Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/2voONHJy8KM/
Ada Lovelace 12/12/12 manny pacquiao Chopper Live jerry brown michael buble michael buble
Sunday, February 24, 2013
See the Chic Maternity Fashions Jamie-Lynn Sigler Scored at Calypso
On Feb. 19, Jamie-Lynn Sigler spent time at her fave store Calypso St. Barth in Los Angeles stocking up on maternity essentials.
Plants 'talk' to bees with electricity, say scientists
Bees use the weak electrical charge carried by plants to determine if they have nectar, a new study has found.?
Bees can sense a flower's electrical charge, which tells them if the flower's worth visiting.
stock.xchng
EnlargeEveryone knows that bees buzz around flowers in their quest for nectar. But scientists have now learned that flowers are buzzing right back ? with electricity.
Skip to next paragraph' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
Plants generally have a negative electrical charge and emit a weak electrical signal, according to researchers at the University of Bristol in England. And scientists have known for years that bees' flapping wings create a positive electrical charge of up to 200 volts as they flit from flower to flower, according to a news release.
But can the bees detect flowers' electrical charge? While animals like?sharks are known to sense electrical fields, nobody had ever found that an insect could do the same,?ScientificAmerican?reports.
To test the bees' sensitivity, researchers filled a room with artificial flowers: Half of the flowers were electrically charged and carried a sugary reward, while the other half had no charge and a bitter solution of quinine.
The bees quickly learned to visit only the electrically charged flowers, and to not waste their energy visiting flowers with no electrical charge. But when the electrical charges were switched off, the bees once again visited flowers randomly, suggesting that they had been reacting to the electrical charges. [The 10 Weirdest Animal Discoveries]
"Animals are just constantly surprising us as to how good their senses are," Dominic Clarke, lead author of the study, published in journal?Science, told the?BBC. "More and more we're starting to see that nature's senses are almost as good as they could possibly be."
Bees and flowers, of course, co-evolved with a long-standing symbiotic relationship: The bees depend on flowers for nectar, which they use to produce honey, and flowers need bees to help pollinate other flowers.
Flowers use various means to attract bees and other pollinators. In addition to their electrical charge and alluring fragrance, flowers display bright colors ? and research has found that?bees see colors?three times faster than humans.
But bees ? busy as they famously are ? don't have time to waste visiting pretty flowers whose nectar has just been taken by another insect. "The last thing a flower wants is to attract a bee and then fail to provide nectar," said Daniel Robert, co-author of the study, in a statement. "Bees are good learners and would soon lose interest in such [an] unrewarding flower."
So flowers, the researchers confirmed, emit a different electrical signal after their nectar has been harvested. They found that petunias became slightly more positively charged after a bee visited them, according to ScientificAmerican.
That revised electrical charge acts as a kind of "No Vacancy" sign to other bees, which learn to trust the signals that the flowers emit.
"This is a magnificent interaction where you have an animal and a plant, and they both want this to go as well as possible," study co-author?Gregory Sutton told NPR. "The flowers are trying to make themselves look as different as possible. This is to establish the flower's brand."
How do bees sense an electrical charge? Researchers aren't sure, but they suspect the fuzzy hairs on bees' bodies "bristle up" under an electrostatic force, just like hair in front of a television screen.
Other scientists are excited about the possible implications this research may have for other nectar-gathering insects such as hoverflies and moths.
"We had no idea that this sense even existed," Thomas Seeley, a behavioral biologist at Cornell University, told ScientificAmerican. "Assuming we can replicate the findings, this is going to open up a whole new window on insect sensory systems."
Contact Marc Lallanilla at?mlallanilla@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter?@MarcLallanilla. Follow LiveScience on Twitter?@livescience. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.
Copyright 2013?LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
yellow cab dropkick murphys guernsey nit colcannon dystonia tourettes
Check Out This Proof of Concept Documentary on Texting while Driving by University Students in Jamaica
Writer/Director
David Johnson
Producer
Stephanie Duhaney
Boom Operators
Kristen McKenzie
Kerrol Parke
Production Assistants
Samantha Barrett
Orane Hart
Cast
Janiece Forbes
Diane Dawkins
Lucius White
Music
The Raven by CDK
Filmed on the Sony HXR-MC2000U
Audio via Rode NTG-2
University of Technology, Jamaica
Like this:
Loading...
sandra fluke kellie pickler costa rica kevin hart living social Earthquake Costa Rica Clinton speech
Video: New Mexico-Colorado State preview
Feb 22
6:00
PM ET
By ESPN.com staff | ESPN.com
'; })(jQuery);facebook ipo facebook ipo mike kelley puxatony phil josh harvey clemons college football recruiting rankings ground hog day 2012
?War Correspondents? In Mexico Address Mainstream Media Shortcomings, Use Twitter To Spread Information
In Mexico?s drug-war-torn cities, a small number of Twitter users affected by narco violence?are acting as war correspondents to the masses, providing a public-safety alert system of sorts, according to a recent research??paper from Microsoft, called ?The New War Correspondents: The Rise of Civic Media Curation in Urban Warfare.?Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/uUxBLhKbuuk/
deadmau5 phoebe snow jennifer hudson tribute to whitney houston nicki minaj grammy jason whitlock beach boys tony bennett
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Royal Wedding Planner
Udaipur City is famous land of Maharaja?s and their Rich and famous Royal Indian weddings venues & Palaces and Royal Social celebrations over years among these Palaces the most prestigious Palace for as a Royal wedding in udaipur and sacred ceremonies which people have witnessed and treasured as memories to last a life time has been at The udaipur.
? ? ?City palace is a gorgeous palace complex in the city of Udaipur.The palace complex built by legendary Maharana Udai singh offamous Sisodia clan of Rajputs is an architectural marvel. The palace complex located on the banks of Lake Pichola, proudly houses a number of palaces in its huge compound. Of late, this beautiful complex has caught the fancy of couples with dream of fairy tale nuptials in mind. Weddings in City palace complex are next big thing in the royal & destination wedding arena.
Source: http://vingsevents.blogspot.in/2012/12/royal-wedding-planner.html
pau gasol marlins park marbury v. madison 2013 lincoln mkz burger king mary j blige google project glass google goggles
Venezuela's Chavez still suffers breathing problems
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's cancer-stricken president, Hugo Chavez, is still suffering respiratory problems after his operation in Cuba more than two months ago, the government said on Thursday.
"The breathing insufficiency that emerged post-operation persists, and the tendency has not been favorable, so it is still being treated," read the first official communiqu? on Chavez's health since his return to Venezuela on Monday.
The short statement, read on national TV by Information Minister Ernesto Villegas, said treatment for Chavez's "base illness" - presumably the cancer first detected in mid-2011 - continued without "significant adverse effects for now."
Little detailed medical information has been made public on Chavez's condition, meaning that the government's occasional short statements are examined by Venezuelans for clues about the future for him and the nation he has governed for 14 years.
Supporters pray the socialist president may recover and return to active rule, but many Venezuelans believe he has come home to resign and smooth over a transition, or simply to die.
"The patient remains in communication with relatives and the government political group in close collaboration with the medical work group," the statement added.
"The president holds firm to Christ, with absolute will to live and maximum discipline in the treatment of his health."
Chavez, 58, is being treated in a Caracas military hospital.
Apart from a few photos released by the government last week, he has not been seen or heard from publicly since his December 11 operation in Havana, his fourth surgery for cancer.
He returned home at 2:30 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Monday without any of the fanfare or media attention that accompanied previous homecomings after treatment.
(Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuelas-chavez-still-suffers-breathing-problems-014131002.html
Alfonso Ribeiro adam sandler College Football Scoreboard nfl scores nfl scores Devon Walker Tom Cruise
Oscars 2013: Behind The Scenes Of Hollywood's Biggest Night
The biggest night in Hollywood is nearly upon us, and it seems like the entire town is busy preparing to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. Six hundred celebrities and filmmakers can't just feed themselves, you know! The Oscars are a massive production involving everything from construction to sculpting and fine dining, so [...]
Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/02/22/oscars-behind-the-scenes/
bo jackson hanukkah justin tv justin tv Sarah Savage Jaimie Alexander Army Navy Game
Let's create! Pottery HD for iPhone and iPad review
With it being sleep and relaxation week here at iMore for Mobile Nations fitness month, I've been on the hunt for related apps, and the newest gem I've discovered is Let's create! Pottery HD for iPhone and iPad. This pottery-creating app is surprising relaxing and fun.
The menu screen of Pottery HD shows a piece of clay slowly spinning on table with out-of-focus greenery in the background. As you move around your iPhone or iPad, the background will slightly move around as if you are changing your orientation.
After you go through the initial tutorial your inbox will be your source of quests to create beautiful pottery pieces beginning with your Aunt Chloe. Through her, word spreads of your work and other people come to you to make pieces for them.
To create a pottery item, you simply use your finger on the piece of clay. Moving your finger up or down the clay will make is taller and shorter, moving out from the center will make it wider from that point, and moving in towards the center will make it thinner.
After you've shaped your item, you must send it to cooked. As it goes through the firing process, a progress bar displays and the background makes it appear that the clay is in a hot oven. Then it's time to decorate it.
You can decorate your pottery with paint, ornaments and fancy brushes that stamp a pattern on your artwork. You do this all while the item slowly spins on the wheel. The constant movement in Pottery HD is part of what makes it so relaxing, engaging, and beautiful.
If you have an active quest, then a little picture of what you're supposed to create will be displayed while you work towards your goal. On this polaroid snapshot, there are two different objects: the shape and design. You can earn put to 5 stars for each one. As long as you get three stars in each, your piece will be accepted.
There are two things about creating ceramics with Pottery HD that are disappointing. The first is that when adding paint, sometimes it doesn't register the correct spot and actually adds the paint higher than you would expect.
The other is that sometimes it's way too difficult to get even just three stars for your decorations. The screenshot above demonstrates this -- my vase looks almost identical to the photo, yet I only earned three stars. The one I made before this one only earned me two stars even though it was just a little shorter. Both vases earned 5 stars for the shape, so I don't think it's fair that the height alone made me earn one less star for decoration.
If the ceramic you are making is not for a quest, then you have an option to sell it. You need coins to buy new decorating tools for your quests.
The good
- Great graphics
- Quests to make pots, vases, cups, and more
- Earn coins when completing quests to buy materials to decorate your creations
- Build your own pottery to sell and raise money
- More decorations available as in-app purchases
- Relaxing
- Fosters creativity
- Universal for iPhone and iPad
The bad
- Touch isn't precise enough when adding paint
- Sometimes it's nearly impossible to get 5 stars for the look your creation
- No way to save snapshots of your pieces in the app
- Once you sell an item, you can view even a photo of it in the app. It would nice to see a collection of everything you've made.
The bottom line
Let's Create! Pottery HD is the next best thing to actually creating real life ceramics, yet has the benefit of being able to kick back and relax while you sculpt your pottery without the mess.
- $4.99 - Download now
 |  |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/YfQZ4LHlyZY/story01.htm
the big c the visitor king of kings ostara andy kaufman masters 2012 tom watson
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Sony Ericsson W150i unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
- Ch?ng t?i unlock b?ng ph?n m?m, thi?t b? chuy?n nghi?p, code ch?nh h?ng, kh?ng th?o m?y.
- Trong qu? tr?nh unlock, qu? kh?ch ng?i xem tr?c ti?p v? ch? l?y m?y.
- Th?i gian unlock t? 10 -> 30 Ph?t.
- Sau khi unlock, ?i?n tho?i c?a qu? kh?ch tr? th?nh phi?n b?n qu?c t?, s? d?ng t?t c?c m?ng ? Vi?t Nam ( Vinaphone, Mobifone, Viettel, Beeline, Vietnamobile )
- Ch?ng t?i xin cam k?t: unlock, m? m?ng, b? kh?a, gi?i m? gi? r? nh?t... cho qu? kh?ch.
- Nh?n c?i ti?ng vi?t, n?ng c?p rom, s?a l?i ph?n m?m, repair boot t?t c? ?i?n tho?i nh? ( treo logo, Baseband unknow, m?t boot ) l?i do up rom...
- Ngo?i ra ch?ng t?i nh?n unlock, m? m?ng, b? kh?a, up rom Ti?ng Vi?t t?t c? ?i?n tho?i, h?ng kh?c m? ch?a li?t k? ? ??y, xin qu? kh?ch vui l?ng li?n h? theo ??a ch? sau ?? bi?t th?m chi ti?t.
Kimanh mobile
??a ch? : 529/5 Hu?nh V?n B?nh, Ph??ng 14, Qu?n Ph? Nhu?n, TP.H? Ch? Minh ( G?n ng? t? L? v?n S? - Hu?nh V?n B?nh )
Email : kimanhgsm@gmail.com
Phone : 083.602.9339 ? 0908.660.747 ( Mr. Phong )
More posts:
BlackBerry 8800 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
BlackBerry 8820 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
BlackBerry 8900 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
BlackBerry Storm2 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
Sony Ericsson W150a unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
Sony Ericsson W150 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
Sony Ericsson Yendo unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
Sony Ericsson Spiro unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
Sony Ericsson W100i unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
Sony Ericsson W100a unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
Sony Ericsson S312 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
BlackBerry 7105 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
BlackBerry 7100 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
BlackBerry 7130 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
BlackBerry 7230 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
BlackBerry 7290 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
BlackBerry 7730 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
BlackBerry 8100 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
BlackBerry 8110 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
BlackBerry 8120 unlock, m? m?ng, gi?i m?, b? kh?a l?y ngay
metro north taco bell taco bell Breezy Point Seaside Heights nj transit PSEG
Cops hunt serial cat killer, fearing for people's safety
By Ida Siegal, NBCNewYork.com
Authorities are looking for the person who fatally shot and beat a pet cat in the lower Hudson River Valley in New York last month, and officials say the suspect may be the same individual who has killed three other cats near the area since July.
Officials in Putnam County say a Patterson, N.Y, man called the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Feb. 7 and said his cat appeared to have been shot while it was outside.
Authorities found the 7-month-old black and brown female Calico cat, named "Blackfoot," with a neck wound; the feline also appeared to be paralyzed from its mid-section to its hind paws.
The cat was rushed to a nearby hospital, where veterinarians conducted an X-ray and found a metal projectile embedded in part of the animal's spine. Animal control officers said the suspect may have used a high-powered BB gun or a low-caliber rifle to fire the projectile at the cat.
Read more news on NBCNewYork.com
Veterinarians also found a spinal fracture that they believe was caused by blunt force trauma.
"I believe the person called her over, the shot her in the back, then kicked her," said Blackfoot's owner Robert Kitts, who found her bleeding outside his home last week.
The cat remained under veterinary care at the Westchester Animal Hospital until it died Feb. 11 due to progressive paralysis, authorities said.
Officials are looking into whether the latest case of cat abuse may be connected to a severed cat head found staged in August in an intersection half a mile from where Blackfoot was shot. Authorities are also investigating if those incidents are connected to two other cat beheadings in July several miles away in the Connecticut towns of Oxford and Fairfield.
"We responded to a call not quite half a mile from here where we found a decapitated cat's head that was placed in the middle of the road," said Ken Ross of the Putnam County SPCA. "That took place within a month of two cats that were found nearby in Connecticut in the same condition."
Authorities are concerned that the cat killer could move to more serious crimes.
"It's moving into the realm of -- something's going to happen to a human," said Ross. "Something's going to be done to a human because this person no longer has the control to hold back."
Anyone with information about animal abuse in the area is asked to call (845) 520-6915 or visit www.spcaputnam.org.
marinol flight attendant pau gasol trade michael madsen spring forward day light savings day light savings
Not again! Bus carrying Triumph passengers breaks down
Stepping off the Carnival Triumph ? the filthy, sweltering cruise ship that was stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for five days after an engine fire knocked out power ? wasn't the end of the travel nightmare for some passengers.
A bus carrying Triumph passengers from Mobile, Ala., where the ship docked late Thursday, to New Orleans broke down Friday, Carnival Cruise Lines confirmed to NBC News. The company said that another bus picked up the passengers and they continued toward New Orleans.
Clark Jones of Dallas, who was on the bus, said it was stuck about an hour.
?I?m pretty tired,? he said later. ?I don?t know, life gives you lemons ? I guess you have to eat the lemons sometimes.?
Other buses from Mobile reached New Orleans without incident Friday, and some passengers boarded charter flights for Houston, near the ship?s port of Galveston.
?We survived it,? passenger Veronica Arriaga told NBC affiliate WDSU in New Orleans. ?We are here, we're on land. Thank God.?
Delays hampered the last day of the rescue of the Triumph. With the ship in sight of shore, a cable snapped between a tugboat and the larger vessel. Also Thursday, Carnival at least twice pushed back its estimate for when the ship would dock in Mobile.
Related:
tornadoes mitch hedberg secret service scandal shea weber greystone sidney crosby at the drive in
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Video: Affenpinscher Banana Joe wins Westminster top prize
>>> this is fun for us every year. we're back now, 7:47, with the dog crowned best in show last night at the westminster kennel club dog show . we'll meet banana joe in a moment. first, nbc's katy tur has all the backstage action. good morning.
>> good morning, matt. westminster dog show is all about the cute and sometimes quirky. and sometimes these pooches get artificial enhancement and that will get the first line.
>> good boy.
>> reporter: from shiny sheen to diamond duds and talented tricks, the westminster dog show is a show all right, and even more so behind the scenes . there are the slobberers.
>> he's wearing a bib to keep him from getting dirty with all of his slobber.
>> reporter: the lovers. oh, you are so loveable. and even the elizabeth taylors from cleopatra. but what there aren't are cheaters. according to kennel club rules no peds or performance-enhanced dogs, no tattoos for black noses, no braces for straighter teeth and no cosmetic surgery for basset hound 's droopy eyes. so this is that competitive?
>> yep.
>> reporter: in total, there are 2,721 dogs competing this year, but only seven get to compete for the big prize, best in show . but it's not just about the dog.
>> i got to pull?
>> reporter: it's also about the handler. come on, run. come on. i think i'm a natural. jewel, who loves milkshakes, won it for the hounds. bichon frise named honor won the nonsporting group . banana joe , the affenpinscher, for the toy group , swagger, the old english sheep dog , had just enough swagger. matisse. oakley for the sporting.
>> best in show winner --
>> reporter: but again only one is top dog. banana joe . now banana joe is no newbie. he is a veteran. his owner says this was his last show. on the other hand, runner-up, swagger, is nearly brand new, has only been in four shows in his short 1-month life. if i were to hand out the award for the best hug, it would definitely be that big, fluffy white samoyed you saw a moment ago.
>> katy, thank you.
>> congrats, ernesto, to you. banana joe has won several prizes during his career but this one was the big daddy of them all. how did it feel?
>> the best in show really to win in the world. most prestigious show to win and he finally got t it 's wonderful .
>> what's his history, his background? how did he come to be this champion show dog ?
>> well, he was bred in the netherlands from a great pedigree line, started being shown there. and he surprised everybody by winning all the biggest shows out there, broke all the records for his breed for any affenpinscher ever in europe. and his father eimmigrated there.
>> got on a boat. got a ticket.
>> it doesn't roll off people's tongues. tell me about the breed.
>> they originated in germany, a farm dog . they were a little bigger then. as a ratter around the farm. they bred them down a little bit. they're now like a mouser around the house. they retained this cute look, the monkey dog , that face.
>> the atmosphere at this show gets more and more electric every year. new york crowds are not subtle. they scream from the stands at madison square garden . how has the show evolved over the years?
>> in addition to being the greatest competition for dogs, it also is a celebration of the dogs in our lives. i think people come there who love dogs and want to see dogs and all the competition and want to see 187 breeds and varieties but also want to root for their own dog. i call it the alma mater factor.
>> we heard the rules have changed because there's been some enhancement for dogs. no plastic surgery .
>> the american kennel club has a pretty strict set of rules, judging is all well trained.
>> no tattooing the noses to make them darker.
>> this is his last show, so what's ahead for banana joe ?
>> just enjoy life.
>> there you go.
>> take a cruise.
>> calm down a little bit.
>> and the ladies probably as well.
Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50794698/
Missy Franklin Hunter Pence NBCOlympics Danell Leyva Ye Shiwen OJ Murdock Olympics Live
Turn Your Desktop to Your Favorite Show with These TV-Themed Wallpapers
You've got a favorite show, but it's only on once a week. You may have to wait, but there's no reason you still can't show your love via your desktop. Here's a (large) selection of some of our favorite TV wallpapers.
Note: Obviously we cannot include every show ever made, but this collection attempts to offer a wide variety and is therefore twice the size of our normal collections.
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/zX-U8CUxNXQ/
MC Chris Colorado shooting suspect accuweather Finding Nemo 2 Provigil dez bryant Kitty Wells
Can You Identify All the Best Picture Oscar Winners Looking at this Cool Poster?
chris carpenter dick cheney hcg drops reason rally mad hatter azerbaijan ryan howard
A lot has been made about Ole Miss basketball?s chances for an NCAA Tournament r...
A lot has been made about Ole Miss basketball?s chances for an NCAA Tournament run. Folks have started to question whether or not this is the year after the Rebels have dropped three of the last four. With that in mind, Ben Garrett and Steven Godfrey gave their opinions on what Ole Miss?s post-season prospects look like on The Flagship earlier this morning. To give it a listen, just click http://vspor.to/VbfAHG.
And while you?re listening, let us know what YOU think. Will the Rebels be dancing this March?
acapulco mexico hines ward alex smith alex smith robert deniro mexico news the talented mr ripley
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Report: Next Xbox requires Kinect to function, runs multiple games at once
Microsoft isn't acknowledging the development, or even the existence, of the Xbox 360's successor (codenamed "Durango"), but that isn't stopping potential details from leaking out of Redmond. The latest report comes via console overview documents (known as "white papers") provided to Kotaku by the same source who provided information on the next PlayStation (codenamed "Orbis"), and it spells out some things we've yet to hear. Namely, the console will ship with a new version of Microsoft's motion-sensing camera controller, Kinect, and that the device, "must be plugged in and calibrated for the console to even function," the piece says. The new Kinect -- which we've heard of in the past -- is said to capture up to six people at once, and an alleged image demonstrating the difference between new and old versions of the camera puts much higher specs on said device (1920x1080 color resolution, more trackable joints, improved depth resolution, etc.).
The new console is also reported to employ multitasking, enabling multiple games or apps to run concurrently, similar to mobile phones and tablets; how many apps that could mean is unclear, if true. Sony's PlayStation Vita already employs such functionality, making the claim all the less far-fetched.
The piece also states supposedly final retail hardware specs for Microsoft's next game console, including a 64-bit D3D11.x 800MHz GPU, an 8-core x64 1.6GHz 4MB L2 CPU, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB of on-board memory, USB 3.0, HDMI-out, and an optical drive for 50GB discs. For its part, Microsoft's staying mum -- "We do not comment on rumors or speculation. We are always thinking about what is next for our platform, but we don't have anything further to share at this time," a Microsoft spokesperson told us -- and Sony's the only game in town with even an event scheduled in the near future.
[Photo credit: Kotaku]
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft
Source: Kotaku
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/2EVLUnOPfeQ/
snow white and the huntsman snow white and the huntsman rupaul drag race walking dead comic kratom broncos broncos
Significance Of American Airlines 777-300ER - Business Insider
Chris Sloan/Airchive Click the photo to jump right to pictures of the inaugural flight of American Airlines' 777-300ER jet.
He was kind enough to share photos from the experience with us, as well as his take on the flight and what it means for American Airlines. You can read his story on the airline and flight below, check out photos of the inaugural flight, and find out even more about the experience on his blog, Airchive.com.
Click here to jump right to photos on board the jet >>
On January 31, 2013 American Airlines launched their first Boeing 777-300 ER into service with attention that rivaled any airline?s launch of a new type in recent memory. On the face of it, even though American became the first operator of the 777-300 in America, this event would almost seem overkill if for that reason alone.
After all, American began 777-200 flights back in 1999 and the first 777-300 was first delivered to an airline, Cathay Pacific back in May, 1998. The first 777-300ER entered service nearly 10 years ago with Air France. Boeing?s two stretch variants of their venerable cash cow, the 777, easily have become the type?s most popular versions with over 680 orders and deliveries between them out of the entire 777 program?s 1,380 orders and deliveries (as of December, 2012). I
n an era of smaller airliners, American ?inaugurated the 777-300, the largest new airliner by a U.S. carrier since the last Boeing 747-400s entered service with U.S. airliners in the late 1990s.
This inaugural, flight 963, from Dallas/Ft. Worth to S?o ?Paulo, Brazil in the author?s view is one of the most significant in the airline industry in years because it is about something much bigger than just the launch of a new airliner, it?s about the re-birth of a proud American institution that happens to bear the name of our country ? American Airlines.
American Airlines problems are well known. After becoming the world?s largest airline with its 2000 acquisition of TWA, the 2000s were not kind at all to the Silver Bird. TWA and American merged during an economic downturn and by most accounts, the merger was anything but an unqualified success. American shed most of TWA?s assets, routes, staff, and many of its aircraft.
On September 11th, 2 of American?s airliners, their crew, and passengers were forever lost in the atrocities of this horrible day. As if things couldn?t get any worse, the world?s airline industry hemorrhaged with the U.S. legacy carriers losing more money during this time then they had profited in their entire history. All of them declared Chapter 11, with the exception of American. Under the category of ?no good deed goes unpunished?, this decision would come back to haunt American for years. The competitors were able to re-organize, upgrade service, rebrand their images, get their costs under control, renew their fleets, expand their route structure, and finally in the case of Continental/United and Delta/Northwest consolidate into mega-carriers that dwarfed American.
American was left with a barrage of serious problems: a revolving door in the executive ranks, fractious management and labor relations, dwindling market share, increasingly massive financial losses as their competitors recorded profits, devastating operational problems of which many were self-inflicted, an aging fleet, outdated and stripped down in-flight passenger service, soaring operating expenses, declining bookings, and a very unsympathetic press that at times almost seemed on a witch hunt.
Like Pan Am and other failed airlines there were a few bright spots: the extremely profitable Latin American hub, the North Atlantic / London Heathrow joint-venture with British Airways, the strong and dominant hubs particularly at DFW and Miami, strength on the highly profitable trans-continental services particular JFK-LAX, and many proud employees across all positions who still believed their company could once again live up to American?s 1980s advertising claim that they were ?Something Special in the Air?.
But the headwinds seemed to far outweigh the tailwinds and finally on November 29, 2011 American filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy becoming the last U.S. legacy carrier to do so. On top of that, US Airways began aggressively pursuing a merger, securing an agreement with the pilots unions. Then came the 2012 ?Summer of Discontent? with flight cancellations and operations disruptions that sent customers into the arms of their competitors and who can forget the seats onboard a few 757s becoming unbolted during flights. It would have been understandable for the once proud Eagle to fold its wings. If the one unthinkable collapses of majors like Pan Am and Eastern occurred, could American meet the same fate?
It may be hard to remember, but since the beginning of commercial aviation: American was an innovating pace setter in the industry, and generally a profitable one at that. In many ways, American virtually wrote the history of the airline industry: American introduced the airliner that changed aviation, the Douglas DC-3. The first non-stop transcontinental services were flown by American in 1953 and then they pioneered the first regularly scheduled domestic jet services in 1959. Their legendary CEO C.R. Smith, along with an American 707 Astroliner, appeared on the cover of Time Magazine for this honor.
American was the launch customer for other airline types such as the Douglas DC-10 (which was based on their specifications) and the blazingly fast Convair 990. American even leased to NASA and maintain the 747s used to ferry the Space Shuttle. Of even greater significance, American introduced the first airline computer reservation system, Sabre, back in 1961. In 1981, they created the world?s first frequent flyer program, still known as AAdvantage. Under their controversial but genius CEO Robert Crandall, American became the leader in dynamic pricing and computerized yield management as well as cost control, which made the airline very profitable. They were even the first airline to introduce a wireless app back in 1999 on the Palm Pilot, long before they were in vogue. Along the way, they acquired numerous airlines such as Trans Caribbean, AirCal, RenoAir, and finally TWA.
With that spirit of innovation and comeback even in the face of severe turbulence, American chose to move forward even before the Chapter 11 filing. On January 19, 2011 American became the first U.S. airline to order the Boeing 777-300 ER, the world?s most successful twin-engine airliner. Initially ordering 2 and then upping the order to 10 with options to covert other Dash 200s, AA would initially use the 777-300 ER on super high density premium routes to South America and London from their major hubs at DFW, MIA, LAX, ORD, and JFK. London Heathrow was announced as the initial destinations, but perhaps in a nod to the importance of Latin America and particularly economically booming Brazil, S?o Paolo became the inaugural destination.? The first 2 777-300ERs delivered are scheduled to only be deployed on this route through March until London Heathrow is added until March.
On July 20, 2011 American ordered $13 billion worth of 460 narrow-body Boeing and Airbus aircraft, the largest commercial aircraft order in history. This fleet renewal, designed to replace the aging MD-80s, 757s, and 767-200s, consists of 200 aircraft from the Boeing 737 family: The 737-700, 800, 900ER, and the new ultra fuel-efficient 737 Max (which it launched). From Airbus, a company previous management had vowed never to do business with again, American ordered 260 aircraft from the Airbus A320 family including the 320, 320 Neo, and new 321 which would become the new Transcontinental Flagship with a game changing cabin experience?beginning in November, 2013.
Reportedly, the airline gained even better terms in negotiations during bankruptcy. Even after the bankruptcy filing AA continued other upgrades such as Wi-Fi across the domestic fleet and international satellite Wi-Fi for international flights, new Boeing Sky Cabin equipped 737s at the rate of approximately 3 per month, Samsung Galaxy tablets for use by premium passengers for in-flight entertainment and by flight crew for a myriad of flight information, in-fight streaming of movies and video content, and innovative new pricing options called ?Choice?.
The long in the tooth vintage 1980s and 90s era cabins received much attention as well new extended legroom Main Cabin Extra, a new transcontinental Flagship Business and First Class product with lie-flat seats, a new long-haul Business and First Class product debuting on today?s 777-300 flight, and new leather seats in economy. Power on demand throughout all new aircraft and cabins would become the exception rather than the rule. American also confirmed its order for the arrival of 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliners commencing in 2014-15.
Unlike many airlines that wait for exiting from bankruptcy before announcing upgrades, American announced many of these changes from the outset of its reorganization and continued throughout the proceedings even during the USAirways merger discussions.
Almost 2 years after placing the order, on December 11, 2012 Boeing delivered the first 777-323ER to American. The plane, sans fanfare was ferried in its still anonymous scheme from Everett?s Paine Field to the DFW base and quickly placed in a hanger. A second 777-300ER (N718AN) was delivered quietly on December 19th with the next 8 following in 2014.
These planes were delivered a bit late, reportedly due to the new Zodiac UK First Class seats not being ready in time postponing the inaugural from early January 2013 to January 31. A 3rd 777-300ER was delivered in early January while its stable mates made a few proving trips, including the MIA hub to test the IFE and Satellite Wi-Fi.
After a tough fall, American began to gather momentum in its operational and financial results. It reported revenue of $24.9 billion in 2012, the highest in company history and a full-year operating profit of $494 million, excluding special items, a $749 million improvement over 2011. These were impressive, especially given the operational issues of the Summer and Fall and losses cased by Hurricane Sandy.
Now read about the unveiling of American Airlines' new brand >
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/significance-of-american-airlines-777-300er-2013-2
stand your ground law dancing with the stars season 14 david garrard michael bay ninja turtles san antonio weather mike daisey nicollette sheridan
Friday, February 1, 2013
Bank of Japan deputy governor signals readiness to ease
NAGASAKI/TOKYO ? ?A Bank of Japan deputy governor has flagged the strongest signal yet that it will boldly implement more stimulus if needed to achieve the bank's new 2 percent inflation target.
Deputy Governor Hirohide Yamaguchi shrugged off global criticisms that the central bank was intentionally weakening the yen by monetary easing, stressing that it never deliberately targets exchange rates.
"I won't rule out the chance of our easing indirectly affecting currency moves and weakening the yen. But we don't take policy steps for the purpose of directly affecting exchange rates," he told a news conference after meeting business executives in Nagasaki, southern Japan, on Thursday.
His remarks came after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe waded into the growing global debate about currency wars, saying Japan's fiscal and monetary stimulus measures are aimed at beating deflation, not at manipulating currency movements.
Abe's pledge of bold fiscal and monetary stimulus has helped push down the yen, supporting the export-reliant economy and nudging Japan's Nikkei share average to a 33-month high.
Yamaguchi, one of the central bank's two deputy governors whose terms expire in March, offered an upbeat outlook for Japan's economy, saying it is likely to start a moderate recovery around mid-year, following strong signals from the United States and China.
Factory output in December rose at the fastest pace in a year and a half and firms expect further gains, data showed on Thursday, raising hopes that a recovery may be already underway.
Policymakers will welcome an improvement in the economy, but the bank will likely stay biased toward further easing as Abe and some of his party's legislators keep up the pressure on the central bank with threats to revise the law guaranteeing its monetary policy independence.
NOT OFF THE HOOK
The bank this month doubled its inflation target to 2 percent and switched to an open-ended commitment to buying assets next year, responding to intense pressure from Abe for bolder efforts to beat deflation.
Yamaguchi said the open-ended commitment shows the bank's resolve to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy without interruption, suggesting that further monetary stimulus will be primarily through buying more financial assets, rather than periodically resetting policy rates.
Yamaguchi said consumer inflation may reach 1 percent in the year ending in March 2015 if the economy picks up as projected.
"Now is a good chance for Japan to end deflation," Yamaguchi said. "We shouldn't miss this window of opportunity."
But many market players see politics as a more defining factor in when and how frequently the bank will act, and are already looking to a potentially new central bank leadership for clues to how willing it will be to adopt unorthodox policy measures.
With little room to cut already-low rates, the bank in 2010 put in place an asset-buying and lending program as its key monetary easing tool. Under the scheme, it has pledged to pump 101 trillion yen ($1.11 trillion) to markets by the end of this year and switch to open-ended asset purchases from next year.
The bank next meets for a rate review on February 13-14.
Japan's factory output rose 2.5 percent in December, below a median market forecast for a 4.5 percent gain. But manufacturers surveyed by the government expect output to increase 2.6 percent in January and rise 2.3 percent in February, indicating a moderate recovery in coming months.
Still, a sustained end to deflation remains distant. Wage earners' total cash earnings fell 1.4 percent in December from a year earlier, taking average monthly earnings in 2012 to a record low, as companies looked to cut costs.
($1 = 91.0650 Japanese yen)
(Writing by Stanley White and Leika Kihara; Editing by Eric Meijer and Robert Birsel)
Source: http://feeds.foxbusiness.com/~r/foxbusiness/economy/~3/Hg65WX2phLE/
gavin degraw gavin degraw alec time 100 bob beckel anna paquin warren buffett
Could Scientists Have Prevented the Fukushima Meltdown?
Workers carry out radiation screening on a bus for a media tour at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s (Tepco) Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma Town, Fukushima Prefecture on May 26, 2012 Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/AFP/Getty Images
Three-Eleven is what they call the disaster. On March 11, 2011, all hell broke loose when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the eastern coast of Japan. As if that weren?t enough, a massive tsunami followed about an hour later, churning over everything in its path for some 200 square miles.
Entire cities were lost. Some 16,000 people died. But it wasn?t over yet. The disaster would further its assault on locals and send chills down spines worldwide once the floodwaters receded and people realized the disaster that was unfolding in the seaside prefecture of Fukushima. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????
The tsunami topped a seawall and knocked out the power and backup generators at Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant. That killed the pumps that bathed radioactive fuel rods in water and kept them from melting. The cores in three reactors melted down. Seawater was used for emergency cooling and was highly contaminated; unknown amounts escaped into the environment. The promise of safe, limitless power flickered around the world.
Before the disaster, about 600,000 people lived within 30 kilometers of the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant. By the end of March 2011, more than half of that population had been evacuated. Many will never return to their homes.
In October 2011, the Science Council of Japan organized a committee to rethink reconstruction with an eye toward the social responsibility of science and scientists. Little more than a year later, I visited Tokyo for a conference on the impact of Fukushima on the ocean and the future of nuclear power in Japan.
?Science and technology enable us to make more use of the natural environment,? said Takashi Onishi, a professor of engineering and current president of the Science Council of Japan. ?Then, we have been bringing people closer to the danger that a natural disaster may cause.?
Standing before a conference room filled with jet-lagged international scientists and reporters, Onishi explained that seawalls intended to protect against tsunamis gave residents a false sense of security. In another time, would people have lived so close?
Some people have said that Japan should have known better. The earthquake and tsunami were unprecedented, but they weren?t out of the question. Others have accused the nuclear industry of being too friendly with their regulators.
There is a myth in Japan that nuclear power plants are so safe that to suggest safety improvements would be illogical, said Onishi. ?[The accident] showed that nuclear power plants are not safe, although the myth of absolute safety of nuclear power plants has been dominating the policies of this country.?
Japan has a complicated history with the split atom. Forever scarred by the sinister side of nuclear fission, the island nation has also relied on nuclear power to build its economy.
The Fukushima accident caused political fallout. First came reports that Japan would try to phase out nuclear power entirely by 2040, the New York Times reported in September 2012. Similar talk of nuclear phase out took place in Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. By December, the tide seemed to turn as Japan?s new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, hinted at nuclear growth. Even after one of the worst accidents in nuclear history, Japan cannot give up nuclear power.
What is the responsibility of Japan?s scientists? To overcome the safety myth, scientists and policymakers need to strike a delicate balance of proximity and distance. This balance was lost in the case of Fukushima, said John Crowley, leader of UNESCO?s Social Dimensions of Global Environmental Change team.
?The experts were far too close to the decision makers ? the expertise was not independent enough,? said Crowley. ?If scientists are too far from the policy process, then science cannot meaningfully contribute to it, but if they are too close, then it distorts and perverts the science.?
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=2709bd812e98a73175819c7194c9dfb7
groundhogs day paula abdul cinnamon challenge lou dobbs rock salt david letterman march of dimes
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)