Big Homes Are Back in Business

The Mengles are at the forefront of a surprising trend in a number of new subdivisions across the nation: Bigger homes are making a comeback.

"There's no doubt we're a lot larger than we were a few years ago," said Steve Ruffner, president of the Southern California division of KB Home, one of the nation's largest builders.

KB Home says the average square footage of houses currently under contract is 2,079, an increase of 13% from last year. And more KB buyers are picking models that exceed 3,500 square feet.

That is a change from the past few years, when builders were downsizing houses to accommodate an era of frugality and austerity. As the economy slowly improves and some consumers' anxieties ease, buyers are upsizing again—though there is far less demand than before for huge houses loaded with upgrades.

According to the Census Bureau, the average size of a newly built home was 2,480 square feet in 2011. That was up 3.7% from 2010 and represented the first annual increase since 2007.

Charter Homes & Neighborhoods, the company that is building the Mengles' new house, said the single-family homes it is delivering this year are 200 square feet larger than the ones they delivered last year, which works out to an increase of 5% to 10%. "The big sellers last year were town homes," said a company representative. This year, she said, the hot sellers are large colonials clustered in parklike settings.

With the trend, some builders are seeing increased sales prices. In April, the average home price was $282,600, up from $268,900 a year earlier, according to census data, though that is down from $329,400 in early 2007.

In its first quarter, KB Home saw its average selling price rise 6% from a year earlier to $219,000.

The return to bigger houses—which has taken industry watchers by surprise—indicates that the housing downturn paused, but didn't kill, America's love affair with supersize abodes. The trend is an encouraging sign for builders, which last year sold just 306,000 newly built homes, the lowest number since record-keeping began in 1963.

A major driver behind the bigger-home trend is record-low interest rates, under 4% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which allow some buyers to move up without necessarily making larger mortgage payments.

Some buyers say they reason that in the long run it is cheaper to buy a big house now, even though they don't yet necessarily need the space, and spread the cost over the life of the loan, instead of spending money down the road for expansion projects.

And because many builders slashed prices in recent years, especially on big houses that once were slow sellers, the cost difference between midsize and large homes in some communities is nominal.

7 Kode Pria Ingin Bercinta

Ghiboo.com - Kebanyakan pria tak merasa malu membiarkan wanira tahu kapan mereka menginginkan Anda. Jadi, sebaiknya wanita mulai belajar membaca kode-kode yang diberikan pria.

Berikut ini beberapa sinyal yang menandakan pria menginginkan Anda di ranjang, seperti dilansir melalui Cosmopolitan, Rabu (14/3).

Pupil Membesar

Pupil matanya membesar, membuat bola hitam pada mata membesar. Ini bisa jadi sinyal kuat kalau terjadi lonjakan gairah seks pada pria.

Mengaitkan jempolnya ke lubang sabuk celananya

Tanda ini menjadi dilakukannya untuk memberikan kode untuk bercinta.

Dia menyentuh hidungnya berulang kali.

Penelitian yang dipublikasikan dalam Journal of Royal Society of Medicine menunjukkan bahwa saraf di hidung seorang pria jaringan ereksinya saling berhubungan. Kecuali, jika dia sedang sakit flu atau pilek.

Bicara dengan suara lebih lembut dari biasanya

Penelitian di tahun 2010 menunjukkan bahwa pria secara refleks menurunkan nada suaranya yang bisa menjadi sinyal bahwa terjadi peningkatan keinginan untuk bercinta.

Dia menyentuh bahu Anda

Menggosok atau mengusap tangannya ke bahu Anda biasanya menunjukkan dia menginginkan Anda.

Memeluk dan meletakkan tangannya di bawah pinggang Anda.

Jika dia tiba-tiba memeluk erat Anda dan memegang bokong Anda, mungkin itu menjadi tanda bagi Anda bahwa dia menginginkan yang lebih dari sebuah pelukan.

Menggigit bibir bawahnya dan menggoyangkan kepalanya

Pria yang melakukan hal itu saat berbicara didepan pasangannya mungkin sedang gelisah karena menginginkan Anda segera.

China says not changing from its path of socialism

BEIJING (AP) — China's government vowed Friday that it will not deviate from its socialist path, defending anew its authoritarian system and saying Western capitalist political systems are not suitable for China.

China's top legislator, Wu Bangguo, said in a report delivered to the annual National People's Congress that China needs to keep to the socialist path and understand the differences between its political system and those of Western capitalist countries.
As China has grown more powerful and rich in recent years, it has strongly rejected any criticism of its policies and suggestions that the economic changes would bring about any lessening of power for the ruling Communist Party.

Like it

If you didn't believe in the luck of the Irish before today, this clip should go a long way to making you a convert. Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell is one of the best golfers on the planet at the moment, but the shot he hit during Sunday's final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship -- in tournament news, Tiger Woods came into the round tied for the lead but ended up losing to Robert Rock -- had nothing to do with skill, and everything to do with some ridiculously good luck.

[Related: Lack of consistency dooms Tiger Woods in Abu Dhabi final round]

How crazy was McDowell's shot on the 18th hole? Put it this way: His hole-in-one on the par-3 12th was a mere afterthought on Sunday. After knocking his second into a bunker short of the 18th green, McDowell caught his approach shot thin and half expected it to end up in the grandstands behind the green.

But instead of ending up with an incredibly difficult fourth shot, McDowell's ball ricocheted off the grandstand and rolled back to within a couple feet of the cup. Of course, he went on to make the birdie putt and finish in a tie for third. He can thank the luck of the Irish for that shot.

How Family Tips from Advice Guru Liz Pryor: Honor and Protect Our Children

In the last few years, it feels as if we have become more and more exposed to the deceptions, stories of infidelity, and ultimate implosion of some high-profile marriages in this country.

How, I have to wonder, are we really expected to respond to the details we take on, as they inevitably surface in a way that feels like we're watching the sordid pieces of somebody's private life-puzzle come together to create a heinous black storm?

These kinds of stories make all of us at least bristle, if not feel a bit nauseated.

Is there room here to wonder if the exposure of all of these experiences could have a negative effect? Grouped together, the personal disclosure of deception from the latest athletes and politicians are enough to make even the most over-the-top believer in family living and marriage take pause.

The stars of these stories are the people we see as role models for our children. At the least of it, our faith is being tested. Our faith in the moral barometer, to which all of us, to some degree, want to believe in.

Part of me can't help but take note at how these events are affecting and forming ideas in the heads of the children of this country.

I don't know who started it, or who is right or wrong about how much we should know, and when or how we are exposed, but the fact is… We are all exposed at all times.

As I think of what kids are saying about these events, and hear how they interpret what they know, it is impossible not to feel for the children in the lives of the people actually going through the implosions. It's impossible, as a mother, not to imagine what this must be like for them.

My suggestion is to remember carefully that people, at the end of the day, are just people. And children are just children.

Clearly, the system can lead us to believe that is not so, but it is. The next time we choose to talk about the private, unfortunate events in the private lives of certain high-profile families, we should consider that a child, and their privacy, may be in the crossfire.

Children's ability to make it through this stuff is debilitated gravely by our interest in it. They do not choose to be in high-profile families, but that is just where they are. Sometimes it is great, but often it is tough. As much as it comes with its privileges, it also comes with an unfathomable lack of privacy.

Imagine navigating through difficult waters as just a pedestrian, and now imagine doing it with every single person in the country watching you.

I recommend that we show a new kind of respect. We can call upon ourselves to use the best judgment we can possibly muster by not perpetuating an already paralyzing situation for the children in these families. Treat these kids in the way you would want others to treat your children if you suddenly found your child in the crossfire because of your own lack of judgment and character.

It's difficult to imagine the gravity of what the adults in these families must now face, as they lose the love and trust they once knew from the people who mean the most to them in the world, can bring a kind of suffering that surpasses description.

If we are to learn anything from the abundance of thoughtless indulgence shown in these stories, we should at least be reminded of our duty to the people we bring into this world. Yes, our duty to our children, which is to sacrifice, honor and pave a road of example filled with character and integrity.

There is nothing more valuable in life than the love of our family and children. As imperfect as we all may be, if, in the very end, we can look our kids in the eyes and take pride in our efforts, that is what it is all about.

So, remember, every moment we spend judging the private affairs of others is one less moment we spend doing something meaningful, productive or perhaps engaged with our own families. 

The Original Source

How the Galapagos Islands Changed the World

Each Monday, this column turns a page in history to explore the discoveries, events and people that continue to affect the history being made today.

Boobies and lava gulls and giant tortoises, oh my! 

The Galapagos Islands host a faunal freak show of rare animal species endemic only to those volcanic specks isolated in the Pacific Ocean. While still very interesting to ecologists today, in the 19th century the life there proved key in Charles Darwin's seminal study on the evolution of species.

Darwin (and some of his colleagues) had suspicions about the nature of speciation in years' prior and solidified his theories in the years that followed, but it was the fantastic menagerie of the Galapagos that ultimately lit the fire under the theory of natural selection, which changed biology forever and fuels debates still today. 

Isolated islands created unique species

When the young British naturalist landed in the Galapagos at San Cristobal Island in 1835, he compared the hot and dusty place to the infernos of hell, and mused at the strange animals that seemed unafraid of their new human visitors.

Indeed, most of the Galapagos wildlife had limited contact with humans and, therefore, no reason to be afraid.

When the Galapagos were first spotted by humans in 1535, its animals had already spent thousands of years adapting and readapting to their island home. Located 500 miles off the western coast of South America, the unique conditions of the isolated islands created a variety of species unlike any others across the globe, differing slightly even from island to island. Giant tortoises, for example, grew so large there because their smaller ancestors that first swam over from the mainland no longer had predators to hide from, scientists think.

Darwin observed the giant tortoises (and, unfortunately, ate many of them), iguanas and sea lions on the Galapagos, but it was the enormous variety of birds on the islands that especially captured his attention. Eighty-five percent of Galapagos birds can't be found anywhere else, including the famous finches.

Beaks developed from natural selection

Thirteen species of finch are endemic to the Galapagos Islands, similar in look except for the distinct shapes and sizes of their beaks. The different beaks allow them to take advantage of the unique food sources of their particular island. Some eat like woodpeckers, others use sticks to dig insects out of holes, and still others are nourished by ticks and mites plucked from the backs of tortoises.

Over five weeks in 1835, Darwin made careful observations of the peculiar birds on each island, but did not have his great eureka! moment about evolution while on the Galapagos, contrary to popular belief.

It was only in 1839, after comparing his notes with fellow scientists, that Darwin's observations jelled into a theory with a name — natural selection. Each living thing that Darwin catalogued had adapted to its specific environment over many generations because its ancestor possessed characteristics favorable to its survival and the survival of its offspring, he supposed.

The idea that animals develop gradually from simpler to more complex organisms was not a new one — naturalists had proposed that theory in the late 18th century — but it was the "how" of this transformation that eluded scientists. Natural selection, as displayed in real time in the Galapagos Islands, connected the dots.

With the groundwork essentially laid, Darwin went about collecting evidence to support the then heretical notion that his observations in the Galapagos could be applied to all animals, including humans. It took 20 more years before he felt comfortable enough to publish his work in "The Origin of Species."

The Original Source

'Extinct' Galapagos Tortoise Reappears

After 150 years of being "extinct," a species of giant tortoise may be on the verge of a comeback tour, scientists report today (Jan. 9).

The researchers "found" the lost species, called Chelonoidis elephantopus, by analyzing the genome of a closely related species, Chelonoidis becki, which lives on Isabela Island, the largest of the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The island lies about 200 miles (322 kilometers) from Floreana Island, where C. elephantopus was last spotted before disappearing, likely due to hunting by whalers, some 150 years ago.

The two species of gigantic tortoise, both living in the Galápagos Islands (famously studied by Charles Darwin), have different shaped shells. The shells of C. elephantopus on Floreana Island were saddle-shaped while tortoises on other islands, including C. becki, had domed-shaped shells. These giant tortoises can weigh nearly 900 pounds (408 kilograms) and reach almost 6 feet(1.8 meters) in length.

Finding hybrids

The researchers noticed in 2008 that some of the C. becki shells were more saddle shaped than domed shaped, and found that these were hybrid offspring from matings between the two species. They took samples for genetic analyses from 1,669 of the large tortoises on the island, about 20 percent of their population.

They found some snippets of the C. elephantopus genome in the population, and using a special computer model they analyzed how recently these genes would have entered the population. This would have happened when a living C. elephantopus mated with a C. becki — and is indirect proof that at that time living C. elephantopus existed.

They found that 84 of the tortoises had genetic indicators that one of their parents was a C. elephantopus, 30 of which were less than 15 years of age. Given the 100-year lifespan of the tortoises the researchers say there is a good chance that their C. elephantopus parent would still be alive.

"To our knowledge, this is the first report of the rediscovery of a species by way of tracking the genetic footprints left in the genomes of its hybrid offspring," study researcher Ryan Garrick, who performed the work at Yale University, but is now assistant professor at the University of Mississippi, said in a statement. "These findings breathe new life into the conservation prospects for members of this flagship group."

Because of genetic differences between the hybrid tortoises, the researchers estimate that at least 38 C. elephantopus left behind hybrid descendants on the Galápagos Islands, and many may still be alive.

Planning a comeback tour

If the researchers can find this hidden population, they could capture individuals to set up a breeding program to regenerate the species, the authors write in the paper published Jan. 9 in the journal Current Biology. They could even try to resuscitate the species from the genetic snippets found in C. becki.

"This is not just an academic exercise," study researcher Gisella Caccone, of Yale University, said in a statement. "If we can find these individuals, we can restore them to their island of origin. This is important as these animals are keystone species playing a crucial role in maintaining the ecological integrity of the island communities."

In an interesting twist, the researchers aren't sure how the giant tortoises would have gotten from Floreana Island to Isabela — they suggest the animals may have been brought to Isabela as food and then either thrown overboard or left on the shore.

The Original Source

What Is Twitter?

I just don't understand Twitter."

That is the reply I get most often when I talk about Twitter to friends and family. "What is Twitter?" they will ask. And when I explain the basics of how Twitter operates, they ask, "Why would anyone use Twitter?"

Twitter is a Miniature Blog

Micro-blogging is defined as a quick update usually containing a very limited number of characters. It is a popular features of social networks like Facebook where you can update your status, but it has become best known because of Twitter.

In essence, micro-blogging is for people who want a blog but don't want to blog. A personal blog can keep people informed on what is going on in your life, but not everyone wants to spend an hour crafting a beautiful post about the vibrant colors seen on a butterfly spotted in the front time. Sometimes, you just want to say "went shopping for a new car but didn't find anything" or "watched Dancing With the Stars and Warren Sapp sure can dance."

So what is Twitter? It's a great place for keeping people informed on what you are up to without the need to spend a lot of time crafting an entire post on the subject. You just say what's up and leave it at that.

Twitter is Social Messaging

While Twitter may have started as a micro-blogging service, it is grown into much more than simply a tool to type in quick status updates. So when asked "What is Twitter?", I often describe it as a cross between blogging and instant messaging, though even that doesn't do it justice.

Put simply, Twitter is social messaging. With the ability to follow people and have followers, and the ability to have interact with Twitter on your cell phone, Twitter has become the perfect social messaging tool. Whether you are out on the town and want to coordinate with a group of people as to what hot spot to hit next, or keeping people informed of developments at a company-sponsored event, Twitter is a great tool for quickly communicating a message to a group of people.

Twitter is News Reporting

Turn on CNN, Fox News or any other news-reporting service and you'll likely see a news ticker streaming across the bottom of the television set. In a digital world that is relying on the Internet more and more for news, that streaming ticker is Twitter.

Outdoor festivals like the South-by-Southwest festival in Austin, TX and major events like the E3 conference have shown what a great resource Twitter can be for quickly reporting news to a huge group of people. Faster and more immediate than a blog, Twitter has been embraced by the "new media" of the blogosphere and has slowly won acceptance among traditional media outlets.

Twitter is Social Media Marketing

Twitter has become a favorite target for social media marketing. This new form of getting the message out has been used effectively by Barak Obama during his Presidential campaign, and is used by everyone from magazines to movie stars as a quick way to connect with an audience.

With utilities like Twitterfeed, it is easy to convert an RSS feed into Twitter updates. This makes it easy to use Twitter as a form of social media marketing.

Ada apa ini

Translate if you do not understand, Please
Sejenek,renungkanlah tentang apa yang ada disekitar kamu.Ada banyak sebenarnya hal-hal yang membuat kamu miris,takut dan kadang juga membanggakan kepada tiap insan tuhan di muka bumi ini.Cuaca misalnya dan masih banyak lagi keanehan-keanehan yang ditunjukkan Tuhan kepada kamu.

Dan sebenarnya Tuhan menunjukkan hal-hal semacam itu bukan berarti tanpa maksud.Manusia sudah terlalu sombong, congkak dan merasa telah menyamai Tuhan.

Hai Para Manusia bodoh Ilmu kamu hanyalah setetes air di Samudra Sampai kapanpun kamu tidak akan dapat menandinginya.Maka Sadarlah sebelum MATI menjemput kamu.

Tuhan memberikan ini hanyalah supaya kamu Insaf dan kembali kepada Tuhan Yang Mahakuasa.

Dubai Gym Owner Apologizes After Backlash Over Holocaust-Themed Fitness Campaign

A gym advertisement with a explicit Holocaust connection? What could possibly go wrong?

We thought Newt Gingrich's comparison of failing to be on the Virginia Republican primary ballot to Pearl Harbor was bad. Now a gym owner in Dubai thought a picture of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp would be a great advertisement poster for his gym.

He thought wrong.

Phil Parkinson, 32, posted a picture to the Circuit Factory's Facebook page of the railroad tracks leading to Auschwitz with the caption "Where your calories go to die." Great slogan by itself? Sure. But not when attached to an image like that. The Nazis slaughtered 1.3 million people at Auschwitz.

From The National, in the United Arab Emirates:

Parkinson said he used an image of Auschwitz to advertise weight-loss and exercise classes because "it's like a calorie concentration camp."

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"The idea of the campaign isn't to upset anybody," he said. "The way branding works is ... you want people talking about your business. We want them talking about us, but we don't want people to take offence at it."

On his Twitter account, Parkinson posted many apologies and tweeted: "Apologies for the insane poster campaign that was put up this morning. The creative guy has been told where to go."

But wait, the Holocaust poster wasn't the only advertisement for The Circuit Factory that was subsequently deleted from the page due to criticism. Three others were taken off, including a poster with a picture of a full toilet. And not a toilet full of water.

And while Parkinson invoked the "all press is good press" excuse as a semi-defense, we'll just say something that's so obvious that it shouldn't need to be said: there's never a good time to make a light-hearted Holocaust reference. Ever.

The Original Source

U.S. is top 2012 property investment pick

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States will remain the top choice of most global commercial real estate investors in 2012, but the country has lost ground to Brazil which ranked No. 2 this year, according to a survey released Sunday.

While the United States offers the most stable and secure option in commercial real estate, investors said improvement in rent and occupancy growth and the repeal of a 1980 foreign investment tax would have the strongest impact on their investment decisions, according to the 20th annual survey of Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) members.

For about the past year or so, investors in U.S. commercial real estate have focused on gateway cities such as New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles, driving prices up and yields down.

Meanwhile commercial property in Brazil, with its bubbling economy and safer investment environment, has become a hot spot for global investors. Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, jumped to the fourth best city for real estate investment dollars in 2012, up from 26th place last year.

The United States is still very desirable and was second behind the UK in attracting cross border investment in 2011, according to Real Capital Analytics preliminary figures.

"The negative is it doesn't promise a whole lot of capital appreciation because the prime markets are already fully priced," AFIRE Chief Executive Officer James Fetgatter said. "By no means will Brazil replace the U.S., at least not in the forseeable future. Brazil is considered now a much safer place to invest and a place where you can get capital appreciation and good yield."

AFIRE'S survey respondents hold more than $874 billion of real estate globally, including $338 billion in the United States.

Sixty 60 percent of respondents said they plan to increase their investment in U.S. real estate in 2012, down from a record 72 percent last year, according to the 20th annual survey.

Some 42.2 percent said they believed the United States in 2012 would offer the best opportunity for the price of their commercial real estate investments to increase, down from 64.7 percent last year's survey.

The United States lost ground to Brazil, with 18.6 percent saying Brazil's property market offered the best growth opportunity for their investment dollars. That's up 14.2 percentage points, moving Brazil up to second place from fourth, and pushing China down to No. 3, according to the AFIRE survey.

Seventy percent of respondents picked one of the three countries as their favorite, while the remaining 30 percent had top choices from 13 other countries on five continents.

Respondents said they would invest more in U.S. commercial property if the fundamentals of rent and occupancy growth were stronger.

Another U.S. barrier respondents cited was the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA). The 1980 act, originally designed to protect farm property from foreign ownership, subjects foreign buyers to both their domestic and U.S. taxes when they sell their investment, unless their home country has a taxation treaty with the United States.

FIRPTA opponents have argued that the act unfairly penalizes foreign investors of real estate. Such double taxation does not apply if they buy U.S. stocks or bonds.

As for the top cities for foreign investment in 2012, New York remained No. 1. London moved up to No. 2 from No. 3, swapping ranks with Washington. Sao Paulo was fourth, and San Francisco moved up to No. 5 from No. 10 last year.

Europe's sovereign debt problems and looming recession pushed most of the countries there - except for a few such as Switzerland and Poland - off the map for real estate investors. Germany lost about half its support among respondents in terms of stability and price appreciation, according to the survey.

Emerging markets also seem to be getting more popular among potential investors. Respondents identified 25 countries they would consider for investment, up from 18 last year. Brazil topped the list, with China in second place, as each did last year. Turkey moved up to No. 3 from No. 7 last year. India and Vietnam each dropped down one spot, to No. 3 and No. 4 respectively. Appearing for the first time were Colombia, at No. 10, Hungary at No. 12, and Qatar at No. 17.

As for U.S. commercial real estate, respondents said that this year they would most likely invest in apartment buildings, the fourth consecutive year multifamily topped the list. Of all the types of U.S. commercial real estate, the multifamily sector has not only recovered from the post-2007 real estate slump but rents and occupancy are even stronger than before.

Warehouse and distribution centers ranked second, up from No. 5 last year. Office properties were third, up a notch from No. 4. Retail properties - shopping centers and malls - slipped to No. 4 from No. 2. Hotels ranked No. 5, down from No. 3 last year.

The survey was conducted in the fourth quarter by the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate, Wisconsin School of Business.

The Original Source