Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio: Rocklyn Homes and Red Oak Realty

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This week?s episode of Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio features Michael Rosenberg from Rocklyn Homes and Colby Henson of Red Oak Realty. Both guests discuss what homebuyers are looking for in Atlanta new homes.

Michael Rosenberg is the senior vice president of Rocklyn Homes. This homebuilder constructs new homes with a hands-on approach and a high attention to detail. From the feel of the kitchen and the trim in the family room to the landscaping of the community, Rocklyn Homes takes into consideration how your family lives.

Michael shares the home designs that are most popular with metro Atlanta homebuyers. He explains that submarkets must be taken into consideration when determining the popularity of home designs. For example, in Forsyth, the single-family homes at Champions Run are extremely popular. However, in Gwinnett County, Rocklyn?s townhomes are selling fast. Although it?s hard to pinpoint which type of home is most popular among homebuyers, one thing is for certain: everyone is searching for affordability.

To learn more about what you can expect from the housing market in 2012, listen to the full podcast! And to learn more about Rocklyn Homes, visit the website or call 770-817-2185 ext. 110.

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Today?s Deal of the Day is from Traton Homes. The builder is reinstating its Community Champions program in 2012. Back by popular demand, this fabulous incentive rewards teachers, police, firefighters and active U.S. ?Military with a 2 percent discount on homes that close by Dec. 31, 2012. Simply visit the Traton Homes website, print off the coupon and present it to the on-site sales agent when visiting a community.

Traton has been building homes in Atlanta with ?Altogether More? for more than 40 years. For more information about the Community Champions program, visit the Traton Homes website.

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Our next guest is Colby Henson, vice president of sales and marketing at Red Oak Realty. Red Oak Realty is a local building group in Cobb County. Colby shares with us that today?s typical buyer is savvy and picky because he or she is allowed to be. It takes a good location and a good feature set to bring buyers to your new home community.

• Good Feature Set?? Today, a lot of features are standard that were once considered upgrades. So, buyers expect to see hardwoods throughout the main floor, granite countertops and tile backsplashes.
• Downsizing?? Many of today?s buyers are choosing to downsize. A few years ago, everyone was looking for a large home with a lot of square footage. Now, buyers want a little bit of a smaller house, but they want it finished better.
• Energy Efficiency ? Today?s buyer is looking for an energy efficient home without large, open spaces that are expensive to heat and cool.

Red Oak Realty has new homes throughout Cobb County with a variety of features and finishes to accommodate any buyer?s needs. To learn more, listen to the podcast and then visit the Red Oak Realty website.

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Special thanks to this week?s show sponsor Professional Warranty Service Corporation. Professional Warranty Service Corporation provides an insured warranty program to home builders that guarantees your new homes adheres to specific constructions standards for a full 10 years. To learn more about Professional Warranty Service Corporation, visit PWSC.com or call 800-850-2799.

For more information on how you can feature your Atlanta new homes news, communities, products and services on?Atlanta Real Estate Forum or Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio, call 770-383-3360.

You can download all of the?Atlanta Real Estate Forum radio podcasts from iTunes.

Source: http://www.atlantarealestateforum.com/atlanta-real-estate-forum-radio-rocklyn-homes-and-red-oak-realty-57154/

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Who's got the best rotation?

Last year?s attempt was quite a hit, so let?s try it again, with a somewhat different methodology. Here?s how the 30 rotations stack up, according to my projections. I?ll go strictly by ERA here, taking the top five pitchers on the staff. Along with the ERA totals are the combined inning projections for the five starters.

1. Phillies: 3.39 (1001 1/3)
2. Cardinals: 3.648 (942 1/3)
3. Giants: 3.649 (994)
4. Angels: 3.68 (990 2/3)
5. Rays: 3.69 (995 2/3)
6. Nationals: 3.70 (908 2/3)
7. Red Sox: 3.70 (869)
8. Braves: 3.71 (974 1/3)
9. Marlins: 3.74 (953 1/3)
10. Dodgers: 3.77 (927 2/3)
11. Brewers: 3.81 (952 1/3)
12. Tigers: 3.83 (939)
13. Yankees: 3.89 (991)
14. Mariners: 3.93 (923 2/3)
15. Diamondbacks: 3.93 (991 1/3)
16. Reds: 3.94 (916 1/3)
17. Padres: 3.97 (863 1/3)
18. Rangers: 3.98 (951 2/3)
19. White Sox: 4.04 (860)
20. Athletics: 4.07 (800)
21. Cubs: 4.08 (967 1/3)
22. Mets: 4.08 (926)
23. Blue Jays: 4.10 (880 2/3)
24. Indians: 4.12 (942)
25. Pirates: 4.18 (820 1/3)
26. Rockies: 4.24 (818)
27. Astros: 4.24 (953)
28. Twins: 4.28 (900)
29. Royals: 4.32 (890 2/3)
30. Orioles: 4.36 (915 1/3)

Of course, there?s no factoring for league and ballpark there. There?s also no accounting for depth beyond the top five. So, while the Rays come in ever so slightly behind the Angels here, the quality of the Rays? sixth and seventh starters would push them ahead in a subjective ranking. In fact, let?s do a more subjective ranking:

1. Phillies
2. Rays
3. Angels
4. Giants
5. Cardinals
6. Braves
7. Yankees
8. Tigers
9. Rangers
10. Red Sox
11. Marlins
12. Brewers
13. Nationals
14. Diamondbacks
15. Dodgers
16. Reds
17. Mariners
18. Indians
19. White Sox
20. Cubs
21. Blue Jays
22. Mets
23. Rockies
24. Padres
25. Athletics
26. Orioles
27. Pirates
28. Twins
29. Royals
30. Astros

The top five was pretty easy, but six through 12 was a mess. I have the Red Sox with a nice ERA, but that?s partly because of a generous Daniel Bard projection (3.53 ERA in 155 1/3 IP) and because I don?t have them with a certain fifth starter dragging them down (right now it?s Vicente Padilla with a 4.31 ERA in 131 2/3 IP). So, they drop here. The Nationals are kind of in the same boat, since their best starter, Stephen Strasburg, is projected to throw 168 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, the Yankees and Rangers, both getting held back by their ballparks in the ERA projections, rise here. The Rangers certainly come with some risk ? I have Yu Darvish and Nettali Feliz finishing with the best ERAs on the staff ? but they also have more depth than most. The Yankees also get bonus points for having seven major league starters.

I?m sure fans of teams at the bottom will be annoyed. Kansas City?s rotation actually looks better than it has in years, and the Orioles at least have some upside after importing a couple of NPB pitchers to battle their youngsters. As for the Twins, well, I really don?t think much of Jason Marquis or Nick Blackburn. The Padres are getting dinged because I?m not sure any of their starters are a good bet to throw 190-200 innings.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/02/ranking-the-rotations-2012-edition/related/

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Brains of addicts are inherently abnormal: study | The Raw Story

By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, February 2, 2012 18:32 EST

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WASHINGTON ? Drug addicts have inherited abnormalities in some parts of the brain which interfere with impulse control, said a British study published in the United States on Thursday.

Previous research has pointed to these differences, but it was unclear if they resulted from the ravages of addiction or if they were there beforehand to predispose a person to drug abuse.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge compared the brains of addicts to their non-addicted siblings as well as to healthy, unrelated volunteers and found that the siblings shared many of the same weaknesses in their brains.

That indicates that the brain vulnerabilities had a family origin, though somehow the siblings of addicts ? either due to environmental factors or other differences in brain structure ? were able to resist addiction.

?Presumably, the siblings must have some other resilience factors that counteract the familial vulnerability to drug dependence,? said the study led by Karen Ersche of the University of Cambridge, published in the journal Science.

?An individual?s predisposition to become addicted to stimulant drugs may be mediated by brain abnormalities linked to impaired self-control.?

Researchers tested 50 biological sibling pairs, in which one was addicted to drugs and the other one had no history of chronic drug abuse. They also tested 50 healthy, unrelated pairs of people as a control group.

The tests involved measuring how well they could control their impulses in a stop-signal reaction time test that assesses how quickly a person can switch from following one set of instructions to another.

Addicts are known to have poor impulse control.

The researchers found that the sibling pairs ? even the non-addicts ? fared significantly worse on the test than the healthy volunteers.

Brain scans showed that the siblings shared some of the same weaknesses in the frontal lobe and its connections to the basal ganglia, which mediates motor, cognition and behavior.

In an accompanying Perspective article, Nora Volkow and Ruben Baler of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse said that knowing more about brain circuitry could help understand and treat other ?impaired control? disorders, like obesity, pathological gambling, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

?Several childhood and adolescent interventions can improve executive function and self-control,? though more study is needed to see how such work may or may not impact the brain, they wrote.

Agence France-Presse

AFP journalists cover wars, conflicts, politics, science, health, the environment, technology, fashion, entertainment, the offbeat, sports and a whole lot more in text, photographs, video, graphics and online.

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Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/02/brains-of-addicts-are-inherently-abnormal-study/

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Entry Level Jobs that need a Bachelor running a business ...

With an expansive economy like ours, there are tons of careers for entry level jobs that individuals without having previous experience can take. Even though you may have to earn on your path through it, you do have numerous selections. If you?re a non-degree holder who is desperately seeking an business to break into, or certainly are a fresh college graduate that is still figuring out how to begin their career, here are the very best 5 entry- level job alternatives.

Be persistent. Maintain calling, stopping in, or emailing the locations are contemplating you. Ensure they know who you?re, along with be a major pest. Consider prospective salary. As you are just starting out, do not anticipate a fantastic salary, but don?t rollover whenever you think you are becoming shorted.

A person?s employment history is likely essentially the most critical details which a prospective employer can look at through the application process. Many employers also check credit and criminal histories as part of the assessment of a person?s reliability and integrity, but having a solid, steady operating history is often a key factor for taking into consideration how the applicant handles workplace duties and responsibilities.

Employees in sales may be able to bring in high salaries. Yahoo Education states that advertising and sales managers might earn around $80,000. There are several locations within sales where you can function, which may possibly contain retail, finance and company. Managers in sales earn commissions and bonuses depending on the efficiency of their team, so it will be crucial for managers to be able to motivate their employees for them to garner a higher salary.

In 2008, entry level positions in sales and company development made up 25 percent of the jobs posted on MonsterTRAK.com. They were followed by accounting and finance, with Fifteen percent of entry level positions. Training and instruction jobs arrived third, with IT and software program development fourth and healthcare jobs rounding your leading 5. Entry level jobs within the medical and academic fields are growing, which jobs may soon outnumber other sorts of positions.

The corporate world may be fairly a harsh and difficult atmosphere after only the best-qualified and skilled individual. Within the cutthroat arena of the typical company environment, careers may be made-or broken-all inside the space of a single day and you are going to require guts of steel, together with the expected expert qualifications, so that you can stay a viable contender in the game. Indeed it takes a unique breed of individual to not only survive the continuous struggles but to thrive on this environment and ultimately triumph in the end. And if you have any long-term ambitions that you just wish to fulfill, in which you need to ultimately wind up is in the leading.

Source: http://muscreen.com/entry-level-jobs-that-need-a-bachelor-running-a-business-administration.html

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It didn?t have to be this way, playing games and lost one day (cont.) (Unqualified Offerings)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/194538903?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Small Business Legal Regulations: Human Resource Compliance ...

Dealing with employment issues, Human Resource and Compliance departments are barraged with acronyms and terms related to legal and regulatory guidelines. When those acronyms and terms stem from various legal areas, business owners and HR departments can be overwhelmed by the myriad of terms affecting their small business. Terms such as Admiralty, EEOC, EU, NLRA, Treaty and UCMJ can materially affect employment.

Raymond A. Parker, SPHR, Senior Vice President ? Human Resource Consulting with SOI, a leading U.S. professional employer organization (PEO) notes, ?Most employers are familiar with U.S. employment law and keep current on state and local requirements. These are highly publicized, often well established and are common topics of conversation at work and among other employers and industry organizations. More often than not, and somewhat to their surprise, employers encounter requirements of other areas of law. This may occur when moving work to a different geographic area, e.g. non-Right To Work states, embarking upon new business lines, when employees organize, with demographic changes, e.g. when hiring Native Americans, etc. Interaction between these systems is complex and can require experienced, competent HR and legal counsel. PEOs help employers thread through legal systems regulating work in the U.S.?

HR and legal experts of PEOs can help with the following areas:

?Maritime law (Admiralty) governs activities at sea or in any navigable waters. In the U.S., federal courts have jurisdiction over maritime law. Under admiralty, the ship?s flag determines the source of law.

?Employment law (EEOC)

?International law (EU) historically comprises rules and principles governing the relations and dealings of nations with each other. Recently the scope of international law is being redefined to include relations between states and individuals, and relations between international organizations. Business globalization is highlighting this area of law.

?The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects the rights of employees and employers, encourages collective bargaining and curtails certain private sector labor and management practices. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) functions in this area commonly referred to as ?union activity?.

? Sovereignty (Treaty) is a state?s power to do everything necessary to govern itself, such as making, executing, and applying laws; imposing and collecting taxes; making war and peace; and forming treaties or engaging in commerce with foreign nations. The hospitality industry is expanding in this area of law as it deals with Sovereign Nations represented by Native American groups in gaming across the U.S.

?Military law (UCMJ) applies to all branches of the U.S. military and bringing cases to military courts. Employers are beginning to learn more about UMCJ as the U.S. returns military personnel to the workforce. Some returning veteran workers may express their ?understanding of guidelines as carried out in the service? and how they feel such can apply to civilian jobs. And some employees approach employers to assist with coordinating Veterans Affairs benefits and employer-sponsored healthcare benefits.

Prudent employers engage the resources and services of professionals with the knowledge, skill and ability to deal effectively and in a compliant manner with different legal systems involved in work. PEOs can be a valuable partners in this endeavor.

To learn how SOI can offer your business human resource compliance support, contact us today.

About SOI
SOI is a leading professional employer organization (PEO) for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) serving as a trusted partner in integrated human resource (HR) compliance, risk management, employee benefits, employment practices liability insurance (EPLI), and payroll processing. SOI is based in Charlotte, NC and supports tens of thousands of worksite employees throughout the U.S. For more details, visit: human resource compliance.

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Source: http://soipeo.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/small-business-legal-regulations-human-resource-compliance/

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Ill. nuclear reactor loses power, venting steam (AP)

BYRON, Ill. ? A nuclear reactor at a northern Illinois plant shut down Monday after losing power, and steam was being vented to reduce pressure, according to officials from Exelon Nuclear and federal regulators.

Unit 2 at Byron Generating Station, about 95 miles northwest of Chicago, shut down at 10:18 a.m., after losing power, Exelon officials said. Diesel generators began supplying power to the plant, and operators began releasing steam to cool the reactor from the part of the plant where turbines are producing electricity, not from within the nuclear reactor itself, officials said.

The steam contains low levels of tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, but federal and plant officials insisted the levels were safe for workers and the public.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared the incident an "unusual event," the lowest of four levels of emergency. Commission officials also said the release of tritium was expected.

Exelon Nuclear officials believe a failed piece of equipment at a switchyard caused the shutdown. The switchyard is similar to a large substation that delivers power to the plant from the electrical grid and that takes power from the plant to the electrical grid. Officials were still investigating the equipment failure.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng said officials can't yet calculate how much tritium is being released. They know the amounts of tritium are small because monitors around the plant aren't showing increased levels of radiation, she said.

Tritium molecules are so small that tiny amounts are able to pass from radioactive steam from the reactor into the water used to cool the turbines and other equipment outside the reactor. The steam that was being released was coming from the turbine side.

The amount of releasing steam helps "take away some of that energy still being produced by nuclear reaction but that doesn't have anywhere to go now." Even though the turbine is not turning to produce electricity, she said, "you still need to cool the equipment."

Tritium is relatively short-lived and penetrates the body weakly through the air compared to other radioactive contaminants.

Candace Humphrey, Ogle County's emergency management coordinator, said county officials were notified of the incident as soon as it happened and that public safety was never in danger.

"It was standard procedure that they would notify county officials," she said. "There is always concern. But, it never crossed my mind that there was any danger to the people of Ogle County."

Unit 1 was operating normally while engineers investigate why Unit 2 lost power, which comes into the plant from the outside power grid, Mitlyng said. Smoke was seen from an onsite station transformer, she said, but no evidence of a fire was found when the plant's fire brigade responded.

Mitlyng said Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors were in the control room at Byron and in constant contact with the agency's incident response center in Lisle, Ill.

In March 2008, federal officials said they were investigating a problem with electrical transformers at the plant after outside power to a unit was interrupted.

In an unrelated issue last April, the commission said it was conducting special inspections of backup water pumps at the Byron and Braidwood generating stations after the agency's inspectors raised concerns about whether the pumps would be able to cool the reactors if the normal system wasn't working. The plants' operator, Exelon Corp., initially said the pumps would work but later concluded they wouldn't.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_bi_ge/us_nuclear_plant_illinois

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