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Why would you go to a financial coach rather than a financial adviser?
This article takes as its starting point the principle that money is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end, that end being life itself.
I argue that those seeking help around money should, therefore, start by looking for something deeper and more creative than financial advice. I review the different forms of financial help available and I summarise the deep differences between so-called 'Traditionals' on the one hand and 'Freeformers' or the 'New Economic Order' on the other. I consider who is most likely to benefit from the various forms of help.
Finally, I argue that financial coaching should be an integral part of life coaching and a precursor to taking financial advice.
Something greater than financial advice
Earlier this year and shortly before I surrendered my Financial Services Authority permission to provide financial advice, I met Bruce and Theresa, my long-standing clients of some thirty years. The meeting was arranged to say farewell and to close our professional (but not social) relationship and to finalise their plans for their retirement.
The meeting lasted for most of the day, and whilst their finances were on the agenda and were dealt with, much of the meeting revolved around how they were going to live in retirement, what they could and should do, how they were going to maintain family ties, decisions about their house and nearly all aspects of life in retirement. We also covered their relationship with money, dealing in particular with how to change their working life attitude of saving and prudence to finding the courage to spend their time and money on making the most of their lives in retirement.
While I was able to demonstrate mathematically that their income and assets were more than sufficient to allow them to live a fulfilled life in retirement, we had to deal with some deep emotional blocks to spending, in particular, the fear that they would run out of money.
This was far more than financial advice. It amounted to 'financial life coaching', a relatively new professional field that treats money and life as intertwined and is truly holistic in its approach. It is an approach I started to adopt in 2006 after training with the Kinder Institute of Life Planning in the US. In truth, most of my client interventions since then have been holistic, coaching interventions. I have found that the coaching element is of far higher value to my clients than arranging financial products, which, within the context of most financial life plans, should be simple, low cost and commoditised.
Is financial coaching for everyone?
I have witnessed the profound changes that financial life coaching can bring about in clients, and I would argue that everyone needs a life coach. In reality, the service is less suited to what Ross Honeywill and Christopher Norton call 'Traditionals' and more suited to what they call the 'New Economic Order' (NEO) (Honeywill, Ross and Norton, Christopher (2012). One hundred thirteen million markets of one. Fingerprint Strategies.), and what James Alexander and the late Robert Duvall in their research for the launch of Zopa (the first peer-to-peer lending business) called 'Freeformers' (Digital Thought Leaders: Robert Duvall, published by the Digital Strategy Consulting).
Two types of consumer
These distinctions are important in the context of a key concept about money, which I will cover shortly. First, let's consider the differences between the two groups. Honeywell and Norton describe 'Traditionals' as primarily interested in the deal, features and status. A sub-group of 'Traditionals' is 'High-Status Traditionals' for whom status is the highest priority. They cite Donald Trump as the epitome of a High-Status Traditional.
Honeywill and Norton contrast 'Traditionals' with NEOs. According to the authors, NEOs buy for authenticity, provenance, uniqueness and discovery. They are more likely to start their own business, are usually graduates, see the internet as a powerful tool for simplifying their lives, understand investing (money and personally), and are repulsed by conspicuous consumption. They are highly individual and express their own personal values through what they say, buy, do, and who they do it with.
Honeywill and Norton discovered NEOs in the US and wrote about them in 2012 although Robert Duvall and James Alexander had arrived at a similar concept in the UK in the early 2000s. In their research before launching Zopa, Duvall and Alexander identified a group of people they called 'Freeformers', a new type of consumer 'defined by their values and beliefs, the choices they make, where they spend their money. They refuse to be defined by anyone, they don't trust corporations or the state. They value authenticity in what they buy, and they want to lead "authentic" lives.' Duvall and Alexander saw these people as the core of an IT society based on self-expression, choice, freedom and individuality.
Two attitudes to money
In my own career as a financial adviser, planner and coach, I have identified two prevailing attitudes to money: those who see money as an end in itself, and those who see money as a means to an end. I cannot admit to having carried out detailed research on this, but I have seen enough to make a reasonable assumption, namely that it is the Traditionals who see money as an end in itself, and it is the Freeformers who see money as a means to an end. (At the risk of upsetting Messrs Honeywill and Norton and conscious that NEOs and Freeformers are not exactly the same, I am going to refer to both only as Freeformers in the rest of this paper as I feel the word is a better and more evocative description of the species than NEOs.)
In very general terms, Traditionals are intent on making their money go as far as possible by getting the best deals and features. Psychologically, they equate money with ego and status. Conversely, Freeformers use their money to achieve their individuality and authenticity and to express their values. While they do not spend entirely irrespective of cost, their spending criteria are written in terms of authenticity, provenance, design, uniqueness and discovery.
Mapping attitudes to life and money
In my own experience Traditionals respond to financial advice, but not financial planning or coaching, while Freeformers only start to value financial advice when it is supported by an individual and unique life and financial plan born out of an in-depth coaching and planning process.
Putting it another way, Freeformers understand that the link between life and money goes deep, so respond well to coaching that addresses their life and money. Traditionals, on the other hand, do not harbour such a powerful connection between life and money, and are less likely to respond to the concept of 'financial life coaching.' Traditionals form the key market for financial services institutions and packaged products, especially those that provide deals (discounts / competitive fees), features (pension plans with flexibility, for instance) and status (high risk, high returns). Freeformers are more likely to select a platform (an online service to aggregate all their investments and tax wrappers) and concentrate on selecting investments to suit their values and goals.
The spectrum of help with personal finances
In the UK and other parts of the world, you can now find many different forms of help for your personal finances. Its a broad spectrum with financial advice at one end and financial life coaching at the other. In between, families and individuals can access financial planning, guidance, training, mentoring and education. Of course, none of these is mutually exclusive, and some firms or organisations will provide a combination, so it is essential to understand what is available and the limits and benefits of each.
Financial advice
Financial advice is product oriented. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates personal financial advice, defines financial advice as advice to buy, sell or switch a financial product. While there is a regulatory requirement to 'know your customer' and ensure any advice is 'suitable', the thrust of financial advice is the sale of products.
A financial adviser must be authorised by the FCA and abide by its rule book.
Financial planning
Financial planning goes deeper than financial advice. It aims to ascertain a client's short, medium and long term financial goals and develop a plan to meet them. The plan should be comprehensive and holistic. It should cover all areas of the client's personal and family finances, and recommendations in any part of the plan should maintain the integrity of the plan as a whole.
The Financial Planning Standards Board (which sets the standards for the international Certified Financial Planning qualification) defines a six-step financial planning process:
- Establish and define the client relationship
- Collect the client's information
- Analyse and assess the client's financial status
- Develop financial planning recommendations and present them to the client
- Implement the financial planning recommendations
- Review the client's situation
Although one of the practices in Step 2 is to 'Identify the client's personal and financial objectives, needs and priorities', the process is primarily about finance rather than life.
Certified Financial Planners must also be authorised to provide financial advice by the regulator of the country in which they operate.
(Financial Planning Standards Board: Financial Planning Practice Standards available at https://www.fpsb.org/standards-for-the-profession/framework/ )
Financial life planning
We are beginning to see several different styles here. Arguably, George Kinder and the Kinder Institute lead the field and Kinder has developed the EVOKE five-step financial life planning (or just 'life planning') process consisting of:
- Exploration: getting to know the client in the most profound sense
- Vision: working out the client's life goals, values, projects etc
- Obstacles: dealing with practical, emotional and financial barriers preventing the client from achieving their vision
- Knowledge: providing internal and external expertise to meet the client's goals
- Execution: coaching the client in the implementation of their plan
(Kinder, George and Galvan, Susan. Lighting the Torch: The Kinder Method of Life Planning. FPA Press 2006)
There are two important distinctions between financial planning and life planning: life planning takes as its starting point the client's life rather than their money, and life planning contains the crucial middle step of dealing with obstacles, which is absent in the financial planning process.
Life planners are usually (but are not required to be) authorised financial advisers.
Financial literacy
Financial literacy is generally poor, and there are a growing number of organisations and institutions in the UK dedicated to improving financial literacy. The UK Government has attempted to do this through the Money Advice Service (www.moneyadviceservice.org.UK/en) and in 2014 financial literacy education became part of the National Curriculum in England and should be a compulsory part of every school's timetable (Long, Robert and Foster, David. Financial and enterprise education in schools. House of Commons Briefing Paper number 06156, October 2016).
Financial literacy is not financial advice or planning and does not have to be provided by a financial adviser or planner.
Financial guidance
Financial guidance is a relatively new concept, given weight by the Financial Conduct Authority in its review of the financial advice market (HM Treasury and Financial Conduct Authority. Financial Advice Market Review Final Report. March 2016) which defines it as any form of help provided to consumers which are not regulated financial advice. The FCA sees 'guidance' as a way to tackle barriers to consumer access to advice, the three key barriers being affordability, accessibility and the threat of liabilities and consumer redress to advisers.
The FCA cites several options, including basic advice, simplified advice, streamlined advice, general and generic advice and guidance. Some of these will require an authorisation, others not.
Financial coaching
There does not appear to be an official definition of financial coaching / financial life coaching. The International Coach Federation definition of coaching is:
Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential.
My own definition of financial life coaching is:
Financial life coaching is a process to help a client move from where they are now to a better personal and financial position as defined by their beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviour, actions and relationship to money.
Personally, I have long believed that you cannot help people move to a better personal position without addressing their finances, and people cannot better their finances without having a clear idea of what their money is to be used for in the short, medium and long term. I know I am not alone in this opinion. When I have talked to psychotherapists and counsellors about my work, I have often been greeted with enthusiasm as so often their clients have been confounded in their best intentions by financial issues.
In practical terms, it is possible and desirable to structure the personal finances of a household, so they support and advance the personal goals, values and interests of the family. However, this implies a need to understand what those goals, values and interests are.
This definition makes clear that the process is holistic in the most real sense of the word, covering our thoughts, feelings and actions, dealing with right and left brain activities and working in the entire field of a client's life. It also deals not so much with money per se, but with our relationship to money. It is our relationship with money that defines how we use it, not how much we actually have or do not have.
Lynn Twist, a global activist, committed to alleviating poverty and hunger and supporting social justice describes how the Achuar people, an indigenous group of people from deep in the Amazon rainforest have lived without money for thousands of years (Twist, Lynn (2003). The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of our Inner Resources. WW Norton, New York). Not just lived but thrived on the social currency of reciprocity rather than the financial currency of cash.
I think we have to be careful here and not confuse 'better' with 'more'. Thought leaders such as Lynn Twist and Brené Brown are adamant that scarcity ('I don't have enough money/time/sleep/leisure/work/kudos/ friends etc.) is the root cause of much of the world's dissatisfaction. But wanting 'more' is different from wanting 'better'. From a moral and ethical point of view, we arguably all have a responsibility to make better not only our own lives but the lives of others. That, however, is very different from wanting more of anything solely for the sake of wanting more, particularly wanting more to stay connected to our peers.
Indeed, I see financial life coaching as a process that helps people deal with the problem of scarcity by helping them to let go of their own excessive demand for whatever commodity they think they are lacking, not by trying to increase the supply of the commodity in the first place.
Others will say that trying to 'better' our lives is a futile exercise, that we should just accept our situation as it is. Trying to lead a better life takes energy, is exhausting and requires so much focus on a goal or goals that we cease to be aware of the more extensive (and probably deeply enriching) environment around us.
The demand for financial life coaching
I built my business, Planning for Life, on the back of demand for advice that was far more profound than financial advice as defined by the FCA. My clients nor I called it 'financial coaching'. We did not even realise the term existed, but that is what I was doing.
Where did this demand come from, and does it still exist? I would argue more than ever, for many reasons.
'Life is s**t'
I don't actually believe this, nor do most people. However, they do recognise that 'the more the planet is fractured, the more distress individuals feel inside' as leadership and life coach Danielle Marchant puts it when commenting on the 2016 ICF Coaching Study (International Coaching Federation 2016 Coaching Study Executive Summary available at http://www.coachfederation.org ). This study suggests that there are now 65,000 people working globally as professional coaches, or using coaching in a management or leadership role. The distress Danielle refers to precipitates a demand for a less structured form of help than, say, skills development or financial advice. It creates a need for someone else to talk to, to be challenged, to brainstorm ideas, to be accountable to, to find meaning in life. In particular, it precipitates a demand for help in overcoming the practical, emotional, professional and financial obstacles to a better experience.
Reacting against commoditisation
Honeywill and Norton discuss this at length. They argue that the demand amongst NEOs for a more authentic, genuine, individual life is partly a reaction to the uniformity of commoditisation. Why is this important? First, because in a highly commoditised, globalised world its difficult to actually live the NEO or Freeformer lifestyle and there is a growing demand for help in achieving this.
This is not just about money, it is a whole lifestyle issue, and if individuals are not achieving their desired lifestyle, they will seek appropriate help to get there in the form of life coaching and, by extension, financial coaching.
Second, if you hate commoditisation, you probably hate traditional financial services and look for a more unique, authentic and highly personal form of help which financial life coaching can provide. You will also want to seek support from a like-minded individual who shares your ambitions and values, and probably has been through – and is prepared to admit to having been through – life's downs as well as up. You will seek help from someone whose expertise and provenance is founded more on their own life struggles than on their technical expertise.
The search for meaning
In Western economies, many people have reached the pinnacle of Maslow's hierarchy of needs – self-actualisation. Their physiological and safety requirements are met through the purchase of essential commodities. Their demands for love and belonging are met through relationships and brands. Their need for esteem is achieved through their work or profession. What is left? The search for self-actualisation – or meaning and empathy as commentators such as Professor Rowland Smith and Bernadette Jiwa put it.
Maximising your potential or doing the best you can is a little more complicated than building a portfolio, and comes down to answering questions such as 'Why I am here?', 'Who I am?', 'What is my purpose and relationship to the rest of the world?'. Identifying gaps and filling them is rich material to work on with a coach and is undoubtedly a vital driver of the demand for coaching.
Financial life coaching has a far broader range than financial advice. Brendan Llewellyn, a UK commentator on financial services, wrote recently of how 'for most people, money concerns income, expenditure, borrowing and savings'. He goes on to say that, although the financial services industry concentrates on the last two, 'for most people income and expenditure are the most important variables.' Llewellyn goes on to talk about the need for a new type of financial adviser, a counsellor or guide who would help people increase their incomes, look at personal development and retraining, seek new employment opportunities, analyse and improve expenditure patterns.
The focus of our interventions should be on where the client really needs help, namely balancing the work/income and life/expenditure equation. In recent years another layer has been added to this: sustainability. Freeformers, in particular, are environmentally aware and want to live sustainably. Traditional financial services concentrate on investments and borrowing when what people need is help in controlling their cash flow, spending smarter and doing it sustainably, which is a clear role for financial coaching.
Repairing the divorce between life and money
I contend that over the last 30 or so years, financial services have become more left brain, commoditised and productised. This has resulted in the steady separation of life and money and a shift in emphasis towards the concept of money as an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. Much financial advertising is based on returns, and the efforts investment teams make to be seen as the top performing fund in a sector are phenomenal.
High early surrender and switching rates testify to the fact that financial products tend to be chosen for their short term performance rather than the long term suitability in a life plan.
However, people are beginning to see through this. I was often gratified by how many of my clients appreciated their portfolios being structured around what we term the Cascade. This recognises the pros and cons of the leading financial asset classes and allocates money between them based on the client's short, medium and long term needs for cash. Allocation based on maximum returns (which also, of course, incorporate the maximum risk) is avoided.
As long as traditional financial services continue to be driven by growth and return, it will not reconnect with life. However, financial coaching, which seeks to reunite life and money and build a personal working relationship with money, can do much to repair this divorce.
Dealing with obstacles
Traditional financial services and even certified financial planning do not address the matter of obstacles to achieving a client's goals or desired lifestyle. We only have to look at our own lives to see that our struggles are usually around dealing with practical, emotional, professional and financial obstacles to achieving a better experience. Financial life coaching can fill this gap.
A natural extension
The concept of coaching is becoming more familiar in home life as well as business life. After all, we hire coaches in several areas today, including leadership, business, sports, health and vitality. Dealing with personal finances is no less challenging than, for example, staying fit or building a business and lends itself to coaching. In my experience, clients came to me for this very reason, even if they did not recognise or understand that it was financial coaching rather than financial advice that they sought.
Not the Listening Bank
It used to be said that the average length of time between the start of an adviser/client meeting and the adviser starting to sell a financial product was ninety seconds. Whether there is truth in that, I don't know. However, I do know that individuals shun financial advice because they don't want to be the subject of a hard sell. What they want is someone to listen to them and to counsel them objectively and independently.
On many occasions, I have sat with couples hardly saying a word, just listening to them talk to me and each other in an empathic, secure environment. In the end, they would often thank me and talk about how, in all their years of marriage, they had never had that sort of deep and meaningful conversation.
People want to be heard, to be able to tell their stories to someone prepared to listen and help them to understand the meaning of those stories.
Go to a financial coach before a financial adviser
Financial products such as savings accounts, loans, mortgages, pensions, and investments fulfil an essential part of any family's financial plan and belong firmly in the field of expertise provided by financial advisers. So, why would you go to a financial coach first? Here are just a few reasons:
- The scope of financial coaching is much wider than financial advice; ultimately it is about getting life right then building a sound framework for financial products
- In spite of those financial ads that tell you a bank account or other commercial product is the route to freedom, it is the deep inner journey around life and money that financial coaching will take you on that is the real source of freedom.
- Coaching will provide you with new ideas and new perspectives on life; you will brainstorm obstacles and assess different scenarios before committing to financial products.
- You will be able to make informed decisions about your life and money and minimise the probability of making serious mistakes.
- Your existing norms and attitudes will be challenged.
- Limiting beliefs and self-beliefs will be identified and addressed.
- Bad financial habits will be identified and addressed.
- You will become accountable to someone other than yourself.
- You will build a life based on an in-depth exploration and statement of your most essential values.
- You will have the opportunity to explore how your money can be used to express your humanity and ideals, how you can make 'contribution' your primary driving force instead of 'consumption'.
- Your relationship will be based on trust, authenticity and partnership; you will build a support team to help you on your journey.
- A coach will give you a highly personalised service, especially compared to the upcoming alternative of robo-advice
- You will develop a financial framework that supports your life goals which you can either fill with financial products yourself or use as a brief for a financial adviser to do the work for you
- Life will become simpler, different and under control and you will become financially well organised
By coincidence, I find myself finalising this article on Black Friday, 25th November 2016, the day after Thanksgiving Day in the USA. Print, television and online media are awash with adverts and encouragement to go out today and buy, buy, buy. I have no doubt that savings accounts and investment portfolios will be raided, credit cards and overdrafts will be pushed to the limit and for what? The chances are that much of the stuff purchased today will be used once then relegated to the back of a cupboard or attic. By the time we have got through Christmas and New Year and into January many, many people will be suffering from a monumental financial hangover.
This isn't about money. It's about our relationship to money, our attitude to life and our deep-seated hopes and fears about our lives. But these can be addressed, and with guidance and coaching, they can be changed to ensure people can lead more fulfilled lives in the knowledge that they are the masters of their money and not vice versa. Get to grips with life and financial relationships first, then go to a financial adviser with a clear plan and brief for your money.
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Story by
Christina Farr
Christina Farr is a contributor to TheNextWeb. She writes about digital media and startups in the Bay Area. She is a graduate of Stanford's Christina Farr is a contributor to TheNextWeb. She writes about digital media and startups in the Bay Area. She is a graduate of Stanford's Journalism School. Follow her on Twitter @chrissyfarr
There is only one logical reason that Facebook, the world's largest social networking site, would set it sights only a mobile app with 13 employees. The main driver for Monday's $1 billion acquisition? The vast store of beautiful photos that we gave Instagram for free.
So, how can you make money from your art? This list is by no means exhaustive, but here are some examples of sites and apps that share the green.
deviantART is the largest online social network for artists, photographers and designers. Anyone can share their artwork with the site's dedicated community of over 14 million users, and receive critical feedback. Once you've developed a following, sign up for an account to sell your prints and products. In the print shop, pieces usually fetch around $20-100. You can also purchase prints in exchange for "points", a virtual currency that is popular with super users.
Top tip? If your print receives over 100 positive comments, consider selling it. Leveraging social engagement with your work is a surefire tactic to achieve high returns. "Become famous first by building a brand and then cash will come your way," said Nikolaos Bonatsos, Venture Capital Investor at General Capital Partners.
Other options: MyFolio, Shadowness, ImageKind, Yessy, Etsy
Etsy is a marketplace to sell anything handmade and vintage. The site was founded in 2005 by a group of rogue musicians and makers that needed a place to sell their work. Despite growing popularity with a mostly female community, it still maintains street cred with the indie art community.
Top tip: Don't be discouraged by the 1 million+ items in the fine art gallery. Only about a quarter of Etsy's sellers are professional artists.
Other options: Bonanza, Silkfair, ArtFire, eBay, Shopleaf
YouTube, one of the largest stores of user-generated content, has propelled its users into international superstardom. Justin Bieber is perhaps the most famous example of a self-made YouTube celebrity. But if you don't possess side-swept locks and an army of tween fans, there are alternative ways to generate some extra cash.
In 2007, YouTube announced a policy to pay popular indie video creators. The site agreed to split its ad revenue with "partners" 50:50. With the most successful YouTube users generating upwards of 100 million page views, you do the math. Since then, a select number of partners have gone from creating comedy videos in their bedrooms to minor celebrities with fans from around the world.
Top tip? Got a unique talent to showcase? Create a channel and publish a series of how-to videos. There are plenty of examples of users with substantial followings offering tutorials on anything from stuffing a duck to plucking their eyebrows.
Other Options: DailyMotion, Hulu, BlogTV, Metacafe, Justin.TV
Gumroad is a startup that aims to democratize the ability to sell stuff online. Rather than set up an entire storefront, Gumroad let's you assign a link to your product. Whether it's some code you've been working on or some music you've never released, there's usually someone out there willing to make an offer. The pricing model is flexible and cool. Gumroad allows you to dynamically price your work so if there's a ton of interest for your work, you can drive up the price.
Top tip? Communicate regularly with your fans and followers by sending thank you notes and pinging them with information about your new stuff.
Other options: IMVU, eBay, Craiglist
Zaarly, a peer-to-peer mobile startup, allows users to buy and sell anything with people nearby. The startup aims to be the mobile version of Craigslist. Initially a market for posting odd jobs, the site is now a favorite of freelance artists and designers to sell their work on the fly. Simply create an alert by listing your art by its keyword and location. Whenever there's a suitable buyer, Zaarly will securely make the connection.
Zaarly recently rolled out a free service on iOS and Android. The free app includes a sign up and 'Activity Tab' that tracks your buying and selling history. The mobile and web experienced is synced, so you'll be able to access your contacts and information at anytime.
Top tip? If you're using Zaarly to sell your music or photography, we salute you! Headed to Coachella this year? Take advantage of the simple law of supply and demand by offering up dry shampoo and energy drinks.
Other Options: TaskRabbit, Exec, Gigalocal, Fiverr, Craigslist
In 2007, Jeff Price, founder of TuneCore, a digital distributor, would pitch users with the simple offer that for less than the price of a pizza and six pack, their music would be available on iTunes. In that year, Public Enemy announced that it would distribute an upcoming album on TuneCore rather than through a label. TuneCore's users are mostly amateur, but it has distributed music from Ziggy Marley, Drake, Soulja Boy, and former Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin.
"For artists, TuneCore is a one stop shop for distribution. iTunes, Spotify, Amazon MP3, you name it," said Austin Soldner, DJ and product lead for music app, Playground.fm.
TuneCore will set you back $50 per year to distribute an album on online stores via TuneCore. The major benefit for users is that the site will not take royalties for the music you sell. Thus far, users have uploaded 500 million units of music and earned over a quarter-billion dollars.
Top tip? If you need some advice, or free therapy, take advantage of the dedicated team of "artist support reps". According to TuneCore, many of them are former musicians.
Other options: CD Baby, iTunes, DashGo, ReverbNation
If you're a budding photojournalist Demotix can gain you both cash and recognition. This citizen photo agency selects the best breaking news images uploaded by citizen photographers, and sends them directly to the picture desks of the top publications around the world. To be considered, ensure that your images are at least 2 MegaPixels.
If your shot is deemed worthy of an exclusive, Demotix will offer the story to local media outlets and may fetch you a significantly larger fee. Exclusives have been known to sell for over $5000. Demotix had reason to celebrate when a citizen photographer scored the ultimate exclusive by capturing the only shot of Henry L. Gates in handcuffs when he was arrested. Needless to say, this is not the place for the winning photo of your kitty.
Top tip? Amateur-produced stock photography is a huge market on the web. If your album doesn't include a flash flood or civic protest, a stock photography site like Shutterstock will accept all sorts of high-quality images.
Other options: Shutterstock, Fotolia, iStockPhoto, Flickr, PocketStock
Scribd's store promises to connect writers with a potential buying audience of tens of millions. This is news to my ears. On Scribd, which houses millions of documents, you can share anything from recipes and personal stories to academic reports.
With 100m users, Scribd is a testament to the challenge we face to make money from written content. Originally designed for sharing documents, the store was launched for users to make money by charging access to their work. In July 2011, Scribd announced a long-term strategy to generate revenue for online news with the release of Float, a mobile newsstand. Since then, it has laid of half it staff and narrowly escaped an acquisition offer from Yahoo!
Top tip? If you need an outlet for your work, it's still your best bet to start your own blog. Without fail – I am consistently amazed by the blogs that can make an absolute killing. Like this guy who posts daily proverbs about personal finance. If it gains traction, there are numerous options to advertise on any budget, like Google AdSense.
Other options: Helium, Content.ly, Yahoo! Voices, oDesk, eLance
Good news! If you're an infamous tech blogger with a small army of Twitter followers, Instagram has you covered. With new app Hashpix, you can score about $20 per print. Not a social media powerhouse? We'd love to hear your suggestions on how to make money from online content.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Playing basketball in space is not a new idea, with Jordan's Space Jam and Futurama's space globetrotters already exploring the concept of weightless dunking quite well. But have you tried it?
Misha Collins on What Made Supernatural Successful
The video shows what the gameplay is like. The concept is similar to Fruit Ninja, another game we love. There's basically one thing you do in the game, and the trick is that you want to do it well for more points. You can also compete against other people online in a global (universal) contest. There's no Jordan mode, like in 2K11, but, in a sense, the whole game is a Jordan mode. [iTunes]


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The Apple iPhone has been found to be saving details of the handset's location at all times, complete with latitude and longitude co-ordinates and timestamps.
As if that wasn't Big Brother enough, this secret file is copied to the users' computer every time the device is synced.
It seems that the data storage began after the iOS 4 software update, since when Apple has been logging where you've been and when.
Nanny state
The news has sparked privacy concerns because the data, once transferred to a computer, is fairly easy to access by anyone who gets their hands on the machine.
The two developers, Alasdair Allan andPete Warden, who discovered the secret iPhone tracking have started a site to visualise the data found on users' handsets.
They note that the other major issue is that Apple is "passively logging your location without your permission" and aren't even protecting the data once it is stored.
"At first we weren't sure how much data was there, but after we dug further and visualised the extracted data, it became clear that there was a scary amount of detail on our movements," they wrote on the site.
"It also because obvious that at least some other people knew about it but it wasn't being publicised."
Apple is yet to respond to the location data revelation.
From PeteWarden via The Guardian


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240 Fun and Unique Vector Icons
Icons are a great way to maximize information in a minimal space. Over time, many icons have become second nature like the small printer, the email envelope, and the tiny magnifying glass. Thing is, most sites use pretty much the same icons.
If you're looking to add some fun to your site, while still making good use of icons, then take a look at this set of adorably entertaining Skewed Icons! Normally this quirky icons set sells for $15, but for a limited time, you can get all 240 Skewed Icons for just $7! That's more than 50% off!
- 240 Vector Icons
This bundle, created by Denise Chandler, includes 240 icons that are sure to put a smile on your visitors' faces. Besides the standard everyday icons, you'll find a slew of new ones like rolodex cards, flowers, monster faces, money, food, drinks, clocks, pictures, balloons, T-shirts, TVs, and more.
- Completely Scalable
All graphics are infinitely scalable vector icons, so you can make them as large as you'd like to fit your current project.
- Various Formats
Icons come in multiple formats including .psd, .png, eps, .ai, and .pdf, so you can play around with them in your favorite graphic design program.
- Royalty Free
All 240 Skewed Icons include a royalty-free license, so you can use them for personal or commercial projects without any credit necessary.
Normally this quirky icons set sells for $15, but for a limited time, you can get all 240 Skewed Icons for just $7! That's more than 50% off!
- Delivered an an instant download after completing your purchase.
- You may use Skewed Icons royalty-free for personal or commercial projects. No credit is necessary.
- You may alter, modify, or manipulate the icons to fit your needs.
- You may not resell or redistribute the icons in any way without written permission.
- All icons are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied.


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T-Mobile's Sonic Offers Attractive Pricing
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- I have spent the last week testing the latest main entry into the stand-alone mobile hotspot category, the Sonic from T-Mobile (a unit of Deutsche Telekom(:DT)).
For those of you unfamiliar with this type of device, it creates a WiFi hotspot that connects to a cellular data network, allowing users to connect laptops and tablets that lack wireless data connectivity to the Internet remotely.
They allow users to avoid the "public" WiFi at places such as cafes, airports and hotels and the related security issues, which include identity theft.
These devices are often referred to generically as "MiFi," after the initial product with this functionality, from Novatel(:NVTL). But MiFi is a trademarked name, so using it broadly for these devices is like calling all tablets "iPads" or every Android a "Droid," which is a Verizon(:VZ)-licensed trademark that does not mean anything except a royalty payment from Verizon to Lucasfilm.
So what is significant about the Sonic device and why does it warrant a prominent review?
Well, T-Mobile is the only remaining carrier to offer a service plan that does not charge the owner for going over the monthly quota.
Let's say you buy a 5 gigabyte plan for $50 per month. If you exceed this quota, T-Mobile will slow down your service dramatically instead of charging you per unit of data consumed. I think many customers will find this kind of plan to be much more attractive than those from thecompetition: Sprint Nextel(:S), Verizon and AT&T(:T). Yes, I know Sprint gives you 6 gigabytes for $50 instead of 5 gig, but still.
Aside from the price, what about the performance of this latest T-Mobile mobile hotspot product? First, I need to tell you how I tested the product.
- I conducted all speed tests using speedtest.net on an Apple(:AAPL) iPad 1, three different Google(:GOOG) Chromebooks, one MacBook Pro and one Dell(:DELL) Windows PC laptop. I set the server to be one of the closest ones consistently in all tests.
- I compared the speeds of the T-Mobile Sonic with the the following products: Novatel MiFi LTE on Verizon, Novatel MiFi WiMAX on Sprint, Samsung LTE mobile hotspot on Verizon, Motorola(:MMI) Droid Pro on Verizon,Samsung Nexus S WiMAX on Sprint, Samsung Galaxy S II on AT&T, and theembedded AT&T HSPA modem on the Apple iPad 1.
So what's the verdict on speed?
The T-Mobile Sonic HSPA mobile hotspot delivered a dramatically wide range of speeds. Download speeds ranged from dial-up speeds to 15 megabytes. Upstream speeds ranged from dial-up speeds to 2 meg. Latency ranged mostly from 50 to 200 milliseconds, although sometimes materially more.
With those wide ranges, what were the averages? I found that a "normal" or "average" scenario was 8 meg down and 1.5 meg up, with an 80ms ping latency. Those are decent numbers, especially considering the favorable pricing described earlier.
They don't, however, touch the performance of the Verizon LTE devices, which deliver a relatively consistent 15 meg symmetric, with a low 40ms latency ping. The performance ofVerizon's LTE network is simply in a class by itself.
All the other devices delivered performance inferior to the T-MobileSonic. Whether Sprint, AT&T or Verizon's EVDO network, none of them could touch 8 meg average download speeds, although some of them largely matched the T-Mobile Sonic's upstream and ping latency performance data.
I found one major problem with the T-Mobile Sonic: consistency. As far as the performance is concerned, the throughput and latency varied widely. An average downstream/upstream speed of 8meg/1.5meg is simply not worth as much as an average of less than half of those numbers, if often enough you get speeds that resemble dial-up. Yes,sometimes I got 15 meg down, but sometimes I got 15K down. That's avariance of 1,000 times. Same with upstream speeds and the ping latency.
In contrast, I found most of the other devices on most of the other networks to be a lot more consistent. Verizon's LTE performance is almost scary in its consistency, delivering the same kind of in-a-class-by-itself performance everywhere I went.
In addition to the speeds, I also encountered random connectivity errors with the T-Mobile Sonic. Sometimes it would not connect at all. Sometimes it would connect -- or at least so it said -- but there would be no throughput at all.
There is no way for me to know right now whether these wide variancesin performance and the various glitches in consistency and connectivity are the fault of the T-Mobile network or this particular device. Perhaps this unit is a little bit of a lemon, perhaps not. I will continue to test this device for another two weeks so that I cancontinue to refine my results and conclusion.
Speaking of continued testing, while I tested the T-Mobile Sonic in several towns, I will be having the opportunity to widen the scope of the geographic inquiry in the coming days and weeks. It will be interesting to see whether my test results, both in terms ofconsistency and speeds, will change in these additional geographies.
On the positive side, the T-Mobile Sonic comes with a thick 2,200 mAhbattery, bigger than that of any other competitor as far as I can recall. Indeed, the battery life seemed to be very good, moderately better than the Novatel products. Everyone including Samsung should copy the approach of using a battery that's 2,200 mAh or larger.
I do have one major complaint about T-Mobile's pricing plans. While T-Mobile should be lauded for its lack of overage charges, it does penalize some users of this product for seemingly no good reason. Specifically, if you sign up for a two-year contract, you pay $50 for5 gig per month of service. However, if you bring your own device or want to pay month by month, you get only 3 gig per month. Why shouldn't you get 5 gig for the same $50 then too? If you bring your own device, you're not taking a subsidy, so really you should get morebits or pay less -- not the other way around.
How does this pricing compare to Verizon? If you don't want to sign up for a two-year contract, Verizon offers you the ability to simply pay month by month, and the price is $50 for 5 gig -- the same as the contract price.
T-Mobile does have some very good options if you are willing to commit to a two-year contract, however. If you are willing to pay the full up-front price of the device -- $175 -- you pay only $40 for 5 gig. In addition, if you also have a circuit-switched phone plan withT-Mobile, the price drops another $10 to $30. These are excellent prices for two-year contracts. It's too sad that T-Mobile penalizes people who are going month to month, when Verizon doesn't.
Overall, my conclusion is mixed. On the one hand, the T-Mobile Sonic has a bigger (i.e., better) battery than any other product of its kind. In addition, the speeds are faster than all competitors save for Verizon's LTE products. Lastly, for a customer willing to sign up for a two-year contract, the pricing policy is the most favorable in the market. All in all, theseare very strong points that should yield close to an 8 out of 10 or perhaps even a 9 out of 10.
The most serious drawback is the inconsistency in performance and connectivity. It's not yet possible for me to tell to which extent this is as a result of T-Mobile's network or this particular device. The other drawback is the price penalty you have to pay if you bring your own device to T-Mobile and want to pay on a month-to-month basis.
If I can get convinced that the stability/consistency of this T-Mobile Sonic device is improved to a level on par with most of its competitors, I would award it at least an 8 out of 10. In the meantime, however I have to leave it at a good -- but far from excellent -- 6 out of 10.
My advice for a potential buyer: Buy this device and see if you can get comfortable with its consistency of performance and stability of connection. If after 10 or so days you are not happy, you can always hand it back to T-Mobile. If you are happy with the consistency and stability, you likely will be a very happy customer overall, given the product's other very strong attributes and benefits.
At the time of writing, Wahlman was long Apple, Google and Qualcomm.


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An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
Low, Marston, Low and Searle, 1875 - Death - 26 pages
"Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is a poem by Thomas Gray, completed in 1750 and first published in 1751.[1] The poem's origins are unknown, but it was partly inspired by Gray's thoughts following the death of the poet Richard West in 1742. Originally titled Stanzas Wrote in a Country Church-Yard, the poem was completed when Gray was living near the Church of St Giles, Stoke Poges. It was sent to his friend Horace Walpole, who popularised the poem among London literary circles. Gray was eventually forced to publish the work on 15 February 1751 in order to preempt a magazine publisher from printing an unlicensed copy of the poem. The poem is an elegy in name but not in form; it employs a style similar to that of contemporary odes, but it embodies a meditation on death, and remembrance after death. The poem argues that the remembrance can be good and bad, and the narrator finds comfort in pondering the lives of the obscure rustics buried in the churchyard. The two versions of the poem, Stanzas and Elegy, approach death differently; the first contains a stoic response to death, but the final version contains an epitaph which serves to repress the narrator's fear of dying"--Wikipedia, accessed November 15, 2022.
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Reprint of what may once have been one of the most familiar poems in English from the 18th century. At a time when few could read in England, one of its most educated sons, and the companion of Horace ... Read full review


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Translation Telephone – machine translation Chinese whispers
Source: translation-telephone.com
Here's a fun site – enter a message in English, and it'll translate it through 15 different languages and then back into English. Machine translation – as much as it has improved in the past 10 or so years – is very rarely perfect, especially with language pairs that are very different (such as English and Chinese). As a result, it often mangles the original phrase into something that's barely recognizable – much like the old party game also known as "Telephone" or "Chinese Whispers".
It works particularly well with song lyrics – the chorus to Rebecca Black's famously abysmal YouTube anti-hit "Friday" changes from "It's Friday, Friday, Got to get down on Friday" to "Friday, Saturday and Friday, he was able".
Try it for yourself at translation-telephone.com.


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Prosecution: Man repeatedly drove over Brockton victim
BROCKTON –A 35-year-old Brockton man was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail Monday in connection with a fatal hit-and-run over the weekend.
Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Healey said that witnesses told police Dana Waller struck Edward J. Dill III, 36, in a Nilsson Street driveway early Saturday morning.
Waller then dragged Dill into the street with his SUV and ran him over twice more before fleeing the scene, Healey said.
Police and emergency workers found Dill lying unresponsive in the street.
He was taken to Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The District Attorney's office announced Monday it will seek a manslaughter charge against Waller, and Healey said during arraignment that additional charges may be coming as well.
Waller was already charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatality.
Healey said that Dill had been having a relationship with Waller's wife and that the two men may have gotten into a confrontation prior to Saturday's incident.


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Live from Abu Dhabi Connect the World takes you on a journey across continents, investigating the stories that are changing our world.
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud tells Becky that the world has to address the issue of extremism at an international level.
London is getting ready to roll out the red carpet for some of the world's biggest stars on Sunday as the city hosts the annual BAFTA Awards.
The ceremony, which up until 12 years ago was held after the Academy Awards, now acts as a curtain raiser to the Oscars and is increasingly seen as a guide to who and what will take home the coveted statues at the glamorous Hollywood soiree on February 24th.
I'll be on the red carpet on Sunday night and will be putting my money on "Argo" for both Best Film and Best Director. Ben Affleck's Iranian hostage drama has already scooped all the major accolades this awards season, outshining the favorite "Lincoln" directed by Steven Spielberg.
As much as I'm a huge fan of Hugh Jackman, Daniel Day-Lewis HAS to win the gong for Leading Actor.... and BAFTA host Stephen Fry agrees.
The British raconteur is back for the seventh time despite being criticized for being "too crude" last year. He told me he'll be keeping it cleaner this year but that doesn't mean there will be any lack of the British wit that has always set the BAFTAs slightly apart.
Becky talks to Fawaz Gerges about an offer from the leader of Syria's opposition coalition, Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, to hold talks with Syria's Vice-President.


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Randall Lance: There is only one side to the truth
There is only one side to the truth, but Americans are easily seduced by spin and blatant falsehoods broadcast by the media.
Entitlements are not giveaways to the poor, lazy or unemployed. The recipients are only a conduit for government monies to flow to monopolies like the junk food industry and pharma-care corporations.
War is unnecessary, just a bonus for military contractors and energy mining interests in areas being added to the empire. Once the public has been duly terrorized they submit and even send their sons and daughters to die for the obscene wealth of the owners. Our beloved armies here are seen as contract killers overseas.
Israel does not want peace, they want domination and have avoided agreements for decades. After a history of suffering, they seem not to have learned its lessons and continue violating the human rights of a captive race.
Any "Christian" that supports murders in any form is no Christian.
The environment is our source of life, those who promote its destruction for money hate their children. The promises of technology have eliminated the relevance of half the population while devouring resources and any quality of life on Earth.
The truth is very simple. Lies need constant explanation. Counterfeit facts don't spend.
Randall Lance,


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(CNN) -- For five days as her husband lay in his hospital bed suffering from kidney cancer, Regina Holliday begged doctors and nurses for his medical records, and for five days she never received them.
On the sixth day, her husband needed to be transferred to another hospital -- without his complete medical records.
"When Fred arrived at the second hospital, they couldn't give him any pain medication because they didn't know what drugs he already had in his system, and they didn't want to overdose him," says Holliday, who lives in Washington. "For six hours he was in pain, panicking, while I ran back to the first hospital and got the rest of the records."
Despite a federal law requiring hospitals and doctors to release medical records to patients who ask for them, patients are reporting they have a hard time accessing them leading to complications like the ones the Holliday family experienced.
'What part of "Give us our damn data" do you not understand?'
Dave deBronkart, co-chairman of the Society for Participatory Medicine, put it this way in a recent blog post: "What part of 'Give us our damn data' do you not understand?"
While there are no statistics on how many patients have trouble accessing their own records, there have been "repeated" complaints to the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a senior health information privacy specialist at the department's Office for Civil Rights, which enforces the federal law that gives patients access to their records.
"It's crazy ridiculous when you can't walk out of a doctor's office or hospital with a copy of your medical records if you ask for them," says Deven McGraw, director of the health privacy project at the Center for Democracy and Technology.
"Lack of information kills people," she says. "Having your medical records can save your life."
Elizabeth Lietz, a spokeswoman for the American Hospital Association, says she can't speak to any specific case where a patient had trouble getting records from a hospital.
"Every patient has a right to get their medical records," Lietz says. "Our goal is to work with patients to get their records while at the same time protecting their privacy rights."
DeBronkart encourages patients to get their records before they're admitted to the hospital.
He points to an incident in 2008 when a Minnesota hospital was supposed to remove a patient's cancerous kidney -- but instead removed the healthy kidney, leaving the diseased one in the patient's body.
The hospital, Park Nicollet Health Services said the "tragic error" occurred because "the side of the effected kidney was incorrectly identified in the medical chart several weeks before the surgery took place."
"If that patient had had their medical records before the surgery, they could have caught this error and corrected it," deBronkart says.
'You have to be a jerk'
As her husband writhed in pain, Regina Holliday drove to the first hospital with her husband's power of attorney in hand.
"I had to get nasty. I had to say, 'You did a bad job, and I'm angry, and the second hospital is angry,' " she says. An hour-and-a-half later, she had the records in hand and took them to the second hospital, where after looking at the chart, they gave her husband more pain medication.
CNN contacted the first hospital for comment and received this reply: "HIPAA rules don't allow us to talk about a patient."
Fred Holliday died two months later from his kidney cancer at the age of 39. He was the father of two children and an assistant professor of film studies at American University in Washington.
After he died, Holliday, an artist, painted a scene on the back of a jacket depicting her husband in a hospital robe and handcuffs with the words "Data Prison" above him.
She sold the jacket to Jen McCabe, CEO of Contagion Health, who wears it to medical conferences, where she says it's attracted many comments.
"Almost everyone I talked to had a horror story about a medical error or difficulty getting access to medical records to take to a new doctor or hospital," she says.
One of those people was Alan Viars, a CEO of a high-tech company in Baltimore, Maryland. Viars says he learned of the importance of looking at your own medical records when his father went for an annual physical last summer and his doctor told him an EKG test the year before indicated he'd had a heart attack.
He says no one had ever told his father he'd had an abnormal EKG. "His physician didn't bother to look at the result of his EKG or failed to inform my father of his condition," Viars wrote in a blog. "Unbelievable, I know, but true."
Viars' father went to a hospital near his home in West Virginia, where a cardiac catheterization showed two arteries were so severely blocked he needed open heart surgery. Online, Viars found another hospital with better success rates for bypass surgery, and arranged to have his father transferred there.
His sister, Leslie Cryster, tried to get their father's medical records. In particular, she wanted a copy of a CD showing the results of his cardiac catheterization, an invasive procedure where a tube is inserted through an artery to the heart. Cryster, a nurse anesthetist, knew that if the CD didn't get to the next hospital, they'd have to do procedure, which has risks, all over again.
"We started with the nursing staff and they said, 'We don't normally give patients their records,' " she says. "Then I talked to a clerk at the hospital, who told me I had to go to an offsite storage facility to get the records. Then that facility told me I had to ask the hospital."
Finally, Cryster talked to someone else at the hospital and threatened to call her sister-in-law, who's an attorney. After talking it over with a cardiologist, she received her father's records, and he had his bypass surgery a few days later at the second hospital.
"I hate to think that I threatened to call an attorney, but I did. I hate to think that's what it takes to get somebody to listen to you, but I feel like that's what it takes," she says.
'It's your data'
To make sure you get your medical records, follow these tips.
1. Know your rights
The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which governs access to medical records, gives hospitals and doctors 30 days to respond to a request for medical records, although some state laws provide for a shorter time frame, and in urgent situations, such as a transfer to another hospital, it's customary for hospitals to move more quickly.
Be prepared to make your request in writing, McCabe says. You can bring it in person, or fax the request in, but make sure you confirm that the hospital's received it.
One way to get your medical records more quickly is to seek out providers who use electronic medical records so the records can be e-mailed to you, she says. Some providers have an electronic portal so you can read your records anytime you want on a secure site on the Internet.
2. Get the new hospital or doctor to help you
Lietz says if you need your records because you're switching hospitals or doctors, ask the new office to make the records request.
"Have the provider make the request," she says. "To be honest, it's going to be faster."
3. Remember the limits of the law
Your doctor doesn't have to give you access to everything in your record. For example, your doctor doesn't have to give you access to information he or she thinks might cause you or someone else substantial harm, says the senior health information privacy specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Some states allow even more information to be kept from a patient. For example, the New York Department of Health Web site says doctors may deny you access to "personal notes and observations" they've made in your record.
4. Get angry
"Sadly, you might have to get angry in order to gain access to your medical records," Viars wrote in his blog. "Don't let them tell you no. It's your data."
5. File a complaint
If you have trouble getting access, you can file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
CNN's Sabriya Rice contributed to this report.


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Greece Reportedly Close to Forging Coalition Government
Greek centre-left parties are poised to back a conservative-led coalition on Wednesday but may keep their own political leaders from joining a government that faces grinding battles over the austerity demands of foreign creditors.
Antonis Samaras, head of the centre-right New Democracy party which won Sunday's elections, met the head of the small Democratic Left party and was due to meet the leader of the Socialist PASOK party to wrap up a deal.
Samaras has a three-day mandate to form a government and must reach a deal before evening or risk returning Greece to the uncertainty which followed an inconclusive election on May 6.
"The leaders have decided in principle to support this coalition. What we are discussing now is who will participate in it," said one of the three members of a negotiating committee ironing out the agreement between the parties.
The new government will face immediate pressure to try to soften the bitterly resented austerity measures demanded of Greece under a 130 billion euro bailout deal agreed in March with the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
At the same time Samaras must contain the rising social tensions created by the crisis and hold together a coalition with his traditional rivals in the face of Greece's most severe economic test since World War Two.
Democratic Left party members endorsed a motion to back a coalition if a final agreement is reached, but according to party sources refused to place senior politicians in the cabinet, a move which potentially weakens their commitment to the new government.
"We have decided to give a vote of confidence to the government that will be formed," party leader Fotis Kouvelis said after a meeting with Samaras.
"The Democratic Left insists on policies to gradually disengage from the terms of the bailout that has bled society."
PASOK, the former ruling party humbled in the last two elections, is expected to give its backing to its former rival Samaras but may also stop short of sending senior leaders of its own to serve in the government.
Greek media reported that PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos had clashed angrily with other senior party leaders over his insistence that the Socialists should not put ministers of their own in a cabinet led by the right.
Both centre-left parties could nominate technocrats from outside politics to serve in the cabinet but their reluctance to throw their own weight behind the new government may not augur well for the hard battles ahead.
"It will be a very weak coalition," said Nikos Konstandaras, managing editor of leading conservative daily Kathimerini, pointing to the decades of enmity between New Democracy and PASOK, the two traditional giants of Greek politics.
Germany, the euro zone's biggest economy, remains suspicious of Samaras, who switched from opposing the bailout when PASOK was in power to cautious endorsement when the Socialist government began to unravel late last year.
"What is needed is more decisiveness in swiftly implementing the measures which have already been agreed," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the weekly Die Zeit in an interview.
However European Union officials have signalled that some adjustments are likely to a programme that has slipped behind target in the weeks of political uncertainty following the May election and a deeper than expected recession.
New Democracy only narrowly beat the leftwing Syriza party that wants to scrap the bailout and negotiate a new programme. With Greek society deeply split, a repeat of the violent anti-austerity protests seen last year is a constant threat.
New Democracy's slight edge gave them a 50-seat bonus under Greek electoral law for coming first, so an alliance with PASOK would have 162 seats, a majority in the 300-seat parliament. Adding the Democratic Left would give it 179 seats.
The bailout programme has so far kept Greece in the euro but has come at the price of deep spending and wage cuts that have sent unemployment to a record high and deepened a recession now into its fifth year.
Fast running out of money, the new government's first mission will be to convince officials from the so-called "troika" of European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund inspectors to sign off on the next instalment of aid from the bailout.
Underlining the rising poverty levels which the new government will have to confront, hundreds of people turned up in Athens to a free distribution of fruit and vegetables by a farmers' association based on the island of Crete.
"Here we're seeing middle-class people that we never imagined we would see lining up like that," Athens mayor George Kaminis told Antenna TV. "But this is the reality."


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"Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner has set Owen Wilson and Zach Galifianakis to topline his long-gestating passion project "You Are Here," with Amy Poehler in talks to co-star.
Weiner wrote and will direct the pic, which Gilbert Films is producing, with Lionsgate handling international sales.
Gary Gilbert, Scott Hornbacher and Jordan Horowitz will produce. Lensing is set to begin in May in North Carolina.
Wilson and Galifianakis will play childhood best friends who go on a road trip after Galifianakis' character inherits significant coin following the death of his estranged father. Poehler would play Galifianakis' sister.
"This movie has been my passion for eight years, and to see it come together with Owen and Zach and Amy is a dream come true," said Weiner. "I can't wait to get started because the movie is about everything I care about, and I'm tired of reading it out loud to my friends."
"We are thrilled to finally bring this project to the screen," said Gilbert. "Matt is one of the brightest creative minds in television, and we are confident that this project will solidify the same reputation for him in the world of narrative film."
Weiner, who has lensed numerous segs of his Emmy-winning AMC drama series, previously directed the little-seen indie pic "What Do You Do All Day?," a comic autobiography that debuted in 1996 at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.
Gilbert and Horowitz were producers on "The Kids Are Alright," while Gilbert's past credits also include Kenneth Lonergan's "Margaret." Gilbert Films recently produced the Lizzy Caplan pic "Save the Date," which debuted at Sundance and is still seeking distribution.
CAA reps Weiner and Galifianakis, who is also repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners. UTA reps Wilson, while WME and 3 Arts Entertainment rep Poehler.


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Suspect shot in South Boston officer-involved shooting
Shooting happened at McCormack Housing complex
A man wanted for questioning by Boston Police suffered life-threatening injuries in a shootout with officers Tuesday afternoon in South Boston.
The confrontation happened at about 1 p.m. on Old Colony Avenue near the McCormack housing complex and Joseph Moakley Park.
According to Boston Police, the male suspect was approached by officers responding to a drug investigation call. When police announced their presence, the man fled from the area.
Police say as they chased the suspect,, he began shooting at officers, who returned fire. A witness said he heard at least three shots fired.
The suspect was shot and transported with life-threatening injuries to Tufts Medical Center. Officers were also transported to area hospitals for further evaluation.
Police said they recovered a firearm from the man along with drugs.
Police said they are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident.


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The Uehara Phenomenon
So, you probably know that this year Boston's Koji Uehara proved to be harder to reach base against than any pitcher in the history of baseball. That's a pretty good thing. Here's the list of the Top 10 WHIPs in baseball history, pitching at least 50 innings:
1. Koji Uehara, 2013, 0.565 2. Dennis Eckersley, 1989, 0.607 3. Dennis Eckersley, 1990, 0.614 4. Craig Kimbrel, 2012, 0.654 5. Mariano Rivera, 2008, 0.665 6. Joaquin Benoit, 2010, 0.680 7. Eric Gagne, 2003, 0.692 8. J.J. Putz, 2007, 0.698 9. Cla Meredith, 2006, 0.711 10. Takashi Saito, 2007, 0.715
A couple of interesting tidbits -- at No. 11 on the list in Uehara again in 2011. No. 12 on the list? Pedro. That was 2000, his WHIP was 0.737. And when you consider he threw three times the innings of the rest of these guys, when you consider that his strikeout-to-walk that year was 284-well, it's no wonder many believe Pedro's 2000 season was the best season in baseball history. Anyway, you look at the Top 10 and you see … closers. Well, two of them -- Benoit and Meredith -- were setup men. But the rest were closers. The fact that eight of the Top 10 WHIPs of all time are closers might throw a little dagger at the myth that the ninth inning is the toughest inning to get outs. But that's not our point today. No, we're focusing on Koji Uehara.
Uehara began his career in Japan -- he was the first pick in the Japanese amateur draft coming out of Osaka University. He won 20 games his first year, and was a good starter for the Yomiuri Giants and an excellent starter for the Japanese international team at the Olympics and World Baseball Classic and so on. In 2007, at age 32, he became a closer for Yomiuri and was pretty dominant. After the 2008 season, he signed with the Baltimore Orioles as a starter. He struggled. He got hurt. The next year, the Orioles put him in the bullpen. He showed amazing control (five walks in 44 innings) and actually closed a few games for Baltimore. But nobody was too excited about him.
Then in 2011, there was this amazing trade that nobody at all thought was amazing at the time.
The Orioles sent Uehara and some money to the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers sent a struggling starter named Tommy Hunter and minor league first baseman named Chris Davis in return.
I guess what they say is true: You never know when a minor trade will yield a future 50-home run man and a pitcher who will set the record for lowest WHIP in a season. OK, I don't know if that's a saying. Uehara pitched well for the Rangers but could not stay healthy. His WHIP while in Texas was an astounding 0.685. He simply did not give up hits and did not give up walks. But he only threw 54 innings in a year and a half and, anyway, the only thing anyone really noticed was that he struggled in his three games in the 2011 postseason. Mostly it was one game. In a game against Tampa Bay in the 2011 Division Series, he came in with a 7-3 lead in the seventh. He promptly walked Desmond Jennings, gave up a line-drive single to B.J. Upton and gave up a home run to Evan Longoria. He was removed.
He also gave up run in his next two outings against Detroit in the ALCS, but I think it was that first outing that left the sour aftertaste. Uehara had not done anything to create an impression in the mind of American baseball fans -- he was sort of a blank slate. After the Longoria disaster, everyone had their impression. The next year, he came into the wildcard game against Baltimore with the Rangers already down 3-1. He struck out trademate Chris Davis. He struck out Adam Jones. He struck out Matt Wieters. But it wasn't a big moment, and it wasn't memorable enough to erase Longoria from memory.
The Red Sox signed him to a one-year, $4.25 million deal, as minor a deal as they come (though it is now a two-year deal because the vesting option kicked in -- much to Boston's delight). Uehara was going to be the team's sixth inning option -- not their closer, not their setup man and not really their setup to the setup man. Their original closer was hard-throwing Joel Hanrahan -- he blew out his elbow nine games in and had Tommy John Surgery.
So, everyone moved up one spot. That meant that Andrew Bailey was now the closer. Bailey had won the Rookie of the Year award in 2009 as the A's closer, and he was dominant again the next year, but then he had all kinds of injuries and travails. He was the Red Sox closer for a little less than three months -- then he hurt his shoulder. On June 26, the Red Sox made Uehara their closer.
I'm now going to give you Uehara's numbers the rest of the season. Please hold your applause until the end.
Innings pitched: 44 1/3 Hits allowed: 14 Hits allowed (seriously): 14 Come on, how many hits did he allow?: 14 That's ridiculous: I know. Runs allowed: 3 Home runs allowed: 1 Strikeouts: 59 Walks: 2 OK stop it right now: 2 walks. Look it up. Batting average against: .097 On-base percentage: .108 Slugging percentage: .152 WHIP: You sure you're ready for this? Say it already: Ask nicely. WHIP: 0.358
Thank you for coming ladies and gentleman. Please drive home safely.
How? OK, it's only 44 1/3 innings, and small sample size, and closers only throw one inning at a time and … how?? Koji Uehara does not throw hard. Pitchf/x shows his average fastball to be 89.2 mph, right about where it has been ever since he came from Japan. His money pitch, the split-fingered fastball, goes about 81 mph. In a world of 102-mph fastballs, how in the world does Uehara prove to be the impossible to reach base against guy?
Of course, you begin with control. This was always one of the most underrated parts of Mariano Rivera's brilliance -- yes he broke all those bats, and he threw the same pitch again and again, but he almost never hurt himself with the walk. His best season as a closer was probably 2008. He walked six batters in 70 2/3 innings.
Uehara has always had crazy good control his entire big league career. He only pitched 36 innings for the Rangers on 2012, but he walked just three batters. We do fall in love with closers who throw the Kimbrel out of the ball. But there have been many good closers -- starting with Dennis Eckersley, but including the great Dan Quisenberry and Doug Jones -- who did not throw hard and instead succeeded with pinpoint control and a lot of deception. Uehara obviously has that.
The second thing is this: Uehara's pitches -- his two-seam fastball and splitter, in particular -- move so much that major league hitters often fail to hit the ball even when it's IN THE STRIKE ZONE. This is a big deal. Big league hitters tend to be pretty successful when swinging at balls in the strike zone. This year, hitters failed to make contact on 31.1% of the pitches they swung at in the strike zone. That was easily the highest percentage in baseball.
Top five pitchers at making hitters miss balls in the strike zone:
1. Uehara, 31.1% 2. Ernesto Frieri, 26.9% 3. Aroldis Chapman, 25.6% 4. Greg Holland, 24.2% 5. Kenley Jansen, 23.8%
Now, the same top five with their average fastball speed:
1. Uehara, 89.2 mph 2. Frieri, 94.1 mph 3. Chapman, 98.4 mph 4. Holland, 96.1 mph 5. Jansen, 93.6 mph
So, yeah, you can see the difference. They blow it BY hitters' bats. Uehara works above and below hitters' bats. Uehara has two pitches that move in very different ways. His two-seam fastball seems to come crashing in on righties and pulls away from lefties -- sort of the opposite of the Rivera cutter. And his split-fingered fastball tends to work as a change-up (it's 8 mph slower than the fastball, which is close to the idea difference) AND it dives down late. From a hitter's perspective, apparently, this is like walking out into a field and being unsure if you will be attacked by wasps or zombie arms coming out of the ground. Hitters do not know where to look.
And you KNOW he won't walk you.
There's really no escape for now with Uehara is at the top of his powers.
It's a pretty remarkable array of talents, especially when you consider that Uehara is now 38 years old and the Red Sox tried two other guys before making him the closer. So far this postseason, Uehara has pitched in seven games. In one of them, he gave up the game-winning home run to Tampa Bay's Jose Lobaton. In another, he gave up two Tigers hits before settling down and finishing the inning without giving up a run. Thursday, he pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings.
All in all in the postseason, he has pitched eight innings, given up four hits. His WHIP is 0.500. He has not walked a single batter.


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After exploring the Rua do Cunha or Cunha Street, we continued our exploration of Taipa Village not knowing what to expect.
Along the way up the little hill, we saw many colonial houses painted in hues of blue and green.
Our Lady of Carmo Church 嘉模聖母堂
As we walked uphill, we saw a church in light yellow. It is Our Lady of Carmo Church, a Catholic Church that stands on a hill overlooking the Taipa Village.
Our Lady of Carmo Church is a three-storey house, wrapped up in light yellow stucco walls, that was completed in 1885 becoming the sole Catholic Church in Taipa at that time. As the Church is located opposite the official department for marriage registration, the church is an ideal backdrop for wedding photo shoots.
Carmo Garden 嘉模花園 (氹仔市政花園)
We continued walking and reached the Carmo Garden or Taipa Municipal Garden which was built in 1955 on Taipa Island. The garden is considered as one of the eight iconic attractions in Macau representing Carmo area with a rich historical value under the recognition of the Macau government.
The Carmo Garden also features the statue of the Portuguese poet Carmoes, a small fountain and peripheral shade.
Taipa Houses Museum 龍環葡韻住宅式博物館
Taipa Houses were built in 1921 and once served as the residences of senior civil servants which represents the charming Portuguese architectural style in Taipa. Considered as one of the cultural relics and heritages of the Island, the Taipa Houses-Museum comprises five distinctive green houses featuring the "Macanese Living Museum", the "Exhibitions Gallery", the "Creative Casa", the "Nostalgic House" and the "House for Reception".
Below is a collage of photos of the Macanese Living Museum.
As it was a Sunday, the area was crowded with people, a couple having their wedding photo shoot, another lady at one of the Taipa House being photographed and a young man with a camera crew doing some documentary recording on Taipa and Macau perhaps for his YouTube channel.
Separating the Taipa Houses and the Cotai strip is a swamp.
Leaving the Taipa Houses, we continued our little exploration and stepped into another Garden – Dra. Laurinda M. Esparteiro Garden.
Back to The Venetian
The Taipa Village is in a world by itself, it has an old world peaceful and lovely charm that is a big contrast to the glitzy materialistic world of Cotai. Taking the travellator that brought us back to Galaxy and crossing the bridge, we reached the West Entrance of The Venetians. Back to the glitzy materialistic world of Cotai.
After a day of walking and sightseeing, it was time to eat again. Yeah! We had our dinner back at The Venetian. Once again had roasted goose, bbq pork, dumpling soup and noodles for dinner.
After dinner, we did some window shopping and watched the gondolier serenading to her clients who were having a lovely ride on the Grand Canals.
Before going back to our hotel room, we book our ferry tickets to Kowloon, Hong Kong.
We had a lovely day exploring Taipa and after this trip, I have a different view of Macau. Macau is not just a sin city but also a city with rich culture and history and a lovely old world charm.
This trip was made in Spring 2017.
The Lowdown – Taipa Houses
Address: Avenida da Praia, Taipa
Opening Hours: 10 am – 7 pm (last admission until 6:30 pm) Closed on Mondays
Admission: Free except for "House for Receptions" is not open to public
For more information, go to macaotourism.gov.mo.
Thank you for stopping by and happy Living for Experiences!
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American Horror Story: Who Died (Gulp) for Real?
[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Wednesday's American Horror Story: Coven. Read at your own risk!]
Well, we know one witch who won't be the new Supreme.
Fiona's (Jessica Lange) reign of terror finally came to an end on American Horror Story: Coven all thanks to her cunning daughter Cordelia (Sarah Paulson).
When Cordelia got her "sight" back, she had a vision of Fiona standing over all the dead bodies of her fellow coven members. In order to prevent the inevitable, she told the Axeman (Danny Huston) that Fiona planned to leave him once she got her powers back. Once he had proof, the Axeman used his, well, axe on Fiona, killing her and leaving her body in the swamp.
5 wild theories for American Horror Story's 1950s-set Season 4
Even though the season has been full of resurrections, Fiona is gone for good. Misty (Lily Rabe) even pointed out that she can't bring someone back once they're "gator sh--." Despite knowing how evil Fiona has been, the coven brutally killed the Axeman. Cordelia then declared that the whole coven will go through the Seven Wonders test to find out who will replace Fiona.
Were you surprised by Fiona's death? Who do you think will be the new Supreme? Hit the comments with your thoughts!
American Horror Story: Coven's season finale airs Wednesday at 10/9c on FX.
View original American Horror Story: Who Died (Gulp) for Real? at TVGuide.com
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Other Links From TVGuide.com


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Barnacle Bill's Seafood Market
614 William Hilton Pkwy
Hilton Head Isle, SC 29928-3550
(843) 785-9007
Web Site: http://apul2003.googlepages.com/barnaclebillsseafood
As I mentioned in my previous post about Hudson's Seafood, South Carolina is famous for its Carolina White Shrimp, a species that is indigenous to the region and is consumed almost entirely in the local area. The species thrives along the entire eastern seaboard, and you might get a small percentage of them caught in local catches further north and south, but the highest concentrations of them are in the Carolinas. It has a characteristically sweet flavor and its texture isn't as firm as shrimp from colder waters.
While many local restaurants in Hilton Head, Savannah and Charleston serve the Carolina shrimp, it is also possible to buy it from local seafood retailers and bring it back to your timeshare unit to cook yourself. One of the ones we were recommended to on Hilton Head Island itself was Barnacle Bill's.
Click on the "Read the rest of this entry" link below for more.


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On the same day that the latest instalment of the Jurassic Park film series has been confirmed, a study published in the journal PLOS One has detailed experiments that seem to demonstrate once and for all that dinosaurs will never again walk the Earth.
The 1993 film, based on a book by Michael Crichton, depicts a theme park island filled with dinosaurs, resurrected from ancient DNA extracted from fossilised mosquitoes trapped in amber. For a while, that science didn't seem to be entirely fiction. In the early 1990s, several scientists announced they had extracted DNA from insects fossilised amber as long as 130 million years ago. Insects from this time in Earth's history, the early Cretaceous period, would have flown among dinosaurs (including giant, long-necked sauropods, among the largest creatures ever on land) as well as creatures such as flying pterosaurs, swimming plesiosaurs, feathered birds, and mammals.
This Lebanese amber was until recently the oldest in the world, older than the more common Dominican amber, which formed around 16 million years ago, and the 49-million-year-old amber of the Baltic. But last year, tiny mites were found for the first time in amber dating from the Triassic period – 230 million years ago.
While the premise of the film – that dinosaur DNA could be extracted from the guts of a preserved mosquito that had recently dined on one – seems reasonable, the fragile nature of DNA and the huge expanse of time that has passed has led many experts to doubt claims to have extracted any DNA that old—including DNA from the insect itself.
David Penney, a palaeontologist and expert in amber-preserved spiders and insects at the University of Manchester, carried out experiments to try and confirm once and for all whether DNA could be extracted from creatures fossilised in amber. With Terry Brown, an ancient DNA expert also at the University of Manchester, they used the latest "next generation" DNA extraction and sampling techniques to avoid DNA contamination.
"We used Manchester's specialised, dedicated laboratories that are only used for analysing ancient DNA", Penney said. "Any DNA traces will be be tiny pieces of ancient, fragmented material, so it's important to avoid contamination with modern DNA." The laboratories are sterilised, the air filtered, and scientists wear full-body decontamination suits.
The specimens from which scientists claimed to have successfully extracted DNA were of stingless bees, and Penney used examples of the same species. One was about 10,600 years old, the second was preserved just after World War II – only about 60 years ago. Both samples were extracted from copal, a hardened form of tree sap that had encased the insects; it's an intermediate stage that had not fully fossilised into amber. Chemicals were used to dissolve away the copal before samples were taken from the creature held inside.
The results were pretty conclusive: "In the oldest specimen we found no viable DNA," Penney said. "In the newer sample, we found various bacterial and other DNA, but nothing that was certifiably from the bee."
Brown explained that an older technique known as PCR was used in the 1990s experiments, and it may have caused problems: "The process, called polymerase chain reaction, will preferentially amplify any modern, undamaged DNA molecules that contaminate an extract of partially degraded ancient ones and give false positive results that might be mistaken for genuine ancient DNA."
The process of fossilisation, whether in rock or amber, chemically changes the makeup of the organism it preserves. Over time, with heat and pressure, the remains are transformed, and they no longer contain the organic material that might harbour DNA.
If viable DNA cannot be extracted from a bee that is only as old as someone living today, there is no chance that it could be obtained from specimens hundreds of millions of years old. But that doesn't mean the amber samples are useless.
"The preservation of these creatures in amber is remarkable, and they give us an insight into the past, and can shed light on the possible future of the tropical forests of today," Penney said."I suppose it's a bit of a shame that we can't extract DNA from these creatures – I was even expecting to find some in the younger specimen – but it seems Jurassic Park must remain in the realms of fiction."


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