Why Science Needs Artists and Animators

It’s evident that animation is often used to delight people, but it’s also an instrumental tool that can be used to help teach difficult scientific and mathematical concepts. Lets face it, many of us who go on to become professional animators did it to avoid dealing with hard sciences and math, subjects that seem rather unrelated to our passions. However, science, especially when popularized, benefits tremendously from the efforts of artists and animators.

Think of any science textbook you’ve ever seen. Oftentimes, they feature images of complex scientific concepts that would be difficult to visualize without their aid. Even when looking through a powerful microscope, it’s rather difficult to see the double helix shape of DNA. Learning that it’s comprised of a long chain of nucleic acids and proteins, held together by base pairs, which are in turn held together by hydrogen bonds does little to demystify what it actually looks like. This is where the arena of science benefits most from the conceptualization skills native to artists. Now, accurate representations of what a DNA double helix looks like are ready available, helping make the building blocks of life at least a little bit more comprehensible.

The same case can be made for the role animation plays in making complicated scientific concepts consumable for the general population. In TV nature specials and documentaries about scientific subjects that are difficult to visualize, such as astronomy, animation can be invaluable. The filmmakers, for example, could have the narrator explain the relationship of the Doppler Effect to light, but many people will find it difficult to visualize the resulting red and blue shifts. However, adding an animation for the audience to look at during the explanation can make a world of difference.

All in all, the skills of artists and animators are valuable to improving the general understanding of difficult scientific concepts.

Ways to Attract Investors to Your Business

Starting a business is an incredibly costly and complicated process that can be incredibly difficult to understand. Often, it requires a great deal of money just to get a business off the ground, and a typical business is not profitable until it is several years old. If you’re trying to take your first steps into starting a business, you will need some capital to cover your initial costs. But how can you go about securing this capital?

Luckily, there are many ways budding businesses can acquire start up and growth money. To begin, many businesses aim for at least $25,000 in funding. One way to raise this is through loans acquired from friends and family. Money acquired for this purpose is called “seed money.” New business owners who utilize seed money should make a distinct effort to ensure anyone who provided seed money understands exactly how their loan will be payed back in order to avoid disruptions in their personal relationships.

Many people do not have friends and family that are able to pony up $25,000 in seed money. Another way to attract investment is to seek funding through venture capital firms. These groups make multimillion dollar deals on a regular basis. However, this money is not easily secured, no matter how good your business idea is. To help improve your odds of gaining investors, it is imperative to have a well-written business plan. Your business plan should outline in excruciating detail how your business works, a structure for its executives, a plan for growth, how your business will interact with competitors, as well as many other aspects of running a business. This helps convince investors that your plan is rational and has a high probability of succeeding.

Often, the competition for venture capitalist  funding is fierce. Approximately 2% of proposed business plans actually receive funding, so it’s important to be certain that your plan is well-produced. You should also be prepared to have your brilliant plan rejected. There’s nothing to keep you from pitching it to multiple sources, and this is something you should definitely do.

With a lot of work and a little bit of luck, your business can secure the funding it needs.

Pixar Announces “Finding Nemo” sequel

Celebrated animation studio Pixar has recently announced a sequel to its popular feature film Finding Nemo.

Finding Nemo, released in 2003, won numerous awards, including numerous animation honors and the Academy Award for Best Animated Film. It is the most-purchased DVD ever released, with more than 40 million copies sold.

The sequel is titled Finding Dory, hinting that the forgetful Dory will be its main character. The film’s director, Andrew Stanton, reassures fans that their favorite characters from the original movie will make appearances.

Finding Dory is set for a November 25th, 2015 release. Here’s hoping that it will live up to Pixar’s reputation as stellar a animation studio, who use the magic of their medium to dazzle and tell touching stories.

The Details About Overtime Pay

The phrase “time-and-a-half” usually refers to what a regular employee receives as overtime pay. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) an employee who works more than 40 hours a week is entitled to receive overtime pay of 1.5 times their hourly rate for hours in excess of 40 hours per week. This is federal law, and entitles any non-exempt employee to time and a half.

Exemptions

The key element of overtime pay lies in the exemptions provided to employers under the FLSA. Some of the commonly used exemptions to overtime pay are the following:

• Sales employees on commission
• Seasonal and recreational establishments
• Computer professionals earning at least $27.63 per hour
• Executives and administrative employees

Claiming for overtime pay

The federal guidelines for overtime pay apply in Texas just as they do in the rest of the country, and you may entitled to make a claim against your employer if you are not exempt and have worked in excess of 40 hours a week. With evidence of your hours worked and relevant pay stubs, you may have an overtime claim that attorneys can sink their teeth into. Provide them will all the information regarding your employment and complaint, and they will be able to give you a fair assessment of your case under federal law.

A Legal Solution to Unmanageable Business Debt

Settling your debts after they have become unmanageable can be an extremely difficult task to accomplish. But no matter how bad your financial situation is, there is almost always a solution appropriate for your particular case. Consulting a bankruptcy attorney with regard to your insurmountable debts and expecting him or her to help you find the solution that will best work for you can be one of the best decisions you can make in these circumstances.

With the guidance of a bankruptcy attorney, one potential option for resolving debt problems is to file for bankruptcy, the fastest legal way of liquidating or managing your debts to help you get your finances back on track and have control of your financial life again. Bankruptcy is a legal declaration of your own or your business’ inability to pay debts. Once the court recognizes your filing, you can enjoy its immediate effects, such as cessation of creditors’ attempts from making further collection, or from taking hold of your properties, to pay for your debts. This will also mean no more threatening calls and notices from law firms, and no creditor will also be able to have your bank account levied or your wages garnished.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Code offers different avenues which you can use to help erase your debts. If you’re a business owner, for instance, you can file for business bankruptcy and choose either chapter 7 or chapter 11 to get rid of your debts and, potentially, emerge healthier through bankruptcy reorganization.

Filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case will virtually cancel all of your dischargeable debts, like debts from doctors, hospitals, and credit card companies. However, in return for this favorable treatment, you or your business will have to undergo a process of asset liquidation.

Chapter 11 business bankruptcy, which is otherwise called business reorganization, is also a wise option in erasing your debts. After the court has approved your application for Chapter 11, it will discharge some of your debts, completely saving you from needing to pay them, and will design a payment scheme for your other debts to make payment easier and more affordable. Chapter 11 will also allow you to keep your business running throughout this process.

Depakote Lawsuit: Fighting for Your Rights and the Rights of Your Child

The best way to treat a disorder is usually through medication. This is especially true when it concerns bipolar or manic-depressive disorder, a psychiatric condition wherein a person experiences disruptive swings in behavior, energy, thinking, and mood. Though many bipolar patients live happy and successful lives, through medication, regular treatment, and healthy living, others still experience mood disorder shifts which lasts for days or even months. From mania, an emotional high, to deep depression, these swings, if not treated well, will impact the person’s job, academic performance and relationships.

One medication that was supposed to treat manic-depression, as well as seizures due to epilepsy, anxiety, depression and other problems involving mental health, is the prescription drug Depakote. This prescription drug proved to be an effective solution to a number of disorders and ailments. Unfortunately, medical research found that Depakote’s side-effects can cause long-term problems to patients’ health.

Depakote particularly affected pregnant women, so much so that the babies born to Depakote users were found to have severe birth defects. Some of the flaws found included defects in the brain, face or skull deformities, deformities of the cardiovascular system, and spinal defects, such as scoliosis and spina bifida. Scoliosis, which causes the deformation or curving of the backbone or the spine, may still be treated and corrected. Spina bifida, on the other hand, which is the failure of the neural tube (an empty, hollow structure in the embryo from which the spinal cord and the brain form) to close, leads to more severe complications, like defects of the limbs, chronic pain, impaired mobility, and incontinence (involuntary urination or bowel movement).

These and other consequences associated with the use of Depakote during pregnancy can have a substantial impact on the lives of mothers and their children. As a result, both mother and child have the right to pursue compensation for the damages that the use of this medication may have caused. By filing a Depakote lawsuit, with the assistance of a highly trained and experienced lawyer, you may be able to receive compensation for the harm caused to you and your child.

It is important that pharmaceutical manufacturers be held accountable for the consequences that their products can have. Filing a Depakote lawsuit can help to both provide financial security to those who have been harmed as well as reducing the likelihood that others will have to suffer this type of unfortunate circumstance.

How Mental Illness May Affect Your Divorce

Divorce is a fairly common occurrence. Half of all marriages in the US end in divorce court. In many instances, divorce is filed when one or both of the spouses consider the marriage broken beyond repair. Occasionally, the divorce is amicable: everything goes smoothly with a minimum of fuss, and a divorce attorney hardly seems necessary. But more often than not, divorce is a traumatizing and expensive experience. Much more rarely, divorce proceedings may result when one of the spouses is deemed mentally incapacitated.

It must be noted, though, that there is a difference between mental incapacity and mental illness when it comes to divorce law. Mental incapacity refers to the failure of a spouse to comprehend that his or her actions may not be acceptable, rational behavior. This could be due to brain injury because of an accident, age or disease, or delayed or faulty mental development. This incapacity must be determined by a trained professional such as a psychiatrist before it can be used as a basis for divorce. It is not a fault-based divorce, however. This is important to note because it underlines its distinction from mental illness.

Mental illness is routinely used as a defense by a spouse to excuse behavior that falls under the fault-based divorce proceeding. The position for this common law defense is that the defendant did not know that adultery, abandonment, cruelty, etc., was legally wrong.

When mental illness is used as a defense, the burden of proof is on the defendant.  The success or failure of a fault-based divorce filing will have significant impacts on child custody, alimony and division of property decisions. Whether the divorce attorney is on the side of the defendant or the plaintiff, the process remains complex and the stakes high. These types of cases should only be handled by an experienced lawyer with a proven track record in divorce cases.

Information About Employment Contracts

Employment contracts are made for a reason: they serve as the written agreement between the employer and the employee about the terms of an employee‘s job. They generally act as security, for both the employer as well as the employee. However, employment contracts can be complicated and confusing and could potentially cause bigger issues once the employee decides to stop their tenure with the company and look for other opportunities for growth and success.

Certain clauses in the employment contract can become huge restrictions that can be used by employers against their employees, leading to unfair burdens on employees‘ future job opportunities. Learning about such potential issues through an employment attorney can help in preventing possible issues from coming up in the future.

There are many ways in which an employer‘s contract with their employees can work to the benefit of the employees. One of the best examples of such circumstance is when an employee is subject to wrongful discharge. Wrongful discharge is the most common, and often most successful, type of employment dispute claim because in essence, if you get fired in contradiction to the terms of your contract with your employer, you are eligible to file for a claim. Another good example of a situation where you may need legal consultation is unpaid overtime.

Employers who have been proven the one at fault for employment disagreement disputes can be held accountable for:

a.    Amount of money owed under the employment agreement terms;

b.    Payment of the penalty for the breach of contract;

c.     Payment for the damages brought about by the breach of contract;

These are just some of the costs for which an employer who violates an employment contract may be held liable. Asking more about such issues with an employment attorney can greatly increase your chances of securing the compensation you need and deserve for the unfair actions of your employer.

What the Benefits of Hiring Injury Lawyers?

No one wants to think about what they would do if they suffered a serious injury. However, for those who have been put in this difficult position, the assistance of qualified personal injury lawyers can prove invaluable to getting the compensation they need.

Personal injury claims are generally hard to win, because the burden of proof is on the plaintiff, and you most probably have no idea what to do, what to look for, who to talk to. Injury attorneys specialize in cases where they have to gather evidence and documents that will help them prove that the defendant acted recklessly or with negligence, resulting in injury or death. They will be able to tell, after getting the facts, if there is enough evidence and if the case has merit.

The first thing your attorney will try to do is to negotiate a settlement with the defendant, or their insurance company. This is often the quickest and least costly route to take in securing compensation. However, if a negotiated settlement is not possible, the case will then move to trial.

In some states, the court where you will file your claim will depend on the amount of the claim. This will depend on the extent of the injury, including but not limited to:

• Medical bills
• Permanent disability
• Disfigurement
• Emotional distress
• Repair or replacement of damaged property
• Lost wages

Personal injury cases can be complicated, but with legal assistance, you can get the financial compensation you need.

Explaining the Role of a Criminal Lawyer and Drug Possession

As statistics have shown, as of 2009, 28.5 million Americans ages 12 and older had used marijuana at least once in a year. And currently, the numbers of those who are using the drug are rising as compared to those who smoke regular cigarettes. However, the reasons for marijuana use are varied among those who report using this drug.

Marijuana, scientifically known as Cannabis sativa, is the most prevailing and widely used drug in the U.S. More commonly known on the streets as pot, weed, or grass, this illicit drug causes physical and mental issues, especially for long term users. It can alter judgment, cause short term memory loss, severe mood swings, and increase heart rate, thus heightening the risk of heart attacks. However, for some individuals, marijuana provides certain medical benefits, especially for those dealing with glaucoma, severe anxiety, and those receiving certain cancer treatments.

In spite of many efforts to legalize marijuana, and although there are states where they are allowed for use marijuana with a prescription from a doctor, possession of this recreational drug is still considered a criminal offense according to federal drug laws. When caught in possession of the drug, you may face up to a $500 fine and up to 6 months in jail. However, an experienced criminal lawyer may be able to have these penalties reduced in severity, or in some instances, dropped completely.

Rather than serving jail time or paying a hefty fine, an attorney may be able to help you get diversionary sentences, such as;

1.   Drug treatments or rehabilitation

2.   Community service

3.   House arrest of monitoring

4.   Work release/Work furlough

5.   Traffic school

Despite being considered as a medication / prescription drug, the debate is still out on whether marijuana is beneficial or damaging. Debates are likely to continue between groups with differing opinions on this matter, especially as two new states legalized recreational marijuana use in the last election.