text:
OCEANSIDE, N.Y., Feb. 7, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xsovt Brands, Inc. (OTCBB:XSVT) (OTCBB:RXBD), an exciting new lifestyle brand and footwear company, begins trading today on the Over The Counter Bulletin Board under the symbol "XSVT".
Xsovt Brands was created on January 26, 2011 when the company, then known as RxBids (OTCBB:RXBD), acquired Oceanside, New York-based Xsovt, LLC. Xsovt Brands will now focus its business on the launch and development of its new footwear line, with a planned brand debut at two major industry trade shows (the WSA Show and Magic) in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 7th and February 14th, 2011, respectively.
Also today, Xsovt Brands effected a 1 for 12 reverse stock split of its common stock and legally changed its name from RxBids to Xsovt Brands, Inc. Simultaneously with the company's acquisition of Xsovt on January 26, Xsovt's founder, Avi Koschitzki, acquired a controlling interest in the company and became Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company.
"The movement of Xsovt into a public company represents the next step in Xsovt's growth and development, which we believe will provide us with the foundation to launch our brand and drive our business plan," stated Mr. Koschitzki. "We have many exciting initiatives underway, including our participation at WSA and Magic where our exciting and innovative brand will make its first public appearances. We are also in the process of building a great management and employee team for Xsovt, and we are looking forward to further sharing our strategic goals for Xsovt in the near future."
About Xsovt
Xsovt Brands, Inc., pronounced "Zoft" is an exciting new company that has developed a new footwear paradigm in the multi-billion dollar footwear industry. Xsovt was formed in October 2010, and the founders of Xsovt have worked since the Fall of 2008 toward the development of the XsovtTM brand and in refining several innovative footwear concepts including lines for men, women and children.
Xsovt has adopted a novel approach to the design, comfort, and construction of shoes and slippers, as well as the packaging in which the products are sold. Technology and comfort are incorporated in every stage of the design process to make fashion fun and comfortable. In its initial product launch, scheduled for August 2011, Xsovt will synthesize elements of style, quality and comfort comparable to high end footwear at a competitive price point. The design impetus for Xsovt's debut product line is what we call our "Crossover line", incorporating the benefits a casual shoe and a comfortable slipper, designed for both lounging at home or for a casual evening out. This design innovation epitomizes Xsovt's maxim: "Freedom to Move and Strength to Stand TM".
Xsovt's ethos has evolved from an overarching commitment to customer service and the creation of a corporate culture for its employees consistent with the company's goals. Xsovt's management and senior consultants have direct expertise in superior product development, facilitating award winning service, delivering a high end retail experience and building a dedicated staff. Several salient examples of their professional work experience include premier hotels and resorts and luxury retailers in the United States and Asia including the Bellagio, Wynn Resorts and Neiman Marcus. The prior engagements with the management of those companies helped shape Xsovt's core business and branding philosophy to imbue its corporate culture with uncompromising service and dedication to excellence.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release and the statements of representatives of Xsovt Brands, Inc. (the "Company") related thereto contain, or may contain, among other things, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements," including any other statements of non-historical information. These forward-looking statements are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "guidance," "projects," "may," "could," "would," "should," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "ultimately" or similar expressions. All forward-looking statements involve material assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and the expectations contained in such statements may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company's actual results (including, without limitation, Xsovt's ability to advance its business, generate revenue and profit and operate as a public company) could differ materially from those stated or anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including factors and risks discussed in the periodic reports that the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission ( http://www.sec.gov ). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. The Company undertakes no duty to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law.
CONTACT: Avi Koschitzki Xsovt Brands, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer (516) 740-2929


text:
Come Home – Again
December 3 :: December 10 :: December 17 :: December 24
Traditional Worship in the Chapel at 8:00 AM
Sunday School at 9:15 AM
Combined Open Skies and Traditional Worship in the Sanctaury at 10:30 AM
I remember December 1, 2013 like it was yesterday. It was the First Sunday in Advent, my first Sunday at First United Methodist Church Missouri City and my birthday. Our theme for that Advent was simple: Come Home. For me, there is something about the Christmas season that makes me think of home. And if you promise not to tell anyone, I will let you in on a little secret. I am a sentimental soul when it comes to home and Christmas.
I have been known to get choked up when I hear I'll be Home for Christmas or Please Come Home for Christmas. And let's not even talk about the Folger's commercial when Peter makes it home or the Hallmark commercial when Tommy joins his brother in singing O Holy Night. For some of us, home evokes wonderful memories, while for others the memories it stirs up are not so wonderful. I guess there is always the home we long for and then there is the home we have.
Perhaps Dietrich Bonhoeffer gives the best explanation I know of as to why Christmas brings to mind thoughts and memories of home. In a Christmas sermon he preached on December 2, 1928, Bonhoeffer shared this thought: "When once again Christmas comes and we hear the familiar carols and sing the Christmas hymns, something happens to us… A kind of homesickness comes over us for past times, distant places, and yes, a blessed longing for a world without violence or hardness of heart. But there is something more—a longing for the safe lodging of the everlasting Father."
I have been thinking a lot about home the past few weeks; so much that I asked Matt Robinson if we could change our planned Advent sermon series 3 More Words, and use the theme we used in 2013, Come Home. You see, it seems that our society has lost the sense of home. When we respond to the ones who are different than us with fear or hate or anger, we have lost our sense of home. When we turn our backs on those who are on the margins, we have lost our sense of home. When we are consumed more with stuff and success than relationships and community, we have lost our sense of home. And I believe that when we lose our sense of home, we become people without hope.
For me, home is a place where I find safety and security. It is where I find my identity. And it starts by believing that I am part of community. But most of all, home is like Robert Frost describes it: the place where, when you go there, they have to let you in.
I hope this Christmas you will Come Home and join us in a place of love, grace and community.
Breathe Peace,

subset: commoncrawl


text:
When Spike sees Buffy captured by the Initiative, he decides to go in after her.
Genre: Non-Bitey - Rating: NC-17
Words: 3,612 - Updated: 05/23/2022 10:09 pm
If you are under the age of 17, please use your head and do not read fics that are labeled "NC-17". Parents, I cannot control what your children are reading, so please be advised that the majority of the fics archived here are NOT suitable for those under the age of 17.
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I am in no way making any profit from this site. This is for pure entertainment purposes only.
Concept: (c)bringonthebloodshed.com (2004), Code & Design: (c)Diabola (2006), Graphics: Selene & Always


text:
Six new projects have been selected from the 4th EU-BR Collaborative Call in ICT by RNP and the European Commission, along with the Brazilian Secretary for Policy in Informatics (Sepin) within the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication (MCTIC).
The projects involve 68 institutions, of which 39 are from Brazil and 29 from Europe, spanning 38 Universities, 18 companies and 12 research centres. From a total of over R$ 52 million funds available, Brazilian institutions will be granted R$ 26 million with European institutions receiving the same amount (around €8 million). These funds come from "Informatic Law" and will be applied to institutions registered in the TI Committee (Cati), managed by MCTIC.
Selected Projects
Category: 5G Networks
1. 5G-RANGE: Remote area Access Network for 5th GEneration
Category: Cloud Computing
2. ATMOSPHERE: Adaptive, Trustworthy, Manageable, Orchestrated, Secure, Privacy-assuring, Hybrid Ecosystem for REsilient Cloud Computing
3. NECOS: Novel Enablers for Cloud Slicing
Category: Internet of Things
4. SWAMP: Smart Water Management Platform
5. OCARIoT: smart childhood Obesity CARing solution using IoT potential
6. FASTEN: Flexible and Autonomous Manufacturing Systems for Custom-Designed Products
About the participation
Proposal submission was open to:
All proposals involve 310 institutions and 968 applications from researchers.
Projects are expected to start in November this year, with a timeframe of 3 years. On the Brazilian side, projects will be monitored by RNP and supervised by MCTIC, while on the European side, this task will be carried by the European Commission.
Regarding the regional distribution of Brazilian institutions, 46% of all applications came from Northeast, North and Centre West. For the first time ever, the call required the distribution of resources according to the priority regions listed in "Informatic Law". Therefore, 44,45% of resources were allocated to institutions from Sudam, Sudene or Centre West.
4th EU-BR Collaborative Call
The goal of the 4th EU-BR Collaborative Call is to strengthen synergies between the existing skills in Research and Innovation in Brazil and the European Union, with a special focus for institutions that work with industry. In recent years, Brazil and the European Union have consolidation international co-operation ties in science and technology, by launching collaborative calls for R&I projects in ICT. This is the 4th step towards this collaboration. The 3 previous EU-BR collaborative calls were launched in 2010, 2012 and 2015. Collectively, 193 proposals have been submitted in the 4 calls, with 20 retained for funding for a total of €25 million from both Brazil and the European Union.
According to R&D Coordinator from RNP, Wanderson Paim, the benefits from EU-BR cooperation are important in several levels. "Strategic wise, since we are cooperation on topics which are common interest between Brazil and European Union. Tactic, since both European and Brazilian institutions work together to elaborate and execute these projects, sharing same information and interests. Operational, where researchers, students, professors, industry professionals work directly with European partners in developing products, prototypes and scientific productions", stated Paim.
Source (in portuguese): RNP Noticias https://www.rnp.br/noticias/conheca-os-seis-projetos-selecionados-4a-cha...


text:
Following the popularity of our previous posts, we have decided to write another article and asked some of our readers this intriguing question – what's the strangest thing you've masturbated with, and used as a sex toy?
Sophia – Giant Teddy Bear
I have a giant teddy bear – this was gifted to me, and you can usually find them at drugstores and such during holidays.
I was home alone and was using a small hair spray bottle that i saran wrapped since I couldn't find anything else appropriately sized. I'd never done that so I found it very uncomfortable to be on my tailbone with my legs wide open.
I decided to lay the giant bear down as I straddled it and placed the bottle just right. All of a sudden, boom: I couldn't stop riding it. I literally have goosebumps just thinking about how loud I got and how into it I was. I can't quite look at it the right way anymore.
He's faced down but when I do feel the need to, "you know", that's how I would do it again, 100%.
Chloe – "Couch and an Elmo Doll?!"
I realised my old tickle me elmo doll felt very nice when it shook as it "laughed". so, being a creative youngster, i cut it open and took out the part that vibrated it.
I unscrewed that and cut out the speakers so it wouldn't make that laughing noise every time you push the button, put it back together, and voila! lil me's first vibrator.
I've also fucked my couch. It happened when I was 12, and it was the first time I ever came… so I suppose that means I lost my virginity to a piece of furniture.
I told this story among a group of friends. Two of them said, "Hey, I've also done that!" The other guy stared at us like we'd suddenly sprouted extra heads.
Lucy – "Hairbrush Handle and a Strange Tale"
Hairbrush handle
The rubber padded base/stick of a ring toss toy – it was firm and flexible and was like a dildo on a base. Used it for both vaginal and anal – covered with a condom at all times of use.
Oral B pulsar toothbrush – had a spare toothbrush on an out of town trip but needed a vibrator. It worked well in a pinch.
Not all that strange but a girlfriend of mine would steal the family screwdriver set and successively stick each one in her vagina, getting bigger and bigger.
They each represented someone she knew. Bigger meant older, so these sessions ended with her fantasizing about someone's dad who she thought was hot.
Up until a few years ago I never used lube. Always raw. Never had a problem, but the relation between lube and masturbation is so ingrained in pop culture that it's impossible to think about one and not the other.
About four years ago nobody was home so I decided I was gonna treat myself. I could scour the house for lube without arousing attention; if I was caught pilfering all the drawers in the house someone is bound to ask what I'm looking for, so now was my chance.
After about an hour and a half of searching I decided I better do the deed as my family was bound to show up soon. So I settled on the only thing resembling lube in the house; germ-x.
I lathered up my hands and was ready to oil my tin man. The first thing I noticed was that I didn't really feel anything.
There was no pleasure, no friction; my hand was just sliding. Next was immediate sharp, burning pain all over my shaft. It was like being stabbed repeatedly by small daggers straight from the blacksmith's forges.
I was in for the long haul, but I didn't let it stop me from finishing. It continued to burn for about an hour, but at least it taught me one thing. Your dick skin is very, very different than the rest of your skin.
It will depend on your definition of a sex toy and on your definition of "what you used."
A fuck machine, BUT it was combined with a very context-appropriate interaction with my partner. It wouldn't be the same without him.
A dildo, BUT only if someone else uses it on me.
Jute rope, BUT— well, you can guess.
Something that I personally used, all by myself, and liked it? This would be this Magic Wand. What makes it "the best" is that it gave me pleasure.
I would rate as 8 out of 10; most other toys gave me 6 out of 10. I can't do shit with sex toys on my own, sadly, I require a partner's help. The Magic Wand managed it a tad better than other things.
It's called "The Rabbit." It was passed around in a show and tell sort of way, in a class at MIT called "Sex and the Institute."
The class was created by MIT's sex educator and a group of senior women who wanted to explore gender themes from the hit series Sex and the City.
Briefly, the class watched two episodes of Sex and the City back to back which touched upon a theme.
Then the sex educator asked the class to discuss the theme together and analyze its relevance. I asked to observe the class for an article I was working on at the time called "Red Light Education."
I was invited into the last session on masturbation (complete with Sex and the City cake) and the sex educator gave a matter of fact talk on a series of sex toys. The Rabbit, featured in the series, was the show piece that night.
She handed it to the students and they uncomfortably took it, looked at it as if they were looking at a petri dish, and passed it around. I'll always remember how nonchalant she was about presenting all of these sex toys. After setting up the first episode for the class to watch, she'd go sit by the side of the room, get out her knitting and go to town.
I was taking notes as all of this was happening as the guy sitting in front of me passed the big purple dildo my way. I looked at, faking some form of interested expression, and quickly gave it to the guy behind me.
It will go down as one of the most surreal evenings of my life. The whole event turned into a great article but it never got published.
At any rate, that was my one shot at MIT. The Rabbit.


text:
Man Utd fightback beats Brighton to cut Man City lead
Issued on: Modified:
Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) –
Manchester United needed another second-half revival to beat Brighton 2-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday to close the gap on Manchester City at the top of the Premier League to 14 points.
Danny Welbeck headed the Seagulls in front against his former side as Brighton started brightly.
However, for the eighth time in the league this season, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men came from behind to claim all three points thanks to second-half goals from Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood.
Only an almighty collapse from City will deny Pep Guardiola's men a third Premier League title in four years with the runaway leaders needing just 11 points from their remaining seven games to become champions.
But Solskjaer can match United's best league finish since Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013 by claiming second place.
Victory opens up a four-point cushion over third-placed Leicester, while United hold a commanding 11-point lead over fifth-placed Tottenham and Liverpool to close in on Champions League qualification next season.
Just like in their previous meeting this season when United snatched a 3-2 win with a penalty awarded after the full-time whistle had been blown, Brighton were left to rue what might have been.
Back-to-back victories prior to the international break had eased their fears of relegation and Graham Potter's men started the more confident side.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was caught on his heels as Welbeck powered Neal Maupay's cross towards goal on 13 minutes and, after his initial effort was brilliantly saved by Dean Henderson, the former England international headed the rebound into an unguarded net.
Henderson was again preferred to David de Gea in goal for United and repaid Solskjaer's faith by tipping Lewis Dunk's header onto the crossbar moments later.
All the chances came at one end in the first-half as Jakub Moder then saw a shot deflected inches wide.
The roles were reversed after the break as Bruno Fernandes took control of the game for the home side.
Robert Sanchez was quick off his line to smother the Portuguese's first effort on the hour mark.
Just a minute later, Fernandes was the architect for the equaliser as he teed up Rashford to roll his 19th goal of the season into the far corner with an accurate finish.
Rather than build on their momentum, though, Solskjaer's side were lucky to escape not falling behind once more.
Welbeck turned a dangerous low cross inches wide under pressure from Harry Maguire, who escaped giving away a penalty after a VAR review.
At the other end, Sanchez nervously parried a Fernandes drive from distance and Greenwood should have done better with the rebound as the ball looped onto the roof of the net.
The 19-year-old has had a frustrating campaign after bursting into the first team during Project Restart at the end of last season.
However, Greenwood showed the impressive predatory instinct he possesses for such a young striker by heading home Paul Pogba's mishit volley eight minutes from time to complete the comeback.


text:
The Sweet, Secret Life of Tootsie Rolls
The 116-year-old Tootsie Roll company is the the candy industry's biggest secret-keeper--a modern day Willy Wonka if you will, and the only thing missing from The Wall Street Journal's story today is Augustus Gloop.
The 116-year-old Tootsie Roll company is the the candy industry's biggest secret-keeper--a modern day Willy Wonka if you will, and the only thing missing from The Wall Street Journal's story today is Augustus Gloop. WSJ's Ben Kesling has your most enjoyable morning read with his look inside the candy empire. Granted, it's not a deep look, but it's as thorough as you're going to get when you're dealing with a company that doesn't speak to journalists, doesn't hold earnings calls, and is the most secretive company in the candy industry. Also, any article that incorporates the phrase "tightly controlled Tootsie Roll" is at least worth a skim (What? Some of us grew up in the 90s during the popular dance craze.).
The intrigue here is that Tootsie Roll, and its chairman, ninetysomething Melvin Gordon and his wife, Ellen, don't talk to anyone. "I think the only way you can get a tour is by jumping over the fence and sneaking in" an analyst told Kesling. Calls to the Gordons' daughter Karen Mills, who is the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, weren't returned either. And that's been the case as far back as 1980, when the Milwaukee Sentinel also wrote about secretive the Gordons were, and how they never got fat despite eating pounds and pounds of candy, "We're high on candy, we nibble at it all day--both our and our competitors to see what they're doing---and our weight hasn't varied more than a few pounds in years," Ellen Gordon told the Sentinel some 32 years ago. Unfortunately there's no mention of Veruca Salt or a Chocolate River, but there's this:
Tootsie Roll's Chicago headquarters is a modern-day Willy Wonka factory. Massive puffs of steam billow out of humming machines on the roofs of the gray cinder block and red brick buildings, which sit surrounded by off-kilter "no trespassing" signs. The Gordons haven't granted an interview in years. The company declined repeated interview requests, saying "we have opted to use our quarterly earnings releases as a way to provide continuing updates to all business media at once."
And well, there's this, for the grownups and the big reason why The Wall Street Journal is running a story on them:
While its operating profit margin has fallen by roughly half in the last decade, to 11% last year, Tootsie Roll's relatively steady success makes it a delicious proposition for potential buyers, said Mr. Pines [an owner of a consulting firm who worked with the company in the 80s].
It has $67 million in cash and maintains a dividend yield of over 1%. "That'd be a beautiful thing to buy," said Mr. Pines.
Head on over to The Wall Street Journal for the full story.
Photo of the Tootsie Roll factory by flickr user: atomiccity.


text:
With the final count in, we award our final week prize to 44 year-old Thang Do for his Dead Man's Chest PC case. Thang will receive a CoolerMaster ATCS 840 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower computer case sponsored by Newegg. In addition, he will be eligible for the grand prize, the CoolerMaster Cosmos CX-1000 Limited Edition Fallen Angel hand painted case.
Inspired by the movie Pirates of the Caribbbean, this PC case is a replica of the Dead Man's Chest captain Jack Sparrow is in search of. Let's dive into what Thang has to say and unlock all of its glorious treasures.
My case mod is the Dead Man's Chest, with everything in one. I made the case from wood, same as the chest in Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
The case is made from wood, and the PC consists of an Intel dual core 6750 processor, ASUS P5K motherboard, and 2Gb of RAM. There is also an Nvidia 8600 GT graphics card, 2 x 160GB hard drive, a DVD re-writer, 8 x USB ports, and the lid of the chest features a built in 19 inch Dell LCD monitor.
I place the case on the office chair's stand with wheels so you can move it easy.
Special thanks to all the builders who submitted their creation to us. If you missed any PC mods, click here for all winners and submissions. Since this is our last week, we have rounded all the votes so here click for the grand prize winner.


text:
YouTube is known to be a popular marketing social media platform for many businesses today. YouTube Influencer Marketing Secrets Ever since videos are discovered to be instrumental marketing components, businesses have been proactive in manipulating YouTube for their marketing objectives. Businesses can now deploy YouTube Influencer Marketing to build branding and extend consumer circles to grow bottom lines.
Influencer Marketing
More and more companies are engaging in influencer marketing with higher marketing budgets allocated in this marketing option. Recent market research reveals YouTube offers the best of ROIs compared to other social media platforms. This social media network is now the second largest search engine for marketing purposes with over one billion base users. YouTube Influencer Marketing Secrets YouTube marketing is a highly coveted marketing strategy with huge rewards for the company that indulges in it accurately. Certain marketing mistakes need to be avoided to enjoy higher success in influencer marketing for any business.
1) Goals without Strategy
One common mistake that business owners or marketers make in YouTube Influencer marketing is a strong focus on goals and objectives without the right marketing strategy. They may come up with some measurable goals to indicate their marketing campaign success, but forget that these goals need to be underpinned by a specific vibrant strategy that meets the needs of targeted consumers. Y̲o̲u̲T̲u̲b̲e̲ ̲I̲n̲f̲l̲u̲e̲n̲c̲e̲r̲ ̲M̲a̲r̲k̲e̲t̲i̲n̲g̲ ̲S̲e̲c̲r̲e̲t̲s̲
It is insufficient to know the number of web visitors to the website without having an increase in sales or conversions. The high number of likes may not be translated to purchases which defeat the marketing purpose of the company.
A successful Influencer campaign must have a proper marketing strategy that incorporates clear key metrics or performance indicators that a marketing campaign could achieve.
2) Desperate for Customers
YouTube offers much more than video viewing to captivate targeted audiences to the business shore. This social media platform has plenty of online tools to assist business owners or marketers in identifying the best potential business leads and customers for their business. It is possible to discover the right consumer crowds through the proper application of relevant keywords and keyword phrases used in any online search.
Business owners or marketers should not be desperate for customers to reach out to anyone plying the platform. There must be a proper engagement of these web visitors to determine their interest in the brand or business offerings at the start before wasting time and money through the process.
Influence marketing requires accurate identification of business leads that would respond favorably to the brand or company through implementing marketing strategies such as content marketing. This would readily convert web viewers into business subscribers to grow the business sales and profits.
3) Deploy any Promo Video
Although YouTube is famous for its dynamic video content, it is not guaranteed that any video would generate the desired quality and quantity of web visitors to the business site. There needs to be a careful production of videos with useful, up-to-date, and interesting content presented professionally to attract targeted audiences.
The chosen channel of distribution also determines the generation of business leads at the right time and place. Without a properly produced video, companies would fail to influence targeted niche markets despite the resources invested. Securing the wrong audience would bring about low conversion rates and high costs that waste away allocated marketing budgets.
4) Herd Mentality
It must be understood that "one man's meat is another man's poison" where marketing techniques and solutions are concerned. What works for one company may not for another. The popularity of YouTube marketing may be overstretched by many businesses to cause others to run headlong without considering various factors to success.
The herd mentality amongst companies in the market to try successful marketing strategies of their competitors may cause their downfall if various factors are not considered properly. Hundreds of new marketing solutions or channels could emerge in the market to entice businesses of different industries regardless of size and reputation. The larger marketing channels may seem more lucrative than the smaller choices, but more business opportunities could be created with the proper implementation tools.
5) Reliance on Agencies
As the YouTube influencers increase in the market, there would also spring up many service agencies claiming expertise and professionalism in their services to build a brand and hike up lead generation.
An over-dependence on influencer services agencies could cause the marketers to release control over their business and lose sight of business objectives to make critical decisions that would safeguard the business's survival in the market. Marketers or business owners need to learn and unlearn many marketing aspects of influencer marketing to reap the appropriate rewards at the right season.
There may be limited access to relevant resources by substandard influencer services agencies to provide better services to the company. There may also be a lack of dynamic connectivity with low-level service agencies to position the company rightly in the market.
Many agencies are 'a Jack of all trades' where they serve multiple industries with limited resources. They do not experience niche expertise for specific industries or businesses which differ in many aspects. Marketers and business owners who want to work with Influencer agencies need to evaluate emerging costs carefully with the delivered value to ensure favorable outcomes.
6) Lack of Transparency YouTube Influencer Marketing Secrets Another potential influencer marketing mistake for marketers to avoid is the lack of transparency in pricing for services to be rendered. High quotes may be given without substantial evidence or guarantee on the returns by a specific timeframe.
There may not be a standardized payment model to prevent companies from paying more than what the market is charging generally. A lack of transparency in pricing would have unscrupulous service providers jacking up prices unreasonably through various payment models such as Pay-per-View or Pay-per-Action. Most agency fees are not linked to guaranteed campaign results.
YouTube Influencer Marketing Secrets YouTube influencer marketing may be at its infancy stage in the market where companies are not well versed with its dynamics. There may be a lacking of benchmarks and proven results to assure businesses a safe journey through.


text:
27 Stunning Places to Visit in September in Europe for a Late Summer Getaway
Visiting Europe in September is a great idea for many tourists. You'll be able to skip the families traveling during school holidays, you can take advantage of end-of-season discounts, and the crowds start to thin out a bit. Here are some of the best places to visit in September in Europe to enjoy the end … Read more


text:
About Soda Lime Times
Soda Lime Times is an offshoot of the monthly newsletter produced for years for the Houston Society of Glass Beadmakers (also known as the Houston Hotties).
The newsletter and the name was the brainchild of Janet Robinson. Janet was the Times' first editor. In it's second year Diane Woodall assumed the role as editor.
Eventually the Soda Lime Times grew to one that became known among lampwork suppliers, and the beadmaking community as a whole. Over time people asked if and when the newsletter might be available to them; so much so that a larger audience for the "Times" became evident.
In the summer of 2011, Diane Woodall acquired all rights to the name and the format of the Houston Hotties newsletter (the Soda Lime Times), and the Times as you see it now was born.
The newsletter is now an inbox magazine having expanded its format, its content and its scope to include appealing content for bead makers, beadmaking suppliers, makers of jewelry using lampwork beads, and those that love the art that lampwork beads absolutely are.
Now set up as a monthly subscription magazine, the scope of the offering has expanded to include a web site (this web site) that provides even more videos, PDF's, and content directed at helping lampworkers gain more skill, see more horizons and realize more gain from their work.
Diane Woodall, Managing Editor:
Diane started making beads in her garage in 2002. Working as a full time real estate appraiser, she progressively made more time for her first loves: the torch, the glass and the beads.
Diane and her sister, Becky Mason, developed several signature styles and types of beads for which they became known. Among those were sea shell, animal print, and organic theme beads. The team of Diane and Becky produced a number of successful tutorials, some of which are still available; and, Diane has produced well received tutorials on her own.
Diane works full time now on the Soda Lime Times and is loving it. Every day she says she can't wait to go to "work." Her first loves: the torch, the glass, the beads, and now the magazine; won out.


text:
Scandal 5×13 "The Fish Rots from the Head" and 5×14 "I See You" Recap
Spoilers Ahead:
Olivia comes face-to-face with Fitz.
Episode Summary: The Gladiators handle a Secret Service scandal.
Review | Analysis: This week's episode of Scandal started off strong with the show's leading ladies becoming a power duo and working together. Liv tells Mellie she needs to keep her ex-hubby from endorsing Susan Ross. It's sad that Mellie wrote a book about how she finally found her own voice outside of the pres, yet she needs his voice to go further in her career. Two hookers are purchased and one of them ends up dead in the middle of her hotel floor. The agents said she died of a heroin overdose so the team gets busy cleaning up the mess which is led by Quinn, naturally.
Of course Marcus being Marcus, he knew the girl didn't die of an overdose, and that she actually was murdered by the secret agents that purchased her in the first place.
This all leads up to Fitz and Liv meeting. We all know that Liv is so much better off without him and deserves a better man, but the chemistry these two have man. It's been missing in the prior episodes. Thank goodness she calls him out on probably one of the biggest OMG moments, having one of his flings walk out in a bathrobe in front of his young son.
Now that Fitz is behaving, we have another problem, Jake. He seems to be stirring up trouble. He broke up with Liv in last week's episode due to his new love interest. But he ended up making a weird appearance to Liv's house.
Olivia steps up her Jake surveillance.
In 5×14, the election gets a Trump-based candidate. We've begun to realize that the characters on this show are always selfish and this week's episode proved it.
Liv had Jake and Vanessa's home set up with hidden cameras and bugs. Abby looked into Cy's phone records and probably the most extreme, Huck watched some stream of his son's soccer games where he was able to spot his wife with her new boyfriend.
When Huck saw the boyfriend he went and kidnapped him which cased the gang to chase after him. The search for Huck allowed the team to attempt to become a whole again. Quinn yelled at Liv the way we wish we could and even called her selfish. Liv said sorry and complimented her for taking over the business.
Huck leaves the "scene" broken hearted, which we can't help to think will Quinn and him rekindle their romance later?
Abby ignored Liv's advice to be a better person and without a second thought fired Cyrus and replaced him as Chief of Staff.
Liv realizes that her and Vanessa are being played by Jake and then there is Hollis Doyle. We haven't seen him in a while but on tonight's episode he managed to annoy us by announcing that he was running for President.
The whole Trump-based candidate, is Hollis. He is just like Trump. Rich, proving himself to the Republican party as the strongest candidate, winning more than enough primaries.
Let us know what you thought of the episode below! We can't wait to see what's in store for us next! Until next week Gladiators…


text:
Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'reduced!'.
Found 1 result
Financial hardship forces sale: This 2007 APQS Millenium machine on 10' deluxe table includes: On-demand Automatic Stitch Regulator two-stage needle position both on the front and on the rear handles Wide ruler base, several bobbins almost 100 needles, (bulk order,) electric foot pedal controlled motor to advance and reverse quilt, thread cutter, laser pointer system for using pantographs, vertical and horizontal locks, 4 tension cords with clamps and the owners manual and DVD, including set up instructions, Separate turbo bobbin winder, Edgerider wheels (also have original wheels,) Red Snappers installed and included, a few pantographs, two Longarm rulers, some spools of thread. This machine has been used only for personal use and I have quilted maybe a dozen quilts on it, I got it completely refurbished with a new 10 foot table from APQS in 2009. It has been cleaned and oiled regularly. I just put a new encoder wheel on it. This machine is running beautifully and has no issues. Purchaser is responsible for take-down, arrangement for shipping/transportation, reassembly and all associated costs. Local pick up is fine, too. I am about 45 minutes south of Raleigh, NC, and 45 minutes from Fayetteville, NC. Payment by certified check, please!


text:
Scenes from the 2016 ITR Woodside Ramble (Trail Half Marathon, 35k, 50k)
Inside Trail Racing put on their annual winter version of the Woodside Ramble , and Quinn and I got a few pictures of runners braving the mid-30 degree cold on our morning hike. Enjoy! BTW, Inside Trail has an amazing roster of events for 2017 – be sure to get a few on your calendar! (5-year-old Quinn, your photographer today! She's even styling the Western States 100 hat) (and cowbell ringer…) (Jessi sighting!!!)


text:
Welcome to Outback Miniatures!
We are a small miniature horse farm located in Fultonville, New York. We raise AMHA & AMHR registered miniature horses with champion pedigrees. Our minis are not only colorful but have very nice dispositions and conformation. We will remain a smaller miniature horse farm as to make sure our miniatures are handled daily and well cared for. Our miniatures sell guaranteed friendly and healthy! In 2019, we have now begun to venture into the world of Nigerian Dwarf goats! We have kids arriving/ for sale each year! If you are interested in a particular miniature horse or goat, contact us through the web or schedule to come visit.
*2022 foals & goat kids have arrived, check our foals & goats pages!*


text:
Monday - Friday: 8am to 9pm
Weekend hours at the discretion of each therapist
Hours by appointment only.
To make an appointment please see our "Contact Us" page above. Leave your name and a number where you can be reached and one of our therapists will get back to you within 24 hours. For all emergencies please call 911 or go to your closest Emergency Room.
MISSED or CANCELLED APPOINTMENTS:
Scheduled appointments are 45 – 50 minute sessions held for you, and you are responsible for payment at that time. Rescheduling or cancellations received with more than 24 hours notice will result in no charges being assessed. However, those cancelling with less than 24 hours notice will be charged. If it is determined the reason for missing the appointment was entirely beyond your control, you may not be charged. Special considerations may be given and are done at the therapist's discretion.
"Deeply Spiritual….Thoroughly Professional"


text:
Green Labs Health News
Health benefits of CBD Coffee
CBD Coffee, just like any other CBD-based food product, contains healthy concentrations of CBD that can produce beneficial effects when ingested. CBD coffee is made from the perfect combination of...Read more
How CBD can help with depression
What Is Depression? Depression is a general term for a number of different conditions that share similar symptoms of: A persistent sad mood Loss of enjoyment or interest in life...Read more
How CBD Can Help Ease Unwanted Arthritis Pain
With hemp research still in its relative infancy, people using cannabidiol (CBD) derived from hemp have to be willing to do a bit of experimenting on their own. Part of...Read more
Can you overdose by taking too much CBD?
Cannabidiol (CBD) brings relief to many. But is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Taking too much CBD won't cause lasting harm or death. But under...Read more
How Fast does CBD start to work?
After a couple of years of writing and talking about cannabidiol (CBD), one of the most common questions I get asked is: "How long does it take for CBD to...Read more


text:
Subscription Service Love With Food Helps Gourmets Discover New Treats
(Page 2 of 2)
I have data to prove it's something people want." But testing showed that people were very willing to sign up for monthly treats.
Now, for $10 a month, subscribers get a taste of about 10 different items. For every sale she makes—whether a subscription or a bag of hemp seeds or Bone Suckin' Sauce or Earth Family honey—the company donates free meals to people in need. Donations from subscriptions go to the charities Feeding America and Share Our Strength; specialty food makers can choose a local food bank to send the funds to. Since launching publicly in January, Love With Food has provided 13,440 meals to people in need, Ong says.
In July, Love With Food announced the company had raised a seed round of $645,000, led by Justin Kitch, founder of Homestead.com. It's also grown from Ong's one-man band to an operation of five and a half employees that's about to grow by one more.
For Ong, building up Love With Food is a way to disrupt the $56 billion American food market. "When we go to food shows, they really love us," she says. "The don't have to go through brokers or distributors anymore. When they hear it's nationwide, their eyes light up."
It's also a great way to prove the single founder naysayers wrong. "Being a single founder was sort of an obstacle," she says. "But now, no one really brings it up anymore," she says. "I'm glad people have the faith in me that I can grow the company by myself. And I have a great team building with me."


text:
Bring Your Company Forward With Credit Card Machines
There are few businesses in the world that do not have credit card machines on the premises. Customers and businesses alike enjoy the convenience, speed and reliability they provide. However, small businesses that have old credit card machines may have to change them to save money as well as improving revenue. For a start, machines that are several years old may not accept debit cards which could lose you business. Older machines also find it harder to read swiped cards with the card's details having to be punched in manually instead. Not only is this time consuming, it can actually cost a business money because some merchants charge an extra 0.5% per transaction for cards that have their details entered manually.
Types Of Credit Card Machines
There are various credit card machines available including:
- Traditional
- Wireless
- Virtual
Traditional credit card machines are still widely used and consist of a magnetic stripe reader, a display and a keypad. It is wise to have a printer either built-in or as an individual unit. In terms of sales, it does not matter if the machine has a built-in printer or not but it is easier to deal with so may be the best choice.
The display is where you read the requisite information and should be backlit which increases visibility in low light. It is possible to purchase keypads in different shapes and sizes with various features and numbers of keys.
Wireless terminals are much more expensive than their traditional counterpart and may be unnecessary for most businesses. Certainly, retailers have no need to conduct the transaction away from the counter so the wires of credit card machines pose no problem. Businesses that do not have a permanent location or accept payment on the move will benefit from a wireless terminal.
These terminals simply must have a printer built-in because it is extremely inconvenient to carry around two separate pieces of equipment. If you are thinking of purchasing a wireless terminal for your business, make sure it is shock absorbent because there is a strong possibility it will be dropped on occasion when it is being carried around.
A virtual terminal is software that can handle a credit card transaction without the need for the card to be present. Simply type in the customer's credit card details and the money will be transferred. This type of terminal is necessary for businesses that conduct their business online.
Other Necessary Features
Another important feature of credit card machines is the ability to accept debit cards. To do this, it is necessary to have a separate piece of equipment that asks for PIN numbers. This enables you to keep the terminal out of plain sight while the customer enters his/her debit card code.
Never purchase credit card machines that do not have an address verification system (AVS) as this is a necessity to prevent fraud. The AVS compares the customer's address on their ID with their credit card's billing address. This system can quickly identify and stop criminals.
Modern credit card machines are extremely reliable with transaction failures happening very rarely. Nonetheless, most machines come with a 12 month warranty and this should be accepted because you never know if you have the misfortune to have the one faulty machine in a million.
How Much Do Credit Card Machines Cost?
In general, credit card machines are not at all expensive, it is the processing of the cards that causes bills to mount up. Don't fall for the tricks of some merchant providers who advertise prices of machines that seem like an absolute bargain. There are almost always a raft of hidden terms and conditions that quickly increase the price.
The basic machines outlined above could cost as little as $150 though more advanced versions will cost double that. You really should have a printer however and machines with this feature could cost up to $600. Wireless machines offer transactions on the move but at $1,000, you need to ask yourself if the business would really benefit from having one.
It is possible to lease credit card machines but the terms are usually so poor that you are better off purchasing it outright. For example, you may elect to lease a terminal for 3 years which could end up costing $700 when buying it would have set you back $300. Always look for the best machine rather than the cheapest one. Paying $100 less for an unreliable machine is a disastrous decision because unreliable credit card machines cause havoc.
The most convenient method of purchasing credit card machines is from the merchant account provider whom you usually do business with. This is because they pre-program the machines. They are also likely to give you a better deal because they realize plenty of money will be made from credit card processing so there is no need to charge you too much for the machine.
Basic Tips
A few simple things can prolong the life of credit card machines and ensure no problems occur. For example, buy a container of compressed air to quickly clean the equipment by removing tiny bits of dust and grime which will otherwise clog up the machine. Try and purchase the equipment from a local supplier because they will be able to come around and teach your staff how to correctly use the equipment. If your business is not using a credit card machine or has an old one, it is time to upgrade and bring your company forward.


text:
Yanmar introduces two new motors and announces partnerships at Miami
MIAMI—Diesel-engine manufacturer Yanmar unveiled two new motors and announced acquisitions and partnerships at the 2018 Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show.
"With the focus to produce the best, most innovative marine diesel engines at the heart of our mission, we are combining Yanmar's own proven expertise with exclusive technology from our new strategic acquisitions and partnerships to offer a unique range of products and complete solutions to a wide variety of marine customers," said Floris Lettinga, Yanmar Marine International's senior global sales manager in a statement. "We have incorporated our innovative technology into our latest engines to complete our electronic engine line-up from 40 to 440 mph, all complemented by our universal control system. Plus we are capitalizing on exciting growth and investment opportunities to ensure Yanmar is uniquely positioned as the world's leading total system supplier."
First, the company introduced the 3JH40, the latest addition to its lineup of engines with common-rail fuel injection. The 423-pound three-cylinder engine has a displacement of 1.6 liters and is the marine industry's smallest common-rail inboard diesel, according to Yanmar. It produces 40 hp and is targeted at small leisure and commercial vessels.
The water-cooled engine could be good for new builds or repowers and Yanmar is targeting it at monohull and catamaran sailboats up to 45 feet as well as small motor vessels and light duty commercial craft.
Yanmar added to its 4LV series of CR engines with 230 and 250-hp versions. The new motors have a maximum rpm rating of 3800 and incorporate updated technology, including a counterbalance shaft that minimizes vibration and noise levels.
To control all its common-rail engines, Yanmar introduced its JC20 Joystick maneuvering system. It was first introduced in 2017 and is now available for twin straight inboard installations with a bowthruster.
The new control lets owners of powerboats and sailing catamarans dock with more control. The system automatically adjusts the speed of the engines and uses the thruster to move the vessel in tight quarters. The JC20 joints the 4JH80 steerable pod joystick for larger sailing yachts and the JC10 Joystick that's used for twin stern drives.
Adding to its list of global partners, Yanmar acquired Flexofold, Danish manufacturer of folding propellers for sailboats. Yanmar also announced the launch of the Dtorque 111 twin-cylinder 50-hp diesel outboard engine following an agreement with German manufacturer Neander Shark for global distribution. Yanmar also partners with Vetus for bow thrusters.


text:
10 tips to save new parents money
1 Baby budget: Revise (or create) a new household budget, adding up the costs that will arrive the moment your baby does. Among the categories: health care, child care, daily baby needs, mom gear and transportation.
2 Maternity leave: Many working moms get six weeks or more of maternity leave. Is your leave unpaid? Do you have a savings buffer? Can you use accrued sick and vacation days during your leave? Start saving extra cash as early as possible.
3 Brands: Be careful not to stock up on such essentials as bottles, binkies and formula until you're sure your baby likes them.
4 Luxury baby items: Remember — your baby won't know the difference between a no-name swing and the top-of-the-line model.
5 Newborn gear: Don't buy many "newborn" outfits or onesies. Your baby will outgrow them in a few weeks.
6 Choose "convertibles:" Seek out baby furniture and other necessities that have multiple uses. For instance, buy a playpen with an optional bassinet or a crib that converts to a toddler bed.
7 Buy used: Consider browsing consignment stores and garage sales for toys, swings and strollers.
8 Choose your registry wisely: When planning your gift registry, select necessities your loved ones may not think to buy. Sites like babycenter.com can help.
9 Stock up: Buy the jumbo box of diapers and the largest-available canister of formula. When it's on sale, stock up. This applies to clothes, too, but keep in mind your baby's age and be sure to buy seasonally appropriate clothing.
10 Sign up for samples and coupons: Warehouse stores as well as brands such as P&G, Huggies, Pampers, Enfamil and Similac give generous samples and coupons to new parents. Get on their email and mailing lists.


text:
Nagqu Travel Tips
Nagqu has an annual average temperature of -0.9°C to -3.3°C. From November to March the air is dry, the temperature low. The area is exposed to violent sandstorm. From May to September, Nagqu is relatively warm and enjoys good weather. It is also the best time for tourist.
The highway from Lhasa to Nagqu is part of the Qinghai-Lhasa highway and the whole journey takes about 4 to 6 hours. Transportation networks in Nagqu are relatively complete and well-equipped. In the long-distance bus station, there are regular buses from Nagqu to Lhasa, Damxung, Golmud and other places. Tourist can also renting cars to get around.
Special products in Nagqu mainly include jak, north Tibet sheep, ghee, dried meet, trachoma, aweto, caladium, snow lotus flower and a lot of ethnic handicrafts. Store of Nagqu Ethnic Products Exploration and Development Head Company is a popular store features all handicrafts.It locates at 92Gaoyuan Road, Nagqu Town.


text:
EU Advocates for Shared Efforts Towards Transparency in Fisheries
GLOBAL - Together with international stakeholders, the European Commission has participated in the first International Conference on the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FITI) held in Nouakchott, Mauritania, under the auspices of President Abdel Aziz.
Transparency is a key principle of the EU's approach to European and international fisheries policy.
The EU observes with interest the establishment of the FITI initiative, an encouraging contribution to the shared goal of making national and international fisheries more transparent. Mauritania, Indonesia and the Seychelles are among the first countries that have expressed the intention to establish a national transparency reporting mechanism.
Fisheries transparency aims at providing relevant stakeholders and the public with data on resources management, and at increasing resource sustainability.
Transparency is at the core of the EU's reformed Common Fisheries Policy and is incorporated as a requirement in the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements concluded between the EU and non-EU countries.
SFPAs create a partnership to promote sustainable fisheries, based on the best available scientific advice, with the objective of allowing EU vessels to fish only surplus resources in the fishing zones of partner countries.
The public can consult SFPAs in their entirety, including information on fishing opportunities, financial compensation and technical conditions. These highly regulated and transparent frameworks are now recognised by most stakeholders as governance benchmarks for the sustainable management of fisheries worldwide and reflect the responsibility of the EU towards its fleet wherever it operates.
The European Commission also recently proposed new rules to improve the transparency and monitoring of the EU fleet operations outside EU waters.


text:
I was always for a "built-in" support of features in modern development environment. Even if it comes in basic form, we, as programmers, should have ability to do "basic" stuff without 3rd party involvement.
There are plenty of 3rd party solutions on the market which would help you include some kind of charting support with your ASP pages and WinForms applications – ChartFX, Dundas Chart – these are just few from many available on the market today.
As it turned out, Microsoft has decided to add out-of-the-box support for Charting as well – <asp:chart runat="server"/>.
Read about it here – New ASP.NET Charting Control: <asp:chart runat="server"/> by Scott Guthrie – everything you need to know about the .Net 3.5 framework new addition.
For additional information also visit Alex Gorev's blog.
Note 1: Even though caption says it is ASP.Net solution, in the original you would find link to WinForms sample as well.
Note 2: Do not worry about Dundas copyright – "Microsoft acquired Dundas Data Visualization Intellectual Property in April 2007."


text:
Find, Fix, and Ease What Hurts
At Piedmont Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, PA in Greenville, South Carolina we find, fix and ease what hurts. We provide orthopedic and pain management tools for patients with complex, chronic pain. We are a non-opiate office that focuses on finding and addressing the root cause of your problem, and then taking a regenerative medicine approach focused on reversing the signs and symptoms of disease to get you relief. Our Mission is to offer high quality, compassionate care and a comprehensive range of services that improve complex, chronic pain. Learn more about our diagnosis and treatment options by logging onto piedmontpmr.com.


text:
Pack, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Things to Pack, Things to pack for long travel, Traveling Abroad
Over the course of our Selfish travels we've had several people ask what we pack for a year abroad. Most people assume we're hauling backpacks around the world, which would probably have been a good idea, however Mrs. Selfish and I are too old for that type of travel.
Mrs. Selfish and I are in our 30's. Not really ancient, but my days of sleeping on floors are probably over. I do appreciate the feel of a good mattress, and enjoy staying at fancy hotels, so it's probably safe to say we fall more in the flashpacker category.
Here's some of the things we ended up bringing for our year long trek around the globe.
1. A crappy looking backpack to store your valuables.
As per the DOs of traveling, Mrs. Selfish and I rock a 10+ year old, frayed backpack to house most of our important documents and devices. I can't tell you the number of people I've seen on the road keeping time on their rolex watches, bandying about their designer purses, or taking pictures with their iPad 4. They make traveling easier for the rest of us.
2. One or two all in one power converters.
I love the Insten Universal World Wide power converter. So far we've used this sucker in every continent but South America. The only downside is that you still risk frying some of your devices in Asia and other parts of the world since they don't convert electrical output current and voltage.
3. Small laptop.
Useful for staying in touch with the rest of the world. Mrs. Selfish likes to rock the Lenovo X230 which starts at a mighty 2.99 lbs.
4. A compact power strip.
Given that you'll likely have a few devices with you, I highly recommend a portable power strip like the Outlets to Go power strip. It's extremely compact and has room for 3 power cords, as well as a USB device. My only gripe would be the bright blue light, that shines like a lighthouse.
5. A collapsible and expandable bag.
Or two! Mrs. Selfish and I ended up bringing 3 Briggs & Riley bags with us to Europe, and 1 Briggs and Riley bag and 1 Samsonite bag to Asia and Australia.
In hindsight, I wish we had brought 2 B&R bags since the Samsonite ended up dying midway through China. I like Briggs & Riley for two reason: 1) They have a lifetime warranty, 2) The zippers never die. You can also buy them for cheap on ebay.
6. An eReader.
Useful for carrying hundreds of books, including city guides and traveling books. Mrs. Selfish brought her 3rd generation Kindle, which also included free internet in some parts of the world.
7. Portable speakers.
Useful for playing movies, music, or TV Shows from your music player or laptop, since built in speakers just can't cut it. We brought the iHome speakers, which I highly recommend. Not only do they produce decent sound on their own, but you can connect multiple iHome speakers together, plus you can charge them via a USB plug.
8. A good knife and spices.
If you plan on renting a place for longer than a week, a good knife and spices are a must. Many rentals are sparse, and rental property knives tend to be cheap and dull. You can buy pretty decent knives at discount stores like Marshall's or TJ Maxx (TK Maxx if you're in Europe).
For spices I recommend the Mobile Foodie Survival Kit portable set, which is a roll of 13 of stackable spices.
9. A smartphone.
Probably the most useful tool for traveling. We used our iPhone as a navigation tool, currency exchanger, calculator, music player, recipe holder, note taker, translator, white noise maker, and in rare instances as a phone.
10. Toiletries, toiletries, toiletries.
Toiletries one finds abroad are quite different than their North American brethren. If you're planning on traveling to areas with malaria, I highly recommend scentless products.
Since we were traveling to South East Asia where mosquito-born diseases like malaria and Japanese Encephalitis are a concern we ended up packing copious amounts of bug spray as well as scentless shampoo, hair spray, soap, and deodorant. Apparently bug spray doesn't help much if you smell like apple blossom shampoo.
11. Drugs for the ins and the outs.
Going somewhere 3rd Worldy? Make sure to pack something for the ins and the outs. Pepto bismol and Exlax may be giggle inducing in the first world, but they are utterly indispensible when you don't speak the language and don't know what the Asian character is for "pharmacy."
Also consider visiting a trip doctor to pick up some antibiotics or perhaps malaria pills if you're going anywhere particularly sketchy.
12. A Camelbak for all your hydration needs.
I drink a lot of water – probably somewhere close to 3 liters a day on my own. Being able to carry it all on your back is extremely useful – especially when you're in countries with dubious sources of clean water. The Camelbak is also useful if you're planning on taking a long walk – like 6 hours on the Great Wall of China.
13. Gorilla Pod and extra batteries.
For all you amateur photographers, having a miniature tripod and extra battery is a sure way to make sure you never miss a shot. Mrs. Selfish and I prefer the Gorilla Pod for taking our selfie pics since you can position it pretty much everywhere.
14. Back it up with a portable drive.
If you're planning on bringing a lot of movies or taking a lot of pictures, I highly recommend packing a portable external hard drive. I like the WD My Passport 1.5 TB drive, which is pretty small. Just remember to pack it in your carry on as they can be somewhat fragile.
15. Better yet… back it up on the cloud!
If you have any truly valuable data, you should strongly consider backing it up in the cloud. Since Mrs. Selfish and I took over 150 GB worth of pictures on our Selfish trip, we decided the best way to keep them safe was on the internet.
Here's a list of the key players in big data.
Anything I've missed? Does anyone have any must-bring items when they're traveling?


text:
Good morning Year 5,
It feels like forever since I've emailed! I hope you all had a lovely and well-deserved half term. I'm glad the weather was so nice! I had some lovely work sent through last week all about our school. Some really lovely ideas about what a school should be and it was really lovely to read about the subjects you enjoy and your experiences at Canterbury Road.
I am glad to inform you all that we are back to normal this week. We have had all of our computers updated and I am very glad to have my laptop back and be able to email you all again!
As you may be aware, some of the children in Year R, 1 and 6 are coming back this week which means I will be busy teaching in class. This means that I won't be able to respond to your work until after school hours – if you have any problems during the day, you can phone the school office or access the work via the school website (click home learning, then the year and date.)
I will also be sending out all of the week's work on a Monday now. I have attached a document for each day that has the usual GPS, English and Maths and then Topic work on Monday. It is no different to what we have been doing, I will just send it all at once (as I will be quite busy at school and don't want to forget!) You still need to send your work daily so I can respond.
I hope this all makes sense and I look forward receiving all of you work.
Miss Oxberry
p.s Don't forget to read – your AR targets have been reset for this term.


text:
By: Susan Bea Good
A few years ago, my husband and I were in Israel. On our last day in country we went to Jerusalem. While there, we experienced Hezekiah's Tunnel. This ancient Judean underground waterway was a part of King Hezekiah's survival plan against Assyrian siege tactics.
Today the Tunnel is a trek for the brave…not dangerous, but very challenging. We overcame our natural claustrophobia, and came out in one piece, after sloshing through water…ducking 5′ ceilings, and squeezing through the narrow walls. The pitch black, 1/3 mile trek, required 100% trust in the leader.
The only explanation for this trust, is the relationship already built with our guide. He had been reliable through many hikes…always showed us the safest paths, and encouraged us to attempt new experiences.
For the Christ-follower, Jesus is the ultimate Guide. He knows the ways ahead, and is building a relationship of trust, through His faithfulness to us, in life's difficult days. He knows what we can handle today…and what we'll need to handle tomorrow. He has exciting experiences for us…if we'll lean and allow Him to lead.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6/ESV)
The purpose of this blog is to encourage Christ-followers to see God's Big Picture and be a part of it!


text:
This year, Western troops will withdraw from Afghanistan after 13 years of war. They'll leave behind an undefeated enemy - as well as an Afghan government that's shaky, corrupt and only nominally democratic.
But the West will be counting the true cost of the war for years to come - no longer in blood and treasure but in an epidemic of heroin addiction that's sweeping the world, driven by an explosion of Afghan opium production.
Afghanistan's drug output is up by nearly 50 percent in the last year, according to a recent United Nations report. Afghan opium profits totaled $68 billion globally, but less than 10 percent of that remains in Afghanistan, said Jean-Luc Lemahieu, head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The opium trade has a total export value of "about $4 billion, with a quarter [of that] being earned by opium farmers and the rest going to district officials, insurgents, warlords, and drug traffickers," according to the UNODC.
At the same time, heroin addiction rates are soaring in the United States and even more in a wide ring of countries around Afghanistan, from Russia to Pakistan.
In December, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine warned that "a heroin epidemic" has seized his state; at the same time, Russian drugs czar Viktor Ivanov called heroin a "dragon" that is "ravaging our youth."
The question for many from the coalition countries who invaded Afghanistan in 2001 is: Have we really spent twice as much time and money as it took to fight World War II just to make Afghanistan safe for poppy farmers who are busy turning suburban kids into junkies?
In 2008, at the end of President George W. Bush's second term, U.S. special envoy to Kabul Richard Holbrooke wrote that "breaking the narco-state in Afghanistan is essential, or all else will fail." So why is a mission which began with the intention of rebuilding Afghanistan's war-shattered economy and breaking the drug trade coming to an end with opium production at record levels?
Part of the answer is that the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) - the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan - failed to provide Afghan opium farmers with an alternative source of income.
Since 2001, the U.S. government alone spent more than $6 billion to curb opium production, including crop eradication programs and subsidies for alternative crops. That clearly wasn't enough: Opium is five to six times more lucrative than other crops, so the incentives - or penalties - have to be enormous to effectively discourage poppy farming. The next biggest export crop after opium is nuts - 7.4 percent of Afghanistan's total official exports of $376 million. Farmers can earn as much as $203 a kilogram for harvested opium, according to the UNODC.
And despite more than $100 billion spent on social services in the country over the same period, the West has failed to build anything resembling a real Afghan economy. In the 1970s, Afghanistan grew all its own food. Now it has to import vast quantities of food to feed its 32 million people.
"This year more Afghans are dependent on income from heroin rather than wheat," says Ahmed Rashid, author of a bestselling book Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia. "The West did not win this war."
Fear for the future has created an additional incentive for Afghan farmers to ramp up production. "One of the major reasons for the surge of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is the uncertainty the farmers and the country see after 2014," says Angela Me, chief research and trend analysis branch at UNODC.
The situation isn't likely to improve if the Kabul government loses control over swathes of territory to a resurgent Taliban. "In previous years we have seen that opium is cultivated where there is no territorial control from the government," says Me. The less government control, she said, "the more opium."
And though the new Afghan army and police number 350,000, 80 percent of them are illiterate, and the annual desertion rate approaches 20 percent. Before the invasion there was no army or police, only the Taliban militia. A joint U.S.-NATO training force of less than 10,000 Western troops may stay on, though the terms are currently the subject of a heated debate between Washington and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
But it's still a moot point whether Karzai and a successor to be elected later this year will avoid the fate of the pro-Moscow Afghan President Najibullah the Soviets left behind when they were forced to withdraw in 1989. After living for years in the U.N. headquarters in Kabul, he was removed and lynched by the mujahideen from a lamppost in 1996.
The Taliban are also making great profits from the heroin trade. In the early days of the Taliban, the leaders of the fundamentalist student movement preached against drugs, publicly whipped heroin traffickers and addicts, and they cracked down on poppy production as being ungodly. Now the Taliban have become more pragmatic, taking the side of opium farmers whose crops have been destroyed by Western drug-elimination programs.
It's also good business: According to the U.N. report, the Taliban impose a 10 percent tax on opium in the areas they control. The burgeoning opium tax revenue is funding a full-scale Taliban resurgence. Between March and October of last year, 1,273 Afghan police officers and 770 village policemen were killed, according to the Afghan government's own officials, and during the same period the Taliban mounted 6,600 attacks in 30 of the country's 34 provinces.
It's hardly surprising, then, that ISAF and Afghan forces have taken a pragmatic decision of their own - to abandon unpopular poppy eradication programs rather than risk driving farmers into the arms of Taliban. The results were somewhat predictable: Last year the overall area targeted for poppy eradication fell by a quarter, while the land under poppy cultivation rose by 36 percent.
The U.S. Defense Department is now in a quandary. The choice is to eradicate, and thus turn the farmers against ISAF, or to allow opium production and fuel a deadly international trade.
Both courses of action strengthen the Taliban.
More of a concern, the Kabul administration doesn't seem interested in continuing to fight opium production or for that matter in fighting the Taliban. Karzai recently called Taliban insurgents "brothers," has publicly accused the United States of working with the Taliban to stage bombing attacks, and has declared that if a war broke between the U.S. and Pakistan, he would side with Pakistan.
Many Afghan officials - including senior ones - are on the take from drug traffickers, using the kickbacks for personal enrichment and to fund election campaigns in the upcoming national elections. "The corruption of the Karzai administration is the nasty secret that the [U.S.] administration prefers not to tackle," said one former senior U.S. advisor on Afghanistan not authorized to talk on the record.
"A lot of the officials...are making a lot of money somewhere," he said. Many Afghan governors, government advisors and administrators boast fleets of luxury Jeeps. "You only need to look at their car park to tell" if they're crooked, said the U.S. official. Even Karzai's brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was linked to the drug trade in reports by The New York Times.
Meanwhile, it's the countries closest to Afghanistan that are suffering most from the tidal wave of heroin. "Afghanistan produces 90 percent of the world´s heroin, with almost half of its production channeled through Pakistan on its way to Europe or Asia, hidden in containers shipped from Karachi," the UNODC reports.
Pakistan has about 1 million heroin users, half of whom use needles. The U.N. reckons that almost 30 percent of Pakistani addicts who inject heroin are HIV positive - one of the highest rates in the world, up from 11 percent in 2005.
"Pakistan is a transit hub, but has also become a consumer," says Cesar Guedes, who heads the UNODC's Pakistan office. "Part of this drug [crop] stays in the country, not because it is a profitable market...but because traffickers pay in cash and in kind, creating a local market."
But it's Russia's heroin addict population that dwarfs any other in the world. As of 2012, it had 5.5 million drug addicts, up 60 percent from a decade ago and nearly 10 times more than in the United States, which reported 669,000 users in 2012, up from 373,000 in 2007.
About 30,000 Russians a year are dying of heroin addiction and its side effects, and another 120,000 more are jailed for drug-related crimes. In the cities of Tula, Yaroslavl, Samara and St. Petersburg, deaths from heroin and AIDS have doubled or even tripled over the past two years, according to the Country Without Drugs nongovernmental organization. In most of the world, AIDS is usually sexually transmitted - in Russia it's 80 percent needle-borne, and there are more than 35,000 sufferers of full-blown AIDS.
In the U.S., a bindle - or small packet - of powdered heroin, which is about one-tenth of a gram, costs around $20 according to Chuck Boyer, unit coordinator of the Seneca County Drug Task Force - METRICH Enforcement Unit in Ohio.
The street price in Moscow used to be low, but has risen sharply as demand has increased. "In Russia, heroin deliveries [from Afghanistan] give birth to demand. The biggest booms of cheap heroin deliveries were in 1997 and 1998 and in 2003 and 2004 - that was when most people got addicted. In 2004 one could buy a cheap dose anywhere for $5, and today one dose is around $27 and up to $45," said Yury Krupnov, director of the Moscow-based Institute for Demography, Migration and Regional Development, a Kremlin-funded think tank.
Unsurprisingly, the Russian authorities are starting to see heroin as a national emergency. "Russia is paying a much higher price than any other country," said Krupnov. "In Russia heroin supply gives birth to demand."
Ivanov, a close friend of President Vladimir Putin, has an aggressive plan - to officially equate drug trafficking with terrorism, with corresponding legal sanctions.
"The only way to truly tackle the problem is to make it a priority in international law," said Ivanov, who has traveled to Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and Latin America to push a drug-eradication plan known as Rainbow-2.
"The drug economy is almost as big as gas or oil. Let's do something about it. The drug trade is obviously a threat to human lives, health, and we say state security as well. Drugs should be classified as a threat to global security just like terrorism or piracy."
Unfortunately for Ivanov, the mood in the United Nations is moving strongly away from the 30-year-old war on drugs. In September the British Observer newspaper published leaked U.N. documents that showed deep international divisions over the global war on drugs.
Many countries want to place greater emphasis on treating drug consumption as a public health problem, rather than a criminal justice matter, in the run-up to a once-a-decade review of U.N. policy due in 2016. Several countries have already abandoned prohibition - Portugal effectively decriminalized all drug use back in 2001, while last month Uruguay officially legalized marijuana.
The other plank of Ivanov's Rainbow-2 plan is aggressive poppy-crop eradication - but that isn't likely to fly either. "We know every farmer, every lab - just give us international laws, and we destroy their stocks," says Ivanov. "We must kill the dragon in his cave."
But large-scale eradication is now no longer militarily or politically possible in Afghanistan. In these final days of ISAF's mission, there is zero chance of that effort being stepped up. Current poppy eradication efforts are as useless as "cleaning Siberia of snow with shovels," said Alexei Milovanov, Russia's representative on drug eradication in Kabul.
"I cannot see a successful conclusion to the challenges that affect Afghanistan today if they do not include progress and forward movement in terms of illicit drug and drug abuse," said William Brownfield, the State Department's assistant secretary for international narcotics and law enforcement. But the truth is that the West has little leverage over the Karzai regime.
"The U.S. and Karzai are like a dysfunctional couple making valid points to each other in ways neither can hear nor accept," said Barnett Rubin, senior advisor to the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. "Afghans pay the price."
Is the West really ready to leave Afghanistan as a failed narco-state, with even top politicians linked with traffickers? Many U.S. politicians are outraged at the prospect.
"As the Obama administration plans its military presence in the country, counter-narcotics must not be relegated to the back burner," Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-California and chair of the Senate caucus on international narcotics control, told her committee earlier this year.
"Very little product from the Afghan drug trade, namely heroin, is actually consumed in the United States," she said. "The majority of heroin consumed here originates in Mexico and Colombia. So why does the cultivation of poppy...in a faraway land matter? Simply put, the illicit drug trade in Afghanistan finances terrorist activities of the Taliban.... The war against the Taliban is far from over, and a positive outcome for our 12-year investment in blood and treasure will increasingly depend on these critical counter-narcotics efforts."
But at this stage of the game Obama may have no choice but to abandon Afghanistan to the traffickers. It is not at all clear there is anything the West could do about them even if it wanted to.
ISAF forces have abandoned eradication; at the same time, Western diplomats have failed to reach any kind of compromise with the Taliban while coalition boots are still on the ground. "Alas, the U.S. is less powerful and effective than many think," says Rubin.
Karzai needs to cut a deal with the Taliban to survive, and the Taliban have adopted the role of the opium farmers' champion. Many of Karzai's key supporters, especially in the Pashtun-dominated areas of Helmand and Kandahar, are deeply implicated in the drug trade.
It looks like the West has to accept an inconvenient truth: In the short term, turning a blind eye to opium production is the price of the survival of Karzai's government; at the same time heroin wreaks havoc on the lives of young people from Omsk to Ohio.
An appreciation by Alexander Nazaryan of Owen Matthews's book Glorious Misadventures: Nikolai Rezanov and the Dream of a Russian America can be found in Newsweek here.


text:
Getting a Lawyer for an Appeal
If you've already been through a trial with your defense attorney, chances are you've developed a good relationship and may want them to handle the next phase of your case. However, that may not be the right option for you or your attorney. The truth is, getting a different lawyer for an appeal is the smart way to go; the process and skills required are different than those pertaining to trial-level proceedings.
The following is an overview of why getting a lawyer for an appeal -- a different lawyer -- makes sense.
Why Should I Get a Different Lawyer for an Appeal?
Trial lawyers and appellate lawyers often have vastly different skill sets. Trials require the skills of a lawyer who has experience in the courtroom and making a strong case to jurors. Trial lawyers need to be very conscious of multiple, rapidly approaching deadlines, and must also be extremely careful in their negotiations with opposing counsel. Because they're trying to persuade a defendant's peers rather than fellow lawyers, they also must be skilled in presenting facts and breaking the law down into understandable terms.
By contrast, appeals often involve large amounts of writing, legal research, and arguing often-dense legal doctrines before a judge or panel of judges. Appellate lawyers are accustomed to having enough time to research legal issues in depth and write long briefs with intricate arguments. They come to the court room extremely well prepared and become experts on the cases before them and the applicable laws. An oral argument, in which an appellate attorney faces a barrage of questions from appellate judges, requires a very different skill set.
After all, when arguing appeals, attorneys must be able to parry often disconnected questions from jurists while also couching their arguments within the broader context of the law.
Generally, lawyers find that they can best serve their clients when they focus on either their trial skills or their appellate skills, but not both at the same time. So if your case is past the trial phase and headed to appellate court, it may be in your best interests to find a new attorney who specializes in appellate practice.
Whatever You Decide, Be Clear
Because trial and appellate work are two different types of legal practice, the lawyer who represented you at the trial won't automatically file or handle your appeal. You must ask your lawyer to do so, or find another attorney who will. If you want to appeal your conviction, be sure to specifically and clearly inform your attorney of that fact.
The U.S. Supreme Court determined that an attorney's failure to file a notice of appeal doesn't necessarily constitute ineffective assistance of counsel as long as the defendant didn't clearly convey their wishes on the subject. In many states, the state public defender (or other assigned counsel) generally will handle the appeal for those unable to pay.
Get Professional Legal Help With Your Appellate Case
If you're thinking of appealing your criminal case, you'll surely want a strong appellate attorney in your corner. There's quite a bit of legal analysis and writing that can go into an appeal, not to mention important filing deadlines and possible court appearances. You can learn more today by contacting a criminal defense attorney in your area.
You Don't Have To Solve This on Your Own – Get a Lawyer's Help
Meeting with a lawyer can help you understand your options and how to best protect your rights. Visit our attorney directory to find a lawyer near you who can help.
Next Steps
Contact a qualified criminal lawyer to make sure your rights are protected.


text:
The holiday shopping season always means big business for phishers, who tend to find increased success this time of year with a lure about a wayward package that needs redelivery. Here's a look at a fairly elaborate SMS-based phishing scam that spoofs FedEx in a bid to extract personal and financial information from unwary recipients.
Louis Morton, a security professional based in Fort Worth, Texas, forwarded an SMS phishing or "smishing" message sent to his wife's mobile device that indicated a package couldn't be delivered.
"It is a nearly perfect attack vector at this time of year," Morton said. "A link was included, implying that the recipient could reschedule delivery."
Attempting to visit the domain in the phishing link — o001cfedeex[.]com — from a desktop web browser redirects the visitor to a harmless page with ads for car insurance quotes. But by loading it in a mobile device (or by mimicking one using developer tools), we can see the intended landing page pictured in the screenshot to the right — returns-fedex[.]com.
Blocking non-mobile users from visiting the domain can help minimize scrutiny of the site from non-potential victims, such as security researchers, and thus potentially keep the scam site online longer.
Clicking "Schedule new delivery" brings up a page that requests your name, address, phone number and date of birth. Those who click "Next Step" after providing that information are asked to add a payment card to cover the $2.20 "redelivery fee." Continue reading


text:
Makunouchi to Third Meal
Eki Ben to Artist Palettes
"Tradition-hallowed, honest-to-cherry blossom, real bento provide delightful picnics." — Nina Froud [1]
Bento is a characteristic Japanese way of packing up a quick meal to eat on the go.
Technically a Bento box is a container, usually metallic, but often made of lacquer, wood,or plastic, containing rice, with meat or fish, vegetables and pickles and maybe a boiled egg. [2]
Bento is a serving for a single person. They are available at stores, including transit kiosks and convenience food stores in Japan, and also made at home for family members or oneself.
The term Bento oiriginated in Song Dynasty China (960-1279), meaning "something convenient." The concept migrated to Japan and Bento were eaten from around the Kamakura Period (1185 — 1333 CE).
According to some accounts, in former times Japanese people only ate two meals a day, at breakfast and an evening meal. Bento were originally made to be eaten by farmers and other workers during a short mid-day break, and for travelers.
Because of their convenience, Bento came to be made and used at theatrical performances and athletic events like sumo tournaments, where they are still common. This kind of Bento was called makunouchi, or "between the curtains."
This variety of Bento evolved to often very luxurious and elaborate forms during the Edo Period (1600-1868).
Today many people in Japan carry Bento to school or work and they are eaten at lunch time. So the markunouchi or farmer's Bento was the precursor of the third meal, lunch, which is now common in Japan.
Bento has now moved back to China. Bento are consumed in Taiwan, Korea and parts of the Philippines and in India as the tiffin or dhabba box. These regions of Asia may be considered the Bento Zone, with far-flung outposts in Hawaii and Djakarta, Indonesia.
You see Bento in train stations all over Japan. Stands sell box lunches representing the local specialties of the place where the train has just stopped.
These are the Eki Ben, or station box lunches. Whole books have been written about them. There are Japanese fans of Eki Ben, like railroad buffs and airplane buffs, who like to hop off at famous stations and eat their celebrated Bento meals.
There are Bento boxes which workers carry to their offices or shop to eat at work. A recent Japanese Prime Minister was even famous for carrying his lunches in a Bento box prepared by his wife.
And there are the Bento boxes carried by school childen in Japan. In recent years some parents compete in making their children's Bento lunches look artistic. They arrange the food to look like a landscape or decorate the food to resemble favorite cartoon characters.
And there is the Fusion Bento: As in the case of Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who serves Bento Boxes in some of his restaurants, with exotic contents that might include a Thai salad and Ovaltine Kulfi. And some Japanese restaurants offer more conventional Japanese style meals in Bento boxes to customers. [3]
Bento Recipes: There is a large literature of recipes for making the different kinds of Bento, including kids' lunches, in print and online, in Japanese and English. There is one major Web site in English specialized in Bento matters. Some of these sources also offer for sale products like Bento boxes and other accessories. American chef "Biggie," formerly an expat in Tokyo and fluent in Japanese, has developed a major Web site devoted to Bento lunches. [4]
Bento Problems: As popular and common as Bento lunches are, there are some problems: Bento are typically made early in the morning and eaten several hours later. By that time, there is a big fall-off in quality with many of the more popular items.
Recent research by cooks, housekeepers, and home economists in Japan has turned up some new ways to improve the quality of Bento meals. [5] We'll take a look at these findings in a separate Article.
For Further Information:
[1] Nina Froud, Cooking the Japanese Way (London: Paul Hamlyn, 1963) – has chapter on Bento — http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Japanese-way-Nina-Froud/dp/B0007IZDZW
[2] "Bento," article, Wikipedia — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bento
[3] JGV's Ovaltine kulfi in Bento box — Jean-Georges Vongerichen's Thai-inspired cuisine — http://www.templeofthai.com/asian-food-life/blog/thai-food/chef-jeangeorges-thai-inspired-cuisine/Thai-inspired cuisine —
[4] Biggie, Building a Better Bento — http://lunchinabox.net/
[5] NHK, Tameshite Gatten, October 31, 2012 — special program on Bento research — http://www9.nhk.or.jp/gatten/archives/P20121031.html


text:
When you step into a hardware store these days, you're likely to see new lines of paint specially labeled to lure green consumers concerned about exposure to volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. It's a smart marketing move, since VOCs are a particularly nasty class of airborne gases released when standard wall coatings dry. Unfortunately, the labels "low VOC" and "no VOC" can be misleading.
Do-it-yourselfers need to be aware of a few things: Finding a truly green, clean paint will require a bit of research. It will cost more money. And when it comes to paint labeling and claims, neither the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nor most big paint makers are always looking out for the health of consumers or the planet. By understanding a few basic facts, though, prospective painters looking for that perfect hue can make better choices.
An easy first step is to use latex paints, which are usually lower in VOCs than oil-based paints. Many consumers have already made the move to latex for the convenience of soap-and-water cleanup.
Then get to know your VOCs. For starters, the EPA's definition of "low" is based not on an indoor health standard but on an outdoor environmental standard. Consequently, low-VOC paint labels aren't promising toxin-free air as the paint dries, even though the accompanying marketing campaign (and the friendly store clerk) may imply otherwise. The standard simply ensures that the paint has less than 250 grams of VOCs per liter if it's latex, and less than 380 grams per liter if it's oil-based–levels far higher than recommended by many environmental and health experts. To find a paint's professed VOC content, look at the label or ask for the accompanying material safety data sheet.
Worse, because of EPA rules that lack both precision and teeth, even paint that is labeled "no VOC" may contain VOCs, since paint makers often disclose only the required "nonexempt" VOCs that form smog. Many paints also contain undisclosed preservatives called biocides–literally, "life killers"–that pose hazards for chemically sensitive people and undeveloped fetuses. Finally, adding standard pigments to the paint base to mix and match colors will add more VOCs–typically, the deeper the hue, the higher the VOCs. So even if you start with a low-VOC base, it might be high by the time it comes off the paint shaker.
While current labeling rules leave much to be desired, the EPA is unlikely to address the issue anytime soon. The budget-strapped agency lost its funding for low-VOC research about a decade ago, according to EPA scientist John Chang, who directed the research and whose findings finally were published by the agency in 2001. "Certain paints marketed as 'low VOC' may still emit significant quantities of air pollutants," he concluded.
Although federal oversight lags, green groups offer some guidance. The nonprofit environmental organization Green Seal has a broader definition of VOCs and its own idea of "low": 50 grams per liter for paints with a flat, or matte, finish, and 150 grams per liter for other paints. But again, that's an environmental standard, not a health standard.
Los Angeles-based environmental consultant Mary Cordaro is encouraged to see the introduction of many low- and no-VOC paints and finishes, but she's concerned that some labels offer consumers false comfort. She suggests that anyone who is uncertain about a paint's VOC content treat it as a toxic substance. Ventilate the room by opening windows and using fans to exchange air–"suck and blow." And have pregnant women stay out of the room for two weeks.
The best paints are those made from natural materials, Cordaro says. Her favorites are Keim, Aglaia, and BioShield. But she also cites AFM, ChemSafe, and Best Paint as good choices for those seeking a truly low- or no-VOC paint. Some of these paints must be ordered and shipped because they aren't widely available in stores, and they all cost more than conventional paints–sometimes quite a bit more.
Because most paints made by mainstream manufacturers are petroleum-based synthetics, consumers should be aware that they have negative environmental consequences regardless of the VOC content, Cordaro says. Especially now that they are being "marketed to people in a way that completely veils the fact that the raw materials are coming from a place that we don't want them to come from," she says.
Because we use so much paint, in so many different ways, Cordaro is concerned that focusing solely on lower VOC content may soothe our environmental conscience but actually further our reliance on products that are not made from natural, renewable resources.
Cordaro has high standards, to be sure, but she's also realistic enough to know that the cost and time required to get a better paint can be prohibitive for many people.
It's a step in the right direction, Cordaro says, if people recognize that the paint they're using is petroleum-based and they're choosing to support the petroleum industry. "Maybe it will plant a seed in one's brain: When I have a little more time, maybe just for the bedroom I'll buy a plant-based finish even though it costs more. Maybe there's a small room I can start with to promote the companies that are using products made from renewable resources."