9 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting In Real Estate - LIFEonaire

?Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?? or ?If you had to start over entirely, how would you do it??

These are tough questions that so many people have asked me. Based on my current position and the blessings I have experienced, I really would not have done anything differently. I?m very pleased with my current situation as an investor, and I fear that if I had done anything differently, then I wouldn?t be where I am today. In my opinion, a more appropriate question is:

?Based on your experience, in which direction are you going from here and what advice do you have for a new investor??

While my plan for the future is still in process, I have some advice to offer new investors.

Tip Number One : Quality Over Quantity

In the past, I set goals to complete a certain number of deals and as a result, found myself at times pursuing volume over quality. This sometimes put me into bad situations, costing me both time and money. For example, I might have paid too much to buy a home just so I could say I did a deal and hit my target. While I did experience many situations that other investors never encounter, this is not the way to do business.

Today, I realize that I didn?t need to do as many deals as I?ve done. Now I pass over a ton of opportunities that I would have taken years ago. Rather, I sit back and cherry-pick, waiting for the ?home runs? to come along.

That?s not to say that beginning investors should wait for the big deals. Most don?t have the resources to compete with the experienced investors, including myself, who don?t need the smaller deals to survive but can afford to be patient. We can bide our time until the best deals present themselves and still have enough resources to take advantage of them when they do.

What I am saying is that beginning investors should do what they need to do to survive, keeping in mind that it is better to do one quality deal than a multitude of average deals. As a beginner, you must get into the game, but do it carefully with good deals. Then go from first to second to third to home, taking it one step at a time. Crawl before you walk and walk before you run. Otherwise, by rushing into things, you run the risk of making mistakes that will set you back months or even years.

Tip Number Two : Set Goals And Put Them On Paper

I did not have concrete goals when I began, so two years after getting started, I was in about the same place as when I started. I ran around in circles and covered a lot of ground, but didn?t get too far from my starting point. Only then did I develop a plan (smart, huh? Only took a few dozen ?seminars? and a few more whacks upside my head).

So I teach my students to put together a plan sooner rather than later, preferably before they even start investing. Anyone who drafts a realistic plan and sticks to it can achieve as much in one year as I did in three.

Not that creating a plan is easy, especially when you don?t know what to expect. Accurate goal setting is actually very difficult, and not many people teach you what you need to set REAL goals. Most teach goals that get people excited, good in the sense that it usually prompts people to take action, but bad in that it develops unrealistic expectations and sets people up for disappointment.

To set realistic goals, speak with experienced investors in your chosen field (wholesaling, rehabbing, lease-options, ?subject to?) and get their honest opinions regarding profits per deal and the average time required to complete a deal. Then, based on this and your current resources of cash and credit, set your long-term cash, cash flow and equity goals for one year, three years and five years. Once you have these long-term goals, fill in your short-term goals of three, six and nine months by outlining the steps you need to take to accomplish your long-term goals.? Unless you draft a plan similar to this and truly commit to it, you are going nowhere.

Tip Number Three : If Possible, Keep Your Best Deals

Looking back, I have owned a lot of homes that I wish I would have kept. I don?t regret having sold them since every sale contributed to my success, but I did have some gems that have more than doubled in value since I sold them.

When I sold, I just didn?t believe that the areas would take off like Realtors and others were telling me. So I cashed out and used the profits for other things. If I had held the 50 best deals that I have sold to others and done nothing else, my net worth would probably be three times higher than what it is today.

Not that I?m complaining. My net worth used to be negative, and today it is pretty respectable. I?m just advising you to hold onto your best deals if you can. Sometimes, though, it is necessary and understandable to sell a property for cash profits even though it would be nice to keep it. Use your best judgment.

Tip Number Four : Don?t Limit Your Profits

When you purchase a great deal, don?t feel obligated to pass all of the savings on to your buyer. I could have generated more profits than I did from many of the properties that I wholesaled. Often, when I purchased a SUPER deal, I passed along the SUPER savings to my buyer with the attitude that I should only make $2k-$4k per transaction.

Well, this was a mistake. My advice to you is to take what you can get. Don?t inflate your prices above the market and gouge people. Give them a good value. However, don?t think it?s necessary to limit your profits just so a buyer can benefit. After all, this is business.? Let the market set your price. There will be plenty of times when your profit isn?t as large as you expected. Take advantage of the big hits when they come.

Tip Number Five : Separate Business And Charity

Sometimes, I used my business as a charity when I shouldn?t have. My recommendation for you is never to do the same. Don?t let someone live rent free or give someone else more for a service than what it makes good business sense to give.

I?ve learned that I need to run my business for a profit, and that I need to do all I can to keep it profitable. I?ve also learned that it?s OK for me to be charitable with my profits, but that I can?t be charitable with my business. Giving your business away before you make profits cuts your wellspring off at its source. It?s not prudent, and your business will suffer greatly as a result if you choose to do so.

Tip Number Six : Hold On To The J.O.B. As Long As You Can

I know it?s hard to hear this, especially for those of you disgusted with your current position, but I recommend that beginners with good jobs hold onto them for a while. They provide a safety net while you are learning and particularly allow you to establish yourself with banks and credit card companies. Convincing these organizations to work with you as a self-employed person is tough.

Tip Number Seven : Start As Early As You Can

I first became interested in investing at the age of 18, and I wish I had pursued it from that age. Instead, I waited 10 more years to get started.? As of this writing, I?ve only been investing for 5 years and it?s hard for me to imagine, based on my current position, where I would be if I had started when I was 18 years old.? It?s never too late, but you need to start NOW!

Tip Number Eight : Use Partners Wisely

Use a partner only when you need them. In other words, choose someone with time, money, knowledge or skills that you don?t have. They should bring to the table something that you need. All too often, two people with a dream and nothing else decide to be partners. Not good. Partners need to complement each other, not have the same qualities.

Today, I teach others to use partners strictly on a deal-by-deal basis. The form of partnership I teach most often is one where one person puts up all of the money and the other is responsible for everything else.

In retrospect, I would not have taken on the one partner I had. In time, I didn?t need a partner anymore, yet I still had one and felt as though I was giving half of everything away. He probably felt the same way.

Tip Number Nine : Dare To Dream

Finally, I?d like to stress that if you can dream it, you can do it through effort and perseverance. Having money, a decent job, and good credit make investing easier, but are not necessary.

When I began my career as a real estate investor, I had no money, no job and poor credit. In the past five years, through the grace of God, I have come a long way. So set your goals and start taking the steps necessary to achieve them. Reevaluate and adjust every so often, but don?t quit and don?t let anything stop you.

---

Stephen Cook is an author and active investor that started out in Baltimore, MD. He has bought and sold over 450 properties. Steve pursues many avenues of investing and specializes in the wholesaling and rehabbing of properties for profit as well as new construction. These days Steve spends most of his time teaching others how to become LIFEonaire?s. Not only are his real estate investing students successful in business, but they live full and abundant lives.

For more information on real estate investing, check out his new course:??Flipping Like a Pro?

Source: http://lifeonaire.com/9-knew-starting-real-estate/

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Oscar winners' annual revenue bump won't come at Box Office

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The Academy Awards - seen by 40 million U.S. viewers on Sunday night - will stoke interest in the movies that won big. Traditionally, the studios have added theaters and pumped up marketing to drive those viewers to the multiplexes, but the box office isn't where the studios will look to cash in after the Oscars this year.

Most of the Best Picture nominees are nearing the end of their theatrical runs and already have capitalized - in a big way - on their Oscar nominations at the box office. So DVDs, downloads and pay-per-view will be where most consumers will be looking in the coming weeks and where the studios will likely cash in on their Sunday night triumphs.

Best Picture winner "Argo" was released on October 12 but is still doing business in theaters; it made $2 million for Warner Bros. from 802 locations over the weekend to raise its domestic total to $130 million. But it has been available for download and on DVD since February 19, and that's where the growth will come.

"A thriller like 'Argo' plays very well on the small screen, and there's nothing like that little gold sticker that says 'Best Picture Oscar winner' to boost sales," Exhibitor Relations senior analyst Jeff Bock told TheWrap. "Even with its big box office run, I see it doing major business on DVD."

It's difficult to quantify how big a boost an Oscar win can provide as studios closely guard sales figures on anciliary revenues like downloads and DVD sales, but there's no doubt it helps.

The Oscar success of "Life of Pi," which won four awards including Best Director for Ang Lee, comes at an opportune time for Fox Home Entertainment, which is looking to gain a foothold with the Digital HD initiative it launched in September. Fox made online downloads of "Pi" available five days before the Oscars - and well ahead of its March 12 DVD release - at a slew of digital stores including Amazon Instant Video, CinemaNow, Google Play, iTunes, Kindle Fire, NOOK Video, PlayStation, VUDU, Xbox Video and YouTube for under $15.

"Beasts of the Southern Wild" has been out on DVD since December, but several of the Oscar winners have yet to be released in that format or for downloading. Upcoming are "Django Unchained" (April 16), "Zero Dark Thirty" (March 19) and "Les Miserables" (March 22). DreamWorks has yet to confirm a date for "Lincoln," but it's likely in March, and an April DVD release is expected for "Amour."

The bump can apply to music, too. The soundtrack of "Les Miserables," which debuted at Christmas, is back on top of the iTunes sales list after a sales spike following Sunday's Oscars, Universal reported Monday.

Moviegoers inspired to see their Oscar favorites on the big screen will still be able to find them in theaters.

All of the Best Picture finalists are still in at least 400 theaters, with the exception of "Beasts of the Southern Wild," which came out in June, and "Amour," which is still rolling out in the U.S. Some studios may pick up play dates, but we're talking hundreds of theaters, not thousands.

The studios did a good job of capitalizing on their success during the extra 12 days between the Oscar nominations and the awards that the Academy's accelerated schedule afforded. From January 10, when the Oscar nominations were announced, through the Thursday before the Oscars, the nine Best Picture nominees grossed more than $300 million at the domestic box office, according to Box Office Mojo.

The biggest earners in the post-noms period were Sony's "Zero Dark Thirty" ($83 million) and the Weinstein Company's "Silver Linings Playbook" ($65 million) because they waited to go wide until the nominations came out. Weinstein's "Django Unchained" and Universal's "Les Miserables," both of which came out at Christmas, took in $45 million and $38 million, respectively, in the post-nomination period. November releases "Lincoln" ($31 million) from DreamWorks and Fox's "Life of Pi" ($20 million) were able to cash in, and even "Argo,' which came out on October, added $17 million during that period.

Going forward, "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Amour" are the movies best positioned to turn their Oscar wins into box office returns.

"We think there's still money to be made," the Weinstein Company's head of distribution Erik Lomis told TheWrap in regard to "Silver Linings Playbook." The quirky comedy about mental health remains in more than 2,000 theaters. It took in $6 million over the past weekend and Jennifer Lawrence's high-profile Best Actress victory will help raises is overall domestic total, which is at $107 million.

Sony Pictures Classics has yet to go wide with Best Foreign Language Oscar "Amour," which was in roughly 330 theaters last weekend. While it features a standout performance from Best Actress nominee Emmanuelle Riva, it's in French, and the subject matter - an unflinching look at love and aging - is very difficult, so it won't be breaking any records. But it should be able to double its $5 million domestic total over the next few weeks.

No one is sweating the fact that there won't be much of a box office bump. it's the flip side of a situation that saw seven of the Best Picture Oscar nominees come into the ceremony as box -office hits. Six of the nine have crossed the $100 million threshold, and "Zero Dark Thirty,"with a $93 million domestic total, should get there soon.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oscar-winners-annual-revenue-bump-wont-come-box-231015253.html

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Long-Lost Continent Found under the Indian Ocean

The beaches of Mauritius contain fragments of a type of rock typical of ancient continental crust ? rock which could have been brought to the surface by volcanic eruptions. Image: http://www.nature.com/polopoly_fs/7.9116.1361551494!/image/HIRES%2042-32415022%20reduced.jpg

The drowned remnants of an ancient microcontinent may lie scattered beneath the waters between Madagascar and India, a new study suggests.

Evidence for the long-lost land comes from Mauritius, a volcanic island about 900 kilometers east of Madagascar. The oldest basalts on the island date to about 8.9 million years ago, says Bj?rn Jamtveit, a geologist at the University of Oslo. Yet grain-by-grain analyses of beach sand that Jamtveit and his colleagues collected at two sites on the Mauritian coast revealed around 20 zircons ? tiny crystals of zirconium silicate that are exceedingly resistant to erosion or chemical change ? that were far older.

The zircons had crystallized within granites or other igneous rocks at least 660 million years ago, says Jamtveit. One of these zircons was at least 1.97 billion years old.

Jamtveit and his colleagues suggest that rocks containing the wayfaring zircons originated in ancient fragments of continental crust located beneath Mauritius. They propose that geologically recent volcanic eruptions brought shards of the crust to Earth?s surface, where the zircons eroded from their parent rocks to pepper the island?s sands. The team's work is published today in Nature Geoscience.

Crustal remains
The paper also suggests that not just one but many fragments of continental crust lie beneath the floor of the Indian Ocean. Analyses of Earth?s gravitational field reveal several broad areas where sea-floor crust is much thicker than normal ? at least 25 to 30 kilometers thick, rather than the normal 5 to 10 kilometers.

Those crustal anomalies may be the remains of a landmass that the team has dubbed Mauritia, which they suggest split from Madagascar when tectonic rifting and sea-floor spreading sent the Indian subcontinent surging northeast millions of years ago. Subsequent stretching and thinning of the region?s crust sank the fragments of Mauritia, which together had comprised an island or archipelago about three times the size of Crete, the researchers estimate.

The team chose to collect sand, rather than pulverize local rocks, to ensure that zircons inadvertently trapped in rock-crushing equipment from previous studies did not contaminate their fresh samples. The nearest known outcrop of continental crust that could have produced the Mauritian zircons is on Madagascar, far across a deep sea, Jamtveit notes. Furthermore, the zircons came from Mauritian sites so remote that it is unlikely that humans carried them there.

?There?s no obvious local source for these zircons,? says Conall Mac Niocaill, a geologist at the University of Oxford, UK, who was not involved in the research.

Also, it does not seem as if the zircons rode to Mauritius on the wind, says Robert Duncan, a marine geologist at Oregon State University in Corvallis. ?There?s a remote possibility that they were wind blown, but they?re probably too large to have done so,? he adds.

Other ocean basins worldwide may well host similarly submerged remains of ?ghost continents?, Mac Niocaill notes in an accompanying News & Views article. Only detailed surveys of the ocean floor, including geochemical analyses of their rocks, will reveal whether the splintered and now submerged Mauritia has any long-lost cousins, he suggests.

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on February 24, 2013.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=47d787e593f8cff9374c4a8995c30744

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Joss Whedon Promises "Death" for Avengers 2

Outside of it including a reunion of familiar heroic faces and a return appearance of Thanos, little is known about the story of?The Avengers 2, how it will conclude ?Phase Two? of the Marvel cinematic universe, or how it will lay the groundwork for Phase Three, which kicks off with?Ant-Man in 2015.

In fact, we don?t even know the official title of the sequel, but we expect it not to go with the standard Iron Man style numbering scheme. What we can expect, from Joss Whedon?s vague hints, is that it?ll be darker, more personal and more emotional. And we know that that means when it comes to Whedon.

During a Q&A at the?Carlton Cinema in Dublin on February 23, 2013?for the European premiere of?Much Ado About Nothing, Whedon couldn?t avoid receiving at least one question about about his goals for?The Avengers 2.

?When I actually considered doing Avengers 2, my first question was what can I do that?s new? Because I can?t make it bigger [audience laughs], but I can make it better, so that?s where I?m sort of going with that.?

When asked what his general philosophy is for the sequel, without getting into details, Whedon followed up with a dark voice:

?Death, death and death.?

You can listen to the raw audio here ? start at 14:10 for the brief?Avengers 2 snippet and listen to the roaring crowd reaction.

Looking back on Whedon?s track record, two characters didn?t survive the run length of?Serenity; fan-favorite Agent Coulson took a death blow to the chest courtesy of Loki in Whedon?s first Marvel movie; and fans are still sad of Felicia Day?s demise in?Dr. Horrible?s Sing-Along Blog (is that sequel still happening?). Even when writing Astonishing X-Men for Marvel Comics, Whedon couldn?t resist quasi-killing off a main character at the end.

It?s very likely ? expected even ? that some of of Marvel?s greatest heroes may meet their end in?The Avengers 2, making room for new character introductions during Phase Three of the Marvel cinematic universe. Ant-Man and Dr. Strange are (officially) on the way and we?re still holding out for other introductions for characters including Black Panther.

However, there?s always a deeper meaning to be found in the jokes and teases dropped by the creative minds behind each Marvel?film.?And by ?death,? we don?t expect Whedon to be just referring to the passing away of the likes of Captain America or Hawkeye. Even in jest, Whedon is name-dropping the character of Death, personified in the books as a cosmic creature, one who was referenced in the post-credits button in?The Avengers?by?The Other which resulted in that now infamous Thanos grin.

Thanos loves Death and aims to prove his loyalty to her. In the comics, he even destroyed half the Marvel universe thanks to the power of The Infinity Gauntlet (An object in Odin?s vault from Thor) ?in an effort to earn her favor. Her name and Thanos? reaction to hearing it at the end of?The Avengers is very intentional and we?ll find out more in?Guardians of the Galaxy next year, if not, sooner.

What character(s) could you see Whedon and Marvel Studios ?killing off? in?The Avengers 2?

Iron Man 3?releases May 3, 2013,?Thor: The Dark World?on November 8, 2013,?Captain America: The Winter Soldier?on April 4, 2014,?Guardians of the Galaxy?on?August 1, 2014,?The Avengers 2?on May 1, 2015 and?Ant-Man?on November 6, 2015.

Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes?for your Marvel movie news.

Source: Whedonesque (Hat-tip Chris S)

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926914/news/1926914/

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Video: Sequestration blame game

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50932978/

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Kidnapped Austrian says his captors demand ransom

CAIRO (AP) ? An Austrian man held hostage in Yemen for two months has appealed to his government to save his life, saying his captors would kill him in a week if their ransom demand was not met. The Austrian Foreign Ministry said a government crisis group met Sunday to discuss the case.

Dominik Neubauer, who was kidnapped with a Finnish couple on Dec. 21, said in a video posted on the Internet Saturday and monitored in Cairo, that he was kidnapped by a Yemeni tribe "which is asking for some money." He spoke on the video with a rifle pointed at his head.

He did not say how much his captors were seeking.

Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Weiss said Neubauer had been studying Arabic in Yemen. "We consider it (the video) to be authentic," he said. "This is the first proof of life."

Weiss said Austrian authorities were in contact with their Finnish counterparts.

On the video, Neubauer, seen wearing a black shirt and sporting a thick brown beard and mustache, spoke first in English and then in German. He identified himself, the date of his capture and appealed to the Yemeni and the Austrian governments and the European Union to pay his abductors the ransom.

Tears streamed down his face as he addressed his relatives in German, saying "Mum, dad, Lukas, Angela, I love you more than anything. So far I'm in good health."

Kidnaping foreigners is not uncommon in Yemen, an impoverished Arab nation. Almost all of the kidnappings are carried out by tribesmen who use the captives as bargaining chips to force authorities to provide their areas with services and jobs. They mostly end with the release of the hostages unharmed.

___

Associated Press writer Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kidnapped-austrian-says-captors-demand-ransom-185329296.html

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Iran Revolutionary Guard begins military exercises

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard has begun a three-day ground and air military exercise aimed at upgrading its combat readiness.

State TV says the drills involve ground forces of the Guard, Iran's most powerful military force, around the city of Sirjan in the country's south. It showed tanks and artillery attacking hypothetical enemy positions.

The broadcast says the aim of the exercise is to upgrade the capabilities of the Iranian forces. It did not elaborate.

The war games are taking place amid escalating tensions between Iran and the West over Tehran's disputed nuclear program. Israel has hinted that it may take military action if talks fail to get Iran stop its uranium enrichment program.

The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-revolutionary-guard-begins-military-exercises-081519544.html

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Michelle Obama and the evolution of "mom dancing" (VIDEO) (Washington Post)

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Patents ? attorney malpractice ? jurisdiction - Wisconsin Law Journal

Patents ? attorney malpractice ? jurisdiction?

POSTED: Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 at 12:39 pm

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Source: http://wislawjournal.com/2013/02/20/patents-attorney-malpractice-jurisdiction/

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IndieCade East Brings NYC's Underground Gaming Community ...

The West Coast has been having all the fun since 2009. Sure, they have the sun and the surf (if you like that kind of thing), but up until last weekend, they had independent games as well. IndieCade, the internationally recognized festival of indie games had been staked out exclusively in Los Angeles for the last four years, leaving the East Coast gamers and devs to play by themselves. However, that all changed last weekend when IndieCade kicked off their inaugural East Coast expansion at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. The three-day affair included many of the staples of the West Coast conference, including expert panels, workshops, keynotes, and most importantly games.

IndieCade was founded in 2005 in an attempt to shine some much needed light on the thriving indie game scene, which includes video games alongside board and card games, and "big games" (think outside with a bunch of people). Since then, the group has expanded by being featured as a destination mini-expo at E3, as well as growing their annual presence on the West Coast, which debuted in 2009, to a three-day event every October. While having always featured New York-based game designers and developers throughout the life of the conference, this is the first time that IndieCade has set up shop on the right coast for any period of time.

Cultivating a collection of the 2012 honorees New Yorkers were able to test out some of the best and brightest in the indie game world all in one place, without having to fly across the country. In fact, it seemed like the IndieCade organizers and the Museum of the Moving Image went out of their way to encourage folks to venture all the way out into Queens (a whole three subway stops outside of Manhattan) by offer a plethora of events, activities, and personalities. In addition to the twenty playable honoree games that were on display all weekend (that included such interesting experiments as "Thirty Flights of Loving", "Cart Life", "Dyad", and "Unmanned"), the speaker series included two keynote presentations: one from Kris Piotrowski, co-founder of CAPY, who discussed the studio's secret gameogrpahy, and the second from John Sharp, who compared the indie game scene to the punk rock scene, and the group that created Spacewar. Some of the other panels included a discussion with the developers involved with Sportsfriends, game analysis from NYC fixtures Naomi Clark and Nick Fotugno (amongst others), and even a look at being a sore loser by game theorist Jesper Juul.

If trying out new independent games wasn?t your thing, and you didn?t want to sit in a theater listing to great minds discussing what makes games amazing, there was still an abundance of things to do. For starters, the museum was featuring an on-going exhibit telling the history of the creation of "Spacewar!," the first "video game" ever made, which also included a look at some of gaming's biggest innovation from the past few decades. In addition to being able to play "Star Fox" and "Portal" projected onto a two-story wall, attendees could test out their skills on some of the museum's classic arcade games as part of the Spacewar! Decathlon, to compete for an Ouya dev kit. And, if that's not enough, Oculus VR were on hand for one of the first public demonstrations of the Rift virtual reality headset. While the Oculus may have had the biggest line all weekend, attendees could also spend time playing with the fantastic Sifteo Cubes, or watch designers at work as a handful of teams competed in a GameJam sponsored by PlayStaion Mobile.

Even with everything on hand, there was one thing that was noticeably absent from IndieCade East - the large scale "big games" that the original IndieCade is known for. The museum may have not been the venue to house games like "Humans vs. Zombies" and "Field Frogger," but there was some small consolation to be had, as New Yorkers were able to partake in the Night Games on Saturday evening. From 7 - 10 PM attendees were able to play some larger scale video and physical games throughout the space. Some of the highlights were the five-player rocketship game "Rakete," the head-to-head battle game "Hit Me!," and the (up to) thirty-player "Roaming Gnomes" from ESI Design.

IndieCade East Night Games attendees enjoying a game of Rakete on a theater screen.

While some of the panels were the victims of some technical difficulties (lots of dongle swapping never makes for smooth transitions), IndieCade East seemed to coalesce quite well. It struck a balance that cultivated the essence of the West Coast festivals, and blended it with the New York sensibility to create something truly special. It's undeniable that New York City has a vibrant independent gaming scene that's represented by almost every facet of the industry. From educational programs like the NYU Game Center and Parsons The New School for Design, to indie devs like Sortasoft and Wadjet Eye Games, there's a thriving base for new talent with unique ideas about the industry. Add to that artistic ventures like Babycastles and the Come Out And Play Fesitival and New York is easily one of the most well-rounded indie gaming communities in the country. Having IndieCade set up shop here for three days was truly a demonstration of how important New York is to the indie scene, and hopefully this is the first of many IndieCade's on the East Coast.

Related Posts:
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Bungie?s Destiny Revealed

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Tags indie games, IndieCade, IndieCade East, Museum of the Moving Image, oculus rift, playstation mobile, Sifteo Cubes, spacewar!

Source: http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2013/02/19/indiecade-east-brings-nycs-underground-gaming-community-together-in-queens/

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Do-It-Yourself Credit Repair

This is a guest post by?Michael Delgado, Social Media Community Manager at Experian. Michael helps promote financial literacy on Experian social channels and writes for the?Experian news blog.

Do you check your credit reports regularly??Credit reports are your credit references, as reported by your lenders. And, unfortunately, some lenders may accidentally report inaccurate information about your payment history. This is why it?s important for everyone to monitor their credit reports regularly and to dispute any information that is inaccurate.

If you ever need to fix your credit report, here?are?the steps to take (and online apps you need) to get your credit report updated quickly ? without paying hundreds or thousands of dollars to ?credit repair? clinics:

Step 1: Request your free credit report from each credit bureau

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) entitles you to one free credit report each year from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion and you can get this through AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling?1-877-322-8228.

In addition, you may request a free report directly from the credit reporting companies in certain circumstances. ?Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers who receive public assistance, are unemployed (and seeking employment), or believe their credit report contains fraudulent data, are also entitled to a free report,? says Maxine Sweet, Vice President of Public Education at Experian.

CREDIT TIP:?You can keep a close eye on the credit activity that is being reported for you simply by requesting a free credit report every four months. For example, get your Experian Report in January, Equifax in May, and TransUnion in September.

Step 2: Audit your credit reports carefully

?Remember that credit report information comes from the companies who have accounts with you. The goal is not just to fix your credit report, but to make sure that your information is correct with the source so that it will be reported correctly to everyone who checks your credit references. Reviewing your credit report can help you discover and resolve those inaccuracies,? says Sweet.

Each credit report differs in how information is presented, but here?s a breakdown of what you?ll typically find:

• Personal? Identification?(addresses, employment history, name, social security number)
• Types of Accounts?(revolving, installment, loans, joint accounts, credit limits, debts)
• Collections?(if any accounts went to collections)
• Public Records?(about? financial obligations)
• Consumer Statement?(such as a statement of dispute if you do not agree with your lender about the status of your account)
• Hard Credit Inquiries?(showing you applied for new credit or services)
• Soft Credit Inquiries?(showing requests made by lenders who sent you an offer or that you requested your own report ? soft inquiries are shown only to you)

Here?s a?sample credit report [pdf]?from Experian explaining the different parts of your report:

As you audit your credit report, pay close attention to these areas:

Missed Payments
Your payment history makes up the biggest part of your credit scores, so any past-due amounts or late payments will damage your scores (especially missed mortgage payments). If you have any missed payments on your report that are incorrect, make sure to dispute the inaccuracy because it can make a big impact on your scores. You may need to talk to your lender to find out why your records do not agree about the payment.

Length of Time Using Credit (Depth of Credit)
Many people don?t realize that older credit accounts with good credit history actually help you. It shows you have managed credit well for a significant amount of time. Consider the pros of cons before you close any accounts (if they are tempting you to overspend).

The Variety of Accounts
Having a mix of different credit accounts can help you because it shows you know how to manage different types of credit. Managing a car loan with a fixed monthly payment is very different from managing a credit card where you control the amount you owe and pay each month.

Recent Credit Accounts
If you?ve recently taken out a loan or credit card, you?ll want to make sure it?s appearing on your credit report. New credit accounts can signal risk (and could lower your scores at first), but the added credit mix and consistent payment history will likely improve your scores over time.

Amount of Credit
It?s important to make sure you?re using less than 30% of your available credit on revolving credit accounts. For example, if you have a $10,000 credit limit on a credit card ? you never want to carry a balance over $3,000 because it can hurt your credit scores. The lower, the better.?

So while auditing your credit report, make sure the credit limit assigned on your revolving accounts are accurate ? and the amount owed is under 30% of your credit limit. If not, consider requesting a higher credit limit on that credit card to lower your utilization rate. Even better, pay down your balances so that you are only charging what you can pay in full each month.

CREDIT TIP:?If you notice any fraud, you can set a fraud alert right away which cautions lenders to verify your identity before opening any new credit accounts. It?s simple to set-up fraud alerts by using? these? direct links to?Experian,?Equifax, and?TransUnion. ?You can also?freeze your credit reports?for a small fee to prevent new creditors from accessing your report. However, freezing your credit reports means you will have to temporarily unfreeze them when you need services, which can be inconvenient,? says Sweet.

Step 3: Dispute incorrect data

There is no cost to dispute any items on your credit report. And you can dispute incorrect information in a variety of ways. Always start with a current copy of your credit report. Then, you can call the phone number on your credit report or use one of the following online apps from one of the following credit bureaus:

Screenshot of the?Experian Credit Dispute App

Screenshot of the?Equifax Credit Dispute App

Screenshot of the?TransUnion Credit Dispute App

?In most cases, you only need to ask one credit bureau to dispute an account on your behalf .. If your lender responds to a disputed item with a correction, they are required to report that corrected information to any credit reporting company to which they provide their data,? according to Sweet.

Some people think that disputing information on your credit report can hurt your credit scores, but that is not true. Disputes are not reported in your history and are not scored.? Disputing inaccurate information is exactly what you should do to help ensure your credit history is correct.? Another myth is that disputing information you believe is inaccurate will cause info to remain longer on your credit. Information is deleted based on the dates of missed payments or when the account was closed, for example.

CREDIT TIP:?If you cannot resolve a disputed item with your lender, you may add a ?Statement of Dispute? to your credit report explaining? why the information is incorrect. The statement you write must be under 100 words, and should address why the info the lender is reporting is incorrect. For example, ?Never missed any payments with [Lender Name].?? This statement will remain on your report for two years and visible to anyone who has permission to review your report.

Step 4: Wait 30 days for removal or response from creditor

When you dispute an item on your report, the credit bureau will contact the creditor to respond to the dispute. If no response is received within 30-45 days, the credit bureau will remove the account or correct the negative information and notify you of the results.? ?If you disagree with the results, you may need to contact the creditor directly and provide additional documentation if your records do not agree with theirs,??says Sweet.

CREDIT TIP:?If you need additional help with debt or your credit, avoid going to a ?credit repair clinic,? which could cost you hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars. Instead, seek out an accredited non-profit credit counseling agency. And, if you know of a great non-profit credit counseling agency, please share in the comments.

Step 5: Request a new credit report from each credit agency

After an item is corrected with one credit reporting company, wait three or four weeks before requesting a fresh credit report from the other credit bureaus. You want to give the creditor some time to report the correcteddata. Getting a fresh report will ensure that the item has been removed or updated. You may also choose to purchase a? credit score to see if your risk level has improved.

If you ever have any specific questions about your Experian credit report, check out the?Ask Experian blog?for answers to common questions. And join our weekly Experian?#CreditChat?on Twitter with credit experts Maxine Sweet and Rod Griffin.

Image 1 by?Robert Scoble

This post was published by Ben, Writer and Content Strategist for ReadyForZero. ReadyForZero is a company that helps people get out of debt on their own with a simple and free online tool that can automate and track your debt paydown.

? Get ReadyForZero

Source: http://blog.readyforzero.com/do-it-yourself-credit-repair/

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Fashion Tips Of Yore: As It Turns Out, Rome?s Great Thinkers Had Thoughts On Women?s Clothing

In the course of having a history professor for a boyfriend reading ancient Roman history for fun, I recently came across some passages that put the lie to that old myth that serious, important men do not care about women?s fashion. (Take that, Anna Wintour bashers.) However, they are also rather slut-shamey. So maybe those two things cancel each other out, feminism-wise.

The passages in question are by?Pliny the Elder and Seneca the Younger, and they address some of the concerns they had about the lascivious fabrics flowing into the region via newly opened trade routes with China. The first comes courtesy of Pliny the Elder:

The Seres [Chinese], are famous for the woolen substance obtained from their forests; after a soaking in water they comb off the white down of the leaves? So manifold is the labour employed, and so distant is the region of the globe drawn upon, to enable the Roman maiden to flaunt transparent clothing in public.

He?s lucky he didn?t live long enough to see what people wore to the Grammys!?Perhaps having more energy to get exercised about these matters due to his younger name, Seneca the Younger was even angrier about the eastern textiles that were corrupting the Roman maidens? virtue left and right:

?I can see clothes of silk, if materials that do not hide the body, nor even one?s decency, can be called clothes?? Wretched flocks of maids labour so that the adulteress may be visible through her thin dress, so that her husband has no more acquaintance than any outsider or foreigner with his wife?s body.?

You call that a dress, young lady? SAYS WHO? (Calvin Klein!) Kids today.

So what is the takeaway from all of this?

1.) Even the libertines of ancient Rome were inordinately concerned with what women decided to wear.

2.) However, they may have been exaggerating their moral outrage due to the somewhat more pressing concern of gold flowing out of Rome due to excessive silk buying.

3.) Ancient Rome could probably have used a Slut Walk.

(Via Wikipedia)

Photo

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/b5media/thegloss/~3/eMzCF2sSM8I/

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Indianapolis, IN 2010 Ford Fusion Used Sedan Carmel, IN Greenwood, IN Ray Skillman Auto Mall for $16,881

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*The advertised price does not include sales tax, vehicle registration fees, finance charges, documentation charges, and any other fees required by law. We attempt to update this inventory on a regular basis. However, there can be lag time between the sale of a vehicle and the update of the inventory.

EPA mileage estimates are for newly manufactured vehicles only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.

Before purchasing this vehicle, it is your responsibility to address any and all differences between information on this website and the actual vehicle specifications and/or any warranties offered prior to the sale of this vehicle. Vehicle data on this website is compiled from publicly available sources believed by the publisher to be reliable. Vehicle data is subject to change without notice. The publisher assumes no responsibility for errors and/or omissions in this data the compilation of this data and makes no representations express or implied to any actual or prospective purchaser of the vehicle as to the condition of the vehicle, vehicle specifications, ownership, vehicle history, equipment/accessories, price or warranties.

Source: http://www.rayskillmanautomall.com/2010-Ford-Fusion-Indianapolis-IN/vd/13436903

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This Is What It's Like To Be Color Blind

With around 1 in 12 men suffering from color blindness, it's a really common problem—but it's incredibly difficult to understand what it must be like to suffer from. Fortunately, Etre now has a simulator which lets you see the world through the eyes of the color blind. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/zrCMBWl0bo0/this-is-what-its-like-to-be-color-blind

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Molecular 'calcium sponge' created to tackle heart failure

Feb. 10, 2013 ? Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology and the Lillehei Heart Institute have utilized molecular genetic engineering to optimize heart performance in models of diastolic heart failure by creating an optimized protein that can aid in high-speed relaxation similar to fast twitching muscles.

Within heart cells, calcium plays a major role in orchestrating normal heart pump function. However, in diastolic failure the calcium signaling process is slowed; calcium levels rise to the peak needed for the squeezing action of the heart but don't then drop quickly enough for an efficient relaxation period -- the condition known as diastolic heart failure.

University researchers were able to pinpoint a specific protein, parvalbumin -- which aids in high-speed relaxation of fast twitching muscles in nature -- and optimize it to become a calcium sponge for heart muscle. As a result, the optimized protein, ParvE101Q, soaks up excess calcium at a precise instant, allowing the heart to relax efficiently after contraction.

The advance offers a solid conceptual step forward in solving the puzzle of diastolic heart failure. The next step will be determining the best possible small molecule or gene delivery mechanism for the protein, which should allow the discovery to be used in clinics.

Their approach is outlined in the latest issue of Nature Medicine.

"In nature, there are unique organisms known to be able to contract and relax muscles quickly," said Joseph M. Metzger, Ph.D., a University of Minnesota Medical School professor and chair of the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology. "We hoped research and discovery could help identify what was promoting this highly efficient activity so we could harness it for use in the heart. We've discovered that our optimized variation of parvalbumin can fulfill that role by treating diastolic heart failure."

According to Metzger, who also serves as the Maurice B. Visscher Endowed Chair in Physiology, the sponge mechanism works as a temporary depot for calcium along its normal pathway. It increases productivity in the relaxation phase of the heart cycle without negatively impacting the contracting phase.

If they can develop an ideal delivery system for the optimized protein, the researchers believe they may have found a unique clinical application to treat diastolic heart failure. Heart failure is a common killer of both men and women across the country and the rate of heart failure is increasing as our population ages and as the survival rate after recovery from first heart attack goes up.

"Heart disease and heart failure rates are growing, especially as our population ages. We hope this type of discovery may one day help pave the way to a better way to treat patients," said Metzger.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Wang Wang, Matthew S Barnabei, Michelle L Asp, Frazer I Heinis, Erik Arden, Jennifer Davis, Elizabeth Braunlin, Qi Li, Jonathan P Davis, James D Potter, Joseph M Metzger. Noncanonical EF-hand motif strategically delays Ca2 buffering to enhance cardiac performance. Nature Medicine, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nm.3079

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/JOI5xZqafj0/130210143256.htm

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Last moonwalker calls space station

NASA TV/collectSPACE.com

Apollo 17 moonwalker Gene Cernan, left, gives a thumbs up to the astronauts on the International Space Station from Mission Control in Houston on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013.

By Robert Z. Pearlman, collectSPACE.com Editor

HOUSTON ? The last man to walk on the moon made an unexpected call to the most recent men to live in space this week during a visit to NASA's Mission Control room.?

Gene Cernan, who in December 1972 commanded Apollo 17, the sixth and final lunar landing mission, was touring the Johnson Space Center here with some friends when he was invited by flight controllers to talk live with Expedition 34? commander Kevin Ford and flight engineers Chris Hadfield and Tom Marshburn in the U.S. Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station, 260 miles above the Earth.

"I didn't know I was going to be able to do this," Cernan told the station's crew during the visit on Feb. 5. The moonwalker, who was using a phone receiver to talk with the astronauts in space, could see Ford, Marshburn and Hadfield on the large screens at the front of the control center room.

The ISS residents were in turn able to see Cernan via live streaming video on one of their laptop computers.

"I'm personally proud," Cernan commented. "I'm at the age now where most of you were probably in diapers or knee pants when I went to the moon, but at least what we did worked because it inspired you to do what you're doing." [Apollo 17 Moonwalker Calls Space Station (Video)]

"I think I was 12 when you came home from the moon for the last time," Ford responded, "and you did inspire us for sure, just like whole world, frankly. Every place I go in the world, they know NASA because what you guys did back then that long ago."

Elbow room in space
The space-to-ground conversation, which aired on NASA's television channel and was streamed through the space agency's website, showed Ford, Marshburn and Hadfield floating inside the orbiting laboratory with room to spare. And they were inside just one of the space station's dozen modules, which they share with three other crewmates, Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy, Evgeny Tarelkin and Roman Romanenko.

?Cernan was struck by the sheer size of the space station, especially given his own experiences in orbit.

?"You guys live in a hotel. You're living in a palatial palace up there," Cernan stated. "I got to go back to the Gemini days when you had to share elbow room with your buddy and you never got out of your spacesuit for three days."

?Cernan flew three times to space, including two missions to the moon. He made his first flight seated inside NASA's two-seater Gemini spacecraft. Cernan's only opportunity to stretch his legs during the Gemini 9 mission was during a two-hour spacewalk.

"We talked about living up there like we live down here, we didn't even have hot water on the moon to warm a cup of coffee," Cernan said.

"You're right, the space station is a palace, actually," Ford radioed. "We did fly up here in a [Russian] Soyuz though, and I bet you, inch-for-inch for elbow room, that it's pretty tight, too. But we didn't have to spend a lot of time in it, and we only have four hours home from here."

"I've been here for a little over 100 days now and Tom and Chris have been up here 45 or so," the station commander told Cernan. "Living in space is something we can do now because of what you guys did those years ago."

Cernan's visit to Mission Control was with some friends from Space Center Houston, the official visitor center for Johnson Space Center. Thousands of young children visit the museum and attraction to learn about NASA's past, present and future activities in space.

"You're doing one heck of a great job and you have got a big legacy to build upon. From where you leave off, we're going to get those kids excited down here about pressing on and going even further," Cernan told Ford and his crew members.

"It is going to make a huge difference to generations 100 years from now," Ford replied. "[They] are going to benefit from what we're doing up here and of course, benefit from what you did those years ago."

?"Yours is a remarkable story, we can't compete with that," Ford said to Cernan. "Great to have you in the center and truly have you aboard the International Space Station."

?"One last thought," said Cernan. "We always used to look at it as we stood on the shoulders of giants of the nation. Remember, when you guys get back, the job is not done. You are now the shoulders for those kids to stand upon."

?Follow collectSPACE on Facebook and Twitter @collectSPACE and editor Robert Pearlman @robertpearlman. Copyright 2012?collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.

?

Source: http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/09/16911532-last-moonwalker-calls-space-station-compares-cosmic-elbow-room?lite

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Texas prosecutor's tough, softer sides recalled

TERRELL, Texas (AP) ? A Texas prosecutor gunned down outside his courthouse office last month was remembered Saturday for his zealousness in pursuing tough cases, love of flying and ability to tell stories.

Hundreds turned out in a school auditorium to celebrate the life of Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse during a 90-minute memorial service that included stories about the veteran prosecutor's tough and softer sides as well as vows to catch his killer.

Hasse, 57, was shot multiple times the morning of Jan. 31 while walking from his car in a parking lot about a block from the courthouse. The brazen crime has sparked an investigation that includes both local and federal authorities, many of whom attended the Saturday ceremony.

Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland described how Hasse, who wasn't married and had no children, never backed away from anything while often telling stories that brought laughter heard throughout the courthouse.

McLelland then turned to the effort to find Hasse's killer.

"He knows and I know there will be a reckoning," the DA said. "Too many people are focusing on that. That's not going to be a problem."

The slain prosecutor's brother, Paul Hasse, also mentioned the search for the gunman.

"You honor him by the massive effort you are making to find out who did this," he said.

Several speakers traced Hasse's career from his time as an assistant district attorney in Dallas in the 1980s to his decision three years ago to join the DA's office in Kaufman, 33 miles southeast of Dallas.

Dallas attorney Marcus Busch, who worked with Hasse in the Dallas DA's office, called Hasse "the consummate prosecutor," describing how he rose from handling cases in misdemeanor courts to being the chief of the unit charged with prosecuting organized crime.

In one well-known instance, Hasse's "wicked and clever intellect" prompted him to take on a case of murder by arson that had previously been rejected, and he was able to gain a conviction, Busch said.

Busch also spoke of Hasse's love of flying and how he recovered from severe head injuries after a mid-1990s accident in which the vintage World War II aircraft he was flying crashed in Virginia. Busch said he began taking flying lessons himself because of Hasse's passion for it.

Hasse left private practice to work as a prosecutor in Kaufman because "that's what his passion was," Busch said.

"I'd rather be in court trying a case with Mark than being in this room today," he said, stopping to gain his composure.

Cooke County DA Janice Warder, another former colleague from Hasse's Dallas days, recalled working with the prosecutor before computers put information at their fingertips. When questions would emerge from complicated autopsy reports or engineering documents, Hasse would have the answers, she said.

"Before there was Google, there was 'Ask Mark,'" Warder said.

Above all else, Hasse was "ruthless when it came to fighting evil," she said.

Justin Lewis, an officer with the sheriff's department in Kaufman County who previously served as an investigator in the county DA's office, also spoke of how Hasse "enjoyed putting criminals in jail." Fighting to control his emotions, Lewis ended his remarks by saying the killer will be caught.

"Answers will eventually come," he said. "We must remain vigilant."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-prosecutors-tough-softer-sides-recalled-002127250.html

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Rebels, troops battle for key Damascus highway

BEIRUT (AP) ? Opposition forces targeted Damascus with mortars, a roadside bomb and a suicide attack on Sunday as they pressed ahead in their quest for the seat of President Bashar Assad's power.

Outside the capital, government troops battled rebels for the fifth straight day for control of a key highway. Both sides consider the fight for Damascus the most likely endgame in a nearly two-year-old civil war that has already killed more than 60,000 people.

Sunday's fighting was the heaviest in Damascus since the first rebel push into the capital in July. The rebels then managed to capture several neighborhoods, but were soon bombed out during a punishing government counteroffensive.

Since then, the rebels have threatened the heavily fortified capital from opposition strongholds around the city. Damascus, however, has been spared the kind of violence and destruction that has been seen in other major urban centers during the conflict.

Checkpoints on the main artery into the capital have changed hands several times since Wednesday when the latest rebel campaign for Damascus started. The road is strategically important because it leads to northern Syria and the regime uses it to move troops and supplies. Rebels cut the road off from Damascus with burning tires on Friday after seizing checkpoints from regime troops in fighting that brought the civil war within a mile of the heart of the capital.

A rebel fighter told The Associated Press that opposition forces on Sunday overran another roadblock, al-Adnan checkpoint in Jobar, northeast of Damascus. He spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

But the Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-regime activist group, said that while the fight for the highway continues, government troops regained control of the area on Sunday after using fighter jets to bomb rebel positions the day before.

A mortar that hit a Damascus street near Shabandar Square killed four people and injured several others, a government official told the AP on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to brief the media.

State-run SANA news agency said a roadside bomb detonated at Arnous street, in the heart of Damascus, injuring several people. In another part of the city, a suicide bomber blew himself up. He was the only one who died in the blast in Rouken al-Deen neighborhood, the official news service said.

The rebels' latest push for Damascus is similar to rebel offensives in other Syrian cities. The opposition controls large swathes of land outside urban centers ? like Homs in central Syria and Deir el-Zour in the east, and even whole neighborhoods like in the northern city of Aleppo ? but cannot oust all government troops because of the regime's superior fire power.

The fighting has settled into a bloody stalemate and shows no signs of stopping, despite several tentative proposals from both sides to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Also on Sunday, rebels fought a fierce battle with troops for control of military airport and artillery base that houses the Syrian army's 113th Brigade just outside the city of Dei el-Zour, the Observatory said. The Observatory said the rebels were using tanks they previously captured from the military in their assault on the regime's outposts in the city, which has the same name as the oil-rich province along Syria's border with Iraq that has been the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the civil war.

Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi reiterated the regime's mantra that the only solution to the conflict is national dialogue in Syria, among Syrians, without foreign interference and in line with Assad's peace proposal that would keep him in charge of a reconciliation process.

"There is absolutely no other alternative," al-Zoubi told reporters after attending the enthronement of a new patriarch in Damascus. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, who was also at the ceremony, warned the West to stop interfering in Syrian affairs and called on opposition leaders to start talks with the regime without preconditions.

The opposition in January rejected Assad's initiative because it would keep him in power. The opposition and its Western backers insist Assad step down before any talks can begin. Late last month, the head of the Syrian National Coalition, Mouaz al-Khatib, changed course, saying he was willing to talk to the regime if it would help end bloodshed.

He suggested that Assad release tens of thousands of political prisoners as a first step.

Members of the opposition criticized al-Khatib's offer to talk to the regime, and the government flatly rejected it.

Late Friday, al-Zoubi said Damascus was ready for dialogue with the opposition so long as the rebels lay down their weapons. He said anyone who responds will not be harmed.

The initiative is unlikely to gain any traction among the Syrian opposition and fighters on the ground, a highly decentralized force with weak links to the political leaders that deeply distrusts the regime. Most groups are unlikely to stop fighting so long as Assad remains president.

In Cairo, al-Khatib met with international peace envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, to discuss the opposition leader's initiative for talks with the Assad regime, according to a U.N. statement. The statement said the envoy "reiterated his support for (al-Khatib's) initiative and encouraged the coalition to continue in this direction."

Brahimi's efforts to stop the fighting in Syria have failed so far, leaving the international community at a loss for ways to end the civil war.

___

Associated Press writer Zeina Karam and Aya Batrawy in Cairo contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rebels-troops-battle-key-damascus-highway-133319530.html

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