2011 Best Online Universities (Part 2)

This is second part article on 2011-best-online-universities-part-2

With the rising popularity of online universities and online college, those seeking higher education have more choices then ever. Some online universities are better suited for an individual than others, depending on time requirements, area of study, or level of education. Some seek an online university more focused around adults seeking to advance their careers, while others are looking for a school more focused around first-time students to higher education.

4. Ashford University

Founded in 1918, Ashford University is a liberal arts institution offering associates, bachelors, and master’s degrees. They currently have more than 25,000 students. The university has classes that last 5-6 weeks, and students may only take one class at a time. Ashford University welcomes students who are looking for a place to transfer their credits and finish their degrees.

5. Colorado Technical University

Colorado Technical University is focused on industry-current degrees, meaning most of their degrees involve a level of skill development and training for specific industries. Founded in 1965, the university currently has more than 25,000 students. They offer associates, bachelors, and master’s degrees online.

6. Westwood College

Westwood College has 17 campuses across the United States, and offers more than 25 programs. Since it was founded in 1986, there have been more than 24,000 students who have graduated from Westwood College. Westwood is “career-focused,” meaning that degrees are often tailored to specific careers and the degree programs focus on developing practical skills related to those positions.

2011 Best Vacation Package For Walt Disney World

This vacation package includes accommodations at a Disney Resort hotel and a Magic Your Way Base Ticket that gives each member of your travel party entry to one Disney theme park every ticket day. You can add additional ticket options for more fun and flexibility! Note: Tickets and options must be used within 14 days of first use unless the No Expiration Option is purchased. All tickets and options are nontransferable and exclude activities/events separately priced.

Here's what you'll get with the 2011 Magic Your Way Vacation Package:

Accommodations

Choose from one of 5 categories of Walt Disney World Resort hotels:

•Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts – Relax in comfortable accommodations with home-like amenities.

•Disney Deluxe Resorts – Experience the ultimate in Disney luxury, style and service.

•Disney Moderate Resorts – Escape to enchanting, wonderfully themed locales.

•Disney Value Resorts – Enjoy colorful, whimsical places that are big on fun and affordability.

•Disney Campground – Enjoy nature and the great outdoors at these scenic campsites.

Customizable Magic Your Way Theme Park Ticket

First, choose the number of days (from 1 to 10) of your ticket, which provides admission to one of the 4 Disney theme parks each day. The more days you add to your ticket, the less you pay per day! All tickets and options must be used within 14 days of first use and exclude activities and events separately priced.

Next, purchase these options to add more fun and flexibility to your ticket:

Park Hopper Option

Add the Park Hopper Option to come and go as you please through all 4 Walt Disney World theme parks on the same day for each day of your ticket.

Water Park Fun & More Option

The Water Park Fun & More Option offers a certain number of visits based on the length of your ticket. For each visit, you can choose one of the following:

•Disney's Typhoon Lagoon water park

•Disney's Blizzard Beach water park

•DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive theme park

•ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

•Green fees for a round of golf at Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course, a 9-hole walking course. Reservations for tee times are required and subject to availability.

Water parks subject to seasonal and weather closures, and are also subject to closure for rehabilitation. Age restrictions may apply for access to certain facilities.

No Expiration Option

With the No Expiration Option, your unused theme park days and Water Park Fun & More Option visits never expire. (Without this option, tickets must be used within 14 days of first use.)

Commemorative Luggage Tag

Each Guest on the Magic Your Way Vacation Package receives one souvenir Disney keepsake luggage tag.

Walt Disney Travel Company Package Benefits

When you purchase any Magic Your Way package, you receive the following Magical Extras:

•Walt Disney World Marina Discounts

15% off the regular price of select boat rentals at participating Walt Disney World marina locations.

•Disney's Miniature Golf Experience

Valid for one round of Miniature Golf per room at either Disney's Fantasia Gardens or Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Courses.

•Planet Hollywood $15 USD Meal Voucher and Souvenir Keepsake

Valid for $15 USD worth of food and non-alcoholic beverages and a souvenir merchandise keepsake at Planet Hollywood Downtown Disney West Side. (Not valid with any other offers or discounts. One voucher per room. One keepsake per room. Voucher required for keepsake.)

•Arcade Game Card

Valid for 100 game play points in arcades located in Disney Resort hotels. (One card per room.)

•Children's Activity Centers Discount

15% off the regular hourly rates at the Children's Activity Center located at select Disney Resort hotels. Minimum charge of 2 hours per child. Services available for children ages 3-12.

•Niki Bryan Spa Discount

15% off the regular price of most services of 50 minutes or more at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa or Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. (Hand and foot treatments are excluded. Age restrictions apply.)

•Bass Fishing Discount

15% off the regular price of Guided Bass Fishing Excursions and Bass Nitro Fishing Excursions at select Walt Disney World marinas. Excursions include fishing equipment, rod, reel, shiners, artificial bait, non-alcoholic beverages and a 1-year membership to B.A.S.S. (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society).

•Sammy Duvall's Water Sports Discount

10% off the regular price of all activities including parasailing, water skiing, wakeboarding and tubing trips at Sammy Duvall's Water Sports Center located at Disney's Contemporary Resort. (Subject to availability; restrictions apply.)

Enjoy Disney Resort Hotel Benefits

As a Guest at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels, indulge in a variety of Disney Resort hotel benefits that can make your vacation more relaxing and carefree.

Certain benefits below are also available to Guests staying at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel and select Downtown Disney Resort Area hotels.

Complimentary Airport Pickup and Return

Disney's Magical Express Service picks you up at Orlando International Airport and takes you to your Disney Resort hotel. In addition, the service lets you bypass baggage claim and have your bags delivered to your Disney Resort hotel room.

Relax on Resort-Wide Transportation

Disney does the driving for you with its ComplimentaryTransportation. convenient monorail, ferry boats and motor coaches travel between Disney Resort hotels, theme parks, water parks, the Downtown Disney area and other recreation spots throughout Walt Disney World Resort.

View Purchases on One Bill

Your Key to the World Card can act as your hotel room key, theme park ticket and charge card good all over Walt Disney World Resort. As you dine and shop, just charge meals, goods and services directly to your room! At the end of your vacation, view your vacation purchases on one consolidated statement.

Extra Time in the Theme Parks

The Extra Magic Hours benefit means that every day one of the theme parks either opens an hour early or stays open up to three hours after regular park closing so that you can enjoy select attractions when the weather may be cooler. Just present your Key to the World Card to select Disney Cast Members to take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours benefit. (Valid theme park ticket required.)

Your Purchases Delivered to Your Resort

Shop at select Disney stores throughout Walt Disney World Resort and have your purchases delivered right to your resort so you can be free to play without lugging around packages, nor have to interrupt your day to return to the hotel to drop them off.

vacation-packages

2011 Best Online Universities (Part 1)

This is three part article on Best Online Universities…

With the rising popularity of online universities and online college, those seeking higher education have more choices then ever. Some online universities are better suited for an individual than others, depending on time requirements, area of study, or level of education. Some seek an online university more focused around adults seeking to advance their careers, while others are looking for a school more focused around first-time students to higher education. Some online colleges have a wide variety of degrees and concentrations, while others are more “career-focused” and help students develop specific job skills. As a guide to help potential students, here is a list of 10 online universities worth checking out:

1. Liberty University
2. Kaplan University
3. American Intercontinental University
4. Walden University
5. Ashford University
6. Colorado Technical University
7. Westwood College
8. Strayer University
9. Argosy University
10. Everest University

1. Liberty University

Liberty University is a Christian university that was founded in 1971 by noted Christian Evangelist Jerry Falwell Sr. They offer more than 40 accredited degree programs and 90 specializations. They have more than 47,000 students in their online program and have degrees ranging from associate’s to doctorate degrees. They also have an on-campus location that hosts 16,000 students. We have awarded them our number one spot on our list of top online universities.

2. Kaplan University

Kaplan University was founded in 1937 as the American Institute of Commerce, and currently provides online education options for children and adults. They have more than 3,000 faculty members and more than 60,000 students. They also have physical locations throughout the United States. Kaplan is a great resource for education at all levels, and even provides preparation courses for many entrance exams for higher education such as the LSAT and the GMAT.

3. American Intercontinental University

Founded in 1970 in Switzerland, American Intercontinental University has a long history of providing degrees recognized by the United States to those abroad. In fact, their largest location is in London. Today they continue that tradition by providing distance learning online. The school currently has more than 27,000 students and offers associates, bachelors, and master’s degrees. American Intercontinental University also has on-campus locations and support centers throughout the U.S.

4. Walden University

Walden University is a well-regarded school offering mostly post-graduate degrees, though there are several bachelor’s degrees available. Founded in 1970, Walden currently hosts more than 30,000 students. It is exclusively online, and offers associates, bachelors, masters, education specialist, and doctoral degrees.

2011- Baseball Season who will Win West- Part 3

This is third part of 2011 Baseball Season.In the west team includes Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners.

1.Texas Rangers (Projected Victories:87-75):

The Rangers lose Cliff Lee from a team that took the division with 90 wins last year. If Neftali Feliz remains steady as a fire-throwing closer and starting pitcher C.J. Wilson figures out his hamstring problem, Texas will be able to hold teams down in the Arlington heat.  The power of outfielders Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz will carry an offense that led the MLB in 2010 with a .276 batting average.

Key Player: C.J. Wilson— Not coincidentally, the Rangers’ opening day starter is their most important. Wilson had the best year of his career last season as he moved from the bullpen to the rotation, now it’s time to see if he can do it again. He eclipsed his previous career high in innings by 130.1, putting his arm through more exertion than it’s ever experienced.

2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Projected Victories: 84-78):

After looking up at the Rangers all of 2010 and suffering a losing season for the first time since 2003, the Angels added a couple pieces.  They may have overpaid for outfielder Vernon Wells, but 12th-year manager Mike Scioscia knows how to win. 

Key Player: Scott Kazmir—the once highly-touted left-handed pitcher has hit a wall and went 9-15 with a 5.94 ERA last year.  The rest of this year’s rotation was over .500 with sub-4 ERAs.

3. Oakland Athletics (Projected Victories 82-80):

This Billy Beane-built squad, which finished 81-81 in 2010, will be led by its pitching. Its rotation is widely considered one of the best in the majors, as 20-somethings Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden figured out a way to craft a 3.47 starters’ ERA a year ago.

Key Player: Kevin Kouzmanoff—the lineup is much more of an unknown and its third baseman will have to do better than a near-.250 average in 500-plus at-bats to help the A’s.

4. Seattle Mariners (Projected Victories 65-97):

 Eric Wedge was a good manager hires in Seattle, but he inherits a team coming off a 101-loss season.  Ichiro Suzuki is bound to get yet another 200-hit year if he’s healthy and Jack Cust was added for power purposes.  It doesn’t hurt to have last year’s Cy Young in Felix Hernandez leading the rotation, but where will the run support come from?

Key Player: Erik Bedard—He was a semi-dominant lefty pitcher before multiple shoulder operations kept him out of commission. A strong return would help the Mariners.

LOL-2011 Media April's fool Pranks

·        Don Cherry is going to the royal wedding.

·        Kate Middleton is shopping for baby clothes.

·        Ikea has made a high chair for dogs.

·        And Portugal has had to sell soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo to Spain to pay off their national debt.

·        Sound unbelievable? It is.

·        Friday is April fool’s Day -- at least until noon -- and members of the media and companies were having fun with readers and customers.

·        The news aggregator website National Newswatch had a quick hit on its front page saying hockey commentator Don Cherry "has agreed to represent Canada at this month's royal wedding."

·        Meanwhile, the Daily Mail in Britain reported Middleton, soon to be married to Prince William, was seen shopping for baby clothes during the day Thursday, then was spotted smoking a cigarette at a bachelorette party later the same day. They even included photos of a look-alike looking at a white onesie and pouring a bottle of champagne into a pint glass.

·        U.K. newspaper The Independent reports Ronaldo has agreed to "act like a patriot" by being sold to Spain to help his country, Portugal, pay down their debt. He was sold for $219 million debt (160 million euros).

·        One fan quoted in the newspaper was not keen on the move, though.

·        "If we are going to buy foreigners we should buy Lionel Messi [Barcelona's Argentinian star]."

·        The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia reported Ikea has come out with a high chair for dogs, called the Hundstol. It comes in different sizes, has a hole for a dog's tail and a spot to put bowls of water and food.

·        Ryanair, an airline based in Ireland, will start offering child free flights in October. Declaring themselves "the world's favourite airline," Ryanair said the move comes after a survey of 1,000 passengers showed "half would pay higher fares to avoid other people's children."

·        "When it comes to children, we all love our own but would clearly prefer to avoid other people's little monsters when travelling," spokesman Stephen McNamara said in the release.

·        Eccentric British billionaire Richard Branson claimed he bought Pluto, and planned to reinstate it as a planet.

·        "Virgin has expanded into many territories over the years, but we have never had our own planet before. This could pave the way for a new age in space tourism," Branson said in a release.

·        The U.K. Sun. reported Apple iPads have been given to gorillas at a zoo in an article with the headline Planet of the Apps.

·        Starbucks announced its "mobile pour", which puts baristas on scooters to get you a coffee as you walk down the street. All you have to do is order a coffee on your smartphone.

·        The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix reported the city could become the first to offer flavoured tap water on special occasions.

·        And Google has released a video on YouTube interviewing Michael Taylor, an autocompleter -- a person who guesses what you're typing in the search field.

·        "I started out originally as a spellchecker, so whenever you misspelled a word when using Google search, and it said, 'Did you mean,' and it gave you the spelling, that was me, typing it out," Taylor said. "I'm a really good speller."

·        The information under the video says, "We're hiring autocompleters for Google Search! Are you passionate about helping people? Are you intuitive? Do you often feel like you know what your friends and family are thinking and can finish their thoughts before they can? Are you an incredibly fast Google searcher? Like, so fast that you can do 20 searches before your mom does one?"

·        If you forgot breakfast, Metro in England has the answer. They announced Friday they have an edible edition, which is made of corn starch, vegetable oil and water.

·        The Queensland Police Service showed they have a sense of humour, conning unsuspecting Facebook followers the force had actually gone to the trouble of training up a squadron of undercover cats to help catch unsuspecting crims.

·        Swedish Media-Shampoo for shaggy hardrocker festival-goers, dog poop fireworks to save the environment, as well as The Local's own anti-feminist Viking village in Sweden's far north, were among the April Fools' Day hoaxes in the Swedish media on Friday.

2011-Five Best Videos April Fools' Day

Justin Bieber buys Funny or Die
Kudos to the web-bothering one for reading his lines so well in this (non-YouTube, granted) clip for April Fools' Day 2010. Funny or Die went all out for the prank, making over their main page in Bieber wallpaper and everything. 'I'm a star; I do what stars do. I ride on yachts, I autograph lady lumps and I pay people to slap them,' says our teen pal in a way of which Old Spice Guy would be proud.



Computer scare prank

Simple change of Windows start-up sound + cranking up of volume knob = our comment of choice from this viewer: 'Man I probably woulda freaked. And I've lived in some rough neighbourhoods. DAMN soundin' like Vietnam up in there

Catapult prank

OK, so it's not genuine but it doesn't make us love it any less, especially when it yields nuggets like this from enamoured viewers: 'This is so fake that it's real!' and: 'Thumbs up if u wish this was Rebecca Black.' Touché!

Flatmate alien prank gone bad

Again possibly not the most authentic, but this viral from the LA-based film-making trio still makes us chuckle. It comes with no more explanation preceding it than: 'Chad hates aliens. A lot.' We, like you, have yet to figure out why Matt and Rob hit Chad in the face with an ironing board, by the way. Our YouTube comment of choice: 'Guess Chad's not so afraid of aliens anymore...

Google Translate for animals: A sheep
Those Google peeps are quite partial to the ol' April Fool's Day fun, but this is one that will stay dear to our dark hearts for a long, long time. Complete with a handy video explaining how it worked, the Google Translate for animals 'app' helpfully warned that the higher up the food chain an animal is, the better the translator would work. Hence anyone looking for 'quick-witted banter' was advised to 'select cats and dogs rather than rabbits, hamsters and guinea pigs'.

2011- Baseball Season who will Win Central? Part 2

 

This is second part of 2011 Baseball Season.In the central ,the team includes Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals.

1. Minnesota Twins (Projected Victories-70)

The Twins have a better overall pitching staff than the White Sox do, especially with the return of closer Joe Nathan. Ron Gardenhire’s club will play better defense with the addition of new second basemen, Japanese import Tsuyoshi Nishioka since Orlando Hudson left for the Dodgers. Joe Mauer is back behind the dish and Justin Morneau should be healthy after not playing since July 7 from a concussion. The key player to watch is pitcher Francisco Liriano. If he can return to Cy Young form the Twins will compete for the AL Cenrtal crown.

2. Chicago White Sox (Projected Victories 90-72)

 The team from the South Side is a close second to the Twins. Ozizie Guillen’s team now has a better offense after resigning Paul Konerko and free agent Adam Dunn over the offseason. Pitching will be the question mark with Jake Peavy missing out on all of April with a shoulder injury. The player who could have a big year on this team is shortstop Alexei Ramirez.

3. Detroit Tigers (Projected Victories 83-79)

 Miguel Cabrera’s arrest for DUI on his way to camp has slightly overshadowed what could be a very competitive Tigers team. Manager Jim Leyland predicted Cabrera’s best year ever, but Cabrera should have some help this season with Magglio Ordonez back from a broken ankle. Ace pitcher Justin Verlander will need to avoid his habitual early season woes, which include a 7-11 record and 5.06 ERA in 26 career starts in April. DH Victor Martinez was the big pickup in the offseason, but the player who needs to have the best season is the young pitcher Rick Porcello, who struggled last year after his 14-win rookie season of 2009.

4. Cleveland Indians (Projected Victories 68-94)

The Indians strongpoint this season is youth as well as a respected offense, but their pitching staff is unproven and will most likely keep them in the back of the pack. The bullpen is anything but strong, but young closer Chris Perez is the main bright spot. Grady Sizemore, Matt LaPorta, and Shin-SooChoo are all recognizable names, but everyone will need to keep any eye on the young catcher Carlos Santana coming back from a horrific knee injury.

5. Kansas City Royals (Projected Victories 60-102)

The Royals may be the one team in this division that hasn’t improved over the offseason. KC lost their best hitter in David DeJesus, and then they traded away Zack Grienke, their franchise player and ace of their staff. Two players to look out for on the roster that could make some noise are Billy Butler and Joakim Soria. Young shortstop Alcides Escobar could still prove to be a good ballplayer but only time will tell.