Sep 19
Hotmail is Down
icon1 admin | icon2 email | icon4 09 19th, 2008| icon3Comments Off

“Hotmail is Down… Again”

Hotmail is down pretty frequently, and usually it’s complaining about one of its servers. I think Hotmail believes this is a good excuse because it informs you that only part of Hotmail is down, not the entire enterprise. The ironic thing, though, is that while your Hotmail is down, some other lucky sod is probably reading his Hotmail, happy as a clam.

Hotmail Shouldn’t Be Down – Gmail Has All Their Clients

Hotmail’s era of growth has passed, and although they still have a ton of users, Gmail is now the big dog. So why is Hotmail down more than Gmail? We’d love to know.

Tired of the space limits and the “Hotmail is down” cha-cha, I moved off Hotmail several years ago, back when you needed a Gmail invitation to start up an account. I had a friend send an invite to my Hotmail account, but it never arrived. Was Hotmail down again? No, everything was working. Regular emails were coming in.

We tried it several times before I realized what was happening. Hotmail’s servers were deliberately trashing all Gmail invites. That was the sleaziest move I’d seen on the digital landscape in years.

Keep your “Hotmail is down” rigamarole, Microsoft. I’ve moved on to a new webmail partner.

Sep 19
Dallas Apartments
icon1 admin | icon2 real estate | icon4 09 19th, 2008| icon3Comments Off

Dallas-Fort Worth’s Apartment Boom

The Dallas-Fort Worth apartment construction is definitely not suffering because of the down economy. In fact, developers have broken ground on more than 6,100 Dallas-Fort Worth area apartments. This brings the total to 19,217; this is the highest amount in more than eight years. This also moves the Dallas-Fort Worth area to the position of number one in the country in the apartment development market.

Dallas-Fort Worth Apartment Rents Increasing

Even though there is the surge in apartment construction, the percentage of local apartment vacancies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area still remains low. The Dallas-Fort Worth apartment vacancies is at an average of about seven percent. Even average apartment rental rates in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are increasing despite the overbuilding. Renters in these areas can look to spend an average of $752 per month on rent.

Competition for Dallas-Fort Worth Apartments

Some analysts are concerned with the future of the leasing market in the Dallas-Fort Worth area because of the increase that they are seeing in the leasing of single-family homes. More single-family homes seem to be available for lease as their owners and investors are having a hard time selling their properties in the down economy.

Dallas-Fort Worth Apartment Search

Apartment searchers can find the largest concentration of new apartments for lease in the following areas: West Plano, Frisco, Lewisville, and North Fort Worth. The best part about this whole surge in apartment building is as more apartments are built the competition for renters amongst apartment managers will be greater. When competition for renters is greater, the deals available on apartments and rents become better.

If you are interested in easing your pain in the apartment search process, make sure to visit ApartmentSearch.com for the listings of the best deals on rents not only in the Dallas-Fort Worth area but throughout the entire country as well.

Sep 19
Vail Real Estate
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Vail Resorts Leaves Colorado Ski Country USA

Vail Resorts, which owns and operates the ski resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breckenridge, announced that is withdrawing from Colorado Ski Country USA based on philosophical differences. Vail Resorts is the nation’s largest ski resort.

Colorado Ski Country USA is a trade group that handles the marketing, communications and public policy for more than two dozen ski resorts in the state of Colorado. Vail Resorts believes that ski industry marketing would be handled the best and with a more traditional public policy by working with the Colorado Tourism Office. Vail Resorts stated that it will use the membership dues it was paying to the Colorado Ski Country as a way to increase their marketing budget.

Vail Resorts Withdrawal and Tourism

Will this announcement and withdrawal hurt the tourism business in Vail, CO? We are sure that many residents of Vail are wondering this. We don’t think so. I think that being in charge of their own marketing and working through the tourism board could only help and possibly increase the amount of skiers that come to this wonderful area. There might be a slight transition period, but this change comes at a good time as we move into the summer months.

Vail Resorts Isn’t Only Supplier of Activity

Speaking of summer months, Vail offers so many fun things to do during the summer that most residents won’t even have time to think about the big changes in the ski industry.

When the snow melts, there is still plenty to do for the sports enthusiasts. The mountains become some of the best mountain biking terrain in the country. If mountain biking isn’t your thing, you can always hit the slopes by way of your feet – hiking. There is whitewater rafting galore, flyfishing, and kayaking. There are even gondola rides taking you to breath-taking views at the top of Vail Mountain.

All of this in the summer and skiing in the winter right outside the door of your new Vail home in Vail. Search the Vail MLS.

May 19
Being an Informed Home Buyer
icon1 beth | icon2 real estate | icon4 05 19th, 2008| icon3Comments Off

What Makes an Informed Home Buyer?

There are several things that one must consider when buying a home. Being an informed buyer tops this list. You need to be informed on several things from comparable costs of homes in and around the areas that you are considering. If you have children or are planning on it, you need to be informed of the school systems in the consideration areas. You also need to be informed of the tax costs and include that in your monthly mortgage considerations. You also need to be aware of the businesses that are in the consideration town and consideration areas.

This may seem like to much to think about. However, when you are in the initial stages of home buying, knowing this things ahead of time will save you time and money (and possibly buyer’s remorse) in the long run.

Informed Home Buyer: Discovering Your New City

Whether you are looking to buy a new home in a new town because you need or because you are being relocated; knowing your new city and what it has to offer you is very important. There are several ways to find this information out, but the best and fastest seems to be the internet. You can find out everything for the typical weather of the area to the best areas to entertain your friends and family when they visit.

Informed Home Buyer: Discovering Your New Area

Once you have learned all about your new city, you really need to start investigating potentials areas in the city to start your home search. You will need to take a gander at all the neighborhoods to see which one fits all of your criteria. And as mentioned earlier, if you have children or are considering having them, finding the schools that suits your needs is very important in the home buying process.

Informed Home Buyer: Choosing Help

Finally, you will want to choose the right real estate agent to assist you in selecting the right home for you and your family. Make sure to interview the agent before just letting them go, that way you know they will be searching for the right place you hope to call home.

Apr 21
Cancer: testing, screening, treatment
icon1 admin | icon2 cancer testing | icon4 04 21st, 2008| icon3Comments Off

Cancer testing, screening and treatment are part of our modern lives

Cancer testing and health screenings have come a long way.

The cancer we know today is different from the cancer that our parents and grandparents knew. In past generations, our ancestors lacked the technology and the lab testing that make diagnosis easy today. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy were unknown, and a cancer patient often left the doctor’s office feeling as hopeful as a goose in a pot on a Vulcan range.

Still, even today the main weapons we have against cancer’s pernicious effects are knowledge and awareness. In our era, that means early cancer testing and effective health screenings.

Cancer testing

From colon cancer screening to prostate cancer screening to ovarian cancer testing, cancer testing is now light-years ahead of what it ever has been. Lab testing and analysis of a blood or stool sample can pinpoint cancerous activity with reliability and confidence. These cancer tests are cheap, convenient, quick and painless. Also, as few people know, health tests without a prescription are a complete reality. You can purchase a cancer test and receive a full, easy-to-understand analysis without a prescription from your doctor.

Health screenings might be part of your employee benefits

Another less-known health fact for cancer-conscious workers is that many employers provide or are considering providing health screenings for cancer as part of benefits packages. There’s a popular movement known as “employee wellness” that’s sweeping the nation, and health screenings for cancer are included in the discussion points of that movement. The idea: that proactive, preventative medicine is good not only for employees but also for employers.

Remarkably, the evidence for employee wellness is strongly compelling. Well-known employers such as Coca-Cola, Coors Brewing and Prudential Insurance show that on-site health screenings for cancer and other diseases – accompanied by fitness programs and incentives – keep productivity high and health insurance costs low. Company human resource departments report a return of $2.30 to $10.10 per dollar spent on employee wellness programs.

Mesothelioma treatment and information

Sadly, some of us do contract cancer, and mesothelioma (or “asbestos cancer“) is one of the possible medical interlopers. Often associated with industrial vocations and construction trades, mesothelioma strikes at the lungs, abdomen and heart.

Mesothelioma treatment involves an arduous path of difficult medical procedures. Mesothelioma doctors have discovered that chemotherapy and radiation therapy on their own are not enough to slow the advance of this asbestos-linked disease under most circumstances. Instead, pneumonectomy (removal of a lung in combination with aggressive chemotherapy) is often required.

Cancer testing, screening and treatment save lives

The cure for cancer still eludes modern science. Until that cure is found for all kinds of cancer, you should safeguard your well-being and that of your loved ones by being aware of the cancer testing, screening and treatment options available to you.