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A few days ago, I watched an old recorded episode of Extreme Couponing. I'd caught bits and pieces of the show before and had always intended to watch a full episode of the show.
Clearly, the people shown on the program were very organized with their spending – and that organization reaped significant rewards for them. I recognized, of course, that some of these shopping trips were basically staged – no one actually completes a shopping trip to the store for well-rounded meals for their families and comes away with the carts full of items that were purchased in these examples. That didn't take away from the fact that it's pretty impressive how many items these people could buy for so little.
As I was watching, though, I couldn't help but reflect on the incredible time investment that these people had to go through to get these bargains. The amount of planning, watching websites, reading grocery circulars, and cutting out coupons on a nearly endless cycle that the people on the show demonstrated was, frankly, amazing. It is a very large and very organized time investment.
Here's the question I was left with: how much time would someone have to invest for this all to still be worth it?
This isn't an easy question. I can't simply translate my usual weekly shopping trip into the shopping list that extreme couponers use. It doesn't work. They chase bargains, which may or may not have any correlation at all with buying foods for balanced meals for their family.
Also, there's often a great deal of patience involved before lining up a useful giant bargain. You don't line up dozens of double coupons and manufacturer's sales on items you actually need every week. Instead, you have to be patient, and that kind of patience means investing time in watching and waiting and also clipping a lot of coupons that you never wind up using.
Of course, the strategy employed here strives to buy two or three years worth of, say, toothpaste at once. Once you actually locate a strong bargain, you hit it hard.
I'll show you an example of what I'm talking about. A large tube of toothpaste will last Sarah and myself for a couple of months, so let's say that buying a two-pack of Crest Complete for $8 would last us for three months. If we had the storage space, we could theoretically hold onto eight of these two packs, giving us enough toothpaste for two years, at a cost of $64.
Now, let's say that with some careful planning, I could get these two packs for free. I'd have to clip lots of different coupons for toothpaste, watch lots of grocery store flyers, and keep doing this in a cycle for a while until the right combination of factors came together to get that kind of bargain. Let's say I invest four hours in this over the course of several months, spread out into a few minutes here and a few minutes there.
It's worth noting here that if you're into couponing as an active exercise, you're usually hunting down bargains on lots of different things at once. However, that means that each week, you're clipping lots of coupons and examining lots of grocery store flyers and doing lots of cross-calculations. Toothpaste alone only makes up a sliver of the time for each week – a few minutes, perhaps – but that time adds up if you only strike every several months.
For that time investment of four hours that will save me $64 in toothpaste, I'm saving about $16 per hour. That's a pretty strong return for the time spent couponing.
But that doesn't tell the whole story.
For starters, I don't buy the name brands of most items. I usually buy the cheapest toothpaste or just use the samples from the dentist office. Often, there's some brand of toothpaste that's already on sale for $0.99 or $1.49 a tube, so I'll buy one or two of those.
If we hypothetically say I can always get a tube for $1.49, that adds up to sixteen tubes for $23.84, which is the same number of tubes I'd get from this kind of couponing strategy. In that case, my savings per hour of couponing drops immediately to $5.96 per hour.
Another challenge is having space to store lots of stuff. We buy some things in reasonable bulk amounts (such as toilet paper), but if we bought every single household item or nonperishable food item in extensive bulk quantities, we would need additional space in our home. That space has a cost in the form of property taxes, mortgage, heating, cooling, and insurance – it's not free.
Bulk buying is a good strategy up to the point where it's requiring extra space in your home.
I'm not suggesting that intense couponing is a bad strategy. Instead, I'm simply saying that the savings may not be as impressive as they initially seem when you evaluate the savings through the lenses of the time invested, the space invested, and the cheaper alternatives you can get without couponing.
I do still clip coupons sometimes, particularly for items I already buy in bulk that aren't much cheaper at warehouse clubs than at grocery stores (trash bags come to mind here…). When I do that, though, I do it incidentally when I happen to have that item on my grocery list and I can just Google for coupons before I walk out the door. That way, a coupon might save me a dollar for a minute's worth of internet searching, which is a much more reasonable deal for me.
A more extensive couponing strategy tends to cost me time that I could be using in more effective ways, and when you're getting down into the $5 or $6 per hour invested range, there are a lot of more effective ways to save money. I tend to get very wary of any activity that drops below the minimum wage in terms of time invested because, if the time is spent without joy and camaraderie, I could go get a minimum wage job and earn more than that.
On the other hand, couponing might just be a hobby for you. It certainly is for a lot of people and, if it is, then it's a far more productive and valuable hobby than how many people spend their time. If you enjoy the challenge and the chase of getting items for pennies or for free, then that hobby is translating into actual dollars in your home and that's a very good thing, particularly if you're getting personal enjoyment out of it.
Personal finance is personal, after all. Things that work wonderfully for some might not work so wonderfully for others.


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Because we're both supremely out of shape, Brian decided to take on a 7-week challenge (and I hopped along for the ride). The first week is just about getting started and making yourself work. The assignment is to do the following every day: 40 air squats, 30 sit ups, 20 push ups and 10 burpees. Sounds simple enough, right?
Oh. My. Stars. I'm not sure my body has ever hurt this bad. The first day I breezed (mostly) right on through it. The second day I could hardly manage the sit ups. The third day I almost couldn't make myself even start the sit ups. Not sure why they're the hardest thing, but they definitely are. I am DREADING when we have to add something else to this routine. I'm also assuming at some point, it gets easier?
Because Rory has to mimic everything in life, she jumped right on in with the exercising. She cracks me up because she is so determined. She did all of the exercises without missing a beat.
Then Addison thought she should join in. And she did miss a beat, but it was still funny.
And just in case there is any question, I in no way, shape, or form can get my butt that close to the floor. I seem to fail at most exercise attempts so this one is probably a lost cause as well, but I'm going to try really hard to stick with it for the 7 week program.

subset: commoncrawl


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This week in new hires, Morningstar announced six appointments for its fund analyst research team; James Machuga joined Merk Investments; Philipp Hildebrand was named vice chairman at BlackRock; J. Bradley Ross was named president of Pyxis Capital; Cary Carbonaro of Stonegate Wealth Management joined United Capital; Tiffani Potesta was appointed at Schroders; and René Nourse announced her new company, Urban Wealth Management LLC.
Also, Peak Advisor Alliance brought in Paul West as managing director; Mark Denomme joined NewStar; Bernie Hughes joined the annuity settlement group at Mercer; Chip Roame was appointed as a trustee of the SA Funds; Karen Wimbish of Wells Fargo Retirement joined the board of directors at RIIA; and Thermon elected Kevin McGinty and John Nesser to its board of directors.
Morningstar Announces Fund Analyst Research Team Appointments
Morningstar announced several appointments on Monday within its fund analyst research team. In addition, the company is aligning its fund research coverage along four areas: active, passive, alternative, and fund of funds.
Scott Burns has been named director of fund analysis for North America. Michael Herbst has been promoted to director of active strategy research, spanning open-end and closed-end funds as well as active ETFs. Paul Justice and Ben Johnson will co-lead coverage of passive strategy research, now including both ETFs and traditional index funds. Nadia Papagiannis will continue to lead Morningstar's alternative fund research, covering alternative mutual funds and alternative ETFs. Laura Pavlenko Lutton will be responsible for leading fund-of-fund research, including managed ETF portfolios, 529 college savings plans, and target-date funds. Lutton has also been named chair of the editorial committee that sets the overall direction for investment analysis across the four coverage areas in North America.
Merk Welcomes James Machuga
Merk Investments LLC, manager of Merk Funds, announced Tuesday the appointment of James Machuga as vice president of sales to focus on the wirehouse adviser channel, and will be partnering with wirehouse advisers across the U.S.
Prior to joining Merk, he was senior level II regional investment consultant at Fidelity Investments Institutional Services, where he was responsible for the distribution of Fidelity products to financial intermediaries.
BlackRock Names Philipp Hildebrand Vice Chairman
BlackRock recently announced the appointment of Philipp Hildebrand as vice chairman, overseeing the firm's largest institutional client relationships in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. His appointment is effective in October. In this new role, he will report directly to Laurence D. Fink, chairman and chief executive officer, and serve as a member of the global executive committee, as well as its EMEA and Asia Pacific executives committees.
Hildebrand brings almost 20 years of leadership experience across asset management and banking, most recently as chairman of the Swiss National Bank. He will contribute his perspective on global markets and economic trends to BlackRock's investment teams and also represent the firm to senior government officials and regulators across EMEA and Asia Pacific. Pyxis Capital Names J. Bradley Ross President
Pyxis Capital announced Tuesday that J. Bradley Ross has been named president. His appointment is concurrent with the resignation of former Pyxis President Joe Dougherty.
With more than 25 years in the financial services industry, Ross was most recently executive vice president and national sales director of Ivy Funds, which he joined in 2003. Prior to Ivy, he was senior vice president, national sales manager, independent channel for ING Funds in Scottsdale, Ariz. He has also held senior sales, business development and marketing roles at Voyager Asset Management, Minneapolis; Van Kampen; Bankers Trust and Alliance Capital Management.
United Capital Welcomes Cary Carbonaro
United Capital Financial Advisers LLC announced that Cary Carbonaro, a partner from Stonegate Wealth Management, joined the firm. With this acquisition, 75 family relationships totaling $50 million in assets will join United Capital; Carbonaro's typical client set ranges from $750,000–$1 million, with half her clientele residing in the New York City area and the other half living in central Florida.
Carbonaro has more than 20 years of experience, including working at JPMorgan Chase and Lord Abbett Investment Management and holding the role of vice president at Citibank. In 2001, she founded Family Financial Research, which merged with Stonegate Wealth Management in 2008.
Schroders Announces Appointment of Tiffani Potesta
Schroders announced Monday the appointment of Tiffani Potesta as head of advisory sales within the U.S. key accounts team, reporting to Erin Brenner, head of intermediary key accounts.
With more than 17 years of experience, Potesta joins Schroders from DWS Investments, where she served as director, national account manager and head of third party insurance and DCIO. Prior to joining DWS she worked as director and head of national accounts at First Eagle Funds.
René Nourse Launches Urban Wealth Management
René Nourse (left) announced her new company, Urban Wealth Management LLC. She has selected CONCERT Advisor Services for her back office support. Advisory services will be provided by CONCERT Wealth Management, an SEC RIA.
Nourse was formerly a vice president and certified financial planner at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, and has more than 30 years in the financial services industry. She will be based in El Segundo, Calif. Ron Carson's Peak Advisor Alliance Hires New Managing Director
Peak Advisor Alliance announced Monday the addition of Paul West as managing director, effective immediately. Steve Sanduski will remain in partnership with both Peak Advisor Alliance and Carson Wealth as a strategic resource on new business development initiatives and act as a strategic resource and consultant to the firm. In addition, Sanduski will be actively involved in the rollout of the forthcoming book, Tested in the Trenches: A 9-Step Plan for Success as a New-Era Advisor, co-authored with firm founder Ron Carson.
West joins with more than 14 years of experience in the financial services industry, formerly as a senior executive including president/COO for a niche-focused RIA and prior to that with Securities America, responsible for business development at both firms. He also spent more than nine years in leadership positions at Securities America. In the CPA industry, West previously worked with Capital Professional Advisors and served on its board of directors.
NewStar Adds Mark Denomme to Its Leveraged Finance Team
NewStar Financial announced Tuesday that it has hired veteran banker Mark Denomme as a managing director in its leveraged finance group. He will join the Boston office.
Denomme has more than 20 years of business development and transaction experience working with private equity groups and other private business. Prior to joining the firm, he was a managing director at Hercules Technology Growth Capital. Previously, he co-founded Consilium Partners, a boutique investment banking firm specializing in sell-side M&A for smaller middle-market companies. He also worked for FleetBoston Robertson Stephens and its predecessors in a variety of roles, including as a director in its leveraged finance group.
Bernie Hughes Joins Mercer's Annuity Settlement Group
Bernie Hughes has joined Mercer Investments as a senior consultant in the annuity settlement group, Rich Nuzum, head of Mercer's investment business in the United States, announced Tuesday.
Formerly with Towers Perrin, and later Towers Watson, for nearly 20 years, Hughes worked prior to that as a director of marketing within the asset management and pension services group at Travelers Life Insurance Co., where he spent 10 years.
Chip Roame Joins Board of Trustees of SA Funds
Loring Ward announced that Charles "Chip" Roame (left), managing partner of Tiburon Strategic Advisors, has been appointed as a trustee of the SA Funds by the board of trustees of the SA Funds—Investment Trust. He joins longtime trustees Bryan Brown, a management consultant for financial and technological systems, and Hersh Shefrin, a distinguished professor of finance at Santa Clara University.
At Tiburon, Roame is responsible for all of the firm's consulting, research and marketing activities. He is a leading strategic consultant to CEOs, other senior executives, and boards of directors in the brokerage, investments, banking and insurance markets. Prior to forming Tiburon in 1998, he served in similar capacities, first as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co., and later as a business strategist at The Charles Schwab Corp. RIIA Names Karen H. Wimbish of Wells Fargo Retirement to Board of Directors
Francois Gadenne, executive director and chairman of the board of directors of the Retirement Income Industry Association (RIIA), announced recently that Karen H. Wimbish, director, retail retirement for Wells Fargo Retirement, has joined the board.
Wimbish has more than 30 years in the financial services industry, including roles in banking, brokerage and asset management, as well in credit administration, project management and training.
Thermon Elects Kevin McGinty and John Nesser to Board of Directors
Thermon Group Holdings and Thermon Holding Corp. announced Tuesday that Kevin McGinty and John Nesser have been appointed to their respective boards of directors, effective June 15.
McGinty is currently a managing director of Peppertree Capital Management, a private equity fund management firm. Prior to founding Peppertree in January 2000, he served as a managing director of Primus Venture Partners during the period from 1990 to December 1999. From 1970 to 1990, he was employed by Society National Bank, now KeyBank, where in his final position he was an executive vice president. He has more than 40 years of experience in the banking and private equity industries.
Nesser recently retired as executive vice president and chief operating officer of McDermott International, a global engineering, procurement, construction and installation company with a focus on the energy industry. He joined McDermott as associate general counsel in 1998 and spent more than 10 years in various senior management roles, including as general counsel, chief administrative officer and chief legal officer. Previously, he served as a managing partner of Nesser, King & LeBlanc, a New Orleans law firm, which he cofounded in 1985. He has significant prior experience in legal and operational roles.
Read the June 13 New Hire Roundup at AdvisorOne.


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The Villa Rica Police Department was recently invited by
Harrison Contracting to both attend and present material at their annual safety
day. Harrison Contracting suspends field operations for an entire day to
have all employees assigned to the location attend and hear presentations on
various safety topics. Of note this year was driver safety. The
Villa Rica Police Department was glad to assist in presenting material related
to speeding, safety belts, and impaired driving. This year, an additional
emphasis was placed on distracted driving with more accidents being attributed
to this contributing factor every year. Officers in attendance took
various items related to traffic enforcement and education including a LIDAR,
an auditory distraction exercise, vision impairment "drunk goggles", and a
multitude of literature on driver's safety. We appreciate the invitation
and opportunity to help make the roadways safer for everyone.
If you would like for us to help with your company's safety day or would like more information please contact Lieutenant Ethredge at email@example.com or (678) 840-1154


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U.S. premiere of Scarlatti concerto shines spotlight on Fairfield
Fairfield is a land of many firsts.
And on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 9, the "No. 1" list becomes a bit longer.
The First Church Congregational, which was founded the same year as the town, celebrates its 375th anniversary with the U.S. premiere of the 1744 Alessandro Scarlatti Concerto for Harpsichord No. 3, performed by the Chamber Orchestra of New York.
Featured will be French-born harpsichord scholar Aymeric Dupre la Tour, an orchestra member and the new music director at the Fairfield church.
Dupre la Tour and the Chamber Orchestra of New York, led by Salvatore Di Vittorio, will repeat the concert on Thursday evening, Feb. 13, at Manhattan's Carnegie Hall. (Tickets: $40, $30; $20 for students and seniors.)
In discussing the premiere, Maestro Di Vittorio pointed out that "the first movement begins with a slow, thoughtful overture of sound, followed by a soliloquy from the harpsichord, and a regal, yet firm response by the strings. The cadenza then gives way to a second, final movement marked `Andante con spirito' that is quite effervescent with endless harpsichord attacks, colored and surrounded by light string counterpoint."
All in all, quite lovely, Dupre la Tour said.
To introduce the American public to such a beautiful and rare piece of music is an extraordinary pleasure and privilege, said Dupre la Tour, who also is a renowned pianist and organist.
Zuckermann Harpsichords International, in Stonington, announced that the soloist will perform on "our new Italian harpsichord (fashioned after one made in Italy by Carlo Grimaldi in 1697), which Dupre la Tour also voiced" (meaning that he musically designed the instrument to his specifications).
Also on the Italian Baroque program is the Connecticut premiere of Ottorino Respighi's Suite in G Major for Organ (also featuring Dupre la Tour) and Strings, in its original, completed version of 23 minutes. The orchestra will be featured on Arcangelo Corelli's Concerto Grosso No. 9 in F Major and Antonio Vivaldi's "Summer" from "The Four Seasons," featuring Second Concertmaster Daniel Khalikov, a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra's first-violin section.
More InformationFirst Church Congregational, 148 Beach Road, Fairfield. Sunday, Feb. 9, 4 p.m. $20, which includes a post-concert wine-and-cheese reception. $10 for students. www.firstchurchfairfield.org
How the Scarlatti piece has come to Fairfield has a lot to do with serendipity, Dupre la Tour said.
"Salvatore also is a composer ... who is now completing the unfinished early works of Respighi, under commission from the Respighi family and archives. Di Vittorio and Scarlatti share the same hometown, Palermo (Italy), but he works a lot in Bologna doing research at the Respighi archives."
It was in Bologna that the maestro heard about Ut Orpheus Edizioni, which "published the reconstruction of the Scarlatti Concerti by Ottavio Dantone. It is surprising that no orchestra seems to have performed the piece in the U.S. since its publication in 2004," said Dupre la Tour, who has a doctorate in musical arts from the Juilliard School.
"To share this musical experience with (Fairfield County) and a first-class group of musicians will be very exciting," he said.
firstname.lastname@example.com; Twitter: @PhyllisASBoros
First Church Congregational, 148 Beach Road, Fairfield. Sunday, Feb. 9, 4 p.m. $20, includes a post-concert wine-and-cheese reception; $10 for students. www.firstchurchfairfield.org.


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Renewable energy experts: Room for progress
Price differentials and storage issues keep Nevada from being a 100 percent renewable-energy state, Public Utilities Commissioner David Noble said Tuesday night.
The audience at Sierra Nevada Forums' latest event, "Fueling Change: An Emerging Renewable Energy Era," heard talk of the state being at 18 percent in its drive toward a 25 percent Renewable Portfolio Standard by 2025. After that, the first question involved what keeps the state from being fully renewable.
The event was at the Plaza Hotel Conference Center, and Noble's answer came after a brief presentation in which he said one price differential was due to low natural gas costs that now hurt both coal and renewables. But he was optimistic that would change some.
"I don't think that's going to be the case going forward," he said, noting natural gas costs should rise over time. One reason, he said, is that liquid natural gas developments will make it a world commodity. "We're going to see upward pressure on natural gas."
The panelists and moderator Anne Macquarie, who contributes occasional columns to the Nevada Appeal, sounded upbeat about renewable energy's future in the Silver State.
"I think that renewable energy is the great untold story in Nevada," said Macquarie, who also is the Carson City-based blog editor for Nevadans for Clean Affordable Reliable Energy (NCARE). "The economic potential to the state is only beginning to be realized."
Alan Gerstler, Desert Research Institute vice president and director of DRI's Clean Technologies and Renewable Energy Center, said geothermal is competitive and has numerous pluses, while solar and wind are intermittent energy sources.
He showed a slide saying renewables are "closing in on cost parity" with fossil fuels. He also made the point that environmental, health care and other cost factors aren't always included in comparative assessments.
Jack McGinley, NV Energy director of regulatory and legislative strategy, pointed out data showing the cost differential despite renewables coming down from prior years. He also said NVE likes geothermal, praising reliability because it is a "baseline resource." Wind, he said, is more of a challenge to harvest in Nevada than solar.
Paul Thomsen, Ormat's director of policy and business development and a recent Sandoval administration appointee as the director of Nevada's Office of Energy, described his geothermal energy company's contribution to the state's renewable portfolio. He cited a $1.5 billion total investment.
But Thomsen said geothermal is still a small part of the energy sector, comparing it with much larger oil and gas companies and saying there is considerable growth still in front of Ormat and other firms in his field.
Also on the panel was Marnee Benson, deputy director of Black Rock Solar, who described her nonprofit's effort to distribute solar power. She voiced concerns about reducing incentives too quickly, which "could put solar out of reach for many Nevadans."


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Superhydrophobic Coating Makes Better Solar Panels
Comments Off on Superhydrophobic Coating Makes Better Solar Panels
Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a coating for glass that is superhydrophobic, making it so that it will literally bounce water off the surface. This coating also decreases the amount of light that reflects away from the glass. The benefits for solar collectors are immediately evident. The ability to be self-cleaning would be an enormous benefit for solar panels, even without the additional conversion efficiency benefits. Although many of the best locations for solar panel farms are in dusty desert climates with very little rainfall, even there, the ability to clean the solar panels with just a small amount of water and the self-cleaning ability of the panels would be a benefit, and a savings in labor and in water use. The coating can be applied to glass in a number of different categories, including architectural purposes, and military applications, but the use of superhydrophobic coating for solar panels could be particularly beneficial: "Where solar panels are concerned, the suppression of reflected light translates into a 3-6 percent relative increase in light-to-electricity conversion efficiency and power output of the cells. Coupled with the superhydrophobic self-cleaning ability, this could also substantially reduce maintenance and operating costs of solar panels. In addition, the coating is highly effective at blocking ultraviolet light." According to the ORNL press release , the coating is also highly durable, unlike other hydrophobic and self-cleaning technologies. The process to make this coating is also cost-effective, and it "can be fabricated through industry standard techniques mak[ing] it easy and inexpensive to scale up and apply to a wide variety of glass platforms." via: Oak Ridge National Laboratory press release image via: ORNL
Read the rest here:Â
Superhydrophobic Coating Makes Better Solar Panels


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Project Leader, Paris
At BCG, Pioneers have the courage to take action on unique insights. They share and activate ideas that enable our clients to gain the competitive edge. Aude empowers and inspires others.
Since I came to BCG, the phrase "Nothing is impossible" has never been so true. There is always a solution, a new way to approach things. You have to dare to try.
I joined BCG after spending more than six years at P&G as a consumer insight manager. Joining BCG gave me the opportunity to discover new industries. I have already worked on various cases, ranging from defining the growth strategy of a telecom company in Indonesia to defining a consumer segmentation for a fashion company in Europe. The diversity of the work we do is simply fascinating.
BCG and the partners I have worked with truly trusted me from day one. I remember how only a couple of months after I joined, one partner asked me to support a proposal on my functional domain of expertise but in an industry new to me. As we prepared for the meeting, he told me "Aude, I know you are the expert. I trust you. You are leading this meeting!" And here I was less than six months in the company, selling my first case, and we won the case. The trust and empowerment we receive at BCG is an amazing enabler for us to grow.
Aude holds an MBA, double diploma, from Inseec Paris and EAE Barcelona. Prior to joining BCG, Aude was a consumer insight manager at P&G's EMEA headquarters. She is an expert consultant within BCG's Center for Customer Insight.
First and foremost, the environment. At BCG, we have the chance to work with very smart people, for top tier clients, on challenges that are very intellectually stimulating! Second, the team spirit. As a BCGer, you are part of a bigger team than just your case team. Wherever you are there is always a BCGer willing to help you.
The endless opportunities to grow, learn, and explore.
I try to establish some principles for myself, and I make sure they are respected on most of my cases. They are very simple things like protecting time for sports during the week and making sure I am working from my home office on Fridays even if I am on a case abroad. The most important thing for me is to have clear priorities on how my career fits into my life and stick to them.


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Let mulch work for you
The dictionary says that mulch is anything you lay on top of the soil to protect it. Protect it from what, though?
Sun and rain, that's what. Sun beating down on bare soil results in temperatures hot enough to drive away friendly organisms, such as earthworms, and make roots uncomfortable. And battering rains seal the surface, so that rather than percolating into the ground, water skitters along the surface, carrying with it bits of soil.
Look around at Mother Nature; she tries to keep the soil covered with either a dense stand of plants or a blanket of leaves.
Mulch also can make you a happier gardener, sparing you chores such as watering and weeding. That protective layer checks evaporation of moisture from the soil and smothers weeds.
There are two worlds of mulch, the organic world and the synthetic world. In the world of organic mulches are materials that are or once were living. In the synthetic world are black plastic and landscape fabrics. Landscape fabrics are synthetics that are woven or perforated to let water and some air penetrate, lessening problems with aeration.
The perceived advantage of synthetics over organics is that, because synthetics don't decompose, they will provide weed control forever or, at least, for a long, long time. In reality, black plastic begins to shred over time, letting weeds penetrate. And because the synthetic materials are so ugly, they are generally covered with a thin layer of some organic material, into which weeds eventually begin to creep and blow.
Plenty of organic mulches are available, and they often can be had for free. Right out in your backyard or your neighbor's you will find one good material: grass clippings. Grass clippings are rich in nutrients, so mulching with them gives a "weed and feed" effect, as some marketing maven might say. Just make sure that any clippings you use are not from lawns treated with herbicide.
You also might have piles of fall leaves or pine needles. More good mulch.
Wood chips are an organic mulching material that you can often get for free, or you can buy them. Although poor in nutrients, wood chips are relatively long-lasting on the soil, so are particularly good for using beneath trees and shrubs, and around perennial flowers.
Similar in all respects to wood chips is sawdust. Paper, another good organic mulch, is another wood product. Although not very attractive, a few layers of paper -- either newspaper, commercial paper mulch or building paper ("red rosin paper") -- will kill weeds and seal in moisture. Cover the paper with something more attractive, such as wood chips, to hold it down and hide it.
Straw and hay are also excellent mulches. Straw is just stems and leaves, but hay contains seed heads, which can germinate and become weeds. These weeds may not be a problem if you occasionally fluff up the hay mulch to uproot the weed seedlings while they are still small.
Salt hay comes from wetlands, so its seeds will not thrive in garden soils.
Finally, we come to designer organic mulches, not necessarily better than other organic mulches but conveying a certain look. Buckwheat hulls and cocoa bean hulls look pretty blanketing the ground with a uniform, pebbly brown texture. Expect to pay designer prices for designer mulches.
The only organic mulch to avoid is peat moss. The problem with peat is that once it dries, it's hard to wet again, during which time it is dusty and repels water.
The best time to lay down any organic mulch is after a rain or watering, when the soil is thoroughly moist. Otherwise, that much more water will be needed to wet the mulch before water gets down to plant roots.
Put the mulch on thickly -- four inches for fluffy materials or two inches for denser materials -- but not right up against succulent young stems or they are apt to rot.
All organic mulches do continuously decompose, with mulches derived from younger plant material disappearing fastest. Don't begrudge organic mulches for disappearing, though, because as they decompose, they help fluff up and feed the soil beneath.


text: Tom Ford launched his own label in 2004. Having previous experience at the prestigious fashion houses of Saint Laurent and Gucci, Ford decided to go on and specialises in menswear and accessories, including eyewear. Focusing on a strong, cultured and international clientele, Ford's superb designs have already earned an assortment of accolades – including his inception at the 100 All TIME fashion icons in 2012. Tom Ford endorsers include Beyonce, Will Smith and Michelle Obama. A keen architect in his youth, Ford has always held a keen eye for mesmerising design. Such passion is reciprocated in his style of sunglasses. Each spectacle is meticulously crafted with design promoting sophistication and eccentricity. From ultra-thick, chunky temples to staple cat-eyed models, there is a look out there for every man and woman. From pink to golden tortoise, there's a colour for everyone's preference, and with the iconic 'T' shaped hinge reflecting the brand's prestige whilst formulating style. Being an Academy Award nominated director, Ford will give you the Hollywood look this summer. At Glasses Station, we have Tom Ford sunglasses in abundance and on prescription. So take your time and find the look you deserve this summer; such as the divine Alasdhair for men and the beautifully shaped Christopher-02 model for women.All Tom Ford Sunglasses


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TOM PHILPOTT | Preventive care access improves for female vets
For a lot of years, women veterans felt unwelcomed in Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics as if they weren't real veterans — and they complained. Reinforcing that impression was routine referrals to multiple health care providers, in or out of VA, to get comprehensive primary care.
That is changing rapidly, thanks to VA's commitment to improve women health services, to hire more gynecologists and other female health specialists, and to close a "gender gap" in preventive health services and screenings, says Dr. Patricia Hayes, chief consultant for Women Health Services for Veterans Health Administration.
Hayes and her staff have studies and data to show recent gains. They range from patient satisfaction surveys to numbers of staff physicians newly trained to provide for female health needs, and to a new report showing a narrowing of gender disparities in preventive health care screening.
In a 45-minute interview, Hayes and Dr. Sally Haskell, her acting director for comprehensive women's health, conceded that challenges remain to reach full equality of access and services for women vets, particularly in VA community-based outpatient clinics. But the recent gains have been in impressive and will continue, they say.
"Women have told us that VA has not been welcoming, (that they're) walking a gauntlet to get into VA with a lot of men around ... that 'I walked up to the clerk and the clerk asks 'Are you here with your husband?'"Hayes said. "They felt unwelcomed and invisible. We are changing that culture."
In 2008, only 33 percent of VA health care facilities offered comprehensive primary care to women. Today, women can get full primary care services at 90 percent of VA's larger hospitals and medical centers and at almost 75 percent of its community-base outpatient clinics, Haskell said.
Four years ago, many female veterans visited VA clinics and were referred to larger hospitals, having then to travel "hours and hours to get basic primary care for things like birth control and [vaginal] infections and getting their mammograms arranged," said Hayes. Areas of the country where that's still true have fallen sharply.
From 2000 to 2009, the number of women veterans using VA health services almost doubled, to 293,000. Over the next two years it rose by another 44,000 to reach 337,000 by last October. VA still needs to attract more staff gynecologists and other female health specialists. But it has closed much of its previous gender gap for delivering primary care by improving capabilities of current staff.
"Since 2008 we have trained over 1,500 primary care providers in this intensive training on comprehensive women's health," Hayes said. "We designed what we call a mini-residency in women's health, a 40-hour program, training 35 to 40 providers at a time ... They learn things like birth control, abnormal bleeding but also mental health issues and PTSD in women and an overview of maternity care.
"These are folks were trained in medical school or nurse practitioner school. But they have been seeing men for so long they felt rusty in their proficiency with women," Hayes said.
Despite the gains, Hayes and Haskell said many women veterans still have misconceptions about the quality of VA health care and stay away. Many still believe, for example, that only combat vets can gain access.
Yet women veterans who use VA care decide to stay with it, even if they have other health insurance. Like male veterans, females are rating VA health care as being better than care in the private sector.
That's today. Four years ago, VA studies confirmed wide gaps in the quality of health services for women veterans compared with men. That was most evident in the number of preventive health care tests that doctors ordered, for example, to track cholesterol for patients with heart disease, or blood tests and retinal exams for diabetics, or the percentage of patients given flu shots and other immunizations, or being screened for depression.
That disparity in preventive care services ordered for men versus women also exists in the private sector, Haskell said. She cited several likely reasons, including a belief that heart disease is more of a risk for men, even though recent studies have shown that to be wrong, Haskell said.
Women probably didn't realize it was important for them to monitor cholesterol levels. The same was true of their doctors, she said.
"They weren't as careful about managing blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol in woman. Again, those attitudes are changing both in the VA and in the private sector," Haskell said.
Another factor for the gap in preventive health services probably has been that additional health issues for women "take the focus away from preventive care in the confines of short interactions or visits with providers," Haskell said. "Women have reproductive health issues that take up time (and) also tend to have more mental health concerns and psychosocial concerns they need to discuss with primary care providers. So a lot of times the visit grows very short, and time for attention to prevention is limited."
VA "really wanted to take control of this," Haskell said. "One thing that makes our health care system different is we have the ability to monitor performance measure data very carefully" and then "to implement national processes throughout the system."
So, following a 2008 report on deficiencies in primary care delivery to women, VA decided to act.
"That really launched us on an overall plan to implement major changes in health care for women to make sure every woman veteran gets the right kind of health care," Hayes said. "We recognize that there's been a tremendous influx of women. We have beefed up and accomplished a lot, and we recognize we are still facing a large challenge head."
Today, 17 percent of female veterans are enrolled in VA health care versus 20 percent of male veterans. But women returning from recent conflicts are using VA in much greater numbers previous generations.
"Word is getting out among women veterans that we have great care [and] a lot more systems and services in place ... to be comfortable using VA."


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Goldman Sachs (GS) has made strides in its stated mission to cut costs, as the firm ended 2011 with one of the lowest compensation-to-revenue ratios of the publicly traded investment banks, 42%, according to SNL Financial analysis released Tuesday. Morgan Stanley (MS), which has been letting lower-producing advisors go and enacting other steps to lower costs, is second lowest at 51%.
Meanwhile, smaller organizations had much higher compensation-to-revenue figures: Cowen Group (COWN), at about 75%, had the highest ratio, while Raymond James Financial (RJF), Evercore Partners (EVR) and Lazard (LAZ) all ratios of roughly 70% in 2011.
This could, experts say, be due to the fact that regardless of the size of the investment and broker-dealer operations, a costly team of technology, legal, compensation and investment experts is required for such business.
SNL says its report excludes investment banks with large retail branch networks like Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C) and JPMorgan (JPM), and the research focus is limited to those companies that have common stock trading on the NYSE or NASDAQ.
According to report authors Thomas Mason and Sam Carr, Goldman Sachs had set a target last year of $1.4 billion in annual run-rate expense reductions, which included both compensation-related and non-compensation-related expenses. It reduced its total operating expenses by $3.63 billion in 2011, representing a roughly 14% decrease, with a $3.15 billion reduction in compensation and benefits expense.
Yet, while Goldman's compensation and benefits expense declined, its headcount did, too. The firm's total staff at year-end 2011 was 33,300, a drop of about 7% compared with the same point in 2010. After adding in consolidated entities held for investment purposes, headcount was down by roughly 10%.
As Goldman also points out in its annual filing, the ratio of compensation to net revenues was up from 39% in 2010. During the period, net revenue declined, falling to $28.81 billion in 2011 from $39.16 billion in the year before.
For its part, Cowan has said in its public filings that its 5% increase in total compensation was offset by only a 1% increase in revenue last year, when its average headcount grew by 2% and its employee compensation and benefits expense expanded by $8.8 million.
Lazard appeared to be a particularly lucrative place to work, the SNL report notes. Compensation per average employee at Lazard was about $546,000 for the period, although such figures can potentially be misleading, as not all employees are paid in equal proportions.
As with other M&A specialists like Evercore Partners and Greenhill & Co., this ratio tends to favor companies that have relatively small staffs. For instance, Lazard reported only 2,511 total employees as of the end of 2011, less than one-tenth the size of Goldman's total employee base. Digging a little deeper shows that the number of managing directors at Lazard is a small fraction of the firm's total headcount, standing at 222 as of Dec. 31, according to the company's annual filing.
Other Ratios, CEO Pay
In terms of compensation-to-total expenses in 2011, Raymond James, which declined to be interviewed about the issue, topped the list at about 77.5%. Morgan Stanley comp-to-expense ratio was roughly 62%.
Smaller broker-dealers like Stifel (SF) and Jeffries (JEF) came in with comp-to-expenses of about 62% in 2011, while Goldman Sachs and Piper Jaffray (PJC) had comp-to-expense ratios of about 50% last year.
Goldman Sachs ended the year with a market capitalization of about $91 billion compared with Morgan Stanley's $78 billion, Jeffries' $3.5 billion, Raymond James' $3 billion, Stifel's $1.4 billion, Lazard's $867 million, Piper's $750 million and Cowan's $510 million.
Recent CEO compensation, as tracked by Morningstar, for these organizations is ranked accordingly at: $69.7 million for Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein, $10.5 million for Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, $6.4 million for Jeffries CEO Richard Handler, and $3.7 million Raymond James CEO Paul Reilly, for instance.


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Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW) is a spy thriller that is set against the backdrop of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The film, which is inspired by true events, is directed by Robby Grewal.


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Twyfelfontein: a World Heritage Site Twyfelfontein: a World Heritage Site
Twyfelfontein: a World Heritage Site
Once a small dot on the Namibian map, Twyfelfontein in Kunene region has not only become the country's first UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2007, but is expected to popularise Namibia and attract tourists from all over the world to admire the thousands of historical rock art at the site.
Twyfelfontein is situated in a transitional zone between the Namib Desert and the semi-desert area in the Kunene region. It has a wide variety of rock arts which, date back between 2000 and 3000 years.
This site comprises roughly 2 500 rock engravings on 212 slabs of rock, as well as 13 panels containing a number of rock paintings, including the prehistoric rock carvings, with over 2 000 figures documented to date.
Its magnificent scenery attracts 95% of international tourists and 5% of local tourists.
Namibia is a state party to the World Heritage Convention of 1972, a rigid requirement for a member country, which intends to nominate a candidate site for inscription.
As required, Namibia had to submitted two motivational documents namely; the Nomination Dossier and the Property Management Plan for submission to UNESCO, to ensure the inscription of Twyfelfontein as its first World Heritage Site.
While the Nomination Dossier demonstrates the outstanding universal value of the property and whether or not the site has a proclaimed Buffer Zone and is protected under any national legislation, the Property Management Plan must answer questions relating to the management of a site.
Twyfelfontein has a defined buffer zone and is protected under section 54 of the National Heritage Act. The site has a buffer zone of 9194 hectares, and a core area of 57.4 hectares where most of the administrative work takes place. The core area accommodates visitor facilities, the information centre and the reception, toilets, a kiosk and viewing platforms. Currently there are 7 lodges within the Twyfelfontein buffer zone. Hence, illegal grazing and establishment of tourist developments in the core area of the site was prohibited, as these will damage the rocks panels, spoil the status of the shrine and interfere with the visitors' space.
Namibia, through the National Heritage Council, is busy working on another four sites, including Brandberg, the south of the Namib Desert, the Welwitschia plant and the Fish River Canyon, to be declared as world heritage monuments or sites.
To ensure consistent monitoring and preserve the rock arts panels at the site, UNESCO recommended that Namibia need to hire a Rock Art expert and train staff at the site to undertake assessments on the transformation of rock art panels.
See also:


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The 66-year-old, who has experience of coaching both sides, also tips the Bianconeri to successfully defend their Scudetto crown and claims Andrea Pirlo is central to their cause
Fabio Capello has revealed he expects Juventus to confirm their status as Serie A favourites on Saturday with a win over Roma.
The Old Lady lead the Italian top flight by five points and travel to the capital on the back of a comprehensive 3-0 Champions League victory at Celtic. The Giallorossi, in contrast, are yet to win a league game in 2013 and recently sacked coach Zdenek Zeman.
Capello, who guided Roma to the Scudetto in 2000 before taking charge of Juventus four years later, made it known that while he is an admirer of the Olimpico side and their efforts to reinvent themselves, the Turin giants remain the benchmark on the peninsula.
"Juve are the favourites for the title, but in summer I had tipped Roma to be one of Juventus' main rivals. They have an attractive young group and are already competitive," the current Russia head coach told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Juventus are the strongest amongst all the other teams [in Serie A] and neither Milan nor Inter are competing at 100 per cent. This is a nice gift for Conte. The most dangerous competition has disappeared.
"I like Juve's approach. There is attention to the defence but also the desire to play football. They never throw possession away.
"They are not the strongest team in the Champions League, but neither were Chelsea last year."
"Their mentality is simple – win and turn the page. They always seek to raise the bar and are never satisfied. They have several leaders in their squad such as [Andrea] Pirlo, [Gianluigi] Buffon, [Giorgio] Chiellini.
Oh, and another thing that is making a difference: [Mirko] Vucinic. He completes Pirlo's wonderful build-up play."
Capello then lavished praise on Italy veteran Pirlo and the telling impact that the midfielder has made since his arrival from AC Milan in 2011.
"Every time Pirlo plays, he becomes more ageless," he added. "Milan have really given a fantastic gift to Juventus. Pirlo's story reminds me of a naive mistake made by a young coach.
"I was once told, 'Dear Fabio, you can go wrong when buying a player but you cannot get it wrong when you give them away'. He was right. Milan made a serious mistake when they lost Pirlo."


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When she was young, she wanted to become an actress. Instead, Megan Marshall is going to be a teacher.
As spring graduation speaker for the Reich College of Education at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., Marshall made the point that life doesn't neatly fit into expectations.
Sometimes you have to improvise.
She's fortunate. She will probably still get to use acting skills in her daily performances before classrooms of students.
I thought of Marshall's words Monday morning while reading the Herald-Tribune article about Southside Elementary School Principal Steve Dragon.
During a time of budget cuts and an emphasis on utilitarian education, Dragon has managed to make dance and drama part of the curriculum at Southside, just as he did at Gocio Elementary during his tenure there.
His successor at Gocio, Pamela Buchanan, has carried on, with the usual difficulties. To hire a dance teacher, for instance, she had to eliminate a front desk position. Now her staff takes turns answering the phones.
The approach of the two educators is a big deal.
It goes against the trend in education today, which seems to push what's best for future employers, not what's best for helping children become well-rounded human beings.
There's plenty of room for both if we would just insist on it and make it happen.
It's funny that it isn't happening, because most people seem to recognize the importance of music and art in education. In a May 2005 Harris Poll commissioned by Americans for the Arts, 93 percent of the respondents agreed that "the arts are vital to providing a well-rounded education for children."
Yet the bureaucracy and politicians who run education these days treat the arts as an afterthought to science, technology, engineering and math, the so-called STEM courses.
Of course these are key areas of instruction, too. The point is, the two are not exclusive, as demonstrated time and again by studies showing that students of the arts generally do better in other disciplines than those who have had no arts background.
When they're not the subject matter directly, the arts can be a powerful teaching tool.
My own love of reading came not from mastering the ability to string letters into words into sentences into paragraphs, but from Mrs. Young, a sixth-grade teacher in Delaware, Ohio.
Every day, she used to read aloud to the class a chapter from Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island." She was a large woman with a deep voice. She didn't merely recite the words from the book, she made them come alive with her intonation and timing.
In essence, she performed. And every day, the class pleaded for more as a chapter ended and Mrs. Young put the book away to move on to other subjects.
She also played the piano, and she would have liked the way our two local principals have worked drama, dance and the arts into elementary education.
If technology and its fellows are the stem of education, then the arts are the bloom. And without it, the stem will offer little enjoyment to anyone.
Eric Ernst's column runs Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Contact him at email@example.com or (941) 486-3073.
Ernst: Arts overlooked amid focus on STEM
When she was young, she wanted to become an actress. Instead, Megan Marshall is going to be a teacher.


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The 5 Wedding Details Men Care About the Most
While it varies from couple to couple, it might sometimes seem as if your fiance is less-than-interested in the details of wedding planning. And you may take his general lack of opinion and occasional eye-roll as "you handle it, I'll just stay here and watch football." But, as disinterested as he might seem, over time, we've come to realize that there are usually five areas of the wedding planning process that guys secretly are into, and even better, really care about:
1. The honeymoon: While he may have insisted that you choose the locale, it's likely that he's just invested in the destination and journey. In fact, most guys actually dream of surprising their bride-to-be with some romantic aspects of the honeymoon (if not the entire thing!). If you're not into surprises, that's OK—just make sure you let him be as involved in the planning as he'd like to be (and chances are good that he probably would really like to be involved!). P.S. Check out the world's top 20 honeymoon destinations!
2. The cake: Most brides assume that their fiance has zero interest in the wedding cake. And while he may be less in tune with buttercream vs. fondant (unless he's a chef), most men love the chance to taste test wedding cakes at appointments with bakers, so bring him along. You both will be surprised at how much fun you have and how helpful his opinion is (and what a bonding experience it can be, too).
3. The music: If there will be dancing at your reception, it's likely that your husband-to-be will want to help set the tone of what's played and when. In other words, this is the time where he may want to be sure your love of eighties love songs isn't completely exploited by the DJ and some more up-beat tunes are played. If you're in sync musically, great. But if you have differing styles, be sure to let him suggest a playlist of songs that he loves, and you can do the same.
4. The getaway car: Most guys have an opinion about this and may even want to handle the vehicle situation entirely. You might be surprised at how much he's thought about the type of vehicle that will take you from church to reception, or whisk you away to your hotel later that night. He might be a limo guy, or maybe he wants to surprise you with an antique Rolls Royce. Let him!
5. The first kiss: While this isn't exactly an aspect of the wedding you can plan, you'd be shocked at how many men think about the first kiss after being declared man and wife. He wants it to be romantic, passionate, but not too intense, and he definitely doesn't want to botch it. Just know that he's thinking about this part of the ceremony, perhaps more than any other part. Ease his mind by asking him how he envisions the first kiss going, and then practice, practice, practice!


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02 June, 2009 | (01 hr)
Sign In to access this Webcast
The H1N1 influenza virus outbreak is yet another wake-up call to businesses. Companies must be prepared to deal with unexpected calamities of various sorts, whether bioterrorist attacks, Mumbai-like assaults or deadly infectious diseases. With the urgency of the Level 5 pandemic alert appearing to recede, now is the time for companies to take stock and look ahead. For example, no matter the origin of a potential calamity, how well does your company crisis plan reflect the realities of the public health system within which it would have to function? What are the gaps in corporate crisis and pandemic preparedness planning that only effective collaboration with government can fill? What are the best ways to ensure progress is achieved at this vital intersection while there is still time to improve plans?
This webcast will discuss:
- Looking ahead, what have we learned from the H1N1 outbreak that corporate planners need to pay particular attention to?
- What lessons are applicable not only to a pandemic situation but also to other types of calamities as well?
- What does the experience of public health officials in the nation's largest city have to say about private-public planning problems and solutions?
- Who should companies be in contact in government to ensure that their crisis plans will be workable when the rubber meets the road?
Isaac B. Weisfuse, MD, MPH
Isaac Weisfuse received his MD degree in 1982 from the State University of New York at Downstate. Following training in Internal Medicine, he trained in epidemiology and public health (1985-1987) through the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) of the Centers for Disease Control, as a member of th...Full Bio
David J. Vidal
David J. Vidal is senior fellow, The Conference Board Initiative on Sustainability. Since joining The Conference Board in 1997, he has initiated and been responsible for research and program development in corporate citizenship and sustainability, corporate responsibilit...Full Bio


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Round Light Blue Enamel and Diamond Stud Earrings - Rose Gold
Item # SEL-35012113
- Handcrafted in 18-karat rose gold.
- Detailed in diamonds and enamel.
- Studs measure 5/16-in. in diameter.
- Finished with a locked backing.
Born in 1963, Selim Mouzannar was brought up surrounded by gemstones and gold. His grandfather as well as his father are also jewelers. Selim's earliest memories come from his frequent visits to the Gold Souk of Beirut where he learned the basics of the jewelry industry.
In 1980, when the war had long started in Lebanon, Selim decided to move abroad, and to complement his artistic skills, he obtained a Management diploma. He then left the family nest to Paris where he graduated from the Institut National de Gemmologie.
After expanding his experience to Belgium and Saudi Arabia, Selim then moved to Thailand. Avid to understand all the various stages of the business, he worked in a Ruby mine on the Thai-Cambodian border.
Taking his international ventures and amazing life experiences, Selim then returned to his roots in Beirut where he opened his workshop in 1993 followed by his own shop.
Expanding his collections abroad. Selim Mouzannar officially launched in 2009 in Paris, London, Istanbul, Geneva & Dubai, and finally this year in the U.S.
Any order of $100+ receives free ground shipping at YLANG23.com.
Ship times follow the processing of your order.
All orders are shipped with signature required upon delivery to protect your purchase.
We ship FedEx insured, and offer three shipping options within the continental United States:
- Standard/Ground (5-7 day delivery)
- Second-Day Air - Free with orders $150+
- Overnight Next-Day Air (does not include Saturday delivery)
For specific information on international delivery estimates, detailed shipping rates and more click here.
Holiday Return Policy:
Gifts purchased on the website between November 22, 2018 and December 24, 2018 can be returned for a full refund until January 4, 2019. Special orders may not be cancelled or returned.
We want you to be completely happy with your purchase, but if you are not satisfied for any reason, we offer free returns on regular-priced orders over $100 within seven days of receipt in their complete original packaging and in unworn condition. Please call us toll free at 1-866-952-6423 or email email@example.com for a prepaid return label that will be sent to the original email address associated with the order. Merchandise will be insured to YLANG23.com. Credit will not include original shipping charges.
Special orders may not be canceled or returned. We reserve the right to not ship special occasion jewelry or to ask for a written confirmation indicating your commitment of a final sale during holiday periods.
Unfortunately, exchanges cannot be issued at this time. If you wish to purchase a different item, the original item should be returned to Ylang 23 and a new order can be placed on the website.
Ylang 23 specializes in unique and one-of-a-kind designer jewelry, and we're happy to special order pieces on your behalf.
Special orders are outside the scope of regular designer production and, therefore, must be paid in full at the time of purchase.
All special orders are final sale and may not be cancelled, returned, or exchanged.
Our knowledgeable staff is happy to answer any questions about special orders and alterations to existing stock (ring sizes, necklace lengths, etc.). Timing and pricing will vary by designer.
Please email email@example.com or call 1-866-YLANG23 with your questions and requests.


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Your skill will accomplish
what the force of many cannot
Re: On Interfaces and APIsby xdg (Monsignor)
|on Jun 04, 2006 at 13:56 UTC ( #553489=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
++ for an amazingly comprehensive reference list.
However, in trying to absorb the 39 various bullet points of proposed guidelines on API design, I'm reminded of the Justice Stewart quote on pornography:
"I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced . . . but I know it when I see it . . . "
Of the various guidelines, I like Bloch's best because of the short and clear concepts they present. The others need to be parsed and understood and use several metaphors that impede clarity unless you already know what the authors are talking about.
Part of the challenge in giving API guidelines is that API style is context dependent as well. Different language styles lead to different API styles and what works best for one language might not work best for another.
For the reference section, I'd suggest adding things like Tufte's VDQI, as the principles he lays out for eliminating non-data ink have some nice parallels to API design -- particularly of the Conway style. On the other hand, sometimes, as with named parameters, clarity and extendibility means more ink (er, pixels), not less.
Separately, one reason that I like test-driven development is that by writing unit tests first before writing code, I wind up "using" my API before I implement it. At that point, the cost of change for the API is minimal. Even as code is implemented and additional features are added, the cost of change at that point is still pretty low. I'll frequently do several drafts of the API just while writing the test file.
Code written by xdg and posted on PerlMonks is public domain. It is provided as is with no warranties, express or implied, of any kind. Posted code may not have been tested. Use of posted code is at your own risk.
In Section Meditations


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We Eat Films / Featured / Top 5 Shows in Need of Cancellation / bigbangtheory
Written by Jesse Gelinas June 21, 2012
After years attempting to escape the Matrix, Jesse has accepted his fate as a writer and Senior Editor. Now that's he finished with his film degree, it gives him something to do while waiting for the machines to get careless.
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text: Sijun Forums :: View topic - December Sijun Theme: ZOMBIES! Log in to check your private messages Sijun Forums Forum Index >> Gallery/Finished Work View previous topic :: View next topic Author Topic : "December Sijun Theme: ZOMBIES!" SumalethAdministratorMember #Joined: 30 Oct 1999Posts: 2898Location: Australia Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 5:31 am The theme for this month: ZOMBIES! Inspiration image by Patrick Brown Yeah, it's about time we did zombies. They're everywhere, and they're into everything. Damn zombies. -- New and old accepted, 2D and 3D, digital and not, finished or sketched. Feel free to cross-post images into other relevant threads, and to post older images that fit the theme. The more images the better. -- 2012-10: AFTER SARGENT 2012-9: THUMBNAILS 2012-8: THE MERCILESS SEA 2012-7: LIGHTCYCLE 3D 2012-6: PAINTOVER 2012-4: ERASE ONLY 2012-3: FILM FRAME STUDY 2012-2: THE EGG 2012-1: UNFINISHED 2011-12: X-MAS 2011 2011-11: LASSO 2011-10: IMMENSE 2011-9: CARS CAR 2011-8: THE TREE 2011-7: DESK STUDY 2011-6: ALIEN LANDSCAPE 2011-5: FRUIT 2011-4: ABSTRACT 2011-3: TACHIKOMA 2011-2: MATERIALS 2011-1: SQUARES_________________Art Links Archive -- Artists and TutorialsLast edited by Sumaleth on Sat May 18, 2013 7:41 am; edited 1 time in total Back to top ZMmemberMember #Joined: 09 Apr 2010Posts: 110Location: Paris, France Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 11:04 am I hate zombies, there are way too much used... But I made one recently ( hate myself) and began the 3D (juste AO, no real texture yet) _________________http://astroukoff.blogspot.fr/ Back to top LakkamemberMember #Joined: 27 Sep 2007Posts: 811Location: Espoo, Finland Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:42 pm Back to top NidememberMember #Joined: 20 Jul 2009Posts: 477Location: Banks of the Styx Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 2:30 pm [/URL] Back to top medmemberMember #Joined: 22 Dec 2006Posts: 230Location: LA Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 8:28 pm Back to top Sup_BenmemberMember #Joined: 11 Jun 2002Posts: 416 Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 12:43 am Old posts to the theme: _________________digitalben.com Back to top badbrushjunior memberMember #Joined: 25 Apr 2010Posts: 4 Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 3:39 pm Title: Crash Media: Photshop & custom brushes Description: I've been working on this the past three days after work. _________________Gallery: http://bad-brush.deviantart.com/ Back to top LakkamemberMember #Joined: 27 Sep 2007Posts: 811Location: Espoo, Finland Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 5:55 am its about to be june, wsup Back to top SumalethAdministratorMember #Joined: 30 Oct 1999Posts: 2898Location: Australia Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 7:40 am Lakka wrote: its about to be june, wsup Hmm, I'll see what we can do._________________Art Links Archive -- Artists and Tutorials Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Sijun Forums Forum Index -> Gallery/Finished Work All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Digital Art----------------Digital Art DiscussionWork in ProgressGallery/Finished Work Miscellaneous----------------Random MusingsArchive : Sep99 - Dec00 You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Powered by phpBB © 2005 phpBB Group


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March 08, 2017
Real Estate Seller Tip: Home Updates for the Best ROI
Posted in Selling and Video Tips by Tara Sharp
Are you thinking about selling your home? Making home updates is usually a part of the process. Windermere Real Estate agent, Julie Hall, shares her expert tips on what home updates will yield the best return on investment, and they may surprise you.
Read More >
February 28, 2017
Real Estate Buyer Tip: How to Find a Deal
Posted in Buying and Video Tips by Tara Sharp
If you are ready to buy a home in a seller's market, don't despair. Windermere Real Estate agent, Michael Doyle, shares how you can find a good deal on a great home, even in the hottest housing market.
Read More >
April 04, 2016
How to Find the Right Real Estate Agent for You!
Posted in Buying, Selling, and Video Tips by Tara Sharp
If you are buying or selling your home, you will want to find a real estate agent that you like and trust. Windermere agents, Marguerite Giguere and Anne Jones have some great tips on how to find a real estate agent, make sure they will fit your needs and set expectations.
Read More >
March 21, 2016
What Home Buyers Love & Hate
Posted in Selling and Video Tips by Tara Sharp
Buying a home is an emotional experience and seeing a home for the first time is not unlike going on a first date. First impressions matter! Windermere agent, Nancy Chapin, has some great tips for sellers who want to put their best home forward.
Read More >
September 14, 2015
Condo, Town Home or Single Family Home?
Posted in Video Tips
When it comes to your dream home, you have options! Condos, town homes and single family homes are all great opportunities to invest in a place to live to match your lifestyle. Consider what home style is right for you by asking yourself the following questions:
Read More >
September 08, 2015
Should You Buy or Should You Rent?
Posted in Video Tips
Do you dream of owning your own home? Or are you happy to rent a place where a landlord takes care of all your home issues? There are pros and cons of both renting and owning your home. Here are some issues to consider if you are on the fence:
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August 31, 2015
Questions to Ask Yourself when You're Thinking about Selling
Posted in Video Tips
When you make the decision to sell your home, the end goal is to get the best price and most favorable terms in a time-frame that meets your needs. But before the sign goes up in your front yard, there's a lot to be done to get you and your home in prime selling condition.
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August 24, 2015
How to Get Started on Your Home Search
Posted in Video Tips
Whatever your reasons for buying, finding the right home in the perfect neighborhood, and at a cost that is within your budget, is no small task. But if you do your research and approach the process with confidence, you are much more likely to emerge at the end of the day with a house you'll be proud to call home.
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August 17, 2015
You Found Your Dream Home, Now What?
Posted in Video Tips
You've found the home you can see yourself living in, now what? There are several steps to the buying process you will go through before you can officially call it your own.
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July 27, 2015
Are You Ready to Buy Your First Home?
Posted in Video Tips
Buying a home can be both exciting and a little bit scary all at the same time; however the goal for most buyers is to end up with a place you love at a price you can afford. With that in mind, here are some tips to help:
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As the number of retirees in America rapidly grows, so do retirement promoters offering retirement advice in supposedly friendly, low-cost and exotic destinations such as Mexico, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador, to name just a few.
Pitches to retirees for a better retirement choice — especially those on fixed incomes facing an uncertain economy and U.S. inflationary trends — often fail to mention that those exotic countries, though seemingly less expensive to live in, may be prone to much greater inflationary problems and worsening economies than the U.S.
Here are five things to keep in mind if you're considering spending your retirement years abroad:
Personal safety
Your own safety comes first. This should be your foremost concern along with the availability of easy access to competent medical service. Historically speaking, save for Costa Rica, all the countries mentioned above have experienced some turbulent, and often very violent pasts by way of civil wars, social unrest, unsteady governments and outright hostility against foreigners, particularly Americans.
Mexico has been going through a serious crisis in the last decades due to drug wars, instilling fear in locals and foreigners and for good reason. Many have been harmed by the criminal cartels.
Medical services
Many of the aforementioned countries claim to have special medical facilities and medical coverage geared toward Americans. Such facilities, however, may not be close to the place where you want to retire. Further, most of those facilities may charge cash. To get money back from your insurance may require hurdling through red tape, which could take months if not years. Red tape associated with the foreign claims, be it medical or otherwise, is much more time-consuming abroad.
Quality of service also comes to mind. Think of it this way: Why do so many patients from those countries come to the U.S. for more serious medical treatments? This can be a good enough reason to question their level of medical expertise.
Language barrier
You may not think of it much before retirement departure, but unless you decide to go to Belize, all of those above countries are Spanish speaking. Unless you have some knowledge of Spanish, you may be cutoff from the rest of the world, so to speak. Being reduced to be able to communicate only to a few that know some English, or your fellow American expatriates, narrows your circle of acquaintances and friends dramatically.
You may decide to learn a new language as you go, but to most retirees this may prove very difficult and in some cases impossible. Doing any administrative paperwork requiring translation also adds to your living cost. So besides being cutout in terms of communication with most of the crowd, you wind up with some unplanned expenses in translating important documents, such as negotiating the contract to buy a local property or to lease one.
Homesickness, nostalgia
You might not have given it much thought, but this may be one of the most compelling reasons not to retire abroad. Most of us who have been away from home for any extended time, know the feeling of loneliness and emptiness that eventually sets in. This is a natural phenomenon that most of us are prone to. Once you have lived in your country all your life, it is hard to transport yourself into another culture, another style of living and even another way of thinking.
Many a retiree left to retire abroad had returned back to the good old U.S.A. for that very reason alone. I learned this firsthand when I visited Costa Rica on many occasions in the late 80s and early 90s, by talking to American retirees there.
Unforeseen expenses
Think of the possibility of something happening to you requiring serious medical attention. Rather than relying on the local doctors that may not be at par, you may be forced to put yourself through the expense of going back to the U.S. for medical treatment. This alone could run into thousands of dollars. The other concern may be your medication. For example, the familiar medication which you are accustomed to receiving may be differently branded and not of the same quality as the one that you are receiving right now.
Factor in that if a loved ones becomes ill or passes away, you'd have to make an emergency trip back home, which again will require expenses that could run into thousands. Not knowing your way around and depending on local advice, you may be subject to bad advice, whether of personal or investment nature. Preparing documents for living arrangements, local investments, extending your local visas, will all make you incur additional costs. Come to think of it, except for the overall warmer climate, what do those foreign countries have to offer you after all?
Uncertainty and then some more uncertainty.
I suggest you read two very interesting articles that appeared in MarketWatch entitled "10 Best U.S. Cities To Retire In", and "10 Budget Cities Where You Can Retire In Comfort". It may make you rethink retiring abroad. And living accommodations abroad may not be as cheap as you think. A decent two-bedroom apartment in Costa Rica will set you back around $1,200 a month, plus the cost of electricity.
Given the above considerations, I strongly believe that America is the greatest and most beautiful country in the world, providing its citizens with the best of civil and financial securities. So unless you happen to be an adventurer, stay home and retire where you belong.
What you need to know before retiring abroad
9 tips for picking your retirement location
How false optimism sells annuities


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"A full 90 percent of all the data in the world has been generated over the last two years."
It's no secret that there's been something of a data explosion: big data is here to stay and it's only going to get bigger. So, we're not going to bombard you with stats on how much data is available, at your fingertips, to inform your sales strategy.
Because it's the next step that is critical. This is where sales organisations are refining how big data is used for maximum effect. Using external data and internal knowledge to inform sales represents a huge opportunity to boost your pipeline, whilst pleasing your sales team.
Enter predictive analytics.
In one guise or another, it's a practice that's been around for a while, but is becoming increasingly relevant for B2B sales organisations, as it no longer requires an expensive team of data scientists. Analytics software gives you the capability to mine tonnes of data and then – critically – apply context. Meaning that your sales team have insights that are even more "actionable"!
Predictive analytics enables you to sift data at the most individual layer, whilst applying the learnings of group behaviour to discover patterns and relationships, informing predictions which were not previously clear. This ability to compare profile fit with historic actions can then proactively alert sales to combinations of users (market, need, etc.) and selling points (products, services, etc.) that have been successful in the past. Sales can target prospects with more of a keen eye and spend their valuable time out in the field selling to the right people, speeding up the sales cycle.
The rate of change within the enterprise is accelerating – without current, on-going data management tools, you run the risk of getting left behind. Your customers' needs are evolving at an unprecedented rate – so the odds of your sales team calling on them at the right time, with the right solution, are slimmer than ever.
Use your valuable data with predictive analytics and you can look forward to better informed decision making. By knowing your customers better than they know themselves, you can cut out the slack, reduce the purchasing timeline and boost the bottom line.


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EDITORIAL: Obama is making history, despite opposition
Barack Obama stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and was worn in as the 44th President of the United States of America on Monday, Jan. 21.
Four years ago when he took the reins of government, the 47-year-old Democratic senator from Illinois made history because he was the first person of color ever to win that office in the country's 233-year history.
Throughout his first term, Obama, the son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya, had to contend with a certain level of racism.
In addition to the repulsive rhetoric of blatant bigots, prejudice permeated such "movements" as the so-called "birthers" who insisted Obama wasn't really born in the United States. Then there were fear-mongers who erroneously labeled any of Obama's policies as "socialism." The gang that vowed to "take back America" never really said who they wanted to take it back from, but the ugly "us" vs. "them" dynamic was apparent.
Of course, the race card furthered the cause for Obama's political opponents, whether they were bigots themselves or not. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told his fellow Republicans at a 2010 Heritage Foundation gathering that his main order of business was to block Obama's re-election.
McConnell failed and Obama won the 2012 presidential election, testimony that the American voters did approve of Obama's performance in his first term when he inherited the worst recession since the Great Depression and two wars from George W. Bush. Voters clearly were tired of the obstructionism of House Majority Leader John Boehner and his fellow Republicans when it came to advancing any legislation proposed by the president.
That obstruction was actually far more destructive for the American people than the racism that propelled some of the president's detractors. Because of House Republicans' refusal to compromise, recovery from the economic downturn that some of them were complicit in was slowed.
In spite of them, the economy improved, albeit incrementally, during Obama's first term, with nearly four million new jobs created. With the federal government's help, the collapse of the auto industry was averted, saving 1.4 million jobs. Landmark health care reform that ultimately will benefit all Americans if allowed to reach fulfillment was passed and survived a Supreme Court challenge mounted by political opponents including Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett. The first piece of legislation Obama signed when he took office in 2009, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, is helping to close the wage gender gap in the United States. At the end of 2010, Obama struck another blow against discrimination when he lifted the ban on openly gay and lesbian members of the armed forces.
American troops were finally brought home from Iraq at the end of 2011, more than eight years after Bush declared war there on the premise that the country harbored weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were ever found but 4,486 Americans were killed in the line of duty. Obama is now expediting the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan where 2,175 Americans have died since 2001. On May 2, 2011 Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden, architect of the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on American soil, was executed by an elite team of Navy SEALS in Pakistan.
Since Obama's re-election, there have been glimmers of bipartisan cooperation in Congress. For example, the president's call for an assault weapons ban and other common-sense gun control legislation in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre has elicited support from members of both major parties. Even McConnell has exhibited an inclination to work together by collaborating with his old Democratic colleague, Vice President Joe Biden, in saving the country from falling off the "fiscal cliff" at the beginning of the year.
Much more bipartisan cooperation must ensue to ensure the nation's economic stability. With this being Obama's second and final term, there is no longer a political motive for Republicans to undermine him. Conversely, Democrats have no hidden agenda to secure Obama's re-election.
Barack Obama was able to triumph over bigotry by being elected to the presidency twice. If he can triumph over partisan politics, then his place in presidential history most surely will be secured.
www.delcotimes.com, a Journal Register Property.


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"Parenting with Kingdom Purpose" Points Parents, Kids to God
- Staff Baptist Press
- 2005 7 Jul
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Rodney was a promising young baseball player. He progressed through the ranks of Little League to become an all-star, with the prospect of a college scholarship and perhaps even a shot at the pros.
To help him develop his God-given talent, Rodney's parents sent him to baseball camps and clinics where he could get the best possible coaching. When there was a scheduling conflict between church or youth group activities, baseball always won out even though Rodney began to show a real interest in spiritual things.
At a critical point in Rodney's life, his father decided it was more important for his son to accept an invitation from a big league manager to a ball game in California than to attend a week of youth camp. In the months that followed, Rodney's spiritual interest declined, as did his baseball skills. His senior year was a disaster. When he failed to get a college baseball scholarship, disappointment set in and Rodney's life began to spiral downhill into a cycle of depression and substance abuse.
"Pastor, what happened?" Rodney's father asked. "I raised my child in a Christian home and in a Bible-based church, but now he wants nothing to do with the church. Doesn't the Bible promise that if I raise my child in the way he should go, he won't depart from it?"
In a new book by Broadman & Holman Publishers titled "Parenting with Kingdom Purpose," authors Ken Hemphill and Richard Ross use the fictional account to reflect the need for a fresh approach to raising children – one that focuses on fulfilling God's plans for each child's life and on bringing families closer to each other and to the Lord.
The authors acknowledge that hundreds of parenting books are on the market. However, "Parenting with Kingdom Purpose" is unique in that it details how to parent one's children with the Kingdom of God in mind. No issue, the authors say, could be more important and central for today's families.
"We are losing our young people at an alarming rate," said Hemphill, national strategist for the Empowering Kingdom Growth initiative in the Southern Baptist Convention. "That's why it was vitally important to write a book that not only explains the importance of parenting children with a Kingdom purpose, but that also provides practical suggestions for how to develop and maintain a Kingdom focus throughout life."
Last fall, Hemphill introduced a new Empowering Kingdom Growth titled, "A 40 Day Experience: EKG, The Heartbeat of God." Hemphill noted that the EKG study complements "Parenting with Kingdom Purpose" in that it helps create the desire for mothers and fathers to be Kingdom parents.
Using biblical principles coupled with research findings from the groundbreaking National Study of Youth and Religion, Hemphill and Ross set forth ways Christian parents can shape their children for God's Kingdom.
One of the first questions "Parenting with Kingdom Purpose" encourages readers to ask themselves is, "What is my child's purpose on Planet Earth?" Hemphill and Ross explain that before parents can answer this question about their children, they must first answer this question for themselves. Before they can teach their children about God's desire for holy living, they must first be sure that their lives are lining up with the Father's character.
"Most children become young adults with a faith similar to their parents, which can be good or bad," said Ross, one of the founders of the True Love Waits abstinence until marriage campaign and professor of youth ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas. "When parents understand their own purpose in God's Kingdom, they can then correctly guide their children related to this purpose.
"Many parents – even Christian parents – will raise their children to gain worldly success," Ross said, "but in the process their children are forfeiting their souls. There must be a healthy balance so that children can see their God-given gifts in light of their important role in the Kingdom of God."
"Parenting with Kingdom Purpose"'s nine chapters span such topics as "Who Children and Teenagers Think God Is"; "Introducing Children and Teenagers to God"; "The Adults Children and Teenagers Need"; "Impacting Children and Teenagers at Home"; "Impacting Children and Teenagers at Church"; and "Releasing Children and Teenagers to the Kingdom."
Among the practical Christian parenting tips Hemphill and Ross offer throughout the book are the necessity of parenting with grace, offering warm and unfailing love after discipline, spending quality time with children, talking about the Bible and the vital importance of constantly praying for your children. Praying for the salvation of children, the authors note, is the "highest privilege and gravest responsibility of a parent."
"Parenting with Kingdom Purpose" also touches on the subject of instilling in children the mindset that they are a missionary of God in whatever activity or vocation they choose. Most importantly, Hemphill and Ross remind parents that, "It is never too early to begin parenting with Kingdom purpose. Nor is it ever too late."
For more information about "Parenting with Kingdom Purpose" by Ken Hemphill and Richard Ross, go to www.kingdomparent.com.
© 2005 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press. All rights reserved. Used with permission.


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NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo is introducing legislation that will ease restrictions on abortions after 23 weeks' gestation in New York. The law would, first of all, go beyond the usual "life and health of the mother" clause and specify that a pregnancy may be terminated late in the pregnancy if the fetus is not viable. (My understanding is that late termination of a non-viable fetus is generally considered legal under the "health of the mother" clause, already, so this really is just a clarification more than a change.) It would allow licensed health care practitioners, not just doctors, to perform some abortions. And it would remove abortion entirely from penal law and instead regulate it through the state's health laws.
I don't know who the Republicans might run against Cuomo next year, but if they come up with some homophobic gun-totin' Fetus Person, ol' Andy's got it in the bag. And if the New York legislature fights him on this, and the issue makes a big splash, it's going to be a big bag. And yes, I realize upstate is more conservative than the New York City area, but it's also less populated. And I suspect even the most conservative county in New York is liberal compared to, say, Mississippi. Social conservatism in particular doesn't go very far in this state.
The governor has said that his Reproductive Health Act would be one plank of a 10-part Women's Equality Act that also would include equal pay and anti-discrimination provisions. Conservative groups, still stinging from the willingness of Republican lawmakers to go along with Mr. Cuomo's push to legalize same-sex marriage in 2011, are mobilizing against the proposal. Seven thousand New Yorkers who oppose the measure have sent messages to Mr. Cuomo and legislators via the Web site of the New York State Catholic Conference.
This could be fun. Bring it on.
I was not much impressed with Cuomo early in his first term, as he started out as Mr. Austerity — balance the budget without raising taxes, etc. I'd like to see him make a stronger argument for public investment. But I won't have any problem voting for him next year.
Naturally, the Fetus People are screaming that Gov. Cuomo is introducing "abortion on demand," but in effect the only effective difference would be that it clarifies non-viability of a fetus as part of "life and health of the mother." (Clue to Fetus People: That means the fetus is already dead or has no hope of survival, so you can stop hollering about killing babies, thanks much.) Currently New York has a law on the books that leaves out "health," but that is not in effect because it's been overruled by federal courts.