josiah tread: February 2013

Friday, February 8, 2013

Blackhawks keep rolling with 6-2 rout of Coyotes

Chicago Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews (19) beats Phoenix Coyotes' Mike Smith (41) for a goal during the second period in an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, in Glendale, Ariz.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Chicago Blackhawks' Bryan Bickell (29) celebrates his goal against the Phoenix Coyotes with teammate Andrew Shaw (65) during the second period in an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, in Glendale, Ariz.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Chicago Blackhawks' Viktor Stalberg (25), of Sweden, celebrates his goal with teammate Bryan Bickell (29) as Phoenix Coyotes' Chris Summers (20) and Mikkel Boedker, second from left, of Denmark, show their frustration during the first period in an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, in Glendale, Ariz.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Phoenix Coyotes' Jason LaBarbera (1) replaces Mike Smith after Smith gives up six goals to the Chicago Blackhawks in less than two periods, during the second period in an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, in Glendale, Ariz.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Phoenix Coyotes' Zbynek Michalek (4), of the Czech Republic, gets called for tripping on Chicago Blackhawks' Dave Bolland (36) during the first period in an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, in Glendale, Ariz.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) ? Patrick Kane had another big night and the Chicago Blackhawks won again.

The fact that they exacted a bit of revenge on Raffi Torres and routed the Phoenix team that ousted them from last season's playoffs only made it sweeter.

Kane had two goals and an assist, and the Blackhawks remained the only NHL team without a loss in regulation this season by beating the Coyotes 6-2 Thursday night.

Viktor Stalberg, Jonathan Toews and Bryan Bickell each had a goal and an assist as the Blackhawks improved to 9-0-2. Dave Bolland also scored for Chicago.

"We feel good right now," coach Joel Quenneville said. "We've been consistent in our games. We got a lot of contributions from a lot of guys. It seems like the chemistry and the mood of the room is as good as you can get, and it's reflected in our play."

The evening began, as anyone paying attention should have anticipated, with Chicago's Jamal Mayers fighting Torres, in his third game back after a 21-game suspension for a vicious hit on the Blackhawks' Marian Hossa in last year's playoffs.

"A good fight there," said Patrick Sharp, who had three assists. "It definitely fired us up and got us going."

A few moments later, Chicago led 4-0 and this one was over.

Martin Hanzal and Torres scored for the Coyotes. Phoenix pulled goalie Mike Smith after Bickell scored Chicago's sixth goal with 4:52 left in the second period.

Kane's goals both came with a 5-on-3 advantage in Chicago's four-goal first period. Kane has eight goals and 10 assists on the season and is chasing the league scoring lead.

"I don't know," he said. "Sometimes you just get on a roll and it keeps going. I just try to keep worrying about playing hockey and staying focused. It's been a fun season so far. The team's playing good. It's always nice scoring goals when you're winning."

The Blackhawks, who lost to the Coyotes in six games in last season's playoffs, scored a half-dozen goals for the second time against Phoenix this season. They won in Arizona 6-4, also with Smith in goal, in the second game of the year on Jan. 20. Those are Chicago's two highest-scoring games of the season.

Ray Emery made 22 saves on an easy night. He is 3-0-0 this year with two wins over Phoenix.

The Coyotes had won nine straight at home, going 13-0-2 overall, in February since 2011. They came in with at least a point in five straight games and victories in their last two, but they were overwhelmed in a first period that, for them, was as bad as it gets.

"When you give up five power-play opportunities, you give up one soft goal, two 5-on-3 goals and one where we had nobody willing to cover anybody anywhere close," coach Dave Tippett said, "and you put them up by a score like that, it makes it kind of an uphill battle the rest of the night."

Cheered on by their usual boisterous fans in Phoenix, the Blackhawks outshot the Coyotes 17-4 in the first period.

"I hope that's a blip on the radar screen," Tippett said, "because there's a lot of stuff right there that is not going to be happening on our team."

Phoenix had seven penalties in the period, capped by a 10-minute misconduct against Keith Yandle for his behavior as he left the penalty box, where he had been placed for unsportsmanlike conduct 2 minutes earlier.

Stalberg started the Blackhawks' early onslaught, taking a slick assist from Andrew Shaw and backhanding the puck past Smith.

The Blackhawks scored three times in the final 5:08 of the period.

Chicago was 21 seconds into its first 5-on-3 advantage when Kane scored. Toews knocked the puck out of a scrum in front to Kane, who tapped it into an open net with Smith sprawled on the ice.

Bolland's goal with an assist from Kane made it 3-0 with 2:26 left in the first. Then, with another 5-on-3 edge, Kane knocked a left-handed one-timer inside the post and Chicago led 4-0 with 1:35 to go in the first.

Hanzal's fifth goal of the season, on a power play, 5:19 into the second ruined the shutout. But goals by Toews and, finally, Bickell from in front of the net on a centering pass from Stalberg, made it 6-1 and Tippett called it a night for Smith, who had given up one goal in the previous two games. He was sent to the bench in favor of Jason LaBarbera.

Torres and Mayers squared off 2:35 into the game. Then that story line evaporated in the face of the Chicago romp.

Torres' goal came with 1:25 to play.

NOTES: Chicago wraps up its season-high six-game road trip Sunday in Nashville. ... Kane is 13 short of 400 career points. ... Phoenix's Rostislav Klesla missed his ninth straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Kane entered third in the NHL in points (15). ... Smith has allowed 12 goals against Chicago and eight against every other team he's faced.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-08-Blackhawks-Coyotes/id-9e8fc70f3b2a473d84623145cde8001a

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S.Africa's FirstRand eyes retail banking in Nigeria: CEO

LAGOS (Reuters) - South Africa's FirstRand will use Thursday's launch of its new merchant banking business in Nigeria as a springboard to move into retail and commercial lending in Africa's second biggest economy, the bank's chief said.

South Africa's number two lender won Nigeria's first merchant banking license in more than a decade last November and opened its doors in Lagos on Thursday.

Now it wants to expand its operations in Nigeria, organically or through an acquisition, First Rand Chief Executive Sizwe Nxasana told Reuters in Lagos during the launch of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) Nigeria.

"We are looking at having a universal banking operation in Nigeria ... growing on the back of our investment banking operations into the retail and commercial banking," he said.

"Our appetite for Nigeria is growing and we are going to be looking at opportunities that will put us in a position where we are becoming a seeded player ... in other words among the top five banks in Nigeria in the next few years."

FirstRand has been looking for an entry into Africa's most populous country for years. It ended talks last year to buy a majority stake in Nigeria's Sterling Bank after they both failed to agree on price.

Nxasana said FirstRand was still interested in acquiring one of the three banks, Mainstreet Bank, Keystone Bank and Enterprise Bank that were nationalised two years ago, but could also enter retail operations on its own.

FirstRand in November had said it could spend more than $300 million to buy a retail and commercial bank in Nigeria.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/africas-firstrand-eyes-retail-banking-nigeria-ceo-060046765--finance.html

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Boy given pot to manage autism | MNN - Mother Nature Network

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Source: http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/videos/boy-given-pot-to-manage-autism

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Get paid to text: Spanish app takes free chat a step further

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish mobile application that pays users up to 25 euros ($34) a month to send messages to friends if they accept advertising may erode telephone operators' revenue as customers switch to free messaging services.

Barcelona-based Chad2Win has attracted close to 100,000 users, who receive one cent for every advertisement they see, and three cents for every ad they click on, since its launch last month, director Fernando Troyano told Reuters.

Chad2Win, part of a growing number of free texting services, is the first to offer customers payment. Free messaging service WhatsApp said in August it was processing 10 billion messages a day worldwide compared to the 21 billion paid for SMS messages sent daily.

Telecommunications research firm Ovum estimates operators lost $23 billion in messaging revenue last year to these applications, which send the messages over the internet.

But success will prove challenging as companies, including social network Facebook, have so far struggled to monetise a service users expect for free.

Enders Analysis mobile analyst James Barford said similar services that offer something for free in exchange for advertising, including search engines and call services, have ended in failure.

"There's an obvious issue in that the type of person who is that careful with their money is not likely to be that attractive to advertisers," he said.

Companies, including Volkswagen, Panasonic and Spanish lender Caixabank have agreed to advertise with Chad2Win, currently only available in Spain.

It would take more than 800 clicks on ads to hit the 25 euro maximum monthly payout for a user. Troyano said most users were unlikely to view and click enough to make more than 5-10 euros.

To challenge the free text services, Telefonica, France Telecom and Vodafone launched a WhatsApp rival in Spain in November, called Joyn.

In Spain, where one in four of the workforce is unemployed, the number of text messages sent fell to 1.4 billion in the third quarter of 2012 from 3.7 billion in the third quarter of 2007.

Barford said although it was impossible to tell how much revenue loss stemmed from messaging services or from a recessionary environment strangling spending, there are steps operators can take.

"What they can do about it is reprice. Part of the issue is that the cost of the data to send a WhatsApp message is much less than a voice call. It is a question of pricing structure," he said.

(Reporting by Clare Kane; Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Louise Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/paid-text-spanish-app-takes-free-chat-step-153007414--finance.html

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Investor sues Apple, wants more cash

NEW YORK (AP) ? With its annual meeting looming and its stock on the decline, Apple is facing a rebellion from an influential investor who wants the company to stop stockpiling cash and give it to shareholders instead.

Greenlight Capital said Thursday that it is suing Apple in a New York federal court over the company's proposal to make it more difficult for it to issue preferred stock. David Einhorn, who heads the investment fund, said the proposal would close down one avenue for Apple to reward shareholders with more cash.

Apple is still the world's most valuable company, but its stock has lost 35 percent of its value since September, as it's become obvious that its once-rapid growth has slowed down. The company is fabulously profitable, and Wall Street wants the company to share more of that money with its shareholders rather than tucking it away in low-yielding bank accounts.

"Apple has $145 per share of cash on its balance sheet. As a shareholder, this is your money," Einhorn said in a letter to the company. He has a history of criticizing companies publicly, often after shorting their stocks.

In a statement Thursday, Apple said its management and board continue "active discussions" about what to do with the money, and it will take Einhorn's proposal into consideration.

Its $137 billion in cash makes up nearly a third of Apple's stock market value. Shares of the Cupertino, Calif., company traded at $456.95 in the late afternoon, up $2.25, or 0.5 percent, from Wednesday's close.

Corporations normally don't hoard cash the way Apple does. They keep enough on hand for immediate needs, and either invest the rest in their operations or hand it out to shareholders in the form of dividends or stock buybacks. If they need more cash for, say, an acquisition, they borrow it.

Einhorn told CNBC on Thursday that Apple was acting like his grandmother "Roz," who grew up during the Great Depression. People who've experienced financial trauma, he said "sometimes feel like they can never have enough cash."

Roz was so careful about saving money, Einhorn said, that she never left messages on his answering machine out of concern that she'd be charged for the call.

Einhorn's criticism hints at Apple's lean years in the mid-90s. Former CEO Steve Jobs came out of that experience with a very tight hold on the company's purse strings. Apple has never explained its reasons for hoarding the cash other than to say it is preserving its options. Since his death in Oct. 2011, Apple has begun paying a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share and started to repurchase some of its shares.

Analysts say the company should be doing more if it wants to lure investors back to its shares. Stuart Jeffrey at Nomura Securities calculates that Apple will generate about another $103 billion over three years to add to the $137 billion it has now, but it has only committed to returning $45 billion of this $240 billion in total cash to shareholders.

Wall Street didn't complain much about Apple's hoarding policies until its revenue growth started slowing. In the recent holiday quarter, Apple's revenue rose 18 percent from a year ago ? a very good figure for a company of its size, but a far cry from the 50 percent-plus increases it has often posted since the 2007 launch of the first iPhone. Apple hasn't launched a new ground-breaking product since the iPad in 2010, so the company is forced to expand the appeal of its current products to achieve growth.

The slowing growth has scared away investors who focus on fast-growing companies, and the relatively small dividend means the company doesn't get much respect from investors who look for regular income, analysts say.

Greenlight, a shareholder since 2010 with 1.3 million Apple shares worth nearly $600 million, wants Apple to create a class of preferred stock that carries a higher dividend, and give it away to current shareholders. That way, he believes the company would appeal to value investors and those who are risk-averse.

Einhorn said his firm has been talking to Apple over the past several months about the creation of the new share class. Apple, he said, rejected the idea in September. The company doesn't currently issue preferred stock. At its annual meeting on Feb. 27, it plans to ask shareholders to approve a measure that would force the board to get shareholder approval before issuing preferred shares.

Apple said in its proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that its board does not plan to issue preferred stock in the future and believes it is "appropriate" to eliminate the possibility from its charter.

Greenlight urges Apple shareholders to vote against the proposal. In the lawsuit, it claims that the proposal bundles three distinct proposals that the SEC requires to be separated so shareholders can vote on each one.

In its statement, Apple said that even if the proposal passes, it could still adopt Greenlight's concept and issue preferred stock.

Apple has at least one major shareholder on its side. The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the country's largest pension fund, said in an SEC filing Monday that it will vote for Apple's proposal, which would also let shareholders vote against directors. CalPERS owns 2.7 million Apple shares, nearly three times as many as Greenlight.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-02-07-US-Apple-Greenlight/id-ee3211049ffd465ba3bb3c3f316572e8

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Thursday, February 7, 2013

John DeLuca, Ph.D., of Kessler Foundation delivers keynote at IPMSC meeting in Milan

Public release date: 6-Feb-2013
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Contact: Carolann Murphy
cmurphy@kesslerfoundation.org
973-324-8382
Kessler Foundation

Dr. DeLuca among experts at inaugural meeting of the International Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Collaborative (IPMSC) in Milan, Italy, February 6-8, 2013

West Orange, NJ. February 6, 2013. John DeLuca, PhD, of Kessler Foundation, will deliver a keynote address on February 8, 2013 at the inaugural meeting of the International Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Collaborative (IPMSC). The meeting is being held at the San Raffaelle Congress Centre in Milan, Italy, February 6-8, 2013. The IPMSC, formed in 2011 to expedite the development of therapies for progressive MS, comprises the MS societies of Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, the UK, and the United States, and the MS International Federation. (Fox RJ, et al. Setting a research agenda for progressive multiple sclerosis: The International Collaborative on Progressive MS. Mult Scler J. 2011;18(11):1534-40.)

Dr. DeLuca's talk on "Cognitive Rehabilitation and Progressive MS" is scheduled for February 8 at 11:25 am. Research shows that up to 70% of persons with MS develop cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment may be more severe in progressive MS (especially secondary progressive MS) than in relapsing-remitting MS. Because of the pervasive, negative effects of cognitive impairment (e.g., vocational, familial, social, emotional, cultural), a concerted effort is needed to develop rehabilitation strategies that improve cognitive impairment in MS.

Dr. DeLuca is VP of Research & Training at Kessler Foundation, which conducts cognitive and physical research in brain injury (TBI), multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and stroke. He specializes in the study of disorders of memory and information processing in TBI and MS and has published more than 200 articles, books, and chapters in these areas. His collaborative work in cognitive rehabilitation extends to Italy, Spain, Portugal, and China. He has obtained more than $26 million in grant funding and is the editor/co-editor of five recent books, including the Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology, the first encyclopedia of its kind. Dr. DeLuca often presents at national and international conferences and contributes to continuing education for professionals and consumers. He is a professor in the Departments of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Neurology & Neurosciences at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School, and a licensed psychologist in the states of New Jersey and New York.

###

About Kessler Foundation

Kessler Foundation, a large public charity in the field of disability, conducts rehabilitation research in mobility and cognition that advances the care of people with multiple sclerosis, brain injury, stroke and spinal cord injury. Kessler Foundation is one of eight centers in the U.S. to have federally funded model systems for both traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. Kessler Foundation Program Center fosters new approaches to the persistently high rates of unemployment among people disabled by injury or disease. Targeted grant making funds promising programs across the nation.

Find us at www.KesslerFoundation.org

Like us at http://www.facebook.com/KesslerFoundation

Carolann Murphy
973-324-8382
Cmurphy@KesslerFoundation.org

Lauren Scrivo
973-324-8384
Lscrivo@KesslerFoundation.org

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Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

John DeLuca, Ph.D., of Kessler Foundation delivers keynote at IPMSC meeting in Milan

Public release date: 6-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Carolann Murphy
cmurphy@kesslerfoundation.org
973-324-8382
Kessler Foundation

Dr. DeLuca among experts at inaugural meeting of the International Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Collaborative (IPMSC) in Milan, Italy, February 6-8, 2013

###

About Kessler Foundation

Find us at www.KesslerFoundation.org

Like us at http://www.facebook.com/KesslerFoundation

Carolann Murphy
973-324-8382
Cmurphy@KesslerFoundation.org

Lauren Scrivo
973-324-8384
Lscrivo@KesslerFoundation.org

[ | E-mail |

Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/kf-jdp020613.php

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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Richard III announcement talk of the town

The announcement that the bones of English King Richard III have been identified "beyond reasonable doubt" has spurred excitement ? and some skepticism ? among the archaeological community.

"I'm really excited by it," said Lemont Dobson, a historian and archaeologist at the School of Public Service and Global Citizenship at Central Michigan University. "This is one of those things where people are talking about archaeology and real science, not pseudoscience on television."

On Twitter, "Richard III" was trending Monday morning, a fact that generated some amusement among users.

"Man, when's the last time ' Richard III ' was trending? Tewkesbury?" wrote GristList editor Jess Zimmerman, referring to a 1471 battle in the War of the Roses in which a young Richard played a role. That ongoing civil war would take Richard III's life 14 years later, two years after his ascent to the throne.

But some scientists struck a more sober note, warning that ancient DNA analysis is subject to contamination, and grumbling that the results were revealed via press conference prior to peer-review by fellow researchers. [ Gallery: The Search for Richard III ]

"The DNA results presented today are too weak, as they stand, to support the claim that DNA is actually from Richard III," said Maria Avila, a computational biologist at the Center for GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark. "Perhaps more in-depth DNA analysis summed to the archaeological and osteological (bone analysis) results would make a round story."

DNA of a king
University of Leicester archaeologists announced Monday that a skeleton found months before under a city council parking lot does indeed belong to the medieval king. The researchers suspected the bones might belong to Richard III, because they sported wounds consistent with the king's death in the 1485 Battle of Bosworth Field. Several wounds to the skull, in particular, were consistent with almost immediate death by either brain injury or blood loss.

The skeleton also exhibits a twisting of the spine known as scoliosis, which meshes with historical reports of Richard III as a "hunchback." (He wasn't actually a hunchback, the researchers point out ? scoliosis may have made him look slightly lopsided, however.) The date of the bones and burial location also fit the Richard III identification.

For the University of Leicester team, however, the nail in the coffin of the identification was a DNA analysis that matched that of Michael Ibsen, a modern-day descendent of Richard III through the maternal line, along with DNA from another descendent on the maternal line who asked to be kept anonymous. The DNA used is mitochondrial DNA, which is contained in the part of the cell that transforms nutrients to energy; this type of DNA is passed down only through the maternal line.

Ancient DNA, however, is very susceptible to contamination, sparking some skepticism.

"Before being convinced of ANY aDNA study, it should be explicit that all possible cautions were taken to avoid potential contamination," Avila wrote in an email to LiveScience. "It is just part of the protocol." (aDNA refers to ancient DNA.)

Avila also warned that people could share mitochondrial DNA even if they didn't share a family tree. To be confident that Ibsen is related to the owner of the disinterred skeleton, the researchers must present statistics showing how common the DNA profile is in the United Kingdom, she said. Otherwise, the similarities between Ibsen's mitochondrial DNA and the skeleton's could be coincidental.

Avila noted that she doesn't necessarily disbelieve the team's conclusion that the skeleton is Richard III's, just that the DNA evidence isn't the strongest piece of the puzzle.

"It seems to me that osteological as well as archaeological evidence is stronger, however 'DNA evidence' sounds fancier so it looks like they used it as the hook to capture the attention of media," she said.

Announcing a discovery
Those caveats had some scientists wishing the Richard III team had published a peer-reviewed scientific paper (a process that can take months or more) before announcing their identification to the public. The Richard III team said Monday that they would submit their findings for peer-review and publication, though not before more media exposure. The BBC's Channel 4 was to run a documentary on the archaeological hunt for Richard III and the discovery? Monday night. [ Science of Death: 10 Tales from the Crypt & Beyond ]

"I love the fact that there is so much excitement over Richard III discovery, but I'm also not keen on press conferences for science," paleobiologist Victoria Herridge of the Natural History Museum London wrote on Twitter.

Without detailed methods and statistics, Herridge and other scientists complained, it's difficult to judge the veracity of the findings.

Not everyone criticized the University of Leicester's immediate announcement. The team avoided sensationalism, said Central Michigan University's Dobson.

"I think they went about it in probably the most rigorous way," Dobson told LiveScience. Criticisms of the press conference are "missing the point of this kind of discovery," he said, because public interest is huge.

"Whether there's a press conference or not, it's going to be covered by the media, because that character occupies a place in our cultural psyche," Dobson said. "In one sense, they are giving the public what the public demands, which is access to knowledge that would typically be restricted."

The responsibility of archaeologists, Dobson said, is to present that knowledge without cutting corners on scientific rigor.

Nor did the DNA results trigger universal skepticism, given the multiple clues consistent with the body being Richard III.

Science news from NBCNews.com
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"It's an impressive undertaking that the University of Leicester has pulled off: Not only did they find the cemetery and the body, they confirmed through numerous lines of evidence that the body was likely that of Richard III," anthropologist Kristina Killgrove, a professor at the University of West Florida who was not involved in the study, told LiveScience.

Based on the research done in this case, Killgrove said, "I trust that they know what they're talking about and that it will stand up to peer review."

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook ? and Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50699669/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Obama skeet shooting: NRA says it's a ploy to confiscate guns

That photo of President Obama firing a shotgun continues to generate comment and controversy just as he?s about to leave Washington to promote his ideas about improving gun safety.

By Brad Knickerbocker,?Staff writer / February 3, 2013

President Barack Obama shoots clay targets on the range at Camp David, Md., in August. The White House released a photo of Obama firing a gun two days before he heads to Minnesota to discuss gun control.

Pete Souza/The White House/AP

Enlarge

That photo of President Obama firing a shotgun continues to generate comment and controversy just as he?s about to leave Washington to promote his ideas about improving gun safety.

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While some conspiracy theorists claim the photo of the President shooting skeet at Camp David is phony ? digitally manipulated ? most commentators accept it for what it is: A White House photo op to show that Obama has at least tried his hand at sport shooting.

"I believe that he shot skeet and if he does it and enjoys it, that's wonderful," Scott Melchisedech, former president of the Minnesota Skeet Shooting Association, told the NBC affiliate in Minneapolis-St. Paul, where Obama will talk about gun issues with law enforcement officials on Monday.

Still, Mr. Melchisedech suggested gently, ?I could work with him a little bit on his form.?

A top official with the National Skeet Shooting Association said the photo suggests Obama is a novice shooter.

"This isn't something he's done very often because of how he's standing, how he has the gun mounted," Michael Hampton, executive director of the San Antonio-based association, told the Associated Press. Like others, Mr. Hampton questions the timing of the photo?s release, which was prompted by questions about Obama?s assertion in a New Republic interview that ?up at?Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time.?

"Once it becomes controversial and there's problems, to talk about it then, that's where it becomes very debatable and is not being received as well as if he would have done this six months ago," Hampton said.

How much do you know about the Second Amendment? A quiz.

The gun lobby sees something darker in the episode.

"One picture does not erase a lifetime of supporting every gun ban and every gun-control scheme imaginable," said Andrew Arulanandam, spokesman for the National Rifle Association.

On ?Fox News Sunday,? NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre charged that Obama?s aim is to confiscate law-abiding citizens? rifles, shotguns, and handguns.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/2v1aN-o8NKA/Obama-skeet-shooting-NRA-says-it-s-a-ploy-to-confiscate-guns

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Iron Man 3 Super Bowl Trailer And Extended Version (VIDEO)

Not even Tony Stark would have asked for an entrance more dramatic than that afforded the Iron Man 3 trailer during the Super Bowl.

Moments after the lights at the Superdome unexpectedly went out, CBS viewers were treated to a trailer for the third installment in Marvel's Iron Man trilogy. Given the timing of the ad relative to the bizarre power outage at the Superdome, there were a few folks on Twitter who wondered if perhaps Iron Man could have remedied the situation.

Matt Mira

If Marvel is smart Iron Man will drop from the ceiling and power the dome with a spare Arc reactor.

Corey Masisak

Can Iron Man fix the lights like he did the propellers in The Avengers?

Nick Carter

Iron man will save the superdome?

The enthusiasm for the trailer was a bit tempered by the fact that it teased an extended look at the film's Facebook page. We've gone ahead and brought that video to you as well.

Well?

CLICK HERE to see the rest of the 2013 Super Bowl commercials as well as all of the best, worst and most unforgettable from the past.

As the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens battled for the right to lift the Lombardi Trophy, Super Bowl advertisers competed for another prize: your attention. Each time that CBS cut away from Super Bowl XLVII to pay the bills (or because the lights went out), another group of blockbuster commercials and movie trailers were unveiled (although many had been teased). At your Super Bowl party, were people paying closer attention during the game or the commercial breaks?

While memorable Super Bowl commercials like Apple's '1984' and Snickers' spot that featured Betty White will be remembered so many more are soon forgotten or, even worse, ridiculed as super fails. Will this ad make this year's best list? Is it controversial? Or, even worse, destined to be forgotten?

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/iron-man-3-super-bowl-trailer_n_2613806.html

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Monday, February 4, 2013

2013 - The Year eCommerce Software Grew Up - Social Web Tools

ecommerce software grew up Last year (2012) was an eventful year in eCommerce and its technological influence and importance in our lives, but one important event that happened was the fact that eCommerce is not a fledgling market anymore.

In a recent report on the future of online media, it has been made obvious that the digital market is no longer in the phase of being substantiated and it has now found its place. In the beginning of the internet boom, having a website or an online presence was more of a triviality, and its existence wasn?t of the most importance.

In this day and age, not being accessible through online media is a sign of instability for any company. With the restructuring and reconfiguration of businesses to incorporate the online aspect of their company into a more central and core aspect, it is obvious that eCommerce is now a major contender in the business and economic field. It has matured from a fledgling experimental phase into something substantial and important to every business that provides services or is a vendor in any way.

There are some major changes that mark the new era of maturity in eCommerce software and design:

1) Reorganization

Businesses are moving their eCommerce ventures from a peripheral side project into a more core and integrated aspect of their business plans. There are more designated groups dedicated to growing and expanding the online market presence of businesses, and substantial investment is being made in tapping in to the online market.

2) Business models

Investors realized the importance of eCommerce and its online presence from a long time ago, and have long been interested in business plans that have already incorporated this issue into their models. Traditional business plans that rely solely on the marketing and advertising of offline markets have become a thing of the past. Incorporation of social networking, eCommerce plans, and overall online advertising is a must for a successful business plan, and an important point for investors to consider before making any sort of commitment.

3) Accommodation

Every aspect of web design has been changed, altered, and geared toward ultimately becoming eCommerce friendly. Even if a website is not initially designed for web commerce, it is usually constructed in a way that will be able to accommodate for its future inclusion. Web design languages and interfaces have been changed to help increase online sales, and new innovations like CSS design and integrative web design have been constructed solely for the purpose of intriguing consumers and keeping them on the website for a longer amount of time.

While the end of the digital boom is nowhere in near sight, it is certainly a new era for eCommerce and its inclusion in businesses as an important and staple component of the company shows that it is here to stay.

Author : Halaluddin Khan is a Co-Founder of GadgetsandGizmosWorld. He writes about Blogging, Technology, Gadgets, Cameras, Mobile Phone Review, Smartphone Reviews, Software, Android Tutorial?& latest technologies.

Paperman - Lines and Colors

?Paperman? is a superb six minute Academy Award nominated animated short from Disney Animation that was shown in theaters before ?Wreck it Ralph? last November.

Disney has wisely posted it to YouTube for all to see.

Created by a small team at Disney led by first-time director John Kahrs, the film is beautifully conceived, designed and drawn, and is fluidly animated in a novel technique that seamlessly combines elements of CGI and hand-drawn animation.

The almost monochromatic film (except for touches of red) carries forward the feeling of early 20th century animation ?particularly, to my eye, the beautifully done 1940?s Superman cartoons from Fleischer Studios.

Even though the latter were in color, and their action/adventure tone is very different from the wistful romance of ?Paperman?, there is something about the care and skill with which the atmosphere and feeling of the city is portrayed, particularly the use of value, light and shadow, that echoes the best animation of that era.

There are a couple of brief interviews with director John Kahrs, as well as a longer, more technical breakdown of the CGI process on It?s Art.

Kahrs said he wanted to bring the visual charm of the concept art drawings back into the final look of the film, and the result is remarkable. It?s also wonderfully in line with the Disney Animation lineage, bringing back some of the visual character of moving drawings on screen that is lacking in standard CGI animation.

The story, about chance meetings and ?what ifs?, is told wordlessly, with expressive characters, effective but unobtrusive music, well crafted sound and a masterful appreciation for what animation can achieve when the aim is emotional subtlety rather than heavy handed attempts to dazzle.

Hopefully, this bodes well for the future of American animation.

[Via Underwire]

Source: http://www.linesandcolors.com/2013/02/02/paperman/

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Friday, February 1, 2013

New order found in quantum electronic material: May lead to new materials, magnets and superconductors

Jan. 30, 2013 ? Two Rutgers physics professors have proposed an explanation for a new type of order, or symmetry, in an exotic material made with uranium -- a theory that may one day lead to enhanced computer displays and data storage systems and more powerful superconducting magnets for medical imaging and levitating high-speed trains.

Their discovery, published in this week's issue of the journal Nature, has piqued the interest of scientists worldwide. It is one of the rare theory-only papers that this selective publication accepts.

Collaborating with the Rutgers professors was a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who earned her doctorate at Rutgers.

"Scientists have seen this behavior for 25 years, but it has eluded explanation." said Piers Coleman, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the School of Arts and Sciences. When cooled to 17.5 degrees above absolute zero or lower (a bone-chilling minus 428 degrees Fahrenheit), the flow of electricity through this material changes subtly.

The material essentially acts like an electronic version of polarized sunglasses, he explains. Electrons behave like tiny magnets, and normally these magnets can point in any direction. But when they flow through this cooled material, they come out with their magnetic fields aligned with the material's main crystal axis.

This effect, claims Coleman, comes from a new type of hidden order, or symmetry, in this material's magnetic and electronic properties. Changes in order are what make liquid crystals, magnetic materials and superconductors work and perform useful functions.

"Our quest to understand new types of order is a vital part of understanding how materials can be developed to benefit the world around us," he said.

Similar discoveries have led to technologies such as liquid crystal displays, which are now ubiquitous in flat-screen TVs, computers and smart phones, although the scientists are quick to acknowledge that their theoretical discovery won't transform high-tech products overnight.

Coleman, along with Rutgers colleague Premala Chandra and MIT collaborator Rebecca Flint, describe what they call a "hidden order" in this compound of uranium, ruthenium and silicon. Uranium is commonly known for being nuclear reactor fuel or weapons material, but in this case physicists value it as a heavy metal with electrons that behave differently than those in common metals.

Recent experiments on the material at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico provided the three physicists with data to refine their discovery.

"We've dubbed our fundamental new order 'hastatic' order, named after the Greek word for spear," said Chandra, also a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The name reflects the highly ordered properties of the material and its effect on aligning electrons that flow through it.

"This new category of order may open the world to new kinds of materials, magnets, superconductors and states of matter with properties yet unknown," she said. The scientists have predicted other instances where hastatic order may show up, and physicists are beginning to test for it.

The scientists' work was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Simons Foundation. Flint is a Simons Postdoctoral Fellow in physics at MIT.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rutgers University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Premala Chandra, Piers Coleman, Rebecca Flint. Hastatic order in the heavy-fermion compound URu2Si2. Nature, 2013; 493 (7434): 621 DOI: 10.1038/nature11820

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/T3kcgVXVD2k/130130184410.htm

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The 5 lessons in relationships for a dog owner - Birds on the Blog

Dear Jackie, having thought about what I really want recently, I?ve come to the conclusion that I don?t want a relationship with someone (or a family, or anything else I?ve thought I might want for most of my life ? I?m now 40), but instead I want a dog.? My friends are telling me they don?t believe me, how can I persuade them?? Thanks RL

Dear RL

You are far from alone in this miserable state of affairs.? Relationships provide the ultimate feedback for our lives.? That means you might have a few changes to make to how you view life and the part you play in it.? And, I can sympathise about why you might find a dog the easy option, you might also find that a dog is the best teacher!

There are some really obvious reasons why a dog is a preferable choice, and I?ve used them all!

Why would you choose a dog?

A dog doesn?t speak back
A dog asks for nothing except to be fed and walked
A dog forgets when you?ve shouted at it
A dog trusts you
A dog loves unconditionally

I have to ask, as it?s my job and I like to be curious ? what is it you want to avoid in a relationship?

May I share my experience of having a dog which might help as I have been where I think you might be right now.? When my marriage ended, my dog became so important to me ? as a confidante and a companion.? She became my raison d?etre, got me out of bed, stopped me feeling lonely and I found a focus for my love.

In truth, I was avoiding close, intimate relationships until I felt able to cope with being loved and in a relationship again.? As much as the dog and I loved one another, the relationship was in no manner of speaking able to make up for a close intimate relationship with a partner, nor that of my family.? It was simply a poor substitute until I felt ready.

Relationship abstinence

If we have come through some sh1tty relationships and feel the full effects of emotional turmoil, it?s very common to believe that we will *never* allow ourselves to get involved with another person again.? The fear of more heartbreak dictates that we put up barriers, shut off to intimate possibilities and determine to be fine just as we are ?. Alone.

Abstaining from all relationships, from all the dreams you have had about a partner and a family is a temporary situation.? After a relationship breakdown, the fear that we are not good enough for anyone else, or that anyone else will be good enough for us runs rampant through our minds.

It?s very rare in my experience for this state of affairs to continue.? Our hearts can, and do, heal.? Rather than remaining afraid of breaking them again, the key is to learn about managing your emotional stability.

When you enter into a relationship, it is in order to relate with someone, it is not to sign your life, your power and your future over.? It is possible to love openly, freely and maintain who you are.

What can you learn from a relationship with a dog meantime?

How to love unconditionally.? Can you imagine withholding affection from your dog no matter what it?s done?

Forgiveness.? If you can forgive a dog, for what reason can you not forgive your partner?? You might think a dog has no ulterior motive, how do you actually know your partner has?

Smiling at their antics.? Lighten up with your partner, enjoy one another, play together.

Daily physical attention freely given -? tummy rubs, ears stroked, pats, with no intention of sex, just touch.? Many people know immediately their dog has a tick, or a lump and yet, are unable to register change in their partner?s body.

Commitment.? Many people are more committed to their dog?s wellbeing, rushing home after a day apart than they would be their partner.

Dog or Partner

Dear RL, I reckon your friends are right.? And if I were you, I?d be looking at getting a dog in order to hone the skills which are needed in a successful relationship!

PS ? Remember, owning a dog is a commitment for many years, you might like to look at working with the Blind Dog Association (or similar), or fostering dogs.? This gives you extra learning - it teaches you that people come into your life and leave again, for one reason or another.? The same is true of dogs.

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Source: http://www.birdsontheblog.co.uk/the-5-lessons-in-relationships-for-a-dog-owner/

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