Cyprus ratings downgraded over debt swap

NICOSIA: Cyprus's bond ratings have been downgraded by Standard & Poors Ratings Services and Fitch following Nicosia's announcement that it would swap one billion euros in local bonds for longer maturities.

On Thursday, the finance ministry said that government bonds maturing in 2013 through the first quarter of 2016 would be replaced with five new issues holding the same coupon rate and at five-10 year maturities.

The move was required under the terms of a bailout deal with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

But S&P said on Friday that the "exchange materially changes the terms of the affected debt and constitutes what we consider a distressed exchange".

"We view the extension of maturities without what we find to be adequate offsetting compensation as the exchange of new debt on less favourable terms to the existing debt."

It lowered the long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings to SD (selective default) from CCC/C.

After the exchange, which is expected on July 1, S&P said liquidity strains on the government should be alleviated, and that the rating is expected to rise to CCC+.

However, it noted that the "government will still need to deal with the forthcoming rollover of a stock of 950 million euro Treasury bills," equivalent to five percent of GDP.

Fitch also said on Friday it had lowered its long-term local currency rating to RD (restricted default) from CCC.

"This transaction constitutes a DDE (distressed debt exchange)... as the maturity extension at existing coupon rates represents a material reduction in terms for bondholders," the agency said.

In exchange for a 10-billion-euro loan from the EU and the IMF, Cyprus agreed in March on 13 billion euros in measures to cut its budget deficit and to restructure its bloated banking system.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/cyprus-ratings-downgraded-over-debt-swap/articleshow/20831131.cms

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Film academy invites 276 people to join its ranks

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Jennifer Lopez, Lena Dunham, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lucy Liu have received one of the most exclusive invitations in Hollywood.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Friday that it has invited them, and 272 others, to join its ranks.

Other invitees include Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, "Machete" star Danny Trejo, "Bridesmaids" director Paul Feig and "Before Midnight" writer-star Julie Delpy.

All 16 branches of the film academy extended invitations to new members, from hairstylists and sound engineers to producers and publicists.

Those who accept the invitations will be able to vote on the recipients of the next Academy Awards, set for March 2, 2014.

___

Online:

www.oscars.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-06-28-Film-New%20Academy%20Members/id-d84ddf229b8142288f85fc9efeb43d76

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One Week Until NCAA Football 14 Season Ticket Early Release Period Begins

Considering it has only been available to utilize once in the last nine months it seemed timely to discuss the EA Sports Season Ticket program with NCAA Football 14 next in line for early release through the subscription service.?

NCAA Football 14 will go live to download Friday July 5 in the afternoon on the Xbox 360 and PS3 through Season Ticket. The digital download will then remain active until the early AM hours on Tuesday July 9 and from then on a retail or digitally purchased copy will be needed to continue. Game saves and achievements will carry over. The Season Ticket subscription is $25 for a full calendar year and currently includes NCAA, Madden NFL, FIFA, and NHL.

There is also a bonus for NCAA provided for Season Ticket subscribers. 24 All-American Packs (which is claimed to be over $30 in value) for use in the new Ultimate Team mode to be distributed over a 24 week period. One goal of Ultimate Team has always been to have consumers keep the game in the console longer and trying to hook people for six months with a bonus is evidence of that.

Unfortunately Ultimate Team will not be accessible during the Season Ticket run. To date only FIFA 13 allowed early release subscribers to play Ultimate Team and all others have blocked it.

EA Sports has a couple issues to address with Season Ticket that they have been dodging. With no Tiger Woods next year what will be taking its place in the program? Limiting the set of games to four reduces the value of the package. In addition will subscriptions carry over to next-gen and will it even exist there? Obviously launch day titles with the new consoles are irrelevant here (there?s no early access to games possible without the consoles!) but EA Sports UFC next spring and then the ?15 crop of titles will matter to many who consider signing up for Season Ticket in the next few months and question whether it would be worth it to do so.

Source: http://www.pastapadre.com/2013/06/28/one-week-until-ncaa-football-14-season-ticket-early-release-period-begins

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Religious Leaders in Burma Tackle Issue of Hate Speech (Voice Of America)

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Jarrett, Braxton among 2014 NEA Jazz Masters

NEW YORK (AP) ? Pianist Keith Jarrett says "only music excites me, and awards and ceremonies do not." But the pianist says he feels honored to receive the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award, joining many past recipients who've influenced him.

The NEA announced Thursday that its 2014 Jazz Masters ? the nation's highest jazz honor ? also include avant-garde saxophonist-composer Anthony Braxton, bassist-educator Richard Davis, and educator Jamey Aebersold.

Jarrett was cited by the NEA for his work in both the jazz and classical fields. His latest release, "Somewhere," marks the 30th anniversary of his trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette. His recording of J.S. Bach's "Six Sonatas for Violin and Keyboard" with violinist Michelle Makarski is due out in September.

___

Online:

www.arts.gov/honors/jazz

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jarrett-braxton-among-2014-nea-jazz-masters-184947735.html

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This Silk-Screened Art Glows With Electroluminescent Ink

When someone brings up silk-screening, you might think of hand-made t-shirts or concert posters. What you probably don't think of is electric current and glowing surfaces. But at the University of Pennsylvania, traditional screen-printing and high technology are colliding to create incredible, eye-melting artistic experiments.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/eZXeuoY0G08/this-silk-screened-art-glows-with-electroluminescent-in-589610692

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Microsoft patent filing attempts to lock down games with multiple engines running concurrently

Shortly after Microsoft released its Xbox 360 HD update to Halo: Combat Evolved -- a game which allowed players to seamlessly switch between the original game's graphics and the update -- the company filed a patent for games "having a plurality of game engines." That patent filing just got published today, and it seemingly attempts to specifically lock down the concept of gaming classics being re-released in an updated form while also allowing longtime fans to switch between the original game and the update.

Microsoft-owned Halo developer 343 Industries is at the forefront of the filing, with executive producer Daniel Ayoub's name listed first and two other 343 employees rounding out the list. The description of the patent does allow for some flexibility. "A game having a plurality of engines is described. In one or more implementations, a computing device displays an output of a first engine of a game by a computing device. An input is received by the computing device to switch from the output of the first engine of the game to an output of a second engine of the game, the first and second engines being executed concurrently by the computing device," it reads. However, later on in the filing, it specifically speaks to "remakes of games" that "attempt to captivate their audiences by leveraging emotions associated with the initial game." Certainly a blunt way to put that, eh?

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Microsoft

Comments

Source: Pat2PDF (PDF Link), USPTO

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ZmsTO6MaoBs/

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Today in History

Today is Wednesday, June 26, the 177th day of 2013. There are 188 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he delivered his famous speech expressing solidarity with the city's residents, declaring: "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner).

On this date:

In 1483, Richard III began his reign as King of England (he was crowned the following month at Westminster Abbey).

In 1870, the first section of Atlantic City, N.J.'s Boardwalk was opened to the public.

In 1915, following a whirlwind courtship, poet T.S. Eliot married Vivienne Haigh-Wood in London. (The marriage proved disastrous, but the couple never divorced.)

In 1925, Charlie Chaplin's classic comedy "The Gold Rush" premiered at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for a second term of office by delegates to the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia.

In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.

In 1948, the Berlin Airlift began in earnest after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of Berlin.

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman authorized the Air Force and Navy to enter the Korean conflict.

In 1973, former White House counsel John W. Dean told the Senate Watergate Committee about an "enemies list" kept by the Nixon White House.

In 1988, three people were killed when a new Airbus A320 jetliner carrying more than 130 people crashed into a forest during a demonstration at an air show in Mulhouse (muh-LOOZ'), France.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush went back on his "no-new-taxes" campaign pledge, conceding that tax increases would have to be included in any deficit-reduction package worked out with congressional negotiators.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced the U.S. had launched missiles against Iraqi targets because of "compelling evidence" Iraq had plotted to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Roy Campanella died in Woodland Hills, Calif., at age 71.

Ten years ago: The U.S. Supreme Court, in Lawrence v. Texas, struck down, 6-3, state bans on gay sex. A jury in Fort Worth, Texas, convicted former nurse's aide Chante Mallard (SHAHN'-tay MAL'-urd) of murder for hitting a homeless man, Gregory Biggs, with her car, driving home with his mangled body lodged in the windshield and leaving him to die in her garage. (Mallard was later sentenced to 50 years in prison.) Former South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond died in Edgefield, S.C., at age 100. Sir Denis Thatcher, husband of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, died in London at age 88.

Five years ago: The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia as it affirmed, 5-4, that an individual right to gun ownership existed. Juan Alvarez, who triggered a 2005 rail disaster in Glendale, Calif., by parking a sport-utility vehicle on the tracks, was convicted of 11 counts of first-degree murder. (Alvarez was later sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms.)

One year ago: Sen. Orrin Hatch won the GOP primary in Utah, handily turning back a challenge from tea party-backed Dan Liljenquist (lihl-IHN'-kwihst). In Oklahoma, five-term Rep. John Sullivan fell to a tea party-supported candidate, Jim Bridenstine, who went on to win election to Congress. Twelve-time All-Star Joe Sakic was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, joining Mats Sundin, Pavel Bure and Adam Oates as the newest class of inductees. Essayist, author and filmmaker Nora Ephron, 71, died in New York.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Eleanor Parker is 91. Jazz musician-film composer Dave Grusin is 79. Actor Josef Sommer is 79. Singer Billy Davis Jr. is 73. Rock singer Georgie Fame is 70. Actor Clive Francis is 67. Rhythm-and-blues singer Brenda Holloway is 67. Actor Michael Paul Chan is 63. Actor Robert Davi is 62. Singer-musician Mick Jones is 58. Actor Gedde Watanabe (GEH'-dee wah-tah-NAH'-bee) is 58. Rock singer Chris Isaak is 57. Rock singer Patty Smyth is 56. Singer Terri Nunn (Berlin) is 52. Rock singer Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays) is 50. Country musician Eddie Perez (The Mavericks) is 45. Rock musician Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) is 44. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson is 43. Actor Sean Hayes is 43. Actor Matt Letscher is 43. Actor Chris O'Donnell is 43. Actor Nick Offerman is 43. Actress Rebecca Budig is 40. MLB All-Star player Derek Jeter is 39. Contemporary Christian musician Jeff Frankenstein (Newsboys) is 39. Country singer Gretchen Wilson is 39. Rock musician Nathan Followill (Kings of Leon) is 34. Pop-rock singer-musician Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic) is 34. Actor-musician Jason Schwartzman is 33. Actress Aubrey Plaza is 29. Actress-singer Jennette McCurdy is 21.

Thought for Today: "I am continually fascinated at the difficulty intelligent people have in distinguishing what is controversial from what is merely offensive." ? Nora Ephron (1941-2012).

(Above Advance for Use Wednesday, June 26)

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/today-history-050206767.html

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Man who sold the lost iPhone 4 prototype answers... anything

Brian Hogan -- the man who found a prototype iPhone 4 at a bar and ultimately sold it to Gizmodo -- participated in an AMA (ask me anything) on Reddit. Here's how it begins:

When I was 21 I was at a bar pretty late at night with 2 friends. After the last call both of my friends went to the bathroom, as they left a random drunk guy came out, walked up to me, picked up the phone on the bar stool next to me, and said don't forget your phone! I told him it wasn't mine and I didn't know who it belonged to. Random drunk guy hands me the phone and tasks me with finding its owner. I ask around and cant figure out who it belongs to, and after my friends returned we left and walked home having intentions of figuring out who the phone belonged to and giving it back.

And how does it end? Now well, not for anybody. But if you're curious to find out more on Hogan's perspective, check it out the AMA.

Source: Reddit via The Next Web

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/u5DFJ_3U_GU/story01.htm

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Researchers identify novel therapy to treat muscular dystrophy

June 25, 2013 ? Researchers at Boston University College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College have identified a combinatorial therapeutic approach that has proven effective in treating muscular dystrophy in a mouse model. The findings, published in Human Molecular Genetics, represent a paradigm shift for the treatment of muscular dystrophy as well as a host of other disabling and devastating muscle diseases.

The study was led by Mahasweta Girgenrath, PhD, assistant professor and director of the Muscle Disorders and Regenerative Biology Laboratory at BU Sargent College's Department of Health Sciences. Boston University (BU) researchers and postdoctoral fellows Jenny Yamauchi, Ajay Kumar, Lina Duarte, and Thomas Mehuron were collaborators on this study.

Muscular Dystrophy type 1A (MDC1A) is the second most common form of congenital muscular dystrophy. Patients with this disease have poor muscle tone at birth, extremely compromised neuromuscular function, and are rarely able to walk independently. Most patients with MDC1A succumb to a premature death due to either respiratory complications or failure to thrive. Although significant strides have been made towards understanding the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying MDC1A, there remains no effective therapy in place to combat this lethal disease.

The research team, led by Girgenrath, hypothesized that the complex pathology seen in MDC1A may be the result of dysregulation of multiple cellular functions and processes, meaning that strategies which simultaneously target several of those mechanisms might lead to a reduction of symptoms.

"Very few studies have utilized the power of combinatorial therapy in the context of muscular dystrophy." said Professor Girgenrath, the study's corresponding author. "While most MD treatments are single-target therapies, we're delving into combinations of different therapies to target multiple pathways."

The research team studied the outcome of combining the following single mode treatments: increasing regeneration, by overexpressing muscle specific insulin like growth factor-1, IGF-1 and preventing cell death, by inhibiting the expression of Bax, a pro-apoptotic protein. In addition, to test the translational potential of this combination therapy, the researchers systemically treated Bax deficient dystrophic mice with recombinant human IGF-1 (IPLEX TM, manufactured by Insmed Inc).

By combining these two therapies, researchers found that in addition to increased body and muscle weight, mice showed enhanced locomotory capacities and remarkable improvement in muscle pathology. The most impressive outcome was the significant resolution of inflammation and fibrosis, not seen with single mode therapies. The research team concluded that the use of this combination therapy is an effective treatment for MDC1A, highlighting a compelling argument that a combinatorial approach has a synergistic benefit and could have the potential of treating patients with congenital muscular dystrophy.

Research highlighted in this news release was funded in part by Cure CMD, Struggle against Muscular Dystrophy (S.A.M), and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/Nu0umwXyfjY/130625161858.htm

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Babies know when a cuddle is coming

June 25, 2013 ? Babies as young as two months know when they are about to be picked up and change their body posture in preparation, according to new research.

Professor Vasu Reddy, of the University of Portsmouth, has found most babies aged two to four months understand they are about to be picked up the moment their mothers come towards them with their arms outstretched and that they make their bodies go still and stiff in anticipation, making it easier to be picked up.

This is the first study to examine how babies adjust their posture in anticipation to offset the potentially destabilising effect of being picked up.

Professor Reddy said: "We didn't expect such clear results. From these findings we predict this awareness is likely to be found even earlier, possibly not long after birth.

"The results suggest we need to re-think the way we study infant development because infants seem to be able to understand other people's actions directed towards them earlier than previously thought. Experiments where infants are observers of others' actions may not give us a full picture of their anticipatory abilities."

The findings could also be used as an early indicator of some developmental problems, including autism. It was reported by researchers in 1943 that children with autism don't appear to make preparatory adjustments to being picked up.

The researchers, who included Dr Gabriela Markova of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, and Dr Sebastian Wallot of the University of Aarhus, did two studies, one on 18 babies aged three months, and a second on ten babies aged two to four months old.

In both, babies were placed on a pressure mat which measured their postural adjustments during three phases: As their mothers chatted with their babies; as the mothers opened their arms to pick them up; and as the babies were picked up.

The results revealed infants as young as two months made specific adjustments when their mother stretched her arms out to pick them up. These included extending and stiffening the legs which increases body rigidity and stability, and widening or raising their arms, which helps to create a space for the mother to hold the infant's chest.

Between two and three months of age the babies' gaze moved from mostly looking at their mother's face to often looking at her hands as she stretched her arms out towards them.

The results reveal two important findings -- first, that from as early as two months babies make specific postural adjustments to make it easier to pick them up even before their mother touches them. And second, it appears that babies learn to increase the smoothness and coordination of their movements between two and four months, rather than develop new types of adjustment.

"In other words, they rapidly become more adept at making it easier for parents to pick them up," Professor Reddy said.

The mothers in the study were asked about their babies' physical responses before the tests and some reported their babies stiffened their legs or raised their arms in preparation for being picked up, but video footage watched frame by frame revealed physical adjustments happened to a greater degree and more subtly than mothers had noticed.

The researchers suggest more research now needs to be done to examine the extent to which infants discriminate between different kinds of actions directed at them, between familiar and unfamiliar actions, and how infant anticipation of these actions is influenced by the different maternal styles they each experience.

The research is published in the latest issue of the journal Plos One.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/child_development/~3/0BD52rY3IaY/130625073554.htm

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Researchers strike gold with nanotech vaccine

June 25, 2013 ? Scientists in the US have developed a novel vaccination method that uses tiny gold particles to mimic a virus and carry specific proteins to the body's specialist immune cells.

The technique differs from the traditional approach of using dead or inactive viruses as a vaccine and was demonstrated in the lab using a specific protein that sits on the surface of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

The results have been published today, 26 June, in IOP Publishing's journal Nanotechnology by a team of researchers from Vanderbilt University.

RSV is the leading viral cause of lower respiration tract infections, causing several hundred thousand deaths and an estimated 65 million infections a year, mainly in children and the elderly.

The detrimental effects of RSV come, in part, from a specific protein, called the F protein, which coats the surface of the virus. The protein enables the virus to enter into the cytoplasm of cells and also causes cells to stick together, making the virus harder to eliminate.

The body's natural defence to RSV is therefore directed at the F protein; however, up until now, researchers have had difficulty creating a vaccine that delivers the F protein to the specialised immune cells in the body. If successful, the F protein could trigger an immune response which the body could 'remember' if a subject became infected with the real virus.

In this study the researchers created exceptionally small gold nanorods, just 21 nanometres wide and 57 nanometres long, which were almost exactly the same shape and size as the virus itself. The gold nanorods were successfully coated with the RSV F proteins and were bonded strongly thanks to the unique physical and chemical properties of the nanorods themselves.

The researchers then tested the ability of the gold nanorods to deliver the F protein to specific immune cells, known as dendritic cells, which were taken from adult blood samples.

Dendritic cells function as processing cells in the immune system, taking the important information from a virus, such as the F protein, and presenting it to cells that can perform an action against them?the T cells are just one example of a cell that can take action.

Once the F protein-coated nanorods were added to a sample of dendritic cells, the researchers analysed the proliferation of T cells as a proxy for an immune response. They found that the protein-coated nanorods caused the T cells to proliferate significantly more compared to non-coated nanorods and just the F protein alone.

Not only did this prove that the coated-nanorods were capable of mimicking the virus and stimulating an immune response, it also showed that they were not toxic to human cells, offering significant safety advantages and increasing their potential as a real-life human vaccine.

Lead author of the study, Professor James Crowe, said: "A vaccine for RSV, which is the major cause of viral pneumonia in children, is sorely needed. This study shows that we have developed methods for putting RSV F protein into exceptionally small particles and presenting it to immune cells in a format that physically mimics the virus. Furthermore, the particles themselves are not infectious."

Due to the versatility of the gold nanorods, Professor Crowe believes that their potential use is not limited to RSV.

"This platform could be used to develop experimental vaccines for virtually any virus, and in fact other larger microbes such as bacteria and fungi.

"The studies we performed showed that the candidate vaccines stimulated human immune cells when they were interacted in the lab. The next steps to testing would be to test whether or not the vaccines work in vivo" Professor Crowe continued.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/5VWEsxow-z0/130625192547.htm

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What Did You Want to Be When You Were 8?

Gerry Allen, left, helps a little friend bring the cannon ball to the cannon.

Courtesy Gerry Allen

By the time he was 8 years old, Gerry Allen had already chosen a career. ?I wanted to be a National Park ranger. That?s all I wanted to do,? he recalls. When he got to Auburn University, he shaped his studies?a biology major and minors in forestry, outdoor recreation, and wildlife management?with the aim of becoming ?the world?s greatest park ranger.? But he came of age during the Vietnam War, and rather than being drafted, he interrupted his studies for a four-year stint in the Coast Guard. By the time he finished college, he was married, and he and his wife, Linda, had welcomed the first of their two sons. Suddenly, becoming a ranger didn?t seem like the most responsible option.

?The Park Service is part of the government, and down low, there?s not much money,? Allen says. ?Once the kids came along, I needed to take care of them.? It wasn?t just a matter of income; he wanted to give his kids a stable home base, and park rangers often serve in extreme locations. ?Starting out, it would?ve been hard to provide what I wanted to out in the middle of Death Valley with plywood down on the floors.?

So Allen and his family settled in Atlanta, and he went to work for Delta Air Lines, where he helped set up the company?s environmental programs. It wasn?t the work that he?d dreamed of, but that doesn?t mean he was unhappy. ?It was a wonderful job, a great job,? he says. He got to travel the world, develop programs to identify and clean up hazardous waste, and ensure that the facilities where airlines store their fuel supplies were environmentally sound.

Still, as much as he enjoyed his 29 years at Delta, he never lost sight of his boyhood dream. Thinking back on those years, he laughs, remembering, ?When we?d go on vacation, I?d always take my kids to national parks, and every time I?d see a park ranger, I?d say, ?That sucker?s got my job.? ?

In 2001, after the disruptions of 9/11, Delta offered thousands of employees an early retirement package. Gerry was 56 at the time, and Linda recognized an opportunity to start over. ?My wife said, ?You know, the kids are gone. They?re offering us a pretty good package. I?m willing to sell the house and move around like a gypsy if you want to go to work for the park service.? ?

And so the Allens? great second-act adventure began.

Gerry Allen took a job in a Bass Pro Shop while he conducted his job search. After four months and between 60 and 80 applications to parks all over the country, he landed his first Park Service post, at Vicksburg National Military Park as a ?visitor use assistant, fee collector.? ?That?s the guy who sits at the gate and takes $5 as the cars come through,? he says.

Moving from Atlanta to Mississippi to take the job may seem a little extreme, but Allen was happy. ?I got to wear the uniform,? he says. Of course, that doesn?t mean he was content in that position. Determined to work as an interpretive park ranger, he progressed up the Park Service career ladder?with stops at three other parks along the way?until he found his current position at the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. ?We've moved house about eight times in the last 10 years,? he recalls. ?That's where my wife is the key. She could've stopped it all if she'd wanted to, but she was adventurous, too.?

Allen finally has his dream job, instructing visitors?often school parties?about the history of the park and the Civil War battles that occurred there. He?s essentially an educator, but unlike most teachers, his lesson plans sometimes involve firing cannons and shooting rifles, and, of course, he wears a uniform?in his case, a standard National Park Service ranger issue. ?A lot of the guys dress up like soldiers, but I?m too old for that,? he says.

Allen is 67 now, and while he has no thoughts of retirement, he doesn?t plan to move again anytime soon. When he first launched his second career, he was willing to do just about anything for a job in the National Park Service. ?I would?ve gone anywhere from Alaska to Guam to the Everglades. But now with the grandkids??four have come along since Gerry and Linda left Atlanta??we like to be within a day?s drive of them all.? (Slate Web designer Holly Allen is their daughter-in-law.)

Asked to offer advice to anyone considering a midlife career switch, Allen says, ?You can?t be afraid. If you?re afraid, don?t do it.? Looking back at all the challenges of breaking into a new profession, his early days at the bottom of the Park Service ladder, and all the packing and unpacking the Allens faced as they hopped from park to park, Gerry still feels incredibly lucky to have landed his dream job. ?Timing, hard work, and the support of my wife were the keys for me. But I really wanted to do it,? he says. ?It all comes down to how bad you want to do it.?

This month, Slate is sharing stories of people who started over?like budget wonk Ina Garten,?better known as the Barefoot Contessa?in our "Second Acts" Hive. We want to hear your tales, too. Please?go here?to submit your story about starting over.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/briefing/second_acts/2013/06/what_did_you_want_to_be_when_you_were_8.html

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Video: Foreign Buyers & U.S. Real Estate Market

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

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/52309114/

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True Blood Recap: "The Sun"

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/true-blood-recap-the-sun/

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Task for iPhone and iPad review: To-do list creation that's easy, fun, and beautiful

Task for iPhone and iPad was recently updated to version 2.0. For those who enjoy Clear either for iOS or Mac, Task is very similar but uses a little bit different of an organization scheme. Instead of hierarchies and levels like Clear, Task takes a simpler approach and just organizes reminders by date. Didn't finish one? That's okay, Task can automatically just move it to tomorrow for you.

To start using Task, just tap anywhere on the screen to create your first reminder. You can choose to just quickly enter items without due dates and times or you can add them. Pulling down on the day will reveal a time selection screen that lets you set a time you'd like to be reminded to do something. Pulling upwards on that will reveal another level which is a month view calendar. From here you can easily change the due date.

You can also choose to stamp something as important by tapping on the exclamation mark in the left hand corner above a task's title. This will bold it in your main list view. Task also allows you to choose whether or not you'd like a badge count on the app icon itself. You can enable or disable it within settings. There aren't many options aside from that for badges. If you have it on, it'll show a count for how many tasks you have left for the day. There aren't any other custom settings to choose from.

For notifications, there are a few tones to choose from in settings, the only thing I'd like to see added in that aspect are shorter tones. A lot of the options that are available are a little long for my taste.

The good

• Nice gesture driven interface that gives quite a few options for creating tasks and managing them
• iOS 7 like design and if that's your thing, you'll like the UI
• Easy task management that isn't overly complicated which creates a nice balance between quick entry and too few options

The bad

• Alert tones are rather long, which may annoy some users
• Not many options for badge counts
• No categories, just date driven lists

The bottom line

Task for iPhone and iPad is a great option for users that like Clear but would prefer date driven organization over categories. Much of the interface will feel very familiar.

If you currently don't use a task app and are looking for one, Task is a nice choice if you don't require a lot of detail for task lists. If that sounds like you, Task's beautiful interface and ease of use won't disappoint. It's also slightly cheaper than Clear.

• $0.99 - Download Now

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/dYLA7AhDJjs/story01.htm

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Supermoon: when to see it in all its glory

This weekend the moon reaches its full phase while also reaching the nearest-Earth position of its orbit, creating views of a 'supermoon.' It's a rare astronomical treat.

By Mark Trumbull,?Staff writer / June 22, 2013

A full moon rose behind the Empire State Building in New York last year in this view from Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange, N.J. This weekend the moon reaches its full phase while also reaching the nearest-Earth position of its orbit.

Julio Cortez/AP

Enlarge

This weekend offers a rare start-of-summer treat: a ?supermoon? in which the moon reaches its full phase while also reaching the nearest-Earth position of its orbit.

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The result: a bigger, brighter full moon than we?re accustomed to.

So you might want to grab another summer treat (ice cream? strawberries?) and gaze outward or upward to take in the view.

When is best?

One answer is: whenever a clear sky gives you an opening and, of course, the moon is out. The moon is at its fullest on Sunday, but Saturday or Monday or even Tuesday will also offer close-to-full moons.

An ideal time for viewing can be around moonrise, when a view juxtaposed against the horizon can make the moon look bigger and more colorful (an optical illusion caused by Earth?s atmosphere).

Moonrise times this weekend vary across the country and around the world. But here are some reference points that may help.

On Saturday in the US, many cities will see the moon come up around 8 p.m. local time. In some places it?s a little before 8: Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Washington. In some places it?s a little after: Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, Seattle. You can look up exact times for your location at the US Naval Observatory website.

Around the rest of the world, many major cities have similar moonrise times, but some come as much as a couple of hours earlier (notably in the Southern hemisphere) or after 9 p.m. (for some northerly cities).

For Sunday, you can add about 50 minutes to Saturday?s times. Or again, for precise times you can check in with the US Naval Observatory.

Happy viewing!

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/QR3Vcl_6bT4/Supermoon-when-to-see-it-in-all-its-glory

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Jews tell pope of concern over moves to make Pius XII a saint

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A Jewish leader expressed concern to Pope Francis on Monday over attempts to make a saint of World War Two-era Pope Pius XII, who has been accused of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust.

Francis made no mention of his wartime predecessor during his talks with members of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC), but the pontiff repeated the Roman Catholic Church's condemnation of anti-Semitism.

"The Jewish community continues to be concerned about efforts to canonize Pope Pius XII while innumerable documents pertaining to the history of the Church and the Jewish people during the dark years of the Holocaust still remain closed to outside scholarly investigation," IJCIC chairman Lawrence Schiffman told the pope.

The issue of whether the Vatican and the Church under Pius did all they could to help Jews has dogged Catholic-Jewish relations for decades. Pius became pontiff in 1939, the year World War Two broke out, and reigned until 1958.

Critics accuse Pius of failing to take action to stop the Holocaust but his supporters say he worked actively behind the scenes to encourage the Church to save Jews. They say speaking out more forcefully would have worsened the situation for all.

Jews have asked that the process, still in its early stages, that could eventually make Pius a saint be frozen until after all the Vatican's wartime archives have been opened and studied by scholars. The bulk is expected to be released next year.

At Monday's meeting, the first between the pope and an international Jewish organization since his election in March, Francis did not mention Pius but when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires he expressed support for opening Vatican archives.

"COMMON ROOTS"

"Due to our common roots, a Christian cannot be anti-Semitic," he told the delegation from IJCIC, an umbrella group that represents most major Jewish organizations and all streams of Jewish thought.

Francis, who had good relations with Jews in Argentina and wrote a book with Argentine Rabbi Abraham Skorka, told the delegation the Church was committed to the Second Vatican Council document Nostra Aetate (In Our Times).

The 1965 declaration, which Francis called "a key point of reference for relations with the Jewish people", revolutionized those relations by repudiating the concept of collective Jewish guilt for the death of Jesus and urging dialogue with Jews.

A participant at the meeting called the atmosphere "extremely friendly" and less formal than in meetings with Francis' predecessor Benedict.

Francis reached out to the Jewish community a day after his election on March 13 as the first non-European pope in 1,300 years by sending a message to Rome's chief rabbi and inviting him to his inaugural Mass at the Vatican.

In April, Francis accepted an invitation from Israeli President Shimon Peres to visit the Jewish state.

Both of Francis's two immediate predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, visited the Holy Land, including the Palestinian territories, in 2000 and 2009 respectively.

(Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jews-tell-pope-concern-over-moves-pius-xii-174232191.html

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: flying bicycle, tatooed fruits and a wireless EV-charging system

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

This week, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar -- the world's largest solar-powered boat -- docked in downtown Manhattan, and Inhabitat was on the scene to tour the 115-foot Swiss catamaran and learn about its latest trans-Atlantic voyage. The PlanetSolar team isn't the only one pioneering new technologies, though. Google announced plans to deploy fleets of solar-powered balloons to bring the internet to remote locations around the world. A pair of British men debuted the world's first flying bicycle, which combines a bike with a fan-powered paraglider. A 16-year-old developed a cleaner, more efficient way to create biofuel from algae, and Coca-Cola produced a classic Coke bottle that's made entirely from ice that melts away when you're finished with it.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/23/flying-bicycle-tatooed-fruits-and-wireless-ev-charging/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Ken Duke wins Travelers Championship in playoff

Ken Duke watches his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament in Cromwell, Conn., Sunday, June 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

Ken Duke watches his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament in Cromwell, Conn., Sunday, June 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

Ken Duke celebrates, right, with his caddie after winning the Travelers Championship golf tournament in Cromwell, Conn., Sunday, June 23, 2013. Duke won the second playoff hole against Chris Stroud. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

Ken Duke celebrates after sinking a birdie putt on the second playoff hole at the Travelers Championship golf tournament in Cromwell, Conn., Sunday, June 23, 2013. Duke won a playoff against Chris Stroud with the birdie. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

Ken Duke holds the trophy after winning the Travelers Championship golf tournament in Cromwell, Conn., Sunday, June 23, 2013. Duke won the tournament with a birdie on the second playoff hole. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) ? Ken Duke needed 187 starts on the PGA Tour to get his first win, securing it at a tournament that is building a reputation for such breakthroughs.

The 44-year-old journeyman made a 2? foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole Sunday to beat Chris Stroud at the Travelers Championship.

Stroud, who also was looking for his first title, had chipped in from 51 feet on the 18th hole, to get to 12-under par and force the playoff.

But Duke made the better approach shot on the second extra hole, bouncing his ball in front of the flag and rolling it close.

"Yeah, it's been a long time," said Duke, who turned pro in 1994." I've been on the Canadian tour, the mini tours, Asian Tour, South American Tour, all of them; Web.com, and it's just great to be a part of this big family on the PGA Tour."

Duke, who came in ranked 144th in the world, is the sixth golfer in eight years to get his first PGA Tour win here, joining J.J. Henry (2006), Hunter Mahan (2007), Bubba Watson (2010), Fredrik Jacobsen (2011) and Marc Leishman last year.

Canadian Graham DeLaet finished a stroke back in third place with a 269. Watson finished fourth, two shots behind, after making a six on the par-3 16th hole.

"You gotta believe in yourself in everything you do," Duke said. "That's why those guys at the top are winning week in, week out because they believe they can do it. It's kind of one of those things once you finally do it it might come easier the next time. That's kind of the way I feel."

Duke wouldn't have been in position to win at all had luck not intervened on the 10th hole, when his ball ricocheted off a tree and onto the green to about 5 feet from the pin, allowing him to make birdie.

After a 17-foot birdie putt on the next hole, he made a 45-footer on the 13th hole, a shot that looked as though it might go past the hole to the right, before falling in.

He battled Watson for the lead down the back nine, until the former Masters champion found trouble on the 16th.

Watson put his drive into the water and put his next shot over the green.

He finished two strokes back in fourth place.

"The wind affected the first shot, and the wind didn't affect the next shot," Watson said. "I flew it three feet past the hole, which you can't do right now because the greens are so firm."

Duke looked as though he had the tournament sewn up after saving par on 18, despite a tee shot that went well right and onto a hill, and a second shot that went just over the green. He used a putter to put the ball within 2 feet, then sank the putt as the crowd roared for what they thought was a winning shot.

It looked even more secure when Stroud's second shot hit near the stick, but then rolled well off the green. That just set up the dramatic chip shot.

Stroud hit his tee shot over the cart path and 94 yards from the hole on the first playoff hole, while Duke's first shot jumped out of a fairway bunker and into the rough.

Duke bounced his second shot onto the green. Stroud's went into a greenside bunker.

Stroud chipped to 8 feet but had to watch as Green almost sank a long putt that would have ended it.

The two both struck the ball well on the second playoff hole, but Stroud missed a 25-foot birdie putt, and Duke made his short putt.

"I had three shots from 94 yards on 18, the exact same yardage, and I could not figure out a way to stop that ball," Stroud said. "Regulation, luckily, I chipped it in."

Watson, Charley Hoffman and DeLaet began the day tied for the lead, but 21 other players were within five strokes.

Webb Simpson shot a 65 to finish at 271, then headed home immediately after his round despite being just a stroke behind the leaders at the time. He said he knew the score wouldn't be good enough to win.

"I'm itching to get to my family, so I'm going to head to the airport," he said.

Justin Rose followed his U.S. Open win by shooting 6-under par for this tournament. He was in contention, with two birdies on his first seven holes, but didn't get another until the final hole and made three bogeys. He said fatigue was a factor.

"I'm still able to put one foot in front of the other," he said. "I still feel OK, but my guess is there's just a little bit of sharpness that I might be lacking."

No player has gone back-to-back after capturing the U.S. Open since 1997, when Ernie Els won the Buick Classic at the Westchester Country Club in New York.

Rose plans to play next week at Congressional before taking two weeks off to prepare for the British Open.

DeLaet a native of, Weyburn, Saskatchewan, said his thoughts this week have been with the people of Alberta, where widespread flooding is blamed for at least three deaths and forced thousands to evacuate.

He had the words "For Alberta" written on his cap Sunday.

The 2009 Canadian Tour player of the year pledged to donate $1,000 for every birdie he made to help the relief efforts.

PGA Tour Canada, a bank and a Canadian businessman all agreed to match the donation. He finished with three birdies on Sunday and nine for the weekend.

"Hopefully it puts a small dent in what they need," he said. "But our hearts are still with them."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-23-Travelers%20Championship/id-d7eaefe474cc488291a8742a23d3ff71

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New resistance mechanism to chemotherapy in breast and ovarian cancer

June 18, 2013 ? It is estimated that between 5% and 10% of breast and ovarian cancers are familial in origin, which is to say that these tumours are attributable to inherited mutations from the parents in genes such as BRCA1 or BRCA2. In patients with these mutations, PARP inhibitors, which are currently in clinical trials, have shown encouraging results that make them a new option for personalised cancer treatment, an alternative to standard chemotherapy. Nevertheless, the latest studies indicate that a fraction of these patients generate resistance to the drug and, therefore, stop responding to the new treatment.

The team led by Spanish National Cancer Research Centre researcher ?scar Fern?ndez-Capetillo, head of the Genomic Instability Group, together with researchers from the National Cancer Institute in the US, have participated in a study that describes the causes that explain why tumours with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations stop responding to PARP inhibitor drugs.

"PARP inhibitors are only toxic in tumours that have an impaired DNA repair mechanism, such as those that contain BRCA1/2 mutations" says Mar?a Nieto-Soler, a researcher from Fern?ndez-Capetillo's team.

According to the researchers, the problem arises when these tumours, in addition to having BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 mutations, also contain secondary mutations in other proteins such as 53BP1 or PTIP, whose function is to restrain DNA repair. In these cases, the mutations mutually compensate for each other, the tumour cells recover the ability to repair their DNA and the drug stops working.

Fern?ndez-Capetillo says: "This is one of the first studies to demonstrate that secondary mutations can make tumours resistant when faced with specific treatments like, in this case, PARP inhibitors."

When the researchers compared different treatments, they observed that for those tumours with BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 mutations that also presented mutations in 53BP1 or PTIP, standard treatment with cisplatin was more efficient than personalised therapy.

"These data indicate that only patients containing mutations in BRCA1 and/or BRCA2, but not in the secondary genes we have described, would be candidates for an effective personalised therapy with PARP inhibitors," explains Fern?ndez-Capetillo, concluding that: "Our results suggest that 53BP1 and PTIP genes would need to be evaluated in patients with familial breast and ovarian cancer when deficiencies in the BRCA genes were present before deciding on their treatment."

In this context, researchers intend to warn healthcare providers in personalised medicine that the challenge, in addition to the search for markers of drug sensitivity for new pharmacological compounds, also encompasses the search for secondary resistance markers. The aim would be to bring about significant improvements in treatment outcomes.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/C9sbXKTeCb8/130618113856.htm

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Critical Details For brisbane web design Clarified | Health Medical ...

The words you?ll want to make use of are typical people who can interest them. web designers brisbane Today many computers have a built-in hardware Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) or hardware accelerated graphics card. In an age when web site design companies abound, it is hard to assign the status best web site design company to your one of the organizations. Re-designing is much more affordable as opposed to fully new designing. Read the documentation and make a few test website pages.

Very few offer an efficient database along with the outcome is redundant and duplicated data slowing loading time still further. Therefore, these kinds of website may have special effects. Kid?s website designers must be every bit as sensitive towards the unique entertainment, learning and safety concerns surrounding web development for children?s websites. Even smaller businesses prefer to construct an online site of their very own for an internet site would assist to wean clients, generate business and accrue more revenue. Whether it can be for your own personal use, or you desire to create sites for some individuals and generate any income from this, there are some basic issues that you will have to know. Amongst all, some changes will last longer plus some will not.

With these kinds of factors, the intention of experts is to produce a functional and high performance site. Now, it solely depends upon the organization that how well it really is able to communicate non-verbally and strengthen its ties having its customers. If the client doesn?t like a design or feature, they need to communicate this to the consultant. Traffic for a website is increased and you happen to be already on your method to being well known. The most rudimentry website simply contains text and links to navigate throughout the web page.

Another major reason why companies choose web development is always that it helps automate their business work flow. Internet users desire to have access for the latest information and study websites with regular updates. Only after ensuring your site is working correctly as per your specifications that you are able to go in for closing your deal together. Unfortunately, that?s not true inside Web Design Company India market. You should expect an excellent quality that will assist you to in promoting your organization.

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Source: http://www.coverport-blog.de/critical-details-for-brisbane-web-design-clarified/

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Bruce Lee statue in L.A.'s Chinatown unveiled

Celebs

Kimberly Nordyke The Hollywood Reporter

9 hours ago

ROBYN BECK / AFP - Getty Images

The new Bruce Lee statue in Los Angeles' Chinatown neighborhood.

Bruce Lee has been memorialized with a seven-foot bronze statue in Los Angeles' Chinatown.

The statue of the late actor and martial arts expert was unveiled Saturday to a crowd of several hundred people in the historical Central Plaza, according to the Los Angeles Times.

PHOTOS: 26 of Summer's Most Anticipated Movies

His daughter, Shannon, said the statue -- which was created by an artist in Guangzhou, China -- is the first of its kind to honor her father in the U.S. Its unveiling comes on the 40th anniversary of Lee's death as well as the 75th anniversary of Chinatown and was part of the annual nighttime celebration Chinatown Summer Nights.

The statue was donated by the Bruce Lee Foundation, a nonprofit group that was formed to honor Lee's legacy. It isn't yet permanently installed; business leaders are aiming to raise $150,000 for seating and a concrete base.

San Francisco-born Lee moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s and later landed a role playing Kato on TV's "The Green Hornet." During that time, he opened his third martial arts academy in Chinatown and also worked out at the Alpine Recreation Center in the area.

STORY: Bruce Lee Origin Story Heading to Big Screen

He went on enjoy a brief film career that included such movies as "Enter the Dragon" before dying at age 32 in 1973. According to his widow, Linda, Lee died from "cerebral edema caused by hypersensitivity to an ingredient in a prescription medication called Equagesic."

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/bruce-lee-statue-l-s-chinatown-unveiled-6C10356644

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Huawei launches world's slimmest smartphone

LONDON (Reuters) - China's Huawei unveiled its flagship smartphone, the Ascend P6, at its first standalone launch event on Tuesday, underlining its ambitions to compete with Apple and Samsung in the top tier of mobile technology.

The company says the device, at 6.18 mm thick, is the world's slimmest. It has a 5 megapixel front-facing camera, designed for taking "selfies", or pictures of the owner to be shared on social media networks.

The company picked the launch date - 6/18 (June 18) - to tie in with the smartphone's dimensions.

The launch, at an arts venue in North London, takes a cue from Apple and Samsung, both of which have made new product announcements at high profile events for a number of years.

Previously Huawei unveiled its handsets at industry trade shows like Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Huawei, which also makes telecom networking gear, is looking to drive sales of its consumer devices, a sector in which it has only had its own brand for about three years.

The company was the fourth-largest maker of smartphones in the first quarter of 2013, trailing LG Electronics and the two dominant brands Apple and Samsung, according to analyst firm Gartner. The top two sold more than 100 million units between them, while LG sold 10 million and Huawei 9 million, most of which were in its native China.

The Ascend P6 uses Huawei's customized version of Google's Android operating system.

Industry analyst Ben Wood at CCS Insight said that at the right price the Ascend P6 would attract buyers who had not considered Huawei before.

"Huawei P6 is darn thin," he tweeted. But he added that the device was not, at this stage, compatible with the high speed, next generation 4G networks, which are being rolled out across the world.

Carolina Milanesi at Gartner said she would have liked to see a more original design instead of something that tries to position the brand as an alternative to Apple by going with a similar rounded metal design.

Overall it shows that Huawei is working towards their goal of becoming a top brand by 2015, she said.

(Reporting By Christine Murray and Paul Sandle. Editing by Jane Merriman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/huawei-launches-worlds-slimmest-smartphone-143938666.html

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