Saturday, June 30, 2012

Google's Brin Intrigued By Neon Fur Man

Brin With Neon Fur Man

Google's co-founder Sergey Brin was spotted at the Google I/O event talking to this mysterious man with a neon pink, yellow and green fur all over his body. Is this the next Google body suit? Neon Fur?

I spotted this on Google+.

This post is part of our daily Search Photo of the Day column, where we find fun and interesting photos related to the search industry and share them with our readers.

Source: http://www.seroundtable.com/photos/bring-google-neon-fur-15366.html

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Troops have been withdrawn from Iraq, but U.S. money hasn't

WASHINGTON ? The State Department is planning to spend as much as $115 million to upgrade the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, already its biggest and most expensive in the world, according to pre-solicitation notices published this month.

Remember, it has been 3 1/2 years since American diplomats moved into the 104-acre, $700 million facility and only four months after State Department officials in February talked about trying to cut back the U.S. presence there.

State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations put out a statement Wednesday saying new planning began after it was determined there needed to be "a larger population on the Baghdad Embassy compound, due to the consolidation of satellite diplomatic facilities and property around Baghdad."

The statement added, "The consolidation takes the overall diplomatic property in Baghdad down by one-third, but increases the personnel working and living on the Embassy compound."

The compound sits in the heart of Baghdad's International Zone and houses 1,350 U.S. government employees who work under the ambassador's authority.

According to a June 14 pre-solicitation, the estimated construction cost is between $60 million and $80 million and it is expected to take two years to complete. Among the project elements, along with the central utility power plant, is an underground fuel storage facility holding a 21-day supply and upgrades on a compound-wide water distribution system for firefighting, the domestic water system, the sanitary sewer system, the storm water system and the telecommunications system.

A June 12 notice seeks contractors to rehabilitate space in a classified embassy annex building. They are to build, in an area about 60 feet long and 60 feet wide, a data hall with an office. This must be a highly classified project because the projected cost is between $20 million and $35 million and requires "electrical/telecommunication system upgrades [and] extensive mechanical and plumbing systems."

Potential contractors are asked to show how they "would typically staff a project of this type and size with cleared American workers," meaning those with security clearances.

With the increased compound population, the buildings bureau determined it was "essential to upgrade and repurpose the facility infrastructure, such as the power plant and annex office space, to accommodate the increased capacity," the statement said. And while the pre-solicitation notice carries estimated cost ranges, the bureau said real project costs are not available.

The House subcommittee on national security, homeland defense and foreign operations this week will take up the transition in Iraq from a military to a civilian-led mission. Questions about past and present spending in Iraq, including embassy costs, will inevitably come up.

Rep. John F. Tierney, Mass., ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, said Wednesday that he has "long expressed concern about the U.S. government's significant footprint in Iraq" and looks forward to the panel's continuing scrutiny of "the transition in Iraq and the taxpayer dollars that are being spent in that country."

Last month, State sharply reduced what was supposed to be a multimillion-dollar continuation of the U.S. military's police training program. Where the initial proposal called for State to have 400 trainers, as of last month there were 100. Since the program had little Iraqi support, the trainers, mostly senior U.S. police officials, are living, protected by their own contracted security guards, at former U.S. military forward operating base Shield, which officially is the Baghdad Police College Annex facility.

The United States has spent about $100 million on the facility, having built living quarters, a dining facility, an office building, a gymnasium and a helicopter landing site. At year's end, it will be turned over to the Iraqis because the State Department did not get land-rights use for more than one year.

Multimillion-dollar projects undertaken in past years when U.S. funds flowed freely keep turning up. On June 17, the grand opening of the $15 million al-Nahrain Center for Strategic Studies, "with funding from the U.S. Embassy," was announced in an embassy news release. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called the facility "an important step in the process of state building." But, according to the National Iraqi News Agency story, Maliki never mentioned the U.S. role in funding the complex.

The United States is far from out of Iraq. However, Congress has sharply cut into the administration's original request for $2.26 billion for fiscal 2013. The Senate Appropriations Committee included just $1.1 billion, with the biggest cut being total disapproval of $850 million that was to pay for the Iraqi police training program. The House Appropriations Committee attached language limiting some fiscal 2013 funds until Iraq develops a logistic and maintenance system for its security forces and a sustainment program for donated or purchased U.S. weaponry.

Here are signs that Congress is more closely watching the now-diminished flow of money to Iraq.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/starsandstripes/general/~3/mNwCJbYJeS8/troops-have-been-withdrawn-from-iraq-but-u-s-money-hasn-t-1.181680

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Video: The Case for China Play

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/48013615/

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Friday, June 29, 2012

3DS XL to get Circle Pad Pro treatment, become that much larger

3DS XL to get Circle Pad Pro treatment, become that much larger

Nintendo's latest oversized handheld not big enough for you? Maybe another Circle Pad Pro will help. According to Japanese gaming publication Famitsu, the Big N is poised to give the freshly announced 3DS XL a second analog slider. Pricing wasn't covered in the magazine's Nintendo Q&A session, but gamers in the Land of the Rising Sun should have their thumbs on it later this year. Oh, and in case you didn't hear, the colossal clamshell is getting its very own charging cradle too, sold separately for 1,200 yen ($15). Mum's the word on stateside details for the secondary slide pad, but we wouldn't be surprised to see it show up on foreign shores.

3DS XL to get Circle Pad Pro treatment, become that much larger originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/NMuRRbrIDws/

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Wait for it: Earth adds leap second Saturday night

(AP) ? Saturday night will stretch longer by a second. A leap second.

International timekeepers are adding a second to the clock at midnight universal time Saturday, June 30, going into July 1. That's 8 p.m. EDT Saturday. Universal time will be 11:59:59 and then the unusual reading of 11:59:60 before it hits midnight.

A combination of factors, including Earth slowing down a bit from the tidal pull of the moon, and an atomic clock that's a hair too fast, means that periodically timekeepers have to synchronize the official atomic clocks, said Daniel Gambis, head of the Earth Orientation Service in Paris that coordinates leap seconds.

The time it takes the Earth to rotate on its axis ? the definition of a day ? is now about two milliseconds longer than it was 100 years ago, said Geoff Chester, spokesman at the U.S. Naval Observatory, keeper of the official U.S. atomic clocks. That's each day, so it adds up to nearly three-quarters of a second a year.

Timekeepers add that leap second every now and then to keep the sun at its highest at noon, at least during standard time. This is the first leap second since January 2009 and the 25th overall. Gambis said the next one probably won't be needed until 2015 or 2016.

There should be no noticeable affect or inconvenience on computers or any other technology that requires precise timekeeping because they adjust for these leap seconds, Gambis said Friday.

Earlier this year, official timekeepers from across the world discussed whether to eliminate the practice of adding leap seconds. They decided they needed more time to think about the issue and will next debate the issue in 2015.

So for now, Chester said, "you get an extra second, don't waste it."

___

Online:

Earth Orientation Center in Paris: http://bit.ly/LVB70Q

U.S. Naval Observatory: http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/leapsec.html

___

Seth Borenstein can be followed at http://twitter.com/borenbears

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-06-29-Leap%20Second/id-5b893d3921a946b99ce00d3b7635d53e

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Microsoft explains reason for ditching Start button in Windows 8

Widows 8 Start Button Removal

Microsoft shocked the world when it decided to remove the Start button from Windows 8. The removal of the button, which has been featured in the operating system for more than 15 years, puzzled many early adopters. In an interview with PCPro, however, Microsoft revealed that consumers had actually stopped using the button in favor of the taskbar. ?When we evolved the taskbar [in Windows 7] we saw awesome adoption of pinning [applications] on the taskbar,? said Chaitanya Sareen, principal program manager at Microsoft. ?We are seeing people pin like crazy. And so we saw the Start menu usage dramatically dropping, and that gave us an option. We?re saying ?look, Start menu usage is dropping, what can we do about it? What can we do with the Start menu to revive it, to give it some new identity, give it some new power?? ? Sareen went on to state that consumers are now taking advantage of keyboard shortcuts to open applications, rather than using the Start menu. ?Press the Windows key and 1 and you?re already in IE. It?s so fast.?

Read

Dan joins the BGR team as the Android Editor, covering all things relating to Google?s premiere operating system. When he isn?t testing the latest devices or apps, he can be found enjoying the New York City nightlife.

MORE ARTICLES FROM DAN ?



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheBoyGeniusReport/~3/9rUjgkxPBMQ/

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You Can't Beat the iPad Just by Losing Money [Google]

The most remarkable thing about Google's Nexus 7 tablet can't be found on its spec sheet. It won't show up in any benchmark, and it has nothing to do with that zippy new operating system. If you want to know the true significance of the Nexus 7, all you need to look at is the price tag. More »


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Thursday, June 28, 2012

Best care home health - HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS

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RI.gov: New Maximum Rates for Unemployment Insurance and ...

The RI Department of Labor and Training has announced the 2012 maximum weekly benefit rates for Unemployment Insurance and Temporary Disability Insurance for claimants who begin their benefit year on or after July 1, 2012.

Unemployment Insurance: The maximum weekly benefit rate for Unemployment Insurance in Rhode Island will remain at $566 for claimants who are without dependents and who will begin their benefit year on or after July 1, 2012. A benefit year is the 52-week period that starts upon the filing of a new claim.

Due to Unemployment Insurance reforms taking effect July 1, 2012, the maximum weekly benefit rate will remain at $566 until such time as that figure reaches 57.5 percent of the state average weekly wage. In previous years, the maximum weekly benefit rate was calculated at 67 percent of the state average weekly wage. The new benefit rate is equal to 65.5 percent of the state average wage of $864.81. The department expects the rate to remain at $566 until fiscal year 2017 or 2018. Similarly, the maximum weekly benefit rate for UI claimants with five or more dependents will remain at $707 this year.

Director of the RI Department of Labor and Training Charles J. Fogarty says, "This is the first time in more than 40 years of the Unemployment Insurance program that a new maximum benefit rate has not exceeded the previous year's maximum." This change in calculation is anticipated to save the state Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund $2.2 million in the first year and $12.3 million every year when fully implemented.

Another change in Unemployment Insurance benefits to take effect July 1st is a reduction in the percentage of replaced wages from 60 percent of an individual's average weekly wage to 57 percent. This percentage will be reduced to 54 percent in July 2013 and 50 percent in July 2014, at which time Rhode Island's Unemployment Insurance benefit structure will fall in line with its neighboring states. This change in the percentage of replaced wages will save the trust fund $5.4 million in the first year and $24.9 million when fully implemented.

Other changes legislated to begin July 1st include allocating severance over time prior to paying out Unemployment Insurance benefits, calculating weekly benefit rates using the average of a claimant's two highest quarters of work rather than using the highest quarter only, and extending the number of weeks a claimant must have worked in order to receive the maximum weeks of benefits. Together, these three changes are expected to save the state more than $8 million each year.

Fogarty stresses that the new changes will only affect new claims begun in July 2012 or later. "Existing claims will not be affected by the changes in benefit rate calculation," Fogarty says.

The Unemployment Insurance program provides benefits to insured and eligible persons who are out of work through no fault of their own. Benefits are financed by employer contributions.

Temporary Disability Insurance: The 2012 maximum weekly benefit rate for Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) is $736 for claimants who are without dependents and who begin their benefit year on or after July 1, 2012. The new maximum weekly benefit rate constitutes an increase of $17 over the previous year's maximum. The maximum weekly benefit rate for TDI claimants with five or more dependents is $993, an increase of $23.

The maximum weekly benefit rate for TDI is calculated at 85 percent of the average weekly wage of covered workers.

New legislation enacted this year (Public Laws 12-033 & 12-042) will eliminate the one-week waiting period before TDI claimants can receive benefits for all new claims with benefit years beginning on or after July 1, 2012.

The Temporary Disability Insurance program protects workers against wage loss resulting from a non-work-related illness or injury, and is funded exclusively by Rhode Island workers.

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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Housing prices rise in warm weather states

Bill Sikes / AP

In this April 26, 2012, file photo, a sign advertises a pending residential real estate sale in Framingham, Mass.

By Bill Briggs

For the third straight month in April, American home prices twitched a tinge higher?as values in the ?sand states? further firmed while listings in some key northern cities continued to chill, a heavily monitored survey reported Tuesday.

The Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas showed a year-over-year decrease of 1.9 percent?but?a 0.7 percent national bump?from March to April on a seasonally adjusted basis (1.3 percent non-seasonally adjusted), led by ongoing price rallies in a clump of warm-weather markets thumped by the slump, including Miami, Tampa, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

?I?ve seen (listings here) jumping just like they did back in the day when the banks were approving everything,? said Michelle Tremblay, a Realtor with West USA Realty in Phoenix.

Since last October, home values in Phoenix have inched 12 percent higher, gaining ground during each of the past six months, according to the Case Shiller index.

From Tremblay?s vantage point, however, those loftier home values are akin to steroid-swelled athletes: synthetically pumped prices caused by banks stockpiling foreclosed properties and purposely keeping them off the market until area prices truly soar. Then those same financial institutions can cash in by selling those properties at fatter profits.

?We can see on the street what?s vacant and what?s not. We?re watching these (foreclosed and non-listed) houses just sit and rot,? Tremblay said. ?The banks are letting these houses just deteriorate.

?They?re holding them and releasing them slowly to drive the value up.?

Some Realtors in another so-called ?sand state,? California, recently have joined that chorus, offering similar, albeit unproven, theories about banks hoarding foreclosures and thus shrinking inventory in most markets.

In three California cities on the Case Shiller index -? Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco -? home prices have increased during February, March and April.

Fellow ?sand state? cities Miami and Tampa each have posted five straight months of home-value gains. Las Vegas, the largest metro area in Nevada ? the fourth ?sand state? ? in April notched its third month in a row of heightened property prices, according to Case Shiller?s survey.

?Realtors across the country are all talking about the same stuff: the banks are the ones in control right now and they know it and they?re going to make the money again ? and again and again,? Tremblay said. Not long ago, distressed homes ?were selling, I think, too cheaply. And the banks weren?t making the money that they wanted to. So they tightened their inventory.?

In response, Wells Fargo senior economist Mark Vitner said?large banks are not colluding to hoard distressed properties until better days so as to squeeze more out of the values of those homes.?

"I don't think there's any concerted effort to hold properties back from the market," Vitner said. "The process to (work through and re-sell) foreclosure inventory is lengthy and there just seems to be a lot of hurdles out there to getting these properties to market. A lot of the best properties have been in foreclosure and have already sold."

But, Vitner acknowledged that some "small community banks are holding onto properties because the value that they could realize from selling the properties is so much more than what their books currently show, (meaning that listing those distressed homes) could have an inverse impact on their balance sheets."?

Robert J. Shiller, one of the two developers of the monthly index, agreed that ?it is an artificial market in that there is a lot of inventory held off.?

But Shiller, an Arthur M. Okun Professor of Economics at Yale University, sees still another hidden reservoir of prospective properties for sale ? ?a shadow inventory held off by homeowners who might sell if home prices come back up enough.?

Two weeks ago, market analytics service CoreLogic reported that the "residential shadow inventory" - which includes?bank-owned homes - had declined to 1.5 million units in April, representing a four-month supply as well as a 14.8 percent drop from the same month one year earlier. In April 2011, the?shadow inventory held a six-month supply of homes - roughly the same level as October 2008 when the housing crash began. Those CoreLogic figures seemed to bolster the view offered by Wells Fargo's Vitner that big banks are not holding back distressed properties, especially in markets where lenders have revved the pace of foreclosures.

A government market

Still, with about 90 percent of American mortgages held by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Authority, ?it?s really a government market now," Shiller said. "So anyone contemplating speculating in housing has to think about what the government is likely to do. And we?re in limbo right now.

?We have a presidential election coming up. We haven?t resolved what were going to do with Fannie and Freddie ? presumably something will be done with them afterward.?

The latest S&P Case-Shiller results show on average home prices increased 1.3% in April, with David Blitzer, S&P 500 Index committee chairman.

In February 2011, the Obama administration issued a white paper that examined possible remedies for those two sputtering behemoths of housing finance. The report gave Congress options to mull. Banking giants backed the notion of axing Fannie and Freddie which, combined, ate up about $150 billion in bailout money. Groups representing consumers and the real estate industry have argued against scuttling Fannie and Freddie.

?Between all that ? and the mortgage-tax interest deduction that also has been questioned in this time of deficit cutting ? these things are on everyone?s mind,? Shiller said. ?But there?s not a way to forecast. I think forecasting political science is even more tenuous than forecasting economics.?

Projecting the direction of home prices in several vital northern cities has grown more challenging the past year. In Boston, home prices have dipped during six of the past eight months, according to Case Shiller. In New York, property values have declined for seven consecutive months. Chicago, up a tick in April, has nonetheless posted seven price drops in nine months, the index shows.

?Is any of that political and financial uncertainty perhaps fueling some fall-off in home prices those metro areas??

?I guess it is. People are holding off ... People are hoping for prices to go back up (in those cities),? Shiller said. ?And we?ll see the shadow inventory converted into real inventory if people start to see the prices go back up.?

But in Chicago, where home prices are off 7.2 percent since last August, the Case Shiller index reports, some Realtors are blaming another segment of the home-financing equation.

?The appraisers are keeping the prices low,? said Patrick Hawkins, a broker with Dream Town Realty in Chicago.

The last time Chicago property values were this depleted on the Case Shiller index: November 2000.

?Buyers are willing to spend a little more money right now. Inventory is low. But the appraisers just are reticent to come in with a strong enough number,? Hawkins said. ??What I?m assuming an appraiser would say is: It?s the market conditions, it?s people not having enough jobs, it?s the economy.

?Appraisers ? they?re killing the market. The prices have been driven down, beaten to a pulp.?

(The housing market is showing signs of life, but is it time to buy or sell a home? Join us Wednesday for a live web chat with Stan Humphries, the chief economist for real estate website Zillow. You can sign up here to ask your questions during out web chat at noon ET.)

Related story: How homicide homes hold their secrets

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Nokia's 808 PureView will not be sold by major UK carriers, time to save up some pounds

If you Brits were looking forward to utilizing the 808 PureView's 41-megapixel sensor while sipping Pimm's this summer, well, be prepared to pay a hefty price. We've heard from O2, Three and Everything Everywhere (the parent company of Orange UK and T-Mobile UK) that they will not be selling said Nokia device in the UK, and Virgin Media told us it isn't in the pipeline "just yet." Our friends over at Wired UK have also heard the same bad news from Vodafone and O2, with a source close to the latter laying the blame on Nokia's "outdated" Symbian Belle system. Ouch. So yes, this means all the major carriers in Her Majesty's backyard are out of the game; but until we hear back from Carphone Warehouse, there may still be a small chance for keen British mobile photogs to dodge the full £500 ($780) price tag on Amazon (in comparison to $699 on the US site), so stay tuned.

Nokia's 808 PureView will not be sold by major UK carriers, time to save up some pounds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MI5 chief talks threats before Olympics

LONDON (AP) ? Britain has seen a credible terrorist attack plot about once a year since the Sept.11 attacks ? a worrying pattern as security officials brace for an array of threats ahead of next month's summer Olympics, the head of the country's domestic spy agency says.

Although Britain's threat level is a notch below what it has been for much of the past decade, it is still at substantial. The level means an attack is a strong possibility,

"Our assessment is that Britain has experienced a credible terrorist attack plot about once a year since 9/11," MI5's Director General Jonathan Evans said in a rare public speech Monday to the Lord Mayor's annual defense and security lecture in London.

"The (Olympic) games present an attractive target for our enemies and they will be at the center of the world's attention in a month or so," he said. "But the games are not an easy target, and the fact that we have disrupted multiple terrorist plots here and abroad in recent years demonstrates that the UK as a whole is not an easy target for terrorism."

Not so long ago, 75 percent of the terror threats prioritized by MI5 had links to Afghanistan or Pakistan. But Britain's efforts, along with those of its international partners, has brought that percentage down to below 50 percent, Evans said.

"You could say that we are near to reaching a form of stalemate," said Evans. "They haven't stopped trying but we have got better at stopping them."

But the terrorist threat is also widening to include al-Qaida affiliates in Mali, Yemen, Somalia and parts of the Middle East, he noted.

Although the Arab Spring revolutions have brought about radical political changes in some countries, they have also brought fresh opportunities for al-Qaida affiliates to seek refuge.

"Some are heading home to the Arab world again," Evans said. "And a small number of British would-be jihadis are also making their way to Arab countries to seek training and opportunities for militant activity, as they do in Somalia and Yemen. Some will return to the UK and pose a threat here. This is a new and worrying development."

MI5 has grown since the 2001 terror attacks in the United States, going from 1,800 to 3,800 staff ? some of whom joined after Britain's own homegrown suicide bombings that killed 52 people in 2005.

Since then, several international terror plots have been hatched in the United Kingdom, including the 2006 trans-Atlantic airliner plot to down several planes using liquid explosives. A handful of terror trials are also underway.

Evans stressed that other countries, such as Iran, shouldn't be underestimated in the evolving terror threat landscape.

"We have seen in recent months a series of attempted terrorist plots against Israeli interests in India, Azerbaijan and elsewhere," he said. "So a return to state-sponsored terrorism by Iran or its associates, such as Hezbollah, cannot be ruled out as pressure on the Iranian leadership increases."

In Tehran, Iran's foreign ministry warned Britain of "excuse-seeking" over the case.

"Countries should behave based on international measures. Their discriminative attitude will face our harsh and serious reactions," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparst told reporters when he was asked about remarks by MI5 chief.

Evans also said the threat of cyber security had recently become more prominent.

In one recent case, a major London-listed company incurred revenue losses of 800 million pounds ($1.2 billion) because of a cyber attack, Evans said. He did not elaborate on the company's name or what country was behind the attack.

"What is at stake is not just our government secrets but also the safety and security of our infrastructure, the intellectual property that underpins our future prosperity and the commercially sensitive information that is the lifeblood of our companies and corporations," he said.

Evans has been in charge of MI5 since 2007.

___

Nasser Karimi contributed to this report from Tehran.

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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Baby Bode Returns! {Los Angeles Toddler Photography} ? Shoots ...

Baby Bode Returns! {Los Angeles Toddler Photography}

This little man has had our hearts for some time ? as one of our 3-sessions-over-the-1st-year Shoots & Giggles Baby Steps? clients, I?ve had the pleasure of capturing him as a newborn, a 6-month old and now a one year old on the move! He?s impossibly adorable (goodness those smiles!!!) and I love his family ? they are SO sweet together, and as I?ve said before ? they have great moments - so beautiful. Thanks for a great year guys, have so many more to share with you! :)










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MLB suspends Byrd 50 games for failing PED test

FILE - In this May 30, 2012, file photo, Boston Red Sox center fielder Marlon Byrd dives to catch a fly ball by Detroit Tigers' Gerald Laird during a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston. Byrd has been suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Major League Baseball announced the suspension Monday, June 25, 2012, and said Byrd tested positive for Tamoxifen. Byrd is currently a free agent, and will be placed on the restricted list for the duration of his suspension, which began immediately. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

FILE - In this May 30, 2012, file photo, Boston Red Sox center fielder Marlon Byrd dives to catch a fly ball by Detroit Tigers' Gerald Laird during a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston. Byrd has been suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Major League Baseball announced the suspension Monday, June 25, 2012, and said Byrd tested positive for Tamoxifen. Byrd is currently a free agent, and will be placed on the restricted list for the duration of his suspension, which began immediately. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

(AP) ? Outfielder Marlon Byrd was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball on Monday after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

Major League Baseball said the 34-year-old Byrd tested positive for Tamoxifen, which can reduce side effects of steroid use and increase testosterone. It is often used to treat breast cancer patients.

"I made an inexcusable mistake," Byrd said in a statement released by the players' association. "Several years ago, I had surgery for a condition that was private and unrelated to baseball. Last winter, I suffered a recurrence of that condition and I was provided with a medication that resulted in my positive test. Although that medication is on the banned list, I absolutely did not use it for performance enhancement reasons."

Byrd is currently a free agent, and will be placed on the restricted list for the duration of his suspension, which began immediately. He started the season with the Cubs and was dealt to the Red Sox on April 21. He was designated for assignment by Boston on June 9 and released four days later.

"I am mortified by my carelessness and I apologize to everyone who loves this game as I do," Byrd said. "I will serve my suspension, continue to work hard and hope that I am given an opportunity to help a Club win later this season."

In 2009, Byrd admitted using supplements provided by Victor Conte, the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. BALCO was at the center of a wide-ranging scandal involving performance-enhancing drugs that enveloped several top-level athletes, including Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and Barry Bonds. Conte pleaded guilty to steroid distribution in July 2005 and served four months in jail.

Byrd said the supplements were all OK to use under MLB rules. He had never before been suspended for failing an PED test.

He hit .210 in 47 games with the two teams, though he hit .270 with a homer and seven RBIs in 34 games with Boston. The Red Sox picked him up when they had a shortage in the outfield after a rash of injuries.

"He played here and he played well," Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said. "I had no indication or I don't think anyone did."

The 34-year old has played for five teams in 11 major league seasons and is a career .278 hitter.

Byrd finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2003 with the Phillies and was a National League All-Star with the Cubs in 2010.

Associated Press

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RIM considers splitting business in two: paper

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Monday, June 25, 2012

Aaron Beaston-Blaakman Highlights Governmental and Economic Importance of Foreign Languages

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Sunday, June 24, 2012

NFL, CFL used to meet in the preseason

Posted by admin on June 23rd, 2012

As the Canadian Football League approaches its annual Canada Day launch to its regular season, let?s fill some space on a slow (relatively speaking) Saturday and look back in time at a series of preseason games once played between teams from the NFL and CFL. While recently perusing the Official 2011 NFL Record & Fact?

Source: ProFootballTalk ? Pittsburgh Steelers

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Cash Rules at Romney Retreat While Condoleezza Rice Steals the Show

PARK CITY, Utah - If the majority of donors who attend this weekend's gathering of hundreds of high dollar fundraisers go back home as fired up as Rodger Young, the Romney campaign will be in quite strong a financial position and the investment in time and effort for the event will be paid back many times over.

"I am going to bundle every penny I can bundle," said Young, a donor at this weekend's mixer for Romney donors, GOP stars, and Republican leaders.

Until this weekend, Young was merely a donor not a bundler, but that has now changed.

"I came here with the idea that we were all going to take on more financial responsibility and I am certainly prepared to do that for Gov. Romney and I think we can get this done," Young told ABC News.

Hundreds of high dollar fundraisers turned out this weekend for a mixer for Romney campaign donors, GOP stars and Republican leaders, but among the faces at the retreat were other attendees who have the same goals of defeating Barack Obama, but whose roles in Republican politics lie in super PACs.

A man in a dark suit and purple pocket square was camped out in the lobby of the Chateaux at Silver Lake talking to what appeared to be lanyard-wearing donors. The man was Charlie Spies, the founder of the Mitt Romney-backing super PAC Restore Our Future.

He wasn't attending any of the panels or discussions and didn't even want to go into get a cup of coffee, but the lobby is really the place to be, with attendees walking to and from meetings or gathering to talk.

Reporters were asked to leave the lobby after being spotted chatting with Sen. John Thune and his wife about Friday's reception at Olympic Park, as well as with Florida Rep. Connie Mack.

It's legal for Spies to be there, but "coordination" with the candidate is not, a rule that's hard to enforce and explain.

He pleasantly wouldn't answer questions about the propriety of him hobnobbing at the Romney Victory Leadership Retreat, but he said, "Romney supporters are energized."

"People here understand that the private sector is not doing fine and we need a president who understands how to create jobs and turn the economy around," Spies told ABC News.

The Romney campaign did not immediately respond to an evening request for comment about ROF staff being at the retreat.

But Spies wasn't the only person affiliated with a GOP superPAC attending the confab.

Karl Rove, founder of American Crossroads and a former Bush strategist, was also on hand. He spoke on a "media insight" panel, and on another one examining Romney's path to victory. Rove, dressed in a blue blazer, told reporters his panel was "damn good," before whizzing away on a golf cart.

Attendees said the panel was engaging and humorous, with Rove swearing up a storm and regaling the crowd with funny stories.

Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz told reporters both Rove and GOP strategist Mary Matalin were making the crowd howl, telling them about when Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a friend with bird-shot pellets on a hunting trip.

"He was on full display," Chaffetz said of Rove.

It wasn't all joking, though. According to Young and his wife, Rove said, "We had to focus on some particular groups, such as some Republicans that didn't vote in the last election," including focusing on women. It's unclear whether Rove was also soliciting donations as he mingled with attendees over the weekend.

Many of those same attendees said the star speaker of the weekend was former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who received and a standing ovation. Ambassador Charles Cobb, who served as ambassador to Iceland from 1989 to 1992, said Rice was "spectacular" and described her as a "very bright, sophisticated, articulate lady."

Husband-and-wife donors from Los Angeles who did not want to be identified said Rice's message was one of "America needing to take charge."

"We can't stand by and let things happen," the wife said. "If we do, someone else will take that leadership role."

They both described her address as an "impassioned plea" for the country to "stand up and take charge."

Donor Kent Lucken, an international banker in Boston who moved back to his home state of Iowa for six weeks before the caucuses to help Romney, said "she rocked it."

Attendees also heard from Sen. John McCain, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and many other GOP notables. The donors were also able to learn about what Chaffetz described as how "the Romney train runs on time."

The attendees got to hear from the Romney senior staff, including campaign manager Matt Rhoades, senior strategist Stuart Stevens, and longtime adviser Beth Myers who is heading up the vice presidential selection process. They described the campaign's "10 a.m. meeting," according to Chaffetz and several donors.

"I think people were fascinated by that," Chaffetz said. "They spent a good half hour showing them how they would do that, and what they would talk about and how they review the numbers and talk about messaging and develop that into a cohesive message that's not only earned media but also paid media and other types of things. That was really different than I think that most people thought."

Chaffetz added that they went through "the analysis of what's going on in the media, looking at polling, looking at all the different facets."

Another thing many attendees weren't expecting? How up-close and personal they would get with many of the stars of the party. Chaffetz pointed out that he saw many donors excitedly taking their photo with possible vice presidential choices.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, South Dakota Sen. John Thune, and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan were all on hand.

Larry Conti who came with his friend, a bundler from Los Angeles, as his plus-one describes himself as "a big Paul Ryan fan" and was thrilled to meet him. Conti thought he would impress his friend when he took a photo with Ryan, who introduced himself to him as "Paul," but instead the friend told him he had just spent 10 minutes talking to Ryan in the bathroom.

Eugene Atkinson, a bundler from New York City, said he thanked House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and turned away only to have Cantor come back to him and ask him, "So how many years were you at Goldman Sachs?"

Atkinson spent almost 20 years at the bank (he is now the founder and managing director of Atkinson Capital), and Cantor's wife used to work there.

And it's also what these donors are leaving with, not just an enthusiasm to raise more money, as Young mentioned, but the impression that their guy is going to win.

Before he zoomed off in a golf cart with former Secretary of State James Baker, former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, who will also head up Romney's transition if he is elected, said he came away from the panels with confidence that the Romney campaign has "a very impressive group of people supporting this campaign and we have a very good shot at winning."

But with just under four months to go until election day, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus acted as a voice of reason for a campaign that is currently on top of the world.

"Everyone thinks we couldn't be doing better. We are clicking on all cylinders. We couldn't be raising more money, but it's June," Priebus said. "On our best day it will be close."

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Couple Uses Prometheus Camera to Film First Hi-Def, 3-D Wedding Video

Just a friendly wedding-planning advisory: a recent pair of newlyweds has ensured that your upcoming nuptials will not be the most magnificent of all time, technology-wise at least. During an outdoor ceremony at the Mirador Estate, in Montecito, California, a tech-savvy couple exchanged vows in front of RED Epic cameras on 5K resolution, the same type of cameras used by Ridley Scott in Prometheus and Peter Jackson in The Hobbit. According to Gizmodo, Julia and Stuart boldly opted out of having the event photographed, since ?each frame can also be extracted as a high resolution 3D still image.? A teaser trailer (!) for said 3-D wedding video is available above.

It is unclear what Julia and Stuart do for their day jobs, what inspired them to take this innovative route, and why they would want to torture friends and family with a third dimension to their wedding playback. In 2010, Sydney-based cinematographer Abraham Joffe made history by filming what is believed to be the first professionally executed, multi-camera 3-D wedding video for Australian newlyweds Narelle and Ian Haines.

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Boehner to House on healthcare ruling: don't gloat (reuters)

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