There's lots to celebrate this New Year's Eve. For one thing, the Mayan people's dire, end-of-the-world prediction didn't pan out. Phew!
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Top area golf pro Tom Moore is retiring on Jan. 1.
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AIKEN ? At 8:30 on most mornings for more than three decades, Tom Moore has been pulling into the Palmetto Golf Club parking lot to begin another day as the club?s head pro and general manager.
He?s been arriving at that exact time at the famed Aiken private club off Whiskey Road since May 1982, most weeks working six days and untold hours.
Monday will be different for the dean of area golf pros. It will be his last one working at the club.
Moore, 63, is retiring while his health and energy are strong in order to devote more time to his wife, Kathy, their daughter, Jennifer, and his many friends.
?I think this is the next progression I need to do with my life,? Moore said.
?I?ve been telling people for years that I?m going to come see you and play golf,? Moore said. ?I don?t want to wake up and drop over dead one day or get to where my health is bad and think, ?Gosh, I wish I?d done that.? I want Kathy and Jennifer and I to do things that I didn?t do when I was younger because I was so intent on making this work.?
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BY THIS, HE MEANS Palmetto Golf Club.
The 120-year club was in poor shape when Moore was hired as the head pro in May 1982. In fact, the condition of the club and the course was one reason Moore got the job. In his interview, he was candid about the state of the club and impressed upon the board that he was the man to bring it back to its glory.
?When I got here, we didn?t have a whole lot of members and what we did have were old and they weren?t playing golf, and the place had gotten run down,? Moore said. ?Steve Melnyk (a former Masters Tournament participant) remembers when he first started playing here, it was always a great golf course with a great layout but in terrible condition. Now it?s a great golf course, great clubhouse and it?s in great condition.?
Moore, who has served under 11 club presidents at Palmetto, said it ?wasn?t long? after he started the job that he began to believe the course was on its way.
?I had a vision of the place, how it would be,? he said. ?With the leadership of a lot of boards and club presidents, we finally got it that point. Not that it?s perfect now, but it?s not far off.?
That?s why the membership roll is full ? there are 300 in-town members and 200 national members, including former Masters participant and Walker Cup player and captain Jim Holtgrieve, of St. Louis.
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THE MEMBERS CREDIT Moore for the turnaround, which has helped Palmetto become nationally known starting in the late 1980s through golf course rankings and word of mouth.
Moore even gave up playing golf to focus on the club.
?He was that type of guy,? said current member Bill Hardy, who was a member before Moore started. ?He was here seven days a week. Always, Palmetto was the first thing on his mind. Coming to Palmetto, he just quit playing golf and dedicated himself to this club and the membership. His love for this golf course, it showed to all of the members. He just loved Palmetto. He made it what it is.?
?He?s going to be sorely missed as the head professional at Palmetto,? said Dale Haas, another member.
?This has been my life,? Moore said. ?Tom Matthews, the current president of the club, asked me if there was one thing I?m most proud of from the day I got here to now and I said, ?everything.? He said, ?well, you can?t pick out one thing?? and I said, ?no, it?s everything.? Everything is so much better and it?s to where it?s supposed to be.?
Which is another reason Moore feels like this is the right time to step aside.
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BROOKS BLACKBURN, WHO took over as Palmetto?s head pro in 2008 when Moore became director of golf, said Moore knows the names of not only the members, but their wives and children.
?That?s more important to them than the golf,? Blackburn said. ?He really cares about them.?
That concern worked well at Palmetto, along with Moore?s personality.
?I was amazed that he could be as smooth as he was with the mix of people we had,? former Palmetto president Joe Womack said. ?There were years we had guys who couldn?t rub two nickels together playing golf with millionaires.?
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IT DIDN?T TAKE long for word to spread about the job Moore was doing at Palmetto. Starting in the late 1980s, he was offered jobs at much bigger clubs, including East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta and Atlanta Athletic Club, and turned them down. By that time, he was happily entrenched at Palmetto.
?I never thought I?d be here past three years,? Moore said. ?This was my first head job. I wanted to come here and show I could do the job and go somewhere else. I got here and got into some of this and just fell in love with the golf course.?
That?s why Moore didn?t mind putting in the extra hours.
?Some members figured it up and it was like working 42 years here for a normal person,? Blackburn said.
?Not too many people do with their lives just exactly what they want to do,? Palmetto member Kenny Wiland said. ?But Tom is one of them, for sure.?
?I don?t consider working here a job; it?s more of a love,? Moore said.
Blackburn said Moore became so associated with Palmetto that he can?t go to another club without someone asking him how Moore is doing.
?He is Palmetto,? Blackburn said.
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AS THE YEARS flew by, Moore and his wife, who also works at the club, became friends with the members.
?With Kathy, all the time we spend here, all our friends are here,? Moore said. ?We do have other friends, but all the people we have contact with all the time are here.?
?The bottom line for me is he?s just been a great friend,? said member Berry Crain, who worked closely with Moore to help make the Palmetto Amateur one of the top amateur tournaments in the country. ?He was always the go-to guy you talked to if you had an idea. He was the first guy you bounced it off.?
The members/friends like Crain honored Moore on Dec. 7 at Palmetto with a retirement party. The outdoor party drew more than 300 members and friends and lasted three hours, with more than 30 minutes of that dedicated to tributes to Moore and the job he did.
The night deeply touched Moore.
?The two best days of my life were the day they hired me and that Tuesday (the retirement party) when I got all the acknowledgment of the members,? he said. ?It was awful nice of the members. It?s embarrassing, but it?s a big honor that they thought enough of me to throw a party.They gave me a nice gift. That they thought enough of me to do something like that, it was great.?
?It was love, just pure love,? said Moore?s wife, Kathy. ?So much love was coming from all the members, and we felt it. We felt very honored.?
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MORE THAN FOUR years ago, Moore was on the six-member committee that chose Blackburn, a former USC Aiken All-American golfer and Midland Valley head pro to be his eventual successor.
But it wasn?t until ?about a year ago,? Kathy Moore said, that her husband started talking seriously about retiring.
?They were grooming him,? Hardy, the longtime Palmetto member, said of Blackburn, who is now 43. ?They knew Tom was going to retire so they brought in Brooks to get ready. I talked to Brooks when he was at Midland Valley about coming here and that Tom was going to be retiring. He said about possibily coming to Palmetto, ?Man, that?s living the dream, isn?t it?? ?
?It?s worked out good,? Moore said of the transition. ?Brooks is a good young man. He?s got a great personality. I wanted to get Brooks involved. I want Brooks to be there a long time.?
Moore will still be around Palmetto. The club has created an office for him upstairs in the clubhouse, and starting Tuesday, he?ll become the club?s pro emeritus. He even plans to start playing golf again.
?Right now, I can sit back and appreciate and play golf with these people on a personal level,? he said of the members.
He also plans to be around to help Blackburn if needed, especially during Masters Week.
?We have worked hard all this time, and now it?s time for us to enjoy it,? Moore said. ?And let the younger guys like Brooks, let it be their time.?
And what will Moore do on New Year?s Day, his first day of retirement? He?ll still come to Palmetto, but not at his usual time.
?I may wait until 9 a.m.,? he said.
Source: http://m.chronicle.augusta.com/sports/golf/2012-12-30/top-area-golf-pro-tom-moore-retiring-jan-1
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Check up on the policies and laws about auto insurance. Knowledge is power when you are trying to find the suitable insurance for yourself. These tips should help you make better decisions when you are dealing with car insurance.
Figure out what kind of coverage is good for you and your car prior to seeking an auto insurance policy. There are many options available, but they may not all make sense for your situation. If you have a high incident of accidents you should get collision coverage to ensure your car will be repaired in the event of minor accidents.
Think about paying for your whole insurance policy at once. Certain companies will make you pay a fee if you decide to make monthly payments. Since you know how much it will cost you to renew your policy, you can start saving up money to make one annual payment at renewal time and save money on those fees.
TIP! Because car insurance rates change depending on where you live, you might want to consider where you are planning to move. Insurance rates vary due to the chances of theft or accident, and suburbs and rural areas are generally cheaper than cities.
After market warranties offered by insurance companies do not always afford you the best avenue for dealing with repairs. Use caution and read the details. Many auto repair places guarantee their work, and auto parts stores guarantee their products. Don?t pay your insurance company for coverage you already get elsewhere.
Make sure that any car rentals are covered by your auto insurance up front. You may need a supplement to your insurance plan if your current policy does not reimburse you for a rental car while your car is in the shop. This extra insurance policy can cost up to $20 a day. If this is not part of your regular insurance policy, it can end up costing you around $20 a day during the time your vehicle is being repaired.
TIP! In most states, insurers have a certain period of time in which they can change their decision to insure you. Make sure to always keep other insurance carrier information handy even if your financial history and driving record is stable, just in case you have to buy another policy.
In addition to coverage that is legally mandated, there are other types of insurance protection you may choose to add to your insurance portfolio. Making sure you have the right amount of coverage, even if the cost is a little more, is important in the event of an accident. If you are the victim of a hit-and-run or an uninsured motorist, you?ll be protected if you have uninsured motorist coverage.
Make sure to research insurance costs when you are purchasing a car. Talk to your insurance agent about which cars offer the best rates. That advice will help you make an informed decision about whether it might be a better deal to buy a formerly owned car, rather than a new vehicle. Your insurance premiums will be a lot lower if you make sure your new car is one with an excellent safety rating.
The amount of money that you pay for a premium can be lowered, if you are consistently a good driver. Good driver discounts are often awarded by auto insurance companies to drivers who avoid tickets and accidents. If you have proven to be a bad driver, it can be expensive. Keep your driving safe, and your premiums will be lower.
TIP! To get the lowest possible insurance premium, choose the highest possible deductible. High deductibles protect you if your vehicle is totaled or if you are liable for accidents; however, it would still be your responsibility to repair damage from smaller accidents.
When you cancel your current insurance policy to switch to another company, you should do it in writing, and keep a copy of it. If a phone cancellation doesn?t work out for some reason, you could get your old insurance terminated for not paying the premiums. Having your policy cancelled for nonpayment can negatively impact your credit score.
Hopefully, this article has helped you gain knowledge on deciding the right auto insurance. The more you know about something, the better your decision will be. With that being said a lot of these tips can help out friends and family too, so you might want to show them these tips as well.
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Source: http://www.barcelonanews.net/index.php/sid/211667087/scat/943ff37d8bcb6116
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Game #32 ? STAPLES Center ? Los Angeles, CA ? December 30, 2012 ? 7:30 p.m. (MT) ? TV: ROOT Sports ? RADIO: 1280 AM/97.5 FM and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes
#UTAatLAC Game Stream -- Clips Nation -- Jazz vs Clippers coverage
Last game of 2012! Finish strong!
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A snapshot of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is surrounded by a trio of religious prayer cards and a sign that reads in Spanish; "Merry Christmas" on a red background hanging at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A snapshot of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is surrounded by a trio of religious prayer cards and a sign that reads in Spanish; "Merry Christmas" on a red background hanging at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A vendor wearing a T-shirt with an image of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez sells vegetable at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Iconic T-shirts styled with images of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are displayed for sale next to a T-shirt of Venezuelan musician Ali Primera, in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Portraits of Venezuela's independence hero Simon Bolivar, left, and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are exhibited for sale on folding easels in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? He's getting better. He's getting worse. He's already dead. The whole thing is a conspiracy and he was never sick in the first place.
The obsessive, circular conversations about President Hugo Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.
His lieutenants have consistently assured Venezuelans over the last week that Chavez is slowly on the mend and will be back at the helm of the country he has dominated for 14 years. But when will he be back? Will he be well enough to govern? What type of cancer does he have? Is it terminal? If so, how long does he have to live?
Government officials have not answered any of those questions, leaving Venezuelans to their own speculations. The wildest conspiracy theories run the gamut from those who say there is no proof Chavez is even still alive to those who believe his illness is a made-up play for sympathy.
"Everything has been a mystery. Everyone believes what they want about the status of his health," said Ismael Garcia, a leftist lawmaker who belonged to the Chavez movement until a falling-out a few years ago.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro read out a New Year message from Chavez to Venezuelan troops on Friday, but for the fourth day in a row offered no updates on the president's health. Maduro had announced Monday night that Chavez was walking and doing some exercises.
The uncertainty comes with a sense of urgency because Chavez is scheduled to be sworn in for a new six-year term Jan. 10. The government and opposition disagree on what should happen if Chavez can't show up, raising the threat of a destabilizing legal fight. Beyond that, nobody knows if Chavez's deputies, who have long worked under his formidable shadow, can hold the country together if he dies.
Like everything else in this fiercely divided country, what people believe usually depends on where their political loyalty lies. Chavez opponents are mostly convinced that the president has terminal cancer, has known it for a long time and should not have sought re-election in October. His most fervent supporters refuse to believe "El Comandante" will die.
"Chavez is going to live on. He is a very important man. He has transformed the world with his ideology," said Victor Coba, a 48-year-old construction worker standing outside a Caracas church as government officials held a Mass to pray for the leader. "Anyone of us will die first before Chavez."
Coba scurried off to a street corner where officials were handing out a book of photographs of Chavez's recent presidential campaign. The comandante's grinning face looked out from the cover, alongside the slogan "Chavez, the heart of my country."
The same image looms from billboards erected all over Caracas, from freeway medians to the low-income apartment towers being built with Venezuelan oil wealth. Such services for the poor have helped Chavez maintain a core of followers despite high inflation, rampant gun violence, trash-strewn cities and other problems he has failed to fix.
For many, the attachment to Chavez borders on religious reverence. His supporters wish each other "Feliz Chavidad" rather than "Feliz Navidad," or Merry Christmas. Government officials have started talking about Chavez like an omnipresent deity.
"Chavez is this cable car. Chavez is this great mission. The children are Chavez. The women are Chavez. The men are Chavez. We are all Chavez," Maduro said recently while inaugurating a cable car to bring people down from one of the vast slums that creep up Caracas' hillsides. "Comandante, take care of yourself, get better and we will be waiting for you here."
Crowds of red-clad supporters roar their approval each time Maduro reassures them. But on the streets, confusion reigns.
"People say he's going to get better," said Alibexi Birriel, an office manager eating at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day.
Her husband Richard Hernandez shook his head. "No. Most people say Chavez is going to die and that Nicolas Maduro is going to take power."
Birriel paused, chiming in, "Well, some think this whole thing is theater and that there's nothing wrong with him."
Hernandez, who described himself as a Chavez supporter but "not a fanatic," shrugged. "The opposition thinks that if Chavez died they are going to win the elections. That is not going to happen."
There have been some official details. Chavez, 58, first underwent surgery for an unspecified type of pelvic cancer in Cuba in June 2011 and went back this month after tests had found a return of malignant cells in the same area where tumors had already been twice removed. Venezuelan officials said that following a six-hour surgery Dec. 11, Chavez suffered internal bleeding that was stanched and a respiratory infection that was being treated.
Just five months earlier, Chavez had announced he was free of cancer. But he acknowledged the seriousness of his illness earlier before flying to Cuba this month by designating Maduro as his successor and telling his supporters to vote for the vice president should new elections be necessary. Outside doctors have said that judging from the information Chavez has provided, his cancer is likely terminal, though the government has never confirmed that.
On Christmas Eve, Maduro surprised Venezuelans by saying he had spoken to Chavez by telephone and that the president was up and walking. With no other details, that only set off another round of furious speculation.
"I don't think he can be standing up walking," said Dr. Gustavo Medrano, a lung specialist at the Centro Medico hospital in Caracas. "Unless ... there are a lot of lies in this and the surgery was not six hours ... but something else much simpler, much simpler, maybe a half-hour operation, or two hours, something like that and that he is now recovering. That is possible."
Chavez supporters tweeted their relief and joy. Opponents tweeted incredulity. They traded insults in the comment sections of newspaper websites. Some posters demanded to know where the proof was that the president was even still alive. Others wondered if he had ever been sick in the first place. Chavez supporters shot back that the rumor-mongering should stop.
One Chavez foe finally posted on the Ultimas Noticias newspaper website, "Bla, bla, bla ... He's getting better, he's dying, he has nothing, he's strong as a bull, he can't get of bed, all the hypotheses are valid because there is no proof of anything."
Amid the raging rumors, Chavez's daughter, Maria Gabriela Chavez, sent out a Twitter message from Havana last week pleading for it all to stop.
"Respect for my family and especially respect for my people. Enough lies! We are with papa. ALIVE, fighting and recovering. WITH GOD," she wrote.
Teresa Maniglia, a press officer at the presidential palace, has kept up a steady stream of cheerleading tweets.
"CHAVEZ all the time."
That's for sure.
______
Follow Alexandra Olson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/alexolson99
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After nearly a month of secrecy, details crop up about Winslet and Ned Rocknroll's 'country-chic' wedding ceremony.
By Emily Blake
Kate Winslet
Photo: Getty Images
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1699465/kate-winslet-ned-rocknroll-wedding-details.jhtml
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Authorities announce a second person has been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting deaths of two firefighters in Webster, NY.
By NBC News and wire services
Updated: 4:58 p.m. ET: An upstate New York woman was arrested Friday and hit with?federal and state charges connected to the fatal shootings of two volunteer firefighters on Christmas Eve.
The woman, Dawn Nguyen, 24, was charged with knowingly making a false statement in the purchase of guns used in the slayings,?U.S. Attorney William Hochul told a news conference Friday. She was charged earlier on a state violation of filing a falsified business record.
Hochul said Nguyen bought the guns on behalf of William Spengler, 62,?who shot four firefighters responding to a fire he had started in his home on Monday outside Rochester, N.Y., killing two of them, before killing himself.
Nguyen "told the seller of these guns, Gander Mountain in Henrietta, that she was to be the true owner and buyer of the guns instead of William Spengler," he said. "It is absolutely against federal law to provide any materially false information related to the acquisition of firearms."
The complaint alleges that Nguyen acted as a "straw purchaser" for Spengler, who, as a convicted felon, could not legally own, acquire or purchase any firearm, Hochul said. The charges are related to an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun ? two of the three weapons found near Spengler's body Monday, according to State Police Investigator James Sewell.
Hochul said that a suicide note left by Spengler "includes information about obtaining the guns" from Nguyen.
WHEC
Police officers escort Dawn Nguyen on Friday.
The third weapon, a .38-caliber revolver, was not connected to Nguyen, Sewell said.
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported that Nguyen was arrested Friday afternoon at the home in Greece where she has been staying with her mother, Dawn Welsher.
Greece is about 5 miles north of Rochester and 2 miles west of Webster, where Spengler lived.
Watch US News crime videos on NBCNews.com
Nguyen's lawyer, Dave Palmiere, told the newspaper that Nguyen bought the weapons legally and that they had been stolen. He said Nguyen didn't recall whether she reported the guns stolen.
Monroe County Sherif's Dept. / EPA
William Spengler, in a 2006 photo, who authorities say set a house and car on fire on Christmas eve in Webster, N.Y. and then shot and killed two firefighters, and wounded two others who responded to the blaze.
Welsher told the Democrat and Chronicle that neither she nor her daughter, Nguyen, gave or sold Spengler the weapons.?
"This is nuts," she said, according to the newspaper. "I never supplied this man with nothing. My daughter never supplied him with anything. He's setting us up."
The federal charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine, The Associated Press reported.
Spengler spent 17 years in prison for killing his grandmother in 1980.
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After Monday's attack, a body was also discovered in Spengler's burned home.?Investigators?have said they believe the remains are those of his sister, Cheryl Spengler, 67, who lived with him. In all, seven houses were destroyed in the blaze.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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If you own a website, you likely have a place on your site where visitors can fill in their contact information and send you a message ? this is your contact form. As a small business owner, having a contact form is a necessity. Contact forms make it easy for your customers to ask a question or send in a comment. In fact, it may be the main source through which customers submit a complaint and in many cases, a contact form helps you avoid publishing an email address on your site.
Of course, there are certain features that all contact forms should have, especially if you want your form to help increase sales and business. Remember, the contact form is all about making it easy to get in touch with you, so keep that general principle in mind.
The important components of the contact form include:
Your contact form should be set up in a way that individuals who want to get in contact with you can type in their name and e-mail address so that after you receive their message, you can easily respond back to them and can even refer to them by name. The name, email, and message are the absolute minimum, but make it easier for them to provide a phone and subject if they want to.
The category section can be important because this is a way for the individual to choose the specific category that relates to the type of message they are sending. For example, they may have an inquiry or they may be providing feedback to you. The message section is, of course, most important. This section will be where they talk to you about whatever it is that they need. Often the category section is a drop-down box with several options from which customers can choose.
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Avoid using CAPTCHA or other human-checking gimmicks. This is a contact form, not a comment on a blog. Avoid any unneccesary steps with the contact form. The more hurdles you put in front of the customer, the less likely they will be to use the form at all. And don?t forget, sometimes those human-checking systems fail resulting in a frustrated customer.
Also do not forget about those mobile customers. The use of mobile devices for accessing websites is continually on the rise. Make sure your contact form can be used on any device, not just a desktop computer.
In addition to the contact form, make a direct email and phone number by which customers can contact you, especially if your website is an ecommerce one. While the contact form can serve as a primary method of getting in touch, some customers feel much more comfortable picking up the phone or sending an email directly from their address.
Don?t just throw up any contact form. Make sure that it is catered to your ideal customer or client. Otherwise, you may end up losing conversions because prospects are too frustrated or intimidated to complete your form.
Tara Hornor
Tara Hornor has a degree in English and has found her niche writing about marketing, advertising, branding, web and graphic design, and desktop publishing. She writes for PrintPlace.com, an online printing company that offers brochure printing, business cards, flyers, posters, postcards, booklet printing, and more printed marketing media. In addition to her writing career, Tara also enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. Connect with @TaraHornor on Twitter.
Source: http://www.firmology.com/2012/12/27/how-well-is-your-contact-form-working-for-you/
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In January, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/04/chances-of-having-twins_n_1183674.html">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> reported that the numbers of twins in the U.S. has jumped in the last three decades: In 2009, 1 in every 30 babies born in the U.S. was a twin, compared to just 1 in every 53 in 1980. Why? Chalk it up to more and more couples using assisted reproductive technology, as well as an increase in women waiting to have kids until their 30s when the odds of having twins increases,<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/04/chances-of-having-twins_n_1183674.html"> AP said.</a>
In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new figures on autism spectrum disorder in the U.S. and they were up: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/30/autism-rate-increase-repo_n_1390721.html">1 in 88 children</a> is now believed to have autism, compared to the previous estimate of 1 in 110. Experts attribute much of the increase to better screening and diagnosis, AP reported, but that does not mean the findings aren't cause for concern. "Autism is now officially becoming an epidemic in the United States," Mark Roithmayr, president of Autism Speaks, said at a news conference.
A <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/19/alcohol-during-pregnancy-_n_1686953.html">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> survey from July found that 1 in 13 pregnant women in the U.S. drink alcohol. And of those who said they drank, 1 in 5 admitted to going on at least one binge -- having four or more drinks at once. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/22/drinking-alcohol-pregnant-effects-children_n_1822880.html">A study</a> that came out a month later found that drinking during pregnancy has long-lasting effects on children's size.
More and more kids are swallowing batteries, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found, sending thousands of children to the ER each year. Between 1997 and 2010, nearly 30,000 kids up to age 4 were taken to the emergency room for battery related injuries, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/30/swallowed-batteries-kids_n_1844412.html">MyHealthNewsDaily reported</a> in August. More than half of the cases involved small, circular button batteries.
In August, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/27/new-circumcision-guidelin_n_1826069.html">American Academy of Pediatrics</a> -- the U.S.' major pediatrics organization -- revised its policy on infant male circumcision, saying that the health benefits outweigh the risks. But the new guideline stopped short of recommending it routinely, stating instead that it should simply be available to parents who choose it for their sons. To the great surprise of no one, the policy was an immediate source of debate, with one "intactivist" leader <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/27/new-circumcision-guidelin_n_1826069.html">telling HuffPost</a> that the AAP had failed to address what she called the "real risks and harms of circumcision."
Also in August, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/breastfeeding-rates-cdc_n_1734381.html">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> announced that more moms in the U.S. are breastfeeding their babies. Some 47 percent of moms breastfed their babies for at least six months in 2009 (the latest year for which there is data). That's up from 44 percent the year before. "The headlines 10 years back were, 'Mothers don't breastfeed enough; Is something wrong with mothers?'"Dr. Alison Stuebe, an OB-GYN and assistant professor of maternal and child health at the University of North Carolina <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/breastfeeding-rates-cdc_n_1734381.html">told HuffPost</a>. "We've recognized that this is crazy. Let's fix the system rather than going after moms.'"
The number of kids and teens being prescribed antipsychotics has soared, an August study in the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/antipsychotics-adhd-study_n_1760602.html">Archives of General Psychiatry</a> found. Psychiatrists now prescribe the drugs in one out of every three office visits with children, and increasingly for off label use -- namely, the treatment of ADHD. The latter in particular, experts <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/antipsychotics-adhd-study_n_1760602.html">told HuffPost</a>, is cause for serious concern: "Although antipsychotic medications can deliver rapid improvement in children with severe conduct problems and aggressive behaviors, it is not clear whether they are helpful for the larger group of children with ADHD," study author Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, said.
Nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas, is a good way for women to manage some of the pain that accompanies labor, a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/13/laughing-gas-delivery_n_1881496.html">Cochrane review</a> from September said. Though it's not at all popular here in the U.S. -- only 1 percent of women use laughing gas during birth, compared to the 60 percent of women who have an epidural during vaginal delivery -- the review concluded that it is both effective and safe for mom and baby.
Though sleep training can be a source of contention among parents and parenting experts alike, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/10/infant-sleep-training_n_1865767.html">an Australian study</a> published in September concluded that two of the most popular methods are perfectly safe. "Controlled comforting" (basically a modified form of cry-it-out) and "camping out" (when parents sit in the room with their babies and pat or comfort them, but do not feed or cuddle them to sleep), did not have any impact -- good or bad -- on children when researchers looked at them at age 6.
They're still rare, but severe complications from birth are on the rise in the U.S., <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/24/us-birth-complications_n_2008771.html">Reuters reported</a> back in October. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that between 1998 and 2009, the rate of major complications, including things like severe bleeding and kidney failure, essentially doubled. Though <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/24/us-birth-complications_n_2008771.html">experts stressed</a> that most women who give birth are perfectly fine, there has been an increase in women giving birth at older ages, as well as women who are obese or have certain health conditions that up their risk, such as high blood pressure.
Research published in October in the journal <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/20/boys-puberty_n_1987979.html">Pediatrics</a> showed that boys in the U.S. are entering into puberty at ever earlier ages: On average, boys are starting puberty six months to two years sooner than previous data showed. The study, which is among the first to look at the issue of early-onset puberty in boys, found that white and Hispanic boys now start to show signs of puberty when they are 10, while African American boys may start to show signs when they are 9 years old. What exactly this means isn't yet clear, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/20/boys-puberty_n_1987979.html">study researchers said</a>, but it flags an issue that warrants further investigation.
A lot of parents limit the amount of TV their kids watch each day, but <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/01/children-tv-exposure-study_n_1923719.html">research published in October</a> found that many are nonetheless exposed to a lot of it -- in the background. The study, which ran in the journal <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/01/children-tv-exposure-study_n_1923719.html">Pediatrics,</a> found that kids are generally exposed to at least 4 hours of background TV per day (meaning it's on in the same room they're in, even if they're not watching directly) and children under the age of 2 are exposed to 5.5 hours every day.
A November study in the journal <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/antidepressants-pregnancy_n_2094155.html">Human Reproduction</a> caused quite a stir when it suggested that SSRIs, a type of antidepressants, may increase the risk of complications when taken during pregnancy. Problems include risk of miscarriage, birth defects, neurobehavioral problems and more, the study researchers said. But there was significant push back from many mental health experts who rushed to write letters to the editor saying that the study ignored the many risks of untreated depression.
In November, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/13/us-preterm-birth-rate-hit_n_2118244.html">March of Dimes</a> released its annual preemie birth rate report card and, overall, the news was good: The U.S. preterm birth rate was the lowest it has been in a decade, dropping to 11.7 percent. While that is certainly welcome news, the U.S. still has a long way to go, March of Dimes experts <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/13/us-preterm-birth-rate-hit_n_2118244.html">told HuffPost.</a> Overall, the country still only earned a "C" and only four states (Vermont, Oregon, New Hampshire and Maine) earned an "A."
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/2012-the-biggest-health-p_n_2294940.html
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GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (Reuters) - Three New Jersey police officers were shot and wounded on Friday at their police station, and one was in surgery for his wounds, a hospital official said.
Local TV news reported that the suspected gunman was killed in the exchange of gunfire at the police station in Gloucester Township, New Jersey, about 16 miles from Philadelphia. The TV report said the suspect had been brought in for a domestic incident.
"A violent struggle occurred while the suspect was being processed," Gloucester Deputy Police Chief David Harkins said, according to Philadelphia TV station NBC10. The man was able to grab a gun and then opened fire.
The gunman was killed by police during the confrontation, Gloucester Police Chief W. Harry Earle said, according to the NBC10 report.
Gloucester Township Police declined to comment on the incident or to confirm the NBC10 report. An officer answering the phone said a press statement would be issued later, and a press conference was scheduled for Friday afternoon.
The three wounded police officers, two men and a woman, were brought to Cooper University Hospital shortly after 6 a.m. EST, hospital spokeswoman Lori Shaffer said.
Two of the officers suffered minor wounds, but one of the three, a male, required surgery, Shaffer said. She had no more information on the extent of the officer's wounds.
Part of the Gloucester Township municipal complex, which houses the police department, was cordoned off by yellow police tape on Friday. Residents described it as a quiet community.
"It's really a safe neighborhood," said Kim Kavanaugh, 47, who lives across the street from the complex with her husband and two grown children.
Her husband Don Kavanaugh, 49, said he arrived home from his overnight work shift about 5 a.m. "About 6 o'clock I saw a bunch of flashing lights. I didn't think nothing of it, I see flashing lights in and out of there all the time," he said.
The incident follows several recent multiple shootings in the United States, and comes two weeks after a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
One week ago in western Pennsylvania, a man with a pistol fatally shot three people and then opened fire on police. Three officers were injured in that incident, one in a collision from a car chase with the gunman, another from bullet fragments to the face and a third who was struck with gunfire to the chest but survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
(Additional reporting and writing by Dan Burns in New York; Editing by Paul Thomasch, Claudia Parsons and David Gregorio)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/three-jersey-police-officers-shot-134330961.html
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Here are some questions about friends to get some thoughts rolling - these are the kinds of questions I ask myself about people I am considering calling Friends.....
You can turn all of these around as well - to see the people in your life towards whom you are offering friendship.
If your relationships aren't fulfilling, perhaps you could change how you are in them? ?Try it - you might surprise yourself.
I recall a woman who was about to marry a male friend of mine freaking out in my specific direction about my relationship with her?fianc?'. ?I mean - she was really upset about it. ?She knew that he and I had a platonic relationship - that we had no intention of broadening the context of that to anything sexual or romantic, and yet she was so unbearably?threatened?by our friendship, it was causing strife and conflict.
I asked her one day why?she was so afraid of my friendship with him, and her response (paraphrased) was "It's possible that Bob and I won't be married forever, and yet I know that you and he will be together until one of you dies". I didn't really have a response to that, because it was true. ?Instead, she and I had a conversation about friendship - and it came up in the conversation that she could be his spouse/lover as well as his friend.?Even with their divorce, they were and remain close friends to this day (my timeline with him goes back 30 years - their timeline is about 25 years long). ?My big bonus from that shift was that she and I became friends as well. ? So the next time you and I use minimizing language like "just friends" for such powerful and empowering relationship contexts, maybe we could stop a moment and consider the power of our words. ?Just some food for thought on a grey Wednesday afternoon in my perch in Seattle.
Namaste,
Bendy
Source: http://bendyogagirl.blogspot.com/2012/12/just-friends.html
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Apologies for a long, cranky post during the holidays, but this topic deserves some attention. As you know, I?ve been writing about trademark squatting and other registration issues for a long time, and the subject has been particularly hot in the past couple of years with disputes involving famous brands and names like iPad, Hermes, and Michael Jordan. However, we cannot simply lump all of these cases together, label them as trademark infringement or trademark squatting, and look for a quick legislative fix.
That being said, it appears as though China will be addressing the issue of malicious registration in an amendment to the Trademark Law; Xinhua reported the news earlier this week:
The top legislature on Monday began deliberating a draft amendment to the Trademark Law that would prevent the malicious registration of trademarks that are already in use.
?Applications should not be accepted if the applicants know beforehand that the trademarks to be registered are already in use by other companies,? says the draft, which was submitted to the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People?s Congress (NPC) for review.
The draft is intended to curb the malicious registration of trademarks by individuals who have insider knowledge of other companies using said trademarks.
OK, a bit of explanation is in order. China?s current trademark law says that between multiple applicants, the first party to apply for trademark protection wins. This is the so-called ?first-to-file? concept. There are, however, some exceptions to the rule, including special protection for well-known trademarks and ?bad faith? registrations.
As to the latter, if it can be shown that the registrant had knowledge of the mark prior to the application, then a bad faith argument might be successful. Note that both arguments may be used with respect to both trademark oppositions (during the application process) as well as cancellations (after the mark has been registered).
All right, so why am I disgruntled? Two things: one a minor irritant, and the other a substantive criticism. I?ll start with the minor issue first and pick on Reuters, which ran a story on this issue with the following lede:
China plans to change the law to crackdown on ?malicious? trademark registrations, state media said on Monday, after a series of cases in which well-know [sic] international brands and individuals have had their names or copyright misused.
Three problems with that sentence alone: 1) the typo; 2) the unforgivable sin of mixing up copyright and trademark (the above was the first of two such references in the article); and 3) the substantive issue (I?ll get to this in a minute).
I know I tend to go on and on about this, but is it really so hard to grasp that patents, trademarks and copyrights are different things? Are they conceptually that difficult to distinguish? Do editors actually do anything these days aside from coming up with inaccurate, inane but pithy headlines?
OK, rant over. On to the real problem.
The Reuters coverage, which as usual was aped by some other journamalists, suggests that this proposed amendment is a response to recent high-profile trademark cases, including (they say) Hermes, iPad and Michael Jordan. I find this rather odd.
Both the Hermes and Michael Jordan cases involved trademark squatting. Hermes lost (I assume) because of evidentiary problems, not because the law does not set forth a procedure by which the owner of an unregistered mark can mount a cancellation action based on well-known mark status. In the Michael Jordan case, which is ongoing, there is an added wrinkle of name rights, but even so, Jordan should not have too much trouble proving his fame at the time of the application.
The iPad case had nothing to do with trademark squatting, and the registration by Proview pre-dated the launch of Apple?s iPad tablet. Using the Apple-Proview dispute as an example of trademark squatting clearly reveals the Reuters reporter?s ignorance (in addition to the copyright references, that is). CNET also ran an article on this topic, along with a photo of an iPad, with a really inexcusable subtitle/blurb: ?China says it will make a greater effort to stamp out companies such as Proview, which sued Apple earlier this year for the use of the iPad name.? {sigh}
Of the three cases cited by Reuters, one involves name rights, another is a straightforward well-known mark case, and the third was a contract dispute. I?m at a loss to explain how any new set of rules could apply to all of those situations.
Judging by the headlines, which include language like ?China to crack down on,? ?China to curtail,? and ?China to stop? trademark squatters, it sounds like China law has a huge hole in in that needs to be filled. Nonsense. The legal system here has dealt with malicious registrations for years; it?s not perfect, but neither is it useless or nonexistent.
This begs the question: just what are we likely to see in these amendments? I don?t think we?re going to have any new causes of action; again, the law already allows brand owners to assert well-known and bad faith arguments during cancellation and opposition proceedings. This hint in the Xinhua article is quite odd:
The amendment also offers protection for renowned trademarks, giving their owners the right to ban others from registering the trademarks or using similar ones ? even if such trademarks are not registered.
In such a case, the trademark in question must be determined to be well-known, with results to be valid only for that specific case, the amendment states.
What?s the problem? Well, that?s pretty much just a restatement of the current law as it is today. Hey, maybe the ?amendments? will be nothing more than a legislative reminder to everyone out there that these issues have already been addressed in past trademark law reforms.
This isn?t to say, though, that winning such cases is always easy. Hermes, and many others, have lost because they were not able to prove well-known mark status at the time of registration. I suppose evidentiary standards could be loosened up a bit with some new rules. But that?s hardly a game changer.
With respect to bad faith, these cases are also often difficult to prove. Just look at the current fight involving Tencent and the ???? (wei xin) mark. The squatter in that case filed an application just one week prior to Tencent?s! This was before the product launch, so any well-known mark argument will be extremely difficult to win. That leaves a bad faith argument, which the suspicious timeline definitely points to; whether Tencent has enough evidence to make its case remains to be seen. This may be one of those ?insider knowledge? type cases referenced by Xinhua.
On the other hand, Xinhua tells us that the new rules would ?prevent the malicious registration of trademarks that are already in use,? so it?s not even clear that these amendments would apply to the??? dispute. They definitely would have had no bearing at all on the iPad case.
Let me attempt a summary and exit here. Trademark squatting is a problem, and it looks as though the government wants to tighten up some rules in that area. It isn?t at all clear, though, that this is being pushed because of a few high-profile foreign-related {cough cough conceit cough} disputes, one of which is not even remotely applicable. Moreover, as the law already addresses malicious trademark registrations, this is not ground-breaking legal reform here.
And it has nothing at all to do with copyright!
? Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Hermes, ipad, proview, Tencent, trademark infringement, trademark registration, trademark squatting
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Europe's newest deep-space tracking station has received its first interplanetary message: a photo of a half-lit Mars as seen by an orbiting spacecraft.
The new Mars photo was snapped by the European Space Agency's Mars Express probe and beamed to Earth on Dec. 18, where it was received by the agency's brand-new space tracking station in Malarg?e, Argentina. Argentina's President Cristina Fern?ndez de Kirchner activated the huge antenna dish via a remote link from the country's Casa Rosada presidential palace to commemorate the event, ESA officials said.
In the Mars photo, the Red Planet appears to lie on its side with its daytime side facing down. Three huge volcano domes can be easily seen in the view, as well as several canyons etched into the Martian landscape. The Mars Express spacecraft used its low-resolution Visual Monitoring Camera to capture the image from a distance of 6,065 miles (9,761 kilometers).
The photo was sent to the Malarg?e station during the site's official inauguration last week by ESA officials. It took about 18 minutes to cross the 203 million miles (327 million km) between Earth and Mars, ESA officials said.
The Malarg?e antenna is one of three deep-space tracking installations that make up ESA's Estrack system. Construction of the 600-ton antenna began in 2010 and was completed this year. The site's nearly 115-foot (35-meter) dish is designed to serve as both a ground station for satellites in Earth orbit and spacecraft exploring other destinations in the solar system. The two other installations of the Estrack system are located in New Norcia, Australia, and Cebreros, Spain.
"With the Malarg?e station, ESA becomes only the second space agency in the world to provide all-sky coverage for deep-space missions," ESA's Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain said in a statement. The other space agency with the capability is the U.S.-based NASA, which operates its own Deep Space Network of ground stations.
ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has been orbiting the Red Planet since December 2003. It is currently in the midst of an extended mission that runs through 2014.
Follow SPACE.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?and?Google+.
Copyright 2012 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mars-photo-christens-deep-space-antenna-210527929.html
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Monroe and Moroccan are getting so big! Check out the personal photos the famous parents have shared of their little cuties
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In coming days, the Environmental Protection Agency?s to-do list will include setting a standard for the amount of advanced biofuels that refiners will be required to blend into gasoline and diesel supplies in 2013. The question is tricky because production in one category, cellulosic fuel from nonfood sources like corn cobs, stalks, wood chips and garbage, has not met the target set by Congress. The E.P.A. has the authority to adjust the quotas as needed, but the issue is complicated.
The quotas were laid out in 2007 when Congress established a renewable fuel standard. Under its targets, production of cellulosic fuel was supposed to hit one billion gallons next year, up from 500 million in 2012, 250 million in 2011 and 100 million in 2010. But so far output is near zero because no one seems to have hit on a commercially successful recipe.
So far the E.P.A. has had little choice but to repeatedly waive nearly all of the cellulosic requirement, but this has led to bitter complaints from the refiners, who say they are still required to use small quantities of a fuel that does not exist or face fines.
Even as the agency waived most of the cellulosic requirement, it kept intact a larger 2.75 billion-gallon quota for ?advanced? biofuels in general, which includes cellulosic, ethanol made from Brazilian sugar cane and biodiesel made mostly from soybeans. Production of biodiesel or sugar-cane ethanol is favored because each process emits relatively little carbon dioxide, the predominant greenhouse gas, meaning it has an advantage on the global warming front.
Keeping the quota for advanced fuels intact was more or less O.K. when the agency waived smaller cellulosic mandates, said Jeremy I. Martin, a senior scientist in the Union of Concerned Scientists? clean vehicles program. But it?s going to be a problem if the agency waives a one billion gallon requirement for 2013, he warned.
If the overall 2.75 billion quota for advanced fuels is not reduced, the biodiesel and the sugar-cane ethanol will have to make up the difference. And if that happens, Mr. Martin argues, the quota will start putting more pressure on food supplies.
Various other industrial users of food, especially companies that raise chickens, turkeys, hogs and beef, have meanwhile been trying to get the mandate for corn ethanol reduced, but the E.P.A. has declined to do so. The biofuel industry has been pushing hard to maintain the quotas, with waivers for cellulosic fuels as needed, year by year.
A new industry report catalogs a growing number of efforts to produce cellulosic biofuels, albeit commercially unsuccessful ones. ?All in all, the post-election environment in Washington seems to promise continuation of stable policy support for advanced biofuels commercialization and the robust growth of the industry,? Brent Erickson, executive vice president of the Biotechnology industry Organization said in a letter to supporters this month.
Mr. Martin?s theory is that E.P.A. should stay the course. ?We?re going to have to accept that the cellulosic fuels are late,?? he said, but it would be better to delay the quotas than to eliminate them. ?Going in the right direction a little more slowly is better than going in the wrong direction,?? he said.
Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/24/food-vs-fuel-in-2013/?partner=rss&emc=rss
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December 31st will mark the end of one of the biggest names in the world of printed news. As noted back in October, however, Newsweek isn't saying die, it's just jumping head first into the warm embrace of digital media. And as the publication revealed via its Twitter account, it will be doing so with a wink and a nod, thanks to a giant #lastprintissue hashtag smack dab in the middle of a classy black and white cover. #godspeed, Newsweek, #godspeed.
Filed under: Internet
Via: Business Insider
Source: Twitter
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/25/newsweek/
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