Shutdown Day 10: Obama, GOP To Meet Amid Signs Of Possible Thaw

Chairman of the House Budget Committee Rep. Paul Ryan at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. Ryan has outlined the framework of a possible deal on the federal shutdown and the debt ceiling.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Chairman of the House Budget Committee Rep. Paul Ryan at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. Ryan has outlined the framework of a possible deal on the federal shutdown and the debt ceiling.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

It's Day 10 of the partial federal government shutdown, and the big news is a meeting between President Obama and a select group of House Republicans.

The president will host the meeting, to include 18 key Republicans, which is aimed at finding a way around the partisan differences. The White House and Democrats want a "clean" continuing resolution to restore funding to government operations, but a substantial bloc of conservative Republicans in the House insist that such a temporary spending measure be tied to defunding and/or delaying the Affordable Care Act.

But the fight over the continuing resolution has morphed into a high stakes debate over raising the debt ceiling, which has to happen in the next week to forestall a likely U.S. default.

Thursday's noon meeting at the White House and signs of a possible compromise from Republicans, has some pundits talking of a "thaw" that could produce a deal. In an opinion piece published Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal, House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, outlined a plan to extend the nation's borrowing limit for four to six weeks on condition that both sides sit down to deficit-reduction talks.

USA Today writes:

"Republicans have moved on from their original demand and are instead seeking an avenue for budget talks that could result in long-term agreements to raise the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit. Democrats say they are open to such talks, but only after the shutdown ends and the default threat is off the table."

The Journal says:

"The White House said the session isn't a negotiation, in keeping with Mr. Obama's demand that lawmakers raise the debt ceiling and fully reopen the government without conditions before policy talks are held. But the meeting may allow House Republicans to say they had a policy conversation with the president, which they have been saying is a condition of resolving the impasse."

And The Washington Post reported Wednesday that:

"[House Speaker John Boehner] has closed the door on the idea of voting for a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government and a clean bill to raise the debt limit. But a short-term version of both might be least painful way out of what's proven to be a very tough situation for him.

If Boehner were to agree to a very short-term — say, six to eight weeks — debt ceiling extension and government funding bill, he could sell it to his conference as a chance to get Democrats to the negotiating table on health-care and spending. And in short order, Republicans would have some leverage once again, as yet another shutdown would be triggered without a deal and the risk of default would be resurrected without another debt ceiling increase."

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/10/231350686/shutdown-day-10-obama-gop-to-meet-amid-signs-of-a-thaw?ft=1&f=1003
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Home Improvement - Plumbing Services - Pinnacle Maintenance

If you look around, you will find hundreds of plumbers, or at least people who bill themselves as plumbers. This doesn’t mean that everyone you talk to about a plumbing service is qualified to work on your home. There are many plumbers/plumbing contractors that will do sketchy things to homeowners. These shady contractors usually aren’t licensed and will leave their clients hanging when something goes wrong at the job site, even after being paid. If you are looking for the best plumbers in around Limerick, Clare, Kerry or its surrounding environments, Pinnacle Maintenance is the number one company that provides you with a one-stop shop of professionals and licensed plumbers.

Here are some examples of reasons to hire qualified, reliable and licensed Plumbers to work on your property:

Cutting cost by cutting quality

One incident that comes to mind is a homeowner that hired a plumber to install a shower in his family home. The shower had a pan liner, with a strainer. These shower pans require that pitch material be employed underneath. The contractor that was hired said that he never used pitch liner, and it was unnecessary extra cost and labor, so the job was “finished’ improperly. Sure enough, after some time had passed, enough water seeped down from the liner into the home’s structure to do significant damage to the floors. The repairs were costly, and the homeowner decided to never use an unlicensed contractor again.

Use of cheap materials

Good quality plumbing materials are essential for any plumbing job that you want to last longer than a year. And the good materials don’t come cheap. A contractor that picks up all of their materials at a local value for less store is likely trying to cut costs by using inferior materials. There are times when a part or tool can be grabbed from a hardware store, but high quality materials should be ordered from proper supply outlets for most jobs.

Liability insurance

A plumber must be licensed in order to obtain proper liability insurance. At all times, any job must be conducted by a licensed plumber, as well as any job involving sewage or freshwater lines. If they aren’t licensed, and something goes wrong, you could be footing the bill of some potentially massive costs. Even if the plumber is licensed, check their insurance to make sure that they haven’t let it lapse. If an unlicensed plumber conducts a repair or installation that later goes bad, you may end up being liable to pay for the repair job.

Insufficient skills or knowledge

Even if it’s just a toilet repair, you should avoid hiring anybody but the best, most qualified and licensed plumber around. It may seem like your local handyman can handle that hot water heater install job, and maybe he can, but if he doesn’t know which pressure relief valves to use and how to install them properly, there could be big problems when the hot water heater explodes. Not only will it flood your home but the explosion itself could hurt one of your family members. It may seem smart to cut costs by contracting out to the lowest bidder, but plumbing is one place where you do not want to do that. Even a small water leak from an improperly connected pipe can have major ramifications for your home’s infrastructure.

Hopefully you will keep the above reasons in mind the next time you are out searching for a plumber to conduct work on your home. Make sure to ask all the right questions and check their credentials. Look for reviews and properly vet all candidates. Don’t risk your home on a lousy contractor just because he says he can get the job done for a few bucks cheaper. Pay a little more and get the peace of mind that you deserve.
As always, we invite you to share this post on social media. If you have a friend or family member who is thinking of hiring a shady plumber, direct them here by all means.

Having good plumbing is very important part of managing your home. This article provides some fantastic tips for helping you maintain and fixing your own plumbing.
Have a professional flush your septic tank cleaned every five years to keep it working well. Although it could cost a good deal of money to pump out your septic tank, cleaning up sewage backup in your home will ultimately cost much more.
Do not pay your plumber until the problem is fixed. You may need to make a small down payment before the job has begun, but never pay the total cost until you know the job has been completed correctly. You want to know the bill when you are completely satisfied with the job.

Check the floors in your bathroom for soft areas around the toilet to determine floor damage. You can save money by noticing the problem as early as possible.
Avoid dumping oil, fat, and other oils down your drain. This is primarily true if you are someone who has a garbage disposal because the fats will make the blades go slower and less efficiently. Make certain you dispose of oils in other places other than the sink.
If you notice orange or pink stains in your bathroom fixtures, this occurs when the water has too much iron. You should purchase a water softener to use, or you can have a professional do it for you.

By having a regular cleaning routine, lemon rinds, dish soap and even pits from a cherry, you can keep your disposal running smoothly and smelling as fresh as the day it was installed.
Pour equal parts baking soda followed by vinegar down your bathtub drain every month. Plug up the opening or cover it with a cloth while the chemical reaction takes place. Wait until the chemical reaction runs its course, and then flush with boiling water. Doing this will clear your pipes of disgusting soap scum and blockages.
The best way to avoid plumbing bills is prevention. Drain clogs are a very common plumbing issue and sometimes expensive to repair when they are not addressed promptly. Drains easily clogged by hair. It’s a lot simpler to eliminate hair out of a screen than to pull it from a pipe.
Frozen pipes can lead to a large plumbing repair bills. The first thing to do is ensure your outside pipes are well insulated. When wintertime comes, drain and disconnect the hoses and shut off your outside faucet. Doing this can help save lots of plumbing repair bills?
Clean the aerator to if you are dealing with low water pressure issues which result from sediment buildup. Take out the aerator, disassemble it, and brush it clean with a little vinegar.

As you can see, there are many tips and tricks that you can use to fix the plumbing in your home. Apply what you have learned here, and build on that knowledge.

Courtesy of Pinnacle Maintenance Services Limerick

Tags: bathroom refurbishment, bathroom repairs, builders, carpenters, cleaning, cleaning company, plumbers, plumbing, plumbing services, professional plumbing

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Americans now love 15-year fixed mortgages

Rates on a 15-year fixed mortgage are so low that many homeowners can afford the higher payment, which allows them to pay off their mortgage in 15 years instead of the standard 30.

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald,?Correspondent / January 28, 2013

By refinancing their 30-year home loan into a 15-year fixed mortgage, one couple from Washington State expect to save $70,000 in interest charges.

Michael Sloan

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Move over, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. A shorter-term loan is enticing scores of home-owners to switch, now that they can finally afford to do so.

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Record-low rates are helping transform the 15-year mortgage from a rarely used instrument into a popular option, especially for refinancers. In November, 23 percent of refinance applications were for 15-year loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That's up 51 percent from a year earlier.

The trend has gained steam since the economic slowdown led consumers to start slashing their debts. Fifteen-year mortgages made up just 8.5 percent of all refinance loans in 2007, but they made up 35 percent of the total last year, according to CoreLogic, a consumer research firm based in Irvine, Calif. One reason: Paying off the note in half the time means huge long-term savings in interest payments.

"Consumers are financially savvy, and they recognize 30-year fixed mortgages are a bargain," says Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac, a major provider of mortgage capital based in McLean, Va. "But then they say, 'Gosh, a 15-year fixed is three-quarters of a percentage point even lower'.... You can lock that in and never have to worry about refinancing again."

While 15-year loans have always been an interest-saving option, they usually come with a trade-off: higher monthly payments. That's because 15-year loans are structured to pay down principal more aggressively each month.

But today's extraordinary rates are changing the calculus. Interest on a 15-year loan hasn't been this low since at least the 1940s. Seldom have 15-year loans been so much cheaper than 30-year loans, according to Mr. Nothaft.

Until mid-December, Jeffrey and Amber DeGraaf of Kennewick, Wash., were paying 5.75 percent on a 30-year adjustable-rate mortgage that they took out in 2005 for $149,000. Their monthly payment was $1,097.

When they refinanced in December into a 15-year fixed at 3 percent, their monthly payment rose by only $123. The benefits far outweighed the $3,600 in refinance charges, Mr. DeGraaf says. The family expects to save around $70,000 in long-term interest. Plus they'll own their three-bedroom home free and clear eight years sooner.

"A lot of people would say, 'Another $120 a month? I don't know if I've got that'," says DeGraaf, a government contractor. "But to me, if you can afford it, it's worth it. You have your house paid off sooner. And you think about all the interest that you now won't be paying."

The DeGraafs have plenty of company, especially in regions where home prices aren't so high that a larger monthly payment would be out of the question. In five Midwestern states with relatively strong economies and low home prices, 30 to 40 percent of all refinanced loans are for 15-year terms.

The trend has followers on the coasts, too. Gesa Credit Union, based in Richland, Wash., which refinanced the DeGraafs, authorized 330 new 15-year refinance loans in 2012, up from 200 in 2010.

"In the second year of [a 15-year] loan, more than half of your payment is going towards principal," Randy Wacker, Gesa's vice president of mortgage lending, says via e-mail. "On a 30-year loan, that doesn't happen until year 11!"

The 15-year loan isn't for everyone. More than 80 percent of loans for new home purchases still utilize the 30-year fixed. For first-time buyers, the 30-year's low payments can be critical to home-ownership's success, Nothaft says.

Yet for those who can afford a higher payment, there's no reason to wait to refinance, he says. "We're not anticipating further substantial declines in mortgage rates from these very, very low levels. So since they're at pretty much the low right now, why delay?"

It doesn't help the economy in the short run to have consumers steering disposable income into larger monthly loan payments, according to Mike Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics for the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington, D.C. But long term, "households have been saving more and accumulating less debt. That's going to build a more sustainable framework for [economic] growth going forward because people are living a little farther from the edge" of insolvency.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/_pV83DzhJS0/Americans-now-love-15-year-fixed-mortgages

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The Yeshiva World Decision Made Regarding Next Mayor of Bnei ...

With Rav Yaakov Asher?s successful election to Knesset, the seventh seat on the Yahadut Hatorah lineup, the post of Bnei Brak mayor became vacant. It has been decided the position will go to Rabbi Avrohom Rubinstein, who is close to HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky Shlita.

Rubinstein arrived at the home of HaGaon HaRav Aaron Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlita on motzei Shabbos with a letter of endorsement from Rav Kanievsky to hear the rav?s decision. After Rav Shteinman approved the appointment, Rav Rubinstein received a bracha. The rav also met with Av Beis Din HaGaon HaRav Nissim Karelitz Shlita and Rosh Yeshivas Ponevezh Rav Gershon Edelstein Shlita.

Rav Rubinstein has been the secretary of the Degel Hatorah Moetzas Gedolei Hatorah.

Others considered for the post included Mordechai Karelitz, Yaakov Gutterman and Reuven Korlensky.

It appears once Rav Chaim gave his letter of endorsement (click on image to enlarge), the issue was closed.

Have you checked out?YWN Radio?yet? Click?HERE?to listen!

(YWN ? Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

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Source: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/?p=154363

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Egyptian youths, police clash in fourth day of street violence

CAIRO (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas at dozens of stone-throwing protesters in Cairo on Sunday in a fourth day of street violence that has killed at least 41 people and compounded the political challenges facing President Mohamed Mursi.

The most deadly clashes flared up in Port Said where 32 people were killed on Saturday alone. That violence was provoked by a court verdict sentencing 21 people, mostly from the city, to death for their role in a deadly stadium disaster last year.

But protests have been going in cities across Egypt since Thursday led by opponents of Mursi and his Islamist allies. Demonstrations were initially timed to mark Friday's second anniversary of the uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak.

Opponents say Mursi has betrayed the goals of the revolt.

The army, Egypt's interim rulers until Mursi's election June, were sent back onto the streets to restore order in Port Said and Suez, another port city on the Suez Canal where at least eight people have been killed in clashes with police.

Although scuffles continued on Sunday morning in Cairo, there was no immediate sign of the kind of deadly escalation of previous days in the capital or elsewhere.

The spasm of violence adds to the daunting task facing Mursi as he tries to fix a beleaguered economy and cool tempers before a parliamentary election expected in the next few months which is supposed to cement Egypt's transition to democracy.

It has also exposed a deep rift in the nation. Liberals and other opponents accuse Mursi of failing to deliver on economic promises and say he has not lived up to pledges to represent all Egyptians. His backers say the opposition is seeking to topple Egypt's first freely elected leader by undemocratic means.

"Till now, none of the revolution's goals have been realized," said Mohamed Sami, a protester in Tahrir Square. "Prices are going up. The blood of Egyptians is being spilt in the streets because of neglect and corruption and because the Muslim Brotherhood is ruling Egypt for their own interests."

On a bridge close to Tahrir Square, youths were hurling stones at police in riot gear who fired tear gas to push them back towards the square which was the cauldron of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011 and toppled Mubarak 18 days later.

The U.S. embassy in Cairo, which is near Tahrir Square, said it was suspending public services on Sunday "due to the security situation in the vicinity" of the mission.

Many Egyptians are frustrated by the regular escalations that have hurt the economy and their livelihoods.

"They are not revolutionaries protesting," said taxi driver Kamal Hassan, 30. "They are thugs destroying the country."

CALL FOR DIALOGUE

The National Defense Council, headed by Mursi and including top army and other officials, has called for a national dialogue to discuss political differences.

That offer has been cautiously welcomed by the opposition National Salvation Front. But the organization has demanded a clear agenda and guarantees that any agreements will be implemented.

The Front, formed late last year when Mursi provoked protests and violence by expanding his powers and driving through an Islamist-tinged constitution, has threatened to boycott the parliamentary poll and to call for more protests if a list of demands is not met, including having an early presidential vote.

Egypt's transition has been blighted from the outset by political rows and street violence that have driven investors out and kept many tourists away, starving the economy of vital sources of hard currency.

Clashes in Port Said erupted after a judge sentenced 21 men to die for involvement in the deaths at a soccer match on February 1, 2012 between Cairo's Al Ahly club and the local al-Masri team. Many of the victims were fans of the visiting team.

There were 73 defendants in the case. Those not sentenced on Saturday will face a verdict on March 9, the judge said.

Al Ahly fans cheered the verdict after threatening action if the death penalty was not meted out. But Port Said residents were furious that people from their city were held responsible, triggering wild rampages through the streets.

A security source in Port Said said 32 people were killed, many from gunshot wounds. More than 300 were injured in one of the most deadly eruptions of violence during the past two years.

Clashes have also flared in Cairo, Alexandria and Port Said. Eight people died in Suez on Friday and police clashed with protesters again on Saturday.

Officers fired teargas when protesters angry at Friday's deaths hurled petrol bombs and stormed a police post and other government buildings. Around 18 prisoners escaped from police stations and stole some weapons, a security source said.

Reflecting international concern, British Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt said: "This cannot help the process of dialogue which we encourage as vital for Egypt today, and we must condemn the violence in the strongest terms."

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged the Egyptian authorities to restore calm and order and called on all sides to show restraint, her spokesperson said.

(Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/riots-over-egyptian-death-sentences-kill-least-32-005245042.html

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Harry's Afghan downtime: movies, candy trades

LONDON (AP) ? Prince Harry's off-duty time in Afghanistan appeared to be full of war movies, board games and elaborate candy trades.

The 28-year-old helicopter pilot and fellow members of his squad swapped Kit Kats and Rice Krispies Squares for American soldiers' M&Ms, according to a British media pool report released Sunday.

Harry himself outlined one of his less-prestigious duties. The third-in-line to the U.K. throne said anyone who lost at Uckers ? a military game similar to Ludo or Parcheesi ? had to then wait on his comrades like a Buckingham Palace butler, ready with a fresh cup of tea whenever anyone rang their bell.

"Whoever loses ... then you have to make brews for everybody all day," Harry told journalists ahead of his return to Britain this week.

He also denied rumors that he was far better at PlayStation than at traditional board games.

"I don't know who told you that," he told reporters. "I lost two days ago, and yesterday, so since you guys have been here I've only lost."

Harry returned to Britain on Wednesday after a 20-week deployment in Afghanistan in which he acknowledged that he had targeted Taliban fighters from the cockpit of his Apache attack helicopter.

Asked in an earlier round of interviews whether he had killed anyone, Harry said: "Yeah, so, lots of people have." That admission disturbed some Britons and led to front-page headlines like the one in The Daily Mail that read: "Harry: I Have Killed."

This latest round of interviews, focusing on Harry's daily life at Britain's Camp Bastion military base in Afghanistan, is not likely to draw the same kind of headlines.

The report mainly carried glimpses of the prince's daily routine, including his favorite foods ? chicken and broccoli ? and his favorite movies ? "Full Metal Jacket," ''Apocalypse Now," and "Platoon."

In an interesting twist for an Apache pilot, "Black Hawk Down," the Ridley Scott film about a helicopter raid gone wrong in Somalia, was among the movies spotted in Harry's communal tent.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/harrys-afghan-downtime-movies-candy-trades-090928405.html

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Huawei MediaPad 10 Link hits the FCC looking worse for wear

Huawei's MediaPad 10 Link clearly didn't know what it was getting itself into when it traveled to the FCC. The Android tablet, which made a brief appearance at CES a few weeks back, took quite a few hits to its 10.1-inch display, now that Wolverine is apparently handling electronics for the commission. According to notes from CES, the tablet's running Ice Cream Sandwich on a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. No word yet on how soon the newest member of the MediaPad family will be riding FCC approval onto our shores -- or if the name signals some new Hyrulian tie-in for the company.

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Daily Kos: Teachers' Lounge: You want to go to grad school?

First off, I loved graduate school, but not everyone is like me. ?Some of my students think grad school is a way of extending undergrad experiences. ?I have sat down with students several times to tell them I don't think they are good fits for an academic grad program (sometimes these are people who are good fits for professional programs, as they are ones who are interested in the utility of their studies, and want to have a job coming out of it -- I teach art history, and these students are sometimes the ones who should go into museum education or arts administration programs -- using their knowledge and learning how to apply it in a clear way along with apprenticeships/internships built into the program). ?Sometimes I think they might be but their undergraduate grades are not high enough for easy admission. ?In this case, I advise them to get some other experience (other than school) under their belts. ?Someone who has either worked at or volunteered at (in a substantial way) a museum or an arts organization has characteristics and a track record that makes her or him stand out when applying to graduate school, and getting a letter of recommendation from someone other than a professor who can speak to responsibility, reliability, drive, and interest can help a great deal to offset academic concerns. ?

That being said, undergraduate grades can at times be a predictor for graduate performance. ?These grades (particularly in the major) indicate knowledge in the field, dedication to research and writing components required in a discipline, time management abilities, and wiilingness to push through in the hoop-jumping that is a clear part of graduate school as in any job. ?And a letter from a professor who has had you in multiple classes is a good component of your application portfolio.

I write letters for anywhere between three and ten students a year. ?And I am lucky that there aren't more. ?I can thus talk about individual characteristics of a student. ?I don't have a generic letter -- each student gets a base letter that is specific to the skills and desires and strengths and concerns I have for him or her. ?If those concerns are so great that they prevent me from writing a strong letter, I will not agree to write one. ?I have only once told a student after having written several letters that I would not write another one -- that was someone who seemed to suddenly find it difficult to complete assignments in a timely manner (as far as I could tell this was a response to stress, and that is a problem in grad school -- you have to be able to handle adversity and stress that is potentially beyond anything you experience in undergrad). ?There was nothing I was able to find out by asking what was causing it (everything was fine, I was told) -- so I had to respond to what was in front of me.

So if I say I will write one, I will write a good one. ?I will be positive but honest. ?If you have a B average in my classes, I will not say you are the top student I have ever taught. ?It is my word and my university's reputation on the line; if I misrepresent you, it is every student who applies to that university in the future that my recommendation affects. ?I will, however, talk about specific details (papers, projects, interaction with other students, internships, research experiences) that make you particularly desirable as a graduate student in that program. ?

To help me do this, I ask for at least one month's warning for any letter, and preferably a listing of all the graduate schools to which you are applying, organized by deadline, and a brief description of why you want to apply to a specific school, what program you are applying to, and information about a link or a method of submission of the letter. ?I strongly prefer an on-line submission, and if necessary I will send a hard-copy one. ?I will almost never agree to give you a copy of the letter to send yourself. ?This is because I did that for students early on in my teaching, and one decided not to apply to one of the universities but did need a letter for a different one, and she told me about that by taking the letter out of the (sealed, signed across the seal) envelope, and attaching the open letter to my bulletin board along with a note saying "in case you forgot what you wrote, this will help you write me a letter to X university". ?It was a confidential letter (positive, but confidential), and I was furious. ?I wrote the letter, but since then have been really hesitant about handing a sealed letter to a student.

If the letters are to be submitted online, you need to get your application submitted a bit before the deadline because the online submission for letters of recommendation will often not be available to me until after your application is complete. ?And there will often be technical difficulties. ?This fall I did not get a letter submitted by the deadline because of this; I hope it is not held against the student. ?She was annoyed with me (or at least that is the way I read her last email, and she never let me know that the application was complete or anything about how it had been received, and she did not ask for any other letters of recommendation). ?I am sorry for the difficulty, but I didn't see it as my fault (nor was it hers), and I hope I do hear back from her eventually.

If I ask for a copy of your personal statement it means I want to see your personal statement. ?It may be because you are applying to do something that is not a clear outgrowth of your undergraduate work, or it may be because I want to be able to write a letter that supports you in a way that builds off your stated interests. ?What it doesn't mean is that you should send me a copy of your statement a month after the first letter deadlines. ?The letters I have written by that point are of necessity going to be a bit more generic. ?

As letters are written individually, the chance is that if you blow off the semester (usually the first semester senior year) it may be reflected in letters I write for you. ?As you ignore deadlines, stop coming to class, and don't come to meetings that are scheduled, these things reflect on you and may lead me to adjust my evaluation in such categories as "maturity" or "dedication to the field" -- if you show me that you are mature and dedicated to the field, chances are those ratings will be high; if you lead me to question such things, the ratings are almost certain to go down. ?Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances (health or yourself and your family, financial issues, etc.) but I can only evaluate what is before me, and that is what I base my recommendations on. ?

Finally, I would like some acknowledgement of my writing the letters. ?Thank you notes are nice, but not necessary. ?What is really necessary, however, is an indication of where you got in (or didn't) and what, if any, financial/scholarship/assistantship offers were made. ?It helps me to know where you go and why. ?If you decide to not take any graduate school place, even though you have been admitted, I do need to know that, and why you made that decision. ?If I have written 10-15 letters for you and you don't go to any grad school, then you come back to me the next year with a request for more letters, I need to know what is going on. ?That you have decided one year not to go to grad school is fine, and it doesn't prevent me from writing letters. ?But if you can't tell me a reason, it comes across as rather mercurial. ?It may not be, but again, I can only evaluate you by the information that is in front of me. ?And that evaluation is what grad schools are asking me to do in my letters of recommendation.

Oh, and one final final thing. ?If you choose to complain in a letter to the university (such as to the dean, or in the equivalent of an exit interview) how the class you took with me was the worst experience you had as a university student, do not expect that I will not hear about it, or remember it three years later when you want a letter of recommendation to a graduate program. ?And yes, that has happened. ?I chose not to write a letter or recommendation for this student, who had only had the one class with me. ?I said I did not remember her well enough to write that letter of recommendation. ?I figured it was much better for both of us to leave it at that. ?In other words, I was lying. ?I do that, sometimes. ?But I don't do it in letters of recommendation; in those I stand behind what I write.

Source: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/26/1182314/-Teachers-Lounge-You-want-to-go-to-grad-school

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The Elder Scrolls Online Beta Testing Starts - Video Games Blogger

Bethesda & ZeniMax Online Studios have announced The Elder Scrolls Online beta testing starts with beta program sign-ups this week!

When will the first round of the beta begin? The answer doesn?t confirm a date. To quote:

?If selected, you will be one of the first people to embark upon the newest Elder Scrolls adventure, and help us beta test The Elder Scrolls Online. Please be aware that this is just beta sign-ups. The first beta test will begin soon?watch our official website, Facebook, and Twitter for an announcement about the first round of invites.?

What can you do in the beta? Here?s what it is about:

?Tamriel is at war. Three alliances ? the Aldmeri Dominion, Daggerfall Covenant, and Ebonheart Pact ? square off for control of The Imperial City.
The time to vow your allegiance is swiftly approaching, as the official sign-up for The Elder Scrolls Online beta program begins today. If selected, you will be one of the first people to embark upon the newest Elder Scrolls adventure, and help us beta test The Elder Scrolls Online.
Now is the time for future members of the Aldmeri Dominion, Daggerfall Covenant, and Ebonheart Pact to rally and show your support!?

To celebrate the opening of the beta sign-ups, an The Elder Scrolls Online ?The Alliances? cinematic trailer has been released. Watch it here:

Next, we have the first video of The Elder Scrolls Online ? a documentary-style introduction to the game, presented by members of The Elder Scrolls Online Development Team. This video covers the basics of ESO, including a first look at the game?s Elder Scrolls-style combat system, massive PvP battles, Megaserver technology, exploration-based content, and much more.

An introduction to The Elder Scrolls Online:

The Elder Scrolls Online is set for release sometime in 2013 for PC and Mac.

Are you first in line to try out for The Elder Scrolls Online Beta?

About the author

By Ferry Groenendijk: He is the founder and editor of Video Games Blogger. He loved gaming from the moment he got a Nintendo with Super Mario Bros. on his 8th birthday. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and at Google+.

Source: http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2013/01/25/the-elder-scrolls-online-beta-testing-starts.htm

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Origin and maintenance of a retrograde exoplanet

Jan. 25, 2013 ? Astronomers have used the Subaru Telescope to show that the HAT-P-7 planetary system, which is about 1040 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus, includes at least two giant planets and one companion star. The discovery of a previously unknown companion (HAT-P-7B) to the central star (HAT-P-7) as well as confirmation of another giant planet (HAT-P-7c) orbiting outside of the retrograde planet HAT-P-7b, offer new insights into how retrograde planets may form and endure.

A Japanese collaboration led by Norio Narita (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan) used the Subaru Telescope in 2008 to discover the first evidence of a retrograde orbit of an extrasolar planet, HAT-P-7b.? Although retrograde planets, which have orbits that run counter to the spin of their central stars, are absent in our solar system, they occur in other planetary systems in the universe. However, scientists did not know how such retrograde planets formed.

Since his team's initial discovery of the retrograde planet HAT-P-7b, Narita has pursued his quest to explain its origin. As participants in the SEEDS (Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks with the Subaru Telescope) Project, he and his colleagues, Yasuhiro Takahashi, Masayuki Kuzuhara, and Teruyuki Hirano (all from the University of Tokyo), took high contrast images of the HAT-P-7 system? with HiCIAO (High Contrast Instrument for the Subaru Next Generation Adaptive Optics) to develop a more complete picture of it.

The team first discovered two companion candidates around the HAT-P-7 system in 2009 and measured their proper motion? over a three-year period until 2012. They confirmed that one of the two candidates is a common proper motion stellar companion to HAT-P-7, named HAT-P-7B.

The team also confirmed a long-term radial velocity trend for HAT-P-7. This indicated the existence of another giant planet, HAT-P-7c, orbiting between the orbits of HAT-P-7b (the retrograde planet) and HAT-P-7B (the stellar companion).

The question remained: How did the retrograde orbit of the planet develop?

In a 2012 research report, Dr. Simon Albrecht pointed out that certain gravitational effects between the central star and HAT-P-7b would prevent the long-term maintenance of its retrograde orbit. The current team thinks that the existence of the companion star (HAT-P-7B) and the newly confirmed outer planet (HAT-P-7c) are likely to play an important role in forming and maintaining the retrograde orbit of the inner planet (HAT-P-7b) via the Kozai mechanism, a long-term process during which a more massive object has an effect on the orbit of another. In the case of HAT-P-7b, the team posited so-called "sequential Kozai migration" as an explanation of this retrograde planet. They suggest that the companion star (HAT-P-7B) first affected the orbit of the newly confirmed outer planet (HAT-P-7c) through the Kozai mechanism, causing it to tilt. When the orbit of that planet inclined enough, HAT-P7c altered the orbit of the inner planet (HAT-P-7b) through the Kozai mechanism, so that it became retrograde. This sequential orbital evolution of the planet is one of the scenarios that could explain the origin of retrograde/tilted/eccentric planets.

Narita's team has demonstrated the importance of conducting high-contrast direct imaging observations for known planetary systems to check for the presence of outer faint companions, which may play an important role in understanding the entire picture of planetary migration. The findings provide important clues for understanding the origin of a variety of planetary systems, including those with highly tilted and eccentric orbits.

Notes

1) A retrograde planet is a planet with an orbit that runs counter (over 90 degrees) to the direction of the spin of the central star. Previous observations have revealed that about a third of hot Jupiters, exoplanets with characteristics similar to Jupiter but orbiting very close to their host stars, have tilted or even retrograde orbits relative to the spin of their central star.

2) The letters after the name of a star are consistent ways that astronomers label parts of a planetary system. The planetary system is named for the central star (HAT-P-7), and a companion star is labeled with an upper case B (HAT-P-7B). The first planet discovered in the system is designated by a lower case b (HAT-P-7b), and the next, with a lower case c (HAT-P-7c), and so on.

3) SEEDS (Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru Telescope) is a large-scale, five-year strategic project led by Motohide Tamura (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan). Using a total of 120 observing nights at the Subaru Telescope, the project focuses on exploring hundreds of nearby stars in an effort to directly image extrasolar planets and protoplanetary/debris disks around stars.

4) Radial velocity is a measure of the rate of change in the distance of an astronomical object. When a planet orbits around a star, it causes a tiny shift in the star's spectrum which can be measured with a high-precision spectrograph and used to infer the presence of a planet.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/58mG5SV5_0U/130125103923.htm

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Inventor Of The World Wide Web Calls For More Online Innovation ...

Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the hyperlinked World Wide Web, isn?t entirely happy with what he has helped create ? and has thrown down the gauntlet to web developers to come up with more disruptive forms of online communication that can break down cultural not just geographical barriers.

Talking about the web as it is today, rather than the ?collaborative tool? he originally designed, he said:??World peace has not miraculously occurred. People still mainly talk to their neighbours, people still mainly talk to the people who have the same religion, and the same culture, so for all its breaking down geographical boundaries in principle it hasn?t really broken down cultural boundaries.?Can we develop systems on the web which will actually help solve that sort of ?challenge??

Berners-Lee was speaking in an interview at the World Economic Forum today,?entitled ?what?s wrong with social networking?? but he joked the title had been cooked up merely to draw in the crowds.

?As a universal platform the web wasn?t supposed to dictate what you did with it,? he told his audience in Davos. ?The world wide web is a platform and humanity does what it can with it??There?s lots of people who think we could do more. What do we really want to get out of this web thing? What do we really want to get out of human communication??

While it began as a collaborative tool, the web subsequently took off as a publishing medium ? or it did to a ?certain extent?, said Berners-Lee, pointing to the fact that publishing online remains a relatively elite activity and therefore, again, does not live up to his original collaborative vision for a truly global web.

?We?ve got wikis, we?ve got blogs, but still most people? aren?t publishing on the web. And actually when you go to most places you?re not in a position where you can take place in the conversation very much. Sometimes you can comment but actually the comment tends to be at a second level,? he said.

Asked about the erosion of online openness threatened by walled garden social networks, Berners-Lee said the networks both help humanity by providing the data that enables computers to help people but also highlighted how there is ?a lot of frustration, from a lot of people? that they can?t connect up the personal data they have entered into different services in all the ways they might like to.

?Each of these social network systems is a silo so there is a frustration that I?ve told it all my data but I don?t have access to that,? he said.

Despite yearning for more openness and fewer shackles stifling the free flow of online data, Berners-Lee was careful to say he was not calling for an online data free-for-all. There do need to be ?reasonable boundaries?, he accepted ? whether it?s sensitive personal or government or military data. ?The web isn?t about just sharing everything, destroying privacy? [but] if I want to share something with you it shouldn?t be the technology that gets in the way.?

Turning to the economic argument, Berners-Lee conceded there is a problem with current online business models ? especially when it comes to finding ways to pay musicians. The web should be ?about spreading culture, music and getting payment back to musicians?, he said. ? We?ve got to find new ways of doing that.?

Specifically he called for new protocols to be developed to support online payments. ?We need to find a whole lot of new business models ? I think we should develop new payment protocols so that when you?re using a web browser it?s a lot easier to pay for things.?

He also argued for the economic value in opening up data that is unnecessarily locked away, pointing to a U.K. initiative to open up government data so that the citizens who have paid for the data to be created in the first place can have the benefit of using it ? and use it to create new businesses. ?You?re making a great common good, that?s making the world run more efficiently,? he argued.

Likewise, he argued that the benefit to humanity of opening up scientific data ? to ?scientists everywhere? ? would be ?huge?.??It?s a?question of unlocking this potential that we really already have ? it?s getting huge benefit for very little cost,? he said.

Berners-Lee was also asked about Internet activist?Aaron Swartz, who was arrested for downloading academic journals and subsequently committed suicide ? and argued that Swartz?s tragedy is an example of what can happen when ?legislation gets too strong?.

?He was an incredibly ethical person. He thought a huge amount about what was right and how the world should be? but because [the FBI] saw that what he was doing was accessing a computer system there seems to be a deep suspicion of that,? he said.

?He used his programming to try to make a point, in a way as a protest. But they ended up using a very unfair law which had been changed from its original form which said that if you break into a computer system in any way then you are guilty of a felony? ?People are thinking now about that law, and there already proposals to change it.?

?To be a hacker ? when I use the term ? is somebody who is creative and does wonderful things,? Berners-Lee added. ?We need more coders, we need more people who understand how to put data online.?

A graduate of Oxford University, England, in 1989, Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, an internet-based hypermedia initiative for global information sharing while at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory. He wrote the first web client and server in 1990. His specifications of URIs, HTTP and HTML were refined as Web technology spread. He is the 3COM Founders Professor of Engineering in the School of Engineering with a joint appointment in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science...

? Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/25/inventor-of-the-world-wide-web-calls-for-more-online-innovation-to-break-down-cultural-barriers-and-build-new-business-models/

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Top white-collar crime prosecutor getting SEC job

FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2002 file photo, Mary Jo White, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, appears on Capitol Hill in Washington. A White House official says President Barack Obama on Thursday will nominate White as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2002 file photo, Mary Jo White, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, appears on Capitol Hill in Washington. A White House official says President Barack Obama on Thursday will nominate White as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama will nominate former U.S. attorney Mary Jo White, who built a reputation prosecuting white-collar crimes, to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, an agency that has a central role in implementing Wall Street reform.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Obama would announce White's nomination during a ceremony in the State Dining Room Thursday afternoon.

"She's got an incredibly impressive resume," Carney said. "The president is very pleased to be able to nominate her."

At the same event, Obama will renominate Richard Cordray to serve as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a White House official said. The president used a recess appointment last year to circumvent Congress and install Cordray as head of the bureau. That appointment expires at the end of this year.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the nomination before the president announces it.

White spent nearly a decade as the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, handling a wide array of white-collar crimes and complex securities and financial fraud cases. White House officials say that experience makes her well-positioned to implement Obama's Wall Street reform legislation.

While serving as U.S. attorney, White also won convictions related to the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

If confirmed by the Senate, White would take over the helm at the SEC from Elisse Walter, who is serving out the rest of former SEC chairwoman Mary Schapiro's term. Schapiro resigned in December.

In 2000, White led the criminal prosecution of more than 100 people ? including members of all five New York crime families ? accused of strong-arming brokers and manipulating prices of penny stocks. The action was called one of the biggest crackdowns on securities fraud in U.S. history at the time.

White's office also won a record $606 million in restitution from the securities arm of the Republic New York Corp. bank in 2001. That year, the bank pleaded guilty to conspiring with an investment adviser to hide hundreds of millions of dollars in losses from Japanese investors.

Cordray has run the consumer bureau since last year, when Obama used a recess appointment to install him in the job. Senate Republicans had opposed Cordray, as well as the concept of the consumer bureau.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., first conceived of the idea of a consumer protection bureau. Obama considered naming her to lead the bureau, but her nomination would likely have run into deep opposition on Capitol Hill.

White, 65, currently heads the litigation department at law firm Debevoise & Plimpton.

She was the first woman to hold the position of U.S. attorney in Manhattan, one of the most prestigious positions in federal law enforcement. During her tenure from 1993 to 2002, White won convictions of white-collar criminals, drug traffickers and international terrorists. The most notable was Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

She also led the prosecution of mob boss John Gotti when she was acting U.S. attorney in Brooklyn in 1992. Gotti died in prison in 2002.

If confirmed by the Senate, White would be the first prosecutor to head the 79-year-old SEC. Most SEC chairmen traditionally have come from Wall Street or the ranks of private securities lawyers. The choice of White is likely intended to bolster the agency's enforcement profile in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

White's background differs sharply from that of Schapiro, who stepped down last month after guiding the agency in the four years after the crisis. Schapiro worked at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the securities industry's self-policing organization. Some consumer advocates have said that Schapiro's experience as CEO of FINRA made her more likely to seek compromise and less likely to aggressively pursue misconduct.

During Shapiro's tenure, the SEC reached major settlements with the biggest banks on Wall Street, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Citibank. But critics said the penalties were small compared with the banks' revenues. And they complained that no senior executives were held accountable.

White would be expected to give high priority to expanding the enforcement efforts.

At the same time, much of the pressing work facing the agency involves writing new rules. The SEC is seeking stricter rules for money-market mutual funds and must get into shape the so-called Volcker Rule, which would bar banks from making certain trades for their own profit.

As head of litigators at Debevoise & Plimpton, White has represented a number of financial institutions likely to have crossed swords with the SEC in enforcement cases. Her clients also included former Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, whom she represented in a 2010 civil lawsuit by then-New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo accusing Lewis of misleading shareholders in the bank's merger with Merrill Lynch.

White also represented the largest U.S. hospital chain, HCA, in the insider-trading investigations by the SEC and the Justice Department of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, whose family owned HCA. The investigations were closed in 2007 with no charges filed against Frist.

___

Associated Press writer Marcy Gordon in Washington and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-24-Obama-SEC/id-90c8ec1f983242f396834a4ffe59a907

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Violence returns to Tahrir as Egypt marks revolution

Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters

An anti-Morsi demonstrator tries to escape from a tent set on fire by riot police at Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday.

By Ahmed el-Shemi and Tom Perry, Reuters

CAIRO -- Hundreds of youths clashed with Egyptian police in Tahrir Square on Friday in a violent start to the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak and led to the election of an Islamist president who is now the focus of protester rage.

Opponents of President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood allies are expected to mass in Tahrir Square later on Friday to revive the demands of a revolution that they say has been betrayed by the Islamists.

The square was calm by daybreak, following early morning battles between police and protesters who threw Molotov cocktails and firecrackers as they tried to approach a wall blocking access to government buildings near the square.

Plumes of teargas fired by the police filled the air.

The Health Ministry said 16 people had been wounded. At one point, riot police used one of the incendiaries thrown at them to set ablaze at least two tents erected by the youths, a Reuters witness said.

Inspired by Tunisia's uprising against President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt's revolution helped set off more revolts in Libya and Syria. But the sense of common purpose that united Egyptians at the time has given way to conflict that has grown only worse and last month triggered lethal street battles.

Suhaib Salem / Reuters

After 18 days of public protests, Hosni Mubarak resigns as Egypt's president and hands over power to the military.

The anniversary will once again showcase the divide between the Islamists and their secular opponents. The Brotherhood has decided against mobilizing in the street for the occasion, a decision that could reduce the likelihood of confrontation.

"The people want to bring down the regime," declared banners in the square. "Save Egypt from the rule of the Supreme Guide," said another, a reference to leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie.

Morsi, in a speech on Thursday marking the Prophet Mohammad's birthday, called on Egyptians to mark the anniversary "in a civilized, peaceful way that safeguards our nation, our institutions, our lives".

"The Brotherhood is very concerned about escalation, that's why they have tried to dial down their role on January 25," said Shadi Hamid director of research at the Brookings Doha Center.

"There may very well be the kinds of clashes that we've seen before, but I don't see anything major happening that is going to fundamentally change the political situation," he said.

Discontent
Morsi faces discontent on multiple fronts.

His opponents say he and his group are seeking to dominate the post-Mubarak order. They accuse him of showing some of the autocratic impulses of the deposed leader by, for example, driving through a controversial new constitution last month.

The Brotherhood dismisses such criticism as unfair. It accuses its opponents of failing to respect the rules of the new democracy that put the Islamists in the driving seat by winning elections.

Six months into office, Morsi is also being held responsible for an economic crisis caused by two years of turmoil. The Egyptian pound has sunk to record lows against the dollar.

Other sources of friction abound. Activists are impatient for justice for the victims of political violence perpetrated over the last two years. Little has been done to reform brutal Mubarak-era security agencies. A spate of transport disasters on roads and railways neglected for years is feeding discontent.

The parties that have called for Friday's protest list demands including a complete overhaul of the Islamist-tinged constitution that was fast-tracked into law by Morsi in December, a move that fuelled street violence.

Its critics say the constitution, which was approved in a popular referendum, offers inadequate protection for human rights, gives the president too many privileges and fails to curb the power of the military establishment.

Morsi's supporters say the criticism is unfair, that enacting the constitution quickly was crucial to restoring stability, and that the opposition is making the situation worse by perpetuating unrest.

Related:

PhotoBlog: Egypt riot police set fire to protest tents in Tahrir Square, witness says

Egyptians fear decades of Muslim Brotherhood rule, warn Morsi is no friend to US

'Egypt is free,' crowds cheer after Mubarak quits

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/25/16692054-violence-protesters-return-to-tahrir-square-as-egypt-marks-revolution?lite

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Students treat robo-dogs at high-tech veterinary school

19 hrs.

Devin Coldewey , NBC News

Cornell University's Veterinary Center?is combining forces with their Center for Advanced Computing to create a powerful, futuristic simulated vet environment ? complete with robot dogs and cats. Students monitor, diagnose?and treat the robo-pets in a hands-on experience critical?for aspiring vets.

Anyone who has taken a first?aid course knows that simulated humans are a common thing, and there are similar practice?models for pets. But there's a difference between a rubber model you can do CPR on and something that behaves like a real person ? or dog.

That's what Cornell's?Dr.?Daniel Fletcher and his colleagues are attempting to do ? and not just with a better dog surrogate, but with a fully-functional model vet's office.

"The idea is to bridge preclinical lecture learning and actual clinical experience, letting students practice applying what?they've?learned in a safe setting before the stakes get high,"?explained Fletcher in a news release describing the research.

Over the last two years, the Veterinary Center has put together what must be the most sophisticated simulated vet's office in the world. Students can use real vet's tools to check the pulse, breathing, and other vital stats on a robot dog and cat (Robo-Jerry and Robo-Fluffy), and can practice doing injections and inserting catheters. Their work is recorded from multiple angles and can be reviewed later by professors and classmates.

As helpful as all this is, it's still only a fraction of the everyday duties and risks of a veterinarian. Fletcher told NBC News in an email that the current robo-dog is valuable but rudimentary. "It currently can't move to respond to stimulation, it can't bite to simulate a frightened pet for handling practicing, and has only simple physiologic feedback."

That's why he's working on Butch, successor to Robo-Jerry and bearer of many improvements. Fletcher says Butch will have more realistic skin and blood vessels, an improved airway, more space inside for electronics to simulate conditions, and articulating joints for a more authentic dog-like feel. It will also be based on cheaper, off-the-shelf components.

Inside, it's governed by a new open-source software system they call URSULA, which stands for Universal Realistic Simulation of a Living Animal. It will allow for more accurate simulation of animals' symptoms and response to treatments ? earlier software was based on human models, which were better than nothing but, as one might expect, highly inaccurate in some ways.

Fletcher cautioned that the vet center's?scope is limited:?"We're a small academic group, so progress is slow since we all have our regular responsibilities and are doing this as a side project."?

So while a robo-pig or robo-cow might be useful, don't expect one next year. But?the plan is to make the system publicly accessible, both so it can be used and so other academics can contribute. "We're really hoping that the open-source model will help move this along," Fletcher wrote ? "Only time will tell!"

??via Robots.net

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBCNews Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/students-treat-robo-dogs-high-tech-veterinary-school-1C8088356

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NuForce HP-800

Studio monitor headphones are an interesting, refreshing breed. In this age of mega-boosted bass, the goal of a studio monitor pair, like the NuForce HP-800, is to reproduce sound accurately, not overwhelmingly. Thus, the $149 (list) HP-800 does not throttle your ears with sub-bass frequencies. Instead, it focuses on the mid-range content, producing an accurate, crisp sound signature that is ideal for many genres. Unfortunately, any genre that relies on deep, sub-bass content as a central part of its mix is bound to give the HP-800 some trouble. These headphones not only seem to lack much sub-bass presence at moderate levels, but they distort on these same frequencies at top volumes.?

Design
The circumaural (over-the-ears) design of the visually-striking HP-800 is basically a must for studio monitors pairs?on-ear pairs tend to bleed too much audio that could then be picked up by microphones. NuForce uses memory foam in the ear pads, adding a layer of comfort that is crucial for long recording sessions.

Two nice visual touches on the otherwise uniformly black frame: The drivers on the inside of the earcups are covered with bright red speaker grille cloth, and the square, gold-colored logo (which simply says "Nu") on the outside panels of the ears looks luxurious, not tacky. An innovative headband design actually uses two bands. The one that rests on your head is flexible and adjusts automatically based on tension, while the top band is more rigid and helps stabilize the fit.

The detachable cable adds some value to the cost of the HP-800?cables are usually the most likely suspect when headphones malfunction. Being able to replace them, rather than send the unit in for a repair or buy a new pair altogether, could quite possibly extend the life of your headphones by years.

Of the two included cables, one has a thick, cloth-covered outer layer, and terminates in either 3.5mm, or ?-inch for pro-gear jacks (a screw-on adapter is included). The other is quite thin, and is intended for on-the-go, non-studio use. It would've been nice to see phone controls included on this cable, but NuForce skipped phone controls, microphones, and remotes altogether, so this is a purely musical headphone pair. A black satin drawstring bag is also included.

Performance
NuForce more or less nails the flat frequency response most studio monitors need to have to be taken seriously. But the HP-800 lacks one crucial quality for a reliable pair of studio headphones: It can't handle deep bass at high volumes without distorting. This is really a shame, because its crisp, articulate response is ideal for studio engineers seeking an accurate portrayal of their project. If the track has serious sub-bass, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," or highly resonant low-end, like Thom Yorke's "Cymbal Rush," you're going to hear some very noticeable distortion at higher volumes.

In a studio setting, this is especially an issue because you're typically listening to unmixed, un-mastered audio as you record, and deep bass is a part of many modern genres. Before it's been tamed by an engineer, it's often going to be loud in a mix. Unfortunately, one common aspect of studio monitoring, at least by musicians, is that the volume levels go up as the day gets longer, so this distortion is bound to rear its ugly head at some point.

However, at moderate levels, the HP-800 does not distort on those deep bass tracks. Its overall bass response is quite subtle?typical for a studio monitor, but if it wasn't already obvious, this is not a pair for deep bass lovers. What the HP-800 focuses on is the midrange, and the highs, offering just enough sub-bass response to fill out the range. In this sense, it is unique in today's landscape of bass-boosted headphones, like the Beats by Dr. Dre.

The focus on mids is ideal for engineers, but also sounds great on vocal-driven music. Bill Callahan's "Drover" can sound murky on some bass-heavy headphones, but on the HP-800, the treble edge on his unique baritone vocals is sharp, pushing it to the front of the mix where it belongs. Meanwhile, the thunderous drum sounds that underpin much of the verse are not overly bass-boosted, and sound natural and powerful?and not like they're the focus of the song, as they can sound if the lower bass frequencies are too intense.

On classical tracks, like John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," the lower register strings have an almost perfect level of resonance and depth to them. Because the strings' sound signature doesn't exist too much in the sub-bass category, the HP-800 is able to reproduce them with a nice sense of body; they sound anything but anemic. The higher register strings, brass, and woodblock percussion sounds crisp, bright, and lively here, as you'd expect from a studio monitor pair. While the focus is definitely on the mids, the depth of the lower strings and larger percussion is still part of the mix. It's a very faithful, natural sound. Occasionally, things can sound a bit too focused on the hi-mids?some higher stringed instruments can sound a bit harsh at times, but this only really becomes an issue at top volumes.

The limited sub-bass presence is felt mostly on modern pop, hip-hop, and rock mixes. On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the sub-bass synth hits lack gusto, and the kick-drum loop, which is already treble-heavy, but relies on nice low-end sustain to round it out, sounds a bit too crisp, and doesn't have much bass presence to it, either. The vocals come out clearly and nicely, and the occasional muddiness that can occur on a bass-heavy headphone with a dense mix like this one is never an issue. But the bass response here feels more implied than delivered, and for modern mixes, that eliminates much of a track's energy.

If deep, booming bass is what you seek, the aforementioned Beats are an obvious place to start, but consider the more refined, yet still powerful, bass response of the Yamaha PRO 500. Hopefully, however, you're more interested in an accurate response, perhaps with more low frequency push than the HP-800 has, but nothing over the top. Sennheiser has mastered that sound signature, and although it leaks too much to be a good studio pair, the Sennheiser HD 558 is about as good as headphones can sound under $200.

If you're looking for an even more affordable studio monitor pair, the Shure SRH440 offers a solid, accurate response, and doesn't suffer distortion issues. At $149, the NuForce HP-800 delivers an accurate sound, but its distortion issues on deep bass, and its limited bass response in general, make it a less-than-versatile studio tool. Basically, if you record music that has no sub-bass content, it's a great find, and if that's not the case, the HP-800 is not nearly as valuable to you.

More Headphone Reviews:
??? NuForce HP-800
??? TDK EB950
??? Parrot Zik
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??? MartinLogan Mikros 70
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/fa7sWsPufBA/0,2817,2414484,00.asp

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How to Sell Your Boss on HR Technology ? Part 1 | Human ...

As an HR professional in a small business, do you sometimes feel like the proverbial kid staring enviously through the window of the candy store? If you are still struggling to free your HR function from the quagmire that is not-so-affectionately known as ?spreadsheet hell,? you may find yourself peering enviously into your computer at ads for automated HR systems. And wondering how you can get your boss to okay even a modest spend to implement HR technology.

When you have your nose to the spreadsheet grindstone day after day, despairing of ever having all of your company?s workforce data in one convenient place, technology can seem an especially appealing proposition ? the latest bright, shiny toy for your workplace. But making an investment in HR technology simply for the sake of owning the latest ?new? thing practically ensures poor outcomes.

There are several relevant issues to think about and work through before you will be ready to take your purchase request to the boss. In Part 1 of our special two-part blog, we?ll walk through the major pre-considerations involved in your HR technology purchase. Part 2 will help you demonstrate how you?ll use HR technology to provide value to the business, so that when the time comes to make the buying decision, you?ll be confident in your ability to present a strong case to the leader in charge of the checkbook.

4 Key Considerations that Drive HR Technology Decisions

1. Know your goal. The single most important point to examine is this ? why do you want to make an HR technology purchase? What problem (or problems) do you want to solve? What process(es) do you need to do differently and why? How will implementing HR technology help you do those things?

Take time to think thoroughly about the goals you have in mind for your HR technology solution. Maybe you?re looking to speed work processes. Or you need to be able to generate specialized reports about your workforce. Examine how you do the work in question so you know every step involved. You?ll need to discuss this with any potential HR system provider ? especially if your methods fall outside typical operating parameters. You?ll want the assurance that you?re considering a system like BambooHR that allows for flexibility and customization.

2.?HR will always have HR work to do. Transactional processes will continue to remain a foundational element of HR. Applying the appropriate technology can help speed those processes for HR professionals. In addition, technologies have the power to remove some transactional operations from HR practitioners? plates by enabling employee or manager self-service capabilities. Think about the options you?ll want to make available to your managers and workers. Beyond simply listing these capabilities, dig deeper to understand how much time your HR professionals will be able to save so they can devote efforts to other projects. You?ll want to quantify that time so that you?ll be able to translate it into potential savings for the company.

3. GIGO is still true. Remember garbage in, garbage out from your first computer course? If you?re like most every other HR pro working in businesses across our nation, you probably have some data issues that haunt you regularly. Worries about inaccurate information, inability to access the data that?s needed, and problems with data spread across organizational departments plague HR practitioners.

When you implement an automated HR system, you?ll need to populate it with data about your employees. Your challenge will be determining how to collect and clean up all that initial data so you can rest assured that your new system is loaded with the highest quality information you can provide. You?ll want to ask any vendor you?re considering what?s involved in initial set-up of your HR system. At BambooHR, we?ll be right there with you every step of the way.

4. Designate a point person. If you?re heading the HR function in a small or mid-sized business, chances are that you?ll be the one overseeing the set-up and implementation of your new HR system. But in case you aren?t, don?t overlook the need to appoint someone on your team to be responsible for coordinating the effort. Your vendor needs a consistent voice from your organization, and one go-to person for data and decisions. Planning for a single point of contact helps ensure that your implementation goes smoothly.

Check out Part 2 of our blog to learn how to present your boss with a business case for HR technology.

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Why and when to stop using spreadsheets.

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Source: http://www.bamboohr.com/blog/how-to-sell-your-boss-on-hr-technology-part-1

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Merrithew Mindful Movement World Tour, NYC, April 26-28 ...

Spend an amazing weekend learning from the BEST!

The first-ever Merrithew Mindful Movement World Tour lands in NYC April 26-28.

Early Bird registration ends February 15. This event is designed for all members of the fitness community ? from STOTT PILATES certified instructors wanting to obtain their continuing education credits, to individuals who have never tried or trained in Pilates before, but want a first-class introduction to their method and programming options. Those attending the NYC seminar will have the opportunity to learn directly from their most sought-after Master Instructor Trainers and Lead Instructor Trainers. Held at the Barishnikov Arts Center in NYC, each day will present a choice of sessions so attendees can tailor the event to suit their needs.

Sessions will include new programming from brands like STOTT PILATES, ZEN.GAT and CORE Athletic Conditioning & Performance Training. It is a great opportunity for fitness professionals of all calibers to come out and test-drive new equipment like the Halo? Trainer and Stability Barre, learn new and innovative exercises and leave feeling motivated, enriched and inspired.

In the past 25 years, over 35,000 students have trained in the STOTT PILATES method alone. With over 105 Training Centers worldwide, Merrithew Health & Fitness continues to set the standard for premium equipment and education in the industry. Come and see what it?s all about.

Get all the details here

For those of you who can?t attend check out the website for a wide variety of great workout DVDs to do at home.

I? gave the CORE: Power & Stamina: Medicine Ball Interval Training Vol2 DVD a try. The workout 31 minutes and uses a medicine ball. For those of you who have a ball choose a weight that is right for you and perhaps go up in weight with the easier exercises and down hen they become more challenging to work harder. For those of you who don?t have a medicine ball ? it is a great investment I use mine alot ? you can go without, use an outdoor ball or use a hand weight to still get the resistance.

The full-body workout is easy-to-follow and challenging. It?s circuit training with moves that you?ve seen before, but put into a different sequence that get?s your heart-pumping and the muscles working. If you don?t feel the burn or aren?t breathing a little heavy you need to squat deeper, lift a heavier ball and push harder. What you put in is what you will get out.

Have you tried STOTT Pilates?

Source: http://blog.timesunion.com/healthylife/merrithew-mindful-movement-world-tour-nyc-april-26-28/13274/

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