US gas prices spike; refinery problems cited

George Matkowski, of Montpelier, reaches into his wallet to pay for gas, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012, in Montpelier, Vt. A rise in the price of crude oil and problems with refineries and pipelines in the West Coast and Midwest have caused prices at the pump to surge upward. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

George Matkowski, of Montpelier, reaches into his wallet to pay for gas, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012, in Montpelier, Vt. A rise in the price of crude oil and problems with refineries and pipelines in the West Coast and Midwest have caused prices at the pump to surge upward. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

Gasoline prices are displayed at a gasoline station, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012, in Chicago. A rise in the price of crude oil and problems with refineries and pipelines in the West Coast and Midwest have caused prices at the pump to surge upward. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

NEW YORK (AP) ? A surprise surge in gasoline prices is taking some of the fun out of summer.

The national average for a gallon of gas at the pump has climbed to $3.67, a rise of 34 cents since July 1. An increase in crude oil prices and problems with refineries and pipelines in the West Coast and Midwest, including a fire in California, are mostly to blame.

Analysts don't expect gas prices to get as high as they did in April, when 10 states passed $4 a gallon and the U.S. average topped out at $3.94. But this is still unwelcome news in this sluggish economy, since any extra money that goes to fill gas tanks doesn't get spent on movies and dinners out.

The rising prices could also put pressure on President Barack Obama in the heat of his re-election campaign.

When Phil Van Schepen recently went to fill up his dry-cleaning delivery van in Coon Rapids, Minn., he found a Post-it note a driver before him had placed on the pump faulting Obama for high gasoline prices.

"It's a reminder of his energy policies overall, which I don't agree with," said Van Schepen, who buys about 100 gallons a week and finds he is spending about $40 more than he did in early July. Still, he said the Post-it "was a bit much" because the president isn't responsible for gasoline prices.

Analysts and economists agree, saying prices for crude oil and wholesale gasoline are set on financial exchanges around the world based on supply and demand and expectations about how those factors may change.

The price at the pump in the U.S. fell more than 60 cents per gallon during the spring as the global economy slowed and turmoil in the Middle East seemed to subside.

But crude oil is climbing again, rising to $94 a barrel from a low of $78 in late June. Production outages in South Sudan and the North Sea, Western sanctions that have cut the flow of Iranian oil, Iran's threat to block tankers passing through the vital Strait of Hormuz, and fears that the violence in Syria could escalate into a wider regional conflict have driven up oil prices.

Seasonal factors are also sending pump prices higher. Gas usually costs more in the late spring and summer because refiners have to make more expensive blends of gasoline to meet clean air rules and because the summer driving season boosts demand.

In the past few weeks, pipelines serving Wisconsin and Illinois ruptured, refineries were shut down unexpectedly because of equipment problems in Illinois and Indiana, and a blaze broke out at a refinery in Richmond, Calif.

Gasoline prices shot up more than 50 cents in the span of a month in Indiana, Vermont, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Wisconsin. And California drivers have seen gas climb 13 cents since the fire Monday. Motorists in many cities there are paying well over $4.

Drivers in 20 states, including the possible White House battleground states of Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin, are paying more for gasoline this year than they did last year, and the list will probably soon include Virginia and North Carolina, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. The national average a year ago was $3.64.

"If you are paying more than in the past, it does have the potential to hurt the president," Kloza said.

Economists said the price bump probably won't have much of an effect on economic growth, at least not yet. The extra 34 cents a gallon translates to $33 per month for a typical household.

Prices could go higher if Middle East tensions rise, more refinery problems emerge or hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico force oil drillers or refiners to shut down. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week said this could be a more active hurricane season than previously thought.

But analysts say that without those disruptions, gasoline will probably begin dropping after Labor Day as refiners switch to cheaper blends and drivers hit the road less often. That means voters could be going to the polls as prices are falling.

___

Follow Jonathan Fahey on twitter at http://twitter.com/JonathanFahey

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-08-10-US-Gasoline-Prices/id-7ec489bef5734c238cc7676f05dafaab

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Is Your Business Phone System HIPAA Compliant? | Hot Penny ...

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The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets the standard for the healthcare industry to protect confidential and sensitive patient data, like medical and billing records. HIPAA rules regulate the daily activities and tools of many healthcare and related companies, including common business phone systems.

HIPAA compliance is obviously required for healthcare providers like hospitals, clinics, and individual practitioners, but your small business may also fall under required HIPAA compliance. If your company is a private sector vendor or third-party administrator that accesses, collects or transmits protected health information over the phone, you?re required to adhere to HIPAA?s guidelines.

Phone System Requirements
Physical and network security measures, as described in HIPAA guidelines, require that business phone systems can process patient health information safely over telephone lines. Consider a common medical office scenario: the administrator on the phone taking patient?s medical or billing information writes it down on a piece of paper and, after a busy day of multitasking, misplaces the note or, even worse, shuffles it in with other patient information. The patient?s personal information is at risk.

A secure business phone system ensures HIPAA compliance and protects your office from penalties and criminal prosecution. So how do you know the phone system you use in-house is HIPAA compliant?

Among other rules, HIPAA standards require:

• Access control
• Audit controls
• Person or office authentication
• Transmission security
• Workstation security
• Device and media controls
• Security management process

If you use VoIP, understand that anything transmitted across the web-based platforms is not guaranteed to be secure, and carries a higher risk of violating the recommended guidelines. As such, tools like Skype are generally not recommended. Instead, opt for other secure landline telephone systems that offer audit trails and backup capabilities, breach notifications, and encrypted transmission of voice communications.

Using Your Phone System Properly
When it comes to adhering to guidelines, it?s less about the actual business phone system, and more about the behavior around transmitting data through voice communications. It?s been said that ?technology itself can?t be HIPAA compliant; hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare-related businesses must be HIPAA compliant.?

First, it?s important to note that your phone must be in a secure location that prevents unauthorized access. You must also assure that any voicemail where sensitive information could be stored has access restrictions, ensuring a secure password and a policy around retention of the voice message.

You should also have a plan or policy around recording voice conversations. Installing such a recording system ensures sufficient accountability in terms of tracking and accessing information. These systems can store audio files electronically to be accessed in the future by the proper personnel.

The Consequences
So what happens if you find your phone system ? or how you use it ? is not compliant? An act supplemental to HIPAA was passed in 2009 to address this ? the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). The HITECH Act was formed in response to health technology development and the increase in use, storage, and transmittal of health information electronically.

There are four categories of violations that coincide with increasing levels of liability. Each level has a corresponding penalty that culminates in a maximum penalty of $1.5 million for all violations. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reviews all reported violations, and determines the amount of the penalty based on the nature and extent of the violation and the potential harm caused to patients by the violation. There is no ?one size fits all? penalty for each violation. In most cases, you have opportunity to right the wrong when notified of your non-compliance; your business won?t incur a penalty immediately, but rather you?d have 30 days to fix the circumstances.

Photo source:?healthcarelawmatters.com

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Source: http://hotpennystocksforum.com/penny-stock-tips-leads-reviews/is-your-business-phone-system-hipaa-compliant/

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AMC 2Q earnings surge; Dish dispute may hurt 3Q

NEW YORK (AP) ? AMC Networks Inc. on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings rose 53 percent, largely in line with analysts' estimates, but it predicted a big drag in the third quarter if its dispute with satellite TV company Dish Network Corp. continued to leave its channels off the service.

The company said that 13 percent of its subscriber base was affected by the blackout on Dish that has continued since July 1. It said that if the dispute continued, the negative impact on its operating income "will be materially higher."

Dish, which has 14 million subscribers, says the channels cost too much and that it would prefer to negotiate only for the flagship channel AMC, which is home to shows such as "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead." Dish would prefer to do without lesser-watched channels WE tv, IFC and Sundance Channel.

AMC says Dish is trying to gain leverage in a lawsuit in which AMC is demanding Dish pay more than $2.5 billion in damages for cutting short a deal to carry AMC's Voom HD channels. The trial begins Sept. 18 in New York.

Benjamin Swinburne, an analyst with Morgan Stanley, said in a research note that the projected impact was "more than we had estimated." He had expected the Dish shutdown to affect just 8 percent of AMC subscribers.

There were about 96.9 million subscribers to AMC, the company's most widely distributed channel, at the end of June, the company said.

AMC shares were up 34 cents at $43.68 in afternoon trading after rising as high as $45.09 earlier in the session. AMC Networks shares peaked for the past year at $46.69 per share in mid-March.

The size of a potential legal settlement and whether AMC channels are restored to Dish are key swing factors in the stock.

Net income in the three months to June 30 rose to $41.5 million, or 58 cents per share, from $27.2 million, or 39 cents per share, a year ago.

Adjusted earnings from continuing operations came to 57 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of 58 cents per share.

Revenue rose 12 percent to $327.6 million from $292.0 million a year ago. That beat the $325.1 million expected by analysts.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/amc-2q-earnings-surge-dish-dispute-may-hurt-190435994--finance.html

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Sikh temple president, officers hailed as heroes

Amardeep Kaleka, son of the president of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, center, comforts members of the temple, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012, in Oak Creek, Wis., where a gunman killed six people a day earlier, before being shot and killed himself by police. Satwant Kaleka, 65, founder and president of the temple, died in the shooting. He was among four priests who died. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Amardeep Kaleka, son of the president of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, center, comforts members of the temple, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012, in Oak Creek, Wis., where a gunman killed six people a day earlier, before being shot and killed himself by police. Satwant Kaleka, 65, founder and president of the temple, died in the shooting. He was among four priests who died. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

This undated picture provided by the Oak Creek Police Department shows Lt. Brian Murphy. Murphy, 51, is a 21-year veteran with the Oak Creek Police Department. Police Chief John Edwards said the gunman in the Sikh temple shooting "ambushed" Murphy, one of the first officers to arrive at the temple as the officer tended to a victim outside, shooting him eight to nine times with a handgun at close range. A second officer then exchanged gunfire with the gunman, who was fatally shot. Murphy was in critical condition along with two other victims Monday, authorities said. (AP Photo/Oak Creek Police Department)

Amardeep Kaleka, son of the president of Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Satwant Kaleka, drops to his knees as he listens to law enforcement authorities speak during a news conference, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012, in Oak Creek, Wis., where a gunman killed six people, including Satwant Kaleka a day earlier, before being killed himself during a shootout with police. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Harinder Kaur Rakhra, left, sister of Satwant Singh Kaleka who was killed in the shooting attack at a Sikh temple in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, is consoled by Seema Sharma, a local politician in Patiala, India, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday that he was shocked and saddened by the shooting attack that killed six people. The photo on left shows Satwant Singh Kaleka, with his wife Satpal Kaleka. (AP Photo/Rajesh Sachar)

MILWAUKEE (AP) ? His community under attack, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin president Satwant Singh Kaleka fought back with all his strength and a simple butter knife, trying to stab a murderous gunman before taking two fatal gunshots to the leg.

Shot nine times and left for dead as he tended to a wounded victim outside, Oak Creek Police Lt. Brian Murphy tried to wave off his colleagues' aid, insisting worshippers indoors needed their help more.

Under fire in the temple parking lot, 32-year veteran Oak Creek police officer Sam Lenda took aim and shot back, downing the gunman who refused to drop his weapon after killing six people as they gathered for Sunday services.

Kaleka, Murphy and Lenda ? one dead, one critically injured and one physically unharmed ? are being hailed as heroes for saving lives in the shootings that sent more shockwaves through the nation just two weeks after a gunman killed 12 people inside an Aurora, Colo., movie theater. Police say gunman Wade Michael Page, a 40-year-old Army veteran and former leader of a white supremacist heavy metal band, unloaded a 9 mm handgun at the temple. They have not determined a motive.

What they have done is hailed the actions of those caught in the crossfire.

Kaleka, 65, helped found the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in 1997 with a couple dozen families. They met in rental halls as the congregation grew to about 1,000 before it moved into its current location five years ago.

Staring down the gunman Sunday morning, Kaleka managed to find the butter knife and tried to stab Page before being shot twice near the hip or upper leg, his son Amardeep Singh Kaleka said Monday.

His son said FBI agents hugged him Sunday, shook his hand and said, "Your dad's a hero."

"Whatever time he spent in that struggle gave the women time to get cover" in the kitchen, said Kaleka, whose mother was among more than a dozen women and children who took cover as Page forced his way into the temple. She dialed 911 while hiding.

It took less than four minutes for Murphy, a 21-year veteran and native New Yorker who was a finalist to be chief two years ago, to arrive on the scene. He saw a victim lying in the parking lot and was tending to him when Page approached.

Page shot Murphy at "very close range" nine times, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said.

"He clearly was in a blaze of gunfire," said Dr. Gary Seabrook, director of surgical services at Froedtert Hospital, where Murphy and two other survivors were treated.

Moments after Murphy was shot, more officers arrived at the scene. Lenda was among them.

He and the other officers heard gunshots, but didn't know who had been hit. They did know that a man with a gun was walking toward them.

The officers ordered Page to stop, drop his weapon and put his hands up. Instead, Page fired at least two rounds, hitting one of the squad cars.

Lenda returned fire with his department-issued rifle, and Page went down.

Lenda and other officers radioed Murphy, who was supposed to respond with his badge number, but they didn't hear back.

They soon saw him lying on the ground.

"As they approached him, he waved them off. He had been shot nine times, one of them very serious in the neck area, and he waved them off and told them to go into the temple and assist those in there," Edwards said Monday.

Despite his pleas, officers removed Murphy from the scene, quickly carrying him to a squad car before entering the temple.

While Murphy remained hospitalized in critical condition Monday, Edwards said he was resting and surrounded by his family. Lenda did not wish to discuss the shootings Monday.

"Lenda does not consider himself a hero and is not interested in being a part of any story to that effect," said Jim Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association. "He feels as though he was only doing his job."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-08-07-Sikh%20Temple-Shooting-Heroes/id-35aa59d3a8ef47ce9ce3bad81fb5c435

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GIRL TALK + DEAR TKB | How Fear Keeps You From Having the ...

Sometimes, we can start to feel a little lost.

It can happen to anyone, at any time in one?s life. ?During the happiest times, even, and in the happiest relationships.

Because ?perfection? does not exist in this realm. ?It doesn?t apply to relationships. ?We live in a real world, and shack up with real people who have real emotions. ?Emotional baggage is something everyone has. ?It?s not this ?bad thing? that we should feel shame talking about openly. ?And there are types of baggage; some of it requires substantial effort to get through/cope with, and some of it requires only venting to understanding friends. ?All I know is that I feel it?s time for us to talk about all of it honestly. ?I feel like I?ve been ready for this for a while, aching for it. ?This is my dream for all of us, to be able to get super raw despite the pride and potential for embarrassment that so often blocks that kind of discussion. ?We have to talk openly as human beings, otherwise how will the generations after us ever learn how to become whole. ?And I?d love for you to come along for the ride. ?Or just sit back and listen as the rest of us do.

Love songs have always disappointed me, for their tendency to keep it light. ?Even songs that try to tackle the most difficult parts of relationships ? they still seem hollow to me. ?Until this one.

British singer Rebecca Ferguson?s songs are among the first I?ve heard in a while that go to the core of life, and relationships, and the insecurities we have, both substantiated and unfounded. ?Relationships aren?t cut and dry, and the problems we encounter in them are often difficult to tackle properly. ?But the good thing is that whatever you?re going through, 1.3 million other people have been through as well, in almost identical fashion. ?We just *think* we?re more alone than we actually are. ?And even if you know that already, it doesn?t make it any easier to reveal to loved ones. ?Embarrassment is the typical reason for us keeping things to ourselves. ?We don?t want people to have reason to doubt the quality of our relationships.

Especially when we?re planning our weddings. ?

I try to fight against the tendency we have, as humans (and, admittedly, as a blogger) to focus on the positive side of relationships, while mostly ignoring all the other stuff. ?The embarrassing stuff. ?The stuff we didn?t anticipate at the outset, and the stuff that we?re too proud to share with others, even when we?re completely at a loss for how to get things back on track.

This reader question stopped me dead in my tracks. ?I tried to answer it as honestly as I can. ?Because this reader?s question is the essence of what most reader questions I see are about. ?I want her to know she?s not alone.

Dear TKB/Alison,

Our wedding is less than two months away and I feel completely alone. ?Even when he?s in the room, I feel alone, and he looks like he feels alone, too. ?It?s terrifying and painful and makes me angry. ?But mostly sad. ?And defeated. ?And I feel weaker than I ever thought I could, now that we?re at a point where I?m afraid to say what?s really on my mind. ?I think my biggest fear is that something I might say might make him realize this isn?t the relationship for him, and he?ll walk. ? And I?ll have said something that was the catalyst for our going separate ways. ?As I write this I?m crying my eyes out. ?I have nothing left in me. ?I walk around like a zombie, I feel so empty. ?We hardly talk about anything real. ?Not that we used to have deep, philosophical conversations but there was moooorrre to us. ?Something, I can?t put my finger on it. ?I felt like we used to be so much more in tune with one another. ?We?re drifting more and more apart with every ?conversation we have about the wedding. ?At this point I have had to ignore the fact that the wedding?s fast approaching just because I?m too afraid to push him farther away by nagging him about details which now seem so unimportant, in the scheme of things.

I?m really scared and have no one to talk to who I feel could understand or help me in my life. ?I?m scared I?m losing the man who used to send me text messages with potential baby names he thought up. ?I?m scared I?m losing myself. ?I?m scared of what it means for my relationship that I?m writing to (no offense) a blogger who I don?t even know in real life, instead of feeling comfortable enough to speak openly to the person I love and have chosen as my life partner.

Wedding planning seems to have been a conduit for bringing out all of our bad stuff. ?I wasn?t worried about it at first because I had heard it can get really tough, and it can sometimes test your relationship but I never thought it could get THIS tough. ?I?m finding out that we weren?t as connected as I thought we were over the last three years we?ve been together. ?(Or we were, but things have regressed?) ?I feel almost at a point where it feels like it?s never going to get better. ?It just seems he?s on autopilot and letting me guide things, and I feel like he is open to talking but only if he doesn?t have to do anything too introspective or hear me feel sad. ?

I?m not even trying to act like an innocent; I JUST DON?T KNOW WHERE WE WENT WRONG AND I?M TRYING. ?I?M WILLING TO DO ANYTHING. ?I love him so much, and I feel absolutely certain he authentically wanted to marry me before we set out to plan a wedding. ?We just stopped being *us* at some point, I don?t know when, but communication changed fundamentally between us and ever since then we?ve been drifting apart. ?I?m trying to be strong, and I think we were both trying really hard, we cried during some arguments months ago. ?Now it?s cold here. ?I feel almost at a point where I?m unsure if the love I thought I had even ever existed as something real in the first place. ?I don?t really know what it is I?m asking you, but I feel like my world is so small right now. ?Please help. ?I need to hear this could be normal between two people. ?But if it?s not, please just tell me. ?I?m done falling to pieces, I just want to know if I should keep trying or be strong and move on with my life.

Thank you for listening.

Dear Reader,

Weddings are wonderful. ?Except when a certain thing happens.

The thing = when your focus becomes your wedding almost exclusively, and your relationship ? the very thing that got you to this point together ? is almost wholly ignored due to the false belief that a relationship is a self-sustaining entity requiring little food or water to survive. ?Natural human tendency is to want [the moment someone proposes] + [the moment someone says yes to that proposal] to = [the relationship is on lockdown.] ?That you?re officially committed forever and ever, and so now you can just focus on things like birch place cards and first dance songs without that nagging concern that one of you is ever going to change his or her mind. ?Because the truth of the human condition is that, at our core, we want to be loved for the truth of who we are. ?We seek acceptance from a lover, wholly and without hesitation.

But every human being is different. ?And every human being has his/her own insecurities, and unique needs, that they bring to a relationship. ?And it?s up to us as members of relationships to voice those needs, and to be true to ourselves about what we desire from our partners. ?And to want our partners to tell us what they want and what they need, and to be willing and to want to answer those wants and needs, so that they feel loved wholly and without hesitation. ?Some people are naturally able to achieve that balance. ?Others work through major issues finally to get to that serene point of mutual exchange and understanding. ?But that?s not real life for a lot of people. ?For most people, relationship will need to go through a lot of growing pains, before they can ever really feel open and connected in the truest most satisfying sense. ?They just need to be open to it, not to fear it, and to understand the importance and rewards involved.

The thing is, people often get caught up thinking that ?real love? is effortless. ?And they?re right.

But this is not about ?real love.? ?Real Love and a Successful Relationship are not synonymous.

This lies at source of most unexpected problems that come up in relationships, and is usually a major player along the road to divorce. ?Not wedding planning; *trusting* that a relationship will just sustain itself on the love you have. ?Even without significant effort put into it for long periods of time. ?Like, for example, while planning a wedding.

You have to talk to him. ?You have to share with him that you?ve been scared to say the things on your mind. ?Tell him the things you told me. ?If you don?t say exactly what?s on your mind, you will eternally regret it, regardless of whether you?re together or not 5, 10, 50 years from now.

What you have is extreme fear, and it?s controlling your entire body. ?So what I want you to do is decide to accept that being honest, right now, is the only option. ?EVEN IF IT MEANS BAD TIMES ARE AHEAD OF YOU, either with him, or without him. ?Even if it means you have to postpone the wedding. ?I need you to allow yourself NOT TO LET THE MONEY YOU?VE INVESTED, or your crippling fear of loss, to dictate your behavior within this relationship.

Above everything, we have to be true to ourselves, and to determine what we are looking for within our relationship with our partner. ?Normally I would just advise a bride to understand that wedding planning is hectic; think about it?

True openness is the path to personal truth, and the deepest kind of connection and understanding between human beings.

For some it comes easy. ?For others it?s a battle, and this all depends on the baggage we bring to relationships. ?And the honesty we are capable of having within ourselves.

Good luck. ?I think that, no matter how he responds, you are in incredibly self-aware, intelligent woman who I feel knows exactly what she wants and deserves out of her relationship. ?And I like your understanding that it takes two to bring things back on track. ?I just hope he?s both capable and willing to bear his soul to you. ?Because sometimes we?re afraid to be brutally honest with the people we love. ?But only then, can we ever hope to lead lives of honesty and real fulfillment.

Sorry that was so intense, but this is some fucking intense shit we?re dealing with here. ?That?s why I didn?t asterisk it by writing f**king or s**t. ?This is the real deal. ?Life. ?And I?m not interested in asterisking the truth. ?I hope I?ve helped. ?Though honestly all I really want to do right now is go hold you as a friend, and tell you that no matter how this all plays out, you?re going to be ok. ?Be strong, and know that honesty with oneself and honesty with loved ones is the single righteous path.

I?m sure the readers will have more to say, and I look forward to their advice, too. ?We want to help you. ?But especially we just want you to know that you?re not alone in this. ?You are just one more person dealing with the same life shit that we all are susceptible to. ?And if it helps to know this, Honey and I have had our rocky times, too. ?And I?m certain we?ll have more. ?Because really good things don?t come easy. ?Otherwise everybody?d have no trouble finding the perfect relationship.

xoxo,

Alison

Friends: If you?re in the mood to add in your voice to this discussion, I hope you will. ?Whether you?ve experienced anything similar yourself, or a friend has encountered a similar situation, or you just want to contribute some encouraging words, or personal advice.

My hope is to make this an ongoing discussion. ? I just feel like there are a l0t of people who need to be able to see this talked out somewhere.

On an additional, final note: the images I decided to include in this post are from a submission by?Anna Pociask Photography. ?They?re magnificent, and I?m looking forward to unveiling the full shoot very soon. ?

Photography: Anna Pociask Photography, LLC?/ Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Label(s): DEAR TKB {Tips + Advice}

Source: http://theknottybride.com/33386?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=girl-talk-dear-tkb-how-fear-keeps-you-from-having-the-relationship-you-deserve-we-explore-how-the-fantasy-of-real-love-is-hurting-modern-relationships

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Sell Products Online Using eCommerce and WordPress | Small - SPC

Many small businesses today not only operate out of a brick and mortar, but online as well. In fact, a growing number of small businesses are deciding to operate only on the internet, with no physical location.

The choices of eCommerce platforms are growing rapidly and can become a little overwhelming sometimes. At SPC, we select specific eCommerce shopping carts based on the customer?s business need. Whether a customer needs to list and sell one downloadable digital product, or hundreds and even thousands of individual products, there is a solution out there.

The incredible flexibility of WordPress and the large numbers of developers building plugins and add-ons creates a very customizable solution for many small business customers. The ability to change the website design, customize the look and feel, publish website content, and manage products and information places the WordPress platform at the top of the list for most website consultants as the go-to platform for professional business websites.

With content of the website so easily managed, with out programming code changes, it allows business owners the ability to update and change the website content. This is a huge money saver as they don?t have to call a web programmer every time they want to update something on the website. Additionally, as the user becomes more familiar and comfortable with the WordPress administrative dashboard (where the website is managed), they can manage more and more elements of their website experience.

One of the more popular eCommerce shopping carts for WordPress is called WP eCommerce (or, WPEC). WPEC leverages many of the inherent functions of WordPress that makes adding and managing products an achievable task for even the most novice online sales person. The shopping cart is officially a plugin, but it is way more than just a plugin. Essentially, it?s another software application that runs within WordPress, a larger software application.

Ok. So let?s look at just a small sample of the functionality WPEC provides for a business website?

Tabbed management control panel for the website?s store. Here, the business owner can set tax rates, shipping rates, payment methods, etc. All of the nuts and bolts needed to run an online business website.

Another part of the admin area is ?Products?. This is where the, you guessed it, products are managed. Most of the elements associated with an individual product can be controlled using this area of functionality. Adding the product manually, name, description, uploading photos of the product, setting price and stock, as well as other aspects are set here.

Here is the summary of products page?

An individual products detail page is where elements such as price, weight, tax, quantity, etc. are managed.

As you can see, there are many elements that are afforded the online business with WP eCommerce for WordPress. Essentially, everything one needs to create and manage an online store can be found with the WordPress and WPEC combination.

I prefer to keep the total number of products below 200 for this eCommerce solution as the management of each individual item can become tedious at best. Allowing for bulk uploading using a .csv file does make the initial upload of products easier, but there is still a good amount of work that needs to be done at the individual product level. For large numbers of products (individual SKUs) in the several hundred to thousands range, there are more applicable platform packages out there. We?ll discuss those in another post.

Reach out to us and discuss how we can help bring your business online and generating revenue.

Source: http://samperryconsulting.com/website-design-consulting/wordpress-e-commerce/

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Our Very Own International Business Cartoon ? Consumer Value ...

About this Blog

Professor Michael Czinkota created this blog in the fall of 2009 to serve the dissemination and discussion of his research and thoughts on International Business. The content ranges from thought provoking cartoons (the Daily Iconoclast), journal articles, video interview segments called Thoughts on International Business, Marketing, and Strategy, book excerpts, and discussion pieces. Just in case you appear on the jeopardy show, there are also occasional international trivia questions for your exploration. You can also search specific archives from the links provided within.

Please, enjoy the blog and leave your comments, thoughts, and suggestions.

Source: http://michaelczinkota.com/2012/08/our-very-own-international-business-cartoon-consumer-value/

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