Since it may be too early to accurately predict what kinds of entities, or individuals, the FTC will or will not pursue, anyone who utilizes a blog to advertise products or services should learn the FTC Guidelines (16 CFR Part 255) regarding endorsements and testimonials. An Internet lawyer is in a unique position to advise clients on these types of issues and help interpret the examples provided by the FTC to an advertiser's or endorser's particular situation.
While flogs are clearly ripe for FTC attention, and bloggers do not need an Internet lawyer to tell them that, whether a particular advertisement qualifies as an endorsement or the sufficiency of a disclosure may not be so clear. My law firm offers flat fee projects to review blogs, assess the risk to both the advertiser and endorser, and provide recommendations and advice to bloggers.
I am more than happy to discuss these and related issues with anyone interested at Saturday's session. See you there!
Not long ago, crowdSPRING launched crowdsourced content creation parallel to their graphic design service. Users can solicit content from thousands of writers; in the same model as the graphic design service, paying only for the winning submission.
If the author or source of the content is one step further removed by way of this crowdsourced development, is the credibility at greater risk? Is it the author or the medium on which the content appears that is liable for the credibility of the content?
The credibility of wikipedia is as much at stake as that of a blog or brand voicing an opinion, perhaps more so with their model built on that credibility. What distinguishes the accuracy and credibility of authoritative (even if self-proclaimed) content vs. media sources vs. blog channels? Crowdsourced validation works for wikipedia (for the most part) can the same model apply to more static articles with commentary only supported by comments?
When the temps and humidity in NYC hit the upper nineties, it's strictly Fry City and the AC is called for unless you like fainting while working. For the rest of the time in the summer, I shift one of my oscillating fans to whichever area of the apartment I'm occupying. At night I keep the fan at bed level only a few feet away and it cools nicely.
AC in France is frowned upon as unhealthy. I actually hate AC anyway because I strongly dislike having to bring a sweater with me in the summer just in case someplace freezes me out!
We've lived through 100 degree summers with no AC--and we do all the things you say--especially cover the windows, close them during the day, open them at night, don't cook or use electricity (except the fridge, although we even considered stopping that). Lots of cool showers, afternoon naps etc.
We are actually looking to move farther north as well--or at least up to the mountains (although then we will still have to work on the heat. . .but that's another topic.
I am also a loyal Turbo Tax user who had major problems with my returns this year. I am a coporate tax accountant so I understand more than the average joe. However like you I was in tears several nights in a row and could not ever get anyone to answer my questions. I use the software version and it got "corrupted" multiple times in a 3 day period. Then it was acting as though I did not have a state return (even though it came with one state). I spent 2 hours one night waiting for a rep online and never go to talk to one and then I spent almost an hour on the phone and never spoke to anyone before I gave up. I tried a final time to uninstall and re-install the program. It worked long enough for me to e-file my federal and print my state. They are going to have to make some major improvements for me to fork out the money again next year!!
Try useing Lemon oil on you hard water stains. fold a rag in fours and spill some lemon oil on the rag then wipe the shower doors down. Or a mister clean magic eraser will work too but you really have to scrub
Try lemon oil it sound crazy but try it on your shower doors. just put a little on a rag (i fold the rag in fours)and rug it lightly on the door, you will be suprised. I think it only works on glass doors
I have a Magic Jack and it works fine and the installation was easy. However I never actually use the device. I bought it when I was deployed to the Antarctic for 3 months. The company I worked for down there has a phone system with a US area code which is fine for calling the office but my wife's cell phone is in a different area code. All of my coworkers had expensive phone cards.
With the Magic Jack you can forward your MJ phone number to any phone you choose. So I forwarded my MJ number (which has the same area code as mine in the Antarctic) to my wife's phone number in a different area code. So for a small price I could call my wife in one area code as a local call from another area code for no additional cost. It is so easy to change the forward number that instead of go through the hassle of getting a billing code for LD calls for work I just changed the MJ forward number and made calls all over the US from one area code - no long distance.
In addition when I was traveling to and from my deployment I could plug the Magic Jack into my computer and make a local to the US from New Zealand from my computer with a gaming headset and no phone. For FREE.
Works for me.
I always tend to check product reviews before any online purchase, but also found them necessary when creating my wedding registry 6 months ago. We had a lot of items to consider at once (vaccum cleaner, toaster oven, etc), and I didn't know one toaster oven to the other. I used amazon and wal-mart for most of my review checks.
Some reviewers are irrational, or they never bothered to read the product description before they bought their item. I threw those reviews out. Of course they'd be unhappy with something if they weren't paying attention to begin with, right?
The most helpful and honest reviews I came across were ones done by people who were fair. They'd talk about their experience and list the pros and cons.
I tend to agree that cashback rewards are the best, because you can spend them on anything. Schwab and Fidelity have cards that both pay a flat 2% cash on all purchases, assuming you have an account with them, and it's deposited on a monthly basis.
The AmEx Blue Cash is great if you spend a lot of money, but you don't get the check until year-end.
If miles are your thing, the Discover Escape has a great program where you earn 2 "miles" for every dollar you spend, but then you redeem those miles for travel certificates valid on any airline, hotel, or car rental. It works out to be effectively the same as 2% cash back.
Celiac disease is one of the most common chronic health disorders in western countries. It is also one of the most under-diagnosed. Up until ten years ago, medical schools taught that celiac disease was relatively rare and only affected about 1 in 2,500 people. It was also thought to be a disease that primarily affected children and young people. Recent studies and advances in diagnosis show that at least 3 million Americans, or about 1 in 133 people have celiac disease, but only 1-in-4,700 is ever diagnosed.
That was from 2007. The numbers are closer to 1 in 100 now. The shocking thing is how under-diagnosed the disorder is, and how destructive it is. People have literally had organs surgically taken out of their body when all they needed to do was cut gluten out.
I'm typically not a numbers person, so I'm not sure if that statistic "warrant"s a cookbook. However, if a gluten-free cookbook can save someone from getting their gall bladder, spleen or thyroid taken out, what does an extra cookbook on the shelves hurt?
Have you noticed the packaging at stores lately? How many have the words "gluten-free" written in bold print. It's getting to be kind of a big deal.
My people are from a place where 80F is a scorcher, but I grew up with humid 90+ summers and was miserable every minute. It just never got better than survival and tolerance. And I'm no hothouse flower. I don't think everybody can adjust to all conditions.
Thank you very much for providing this great list of financial articles and for including our article. We really appreciate it.
I especially like the 9 great reasons to drink water, as I guzzle water all day long like it's liquid gold, so it's nice to see how good it is for you.
I have actually tried Craiglist with a non-emergency repair that I required for my car. It worked pretty well for me. Plus, I was able to save quite a lot when compared to our neighborhood car shop.
I am skeptical- I trust some random reviews like on Amazon, if there are lot saying one thing but blog reviews are a joke- they're always happy and positive!
While I will again note that I am not a tax expert; the bottom of page 7 of the instructions do state "If someone other than your spouse lived with you, you must include the other person’s income and name on line 5."
My interpretation of this is that the name does need to be included on line 5.
You can find the instructions here: http://www.taxes.state.mn.us/taxes/prop_refund/instructions/m1pr_inst.pdf
I'll check reviews before I buy it but it wouldn't make me buy something just because it was a good review.
I go by the 'one two days' test.
If I want something I visit the place during my free time to have a look at it, walk around and consider other options (i.e. a keyboard).
I'll then leave and come back again in one or two days.
If I still have doubts or the feeling of 'I want to buy it' isn't as strong/isn't there I won't buy it.
99% of the time it works out beautifully. My house would be filled with junk if I didn't follow this rule.
Most importantly most of the time if I buy the product I have no qualms returning it after trying it and finding it to be not what it had advertised.
This is probably aimed at America, but try living in Asia.
Spent a good number of years living there and with just one season all year round, its location near the equator and lots of concrete, its not a good combination.
Luckily it is generally quite safe in most residential areas, not to mention most residential buildings, if they aren't air conditioned, have large floor to ceiling windows which are divided into two sections, top and bottom and open and shut independently from one another.
A great way was to open every single window every morning to get the dust and stale air out and have fans in every living quarter of the apartment/house - you switch them on when you're in the room if not, you left it off.
Cold showers were the norm, because any hotter and you'd actually sweat while showering and stink before you exit the shower and mint/lime shampoos and body washes/soap was very popular amongst the non-locals and locals alike as they kept you feeling 'fresh' and gave you this cool feeling even after you'd dried off.
Unless you have a/c, there were no carpets in the houses/apartments, just flooring which lowered the temperature of the place, tiles, marble, concrete, etc.
If it was too hot to sleep you would keep a cup of cold water with ice which you would dip your hand in and run over your face, neck and ears so that the breeze from the fan created a cooling effect from the evaporation.
Or you would just get up and go to any one of the 24 hour hawker stores selling street food and have a nosh with family or housemates.
If it was burning - we'd just go to a hotel lounge to laze around in the air-conditioning.
I always look at product reviews; if there are a lot, I sample the highest and lowest score ones. I look for substantive complaints---such as the main part is made of plastic and it broke after 3 uses. I pay less attention to user-related complaints----if someone says a product uses a "counter intuitive" method of operation, I ignore that since that may just be a reflection that they are "counter intuitive" consumers.
I read several different blogs pretty regularly and know which ones to trust when it comes to product reviews. Just because someone is paid to review doesn't mean they won't be honest----just the fact that they disclose they are being paid gives me some faith in their trutworthyness.
if anyone has a ps2 console get dvdxregion for ps2 will make it region free will make it play all region dvds
Since it may be too early to accurately predict what kinds of entities, or individuals, the FTC will or will not pursue, anyone who utilizes a blog to advertise products or services should learn the FTC Guidelines (16 CFR Part 255) regarding endorsements and testimonials. An Internet lawyer is in a unique position to advise clients on these types of issues and help interpret the examples provided by the FTC to an advertiser's or endorser's particular situation.
While flogs are clearly ripe for FTC attention, and bloggers do not need an Internet lawyer to tell them that, whether a particular advertisement qualifies as an endorsement or the sufficiency of a disclosure may not be so clear. My law firm offers flat fee projects to review blogs, assess the risk to both the advertiser and endorser, and provide recommendations and advice to bloggers.
I am more than happy to discuss these and related issues with anyone interested at Saturday's session. See you there!
Not long ago, crowdSPRING launched crowdsourced content creation parallel to their graphic design service. Users can solicit content from thousands of writers; in the same model as the graphic design service, paying only for the winning submission.
If the author or source of the content is one step further removed by way of this crowdsourced development, is the credibility at greater risk? Is it the author or the medium on which the content appears that is liable for the credibility of the content?
The credibility of wikipedia is as much at stake as that of a blog or brand voicing an opinion, perhaps more so with their model built on that credibility. What distinguishes the accuracy and credibility of authoritative (even if self-proclaimed) content vs. media sources vs. blog channels? Crowdsourced validation works for wikipedia (for the most part) can the same model apply to more static articles with commentary only supported by comments?
When the temps and humidity in NYC hit the upper nineties, it's strictly Fry City and the AC is called for unless you like fainting while working. For the rest of the time in the summer, I shift one of my oscillating fans to whichever area of the apartment I'm occupying. At night I keep the fan at bed level only a few feet away and it cools nicely.
AC in France is frowned upon as unhealthy. I actually hate AC anyway because I strongly dislike having to bring a sweater with me in the summer just in case someplace freezes me out!
We've lived through 100 degree summers with no AC--and we do all the things you say--especially cover the windows, close them during the day, open them at night, don't cook or use electricity (except the fridge, although we even considered stopping that). Lots of cool showers, afternoon naps etc.
We are actually looking to move farther north as well--or at least up to the mountains (although then we will still have to work on the heat. . .but that's another topic.
I am also a loyal Turbo Tax user who had major problems with my returns this year. I am a coporate tax accountant so I understand more than the average joe. However like you I was in tears several nights in a row and could not ever get anyone to answer my questions. I use the software version and it got "corrupted" multiple times in a 3 day period. Then it was acting as though I did not have a state return (even though it came with one state). I spent 2 hours one night waiting for a rep online and never go to talk to one and then I spent almost an hour on the phone and never spoke to anyone before I gave up. I tried a final time to uninstall and re-install the program. It worked long enough for me to e-file my federal and print my state. They are going to have to make some major improvements for me to fork out the money again next year!!
Try useing Lemon oil on you hard water stains. fold a rag in fours and spill some lemon oil on the rag then wipe the shower doors down. Or a mister clean magic eraser will work too but you really have to scrub
Try lemon oil it sound crazy but try it on your shower doors. just put a little on a rag (i fold the rag in fours)and rug it lightly on the door, you will be suprised. I think it only works on glass doors
I have a Magic Jack and it works fine and the installation was easy. However I never actually use the device. I bought it when I was deployed to the Antarctic for 3 months. The company I worked for down there has a phone system with a US area code which is fine for calling the office but my wife's cell phone is in a different area code. All of my coworkers had expensive phone cards.
With the Magic Jack you can forward your MJ phone number to any phone you choose. So I forwarded my MJ number (which has the same area code as mine in the Antarctic) to my wife's phone number in a different area code. So for a small price I could call my wife in one area code as a local call from another area code for no additional cost. It is so easy to change the forward number that instead of go through the hassle of getting a billing code for LD calls for work I just changed the MJ forward number and made calls all over the US from one area code - no long distance.
In addition when I was traveling to and from my deployment I could plug the Magic Jack into my computer and make a local to the US from New Zealand from my computer with a gaming headset and no phone. For FREE.
Works for me.
I always tend to check product reviews before any online purchase, but also found them necessary when creating my wedding registry 6 months ago. We had a lot of items to consider at once (vaccum cleaner, toaster oven, etc), and I didn't know one toaster oven to the other. I used amazon and wal-mart for most of my review checks.
Some reviewers are irrational, or they never bothered to read the product description before they bought their item. I threw those reviews out. Of course they'd be unhappy with something if they weren't paying attention to begin with, right?
The most helpful and honest reviews I came across were ones done by people who were fair. They'd talk about their experience and list the pros and cons.
They helped me a lot. :)
I tend to agree that cashback rewards are the best, because you can spend them on anything. Schwab and Fidelity have cards that both pay a flat 2% cash on all purchases, assuming you have an account with them, and it's deposited on a monthly basis.
The AmEx Blue Cash is great if you spend a lot of money, but you don't get the check until year-end.
If miles are your thing, the Discover Escape has a great program where you earn 2 "miles" for every dollar you spend, but then you redeem those miles for travel certificates valid on any airline, hotel, or car rental. It works out to be effectively the same as 2% cash back.
from: http://www.celiac.com/articles/1164/1/Celiac-Disease-Statistics/Page1.html
That was from 2007. The numbers are closer to 1 in 100 now. The shocking thing is how under-diagnosed the disorder is, and how destructive it is. People have literally had organs surgically taken out of their body when all they needed to do was cut gluten out.
I'm typically not a numbers person, so I'm not sure if that statistic "warrant"s a cookbook. However, if a gluten-free cookbook can save someone from getting their gall bladder, spleen or thyroid taken out, what does an extra cookbook on the shelves hurt?
Have you noticed the packaging at stores lately? How many have the words "gluten-free" written in bold print. It's getting to be kind of a big deal.
Do enough people have Coeliac disease to really warrant an entire cookbook of gluten free recipes?
Don't use your time or money.It dose not work.
i am supposed to be working and not thinking about great tasting food. am drooling all over my computer screen now :)
Depreciation is deductible. Impairment losses on properties can also be claimed as deductions under certain accounting standards.
My people are from a place where 80F is a scorcher, but I grew up with humid 90+ summers and was miserable every minute. It just never got better than survival and tolerance. And I'm no hothouse flower. I don't think everybody can adjust to all conditions.
Thank you very much for providing this great list of financial articles and for including our article. We really appreciate it.
I especially like the 9 great reasons to drink water, as I guzzle water all day long like it's liquid gold, so it's nice to see how good it is for you.
I have actually tried Craiglist with a non-emergency repair that I required for my car. It worked pretty well for me. Plus, I was able to save quite a lot when compared to our neighborhood car shop.
I am skeptical- I trust some random reviews like on Amazon, if there are lot saying one thing but blog reviews are a joke- they're always happy and positive!
Mr. Meighan,
While I will again note that I am not a tax expert; the bottom of page 7 of the instructions do state "If someone other than your spouse lived with you, you must include the other person’s income and name on line 5."
My interpretation of this is that the name does need to be included on line 5.
You can find the instructions here: http://www.taxes.state.mn.us/taxes/prop_refund/instructions/m1pr_inst.pdf
I'll check reviews before I buy it but it wouldn't make me buy something just because it was a good review.
I go by the 'one two days' test.
If I want something I visit the place during my free time to have a look at it, walk around and consider other options (i.e. a keyboard).
I'll then leave and come back again in one or two days.
If I still have doubts or the feeling of 'I want to buy it' isn't as strong/isn't there I won't buy it.
99% of the time it works out beautifully. My house would be filled with junk if I didn't follow this rule.
Most importantly most of the time if I buy the product I have no qualms returning it after trying it and finding it to be not what it had advertised.
This is probably aimed at America, but try living in Asia.
Spent a good number of years living there and with just one season all year round, its location near the equator and lots of concrete, its not a good combination.
Luckily it is generally quite safe in most residential areas, not to mention most residential buildings, if they aren't air conditioned, have large floor to ceiling windows which are divided into two sections, top and bottom and open and shut independently from one another.
A great way was to open every single window every morning to get the dust and stale air out and have fans in every living quarter of the apartment/house - you switch them on when you're in the room if not, you left it off.
Cold showers were the norm, because any hotter and you'd actually sweat while showering and stink before you exit the shower and mint/lime shampoos and body washes/soap was very popular amongst the non-locals and locals alike as they kept you feeling 'fresh' and gave you this cool feeling even after you'd dried off.
Unless you have a/c, there were no carpets in the houses/apartments, just flooring which lowered the temperature of the place, tiles, marble, concrete, etc.
If it was too hot to sleep you would keep a cup of cold water with ice which you would dip your hand in and run over your face, neck and ears so that the breeze from the fan created a cooling effect from the evaporation.
Or you would just get up and go to any one of the 24 hour hawker stores selling street food and have a nosh with family or housemates.
If it was burning - we'd just go to a hotel lounge to laze around in the air-conditioning.
- AsianGal
I always look at product reviews; if there are a lot, I sample the highest and lowest score ones. I look for substantive complaints---such as the main part is made of plastic and it broke after 3 uses. I pay less attention to user-related complaints----if someone says a product uses a "counter intuitive" method of operation, I ignore that since that may just be a reflection that they are "counter intuitive" consumers.
I read several different blogs pretty regularly and know which ones to trust when it comes to product reviews. Just because someone is paid to review doesn't mean they won't be honest----just the fact that they disclose they are being paid gives me some faith in their trutworthyness.