Black Friday 2011: Deals From Walmart, Target, Best Buy and More

While Black Friday is not necessarily the best day of the year to shop, it is still the most ritualistic shopping "holiday" with several stores opening at 12 a.m. Friday (or even earlier) with limited-time deals. An estimated 152 million Americans will be taking part in the retail festivities Friday and during the weekend, up from 138 million last year. If you're thinking of hitting the mall -- instead of watching various TV show marathons like me -- here's a handy list of the who's who of Black Fridayand their featured door-busters. Keep in mind that on Black Friday, it's first-come, first-served, so some of these deals will go away once the item is sold out. (Also keep in mind that stores want you to feel pressure to buy. But it's not a good deal if you purchase something you don't need just because the price looks good.)
Walmart
For the first time, Walmart will be kicking off its in-store specials at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving and plans to scatter its offers. The following deals will kick off the event:
Xbox360 4GB with Kinect Console: $199.96 plus a $50 Walmart gift card
DVDs starting at $1.96
6V or 12V Ride-Ons (e.g., Jeep Wrangler, X Games ATV or Barbie Jeep): $99 each
Barbie, Disney Princess or Bratz branded Fashion Dolls: $5 each
Paula Deen 20-Piece Cookware Set: $86.44
Starting at midnight:
Emerson 32" LCD TV (31.5" diagonal screen size): $188
LG Blu-ray Player: $49
Kodak C1450 14 MP Camera: $49
8GB iPod Touch: $195
Samsung 51" Plasma TV (50.7" diagonal screen size): $498
Starting at 8 a.m. Friday:
Goodyear Tires starting at $59
Vizio 42" 3D LED Wi-Fi HDTV (42.0" diagonal screen size 1080p): $598
Buy any smartphone (except Apple iPhone) with a contract and get a $100 Walmart gift card
Macy's
For the first time, stores will open at midnight Thanksgiving. Deals include:
50% off Sharper Image iPhone/iPod docking stations
$19.99 Rampage boots
Justin Beiber limited-edition holiday fragrance set (includes eau de parfum spray and Bieber's holiday CD)
With any $65 fragrance purchase, get a free digital camera
Best Buy
The following deals start at midnight Thanksgiving:
Sharp 42" Class LCD 1080p HDTV $199.99
Samsung laptop with Intel Pentium Processor 15.6" Display, 4GB memory $299.99
Toshiba Wi-Fi Ready Blu-Ray Player $39.99
Seasons 1-3 of Mad Men on BluRay - $9 each
250GB Xbox 360 console with Fable III and Halo Reach -$200
MacBook Pros and iMacs - $60 to $200 off
H&M
H&M stores open at 5 a.m. on Black Friday. Deals include:
Dresses and sweaters from $5
Pants and kids' jackets from $10
Outerwear from $20
Toys R Us
The toy giant plans to open its doors earlier than competitors, at 9 p.m. Thanksgiving.
Sylvania 7-inch tablet PC for $79
40% off Optimus Prime Transformer for $47.99
50% off Leap Pad Leapster systems
$50 gift card with iPod Touch purchase
Target
All Black Friday deals start at midnight on Thanksgiving.
Philips 9" Dual-Screen DVD Player $99
Amazon Kindle 3G $85
Acer 10.1 Netbook for $157
Various movies and TV shows on DVD for $3.99
Element 40" 60HZ 1080p LCD HDTV for $265
$40 Target gift card with purchase of 8GB iPod Touch for $195
$15 Target gift card with purchase of 8GB iPod Nano for $129
Sam's Club
These prices will be valid for members in stores November 25 starting at 5 a.m.
Microsoft Xbox 360 250GB Holiday Bundle for $199
Sony PlayStation 3 160GB Entertainment Bundle for $239
LG 42" 120Hz 1080p LED-Backlit LCD HDTV for $578
Lowe's
The home improvement giant is advertising its Black Friday offers via its "Black FridayThrowdown" on Facebook.
allen + roth Ladder Shelf for $65
Skil 10" Miter Saw for $69
Kobalt 227-Piece Socket Wrench Set for $99.98
Char-Griller Duo Gas and Charcoal Grill for $199
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/black-friday-2011--deals-from-walmart--target--best-buy-and-more.html
source :

Occupy Wall Street Two Month Anniversary

Occupy Wall Street protesters clogged streets and tied up traffic around the U.S. on Thursday to mark two months since the movement's birth and signal they aren't ready to quit, despite the breakup of many of their encampments by police. Hundreds of people were arrested, most of them in New York.

The confrontations followed early morning arrests in other cities. In Dallas, police evicted dozens of protesters near City Hall, citing health and safety reasons. Eighteen protesters were arrested. Two demonstrators were arrested and about 20 tents removed at the University of California, Berkeley.

The demonstrations – which took place in cities including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Boston, Washington and Portland, Ore. – were for the most part peaceful. Most of the arrests were for blocking streets, and the traffic disruptions were brief.

Chanting "All day, all week, shut down Wall Street," more than 1,000 protesters gathered near the New York Stock Exchange and sat down in several intersections. Helmeted police officers broke up some of the gatherings, and operations at the stock market were not disrupted.

As darkness fell, a coalition of unions and progressive groups joined Occupy demonstrators in staging rallies at landmark bridges in several U.S. cities to protest joblessness.

In New York, a crowd of several thousand people, led by banner-carrying members of the Service Employees International Union, jammed Manhattan's Foley Square and then marched peacefully across the Brooklyn Bridge on a pedestrian promenade.

As they walked, a powerful light projected the slogan "We are the 99 percent" – a reference to the Americans who aren't super-rich – on the side of a nearby skyscraper. Police officers dressed in wind breakers, rather than riot gear, arrested at least two dozen people who walked out onto the bridges' roadway but otherwise let the marchers pass without incident.

Several weeks ago, an attempt to march across the bridge drew the first significant international attention to the Occupy movement as more than 700 people were arrested.

Thursday's protests came two days after police raided and demolished the encampment at lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park that had served as headquarters of the Occupy movement and as demonstrators and union allies tried to regain their momentum.

"This is a critical moment for the movement given what happened the other night," said demonstrator Paul Knick, a software engineer from Montclair, N.J. "It seems like there's a concerted effort to stop the movement, and I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."

At least 300 people were arrested in New York. Some were bloodied during the arrests. One man was taken into custody for throwing liquid, possibly vinegar, into the faces of several police officers, authorities said. Many demonstrators were carrying vinegar as an antidote for pepper spray.

A police officer, Matthew Walters, needed 20 stitches on his hand after he was hit with a piece of thrown glass, police said.

In Los Angeles, about 500 sympathizers marched downtown between the Bank of America tower and Wells Fargo Plaza, chanting, "Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!" More than two dozen people were arrested.

Police arrested 21 demonstrators in Las Vegas, and 20 were led away in plastic handcuffs in Portland, Ore., for sitting down on a bridge. At least a dozen were arrested in St. Louis in the evening after they sat down cross-legged and locked arms in an attempt to block a bridge over the Mississippi River. More were handcuffed for blocking bridges in Philadelphia and Minneapolis.

In Chicago, hundreds of protesters organized by labor and community groups marched toward the Chicago River. They stopped at the river bridge and shut it down to rush-hour traffic. Police officers scrambled to divert cars and pedestrians. People watched the protests from office windows and bus stops.

In Seattle, hundreds of Occupy Seattle and labor demonstrators shut down the University Bridge as part of a national day of action demanding jobs. Traffic was snarled around Seattle's University District as two rallies marched toward the bridge.

Several of the demonstrations coincided with an event planned months earlier by a coalition of unions and liberal groups, including Moveon.org and the SEIU, in which out-of-work people walked over bridges in several cities to protest high unemployment.

The street demonstrations also marked two months since the Occupy movement sprang to life in New York on Sept. 17. They were planned well before police raided a number of encampments over the past few days but were seen by some activists as a way to demonstrate their resolve in the wake of the crackdown.

Thursday's demonstrations around Wall Street brought taxis and delivery trucks to a halt, but police were largely effective at keeping the protests confined to just a few blocks. Officers allowed Wall Street workers through the barricades, but only after checking their IDs.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said police had been expecting as many as 10,000 protesters based on what activists had been saying online. But he said there had been "minimal disruption."

"Most protesters have, in all fairness, acted responsibly," he said after visiting an injured police officer in the hospital.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said officers confiscated metal devices that some demonstrators had apparently planned to use to lock themselves into the entrances to Wall Street businesses.

The demonstration that drew thousands of people to Foley Square in the evening was a rarity in the Occupy movement: Union organizers obtained a permit from the city, and speakers were allowed to use a sound system.

Among the demonstrators arrested in New York was a retired Philadelphia police captain, Ray Lewis, who was taken into custody in his dress uniform. Others included actor and director Andre Gregory, who said he hoped the movement would lead to national action on economic injustice.

"It's a possible beginning of something positive," he said.

Some onlookers applauded the demonstrators from open windows. Others yelled, "Get a job!"

"I don't understand their logic," said Adam Lieberman, as he struggled to navigate police barricades on his way to work at JPMorgan Chase. "When you go into business, you go into business to make as much money as you can. And that's what banks do. They're trying to make a profit."

Gene Williams, a bond trader, joked that he was "one of the bad guys" but said he empathized with the demonstrators: "The fact of the matter is, there is a schism between the rich and the poor, and it's getting wider."

City officials and demonstrators were trying to decide their next step in Philadelphia, where about 100 protesters were under orders to clear out to make way for a long-planned $50 million plaza renovation at City Hall. Union leaders pressed the demonstrators to leave, saying construction jobs were stake.

Occupy Wall Street Two Month Anniversary: Protesters March To NYC Financial District, Plan Day Of Events

black friday 2011 Hot Pages About

Retailers’ chief marketing officers are less optimistic about sales growth on Black Friday than they were a year earlier as increasing competition prompts stores to boost discounts, according to a survey by BDO USA.

Purchases on Nov. 25, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday, may rise 1.6 percent, the average estimate of 100 executives in BDO’s survey conducted last month. That compares with an average projection of a 3.8 percent increase in the survey last year.

“It’s not a home run by any means, but it’s positive growth,” Ted Vaughan, a partner at BDO’s retail and consumer practice in Dallas, said in an interview. Black Friday’s importance has diminished as retailers start advertising holiday deals earlier, he said.

Black Friday serves as the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season when retailers lure shoppers to stores with discounts and giveaways. Sales on the day rose 0.3 percent last year, according to Chicago-based ShopperTrak. Sales for the weekend after Thanksgiving gained 6.4 percent last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Sales for the entire holiday shopping season may increase 2.9 percent, according to the BDO survey. That would be slower than the 5.2 percent gain a year earlier that was reported by the Washington-based NRF.

Discounts will also increase and put more pressure on retailers’ profit margins, Vaughan said. About 78 percent of respondents in the BDO survey expected a gain in promotions, up from 64 percent a year ago. The survey was conducted in October and included public and private U.S. retailers of various sizes, including 12 in the top 100 by annual revenue.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matt Townsend in New York at

news from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-16/retail-executives-less-optimistic-about-black-friday-in-survey.html

With Halloween now in our rear-view mirrors, it's time to start thinking about another fun holiday event: Black Friday, the day following Thanksgiving that traditionally marked the beginning of the holiday shopping season.

Not that retailers are willing to wait until that day, of course; in recent years, we've seen Black Friday sales start earlier and continue throughout the weekend, culminating in Cyber Monday, an online-only shopping event. But whatever the duration, the idea is to get the best deal you can on the items you really want.

Often—but not always—electronics items are at their lowest prices of the year on Black Friday, and it's easy to get caught up in the shopping frenzy and spend more than you you really want to. So here's a short list of Black Friday shopping tips that should help insure you get not only the best deals, but also some peace of mind once you bring the item home. Happy shopping!

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eating these 5 foods....

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Avg. 30-year mortgage rate falls to 4% news

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The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4 percent this week, nearly matching the all-time low hit just one month ago. Freddie

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4 percent this week, nearly matching the all-time low hit just one month ago.

Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on the 30-year loan dropped from 4.10 percent last week. Four weeks ago, it dropped to 3.94 percent -- the lowest rate ever, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.31 percent from 3.38 percent. Four weeks ago, it too hit a record low of 3.26 percent.

Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. They yield fell this week after investors shifted money out of stocks and into the safety of Treasurys on fears that Europe's debt crisis could worsen.

The Federal Reserve is also shifting more money into longer-term Treasurys to try to force mortgage rates lower. Treasury yields fall when buying activity increases.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that low rates have failed to spur the increase in home buying or mortgage refinancing that government officials had expected.

[Click here to check home loan rates in your area.]

High unemployment and declining wages have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many Americans don't want to sink money into a home that could lose value over the next three to four years. And most homeowners who can afford to refinance already have.

The number of Americans who bought previously occupied homes fell in September and is on pace to match last year's dismal figures -- the worst in 13 years.

Sales of new homes rose last month after four straight monthly declines. But the increase was largely because builders cut their prices. And it followed a peak buying season that was the worst on records going back nearly 50 years.

The low rates have caused a modest boom in refinancing, but that benefit might be wearing off. Most people who can afford to refinance have already locked in rates below 5 percent.

Rates have been below 5 percent for all but two weeks in the past year. Just five years ago they were closer to 6.5 percent. Ten years ago, they were above 8 percent.

The average rate on the five-year adjustable loan fell to 2.96 percent from 3.08 percent. That matches a record low hit four weeks ago.

The average rate on the one-year adjustable loan declined to 2.88 percent from 2.90 percent. It fell last month to 2.81 percent, the lowest on records dating to 1984.

The average rates don't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fee for the 30-year fixed mortgage fell from 0.8 to 0.7. The average fee on the 15-year fixed loan was unchanged at 0.7. The average fees on the five-year adjustable loan one-year adjustable loan were also unchanged at 0.6.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.

Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on the 30-year loan dropped from 4.10% last week. Four weeks ago, it dropped to 3.94%— the lowest rate ever, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.31% from 3.38%. Four weeks ago, it too hit a record low of 3.26%.

Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which the Federal Reserve has been buying to try to force rates lower.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that low rates have failed to spur the increase in home buying or mortgage refinancing government officials had expected.
National Mortgage Rates

Sales of new homes rose last month after four straight monthly declines. But the increase was largely because builders cut their prices. And it followed a peak buying season that was the worst on records going back nearly 50 years.

The low rates have caused a modest boom in refinancing, but that benefit might be wearing off. Most people who can afford to refinance have already locked in rates below 5%.

Rates have been below 5% for all but two weeks in the past year. Just five years ago they were closer to 6.5%. Ten years ago, they were above 8%.

The average rate on the five-year adjustable loan fell to 2.96% from 3.08%. That matches a record low hit four weeks ago.

The average rate on the one-year adjustable loan declined to 2.88% from 2.90%. It fell last month to 2.81% , the lowest on records dating to 1984.

Thank you Cards design your own

Thank you Cards

Thank you Cards design your own:
thank you sayings printable thank you cards wedding thank you cards sample thank you cards business thank you cards baby thank you cards online thank you cards baby shower thank you cards

Thank you Cards My Sister-In-Law asked me to do some Thank You cards for her and here is what I came up with. These were a lot of fun and I got to use my new Cuttlebug and my Sandable paper on one of them. This first card was the fanciest of the bunch. The paper had the design on the left side so I added the saying and stamped and embossed it with bronze embossing powder. Then I added the butterflies, a bronze flower, a few crystals and a brown organza ribbon with white poke a dots to finish it off. For this second card I got to use the Cuttlebug with an embossing folder that was filled with all different Thank Yous. I used a sandable paper that was brown with a background color of of a peachy rose. Once embossed the paper I sanded all the embossing to bring out the background color. I added a tiny rose ribbon at the top and bottom of the thank you panel. Thanks for stopping by to take a look.

business intelligence tool Increased Integration

Personae are a potent business intelligence tool that are frequently misunderstood, misconstructed or assumptive. The consequences of rolling out "made up" personae as fact will ensure that any user experience is based around a premise.

Perhaps it's best to start out by defining what a persona is not. The idea that a persona is created by looking at a demographic segment and giving it a lick of personality veneer arouses dismay within any self-respecting UX practitioner.

I've seen many a personae constructed subjectively, outside of UX; hurriedly put together within pitch documents to demonstrate an awareness of a particular organisation's users. Having won the pitch, these personae are not interrogated, but believed by client and agency to be correct. They then get handed to IAs who use them to create user journeys.

Another mistake is for an organisation to predefine who they think their personae are and how many there are. This can only result in forced and diluted stereotypes that serve as a kind of pale doppelgänger. Or worse, too many personae, many of which are shades of each other. And from a business point of view, this becomes an expensive exercise that only distracts and confuses. Most persona investigation exercises yield around a handful of primaries, the median being around three.

The interesting thing about personae is that you never know what will emerge from your quantitative and qualitative data. There is something almost magical in the way archetypes emerge from the clusters of attitudes and behaviours of groups of people that you interview.

It is vital that your personae are empirical if you are to develop an insight into designing truly user-centred interfaces. I use a mixture of primary and secondary research, because it's important to validate what you discover through focus groups or interviews against data captured from surveys and the like.

Keeping an Open Mind

Remaining receptive means that you won't influence your subjects, who are often vulnerable to giving what they believe to be the right answer - after all, you are paying them to participate, and people do like to please!

This predisposition is often seen in user testing, where participants will give glowing reports of their experience on an interface, despite observational evidence to the contrary.

Setting the Criteria

It's important to establish beforehand, however, what you are hoping to achieve from your research. Are you trying to capture attitudinal data, are you investigating the type of content they would like to receive? There is a delicate balance between allowing people to wander off into delicious tangents, and bringing them back to the core of what you are trying to investigate. Allowing people to "flow" can often allow for deeper insights that may not have been uncovered within a rigid facilitation framework.

Another thing to watch out for is the group dynamic within focus groups. Some people like to lead, whilst others are passive. Ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to contribute.

It's a good idea to work in a small team when conducting primary research, so that you have several sets of eyes and ears, and can bounce your observations off of each other.

Identifying the Persona

After several focus groups or interviews, patterns begin to emerge. You notice that people across groups begin to show similar attitudes or needs. Your persona becomes a composite sketch of these findings. While your persona itself is not "real", it has its basis in real people...

Once you have what you believe are the full set of personae, it's time to discover who your primary personae are. These are the personae that, if you design for them alone, would in some way disenfranchise another persona. Analysis will reveal who the primary personae, with their distinct needs, are.

Your secondary personae will sit beneath, or between your primaries. These are the people whose needs are satisfied by designing for the primaries, but who also have additional, sometimes less important [from the business perspective], needs that can be easily accommodated within the design.

You may find that you have other personae who, while interesting, are not necessarily part of the main audience as defined by the business goals. For example, these might be people who wouldn't use a digital artefact for one reason or another. They help to form the wider picture, and these are your third, or tertiary personae.

Once you have created your hierarchy, you are ready to use your primary personae to inform the design process.

They become the voice of the user - a reminder to let go of personal whims or cognitive biases and design authentic user-centred products.

As a business tool, personae can be used across disciplines to enlighten and inform production. The insight that they provide means that a brand is communicating directly with people and not "consumers". It's never a good idea to have a static view on personae - each new project requires new research. If the business proposition changes or grows, new research must be conducted. A new game, a new hand of cards, so to speak.

Since personae are constructed from real people, it's useful to recall focus group participants or interviewees to test and validate as the product is developed.

The fruit of a tree is only as sweet as the strength of its roots; it's a grave mistake to be glib about what real people do and need.

And finding out what real people's goals are is simple. Just ask them!

http://lyndaelliott.blogspot.com/2010/08/personas-as-business-intelligence-tool.html

Sample Letter - GI Rights Hotline

Sample Letter - GI Rights Hotline Sample Letter letter sample format letter letter spacing templates for letter

sample

[recruit's address] [date] Commanding Officer [no actual name is required, the title is enough] [address of recruiting station where recruit enlisted] Dear Commander, I am currently a member of the Navy Delayed Entry Program scheduled to enter active duty on [date]. I am requesting complete separation from the Delayed Entry Program and the Navy. I enlisted in the Delayed Entry Program [date] at the West Portal Navy Recruiting Station in San Francisco, where I was recruited by [name of recruiter]. My request for separation is based on the following factor(s): Since my entrance in Delayed Entry Program, my mother's arthritic condition has worsened considerably. I am the oldest child in my family with two siblings aged 7 and 12. My mother now has great difficulty doing simple household chores and her doctor has informed her that her condition is likely to deteriorate further. She now feels that she must have my help at home to take care of my brothers. In addition, in the past 5 months I have had a complete change of career plans. I had planned on becoming a technician at the time of joining the Navy, but now I have decided to become a graphic artist. I was hired by Schmidt Advertising on January 19, 1990. They plan to provide me with further training on the job. With this job I will still be able to live at my family home. Therefore, I request separation from the Delayed Entry Program and the Navy, and I hereby request prompt processing of this separation request. In the event that this separation request has not been fully processed on the date I am scheduled to report for active duty, I request an extension in my delay status until my separation request has been finally decided. Sincerely, [recruit's name and social security number]