NEW YORK ? Clemson and Kansas State tumbled in The Associated Press college football poll after losing for the first time this season, and the top five teams in the rankings held their ground heading into the showdown between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama.
Clemson slipped five spots after losing 31-17 at Georgia Tech and Kansas State fell seven spots to No. 17 after getting thumped 58-17 by Oklahoma.
LSU received 47 first-place votes from the media panel, Alabama had 10 and No. 5 Boise State had one.
No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Stanford held on to their spots after victories, while the Broncos were idle.
Georgia Tech's upset pushed the Yellow Jackets back into the rankings at No. 22 and Auburn jumped back in at No. 25.
The losses by Clemson and Kansas State leave six undefeated teams in major college football ? the top five and No. 14 Houston.
The Harris poll has the same top five as the AP poll. In the USA Today coaches' poll, the only difference in the top five is Stanford is No. 3 and Oklahoma State is fourth.
The rest of the top 10 in the AP rankings had Oregon at No. 6, Oklahoma moving up four spots to No. 7, Arkansas at No. 8 and Nebraska and South Carolina right behind.
Clemson at 11th was followed by Atlantic Coast Conference rival Virginia Tech.
Michigan is No. 13, its best ranking since Nov. 4, 2007.
Michigan State is No. 15, followed By Penn State, Kansas State, Georgia, Wisconsin and Arizona State.
The final five were Southern California, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, West Virginia and Auburn.
The defending national champion Tigers have fallen out of the rankings three times this season, only to work their way back in.
Falling out after losses were two Big 12 teams.
Texas A&M (5-3) was upset at home 38-31 in overtime by Missouri and is unranked for the first time this season.
Texas Tech moved into the rankings last week for the first time this season by beating Oklahoma. The Red Raiders followed that up with a 41-7 loss at home to Iowa State and are unranked again.
Texas Tech accomplished a rare feat with their dramatic swing, becoming only the second team since the AP expanded to a Top 25 in 1989, to receive no votes in the rankings one week, be ranked the next week, then receive no votes the following week.
Washington did that in in September 2009, when the Huskies beat No. 3 USC 16-13 to jump into the rankings at No. 24, then lost to Stanford 34-14 the following week.
In what is obviously a muscle flexing exercise meant to show the public just how much power and control the federal government really has, all communications will be cut off for an estimated three minutes on November 9th, 2011.?
Claiming this is a test of the emergency response system, the terror alert system, and any other excuse they can come up with, Fema (that would be the same FEMA in charge of those camps they deny exist) will conduct a complete communications shutdown: all TV, radio, internet, and phone systems will be disabled simultaneously. This will be at 1:00 CST.?
I am trying to figure out what kind of national emergency would require cutting all communications, broadcasts and internet use?? Maybe an emergency in which the government itself feels threatened by ??.the people?? If this were a test to make sure the system was intact in the event of an emergency I could understand it.? But that isn?t what this is.? This is a test meant to ensure that the apparatus is in place and operational in the event the government wants to prevent communication between citizens: this is a test to make sure they CAN shut it all down if they choose to.??
Think Egypt here.? As the protest crowds grew in Egypt, what did the government do? They shut down all cell phones and internet access in an effort to halt communications. It didn?t stop anything, the crowds still grew, but the idea behind this action was clear.?
I believe what is actually behind this might be the downloading of some kind of code needed to make the shut-down apparatus work efficiently.? Think about your cable system if you have one or even an upgrade to many computer programs.? A new code must be downloaded and installed, then the system shutdown and re-booted for the changes to take effect.? And, just like these coded program changes in computers and cable, once you re-boot, whatever was newly installed is activated and just runs silently behind the scenes.? In fact, in almost every case, you are not even aware of what changes were made. I have a strange feeling this is what is happening here.? I also think this is somehow attached to the all-digital system they forced everyone onto a few years back.?
Being a rather rational and logical person, the idea of shutting off communications of all kinds during a national emergency just doesn?t make any sense to me.? Why would anyone want to do that? ?Wouldn?t your first reaction be to make sure communications were all intact and operational? ?Unless of course, their definition of an emergency is something other than say extreme weather, floods or things of that kind.?
In what kind of emergency situation would it benefit the public to have all communications shut down?? I can?t even think of one.
If I were the government I could see where it could be really handy especially in light of the steady growing unrest across the country. Of course their phones, computers and broadcast systems would all be working just fine as their communications systems are independent of the system the public uses.?
We have long since passed the point where we can trust government on any level.? This impending communications shut down is only a test run for something far more serious.? This is not about public safety, emergency response or any of the other fluff and hype put out to try and explain why the government would engage in such a test.? In my opinion, this is merely a test run for a future event which could be catastrophic as far as the general public is concerned.
?Keep your eyes and ears open??.something is afoot here and it doesn?t look good for most of us.
NEW YORK ? Stocks closed mixed Friday afternoon as traders scrutinized a plan to contain Europe's debt crisis that sent the market soaring a day earlier.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average finished the trading day up 22.03 points, or 0.18 percent to 12,230.58. The Dow surged 339 points the day before, its biggest gain since Aug. 11. The Dow is headed for its biggest monthly gain since 1987.
"It's a kind of sobering-up after a day of partying," said Jerry Webman, chief economist with Oppenheimer Funds in New York.
European leaders unveiled a plan early Thursday to expand their regional bailout fund and force banks to keep bigger cash buffers. Banks agreed to forgive half of Greece's debt. The Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 index both gained more than 3 percent.
Optimism ebbed on Friday as analysts raised questions about the plan, which lacks many key details. It is not yet clear how the rescue fund will work, for example. European markets mostly fell, and the euro declined against the dollar.
"We got back to what's more of a square position, closer to where we want to be, and now we're going to take a couple of deep breaths and reassess what this really means," Webman said. He said there are still plenty of obstacles to overcome before the crisis is resolved.
One troubling sign: Borrowing costs for Italy and Spain increased, signaling that traders remain worried about their finances.
The S&P 500 index rose 0.38 points, or 0.03 percent, to 1,284.97. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 1.48 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,737.15.
The Dow is up 11.9 percent this month, the S&P 13.4 percent. Both indexes are on pace to have their best month since January 1987.
In less than four weeks, the Dow has risen 14.5 percent from its 2011 low, reached on Oct. 3. The S&P has gained 16.6 percent in that time. However, the Dow remains 4.8 percent below this year's high, reached on April 29. The S&P is 6.1 percent below its high.
Whirlpool Corp. slumped 14 percent, the most in the S&P index, after the appliance maker said it would cut 5,000 jobs, citing weak demand and higher costs for materials. Another household name, Newell Rubbermaid Inc., soared 12 percent after its adjusted earnings beat Wall Street's expectations. The maker of tubs and markers maintained its outlook for the year.
Cablevision Systems Corp. fell 13 percent after reporting that its third-quarter net income dropped sharply and it lost cable TV subscribers.
Thursday's stock rally led to a sell-off in Treasurys, which traders hold to protect their money when other investments are falling. Demand for Treasurys increased sharply Friday, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury down to 2.31 percent from 2.39 percent late Thursday.
Markets have been roiled for months by fears about the impact of Europe's debt crisis. Greece couldn't afford to repay its lenders, and banks holding Greek bonds faced billions in losses. A disorganized default by Greece threatened to spook lenders to other countries with heavy debt loads such as Spain and Italy. Traders feared that a wave of defaults by countries would cause financial panic and mire the global economy.
Some analysts expect traders to refocus on U.S. economic news next week after months spent watching Europe. The government releases its jobs report for October next Friday. A news conference by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke might offer clues about the Fed's economic outlook. Key reports on manufacturing and business sentiment are due out as well.
As I was recording videos during my blogging hiatus, I thought that I would try my hand at something a bit more cinematic: a trilogy. This is the result.
I very often become frustrated when I go to the Facebook page for a business and I see things that lead me to believe that the business either doesn?t know what they are doing, or that they have just started and given up. I know that when I see these things I?m less inclined to ?like? the page and try to engage with them, and I have to believe that others feel the same way.
In this series of videos, I examine three different ways that businesses often mismanage their Facebook pages. And to make it a bit more interesting (I hope!), rather than discuss them, I ?dramatize? them, in what I like to think of as my own version of the initial Star Wars Trilogy.
So grab some pop corn, sit back, relax, and enjoy?
How NOT to Manage Your Facebook Page: The Trilogy
?Facebook, Episode IV: A New Beginning?A Facebook Page!
?
Facebook, Episode V: The Customer Strikes Back
?
?Facebook, Episode VI: The Return of the Customer
?
Oh, and by the way, the dashing and talented actor in those final two videos is my friend, Larry Martin. Larry is the owner of Fake Life Clothing. Fakelife is a clothing company founded on the non-business principal of earning a profit to give away. Proceeds from shirt sales help fund loans for small business entrepreneurs living in developing countries. Fakelife partners with bands to produce these t-shirts in order to provide these microloans. You should check them out and support them.
?
Related articles
Tagged as: business, facebook, Facebook features, fake life clothing, Larry Martin, star wars
ERIE, Pa (Reuters) ? After a celebrated comeback from abysmal water conditions and high pollution levels in the 1970s, Lake Erie is regressing to the highest levels of phosphorous contamination in 40 years, a Great Lakes expert said on Thursday.
"Levels are back-up to when it was considered a dead lake," said Jeff Reutter, director of the Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory at Ohio State University, speaking at the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference in Erie, Pennsylvania.
He said the lake is experiencing phosphorous levels equal to those of the 1970s, after levels had been reduced by two-thirds in the mid-1990s.
Reutter believes storms and heavy rains contribute to the high levels of phosphorous, a nutrient found in many commercial detergents, water treatments and agricultural fertilizers. The phosphorous gets into the lake through run-off.
When mixed with warm waters, phosphorous creates an ideal condition for the huge algae blooms seen in a number of the Great Lakes.
Algae blooms, in addition to fouling the water in general, contribute to low oxygen levels that kill off fish populations and create conditions favorable to avian botulism and other bacteria dangerous to animals and humans.
Blue-green algae cannot be removed from the water by boiling and has caused huge areas of Lake Erie to be deemed a "dead zone" where nothing can live for lack of oxygen and light, Reutter said.
He believes there is a correlation between record-setting high rainfall in the areas around Lake Erie and record-setting levels of phosphorous.
"The problem is an increased frequency of severe storms," Reutter said. "We don't have much phosphorous going into the water normally. I would say 90 percent of the phosphorous goes into the water 10 percent of the time."
The large algae blooms began as a problem at the eastern shoreline of the lake but have spread quicker than expected to the areas of the shoreline around Canada and Cleveland.
"Hopefully this year is an anomaly," said Reutter, though he worries it isn't. "Climate change, warming trends call it what you want. Storms are getting worse and more frequent and nutrients are flowing into the water."
Some climate scientists say warming temperatures may be making extreme weather events more common.
Reutter's says 2011 had all the conditions for big algae blooms -- early spring storms filled the shallow basin of the lake with a huge load of phosphorous only to be followed by a long drought, meaning less run-off into rivers and tributaries that drain the polluted waters.
But the algae problems seem not to be relegated to the warmer summer and spring months. Ice which once covered the lake in the fall is forming later and thawing earlier due to temperature changes and lower water levels.
"There are a number of things about the warmer winters that are important," says Reutter. A recent investigation of Lake Erie found what appeared to be blue-green algae blooms under the ice in the winter months when usually the cold months kill off most algae and bacteria.
"We are seeing blooms as early as April and as late as October," says Reutter.
Lake Erie is the most susceptible to algae blooms and dead zones because it is the southern-most and shallowest and therefore warmest of the Great Lakes but warming average temperatures are affecting other areas, Reutter said.
Even with recent bans of phosphorous in detergents around the Great Lakes area, a number of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River are reporting an increase in algae blooms.
"After decades of studying and reporting we largely know what the solutions are," said Cameron Davis, senior advisor with the Environmental Protection Agency. "One of the big issues is the increase of algae blooms. We need to double down on the efforts to reduce phosphorous."
JERUSALEM?? Israeli aircraft struck at Palestinian militants in Gaza on Saturday who responded with a volley of rockets which rained on southern Israeli towns, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Palestinian officials said seven militants were killed, while on the Israeli side one civilian was killed and four others were wounded.
Exchanges of fire are common between southern Israel and the Gaza strip controlled by the militant Hamas group, but this is the worst one in months.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Adham Abu Salmia said that seven people were killed and 15 wounded in two separate attacks on militant targets.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said one Israeli civilian was killed and four others wounded when Palestinian rockets exploded in residential areas in southern Israel.
An Israeli military spokesman confirmed a total of three strikes in Gaza, saying the military hit Palestinian militants from the Islamic Jihad, one of several groups in Gaza which fires rockets into southern Israel. The spokesman said that the first attack specifically targeted a cell responsible for a Wednesday rocket attack that exploded deep inside Israel. That attack had caused no casualties.
The military "will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli civilians," the spokesman said. He spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with military protocols.
The Israeli military released video footage taken from a military drone Saturday afternoon that shows Palestinians unloading rockets from a truck and preparing them for firing at Israel. The strike took place shortly afterward.
Abu Salmia, the Gaza health official, said five people had been killed and 11 wounded in the first attack. Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Ahmed confirmed that one of its local field commanders, Ahmed Sheikh Khalil, was among the dead. He said Khalil was one of the group's chief bomb makers. "Today it was a great loss for us in the Islamic Jihad," he said. "The size of our retaliation will equal our loss," it said in a text message sent to reporters.
"Our response shall be in the depths of the Zionist entity," it said in reference to the Israeli heartland.
After the first airstrike, militants in Gaza fired over 20 rockets at southern Israel, Rosenfeld said.
Islamic Jihad took responsibility for firing the rockets in a text message to reporters, and released photos of the rockets being launched from the backs of pickup trucks. The group said this is the first time they are using this system as opposed to firing them from launchers on the ground.
Only on msnbc.com
Iowa Poll: Cain, Romney top field ahead of caucuses
Bachmann defends stance on kids of illegal immigrants
Do science and politics mix?
Facebook says 600,000 account logins compromised every day
Sports fans play the Washington game
Rock Center: Birth tourism becomes a global industry
Michael Moore confesses: I am the 1 percent
One rocket hit an apartment building in the southern city of Ashkelon and injured a 50 year-old Israeli who later died of his wounds, Rosenfeld said. Another exploded outside an apartment building in nearby Ashdod, injuring one person. Israeli television showed about a dozen cars in flames outside the building.
Another Israeli sustained shrapnel wounds in the nearby town of Gan Yavneh and others in the Ashdod region were treated for shock, the Israeli military spokesman said.
Israel's Channel 2 television reported that one rocket hid a school, causing massive damage. No one was hurt because the school was closed for the Jewish Sabbath, Ashdod Mayor Yehiel Lasri said.
After the rocket barrage, Abu Salmia said that a second Israeli attack killed two people. Islamic Jihad confirmed that they were militants. Israel's military spokesman said that the second air strike had hit "terrorists that fired rockets on Israel in the evening,"
The military confirmed a third air strike, but Abu Salmia said that it hit an open area and caused no casualties.
The Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad took responsibility for multiple suicide bombings and shooting attacks against civilians in Israel during the second Palestinian intifadah, or uprising, in the first half of the last decade.
Israel and Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, blamed each other for the flare up in violence Saturday.
"The Hamas terror organization is solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip," the Israeli military said.
Israel as a matter of policy holds Hamas liable for violence perpetrated by any of the different armed groups in the coastal territory.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum meanwhile said Israel is "fully responsible for all the results of this dangerous escalation."
In the winter of 2008, Israel launched a broad military offensive inside Gaza aimed at stopping almost daily Palestinian rocket fire at Israeli communities.
Since then, violence has continued sporadically along the border and Palestinians continue to launch mortars and rockets at Israel, but to a much lesser degree.
Islamic Jihad released footage of rockets being launched Saturday from the backs of pickup trucks. The group said this is the first time they are using this system as opposed to firing them from launchers on the ground.
On Wednesday, militants fired a long-range Katyusha rocket that exploded near Ashdod in the south of Israel.
Sirens also went off in the central Israeli city of Rehovot, which unlike many southern Israeli cities is not accustomed to rocket fire, causing panic. The Israeli military said the alarm went off because the rocket exploded in an area between the two cities.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said that Israeli diplomats "will protest against the indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israeli civilians to the U.N. Secretary General." He said a similar letter sent after Wednesday's attack has yet to be answered.
___
Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
LONDON ? If Will and Kate's first child is a girl, it's now clear that she'll probably become queen one day ? and not even getting a little brother can mess that up.
The Commonwealth countries agreed Friday to change centuries-old rules of succession that put sons on the throne ahead of any older sisters. So that hypothetical daughter of Prince William and Kate Middleton ? now known as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge ? would have a prime place in history: the first princess to beat out any younger brothers and accede to the throne.
Had these rules been in place in the 1500s, Henry VIII would have just been a rather large historical footnote.
The move is a baby step: Before taking effect, the changes still must be approved by the legislatures of the 16 nations where Queen Elizabeth II is head of state. Still, the agreement, which was reached at a meeting of Commonwealth nations in Perth, Australia, represents a triumph over practices now considered outdated and sexist in much of the world.
Nations including Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway have already taken similar steps.
Will and Kate's lavish April wedding renewed a decades-long debate over succession.
Middleton told a well-wisher in Canada this summer that she hopes to start a family. William has said the same.
Once their honeymoon was over, baby talk started, adding urgency to the dialogue, although officials insist that talk of a pregnancy is premature.
Historians think it's about time.
"You shouldn't muck around too much with the constitution, but it's a good idea to change this at this time," said royal expert Hugo Vickers. "It's much better to have it sorted out before any babies come along."
The new rules would only apply to future heirs and would have no impact on the current line of succession.
William is second in line to the throne after his father, Prince Charles, who is the queen's firstborn child. Charles' sister, Anne, is lower in the line of succession than her younger brothers Andrew and Edward by virtue of their male gender.
Charles had only sons, William and Prince Harry, so the issue of gender was never raised.
In 2009, the government of then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown considered a bill that would end the custom of putting males ahead of females in the succession line. It also would lift a ban on British monarchs marrying Roman Catholics. The government did not have time to pursue it before Brown left office.
The rule has kept women from succeeding to the throne in the past. Queen Victoria's first child was a daughter ? also called Victoria ? but it was her younger brother who became King Edward VII.
If Queen Victoria had been able to pass her crown to her firstborn, Britain's Princess Victoria would have had a brief reign before her death in 1901.
That would have made her son ? Wilhelm II, who at that time was the German Kaiser ? king. With Wilhelm II ruling both Germany and Britain, there may not have been two world wars.
Earlier history might also have been drastically different if women had had equal rights to the throne.
Neither Henry VIII nor Charles I would have been king because both had older sisters who, under the new rules, would have been monarch.
As king, Henry VIII set in motion the creation of the Church of England. His six marriages left an insecure succession ? one sickly son and two princesses, according to the monarchy's official website. Charles I's reign in the 17th century led to a bloody civil war.
Prince William and his wife have been credited with freshening up a staid monarchy, and new succession rules seem to fit right in.
"In this day and age, why should a royal son be more important than a royal daughter?" said Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine.
The same goes for the decision Friday in Perth to lift a ban on monarchs marrying Roman Catholics. Critics had called the rule blatantly discriminatory since royals are free to wed Jews, Muslims, Hindus or members of any other religion. "Britain is no longer the religious country that it once was," Little said. "While not denigrating the importance of religion, it plays much less of a role now then it did 60 years ago."
Still, some Britons are wary of a Catholic monarch.
"The pope is responsible for some horrors," said Anna Marsh, 73, who was cycling in London.
Her biking buddy Jill Gregory, 71, was fine with the idea ? and also fully in favor of giving firstborn girls an equal right to the throne.
"In terms of ability, I don't think women are any different than men," Gregory said, pointing to the queen and her late mother.
Elizabeth II succeeded her father, King George VI, because he had no sons. If she had had a younger brother, he would have jumped above her in the line of succession.
Prime Minister David Cameron had pushed for the changes, calling it a matter of equality.
New Zealand will now chair a working group of Commonwealth countries to discuss how to accomplish the reforms. It's not a simple process. Getting all 16 countries to begin the legislative changes is what has held them up for decades.
However long it takes, Patricia Wager of London said it would clear up something that should not be an issue in the modern world.
"It's a good idea, and a long time coming," she said.
___
Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report.
Two things. One, we're going to need a lot of hand sanitizer if Microsoft is right about the all-touch-everything future. Two, I'm surprised how much I like Microsoft's vision—it's futuristic, natural and metro-y. More »
Whether it's paranoia or past experience, protecting your bag from potential thieves isn't a bad idea. It's also a fun DIY project! The folks over at MAKE figured out how to create a simple alarm out of headphone cables and a few other inexpensive items. Here's how it works:
This project uses simple electronics to create an alarm circuit for a shoulder bag. The key components are two 1/8" headphone jacks with "normally closed" switches, which detect whether a plug is in the jack. Wiring two of these jacks in series with an alarm creates a circuit that activates when both plugs are removed. With this arrangement, you can use one jack to keep the alarm from sounding while you arm the system. The other jack accepts a plug that you can tether to a belt loop or other anchor. When the bag is pulled away from its anchor plug, the alarm sounds. You can of course use this same circuit for a handbag, backpack, or any other personal cargo carrier.
To put this project together you'll need male and female headphone cables, a "AA" battery holder for eight batteries, eight AA batteries, battery snap connectors, a little plywood and clear plastic, heat-shrink tubing, and jewelry wrapping wire. You'll also need a bag to add this DIY alarm to, of course. This project is a little in-depth but seems pretty straightforward. Looks like a good one for the weekend so you can put it to good use when you're headed back to work on Monday.
Alarm Bag | Make: Projects
You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. ?Twitter's the best way to contact him, too.
Popular tablet computers and the red feathered star of a leading video game played on them are bound for the International Space Station aboard two upcoming Russian space launches.
Two?Apple iPads are packed?on board the next unmanned resupply vehicle to fly to the space station, set for launch later this month. And a stuffed toy doll of the red bird from Rovio Mobile's "Angry Birds" puzzle game will accompany the?next three crewmembers?to depart Earth for the ISS next month.
The?iPads?will augment Apple iPod music players already aboard the station, while the red Angry Bird toy will help by signaling to the launching cosmonauts and NASA astronaut that they have made it to space, when it starts to float.
Entertainment only, for now
"The Russians are flying two iPads on the next Progress. They're going to be used for entertainment purposes only," NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries told?collectSPACE.com?on Tuesday (Oct. 25).
The next Progress M-13M (45P) launch, ?scheduled to lift off Oct. 30 at 6:11 a.m. EDT (1011 GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, will mark the return to flight for the unmanned resupply spacecraft, after the previous vehicle was lost during a launch failure in August.?
Should it reach the space station as expected, M-13M will deliver needed propellant, oxygen, water and thousands of pounds of crew equipment, including the two iPads, to the orbiting complex. [9 Weird Things Flown on NASA Space Shuttles]
The tablets will be the first of their type on the International Space Station, which is otherwise equipped with laptop computers, Apple iPods and even an iPhone. NASA is, however, assessing tablets for their possible future use in space.
"The [U.S. operating segment] folks in the station program are taking a look at a number of different tablets and kind of comparing and contrasting them," Humphries said. "They are hoping to be able to fly one or more them next year, but as yet the evaluation is not complete."
Zero-g indicator
There's no word whether the iPads will arrive at the station pre-loaded with?Angry Birds, the video game, but the space station crew will only need to wait a couple more weeks to be able to stage their own zero-g version.
As revealed on Monday (Oct. 24) by cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, a red Angry Bird doll will be aboard when he and two crewmates, Anatoli Ivanishin and Dan Burbank,?lift off in the Soyuz TMA-22?spacecraft on Nov. 13 at 11:14 p.m. EST (0414 GMT Nov. 14).
"According to the existing tradition, we take with us small charms," Shkaplerov said at a pre-flight press conference in Russia. He explained the custom of flying a toy as a "zero-g indicator."
"This indicator we start on Earth, hung on a string, just behind the door between the landing module and living compartment," he said. "At a time when [we] start weightlessness, about 10 minutes after launch, it will begin to float. So we understand that the start of our flight was a success and we are already in space."
Continuing with custom, Shkaplerov allowed his 5-year-old daughter to choose the toy.
"This little red birdie [was an] interesting fun toy that my daughter liked. She asked me to fly it ? and be sure of its return!" Shkaplerov said laughing.
Continue reading at collectSPACE.com?about the history of iPads and Angry Birds in space.
Follow collectSPACE on?Facebook?and Twitter @collectSPACEand editor Robert Pearlman @robertpearlman. Copyright 2011 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
Remember that Latitude ST that Dell gave us a sneak peek at earlier in the week? Well it's slowly inching its way towards an official release, appearing on Dell's Corporate Blog early this morning. The Windows 7-based enterprise tablet is powered by an Intel Atom processor and includes a 10-inch multi-touch display with stylus, WiFi, mobile broadband options, front and rear webcams and a mic. There are also durability features like Gorilla Glass and a rubber bumper, enabling it to survive violent impacts with plush office carpeting. Port details are rather vague in the PR, though USB, HDMI and an SD card reader get their 15 seconds of fame in the promo video. There are also security features, like remote hard drive wipe, Microsoft Bitlocker support (this is a Windows 7 tablet, after all) and a Kensington Lock slot. Pricing details are absent and the product page isn't live quite yet (though that didn't stop Dell from linking to it from the blog post), but it looks like we could see these ship as soon as November 1st. Ready to get your tap and sketch on? Jump past the break for an enterprise montage, complete with doctors, educators and suit-sporting business pros.
Update: Looks like the specs have leaked out overseas, so we're guessing it'll get official soon enough.
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are returning to their Boston roots to make a movie about New England's most notorious mobster, TheWrap has confirmed.
"We're doing a Whitey Bulger movie," Damon told GQ.com.
Affleck will direct and Damon will star as Bulger in the Warner Bros. movie. Terence Winter ("The Sopranos," "Boardwalk Empire") is writing.
Bulger is a compelling character for Affleck, who has a deft touch in movies about his hometown. His 2007 "Gone Baby Gone" beautifully captured Boston's gritty side, and his 2010 film "The Town" nailed South Boston.
Of course, Affleck and Damon became famous with their 1997 Oscar winner "Good Will Hunting," about two friends from South Boston.
For years, James "Whitey" Bulger was the boss of the Winter Hill Gang in Boston. At the same time, he was an FBI informant.
Bulger, whose brother is a former president of the Massachusetts Senate, served time in federal prison on California's Alcatraz Island, was a brutal and well-known figure in Boston. He fled New England in 1994 and spent some 16 years in hiding in Santa Monica. The gangster was arrested outside his apartment house this past June.
Of course, with several other competing projects about the gangster in development, Damon and Affleck better hurry.
"There are a couple of competing (Bulger) movies, and I don't think it's been announced yet that we're doing it," Damon told GQ. "But the sooner it's announced the better, just because everyone else will back off, hopefully. I'm really excited about it."
Auto major Toyota (NYSE: TM - News) will step on the gas with normal production resuming in North America in September. Let's see where the company stands amid the competition.
Back to normal General Motors (NYSE: GM - News) has overtaken Toyota as the world's No. 1 automaker on the basis of the first six months of sales, but not on its own merit. The March earthquake and tsunami in Japan disrupted production for Toyota, which had sold 8.4 million units in 2010. Now with production in full swing in its North American plants, GM must be on tenterhooks.
Toyota rolls out 12 cars, crossovers, and trucks in North America, which include Camry, RAV4, and Tacoma. These account for a sizable portion of the automaker's U.S. sales. Toyota operates 13 plants in North America and another one is under construction. The company also plans to expand its U.S. output of small engines. In Japan, the automaker posted an increase in production for the first time in 12 months after the March catastrophe. It is also planning to invest $545 million to upgrade its plants in Ontario, Canada. Things can only look up from here on.
The company, like its competitor Honda (NYSE: HMC - News), is now on a hiring spree across North America, which will help production keep pace with demand. Honda recently hired 1,000 workers at one Indiana plant alone as the Japanese company also returned to full production in September.
The challenges U.S. auto sales forecasts are being lowered for 2011 and 2012. However, production outlook for 2011 is still higher than 2010. North American production has gone up by 8% in the first seven months, matching the growth in U.S. production.
General Motors and Ford (NYSE: F - News) have eaten into the market share of Toyota. However, with Toyota, the former market leader, re-entering the market in full force, the rivals are in for some tough competition.
The Foolish bottom line Toyota, which enjoys a strong position globally and in the U.S., is getting its capacity back on track and is poised to produce a surge in sales. In this year's fourth quarter, the company hopes to make up a significant amount of the U.S. market share it lost despite strong competition from Ford and GM. If it can, watch out for this sleeping giant in the coming months.
Abantika Chatterjee doesn't own shares of any company mentioned.The Motley Fool owns shares of Ford Motor.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of General Motors and Ford Motor. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
We report when Milton Bradley gets arrested and gets restraining orders filed against him and stuff, so it only seems fair to give the man time for his own side. ?Not saying I believe him or that he?s a good guy, but the fact is that stuff starts flying in domestic situations and, while you always have to err on offering protection to someone who claims abuse or violence has occurred, there is a process by which the accused can counter the claims. And claims can be false.
Anyway, Bradley is countering the claims by responding to his wife?s request for a restraining order, saying that she is lying, that she has a history of leveling false claims and that this is no different. ?You can read the summary of it all in this Seattle PI story.
And for the record, no, none of that makes this whole scene any less ugly.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers... More ?
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is heading west Monday morning to pitch his American Jobs Act in Las Vegas and speak at campaign events there and in California.
While in Las Vegas, he will speak at a campaign event and will then meet with homeowners at a private residence to talk about his jobs proposal now before Congress.
Then, the president will travel to Los Angeles, where he will talk at two campaign events at private homes.
Probability model estimates proportion of women who survive breast cancer detected through screeningPublic release date: 24-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Deborah Kimbell deborah.g.kimbell@dartmouth.edu 603-650-6694 JAMA and Archives Journals
CHICAGO A model used to estimate breast cancer survival rates found that the probability that a woman with screen-detected breast cancer will avoid a breast cancer death because of screening mammography may be lower than previously thought, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"Today, more people are likely to know a cancer survivor than ever before," the authors write. "Between 1971 and 2007, the number of cancer survivors in the United States more than doubled, from 1.5 percent to 4 percent of the population. Breast cancer survivors are particularly common: they now represent approximately 2.5 million, or one-fifth of the current survivor population." The authors also note, however, that although "perhaps the most persuasive messages promoting screening mammography come from women who argue that the test 'saved my life,'" other possibilities for breast cancer survival exist.
H. Gilbert Welch, M.D., M.P.H., and Brittney A. Frankel, both of Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Hanover, N.H., developed a method to estimate the probability that a woman with screen-detected breast cancer had her life saved because of the screening. The authors used DevCan, the National Cancer Institute's software for analyzing data, to estimate the 10-year risk of diagnosis and the 20-year risk of death. This probability approach also relies on two estimated possibilities for a woman in the general population of the United States: the probability of having breast cancer detected by screening and the probability of avoiding breast cancer mortality (death) because of the screening.
The authors estimated that for a 50-year old woman, the risk of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years is 2,990 per 100,000. In this age group, 64 percent of breast cancers are found by mammography, suggesting that the risk of having a screen-detected breast cancer during the same period is 1,910 per 100,000. The woman's observed 20-year probability of breast cancer death is 990 per 100,000. Assuming that screening mammography has already reduced risk of breast cancer death by 20 percent, the risk of death in the absence of screening would be 1,240 per 100,000, suggesting that the estimated benefit of screening amounted to 250 per 100,000. Therefore, the authors estimate that the probability that a woman with screen-detected breast cancer avoids breast cancer death because of mammography is 13 percent (250/1910).
The probability of the same 50-year-old woman avoiding breast cancer death increases to 17 percent if screening mammography reduces breast cancer mortality by 25 percent; however, probability decreases to 3 percent if screening mammography reduces breast cancer mortality by 5 percent. Similar analyses conducted for women of varying ages all yield probability estimates below 25 percent.
"We considered a range of values: namely, that screening mammography reduces breast cancer mortality anywhere from 5 percent to 25 percent. The values toward the high end (20 to 25 percent) reflect the randomized trial data from more than a quarter century ago," the authors conclude. "Consequently, we believe that readers should focus on the values toward the low end (5 to 10 percent) and recognize that the probability that a woman with screen-detected breast cancer has, in fact, avoided a breast cancer death because of screening mammography is now likely to be well below 10 percent."
(Arch Intern Med. Published online October 24, 2011. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.476. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
In an invited commentary, Timothy J. Wilt, M.D., M.P.H., and Melissa R. Partin, Ph.D., both of the Minneapolis Veterans Administration for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, note that in their study, Welch and Frankel, "express concerns that overly inflated perceptions of the benefits of mammography may lead to a self-perpetuating cycle of unwarranted demand for screening, overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and a continually growing population of breast cancer survivors who advocate mammography. The demographics of survivorship suggest that their concern is legitimate."
"Preventive health care services like cancer screening can result in tremendous individual and public health benefits by identifying disease at early, more treatable stages or lowering a patient's risk of developing a disease altogether," write Wilt and Partin. However, the authors do caution that, "they do not always provide the expected benefit and cause harms such as overdiagnosis and overtreatment."
"Numerous studies have documented that the strongest predictor of mammography utilization is physician recommendation," the authors write. "Therefore, simple, highly effective and accurate messages can come directly from clinicians."
"In conclusion, a simple science-based message can and should be delivered to many individuals considering early disease detection and treatment," the authors note. "The opportunity and challenge for clinicians is to be that reliable source of information that ensures that our patients are able to make well-informed decisions that incorporate the best evidence into their personal values."
(Arch Intern Med. Published online October 24, 2011. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.509. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
###
To contact H. Gilbert Welch, M.D., M.P.H., call Deborah Kimbell at 603-650-6694 or e-mail deborah.g.kimbell@dartmouth.edu. To contact commentary co-author Timothy J. Wilt, M.D., M.P.H., call Ralph Heussner at 612-725-1979 or e-mail ralph.heussner@va.gov.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Probability model estimates proportion of women who survive breast cancer detected through screeningPublic release date: 24-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Deborah Kimbell deborah.g.kimbell@dartmouth.edu 603-650-6694 JAMA and Archives Journals
CHICAGO A model used to estimate breast cancer survival rates found that the probability that a woman with screen-detected breast cancer will avoid a breast cancer death because of screening mammography may be lower than previously thought, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"Today, more people are likely to know a cancer survivor than ever before," the authors write. "Between 1971 and 2007, the number of cancer survivors in the United States more than doubled, from 1.5 percent to 4 percent of the population. Breast cancer survivors are particularly common: they now represent approximately 2.5 million, or one-fifth of the current survivor population." The authors also note, however, that although "perhaps the most persuasive messages promoting screening mammography come from women who argue that the test 'saved my life,'" other possibilities for breast cancer survival exist.
H. Gilbert Welch, M.D., M.P.H., and Brittney A. Frankel, both of Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Hanover, N.H., developed a method to estimate the probability that a woman with screen-detected breast cancer had her life saved because of the screening. The authors used DevCan, the National Cancer Institute's software for analyzing data, to estimate the 10-year risk of diagnosis and the 20-year risk of death. This probability approach also relies on two estimated possibilities for a woman in the general population of the United States: the probability of having breast cancer detected by screening and the probability of avoiding breast cancer mortality (death) because of the screening.
The authors estimated that for a 50-year old woman, the risk of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years is 2,990 per 100,000. In this age group, 64 percent of breast cancers are found by mammography, suggesting that the risk of having a screen-detected breast cancer during the same period is 1,910 per 100,000. The woman's observed 20-year probability of breast cancer death is 990 per 100,000. Assuming that screening mammography has already reduced risk of breast cancer death by 20 percent, the risk of death in the absence of screening would be 1,240 per 100,000, suggesting that the estimated benefit of screening amounted to 250 per 100,000. Therefore, the authors estimate that the probability that a woman with screen-detected breast cancer avoids breast cancer death because of mammography is 13 percent (250/1910).
The probability of the same 50-year-old woman avoiding breast cancer death increases to 17 percent if screening mammography reduces breast cancer mortality by 25 percent; however, probability decreases to 3 percent if screening mammography reduces breast cancer mortality by 5 percent. Similar analyses conducted for women of varying ages all yield probability estimates below 25 percent.
"We considered a range of values: namely, that screening mammography reduces breast cancer mortality anywhere from 5 percent to 25 percent. The values toward the high end (20 to 25 percent) reflect the randomized trial data from more than a quarter century ago," the authors conclude. "Consequently, we believe that readers should focus on the values toward the low end (5 to 10 percent) and recognize that the probability that a woman with screen-detected breast cancer has, in fact, avoided a breast cancer death because of screening mammography is now likely to be well below 10 percent."
(Arch Intern Med. Published online October 24, 2011. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.476. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
In an invited commentary, Timothy J. Wilt, M.D., M.P.H., and Melissa R. Partin, Ph.D., both of the Minneapolis Veterans Administration for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, note that in their study, Welch and Frankel, "express concerns that overly inflated perceptions of the benefits of mammography may lead to a self-perpetuating cycle of unwarranted demand for screening, overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and a continually growing population of breast cancer survivors who advocate mammography. The demographics of survivorship suggest that their concern is legitimate."
"Preventive health care services like cancer screening can result in tremendous individual and public health benefits by identifying disease at early, more treatable stages or lowering a patient's risk of developing a disease altogether," write Wilt and Partin. However, the authors do caution that, "they do not always provide the expected benefit and cause harms such as overdiagnosis and overtreatment."
"Numerous studies have documented that the strongest predictor of mammography utilization is physician recommendation," the authors write. "Therefore, simple, highly effective and accurate messages can come directly from clinicians."
"In conclusion, a simple science-based message can and should be delivered to many individuals considering early disease detection and treatment," the authors note. "The opportunity and challenge for clinicians is to be that reliable source of information that ensures that our patients are able to make well-informed decisions that incorporate the best evidence into their personal values."
(Arch Intern Med. Published online October 24, 2011. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.509. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
###
To contact H. Gilbert Welch, M.D., M.P.H., call Deborah Kimbell at 603-650-6694 or e-mail deborah.g.kimbell@dartmouth.edu. To contact commentary co-author Timothy J. Wilt, M.D., M.P.H., call Ralph Heussner at 612-725-1979 or e-mail ralph.heussner@va.gov.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
communications will be cut off for an estimated three minutes on November 9th, 2011.?
Whether it's paranoia or past experience, protecting your bag from potential thieves isn't a bad idea. It's also a fun DIY project! The folks over at MAKE figured out how to create a simple alarm out of headphone cables and a few other inexpensive items. Here's how it works:
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 24-Oct-2011
Share ]