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Wednesday
10 March 2010

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Suit Against Delta to Move Forward

Jan 30 at 4:04pm by Steve the Snoozer

heathrow460x276Source: Associated Press

Delta Air Lines Inc. has failed to block a lawsuit filed by a passenger rights advocate seeking a minimum of $11 million from the airline for allegedly conspiring to obtain hacked e-mails from her computer.

A federal judge in Houston has rejected Delta’s request to throw out the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Sim Lake said in an order dated Thursday that a reasonable person could conclude that it was more likely than not that it was Delta that hacked into Kate Hanni’s computer and stole her files.

Hanni, of FlyersRights.org, alleges that Delta wanted to derail her efforts to protect air travelers from lengthy tarmac delays and other inconveniences.

Delta, based in Atlanta, denies wrongdoing.

The judge said Delta had motive and means and despite the carrier’s explanation that it came upon the e-mails through legal means, there is genuine dispute about how Delta got them. Sim is allowing the case to move forward. No trial date has been set.

A Delta spokesman declined Friday to comment on Lake’s ruling.

Hanni and her group have been a thorn in the side of the airline industry, pushing Congress to enact a passenger bill of rights at a time when airlines have been suffering from big revenue declines due to the drop-off in demand for air travel during the recession.

In late December, the Department of Transportation imposed new rules on airlines, including one that limits tarmac delays to three hours. Hanni and her group supported the limit.

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My Take: Good to see that there is at least one judge out there who is immune to the big-money backing airlines and their legal lobbyists.  The group Flyers Rights has every legal prerogative to investigate and push for a set of fair and practical standards for airline passengers, especially with respect to fees, which these days seem to be creeping up faster than they can take our peanuts and our blankets away from us.

At the rate at which fees are climbing business travelers will find it increasingly difficult to take more than a laptop and a backpack on board a plane for fear of tipping the company’s budget.  The average Paramus divorce law attorney or even the best Monmouth County criminal defense lawyer won’t be able to afford to take on case outside the state of New Jersey.  Seattle software reps will have to rely upon video conferencing to close a deal.  The Bergen County divorce mediator you had hoped would be able to meet you and your soon-to-be ex-husband or wife won’t be able to fly into Boston to meet with you because fees are too high, the lines are too long, and frankly the drive just doesn’t justify the time and pay involved.

Other Resources:
Splitzville USA:
Don’t forget, if you’re online searching for a Denver alimony attorney you have options for different search vehicles.  One of the best ways is to narrow it down to something specific once you’ve hit a Denver Colorado divorce lawyer online directly, that way you’ll get closer to your area of need faster.

Getting into the law:
If you’re thinking about becoming an Austin divorce law attorney the Texas state bar has a great Web site loaded with all the information you need.  Lists of requirements and support for lawyers moving into the field of Texas criminal defense law, divorce law, family law, environmental law, and more are included on the site.

Garden State:
Find criminal lawyer Redbank NJ referral services online at lawyersdelivered.com.

Conversion Friendly Campaign

The number one goal of any business website is to convert a visitor into a customer or lead. By creating a conversion friendly website, a SEO service is able to figure out what visitors are doing and how to change content, structure and designs that will force visitors into the lead/sale-path. An SEO company will test variations of design, pages and placement to make sure each page is performing to its greatest potential. This also includes PPC landing pages. Pay per click landing pages must also be conversion friendly and well optimized. Your landing pages should be eye pleasing with rich content for all your ad groups and campaigns.

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Cruise Ships Focus On Single Passengers in 2010

Jan 29 at 4:04pm by Steve the Snoozer

cruise shipSource: The Associated Press

Single travelers will be pleased to learn that beginning this year charges for cruise ship rooms designed for solo travelers on the Norwegian Epic will not carry supplemental fees for solo passengers as in the past, but brace yourself for higher prices to cover better entertainment, water parks, and other new perks.

“I think it’s genius,” said Cynthia Boal Janssens, editor and chief blogger at AllThingsCruise.com. “I’m amazed with so many new ships coming on line that this hasn’t been done sooner. Lots of single people cruise and want to cruise, but right now, if you are going on a cruise as a single person and you occupy a double cabin, they charge you an additional fee for doing that, sometimes as much as 200 percent.”

The Epic, which launches this summer, will offer 128 studios for singles. The cabins open onto a lounge area where solo travelers can socialize.

Paul Motter, editor at CruiseMates.com, said he thinks the single studios “will take off. We have a whole message board on CruiseMates for people seeking cruise companions. It’s a huge potential market.”

Motter said another emerging trend in cruises is more brand-name entertainment. For years, mediocre musical revues with names like “Salute to Broadway” were standard fare on ships, to the point where they “kind of became a joke,” said Motter.

In contrast, the Epic will feature Blue Man Group and Second City improv shows. Royal Caribbean’s megaship, Oasis of the Seas, which launched last fall, offers a complete production of “Hairspray.”

“Hairspray” is “the first time a cruise ship has fully licensed a Broadway production. And it’s a really good production, on par with a national touring company,” Motter said.

Oasis was the “it” ship of 2009, attracting enormous publicity as the largest cruise ship ever built. It carries 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members, with facilities that include an ice rink, golf course, volleyball and basketball courts, a 1,300-seat indoor theater and seven “neighborhoods,” including a boardwalk and a mini-Central Park. There is so much to do onboard, that when the ship pulls into a port, “a lot of people don’t get off,” said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of CruiseCritic.com.

The cruise industry will launch a dozen new ships this year, but Brown said, “Nothing will compete with Oasis.”

Ships debuting in 2010 include a sister ship of Oasis called Allure of the Seas, a new Queen Elizabeth from Cunard, and Celebrity Eclipse, the third in a series of Celebrity ships that started with the Solstice in 2008 and the Equinox in 2009.

Despite all these new ships coming onto the market during a recession, CLIA lines have managed to keep them full. CLIA said ships in 2009 sailed at 104 percent capacity on average, meaning that every room was occupied, and some rooms were shared by more than two people.

At the same time, the number of passengers keeps increasing: 13.01 million people cruised on CLIA ships in 2008, 13.44 million in 2009 and a projected 14.3 million will sail in 2010.

“Maybe we are not recession-proof, but we are recession-resistant,” said Richard Sasso, CEO of MSC Cruises and marketing director of CLIA.

One way cruises have kept ships full is by dramatically increasing the number of international passengers, to make up for slow growth in the North American market. The number of passengers from outside North America has doubled to more than 3 million a year since 2003, while the number of U.S. and Canadian passengers has increased by just 30 percent to 10.29 million.

Discounts have brought customers in, too. Cruise prices go down when demand is weak — just like airfare — until every cabin is filled.

But the low prices of 2009 are starting to disappear. “Fares are going up, for sure,” said Brown, the CruiseCritic editor.

One sign of change: More passengers are booking farther in advance. In 2009, the average booking window for a cruise was 4.6 months before the departure date, and 39 percent of passengers were booking their trips less than four months out, Sasso said.

For 2010, the average booking window has already increased to five months out, and only 30 percent of clients are booking less than four months before their departure.

What does this mean for consumers?

“As the ship fills up, the prices go up,” said Motter, the CruiseMates.com editor. “They give you the best prices six months to a year out, and at the very end, if there are still empty cabins, they discount them. The best way to get the best deal on a cruise is to book early. Almost all the cruise lines offer price guarantees, so if you see a price lower than what you booked, they will honor that.”

Paying for extras
With the economy apparently headed back on track, albeit slowly, the real test for the cruise companies this year will be whether passengers are willing to pay for higher fees.  Let’s face it: for the price of cruise someone in Arizona for example could opt to pay for that long-wanted Phoenix hair transplant, or a down payment on a boat for that matter.  Arizona hair loss treatments aside, to get travelers on board this year, cruise lines will have to do some fancy footwork to justify higher prices, even if they offer special space for single sailors.

On the other hand, you can still find last-minute bargains in places where the market is “really soft,” said Brown. “Eastern Mediterranean, Greek Isles, Turkey. For the Mexican Riviera, I’m still seeing $299 departures on seven-day trips.”

Don’t forget to check social media when planning a cruise. More cruise companies and cruise Web sites are using Twitter and Facebook to highlight deals and trips. Cunard even has a YouTube channel where fans can watch construction progress on the new Queen Elizabeth, as well as videos of James Taylor performing on another Cunard ship, Queen Mary 2.

Another long-term trend in cruising is the increase in family friendly programs and attractions. In the last 10 years, the median age of cruisers has dropped from 57 to 47, according to Bob Sharak, executive director of the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry group with 25 cruise lines representing 97 percent of cruise capacity in North America.

“Multigenerational groups — the groups that bring adults, kids and grandkids — are bringing down the average age,” said Mimi Weisband, spokeswoman for Crystal Cruises.

One thing younger passengers will love are the water parks on many new ships. Carnival Dream, which launched last year, has an aqua park called WaterWorks with a 300-foot-long water slide, the longest water slide at sea.

A new Disney ship, the Dream, launching a year from now in January 2011, will have a 765-foot-long water coaster, the AquaDuck, that will wrap around the perimeter of the ship’s top deck, with one loop jutting 13 feet over the side of the ship, 150 feet above the ocean.

Other innovative features on the Disney Dream include virtual portholes for windowless staterooms that will offer live views of the sea and sky from video cameras mounted around the ship. The Dream will also have an adult lounge called Skyline with changing backdrops offering views of famous skylines around the world.

Cruises also keep offering more and more sophisticated programming. In late 2009, Celebrity ships launched a series of enrichment seminars and activities called Celebrity Life. In addition to fitness classes and spa treatments, the programs include cooking classes, wine-tastings, stargazing, scrapbooking and lectures on art and history.

Cruise itineraries keep changing too. Crystal Cruises’ new port calls include Kuwait City, Bandar Abbas in Iran, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Sevastopol in the Ukraine and Port Elizabeth in South Africa, with new excursions that include South African wineries and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Princess cruise ships will visit 17 new ports in the next two years, including Abu Dhabi, Tangiers in Morocco, and Xiamen, on the southeastern coast of China. A “Highlights of Germany” tour offered by Princess this year will include two nights in the town of Oberammergau to see a passion play that villagers only perform once a decade.

Janssens, the AllThingsCruising editor, says river tours of Europe are also increasingly popular. “They’re replacing the bus tour of Europe,” she said.

Brown of CruiseCritic agreed, adding that ships designed for river cruising are “much more stylish than they used to be,” with “much nicer cabins, tech toys like DVD players, French balconies, elaborate furnishings, and better food.”

Janssens said that the small and medium-sized ships from lines like Silversea, Star Clippers and Crystal are especially appealing for older, more traditional travelers.

“They may not have big-name shows, you don’t have all the razzle-dazzle, but there’s a lot of elegance with this type of cruising — lovely dinners and you meet so many well-traveled people,” Janssens said. “They tend to be more luxurious, and you go to interesting places that the big ships can’t reach, where there aren’t 10,000 people in port.”

While megaships like Oasis may get the headlines, Janssens theorized that “people who like small ships are becoming even more loyal to them as big ships get bigger.”

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My Take: Personally, I’d rather be a Los Angeles court reporter than the owner of a travel agency right now.  The industry is among the slowest to recovery from 911 and the ensuing economic meltdown linked to the housing market.  Every travel agent I know says they’ve had to take on “second” careers just to make ends meet.

California’s economic crisis is among the most severe and doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of a recovery in my book.  Obama’s announcement this week to offer tax credits to small businesses is not a new idea and every small business up and down the state from Redwood City CA criminal lawyers to the traveling LA court videographer would have to see hard financial data show why now is the time to start think about expanding or hiring more employees just to get a tax break.

On the other hand, perhaps a cruise is the anecdote for a sluggish economy.  Hedonistic business owners would say seek out pleasure first and the business will follow, and even if it doesn’t follow, you’ll have a good time while it lasted, right?

Other Resources:

Driving Vacations

If you travel by car in California, remember the drinking and driving rules are stiffer than anywhere across the Golden State.  Find a good Redwood City CA DUI attorney at attorneysdelivered.com, or click on other areas for help.

Out of the country

Heading to Canada? Travelers can find a Cornwall DUI lawyer pretty easily online, or a good Toronto criminal lawyer at Lawyerlocate.com.

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High Speed Rail Part of Obama’s Jobs Stimulus Plan

Jan 28 at 11:11pm by Steve the Snoozer

train_img11_610x375Source: CNN

In his State of the Union speech Jan. 26 President Obama mentioned an $8 billion investment in high-speed train systems as a key priority and has Vice President Joe Biden heading to Florida to announce the program.

Details released Thursday said the investment would be grants from the government’s $862 billion economic stimulus package to begin the planning and initial work on creating the first nationwide program of high-speed intercity passenger rail service.

Overall, projects and planning involving the rail corridors will take place in 31 states, according to a White House statement.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were scheduled to travel to Tampa, Florida, Thursday to formally announce the program. Other Cabinet members and administration officials also were visiting sites of the program in other states on Thursday and Friday.

According to the statement, the corridor between Tampa and Orlando, Florida, would have trains capable of traveling up to 168 mph with 16 round trips a day. The time to travel by train between

“This project will create jobs and generate economic activity as 84 miles of track are constructed, stations are built or enhanced, and equipment is purchased,” with work expected to be completed in 2014, the statement said.

“The projects announced today are part of President Obama’s strategic long-term plan to transform travel in America by building and sustaining a comprehensive passenger rail program,” the statement said. “In addition to the $8 billion awarded today, the plan also included $1 billion a year for five years in the federal budget as a down payment to jump-start the program.”

the cities would be about an hour, compared with about 90 minutes by car, it said.

Stable Infrastructure?
American’s may or may not approve of appropriating stimulus money for more train travel, especially when they aren’t quite sure how funds will be distributed.  For example, whop pays for platform bridge supports in one city if it overlaps with another?   Counties in which new rail tracks are built would have to take into consideration where risers are built and who’s tax dollars would pay for the maintenance of those risers if they straddle two counties or more.

More to the point, however, is the issue of jobs.  An extended infrastructure of high-speed rail lines across the major cities in the country could create a slue of jobs for displaced workers.

An out of work accreditation consultant for a hospital could find him or herself managing the state and county labor issues involved in the construction of rail lines using untrained workers, for example.

The statement described the program as “a long-term venture in which states will need to plan projects, purchase and lay track, build and assemble equipment, and construct or upgrade train stations, tunnels and bridges.”

“Spain spent two decades and $35 billion developing its high-speed rail system,” it said. “South Korea took 12 years and more than $10 billion to build a line stretching from Seoul to Busan, comparable to the distance between Boston and New York.”

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My Take: As an native Angelino (that’s Los Angeles for you non-natives), I have always supported the idea of a high-speed rail line from L.A. to San Francisco.  My dream liner is a train that would have a bar and an online casino room.  I love nothing more than to play poker online and in casinos, and a little card action on a trip to the city by the bay would be fantastic.

As a sales rep for a pretty large cosmetics manufacturing company here in Los Angeles, I know all about travel perks.  I train cosmetics development sales reps and I’d love to be able to get to my clients in San Francisco without having to fly.  The time it takes to get to the airport, park and get through security these days, what should only be about a two hour flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco turns into an entire day’s work.  That time spent in a year alone is enough to train as a Fort Worth truck accident lawyer or as a court interpreter for one of thousands of Los Angeles injury attorneys doing business in the city.

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Other Resources:

Accidents Happen:
If you travel to the great state of Texas and you are involved in a car accident, check with AAA for referrals to legitimate Texas car accident firm that can get you through the hurdles quickly and back on the road.

Jobs Corp:  
Money for job training for displaced workers in all states is available and it doesn’t matter if you’re interested in working for a hospice accreditation services company or  for LA criminal lawyers.  Obama’s travel by train program may be funded by stimulus money, but there is said to be plenty of stimulus cash left over for re-training workers.

Casualty and Personal Injury Defense

These Denver construction law lawyers have extensive experience handling jury trials in the area of personal injury defense and general casualty claims.  These attorneys have tried a large number of cases in the courts throughout the seven Denver metropolitan counties, as well as in mountain jurisdictions and the southern Front Range Communities of Colorado Springs and Pueblo.  Because of their involvement in construction litigation and, in particular, construction defect litigation, these Denver construction defect litigation attorneys have become increasingly involved in governmental affairs. These construction attorneys also provide advice and assistance to companies to establish basic lien compliance procedures, review and/or filing of necessary documentation and timely handling of litigation when necessary.

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Airlines Faced Worst Year Ever in 2009 As Passenger Demand Dipped

Jan 27 at 7:07pm by Steve the Snoozer

airport450

Source: MSNBC

Airlines took a huge financial loss in 2009, suffering the worst-ever in delcines in passenger demand, indicating a recovery is likely not going to happen this year, an industry group said Wednesday.

Passenger demand dropped 3.5 percent last year, with companies struggling to fill more than three quarters of available seats on average flights, the International Air Transport Association said. Freight demand fared even worse, falling 10.1 percent year-on-year and filling less than half available capacity, the group said.

“In terms of demand, 2009 goes into the history books as the worst year the industry has ever seen,” said IATA Chief Executive Giovanni Bisignani.

“We have permanently lost 2½ years of growth in passenger markets and 3½ years of growth in the freight business,” he said.  IATA restated its earlier estimate that the industry will lose $5.6 billion in 2010.

The fall in demand slowed toward the end of the year, partly as a result of airlines slashing flights to avoid overcapacity, but yields remained 5-10 percent below 2008 levels, IATA said.

“Revenue improvements will be at a much slower pace than the demand growth that we are starting to see,” said Bisignani.

Security Issues Behind the Slowdown

Revenues and passenger travel are intrinsically linked, and so it’s no surprise to any industry analyst that airport security is having a huge impact on the slowdown.  Passengers are losing patience with long security checks.  And, for businesses, the air cargo handling issues are of equal concern.   The ATSB and the Fed have shifted financial responsibility to cargo carriers and the shippers to foot the bill for ramping up their air cargo security systems.  For many, the costs are too high and consequently air cargo is also facing a downturn.

Think about it: If you are small company that ships roughly $10,000 worth of goods a month overseas, but the costs of having your cargo pre-screened before boarding costs $5,000, that’s a big chunk of change to put up.  Most small business lenders out there are also making it tough for these little guys to get their hands on cash for the upgrades and additional security support.  And, it doesn’t take a genius in small business finance to figure out that only the big companies, the UPS’s of the world and so on, can survive for long.

He said 2010 would be “another spartan year” for the industry, marked by careful capacity control and cost reduction.

Fresh calls to increase security following the Dec. 25 attempted airline bombing in the United States will put additional pressure on the industry, Bisignani said, adding that governments — not airlines — should pick up the bill.

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My take:

It’s no surprise to me that, with the extensive delays that are now part and parcel of air travel to and from just about any airport in the world now, that more and more people would rather have prefer to do business with a Brooklyn slip fall attorney than have to strip their pockets and then wait in long lines for the privilege of boarding a plane.

The TSA may have implemented changes aimed at streamlining the process for “check-in” and boarding at airports across the country, but in many cases, the process of boarding a plane still feels like it’s being handled by a two-bit Sacramento County unarmed security company.   This is especially true when you think about how easily it was for the recently arrested would-be bomber to get explosives on board a plane in one country and land in ours, all the while wearing a bomb in his Fruit of the Looms.

Any NY City car accidents attorney or divorce lawyer for that matter can easily tell you where the responsibility for that blunder began.  The amount of money the government has poured into revamping the security equipment at our nation’s airports is astounding, and yet, we, as air travelers, know that the system is not anywhere close to offering us the level of security we obviously need.

If you do get on a flight, you’ve better have been working for a while on the most up-to-date Pilates fitness equipment, because that’s what it takes these days to maneuver down the narrow aisles and in and out of the incredibly shrinking seats we now pay for.  Forget about movie and snacks.  Those are slowly being removed from the list of perks for domestic travel, if not taken away altogether.  Along with blankets and pillows, in-flight entertainment has become a thing of the past.  You’re better off bringing your laptop and watching a Pilates dvd on board to get the hang of things.

Other Resources:

Security at home

If you don’t want to travel by air and are concerned about security at home while away, check out the latest wood entry doors on the market.  They make outstanding exterior wood doors these days with double locks and tempered glass windows that provide great security for you and your family, and will give your home a fabulous look.

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In Japan, Men Turn to Flower Arranging to Prune Stress Levels

Jan 27 at 5:05pm by Steve the Snoozer

ikebanaSource: Reuters

Male workers in Japan are turning to the country’s traditionally female-dominated art form of flower arranging as a way to reduce stress.

Ikebana, or “the way of flowers,” dates back more than 500 years and first blossomed among male artisans and aristocrats.

Aimed at creating harmony between man and nature as well as heightening the appreciation of the rhythms of the universe, arrangements are conducted in silence using only organic elements put together in a minimalist style.

And it’s this creativity and spirituality that has attracted thousands of Japanese men to reclaim the art form that has more recently been associated with women.

“Nowadays there are a lot of people seeking something that makes them feel at ease,” said Gaho Isono, a master ikebana instructor at Sogetsu, founded in 1927 and one of the first schools to offer flower arranging courses to men.

“There are many hobbies people can do now and there’s no longer the preconception that men cannot arrange flowers. They are free to choose whatever they like and the number of men choosing flowers is actually increasing.”

Japanese society has traditionally put much emphasis on hard work and employees regularly put in long hours in the office, which increases the risk of depression, mental health organizations say.

The nation, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, even has a term for death by overwork — karoshi — making stress-relieving activities such as ikebana all the more popular.

Debt and Health Issues Top the List
Japanese workers are reported to be just as stressed over many of the things their American counterparts are coping with: debt and health-related concerns.  Japan is suffering from the same financial woes most Americans are, including the corporate world, where discussions of a commercial loan workout are common, and consumer credit card debt is also a concern.

Although Japan’s workers are said to put in an average of 12 hours a day, they are still facing man of the same financial struggles we are, and consequently, CEOs and CFOs at conglomerates across the country are grappling with issues of debt, layoffs, stock market performance and the commercial mortgage foreclosure landscape.

Flower compositions arranged according to the traditional principles of ikebana are said to represent the relationship between heaven, mankind and earth.

There are an estimated 3,000 ikebana schools across Japan with some 15 million enthusiasts, most of whom see flower arrangement as an antidote to their hectic lives.

“Each time when the class starts at first I feel tired from work,” said male student Koji Takahashi, 45.

“But once I begin concentrating on how to combine the flowers and the vase, and I actually move my hands to create the composition, it’s a change of pace.”

Some men have spent years mastering the art form and now teach new students the therapeutic effects of ikebana.

Minoru Kagata, 61, an instructor at Sogetsu school who took up ikebana almost 20 years ago, said the art “gives life to flowers.” It usually takes students more than two years to create beautiful arrangements with few natural elements, he added.

For many male students, stepping into the ikebana studio is rewarding enough, regardless of how skillful they are.

“Flower arrangement adds that unreal flavor to my life and lets my mind roam free,” said Koji Otusbo, who has been studying ikebana for more than 15 years.

“At the same time, such an artistic hobby is like a bridge that connects me to the real world.”

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My Take:

It’s been proven that, once of the best ways to relieve stress is to find an activity in your life that allows you to do one of two things: get your mind off your problems, or create something with your hands.  Seems to me that flower arranging would fall in line with that premise and, if you’re traveling to Japan you can also sign up for classes in ikebana.

Some people prefer to actually get out in the garden and plant and grow bulbs rather than arrange the fruits of their labor later on.  I say whatever makes a person relax and let go of their problems is a good idea, as long as it’s not going to harm anyone or put someone at risk.

I have a friend who turns light bulbs into art as a hobby.  She paints them with fantastic heat-resistant acrylic paints and sells them at the farmer’s market every weekend.  They look beautiful on their own hanging from a porch outlet or in a lamp.  She also designs seasonal bulbs to go with different holidays, such as spider webs and orange and black designs for Halloween.  Which reminds me: one of my favorite Halloween costumes last year was a guy dressed up like Uncle Fester from the Adams’ Family.  He had the makeup down perfectly and even walked around with a glowing light bulb in his mouth all night long.  It made all those girls dressed up in sexy adult costumes look kind of silly, in my opinion, and really felt more Halloween like to me.

I have another friend who relieves stress by creating unique cards for her friends.  She designs beautiful baby 1st birthday announcements, shower invitations, birthday cards, and all kinds of creative and unique invitations for special events.  Creativity and mind business.  That’s the key to stress reduction and I’m all for it.

Other Resources:

There are a lot of online sources these days where you can create fantastic, one-of-a kind birth announcements, invitations, thank you cards and more.  Many are free, but others charge a fee for paper and printing.   It all depends on your preference and your taste budget.

New Jersey’s  Monmouth County criminal attorneys offer support for anyone accused of a crime, which includes DUI’s, sex crimes, and white collar crimes.  If you travel to New Jersey and find yourself in need of a lawyer, the online resources for located a good criminal attorney are pretty thorough.

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Apple Has Fans and Critics the World Over

Jan 26 at 12:12am by Steve the Snoozer

ipad_touch_mock_up

Source: CNN News

For many, Apple can do no wrong when it comes to putting gout new products and Xavier Yaffar says he will buy whatever the company comes out with, sight unseen.

“I don’t even have to look at it,” the 48-year-old said.

Apple Inc., the Cupertino, California, company that’s the darling of the gadget world right now, is widely expected to release a touch-screen “slate” computer on Wednesday at an invite-only event in San Francisco, California, according to blogs and news reports. Rumors say the device will have about a 10-inch screen and will look kind of like an enormous iPhone, but Apple hasn’t commented on the subject.

While cautious consumers might want details about the new device — like whether it exists — before stashing away money and planning to buy one, Yaffar and some other Apple fanatics say they trust the fashionable and notoriously forward-thinking maker of the iPhone and iPod so much that they’ll buy whatever the company puts out, even if they’re not sure why they need it.

“I bought the iPod when it was announced. I didn’t know what it was going to do when I bought it,” he said, adding that Apple knows before he does what he needs in technology. He ended up loving that portable music player. Now he has more than one.

Rumors of the Apple slate — also called a tablet — started years ago and have advanced to full-drool mode in the tech blogosphere in recent months.

For people like Yaffar, the rumor mill has been a blast. He said he spends about 4 to 6 hours per day reading online news about Apple. He hangs on all the details.

But the buzz generated by the notoriously tight-lipped company’s events inspires an equal amount of gusto in people who dislike Apple — or who say the company is downright evil.

A Facebook group called “I hate Apple,” for example, has more than 4,300 members.

“I HATE THE PRETENTIOUS WAY ALL APPLE-FREAKS WORSHIP THEIR PRODUCTS, and that you in no way, what … so… ever.. can have a reasonal (sic) discussion about their products without them talking about how pretty their iPhone is,” one member of the Facebook group wrote on the page.

Others offer criticism about the company’s finances.

“I think that Apple the company is massively over-hyped,” said Per Lindberg, a tech analyst at MF Global. Apple deserves its status as a cool, hip company, Lindberg said, but that doesn’t mean it will be financially successful, especially because its products are too expensive. “I don’t think the tablet will make a big difference in Apple’s financial numbers,” he said.

Tech Happy?
If Apple is viewed as overly hype, what about so-called happy tech products that are supposed to make our lives more “convenient, like having the ability to do a movie download legally on our laptops?  Are you as likely to pay for an Apple “whatever” sight unseen as you would any type of fee for being able to download science fiction movies online whenever the mood strikes you?

Some say Apple’s cache as a brand has gone too far and there are many versions of graphicc tee designs out there making fun of the Apple logo to prove it.  And of course, depending on your opinion of the brand, whether you’re a Mac or a PC, a traveler or an arm-chair quarter back, these are considered either the hippest cool T shirts to get your hands on, or high-tech blasphemy.

Apple did not respond to a CNN request for comment on this story.

The history of hyper-allegiant Apple fanboydom started long before the current slate computer fray.

Dave Greenbaum, a computer repairman in Lawrence, Kansas, said he started falling in love with Apple because of a 1984 television ad that compared rival PC users to drones, reminiscent of characters from George Orwell’s novel “1984.”

Before Apple, “there was this corporate mindset of ‘We’re all going to have boring computers with the black background and the green lettering,’ ” he said. “And Apple said, ‘We’re going to do things different … and make computers accessible to everyone.’ ”

There is a social aspect to being an Apple fan that also appeals to Greenbaum, who writes for a site called TheAppleBlog in addition to his day job. He sees Apple as an underdog and a purveyor of counterculture.

The company had about 8 percent of the U.S. personal-computer market share in 2009, according to a report from IDC, a subsidiary of the International Data Group, or IDG.

Greenbaum met his husband at an Apple fan group in the mid-90s. When they started dating, the couple hung out in Mac computer labs together as a form of courtship.

“Most other couples would go to movies. We mark a key point of our relationship when we both decided to go to Macworld [a conference in California] together in 1995,” he said.

The couple now travels to Apple stores across the country, taking photos in front of each one as if the computer stores were national monuments. They always check out new Apple products, although sometimes they wait for a second model to come out before they buy. When the iPhone 3GS debuted, they waited in line at a nearby Apple store from 1 a.m. to 10 a.m. to buy the phone.

“It’s a part of your identity,” he said. “People are going to recognize you more by the computer you use and the phone you carry than by the car you drive.:

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My take: Personally, I’m a PC.  I find Apple’s products too flashy and too busy for my simple techie brain to take on. I know they are convenient and, if you travel, the IPod has to be a lifesaver.  But frankly, I don’t like taking any technology with me on the road unless it’s absolutely vital.  I don’t like being weighted down.  I don’t want to have to worry about overhead bin storage shortages, and I also don’t like the prospect of having to get caught up in one of the airports metal detection devices.

The new TSA rules make it tough enough to pass through a metal detector without having to be beeped to the search room.  These days, a laptop, whether it’s an Apple or a PC, can cost you precious minutes off your life if you have to wait for them to be opened and inspected by airport security.  I say leave them at home and use your phone for all your online needs.

Did you know that just like used laptops or PCs, you can buy used pre-owned copiers and save a bundle?  That’s right.  All kinds of name-brand used copiers are available for sale at steep discounts, which makes it possible to set aside extra funds for the latest Apple gadget, whatever that is.

Other Resources:

Data Delivery:

If you travel and don’t want to carry your laptop with you, you can download all your data via  cd copy.  Lots of companies out there will also handle it for you, putting your data and images in high-tech, Amaray blu ray cases for easy storage.

Fast Cash:

Travelers have more options these days when it comes to getting money.  Anyone can purchase their own credit card processing terminal these days, stick it inside an airport, charge extra fees, and then stand back and watch the money roll in as you take yours out.  It’s a common site now and they have us over a barrel when we are away from home and can’t get to our own branch.  Free Credit Card Terminals are sold to the owners with a caveat: they collect a percentage of the fees, too.  Everyone wins.  Sort of.

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California’s Housing Market Shows Signs of a Rebound

Jan 25 at 8:08pm by Steve the Snoozer

homesSource: Washington Post

California’s inventory of unsold, previously owned homes got smaller in December, shrinking to a five-year low and signaling that the state may be coming out of its worst housing slump in decades.

The supply of unsold single-family homes dropped to 3.8 months from 5.6 months a year ago and 16.6 months in January 2008, when inventories were at a peak, according to estimates released Friday by the California Association of Realtors. The inventory levels are now at their lowest level since 2005, resulting in frenzied sales with multiple offers in some cities.

In Northern California’s Santa Clara County, where inventory has dropped to 50 days from 243 a year ago, Amanda Garcia said she and her 62-year-old father Luis Garcia finally gave up a nine-month search for a home last month, after they kept losing out on homes priced in the highly competitive sub-$500,000 market.

“It’s more like an auction nowadays,” said Ms. Garcia, 26, a medical coordinator from Milpitas, Calif. “They shouldn’t call it a house sale.”

California’s housing market is closely watched because it is the nation’s biggest and helps fuel both the state’s economy and the national building industry. With California still weighed down by economic problems, including a 12.4% unemployment rate, higher than the 10% rate nationwide, economists are looking at bellwethers like housing to determine when California will rebound.

Good signage?
The Real Estate market has hammered California’s tourism, not intentionally of course, but with the downturn have come hard economic times for everyone, and that includes those outside the state: folks with a mortgage on the Mississippi delta, homeowners hoping to hold onto their Louisville residential mortgages; workers at Maryland residential cleaning companies; airline travel industry workers; restaurant and service industry employees.  Virtually no corner of the nation’s economy has been left unscathed by the real estate slump, and certainly California’s slow but seeming steady recovery has to be welcome news, even if you faired well as a Palisades real estate agent or cut your losses early and got out of the industry before it hit bottom.

Of course, any long-term revival in housing will depend on California’s ability to shake off its high unemployment and the continuing threat of more foreclosures. Some housing experts cautioned that inventories may be artificially low because many would-be sellers are waiting for the economy to improve before putting their homes on the market.

“I’m convinced that once the general public believes prices have bottomed out and are coming up, more people will put their homes on the market,” said Andrew LePage, an analyst at MDA DataQuick, a housing-data provider in La Jolla, Calif. “And that will probably coincide with the economy and job market improving.”

Although most home prices remain well below their pre-bust highs of three years ago, California’s overall housing market has shown signs of stabilizing since early last year. The median price of an existing, single-family home rose 8.4% from a year ago to $306,820, marking the second consecutive year-over-year increase and the 10th straight month-over-month jump, according to estimates by the state Realtors’ association.

Sales rose at a slower year-over-year rate of 1.7%, compared with double-digit gains in recent months. Sales have been powered, in part, by a federal tax credit of $8,000 for first-time buyers, which Congress extended until the end of April.

Some brokers attributed the sales slowdown to lean inventories. “Right now, we need more listings,” said Lianne Pinkston, a Coldwell Banker broker in Morgan Hill, Calif., south of San Jose. “I have an all-cash investor, and they’ve wanted to buy a duplex or four-plex, and they’ve been making all-cash offers for over the asking price, and they’re still not getting anything.”

The current inventory rate is running well under California’s historical average since the 1980s of about an eight-month supply of existing homes on the market. That’s partly because a once huge supply of foreclosures in the state has dwindled. In November, foreclosed properties accounted for 40% of all single-family sales, new and used, in California, compared with 58% in January, according to the most recent estimates by Zillow.com, a market tracker.

In general, California’s coastal markets performed better than inland markets. In Orange County, for example, Zillow estimates foreclosures dropped by more than one half to 20.6% of all single-family sales in November from 43.5% in January. In inland Merced County, foreclosures were also down, but to 69.9% of sales from 83.4% in January, according to Zillow.

The return to the kind of bidding wars that marked the state’s boom years in some coastal cities hasn’t been welcomed by home buyers. In Orange County, graphics designer Scott Butler put in one of 37 offers on a three-bedroom, two-bath home listed for $350,000 in early September. Mr. Butler bid full price for the home in Mission Viejo, Calif., and offered to put 20% down, but the winning bid went over $430,000, said his agent, Michael Caruso.

Mr. Butler, 39, who has since given up his search, said he was outbid on more than 20 other homes since early 2009. “It’s very discouraging,” he said.

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My Take: California’s have seen the best of times and the worst of times, as home prices skyrocketed to unbelievable levels at the tail end of the housing boom in 2003.  Quarter-million dollar homes started popping up on otherwise up-and-coming streets in neighborhoods that had real estate agents telling their clients in Kentucky to dump their Louisville Kentucky mortgage and head West while the market was hot.

But we know that didn’t last.  Now, reeling from the impact of inflated home pricing and facing resets on loans for mortgages that were offered to inexperienced buyers with a wink and a nod and little more for proof of income than a pay stub, the state is paying for its particular brand of decadence.  Foreclosures are rampant and there is no telling how many more will come in 2010, even with the uptick in home sales. Now that the go-go days of the market are behind the state, rules are stiffer than ever for lenders and rightfully so, and that includes Louisville residential mortgages, mortgages in Montana, and even home mortgages along the coast of Florida.  No state has been left untouched.

Fast-talking lenders and mortgage consultants got folks into houses and mortgages that they could not afford, and that left a glut of homes on the market with no buyers, which led to a glut of inventory, Maple Grove MN homes ror rent, for example, were common, while sales fell to all-time lows. Homeowners across the state either put their homes up for sale, rented them out, or walked away as their payments ballooned out of their control.

Other Resources:

Cleaning Up:
On the east coast, Maryland house cleaning services are widely available for renters and owners alike.  They also will help you prepare your home for sale.  If you own a few Orange County NY Homes, for example, and want to prepare them for the market, you might also look into a professional cleaning service and professional home-staging service for help.

Full Exposure:
Travel related news and real estate are two of the most popular online destinations.  If you are in either of the industries, you might consider ramping up your online visitor and click-through rates by working with a qualified SEO services company who can help increase your visibility.  They are easily found online under SEO services.

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First Text Ticket in Colorado Given to Aurora Teen

Jan 25 at 6:06pm by Steve the Snoozer

drivingSource: Denver Post

The first known ticket for texting while driving, according to Colorado officials, has been issued to a teen after she crashed her car on a main highway.

“The law was intended to send a strong message that distracted driving, particularly using a cellphone, is not acceptable in Colorado,” Rep. Randy Fischer, D-Fort Collins, said Thursday night.

An Aurora teenager, 19-year-old Jordyn Lucas, crashed her 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse into a median near Tower Road and Interstate 70 on Jan. 3, according to The Aurora Sentinel. When Aurora police contacted Lucas on Jan. 5 she admitted she crashed because she was texting while driving and she was ticketed.

Lucas told KDVR-Channel 31, Fox that she supported the law.

“They see you do it, they’re going to pull you over,” she said.

Take the Defensive

Teen texting is becoming an increasingly serious issue as more young drivers continue to ignore the laws.  In addition to the physical risks to themselves and other drives, they face stiff penalties and a texting point on their driving record will make any plan to reduce auto insurance rates a tough one to carry out.  More an more states, too, are toughening the rules for pre-driving training requirements, which makes the idea of taking an online defensive driving course a pretty sensible option.

The law, which took effect Dec. 1, 2009, prohibits texting or e-mailing on a mobile device while driving. Drivers younger than 18 are banned from all cell phone use.

Lucas will appear in court this March and may face a fine. The citation will not count against points on her driver’s license.

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My take: Teens and texting is becoming as serious (and deadly) as driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, whether you’re traveling in California or Cleveland.  And the consequences are made more tragic because often the drivers who break the texting laws are often doing innocent things, like talking to friends, or looking for concert tickets on line while heading to and from school, or some otherwise innocuous act.

Phones have become the top choice these days when it comes to buying kids personalized gifts.  Teens text at the dinner tables in restaurants, in line at the grocery store, and every other public place you can think of, effectively shutting themselves off from the visceral experience of actually having to look up, take part and communicate with the people around them.  When it comes to personalized custom gifts for teens, maybe we parents should start thinking about going back to basics and give our kids movie tickets and things that will force them to engage, and put the phone back in the “privilege” category, right there next to driving.

Look, there’s a better way to buy U2 tickets, and a safer way to get to that concert.  Teens need to understand that any distraction that forces you to take your eyes off the road while driving, whether it’s looking for tickets, talking to friends online, finding out the best way to get through motorcycle driving school in New York, or how to apply for financial aid online.  Keep your eyes on the road not your phone, and when it rings, let it go to voice mail.  That’s what the voice mail technology is for.

It doesn’t matter where you live in the country.  It could be North Carolina or New Mexico.  Why find yourself in the terrible position of having to hire, say one of the thousands of NC family law attorneys our New Mexico attorneys out there, to help you sort out the legal ramifications of texting while driving?

Other resources:
It’s not difficult to get help with driving education and, if you are traveling to another state and intend to hire a car, it’s a good idea to know the rules of the road there.  There are hundreds of qualified professional driving lessons in NYC, and every other major metropolis across the country who will help every driver, teens and otherwise, learn the rules of the road.

North Carolina personal injury lawyers can help if you are traveling in the state and are injured in an auto accident.  Be sure to ask for accreditation and licensing information before paying fees or retainers; personal injury law is fraught with fraud.

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Starwood Files Trade Theft Allegations Against Rival Hilton

Jan 22 at 7:07pm by Steve the Snoozer

Hilton_Hotel_Dublin_Airport_Exterior

Source: Reuters
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (HOT.N) recently filed legal documents accusing rival Hilton Hotels executive committee, including two former Starwood executives, of having involvement in theft of trade secrets last in 2009, according to court documents on file.

Starwood sued Hilton and two of its top executives for corporate espionage last April, accusing the pair of ex-Starwood workers of stealing trade secrets to speed Hilton’s entry into the “lifestyle” market.

Hilton said at the time that the lawsuit was without merit.

The amended complaint claims that Hilton’s Chief Executive Christopher Nassetta and its head of global development, Steven Goldman, also knew of the theft of Starwood’s confidential information.

New York employment issues in hotels

Other hotel cases in the past have involved some workers in New York hotels, according to documents filed by a local Brooklyn discrimination attorney, but there are no indications that the employees were Hilton or Starwood workers.  New York employment lawyers have their hands full of cases involving complaints filed by union workers who claim to have been denied fair pay, holiday coverage, overtime and health benefits.

Starwood has now asked the court to appoint one or more “monitors” to ensure Hilton’s compliance with all injunctions and the imposition of a “penalty box” or “time out” period for any further development of Hilton’s luxury and lifestyle brands.

Hilton could not be immediately reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Southern District of New York. The case number is: U.S. 09 CIV 3862.

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My take: If these two Starwood executives did know about or have some involvement in the theft of trade secrets from their former employer in an attempt to help Hilton get a leg up, they are in for a bumpy ride legally.

But in general, travel industry experts say the case won’t matter much for either hotelier when it comes to their business outlook: Hotel revenues across the board are said to be down by roughly 34% from where they were a year ago, thanks to the slumping economy.

Business for lawyers, however, is on the rise, as more couples file for divorce in New Jersey, for example, over financial strains, job losses and other issues that things couldn’t be rosier for the average New Jersey divorce lawyer.  I’d imagine too, that if you are a NJ visitation lawyer, have also got their hands full trying to work with couples in sorting out custody issues.

This trend in marriage breakups is not exclusive to any particular part of the country, and I suspect that if you are a divorce lawyer in Denver, or any other city on the West coast, you’ve also seen a lot of cases involving divorce.

And, the economy’s links to the meltdown of the real estate industry is also seeing a lot of action.  Loan modification scams and other issues are on the rise in cities all over California, such as San Diego.   I’d expect any San Diego real estate attorney to be busy with those types of cases.

Other resources:

Denver Business Travel

Need access to a good criminal lawyer in Denver Colorado? Check out the Denver Business Journal, a great source for the business traveler with updates on airline news, hotel and corporate stay locations, and more.

Portland Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy issues?  Check out Portland OR bankruptcy lawyer referrals at lawyersdelivered.com.   Full lists of disbarred Portland OR bankruptcy attorneys can also be found on the state’s Web site at http://www.oregon.gov/.

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Heating Up the Bed at the Holiday Inn

Jan 22 at 4:04pm by Steve the Snoozer

bedSource: Reuters

The International hotel chain Holiday Inn has announced it will soon begin offering a trial human bed-warming service at three hotels in England.

If requested, a willing staff-member at two of the chain’s London hotels and one in the northern English city of Manchester will dress in an all-in-one fleece sleeper suit before slipping between the sheets.

“The new Holiday Inn bed warmers service is a bit like having a giant hot water bottle in your bed,” Holiday Inn spokeswoman Jane Bednall said in an e-mailed statement.

The bed-warmer is equipped with a thermometer to measure the bed’s required temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit).

Can I Get a Story With That?
It’s not clear what the requirements are for the job of “bed warmer,” but obviously there can be no room for allergies to fleece or squeamish attitudes.  I’d suggest the next step for real in-room comfort is to have a real live film guide come in prior to your arrival and select a great flick for you from any one of the free movie download sites online and have it cued up and ready to go when you climb into that nice warm bed.  And, if you feel lonely, you can ask the bed warmer to watch the movie with you.

Also, how about a list of great scence fiction movies online to download for after your guide leaves, a hot batch of buttered popcorn next to your bed, and a personal ironer to come in and press your fancy lowrise jeans for the next days events?

Holiday Inn said the warmer would be fully dressed and leave the bed before the guest occupied it. They could not confirm if the warmer would shower first, but said hair would be covered.

Florence Eavis, Holiday Inn spokeswoman told Reuters that the “innovative” bed-warming method was a response to Britain’s recent cold weather and marked the launch of 3,200 new Holiday Inns worldwide.

She could not explain why the beds were not being warmed by hot water bottles or electric-blankets, but admitted the human method was quirky.

Holiday Inn are promoting the service with the help of sleep-expert Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Center, who said the idea could help people sleep.

“There’s plenty of scientific evidence to show that sleep starts at the beginning of the night when body temperature starts to drop,” he said. “A warm bed — approximately 20 to 24 Celsius — is a good way to start this process whereas a cold bed would inhibit sleep.”

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My take: I can’t think of anything more silly than a guy in a “bunny suit” warming my bed for me on the road.  Thanks, but not thanks!  This all sounds a little bit too much like something for a whacky party.  Which isn’t a bad idea: next time I have a party for a friend or a family member, instead of spending all my money on custom birthday invites I think I’ll have a guy dress up in a fleece warming suit and do a fun show.  He could dance around the house in the suit and then later, during cake and ice cream and boring conversations about someone’s new garage flooring or who’s got the lowest car insurance quote, he can pop out of the suit wearing a sexy pair of vintage jeans for men and give my friends something to think about the next time they send out birthday party invitations.

Other Resources:

New Garage Flooring

If you are serioius about looking for new garage mats but don’t’ want to spend a fortune, Home Depot has some great heavy duty tumbling mats used on playgrounds and other public places that do great double duty as a new floor for your workspace.

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