Monday, November 26, 2012

Natural Diet Pills are Not Naturally At All


With a high percentage of Americans suffering from weight problems such as obesity, companies are taking advantage of the situation by selling and marketing diet pills. There is nothing wrong if the diet pills are truly made of natural ingredients and are proven safe and effective. The problem is when diet pill manufacturers market the product as natural but the product is really not. Since people want to lose weight the safe way, they believe the promises and claims only to know that the pills are not natural at all.

Butenamide in Natural Diet Pills
Have you heard of the diet pill called StarCaps? This was a very popular natural diet pill back then and was even sold in stores like GNC. StarCaps was made from valerian corn, magnesium oxide, garlic, magnesium carbonate, natural papaya extract and papain. The list of ingredients looked promising until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration discovered butenamide in the dietary supplement. Butenamide is used to treat people with heart problems, kidney and liver problems. It has diuretic properties. Moreover, butenamide can lower potassium levels, cause nausea, affect mental alertness and reduces the ability of blood to clot. The U.S. FDA has banned this so-called natural pill already.

Ephedra in Natural Diet Pills
When you shop for a natural diet pill today, it is easy to see "ephedra-free" claims on the labels. Ephedra containing diet pills are banned by the FDA because it is toxic to the body. Back then, people took ephedra diet pills to lose weight. Ephedra comes from a plant called ephedra sinica. It is more known to Chinese medicine as ma huang. It is used by Chinese medical practitioners for treatment of cold, asthma and hay fever. Ephedra helps in expanding the airways for people with asthma. However, for dieters, this poses serious health risks.

Ephedra was discovered to have thermogenic properties. This means that the body increases internal heat when there is ephedra. Other side-effects that can be fatal are seizures, heart palpitation and stroke.

Brazilian Natural Diet Pills
The Brazilian diet pills were discovered to contain fenproporex which is not approved by the U.S. FDA. Fenproporex in the body is transformed into amphetamine which is an addictive drug. Amphetamine is prohibited. Brazilian diet pills also have chlordiazepoxide HDL which is another addictive drug.

Before you believe that natural diet pills are actually natural, take a step back first. Even if every part of you wants to use it so you can lose weight faster, it is better to always be on the safe side. Go online and read reviews about the natural diet pill you want to try. See what users have to say so you can have an idea of its effectiveness and possible side-effects.

About the Author

Christina Broun live in Alaska BIG LAKE. She is a fitness enthusiast and like to help people by giving them advise on Natural Diet Pills like Phenocal for Losing Weight. Christina also blog frequently about the best practices or ways to remain fit.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Christina--Broun/140209


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Source: http://www.articlerich.com/Article/Natural-Diet-Pills-are-Not-Naturally-At-All/2454257

Herman Melville Books American Horror Story

Sunday, November 25, 2012

New Rijksmuseum website - Lines and Colors

New Rikjsmuseum website: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Aelbert Cuyp, Cornelis Springer
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is one of the world?s great museums, with a collection rich in famous masterpieces from the likes of Rembrandt and Vermeer, as well as hundreds of lesser known treasures.

The museum?s website, like many museum websites, long left something to be desired. Though numerous images were available, many in high resolution, they were not easy to search or browse, and overall presentation was somewhat awkward.

The museum recently launched a completely redesigned website, with a much better interface, easier access for searching, and in particular much better provisions for browsing and discovering images.

Choose Language at upper right if you would like to change to English, and then ?Collection? to either Explore or Search the collection. The Explore section offers highlights, a good place to start, and offers categories like Artists, Works, Subjects and Styles which are then subdivided into subcategories.

The selections within a given artist or subject are no longer presented as tiny scrolling thumbnails, but as large scrolling thumbnails (certainly an improvement).

The individual images are then presented fullscreen, adapting dynamically to the size of your browser window, and overlaid with navigation widgets (I don?t know of a way to hide the latter), including controls to zoom the image. You can also move the image within the browser window by clicking and dragging.

The ?i? at the bottom of the screen brings up an information panel with information about the image, links to details and a ?Download image? link. To download images, however, requires creating a free ?Rijksstudio? account (basically just an email address). You must then, for every image you download, choose the level of rights (?Personal use?) and click an ?I agree with terms and conditions? checkbox ? every time.

I will be quick to say that the new site is a vast and welcome improvement over their old one, and the images are large and well reproduced, but this kind of nonsensical legal paranoia mars the experience and makes the museum look small minded and disrespectful of their visitors.

(Hello! Almost all of these works are hundreds of years old, therefore in the public domain, and are not subject to copyright by international, or even specifically Dutch, copyright law. The standard here in the US is that photographs that just reproduce public domain artworks are also in the public domain. Perhaps this has yet to be tested in Dutch courts; but the checkbox barrier to downloading, or even viewing the work without the navigation widgets, just seems petty.)

That being groused about, the new site is well worth visiting and exploring, and a Rijksstudio account is worth setting up, if only for the unobstructed view of the high resolution images. Their intention is for visitors to form their own Rijksstudio collections, essentially bookmarked images similar to the collections you can make in the Google Art Project. They go on to offer to sell you prints of the images, or crops of them, in various modes (hence, I suppose, some of the reproduction rights BS).

Though not quite at the level of the Metropolitan Museum of Art?s fantastic website makeover, this is still a worthy world-class museum website, suited to a world class museum, and a welcome addition to the web?s list of outstanding art resources. (Now if only the Louvre and the Mus?e d?Orsay would follow suit?)

(Images above: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Aelbert Cuyp, Cornelis Springer)

Source: http://www.linesandcolors.com/2012/11/24/new-rijksmuseum-website/

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Monday, November 12, 2012

Healthy holiday cooking classes at Cooper Fitness Center in ...

In my book, you have to understand good food in order to understand good nutrition. What better way to learn both than to take part in good-for-you cooking classes? Tip: these would make excellent early holiday gifts!

Tweaking the Turkey Tradition

Thursday, November 15????? ? 6-8pm? ? ? ?Dig in without guilt this holiday season!?? Instead of the old stand-bys: turkey smothered in rich gravy, candied yams, pecan pie try some new recipes with all of the taste, but less fat, salt and calories. Join Cooper Fitness Center registered dietitian, Cindy Kleckner for a class that will showcase recipes using high impact flavors, healthy updates on classic dishes and a twist on traditional dessert. Surprise your family and friends with a fresh approach to eating this Thanksgiving.

Notable? Nibbles: From Naughty to Nourishing This Holiday

Monday, December 10? ?????? 6-8pm??? ?Holiday party eating can be an invitation to gluttony unless you?re armed with tips and tricks from registered dietitian Cindy Kleckner, RD, LD.? Whether you?re gracing guests with a gourmet feast or scrambling to host a few hungry pop-ins, join Cindy for tips to prepare stress-free, quick and easy recipes that are good-for-you-too! Crunchy, creamy, spicy and smoky?almost effortless appetizers bring an irresistible variety of tastes and textures to any holiday celebration. Just add some mocktails and cocktails and let the party begin!

Reservations are required. For more information, call 214-383-1000.

Event Location: Cooper Fitness Center at Craig Ranch?
7910 Collin McKinney Parkway, McKinney, Texas 75070

Cost: Members, $15; General Public, $30

You do not have to be a member of the CFC to participate in any of the nutrition programs.

Source: http://healthblog.dallasnews.com/2012/11/healthy-holiday-cooking-classes-at-cooper-fitness-center-in-mckinney.html/

miguel cabrera

Monday, October 22, 2012

[Movie Review] Student of the Year: Same Old Wine in New Bottle

student-of-the-year1

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Siddharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt, Ronit Roy, Rishi Kapoor

Director: Karan Johar

Rating: 3


Love, friendship, jealousy, betrayal, ambitions and blah and blah! Student of the Year is one mashup of feelings that seems intangible at first, but is ultimately driven home by the charm of the veteran director, Karan Johar.

Yeah, it often feels aimless, sometimes becomes too silly to be taken seriously, but then it provides one thing that we always have an apetite for, and that too in ample dosage, Entertainment!

The Richie Rich dude, Rohan (Varun Dhawan) meets the innocent eyed attitude queen, Shanaya Singhania (Alia Bhatt) and then the queen bumps into another guy, Abhimanyu (Siddharth Malhotra) and, then and there, comes the baap of all glitches entwined with relationships and lovey-dovey stuffs, Complications! Rewind a bit and cover this all up in a background of the fiction fantasy school and a coveted trophy to die for, you?ll get what Student of the Year is all about.

Every single frame carries the trademark Johar stamp. Right from the lush aesthetics and the designer clothes to the discos and even the narrative of the movie, conveyed of the authority that the man behind the camera has on his acts. He manages to extract the best from his cast and crew, be it the cinematographer or the three debutants, who shine in their individual roles and definitely have a successful road ahead of them.

It may be that the debutants end up as the scene steelers, but it is Rishi Kapoor, Dean of the St.Teresa Institution, who gives another masterful and heart-warming performance. He is indeed, a class apart! Barring a few old jelly bellys, the music by Vishal-Shekhar, sets the tempo right for the events unfurling on the screen.

student-of-the-year

Karan Johar may have hit gold in many departments, but it is the lame script of the movie that is its arch enemy. Thousands of times the formula of a triangle had been rehashed in Bollywood and Student of the Year, despite of all its new-age mantra, falls prey to the repetitiveness.

Moreover, what was the fuss with all those plastic emotions injected in between? Did they even mean to induce a tear in the audience?s eyes? Well, if they did, then the team of SOTY failed and that too in gigantic proportions!

All hail the splendid cast and the gifted director, Karan Johar for making Student of the Year entertaining, pop and pulpy to the hilt. It is the same old wine but served in a new bottle and that too, KJO style!


Source: http://www.udaipurtimes.com/movie-review-student-of-the-year-same-old-wine-in-new-bottle/

travis pastrana

Thursday, October 18, 2012

St. Jude sees possible FDA warning letter about California plant

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Thursday, October 11, 2012

Mortgage Apps Fall | Daily Business News

In the latest weekly report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), nationalmortgagenews says mortgage applications dropped 1.2 percent for the latest weekly reading Oct. 5 following a 16.6 percent spike for the previous week ending Sept. 28. Refi applications accounted for 83 percent of the apps, much the same as the previous week. Many mortgage analysts and lenders expect October to be a very strong month, perhaps stronger than Sept. As MHProNews as learned, MBA?s Mike Fratantoni said refi volumes are ?still near three-year highs, and purchase applications increased to the highest level since June, with both conventional and government volumes increasing.? Average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) were going for 3.56 percent while 15-year FRMs fell to 2.88 percent, the lowest in the history of the survey.

(Image credit: moneycontrol)

Categories: Business, Economy, Finance, home buyers, News Item, Trends Tags: 30 year fixed rate, 30 year fixed rate mortgages, apps, fixed-rate mortgages, lenders, MBA, mortgage applications, Mortgage Bankers Association, NationalMortgageNews, oct 5, purchase applications, refi, spike, year fixed rate mortgages

Source: http://www.mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com/blogs/daily-business-news/mortgage-apps-fall/

James Eagan Holmes jeremy lin

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Justin Bieber in Vibe: My Fans Are Crazy!!!


Yes, Justin Bieber Tweets. A lot. And he's been known to post a picture or two dozen on Instagram.

But the singer actually values his privacy, he tells the September issue of Vibe, because "there are a lot of people in this world that aren’t good people."

"All they need to do is a little research," Bieber elaborates, touching on past incidents. "People hiding in garbage cans overnight to catch [pictures] of me. Crazy things happen. You can’t give out too much personal information.”

Despite his mammoth fame and success, Justin adds that he does all he can to remain grounded, even when he's breaking YouTube records and setting ridiculous goals no other artist could dare to match.

“In general, fame can tear you apart, so you can never really feel like you’re famous," he says. "When people start acting like they’re famous, that’s when they start losing it.”

Like when they just Tweet random bikini photos because they presume the public is dying for an updated beach body everyday?

In closing Bieber is beyond grateful for his legion of followers, while also acknowledging their dedication can be a tad extreme at times.

“My fans are crazier than anyone else’s fans. I’ve had girls make light-up signs with actual mechanics involved. Like it takes them three months to make that sign. Three months! That’s a long time.”

You're worth it, Justin. You are worth it.

Justin Bieber for VibeJustin Bieber Vibe CoverJustin Bieber in Black/White

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/08/justin-bieber-in-vibe-my-fans-are-crazy/

Aly Raisman Marvin Hamlisch

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Omaha Entertainment & Arts Awards nominations open through ...

It is time to nominate your entertainment and arts favorites for the 7th annual Omaha Entertainment & Arts Awards (OEAA). The OEAA recognizes and honors Omaha?s thriving and vibrant performing arts, visual arts and music community.

If you have attended and enjoyed one of Ballet Nebraska?s 2011-12 season performances, please consider submitting a nomination for Nebraska?s own professional ballet company.

ABOVE: Ballet Nebraska?s spring 2011 production of 'Momentum' was named best dance production at the 2012 Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards held the Hilton in Downtown Omaha this past February. Artistic director Erika Overturff was also honored as best featured dancer.

In the performing arts category, Ballet Nebraska?s professional dancers and season 2011-12 productions are eligible for the three main awards. Here is a listing of productions and some of the featured roles danced during the awards period:

Best Dance Production (No. 21)

  • Winthrop Corey?s Dracula at Orpheum Theater? ? October 2011
  • The Nutcracker at Omaha Music Hall ? December 2011
  • Momentum 2012 featuring Cleopatra and DanceSport at Witherspoon Hall Joslyn Art Museum ? March 2012

Best Featured Dancer (No. 22)

  • Erika Overturff: Dracula (as Lucy), Momentum 2012 (DanceSport, Bacchinale Variations), The Nutcracker (as Sugar Plum, Snow Queen)
  • Matthew Carter: Dracula (as Jonathan), Momentum 2012 (as Cleopatra?s Asp), The Nutcracker (as Snow King)
  • Angela Zolczynski: Momentum 2012 (DanceSport and Bacchinale Variations), The Nutcracker (as Dew Drop)
  • Sasha York:? Dracula (title role), Momentum 2012 (as Marc Antony), The Nutcracker (as Cavalier)
  • Natasha Grimm: Dracula (as Mina), Momentum 2012 (as Cleopatra), The Nutcracker (as Snow Queen, Sugar Plum)
  • Alberto Liberatoscioli: The Nutcracker (as Drosselmeyer, Russian), Momentum 2012 (Americano, DanceSport)
  • Erin?Alarc?n: Dracula (Lead Bride), Momentum 2012 (The Dying Swan), The Nutcracker (as Dew Drop)
  • Denis Vezetiu: Momentum 2012 (Perpetuum Mobile), The Nutcracker (Cavalier)
  • Bret Samson: Momentum 2012 (The Dying Swan), The Nutcracker (Act 2 divertissements)
  • Kelsey Schwenker: Dracula (as Lead Bride), Momentum 2012 (Bacchanale Variations), The Nutcracker (Rat Queen, Danse de Mirliton)
  • Claire Goodwillie: Dracula (as Lead Bride), The Nutcracker (Rat Queen, Danse de Mirliton)

Best Costume Design (No. 19)

  • Debbie Overturff? Winthrop Corey?s Dracula at Orpheum Theater? ? October 2011
  • Debbie Overturff?The Nutcracker at Omaha Music Hall ? December 2011
  • Debbie Overturff?Momentum 2012 featuring Cleopatra and DanceSport at Witherspoon Hall Joslyn Art Museum ? March 2012

An impressive total of two awards and seven nominations were garnered for last season?s awards which covered Ballet Nebraska?s debut 2010-2011 season.

Source: http://balletnebraska.org/2012/omaha-entertainment-arts-awards-nominations-open-through-aug-31/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=omaha-entertainment-arts-awards-nominations-open-through-aug-31

kate upton sports illustrated

Technology, Printer, Computers, Laptop - The Benefits of Colour ...











Over the past decade, the market for colour printing has blown up. One might assume that the demand for colour printing is directly connected with the constant need for photos at our fingertips at all times (i.e. digital cameras, iPhone, Facebook) but that is not entirely true. The necessity for colour in the business world is also a big market. Including colour in business documents can help shape and/or reinforce the message that is trying to be conveyed as well as aid in marketing strategies in many ways, making the colour laser printer almost a necessity for any office.

Colour laser printers rank as some of the most expensive printer types, with high-end products coming from major manufacturers, such as a Dell colour laser printer. Their efficiency, speed, quality document output and toner longevity are a few reasons why these printers are in high demand. Some of the higher, more expensive models can print up to 55 pages per minute, making their document output at almost one page per second. Factors like these prove to be very beneficial in medium to large offices that require multiple copies of a single document in a short amount of time.

In the larger picture, colour laser printers are worth the extra money in many ways. For example, when writing a marketing proposal, one usually seeks to sell something. Whether it be a product, service or funding need, a business person wishes to evoke emotions of excitement when presenting their proposal to potential buyers. Using colour in proposals can benefit its creator in many ways. The colours a reader sees immediately triggers subliminal feelings without the reader actually realizing it, almost allowing the proposal writer to play puppeteer with the reader's emotions.

Another benefit of using colour within the business world is that colours capture a reader's attention and draw their eyes to specific areas of the page, creating a visual path for the reader to follow when examining a document. When viewing something, the first thing our brains do is notice colors and shapes on a paper. The last thing the brain does is comprehend text and its meaning. This is why having a visually-pleasing cover page is necessary for proposals.

It is not only important to grab the reader's attention and evoke feeling within a subject, but also to make sure their attention remains on the document. Plain black text on a white background might be appropriate for day-to-day papers but they are not visually exciting for a reader if the writer is trying to keep an individual interested. The proper usage of colour in a work document greatly increases a reader's retention of information as well as interest in the proposal's subject as a whole.

With all that being said, it is clear that colour laser printers are quickly becoming a necessity in not just every home, but a good majority of business environments as well. Monochrome (or laser printers with no color capability) may be appropriate for businesses that are printing solely informational documents, such as invoices, but for many companies a colour laser printer is essential.

Candice is a successful blogger and also an internet specialist. She is fun of collecting gadgets like phones and laptops.

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st nicholas

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Verizon iPhone Sales Q2 - Business Insider

Summary

The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was introduced on January 9, 2007. An iPhone functions as a camera phone, including text messaging and... More ?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/verizon-iphone-sales-q2-2012-7

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Sunday, June 17, 2012

Munich residents vote against new airport runway

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wikipedia blackout

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Wisconsin's Walker makes history surviving recall election

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Wisconsin's Scott Walker became the first governor in U.S. history to survive a recall election on Tuesday in a decisive victory that dealt a blow to the labor movement and raised Republican hopes of defeating President Barack Obama in the November election.

Unions and liberal activists forced the recall election over a law curbing collective bargaining powers for public sector workers passed soon after Walker took office in 2011.

With nearly all of the votes counted, Republican Walker won by 8 percentage points over Democratic challenger Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a bigger victory for the governor over the same challenger than two years ago.

Republicans around the country were elated by the result in a state that President Obama won by 14 percentage points in 2008.

Obama's presumed Republican opponent in November, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, called Walker to congratulate him, an aide to Romney said. Romney had called Walker a "hero" when he visited Wisconsin earlier this year.

"A win like this shows Wisconsin may be a redder (more Republican) state in 2012 and could be bad news for Obama," said Thad Kousser, an associate politics professor at the University of California San Diego.

Even Obama's campaign organization conceded on Tuesday that Wisconsin could be competitive in November. No Republican has won the state since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Walker's win may also embolden Republican governors in other states to take on labor unions, analysts said.

"The unions tried to take a stand here and when you stake everything on one election and lose, politicians around the country will not be afraid to take on the unions," Kousser said.

The victory also branded Walker as a rising Republican star. While he has ruled out serving as Romney's vice presidential nominee, he may be a future national candidate.

Walker struck a conciliatory tone in his victory speech, saying he wanted to try to bring the divided state together.

"Early in 2011, I rushed in to try to fix things before I talked about them. Because you see for years, too many politicians ... talked about things but never fixed them," Walker said to a crowd of roaring supporters.

NOVEMBER BAROMETER?

The election in politically divided Wisconsin has been seen as a barometer of the U.S. political climate going into November's presidential election.

The outcome is the latest evidence of a growing partisan climate in American politics that values confrontation over compromise and has led to gridlock in Washington.

It also suggests that some voters will support a politician who seeks to balance the government budget by cutting spending and reducing pensions and benefits for government workers rather than raising taxes.

Some voters in Wisconsin said it was only fair that union workers pay more pensions and health insurance when most private sector workers have no pensions at all.

Kent Redfield, a political analyst at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said the outcome could demoralize Democrats and labor unions. "That could have an effect on turnout in the fall," he said.

Ahead of the recall election, organized labor and conservatives mounted intense get-out-the-vote drives. Grassroots activists in the conservative Tea Party played a major role in those efforts on the right.

"This is a huge win for the Tea Party," said Matt Batzel, Wisconsin state director of national conservative group American Majority Action, which worked with local activists. "Time after time they have answered the call to defend Scott Walker," he said of the group that seeks deep cuts in U.S. government spending.

Voter turnout was high in the state where families were at odds and neighbors were not speaking to each over Walker's push to curtail collective bargaining by public sector workers.

The recall election led to huge campaign spending in the Midwestern Rust Belt state, with some estimates that more than $60 million was raised. So-called Super PACs, the independent groups that are pouring money into the U.S. presidential campaign, were a major force in Wisconsin.

This was just the third recall election of a governor in U.S. history and it follows weeks of vociferous protests by demonstrators who occupied the state Capitol in Madison as Walker and fellow Republican lawmakers pushed through the union curbs in March 2011.

The law forced most state workers, including teachers, to pay more for health insurance and pensions, limited their pay raises, made payment of union dues voluntary and forced unions to be recertified every year.

Democrats and unions gathered nearly 1 million signatures to force the recall election.

Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at the University of California Berkeley, cautioned that the Wisconsin result did not mean there would be a wholesale assault on unions nationwide.

"This is clearly a victory for Walker, but it's been a very costly and disruptive victory," he said. "Some legislators (in other states) will try to go down the same path but they may find it very expensive to do so."

Despite the victory, Walker has not emerged completely unscathed. He still faces an investigation into alleged corruption during his time as Milwaukee County executive before he became governor.

Walker opponents also forced recall elections for Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and four Republican state senators who had voted for the labor union restrictions.

Kleefisch and three of the four Senate Republicans were victorious. In the fourth race, the Democrat was ahead by about 800 votes with all of the results counted, but the Republican had not conceded.

If the Democrat is certified the winner, Walker would face a Democratic majority in the state Senate, which could frustrate his agenda in the future.

The only two previous recall efforts against sitting governors were Lynn Frazier in North Dakota in 1921 and Gray Davis in California in 2003. Both of those governors lost.

(Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee and James Kelleher in Madison; Editing by Andrew Stern, Greg McCune, Vicki Allen and Lisa Shumaker)

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Sunday, June 3, 2012

Some Helpful Parenting Information | Life Coach, Business - Career ...

Learning to parent involves on-the-job training. Below, you will find valuable information that may help you to improve your parenting skills. Intuition and information should go hand and hand when parenting.

Many homes have a really dry air environment in the winter especially if the home has forced air heating. You can help to alleviate this dryness by using a humidifier. You can learn more about these types of appliances at http://www.humidifiervsvaporizers.com/.

A 3 foot tall child can typically crawl out of a crib, and it?s time to get a bed! The new bed may be a bit scary so you should try to turn it into something fun by getting new bedding that has the child?s favorite characters on them.

All children love to have a good time and play. They need playtime. Effective parenting also includes setting aside some of your own time to play with them.

Make sure there is a clean spot on your counter, and roll up a towel. Lay your child down with their back on the towel, and run the water over their hair. This can minimize the anxiety many young children have when their heads are doused with water.

Being there to listen to your children is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. Offer them a chance to talk to you, and find out what they want. The more you respect your child?s thoughts and feelings, the more they will respect your thoughts and opinions in the future.

Children should learn that life is sometimes difficult, without excess burden placed on them. Allowing your children to see how you and your partner work out these problems will help them develop problem-solving skills. When they have a realistic view of the world, they will be developing the skills they will need to deal with other people.

Parenting toddlers is very important. If your toddlers misbehave by insisting on being the center of attention, it?s imperative to teach them patience and that everyone will eventually get their turn, including them. If the kids are being difficult, you may want to give them a short time-out, or just let them know what they are doing wrong.

Remember that even though you?re a parent, you have to take care of yourself too. Even just a couple of minutes to recharge your batteries away from the kids can be just what you need as a break. Not only will you feel good, the children will be glad to see you more happy.

Parenting can be difficult, but the above information is designed to help you be a wonderful mother or father through good times and bad. Pay close attention to what you have learned here, so you can appreciate the gift you have given to the world. Enjoy your foray into the world of parenting, and keep the tools you got from this article close at hand.

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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Why It's Now a Very Good Time to Invest in Gold

With gold successfully holding the $1520 mark after three tests, David Galland believes savvy investors should use this pullback as an opportunity to purchase gold and gold stocks. ?I agree with him on gold, though I?m not yet convinced about the mining stocks themselves (more on this later today).

By David Galland, Casey Research

Glancing at the news most days, it?s hard not to feel like Bill Murray?s character in Groundhog Day. In the event you are unfamiliar with the movie, in it Murray?s character becomes trapped in the same day? day after day.

In the current circular condition, we have the powers-that-be assuring us that the next high-level meeting will finally produce a permanent fix to the broken economy, essentially solving the sovereign debt crisis. Then, in no more than a few days, or at most a couple of weeks, the fix is revealed to be flawed and the crisis again sparks into flames? followed shortly thereafter by yet another high-level meeting ? and the cycle begins anew.

While the characters may change ? one week it is Greece, the next it is Spain, the next it is France, the next it is the US, the next it is Greece again, etc., etc. ad nauseam ? the detached observer can only come to the conclusion that we are now well outside of the bounds of the normal business cycle.

As we at Casey Research have written on this topic at great length, I don?t intend to dwell on this topic, but I did want to loop back in just long enough to comment on the recent price action in commodities, especially gold, in the face of the continuing crisis.

Today, a glance at the screen reveals that gold is trading for $1,565. For comparative purposes, as revelers warmed up their vocal cords to sing in the New Year on the last trading day of 2011, gold exchanged hands at $1,531. And exactly one year ago to the day, gold traded at $1,526 for a one-year gain of a modest 2.6%.

A year ago, the S&P 500 traded at 1,325, while today it trades at 1,318, a small loss. Yet, have you noticed we don?t hear much about the imminent collapse of the US stock market, as we do about gold? This perma-bear sentiment about gold on the part of what some people lump together under the label ?Wall Street? is especially apparent in the gold stocks.

Using the GDX ETF as a proxy for the sector, we see that the shares of the more substantial gold producers are off by an unpleasant 24% over the last year.With that ?baseline? in place, let?s turn to the current outlook for gold, and touch on some of the other commodities as well.

  • Gold. In the context of its secular bull market, and given that absolutely nothing has gotten better about the sovereign debt crisis ? only worse ? gold?s correction is nothing to be concerned about.I know the technical types will point to levels such as $1,500 as important resistance points ? and there?s no question that if gold was to break decisively below that level that a lot of autopilot trades would kick in and put further pressure on gold.Yet, when you view the market through the lens of hard realities, which is to say, by focusing on the intractable mess the sovereigns have gotten the world into? in Europe, in Japan, in China and here in the US? then viewing gold at these levels as anything other than an opportunity is a mistake.
  • Gold Stocks. As far as the gold stocks are concerned, I consider today?s levels to be extraordinarily compelling for anyone looking to build up a portfolio or to average down an existing portfolio.I say this for a number of reasons, starting with the contrarian perspective that this may now be the most unloved sector of the stock market. No one wants anything to do with gold stocks, and hasn?t for some time now. As a consequence, the sellers will soon dry up, leaving almost nothing but buyers to push the sector back to the upside.This contrarian perspective is important because finding an honest-to-goodness opportunity to bet against the crowd is no easy thing in a world where literally thousands of competent equities analysts plop down at the desk each trading day with the sole purpose of searching for prospective investments. Many of these analysts are backed by huge firms with billions of dollars at risk in the markets, and so are armed with high-powered computational tools of the sort that was unimaginable even a few years ago. All of these analysts, armed with all their computational power, habitually scan a universe that totals about 4,000 publicly traded companies. Realistically, however, even a thin analytical screen will weed out all but perhaps 400 of those companies as being potentially suitable for investment.Thus, you have thousands of high-priced and well-armed securities analysts crunching pretty much the same data on a very small universe of possible investments. Given this reality, is it any surprise that securities are so tightly correlated? Which is to say, is it any surprise that these securities all trade right in line with the valuations that the analytical screens ultimately derive that they should? Which means there are really only two possible circumstances under which any of these stocks move up, or move down, by any significant degree
  1. Broad market movements. The saturated levels of analysis mean that, within a fairly tight range, all the stocks now move more or less together. Thus, with few exceptions, a big upswing or downswing in the broader market will send almost all stocks up or down together. To help make the point, I randomly pulled a chart of IBM and compared it against SPY (the S&P 500 tracking ETF) for the last year. Note the lockstep price movements:OK, IBM is a big company, so it will have a lower beta than many companies, but the point remains that saturated coverage of the stocks greatly reduces the odds of any one issue breaking free from the larger herd, unless there is?
  2. A surprise. All of these analysts, and all of their computerized analysis, help form a certain future price expectation for each security based on past financial metrics (earnings growth, return on equity, and so forth). Other than the broad market movement just referenced, or moves in line with a sub-sector of the larger market (e.g., if oil rises or falls, oil-sector stocks will tend to move up or down in sync), for a company to deviate in any substantial way from analyst expectations, by definition requires a ?surprise? to occur.Of course, such a surprise can be positive, but because these companies are so closely watched, it is more likely to be negative. In the former category, a positive surprise might come in the form of an unexpectedly strong new product launch ? la the iPad. In the latter, less happy category of surprise, it can be the blow-out of a big well in the Gulf of Mexico? or any one of a million other unanticipated vagaries of fate.

As investors, recognizing these fundamental realities is important because it points to where above-average market opportunities are most likely to be found (or not). And that brings us back to the whole idea of being a contrarian.

As mentioned a moment ago, ?Wall Street? has never much liked the precious metals, and by extension the gold stocks. Given the length of the gold bull market ? which, in our view, reflects systematic risk in all the fiat currencies, but which Wall Street views as an indication of a fatiguing trend confirmed by the underperformance of the gold stocks ? traditional portfolio managers are unhesitant in giving the boot to the few gold shares that somehow made it into their portfolios against their better judgment.

If our thinking is not clouded by our own bias, then it would behoove us as good contrarians to buy these shares from the eager sellers at such unexpectedly favorable prices. By doing so, we are able to position ourselves to make a killing once the broader financial community realizes that the problems associated with fiat money, dramatically underscored by the intractable sovereign debt crisis, are only going to get worse. At that point gold is going to head for new highs and gold stocks to the moon.

That said, as we always should do, let?s quickly assess whether our own bias is leading us astray in believing in gold and gold stocks when virtually the entire army of analysts won?t even consider them. Some inputs:

  • Gold prices remain near historic highs ? and that has a significant impact on the bottom line of the gold producers. Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX), for example, currently boasts a profit margin of over 30%, better than twice that of IBM and almost ten times that of Walmart. While ABX sells for just 1.6 times its book value, IBM sells for 10X.
  • Interest rates remain at historic lows, producing a negative real return for bond holders. Unless and until investors are able to capture a positive yield ? a potential stake through the heart of gold ? there is no lost-opportunity cost for holding gold. And bonds are increasingly at risk of loss should interest rates be pressured upwards, as they inevitably will be.
  • Sovereign money printing continues ? because it must. In today?s iteration of Groundhog Day, the Europeans are once again meeting in an attempt to fix the unfixable, but the growing consensus ? because there is no other realistic option left to them ? is that they will have to accelerate, not decelerate the money printing. Ditto here in the US, where a fiscal cliff is fast approaching due to the trifecta of the expiring Bush tax cuts, mandated cuts in government spending from the last debt-ceiling debacle and the new debacle soon to begin as the latest debt ceiling is approached. The problems in important economies such as China and Japan are as bad, and maybe even worse.
  • Debt at all levels remains high. With historic levels of debt, rising interest rates are a no-fly zone for governments, because should these rates go up even a little bit, the impact on the economy and on the ability of these governments to meet their obligations would be dramatic and devastating. This fundamental reality ensures a continuation of policies aimed at keeping real yields in negative territory, meaning that the monetization/currency debasement in the world?s largest economies will continue apace.To get a sense of just how bad things are and how soon the wheels might come off, sending gold and gold stocks to the moon as governments throw all restraint in money printing to the wind to save themselves and their over-indebted economies ? here?s a telling excerpt and a chart from a recent article by Standard & Poor?s titled The Credit Overhang: Is a $46 Trillion Perfect Storm Brewing?

Our study of corporate and bank balance sheets indicates that the bank loan and debt capital markets will need to finance an estimated $43 trillion to $46 trillion wall of corporate borrowings between 2012 and 2016 in the U.S., the eurozone, the U.K., China, and Japan (including both rated and unrated debt, and excluding securitized loans). This amount comprises outstanding debt of $30 trillion that will require refinancing (of which Standard & Poor?s rates about $4 trillion), plus $13 trillion to $16 trillion in incremental commercial debt financing over the next five years that we estimate companies will need to spur growth (see table 1).

(Click on image to enlarge)

You can read the full article here. While the authors of the S&P report try to find some glimmer of hope that roughly $45 trillion in debt will be able to be sold off over the next four years ? even their base case casts doubt on the availability of the ?new money? shown in the chart above. Note that this is the funding they indicate is required to fund growth. Which is to say that should the money not be found, the outlook is for low to no growth for the foreseeable future.

It is also worth noting that the analysis assumes that something akin to the status quo will persist ? which is very unlikely given the pressure building up behind the thin dykes keeping the world?s largest economies intact. The landing of even a small black swan at this point could trigger a devastating cascade.

We have said it before, and we?ll say it again: there is no way out of this mess ?without acute pain to a wide swath of the citizenry in the world?s most developed nations. While this pain will certainly be felt by sovereign bond holders (and already has been felt by those who owned Greek issues), it will quickly spread across the board to banks, businesses and pensioners ? in time wiping out the lifetime savings of anyone who is ?all in? on fiat currency units.

In this environment, gold isn?t just a good idea ? it?s a life saver. And gold stocks are not just a golden contrarian opportunity, they are one of the few intelligent speculations available in an uncertain investment landscape. By speculation, I mean that, at these prices, they offer an understandable and reasonable risk/reward ratio. Every investment ? even cash ? has risk these days. With gold stocks, you at least have the opportunity to earn a serious upside for taking the risk? and the risk is much reduced by the correction over the last year or so.

Now, that said, there are some important caveats for gold stock buyers.

  • With access to capital likely to dry up, any gold-related company you own must be well cashed up. In the case of the producers, this means a lot of cash in the bank, strong positive cash flow and a manageable level of debt. (Our Casey BIG GOLD service ? try it risk-free here ? constantly screens the universe of larger gold stocks for just this sort of criteria, then brings the best of the best to your attention.)In the case of the junior explorers that we follow in our International Speculator service (you can try that service risk-free as well), the companies we like the most have to have all the cash they need to clear the next couple of major hurdles in their march towards proving value. That?s because a company can have a great asset but still get crushed if it is forced to raise cash these days? and the situation will only get more pronounced when credit markets once again tighten as the global debt crisis deepens.
  • Beware of political risk. Despite the critical importance of the extractive industries to the modern economy, the industry is universally hated by politicians and regular folks everywhere. If your company ? production or exploration ? has significant assets in unstable or politically meddlesome jurisdictions, tread carefully. And it?s important to recognize that few jurisdictions are more politically risky than the US. This doesn?t mean you need to avoid all US-centric resource stocks ? but rather that you need a geopolitically diversified portfolio that you keep a close eye on at all times (something we do on behalf of our paid subscribers every day).
  • Know your companies. Some large gold miners are also large base-metals miners. And at this juncture in time, personally I?m avoiding base-metals companies like a bad cold. While most base-metals companies have already been beaten down ? and hard ? over the last year and a half, the fundamentals remain poor. Specifically, they not only have the risk of rising production costs and political meddling, but unlike gold ? where the driving fundamental is its monetary role in a world awash with fiat currency units ? the base-metals miners depend on economic growth to sustain demand for their products. In a world slipping back into recession ? or perhaps, in the case of Japan and China, tripping off a cliff ? betting on a recovery in growth is not a bet I?d want to make just now.

While it is hard to accurately predict the timing of major developments in any one economy, let alone the global economy, there are a number of tangible clues we can follow to the conclusion that the next year will be a seminal one in terms of this crisis.

For starters, there is the next round of Greek elections on June 17, the result of which could very well be the anointment of one Alexis Tsipras as the head of state. An unrepentant ?ber-leftist whose primary campaign plank is to tell the rest of the EU to put their austerity where the sun doesn?t shine, the election of Tsipras would almost certainly trigger a run on the Greek banks, followed by a cutoff of further EU funding and Greece?s exit from the EU. And once that rock starts to slide down the hill, it is very likely that Spain and Portugal will follow? after that, who knows? As I don?t need to point out (but will anyway), June 17 is right around the corner, so you might want to tighten your seat belt.

A bit further out, but not very, here in the US we can look forward to the aforementioned fiscal cliff. Or, more accurately, the political theatrics around the three colliding co-factors in that cliff (the approach once more of the debt ceiling, the expiring tax cuts and mandated government spending cuts). While the outcome of the theatrics has yet to be determined, it?s a safe bet that the government will extend in order to pretend while continuing to spend ? and by doing so, signal in no uncertain terms that the dollar will follow all of the sovereign currency units in a competitive rush down the drain.

Bottom line: Be very cautious about industrial commodities as a whole, at least until we see signs of inflation showing up in earnest, but don?t miss this opportunity to use the recent correction to fill out that corner of your portfolio dedicated to gold and gold stocks.

To get more perspectives like this, plus sector-specific commentary in energy, technology, and precious metals, sign up for the free Casey Research daily newsletter, the Casey Daily Dispatch. It?s a great way to be introduced to the world of contrarian investing.


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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Earliest musical instruments in Europe 40,000 years ago

ScienceDaily (May 27, 2012) ? The first modern humans in Europe were playing musical instruments and showing artistic creativity as early as 40,000 years ago, according to new research from Oxford and T?bingen universities.

The researchers have obtained important new radiocarbon dates for bones found in the same archaeological layers as a variety of musical instruments. The instruments take the form of flutes made from the bird bones and mammoth ivory. They were excavated at a key site in Germany, which is widely believed to have been occupied by some of first modern humans to arrive in Europe.

In a paper published in the Journal of Human Evolution, the researchers describe the new dating results for animal bones, excavated in the same archaeological layers as the instruments and early art, at Gei?enkl?sterle Cave in the Swabian Jura of southern Germany. The animal bones bear cuts and marks from human hunting and eating.

The new dates were obtained by Professor Tom Higham and his team at Oxford University, using an improved ultrafiltration method designed to remove contamination from the collagen preserved in the bones. The researchers show that the Aurignacian, a culture linked with early modern humans and dating to the Upper Paleolithic period, began at the site between 42,000 and 43,000 years ago.

The new dating evidence, obtained from bones in the site, provided results that are 2,000 to 3,000 years older than previously thought. So far these dates are the earliest for the Aurignacian and predate equivalent sites from Italy, France, England and other regions.

Lead author Professor Higham from Oxford University said: 'High-resolution dating of this kind is essential for establishing a reliable chronology for testing ideas to help explain the expansion of modern humans into Europe, and the processes that led to the wide range of cultural innovations, including the advent of figurative art and music.'

Professor Nick Conard of T?bingen University, who was excavator at the site, said: 'These results are consistent with a hypothesis we made several years ago that the Danube River was a key corridor for the movement of humans and technological innovations into central Europe between 40,000 and 45,000 years ago. Gei?enkl?sterle is one of several caves in the region that has produced important examples of personal ornaments, figurative art, mythical imagery and musical instruments. The new dates prove the great antiquity of the Aurignacian in Swabia.'

The study results indicate that modern humans entered the Upper Danube region before an extremely cold climatic phase at around 39,000 to 40,000 years ago. Previously, researchers had argued that modern humans initially migrated up the Danube immediately after this event.

'Modern humans during the Aurignacian period were in central Europe at least 2,000 to 3,000 years before this climatic deterioration, when huge icebergs calved from ice sheets in the northern Atlantic and temperatures plummeted,' said Professor Higham. 'The question is what effect this downturn might have had on the people in Europe at the time.'

The results are also important for considering the relationship between early moderns and Neanderthals in Europe. Despite a major effort to identify archaeological signatures of interaction between Neanderthals and modern humans in this region, researchers have yet to identify indications of any cultural contact or interbreeding in this part of Europe.

The results suggest that the Danube Valley is a plausible homeland for the Aurignacian, with the Swabian caves producing the earliest record of technological and artistic innovations that are characteristic of this period. Whether the many innovations found in Swabia were stimulated by climatic conditions, competition between modern humans and Neanderthals, or by social and cultural influences that formed quite independently remain a central focus of their research.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Oxford.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Thomas Higham, Laura Basell, Roger Jacobi, Rachel Wood, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Nicholas J. Conard. ?esting models for the beginnings of the Aurignacian and the advent of figurative art and music: The radiocarbon chronology of Gei?enkl?sterle. Journal of Human Evolution, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.03.003

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

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

creighton

Thursday, May 24, 2012

6 Benefits Of Building A Home In A Factory | Honest Reviews Online

Factory made homes, whether they are called pre-fabs, mobile or manufactured homes are built using all of the same materials that their conventional counterparts are, but with many benefits you can never get from traditional home construction.

Manufactured homes, also called pre-fabricated homes, are constructed in a factory, using the same materials used by their conventional counterparts. In fact, all components are the same, from the framing right down to the front door. They often even use the same suppliers for those materials. The only real difference is the physical location for the construction process. So, what are the benefits to building a home in a factory?

1. Building a home in a factory can offer substantial savings, often up to 40% per square foot over the more conventional site-built home. This can decrease the average monthly mortgage payment considerably. In today?s economy, many buyers are considering other housing options and opting for smaller payments.

2. Mother Nature can be the biggest player in the stick-built construction process. Construction schedules can be ruined by problems such as rain, wind, snow, extreme heat and frigidly cold weather. The roofers can?t install shingles in the rain and their delay will probably end up preventing another crew from starting the next step in the process. But when a house is built in a factory, the line keeps moving, rain or shine. The skilled teams can work in comfort all year long, without delays of any kind.

3. Delayed material deliveries can create substantial delays that trickle down through all the trades, too. Factories, however, typically have massive material inventories on-hand. Houses are built all day, every day, with no down-time to wait for supplies. No icy roads. No windy conditions. No traffic jams. In fact, the concept of the assembly line and factory construction of a home has greatly reduced nearly every frustration to homebuilders.

4. Manufactured home manufacturers usually buy their building supplies in bulk, rather than for one or two houses at a time. That means that they?re also getting the best possible price for their materials. Those cost savings pass through to the home buyer, lowering the price and the resulting monthly payment.

5. Manufactured homes are meticulously planned, because modern home builders need to extract every last bit of efficiency out of their raw materials. The process in a factory is controlled and every last step is planned out. Things are dramatically different in the site-built world. A general contractor can?t possibly watch every cut made on every sheet of plywood to ensure that it is being used the most effectively. Measure twice ? cut once is an axiom designed to reduce waste, but the reality is that even seemingly small errors can cause extensive waste of materials and lost time, all of which eventually comes out of the homeowner?s pocket. In fact, waste is always a big problem for any site-built home. Most general contractors try every way imaginable to optimize their materials usage, but can never achieve the same level of efficiency as a factory-built home manufacturer.

6. Using the assembly line method, the home can move quickly and efficiently through each phase of the construction process, saving a great deal of time. That?s right. The house actually moves through the factory. There is no need to climb on roofs or carry around ladders ? work is performed at a comfortable height for the crew, which not only increases safety but also dramatically decreases construction time.

A climate-controlled factory for the construction process virtually eliminates all frustrations. The availability of a new and much-anticipated home in weeks rather than months is great news for any new homeowner. Better still is the knowledge of precisely when it will be ready and how much it will cost.

Resources:
Complete Mobile Home Supply, where we try to make mobile home living as comfortable and fun as can be. At Complete Mobile Home Supply you can get the latest in mobile home supplies. From vinyl skirting to complete kitchens, we have the things you need to make your house a home.

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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Black Holes Can't Hide from NuSTAR's X-Ray Eyes [Monster Machines]

Sure, space-based X-Ray telescopes have been in service since the Einstein Observatory launched back way back in 1978. But the NuSTAR Project is different: It promises to illuminate at the heavens above as never before. More »


mark kirk

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Coldplay, Rihanna's Official 'Princess Of China' Video Due In May

Rihanna-starring clip currently making the rounds is actually taken from Coldplay's live show, spokesperson confirms.
By James Montgomery


Coldplay's Chris Martin and Rihanna
Photo: Getty Images

By now, you've probably seen the video for Coldplay's "Princess of China." It stars Rihanna as a Shiva-esque deity who waves her (many) arms back and forth in time with the tune but strangely does not actually feature Coldplay themselves.

The clip began making the rounds earlier this week and was not only touted as the "official video" but earned raves from fans of both acts. There's only one problem: It is most definitely not the actual "Princess of China" vid.

In fact, it's part of , a video they play during their performance of the song (as several Coldplay aficionados have been pointing out on YouTube). Just to clear up any confusion, we reached out to a spokesperson for the band, who told us in no uncertain terms: "It isn't the official video. ... It is, in fact, a clip that the band are using during their performance of the song on tour."

So there you have it. Of course, this raises the question of just when the real "Princess of China" video will premiere. After all, going by photos RiRi previously tweeted, the clip was filmed back in March. So, once again, we went to Coldplay's rep, who told us that the "Princess" video is still a few weeks away from debuting.

"It won't be finished until the third week of May," the spokesperson said. "It's going to be a minute."

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This 92-Year-Old DVD Pirate Is a Total Badass [Piracy]

Strictly speaking, bootlegging movies isn't right. Hyman Strachman knows this, and he does it anyway. According to the New York Times profile of the notorious pirate, he's shipped 300,000 ripped-off movies overseas to the troops—for free. More »


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Friday, April 27, 2012

Ikea cardboard digital camera: when Instagram isn't authentic enough

Ikea cardboard digital camera: when Instagram isn't authentic enough

Forget TVs. Want something more whimsical and lo-fi than Instagram? This is a digital camera made of cardboard that Ikea included with its press kit at this year's Milan Design Week. It runs on two AA batteries (Ikea-branded, natch) and features a swing-out USB plug, viewfinder cutout, shutter key and paperclip-friendly erase button. While there are no details on the sensor, lens or storage capacity, the camera holds up to 40 pictures. It's expected to land in Ikea stores at some point but exact pricing and availability are still a mystery. No matter -- this camera is sure to impress hipsters everywhere (and yes, that includes us).

Ikea cardboard digital camera: when Instagram isn't authentic enough originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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