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With only days left before the homebuyer tax credit expires, Jean Larkin was trying not to feel the pressure of the looming April 30 deadline. Larkin, like many other potential homebuyers, was busy Sunday checking out open houses on the last weekend before the tax credit deadline.
With only days left before the homebuyer tax credit expires, Jean Larkin is feeling the pressure of the looming deadline.
Larkin, like many other anxious house-hunters, was busy Sunday checking out open houses before the tax credit deadline on Friday. She sold her home in Easton, Mass., and has been looking to buy a townhouse in a neighboring town.
As a current home owner, Larkin is eligible for a tax credit up to $6,500 on a new home. First-time homebuyers, or anyone who has not owned a home in the past three years, are eligible for a tax credit up to $8,000.
"It's not necessarily my motivation, but it's accelerating the process," said Larkin, outside an open house in Braintree, Mass.
The homebuyer credit was put in place as part of the federal stimulus package in 2009. Potential buyers and real estate agents agree the tax credit is not necessarily making buyers out of non-buyers, but it's incentive to get a deal done.
Jennifer and Dan Schlieff of Braintree said they think the Friday deadline is the reason they had 23 people at their first open house two weeks ago, and possibly the reason they received two cash offers that day.
"To have 23 people is unusual," said Pat Fellmann, Schlieff's mother and real estate agent. "Usually we have five to seven parties, maybe 12. To receive two offers, cash offers, is extremely unusual."
The boost is mainly occurring in the $200,000 to $500,000 home price range – homes appealing to first-time buyers or couples who are downsizing, said Pat MacNaught, an agent at Coldwell Banker.
The bump in sales also is affecting other areas of the housing market, such as home inspections.
"The phones have been ringing off the hook," said Tina Walker, who works for Tiger Home Inspection of Braintree.
Sean Rizzo, owner of Tiger Home Inspections, said, "inspectors are coming in on their days off. We say 'get it while you can.' It's a nice problem to have, one we haven't had in three years."
James Brock, owner of Boston Home Inspectors, is working longer hours and more days, "but I'm not complaining," he said. Just six months ago, he didn't have enough inspections to consistently fill a five-day workweek. Many inspectors left the field with the downturn in the housing market, he said.
Bill Goldman of The Bradford Co. said Friday's deadline is not necessarily bringing new customers to the market. He believes a shaky job market and the possibility of rising mortgage rates leave potential clients wary.
Instead, he views the tax credit deadline as simply speeding up the process for existing customers.
"Everything is happening faster," he said.
While some customers are house-hunting in a frenzy, others are not.
"I'm not rushing," said Anh Tho Pham, a potential first-time buyer who has been house searching for a year. She said she won't be pushed into a purchase. "I want to feel like this is my home when I walk in. I haven't had that feeling yet."
Patriot Ledger writer Maribeth Conway may be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Avoid delays to get your tax credit
Most Realtors agree that during this crunch week it's necessary to skip straight to the purchase-and-sales agreement, bypassing the signing of an offer sheet
Make sure the purchase-and-sales agreement is contingent on a home inspection, said real estate agent Norman Tuttle of The Granite Group
"Bottom line, if it feels right buy it," said Matt Wood, of Success! Real Estate. But if you're hesitant to buy because you want to see the 'next one' than it's probably not the right house, he said.Key requirements of the tax credit
Existing home owners can get a tax credit of $6,500 on a primary residence if they lived in their last home for at least five years within the past eight years.
First-time homebuyers, or anyone who has not owned a home in the past three years, are eligible for a tax credit up to $8,000.


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It Is All About BTC, LTC, ETH, ZEC mining as well as other alternative crypto currencies
Do you remember the 19.2 MHS Scrypt and 520 GHS SHA-256 Dual Mode ASIC that we have reported about being available for pre-order form a Chinese seller. We have expressed our doubts about that product and it turns out it will not be available by the end of this month, though the seller claims it is something that Gridseed is currently working on. So we might actually see the product in some form available in a bit of time, but for now you can be rest assured it is not going to hit the market anytime soon. If we see the 19.2 GHS Scrypt mining ASIC in a few months however it might be a bit too late as other ASIC manufacturers are already promising shipping date for more powerful Scrypt miners to be out before the end of the year…
Below you can read the official quote from the seller as a response to the user interest in the 19.2 MHS miner that they have listed for pre-orders:
Dear customers,
Thank you so much for your interest in the super miner (520GH/19.2MH) shown at our store before, we decided to take it down before more information is available.
We got this product info from an agent of Gridseed. And we were told that the miner would be available at the end of March. So we put it at our store. Unexpectedly, it has generated a lot of interest and doubts alike in the mining circle. And we have received messages from a lot of customers, who are both interested and doubtful, which is very understandable, because the information was limited and no one has actually used this product yet.
And we have to clarify one fact: WE ARE NOT SCAMMERS. Firstly, we didn't take any order of the product. None. Secondly, we have been receiving very positive feedbacks from our customers. Anyone who has worked with us knows that we are an honest store. Thirdly, it was not intended as a marketing ploy either. We saw new products coming, we put them at our store, that's it.
So under these circumstances, with the attitude of being responsible to our customers, we decided to take it down until more information is available.
At the same time we are requesting for more info and wait until we know better.
Thank you so much.
We got a tip from a reader that a new dual mining mode ASIC device based on Gridseed chips might be coming out soon. The device is supposedly capable of providing up to 19.2 MHS Scrypt and 520GHS SHA-256 is listed for with a price of $12888 USD on a Chinese online store and is being sold by a company called EastShore Trade. This is a pre-order and they claim the miner will be available "at the end of March". The photo above of the actual miner does look Ok, though the photo itself and the claimed specifications do rise some doubts, so you should treat this information with caution for the moment!
This miner is apparently composed of 4 blades (only one blade shown on the photo or all 4 blades together?), each blade can mine at a speed of 130 GH/s for SHA-256 mining and 4.8 MH/s for Scrypt mining. So, the miner can mining at a speed of 520 GH/s for SHA256 mining and 19.2 MH/s for Scrypt mining in total. The total power consumption claimed is just 800W for the four blades and the power supply is apparently a part of the miner according to the information. The miner on the photo does remind us a lot in terms of design to the AntMiner S1 and the device apparently also comes with a LAN port, so it would be independent of a computer.
19.2 MH/s worth of Scrypt mining hashrate is achievable by using a total of 64×5 Gridchip GC3355 processors or a total of 320 chips providing 300 KHS each. With the total power usage of a non-overclocked 5-chip ASIC of about 5W we should be getting about 320W for Scrypt only mining mode if the calculation is correct. The problem comes with the SHA-256 mining part, with a 5-chip solutions needing roughly about 50W in BTC mining mode this would result in 3200W power consumption for the SHA-256 mining only or a total of 3500W without overclock for Dual Mining mode. So how come we see claimed 800W for the device, this could neither be the Scrypt only power usage, neither a single blade one (4 blades shod total in 3200W). And integrating a 3200W or 3500W power supply in a miner so small does not seem very believable (again is the photo of a single blade or of the 4 blades?). So do not be in a hurry with pre-orders at least until there is more clear information about this upcoming ASIC!

subset: commoncrawl


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Vee n Julie necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 140 diseños de 22 diseñadores freelance.
Jog 'n' Yoga
Jog 'n' Yoga is a soon-to-launch blog-based journal for people who have a passion for yoga and/or running. A creative german agency is planning a digital playground where two girls (called Julie and Vee) are chatting about their two passions in a very personal and entertaining way.
In a weekly video blog, the two girlfriends will broadcast from a green meadow where they talk about the fun we have by practicing yoga and running outdoors in nature. It is not about the hardest workout, loosing weight or getting into the deepest meditation, it is about their way of finding playfully the balance between body and soul.
In our fast moving world, these two activities are one way to stay connected with yourself, feel nature and be happy. It's all about: clear your mind, rock your body, be yourself.
Jog and Yoga is a personal blog journal and not a guide about the most efficient ways of practice.
Jog 'n' Yoga wants to address the modern woman/man who cares about her/his physical fitness and a healthy mind. It is about people who love physical workout as well as proper relaxation and concentration in our fast moving world. It is not about yogis who dedicate their full life to yoga philosophy or running addicts whose only concern is to get faster and fitter.
We generally expect our audience to be both men and women from 18-50 who are health conscious, active and trendy. They are passionate about yoga and/or running, whether they have been practicing for 20 years or 20 days.
They have a sense for fashion and style.
We are looking for a logo that incorporates some type of image/icon in addition to our name "Jog 'n' Yoga".
We are looking for a logo that combines the physical aspects of running (body >> Jog) and the traditional yoga feel (mind >> Yoga). There has to be a playful "melt" of those two opposite aspects.
Overall, the logo should reflect a hip, trendy character.
Please, no cartoons, clipart, or stock images.
We have not established a specific color palette but we prefer bright, primary colors. We would like to see the logo on light/ preferably white backgrounds.
Final design needs to be provided in a standard vector-based format, e.g. Illustrator.
Some phrases for your ideas:
- Runningshoes
- Headband
- iPod
- Nature
- Tracks
- Strength
- Speed
- Sweat
- Yogamat
- Concentration
- Quiet
- Flexibility
- Breathing
- India
- Flowers
- Lotus
- Yoga pose: "Downward dog"
- Yoga pose: "sun salutation"
We think about a logo, where...
East meets West
Yin Yang - Jog vs. Yoga
Good examples:
The cover of "Eat, pray, love".
symbolizes the different cultures.
Possible that you "play" with symbols for east and western cultures, or use different fonts.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Building a Healthier Nebraska initiative would improve health care, drive workforce development for the state
University of Nebraska President James B. Milliken today joined state senators and other university leaders to announce a four-part legislative proposal that would improve health care, drive workforce development and job creation, and create new opportunities for students in health fields across Nebraska.
The "Building a Healthier Nebraska" initiative seeks a $91 million investment from the state's cash reserve fund to support capital projects in Omaha, Lincoln and Kearney. The state funds would be leveraged with more than $300 million in additional support from private donors, patient revenues and other sources.
"Nebraska has an opportunity to make an investment now that will serve the people of the state well into the future," Milliken said. "Education and job creation are high priorities for Nebraska, and our proposal advances both. We are delighted that our partners in the Legislature are joining us to help build a stronger, more competitive Nebraska -- which is a central part of our mission as the state's only public university.
"This initiative is an excellent example of how the public, education and private sectors can work together for the betterment of the state."
Building a Healthier Nebraska includes four components:
• A new University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing facility in Lincoln. The new facility would replace the current outdated one in downtown Lincoln, which is forced to turn away 60 percent of qualified applicants each year because of space limitations. Expanding education opportunities in nursing is key to workforce development in Nebraska; the state's nursing shortage is projected to reach 3,800 by 2020, with rural areas especially hard-hit. The new $17 million facility would accommodate 314 students annually, compared to the current 250, and would allow faculty to expand their research activities.
A new nursing division in Lincoln has been the university's priority capital request in the Legislature for the last two biennia. The Legislature in 2008 approved $87,500 in planning money for the new facility.
"A new building is vital to the future growth of the college in the Lincoln area, and to continuing our commitment to easing the nursing shortage in Nebraska," said Juliann Sebastian, dean of the UNMC College of Nursing. "Not only will the proposed facility add state-of-the-art classrooms, learning technology, conference and seminar space, but it will allow us to educate more nurses at baccalaureate and graduate degree levels."
• Support for a cancer research tower at UNMC. The research tower would position UNMC to become one of only about 40 institutions in the nation to earn a prestigious Comprehensive Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute. Comprehensive cancer centers are recognized for the depth and breadth of their research activities, professional and public education efforts, and success in advancing clinical and public health in the communities they serve. Other regional institutions, including the universities of Kansas and Oklahoma, are pursuing NCI designations with state support.
The 250,000-square-foot, 98-lab research tower would allow UNMC to add faculty, attract more grant funding, and locate all its cancer researchers in one facility, thereby increasing collaboration. UNMC would build on its core strengths including pancreatic, liver, colon, breast, ovarian, lung and head and neck cancers.
The Building a Healthier Nebraska initiative includes a $50 million request toward the $110 million cost of the cancer research tower, which is one part of a larger $370 million cancer center project at UNMC that includes an outpatient facility and an inpatient cancer treatment center that would be part of The Nebraska Medical Center. The additional facilities would be supported by private funds and clinical and hospital revenues. In all, the cancer center project is expected to generate 1,200 new jobs for the state by 2020.
"This kind of single-site facility is the future of cancer care and research," said Dr. Ken Cowan, director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center and an oncologist at The Nebraska Medical Center. "Very few academic medical centers are positioned this well geographically and programmatically. We can provide an all-encompassing cancer center with great access, and more importantly, outstanding care and expertise."
• A $19 million, 30,000-square-foot addition to the Bruner Hall of Science at the University of Nebraska at Kearney that would provide space for health sciences education programs, including expansion of the Kearney-based UNMC nursing division and the addition of UNMC allied health professions programs on the UNK campus. Nearly 50 percent of qualified applicants are turned away from the nursing division at UNK; the patient care lab also is located away from classrooms and is significantly outdated, and there is no space for faculty research. An expanded division would position annual enrollment to grow by 40 from the current 124, which would help address the critical shortage of nurses and nurse educators and allow more students to pursue the career of their choice.
"The opportunity to expand our programs at the UNMC College of Nursing Kearney division will help us educate more students in rural areas and focus especially on primary care and health needs in rural Nebraska," Sebastian said.
The allied health professions program would be a collaboration between UNK and UNMC and would train students in the professions of clinical laboratory science, diagnostic medical sonography, physician assistant, physical therapy and radiography. The School of Allied Health Professions on the UNMC campus currently is able to accept only 25 percent of applicants; the UNK-based program would serve about 46 students when fully implemented. There is a high workforce demand in Nebraska for allied health workers, especially in rural areas: 13 Nebraska counties have no medical radiographer, 24 counties have no physician assistant and 25 counties have no physical therapist. Further adding to the demand, the population of Nebraskans over age 65 is projected to increase 62 percent by 2030.
"Our experience has demonstrated that if students interested in rural practice are provided opportunities to obtain their education in rural communities, they have a greater likelihood of returning to those communities to practice after graduation," said Kyle Meyer, senior associate dean of the School of Allied Health Professions.
• $5 million to plan and design a new Veterinary Diagnostic Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The existing center was temporarily placed on provisional accreditation in 2007 by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc. and is now in danger of being placed on provisional accreditation again because of shortcomings including obsolete infrastructure, overcrowding and poor ventilation. Planning funds would allow the university to demonstrate progress in correcting the deficiencies, while failure to make any progress likely would lead to loss of accreditation for the center.
Loss of accreditation would significantly impact Nebraska veterinarians and livestock producers who rely on the center for accurate, timely test results and information -- particularly during an animal health emergency. Nebraska also could lose out on state and federal funding for regulatory and disease surveillance programs, and may struggle to recruit and retain excellent faculty and staff for the center and for IANR's professional program in veterinary medicine.
Nebraska is a leading beef state, and having adequate facilities is deemed essential by industry leaders, including the Ag Builders of Nebraska, Nebraska Veterinary Association, Nebraska Cattlemen and the Nebraska Farm Bureau -- all of which support a new Veterinary Diagnostic Center. Furthermore, because the center has diagnostic capabilities for diseases like West Nile Virus that can be found in both animals and humans, a high-quality center is important for the health of the people of Nebraska as well as its livestock and companion animals. David Hardin, director of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science at UNL, pointed out that there are more than 800 such diseases.
"The Veterinary Diagnostic Center also helps preserve the health of Nebraska's economy, because the livestock industry is so important to Nebraska," Hardin said. "In 2010, the value of animal agriculture products in Nebraska was $8.4 billion. Even a 1 percent profit reduction caused by animal disease in Nebraska has an $84 million effect."
Leadership of the Building a Healthier Nebraska legislative package is being provided by Sen. Galen Hadley of Kearney. Hadley also is introducing legislation for the Kearney project.
"We are very fortunate to be in a position to invest in programs that will build the healthcare workforce, expand our reputation in cancer research and allow more students to pursue the career they desire," Sen. Hadley said. "A strong healthcare workforce is especially critical to the survival of smaller communities."
Legislation for the Lincoln nursing, cancer and veterinary diagnostics projects will be introduced by Sens. Tony Fulton, John Nelson and Tom Hansen, respectively.
NU Board of Regents Chairman Bob Whitehouse said, "The Building a Healthier Nebraska proposal is aligned with some of the Board of Regents' highest priorities: providing quality academic opportunities for our students, achieving excellence in research and helping to build a talented workforce for Nebraska. I'm excited about the potential this proposal has to create a healthier, more economically competitive Nebraska."
More information about the Building a Healthier Nebraska initiative can be found at https://nebraska.edu/docs/president/bhn/BORpowerpoint2012.pdf
Melissa Lee
Director of Communications,
University of Nebraska


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Browsing Category Videos
It's Your Turn (NARIS)
In May, 2012, Monkey Marc and I were commissioned by InCite Youth Arts and NARIS (National Association of Remote Indigenous Schools) to co-produce a song and video clip with students from five selected schools around Australia, (NT, SA, QLD and WA). The project (starting on 4th of June in Arlparra, NT) allowed us five weeks to create a song and video clip aimed at encouraging young Indigenous students to consider teaching as a career.
As we traveled from school to school, the energy surrounding the project steadily increased as the word spread, inspiring creative thought and contributions from all the students, elders and teachers keen to get involved. Amid our rather hectic travel itinerary, the main challenge for us was the limited time allotment (three to four days) we had in each Community.
With this in mind, I would like give a massive shout out to all the brave young artists who made this clip such an inspiring document! They not only rocked the mic in English, but with the guidance of the elders in the community, incorporated no less than five Native Languages from across Australia.
In addition, I would like to acknowledge the support of all the full time teachers and staff from all the schools we visited, whose ongoing dedication means so much to us as visiting artists and enabled us to 'hit the ground running.' Thank you for helping us see this project through to such a fantastic conclusion, creating a record of some of the great talent that shines from the communities representing in 'It's Your Turn!'
To everyone else, please enjoy absorbing the fresh, unique, home-grown talent scattered across this sacred land! Please spread the knowledge and as the song's voices sing, "…Pass it on…" if you dig it! "…Learning's a fire you can't extinguish!" (Mark Campbell, Mimilli, SA)
Bikey Boys from Nyirripi, NT
This video clip emerged from a workshop with the Warlpiri youth of Nyirripi, NT conducted by Elf Tranzporter & Monkey Marc, through InCite Youth Arts & Mt. Theo. Next week the two artists will head there along with Lajamanu, NT for more song writing & production workshops so stay tuned with this web site for more creative musical gems from Warlpiri Land!


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Delicious in Five Minutes or Less: Fig and Speck Salad Recipe
This has been one of the longest, sweetest fig seasons I can remember, and while the superior green Calimyrna figs might be on their last legs, the black mission figs are still in full force. The season might be wrapping itself up, but I'm sure Neil Young would agree that it's better to burn out than to fade away. So let's burn those figs, shall we?
Recipes like this are pretty much my favorite: all you've gotta do is pay for the ingredients, then sit back and let mother nature do the work for you. Sweet, jammy figs long for a salty, meaty partner. You could do worse than a good speck. La Quercia, the Iowa-based company that produces what Jeffrey Steingarten has called "the best prosciutto domestic or imported you can get in America," also makes a mighty fine version of this smokey, juniper-flavored Austrian ham, and it's readily available (I've seen it sliced to order at Fairway, and in Cryovac packs at Whole Foods).
Add the fresh kick of a few roughly torn basil leaves, a sprinkle of coarse, crackly, pyramidal Maldon salt, and a drizzle of the best extra virgin olive oil, and you've just managed to put the last breath of summer on a plate. Neil would be proud.
- Yield:4 as an appetizer
- Active time: 5 minutes
- Total time:5 minutes
- A dozen mission figs, split in half
- 12 paper thin slices speck (about 3 ounces)
- 8 basil leaves, roughly torn
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Coarse salt, such as Maldon
Arrange figs and speck on platter. Top with basil. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and serve immediately.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Coastal disaster relief
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