Sunday, June 3, 2012

Pad and Quill Cases for iPad and iPhone Review

I get that a lot of ?iOwners like the brightly colored cases for the iPads or iPhones or what have you. ?But the iGadgets aren’t just for one particular demographic anymore. ?For those who prefer more classic styling, Pad and Quill?offer tasteful cases, hand-tailored and fitted especially for iPad and iPhone. Pad and Quill is [...]

eric johnson eric johnson big east tournament ashley olsen new apple tv sun flare love hewitt

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Venus: Planetary portrait of inner beauty

ScienceDaily (June 1, 2012) ? A Venus transit across the face of the sun is a relatively rare event -- occurring in pairs with more than a century separating each pair. There have been all of 53 transits of Venus across the sun between 2000 B.C. and the last one in 2004. On Wednesday, June 6 (Tuesday, June 5 from the Western Hemisphere), Earth gets another shot at it -- and the last for a good long while. But beyond this uniquely celestial oddity, why has Venus been an object worthy of ogling for hundreds of centuries?

"Venus is a fascinating yet horrendously extreme place all at once," said Sue Smrekar, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Although the surface is hot enough to melt lead due to its runaway greenhouse atmosphere, in many respects it is Earth's twin [size, gravity and bulk composition]."

Venus is not only nearby, but its orbit brings it closest to Earth of all the planets. Which along with its bright atmosphere goes a long way toward making it the third brightest object in the sky (the sun and moon are one and two). Along with Smrekar and many other equally intrigued planetary scientists, you can add to the list of those studying the second planet from the sun the ancient Babylonians, who noted its wanderings in texts as far back as 1600 BC. And anyone who has ever sweated out a Pythagorean Theorem in school (A2+B2=C2) might find some solace in knowing that Greek mathematician Pythagoras sweated out the orbits of Venus, eventually becoming the first to determine that what had been believed to be unique and separate evening and morning stars (as believed by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks), was actually just one object -- Venus.

But for all that these ancient astronomers and their medieval contemporaries (including the Aztecs back in the 1500s) were able to deduce, no human had ever laid eyes on Venus as more than a bright dot in the sky until Galileo Galilei, who in 1610 was the first human to actually see Venus in various kinds of light. With his telescope, Galileo started cranking out Venetian discoveries, including how the planet changed its illumination phase just like the moon as it circles Earth. Galileo's telescope provided strong evidence that Venus goes around the sun, and not Earth, as most of his contemporaries believed.

After Galileo, Venus came under even more intense scrutiny, both scientific and fanciful. More than one astronomer (and science fiction author) theorized it was home to some type of life form. The thick, impenetrable clouds allowed them to imagine tropical environs with steady rainfall and lush vegetation.

With the dawn of robotic space probes, America's Mariner 2, built by JPL, became history's first interplanetary traveler when it flew past Venus on Dec. 14, 1962. All told, 45 missions targeting Earth's twin have been launched by the United States, Russia (and former Soviet Union), and Japan. All this probing by astronomers and robotic explorers has found Venus to be replete with 900-degree-Fahrenheit (500-degree-Celsius) temperatures in a carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere with pressures equivalent to being half a mile below the ocean surface. It is not a particularly hospitable environment.

"If our research tells us anything, it is that while Venus is devoid of life, it should be anything but avoided," said Smrekar. "Throughout history, Venus has been one of the most studied and speculated-about celestial bodies in our sky, and the same truth will hold well after this transit is over. Venus is a remarkable world with many lessons for us about the climate and interior of Earth and Earth-like planets in other solar systems."

For those who want to know more, check out NASA's web page for all things Venus transit: http://venustransit.nasa.gov/transitofvenus/ .

If you're in the western Pacific, eastern Asia and eastern Australia, you'll get a great view of the entire event. North and Central America, and northern South America get the beginning of the transit (on June 5), but the sun will set before the event ends. Conversely, Europeans, as well as those watching in western and central Asia, eastern Africa and western Australia will get a glimpse at the tail end.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

jimmy kimmel amzn white house correspondents dinner phoenix coyotes bruce irvin charlie st cloud celtics

European Director of Credit, UK, SE Eng? 1283? Asset Finance

Written by Frankie Smith ?? Friday, 01 June 2012 16:04

New leaf_smallExcellent Salary plus Bonus and Benefits

Our client is seeking a European Director of Credit who will support new vendor business development and transaction pipeline in order to shape portfolio credit quality through new origination management.

Job Reference: CCV/01062/1283
Job Title: European Director of Credit, UK, SE Eng? 1283? Asset Finance
Salary: Excellent Salary plus Bonus and Benefits
Location: UK, SE Eng
Bonuses: Excellent
Benefits: Excellent
Job Function: Credit Risk & Collections
Vacancy Type: Permanent
Asset Type / Sector: All Assets / Sector
Job Description :

Our client is seeking a European Director of Credit who will support new vendor business development and transaction pipeline in order to shape portfolio credit quality through new origination management.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:
Exercise experience and sound judgement to maintain credit quality while providing leading edge vendor response rates and provide creative financing solutions in support of vendor partnerships. Ensure adequacy of credit analysis, soundness of loan/lease structures, maintenance of credit turnaround times, accuracy of proposed risk ratings, and adherence to credit policies and procedures. Develop a working knowledge of country specific credit and legal issues in Europe Build industry knowledge across the credit risk team. Prudently exercise personal credit authority, and review/submit for approval credit requests in excess of personal credit authority. While this is primarily a management/leadership role, the incumbent is also expected to underwrite transactions during high workload periods.

PERSON SPECIFICATION:
Fluent English language skills (spoken and written). Additional European language skills (Italian preferred). Bachelor?s degree in Business, Finance or Economics, or equivalent work experience 10+ year?s commercial credit underwriting experience, including application of personal credit authority. Strong team player and leader. Excellent multi-tasking, flexible thinking and problem solving skills are essential. Self-motivated. Commercial leasing and loan and/or lease documentation experience.
We are keen to receive applications from candidates with proven relevant experience from the Leasing and Asset Finance industry only.

Consultant : Katherine Amin

?

?

bob beckel anna paquin warren buffett 2012 nfl schedule dishonored april 18 nfl schedule

Friday, June 1, 2012

An Analysis Of The Most Important Personal Finance Software

This article has been viewed 14 times.

Modern personal finance software can make it easier for you to keep track of your budget, expenses and investments. These programs perform a variety of functions, such as letting you view all of your financial accounts in one place, remind you to pay your bills, help you create the right budget and more. If you want to know how to go about selecting the right financial software, keep the following factors in mind.

Notwithstanding your exact financial ambitions, you noticeably wish for personal finance software which will make your life easier. Nevertheless, if you put it to use the right way, it can do more than just automate tasks that you?d otherwise need to estimate by yourself. It can also aid you in bettering your financial circumstances by letting you see precisely what?s happening. You can have on the spot access to all the pertinent numbers, for example your expenses, income, bills, bank accounts and investments. So if you purchase a personal finance program, make sure you make full use of it so that you can enjoy the true advantages it offers.

You may want to look into the Moneydance software program, even though it?s not as famous as others such as Quicken. From the main menu you can easily reach all of your important information, so it?s simple to figure out. You can easily add or delete accounts, and you have a neat summary of all your information in one place. With this software you can easily pay your bills online. One of the best things about Moneydance is the 100 transaction free trial period it gives you. This will give you a lot of time to decide if you want to buy it or not.

A good choice if you are looking for a robust budgeting and money marketing software is Quicken Starter Edition 2011. This new edition is made for people who wish to gain control over their personal finances and Quicken is one of the best known names in financial software. Not only can you organize your household budget with ease but you can also track you bank accounts and credit cards. Also, you can add in notifications for when bills are due to help you avoid late fees. At the end of the year simply link up your system with Turbo Tax and file your taxes. Quicken Starter Edition 2011 was created to be simple to use, and there?s a guided setup feature to get you started quickly. If you want a more advanced version, there?s also Quicken Deluxe 2011.

you will find that some of the software available will in the end suit your needs. To be sure you choose the right one, take some time to determine exactly what you need it to do. The above look at personal finance software programs can help you decide on a program. When you do buy a program, get it up and running as soon as possible so you can start to enjoy the benefits of tracking your finances more easily.

If you want added information on Men's Health Tips there is a lot of details not covered in this post, go to Author's website to discover more.

HTML Ready Article You Can Place On Your Site.
(do not remove any attribution to source or author)



This article was prepared for you by DuqueWelsh913, one of our 'Authors'.
Visit this authors profile page and learn more about them & the articles they write.

Some Other Articles You May Like...

corned beef and cabbage diners drive ins and dives jeff who lives at home 49ers news saint louis university leprechaun night at the museum

Venus takes center stage in upcoming rare sky show

FILE - This June 8, 2004 file photo shows the transit of Venus, which occurs when the planet Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun, is pictured in Hong Kong. Venus will cross the face of the sun on Tuesday June 5, 2012, a sight that will be visible from parts of Earth. This is the last transit for more than 100 years. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu,File)

FILE - This June 8, 2004 file photo shows the transit of Venus, which occurs when the planet Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun, is pictured in Hong Kong. Venus will cross the face of the sun on Tuesday June 5, 2012, a sight that will be visible from parts of Earth. This is the last transit for more than 100 years. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu,File)

(AP) ? It's a spectacle that won't repeat for another century ? the sight of Venus slowly inching across the face of the sun.

So unless scientists discover the fountain of youth, none of us alive today will likely ever witness this celestial phenomenon again, dubbed a "transit of Venus."

It's so unique that museums and schools around the globe are hosting Venus viewing festivities ? all for a chance to see our star sport a fleeting beauty mark. Even astronauts aboard the International Space Station plan to observe the event.

The drama unfolds Tuesday afternoon from the Western Hemisphere (Wednesday morning from the Eastern Hemisphere.)

Venus will appear as a small black dot gliding across the disk of the sun. As in a solar eclipse, do not stare directly at the sun; wear special protective glasses.

The entire transit, lasting 6 hours and 40 minutes, will be visible from the western Pacific, eastern Asia and eastern Australia.

Skywatchers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the northern part of South America will see the beginning of the show before the sun sets. Europe, western and central Asia, eastern Africa and western Australia will catch the tail end after sunrise. Those who don't want to leave their homes can follow live webcasts by NASA and various observatories.

"Anything silhouetted on the sun looks interesting. Seeing Venus is extremely rare," said astronomer Anthony Cook of the Griffith Observatory.

Perched on the south slope of Mount Hollywood in Los Angeles, the observatory is girding for heavy traffic Tuesday afternoon as throngs were expected to peer through telescopes with special filters set up on the lawn.

Skygazers who want the full experience are flocking to Hawaii, considered one of the prime viewing spots since the whole transit will be visible. From the world-famous Waikiki Beach on Oahu to the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island, eclipse glasses will be passed out so that people can safely see Venus crossing without damaging their eyes.

Just remember to have patience.

"There's no one big climactic moment. It takes longer to happen" than a solar or lunar eclipse, said Larry O'Hanlon, who does outreach at the W.M. Keck Observatory on the Big Island.

The second planet from the sun between Mercury and Earth, Venus is about the same size as Earth. It appears as one of the brightest objects in the night sky because its thick clouds reflect much of the sunlight back into space.

There will be no obvious change to the brightness of the sky during the event; Venus only blocks out a tiny fraction of the sun.

"You have to know it's happening," said David DeVorkin, a senior curator at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

Venus is the third celestial show to grace the sky in less than a month. Just a day earlier, a partial lunar eclipse will be visible from western North America, South America, Australia and eastern Asia. And there was the much-hyped "ring of fire" solar eclipse on May 20.

Unlike eclipses, Venus transits are truly rare. They come in pairs, separated by more than 100 years. The last one occurred in 2004 and next pair in 2117 and 2125.

Since the German astronomer Johannes Kepler first predicted it in the 17th century, only six have been observed. The upcoming one will be the seventh.

Only two people were said to have seen the transit of 1639. The 1882 transit was a bigger deal ? people jammed the sidewalks of New York City and paid 10 cents to peek through a telescope. John Philip Sousa even composed a score called "Transit of Venus March."

The one in 2004 was viewed by millions ? in person and online.

University of Alabama astronomer William Keel was determined not to miss the 2004 transit, the first one in 122 years. But he only caught 45 minutes of the action before clouds rolled in. This time, he plans to set up telescopes on the roof and hopes for clear skies.

The early Venus viewings were a big deal to scientists who used the alignment to measure the size of our solar system. The technique is still used today to search for alien worlds outside our solar system.

___

Online:

Transit details: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/transit12.html

___

Follow Alicia Chang at http://www.twitter.com/SciWriAlicia

Associated Press

christmas photo cards ar 15 costco kmart urban meyer ohio state traffic report traffic report

House to vote on sex-selection abortion ban

(AP) ? The House faced a vote Thursday on legislation to ban abortions based on the sex of the fetus, putting Congress squarely in the middle of partisan jockeying for the women's vote in the fall elections.

"It is violence against women," said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., of abortions of female fetuses, which happens most commonly in Asian countries, such as India and China, where there is cultural preference for boys. "This is the real war on women."

It was uncertain whether Republican supporters had the two-thirds majority needed to pass the bill under procedural rules. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., the author of the Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act, said the vote would have political ramifications whether it passed or failed. "When people vote on this, the world will know where they really stand."

"This type of sex selection, most Americans find pretty repulsive, and our members feel strongly about it. That's why it's being brought to the floor," House Speaker John Boehner said.

Opponents of the legislation, including the White House, Democratic lawmakers, abortion rights groups and some Asian-American organizations, say it could lead to racial profiling of Asian-Americans and subject doctors to criminal charges if they do not report sex-selection abortions to law enforcement. Even if it passes the House, it has little chance of seeing action in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

"The administration opposes gender discrimination in all forms, but the end result of this legislation would be to subject doctors to criminal prosecution if they fail to determine the motivations behind a very personal and private decision," White House spokeswoman Jamie Smith said in a statement. "The government should not intrude in medical decisions or private family matters in this way."

"Given the issue of sex selection in Asian countries, any woman who appears to be Asian-American risks intense questioning about the decision she has made to seek an abortion," the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and the Black Women's Health Imperative said in a statement.

The legislation would make it a federal offense, subject to up to five years in prison, to perform, solicit funds for or coerce a woman into having a sex-selection abortion. Bringing a woman into the country to obtain such an abortion would also be punishable by up to five years in prison. While doctors would not have an affirmative responsibility to ask a woman her motivations for an abortion, health workers could be imprisoned for up to a year for not reporting known or suspected violations of the ban on sex-based abortions.

An earlier version of the bill also made it illegal to abort a fetus based on race.

"We are the only advanced country left in the world that still doesn't restrict sex-selection abortion in any way," said Franks, who has also collided with abortion-rights groups recently over a bill he supports to ban abortions in the District of Columbia after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Franks and others say there is evidence of sex-selection abortions in the United States among certain ethnic groups from countries where there is a traditional preference for sons. The bill notes that while the United States has no law against such abortions, countries such as India and China, where the practice has contributed to lopsided boy-girl ratios, have enacted bans on the practice.

Lawmakers "who recently have embraced contrived political rhetoric asserting that they are resisting a 'war on women' must reflect on whether they now wish to be recorded as being defenders of the escalating war on baby girls," said National Right to Life Committee legislative director Douglas Johnson.

His group, in a letter to lawmakers, said there are credible estimates that 160 million women and girls are missing from the world due to sex selection.

But the Guttmacher Institute, an organization that favors abortion rights, said evidence of sex selection in the United States is limited and inconclusive. It said that while there is census data showing some evidence of son preference among Chinese-, Indian- and Korean-American families when older children are daughters, the overall U.S. sex ratio at birth in 2005 was 105 boys to 100 girls, "squarely within biologically normal parameters."

NARAL Pro-Choice America president Nancy Keenan said that while her group has long opposed "reproductive coercion," ''the Franks bill exploits the very real problem of sex discrimination and gender inequity while failing to offer any genuine solutions that would eliminate disparities in health care access and information."

Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women's Law Center, said the bill fosters discrimination by "subjecting women from certain racial and ethnic backgrounds to additional scrutiny about their decision to terminate a pregnancy."

"Doctors would be forced to police their patients, read their minds and conceal information from them," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.

.

Associated Press

new air jordans jeff dunham young guns concord safe and sound botticelli x factor winner

Stanton's HR helps Marlins sweep Nationals

By STEVEN WINE

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:35 p.m. ET May 30, 2012

MIAMI (AP) - Giancarlo Stanton closed out his best month yet with a home run, and the Miami Marlins concluded their best month ever with another comeback win.

Stanton hit his 12th home run in May to tie the franchise record for a single month and the Marlins completed a three-game sweep of the first-place Washington Nationals with a 5-3 win Wednesday night.

Stanton hit a solo homer in the seventh inning, his 13th this year, and had a two-out RBI single in the first. Still only 22, Stanton tied Dan Uggla's team record for the most homers in a month and totaled 30 RBIs in May.

With the Marlins off Thursday, Stanton said he's not sorry to see the month end.

"The season's not May," he said. "Keep going."

Since the start of the expansion era in 1961, the only other player under age 23 to total more homers and RBIs in a single month was Bob Horner in 1980, the Marlins said, citing information from the Elias Sports Bureau.

"Impressive," said teammate Josh Johnson, who pitched six innings for the win. "He can do that all year long. We're excited to have him on the team."

The Marlins rallied from a 3-1 deficit and lead the majors with 20 comeback victories. They went 21-8 in May, best in the majors, and a franchise record for victories in any month.

"Things are finally coming together as they should," Stanton said. "It's games and series like these that show how good we are."

Miami is seven games above .500 for the first time and trails Washington by one-half game in the NL East. The Marlins went 7-3 during their longest homestand of the year.

"We're in a great position," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I don't see any reason why we can't continue to play the way we're playing."

Johnson (3-3) gave up three runs before settling down and singled home the tying run with his first hit of the year. He then dirtied the front of his uniform with a headfirst slide into second base.

"My son is going to be pumped, because that's all he asks about - hitting and sliding," Johnson said. "He'll love it."

Johnson and Anibal Sanchez are a combined 16-0 against the Nationals. Sanchez beat them Tuesday.

Edward Mujica retired all six batters he faced, and Heath Bell followed with a scoreless ninth for his third save in the series and 10th this year in 14 chances. Bell struck out pinch hitter Rick Ankiel with runners at the corners to end the game and lowered his ERA to 7.20.

Miami's Jose Reyes had two singles and extended the NL's longest active hitting streak to 11 games. Hanley Ramirez had three hits and went 8 for 10 in the series to hike his average to .275.

Stanton's latest tape-measure homer came on a 2-2 slider off Ryan Perry. The estimated distance was 413 feet.

"You can't make a mistake on a hitter that's as big and strong as him," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "Perry threw him a little backup slider and, man, did he straighten it out."

Danny Espinosa had a triple and an RBI single and scored twice for the Nationals, and Roger Bernadina drove in two runs. Washington went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and 2 for 19 in the series in those situations while scoring only seven runs.

The Nationals finished 15-13 this month, their best May since the franchise moved to Washington in 2005. They concluded a 5-4 trip.

"It doesn't feel good to get swept," Espinosa said. "But if you look at the overall picture, we did play well on the road."

Washington's Chien-Ming Wang (1-1), making his first start of the season, allowed four runs in four-plus innings.

"I think my tempo tonight was a bit on and off," Wang said through a translator. "Sometimes I felt rushed, sometimes felt too slow. I'm kind of disappointed in myself."

Catcher Jhonatan Solano, who joined the Nationals on Tuesday, made several defensive contributions in his first major-league start. His sweep tag in the second inning nabbed Bryan Petersen trying to score from third on a flyout to right fielder Bernadina. Solano twice threw out Ramirez trying to steal second base.

Notes: RHP Henry Rodriguez was the latest player to get hurt for the injury-plagued Nationals. He slammed a finger on his right hand in a bathroom door and threw on the side Wednesday wearing a rubber protective piece. Davey Johnson said Rodriguez might be available to pitch Friday. ... Marlins 2B Omar Infante made a diving catch of Bryce Harper's liner to rob the rookie in the fifth. ... Ramirez hiked his career average against the Nationals to .380 (76 for 200). ... Uggla hit 12 homers in May 2008. ... Donovan Solano affectionately tapped the shin guard of the Nationals' catcher - his brother - stepping to the plate to pinch hit in the eighth. He then walked.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


advertisement

More newsGetty Images

roses flower delivery e cards smash kate upton sports illustrated outback chaka khan