Saturday, September 29, 2012

Yankees shut out, AL East lead down to 1 game

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:14 p.m. ET Sept. 27, 2012

TORONTO (AP) - Ivan Nova didn't do much to help his case for a spot in the Yankees' potential playoff rotation. If anything, he made New York's path to the postseason a little tougher.

Brandon Morrow and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, pitching the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-0 victory over Nova and the Yankees on Thursday night that trimmed New York's lead in the tight AL East.

Edwin Encarnacion had three hits and three RBIs. Brett Lawrie hit a two-run homer and J.P. Arencibia added a solo shot as the Blue Jays handed an assist to idle Baltimore, shaving New York's division lead over the Orioles to one game.

The Yankees lost for the third time in five games and wasted a chance to go two up with six to play.

"We know what's at stake right now and we've just got to go out there and keep picking up wins," Nick Swisher said. "We've got a little six-game playoff race."

Making his third start since missing 14 games with a sore right shoulder, Nova (12-8) allowed four runs and six hits in 4 2-3 innings. He walked two and struck out four.

"I'm not pitching the way I want and I'm not getting the result I want, so that's not good," Nova said.

Knocked out in the third inning of his previous start, Nova has not won back-to-back outings since a five-start winning streak from May 25 to June 17. The 87 extra-base hits off him are the most yielded by any big league pitcher.

"He just hasn't had the command, that's the bottom line," manager Joe Girardi said.

Nova insisted he's not worried about his future in New York's rotation, but acknowledged his struggles are starting to wear on him.

"Especially right now, the position we're in, I'm not feeling good about it," he said. "We want to win every day and I'm not doing that."

Morrow (9-7) scattered four hits over seven innings, walked three and struck out three to win for the first time in five starts.

Swisher said Morrow kept the Yankees off balance with an assortment of off-speed pitches, not just a blazing fastball.

"It didn't seem like he was really raring back tonight," Swisher said. "It felt like he was pitching. He was throwing a lot more cutters than I remember, a lot more changeups, breaking balls, things like that, rather than that flat 96 (mph). He did a good job."

Yankees catcher Russell Martin said Morrow was aggressive in the strike zone.

"Every time you're in there it feels like you're behind in the count," Martin said.

It was Morrow's longest outing since returning from the disabled list Aug. 25 after missing 65 games with a strained muscle in his left side.

"You always want to try and finish up strong," Morrow said. "It takes a little while to get back into a groove (after an injury) but I've felt good the whole time."

Brad Lincoln worked the eighth and Darren Oliver finished for the Blue Jays, who have won three of four following a seven-game losing streak.

Morrow got some help from his defense after Robinson Cano's one-out single in the fourth. Rookie left fielder Anthony Gose crashed into the wall to haul in a deep drive from Swisher, then threw the ball into second baseman Kelly Johnson, who doubled off Cano at first.

"(Cano) probably got a little bit too far, but it's a great play by Gose," Girardi said.

Cano doubled to begin the seventh and Swisher walked but Morrow fanned Curtis Granderson, then got Martin and Raul Ibanez to fly out.

Nova ran into trouble after walking Gose to begin the fourth. Lawrie followed with an opposite-field homer to right, his 10th of the season and first since July 22.

Gose led off with a single in the fifth, went to second on Lawrie's groundout and moved to third on a bunt single by Colby Rasmus. That brought up Encarnacion, who drove in both runners with a double into the right-field corner.

Even with the infield drawn in, New York couldn't stop Toronto from making it 5-0 against Derek Lowe in the seventh when Lawrie scored on Encarnacion's grounder to shortstop. Arencibia capped the scoring with a second-deck homer off David Aardsma in the eighth, his 18th.

Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar was greeted with a smattering of boos during his first home game since wearing eye-black with an anti-gay slur. A few fans booed when Escobar's name was announced as the lineups were read before the game. There was a mix of boos and cheers as Escobar batted in the bottom of the first, lining out on Nova's first pitch.

"The three years I've been here in Toronto the fans have been great to me," Escobar said through a translator. "They know how hard I work and I give everything on the field. I made a mistake. I'm sorry for it."

Escobar's subsequent at-bats drew almost no reaction from the crowd of 23,060.

NOTES: New York OF Brett Gardner, who came off the 60-day DL this week after missing 142 games with a strained right elbow, took part in two sets of batting practice before the game. It's the first time he's taken BP since rejoining the team. ... Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez, who did not play in Wednesday's victory at Minnesota, started at DH. Jayson Nix was at third base. Girardi said Rodriguez could return to third base during this series, possibly Friday. Rodriguez went 0 for 2 and has one hit in his last 16 at-bats. ... New York 1B Mark Teixeira (strained left calf) had seven at-bats in a simulated game and will do the same Friday or Saturday, Girardi said. ... Aardsma pitched in a major league game for the first time since Sept. 19, 2010. He missed the past two seasons following hip and elbow operations.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/49205417/ns/sports-baseball/

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Disney Store at South Coast Plaza gets an upgrade - OC Moms ...

A newly designed Disney Store is set to reopen next weekend at South Coast Plaza. It will feature special additions aimed toward "Creating magical moments for guests of all ages."

Similar to other Disney Stores, the Pixie Dust Trail starts off the experience, following it into various Disney and Pixar neighborhoods, including Disney princesses, "Cars" and "Toy Story." There will also be a theatre at the back of the store which features film trailers, clips, music videos and more. The theatre area will also be host to family activities, workshops and other events.

The newly redesigned Disney Store at South Coast Plaza will host a grand opening event on Saturday, Oct. 6.

PHOTO COURTESY DISNEY STORE

ADVERTISEMENT

Each new Disney Store features a custom skyline, filled with various lights and color changes that coincide with the store's magical teres, different times of the day, and ceremonial rituals. The skyline shows landmarks such as Big Ben from "Peter Pan," the Notre Dame from "Hunchback of Notre Dame," Mickey Mouse-shaped balloons, plus other favorites.?

The store will have a special opening ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 10 a.m. The first 500 guests will receive a free gift. From noon to 4 p.m., guests can meet Jake or Captain Hook - stars of Disney Junior's "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" - in the Carousel Court.

The Disney Store is located on Level 1 of South Coast Plaza. Park in the south parking structure or near Bloomingdale's.

DISNEY BABY STORE

Disney stores also welcomed a brand-new addition to the family. The first ever Disney Baby Store opened its doors on Sept. 6 in Glendale at the Americana at Brand. The store and online boutique offer essential products focused on baby's playtime, bathtime, mealtime, dressing baby, baby's first and in the nursery.

During the opening celebration, Disney teamed up with Operation Shower, a non-profit organization that supports military families, to host a baby shower for more than 20 expectant military moms. The moms-to-be played shower games hosted by actress Alison Sweeney and enjoyed a complimentary shopping spree in the new store.

In addition to the online boutique, you can also find a selection of Disney Baby products within Disney Store locations, such as the newly-remodeled Orange County location at South Coast Plaza.

The Disney Baby website is also a helpful resource for new moms, including a blog and plenty of tips for surviving baby's first year.

* * *

Kristin Chessman is an Orange County-based writer and new mom. She shares her musings about all things baby on OC Moms, the Orange County Register's parenting section. Follow Kristin on Twitter @KristinChessman.


Source: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/disney-372925-store-baby.html

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Construction-America's Most Dangerous Industry

New Source: JusticeNewsFlash.com
You would think workers? safety on a work site should be first and foremost on everyone?s agenda. Workers? safety is of the utmost importance and employers should do everything in their power to make sure that their workers? health and welfare are protected. Unfortunately, in New York, as developers and construction companies push forward with new development, construction workers? safety is often compromised in the interest of speed and frugality, and while the state has a comprehensive body of labor laws in place to protect workers, such incidents are still unfortunately too common an occurrence.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, construction is one of the most dangerous industries nationally, accounting for over 20% of all workplace deaths in 2009. Even though Labor Law sec. 240, known as the ?Scaffold Law? is in place to protect construction site employees working at elevated heights, accidents involving falls from high places still remain a leading cause of injury and death at New York construction sites. Nationally, almost a third of the construction fatalities referenced above for 2009 involved falls from elevated heights at construction sites. As recently as this week, a construction worker who had been helping to complete the building of WTC 4 had fallen 5 to 6 feet onto a steel rebar resulting in serious injuries. This is a far too common occurrence to ignore and simply hope for the best.

Plans to reform the ?Scaffold Law? itself may create an immense challenge for injured construction workers. ?There are forces at work in the New York State Senate to put an end to the absolute liability of contractors when an accident occurs on a construction site due to the negligence of a worker. While these changes to the current law may help decrease costs for the contractor, it would severely increase the risk for the construction worker. If an on-site accident should occur, trying to figure out who is at fault can become quite complex. Injured construction workers would no longer have the comfort of knowing they will be taken care of should an injury occur on the job. Workers would need to hire legal representation in order to prove they were not the cause of the injuries in order to get the assistance they deserve. Contractors also would not be required to adhere to strict regulations regarding the safety of the construction site such as employing properly constructed scaffolding. This is a scary thought for those who put their life on the line every day in order to earn a living.

The construction industry is dangerous, where accidents are frequent and unpredictable. The current ?Scaffold Law? has not eliminated falls as the leading cause of injury and death at construction sites, and the reforms under consideration will further put construction workers in danger. These brave workers deserve to be protected by the law. Unfortunately, the rights of injured construction workers and what they are entitled to are often left open for debate.

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Fatal Occupational Injuries by Industry and Event or Exposure 2009, available at http://stats.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cftb0241.pdf

2. Long Island Press, WTC Construction Worker Impaled, Marcus, Matthew, 2012, http://www.longislandpress.com/2012/06/27/wtc-construction-worker-impaled/

3. FindLaw, New York Lawmakers Debate Reforms to Scaffolding Law, 2012, http://knowledgebase.findlaw.com/kb/2012/May/523682.html News Source: JusticeNewsFlash.com - Press Release Distribution

Source: http://www.wirednewsengine.com/2012/09/29/Construction-Americas-Most-Dangerous-Industry_2012092921855.html

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Victim 1 in Jerry Sandusky trial has book deal

FILE - This June 22, 2012 file photo shows former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arriving at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. A key witness _ Victim 1 _ against Sandusky has a book deal and will soon reveal his identity. Ballantine Bantem Dell announced Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, that the book is coming out Oct. 23. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - This June 22, 2012 file photo shows former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arriving at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. A key witness _ Victim 1 _ against Sandusky has a book deal and will soon reveal his identity. Ballantine Bantem Dell announced Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, that the book is coming out Oct. 23. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

(AP) ? A key witness against convicted child molester and former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, known in court papers as Victim 1, has a book deal and will soon reveal his identity, a publisher announced Thursday.

Ballantine Bantam Dell said that "Silent No More: Victim (hash)1's Fight for Justice Against Jerry Sandusky," is coming out Oct. 23. The memoir will be co-written by the victim's mother and psychologist and "will share how he survived years of shame and secrecy, harassment and accusation, before reporting Sandusky's actions to the authorities, and will offer a hopeful and inspiring message for victims of abuse," Ballantine announced.

Victim 1, now 18, will reveal his identity on the day of the book's release in an interview with ABC's Chris Cuomo.

Financial terms for the book were not disclosed. But Ballantine, an imprint of Random House Inc., plans a donation to a charity for victims of child abuse.

Victim 1 first alerted authorities in 2008 and helped launch the investigation leading to Sandusky's conviction in June on 45 counts of child sexual abuse. Prosecutors said some of the assaults took place on the Penn State campus. Sandusky is scheduled to be sentenced next month and is likely to receive a sentence that will keep him in prison for life.

Victim 1 testified for the prosecution that Sandusky approached him through a summer camp for youth sponsored by The Second Mile, a charity for at-risk youth that the former coach had founded. Their initial contacts consisted of football games and swimming, and Sandusky would attend the boy's wrestling tournaments.

Physical contact began with a hand on his leg in the car, Victim 1 said, and he began spending nights at the Sandusky home in State College, about 30 miles from his own home in Lock Haven.

Kissing and back rubbing during those overnight visits, when he was in his early teens, progressed to oral sex, he testified, sobbing. He said Sandusky eventually told him: "It's your turn."

"I don't how to explain it, I froze," he said. "My mind is telling me to move but I couldn't do it, I couldn't move."

He told jurors his own behavior worsened, going from a well-behaved child to fights with relatives and bed wetting. His grades deteriorated. After Victim 1 began trying to avoid Sandusky, he asked his mother about websites for child molesters, "to see if Jerry was on there," he testified.

His mother set up a meeting with school guidance counselors, a process that led to the opening of a police investigation and produced criminal charges against Sandusky in November. Messages seeking comment left Thursday for Victim 1's civil lawyers, Slade McLaughlin and Michael Boni, were not immediately returned.

___

Associated Press Writer Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pa., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-09-27-Books-Sandusky%20Victim/id-77449ea9e2a34d6b99a8faa5e053e406

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Friday, September 28, 2012

Personal health record software - HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS

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'Dark Knight Rises' Blu-ray: Deleted Scenes We'll Never See

Christopher Nolan's final Batman movie hits shelves on December 4 without deleted scenes or director's cut.
By Kevin P. Sullivan


Christian Bale in "Dark Knight Rises"
Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1694612/dark-knight-rises-bluray-deleted-scenes.jhtml

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

US eases Myanmar import ban

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Great Wine Bars in Paris - Carry On | Travel + Leisure

09.26.12

Paris Wine Bars: Legrand Filles et Fils

The recent rage for wine bars reflects a change in the way the French think?and drink.

I?ve been visiting Paris since the 1970?s. But on a recent trip, I noted something radically unfamiliar. At Verjus, a new hot spot by the Palais Royal, a roomful of people were sipping Chinon and Chenin Blanc by the glass, not a dinner plate in sight.

Wine bars have always seemed the antithesis of how the French experience wine. While Americans gravitate toward big-bodied creations with the kick of a cocktail, the French favor restraint, seeing it as a piece of a larger prandial puzzle. An aperitif in Paris has always meant a Lillet, a kir, maybe a beer. Wines by the glass were usually barely drinkable vin ordinaire.

These days, there is a bar ? vin every few blocks. A short stroll from Verjus are Legrand Filles et Fils, inside a retail shop, and Les Fines Gueules, where locals down organic bottles while nibbling on charcuterie. Farther east, in-the-know restaurant Frenchie recently sprouted a wine bar annex. And the selection at La Cr?merie, near the Jardin du Luxembourg, is imposing.

Back by the Palais Royal, I stopped in at Willi?s Wine Bar, a pioneer when it opened in 1980. It?s just finished an expansion. ?France today is a long way from the place that was going to export its culture around the globe,? said its British-born owner, Mark Williamson. Parisians travel far more than their parents did. ?They?re integrating things like wine bars into their culture in their own way,? he said.

Gerard Sibourd-Baudry, owner of Legrand, agreed. ?Things happen slowly here. But they do happen.? We were drinking champagne at his 130-year-old shop, across from a table of four enjoying a cheese plate and Chablis. I scanned the list to see what to order next?a mature Bordeaux? A racy Alsatian white?and realized that, for a wine drinker in Paris, these are the best of times. ?Good wine by the glass is finally accepted,? Sibourd-Baudry declared. ?More than that. It is fashionable.?

Photo by Roberto Frankenberg

Source: http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-blog/carry-on/2012/9/26/great-wine-bars-in-paris

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Walking on Eggshells: Anatomy of a Science Story

Today I have a piece in Slate?s Food section on what physics has to say about the proper way to crack an egg. Yeah, you heard me: there?s physics in the Food section, which is AS IT SHOULD BE, because physics is everywhere, y?all, and the folks at Slate totally get that. Naturally, there was a lot of stuff that didn?t make it into the final story, but that?s what the blog is for, right? And in addition to the usual outtakes, I thought it might be fun and instructive to give readers a peek into my writing process this time around.

1. The Idea: what piqued my interest? There?s always a bit of serendipity involved. I get regular tip sheets from the American Physical Society alerting me to nifty upcoming papers, but it?s pretty subjective when it comes to which papers appeal to which writers. I?m especially fond of quirky topics with real-world or pop culture tie-ins, and if it?s materials physics, so much the better, because I am very much a Material Girl (TM). In this case, I saw that there was a paper on the geometry of eggshells and how this relates to their rigidity (a different mechanical property from strength, as the Slate piece makes clear).

It?s the latest work from the lab of MIT mechanical engineer Pedro Reis, whose denizens have looked at such colorful topics as how cats lap up water, scratching and fracturing in everything from paraffin wax to steel, and (my favorite) the physics of curly hair. So it?s not surprising that Reis and his co-author, Arnaud Lazarus ended up looking into eggshells ? or, more accurately, thin shells of an ovoid shape, building on work this spring on something called a ?buckliball.?

Essentially, the MIT model lets scientists predict the thickness of the shell by applying a force to said shell and measuring how much (or how little) it deforms in response. It can also predict the internal pressure provided one knows the thickness and material properties of the shell.

2. The Pitch: Let?s face it: physics is a tough sell at the best of times. How to tailor this rather mathematically intensive piece for a non-physics-y audience? Serendipity! The Time Lord and I had just participated in a mixology class at the Sunset Strip Andaz Hotel, formerly known as the ?Riot Hyatt? because of its colorful rock ?n roll legacy. We had been instructed on how to mix whiskey sours. The recipe calls for egg whites; and there were a few pratfalls as various participants tried to crack their eggs and separate the white from the yolk. The whole experience reminded me of Audrey Hepburn in the original Sabrina, as she struggles to learn to properly crack an egg in her Parisian cooking class.

So when I saw the paper on eggshell physics, I connected it with the film and the mixology class, and a story started taking shape in my head. It had all the essential elements:

* something tangible in the every day sphere in which to frame the abstract physics;

* a fun pop culture tie-in with a classic film clip; and

* a news hook, in the form of a new paper about to be published in Physical Review Letters ? two papers, actually, since another group of scientists independently arrived at similar conclusions from a complementary angle.

3. The Legwork. Those things, taken together, gave me enough to pitch the story to Slate successfully. And so began the task of researching the story and doing the interviews. It?s my favorite part of the process, because it?s so unpredictable. You know you?ve found a quirky topic when this phase requires you to look up papers from the 1970s in British Poultry Science and the Journal of Textile Studies.

It turns out that eggshells are pretty fascinating objects from a scientific standpoint: think bioceramics. For instance, it?s common to compress chicken eggs between two parallel steel plates to measure the stiffness and strength of the shell. Concluding that this method ?is tedious and the required equipment expensive,? one Belgian study opted to create a computer simulation based on a mass-spring model to study the same kind of properties in eggshells, albeit a simplified single-layered version. (Eggshells are rather complicated structures.) Other groups have used acoustical methods to study the mechanical properties of eggshells.

I found a nifty 17th century recipe by one Sir Kenelm Digby, detailing a Chinese method for preparing tea: ?Take two yolks of new laid eggs, and beat them very well with as much fine sugar?.? The idea was to pour the tea on top of this mixture as a kind of hot toddy for digestive ailments. (Many British folk from Digby?s era were obese, and suffered from gout and kidney stones. That might be because of cake recipes that called for 30 eggs, 15 whites, mixed with tons of cream and butter.) But Digby was also fascinated by the various developmental stages of fertilized eggs: ?You may lay severall egges to hatch; and by breaking them at severall ages you may distinctly observe every hourely mutation in them, if you please.?

I also learned about Corentin Kervran, a French scientist who espoused ?biological transmutation? ? a largely discredited idea, for the record ? who first became interested in the topic because he was fascinated by the enigma of eggshell formation. Had he not died in 1983, Kervran could have been gratified by the 2010 work by scientists at the Universities of Warwick and Sheffield on into the metadynamics of eggshell formation. They demonstrated with computer simulations how the calcium carbonate that makes up the bulk of the shell transitions from an amorphous state into calcite crystals. (The key appears to be a protein called ovocledidin-17.)

In 2007, engineers at Ohio State figured out a recipe for using pulverized eggshells to make hydrogen fuel, and earlier this year scientists hatched a plan to recycle eggshells into plastics. Best of all, I got to chat with a Cambridge bioengineer named Michelle Oyen over Skype who has been working on an interdisciplinary project characterizing the fine structure and related material properties of eggshells.

Eggshells are mostly calcite crystals in a protein matrix, although even the mineral portion is laced with organic matter. It?s a pretty ingenious design: tough enough to resist cracking, but breakable enough to allow a chick to hatch once it matures. According to Oyen and her colleagues, ?The key to the fracture resistance of these materials is in the mechanism by which these two dissimilar materials, protein and mineral, are organized at the smallest of length scales.?

Oh, and of course, there?s the classic egg drop experiment posed to physics classes, in which students are asked to design the perfect ?packaging? for a raw egg, to enable it to survive a drop from the roof of a campus building. And Reis said he and Lazarus were inspired by another popular demonstration: walking on eggshells:

4. The Outtakes. The hardest part about writing a piece is leaving out tons of interesting tidbits for the sake of keeping the piece sharply focused ? a.k.a. ?killing your darlings.? It?s an essential part of the process. Among the many omitted details: how Reis and Lazarus tested their model experimentally. There is too much natural variation in real eggshells; Reis and Lazarus needed tighter experimental controls for their model.

So they used rapid prototyping techniques and 3D printing to create plastic model shells of various shapes ? mostly varying the height, so that the curved ovoid shapes got longer or shorter while the base radius stayed the same.

Reis and Lazarus then measured how the changing shapes changed the rigidity of the shells in response to being poked. It?s the kind of experiment that would have been far too expensive and time-consuming even five years ago, according to Reis, requiring a visit to MIT?s metal machining shop.

They also varied the pressure inside the shells, injecting air with the equivalent of a small bicycle pump to see how this changed the mechanical properties, going from zero air pressure to what Reis calls ?balloon mode.? It?s akin to the gassy pressure that builds up inside rotten eggs. And because of that, the model is also applicable to the study of viral capsids. One way biologists study cells (including viruses) is by poking the encasing membrane with an atomic force microscope (AFM) and measuring the push-back from that tiny applied force. This reveals properties like rigidity ? precisely what Reis and Lazarus were interested in modeling.

So it?s not just about the best way to crack?or not crack?an egg, even if eggshells were the source of Reis? inspiration. ?Our findings are universal, they are based on geometry, and that makes our [model] relevant over a wide range of scales,? said Reis, from eggshells to architectural domes to biological cells. One of MIT?s signature buildings boasts a thin-shelled dome, for instance. While the model wouldn?t be useful for determining how much snowfall the dome could support before cracking?a distributed load, akin to walking on eggs?it could determine whether or not that structure could support a helicopter landing on the pole?a specific point where the load is focused, akin to cracking an eggshell.

There also wasn?t room in the piece to talk about the second eggshell related paper. As Reis and Lazarus were finalizing their own submission, they discovered a separate team of researchers headed by Dominic Vella, a mathematician at Oxford University, focusing on the entire class of shapes known as ovoids.

Vella et al. approached the problem from a complementary perspective, building an idealized eggshell via computer modeling and running multiple simulations, varying shape, shell materials, and internal pressures. ?We tried to base that more mathematically on equations that we know govern elastic shells,? Vella told Inside Science News Service.

There is one last obvious question here: didn?t we already know quite a bit about the mechanical properties of eggshells? Well, sure, particularly given all the work done by the aerospace industry in the 1950s and 1960s, followed by handy computational tools. ?You can draw a model airplane design and then use the black box tool to calculate all the stresses,? said Reis. ?But each time you want an answer about the particular structure, you have to do the calculation, and that can be extremely costly. With our formula you can go poke the shell and measure the force, and if you know what the material is made of and ? the local curvature around the point of poking, we can tell you the thickness of the particular point where you are indenting without having to do any hard calculations.?

We are all about avoiding the hard calculations, and so, apparently, is Reis: ?This is what physics is all about, trying to come up with simple models of complicated things.?

Images: (top) Still from 1954?s Sabrina, directed by Billy Wilder.? (center) Plastic ovoids of many shapes. Credit: Arnaud Lazarus and Pedro Reis (MIT). (bottom) Eggshells of many colors. User: Hustvedt. Wikimedia Commons.

References:

Armitage, Oliver E., Strange, Daniel G.T., and Oyen, Michelle L. (2012) ?Biomimetic Mineral-Protein Composites formed by an Automated Alternate Soaking Process,? MRS Proceedings, 1419 , mrsf11-1419-nn04-09 doi:10.1557/opl.2012.749

Carter, T.S. (1977) ?The Hen?s Egg:? Relationship of Mean Strain Energy at Shell Fracture to Shell Compression Speed, the Nature of the Compressing Body, and the Location on the Shell of the Point of Contact,? British Poultry Science 18(2).

Coucke, P., et al. (2010) ?Comparative Analysis of the Static and Dynamic Mechanical Eggshell Behaviour of a Chicken Egg,? Proceedings of the International Conference on? Noise and Vibration Engineering.

Entwistle, K.M. and Reddy, T.Y. (1996) ?The Fracture Strength Under Internal Pressure of the Eggshell of the Domestic Fowl,? Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences 263(1369), 433-438.

Freeman, Colin L., et al. (2010) ?Structural Control of Crystal Nuclei by an Eggshell Protein,? Angewandte Chemie Edition 49(30).

Lazarus, A., Florijn, H.C.B. and Reis, P.M. (2012) ?Geometry-Induced Rigidity in Non-Spherical Pressurized Elastic Shells,? Physical Review Letters, forthcoming,

Vella, D. et al. (2012) ?Indentation of Ellipsoidal and Cylindrical Elastic Shells,? Physical Review Letters, forthcoming.

Voisey, P.W. and Hunt, J.R. (1974) ?Measurement of Eggshell Strength,? Journal of Texture Studies 4, 135-182.

?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=6baa9ee9590503ebddcbbbf88fbdfe1c

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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Syrian death toll now tops 30,000: activist group

BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 30,000 people have died in Syria's 18-month-old uprising, a British-based Syrian monitoring group said on Wednesday, and more than half of the victims counted were killed in the past five months.

The uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which began in March 2011 as peaceful protests, has descended into civil war since rebels took up arms against a security force crackdown.

Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 30,716 people were killed. Most of them - at least 21,534 - were civilians. But his network of activists, who are based around Syria, do not divide their civilian death count between unarmed residents and those who have joined the rebels.

The pro-opposition Observatory said 7,322 soldiers fighting for Assad were killed, while at least 1,860 army defectors died fighting for the opposition.

"By looking through our figures, we noticed that the toll has been rising. Between 50 and 60 percent of those killed died in the past five months," Abdulrahman said.

Syrian authorities have said in the past that more than 2,600 members of the security forces have been killed, but have not given a casualty figure for several months.

Despite the rapidly rising death toll, international powers are stuck in a diplomatic stalemate. Western powers and Gulf Arab states back the opposition, while Russia, China and Iran are backing Assad.

The violence spiked rapidly in recent months as rebel forces spread, taking the fight across the country and into Syria's two major cities, the capital Damascus and business hub Aleppo.

Assad, who says his opponents are "terrorists" backed by foreign powers, has responded with heavy bombardment, including the use of fighter jets and helicopter gunships.

(This story corrects figure in headline)

(Reporting by Erika Solomon; Editing by Stephen Powell)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-death-toll-now-tops-30-0000-activist-144158836.html

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Monday, September 24, 2012

HBT: Wood talked to Epstein about Cubs job

Kerry Wood was back at Wrigley Field over the weekend for a ceremony honoring his Cubs career and it sounds like the recently retired right-hander will eventually be rejoining the organization in some capacity.

?We?ve kicked some ideas around, met with and talked to Theo [Epstein] about it,? Wood said, via Sahadev Sharma of ESPN Chicago. ?We?re all kinda on the same page and I?m sure we?ll get something done soon and work out all the details. Definitely want to be around and definitely want to be involved.?

Wood, who retired in mid-May, liked playing for the Cubs so much that he turned down bigger contract offers to return as a free agent in 2011 and has talked previously about thinking highly of Theo Epstein in general.

He also mentioned wanting to see the Cubs bring Sammy Sosa back into the fold at some point, but those odds seem quite a bit longer.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/24/kerry-wood-has-talked-to-theo-epstein-about-job-with-cubs/related/

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Sports Late goals preserve Barcelonas perfect start to La Liga season

  • Mayor of Ourense has been granted bail

    Typically Spanish - Sunday 23rd September, 2012

    The Mayor of Ourense, Francisco Rodrguez, has been granted provisional bail of 6,000 EUR in the 'Pokemon' case. He faces charges of prevarication and bribery. It comes after the ...

  • Your autumn weather in Spain

    Typically Spanish - Sunday 23rd September, 2012

    Autumn, which arrived at 4.49pm on Saturday, brings rain and winds in 25 provinces of Spain. Yellow alerts of heavy rain, as much as 40 litres per square metre, have been issued in A Corua, ...

  • Sports Late goals preserve Barcelonas perfect start to La Liga season

    The Standard - Sunday 23rd September, 2012

    Barcelona continued their storming start to the La Liga season with a fifth straight win but it needed two late goals to secure a 2-0 victory over Granada in the Camp Nou Saturday. The visitors ...

  • 64-72 Madrid reach the final of the Super cup

    Real Madrid - Sunday 23rd September, 2012

    Real Madrid have qualified for the final of the Endesa Super cup after defeating CAI Zaragoza, the tournament hosts, during a match in which they excelled in defence and killed off the game with a ...

  • Spanish Fork welcomes in fall with Hurrah

    General Sources - Sunday 23rd September, 2012

    AMERICAN FORK -- When a dry wind kicked up on Sept. 15, calls began pouring in from around Utah County about a pillar of white smoke curling ...

  • Spains banks need less capital - IMF

    General Sources - Sunday 23rd September, 2012

    Spain needs less money for recapitalising its banks than widely believed, International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde says.'The number is lower than what was feared ...

  • Spanish cyclist Cabedo killed

    General Sources - Sunday 23rd September, 2012

    Victor Cabedo, a 23-year-old Spanish cyclist with the Euskaltel-Euskadi team, has died after being hit by a car during a training run in the eastern village of Almedijar, a police source has ...

  • Spain to overshoot crucial deficit goal analysts

    Times of Oman - Sunday 23rd September, 2012

    Spain: Spain has staked its financial survival on cutting its bulging deficit, but analysts warn it will miss its key 2012 target, undermined by the very measures taken to try and meet it.Prime ...

  • European football round-up Barcelona leave it late

    The National - Sunday 23rd September, 2012

    Barcelona on their way to a hard-fought 2-0 Primera Division victory over Granada at the Nou Camp yesterday evening. The Catalan giants had looked to be on the verge of dropping their first points ...

  • Spain reports 20.9 drop in Julys trade gap

    MENAFN - Sunday 23rd September, 2012

    (MENAFN) The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness announced that the country's trade balance posted a deficit of USD26.388 billion in July, reported Xinhua News.The ministry said ...

  • Oregon Coast Explorations Staying at Lincoln Citys Inn at Spanish Head

    Beach Connection - Sunday 23rd September, 2012

    (Lincoln City, Oregon) ? Few things can measure up to a stay on the Oregon coast during the balmy days of winter. That's right, I said a "balmy ...

  • Xavi gives Barcelona 2-0 win over Granada

    Inquirer Sports - Sunday 23rd September, 2012

    BARCELONA, Spain -- Xavi Hernandez scored three minutes from time to seal Barcelona?s hard-fought 2-0 home win over Granada on Saturday, keeping the Spanish leaders perfect through five ...

  • Source: http://www.barcelonanews.net/index.php/sid/209427461/scat/a5286f17ab326d15

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    Congo could allow oil exploitation in parks: minister

    By Jonny Hogg

    KINSHASA (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo will allow exploration work inside Africa's oldest national park if significant oil deposits are found there, the country's hydrocarbons minister said on Saturday.

    Congo is keen to expand its underdeveloped oil sector, which currently produces only 26,000 barrels a day despite oil-rich areas in both the east and west of the country.

    British oil company Soco International was earlier this year given permission to carry out aerial surveys on Block 5, a block of land near the border with Uganda, but the move has faced fierce opposition from environmental groups.

    Most of the concession lies within Virunga National Park, one of Africa's most biodiverse areas, and a last refuge for the region's famous mountain gorillas.

    "The DRC has the right to know what resources it has under the earth, even if it's in the park or the forest, anywhere," minister Crispin Atama Tabe told Reuters in an interview.

    It is currently against Congolese law to prospect or exploit minerals inside the country's national parks, but Atama Tabe said the legislation could be reviewed.

    "We're going to evaluate the quantity of the deposit. If it's very significant we'll compare the value of the park with the oil... We'll see whether we'll respect the park or not. It's up to us," he said, adding that exploration could take up to three years.

    Block 5 is part of the Albertine Graben, an area which has already attracted oil major Total, which also holds stakes in both DRC and Uganda. ? Continued...

    Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/AFRICATopNews/~3/iTj8f8CHJKg/idAFJOE88M00C20120923

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    8: Bond 50: The Complete 22 Film Collection - SuperSave Price.com

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    Sunday, September 23, 2012

    PETA says Okla. obese, should eat less animal fat

    This week, ?Trust for America?s Health? released its 2012 obesity survey and Oklahoma ranks among the top 10 states with the fattest citizens.

    Now PETA is planning what promises to be a controversial billboard campaign in our city.?

    The billboard shows an overweight man with a pig?s snout on his stomach and the phrase ?you are what you eat? Go vegan!?

    PETA said Oklahoma needs the message to eat less artery-clogging animal fat and try a fruit and vegetable diet.

    What do you think about this billboard???

    Source: http://pottawatomiecounty.kfor.com/news/health/98564-peta-says-okla-obese-should-eat-less-animal-fat

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    Myanmar president says democracy won't change China friendship

    BEIJING (Reuters) - Myanmar's transition to democracy will not change the country's traditional friendship with China, Myanmar President Thein Sein was cited as telling Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, amid concerns in China its neighbour could become a U.S. ally.

    Chinese officials and media have expressed concern Washington's renewed interest in slowly democratizing Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, could be part of U.S. designs to dilute China's influence there and encircle China with pro-U.S. states.

    Fears about China's influence in Myanmar have been bolstered not only by Washington's engagement with the country but also the U.S. military's strategic "pivot" back to Asia.

    But during a meeting on the sidelines of a trade fair in southern China, Thein Sein said Beijing should not worry.

    "Myanmar is at present in a transitional phase, but Myanmar pays great attention to developing relations with China, and its policy of seeing China has a true friend has not changed," China's foreign ministry cited Thein Sein as telling Xi.

    "China has for a long time provided a large amount of sincere support and help, and stood at Myanmar's side at the most difficult of times. Myanmar's people will never forget this," Thein Sein added, in the statement released late Friday.

    It is Thein Sein's second trip to China since he took office in March 2011. He goes to the United States after completing this trip.

    With sanctions long blocking Western investments, China has emerged as Myanmar's biggest ally, investing in infrastructure, hydropower dams and twin oil-and-gas pipelines to help feed southern China's growing energy needs.

    The United States, along with the European Union, Japan and other Western countries, have moved to ease sanctions on Myanmar following the new army-backed civilian government's efforts at pushing ahead with democratic reforms.

    China has long worried about its ties with Myanmar, with a history of resentment of China among the Burmese population and fierce public opposition to a $3.6 billion Chinese-built dam at Myitsone that prompted Thein Sein to shelve the project last year, a move that stunned Beijing.

    Xi did not directly address that issue, saying only that "both sides should work hard to guarantee the smooth progress of certain important cooperative projects".

    A more crucial scheme - twin oil and gas pipelines being built at huge expense across Myanmar and into China - appears safe despite unhappiness among some residents who live along its route and conflict with ethnic minority rebels close to the Chinese border.

    (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ron Popeski)

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/myanmar-president-says-democracy-wont-change-china-friendship-034532637--business.html

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    Saturday, September 22, 2012

    Earnings schedule for week of 9/24/2012

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    Friday, September 21, 2012

    How to save money when eating out with the kids

    Getty images

    If the kids' meal options just aren't cutting it when you're out, you'll have to get creative.

    By Jill Anton, LearnVest.com

    I love to eat out with my children, but it can get expensive, even at family style restaurants.? If you?re clever, though, there are ways to not only save money but also have your kids eat a healthy meal.

    Fortunately, we are all foodies in my family. The four of us love to cook and eat. We don?t shy away from places that you might not tag as family friendly, and many of the places we may go don?t have a formal kids menu (think Asian or Spanish tapas).

    However, a little thinking things through before ordering (and maybe a little negotiating with your kids) can turn any restaurant into the ?family friendly? variety, and even save you quite a bit of cash in the process.

    Consider skipping the kids menu

    The most important things to keep in mind when picking your kid?s meal at a restaurant are the drink options, whether or not a vegetable is offered and what the dessert options look like. For those reasons alone, I tend to shy away from kids menus at restaurants.?Until my children learned to read, they didn?t even know there was such a thing as a kids menu.

    Kids menus are sadly predictable. More often than not the childrens menus in restaurants have one vegetable -- french fries -- and come with a soft drink and dessert. Entrees range from hamburgers to mac-and-cheese to chicken fingers.

    Not very inspired or healthy.

    If the kids? menu does happen to have healthy options, and is reasonably priced, it may make sense to order from it, but keep these two things to keep in mind:

    • If drinks are offered, see if they will substitute a soft drink or chocolate milk with seltzer or low-fat milk.
    • If desserts look too indulgent, see if they?ll substitute some fresh fruit and whipped cream instead. Or consider all sharing one dessert as a family.

    Share and share alike

    If the kids? meal options just aren?t cutting it when you?re out, you?ll have to get creative. In an effort to have my kids eat more nutritious food?and?save money, I often have my children share a full-sized entr?e, which almost always includes a vegetable. If the vegetable isn?t one your kids will eat, ask for a substitution or a more simple preparation. (Saut?ed spinach or steamed broccoli always work in my family.)

    In some restaurants, portions are so large that your child or children may be able to have a full portion from your entr?e alone, so ask ahead of time how big your own meal will be before ordering another for your kid.

    Think outside the box

    If you have more than one child, and they aren?t in the same food mood, ask about the possibility of ordering a half portion for kids ? often restaurants will accommodate, even if they already offer a kids menu.

    Alternatively, you may want to order just an appetizer for your little ones. They?re often large enough and tend to contain vegetables. (If it doesn?t, add a veggie side.)

    The key to eating healthy restaurant meals with your kids that don?t cost a fortune is feeling comfortable enough to ask for substitutions.

    More from LearnVest.com

    ?

    ?

    Source: http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2012/09/21/13865610-how-to-save-money-when-eating-out-with-the-kids?lite

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    Experimental drug may help some autism cases, researchers say

    An experimental drug can improve sociability in patients with fragile X syndrome and may be helpful as a treatment for autism, according to the authors of a new study.

    Fragile X is a rare genetic disorder that affects about 1 in 4,000 boys and 1 in 8,000 girls, according to the National Institutes of Health. It usually results in mental retardation and ? in about half of cases ? some form of autism.

    In fragile X, which accounts for 2% of autism cases, a mutation in a gene on the X chromosome turns off production of a regulatory protein known as FMRP. That leads to out-of-control activation of the brain chemical glutamate, which plays a key role in learning and memory, potentially explaining social anxiety and other symptoms of the disorder.

    A group of researchers tested a drug known as STX209 in mice that were genetically engineered to have an animal version of fragile X. The researchers found that it helped correct the biochemical abnormalities associated with the mutation and reduced seizures and repetitive behaviors in the mice, they reported Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

    In a related study published in the same journal, 46 children and 17 adults with fragile X were assigned to take the drug for four weeks and a placebo for four weeks. Patients made bigger improvements on a "social avoidance" scale while they were taking the drug compared with when they were taking the placebo.

    "This study nails a core feature in autism," said Dr. Randi Hagerman, an expert in neurodevelopmental disorders at the UC Davis MIND Institute and coauthor of the human study. "We think this is a great drug."

    But scientists who were not involved in the study said the improvements were modest at best and that their applicability to autism ? a highly variable disorder that may have many distinct causes ? was unclear.

    "The data have to be viewed with extreme caution," said Dr. Christopher McDougle, a psychiatrist and autism expert at Harvard University. "They're interesting. That's about all you can say."

    An explosion in autism diagnosis over the last two decades makes the disorder an obvious target for drug developers. But with little understanding of its biological underpinnings, researchers have not known which chemical pathways to focus on.

    Two drugs, both antipsychotic medications designed for schizophrenia, are currently approved to treat autism. But they target irritability and not its hallmark symptoms of social dysfunction, communication problems and repetitive behaviors.

    The new study in people was designed to measure the effect of STX209 on irritability, but there was no difference between the drug and the placebo. So the researchers considered a variety of other measures, including a 12-point rating scale used to measure social avoidance in fragile X patients.

    During treatment with the drug, patients improved from a mean of 4.5 to 3.3; while taking the placebo, they went from 3.9 to 3.6. Patients, their families and the doctors assessing them did not know when they were getting the drug and when they were on the placebo.

    Though the scores were similar at the end of both parts of the trial, patients made greater improvements while taking the drug, said study leader Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, a child neurologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

    "They're willing to go out in public," she said, describing reports from patients' parents. "They're willing to come downstairs. They're willing to stay at a birthday party. They're willing to go to a dentist."

    Outside experts warned that the social impairments in fragile X may be unique to that disorder.

    "I would be cautious in concluding this drug is effective for the social deficits of autism on the basis of this study," said Larry Scahill, a drug researcher at Yale University.

    Seaside Therapeutics, the Cambridge, Mass.-based company that makes STX209, funded the two studies. Dr. Paul Wang, an executive at the company, said the drug was being tested in two larger clinical trials for fragile X as well as a study involving 150 patients with autism.

    "We need to prove ? which we have not done ? that this drug can help people with autism," he said.

    alan.zarembo@latimes.com

    Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/xdXmFQPsGgw/la-sci-autism-fragile-x-drug-20120920,0,2836504.story

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    Recap: Bon Iver at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts

    Tori Mueller, Staff Writer
    September 20, 2012 ? 52 views
    Filed under Arts & Entertainment

    Despite what many devoted lovers of Bon Iver?s first album, For Emma, Forever Ago, may believe, Justin Vernon and his nine band members most certainly ?did not lose it in the stacks.? Quite contrary, their mind-blowing performance at The Mann Center in Fairmount Park this past Sunday left many audience members, including myself, in tears.

    The show began with the vocally intricate one-man a capella song ?Woods,? from their 2009 EP, Blood Bank. Quickly, the band jumped into the next song, ?Perth,? the opening track on their Grammy award-winning self-titled LP, Bon Iver, Bon Iver. The stage, illuminated in dazzling green lights, kept time with the music and brought the performance to a whole new level. It left the audience in a state of awe.

    The band smoothly transitioned into ?Minnesota, WI? and then ?Towers.? Vernon jokingly introduced ?Flume,? a track from his 2007 debut album, as ?the genesis of Bon Iver.?

    After returning to Bon Iver, Bon Iver to play ?Wash.? and ?Holocene,? the band played another handful of their older material, including ?Blood Bank,? ?Skinny Love,? and ?Creature Fear,? which began with a muted trombone solo and progressed into the percussion section?s jam session, putting the audience into a wild frenzy of excitement.

    After playing three more songs from their most recent release, Bon Iver quickly returned for an encore to play ?The Wolves (Act I and II),? during which Vernon asked the audience to sing along.

    The band ended with their signature heartbreak song, ?For Emma,? which brought the house down and left the crowd satiated after a long night of beautiful music. Philadelphia could not have asked for a better evening.

    Source: http://www.hhsbanner.com/features/arts-and-entertainment/2012/09/20/recap-bon-iver-at-the-mann-center-for-the-performing-arts/

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    Around the Web?

    Happy Hump Day! Give Wednesday’s links a read: Troubling amount of arsenic found in rice products ? Today Does grounding really work? ? LearnVest.com Moms more likely to be deemed “bad” on Internet than dads ? BuzzFeed Rhode Island district bans father-daughter dances for being discriminatory ? HuffPost Parents British woman jailed for 8 years [...]

    Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/e2NvZqD_1-A/

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    Thursday, September 20, 2012

    Greek deal on austerity measures still elusive

    ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? A deal on making further cuts to Greece's budget will take a few more days at least, after the leaders behind the coalition government failed to agree details of an austerity package that is crucial to the financial survival of the country.

    Prime Minister Antonis Samaras met again Thursday with Evangelos Venizelos, the leader of the Pasok socialist party, and Fotis Kouvelis, the leader of the Democratic Left. The three, who have been holding regular meetings for the past few weeks in an attempt to agree a deal, appear to be at odds over how to make further cuts to such things as benefits, salaries and pensions.

    The Greek government has to come up with a package of cuts worth at least ?11.5 billion ($15 billion) if it's going to get its hands on bailout cash from international creditors. Without the money, Greece faces the real prospect of defaulting on its debts and abandoning the euro.

    The government still has time to agree the package, but not much. Greece still has enough money in the bank to cover its expenses over the coming weeks.

    Finance minister Yannis Stournaras described the negotiations as "very difficult" but said he hoped a deal would be clinched in coming days. Venizelos said talks would resume next week, probably on Sept. 26, and insisted that cuts worth ?8 billion ($10.36 billion) had already been agreed upon.

    Politicians have had trouble agreeing on the details of the package, which is expected to include more salary and pension cuts for the years 2013-14. Critics say it's just going to make the recession worse and make it more difficult for Greece to pay down its debts.

    "Nothing has been finalized," Kouvelis said. "All those who hastened to declare that the measures have been decided were mistaken."

    The new cuts are a source of indignation among many Greeks, including judges and police, especially as Greece has already enacted several austerity packages since it became reliant on bailout loans in May 2010.

    Earlier on Thursday, policemen guarding the prime minister's office in central Athens used pepper spray to push back about 20 demonstrating colleagues, who held up a banner that read "Protect those who protect you." No arrests were reported by authorities.

    "We staged a small protest together with colleagues from the Coast Guard and the Fire Service. We wanted to hand over a petition to the government," Grigoris Bakaris, a senior member of the Greek Police Officers' Association who joined the protest, told the AP.

    "There was an argument ? I wouldn't call it a scuffle, but an argument ? and that was a very limited use of chemicals (pepper spray) and the incident ended there. We later were allowed to hand in our petition."

    Authorities responded to the protest by padlocking entrances to a public park near the prime minister's office, leaving more than 20 tourists stranded inside for over an hour.

    Elsewhere in in the capital, public transport workers staged a 24-hour strike, halting subway and tram services.

    Judges and doctors at public hospitals also began protests this week, turning away most cases in a slow-down strike, while tax workers are to strike Friday.

    Athenian Stelios Noussas drove to work because of the subway strike, but said he supported the protest.

    "They're striking for their rights. We're all in the same boat," he said. "If we don't have strikes how will we pursue our rights? Good for them."

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/greek-deal-austerity-measures-still-elusive-133900495--finance.html

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    Wednesday, September 19, 2012

    Sony plans slimmer PlayStation 3 before year end

    Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. President and CEO, Andrew House, right, and Sony Computer Entertainment Japan President Hiroshi Kawano show the new PlayStation 3 and PS VITA during a news conference in Tokyo, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012. Sony Corp. is introducing a smaller, slimmer and lighter version of its PlayStation 3 home console ahead of the year-end holidays as it gears up for growing competition in games from smartphones. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

    Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. President and CEO, Andrew House, right, and Sony Computer Entertainment Japan President Hiroshi Kawano show the new PlayStation 3 and PS VITA during a news conference in Tokyo, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012. Sony Corp. is introducing a smaller, slimmer and lighter version of its PlayStation 3 home console ahead of the year-end holidays as it gears up for growing competition in games from smartphones. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

    Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. President and CEO, Andrew House introduces the new PlayStation 3 during a news conference in Tokyo, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012. Sony Corp. is introducing a smaller, slimmer and lighter version of its PlayStation 3 home console ahead of the year-end holidays as it gears up for growing competition in games from smartphones. The global rollout starts Sept. 25 in North America, where the 250 gigabyte version will sell for $269. The other version sells for $299 from Oct. 30. In Japan, the models go on sale Oct. 4 for 29,980 yen ($380) and 24,980 yen ($316). (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

    TOKYO (AP) ? Sony Corp. is introducing a smaller, slimmer and lighter version of its PlayStation 3 home console ahead of the year-end holidays as it gears up for growing competition in games from smartphones.

    The announcement Wednesday from the Japanese electronics and entertainment company comes a day ahead of the annual Tokyo Game Show, where game makers show their wares. But the iPhone 5 smartphone from Apple Inc. is hogging much of the attention, already drawing long lines for pre-orders at some retailers, and more lines are expected ahead of Friday's launch.

    The new PlayStation 3, closer to the size of a laptop, is half the size of the original model, introduced in 2006. It also offers more hard-drive memory at 500 gigabytes and 250 gigabytes, up from the current 320 GB and 160 GB options.

    The global rollout starts Sept. 25 in North America, where the 250 GB version will sell for $269. The other version sells for $299 from Oct. 30. In Japan, the models go on sale Oct. 4 for 29,980 yen ($380) and 24,980 yen ($316).

    Tokyo-based Sony is struggling as its other electronics businesses get battered by competition from Apple's iPhones as well as by cheaper Asian rivals.

    The maker of Bravia TVs and Walkman portable players posted its worst loss in its 66-year history for the fiscal year ended in March ? its fourth straight year of red ink.

    The company is banking on games to help steer a turnaround. President Kazuo Hirai spent much of his career leading the game division.

    To woo consumers, Sony is slashing the price on its PlayStation Portable, or PSP, mobile device as it increasingly focuses on its upgraded PlayStation Vita, which went on sale last year, for on-the-go games.

    The PSP, which first went on sale in 2004, comes down Thursday to 13,800 yen ($175) in Japan from 16,800 yen ($213). There is no change to the U.S. price now at about $130.

    Sony plans to expand entertainment based on cloud computing, which offers storage and other computer services over the network, after recently acquiring Gaikai Inc., a U.S. game company.

    The PlayStation Vita won't be getting any upgrades just yet. But it will be available in new colors, blue and red, in addition to white and black, but only in Japan.

    Some speculation is buzzing about a PlayStation 4, possibly before the end of next year, but officials were mum on that topic.

    The PS Vita, which has a touch-panel, allows users to live-stream video and works as an electronic book function for colorful comics, according to Sony.

    But Sony has already slashed its PS Vita sales target for this fiscal year through March 2013, to 12 million units, down from 16 million that was given three months earlier.

    In lowering the target, Sony pointed to the economic slowdown, especially in Europe. But it also noted the intense competition from smartphones and social-networking entertainment.

    Hiroshi Kawano, who heads Sony's game business in Japan, said the networking feature of PlayStation 3 allows users to enjoy millions of tunes, karaoke at home and a growing library of movies.

    "Even after six years, the PlayStation 3 has not lost momentum and continues to deliver powerful home entertainment," he said at a Tokyo hall.

    ___

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

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-09-19-Japan-Sony-PlayStation/id-af482de107e64316920e24bff322f7fa

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