Saturday, December 31, 2011

The Arab League observer mission in Syria is likely to fail

Massacres have continued in Syria over the past few days, validating concerns that the Arab League observers wouldn't restrain a regime determined to use violence to hang on to power.

The dispatch of about 50 unarmed Arab League observers to Syria earlier this week has failed to quell the country's mounting violence. Syrian activists reported that at least 32 people were killed across the country today, with the worst violence just outside Damascus.

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In that incident, Syrian government security forces opened fire on protesters, sparking an hour of fighting that involved army defectors who have taken up arms against President Bashar al-Assad. The cities of Homs, Hama, and Daraa all witnessed killings.

That the observer mission is failing is hardly surprising. Mr. Assad has used extreme violence against his citizens to hold on to power for over six months now, and more recently, protesters have been fighting back. The Free Syrian Army, a group fighting against the regime, has taken responsibility for attacks on army convoys and military outposts in recent weeks, and appears to be gaining support. Some are warning that Syria could slide into civil war if the violence continues.?By some measures, it's already there.?At least 5,000 people have been killed so far, according to the United Nations, and there are now daily violent clashes over the question of who should run the country.

Unlike Egypt, where the military establishment was unwilling to plunge the nation into a civil war to save Hosni Mubarak, most of Assad's army has stayed on his side as he's ratcheted up the violence. And unlike the case of Libya, where international military support to oust Muammar Qaddafi was fast in coming, there is no political will at the moment for military intervention of any kind in Syria.

So to abandon the course of violence, at this point, would amount to giving up the hopes of keeping his family in power. That's the motivating impetus behind the regime's actions, and a handful of observers can do little to change that.

None of this is surprising. Activists were skeptical that the observers would accomplish much even as they arrived and events since have done little to dispel the impression of an?ineffectual?mission. The leader of the team, Gen. Mohammed Ahmad Al Dabi from Sudan, serves President Omar al-Bashir, who has been under indictment with the International Criminal Court in The Hague for war crimes since 2009.?General Dabi himself was accused in the late 1990s of organizing the Janaweed militia that carried out the worst massacres in Darfur.

Coming as he does from a government that is staunchly opposed to military intervention on humanitarian grounds, it's unlikely that Dabi will return with a report that stronger action should be taken, even if that's what it should say.?

He is unlikely to come back with a report that Assad is viciously cracking down and stronger action should be taken, given his own history

Writing in Foreign Policy, David Kenner described him as perhaps "the unlikeliest leader of a humanitarian mission the world has ever seen."

Amateur video of a protest in Homs today:

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/fsUp-mHtANE/The-Arab-League-observer-mission-in-Syria-is-likely-to-fail

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Field Gun: Field Gun at Wellington College

The Field Gun run has been described as trying to achieve an almost impossible task in a ridiculously short time with too few men on an unsuitable track.

The Royal Navy made the sport look easy, whilst in fact each crew member was selected from the finest men throughout the country.? The run was then culmination of six months of dedication, fitness, courage, teamwork and above all discipline.? Described on Meridian Tonight as "the toughest mans' team sport in the world", we at Wellington hope to continue the tradition that started in 1907.

The Field Gun run at Wellington was started in 1984 by CPO Edwin Harris, SSI and Lieutenant Commander S.R. Braidwood R.N. (Ret'd), the C.O. of the Royal Navy Section of the CCF at the time.? Built by the boys, the Gun and Limber were scaled down versions of the real thing, but the rigging and obstacles are full sized.? Weighing a total over 2000lbs moving the real gun and limber is an enormous task for full-grown men.? The boys, with an average age of about 16, train for for a much more limited time with a gun and limber with a combined weight of just over 700lbs.

The Royal Tournament Field Gun Run was held for the final time in summer 1999. Wellington College and Manchester Youth run using smaller guns but Portsmouth Action Field Gun remains the only establishment that continues the run in its complete and original form.

The First Field Gun Run at Wellington College 1984
Click on images for larger version then click back button on browser to return.

Source: http://intranet.wellingtoncollege.org.uk/field-gun/field-gun-at-wellington-college

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Portland, Maine, mayor undergoes cancer surgery

(AP)? PORTLAND, Maine ? The mayor of Maine's largest city has undergone cancer treatment.

Portland officials say Mayor Michael Brennan had successful surgery last weekend to remove a tumor from his small intestine. The tumor was discovered when Brennan sought treatment for abdominal pain.

Brennan will get additional, non-invasive treatment for lesions found on his liver. He says neither chemotherapy nor radiation is needed.

Brennan was released from the hospital Thursday. He intends to return to City Hall next week on a limited basis.

He says his ordeal made him realize that it is important to ensure that all Maine residents have access to health care. He says nearly one in four does not have health insurance.

Brennan won the election last month. He is first popularly-elected mayor in nearly 90 years.

Source: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsGamecore/~3/O4-Rt1qXJ9A/

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No. 13 Texas Tech women stay undefeated

? Shauntal Nobles scored a career-high 14 points to help No. 13 Texas Tech remain undefeated with an 81-63 win over Cal State Bakersfield in the Surf N' Slam Classic on Thursday night.

Texas Tech (11-0) is off to its best start since winning 15 straight to open the 2004-05 season. The Lady Raiders are one of six undefeated Division I teams.

Monique Smalls and Mary Bokenkamp each had 10 points for the Lady Raiders, who scored 15 straight points in the second half for a 72-43 lead over the outmanned Roadrunners.

Kristine Herman and Ciarra Ford led Cal State Bakersfield (3-14) with 19 points apiece. The Roadrunners, hard hit with injuries, suited up just six players.

Texas Tech, playing its first game in eight days, used its overwhemling size to outrebound Cal State Bakersfield 59-31, including 29 offensive rebounds.

The Associated Press

Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/dec/29/no-13-texas-tech-women-stay-undefeated/

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Phillip Kayser, Ron Paul Endorser, Called For Executing Homosexuals Under 'Biblical Law'

Ron Paul's campaign is touting the endorsement of Phillip G. Kayser, an Iowa pastor who believes in imposing the death penalty on homosexuals, reports Talking Points Memo.

"We welcome Rev. Kayser's endorsement and the enlightening statements he makes on how Ron Paul's approach to government is consistent with Christian beliefs," said Paul's Iowa chairman, Drew Ivers, in a recent press release on Paul's campaign website.

"Difficulty in implementing Biblical law does not make non-Biblical penology just," wrote Kayser in a recent pamphlet. "But as we have seen, while many homosexuals would be executed, the threat of capital punishment can be restorative." Kayser added that homosexuals could be prosecuted only after the law was enacted.

TPM adds that Paul's Iowa state director, Mike Heath, led the Christian Civic League of Maine. In that position, he called on his supporters in 2004 to email him with information on the sexual orientation of the state's political leaders.

Paul has had one of the more pro-gay rights records among Republicans in Congress. He voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment and for the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. However, he still supports the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages and allows states not to recognize other states' same-sex marriages. "Like the majority of Iowans, I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman and must be protected," he said in February.

Eric Dondero, a former senior aide to Paul, recently explained Paul's stance on gay rights in light of racist and homophobic newsletters written under his name in the 1980s and 90s that have resurfaced. "He is not all bigoted towards homosexuals. He supports their rights to do whatever they please in their private lives," he wrote. "He is however, personally uncomfortable around homosexuals, no different from a lot of older folks of his era."

Gay rights activist and author Dan Savage recently defended Paul. "And Ron may not like gay people, and may not want to hang out with us or use our toilets, but he's content to leave us the f*** alone and recognizes that gay citizens are entitled to the same rights as all other citizens," he said in Slate. "[Rick] Santorum, on the other hand, believes that his bigotry must be given the force of law. That's an important difference."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/28/phillip-kayser-ron-paul-gays-iowa-caucus-2012_n_1173338.html

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Multifamily Real Estate Investing | Inform Everyone

First things first, vertical rising real estate development can be categorized into single family, multifamily and commercial, either for sale or for lease. Among the three, the multifamily real estate investing and commercial development are closely related except that the former is primarily residential and the latter is institutional. Although this may be arbitrary, real estate investors, developers and brokers generally refer to the multifamily real estate investing in terms of units. Residential apartments with a minimum of 10 units and more are already categorized as multifamily; and so with units of duplexes and high rise condominiums taken as a whole project and not on per unit or single duplex bases. This includes the horizontal land these structures are built. Commercial real estate investing, on the other hand, generally, is malls, shopping centers, office buildings, hotels, hospitals and educational buildings. The structures could readily be converted to residential units but as they are, they serve other purposes primarily not for human abode.

Real estate marketing technically is highly capital intensive because of the lead time between the selling start up and the final negotiation for contract signing, which means, the property is certified sold. Real estate marketing, however, is a one and done transaction. Negotiate and consummate one transaction and large cash flow is created deducted with minimal expenses, net of profit is already realizable. In particular, between commercial and multifamily real estate investing, the latter is considered more alluring to invest because of its marketing differentiation and segmentation. Demand for structures of abode covers a wide market differentiation and segmentation because the entire population strata are the target. Commercial properties are limited to the niches of the business investor community when compared to residential structures. Taking everything else constant, it is easier to sell or lease apartments than a hospital or a school. Between the high rise condominiums, taken as a whole, and a mall, turnover rate is faster for the former than the latter. Then, taking into consideration the economy of scale when multifamily properties are grouped as a whole, profit in the final analysis is greater as unit cost decreases for every multifamily unit built which commercial properties do not have such advantage.

Multifamily real estate investing stakeholders are lured by this business because of the economy of scale and one and done principle. The fact that the per unit costing decreases, the spread of risks is wider as well. Leeway of defaults in multifamily property transactions is created which is unlikely in commercial or single-family properties. Multifamily marketing strategy can be subdivided into a gradated retail sales or wholesale. This is almost impossible in selling commercial properties, too, since hospitals and schools as an example cannot be sold piece by piece.

The fact that retail sales is a strategy, anecdotal reports of success stories are plenty in multifamily real estate investing. Retail selling can be done on a part time basis. Undergoing the one and done principle, cash flows are accumulated more than enough to launch the follow up deal.

Claud Pearce is an active real estate investor based in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a member of the Greater Cincinnati Real Estate Investors Association and works exclusively with investors who want to grow, learn and succeed at real estate investing. Get more information now at http://www.cincinnatireia.com.

Source: http://www.informeveryone.com/multifamily-real-estate-investing/i-n-f-o-r-m-e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e/

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UN, Iraq agree on Camp Ashraf resettlement plan

(AP) ? The United Nations and the Iraqi government have signed an agreement to relocate several thousand Iranian exiles living in a camp in northeastern Iraq, the U.N.'s office in Baghdad announced Sunday.

But it's not clear yet whether the camp's residents have signed off on the deal.

In a statement late Sunday, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said the agreement establishes a process to move the residents of Camp Ashraf to a temporary location. It did not give a timeline for the move or specify the new location.

A statement from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the residents would be moved to Camp Liberty, a former U.S. military base near the Baghdad International Airport.

"At this new location, the UN High Commission for Refugees will be able to conduct refugee status determinations for the residents of Ashraf ? a necessary first step toward resettlement to third countries," the statement said.

The People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran first moved to Camp Ashraf during the regime of Saddam Hussein, who saw the group as a convenient ally against Tehran. The group is committed to the overthrow of the Iranian regime, and sided with Iraq in the war against Iran in the 1980s.

The group carried out a series of bombings and assassinations against Iran's clerical regime in the 1980s and fought alongside Saddam's forces in the Iran-Iraq war. But the group says it renounced violence in 2001. U.S. soldiers disarmed them during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been determined to close down the camp, located in barren terrain northeast of Baghdad about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the Iranian border, by the end of December. His government considers the camp as an affront to Iraq's sovereignty.

Last week, an Iraqi government spokesman said the government was working out a solution to the situation at Camp Ashraf with the U.N. and would allow the camp to stay open into January as residents are being relocated. At the time, representatives of the residents suggested they would be willing to move, as long as their security was provided for.

Under the agreement outlined by the U.N., the international organization will monitor the relocation process and then a team from the U.N.'s refugee agency will be deployed at the new location to process the refugee claims.

The Iraqi government will be responsible for the exiles' safety during that time, and will have a liaison officer from the Ministry of Human Rights involved in the relocation, the U.N. said.

"I would like to highlight that the government is exclusively responsible for the safety and security of the residents both during their transfer and in the new location until they leave the country," said Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Iraq.

The Iraqi government's vow to close Camp Ashraf had raised concerns that forcibly removing its 3,400 residents would result in violence. The U.N. has said that at least 34 people were killed in a raid on the camp by Iraqi security forces last April.

Representatives of the camp could not be reached Sunday evening. They sent out a press release Sunday evening saying that rockets had been fired on their camp. No casualties were reported. There was no way to immediately verify the claims.

The People's Mujahedeen has been branded a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, a designation now under review by the State Department. It has been removed from similar blacklists in Europe.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-25-ML-Iraq/id-9ee8ccc38bee484d86c10e6600e64aa3

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

148Apps: How To Use That New iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch - http://t.co/Sy40DVF6 - quick help guide to get the most from your new iOS device!

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How To Use That New iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch - tpga.me/shWWfl - quick help guide to get the most from your new iOS device! 148Apps

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Monday, December 26, 2011

91% Into The Abyss

All Critics (74) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (7)

Herzog is pursuing no agenda with Into the Abyss, despite his opposition to extreme judicial measures. He's seeking to answer the question of why people kill, especially in a situation such as this where the reason for the murders was so meaningless.

Into the Abyss does what too few documentaries these days do - it gives ample play to all sides of the argument. Herzog allows us to think things through on our own.

Herzog has managed another strange and intriguing look at a culture and the sorts of people it creates - victims, cops and criminals.

Herzog's investigation may not work as an anti-death-penalty editorial, but its findings are undeniably profound.

A disquieting, heartbreaking look at American crime and punishment.

The abyss here isn't capital punishment, the ostensible subject of the film; it's the seemingly unending capacity for causing and enduring pointless misery that humans seem to have.

An eerie, unsettling and slightly macabre attempt to understand the how and why of three senseless murders in 2001 in Texas.

The most memorable image here is the lethal-injection gurney. With its crossbar for the outstretched arms of doomed prisoners, it resembles a padded crucifix -- a ghastly and inelegant parody of a symbol of Christian comfort.

[Herzog] simply means to show us things as they are - and in this corner of Texas, just north of Houston, things are undeniably violent. And mean.

Into the Abyss makes Herzog's point powerfully, without descending to the level of polemic.

Unlike, say, Errol Morris in The Thin Blue Line, Herzog isn't seeking to exonerate anyone or introduce new evidence. He's just there, observing the process as it rolls forward and wondering why.

Herzog unforgettably shows how when you pull tight the straps on men who've lain down to die, it leaves a mark.

This is the abyss the film shows, the frightening arbitrariness of the death penalty. People are born into poverty and violence by chance, and their fates -- as crime victims or victims of the state -- are also functions of chance.

The director's ability to objectively pursue this line of inquiry makes Into the Abyss a compelling, revealing work of art.

Herzog's death-row documentary hits hard

The overriding point of Into the Abyss, what keeps this sad, sorrowful film from becoming depressing and elevates it far above the usual chatter of liberal-conservative debate, is that there can be light on the other end of even the darkest of tunnels.

Herzog asks, in that probing yet gentle, meditative voice we've come to cherish, "What does it mean?" Oh, Werner. We don't ask such things in 'Merica.

Covers much the same ground as other death row movies, but with the Herzog difference.

Comes close to the voyeurism of Nick Broomfield's documentaries on Aileen Wuornos but is saved by Herzog's obviously deep conviction that capital punishment is evil.

"Into the Abyss" makes a strong case for the inhumanity of capital punishment, regardless of the crime or the criminal.

[Herzog's] piercing gaze provides a tightly focused look at the realities underlying our nation's continued reliance on this archaic tool of criminal justice.

The interviews that make up the balance of the film yield plenty of oddities of modern American life.

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/into_the_abyss_2011/

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Oil price near $100 on global security concerns (AP)

NEW YORK ? Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel Friday as worries over global security issues outweighed weak economic data in the U.S.

Benchmark crude ended the day at $99.68 per barrel in New York, up 15 cents. It rose as high as $100.23 during the session. Brent crude finished 7 cents higher at $107.96 a barrel in London.

Tensions between Iran and western nations, along with unrest in Syria, Bahrain, Kazakhstan and Iraq have raised worries that oil supplies could be disrupted if the unrest spreads or grows more serious.

While none of those situations has disrupted oil supplies yet, traders say it is too dangerous to sell oil or bet that oil prices will fall with tensions so high near so many important oil-producing regions. Even small disruptions in oil supplies can send prices dramatically higher.

Among the biggest concerns is Iran, the world's fourth biggest producer of crude. The U.S. and Europe may tighten sanctions against Iran over the West's fear that Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb. Also, Iraq is expected to become the fastest growing producer in the Middle East in the next several years as it recovers from war and tries to tap its enormous reserves of oil. But a surge in violence there since the U.S. withdrew troops is raising concerns that Iraq won't be able to increase production as fast as hoped.

"Iran might not passively wait for sanctions to be applied and could act unilaterally to embargo supplies," J.P Morgan said in a report. "We are also concerned about Iraq, where political uncertainties seem to be rising following the U.S. troop pullout."

Traders also say they expect European financial authorities to increase the flow of money in the regional economy to try to slow or stop the region's slide into recession. Investors tend to buy commodities such as oil when more money becomes available, raising their prices.

Economic data in the U.S. has been mostly positive this week, which helped propel oil to four straight days of gains. Demand for oil and gas grows with the economy as shippers move more goods and consumers drive and fly more.

Jobless claims fell and housing construction increased. But the Commerce Department reported on Friday that consumer spending and incomes were growing at a very weak pace, suggesting continued sluggish economic growth.

Trading volume is normally low during the last week of the year, as many traders vacation around the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays. Global oil markets are closed Monday for Christmas.

Average retail gasoline prices rose less than a penny Friday to a national average of $3.22 per gallon.

In other energy trading, natural gas fell 6 cents to end at $3.114 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil lost about 2 cents to finish at $2.8907 a gallon, and gasoline futures ended up 5 cents at $2.6872 a gallon.

Jonathan Fahey can be reached at http://twitter.com/JonathanFahey.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111223/ap_on_bi_ge/us_oil_prices

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

Historic Illinois church lost in Christmas Eve fire

BRUSSELS ? A fire ravaged a church in the center of town Christmas Eve night, destroying a monument that brings many out-of-town visitors to this small community of about 150 residents.

Calhoun County Sheriff's Office officials said the blaze was reported around 9:45 p.m. Little was left of the historic Immaculate Conception (St. Mary) Church, at 111 Main Street. No injuries were reported.

The church is part of Blessed Trinity parish, the result of merging it with St. Barbara in Batchtown and St. Joseph in Meppen.

Point Fire Protection District Chief Don Seiferman said investigators believe the fire was caused by an electrical problem.

He said the issue may have started earlier in the day. A volunteer firefighter attending 6:30 p.m. Mass at the church checked for an issue after hearing a crackling sound come from the church's ceiling. He didn't find anything, Seiferman said.

Firefighters went to check the church a second time around 8:30 p.m. That time, they noticed some smoke.

"It really didn't appear to be a big deal at first," Seiferman said. "I don't even think they sounded the alarm. Looked like we had a small fire going then, all at once, the whole attic was on fire."

Firefighters from surrounding jurisdictions helped get the blaze under control. When they finished, Seiferman said, only the building's four walls and a few pews in the rear were still standing.

Efforts to control the blaze were hindered by the town's location, tucked away in a part of the state surrounded by the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Emergency personnel from Carrollton waited at the Hardin Bridge because it was lifted as a barge passed.

"It probably wouldn't have made a difference anyway," Seiferman said.

Seiferman said he had not spoken with church officials about how they planned to address the loss. He knew people had memories connected to the building. While he was not a member there, he and his late wife were married at the church.

According to an Internet guide to the Middle Mississippi River Valley, St. Mary's was built in 1863. Brussels was incorporated 25 years later.

Seiferman, who also sits on a Brussels historic preservation board, said former residents and people from around the area return to the city during the summer for picnics held at the church, located in the heart of Brussels' historic district.

"This was a major blow to this little town here," he said. "Other than a tornado flattening the town, this is as bad as it can get for us."

Marlon A. Walker covers general news for STLtoday.com and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5662765319&f=378

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MindingCampus: Auburn University Bans Ron Paul Banner from Window: http://t.co/WuL6BNW2 #highered

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Forgetting is Key to a Healthy Mind (preview)

Features | Mind & Brain Cover Image: January 2012 Scientific American MagazineSee Inside

Letting go of memories supports a sound state of mind, a sharp intellect--and superior recall

Image: Photoillustration by Aaron Goodman

In Brief

  1. We can will ourselves to forget; a neural circuit like the one that inhibits actions governs the ability to reject memories we neither want nor need.
  2. Emerging data provide support for Sigmund Freud?s controversial theory of repression, by which unwanted memories are shoved into the subconscious.
  3. The inability to forget can impede emotional recovery in trauma victims; it is also associated with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
  4. If you practice rebuffing recollections, you are likely to get better at it.

Solomon Shereshevsky could recite entire speeches, word for word, after hearing them once. In minutes, he memorized complex math formulas, passages in foreign languages and tables consisting of 50 numbers or nonsense syllables. The traces of these sequences were so durably etched in his brain that he could reproduce them years later, according to Russian psychologist Alexander R. Luria, who wrote about the man he called, simply, ?S? in The Mind of a Mnemonist.


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With snow scarce, northern US has brown Christmas

In this Monday, Dec. 19, 2011 photo, with temperatures above freezing and no snow on the ground, Mike Schneider, of St. Paul, Minn., golfs at Parkview Golf Club in Eagan, Minn. From New England to the Dakotas and even parts of the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, snowfall has been well below normal through the fall and early winter with cold air bottled up over Canada. Many downhill ski resorts are making snow to compensate for nature's stinginess. (AP Photo/Genevieve Ross)

In this Monday, Dec. 19, 2011 photo, with temperatures above freezing and no snow on the ground, Mike Schneider, of St. Paul, Minn., golfs at Parkview Golf Club in Eagan, Minn. From New England to the Dakotas and even parts of the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, snowfall has been well below normal through the fall and early winter with cold air bottled up over Canada. Many downhill ski resorts are making snow to compensate for nature's stinginess. (AP Photo/Genevieve Ross)

In this Dec. 16, 2011, photo, a street-side Christmas display in Chamberlain, S.D., is seen surrounded by brown grass. From New England to the Dakotas and even parts of the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, snowfall has been well below normal through the fall and early winter with cold air bottled up over Canada. Many downhill ski resorts are making snow to compensate for nature's stinginess. (AP Photo/Amber Hunt)

In this Dec. 16, 2011, photo, a street-side Christmas display in Chamberlain, S.D., is seen surrounded by brown grass. From New England to the Dakotas and even parts of the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, snowfall has been well below normal through the fall and early winter with cold air bottled up over Canada. Many downhill ski resorts are making snow to compensate for nature's stinginess. (AP Photo/Amber Hunt)

In this Dec. 19, 2011 photo, Robson Hardware store owner Dallas Vanden Bos sits on a pile of snow and ice melt bags at his store in Sioux Falls, S.D. Vanden Bos said sales of snow-related materials are about half what they were last year at this time. From New England to the Dakotas and even parts of the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, snowfall has been well below normal through the fall and early winter with cold air bottled up over Canada. Many downhill ski resorts are making snow to compensate for nature's stinginess. (AP Photo/Amber Hunt)

In this Dec. 19, 2011 photo, a customer walks past a nearly full pallet of ice melter at Robson Hardware store in Sioux Falls, S.D. The store owner Dallas Vanden Bos said sales of snow-related materials are about half what they were last year at this time. From New England to the Dakotas and even parts of the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, snowfall has been well below normal through the fall and early winter with cold air bottled up over Canada. Many downhill ski resorts are making snow to compensate for nature's stinginess. (AP Photo/Amber Hunt)

(AP) ? Dreams of a white Christmas are hanging by a thread in the North, where unusually mild weather has left the ground bare in many places ? a welcome reprieve for people who don't like shoveling, but a lump of coal in the stockings of outdoor sports buffs who miss their winter wonderland.

From New England to the Dakotas and even parts of the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, snowfall has been well below normal through the fall and early winter with cold air bottled up over Canada. Golf courses were open this week in Minneapolis, which a year ago was digging out from a storm that dumped more than 17 inches of snow and collapsed the Metrodome roof. Many downhill ski resorts are making snow to compensate for nature's stinginess.

"It's been an amazingly slow start to the winter for everybody," said Mike Boguth, a National Weather Service forecaster in Gaylord, Mich., a resort town that has had only about 2 inches of natural snow this year.

La Nina, the cooling of the equatorial Pacific Ocean that affects weather worldwide, has nudged the jet stream farther north. Air pressure over the northern Atlantic has steered storm systems away from the East Coast.

The trends have resulted in the least snow New England has seen in November and December since the late 1990s, said Eric Evenson, a weather service meteorologist in Burlington, Vt. Snow totals across the region are 4 to 14 inches below normal, he said.

Williston, N.D., where more than 5 inches would have accumulated by now in a typical December, has gotten nothing. A couple of inches fell farther south in Bismarck but melted. Montana's mountain snowpack is about 30 percent below average. Ski resorts in Washington state have gotten little snow since Thanksgiving.

Even snowy Michigan is feeling the pinch. Parts of the state regularly get more than 100 inches a year as clouds suck up moisture from the Great Lakes and deposit it over land. It's been sparse this year, although light snow fell Friday and forecasters said sections of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota might get the 1 inch required to qualify as a white Christmas.

Light flurries and temperatures around 30 degrees are expected Christmas Day in Green Bay, Wis., where the Packers will host the Chicago Bears. That's downright balmy for Lambeau Field, the notorious "frozen tundra" that has hosted a fair share of NFL games in bitter cold and pelting snow.

A storm system moving up from the Gulf coast may sprinkle up to 3 inches of snow in sections of the Northeast by Christmas, but it probably won't last long, Evenson said.

Along with painting the landscape in dreary shades of brown and gray instead of the usual white, the abnormally mild winter has affected the economy.

Local governments have spent less on plowing and salting roads. Gogebic County, in the snow belt of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, is about $100,000 better off than at this time a year ago, although road commission manager Darren Pionk said the savings might be short-lived.

"One or two bad months, and it can disappear pretty quickly," he said.

Some businesses geared toward the winter are having a hard time. Mike Pobuda of Empire, Mich., keeps busy plowing residential and commercial driveways in a typical winter. These days, the phone isn't ringing. He's working at a convenience store to help pay the bills.

"It was already tight out there and now it's tighter," Pobuda said.

In Sioux Falls, S.D., hardware store owner Dallas Vanden Bos said it's taken all season to sell as many bags of snow and ice melting materials as customers usually buy in one day.

The outdoor recreation industry is making the best of things. Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vt., installed about 40 high-efficiency snowmaking machines this year and immediately put them to work making 18 of the property's 111 trails suitable for skiing and snowboarding, president and majority owner Win Smith said.

But smaller operations that can't afford snowmaking may suffer if the snow shortage lasts much longer, said Lisa Marshall, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Department of Tourism.

"It could be make-or-break for them," she said.

Not everyone regrets that snow has been mostly a no-show, especially people who hate driving on slick roads and shoveling walks and driveways.

In Minneapolis, more than 100 people braved borderline freezing temperatures this week for a rare opportunity to play golf in December. Mike Schneider, a 70-year-old retiree, carried a handful of tees he had whittled to needle-sharp points so they would penetrate the frosty turf at Parkview Golf Club.

A fellow golfer, Jim Jorgensen, said there were advantages to playing in the cold. For one thing, freezing eliminates water hazards.

"It just skips across," Jorgensen said. "You don't have to worry about losing the ball."

___

Associated Press writers Kristi Eaton and Amber Hunt in Sioux Falls, S.D.; David Gram in Montpelier, Vt.; Dinesh Ramde in Milwaukee; and Chris Williams in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-23-Brown%20Christmas/id-20a7bf48eacb46d8a510a6f8c415b78f

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Santa Golf Ball Marker (Golf Blogger)

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PFT: The Eagles are kryptonite for Ryan brothers

Dallas Cowboys v Philadelpia EaglesGetty Images

Still nine games back with 43 to go, I need a minor miracle to catch Rosenthal.? But I?m not going to start pulling out Hail Mary-type maneuvers by doing something like Picking the Chiefs to beat the Packers.

I mean, that would be kooky.

Rosenthal and I emerged from that crazy, upside-down Week 15 at 9-7 each.? For the year, he?s 151-73.? I?m 142-82.

Texans at Colts

Florio?s take:? Not long ago, it was presumed that the Colts would beat the Texans.? That was before the Colts lost Peyton Manning ? and before the Texans found their defense.? The ongoing absence of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips makes this one less of a sure thing for Houston, but the Colts surely won?t be looking to risk losing the Andrew Luck pick.

Florio?s pick:? Texans 28, Colts 13.

Rosenthal?s take: The Texans were reminded last week that their margin for error isn?t huge with T.J. Yates at quarterback. But that won?t be a problem this week. Houston?s defense will want to make amends after getting manhandled against Carolina. Expect 35 rushing attempts by the Texans.

Rosenthal?s pick: Texans 26, Colts 10.

Browns at Ravens

Florio?s take:? The Browns are one of the few inferior teams the Ravens managed to beat on the road.? This time, the Browns come to Baltimore, where the team that used to play in Cleveland has lost once in the last two seasons.? With the division title only two wins away, the Ravens won?t be blowing their chance to play a postseason game at home for the first time in the John Harbaugh/Joe Flacco tenure.

Florio?s pick:? Ravens 31, Browns 17.

Rosenthal?s take: Seneca Wallace looked like a slight upgrade from Colt McCoy.? Peyton Hillis is slightly healthier and more effective than he was earlier in the season.? So I?ll predict the Browns will make this slightly more interesting than the last time these two teams played.

Rosenthal?s pick: Ravens 27, Browns 17.

Broncos at Bills

Florio?s take:? Tebowmania takes Buffalo, where the Bills have seen a 4-1 start disintegrate, via seven straight losses.? With a trip to New England looming, this one gives the Bills their last, best shot at winning another game.? Though a playoff berth seems inevitable for the Broncos, it?ll have to wait until Week 17.

Florio?s pick:? Bills 24, Broncos 20.

Rosenthal?s take: Timing is everything. If the Bills started the season at 0-7, losing by an average of 18 points per week, Chan Gailey would be on the hot seat. But the Bills started fast before the bottom fell out, so no one has noticed that Buffalo is arguably the worst team in football at the moment.

Rosenthal?s pick: Broncos 23, Bills 16.

Buccaneers at Panthers

Florio?s take:? The Panthers have gotten better on the fly.? The Bucs have fallen apart, with eight straight losses.? Though anything can happen when teams from the same division square off, the Bucs haven?t made much of anything happen this year.? The Panthers won?t need to annex Puerto Rico or any other U.S. territories to win this one on Saturday.

Florio?s pick:? Panthers 34, Buccaneers 23.

Rosenthal?s take: The Bucs also have an argument for the worst team of the second half.? They?ve lost eight straight, with the last three by 21 points per game. Tampa is no longer even the up-and-coming ?Youngry? team in the division with the cool franchise quarterback; that?s now Carolina.

Rosenthal?s pick: Panthers 36, Buccaneers 23.

Cardinals at Bengals

Florio?s take:? One of the best games of the weekend will unfold before another way-less-than-capacity crowd in Cincinnati.? The Cardinals have won six of seven, and the Bengals still find themselves in the thick of things in the AFC wild-card chase.? But the Bengals have lost some of their punch in recent weeks, barely beating a pair of bad teams and losing four games to playoff contenders.? The Cardinals may not make it to the postseason, but it won?t be because they failed to handle their business.

Florio?s pick:? Cardinals 20, Bengals 17.

Rosenthal?s take: A legitimate quarterback controversy between Kevin Kolb and John Skelton is a surprising development. Arizona winning six of seven games in insane final possession fashion is even more surprising. The streak of luck ends against a Bengals team that was the surprise of the early season.

Rosenthal?s pick: Bengals 28, Cardinals 24.

Raiders at Chiefs

Florio?s take:? Chiefs players want to win for interim coach Romeo Crennel.? If they?d wanted to win as badly for former head coach Todd Haley, Crennel wouldn?t have the job he currently holds.? Kyle Orton and company keep making an unlikely push to the playoffs, as the Raiders continue to wonder how good they could have been if Darren McFadden hadn?t injured his foot the last time they played the team from Kansas City.

Florio?s pick:? Chiefs 24, Raiders 17.

Rosenthal?s take: Suddenly this game means a great deal. Both teams are trying to stay alive in the AFC West race. Romeo Crennel is trying to win a job. Hue Jackson is trying to justify his trade for Carson Palmer. Unfortunately, I fear that all the drama in the AFC West race will be over after this week.

Rosenthal?s pick: Chiefs 30, Raiders 20.

Dolphins at Patriots

Florio?s take:? Yes, the Dolphins aren?t as bad as they were when they lost seven straight games.? Yes, the Dolphins played the Patriots tough in Week One.? But the Patriots are two home wins away from the No. 1 seed for the second straight year.? Defensive warts and all, the Pats won?t be choking ? at least until they host the Jets or the Ravens in January.

Florio?s pick:? Patriots 35, Dolphins 23.

Rosenthal?s take: The Dolphins are 5-2 in their last seven games. The defense that got strafed in Week One by Tom Brady has improved greatly. Karlos Dansby, Kevin Burnett, and Vontae Davis are all playing much better for Miami. This is a dangerous game for the Patriots as they try to lock up the No. 1 seed.

Rosenthal?s pick: Patriots 26, Dolphins 24.

Giants at Jets

Florio?s take:? I?ve said for days that, if there were a way for both teams to lose this one, that?s what would happen.? (Maybe that means a tie is coming.)? The Giants have the better team on paper, but on paper the Giants shouldn?t have lost five of six games.? Recent trends have the Jets pulling things together and getting to the playoffs and the Giants completing a slide out of postseason contention.? Though all reason and common sense points to a Giants win, neither team?s performance this year has meshed with reason and common sense.

Florio?s pick:? Jets 17, Giants 14.

Rosenthal?s take: The Giants don?t have much if they don?t have a pass rush. And they don?t have much of a pass rush right now. At least the Jets have one reliable strength: Their pass defense. That should be enough to stop a Giants team that relies too much on Eli Manning.

Rosenthal?s pick: Jets 22, Giants 17.

Rams at Steelers

Florio?s take:? Against any other team, the question of whether the Steelers would use Ben Roethlisberger or Charlie Batch at quarterback would matter.? But these are the Rams.? The 2-12 Rams.? The hopelessly hapless Rams.? The Steelers would be likely to win this one even with one of the St. Louis backup quarterbacks taking the snaps for the home team.

Florio?s pick:? Steelers 20, Rams 3.

Rosenthal?s take: Charlie Batch is 37 years old. He was once teammates with Barry Sanders. At some point, the Steelers are going to roll him out there, and he just won?t be able to play the position anymore. Batch looked rough in his brief appearance two weeks ago. On the plus side: The Rams look rough every week.

Rosenthal?s pick: Steelers 16, Rams 6.

Jaguars at Titans

Florio?s take:? Though the Titans lost to the winless Colts last week, the Jaguars have been looking even worse in recent weeks, notwithstanding the contributions of Maurice Jones-Drew.? So with Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Locker, or even Vince Young at quarterback, the Titans should be able to take care of business ? despite the fact that the Jaguars pulled off the win the last time around.

Florio?s pick:? Titans 27, Jaguars 14.

Rosenthal?s take: Analysts have crushed Blaine Gabbert for his weak pocket presence all year. So interim coach Mel Tucker overcompensated by calling Gabbert ?courageous? and ?super-tough? this week. The Jaguars might be better off with a coach that recognizes Gabbert?s faults and tries to improve upon them.

Rosenthal?s pick: Titans 27, Jaguars 17.

Vikings at Redskins

Florio?s take:? Last year, the Vikings played their butts off against the Redskins in D.C., hopeful of helping Leslie Frazier lose the ?interim? tag.? This year, most Vikings don?t seem to care about Frazier or anyone else.? On a weekly basis, it shows.? It?s likely to show again on Saturday.

Florio?s pick:? Redskins 23, Vikings 10.

Rosenthal?s take: The Vikings feel like a 3-13 team, but their last win is more likely to come next week against the Bears. The Redskins feel exactly like a 6-10 type of team. They will hit their magic number on Sunday. This ?analysis? made more sense in my head.

Rosenthal?s pick: Redskins 26, Vikings 17.

Chargers at Lions

Florio?s take:? Norv Turner?s team has launched another impressive late-season run.? But the Lions have rediscovered their explosiveness on offense.? It?s time for Detroit to nail down its first playoff berth in more than a decade ? and to do so not by the skin of their teeth but by flexing some Motown muscle.

Florio?s pick:? Lions 35, Chargers 17.

Rosenthal?s take: Both quarterbacks in this game are playing very well.? Matthew Stafford saves his best stuff for the fourth quarter, while Philip Rivers has simply been on fire for three weeks. The Lions are 4-5 since beating the Bears on Monday Night Football. I?m not convinced they can beat good teams. The Chargers finally are a good team.

Rosenthal?s pick: Chargers 33, Lions 30.

Eagles at Cowboys

Florio?s take:? Jerry Jones fears the Eagles.? And for good reason.? Philly has found its groove, perhaps too late.? But not late enough for the Dream Team to complete a sweep of America?s Team.

Florio?s pick:? Eagles 33, Cowboys 27.

Rosenthal?s take: I predicted the Eagles would miss the playoffs at the beginning of the year. Despite a 6-8 record, they are somehow still alive and look like the best team in the division. I?m trying not to fall for it. It?s all part of an elaborate plan for Andy Reid to torture Eagles fans in the most painful way possible.

Rosenthal?s pick: Cowboys 30, Eagles 27.

49ers at Seahawks

Florio?s take:? The Jim Harbaugh-Pete Carroll rivalry is renewed, weeks after we?d all forgotten about it.? But even if the Seahawks can?t get the help they need to make it to the playoffs, they can throw a wrench into the Niners? plans for an easier path to Indy by killing Harbaugh?s shot at a bye.

Florio?s pick:? Seahawks 23, 49ers 17.

Rosenthal?s take: This is a dangerous game for the 49ers on a short week. Seattle?s defense continues to improve, while Tarvaris Jackson is playing his football of the season. (Without both his starting wideouts.) Both teams play a style designed to keep the game close. That favors the home team.

Rosenthal?s pick: Seahawks 17, 49ers 13.

Bears at Packers

Florio?s take:? Not long ago, this looked like it could be one of the best games of the year.? Now, it?ll mainly be an opportunity for the Packers to get the bad taste out of their mouths that came from losing to the Chiefs.

Florio?s pick:? Packers 35, Bears 13.

Rosenthal?s take: Josh McCown was coaching high school football four weeks ago. On Christmas night, he?ll show that he?s better than Caleb Hanie, and that it doesn?t really make a difference. The Packers have solved bigger injury problems than a few missing tackles.

Rosenthal?s pick: Packers 31, Bears 14.

Falcons at Saints

Florio?s take:? The Falcons beat the Saints in New Orleans last year.? Somehow.? This year, the Saints are unstoppable in the Superdome, thanks to a record-smashing season from Drew Brees.? But the Falcons have the firepower to keep it interesting.? Get your popcorn ready.? And your abacus.

Florio?s pick:? Saints 45, Falcons 38.

Rosenthal?s take: Exactly three points decided the last four games in this series. Atlanta will do enough to remind everyone the Saints? defense really hasn?t improved much. But the Falcons won?t do enough to hand New Orleans their first home loss of the year.

Rosenthal?s pick: Saints 34, Falcons 31.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/21/the-eagles-are-kryptonite-for-the-ryan-brothers/related/

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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Video: Richardson: US should engage North Korea



>>> former new mexico governor bill richardson previously served as u.s. ambassador to the u.n. and traveled to north korea eight times. governor, good morning.

>> good morning, carl.

>> you have called north korea a tinder box right now and said the 24 to 48 hours following the announcement of kim's death would be critical. it's been about 36 hours . do you see trouble brewing ?

>> not yet. so far it looks like the party elite, the people of north korea and most importantly the military leadership is rallying around the son, kim jong -un. the north koreans are very ceremonial, pomp and circumstance , symbolism. the funeral is an indicator that he is being elevated and statements made that he is the leader. the key is going to be whether he in effect is the leader. there could be some power struggles. the concern is that he might take some aggressive action to show his mettle as some say he did two years ago when the south korean ship and the island were bombarded. but again i think the early signs is that he's consolidating his leadership, there's a transition going on just as when his father took over from the great leader, buried some 17 years ago, so right now it's too early to tell.

>> how would you be advising the oval office at this stage?

>> well, so far i believe the administration is doing a good job, calm, collected, no provocations, urge all countries in the surrounding area, china, japan, south korea to play it cool . but i would engage the north koreans if the signs are good that they're going to continue some of the recent thawing that they have done. for instance, i would engage them. i would give them food aid . this is a humanitarian gesture. people there are starving. i would encourage the south and the north to continue their dialogue to lessen tensions. i would try to get the six-party talks going again to try to get north korea to reduce its nuclear arsenal in exchange for food and fuel. it's very tough to bargain with them. they're unpredictable, they're mercurial, but what you don't want is to isolate them. this is a country that may have six to eight nuclear weapons , a million men in arms, they have missiles, aggressive. we have 25,000 troops. so it's a tinder box . we've got to be very careful.

>> for that reason, governor, the " wall street journal " says the best policy at this point may actually be to get tougher, to isolate further, more pressure, more sanctions and this is not the time, they say, to engage or make any promises or put out any carrots.

>> i think that's totally the wrong approach. efforts in the past to isolate them havex,qju)q". they detonated their nuclear weapons , they shot missiles, they bombarded the south koreans. i think at a time when there's a transition, reaching out a little bit, after they indicate where they want to go, is the best way to go. dialogue, diplomacy and not isolation. it's not easy to deal with them. they're unpredictable, they don't keep their word all the time, most of the time, but they're a dangerous country. the best thing to do is engage them.

>> governor bill richardson , thank you for your time. it is

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45735460/

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Art and science collide at Pasadena gallery

The fist-sized rocks looked completely pedestrian, like something one might find in the backyard. The only hint that they might be exceptional was their location in a gallery at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, resting on pedestals inside individual display cases.

In fact, the rocks are anything but ordinary ? they're borrowed from the UCLA Meteorite Collection.

The university had wanted to loan fancier-looking specimens, but curator Stephen Nowlin deliberately chose the least impressive space debris he could find.

"I wanted to show that the stuff that comes from space looks just like the stuff you kick around on a hike," he said.

It's a typical juxtaposition for the "Worlds" exhibit, now on view at the Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery. The installation combines art, historical documents and visualizations of scientific data in an attempt to ponder how scientific knowledge, and the lack of it, shape humans' understanding of the world around them.

"We have an Earth focus. This show is about reinvestigating that perspective," Nowlin said. "It's a space object we live on."

To that end, Nowlin has hung black-and-white photos of run-of-the-mill stones, magnified so that they look like imposing boulders.

Nearby, reproductions of pages from early scientific works, many from the rare books collection of the Huntington Library, remind visitors how earlier generations interpreted what they could see of the heavens. An illuminated manuscript from 1568 places the Earth in the center of the universe; an engraving from Nicolaus Copernicus' "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" of 1566 depicts the sun at the center of the cosmos.

That art was science. Elsewhere in the exhibit, science becomes art.

For instance, Jonathan Cecil's 2010 "Basrah Zoom" manipulates Earth satellite imagery to create a portrait of our planet that looks decidedly extraterrestrial, with streets and other man-made features morphed into the craggy pits and protrusions of an asteroid.

New York artists Richard Selesnick and Nicholas Kahn turn space-themed imagery into surreal science fiction in their piece "Liftoff, from the Apollo Prophecies." Completed in 2006, the mixed-media projection imagines a system of travel between the Earth and the moon where rocket capsules grow from the lunar surface and space-suited elephants and monkeys wander about.

"The details in that piece mess with your sensibility of what's real and what's imagined," said Daniel Lewis, Dibner senior curator of the history of science and technology at the Huntington. "That's what art is ? it looks like something real, but it's constructed."

In another room, portraits of real moons generated from photos by various NASA craft are displayed on a long wall. Earth's moon is subtly tucked toward the middle of the series, among Mars' Phobos, Saturn's Enceladus and Jupiter's Io.

"I wanted to equalize it," Nowlin said.

Shows like "Worlds" fit well with the Art Center's mission, Nowlin said. The school trains industrial, transportation, graphic and other designers ? workers who innovate "at the boundary of art and science," he said.

Nowlin has been curating shows that superimpose the two disciplines for about 15 years, often working with local scientific institutions. In 2003, he and scientists from Caltech collaborated with artists on an exhibition that explored neuroscience.

A few years later, the Williamson Gallery jointly presented an exhibit with Caltech's Spitzer Science Center. That show invited artists to create visual works using infrared data, which can't be seen by the naked eye, collected from the Spitzer Space Telescope.

A major goal of all the gallery's work, Nowlin said, is to focus on the emotional connection people make with science. "That could come back to benefit science" by stoking public interest, support and funding, he said.

It can also create a moving experience, he added.

During opening night at "Worlds," opera singers performed arias in front of "Black Rain," a wall-sized video installation by a collaboration called Semiconductor that features real footage captured by a NASA probe as it traveled around the sun.

"It was goose bumps," Nowlin said. "Everybody was sort of stunned."

Thousands of stars tumbled slowly down the wall, punctuated by an occasional glowing planet or burst of reflected sunlight, as the two women sang.

"Worlds" is on display through Jan. 29, but will be closed for the holidays from Dec. 22 through Jan. 2. Admission and parking are free.

eryn.brown@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/QGIFyccVEYc/la-sci-worlds-science-art-20111217,0,1987976.story

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Dell Quits Netbooks For Ultrabooks

My mother bought a netbook recently, ignoring my pleading advice to instead get an iPad. Maybe she likes updating antivirus definitions, or perhaps she is looking forward to buying a new one when this one dies exactly a day outside its warranty period. One thing’s for sure, though: When she buys another one, it won’t [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/61EBCtBz5gI/

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The week's buzz: We aren't the median

Brandon Thibodeaux for msnbc.com

Megan and Sam Moss, pictured here with their baby daughter Mary Margaret, are living on the nation's median household income of around $50,000 a year.

By Allison Linn

?

For the last couple of weeks, Life Inc. has been exploring what it?s like to be in the exact midpoint of the nation?s economic spectrum.

The We are the median project prompted thousands of readers to share their stories and thoughts on what it?s like for to live on the nation?s household median income of around $50,000 a year. And it also prompted lots of you to tell us about what it?s like to be much worse off.

Many readers told us they can only hope to bring home $50,000 a year.

?$50,000 would be great to make a year. Single mom with 2 kids and I bring home less than $35,000. Took a cut in hours to keep my job,? one reader wrote in response to our profile of a mom and son who are struggling with a drop in income.

Another profile, of a young couple bringing home around $50,000 a year and juggling high student loan bills, also prompted some to tell us that people need to pay more attention to those who have it much worse.

?Why is this news? We make less than $27K, I have over $80K in student debt. My dream is a nightmare and we are family of 4,? one reader wrote.

Although some readers told us?they are doing just fine?on incomes below $50,000 a year, others said it?s very hard to make ends meet on a lower income. In a post this week about a family choosing to live a very simple life on about $20,000 a year, many readers questioned whether low-income living is really ?living well.??

But some found the story inspirational.

?It's gratifying to hear stories of real people. I applaud this young family and see their lot improving, over time. My husband and I struggled in our early life, with young children and little money. ? Our kids are not scarred because of this, they are all hard working, successful contributors to society. We have always had to be smart about our money and now that we have more, we are still frugal,? one commenter wrote.

Apparently that?s not a lesson many parents are passing on to their children. In a post about a young couple getting a good financial start in life, about 40 percent of our readers said they hadn't learned much from their parents about how to manage money.

?My parents didn't tell me anything about budgeting. It's a hard lesson I now know and am passing this on to my kids,? one reader wrote.

How much would you have to bring home to be free of money worries? More than half of our readers said they would have to make $250,000 or more per year in order to feel rich.

For some, the more money, the better.

?As much as possible. You're never secure in this country unless you are the 1%,? one reader wrote.

Still, some readers said they would settle for much less.

?I would be thrilled with that (to me) mythical $50,000 per year..........!? one reader wrote.

What's the minimum annual income your household could live on?

?

Source: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/15/9471435-the-weeks-buzz-we-arent-the-median

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

[OOC] Of Snow Storms and Teenagers

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

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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 most certainly interesting! I'd love to make a character.

I do have some questions though. What social groups are we limited to? Just the ones that have been mentioned in the Introduction, or can we go past those horizons and go for groups ie Weirdos, Deliquents or Geeks? I consider them to be different from the Populars, Loners, Stoners, and Nerds.

And what are your expectations for how long posts will be, should the RP start any time soon? Something like 300 words or 2 paragraphs?

"I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it." ? Unknown
?One person's craziness is another person's reality.? ? Tim Burton
?Some people say that I am going insane, but I know that they are wrong; I've been there for a long time.? ? Ron Person

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reveries
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of course you can expand the social groups! I was just casually mentioning a few to get the point across ^^

The RP will start when we have enough characters ^^" and I'm not expecting a whole bunch in length. 2 well-written paragraphs will be good, but I understand if there's a small post once in a while. Sometimes it's hard to write 2 paragraphs when there hasn't been a lot given to work with C:

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Tristian_x
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Oh okay then, thank you for answering my questions! I shall be working on a character, pronto, and as best I can.

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