Zimmerman out of money for defense, attorneys say

Joe Burbank / Pool via Orlando Sentinel/AP

George Zimmerman, left, sits with defense counsel at the Seminole County courthouse Tuesday in Sanford, Fla., on Dec. 11, 2012.

By Jeff Black, Staff Writer, NBC News

George Zimmerman is running out of money to pay for his legal defense, his lawyers say on a website set up to solicit donations.

Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, on Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, Fla. He has pleaded not guilty.

On Wednesday, Mark O?Mara?s firm, which runs the website?GZDefenseFund.com, tweeted that there was an update to the site. In the update, the lawyers say they are preparing for a hearing on Zimmerman?s self-defense claim, possibly in April, but need money in order to pay legal expenses.

---

?The State has virtually unlimited resources to prosecute George,? the site reads. ?To finance his defense, however, George relies on the generosity of individuals who believe he is innocent.?

?As we prepare for an (sic) Self-Defense Immunity Hearing or a trial, the cold fact is that we must raise more money,? the website reads. ?Our goal is to raise $30,000 per month. This represents the minimum we calculate we need to conduct the defense George deserves, and this figure does not include any attorney's fees.?

The lawyers say on the website that as of a month ago more than $300,000 has been raised to pay for Zimmerman?s defense, but also say that when O?Mara first took the case last year, many legal analysts predicted the defense would cost more than $1 million. ?The attorneys say neither O?Mara nor his co-counsel Mark West has been paid for their services.

This is how the, $314,099.07 raised by the defense fund has been spent, according to the site:

• Bail bond - $95,000
• Household/living expenses - $61,747.54
• Security - $56,100.00
• Law firm support and infrastructure - $40,647.64
• Case-related expenses - $35,588.07
• PayPal and fund management fees - $7,924.22
• Other expenses - $3,201.04

The site solicits donations via PayPal, credit card or check. The O?Mara Law Group in Orlando is the site?s registered owner. Zimmerman set up a website of his own to solicit money on April 8, 2012, but stopped taking donations when O?Mara launched gzdefensefund.com on April 23, 2012.

The Zimmerman case ignited an emotional debate over race and gun rights in the weeks after Martin's death. Local police initially did not charge Zimmerman, fueling protests, and Zimmerman was later charged by special state prosecutor Angela Corey following an investigation.

Zimmerman, who is of white and Hispanic descent, has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. He says he shot Martin in self-defense after Martin attacked him. He is free on bail.

?It?s not unusual in high-profile cases for there to be a defense fund,? Derek Byrd, president of the?Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers?told NBC News. ?In the the old days people would go knocking on neighbors? doors or ask friends. Today, with social media ? Twitter, Facebook, websites ? you can see where people would use them to reach a bigger audience.?

Byrd agreed with O?Mara that prosecutors can tap more resources for their case. He said defense attorneys have large expenses to hire experts, transcribe depositions and other related expenses.

E-mails sent to O'Mara's law firm were not returned, and repeated attempts to call his office phone met with a busy signal. E-mails and phone messages sent to prosecutor Corey were also unanswered.

?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/30/16775581-george-zimmerman-out-of-money-needs-donations-attorneys-say?lite

best buy black friday deals breaking dawn part 2 breaking dawn part 2 Jennifer Lacy Honey Baked Ham hostess israel

Port Orchard, WA 2007 Ford Taurus Used Sedan Bremerton, WA Gig Harbor, WA Bruce Titus Port Orchard Ford for $9,999

• Color: Beige
• Stock#: CL115237A
• Engine: 3.0L V6
• VIN: 1FAFP53U67A121160
• Transmission: Automatic 4 Speed
• Odometer: 86,400 mi.
• Body Style: FWD Sedan (4 Door)

?

• Convenience

• • Tachometer
  • Power mirrors
  • Trip computer
  • Rear defogger
  • Cruise control
  • Air conditioning
  • Clock - In-radio
  • Tilt steering wheel
  • Remote power door locks
  • Interior air filtration
  • Power windows with 1 one-touch
  • Speed-proportional power steering
  • Multi-function remote - Trunk/hatch/door

• Technical

• • 4 Doors
  • 153 horsepower
  • 3 liter V6 engine
  • Front-wheel drive
  • Automatic Transmission
  • Fuel economy EPA highway (mpg): 27 and EPA city (mpg): 20

• Safety

• Interior

• Exterior

• • Privacy/tinted glass
  • Intermittent window wipers
  • Speed sensitive window wipers

Payment $157.78

Vehicle Price $9,999 $0 $9,999 Down Payment (%) 10.0 % 0 % 100 % Interest Rate 8.0 % 0 % 12 % Months 72 12 72

?

Contact Us at (866) 996-6867

*The advertised price does not include sales tax, vehicle registration fees, finance charges, documentation charges, and any other fees required by law. We attempt to update this inventory on a regular basis. However, there can be lag time between the sale of a vehicle and the update of the inventory.

EPA mileage estimates are for newly manufactured vehicles only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.

Before purchasing this vehicle, it is your responsibility to address any and all differences between information on this website and the actual vehicle specifications and/or any warranties offered prior to the sale of this vehicle. Vehicle data on this website is compiled from publicly available sources believed by the publisher to be reliable. Vehicle data is subject to change without notice. The publisher assumes no responsibility for errors and/or omissions in this data the compilation of this data and makes no representations express or implied to any actual or prospective purchaser of the vehicle as to the condition of the vehicle, vehicle specifications, ownership, vehicle history, equipment/accessories, price or warranties. 2007 Ford Seattle, WA 2007 Ford Tacoma, WA 2007 Ford Olympia, WA

Source: http://www.brucetitus.com/2007-Ford-Taurus-Port-Orchard-WA/vd/13343406

westminster bonnaroo 2012 lineup twisted metal sea lion

Nuclear plan rejected by council

30 January 2013 Last updated at 09:19 ET

Further investigations into building a ?12bn underground nuclear waste store in Cumbria have been rejected.

Cumbria County Council vetoed a move to "Stage 4" of the search for a site for the radioactive waste facility.

The stage included detailed geological investigations and discussions over the social and economic implications.

There were huge cheers from environmental campaigners outside the council chamber in Carlisle when the decision was announced.

The council voted seven to three against continuing with the plans.

'Truly represented communities'

Its decision ruled out Allerdale Borough Council's own vote on the issue, whilst Copeland Borough Council had voted in favour.

At the meeting, Cumbria council leader Eddie Martin said it was the "most courageous and pivotal decision" the council could make.

Dr Ruth Balogh, nuclear issues campaigner for West Cumbria and North Lakes Friends of the Earth, said she was "absolutely delighted".

"Our representatives have truly represented the communities of west Cumbria and voted against this option," she said.

"The problems of nuclear waste and where to put it is a UK problem and should not be pushed onto the people of Cumbria."

Earlier, leaders of Copeland borough councillors voted six to one in favour of moving to the next stage, however Cumbria County Council had to agree too.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-21253673#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Lisa Robin Kelly Nexus 4 Girl Meets World Jason Babin Nolan Daniels angus t. jones monday night football

Twitch Gets Embedded In Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2, Providing Instant Broadcasting Of User Gameplay

E-sports streaming provider Twitch is getting a huge validation of its platform from one of the biggest video game franchises out there. Today the company is announcing that gamers playing Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 will soon be able to instantly stream their game sessions online with a single click.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/YNVrjCMS-n4/

Russell Means Taylor Swift Red Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 2 celiac disease san francisco giants Medal of Honor Warfighter Richard Mourdock

Priest, teacher convicted in Pa. church abuse case

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A jury on Wednesday convicted a priest and teacher in a pivotal church-abuse case that rocked the Philadelphia archdiocese and sent a church official to prison for child endangerment.

The verdict upholds the stunning account from a troubled 24-year-old policeman's son that he was sexually abused as a boy by two priests and his sixth-grade teacher. One priest took a plea deal before trial, while the jury convicted the Rev. Charles Engelhardt and former teacher Bernard Shero of all but one count.

The 2009 complaint describing the abuse led to the landmark conviction last year of Monsignor William Lynn, the longtime secretary for clergy in Philadelphia. Lynn is serving three to six years in prison for his role transferring an admitted pedophile priest to the accuser's northeast Philadelphia parish. A string of priest victims testified in Lynn's case, but none said they had been passed around like the policeman's son.

"I'm overjoyed that there was a conviction, mostly because of this victim. I really didn't expect it," said Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, an active Catholic who revived efforts to prosecute the archdiocese after taking office three years ago.

The accuser, now a gaunt young man, has battled heroin abuse since his teens and still has a drug case pending. And details of his story changed frequently over the years, even about whether Shero raped him in the classroom or in a parked car.

"The victim was demonized, cross-examined, ... dehumanized. I would understand how a jury could come to a different verdict," Williams said.

The accuser said the assaults began after Engelhardt caught him drinking altar wine in fifth grade. He said Engelhardt told fellow priest Edward Avery about their "session," prompting Avery to twice sexually assault the boy. And he testified that Shero raped him a year later, after driving him home after detention.

The jury convicted Shero, 49, of Levittown, of rape, indecent sexual assault and other charges. They convicted Engelhardt, 66, of Wyndmoor, of charges including indecent assault of a child under 13, corruption of a minor and conspiracy with Avery. The jury deadlocked on one count, an indecent sexual assault count against Engelhardt, after deliberating since late Friday.

Lawyer Burton Rose described Shero after the verdict as "very distraught, very distraught." He had told jurors that his introverted, visually impaired client was an easy target for a false accuser.

Defense lawyers had argued that the accuser was simply hoping for a payout from his pending civil suit against the archdiocese. His story defied belief, they said.

He initially told a church social worker he'd been raped for five hours by Engelhardt after Mass; beaten and tied with sashes by defrocked priest Edward Avery; and raped by Shero at school. None of those details emerged in his trial testimony.

"(He) is the walking, talking personification of reasonable doubt," argued defense lawyer Michael McGovern, representing Engelhardt, an Oblate of St. Francis.

The accuser's account got a boost when Avery entered a surprise guilty plea last year. But Avery startled the courtroom this month when he testified that he never touched the boy, but took the 2-1/2- to five-year deal to avoid a longer sentence at trial.

Williams called that turn of events something fit for a "Law and Order" episode.

"He pleaded because it was a good offer," Avery's lawyer, Michael Wallace, said Wednesday. "(Jurors) think that anybody who walks down the street with a collar is guilty."

Shero and Engelhardt were taken into immediate custody. They each face more than a decade in prison when they are sentenced in April. Their relatives were inconsolable.

The victim now lives in Florida and was not in court, although his parents were. He told jurors this month that he'd been clean for a year, after 23 stints in drug rehabilitation.

Thousands of people have accused priests around the country of abuse, but the complaints were routinely locked in secret church archives. Several states, including Pennsylvania, then extended the time limit for child sex-abuse victims to pursue criminal or civil action, although victim advocates want to see additional reforms.

Philadelphia prosecutors saw their chance to renew their exhaustive, but stalled, investigation into priest abuse with the policeman's son, whose claims were viable under the new statutes.

Williams decided to charge Monsignor Lynn because Avery had been transferred to the boy's parish even though he admitted to church officials that he had abused a teen in 1992. Lynn is appealing his conviction.

In September, Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn was convicted of a misdemeanor for failing to report a priest known to possess child pornography.

The victims' advocacy group Bishopaccountability.org recently began posting the secret church documents aired at the Lynn trial. And the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was forced to make many of their secret archives public.

"The Philadelphia archive will show why statutes of limitations must be reformed in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, and why Lynn and Finn will not be the last church officials to be held accountable," Bishopaccountability officials said.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/lasvegasnow/nationalnews/~3/JamdiEsQWPM/priest-teacher-convicted-in-pa-church-abuse-case

whitney houston funeral judi dench bobby brown leaves funeral donnie mcclurkin whitney houston funeral live stream kevin costner whitney houston whitney houston funeral live

Washington DC - UMass Amherst vs Temple Men's Basketball Game Watch

Event Details
Event: ??Washington?DC?-?UMass?Amherst?vs?Temple?Men's?Basketball?Game?Watch
Date: ??February 16, 2013 5:00 PM ET
Location: ?? ?Old?Dominion?Brewhouse 1219?9th?Street,?NW? Washington,?DC?20001 202-289-8158 ?
Description:
Come out to the Old Dominion Brewhouse to watch men's basketball as the UMass Minutemen take on the Temple Owls. The game watch is free and starts at 5:00 pm.? The game tips-off at 6:00p.m. ET. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. There will also be raffles ongoing throughout the night and the person wearing the most UMass gear will win a prize for their school spirit! Contact Angela Lussier at angela.lussier@admin.umass.edu or 413-577-0658 for more information. ?
Event Registration
#?of?Attendees	?
Is this your first Alumni Association event??*

Source: https://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/UMS/event/showEventForm.jsp?form_id=143884

Google Ryder Cup Standings Dexter Season 7 Ryder Cup 2012 Johnny Lewis yom kippur yom kippur

ELSA Dance Asia and Performing Arts: Malaysia Belly Dance ...

MY Belly Dance performers performed for Corporate Business Partners Appreciation Night on 02 December 2012 (Tuesday) at Jaya One, Petaling Jaya.

Belly Dance Performers: Eli and Shirley (MY Belly Dance Malaysia).

Choreography: Inspiration, by Eli.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at +6012 266 3859 or +6012 306 9723 or email to: elsadance1711@gmail.com for reservation of your corporate or private events, wedding, birthday party performances, dance workshops, dance conferences, and dance lessons. Thank you for your support.

We wish you happy watching and happy belly dancing.

Source: http://elsadance.blogspot.com/2013/01/malaysia-belly-dance-entertainment-for.html

haywire dog the bounty hunter tacoma narrows bridge weather nyc open marriage department of justice doj

The Always Up-To-Date Guide to Rooting the Most Popular Android Phones

We love Android, but rooting your phone can give you the opportunity to do so much more than your phone can do out of the box?whether its wireless tethering, speeding it up with overclocking, or customizing the look of your phone with themes. Here's how to root some of the most popular phones with minimal effort.

Rooting, for those of you that don't know, means giving yourself root permissions on your phone. It's similar running programs as administrators in Windows, or running a command with sudo in Linux. With a rooted phone, you can run more apps (like backup or tethering apps), as well as flash custom ROMs to your phone, which add all sorts of extra features. If you're on the fence about rooting, check out our top 10 root-only apps that make it worth the hassle.

There are a ton of different Android phones out there, and while some rooting methods might work for multiple phones, there is no one-size-fits-all guide for rooting every phone out there. As such, we can't show you how to root every phone in existence, especially since we can't test every method. So we're going to post methods for the ten most popular Android phones among our readers and the ones you voted as the five best, and keep it updated as new phones come out (in fact, we recently just updated it with five new phones for 2013). If your phone isn't on the list, be sure to check the Where to Go if Your Phone Isn't Listed section for suggestions on where you can find more info pertaining to your specific device.

If your phone is on the list but the rooting method is outdated, send me an email at whitson+rootingguide@lifehacker.com with a link to the updated method. I can't test most of the phones on this list, and keeping up with root methods is very difficult, so we're relying on you to help us out a bit. Telling me a method didn't work for you won't help me keep the guide up to date. The process may have not worked for any number of reasons, even if it's up to date, so only email me if you can verify that a new method is working (or that there is no new method). Please don't email me asking me how to root your unlisted phone. I don't know how to do it. I only own one phone, and I've just used the resources at the end of this guide to find the listed rooting methods. See the Where to Go if Your Phone Isn't Listed section for more information on unlisted phones.

Glossary of Rooting Terms

As you learn more about the rooting process, you'll probably run into a bunch of terms that can be confusing. Here are some of the most important ones and what they mean.

Rooting Terms

• Root: Rooting means you have root access to your device?that is, it can run the sudo command, and has enhanced privileges allowing it to run apps like Wireless Tether or SetCPU. You can root either by installing the Superuser application?which many of the below root processes include?or by flashing a custom ROM that has root access included.
• ROM: A ROM is a modified version of Android. It may contain extra features, a different look, speed enhancements, or even a version of Android that hasn't been released yet. We won't discuss ROMs in depth here, but if you want to use one once you're rooted, you can read more about doing that here.
• Flash: Flashing essentially means installing something on your device, whether it be a ROM, a kernel, or something else that comes in the form of a ZIP file. Sometimes the rooting process requires flashing ZIP file, sometimes it doesn't.
• Bootloader: Your bootloader is the lowest level of software on your phone, running all the code that's necessary to start up your operating system. Most bootloaders come locked, which keeps you from rooting your phone. Unlocking your bootloader doesn't root your phone directly, but it does allow you to root, then flash custom ROMs if you so desire.
• Recovery: Your recovery is the software on your phone that lets you make backups, flash ROMs, and perform other system-level tasks. The default recoveries can't do much, but you can flash a custom recovery?like ClockworkMod?after you've unlocked your bootloader that will give you much more control over your device. This is often an integral part of the rooting process.
• ADB: ADB stands for Android Debug Bridge, and it's a command line tool for your computer that can communicate with an Android device you've connected to it. It's part of the Android Software Developers Kit (SDK). Many of the root tools below use ADB, whether you're typing the commands yourself or not. Unless the instructions call for installing the SDK and running ADB commands, you won't need to mess with it?you'll just need to know that it's what most of the tools use to root your phone.
• S-OFF: HTC phones use a feature called Signature Verification in HBOOT, their bootloader. By default, your phone has S-ON, which means it blocks you from flashing radio images?the code that manages your data, Wi-Fi, and GPS connections. Switching your phone to S-OFF lets you flash new radios. Rooting doesn't require S-OFF, but many rooting tools will give you S-OFF in addition to root access, which is nice.
• RUU and SBF: ROM Upgrade Utilities (for HTC phones) and System Boot Files (for Motorola phones) are files direct from the manufacturer that change the software on your phone. RUU and SBF files are how the manufacturers deliver your over-the-air upgrades, and modders often post leaked RUU and SBF files for flashing when the updates haven't been released yet. They're also handy when downgrading your phone, if a rooting method isn't available for the newest software version yet. You can flash RUUs right from your HTC phone, but Motorola users will need a Windows program called RSD Lite to flash SBF files.

Rooting Methods

Here you'll find what we think are the best rooting methods for the 10 most popular phones among Lifehacker readers. We won't go through the nitty gritty details of each method, since we can't test them ourselves, but we will tell you what you need and what each method entails. Before rooting, we recommend you read up a bit more on your phone, and we've provided some links for further reading at the end of each description. Click on your phone's thumbnail below for more.

Where to Go If Your Phone Isn't Listed

Just because your phone isn't listed doesn't mean it isn't rootable (in fact, some of the above methods might work on other phones). Some rooting tools root multiple phones, and HTC's official unlocking method will unlock the bootloader of nearly any HTC phone?which gets you part of the way toward rooting (you'll need to look up more information on how to flash a recovery to your specific device). It's also worth mentioning that there can be multiple methods out there. HTC's official route isn't always the easiest method, so if your phone has a one-click tool available, it's usually better to use that because it's quicker, will give you S-OFF, and won't leave a digital "watermark" on your phone that permanently voids your warranty. Lastly, SuperOneClick is a great one-click app that roots a ton of phones, especially older ones, so do a bit of googling and see if it works for yours?because it's just about the easiest root method out there.

The best way to research your phone, though, would be to check out the All Things Root section of your phone's forum at Android Forums. If you find your phone's subforum and click on All Things Root, there's almost always a sticky post with info on rooting methods, ROMs, and other special troubleshooting tips that could apply to your specific phone. Looking up your phone on the XDA Developers forums is always a great idea too, and the CyanogenMod Wiki often has lots of information on rooting and flashing ROMs as well (even if you aren't flashing CyanogenMod). With a bit of research, you should be able to find at least one guide that works for your specific device.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/9PL6xQffbqE/the-always-up+to+date-guide-to-rooting-any-android-phone

scalloped potatoes the ten commandments charlton heston moses tulsa shooting doug fister rick warren

Ants' behavior leads to research method for optimizing product development time, costs

Jan. 29, 2013 ? Trying to find just the right balance of time spent in meetings and time performing tasks is a tough problem for managers, but a Wayne State University researcher believes the behavior of ants may provide a useful lesson on how to do it.

Using computer simulations derived from the characteristics of ants seeking food, Kai Yang, Ph.D., professor of industrial and systems engineering in the College of Engineering, has developed a mathematical model-based methodology to estimate the optimal amount of time spent to develop a product, as well as the cost, in overlapped product development. It is the latest in a series of projects he has worked on for Siemens North America.

"Non-discrete Ant Colony Optimisation (NdACO) to Optimise the Development Cycle Time and Cost in Overlapped Product Development," published recently in the International Journal of Production Research, utilizes the concept of concurrent engineering (CE), a systematic approach to product development based on parallel execution of tasks. The approach integrates several functions to reduce the development time and cost of a product while maintaining its quality. Co-authors include Satish Tyagi, Wayne State research assistant, and Anoop Verma, Ph.D., of the University of Iowa.

In CE, cross-functional teams communicate through several meetings, some before the beginning of project, categorized as precommunication, and some during execution of the project, called communication policy.

Because significant cost is incurred through those meetings, Yang said, it is necessary to investigate the cost-time trade-offs involved in the concurrent product development process to enhance work performance. Otherwise, applying the process can result in a larger number of iterations, or rework, adding to both time and cost.

"Currently, there is a lack of communication flow within organizations due to their large size, time differences, etc.," Yang said. "Therefore, the amount of precommunication and communication policy and the extent of overlapping stages should be meticulously determined to achieve the desired goals."

As product development moves forward, lack of communication from upstream decision-makers to downstream workers can leave the latter to operate without the latest available information to complete their task efficiently, he said.

Researchers studying ants' food-foraging behavior have noticed that changes in the pheromone trails left behind by the insects communicate the best ways for those that come after them to proceed. That led to the development of ant colony optimization (ACO) models, which Yang and his team are using.

Researchers believe their simulation model could reduce product definition time by as much as 50 percent, and lead to best practices that improve critical thinking and remove communication barriers. Such practices can be applied to large-sector manufacturing, health care and service companies, Yang said.

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 Wayne State University - Office of the Vice President for Research.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. S.K. Tyagi, Kai Yang, A. Verma. Non-discrete ant colony optimisation (NdACO) to optimise the development cycle time and cost in overlapped product development. International Journal of Production Research, 2013; 51 (2): 346 DOI: 10.1080/00207543.2011.633120

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.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/AkYtUmYv0G0/130129111751.htm

Foo Canoodle Isaac path Tropical Storm Isaac path Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Isaac Path Isaac Hurricane

Amazon posts lower 4Q net income but stock jumps

In this Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012 photo, amazon shipments are packaged in Koblenz, Germany. Amazon?s fourth-quarter net income fell 45 percent, as sharply higher revenue failed to keep pace with increased spending on order fulfillment and digital content, a trend that?s become the norm for the world?s largest online retailer. (AP Photo/dapd, Harald Tittel)

In this Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012 photo, amazon shipments are packaged in Koblenz, Germany. Amazon?s fourth-quarter net income fell 45 percent, as sharply higher revenue failed to keep pace with increased spending on order fulfillment and digital content, a trend that?s become the norm for the world?s largest online retailer. (AP Photo/dapd, Harald Tittel)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Amazon's fourth-quarter net income fell 45 percent, as sharply higher revenue failed to keep pace with increased spending on order fulfillment and digital content, a trend that's become the norm for the world's largest online retailer.

The company's financial results missed Wall Street's expectations ? but investors sent the world's top online retailer's stock up more than 9 percent in after-hours trading.

"It boggles the mind," said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis, who attributed the stock price jump to slightly stronger-than-expected operating income. "A lot of people scratch their head at the valuation given to Amazon and the support the stock has."

The company says it has been investing a lot of its income into enhancing its distribution network, its shopping website and its Kindle business as part of a long term growth plan. It opened 20 order fulfillment centers in 2012, bringing the total to 89 worldwide.

Amazon's profit margins have been thin because of heavy investments ?and the deep discounts the company offers consumers. Even so, investors continue to be more than forgiving. Its stock price gained 45 percent in 2012. It has risen another 4 percent so far this year.

Amazon.com Inc. said Tuesday that it earned $97 million, or 21 cents per share, in the October-December period. That's down from $177 million, or 38 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue for the crucial holiday quarter grew 22 percent to $21.27 billion from $17.43 billion.

Analysts had expected earnings of 28 cents per share on revenue of $22.26 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.

"We're now seeing the transition we've been expecting," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO, in a statement. "After five years, eBooks is a multi-billion dollar category for us and growing fast ? up approximately 70 percent last year."

In contrast, he added, sales of paper books saw the lowest December growth rate in the company's 17 years as a book seller ? up just 5 percent.

Though revenue fell short of expectations, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Youssef Squali said Amazon's profit margin was much better than expected at 24.1 percent compared with 20.7 percent a year earlier. This could signal that Amazon is starting to reap some benefits from its investments.

Amazon's operating income jumped 56 percent to $405 million from $260 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. That's much better than the company's guidance, which was for an operating loss of $490 million to an operating income of $310 million.

For the current quarter, Amazon expects revenue of $15 billion to $16.6 billion. Analysts had expected revenue of $16.86 billion.

For all of 2012, the company booked a net loss of $39 million, or 9 cents per share, down from a profit of $631 million, or $1.37 per share. The shortfall was due to a 60 cent per share loss in the third quarter of the year, which resulted from a charge related to its stake in online deals site LivingSocial. The company said it was also due to heavy spending on its Kindle business, new geographic locations and video content. It also said it hired about 50,000 temporary workers at its distribution centers across the U.S. during the holiday season.

Revenue in 2012 grew 27 percent to $61.09 billion from $48.08 billion, slightly below analysts' expectations of $62.1 billion.

Few large corporations are able to grow revenue at such a pace year after year. Apple Inc., the world's most valuable public company, is a notable example. The iPad maker increased revenue by 29 percent in 2012, to $165 billion. Still, investors punished Apple's stock after it reported earnings last week, due to signs that the company's profit margin is shrinking and its iPhone faces stiffer competition in overseas markets.

Seattle-based Amazon's shares rose $24, or 9.2 percent, to $284.35 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed down $15.69, or 5.7 percent, at $260.35.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-29-US-Earns-Amazon/id-903b7e2bf8394dcfbe25098636726a91

JJ Abrams New Orleans Pelicans lindsey vonn lindsey vonn chris brown north korea kate upton

Jay-Z Signs Timbaland To Roc Nation

Timbo is riding high at the moment thanks to Justin Timberlake's comeback single, 'Suit & Tie.'
By Gil Kaufman

Timberland and Jay-Z
Photo: Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1701068/jay-z-timbaland-roc-nation.jhtml

girl scouts printable bracket game change own stacy francis tournament brackets 2012 ncaa basketball tournament

Page Not Found - Yahoo!

Please check the URL for proper spelling and capitalization. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Yahoo!, try visiting the Yahoo! homepage or look through a list of Yahoo!'s online services.

Please try Yahoo Help Central if you need more assistance.

Source: http://rss.news.yahoo.com/rss/weightloss

etch a sketch romney sean payton saints bounty program toulouse france ny jets ny jets the situation

No-cost mortgages? Factor taxes into the equation ? Business ...

You?ve probably seen the ads for ?no-cost mortgages? on TV or heard them on the radio. The pitch often appeals to potential homebuyers who want to avoid closing costs.

Strategy: Crunch all the numbers before you commit. Most important, don?t forget to take taxes into account.

Let?s look at an example recently illustrated in The Wall Street Journal.

Facts: A mortgage lender offers you a higher interest rate in exchange for a credit to cover your closing costs. Assuming a loan amount of $300,000 and closing costs of $2,600, you?re given two choices:

1. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.5% with no points and $2,600 in closing costs.
2. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4% with no points and no closing costs.

In comparing the two options, here?s how the math breaks down:

The 30-year fixed mortgage at 3.5% contains total interest paid over the life of the loan in the amount of $184,968, so the total cost of the mortgage (computed by adding the closing costs to the interest paid over the full term) is $187,568. With the 30-year fixed rate no-cost option at 4%, the total interest over the full term of the loan comes to $215,609. The total cost difference is $28,041, or about $85 per month.

Therefore, if the closing costs are $2,600, you would actually break even in about 30 months by paying the closing costs and forgoing the no-cost option.

But this computation ignores the tax deduction factor. Assuming the mortgage interest is fully deductible, a taxpayer would recoup the extra interest cost even sooner.

A good rule of thumb is that a no-cost loan makes sense only if you intend to stay in your home for 2? years or less. It?s a gray area between 2? and five years. After five years, it rarely makes sense.

Tip: Generally, points paid on a home acquisition mortgage are currently deductible, but points paid to refinance a mortgage generally must be amortized over the life of the loan.

Like what you've read? ...Republish it and share great business tips!

Attention: Readers, Publishers, Editors, Bloggers, Media, Webmasters and more...

We believe great content should be read and passed around. After all, knowledge IS power. And good business can become great with the right information at their fingertips. If you'd like to share any of the insightful articles on BusinessManagementDaily.com, you may republish or syndicate it without charge.

The only thing we ask is that you keep the article exactly as it was written and formatted. You also need to include an attribution statement and link to the article.

" This information is proudly provided by Business Management Daily.com: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/34109/no-cost-mortgages-factor-taxes-into-the-equation "

Source: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/34109/no-cost-mortgages-factor-taxes-into-the-equation

nor easter ted nugent veep los angeles kings earth day timothy leary jonathan frid

'Flipped Learning' Classroom Model Embraced By Teachers In Schools Nationwide

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- When Timmy Nguyen comes to his pre-calculus class, he's already learned the day's lesson ? he watched it on a short online video prepared by his teacher for homework.

So without a lecture to listen to, he and his classmates at Segerstrom Fundamental High School spend class time doing practice problems in small groups, taking quizzes, explaining the concept to other students, reciting equation formulas in a loud chorus, and making their own videos while teacher Crystal Kirch buzzes from desk to desk to help pupils who are having trouble.

It's a technology-driven teaching method known as "flipped learning" because it flips the time-honored model of classroom lecture and exercises for homework ? the lecture becomes homework and class time is for practice.

"It was hard to get used to," said Nguyen, an 11th-grader. "I was like `why do I have to watch these videos, this is so dumb.' But then I stopped complaining and I learned the material quicker. My grade went from a D to an A."

Flipped learning apparently is catching on in schools across the nation as a younger, more tech-savvy generation of teachers is moving into classrooms. Although the number of "flipped" teachers is hard to ascertain, the online community Flipped Learning Network now has 10,000 members, up from 2,500 a year ago, and training workshops are being held all over the country, said executive director Kari Afstrom.

Under the model, teachers make eight- to 10-minute videos of their lessons using laptops, often simply filming the whiteboard as the teacher makes notations and recording their voice as they explain the concept. The videos are uploaded onto a teacher or school website, or even YouTube, where they can be accessed by students on computers or smartphones as homework.

For pupils lacking easy access to the Internet, teachers copy videos onto DVDs or flash drives. Kids with no home device watch the video on school computers.

Class time is then devoted to practical applications of the lesson ? often more creative exercises designed to engage students and deepen their understanding. On a recent afternoon, Kirch's students stood in pairs with one student forming a cone shape with her hands and the other angling an arm so the "cone" was cut into different sections.

"It's a huge transformation," said Kirch, who has been taking this approach for two years. "It's a student-focused classroom where the responsibility for learning has flipped from me to the students."

The concept emerged five years ago when a pair of Colorado high school teachers started videotaping their chemistry classes for absent students.

"We found it was really valuable and pushed us to ask what the students needed us for," said one of the teachers, Aaron Sams, now a consultant who is developing on online education program in Pittsburgh. "They didn't need us for content dissemination, they needed us to dig deeper."

He and colleague Jonathan Bergmann began condensing classroom lectures to short videos and assigning them as homework.

"The first year, I was able to double the number of labs my students were doing," Sams said. "That's every science teacher's dream."

In the Detroit suburb of Clinton Township, Clintondale High School Principal Greg Green converted the whole school to flipped learning in the fall of 2011 after years of frustration with high failure rates and discipline problems. Three-quarters of the school's enrollment of 600 is low-income, minority students.

Flipping yielded dramatic results after just a year, including a 33 percent drop in the freshman failure rate and a 66 percent drop in the number of disciplinary incidents from the year before, Green said. Graduation, attendance and test scores all went up. Parent complaints dropped from 200 to seven.

Green attributed the improvements to an approach that engages students more in their classes.

"Kids want to take an active part in the learning process," he said. "Now teachers are actually working with kids."

Although the method has been more popular in high schools, it's now catching on in elementary schools, said Afstrom of the Flipped Learning Network.

Fifth-grade teacher Lisa Highfill in the Pleasanton Unified School District said for a lesson about adding decimals, she made a five-minute, how-to video kids watched at home and in class, then she distributed play money and menus and had kids "ordering" food and tallying the bill and change.

A colleague who teaches kindergarten reads a storybook on video. The video contains a pop-up box that requires kids to write something that shows they understood the story.

The concept has its downside. Teachers note that making the videos and coming up with project activities to fill class time is a lot of extra work up front, while some detractors believe it smacks of teachers abandoning their primary responsibility of instructing.

"They're expecting kids to do the learning outside the classroom. There's not a lot of evidence this works," said Leonie Haimson, executive director of Class Size Matters, a New York City-based parent advocacy group. "What works is reasonably sized classes with a lot of debate, interaction and discussion."

Others question whether flipped learning would work as well with low achieving students, who may not be as motivated to watch lessons on their own, but said it was overall a positive model.

"It's forcing the notion of guided practice," said Cynthia Desrochers, director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at California State University-Northridge. "Students can get the easy stuff on their own, but the hard stuff should be under the watchful eye of a teacher."

At Michigan's Clintondale High School, some teachers show the video at the beginning of class to ensure all kids watch it and that home access is not an issue.

In Kirch's pre-calculus class, students said they liked the concept.

"You're not falling asleep in class, "said senior Monica Resendiz said. "You're constantly working."

Explaining to adults that homework was watching videos was a little harder, though.

"My grandma thought I was using it as an excuse to mess around on the Internet," Nguyen said.

___

Contact the reporter at . http://twitter.com/ChristinaHoag

Also on HuffPost:

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/28/flipped-learning-classroo_n_2567279.html

march 30 rimm pauly d project adrienne rich autism cesar chavez day raspberry ketone

A Million First Dates: How online romance is threatening monogamy ...

?

Like many Atlantic writers (*ahem* Caitlin Flanagan *ahem*) Dan Slater's pieces are less interesting by themselves than compared to the articles that are written in response to them.

The Atlantic was actually rather anticipating (perhaps even planning) this bit of sensationalism and was ready to go with a full section covering the responses. A bunch of them are better reflections. on online dating than the original article, but the most entertaining for me was Amanda Hess' takedown at Slate.
posted by bl1nk at 12:45 PM on January 29

Meh. Whatever person gets into that mindset isn't worth being in a relationship with anyway.

Maybe the competition for suitable guys who want a monogamous commitment will be fiercer, but at least the guys who aren't monogamously minded can be more easy identified and put aside.

Time will tell. Plus, sperm banks and vibrators exist and they don't leave fingernails on the coffee table.
posted by discopolo at 12:48 PM on January 29

Monogamy could use some threatening. Then maybe the non-monogamous could feel a tiny bit less othered.
posted by Sternmeyer at 12:54 PM on January 29 [4 favorites]

"I?m about 95 percent certain," he says, "that if I?d met Rachel offline, and if I?d never done online dating, I would?ve married her. At that point in my life, I would?ve overlooked everything else and done whatever it took to make things work. Did online dating change my perception of permanence? No doubt.

Hold on. His dating background gave him enough perspective to see that it was a bad idea to settle for his girlfriend when he was actually unhappy, and now monogamy is under attack? This is how dating is supposed to work. You're not supposed to marry the person you've been dating for 2 or 3 years, just because it seems like the thing to do and you've got nothing else going on. You're supposed to sift through a few people you don't mesh perfectly with, so that you'll know the real deal when you see it.

Moral panic indeed.
posted by Mayor West at 12:56 PM on January 29 [6 favorites]

?I often wonder whether matching you up with great people is getting so efficient, and the process so enjoyable, that marriage will become obsolete.?

Methinks not so much.
posted by ourobouros at 12:57 PM on January 29

This lady went on one and got stabbed and beaten. So.

So, anecdatally, online dating has nothing whatsoever to do with monogamy? If you're gonna be monogamous you're going to be monogamous no matter how you date.
posted by lydhre at 12:57 PM on January 29

And I seem to notice that by "monogamy" they mean some nebulous definition of long-term relationships, not monogamy as opposed to polyamory.
posted by lydhre at 1:02 PM on January 29 [1 favorite] Online dating encouraged me to seek long-term commitment, because it meant I MAY NEVER HAVE TO USE A FUCKING ONLINE DATING SITE AGAIN.
posted by Afroblanco at 1:02 PM on January 29 [18 favorites] So, anecdatally, online dating has nothing whatsoever to do with monogamy? If you're gonna be monogamous you're going to be monogamous no matter how you date.

You can be all kinds of monogamous. You can be a serial monogamist and divorce your current spouse when someone handsomer and more exciting comes along. You could be monogamous and committed for life to one person. You can be monogamous and drift from your spouse.

Monogamy isn't something that's synonymous to lifelong commitment. The latter only time and the opportunity to spend a secret night with George Clooney or Jon Hamm can tell.
posted by discopolo at 1:03 PM on January 29 [1 favorite]

I can't help but wonder if this is a set up for next week's Atlantic advertorial: 'Unification Church Offers Simple, Forward-Thinking Solutions to the Problems of Contemporary Dating'
posted by mcmile at 1:06 PM on January 29 Yeah, "Jacob" didn't really sound like much of a catch to begin with, so I reckon 'online dating' is just accelerating his approach to 'dating'. Other people will have different approaches to dating, and will pursue them regardless of whether they meet online or offline.
posted by Kurichina at 1:11 PM on January 29 [1 favorite] and the process so enjoyable

I do not think this is the process he thinks it is. There are actually people out there who find it enjoyable? Christ if someone offered me the perfect partner and I'd never have to online date again but I would have to be water-boarded for 30 minutes, I'd take the water-boarding.
posted by spicynuts at 1:11 PM on January 29 [6 favorites]

I'd guess 90% of my dates have come from OKCupid, and 0% of my actual relationships. And yet, after every breakup... back I go.

I will say, however, that going on a bunch of dates with complete randos has made me a lot more easygoing about the whole dating thing. My first several online dates back in the day, I was a nervous wreck beforehand. Now it's just another night out, with a guy I'll hopefully like, but if not, no biggie. The author of this piece might say that means I no longer take dating seriously at all, but actually it just means that on the few dates that actually have potential, I know how to fucking relax and not be self-conscious. So online dating, in a roundabout way, probably helped facilitate those other, non-online-dating-based relationships.

Online dating encouraged me to seek long-term commitment, because it meant I MAY NEVER HAVE TO USE A FUCKING ONLINE DATING SITE AGAIN.

Yup. I finally realized recently that I'd be perfectly happy if the next guy I dated wound up being my future husband- the idea used to be scary, now it'd be a goddamn relief.
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:12 PM on January 29 [6 favorites]

You know, I totally understand the impulse of "People are attracted to me and I used to not feel attractive, so online dating rocks!" And I can see how some good experiences would make the sometimes monotony of day-to-day relationships make the online hunt seem appealing.

But, and maybe I'm showing my age here, but even the possibility of occsaional new hot sex doesn't make the other bullshit of online dating seem attractive -- and I say this as somebody who met pretty much every amazing guy I met in the last 15 years that way, including the one I've been with for 7 years.

(On preview, what Afroblanco said.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:13 PM on January 29

I will say, however, that going on a bunch of dates with complete randos has made me a lot more easygoing about the whole dating thing.

You are a trooper. I ran into an endless stream of randos who want to molest me. They don't even want to know me, just touch me. It's gross and I'm done, and planning a Golden Girls retirement. I've lost all hope.
posted by discopolo at 1:18 PM on January 29 [4 favorites]

An immature (ostensible) adult is unable to manage his own desires in face of temptation? OBVIOUSLY the internet is at fault rather than human nature or a lack of self-reflection! This is the most words with the least content I have ever read, and I have graded college philosophy papers.

Also:
"Another online-dating exec hypothesized an inverse correlation between commitment and the efficiency of technology. ?I think divorce rates will increase as life in general becomes more real-time,? says Niccol? Formai"
What is this I don't even
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:18 PM on January 29 [6 favorites]

> Time will tell. Plus, sperm banks and vibrators exist and they don't leave fingernails on the coffee table.
> posted by discopolo at 3:48 PM on January 29 [+] [!]

True, but they don't also walk the dog, diaper the kids, take out the garbage, fix the car, work a full time job, and remember birthdays and anniversaries. I do and did.

I am actually quite curious to know, if I were miraculously transformed back to college age, what KIDZ2DAY would make of me if I acted toward women the way I think gentlemen ought to act. Would I be thought incomprehensible? Bizarre? Creepy? I went to hear the Venice Baroque Orchestra yesterday, and I would certainly have gone at 20--'smy kinda thing. I wore a coat and tie, as I would certainly have done at 20. I would love to have had a female accomplice on this outing. In a farking dress, please. As Roger Angell observed once (in the New Yorker), the vast majority of occasions for pleasant social intercourse between men and women take place with our clothes on.
posted by jfuller at 1:19 PM on January 29 [1 favorite]

jfuller...things are SO SO SO different now. it's all sex all the time. You could watch the show Girls for a glimpse, or you could come talk to my friend who is a junior high school guidance counselor on Long Island.
posted by spicynuts at 1:23 PM on January 29 [1 favorite] You are a trooper. I ran into an endless stream of randos who want to molest me. They don't even want to know me, just touch me. It's gross and I'm done, and planning a Golden Girls retirement. I've lost all hope.

Oh, see, this is part of it, cause once upon a time I was like "Oh noes I must impress this guy what if he doesn't liiiiike me," and now I'm just like "Hi dude! Here's me, and what's your deal? Oh, you're gonna be weird and gross like all those other dudes? Ok, toodles!"

So then, when the guy I met through mutual friends asked me out, I was still thinking "Hi dude! Here's me, and what's your deal?" So, in conclusion, thanks internet weird guys!
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:23 PM on January 29 [3 favorites]

This would be more of a problem for me if I could actually get dates off OkCupid. I made a few friends off the site but once I gained a few pounds I turned invisible. I'm pretty jealous of people who go on enough dates to have a choice.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 1:38 PM on January 29 [2 favorites] Online dating is threatening monogamy. Monogamy has perpetuated the idea of people as sexual property and contributed to overpopulation. What is the problem again?
posted by tripping daisy at 1:42 PM on January 29 [1 favorite] Seems like so much pearl-clutching.
posted by adamrice at 1:55 PM on January 29 Monogamy has perpetuated the idea of people as sexual property and contributed to overpopulation. What is the problem again?

Meh. I'm pretty monogamous by nature in part because I could never muster the energy to have more than one relationship, so it's mostly about my comfort and less about seeing my partner as property. Also, a monogamous couple is going to have a lot less kids, yes, even if they Duggar it up, than some polygamous man+harem arrangements that produce small armies of offspring.

(Note, I know that polygamy isn't the only non-monogamous relationship arrangement, but it seems to be the more common one globally. Put the poly outrage away, I get it.)
posted by Kitty Stardust at 1:56 PM on January 29 [2 favorites]

I keep hearing online dating has become a much more viable way to meet nice people than when it first started.

When I tried online dating about ten years ago, it was a fantastic way to meet... horny, damaged people who lied about their age, occupation, weight, and relationship status.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:04 PM on January 29 [2 favorites]

things are SO SO SO different now. it's all sex all the time. You could watch the show Girls for a glimpse, or you could come talk to my friend who is a junior high school guidance counselor on Long Island.

I'm in my mid-twenties and my single friends' dating lives are definitely not "all sex all the time."

Then again I don't live in Long Island.
posted by Aizkolari at 2:08 PM on January 29 [1 favorite]

Anecdata to the extreme, but online dating encouraged me to start trying to seek out long-term commitment.

After being one of those monogamy is for sheeple and sell-outs, maaaaaan! douchebags for roughly half my life, it took precisely two (2) OK Cupid dates for me to decide that a) my burgeoning faith in humanity has been all but destroyed and b) it turns out that what the sheeple are doing is what I want to do, too.

Unfortunately, without a real-life version of OKC's handy-dandy sorting mechanism, there is no way for me to know which men are willing to date a permanently nulliparous woman. After the OKC nightmare, I went on a semi-blind date where an otherwise very attractive, nice, intelligent, promising dude waited several hours to pull the good old "So, when do you think you might want to start raising a family?" card. He dumped me on the spot -- like, "Check, please! Good luck in all your future endeavors! Fare thee well!" -- after I responded with a look of slow-dawning horror and replied, "Uh, never?"

So... can all the childfree dudes out there (there's more than one or two of you, right? right?) maybe start wearing buttons depicting, perhaps, a diaper covered with a big red X or something? I am fairly terrified of navigating the dating world at age 30 knowing that most men around my age -- and indeed, most humans; pesky biological imperative -- are going to want to have children, and this is a major stumbling block en route to my selling out.
posted by divined by radio at 2:18 PM on January 29 [3 favorites]

That article cracked me and my partner up - The Atlantic isn't even bothering with a veneer of respectability these days; it's classic tabloid moral panic.

I love that the guy they picked as somehow representative is basically a colossal asshole, and has the temerity to blame online dating for his being a complete tool. Heavens to betsy, I don't know any guys who are like that, and never use online dating IN OPPOSITE LAND, WHERE EVERYTHING IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT IT ACTUALLY IS.

Additionally the idea that "people stayed in shitty, unhappy relationships before! Everything was better!" is fucking bizarre. God forbid the Atlantic, I don't know, look at some census data, and stuff, try to make a case using evidence and the like. That would be too close to actual journalism.
posted by smoke at 2:26 PM on January 29 [4 favorites]

I'm being imprecise with my words. I'm pretty sure I was talking about marriage and not monogamy... anyway, serial monogamists that I know seem to have less desire to have children. There is less pressure to settle down and pop out kids in their twenties because they're having a great time boning people and not having kids. Combine that with safe sax and birth control measures and we are at our lowest birthrate in recorded history.

Less traditional relationships, less children, more boning, more chance at surviving the 21st Century... I don't see too much wrong with the way we do consensual relationships in the States. People who want an online meat market know where to go. Christian singles know where to go. eHarmony is there for people who want to get married and can endure the apparently miserable application process.

What is wrong is the focus on sex and physical appearance on some of the sites, and sure, having a box for your ideal height and eye color can quickly turn things superficial. But humans are superficial. In A Time Before The Internet I knew people who had very specific requirements about eye color, income, height, and so on. There's a little magic lost in excluding the love of your life because they didn't put their income level in, but if you're already excluding by those criteria, you probably aren't interested in magic, and that's cool. I think most people get what they want out of those sites... that's why they signed up and continue using it.

Related: I decided to see if there was a stoner dating website. There is. And it's running a little behind schedule. The proprietor is not pleased.
posted by tripping daisy at 2:33 PM on January 29 [2 favorites]

True, but they don't also walk the dog, diaper the kids, take out the garbage, fix the car, work a full time job, and remember birthdays and anniversaries. I do and did.

You're rare. An awful lot of women have to do all that and more, while working full-time without participation from husband, even if husband works a full-time job. It's rare to find a real partner. Even so, the wife will always get stuck doing more, investing more, and expending more energy, without much of a guarantee of full partnership or lifelong commitment.
posted by discopolo at 2:33 PM on January 29 [1 favorite]

Unfortunately, without a real-life version of OKC's handy-dandy sorting mechanism, there is no way for me to know which men are willing to date a permanently nulliparous woman.

It's not a whole lot easier to find childfree women. And even then, "well-meaning" friends will, 99% of the time, try their best to sow seeds of doubt with, "Well, that's what she's saying NOW ..." And I dunno, maybe this is something people change their minds about? So whether you possess a Y chromosome or not, it's good to ask yourself if the person you're talking to is committed to being childfree, or if they're essentially saying, "Oh that's just so far away, I can't POSSIBLY imagine myself as a parent." The latter are probably more likely to flip.

As a sidenote, I was always annoyed by the profile options OKC gave me for "Children". Like, my choices were : "I have children", "I like children", or "I don't like children". But saying "I don't like children" makes me feel so heartless -- even though it's completely true! Why can't they just give you a "Children are okay I guess, I just don't want any of my own" option?
posted by Afroblanco at 2:34 PM on January 29 [4 favorites]

So... can all the childfree dudes out there (there's more than one or two of you, right? right?) maybe start wearing buttons depicting, perhaps, a diaper covered with a big red X or something? I am fairly terrified of navigating the dating world at age 30 knowing that most men around my age -- and indeed, most humans; pesky biological imperative -- are going to want to have children, and this is a major stumbling block en route to my selling out.

Check your friendzone. Not a snarky suggestion.
posted by tripping daisy at 2:36 PM on January 29

As a sidenote, I was always annoyed by the profile options OKC gave for "Children". Like, your choices are : "I have children", "I like children", or "I don't like children". But saying "I don't like children" makes me feel so heartless -- even though it's completely true! Why can't they just give you a "Children are okay I guess, I just don't want any of my own" option?

How does anyone know if they even want kids without sizing up the partner they're with? I'd have kids if I found the right partner, but not if I didn't think my partner didn't have the right temperament to be a father.

Check your friendzone. Not a snarky suggestion.

Ugh, we put men in the friend zone because the thought of having sex with them makes us barf. How is this so hard for guys to understand?
posted by discopolo at 2:39 PM on January 29 [5 favorites]

No, I didn't RTFA beacuse it's from the Fucking Atlantic. Why does every article from that rag seem to make it here?
posted by repoman at 2:46 PM on January 29 Ugh, we put men in the friend zone because the thought of having sex with them makes us barf. How is this so hard for guys to understand?

Perhaps divined by radio has a friendzone with more criteria than "makes me want to barf when naked."
posted by tripping daisy at 2:48 PM on January 29

How does anyone know if they even want kids without sizing up the partner they're with?

Because that's what being childfree means? I don't want children ever ever ever, not with anyone. EVER.
posted by Violet Hour at 2:54 PM on January 29 [5 favorites]

Perhaps divined by radio has a friendzone with more criteria than "makes me want to barf when naked."

Well, you never know. And she could always get drunk beforehand. That might help.
posted by discopolo at 2:55 PM on January 29

bl1nk: but the most entertaining for me was Amanda Hess' takedown at Slate.

That one's pretty on-target (she points out the original article relies on interview with a miniscule pool of male-only online daters - one, in fact).

Here's a better criticism: Not one single datum was revealed in the article to support the thesis. There are vague allusions to "experts" and "studies", but without tangible references that's just another way of saying "I asked both of my coworkers."

Just another bullshit fluff-piece about how X is going to ruin us all.
posted by IAmBroom at 3:06 PM on January 29 [1 favorite]

From now on, The Atlantic should change all its headlines to BUY OUR MAGAZINE YOU STOOGES.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 3:09 PM on January 29 I'm still waiting for the Atlantic article about how reading relationship articles in the Atlantic is the #1 threat to heterocentric breeder monogamous relationships.
posted by Skwirl at 3:21 PM on January 29 [1 favorite] Check your friendzone. Not a snarky suggestion.

Perhaps divined by radio has a friendzone with more criteria than "makes me want to barf when naked."

Really? Because this as a whole feels like snark.

Besides. The friend zone is a myth made up by bitter beta guys who didn't have the balls to ask a girl out, get rejected and move on with their lives.
posted by Talez at 4:12 PM on January 29 [1 favorite]

"You can be all kinds of monogamous. You can be a serial monogamist and divorce your current spouse when someone handsomer and more exciting comes along. You could be monogamous and committed for life to one person. You can be monogamous and drift from your spouse."

Conversely, you can be all kinds of polyamorous. In fact, your relationship patterns can look practically the same as it would look in a monogamous relationship... only without the lying and deception.

I have quite a few monogamous friends my age who I met back in college, but I'm the one with the longest active relationship... and at 7 years and two years and counting for my other live-in relationships, I am doing pretty well there too, considering.

I find that I have learned a lot more about finding and maintaining healthy relationships in general by not being monogamous. It's not all about playing the field. It's more about being honest to who you are as a human being.
posted by markkraft at 4:18 PM on January 29

Besides. The friend zone is a myth made up by bitter beta guys who didn't have the balls to ask a girl out, get rejected and move on with their lives.

This thread is sounding more and more like a fratire brainstorming session.
posted by tripping daisy at 4:27 PM on January 29 [3 favorites]

discopolo said "in the friend zone because the thought of having sex with them makes us barf."

Oh. Then I have a friend who put his wife in the friendzone.
posted by surplus at 4:38 PM on January 29

This thread is sounding more and more like a fratire brainstorming session.

You don't have to be a frat boy to not want to join in the latest sad meeting of "Lonely Hearts Anonymous". Some of us figured out that women aren't responsible for our own romantic misdaventures and grew up out of silly shit like the Friend Zone and the Ladder Theory. Then we chilled out, looked around and grew relationships out of common interests and mutual attraction instead of pining longingly for an idealized version of an unrequited crush.
posted by Talez at 4:45 PM on January 29 [2 favorites]

discopolo: How does anyone know if they even want kids without sizing up the partner they're with?

Quoted because I thought I was the only one who thought this way.

Could we drop the friendzone derail and get back to the "how much The Atlantic sucks" derail, because I've still got more material.
posted by Skwirl at 4:46 PM on January 29 [1 favorite]

> Some of us figured out that women aren't responsible for our own romantic misdaventures and grew up out of silly shit like the Friend Zone and the Ladder Theory

Which is both a great feeling in and of itself, and a relief when you look back. But the beta/alpha thing is the same deal.
posted by postcommunism at 4:51 PM on January 29

Well, if by needing more data, you mean more dates, chalk me in to sacrifice my life for SCIENCE!

You know, just sayin'.

Somebody's got to do it and it might as well be me...
posted by Samizdata at 5:45 PM on January 29

> because the thought of having sex with them makes us barf.

Lie back and think of England :)
posted by jfuller at 5:46 PM on January 29

I went to hear the Venice Baroque Orchestra yesterday ...

If you take me to see the Venice Baroque Orchestra, I'll wear a farking dress. (Or to the Balearic Folk Orchestra. I'm not a picky date.)
posted by octobersurprise at 5:50 PM on January 29

When I tried online dating about ten years ago, it was a fantastic way to meet... horny, damaged people who lied about their age, occupation, weight, and relationship status.

Where can I find these people and why won't they respond to my messages!
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:51 PM on January 29

You don't have to be a frat boy to not want to join in the latest sad meeting of "Lonely Hearts Anonymous". Some of us figured out that women aren't responsible for our own romantic misdaventures and grew up out of silly shit like the Friend Zone and the Ladder Theory. Then we chilled out, looked around and grew relationships out of common interests and mutual attraction instead of pining longingly for an idealized version of an unrequited crush.

Not everyone's friend zone is based purely on sex. I have people in the friend zone who are there because they are long distance, or because they are preoccupied with their career, or because I don't think we could reconcile our political or spiritual views, or because I don't think they are quite over their ex. I'm even crazy enough to believe that some people aspire to grow out of separating others into "will fuck" and "will not fuck." So I suggested to someone that they take a look at their friend zone.

I thought that was a simple, practical piece of advice for someone looking for more than random chance. Perhaps I am wrong, and categorizing everyone else into "fuckable" and "unfuckable" tests the limits of the exploration of human affection for most people. It honestly wouldn't surprise me.
posted by tripping daisy at 6:06 PM on January 29

I think I've solved the childfree dating problem: simply wait until I am too old to have babies before I date again. Then nobody can insist that I am going to have any.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:07 PM on January 29 The friendzone totally exists, but it's men who put themselves there. The girl just happens to be The Wrong Girl For Him. When I was single, I learned how to always avoid the friendzone. For me to befriend a woman, she had to meet one or more of the following criteria :

1) I wasn't attracted to her
2) One or both of us was in a stable, long-term relationship
3) We were just so completely incompatible that the idea of a relationship would never even come up

If she didn't meet any of the above criteria, I'd usually try to date her. And if she turned out to be The Wrong Girl For Me, I'd just break it off and that would be that.

"Can't we be friends?"
"I enjoyed our time together, but I have a really busy life. Best of luck."

Bam. Friendzone avoided.

You could say I potentially missed out on a lot of friends that way, and you'd probably be right. But I've never been short on friends, and I know better than to befriend someone I may develop an unwelcome crush on.
posted by Afroblanco at 6:56 PM on January 29 [2 favorites]

the wife will always get stuck doing more, investing more, and expending more energy, without much of a guarantee of full partnership or lifelong commitment.

Now that you've identified the ways in which every married man is an inferior contributor compared with his spouse, can you tell me what every married man's favorite color is? I need to buy some gift ties and the variety is astounding.
posted by Winnemac at 8:07 PM on January 29

I can't speak for straight people, but the internet and dating social media are the BEST things that have happened for queers ever. We can find each other in the first place, no matter how isolated geographically or culturally we may be. We can show our incredible diversities in safe spaces, before we launch into possibly dangerous territories. One of the factors making same-sex marriage a recent reality, after languishing for decades as a lesser lesbian/gay agenda, are the sheer numbers of queers who've come out, and queer couples who've met, due to the internet.

Data point: In the last two decades, ALL of my partners but two (both of whom I had met pre-internet but didn't connect with until the web was popular), I met online. Although I have had less time to devote to social in my 30s and 40s than I did in my teens and 20s, I have connected with almost 4x as many people due to online opportunities. Most of those people were/are very distant geographically, didn't know anyone in common, and didn't share hobbies or occupations leading to travel.

Long live internet dating (and its progeny, I can hardly wait)!
posted by Dreidl at 9:32 PM on January 29 [1 favorite]

? Older Andrew "bunnie" Huang (previously) offer...??|??Ryan Cordell told his kids the... Newer ?

Source: http://www.metafilter.com/124375/A-Million-First-Dates-How-online-romance-is-threatening-monogamy

rick ross yahoo finance coachella deer antler spray sag awards jennifer lawrence lakers