JOBS ACT Helps Solar Investing Goes Mainstream ~ what IS working

JOBS ACT Helps Solar Investing Goes Mainstream

Posted by Linda H on 6:38 AM

'; div.innerHTML = summary; } //]]> Thousands of Americans log in to online trading accounts every day to manage personal stock portfolios. Now, there?s a new option for individual investors. I recently took advantage of this option by creating an account with?Solar Mosaic?and investing a small amount of money, along with about 85 other individuals, in a 26-kilowatt rooftop solar system in Oakland.

Right now my $25 investment is really an interest-free loan, since historically companies like Solar Mosaic haven?t been able to offer financial returns on
their products. However, thanks to passage of?the JOBS Act?last month, Solar Mosaic and similar companies will be able to offer returns on investments for ?crowdfunded? projects. So in addition to buying pure stock in a publicly traded company, I?ll soon be able to use websites like Solar Mosaic?s to build a portfolio of solar investments that provide a return on investment with every kilowatt-hour of solar energy produced.

Much has been written about the JOBS Act and its impending effect on?crowdfunding,?entrepreneurs seeking capital, and emerging growth companies like?Kickstarter. But for me, crowdfunding?s new legal status and ability to raise capital for renewable energy projects is indicative of a broader theme: retail investors?that?s you and me, as opposed to institutional investors like banks and funds?now have access to, by my count,?five?primary, different ways to make real money by personally investing in solar.

Let?s look at these five kinds of solar-focused investments that we can currently make as retail investors (if I?ve left any big categories off, please start a discussion in the comment section below!):

1. Crowdfunded Solar

• As outlined above, companies like Solar Mosaic will soon be able to offer modest returns on stable, low-risk investments in solar PV systems across the U.S. This is as simple as selecting a project, investing $25, and having cash payments flow into your account with interest over time.
• Crowdfunding isn?t just restricted to solar. In the UK, several companies are encouraging crowdfunded investment incommunity wind projects.

2. Direct Ownership

• In some states and local jurisdictions, a combination of plummeting solar photovoltaic costs, local and federal incentives, and escalating utility electricity rates have made flat-out ownership of a solar system a good investment with returns as high as 5 percent, depending on location.

3. Third-Party Finance

• In many places in the U.S., power purchase agreements and solar lease providers like SolarCity, SunRun, and Sungevity can offer zero- down solar leases that save you 15 percent from your old electricity bill from day one.?
• While more of an immediate payback contract than an ?investment,? the lease option opens up your bank account to put saved money to work elsewhere. Since retail electricity rates historically increase every year, financial returns can expand over the term of the lease.

4. Community Solar Gardens

• Hailing from RMI?s backyard in Colorado,?Clean Energy Collective?offers customers a way to invest in renewable generation to for up to 100 percent of their electricity use. This investment in solar energy and other renewables can provide a return on investment and is open to individuals without rooftop space of their own.

5. Direct Stock Purchase

• Perhaps the most obvious way for individuals to invest in solar, anyone can buy stock in publicly traded upstream solar companies like the NASDAQ-listed SunPower (SPWR), First Solar (FSLR), and Enphase (ENPH).
• Where one invests in the solar value chain can make a big difference on the success of the investment. Stock purchases of downstream participants (like installers and developers) whose value is aligned with the project-focused investing listed in the four cases above, may soon be an option as companies like?SolarCity go public. One can already invest in developer SunEdison through its parent company MEMC (NYSE: WFR) as well as utilities and other larger companies that develop solar. But in these cases the investment will rest on all of the activities of the company, including those not solar-related.
• Additionally, several mutual funds and business development companies channel capital to solar projects and companies, but I?m not currently aware of any with a singular solar focus?although this could change in the future.

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3DS Mod - Building a Killer Online Press Center An Insider's Guide ...

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Monstrous meals bring fame, fortune

Lasagna made with 45 burgers, liquor and bacon, a "boss bacon burger" with ground bacon, stuffed with bacon, covered in bacon sauce and topped with bacon strips, and a deep-fried PB and J tower filled with jars of Nutella and, oh yes, bacon.

These are just some examples of the monstrous meals dreamed up by the guys of "Epic Meal Time," an Internet food show where they create an insane conglomeration of near infinite calorie value. The Thanksgiving episode that famously included a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a pig packed upwards of 72,000 calories.

The episodes have earned "Epic Meal Time" millions upon millions upon millions of views on YouTube and they have over 2.4 million subscribers to their YouTube channel.

Harley Morenstein, a 26-year-old from Montreal, is the face of "Epic Meal Time" -- not to mention the brain, mouth and stomach.

"It's not a cooking show. It's a celebration of food show," he said.

A couple of years ago, Morenstein was a substitute teacher who had dreams of hitting it big on the Internet. He said he and his friends dabbled in web contests, and even won an award from pianist and composer John Tesh for a tribute video.

Their success didn't come by accident. Morenstein and his buddies decided there was a market for an Internet food show and licensed the domain name, "Epic Meal Time," even before posting their first video.

"People are always like, 'did you expect this?' and I was like, 'no, I expected to waste my time producing scum that no one's going to like,'" Morenstein said.

Morenstein said the show takes about $1,000 each to produce, but are self-sustaining, thanks to aggressive advertising and sales. "Epic Meal Time" sells everything from bacon salt to bacon popcorn to bacon spread, and, oh yeah, it sells t-shirts too.

"'Epic Meal Time' is a brand, it's more than just a show," Morenstein said. "We have a whole merchandised line... There's so many aspects to it that I never thought I would be involved in."

The former substitute now makes a living doing this, even though he admits he still lives with his parents.

In his weekly game of one-upsmanship with his friends, the guys push themselves to eat more and more, and worse and worse food. But Morenstein said he doesn't feel like he is responsible for sending a unhealthy message to his millions of YouTube viewers.

"The truth is, I'm down to die for this," he said. "If you're going to say that I'm the reason why the fat kid is eating all those cheeseburgers, it would be a crazy thing to say. The kid is probably going to eat cheeseburgers anyway."

But so, we had to ask, what makes a meal epic?

"[The] number one thing and it's always underrated: Friendship," Morenstein said. "Friendship tastes amazing and it smells even better."

Watch what happens when "Nightline" goes behind-the-scenes as the guys prepare a meal for one of their episodes -- a dessert involving ice cream, Jack Daniels, bacon and more bacon -- TONIGHT at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT.

The next thing Morenstein said he is going to eat? "Nightline."

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Survivor pulled from Italy quake rubble after 12 hours

Firefighters rescue a 65-year-old woman trapped under rubble from Tuesday's 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Italy. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

By msnbc.com news services

A 65-year-old woman was pulled out alive after lying for 12 hours in the rubble?of her kitchen in an Italian town hit by Tuesday's deadly earthquake.?

Firefighters told Sky TG24 TV that a piece of furniture, which had toppled over during the 5.8 magnitude quake that left 16 dead and 14,000 people homeless in the Emilia Romagna region north of Bologna, saved the woman from being crushed by the wreckage. She was taken to a hospital for treatment Wednesday.

---

The building in the town of Cavezzo?had been damaged in a first quake, on May 20, and had been vacant since. The woman had just gone back inside it Tuesday morning to retrieve some clothes when the latest temblor knocked down the building, firefighters said.?

By late Tuesday, the death toll throughout the region stood at 16, with one person missing: a worker at the machinery factory in the small town of San Felice Sul Panaro. Some 350 people also were injured.

A 5.8 tremor destroyed a number of buildings and killed at least 15 people. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

Originally government officials had put the death toll at 17, and there was no immediate explanation for the lowered toll.

Factories, barns and churches fell, dealing a second blow to a region where thousands remained homeless from the May 20 temblor, much stronger in intensity, at 6.0 magnitude.

At least 16 die as 5.8-magnitude earthquake hits Italy

The two quakes struck one of the most productive regions in Italy at a particularly crucial moment, as the country faces enormous pressure to grow its economy to stave off the continent's debt crisis. Italy's economic growth has been stagnant for at least a decade, and the national economy is forecast to contract by 1.2 percent this year.

?The area encompassing the cities of Modena, Mantua and Bologna is prized for its super car production, churning out Ferraris, Maseratis and Lamborghinis; its world-famous Parmesan cheese, and less well-known but critical to the economy: machinery companies.

AP / Luca Bruno

People stand in front of a collapsed building in Cavezzo, northern Italy, on Wednesday.

?After the second earthquake, Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti pledged that the government would do everything possible to restore normal life to the area, which he said was "so important, so productive for Italy,"?the BBC reported.

Government troops had been deployed to the quake-struck areas, and a cabinet meeting would planned for later on Wednesday, according to the BBC.?

An 6.0 earthquake caused a violent tremor in Italy on Sunday, destroying historic buildings, including a cathedral. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.

The country's main business association warned on Wednesday that the?earthquakes would have a prolonged impact on the region.

"The earthquakes in May, which had very serious effects on people's lives, will also have prolonged consequences for some of the most important industrial regions in Italy and for an area with strong manufacturing activity," business lobby Confindustria said in an economic report.

"This can only worsen an already very difficult situation," it said.?

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.?

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

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Folk musician Doc Watson dies at 89

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ? Doc Watson, the blind Grammy-award winning folk musician whose mountain-rooted sound was embraced by generations and whose lightning-fast style of flatpicking influenced guitarists around the world, died Tuesday at a North Carolina hospital, according to a hospital spokeswoman and his manager. He was 89.

Watson died at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where he was hospitalized recently after falling at his home in Deep Gap, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He underwent abdominal surgery while in the hospital and had been in critical condition for several days.

Arthel "Doc" Watson's mastery of flatpicking helped make the case for the guitar as a lead instrument in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was often considered a backup for the mandolin, fiddle or banjo. His fast playing could intimidate other musicians, even his own grandson, who performed with him.

Richard Watson said in a 2000 interview with The Associated Press that his grandfather's playing had a humbling effect on other musicians.

"Everybody that's picked with you says you intimidate them, and that includes some of the best," Richard Watson told him.

The ever-humble Doc Watson found it hard to believe.

Country and bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs said Tuesday evening, "An old ancient warrior has gone home."

"He prepared all of us to carry this on," Skaggs added. "He knew he wouldn't last forever, He did his best to carry the old mountain sounds to this generation."

Doc Watson was born March 3, 1923 in Deep Gap, about 100 miles northwest of Charlotte. He lost his eyesight by the age of 1 when he developed an eye infection that was worsened by a congenital vascular disorder, according to a website for Merlefest, the annual musical gathering named for his late son Merle.

He came from a musical family ? his father was active in the church choir and played banjo and his mother sang secular and religious songs, according to a statement from Folklore Productions, his management company since 1964.

Doc Watson's father gave him a harmonica as a young child, and by 5 he was playing the banjo, according to the Merlefest website. He learned a few guitar chords while attending the North Carolina Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh, and his father helped him buy a Stella guitar for $12.

"My real interest in music was the old 78 records and the sound of the music," Doc Watson is quoted as saying on the website. "I loved it and began to realize that one of the main sounds on those old records I loved was the guitar."

The wavy-haired Watson got his musical start in 1953, playing electric lead guitar in a country-and-western swing band. His road to fame began in 1960 when Ralph Rinzler, a musician who also managed Bill Monroe, discovered Watson in North Carolina. That led Watson to the Newport Folk Festival in 1963 and his first recording contract a year later. He went on to record 60 albums, and wowed fans ranging from 60s hippies to fans of traditional country and folk music.

According to the Encyclopedia of Country Music, Watson took his nickname at age 19 when someone couldn't pronounce his name and a girl in the audience shouted "Call him Doc!"

Seven of his albums won Grammy awards; his eighth Grammy was a lifetime achievement award in 2004. He also received the National Medal of the Arts from President Bill Clinton in 1997.

"There may not be a serious, committed baby boomer alive who didn't at some point in his or her youth try to spend a few minutes at least trying to learn to pick a guitar like Doc Watson," Clinton said at the time.

Folklore described Watson as "a powerful singer and a tremendously influential picker who virtually invented the art of playing mountain fiddle tunes on the flattop guitar."

Countless guitarists tried to emulate Watson's renditions of songs such as "Tennessee Stud," ''Shady Grove," and "Deep River Blues."

Doc Watson's son Merle began recording and touring with him in 1964. But Merle Watson died at age 36 in a 1985 tractor accident, sending his father into deep grief and making him consider retirement. Instead, he kept playing and started Merlefest, an annual musical event in Wilkesboro, N.C., that raises money for a community college there and celebrates "traditional plus" music.

"When Merle and I started out we called our music 'traditional plus,' meaning the traditional music of the Appalachian region plus whatever other styles we were in the mood to play," Doc Watson is quoted as saying on the festival's website. "Since the beginning, the people of the college and I have agreed that the music of MerleFest is 'traditional plus.'"

Doc Watson has said that when Merle died, he lost the best friend he would ever have.

He also relied on his wife, Rosa Lee, whom he married in 1947.

"She saw what little good there was in me, and there was little," Watson told the AP in 2000. "I'm awful glad she cared about me, and I'm awful glad she married me."

In a PBS NewsHour interview before a January appearance in Arlington, Va., Watson recalled his father teaching him how to play harmonica to a tune his parents had sung in church, as well as his first bus trip to New York City to perform in the early 1960s. He gave an early solo performance at Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich Village, a hot spot for the folk music revival, and later played Carnegie Hall.

Telling the stories in a folksy manner, he broke into a quiet laugh at various points. He said he still enjoyed touring.

"I love music and love a good audience and still have to make a living," Watson said. "Why would I quit?"

Musician Sam Bush, who has performed at every Merlefest, began touring with Doc and Merle Watson in 1974, occasionally substituting for Merle when he couldn't travel.

"I would sit next to Doc, and I would be influenced by his incredible timing and taste," Bush said after Watson's recent surgery. "He seems to always know what notes to play. They're always the perfect notes. He helped me learn the space between the notes (are) as valuable as the ones you play."

Bush said he was also intimidated when he began playing with the man he calls "the godfather of all flatpickers."

"But Doc puts you at ease about that kind of stuff," Bush said. "I never met a more generous kind of musician. He is more about the musical communication than showing off with hot licks."

His blindness didn't hold him back musically or at home.

Joe Newberry, a musician and spokesman for the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, remembered once when his wife called the Watson home. Rosa Lee Watson said her husband was on the roof, replacing shingles. His daughter Nancy Watson said her father built the family's utility shed.

Guitarist Pete Huttlinger of Nashville, Tenn., said Doc Watson made every song his own, regardless of its age. 'He's one of those lucky guys," said Huttlinger, who studied Watson's methods when he first picked up a guitar. "When he plays something, he puts his stamp on it ? it's Doc Watson."

He changed folk music forever by adapting fiddle tunes to guitar at amazing tempos, Huttlinger said. "And people all over the place were trying to figure out how to do this," he said. "But Doc, he set the bar for everyone. He said, 'This is how it goes.' And people have been trying for years to match that.

"He took it (the guitar) out of the background and brought it upfront as a melody instrument. We're no longer at the back of the class. He gave the front to us."

Wayne Martin, executive director of the North Carolina Arts Council, said recently that Watson took southern Appalachian forms of music such as balladry, old-time string music and bluegrass, and made them accessible.

"He takes old music and puts his own creativity on it," Martin said. "It retained its core, yet it felt relevant to people today."

Said Bush: "I don't think anyone personifies what we call Americana more than Doc Watson."

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue said in a statement Tuesday evening that Watson will be missed.

"Over his long and brilliant career, Doc Watson traveled the world playing the music he loved, but his heart never strayed far from his home in Deep Gap, N.C.," Perdue said. "Our state was fortunate to have such a worldwide ambassador of North Carolina's culture and heritage."

In 2011, a life-size statue of Watson was dedicated in Boone, N.C., at the spot where Watson had played decades earlier for tips to support his family, according to the Folklore statement. At Watson's request the inscription read, "Just One of the People."

___

Online:

http://www.merlefest.org/

___

Martha Waggoner can be reached at http://twitter.com/mjwaggonernc

Associated Press writer Tom Foreman Jr. contributed to this report from Raleigh.

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Faults Show Lake Tahoe's Shaky Past ? and Future

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The features of home phones and phone providers: an overview

Life without phones has become an improbability. Phones have become a part and parcel of our lives. Though there are online chats and video conferencing available nowadays, it just does not equate to talking to a friend or family over the phone. Technology advancement has not left behind phones and the features available with phones have grown rapidly over the years. They were devices used just for military purposes initially. It has then become a home necessity over the years. There are so many call features available that even supports multiple conferencing. That is, more than two people can talk to each other at the same time. Missing out important calls when you are no longer at home is not a hindrance anymore, with voice mails and call forwarding features available with phones.

Phones with so many features should be supported by a good provider like the Charter Telephone.

It could be said that Features in phones and the connection to it are interconnected. Without a good connection, it is hard to take advantage of the features of the phone. Similarly, without a good, phone, a good connection cannot be put to the best of its use. With the advanced network technology, the sound quality of the connection would be crystal clear.

If you are looking for a home connection which is cost-effective with good quality and a connection without any hassle, then look for a provider available locally. Now, there are many providers who have their offices in cities spread across the country. An advantage with these providers is that they offer all the three home connections: Television, Internet and Phone in the form of a bundle. They provide all the three connections and the service would also be done by the same provider for all the three connections. You would not find any difference when you get all the three connections from the same provider except for the cost savings part.

The quality of the calls would be good as the internet and the phone connection is offered by the same provider. There would also be benefits like free long distance calling across US and unlimited local calling. These come as standard offers when you opt for a bundle. So the charge for the calls that you make, be it long distance or local is cut down by a great deal. You can see your bill reducing substantially when you opt for a deal or the phone connection as a part of the bundle. The quality of the connection would be equal for all the three connections as you would be getting it from the same provider. So it is a triple bonanza for you as you need not worry about each connection and there would not be any quality difference from one connection to the other.

There are also wireless home phone services available with the providers in the market. Reception would be a problem when switching over to a wireless home phone connection. But you can elevate this problem by making sure that you get reception for your house while you subscribe for the connection.

So technology has not only influenced the phones and its features but also the connections that can be subscribed for the phone. Now making phone calls using the online medium has started to pick up. I recently read an article which states that 24% of Americans have made calls using internet. So making calls through phones has become cheaper with calling through internet especially the overseas calls. Though these work cheaper than the traditional home phone service, nothing compares to the traditional method of making calls.

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Microsoft lands an official software outlet in Iraq

Believe it or not, there hasn't been an official distributor for Microsoft software in Iraq in the near-decade since it's even been an option; if you wanted Windows or Office in the past several years, your choices were limited and seldom legal. Baghdad's Legend Lands is filling those big shoes through a deal with Microsoft that will see it provide both official copies, support, and other help for Iraqis that want to take the honest path. Stores across the country will take care of everything from large-scale government orders down to a Tikrit family's first home PC. The move won't completely quash piracy concerns, but it's a big step towards normalcy in technology for the desert nation.

[Image credit: Shbab4ever]

Microsoft lands an official software outlet in Iraq originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 May 2012 04:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dances With Films Festival: 15 Years of Daring, Dreaming and Doin ...

If StudioVox were a film festival instead of a social network, it might look something like the Dances with Films festival. ?One of the most fiercely independent showcases for emerging and independent talent, Dances With Films has been going strong for over a decade. This year?s festival will continue that tradition and commitment to independent filmmaking with its 15^th edition beginning later this month, on May 31, and running through June 7 at Hollywood?s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles.

The thing that might define that fierce independence of Dances With Films is the one rule that applies to all the films eligible for submission to festival competition: no stars behind or in front of the camera. Of course the term ?star? is a subjective term, but festival programmer and associate director (and StudioVox site member) Robert Mellette gives a pretty good and familiar definition: you know ?em when you see ?em. So, if you?re a big-name actor or director seeking some indie cred, you?re better off looking somewhere else.

Of course, if you wait long enough after so successfully committing to your mission, as Dances With Films has, eventually those relative unknowns and knowns in front of or behind the camera indeed go on to become stars. Notable alumni include The Social Network and Zombieland star Jesse Eisenberg and Mark Olson and Will Scheffer, the co-creators of HBO?s Big Love.

Recently, we had a chance to interview festival programmer Mellette and he gave us some more background on the festival, as well as some great insights on the independent film community and good tips for budding filmmakers (and all creatives).

StudioVox: Who are the key DWF players now? Are you filmmakers currently?

Robert Mellette: I hate this question because someone always gets left out, so I won?t try to list everyone in the various, incredibly important, roles. The main two are co-founders Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent. I came on board as a filmmaker in 2000 and have worked my way up to key player over the years.

With the exception of one or two volunteers dating back to day one, everyone involved is a filmmaker to one extent or another. Do we all have projects we?re ready to shoot next month? No. Not all of us, but some do. As I was told by one filmmaker at the premiere of my film, ?It?s your second one that?s hard.?

SV: What differentiates your festival from others?

RM: DWF has a mandate that no film in competition can have a star in front of or behind the camera. We are a level playing field for all the truly independent filmmakers out there. These days, the definition of star is hard to pin down. We used to say, ?anyone who could get you funding just off their name,? but funds are harder to come by these days. Now, we have a ?you know them when you see them? attitude. We also love to see ?working actors? in films. The idea is not to penalize filmmakers for getting the best cast they can, but to make sure that all productions are treated equally.

And don?t get us wrong, we love stars. We will program movies with big names in them, but they won?t be in competition.

SV: How has the independent film industry changed in the past five years for emerging new artists?

RM: There?s a good news / bad news vibe out there.? The good news is you can make a feature film for a LOT less money.? The bad news is the money is harder to come by. With distribution going through a lawless, wild west phase it?s harder to create a business model for independent film.? Sure, you can find almost any schmoe who?ll dump your movie in the digital download world and call that distribution ? but, like self-publishing, that doesn?t mean you?ll find an audience.

Another surprise is that the quality of uber-indie movies has not dropped as much as you?d think. Don?t get me wrong, there are plenty of horrifically bad movies out there that are so bad they could be harmful to your health ??but those were around in the days of 3-chip video, too (circa 2000). I think the truly talentless filmmakers have turned to the internet and don?t bother with festivals ??which is fine by me.

SV: How many films will you be featuring? On how many nights?

RM: We are still finalizing the list, but right now we have 17 Features, not including Docs.? I think we?re considering four feature docs this year. I don?t know how many shorts; it usually comes in around a hundred.

We run May 31st ? June 6th at the Chinese Theatres. I think we?re in Theatre 6 inside the Hollywood & Highland complex, so make sure you seek us out.

SV: How did you select your films for this year?

RM: Read my blog [http://rsmellette.blogspot.com]!? I get into great detail of the behind-the-scenes working of how we select the movies we do, as well as the types of films we?re seeing in submissions. I highly recommend filmmakers read all the posts BEFORE they make their movie.

SV: What?s your favorite part of doing this event?

RM: Giving my fellow filmmakers that stamp of approval. It?s so nice to be able to tell a fellow artist, ?Hey, you?re not crazy. You?re good at this. Keep going.?

?SV: Any new notable alumni we should be aware of?

?RM: You know, it?s getting hard to keep up. We had the film One Day Like Rain in 2007 that starred Jesse Eisenberg. Last year, we had two movies starring Rachel Boston. What? Haven?t heard of her? You will.

We premiered Easter before Mark Olsen and Will Scheffier sold Big Love to HBO.? My friend and producer, Hilton Smith, went on to UPM/produce on Deadwood, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Hung, and more.? And countless editors, TV directors, etc. For those who really understand the entertainment industry, ?notable? really means ?employed.?

SV: Why should emerging filmmakers keep trying?

?RM: Well, if they suck, maybe they shouldn?t. (Laughs). I remember being into anthropology back in the 1970s. Yeah?I?m old. Back then, scientists were struggling with the question of what separates human beings from the rest of the animal kingdom. They said we?re the only animals who make tools, but lo and behold, chimpanzees use sticks to get termites out of trees to eat.? They said it was our opposing thumb, but?really? Come on, most primates have nearly opposing thumbs.

Silly scientists. They?d sit in labs and classrooms all day considering this, then complain that their spouse was dragging them out to a play, or a dance concert, or a gallery opening that night so they wouldn?t be able to ponder what separates us from the animals.

Point being, we make films because we have stories to tell.? We have to tell stories the same way dogs have to chase squirrels.? We?re human.? It?s what we do.

?SV: Single piece of advice for an emerging filmmaker?

?RM: Besides Garry Marshall?s ?Tell me a story??

Short filmmakers ? cut your movie in half.? Feature filmmakers ? move the camera with majesty. Show us how good you are, not how good you are at looking like you?re not good at all.

?SV: Are you doing the 2-Minute, 2-Step this year?

?RM: Absolutely ? and Canon has some new toys to play with ? so it should be fun!

For those that don?t know, the 2-Minute, 2-Step is a six-year-old competition where we give filmmakers four hours to shoot and edit a two-minute-or-less movie that screens the next night before one of the features. Canon has been a partner on this project since year one. When we started, the A-1 was the cutting edge camera of choice. When Canon introduced the 5D Mark II, we had to explain to filmmakers how to use it. The next year, they all wanted to shoot on their own 5Ds. This year, we?ll have the EOS C300 to play with.

And the winner of the competition walks away with a really nice camera; don?t know which one yet.

If you want to enter, go to our website www.danceswithfilms.com, click on TWO-STEP, and submit a script.

?SV: We figure it?s not because of the huge paycheck?so why do you do the event?

?RM: Because I suck at chasing squirrels.

?For more information on this year?s Dances With Films film festival (May 31?June 7, 2012), please visit http://danceswithfilms.com. If you?re in the Los Angeles area, you can also purchase tickets at the Hollywood Chinese Theater box office.

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Does Fate Exist?

I've been wondering this a while, some people believe they're destined to meet this person you love, but I don't know what to think. My thoughts on fate are very questionable, for instance I believe the whole system counteracts free-will since fate is essentially saying your life is guided and your actions are moot. Although it could be said I'm looking to far into it, but like with my other debates on here, this isn't an easy question, it never was really.

So do you believe your actions all lead to this pre-determined goal, and nothing you can do, would change this goal?

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when they cry out protect us.
The locals scream and shout a bit,
but we don?t let that affect us.
We?re here to lend a helping hand
in case they don?t elect us.
How dare they buy our products
yet still they don?t respect us.

Billy Bragg - The Marching Song Of The Covert Battalions

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Romney, Obama compete for veteran vote, Florida emerging as battleground

Romney, Obama compete for veteran vote, Florida emerging as battleground

By Joseph Weber
Published May 26, 2012
FoxNews.com

The effort to win the votes of military veterans in the presidential election takes the spotlight Memorial Day weekend, with President Obama and Mitt Romney each attending public events and arguing he has a better plan to improve veterans' weak unemployment situation and other issues.

Romney is scheduled to appear Monday with Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain at a Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in San Diego, a conservative region and so-called Navy town.

McCain, a decorated Navy officer and Vietnam prisoner, won the veteran vote over Obama as the Republican nominee in the 2008 election.

The GOP has long been considered the party that supports a strong national defense and holds the vote of veterans and active-duty members. But the percentages are dropping and the vote appears to be up for grabs this year.

President George W. Bush won the veteran vote by 16 percentage points in his 2004 race against Democrat and Vietnam veteran Sen. John Kerry.

McCain won in 2008 against Obama, though only by 10 percent, 54 percent to 45 percent.
read more here

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Improve health and safety in your business | Kitchenaid 5 Speed ...

Safety and health are an imperative part in any business operation, be it commercial, industrial or agricultural. It is crucial that the management along with the staff is knowledgeable of possible hazard-causing devices in the work premises along with the correct measures to respond.

At Olive Safety you will find there?s spot to a healhty and safer workplace. The purpose of the corporation is usually to aid the increasing numbers of injuries during worktime along with your wish to be safe. They could provide you expert advices, safety training and more. The flexible and effective trainings include Manual handling which takes care of events of .5, occupational first aid which takes care of 3 days (24 hours for refresher), first aid which covers a day, Manual Handling Instructors and safe pass. Olive safety is promoting training centres which has sufficient equipment to help keep trainees comfortable during training. Customized health and safety trainings are also offered to fit your company.

Health and safety issues are some of the major aspects in work. Labor unions and also other worker organizations stand firm to let companies keep these principles. Since a great deal of official statistical data reports common injuries within the work place including those due to manual handling.

Benefit claims can be quite expensive and lawsuits can be quite a total burden for companies. Number of business days are lost and production can be greatly hampered if injury issues usually are not properly addressed.

Prevention through health and safety training can properly address these matters. Brands like www.olivesafety.ie offers numerous training programs that focus on almost virtually any workplace. They provide trainings like basic life support, food safety training, FAS safe pass, manual handling, abrasive wheels, fire safety training, and several more. Visit www.olivesafety.ie to learn more about their offer or refer to them as at 01-4111-011.

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Six Factors Why You ought to Jump Into Post Advertising

Should you are operating to turn out to be a profitable on line entrepreneur then you may have probably already tried to raise targeted traffic and generate sales through research motor positioning and pay for every click marketing. Maybe you have also tried post marketing and advertising? Post advertising and marketing will be the strategy of writing articles or blog posts related to your enterprise and publishing them on other sites and within the ezines of complementary organizations using a link back for your web site. This type of on line marketing is actually an incredibly productive approach to construct visitors and boost product sales. Below you will uncover the main techniques that write-up advertising can advantage you.

1. It really is your finest approach to get identified being an ?expert? in your area.

Why should an individual invest in from you and not from one from the 1000?s of your rivals that are also on the web? The couple of lines that you write inside your ?about us? section of your web site may not be adequate to arranged you aside from the other folks. Having said that, if your possible client sees your name on well-written and helpful posts showing on quite a few web-sites about the web, then she?ll regard you as an expert within your area. The much more you publish, the higher your recognition might be and the more your status are going to be improved.

2. Instructive articles or blog posts build believe in within your capability to supply an excellent item or services.

When you are marketing on the net your most important asset will be to be seen as educated and trustworthy. When one of your articles is selected by a different publisher and placed on a web site or integrated in an ezine, that publisher is in impact endorsing you. This sort of endorsement will impress the readers of these articles or blog posts and they will feel far more assured in doing business enterprise along with you, in particular if your post is posted in an ezine or on the web site which they currently regard.

3. Your articles support to ?pre-sell? your solutions and solutions.

It?s the excellent of site visitors that counts, not necessarily the amount. The very best kind of targeted traffic you can get is from individuals who have read one of your articles or blog posts, and also have liked what they have study. These net visitors occur into your web site having an eagerness to know much more and are substantially extra likely to buy one thing from you then somebody who arrives onto your internet site ?cold? or with no any introduction for your ideas.

4. Article creating is a good technique to generate content material for your ezines as well as your own site.

Despite the fact that you could examine write-up advertising as an outreach activity designed primarily for publication somewhere else, you can also use these content articles in your personal newsletters and on your own web site. Maintaining in touch together with your clients and clientele via a typical newsletter is a crucial component of doing enterprise on the web. Nevertheless, you need a steady movement of excellent materials to really be effective. In case your posts are superior enough to become printed on somebody else?s web site, then by all signifies publish them 1st within your own newsletters and in your web-site.

5. Articles or blog posts published on other sites assist to create one-way back links to your web site.

Link constructing is one with the keys to creating a web page successful, but, just like targeted traffic, it really is the top quality in the backlinks that make any difference, instead of the shear number. Every time one of one?s articles is placed on yet another internet site, you are going to get a website link back to your web-site. These are one-way hyperlinks for the reason that you did not need to trade back links to acquire them. Typically these backlinks come from pages with fewer outbound backlinks than the standard hyperlink pages where your hyperlink is generally placed when producing a reciprocal arrangement. One-way hyperlinks coming from pages with couple of outbound hyperlinks support to create Page Rank far more effectively than reciprocal back links.

6. You could generate plenty of dollars from articles that happen to be published somewhere else.

I am conducting an online business from one in the most unlikely locations around the Earth, Albania. Despite this handicap, I?ve experienced people today contact me up to the phone and go on to buy a large number of dollars really worth of services. All this is the outcome of articles or blog posts about web site marketing and search engine optimization which I have published and posted over the previous handful of years. If I can do it from Albania, consider what you could do from your location.

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Will Al Qaeda cement its foothold in Syria?

The massacre in Houla, Syria, over the weekend pushed Russia to finally denounce the atrocities there. But Moscow also warned that the regime of Bashar al-Assad faces threats from Al Qaeda.?Al Qaeda's future in Syria depends on how Sunnis there respond to foreign jihadi fighters.

By Fawaz A. Gerges / May 29, 2012

This frame grab from an amateur video provided by Syrian activists purports to show the massacre in Houla on May 25. Op-ed contributor Fawaz A. Gerges says the 'consequences of chaos' mean that 'Syria has now become a proxy battlefield' for Al Qaeda. (The Associated Press is unable to independently verify the authenticity, content, location, or date of this citizen journalism image.)

Amateur Video via AP

Enlarge

The massacre in Syria over the weekend that killed more than 100 people, including women and children, in Houla, outside the city of Homs, has increased the concern over the chaos there to new levels. While this latest atrocity pushed Russia to support a UN Security Council resolution condemning the violence, Moscow hesitated to place sole responsibility on the regime of Bashar al-Assad, warning that the government there faces increased terrorist threats bearing the ?clear signature of Al Qaeda.?

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Al Qaeda has never been a key player in Syria, but as the crisis there has drawn on, it has turned from a political struggle to an armed conflict, bringing the consequences of chaos and desperation in tow. Whether recent bombings are the work of the terrorist network is unclear, but what is certain is this: Syria has now become a proxy battlefield in which Al Qaeda is laboring very hard to find a new refuge, and to portray itself as a guardian of Sunni Muslims ? objectives that lie in stark contrast to those of the majority of Syrian protesters.

As the Syrian conflict escalates, and the country threatens to descend into all-out sectarian strife, Al Qaeda-like activists and factions will go to further lengths to establish a foothold in the country as they did in Iraq after the US invasion in 2003. Their success will depend on how Syrians react to these foreign fighters and whether the aggrieved Sunni community will provide shelter.?

Twin car bombings a couple weeks ago that targeted a military-intelligence branch in a Damascus neighborhood, and which reportedly killed more than 50 and wounded hundreds, do bear the hallmark of Al Qaeda. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon told youth conference attendees in New York, ?I believe that there must be Al Qaeda behind it. This has created again very serious problems.?

The Al-Nusra Front, a jihadist militant group that has claimed responsibility for the bombings in Damascus, is extremely shadowy and prime for speculation ? as are many details surrounding the violence in Syria. Al Qaeda-inspired or not, Al-Nusra should not be invested with any particular significance: There are dozens of opposition groups now operating independently in Syria.

While most eschew Al Qaeda?s tactics and ideology and are either religious-nationalists or secular-minded activists, more and more protesters have taken up arms to defend their communities. The Free Syrian Army is only one among many armed units operating independently from one another.

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PrawfsBlawg: Another Party Heard From on Legal Education

? Legal versus Medical Education and some blatant 'crowdsourcing' | Main | Law as Plinko ?

Monday, May 28, 2012

Another Party Heard From on Legal Education

Via links in some comments, here's an addendum to my discussion last week of practical- or client-centered legal education (which, as you recall from that post, didn't seem to get much love from the constituents on the Campos blog last week). It's a post?by Dru Stevenson at the Circuit Splits blog, which I'm afraid I wasn't aware of, titled "Should Law Schools Focus on Lawyering Skills?" Stevenson argues the answer is no. A snippet or two:

I . . . disagree with the nationwide push toward making law schools into trade schools, the attempt to make the institutions less intellectual. ?And I recently blogged?here?about the direction I would like to see schools go--echoing the vision recently outlined by the Dean of the law school at Boalt Hall (California-Berkeley). ?Comparing law to another profession, would you prefer that your surgeon had spent more time taking courses on "counseling patients," and "medical clinic management," or more time studying cellular biology and organic chemistry? For my surgery, I would prefer the one who had a more intellectually rigorous program, not one that focused on role-playing exercises and rudimentary paperwork-completing skills. ?I wonder if any other profession criticizes its theoretical wing like ours does.?

The most troubling aspect of turning the focus of law schools completely toward "skills" is that this is the seed of our institutions' destruction. When a consensus finally emerges that the whole point of law school is training kids in the mechanical tasks of lawyering - how to write a brief, how to give an opening argument, how to look up the law on something - people will then realize that law schools are not really necessary at all for teaching "skills" - these are better learned by "doing" and by repetition. A law school with a skills curriculum is a law school that is not worth the time or tuition, as the same skills would be better learned on the job in apprenticeships. ?After we all switch to teaching mechanical skills, there will be a movement to abolish law schools completely. ?The academic study of law will get absorbed back into the political science departments from whence it came, and lawyer training will be done the same way we train & license paralegals. . . . ??

In terms of marketable skills, there is an inconsistency between what the firms?say?they want and what the firms?do?when they hire new graduates. The firms say they want "practice ready" associates and complain that the law schools are too theoretical; but when given the opportunity to hire graduates from the HALF of the law schools that are mostly practice-oriented and non-theoretical, they pass over them and hire associates from the top 100 law schools instead - year after year, decade after decade. ?I know that some in the legal academy do not believe in rational markets or market discipline, so they would dismiss this as "all the firms are being stupid," or would say that the hiring partners at big firms are fooled by the prestige or brand names of elite schools. ?It's really strange, though - that after decades in practice, the graduates from the "skills" schools do not seem to rise to the top of the profession enough to influence or change the hiring patterns. ?One might expect at least?some?of the firms to realize that the "skills" schools are producing superior lawyers ("practice ready") and that some would switch to interviewing on their campuses instead of the elite schools. ?It just doesn't happen - year after year, graduates find it easier to get jobs if their diploma is from a more elite (read: more theoretical) law school. The graduates from lower-ranked law schools are much more likely to find themselves unemployed and having to start their own solo practices. The hiring market has never backed up the claims that students are better off being taught lawyering skills instead of higher thinking about the law. Law firms overall prefer to hire students from schools that tilt toward legal theory. The shift toward skills is not a response to market pressure; it runs?counter?to the market.?

Prof. Stevenson makes clear that he comes from a practically oriented school, so I appreciate hearing his perspective. I must respectfully disagree with him, however--and I say that as one who does write on the "intellectual" side and doesn't think there's anything wrong with that for individual professors. (Although being a theory type doesn't absolve one of one's fiduciary duty to ask what is best for legal education on the whole, and particularly what is best for one's own school and students.) There is no doubt that other professional wings of education do?face the same tensions and criticisms. Boalt's model is interesting, but we should no more treasure the idea of making every school more like Boalt than we should the idea of making every school more like Yale, or indeed more like any specific school.

The second paragraph excerpted above--the one that worries that "turning the focus of law schools completely toward 'skills' is . . . the seed of our institutions' destruction"-- is interesting. But I don't see why we should think of this as a bad thing in and of itself. I might (or might not) feel differently about it if every?school took this path, but if it happened in a number of places I'm not sure that Stevenson has shown why that would be so terrible.?

Finally, I agree with Stevenson that there appears to be "an inconsistency between what the firms?say?they want and what the firms?do?when they hire new graduates." But: 1) his paragraph seems heavily weighted in terms of the behavior of Biglaw firms; 2) I do believe there is a "firms are being stupid" element to this--or, put differently, I think the big firms' credentialism is (or was) partly client-driven but is also a function of foolish reproductive tendencies at those firms and hurts their business in the long run; and 3) in any event, as I argued earlier, and especially given the reality that most students don't end up at these firms regardless, it still makes sense to me to ask, not what firms want, but what clients need.?

In any event, I was happy to hear a different point of view. Read it for yourself. A couple of good comments there as well. And no, I do not think discussing this issue obscures the "it's the jobs/money" arguments, which remain important.

?

Posted by Paul Horwitz on May 28, 2012 at 09:06 AM in Paul Horwitz | Permalink

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He's also glossing over something really important in that third paragraph: that regardless of the curriculum taught at the elite law schools, they will, on average, have smarter crops of students who are more likely to become good lawyers (see, e.g., Scalia on law clerk hiring: "The best minds are going to the best law schools. They might not learn anything while they?re there, but they don?t get any dumber."). So, all that really tells us is that firms feel the long-term potential and higher average intelligence of grads from the top schools outweighs whatever level of practice-readiness they'd have from grads of lower-ranked schools. If some of those top schools did focus on practice-readiness over theory (say, if Harvard, Columbia, UVA, and Georgetown switched to a practice-focused curriculum), we could then look at the data and have a valid basis of comparison. Without that, though, just comparing the practice-focused, low-ranked schools to the theory-focused, high-ranked schools is ignoring a staggeringly important variable.

(By the way, I don't mean to say there aren't smart students at, for instance, Alabama. Just speaking in averages and perceptions here).

Posted by: Doctor Chim Richalds | May 28, 2012 1:31:03 PM

Law schools need to focus on both. While a greater focus on skills-based learning is necessary. intellectualism should not be abandoned. They are both equally important to the creation of well-qualified practitioners.

I disagree with Dr Richards about the impact of these allegedly smarter students at higher tier law schools. These students might be exceptional test-takers but that doesnt meqn that on average they will be better practitionere. They will simply get better and more opportunity due to this faulty perception. I have encounterer far too many graduates from elite schools with great brains and poor common sense, which equates to inadequate lawyering skills. But alas, thus perception will likely not change...unfortunately.

Posted by: Kendall Isaac | May 28, 2012 2:15:51 PM

I'm with Stevenson, and we do have data: Northwestern has for years been marketing itself as a "practical" elite school. Far as I know they've done fine, but no better than comparably ranked schools, like Duke, Cornell, Michigan, and UVA, in the market. Certainly there's been no market rush to Northwestern by firms to gobble up their "practice-ready" grads. Maybe this is because school can only prepare someone so much for practice.

Posted by: Anon | May 28, 2012 3:31:44 PM

Please permit me to offer two thoughts on this important debate.

1. Focusing on the hiring practices of the largest, most elite firms ("Biglaw") is likely not the best way to ascertain the future course of the market for law school graduates. This is the sector of the market that provided the most inefficient services to clients, and therefore experienced the most profound transformation as a consequence of the current recession. Preparing lawyers to work in Biglaw is rather like to preparing journalism students to work at print newspapers. There will always be some volume of work where the financial stakes are so high that clients will be willing to pay the kind of fees that Biglaw requires for that model to work, but the market is going to continue to push law firms for a higher ration of value received to cost charged, and firms with high fees that fund high compensation and costs will be at a serious disadvantage. Firms that hire lawyers that can more quickly provide cost-effective service to clients, in contrast, will be at an advantage. Hence, the demand for skills training emanating from both clients and legal employers.

2. Yet, even Biglaw tells us where the market is moving. Biglaw, regarding itself as the most elite market participants, naturally wants it both ways. It wants more practice-ready students since clients are no longer willing to pay for the training of young lawyers (and partners at Biglaw seem disinclined to have training costs come out of their own compensation), but Biglaw also wants smarts, since most Biglaw firms believe that the sophistication of their work demands that they hire "the best minds." Most Biglaw firms still consider a degree from an elite law school as the best proxy available for smarts. This is admittedly changing, though slowly, but it remains a prevalent view. Yet, the fact that even Biglaw wants law schools to provide more skills training, albeit at the most elite law schools from which they prefer to hire, tells us much about where the market will push legal education.

Larry Rosenthal
Chapman University School of Law

Posted by: Larry Rosenthal | May 28, 2012 3:55:22 PM

I have posted an extensive reply to Professor Stevenson at the Legal Skills Prof Blog at http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_skills/2012/05/dru-stevenson-on-legal-education-a-reply.html. The essence of my criticism is that he has mischaracterized the legal reform movement. I agree with Paul that we need debate on this issue, but the debate must concern what is actually being argued, not a strawman view of the other side.

Posted by: Scott Fruehwald | May 28, 2012 4:20:54 PM

*The academic study of law will get absorbed back into the political science departments from whence it came*

Is this really the heart of the professorial angst? After all political science departments pay significantly less money than law schools, have tougher tenure standards, tend to require more demanding teaching schedules, do not not have revenue sources independent of the university as a whole (which in turn means less autonomy within the university), must publish in peer reviewed journals and so on.

The notion of the bar as a cartel is well explored, but what about the notion of the legal professoriat as a self interested cartel?

Why should it be that law professors are the most well compensated (along a variety of axes) of the entire liberal arts faculty? Is it because the research produced by the law faculty is far more valuable than that produced by the sociology department?

Posted by: Brad | May 29, 2012 11:51:49 AM

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Arie Luyendyk, Jr.: Bachelorette Hopeful's Shady Past Revealed

Arie Luyendyk, Jr., is doing a great job wooing Emily Maynard on The Bachelorette so far this season, but a series of strange details about his past have cast serious doubt about both his character and motives.

Are we looking at Mr. Here For the Wrong Reasons?

While none of the revelations are that scandalous, Arie's level of success this season (see The Bachelorette spoilers for more on that topic) makes them quite consequential as a serious candidate to become Emily's fiancé and Ricki’s future stepfather.

According to reports, Bachelorette producer Cassie Lambert not only knows Arie - a race car driver and son of Indycar champion Arie Luyendyk, Sr. - she's been trying to get him on the show for years, but he kept turning it down.

That is, until this year, when and that he agreed to do it because Cassie would help him get to the end. According to Bachelorette spoiler guru Reality Steve, Arie even said, “I’m only doing it because I know I’m gonna win.”

He was extremely confident going into the show that Cassie would help him get far, because she's coached him and is the one Emily talks to daily.

How much this influenced Emily, we'll likely never know, but his relationship with Cassie Lambert played a major role in him agreeing to the show.

Amazingly, it only gets weirder from there.

On tonight's episode, Arie tells Emily about Cassie ... Harshman. That's his ex-girlfriend, the divorced mother of two that he was referring to last week.

Arie and Cassie lived together for over a year.

It's unclear if this will air on ABC, but Arie tells Emily on Monday’s date that he got her pregnant and she miscarried. Why does he reveal this? Unclear.

It's quite clear, though, that Cassie Harshman was a big part of his life. They got matching tattoos of each other's names, which he has now covered up.

Anyway, moving on. After breaking up with Cassie Harshman, Arie started dating Diana Navarro, and hooking up with his business partner's girlfriend.

Brittany Lorenz was not only hooking up with Arie right before he went on the show, but texting him after he went on it, apparently. It gets weirder still!

Jared Brassfield apparently found out, after Arie left, that his on/off-GF had been hooking up with him, and texting him while putting the moves on Em.

Jared then packed up and moved to New Jersey, chasing Brittany down. Oh, and Arie was also hooking up with TWO other girls at the same time.

Bottom line: Arie Luyendyk, Jr., hooks up a lot, apparently has no qualms about breaking up relationships, and knows a producer on the show well.

None of that should disqualify him, but it definitely should make you wonder about the motives of the man wooing Emily Maynard week after week.

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Expert dyson dc25 Home Improvement Advice You Can Put To ...

Expert dyson dc25 Home Improvement Advice You Can Put To Good Use!

Home improvement is a lot more than just installing a new toilet. It is truly a progressive hobby. It has so many techniques and products that require a keen eye, precision, and a sharp attention to detail. Do you have what it takes? Regardless of your answer, here are some tips to help you.

If the outside of your home is looking a bit drab and old, why not put new outside light fixtures up. There are a lot of outside light fixtures available on the market and they all have something special. Putting a new light on your home adds a touch of class, elegance and style.

A good home improvement tip is to make sure you write up a contract with your handyman when they come out to assess any problems. By having a firm contract, you won?t have to worry about any extra charges or being exploited. Without a contract, you could be taken for a ride.

Are the fans in your home looking a bit overworked? Why not buy new fan blades and replace the old ones, so that your home looks clean. Dirty fan blades can make your home look dirty. If you are looking for an easy way to keep your home clean, try putting in new fan blades.

If you have hardwood floors, you may notice that overtime they get scratched. Fixing these scratches is not that hard to do. You will need to sand the floor, and stain or seal it. Getting out these scratches will make your floors look like new again, and will give your home that new floor look.

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If you no longer use your garage for parking your cars, you may want to consider remodeling it to be a part of your home. It can serve as an extra bedroom, office or den/family room for your home. Since it is usually attached to your home, the duct work is probably already in place for heating and cooling.

Do you need to fix a hole in your wall made by a nail or screw. Create a divot in the wall with the rounded end of a screwdriver by pressing it into the screw hole. Next, use spackle or drywall compound to fill the divot. This will give you a nice smooth wall surface.

What does the siding on your home look like? Do you have the old asbestos siding that was so prominent decades ago? Maybe you have vinyl siding, and it is starting to fall apart or look dingy. Perhaps you are thinking about bricking your house which is all around the best type of siding. Whatever the case may be, siding your home, while it can be expensive, is one of the best options in improving the value of your home.

If you require the help of a home contractor for your home improvement project, make sure that you take the time needed to collect various estimates so you can do some great price-shopping. This will ensure that you are getting the best price possible for the contracting services that you need.

Consider a truly ?green? makeover to your landscaping. A popular new trend in landscaping is to make your garden fit the climate dyson dc 25 and area that you live in. Gone is the need for the perfect green lawn all year round. If you live in a dry climate, consider creating a landscape that are tolerant to drought and you will save money in watering costs and help the environment.

There are dozens of ways that you can improve your home which will also up the value of it on the market. This can be a good way to invest in the future of your home as well as a way to enjoy it more while you are the owner.

When you hire a contractor to work on a home improvement project, make sure that he is holding a current license and that he has insurance for his employees. This is important for your protection, in case you have a legal dispute about the quality of the work. In addition, if his employees are not covered by his insurance, you might be financially responsible for any injuries that an employee incurs, while he is on your premises.

Installing CFL bulbs is a great way to save money and save the environment, but you must know how to clean one up in the event it breaks. Clear pets and people from the area to let the room air out (the bulbs contain mercury). Then clean up the glass fragments, using duct tape to carefully pick up the smallest pieces. Double-bag the broken bulb for disposal, and vacuum the area thoroughly, emptying the bag or canister immediately afterward.

Now you see that home improvement is a lot more than just buying and painting things in your house. It takes skill and an eye for pleasant aesthetics. You don?t want your home to look slovenly, so why not take some time to learn how to do it right? The above tips should have given you some helpful advice.

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