 1-0 lead in the second.

The next inning, Cabrera gave the Tigers a reason to think this night might get them back on track to end a title drought dating to 1984.

With two outs and a runner on first, Cabrera lofted an opposite-field fly to right ? off the bat, it looked like a routine out shy of the warning track. But with winds gusting over 25 mph, the ball kept carrying, Pence kept drifting toward the wall and the crowd kept getting louder.

Just like that, it was gone.

Cabrera's homer gave Detroit its first lead of the Series, ended its 20-inning scoreless streak. Trailing for the first time since Game 4 of the NL championship series, Posey and the Giants put a dent in Detroit's optimism. Scutaro led off the sixth with a single and clapped all the way around the bases when Posey sent a shot that sailed just inside the left-field foul pole for a 3-2 lead.

Young, the ALCS MVP against the Yankees, made it 3-all with another opposite-field homer to right, this one a no-doubt drive.

But other Tigers disappointed. Prince Fielder, signed to a $214 million deal last winter, finished 1 for 14 (.071) against the Giants without an RBI. Cabrera, the first Triple Crown winner in 45 years, was 3 for 13 (.231) with three RBIs.

"You just don't get to write your own script," Fielder said.

San Francisco did. The Giants overcame a 2-0 deficit against Cincinnati in the best-of-division series by winning three straight on the road. They overcame a 3-1 hole against defending champion St. Louis in the league championship. And then they became the first champion that hit the fewest home runs in the majors since St. Louis in 1982.

Brian Wilson ? aka The Beard ? missed nearly the entire season. Tim Lincecum ? aka The Freak, was ace of the staff during the 2010 title run. He morphed into a middle reliever who held the Tigers hitless in a pair of outings.

Sandoval said "heart" was the critical ingredient.

"It's amazing what they accomplished," Bochy said. "I think when you look at this club, the terms 'teamwork,' 'team play,' and 'play as a team,' that's used loosely, but these guys truly did. They set aside their own agenda and asked what's best for the club. And we put guys in different roles, nobody ever said a word, complained or anything, and that's the only way it got done."

NOTES: Detroit 2B Omar Infante broke his left hand when he was hit by a pitch from Casilla in the ninth. ... Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, was at the game. ... In addition to the bat Sandoval used for his first two homers in the opener, the Hall of Fame received Ryan Vogelsong's jersey from his Game 3 win, Bochy's warm-up jacket, Gregor Blanco's glove, Pence's bat ? named "Tim" ? Scutaro's spikes, Brandon Crawford's cap and Matt Cain's spikes.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sweep-giants-finish-off-tigers-084710916--mlb.html

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Training Edge International : Profit from Ties

THERE are two very different generic perspectives on sales ? either salesmen are heroes who make sure the business survives, or they are rather sad figures who expose the fallacy of ?capitalism?.

In Philip Broughton?s book Life?s A Pitch, he argues that ?we are all selling all the time? ? not just in business, but in our relationships with others, when building friendships, buying and selling goods every day. In almost everything we do, there is an element of ?selling?.

Whether we like it or not, selling is as old as trade itself, and trade is as old as mankind. As soon as our forefathers started trading with each other, selling was essentially born.

The same goes for relationships. When our very early ancestors began to realise that their survival rate increased when they organised themselves and began to live in small communities built around relationships that would help everyone to survive better, the idea of social relationships were essentially born too.

It is, however, important to note that these early relationships were mutually interdependent and were essentially about survival.

In modern times, some of these social relationships seem to have moved to Facebook and other social networking sites, but these relationships are not necessarily interdependent, and therefore the more traditional values around friendship and relationships are not necessarily the same either.

It is thought that since people started to live in communities, evolution helped to develop our brains to build strong relations with up to a few hundred people at maximum, with whom we could relate to personally and about whom we could remember lots of details.

However, as sophisticated as we have become since, evolution is not that fast and we can still only hold enough data for a certain number of close friends and family.

Research has shown that among the top five happiness factors, ?family relationships? comes up top, followed by ?financial situation? and ?work?, followed by ?community and friends?.

The work factor is not so much about salary as it is about providing meaning and the relationships we build at work, and making friends is generally very important to most people too. In essence, we need other people, and we need to be needed. We build relationships with people around us to fulfil that need, and these relationships are generally positive.

With regard to the connection between sales and relationships, we may not like the idea that relationships can be profitable, but in business, things that don?t make a profit don?t survive ? it is as simple as that!

During the 1990s, marketing people came up with the idea of building lasting relationships with customers, and today we refer to it as ?customer relationship management? or CRM.

CRM is basically a marketing, database and relationship-building tool, which hopes to build relationships that help the business to launch products that the customer actually wants, improve its service system, build customer loyalty and, therefore, gain more sales and opportunities for cross-selling too.

The database element is essentially managing all the data and knowledge, which gets accumulated for potentially up to millions of customers. The knowledge we as individuals store in our brains for our personal relationships now gets data-mined and stored on computers for customers. CRM is big business and many companies are pondering about how to manage their customer relationships.

The Chinese term ?Guanxi? is often claimed to be the lifeblood of how Chinese business is conducted, and the equivalent in the West would probably be referred to as ?personal relationships? or ?connections?.

It is widely recognised that relationships in general are important for conducting business ? whether in the West or in the East. However, the importance and expectations of the personal relationship may vary greatly.

There is no doubt that relationships are important for us as individuals as well as for business, and in business the aim is to provide profits through sales. If sales are built on relationships with customers, then these are essentially profitable relationships.

It is therefore fitting to conclude that if all businesses are built on sales, then sustainable sales are built on profitable relationships.

Article by Niels Kemp Rasmussen, senior consultant, Training Edge International. He specialises in helping clients uncover hidden potential and increasing performance in their organisations.?

For more information on our training programmes , please? contact us at 63365804

Source: http://trainingedgeasia.blogspot.com/2012/10/profit-from-ties.html

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মঙ্গলবার, ৩০ অক্টোবর, ২০১২

website won't show menu in internet explorer | DaniWeb

If you are starting to develop this site, why not go with an HTML5 Doctype? This doesnt mean that you have to include new elements introducted in HTML5.

The HTML5 page structure is as follows...

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en">   <head>     <meta charset="utf-8" />     <title>Example document</title>     <link href="stylesheet.css" rel="stylesheet"/>     <script src="script.js"></script>   </head>   <body>     <p>Example paragraph</p>   </body> </html> 
JorgeM

Postaholic

2,146 posts since Dec 2011

Reputation Points: 111

Solved Threads: 261

?

Ok, so I took a look at the source code of your website. My first suggestion to you is to clean up your page structure.

For example, you didnt close the <head> element. You didnt include the <body> element and didnt close the <html> element either.

This is going to cause different browsers to render the page differently. Browsers will try to render the elements as best they can, but it is best to follow standards.

In your case, if you are trying to apply a strict doctype, these things that I mentioned are very important.

again, I would suggest to you look at the sample structure that I provided earlier. I didnt see any specific HTML5 elements on your page so the structure I provided will work perferctly and be supported accross the different browsers.

JorgeM

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2,146 posts since Dec 2011

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?

@GliderPilot,

The reference to the HTML5Shiv on that page is not being used. The DOCYTPE is not set for HTML5, and there are no HTML5 elements on the page. If you read the previous posts, the OP is not interested in the HTML5 structure, but I was suggesting that since the page can be easily fixed and be HTML5 compliant and ready.

JorgeM

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2,146 posts since Dec 2011

Reputation Points: 111

Solved Threads: 261

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Source: http://www.daniweb.com/web-development/web-design-html-and-css/threads/438598/website-wont-show-menu-in-internet-explorer

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?Man in Moon? created by asteroid the size of Austria

The "Man in the Moon" may have been created by a giant asteroid (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science??The famous flattened image across the surface of the moon, long dubbed the "Man in the Moon," appears to have been created by a giant asteroid the size of Austria.

A new study published in the British journal Nature Geoscience says the flattened, 1,800-mile-wide section of the moon's Procellarum basin was caused after the large asteroid crashed into the moon's surface.

"The nearside and farside of the Moon are compositionally distinct," reads the introduction to the study. "The detection of low-calcium pyroxene around large impact basins suggests that the huge Procellarum basin on the nearside may be an ancient impact structure and a relic scar of the violent collision that produced the lunar dichotomy."

Scientists at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology studied the distribution of minerals on the moon's surface using data collected by Japanese moon exploration orbiters, the Asahi Shimbun reported.

The size of the asteroid is estimated to have been 180 miles in diameter, hitting the moon's surface 3.9 billion years ago.

"The latest study explains why the moon's two sides are so different," said Junichi Watanabe, a professor of astronomy at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. "It helps unravel the mystery of the moon's history."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/man-moon-created-asteroid-impact-size-austria-181819184.html

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Nokia Lumia 920 ships first to Rogers, makes Canadians the world's vanguards for $100 (update: still very exclusive)

Nokia Lumia 920 Rogers

What, did you think Americans or Europeans would get the first crack at the Lumia 920? Continuing a recent pattern of Canadians getting devices first, Rogers has confirmed that some of its stores will have Nokia's flagship Windows Phone 8 hardware in stock on October 30th -- that's almost immediately, folks. If you call and find you're near one of the choice few shops carrying the 920, it will cost you either $100 Canadian on a lengthy 3-year contract or $550 outright to walk away with Microsoft's poster child. Nearly the only drawbacks to being a pioneer are the black-only color choice (sorry, still no patriotic red) and Rogers' current lock on the initial launch, although Microsoft's own mention of the Lumia coming to Rogers "and others" gives us hope that Bell and Telus will follow soon. It's a small price to pay for making even the Finns slightly jealous.

Update: Surprise -- Rogers caught the Microsoft page for itself and says the hint of non-exclusivity was a mistake that's being corrected. We don't know if the carrier has a permanent exclusive, but we'd tentatively go shopping for a Samsung ATIV S on Telus if you're looking for a high-end Windows Phone on another Canadian network.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/30/nokia-lumia-920-ships-first-to-rogers-in-canada/

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Q&A: Could Sandy postpone the election?

FILE - This Oct. 29, 2012 file photo shows Vice President Joe Biden speaking in front of "Vote Early" sign during a campaign rally at the Covelli Centre, Monday, in Youngstown, Ohio. One week before a close election, superstorm Sandy has confounded the presidential race, halting early voting in many areas, forcing both candidates to suspend campaigning and leading many to ponder whether the election might be postponed. It could take days to restore electricity to all of the more than 8 million homes and businesses that lost power when the storm pummeled the East Coast. That means it?s possible that power could still be out in some states on Election Day _ a major problem for areas that rely on electronic voting machines. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - This Oct. 29, 2012 file photo shows Vice President Joe Biden speaking in front of "Vote Early" sign during a campaign rally at the Covelli Centre, Monday, in Youngstown, Ohio. One week before a close election, superstorm Sandy has confounded the presidential race, halting early voting in many areas, forcing both candidates to suspend campaigning and leading many to ponder whether the election might be postponed. It could take days to restore electricity to all of the more than 8 million homes and businesses that lost power when the storm pummeled the East Coast. That means it?s possible that power could still be out in some states on Election Day _ a major problem for areas that rely on electronic voting machines. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - This photo taken Oct. 30, 2012, shows a utility crew working on damaged power lines in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy in Berlin, Md. One week before a close election, superstorm Sandy has confounded the presidential race, halting early voting in many areas, forcing both candidates to suspend campaigning and leading many to ponder whether the election might be postponed. It could take days to restore electricity to all of the more than 8 million homes and businesses that lost power when the storm pummeled the East Coast. That means it?s possible that power could still be out in some states on Election Day _ a major problem for areas that rely on electronic voting machines. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - This Oct. 29, 2012 file photo shows people standing in line to vote during early voting for the presidential election, in Miami. One week before a close election, superstorm Sandy has confounded the presidential race, halting early voting in many areas, forcing both candidates to suspend campaigning and leading many to ponder whether the election might be postponed. It could take days to restore electricity to all of the more than 8 million homes and businesses that lost power when the storm pummeled the East Coast. That means it?s possible that power could still be out in some states on Election Day _ a major problem for areas that rely on electronic voting machines. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

(AP) ? One week before a close election, superstorm Sandy has confounded the presidential race, halted early voting in many areas and led some to ponder whether the election might even be postponed.

It could take days to restore electricity to more than 8 million homes and businesses that lost power when the storm pummeled the East Coast. That means it's possible power could still be out in parts of some states on Election Day next Tuesday ? a major problem for precincts that rely on electronic voting machines.

But as the storm breached the coast, even some of those intimately involved in the election seemed in the dark about what options are available to cope with the storm. Asked Monday whether President Barack Obama had the power to reschedule the election, White House press secretary Jay Carney said he wasn't sure.

Some questions and answers about what's possible and not when it comes to reworking Election Day.

Q. Could the Nov. 6 election be changed?

A. Yes, but it's highly unlikely, and it's not up to the president. Congress sets the date for the presidential election ? the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, every fourth year. Congress could act within the next week to change the date, but that would be tough because lawmakers are on recess and back home in their districts campaigning for re-election. Plus, it's likely that would mean changing the date for the entire country, not just those affected by the storm. What's more, Congress only selects the date for federal races, so changing the date would wreak havoc for state and local elections also scheduled for Nov. 6. States might have to hold two separate days of voting, which could bust state budgets.

Q. What about pushing back the election just in some states?

A. It's possible, but the legal issues get tricky. States, by and large, are in charge of their own elections. Each state has its own laws dealing with what to do if an emergency jeopardizes voting and who can make the call. Federal law says that if a state fails to conduct an election for federal races on the day Congress chooses, the state legislature can pick a later date. But state and federal laws don't always jive perfectly. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has said his state's laws don't grant him authority to reschedule the presidential election.

Q. Have elections ever been postponed before?

A. Yes, but not on the presidential level. New York City was holding its mayoral primary when terrorists struck on Sept. 11, 2001, and the city rescheduled the election. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Louisiana's governor postponed municipal elections in New Orleans after elections officials said polling places wouldn't be ready.

Q. Other than rescheduling the election, can anything else be done?

A. Voting hours could be extended at various locations. In places where electronic voting machines are in use, paper ballots could be used instead. Some areas also might choose to move polling locations if existing ones are damaged, inaccessible or won't have power on Election Day.

Q. Would those options create any other problems?

A. Lots. If poll hours are extended, under a 2002 law passed by Congress in response to the disputed 2000 presidential election, any voters who show up outside of regular hours must use provisional ballots, which are counted later and could be challenged. Sandy's impact was felt in some of the most competitive states in the presidential race, including Virginia and Ohio. The more provisional ballots that are cast, the greater the chances are that the winner won't be known until days or even weeks after the election.

There's another issue if poll hours are extended in some areas ? such as counties with the worst storm damage ? and not in others. That could prompt lawsuits under the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause, said Edward Foley, an election law expert at The Ohio State University.

Relocating polling places is also risky because it could drive down turnout, said Neil Malhotra, a political economist at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. "If you disrupt their routine and the polling place they've always been going to, even if you don't move it very far, they vote less," he said.

Q. What is the federal government doing to help?

A. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's administrator, Craig Fugate, said Monday he anticipated the storm's impact could linger into next week and affect the election. He said FEMA would look at what support it could provide to states before the election. "This will be led by the states," he said.

___

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-30-Postponing%20Elections-QandA/id-530729be74af43a9b4f123b1ceaf5f90

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More than good vibes: Researchers propose the science behind mindfulness

ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2012) ? Achieving mindfulness through meditation has helped people maintain a healthy mind by quelling negative emotions and thoughts, such as desire, anger and anxiety, and encouraging more positive dispositions such as compassion, empathy and forgiveness. Those who have reaped the benefits of mindfulness know that it works. But how exactly does it work?

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have proposed a new model that shifts how we think about mindfulness. Rather than describing mindfulness as a single dimension of cognition, the researchers demonstrate that mindfulness actually involves a broad framework of complex mechanisms in the brain.

In essence, they have laid out the science behind mindfulness.

This new model of mindfulness is published in the October 25, 2012 issue of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. The model was recently presented to His Holiness The Dalai Lama in a private meeting, entitled "Mind and Life XXIV: Latest Findings in Contemplative Neuroscience."

The researchers identified several cognitive functions that are active in the brain during mindfulness practice. These cognitive functions help a person develop self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART) which make up the transformative framework for the mindfulness process.

The S-ART framework explains the underlying neurobiological mechanisms by which mindfulness can facilitate self-awareness; reduce biases and negative thoughts; enhance the ability to regulate one's behavior; and increase positive, pro-social relationships with oneself and others-all-in-all creating a sustainable healthy mind.

The researchers highlight six neuropsychological processes that are active mechanisms in the brain during mindfulness and which support S-ART. These processes include 1) intention and motivation, 2) attention regulation, 3) emotion regulation, 4) extinction and reconsolidation, 5) pro-social behavior, and 6) non-attachment and de-centering.

In other words, these processes begin with an intention and motivation to want to attain mindfulness, followed by an awareness of one's bad habits. Once these are set, a person can begin taming him or herself to be less emotionally reactive and to recover faster from upsetting emotions.

"Through continued practice, the person can develop a psychological distance from any negative thoughts and can inhibit natural impulses that constantly fuel bad habits," said David Vago, PhD, BWH Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, and lead study author.

Vago also states that continued practice can also increase empathy and eliminate our attachments to things we like and aversions to things we don't like.

"The result of practice is a new You with a new multidimensional skill set for reducing biases in one's internal and external experience and sustaining a healthy mind," said Vago.

The S-ART framework and neurobiological model proposed by the researchers differs from current popular descriptions of mindfulness as a way of paying attention, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. With the help of functional MRI, Vago and his team are currently testing the model in humans.

This research was supported by the Mind and Life Institute, Impact Foundation, and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (5-R21AT002209-02).

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Brigham and Women's Hospital.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. David R. Vago, David A. Silbersweig. Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2012; 6 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00296

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/uDNApCjG1XA/121029161452.htm

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Ukrainians elect parliament with top opposition leader Tymoshenko imprisoned

KIEV, Ukraine - Ukrainians voted in an election on Sunday that was expected to maintain President Viktor Yanukovych's parliamentary majority, despite his rollback on democracy during nearly three years in power.

Yanukovych's Party of Regions appeared to be capitalizing on the three issues: the jailing of the charismatic opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister; a divided opposition camp; and Ukrainians' overall disillusionment with politics.

The West is paying close attention to the conduct of the vote in the strategic ex-Soviet state, which lies between Russia and the European Union and is responsible for transporting energy supplies to many EU countries.

A strong showing by the Party of Regions would cement Yanukovych's grip on power and likely turn Ukraine further away from the West.

Ukraine's relations with the West have soured over the jailing of Tymoshenko, which prompted the European Union to shelve a long-awaited partnership deal with Kyiv. If the West turns a cold shoulder to Ukraine, Moscow is likely to court Kyiv to create a greater economic and political alliance.

The pro-Western opposition groups hope to gain enough parliament seats to weaken Yanukovych's power and undo the damage they say he has done: the jailing of Tymoshenko and her top allies, the concentration of power in the hands of the president, the snubbing of the Ukrainian language in favour of Russian, the waning press freedoms, a deteriorating business climate, and growing corruption.

Dmitry Kovalenko, a 50-year-old entrepreneur in Kyiv, said he voted for Tymoshenko's Fatherland party in hope of ending Yanukovych's monopoly on power.

"I am against repression," Kovalenko said after casting his ballot at a polling station in central Kyiv. "It's easy to win when your opponents are in jail."

But the opposition has been weakened with the jailing of Tymoshenko, the 51-year-old heroine of the 2004 Orange Revolution which threw out Yanukovych's fraud-tainted victory in a presidential vote.

Tymoshenko's party is running neck-to-neck with another pro-Western group, the Udar (Punch) opposition party led by world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko.

Klitschko's party has gained popularity in recent months, capitalizing on voter disappointment with both Yanukovych's rule and Tymoshenko's years in power that were marked by constant bickering in the Orange camp.

"We've tasted both the orange and the blue, and life hasn't changed for the better," said Zhanna Holovko, a 43-year-old high school teacher in Kyiv, referring to the campaign colours of the Orange revolution team and Yanukovych's party. "I am voting for a third force that I can trust," Holovko said after casting a ballot for Klitschko's group.

The opposition's failure to form a strong alliance has played into the hands of Yanukovych.

While Tymoshenko's and Klitschko's parties are expected to make a strong showing in elections by party lists, half of the 450 seats in the Verkhovna Rada parliament will be allocated to the winners of individual races, in which Yanukovych loyalists are expected to take the lead. Yanukovych has centred his party's campaign on bringing stability after years of infighting in the Orange camp and relative economic recovery after the global financial crisis, which hit Ukraine severely.

"Stability, stability, stability is what Ukraine needs," said Olexiy Nalivaichenko, 35, a civil servant in Kyiv, who voted for Yanukovych's party. "We want to feel confident and secure about tomorrow."

Also expected to win seats in parliament is the Communist party, which will side with Yanukovych's supporters. Another party that could pass the 5 per cent threshold needed for seats is the nationalist Svoboda (Freedom), a staunch government critic infamous for xenophobic and anti-Semitic statements.

The election tainted by Tymoshenko's jailing on charges of abuse of office has also been compromised by the creation of fake opposition parties, campaigns by politically unskilled celebrities, and the use of state resources and greater access to television by Yanukvoych's party.

At one polling station in Kyiv, voters complained that a clone politician with the same last name as Fatherland's candidate was intended to split the opposition vote.

"This doesn't look good," said Yevhen Yefimov, 43, a Kyiv computer specialist, who was nearly fooled into voting for the fake politician rather than a Tymoshenko candidate. "They are trying to trick people into making a mistake ... to steal Fatherland votes."

_____

Yuras Karmanau contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ukrainians-elect-parliament-top-opposition-leader-tymoshenko-imprisoned-151426626.html

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S.Africa's Nedbank lifted by higher-risk lending

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Nedbank Group announced on Monday that it is on track for double-digit earnings growth this year, the latest South African bank to benefit from a rise in higher-risk lending.

Hampered by weak corporate demand for credit, the country's big banks have ramped up unsecured lending - the profitable but riskier practice of giving loans that are not backed by collateral.

Unsecured loans in Africa's top economy surged 21 percent in the year to June and now total a $43 billion, the central bank said last week, as Nedbank and its rivals continue to push profitable credit cards and personal loans.

"It's probably the key risk facing South African banks," Johann Scholtz, banking analyst at Afrifocus Securities in Cape Town, said of unsecured lending.

"We've seen this movie before. Everyone is saying, 'No, it's not as problematic as the media is making it out to be.' I still feel that somewhere along the line somebody is going to get burnt."

Unsecured lending has helped South African banks to overcome relatively lacklustre economic growth and book double-digit profit increases.

Investors have noticed. Shares of FirstRand, South Africa's second-largest lender, have climbed 43 percent in the past 12 months. Nedbank, the country's No.4 bank and majority owned by insurer Old Mutual, has jumped 30 percent.

South African banks are now trading at lofty multiples. Nedbank's forward 12-month price-to-book ratio of 1.46 makes it more expensive than Wells Fargo & Co, Goldman Sachs Group and HSBC Holdings.

WOBBLY FINANCES

But the growth may not be sustainable, given the wobbly state of household finances.

Household debt totals 76 percent of disposable income, according to government statistics, while the unemployment rate is stuck at about 25 percent.

One positive for Nedbank has been its focus on writing shorter-term unsecured loans, said Afrifocus's Scholtz. That lowers the risk of bad loans staying on the book for a longer time and allows the bank to react quickly to changes in the market, he said.

Nedbank said in a trading statement that it expects to meet its full-year target for earnings growth - about 13 percent, according to Reuters calculations.

The bank derives its earnings target by adding 5 percent to the sum of the growth in gross domestic product and the consumer prices index.

Net interest income, the measure of earnings from lending, increased 9 percent to 14.5 billion rand in the nine months to September 30, the bank said.

Non-interest revenue, which includes fees and commissions, rose 14 percent to 12.4 billion rand.

Total loans were up by 7 percent, while the ratio of bad debt charges decreased.

Shares in the bank were little changed at 182.40 rand at 1408 GMT.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/africas-nedbank-lifted-higher-risk-lending-155159050--finance.html

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