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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/50001129#50001129
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Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Surprising Target of Latest Nigeria Bombing: Elite Military Church
Boko Haram has orchestrated a bloody month for Nigerian churches.
In late October, the radical Islamist sect drove an SUV full of explosives into Sunday morning mass at a Catholic church in Kaduna. This past Sunday, a similar attack at St. Andrew Military Protestant Church at an elite military training center in Jaji, about 30 kilometers from the capital city of Abuja, killed at least 30 people, the Associated Press reports.
Boko Haram has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but it bears striking resemblance to the group's previous church bombings. However, there's a key difference: This attack occurred on a military base, which would have been difficult to arrange without insider help.
According to Open Doors News, military spokesman Major General Bola Koleoso said in a text message that "a bus first ran into the church and exploded about five minutes after the service, while a Toyota Camry parked outside the church detonated 10 minutes later."
Another military spokesperson said the majority of casualties occurred after the second explosion.
Meanwhile, the AP also reports that a one Muslim resident was killed after passing through a Christian church's illegal checkpoint, set up "to stop Muslims from nearing their church during their services as a response to church attacks in other parts of the country." The incident sparked riots, killing another four people, and shows "how communities have lost faith in government's ability to protect them."
CT has regularly reported on Nigeria's surge of violence and attacks on churches carried out by Boko Haram throughout 2012. The group was also behind a school massacre in Mubi in October.
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Egypt court sentences 8 to death over prophet film
CAIRO (AP) ? An Egyptian court has convicted in absentia seven Egyptian Coptic Christians and a Florida-based American pastor and sentenced them to death on charges linked to an anti-Islam film that had sparked riots in parts of the Muslim world.
Egypt's official news agency said the court found the defendants guilty Wednesday of harming national unity, insulting and publicly attacking Islam, and spreading false information. The charges carry the death sentence in Egypt.
The case was largely symbolic since the seven men and one woman are outside of Egypt and unlikely to travel to the country to face the charges. The trial was seen as an attempt to absorb public anger over the film, which portrays the Prophet Muhammad as a fraud, womanizer and buffoon.
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WR 'heard' of players using Viagra to gain edge
Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall (15) gives a stiff arm to Minnesota Vikings cornerback A.J. Jefferson (24) in the first half of an NFL football game in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall (15) gives a stiff arm to Minnesota Vikings cornerback A.J. Jefferson (24) in the first half of an NFL football game in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall catches a ball during warmups before an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
CHICAGO (AP) ? Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall says he has heard of players using Viagra in an effort to gain an edge on the field.
Marshall made the comment Wednesday when he was asked about a growing number of suspensions tied to amphetamines, including the ADHD drug Adderall.
Marshall said he didn't know much about Adderall, but then suggested Viagra, which is used to treat impotence in men, could be seen by players as a way to boost their energy.
"I know guys, it's such competitive league and guys try anything just to get that edge," he said. "I've heard of guys using Viagra, seriously, because the blood, it's supposed to thin . I don't know. Some crazy stuff. It's kind of scary with some of these chemicals that are in some of these things, so you have to be careful."
Marshall said he doesn't take medication "of any sort" and noted that the NFL's drug policy is strict.
"Any time you take anything over the counter, if you don't approve it with your training room, you can get popped," he said. "Some of it's fair, but some of it kind of puts you in a tough spot as a professional athlete. Because the only thing you'll see is getting busted for PEDs, but it could be something over the counter for a little sickness. You just have to be on top of your Ps and Qs.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Viagra is not a banned substance and declined further comment.
Since the start of last season, more than 10 players suspended for failing drug tests have publicly blamed it on taking Adderall, a stimulant experts say could provide a competitive advantage by increasing concentration and possibly aggression.
But an impotence drug? Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice seemed surprised by Marshall's comment.
"Viagra?" he said. "I've never heard of such a thing. He's making that up. He's got to be making that up. You've got to be kidding me."
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Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Amazon takes Maps API out of beta, cautiously steps out of Google's shadow
If Amazon has its way, Google Maps on your Kindle Fire won't be the default option for much longer. Back in September, the online retail giant introduced a beta version of its Amazon Maps API to see if it could go the Apple route by fleshing out its own maps platform. Now it's ready to take the API out of beta after several months of testing and a lot of developer interest -- Hipmunk, Evernote, Trulia and Zillow have already integrated it into their Kindle Fire apps. The API currently features interactive maps and customized overlays, and is now a part of the Amazon Mobile App SDK. It's early days yet for the mapping service and we're sure it doesn't have the bells and whistles of the one from Mountain View, but this does mean a further step toward differentiation from the Big Goog. Let's just hope this turns out better than iOS6 Maps and no one comes to regret it.
Filed under: Amazon
Source: Amazon Mobile App Distribution Blog
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/28/amazon-maps-api-out-of-beta/
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Balloon test shows space tourism on horizon
19 hrs.
Not all space tourism is rocket science. A newly successful test of a balloon could allow paying human customers to enjoy stunning Earth views and the weightless astronaut experience by 2014.?
The test balloon carried a humanoid robot up to an altitude of almost 20 miles (32 kilometers) on Nov. 12 ? just a few miles shy of where skydiver Felix Baumgartner leaped from during his "space dive" in October. Startup Zero 2 Infinity wants to eventually offer hours of flight time for space tourists to do whatever they want in a near-space environment.?
"Some people will want to tweet," said Jose Mariano Lopez-Urdiales, founder and CEO of Zero 2 Infinity. "Some will want to put down a carpet and pray to mecca. Some people will want to eat their favorite buffalo wings while they're up there."
Video: Near-space balloon soars in flight test
The Spanish company already has customers on its wait list?who paid an early deposit of almost $13,000 (10,000 euros) as the first installment out of a total ticket price of $143,000 (110,000 euros). It has also attracted funding from the world's second-largest balloon manufacturer, Spain's third-largest bank, and several angel investors by proving its concept step-by-step and by relying on proven helium balloon technologies.?
Flight testing took place at an Air Force base near Virgen del Camino in Spain. But Lopez-Urdiales envisions future flights launching from many other locations in the country.?
The balloon experience?
A typical predawn flight would take several hours to reach maximum altitude, so that passengers could enjoy seeing the sun rise against the blackness of space and see the curvature of the planet Earth. Luckily, the balloon would not need to get anywhere near the 62-mile (100 km) altitude that marks the official edge of space for its riders to enjoy stellar views.?
"You would spend two hours at the floating altitude of 36 kilometers (22 miles)," Lopez-Urdiales told TechNewsDaily. "We could do it higher, but it would not make any difference, because you already see the same visual cues at 39 kilometers or even 100 kilometers."?
Getting back down would mean cutting the cord between the balloon and the enclosed passenger capsule. Passengers could experience about 40 to 60 seconds of weightlessness during free fall, before parachutes and a parafoil carried them safely down to Earth.?
The recent test flight gave Zero 2 Infinity its first successful test of a balloon capsule large enough to carry humans, but only if the two people spent the entire trip lying down. An earlier flight test scheduled in May was canceled after?wind gusts damaged the test balloon.?
Robot test pilots?
Future versions of the balloons, called "bloons" by the company, would have donut- or bagel-shaped capsules with plenty of standing room for two pilots and four passengers. But the test capsule proved just right for the humanoid robot named Nao ? made by Aldebaran Robotics ? that stands at knee-height compared to adult humans.?
The robot rode as a passive passenger, but could someday become an active pilot that tests the controls and life-support technologies meant for humans.?
"Little by little, we're teaching it how to pilot, but that's at a very early stage," Lopez-Urdiales explained. "The idea in the future is to have?humanoid robots?testing future complex aerospace vehicles."?
The company has almost finished building a bigger test balloon that could comfortably carry two people standing up. That larger balloon could make an attempt at breaking the manned high-altitude balloon record set in the 1960s ? a record that requires the pilot to take off and land in the balloon. (Space diver Baumgartner intentionally disqualified himself by leaping out of his high-flying balloon.)?
The inner journey?
But Zero 2 Infinity doesn't just want to make money. Lopez-Urdiales envisions his balloons carrying scientific experiments or scientists high into Earth's atmosphere. His inspiration for creating the startup company came from his dad, an astrophysicist who worked on an experiment that went with the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn's moon Titan.?
"I was growing up around balloons, rockets and telescopes," Lopez-Urdiales said. "My dad tested a Huygens scientific instrument on a high-altitude balloon."?
The balloon space tourism's relatively more affordable price tag could also open the eyes of many more people through the "overview effect," Lopez-Urdiales said. Frank White, a communications director at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, coined the term to describe how astronauts gained a better appreciation of global and environmental issues after seeing the Earth surrounded by the darkness of space.?
"That's probably the biggest benefit?private spaceflight?will offer to civilians and members of the public," Lopez-Urdiales said. "The overview effect is personal experience, but then you share it. I think it goes a much longer way than bragging rights."?
You can follow TechNewsDaily Senior Writer Jeremy Hsu on Twitter. Follow TechNewsDaily on Twitter?, or on?Facebook.
More?stories from TechNewsDaily:
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/itineraries/balloon-test-shows-space-tourism-horizon-1C7290082
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012
5 Ways to make Lynn Swann Jersey Money on the internet with ...
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With so many new on the web organization possibilities available, it can be tough to sift by way of the masses. Perhaps you are low on start-up funds. Maybe you?ve got restricted time to work on your Joe Greene Jersey enterprise in the start off because of your present employment away from property. Perhaps you?d like an Net enterprise that?s easy to operate and won?t require a lot of tension. If any of these apply for your situation, then promoting e-books could be appropriate for you.
Thousands of people are earning additional income or enjoying a complete time organization in their residence by selling e-books. E-books are available everywhere you go online, and cover a range subjects from cooking to home decor to financial suggestions. They?re easy to purchase thanks to on the web credit card processing, and they are straightforward to download and read at one?s personal convenience. The beauty of an e-book organization is you?ll have no inventory to maintain up with, no overhead costs to generate the e-book (unless you invest your own time in writing 1), and no shipping hassles.
Let?s explore five methods it is possible to earn money on the net promoting e-books.
1. Choose and Decide on from E-books that Interest You
The key to achievement will be to construct a solid enterprise while selling Joe Greene Jersey products that interest you. Do you wish to help other individuals with finances or to assist them get out of debt Sell e-books connected to finances. Do you get pleasure from creating crafts Sell e-books about crafts. Are you currently a seasoned fisherman Supply ideas about fishing in an e-book. The list goes on and on, and also you can make money on the internet whilst undertaking something you actually adore to accomplish!
You?ll be able to write your personal e-books, employ someone to write them, or sign on with an organization that offers the rights to sell their e-books. In the event you use one more company?s e-books, this may save you the time and headaches of writing your personal. You could also be capable of pick and pick which e-books you?d like to sell. Then you will have the ability to offer you only those that interest you.
2. Read the E-books
You ought to be knowledgeable in regards to the items you sell. If you don?t in fact write your personal e-books, make sure you read the ones you provide. This can permit you to answer buyer concerns, write powerful sales presentations, and offer you insight in regards to the e-books to your readers. It is significantly Lynn Swann Jersey less complicated to sell something you think in, and you will also desire to make sure that what you might be supplying is of top high quality. If you blindly sell a person else?s e-books without having studying them, you?ll be able to hinder your own personal capability to create funds on the web.
3. Promote E-books via Numerous On the web Resources
When you choose on a couple of e-books to offer you, it is time for promotion. With any new online business, you are going to wish to start off using an excellent internet site and powerful sales presentations. Without having these, you will not have the ability to convert the visitors to paying buyers so your promotions will be in vain. If you?re not a writer, employ a professional sales writer to make copy for you. It is going to be effectively worth the funds later on when you are promoting e-books like hotcakes! In case you sell a number of e-books, be sure to setup a presentation for each separate e-book. This will Franco Harris Jersey provide you with a lot more clout inside the search engines and help to much better target your readers.
Immediately after setting up a web site, start submitting all your net pages to the significant search engines like google. This may be achieved by way of an Search engine marketing promotion firm or it is possible to do it manually oneself. Subsequent, appear for pay-per-click opportunities at search engines like google so you?ll be able to target your guests. Pay-per-click allows you to choose and decide on the key phrases you?d like to target. Your website will only show in the search benefits when those particular search phrases are used. You?ll spend a modest quantity per click, but most of your guests will probably be targeted with an interest for the merchandise. Other successful types of marketing on the internet include press releases, e-zine (or newsletter) marketing, classifieds, auctions, and malls.
4. Sell Ad-On Merchandise to Advantage E-book Customers
Once you commence promoting e-books and develop a client base, it is time for ad-ons. You could sell merchandise or services within your e-books via affiliate links. Or, you could offer you newly released e-books to buyers who?ve purchased from you ahead of. If you would like to offer you further services in addition to selling e-books, you might use the e-books to gain a customer base initial. Then, you can introduce your major services.
5. Teach Others to Sell E-books
Yet another Lynn Swann Jersey strategy to make money online with e-books would be to train others to sell e-books. You?ll be able to offer you commissions or rights to e-books and aid other people build a new on the internet business. As you help other people generate income on the internet, you?ll reap rewards as well. E-books are effortless to sell for your personal purposes, and they?re able to be effortlessly passed on for other individuals to sell.
Selling e-books gives many benefits over selling physical products or providing numerous services. It is possible to save time and cash by supplying e-books 24/7 and by automating your company to create it operate for you. Begin looking on the internet nowadays for e-book possibilities so you?ll be able to reach your goals soon!
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Rolling Stones turn back clock, rock in London
By Mike Collett-White, Reuters
LONDON -- The Rolling Stones turned back the clock in style on Sunday with their first concert in five years, strutting and swaggering their way through hit after familiar hit to celebrate 50 years in business.
Toby Melville / Reuters
The Rolling Stones perform at the O2 Arena in London on Sunday, Nov. 25.
Before a packed crowd of 20,000 at London's O2 Arena, they banished doubts that age may have slowed down one of the world's greatest rock and roll bands, as lead singer Mick Jagger launched into "I Wanna Be Your Man."
More than two hours of high-octane, blues-infused rock later, and they were still going strong with an impressive encore comprising "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash."
In between there were guest appearances from American R&B singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, who delivered a rousing duet with Jagger on "Gimme Shelter" and guitarist Jeff Beck who provided the power chords for "I'm Going Down."
Former Rolling Stones Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor were also back in the fold, performing with the regular quartet of Jagger, Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards on guitar and Charlie Watts on drums for the first time in 20 years.
"It took us 50 years to get from Dartford to Greenwich!" said Jagger, referring to their roots just a few miles from the venue in southeast London. "But you know, we made it. What's even more amazing is that you're still coming to see us ... we can't thank you enough."
The Sunday night gig was the first of two at the O2 Arena before the band crosses the Atlantic to play three dates in the United States.
The mini-tour is the culmination of a busy few months of events, rehearsals and recordings to mark 50 years since the rockers first took to the stage at the Marquee Club on London's Oxford Street in July, 1962.
There has been a photo album, two new songs, a music video, a documentary film, a blitz of media appearances and a handful of warm-up gigs in Paris.
'Style and panache'
The reunion nearly did not happen. One factor behind the long break since their record-breaking "A Bigger Bang" tour in 2007 has been Wood's struggle with alcohol addiction, while Jagger and Richards also fell out over comments the guitarist made about the singer in a 2010 autobiography.
But they eventually buried the hatchet, and Richards joked in a recent interview: "We can't get divorced?-- we're doing it for the kids!"
Critics were fulsome in their praise of the first comeback gig.
"Keith Richards has said that the beauty of rock and roll is that every night a different band might be the world's greatest. Well, last night at the O2 Arena, it was the turn of the Rolling Stones themselves to lay claim to the title they invented," wrote Neil McCormick of the Daily Telegraph.
"And they did it with some style and panache."
The big question on every fan's lips is whether the five concerts lead to a world tour and even new material. The Stones sang their two new tracks "Doom and Gloom" and "One More Shot," which appeared on their latest greatest hits album "GRRR!".
Richards has hinted that the five concerts ending at the Newark Prudential Center in the United States on Dec. 15 would not be the last.
"Once the juggernaut starts rolling, it ain't gonna stop," he told Rolling Stone magazine. "So without sort of saying definitely yes?-- yeah. We ain't doing all this for four gigs!"
The band has come in for criticism from fans about the high price of tickets to the shows?-- they ranged from around 95 pounds ($150) to up to 950 pounds for a VIP seat.
The flamboyant veterans, whose average age is 68, have defended the costs, saying the shows were expensive to put on, although specialist music publication Billboard reported the band would earn $25 million from the four shows initially announced. A fifth was added later.
"Everybody all right there in the cheap seats," Jagger asked pointedly as he looked high to his left at the arena. "They're not really cheap though are they? That's the trouble."
Among the biggest cheers on the night were for classics including "Wild Horses", "It's Only Rock and Roll" and "Start Me Up."
There was even time for the odd reference to their advancing years.
"Good to see you all," said Richards with a mischievous grin. "Good to see anybody."
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HBT: Myers wants to start, could be Twin target
Brett Myers said a few weeks ago that he was open to marketing himself as a starter or reliever in free agency, but his agent, Craig Landis, told Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that the veteran right-hander is now focused on being a starting pitcher. Makes sense in a world where Jeremy Guthrie gets three years and $25 million. Landis also confirmed that the Twins are among the teams who have expressed early interest.
?They?re interested, or perhaps even very interested,? Landis said. ?And that?s about as far as we are right now.?
Twins general manager Terry Ryan would only go as far to say that he has ?touched base with most of the pitchers on the market,? but Christensen was told by team insiders that Myers will be one of their primary targets because he could be reasonably-priced and would likely embrace making half of his starts in the spacious Target Field.
Myers pitched exclusively out of the bullpen this past season, posting a 3.31 ERA and 41/15 K/BB ratio over 65 1/3 innings between the Astros and White Sox. The 32-year-old has an underwhelming 4.27 ERA as a starter during his career and showed diminished velocity as a member of the Astros? rotation back in 2011, but he could have some appeal as an innings-eater.
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Monday, November 26, 2012
Minecraft Reality for iOS finds a home for our blocky dreams in the real world (video)
While it's possible to translate the hours and hours spent building worlds in Minecraft to real objects, we wouldn't say the results always match the initial vision -- they're more likely to involve either a miniature 3D printout or the time and money spent on a whole lot of Lego. Mojang and 13th Lab have developed what's arguably a smarter solution with their new Minecraft Reality for iOS. After scanning the environment, the app can insert anyone's uploaded cuboid masterpiece into a perspective-correct augmented reality for viewing from any angle. Interaction is mostly limited to resizing objects, but the title will display the handiwork of anyone nearby and take a shareable screenshot for posterity. There's no word of an Android version just yet; if that's no obstacle to making dreams a (virtual) reality, however, the $2 to pay for Minecraft Reality is a much cheaper and faster alternative to a mountain of plastic bricks.
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Tablets, Apple
Via: The Next Web
Source: App Store, Minecraft Reality
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/26/minecraft-reality-for-ios-gives-blocky-dreams-a-real-world-home/
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007 developer cut, blames console gamers | Lazygamer .:: The ...
The latest game to feature the secret agent who?s been in his late thirties since the 1920?s, James Bond, was not at all well received; mostly because it was a rushed, buggy mess of incoherence. It?s developers will unfortunately not be able to make amends for it ? because it?s been forced to lay off the majority of its staff.
?We?ve fought to try and save as many jobs as possible, but the steep decline in demand for console games, culminating in a number of console projects falling through in the last week, left us with no option,? developer Eurocom said in a statement. ?Eurocom has retained a core staff of just under 50 employees and will be focusing mainly on mobile opportunities moving forward.?
Sorry, what? I think you?re mistaken, not stirred. A steep decline in demand for console games? No, I think what there is is a steep decline in the demand for terrible games. It?s terribly sad for Eurocom and all those who?ll be losing their jobs ? but 007 Legends is just an awful insult of a game.
It?s unfortunate, because Eurocom is capable of much more, having developed the pretty excellent on-rails Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii,later ported to the PS3 and included free with that console?s version of Dead Space 2.
007 Legends currently sits with a 45% Metacritic average and poor sales, forcing the developer to create redundancies ? though none of them are nearly as redundant as 007 Legends itself.
Source: http://www.lazygamer.net/xbox-360/007-developer-cut-blames-console-gamers/
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Sunday, November 25, 2012
Give the gift of premium Web services
8 hrs.
As you're trying to come up with great gifts for the holidays, software likely isn't the first thing that comes to mind. It can make a great gift for the right person, though, especially when they're not willing to shell out the cash themselves (as so few people are). Here are some of our favorite (and your favorite) premium Web services that not only boost productivity, but dish out a little holiday cheer too.
Note: Most of these are monthly subscriptions, so you can gift them however you like. Giving someone a few months or a year of a service is a great gift that you can tweak for your budget, and leave yourself room for the same gift next year if they really like it.
If a service doesn't offer a gift option, you can always use a prepaid credit card and give it to them for use with the service you're gifting.
SUBSCRIPTIONS?UNDER $5 A MONTH?
A personalized domain name
It?may sound silly for the No.?1 item on our list, but it's the cheapest subscription you can give, costing only $3.99 a year (that's 33 cents a month), and it's something everyone should have. They may not know it, but a personalized domain name can come in extremely handy, and will only get more important as time goes on. They can post their online CV or resume there, redirect it to their Twitter or Facebook page, and further control how the Internet sees you. The quicker you snatch it up before someone else with the same name, the better. We've linked to Namecheap below, since that's your favorite domain registrar, but check out our Hive Five for a few other options.
Crashplan+
If you have a friend who still isn't backing up their data, it's the perfect time to give them the gift of bulletproof backup thanks to Crashplan. Even if they're backing up to an external drive, that isn't good enough???they need something in the cloud so no matter what happens, their backups are always accessible and they don't become another sad story of lost data. Crashplan is our favorite option, being cheap and easy to set up, so get them in the habit now. If you're particularly cheap, RobotTaco notes that you can get a free subscription right now from this page.
LastPass and Xmarks Premium
If you know someone with multiple computers, the gift of synchronization can be a wonderful thing. Give them a combined subscription to LastPass and Xmarks for their passwords, bookmarks, history, open tabs, and everything else so they're able to browse easily from any computer.?
Xmarks is convenient, but LastPass is the most important app here, as it gives you the enhanced security everyone should have???make sure they create good passwords and turn on two-factor authentication, while you're at it, so they don't fall prey to the ever-increasing number of hacks happening nowadays.?
The pro versions give you access to the mobile apps for each service, more secure two-factor authentication with a thumb drive or YubiKey, plus an ad-free experience and priority support. You can buy each service separately, but buying them both together gets you a pretty sweet discount.
Pandora One
Everyone loves Pandora, but no one likes ads interrupting their music. Reader jrod3737recommended a subscription to Pandora One as a gift for just about anyone: it not only ditches the ads, but lets you use the Pandora desktop client, customize your experience with skins, and listen to higher quality audio all day long. You can either buy a month-to-month subscription or grab an entire year for a discounted price.
Evernote Premium
Evernote is still your favorite note-taking application, and it's only gotten better lately. If you know someone that isn't using Evernote yet???particularly if they need some extra organization in their life??a subscription to Evernote Premium is a great way to get them started. A premium subscription gets you more space per month, offline notebooks, collaborative notes, better speed, PDF search, priority support, an ad-free experience, and more. It's the perfect way to take someone's organization from good to awesome with one simple download.
SUBSCRIPTIONS UNDER $10 A MONTH
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime's combination of two-day shipping and sizable library of streaming TV shows and movies makes a fantastic gift for?...?well, anyone who ever uses Amazon. And if they don't use Amazon, they will once they can buy anything with free two-day shipping. Of course, you could always share your two-day shipping benefits with them, but getting them their own subscription lets them stream movies too, which is always nice???especially if they have a home theater PC or streaming set-top box in their living room.
Netflix and Hulu Plus
For the true TV addict, grab them a subscription to Netflix and/or Hulu Plus so they can watch all their favorite movies and TV shows on demand. Netflix is great for movies and TV shows alike, while Hulu Plus is particularly good for watching current seasons of shows as they air. Both subscriptions let you stream to a set-top box, too, and are the perfect companions for ditching an expensive cable subscription. Grab one or both for your friends and help set them free from the shackles of cable TV.
Spotify Premium
If your friend has truly embraced streaming and switched to Spotify for their music-listening needs, they need a premium subscription.?
Not only will it get rid of the ads (which the cheaper "Unlimited" subscription will also do), but it gives them higher-quality audio and lets them listen on their iPhone or Android phone, truly completing the Spotify experience.
?It may not be ready to replace most people's libraries, but if you know someone whose fallen in love with it, you should help them go all-out with a Premium subscription.?
Alternatively, if you don't like Spotify, you can grab them a subscription to one of the other great music services out there, like Grooveshark or Rdio.
FOR THE BIG SPENDERS: SUBSCRIPTIONS $10 A MONTH AND UP
A VPN for privacy and international browsing
A VPN (virtual private network)?may seem like an ultra geeky gift, but it's something not everyone knows they need, and nobody wants to pay for. However, it can be useful for all sorts of people, but especially good for users looking for an extra bit of privacy (like bittorrent users) or, as reader JeshuaSanmentions, those living internationally (who?want to watch Hulu or listen to Spotify when it isn't available in their country). Every user is different, so hit the link below to see some of the VPNs we recommend.
- Choose a VPN (Subscriptions range from $7.99/month to $38/month)
Extra Dropbox space
Dropbox is one of our all-time favorite Web services, and while you can grab a lot of space for free, sometimes you just need to pony up for a premium subscription. A subscription to expanded space can be great for students, video editors with large files, or people that just want to sync their large musicor photo libraries across computers. Alternatively, you can also grab someone one of the cheaper options, like Google Drive, Skydrive, or Box.
A special thanks goes out to everyone who provided suggestions last week! It made putting together these guides a lot easier, and a better fit for you.
More?from Lifehacker:
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/give-gift-premium-web-services-1C7209890
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TEN BIGGEST PROBLEMS IN LOVE RELATIONSHIPS AND HOW ...
10 biggest problems in a LOVE relationship and how to FIX THEM
Relationships are one of the first things that all of us take for granted.
We don?t want to take it for granted.
But yet, we forget how much something really matters to us when we don?t stand to lose it.
And it usually takes losing something to realize its importance and value.
Wondering what the big problems in a relationship are, and what you can do to overcome it?
Problems in a relationship
Depending on the kind of relationship you share with your partner, the problems in a relationship too could be just as unique.
But almost always, all problems in a relationship find their place in ten big areas.
At some point or the other, these problems have a way of creeping into your romance.
Keep an eye on these issues, and understand how to overcome it, and you?ll see how easy it can be to eliminate all the frustrations you experience in a relationship.
10 big problems that need your attention
Remember this, you can?t stop problems from cropping up in a relationship no matter how perfect the relationship is. What you can do instead, is eliminate the frustration as soon as you notice them.
1. Lack of communication. At the start of the relationship, conversations are exciting and fun. Both of you spend a lot of time getting to know each other. But as time goes by, lovers forget to ask the same questions again.
We?re all changing all the time, in our preferences and the way we look at life. Don?t assume you know everything about each other or your romance will start to stagnate, or one of you will start to confide in some other person who seems more understanding.
2 .Trust. Do you really trust your partner? There are two kinds of trust in a relationship. Firstly, do you trust your partner enough to feel comfortable with them going out for dinner with someone else? If you don?t, perhaps, you?re insecure or your relationship is still too fragile.
And secondly, do you trust your partner?s decisions? Do you think your partner is capable of making important decisions for the both of you? If you can?t trust your partner with life altering decisions, it?s obvious that you don?t respect your partner or their opinions. And that?s never a good sign in a long term relationship.
3 .Jealousy and insecurity. Insecure couples are forever locked in a cycle of jealously and anger. When you feel jealous about the attention your lover?s getting or their recent promotion, you?re not helping them become a better individual. It?s like a parent who?s angry with their child because the child is having ?too much fun?.
You need to learn to have faith in each other and in the relationship. Instead of letting negativity build inside the relationship, learn to enjoy each other?s successes. After all, your partner is your better half, and any accomplishments of theirs are your accomplishments too, isn?t it?
4. Incompatibility in love. Love at first sight and infatuation can last several months. And it does a good job of masking any differences in a relationship. As perfect as two people may be, sometimes, they may just not be perfect for each other.
If you find yourself dating someone with whom you have nothing in common, you need to decide on the next step. Try to find common interests that both of you like, or walk your own paths instead of living in frustrations.
5. Loss of sex drive. This isn?t rocket science. Over time, both of you are bound to lose the sexual urge of the first few months or years of a relationship. While both of you may have a hard time keeping your hands off each other to begin with, now sex may start to feel like a chore.
This is a very common problem in relationships, and yet, it?s one of the easy ones to solve. Always look for new ways to recreate the sexual high of the first few times, and before you know it, both of you may go at it all over again like frisky bunnies
6. Ka ching! Anyone in a relationship for long enough will know just how important money or the lack of it really is. If your friends earn a lot more than you or your partner, it?ll end up frustrating both of you. And on the other hand, if both of you earn a lot more than your friends, there?ll be a lot of love and happiness in your lives.
It?s a stupid fact of life. But our own happiness is extremely dependent on the way others perceive us. If you?re having difficulties in your relationship because of money, perhaps it?s time to change your friends and see the difference.
7. Change in priorities. You may be in a relationship, but that doesn?t change who you are. And that?s where the problem starts. As individuals, we evolve and change all the time. You?re not the person you were last year, and you won?t be the person you are now next year.
And just like you, your partner too is changing constantly. And every now and then, you and your partner may experience changes that will pull both of you apart from each other. And soon enough, both of you may have nothing in common. Spend enough time with each other and try to evolve together in a similar direction. Talk about your beliefs and your interests with each other and it?ll help both of you grow together along the same path.
8 Time. Do both of you have enough time to spend with each other? These days, time is a luxury that most lovers can?t afford. When you start spending too much time away from each other, it?s only a matter of time before one of you starts asking the big question, ?Do I need my partner in my life anymore??
Don?t drift away so far that both of you don?t need to be with each other anymore. Find ways to indulge in exciting hobbies or spend evenings going out on little coffee or ice cream dates. They make for great conversations and it?ll bring both of you closer too.
9 .Space and individual growth. Now this is contradictory to the earlier problem in relationships. But it?s still something to watch out for. Too much of a good thing can turn out to be bad too. When you?re in a relationship, spending time with each other is very important. But at the same time, spending time away from each other is crucial too.
By spending too much time together, you?d subconsciously feel isolated from the rest of the world. And when that happens, you?d crave for any attention from other interesting people just to feel better about yourself and your ability to communicate. And you know what could happen when that happens, right
10. Are you still in love? This is the biggest problem in a relationship, and one that?s hardest to overcome. Falling in love is easy. Staying in love isn?t. Love is a delicate balance between dependency and passion. How much do you need your partner? How much do you love and want your partner?
When the sexual excitement and the enthusiasm fade away, what do you have to hold both of you together? A relationship should never be based on sex alone. It needs compatibility and understanding, and it definitely needs dependability. Staying in love forever is not easy, but with a little effort, it can give meaning to your life..
Love punky
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13 Patents Designed to Build a Better Mustache - Mental Floss
You may have some buddies participating in Movember, an annual event that raises awareness of (and money for) men?s health issues. Let?s take a look at a few weird ?stache-themed patents.
1. Patent US435748, ?Mustache Guard?
Patented in September 1890 by Ruben P. Hollinshead, this guard is an improvement upon other devices designed to ?[suspend] a gentleman?s mustache in order to keep the same up out of the way at the table, thus preventing the annoyance which so frequently is experienced in eating soups and other like foods, and drinking tea, coffee, or other liquids by gentlemen having heavy moustaches.? It looks rather painful.
2. Patent USD381462, ?Mustache Shield?
Inventor Dennis H. Bailey didn?t do too much explaining in his application for this shield. Still, the patent was granted in 1997.
3. Patent US278999, ?Mustache Holder?
This device, patented by J.A. Moore in 1883, was a comb that held a man?s mustache back so it wouldn?t come into contact with food.
4. Patent US213455, ?Mustache Cup and Glass?
Unlike other mustache cups?which keep the mustache out of whatever a man is trying to drink?this one, patented by Albert Schenck in 1879, will make sure the guard that keeps a man?s ?stache at bay won?t also burn the lips, all thanks to the innovative spout.
5. Patent US398925, ?Mustache Trainer?
The idea behind this interesting looking device, patented by Louis Auguste Allard in 1889, was that, by wearing it, a man could train his ?stache to grow in the desired form. Theoretically, he would have done this while in private. Other attempts at mustache trainers were not much better, either.
6. Patent US123839, ?Mustache Holder?
This patent, filed by Eli J.F. Randolph in 1872, proves this whole mustache guard thing was more than just a passing fad.
7. Patent US135141, ?Mustache Spoon?
If your moustache cup isn?t working, why not try this spoon, patented by Ellen B.A. Mitchellson in 1873? It would allow you to bring soup to your mouth without ?soiling or disfiguring? your moustache.
8. Patent US3858589, ?Sideburn and Moustache Shaper?
In name alone, Sideburn and Moustache Shapers don?t sound weird at all. But these devices, patented in the 1970s by Catherine E. Geiger, are pretty odd?more like things you?d trace than use to tweak your facial hair. Hold them up in front of your face, trim the errant hairs, and voila! Nicely shaped sideburns and ?stache!
9. Patent US 3944112, ?Mustache Cup Adaptor?
Who needs a whole cup when you can just snap an adaptor on whatever thing you?re drinking out of? That?s the idea behind this device, patented by George W. Miller in 1976.
10. Patent US2262992, ?Masquerade?
This patent, granted to Franklyn M. Dessart in 1939, was for a mask that could have different features?like a moustache!?applied to it. Looks like fun, eh?
11. Patent US4206913, ?Trick Windmill Novelty?
Blow into one tube of this device, and the windmill turns. Blow into the other, and you get a graphite powder blown onto your face, ?so as to produce the appearance of a moustache, to the amusement of all others observing the person trying to make the windmill work.? Earl A. Howell, Jr., who was granted the patent in 1980, sure was a jokester!
12. Patent US4710145, ?Therapeutic Doll Figure?
Get ready to have nightmares. This creepy looking doll, which was equipped with a tape recorder to play messages, was meant to be therapeutic. It could even be equipped with a velcro moustache to make it resemble someone. The patent was granted to Nancy Hall Vandis in 1987.
13. Patent USD269461, ?Pacifier?
Every baby needs a mustache pacifier! Or at least Robert L. Qually, who was granted the patent for this device in 1983, thinks so. Timothy E. Brennan, who patented a similar pacifier, probably agrees.
11 Tips for Growing the World?s Longest Mustache
*
The Origins of Movember
*
12 Cat-Related Patents That Are Really Quite Bizarre
*
11 NaNoWriMo Books That Have Been Published
Source: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/152937
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TEN BIGGEST PROBLEMS IN LOVE RELATIONSHIPS AND HOW ...
10 biggest problems in a LOVE relationship and how to FIX THEM
Relationships are one of the first things that all of us take for granted.
We don?t want to take it for granted.
But yet, we forget how much something really matters to us when we don?t stand to lose it.
And it usually takes losing something to realize its importance and value.
Wondering what the big problems in a relationship are, and what you can do to overcome it?
Problems in a relationship
Depending on the kind of relationship you share with your partner, the problems in a relationship too could be just as unique.
But almost always, all problems in a relationship find their place in ten big areas.
At some point or the other, these problems have a way of creeping into your romance.
Keep an eye on these issues, and understand how to overcome it, and you?ll see how easy it can be to eliminate all the frustrations you experience in a relationship.
10 big problems that need your attention
Remember this, you can?t stop problems from cropping up in a relationship no matter how perfect the relationship is. What you can do instead, is eliminate the frustration as soon as you notice them.
1. Lack of communication. At the start of the relationship, conversations are exciting and fun. Both of you spend a lot of time getting to know each other. But as time goes by, lovers forget to ask the same questions again.
We?re all changing all the time, in our preferences and the way we look at life. Don?t assume you know everything about each other or your romance will start to stagnate, or one of you will start to confide in some other person who seems more understanding.
2 .Trust. Do you really trust your partner? There are two kinds of trust in a relationship. Firstly, do you trust your partner enough to feel comfortable with them going out for dinner with someone else? If you don?t, perhaps, you?re insecure or your relationship is still too fragile.
And secondly, do you trust your partner?s decisions? Do you think your partner is capable of making important decisions for the both of you? If you can?t trust your partner with life altering decisions, it?s obvious that you don?t respect your partner or their opinions. And that?s never a good sign in a long term relationship.
3 .Jealousy and insecurity. Insecure couples are forever locked in a cycle of jealously and anger. When you feel jealous about the attention your lover?s getting or their recent promotion, you?re not helping them become a better individual. It?s like a parent who?s angry with their child because the child is having ?too much fun?.
You need to learn to have faith in each other and in the relationship. Instead of letting negativity build inside the relationship, learn to enjoy each other?s successes. After all, your partner is your better half, and any accomplishments of theirs are your accomplishments too, isn?t it?
4. Incompatibility in love. Love at first sight and infatuation can last several months. And it does a good job of masking any differences in a relationship. As perfect as two people may be, sometimes, they may just not be perfect for each other.
If you find yourself dating someone with whom you have nothing in common, you need to decide on the next step. Try to find common interests that both of you like, or walk your own paths instead of living in frustrations.
5. Loss of sex drive. This isn?t rocket science. Over time, both of you are bound to lose the sexual urge of the first few months or years of a relationship. While both of you may have a hard time keeping your hands off each other to begin with, now sex may start to feel like a chore.
This is a very common problem in relationships, and yet, it?s one of the easy ones to solve. Always look for new ways to recreate the sexual high of the first few times, and before you know it, both of you may go at it all over again like frisky bunnies
6. Ka ching! Anyone in a relationship for long enough will know just how important money or the lack of it really is. If your friends earn a lot more than you or your partner, it?ll end up frustrating both of you. And on the other hand, if both of you earn a lot more than your friends, there?ll be a lot of love and happiness in your lives.
It?s a stupid fact of life. But our own happiness is extremely dependent on the way others perceive us. If you?re having difficulties in your relationship because of money, perhaps it?s time to change your friends and see the difference.
7. Change in priorities. You may be in a relationship, but that doesn?t change who you are. And that?s where the problem starts. As individuals, we evolve and change all the time. You?re not the person you were last year, and you won?t be the person you are now next year.
And just like you, your partner too is changing constantly. And every now and then, you and your partner may experience changes that will pull both of you apart from each other. And soon enough, both of you may have nothing in common. Spend enough time with each other and try to evolve together in a similar direction. Talk about your beliefs and your interests with each other and it?ll help both of you grow together along the same path.
8 Time. Do both of you have enough time to spend with each other? These days, time is a luxury that most lovers can?t afford. When you start spending too much time away from each other, it?s only a matter of time before one of you starts asking the big question, ?Do I need my partner in my life anymore??
Don?t drift away so far that both of you don?t need to be with each other anymore. Find ways to indulge in exciting hobbies or spend evenings going out on little coffee or ice cream dates. They make for great conversations and it?ll bring both of you closer too.
9 .Space and individual growth. Now this is contradictory to the earlier problem in relationships. But it?s still something to watch out for. Too much of a good thing can turn out to be bad too. When you?re in a relationship, spending time with each other is very important. But at the same time, spending time away from each other is crucial too.
By spending too much time together, you?d subconsciously feel isolated from the rest of the world. And when that happens, you?d crave for any attention from other interesting people just to feel better about yourself and your ability to communicate. And you know what could happen when that happens, right
10. Are you still in love? This is the biggest problem in a relationship, and one that?s hardest to overcome. Falling in love is easy. Staying in love isn?t. Love is a delicate balance between dependency and passion. How much do you need your partner? How much do you love and want your partner?
When the sexual excitement and the enthusiasm fade away, what do you have to hold both of you together? A relationship should never be based on sex alone. It needs compatibility and understanding, and it definitely needs dependability. Staying in love forever is not easy, but with a little effort, it can give meaning to your life..
Love punky
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Shoppers welcome early start to "Black Friday"
NEW YORK/BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota (Reuters) - Retailers declared their experiment with earlier store openings to kick off the holiday shopping season a success on Friday, with those new hours expected to be a Thanksgiving night staple for more retailers next year.
Stores such as Target Corp opened hours before midnight on Thursday to try to capture a bigger piece of the retail pie. The move seemed to bring out a different type of shopper than the usual one who grabs the "Black Friday" deals, analysts said.
That meant by Friday morning, some shoppers, like Christian Alcantara, 18, at a J.C. Penney Co Inc store in Queens, New York, had already made a lot of their purchases. J.C. Penney stuck to a more traditional 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT) Friday opening.
"They should open earlier. I've been everywhere else and I've already shopped," he said.
Shoppers like Alcantara are likely to force holdouts like J.C. Penney to move their post-Thanksgiving sales into Thursday night next year, said Liz Ebert, retail lead at consulting firm KPMG LLP.
"There will be pressure on them. There'll be an expansion of it next year," Ebert said.
Hard data on "Black Friday" store traffic will not come in until this weekend. But analysts said retailers who opened early brought in a non-traditional Black Friday shopper, with more families coming in together and buying more than just the "doorbuster" sale items.
"I've never seen parents bring so many kids on Black Friday," Toys R Us Chief Executive Jerry Storch said.
The National Retail Federation expects sales during November and December to rise 4.1 percent this year, below last year's 5.6 percent increase. That made store operators' strategy important as they battled each other, rather than seeing a growing pie in a season when U.S. retailers can make a third of their annual sales and 40 to 50 percent of their profits.
"Retailers want them to buy now, they want to get that share of wallet early," said Michael Appel, a director at consulting firm AlixPartners. He noticed that the Galleria Mall in White Plains, New York, was busy from midnight to 3 a.m., but that traffic, while still brisk, was less heavy by midmorning.
Shoppers used smartphones and tablets and a lot of research as they hit stores, a mobile phenomenon that started last year and seemed to be more prevalent this year.
Thom Blischok, chief retail strategist and a senior executive adviser with Booz & Company's Retail practice, was waiting on line with one woman in Phoenix, who was shopping for a refrigerator. Using her mobile device, she found the appliance online for the same price and left the store without. She intended to buy it online instead.
"There's a fundamental transformation of shopping," he said.
Mobile devices account for 45 percent walmart.com traffic and online traffic coming from Walmart's mobile app was three times bigger than last year, Joel Anderson, chief executive of Walmart.com, said.
Overall, online sales were up 20 percent versus the same period last year, through 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) on Friday, IBM said.
The National Retail Federation said 147 million people would shop Friday through Sunday, when deals are at their most eye-catching - down from 152 million the same weekend last year.
The NRF estimate did not account for Thursday shoppers and anecdotal evidence suggested retailers opening earlier may have cut into traffic on "Black Friday", the traditional start of the holiday season that denotes the point when retailers in the past would turn a profit for the year.
"People seemed to be shopping quite a bit, although in talking to mall management, it seemed that traffic was not as busy as last year," Deloitte retail analyst Ramesh Swamy said.
Retailers were also using technology better, allowing sales staff to match prices customers found online and having them use tablets as mobile "checkout stands" so buyers did not have to wait in line, a service consumers were quickly coming to expect.
"I even heard customers complaining about a retailer that didn't have mobile checkout," he said.
SAVING UP FOR CHRISTMAS SPREE
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, two-thirds of shoppers were planning to spend the same amount of money as last year or were unsure about plans, while 21 percent intended to spend less, and 11 percent planned to spend more.
"I definitely have more money this year," said Amy Balser, 26, at the head of the line outside the Best Buy store in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. "I definitely don't think (the economy) has bounced back anywhere near as much as it needs to, but I see some improvement," she said.
For others, Christmas is the focal point of their annual shopping.
"We cut back spending on birthdays and anniversaries so we'd have more for Christmas. We've adapted," said Cheri Albus, 58, of Papillion, Nebraska, after shopping at J.C. Penney at Westroads Mall in Omaha.
Retail stocks rose in holiday-shortened trading on Friday, in line with gains across the market. Among the leaders, Wal-Mart ended up 1.9 percent and Macy's Inc rose 1.8 percent.
STARTING EARLY
Across the country, store lines were long - in the hundreds or more in many places - with the move toward earlier opening hours appearing to help. By sunrise on Friday, it was commonplace, even at large stores in the major cities, to find many more staffers than shoppers.
While the shift to earlier openings was criticized by store employees and traditionalists because it pulled people away from families on the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, many shoppers welcomed the chance to shop before midnight or in the early morning hours.
Some workers used the day to send a message.
OUR Walmart - a coalition of current and former Wal-Mart staff seeking better wages, benefits and working conditions - targeted Black Friday for action across the country after staging protests outside stores for months.
Nine protesters were arrested on misdemeanor charges after blocking a street outside a Walmart near Los Angeles, police said. Three of those arrested were Walmart workers, OUR Walmart said.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc's U.S. discount stores, which have been open on Thanksgiving since 1988, offered some Black Friday deals at 8 p.m. on Thursday and special deals on certain electronics, such as Apple Inc iPads, at 10 p.m.
At the Macy's store in Herald Square in Manhattan, the line at the Estee Lauder counter was four deep shortly after its midnight opening. The cosmetics department's "morning specials" included free high-definition headphones with any fragrance purchase of $75 or more, and a set of six eye shadows for $10.
But for some people, cheap wasn't cheap enough - like the Macy's shopper who bought Calvin Klein shoes at 50 percent off but was still not satisfied.
"I was hoping for deeper discounts," said Melissa Glascow, 35, of Brooklyn, New York.
That could actually be an intentional strategy to help retailers' profits.
"It appears that manufacturers and retailers are making concerted efforts to drive margins, which may take some of the sales sizzle out of a traditionally big selling day/period, but should be positive to gross margins," Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter said in a note to clients.
Lines at Best Buy stores were similar to last year but the traffic to its website was "significantly" higher, Shawn Score, head of the company's U.S. retail business, told Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Martinne Geller and Jochelle Mendonca in New York, Jessica Wohl and Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Chicago, Brad Dorfman in Milwaukee, Paul Ingram in Tucson, Arizona, Jason McLure in Littleton, New Hampshire, and Barbara Liston in Orlando, Florida; Writing by Brad Dorfman and Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Nick Macfie, David Holmes, Jeffrey Benkoe, Dale Hudson and Leslie Gevirtz)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/black-friday-thursday-kicks-off-u-holiday-shopping-025954866--finance.html
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Saturday, November 24, 2012
Pope appoints six cardinals who will elect his successor
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict made six non-European prelates Roman Catholic cardinals on Saturday, chipping away at the old continent's domination of the elite group that will one day elect his successor.
The new cardinals, ranging in age from 53 to 72, are from the United States, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, Lebanon and Colombia, and the decision to choose no Italians or Europeans looked like an attempt to counter criticism that he has in the past neglected the needs of the developing world.
Elevating the new "princes" in a solemn ceremony known as a consistory in St Peter's Basilica, Benedict said his appointments reflected "that the Church is the Church of all peoples".
"She speaks in the various cultures of the different continents ... amid the polyphony of the various voices, she raises a single harmonious song to the living God," he said in his sermon.
The new cardinals are American Archbishop James Michael Harvey, Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, a major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara rite in India, Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota, Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church in Lebanon, and Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja.
All six are "cardinal electors," those under 80 years old and therefore eligible to enter a conclave that will one day choose Benedict's successor.
Benedict gave the new cardinals their ring and traditional red "biretta," or hat. He reminded them that they wear red vestments because they must be ready to defend the faith "even to the shedding of your blood".
The pope is a conservative on matters of faith and sexual morals such as birth control, homosexuality and the ban on women priests. Each time he names cardinals he chooses men who share his views and can shape the Church's future.
Cardinals are the pope's closest aides in the Vatican, where they run its key departments, and around the world, where they head dioceses to administer the 1.2 billion members of the Roman Catholic Church.
NO ITALIANS, EUROPEANS
Benedict was criticized in some Church circles last February when, in choosing his previous batch of cardinals, he elevated many from the Vatican's central bureaucracy. He was accused of neglecting the needs of the developing world.
But significantly, this time, there were no Europeans or Italians, groups who loomed large in past consistories.
With 62 cardinals electors, Europeans still have a slight majority in the 120-member group, but their numbers have shrunk to be about even with the rest of the world.
There are now 58 non-European electors and of them, 14 are from North America, 21 are from Latin America, Africa and Asia have 11 each and Australia has one.
Two of the new cardinals, Boutros Rai, 72, of Lebanon, and Onaiyekan, 68, of Nigeria, are from countries with significant Muslim populations.
The pope's decision to raise the two to the highest rank in the Church short of the papacy indicates his concern for relations between Christianity and Islam.
The pope visited predominantly Muslim Lebanon last September and called on members of both faiths to work together to build peace in the Middle East and beyond.
In Nigeria, which is about 50 percent Muslim, the Islamist sect Boko Haram has killed hundreds of people in attacks since launching an uprising in 2009. Many of the attacks have been on Christians and churches.
Thottunkal, 53, the Indian, is on the front line of inter-religious dialogue with Hinduism.
The other two, Gomez, 70, of Bogota, Colombia, and Tagle, 55, of Manila, come from predominantly Catholic countries.
Benedict has now named 67, or more than half, of the cardinals who will elect his successor from among their own ranks. The other 53 were named by Pope John Paul.
The pope's health appears to be good but he has been looking frail recently and has started using a cane.
Popes usually reign for life but in a book in 2010, Benedict said he would not hesitate to become the first pontiff to resign in more than 700 years if he felt no longer able "physically, psychologically and spiritually" to run the Catholic Church.
Harvey, the 63-year-old American, was the prefect of the Pontifical Household. He arranged the pope's schedule, including private and public audiences, and looked after world leaders visiting the Vatican.
He is now becoming the archpriest of the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome.
In his previous post, Harvey was in charge of the pope's former butler Paolo Gabriele, who was convicted last month of stealing papal documents and leaking them to the media.
When the names of the new cardinals were announced last month, a spokesman denied that the promotion of Harvey was a means of removing him because of the scandal.
(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-appoints-six-cardinals-elect-successor-121100669.html
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Green Blog: Another Path to Biofuels
Last week I wrote about two companies that are racing to be first in commercial-scale production of motor fuel from nonfood sources. A large group of other companies is pursuing various other strategies, one or two steps behind. One of those companies is planning to use algae.
The company, SEE Algae Technology of Austria, is building a 2.5-acre factory on a sugar plantation near Recife, Brazil, that will use genetically modified algae that can eat carbon dioxide from the sugar. Adding urea and some nutrients, the algae excrete ethanol.
The path to profitability, according to the company, is raising the amount of algae produced per unit of area. Algae grows in ponds, but that turns out to require a lot of space: sunlight does not penetrate more than a couple of inches, so the ponds must have big surfaces. The problem is that the carbon dioxide injected to promote algae growth tends to escape from a big surface.
SEE Algae?s solution is a silo that is 16 feet tall and has a volume of 177 cubic feet. Sunlight is directed all over the inside of the silo by optical fiber technology. Because the light is coming from multiple directions, the hardware can produce algae at a density up to 20 times greater than can be generated on a pond, according to Joachim Grill, the company?s chief executive.
The carbon dioxide source is a small electricity-producing plant that burns the part of the sugar cane that remains after the sugar has been extracted. (Brazilian sugar plantations have a second source of carbon dioxide: sugar is often used to make ethanol, and the yeast that digests the sugar and yields the ethanol also gives off a pure stream of carbon dioxide as well. Still, that carbon dioxide has more value when sold for edible uses like producing carbonated beverages, Dr. Grill said.)
The pilot plant, which is scheduled to be complete in May, will produce about 370,000 gallons of ethanol a year, Dr. Grill said. If it runs as planned, SEE Algae?s customer, Grupo JB, will add 14 more, all the same size. Even that would be small by the standards of commercial oil refineries, but it could turn out to be the first serious commercial production of ethanol from algae.
Using genetically altered algae to make ethanol is one route to biofuels, but SEE Algae has a second route in mind. Ordinary algae develops an oil as it grows, and this can be processed into a diesel substitute. The procedure involves removing the water and adding a solvent, generally hexane, that dissolves the cell wall so that the oil can be purified and processed.
But for the time being, Dr. Grill said, customers who follow that pathway do not bother making fuel from the oil. The reason is that the oil can also be processed into products with a higher profit margin, notably cosmetics and nutritional supplements, including Omega-3. ?It?s a big rage,?? he said of the latter.
Turning algae into fuel or other chemicals that are now made from oil could have commercial benefits when oil prices are high. But it could also make financial sense in countries that have put a price on carbon dioxide emissions to combat global warming, since the algae consume the carbon and reuse it in their product.
(If that product is fuel, the carbon will be released when the ethanol or biodiesel is burned. But environmentally, that is better than releasing carbon that had been sequestered deep underground as oil.)
Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/another-path-to-biofuels-two-actually/?partner=rss&emc=rss
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