Demand for Barbie helps push Mattel 4Q profit up (AP)

NEW YORK ? Strong holiday demand for toys including Barbie and Monster High dolls helped push Mattel Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit up a better-than-expected 14 percent.

The company also raised its dividend and its shares edged higher in premarket trading.

But there were a few lumps of coal in the report, as U.S. sales dipped and weakness continued at its Fisher-Price unit.

The holiday quarter is crucial for toy makers, who can make up to half of their annual sales during the period.

Mattel, which is the No. 1 U.S. toy maker, reported Tuesday that its net income rose to $370.6 million, or $1.07 per share, for the period ended Dec. 31. That's up from $325.2 million, or 89 cents per share, a year ago.

This beat the $1 per share that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

"Mattel delivered another strong year, our third consecutive year of solid performance, which I am especially pleased about given the soft global economic backdrop and the highly promotional environment, particularly in the U.S.," CEO Bryan G. Stockton said in a statement.

Mattel's quarterly revenue edged up 1 percent to $2.15 billion from $2.12 billion. But that missed Wall Street's estimate of $2.22 billion.

A 2 percent drop in U.S. sales was offset by stronger results overseas, where revenue rose 5 percent.

.Barbie sales rose 6 percent in the quarter. Sales of for Mattel's Wheels segment ? which includes the Hot Wheels, Matchbox and Tyco R/Co brands ? increased 5 percent. American Girl sales rose 4 percent. But sales for Fisher-Price fell 10 percent. The Fisher-Price unit makes pre-school toys such as Power Wheels.

For the year, Mattel reported net income of $768.5 million, or $2.18 per share, up from $684.9 million, or $1.86 per share, a year earlier.

Annual revenue increased 7 percent to $6.27 billion from $5.86 billion.

Mattel, based in El Segundo, Calif., is also raising its annual dividend by 35 percent.

The toy maker will pay a first-quarter cash dividend of 31 cents per share on March 9 to shareholders of record on Feb. 23. Its annualized dividend is expected to be $1.24 per share. The prior-year's dividend was 92 cents per share.

The company said that its $680 million acquisition of HIT Entertainment, the company behind Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder, is expected to close on Wednesday. Mattel announced the deal in October. It will be the company's biggest acquisition in a decade.

Mattel's chief rival, Hasbro Inc., reports its financial results on Monday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_mattel

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Freddie Mac betting against some homeowners

Outrage ensued when people learned that big banks sold bundles of shaky mortgages to unwitting investors, then turned around and placed bets that those securities would tank. Now there's an even bigger bombshell in the offing: An investigation conducted by ProPublica and NPR found that government-owned Freddie Mac has invested in financial instruments that profit when homeowners are stuck in high-interest mortgages.

Freddie Mac is supposed to be dedicated to backstopping mortgages and making it easier for people to get housing loans, but instead of dumping riskier investments as it was ordered to under terms of its government bailout in 2010, it doubled down on securities that pay off when homeowners lose. Freddie Mac says its investment department is separate from the rule-making arm that dictates when and under what circumstances homeowners can borrow, although the company began making bets on high-interest mortgages starting in 2010, around the same time the entity issued new rules that made it harder for many people stuck in such mortgages to refinance.?

At the same time Freddie Mac tightened the terms under which it would extend credit to homeowners and raised fees associated with refinancing. The Federal Reserve has even noticed how detrimental this was to Freddie Mac's supposed mission and blasted Freddie as well as sister mortgage entity Fannie Mae, calling their fees "difficult to justify."

"We remain committed to reducing our retained portfolio and appropriately managing its risks," spokesman Michael Cosgrove said in a statement via email. He added that Freddie Mac's investment portfolio is $60 billion smaller than it is required to be. Cosgrove also confirmed, though, that Freddie Mac still owns the troubling securities outlined in the ProPublica story.

Homeowners lose out when they can't refinance to a lower mortgage rate, and the economy suffers, too. If borrowers are struggling financially, a lower rate might keep them out of foreclosure, and everyone who refinances frees up more of their income ? money that could be funneled back into the anemic economy.?

"In three years we refinanced more than 4.3 million mortgages totaling about $930 billion," Cosgrove said in the statement. According to research company CoreLogic, nearly 11 million homes were underwater late last year. Homeowners going through the frustration of trying unsuccessfully to refinance may wonder how many more people could have benefited from a more extensive refinancing program.

But there is one person who has benefited:?Peter Federico, head of the trading division at Freddie Mac, was paid $2.5 million in 2010 and was eligible to make even more in 2011, according to the story posted on ProPublica's website.

Read the full story:

Freddie Mac Bets Against American Homeowners

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10272219-freddie-mac-bets-against-homeowners-trapped-in-high-rate-mortgages

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Lincee Ray: Is Anyone Still Watching Grey's Anatomy?

I remember the days when Meredith Grey's opening voiceover marked an hour-long journey of medical miracles, snarky banter and at least one hot doctor doing something naughty in an on-call room. Seattle Grace was the place to be on Thursday nights and I embraced the entire hour-long journey. (Except for the one where Izzie has a brain tumor and sees dead people. Shonda Rhimes can't win them all, am I right?)

Last night I prepared to catch up on my ever-expanding list of DVR'd shows. As I clicked through my favorites to determine the viewing order of my lazy evening, I was shocked to discover that there were six episodes of Grey's Anatomy that I hadn't watched this season. To be honest, I hadn't even thought about the show lately.

Could it be that after eight seasons I've grown indifferent about the characters? Do I no longer care about the odd yet relatable bond of my favorite couple Meredith and Cristina? Is Dr. Shepherd's debonair and brooding presence now lost on me? Have I learned everything there is to learn from the sharp Miranda Bailey?

My loyalties have definitely wavered. Instead of immediately tuning in each week to experience the lives of my favorite group of doctors, I'm choosing to try and figure out fairy tale characters in Storybrooke, laughing at what Jess and Schmidt are saying, getting completely sucked in by Emily Thorne's devious ways and wondering which one-liners from Phil Dunphey I'll be quoting the next day. I'll even watch Glee before tuning in to Grey's. And Glee's been on the fence for me for a long time.

Help me out Grey's fans. Is it worth sitting through the six episodes I haven't watched? Or should I cut my losses and just focus on the hours of television I have recorded in my DVR?

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lincee-ray/is-anyone-still-watching-_b_1239189.html

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Why Gingrich Trails: Heavy Deluge of Negative Ads (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Sometimes a negative political ad can hurt the candidate it's directed at or the one who has put it together. In the case with the upcoming Florida primary for the Republican presidential race, it is the former. The TV ads airing in Florida against Gingrich are out with a vengeance. No wonder one of the leading polls on Friday shows Newt Gingrich falling behind Mitt Romney. Romney leads Gingrich by 8 percentage points in the Reuters/Ipsos poll

During the times when the local and national news are on, in addition to the pre-prime time hours, that's when the political ads run in any given campaign season. It is no different in the Tampa area, where the Republican National Convention is to be held in August. During the week it was the same two negative Gingrich ads playing at every commercial break. This was to the point of overkill where you just had enough. One is Romney's Super PAC ad, the other his attack ad. Unfortunately, negative ads work. I vividly remember for the Florida governor's race in 2010. Rick Scott ran a number of negative ads against his opponent for the general election that obviously worked.

Romney's Super PAC, Restore Our Future, TV ad is titled "Reagan (FL)", reports The Guardian. The Florida primary TV ad shows a montage of how Gingrich would mention "Ronald Reagan" 50 times over the course of many debates during the campaign, even before Iowa and New Hampshire. It opens with "You'd think Newt Gingrich was Ronald Reagan's vice president." If that wasn't enough, it goes on with another barb how Reagan only mentioned Gingrich once in his diary.

To add further insult to injury, President Ronald Reagan, according to this Super PAC, rejected Gingrich's ideas on defense and his thoughts on policy. The final kicker comes with its closing "On leadership and character, Gingrich is no Ronald Reagan." The last line is very reminiscent when Dan Quayle compared himself to John F. Kennedy and his debate opponent Lloyd Bentsen quickly pointed out "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." What happened to that so-called caring and compassionate candidate Mitt Romney portrays in his Internet ad?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120128/us_ac/10896795_why_gingrich_trails_heavy_deluge_of_negative_ads

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Cruise ship fuel removal stalled due to rough seas

Italian Financial police scuba divers sale around the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Italian Financial police scuba divers sale around the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

View of the bow of the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Italian firefighters approach the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Costa Crociere SpA offered uninjured passengers ?11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and the psychological trauma they suffered after their cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany. But some passengers are already refusing to accept the deal, saying they can't yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. Costa announced the offer after negotiations with consumer groups who say they are representing 3,206 passengers from 61 countries who suffered no physical harm when the massive Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a reef on Jan. 13. In addition to the lump-sum indemnity, Costa, a unit of the world's biggest cruise operator, the Miami-based Carnival Corp., also said it would reimburse uninjured passengers the full costs of their cruise, their return travel expenses and any medical expenses they sustained after the grounding. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

GIGLIO, Italy (AP) ? Rough seas off Italy's Tuscan coast forced a delay in the planned Saturday start of the operation to remove a half-million gallons of fuel from the grounded Costa Concordia, and officials said pumping may now not begin until midweek.

Recovery operations continued, however, and on Saturday yielded a 17th body: The woman who wasn't wearing a life jacket was found by divers on the submerged sixth floor deck, civil protection officials said.

The Concordia ran aground on Jan. 13 off the port of the island of Giglio port after the captain deviated from his planned route and gashed the hull of the ship on a reef. Some 4,200 passengers and crew endured a panicked evacuation after the abandon ship alarm didn't sound until the ship had capsized so much that some life boats couldn't be lowered.

Some 16 people remain unaccounted for and are presumed dead.

On Saturday, the body found on the ship's deck on Jan. 28 was identified as Erika Soria Molina, 25, of Peru by Doris Sotomayor, Peru's consul general in Florence.

Sotomayor told The Associated Press that the body was found in a submerged part of the deck. Soria, who was wearing a service uniform, studied tourism in Peru and was born in the Andean city of Cuzco, southeast of Lima.

The removal of the fuel aboard the Concordia is a key concern since the seas around Giglio form part of a protected marine sanctuary and are a favorite destination for scuba divers. So far, no leakage has been detected.

Dutch shipwreck salvage firm Smit has been contracted by the Concordia's owner Costa Crociere SpA, a unit of Miami-based Carnival Corp., to remove the fuel. Smit's divers have made the necessary preparations to begin pumping out fuel from six outer tanks that hold more than half of the 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of heavy fuel oil that are aboard the ship.

The rest of the fuel is contained in inner tanks that are harder to access.

So far, divers have drilled into four of the six outer tanks and fixed valves on them: one on top, one on bottom. Hoses will then be attached to the valves and as the oil ? which must be warmed to make it less gooey ? is sucked out of the upper hose, sea water is pumped in to fill the vacuum via the lower hose.

Smit spokesman Martijn Schuttevaer told reporters Saturday that the pumping operation may not begin now until midweek since the poor weather is forecast at least through Tuesday. Officials don't want to risk the possibility that a battering of the hoses caused by rough seas might lead to leakage.

On Saturday, the choppy waters partially dislodged Smit's barge that was hitched to the Concordia's hull and had served as a staging platform for the fuel removal operation. Smit brought it back into port, where it will stay until the weather improves, Schuttevaer said.

The Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, remains under house arrest, accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning a ship before its passengers had evacuated. He has admitted he took the ship on "tourist navigation" to bring it close to Giglio but said the reef he hit wasn't marked on his nautical charts.

___

Winfield reported from Rome. Franklin Briceno contributed in Lima, Peru.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-28-EU-Italy-Ship-Aground/id-265d2ec74b0b4821a0fa30f0dfb7331f

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Stanley builds 5-shot lead at Torrey Pines (AP)

SAN DIEGO ? Kyle Stanley overpowered Torrey Pines and opened a five-shot lead Saturday in the Farmers Insurance Open.

Stanley missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that would have set the 54-hole tournament record. He settled for a 4-under 68, a spot in the record book with Tiger Woods, and great position as he goes after his first PGA Tour win Sunday.

He was at 18-under 198, matching the record set by Woods in 1998.

John Huh, a PGA Tour rookie out of Q-school, also had a 68 and was at 13-under 203, along with John Rollins.

The South Course measures 7,698 yards and tends to favor big hitters, such as seven-time winner Woods, Phil Mickelson and defending champion Bubba Watson. Stanley is in that group of power players.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_sp_go_su/glf_farmers_insurance

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In Myanmar, a "sham" parliament stirs to life (Reuters)

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (Reuters) ? In Myanmar's sprawling parliamentary complex, lawmakers flexed their newly democratic muscles on Thursday. Some drafted anti-graft legislation for one of the world's most corrupt nations or clamored for transparency on a typically secret national budget.

Others wanted answers from the government: why are train lines across the country woefully inefficient? Will the government move faster to revamp clearer foreign-exchange rate laws and hold companies to task for shabby infrastructure on state contracts?

Derided as a well-choreographed sham in one of the world's most authoritarian countries when it opened a year ago, Myanmar's parliament began a third session on Thursday with feisty stirrings of democracy, under pressure to accelerate economic and political reforms that could soon convince the West to lift decades-old sanctions.

The main legislation up for debate requires the government to seek parliamentary approval for its budget. That alone is a significant change for Myanmar, where past military regimes drew up spending plans in secrecy, often carving out largesse for the army, which handed power to a nominally civilian government in March last year.

In the cavernous hallways of the lower house and the gilded main legislative chamber, legislators expressed unvarnished views, including some scathing criticism of government policy by those in the opposition.

It wasn't always this way.

"When we first came to parliament, we were worried we might be arrested," said U Ba Shin, a member of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, a major ethnic party that won nine of the lower house's 440 seats in the first general election in two decades in November 2010.

"Now there is less fear among the people. But many people still don't know their rights or speak their minds in parliament. There is big room for improvement."

Myanmar's purpose-built capital, Naypyitaw, has been a curiosity since it was built from scratch seven years ago, a virtual fortress where the then-military rulers of the former Burma isolated themselves some 320 km (200 miles) from the largest city, Yangon.

Bestowed with manicured, heavily watered lawns and forbidding stone walls, Naypyitaw bears no resemblance to the rest of the country, one of Asia's poorest, including nearby villages of mostly thatched wooden huts. Parliament's 31 buildings with pagoda-style roofs are its main attraction. Its wide boulevards and streets are eerily quiet.

In addition to the lower house there is a 224-seat senate. There are also 14 assemblies spread across the country.

"DON'T BE SCARED"

But changes inside the Hluttaw, or legislative chamber, are at the heart of the most dramatic reforms since the army took power in a 1962 coup and ushered in five decades of unbroken military rule that ended with the 2010 elections.

Shwe Mann, speaker of the house and a member of the military-backed dominant party that won the election, encouraged lawmakers to speak their minds on at least three occasions in the second session of parliament, from August 22 to November 25.

Shwe Mann's call for openness is in stark contrast to a year ago, when he was the powerful third-in-command of a much-feared junta that brutally crushed dissenting voices.

"He is trying very hard to put this democratic process in the parliament. He has been saying when we hold open voting 'You can openly show your opinion. Don't be scared'," said Sai Saung Si, 65, a member of parliament from northern Shan State and vice-chairman of the Shan Nationalities Development Party, that won 18 lower house seats in the election.

Sai Saung Si regularly voices the concerns of his constituency, including illegal seizures of land by companies or the army that went on for years unchecked.

"In the past, it would get taken away and people wouldn't know where to go to complain. But now we raise it in parliament. Seizing the land is not according to the law ... they must give it back to the people," he said in an interview.

Overtures by the government in recent months have included calls for peace with ethnic minority guerrilla groups, some tolerance of criticism, an easing of media controls, the legalization of labor unions and more communication with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released in 2010 after spending 15 of the past 20 years in detention.

But there is plenty of work to do and challenges ahead. Parliamentary politics is clearly a new phenomenon. Just ask the men in green.

Sitting on the right flank of the lower-house chamber are military men in fatigues. A quarter of lower house seats are reserved for the military.

And there are other conservative pockets of resistance to reforms, say legislators, although President Thein Sein stressed last week in an interview with the Washington Post that his government had "no intention to draw back" on reform.

"It is not at all impossible for the reforms to be reversed," said Sean Turnell, an economist at Macquarie University in Sydney who closely follows Myanmar.

"There are significant groups that are in opposition to some of the reforms but overall we are in a very much different space than we were only a matter of six months ago."

He described the first legislative session convened by the former military junta in January last year as "a mockery of a parliament." But there were flickers of change in the second session after the junta formally ceded power.

"The second session started to behave like a parliament. It was no longer a vehicle purely of the president or the military. It had a degree of independence. We are looking now to the third session to see which one was representative -- the first session or the second."

BARRIERS TO PROGRESS

It is a crucial question for investors who see plenty of opportunities as Myanmar begins to opens up.

But barriers to progress are formidable: U.S. sanctions, an incoherent exchange rate regime, woeful infrastructure, weak investment laws, a crippled banking system, decades of mismanagement and a shortage of skilled workers.

"Economic reform, if anything now, is beginning to lag behind the political reform," said Turnell, adding that investors were waiting for a long-overdue foreign investment-protection law to snake through parliament.

"We have yet to see it. I am a little bit worried about that. It is a law that needs to get through but there is still a little bit of debate about it.

"When something like that does pass, that will be quite a signal that real economic reform is under way."

Some see that change happening if Suu Kyi wins a seat in the lower house in April by-elections.

"When she comes to the parliament, if she raises one issue, and this issue is very beneficial to the country, then who will dare go against it?" said Sai Saung Si.

(Additional reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Editing by Martin Petty and Robert Birsel)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/wl_nm/us_myanmar_parliament

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webOS Instapaper app makes leap to Android

Now that HP has open sourced webOS and announced their Enyo 2.0 framework plenty of webOS developers have been digging through the code. Given the nature of how Enyo works and it's compatibility with WebKit, we're quite certain plenty of webOS developers will be making their apps available in the Android Market as soon as possible.

One such app that has already made the leap is Paper Mache built by Ryan Watkins. The app allows for access to Instapaper provided you have an Instapaper paid account and it does so rather beautifully. With included features such as offline access, syncing across devices and configurable font, text size, spacing and margins, Paper Mache is a pretty no-brainer choice if you're looking for a great Instapaper app.

Designed to work on Android 2.2 and higher, Paper Mache is available now in the Android Market for free; you can jump past the break for the download link and let us know what you think in the comments.

Source: webOSNation

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/2RBQPyZtguE/story01.htm

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Men's hopes for robot prostate surgery unrealistic (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Robot-assisted surgery for prostate cancer has been heavily hyped, and a new study suggests that men's expectations of the surgery may be too high.

Researchers found that of 171 men facing prostate cancer surgery, those having robotic surgery expected a shorter hospital stay, and a quicker return to their usual physical activity and sex life.

But those hopes may not be realistic.

Prostate removal is one treatment option for prostate cancer, and in the U.S., a majority of those surgeries are now done with the help of a "robot."

During the procedure, the surgeon sits at a console, operating robotic "arms" that extract the prostate gland through small cuts in the abdomen.

The robotic approach is expensive. And after hospitals invest the roughly $1.5 million for the machines, plus the cost of surgeon training and annual service contracts, they often aggressively market the approach -- as do the companies behind the technology.

And that may include claims that robotic surgery is better than the old-fashioned way.

"Since about the mid-2000s, people were thinking that robotic surgery was the greatest thing since sliced bread," said Dr. Judd W. Moul, a prostate surgeon at Duke University Medical Center who led the new study.

There was reason to believe that the better visualization with robotic surgery could lead to some better outcomes, Moul told Reuters Health.

On the other hand, he said, when surgeons actually use their hands, they get "tactile feedback" that's missing with the robotic approach.

And studies have suggested that while robotic surgery may have some short-term advantages -- like a somewhat shorter hospital stay -- there may be no clear difference in the most important outcomes.

So far, there's no good evidence that robotic-surgery patients fare any better as far as cancer recurrence or long-term side effects like urine leakage and erectile dysfunction.

And in an earlier study, Moul and his colleagues found that men who had the robotic procedure were actually less satisfied in the long run than those who had traditional surgery.

They guessed that patients' expectations going into surgery might have something to do with it.

MORE OPTIMISM WITH ROBOTIC SURGERY

So for the new study, they surveyed 171 men about their expectations heading into prostate cancer surgery. The majority of patients -- 97 -- had opted for robotic surgery, while 74 were going with the traditional route.

Overall, 89 percent men having the robotic surgery expected to stay just one night in the hospital, versus 37 percent of men having traditional surgery.

The robotic-surgery group also thought they would be back to exercising sooner -- typically predicting a five-week wait, versus six weeks in the other group. And they expected to have recovered their erectile function within five months of surgery.

Men having traditional surgery were much less optimistic. They typically assumed it would take nine months to regain their sex life.

On average, Moul said, men having robotic surgery do seem to get out of the hospital eight to 12 hours quicker.

But a small percentage, he noted, end up staying in the hospital for a few days because their bowel function does not return quickly.

As far as physical activity and long-term erectile function, it's not clear if there's any advantage to robotic surgery. At Duke, Moul noted, men are advised to avoid any heavy lifting for six weeks after surgery -- robot or not.

ASK TOUGH QUESTIONS

Where are men getting their expectations? Ads, the Internet and the general belief that high-tech must be better may all play a role, according to Moul.

"But I think that probably physician counseling has a lot to do with it," Moul said.

He noted that surgeons do have an incentive to push men toward the new technology in order to "work through their learning curve" -- that is, hone their skills by doing more procedures.

Increasingly, experts are saying that men should put more stock in their surgeon's experience than on the type of prostate surgery.

Moul agreed. That experience, he said, "is what drives the long-term outcomes of urinary and sexual recovery of function."

"Ask your surgeon the tough questions," Moul said. That means asking how many procedures he or she has ever done, and how many per year.

There's no hard-and-fast number that defines a "good" surgeon. But Moul suggested that a doctor who performs at least 40 to 75 procedures a year (of one specific kind -- robot or traditional) would be considered experienced.

Of course, that all assumes a man has decided on having surgery.

Many men with early-stage prostate cancer can decide to hold off on treatment altogether. That's because prostate tumors are often slow-growing and may never advance to the point of threatening a man's life.

One study found that more than 120,000 American men diagnosed with prostate cancer every year are ideal candidates for "watchful waiting" -- which means doctors keep an eye on the cancer to see if it's progressing.

In reality, though, the majority of those men end up having surgery, radiation or other treatment instead.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/zqY56u Journal of Urology, online January 16, 2012.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/hl_nm/us_robot_prostate

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More than 7,500-year-old fish traps found in Russia

Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
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Contact: Marta Garcia Gonzalo
marta.garcia.gonzalo@orgc.csic.es
34-915-681-476
CSIC, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas

A team of international archeologists, led by the Spanish National Research Council, has documented a series of more than 7,500-year-old fish seines and traps near Moscow. The equipment found, among the oldest in Europe, displays a great technical complexity. The survey will allow us to understand the role of fishing among the European settlements by early Holocene (10,000 years ago), especially in those areas where inhabitants did not practice agriculture until nearly the Iron Age.

Ignacio Clemente, CSIC researcher (Instituci Mil I Fontanals) and manager of the project, explains: "Until now, it was thought that the Mesolithic groups had seasonal as opposed to permanent settlements. According to the results obtained during the excavations, in both Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, the human group that lived in the Dubna river basin, near Moscow, carried out productive activities during the entire year".

According to Clemente and his team, during Neolithic and Mesolithic periods, the inhabitants of this region known as Zamostje 2 preferred to hunt during summer and winter, fish during spring and early summer, and harvest wild berries at the end of summer season and autumn. Clemente states: "We think that the fishing played a vital role in the economy of these societies, because it was a versatile product, easy to preserve, dry and smoke, as well as store for later consumption".

Advanced Technology

During this project, which has just come to an end after three years, several types of objects have been found: everyday objects (spoons, plates, etc.), working tools, hunting weapons and fishing implements, all of them manufactured with flint and other stones, bones and shafts. CSIC researcher adds: "The documented fishing equipment shows a highly developed technology, aimed for the practice of several fishing techniques. We can highlight the finding of two large wooden fishing traps (a kind of interwoven basket with pine rods used for fishing), very well-preserved, dating back from 7,500 years ago. This represents one of the oldest dates in this area and, no doubt, among the best-preserved since they still maintain some joining ropes, manufactured with vegetable fibers".

In addition, the researchers have recovered some objects related to the catch and processing of fish, such as hooks, harpoons, weights, floats, needles for nets manufacture and repair, as well as moose rib knives to scale and clean the fish.

Organic remains

One of the peculiarities of the Zamostje 2 site is the preservation of numerous organic materials, such as wood, bones, tree leaves, fossil feces, and especially fish remains. According to Clemente, "it is really unusual to find sites with so much preserved organic remains. The ichthyological remains that we have found give us an idea of the protein percentage provided by fish in the diet of the prehistoric population. Furthermore, these remains will help us to conduct a survey from the point of view of species classification, catch amount and size, and fishing season among others. These details are essential to be able to asses the role played by fishing in the economy of these human groups".

The site was discovered in the 80s, during the works to build the channel through the waters of the currently flowing Dubna river (Oka-Volga basin). Zamostje 2 displays four archeological levels: two from the Mesolithic period (between 7,900 and 7,100 years ago) and two from the Neolithic period (between 6,800 and 5,500 years ago). CSIC researcher concludes: "These levels are found under a subsoil layer with groundwaters and a subsequent peat bog level, which has allowed an excellent preservation of the archeological materials, even those of organic origin".

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In the project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Institute for the History of Material Culture of Russian Academy of Sciences, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Sergiev Posad State History and Art Museum-Reserve, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and the French National Center for Scientific Research have also participated.

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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.

Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
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Contact: Marta Garcia Gonzalo
marta.garcia.gonzalo@orgc.csic.es
34-915-681-476
CSIC, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas

A team of international archeologists, led by the Spanish National Research Council, has documented a series of more than 7,500-year-old fish seines and traps near Moscow. The equipment found, among the oldest in Europe, displays a great technical complexity. The survey will allow us to understand the role of fishing among the European settlements by early Holocene (10,000 years ago), especially in those areas where inhabitants did not practice agriculture until nearly the Iron Age.

Ignacio Clemente, CSIC researcher (Instituci Mil I Fontanals) and manager of the project, explains: "Until now, it was thought that the Mesolithic groups had seasonal as opposed to permanent settlements. According to the results obtained during the excavations, in both Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, the human group that lived in the Dubna river basin, near Moscow, carried out productive activities during the entire year".

According to Clemente and his team, during Neolithic and Mesolithic periods, the inhabitants of this region known as Zamostje 2 preferred to hunt during summer and winter, fish during spring and early summer, and harvest wild berries at the end of summer season and autumn. Clemente states: "We think that the fishing played a vital role in the economy of these societies, because it was a versatile product, easy to preserve, dry and smoke, as well as store for later consumption".

Advanced Technology

During this project, which has just come to an end after three years, several types of objects have been found: everyday objects (spoons, plates, etc.), working tools, hunting weapons and fishing implements, all of them manufactured with flint and other stones, bones and shafts. CSIC researcher adds: "The documented fishing equipment shows a highly developed technology, aimed for the practice of several fishing techniques. We can highlight the finding of two large wooden fishing traps (a kind of interwoven basket with pine rods used for fishing), very well-preserved, dating back from 7,500 years ago. This represents one of the oldest dates in this area and, no doubt, among the best-preserved since they still maintain some joining ropes, manufactured with vegetable fibers".

In addition, the researchers have recovered some objects related to the catch and processing of fish, such as hooks, harpoons, weights, floats, needles for nets manufacture and repair, as well as moose rib knives to scale and clean the fish.

Organic remains

One of the peculiarities of the Zamostje 2 site is the preservation of numerous organic materials, such as wood, bones, tree leaves, fossil feces, and especially fish remains. According to Clemente, "it is really unusual to find sites with so much preserved organic remains. The ichthyological remains that we have found give us an idea of the protein percentage provided by fish in the diet of the prehistoric population. Furthermore, these remains will help us to conduct a survey from the point of view of species classification, catch amount and size, and fishing season among others. These details are essential to be able to asses the role played by fishing in the economy of these human groups".

The site was discovered in the 80s, during the works to build the channel through the waters of the currently flowing Dubna river (Oka-Volga basin). Zamostje 2 displays four archeological levels: two from the Mesolithic period (between 7,900 and 7,100 years ago) and two from the Neolithic period (between 6,800 and 5,500 years ago). CSIC researcher concludes: "These levels are found under a subsoil layer with groundwaters and a subsequent peat bog level, which has allowed an excellent preservation of the archeological materials, even those of organic origin".

###

In the project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Institute for the History of Material Culture of Russian Academy of Sciences, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Sergiev Posad State History and Art Museum-Reserve, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and the French National Center for Scientific Research have also participated.

---

[ | 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/2012-01/ccsd-mt7012412.php

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More fruits, veggies in U.S. school lunch rules (Reuters)

WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? U.S. schoolchildren, accustomed to a steady diet of pizza and french fries, will find more fruits, vegetables and whole grains on their cafeteria trays under new government school lunch rules announced on Wednesday.

The new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules aim to boost the nutritional quality of the federally subsidized meals consumed by roughly 32 million U.S. schoolchildren daily.

The rules represent the first major revision of school meal standards in more than 15 years and are intended to combat the nation's childhood obesity crisis. Nearly one in three children in America is overweight or obese.

The overhaul comes just months after U.S. lawmakers acted to maintain pizza's status as a vegetable and killed proposed limits on weekly servings of starchy foods like potatoes.

In addition to doubling produce servings, the new guidelines call for fat-free and low-fat milk only, child-appropriate portion sizes and reductions in sodium, saturated fat and trans fats.

The changes were adopted under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), which was championed by first lady Michelle Obama and signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010.

The new standards will be largely phased in, starting in the 2012-13 school year. They are expected to cost roughly $3.2 billion to implement over the first five years.

HHFKA authorized more funding to schools to help cover the extra costs associated with the menu changes.

The USDA gives school districts money for student lunches and breakfasts through its $18 billion school meals program.

The majority of children participating in the program are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The USDA said 63 percent of lunches and 89 percent of breakfasts served are free or at a reduced cost.

FRIES WITH THAT?

Lawmakers altered the school lunch guidelines in November, when they barred the USDA from limiting the weekly servings of french fries and ensured that pizza continued to be counted as a vegetable portion because of its tomato paste.

Trade groups representing frozen-pizza sellers like ConAgra Foods Inc and Schwan Food Co, as well as french fry distributors McCain Foods Ltd and J.R. Simplot Co, were instrumental in blocking rule changes affecting those items.

Those actions caused a public uproar but won cheers from critics of the HHFKA rules, who cited the new regulations as an example of overreach by federal bureaucrats meddling in the food decisions of families.

"What we are announcing today are science-based rules and regulations that are going to substantially improve the meal qualities across the United States for children," USDA Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon said on a conference call.

Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director for the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the new standards were a big improvement, despite food industry lobbying and the congressional revamp.

"Despite industry lobbying and congressional meddling, the new school meal standards are one of the most important advances in nutrition in decades," she said.

The Environmental Working Group said the adjustments could also curb healthcare costs since they may help reduce medical bills related to diabetes and other obesity-related chronic diseases.

"A healthier population will save billions of dollars in future healthcare costs," said Dawn Undurraga, EWG's staff nutritionist.

As an example of a new meal, the USDA said an elementary school lunch might consist of whole-wheat spaghetti with meat sauce and a whole-wheat roll, a vegetable mix of green beans, broccoli and cauliflower, plus sliced kiwi, low-fat milk, low-fat ranch dip and soft margarine.

That lunch would replace a meal of a hot dog on a bun with ketchup, canned pears, raw celery and carrots with ranch dressing, and low-fat chocolate milk.

Some school districts already have moved in the direction of the new rules. Results have been mixed.

Julia Bauscher, director of school nutrition services for Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, said her district already is serving whole-grain breads and greens like spinach, kale and romaine lettuce.

The district built acceptance by adding things gradually, working with student advisers and handing out samples of new menu items.

Bauscher acknowledged that children complained when the district started serving fewer potatoes to the 100,000 students in the meals program.

"They didn't like that so much, but they have learned to pick up something different," she said, noting that the potato-serving reductions are not required under the new rules but have been recommended by heath experts.

Some schools have had a tougher go.

Los Angeles Unified School District, one of the nation's largest, is revising its healthier lunch menus after initially missing the mark with students.

As part of the new standards, USDA also will increase the number of inspections of school menus. New guidelines for other food sold in schools, including items sold in vending machines and school stores, are due later this year.

(Reporting By Ian Simpson in Washington and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Steve Gorman, Paul Thomasch and Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/hl_nm/us_school_food

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How to Register Your New Business Name

You?ve brainstormed, polled your family and friends and conducted some kind of focus group testing. You?ve come up with a cool domain name. Finally, you?ve crossed one of the trickiest hurdles for any new business ? finding the right name for your new brand.

But not so fast. Before you unleash your name on the world, you?ve got to dot a few administrative ?i?s? and cross a few legal ?t?s.? There are three key legal steps in the naming process.

• Make sure the name is available.
• Register the name with your state.
• Register your property (a.k.a. the name) with the federal government.

Keep in mind that trademark law is complex. While this is a brief introduction to the steps involved, there are specific situations that may vary.

SEE ALSO: How to Pick the Right Name for Your Business

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1. Make Sure the Name Is Available to Use

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Before you start ordering letterhead and marketing material, you need to make sure your name is available in the state where you are planning to conduct business, and also nationwide. No one wants to find themselves on the wrong end of a trademark dispute. First, there could be punitive damages and legal fees to pay. And even more costly, you could be ordered to rename your company immediately ? putting you back at square one in terms of brand recognition.

• Before you incorporate or register your business with your state, check the state?s database of company names.
• At this point, you should also conduct a free trademark search to check if your business name is available to use at the federal level. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) offers a free search tool to see if your name is available to use nationwide.
• It?s also important to know that you can still infringe upon someone else?s mark even if they?ve never formally registered it with the USPTO. For this reason, you?ll also need to do a comprehensive nationwide trademark search into state and local databases (beyond just your own state). This should include common law and county registrars. You can find affordable online services to simplify this task for you by performing a comprehensive search into state and local databases.

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2. Register the Name With Your State

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When you incorporate or form an LLC for your new business, the name is registered with your state?s secretary of state. Before approving your application, the secretary of state?s office checks that your name is distinguishable from all other business names registered in the state (just in case you didn?t search yourself in step one). Once approved, the business name is yours, and yours alone, to use within the state. This act protects anyone else from using your name within your state, but it doesn?t offer any kind of protection in the other 49 states.

If you?re not planning on incorporating or forming an LLC, you can still register a business name using a DBA (Doing Business As), which is also known as a Fictitious Business Name. It?s the easiest type of registration, and can be completed through your county government offices.

If you?ve started a business that?s physically tied to your state ? such as a hair salon or a restaurant ? and have no plans to expand into other states, registering your name with the state or county might be enough brand protection for you. However, if you?re planning to conduct business outside your own state (i.e. you sell a product or provide services to clients who live elsewhere), you should look into trademark protection.

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3. Register a Trademark with the Federal Government

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You?re not actually required by law to register a trademark. Use of a name instantly gives you common law rights as an owner, even without formal registration. However, as mentioned above, trademark law is complex. Simply registering a DBA in your state doesn?t automatically grant you common law rights; in order to claim first use, the name has to be ?trademarkable? and in use in commerce.

Registering a trademark offers a few advantages:

• Trademarks registered with the USPTO enjoy significantly stronger protection than ?common law? marks, or unregistered marks. When you register a trademark, it?s exponentially easier for you to recover your properties ? for example, if someone happens to be using a close variation of your domain name or is using your company name as their Twitter handle.
• A trademark is property ? it has value and can be sold as a corporate asset.

To register your business name, you?ll need to file an application with the USPTO. Expect to pay approximately $325 per class in application fees that your mark would fall under. Once you submit your application, the process can take anywhere from 6-12 months, so it?s smart to perform a comprehensive trademark search before starting the application process. If your selected name is not available, your application will be rejected. You?ll lose your application fee, not to mention any time invested in the application.

While the process of registering a trademark is more involved than registering a DBA, rights to your name will be enforced by both the federal and state governments.

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Take the Right Steps

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As you?re getting your company off the ground, make sure to take brand protection seriously. You?ve spent untold hours deliberating the ideal name, and you?ll be spending even more time cultivating brand recognition. Your name represents your brand and business, so take the right steps up front to protect your identity.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, shironosov, Flickr, thinkpanama

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/01/23/register-business-name/

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THG Presents: The Top 10 Celebrity Offspring Singers!

Did you hear? Jane Carrey, daughter of beloved actor Jim Carrey, received a golden ticket to Hollywood on American Idol this week.

But the 24-year old still has a long way to go until she's considered one of the premiere celebrity offspring singers. That's right, there are a number of famous artists with similarly famous parents. We count them down below...

Jane Carrey American Idol Audition

10. Hank Williams Jr. - Son of Hank Williams Sr. Loses points for being a narrow-minded moron.

9. Lisa Marie Presley - Daughter of Elvis Presley. Never responsible for any major hits. But her kiss of Michael Jackson at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards was sort of a musical moment that will last forever.

8. Natalie Cole - Daughter of Nat King Cole. Who will ever forget the digitally-recorded, aptly-titled duet between father and child, "Unforgettable?"

7. Robin Thicke - Son of Alan Thicke. Has written songs for Jennifer Hudson, Usher and Mary J. Blige. Impressive!

6. Willow Smith - Daughter of Will and Jada Smith. Hasn't accomplished a great deal since whipping her hair all around, but is only 11. Still has time.

5. Jane Carrey - Daughter of Jim Carrey. Will move up a lot higher if she wins American Idol.

4. Jordin Sparks - Daughter of former NFL star Phillipi Sparks. Idol champion. Super Bowl national anthem singer. Broadway actress.

3. Chynna Phillips - Daughter of John Phillips. Would not even had made this list a year ago. But did you see Bridesmaids?!? A surprise top three entrant.

2. Liza Minnelli - Daughter of Judy Garland. Veteran of the song and stage industry, has won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award. Also, recurred on Arrested Development.

1. Miley Cyrus. Daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus. No Oscar, Emmy, Grammy or Tony Award. But advanced to the finals of our first-ever tournament of THG.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FAMOUS OFFSPRING SINGER?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/thg-presents-the-top-10-celebrity-offspring-singers/

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SINCOL 2010 - Finding Excellent Term Life Insurance Corporations

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Severe Brain Injury When Young May Have Long-Term Effects (HealthDay)

MONDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Although many people believe young children are extremely resilient after they are seriously hurt, the opposite may be true with traumatic brain injuries.

Two Australian studies looked at the impact of traumatic brain injury in children as young as 2 years, and found that these injuries affected cognitive function, IQ and even behavior for some time. However, the researchers also found that recovery from traumatic brain injury can continue for years after the initial injury. And, a child's home environment can positively influence recovery if the child lives in a stable, caring home.

"Many people think that the soft skull of a baby may give them some advantage because if they fall they are not likely to sustain a skull fracture. Also, because a baby's brain is growing so quickly, it seems like the brain may be able to fix an injury. In reality, the soft skull and growing brain of a baby put them at a greater risk of future problems," said the lead author of one of the studies, Louise Crowe, a postdoctoral research officer at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne.

"Children with significant head injuries do recover, but they are generally slower to learn concepts, and some high-level skills are often too difficult for them," she added.

Results from both studies were released online Jan. 23 and are scheduled to appear in the February issue of Pediatrics.

By age 16, at least one in 30 children will experience a traumatic brain injury, according to background information in one of the studies. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) occur after a blow or bump to the head, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Young children -- those under 4 years old -- are particularly at risk of experiencing a traumatic brain injury, according to the CDC. Such injuries can occur from a fall, a car accident, deliberate child abuse, sports or being hit with a moving object. Fortunately, most of these injuries aren't fatal, but about one-third of children who survive a TBI will have lasting damage, report the researchers.

Very few studies, however, have followed youngsters from the time of their injury through adolescence, to assess the full effect of the brain injury.

The first study looked at 40 children between the ages of 2 and 7 who had experienced a traumatic brain injury. They were compared to 16 healthy children. The children were examined 12 months, 30 months and 10 years after the injury, according to the study.

Not surprisingly, they found that children with the most severe injuries had the worst cognitive outcomes.

But, the news wasn't all bad. Initially, while the brain was recovering from the injury, the children didn't make significant developmental gains for about three years. However, after that period, and at least up until 10 years after the injury, the children began to make some age-appropriate developmental gains.

That means that even many years after an injury, interventions and therapies for these children may be effective, said the study's lead author, Vicki Anderson, a professor in critical care and neuroscience research at the Murdoch Institute.

"Although this does not suggest that children catch up to peers, it does imply that the gap does not widen during this period," she said.

This study also found that the home environment and relationships could make a difference in a child's recovery. More stable homes with less family conflict appeared to contribute to a child's recovery.

"It's difficult to predict outcome," said Anderson. "A quality home environment and access to appropriate rehabilitation is critical to maximize outcomes. Or, the young brain is plastic, and so the better the environment, the better the outcome."

The second study, led by Crowe, followed a group of 53 children who had sustained a traumatic brain injury before they were 3 years old, and 27 non-injured children. They followed up with these children when they were between 4 and 6 years old. The average time since the injury occurred was 40 months.

Children who had moderate-to-severe TBIs scored lower on IQ tests by about seven to 10 points, according to the study. Mild traumatic brain injuries didn't seem to significantly affect IQ. However, mild and moderate-to-severe TBIs were associated with an increased risk of behavior problems.

And, as with Anderson's study, this study also found that a child's environment has an effect on cognitive function and behavior after a brain injury.

"Children from cohesive family environments and children whose parents had lower levels of stress showed better recovery," Crowe said. "Why this is so is unclear, but it may be due to a parent spending more time with their children, and children also growing up in a less stressful environment."

One expert noted that the findings make an important point.

"We still don't understand all of the factors that affect outcomes. But, these studies do give us important data. We don't necessarily want to close the door on treating these children too soon. There may still be room for improvement over time, but there are persistent deficits," said Dr. Mandeep Tamber, an assistant professor of pediatric neurosurgery at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, Crowe advised parents to be vigilant with young children. She said traumatic brain injuries can result from seemingly minor accidents, such as a baby rolling off of a bed or couch.

More information

Learn more about traumatic brain injuries from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120123/hl_hsn/severebraininjurywhenyoungmayhavelongtermeffects

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Search - Small Business Trends

Every two weeks we put together a list of key events for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The following Small Business Events Guide contains worthwhile events for those wanting to grow their businesses:

* * * * *

The Art of the Cold Call // BUSINESS 153
January 23, 2012, New York City

So your startup doesn?t have any money for a fancy ad campaign or a seasoned sales exec. You can barely keep the lights on as it is. But you know that your product is amazing, and if only your clients knew about you, you would be raking in the dollars. For a struggling start up like yours, there is only one way to make that happen. Pick up the phone. Cold calling is a deeply psychological exercise. We?ll start with a brainstorm. Why is cold calling so hard? What do you feel when you get that call? When you make one? We?ll tackle these issues so that you can build up your confidence and deliver a flawless call.

Introduction to Developing Entrepreneurial Ideas
Four Session Series: January 23 & 30, February 6 & 13, New York City

Do you have an idea but you are not sure if you can make a business out of it, or have an idea but need to refine it? Or need help in creating, reviewing or evaluating an idea? This class will focus over four sessions on the idea generation process and generating creative new ideas and turning entrepreneurial ideas into businesses. Often people think they need just one great business idea and this idea will cover them in a ?flash of genius.? While this can be true, often good business ideas get developed, molded, and improved over time. We will discuss both products and services ideas and focus on how to transform an idea or invention into an economically viable innovation and business.

Tax Tips and IRS Examination Advice for Small Business Owners
January 25, 2012, Wheaton, MD

If you are a small business and want to learn tips about taxes and the IRS examination, this class is for you! This class will be taught by small business accountants and attorneys. In this workshop attendees will learn 1) tax tips, 2) how to prepare for tax season, 3) red flags for being selected for examination, 4) the elements of an examination, 5) how an examination proceeds, and 6) potential outcomes. One 2.5 hour session.

How to Drive Buyers for Your Book, in Droves
January 31, 2012 ? ?Twitter chat, 7:00 pm New York time

Presented by the 4th Annual Small Business Book Awards, this hour-long Twitter chat will help authors and aspiring authors learn the secrets to marketing your book.

Today, even the largest publishers do a limited amount to market a book. ?As an author, it?s up to you to take charge, make your book known, and find buyers. ?And today many of the sales efforts focus online, or a combination of online and offline. ?This chat on Twitter, from 7 to 8 pm Eastern time, will features authors and book publicists. ?Twitter chat?sponsored by JustRetweet.com.

Small Biz Success Summit 2012
February 1 ? 23, 2012 ? Online

Presented by Social Media Examiner, this mega-event is designed to help you grow your small business using social media. There?s no travel! You simply attend this online event from the comfort of your home or office. It consists of multiple online webinars and Q&A sessions spread out from February 1 to 23, 2012. ?Recordings and transcripts also available.

You will hear from 28 of the world?s top small-biz social media experts, including: John Jantsch (author, Duct Tape Marketing), Anita Campbell (founder, Small Business Trends), Michael Stelzner (founder, Social Media Examiner and author, Launch), Mari Smith (co-author, Facebook Marketing), ?Brian Clark (founder, Copyblogger Media), Lee Odden (founder, TopRank Online Marketing), Ramon Ray (founder, Small Biz Technology and author, Technology Solutions for Growing Businesses).?? ?->??Register now.

Sponsorships 101: How to Find them, Close them and Create Value for them
February 2, 2012, San Francisco

Events, events, events! They are everywhere, especially in tech. Over the last two years, pariSoma has hosted over 300 events. Some of them were co-organized, some self-organized, and some completely independent. What was needed for many of them were sponsors! Sponsors help you grow your community, create a value add, and of course, cover your costs.

This class will teach you how to look for sponsors, how to engage with them, how to create value for them, and how to close them.

Getting Down to Social Business
February 3, 2012, Atlanta

Social Media, Social Networks, Mobility and Cloud services are impacting all aspects of life today. While ?social? has been driven by personal/consumer enthusiasm, it has carried over to business interactions ? external (with customers and prospects) and internally (between colleagues across the organization and with trusted partners). Topics covered include:

• Changing Corporate Culture to Win Over Customers and Employees in the Social Age
• Big Data and the Social Customer ? How to Turn Information into Insights, Interactions and Long Customer Relationships
• The Subscription Economy: Using Clouds, Marketplaces and Social Strategies to Connect with Today?s Customer
• ROI: How to determine the value of Social Initiatives to the Organization ? How to determine the Value of The Social Customer to the Organization
• Beyond Marketing and Promotion: How Social Initiatives Are Being Used In Overlooked Areas To Help Businesses Compete in Today?s Market
• The Collaborative Organization: Tools and Tactics for Interacting in a Multi-channel, Multi-device World

Speakers include Paul Greenberg, Author of CRM at the Speed of Light, Anita Campbell, Publisher, Small Business Trends, Jeff Nolan, VP of Product Marketing, Get Satisfaction, Jeanne Hopkins, VP of Marketing, HubSpot, and Robin Carey, CEO of Social Media Today.

Where Is Everyone?: The Remote Project Manager?s Arsenal
February 6, 2012, San Francisco

So how exactly does one manage a tribe and change the world, with all these to-do?s and deadlines bogging us down? Not to mention the finicky Skype calls, buried emails, and timezone arithmetic. Join us for practical tips to get more out of you and your team:
- Preemptive strike: attack problems before they happen
- Two (free!) tools for working better, and how to set them up
- Your inbox is a blackhole. Get out of it.
- Social psychology 101
-And more?
Specifically designed with the remote project manager in mind, this class will cover tips that go beyond watercooler politics and planning agendas. Methods will be applicable to MiF-carrying PM?s and jetsetting entrepreneurs, to office bees who occasionally work from home? or anyone who has to work with other humans.

Small Biz Big Things
February 7, 2012, San Francisco

Small Biz Big Things is all about YOU, YOUR BUSINESS, YOUR challenges. In this interactive forum you?ll hear from business growth experts who have built (or are building) successful companies and can share their lessons learned, success stories, growth challenges and victories with you.

Speakers include Scott Hintz, co-founder of Tripit, Jim Fowler, who built Jigsaw and sold it to Salesforce.com, and Tamara Mendelsohn, VP of Marketing for Eventbrite.

Come network, have a great lunch and learn from experts who can help you GROW YOUR BUSINESS.

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Social Media Week
February 13-17, 2012 ? London, Miami, New York, San Francisco + More

Reflecting the global impact of social media ? and its role as a catalyst in driving cultural, economic, political and social change in developed and emerging markets ? Social Media Week is one of the world?s most unique global platforms, offering a series of interconnected activities and conversations around the world on emerging trends in social and mobile media across all major industries.
See website for each city?s schedule of events.

Small Farms Conference
February 25, 2012, Corvallis, OR

The event includes workshops ranging from harvesting rainwater and marketing meat products to grafting vegetables and selling produce to schools and hospitals. Speakers include farmers, OSU faculty, farmer?s market representatives and experts from the state Department of Agriculture.

Other topics include farm financing, land-use legislation and business plan development.

Inc. GrowCo
March 5-7, 2012, New Orleans

Come to GROWCO and master the strategies, tactics, and real-world solutions your company needs to thrive. Packed with actionable insights, GROWCO can be a life-changing event. You?ll learn from mega-successful entrepreneurs whose companies have created millions of dollars of wealth and tens of thousands of jobs?and a lot more.

Seventh Annual Small Business Summit 2012
March 6, 2012, New York City

The Small Business Summit is New York?s premier event for small business owners looking to network with other decision-makers, attend cutting edge seminars and shop around for products & services available to help their small businesses succeed. You?ll network with 500+ attendees, hear from small business experts in exciting presentations and panel discussions, and have a great lunch. The winner of the Small Business Strategy Award will be announced live, plus great raffles and giveaways.

Early Bird Registration Rate of $149 through February 24th.

Geek Girl Cape Cod Boot Camp 2012
March 17, 2012, Cape Cod, MA

Whether you are a beginner newbie who needs hand-holding on all things computer, to the intermediate self-starter entrepreneur who needs some new tools, to you entirely tuned-in code toads looking to learn, there is a workshop for you at this bootcamp. See website for full list of sessions.

2012 Ohio Business Matchmaker
March 20-21, 2012, Dayton, OH

The Ohio Business Matchmaker 2012 event is a unique opportunity for exhibitors, purchasing agents (buyers), trainers, and small business owners (suppliers of goods and services) to come together.

More than 1,300 small business owners who represent small, minority, service-disabled veteran-owned, veteran-owned, HUBZone, women-owned businesses, and approximately 250 purchasing representatives from city, state, county, and federal agencies will be participating this year. Prime contractors and other organizations with a combined purchasing budget representing hundreds of millions of dollars in opportunities will attend as well.

In addition to one-on-one matchmaking meetings, this event will offer exhibitors networking opportunities and workshops covering current topics vital to small business success such as Selling to the Government, Doing Business with Federal Government Prime Contractors, SBA Policy Updates, and Surety Bonding.

Social Tech ?12
March 29-30, 2012, Seattle

Social media marketing is no longer an option for B2B?it?s an absolute necessity. Luckily, we?ve got you covered with over 25 of the leading experts who will teach you how to use social media marketing to generate more inbound leads, grow brand awareness, drive conversions, and increase revenue. You?ll meet with industry insiders as well as other B2B marketers to discuss best practices, winning techniques, current roadblocks, and find out what works for your business!

Infusioncon 2012
April 2-4, Phoenix, AZ

Get ready to learn, network and set new ideas in motion! Join hundreds of small businesses from all around the world at InfusionCon 2012, Infusionsoft?s annual user conference, and experience three days of idea sharing and inspiration in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona on April 2-4.

Innovation Uncensored
April 18, 2012, New York City

Where provocative thinkers collide and engage in meaningful, unexpected conversations. At this event, participants from various industries are charged with sharing smart techniques and exploring the next generation of innovative ideas that are shaping our world.

Confab: The Content Strategy Conference
May 14-16, 2012, Minneapolis

Deep dives. Conceptual discussions. Practical application. Whether you?re a seasoned content vet or new to the game, Confab has something for you. You?re sure to walk away with not only new insights and discoveries, but also the ability to actually DO something with them. A mixed agenda format will offer attendees a variety of ways to engage with and employ the innovative ideas that come from the scintillating content and unexpected environment.

The event content is aimed toward anyone who thinks of themselves as an innovative business leader including but not limited to the fields of technology, design, marketing, entertainment, venture capitalism, energy, infrastructure, non-profits and brand executives.

America?s Small Business Summit 2012
May 21-23, 2012, Washington, DC

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce?s annual event ? America?s Small Business Summit ? unites small business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs from across the country to learn, network, and discuss common legislative and management concerns. Past speakers include former President George W. Bush, General Stanley McChrystal, Small Business Editor of the WSJ Colleen DeBaise, and many more. Attendees help influence our nation?s economic and political agenda by advocating for pro-business policies through the Rally on the Hill portion of the program. The event will take place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., on May 21-23, 2012. For more information and important dates, check the Summit website, www.uschambersummit.com.

8th Annual Kentucky Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference
June 1, 2012, Louisville, KY

The Annual Kentucky Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference (8th KIEC) will bring together distinguished speakers, tech-based economic development practitioners, researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, students and postdoctoral fellows.

The conference will focus on growing local initiatives powered by science and engineering talent.

2012 Veteran Entrepreneur Training Symposium
June 11-14, 2012, Reno, NV

Designed by Veteran small business owners for Veteran small business owners, VETS2012 brings government agencies, industry leaders and Veteran entrepreneurs together in a small, intimate forum to discuss the questions you need answered.

To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit the Small Business Events Calendar.

If you are putting on a small business event or contest, and want to get the word out, please submit it through our Events & Contests Submission Form (it?s free). Only events of interest to small business people, freelancers and entrepreneurs will be included.

Brought to you as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.

About the Author

Laura Leites is managing editor of SmallBizTechnology. In addition to writing about technology tools for SMBs, Laura manages the day-to-day operations of Smallbiztechnology.com. She also produces their live and virtual events, including the Taste of Technology Small Business Series.

Connect with Laura Leites:

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Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/01/134629.html

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