Friday, October 18, 2013

SF Bay Area trains run as strike talks drag on

A Bay Area Rapid Transit train leaves the station Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. A recipe for gridlock was brewing in the San Francisco Bay Area, as two of the region's major transit agencies teetered on the brink of commute-crippling strikes. While talks between the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency and its unions to avoid the second walk-off in four months were set to resume on Tuesday, workers at a major regional bus line said they would go on strike in 72 hours. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)







A Bay Area Rapid Transit train leaves the station Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. A recipe for gridlock was brewing in the San Francisco Bay Area, as two of the region's major transit agencies teetered on the brink of commute-crippling strikes. While talks between the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency and its unions to avoid the second walk-off in four months were set to resume on Tuesday, workers at a major regional bus line said they would go on strike in 72 hours. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)







Bay Area Rapid Transit passengers wait to board a train Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. A recipe for gridlock was brewing in the San Francisco Bay Area, as two of the region's major transit agencies teetered on the brink of commute-crippling strikes. While talks between the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency and its unions to avoid the second walk-off in four months were set to resume on Tuesday, workers at a major regional bus line said they would go on strike in 72 hours. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)







A Bay Area Rapid Transit train arrives at a station Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. A recipe for gridlock was brewing in the San Francisco Bay Area, as two of the region's major transit agencies teetered on the brink of commute-crippling strikes. While talks between the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency and its unions to avoid the second walk-off in four months were set to resume on Tuesday, workers at a major regional bus line said they would go on strike in 72 hours. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)







A passenger rides a Bay Area Rapid Transit train Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. A recipe for gridlock was brewing in the San Francisco Bay Area, as two of the region's major transit agencies teetered on the brink of commute-crippling strikes. While talks between the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency and its unions to avoid the second walk-off in four months were set to resume on Tuesday, workers at a major regional bus line said they would go on strike in 72 hours. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)







A Bay Area Rapid Transit train leaves the station Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. A recipe for gridlock was brewing in the San Francisco Bay Area, as two of the region's major transit agencies teetered on the brink of commute-crippling strikes. While talks between the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency and its unions to avoid the second walk-off in four months were set to resume on Tuesday, workers at a major regional bus line said they would go on strike in 72 hours. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)







(AP) — The contentious talks between the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit agency and its two largest unions have dragged on for six months — a period that has seen a chaotic dayslong strike, a cooling-off period and frazzled commuters wondering if they'll wake up to find the trains aren't running.

"We're going to do everything we can to avert a strike," Josie Mooney, a chief negotiator for Service Employees International Union Local 1021, said before entering talks Wednesday. "That doesn't mean we're not ready for a strike. That doesn't mean we're not able to pull off a work action. We don't want to."

Hundreds of thousands of commuters have endured seven strike deadlines, sometimes staying up past midnight waiting to hear if the trains will run in the morning.

On Wednesday, they waited until about 10:30 p.m. to receive word from a federal mediator that the transit system will continue to run Thursday as unions and management agree to keep talking.

The possibility of a strike appeared to dim earlier in the day when Local 1021 President Roxanne Sanchez said she was hopeful that her union and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 will come up with a deal by late Wednesday.

"We're asking that this process conclude tonight," Sanchez said. "We can do this. We should do this. It is within our grasp."

BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said the agency has been flooded with calls and emails this week from commuters frustrated that they haven't been given earlier notices.

Neither side would say where negotiations stand.

But at least one person seems comfortable betting that a strike won't happen.

A spokeswoman for San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced Wednesday afternoon that he had left on a trip to Asia. After delaying his flight for two days to ready the city for a possible strike, Lee concluded that a walkout seemed unlikely and went ahead with the planned trip.

Federal mediator George Cohen said progress has been made but he has imposed a gag order on the parties.

The key issues have been salaries and worker contributions to their health and pension plans.

Talks began in April, three months before the June 30 contract expirations, but both sides were far apart. The unions initially asked for 23.2 percent in raises over three years. BART countered with a four-year contract with 1 percent raises contingent on the agency meeting economic goals.

The unions contended that members made $100 million in concessions when they agreed to a deal in 2009 as BART faced a $310 million deficit. And they said they wanted their members to get their share of a $125 million operating surplus produced through increased ridership.

But the transit agency countered that it needed to control costs to help pay for new rail cars and other improvements.

On Sunday, BART General Manager Grace Crunican presented a "last, best and final offer" that includes an annual 3 percent raise over four years and requires workers to contribute 4 percent toward their pension and 9.5 percent toward medical benefits.

The value of BART's proposal is $57 million, BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said, adding that the agency is looking at ways to incorporate the unions' counterproposals into that cost.

SEIU Local 1021 executive director Pete Castelli said Monday the parties were between $6 million to $10 million apart.

Workers represented by the two unions, including more than 2,300 mechanics, custodians, station agents, train operators and clerical staff, now average about $71,000 in base salary and $11,000 in overtime annually, the transit agency said. BART workers currently pay $92 a month for health care and contribute nothing toward their pensions.

Meanwhile, Gov. Jerry Brown has stepped in to at least delay a strike by workers for regional bus system Alameda-Contra Costa Transit. Such a strike would leave commuters stranded without a mass transit alternative if a BART strike is underway at the same time.

Brown appointed a three-member panel to investigate a strike notice by union workers. The move effectively prevents a strike, which had been threatened for Thursday, for a week. A 60-day cooling-off period in the contract dispute could then be imposed.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-10-17-BART%20Strike/id-f93199c8082244118cc8f0b3fd552a06
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Sharp's Chop-Syc prototype asks you to chop veggies on a touchscreen

Generally, your choice of cutting board comes down to two basic options: wood or plastic. While there are plenty of subcategories (Flexible? Bamboo?), you're generally not presented with a list of specs when it comes time to pick a board for chopping up meat or veggies. If a Sharp intern has her ...


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/jQQzgFnEAI8/
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Tal National: The Rock Stars Of West Africa





Kaani is Tal National's third studio album.



Courtesy of the artist


Kaani is Tal National's third studio album.


Courtesy of the artist


Tal National is the most popular live act in the West African nation of Niger, and the band is ready to go global. Its third album, Kaani, is the first to get an international release, and it arrives just in time for the group's first U.S. tour.


The first thing that hits you when you listen to Tal National is the band's tightness and fiery energy; its guitar and percussion-driven grooves are bursting with exuberance.



The song "Wongharey" praises the fighters of Niger's history and thanks God that the country is at peace today. It is, but given the political tensions unfolding in West Africa these days, that peace is fragile. So it means a lot that Tal National includes members from all of Niger's major ethnic groups and creates songs in a variety of languages that celebrate the lives of their countrymen.


With a large, rotating lineup of multi-instrumentalists, this band is beloved in Niger for its epic live performances. The band's sound features shredding electric guitars, but it in no way mimics Western rock. The guitar tone is sharp and stinging, but the rhythms and melodies are rooted in local traditions; this really is African rock.


Tal National's leader, who goes by the name Almeida, has a somewhat surprising day job — he's been a judge for 20 years. Now, you might not want to have your case appear before a guy who plays five-hour concerts five nights a week, but based on this band's wisdom and openhearted vision for a peaceful, multiethnic Niger, I think I might just take that chance.


Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/17/236229506/tal-national-the-rock-stars-of-west-africa?ft=1&f=1039
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Thursday, October 17, 2013

Don’t Be a Creep

Older man approaching younger woman engaged in microscopic study.
No mentor necessary.

Photo by Fuse/Thinkstock








I take back every bad thing I have ever said about Twitter. It’s fast, responsive, and efficient, and it’s the medium of record when gossip breaks. Like pretty much every other science journalist in the world, I’ve been glued to Twitter for the past several days. It all started when a biologist named Danielle Lee, who writes a blog called the Urban Scientist, tweeted that some minor-league editor had called her an “urban whore.”* Really, that is what he called her. To show support for her, people started renaming their own blogs with the word whore using a #WhoreItUp hashtag. The insult was infuriating and the response heartening, but things got more serious when Scientific American removed Lee’s blog post about the exchange. The magazine issued a misleading explanation, then an apology, then it finally reposted her story with a not entirely satisfying update.














Then it got better. I mean, sorry, it got worse—what follows is all terrible and sad. But it’s also fascinating and useful to examine. A writer named Monica Byrne wrote on her blog about being harassed by one of the most influential people in the science blogging world, Bora Zivkovic. He founded an extremely popular conference for science bloggers, established science blog networks at various publications, and now (at least as I write) runs the well-respected collection of blogs at Scientific American. His nickname is the Blogfather. One common route into a science writing career in the past several years has been through Zivkovic: He routinely publishes young writers and promotes their stories with his large social media audience. Zivkovic has always been extremely solicitous of young journalists, generous with his time, charming, enthusiastic, gregarious. A Twitter meme popped up at science blogging conferences: #IHuggedBora.










Zivkovic has a lot of friends, and after Byrne’s story went public, many of them expressed support for him, and others questioned Byrne’s decision to name him.












Zivkovic admitted to the incident, apologized, and said it was not “behavior that I have engaged in before or since.”










Only apparently it was. Another science writer, Hannah Waters, then described similar experiences:










I saw him at various events and he began flirting a little. It didn’t ring any alarm bells; he is flirtatious by nature. But sometimes talk would veer into more uncomfortable territory, but only vaguely uncomfortable, which made it hard to call out. He would talk about how he gets to hang out with so many smart, beautiful women for his job (as if we should be flattered), make offhand comments about his own sex life, and occasionally tell me that he loved me. Once, while the two of us were outside Ninth Ward in New York City at a science tweetup, he bought a flower for his wife, who was inside. The seller gave him an extra for free, which he gave to me, joking that I was his “concubine.” I didn’t even know how to respond, awkwardly laughing it off, but fled the scene without goodbyes soon after. “I just want to call him out when he makes any kind of offhand comment,” I wrote to my best friend later. “But what I could lose by doing so is too great, so it’s really just degrading.”









Waters and Byrne were careful to be precise and not exaggerate what happened to them, which is that they felt very uncomfortable when their conversations with one of the most powerful people in their profession turned sexual. They weren’t raped or groped, and they suffered no obvious career setbacks by failing to take Zivkovic up on what they perceived as the implicit request for sex. But they felt lousy and confused. Here’s what I found most distressing in Waters’ post: “At my most insecure moments, I still come back to this: Have I made it this far, not based on my work and worth, but on my value as a sexual object? When am I going to be found out?”










I told Waters directly and repeat here that she and Byrne are talented writers who are not faking it. But of course they wonder about how their career trajectories will be perceived, and I’m sure many other people who have gotten a break or a boost from Zivkovic have the same nagging worries.


















Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/10/science_blogging_scandal_bora_zivkovic_and_sexual_harassment.html
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Windows 8.1 Is Here, and You Should Get It Now

Windows 8.1 Is Here, and You Should Get It Now
The new version of Microsoft's operating system is a necessary update. Its added features will please longtime Windows users who were uncomfortable with 8, and push the concepts behind Windows 8 even further.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/sYytGDCUJDA/
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Beyond Windows 8.1



By now you've no doubt read that Windows 8.1 is a must-have upgrade for Windows 8 customers, but barely rates a second glance for entrenched Windows 7 or XP users. Sometime in the next few days -- after the servers go through their obligatory meltdown and Microsoft crows about a million or two downloads of dubious pedigree -- you'll likely install it, if you have a Windows 8 machine or VM. Just use the Windows Store app.


If you're smart, you'll immediately go in and make the changes necessary to defang the new version: use local accounts; turn off SmartSearch; turn off Automatic Update; re-build your libraries if need be; set to boot to desktop; disable the Metro hot corners on the desktop; install apps that will keep you out of Metro Hell (VLC media player, one of the PDF viewers, IrfanView); and install a third-party Start Menu replacement.


That's all pretty much standard. I'll post a wrap-up slideshow shortly, and if you have suggestions for additional primary Windows 8.1 remediation techniques, please add them to the comments below.


With the Band-Aid that is Windows 8.1 out of the way, a follow-on question immediately arises: Now what? Or as Mary Jo Foley over on ZDNet put it,  What comes next after Windows 8.1?


Foley quotes unnamed sources as saying there will be an update to Windows 8.1 in about six months, to coincide with the release of the next version of Windows Phone. Paul Thurrott quotes a single source inside Microsoft and claims that "where Windows Phone 8 has 33 percent 'API unity' with Windows RT, Windows Phone 8.1 will hit 77 percent." I think it likely that the Windows 8.2 update will modify the WinRT API specifically so it more closely matches the Windows Phone RT API. If Terry Myerson's truly concerned about the future of Windows (and every indication I have to date says resoundingly that he is), I'd be willing to bet he won't change much at all about Windows 8 that affects users; my guess is that we're looking at a change in plumbing.


If we're lucky, the change in plumbing will be sufficient to allow simple Windows Phone RT apps to run on Windows RT, and thus on the Metro side of Windows 8 -- a quandary I discussed at length 18 months ago: "That may be a long-term goal. Right now, it's nothing but a cruel joke."


The incompatibility problem arose, quite simply, because of Steve Sinofsky's steadfast determination to grow Windows "down" from the desktop, to tablets and then to the phone. With his phone background, Myerson's precisely the right guy to turn it around, to build the API "up" from the phone. If Foley and Thurrot's sources are correct, that's exactly what's going to happen.


Source: http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsoft-windows/beyond-windows-81-228947?source=rss_infoworld_blogs
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Why U.S. Taxpayers Pay $7 Billion A Year To Help Fast-Food Workers





New York City Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Christine Quinn speaks at a fast-food workers' protest outside a McDonald's in New York in August. A nationwide movement is calling for raising the minimum hourly wage for fast-food workers to $15.



Richard Drew/AP


New York City Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Christine Quinn speaks at a fast-food workers' protest outside a McDonald's in New York in August. A nationwide movement is calling for raising the minimum hourly wage for fast-food workers to $15.


Richard Drew/AP


If you hit the drive-thru, chances are that the cashier who rings you up or the cook who prepared your food relies on public assistance to make ends meet.


A new analysis finds that 52 percent of fast-food workers are enrolled in, or have their families enrolled in, one or more public assistance programs such as SNAP (food stamps) Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).


That's right: With a median wage of $8.69 per hour for front-line fast-food jobs – cooks, cashiers and crew — workers are taking home a pay check, but it's not enough to cover the basics, according to the authors of "Fast Food, Poverty Wages."


"The taxpayer costs we discovered were staggering," says co-author Ken Jacobs of the Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California, Berkeley.


"The combination of low wages, meager benefits, and often part-time hours means that many of the families of fast-food workers have to rely on tax-payer funded, safety net programs to make ends meet," Jacobs told me by phone.


The report finds that the fast-food industry's low wages, combined with part-time hours and lack of health care benefits, creates demand for public assistance including $3.9 billion per year in Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) benefits. Add on another billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamp assistance. Earned Income Tax Credit payments (a subsidy to low-wage workers) amount to about $1.95 billion per year.


Contrary to the assumption that the typical fast-food worker is a teenager living with his or her parents, the report finds that the vast majority of front-line fast-food workers are adults who are supporting themselves – "and 68 percent are the main wage earners in their families," Marc Doussard of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a co-author on the paper, says in a press release about the study.



He says about a quarter of those working these jobs in fast-food restaurants are parents supporting children at home.


The report was funded by Fast Food Forward, a group campaigning for higher wages.


The analysis comes as a campaign for $15 per hour wages has garnered significant attention around the country. Over the last year, workers in cities nationwide have temporarily walked off their jobs to protest low wages.


But, some more conservative-leaning economists say raising wages would do nothing to curtail the taxpayer spending on public assistance programs.


"I don't think raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would solve that problem," Michael Strain, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, told me during a phone interview. He describes himself as a center-right economist.


Strain says raising wages to that level would have unintended consequences: Namely, fast-food companies would slow down their hiring. And this would lead to more workers looking for jobs — and potentially needing to rely on more public assistance.


Strain says the $7 billion taxpayer bill is not necessarily problematic.


"I think the system seems to be working the way it is — not that it's working perfectly," he says, adding, "In general, the government is making sure these people's basic needs are met, which is an appropriate role of government."


At the same time, Strain argues, fast-food businesses are paying their workers wages that they judge to be equal to the value these workers are adding to the production process.


"If we were to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, I think most economists, including me, would argue that that would result in a lot fewer workers," since fast-food companies would slow-down on hiring.


Ken Jacobs disagrees.


"I think there's very good evidence on what's happened when wages have been improved for low-wage and fast-food workers," Jacobs says.


He points to a fast-food company, In-N-Out Burger, as an example of an employer that pays higher-than-average wages, yet is still profitable.


And, Jacobs says, some municipalities are raising minimum wages, such as San Jose, Calif., where the minimum wage is set to increase to $10.15 per hour in January of 2014. And there are proposals in states including Maryland to phase in hourly minimum wage hikes as well.


Jacobs argues that it's possible that employers may see a small decline in profits, but when wages are raised, "you do find a significant decline in turnover (of workers), which is cost-saving for employers."


Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/10/16/235398536/why-u-s-taxpayers-pay-7-billion-a-year-to-help-fast-food-workers?ft=1&f=1006
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Deadspin "Redskins": A Native's Guide To Debating An Inglorious Word | Jezebel Tell Us About the Wor

Deadspin "Redskins": A Native's Guide To Debating An Inglorious Word | Jezebel Tell Us About the Worst Fucking Boss You've Ever Had | Kotaku Comic-Book Writer Gives Amazing Heartfelt Reply to Suicidal Fan | Lifehacker The Triangle of Happiness Calculates How Happy You Are With Your Job

Read more...


    
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/_P8Mm1R4Rew/@gmanaugh
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Factbox: Details of U.S. Congress bill to avoid default


(Reuters) - The U.S. Congress late on Wednesday approved bipartisan legislation to end a federal government shutdown and raise the Treasury Department's borrowing authority.


Passage of the hard-fought measure in the Senate and House of Representatives came on the 16th day that many federal agencies were closed due to a lack of funding from Congress.


Without quick action, the U.S. government risked a default as its credit limit would have been exhausted on Thursday.


The measure represents a defeat for conservative Republicans in Congress who had demanded major changes to the "Obamacare" healthcare law. They were using the debt limit and temporary government spending bills as leverage to delay or defund Obamacare. But in the end, enough Republicans joined with Democrats to end the stalemate.


Here are the provisions of the legislation, which Obama is expected to promptly sign into law:


* Extends U.S. borrowing authority until February 7. The Treasury Department would maintain its ability to use "extraordinary measures" to temporarily avoid default if Congress does not again raise the debt ceiling by that date. House Republicans wanted to prohibit the use of such measures.


Under a device that allows lawmakers to assert they did not vote for raising the ceiling, President Barack Obama would notify Congress that he is raising the U.S. debt limit, giving lawmakers the opportunity to override him with a two-thirds vote of each chamber. But that is unlikely to happen.


* Extends federal spending, at current levels, until January 15. The deal maintains the across-the-board spending cuts known as "sequestration" that began earlier this year. Democrats likely will try to remove or revise those automatic cuts in subsequent talks.


* Creates a House-Senate bipartisan panel to try to come up with long-term deficit-reduction ideas that would have to be approved by the full Congress. Their work would have to be completed by December 13.


The panel is likely to look at potential savings to entitlement programs, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as tax reforms that could raise revenues.


But there is nothing in the legislation forcing this panel to actually agree to anything. Democrats and Republicans have been far apart over raising taxes and cutting benefit programs.


* Establishes measures to try to prevent federal subsidies from being paid under the "Obamacare" healthcare law to people whose incomes make them ineligible.


* Delivers back pay to federal workers who did not receive their wages because of the government shutdown.


(Reporting By Richard Cowan; Editing by Karey Van Hall and Tim Dobbyn)



Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-details-u-congress-bill-avoid-default-030807210--sector.html
Category: nobel peace prize   chicago fire   boardwalk empire   Julie Harris   Bbc News  

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Google Glass firmware teardown hints at a slew of intriguing new features



Google Glass wearers were treated to some new features with this month's XE10 update, but what's hiding under the hood might be even more promising. Android Police posted their APK teardown earlier today, and their findings are nothing if not intriguing. Among the features that may be on the horizon are a handful of new commands hidden in the GlassVoice APK, like the ability to succinctly ask Glass to call you a car, schedule an event, create a 3D model, translate phrases and start a round of golf. Even more interesting are the possibilities presented by potential music playback and gaze integration. Indeed, the files buried in the Gaze folder -- which include double blink detection -- may signal that eye control is one step closer to becoming a reality. You can find the full teardown at the source link below.


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/16/google-glass-firmware-teardown-new-features/?ncid=rss_truncated
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Classic Shell 4.0 review: Free utility restores the full Start menu that Windows 8.1 didn't









Classic Shell isn't a me-too Windows 8 fixer. This free utility's first beta came out in November 2009, close on the heels of Windows 7. It's been helping frustrated Windows users regain lost features and add new ones ever since. New stable version 4.0 powers up Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.


Classic Shell 4.0 screenshotWith Classic Shell, I customized the Start menu to put some of my frequently used commands into the top right.

A slew of programs grew up out of Microsoft’s decision to remove the Start menu from Windows 8. Classic 8 restored the Start menu, but it alsoprovided more features, including tweaks to the Windows Explorer that put a number of common features closer to hand. Now, version 4.0 brings a wider range of features, including multiple styles of start menu and a fully customizable look and feel, plus the ability to replace the Start button with one of your own design.


Windows 8.1 brought the return of the Start button, but this didn’t go the whole way: Instead of bringing back the Start menu that allowed you to access programs easily, the Windows 8.1 Start button takes you to the Windows 8 Start page. This uses Microsoft’s Modern design approach, filled with tiles that you may find confusing (or just plain dislike).


Classic Shell brings back the proper Start menu, with three styles that straight out of Windows XP or Windows 7. This goes a long way to making those who were comfortable with earlier OSs feel more at home when upgrading to Windows 8. On Windows 8.1, it replaces the new Start button completely with the new Start menu.


Classic Shell 4.0 screenshotClassic Shell provides three styles for the Start menu, based on different versions of Windows.

In many ways, the Start menu that Classic Shell adds is superior to the Windows 7 one, as you can more easily move programs around within the menu or add them by simply dragging and dropping the program icon into the menu. If you want to pin a frequently used program to the top of the Start menu, you can easily do so by right-clicking the program icon in the all programs menu.


You can also customize the Start menu, even replacing the Start button with a button of your own design. You can also remove the items that appear on the menu. Never use the Start menu's included link to the Music library? Classic Shell allows you to delete it to save space, or replace it with other items that you may have a use for. You can also add links to other programs, batch files and specify command line options.


In short, Classic Shell is the Start menu that Microsoft should have put into Windows 8 in the first place. It provides flexibility, customizability, and a lot of power to dig deep and make using your computer easier.


Classic Shell 4.0 screenshotClassic Shell adds handy icons for cut, copy, paste, delete, properties and email to the Windows Explorer. You can also pin any program to the Start menu with a right click on its icon.

The additions to Windows Explorer are also useful, putting buttons for a number of commonly used features in a menu bar above the file listing. Classic Shell adds icons for cut, copy, paste, delete, properties, and email. These don’t do anything you can't do quickly with a key combination, but an easily recognizable icon may be preferable for those who are less familiar with Windows. Again, this list of icons can be customized to add more, with options such as refresh file list, create new folder and various views available to add easily.


One interesting change is that the program is no longer open source. Before version 3.9.0, the author Ivo Beltchev regarded the program as mainly a teaching exercise in how to write programs that interface with the Windows API properly. Now, he says, the program exists more as a stand-alone application, so he has stopped releasing the source code. Beltchev also accepts donations.


Whatever its source code model, Classic Shell is an excellent program that goes a long way towards making Windows 8 and 8.1 easier for us. Microsoft, are you paying attention?




Richard Baguley , PCWorld


Richard Baguley has been writing about, testing and breaking technology for the past 20 years. He has written for Wired, Macworld, USA Today, Amiga Format and many others
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Oracle plugs severe security holes that put systems at hijack risk






Oracle fixed on Tuesday 127 security issues in Java, its database and other products, patching some flaws that could let attackers take over systems.


This is the first time Oracle has included Java in its quarterly Critical Patch Update (CPU), as part of the company’s previously announced plan to increase the frequency of Java security releases from one every four months to one every three months.


The new Java SE 7 Update 45 (7u45) version released Tuesday contains 51 of the 127 security fixes in this CPU. Fifty of those fixes address vulnerabilities that can be exploited remotely without authentication and 12 of them have the highest possible severity rating which means they can be used to take complete control of the underlying operating system.


Out of 51 vulnerabilities patched in this Java security update, 40 affect only client deployments which include the frequently targeted Java Web browser plug-in and 8 affect both client and server deployments.


These vulnerabilities can be exploited through Java Web Start applications or Java applets, and, in the case of flaws that also affect server deployments, by sending data to application program interfaces (APIs) in the vulnerable components.


Two other Java vulnerabilities addressed in this release affect sites that run the Javadoc tool as a service and host the resulting documentation. The Javadoc tool is used to create HTML documentation files.


The last vulnerability affects jhat, a developer tool that can be used to perform Java heap analysis.


Beyond Java


The other 76 security fixes in this CPU that are not related to Java address vulnerabilities in the following Oracle product families: Oracle Database, Oracle Fusion Middleware, Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control, Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Supply Chain Products Suite, Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise, Oracle Siebel CRM, Oracle iLearning, Oracle industry Applications, Oracle FLEXCUBE, Oracle Primavera, Oracle and Sun Systems Products Suite, Oracle Linux and Virtualization and Oracle MySQL.


Two vulnerabilities were addressed in the Oracle Database Server and both can be exploited remotely without authentication and can result in partial compromise of data confidentiality. Fixing one of them requires customers to enable network encryption between their clients and servers if data is sent over untrusted networks, Eric Maurice, Oracle’s director of software assurance, said in a blog post.


In addition to these two vulnerabilities, two others that apply to Oracle Fusion Middleware also apply to database deployments.


Tables listing the exact number of vulnerabilities patched in each product, their severity score and the product versions they affect are included in Oracle’s CPU advisory for October.


In addition to Java 7 Update 45, Oracle also released Java 6 Update 65 and Java 5 Update 55 that address the vulnerabilities that also apply to those older versions. However, Oracle discontinued public support for both Java 5 and 6, so these new security updates are only available to customers with extended support contracts.


“In order to address efficiently such a large patch release with over 120 vulnerabilities, we recommend working in the following sequence: Java first, as it is the most attacked software in this release, then vulnerabilities on services that are exposed to the Internet, such as Weblogic, HTTP and others,” Wolfgang Kandek, CTO of vulnerability management firm Qualys, said Tuesday in a blog post. “Hopefully your databases are not directly exposed to the Internet, which should give you more time to bring them to the latest patch levels.”





Lucian Constantin, IDG News Service Reporter, IDG News Service, IDG News Service


Lucian Constantin writes about information security, privacy and data protection.
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Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2055200/oracle-plugs-severe-security-holes-that-put-systems-at-hijack-risk.html#tk.rss_all
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Tina Fey, Amy Poehler back as Golden Globes hosts

NEW YORK (AP) — The duo of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler proved such a success at hosting the Golden Globes in January that they've been signed up for the same job for the next two years.


NBC, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and producers of the Golden Globes announced the unusual two-year commitment on Tuesday. Next year's Golden Globes will be held in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 12.


Allen Shapiro, CEO of Dick Clark Productions, said the former "Saturday Night Live" chums have "a truly unique chemistry making them one of the most talented and captivating pairings of all time."


They were bathed in critical love for their performance this year, with Associated Press critic Frazier Moore calling them "the night's biggest winners." They got laughs without being polarizing, as was the case with predecessor Ricky Gervais. Poehler even poked fun during the show at the Hollywood debate over whether Gervais was too hard-edged in mocking Hollywood stars.


"We want to assure you that we have no intention of being edgy or offensive tonight," said Poehler, star of the NBC sitcom "Parks and Recreation." "Because, as Ricky learned the hard way, when you run afoul of the Hollywood Foreign Press, they make you host this show two more times!"


Fey, whose NBC comedy "30 Rock" ended this year, and Poehler were both nominated for best actress in a comedy or musical but lost to Lena Dunham, star of HBO's "Girls."


"Last year was really fun," Poehler said in an interview with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. "We didn't know what to expect. It was exciting to work with Tina, as always, and it was a strange experience. We had a lot of fun so we said maybe we can try it again and like fools we are giving it another shot."


More important than critical support, Fey and Poehler were good for business. The Golden Globes had their best ratings in six years for the most recent presentation, and were up 17 percent over the 2012 show.


Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tina-fey-amy-poehler-back-golden-globes-hosts-154643600.html
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Malala Yousafzai: A 'Normal,' Yet Powerful Girl





Malala Yousafzai speaks to NPR's Michel Martin while on tour for her new book, I Am Malala.



Abbey Oldham/NPR


Malala Yousafzai speaks to NPR's Michel Martin while on tour for her new book, I Am Malala.


Abbey Oldham/NPR


"I think Malala is an average girl," Ziauddin Yousafzai says about the 16-year-old Pakistani girl who captured the world's attention after being shot by the Taliban, "but there's something extraordinary about her."


A teacher himself, Yousafzai inspired his daughter's fight to be educated. At a special event with Malala in Washington, D.C., he tells NPR's Michel Martin that he is often asked what training he gave to his daughter. "I usually tell people, 'You should not ask me what I have done. Rather you ask me, what I did not do,' " he says. "I did not clip her wings to fly. I did not stop her from flying."


Yousafzai has this advice for parents of girls around the world: "Trust your daughters, they are faithful. Honor your daughters, they are honorable. And educate your daughters, they are amazing."



A year after being shot, Malala is clear about her goal. "I speak for education of every child, in every corner of the world," Malala says. "There has been a discrimination in our society," which she believes must be defeated. "We women are going to bring change. We are speaking up for girls' rights, but we must not behave like men, like they have done in the past."


Perhaps she has learned from her father's experience. When asked what gave him a passion for girls' education, Yousafzai points out that he was "born in a society where girls are ignored." Living with five sisters, he was sensitive to discrimination from an early age. "In the morning, I was used to milk and cream, and my sisters were given only tea," he says.


Yousafzai felt the injustice even more when Malala was born. He later opened a school that Malala attended in the Swat Valley. At the time, the Taliban's influence was gaining power and both Yousafzais were firmly on their radar. "But we thought that even terrorists might have some ethics," Yousafzai says. "Because they destroyed some 1,500 schools but they never injured a child. And she was a child."


Malala says that the shooting has taken away her fear. "I have already seen death and I know that death is supporting me in my cause of education. Death does not want to kill me," she says. "Before this attack, I might have been a little bit afraid how death would be. Now I'm not, because I have experienced it."


When asked if she is having any fun now with all her campaigning, Malala laughs, "It's a very nice question. I miss those days." But she also says that there is another side to her than what is shown in the media. "Outside of my home, I look like a very obedient, very serious, very good kind of girl, but nobody knows what happens inside the house." There, she says, she's not naughty, but she has to stand up to her brothers. "It's good to fight with your brothers and it's good to tease them to give them advice."


She says her little brother doesn't really understand why his sister has so much attention. "He said, 'Malala ... I can't understand why people are giving you prizes, and everywhere you go people say, 'This is Malala' and they give you awards, what have you done?' " she says.


Malala knows the Taliban would still like to kill her, but she says she hopes to return to Pakistan one day. "First, I need to empower myself with knowledge, with education. I need to work hard," she says. "And when I [am] powerful, then I will go back to Pakistan, inshallah [God willing]."


Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/15/234730460/malala-yousafzai-a-normal-yet-powerful-girl?ft=1&f=46
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Intel delays Broadwell chips to early 2014 due to production yield problems


Broadwell demo at IDF


We hope you weren't dead set on buying devices using Intel's Broadwell processors, as the company has delayed production of the 14-nanometer CPU line to early 2014. Fixes for early manufacturing defects didn't work as well as expected, CEO Brian Krzanich says, limiting Intel's ability to produce enough functioning chips. The setback shouldn't affect Skylake, Broadwell's successor. Still, it's not good news for a semiconductor firm that's scrounging for good news in an unforgiving PC market.


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/15/intel-delays-broadwell-chips-to-early-2014/?ncid=rss_truncated
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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Rovio to Release Free 'Angry Birds' App


MOSCOW – Angry Birds are going downhill.



In a first for the Finnish-designed feathered cartoon characters, video game developer Rovio is launching a mobile telephone app called Angry Birds Go!


The free app, available worldwide on Dec. 11, features a high-octane downhill race that includes all the famous avian characters and their arch enemies, the evil pigs from the video game.


The app includes a bizarre range of racing machines that can be upgraded, characters with special powers and a range of 3D worlds.


Rovio, which released a game-play trailer Tuesday to advertise the game ahead of its release, said: "The game will be built from the ground up as a free-to-play title, with a whole host of modes and features included from the get-go."


The company plans to release a "special countdown app" at the end of this month for the game, which will be available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10.


Speaking Tuesday afternoon at Brand Licensing Europe 2013 in London during a presentation entitled "Angry Birds: How Rovio Disrupted the Entertainment Industry," Jami Laes, executive vp gaming and Naz Cuevas, senior vp licensing at Rovio, said the company would continue to focus on making Angry Birds a long-lasting brand, they said. "We're building an evergreen," Cuevas told the industry crowd.


The executives then unveiled the Angry Birds Go! game trailer in a world premiere.


Laes said Helsinki, Finland-based Rovio created 51 games before striking gold with Angry Birds, meaning the company wasn't the overnight success it is sometimes believed to be.


Laes also touted the planned July 2016 launch of Angry Birds: The Movie.


Georg Szalai in London contributed to this report.



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheHollywoodReporter-Technology/~3/Vqo4339xzE4/story01.htm
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Before Church Songbooks There Was 'Lined-Out' Singing


Hidden deep in the hills of Appalachia, there's a tradition of gospel singing that has not changed in 300 years. "Lined-out" singing is still practiced by congregations of the Old Regular Baptist Church. The song leader calls out a line and the people respond in a mournful, soaring chorus.


Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/15/234606252/before-church-songbooks-there-was-lined-out-singing?ft=1&f=1039
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Canucks' Edler gets 3-game suspension for check

NEW YORK (AP) — Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alex Edler has been suspended three games for an illegal check to the head of San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl.


The NHL made the announcement on Friday. The hit came late in the second period of Vancouver's 4-1 loss to San Jose on Thursday night.


Edler popped Hertl's helmet off as the 19-year-old was reaching for the puck. There was no penalty called on the play.


Edler was suspended for charging in March and is considered a repeat offender. He'll forfeit $182,926 in salary, which goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.


Source: http://news.yahoo.com/canucks-edler-gets-3-game-suspension-check-214414848--spt.html
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Sufjan Stevens Takes Miley Cyrus to Task -- For Her Grammar



Miley Cyrus has been getting a lot of attention recently for a variety of controversies, but her grammar had gone untouched -- until Monday.



Enter: indie rock darling Sufjan Stevens, who has penned an open letter addressed to the twerking pop princess on his Tumblr page. There, he dishes up a grammar lesson in reaction to her song "#GetItRight."


In the wake of waves of unsolicited letters, comments and critiques that have come Cyrus' way over the past couple months, Stevens' note is a pretty clever twist on the current hysteria surrounding all things Miley.


Writes Stevens:


Dear Miley. I can’t stop listening to #GetItRight (great song, great message, great body), but maybe you need a quick grammar lesson. One particular line causes concern: “I been laying in this bed all night long.” Miley, technically speaking, you’ve been LYING, not LAYING, an irregular verb form that should only be used when there’s an object, i.e. “I been laying my tired booty on this bed all night long.


PHOTOS: Miley Cyrus' Most Controversial Moments


He continues:


Miley, did you know the tense here is also totally wrong. Surely you’ve heard of Present Perfect Continuous Tense (I HAVE BEEN LYING in this bed all night long [hopefully getting some beauty sleep?]). It’s a weird, equivocal, almost purgatorial tense, not quite present, not quite past, not quite here, not quite there. Somewhere in between. I feel that way all the time. It kind of sucks. But I have a feeling your “present perfect continuous” involves a lot more excitement than mine.


But for every criticism Cyrus draws, the 20-year-old also has her defenders. Among them: Sir Paul McCartney, who recently told Sky News that he found Cyrus' MTV Video Music Awards performance "only mildly shocking." Said the Beatles founder: "Come on, we've seen worse than that! It wasn't explicit at all."


Cyrus' new album Bangerz is expected to debut atop the Billboard 200 album chart with over 250,000 units sold, according to early estimates.


Twitter: @colinstutz



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/music/~3/RxBJPsrIx28/story01.htm
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Saturday, October 12, 2013

Vampire Knight: Redemption

Yay!! I am actually still asleep...haha I just woke up...and typing this all on my phone because I am too lazy to get my laptop...heehee..

Any who's, I have a few things to take care of right now, but once I am done, I will get to work on my posts and have them up sometime this evening :D

See you guys in a bit :3

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/smp1WyFF8P8/viewtopic.php
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Thursday, October 10, 2013

Volcano Choir, Live In Concert


A lot of people come to the music of Volcano Choir - and see concerts like this one - because of the band's lead singer, Justin Vernon, an artist better-known for his work as Bon Iver. But Volcano Choir isn't a Bon Iver side project. It's a completely separate creative force, and the group's songs sound like no one else's.


On the night of this show, recorded live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., the members of Volcano Choir made magic, sometimes with layered effects in real time on both vocals and electronics, and sometimes with something as simple and beautiful as an acoustic guitar. And just when you think a song has found a groove or a peak, it would build a little more and morph into something new.


Volcano Choir has released two very different records. The first, Unmap, came out in 2009 and was an ethereal, mysterious collection of songs. The group's latest, Repave, is more song-based and sonically adventurous. Together, they made for a rich, transporting live experience.


Hear the band talk about how it pulls off these live shows.


Set List

  • "Tiderays"

  • "Island, IS"

  • "Comrade"

  • "The Valleyinaire"

  • "Keel"

  • "Dancepack"

  • "Blue Ni Ni (The Volcano Schores)"

  • "Alaskans"

  • "Acetate"

  • "Byegone"

Credits

Producers: Bob Boilen and Mito Habe-Evans, Robin Hilton; Editor: Becky Harlan; Audio Engineering: Brian Joseph, Kevin Wait; Videographers: Becky Harlan, Gabriella Garcia-Pardo, Christopher Parks; Special Thanks: The 9:30 Club; Executive Producer: Anya Grundmann



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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Human disease leptospirosis identified in new species, the banded mongoose, in Africa

Human disease leptospirosis identified in new species, the banded mongoose, in Africa

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The newest public health threat in Africa, scientists have found, is coming from a previously unknown source: the banded mongoose.

Leptospirosis, the disease is called. And the banded mongoose carries it.

Leptospirosis is the world's most common illness transmitted to humans by animals. It's a two-phase disease that begins with flu-like symptoms. If untreated, it can cause meningitis, liver damage, pulmonary hemorrhage, renal failure and death.

"The problem in Botswana and much of Africa is that leptospirosis may remain unidentified in animal populations but contribute to human disease, possibly misdiagnosed as other diseases such as malaria," said disease ecologist Kathleen Alexander of Virginia Tech.

With a grant from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Coupled Natural and Human Systems Program, Alexander and colleagues found that the banded mongoose in Botswana is infected with Leptospira interrogans, the pathogen that causes leptospirosis.

Coupled Natural and Human Systems is part of NSF's Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability investment and is supported by NSF's Directorates for Biological Sciences; Geosciences; and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences.

"The transmission of infectious diseases from wildlife to humans represents a serious and growing public health risk due to increasing contact between humans and animals," said Alan Tessier, program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology. "This study identified an important new avenue for the spread of leptospirosis."

The results are published today in a paper in the journal Zoonoses and Public Health. The paper was co-authored by Alexander, Sarah Jobbins and Claire Sanderson of Virginia Tech.

The banded mongoose, although wild, lives in close proximity to humans, sharing scarce water resources and scavenging in human waste.

The disease-causing pathogen it carries can pass to humans through soil or water contaminated with infected urine.

Mongoose and other species are consumed as bushmeat, which may also contribute to leptospirosis exposure and infection in humans.

"I was convinced that we were going to find Leptospira interrogans in some species in the ecosystem," said Alexander.

"The pathogen had not been reported previously in Botswana, with the exception of one cow more than a quarter of a century ago.

"We looked at public health records dating back to 1974 and there were no records of any human cases of leptospirosis. Doctors said they were not expecting to see the disease in patients. They were not aware that the pathogen occurred in the country."

Alexander conducted a long-term study of human, wildlife and environmental health in the Chobe District of Northern Botswana, an area that includes the Chobe National Park, forest reserves and surrounding villages.

"This pathogen can infect many animals, both wild and domestic, including dogs," said Jobbins. "Banded mongoose is likely not the only species infected."

The researchers worked to understand how people, animals and the environment are connected, including the potential for diseases to move between humans and wildlife.

"Diseases such as leptospirosis that have been around for a very long time are often overlooked amid the hunt for the next newly emerging disease," Alexander said.

Leptospirosis was first described in 1886, said Jobbins, "but we still know little about its occurrence in Africa."

With the new identification of leptospirosis in Botswana, Alexander is concerned about the public health threat it may pose to the immunocompromised population there. Some 25 percent of 15- to 49-year-olds are HIV positive.

"In much of Africa, people die without a cause being determined," she said.

"Leptospirosis is likely affecting human populations in this region. But without knowledge that the organism is present in the environment, overburdened public health officials are unlikely to identify clinical cases in humans, particularly if the supporting diagnostics are not easily accessible."

The researchers looked for Leptospira interrogans in archived kidneys collected from banded mongoose that had been found dead from a variety of causes. Of the sampled mongoose, 43 percent tested positive for the pathogen.

"Given this high prevalence in the mongoose, we believe that Botswana possesses an as-yet-unidentified burden of human leptospirosis," said Jobbins.

"There is an urgent need to look for this disease in people who have clinical signs consistent with infection."

Because banded mongoose have an extended range across sub-Saharan Africa, the results have important implications for public health beyond Botswana.

"Investigating exposure in other wildlife, and assessing what species act as carriers, is essential for improving our understanding of human, wildlife, and domestic animal risk of leptospirosis in this ecosystem," the scientists write in their paper.

The paper also cites predictions that the region will become more arid, concentrating humans and animals around limited water supplies and increasing the potential for disease transmission.

"Infectious diseases, particularly those that can be transmitted from animals, often occur where people are more vulnerable to environmental change and have less access to public health services," said Alexander.

"That's particularly true in Africa. While we're concerned about emerging diseases that might threaten public health--the next new pandemic--we need to be careful that we don't drop the ball and stop pursuing important diseases like leptospirosis."

Alexander is working to identify immediate research and management actions--in particular, alerting frontline medical practitioners and public health officials to the potential for leptospirosis in humans.

###

National Science Foundation: http://www.nsf.gov

Thanks to National Science Foundation for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128271/Human_disease_leptospirosis_identified_in_new_species__the_banded_mongoose__in_Africa

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Select Cabinet Refinishing Kansas City ? Hot Article Depot

Having a new home is wonderful, but it is not obtainable for the initial buyer. In its place, they will purchase a fixer-upper. A most typical home-improvement task they will do is improving the cooking area. Folks will get cabinet refinishing Kansas City, or they will decide to replace the entire kitchen.

In some cases, it makes good financial sense to refurbish the cabinets if the interior of the boxes is in good condition. It is not cost-effective to do makeover if the interiors of the units are not in good repair. Consequently, when choosing to do updates in the kitchen thoroughly checked the boxes.

One approach to refurbishing the cupboards is quite unique. A skilled crew will eliminate and replace the doors with fresh ones. The models and rails are next laminated using the same material which is on the brand new doors. All of the moldings and also the hardware are changed last.

This procedure goes quick and makes the room look new again. There is far less mess and the room is returned to the homeowner faster. Folks who are conscious about the environment like the fact that there is less debris headed to the landfill. However, this is of the most expensive procedures.

An alternative choice there for the homeowner has withstood the test of time. If the cupboards are manufactured using all wood materials, they might be stained again or repainted. This sort of project might be done by the owner to save money. All it requires is work and a pair of weekends.

Nowadays, new products made for refinishing wood make the work go much easier. For example, grease removers cut through all the dirt and grime thereby exposing the original material. Next, good quality stains have the varnish included in this makes coating the product easier. Easy clean up with soap and water.

Painting the boxes will likely be another option to select. After applying the grease remover said above, give the units a solid coat of primer. The basic coverage helps the coat of paint keep on the frames. Then, put along two or three layers of color paint using a top quality brush. The completed product can make the whole kitchen seemed like new again.

Now, many people will not have time to do this work. For them, they can hire an experienced painter. Equality paint contractor has to tools to paint or stain the material professionally and quickly. This may cost the homeowner a bit more money, but is best in the end. The owner can now tackle other projects.

How to look for a good paint supplier is using the Web. Lots of them have their very own Website that will list the required details about their business and what locations they serve. It will even have contact information.

These days, is almost impossible for a young couple to purchase a new home. However, they can purchase a fixer upper to save some money. They can do some of the work or they could choose to have cabinet refinishing Kansas City. In no time all, the fixer-upper will look like a brand new home.

Read more about Have Cabinet Refinishing Kansas City visiting our website.

Source: http://hotarticledepot.com/select-cabinet-refinishing-kansas-city-2/

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First direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly fractal observed in moir? superlattices

May 15, 2013 ? A team of researchers from Columbia University, City University of New York, the University of Central Florida (UCF), and Tohoku University and the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan, have directly observed a rare quantum effect that produces a repeating butterfly-shaped energy spectrum, confirming the longstanding prediction of this quantum fractal energy structure, called Hofstadter's butterfly.

The study, which focused on moir?-patterned graphene, is published in the May 15, 2013, Advance Online Publication (AOP) of Nature.

First predicted by American physicist Douglas Hofstadter in 1976, the Hofstadter butterfly emerges when electrons are confined to a two-dimensional sheet, and subjected to both a periodic potential energy (akin to a marble rolling on a sheet the shape of an egg carton) and a strong magnetic field. The Hofstadter butterfly is a fractal pattern -- it contains shapes that repeat on smaller and smaller size scales. Fractals are common in classical systems such as fluid mechanics, but rare in the quantum mechanical world. In fact, the Hofstadter butterfly is one of the first quantum fractals theoretically discovered in physics but, until now, there has been no direct experimental proof of this spectrum.

Previous efforts to study the Hofstadter butterfly, which has become a standard "textbook" theoretical result, attempted to use artificially created structures to achieve the required periodic potential energy. These studies produced strong evidence for the Hofstadter spectrum but were significantly hampered by the difficulty in creating structures that were both small and perfect enough to allow detailed study.

In order to create a periodic potential with a near-ideal length scale and also with a low degree of disorder, the team used an effect called a moir? pattern that arises naturally when atomically thin graphene is placed on an atomically flat boron nitride (BN) substrate, which has the same honeycomb atomic lattice structure as graphene but with a slightly longer atomic bond length. This work builds on years of experience with both graphene and BN at Columbia. The techniques for fabricating these structures were developed by the Columbia team in 2010 to create higher-performing transistors, and have also proven to be invaluable in opening up new areas of basic physics such as this study.

To map the graphene energy spectrum, the team then measured the electronic conductivity of the samples at very low temperatures in extremely strong magnetic fields up to 35 Tesla (consuming 35 megawatts of power) at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. The measurements show the predicted self-similar patterns, providing the best evidence to date for the Hofstadter butterfly, and providing the first direct evidence for its fractal nature.

"Now we see that our study of moir?-patterned graphene provides a new model system to explore the role of fractal structure in quantum systems," says Cory Dean, the first author of the paper who is now an assistant professor at The City College of New York. "This is a huge leap forward -- our observation that interplays between competing length scales result in emergent complexity provides the framework for a new direction in materials design. And such understanding will help us develop novel electronic devices employing quantum engineered nanostructures."

"The opportunity to confirm a 40-year-old prediction in physics that lies at the core of most of our understanding of low-dimensional material systems is rare, and tremendously exciting," adds Dean. "Our confirmation of this fractal structure opens the door for new studies of the interplay between complexity at the atomic level in physical systems and the emergence of new phenomenon arising from complexity."

The work from Columbia University resulted from collaborations across several disciplines including experimental groups in the departments of physics (Philip Kim), mechanical engineering (James Hone), and electrical engineering (Kenneth Shepard) in the new Northwest Corner building, using the facilities in the CEPSR (Columbia's Schapiro Center for Engineering and Physical Science Research) microfabrication center. Similar results are concurrently being reported from groups led by Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim at the University of Manchester, and Pablo Jarillo-Herrero and Raymond Ashoori at MIT.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/W8rieeisaFg/130515131554.htm

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