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The National Association of Realtors publishes an incredible report called The Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers each year in late November. It is chock full of great statistics, comments, and insights and I highly recommend that you get a copy each year. I usually order it online the day it becomes available during the national convention. It retails for $249.95 but with your NAR Membership its $19.95.
I'm a numbers geek so this actually excites me year after year– it's like opening a Christmas Present. I get the new Report each year and immediately go to the section on For Sale By Owners., it's usually page 115 or so.
The report has got lots of analysis on lots of subjects like the fact that the number of sellers that go the For Sale By Owner route has declined significantly since 2003 from 14% to 8% and that the number of true for sale by owners (those owners that sell to a buyer they don't know has dropped for 10% to 5% .)
The big number every one reports is from chart 8-6 which shows the huge difference between the median sales price of a For Sale by Owner and the Median sales price of homes that were sold assisted by an agent.
In 2015 the numbers were $210,000 and $249,000 a difference of $39,000!! As a Realtor for 36+ years and coach and instructor I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that we are worth every
penny we are paid but the mere fact of hiring us does not make any home worth $39,000 (or almost 19%)more. I've been hunting for statistics for years and this report is the only report I've found that consistently gives any quantitative number to the value we, as agents, bring to a seller. Knowing we're good is one thing but there's no way we can call a FSBO and say "list with me and I'll make your home worth $39,000 more"…we don't have magic wands that instantly add value to a home. We can logically say "Sellers that own more expensive homes understand the value a real estate agent brings to the transaction; and seller selling to a relative or in a divorce case may be listed here. So the study is skewed as generally for sale by owners are less expensive" but that conversation may add to a FSBO 'skepticism about self-serving statistics.
What I want you to notice is the last figure in exhibit 8-6. A seller that tried for sale by owner in 2015, one of the best years ever to sell a home, who gave up trying to sell on their own and listed with an agent sold for a median price of $228,000. As opposed to a For Sale By Owner who did sell averaging $210,000. That's $18,000 or or 8.6%.
A great question to ask (don't just berate them with statistics) is "how can you explain a for sale by owner just like you listing with an agent and netting 8.6% more?" They'll be silent but you could nudge them with "could it be our negotiating skills, or our marketing, or the fact that agents like to work with other agents?" They'll get the point that we add value – and after all – most of us charge far less than 8.6% to list and sell a home.
I use what I call the FSBO Cheat Sheet to show them the value and ask the question. I'll often email it or drop this sheet off and have the for sale by owner contact me asking for more details.
If you'd like a free copy of this sheet Click Here


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I remember this concert as one of the best ones, I have ever done. This picture is from Folken in Stavanger. (photo by: Wendy Bogert) I was so happy, and I had my whole life with music and stages in front of me. But the adventure with Sirenia ended one year after.
I will tell you my story! The story about my voice and why I left Sirenia. The true story!;)
When I was a child, I was doing a lot of gymnastics. When I was 11 years old I got very sick. I had inflammation in my appendictis, and I almost died. My mother was so afraid, but after a few months, I was okay again. But the doctor said, that I couldn't make any more gymnastics for at least a half year. My body was not ready. So what should I do? I could sing some more. So I did. That was the beginning of my singing career. When I was 15 years old, I was singing every day. In 2 choirs and 3 bands. My whole life was about singing, and I LOVED it. I travelled with the choir, and went to a lot of competitions. BUT….I was also a crazy girl who loved to party and talk a LOT! After a weekend with the towns annual festival my voice was gone! I was talking to much under concerts, so I lost my voice. And I still tried to talk. After the festival and the week after I thought my voice would come back. But it didn't. I could talk, but I couldn't sing! My singing teacher said that she thought it was knots on my vocal cords.
My worst nightmare EVER startet there. Years went by, and my voice was still the same. I could sing very deep, but my high tones were completely gone. I was so sad and frustrated, and I went to several throat specialists and singing teachers, but they couldn't find the problem. My only wish back then was to get my voice back. At the age of 19 I found a really skilled doctor, who only worked with singers. He filmed my throat, and finally I got the answer. When I was 15 years old on that festival, I had blood blastings on my vocal chords, and they became to scar tissues. The doctor told me that I had to live with that, but I could still sing, and I had to train my voice more! He also gave me some medicine, but that never worked. If only I could tell that stupid little 15-years old Monika to shut up and take care of her voice. But that girl really thought that she could do everything with her voice without problems.
After that I found my first band Sinphonia, and my voice got better. Much better, but I still had some problems with a few tones in the high register. I could sing totally high opera style, but there were a few notes in between, that was never good for me.
Listen to the first track I ever recorded here:
My voice doctor said, that maybe I could be cured and maybe I could get my voice back ,when I started singing every day and touring again. But the scar tissues were still there.
When I was singing with Sirenia the tones were still a problem. I was never cured:( So actually the problem was, that the band wrote many of the choruses in those tones. So yes it was musical disagreements that was the reason.
After my time i Sirenia I had a long break with music. I was so sad that my biggest dream was broken:( But I knew, that I could sing everything else than those stupid tones! So after a few years I started singing again, and I will never stop again. I know what my voice can do, and what it can't do. And maybe those problems made my voice even stronger in some ways? 🙂

subset: commoncrawl


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Lucy has bonded with her keepers
In normal elephant societies, female elephants are in constant 24 hour a day social contact with family members. This social contact cannot be reproduced in a zoo environment. Keepers are nothing like a real family or herd.
Think about it. Keepers at the Valley Zoo go home at the end of the day. And when they do, Lucy is left alone in her spartan indoor facility, until the next morning. Elephant families don't disband in the evening and then reassemble the next morning. They're together all the time. Lucy's keepers are nothing at all like a real elephant family.
The zoo is all Lucy has ever known
It's true that the elephant yard and barn at the Valley Zoo is probably all Lucy has ever known, but that's probably the best reason for moving her elsewhere.
Denying Lucy a better life just because she's only known the Valley Zoo doesn't make sense. In fact, it's a terrible reason to keep her there.
Lucy is not a social elephant
The Valley Zoo claims Lucy isn't a social elephant, but there's no such thing. Science shows us that all female elephants are highly social. Lucy spent many years in the company of Samantha, the African elephant she shared her enclosure with at the zoo. If she could live with an elephant of another species, there is no reason to believe she wouldn't do well with members of her own species.
Before Maggie the elephant was moved from the Alaska Zoo, they also claimed she didn't need company. But when she was moved to a sanctuary in California, it didn't take long before Maggie was interacting and bonding with the other elephants at the facility.
Medical conditions prevent Lucy from being moved
The Valley Zoo claims that, except for her respiratory problem and arthritis, Lucy is healthy. At the same time, they also say moving Lucy would be stressful and might kill her. But they haven't produced any proof that what they are saying is true.
Zoocheck recently sent a veterinarian with 36 years of elephant experience and a sanctuary operator with years of experience caring for and moving elephants to the Valley Zoo to look at Lucy. They disagreed with the zoo. In fact, they said Lucy looked better than some of the elephants they've moved in the past.
What is clear is that the Valley Zoo has not been able to solve Lucy's ongoing health problems. They go back more than 20 years and Lucy isn't getting any better. In fact, she seems to be getting worse. Her living conditions, lack of activity, and the frustration and stress of living alone, contribute to her worsening health.
Lucy has many health issues, but it's difficult to imagine that her health wouldn't improve if she were moved to a better situation. In a more stimulating, naturalistic environment Lucy would be able to act more like an elephant. She'd be more active, her fitness would get better, her immune system would get stronger and her mental state would improve.
The Valley Zoo also seems to ignore the fact that elephants, including very sick elephants, have been moved from place to place for more than 150 years.
The Alaska Zoo claimed Maggie was too sick to be moved, but she was moved to California and is now doing very well. Before they decided to move Maggie, the Alaska Zoo consulted with a panel of 11 people familiar with Maggie's plight. 10 of them said Maggie could be moved. Only 1 veterinarian was opposed and he's the one that the Valley Zoo is using as one of their primary veterinary consultants.
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Beyond foods, you will find an extensive array of nutritional supplements, health aids, grooming supplies, treats, toys, collars, leashes, dishes, housing and training equipment as well as supplies to make traveling with your pets safer and more enjoyable. Oh did I forget beds?? We typically stock over 100 beds on hand for you to choose and can special order beds to match your pets' needs and home decor.
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Virtual Reality Christianity: The Da Vinci Code and the Brown-Out of Historical ChristianityMonday, May 15, 2006
After reading the book and researching the claims made in it and by its author, I was privileged to host a discussion forum in downtown Athens area. Publicized on the University of Georgia campus, the Lord brought in several from the campus and off the street to engage in some dialogue about the book The Da Vinci Code, and its upcoming movie to be release this Friday, May 19. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is undoubtedly attacked in this book which presents the assumption that the Jesus we preach today has been a humanly fabricated message covered up by a conspiracy of a power hungry early church just three hundred years after Christ's death. I thought it necessary then to offer this series of posts on the blog as a lesser resource among scores of other greater ones. What follows in this series of posts are the primary notes from which the dialogue was established.
According to one report by The Boston Globe, Dan Brown's latest blockbuster, still at Number One on the New York Times Bestseller's List, "sold more than 40 million hardcover copies in three years in print. The paperback edition sold half a million copies during its first week, prompting publisher Anchor Books to bump its initial printing from 5 million to 6 million."[1] There are many books and publishers and reports which claim having outsold the Bible. Harry Potter books, Hitler's Mein Kampf, The Story of San Michele in the 20th century, Samantha at Saratoga in 1887, and last but not least the IKEA catalogue! But if there was ever a legitimate claim it would probably be in favor of The Da Vinci Code which has sold more than 40 million copies in the last three years, and is reported to have outsold the Bible in the year 2005, unlike other works which may have briefly outsold the Bible for only a few weeks. Ten million copies have been sold in 42 languages. Why the outrageous success of the book? In a word: postmodernism.
A Postmodern View of Historical Christianity
For me personally, the most troubling fact about The Da Vinci Code is probably the author's handling of the historical data. On the very first page of the book, just before the Prologue, he begins with the word, FACT. Brown writes, "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate." So then, proceeding on the factual existence of a group known as the Priory of Scion, as well as the Catholic sect called the Opus Dei, artwork by Davinci, secret rituals by the Knights of the Templar and the Masons, as well as ancient religious documents, Dan Brown weaves together the mere existence of such things with his fanciful analyses of those things forming conclusions that, as far as the Scriptures go, run contrary to the reasonable, factual nature and history of Christianity. That's a mouthful which is short for: he mixes facts with plain historical error, seemingly presenting the historical error in a way as if it were as factual as the few real facts he does present.
Now the problem with this is plain: he presents his own private analyses - which are actually historical errors - as if they were facts - facts to be presumed and facts which formulate the supposed true historical background to his fictional story. In most historical fiction novels, the historical background which forms the grid or matrix on which the story is woven is almost always true unless the author explicitly states otherwise. This is where the genre of The Da Vinci Code is deceiving, in my opinion. If one picks up a copy to read it, presuming that like all other historical fictions the historical background info is in fact factual, then it is no wonder that it has rocked the world, possibly outsold the Bible for an entire year for the first time in history, and plunged so many people into confusion and rejection of historical Christianity. People have always loved a conspiracy, and one which is woven on the grounds of something so familiar always produces the biggest outrage. In reality though, his presentation of the "FACTS" is really just plain, outright, dishonest authorship. One respected author on the historical Jesus has written,
"Our concern isn't so much with Brown's ability to describe art or architecture accurately (though we will question his interpretation of Da Vinci's famous painting of the Last Supper), but rather with his handling of ancient documents and his treatment of early Christian history. In these realms he is not merely out of his depth, he is also a purveyor of errors of both fact and interpretation, including some mistakes that even the most amateur student of religious history should never make."[2]
The compelling nature of the book is based on two sad but true commentaries of our culture today. First, people, especially Christians, are largely ignorant of the historicity of their faith. And second, if you're a good writer or storyteller, you can always sway these ignorant people. The conclusion is that because most are ignorant, most will be, and have in fact, been swayed by its claims and presentation of Christian history.
If there are skeptics, agnostics, or non-Christians reading this post, allow me to expose a similar genre of literature from my own camp of evangelical Christianity…the recent best-sellers from The Left Behind series. Here is a perfect example, one that I would put right alongside The Da Vinci Code, which presupposes an interpretation of Christian literature and its history and upon it building a fictional account of people who are left behind after a supposed rapture takes place. Why was it, like The Da Vinci Code, so popular? Why did both religious fictional works make it to the New York Times Best Seller's List? Why do so many Christians believe not just in the rapture but also the political ideas and concepts so imaginatively reinforced in that book series? N.T. Wright, one of the most prestigious Anglican theologians, concurs with the same sentiment.
"In a sense, Dan Brown represents the mirror image of LaHaye and Jenkins, reproducing in fictionalized form some of the myths of the postmodern world as LaHaye and Jenkins reproduce in fictionalized form some of the myths of the fundamentalist right."[3]
The answer to my question is simple, I believe, and I've already stated the first reason. People en masse, and especially Christians, are ignorant about their beliefs and their history. Therefore, anything can be sold to them and embraced by them as truth when they don't know any better. Just as there were Christians who could get themselves in a massive dither over questions, concerns, issues, or outright attacks on the historical background and biblical teaching of The Left Behind books, including the authors themselves, there are also Christians and non-Christians alike who are also getting themselves in a dither over questions, concerns, issues, or attacks on the historical background of The Da Vinci Code.
Allow me a moment of personal commentary, if you will. In both cases I believe we have a situation where the church is surrounded by and saturated with a postmodern culture intent on desiring to have their ears tickled with fanciful stories and imaginative narratives. Anything but the truth! The church of today is unmistakably living in the time prophesied by Paul in 2 Timothy 4:1-4 and following.
1 I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom: 2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. 3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.[4]
I do not want to be sidetracked here, but suffice it to say that what we are experiencing today is exactly why Paul commanded Timothy by the authority of God to preach the word, whether it is welcome or not, because a time is coming when people would rather hear fantasy than truth.
Books like Left Behind and The Da Vinci Code are ear-ticklers. They stimulate mental adrenaline and emotional excitement. And ours is a feeling-oriented culture where the steady, slow, sure, tried, tested and true are all replaced with fantasy and make-believe, excitement and suspense, action and drama. That our culture is saturated by all of this should be evident enough by the fact that so many people actually believe whatever they read in print, hear on the radio, or see on television. Many are unable to distinguish between truth and fiction, for it is all rolled up together in a tasty treat that entices the mind and heart with eye-popping visual effects, stunning thrillers, and unbelievable conspiracy theories. And what is equally surprising is that those who think they are not so gullible or easily led astray are often the very ones who are.
Christians and non-Christians alike are engaged in mega navel-gazing while defending the lint that is in each of their navels. In other words, books and movies like Left Behind as well as The Da Vinci Code, including the emotional responses to them and defenses of them are all rather pointless. There's really no historicity or relevant fact behind either of the titles. In this post-modern generation, both the Left Behind series as well as The Da Vinci Code are novels that have come to be preached as the gospel rather than the Gospels themselves.
The bottom line is that for a post-modern culture which is largely if not entirely driven by entertainment, this kind of medium is so powerful that it can communicate error as truth and sway millions if not billions of people into believing it. The Da Vinci Code is only the most recent example of this, and there will always be others. Dr. James Hitchcock, a Catholic scholar and theologian, is correct when he wrote concerning The Da Vinci Code,
"This is not merely another liberal "revision." It is nothing less than the claim that Christianity has been a deliberate fraud almost from its beginning, that the true story of Jesus was suppressed, and that only now are we finally learning what it was all about."[5]
Tomorrow: "You Can't Handle the Truth!" A Brief Overview of Dan Brown's Basic Historical Errors.
[2] Ben Witherington, III, "An Exercise in Pure Narcissism" at http://www.beliefnet.com/story/145/ story_14509.html.
[3] Wright, N. T. "Decoding The Da Vinci Code, in Response 28:2 (Summer 2005), at http://www.spu.edu/depts/ uc/ response/summer2k5/features/davincicode.asp.
[4] Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 2 Timothy 4:1-4.
[5] Hitchcock, Ph.D., James. Arlington Catholic Herald, http://icq.beliefnet.com/story/135/story_ 13519.html.


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A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
I've been scouring every English language book shop from Tokyo to Saigon for the two books that I still need to finish my top 100. I struck gold in Phnom Penh.
As you can see, this book is so fat that it actually makes me look thin in this photo. It took me the rest of Cambodia and most of Laos to finish it. For a book approaching 1,500 pages, it did hold my interest (the similarly long War and Peace took me about four months to finish and that was an effort) and the huge cast of characters was well-drawn and I could remember who everyone was without constantly needing to flip back to earlier chapters (a major difficulty with W&P).
I like the fact that the author does not feel the need to explain every time he uses a word or a reference that will not be familiar to an Indian reader. I hate it when there is too much explanation – give your readers some credit in thinking they'll figure most things out. Because of the 1,500 pages and the last cast of characters, reading this did feel a bit like watching Eastenders instead of reading a novel – there's no strong narrative that's heading towards a conclusion, it's just a bunch of stuff that keeps happening to people with no overall direction. The author does try to bookend the whole thing with two weddings, but that feels a bit flimsy.
Overall though, I enjoyed this and it made me excited about visiting India next month.


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For the fourth consecutive year Mitre Linen is supporting the Boutique Hotelier Personal Service Awards and sponsoring the Housekeeping Manager of the Year accolade.
The winner of the hugely successful award will be announced on the first night of the Independent Hotel Show in London on October 17.
Last year, Lucille Temple, the head housekeeper of Gravetye Manor in West Sussex, deservingly won the award. Lucille, who has worked in the hotel industry all her career, started as a casual chambermaid and worked her way up through the ranks to become head housekeeper of Gravetye Manor.
Jim Mangan, managing director of Mitre Linen, said: "We work at the heart of the hospitality industry and witness every day how pivotal Housekeepers are to the day-to-day running of any establishment. They work tirelessly to ensure that guests are provided with everything they need to experience a wonderful night's sleep.
"This is why, for the fourth consecutive year, we are very proudly supporting them at The Boutique Hotelier Personal Service Star Awards."
"Awards like this are integral to the growth of the industry and are a real chance to showcase and reward the hard work and dedication that people put in on a daily basis. We're looking forward to seeing who makes the shortlist this year from the hundreds of housekeepers who will be nominated."
Zoe Monk, editor of Boutique Hotelier magazine says: "We are delighted that Mitre Line has come on board to sponsor the awards for the fourth year in a row. It's a company that shares a lot of our same values and it's great to have the support of a company that is just as passionate about seeing those hard-working staff recognised, as we are."
For more than 70 years, Mitre Linen has been the trusted British supplier to leading luxury and boutique hotels both in the UK and around the world.
The company's customers include the Royal Household and some of the world's finest hotels.
The nomination process for the awards will open in July with a shortlist being drawn up and the winners decided by a panel of judges.


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Christine Wright
Darwin College
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text: With the Celtics/Sixers series all even at 2 games apiece, Avery Bradley knows that Boston desperately needs him on the floor, so he keeps going out there despite an injured left shoulder. From WEEI: "Avery Bradley's shoulder popped out of place early in the second half of Game 4, but at some point between the time he walked off the court in agony and the time he reached the end of the bench, trainer Eddie Lacerte was able to pop it back into place. 'It's just tough. It really is. I swear a lot of people would not be playing, and the only reason he is is because he wants to,' Doc Rivers said. 'I am concerned at some point that he may not be able to anymore. We don't know what game that is, we don't know what day he can finish it. We can keep going all the way and he can play [or] tomorrow could be his last game.' The 21-year-old Bradley has impressed his teammates with his toughness, but they also know that there's a line and he's right on the verge of crossing it. 'A lot of young players would probably sit down, worry about their future, their career,' Paul Pierce said. 'At the end of the day, Avery has to do what's best for him and his family and possibly for the long run. Hopefully he doesn't have any long-term injuries due to the fact that he's playing. I think it's a fine line there, too.' There's the issue for the Celtics. They are 18 points better with Bradley on the court than when he's off — the second-best mark behind Kevin Garnett's absurd plus-56. When Bradley picked up his fourth foul early in the second half of Game 4, they were ahead by 18 points. When he returned, they were down by one."


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I have now been in Cape Dorset for a week and I am now just starting to really settle in. Right now I am unemployed but I am hoping to remedy that situation. We live in a nice little two bedroom place at the top of a treacherous hill which I have dubbed "The Hill of Doom". Cape Dorset is basically just a group of hills and in Inuktitut the name for Cape Dorset is Kinngait which is the word for "mountains". Since all the grocery stores are at the bottom of the hill, running errands is quite the task. I'm sure that as I get accustomed to it, the hill will seem less daunting and although I know I need and usually enjoy the exercise (more-so after it is done). I have actually just returned from a trip to the Northern Store and I am attempting to get some housework done before I settle down for the evening. I have a feeling that living at the top of the hill will be excellent for my cardiovascular health and eventually (and hopefully) some significant weight loss.
My first impressions of Nunavut are mostly positive ones. Although I definitely feel as though I am in a completely alien place (both in terrain and culture), the people seem to be very friendly. One odd thing that I have encountered is that young children (I would say around 10 years old) here often ask for cigarettes. Of course, in the south, smoking is a taboo habit anyways but that does not seem to be so much the case here. And I do not wish to judge this culture because that is not my place. It was just a shock to me when it happened; I have been informed that this was not an isolated incident but something that happens quite often. Make of it what you will.
While I am here, it is my goal to learn as much of the language as I can. I think that if you are going to live in a place where you are the linguistic minority, you should at least put as much effort as possible into learning the language of where you live. Thus, I will probably be practicing my Inuktitut on you all, but I will try to define everything I use. I think it will help me learn. For now, I am getting a lot of reading done (in particular because we don't have a TV) and trying to be a good domestic partner.
And thus concludes the first entry. I have no idea if anyone will actually read this but I am keeping it largely for my own sake. If you do read it, please feel free to ask questions.
Tavvauvusi (Goodbye All),
This is a picture I took the other day. I will try to include pictures in my posts when I have them.


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Performing a Normal (Soft) Reset on a Samsung Admire R720
A normal reset is sometimes called a soft reset. A normal reset stops all running applications but does not erase any programs or saved data.
Caution be sure to save any unsaved data before performing a normal reset since a normal reset erases all unsaved data.
To restart your device:
- Press and hold the Power Key for 8-10 seconds.
- Remove and reinsert the battery as shown:
Performing a Full (Hard) Reset on a Samsung Admire R720
A full reset is sometimes called a hard reset. Perform a full reset when you want to clear all settings, programs and data from RAM (Random Access Memory).
Caution if you perform a full reset, your Samsung Admire R720 returns to its default settings and looses all information that is not recorded in ROM (Read Only Memory) including Contacts, Messages etc..
- From Settings touch Privacy.
- From here touch Factory Data Reset then follow the on-screen instructions.
- On the keypad enter *2767*3855#
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