Americana nods just start of good times for Cook (AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? Elizabeth Cook thinks there may be something fishy going on. She's been through the broken-dreams thing before and she has no reason to trust these TV people out in Los Angeles who've started chatting her up.

"I've got my Appalachian, oppressive, paranoid, mistrusting, suspicious thing that's in my genetic DNA, so I'm thinking I'm being somehow duped," Cook said.

The Nashville singer doesn't want to say too much, but she's in talks with producers to star in her own TV sitcom: "It sounds like big talk to me." But it's true and just the latest astonishing development in a career that was on a frustratingly slow simmer for half a decade before this sudden boil, which also includes three nominations at the Americana Music Association Awards on Thursday for her album "Welder."

She's tied with Robert Plant and Buddy Miller for most nominations at the event that celebrates roots music of all stripes, from Cook's hillbilly-flavored alt-country to Plant's homage to early rock `n' roll and folk, with his Miller-directed all-star Band of Joy. All three are nominated for artist of the year.

"Yeah, awesome," she says sarcastically of facing off with the juggernaut created by the Led Zeppelin frontman. "How cool for me."

It's that sense of humor that's turned her world upside down at 39. She caught David Letterman's attention with her SiriusXM Outlaw Country show "Elizabeth Cook's Apron Strings" and kept him in stitches with stories of her colorful family during an August appearance on "Late Show."

She went to visit a friend in Los Angeles the next day. That friend, a casting director, forwarded a link of her interview with Letterman to a few key contacts. Others, also intrigued, sought out Cook. The reality folks even began to circle before she told them to buzz off.

"Probably within 24 hours of me being out there I was sitting in every corner office," she said.

And she's been traveling to Los Angeles and New York City regularly since, alternating tour stops with creative meetings.

Cook has tried the acting thing before, even landed a few roles that offered tantalizing promise. But her acting career seemed to have gone in the direction of her music career. There too she'd been on the brink of something big when she put out an album on Warner Bros. Records in 2002, but her record didn't receive the kind of attention she'd hoped and she eventually asked out of her contract. She never really gained the kind of wide exposure a major label can offer again, though she continued to record and release independent albums.

Tim Carroll, Cook's husband of eight years, thinks things may be different this time, though. Her radio show has allowed people to get to know her, something Letterman also did by having her on for an interview rather than a performance.

"That's so much cooler than just watching someone sing a country song, I think, in a way," Carroll said. "One of my favorite things about Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, when they come and actually sit down with someone and get interviewed, I actually want to hear their opinions. It's pretty cool what these women will say and I think people are intrigued by that. And it's kind of the role that Elizabeth is getting."

That personality was already on display for anyone willing to listen. She's a smart, inventive songwriter who comes by her hillbilly cred authentically. Her mother was a singer from West Virginia and her father was a moonshiner fresh out of jail when he moved in next to Cook's mother in Wildwood, Fla., where both families had migrated for the railroad and citrus work. Turns out he'd played the standup bass in the prison band and soon her parents formed a honky-tonk band and started grooming a star.

"They focused their musical energy, because they couldn't really be in the bars at that time, on getting me to sing and putting together little bands for me," she said. "So it was just like our family hobby that we would go do that. I didn't particularly enjoy that."

She ran as far away from the life of a honky-tonking barnstormer as she could, becoming an auditor at Price Waterhouse in Nashville after college. After 18 months she realized her mistake, and ditched the safe life for songwriting.

Sitting on the back patio of her small but lovely Nashville home, she described how she figured out what it would take to stay alive, to continue touring up to 200 shows a year and to make the occasional record, and somehow made it work. The Americana nominations show she's found an audience that appreciates the artist she's become.

"I do what I do and it's not for everybody," she said. "It's very, very hillbilly, but not in my opinion the overly simplified, pandering, manipulative way that a lot of the mainstream country music is, where people sound really country but if you listen they're saying real dumb stuff and lines that have been said before over and over again."

Don Was, who produced "Welder" after meeting Cook at Bonnaroo a few years back, said he was drawn to that authenticity in Cook's music.

"I think she's a really unique voice," Was said. "I don't just mean the timbre of her voice. I'm talking about the point of view from which she writes. It's this combination of intelligence and wit and hipness and this Southern folksy kind of delivery that's just unique."

Together they crafted an album that's at turns fall-down funny and heavy with real, gut-wrenching emotion. "Welder" is up for album of the year and "El Camino," a tale of ill-advised lovin' with a man, his mullet and his tricked-out car-truck hybrid, is up for song of the year. Was thinks even more of songs like "Heroin Addict Sister" and "Mama's Funeral," songs that retain that sense of humor even while they're digging deeply into darker material.

"She's the real deal, man. She's a real artist," said Was, who's produced Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt. "She goes in as deeply as anybody I've ever encountered and I would love to see the public catch up to her."

___

Online:

http://www.elizabeth-cook.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111013/ap_en_mu/us_music_elizabeth_cook

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U.S. Neighborhoods Struggle with Health Threats from Traffic Pollution

Image: Chris Downer/Wikimedia Commons

LONG BEACH, Calif.???On a sunny afternoon, more than 1,000 children poured out of Hudson K-8 School, eager to play in their neighborhood. The flag football team was gearing up for practice, working out with their coach on the school?s grassy field.

Just beyond the playground fence, a line of diesel trucks was idling, stuck in traffic as they made their way from a massive port complex to a congested freeway. Trains rumble by, too. And there is a new proposal to?turn a?cargo warehousing area across the street into?a large railyard that would bring even more trucks from the port.

It was a typical day at Hudson school in all but one way. They had a visitor ? the top environmental health scientist in the country.

Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, visited Los Angeles and Long Beach on Thursday to witness firsthand how communities are struggling with health issues related to their environment. In this region alone, her institute spent $23 million over?the past few years, mostly awarded to scientists investigating the?connection between air pollution and an array of health effects.

Several times a year, Birnbaum visits communities ? many of them in low-income, minority areas -- where these federal research dollars are spent to?study?environmental pollutants and human health. In the Los Angeles area, recent research, mostly conducted by University of Southern California scientists,?has found connections?between people living near freeways and asthma, reduced lung function, cardiovascular disease, autism and other health effects.

The area stretching from Long Beach to East?Los Angeles is what environmental activists call the ?diesel death zone.? Emissions from trucks, ships, trains and other diesel-powered sources envelope the region.

"Los Angeles has its share of health problems and we suspect many of them are environmentally related,??Birnbaum said.

From around the country, not just in Southern California, ?evidence is showing that traffic pollution has a huge impact on public health,??she said. ?Living near major roads is hazardous to your health. Period.?

In many ways, Birnbaum was on a toxic tour. Unlike most tourists, who see only Disneyland, the beaches and other scenic attractions, Birnbaum was there to see the underbelly of a region that faces some of the worst air quality problems in the country.

Accompanied by scientists from University of Southern California?and UCLA who filled her in on their latest research, Birnbaum stopped first at an overlook where she could grasp the massive scope of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Combined, the side-by-side facilities are the sixth busiest container port in the world and the busiest in the United States.

?I?ve seen the port grow from being sort of an interesting place to an environmental nightmare,? said Dr. John G. Miller, an emergency room doctor and an environmental activist who has treated large numbers of harbor-area children suffering asthma attacks and adults suffering heart attacks.

A lifelong resident of Wilmington, located near the ports and several refineries, Jesse Marquez of the Coalition for a Safe Environment told Birnbaum that 40 years ago, the port complex was one-fifth its current size. He grew up smelling salt in the air, and now he more often smells diesel exhaust and refinery pollutants.

USC?s Andrea Hricko, a community outreach director who organized Birnbaum?s tour, said about 500 trucks an hour rumble?down the Terminal Island Freeway past?the Hudson school, and close to Cabrillo High School nearby. She said the carbon and ultra-fine particle levels are extremely high there due to the quadruple whammy of the ports, refineries, trains and freeways. Research has shown such particles can lodge in lungs, triggering asthma attacks, heart attacks and other respiratory and cardiovascular problems.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=509712042a555e5071ea3238ad9e961d

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McCartney marries American heiress in London

A hint of autumnal Beatlemania was in the air Sunday as Paul McCartney, for the second time in his improbable life, climbed the steps of venerable Old Marylebone Town Hall to take himself a bride.

True, thousands of heartbroken female fans crowded the columned building in 1969 when he married Linda Eastman, and only a few hundred showed up Sunday as he wed another American, Nancy Shevell, at the very same registry office.

But the feeling this time was not regret at the loss of a bachelor heartthrob. Instead there was joy that McCartney, regarded as a national treasure and revered the world over, seemed happy again.

Story: McCartney neighbors mad about wedding noise

The 69-year-old former Beatle appeared proud, content and eager to share his joy with the crowd, raising his bride's hand in triumph as he walked down the steps after they became man and wife in a simple civil ceremony attended by close family and friends, including drummer Ringo Starr and Barbara Walters, a second cousin of the bride.

"I feel absolutely wonderful," McCartney told fans as he arrived at his home after the ceremony. He was expected to sing a new song he had composed for his bride at the reception.

Gone was the memory of McCartney's terribly unhappy marriage to Heather Mills, which ended in 2008 in an ugly public divorce. Remembered was his marriage to Eastman, a serene union that lasted nearly three decades until her life was cut short by breast cancer, leaving McCartney alone and adrift despite his fame and wealth.

The ceremony Sunday afternoon was everything his wedding to Mills was not: simple, understated, almost matter of fact. By contrast, McCartney and Mills married in an over-the-top lavish spectacle at a remote Irish castle that was disrupted several times by news helicopters flying overhead, hoping for a glimpse of the A-list guests.

This time, the smiles seemed genuine.

The affection ? and rose petals and confetti ? showered on McCartney and his bride captured his particular place in British life.

Long gone are the days when the Beatles divided Britain between young and old, or between hippies and straights. The band is revered as part of a glorious musical and cultural era when Britain seemed a more confident place. There was no controversy whatsoever when McCartney received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 1997.

Today Sir Paul ? or Macca, as he's usually known ? is celebrated as a musical legend who is still composing and releasing CDs, even if they no longer routinely shoot to No. 1 on the charts. His forays into opera, ballet, painting and poetry have not been critical successes, but none of these have tarnished his reputation.

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Video: McCartney marries American heiress (on this page)

Shevell, 51, appeared radiant and composed in an elegant, ivory gown cut just above the knee. She wore a white flower in her long dark hair, and only light makeup and lipstick.

The dress was designed by McCartney's daughter, Stella, a star in the fashion world who also helped concoct the three-course vegetarian feast served to guests at the reception at McCartney's home in St. John's Wood, a property he bought in 1965, when the Beatles were topping the charts with metronomic regularity.

McCartney, who has long admitted to tinting his hair to keep out the gray, looked youthful in a well-cut blue suit and pale blue, skinny tie.

Story: Newlywed McCartney adds tour dates

The couple married on what would have been band mate John Lennon's 71st birthday. Some guests speculated that Lennon would have been among the guests had he lived, with the rift between them having healed.

The wedding party included Beatrice, McCartney's young daughter with Mills, who had been expected to serve as flower girl.

McCartney is credited for having survived a number of tragedies ? the 1980 murder of one-time songwriting partner Lennon, the loss of his beloved first wife Linda, the 2001 death of guitarist George Harrison and the public breakdown of his marriage to Mills ? with his upbeat nature intact.

Mills, a much younger model who had lost part of her leg when she was hit by a motorcycle, tried to battle McCartney in the court of public opinion during their divorce. She accused him of cruelty and sought a gargantuan $250 million settlement.

But her charges against McCartney didn't stick. Few if any fans turned against him, and the divorce court judge ruled against her, calling her demands exorbitant and unfair.

The very public spat opened McCartney's vast fortune to unprecedented public scrutiny. Long rumored to be pop's first billionaire, he was found to have assets worth about $800 million, including works by Picasso and Renoir and luxury real estate in the United States, Britain and elsewhere.

Slideshow: Revolution rock: Bands from across the pond (on this page)

His wealth reflects in part his incredible global popularity ? in recent years he has filled stadiums from Rio to Russia, producing tens of millions of dollar of revenue with each tour.

Shevell, who is independently wealthy and quite successful in her own right, is not seen by the British public as being interested in McCartney's fortune.

The couple met four years ago in the Hamptons, a seaside playground for the rich and famous on the eastern tip of Long Island in New York.

Some reports say that Walters played matchmaker, inviting McCartney to a dinner she knew her second cousin Shevell would attend.

Walters said she cried during the ceremony, which she called "beautiful and wonderful."

Shevell, who was married for more than 20 years to attorney Bruce Blakeman and serves on the board of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is also a vice president of a lucrative New Jersey-based trucking company owned by her father.

She has stayed out of the public eye since taking up with McCartney, refraining from commenting on her relationship with the man once known as "the cute one" in the world's most popular band.

She has a few things in common with Eastman: like McCartney's first wife, she is American and affluent.

Unlike Eastman, who performed with McCartney's post-Beatles band Wings, Shevell is not expected to join her husband onstage on his extended world tours.

She joins a pantheon of "Beatle wives" ? each band member married more than once, and many of the unions were troubled.

Lennon abruptly left his first wife for Yoko Ono, and Cynthia Lennon has complained in print about his abusive treatment of her and his neglect of their son, Julian.

His relationship with Ono was punctuated with occasional breakups, but is often portrayed as a happy marriage, and since his death she has curated his works and burnished his legend.

Starr's first marriage also ended in divorce, but he has had a long, stable union with his second wife, the actress Barbara Bach, who joined him at Sunday's ceremony.

The two even went through a recovery program together when Starr decided to confront his alcoholism.

Harrison's first marriage ? to the model Pattie Boyd ? ended in divorce when she left him for guitarist Eric Clapton. He had a long happy marriage to Olivia Harrison, who plays an important role in the recently released Martin Scorsese film about Harrison.

If the mood Sunday is any indication, the man responsible for classics like "Penny Lane" and the angst-ridden "Eleanor Rigby" may find pleasure and contentment in the years ahead. That's certainly what his fans are hoping.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44827026/ns/today-entertainment/

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Reasearch on the Theory and Method of Tourist Traffic Planning ...

home > Transportation > Reasearch on the Theory and Method of Tourist Traffic Planning

?Abstract? Tourist traffic is one of the six indispensable factors(food, shelter, means of traveling, sight-seeing, shopping and entertainment)for tourist activities, is the precondition for production and development of tourism, and is the lifeline for the development of tourist industry. Along with economic development and social advancement, people have had increasingly more leisure time as well as swiftly and violently increased demands on traveling and leisure, so the traffic demand mode with priority given to commuting will be inevitably replaced brought by plentiful tourists to leisure traveling in future.The paper composes academic study and example study. The academic study: Firstly, the paper introduces the tourist traffic in the tourist industry and urban transport in the status and role. And to learn from foreign experts and scholars on urban tourism research experience in transport planning, to transportation planning theory as a guide to establish urban tourism transport planning research content. Second, the papers are doing a lot of tourists traffic travel to investigate and analyze, based on the obtained traffic flow characteristics of urban tourism, and from visitors composition, spatial and temporal distribution, travel mode of a detailed analysis of several aspects of the travel characteristics of visitors. Again, according to city tourism demand factors affecting the establishment of city tourism traffic demand forecasting model, select the gray paper on urban travel forecasting model to forecast traffic demand, and on this basis a posteriori accuracy of poor testing. Finally, based on the theoretical basis and forecasting methods, papers from the policy and installation aspects of tourist traffic to the city master plan. The policy level, through policy support, and tourist traffic, adjust the structure of the some aspects of the study; the installation level, respectively, from the tourist city in distribution center planning, tourism, planning bus routes, scenic scenic barrier-free parking facilities planning and facilities planning in four areas studied. And then gives the city?s tourist traffic planning evaluation system, through the evaluation criteria to evaluate the outcome of their planning. Some examples: This part of the Dalian Municipal Tourism transport planning, for example, the application of the above-mentioned theories. First, the analysis of tourist traffic in Dalian background context, the major scenic spots for tourists in Dalian Dalian has done a survey, to be a series of Dalian City, personal characteristics and trip characteristics of visitors; went on to the existing data and research in Dalian tourism information, travel demand in Dalian City, made a forecast on this basis is given in Dalian City, tourist traffic facilities planning and development strategies, the last light of the above evaluation criteria of the Dalian City Tourism Transportation Planning assessed.

Title: Reasearch on the Theory and Method of Tourist Traffic Planning
Category: Transportation economics
Filename: Reasearch on the Theory and Method of Tourist Traffic Planning.doc
Pages: 138
Price: US$38.00
Buy This Paper: Download:

Source: http://www.economics-papers.com/?p=31625

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Computer Hardware ? The Five Most Popular Computer Upgrades ...

Everyone with a computer is looking to have the fastest, and most efficient computer filled with the latest computer hardware technology. But to keep up with the continual changes as technology becomes more and more advanced requires complete upgrades on your computer. But, what are the best computer upgrades available?

A memory upgrade is one of the most popular computer hardware upgrades and one of the easiest to do to boost the performance of your pc. But before you do a memory upgrade first check the BIOS operating system to determine how much memory is already on your system.

Also to upgrade your memory it will be necessary for you to open the case of your computer to find out how many modules are currently installed and how many slots are still empty. if all the slots are already filled you may have to remove the modules and replace them with larger ones.

Now, after finding out the current memory situation, review your operating system and application programs to determine how much memory is needed to make your computer perform at its peek level. In general, these programs provide a minimum and a recommended rating. so to reach the fullest potential of your computer, the memory should meet or exceed the recommended level.

Ok, so you now have some basic information to do your memory upgrade, but hold on a second, before running out and buying more memory, check your computer manual or go directly to the motherboard to find out what type of memory is supported by the current computer operating system. if you don?t check this out you will most likely get the wrong memory chips and the memory upgrade will not work.

Also keep in mind when buying a memory upgrade module, that it is best to buy the largest amount of memory with the least number of modules. This way, there is room for growth in the future. For example, instead of buying two 512MB modules, purchase one 1gb module.

A video card upgrade makes it possible to play all of the great games that are currently available on the market. In fact, some games are so advanced that they won?t play at all without a very powerful video card.

But it can be tough choosing the right video card since there are literally dozens available. it is very important to first take a look at the motherboard to determine what type of video cards are supported by the system, you can also check your computer manual on the types of video cards your system will support. The best video cards are the ones that transfer data the fastest. In order from the fastest to slowest cards are PCI express, AGP 8x, AGP 4x, AGP 2x, AGP and PCI.

The sound card improves the sound produced by the computer. This makes computer gaming more enjoyable, as well as listening to music and watching digital media.

In order to install a sound card, you need to locate an available ISA slot on the back of your computer. These slots are the longest sockets on the motherboard and there might be other cards already installed in those sockets. there are two internal openings on each of the slots at the back of the computer. so, remove the access plate at the rear of the socket to insert the sound card. Make sure the access plate on the sound card covers the hole created by removing the initial access plate. But, be sure to gently insert the sound card with a slow back and forth movement, otherwise the sound card can be damaged.

DVD Player/Burner Upgrade

With so many digital videos becoming available, many people are looking to upgrade to a DVD player and burner combo. The most powerful DVD player/burner currently available is the DVD+R/RW. These do tend to, however, be incompatible with older DVD-ROM drives and DVD players. But the current big names in the industry, such as Sony, HP, and Phillips, support these players. DVD+R/RW drives are faster than previous models and are capable of formatting while burning data to the disc.

Now for those of you who are truly serious about upgrading your computer hardware, motherboard upgrades are another popular option. But of course, a motherboard upgrade is the most difficult upgrade to do and I certainly wouldn?t recommend it if you don?t have a strong background in computers and electronics. For those of you who can manage, however, you will certainly enjoy the freedom of never having to buy a new computer. instead, the motherboard can be upgraded as technology advances.

In addition to eliminating the need to buy a new computer, a motherboard upgrade also makes it easier to upgrade other components on your computer. This is because purchasing a motherboard ensures receiving the most up to date technology, which is then compatible with other upgrade components.

Upgrading the motherboard, however, requires serious advanced planning and reading of your computer manual. if you don?t do this correctly, your computer will be nothing more than a huge paperweight. if finished correctly, however, the computer will remain on the cutting edge of current technology.

Computer Hardware ? The Five Most Popular Computer Upgrades

Source: http://www.vt-tech.info/?p=10151

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NPR prepares for a new reality (Politico)

The last time NPR hired a CEO, it poached her from The New York Times. This time, it looked to the makers of ?Sesame Street.?

By selecting someone with virtually no newsroom experience but a long history of both defending the federal funding of public media and raising money, NPR signaled that the battle ahead will not be about journalism, but about survival.

Continue Reading

The contrast between the r?sum?s of Vivian Schiller, who resigned in a political firestorm in March, and Gary Knell, chosen last week to take her place, speaks volumes about the fight over its financial future that NPR believes it has on its hands.

Our position ?has been that we have an important story to tell members of Congress and the American people about just how valuable our programming is,? said Dave Edwards, chairman of NPR?s board. ?That?s the primary mission for the board. That?s the primary mission for Gary Knell, to tell that story. But along the way, you have to plan for all sorts of eventualities.?

And one of those ?eventualities? is losing the funding that has been a favorite target of congressional Republicans ? especially after NPR?s hasty firing of commentator Juan Williams last fall touched off an avalanche of criticism from conservatives.

So far, the defunding measures have failed, largely because Democrats control the Senate ? a hold that seems increasingly tenuous. And so NPR has begun preparing for the worst.

?Months ago, when the discussion for eliminating federal funding for NPR came about, the board asked management to look into what it would mean,? Edwards said. ?For example, what would the impact be on NPR? As it turns out, relatively little. Most of the money that goes to public broadcasting goes to the stations.?

NPR has a complex funding and governance structure that renders the political calls to ?defund? it all but impossible to realize in a meaningful way

Only about two percent of NPR?s budget comes directly from congressionally appropriated funds that are distributed by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. But the hundreds of public radio stations that buy NPR programming get about 10 percent of their budgets from the CPB. Stations in poor and sparsely populated areas can rely on it much more. All together, the public radio system receives about $100 million in federal funds each year.

Earlier this month, the House subcommittee on appropriations took up legislation that would bar local stations from using their federal grants to pay NPR fees ? a tactic that has been used before, but, because money is fungible, is likely to hurt local stations far more than NPR.

But the legislation shows that NPR is not likely to cease being a political target anytime soon. And for that reason, NPR executives during Schiller?s tenure explored ways they could wean themselves from taxpayer dollars and the political distractions they bring, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Schiller suggested such a need herself in a tweet praising the choice of Knell: ?New @npr CEO Gary Knell is an experienced leader, a good man and a friend. Best shot to liberate pubradio from untenable reliance on fed $$?

Such discussions have been going on, in one way or another, for a long time.

?For years and years, people have always discussed whether there is a way that NPR could eventually be independent of government funds,? said Daniel Zwerdling, a longtime NPR reporter. ?Everybody would love to not go through the political battles year after year.?

On the other hand, he added, ?it?s not an easy issue because a lot of member stations depend fairly significantly on public funding, and it raises troubling questions ? what would happen if all federal funding were cut off? Do people in the United States think it?s important to have noncommercial news voices in most communities? I hope they do.?

So he emphasized that the public radio system may always need public funds, and that any change would have to happen gradually.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1011_65468_html/43203244/SIG=11m7rk1cr/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/65468.html

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Next up for reeling Netflix: Damage control

Reuters

Will CEO Reed Hastings be able to restore confidence in his company?

By Martha C. White

Netflix has sent its most recent venture ??a plan to split its streaming and DVD-by-mail offerings into two separate businesses ? to the cutting room floor.

CEO Reed Hastings said on the company's blog that the planned split was dead, but the bad reviews the move earned can't be erased so easily. Netflix first antagonized customers in July when it announced a 60 percent price increase to its hybrid DVD-and-streaming subscription. The planned split, which would entail renaming the DVD business Qwikster and require hybrid-plan users to keep two separate accounts, immediately got two thumbs down from customers when it was announced just a few weeks ago.

Netflix stock, which was in the $300 range in July, dropped by nearly $200.

In the annals of corporate blunders, it's not quite New Coke, but Netflix picked a bad time to stumble. Competition from rivals as diverse as Dish Networks and Amazon is growing, and every disenchanted customer is a potential defector.

The banking sector offers a particularly chilling cautionary tale for Netflix: It's a lot more of a headache to move a checking account than it is to cancel a movie subscription, yet consumers are willing to dismantle the foundation of their personal finances in response to unpopular fees.?

The company's about-face may be rewarded by investors ? Netflix stock advanced about 3 percent when the announcement was made, but it has since fallen ??but it also forces executives to prove themselves in a field they once dominated.

"It's no doubt reassuring that people can change their minds and get back on track," says Will Richmond, president and founder of market research firm Broadband Directions LLC. "At the same time ? it takes a little bit of the shine off the Netflix invincibility," he says.

What about customers? Most of them will come back, says David Miller, managing director with investment firm Caris & Company. "I'd be wiling to bet churn went to 7 to 8 percent. They've got a lot of work to do to get those people to come back," he says.

But wooing back its subscriber base will take time. "It could be three to six months, and in the meantime there's a lot more competition," Miller says. "You can't fix that in one quarter."

Despite the griping from customers about the price changes over the summer, that alone wouldn't have led to mass cancellations, says Robert Passikoff, founder and CEO of branding and research company Brand Keys. Prior to the price change, Netflix had a 99 percent satisfaction rating in Brand Keys surveys that measured the company met customer expectations. Following the price increase, that dipped slightly to 96 percent, but it dropped down to 87 percent after the company rolled out Qwikster and its split lineup.

"When they split the company, they did it in such a way that nobody understood precisely how it was going to work, and that confusion led to a degradation in terms of the brand," Passikoff says.

Netflix had loyal customers who were willing to swallow the price increase because they had a well-liked service that offered value even at a markup, but shaking up the foundation of that service torpedoed the value customers perceived.

By way of comparison, Passikoff points to Starbucks' much-maligned push for efficiency in the mid 2000s: The coffee chain phased out time-consuming elements of its operations like complicated espresso machines and fresh-ground beans. Customers hated it, a fact acknowledged by company head Howard Schultz in a leaked 2007 memo.

Despite this admission, investors continued to hammer the stock for another couple of years, and Starbucks learned the hard way ? as Netflix is likely to ? that restoring customer confidence in your brand during an economic slump is an uphill endeavor.

In spite of the economic and competitive challenges facing Netflix, Caris & Company's Miller is bullish about its long-term ability to attract and retain subscribers.

"At the end of the day, though, the selection is still the best on Netflix," he says. Most streaming subscribers are there for the TV shows, and thanks to its partnerships with networks like Fox, this is an area where Netflix excels. "There's no one that matches this kind of selection," he says.

?

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/10/8254384-netflix-tries-for-damage-control-in-a-new-coke-turnaround

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Menzer: Plenty of championship heat to go around - Fantasy Sports

With six weeks left in the long seasons of NASCAR's three national touring series, it's time to check in on some of the top storylines currently percolating.

Click to continue reading this fantasy sports article at Nascar.com.

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Source: http://www.fantasysportsdish.com/menzer-plenty-of-championship-heat-to-go-around/

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Yemen president says he will leave power

President Ali Abdullah Saleh made vague comments Saturday that he is willing to leave power in his first major speech since returning Yemen, but he gave no concrete plan for the future of the country. Yemen's opposition cast doubt that the embattled leader was serious.

It was not the first time Saleh has expressed a willingness to step down amid eight months of mass protests demanding his ouster. Still, he has repeatedly refused to resign immediately and rejected a U.S.-backed deal for him to hand over his authority.

Saleh was gravely wounded in an explosion at his presidential palace in June, after which he left to Saudi Arabia for treatment. During his absence, mediators and opposition groups sought to convince him to stay away and transfer power to his deputy? a way to launch the regional power transfer deal. Saleh declined and returned abruptly to Yemen late last month.

A violent crackdown against Saleh's opponents followed, with outright street battles in the capital Sanaa between troops loyal to Saleh's son Ahmed and dissident military units and pro-opposition tribesmen. In the meantime, the longtime leader has come under a considerable pressure from the international community to step down.

His new declaration Saturday aired on state TV gave little clue to his intentions.

Saleh spoke to a gathering of lawmakers, his hands encased in beige medical gloves for the treatment of burns from the June bombing. He didn't shake hands with any of his guests, who instead, shook the hands of his deputy standing by his side.

"I never wanted power. I will reject power in the coming days. I will give it up," he said. "But there are men will take power. There are men who are true to their pledges, whether military or civilians, who will take power. They can never destroy the country."

He did not elaborate on whom he was referring to or give any firm commitment to resign. Saleh said he would meet with parliament in the coming days to "transparently discuss" the situation in Yemen.

Saleh railed against the opposition forces, which he accused of being behind the chaos on the country. He also said they failed to cooperate with his deputy, who took over some of his duties while he was away. He said the opposition groups are holders of a "dark and destructive project."

He ridiculed the opposition claims that he plans to transfer power to a member of his family. "How many are the president's sons? How big is the president's family? How many brothers or grandchildren? How many of those are in power?" Saleh said. Saleh's son Ahmed and several of the president's nephews control powerful military units, and Ahmed has long been seen as the heir apparent for the presidency.

Saleh said he returned from Saudi Arabia with "an olive branch and a dove of peace" but said his opponents failed to seize or understand his it or understand it. He also said that a major country had asked him to not to return to Yemen, a request he said he declined.

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"I am not a 'transit' president," he said.

Opposition members were skeptical of Saleh's comments. Mohammed al-Sabri, an opposition spokesman, said Saleh's words were intended to generate headlines ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting Tuesday that is to discuss the failed efforts to convince Saleh to sign the power transfer deal.

"If the president was serious and is convinced that the public no longer wants him, he should do it today and not tomorrow," al-Sabri said.

Al-Sabri also claimed Saleh's speech was addressed to the West because it was aired at a time when there was no electricity in Yemen, and no one would be watching. Electricity in Sanaa has been sporadic ? sometimes off for as long as two days at a time ? since fighting flared last month.

"The Yemeni people are used to his lies. He has often promised things and never lived up to them," he said. "This is turning into a rerun for a soap opera."

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44827463/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Timber Homes, Diy Construction | Convenience Home Improvement

Timber homes are among the oldest types of homes in most parts of the world. Even during the ancient times, man had already seen the flexibility of wood to be created into shelters. Timber houses last for centuries if properly maintained. Its natural beauty makes it very easy to model without further architectural innovations. And the fact that wood has very low conductivity creates its natural ability to battle against heat.

Unlike building a concrete house that normally involves bulky and complicated labor, building a wooden house is easy and fast. While in concrete house construction, there is an inevitable lengthy curing period, a wooden house can be completed in as fast as few days. There are prefabricated wood parts that can be assembled on-site, leaving less mess at the area.
@Because of the easy method involved in the timber home construction, the entire job can be done without much labor force. There are even do-it-yourself methods to construct the home in just a matter of weeks, compared with concrete house that takes months or even years to complete. The only requirements are the blueprint of the house, carpentry tools, prefabricated lumber, crane operated by a professional, insulating panels and home fixtures.

Using all these materials, the timber home will stand in no time. The only thing needed is to learn the parts and assemble them tightly. Good thing about a wooden home is that the entire structure is precast and the output has already undergone a series of quality control measures. There is nothing much need for metals like in constructing a concrete house that requires many steel bars, except for metal plates used as joints in wooden DIY home construction.

Nonetheless, timber homes have several known downsides. While wood is a combustible material, DIY houses made of timber can easily turn to ashes during fire. This is the reason why extreme caution with the use of flammable materials must be applied when living in a timber home.

Furthermore, wood can easily be infested by insects and can weaken when wet. Painting the wood with pest-resistant chemicals naturally added to most commercial wood paints will prevent infestation. It is extremely necessary to paint all wooden parts of the house after the DIY home construction to protect the wood from wear because of water penetration. This will keep the life of the house for up to more than a century.

Source: http://www.ad2000d.com/timber-homes-diy-construction

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