? Posted by Rolando Trentini on May 24, 2012 in Blog | 0 comments
For quite a while now, bargain hunters have been able to take their time combing through Evansville foreclosure listings. They?ve been looking for the kind of terrific real estate bargains that the last few years have provided ? and there have been plenty. But recent signs show that it may be time for them to step up their efforts.
According to ReatyTrac, the outfit that reports on current real estate activity of all kinds, banks are increasingly leaning toward short sales as a way to handle defaulted properties. There are good reasons why they would prefer short sales over the foreclosure track. You would expect that if that trend is for real, we should see a decline in the number of foreclosure-related notices being issued. Last month, that is exactly what happened.
In April, fewer than 190,000 of the notices were reported. That makes it the lowest monthly total in 5 years (and a decline of 5% from March). In other words, although it takes some time for a foreclosure to occur, the writing seems to be on the wall: the high water mark in foreclosures may well have been passed.
Another sign: the average price of completed foreclosures rose from the year?s average of $226,953 to $256,027. Lower supply, higher prices ? if the early trend continues,local foreclosure bargain hunters may soon find themselves having to hunt a bit harder.
There are many online resources that provide foreclosure lists: properties that are in good shape as well as distressed foreclosure properties, pre-foreclosure properties, REO foreclosures and foreclosure auctions. Anyone thinking about taking advantage of the bargains that are still out there (and they ARE still out there) should consider consulting an experienced Evansville agent to help with the process.
First and foremost, we can provide you with a current and accurate foreclosure list. There are many web sites out there that claim to list foreclosed properties, but most of them charge fees for their listings, and sometimes contain little or no contact information for accessing a property (or worse, are inaccurate). Licensed real estate agents have the resources to obtain an accurate, timely list, as well as the experience in targeting the correct contact people.
Your agent can also be a guide through the sometimes tricky process of purchasing a foreclosed house. Many properties on the foreclosure list have not been well maintained; the lender may try to get more for the house than it is actually worth. If you intend to improve a property through your own sweat equity, our first-hand knowledge of local market values can help you project a property?s future value, too?either as an income-producing rental or to sell for profit.
To get the most bang for your buck, make sure to put your search in the hands of a professional. Call me anytime! You can reach me on my cell phone 812-499-9234.
You ever notice why some of your pictures look like they've been stained yellow or red while others look swamped with green or blue? It's because of your camera's white balance setting! The easiest way to take better pictures is to fix your white balance and this chart tells you how. More »
Since its August 2011 opening, the Projective Eye Gallery at UNC Charlotte's Center City Building has presented a dizzying array of stuff: a temporary mural by local artists, a cross-disciplinary performance/installation by faculty members, a video project by an international artist, the crowd-pleasing Violins of Hope, and now Concurrent Rhythms, a collection of digital works and projects from the College of Arts + Architecture.
On opening nights at Projective Eye, lectures, demos and music performances spill over several floors of the building. The work is serious, but the environment is festive and casual.
Concurrent Rhythms' opening was true to form, presenting the combined efforts of d-Arts, which fosters digital collaboration among the departments of the COA+A; Digital Art Mob, a student group in the Department of Art & Art History; and Fresh Ink, the college's alt-classical/new music initiative. In conjunction with Fresh Ink, architecture students Trevor Hess and Taylor Milner and faculty member Chris Beorkrem created several pieces that responded, in real time, to the musicians as they performed works by Steve Reich and David Lang. Behind the musicians were projected images; downstairs in the gallery was an inkjet printer that spit out patterns onto a 20-foot-long continuous loop of paper, resulting in a dense, undulant field of green ink, a visual expression of the relentless, haunting music.
In contrast to the works in which sound generated imagery was "Music to our eyes," by architecture alumnus Sam Walker. In this interactive installation, architecture graduate student Mikale Kwiatkowski painted live as a robotic arm, equipped with a small camera, captured her movements and translated them into music.
You can see the remains of the above projects in the gallery and lobby; however, they lack text explaining their purpose, so even though they still have a good deal of allure, a viewer who was not at the opening will likely find them puzzling.
For the duration of the exhibition, you can also see archival inkjet prints, animations and videos, a sound sculpture, and graphic design projects. These are all chockablock in the space, so at the moment it looks more like a lab than a gallery.
Perhaps the most successful of the works on display is "Linear Echo" by architecture students Steven Danilowicz and Alison Schaeffer. This soundscape consists of speakers mounted on a platform; at each end, microphones dangle from the ceiling. People speak into the mics and the sounds travel down the row of speakers, resulting in the echo of the title ? a phenomenon Danilowicz nicely describes as "bowling for sound."
The Digital Art Mob works that caught my eye are Ryan Montroy's inkjet print series "Vices, Illogical Desire," in which a seemingly self-propelled drilling hammer smashes wine glasses and beer bottles; Amanda Markham's amorphous and eerie inkjet prints; and Brandon McCarty's "The Fallout," a Flash animation tale of survival and self-destruction.
With a few exceptions, Concurrent Rhythms is a student show. While showcasing students in the school's premier space and subjecting them to public scrutiny is an appealing idea ? after all, there's nothing like the terror of public exposure to focus an artist's attention ? Projective Eye seems a bit too small for this kind of effort. Student shows, even selective ones like this, are varied in nature. They need a little room to sprawl so the diverse works don't compete with one another.
In addition, the gallery space, which is a bit narrow and has a sloping ceiling, seems most suited to performance and installation. It will probably take a few more exhibitions and some tweaking to figure out how to best display standard 2-D and 3-D work.
In its first, hectic year, Projective Eye Gallery set some ambitious goals that it had to meet quickly, so it's still a little rough around the edges. But as the gallery matures, I hope it retains some of the loosey-goosey, restless energy it has demonstrated so far.
The exhibition Concurrent Rhythms will be on display through June 6 at the Projective Eye Gallery, UNC Charlotte Center City Building, 320 E. 9th St. (at Brevard). http://coaa.uncc.edu. 704-687-0833.
It was a rather non-traditional second night Passover Seder as my uncle and legal advisor Raymond Ragues (of Ragues PLLC) and I nudged Elijah's Cup out of the way and spread out FEC Form 1 on the dining room table.
"You mean this is really, really it?" I was asking in disbelief, as my uncle choked down an unfortunately large morsel of bitter herb and put his hands up in a gesture that meant, "What can I say?"
"This one form, which asks nothing more difficult of me than to spell my name and address properly, is all I need?"
"Yes," my uncle said. "See? You didn't even need me."
"I suppose not," I said, scanning Form 1 again to make sure I hadn't missed any trick questions.
So that was it, then. Confident that I would be able to fill out the form with my peers, I relaxed and put the paperwork aside, and the whole family joined in a discussion of our favorite super PAC-related moments of The Colbert Report.
"Is it really true that a super PAC could pay FEC fines with PAC money?" I asked, remembering one of my favorite moments: the shared phone call with Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Trevor Potter, in which the hosts did a graceful balancing act on the practically nonexistent line between legal discussion and illegal coordination.
"Sure," my uncle said. "How do you think corporations come up with the money to pay fines when they get caught breaking the rules? They pay them with the money they stole."
Even my 13-year-old shook her head somberly at what is, even to her, so clearly an injustice.
Back at Penn State, we convened for the first time. I had an outpouring of support from professors and students alike as the news that I planned to do this (crazy? stupid? fun?) thing.
I began this project thinking I might well end up doing it alone, save for a few friends that I could cajole into helping. (Some of them, I'd argue, even owed it to me for toting me along to what I found to be ill conceived and even less well-enacted student productions, which I will not name so as to avoid directly insulting the responsible parties.) I figured I would probably be the only one who cared, and that was fine by me. It would certainly be nice to have some help, or even just some company, but I would be content to go it alone.
Boy, did I ever underestimate my peers. One could hardly blame me for forgetting for a moment that football is not the only thing Penn State students are interested in, given that most of the country routinely does the same. But I should have known better.
In the first few hours after I had set up a Facebook page, which I did in the stolen moments between classes that I now passed exclusively at the Berkey Creamery, working frantically on my laptop, I had several dozen "likes." I sent a quick note to a student-run blog, Onward State, and the student newspaper, the Daily Collegian, announcing my intention to start a political action committee. I delegated the task of creating a Twitter feed and an email address to my assistant treasurer and friend Jess Cody. Out of necessity, I quickly got comfortable asking for help and decisively delegating roles and tasks.
And it wasn't hard. Because everywhere I turned, someone was stepping up and offering help or praise. From professors that encouraged me to borrow their microphones and introduce the lecture hall of 375 students to the ones who offered financial donations, and students who simply said "Where do I sign up?" to the ones who offered to design a logo (it's in the works, don't worry), to the PNC bank employee who offered encouragement, people were coming out of the woodwork to help.
The next order of business would be to meet in person.
?
Follow Remy M. Maisel on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@brandythief
During our first encounter with the OM-D E-M5 in February, Olympus told us to expect several more lenses to launch throughout the year, including a 75mm f/1.8 variant suitable for portraits and a splash- and dust-proof 60mm f/2.8 macro. Well, that first optic will be coming sooner than you may have thought -- it's expected to hit stores this summer with an estimated price tag of $900. The lens offers a 150mm 35mm-equivalent focal length when paired with a Micro Four Thirds camera, and consists of 10 elements in nine groups, including three ED elements that assist with correcting aberrations. Everything else you need to know can be found in the PR after the break.
Childhood obesity increases likelihood of a cranial disorder that may cause blindnessPublic release date: 24-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Danielle Cass danielle.x.cass@kp.org 510-267-5354 Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente Study analyzed electronic health records of 900,000 youth
Children who are overweight or obese -- particularly older, non-Hispanic white girls -- are more likely to have a neurological disorder known as idiopathic intracranial hypertension, a rare condition that can result in blindness, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
In a cross-sectional, population-based study of 900,000 children ages 2-19 years old, researchers found 78 cases of pediatric idiopathic intracranial hypertension. The condition occurred most frequently in overweight or obese, non-Hispanic white teenage girls85 percent of the children with IIH were girls 11-19, nearly half were non-Hispanic white, and 73 percent were overweight or obese.
Importantly, the study also found a strong association between IIH and increasing weight class: extremely obese adolescents were 16 times more likely than normal weight children to have IIH; moderately obese children, 6 times more likely; and overweight children, 3.5 times more likely.
"Childhood obesity has again been shown to be associated with a serious disease," said study lead author Sonu M. Brara, MD, of the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center Neurology Department. "This research is the strongest evidence to date that obesity is associated with IIH in childrenit also suggests that the childhood obesity epidemic is likely to lead to increased morbidity from IIH, including blindness."
This study adds to the growing evidence base about data on the prevalence of obesity and prevention of it among children. Earlier this month the Institute of Medicine released its Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention offering recommendations, strategies, and action steps for stakeholders and sectors to accelerate progress in preventing obesity.
In adults, IIH is a relatively rare disorder that predominately affects overweight or obese women ages 20 to 44 with an incidence rate of 15 per 100,000 individuals. The disorder is characterized by increased pressure around the brain in the absence of other diseases, with symptoms including headache, blurred vision, nausea, and eye movement abnormalities. The ailment can lead to blindness in up to 10 percent of patients, particularly when not recognized and treated promptly.
The children and adolescents in the study were enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente Southern California integrated health plan from 2007 to 2009. The study included measured height and weight and diagnosis of IIH.
"Our findings may help improve the early diagnosis and treatment of IIH in young patients," said Dr. Brara. "Overweight and obese children appear to have more IIH symptoms at onset than normal weight children. We suggest that clinicians carefully screen adolescents who are overweight or obese and present with symptoms of IIH, such as headache, blurred vision, and eye movement abnormalities."
According to recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, extreme obesity is defined as more than 1.2 times the 95th percentile, or a body mass index of more than 35 kilograms/meter squared. Obesity is defined as more than the 95th percentile or a BMI of more than 30 kg/m2. Overweight is defined as more than the 85th percentile or a BMI of more than 25 kg/m2. Body mass index is a reliable indicator of body fatness and calculated based on height and weight. For children, BMI percentiles are the most commonly used indicator to assess the size and growth patterns of individual children. The percentile indicates the relative position of the child's BMI number among children of the same sex and age.
###
This study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
It is part of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Children's Health Study and its ongoing work to identify and treat childhood obesity through research and community programs.
Researchers at Kaiser Permanente announced in February study findings that the prevalence of asthma among children and adolescents who are overweight or obese varies widely by race and ethnicity. The study also found that the association between childhood asthma and increasing BMI is strongest in Hispanics and weakest in African Americans.
In 2011 Kaiser Permanente announced a study that used electronic health records of more than 700,000 patients to determine that children who are overweight or obese have a significantly higher prevalence of psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin.
Other study authors included Corinna Koebnick, PhD, of the Kaiser Permanente Department of Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California; Amy H Porter, MD, of the Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center; and Annette Langer-Gould, MD, PhD, of the Department of Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Los Angeles Medical Center, Neurology Department.
About the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research and Evaluation
The Department of Research & Evaluation (R & E) conducts high quality, innovative research into disease etiology, prevention, treatment and care delivery. Investigators conduct epidemiology, health sciences, and behavioral research as well as clinical trials. Areas of interest include diabetes and obesity, cancer, HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, aging and cognition, pregnancy outcomes, women's and children's health, quality and safety, and pharmacoepidemiology. Located in Pasadena, Calif., the department focuses on translating research to practice quickly to benefit the health and lives of Kaiser Permanente Southern California members and the general population. Visit www.kp.org/research.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 9 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
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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.
Childhood obesity increases likelihood of a cranial disorder that may cause blindnessPublic release date: 24-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Danielle Cass danielle.x.cass@kp.org 510-267-5354 Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente Study analyzed electronic health records of 900,000 youth
Children who are overweight or obese -- particularly older, non-Hispanic white girls -- are more likely to have a neurological disorder known as idiopathic intracranial hypertension, a rare condition that can result in blindness, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
In a cross-sectional, population-based study of 900,000 children ages 2-19 years old, researchers found 78 cases of pediatric idiopathic intracranial hypertension. The condition occurred most frequently in overweight or obese, non-Hispanic white teenage girls85 percent of the children with IIH were girls 11-19, nearly half were non-Hispanic white, and 73 percent were overweight or obese.
Importantly, the study also found a strong association between IIH and increasing weight class: extremely obese adolescents were 16 times more likely than normal weight children to have IIH; moderately obese children, 6 times more likely; and overweight children, 3.5 times more likely.
"Childhood obesity has again been shown to be associated with a serious disease," said study lead author Sonu M. Brara, MD, of the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center Neurology Department. "This research is the strongest evidence to date that obesity is associated with IIH in childrenit also suggests that the childhood obesity epidemic is likely to lead to increased morbidity from IIH, including blindness."
This study adds to the growing evidence base about data on the prevalence of obesity and prevention of it among children. Earlier this month the Institute of Medicine released its Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention offering recommendations, strategies, and action steps for stakeholders and sectors to accelerate progress in preventing obesity.
In adults, IIH is a relatively rare disorder that predominately affects overweight or obese women ages 20 to 44 with an incidence rate of 15 per 100,000 individuals. The disorder is characterized by increased pressure around the brain in the absence of other diseases, with symptoms including headache, blurred vision, nausea, and eye movement abnormalities. The ailment can lead to blindness in up to 10 percent of patients, particularly when not recognized and treated promptly.
The children and adolescents in the study were enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente Southern California integrated health plan from 2007 to 2009. The study included measured height and weight and diagnosis of IIH.
"Our findings may help improve the early diagnosis and treatment of IIH in young patients," said Dr. Brara. "Overweight and obese children appear to have more IIH symptoms at onset than normal weight children. We suggest that clinicians carefully screen adolescents who are overweight or obese and present with symptoms of IIH, such as headache, blurred vision, and eye movement abnormalities."
According to recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, extreme obesity is defined as more than 1.2 times the 95th percentile, or a body mass index of more than 35 kilograms/meter squared. Obesity is defined as more than the 95th percentile or a BMI of more than 30 kg/m2. Overweight is defined as more than the 85th percentile or a BMI of more than 25 kg/m2. Body mass index is a reliable indicator of body fatness and calculated based on height and weight. For children, BMI percentiles are the most commonly used indicator to assess the size and growth patterns of individual children. The percentile indicates the relative position of the child's BMI number among children of the same sex and age.
###
This study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
It is part of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Children's Health Study and its ongoing work to identify and treat childhood obesity through research and community programs.
Researchers at Kaiser Permanente announced in February study findings that the prevalence of asthma among children and adolescents who are overweight or obese varies widely by race and ethnicity. The study also found that the association between childhood asthma and increasing BMI is strongest in Hispanics and weakest in African Americans.
In 2011 Kaiser Permanente announced a study that used electronic health records of more than 700,000 patients to determine that children who are overweight or obese have a significantly higher prevalence of psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin.
Other study authors included Corinna Koebnick, PhD, of the Kaiser Permanente Department of Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California; Amy H Porter, MD, of the Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center; and Annette Langer-Gould, MD, PhD, of the Department of Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Los Angeles Medical Center, Neurology Department.
About the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research and Evaluation
The Department of Research & Evaluation (R & E) conducts high quality, innovative research into disease etiology, prevention, treatment and care delivery. Investigators conduct epidemiology, health sciences, and behavioral research as well as clinical trials. Areas of interest include diabetes and obesity, cancer, HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, aging and cognition, pregnancy outcomes, women's and children's health, quality and safety, and pharmacoepidemiology. Located in Pasadena, Calif., the department focuses on translating research to practice quickly to benefit the health and lives of Kaiser Permanente Southern California members and the general population. Visit www.kp.org/research.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 9 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
[ | 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.
For many American homeowners, the early weeks of summer are an invitation to take the party out to the backyard patio or deck. Before you haul out the grill and light the tiki torches, however, take some time to do a little preventive repair and?maintenance.
First ? complete a thorough inspection of the entire structure to ensure that it is safe and secure. Check for loose nails and screws, and either replace them or re-tighten them. Tighten any railings that have become loose during the winter.
Second ? look beneath the deck to confirm that beams and support poles remain in good working order. If you find structural components that are loose, rotten or out of position, for your own safety, quit using the deck and call a pro in to fix the problem.
As an additional safety precaution, replace broken or rotten deck boards before they break through completely. Boards that have become bowed or warped will also need to be replaced because they hold water and make the deck surface uneven, and create another potential safety hazard. If you?re replacing those boards with pressure-treated lumber, maximize the life of your deck by using stainless steel or high-grade galvanized fasteners designed to combat the corrosive effects of modern lumber treatment chemicals.
Once everything is secure, clean the deck boards with a biodegradable deck cleaner to remove dirt, mildew and algae. These environmentally friendly solvents are now commonly available and actually perform better than previously popular outdoor wood cleaners such as bleach. Even if your deck is made from a composite material, most manufacturers still recommend a thorough annual cleaning. During the cleaning process, also take a little time to sand down any spots that have become rough or splintered.
If the deck appears to need a lot of repair, please consider having the deck surface and railing replaced with new maintenance free composite material. Normally the structure and framing of the deck is in good shape which will allow for a simple re-facing of the deck surface. This will not only enhance the living space but resale value is a premium.
For more information and any questions feel free to take a picture of your deck and send it to Shannon@premierremodels.com and we will be happy to return some added suggestions for repair and replacement options.
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Public release date: 24-May-2012
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