NFL, referees reach agreement; refs back on field Thursday

The NFL reached an agreement with the NFL Referees Association on Wednesday night to end the lockout, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the refs will be back on the field starting Thursday night.

"We appreciate the commitment of the NFLRA in working through the issues to reach this important agreement," Goodell said in a joint statement issued by the NFL and NFLRA.

"Our Board of Directors has unanimously approved taking this proposed CBA to the membership for a ratification vote," said Scott Green, president of the NFLRA. "We are glad to be getting back on the field for this week's games."

A high-ranked referee told NFL.com and NFL Network's Jeff Darlington earlier that the officials are prepared to immediately begin work, noting he and many others have gotten access to all of the videos from the last three weeks of games that were distributed to the replacement officials.Thursday night's game between the Cleveland Brownsand Baltimore Ravens can be seen on NFL Network at 8 p.m. ET.

While the referee said his colleagues would have liked to work a few preseason games, he says it isn't necessary to do their job.

Earlier Wednesday, the league and referees agreed to create a developmental program as a compromise to the NFL's demand for the addition of 21 officials to the current contingent of 121 NFLRA members, per an NFLRA source. The pool of money for the existing officials also will remain the same.

The developmental officials will be mentored by the existing crews and will be assigned to work with them during the week. The developmental officials will not be NFLRA members, will not work games and will not be eligible to be subbed in initially.

But eventually, as they improve and reach the standards to be NFL officials, they will be considered for NFLRA membership. As that happens, the financial pool for officials will be adjusted accordingly.

Gareth Roberts

East Valley Consulting

East Valley Consulting

15 Ways Rich People Think Differently

The Mentality Of The Rich

 Gareth Roberts East Valley Consulting 

1. Rich people think selfishness is a virtue
Average people feel they need to save the world and put others before themselves which is keeping them poor. Rich people take the attitude that if they don’t help themselves first they can’t help anyone else.

2. Rich people have an action mentality
You wouldn’t see a rich person lining up to play the lottery (even before they were rich). Average people are always waiting on someone else to help them get rich – the Lotto, Government, friend or spouse – but it only keeps them poor. Rich people take action and spend time solving problems.

3. Rich people favour specific knowledge over formal education
Average people believe the road to riches is through doing masters and doctorates. Rich people are generally rich because they have made money selling a specific knowledge they have acquired.

4. Rich people dream of the future
Rich people spend a lot of time looking into the future, setting goals and looking forward to what lies ahead. Average people dwell on the past which often holds them back by making them unhappy or depressed.

5. Rich people think about money logically
Average and well-educated people can fall into the trap of thinking about money emotionally and just wanting to retire comfortably. Rich people maintain a logical relationship with money viewing it as a tool that represents options and opportunities.

6. Rich people follow their passion
Oprah Winfrey said it – you’ve got to follow your passion and do what you love. Rich people find a way of getting paid for doing something they love. Average people earn money doing things they don’t love.

7. Rich people aim high
Average people set low expectations to avoid disappointment whereas rich people set huge expectations and follow their dreams.

8. Rich people believe you have to “be” someone
Average people on the other hand believe you have to “do” something to be rich and focus on immediate results. Rich people continuously focus on bettering themselves and learn from successand failures.

9. Rich people use other people’s money
Average people believe they need their own money to make money whereas rich people have no problem using other people’s.

10. Rich people live below their means
It seems contradictory to the above statement but rich people adopt the attitude of getting rich so you can afford to live below your means. Average people live beyond their means.

11. Rich people teach their children how to be rich
Average people teach their children how to survive whereas rich people teach their children from an early age about the world of haves and have nots.

12. Rich people don’t let money stress them out
Average people do. Rich people find peace of mind in wealth and are not afraid to admit that money can solve most problems – allowing them to make more money. Average people see money as a continuous battle and necessary evil they have to endure.

13. Rich people would rather be educated than entertained
Average people are the opposite. They read novels, tabloids and entertainment rather than continuously educating themselves after school.

14. Rich people surround themselves with like-minded people
Average people think rich people are snobs and have a negative attitude towards the super rich. Rich people steer clear of the doom and gloom attitudes and people – adding fuel to the fire of the “snob” label.

15. Rich people focus on earning
Average people focus on saving and miss big opportunities by trying to live frugally. Rich people constantly focus on the big picture – and how to earn the big bucks.

 Gareth Roberts 

East Valley Consulting 

East Valley Consulting

Forbes 2012 Highest Paid Hip Hop Business Men

Gareth Roberts

East Valley Consulting

East Valley Consulting

1. Dr. Dre

2012 Earnings: $110 million

2. Diddy

2012 Earnings: $45 million

3. Jay-Z

2012 Earnings: $38 million

4. Kanye West

2012 Earnings: $35 million

5. Lil Wayne

2012 Earnings: $27 million

6. Drake

2012 Earnings: $20.5 million

7. Birdman

2012 Earnings: $20 million

8. Nicki Minaj

2012 Earnings: $15.5 million

9. Eminem

2012 Earnings: $15 million

10. Ludacris

2012 Earnings: $12 million

11. Pitbull

2012 Earnings: $9.5 million

12. Rick Ross

2012 Earnings: $9 million (tie)

13. Wiz Khalifa

2012 Earnings: $9 million (tie)

14. Snoop Dogg

2012 Earnings: $8 million

15. 50 Cent

2012 Earnings: $7.5 million

16. Swizz Beatz

2012 Earnings: $7 million (tie)

17. Pharrell

2012 Earnings: $7 million (tie)

18. Young Jeezy

2012 Earnings: $7 million (tie)

19. Mac Miller

2012 Earnings: $6.5 million

20. Akon

2012 Earnings: $6 million

Gareth Roberts

East Valley Consulting

East Valley Consulting

20 tips, tricks, and tools to make your Facebook experience even better

Tweak your Facebook settings

1. Appear offline to certain friends 
By opening your Facebook chat window, clicking the settings icon in the upper right corner, and then navigating to "Advanced Settings," you can customize your chat experience by appearing offline to certain people on your friends list. This tweak will be especially helpful for those of you with chatty acquaintances who like to talk your ear off when you're online. 

2. Reposition your Timeline photos
When uploading a new photo, it might not always appear on your feed the way you intended. Particularly long or wide photos have a tendency to be cropped awkwardly, but you can fix this rather easily. By clicking "Edit Photo" from your Timeline page, you gain access to a "Reposition Photo" option. Using this tool, you can move your photo around the preview window so that it appears as you intended. 

3. Add photos to your worldly travels 
If you're a fan of Facebook's "Places" feature, you can very easily decorate it with pictures to show off your various activities all over the world. On the main Places page, simply click "Add Photos to Map," and start tagging away! If you frequently upload photos directly to your Facebook profile using a mobile app for iPhone or Android, you might find that your map is already pretty well populated. 

4. Easily hide app notifications for a cleaner experience
By going into your account settings, then navigating to the "Notifications" tab on the left side of the page, you can browse the applications that have permission to populate your news feed. If find that a friend has spammed your feed with an excessive number of app notifications, simply deactivate the offending app. It's easier than breaking off the friendship. 

5. Upload photos in high resolution
Sometimes you'll find that a gorgeous photo you wanted to share with your friends appears tiny and blurry after adding it to your social network profile. Remedy this by going into your Facebook albums and, before uploading a photo, click the "High Quality" box. 

6. Use the "View As" option to tweak your appearance to specific friends 
Knowing what your friends can see on your Facebook Timeline is an invaluable tool to ensuring your virtual reputation stays intact. From your Timeline page, click the settings icon next to "Activity Log," and then click "View As." From here you'll be able to see what specific friends see when they visit your page.

7. Download your entire Facebook history
Ever wanted to browse your entire Facebook profile at once — including every status update you've ever submitted? Facebook makes it easy: Under your Account Settings page, a small link will appear at the very bottom of the options list. Click "Download a copy of your Facebook data" to begin the process of securing your entire archive.

8. Forward your Facebook conversations 
Having to repeat yourself is annoying in day-to-day life, and it's even more of a bother when online. Rather than copying and pasting directions or instructions to multiple people, click the "Actions" tab at the top of any Facebook message thread to access the option to forward it to others. Ta-da! No more double-talk! 

9. Turn chat sign-in off by default
Can't stand endless chat when you're simply browsing your status updates? No problem. Click the settings icon in the main Facebook chat window, and click "Turn off chat" to have all future messages sent to your inbox, rather than pop-up in realtime on your screen. 

10. Use Facebook to design your business card
If you've put a lot of work into making your Timeline page reflect exactly who you are, consider using it as a pre-designed business card. Clicking the "About" link — located under your name on your Timeline — lets you browse your social network details. In the Contact Info window is a small business card icon that will direct you to Moo.com, where you can customize a Facebook-flavored business card and place an order.

Get the most out of Facebook using these web tools

11. Analyze your Facebook history with Wolfram Alpha 
For the most comprehensive breakdown of your entire Facebook history, Wolfram Alpha can't be beat. Simply type "Facebook Report" into the main search bar, approve the app's use of your Facebook data, and wait for the system to break down your history. Once it's finished, you'll be treated to a seemingly endless number of graphs and data points showing your update history, most liked photos, and much more.

12. Schedule Facebook updates with Sendible
Believe it or not, thieves are big fans of Facebook. By finding out when you'll be away from your home, security experts believe would-be robbers target those who go on a Facebook hiatus. Sendible — an application that allows you to schedule updates even when you're not near your computer — can keep your online persona active, even when you can't. 

13. Use Twitter to update Facebook
Sometimes you just don't have enough time to keep all your social networks up to date, but thankfully Facebook and Twitter play nice together with a little tweaking. Head to the Twitter app page on Facebook to begin the process of syncing your virtual social lives. After authorizing the Facebook app via Twitter, all your tweets will appear on Facebook as status updates. 

14. Export your Facebook calendar to your PC
Make sure you don't miss any important events by exporting your Facebook calendar to either Microsoft Outlook or Apple iCal. Head to your Facebook calendar (located under the "Events" tab on the Facebook navigation bar) and click the settings icon. Click "Export," and then choose either your Facebook birthday list or upcoming events. Your desktop's calendar app should launch immediately, making the process even more streamlined. 

Make Facebook better using Chrome extensions

15. Facebook Photo zoom
Using this extension, you no longer have to click on the photos in your news feed in order to view them in full size. Simply move your mouse cursor over the image thumbnail and the larger version will pop up right in front of you. You can even adjust the zoom by moving the mouse back and forth over the photo itself. It's like magic. 

16. Revert Facebook Photo viewer 
If you're not into real-time photo zooming, this extension turns back the clock on your Facebook's photo feature. Rather than displaying pictures in the new "Theater" layout, photos will appear on their own pages, complete with the full comments section and "Like" options. 

17. Facebook Chat notifications 
Have you ever left a Facebook tab open on your web browser and missed an urget message from a friend? This handy plugin produces a pop-up window on your desktop to notify you when someone needs to chat, ensuring you never miss an important bit of info.

Firefox add-ons that make Facebook a joy to use

18. Like the Page 
If you're a Firefox user, you can use this add-on to instantly share any web page they come across, even when the site doesn't have a built-in Facebook share button. A small "Like" icon will pop up at the bottom of every browser window, and all it takes it a click to share your find with the world. 

19. FB Purity 
This plug-in returns your Facebook to an earlier day, back when spammers and useless clutter wasn't a hinderance to your browsing habits. You can hide any type of notification you wish, including birthdays, relationship updates, tagged photos, links, and much more. You can make your social experience as simple as you wish. 

20. Facebook auto-logout 
Do you hate it when you accidentally leave yourself signed in to the social network, only to come back to missed chat messages and anxiety over whether someone else was browsing your digital life? This handy add-on will automatically sign you out of your Facebook windows if you've been inactive for too long, ensuring that nobody can snoop your info.

Gareth Roberts
East Valley Consulting
East Valley Consulting
Scottsdale Arizona

Michael Clarke Duncan dead at age 54

(CNN) -- Michael Clarke Duncan, nominated for an Academy Award for his role in the 1999 film "The Green Mile," has died at age 54, according to a representative for his family.

Duncan "suffered a myocardial infarction on July 13 and never fully recovered," a written statement from Joy Fehily said.

Clarke died at a Los Angeles hospital where he had been since having the heart attack more than seven weeks ago.

According to TMZ, it was Duncan's girlfriend Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, a reality star and former contestant on "The Apprentice," who had acted quickly and provided lifesaving efforts when he had the heart attack.

Most recently he was on the TV series, "The Finder," on the Fox network.

His co-star Mercedes Masohn tweeted: "Today is a sad day. Michael Clark Duncan passed away this morning. Known for his moving performance in The Green Mile. RIP MCD. You'll b missed."

According to Entertainment Weekly, the TV series was canceled in May.

A towering and hulking figure, the 6-foot-5-inch Duncan also was known for his deep voice.

A Chicago native, Duncan went to college at Alcorn State University in Mississippi with plans to major in communications, but he dropped out and moved home.

In his 20s, he worked digging ditches for Peoples Gas during the day and as a bouncer at night. He told CNN in 1999 that his coworkers at the gas company called him "Hollywood" because he'd often talk about becoming a movie star.

"I'd be digging a ditch and they'd say, 'Hey, man, Bruce Willis wants to talk to you about a movie.' And they'd just crack up laughing," he said while doing press for 'The Green Mile.'

"Those coworkers had no way of knowing how that joke would turn on them."

In 1990, he decided to measure up his nickname and he moved to Los Angeles. He worked as a bodyguard then got a part in a commercial as a drill sergeant.

More roles followed -- often ones that depended more on his 315-pound frame than his acting ability. He was a guard in "Back in Business," a bouncer in "A Night at the Roxbury," a bouncer for 2 Live Crew in "The Players Club," and a bouncer at a bar in the Warren Beatty film "Bulworth."

In 1998, he landed his first significant movie part, playing Bear in the film "Armageddon," where a crew of drillers from an oil rig save the Earth from an asteroid.

"Armageddon" was the beginning of his friendship with Bruce Willis. They appeared in four films together. And it was Willis who called 'The Green Mile' director Frank Darabont to put in a good word for Duncan.

In the Oscar-nominated film, Duncan played John Coffey, the huge black man wrongly convicted in a Louisiana town for the rapes and murders of two white girls. Coffey has supernatural powers, though; his hands can heal, even bring back the dead.

A microcosm of faith, Coffey is a messenger of hope and lost hope who develops a relationship with Tom Hanks' character, a guard named Paul Edgecomb.

Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that Duncan's performance "is both acting and being."

Duncan was nominated for an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor, which was won by Michael Caine for "The Cider House Rules."

Gareth Roberts
East Valley Consulting
East Valley Consulting
Scottsdale Arizona