As much as it’s possible to know anything about a company before it’s had the press conference, we know Samsung’s got wearable ambitions. In addition to a pair of Bragi-like wireless earbuds, the firm is putting the finishing touches to an updated ve…
OnePlus doesn’t think that last year’s VR launch for the OnePlus 2 was just a gimmick… in fact, it’s ramping things up. The fledgling smartphone maker has unveiled its own VR headset, the Loop VR, and it’s giving away 30,000 units for free (plus s…
Not too long ago, we talked a bit about that cube-shaped Borg coffee mug that made resisting coffee futile. If you want a more traditionally shaped cup for your brew, check out this one. It’s called the Star Trek Beam Me Up Heat Change Ceramic Travel mug.
It has the Starfleet insignia on one side. On the other side is an empty transporter of the vintage from the original series. When you add hot liquid, Captain Kirk materializes. You could really mix up your Treks if you make Kirk materialize with “Tea, Earl Grey, hot.” The mug also has a lid to keep you from spilling your hot coffee in your lap when you hit warp speed.
Set a course for ThinkGeek to get your mug today.
Meet Ziro, a robotics kit that lets you build all sorts of vehicles using a few motors, a smartphone, a glove and your imagination. Ziro’s default kit comes with four wireless motors and enough pieces to build a small car. You can now back this project on Indiegogo.
I’ve talked with ZeroUI, the company behind Ziro a few weeks ago. Their prototype was already working Read More
The company behind a device that helps parents enforce their home’s internet rules and restrictions, Circle with Disney, launched last winter in partnership with Disney for its included media content, will now allow parents to manage children’s devices outside the home. The company announced this morning the launch of a subscription-based companion service called Circle Go that… Read More
YORK, Pa. (AP) — A central Pennsylvania high school student barred from attending prom at her Catholic high school because she wore a suit rather than a dress has had her prom night — at a different school.
Aniya Wolf, a student at Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, attended William Penn High School’s prom Saturday at a banquet hall in York.
Wolf says she learned at the last moment that girls were required to wear dresses to Bishop McDevitt’s prom. She went anyway but was thrown out. The school says the dress code was sent to parents three months earlier.
William Penn principal Brandon Carter says he invited Wolf because “we do embrace all.” Wolf says she has worn a shirt and pants for all three years she has attended her school.
Read more about the original story here.
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Photo: oshoworld.com
Osho is the most dynamic masters in the history of modern spirituality. He had inside out knowledge of spiritual science and process of connecting with the masters. His works that can be found in the books, videos and internet depict that he had mastered all the paths that have ever been followed by those seeking self-realization. Osho’s work are one of the best for the seekers of enlightenment or God-realization who can’t relate to religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Islam or Buddhism.
Today, his guided meditation system and sutras to attain the absolute are available across the camps and resorts established under his name by his disciples.
Consciousness is the basis of everything we are. Without the presence of consciousness, we are mere corpses devoid of any power, beauty, truth or life. Shiva, Rama, Christ and Allah are nothing but different names of this same consciousness that abides in everything that exists. Without it, nothing can be.
Each of us are this pure energy/Shiva that is entangled with different modes of material nature. Basis of all the good things is this energy/consciousness. Those who are not connected with this source remain bound like the stone, unable to express their true nature which is infinite beauty, infinite power, limitless love and all other things that people seek.
Matter is activated by this energy which is otherwise just a corpse. Scientists can invent all kind of things and do all kinds of magic, but no one can make this energy which goes by different names like Spirit, soul and different names of God. This absolute cause which pervades everything in the universe which is that component smaller than the smaller, bigger than the biggest, unthinkable, unknowable truth called Vishnu by Vaishnavas, Shiva by Shaivites, Christ by Christians and Allah by Moslems.
Guided meditation techniques are the processes that help one connect with this source without which even the most powerful and intelligent being/creation can’t move. Even if a person comes in touch with this self that exists within us once in his lifetime, he becomes qualified for the moksha/liberation that Hindoos fight so hard for. Different religions and rituals are just the methods created by highly qualified masters to bring us in touch with this Self. One devoid of religion slowly loses this power through the decay of his body by karmic effects and finally dies or is killed by different agents of the cosmos like the government forces who are just representatives of Ishwara.
One who hates this self within or without which is as alive as the moving air, flowing river which is source of everything, cause of all causes is thrown into deluded wombs in the family of demons or low-class animals. Those who seek wisdom and self-knowledge rise slowly through many life times travelling in different wombs of animals, plants and humans into house of pious or prosperous or house of yogis thereby working towards final salvation and freedom from the cycle of repeated births and deaths.
Life work can become a source of bondage or liberation. Works or duties carried out without any expectations or as a service lead to dawn of self-knowledge and liberation while actions performed for personal goals create greater bondage and harm in the long run. Without activities, body maintenance is not possible while even small scale activity like drinking water for own pleasure causes bondage of jiva. Sages are very cautious thus to perform every action in the spirit of yagya/sacrifice to the limitless Ishwara thus remaining pure from the chains of births and deaths.
One can purify himself by performing their regular duties and work without any expectations or in the spirit of sacrifice. Self-within can be perceived in the process of this purification. Works done by people of pure conscience are far superior than those by deluded people. Mind in touch with Ishwara is steady at all times while minds of people seeking pleasure and material things loses its stability thus destroying themselves. People following the tenets of religions are far calmer and stable than people without religion.
At an advanced stage of God realization, individuals can drop all religions as he is established in his own self and knows exactly what is to be done or not done. This is the ultimate stage of self-realization called Brahmee or super-conscious state that one is no longer separate from the absolute. Shiva, Rama, Christ, Krishna and other avatars are individuals united with the absolute which is our original position. There’s nothing better than coming in contact with our original self daily while performing our worldly duties in the spiritual frame of mind.
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Periscope is all about exploring the world through someone else. It’s about being able to see someone else’s world. There are so many different streams available to choose from. Salespeople can learn a lot from the success of this live streaming platform.
You are going to learn some crucial lessons that salespeople should take away from the success of Periscope.
Do you know why Periscope has become so successful with over ten million registered users?
It took advantage of a growing trend in marketing. Video become popular and live streaming was a natural extension of that. It saw attention grabbing Tweets and mass Facebook trends everywhere, promoting the benefits of live streaming. Periscope was a pioneer.
The characteristic of successful entrepreneurs and salespeople is taking advantage of the trends. They should always try to be on the cutting edge of their industry.
Sometimes keeping it simple is very much like being an Olympic athlete. An athlete succeeds through performing the same simple action over and over again. No matter how far sports science comes, the underlying principles remain the same. You have to keep things simple if you are going to resonate with your target audience.
Periscope was a pioneer, and therefore, they had to explain to people exactly what they did. They had to acquire trust to generate customers for the first time. And they did this through saying that they allow you to explore the world through someone else.
When you are trying to sell to another business or a member of the general public, you need to go out of your way to explain what you do and what you are selling in a way that even the simplest person could understand.
Periscope has taken video marketing to a whole new level because everything about it is portable. And that means anyone can take advantage of their services from their mobile devices.
Salespeople have been told time and time again that they need to begin investing in video marketing. And Periscope has reinforced this point. People love video because it can say far more than an image or written content. Since people have shorter attention spans than ever before, it’s the one medium that can make your message resonate.
If you are not yet taking advantage of video, now is the time because video is here to stay.
Periscope, if anything, has demonstrated how creative people can be. Both individuals and businesses are using live streaming for everything from live webinars to product demonstrations.
A big trend in the world of sales today is that customers want full transparency. They want to see what’s going on behind the scenes. They want to know how you really work. And salespeople are seeing huge benefits for using it to show what’s going on in the back.
For a start, it helps to defend your online reputation because you are showing your public exactly what you see. It also helps to keep people interested. It helps to keep your name lodged in their minds.
Creativity is what you need to make live streaming work. Think about the different ways that you can use to benefit from live streaming.
These four lessons have shown you how you can benefit from using Periscope. But it has had many people wondering whether this is just a trend that will disappear sometime soon. After all, these fads tend not to stick around for long.
In Periscope’s case, it has all the tools necessary to build up solid foundations. Video marketing is something that’s here to stay and live streaming is still in its infancy. There are no signs that this is going to disappear anytime soon because it’s only growing in stature.
There’s no right or wrong way to utilize Periscope. It differs depending on your industry because you have to go out of your way to find what works for you. Interact with your loyal customers and find out what they want to see from you. It’s the best way to cater to the needs of your target audience.
Once you know what you want to do, play around with Periscope for a while and learn from other live streamers. This will help you to iron out the various kinks before you go live.
How will you use Periscope today?
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The end of the month has passed. Your credit card payment was due and other bills had consumed the cash you needed to pay your credit card bill. Unfortunately, your payment was late and you incurred an overdue fee. Have you considered asking for the late fee to be waived?
Those requests succeed more often than you might think. CreditCards.com surveyed 983 credit card holders and found that 28% of respondents had asked for forgiveness on at least one late payment fee. Those respondents were successful 86% of the time in getting the fee removed.
Your credit and payment history will likely affect the decision. If you generally have a good track record of payments, credit card companies are likely to cut you some slack.
It also helps if you are between the ages of 30 and 64, according to the survey. One-third of cardholders between those ages asked for late fee waivers and were eight times more likely to have the request granted than rejected. Younger cardholders were only successful in getting late fees waived 16% of the time and older cardholders were successful only 13% of the time.
Employment status doesn’t seem to matter with respect to waiving late fees. The success rate was reasonably similar whether requestors were working part-time, full-time, or not at all. It’s in the card issuer’s interest to keep the cardholder in a position to pay bills and out of bankruptcy, and therefore they are willing to waive fees occasionally during hard times to do so. Another factor may be the increased competition in credit card issuers — the losses from forgiveness can be paid back in loyalty to the card issuer.
If you can get a late fee waived, can you also receive a lower interest rate just by asking? The survey suggests that you can. Of the 23% of respondents that asked for a reduction in their interest rate, 65% of requestors were successful. While successfully removing a fee helps you in the short term, reducing your interest rate has long-term benefits if you carry a balance on your account.
The credit card issuer will review your credit history to see if your record warrants a lower rate, so make sure that it does actually merit an interest rate break. If you wouldn’t cut yourself any slack, don’t expect the card issuer to do so. Look over your own records for anomalies like overly large balances and whether you were late on any payments. As with late fee waiver requests, credit card issuers have incentives to keep you happy and paying your bills.
Check the policy of your credit card company before asking for a lower interest rate, because your request may be interpreted as an application for new credit. A new credit check could ding your credit score and be counterproductive. If you aren’t sure, ask about the policy before inquiring about the rate.
Higher levels of income and education correlate well to greater success rates for both late fee waivers and lower interest rates. The survey found that requestors who made more than $75,000 were granted requests at a higher rate, as were college graduates. That’s logical, as both lower income and lower education levels are considered to be risk factors.
Don’t be afraid to ask for breaks from your credit card issuer if you need them. It’s not often that we get any breaks in life without asking for them. Why should we expect creditors to act any differently?
This article was provided by our partners at moneytips.com
To Read More From MoneyTips:
Law Saves $Billions In Credit Card Fees
Credit Card Fees Consumers May Not Know About
Do Your Credit Cards Measure Up?
Photo ©iStock.com/DNY59
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“Dark Pool.” The name itself suggests that something sinister is going on. The term has been featured in several works of fictional mystery, including an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in the 1960s. In the financial world, dark pools are very real, and while they may not be considered sinister, they can be dangerous for those who do not fully understand them.
Dark pools, also known as dark liquidity, are private unregulated or poorly regulated exchanges outside the standard exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ. The “dark” in the name comes from the basic lack of transparency in trades executed on these pools. As of the spring of 2014, there were 45 such exchanges in the U.S. They may be owned by broker-dealers who set up dark pools to cater to their clients, by agency brokers, or by independent electronic entities. Dark pools were estimated to account for 15% of all trades as of 2014.
The primary purpose of dark pools is to facilitate certain transactions that would be difficult to pull off in the primary exchanges. For example, dark pools can serve as matchmakers between two large institutional investors that want to buy or sell a large number of shares of a particular stock. There may not be a suitable buyer on the other side of the exchange for all of those shares, so the seller may be forced to sell in smaller blocks or wait to sell — and having tipped their hand to the large sale, the price is likely to decline in the interim.
Dark pools only report transactions after trades have been executed; thus, with a willing buyer, this large trade could be executed at a favorable price. At the same time, the companies involved save exchange fees and other costs associated with traditional exchanges. Why is that a problem? As an individual trade, nothing is wrong. However, since the price mechanisms are based on different information than the public exchange information, prices can become distorted.
Imagine that you want to buy a smaller amount of stock X, only to find out later that several hundred thousand shares of stock X are sitting in a dark pool awaiting a match for sale. If the intention to sell those shares were made public, the price would go down and your trade would be executed at a lower price. Conversely, after the dark pool sale is made and reported, the price will drop significantly — but you have already made your purchase based on available information.
Dark pools are also poorly regulated, if they are regulated at all. Private exchanges can cherry-pick information flow in the favor of larger clients, misrepresent their trading rules and method of price determination, and fail to protect proprietary data. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Attorney General can take actions after the fact in cases of wrongdoing, but they cannot really be pre-emptive.
In essence, dark pools work in the opposite fashion to standard exchanges. Public exchanges require equal access to pricing information that keeps the field level. Dark pools can intentionally obscure information to a trader’s advantage.
Dark pools are not illegal per se, and one could argue that they play a useful limited role in the overall scheme of trading. However, a dark pool that misrepresents its method of operation may be subject to legal action. Regulatory scrutiny has increased on dark pools in recent years, with recent actions against Barclays and Credit Suisse resulting in a collective $154.3 million in settlement payments split between the SEC and the New York Attorney General’s office. A summary of recent SEC actions against dark pools may be found here.
As an individual investor, you are highly unlikely to see dark pool trading, but it is possible that when you dig deep enough, you will find that some of your investments engage in dark pool trading. Should you discover that this is the case, it is up to you to decide whether to participate in that investment, and most importantly, you must properly assess its risk from both a legal and a fair-trading standpoint.
This article was provided by our partners at moneytips.com
To Read More About MoneyTips:
The Difference Between Trading and Investing
What Financial Advisors Say Are Your Biggest Investing Mistakes (Infographic)
Who Is Using Financial Robo-Advisors?
Photo ©iStock.com/2jenn
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This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
