Saturday, December 31, 2011

appleblogz: New ? blogz posting: #Apple's head designer Jonathan Ive gets knighthood - http://t.co/1KtXUgbQ

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New ? blogz posting: #Apple's head designer Jonathan Ive gets knighthood - do-rt.me/tNEsEm appleblogz

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Source: http://twitter.com/appleblogz/statuses/152950251131641857

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Video: Romney ?going for the kill? in Iowa

To succeed at your New Year's diet, keep mum

A slew of psychology studies, some dating as far back as the 1920s, suggest that if you want to stick to your New Year?s diet ? or whatever your big 2012 goal may be ? you might want to shut up about it, already.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45829006#45829006

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SIM-LEI EV gets a video walk-through: shaped like a fish, has a big screen (video)

SIM-LEI
We got our first whiff of the SIM-LEI, an EV from across the Pacific, in March. Back then it was just an oddly shaped prototype with an impressive range of 207 miles and a top speed of 93mph. With the SIM-Drive's concept marching closer to a planned production date sometime in 2013 the company is finally giving a more detailed look at the car at the 2011 Electrical Vehicle Industrial Exhibition. The tapered, fish-like shape reduces drag, but the tiny coefficient of 0.91 couldn't be reached without shrinking the mirrors to their legal limit. The SIM-LEI compensates for the minuscule side and rear-view reflectors with a trio of cameras that feed video to the 19-inch (yes, we said 19-inch) monitor in the dashboard. Check out the video after the break for a complete tour of its advanced motoring tech.

Continue reading SIM-LEI EV gets a video walk-through: shaped like a fish, has a big screen (video)

SIM-LEI EV gets a video walk-through: shaped like a fish, has a big screen (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan PS Vita Sales Drop 78 Per Cent In A Week

Sony?s latest handheld had a cracking debut last weekend in Japan, hitting 325,000 sales in just two days. Unfortunately, the console hasn?t been able to sustain the momentum, even with the benefit of Christmas, pushing a paltry 72,000 the following week.

It?s typical for sales of new consoles to fall significantly in the week immediately after release, once the fans have had their fill, but an almost 80 per cent plummet is unusual. The facts and figures are outlined in this article on MSNBC, which also points out the 3DS only had a 44 per cent drop over the same time frame when it was first released.

Nintendo, on the other hand, saw its portable go gang-busters in Japan over Christmas, with 480,000 sold leading up to the world?s biggest day of gift exchanging. It helps the 3DS is half the price of the PS Vita and has a more mature line-up of games, after initially struggling for months to put some compelling titles forward.

We?ll have to watch how the Vita goes when it launches here and in the States, but it?s not going to help that we won?t be able to purchase 32GB memory cards.

Vita sales drop sharply in Japan [MSNBC]

Source: http://feeds.kotaku.com.au/~r/KotakuAustralia/~3/N-k-w8dzWyc/

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New state of play with 5 days to go in Iowa (CNN)

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Lecture series on the political process for Hebrew University Students

Lecture series on the political process for Hebrew University Students

?

On January 4th, the Geneva Initiative comes to the Hebrew University to open a series of lectures on the political process in cooperation with "Horizon", a group of Labor Party students at the University. The lectures will be open for all students to attend. The first lecture will be by Dr. Ron Pundak, one of the architects behind the Oslo agreement.?

?

Source: http://www.geneva-accord.org/mainmenu/lecture-series-on-the-political-process-for-hebrew-university-students

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Bolivia-Peru Railway: Evo Morales Hopes To Build New Link

LIMA, Peru -- Bolivia's president said Monday that he hopes to build a new railway linking his country to Peru that would facilitate exports to Asia.

Bolivian President Evo Morales said he has discussed the plan with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala. Morales told the Peruvian radio station RPP that the railway would run from Puerto Suarez, on Bolivia's border with Brazil, to the Pacific port of Ilo in Peru.

"It's my great dream," Morales said, adding that Brazil and Peru would also gain from having a railway link. He said it would carry agricultural products as well as other commodities to Asian countries.

Morales said in August after a visit to China that Chinese officials expressed interest in making the railway project a priority. It's not immediately clear how much the railway would cost, or how much financial support China might provide.

Bolivia and Peru currently export minerals to China including zinc and lead. Bolivia currently uses roads to truck shipments to Pacific ports in Chile.

Morales made the remarks Monday in the Peruvian city of Cusco, where he spent Christmas after meeting with Peru's president.

Humala also reiterated his support last week for Bolivia in its long-standing request that Chile provide the landlocked country with a corridor of land to access the Pacific coast.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/26/bolivia-peru-railway-evo-_n_1170362.html

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Video: Molycorp Down 9%

Molycorp shares are hurting today since JPMorgan lowered their rating on the mining company saying China's new export quota for 2012 will have a negative impact on rare earth prices, with Michael Gambardella, JPMorgan analyst.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45806283/

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

micgadget: Video: Chinese Soldier Throws Grenade and Nearly Kills Himself and His Training Instructor http://t.co/kW9H861O

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Video: Chinese Soldier Throws Grenade and Nearly Kills Himself and His Training Instructor dlvr.it/12LYgP micgadget

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Multifamily Insurance Trips and Traps | Multi-Housing News Online

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor

Surely every property owner?s nightmares must include finding out in the aftermath of a hurricane, fire or a lawsuit that insurance does not cover the costs. What a disaster! Apartment owners must be very careful to risk-manage properly and make sure their assets have the correct insurance policies.

Experts? advice for ensuring proper insurance protection for apartment properties typically fall into three categories: Making sure that the right type of insurance is purchased, ensuring that enough coverage is purchased and selecting the right insurance broker.

Simply opting for the policy with the lowest premium ?just because they are trying to save money? is one of the most common pitfalls of apartment owners, says Carlton Einsel, executive vice president of The Donaldson Group, a third-party apartment manager. ?But people do that,? he adds.

According to attorney Barry Fleishman, partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, the most typical missteps apartment companies can make include not adequately understanding the coverage, not reviewing the actual policy terms with their brokers and legal counsel, and failing to compare losses in the past to their current coverage. Insurance is a very difficult and complex field, says Fleishman, and the risk manager or CFO should work closely with the broker and/or an insurance attorney to make sure there are no unintended gaps in the protection.

What type of insurance to purchase

First, apartment owners need to ensure the correct type of insurance is acquired. Experts advise that owners purchase all-risk?rather than named-peril?insurance, whether the insurance is third-party property insurance or general liability insurance. This is because named-peril insurance covers only risks that are specifically named, whereas all-risk insurance covers all risks except those explicitly excluded. Property owners should also be careful to have policies that reimburse at replacement cost?and that cover business interruption.

?Buy broad, all-risk, policies, rather than named-peril policies,? says Steve Cataldo, director of risk management at Greystar, which oversees insurance for a management portfolio of more than 48,000 apartment units.

Property insurance coverage generally applies to ?all risks,? such as? fire, explosions, earthquakes, tornados and hurricanes, with the exception of specific exclusions. Fleishman, a legal specialist in policyholder insurance coverage, says it?s important that the apartment company review the risk history of the property and the areas in which losses were suffered in the past, and then ensure that none of these exposures are excluded from coverage.

The terms of the insurance, naturally, will be influenced by the location of the property. If the apartment asset is close to a disaster prone area, such as a flood or an earthquake zone, the insurance policy will likely contain sublimits that may be much lower than the coverage for the basic perils.

Certain perils such as windstorms and earthquakes may also carry higher deductibles, depending on the location of the asset, adds Derek Ramsey, Greystar CFO. The apartment owner needs to determine its ability to fund the deductible if a loss occurs. If available cash will be insufficient to meet that deductible, then the owner may want to consider paying a higher premium in order to obtain a lower deductible, he points out.

If coverage for particular risks-?such as flood, pollution or earthquakes in certain regions?is not found in traditional types of policies, the property owner may be able to look to alternative instruments for managing risks. These alternative instruments, which can be very sophisticated, include specialty risk policies (such as pollution liability policies), catastrophe bonds, self-insurance supported by re-insurance, or industry risk retention pools, says Fleishman.

As regards both liability and property insurance, Fleishman advises that apartment owners ensure that all layers of insurance?primary, umbrella and excess?be consistent with each other. For example, property owners should make sure that certain excluded losses in primary layers are not also excluded in umbrella or excess layers. In such cases, there would be a gap in coverage.

?Sit with your broker (or attorney) and go through the policy page by page(it takes one day or so), and understand what is in the policy: what is covered and what is excluded,? he says. ?The broker should make sure the policy is consistent in each layer of insurance or tell the client where it is not.?

The hazards of replacement
cost insurance

Property owners should also be careful to obtain insurance that will reimburse them for the replacement, rather than acquisition, cost of the assets. Inadequate limits of insurance can present a problem even if the property owner believes he or she is obtaining full replacement-cost insurance coverage, notes Greystar?s Cataldo. Cataldo says that property insurance carriers commonly issue full replacement-cost insurance, but impose separate sublimits on certain perils, including floods, windstorms and earthquakes.

Even if there are no sublimits on the replacement cost proceeds, Cataldo advises property owners to try to insure their properties at the full replacement cost. It is very important that the owner knows accurately what the cost to replace the asset is, and what the insurance limit is on the property. One reason is that if the property owner insures the property for materially less than the full replacement cost of the property?whether to save money on premiums or for other reasons?and the full replacement cost turns out to be greater than the insured amount, the policy holder may only be entitled to collect the lower amount from the insurance company, notes Cataldo.

Furthermore, in many cases in which there is a material loss, the mortgage lender is entitled to receive the insurance proceeds and may not be required to advance them to the owner to repair or rebuild the asset if there is a difference between the cost to replace and the insurance proceeds, Cataldo explains.

Other than insuring for replacement costs, apartment owners must also remember to establish business interruption insurance, not just first-party property damage insurance. According to Fleishman, business interruption insurance is normally included in the property insurance policy. However, the property owner should understand limits and restrictions on the insurance, he says. There may be time restrictions, for example. Apartment companies need to really understand business interruption insurance, says Fleishman. ?You need to go over the terms with your broker.?

The other broad category of insurance is general liability insurance, which covers claims brought against the policy holder for third-party property damage or bodily injury. Overseers of apartments need to make sure the liability insurance they acquire does not exclude certain activities currently taking place on the property, such as methamphetamine-producing laboratories. ?If the activity happens to be one, then the policy will exclude damage from that type of property,? says Cataldo.

Under liability insurance, most defense costs do not fall under the insurance limits, says Fleishman. However, it is important to understand that for certain policies, such as directors? and officers? policies, defense costs are subject to the insurance limits, and can ?eat up? the insurance, Fleishman says. That is why the determination of how much coverage to purchase needs to be fully reviewed by purchasers.

Finding the right middle-man

Selecting the correct broker is also a part of getting the right insurance coverage. In this regard, The Donaldson Group?s Einsel says that it is easiest for brokers to go to market with
the information supplied by the client, but
most difficult to find brokers who can obtain the best policies and who have the best process to handle claims.

?If you have a claim, you do not want to waste weeks and months arguing [with the broker],? says Einsel, who advises that the owner should select brokers they know would handle claims quickly.

Sources interviewed all agree that property owners need to ask their brokers whether they have any existing relationships with carriers. Cataldo says risk retention groups do establish pools of sponsored programs, and the insurance broker may participate in the underwriting profits and incomes or obtain a commission. He notes that such arrangements are acceptable to the apartment company, but they need to be disclosed. Einsel agrees. ?If you do not know,? he explains, ?you could end up buying the policies when you are really being steered to that carrier because the broker is getting fees out of it.?

Finally, another important consideration for the apartment owner when purchasing insurance is the ability and/or willingness of the insurance company to pay claims when there is an expensive disaster, such as an earthquake in California, Cataldo points out. Not all insurance companies are created equal. And for apartment owners that do not have mortgages on their properties and therefore lender guidance on buying insurance, it is important to remember to check on the Standard & Poor?s or A.M. Best ratings of the insurance company.

?Ask the insurance agent or broker who
places the insurance what the insurance company?s rating is before the coverage is placed,? Cataldo advises.

As Einsel says, ?Very often, we do not go with the lowest cost provider. If the insurance carrier is not as strong, we may decide on a higher-priced carrier.? For example, The Donaldson Group has a lot of policies with Travellers, even though it can obtain lower-cost policies with other companies. But, Einsel adds, Travellers is a very solid company with a long history.

Related Posts:

Source: http://www.multihousingnews.com/features/multifamily-insurance-trips-and-traps/1004046511.html

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Japanese designer of arty kitchenware Yanagi dies (AP)

TOKYO ? Sori Yanagi, whose designs for stools and kitchen pots brought the simplicity and purity of Japanese decor into the everyday, has died. He was 96.

The pioneer of Japan's industrial design died of pneumonia in a Tokyo hospital Sunday, Koichi Fujita of Yanagi Design Office said Monday.

Yanagi's curvaceous "butterfly stool," evocative of a Japanese shrine gate, won an award at La Triennale di Milano in 1957 and helped elevate him to international stature.

The work later joined the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Louvre museum in Paris.

Another typical Yanagi design was the stackable plastic stool, humorously called the "elephant stool," because of its resemblance to the animal's chunky feet.

The lines and curves of Yanagi designs were as distinctly Japanese as they were universal, winning him fans ? and a place in homes not only in Japan but around the world ? for his tea pots, ceramic cups and even the lowly whisk, which became artwork with his touch.

Yanagi chose design for his career after falling in love with the work of architect Le Corbusier while studying at a Tokyo fine art university.

Credited with paving the way on the international stage for younger Japanese designers, Yanagi also took up more monumental pieces, such as bridges and the Olympic torch, as well as a motorcycle and toys.

He supported Japanese traditional art throughout his life, and he served as head of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Tokyo, which his philosopher father founded.

Funeral arrangements were not being disclosed as the ceremony is for family and close friends. He is survived by his wife Fumiko and four children, Fujita said.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama

(This version CORRECTS the spelling of kitchenware in the headline.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111226/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_obit_yanagi

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Christmas Apple iPhone advertising

I love my iPhone 4 and couldn?t imagine life without it, but after watching this ad, I found myself thinking should I upgrade to the new iPhone 4S. That is the power of this soft sell ad from Apple. It doesn?t mention Siri or iPhone at all in the ad but yet the messages about the new features was so strong. Watch it yourself and let me know what you think.

Yours in soft selling

Belinda

Filed Under: Advertising, Advertising Campaign, Branding, Communication, entertainment, marketing | Tagged Apple, Christmas, iphone, iPhone 4S, Siri


Posted by Belinda Vesey-Brown on

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/briodaily/~3/dHvb5QO1wEA/

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Stamford, Conn., house fire kills 5 on Christmas

Fire tore through a house in a tony neighborhood along the Connecticut shoreline early Sunday, killing five people, making it among the worst Christmases in the city's history, the mayor said.

Officials said the fire, which was reported shortly before 5 a.m., killed two adults and three children. Two others escaped. Their names have not been released.

"It is a terrible, terrible day for the city of Stamford," Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia told reporters at a news briefing at the scene of the fire. "There probably has not been a worse Christmas day in the city of Stamford."

Acting Fire Chief Antonio Conte said attempts by firefighters to rescue the house's occupants were pushed back by intense flames and heat.

He said fire officials do not yet know the cause of the blaze and will not likely get clues for a few days until fire marshals can enter the house "and figure out what happened."

Conte said he did not know the conditions of the two survivors.

"We had our hands full from the moment we arrived on the scene," he said.

A neighbor, Sam Cingari Jr., said he was awakened by the sound of screaming and that the house was entirely engulfed by flames.

"We heard this screaming at 5 in the morning," he said. "The whole house was ablaze and I mean ablaze."

Cingari says he does not know his neighbors, who he said bought the house last year and were renovating it. Power also was out in the neighborhood, he said.

Charles Mangano, who lives near the scene, told The Advocate of Stamford he saw a barefoot man wearing boxers and a woman being led out of the house.

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The woman said, "'My whole life is in there,'" he said. "They were both obviously in a state of shock."

The 3,349-square foot, five-bedroom home sold for $1.7 million in December 2010, according to the Stamford assessment office's website. It's located in Shippan Point, a neighborhood that juts into Long Island Sound.

Tony Low-Beer, another neighbor, said he was awakened by a neighbor after 4 a.m. who told him about a "raging fire" next door.

"Cinders were flying all over the place," he told The Associated Press.

He said he secured his three dogs and put his iguana in a carrying case because he was concerned he might have to evacuate. As of Sunday afternoon, he was still at his home.

Stamford, a city of 117,000 residents, is about 25 miles northeast of New York City.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45786878/ns/us_news/

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Obama has options to delay Keystone pipeline (reuters)

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

Bucknell 75, Boston University 61: Bucknell Too Much For Terriers Without D.J. Irving

Bucknell used a 23-10 run to end the first half and never looked back as the Terriers couldn't slow down the slow-paced but efficient Bison attack. Playing their first game without star point guard D.J. Irving, Boston University couldn't keep up with the defending Patriot League champions as they dropped their fourth consecutive game by a 75-61 margin.

Senior Darryl Partin led the Terriers with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting after struggling the past two games. Backcourt mate Travis Robinson added 15 points and three rebounds for a Terriers squad that knocked down 50 percent of their shots in the loss.

Junior forward Mike Muscala led five Bison in double figures with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Fellow big man Joe Willman added 19 points, 17 of which came in the first half.?

The Terriers will be back in action next Thursday night when they travel to LaSalle for their third road trip of the month to Philadelphia.?

Source: http://boston.sbnation.com/2011/12/22/2656560/bucknell-75-boston-university-61-bucknell-too-much-for-terriers

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Oil & Gas Field Positions Job (Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada)

Manpower, together with our internationally-focused oil and gas client, is currently recruiting mechanically-inclined individuals for Oil and Gas Field Positions in Medicine Hat, AB.

In these roles, your days will consist of: Driving Class 1 or 3 trucks to the job site, on various road conditions; Frequent heavy lifting up to 50 lbs; Consistent pushing and pulling up to 80lbs; 15 days on, 6 days off; On-call 24 hours/day when scheduled.

Key qualifications:

  • High School Diploma or GED
  • Class 1 or Class 3 license (full Class 5's may be considered)
  • Comfortable in physically demanding positions for long hours
  • Mobile and able to be away from home for long periods of time
  • Strong team-player
  • Desire to learn
  • Willingness to travel
  • Ability to pass drug test & background check.
.This position also offers access to Manpower's comprehensive benefits package which includes:
  • Pay equal to your hard work & position
  • Outstanding benefits
  • Advantages of working with a world leading organization
If this opportunity interests you and you meet the above qualifications, please submit your resume in the body of an email to calgary.ab@manpower.com.

Manpower thanks all applicants for their interest, however, due to the volume of resumes we receive, only selected applicants will be contacted. All other resumes will be retained for future consideration.

Ref: CAN_40068>

Source: http://jobs.manpower.ca/job/Medicine-Hat-Oil-&-Gas-Field-Positions-Job-Albe/1564955/

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RamonaSentinel: Local in Ramona: Timeout with Tambo: Former Bulldog is on his way to living every young baseball player?s dream http://t.co/YKuWxs0N #Ramona

Twitter / Ramona Sentinel: Local in Ramona: Timeout w ... Loader Local in Ramona: Timeout with Tambo: Former Bulldog is on his way to living every young baseball player?s dream

Source: http://twitter.com/RamonaSentinel/statuses/150284143614369792

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Arizona coma patient now speaking, walking

Dr. Robert Spetzler, right, talks about Sam Schmid's brain injury during a news conference at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix on Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. Schmid, an Arizona college student believed to be brain dead and poised to be an organ donor, miraculously recovered just hours before doctors were considering taking him off life support. Schmid was critically wounded in an Oct. 19 five-car accident in Tucson. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Deirder Hamil) MARICOPA COUNTY OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALES

Dr. Robert Spetzler, right, talks about Sam Schmid's brain injury during a news conference at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix on Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. Schmid, an Arizona college student believed to be brain dead and poised to be an organ donor, miraculously recovered just hours before doctors were considering taking him off life support. Schmid was critically wounded in an Oct. 19 five-car accident in Tucson. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Deirder Hamil) MARICOPA COUNTY OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALES

Sam Schmid listens as Dr. Robert Spetzler, unseen, talks about Schmid's brain injury during a news conference at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix on Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. Schmid, an Arizona college student believed to be brain dead and poised to be an organ donor, miraculously recovered just hours before doctors were considering taking him off life support. Schmid was critically wounded in an Oct. 19 five-car accident in Tucson. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Deirder Hamil) MARICOPA COUNTY OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALES

Dr. Robert Spetzler, right, talks about Sam Schmid's brain injury during a news conference at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix on Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. Schmid, an Arizona college student believed to be brain dead and poised to be an organ donor, miraculously recovered on Oct. 24 just hours before doctors were considering taking him off life support. Schmid was critically wounded in an Oct. 19 five-car accident in Tucson. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Deirder Hamil) MARICOPA COUNTY OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALES

(AP) ? It will be a special Christmas for the family of a 21-year-old University of Arizona student who was nearly taken off life support before awaking from a coma.

Sam Schmid was walking and speaking Friday at a Phoenix hospital. Dressed in a T-shirt, shorts and sneakers, he was able to use a walker and talk in brief sentences.

"Right now, I'm feeling all right ... except for the rehabilitation, I'm feeling pretty good," Schmid said.

Doctors at Barrow Neurological Institute say Schmid has a long recovery ahead of him to regain full speech, balance and memory abilities.

Schmid was involved in an Oct. 19 car crash in Tucson that left him with a brain aneurysm, among other life-threatening injuries. Because of the complexity of his brain injury, Schmid was flown to Phoenix.

He underwent surgery performed by Dr. Robert Spetzler. With no responsive signs, staff discussed taking Schmid off life support.

"They never approached me to say would I donate his organs," said Susan Regan, Schmid's mother. "The people that were surrounding us were just asking about Sam, his quality of life, what would Sam want if we had to come to a difficult decision."

Spetzler said Schmid was never officially classified as a potential organ donor. And after an MRI scan showed he wasn't at a point of no hope of survival, Spetzler recommended keeping him alive for one more week.

Then on Oct. 24, Schmid shocked doctors by following commands to hold up two fingers.

"It may not seem like a lot to you," Spetzler said. "It's an incredible loop to show brain ability. That was like fireworks going off."

Since then, Schmid has been spending his days in physical rehabilitation. Dr. Christina Kwasnica, who is overseeing Schmid's rehabilitation, said he has gone from practicing sitting in a chair to doing rehab three hours a day. She described his recovery so far as amazing but hesitated to make any predictions of what "normal" would be for him.

"It's so early in Sam's injury. We have no idea where the ceiling is," Kwasnica said.

While he will be able to spend Christmas day with family in Phoenix, Schmid will not officially be released until next week. His brother, John, based in Tucson, will relocate to Phoenix so Schmid can continue rehabilitation on an out-patient basis.

Schmid, who is a business major and was coaching basketball at a University of Arizona recreation center, is holding onto the belief that he can get back to what his life was like before the accident.

"I see myself leaving the house, going to school, work, basic things like that," Schmid said. "I just want my life to be what it used to be."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2011-12-23-Coma%20Patient%20Wakes/id-b8c15b6dd5654989991c8f05b0a036eb

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Paul Forecast a "Race War" (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

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Exoplanets Spotted Orbiting Dead Star

Who the *beep* cares? Seriously....

Because probability dictates a good chance of a Futurama-like world will exist sometime during that span. If you want to be a part get started on your own stasis chamber, now. Don't forget to take a pizza with you, so you'll have something to eat when you emerge.

In the meanwhile, I'm more worried about the survivors of those dead worlds, who are on their way here.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/uyWNuloPpZM/exoplanets-spotted-orbiting-dead-star

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O.C.'s Kit-Cat Clocks celebrates 80 years with Rose Parade float

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

The cat's eyes beat back and forth and its tail keeps time, but it is the wide smile that might be the most recognizable part of the Kit-Cat clock.

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Kit-Cat history

1932: The first Kit-Cat Clock was created in Portland, Ore. The first clocks had metal hands, no front paws and no bowtie.

1954: The Kit-Cat gets a bowtie.

1960s: Kit-Cat Clock moves to San Juan Capistrano.

1980s: The business moves to Fountain Valley.

1982: The company starts stamping the name "Kit-Cat" on the front of the clock.

1990: The clocks make the move from electric to battery-operated.

Source: Kit-Cat Clocks

And that's just the way its creators intended it.

Their mission to evoke a smile has built an icon that has endured 80 years. For about 50 of those years, Kit-Cat Clocks have made their home in Orange County.

The clocks were introduced during the Great Depression but became popular in the 1950s. Technology changes in the 1980s created a problem for the company, but it found a way to modernize the clocks and remain a U.S. mainstay. According to company officials, a Kit-Cat clock has been purchased every three minutes for the last 70 years.

To celebrate that history, the company will debut its first Rose Parade float, "Timeless Fun for Everyone," on Jan. 2. A black and white Kit-Cat will serve as the centerpiece for the float, which is made with all locally grown flowers.

The float will also feature a group of skateboarders from Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach riding FIZZ boards, modeled after the classic 1970s banana boards. "Rock Around the Clock" will be playing as the skaters ride a ramp on the float and young swing dancers perform.

"It's all things retro," said Woody Young, president of California Clock Co. and also an investor in Street Surfing, the company that invented the FIZZ board. "It doesn't matter what decade it is, (Kit-Cat clocks) are in."

About two decades after they were introduced, the Kit-Cat Clocks became a must-have piece in 1950s households, Young said.

Today, the Kit-Cat drums up images of chocolate malts, saddle shoes, and jukeboxes. It is not uncommon to find someone who had an aunt or a grandmother who proudly displayed a Kit-Cat in her kitchen.

Young said the company's solid history can be attributed to keeping the Kit-Cat's mission intact.

"We're selling smiles," he said. "That's what it's all about."

A simple black and white version of the Kit-Cat was the first introduced in 1932 in Portland, Ore. by the California Clock Co.

After World War II, Young said the mission of the Kit-Cat resonated in American pop culture and the clocks became an icon.

"People were tired of war," he said. "It became the most popular in the 1950s."

Hollywood even gravitated to the classic cat clock.

Celebrity owners include Lucille Ball and Whoopi Goldberg and the clock has also been featured in films such as "Back to the Future" and "Honey I Shrunk the Kids".

In the late '80s, the survival of Kit-Cats as an American-made novelty was threatened.

The clock was powered by the electric motors found in many stoves during the '50s and '60s. As stove manufacturers abandoned the technology, California Clock Co. became the only company to still use the motor, Young said.

"The technology changed," he said. "We were either going to have to go out of business or take the business overseas."

Instead, the company came up with its own engineering ideas. Young said their clocks are the only timepieces in the nation to use a United States-made battery movement to make the clock tick.

"We literally transformed these clocks and kept it alive in the States," he said.

The Kit-Cat has evolved to include a spectrum of colors and other characters including Kitty-Cat, the female version of the clock that has big eyelashes and a pearl necklace.

Young said Kit-Cat also releases a limited-edition clock every year for those who collect the pieces.

For 2012, the limited-edition Kit-Cat will be "Rose Float" and it will be the color of the Rose Parade roses in honor of the company's parade debut.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7953 or jfletcher@ocregister.com

"Like" Huntington Beach Wave on Facebook to see more news, photos and conversation.


Source: http://www.ocregister.com/news/cat-332688-kit-clock.html

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Koch apologizes for inappropriate relationship with staffer (Star Tribune)

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Study linking virus and chronic fatigue retracted (AP)

NEW YORK ? A prestigious scientific journal is retracting a controversial 2009 report that linked chronic fatigue syndrome to a virus.

In an unusual move, the journal Science is taking that step on its own. Normally, authors retract their own research papers when serious problems arise after publication.

But Science has lost confidence in the report and the validity of its conclusions, editor-in-chief Bruce Alberts writes in Friday's issue. He said most of the authors have agreed in principle to retract the paper "but they have been unable to agree on the wording of their statement." A retraction signed by all the authors "is unlikely to be forthcoming," Alberts wrote.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is characterized by severe fatigue for at least six months, impaired memory and other symptoms.

The 2009 paper, from scientists at the Whittemore Peterson Institute in Reno, Nev., the Cleveland Clinic and the National Cancer Institute, reported finding a virus called XMRV in blood cells of some patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. That raised hope that a cause of the mysterious illness had been found, although other viral suspects over the years had proven to be false leads.

But follow-up studies found no evidence of such a link. Last May, Science published two reports suggesting the original finding was due to lab contamination.

At the time, Alberts published a statement declaring that the validity of the study was "now seriously in question."

Then in September, the authors retracted some of the data, citing contamination.

In his statement on the full retraction, Alberts said the authors had also acknowledged omitting important information about the study's procedures in an illustration of some lab results.

Robert Silverman of the Cleveland Clinic, one of the paper's 13 authors, said in a statement Thursday that he was pleased by the full retraction. He said he had sought one this summer after finding that blood samples were contaminated.

Through a spokeswoman, another study author, Francis Ruscetti of the cancer institute, declined to comment.

Annette Whittemore, president of the Whittemore institute, said in a statement that her organization remains committed to discovering the roots of the disorder. "It is not the end of the story, rather it is the beginning of our renewed efforts," she said. "We ... look forward to the rigorous review of our scientific research."

A key figure in the research, Judy Mikovits, is no longer with the Whittemore institute.

___

Online:

Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_sc/us_sci_chronic_fatigue

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