It turned out to be a challenge to get very worked up one way or the other about Casio's Exilim EX-V7 , a camera that balances out to be an almost perfectly average point-and-shoot. On the plus side, the 7x zoom lens covers a lot of territory, and the camera's battery life of almost 1,195 shots per charge is exceptional for its class. (The Nikon Coolpix S50c [ ] holds the lowest score, with 347 shots per charge; Samsung's NV11 [ ] performed best, achieving 1,233.) Throw in a few points, too, for a full range of manual exposure controls, a rarity in this category.

On the mildly annoying side, there's the zoom slider control, which is awkwardly placed adjacent and vertical to the LCD screen. Also, image stabilization proved too ineffective in most situations. And the plastic docking cradle, required to recharge the battery, will take up more room in a suitcase than most folks would care to sacrifice.

Commodities and Financials: Opposite Ends

This has led to record valuation spreads between commodities and financials... In fact, the spread in valuations is wider now than at any time in the past 55 years. In our experience, the extreme views driving this spread are a perfect example of momentum "groupthink," which rarely turns out to be correct, and we believe present us with an extraordinary value opportunity in financial stocks.

Red Roof steps up online marketing with new firm

Procter to teach on the tube [Cincinnati] Gospel Music Channel signs promotion deal with Provident [Nashville] Discovery Networks to launch fitness channel [Baltimore] Tax preparer rebrands itself, relaunching with franchises [Pittsburgh] Recent transactions involved sales, leasing, financing across the Bay area [Tampa Bay] .

Thursday, January 24

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Note this listing is Restricted to pre-approved bidders and buyers only. PLEASE RETRACT BID IMMEDIATELY IF YOU DO NOT INTEND TO PAY. UNPAID ITEM WILL BE POSTED AS WELL AS NEGATIVE FEEDBACK. ALSO IF YOU DO NOT PAY IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BID IS OVER SECOND CHANCE OFFERS WILL BE SENT RIGHT AWAY KEEP THIS IN MIND. GARY DOES NOT RECEIVE THESE MESSAGES. EMAIL ME ONLY IF INTERESTED IN BUYING OR PAYING FOR THIS ITEM. I AM CHECKING ALL EBAYERS WHO BID TO SEE IF THEY HAVE 100% POSITIVE FEEDBACK AND IF NOT I RETRACT THE BID MYSELF. I DON'T TAKE CHANCES WITH FOOLISHNESS AND UNRESPONSIBLE PEOPLE.

Amy Winehouse is back in rehab.

Apple - it's about iMacs not iPhones

I also find the mature OS X (10.4 Tiger version) to be excellent, as I'm sure Leopard (10.5) will prove to be when it's updated in the next few weeks. However, I'll be considering a PC desktop as my next computer purchase.