daily blog

From early childhood and throughout the schooling system, we learn the “3R’s”: Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic – the science of numbers. (Nowadays, you need to add a fourth “R”- gRaphing!).
Later, we reach a certain level in our education where were may feel rightly or wrongly (often complacently) that our levels of mastering reading and writing are satisfactory.

However… What about numbers? Generally, we do not fully realize the extent to which numbers control and regulate our lives. We are all identified by innumerable numbers from birth to the very last moments of our lives. Just reflect only on some of our important dates: birth, starting school, finishing primary school, finishing secondary school, the admission to university and then also with every stage of our education imprinted with our marks, marks and marks (percentages!). Then other numbers: the first love (the date, some of us remember!), dates of: marriage, birth of children, the first work, salaries, divorce, then blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels, the first operation, the passing away (not yet?) and so on. These numbers are unique to you and unique to me. They all identify you and identify me.

Some numbers quantify information. These are essential to understanding facts, events, processes, laws etc… The US novelist, Nathanel West, 1903-1940, stated aptly: “Numbers constitute the only universal language”.

Studies have shown that even rhesus monkeys can understand the relation between numbers 1 to 9 i.e., they are able to judge whether the specified number is smaller or bigger than the other number.

So, what is the present state of arithmetic? Unfortunately, most of the people satisfy themselves on a very low level of its cognizance. (As an anecdote, I may tell you that I was approached by a lawyer who asked me: “I have to assign a plaintiff 15% of the amount demanded by defendant; how much is it?”). Most people fear numbers if they require any further calculations: making fractions, multiplying, using proportions or inverse proportions, converting to percentages or substituting to formulas. What are the implications of this fact? It often leads to impaired judgement of the average citizen regarding handling their home economics, investment and, as the case may be, the events in their own country and on our globe. As the citizens of a “global village”, we are all affected by events not only in our place or country but even in far-away-countries. Consider these numbers: people affected by HIV, bird flu, tsunami, price of a barrel of oil, tsunami in financial markets, increasing ozone hole, decreasing shoals of fish in oceans, decreasing number of polar bears, the increase in the average yearly temperature, increasing extinction of species of animals and plants. One can present endless number of examples.

The numbers can be puzzling, depressing, shocking, fascinating, mystifying or upsetting. Well, they can be… An educated, intelligent and honest person will perceive them this way. A Polish film director Jerzy Konwicki (renown for his “Ashes and Diamonds”) used to say: “only a cow does not care”.

True, a cow does not know, for example, about the “mad cow” disease and does not understand what it means that a certain percentage of cows are affected by foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue virus. There are however, unfortunately, also some examples among educated as well as decision making persons, institutions and governments who do not care. They have dubious motives to ignore some numbers (and related facts) they do not like. What will be the consequences of their arrogance to human beings in the future? A Japanese proverb says that more intelligent are those who see further…

Below there are several examples of numbers compiled from the Internet, Time and Trumpet. They may not be exact; however you may find them interesting and worthy of your attention:

65 000 – estimated population of Africa’s black rhinos in 1970
3 600 – estimated population of Africa’s black rhino in 2007
2 000 000 000 000 USD – US cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, so far

3 500 000 – Jews murdered in Poland by German Nazis

32 000 000 – population of Poland before II WW; 24 000 000 after the war

1500 – new HIV infections a day in South Africa

1 000 000 – Americans killed yearly by heart attacks (cardiacnetwork.net)

7:2 – ratio of average number of TV sets to children in the USA

1500 – number of hours, the average USA teenager spends watching TV

67% – percentage of Australian and USA men are overweight

1 in 12- South Africans who had access to the Internet in 2007

15-30 000 000 – men suffering from erectile dysfunction (NIH, USA government statistics)

690 000 000 – number of Asians living on $1 or less per day (Asian Dev. Bank)

142.8 – number of women raped per 100 000 in South Africa; 150 per day

66 000 000 – number of people in the USA suffering with arthritis, the most common chronic health problem in the USA

3% – rate of the green gas increasing per year

7 600 000 – number of cancer death worldwide in 2007

5 200 000 – Americans suffer from full-blown diabetes and don’t know it…yet.

14 000 – dolphins killed annually in Japan

400 000 000 – number of people in the world suffering from depression and mental disorders (WHO).

Look again at the numbers. They alone are meaningless. However, together with the descriptive information, they carry powerful information, obviously to those who are intelligent enough to understand them. Unfortunately, it does not mean yet, that those who understand them and have authority to make decision/s to change some of the numbers/trends are willing to act…

Are you already feeling depressed? You should be… You are intelligent…
Till the next time… (2).

P.S.: While proofreading, my wife counsels me that I have omitted three other important R’s. During a whole life one should learn: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for your own actions. She is absolutely Right!

Wacek Kijewski is the author of stimulating and entertaining resource material on experimental science: “SI Units, Conversion and Measurement Skills” (the 2007 edition, IBN 0629340584, 186 pp, USD97. The book is recommended for students and lecturers science and engineering courses. Visit website: http://www.wacek.co.za and http://www.wacek.co.za/review.html Read seven reviews: UNESCO, UK, South Africa, Botswana, United States, Hungary. His other ezines:”The Travellers Temperature Tips”, “Is IQ a Metric Unit of Intelligence and…Stupidity”, “Al-Gebra and Illuminati Links Discovered”, “How to Measure Cultural Differences in Metric Units”, “The Traveller’s Temperature Predicaments (2). NB: The book is being sold by Amazon and other booksellers illegally.

So you want to host a wine tasting? Make it fun! Wine tasting doesn’t have to be a stuffy affair. After all, wine is first and foremost about pleasure. So even if you are trying to organize an education tasting, you should keep it enjoyable. One of the best ways to keep your guests interested and focused on the wine while having a great time is to plan a fun wine tasting theme. A cohesive theme helps keep the tasting focused and helps to get guests involved, drawing them out to comment on and discuss the wines. After all, the discussion is what is really the most fun and educational, not just tasting the wines. Otherwise you could just have wine tastings all alone at home!

Some of the themes listed below are not mutually exclusive. Mix it up, make it interesting in any way that seems entertaining to you and your guests. You can even throw in some wine tasting party games to really turn up the excitement.

Blind Wine Tastings:

A blind wine tasting is a fun way to get everyone involved and keep your guests guessing. In a blind tasting, the tasters are blinded to the wines. Generally, the bottles are covered with a brown bag to hide their identity and then numbered with a marker. That way your guests are not biased based on the label, producer, price or anything else. You can share your unbiased thoughts and impressions about the wines. You can have random wines or they can all have some theme, such as a vertical or horizontal tasting (see below). It can even be fun to incorporate a game such as scoring each wine to see which wine gets the most votes. Or you can award prizes for the person who guesses the the most wines correctly (vintage, producer, region, grape varieties, etc.). At the end you reveal the wine and can discuss further once you know what the wines were. It is a good idea to reveal the wines while everyone still has a bit of each wine left to taste so they can go back and reassess their impressions after finding out what they were drinking.

Vertical Wine Tasting:

A vertical tasting is an assortment of the same wine, from the same producer and vineyard, across several vintages. It is a great way to begin to understand both the style and specific characteristics of a producer or vineyard as well as the subtle differences that result from the different growing conditions of different vintages. While this can be difficult to arrange for someone new to wine, who only has access to the newest wines that are on the current market, if you have friends who collect wine and can help source the bottles this type of tasting can be very educational.

Horizontal Wine Tasting:

A horizontal wine tasting theme is much easier to put together. It is a tasting of various wines from the same vintage. Ideally, wines from the same region and general style are tasted from one vintage to compare the different producers and vineyards. This helps to learn about the characteristics of the vintage as well as the differences between the various producers or vineyards the wines come from. This type of tasting is much easier to put together than a vertical tasting because the wines all come from the same vintage. If you stick to a current vintage then you will have many options you can find in the marketplace. While it is generally best to stick to one region or style of wine, if you really want to challenge your guests you can include several wines from the same vintage but from different regions, grapes or countries to help learn about the, sometimes dramatic, differences between them.

Wine Region Theme:

A great way to learn a lot about a particular wine region is to host a tasting where the theme is just one wine producing area. Choose several wines produced in that region, from different producers, vineyards and sub-regions within the area. As you and your guests taste through them, pay attention to the similarities as well as the differences. Can you identify any characteristics that unify the wines? What sets them apart? Ask these questions to your guests. If you draw people out to talk, discuss and argue, your tasting will be more fun and educational.

Wine Scoring Party:

Another fun way to get your guests all personally involved is to ask everyone to score each wine. While most tasters find it easy to say if they like or don’t like a wine, it requires much more attention to the details of the wine to give it a specific score. There are different ways to do this. One of the best is to supply your guests with a wine tasting score sheet which serves as a template to score wines. You can have sections with room for notes on the wine name, color and appearance, aroma, flavor and mouthfeel and overall impressions and conclusions. For the standard 100 point score they can give up to 5, 15, 20, and 10 points each for the color/appearance, aromas, flavors and overall impression/finish, respectively. The scores for each are added and added to 50 to create the final score between 50 and 100. You can then compare scores across guests and figure out how the wines ranked.

Wine and Food Pairing Dinner Party Theme:

Traditionally, wine is not meant to be enjoyed alone. Throughout history wine has accompanied food and many people believe that alongside food is where you should enjoy and judge wine. While tastings of wine alone is a lot of fun, a full dinner can really make the food and wine shine, bringing out nuances of each that were missing before. If you or your friends love to cook, pairing wine with each dish or course is a great way to both learn about the wines but also to learn about what types of wines work with specific foods. You can serve several wines alone with a given course and vote on which paired the best with the food. A fun way to do this is to choose a country or region and pair that area’s cuisine with the wines produced there. For example, you can pair traditional Spanish cuisine with Spanish wines. The cuisine and wine of these old cultures grew up alongside each other over centuries and therefore they often create some of the most profound food and wine pairings. There are so many other options, from the general (like French wine with French food) to the specific (like Provençal cuisine with Bandol wine or Southwestern French cuisine with Bordeaux). If you are really enthusiastic you can even decorate the room and table in the style of that region to get everyone in the mood. Get creative and make it fun!

Josh Dusick is the editor of the Wine Tastings Guide at http://www.wine-tastings-guide.com where you can get information about how to host a wine tasting party, how to serve and taste wine and even about pairing wine and food.

I’m sure there are many men out there who will agree that there are certain things a woman should never ask their husbands and boyfriends. Not only do men prefer not to deal with these annoying questions, women usually don’t want to hear the answers… not honest answers, anyway!

Here are some of the top things you should never ask a guy:

1. Does this make me look fat?
Please don’t take this the wrong way, but if you’re worried that an outfit makes you look fat, it probably does. Don’t wimp out by asking for a guy’s opinion. Any man who doesn’t want to get his head bitten off is going to lie and say, “Of course not, honey.”

2. What are you thinking?
Personally, I don’t buy into the rumor that men only think about sex. They think about other things too, like pizza and dinosaurs. They’re probably not thinking about you, though, at least not at the precise moment when you ask this rather blunt question. It puts them on the spot, possibly even making them forget what they were thinking about in the first place. That, or they’re thinking about something they’d rather not discuss. If your guy is thinking about Christina Aguilera’s boobs, do you really want to know about it?

3. Which do you like better?
Whether you’re talking about shoes, dresses, or jewelry, most men don’t care. And if he’s one of those men who actually has an opinion on what looks more fashionable, you probably won’t agree with him anyway. You’ll both be a lot happier if you trust your own judgment.

4. Do you think she looks pretty?
This is a loaded question. We of course know that the only correct response is, “She’s not as beautiful as you, honey.” But he might shoot himself in the foot and answer honestly: “Yeah, she’s pretty hot!” This is an insecurity issue.

In short, never ask a question if you’re not prepared to hear an honest answer!

Wishing you joy in your relationship,

Dana Rhinehart

Want to enjoy a happy marriage like I do? Want to find out for sure if you and your partner are compatible? Visit http://strongrelationships.info to get a list of pre-marriage questions you need to ask your partner.

From early childhood and throughout the schooling system, we learn the “3R’s”: Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic – the science of numbers. (Nowadays, you need to add a fourth “R”- gRaphing!).
Later, we reach a certain level in our education where were may feel rightly or wrongly (often complacently) that our levels of mastering reading and writing are satisfactory.

However… What about numbers? Generally, we do not fully realize the extent to which numbers control and regulate our lives. We are all identified by innumerable numbers from birth to the very last moments of our lives. Just reflect only on some of our important dates: birth, starting school, finishing primary school, finishing secondary school, the admission to university and then also with every stage of our education imprinted with our marks, marks and marks (percentages!). Then other numbers: the first love (the date, some of us remember!), dates of: marriage, birth of children, the first work, salaries, divorce, then blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels, the first operation, the passing away (not yet?) and so on. These numbers are unique to you and unique to me. They all identify you and identify me.

Some numbers quantify information. These are essential to understanding facts, events, processes, laws etc… The US novelist, Nathanel West, 1903-1940, stated aptly: “Numbers constitute the only universal language”.

Studies have shown that even rhesus monkeys can understand the relation between numbers 1 to 9 i.e., they are able to judge whether the specified number is smaller or bigger than the other number.

So, what is the present state of arithmetic? Unfortunately, most of the people satisfy themselves on a very low level of its cognizance. (As an anecdote, I may tell you that I was approached by a lawyer who asked me: “I have to assign a plaintiff 15% of the amount demanded by defendant; how much is it?”). Most people fear numbers if they require any further calculations: making fractions, multiplying, using proportions or inverse proportions, converting to percentages or substituting to formulas. What are the implications of this fact? It often leads to impaired judgement of the average citizen regarding handling their home economics, investment and, as the case may be, the events in their own country and on our globe. As the citizens of a “global village”, we are all affected by events not only in our place or country but even in far-away-countries. Consider these numbers: people affected by HIV, bird flu, tsunami, price of a barrel of oil, tsunami in financial markets, increasing ozone hole, decreasing shoals of fish in oceans, decreasing number of polar bears, the increase in the average yearly temperature, increasing extinction of species of animals and plants. One can present endless number of examples.

The numbers can be puzzling, depressing, shocking, fascinating, mystifying or upsetting. Well, they can be… An educated, intelligent and honest person will perceive them this way. A Polish film director Jerzy Konwicki (renown for his “Ashes and Diamonds”) used to say: “only a cow does not care”.

True, a cow does not know, for example, about the “mad cow” disease and does not understand what it means that a certain percentage of cows are affected by foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue virus. There are however, unfortunately, also some examples among educated as well as decision making persons, institutions and governments who do not care. They have dubious motives to ignore some numbers (and related facts) they do not like. What will be the consequences of their arrogance to human beings in the future? A Japanese proverb says that more intelligent are those who see further…

Below there are several examples of numbers compiled from the Internet, Time and Trumpet. They may not be exact; however you may find them interesting and worthy of your attention:

65 000 – estimated population of Africa’s black rhinos in 1970
3 600 – estimated population of Africa’s black rhino in 2007
2 000 000 000 000 USD – US cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, so far

3 500 000 – Jews murdered in Poland by German Nazis

32 000 000 – population of Poland before II WW; 24 000 000 after the war

1500 – new HIV infections a day in South Africa

1 000 000 – Americans killed yearly by heart attacks (cardiacnetwork.net)

7:2 – ratio of average number of TV sets to children in the USA

1500 – number of hours, the average USA teenager spends watching TV

67% – percentage of Australian and USA men are overweight

1 in 12- South Africans who had access to the Internet in 2007

15-30 000 000 – men suffering from erectile dysfunction (NIH, USA government statistics)

690 000 000 – number of Asians living on $1 or less per day (Asian Dev. Bank)

142.8 – number of women raped per 100 000 in South Africa; 150 per day

66 000 000 – number of people in the USA suffering with arthritis, the most common chronic health problem in the USA

3% – rate of the green gas increasing per year

7 600 000 – number of cancer death worldwide in 2007

5 200 000 – Americans suffer from full-blown diabetes and don’t know it…yet.

14 000 – dolphins killed annually in Japan

400 000 000 – number of people in the world suffering from depression and mental disorders (WHO).

Look again at the numbers. They alone are meaningless. However, together with the descriptive information, they carry powerful information, obviously to those who are intelligent enough to understand them. Unfortunately, it does not mean yet, that those who understand them and have authority to make decision/s to change some of the numbers/trends are willing to act…

Are you already feeling depressed? You should be… You are intelligent…
Till the next time… (2).

P.S.: While proofreading, my wife counsels me that I have omitted three other important R’s. During a whole life one should learn: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for your own actions. She is absolutely Right!

Wacek Kijewski is the author of stimulating and entertaining resource material on experimental science: “SI Units, Conversion and Measurement Skills” (the 2007 edition, IBN 0629340584, 186 pp, USD97. The book is recommended for students and lecturers science and engineering courses. Visit website: http://www.wacek.co.za and http://www.wacek.co.za/review.html Read seven reviews: UNESCO, UK, South Africa, Botswana, United States, Hungary. His other ezines:”The Travellers Temperature Tips”, “Is IQ a Metric Unit of Intelligence and…Stupidity”, “Al-Gebra and Illuminati Links Discovered”, “How to Measure Cultural Differences in Metric Units”, “The Traveller’s Temperature Predicaments (2). NB: The book is being sold by Amazon and other booksellers illegally.

Have home prices become so low that consumers have lost their minds? My recent experiences have led me to believe that there may be a lot less logic out there in the real estate market than I once believed.

A new home buyer recently explained to me how he had moved at just the right time to escape the upcoming Michigan freeze and take advantage of our 70 degree winter months in Nevada. He also explained to me that he had taken advantage of a very big home price discount given by a lady who needed to move back to Chicago. He had enough money from his IRA to not need a mortgage, but he did take a small seller carry-back loan. What a deal I thought, it must be nice to have such great timing to be able to benefit from the depressed market and low housing prices.

The conversation with the new home buyer became much more interesting when he told me how he did it. Without hesitation he told me that he abandoned his home, after the printing company that he worked for closed its doors, then he packed up the moving van and pointed his car southwest. That was it, and there was not a tinge of regret or concern in his voice when he said it.

I was stunned by the simplicity of the act, but I couldn’t help but ask, why wasn’t he concerned about the consequences of leaving his home in Michigan for bank foreclosure? “Why worry” he explained, they won’t make the effort to chase me across the country. In his mind, it was just one more foreclose in a sea of foreclosures, and there was nothing to be concerned about.

While I’m not an “establishment” kind of guy, there seems to me to be a serious flaw in the belief that you can dump your current home and its mortgage because now is the right time to buy, or because you simply don’t have the patience to wait for the economy to change. While I’m not in touch with the long-term consequences of abandonment, foreclosure and deficiency judgments, it’s hard to believe that you can continue your life without consequences after making a decision of this type.

Take a suggestion from a person who has dealt with bill collectors in the past, you don’t want to live with someone chasing you on a daily basis for tens of thousands of dollars, especially if you have purchased a “new” home in another state and have wages that can be attached. It is likely that they will come after your assets. While a lot of people would like to move, for various reasons, most have bitten the proverbial bullet and are waiting for times to change.

Copyright 2008, Glenn J. Rigdon http://www.horizonvillageappraisal.com

The author, Glenn J. Rigdon, BS, BSCS, MA, ASA is a Realtor, a commercial broker and a commercial appraiser with 30 years of experience working in the real estate industry. Mr. Rigdon has held the position of Economist with the Arizona State Land Department and Staff Specialist – Legal with the Nevada Department of Transportation. His office is located in Henderson, Nevada.

Shopping can be a nightmare especially for those who can’t be seen buying anything sexier than a tube sock. Buying swim wear in public, for one, might just be the worst. You’ve got the nosy bystanders waiting to see what you’d pick out from the rack next, the seemingly judgmental store attendants raising their eyebrows every time you ask for a suit in your size, and the mean stores who decided that a common viewing area or central mirror is better than individual mirrors in each dressing room. It’s not only psychologically excruciating but it can also be considered suicide!

Before you get a *serious heart attack* from embarking on your swimsuit quest, you have to look at yourself in the mirror and identify what your assets and “areas of improvement” are. Don’t worry, nobody is around to judge you. And everything that you could think of is only between you and the mirror. I suggest picking out a clean mirror in a room with sufficient lighting so you can’t miss a single flaw, like a minute dimple or stubborn mass of flab. You are your worst critic, however, you should love your body with all its imperfections because if you don’t, who else will?

If you’re faced with a little unwanted tummy or belly bump, stay away from complicated suits and stick to the basics. There’s a perfectly good reason that God hasn’t phased out the one-piece. If you don’t even want to think about details too much, a classic black number would do because black is known to conceal a few extra pounds. But there are quite a number of one-piece suits out in the market today which have elegant and snappy bust bands that capture the eye and create the illusion of a slimmer midsection. Printed suits could also be used to your advantage. Narrow horizontal stripes, for example, add shape at the waist while vertical lines pull the torso in opposite directions causing the body to look longer. Two contrasting colors between a suit and its shirrings across the middle of the body will showcase the waist and draw attention upward. I think the Mineral Blue Ruched Satin Swimsuit from Donna Karan New York would look absolutely flattering on any kind of figure. It has ample top support, a slimming ruched detail that runs from the neckline down to lower hip, and adequate coverage for the back and bottom. The best part about it is that it almost looks like a two-piece.

Whether you have a full or humble bosom, the secret to finding the right suit is to look for something with sufficient support partnered by a flattering cut. Deep and voluptuous cuts and halter necks highlight the shoulders and arms while they provide support. Underwire and neck lines that are parallel to the ground puts everything right where they should be. A triangle bikini top can also be quite the winning piece. The Christian Dior Pink Smocked Houndstooth Bikini Top would give the right amount of lift while its herringbone pattern would add just a hint of class.

For dressing up a slightly heavier bottom, avoid anything that would cut through those hips and thighs such as boy shorts and bum-binding style bikinis. Instead, opt for a moderately high-cut bottom which will streamline the legs and make them appear leaner and longer. You will realize that there’s really no need for extreme measures such as *laser liposuction* just so you could fit into one. Coral Ruffled Bikini Bottoms from BCBG Max Azria have ruffled trims around the hips and plenty of coverage. If that still doesn’t work for you, I suggest you hit the beach in hip and stylish board shorts that aren’t too big nor too tight. The lace-up closure band should rest perfectly on your hips and this will let you move and groove anywhere, anytime. All designer pieces mentioned above are available at www.bluefly.com for your viewing and buying pleasure.

Your body is your blank canvas while the swim suit you put on is your art. Be as creative and as fashionable as you can be, but always put comfort and support first. If you put a suit on and you feel like it’s restricting or it doesn’t hold anything in their place, then you might as well move on to the next one. Your swim wear will only look breathtaking on you if it fits you right.

For more valuable information on bikini, swim wear, please visit http://www.microbikini.com

Probate is the legal process that settles the property of the deceased person and tells how it should be equally distributed among the heirs and beneficiaries in case there is no will. The rules and regulations of probate vary form state to state and each state can have a different procedure and hearing process for probate. Some general guidance might be similar in most states but it is always advised to take help of a legal advisor in case you need to understand the probate process in your locality. Moreover you should understand that every probate case is different depending on the amount of money involved in it. The different property, debts and people involved in it make the whole case different from one other. There is no way that the rules and results of one probate case can apply to other case. Normally people have a view point that probate can be an ugly scene but the fact is that it can be easy if all parties involved in it work together for a positive outcome and preserve the memory of the deceased person.

In most cases, the property of the deceased person is transferred to his spouse if the person has not made any will before his expiry but in some conditions due to the parties’ involved the property cannot be transferred to the spouse directly. The probate court which hears the matter of probate cases will get involved if there any issues relating to the property of the deceased person. The case has to go through a legal framework and the final order of the court has to be addressed by each person involved in the case. Now, since every state has different law regarding the probate so the hearings of the case in the court can be different in each state.

If the deceased person has a will and has named a representative,all the assets will be handled by this person unless the judge deems this person unfit, etc.If there is no representative named in the will then the court appoints a representative who handles the property unless the decision is made. The appointed representative is called the administrator and has sole responsibility of handling the property.
The Probate Process

In the initial phase the administrator opens the case in the court. During this period he evaluates the property and collects all the property of the deceased person. Few items which come under contract of the deceased person are not held in probate and they pass automatically to the beneficiary. Any bank accounts or other things which has the clause of “payable on death” are transferred to the person named in the contract. Only those limited property that have no clear beneficiaries are accountable for probate process. After accumulating all the property, the administrator sends a legal notice to all parties involved in the case and pays all the debts and claims which remain outstanding on the deceased name. Then the administrator distributes the remaining property to the beneficiaries of the decedent as instructed in the court’s verdict.

If there are any disputes during the process then the court hearing decided upon the matter and the final verdict has to be agreed upon by every parties involved in the probate process. Anyone can file the claim on the property and if the court declines the claim then the opponent can file lawsuit to claim the property. If the lawsuit is made then court has to take the case more formally and this is when major problems occur during the probate process.

Normally, probate process take a longer time and if the amount involved is huge then the process can be more problematic. But if all the parties involved work together to make a positive solution then probate process can be competed easily and the property is distributed equally among the heirs or beneficiaries.

Luis Pezzini
lpezzini@pezzini.info
http://probate.SunsetStripRealty.com
http://www.SunsetStripRealty.com

Men may call it football. But to you, it looks more like a half-off sale at Macy’s.

Speaking of which, you can always go shopping while the game is on. But football season lasts a long, long time. And anyway, cuddling up on the sofa with your beloved on those cold winter evenings does have some appeal.

But if you don’t know what’s going on, and if your beloved (as so many beloveds do) makes it clear that he’d prefer you not ask questions while the game is on . . . what’s a football challenged woman to do?

Well, we’re about to tell you.

The thing is, learning the basics of football – that is, enough to make game-watching fun – is at about the same degree of difficulty as learning to send e-mails. Without attachments.

Okay. Get comfortable. Fix yourself some herb tea. Or a vodka tonic. Make sure you have a clear view of the television screen.

Now, pick a team to root for. Doesn’t matter which one. Pick them for your own reasons. Because you like the color of their uniforms. Because one of the guys on the sidelines reminds you of your high school crush. Whatever.

It’s just more fun when, as they say, you have some skin in the game.

But do feel free to switch to the other team if the one you picked is getting creamed by time the game is only half over. It’s easy to tell when that is, by the way, because there’s this long break away from the game with lots of commentator ‘analysis’ and many commercials that allow you time to refill your beverage of choice. Not surprisingly, this hiatus is called ‘half time’. See? You know some jargon already.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s get back to the beginning of the game.

Things get kicked off by . . . well, by kicking off the football. Who gets to kick the football and who gets to receive the football is decided before the game by a coin toss.

After that, each team is allowed four chances (called ‘downs’) to move the ball a minimum of ten yards. There are white lines drawn across the field at five-yard intervals, so it’s pretty easy to judge the distance. Plus when you’re watching on TV, they superimpose this really cool digital line in bright yellow so you really can’t miss it.

Anyway, if the team with the football succeeds in moving it ten or more yards, they get another four chances. If they don’t, they have to kick the ball to the other team and allow them their four chances to do the same.

And that’s about it for the format of the game.

To understand the action, you need to focus on the football.

You’ll notice that, when the action starts (each piece of action is called a ‘play’), the ball is sitting on the ground between the two teams. There are eleven men on each team, and you’ll see that a bunch on each side stands in a line facing each other. These are called (all together now!) LINEmen!

Told you it was easy.

Anyway, the teams take turns trying to move the ball to the opposite end of the playing field. The guy in the center of the line (called, amazingly, the CENTER) tosses the ball backwards between his legs (weird but true) to the guy directly behind him, who is called the quarterback, and who is like the general of the team.

While the linemen on his team try to keep the guys on the other team from pounding him into the Astroturf, the quarterback attempts to get the football moving down the field toward the goal line (that is, the line that marks the end of the playing field).

He does this by running with it himself, handing it to someone else to run with it, or throwing it to someone else.

Meanwhile, their counterparts on the other team are trying to prevent them from succeeding.

But if the quarterback or his guys do manage to get the ball all the way across the goal line (called a ‘touchdown’), they are awarded six points, to which they can add another point by kicking the ball between the uprights of the goalpost (you know what that is, right?) after the touchdown. This is generally referred to as a ‘point after.’

If they can’t get all the way to the goal line by running and throwing the ball, they can give up short of the goal line and try to kick the ball between the uprights from wherever they are on the playing field. This is called a field goal, and gets them three points.

Whoever has the most points when time runs out wins the game.

That’s really all you need to know to watch a game of football. So go ahead: pick a team; focus on the ball; cuddle.

What happens next is up to you.

Bob Brooker and Kaye O’Dougherty want everyone to be happy. So if football season is disrupting your relationship, and the TV clicker wars are pitting Love against the NFL, they’d like to suggest some happier alternatives. Like intimacy, romance, sex and M&M’s. All you have to do is look at football in a slightly different way. And Bob and Kaye are there to help you at http://www.footballforlovers.com

More and more people are finding the idea of working from their own home an appealing one. As a result of this, the online home business industry is growing rapidly, and there are many opportunities available for those who are willing to put in the effort and time. These opportunities can be extremely lucrative, but before you get started you need to learn the proper skills to success working online.

An online home-based business has positives and negatives. Working at home is not for everyone; it takes a great deal of motivation and discipline in order to get the work done and keep going without getting off track, and it can take up to 24 months or more before your work will provide a full time income. If you take the time and learn the skills to create a long-term income, the returns will be well worth it.

For example, you can choose your own hours and work from anywhere that has an internet connection. Unlike conventional businesses, you do not need to create, store or deliver products as all this is taken care of. You can take a break anytime that you feel you’ve earned it. My family comes first, above everything so being able to spend time with them and earn enough money for the nicer things in life is a wonderful feeling. These are just a few of the benefits to working from home online.

Sadly, there are still some prejudices and suspicions surrounding the home based business industry. Past fraudulent activities have put many people on their watch, and you may experience many difficult questions or remarks. This is nothing to worry about there are many honest, legitimate and profitable online business opportunities available if you just know how to find them and have motivation. You truly can live your dream of working for yourself. Doesn’t the idea of setting your own hours, being your own boss, and spending more time with your family sound inviting?

If you’re ready to learn the skills that will create a long term income, working online, please visit my blog at http://easytoworkathome.blogspot.com/

Foreclosure ensues when the owner of the home or property is in default of making regular repayments of a loan. The borrower would not only lose the home or property in question as he/she is in breach of the mortgage agreement, but also credit-worthiness.

The loss occurs as the lender, who would be a bank or other creditor, would repossess the home or property by due process. The process could be judicial when it is called judicial foreclosure or direct take-over by the mortgagee or his agent.

Both processes involve auction, by which the lender gets his full settlement of the loan given to the original borrower. In the judicial foreclosure process, the sheriff notifies the auction as applied for by the lender. The auction takes place in the court hall, which is a matter of formality.

When the bank repossesses the property, it would be put up for sale to settle the debt. If there is any extra amount available, it would go back to the original owner.

In the direct foreclosure, the lender or his counselor gives notice to the mortgager and subsequently auctions the property. Sometimes, the owner of the home or property has to be evicted.

The buyer of the property in question would have to get a decree for possession.

The priority of the borrower, who fails to pay off the installments regularly and gets notice of foreclosure, should be to somehow stop foreclosure by banks or secured creditors with whom he/she had a mortgage or deed of trust.

In the event of foreclosure, it would be difficult for the borrower to get further loans. Numerous firms, lawyers, and counselors are available to offer assistance to the defaulter to suggest ways to ward off foreclosure.

Sometimes, the lender would be prepared to amend the mortgage deed, enabling the borrower to continue to possess the property, with changed terms of repayment.

Foreclosure is the ultimate weapon in the hands of the lender, which takes away the property and reputation of the lender.

Stop Foreclosure provides detailed information on Stop Bank Foreclosure, Stop Foreclosure, Stop Foreclosure Assistance, Stop Foreclosure Loans and more. Stop Foreclosure is affiliated with Foreclosure Listings.