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Monday, December 31, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Flurry: Santa crammed more tablets than smartphones into Christmas stockings
Assuming you were a non-naughty-lister who didn't get the proverbial coal lump, it looks like that gift under the tree was more likely a tablet than a phone this Noël, according to Flurry. The analytics outfit said that just over half of December 25th activations were slates, and we can't imagine too many gift-getters letting their new devices simlessly fester in a box over the big day. Overall activations more than doubled from last Christmas, and were up 332 percent on that single day from the first 20 days of December, combined. As might be expected, Apple came up big with iPad sales, but Flurry said that Amazon was also a winner with its 7-inch Kindle Fire HD tab, showing a "several thousand percent" increase over baseline activations. None of this likely comes as a huge shock to our readers, who rather overwhelmingly said that they'd rather have a Nexus 7 tablet than a pricier RAZR M as a gift if they toiled at Google.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Apple, Amazon
Source: Flurry Blog
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/28/more-tablets-than-smartphones-activated-christmas/
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'Magic Mike': Top 10 Moments Of 2012
From the nudity to the 'penis puppetry,' we look back at our favorite things about the Channing Tatum-led male-stripper movie.
By Kara Warner
Channing Tatum in "Magic Mike"
Photo: Warner Bros.
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1699420/magic-mike-2012.jhtml
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Friday, December 28, 2012
China claims world's longest high-speed rail line, takes travelers 1,428 miles in a workday
China has a thing for pushing the limits of trains. As of today, that includes distance: the country claims to have the world's longest high-speed rail line. Paying ¥865 ($139) will take you 1,428 miles from Beijing in the north to as far as Guangzhou in the south. The 8-hour, 186MPH trip is technically slower than flying, but it's cheaper and potentially less stressful than the often protracted airport boarding process. It's certainly far more viable than the 20-hour rail trip it's replacing, which could lead to some locals choosing a ground route that wasn't even a realistic option until now.
[Image credit: Xinhuanet]
Filed under: Transportation
Via: Wall Street Journal
Source: Gaotie (translated)
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/27/china-claims-worlds-longest-high-speed-rail-line/
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
Hybrid Fuel Systems | Auto And Tire Planet
If you are looking for an eco-friendly motor car, then a hybrid car is one of the more suitable options. These ?green? cars are environmentally friendly, because they emit lower levels of the pollutants, which are known to damage the environment, and cause conditions such as smog. One of the most popular hybrid vehicles is the Toyota Prius, which is considered to be extremely fuel efficient. Hybrid vehicles have a smaller engine than conventional cars, and this contributes to their efficiency.
There are several versions of hybrid vehicles, with one of the most common being the electric-petroleum vehicles, of which the Toyota Prius is a model. These hybrid cars are so named, because they are gasoline-powered and electric-powered at the same time. They have a gasoline engine, alongside an electric motor. The electric motor provides power for the wheels, and the batteries provide electrical power as well.
These hybrid vehicles are fitted with internal combustion engines, which depend on an efficient fuel system. The fuel system plays an important function, as it works to get the fuel to the cylinder of the engine. It stores the fuel in the fuel tank until it is needed, and then its other major task is to get it to provide a clean supply of fuel.
As with other vehicles, the fuel tank for the hybrid car is the storage facility for its store of gasoline. Some of these hybrid vehicles are fitted with what is called a bladder fuel tank. These tanks reduce the emission of vapors, as there is less space within which the fuel can evaporate. The tank expands and contracts in relation to the level of fuel that it has. So the tank will expand as fuel is added.
The hybrid vehicles are also fitted with what is known as an Evaporative Emission Control System (EVAP). The role of EVAP is to ensure that gasoline vapors from the fuel tank and the fuel system, do not escape into the air.
Some hybrid vehicles are built with 2 parallel fuel systems. This is necessary because the bi-vehicles can use 2 different types of gas.? However, because they cannot both be used in the same tank, the parallel option is used.
The hybrid fuel system offers several ?benefits, these include:
- Reduced harmful emissions.
- Increased fuel efficiency.
- Ability to withstand extreme temperatures. In addition, the system is also capable of withstanding stress, shock, and vibrations.
- Reduced maintenance costs. The cleaner engine means the oil lasts longer, and there is no need to change the oil frequently.?In addition, the exhaust system is much cleaner.
- Lower fuel costs due to greater efficiency.
Hybrid vehicles are likely to be the wave of the future, especially as more and more concern is being raised about the environmental damage caused by gasoline. The cars are energy efficient, and also use less gas, which makes them very eco-friendly. The fuel systems are also built to last longer, and reduce the wear and tear that can take place on the engine.
Source: http://autoandtireplanet.com/61/hybrid-fuel-systems/
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Stowers study hints that stem cells prepare for maturity much earlier than anticipated
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Public release date: 27-Dec-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Gina Kirchweger
gxk@stowers.org
816-806-1036
Stowers Institute for Medical Research
KANSAS CITY, MOUnlike less versatile muscle or nerve cells, embryonic stem cells are by definition equipped to assume any cellular role. Scientists call this flexibility "pluripotency," meaning that as an organism develops, stem cells must be ready at a moment's notice to activate highly diverse gene expression programs used to turn them into blood, brain, or kidney cells.
Scientists from the lab of Stowers Investigator Ali Shilatifard, Ph.D., report in the December 27, 2012 online issue of Cell that one way cells stay so plastic is by stationing a protein called Ell3 at stretches of DNA known as "enhancers" required to activate a neighboring gene. Their findings suggest that Ell3 parked at the enhancer of a developmentally regulated gene, even one that is silent, primes it for future expression. This finding is significant as many of these same genes are abnormally switched on in cancer.
"We now know that some enhancer misregulation is involved in the pathogenesis of solid and hematological malignances," says Shilatifard. "But a problem in the field has been how to identify inactive or poised enhancer elements. Our discovery that Ell3 interacts with enhancers in ES cells gives us a hand-hold to identify and to study them."
In 2000, Shilatifard identified Ell3 as the third member of the Ell (for "Eleven-nineteen lysine-rich leukemia gene") family of elongation factors, proteins that increase the rate at which genes are expressed. "At the time, we didn't think much of Ell3 because it was highly expressed in testes," says Shilatifard, noting that then people thought that sperm were merely vessels used to carry paternal DNA to an egg and that associated factors would have little relevance to the regulation of future gene expression in the resulting embryo.
But a few years back, a curious Open University graduate student working in the Shilatifard lab, Chengqi Lin, started exploring a potential function for the neglected gene by initiating a global search for regions occupied by Ell3 in the genome of mouse embryonic stem cells. His search in collaboration with a bioinformatician in the Shilatifard lab, Alexander S. Garruss, revealed that Ell3 sits on more than 5,000 enhancers, including many that regulate genes governing stem cell maturation into spinal cord, kidney, and blood cells.
"What was interesting was that Ell3 marked enhancers that are active and inactive, as well as enhancers that are known as "poised," says Lin, referring to a transition state from inactive to active. "That indicated that Ell3's major function might be to prime activation of genes that are just about to be expressed during development."
The fact that silent genes can be "primed" for expression was no surprise: researchers knew that the enzymatic machine that copies DNA into the RNA blueprint for proteinsa protein called Pol IIoften pauses at the start of a gene, presumably revving its engine in preparation to jump across the genetic start gate in response to a developmental signal. However, Shilatifard and colleagues showed several years ago that paused Pol II is not a prerequisite for rapid transcriptional induction.
The surprise came when researchers used a molecular trick to deplete mouse ES cells of Ell3 and then did a "genomic" survey. They found that paused Pol II vanished from the start sites of many genes in Ell3-deficient cells. This means that not only does Ell3 preferentially mark stem enhancers, but also that its presence there is necessary to keep an idling Pol II ready for action.
Most of the current study defines how, when the developmental time is right, enhancer-bound Ell3 cooperates with components of a big-boss elongation factor called the Super Elongation Complex to release Pol II from the start gate, allowing the expression of genes required for stem cell differentiation. Critical among those findings is their observation that mouse stem cells depleted of Ell3 failed to activate genes expressed in mature cell types.
These results alone are cause for any lab to start chilling the champagne, yet a surprising coda to the study, leaves readers with yet another revelation. Collaborating with Fengli Guo, Ph.D., head of the Stowers electron microscopy core, the team prepared highly magnified images of mouse sperm and observed that both Ell3 and Pol II were present, in sperm nuclei.
In mammals, gene expression regulated by Pol II, a process known as transcription, does not begin until the formation of a single-celled zygote, that is, well after the union of sperm and egg germ cells. "It is very significant that Ell3 and other factors that regulate transcription are found in sperm," says Lin, the study's first author. Lin is cautious in interpreting this finding, "but it would be very exciting to further investigate whether transcription factors found in sperm could contribute to the decondensation of sperm chromatin or even further gene activation after fertilization by serving as epigenetic markers."
Shilatifard is also cautious as questions remain to be explored, among them whether Ell3 and Pol II actually contact DNA inside sperm or whether similar processes occur in unfertilized eggs and function in this process. Nonetheless, he feels this finding has fundamental implications, not only for development, but also for where he's going next.
"This work has opened up a whole new area of research in my lab," says Shilatifard, who has in the last decade focused on aberrant gene expression associated with leukemia. "If we find that transcription factors bind to specific regions of chromatin in germ cells, I may focus on germ cells in the next few decades. This would open a huge door enabling us to determine the role of these factors in early development."
###
Zhuojuan Luo, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Shilatifard lab, also contributed to the study.
Funding for the study came from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, the National Institutes of Health (Shilatifard R01CA89455 and R01CA150265), and Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
About the Stowers Institute for Medical Research
The Stowers Institute for Medical Research is a non-profit, basic biomedical research organization dedicated to improving human health by studying the fundamental processes of life. Jim Stowers, founder of American Century Investments, and his wife, Virginia, opened the Institute in 2000. Since then, the Institute has spent over 900 million dollars in pursuit of its mission.
Currently, the Institute is home to nearly 550 researchers and support personnel; over 20 independent research programs; and more than a dozen technology-development and core facilities.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 27-Dec-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Gina Kirchweger
gxk@stowers.org
816-806-1036
Stowers Institute for Medical Research
KANSAS CITY, MOUnlike less versatile muscle or nerve cells, embryonic stem cells are by definition equipped to assume any cellular role. Scientists call this flexibility "pluripotency," meaning that as an organism develops, stem cells must be ready at a moment's notice to activate highly diverse gene expression programs used to turn them into blood, brain, or kidney cells.
Scientists from the lab of Stowers Investigator Ali Shilatifard, Ph.D., report in the December 27, 2012 online issue of Cell that one way cells stay so plastic is by stationing a protein called Ell3 at stretches of DNA known as "enhancers" required to activate a neighboring gene. Their findings suggest that Ell3 parked at the enhancer of a developmentally regulated gene, even one that is silent, primes it for future expression. This finding is significant as many of these same genes are abnormally switched on in cancer.
"We now know that some enhancer misregulation is involved in the pathogenesis of solid and hematological malignances," says Shilatifard. "But a problem in the field has been how to identify inactive or poised enhancer elements. Our discovery that Ell3 interacts with enhancers in ES cells gives us a hand-hold to identify and to study them."
In 2000, Shilatifard identified Ell3 as the third member of the Ell (for "Eleven-nineteen lysine-rich leukemia gene") family of elongation factors, proteins that increase the rate at which genes are expressed. "At the time, we didn't think much of Ell3 because it was highly expressed in testes," says Shilatifard, noting that then people thought that sperm were merely vessels used to carry paternal DNA to an egg and that associated factors would have little relevance to the regulation of future gene expression in the resulting embryo.
But a few years back, a curious Open University graduate student working in the Shilatifard lab, Chengqi Lin, started exploring a potential function for the neglected gene by initiating a global search for regions occupied by Ell3 in the genome of mouse embryonic stem cells. His search in collaboration with a bioinformatician in the Shilatifard lab, Alexander S. Garruss, revealed that Ell3 sits on more than 5,000 enhancers, including many that regulate genes governing stem cell maturation into spinal cord, kidney, and blood cells.
"What was interesting was that Ell3 marked enhancers that are active and inactive, as well as enhancers that are known as "poised," says Lin, referring to a transition state from inactive to active. "That indicated that Ell3's major function might be to prime activation of genes that are just about to be expressed during development."
The fact that silent genes can be "primed" for expression was no surprise: researchers knew that the enzymatic machine that copies DNA into the RNA blueprint for proteinsa protein called Pol IIoften pauses at the start of a gene, presumably revving its engine in preparation to jump across the genetic start gate in response to a developmental signal. However, Shilatifard and colleagues showed several years ago that paused Pol II is not a prerequisite for rapid transcriptional induction.
The surprise came when researchers used a molecular trick to deplete mouse ES cells of Ell3 and then did a "genomic" survey. They found that paused Pol II vanished from the start sites of many genes in Ell3-deficient cells. This means that not only does Ell3 preferentially mark stem enhancers, but also that its presence there is necessary to keep an idling Pol II ready for action.
Most of the current study defines how, when the developmental time is right, enhancer-bound Ell3 cooperates with components of a big-boss elongation factor called the Super Elongation Complex to release Pol II from the start gate, allowing the expression of genes required for stem cell differentiation. Critical among those findings is their observation that mouse stem cells depleted of Ell3 failed to activate genes expressed in mature cell types.
These results alone are cause for any lab to start chilling the champagne, yet a surprising coda to the study, leaves readers with yet another revelation. Collaborating with Fengli Guo, Ph.D., head of the Stowers electron microscopy core, the team prepared highly magnified images of mouse sperm and observed that both Ell3 and Pol II were present, in sperm nuclei.
In mammals, gene expression regulated by Pol II, a process known as transcription, does not begin until the formation of a single-celled zygote, that is, well after the union of sperm and egg germ cells. "It is very significant that Ell3 and other factors that regulate transcription are found in sperm," says Lin, the study's first author. Lin is cautious in interpreting this finding, "but it would be very exciting to further investigate whether transcription factors found in sperm could contribute to the decondensation of sperm chromatin or even further gene activation after fertilization by serving as epigenetic markers."
Shilatifard is also cautious as questions remain to be explored, among them whether Ell3 and Pol II actually contact DNA inside sperm or whether similar processes occur in unfertilized eggs and function in this process. Nonetheless, he feels this finding has fundamental implications, not only for development, but also for where he's going next.
"This work has opened up a whole new area of research in my lab," says Shilatifard, who has in the last decade focused on aberrant gene expression associated with leukemia. "If we find that transcription factors bind to specific regions of chromatin in germ cells, I may focus on germ cells in the next few decades. This would open a huge door enabling us to determine the role of these factors in early development."
###
Zhuojuan Luo, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Shilatifard lab, also contributed to the study.
Funding for the study came from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, the National Institutes of Health (Shilatifard R01CA89455 and R01CA150265), and Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
About the Stowers Institute for Medical Research
The Stowers Institute for Medical Research is a non-profit, basic biomedical research organization dedicated to improving human health by studying the fundamental processes of life. Jim Stowers, founder of American Century Investments, and his wife, Virginia, opened the Institute in 2000. Since then, the Institute has spent over 900 million dollars in pursuit of its mission.
Currently, the Institute is home to nearly 550 researchers and support personnel; over 20 independent research programs; and more than a dozen technology-development and core facilities.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/sifm-ssh122112.php
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Snowstorm heads east after South twisters; 3 dead
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) ? An enormous storm system that dumped snow and sleet on the nation's midsection and unleashed damaging tornadoes around the Deep South began punching its way toward the Northeast on Wednesday, slowing holiday travel.
Post-Christmas travelers braced for flight delays and a raft of weather warnings for drivers, a day after rare winter twisters damaged buildings in Louisiana and Alabama.
Snow and ice covered roads in southern Illinois and southern Indiana early Wednesday. Officials urged residents to stay home if they can. State police reported numerous slide-off accidents in the Evansville, Ind., area and white-out conditions on Interstate 64 in Indiana with wind gusts around 30 mph.
The storm system headed from the Gulf Coast to New England has been blamed for three deaths and several injuries, though no one was killed outright in the tornadoes. In snowy Arkansas, the storm left more than 189,000 customers without electricity Wednesday, utility Entergy Arkansas said.
Severe thunderstorms were forecast for the Carolinas while a line of blizzard and winter storm warnings stretched from Arkansas up the Ohio River to New York and on to Maine.
Thirty-four tornadoes were reported in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama during the outbreak Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.
Rick Cauley's family was hosting relatives for Christmas when tornado sirens went off in Mobile. Not taking any chances, he and his wife, Ashley, hustled everyone down the block to take shelter at the athletic field house at Mobile's Murphy High School in Mobile.
It turns out, that wasn't the place to head.
"As luck would have it, that's where the tornado hit," Cauley said. "The pressure dropped and the ears started popping and it got crazy for a second." They were all fine, though the school was damaged, as were a church and several homes, but officials say no one was seriously injured.
Camera footage captured the approach of the large funnel cloud.
Mobile was the biggest city hit by numerous twisters. Along with brutal, straight-line winds, the storms knocked down countless trees, blew the roofs off homes and left many Christmas celebrations in the dark. Torrential rains drenched the region and several places saw flash flooding.
More than 325 flights around the U.S. were canceled as of Wednesday morning, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com. The cancelations were mostly spread around airports that had been or soon would be in the path of the storm.
Holiday travelers in the nation's much colder midsection battled treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions from the same fast-moving storms. In Arkansas, highway department officials said the state was fortunate the snowstorm hit on Christmas Day when many travelers were already at their destinations.
Texas, meanwhile, dealt with high winds and slickened highways.
On Tuesday, winds toppled a tree onto a pickup truck in the Houston area, killing the driver, and a 53-year-old north Louisiana man was killed when a tree fell on his house. Icy roads already were blamed for a 21-vehicle pileup in Oklahoma, and the Highway Patrol there says a 28-year-old woman was killed in a crash on a snowy U.S. Highway near Fairview.
Trees fell on homes and across roadways in several communities in southern Mississippi and Louisiana. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency, saying eight counties reported damages and some injuries.
It included McNeill, where a likely tornado damaged a dozen homes and sent eight people to the hospital, none with life-threatening injuries, said Pearl River County emergency management agency director Danny Manley.
The snowstorm that caused numerous accidents pushed out of Oklahoma late Tuesday, carrying with it blizzard warnings for parts of northeast Arkansas, where 10 inches of snow was forecast. Freezing rain clung to trees and utility lines in Arkansas and winds gusts up to 30 mph whipped them around, causing about 71,000 customers to lose electricity for a time.
Christmas lights also were knocked out with more than 100,000 customers without power for at least a time in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.
Blizzard conditions were possible for parts of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky up to Cleveland with predictions of several inches to a foot of snow. By the end of the week, that snow was expected to move into the Northeast with again up to a foot predicted
Jason Gerth said the Mobile tornado passed by in a few moments and from his porch, he saw about a half-dozen green flashes in the distance as transformers blew. His home was spared.
"It missed us by 100 feet and we have no damage," Gerth said.
In Louisiana, quarter-sized hail was reported early Tuesday in the western part of the state and a WDSU viewer sent a photo to the TV station of what appeared to be a waterspout around the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in New Orleans. There were no reports of crashes or damage.
Some mountainous areas of Arkansas' Ozark Mountains could get up to 10 inches of snow, which would make travel "very hazardous or impossible" in the northern tier of the state from near whiteout conditions, the weather service said.
The holiday may conjure visions of snow and ice, but twisters this time of year are not unheard of. Ten storm systems in the last 50 years have spawned at least one Christmastime tornado with winds of 113 mph or more in the South, said Chris Vaccaro, a National Weather Service spokesman in Washington, via email.
The most lethal were the storms of Dec. 24-26, 1982, when 29 tornadoes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi killed three people and injured 32.
In Mobile, a large section of the roof on the Trinity Episcopal Church is missing and the front wall of the parish wall is gone, said Scott Rye, a senior warden at the church in the Midtown section of the city.
On Christmas Eve, the church with about 500 members was crowded for services.
"Thank God this didn't happen last night," Rye said.
___
Associated Press writers Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Ala., Jeff Amy in Atlanta, Ramit Plushnick-Masti in Houston, Chuck Bartels in Little Rock, Ark., Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans and AP Business Writer Daniel Wagner in Washington, contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/snowstorm-heads-east-south-twisters-3-dead-092714438--finance.html
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Recognizing your dreams through franchise possession | A Manda ...
As people all cultures started to reach within the Usa, their dreams happen to be with an idea, begin a business and be wealthy along the way. This movement is constantly on the draw individuals all cultures towards the USA, and all sorts of these individuals are here to talk about one common goal an enhanced life-style. The chance to possess a brand new business and become effective happens to be, and try to is going to be, the American Dream.
Within The Usa today, more folks than in the past are recognizing their hopes for financial independence since being who owns a effective business, by present day qualifying criterion, is much more easily accomplished than in the past. Many of these fortunate people acquire financial freedom as proprietors of franchised companies. Franchises provide the finest chance to possess a effective business for individuals thinking about business possession the very first time because franchises derive from an established system. You will find various explanations why franchising is easily the most effective kind of operation for brand spanking new businesspeople.
Like a franchise owner, you won?t be required to develop a strategic business plan the franchisor has done that for you personally. You will get all the advantages of an established system, training and continuing support and reap the financial rewards.
Just how can a franchise chance provide you with a lifestyle of monetary independence? 70 5 % of people that have extreme wealth in the usa possess a business- this signifies that the best shot at being wealthy is as simple as getting your personal business. Beginning a company on your own, however, can be quite dangerous along with a complicated process including considerable time, assets and cash. And new companies don?t always succeed. The speed where new businsses succeed is very low, most likely because of bad planning and never getting a good hang on costs. being who owns a franchised business offers much less risk than Possessing an individually run business while offering all the same advantages, or even more, of the independent business. Being who owns a franchise diminishes down to needing to draft a strategic business plan and puts you on the path to success quickly.
After evaluating different choices you?ve made your final decision to buy a franchise, congratulations! You?ve decided to buy the privileges to market services or goods from a recognised brand-title company having a proven strategic business plan, training and continuing support. Soon you?ll be on the path to financial independence. You will find steps, however, that must definitely be come to insure that everything goes easily ? from researching the best franchise towards the opening of the start up business. The most crucial being researching the best franchise chance.
Its not all franchise is really a guarantee of success. Franchise possibilities are available in many tastes, each one of these as unique being an individual. To locate a franchise business that fits all of your needs, research different companies for the one which most closely fits your personality, abilities and interests. Guess that a person with fifteen years of monetary planning experience decides to buy a franchise. That individual researches different franchising options and selects to buy a company earnings chance. Performs this individual have the possibility to create e-commerce effective? Absolutely! Under different conditions and neglecting the rate of success of franchises generally, in the event that individual would pursue a job like a restaurant franchise owner he/she may go through misplaced for the reason that particular type of work. Selecting a company that you have proven know-how is definitely an immense advantage in franchising. The thing is it?s essential to choose a franchise that suits your character and expertise. When individuals the weather is met, you will have a much better chance at being effective.
Before you decide to choose any franchise, you will need bring your research one stage further and gain as much information as you possibly can on the organization that you like. Perform the right research! Must be franchise continues to be effective in other locations does not necessarily mean it?ll have exactly the same success in your town. Get contact details and speak with current franchisees operating in areas with similar census because the area that you is going to be operating. Exsisting franchisees are the best supply of information for discovering what really happens in business on the day-to-day basis.
A franchised clients are like running any small company ? you?ll need capital. Building the best budget will help you to add a realistic cash-flow plan. The first franchise fee may have the greatest effect on your money. You must have enough capital for that initial fee and enough to hold you thru the initial few several weeks after opening the doorways for your franchise.
Probably the most effective franchisees are recognized to have a less formal and much more relaxed method of selling. Effective franchisees truly enjoy speaking to other people and get involved with community occasions to locate new methods for marketing their small company. although franchisees are frequently supplied with standard corporate advertising programs and national exposure for that chain, being active in the community and being perceived included in the local family assists in keeping clients loyal.
Franchises influence the American economy beyond that which was every considered possible. Ought to be fact, the IFA estimations that franchising has already established a $1.5 trillion effect on the U.S. economy. Possessing a franchise is definitely an amazing chance that accompany many many advantages, however, you should be very devoted for your start up business. Make certain guess what happens it requires to achieve success which you own individuals characteristics.
Source: http://amandarecord.com/2012/12/25/recognizing-your-dreams-through-franchise-possession/
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
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Storm brings white Christmas, tornado threat to central U.S.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A major winter storm brought a rare white Christmas to the southern U.S. plains on Tuesday, contributing to a 21-vehicle pile-up that shut down a major highway in Oklahoma, thousands of power outages and the death of a Texas man.
The storm system surging east from Kansas and the Texas Panhandle included tornados and severe thunderstorms along its southern fringe, from southeastern Texas to Alabama, the National Weather Service said.
The service reported a tornado warning for the Mobile, Alabama area late Tuesday afternoon.
CenterPoint Energy reported more than 20,000 customers without power in the Houston area Tuesday afternoon.
The storm is expected to expected to evolve into a blizzard from Arkansas to southern Illinois Tuesday night, with snowfall of up to a foot in some areas, according to Accuweather.com.
Accuweather.com senior meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski warned on the website that travel will be "extremely treacherous, if not impossible, as the snow clogs roads, such as interstates 24, 55 and 57, and the blowing snow severely lowers visibility."
The snowstorm will shift Wednesday to the eastern Great Lakes and northeast, she said.
Southern Indiana is under a blizzard warning starting early Wednesday morning, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Crystal Pettet. Indianapolis could see its biggest snowfall in four years, with a possibility of 10-12 inches of snow.
"Conditions should be pretty bad in time for rush hour," said Pettet.
A 25-year-old Texas man was killed Tuesday when a tree fell across a road in Harris County, in the Houston metropolitan area, according to Thomas Gilliland of the county's sheriff's office.
A tornado destroyed a building 13 miles southeast of Crockett, Texas, and a bank lost a section of its roof, according to Accuweather.com.
Freezing drizzle overnight led to 10 separate collisions on Interstate 40 at Oklahoma City just before 3 a.m., said Trooper Betsy Randolph, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The 21-vehicle pile-up included three tractor-trailers and shut down the westbound lanes for about five hours, she said. Twelve people were taken to hospitals, and troopers are checking on the severity of their injuries.
In a rare taste of Christmas snow, Oklahoma City was forecast to get 3 to 6 inches of the white stuff on Tuesday. The city's biggest Christmas snowfall was 6.5 inches in 1914, and measurable amounts have been recorded only a handful of times on the date.
The FlightAware website, which tracks flight delays, reported departure delays of 40 minutes from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport at 5 p.m. local time and 32 minutes from Chicago/O'Hare International Airport.
San Francisco International Airport had delays for inbound flights of over an hour due to low clouds.
Ahead of the storm's path, parts of eastern West Virginia are under a winter storm warning. Ice accumulations of up to half an inch are expected in higher elevations, the National Weather Service said.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson and Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Sandra Maler and Todd Eastham)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/storm-brings-white-christmas-tornado-threat-central-u-163807019.html
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Tuesday, December 25, 2012
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Benefits : No fax , No credit check , Real fast money ... and more !
According to your condition of home, job standing as well as income, it is possible to be eligible for that loan as high as $1500, and some loan providers will lend no more than $500. You'll have a opportunity to discover how much you be eligible for just before agreeing to virtually any bank loan agreement.
There is an important legitimate difference between a gift as well as a bank loan. A very generous relative or even friend may offer you $5000 regarding vehicle repairs, as an example. In the event that there is no hope associated with repayment, the cash may very well be a present. The particular giver couldn't file suit for payment later within a city fit. But when the credit supplier designates the money just like a bank loan as well as the customer pays back again even a dollar, the money may very well be a real loan and also the loan company may need payment whenever. Little claims legal courts invest much of period determining whether the financial transaction including money will be a gift or loan. For this reason documents is important when designing personal financial loans in order to close friends as well as loved ones.
The needs for getting that loan are pretty straight forward. If you are employed, having a regular monthly income regarding $800 or higher, this will let you banking account, you fulfill the basic qualifications. A number of creditors within our network might have extra needs.
Cash financial products tend to be unprotected financial products removed upon the following wage. Since they're short-term financial loans, they could be little; varying from $100 to $1500 as well as payment comes to your next pay day. They may be very useful regarding overcoming a quick monetary urgent situation, nevertheless really should not be viewed as a long-term financial solution.
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Many home loan programs are usually addressed by finance institutions or any other professional loan providers. They may use a various criteria to determine if your potential consumer is qualified for a financial loan. Earlier credit rating is practically usually regarded as, together with current earnings as well as assets. The aim of the borrowed funds may also be an issue-a established expense chance might have a lot more appeal than an misguided concept for just about any new cafe. One particular essential point may be the profits to debt ratio from the client. Can the client manage to pay for the loan back with interest? Professional loan providers generally 'sell' cash, so debtors should know just how much financing actually 'costs' with regards to real money.
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Source: http://dstonogov.livejournal.com/327701.html
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Monday Moment ? 12.24.12 | The Best Life Blog: Fitness, Weight ...
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"Lose a pound a week and keep it off for life! If you follow the Best Life Diet & Fitness Plan on TheBestLife.com, you can lose a pound a week on average until you reach your ideal weight, and you can keep it off provided you continue to follow the Plan. Results will vary as actual weight loss varies by individual."
Source: http://members.thebestlife.com/blog/monday-moment-12-24-12/
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Gaza rocket attacks on Israel unlawful - rights group
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian militants violated the laws of war by launching rockets at Israeli cities from the Gaza Strip during last month's fighting, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday.
The New York-based group also said that militant organizations in the territory, which is ruled by the Islamist movement Hamas, put Palestinian civilians in harm's way by firing the rockets from within densely populated areas.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri dismissed the charges: "This report is biased because it equates a nuclear-armed country using all means of aggression against civilians and a people subject to the occupation who are defending themselves against Israeli violations of international accords amid the silence of the international community," he said.
Israel launched a November 14-21 air offensive with the declared aim of ending persistent rocket barrages on its territory.
Medical officials in the Gaza Strip said some 170 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed in the hostilities. HRW said two of the Palestinian dead were apparently hit by rockets that fell short of their intended targets in Israel.
Six Israelis, including two soldiers, were killed in rocket strikes, the Israeli police and military said.
"Palestinian armed groups made clear in their statements that harming civilians was their aim. There is simply no legal justification for launching rockets at populated areas," HRW said in a report.
It said rocket crews fired from areas "near homes, businesses and a hotel, unnecessarily placing civilians in the vicinity at grave risk from Israeli counter-fire".
As the ruling authority in the Gaza Strip, Hamas should, "stop unlawful attacks and punish those responsible", HRW said. "The laws of war prohibit reprisal attacks against civilians, regardless of unlawful attacks by the other side", it added.
In reports issued earlier this month, HRW said Israel had targeted journalists and killed 12 members of a single family in a strike on their home, violating the laws of war.
The Israeli military said in response to the HRW allegations that it "acts in accordance with the laws of armed conflict, despite the ongoing deliberate violations and abuse of these laws by the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip".
(Writing by Ori Lewis, Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Jon Boyle)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gaza-rocket-attacks-israel-unlawful-rights-group-102244116.html
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Monday, December 24, 2012
kaodaada: How Do I Begin To Use Green Energy - News and Society
?
In the event you have not taken a chance to add green power in your life, you are really missing out. Alternative power is less expensive, more safe, and cleaner when compared with conventional sources of energy, and it can also help you save money over time. Listed below are some really smart ways to start employing?alternative resources to your advantage.
An excellent energy saving suggestion for those individuals who like cooking is, to use an appropriately sized burner on the stove. Using a large hot plate with a little saucepan or pot is simply wasting heat, and energy because some of the heat escapes towards the air around it. While cooking food, using lids on pots and pans is definitely an simple and potent technique to help save power. Putting on a lid traps heat in the vessel, so you can keep the burner temperature lower and conserve energy.
Upon purchasing brand new appliances, such as ranges, refrigerators, and washers, try to look for the Energy Star sticker. The United States Department of Energy recommends these items since they conserve energy in your home. You will additionally save money by using them. Appliances that are energy-efficient will in most cases have a star on them.
If you wish to conserve energy, try not to use your dishwasher fairly often. Rather, let your dishes air-dry. Dishwashers normally utilize a lot of energy and since they use so much power, your electricity as well as your water bill will likely be through the roof. If you must utilize the dishwasher, put it on a low setting.
Don?t keep your freezer and refrigerator open for a long period of time. Obviously this can spoil your food, but it may also use considerable amounts of energy. If you are cooking but you need food from the fridge or freezer, keep it closed after you get something from it.
Watch to make certain your freezer and fridge are at the appropriate temps. Do not let the appliances to get too cold. The recommended temperature ranges are about 36?F for your refrigerator storage compartments and about 3?F for the freezer. In case your freezer is standalone and employed for long-term storage, keep it about 0?F. Move your frozen foods from your freezer to the refrigerator when you are thawing them out. This will thaw your food in a safe way and your fridge will not have to work hard with the frozen products inside. This could lower your overall energy usage.
Now that you?ve gone through the suggestions here, be sure to make use of them. If you do, you will find that green living can be simple, and also that green energy is, in a lot of respects, preferred. Do something and start adding green energy solutions into your life, as soon as today!
Source: http://www.gongyifair.org/how-do-i-begin-to-use-green-energy.html
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Source: http://kaodaada.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-do-i-begin-to-use-green-energy-news.html
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Self Improvement And Empowerment Blog: Turn Fear Into Love
If you look around you, there are fear messages all around you. The news is saturated with fear messages and most conversations tend to revolve around some form of fear. With fear being in the main stream, it can be challenging and you can even get weary if you're trying to hold the light when no one else seems to be doing that around you.
I get it. I've seen angels since I was a child. I read people's energies and know things about them that they may never understand. I've brought bugs back to life when they were squooshed and it seemed there was no hope for them with my healing gift. I've fought for my right to just feel what I feel without being told I'm crazy or too sensitive and in the process of it all I have lost myself many times, fallen and scraped my knees more times than I can count, lived on the streets, I have been beaten and still I wondered why no one else felt the things that I did deep in my soul.
One word. FEAR.
Everyone is emotionally sensitive. Everyone has spiritual gifts. Everyone can tap into their inner wisdom, the light, God, Infinite Spirit and be in the flow of manifesting what they desire. Many have lost their way.
They've been told to be a certain way. Boys have been told not to cry, to tough it out and macho up. Girls have been told "Shhhh... that's not very lady like" and this still happens because I see it every day. Over the years people have been placed into categories, held up to expectations by others, told they were bad, given tools for war rather than tools for peace and love and now we live in a world where people are struggling to feel love, struggling to feel happy and struggling to get through tough times.
So let's bring in some light. You may identify with some part of this. I wanted to be transparent because there is a gift in my rich past experience and I know that. I would be selfish not to share it with you so I share it with the intention that it spark some light within you.
How to turn fear into love.
First of all you must be willing to buck the crowd at times. Not everyone is going to get the light right away. Some may go away and others may take a while to come around. It's not about them. It's about YOU claiming your right to light and to living your life from that place. That means getting up and sending light to the people in your home, at work, at the store and doing everything you do in the light.
Create a practice that will help you tune into more love and light in your heart. Meditate, journal, read spiritual books, join a spiritual group, hire a mentor who can hold the space for you and practice saturating yourself in lighter thought forms, lighter feelings, lighter perceptions. The heavier stuff will start to fall away.
Face the fears about being in the light and thinking you'll be rejected. When you release rejection and the fears around BEING YOU for all that you are then a cellular change begins to take place. Energetically you begin to shift into a different way of being. You'll naturally be in harmony with the world around you and resistance, challenges and obstacles will start to disappear.
You have a right to be the light. In fact it is your spiritual responsibility to everyone on this planet. Fear has only created pain, separation and war. Only love and light will remove fear from your life.
You owe it to yourself, your family and the rest of the world to finally drop your story, drop the fear, drop the pain, drop the drama and claim today that you will begin to write a new story that will fulfill you, heal you, nurture you, support you and in turn spread to those around you.
Marilyn Rodriguez, Transformation Specialist, is a spiritual adviser, certified master energy therapist, coach and ordained minister. She is an author and speaker and has shared the virtual stage with thought leaders including Bob Proctor, Marianne Williamson, Marci Shimoff and Bruce Lipton. She is the founder of Miracle Solutions helping people to clear personal blocks and transform their lives guaranteed.
Go to marilynrodriguezmiraclesolutions.com to get a free 15 minute Energy Clearing Breakthrough session. Providing useful self development, self empowerment and self esteem tips and reviews online.
Source: http://selfimprovementandempowerment.blogspot.com/2012/12/turn-fear-into-love.html
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Sunday, December 23, 2012
NRA links violent media to mass shootings, but researchers are skeptical (Washington Post)
A dark violet leather-bound tome. Locked with clockwork.
30th Winnas
Well, what a delightful birthday present to myself! It is amazing what people will gamble when they run out of coin, and this little diary seems to be worth a nice amount indeed. The leather is thick, soft and a lovely shade of deep violet. The clockwork that binds it closed is not only amazing to look at, it's not easy to unlock. It took me a few hours to figure out how to open the damned thing!
Pretty sure I'll figure out the combination sooner rather than later!
For now, I've got chores to do and a violin to restring!
12th Sprinnas
I may or may not have misplaced my journal for a time. That, coupled with us being awfully busy made it hard for me to search for it.
I've felt restless lately, not even trips to Westergaard for the market or supplies are sating this... sudden need to get out. Too bad I'm stuck here, serving this family. Thankfully they're quite nice, so existence here isn't as bad as some of the horror stories I've been told.
I'm wondering if this wanderlust is the thing my Grandmother used to tell me when I was a child, about how she could never stay in one place for too long and would travel Celaradith. It also just could be my imagination.
53rd Summas
Alares must have been at work here tonight, there was a fire just after the mid of night; and the family perished. Myself, and the others all fled. We're no heroes, and we're also not stupid.
We'd be blamed for this.
I'm not even sure where I am, I think I'm still in Somoria. I took a horse, and whatever I could carry in saddlebags. The violin came with me, I've grown quite attached to it over the years. Right now, it's dusk and I've been riding for most of the day. This poor horse needs rest, and so do I. My arse is so numb I'm not even sure it's there anymore!
I found a clearing off the road where I can tie the gelding so we can both rest. I can't stay in Somoria, I'm a deserter now. But I know their Laws don't pass over the border. So when I wake up tomorrow, that's where I'll head!
One more thing I must remember, a new name for myself before I get there. My real name will only get me more trouble than I'd like.
10th Auttus
I've been travelling almost non-stop since my last entry, and the border is in sight. I settled on the name Axael Solitaire. It's much better than the old one!
Once I cross into Islithika, I'll be a free man. A lost man, but free nontheless. I don't really know much about this part of the world, so for now I'll stop at the first city I find and try to get some information there.
21st Auttus
I came upon a large city today, apparently it's called Daedalus and they seem to be neutral. No Islithikan, or Somorian flags fly their streets. There's all sorts of people that live here, and they've got a lot of Steamtech as well. I haven't done a lot of exploring, I'm exhausted and this inn's room is pretty comfortable!
22nd Auttus
It seems bringing the violin was a perfect thing to do, after asking around; I found out that this city allows street performers! It's not much, but I earned enough for food and board for another night. It's strange, being free; although there's that lingering worry.
How ever am I going to get away with this?
46th Auttus
It's time for me to leave Daedalus, I worry that people are starting to figure out I'm not Vaalir. I'll leave tonight after dusk.
50th Auttus
I'm lost. I headed east of Daedalus, but to be safe I left the road. I probably shouldn't have done that. I had to sell the horse I stole to buy supplies, at least I've got two good paws to get me to... wherever I'm going.
I guess I'll try and keep going east, I'm bound to find someplace sooner or later
55th Auttus
Tonight, I came across a Jalvati campsite. At first they were pretty wary of me, as to be expected; but they offered me dinner and even a place to stay for the night. Apparently they travel all over Celaradith, holding shows and faires in towns wherever they go.
Sounds like fun! Maybe I'll see if they'll let me stay with them for a few days.
63rd Auttus
I fit in here, and I love it! The next step will apparently be some kind of tests to prove my worth to the Jal.
We've traveled across to Yah'sjir, the Capital of Islithika. This city is almost as big as Westergaard. According to Par'vanis, the leader of the Jalvati; this is where my test will take place
65th Auttus
That wasn't what I expected to have to do, but I pulled it off perfectly!
Well...
Almost perfectly.
It doesn't matter, because now I have a new family who don't care about what I am or where I came from.
Pretty sure this is the best day of my life.
74th Auttus
It's been a week since I was accepted into the Jalvati, life has flown by amazingly! Freedom is something I've missed! Sure I'm expected to help out around the campsite, but apart from that; my will is my own.
This life is glorious.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/F0waw3SlFL4/viewtopic.php
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Saturday, December 22, 2012
PFT: Pats' Gronkowski out another week
APSteelers linebacker James Harrison became the poster boy for the NFL?s crackdown on hits to the head of defenseless players last year, and after multiple fines and a suspension, Harrison says he got the message.
Unfortunately for the Steelers? opponents, that message isn?t necessarily one that?s going to make them any safer. Harrison said on Mike and Mike in the Morning that now instead of trying to hit players in the head, he?ll hit them in the knees.
?I?ve really lowered my target area to where it?s down around the knees,? Harrison said. ?Situations come along where you could tackle the guy high. I don?t do that anymore. I tackle the guy low.?
Harrison said, however, that he doesn?t think that makes life any easier on opposing players. Harrison referenced his hit to the knee of Broncos receiver Eric Decker in last year?s playoffs, a hit that caused Decker to suffer a sprained MCL, as the kind of hit he makes now that he wouldn?t have made before he was suspended last season ? and a hit that Harrison doesn?t think makes the game any safer.
?I could have tackled him high, but if I had hit him high, I probably would have gotten a helmet-to-helmet or something and gotten fined,? Harrison said. ?So I hit him low and strained his MCL. . . . They?re saying it?s a life-threatening injury to hit a guy in the head and he gets a concussion and so on and so forth, but I think a life-threatening injury is to go low on a guy and blow out his ACL or whatever, and he?s not able to come back the way he was before. Now he can?t make a living, he can?t feed his family, he can?t do what he does. That?s life-threatening to me.?
Harrison has long expressed doubts that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and others in the league office are sincere about their desire to make playoffs safer.
?It?s for player safety ? at least that?s what they say,? Harrison said. ?But the way I see it is that it all comes down to something different. You say you want to make the game safer but yet you turn around and want to add extra games. How is that making us safer??
That?s a good question. And whether Harrison lowering his target makes the game safer is also a good question.
Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/21/report-rob-gronkowski-is-out-another-week/related/
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Syrian rebels attack base near military factories
BEIRUT (AP) ? An activist group is reporting that Syrian rebels have tried to storm a base protecting a military industrial compound in the north.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven rebels were killed in the attack on the air defense base in the town of al-Safira.
The Observatory's chief Rami Abdul-Rahman says that al-Safira, just south of Syria's largest city, Aleppo, is home to Syrian military factories.
He says the plants are surrounded by army bases and posts to protect them.
Friday's clashes come three days after rebels captured a warehouse in the area. It was later bombed by Syrian warplanes, killing nearly two dozen rebels, Abdul-Rahman said.
The conflict in Syria that began in March 2011 and became a civil war has left more than 40,000 people dead.
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Friday, December 21, 2012
Snow in Midwest leaves some travelers scrambling
This photo provided by the Iowa State Patrol shows the scene of a 25-vehicle pileup that killed three people Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 north of Des Moines, Iowa. Authorities said drivers were blinded by blowing snow and didn?t see vehicles that had slowed or stopped on Interstate 80 about 60 miles north of Des Moines. A chain reaction of crashes involving semitrailers and passenger cars closed down a section of the highway. (AP Photo/Iowa State Patrol)
This photo provided by the Iowa State Patrol shows the scene of a 25-vehicle pileup that killed three people Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 north of Des Moines, Iowa. Authorities said drivers were blinded by blowing snow and didn?t see vehicles that had slowed or stopped on Interstate 80 about 60 miles north of Des Moines. A chain reaction of crashes involving semitrailers and passenger cars closed down a section of the highway. (AP Photo/Iowa State Patrol)
This photo provided by the Iowa State Patrol shows the scene of a 25-vehicle pileup that killed three people Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 north of Des Moines, Iowa. Authorities said drivers were blinded by blowing snow and didn?t see vehicles that had slowed or stopped on Interstate 80 about 60 miles north of Des Moines. A chain reaction of crashes involving semitrailers and passenger cars closed down a section of the highway. (AP Photo/Iowa State Patrol)
A local resident clears snow from his driveway after an overnight snowfall left many schools and businesses closed for the day, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012, in Urbandale, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
A flight information screen displays canceled flights as passenger walk at Midway airport in Chicago, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012. The first widespread snowstorm of the season crawled across the Midwest on Thursday, with whiteout conditions stranding holiday travelers. The storm led airlines to cancel about 1,000 flights ahead of the Christmas holiday ? relatively few compared to past big storms, though the number was climbing. Southwest Airlines scratched all of its flights scheduled after 4:30 p.m. today at Midway. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Snow-covered cars in a parking lot greet early morning risers in Madison, Wis. as a severe winter storm moves through the upper Midwest Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal, John Hart)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? The first widespread snowstorm of the season plodded across the Midwest on Thursday, as whiteout conditions sent drivers sliding over slick roads and some travelers were forced to scramble for alternate ways to get to their holiday destinations.
The storm, which dumped a foot of snow in parts of Iowa and more than 19 inches in Wisconsin state capital, was part of a system that began in the Rockies earlier in the week before trekking into the Midwest. It was expected to move across the Great Lakes overnight before moving into Canada.
The storm led airlines to cancel about 1,000 flights ahead of the Christmas holiday ? relatively few compared to past big storms, though the number was climbing.
Most of the canceled flights were at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway international airports. At O'Hare, many people were taking the cancellations in stride and the normally busy airport was much quieter than normal Thursday evening.
Aprielle Kugler said she was considering taking a bus to Des Moines on Friday morning to visit her boyfriend after she had two flights canceled out of O'Hare. Sitting on top of her luggage, the 18-year-old from Wisconsin said her mom shoveled more than a foot of snow out of the family's driveway that morning to drive her to Chicago for her flight.
"It's so ridiculous, it's funny now," Kugler said.
The storm made travel difficult from Kansas to Wisconsin, forcing road closures, including a 120-mile stretch of Interstate 35 from Ames, Iowa through Albert Lea, Minn. Iowa and Wisconsin activated National Guard troops to help rescue stranded drivers.
In Iowa, two people were killed and seven injured in a 25-vehicle pileup. Drivers were blinded by blowing snow and didn't see vehicles that had slowed or stopped on Interstate 35 about 60 miles north of Des Moines, state police said. A chain reaction of crashes involving semitrailers and passenger cars closed down a section of the highway.
"It's time to listen to warnings and get off the road," said Iowa State Patrol Col. David Garrison.
Thomas Shubert, a clerk at a store in Gretna near Omaha, Neb., said his brother drove him to work in his truck, but some of his neighbors weren't so fortunate.
"I saw some people in my neighborhood trying to get out. They made it a few feet, and that was about it," Shubert said.
Along with Thursday's fatal accident in Iowa, the storm was blamed for traffic deaths in Nebraska, Kansas and Wisconsin. In southeastern Utah, a woman who tried to walk for help after her car became stuck in snow died Tuesday night.
On the southern edge of the storm system, tornadoes destroyed several homes in Arkansas and peeled the roofs from buildings, toppled trucks and blew down oak trees and limbs Alabama.
The heavy, wet snow made some unplowed streets in Des Moines nearly impossible to navigate in anything other than a four-wheel drive vehicle. Even streets that had been plowed were snow-packed and slippery.
In Chicago, commuters began Thursday with heavy fog and cold, driving rain. By early evening, high winds and sleet that was expected to turn to snow were making visibility difficult on roadways.
Airlines were waiving fees for customers impacted by the storm who wanted to change their flights. They were monitoring the storm throughout the night to determine if more cancellations would be necessary on Friday.
The cancellations were getting a lot of attention because the storm came just a few days before Christmas. But Daniel Baker, CEO of flight tracking service FlightAware.com called it "a relatively minor event in the overall scheme of things."
By comparison, airlines canceled more than 13,000 flights over a two-day period during a February 2011 snowstorm that hit the Midwest. And more than 20,000 flights were canceled during Superstorm Sandy.
Before the storm, several cities in the Midwest had broken records for the number of consecutive days without measurable snow.
In Madison, Wis., where more than 19 inches of snow fell, Plaza Tavern manager Erica DeRosa was busy shoveling the sidewalk to prepare for Thursday's lunch crowd.
"This is like shoveling wet cement," she said. "But it is super pretty out."
In the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale, Kristin Isenhart, 38, said her three kids, ages 9, 5 and 3, were asking about going outside to play after school was canceled for the day.
"They are thrilled that it snowed," she said. "They've asked several times to go outside, and I might bundle them up and let them go."
As far as the region's drought, meteorologists said the storm wouldn't make much of a dent. It takes a foot or more of snow to equal an inch of water, said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist at the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people lost power in Arkansas, Iowa and Nebraska as heavy snow and strong winds pulled down lines. Smaller outages were reported in Alabama, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois and Louisiana.
"The roads have been so bad our crews have not been able to respond to them," said Justin Foss, a spokesman for Alliant Energy, which had 13,000 customers without power in central Iowa. "We have giant four-wheel-drive trucks with chains on them, so when we can't get there it's pretty rough."
Tom Tretter and his wife, Pat, had been without power since Wednesday night, and temperatures Thursday were dropping. The retired seniors were shoveling their steep driveway Thursday afternoon and scraping ice off the walkway to their Des Moines home.
"It's getting cold in the house," Tom Tretter said, leaning on his shovel in the driveway. "And I'm getting too old for this."
Blake Landau, a cook serving eggs, roast beef sandwiches and chili to hungry snowplow drivers at Newton's Paradise Cafe in downtown Waterloo, Iowa, said he has always liked it when it snows on his birthday. He turned 27 on Thursday.
"It's kind of one of those things where it's leading up to Christmas time," Landau said. "We don't know when we get our first snowfall, and I hope we get it by my birthday. It's nice to have a nice snowy Christmas."
___
Beck reported from Omaha, Neb. Associated Press writers Scott Mayerowitz in New York; Carrie Antlfinger in Milwaukee; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Mo.; Jason Keyser and Sara Burnett in Chicago; Barbara Rodriguez in Des Moines; and Ryan J. Foley in Iowa City, Iowa contributed to this report.
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