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Outdoor Living Areas Johns Creek
Outdoor Living Areas Johns Creek
American Outdoor Living provides Johns Creek homeowners with functional outdoor living spaces for outdoor enjoyment. American Outdoor Livingoffers custom masonry with stone and brick. Some projects that can be incorporated in the outdoor living space can include; stone patios, columns, fire pits, outdoor living areas, walls, stone walkways, stone veneers, stacked stone walls, walkways, ponds, waterfalls and more. An outdoor living area adds beauty and value to your home property, as well as adding an aesthetical appeal to your home and outdoor living areas.
Johns Creek Outdoor Living Spaces
The outdoor living areas in Johns Creek can be constructed of many types of durable products for years of enjoyment. Many colors of stone, brick and pavers are available to match your home. Some examples of stone we use in our stonework include the many colors of, Tennessee Field Stone, Tennessee Flag stone, Bluestone, Crab Orchard, Pennsylvania Bluestone, Pennsylvania Fieldstone and granite. Pavers and bricks come in many colors and patterns such as herringbone can add a visual appeal. Call American Outdoor Living today for your next outdoor living project.


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Brian Okam is a 7-0 junior center who was born in Nigeria and went to high school at Lake Highland, in Florida. Last year, he attempted four free throws and made two of them. Yesterday, he did that, which counts for twenty-eight missed free throws, six losses for Appalachian State, and a rescinded athletic scholarship for Okam. The Appalachian State Mountaineers are now a Division III program, and the university has closed satellite campuses in other parts of North Carolina, shuttering its masters program and reducing total enrollment by half. Appalachian State lost by six to Western Carolina.
Worth noting: Okam, according to his profile on goasu.com was rated "the nation's 15th-best prospect by ESPN upon graduation at Orlando's Lake Highland H.S."

subset: commoncrawl


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Facebook's Newest Advertiser: Facebook
The Facebook press blitz continues: After Sheryl Sandberg and her team took the first half of the week at the Advertising Week convention in New York, they've handed off to Mark Zuckerberg, who is on both NBC and the cover of Businessweek this morning.*
And if you miss any of that, here's another chance to get some Facebook messaging, via a 90-second ad the company has commissioned. It's made by Wieden & Kennedy, the shop best known as Nike's ad geniuses, and is directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, who made the excellent "Amores Perros."
Facebook reps say that, for now, you'll only see the ad on Facebook.com. But they leave open the notion that you'll see it on Web sites not owned by Facebook at some point, and that it may also end up on TV.
Which would make sense: Why spend a bunch of money on a nice ad like this if you're not going to show it to people who aren't already using your product?
Then again, as Facebook announced this morning, it has a billion active users. So, if you're not using Facebook now, that must mean you really don't want to use Facebook — not that you're not familiar with it.
* Actually, Zuckerberg himself isn't on the cover of Bloomberg Businessweek; his company is. But Zuck is well represented on the pages inside. Here's the cover (click image to enlarge):


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The most unexpected and memorable part of the publicity barrage leading up to Sunday's long-awaited return of "Mad Men" has been show star's Jon Hamm much-quoted broadside against Kim Kardashian and the Reality TV crowd.
Hamm's comment that Kardashian is proof that being an "idiot is a valuable commodity" accurately, if indelicately, sums up the state of television at a time when it feels as if intelligent programs like AMC's "Mad Men" are rare oases in a Reality TV desert wasteland.
But let's look at that oddly evolving landscape through "Mad Men" martini goggles: If Don Draper were a young media hotshot today, he'd just as likely be a reality show producer as an ad man. Jon Hamm may not like Kim Kardashian, but Don Draper would have loved her – or at least understood her value as a commodity.
Draper's mid-1960s world is one where image creation equals self-made reality and worth. He's a square-jawed, seemingly straight-talking salesman for an All-American life – one, that even if it ever existed, is crumbling all around him amid social and personal upheaval. But like today's reality show makers, Draper is expert at passing off shallow surface images as idealized authenticity – whether he's hawking the Kodak Carousel of unreliable happy memories or selling himself on the phony life he's constructed out of whole gray flannel cloth.
During last season's brilliant run – which began with a reporter asking "Who is Don Draper?" – we saw his world as a slick, lady-killing executive finally violently collide with his secret life as hardscrabble troubled former farm boy Dick Whitman, leading to a stunning, tearful breakdown.
But just when we thought that Draper/Whitman was starting to confront reality, Don dumped his beautiful, brainy shrink girlfriend, a woman who probably loved him for what he is – and, more importantly, was ready to help him journey beyond the unexamined life. He impulsively proposed to Megan, a secretary he barely knows – a pretty young cipher ready for a role on the 1960s Housewives of Scarsdale.
Their relationship would seem to loom large in Sunday's two-hour Season 5 premiere. It's a testament to "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner's gripping show that we're still entranced by Draper's life (or lives) after an absence of 17 months – long enough for seven Kim Kardashian 72-day marriages. As we wait to see whether Don and Megan will make it that long, check out a "Mad Men" preview below:
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, milt-media NY City News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.


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If you recall from our first installment of Project Motovan, we were forced to use the original spare tire after puncturing the existing tire while trying to get the van off the moving truck. Since the van is going to be used as a daily driver for at least a few months having a functioning spare tire is essential. Besides needing a new spare, the date stamp on the remaining tires showed 2003, making those tires about 7 years old. Recommendations on replacing used tires ranges from 6 to 10 years depending on which research you read. If we were already buying one new tire, now seemed to be the right time to go ahead and replace all the tires and think about upgrading our rims as well.
With all the different tire options out there we really needed some help on deciding what was going to be best for our needs. We had to figure out which size tire and rim would fit, which tread pattern would be most practical and what the appropriate load range should be for our Quigley 4x4. What we didnt want was a tire-and-rim combo that hit the fenders or a tire too wide that would contact the steering components. On a recommendation from a friend, we made a call to Sarah at Northridge Tire Pros in Northridge, CA. We immediately felt comfortable that Sarah knew exactly what she was talking about and stopped by the store so she could look over the van and help give us some suggestions.
Perhaps the most important decision we had to make before settling on any tire or rim was to figure out what load range tire we needed. Since our E-350 Quigley 4x4 weighed in at 6700 pounds empty when we bought it, we knew after adding the interior and other aftermarket components it could easily hit 10,000 pounds. Discussing these loads with Sarah led us to settle on a tire with a load range rating of E. The pluses of an E rated tire are that they are capable of handling our expected weight and loads and provide us with good sidewall stiffness for highway driving. The negatives are that when aired down off-road they are still rather stiff and dont conform as well to the terrain as say a load range C or D rated tire. Still, sighting safety as number one and the fact that we dont plan on doing any hard core four-wheeling with the van, the load range E rated tire seemed to be the obvious choice.
Choosing a load range E tire limits the available tire choices in a hurry! There are not a lot of companies that make off-road-oriented tires that come in load range E. Within those off-road tires rated at load range E we narrowed down our selection even further to those that were best suited to our planned highway and general off-road use. We came up with the BF Goodrich All-Terrain, the Toyo Open Country All-Terrain and the Nitto Terra Grappler All-Terrain. After doing some research on user opinions of the above mentioned tires we settled on the Nitto Terra Grappler All-Terrains. We found many reviews praising these tires for ride quality, traction on and off-road as well as being quiet. The other nice feature of the Nittos is that they come with an all-season mud and snow rating.
For our rim selection, we needed to also make sure we chose a rim that was also rated to support the weight of the van. Many rims may look cool but are designed for lightweight pickups and not 3/4-ton vehicles. Although people still choose to run these types of rims, on heavier vehicles it can be asking for trouble, especially if carrying a load or off-roading. After doing some research, we settled on the KMC Enduro 17-inch rims in black. KMC has a good reputation in the off-road world of having a durable product that has been proven in off-road racing competition. Some folks will say going with a 17 inch rim limits your choice in tires and to some extent that is true. However, for our specific needs a 17 inch rim will provide better highway performance while still leaving a good amount of sidewall protection from the tires in off-road settings.
Looking at the clearance around the fenders and steering components with the stock 245/75/R16 tires, Sarah recommended going with a 285/75/R17 tire, which equates to just about a 33-inch tire. We may have been able to squeeze in a little taller 295, but going wider that the 75 would probably end up with wheel rub on the steering components at one, or both, ends. Even with the 285s we still ended up doing a little trimming on the front bumper and behind the front tire on the lower part of the fender to make sure that mild off-road use wouldnt result in damaging a tire or crunching a fender. Although the new tires didnt really stick out past the stock fenders much when straight, we opted to also have Sarah install a set of Bushwacker fender flares to help keep mud, water and debris off the sides of the van. We also took the opportunity to have the front brakes serviced and bearings repacked.
With over two months on the tires we are extremely happy with our decision. The Nitto Terra Grappler All-Terrains are super quiet on the highway and seem to offer good traction both on the dry and wet pavement. We havent had a chance to do any off-roading yet but anticipate good traction there as well. At times, the 285s look plenty big on the van and at other times they look a size too small. Our van came with 3.55 gearing front and rear so going with tires any larger didnt seem like a wise move, even though the 7.3 has plenty of torque. Plus, we really dont want to throw money at gearing until the van is done and we get an idea of how much it weighs and how it operates in its finished condition. With the van currently empty, the current 3.55 gearing has no trouble at all turning the 285s, although we do notice a little less pep when stepping on it.
Moving on to perhaps the biggest decision of the build, even bigger than tire and rim selection, is that of selecting the right top for the van. Adding a top is optional of course, but since our van will be used as a camper as well as a moto hauler, we feel that the need for standing room is a necessity for overall comfort. In our previous article we mentioned the Sportsmobile Penthouse canvas pop-top option. This item can be added by Sportsmobile to almost any new or used Ford, Chevy or Dodge van. It stows away while not in use and pops up when at camp. The idea of having the ability to pop up the top and open all the windows up at the beach or in the forest sounds simply amazing. In addition, since it stows away when not in use, the van is close to its original roof height for maneuvering in the city or in tree covered off-road settings.
Doing my research with other pop-top owners and speaking with Jonathan from Sportsmobile, I came to the conclusion the pop-top is plenty durable to withstand wind, rain and snow. In fact, I have seen photos of vans with the Sportsmobile pop-top up in the middle of winter covered in snow. The main downfall of this type of top however is the heat and cooling loss you get through the canvas sides. While this may not a be a big deal to some folks who do mostly beach or forest camping in mild environments, our van will be seeing nights in the desert during the winter when the temps are commonly in the 30s and the winds are howling. In contrast to the cold temps, our van will also make visits to the desert during the summer when the temps can hover around 100 degrees during the day. Being able to maintain consistent temps efficiently during the harsh desert environments we started leaning toward exploring more hard-top options for Project Motovan.
Besides more consistent temps, hardtops also have some other advantages over a pop-top. When on the road, you can stop anytime you want and walk around the van without having to raise and lower the top. Hard tops also offer the opportunity to install permanent cabinets up along the sides, front and back if desired. This extra space can be a real benefit when carrying both camping and moto gear. Scrolling through the pages of the Sportsmobile website revealed a few different hard-top options. The Voyager style top they offer looked to be about the best compromise between maximizing space while still keeping it somewhat streamlined.
With a few e-mails to Jonathan it was quickly apparent that many other folks currently have the same idea of building a camper van. There was almost a three-month wait to have them install either top, or do any other work for that matter. With the state of todays economy it is great to see them doing so well, but for us it meant a hit to our schedule we couldnt afford.
With the Sportsmobile Voyager top out of the question due to our project schedule, we began looking around for other options. We came across a small business called Fiberine located in Southern California. After exchanging a few phone calls and photos it appeared we could go with Fiberines 24 Bubble Top. The top used a newer style reverse flange design that fits flush up against the rain gutters and reduces any chances for leaks. They didnt have the interior finishing options that Sportsmobile offered but they could reinforce the top with wood and could also fit us in within a week or two so it was a go.
Arriving at Fiberine I was a bit nervous knowing I was about to have the top cut off my perfectly good Quigley. A little unsettling but I knew I needed to forge ahead if I really wanted to have a functional and comfortable camper van. After removing the headliner, the worker drilled four pilot holes at each corner from the inside. Then he climbed up on top and outlined the top with painters tape, using the four pilot holes as guides. Next thing you know an air chisel was running full bore cutting off the top. Yikes! A little while later, the Quigley was a convertible with some dark clouds looming overhead. Luckily it didnt take too long before I saw a few guys carrying my top along the sidewalk before setting it in place on the roof.
Once in place, they stuck a few planks of wood under the top and started going at it with silicone. After they had a thick bead of silicone all around the top, they removed the wood and set the top in its resting place. Using a bunch of sheet metal screws and then some hefty bolts in a few spots the top was basically complete. They finished the process by hooking up the third brake light and taking a measurement at my request of the height from the ground. It was right at 9 feet high, but you wont catch me going under anything at least 96 due to past experiences of ripping off racks in a parking garage that had misstated the height.
Driving the Project Motovan with the top installed is a little different over stock in that you always need to be aware how high things are you are driving under. For the most part, there shouldnt be any issues with highway driving, but when heading off-road careful consideration must be given on any trails where branches or under hangs are present. The van is also heavier with the top in place, which has an impact on both acceleration and braking. Although the difference isnt drastic by any means it is still noticeable. Even with these drawbacks, however, having the hard top really opens the van up when inside, and having room to walk around makes it feel much more like a camper. Not only will the top provide more consistent temps in differing conditions it also provides more security when leaving it at camp to go on a ride.
Now that the tires, rims and hardtop are installed, next up is the interior. Careful Internet searching revealed quite a few companies that do van conversions. Some do simple seating arrangements only, while others focus only on handicap conversions and still others will do some custom work. The main stumbling block with most of these places for our project van is that they wont touch any chassis work. This means adding batteries to the frame, installing a heater or ACs, or doing work under the hood is out of the question. The thought of driving the van back and forth to different shops to get different types of work done was tiring enough, but adding the stress of wondering if one shop will be able to work with another in getting tasks done didnt sit too well. We searched high and low and think we have finally ended up with the perfect solution, Colorado Campervan. A new company owned by two van enthusiasts that also ride dirt bikes. Not only do they themselves own 4x4 vans, but they have extensive experience with four-wheeling, wrenching and are not afraid of chassis work! Be sure to read the next installment and follow our progress with phase 1 of the interior build on Project Motovan.


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REGGI'S BBQ RESTAURANT in Parkstone Place in Jackson, TN is proud to present a menu with real slow-cooked Hickory Pit Tennessee Barbecue, including full service catering. This award-winning Southern BBQ is so tasty, you'll be back for more - we know it! Reggi's also offers mouth-watering Buffalo Wings and a slew of other Southern cuisine meals including home-made desserts--check out our menu for a complete listing of the food we offer. Located at beautiful 292 Parkstone Place in Jackson, TN! Come enjoy the relaxing atmosphere and some good down-home Southern hospitality that Reggi's offers to West, TN! You can call-in, dine-in, go through our drive-thru, or allow us to cater your event! We are independently owned and not associated with the Channing Way location.
BE SURE TO EXPLORE THE WEBSITE and check out what we have to offer. Check out Reggi's online menu that we have available and feel free to E-mail it to others or print it out so that you have your own personal copy. There's also a photography gallery that we keep updated with fresh new content. If you have any questions, comments, or would like to inquire about our catering services please contact us! We'd love to hear back from you! Or just come by the restaurant at 292 Parkstone Place, Jackson, TN off exit 85 South from I-40!
REGGI'S has the secret to help you become a grill-master! No matter what your taste, Reggi's has an award winning BBQ Sauce for you! Stop by our BBQ restaurant in Jackson Tennessee and pick up a bottle of our special home made BBQ Sauce; made with Chef Reggi's family recipe. You won't find this unique taste anywhere else but here in Jackson, TN! Flavors are available in BBQ Sauce: Mild, Hot, and Medium Hot. We also offer the following Wing Sauces: Regular Hot, Suicide Hot, Inferno Hot, Honey BBQ, Mild BBQ, Hot BBQ, Lemon pepper, and Dry Season. Shipping is also available for our award winning BBQ and Buffalo Wing Sauce!


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Blogging became more difficult after Kaidi was born. Sure I was busy with her, but family issues had a lot to do with my lack of blogging. I was not comfortable sharing my family's issues out there for everyone to see, and I did not want to portray this big, happy life either. Everyone goes through issues with friends and family and it was something that I wanted to deal with privately. After family issues came the personal issues...6 months after Kaidi was born, I got pregnant and miscarried. This was more than I could handle at the time.. Gregg was going through a real tough time as well and he ended up seeing a doctor who tried him on all sorts of medication for depression that only seemed to make it worse. It was a very, very tough summer. We were approaching the first anniversary of the accident and all these other things were going on as well.. life was spinning out of control. I didn't even know who my husband was any more, we had both changed so much and I was so consumed with my own pain and grief that I really don't know that it even mattered to me. After going through a very nasty week together, we separated for a few days and through a lot of prayer and determination, we worked through our problems and knew that we needed to change some things in our marriage. God can work miracles in your marriage, and He will help you through some of what seems like IMPOSSIBLE situations. Our marriage picked up a little and not too long after, I was expecting Asher. Sometimes even the greatest joys in our lives are "stressors". New baby, New Career, New House.. all are great, wonderful things that people are usually ecstatic about, but they also bring on an incredible amount of extra stress or extra responsibilities. In 2 1/2 years we experienced the death of 2 children, the birth of 2 children, a miscarriage, expecting another child, building a new house, Gregg and I both went through 3 career changes, I went to school for a semester during that time, we separated 2 different times and a ton of other things. We were going through some hard times in our lives for sure! Our marriage suffered for a few years after losing the twins. It takes such a toll on you physically, emotionally, spiritually.. it's so hard to pick back up to who you were and how your life felt... Gregg and I both changed so much. It was almost as if we were married to strangers. We both had to work on loving the new person our spouse had become. It was not easy at all. There was so much brokenness in our relationship. It seemed so much easier to just hang it up and start over. Try to find someone who wouldn't look at me and see the hurt that he and I had been through together, the drastic life change that we saw in each other, even looking at Gregg and seeing Brayden and him seeing Kenadi in me. It was a lot of hurt to work through. I am so very thankful for the determination God put in my heart for my marriage.. it came after a lot of stubbornness and some time away, but God was faithful to provide me with the strength I needed to love my husband, pray for my marriage and do everything in my power to make it work. After about 3 months of separation, our family was reunited and little by little, with the help from my God who makes ALL THINGS NEW, our marriage was restored.
I recently shared this song on my FB page. It was such a "changing track" for me as I heard it for the first time. It grabbed my attention and helped me realize that God could restore our marriage.
I am so thankful to have a God who loves me and has a greater vision for my marriage than I did. We are so blessed in our lives now. We are still overcoming obstacles, and fight struggles, as you would with any marriage, at any stage, but we are working together, with God, to overcome them and not fighting against each other. I am thankful for the past 8 years we have been married and today is actually our 16th anniversary for the day we first started dating. I've been with Gregg longer now, than I've been without him! :)
|This was a recent picture a friend of mine posted to Facebook.
I'm not sure of the year, but I know it's been a while!! We look so young!
|This one is from our date night last Wed night to celebrate our 8th Anniversary a few weeks late!
"He heals the Brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3


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9 May 2018
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An interesting video posted yesterday on the usual technology and business trendcasting topics. It's 8 minutes, so here's the summary:
- Changes in technology – evolution over 15 years from using the phone to using email to using social media to get most of the work done (value as business tools); face to face is a constant value throughout
- Workforce – this generation less loyal, more mobile, more interested in maximizing their career than company value, especially as geography becomes a less crucial hiring factor
- Social networking – the most interesting part comes around 4:30 in, where he starts with the charming "I write a weblog…" He stresses that there is a community built, and that trust in the community and the tools has led to new ways of doing business, and talks about how he has taken action based on comments from people he's never met. Great stuff in this portion!
- A little bit on tools such as IRC, wiki and facebook
- In the comments, some folks ask for more video and he says "I don't think video is an efficient way for most people to consume info so I try not to do too much of it." Agreed on the efficiency, both for consuming, and trying to find that quotable portion 6 months later. Hence this self-reminder post.


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What's inside? Here are the questions answered in today's reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Living on less
2. Retirement or debt?
3. Strategic foreclosure
4. Help partner or yourself?
5. Which retirement plan?
6. Paying student loans early
7. Exceptional Microsoft Office deal
8. Estimating costs after dependent leaves
9. Debt payment and marriage
10. Stale checks
In November, I'm going to participate in National Novel Writing Month, which is basically an initiative to encourage writers to buckle down and get a rough draft of a novel of minimum 50,000 words finished before the end of the month. You're allowed to develop outlines and other such materials earlier, but you're supposed to write the entire novel within the given month.
I've already signed up and you can follow the novel as I write it. I've already got some outlines and character notes.
It might be good. It might be awful. I'll let you know how it's going when I get started, so you can read it if you'd like.
Q1: Living on less
I am 35, a single mom of one child (7 y/o girl). I live in southern Georgia. I have what I consider to be a great job which I love. I am fortunate enough to get signifacate yearly wage increases. In 2 years with this company I have went from $18,000.00 to $31,000.00. However it never seems to be enough to pay off credit cards etc. I got to the point where I have taken out a title loan on my car to help pay bills. Yes, I'm still paying on the stupid title loan. I have made some poor choices with lack of guidence. I feel like I walk around with this huge rain cloud over me and the bottom is going to fall out at any time. I have no savings, no emegency fund. My question is..Can I live off of only $1000.00 a month? Is it realistic? Do you have/know of any resources or articles to guide me in the right direction? Any guidence would be greatly appreciated.
- Stacy
You can, but you're helped greatly by your location. You're living in southern Georgia, which, frankly, has very solid cost-of-living numbers. I don't know exactly where you live, but I do know that compared to many other areas, your cost for housing and many other items is very strong.
For the short term – and always keep in mind that this is all about the short term – you're going to have to make some painful cuts. Look for the lowest-cost housing you can, even if it's tiny. If you live in a smaller Georgia town, look for someone who is renting out a room or two in their home and see if you can live there for a while, perhaps with rent lowered or eliminated in exchange for some household help. Housing is likely one of your biggest costs, so minimize it as much as you can. Ask around – a great place to start is by getting involved at a local church, because at the local level, they do a very good job in terms of social help.
From there, move on to eliminating every dime of your debt that you can. Get an emergency fund of $1,000 or so in the bank, then focus hard on getting rid of that title loan.
You're going to have a plate full in front of you, but keep in mind you're living lean now so that you don't have a scary existence later on. You're making sacrifices now to build a great foundation for five years down the road.
Q2: Retirement or debt?
I am a 25 year old young professional getting ready to transition into my second job within the next 6 months. I have $4,795.43 in credit card debt and $53,999.83 in student loans (I just consolidated 2 federal loans which will take 2 payments totaling $308.51 down to a payment of roughly $180.00 and then I have an additional loan payment of roughly $180.00
I also contribute 10% to my retirement (Company policy is that I don't need to contribute any to achieve the company 8% contribution). Finally, I have roughly $3,500 in an Emergency Fund (which even as a single person doesn't make me comfortable enough). So my question is: should I stop contributing to retirement and direct that money to paying down my credit card and then student loan debt?
I struggle with what to do because I know the more I put into retirement (with the market still down right now) and the earlier I do it the better I will be in the long run.
- Jarrett
Don't worry about the market timing. You might invest today and the stock market stays level for seven years or drops 20%. You can't predict the future, so don't worry about it and be aware that much of your gains will come in the form of dividends, not growing stock price.
Given that debt load, I wouldn't cut retirement savings. Instead, I would focus on paying down the higher interest debt first (probably that credit card). Your debt isn't big enough to be strangling you.
Remember, though, the faster you can get the cards paid off, the better off you are, especially if you don't touch your retirement savings.
Q3: Strategic foreclosure
My husband and I bought a condo at the peak of the market in Los Angeles for $452,000. It is currently worth about $350K and several units in our building are foreclosing and will drop that price even further. While we can afford the payments, we do not want to live in it forever; it is too small for our growing family. We cannot rent it out for nearly what our monthly mortgage payment is. We have spoken to the bank several times but they will not work with us to refinance because we owe more than what the condo is worth. We could sink a huge amount of our savings into the condo and probably refinance. But then we would lose almost all of our savings and still be stuck with renting the place. We are contemplating foreclosure, trashing our credit and renting for the next 5-7 years before looking to buy another home. What are your thoughts on "strategic foreclosure?" We have two very stable incomes and enough money in savings that we can afford to buy everything else we need, including bigger purchases such as cars, with cash.
- Ansley
Strategic foreclosure is something I go back and forth on. On one hand, you've made an agreement with another entity and are obligated to maintain it.
On the other hand, though, I've read a number of books about how mortgage companies and large banks behaved during the housing crisis and to describe some of the behavior as unethical almost feels like an understatement. Many groups had a great deal of insider knowledge about the reality of the housing situation and they knew they were issuing negligent loans. They were utterly failing to do any form of due diligence on the loans and were using insider knowledge to pawn off some awful arrangements on potential homeowners.
Given all of that, I completely understand the case for why people would walk away from their mortgages.
Now, does it make financial sense? What is your game plan for after the foreclosure? How does that directly compare to the situation if you chose not to walk away? If I were you, I'd run the numbers on both scenarios in detail, recognizing that your various forms of insurance will probably go up if you do walk away. Make sure to look at scenarios where one or both of you lose a job, too.
I don't have enough of your financial picture to say which side is better. Good luck.
Q4: Help partner or yourself?
My soon to be fiancé and I recently started living together. We live in a very expensive part of the country in a small apartment. He is currently in grad school. It is an expensive program, and he has some student loans to cover tuition and living expenses. We did Financial Peace University after he had accepted the loans. Neither of us have any consumer debt. We have budgeted so that he is spending way less than the loan money he has been given (about $4000 less each term, so about $12 K less each year of a two year program), and I am spending less than I earn as well. The extra money from his loans is sitting in his bank account, and he will use it to immediately start paying down the loans after graduation. I currently work full-time at a stable job, making about $46K. We currently split the expenses down the middle—me paying for my half with my paycheck, him paying for his half with his loan money. I am currently putting about $1000 into my savings each month. He has about 20K saved in his savings from before grad school, not including the student loan money. I have about $15K in my emergency fund and feel comfortable with that number. My questions: Would it be better for me to pay for all of our joint living expenses for the remainder of his degree, so that he can use less of his loan money, or is it more important that I continue to save that $1000 per month? What would be the best way for us to jointly manage our money and the loans? For whatever reason, it seems like a really confusing decision for us.
- Midge
It comes down to this: are you guys going to be together over the long haul? Is marriage really going to happen?
At some point – and that point varies a lot – you're going to need to effectively merge your finances on some level, because you'll be operating as one entity, sharing housing and electricity and water and meals without borders. Any debt that either one of you has will affect you both.
When does this transition occur? That's very much a matter of your relationship with him. You might feel it's the right time to do it now. On the other hand, I see nothing wrong with hedging your bets and continuing to save until your wedding, then at that time using a big chunk of your savings to wipe out a lot of his loans at once. This way, if you don't make it to the wedding, then you still have the money you've saved.
Q5: Which retirement plan?
I work for the University of California and I have to say, the benefits are none too shabby. Aside from the medical benefits, I'm already taking advantage of the 401k contributions, (and I've set up a separate Roth IRA with Vanguard) but I just discovered that there are a bunch more retirement account options that I've never heard of. 403b, 457B, DCP? I'm lost, and the material I've found online is a little over my head. What are these plans, and how do I know if they're right for me?
Maybe I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself…I'm 24 and I have a good chunk of debt from student loans. I've set myself on a course to pay off the entire $23k by the time I'm 30, while still allowing for contributions to my 401k and Roth IRA plans in between. Since I only make $30k per year and I'm nowhere near maxing out my 401k and Roth IRA contributions, would opening more retirement accounts even be a wise decision, or should I just focus on what I've got right now?
- Lauren
The number of retirement options can be confusing. I'll try to simplify your options as concisely as I can.
A 403(b) is pretty much identical to a 401(k). A 457(b) is almost the same as the other two, except you can make early withdrawals without the 10% penalty, but you're also not able to open up a Roth IRA. A DCP is a deferred compensation plan, where you agree to have some of your salary paid to you at a later date by your employer (usually with cost-of-living increases added in).
I wouldn't really worry too much about the tons of options available to you. Just keep putting money into your 401(k) and Roth IRA as you have been. The only reason you might want to consider changing your 401(k) plan is if you discover that the specific investment choices are better with the 403(b) or 457 offerings. I would skip out on deferred compensation unless you're making a lot of money and can afford to basically say "pay me 50% of my salary now and 50% in 15 years." That's a good deal for some but not so good for a younger person with a starting salary.
Q6: Paying student loans early
I've done some searching about my situation and I came across a problem you figured out about a guy with who had three loans to be paid off with three different interest rates. I tried to translate it to my loan situation but I couldn't figure it out. Which leads me to emailing you and it would mean a lot of you could help me figure this problem out. Here goes:
Loan #1: $16,732.17 Interest Rate: 5.0 Minimum Payment: $122.67 Paid off in: 16yrs,11mths
Loan #2: $62,573.15 Interest Rate: 3.25 Minimum Payment: $302.18 Paid off in: 25yrs,5mths
I've been paying $500.00 towards Loan #2 and $122.67 towards Loan #1. With that being said this is what my Loan #2 looks like.
Loan #2: $62.573.15 Interest Rate: 3.25 Monthly Payment: $500 Paid off in: 12yrs,10mths
My question is what would be the most beneficial to my current situation as far as dividing up the extra $197.82 I put towards loan #2? Do I put the extra month towards the smaller loan amount or continue paying as I am? Also, how do I calculate what my outstanding principle will be years into my loan after making minimum or putting extra towards the payments?
- Bob
I would put that entire $197.82 – let's just round it to $200 – towards loan #1 and make minimum payments on loan #2.
There are two reasons for this. One, the first loan has a higher interest rate, which means that for every dollar in that loan, it's directly costing you more to leave it unpaid. Second, the first loan has a lower balance, which means that with extra payments, you'll eliminate the loan faster than you would eliminate the second one with an identical extra payment.
If you can knock out the higher interest loan faster than you can a lower interest loan, always knock out the high interest loan first. You win in terms of both cash flow and overall interest paid.
Q7: Exceptional Microsoft Office deal
Did you ever hear of this offer? My wife's company sent this around indicating we could purchase the complete MS Office suite to use at home for only $9.95.
Is this a scam?
- Jeff
It's not a scam at all, just some smart business by Microsoft.
For some companies that buy Microsoft Office for their business, Microsoft throws in a sweetener – deeply discounted copies of Office for the employees of those companies for personal use. I know of at least two people who are in similar situations.
It works pretty much as that page describes. If you have a valid email address for the company and the correct passcode, you can log in to download the deeply discounted copy of Office you're entitled to as a work perk.
In other words, it's a great offer, but it's heavily restricted as to who can use it. Yet another reason why it's worthwhile to check out your benefits at work.
Q8: Estimating costs after dependent leaves
My daughter is in her first year of college. She is attending out-of-state because she and my husband were convinced that none of the in-state schools that accepted her would meet her educational needs. She has a car which she needs for work because she can't get a job on campus because they are all need-based and her parents have too much income. From what we can tell, she does get some discount on her car insurance because she is on our policy, but she is also penalized because her father has a fairly new and expensive car. She is also on our health insurance policy. We are trying to find out if it makes financial sense for her to live off campus so she can declare herself independent from us and next year qualify for need-based scholarships and jobs, but we can't get a straight answer on any of the numbers in order to determine what course she should follow. Are there any sources you know of which would enable us to estimate her costs if she were no longer our dependent?
- Lisa
The best source you have is your college's financial aid office. This is pretty much the reason why such offices exist – to help people get such affairs in order.
The office will have a much greater insight than I do as to her eligibility for jobs and additional scholarships and grants when she's independent versus dependent.
My speculation is that there will be a benefit overall for her financially, but it might not be as big as you think and it might be subsumed by the tax benefits you get with her as a dependent.
Q9: Debt payment and marriage
My boyfriend and I are both 23 and we're trying to pay off our debts in the hopes that in a year or two we can get married. We feel we want to enter into such a large commitment without any extra stress. I have about $1300 in credit card debt and he has about $10,000 in auto loan debt (that he is aggressively paying off). Neither of us has an emergency fund since all of our extra money goes towards these debts. I only make about $700 a month and with the combination of paying my bills and paying $200 towards my credit card, I don't have much left over (and what I do have left goes to my credit card). What more do you think we could do to aid our path to a debt-free life together? Should we both begin an emergency fund now, along with both of us making aggressive payments towards our debts?
- Rhiannon
I think you're doing the best thing you guys can possibly do to make sure your relationship off on a financially firm foundation.
If you have no emergency fund at all, I would encourage you to save up $1,000 for such a fund, perhaps a shared one for the both of you. This will help create a buffer against the unforeseen and allows you to be independent of the whims of the credit card industry when you need that money for an emergency.
Aside from that, you're doing great. I strongly commend you for getting things started in such a sensible fashion.
Q10: Stale checks
We have stumbled across a financial issue that is tough for us to answer both legally and ethically. We were contacted by our previous landlord today who said that he found a check yesterday (9/27/10) from us, dated October 2009, that he forgot to deposit. We switched banks this summer, so even if the bank would have cashed it, that account is now closed. It's only for parking ($50), but still, not something that we are eager to pay since we are paying down our debt snowball, and really have a use for every dollar.
As a little background info, the couple we rented from were constantly clueless when it came to finances – they had to ask us what our security deposit had been when we moved out, as they didn't remember. They returned everything to us, and then later asked for our check copies to prove what we had paid them. We are a little tired of having to deal with them because of their own financial mismanagement, especially considering that we were extremely good tenants, usually paying the rent weeks in advance of when it was due, and leaving the apartment in excellent condition.
Are we now obligated to issue them a new check, or is it their loss for being irresponsible?
- Shannon
I don't think you are obligated to do so.
According to the Uniform Commercial Code, a check is outdated after six months and a bank does not have to accept it. I think the same thing would reasonably apply here – the bank probably wouldn't accept that old check, and that's their negligence, not yours.
I would politely tell them that you issued them payment when they needed it, the check is now stale and invalid as per the banking policy stated above, and that you're currently in a strapped financial position. That should be the end of the subject.
Got any questions? Email them to me or leave them in the comments and I'll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag. However, I do receive hundreds of questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.
Add/view comments on this post.
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Summon enables you to search across the majority of the library's databases and electronic resources, covering journal articles, electronic books, web resources, newspaper articles and more, with links to the full text where available.
Use these journal databases to find quality articles - you will need your university (Shibboleth) password if you are off-campus.
We have guides to help you plan your searches and reference what you find:
Use databases to find quality journal articles for your assignments. You will find many more journal databases via the Library Catalogue, but these have been selected as being of particular value for your studies.


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Dick's Sporting Goods Park and the Colorado Rapids welcome visiting supporters to our home. We encourage Visiting Supporters to proudly support their team. We have amended a few of our rules and regulations from the previous season to better assist you in your quest to cheer on your team. Please respect our rules and regulations and have a great time.
Visiting Supporters Section:
The Visiting Supporters Section at DSGP is in section 136.
Visiting Supporters Tailgating:
Visiting Supporters have a specific tailgating location. This location is located between Lot BB and the West side of field 19. At this location you will be able to park and set up on the sidewalk while utilizing the restrooms located just north of your location. Please refer to the DSGP Fan Guide for exact tailgating rules and regulations.
Visiting Supporter Cheering Gear:
Visiting Supporters may bring the following items into the game. If you plan to bring any of these items, please call the Rapids to arrange a meeting with a team official.
Drums and drum sticks.
Signs, banners, and flags are permitted provided the item falls within the following guidelines:
- Item may not obstruct facility signage.
- Item may not contain or display any profane, offensive, graphic, obscene language and/or pictures as determined by facility/event management.
- Item is not taped, glued, or secured using an adhesive agent of any kind.
- The hanging of the banner, flag, or sign does not in any way damage the stadium walls, paint, railings, glass, or any stadium property.
- Item may not obstruct the view of other guests or create a safety hazard as determined by facility/event management.
- Item may not be constructed of wood, metal, or any other material that may cause harm to others as determined by facility/event management.
- Item may not contain commercial or political messages of any kind.
- Item may not be used as a projectile.
You may bring in confetti. Confetti may be thrown in times of celebration of your team's success; such as a goal. A corner kick, throw in, or kick off is not considered a time of celebration. Confetti thrown at players, referees, or any event staff is strictly prohibited and guilty fans will be ejected from the facility.
Prohibited Items:
- Weapons of any kind (i.e. knives, pepper spray, stun-guns, any concealed weapons, firearms, etc.).
- Fireworks of any kind.
- Illegal drugs or chemicals.
- Any missile / projectile like objects.
- Glass bottles or aluminum cans.
- Large golf umbrellas or umbrellas with metal tips.
- Outside food and beverages.
- Hard-sided cooler or containers of any size.
- Laser pointers.
- Animals (except service animals with paper work and bib).
- Vuvuzelas, Air horns or whistles of any kind.
- Streamers of any kind.
- Un-approved pamphlets, handouts, advertisements, etc.
- Skateboards, roller blades, roller skates, roller shoes, etc.
- Frisbees or inflated balls of any kind.
Prohibited Items Strictly Permitted For Approved Supporter Groups
Confetti (must only be thrown after a goal by your team), drums and drumsticks, flags (if attached to a pole it must be PVC pipe no longer than 3 ½ feet long), banners. Please note all of these items must be brought to Gate A 45 mins. prior to kick. All items are subject to search. We also know that some groups use masks as part of their supporter culture, but based on recent tragic events here in Colorado we'd ask that you respect the situation and not use them for this event.
Stadium Access:
Entering the Stadium
- Visiting Supporters are encouraged to meet at gate "A" 30 minutes prior to kick. During this time Argus Security will scan tickets and approve above cheering items.
- Please note that Visiting Supporters will not be allowed to bring in any cheering gear through any other gate. Only gate "A", 30 minutes prior to kick. If you are late getting to gate "A" with your cheering supplies, the cheering supplies will not be allowed into the stadium and you will need to enter the stadium via another gate without your cheering gear.
Exiting the Stadium
- After the game, visiting supporters are encouraged to stay in their seats until the bowl clears out. Once the bowl is cleared out please exit the stadium via gate "A".
Please understand and respect that the Colorado Rapids and Dick's Sporting Goods Park are very serious about enforcing all of its rules and regulation that are listed in the Dicks Sporting Goods Park Fan Guide. Please take the time to read, review, and understand all aspects of the Dicks Sporting Goods Park Fan Guide. Please note that your Visiting Cheering Gear is not listed in the Fan Guide. It is listed above. Any ejection of a Visiting Supporter will result in permanent ban from DSGP. Dicks Sporting Goods Park and the Colorado Rapids will also work very closely with your home team's front office and possible bans or punishment will result at your home stadium.
Visiting Supporter Contact Info
Andrea Garza, 303.727.3724, firstname.lastname@example.com


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The paparazzi snapped pics of the pair outside a Chelsea Handler show in L.A. on Saturday. Orlando reportedly left soon after photographers arrived.
This is the second time the stars have been photographed together in recent weeks. About a month ago, Orlando and Selena posed for pics with Seth Rogen after a charity event.
Fans might recall that Orlando's ex, supermodel Miranda Kerr, and Selena's former beau Justin Bieber, were seen getting cozy after the 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
Could this rebound relationship be revenge?


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BRAINERD, Minn. — Wild rice is as synonymous with Minnesota cuisine as lakes are to the state's reputation. Wild rice has been used as a food source for centuries, and it's grown in more than half of Minnesota's counties. Clearly, it's a big deal.
In this week's Northland Outdoors TV episode, we visit a central Minnesota family which has made a living on harvesting wild rice for four generations.
The crew also travels to Wisconsin for a very special pheasant hunt.
See it all in this weekend's episode of "Northland Outdoors TV."
Northland Outdoors TV debuted on Fox Sports North and many other local ABC affiliates across North Dakota in July. The show is hosted by veteran outdoors radio host Brett Amundson.
The 30-minute show airs weekly at 7 a.m. on Fox Sports North, which airs in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and upper Iowa. Addition, the show will air at 10 a.m. Central (9 a.m. Mountain) on Channel 6 WDAY TV in Fargo-Moorhead; Channel 8 WDAZ TV in Grand Forks and Winnipeg; Channel 17 KBMY in Bismarck and Dickinson; and Channel 14 KMCY in Minot, Williston and reaching Fort Peck.
Northland Outdoors TV is owned by Forum Communications Co., which is headquartered in Fargo, N.D. A family owned company, FCC owns newspapers, radio and TV stations, commercial printing plants and dozens of other publications in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.


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"Luscious, lush and languorously elegant…. You feel you are breathing the air of 11th-century Japan."
—USA Today
"Liza Dalby is not just a remarkable scholar of Japan–she is a keen storyteller."
–Arthur Golden, author of Memoirs of a Geisha
"An impressive spectacle…. Demands to be savored and appreciated."
—San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle
"An amazing feat…. Anyone already an enthusiast either of [The Tale of] Genji or of Arthur Golden's wonderful Memoirs of a Geisha will already be running to the bookstore for this book…. A wonderful accomplishment."–Newsday
"Exquisite and poetic…. A leisurely, rich novel told in a dreamy style…. Elegant."
—The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
"Captivating…. The Tale of Murasaki gets the big things right, including, indispensably, the dark undercurrent of sadness running below the bright, embroidered surface…. All this, and much more, rings so true to the created milieu of Genji that one is inclined to indulge Dalby in all she has dreamed or imagined."
—The Washington Post Book World
"Authentic…. Re-creates the life of an 11th-century Scheherazade."
—Entertainment Weekly


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How to Make Iodine
You used to be able to buy iodine crystals… but that's no longer the case. Unfortunately iodine crystals are used in the production of meth, and just like anything else used in the production of meth, it has become regulated. The good news is, there are ways to make iodine! Here's one method of how to make it, and a simpler one that almost anyone can do is included at the bottom.
Warning: Do not ingest this iodine. Not only would it taste horrible, and leave your mouth looking as though a dye bomb went off inside, but around 2 grams is enough to cause death. This is not the same iodine you find in vitamin supplements, this is elemental iodine! Prolonged, sometimes even brief, contact with skin can cause lesions and nasty discoloring. Wear gloves when handling iodine, and do this experiment in a well-ventilated area. Also, all the normal precautions apply- wear goggles, don't light anything on fire that shouldn't be on fire (i.e. everything but the lamp/burner), and never work with chemicals that you aren't comfortable with or don't know the dangers of. This lab procedure is meant for educational purposes only.
Okay, so you'll need to potassium permanganate, potassium iodide, sodium bisulfate, water, rubbing alcohol, two test tubes, a stopper with a hole in the top, a bent glass tube, and a flame source.
Everything but the alcohol and flame can be found here.
I have to admit, I went without a scale for this experiment and eyeballed about how much of each chemical to use. This is normally very bad practice and I wouldn't recommend it. However, it works well for this experiment since the exact amount created is not of concern. The ratio of volumes of each chemical are 1 part KI to 1 part KMnO4 to 3 parts NaHSO4. I used a pinch of KI, a pinch of KMnO4 and about 3 pinches of NaHSO4. I then added about 3 drops of water to the mixture.
Cool, now your mixture is all set. Cap it and place the bent glass tube in the top. Take another test tube and add about 8ml of rubbing alcohol. Iodine dissolves readily in alcohol. Get your flame ready and either a pair of test tube holders or a test tube clamp.
Place the open end of the bent glass tube into the test tube with rubbing alcohol. Place the end of the glass tube just above the alcohol.
Within a few seconds of heating the mixture (now turning to solution) you should see some purple gas forming. Very quickly some residue will be coming out of the glass tube. Every once in awhile dip the end of the glass tube in the alcohol to dissolve some of the residue.
NOTE: The solution may start to boil rapidly. If/when this happens remove the heat source until it settles down.
Pretty soon the gas will stop being produced. Unfortunately, this means the end of Iodine production :(. No worries though, there's more cool stuff to come!
When I did this experiment I put a little too much rubbing alcohol in the collection test tube, making a weak solution. Your solution will probably be a little bit darker, but this is what I ended up with:
One you have your solution, the final step is easy! Add water to your solution until you see a precipitate forming. Elemental iodine is not all that soluble in water (about 1 gram/3.45L), so it will precipitate out when water is added. Since only a little bit of iodine was created, don't add too much water or it might almost all dissolve.
NOTE: Adding some potassium iodide to the solution with the precipitate will bring the solid iodine back into solution.
Finally, extract the precipitate and let it dry.
The Easier Way
So, that was the complicated (but cool) way of making iodine crystals. The other way is much easier and involves a trip to your local drug store. Pick up a bottle of iodine solution (usually labeled iodine tincture) and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide (even if you have a stuffy nose, resist the urge to buy Sudafed along with these). The highest grade of each will produce the best results.
Mix the two together and let the mixture sit for awhile. Iodine will precipitate out.
Yes, I know, this was is much easier and probably more environmentally friendly. However, it's wicked fun to see iodine gas and using a flame makes everyone happy.


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During discussion set for Jan. 11, 2012, the Sarasota County Commission is expected to decide whether it will partner with Denise Kowal and the Sarasota Chalk Festival on an application for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Kowal emailed commission Chairwoman Nora Patterson Dec. 2 to explain details of the grant and to ask for the assistance.
"As you remember, I wanted to pursue the grant last year, but Jim Shirley (executive director of the Sarasota County Arts and Cultural Alliance) pursued it on behalf of the Festival of Firsts and did not get invited to apply," Kowal wrote. "Can you let please let me know if and what I need to do, (because) only one grant can be pursued by each governing agency each year?"
The Our Town grants offered by the National Endowment for the Arts support "creative placemaking projects that contribute toward the livability of communities and help transform them into lively, beautiful and sustainable places with the arts at their core," according to the material Kowal sent Patterson.
The NEA information added, "Pending availability of funding, grants will range from $25,000 to $150,000."
The application deadline is March 1, 2012. Projects funded would be held between Sept. 1, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2014.
As she promised Kowal in her response, Patterson brought up the matter during the Dec. 6 County Commission meeting. Referring to Kowal, Patterson told her fellow commissioners, "She would like our blessing, (but) I don't know if that is possible by our policies."
Nonetheless, Patterson pointed out that the Chalk Festival "has continued to grow and attract a lot of folks.
Patterson added that the county would not be obligated to contribute funds by partnering with Kowal on the application.
"You're saying that other arts organizations could apply for this (grant)?" Commissioner Joe Barbetta asked.
"We can't prevent that," Patterson said, adding that she could check with Shirley to learn his view of Kowal's request.
"I don't want to be part of that (application) without seeing more input," Barbetta said.
Patterson suggested Interim County Administrator Terry Lewis and County Attorney Stephen DeMarsh research the matter and report back to the commission. In an email to Kowal, Lewis said the County Commission also wanted budget staff to look into the application process.
Kowal clarified in an email response to Lewis that, according to the NEA guidelines, the county could partner with only one arts entity to seek funding.
Kowal said when the County Commission last year chose to apply for a grant on behalf of the Festival of Firsts, she tried to convince the commissioners that the application probably would not be successful.
"It's a very competitive grant," she said, adding that an entity seeking NEA funding has to be invited to proceed with a formal application.
Of 400 initial applicants, Kowal said, only 35 or 40 typically receive funding.
The County Commission more than two years ago had taken a pool of about $1 million in tourist development tax revenue and created a Festival Steering Committee, charging it with the creation of a new festival that could draw people to Sarasota County. The goal was to complement the Ringling International Arts Festival.
After bouncing ideas to local arts organizations and hiring a Canadian consultant to assist with the process, the steering committee decided to pursue a "festival of firsts." However, the committee never was able to gain backing from the arts groups for that initiative, and the consultant found insufficient planning to indicate the festival could succeed. The County Commission abandoned the concept in June.
"I was upset last year (that) I was kicked out (of the NEA application process)," Kowal said.
After failing to meet the requirements for a Tourist Development Council grant, then encountering a last-minute funding snafu with the city of Sarasota this year, Kowal won backing from the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau to make the 2011 festival possible.
Referring to the NEA grant process, Kowal said, "I'm hoping this year (the County Commission) will let us go forward."
Our Town grants guidelines
The Our Town grants provided by the National Endowment for the Arts are in their second year of funding. According to the guidelines, they are investments in creative and innovative projects in which communities, together with their arts and design organizations and artists, seek to:
• Improve the quality of life;
• Encourarge creative activity;
• Create community identity and a sense of place;
• Revitalize local economies.
The guidelines state, "A partnership between a local government entity and a nonprofit cultural institution is required; additional partners are encouraged."
To view the 51 "Our Town" grants awarded in 2011, visit www.arts.gov/national/ourtown/index.php.


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You are invited to the inaugural presentation of the CKC
Speaker Series.
Mr. James Dorsey will discuss "Soccer as an Engine of Change and Assertion
of Identity." This
seminar explores soccer's unique role in the battle against the yoke of autocratic rule,
economic mismanagement and corruption as well as that of militant, highly politicized,
violence-prone soccer fans in this year's popular revolts. The role of the militants
extends a tradition of soccer's close association with politics across the Middle East and
North Africa that is evident until today inderbies in cities like Cairo, Amman,
Tehran and Riyadh.
Date: Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Start Time: 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Start Time: 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
View (and listen) to the presentation using Defense Connect Online (DCO). You may enter
as a guest (no registration required). Once you click on
https://connect.dco.dod.mil/ckcspeakers and enter the "room," you should be
able to hear the speaker and see any visuals he/she presents. There may also be
downloads and links available. There is NO COST to you.
About This Speaker: James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological
University's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, the author of the blog, The
Turbulent world of Middle East Soccer. He is an award winning journalist covering topics
such as ethnic and religious conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin
America for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, inical Times and The Christian
Science Monitor. James is regularly asked to conduct investigations in terrorism-related
legal cases. He most recently contributed a chapter to a book on the world after the death
of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden
Views of participants and/or speakers involved in the CKC Speaker Series, unless otherwise
noted, are their own and should not be interpreted as official US Government/Military policy
or positions.


text:
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Symantec has made its new O3 cloud identity and access control suite available as an Amazon Machine Image (AMIs), the company's first foray into selling software as a hosted virtual machine.
AMIs are virtual machines that are listed in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) marketplace and can be deployed to AWS' EC2 cloud computing service. Often named "virtual appliances" because they can be dropped into a virtualised environment and switched on as if they were physical appliances, this mode of software deployment has become quite common among vendors. Several offer their wares for sale on the marketplace in this way.
Bruce Ong, O3's Senior Product Manager, feels Symantec feels it may be taking the concept a step further, as O3 is typically sold as a managed service. The AMI version of the suite is also managed, as Symantec updates the AMI as needed to counter new threats or improve the suite. Customers therefore get automatic updates
Symantec is also experimenting with AMIs for Symantec Endpoint Protection and Veritas Storage Foundation Basic. Both are currently in beta. ®


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How much will it cost to fix a hole in the wall?
Here are two examples of average prices for smaller drywall repair jobs that could be similar to fixing a hole in the wall:
- Approximate cost to repair a 5-foot crack in a wall: $125 (labor $75 and materials $50).
- Approximate cost to repair a 3-foot ceiling crack: $150.
What is the difference between sheetrock and drywall?
People sometimes use the terms "sheetrock" and "drywall" interchangeably, but they are not exactly the same. Drywall is the industry term for prefabricated sheets of wall, while Sheetrock is the brand name of a type of drywall. Depending on what room is being built, your drywall installation pro will select different thicknesses or grades of drywall. Standard residential drywall is ½-inch thick. Garage walls adjacent to a living space are typically ⅝-inch thick and serve as a firewall. For a garage ceiling, most contractors will use firewall-grade drywall materials to keep your home as safe as possible.
Different types of drywall can be color-coded to indicate their purpose. Purple or green drywall boards are often mold-resistant (MR) and are applied where moisture tends to accumulate, such as in bathrooms and basements or behind tile backsplashes at sinks. These mold-resistant sheets have a fiberglass instead of a paper facing finish to prevent water absorption. Regular drywall is gray or white. The drywall industry is constantly adapting with technology to provide safer and more targeted materials. You can even install soundproofing drywall to help prevent noise transfer through rooms.
How much does it cost to put up drywall?
The national average cost to hire a drywall installation professional ranges $375-$1,500, depending on the job at hand and where you are in the country. Your drywall installation cost will often be lower if the professional is installing the drywall in a new construction with open access as opposed to a remodel. The square footage of the job, the amount of materials, and the labor required also determine drywall prices. According to drywall pros, materials costs can range from 15 percent to 50 percent of your total project cost, depending on the work you're having done. Request several quotes from drywall installation companies to find the right fit for your construction project. The quotes may be based on the company's standard cost per square foot or a calculation of the time estimated to complete the job plus the size of the job plus materials and any travel fees. For example, drywall installation for one or two standard-size rooms could cost $900-$1,500. The cost to hang and tape an outbuilding with approximately 40 drywall sheets at 75 cents per square foot could total $1,450, including 3.75 days of labor for the drywall crew.
How much does it cost to repair drywall?
The national average price range to repair drywall is $210-$300. Drywall prices can vary greatly depending on the size of the hole or crack that needs repair, the amount of materials required, and other factors. Cracks can appear at the seams in your drywall due to uncontrollable factors like your house settling or even minor earthquakes. Drywall, although sturdy, will break with enough impact, so if a dresser falls and crashes into a wall or your have a mishap hammering in nails for artwork, you could need drywall repair. Drywall repair professionals may have a minimum service fee of $100-$150 regardless of the size of the job. This ensures that their business expenses are met anytime they send their crew out to a job. Here are some additional examples of average drywall repair prices:
- Sand and texture five wall patches: $200 (45 minutes of labor and $40 of materials).
- Repair a 4x8 section of wall: $225 (labor $150 and materials $75).
- Replace drywall in an entire bedroom: $1,500 (price varies depending on the number of windows, whether there's metal trim, etc.).


text:
… If Rios does get off to a slow start, let's say through April or even a week into May, I don't think the White Sox will hesitate to go in a different direction.
Other White Sox links:
- James finds Kenny Williams' off-season aproach improved, and looks back to the blackout game.
- colin looks at the terms of John Danks' extension and sees "a fair market deal that works in the White Sox' favor thanks to the organization's talent for handling pitchers."
- BTB says Gavin Floyd is a younger alternative to Hiroki Kuroda and Roy Oswalt.


text: In 2013-2014, 16 students from the College of Europe were competitively selected to take part in a project on state transformation. They were divided into four teams of four students. Working together with Accenture, the staff and faculty of the College of Europe and the Lisbon Council, each team was asked to evaluate the challenges of a state agency.