Girl texts her mom during gunman shootout in Norway

According to the Associated Press: OSLO, Norway (AP) — Over the more than 90 minutes that gunshots echoed around her, Julie Bremnes was able to call her mother just once. A crazy man was shooting, the 16-year-old said. People were dying.

Marianne Bremnes, more than 800 miles away from Friday's youth-camp massacre on the Norwegian island of Utoya, couldn't make her stay on the phone — it was too dangerous.

"I didn't know what to do," Marianne said in a telephone interview Wednesday, "other than ask her to text me."

So she did. Beginning at 5:42 p.m., Julie texted regularly while hiding along the rocky shore, trading vital information and words of love with her mother. Their full conversation follows, translated from Norwegian:

Julie: Mum, tell the police to hurry. People are dying here!

Marianne: I am working on it, Julie. The police are on their way. Do you Dare give me a call?

Julie: No.

Julie: Tell the police that a madman is running around shooting people.

Julie: They have to hurry!

Marianne: The police know about it and they have received many messages. It is going to be fine, Julie. The police are calling us now. Give us a sign of life every fifth minute, please?

Julie: OK

Julie: We are in fear of our lives!

Marianne: I understand that well, my love. Stay under cover, don't move to another place! The police are already on their way, if they have not already arrived. Do you see injured or killed?

Julie: We are hiding in the rocks along the coast.

Marianne: Good! Should I ask your grandpa to come and pick you up when everything is safe? It is your choice.

Julie: Yes

Marianne: We are contacting grandpa right away.

Julie: I love you, even though I may yell at you sometimes.

Julie: And I am not panicking, even though I'm s--- scared.

Marianne: I know that, my girl. We love you very much too. Do you still hear shooting?

Julie: No.

Marianne, at home in the northern city of Harstad, was trying to be strong.

"I had to be calm for her," the 46-year-old said. "She also remained calm so it was easier for me to remain calm.

"I heard from her every five minutes — she did what I told her to do," Marianne said. "The whole time I knew how she was and where she was. It helped me and I guess it helped her."

But Julie's ordeal wasn't over. The break in gunfire was just a lull. The gunman, dressed as a policeman, ran loose on the island for about 90 minutes while police struggled to get there from Oslo, just 25 miles (40 kilometers) away.

About 6:15 p.m., Julie offered what sounded like hopeful news — but her mother warned her to be careful:

Marianne: Have you heard anything of the others from Tromsoe? Grandpa is on his way down.

Julie: The police are here.

Marianne: The person shooting apparently wear a police uniform. Be careful! What is happening to you now?

Julie: We don't know.

Marianne: Can you talk now?

Julie: No.

Julie: He's still shooting!

Julie sent that panicked text message about 6:30 p.m., about the time Anders Behring Breivik surrendered. Breivik is accused of killing 68 people on the island and setting off a massive explosion that killed eight people outside government headquarters in Oslo earlier that afternoon.

There were several more nervous exchanges, along with some good news about a fellow camper, before Julie and her mother realized she was safe:

Marianne: Joergen has swum to shore. I have just spoken to his father.

Marianne: This is all over national news now, full attention on Utoya now. Be careful! When you get the chance, you get back to the mainland and meet grandpa from Hamar.

Julie: I am still alive.

Marianne: Thank God for that.

Julie: We are waiting for the police to pick us up.

Julie: We heard shooting just now, so we dared not walk there.

Marianne: Good! The evacuation is going on now, they're saying on TV.

Julie: We hope someone will pick you up soon. Can't they catch him soon?!!

Marianne: The anti-terror police is there, and they are working on getting him.

Marianne: Should we try to get a flight ticket home tomorrow?

Julie: I've no time to think about that now.

Marianne: I understand.

Julie: Do you know if they've got him?

Marianne: I'll keep you posted, my girl. We're following the TV constantly.

Marianne: Hey, are you there?

Julie: Yes. The helicopters are circling over us.

Marianne: Then you have been spotted?

Julie: They are looking for people in the water, they haven't picked us up yet!

Marianne said at one point, Julie emerged from her hiding place when she saw a helicopter and waved her pink rain jacket to attract attention. It wasn't the police, but a news crew that had filmed Breivik surrounded by bodies piled up on the shore and in the water.

"If she had been at the wrong spot she would have been killed," Marianne said.

Instead, by 7:01 p.m., relief for the family was nearly at hand:

Julie: What's on the news?

Marianne: The police are also on a boat to Utoya, otherwise nothing new. It is not clear what happened to the gunman, so you stay still. Wait for someone to pick you up.

Marianne: Now they've got him!

When Julie called her mother again, she was on a rescue boat. She was safe.

"And she cried," Marianne said. "I cried and she cried."

Mother and daughter were reunited Saturday evening, when Julie flew back to northern Norway with other survivors from the region.

Julie lost five friends in the shooting. Marianne said her daughter is holding up well — but she worries about the future.

"She is fine," Bremnes said. "But I don't know about the long-term aspects of it."

article directly from yahoo.com

Confessions from former Google Employee:

Check Out the Skinniest House in the World

by Suzanne Labarre

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There are skinny houses. And then there is Jakub Szczęsny's Keret House, which could make Calista Flockhart look like a fatty. At its most generous, the proposed place, in Warsaw, Poland, will clock in at 4 feet wide. At its narrowest, it'll be just 28 inches wide -- thinner than the average doorway. And we complain about our sardine can in New York...

More from Fast Company: • The Best Strategy for Big Innovation: Knowing Your Limits • Why Can't All TV Remotes Be This Good? • Redesigning Cubicles

The house (officially an "art installation," because it doesn't meet Polish building code) is slated to fill a crack between a pair of buildings in Warsaw's Wola district. When construction's finished in December, it'll be the thinnest house in Warsaw and possibly the whole world. We did a quick Google search and couldn't find anything leaner.
Szczęsny designed the house to be a work space and home for Israeli writer Etgar Keret. It'll also be a "studio for invited guests -- young creators and intellectualists from all over the world." If, that is, they're willing to drop half their body weight to fit inside.

ArchDaily.com

Kidding, kidding. In all seriousness, though, the house is a pretty remarkable feat of architecture. If everything goes according to plan, Szczęsny will manage to squeeze in designated rooms for sleeping, eating, and working. The place will have off-grid plumbing inspired by boat sewage technology and electricity lifted from a neighbor. To save space, the entry stairs will fold up at the press of a button and become part of the first floor.
Aesthetically, the Keret House isn't gonna win any beauty contests. It's been compared to everything from a pregnancy test to a sanitary napkin. (Our vote is for "pregnancy test.") Our biggest concern, though, is that it's hardly got any windows. How's it going to "produce creative work conditions," as ArchDaily reports, and "become a significant platform for world intellectual exchange," if it feels like a sensory deprivation chamber? Won't Keret go insane? But maybe that's the point. It's not like he'd be the first artist to benefit from going crazy.

ArchDaily.com

article directly from yahoo.com

Would a businessman be a better choice than a politician for president?

      Article By Adrian B- The US needs a change, not a party change or congressional change necessarily, but a complete philosophy change...the country needs someone who's...well, not a politician for starters. Politician is an awful word that should be banned from the dictionary. In any case, America needs a change and I don't mean some Washington big-shot who promises to change everything by "will-power and determination" or "because I said so". Blah, blah, blah...we've all heard that before. The US is in deep water and treading on thin ice, with no answers in sight. The Republicans nor the Democrats seem to have the answer to the economy's woes. So what is the solution? It's time to turn the tables and let a successful entrepreneur get into office. Imagine having someone in office who actually knows how to run an enterprise, and not just a smooth talking politician; someone who actually cares about fixing the financial crisis and not just cover it up.

      Speaking for myself, I kind of got excited about the rumors of Donald Trump running for President, just because of his financial expertise. In his book, if 2+2= (-$2,895,345,560,032.44) then it's time for a change and a budget cut. Why is it that politicians don't see that? Trump has been a proven, successful billionaire that knows how to balance a budget and knows when it's time to scale back spending. The philosophy of "let's borrow more to pay what we owe(debt ceiling) and so we can keep doing what we've been doing" is mind boggling, and the US government can't seem to grasp it. Why don't you try the government's philosophy by telling Uncle Sam that your business is not successful and owes tons of money, but you want them to foot the bill so all your people can get raises and you can keep running your money-sucking, unprofitable corporation...right! All of that boils down to change. We need a real change and since Donald Trump threw his name out there, I think it might be worth the consideration. As far as his other attributes and qualifications are concerned I'm not sure, but his business success is a great start. Even if he's not all that experienced on other matters, that's what advisers are for...besides since when did qualifications matter in a presidential election. Anyway, with all the fighting over the debt ceiling, I thought it appropriate to bring up an alternative to our crisis. Even if not Trump, get an entrepreneur in office!

9 Ideas That Made $100 Million

Article by Michelle Fox

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More from CNBC.com: • 10 Ideas That Made $100 Million • CEOs Who Went From Rags to Riches • Million Dollar Homes Across America 2011

 
Chances are, just about anyone you talk to will have an idea for a business with the hopes that one day it will help them make millions. Although business ideas may be easy to come by, turning those ideas into huge successes is an entirely different ballgame. However, many entrepreneurs with simple ideas and humble beginnings have been able to effectively turn those ideas into booming businesses.
Sara Blakely, Spanx

Photo: Joe Kohen

One night, Sara Blakely cut off the bottom off her pantyhose and the idea of Spanx was born. Armed with $5,000 in savings, Blakely researched and wrote her patent for footless pantyhose and drove around North Carolina begging mill owners to make her product. Most told her it would never sell, but one owner decided to take a chance and help her make her "crazy idea."
In 2000, her prototype was perfected and she started hitting up high-end department store buyers. In the first three months, she sold more than 50,000 pairs from the back of her apartment. Now that "crazy idea" has Blakely soaring. Spanx has grown to include a full range of body-slimming undergarments, bathing suits and active wear. Retail sales were an estimated $350 million in 2008, the last time the company released figures.

1-800-GOT-JUNK

Brian Scudamore, 1-800-GOT-JUNK
In 1989, Brian Scudamore was waiting in line at a McDonald's drive-through when a local hauling company's old pickup truck caught his eye. Inspiration struck and Scudamore bought a used pickup truck for $700 and started The Rubbish Boys. He began by picking up junk in between his classes at the University of British Columbia, but what started as a way to pay for college soon turned into a unique business.

In 1993, he dropped out of school to focus full-time on the company. In 1998, he changed the name to 1-800-GOT-JUNK and a year later the first franchise opened in Canada. Now there are locations all over North America and Australia. The company hit more than $100 million in system-wide revenues in 2007 and 2008, and its goal for 2010 is $105 million.

Pillow Pets

Jennifer Telfer, Pillow Pets
The idea for Pillow Pets dawned on Jennifer Telfer after watching her young sons smash down their stuffed animals in order to sleep on them like a pillow. So she set about creating stuffed animals that unfolded into plush pillows.

Telfer and her husband, Clint, decided to wholesale the products themselves in 2003 through their company, CJ Products. She began by hawking them at a mall kiosk during the holiday season, and then at a home show two weeks after Christmas. When the products nearly sold out, Telfer realized she was onto something. The cuddly toy has since exploded into the marketplace, bringing in $300 million in sales in 2010.

Ivica Pavlesic

Bert and John Jacobs, Life is good
Bert and John Jacobs designed their first T-shirts in 1989 and hawked them on the streets of Boston and at colleges along the East Coast. But for five years, success eluded them. Then, in 1994, they struck upon the idea to use a design of a cartoon figure called Jake and the motto "Life is good."

People seemed to embrace the simple message of optimism--the shirts were a hit at a local street fair and retailers soon became interested. Now, Jake's face and motto are on more than just shirts. You can find him and other characters smiling on products from towels and totes to coffee mugs and dog leashes. And life sure is good now for Bert and John Jacobs. Business is booming, with 2010 sales coming in at about $100 million.

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Steve Ells, Chipotle
Steve Ells was working as a chef in San Francisco when he decided he wanted to open his own restaurant. Ells found his inspiration in an unusual place--the little taco shops he used frequent in the city. He decided to take that idea and make a burrito restaurant that was different from a typical fast-food experience.

Ells wanted a place where customers could eat food made of the finest ingredients quickly and affordably. After borrowing money from his parents, he opened his first Chipotle in Denver in 1993. It was so successful that Ells abandoned his /;real dream" of opening a full-scale restaurant. Now, more than 1,000 restaurants later, Chipotle is raking in the bucks. The company reported $509.4 million in revenue for the first quarter of 2011 alone.

Method

Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan, Method
The idea for an environmentally friendly household cleaner came to Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan when they were roommates in their San Francisco apartment. They noticed that when it came time to clean up from their house parties, the products they used would make them cough. The situation made them wonder whether the products they were using were dirtier than the mess they were trying to clean.

At the time, there weren't many choices when it came to cleaning products that didn't contain harsh chemicals. So, Lowry and Ryan did some research and launched Method, an eco-friendly line of home-care products in 2000. Ten years later, the products are on store shelves across the country and the company has gross revenues north of $100 million.

Theo Wargo, WireImage/Getty Images

Roxanne Quimby and Burt Shavitz, Burt's Bees
Burt Shavitz was selling honey off the back of his pickup truck and Roxanne Quimby was an out-of-work waitress trying to make a living at flea markets and yard sales when the two met in 1984. They teamed up to make candles from beeswax to sell at craft fairs and soon expanded to stores.

Things really took off when Quimby found a 19th century book of homemade personal-care recipes. They soon started cooking up natural soaps and perfumes on gas stoves. But their best-selling idea came in the form of lip balm, which they added to the product line in 1991. Burt's Bees now sells more than 100 skin and hair-care items, but it has quit making the candles that got the business started. The company's sales topped $250 million in 2007, and Clorox ponied up $925 million to by the company at the end of that year.

Roger Kisby, Getty Images

Jim McCann, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM
Jim McCann was a bartender and a social worker who was looking for a way to supplement his income when he bought a flower shop for $10,000 in 1976. He eventually opened 13 more stores in the New York Metropolitan area, but it wasn't until he hit upon the idea to acquire the 1-800-FLOWERS phone number in 1986 that business really bloomed.

The company was the first to put an 800-telephone number in its name, and McCann's marketing idea paid off. He also made sure technology didn't leave him behind, seizing the Internet opportunity as early as 1991. In 1999, 1-800-FLOWERS went public and added the dot-com to its name. The company, which has also expanded by acquiring companies such as The Popcorn Factory and Fannie May, reported almost $668 million in total revenue in fiscal year 2010.

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Gary and Diane Heavin, Curves
Gary and Diane Heavin opened their first Curves in 1992 with the idea of targeting women who were not being by served conventional gyms. Their idea was to create a place that would give women a supportive and comfortable atmosphere. The couple also focused on busy women's time constraints with their 30-minute fitness concept.

The fitness club caught on quickly and the business soon expanded. Curves franchised a few years later and now there are nearly 10,000 locations around the globe. System-wide revenue reached about $1 billion in 2010.

*article directly from yahoo.com

Will Google's social network overthrow facebook?

     Google + (still in beta), the brand new social network site, is gaining momentum fast. Though limited to "invitation only", it already has upwards of 15 million users. Google fans around the globe are salivating at the thought of a Google powered social network. With Google's power and money, they could prove to be a worthy opponent for Facebook. It could also spoil Facebook's plan to go public next summer, with one of the biggest IPO's (projected at $100Billion). Google + could potentially steal millions of users from Facebook, just as Facebook did from MySpace. Though Google + has yet to prove itself, Google can "do no wrong" or so it seems. If Google succeeds with this project, it could give their stock  even more momentum than it already has, possibly pushing it over it's all time high. For all those interested, there is no projected release date for the new social network site, but don't worry- when it's released there will be plenty of publicity.

If you haven't watched it yet, be sure to add it to your list:

Top 10 vacation spots we recommend: #9

#9 Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a great destination for the family

     Orlando is an ever popular tourist spot in Northeast Florida and number nine on our list. With tons of activities to participate in with family or friends; you won't run out of options. Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Studios,  and Sea World are among a few of the major attractions to check out. If you've never been there, mark it down as one of your prospective travel destinations. One small recommendation though, don't go in August or you might be in for a big surprise. It can get pretty humid. Click on the link below to see more information on Orlando vacations.

Vacation homes, and Disney World Packages. See all of our Orlando Vacation Specials.

Walt Disney World Resort Universal Studios Orlando Sea World Orlando Discount Disney World Tickets Disney World is the largest and most popular theme park in the World. It consists of four major theme parks, two water parks, a couple of golf courses, an indoor theme park and much more. Please click here for more information on planning a Disney World Vacation. Discount Universal Studios Tickets Universal Studios Orlando is growing faster than any other park in Orlando. In the Spring of 2010 Universal Studios will unveil their 3rd theme park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Please click here for more information on Planning a Universal Studios Vacation. Discount Sea World Orlando Tickets Sea World Orlando is part theme park, part aquatic zoo, and part animal hospital. If you are coming to Orlando, FL then you have to visit Shamu, SeaWorld’s famous killer whale. Please click here for more information on Planning a Sea World Vacation.

Tiger, lookout!

Six-year-old girl makes improbable hole-in-one

By Shane Bacon

I hope you're ready for one of the coolest, and cutest, stories you'll read all day. A 6-year-old girl named Reagan Kennedy was playing golf with her family at a course in Bloomington, Ill., when the youngster knocked her tee shot on the 85-yard par-3 in the cup for an ace.

What did Reagan do to celebrate? Absolutely nothing. Why? Because her parents had kindly asked her not to be too loud on the golf course while they were playing, so as not to disturb others.

After Reagan walked calmly to the golf cart, her family explained this was the one time it was fine to yell all she wanted.

As a man that has been around two aces between friends in the last year, I will say, no matter the age, going crazy when the ball disappears is almost a must, but I liked that Reagan made sure to respect the game even when she did the unthinkable.

Was it just a fluke for her? Not really. This is a young lady that has been golfing since the age of 2, and said she wants to be a professional, but her main goal right now is to "beat daddy."

 article directly from yahoo.com

Sport's Update: Jeter's amazing record hit

    On July 9th, Derek Jeter reached a milestone in style. He became only the 28th player to reach 3,000 hits in his career...but he is only the second player ever to reach it with a home run and he  got to do it at home .  The other man who did it was Wade Boggs. He ended the monumental day going 5 for 5...not too shabby. Even for those who don't like him...they've got to respect all his accomplishments. Congrats Jeter on a major milestone!

Linked In soars high with little explanation

       Linked In (LNKD) is nearing it's highest value since the IPO opened, which it reached within the first few hours of the first day. After going up $8.37 on Wednesday, the stock closed at $107.87 and with no signs of a slow down. With LNKD it is hard to say whether or not it is a good buy. Nothing seems to indicate either way. Wednesdays surge may have come as a result of Linked In surpassing Myspace in social networking rankings. Some analysts put it in the $75 range by mid-August. It does appear over-inflated and the bubble could burst leaving a lot of investors hung out to dry. If it doesn't pop, investors will be very happy. Keep your eyes on Linked In. Don't forget about the upcoming IPO Groupon, it has the potential to come out of the gate full speed. Do you think Linked In is for real? Is it worth the risk?

Three blasts rock Mumbai

      Terrorists are believed to be behind the attacks in Mumbai, India on Wednesday evening. According to the AP, three blasts went off in a neighborhood of  Dadar, killing 10 people and injuring dozens more. The scene was a mess with police trying to control the situation, while medical crews tried to get to the wounded, taking them to hospitals in cargo trucks and ambulances. The recent attack has brought back bitter memories of the attack on a Mumbai Train Station back in 2002. It has also caused officials to rethink security regarding India's future. With India rising up as one of the world's newest business giants, these attacks could sink it back down into poverty.

Sports Update: Kobe challanges a teen trash-talker to a one-on-one game!

What's the deal with Amazon's stock?

Amazon.com Soars High

      What's the deal with Amazon? With no clear explanation, their stock (amzn) continues to soar. On Friday Amazon reached a new high and the top appears no where in sight. While some analysts tend to lean more to buying into Amazon, others are skeptical. It's unusual success in this bearish market could be a positive sign for online powerhouse. Keep your eye on it and definitely add it to your watch list. However, for the small investor $218 per share is a little steep. If you are new to investing and you are starting off small, this may not be the way to go since $1,000 may only buy you about 4 shares. That means you only make $4 for each  dollar (or point) the stock goes up. After the fees it would have to go up about $5 before you broke even. Brokerage companies such as etrade, or scottrade, ameritrade all range between $7-$10 a trade unless you are a power investor and you make over 100+ trades monthly.

 Be sure to check out my article: 

3 Rules to Smart Investing

Thursday a fan dies after falling from the stands at a Texas Rangers game:

     A tragic and rare event occurred last night, when a fan reached over a railing to catch a ball thrown  into the stands by Ranger outfielder, Josh Hamilton. The fan leaned out and lost his footing, causing him to tumble over the railing and land head first on the ground below. He was taken to a local hospital where he soon passed away. We have provided some footage of the event.

Read an excerpt from my book:

      I have written a book about the war on terror and will hopefully be publishing it soon. I would like to give my readers a chance to view a few pages of my book. Just click the link provided below. I would like to get feedback after you have read it. Please check the boxes below if you liked the excerpt. Thank you for your time.

"Blacksheep: The Beginning" Excerpt

Top 10 vacation spots we recommend: #10

#10 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Beautiful, beachfront hotel in Myrtle Beach

       We will be listing the top ten vacation spots that we recommend our viewers to visit. Number 10 on our list is Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Myrtle Beach is a beautiful, vacation spot right on the Atlantic Ocean. This city is a hotspot for tourist and beach goers. We've listed a few things to do in Myrtle Beach. For more information click the links or pictures below:

Brookgreen Gardens

The expansive grounds of Brookgreen Gardens, including a zoo and educational center, are a hidden gem along the Grand Strand. Check out the beautiful foliage, sculpture gardens and animals at Brookgreen. 
 

Getaway Adventure Cruises

Take a ride and get ready for some amazing sightseeing opportunities on the water. Getaway Adventure Cruises offer picnic lunch cruises, sunset cruises and can be hired for private cruises.
 

The Palace Theatre

The Palace Theatre, located at Broadway at the Beach, hosts broadway theater productions, musicals and more. It is home to Le Grande Cirque, a magical display of acrobatics, humor and music that will entertain the whole family. 
 

Ripley's Aquarium

Wow your kids with a trip to Ripley's Aquarium at Broadway at the Beach. Get up close and personal with sharks, stingrays and other saltwater fish in the underwater tunnel through the aquarium.

Lockout? You've got to be kidding!

      By Adrian B- With the NFL still deep in "talks" and not very close to a resolution, the NBA is gearing up for it's own full-fledged lockout. Fans everywhere are getting pretty sick of the nonsense. The owners want more revenue while the players want a bigger piece of the pie as well...this ads up to a stale mate. As the NFL season approaches and team practices are meager, even if  the league comes to an agreement in the near future, the season may be filled with injuries and amateur play due to the players lack of motivation to get in shape and get ready for the season. Fans are not impressed with the two sides bickering over salary. With the NFL near the peak of its popularity, a lockout would have a devastating repercussion. Fans want football...not cry baby millionaires and billionaires.

     The NBA also very popular, will suffer greatly from an impending lockout. A simultaneous lockout of the NBA and the NFL would be a horrific nightmare for the avid sports fans. It may on the other hand, be a  good thing and bring both sides back to earth. Athlete's salaries across the boards are out of control.  For the NBA, the Dallas-Miami series made the championship, one to be remembered, and arguably one of the most exciting series ever. The NBA has been in desperate need of support, and just when it was making a comeback, the fans will (more than likely) once again be sorely disappointed.

      Do you think that either league will come to an agreement? What will become of the two leagues? Is Baseball next?

Take your pick and see which one is more popular:

Lessons I've Learned in Real Estate:

Where do I begin?

    Contributed by Alfred- I recently interviewed Alfred, a resident and entrepreneur from  Northwest Indiana, trying to get him to reveal some of the secrets of his success in real estate. He rents properties as well as flips homes and has done it successfully. During our interview, I managed to learn a lot of great tips in successful, real estate investing. 

    The first topic topic we discussed was "finding a house". How do you find a house to buy? Where do you begin to look? He suggested the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) as a good place to start. The MLS lists all the houses that are for sale in your area, with a few minor exceptions. He picks 75-100 homes and begins to narrow them down. His strategy involves strictly buying foreclosures ranging from $20-$100K(depending on the area), fixing them up and selling them for a nice profit. It sounds simple, but real estate can be tricky and you need excellent agents, loan officers, contractors, and brokers. They can make or break a real estate investment.
     Once narrowed down to a few houses...he personally goes out and looks them over, then he narrows it down to one home. Once he performs a brief inspection on his final choice, he then hires a professional inspector to look for damage to key spots in the house; such as the foundation, the roof, or termites in the studs. Those are probably the three  biggest turn offs of a foreclosure purchase. After the inspector okay's the home and assures him that none of the big three problems exist, he proceeds to meet with his agent to begin the purchasing process. However, before finalizing his decision on a house he checks into the yearly property taxes. This is huge and often overlooked by real estate investors. Investors can end up finding themselves drowning in taxes after they purchase the foreclosure and can lead to losing the house. (FYI: you must also realize that the taxes will be higher than their previously listed price since the house will not  be owner occupied.)

     

  ***Please check back for the second segment of "Lessons I've Learned in Real Estate"***

Thank you Alfred for your contribution to W.S.I.

Please feel free to comment below regarding any questions you may have.

God Bless the Soldiers of the Armed Forces!

Happy 4th of July!!!

     We would like to take a moment to thank all those who have served in the armed forces. We couldn't enjoy the freedoms that we have today if not for the sacrifice of men and women willing to die for their country. I hope you will take the time to be thankful for the soldiers who have served in the past or those who currently serve, whether at home or overseas. We also would like to thank the families of those soldiers for their sacrifice as well. We appreciate their willingness to give up their loved ones to military service. May we never forget the prices they have paid, and lives that were lost, so that we can live freely in the USA. God Bless the USA!!!

Please watch one of these two videos in honor of our soldiers:

Song in both videos: "God Bless the USA" is sung by Lee Greenwood

Can you make money blogging? Part 2

In case you didn't read the first segment, click here>>> Can you make money blogging? Part 1

       By Adrian B- In the first segment we discussed the basics of blogging, picking topics, the importance of keeping up with your blog. In this segment we will discuss getting ads on your site and getting other peripherals on your blog. First let's discuss peripherals, add-ons and gadgets. Along with articles, a blog should have other interactive "stuff", for lack of a better word. It should have something like polls, click-able icons, games, free downloads, job opportunities, sports updates, stock updates, picture slide-shows or other things that will provide daily interactivity. People like to go on sites where there is good information, interaction and where they can voice there opinion...everyone likes to say what they think. There are tons of apps that you can place on your site for free...some will even make you money, and money is always a good thing. Next, you should always make it easy for others to share your articles or to email it to a friend, all of that should be able to be done right from your blog. Now let's get into placing ads on your blog. The most popular and maybe the most lucrative, in my opinion, is the Google's Adsense...not to be confused with Adwords. They are totally separate. Adsense does all the ad placement on your site. I know what you're thinking. How does Adsense choose what ads to put on my site? Adsense basically scans your blog and based on keywords within the articles or titles and then places relevant ads accordingly. For instance, if you post an article about a awesome sports car you liked, ads such as "custom tint" or "buy a 2011 Camaro" or "Autozone" might appear on your page. Google Adsense does have some stipulations that you will need to comply with so you don't get banned from Adsense. There are other companies out there that offer free advertising: Clicksor, Adbrite, Bidvertiser and others. Google's is the most well known of all the ad options and can definitely be trusted. I caution you not to go too crazy on the amount of ads on your page...an overwhelming barrage of ads may deter people from coming back and may slow your site down considerably.
     So what are the cons of blogging and does it cost anything? There is one potentially big con...it takes a lot of time, especially at first because you are trying to get a lot on your blog to attract viewers and keep them on your site for more than 30 seconds. However, your Google blog can be synced with your cell phone so you can text articles and they will post on your web page (not recommended too often). The other con is that the ratio of time to income is horrible at first until you can get a consistent, high volume of traffic. Regarding cost...it's totally free. Google Blogger is completely free. So you can breathe a sigh of relief. Oh, and on top of that, you can be completely "web design illiterate" and still succeed at blogging. Back to the cost subject, I would recommend eventually switching to a real website later once you have too many people visiting the site and it's severely lagging, then and only then would there be costs for web hosting and domain name purchase. Don't worry, even then it's not much per month...maybe $5-$15 per month. It's very affordable to most anyone. The downside is that things to get a little more complex when you do that, but don't let that scare you from starting a blog.
    I hope this has helped anyone interested in potentially blogging.  

Please check back for "Part 3" and feel free to comment or email any questions you may have.

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China's Jiaozhou Bay Bridge- World's Longest!

    The Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is a whopping 26 miles long! This amazing architectural phenomenon is quite the achievement. It completely dwarfs all the other bridges that  it rivals. In fact, the bridge is so long that the human eye cannot see it from end to end. It simply disappears off into the distance.

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$100 Million Dollar ATM Receipt Found!

$99,864,731 Receipt found at ATM

Article directly from yahoo.com- "Scrooge McDuck lives. An ATM receipt showing a balance of nearly $100 million dollars was discovered at an East Hampton Village bank.

A customer found the receipt hanging out of the ATM's slot. The customer who found the receipt showed it to financial blog Dealbreaker.com. The receipt, dated June 18, doesn't list the account holder's name but does indicate that the person has $99,864,731.94 in a personal savings account (that's after a $400 withdrawal and a $2.75 service charge). The East Hamptons is a well known playground for the very wealthy.

Is the receipt a mistake of some kind? Perhaps. Anyone with that amount of cash would know that keeping $100 million in a savings account isn't the wisest investment move. Savings accounts earn paltry interest rates and are only guaranteed by the federal government for amounts up to $250,000.

A buzzy article from The New York Post speculates that the holder of the account may be billionaire mogul David Tepper (Forbes lists him as the 208th richest person in the world). When contacted by The New York Post, Tepper denied ownership of the receipt and pointed out that he "would never do something as irresponsible as leaving $100 million in a savings account."

"Maybe it really was Scrooge McDuck?"