Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Print from Your iOS Device to Any Printer with Lantronix xPrintServer

The xPrintServer “leverages Lantronix‘ patented technologies, along with open industry standards to enable wireless printing to nearly any printer attached to a network.”? You won’t be limited to only certain models from certain manufacturers, and you won’t have to buy any apps on your iPhone or iPad to print.? You simply connect the Lantronix to [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/01/30/print-from-your-ios-device-to-any-printer-with-lantronix-xprintserver/

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Intel Leads $20M Round For Solera Networks

solera deep seeSolera Networks just announced that it has raised $20 million in Series D funding from Intel Capital (the chip-maker's investment arm) and others. The company says its DeepSee Platform can index and classify all network traffic, giving companies a comprehensive picture of their network security in real-time, either for spotting risks before a security breach or responding quickly once a breach has occurred. Both domestic and international sales supposedly grew more than 100 percent last year.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/a-NmBTiZqTY/

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Belgium strikes on day of EU summit

A protest banner is seen below a banner for the euro currency during a demonstration outside of a EU summit in Brussels on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. The eurozone crisis will dominate an EU summit on Monday, with an emphasis on growth and budget discipline. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

A protest banner is seen below a banner for the euro currency during a demonstration outside of a EU summit in Brussels on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. The eurozone crisis will dominate an EU summit on Monday, with an emphasis on growth and budget discipline. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

A road sign and a banner with the euro currency are seen outside of an EU summit in Brussels on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. The eurozone crisis will dominate an EU summit on Monday, with an emphasis on growth and budget discipline. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

A man walks by a banner outside of a EU summit in Brussels on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. The eurozone crisis will dominate an EU summit on Monday, with an emphasis on growth and budget discipline. Banner reads, 'Competitiveness Pact, no, austerity pact, no, solidarity, yes'. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Union members put up a banner outside of a EU summit in Brussels on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. The eurozone crisis will dominate an EU summit on Monday, with an emphasis on growth and budget discipline. Banner reads 'no to austerity, yes to solidarity'. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

A union member puts up a banner outside of a EU summit in Brussels on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. The eurozone crisis will dominate an EU summit on Monday, with an emphasis on growth and budget discipline. Banner reads 'no to austerity, yes to solidarity'. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

(AP) ? Belgian trade unions organizing a nationwide strike Monday called on leaders attending the European Union summit in Brussels to move away from austerity measures and start boosting growth and employment.

The 27 EU leaders converging on Brussels for their informal summit were largely unaffected by a train and public transport strike, even though some had to come through a small military airport instead of the main one in Brussels.

"We used our military plane ? very small ? but it functions. It is quite cold, but nevertheless we came," said Finland Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen.

Belgium's three main unions have called for efforts to reinvigorate the European economy by centering on taxing multinationals and boosting public investment instead of slashing public services and imposing a pension reform that forces people to work longer and cuts payments in some cases.

One of the country's airports was closed and Brussels' international airport suffered cancellations, delays and diversions. Traffic delays were limited since many people either worked from home or took a day off.

Trade union leaders converged at the summit building for a small demonstration, demanding a better deal for the workers.

"What we need is growth. Growth creates jobs. And you don't get growth when you suck the oxygen out of the economy by austerity, austerity, and then some," said Christian Democrat union leader Marc Leemans.

Overall, 23 million people are jobless across the EU, 10 percent of the active population.

As part of the demonstration at the summit building, union leaders delivered a symbolic "eurobond" ? pressing for a joint pooling of debt in the eurozone, a measure that has been steadfastly opposed by Germany. Struggling member states like Greece, Portugal and Ireland would benefit most from such bonds.

"At this stage, the poor members states are left in misery and the rich stand by and watch," said Leemans.

After two years of centering summit efforts on austerity and ways to keep debt down, the leaders are assessing ways to spur employment on Monday.

"Only now, we are talking about work and employment. It is too late, but better now than never," said socialist trade union leader Rudy De Leeuw.

Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said both could go hand in hand.

"Restoring growth that is what is essential for us. Also, we need more budgetary discipline. Together these two elements offer a way out of the crisis," Di Rupo said.

To help jump-start the EU toward more growth and employment, the EU Commission is proposing to the summit leaders to redirect euro82 billion in existing funds toward countries in dire need of help to fix their labor market.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-30-EU-Belgium-Strike/id-7443a71749de4b018fa12f368893229e

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I Get Excited About Insurance Too - Gifs, Gifs and More Funny Gifs ...

Source: http://senorgif.memebase.com/2012/01/28/funny-gifs-i-get-excited-about-insurance-too/

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Glitzy new AU headquarters a symbol of China-Africa ties (Reuters)

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) ? Standing on what was once Ethiopia's oldest maximum security prison, the new African Union headquarters funded by China is a symbol of the Asian giant's push to stay ahead in Africa and gain greater access to the continent's resources.

Critics point to an imbalance in what they see as the new "Scramble for Africa." But the prospect of growing Chinese economic influence is welcomed by African leaders, who see Beijing as a partner to help build their economies at a time when Europe and the United States are mired in economic turmoil.

And Africans are hoping for more Chinese largesse.

"The future prospects of our partnership are even brighter," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Saturday at the new headquarters' multi-storey amphitheatre, where an African heads of states' summit will take place Sunday and Monday.

"China - its amazing re-emergence and its commitments for a win-win partnership with Africa - is one of the reasons for the beginning of the African renaissance," he said.

The brown marble and glass monolith was fully paid for by China, right down to the office furniture, and cost $200 million. The office complex and almost 100 metre (330 foot) tower is Addis Ababa's tallest building by far.

For the past decade, Africa has recorded economic growth of an average of 5 percent but its under-developed infrastructure has in part hindered its capacity to develop further.

Chinese companies are changing that. They are building roads and investing in the energy sector, and are active in areas such as telecoms technology.

China's most senior political adviser, Jia Qinglin, said trade between the two partners had grown to $150 billion, and the unveiling of the headquarters was a "milestone" in the ties between China and Africa.

As the biggest consumer of iron-ore, China has a relentless hunger for African minerals and energy.

Beijing now appears keener to flex its diplomatic muscle in the continent. It has also contributed $4.5 million for the African Union peacekeeping force battling Islamist militants in Somalia.

Outside the complex, hundreds of Chinese support staff, delegates and officials snapped pictures of their country's most ostentatious presence yet in Africa.

Critics point to land grabs and mistreatment of African workers on Chinese-funded projects. Even when it comes to job opportunities, in some instances China brings in teams of workers and technical experts.

Yet African officials insist they aren't being manipulated by China, and say the relationship is not based on aid but on trade and development.

"There are people who still consider Africans like children who can be easily manipulated. The good thing about this partnership is that it's give and take," the Democratic Republic of Congo's ambassador to Washington, Faida Mitifu, told Reuters.

(Editing by James Macharia and Alessandra Rizzo)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_africa_china

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Jon Rubinstein Leaves HP After ?Fulfilling Commitment?

SANY0045.JPGHP's had quite a 2011 and Jon Rubinstein, former Palm CEO and a top-level executive at HP after the giant acquired Palm in 2010, was along for the ride. But according to a report out of AllThingsD, Rubinstein has officially left the company.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/XHufph2YIU4/

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Motorola Mobility posts quarterly loss (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Motorola Mobility Inc posted a quarterly loss after it warned earlier this month that it was having a tough time competing in the smartphone market amid intense competition from rivals such as the Apple Inc iPhone.

The company, which is seeking approval to be bought by Google Inc, reported a net loss of $80 million or 27 cents per share compared with a profit of $80 million or 27 cents per share in the same quarter the year before.

Revenue rose slightly to $3.436 billion from $3.425 billion in the year ago quarter.

The report could be the last for Motorola Mobility, which said that it expects the deal to close early this year. Motorola Mobility was separated from Motorola Inc when the company split in two last year. (Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/tc_nm/us_motorolamobility

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Family's Mental Disorders May Shape Your Interests (LiveScience.com)

A brother with autism or a grandmother with depression could help determine which subjects you find intellectually engaging, according to new research that reveals a link between family psychiatric history and interests.

The research, a survey of 1,077 incoming Princeton University freshmen in the class of 2014, posits a genetic influence on personal interests. For example, students who planned to major in the humanities or social sciences were twice as likely as other students to report a family member with a mood disorder or substance abuse. Wannabe science and technology majors, on the other hand, were three times as likely as other freshmen to say they had a sibling on the autism spectrum.

The results are preliminary and based on self-reports, so researchers can't say for certain why these links exist. But according to study researcher Sam Wang, a professor of molecular biology and neuroscience at Princeton, the data is consistent with the idea that interests are partially heritable.

During the past several decades, Wang said in a statement, various researchers have found that, in certain people and their relatives, mood or behavior disorders are associated with a higher-than-average representation in careers related to writing and the humanities, while conditions related to autism exhibit a similar correlation with scientific and technical careers. [Life's Extremes: Math vs. Language]

Interests and disorders

But those studies involved people with demonstrated aptitudes for their careers ? published poets, working scientists and active artists, for example. Wang and his colleagues wanted to cast a wider net.

"[W]hat if there is a broader category of people associated with bipolar or depression, namely people who think that arts are interesting?" Wang said. "The students we surveyed are not all F. Scott Fitzgerald, but many more of them might like to read F. Scott Fitzgerald."

So the researchers chose to look at incoming freshmen, a group old enough to know what they like but too young to be on a set career path. (Princeton students aren't required to pick a major until their sophomore year.)

The researchers asked the students what major they would choose based on their intellectual interests. They also asked them if their parents, siblings or grandparents had a history of mood disorders (such as depression or bipolar disorder), substance abuse or autism-spectrum disorders. All of these disorders have a moderate-to-strong genetic component.

The researchers found that students interested in humanities and social science were more likely than others to grow up with relatives with depression, bipolar disorder or substance abuse. Students interested in science and technology were more likely than others to have a sibling with autism.

These links the researchers found, reported today (Jan. 26) in the journal PLoS ONE, have a long history in pop culture. Poets such as Sylvia Plath are known for their struggles with depression. Aristotle himself is supposed to have said that people "eminent in philosophy, politics, poetry and the arts have all had tendencies toward melancholia."

In more recent culture, ties between autism and technology abound. Take Silicon Valley, where techie personalities and the autistic disorder Asperger's are said to go hand in hand. In multiple studies, University of Cambridge autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen has found a higher prevalence of autism disorders in families of engineers and mathematicians. ?A 2001 article in Wired magazine on this "geek syndrome," by writer Steve Silberman, explored the possible link.

"Though no one has tried to convince the Valley's best and brightest to sign up for batteries of tests, the culture of the area has subtly evolved to meet the social needs of adults in high-functioning regions of the spectrum," Silberman wrote. "In the geek warrens of engineering and R&D, social graces are beside the point. You can be as off-the-wall as you want to be, but if your code is bulletproof, no one's going to point out that you've been wearing the same shirt for two weeks."

Genetic influences

This is not to say that everyone who enjoys computer programming fits on the autism spectrum, or to insinuate that having a bipolar parent destines a person for an English major. But Wang is not the only researcher to find links between heritable disorders and family interests. In November 2011, for example, researchers reported in the British Journal of Psychiatry that people with bipolar disorder, as well as their healthy immediate family members, were more likely to hold "creative" jobs in the arts or sciences than people without a family history of the disorder. Parents and siblings of people with schizophrenia showed the same tendencies. [Creative Genius: The World's Greatest Minds]

Researchers can't yet rule out environmental influences, such as the experience of growing up with a mentally ill family member. But the correlations suggest a common genetic path between certain interests and certain mental disorders, Wang said. These genetic traits might manifest as a love of language in one person, but go haywire in another and produce mood disorders.

"Everyone has specific individual interests that result from experiences in life, but these interests arise from a genetic starting point," Wang said. "This doesn't mean that our genes determine our fate. It just means that our genes launch us down a path in life, leading most people to pursue specific interests and, in extreme cases, leading others toward psychiatric disorders."

You can follow LiveScience?senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience?and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20120126/sc_livescience/familysmentaldisordersmayshapeyourinterests

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Libyan government concedes to restive town's demands (Reuters)

TRIPOLI (Reuters) ? Libya recognized a tribal-based local government in the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid on Wednesday, illustrating the power of tribal leaders over the fragile interim government.

Fighters from the Warfallah tribe -- the dominant tribe in Bani Walid and the most populous in Libya -- drove out a pro-government militia from the town this week.

Salah al-Maayuf, a member of the Warfallah Elders Council in Bani Walid, said his tribal body appointed a new local council on Tuesday and that Defense Minister Osama al-Juwali recognized the body during all-day talks on Wednesday.

"The Defense minister told us that if we, as a tribe, believe that the new local council in Bani Walid will work, then we have convinced him that it can," Maayuf told Reuters from Bani Walid, a bastion of support for former leader Muammar Gaddafi during last year's rebellion.

"We told him that we want to keep the whole country peaceful

and that national unity was a priority," Maayuf added.

An official at the Defense ministry confirmed that Juwali had accepted the new council, but did not give further details.

NTC RETREATS

Juwali is a member of the provisional government installed in November by the National Transitional Council (NTC), the self-appointed body which won Western backing in the uprising that ousted Gaddafi in August.

On Monday, armed residents attacked the barracks of the NTC force in the town, killing four fighters by the account of the government militia, and forcing the unit to retreat to beyond the desert city's limits. Eight of the town's residents were also killed, doctors at the hospital said.

Echoing complaints by residents that the NTC fighters had been harassing people, making arrests and abusing prisoners, the town's elders said on Tuesday they did not want any interference from the Tripoli authorities and dismissed the local NTC council.

The unrest will heighten doubts about the NTC's ability to bring order and establish control over armed groups - goals crucial to rebuilding oil exports and securing Libya's vast desert borders in a region where al Qaeda is active.

Bani Walid, in Libya's Western Mountains 150 km (90 miles) south of Tripoli, was one of the last towns to surrender to the anti-Gaddafi rebellion last year. But residents reject accusations from NTC fighters that they remain loyal to Gaddafi.

After Gaddafi was captured and killed in October, one of his sons, the now captive Saif al-Islam, staged his last stand in Bani Walid before fleeing into the Sahara.

Reuters reporters who toured Bani Walid on Tuesday saw no signs of the Gaddafi-era green flags which NTC supporters said had been hoisted over the town following the retreat of the pro-government militia.

Some pro-Gaddafi graffiti remains in the town, but the most common banners flying were the red, green and black tricolor of the NTC.

GOVERNMENT FORCES SURROUND THE TOWN

Bani Walid is not alone. Towns and cities across Libya are being run with little reference to central authority. In a number of areas tensions have emerged between groups which were nominally allies in the revolt.

Abdul Azziz al-Jmaili, a resident of Bani Walid, said government forces were around the town to prevent escalating fighting.

Speaking to Reuters by telephone, Jmaili said a "peacekeeping force" comprised of units of former rebel fighters loyal to the NTC and drawn from other towns in the region had set up checkpoints in the outskirts of Bani Walid.

(Additional reporting by Taha Zargoun and Oliver Holmes; Writing by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Rosalind Russell)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/wl_nm/us_libya_talks

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Restored wetlands rarely equal condition of original wetlands

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Wetland restoration is a billion-dollar-a-year industry in the United States that aims to create ecosystems similar to those that disappeared over the past century. But a new analysis of restoration projects shows that restored wetlands seldom reach the quality of a natural wetland.

"Once you degrade a wetland, it doesn't recover its normal assemblage of plants or its rich stores of organic soil carbon, which both affect natural cycles of water and nutrients, for many years," said David Moreno-Mateos, a University of California, Berkeley, postdoctoral fellow. "Even after 100 years, the restored wetland is still different from what was there before, and it may never recover."

Moreno-Mateos's analysis calls into question a common mitigation strategy exploited by land developers: create a new wetland to replace a wetland that will be destroyed and the land put to other uses. At a time of accelerated climate change caused by increased carbon entering the atmosphere, carbon storage in wetlands is increasingly important, he said.

"Wetlands accumulate a lot of carbon, so when you dry up a wetland for agricultural use or to build houses, you are just pouring this carbon into the atmosphere," he said. "If we keep degrading or destroying wetlands, for example through the use of mitigation banks, it is going to take centuries to recover the carbon we are losing."

The study showed that wetlands tend to recover most slowly if they are in cold regions, if they are small ? less than 100 contiguous hectares, or 250 acres, in area ? or if they are disconnected from the ebb and flood of tides or river flows.

"These context dependencies aren't necessarily surprising, but this paper quantifies them in ways that could guide decisions about restoration, or about whether to damage wetlands in the first place," said coauthor Mary Power, UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology.

Moreno-Mateos, Power and their colleagues will publish their analysis in the Jan. 24 issue of PLoS (Public Library of Science) Biology.

Wetlands provide many societal benefits, Moreno-Mateos noted, such as biodiversity conservation, fish production, water purification, erosion control and carbon storage.

He found, however, that restored wetlands contained about 23 percent less carbon than untouched wetlands, while the variety of native plants was 26 percent lower, on average, after 50 to 100 years of restoration. While restored wetlands may look superficially similar ? and the animal and insect populations may be similar, too ? the plants take much longer to return to normal and establish the carbon resources in the soil that make for a healthy ecosystem.

Moreno-Mateos noted that numerous studies have shown that specific wetlands recover slowly, but his meta-analysis "might be a proof that this is happening in most wetlands."

"To prevent this, preserve the wetland, don't degrade the wetland," he said.

Moreno-Mateos, who obtained his Ph.D. while studying wetland restoration in Spain, conducted a meta-analysis of 124 wetland studies monitoring work at 621 wetlands around the world and comparing them with natural wetlands. Nearly 80 percent were in the United States and some were restored more than 100 years ago, reflecting of a long-standing American interest in restoration and a common belief that it's possible to essentially recreate destroyed wetlands. Half of all wetlands in North America, Europe, China and Australia were lost during the 20th century, he said. S

Though Moreno-Mateos found that, on average, restored wetlands are 25 percent less productive than natural wetlands, there was much variation. For example, wetlands in boreal and cold temperate forests tend to recover more slowly than do warm wetlands. One review of wetland restoration projects in New York state, for example, found that "after 55 years, barely 50 percent of the organic matter had accumulated on average in all these wetlands" compared to what was there before, he said.

"Current thinking holds that many ecosystems just reach an alternative state that is different, and you never will recover the original," he said.

In future studies, he will explore whether the slower carbon accumulation is due to a slow recovery of the native plant community or invasion by non-native plants.

###

University of California - Berkeley: http://www.berkeley.edu

Thanks to University of California - Berkeley for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117041/Restored_wetlands_rarely_equal_condition_of_original_wetlands

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Chipmaker AMD expects lower revenue in weak PC market (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N) forecast lower quarterly revenue as a shortage of hard drives and a shaky economy hurt PC makers, sending its shares lower in after-hours trading.

The PC chipmaker's fourth-quarter adjusted earnings beat expectations but revenue for the quarter just ended and revenue projections for the current quarter came in a bit below many analysts' expectations.

Like larger rival Intel Corp (INTC.O), AMD has been wrestling with slow demand for chips as consumers increasingly buy Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPad instead of laptops.

Also hurting sales of processors, PC manufacturers have been struggling to obtain enough hard drives to meet production targets after flooding last year ruined factories and sensitive machinery in Thailand, the world's No. 2 exporter of the components.

Intel beat scaled-back quarterly earnings expectations last week after warning that the hard drive shortage was hurting PC production. It also warned of lower revenue in the current quarter.

AMD depends more on sales of PC processors for its revenue than does Intel, which sells proportionally more chips for servers. The fact that it expects a similar drop in revenue as Intel suggests AMD might have taken some market share.

"AMD's guidance being equivalent to Intel's suggests to us that AMD has picked up roughly 100 to 110 (basis) points of market share in the PC space." said JoAnne Feeney, an analyst at Longbow Research. "That guidance could also mean AMD is picking up more server market share."

Also on Tuesday, programmable chipmaker Altera (ALTR.O) posted quarterly results above analysts' estimates but its weak first-quarter outlook sent shares down 3 percent after the bell.

With PC sales suffering, AMD and Intel have failed to find a foothold in smartphones and tablets, where processors based on ARM Holdings' (ARM.L) power-efficient chip designs are widely used.

Apple became the largest buyer of semiconductors last year, overtaking Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) as sales of iPads and iPhones outpaced PCs and other consumer gadgets, according to market research firm Gartner.

Dogged by concerns the PC chipmaker is being left behind in the fast-growing mobile market, shares of AMD have fallen about 13 percent over the past year.

AMD said revenue in the fourth quarter rose 2 percent from the year-ago period, to $1.69 billion.

But it said revenue in the quarter ending in March would fall 8 percent from the previous quarter, plus or minus 3 percentage points, to around $1.504 billion to $1.606 billion.

Analysts on average expected fourth-quarter revenue of $1.716 billion and March-quarter revenue of $1.595 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Non-GAAP earnings in the quarter were $138 million, compared with $106 million in the year-ago period. Non-GAAP earnings per share were 19 cents, compared with 14 cents in the year-ago quarter. Analysts on average expected earnings per share of 16 cents.

Shares of AMD were down 2.6 percent at $6.36 in extended trade after closing up 0.15 percent at $6.53.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Matthew Lewis)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/bs_nm/us_amd

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

[OOC] Supplement

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Supplement?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "Supplement"

You may edit this first post as you see fit.

User avatar
Lost Socks
Member for 0 years



Hello, hello. Your friendly neighbor Nabu here, to express interest in this rather interesting Roleplay of yours... It's a pleasure to meet you, Lost Socks. I think your nickname will be Socksy. Because I like it like that. Or Socksi. Or iSocks. Yeah, haha. I love it, this sounds good. I'd like to join this a lot. But, I wanted to ask, whether I'd have to create a big character profile, because... I feel like this Roleplay would work really well if we let our characters develop within the Roleplay!

Anyway, just wanted to say, I want in.

EDIT: When I say big character sheet, I mean really descriptive.

User avatar
Nabu
Member for 0 years


Well that depends on what you would call really descriptive. I don't call for a lot of information, if that's what you're wondering. As long as you aren't incredibly vague then we shouldn't have any problems. :D And I like Socksy. ^^

User avatar
Lost Socks
Member for 0 years


Great, then we'll have no problems! And, good, I'm glad you like it.

User avatar
Nabu
Member for 0 years


Hiya, can I reserve a slot on this RP? I should be able to submit my character sheet some time tonight (UST)

User avatar
LittleMissGeorgia
Member for 0 years



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Sony VAIO series get minor processor refresh, Z series grabs LTE option on the way

Ahead of any possible Ultrabook announcements, Sony's looking to give its existing VAIO catalogue a (relatively underwhelming) shot in the arm with a bundle of hardware retweaks. The Z series looks to gain the most out of the Spring refresh, with a new off-white Carbon Fiber Silver color option set to be offered up alongside an optional LTE modem. The series also gets a processor step-up, with new Intel Core i5 and i7 options rounded off with the choice of SSD storage. Including the connectable drive, prices for the series refresh will start from $1,950. Meanwhile, both the S (13-inch, $800, 15-inch, $980)and E series will get a similar bump to Core i7 processors, with both the S and aforementioned Z series able to lock into an extended sheet battery accessory. If minor processor improvements, more battery options and LTE connectivity enough to fork over your cash, you can expect the revitalized units to arrive early next month.

Sony VAIO series get minor processor refresh, Z series grabs LTE option on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/23/sony-vaio-processor-spring-refresh-z-series-lte/

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Could 'Magic' Mushrooms Ease Depression? (HealthDay)

TUESDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Psychedelic mushrooms may point to new ways to treat depression, suggest two small brain imaging studies that seem to show how psilocybin -- the active ingredient in such mushrooms -- affects the brain.

One study included 30 healthy people who had psilocybin inserted into their blood while magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners measured changes in their brain activity. The scans revealed that psilocybin caused decreased activity in what the researchers described as the brain's "hub" regions -- areas especially well-connected with other areas.

That study was published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The second study included 10 healthy volunteers and found that psilocybin boosted their recall of personal memories and their emotional well-being for up to two weeks. The researchers said this suggests that psilocybin might prove useful as an adjunct to psychotherapy. That study will be published online Thursday in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

A study published last year found that people with anxiety who received a single psilocybin treatment had lower depression scores six months later.

David Nutt, who's with the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London, was the senior author of both of the new studies.

"Psychedelics are thought of as 'mind-expanding' drugs, so it has commonly been assumed that they work by increasing brain activity, but surprisingly, we found that psilocybin actually caused activity to decrease in areas that have the densest connections with other areas," Nutt said in a college news release. "These hubs constrain our experience of the world and keep it orderly. We now know that deactivating these regions leads to a state in which the world is experienced as strange."

The impact of psilocybin reported by the study participants -- such as seeing "geometric" patterns, experiencing an altered sense of time and space, and unusual physical sensations -- correlated with a decreased flow of oxygen and blood to parts in the brain's posterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the study authors said.

It's thought that the posterior cingulate cortex plays a role in consciousness and self-identity. Research has shown the medial prefrontal cortex to be especially active in people struggling with depression, so psilocybin's effect on this area of the brain could be responsible for some of the antidepressant effects reported in previous research, the study authors said.

Nutt and his colleagues also found that psilocybin reduced blood flow in the hypothalamus, where blood flow increases in people with cluster headaches. Some headache sufferers have reported that psilocybin improved their symptoms.

"Psilocybin was used extensively in psychotherapy in the 1950s, but the biological rationale for its use has not been properly investigated until now. Our findings support the idea that psilocybin facilitates access to personal memories and emotions," Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London, and first author of both studies, said in the news release.

"Previous studies have suggested that psilocybin can improve people's sense of emotional well-being and even reduce depression in people with anxiety. This is consistent with our finding that psilocybin decreases mPFC activity, as many effective depression treatments do. The effects need to be investigated further and ours was only a small study, but we are interested in exploring psilocybin's potential as a therapeutic tool," Carhart-Harris added.

The study authors reiterated that both trials contained small numbers of participants, and further research into psilocybin's effects on the brain is needed.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about depression.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120124/hl_hsn/couldmagicmushroomseasedepression

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Chinese vice president Xi to visit White House February 14 (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama will meet Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, the country's likely next ruler, at the White House on February 14, the White House said on Monday.

Obama and Xi will discuss "a broad range of bilateral, regional, and global issues," it said in a statement, but gave no further details.

Xi said last week he hoped the visit would help to defuse friction and the risk of international crisis. But the two nations have some delicate issues to work through, ranging from currency policy to a U.S. military buildup in the Asia-Pacific.

Obama, facing a tough re-election in November, is expected to renew his call for China to allow its yuan currency to appreciate during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, as he highlights U.S. exports among his proposals to boost jobs.

Beijing, for its part, has voiced misgivings about U.S. plans to beef up its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region and is angry about U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China calls an illegitimate breakaway province.

In August Xi hosted U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on a visit that gave Washington policymakers a chance to size up China's president-in-waiting. Biden will also host Xi when he visits the United States.

Xi, who is also set to travel to Iowa and California, is seen as virtually certain to replace Hu Jintao as Chinese Communist Party chief in late 2012, and then replace him as state president in early 2013.

(Reporting By Alister Bull; Editing by Xavier Briand)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/ts_nm/us_usa_china_xi

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Rhode Island gas prices up 2 cents (AP)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. ? The price of gasoline in Rhode Island has increased by two cents, marking the fourth straight week of higher prices at the pump.

AAA Southern New England said Monday that a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.50, up from $3.48 last week.

That's 15 cents above prices at the beginning of the year and 12 cents above the national average of $3.38.

Rhode Islanders paid an average of $3.19 a gallon this week a year ago.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gas_prices_rhode_island

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Debra Ollivier: The Breast Obsession: Gateway To Anxiety And Fantasy

No part of a woman's body is more iconic and multi-tasking than her breasts. They're utilitarian silos for babies and objects of desire for lovers. They're public, "out there," and on display no matter what their size. They're a source of pride, shame, obsession, and seduction.

That said, you'd think that by the time we hit our 50s we'd have made peace with our breasts. Not so. Breast augmentation is on the rise among all age groups and so are its risks. The latest scandal involving faulty breast implants manufactured by the French company Poly Implants Protheses simply underscores this reality.

Certain cultural ironies come to mind here. The U.S. and Britain are by far the largest consumers of breast implants in the world. France, however, is one western country that's not particularly obsessed with super-sized breasts. Though the symbol of the French Republic is the bare-breasted Marianne depicted most famously in Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People," it seems that most French breasts are small enough to fit into the rim of a champagne glass. Take note, for example, of all the topless French women on beaches. Less is more in France. And if you have more, keep it to yourself. Historically, other non-western cultures don't fetishize breasts the way we do, though they certainly seem keen on other parts of the body. (Foot binding, anyone?)

Culture, of course, shapes everything, including our breasts. Pamela Anderson's "endowment" set a standard for what's become something of a norm these days. Bay Watch could just as well have been called Boob Watch. There's no denying that the commercialization of soft porn has had a huge impact on the sexualization of American culture and women's sense of body image, young and old alike, whether implants are coveted for medical or cosmetic reasons.

It wasn't always like this. Decades ago, when breast implants weren't as pervasive as Botox, women burned their bras and exalted in a sense of ownership of their bodies. Poet Deena Metzger most famously epitomized that sense of exaltation and empowerment when she posed for the now iconic "Breast Cancer Warrior" poster : Her arms lifted joyfully, one breast intact, the other breast removed post- mastectomy and replaced with a sinewy tattoo.

"The great gift of the poster was that it saved many, many, many women's lives who saw that they didn't have to have implants in order to enjoy life," Metzger said in an email. "We didn't know how very lethal silicone implants were at the time -- now we do -- but the crisis keeps coming up again... What I found is that what breasts are supposed to mean in the culture isn't necessarily true, and you have to distinguish between what the media and advertisers say and what people say... Commercial interests, beauty and health do not get along. It's hype out there."

Indeed hype abounds, but even when less of a commercial infrastructure existed to sell hype, women and girls fretted over their breasts. Back in the late 1800's and early 1900's, paraffin, animal fat, ivory, glass balls and ground rubber were just a few of the fillers injected into their chests to get a rise. The advent of medical technology and cosmetic surgery is simply the latest manifestation of an obsession that's haunted humanity for centuries, if not millennia.

Countless books have been written on the subject, but there's probably none more exhaustive than Marilyn Yalom's "History of the Breast." Yalom explores 25,000 years worth of breast history (if such a term exists) going all the way back to Paleolithic goddesses and bare-breasted snake priestesses. One of the many things she addresses is the dichotomy between being a mother and being a lover. As she puts it, the "sacred and sexual aspects represent two different tugs at the breast. The mandate to nurse and the mandate to titillate are competing claims that continue to shape women's fate." That's a nice way of saying that women have been negotiating the dicey terrain between the Madonna and the Whore forever.

Wet nurses might be a thing of the past, but the desire to keep our breasts aesthetically intact as we age and become parents -- that "tug" -- does not go away. The difference now is that young women barely past girlhood and well before their prime are now turning to cosmetic intervention.

"I think we scorn younger women in their 20s for getting cosmetic surgery and Botox," a fifty year-old friend recently said to me. "At least when we're 40 or 50, there's a feeling that we've earned the right to do what we want with our bodies, even if, ironically, that means trying to look like we did when we were 20 or 30."

To what extent does gender play a role in this? "Men wrote to me almost as much as women and thanked me," Metzger added. "They said that the poster told them they could be with and love a woman who is one-breasted. And as they had as great a chance of ending up being with a woman with breast cancer as she had of having breast cancer, they were grateful. In working with women who have just discovered they have breast cancer, I don't know of a single case where the man says, get an implant or have reconstruction. It's the woman who is afraid. I didn't have any trouble with men -- I was a single woman when I had cancer -- and later married a very handsome man 20 years younger than me. That was in the 80s."

Times change. And yet. If eyes are windows to our soul, then breasts are still gateways to our anxieties and fantasies about womanhood. In the Age of Viagra, the stakes are high for both genders. Just how high those stakes will rise is anyone's guess.

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/debra-ollivier/keeping-abreast-of-breast_b_1216870.html

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Saturday Morning Open Thread (Balloon Juice)

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Video: Young panda takes plunge at Vienna zoo

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US says al-Qaida magazine got into Guantanamo cell (AP)

FORT MEADE, Md. ? A copy of a magazine published by an arm of al-Qaida made its way to a terror suspect at the Guantanamo Bay prison, leading to an inspection of cells and a contentious new policy requiring special review teams to examine correspondence between prisoners and attorneys, U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday.

Navy Cmdr. Andrea Lockhart told a military judge during a pre-trial hearing that a copy of Inspire magazine got into a cell. She provided no details on who received the magazine or how. But she said the breach showed that prior rules at the base governing mail review were not adequate. Yemen's al-Qaida of the Arabian Peninsula launched the online, English-language magazine in 2010. An early issue contained tips to would-be militants about how to kill U.S. citizens.

Lockhart is part of the U.S. team prosecuting the case against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi national charged with orchestrating the attack in 2000 on the USS Cole that killed 17 sailors. Al-Nashiri, 47, is considered one of the most senior al-Qaida leaders. He has been held at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006 after spending several years held by the CIA in a series of secret prisons.

How mail between Guantanamo prisoners and their attorneys should be handled consumed several hours of the al-Nashiri's pre-trial session on Tuesday and Wednesday. At issue is whether even a cursory examination of the legal correspondence violates the attorney-client privilege.

The dispute reflects the untested nature of this latest attempt to resume the military tribunals at Guantanamo. The prosecution of al-Nashiri is already underway and the U.S. is preparing to prosecute five other prisoners accused in the Sept. 11 attacks, yet defense lawyers and government prosecutors are still fighting to establish basic legal ground rules.

The military commission system has been revised by the Obama administration and Congress, which has refused to allow the administration to move prisoners from the American base in Cuba. The trial system is still sharply criticized by civil and human rights groups and defense lawyers who say the procedures favor the prosecution. Rick Kammen, a civilian attorney for al-Nashiri, called the military commissions a "second-class system of justice."

"Just because you see people in suits and a judge doesn't mean it's a real trial," Kammen told reporters after Tuesday's session.

Al-Nashiri's defense team, as well as the lawyers for other Guantanamo prisoners and the chief defense counsel for the military commissions, are opposed to the security review of legal mail, which was put in place last month by Navy Rear Adm. David Woods, the prison commander.

Army Col. James Pohl, the judge in al-Nashiri's case, ordered the detention center in November to stop Guantanamo guards from reading mail between the prisoner and his lawyers. The judge's order came after Woods authorized an inspection of detainee cells in October that included reading mail between prisoners and their attorneys.

In late December, Woods issued a new directive requiring legal mail to undergo a security review to ensure prisoners were not receiving prohibited materials, such as top-secret information or objects that might be fashioned into weapons.

The December order from Woods created a "privilege review team" independent of the prison staff that would include attorneys, law enforcement and intelligence experts who would examine legal communications between lawyers and their clients. The goal of the order, prison officials said, was to ensure safety and security on the base while preserving attorney-client privilege by having a group not under the prison's command perform the mail review.

Wood testified on Tuesday that the privilege team is made up of contractors hired by the Pentagon's intelligence directorate.

Al-Nashiri's mail has not yet been examined by the team. Marine Col. Jeffrey Colwell, the chief defense counsel for the Guantanamo Bay tribunals, instructed attorneys not to follow Woods' order. Colwell said last week that the rule does not adequately protect attorney-client privilege and violates codes of professional conduct.

But Woods testified that his order doesn't allow team members to read mail. Their role, he said, is to perform a "plain sight review" of correspondence between attorneys and their clients to ensure the documents are marked with the proper stamps to ensure it is actually privileged information. If the material is not marked properly or there are obvious signs of a security risk or contraband, the mail is forwarded to higher authorities for review.

Al-Nashiri's attorneys peppered Woods with questions about how team members could do their jobs without actually reading the information. The order creates situations in which the privilege team has no choice but to dig deeper into a document to understand what is in it, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Reyes said. Reyes also asked Woods why translators were needed on the team if no reading was required.

Woods deflected many of Reyes' questions by saying that he does not have control over the privilege team contract. He also testified that he does not know who monitors the day-to-day activities of the team. "They do not work for me," he said.

On Wednesday, Pohl directed the prosecution and defense to provide him with their proposals for reviewing mail in the Al-Nashiri case. A decision from Pohl is not expected for at least two weeks, however.

The Associated Press and other news organizations viewed the proceedings at Guantanamo Bay on a closed circuit telecast shown in a small theater at Fort Meade, a military base located between Washington and Baltimore.

Al-Nashiri has attended the proceedings on both days, but could be seen only intermittently due to the angle of the camera in the courtroom at Guantanamo. He wore a white prison uniform and sat next to his defense team. Defense officials said Al-Nashiri was not shackled during his hearing.

__

Associated Press writer Ben Fox in San Juan, Puerto Rico contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_guantanamo_war_crimes

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Obama education reforms advance as Congress falters (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama's administration is moving ahead in reforming U.S. education without the help of the Congress, and will soon announce which states can opt out of the national education law known as "No Child Left Behind."

There are two bills currently in Congress to re-authorize the decade-old law that radically changed U.S. public schools.

"I don't think either one of those is going to move forward anytime soon, but I think the waiver process that we're doing now is going to be the only game in town," Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a meeting of U.S. mayors in the U.S. capital.

"We hope to say 'yes' to the first set of waivers in the next couple of weeks, probably by the end of the month. We'll just do this on a rolling basis," he added.

In September, Obama announced that states could seek waivers from many of No Child Left Behind's key requirements, including one that identified certain schools as "failing."

But they had to agree to establish standards to help students prepare for college, administer tests to gauge student readiness, and reform schools with low graduation rates.

Eleven states have already applied for waivers.

Since No Child Left Behind nominally expired four years ago, Obama has been quietly revising federal education programs under its aegis.

Obama and Duncan have promoted learning standards and testing, cornerstones of the contentious legislation championed by former President George W. Bush and passed by members of both parties. But through grant programs such as the "Race to the Top," they have sought to redefine the benchmarks students must meet, as well as the consequences of missing standards and the tests of schools' performance.

With a national election now 11 months away, Obama will likely roll out more education policies important to Democrats' supporters.

Duncan told the mayors that the next round of Race to the Top grants, $550 million, would go directly to school districts and bypass states. The grant program was created in the 2009 economic stimulus plan to help states create uniform learning standards and foster the spread of charter schools.

Recently, a federal auditor said states had struggled to find enough staff to carry out all of the goals included in their grant applications and were generally lagging.

States contribute nearly half of funding for primary and secondary education, while the U.S. government pitches in about 8 percent. Federal support, however, has become more precious to school districts since the recession and housing bust ravaged their primary source of revenue - property taxes.

Duncan pointed to the strong demand for dollars in his meeting with mayors from across the country.

For the "Promise Neighborhood" program, the Department of Education received 300 applications, when it only had money for 20 communities, he said. Another grant program, Invest in Innovation, with enough funding to cover 49 projects, received 1,700 applications.

"This is frankly a challenge on both sides of the aisle," he said. "We absolutely want to maintain our traditional formula funding... but we want to maintain some flexibility to reward excellence."

(Reporting By Lisa Lambert; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/pl_nm/us_usa_education_mayors

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Explosions damage Italy tax agency: Naples police

Three explosive devices blew up outside the Naples offices of Equitalia, a state agency that collects overdue taxes and fines, breaking windows but injuring no one on Monday night, a police official told Reuters.

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Police said no group had claimed responsibility for the attack on the building on Corso Meridionale near Naples central rail station.

Equitalia, whose offices have been attacked before, is deeply unpopular among many Italians who accuse it of using strong-arm tactics to collect taxes.

Italy's technocrat government says it wants to increase Equitalia's powers as part of a war on tax evasion that robs the exchequer of an estimated 120 billion euros ($152.07 billion) a year.

Separately, members of right wing association Roma Nord said they hung dummies outside Equitalia offices in Rome overnight to protest against the agency's methods, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Equitalia's Naples offices were hit by a similar explosion in December.

Two letter bombs were also sent to Equitalia's offices in Rome in December. One was intercepted but the other blew off part of a finger of the agency's director general. An anarchist group said it carried out those attacks.

(Reporting By Laura Viggiano and Catherine Hornby; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46017591/ns/world_news-europe/

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