Gambling Practice Game » Uncategorized http://www.gamblingpracticegame.com Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:46:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Review: "Midnight" by Mari Adkins http://www.gamblingpracticegame.com/review-midnight-by-mari-adkins/ http://www.gamblingpracticegame.com/review-midnight-by-mari-adkins/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 03:01:07 +0000 admin http://www.gamblingpracticegame.com/review-midnight-by-mari-adkins/ You ever known a person, that at first, you weren’t too crazy about, but as time passed and the more you got to know this person, the better you liked him? In a strange way, newcomer Mari Adkins’s first novel, “Midnight”, does just this.

The 325 page novel takes us through a mystical adventure with Samantha “Sami” Clark. In the prologue, she’s abused, lonely, and ready to commit suicide. Sami travels to Harlan, Kentucky, a beautiful and quiet Appalachian town nestled near the Cumberland Gap. Here she moves in with Steve Young, a shy and caring friend from years past.

As Sami fights her way out of chronic depression, she meets the mysterious Jeremy. Aloof, but supportive, he guides Sami back to health and assists her in a slow self-discovery process. Vampires are involved, but in a caring, passive (too passive for this reader) fashion. By the end of the novel, Sami is still struggling with her life, but with her new friends and growing powers, the outlook is definitely positive.

Doesn’t sound particularly exciting, right? If you’re looking for an action packed, vampire-driven lust and rage filled plot, you’re better off sticking with Laurell K. Hamilton or Sherrilyn Kenyon. What “Midnight” does is present an emotionally heartwrenching character study. The reader grows to care about Sami. Author Mari Adkins pulls this off with the skill of an experienced novelist. While Sami may cry too often, it still feels ‘true’. Her actions are the actions of a clinically depressed individual.

Adkins also gives us a fascinating glimpse into the world of Paganism. Sami’s magic powers are real and potent, used in a real world setting and not as some cute form of fantasy. I kept waiting for a violent magical outburst, but that would do Sami and her powers an injustice.

Overall, this is the best of the four eBooks I’ve had the opportunity to read over the past couple of years. The editing is as good as you’ll find in most mid-level imprints, and Mari Adkins shows a knack for storytelling that will one day propel her to a hefty book deal with a print publisher.

About the Author

Jason Sizemore is the publisher and managing editor of “Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest”.

Visit “Apex Digest” at http://www.apexdigest.com

]]> http://www.gamblingpracticegame.com/review-midnight-by-mari-adkins/feed/ 0 How Henry Kravis of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. Works in Line with the Environmental Defense Fund http://www.gamblingpracticegame.com/how-henry-kravis-of-kohlber-kravis-roberts-co-works-in-line-with-the-environmental-defense-fund/ http://www.gamblingpracticegame.com/how-henry-kravis-of-kohlber-kravis-roberts-co-works-in-line-with-the-environmental-defense-fund/#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:22:02 +0000 admin http://www.gamblingpracticegame.com/how-henry-kravis-of-kohlber-kravis-roberts-co-works-in-line-with-the-environmental-defense-fund/ Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was established in the seventies and in the beginning the firm’s main business was in highly leveraged transactions. Pushing further, aiming to make the companies in their portfolio more environmentally aware, KKR have set up a unique green project which has dramatically changed the method by which businesses and environmental groups function.

When Henry Kravis from KKR and the New York based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged in 2008 green matters went mainstream. Issues like greenhouse gas emissions and immoderate water consumption are an all-important part of their corporate mission. Eco-efficiency (the phrase was originally propagated by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development) is the method employed to achieve these objectives, applying policies like recycling programs, increasing the durability of products and using clean energy. Irrespective of the fact that the program was a huge success, no-one recognized how far reaching the consequences truly were until Ken Mehlman, the person responsible for the project, looked at the first year’s figures. Ken saw that the program was not merely helping to maintain the environment, but additionally it was saving a wide range of businesses a significant amount of money. These days, KKR and Ken Mehlman have almost all of their firms involved in the project. Nevertheless, with a 2009 portfolio worth eighty-six billion dollars, you may be certain that this was no easy see what an enormous feat this is. Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co with the Environmental Defense Fund in association with Ken Mehlman are extending the original Green Portfolio project. For example, KKR got together with the EDF’s Climate Corps Program a venture which instructs MBA students how to encourage financially sound, planet friendly techniques. KKR and Ken Mehlman have been developing analytic tools which oversee resources. This type of info is crucial as businesses can assess each of their daily activities and identify how any problems can be solved while simultaneously permitting staff to determine their ecological impact. The business community has been altered forever by the efforts of these individuals. These unique concepts have made decreasing their ecological impact simpler for companies in every sector and established that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of negatively impacting our planet.

]]> http://www.gamblingpracticegame.com/how-henry-kravis-of-kohlber-kravis-roberts-co-works-in-line-with-the-environmental-defense-fund/feed/ 0 Am I covered by my landlords insurance? http://www.gamblingpracticegame.com/am-i-covered-by-my-landlords-insurance/ http://www.gamblingpracticegame.com/am-i-covered-by-my-landlords-insurance/#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:13:22 +0000 admin http://www.gamblingpracticegame.com/am-i-covered-by-my-landlords-insurance/ A Critical Question All Renters Should Ask Many people who rent their homes have not considered this basic question: when renting, am I covered by my landlord’s insurance? The answer is that the contents of your home are not covered, unless you have a very unusual lease. The fact is that if you rent a house or apartment, you need to protect yourself against loss and damage. None of us like to think of losing our possessions from catastrophic events, such as fires, water damage, wind, and theft, but we all have to admit that these things do happen. When landlords get home insurance, it is almost always for damage only to the building itself and not for the tenants’ possessions. If someone breaks into your home and steals your jewelry and computer, the landlord’s insurance will not cover your loss. If a fire breaks out and destroys everything you own, your landlord’s home insurance will not provide you with funds to replace your possessions. You might think your possessions are not valuable enough to justify the expense of insuring them. Take a moment to consider what it would cost to replace the contents of your home if they were stolen or ruined. Almost everyone who thinks about it realizes that they would have difficulty affording the cost of replacing all of their possessions. You will have to take out a policy called tenants insurance.When you get tenants insurance, list all of the items of value in your home, including electronics, appliances, art, and clothing. If you have antiques or special collections, you may want to have them appraised and take photos to document their value. Be sure to shop around when you are considering contents insurance and read the language of the policy carefully, so you know that you are adequately protected against loss and damage.

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