| Average UK Small Biz Owner Debt: £30,000 Posted: 08 Apr 2012 11:00 PM PDT 
The Independent: Research by the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) exclusively for The Independent shows that the average personal debt of a small business owner or self-employed person stands at £30,514, compared to an average for the debt charity’s clients of just £20,023. The majority of this debt is in the form of high-charging short-term credit cards and personal loans. “We are finding that with the economic difficulties the self-employed and small business owners are plugging the gaps in their personal and business finances with these short-term credit card and loan debt, perhaps because they can be raised a little easier than standard business loans,” said Una Farrell, head of communications at the CCCS.
Photo by AMagill 
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| Marshall Amps Founder Dies At 88 Posted: 08 Apr 2012 10:30 PM PDT 
The Associated Press: Ears still ringing from the 1960s? Jim Marshall might be to blame. Marshall was the man behind “The” amplifier, the weapon of choice for guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend of The Who, and Eric Clapton — “The Marshall.” The sixties superstars’ ear-shattering sounds, blasting first in small clubs and music halls and later in stadiums and arenas, relied on the basic Marshall amp for their frenzied, thunderous roar. That was no accident. Marshall, who died Thursday at the age of 88, was not looking for precision when he and his sound engineers came up with the early Marshall amps in 1960. He said in a 2000 interview that what he wanted was raw, fuzzy power. He said the rival Fender amp, tremendously popular at the time, produced an extremely clean sound that worked well with jazz and country and western but did not satisfy younger players searching for something different. He was looking for a rougher sound.
Photo by Elipê 
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| 10 Year Old Russia’s Youngest Inventor Posted: 08 Apr 2012 10:00 PM PDT 
Gulf News: Anastasia Rodimina patented her own method of monotyping — a print-making technique when a smooth surface is covered by paint and a piece of paper then pressed to it to make a single print. Under Rodimina’s patented method, which she named “energoinformation monotyping”, a monotype is covered by a paper application and put in direct sunlight to let the unprotected ink fade. The invention was made accidentally when the girl forgot one of her monotypes, partially covered by a piece of paper, on a windowsill. She eventually discovered that though ink on most of the picture had faded, colours remained unaffected under the piece of paper, creating a unique pattern.
Photo by Mike Seidman 
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