Sparks beat Lynx 92-76 in playoff tuneup

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Candace Parker is ready to make a run in the playoffs, if the Los Angeles Sparks can shed their inconsistency.

Parker and rookie Nneka Ogwumike had 22 points and 11 rebounds each, and the Sparks tuned up for the postseason with a 92-76 victory over the defending WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night.

"We knew this was a team we'd possibly have to go through to win a championship, so everybody laid it out on the court," Parker said. "We wanted to wrap it up and make a statement."

Alana Beard added 13 points and Kristi Toliver had 10 points and eight assists for the Sparks (24-10), who ended the regular season with their fourth straight win while splitting the four-game season series with the Lynx in front of Clippers teammates Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan. It was the biggest margin of victory by either team in their meetings this season.

"In spurts we were the best team in the league and in spurts we were the worst," Parker said in summing up the regular season. "In the playoffs, hopefully we'll be the best."

Monica Wright scored 19 points, and Devereaux Peters added 17 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota (26-6), which had won six of its last seven games against the Sparks but fell to 3-19 all-time at Staples Center. Maya Moore had 13 points as the Lynx shot a season-low 35 percent.

"I thought we were getting great shots. We literally couldn't knock it in," Moore said. "I know I had some open shots. Our 3-point shooters had some open shots. They just weren't falling. The more disappointing thing was our defense, and not making it hard enough for their team to score, which is not like us. We really want to get that out of our system and bounce back from that."

The Lynx played without starting guard Lindsay Whalen, who didn't dress because of a cold. The West's top seed has two more games left before starting the playoffs. Coach Cheryl Reeve said she wasn't sure about Whalen's status for Friday's game at Phoenix.

"We'll have to see how she's feeling tomorrow," she said.

Asked if she would rest her starters until the playoffs, Reeve said, "It looks like that happened today."

The Sparks finished 16-1 at home where they outscored opponents by double-digits during the regular season under first-year coach Carol Ross. They open the playoffs at home against San Antonio on Sept. 27.

"We've got to get better on both ends. We're not great yet," Ross said. "We've knocked on the door of greatness a few times and slammed our finger in it. We have lapses."

The Sparks missed the playoffs last season, and in Parker's first four seasons in the league she has never gotten past the Western Conference finals. Ogwumike, a Final Four regular during her college career at Stanford, will be making her playoff debut.

"The level of play is going to boost up," she said. "I hope we realize that and continue to realize that."

Los Angeles outscored the Lynx 52-24 in the paint and was 15 of 19 from the free throw line in the game. The Sparks cruised through the fourth quarter after building a 21-point lead in the third.

"We didn't play well. We didn't defend. They came out and did everything they wanted," Reeve said. "Parker and Ogwumike played great, and we provided very little resistance. We couldn't make a shot."

The Sparks opened the third on a 13-0 run, with Beard scoring six points and Parker five. The Lynx hit three 3-pointers in the quarter, but trailed 74-55 heading into the final 12 minutes.

"We came in on a serious note," Ogwumike said. "We wanted to play for each other and that showed."

The Sparks led by 14 in the first half.

Parker scored 14 points, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the first quarter, and Ogwumike had 12 in the half. Los Angeles opened the game on a 20-9 run, led by Parker with seven and Ogwumike with six.

The Lynx were limited to 15 points in the opening quarter, and they were 1 of 15 from the 3-point line in the half.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-09-21-BKL-Lynx-Sparks/id-4b346aeda62c4c7dae14461102e147a7

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Leadership in Networking - Business Networker

by Ruth on September 19, 2012

Here we are with Number Three of How you do one thing is How you do everything. How do networking is How you do business and if it?s not,that?s still what many people will be thinking.

So I want to ask you today are you really making an effort? Now we spoke last week about image. Are you making an effort with what you wear in your networking?

Today I want to talk you about are you making an effort for your network or are you expecting your network to do everything for you? For example is there a leadership role available in the group that you are going to regularly? Could you do that? Could you take on little bit of extra effort, little bit of extra responsibility and have a big impact on your network and on you?

Because all of your leadership roles, do elevate your own profile, which is fantastic. ?So I want you to think about what can you do to give something back to your network?? Something visible such as a leadership role and the reason this fits into how do you one thing is how you do everything is, what about in your business ? Are you will willing to go the extra mile to your clients in your business? Are you willing to step up and take some responsibility to put in bit of that extra effort? Again you look at ?the people in your network. You see the people in the leadership and hopefully you are grateful for the role that they are taking on and you will realize that they are willing to put some extra effort for you. Are you one of those people? Or are you someone that sits back lets all the organization happen, walk in, have your breakfast, have your glass of wine whatever it is and sit back hope the business is going to come to you.

How you do one thing is how you do everything. Are you doing enough to help your network and support the other people in network?

I will leave you to think about it. ?Until next week, happy networking.

Tagged as: business develomnet, business networking, business relationships, get more clients, networking, networking skills, relationship marketing, ruth thirtle

Source: http://businessnetworker.co/2012/09/leadership-in-networking/

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Ideas To Install Bathroom Cabinets | Christopher Truscott

Improving your home is always a fun experience. Yet figuring out what you can do to ensure that the improvements you make to your home are worthwhile can be tough, especially when you are installing bathroom vanity cabinets or wood cabinets into your home. With home improvement you have to know style in order to impress your guests. Get rid of those hold bathroom cabinets and upgrade to a new one today.?

A color that goes with just about any bathroom is dark brown. You can add dark brown bathroom vanity cabinets and it will make your bathroom look sophisticated. If you notice many prestigious establishments use darker colors in their bathrooms. If you are having trouble figuring out what type of cabinets to install into your bathroom then consider a dark color to make your home look mature. Wood cabinets are also a fine addition to any home. If a dark brown color doesn?t work for the style your home is going for, then look into adding a lighter colored wood cabinet to your bathrooms. The great thing about wood cabinets is that they come at very cheap prices these days, making them affordable for any household.?
Remember to take your living situation into consideration. If multiple people use the bathroom to get ready for their day in the morning then consider investing into cabinets that have two sinks. Two people can get ready in your home side by side, and your guests will be able to wash up faster if you do activities outside. Installing two sinks doesn?t take a whole lot of effort, and it can be the perfect addition that your home needs. ?A quick search online can give you an idea of the cabinets available to add to your bathroom. You can look online to get an idea of what it would look like to install some of the cabinets mentioned, or you could find new ideas entirely. After checking out different cabinets your next step is to figure out what you actually want to add to your bathroom and to install cabinets that will please you.

This entry was posted in Home Products & Services. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://www.christophertruscott.com/102/ideas-to-install-bathroom-cabinets

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BenchPrep Switches To Subscription Model As It Moves Toward Education-as-a-Service

The growing prevalence of massively-open learning platforms and open education resources is bringing a sea change to the educational landscape. High-profile institutions have begun to adopt and launch open courseware initiatives (like EdX and Coursera) and, in so doing, are changing the ways we think about -- and even define -- the learning process. As a result, we're seeing less and less value being placed on content as a means of defining and structuring the learning process, with the focus shifting instead to engagement, interactivity and collaboration.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/KPsezjzM5eQ/

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Buy Your Domain Name Now - Your Company Domain Can Be ...

Every day I speak with businesses that do not have a website. When asked why they don?t have a site, they give many different reasons involving budget and lack of time. However, there are some additional reasons that companies should consider while they put owning a website on hold. In this post we will discuss one major reason why companies should pursue a website including? your company domain name can be purchased by anyone.

Your Company Domain Name Can Be Purchased By Anyone

Did you know that people could buy the domain name of your company? For example, if a company name is Example Company, Inc the most obvious domain names that most businesses would use for their business would be examplecompanyinc.com or examplecompany.com. However, companies are finding out that when they look to purchase the domain name for their company that it is already taken or purchased by someone else. What?s even more confusing is that when they type in the domain name in their web browser there is not a website, only a for sale sign with a phone number to call.

Unfortunately, these companies find out that they can only get their domain names at a premium price. Sometimes this prices is hundreds or even thousands of dollars, all because they chose to wait on purchasing their domain til they build their website. If you are in business it is vital to purchase the company domain name for your business right away, even if you don?t think you need a website right now. ?The cost is minimal $8 ? $15, compared to the hundreds or thousands you may be asked to pay if your company reaches the success you are striving for and then you decide to build your site.

There are hundreds of sites that you can purchase your domain from. Many people use Godaddy, Host Gator, Network Solutions, and Dream Host.

Elite Web Professionals provide affordable internet advertising solutions and effective ways to promote website online.? For information on how we can help you with your website needs, browse our website for more information on our website design services. We provide comprehensive search engine optimization, and pay per click advertising services to help you grow your business online.

Find out ? 33 Reasons Why You Need A Website Right Now.

Source: http://www.advertisingbusiness.org/2012/09/buy-your-domain-name-now-your-company-domain-can-be-purchased-by-anyone/

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Suicide car bomber near Baghdad's Green Zone kills four

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Voxer Walkie-Talkie PTT (for iPhone)

Push-to-talk (PTT) is not new. Walkie-talkies have utilized this half-duplex form of communication (one person talks at a time) since they were created, CB radios made it mainstream, and cell phones have had PTT over cellular on and off for a while. Voxer makes PTT not just useful on smartphones, but maybe a life-changer because of its ease-of-use...assuming you can get everyone you'd want to talk with to also download the free app. I tested the Voxer on the iPhone, and there's an Android version, too.

Features
Voxer's interface is a lot like the Messages interface on iOS. You see a list of all your friends also using the service. I signed up for Voxer using my Facebook credentials to get access. Many might find that iffy, but I speeds up access to friends, because if they also sign in using Facebook, you're instantly notified that a friend is now vox-able. (Yes, I'm going to use "vox" as a verb, because I now do that in real-life, all the time.) If you enter your phone number in your Voxer profile, that provides another method to find friends who might have you in their address book, whether on Facebook or not. Send an actual SMS text to people to invite everyone else to download Voxer.

Click on to a friend's name and you see a list of all the current messages you've exchanged, in the form of horizontal playback sliders. Click any arrow to hear a previous message; Voxer will play the entire conversation until the end. The latest message is always at the bottom. During playback of audio, click the rabbit icon on the bottom of the page and speed up messages by one, two, or three times their speed. You may also see pictures in the conversation (a single click expands it) and text messages.

Voxer also permits a party chat. You pick multiple people, send one vox voice message, and everyone receives it. Any replies go to the full group as well. It's very handy for broadcasting that you're running late to all the people waiting. If you're sick of listening to your friends talk (or just the quick beep-beep-beep notification noise Voxer makes), you can leave a conversation. So can others. You can also add people to conversations that have already been running for a while.

The app works best when you listen to messages over the speaker like a modern-day walkie-talkie. However, you can set the speakerphone to off for all conversations and listen to messages like it's a phone call, or on just select conversations/individuals, such as that one person who won't stop dropping those effing eff-bombs. Audio auto-routing is supported, so as you listen via the speaker, hold the iPhone to your ear and Voixer will switch to playback through the handset.

Push notifications are, of course, optional, but they give you a quick way to access a conversation with minimal taps of the screen.

Voxer's most recent innovation now seems like a no-brainer. The PTT button, which reads "hold and talk" at the bottom of a conversation screen, can be slid to the right to "lock" the button. No more awkwardly holding it as you talk. Of course, you need to tap it again to release. With a combination of hands-free Bluetooth and a decent mount for inside a car, this is the safest possible way to stay in communication while driving. (Don't text and drive.)

There's a special conversation to be had under the "note to self" heading--yes, you can talk to yourself with Voxer, in a convenient way of leaving personal reminders to access later. It's not all that different from using the iOS built in voice memos.

If you sign on to Voxer with your Facebook account, it'll pull your profile pic to use as an avatar in conversations. The latest version of Voxer lets you take your own pic with the phone to replace that avatar whenever you like.

Potential Downsides
Voxer sends all this info over your data connection, so it could in theory eat up your data allowance. But the voxed voice messages are certainly nothing in size compared to using a VoIP app like Skype or Facetime. That's probably why Voxer doesn't support sending video; it would be nice if the option were there when connected via Wi-Fi instead of 3G. Because Voxer's communication is data-based, it works great for iPod touch and iPads. The service is a great way to get SMS-esque features on those devices that are Wi-Fi only. And it works internationally with no charges to you (the app comes in 12 languages for iOS.) If you're offline, you can still record audio messages and they'll send when you reconnect.

If there's any real issue with Voxer it's the crashes. In a complicated back-and-forth conversation with a lot of long messages, especially when the person on the other end is using the Android version, I've found the voice playback can hang. The only recourse then is the old double-tap of the home button, hold a finger over the icon in the row of running apps that pops up until they go all wobbly, and click the X on the icon to show down the app. A restart of the app from the iPhone home screen usually clears it up.

Pushing PTT
The convenience of push-to-talk chat compared to the time and effort it takes to send a text can't be understated (especially for drivers... don't text!). The app is thankfully cross-platform, working on iOS and Android (and soon it will share audio, text, and photos to the Web, Facebook, and Twitter). Of course, Voxer isn't alone doing PTT; there are other cross-platform PTT apps I haven't looked at, like TiKL Touch, HeyTell (which also works on Windows Phone), and Zello (which works on BlackBerry). But I can't imagine leaving Voxer for another service, particularly now that I have everyone in my inner circle using it. The app has changed how I communicate with my close friends and family, for the better.?

More Internet Telephony and VoIP Reviews:
??? Voxer Walkie-Talkie PTT (for iPhone)
??? Skype 1.0 (for Windows Phone)
??? OBi110
??? Skype 3.5 (for iPhone)
??? Skype (for iPad)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/DbfhGianaOM/0,2817,2409827,00.asp

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