Thursday, November 30, 2006

Cookie Swap Party

IT'S TIME TO THROW A
COOKIE SWAP PARTY
Tis the Season to Start Cookie Swapping!
What is a cookie swap?
It is a fun way to get together with friends and neighbors during the busy holiday season while reducing the amount of baking you need to do for upcoming holiday parties.
How it works
Each guest bakes their favorite festive cookie, enough for everyone at the party. Everyone swaps cookies and goes home with a variety of tasty holiday treats!
Gathering the crowd
Send invitations to as many people as you can comfortably accommodate. You need enough people to have a nice assortment of cookies and 8-12 is a good size crowd. Based on your group's preferences, ask each person to bring 2-4 dozen cookies. When your guests RSVP, be sure to ask them what kind of cookies they are bringing so you can guarantee an assortment of treats.
Timing
To ensure a good turn-out, ask your guests what dates work best before sending out invitations. A Saturday or Sunday afternoon may be the most convenient. Try to holed the Cookie Swap early in the holiday season so that everyone can make use of the cookies by bringing them to holiday parties.
Setting the scene
Clear off a large space for everyone to display their cookies when they arrive (a dining room table or kitchen counter). Make a seasonal music mix ahead of time or set your CD player on shuffle and put your favorite CD's to work. Serve some warming extras, hot cider, cocoa or egg nog, to make your guests feel right at home.
Extra Sprinkles
Encourage your guests to bring 3" x 5" recipe cards with their favorite cookie recipe to swap with others. Give your guests a decorated index-card container to store their new recipes as a 'thank you' for coming.
Offer a prize for the 'most festive cookie' or 'best cookie display' and encourage guests to bake their best! Be sure to announce the contest on the invitation
Visit www.countryhome.com/cookieswap for more sweet treats perfect for swapping.

CHRISTMAS EVE AT THE LODGE

TUCKED AWAY ON THE POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA IS A SLICE OF THE PAST - A 1917 HUNTING AND FISHING LODGE BUILT IN THE ARTS AND CRAFTS STYLE THAT IS NOW MANKA'S INVERNESS LODGE.

Here, guests are greeted with all the trappings: a blazing fire in every hearth, cozy leather chairs, and vintage fishing gear. For many visitors, a weekend at Manka's is the ultimate retreat, the kind of gift you'd like to give yourself. But during Christmas, it's the restaurant that shines.
The dishes served here are sophisticated, yet created from local, organic offerings. In fact, all of what chefs/owners Margaret Grade' and Daniel DeLong make is raised, foraged, and fished within 15 minutes of the inn. Manka's location, between the wilderness and the sea, provides a variety of fish and birds, rabbits, lamb, abalone, and oysters. The greens, fruits, and olives are grown near the lodge's property, and the restaurant hires foragers to gather wild mushrooms and buckets of huckleberries. But beyond the ingredient choices, it is also the quirky manner in which their selections are described that sets this restaurant apart. So while guests will not find "roast pork" on the menu, they will find "Parts of Dr. Pasternak's pig cooked around the clock.
The Manka's property includes eight guest rooms and two cabins nestled into a landscape of misty hills in the village above Inverness. Or guests can stay at water's edge of the blue Tomales Bay in a restored 1911 boathouse with quarters above. Each room is appointed with Margaret's impressive collection of camp antiques. Her maxing of timber-post beds and down comforters, roomy clawfoot tubs, and elegant French fixtures leads to a tactile experience that's both rustic and luxurious.
During the holidays, Margaret brings in touches of the outdoors with boughs of greens and clusters of pinecones. Wool from a nearby sheep farm makes for plenty of knitted stockings, caps, and coverlets to drape about the lodge. "Margaret has always had a hotel fetish, and I thing that comes through in her decorating," says co-manager Sally Dobbins. "She aspires to return the lodge to its former beauty, but she is also committed to outfitting it with fine modern amenities.

(HOW TO WELCOME HOLIDAY GUESTS, THE MANKA'S WAY)
Drape doorways, mantels, and rails with garlands. Hang a wreath over your bed and a branch bearing mistletoe in the bathroom for an unexpected touch. Display woven wool stockings, mittens, and hats on doorknobs and hooks. Stock your guest bath with fluffy white towels and woven straw slippers. Make your bed with layer of down, quilts, and throw. Pack a variety of snacks and leave them at your guest's door.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

The Heart of Christmas

Have you ever noticed that we spend most of the Christmas season searching - searching for the perfect gift,searching for bargains, searching for just the right decoration . . . around and around for a place to park?
It certainly gives a different spin to the biblical concept, "Seek and you will find"!
And what is it that we really want to find?
I think most of us are looking for that perfect Norman Rockwell Christmas, where we find the world-and our cranky relatives-perfect and peaceful and pain-free. But I'll let you in on a simple little secret that your heart suspects but your head is struggling to understand: No matter how special you want Christmas to be, something will always go wrong.

Prepare for Surprises
You can plan for the best, but it just doesn't happen: The gift you ordered doesn't arrive on time; your late-night Santa follows the directions and still can't get the bicycle put together; Grandma's fruitcake doesn't taste like fruit or cake. And I know, when Christmas doesn't meet your expectations, life gets messy.
That's why I want you to look at Christmas differently this year. This season is not about how your plans get messed up; rather it's about what God will do with your messy plans.
Three years ago, Kay and her husband Rick had some perfect plans for Christmas. As a pastor, it is Kay's husband, Rick's favorite time of year, but there was a dreaded diagnosis: breast cancer. Talk about having your plans messed up-Kay and Rick were forced to fall fully on their faith, trusting that God could bring good even out of the bad situations of life.
In the cancer ward of the hospital, there was a plaque with words that underscored Rick's faith in God. It read, "Cancer is so limited. It cannot cripple love. It cannot shatter hope. It cannot corrode faith. It cannot destroy peace. Cancer cannot kill friendships. It cannot suppress memories. It cannot silence courage. It cannot invade the soul. It cannot steal eternal life. And it cannot conquer the spirit." To that I would add, "It cannot defeat you if you trust Jesus Christ to work all things together for good in your life."
This Christmas you may feel discouraged. Or lonely. Or stressed out by too many plans or by plans that have fallen through. Perhaps this is your first Christmas after a bad divorce. Or a death. Or a disability. Maybe you're concerned or feeling hopeless about your finances or your future.
Answer to Your Search
What should you do? Do what the Wise Men did that very first Christmas: Seek God. Focus on Him. God promises in the Bible, "You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart."
What have you been seeking? Has it been happiness or fulfillment or peace of mind or love or a purpose to living? During Christmastime people have a tendency to turn up the volume on whatever is going on in their lives. But you can know, even if your holiday plans are messy, that God is working His plan in your life in ways you cannot even imagine: "No one has ever seen or heard or even imagined what wonderful things that God has ready for those who love Him."

This Christmas Holiday

This Holiday give our forests a gift. Bring home a real tree. The fun of going into the crisp outdoors to find the perfect tree. The beauty of real branches opening to hold our favorite ornaments. The subtle scent of evergreen that says the holidays are here.

For generations, real Christmas trees have stood at the center of our most beautiful holiday traditions. But did you know that when you choose a real tree, you're also doing something beautiful for our forests?

Christmas trees are grown on managed forestland, most of which are family owned. In managed forests, a balance is carefully maintained between our need for wood and paper products and the needs of the forest environment to remain healthy and abundant.

That's why for every Christmas tree harvested in a managed forest, up to three more are planted each spring. And these millions of new trees help to keep the air and water clean, provide habitat for all kinds of wildlife and prevent soil erosion.

When the holiday are over, give your tree a new life.
Visit www.abundantforests.org to download ten environmentally positive things you can do with your Christmas tree after the holidays--from reusing the wood to making a wildlife feeding station. Each tip is easy and fun for families to do together. It's all part of Plant it Forward - things we can do today at home, at work and in our communities to help our forests remain abundant for the future.

What's your E-IQ? Find out at www.abundantforests.org

Were you surprised to learn that real Christmas trees are a good environmental choice? Take the E-IQ quiz and see how your environmental knowledge and practices stack up against the rest of America. It only takes a few minutes, gut it could help us all learn ways to Renew, Reuse and Respect a most remarkable, sustainable resource - our forests.
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Friday, November 24, 2006

211:THE NUMBER TO KNOW

You know to dial 911 for emergencies. And you know to call 411 to find a phone number or address. But do you know about 211, the service that was created for people in need o help fro a social service agency? You can find information and referrals on everything from crisis intervention and counseling to job training, education programs, and child or adult day care simply by dialing 211 anytime, day or night, says Kelly Levy, director of United Way of America's 2-1-1 project.
United Way of America and the Alliance of Information & Referral Systems have championed the 211 movement, which started in Atlanta in 1997. Today about 46 percent of the U.S. population has access to the free 211 service in parts or all of 32 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and some areas of Canada. Thirteen states have 100-percent access, while only certain counties do in others. Even those states with no 211 systems are in various planning stages for starting it.
Some of the biggest 211 success stories occurred last year in hurricane-ravaged Florida. One example: Lauren Baker, a Miami single mother of four, found herself without power, a refrigerator full of spoiled food, and a closet with water-soaked clothes. Her hours at work were cut because the storms slowed business, and she had no paycheck to cover her food, clothing, or rent. Baker called 211 and the call specialist hooked her up with the Red Cross, which provided food and clothing for her family.
So if your town or state doesn't have 211 service, what do you do? Call your congressional representative and your local elected officials and tell them you want it. United Way of America has a toll-free phone number, 888/727-7211, through which you can contact your congressional representatives. "For society, this is a better way of helping each other, " Levy says.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Simple Seasonal Stress Stoppers

STRESS STOPPERS
  • Instead of spending money on stuff your family doesn't need, consider a collective gift - a day of horseback riding, say, or a weekend trip. Or give each child the gift of time with a special one-on-one outing.
  • Give parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles the same gift: a family photo book you design at http://www.kodakgallery.com/ or http://www.shutterfly.com/. It's highly personal and comes in different styles to fit every budget. You can personalize each book - by changing the dedication on the title page, for example - with a few mouse clicks.
  • Set up a wrapping station on a folding table in the basement, so supplies are ready when you have a few moments to wrap. Or let your kids wrap gifts and send cards. Relatives will be charmed!
  • Have your techie teen create an address database for your greeting-card list, then order stamps by phone )800-782-6724) or online (http://www.usps.com/). Create personalized photo cards at an online photo service such as http://www.kodak.gallery.com/ or http://www.shutterfly.com/ (they'll even mail them for you.) Even easier, send e-cards. You'll find a great selection at www.Hallmark.com , http://www.bluemountain.com/, http://www.americangreeting.com/ and http://www.daysprings.com/.
  • Buy premade sough and spend more time on the fun part - decorating the cookies with your kids. Bonus: if they're less tasty than homemade, you'll be less likely to eat a dozen.
  • Stop doing all the decorating yourself - make it a family affair. Play holiday music, serve up eggnog and cookies and get everyone involved.
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Saturday, November 18, 2006

Taking the Car Keys

One day last winter, Charles Olsen, a physician in Escanaba, Michigan, was shoveling snow when an elderly neighbor backed out of her garage, scraped her car along a snow bank, crossed the street, and collided with his vehicle. "It was obvious she had no idea that my car was
there," Olsen says.

Worried that his neighbor's insurance premiums would skyrocket, Olsen didn't report the accident to the police. But he did giver her son a call. "It was an uncomfortable phone call," he says. "I hated to do it, but I told him that perhaps his mother shouldn't be on the road."

Whether the pronouncement comes from a neighbor, son, or daughter, or even a doctor, no senior likes to be told that he or she is a bad driver. Yet the day often comes when the parent who carpooled you to games and gave you driving lessons in the empty church parking lot just isn't the driver he once was Although no one likes to be the messenger, there are ways to help get you through that conversation, says Dr. Alice Pomidor, associate professor of geriatrics at Florida State University in Tallahassee. "Focus on your concern for their health and well-being," she says. "And be prepared to answer the question, 'If I don't drive, how am I going to get around?'" Here's more help:

  • Suggest they give the car to a grandchild. "Giving the car away is a face saver," says Pomidor. They can tell their friends that their granddaughter needed the car.
  • Talk to your parent from direct experience. Don't take your teenager's word that, "Grandma nearly got us killed today." Ride with your parent yourself.
  • Have the conversation somewhere other than in the car. Bring up the subject later. Never crack a joke about their driving. Ask about friends who drive but who shouldn't be on the road. They'll often make the connection between these folks and themselves.
  • If your parent becomes defensive and agitated, droop the conversation and bring ut up again a day or two later, after they've had a chance to cool off, or perhaps reconsider.
  • Present alternatives to driving. Do your homework o volunteer drivers, van services, senior shuttles, taxis, and buses. Even in trural areas, there are always alternatives. "But be prepared to take up some of the slack yourself and drive your parent," says Pomidor.
  • Make sure you are addressing the right parent. Sometimes the non-driving parent-often the wife-covers up for the spouse's deficits, or believes he is sage as long as she rides along. "She may have a lot invested in his driving," said Pomidor. "She may be the one you have to convince."
  • Enroll your parent in a driving course and agree to abide by the decision of the driving instructor, says Karlend Ball, director ot the Center for Research on Applied Gerontology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
  • If none ot this works, for safety's sake, you should refuse to let your children ride with them.

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Friday, November 10, 2006

Types of Identity Theft

Types of Identity Theft

Social Security Number

Your Social Security number is the most valuable piece of your personal financial information because it is your main identifying number for employment, tax reporting, and credit history tracking purposes. If your Social Security number falls in the hands of a thief, you could face serious problems as a result. A thief could use your Social Security number to obtain employment, open credit card accounts or obtain loans under your name. The best way to protect yourself is to guard your Social Security number and provide it to others only when absolutely necessary. Some businesses request your Social Security number for general record keeping. If they do, ask how your Social Security number will be used and whether you can use any other identifying number instead. If your Social Security number is stolen, applying for a new one may not solve your identity theft problem.

For example, a new Social Security number may not ensure a new credit record because credit bureaus may combine the credit records from your old Social Security number with your new one. Moreover, even when the old credit history is not associated with your new Social Security number, the absence of any credit history under your new Social Security number may make it more difficult to obtain credit.

Credit Cards

There are numerous ways in which an identity thief can make unauthorized charges on your existing credit card accounts, or open up new accounts under your name. An ordinary thief might steal your wallet or purse and try to make use of your stolen cards and checks. The more sophisticated thief can fill out a change of address form from the post office to get all your bills sent to another address. He or she can also call your credit card issuer and, pretending to be you, change the mailing address on your credit card accounts. The impostor then runs up charges on your account. Since your bills are being sent to a new address, you may not immediately realize the problem. An identity thief might also open new accounts under your name by stealing and completing a pre-approved credit card offer sent to you in the mail, using your name, date of birth and Social Security number, but a different address, on the application form. If this occurs, you may not discover that a new account has been opened under your name until the unpaid bills appear on your credit report.

Identity thieves can also obtain your credit card information from purchases you make at stores, over the telephone or online. For example, the credit card information you provide in person or over the telephone during a purchase can be improperly used to make unauthorized charges on your account. In addition, thieves can obtain your credit card number and other personal information through fraudulent or unsecured Web sites. No matter how professional looking the Web site, check the company's reliability with the Better Business Bureau before doing business with it, review the Web site's security policy, and be sure to use a secure browser if you are providing credit card information online. In the address window of your browser, check to see that the first part of the company's Web address changes from "http://" to "https://;" and also check the lower corner of the Web page to see whether a lock or key symbol appears, signifying security. Using a secure browser helps to ensure the safety of your personal data when it is being transmitted to a company?s computers. Before making online purchases, check the Web site?s user agreement and privacy policy to find out how the company uses your credit card and other personal information. The user agreement and privacy policy will inform you whether the information you provide is stored in the company?s database and whether you can opt out of being added to the company?s mailing list or having the company share your personal information with a third party. Privacy Seal programs, such as the Better Business Bureau?s BBBOnline program, provide seals for Web sites that have met certain standards for protecting the privacy of the consumer information that they collect.

Check Fraud

Identity thieves can drain your checking account by stealing your checks or your checking account number from your home or office and forging your signature, or by making counterfeit checks in your name, using a home computer. Some thieves even use cleaning solvent to remove what is already written on a check, making it payable to themselves. If your checks have been stolen or misused, immediately notify your bank, place a stop payment order, and close your checking account. Be aware that identity thieves can also open checking accounts in your name using personal information such as your Social Security number. When they write bad checks on that account, those debts appear on your credit report.

Cellular Telephone Service Identity thieves can establish new cellular telephone service in your name or make unauthorized calls that seem to come from, and are billed to, your cellular phone. Others make unauthorized charges by using your calling card and PIN. If this occurs, contact your service provider to close your existing account, and establish another one with a new PIN.
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Monday, November 06, 2006

The Billionare Software Engineer

Seattle, WA, the billionaire software engineer set to become the next space tourist said he's been interested in space since his boyhood behind the Iron Curtain.
Charles Simonyi, 58, left Hungary at 17, roughly a decade after the launch of Sputnik, the first man-made satellite. He came to the United States to study engineering and computer science and went on to help develop two of the world's most popular software applications, Microsoft Corp.'s Word and Excel
Simonyi is paying Space Adventures Ltd. of Vienna, VA., $20 million to $25 million to take him to the International Space Station in March aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, the company said. He would be the fifth person the company has taken to space.
"Dr. Simonyi has been successful in a much larger way on Earth than we've been in space," said Eric Anderson, the company's president and chief executive.
Simonyi worked for Xerox Corp. in California for eight years before moving in 1981 to Microsoft, which he left to found Intentional Software Corp. in 2002 in nearby Bellevue.
He said he felt like he was making a contribution to the future of civilian space flight, helping with space research and encouraging kids to get interested in science.
His own interest in space as a child helped him learn English-some of his first words were "propellant" and "nozzle" - his knowledge of space trivia led to victory at age 13 in a junior astronaut contest. The prize was a trip to Moscow and a chance to meet one of the first cosmonauts, Pavel Popovich.
Although he will be helping with science experiments and some menial tasks during the eight-day trip, Simonyi said he will be spending a lot of time just hanging out, observing, taking pictures and looking out the window.
Simonyi will be blogging on a Web site designed to appeal to younger space enthusiast and adults interested in space travel.
"I want to share all that I learn with everybody, especially with kids," he said.
Simony's friend and former colleague, Microsoft c0-founder Paul Allen, is making his own contributions to space tourism by investing in research to build civilian spacecraft.
"He's very happy. He was one of the first people I told about my decision," Simonyi said.
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Monday, October 23, 2006

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

STORE SHELVES are filling up with pink products tied to October's Breast Cancer Awareness month, but shoppers need to do their homework to be sure their green is really going to the right cause.
There is a seemingly endless variety of pink products on offer these days. The options range from food items - pink M&Ms and Tic Tacs are popular - to home appliances such as a pink KitchenAid mixer or a pink Dyson vacuum cleaner. Many products also carry the ubiquitous pink-ribbon logo that has become a universal symbol of breast-cancer awareness. Shoppers can choose from pink-ribbon slippers, towels, bedding, pajamas and jewelry, among other items.
But buyers need to look beyond the pink to be sure a product supports a legitimate breast-cancer group. Anybody can use the pink-ribbon logo, so it's important to read tags, boxes and fine print to find out what group is being supported and how much money it is getting from your purchase. Sometimes the money goes directly to breast-cancer research, while other purchases may support free mammograms for low-income women or simply "breast-cancer awareness."
Most major breast-cancer groups have strict requirements for disclosing how much of a pink product goes to charity. Consumers should look for labels and boxes that state what organization benefits and how much of the purchase price goes to it. Some products give only a vague description, promising that a "portion" of the proceeds support breast-cancer research.
Their (Breast Cancer Research Foundation) rule is that a company must disclose whatever their donation is - if they aren't willing to disclose it, they won't be accepted as a partner. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation lists all its pink products and the contribution on its Web site, www.bcrfcure.org. Some pink purchases clearly go further than others. Each sale of $60 Darey Dyle Rose Quartz earrings generates $40, or 67% of the purchase price, for the group BreastCancer.org. Spend $1,950 on a Van Cleef & Arples pendant, and $1,000, or 51% of the price, goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. KitchenAid offers a variety of Cook for the Cure products that benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation www.komen.org
The company donates $50, or about 17% of the purchase price, from sales of iths pink Artisan Stand Mixer. Meanwhile, 50 cents from the purchase of a $13 pair of pink-ribbon Meshmellows slippers - or about 4% of the purchase price - goes to the National Breast Cancer Foundation www.nationalbreastcancer.org.
Sometimes simply buying a pink product doesn'e guarantee money will be given to breast-cancer causes. The shopper has to take an extra step, such as mailing in product lids or labels or registering online to generate income for charity. For instance, Yoplait products with pink lids support the Komen Foundation - but only if you mail them in. Specially marked bags of Sun Chips carry a pink ribbon, but the 25-cent-per-bag donation to Komen is triggered only when the shopper goes to a Web site and enters a special code. Viva paper towels will donate $100,000 to the Brease Cancer Research Foundation, but if shoppers redeem a special coupon the company will donate an additional 10 cents, up to a total $200,000 donation.l
Shoppers also need to decide what type of breast-cancer projects they support, because groups with pink products have different missions. The best way is to check a group's Web site. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation last year spent 89% of the $27 million it raised on research grants for breast-cancer prevention and treatment. The Komen Foundation spends most of its funds on breast-cancer education, awareness and community programs, such as free mammograms, but allocates about 40% to breast-cancer research. Products that support Breast-cancer.org help support the group's mission to provide women the most up-to-date medical information about breast cancer. Products llike a pink Gund plush bear support LIFE, which stands for LPGA Pros in the Fight to Eradicate breast cancer, a group that focuses on education and awareness about the risks of breast cancer to young women. Meanwhile, CancerCare, which receives support from the sale of pink TicTacs and pink Women for Hope braclets www.womenforhope.com , uses money it raises for support services for people affected by cancer.
Last year, pink products accounted for $35 million of the Komen Foundation's $200 million in annual revenue. Cindy Schneibel, vice president of resource development for Komen, says the pink products do more than raise money for research - they also raise awareness among peoople who might not otherwise think about breast cancer.
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Saturday, October 21, 2006

Google Looks To Boost Ads With YouTube

WITH IT'S $!.65 billion agreement to acquire YouTube Inc., Google Inc. will be able to broaden its online-advertising business and boosts its video offerings to meet the rapidly changing viewing habits of consumers.
The all-stock purchase announced yesterday (Oct. 9, 2006), of closely held YouTube, a 19-month-old, San Bruno, Calif. startup with 67 employees, highlights users' growing consumption of video online and the booming sales of Web advertising. The hefty price tag also reflects the interest of other media and technology companies in acquiring YouTube as a way to jumpstart their online video efforts.
The deal--the largest in Google's eight-year history-- marries Google's massive collection of computes, data lines and systems for serving up online ads from hundreds of thousands of advertisers with YouTube's leading position in playing videos for users on the Web. It could transform the Mountain View, Calif. based Google into a bigger power broker for the distribution of video online, following the mixed track record of its own online video efforts. YouTube has said that consumers view videos through its service, ranging from homemade videos to movie clips, more than 100 million times daily.
This is going to allow them to continue to develop features for their community and their partners, and allow them to sharpen their focus. They will be able to leverage the technology and resources of Google to supercharge their efforts in those areas.
The acquisition could also boost Google's ambitions to significantly broaden its as-brokering activities beyond simple text ads on Web pages to larger amounts of video advertising online. The Web search company places ads, often targeted by specific keywords, such as "Chicago hotel," on its own and partner sites using an automated online system and has said it intends t also broker ads in radio, print media and television.
They believe the combination of Google and YouTube will create this very new and interesting global media platform for users, content providers and advertisers all around the world.
The sale is a huge windfall for YouTube, which Mr. Hurley, 29, founded in Feb. 2005 in his garage along with chief technology officer Steve Chen, 28, and another former colleague from eBay Inc.'s PayPal electronic-payment unit. Mr. Hurley had said in a June interview that an initial public offering in the future was a possibility. But the offer from Google was attractive enough to lead YouTube to abandon that interest.
Some analysts raised questions about YouTube's priced tag. Critics said Google could be exposing itself to liability for copyright violations, since videos posted by users without permission of content owners are available through YouTube's site. The startup already faces one lawsuit related to this issue. YouTube has been racing to sign deals with media and entertainment companies to license their content and head off any additional litigation, generally agreeing to share online ad revenue with the content owners. The YouTube commitment to enforcing copyrights is very consistent with Google's.
A Microsoft spokeswoman said the company "evaluated acquiring this type of technology several months ago" but decided to build its own service, a test version of which opened recently.
In a prelude to the acquisition announcement, YouTube early Monday announced agreements with Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group and Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG joint venture Sony BMG to make their music videos available through YouTube and to allow consumers to use music from the two companies as soundtracks for their own videos on YouTube. The video site also signed a content and ad-revenue-sharing agreement with CBS Corp. related to video from CBS Television Network and Showtime Networks Inc. Google separately announced agreements with Warner Music Group Corp. and Sony BMG to make their music videos available through its video service.
YouTube's deal with Universal Music is particularly significant since Universal Music Chief Executive told investors last month that YouTube violates copyright laws by allowing users to post music videos and other content. Universal Music has considered taking legal action against YouTube over that issue, say people familiar with the matter.
Yahoo Inc., News Corp. and Microsoft Corp. were among the other companies that expressed interest in acquiring YouTube, say people familiar with the matter. YouTube had earlier passed on a lower offer from Google and held acquisition discussions with Yahoo, which tendered an offer in recent weeks, say people familiar with the matter. Yahoo's offer, valid for 24-hours, expired amid its concerns about copyright- and revenue-related issues though talks continued after the expiration, one of the people says.
Meanwhile, Google significantly increased its offer and deal talks between the two gathered intensity late Tuesday, when Google and YouTube drafted a term sheet, a person familiar with the matter says. In parallel, the two companies worked to complete content and as-revenue-sharing partnerships with the major music companies and CBS Corp. that were announced yesterday morning.
News Corp. sniffed around YouTube as recently as last week, but never made a firm offer because the startup said it was not for sale. On Friday, when the news of the Google negotiations surfaced, News Corp. sent a letter to YouTube asking for an opportunity to participate in the sale process. YouTube didn't respond. Behind the scenes, Google's deal to purchase YouTube is threatening to create a rift between Google and News Corp., which jointly made headlines in August with and ad brokering deal under which Goolge guaranteed revenue of $900 million over three and a half years to News Corp. for its MySpace social networking service and other sites. Over the weekend, News Corp. executives expressed their displeasure with the deal to Google and threatened to remove any links to YouTube videos placed by users on their MySpace blog pages, according to a person close to the situation.
News Corp. earlier this year held discussions with NBC Universal and Viacom about jointly building a YouTube rival. The three media companies discussed putting their television videos on a new site, but ultimately the talks foundered, these people say. This month, News Corp. announced it would put video clips from its Fox television shows up on MySpace.
YouTube's sale could represent a significant financial gain for venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, which has provided funding to the startup. Sequoia holds roughly 30% of YouTube. Under the sale agreement, YouTube will retain some independence, keeping its brand, offices and management. Google will also continue to operate its separate Google Video service.
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Saturday, October 14, 2006

Exotic Felines

Last week we went to the 'Exotic Feline Rescue Center' and it was so neat! They are located about 20 miles south of Terre Haute, Indiana. Their mission is to provide permanent homes for exotic felines that have been abused, abandoned, or for some reason have nowhere to live out their lives. They also believe that these special cats have much to give and deserve to be treated in a humane and dignified manner. You wouldn't believe some of the stories we were told about these felines. It was awful. Founded in 1991 by Joe Taft, it became a non-profit organization in 1996. There are just a handful of sanctuaries in the US that provide the services they do. They house about 175 cats (big) on site from 8 different species. They work and cooperate with many organizations including: Fund for Animals with the California Leopards, Columbus Zoo, Louisville Zoo, Baltimore Zoo, DNR, US Fish and Wildlife, USDA, Sarasota in Defense of Animals, other shelters, and private individuals. For the last 4 1/2 years they have taken in an average of two cats per month. They feed their cats 2500 lbs. of meat everyday. If they bought prepared carnivore diet, it would cost approximately $912,500 per year. Thankfully most of the meat comes from local farmers. But they do purchase 2500 lbs. of poultry each week for the cats. For more information on these cats go to http://www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org/
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Friday, October 06, 2006

Take The Test

You Should Be a Science Fiction Writer

Your ideas are very strange, and people often wonder what planet you're from.
And while you may have some problems being "normal," you'll have no problems writing sci-fi.
Whether it's epic films, important novels, or vivid comics...
Your own little universe could leave an important mark on the world!

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Thursday, October 05, 2006

Here Come the Holidays

It excites some and depresses others. With Halloween just around the corner, everyone is already getting ready for Christmas. I have always noticed that Thanksgiving just seems to kind of get skipped over. Why do you think that is? I love Thanksgiving because that is exactly what it is. A special day for giving thanks for all of our blessings. The stores are just getting ready to clean up from Halloween and then they will set up Christmas accessories for sale. You never see turkey decorations or displays of the pilgrims at a big dinner table. Maybe it has something to do with politics or whatever. But people celebrate Christmas happily enough and that is a religious holiday. I am thinking that does not enter too many minds as it has become so materialistic. All the bright lights and pretty decorations are nice, but just like Thanksgiving, Christmas has all been forgotten the real reason for the season. We need to slow down a little in the world or we will all go nuts before our time on earth is finished.
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