Friday, November 30, 2012

Managers delighted their stores sold winning lottery tickets

DEARBORN, Mo./FOUNTAIN HILLS, Arizona (Reuters) - Managers of a Missouri gas station and an Arizona food store expressed delight on Thursday that they may have handed tickets to the two prospective multi-millionaire winners of a record $587.5 million Powerball lottery jackpot.

The two winning tickets were sold at the gas station and sandwich shop in the tiny farming town of Dearborn, Missouri, about 30 miles north of Kansas City, Missouri, and the food store in Fountain Hills, Arizona, on the outskirts of Phoenix.

Dearborn, population 500, reveled in its sudden place in the spotlight.

"It was a total surprise," said Don Palmer, a customer at the Trex Mart convenience store, which sold the Missouri winning ticket. "Nothing ever happens in Dearborn."

Although the identities of the ticket-holders were not immediately announced, they picked the winning numbers announced at the drawing on Wednesday night: 5, 16, 22, 23, 29, and the Powerball number 6.

They will share an estimated $385 million before taxes if they opt to take it as a lump sum, the Multi-State Lottery Association said.

Alternatively, the $587.5 million can be paid out as an annuity over three decades, the association said.

The Missouri lottery said it would announce the name of its winner on Friday morning at the high school in Dearborn. The Arizona Lottery said its winner had not yet come forward.

Some customers and employees at the Missouri convenience store, and residents of Dearborn, said they had heard the name of the winner, a man in his early 50s who lives in town. But Missouri Lottery would not confirm the name, and no one was home at the address listed as his residence.

Kristi Williams, a clerk at the Trex Mart, said she and another employee high-fived each other when they learned the morning after the drawing that one of the two winning tickets had been purchased there.

Store manager Chris Nauerz, who was working on Wednesday when the lucky ticket was purchased, called the news "shocking." He said the station got a mix of customers - residents of Dearborn, and truck drivers passing through on nearby Interstate 29.

"It's pretty crazy to think somebody locally could possibly be a millionaire," Nauerz said. "And the fact that I may have even handed over the ticket is even wilder."

'ALMOST AS GOOD AS ME WINNING'

The popular lottery - which is played in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands - had not had a winner for two months.

After no one won the top prize in Saturday's drawing, the pot grew by about $263 million to $587.5 million amid a national frenzy to buy tickets.

Bob Chebat, the manager of the store in Arizona where the second lucky ticket was purchased, said customers bought 986 tickets on Wednesday and that there was a good chance he had sold the winning ticket.

"It's almost as good as me winning," Chebat said.

"People say all the time that I'll throw you a million if I win, and no one ever has. ... I guess we'll see what happens now."

Mary Neubauer, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery, where Powerball is based, said people from around the world called hoping for a chance to play but were told they had to be in a participating location to buy a ticket.

One of the states that does not offer Powerball, California, decided on Thursday to participate. The state lottery commission voted unanimously to join Powerball in April 2013.

"Our customers were pretty clear that they wanted us to bring Powerball to California," state lottery director Robert O'Neill said in a statement.

The previous Powerball top prize of $365 million was won in 2006 by ConAgra slaughterhouse workers in Nebraska. The largest-ever U.S. lottery jackpot, the $656 million Mega Millions drawing, was shared by three winning tickets last March.

(Additional reporting by Colleen Jenkins, David Bailey and Mary Slosson; Writing by James B. Kelleher; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/managers-delighted-stores-sold-winning-lottery-tickets-015750148.html

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PFT: Problem with NFL's year-round Adderall ban

John HarbaughAP

The Ravens are 9-2, but it hasn?t been an easy season.? Apart from key injuries and periodic ineffectiveness and a defense that ain?t what it used to be, coach John Harbaugh had to deal with an unexpected uprising last month.

The moment came, according to Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports, on Halloween morning.? Back from a bye-week break after a backbreaking loss to the Texans, Harbaugh told the team that they?d be practicing in full pads.? Several veteran players openly challenged their head coach.

?It was practically a mutiny,? a Ravens player told Silver.? ?It came very close to getting out of control. But the way Coach Harbaugh handled it was amazing.? He let people have their say, and he listened, and he explained himself, and pretty soon it was like a big group-therapy session.? In the end, a lot of positive things were said.? We didn?t practice in pads, but we came out of there stronger as a group.?

Coincidentally (or not), the Ravens haven?t lost since then.

?I?ve never seen a head coach handle anything like that as well as he did,? a Ravens assistant who attended the meeting told Silver.? ?There were some things said where we were like, Damn.

?A lot of coaches would have acted like dictators and been very sensitive about the way their authority was being questioned.? John said, ?Hey, let?s talk about this.?? He showed great leadership.? Instead of worrying that it would make him seem weak, he turned it into a strength.?

Harbaugh realizes the value of encouraging players to speak their mind.

?I wasn?t threatened by it,? Harbaugh said.? ?That?s the main thing.? And, you know, they had some good points, and I had some good points.? Other guys stood up and said some great things.? To me, it embodied everything that you should have on a team.

?The point was that, we have what I call ?Open Mic,? and we can all say anything that we need to say and have to say. You know then that you?re responsible ? when you say it, everybody?s gonna hear it, so you?d better make it your best stuff.

?That brings out the best.? Otherwise, it?s ?Why are they sneaking around talking behind corners??? You know what I mean?? If you?ve got something, you put it right out here in front of me.? I?m man enough to handle it.? If you?re right, then you?re right!? It?s OK to be right.? But more important it?s OK to be wrong.? And it?s OK for me to be wrong, too.?

By being willing to admit that he?s wrong and make changes, Harbaugh could be poised to take his team right to the Super Bowl.

In fact, the only thing Harbaugh may have done wrong in this episode is to let it be known what happened.? Now, other coaches facing similar challenges may opt not to be hardheaded, which could help their own teams play better, possibly when playing the Ravens.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/28/tyler-sashs-adderall-case-highlights-the-problem-with-a-year-round-ban/related/

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NASA blasts away at doomsday bunk

NASA scientists took time on Wednesday to soothe 2012 doomsday fears, warning against the dark side of Maya apocalypse rumors ? frightened children and suicidal teens who truly fear the world may come to an end Dec. 21.

These fears are based on misinterpretations of the Maya calendar. On the 21st, the date of the winter solstice, a calendar cycle called the 13th b'ak'tun comes to an end. Although Maya scholars agree that the ancient Maya would not have seen this day as apocalyptic, rumors have spread that a cosmic event may end life on Earth on that day.

Thus NASA's involvement. The space agency maintains a 2012 information page debunking popular Maya apocalypse rumors, such as the idea that a rogue planet will hit Earth on Dec. 21, killing everyone. (In fact, astronomers are quite good at detecting near-Earth objects, and any wandering planet scheduled to collide with Earth in three weeks would be the brightest object in the sky behind the sun and moon by now.)

"There is no true issue here," David Morrison, an astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center, said during a NASA Google+ Hangout event Wednesday. "This is just a manufactured fantasy." [End of the World? Top Doomsday Fears]

Real-world consequences
Unfortunately, Morrison said, the fantasy has real-life consequences. As one of NASA's prominent speakers on 2012 doomsday myths, Morrison said, he receives many emails and letters from worried citizens, particularly young people. Some say they can't eat, or are too worried to sleep, Morrison said. Others say they're suicidal.

"While this is a joke to some people and a mystery to others, there is a core of people who are truly concerned," he said.

Not every 2012 apocalypse believer thinks the world will end on Dec. 21. Some, inspired by New Age philosophies, expect a day of universal peace and spiritual transformation. But it's impressionable kids who have NASA officials worried.

"I think it's evil for people to propagate rumors on the Internet to frighten children," Morrison said.

Myths and misconceptions
NASA scientists took questions via social media in the hour-long video chat, debunking doomsday myths from the rogue planet Nibiru to the danger of killer solar flares.

In fact, said NASA heliophysicist Lika Guhathakurta, it's true that the sun is currently in an active phase of its cycle, meaning electromagnetic energy has picked up. Large solar flares can impact electronics and navigation systems on Earth, but satellites monitoring the sun give plenty of warning and allow officials to compensate for the extra electromagnetic activity when it hits our atmosphere. What's more, Guhathakurta said, this particular solar maximum is the "wimpiest" in some time ? scientists have no reason to expect solar storms beyond what our planet has weathered in the past.

  1. Space news from NBCNews.com

    1. Eclipse dims the glow of the moon

      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Did you catch the lunar eclipse? Skywatchers around the world documented the penumbral eclipse's subtle effect.

    2. Space plane developer touts novel engine
    3. It's the biggest black hole blast ever
    4. Massive swirling Saturn vortex filmed

Nor are any near-Earth objects, planetary or otherwise, threatening to slam into our planet on Dec. 21, said Don Yeomans, a planetary scientist who tracks near-Earth objects at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The only close asteroid approach on the horizon is forecast to occur on Feb. 13, 2013, when an asteroid will pass within 4.5 Earth radii to our planet (for perspective, Earth's radius is 3,963 miles, or 6,378 kilometers). The asteroid is not going to hit Earth, Yeomans said.

Other rumors ? that the Earth's magnetic field will suddenly reverse or that the planet will travel almost 30,000 light-years and fall into the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy ? were also dismissed. (A light-year is the distance light travels in one year, or about 6 trillion miles, or 10 trillion km.)

One popular rumor that the planet will undergo a complete blackout from Dec. 23 to 25 earned a "What?" and blank looks from the panel of scientists.

Ultimately, concerns about Earth's fate would be better focused on slow-acting problems such as climate change rather than some sort of cosmic catastrophe, said Andrew Fraknoi, an astronomer at Foothill College in California.

Mitzi Adams, a heliophysicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, agreed.

"The greatest threat to Earth in 2012, at the end of this year and in the future, is just from the human race itself," Adams said.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and? Google+.

? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50011006/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Cyber Monday shopping? Don't forget the baseball tix!

If you're looking for the perfect gift for the baseball fan in your family, the Spokane Indians have just what you need.

The Spokane Indians are proving it's never too early to think about baseball season! If you order by December 19th, you can get a family pack of tickets, good for four reserved bench seats on four fireworks nights next summer. And, if you can't wait that long to show your Indians spirit, they're throwing in four Indians hats and four logo baseballs - all for the stocking-friendly price of $99.

Click here to read more about the offer and to order your pack of tickets today!

Source: http://downtownspokane.kxly.com/news/85503-cyber-monday-shopping-dont-forget-baseball-tix

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silvio twelfths: Astronomy and Space Sticker Book | Education ...

Astronomy and
Astronomy and Space Sticker Book
by Emily Bone
Publication Date: November 1, 2012

14 Used! | New! from $6.46 (as of 11/25/2012 17:47 PST)

Education & Reference

An accessible, visually stunning introduction to the wonders of space, from the stars and planets themselves to the astronauts and robots who've explored the Solar System. Packed with stickers, both illustrated and photographic, showing everything from the bubbling surface of the Sun to the distant clouds of space dust where stars are born. Written in consultation with an astronmer and astrophysicist.

  • Rank: #224669 in Books
  • Published on: 2012-11-01
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 24 pages

Source: http://educationreference839.blogspot.com/2012/11/astronomy-and-space-sticker-book.html

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Source: http://vatakbryi.posterous.com/astronomy-and-space-sticker-book-education-re

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Source: http://silvio-twelfths.blogspot.com/2012/11/astronomy-and-space-sticker-book.html

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Ft Lauderdale Home for Sale. House FSBO in Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33311 (USD 55,500)


For Sale by Owner NEW
Single Family Home for Sale in Ft Lauderdale, FL 33311
Asking Price USD 55,500
Property Type Single Family Home
Year Built 1950

Property Address :
1600 NW 11th St,
Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33311

Broward County

show/hide map


Seller information:
Name : Scherer Valcin
Phone: 9542744103
Alt Phone: 9542744103

Floors : 1
Garage Size: None
Size : 1026 sq. feet
Lot Size : 8363 acres

Description:
3 bedroom, 2 bath, CBS house with cartport, tile and wood floors, good kitchen cabinets,central A/C, both bath redone.
Repairs: General updating
Contact:
Scherer Maverick
Property Holdings
(954) 274-4103

http://www.FSBOads.com/16291


Nearest Properties:
4BR/2BA Home for Sale in Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33311 - $54,900 (0.1 mi)
4BR/3BA Duplex/Triplex for Sale in Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33311 - $94,700 (0.3 mi)
2BR/1BA House for Sale in Fort Lauderdale, AL 33311 - $45,000 (0.4 mi)
3BR/1BA Home for Sale in Ft, Lauderdale, AL 33311 - $52,900 (0.4 mi)
3BR/1BA Home for Sale in Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33311 - $47,900 (0.4 mi)

?
Submission Date: 11-26-2012

Source: http://www.fsboads.com/16291

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Apple's ultra-thin iMac to become available on Nov. 30

20 hrs.

Apple announced an upcoming?update to its popular iMac desktop computer line in October, but on Tuesday the Cupertino-based company finally confirmed that the 21.5-inch version of the?new, ultra-thin desktop will be available on Nov. 30.?

"Isn't it amazing how something new makes the previous generation instantly look old?" asked?Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, when he first?unveiled what a press release calls "the most advanced desktop Apple has ever made."?The new iMac looks quite similar to the previous generation from the front, but from the side, it is incredibly clear that the desktop has undergone a significant redesign: It has an edge that's a mere 5 millimeters thin.?There is, of course, a bit of a bulge in the middle of the computer's back, for the sake of some internal components, but it still has about 40 percent less internal volume than its older siblings and weighs about eight pounds less, as NBC News' contributor Joel Johnson pointed out when we first heard about the new iMac.

The new iMac is offered in 21.5-inch and 27-inch versions, which start at $1,300 and $1,800, respectively. The new desktops have displays with 75 percent less reflection than the prior generation and a Fusion Drive option (which combines a standard hard drive and a flash-based one to offer up to 60 percent faster performance).

While the 21.5-inch version of the new iMac will begin arriving in customers' homes on Nov. 30, its?27-inch counterpart won't begin shipping until December, according to a press release issued by Apple.

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/apples-ultra-thin-imac-become-available-nov-30-1C7275554

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Chameleon-like changes in world's most abundant phytoplankton

ScienceDaily (Nov. 26, 2012) ? An international team of biologists led by Indiana University's David M. Kehoe has identified both the enzyme and molecular mechanism critical for controlling a chameleon-like process that allows one of the world's most abundant ocean phytoplankton, once known as blue-green algae, to maximize light harvesting for photosynthesis.

Responsible for contributing about 20 percent of the total oxygen production on the planet, the cyanobacteria Synechococcus uses its own unique form of a sophisticated response called chromatic acclimation to fine tune the absorption properties of its photosynthetic antenna complexes to the predominant ambient light color. The researchers identified and characterized an enzyme, MpeZ, that plays a pivotal role in the mechanism that allows two different water-soluble proteins in Synechococcus -- phycoerythrin I and II -- to alter their pigmentation in order to maximize photon capture for photosynthesis.

Scientists want to understand how cyanobacteria optimize their photosynthetic activities in different light conditions to gain a better appreciation of how human activities affect the phytoplankton's ability to produce oxygen and uptake the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which they consume in order to grow. Science and industry also use the pigment-protein complex phycoerythrin for fluorescent imaging and as fluorescent markers in biotechnology and health care applications.

"We now have the ability to attach a novel chromophore, part of a molecule responsible for its color, to phycoerythrin, which provides a new chromophore-protein combination that absorbs and fluoresces at a wavelength that is not currently commercially available," said Kehoe, a professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biology. "Our results suggest that this new chromoprotein is brighter and more stable than most on the market today."

Kehoe also noted IU has begun the process of filing a patent on the invention. The team found that the gene encoding the MpeZ enzyme is activated in blue light. Once produced, MpeZ then binds to antenna proteins containing pigments that normally catch green light and attaches an alternative chromophore that allows the antennae to capture blue light. The specific mechanism, called type IV chromatic acclimation, involves replacing three molecules of the green light-absorbing chromophore with an equal number of blue light-absorbing chromophore. This color-shifting is reversible and is controlled by the ratio of blue to green light in the environment.

"These 'chromatic adapters' are true chameleons that can efficiently live in green coastal waters as well as in blue offshore waters by modifying their pigmentation," Kehoe said. "Synechococcus cells maintained in blue light harvest preferentially blue light, while cells grown in green light harvest more green."

Funding for this work came from the Agence Nationale Recherches in France, the European program MicroB3, IU's Office of International Programs, the National Science Foundation and the Lilly Foundation.

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Story Source:

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

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


Journal Reference:

  1. A. Shukla, A. Biswas, N. Blot, F. Partensky, J. A. Karty, L. A. Hammad, L. Garczarek, A. Gutu, W. M. Schluchter, D. M. Kehoe. Phycoerythrin-specific bilin lyase-isomerase controls blue-green chromatic acclimation in marine Synechococcus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1211777109

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/~3/dec8irt_q_w/121126163957.htm

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Women's Basketball: Washington State vs UC Riverside , 11/28/12 7:00 PM PT

2012-13 SCHEDULE

Overall
2-3

Conf.
0-0

Home
2-1

Away
0-1

Neutral
0-1

?

Date Opponent / Event Location Time / Result
10/30/12 vs. Simon Fraser (Exhibition) Pullman W, 67-52
11/03/12 vs. Western Oregon (Exhibition) Pullman W, 93-30
Best Buy Classic (Hosted by Minnesota)
11/10/12 at Minnesota Minneapolis L, 87-83 (2OT)
11/11/12 vs. South Dakota State Minneapolis L, 65-56 (OT)
11/16/12 vs. Monmouth Pullman W, 79-69
11/18/12 vs. Wisconsin Pullman L, 52-44
11/24/12 vs. BYU Pullman W, 67-52
11/28/12 at UC Riverside Riverside, Calif. 7:00 p.m. PT
11/30/12 at Fresno State Fresno, Calif. 7:00 p.m. PT
12/15/12 vs. Ohio State Pullman 12:00 p.m. PT
12/18/12 at Louisville Louisville 4:00 p.m. PT
12/21/12 at Syracuse Syracuse, N.Y. 4:00 p.m. PT
12/29/12 at Gonzaga Spokane, Wash. 2:00 p.m. PT
01/04/13 vs. Arizona * Pullman 7:00 p.m. PT
01/06/13 vs. Arizona State * Pullman 1:00 p.m. PT
01/11/13 at UCLA * TV Los Angeles 8:00 p.m. PT
01/13/13 at USC * Los Angeles 2:00 p.m. PT
01/15/13 at Washington * TV Seattle 6:00 p.m. PT
01/20/13 vs. Washington * TV Pullman 2:00 p.m. PT
01/25/13 vs. Oregon * Pullman 7:00 p.m. PT
01/27/13 vs. Oregon State * Pullman 1:00 p.m. PT
02/01/13 at Arizona State * Tempe, Ariz. 6:00 p.m. PT
02/03/13 at Arizona * Tucson, Ariz. 1:00 p.m. PT
02/08/13 vs. USC * Pullman 6:00 p.m. PT
02/10/13 vs. UCLA * Pullman 12:00 p.m. PT
02/15/13 at Oregon State * Corvallis, Ore. 7:00 p.m. PT
02/17/13 at Oregon * TV Eugene, Ore. 4:00 p.m. PT
02/22/13 at Colorado * Boulder, Colo. 6:00 p.m. PT
02/24/13 at Utah * Salt Lake City 2:00 p.m. PT
02/28/13 vs. California * Pullman 6:00 p.m. PT
03/02/13 vs. Stanford * TV Pullman 12:00 p.m. PT
Pac-12 Conference Tournament (Seattle)
03/07/13 Opening Round TV KeyArena TBA
03/08/13 Quarterfinal Round TV KeyArena TBA
03/09/13 Semifinal Round TV KeyArena TBA
03/10/13 Championship TV KeyArena TBA

There Are No Upcoming Events

?

?

Schedule Key

?

?

Home Event

?

Away Event

*

Conference Event

Official Website of Washington State University Athletics | Bohler Athletic Complex | PO Box 641602 Pullman, WA 99164-1602 | 1.800.GO.COUGS

Source: http://www.wsucougars.com/sports/w-baskbl/sched/wast-w-baskbl-sched.html

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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Acer Aspire V5-571-6891


The Acer Aspire V5-571-6891 ($499.99 list) is a Windows 8 budget desktop replacement laptop with very few compromises. It comes with a large 15.6-inch display with a full keyboard, multi-touch trackpad, DVD burner, dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wi-Fi, USB 3.0 and HDMI. It gives the value minded user all he needs to do work locally and over the Internet, and earns our Editors' Choice for budget laptops.

Design and Features
The V5-571-6891 is a thin, black desktop replacement laptop. Its dimensions measure about 10 by 15 by 0.91 inches (HWD), with a weight a smidge above five pounds (5.07 pounds). This makes the system a lot more portable than older laptops that can be twice as thick. The system's chiclet style keyboard is comfortable to use, with a good key feel. There's a full numeric keypad to the right side of the keyboard, a plus for students and users who need to deal with numbers. The keyboard isn't backlit, but you really don't expect one at this price point. The one-piece trackpad is multitouch, so you can easily swipe the new Windows 8 interface, including the gestures that bring up the Charms tool bar, as well as other gestures needed for Windows 8 like swipes from the edges, two finger clicks, and multitouch scrolling.

The system comes with a 15.6-inch widescreen LCD panel, with a 1,366 by 768 resolution. 1,366 by 768 is good for up to 720p HD video, though 1080p videos will have to be scaled down to fit. 1,366 by 768 means that user interface elements like close boxes and icons will be larger than they would be on a 1,600 by 900 or 1,920 by 1,080 resolution screen. While this may be a little low res for a high-end user, 1,366 by 768 is perfectly adequate for the general user who doesn't need high resolution for photos or videos. In fact, a user with aging eyesight will welcome the larger letters and icons in desktop mode. All of this is moot in the Windows 8 user interface (aka Start screen), since Windows automatically scales the tiles to fill the screen.

The system comes with Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system, like almost all PCs sold this season. If you've never used Windows 8 before, it will be an interesting learning experience, since you're meant to select programs from the Start screen rather than opening them from the now missing Start menu. Using the trackpad to move the cursor around the screen works fine, but it would behoove you to take a look at a Windows 8 primer online to learn some of the more useful commands. At the very least, get used to swiping with two fingers to scroll elements from off screen on to the screen. If you've used Windows 8 or RT on a tablet like the Microsoft Surface RT or on a touch-optimized system like the Sony VAIO Duo 11 (D11213CX), you will probably miss the touch screen. Windows 8 was really designed to work better with a touch screen: On the V5-571-6891, the Start screen gets in the way somewhat, since you have to scroll the interface back and forth with the trackpad. It works, but you may find yourself reaching for the screen to click on tiles and move the Start screen around. Once you're in a program it should be okay, since programs still act the way you expect them to, and they're easier to work on when they are blown up to full screen.

There are already quite a few icons pre-loaded in the desktop mode They number among the usual bloatware subjects, including eBay, Netflix, WildTangent Games, and Norton Online Backup. If you're a current user of any of these services, the icons are a convenience, but otherwise they just clutter the desktop. Strangely enough, the same tiles in the Start menu aren't as cluttered, as they are neatly stacked and don't look out of place in the Start menu.

The V5-571-6891 comes with a pair of USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, a full HDMI port, and a port for the system's combination VGA and Ethernet dongle. The USB 3.0 port helps to future-proof the laptop, and is colored blue to differentiate it from the pair of slower black USB 2.0 ports. We would like to see them all USB 3.0, but we understand a budget buyer may not need more than one speedy USB 3.0 port at this time. Just make sure to use the correct port when connecting a recently purchased hard drive (older USB 2.0 drives and peripherals like mice will work in all three USB ports, but newer, USB 3.0 devices won't work as fast as they could if you plug them into the USB 2.0 ports). The full size HDMI port is nice; we wish that the VGA and Ethernet ports were also full-sized. There is horizontal room on the chassis for them, but the case may be physically too thin for the VGA port. The included dongle "works," but it's also just another piece to be lost in your commute bag.

The built in tray-loading DVD burner is a throwback to the now-dying standard, though it will come in handy from time to time if you have a large library of movies or boxed software. Movies looked clear on the laptop's screen, with room filling sound from the Dolby-optimized speakers.

The system comes with an Intel Core i3-processor, six GB of system memory, a 500GB hard drive, and Intel integrated graphics. Until this year, you'd expect to possibly get an Intel Pentium or AMD E-class processor, 2-3GB of memory, and a 320GB hard drive for $499. With this setup, you're unlikely to find many programs online and off the shelf that won't run on the V5-571-6891. 6GB is a nice touch, you'll be able to keep many tabs open in Internet Explorer or Chrome with that much memory. This level of equipment is refreshing, because until recently, netbooks still had problems running programs like light 3D games that require DX10/DX11, netbooks had much lower resolution screens, and many apps ran dog slow on systems with an ultra low voltage 1.5GHz processor like in a netbook. The V5-571-6891 comes with a standard one-year warranty.

Performance
Acer Aspire V5-571-6891 Speaking of performance, the V5-571-6891 ran all the benchmark tests. The system isn't a speed demon, but it has enough oomph to make short work of day-to-day tasks. Its PCMark7 score of 2090 points is on par for what we've seen from budget laptops like the Asus U56E-BBL6 (2,255 points), our former budget Editors' Choice laptop. We don't have comparable budget laptop numbers for our new Handbrake 0.9.8 test (1:57) and Photoshop CS6 (8:43) yet, but suffice to say this is a decent baseline number. You can do occasional multimedia tasks on the system, but it's really made for consuming media like online videos and photos, both of which display without a hitch, even 1080p HD videos like the latest Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome webisodes. Its 3D gaming is understandably weak, though the system comes with Intel HD Graphics 4000 instead of the base 2500 version, so you'll get a little better performance than you'd expect. High-end games are out of the question, but lighter fare like World of Warcraft or Torchlight is easily in the system's capabilities.

The V5-571-6891 comes with a removable 4-cell battery, which is good for a somewhat anemic four-hour battery life (4:07) on our video rundown test. This is significantly less than Acer's five-hour battery life claims, but the battery life is sufficient for a movie plus a bunch of Web surfing around the house. If you're buying the V5-571-6891 for home use or even students that may forget their power adapter in their dorm room, four hours battery life is enough, as you wouldn't be straying from a power plug for too long. Of course, the battery won't last you a cross-continental airline flight, so this system is less suitable for road warriors. If you are one of these type of users, it would be best to upgrade to a higher-capacity battery or look for a system that will last a little longer like the Dell XPS 12, or the Acer Aspire S3-391-6046, both of which last about five hours on the same rundown test. Tablets running Windows RT like the Asus Vivo Tab RT last even longer: almost ten hours.

The Acer Aspire V5-571-6891 is an interesting beast. It has everything you'd want in a $500 laptop, minus a long battery life. Its pricing recalls the netbooks of 2008-2011, but it's so much more powerful than any of those, with a much larger screen. The budget Toshiba Satellite C655-S5542 is less expensive than the V5-571-6891 by $99, but you give up USB 3.0, HDMI, 3GB of memory, and quite a bit of performance due to a Celeron processor. For $500, it's surprising to find a latest-generation Intel Core processor, 4 to 6GB of memory, a 500GB hard drive, large screen, and a full keyboard and Windows-8 compliant trackpad It balances its thinness and large screen well, to the point that it is quite portable around the house or campus. It's a lot more modern than the Asus U56E-BBL6, which uses a second-generation Intel Core processor, is bigger and heavier, and doesn't come with Windows 8. The Acer Aspire V5-571-6891 meets the requirements for the basic user, with extra flourishes like a numeric keypad, good sound, and exceeds expectations for a budget laptop. Therefore we award the V5-571-6891 our Editors' Choice for budget laptops.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the The Acer Aspire V5-571-6891 with several other laptops side by side.

More laptop reviews:
??? Acer Aspire V5-571-6891
??? Acer Aspire S3-391-6046
??? Cyberpower Xplorer X6-9120
??? Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13
??? Acer Aspire S7-391-9886
?? more

laptop

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/eWZh1XPzElg/0,2817,2412413,00.asp

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Monday, November 26, 2012

New SEC head faces fights on several fronts, legal straitjacket

BOSTON (Reuters) - Mary Schapiro's successor as head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is going to have to hit the ground running.

With an ongoing battle over regulating the $2.5 trillion money market fund industry, some 63 unfinished rule makings required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law and continuing fears about market stability and high frequency trading, the new top securities regulator will have a lengthy list of critical issues to address on day one.

And it will all have to be done under prickly circumstances. All new rule-making faces potential legal challenges from opponents strengthened by a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling last year which will force the agency to do deeper "cost benefit" analysis. Such requirements can drag out rule proposals for months, or even years.

"It's an ongoing, enormous challenge," said Amy Borrus, deputy director of the Council of Institutional Investors, a group representing many of the largest public and private pension funds.

The first challenge, though, may be figuring out just how long current Democratic commissioner Elisse Walter will run the agency. On Monday, President Barack Obama designated Walter as chairman not as "acting" or "interim" chairman. In theory, she could run the agency until December, 2013, when she would have to be re-nominated and re-approved by the U.S. Senate.

A White House official said the president plans to nominate a full-term replacement for Schapiro in the near future. If Walter remains in charge, the move likely would be more of the same at the SEC, as she and Schapiro were considered close allies on the commission.

With Schapiro gone next month, Walter's biggest initial challenge may be working with a divided four-person commission that is likely to be bottle necked with two-two votes on important issues like money fund reform or stricter corporate governance rules, according to Edward Fleischman, a former SEC commissioner.

"Nothing happens under a 2-2 vote," said Fleischman, who worked with Walter when she was deputy director of the SEC's division of corporation finance in the early 1990s.

Walter and Schapiro generally voted in tandem on most issues and were often opposed by Republicans Daniel Gallagher and Troy Paredes, while Democratic appointee Luis Aguilar has been a swing vote.

MONEY FUND WAR

Among the top policy issues facing the commission, the most heated debate is over reforming money market mutual funds, a critical savings vehicle for ordinary investors and an important source of corporate lending.

The commission tightened rules on the quality of fund holdings in 2010. But Schapiro and other regulators contend more is needed to avoid another run of withdrawals from the funds that could freeze lending across the entire economy. That is what happened in 2008 after Lehman Brothers went bankrupt causing the asset value of one major fund to "break the buck", or to drop below the industry's target of $1 per share.

Schapiro planned to pursue two options: forcing funds to abandon the fixed $1 per share policy or set aside capital to cover potential losses. But in August, amid bitter opposition from the fund industry, she withdrew the proposals. Of the commissioners, only Walter backed Schapiro's ideas.

The issue then moved to the Financial Stability Oversight Council overseen by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner - which issued for public comment a recommendation that the SEC consider proposals similar to those Schapiro had pursued. The council could vote on a plan that would then go to the SEC to consider.

Walter "may be more willing to compromise and the fund industry may be more willing to compromise with her," said Peter Crane, a longtime money fund analyst and president of Crane Data LLC.

In a speech in March, Walter offered conciliatory words, saying she wanted "a process of constructive engagement instead of one of unconstructive disengagement."

UNFINISHED RULES

The agency also has a long way to go to complete the 95 rule makings required under Dodd-Frank. Only 32 have been completed and the agency has missed the deadlines for another 50, according to an analysis by law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell.

Among the missing are tighter rules governing some derivatives trading as well as requiring companies to reclaim bonuses and other incentive pay after accounting scandals.

Schapiro's battle to hold securities firms to higher ethical standards will likely take a back seat to other unfinished business, said former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt. Dodd-Frank empowered, but did not require, the agency to develop such standards.

"You can't put everything first," said Pitt. "Some things have to go second or later."

And some rules are not optional. In addition to Dodd-Frank, the JOBS Act that was signed into law in April requires the SEC to develop rules that would lift advertising restrictions for companies raising funds through certain private offerings. The SEC proposed those in August, but has yet to finalize them.

Many investors also remain concerned about the stability of the markets in the face of high frequency trading and other computerized strategies that have taken some of the blame for the 2010 "flash crash" when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 700 points in just a matter of minutes before rebounding. Following the flash crash, the SEC tightened some rules related to stock trading and added a new set of circuit breakers for individual stocks.

But worries persist and earlier this year, after a trading glitch almost bankrupted trading firm Knight Capital Group, Schapiro asked SEC staff to speed up efforts to propose a rule that would set industry-wide standards "to ensure the capacity and integrity" of market systems.

Finally, big investors plan to push the agency for rule changes to give them greater say in corporate governance matters. Walter should "make the financial regulatory system more transparent, accountable and responsive to investors," Ann Yerger, executive director of the Council of Institutional Investors, said in a statement.

The SEC also needs to fix the system used to count proxy votes cast by shareholders. The system has been under review for years amid fears that corporate elections could go haywire. "Making sure that investors' proxy votes are cast and counted as intended is imperative," council deputy director Borrus said.

(Reporting by Aaron Pressman and Ross Kerber in Boston and Jed Horowitz, Suzanne Barlyn and John McCrank in New York. Editing by Jennifer Merritt, Martin Howell and Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sec-head-faces-fights-several-fronts-legal-straitjacket-012323004--sector.html

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Amazon, EBay, Others Up In Advance Of Cyber Monday [VIDEO ...

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), and other online retailers steal some of the attention from brick-and-mortar stores today. Shares of both Amazon and eBay posted big gains last week in advance of Cyber Monday sales. A growing number of retailers are offering free shipping this year. ?

Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), Target (NYSE:TGT), and Macy?s (NYSE:M) -- which have growing online operations -- are all expected to rise today.

Twinkies might become the target of a bidding war. Hostess Brands, which shut down its bakeries and started liquidation proceedings last week, says it has received a "flood of inquiries" from potential buyers. The Wall Street Journal says Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO), the maker of Tastykakes, has sought to increase its line of credit -- a sign that it could be a bidder. Flowers is the second-largest baker in the country.

For more, click on the image below to play the Daily Finance Market Minute video.

No positions in stocks mentioned.

Source: http://www.minyanville.com/trading-and-investing/stocks/articles/Amazon-eBay-Others-Up-in-Advance/11/26/2012/id/46079

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AP IMPACT: Will NYC act to block future surges?

Think Sandy was just a 100-year storm that devastated New York City? Imagine one just as bad, or worse, every three years.

Prominent planners and builders say now is the time to think big to shield the city's core: a 5-mile barrier blocking the entryway to New York Harbor, an archipelago of man-made islets guarding the tip of Manhattan, or something like CDM Smith engineer Larry Murphy's 1,700-foot barrier ? complete with locks for passing boats and a walkway for pedestrians ? at the mouth of the Arthur Kill waterway between the borough of Staten Island and New Jersey.

Act now, before the next deluge, and they say it could even save money in the long run.

These strategies aren't just pipe dreams. Not only do these technologies already exist, some of the concepts have been around for decades and have been deployed successfully in other countries and U.S. cities.

So if the science and engineering are sound, the long-term cost would actually be a savings, and the frequency and severity of more killer floods is inevitable, what's the holdup?

Political will.

Like the argument in towns across America when citizens want a traffic signal installed at a dangerous intersection, Sandy's 43 deaths and estimated $26 billion in damages citywide might not be enough to galvanize the public and the politicians into action.

"Unfortunately, they probably won't do anything until something bad happens," said CDM Smith's Murphy. "And I don't know if this will be considered bad enough."

Sandy and her 14-foot surge not bad enough? By century's end, researchers forecast up to four feet higher seas, producing storm flooding akin to Sandy's as often as several times each decade. Even at current sea levels, Sandy's floodwaters filled subways, other tunnels and streets in parts of Manhattan.

Without other measures, rebuilding will simply augment the future destruction. Yet that's what political leaders are emphasizing. President Barack Obama himself has promised to stand with the city "until the rebuilding is complete."

So it might take a worse superstorm or two to really get the problem fixed.

The focus on rebuilding irks people like Robert Trentlyon, a retired weekly newspaper publisher in lower Manhattan who is campaigning for sea barriers to protect the city: "The public is at the woe-is-me stage, rather than how-do-we-prevent-this-in-the-future stage."

He belongs to a coterie of professionals and ordinary New Yorkers who want to take stronger action. Though pushing for a regional plan, they are especially intent on keeping Manhattan dry.

The 13-mile-long island serves as the country's financial and entertainment nerve center. Within a 3-mile-long horseshoe-shaped flood zone around its southernmost quadrant are almost 500,000 residents and 300,000 jobs. Major storms swamp places like Wall Street and the site of the World Trade Center.

Proven technology already exists to blunt or virtually block wind-whipped seas from overtaking lower Manhattan and much of the rest of New York City, according to a series of Associated Press interviews with engineers, architects and scientists and a review of research on flooding issues in the New York metropolitan area and around the globe.

These strategies range from hard structures like mammoth barriers equipped with ship gates and embedded at entrances to the harbor, to softer and greener shoreline restraints like man-made marshes and barrier islands.

Additional landfill, the old standby once used to extend Manhattan into the harbor, could further lift vulnerable highways and other sites beyond the reach of the seas.

Even more simply, the rock and concrete seawalls and bulkheads that already ring lower Manhattan could be built up, but now perhaps with high-tech wave-absorbing or wave-reflecting materials.

Seizing the initiative from government, business and academic circles have fleshed out several dramatic concepts to hold back water before it tops the shoreline. Two of the most elaborate proposals are:

? A rock causeway, with 80-foot-high swinging ship gates, would sweep five miles across the entryway to inner New York Harbor from Sandy Hook, N.J., to Breezy Point, N.Y. To protect Manhattan, another shorter barrier is needed to the north, where the East River meets Long Island Sound, and another small blockage would go up near Sandy Hook. This New Jersey-side barrier and a network of levees on both ends of the causeway could help protect picturesque beach communities like Atlantic Highlands, in New Jersey to the west, and the Rockaways, in New York City to the east. This so-called outer barrier option was conceived for a professional symposium by the engineering firm CH2M HILL, which last year finished building a supersized 15-mile barrier guarding St. Petersburg, Russia, from Baltic Sea storms.

? An extensive green makeover of lower Manhattan would install an elaborate drainage system beneath the streets, build up the very tip by 6 feet, pile 30-foot earthen mounds along the eastern edge, and create perimeter wetlands and a phalanx of artificial barrier islets ? all to absorb the brunt of a huge storm surge. Plantings along the streets would help soak up runoff that floods the city sewers during heavy rains. This concept was worked up by DLANDSTUDIO and Architecture Research Office, two city architectural firms, for a museum project.

What's missing is not viable ideas or proposals, but determination. Massive projects protecting other cities from the periodic ravages of stormy seas usually happened after catastrophes on a scale eclipsing even Sandy.

It took the collapse of dikes, drowning deaths of more than 1,800 people, and evacuation of another 100,000 in 1953 for the Dutch to say "Never again!" They have since constructed the world's sturdiest battery of dikes, dams and barriers. No disaster on that scale has happened since.

It took the breach of levees, a similar death toll, and flooding of 80 percent of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to marshal the momentum finally to build a two-mile barricade against the Gulf of Mexico.

A handful of seaside New England cities ? Stamford, Conn.; Providence, R.I.; and New Bedford, Mass. ? have built smaller barriers after their own disasters.

However, New York City, which mostly lies just several feet above sea level, has so far escaped the horrors visited elsewhere. Its leaders have been brushing off warnings of disaster for years.

Retired geologist Jim Mellet of New Fairfield, Conn., recalls hearing a story told to him by the late Bill A. O'Leary, a retired city engineer at the time: He and other engineers, concerned about battering floods, had approached power broker Robert Moses more than 80 years ago to ask him to consider constructing a gigantic barrier to hold back storm tides at the entrance to the city's Upper Bay.

Moses supposedly squashed the idea like an annoying bug. "According to Bill, he stood there uninterested, with his arms folded on his chest, and when they finished the presentation, he just said, 'No, it will destroy the view.'" Or perhaps he was already mulling other plans for the same site, where he would build the Verrazano Narrows Bridge years later.

Many city projects, like the Westway highway plan of the 1970s and 1980s, died partly because of the impact they would have on the cherished view of water from the congested cityscape. Imagine, then, the political viability of a project that might further block access to the harbor or the view of the Statue of Liberty from the tip of Manhattan.

"I can assure that many New Yorkers would have strong opinions about high seawalls," said an email from a retired New York commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bud Griffis, who was involved in the permitting process for the failed Westway.

However, global warming and its rising sea levels now make it harder simply to shrug off measures to shield the city from storms. Sandy drove 14-foot higher-than-normal seas ? breaking a nearly 200-year-old record ? into car and subway tunnels, streets of trendy neighborhoods, commuter highways and an electrical substation that shorted out nearly all of lower Manhattan.

The late October storm left 43 dead in the city, and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn estimated at least $26 billion in damages and economic losses. The regional cost has been estimated at $50 billion, making Sandy the second most destructive storm in U.S. history after Katrina.

Yet heavier storms are forecast. A 1995 study involving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers envisioned a worst-case storm scenario for New York: High winds rip windows and masonry from skyscrapers, forcing pedestrians to flee to subway tunnels to avoid the falling debris. The tunnels soon flood.

With its dense population and distinctive coastline, New York is especially vulnerable, with Manhattan at the center.

The famous island can be pounded by storm surges from three sides: from the west via the Arthur Kill, from the south through the Upper Bay, and from the Long Island Sound through the East River. Relatively shallow depth offshore allows storm waters to pile up; the north-south shoreline of New Jersey and the east-west orientation of Long Island further channel gushing seas right at Manhattan.

Some believe that Sandy was bad enough at least to advance more serious study of stronger protections. "I think the superstorm we had really put the fear of God into people, because no one really believed it would happen," said urban planner Juliana Maantay at Lehman College-City University of New York.

But nearly all flood researchers interviewed by the AP voiced considerable skepticism about action in the foreseeable future. "In a half year's time, there will be other problems again, I can tell you," said Dutch urban planner Jeroen Aerts, who has studied storm protections around the world.

William Solecki, a Manhattan-based Hunter College planner who has been at the center of city and state task forces on climate change, guessed that little more will be done to prevent future flooding beyond "nibbling at the edges" of the threat.

In recent years, the city has been enforcing codes that require flood-zone builders to keep electrical and other critical systems above predicted high water from what was until recently thought to be a once-in-a-century storm. Sealing other key equipment against water has been encouraged. The city has tried to keep storm grates free of debris and has elevated subway entrances. The buzz word has been making things more "resilient."

But this approach does little to stop swollen waters of a gigantic storm from pouring over lower Manhattan. "Resiliency means if you get knocked down, this is how you get back up again," huffs activist Trentlyon. "They just were talking about what you do afterward." He said Sandy's flood water rose to 5 feet at street level in Chelsea, where he lives on the western side of lower Manhattan.

The city has at least toyed with the idea of barriers and even considered various locations in a 2008 study. "I have always considered that flood gates are something we should consider, but are not necessarily the immediate answer to rush toward," said Rohit Aggarwala, a Stanford University teacher who is former director of the New York mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability.

Unswayed by Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his assistants have been blunter. Bloomberg said barriers might not be worthwhile "even if you spent a fortune."

Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said no specific measures ? whether more wetlands, higher seawalls or harbor barriers ? have been ruled out because "there's no one-size-fits-all solution." But he compared sea barriers to the Maginot Line, the fortified line of defenses that Germany quickly sidestepped to conquer France at the beginning of World War II.

"The city is not going to be totally stormproof, but I think it can be very adaptable," he added. He said that new flood maps informed by Sandy are being drawn up, and he suspects they will extend the zones where new developments must install critical equipment above flood level.

Computer simulations indicate that hard barriers, which have worked elsewhere around the world, would do a good job of shielding New York neighborhoods behind them. But they'd actually make flooding worse just outside the barriers, where surging waters would pile up with nowhere to go.

The patriarch of this research is Malcolm Bowman, a native New Zealander who leads a passionate cadre of barrier researchers at Stony Brook University on the northern shore of Long Island. His warnings have mostly gone unheeded. "I feel like a biblical prophet crying in the wilderness: 'The end is near!'" Bowman said.

Unbowed, he continues to preach against incremental measures. "If you get a storm and a big oak tree falls on your house, then whether you fix your gutter doesn't matter," he said.

In recent years, his logic has finally begun to resonate a bit more. Nicholas Kim, an oceanographer with engineering firm HDR HydroQual who studied with Bowman in the 1980s, said his mentor has been thinking about barriers since then: "Everybody said, 'You're crazy!' But now it's becoming clear that we need protection."

Even massive structures don't shield everyone, though. A 2009 four-barrier study co-authored by Kim found that in a simulated storm, barriers still failed to protect large swaths of Queens and sections of other outlying boroughs with a total of more than 100,000 people.

Researchers also have predicted at least a modest additional one-foot rise of stormy seas as water piles up outside the barriers. "If you're the guy just outside the barrier, and you're paying taxes and you're not included, you're not going to be very happy," said oceanographer Larry Swanson at Stony Brook University.

How such barriers would affect water movement, silt and marine life also remains an open question requiring further study for each case.

The scale and costs of hard barrier schemes have further put off many critics. After flooding from Hurricane Irene last year, city representatives asked Aerts, the Dutch planner, to compare the cost and benefits of barriers to existing approaches. His initial analysis will not be finished until February, but his early cost estimate for barriers and associated dikes for New York City is $15 billion to $27 billion ? comparable to that of the record-setting $24 billion Big Dig that reshaped Boston's waterfront ? not to block storms, but to unblock traffic and views of the waterfront.

Barrier defenders counter by pointing to the cost of storm damages. Stony Brook meteorologist Brian Colle said: "When you think of the cost of a Sandy, which is running in the billions, these barriers are basically going to pay for themselves in one or two storms." Advocates say tolls on trains or cars riding atop a barrier could help finance the project.

While appealing for rebuilding, Council Speaker Quinn also has said that "the time for casual debate is over" and called for a bold mix of resiliency with grander protective structures. She has estimated the cost of her plan at $20 billion.

Other massive protection schemes, like the green makeover of lower Manhattan, also would probably run into the billions. And soft protections are meant only to defuse, not stop, rising waters. Sandy battered parts of Long Island behind barrier islands and wetlands.

Nor is it clear that Manhattan has enough space to fashion more extensive wetlands of the sort that help protect the Gulf Coast, however imperfectly. "New York is too far gone for wetlands," said Griffis, the retired Army Corps commander for New York.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has announced he will spearhead efforts to request a corps study of whether barriers or other options would work better. However, it remains unclear if Congress would be willing to fund such a study, which would undoubtedly take several years and cost millions of dollars.

And even before a dime has been appropriated, the corps is lowering expectations. Says spokesman Chris Gardner: "You can't protect everywhere completely at all times."

___

Associated Press National Writer Adam Geller and AP researcher Julie Reed contributed to this report.

___

The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate(at)ap.org

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-impact-nyc-act-block-future-surges-175541122--finance.html

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Sunday, November 25, 2012

"Downton Abbey" Renewed for fourth Season by ITV

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Downton Abbey" fans have something to be thankful for.

British network ITV has commissioned a fourth season of the hit historical drama, the network said Friday. The new season will consist of eight new episodes to premiere in fall 2013, with an extended episode for Christmas 2013. As with previous seasons, the opening and closing episodes will be feature-length.

"Downton Abbey" Season 4 will begin filming in February at Highclere Castle and Ealing Studios.

Noting that the upcoming season will see the inclusion of some new faces, "Downton Abbey" executive producer Gareth Neame said, "Viewers can look forward to more drama, comedy, love, hatred, jealousy, rivalry, ambition, despair and romance."

Produced by NBC Universal's Carnival Film & Television, the Emmy and Golden Glove-winning "Downton Abbey" airs on PBS in the U.S.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/downton-abbey-renewed-fourth-season-itv-214019503.html

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Saturday, November 24, 2012

Personal Trainer in Claremont Offers Private Fitness Sessions

Claremont, California (October 31, 2012) ? Jennifer Petinaud of GetUFit Personal Wellness, a personal trainer in Claremont, is offering private fitness sessions. People who want to become healthier and more physically fit can take advantage of closed-door training with this veteran health and fitness expert.

Petinaud conducts private or one-on-one sessions during which a client gets her full attention. Only she and her client are allowed in the studio during a scheduled appointment. This arrangement lets an individual enjoy a confidential and personal atmosphere while engaging in fitness classes that cater specifically to his or her needs.

For the most part, classes are held inside the studio. Yet aside from undergoing indoor training, a client can also go through an outdoor ?boot camp? style workout that is unique from those given by other trainers or studios.

Conducting private sessions allows a trainer to focus on an individual?s goals and needs without any distractions. No other people are allowed inside the studio while a session is going on. Clients are only allowed to enter and take part during their scheduled hours, ensuring uninterrupted and personalized meetings.

Petinaud applies the same policies to group sessions, which she also offers depending on availability of schedules and other arrangements. These classes consist only of the trainer and the group listed for a particular time.

People looking for a personal trainer in Claremont can go to www.ClaremontPersonalTraining.com to learn more about this wellness coach or to arrange individual or group training sessions today.

About GetUFit Personal Wellness

GetUFit Personal Wellness, spearheaded by Jennifer Petinaud, conducts individual and group fitness training behind closed doors on strict schedules. The fitness specialist serves people living in cities like Alta Loma, Claremont, Glendora, and Rancho Cucamonga to name a few. The studio is located at 1420 N. Claremont Blvd. Ste. D & E. Call 888-621-WELL (9355) now to get started on a program.

Source: http://www.briefingwire.com/pr/personal-trainer-in-claremont-offers-private-fitness-sessions

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Friday, November 23, 2012

Egypt protesters attack Mursi's party offices

Some of the very same Republicans who have spent the last two weeks bashing Mitt Romney were, indeed, sucking up to him at a massive rally the Friday before the election ? even angling for jobs in the Romney administration ? a Romney adviser complains. At a rally with 100 Romney surrogates in West Chester, Ohio, Romney aide Dan Senor revealed on?MSNBC Wednesday, the Romney bashers were Romney fawners. "I?m backstage with some of them, I won?t mention their names, but they?re talking about Romney like he?s Reagan," Senor said. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-protesters-attack-mursis-party-offices-134317661.html

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Obama carries on Thanksgiving tradition, pardons turkeys

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday pardoned a pair of turkeys - Cobbler and Gobbler - quipping that the two birds deserved a second chance, an old adage he said he could not agree with more following his re-election.

"They say life is all about second chances," Obama said. "And this November, I couldn't agree more."

With his daughters Malia and Sasha by his side in the Rose Garden, Obama joked about the "highly competitive" social media campaign organized by the White House to decide which bird would be named the National Thanksgiving Turkey this year.

"The American people have spoken! And these birds are moving forward," Obama said to audience laughter, as Cobbler gobbled from the stage.

For the first time, the White House held an online contest for the U.S. public to decide which bird would get the title, a twist on the traditional Thanksgiving event.

The decision was between Cobbler and Gobbler, born on the same day and raised on a farm in Rockingham County, Virginia.

Obama announced that Cobbler beat his competitor, though both escape the chopping block: the turkeys will retire to the historic home of George Washington at Mount Vernon Estate in Alexandria, Virginia.

"Because of your votes, the only Cobbler anyone's eating this Thanksgiving will come with a side of ice cream," he said.

Gobbler will serve as this year's alternate National Turkey.

"From here, these two lucky birds will be swept up in a whirlwind of fame and fortune," Obama said.

After the joking and heavy poultry punditry, Obama wished American families a safe and healthy holiday. He spoke about the devastation in the Northeast from superstorm Sandy, and thanked U.S. military armed forces.

The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals on Tuesday asked for the White House to end the Thanksgiving pardoning tradition. PETA wrote that the ceremony "makes light of the mass slaughter of some 46 million gentle, intelligent birds."

In 1947, President Harry Truman was the first recipient of a bird gifted by America's turkey farmers. The tradition was continued, but in 1963, President John Kennedy decided to send his gift back to the farm where it came from.

President George H.W. Bush became the first to officially offer a turkey pardon at the White House in 1989.

(Reporting By Margaret Chadbourn; Editing by Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-carries-thanksgiving-tradition-pardons-turkeys-212847235.html

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