17.11.13

Travel by Video - Venice - Italy

Venice, the world's only pedestrian city, is easily walkable, and the absence of cars makes this a particularly pleasant experience. However, walking and standing all day can also be exhausting, so it is best to pace yourself. The Rialtine islands - the 'main' part of Venice - are small enough to walk from one end to the other in about an hour, provided you don't get lost (a common occurrence).

The Most Serene Republic of Venice dates back to 827, when a Byzantine Duke moved its seat to what is now known as the Rialto, and for the following 970 years, prospered on trade and under the rule of a Roman-style Senate headed by the Doge. In 1797, the city was conquered by Napoleon, a blow from which it never recovered. The city was soon merged into Austria-Hungary, then ping-ponged back and forth between Austria and a nascent Italy, but Venice is still a monument to the glory days of the Renaissance, and historical culture still throbs powerfully in the old Italians' veins.

 venice-gondola

 Acqua alta (high water) has become a fact of life in Venice. The lagoon water level occasionally rises above the level of the squares and streets, flooding them. This can happen several times a year, at irregular intervals, usually in the colder months. Acqua alta usually lasts a few hours and coincides with high tide. You'll see raised walkways in side alleys ready to be pulled out when acqua alta hits. When the city begins to flood, sirens will sound to warn residents and businesses. If you speak fluent Italian, tune into news programs since their predictions of the times the flood begins and ends are usually on the spot. Normally, the tide rises and falls in six-hour cycles.
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Street view


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Proper pH Balance Is Critical for Good Health

Maintaining a slightly alkaline pH is key to preventing disease. The human body is an indivisible, integrated organism, not a collection of various unrelated parts. In this vein, there are various mechanisms in your body that work together to maintain a proper pH balance throughout your body.

The acidity or alkalinity of a substance is measured using pH. The pH scale runs from 0 to 14, with 0 being the most acidic, 14 being the most alkaline, and 7 being neutral. To survive, our bodies must maintain the pH very close to 7.4, which is just on the alkaline side of neutral. If your body’s pH varies too much from this ideal, it becomes difficult for various enzymes to function properly. 

 Maintaining this slightly alkaline state is a constant challenge, primarily because of the acid-forming functions that take place within the body, and the over-abundance of acid-producing foods we consume. 

 The idea that various foods influence the pH of the body isn't new. In fact, as far back as the early 1900s, numerous doctors began studying the pH-altering effects of different foods. They found that while a few foods were "neutral" in their effects, most foods were either "alkaline-producing" or "acid-producing." They also found that simply changing the diet could change the pH of the body. Not surprisingly, bringing the body's pH closer to the normal range helped patients get rid of many of their health complaints. 

 Overacidity has even been linked to the formation of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis. 

 Is Your Body Too Acidic? 
There are two ways to determine whether your body is too acidic. You can go by co-occurring symptoms, or you can do a simple at-home test. 

 Symptoms of Over-Acidity 

  • Constant fatigue 
  • Easily running out of breath 
  • Frequent sighing 
  • Muscle pain or cramping after walking short distances 
  • Often feeling like you can’t get enough air 

I've also found that when people are very acidic, their tissue levels of oxygen are so low that they have difficulty holding their breath for more than 20 seconds. The length of time you can hold your breath is one technique you can use to document the difference that occurs after adapting a more alkaline-producing diet. 

 At-Home Test for Over-Acidity 
If you can’t tell if you're too acidic using these criteria, there's a simple and fairly accurate way to test yourself. Just check the pH of your saliva using pH Hydrion test strips or paper. Saliva closely parallels the blood when it comes to pH. Compare your results to these benchmarks: 

  • Normal blood pH = 7.4 
  • Normal saliva pH = 6.5 to 7.0 

If your saliva pH consistently falls below 6.5, you are acidic. If it consistently reads above 7.0, you could be too alkaline. 

 How to Correct Your Body's pH Balance 
Eating a diet of 75–80 percent alkaline-forming foods—and minimal in acid-forming foods—is the best way to maintain a slightly alkaline pH in your body. (See a list of alkaline- and acid-forming foods.) 

 Making these changes can quickly improve your health. For even faster results, however, try juicing. Making and consuming fresh vegetable juices on a daily basis will jumpstart the process of alkalizing your body. This is why many people feel so good after they begin a juicing program. (Note: Due to the problems associated with blood sugar, I would recommend using vegetable juices and not fruit juices. Eating whole fruit affects blood sugar less because the fiber in fruit slows the body’s processing of fructose.) 

 Although switching to a more alkaline diet will benefit most everyone, there is a small percentage of the population whose bodies are actually too alkaline. The few individuals who have this condition usually suffer from calcium deposits. 

 Calcium forms when the surrounding environment is alkaline. This results in symptoms of migrating nerve and joint pain. Insomnia can also be a problem, and it is often associated with early morning stiffness. These individuals wake up stiff, but the stiffness quickly improves as muscle activity produces lactic acid. Lactic acid helps neutralize the buildup of alkaline compounds and bring the body's pH back into balance.

 by Dr. David Williams
http://www.drdavidwilliams.com/proper-pH-balance#axzz2kveftH48
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15.11.13

Most Active Stocks - Less Than $10 - Thursday Nov 14, 2013

From: Google Finance

Market Chart

NYSE MOST ACTIVE 

ODP     JCP      NOK

ALU

NASDAQ  MOST ACTIVE

 SIRI      GCVRZ      ZNGA 

JBLU     WEN      BBRY    

GALE











Dow Jones
15,876.22+54.59(0.35%)
S&P 500
1,790.62+8.62(0.48%)
Nasdaq
3,972.74+7.16(0.18%)








Click to read - Moody’s Lowers Ratings of Four U.S. Banks After Review - Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. had their senior holding company ratings lowered one level yesterday after Moody’s concluded a review of eight U.S. banks that began in August. Spokesmen for the four companies declined to comment.

 Click to read - Shares lead charge as Yellen backs easy Fed policy - World shares traded near five-year highs on Friday after a robust defense of monetary stimulus from the woman set to take over at the U.S. Federal Reserve next year, while Japanese stocks headed for their best week in almost four years.

 Click to read - With console launches, it's game time for Sony and Microsoft - The unveiling of Sony's PlayStation 4 on Nov. 15 and Microsoft's Xbox One on Nov. 22 doesn't just mark a new console cycle but is a new start of sorts for the companies: The former is trying to right the ship after years of losses, while the latter is moving to expand its empire beyond the PC desktop.

Click to read  Why Facebook Investors Should Fret That Young Teen Users are Leaving the Nest - Now, Facebook has the challenging task of creating for young teens the illusion of a cyber-community, where they will want to gather and exchange information and gossip. “Communities are valuable to companies because of the number of potential connections inherent,” said Mel Bergstein, the retired CEO of Diamond Technology Partners, a consulting group that assists companies in excelling on social media. For a company, he said, “the bottom line is, the more people in a community, the more valuable it is.”

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14.11.13

Most Active Stocks - Less Than $10 - Wednesday Nov 13, 2013

From: Google Finance

Market Chart

NYSE MOST ACTIVE 

JCP     AMD      NOK

NASDAQ  MOST ACTIVE

 ZNGA      SIRI      JBLU

BBRY     GALE      FTR

WEN











Dow Jones
15,821.63+70.96(0.45%)
S&P 500
1,782.00+14.31(0.81%)
Nasdaq
3,965.58+45.66(1.16%)








Click to read - More Americans Than Forecast File Unemployment Claims - Jobless claims in the week ended Nov. 9 declined 2,000 to 339,000 from a revised 341,000 the week before that was higher than initially reported, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The median forecast of 51 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a drop to 330,000. Applications for five states were estimated because of the Veterans Day holiday-shortened week, the Labor Department said.

 Click to read - Yellen backs Fed’s bond-buying program - Janet Yellen, President Barack Obama’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, defended the central bank’s unconventional asset purchase program, calling it the best way to get the economy back to normal.

 Click to read - With Enrollment Slow, Some Democrats Back Change in Health Law - Anxious congressional Democrats are threatening to abandon President Obama on a central element of his signature health care law, voicing increasing support for proposals that would allow Americans who are losing their health insurance coverage because of the Affordable Care Act to retain it.

Click to read  Six Critical Rules For Successful Retirement Investing - You can improve your chances of enjoying a comfortable future if you make the effort to learn about your investing choices, start planning early, keep your emotions in check and find help when you need it. While these steps may seem overly simple, a lack of action can have huge consequences for your financial future. Stay informed and engaged in your retirement planning now to reap the benefits of a well-invested retirement plan later.

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13.11.13

Most Active Stocks - Less Than $10 - Tuesday Nov 12, 2013

From: Google Finance

Market Chart

NYSE MOST ACTIVE 

JCP     NOK      AMD

NASDAQ  MOST ACTIVE

 SIRI      JBLU      ARIA

BBRY     ZNGA      WEN

TLAB











Dow Jones
15,750.67-32.43(-0.21%)
S&P 500
1,767.69-4.20(-0.24%)
Nasdaq
3,919.92+0.13(0.00%)








Click to read - Central Banks Risk Asset Bubbles in Battle With Deflation Danger - While declining costs for everything from gasoline to coffee can be good news for consumers, disinflation makes it harder for borrowers to pay off debts and businesses to boost profits. The greater danger comes when disinflation turns into deflation, which leads households to delay purchases in anticipation of even lower prices and companies to postpone investment and hiring as demand for their products dries up.

 Click to read - Active stock pickers can now beat the market - If there is one simple lesson that investors have learned over the last two decades, it is this. Very few money managers can beat the market.

 Click to read - Feds expand hunt for offshore tax evaders - U.S. authorities have widened their hunt for Americans suspected of evading taxes by hiding assets and income in offshore bank accounts.

Click to read  The Multiple Strategies Of Hedge Funds - Investors should conduct extensive due diligence before they commit money to any hedge fund, but understanding which strategies the fund uses and its risk profile is an essential first step.

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12.11.13

Most Active Stocks - Less Than $10 - Monday Nov 11, 2013

From: Google Finance

Market Chart

NYSE MOST ACTIVE 

JCP      AA      NOK

AMD

NASDAQ  MOST ACTIVE

 SIRI      ARNA      GRPN

ZLCS     ARIA      BBRY

ATML      ZNGA      DRYS

 TLAB      FTR      WEN

 WIN











Dow Jones
15,783.10+21.32(0.14%)
S&P 500
1,771.89+1.28(0.07%)
Nasdaq
3,919.79+0.56(0.01%)








Click to read - U.S. to Be Top Oil Producer by 2015 on Shale, IEA Says - The U.S. will surpass Russia as the world’s top oil producer by 2015, and be close to energy self-sufficiency in the next two decades, amid booming output from shale formations, the International Energy Agency said.

 Click to read - HealthCare.gov Enrollment Falls Far Short of Target - Fewer than 50,000 people had successfully navigated the troubled federal health-care website and enrolled in private insurance plans as of last week, two people familiar with the matter said, citing internal government data.

 Click to read - Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher: QE won't last forever - The Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus program cannot continue forever, Richard Fisher, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas told CNBC on Tuesday.

Click to read  Advanced Game Theory Strategies For Decision-Making - Game theory, the study of strategic decision-making, brings together disparate disciplines such as mathematics, psychology and philosophy. Game theory was invented by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern in 1944 and has come a long way since then. The importance of game theory to modern analysis and decision-making can be gauged by the fact that since 1970, as many as 12 leading economists and scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their contributions to game theory.

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11.11.13

Most Active Stocks - Less Than $10 - Friday Nov 8, 2013

From: Google Finance

Market Chart

NYSE MOST ACTIVE 

RF      NOK      AA

STP

NASDAQ  MOST ACTIVE

 SIRI      GCVRZ      WIN

GERN     ZNGA      ARNA

BBRY      HBAN      WEN











Dow Jones
15,761.78+167.80(1.08%)
S&P 500
1,770.61+23.46(1.34%)
Nasdaq
3,919.230.00(0.00%)








Click to read - Amazon, Postal Service team up for Sunday deliveries - The e-retailer announced Monday that it will being rolling out Sunday delivery services in Los Angeles and New York to customers who are eligible for free, two-day shipping. In 2014, the service will be expanded to the broader U.S., to include such cities as Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Phoenix.

 Click to read - Race to Bottom Resumes as Central Bankers Ease Anew: Currencies - The global currency wars are heating up again as central banks embark on a new round of easing to combat a slowdown in growth.

 Click to read - Iran nuclear talks fail: Where next for oil? - The Brent crude price of oil rose towards $106 a barrel in early trading Monday morning, following the conclusion of the weekend's meeting. Any signs that Iran is coming into the international fold, and that sanctions against the state could be lifted, are usually negative for the oil price.

Click to read  The Convertible Way To Play This Market - Investors are certainly facing a quandary. The broad market has gone up by leaps and bounds since the end of the recession. That’s worrisome. Yet, more gains could be in store as the Fed isn’t ending its easing programs. Convertible bonds are a perfect way to potentially hedge the downside risk as well as play the upside from continued swooning markets.

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