Here's something you still don't see every day: a KIRF that's unveiled before the device it's supposed to copy. Although the 2012 iPhone may not show for weeks, the Android-based Goophone I5 is already doing a remarkable job of aping Apple's rumored style, including that two-tone look that we've all seen before. Just don't get notions that it's the bargain of the century. Where most rumors point to a bigger screen for the real thing, the I5 is making do with a 3.5-inch screen similar to that for Goophone's iPhone 4S imitator, the Y5. Performance isn't likely to jolt the engineers in Cupertino out of their seats, either. Mum's the word on whether or not the I5 will beat its inspiration to the store shelf, but we'd wager that it will cost a lot less.
Spring Lake, MI--Spring Lake District Library is offering a free Facebook for Business class on Friday, Sept. 14 at 2:30 p.m. Learn how your business or organization can use the social networking site Facebook to create a business profile page. Use the page to communicate with existing customers, attract new ones, and promote your product or services.
Attendees will learn the basic do?s and don?ts of setting up a business page and are encouraged to bring their questions. Pre-registration is requested. Register online at www.sllib.org or call the library at 616.846.5770. The library is located at 123 E. Exchange St. in Spring Lake.
A workers? compensation reform bill was officially introduced on Monday,?and the same day?the California Workers? Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau issued a study saying the bill could produce a savings of nearly half-a-billion-dollars.
But that savings will be outpaced by benefit increases called for in the bill, increasing system wide costs the tune of $300 million annually, according to WCIRB, which outlined its preliminary costs estimates in a letter?released on Monday.
Senate Bill 863 is authored by state Sen. Kevin DeLeon, D-Los Angeles and coauthored by Sen. Jose Solorio, D-Anaheim, but not? by Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, whose bill on workers? comp liens is being used as a vehicle for the reform language.
Lieu, who chairs the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, has reportedly been involved in hammering out the proposal. However, he begged out as the bill?s author because he already has a lot on his plate, a Lieu spokesman said.
The bill comes from talks between labor and a handful of large, self-insured employers, which have been reportedly ongoing since October. With this year?s legislative session winding down, lawmakers will have about a week to review and vote on a 100-plus-page bill that contains roughly 60,000 words.
The two groups had come up with?the proposal, which has been circulating?in various forms for the past two weeks,?which was intended as an attempt to fulfill the the need for roughly $700 million in additional permanent disability benefits for injured workers, and $1.4 billion in system wide savings.
Christine Baker, director of the Department of Industrial Relations, who was reportedly involved in negotiations and has backed the proposal, indicated further reforms to the bill could be made in coming days.
?WCIRB data is now available and is being released to advise the public of information pertaining to costs and savings through a proposal to bring comprehensive reform California?s workers? compensation,? Baker said in a statement. ?The reform proposal will be carried in SB 863, introduced by Senator DeLeon and co-authored by Assembly member Solorio. While this information is being made publically available, reform discussions continue in an effort to find the best solution to protect employees while preventing increases in the cost of doing business in the state.?
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones in a statement expressed concerned about rising costs in the system.
?The analysis by the WCIRB indicates that SB 863 has cost savings that significantly offset the costs of providing needed increases of permanent disability benefits for California?s injured workers,? Jones said.? ?I remain concerned about continued rising costs in the system, however, particularly medical costs and the expenses to adjust workers? compensation claims, and encourage all stakeholders to look for additional ways to reduce system costs.?
WCIRB in a letter to Jones and Baker dated Aug. 24 outlined areas in which the bureau was able to produce cost estimates:
?Among the areas impacted by the proposed amendments for which the WCIRB was able to provide a preliminary cost analysis are permanent disability (PD) minimum and maximum weekly benefit levels, the burial allowance, supplemental job displacement benefits, the adjustments to the PD rating corresponding to future earning capacity (FEC), permanent disability impairment ?add-ons? for psychiatric impairment, sleep disorders or sexual dysfunction, the three-tiered system of PD weekly benefits based on return to work status, the rate at which PD benefits are paid, liens, reimbursements for spinal implant hardware, fee schedule values for ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) and the process for resolving medical treatment disputes.?
WCIRB in its letter identified an overall cost reduction of roughly $400 million, which it said was based on an estimated statewide cost of indemnity and medical losses and loss adjustment expenses of $19 billion on injuries occurring in 2013. That 2013 estimate is based on the estimated cost of indemnity and medical losses and loss adjustment expenses as reflected in WCIRB?s Jan. 1, 2013 rate filing.
However, the increased permanent disability benefit provisions effective on injuries occurring on or after Jan. 1, 2014 are estimated to increase total costs by $700 million in 2014.
Therefor the proposed legislation will increase total system costs by $300 million annually, according to WCIRB?s estimates.
The estimates in the letter do not provide figures for areas such as medical provider networks (MPNs), admissibility of medical reports completed outside a valid MPN, home health services and permanent disability advances.
A spokesman for WCIRB said the bureau would examine the figures further and provide better estimates if the bill is passed.
The American Insurance Association weighed in on the bill. ?Marjorie Berte, AIA?s Western regional vice president, pointed out anticipated rising costs will outpace savings figured into the bill.
?Much work went into the bill?s development,? Berte said in a statement. ?However, the expectation by proponents that savings would be twice the cost of benefit increases is now dashed by preliminary estimates released today by the Workers? Compensation Inspection & Rating Bureau (WCIRB).? The WCIRB concludes that while claim frequency utilization costs will decrease by $400 million on an annual basis, permanent disability benefit costs will increase by $700 million?adding $300 million annually in new costs to the system beginning in 2014.?Expectations of net savings of two to one are now put at a net cost increase of 1.4 percent annually.?
Penn State ARL to lead defense manufacturing research projectPublic release date: 29-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: A'ndrea Elyse Messer aem1@psu.edu 814-865-9481 Penn State
Streamlining the design and manufacture of U.S. Department of Defense equipment, including vehicles, weapons and other complex systems, is the goal of a $48 million contract recently awarded to Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Instant Foundry Adaptive through Bits (iFAB) program, which is part of the agency's Adaptive Vehicle Make (AVM) portfolio.
"The iFAB Foundry will help revolutionize the design and building process for complex defense systems with the goal of shortening development time by a factor of five," said Mark Traband, head, Manufacturing Systems Division, ARL. "We want to move away from a capital-intensive manufacturing facility aimed at one product and move toward flexible, programmable, distributed production that can accommodate many systems and variations and reconfigure quickly."
iFAB will provide manufacturing machine computer instructions and human work instructions automatically to minimize the time it takes to begin manufacturing a product. This requires new work to enable automated manufacturing planning and execution across a distributed manufacturing organization. As part of AVM, iFAB will support another DARPA program called Fast, Adaptable, Next-Generation Ground Vehicle (FANG), by providing near-instantaneous manufacturability feedback to designers to ensure the designs can be manufactured.
FANG will run a series of design challenges related to military ground vehicle technologies, and iFAB will be an integral part of those challenges. Included in this is the requirement that iFAB supply a bid with cost and schedule seven days after receiving the winning design from the challenge. iFAB will then initiate manufacture, providing continuous updates using an information architecture that will capture the as-built design to compare it to the original design. FANG will do the operational testing on the product.
This process requires a team of manufacturing, logistics and research partners to make the vehicle, an agent-based information architecture to interconnect the team and a prestructured set of contractual agreements that allow response in days rather than months.
"These steps will provide a new approach to building complex systems that can transform our country's military systems acquisition processes," said Traband.
Commercial, military and academic partners will make this project possible. Commercial partners include Demmer Corp., East Lansing, Mich., responsible for machined components, fabrication of large structural components and final assembly; Mercury Electronics, Seven Valleys, Pa., responsible for manufacture of cable assemblies, wire harnesses and control panels; ArmorStruxx, Lodi, Calif., responsible for manufacture of spall liners and composite armors; Standard Bent Glass Corp., Butler, Pa., responsible for manufacture of transparent armor; Lippmann-Milwaukee, Cudahy, Wis., responsible for machining and subassemblies; and TPI Composites, Warren, R.I., responsible for manufacture of composite structures. GENCO Infrastructure Solutions, Pittsburgh, will provide logistics support for the team.
Military partners on this project are Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Ill., where final assembly of the vehicle will take place, and Armament Research and Development Center, Picatinny, N.J.
The research capabilities of Penn State's Department of Industrial Engineering, Iowa State University, Bradley University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Texas, Austin, Arizona State University, RECON Services and Palo Alto Research Center will help develop the information architecture to enhance the manufacturing state of the art.
In addition to Traband, co-investigators on the iFAB project from Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory are Michael Yukish, head, Manufacturing Product and Process Design Department; Daniel Finke, research associate and Christopher Ligetti, research and development engineer. Faculty investigators from Penn State's Department of Industrial Engineering are Soundar Kumara, Timothy Simpson, Robert Voigt, Sanjay Joshi and Christopher Saldana.
###
[ | 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.
Penn State ARL to lead defense manufacturing research projectPublic release date: 29-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: A'ndrea Elyse Messer aem1@psu.edu 814-865-9481 Penn State
Streamlining the design and manufacture of U.S. Department of Defense equipment, including vehicles, weapons and other complex systems, is the goal of a $48 million contract recently awarded to Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Instant Foundry Adaptive through Bits (iFAB) program, which is part of the agency's Adaptive Vehicle Make (AVM) portfolio.
"The iFAB Foundry will help revolutionize the design and building process for complex defense systems with the goal of shortening development time by a factor of five," said Mark Traband, head, Manufacturing Systems Division, ARL. "We want to move away from a capital-intensive manufacturing facility aimed at one product and move toward flexible, programmable, distributed production that can accommodate many systems and variations and reconfigure quickly."
iFAB will provide manufacturing machine computer instructions and human work instructions automatically to minimize the time it takes to begin manufacturing a product. This requires new work to enable automated manufacturing planning and execution across a distributed manufacturing organization. As part of AVM, iFAB will support another DARPA program called Fast, Adaptable, Next-Generation Ground Vehicle (FANG), by providing near-instantaneous manufacturability feedback to designers to ensure the designs can be manufactured.
FANG will run a series of design challenges related to military ground vehicle technologies, and iFAB will be an integral part of those challenges. Included in this is the requirement that iFAB supply a bid with cost and schedule seven days after receiving the winning design from the challenge. iFAB will then initiate manufacture, providing continuous updates using an information architecture that will capture the as-built design to compare it to the original design. FANG will do the operational testing on the product.
This process requires a team of manufacturing, logistics and research partners to make the vehicle, an agent-based information architecture to interconnect the team and a prestructured set of contractual agreements that allow response in days rather than months.
"These steps will provide a new approach to building complex systems that can transform our country's military systems acquisition processes," said Traband.
Commercial, military and academic partners will make this project possible. Commercial partners include Demmer Corp., East Lansing, Mich., responsible for machined components, fabrication of large structural components and final assembly; Mercury Electronics, Seven Valleys, Pa., responsible for manufacture of cable assemblies, wire harnesses and control panels; ArmorStruxx, Lodi, Calif., responsible for manufacture of spall liners and composite armors; Standard Bent Glass Corp., Butler, Pa., responsible for manufacture of transparent armor; Lippmann-Milwaukee, Cudahy, Wis., responsible for machining and subassemblies; and TPI Composites, Warren, R.I., responsible for manufacture of composite structures. GENCO Infrastructure Solutions, Pittsburgh, will provide logistics support for the team.
Military partners on this project are Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Ill., where final assembly of the vehicle will take place, and Armament Research and Development Center, Picatinny, N.J.
The research capabilities of Penn State's Department of Industrial Engineering, Iowa State University, Bradley University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Texas, Austin, Arizona State University, RECON Services and Palo Alto Research Center will help develop the information architecture to enhance the manufacturing state of the art.
In addition to Traband, co-investigators on the iFAB project from Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory are Michael Yukish, head, Manufacturing Product and Process Design Department; Daniel Finke, research associate and Christopher Ligetti, research and development engineer. Faculty investigators from Penn State's Department of Industrial Engineering are Soundar Kumara, Timothy Simpson, Robert Voigt, Sanjay Joshi and Christopher Saldana.
###
[ | 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.
ScienceDaily (Aug. 28, 2012) ? Researchers from A*STAR's Institute of Microelectronics (IME) have developed the first compact high performance silicon-based cavity-backed slot (CBS) antenna that operates at 135 GHz. The antenna demonstrated 30 times stronger signal transmission over on-chip antennas at 135 GHz. At just 1.6mm x 1.2mm, approximately the size of a sesame seed, it is the smallest silicon-based CBS antenna reported to date for ready integration with active circuits.
IME's innovation will help realise a wireless communication system with very small form factor and almost two-thirds cheaper than a conventional CBS antenna. The antenna, in combination with other millimetre-wave building blocks, can support wireless speed of 20 Gbps -- more than 200 times faster than present day Wi-Fi , to allow ultra fast point-to-point access to rich media content, relevant to online learning and entertainment.
On the research breakthrough, Dr Hu Sanming, a key researcher from IME leading the antenna project, said, "The novel use of polymer filling enables >70% antenna size shrinkage and a record high gain of 5.68 dBi at 135 GHz. By filling the antenna cavity with polymer instead of air, we can achieve a flat surface for subsequent processing by standard technology that is amenable to mass production."
"The team has also designed a three-dimensional (3D) architecture to integrate the antenna with active circuits to form a fully integrated wireless millimetre-wave system-in-package solution with high performance, reduced footprint and low electromagnetic interference," commented Dr Je Minkyu, Principal Investigator of the Integrated Circuits and Systems Laboratory at IME.
Professor Dim-Lee Kwong, Executive Director of IME, said, "IME's silicon-based 135 GHz integrative antenna technology and the proposed 3D architecture have immense commercial potential as it combines form with function that can be realised with standard mass production infrastructure. These salient features make our technology extremely attractive to product developers who are looking to capture emerging markets in millimetre-wave applications."
The Institute of Microelectronics (IME) is a research institute of the Science and Engineering Research Council of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Positioned to bridge the R&D between academia and industry, IME's mission is to add value to Singapore's semiconductor industry by developing strategic competencies, innovative technologies and intellectual property; enabling enterprises to be technologically competitive; and cultivating a technology talent pool to inject new knowledge to the industry. Its key research areas are in integrated circuits design, advanced packaging, bioelectronics and medical devices, MEMS, nanoelectronics, and photonics.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Information auto insurance suitable and good for you. if you want to get? cheap car insurance in Columbus OH???then you should not hesitate to seek information to know what and how to get Auto Insurance is cheap and suitable for you later. Car insurance online is a very nice for car owners. Auto Insurance is very important for your life because now wear is a common vehicle therefore you need Auto Insurance that is good for you. Use the vehicle for personal use, you need to be sure to drive a vehicle with a mind free and convenient maintenance. A privately insured vehicle for work purposes can help you save some law or a car accident. Auto Insurance has been standing since 2001, then you should not hesitate to try Auto Insurance for you. Cheap auto insurance is very important and much in love, like? Ohio auto insurance???that are well known and a good service for you.The most important item is the insurance? Auto Insurance Toolkit??which can be used to suit your needs. a must to have car insurance if you have your own vehicle. Maybe you have a vehicle for your personal use or for the purpose of your work. So many cars on the road so you have to know a great auto insurance and suitable for you. This information is so that you know the auto insurance suitable and good for you because car insurance is one of the most important investments you can make in your life and your vehicle. There are many benefits why a very good car insurance is very important for your life and your vehicle. You work every day and you pick up your child's school, then a car is an important thing in your life it's important for you to make auto insurance. Maybe you do not know so much about the benefits of auto insurance when you have made auto insurance then you will know the benefits of auto insurance for your life and your family. If you want to find a good car insurance for you then you can learn from this information. A car is essential for work and your family it is not wrong if you make auto insurance because you want to live comfortably and happily with your family. is very important for you to know how and how to make auto insurance. You will be served with a good professional and you are definitely satisfied with the information you'd like to know. Hopefully with this information you can know the benefits and uses auto insurance in your life.
FILE- Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters performs during the 54th annual Grammy Awards in this file photo dated Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in Los Angeles. On Tuesday Aug. 28, 2012, music industry online magazine NME says the Foo Fighters have played their "last show for a long time," but an official familiar with the group says more concerts are scheduled, as speculation was ignited by Grohl's closing comments at the end of Sunday's Reading Festival in England.
LONDON -- Music industry online magazine NME says the Foo Fighters have played their "last show for a long time," but an official familiar with the group says it has more concerts scheduled.
As the group wrapped up a gig in Reading, England, on Sunday, Frontman Dave Grohl told the crowd the tour, in support of its latest album "Wasting Light," would be its last - a comment that has set fans in the Twittersphere alight with concern.But the official says Grohl's comments were misinterpreted. The official said on condition of anonymity that the band has four U.S. shows in September and that after that it will take some time off ''after touring the world for a year."Grohl is the former drummer for the hugely successful band Nirvana.
Samsung has posted an "internal memo" on the outcome of its big patent lawsuit on the company's blog.
We're not sure how internal the memo really is, since it was posted on its blog, but whatever.
Here's what Samsung is telling its people:
We initially proposed to negotiate with Apple instead of going to court, as they had been one of our most important customers. However, Apple pressed on with a lawsuit, and we have had little choice but to counter-sue, so that we can protect our company.
Certainly, we are very disappointed by the verdict at the US District Court for the Northern District of California (NDCA), and it is regrettable that the verdict has caused concern amongst our employees, as well as our loyal customers.
However, the judge?s final ruling remains, along with a number of other procedures. We will continue to do our utmost until our arguments have been accepted.
The NDCA verdict starkly contrasts decisions made by courts in a number of other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Korea, which have previously ruled that we did not copy Apple?s designs. These courts also recognized our arguments concerning our standards patents.
History has shown there has yet to be a company that has won the hearts and minds of consumers and achieved continuous growth, when its primary means to competition has been the outright abuse of patent law, not the pursuit of innovation.
We trust that the consumers and the market will side with those who prioritize innovation over litigation, and we will prove this beyond doubt.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Television networks began juggling two major stories on Monday, still wondering whether Tropical Storm Isaac will cause them to divert a large amount of attention from the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
Anderson Cooper of CNN and Shepard Smith of Fox News Channel were shifted by their networks from Tampa to New Orleans, where the storm appeared headed. It's an odd rerun for both of them: four years ago they left a GOP convention to head to the gulf region ahead of Hurricane Gustav. MSNBC was sending Tamron Hall and Lester Holt to New Orleans in advance of Isaac, and Soledad O'Brien was joining Cooper for CNN.
The major broadcast networks haven't shifted resources yet. Even before the Republicans chose to cancel the first night of the convention on Monday and compress the action into three days, ABC, CBS and NBC had not planned on broadcasting from Tampa on Monday night. Each has scheduled an hour of convention coverage over the next three nights.
"We continue to watch the storm closely and we will have correspondent coverage throughout the region," said Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, vice president of CBS News. "We will reposition some of our resources as necessary."
Brian Williams of NBC News has taken an intense interest in the New Orleans area since Hurricane Katrina seven years ago, but there are no immediate plans for him to switch cities. NBC's coverage is augmented through its partnership with The Weather Channel, also owned by the Comcast Corp.
The cancellation of Monday's convention activities due to Isaac forced schedule changes upon television networks. Instead of three hours on politics, PBS shifted to entertainment programming. CNN reran a documentary on Republican Mitt Romney that first aired Sunday night. Fox News Channel and MSNBC played to their bases with their typical opinion programs.
Throughout Monday, CNN mixed coverage of the storm with political stories from Tampa. Even when its correspondents were talking politics, the lower portion of the network's screen flashed updates on the path and wind speed of Isaac. The network has plenty of experience following multiple stories, said Sam Feist, CNN political director.
"This is CNN," Feist said. "We can walk and chew gum at the same time."
The uncertainty about the storm's path and strength made for uncertainty among Republicans, too.
"This is a difficult set of circumstances for the Republicans," said Fox's Smith, "because as this storm comes through it's going to be fighting for TV time, and newspaper headline time and water cooler talk time. The Republicans had hoped they would be able to have all of the attention of themselves for the next few days and it would appear that Isaac has thrown a wrench in that."
Networks strive, as best they can, to be fair to both parties in terms of television time around the conventions. Even with the storm, Feist said he expects the Republicans to get as much or more coverage than the Democrats, primarily because of the GOP's original plan to have a four-night convention.
Television didn't even need the convention to start to produce some fireworks on Monday. MSNBC's "Morning Joe" featured a bitter confrontation with MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews attacking Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Romney campaign tactics, leaving show hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski plainly uncomfortable.
One of the challenges of writing relationships is making romantic relationships realistic.?A problem I see in some fiction is that there is no reason for the characters to fall for each other or be in love?other than the fact that they're both excruciatingly hot, of course.
As in real life, your characters should be attracted to the people they're attracted to for a reason beyond the superficial. (Don?t get me wrong, some people fall into passionate but superficial relationships, but they tend to burn out quickly without the other important aspects of true love: commitment and intimacy.)
In real life, finding and getting along with your ?other half? long-term is difficult. The good news when it comes to fiction is that Conflict is the engine that keeps every story going, and the love relationship between your characters is one of the most important parts of that engine.
Some questions to help you generate realistic conflicts. Try to be as specific as you can when you answer.
What drives you crazy in a relationship? What are your pet peeves?
What drives your partner (or past partners) crazy about you?
What kinds of life decisions and stages have created conflict in your life? That is, which things challenge your relationships? Money decisions? Family decisions? Work decisions? Something else?
What really stresses you out (in general)? How does this impact your relationships with others??
In real life people choose the partners they do for all kinds of reasons, some of them noble and romantic, some of them less so. ?For example, maybe they had great "chemistry" with their partner. Maybe they had a lot in common. ?Maybe they need to feel needed. ?Maybe they wanted to get out of their parents' house. ?Maybe they were ready to settle down. ?Maybe they needed someone to help them parent a child. ?Regardless, there is definitely a reason other than that an author needed them together to make a particular storyline work. Some things to think about:
What attracted your character to the love interest in the first place? ?
What needs does the love interest fulfill for your hero or heroine?
Why is the love interest different from all the other men and women out there?
Once your characters are together, why do they stay together? ?Doing couples therapy was always a fascinating endeavor for me, because couples with enormous problems would come in and complain about each other and the relationship?but still want to make it work. ?They still loved each other. ?And they could usually tell you why. In other words, for all of the ways they drove each other crazy, they always had a reason that they were still together.
In my stories, relationships are usually messy. ?People say the wrong things, have affairs, and hurt each other?sometimes accidentally and sometimes on purpose. Ex-partners create havoc, hidden histories drive wedges, but in the end love always prevails for me. ?I like to pretend to be pragmatic and sensible, but the truth is that I'm a hopeless romantic, and in my stories, love really is the greatest power of all.
Ask yourself:
What is the absolute worst thing each partner could do to the other? (Usually the "worst thing" varies by character.) Why is that the worst?
Can you work that conflict into your story?
Why might your characters still want or need each other in spite of this betrayal?
Usually things are not "like new" after a betrayal?what are the lingering effects of having survived the conflict?
I'm most drawn to fictional relationships where there is a strong, identifiable reason for an attraction at the same time there are problems (internal or external to the relationship) that are trying to tear the couple apart. For me, the attraction to each other has to be stronger than the problems, but not by much. The characters have to keep coming together the way a pair of magnets will. ?They might push against each other, but inevitably, they snap together and hold on.
How about you? What are your secrets for making romantic plots and subplots work?
MUNICH (Reuters) - Electronic cigarettes, an increasingly popular option among smokers trying to quit, do not appear to pose a threat to the heart, according to results of a clinical study presented on Saturday.
Greek researchers said e-cigarettes - battery-powered metal tubes that transform liquid laced with nicotine into vapour - had no adverse effects on cardiac function in their small trial.
"Electronic cigarettes are not a healthy habit but they are a safer alternative to tobacco cigarettes," Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos from the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens told the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology.
"Considering the extreme hazards associated with cigarette smoking, currently available data suggest that electronic cigarettes are far less harmful and substituting tobacco with electronic cigarettes may be beneficial to health."
Farsalinos and his team examined the heart function of 20 young smokers before and after smoking one tobacco cigarette against that of 22 e-cigarette users before and after using the device for seven minutes.
While the tobacco smokers suffered significant heart dysfunction, including raised blood pressure and heart rate, those using e-cigarettes had only a slight elevation in pressure.
The Greek clinical study was the first in the world to look at the cardiac effects of e-cigarettes. Another small study, also in Greece, reported earlier this year the devices had little impact on lung function.
Farsalinos acknowledged bigger studies were still needed to examine the possible long-term effects of e-cigarettes, while other doctors attending the medical meeting in Munich were cautious about giving them a clean bill of health just yet.
"Obviously, the e-cigarette has the advantage of not having the thousands of other chemicals, besides nicotine, that a real cigarette has," said Dr Russell Luepker of the University of Minnesota.
"I don't think it's conclusive but there's no doubt if you expose someone to fewer bioactive chemical compounds there is going to be less effect."
E-cigarettes were first made in China in 2003 but are now sold around the world and used by millions of people.
(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
If you frequently spray paint small to medium size items you'll want to eventually put together some kind of spray booth to contain overspray and make it easier to paint all sides of your work surface. If you have access to a non-working dishwasher you may have everything you need to make an ideal spray booth.
Make Projects user Randy Hawkins gives a step-by-step method with photos of converting a dead dishwasher including stripping down the dishwasher to only the body and legs, adding a small fluorscent under-cabinet light, plugging the water drain, and adding a lazy susan to easily rotate work surfaces for even coverage.
About the only feature missing you might want is a ventilation system. Randy did not construct the spray booth with one since he uses exclusively non-toxic vapors but if you wish to include one it would be easy to incorporate through the existing water drain.
You could probably use the same design if you sell a lot of auction items and need to maintain a photo booth that always ready to use; if you want to use it this way you'd probably want to add additional lighting.
Convert a Used Dishwasher into a Spray Paint Booth | Make Projects
This webpage has been replaced by a new version and will be phased out in the future. Please use our new Real-time Earthquake Map to access the latest earthquake information and event details. The links to the World, US, and CA/NV maps that were in the navigation on the left side of the page have been replaced by the links at the top of the new Map. The Real-time Earthquake Map User Guide describes how to use the map and all its features.
Earthquake Details
This is a computer-generated message -- this event has not yet been reviewed by a seismologist.
Magnitude
2.8
Date-Time
Location
32.928?N, 118.534?W
Depth
6.8 km (4.2 miles)
Region
SAN CLEMENTE IS, CHANNEL ISL, CALIFORNIA
Distances
13 km (8 miles) SSE (150?) from San Clemente Is., CA (NW tip)
50 km (31 miles) SSW (203?) from Avalon, CA
94 km (58 miles) S (190?) from Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
98 km (61 miles) SSW (210?) from Huntington Beach, CA
128 km (80 miles) SSW (192?) from Los Angeles Civic Center, CA
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 1.7 km (1.1 miles); depth +/- 2.1 km (1.3 miles)
Always remember: Your business is about more than just what you do, it?s about how and why you do it.
People choose to work with YOU because of the how and why, not the what.
Photo by loop_oh
Let?s face it. There are other people out there who can do what you do. But not necessarily in the way that you do it.
And it?s that secret sauce, that magic, that je ne sais quoi that makes all the difference between a yes and a no.
So, how do you go about branding a business?
These 7 branding guidelines will get you started powerfully:
Get inspired. Start by identifying 5 businesses or brands that you admire and want to be like. Which elements or emotions do you want to incorporate into your brand?
Understand how your business is currently perceived and the REAL reason clients work with you ? then reflect on whether you want to maintain this perception or change it. (Tip: if you don?t know, then ask your clients.)
Define how you want your business to be perceived ? both now and 3-5 years from now. Build a brand that will help you reach your business goals.
Define your big brand idea or strategy. How are you different from everyone else in the marketplace? (Yes, that means you have to study the market.) How will people remember you? What?s the biggest juiciest promise you can claim? For me, it?s expressed through my tagline, ?(you can) become the #1 authority in your field.?
Before getting into logo design, think about the experience you want to create. The look, feel and tone of your brand is less about your personal preferences and more about evoking an emotional response. Your brand has to be congruent with what you?re selling and resonant with who you?re serving.
Branding is a magical combination of logic and emotion, strategy and gut impulse. You need an approach that combines your head and your heart, your left brain and your right.
Branding is not a one-time process, but a living breathing set of activities and relationships that are reinforced (or eroded) by everything you say, do and create. The secret to branding is consistency. That doesn?t mean your brand can?t surprise or evolve, it simply means you have to do it in a way that feels authentic and congruent.
I trust these principles will guide your branding efforts. Let me know how it goes?
It's common sense that sitting in front of computer and TV screens is making people fatter. A study out this week puts some precise numbers on it, though ? and finds a surprisingly steady pattern across rich and poor countries.
A local pioneer of speedskating in this region was recently honoured by the national association for his 46 years of service to the sport as a coach.
George Donatelli hadn't even learned to skate until he was 30 years old, but that didn't stop him from getting his oldest child, James, into the sport shortly after the Mission Leisure Centre was first constructed in the 1970s.
Donatelli's next child, Eden, was almost two years younger than her brother, and took to the sport immediately.
"She put herself in [speedskating]," he recalled with a gentle chuckle, and everyone could see she had the makings of an exceptional athlete and was setting Canadian records in short order.
Donatelli eventually took over coaching the 17 kids who were showing up to learn in the 1971-72 season, and he hasn't stopped.
Eden went on to compete in the world championships in Montreal at 16 years old, winning a gold medal in the 500 m. She moved to Montreal to train as a member of the Calgary Olympic relay team, and went on to win silver and bronze medals at the 1988 Olympics, plus a host of honours at numerous international and national competitions. She was inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
Donatelli has helped a number of people achieve success in the sport, including Langley's Courtney Shymr, who represented Canada at the Junior Short Track Speed Skating World Championships, Alec Jansens, from Sardis, who skated his way onto the national long track development team, and Maple Ridge's Michelle MacKay, who became the Canadian short track champion for her age class.
He also set up the speedskating program for the B.C. Winter Games in 1977-78.
The sport has always struggled to attract athletes, mostly due to the overwhelming influence of hockey in Canada. Donatelli said there were 850 speedskaters when he first began in the sport, and that number is the same today.
All these successes, and the nearly five decades of volunteer work saw Donatelli earn Speed Skating Canada's Coaches Award of Excellence for 2012.
"I just love working with kids. It's very gratifying," he said.
Donatelli has about 35 children he's coaching out of Sardis currently, and says he's unsure when he'll retire.
Drafts, by Agile Tortoise is all about getting down your thoughts and ideas quickly and efficiently -- and it's now available on the iPad (as a separate purchase) with the ability to sync content between your iPhone and iPad based on the Simperium platform. The iPhone version has also gone 2.0 and features a fresh new look.
Every time you launch Drafts, you are immediately presented with a blank canvas to fill with your thoughts and ideas. Getting your text down quickly is the priority in Drafts, but it also offers extensive output options that let you send text to Twitter, Facebook, email, SMS, a Calendar event, quickly save it to Dropbox or Evernote ? or forward it to a growing list of other Apps such as OmniFocus, Things, The Hit List, Byword, Sparrow and more.
Some of the other new features include the ability to swipe down on the toolbar to see your draft full screen for reading, add links for phone numbers, addresses, and web links, and support for more apps including Phraseology, Writing Kit, Threadnote, Appigo Todo.
So who's excited about Drafts 2.0 and the release of Drafts for iPad? Out of curiosity, what type of content do you add to Drafts? Topics to write about? Jokes? Reminders? Clever status updates for Facebook? Let us know in the comments below!
TechCrunch, Nowhereelse.fr (translated) | 
Goophone | Email this | Comments
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 29-Aug-2012
Share ] 
Samsung has posted an "internal memo" on the outcome of its big patent lawsuit on the company's blog.
If you frequently spray paint small to medium size items you'll want to eventually put together some kind of spray booth to contain overspray and make it easier to paint all sides of your work surface. If you have access to a non-working dishwasher you may have everything you need to make an ideal spray booth. 
