Debbie Gibson to headline the 2013 Long Island Pride Parade and Festival

name	Long Island
image name	Long Island US map.gif
image caption	Kings, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, showing county and municipal boundaries
image size	250px
locator map
map caption	Long Island (New York state)
native name	Paumanok
native name link	Amerindian language
location	Atlantic Ocean
coordinates
area sqmi	1401
length mi	118
width mi	23
highest mount	Jayne's Hill401 ft (122 m)
country	United States
country admin divisions title	State
country admin divisions
demonym	Long Islander
population	7,686,912
population as of	2012
density mi2	5,402.1
ethnic groups	54.7% White, 20.4% African American, 0.49% Native American, 12.3% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 8.8% other races, and 3.2% from two or more races; 20.5% Hispanic or Latino of any race
additional info	}}

Long Island is an island in the U.S. state of New York. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which (Brooklyn and Queens) are boroughs of New York City, and two of which are mainly suburban (Nassau and Suffolk). In popular usage, "Long Island" often refers only to Nassau and Suffolk counties in order to differentiate them from New York City, although all four counties are on the island and part of the New York metropolitan area.

With a Census-estimated population of 7,686,912 in 2012, Long Island is the most populated island in any U.S. state or territory, and the 17th-most populous island in the world (ahead of Ireland, Jamaica and the Japanese island of Hokkaid?). Its population density is . If it were a state, Long Island would rank 13th in population (after Virginia) and first in population density.

Both the longest and the largest island in the contiguous United States, Long Island extends eastward from New York Harbor to Montauk Point, and has a maximum north-to-south expanse of between the northern Long Island Sound coast and the southern Atlantic coast. With a land area of 1,401 square miles (3,629?km²), Long Island is the 11th-largest island in the United States and the 148th-largest island in the world ? larger than the of the smallest state, Rhode Island.

Two of New York City's major airports, LaGuardia Airport and JFK International Airport, are located on Long Island, in Queens. Nine bridges and 13 tunnels (including railway tunnels) connect Brooklyn and Queens (and thus Long Island) to the three other boroughs of New York City. Ferries connect Suffolk County northward across Long Island Sound to the state of Connecticut.

Overview

The westernmost end of Long Island contains the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn (Kings County) and Queens (Queens County). The central and eastern portions contain the suburban Nassau and Suffolk counties. However, colloquial usage of the term "Long Island" usually refers only to Nassau and Suffolk counties. For example, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Long Island District is separate from that of New York City. The more dense and urban Brooklyn and Queens are not usually referred to as "Long Island", since they are a part of New York City, although before those counties amalgamated into the city, they were often so identified.

Nassau County is more developed than Suffolk County, with pockets of rural affluence within the Gold Coast of the North Shore and the Five Towns area on the South Shore. South Shore communities are built along protected wetlands of the island and contain white sandy beaches of Outer Barrier Islands fronting on the Atlantic Ocean. Dutch and English settlers from the time before the American Revolutionary War, as well as communities of Native Americans populated the island. The 19th century saw the infusion of the wealthiest Americans in the so-called Gold Coast of the North Shore, where wealthy Americans and Europeans in the Gilded Age built lavish country homes. Today, although many of the massive estates have been demolished, many exist in their original state, while others have become parks, arboretums, universities and museums.

Owing to economic growth and the suburbanization after World War II, Nassau was the fastest growing county in the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s. Suffolk County remains less congested despite substantial growth in high technology and light manufacturing sectors since 1990, although traffic has been increasing in recent years. In its easternmost sections, Suffolk remains small-town rural, as in Greenport on the North Fork and some of the outward areas of The Hamptons, although summer tourism swells the population in those areas. Western Suffolk, such as the towns of Huntington and Babylon, are becoming increasingly more populated and are beginning to resemble towns in Nassau.

According to the US Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey, Nassau and Suffolk counties have the 10th and 25th highest median household incomes in the nation, respectively. Additionally, Nassau County is the third-richest county per capita in New York State, and the 30th richest in the nation. Long Island's Nassau County has the second-highest property taxes in the United States. Suffolk County has redeveloped North Fork potato fields into a burgeoning wine region. The South Fork is known for beach communities, including the world-renowned Hamptons, and for Montauk Point, home of Montauk Point Lighthouse at the eastern tip of the island.

Geography

Geology

Long Island, as part of the Outer Lands region, is formed largely of two spines of glacial moraine, with a large, sandy outwash plain beyond. These moraines consist of gravel and loose rock left behind during the two most recent pulses of Wisconsin glaciation during the Ice Ages some 21,000 years ago (19,000 BC). The northern moraine, which directly abuts the North Shore of Long Island at points, is known as the Harbor Hill moraine. The more southerly moraine, known as the Ronkonkoma moraine, forms the "backbone" of Long Island; it runs primarily through the very center of Long Island, roughly coinciding with the length of the Long Island Expressway.

The land to the south of this moraine to the South Shore is the outwash plain of the last glacier. One part of the outwash plain was known as the Hempstead Plains, and this land contained one of the few natural prairies to exist east of the Appalachian Mountains.

The glaciers melted and receded to the north, resulting in the difference between the North Shore beaches and the South Shore beaches. The North Shore beaches are rocky from the remaining glacial debris, while the South Shore's are crisp, clear, outwash sand. Jayne's Hill, at , within Suffolk County near its border with Nassau County, is the highest hill along either moraine; another well-known summit is Bald Hill in Brookhaven Town, not far from its geographical center at Middle Island. The glaciers also formed Lake Ronkonkoma in Suffolk County and Lake Success in Nassau County, each a deep kettle lake.

Climate

Long Island has a climate similar to other coastal areas of the Northeastern United States; it has warm, humid summers and cool wet winters. Long Island is classified as humid subtropical by some definitions and humid continental by others. The Atlantic Ocean helps bring afternoon sea breezes that temper the heat in the warmer months and limit the frequency and severity of thunderstorms. Long Island has a moderately sunny climate, averaging between 2,400 and 2,800 hours of sunshine annually.

Average yearly snowfall totals range from approximately , with the north shore and western parts averaging more than the south shore and the east end. In any given winter, however, some parts of the island could see up to or more. There are also some very quiet winters, in which most parts of the island could see less than .

Long Island is somewhat vulnerable to hurricanes. Its northern location and relatively cool waters tend to weaken storms to below hurricane strength by the time they reach Long Island, although despite this, some storms have made landfall at Category 1 or greater strength, including two unnamed Category 3 storms: the 1938 New England Hurricane (also known as the Long Island Express) and another in 1944. Named hurricanes that crossed Long Island include Hurricane Donna in 1960, Hurricane Belle in 1976, Hurricane Gloria in 1985, Hurricane Bob in 1991 (brushed the eastern tip) and Hurricane Floyd in 1999. (There is debate among climatologists as to whether Hurricane Floyd made landfall as a Category 1 or as a very strong "almost hurricane strength" tropical storm. The official records note it as the latter.) In August 2011, portions of Long Island were evacuated in preparation for Hurricane Irene, a Category 1 hurricane which turned into a tropical storm before it reached Long Island.

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy, a slow-moving superstorm reached the area causing 90% of Long Island households to lose power and an estimated $18 billion in damages in Nassau & Suffolk Counties alone. The extent of Sandy's damages are second only to those caused by the 1938 Long Island Express (even though the Sandy's barometric pressure was lower and set a record).

Only adding to the damage, Nor'easter Athena followed 9 days later (November 7, 2012), causing more damages, 60,000 more power outages, transportation shutdowns, up to 5" of heavy snow, and a temporary halt to recovery efforts for the initial damage caused by the hurricane. In addition, residents who were previously evacuated during the hurricane and had returned to their homes, had to be evacuated again due to the possibility of higher than normal tides further damaging an already compromised shoreline.

Additional Islands

In addition to the main island, several smaller islands comprise what is collectively considered Long Island. These islands include Fire Island, Plum Island, Robins Island, Gardiners Island, Fishers Island and Shelter Island.

Demographics

thumb|left|250px|The [[Koreatown, Long Island|Long Island Koreatown (? ???? ?????) originated in Flushing, Queens before sprawling eastward along Northern Boulevard and eventually into Nassau County. This Koreatown abuts the rapidly growing Flushing Chinatown (?????) as well.]]

Long Island is one of the most densely populated regions in the United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the total population of all four counties of Long Island was 7,568,304, which is 39 percent of the population of the State of New York. New York City's portion of the census was 4,735,538, with Brooklyn's population at 2,504,700 and Queens having 2,230,722 residents. Long Island's Census-estimated population has susbsequently increased 1.6% since 2010, to 7,686,912 in 2012.

As of the 2010 census, the combined population of Nassau and Suffolk counties was 2,832,882 people; Suffolk County's share at 1,493,350 and Nassau County's at 1,339,532. Nassau County had a larger population for decades, but Suffolk County surpassed it in the 1990 census as growth and development continued to spread eastward.

As Suffolk County has over twice the land area of Nassau County, the latter still has a much higher population density. Combining all four counties, Long Island's population is greater than 38 of the 50 United States. If it were an independent nation, Long Island would rank as the 96th most populated nation, falling between Switzerland and Israel.

Population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau Census 2010 show that whites are the largest racial group in all four counties, and are in the majority in Nassau and Suffolk counties. In 2002, The New York Times cited a study by the non-profit group ERASE Racism, which determined that Nassau and Suffolk counties are the most racially segregated suburbs in the United States.

Catholics are the largest religious group on Long Island, with non-affiliated in second place. Catholics make up 52% of the population of Nassau and Suffolk, versus 22% for the country as a whole, with Jews at 16% and 7% respectively versus 1.7% nationwide. Even more surprising is the small percentage of Protestants, 7% and 8% respectively, for Nassau and Suffolk Counties, versus 23% for the entire country on the same survey, and 50% on self-identification surveys.

Long Island has a substantial Italian-American population. About 26% of Long Island residents claim Italian ancestry. 28% of Suffolk County residents claim Italian ancestry.

More recently, a Little India has emerged in Hicksville; while rapidly growing Chinatowns have developed in Brooklyn and Queens and have spread into Nassau County. The Long Island Koreatown (? ???? ?????) originated in Flushing, Queens before sprawling eastward along Northern Boulevard and eventually into Nassau County.

A 2010 article in The New York Times stated that the expansion of the immigrant workforce on Long Island has not displaced any jobs from other Long Island residents, and that, in fact, half the immigrants on Long Island hold white-collar positions.

42.8 2,230,722 1,339,532 1,493,350 7,568,304 19,378,102 308,745,538

+align=top	Racial groups, ethnicity, and religious groups on Long Islandcompared to state and nation
align=left	County	! Population2010census	! %white	! %blackorAfricanAmerican	! %Asian	! %Other	! %mixedrace	! %Hispanic/Latinoof anyrace		Roman Catholic Church>Catholic	! % notaffiliated	! %Jewish	! %Protestant	! Estimateof % notreporting
align=left	2,504,700	|	34.3	10.5	9.3	3.0	17.6		37	4	15	8	33
align=left	Queens	|	39.7	19.1	22.9	13.7	4.5	27.5		29	37	11	5	15
align=left	Nassau	|	73.0	11.1	7.6	5.9	2.4	14.6		52	9	16	7	15
align=left	Suffolk	|	80.8	7.4	3.4	5.9	2.4	16.5		52	21	7	8	11
align=left	Long Island Total	|	54.7	20.4	12.3	9.3	3.2	20.5		40	18	12	7	20
align=left	NY State	|	65.7	15.9	7.3	8.0	3.0	17.6		42	20	9	10	16
align=left	USA	|	72.4	12.6	4.8	7.3	2.9	16.3		22	37	2	23	12

History

At the time of European contact, the Lenape people (named the Delaware by Europeans) inhabited the western end of Long Island, and spoke the Munsee dialect of the Algonquian language family. Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to record an encounter with these people, after entering what is now New York Bay in 1524. The eastern portion of the island was inhabited by speakers of the Mohegan-Montauk-Narragansett language group of the same language family, indicative of their ties to the aboriginal peoples inhabiting what is now Connecticut and Rhode Island. In 1609, the English navigator Henry Hudson explored the harbor and may have landed at Coney Island. The western portion of Long Island was later settled by the Dutch, while the eastern region was settled by English Puritans from New Haven, Connecticut, settling in Southold on October 21, 1640.

From the first half of the 17th century the Conklin family and other related families, like the Ketchums, Smiths, and Gardiners, owned the entire area of Long Island, Gardiners Island, and Manhattan.

Indian deeds to the Dutch from 1636 state that the Indians referred to Long Island as "Sewanhaka", "Sewanhacky", and "Sewanhacking". Sewan was one of the terms for wampum (commemorative stringed shell beads, for a while also used as currency by colonists in trades with Native Americans), and is also translated as "loose" or "scattered", which may refer either to the wampum or to Long Island itself. The name "t'Lange Eylandt alias Matouwacs" (later shortened to "Lange Eylandt") appears in Dutch maps from the 1650s. Later, it was often called "Nassau Island" by the English, after the Dutch Prince William of Nassau, Prince of Orange (who later also ruled as King William III of England). It is unclear when the name "Nassau Island" was discontinued.

Until 1664, jurisdiction of Long Island was split, roughly at the present border between Nassau County and Suffolk County between the Dutch in the west and Connecticut claiming the east. The Dutch had granted an English settlement in Hempstead (now in Nassau) in 1644, but drove out English settlers in Oyster Bay as part of a boundary dispute. In 1664, all of Long Island came under English dominion, when the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam was taken over by the English and renamed New York.

The 1664 land patent granted to the Duke of York included all islands in Long Island Sound. The Duke of York held a grudge against Connecticut, as New Haven had hidden three of the judges who sentenced the Duke's father, King Charles I, to death in 1649. Settlers throughout Suffolk County pressed to stay part of Connecticut, but Governor Sir Edmund Andros threatened to eliminate the settlers' rights to land if they did not yield, which they did by 1676.

All of Long Island (as well as the islands between it and Connecticut) thus became part of the Province of New York within the Shire of York. Present-day Suffolk County was the East Riding (of Yorkshire), present-day Brooklyn was part of the West Riding, and present-day Queens and Nassau were just part of the larger North Riding. In 1683, Yorkshire was dissolved and the three original counties on Long Island were established: Kings, Queens, and Suffolk.

Early in the American Revolutionary War, the island was captured from General George Washington by the British in the Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the entire war. The island remained a British stronghold until the end of the war, and was the center of much of General Washington's espionage activities, due to its proximity to the British military headquarters in New York City. After the British victory on Long Island many Patriots fled, leaving mostly Loyalists behind.

In the 19th century, Long Island was still mainly rural and agricultural. The predecessor to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) began service in 1836 from the South Ferry, Brooklyn, through Brooklyn to Jamaica in Queens, and the line was completed to the east end of Long Island in 1844 (as part of a plan for transportation to Boston). Competing railroads (soon absorbed by the LIRR) were built along the south shore to accommodate travellers from those more populated areas. From 1830 until 1930, population roughly doubled every twenty years, and several cities were incorporated, such as the City of Brooklyn in Kings County, and Long Island City in Queens.

Until the 1883 completion of the Brooklyn Bridge, the only connection between Long Island and the rest of the United States was by boat. Other bridges and tunnels followed, and a suburban character spread as population increased. On January 1, 1898, Kings County and portions of Queens were consolidated into The City of Greater New York, abolishing all cities and towns within them. The easternmost of Queens County, which were not part of the consolidation plan, separated from Queens in 1899 to form Nassau County.

At the close of the 19th century, the communities along the North Shore of Long Island saw the construction of large "baronial" estates built by men who made vast fortunes during the Gilded Age. The availability of land with water views, along with the proximity to Manhattan, made men like J. P Morgan, William K Vanderbilt, Charles Pratt create clumps of estates that would give the area its moniker, Gold Coast. Books like The Great Gatsby chronicle their lives and the era.

From the 1920s to the 1940s, Long Island began the transformation from backwoods and farms to the paradigm of the American suburb. Numerous branches of the LIRR already enabled commuting from the suburbs to the city. Robert Moses engineered various automobile parkway projects to span the island, along with beaches and state parks for the enjoyment of residents and visitors from the city. Gradually, development also followed these parkways, with various communities springing up along the more traveled routes.

After World War II, Long Island's population skyrocketed, mostly in Nassau County and western Suffolk County. People who worked and lived in New York City moved out to Long Island in new developments built during the post-war boom. The most famous post-war development was Levittown: the area became the first place to massively reproduce houses on a grand scale ? providing opportunities for GIs returning home to start a family. The immigration waves of southern and eastern Europe, followed by more recent ones from Latin America, have been pivotal in creating the diversity on Long Island that many other American regions lack. These immigrations are reflected in the large Italian American, Irish American, and Jewish American populations.

Economy

The counties of Nassau and Suffolk have been long renowned for their affluence.

From about 1930 to about 1990, Long Island was considered one of the aviation centers of the United States, with companies such as Grumman Aircraft, Republic, Fairchild, and Curtiss having their headquarters and factories on Long Island.

Long Island has played a prominent role in scientific research and in engineering. It is the home of the Brookhaven National Laboratory in nuclear physics and Department of Energy research.

In recent decades companies such as Sperry Rand, Computer Associates (headquartered in Islandia), Motorola Enterprise Mobility (now occupying the former headquarters of Symbol Technologies and a former Grumman plant in Holtsville), have made Long Island a center for the computer industry. Stony Brook University of the State University of New York conducts far-ranging medical and technology research.

Long Island is also home to the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which was directed for 35 years by James D. Watson (who, along with Francis Crick, discovered the double helix structure of DNA).

Long Island is home to the East Coast's largest industrial park, the Hauppauge Industrial Park. The park has over 1,300 companies employing more than 71,000 Long Islanders. Companies in the park and abroad are represented by the Hauppauge Industrial Association. As many as 20 percent of Long Islanders commute to New York City jobs. The eastern end of the island is still partly agricultural. In the last 25 years, development of vineyards on the North Fork became a major new industry, replacing potato fields. Pumpkin farms have been added to traditional truck farming. Farms allow fresh fruit picking by Long Islanders for much of the year. Fishing continues to be an important industry, especially at Huntington, Northport, Montauk, and other coastal communities of the East End and South Shore.

Government and politics

Nassau County and Suffolk County each have their own governments, with a County Executive leading each. Each has a county legislature and countywide-elected officials, such as district attorney, county clerk, and county comptroller. The towns in both counties have their own governments as well, with town supervisors and a town council. Nassau County is divided into three towns and two small incorporated cities (Glen Cove and Long Beach). Suffolk County is divided into ten towns.

Brooklyn and Queens, on the other hand, do not have county governments. As boroughs of New York City, both have Borough Presidents, which have been largely ceremonial offices since the shutdown of the New York City Board of Estimate.

Long Island is home to two Native American Indian reservations, Poospatuck Reservation, and Shinnecock Reservation. Both Reservations are in Suffolk County. Numerous island place names are Native American in origin.

Law enforcement

Queens and Brooklyn are patrolled by the New York City Police Department; Nassau and Suffolk counties respectively have the Nassau County Police Department and Suffolk County Police Department. New York State Police patrol state parks and parkways; several dozen villages and the two cities in Nassau have their own police departments.

Both Nassau and Suffolk have a sheriff's office that handles civil process, evictions, warrant service and enforcement, prisoner transport and detention, and operation of the county jail.

Secession proposals

The secession of Long Island from New York was proposed as early as 1896, but talk was revived towards the latter part of the twentieth century. On March 28, 2008 Suffolk County, New York Comptroller Joseph Sawicki proposed a plan that would make Long Island (specifically, Nassau and Suffolk counties) the 51st state of the United States of America. Sawicki says that all the Long Island taxpayers' money would stay on Long Island, rather than the funds being dispersed all over the entire state of New York. The state of Long Island would include over 2.7 million people. So far Nassau County executives have not expressed interest in joining in the secession proposal, which would need to be approved by the NY State Legislature.

Transportation

Every major form of transportation serves Long Island, including John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Long Island MacArthur Airport, multiple smaller airports, railroads, subways, and several major highways. There are historic and modern bridges, recreational and commuter trails, and ferries serving various parts of all of Long Island.

The Long Island Expressway, Northern State Parkway, and Southern State Parkway, all products of the automobile-centered planning of Robert Moses, make east-west travel on the island straightforward, if not always quick.

There are currently ten road crossings out of Long Island, all within New York City limits at the extreme western end of the island. Plans for a Long Island Crossing at various locations in Nassau and Suffolk Counties (a proposed bridge or tunnel that would link Long Island to the south with New York or Connecticut to the north across Long Island Sound) have been discussed for decades, but there are currently no firm plans to construct such a crossing.

The MTA implements mass transportation for the New York metropolitan area, including all five boroughs of New York City, the suburban counties of Dutchess, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester, all of which together are the "Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (MCTD)".

The MTA is the largest public transportation provider in the Western Hemisphere. Its agencies serve 14.6 million people spread over 5,000 square miles (13,000?km?) from New York City through southeastern New York State (including Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley), and Connecticut. Combined the MTA agencies now move more than 2.6 billion rail and bus customers a year while employing some 70,000 workers.

Nassau Inter-County Express provides bus service in Nassau County, while Suffolk County Transit, an agency of the Suffolk County government, provides bus service in Suffolk County.

In 2012, NICE Bus Company replaced the former Long Island Bus in transporting Long Islanders across Nassau County while still allowing them to use the MTA metro cards as payment.

{| class=wikitable |- | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|Major roads of Long Island |- |valign="top"|West-East Roads

25px Sunrise Highway*

25px Belt Parkway / 20px Southern State Parkway

25px Grand Central Parkway / 20px Northern State Parkway

25px Long Island Expressway

|South-North Roads

25px Brooklyn-Queens Expressway

25px Van Wyck Expressway

25px Clearview Expressway

25px Cross Island Parkway

25px Meadowbrook State Parkway

25px Wantagh State Parkway

25px Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway

25px Robert Moses Causeway

25px Sagtikos State Parkway

25px Sunken Meadow State Parkway

25px William Floyd Parkway |- |colspan=2| Roads in boldface are limited access roads. *Sunrise Highway is only limited-access from western Suffolk county eastwards. |}

Rail

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is the busiest commuter railroad system in North America, carrying an average of 282,400 passengers each weekday on 728 daily trains. Chartered on April 24, 1834, it is also the oldest railroad still operating under its original name.

Education

Primary and secondary education

Long Island's Nassau and Suffolk counties are home to 125 public school districts containing a total of 656 public schools. In contrast, all of Brooklyn and Queens are served by the New York City Department of Education, the largest school district in the United States. Long Island is also home to a number of private and parochial schools.

Colleges and universities

; In Nassau & Suffolk Counties

Public:

institutions of the State University of New York

*Stony Brook University, including the main Stony Brook campus and the Stony Brook Southampton campus

*SUNY College at Old Westbury

*Farmingdale State College (Farmingdale)

*Nassau Community College (East Garden City)

*Suffolk County Community College ? three main campuses: in Selden, Brentwood, and Riverhead; plus two "satellite" centers in Sayville and downtown Riverhead

Federal Service Academies

*United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point)

Private:

Adelphi University in Nassau County (main campus in Garden City) and Suffolk County (an Education and Conference Center in Hauppauge)

Briarcliffe College ? in Queens at Long Island City; Nassau at Bethpage; and Suffolk at Patchogue

Dowling College ? three campuses in Suffolk County (Oakdale, Shirley, and Melville)

Five Towns College in Suffolk County (Dix Hills)

Hofstra University in Nassau County (Hempstead and Uniondale)

Long Island University: C. W. Post Campus in Brookville in Nassau County, and two branch campuses in Suffolk County at Brentwood and Riverhead, and Brooklyn

Molloy College ? in Nassau County (Rockville Centre)

New York Institute of Technology ? main campus in Nassau (Old Westbury), campus also in Suffolk (Central Islip) and Manhattan

Polytechnic Institute of New York University (formerly Polytechnic University, now part of NYU) ? has a "Long Island Graduate Center" in Suffolk, at Melville, as well as the main campus in Brooklyn

Saint John's University ? Main campus in Queens, with a graduate center in Suffolk (Oakdale)

Saint Joseph's College ? campuses in Brooklyn and Suffolk (Patchogue)

SBI-Melville ? Sanford-Brown Institute campus in Suffolk County at Melville

Touro Law Center in Suffolk County (Central Islip)

Watson School of Biological Sciences in Nassau County (Laurel Hollow)

Webb Institute in Nassau County (Glen Cove)

;In Brooklyn and Queens:

institutions of the City University of New York

*Brooklyn College

*Medgar Evers College

*New York City College of Technology

*Kingsborough Community College

*Queens College

*York College

*City University of New York School of Law

*LaGuardia Community College

*Queensborough Community College

institutions of the State University of New York

*SUNY Downstate Medical Center (Brooklyn)

For other colleges in Brooklyn and Queens, see List of colleges and universities in New York City.

Media

Many Long Island organizations and companies have adopted the .li TLD as a domain hack.

Leisure and recreation

Resort areas

Food

Both Nassau and Suffolk County are home to thousands of restaurants. As New York is known as a melting pot, every kind of restaurant from Mexican to Hungarian to Indian can be found. These specialty restaurants are often family owned.

Small family-owned pizzerias are ubiquitous. It is not uncommon for a community on Long Island to have several different pizzerias, each with its own distinct flavor. The Long Island Pizza Festival & Bake-Off is an annual competition in which "mom and pop" pizzerias compete to be named best on Long Island.

Bagel stores and delis are common. Long Island bagels are considered some of the best in the world. Often more than one deli can be found in a community.

Diners also abound on Long Island; many are Greek- and German-owned, and many are open all night for late-night patrons.

Almost all major fast food and casual dining chains have a presence on Long Island.

Drink

The well known cocktail, the Long Island Iced Tea, was first created on Long Island. One of the most celebrated local beers is called Blue Point, named for the hamlet of the same name.

Roadside attractions

The Big Duck is a ferrocement building in the shape of a duck located in Flanders, New York, on Long Island. It was originally built in 1931 by duck farmer Martin Maurer in nearby Riverhead, and used as a shop to sell ducks and duck eggs. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Sports

Long Island is home to numerous famous athletes, including Hall of Famers Jim Brown, Julius Erving, John Mackey, Nick Drahos, and Carl Yastrzemski. Others include Gold Medalists Sarah Hughes and Derrick Adkins, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Billy Donovan, Larry Brown, Rick Pitino, John McEnroe, Jumbo Elliott, Mick Foley, Zack Ryder, Matt Serra, Boomer Esiason, Vinny Testaverde, Craig Biggio, Frank Catalanotto, Greg Sacks, Rob Burnett, Steve Park, Frank Viola, Chris Weidman, Marques Colston and Speedy Claxton. Several current NHL Players such as Vancouver Canucks Christopher Higgins and Matt Gilroy, Dallas Stars Eric Nystrom, Toronto Maple Leaf Mike Komisarek, and Los Angeles King Rob Scuderi were all born and/or raised on Long Island. Both Komisarek and Higgins played on the same Suffolk County Hockey League team at an early age, and later played on the Montreal Canadiens together. Nick Drahos was an All Scholastic and All Long Island honoree at Lawrence High School, Nassau Co. in 1936 and 1937, and a 2-time Unanimous National College All-American in the years of 1939 and 1940 at Cornell University.

Ebbets Field, which stood in Brooklyn from 1913 to 1957, was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, who decamped to California after the 1957 season to become the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers won several National League pennants in the 1940s and 1950s, losing several times in the World Series?often called Subway Series?to their Bronx rivals, the New York Yankees. The Dodgers won their lone championship in Brooklyn in the 1955 World Series versus the Yankees. The Barclays Center, a new sports arena, business, and residential complex built partly on a platform over the Atlantic Yards at Atlantic Avenue, will serve as a new home for the Brooklyn Nets basketball team beginning in the 2012-13 NBA season. This move will mark the return to Long Island for the franchise, which played at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum from 1972?1977.

The New York Mets baseball team plays at Citi Field in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens. Their former stadium, Shea Stadium was also home for The New York Jets football team from 1964 until 1983. The new stadium is designed with an exterior facade and main entry rotunda inspired by Ebbets Field. The Brooklyn Cyclones are a minor league baseball team, affiliated with the New York Mets. The Cyclones play at KeySpan Park just off the boardwalk on Coney Island in Brooklyn. Queens also hosts one of the four tennis grand slams, the US Open. Every August (September, in Olympic years) the best tennis players in the world travel to Long Island to play the championships, which is held in the USTA National Tennis Center, located adjacent to Citi Field in Flushing Meadows Park. The complex also contains the biggest tennis stadium in the world, the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Nassau County is home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. The Islanders have played at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale since their inception in 1972. The Islanders will move to Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2015, ensuring that the team will remain on Long Island. The New York Dragons of the Arena Football League also played their home games at Nassau Coliseum.

Long Island has been a hot spot for outdoor lacrosse at the youth and college level, which made way for a Major League Lacrosse team in 2001, the Long Island Lizards. The Lizards play at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale. The longest dirt Thoroughbred racecourse in the world is located in the Nassau County community of Elmont at Belmont Park. Long Island has also been at the forefront of Semi-Professional football. The Empire State Demon Knights of the Five Star Football League have called Long Island their home since they relinquished the name Kings County Wolfpack and moved to Suffolk County.

Long Island is also home to the Long Island Ducks minor league baseball team of the Atlantic League. Their stadium, Citibank Park, is located in Central Islip. The American Basketball Association's Strong Island Sound play home games at Suffolk County Community College. The two main rugby teams are the Long Island RFC in East Meadow and the Suffolk Bull Moose in Stony Brook. It also has a professional soccer club, the Long Island Rough Riders, who play at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale. The Rough Riders have won two national championships, in 1995 and 2002. The New York Mets had planned to move their Double-A farm team to Long Island, as part of the ambitious but now-defunct plan for Nassau county called The Lighthouse Project.

Another category of sporting events popular in this region are Firematic Racing events, involving many local Volunteer fire departments.

Long Island also has two horse racing tracks, the Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens and Belmont Park on the Queens/Nassau border in Elmont, home of the Belmont Stakes.

Music

Music on Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk) is strongly influenced by the proximity to New York City and by the youth culture of the suburbs. Psychedelic rock was widely popular in the 1960s as flocks of disaffected youth travelled to NYC to participate in protest and the culture of the time. R & B also has a history on Long Island, especially in areas close to New York City. In the late 1970s through the 1980s, the influence of radio station WLIR-FM made Long Island one of the first places in the U.S. to hear and embrace European New Wave bands such as Depeche Mode, the Pet Shop Boys, and Culture Club. In the 1990s Hip-hop became very popular with rap pioneers Rakim and Public Enemy growing up on Long Island. Famous rock bands that originated on Long Island include Dream Theater, Blue ?yster Cult, Twisted Sister and guitar virtuosos Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.

The Nassau Coliseum and Nikon at Jones Beach Theater are venues used by national touring acts as performance spaces for concerts. Nikon at Jones Beach Theater is an outdoor amphitheatre, located at Jones Beach State Park. It is a popular place to view summer concerts, with new as well as classic artists performing there during the summer months. It hosts a large Fourth of July fireworks show every year which fills the stands. People also park cars along the highway leading to the show, and others watch from the nearby beaches.

Long Island is also known for its school music programs. Many schools in Suffolk County have distinguished music programs, with high numbers of students who are accepted into the state-wide All-State music groups, or even the National All-Eastern Coast music groups. Both the Suffolk County and Nassau County Music Educator's Associations are recognized by The National Association of Music Education (MENC), and host numerous events, competitions, and other music-related activities.

Long Island gallery

See also

Chinatown, Brooklyn (??????)

Chinatown, Flushing (?????)

Geography and environment of New York City

Koreatown, Long Island (? ???? ?????)

List of Long Islanders, famous residents of Nassau and Suffolk

List of people from New York City, including famous residents of Brooklyn and Queens

List of references to Long Island places in popular culture

Long Island Association

Long Island Marathon

Long Island Towns

Long Island Villages

Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant

Timeline of town creation in Downstate New York

Wardenclyffe Tower

Calverton National Cemetery

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Long Island (proposed state)

News 12 Long Island

Newsday

References

Category:Islands of New York City Category:Islands of Kings County, New York Category:Islands of Queens County, New York Category:Islands of Nassau County, New York Category:Islands of Suffolk County, New York

Source: http://article.wn.com/view/2013/04/30/Debbie_Gibson_to_headline_the_2013_Long_Island_Pride_Parade_/

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Bustos meets Mayor-elect Pritchard

Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, made a pass through Galesburg on her way to observe the flood damage at London Mills on Monday, and she stopped to get acquainted with Mayor-elect John Prichard.

They had a friendly cup of coffee at Innkeeper?s Fresh Roasted Coffee and took a short walk in the Seminary Street retail district.

?Galesburg is an important population hub and you have a great new mayor-elect. I wanted to meet in person and hopefully start a strong relationship,? Bustos said. ?If there are obstacles in small-business growth, economic development and getting the unemployment rate down, I want to find out how we can help.?

Congress is not in session this week and Bustos is using the time to get out in her 7,000-square-mile district that stretches down the west side of the state from the Wisconsin border to Canton.

?Economic development and jobs are key areas and I glad we can come out of the chute talking about the obstacles to growth,? Prichard said. ?My main purpose is to establish a relationship so if I need to call her, she?ll know me.?

Bustos said, ?I want to know what the mayor-elect?s goals are and how we can help secure federal grants.?

Source: http://www.galesburg.com/newsnow/x1416815316/Bustos-meets-Mayor-elect-Pritchard?rssfeed=true

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Wanted: Polar bear spotter on Norwegian islands

OSLO, Norway (AP) ? Do you enjoy the outdoors and have strong vocal cords? If so, Norway might have a summer job for you: three weeks in the Arctic wilderness spotting polar bears.

The governor's office on the remote northern islands of Svalbard is seeking a polar bear spotter to warn researchers doing projects in the region.

The job starts July 8 and also requires previous experience with the outdoors, good polar bear spotting skills and a competence with firearms. But Helge Solli from the governor's office says the successful candidate likely won't have to use a gun "just as long as they have a loud voice" to scare off any bears.

There are an estimated 3,000 polar bears in the Svalbard archipelago, which has a human population of about 2,400.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-04-30-Norway-Polar%20Bear%20Spotter/id-9a186acf447c40c9937c47374a05fd4e

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SpaceShipTwo Tests Its Rocket Engine and Goes Supersonic

Nope, no X-plane ever made it into orbit. They were very-high-altitude rocket planes, and were much too small to contain enough fuel to reach orbit. More fuel would necessitate a bigger plane to contain it, and hence a bigger motor to propel it, and hence more fuel to run the bigger motor, etc... That's why rockets get around this problem with multiple stages. They jettison excess mass on the way to orbit. A true "space plane" that lands and takes off on a runway and doesn't dump stages along the way would need to be Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO). So far, there are no true SSTO vehicles, even rockets. A space plane would need to haul along landing gear, wings, conventional engines, etc, and would be much more difficult to do than a simple SSTO rocket.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/1iehqCp_YLc/story01.htm

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AllThingsD connected the dots about a Twitter app for Google Glass in the works.

AllThingsD connected the dots about a Twitter app for Google Glass in the works. Tweet with your eyeballs (and voice)!

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8QN7VTF7Mgs/allthingsd-connected-the-dots-about-a-twitter-app-for-g-485176409

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Emergency care cost estimates are too low ... - Health.am

Alternately praised in the aftermath of horrible tragedies as a heroic service and lamented in policy debates as an expensive safety net for people without primary care, emergency medicine is often a hot topic. Despite that importance, an analysis published online April 26 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine finds that national expenditures on emergency care are likely significantly higher than previously thought.

?The ER has become increasingly important as a place where people go for acute unscheduled care, however there has been little rigorous analysis of its cost structure,? said paper lead author Dr. Michael Lee, assistant professor of emergency medicine in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a physician at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital.

Lee, who had a prior career in economics and finance before training in emergency medicine, co-wrote the analysis with Dr. Brian Zink, professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Alpert Medical School, and Dr. Jeremiah Schuur, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and director of quality and patient safety for the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Brigham and Women?s Hospital.

The challenge of properly accounting for the costs of emergency care, Lee said, becomes crucial as health care financing moves from a fee-for-service model to bundled payments for patient populations or episodes of care.

Clarifying costs

The analysis first examines current estimates of aggregate spending on emergency department (ED) care. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality?s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) estimates $48.3 billion of spending on emergency care in 2010, or 1.9 percent of the nation?s total health care expenditures of $2.6 trillion. With the message that ?The total cost is small relative to the entire health care system,? the American College of Emergency Physicians has embraced the AHRQ figure in its ?Just 2 percent? public relations campaign.

But Lee and his co-authors point out, based on data from other studies, that MEPS undercounts the number of ED visits and the number of ED patients who are admitted to hospitals. Adjusting for those discrepancies using data from a variety of other published sources, the authors estimate that ED costs are between 4.9 percent to 5.8 percent of total health care spending.

The authors went beyond national data sets, including the National Emergency Department Sample, to review ED spending data from a different source: a major national private insurer. The data included charges from doctors and hospitals for imaging, testing, and other procedures. But again there were accounting differences between admitted and discharged patients and a need to account fully for spending from Medicare and Medicaid. The authors? estimate based on this data is ED spending that is 6.2 to 10 percent of total health care spending.

Much of the debate in the academic literature around the expense of ED care has to do with whether the bulk of costs are fixed (e.g., expensive equipment and continuous staffing) or marginal (e.g., flexible staff time, expendable supplies). According to Lee, the cost structure of the ED remains poorly understood and is significantly more complex than what is modeled in existing studies.

As with assessments of total costs, the authors report, the studies vary widely even after adjusting for inflation. Across four major studies over the last three decades, the average cost per patient of an ED visit in 2010 dollars ranged from only $134 to more than $1,000, Lee and colleagues found. Meanwhile, the marginal cost of an ED visit (factoring out the fixed costs), ranged from $150 to $638.

Alternative accounting

The authors instead argue for an accounting based approach to ED costs using a methodology known as ?Time-Driven Activity Based Costing (ABC),? which has been applied to health care by Robert Kaplan and Michael Porter, professors at the Harvard Business School.

The method maps all clinical, administrative, and diagnostic steps in a patient encounter and assigns costs to each activity, explicitly accounting for the time spent on each task.

ABC accounting might provide a more realistic and transparent measure of ED costs, Lee said, because the emphasis on time is particularly relevant for emergency medicine.

?The real cost of providing emergency care has to do with accurately measuring the resources that are used, and time is an important variable to take into account,? he said.

The authors envision using the methodology to measure the cost of common ED processes or chief complaints, and to compare this to alternative sites such as primary care offices or clinics, he said. They also point out that ABC accounting gives ?gives ED managers specific data they can use to improve the value of care by identifying high-cost steps in the process.?

Emphasize value, not just cost

The authors acknowledge that an outcome of their analysis reporting higher overall costs for emergency care, may invite further criticism that the expense of emergency care represents unnecessary, inefficient care.

?However, we offer a more sanguine interpretation - the high share of spending affirms the importance of emergency medicine within the health care system,? they wrote. ?With 130 million visits, 28 percent of all acute care visits, and accounting for nearly half of all admissions, emergency medicine should be expected to represent a large share of health care spending.?

And Lee cautions, based on other studies, that efforts by private and government payers to divert ER care may not lead to large aggregate savings.

?Diverting nonemergency care may simply shift costs onto primary care offices and clinics which may not have the infrastructure to accommodate a large volume of unscheduled care,? Lee said.

Instead there may be more potential for cost savings by focusing on reducing unnecessary diagnostic testing in the ED or unnecessary admissions that originate from the ED.

Lee and his co-authors call for the debate to include value, not just cost.

?More attention should be devoted to quantifying the value of specific aspects of emergency care,? they wrote. ?Rather than minimize the issue of cost, we should recognize the economic and strategic importance of the ED within the healthcare system and demonstrate that costs are commensurate with value.

Lee acknowledges that this remains a challenge for the field of emergency medicine. ?The core of our business is ruling out critical diagnoses. Many of the things we look for are low probability but highly dangerous conditions. The big question is how do you quantify value when your work is often focused on trying to demonstrate the absence of something??
Editors: Brown University has a fiber link television studio available for domestic and international live and taped interviews, and maintains an ISDN line for radio interviews. For more information, call (401) 863-2476.

###

Contact: David Orenstein

Provided by ArmMed Media

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Source: http://www.health.am/ab/more/emergency-care-cost/

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Obama taps Charlotte mayor for cabinet

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is nominating the mayor of Charlotte to head his Department of Transportation.

Obama revealed Mayor Anthony Foxx as his pick in the White House East Room Monday.

The president called the rising Democratic star his friend and called on the Senate to quickly confirm him. He said he wants to get Americans back to work rebuilding roads and other infrastructure.

Foxx is the first black nominee among Obama's picks for open spots in his second-term Cabinet.

If confirmed, he will replace outgoing Secretary Ray LaHood, one of the few Republicans serving in Obama's administration.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

President Barack Obama is nominating Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx, a rising star in Democratic politics, to run the Transportation Department, a White House official said.

Obama will announce the nomination from the East Room of the White House Monday afternoon, according to the official, who requested anonymity because this person was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter ahead of the president's announcement.

Foxx will be the first black nominee among Obama's picks for open spots in his second-term Cabinet. The president has faced questions, including from the Congressional Black Caucus, about a lack of diversity in his first round of nominations after winning re-election.

If confirmed by the Senate, Foxx would take over a department that has been at the center of Washington's debate over the impact of the so-called sequester cuts. The automatic cuts resulted in furloughs for air traffic controllers that spurred delays at many airports.

Congress reached a deal last week to provide the Transportation Department flexibility that allowed it to end the air traffic controller furloughs.

The White House official said that as mayor, Foxx has experience in boosting transit infrastructure and using those projects to create jobs. He oversaw a program to create an electric tram service to Charlotte, an expansion of a light rail system and the opening of a third runway at the city's airport.

Foxx was first elected Charlotte mayor in 2009. He raised his national profile last year when Charlotte played host to the Democratic Party's convention.

Foxx would replace outgoing Secretary Ray LaHood, one of the few Republicans serving in the Democratic administration.

Obama is also close to announcing his picks for two other Cabinet-level posts. Longtime Obama fundraiser and hotel heiress Penny Pritzker is the leading candidate to run the Commerce Department, and White House international economic adviser Michael Froman is the top choice to be the next U.S. Trade Representative.

_

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-taps-charlotte-mayor-run-transportation-183650654.html

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Daniel Day-Lewis Channels Another President, Barack Obama

Over the weekend, the White House Correspondents Dinner took place in Washington, D.C., and as is the tradition, it tends to be one of the more light-hearted events in the nation's capitol. Even the Presidents gets loose and cracks a few jokes. Two of the evening's special guests were the men behind "Lincoln," Steven Spielberg [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/04/29/daniel-day-lewis-barack-obama/

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inSSIDer

The free inSSIDer software utility for Windows, iOS, and Android is one of the most useful and easy-to-interpret wireless networking tools I?ve encountered. InSSIDer displays information about the wireless networks in proximity to you, including an access point?s MAC address, encryption type, signal strength, and channel. InSSIDer is a great tool for wireless networking novices, because it has an easy-to-understand interface and includes an abundance of help and tutorials. Experienced Wi-Fi professionals may find the software a bit too light and might be more interested in a more robust program such as?WiFiBuilder or Wireshark. But home power users looking to tweak their networks and those managing smaller business Wi-Fi networks would benefit by getting acquainted with inSSIDer.

Download
inSSIDer is available as a free download from www.metageek.net/products/inssider/. It?s available as a Windows desktop app or as an iOS or Android mobile app.? I run it on a Windows 7 laptop and it?s a quick and lightweight install. I can honestly say that unlike what I?ve found with some other free networking utilities I?ve used, inSSIDer has given me no problems with memory leaks or interfered with my Windows wireless settings or any other installed software.

Features and Interface
Opening inSSIDer?s interface displays the wireless adapter information of the client machine on which inSSIDer is installed. The program?s UI is divided between a pane that displays real-time information about wireless networks in proximity, and another screen shows really handy information, including tips and a user guide.

The user guide has illustrations and plain-speak about the features in the software. You don?t just get a user guide though. The interface includes links to free webinars for those who want to dive deeper into the wireless world?from diagnosing RF interference to performing basic wireless packet analysis.

There are also links to additional tools that help users find interference issues and reduce Wi-Fi saturation as well as selecting the right wireless channel.

Clicking on the ?network? tab pulls up the real-time information about all wireless networks in proximity. By default, the network you?re connected to gets starred. The software helps you optimize that network and considers it the main one to which you?re most likely to connect. The interface prominently displays details about this starred network, so you can view information such as how many other access points are using the same channel as your starred network. For performance improvement, you could place your starred network on a less crowded channel. This may be one of the most useful troubleshooting features in the software.

You get details on all networks in proximity, including signal strength (some tools refer to this as RSSI, in which the closer the number is to 0 the better), channel, security, MAC address of each access point, and the 802.11x standard being used. I do have an 802.11ac access point deployed nearby but inSSIDer reported it as 802.11n. 802.11ac reporting may not happen until the standard actually gets ratified; inSSIDer may require an update for this.

Right-clicking on any listed network opens a menu that lets you quickly select the information you want to see about that network: SSID, signal, channel, maximum rate, network type, and even the access point?s vendor. The entire view of networks can also be sorted by the same parameters.

inSSIDer will also calculate a Link score based on information such as channel overlap and signal strength for each wireless network. You can see how tweaking channel settings or even relocating an access point or router influences the score?the higher the score, the better the network performance you will receive.

A Fun, Useful Tool
What?s great about inSSIDer is that you can use it for several real-world purposes for your wireless network. For instance, say you are trying to find the best location to place an access point or router. Position the device and then fire up inSSIDER to see what? signal strength the software reports. This is really useful if you are trying to setup a Wi-Fi network in a place with lots of thick walls, glass or mirrors or multiple levels.

You can also use inSSIDer to tweak your wireless channel. In the U.S, there are 14 channels used for the 2.4GHz signal. These channels typically are 1, 6, and 11. So if you see many wireless networks in your area using channel 11 for example, by using inSSIDer you can change your 2.4 GHz signal to operate on channel 6 to tweak performance.?

Yes, it may be lightweight for those who deploy wireless networks professionally. But anyone managing a home or small business wireless network will certainly benefit from the information inSSIDer provides. It earns a 4.5 out of 5 star rating and is easily a PCMag Editors? Choice for networking utilities.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/54xJAW10n2A/0,2817,2418212,00.asp

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Five Methods To Utilize Auto Responders For Business ? Hot Article ...

One of the most dominant yet typically unused resources in web based business is the auto-responder. Typically, an auto-responder is a software that immediately posts a sequence of emails to website subscribers. These software programs present a total host of merits to businesses; for instance, transmitting messages on a regular basis can let customers find out more concerning the company, at some point assisting the company set up a tight presence in the recognition of the public. In addition to more substantial branding and corporate identities, frequent messages also let companies to enhance a connection with both old and new buyers, thus increasing conversions and earnings as time passes. Finally, corporations can engage in all these edges without devoting so much effort or even funds.

Despite all these features, however, many companies still fail to use auto-responders for business. This might be due to deficit of understanding with the system or lack of thoughts on how to use them. For business owners attempting with the latter issue, here are some tips on how an auto-responder can be used for internet business:

To offer a free or paid training ? People nowadays often rely on the Internet for resources ? and what else is a better technique to deliver details than an automatically sent email message? With an auto-responder, you can turn your own understanding into a profit-generating opportunity. All you need to do is prepare a series of coaching and send them to viewers via electronic mail. You only have to write the program once and only revise it thereafter ? after that, the auto-responder will immediately do the do the job.

To familiarize subscribers to past resources ? The problem most bloggers and providers have with brand new viewers is this group can readily miss out on old ? but still suitable or helpful ? material hidden in the records. An auto-responder can simply bridge this gap by transmitting links to old articles and previously released items that may be of use to new followers.

To conduct affiliate marketing ? For bloggers who rely on affiliate marketing to generate sales, auto-responder programs are a smart way to know exactly followers about promotions from affiliate businesses. This is an excellent manner to market a certain brand in addition to writing testimonials.

To upsell or downsell ? Auto-responder applications can help to ensure future transactions with past customers by sending emails about features associated to a currently purchased item. For example, if buyers ordered a digital camera from you, an email can later on explain about packages on camera accessories or photography lessons. You can even send them messages about a paid or free course transferred through auto-responder applications!

To give tips ? As mentioned earlier, people often pay a visit to the Internet for details. Giving helpful data related to your area of specialty not only handles this need, it also helps develop trust among shoppers. The key is to provide useful materials ? spamming clients will only put them off and lead them to avoid your company sooner or later.

Discover a lot of information regarding internet and online applications and useful auto-responder applications that could boost your business. Visit Caryl Simons? site for your reference.

Source: http://hotarticledepot.com/five-methods-to-utilize-auto-responders-for-business/

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Franchising. Good or bad Idea? - Small business forum Australia

Hi Darren,

I used to have a Jim's Mowing franchise so felt I should comment for you.

I personally didn't fare overly well with it - and was left with a mountain of debt (that I am still trying to pay off ) - but it certainly wasn't any fault of the franchise.

The big thing is to remember that it is just like any business still - you are responsible for marketing your business and getting the work. You are responsible for pricing, quality control & customer service (although Jim is very picky about customer service and will ream you over the coals (sometimes personally) if you receive any complaints), you choose what services you offer (sounds crazy but true), you choose your target market (within your territory). What you do get is access to a coach, training, volume discounts, an established brand, a national call centre, a web site, a proven business system, a network of (generally) supportive people who are either going through what you are going through or have already been through it, etc. Who your franchisor is will make a big difference. Meet with them a lot before you sign up to make sure you can work with them and that they are going to be willing to work with you and back you up and support you (mine were excellent - I was the fool who never asked for help).

When you speak with the franchisor it is law that they provide you with contact details of existing and previous franchisees. I would suggest calling and speaking with as many as possible - over a beer is a good idea. Make sure you have a list of details you want to find out about before you do though so you get the most from it.

Good luck with your decision - and I am happy for you to send me a PM if you want more info (however I strongly suggest that speaking with franchisees who are from your area and have dealt with your franchisor are the best to speak to). Even though my experience was less than ideal I am not anti-franchise - they work great for the right people (just like any business).

Cheers
Daniel

__________________
New Business Coming Soon...

Source: http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/forums/starting-business/25061-franchising-good-bad-idea.html

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Regret and grandma prove time-tested deterrents to teens? tattoo pleas

?What is it??

That?s the question Gable Rhoads often fields about one of her tattoos, a black-and-red creature that crawls up her right arm. Is it a skeleton? A bird? A bat?

It?s a dragon. But you might not know it, she says, because not only have the colors and lines of the 27-year-old tattoo faded, but "it was just too large to properly visualize on my upper arm in the first place."

Rhoads, now 49, was no kid when she chose her tattoos. "I got my first tattoo when I was 22 and a recent graduate from Marine Corps boot camp; I thought my tattoo signaled to the world there was a tough woman under my shy, quiet exterior," she says.

But one of her daughters, Jade, was not quite an adult yet when she wanted to get hers. And that, as they say, can be a whole different story.

Rhoads' first-person account for Yahoo News was in response to our question: How do parents, especially those tattooed themselves, advise their children against them? That quandary arose somewhat amusingly on Wednesday when President Barack Obama told NBC?s "Today" show that he had warned his daughters that if they got tattoos, he and first lady Michelle Obama would get the same tattoos in the same place?a ?family tattoo,? if you will?and show them off on YouTube. Embarrassment, he implied, is ample deterrence.

Time speeds forward inexorably, and many who get inked face a problem: The tattoo that screamed undying love for a high-school cheerleader, say, or a boyfriend, or paid passionate allegiance to Def Leppard may have been badass back then, but now, not so much.

So, first family aside, what strategies do everyday parents employ to dissuade their kids from getting inked? Yahoo News asked them to share their tactics.

?I never forbade my daughters from getting a tattoo, but I did tell them to think long and hard before permanently changing their bodies,? Rhoads, who also has ?Semper Fi? and her ex-husband's name on her arm, says. ?The Minnie Mouse tattoo may be cute now, but what will the grandkids think when Minnie is wide and wrinkled??

Her ex-husband, she says, was more direct: He told Jade?now 25 with a tattoo of her own daughter's name and another of a flower?that women with tattoos were trashy. He later gave her the silent treatment. Those ploys didn't work.

"[My] tattoos are a part of me, and I do not regret them,? Rhoads, of Highland, Ind., says. ?Time will tell if she will come to regret [hers].?

Grandma is the first line of defense

The admonishment of ?Just Say No? worked in keeping Daniel A. Willis? teen boys from drugs. But keeping them from tattoos? Not so much.

When Joey, Willis? older son, turned 15, he offered the logic of "I want a tattoo, all my friends have one, I don't fit in without one.?

Enter Grandma.

Willis says his mother-in-law, Charlotte, is a very conservative woman. Raised in post-World War II Germany, she readily offers her perspective and doesn?t hesitate to dole out punishment. So, Willis issued Joey two ground rules: First, no tattoos on the face or below the shirt-sleeve. Second, he had to show the tattoo to his grandmother.

Condition No. 2, says Willis, who lives in Denver, was ?a show-stopper.?

Now 29, Joey didn?t get a tattoo until college. His younger brother, 27-year-old Keith, is ink-free.

Gravity can lead to regret

R.D. Hayes had trouble responding to her 7-year-old daughter?s pleas for a tattoo on her arm. Gracie?s age wasn?t the issue. It was because she was intent on copying her mom?s memorial tattoo of Gaje, Gracie's 6-year-old brother, who had been killed in an automobile accident.

Hayes, who lives in Oklahoma City, decided to simply tell the truth: Tattoos mean pain, gravity and regret.

?I remind [my kids] of all the dangers that can come from tattoos and how they may wake up one day and regret it,? Hayes, 28, says. ?I told them that gravity seems to take over as we age and, besides, tattoos can be some of the [worst] pain that you ever felt.?

Hayes, who had been a rebellious kid, says when she got her first tattoo?a small dot between her thumb and index finger?she waited patiently for her father to notice. She doesn't expect her kids will show any less spirit.

Her stepson, Brie, got his tattoo, a colorful teepee on his foot, right after he turned 18. ?It looked a bit girlish,? Hayes says. ?It was something that I wouldn't have placed on my body. He said it was to show off his Native American pride, but I couldn't help but laugh. [H]e now regrets it."

Which added fuel to her belief that parents should stress regret. Failing that, she recommends taking teens to a professional tattoo artist who can explain why it?s important to wait?or not get tattooed at all.

Read other parents? strategies:

Fake Infections Convinced Our Kids to Abhor Tattoos

How I Kept My Son from Getting a Spider-Man Tattoo

Mom to Kids: If You Really Want the Tattoo, Wait for It

No Tattoos?at Least in Inappropriate Places

In Warning Kids Against Tattoos, Sometimes Logic Actually Works

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/gravity-grandma-prove-time-tested-deterrents-teens-tattoo-210315072.html

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Four die in NATO plane crash in Afghanistan

BERLIN, April 26 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski have not signed a deal, the newly-crowned champions said on Friday, shooting down widespread speculation of another surprise transfer. "Bayern, as opposed to some reports, has no contract with Robert Lewandowski," the Bavarian Champions League semi-finalists said in a brief two-line statement. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/four-die-nato-plane-crash-afghanistan-182134333.html

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Friday free-for-all - win one of 5 free Lloyd t-shirts

Comment and win a Lloyd t-shirt. It couldn't be easier!

It's been a busy week around here. Galaxy S4 stuff coming down like rain, Phil abandoning us being in New York for #tm13 ninja secret shenanigans, and I'm out of coffee. That means it's time to relax a bit -- and give away t-shirts!

There are comments below. Or there will be. Your job is to talk about whatever you want to talk about (without getting out of line -- you know better). Discuss Android if you want to, or talk about the Red Sox if that's your thing. Just let if flow. 

Tonight at midnight Eastern time, I'll close the comments and pick 5 of them at random. If I pick your comment, I'll shoot you an email asking where I should send a free Lloyd t-shirt. Make sure the email you used to register for the site is legit, and go.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/tyQsTHvDq_s/story01.htm

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Storms sweep across Texas and the South, dumping up to 7 inches of rain

Cody Duty / AP

Cars are stranded in southwest Houston, which was flooded after an afternoon downpour Saturday.

By Erin McClam, Staff Writer, NBC News

A line of severe thunderstorms swept across Texas and parts of the South on Saturday, dumping more than 7 inches of rain in some places. Houston firefighters said they conducted at least 150 water rescues.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries, but Houston fire Sgt. Jay Evans told The Weather Channel said officials were encouraging people in the south and west of the city to stay inside.

The Houston suburb of Sugar Land got 7.2 inches of rain, The Weather Channel reported, and one photo showed a dozen cars partly submerged below a Houston overpass.

The line of storms stretched from the Texas-Mexico border through Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. The rough weather was caused by the collision of a cold front and warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico.

This story was originally published on Sat Apr 27, 2013 10:10 PM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2b419392/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C270C179494260Estorms0Esweep0Eacross0Etexas0Eand0Ethe0Esouth0Edumping0Eup0Eto0E70Einches0Eof0Erain0Dlite/story01.htm

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China finds new bird flu case in eastern Fujian province: Xinhua

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities discovered on Friday the first case of a new strain of bird flu in the eastern province of Fujian, signaling the spread of the virus which has killed 23 people in China, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The flu was first detected in March. This week, the World Health Organisation called the virus, known as H7N9, "one of the most lethal", and said it is more easily transmitted than an earlier strain that has killed hundreds around the world since 2003.

Fujian's health authority said a 65-year-old man surnamed Luo had tested positive for the virus, Xinhua reported. Thirty-seven people who had been in close contact with the man had not shown symptoms of the flu.

Chinese scientists confirmed on Thursday that chickens had transmitted the flu to humans.

This week, a man in Taiwan become the first case of the flu outside mainland China. He caught the flu while travelling in China.

(Reporting By Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-finds-bird-flu-case-eastern-fujian-province-114628822.html

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