Understanding interface properties of graphene paves way for new applications

Public release date: 5-Aug-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Matt Shipman
matt_shipman@ncsu.edu
919-515-6386
North Carolina State University

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Texas have revealed more about graphene's mechanical properties and demonstrated a technique to improve the stretchability of graphene developments that should help engineers and designers come up with new technologies that make use of the material.

Graphene is a promising material that is used in technologies such as transparent, flexible electrodes and nanocomposites. And while engineers think graphene holds promise for additional applications, they must first have a better understanding of its mechanical properties, including how it works with other materials.

"This research tells us how strong the interface is between graphene and a stretchable substrate," says Dr. Yong Zhu, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work. "Industry can use that to design new flexible or stretchable electronics and nanocomposites. For example, it tells us how much we can deform the material before the interface between graphene and other materials fails. Our research has also demonstrated a useful approach for making graphene-based, stretchable devices by 'buckling' the graphene."

The researchers looked at how a graphene monolayer a layer of graphene only one atom thick interfaces with an elastic substrate. Specifically, they wanted to know how strong the bond is between the two materials because that tells engineers how much strain can be transferred from the substrate to the graphene, which determines how far the graphene can be stretched.

The researchers applied a monolayer of graphene to a polymer substrate, and then stretched the substrate. They used a spectroscopy technique to monitor the strain at various points in the graphene. Strain is a measure of how far a material has stretched.

Initially, the graphene stretched with substrate. However, while the substrate continued to stretch, the graphene eventually began to stretch more slowly and slide on the surface instead. Typically, the edges of the monolayer began to slide first, with the center of the monolayer stretching further than the edges.

"This tells us a lot about the interface properties of the graphene and substrate," Zhu says. "For the substrate used in this study, polyethylene terephthalate, the edges of the graphene monolayer began sliding after being stretched 0.3 percent of its initial length. But the center continued stretching until the monolayer had been stretched by 1.2 to 1.6 percent."

The researchers also found that the graphene monolayer buckled when the elastic substrate was returned to its original length. This created ridges in the graphene that made it more stretchable because the material could stretch out and back, like the bellows of an accordion. The technique for creating the buckled material is similar to one developed by Zhu's lab for creating elastic conductors out of carbon nanotubes.

###

The paper, "Interfacial Sliding and Buckling of Monolayer Graphene on a Stretchable Substrate," was published online Aug. 1 in Advanced Functional Materials. Lead author of the paper is Dr. Tao Jiang, a postdoctoral researcher at NC State. The paper was co-authored by Dr. Rui Huang of the University of Texas. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the NSF's ASSIST Engineering Research Center at NC State.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 5-Aug-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Matt Shipman
matt_shipman@ncsu.edu
919-515-6386
North Carolina State University

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Texas have revealed more about graphene's mechanical properties and demonstrated a technique to improve the stretchability of graphene developments that should help engineers and designers come up with new technologies that make use of the material.

Graphene is a promising material that is used in technologies such as transparent, flexible electrodes and nanocomposites. And while engineers think graphene holds promise for additional applications, they must first have a better understanding of its mechanical properties, including how it works with other materials.

"This research tells us how strong the interface is between graphene and a stretchable substrate," says Dr. Yong Zhu, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work. "Industry can use that to design new flexible or stretchable electronics and nanocomposites. For example, it tells us how much we can deform the material before the interface between graphene and other materials fails. Our research has also demonstrated a useful approach for making graphene-based, stretchable devices by 'buckling' the graphene."

The researchers looked at how a graphene monolayer a layer of graphene only one atom thick interfaces with an elastic substrate. Specifically, they wanted to know how strong the bond is between the two materials because that tells engineers how much strain can be transferred from the substrate to the graphene, which determines how far the graphene can be stretched.

The researchers applied a monolayer of graphene to a polymer substrate, and then stretched the substrate. They used a spectroscopy technique to monitor the strain at various points in the graphene. Strain is a measure of how far a material has stretched.

Initially, the graphene stretched with substrate. However, while the substrate continued to stretch, the graphene eventually began to stretch more slowly and slide on the surface instead. Typically, the edges of the monolayer began to slide first, with the center of the monolayer stretching further than the edges.

"This tells us a lot about the interface properties of the graphene and substrate," Zhu says. "For the substrate used in this study, polyethylene terephthalate, the edges of the graphene monolayer began sliding after being stretched 0.3 percent of its initial length. But the center continued stretching until the monolayer had been stretched by 1.2 to 1.6 percent."

The researchers also found that the graphene monolayer buckled when the elastic substrate was returned to its original length. This created ridges in the graphene that made it more stretchable because the material could stretch out and back, like the bellows of an accordion. The technique for creating the buckled material is similar to one developed by Zhu's lab for creating elastic conductors out of carbon nanotubes.

###

The paper, "Interfacial Sliding and Buckling of Monolayer Graphene on a Stretchable Substrate," was published online Aug. 1 in Advanced Functional Materials. Lead author of the paper is Dr. Tao Jiang, a postdoctoral researcher at NC State. The paper was co-authored by Dr. Rui Huang of the University of Texas. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the NSF's ASSIST Engineering Research Center at NC State.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-08/ncsu-uip080513.php

Kate Upton Topless summer solstice tahiti tahiti chris bosh Chris Andersen Xbox

Breeding for Animal Welfare

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: www.thebeefsite.com --- Sunday, August 04, 2013
Chickens that do not peck each other to death, sheep with fewer maggots in their tails and double-muscled cows that can give birth naturally. Wageningen researchers are working on breeding programmes targeting Animal welfare, reports Nienke Beintema in the latest issue of Wageningen World. ...

Source: http://www.thebeefsite.com/articles/3668/breeding-for-animal-welfare

snl lindsay lohan valley fever project x the lorax lorax fisker karma super tuesday states

After airport exit, what will Edward Snowden do in Russia?

A local social network has offered him a job. Meanwhile, the decision to grant him asylum is still rattling US-Russia relations.?

By Fred Weir,?Correspondent / August 1, 2013

Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena shows a temporary document to allow Edward Snowden, his client, to cross the border into Russia. Mr. Snowden has left the Moscow airport where he has been stranded for weeks and entered Russia on a one-year grant of asylum.

Russia24/AP

Enlarge

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden has been granted a year's political asylum in Russia. He has left Sheremetyevo airport and will remain in an "undisclosed location" for at least a day, according his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena.

Skip to next paragraph Fred Weir

Correspondent

Fred Weir has been the Monitor's Moscow correspondent, covering Russia and the former Soviet Union, since 1998.?

Recent posts

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Russian news agencies showed pictures of someone who might have been Mr. Snowden climbing into a car at Sheremetyevo airport?Thursday afternoon, though no Western reporters witnessed any part of his passage through passport control and departure from the airport ? where he has spend almost 7 weeks apparently cooped up in a "capsule hotel"?in the legal limbo of the vast transit zone.

On Snowden's immediate agenda is a phone call from his father, which Mr. Kucherena said would be set up today, and some rather heavy contemplation about his future. Kucherena told journalists that the passport-like temporary asylum document he's been issued will enable him to travel freely around Russia, rent accommodation, and even find a job.?

And he even has a job offer to think about already. The Russian-language social network VKontakte, which is similar to Facebook, announced?Thursday?that he could come and work with them ? presumably to help shield the network from NSA snooping.

"We invite Edward to St. Petersburg [where VKontakte is based] and will be delighted if he decides to complete VKontakte's star team of programmers," the organization's founder, Pavel Durov, wrote on his VKontakte page.

Snowden "might be interested in working on protecting the personal data of millions of our users.... Today, Edward Snowden, a person who exposed the crimes of the American special services against citizens of the entire world, has received temporary asylum in Russia. At such moments, you feel pride for our country and sorrow over the course of the USA, a country betraying the principles on which it was built," Mr. Durov added.

He also has an outstanding invitation from the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, to come and testify about how the spying programs he revealed might impact Russian users of big Internet companies like Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook.

WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization that's been sponsoring Snowden's flight, posted a lengthy statement?thanking Russia and trumpeting what it called a "victory in the fight against Obama?s war on whistleblowers. This battle has been won, but the war continues."

It also praised Sarah Harrison, the WikiLeaks official who accompanied Snowden on his?June 23?flight from Hong Kong and has remained with him through the 39 days of his stay in Sheremetyevo.?

"Ms. Harrison has remained with Mr. Snowden at all times to protect his safety and security, including during his exit from Hong Kong. They departed from the airport together in a taxi and are headed to a secure, confidential place," it said.

In Washington, news of Snowden's asylum grant in Russia was greeted with dismay.

"We see this as an unfortunate development and we are extremely disappointed by it," White House spokesman Jay Carney told journalists. He suggested that President Obama's plans to meet with President Vladimir Putin before a G20 summit in St. Petersburg that's barely a month off might be in jeopardy.? "We are evaluating the utility of the summit in light of this," news agencies quoted him as saying.

"We made clear both privately and publicly that there was ample legal justification for his expulsion from Russia and return to the United States, that's a discussion we've had with Russia as well as with other countries that might have been considering providing asylum to Mr. Snowden," Mr. Carney added.?

Several United States Senators have also warned that the Snowden case could do irreparable harm to the already-frayed relationship between the US and Russia.

However, Mr. Putin's close aide and reputed foreign policy architect Yury Ushakov told journalists he does not expect any serious fallout from the decision.

"This issue is not important enough to affect political relations," the official RIA-Novosti agency quoted Mr. Ushakov as saying.

Alexei Arbatov, a leading Russian foreign policy expert, says he believes the international ill-will surrounding the Snowden case will blow over.

"The Snowden issue might have domestic complications in the US, meaning that opposition will attack Obama [for mishandling the affair]. But on the international level it's just not sufficient reason to make the US and Russia quarrel seriously. I do not believe that the important economic and political issues on the US-Russia bilateral agenda will suffer because of the very questionable actions of this young man," he says.

Kucherena, the lawyer, told journalists that his client needed at least a day to clear his head, but might be available to talk to media as early as?Friday.

"Of course, he will come. He is aware that mass media is interested in him. But in this case, the situation is such for now," he said, apparently meaning that his client would not be speaking not anytime soon.

He also contradicted reports that Snowden might have shared some of the secrets he reputedly holds in the four laptop computers he carries with him everywhere.

"I can absolutely say that he did definitely not pass on any documents to anybody here at the Sheremetyevo airport. That is, the documents that were published yesterday are documents that he handed over [to The Guardian] while still in Hong Kong," Kucherena said on Rossiya 24 news television channel.

He was referring to a sweeping expos? published Wednesday in the Guardian,?based on documents provided by Snowden about an NSA tool known as XKeyscore,?which allegedly enables the agency to scoop up "nearly everything a user does on the Internet." ? ? ??

Snowden has "given his word and promised to stop the whistleblowing activity aimed at United States" and can be trusted to keep it, Kucherena said.

Kucherena, who has been Snowden's main spokesman during the long stay in Sheremetyevo, told journalists his client would undergo a period of "acclimatization," including studying Russian language, law, customs, and literature. The lawyer also said he would remain involved with Snowden in an advisory capacity.

"[Snowden] is the most wanted person on earth and his security will be a priority," Kucherena said. "He will deal with personal security issues and lodging himself. I will just consult him as his lawyer."

Experts say it's likely that Snowden will be kept under tough restraints by Russia's FSB security service in pursuance of President Vladimir Putin's oft-repeated pledge that he will not be allowed to harm US interests while he remains in Russia. That suggests that he may be as isolated from journalists in his new location as he was during the nearly seven weeks he spent hiding out in Sheremetyevo's transit zone.

His release comes just a day after his father appeared for the first time on Russian TV to thank Mr. Putin "for keeping my son safe" and to hope that Russia will take him in and accept him until such time as he can find safe haven somewhere else.

It also comes on the same day a Russian public opinion poll showed that just over half of Russians regard Snowden as a "hero"?while just 17 percent were "negative" toward his actions. On the other hand, the poll found that only 43 percent supported giving him asylum in Russia, while 29 percent were against it to some degree.?

WikiLeaks quoted Snowden as heading into his new life in Russia defiant and, perhaps, just a little bit jubilant.

"Over the past eight weeks we have seen the Obama administration show no respect for international or domestic law, but in the end the law is winning. I thank the Russian Federation for granting me asylum in accordance with its laws and international obligations," Snowden is quoted as saying.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/9fBXkRRqpz0/After-airport-exit-what-will-Edward-Snowden-do-in-Russia

Jordan Spieth WWE Trayvon Martin Riots bastille day adam sandler tim lincecum Tyson Gay

Injuries after California power plant razed

By Kevin Murphy

(Reuters) - One man lost part of his leg and four other people were injured by flying debris as they watched the planned implosion of an abandoned power plant in Bakersfield, California, early on Saturday morning, officials said.

The 43-year-old "suffered a traumatic partial amputation of one leg and major injuries to the other," the Bakersfield Police Department said in a statement.

Shrapnel from the blast also hit four other spectators, causing minor injuries, said Kern County Fire Department fire engineer Leland Davis, adding there were at least 1,000 onlookers.

Police said only two other spectators were injured and had not revised their tally.

One officer along the east perimeter heard screams for help at the 6 a.m. implosion, said police, who were on scene helping to control traffic and crowds.

The boiler facility, which belonged to Pacific Gas and Electric Company and was decommissioned in 1986, had two towers 140 feet tall and four 200,000-gallon (757?,082-liter) empty water tanks, company spokesman Denny Boyles said.

It was being removed so the property could be cleared for sale under an agreement with the city of Bakersfield, he said.

Demolition subcontractors worked with police to establish a 1,000-foot (305-meter) perimeter beyond which a crowd had gathered to observe the demolition, Boyles said. He said the injured people were apparently outside the perimeter.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured during the demolition," Boyles said, adding that the company and subcontractors are cooperating with local authorities investigating what went wrong.

The man with the leg injuries was taken to a local hospital and then to Fresno, California, for further treatment, police said. The four others who were injured received treatment at the scene, Davis said.

(Reporting by Kevin Murphy; Editing by Eric M. Johnson and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/man-loses-part-leg-others-injured-california-power-005300816.html

memphis grizzlies aretha franklin Beyonce Pregnant Riot Fest Granbury Tx Jaden Smith eminem

HiT Software Feeds IBM i Data into Microsoft LightSwitch

HiT Software Feeds IBM i Data into Microsoft LightSwitch

Published: July 30, 2013

by Alex Woodie

Organizations that are using Microsoft's lightweight LightSwitch development environment can feed data from IBM i servers into their LightSwitch applications using the latest version of HiT Software Ritmo/i. Version 6 of the tool also adds support for Microsoft's Entity Framework (EF) object-relational mapper for .NET using native IBM i protocols, the company says.

Microsoft LightSwitch is a template-based, model-driven development environment that was first released by Microsoft in 2011. The software is intended to be used by non-technical Windows users who need to quickly generate database-powered, three-tier applications that feature modern Web interfaces.

Users get started with LightSwitch by using pre-built application shells that provide the look and feel of a particular type of application, such as Microsoft Office. Users then configure their LightSwitch applications in a graphical environment by creating relationships between database tables and entities, and defining queries against the data. Business logic in LightSwitch applications is powered by Windows Communication Foundation RIA Services and Entity Framework, while Silverlight powers the GUI and SQL Server handles the database layer.

The capability to access data stored in the DB2 for i database via Ritmo/i will benefit LightSwitch users, says Giacomo Lorenzin, managing director of HiT Software, which is a subsidiary of BackOffice Associates. "By adding support for LightSwitch and Entity Framework to Ritmo/i, developers can now take full advantage of IBM i data in their application development, regardless of which development approach they use," Lorenzin says in a press release.

Ritmo/i v.6 also supports integration with Visual Studio 2012, SQL Server 2012, and SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT). The new version also introduces support for multi-value parameters in SSIS/SSDT (Reporting Services/Data Tools), including support for access to listed parameter values, the company says.

Ritmo is a Windows-based product that helps Windows developers build high-speed, native data connections between their .NET applications and their data residing in the three DB2 database versions, including DB2/400, DB2 for Linux, Unix, and Windows, and DB2 for the mainframe. The software does this by reading SQL statements from Windows apps and translating it into IBM's Optimized Database Server (ODBS) protocol. No additional software is required on the database server.

Ritmo/i v.6 is available now. For more information, see www.hitsw.com.

RELATED STORIES

HiT Ships Updated DB2/400 for .NET Data Provider

HiT Software Acquired by BackOffice Associates

HiT Software Goes Mobile with Ritmo

HiT Software Delivers ADO.NET 2.0 Data Provider for DB2/400

HiT Software Bolsters DB2/400 Access for .NET Developers with Ritmo for iSeries 3.0

HiT Middleware Delivers Fast DB2/400 Access for .NET Apps

---

???????????????????? Post this story to del.icio.us
?????????????? Post this story to Digg
????Post this story to Slashdot

Source: http://www.itjungle.com/fhs/fhs073013-story04.html

Kimberly McCarthy Ausar Walcott SB5 michael jackson NBA Draft 2013 Jrue Holiday Jillian Bynes

Faithful find spiritual renewal at Catholic Charismatic Conference at University of Scranton

Melona Barber of Brooklyn, N.Y., attended the 31st annual Catholic Charismatic Renewal Conference at the University of Scranton on Saturday for spiritual revival and was not disappointed.

"When you come here, you're, like, renewed. You renew your spirit," said Ms. Barber, who has attended the event the past five years. "You let go of all of your problems. You feel like the Holy Spirit is within you."

She joined some 1,850 other Catholics who attend Mass and confession and listen to guest speakers at the conference, which began Friday and ends today.

Most attendants are from the eastern United States, particularly New York and New Jersey, said one of the organizers, Bob Valiante of Moosic. He started the annual event 31 years ago after his own personal conversion experience.

"I knew there was more in my spiritual life than just participation in Sunday Mass," said Mr. Valiante.

Many conference participants attend either as a result of having such a spiritual awakening or hoping to have one, he said.

"There may be some here seeking that experience or living that experience," he said. "It's ongoing."

During Masses, many people worship in a Charismatic style, such as singing while clapping hands or swaying raised hands in the air. It's a more exuberant tone than one would find in a typical Catholic service.

"They used to call us the Catholic Pentecostals," Mr. Valiante quipped. "It's spirit-inspired. It's a joyful, Christ-centered experience."

One speaker Saturday was Cuba native Maria Vadia, who was 10 years old when she and her family fled to Florida, and who is active in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the Archdiocese of Miami.

"We Catholics have been too passive. That has to change. The spectator mentality has to change," Ms. Vadia told her audience. "Being a Catholic Christian is not just going to Mass and going back home. Being a Catholic Christian is walking in the full purpose that God has for you.

"And I'm not talking about dying and going to heaven. I'm talking about entering into the prophetic destiny that he has for you here, in this planet. There is a purpose why we're here, now."

Contact the writer: jlockwood@ timesshamrock.com, @jlockwoodTT on Twitter

Source: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/faithful-find-spiritual-renewal-at-catholic-charismatic-conference-at-university-of-scranton-1.1530917

MLB Draft 2013 Brian Hallisay Deacon Jones Mel B Gordon Gee National Hurricane Center Google Glass

New Boston Globe owner has had success in baseball

Associated Press

Posted on August 3, 2013 at 10:00 PM

Updated today at 10:02 AM

BOSTON (AP) ? John W. Henry took a backward ballclub in a dilapidated park and transformed it into a two-time World Series champion that is one of baseball's model franchises.

As the owner of The Boston Globe, he will try to turn around a newspaper that ? like many other major metro dailies ? is shedding staff, subscribers and advertisers as it makes the transition into the internet age.

Henry agreed to buy the Globe along with the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and the Boston Metro for $70 million. That's a fraction of the $1.1 billion The New York Times Co. paid 20 years ago.

Henry is the son of southern Illinois soybean farmers now worth an estimated $1.5 billion.

?

Business News Video

More Video

Source: http://www.khou.com/news/business/218231591.html

mos def Chris Pratt ramadan rick perry iOS 7 Beta 3 Chris Kaman Tropical Storm Chantal

SMU Mustangs NCAA Football Gambling Odds & Predictions

June Jones is an established coach and when he left Hawaii for SMU big things were expected. After a disastrous 1-11 start the Mustangs have played .500 or better each season since, participating in bowl games the last 4 seasons ? winning 3.

They're BAAAAACK!!!! CappersPicks is proud to advertise Sportsbook.ag again! USA customers ONLY! 25% CASH SIGN UP BONUS UP TO $250 TODAY! BET ON THE SUPER BOWL NOW!

SMU Mustangs
Coach: June Jones
2012 Record: 7-6
Odds of winning BCS Championship: +2000 (Field)
Odds From WagerWeb

Now they are leaving Conference USA for the experiment that is the American Athletic Conference. A stellar introductory season is not expected given the state of the program though.

As Jones is an ?offense guy? Hawaii and SMU have generally been very good on that side of the ball especially throwing it. Last year they dropped off dramatically in that area not even ranking in the top half of teams nationally in that category.

The defense actually wound up carrying them, especially in their bowl victory over a good Fresno State team, but you can bet Jones will be working hard to get things back on track offensively this season.

It just might be a struggle even for a noted offensive mind like him.

Check out our in-house Handicapper!!! Buy Razor Ray?s College Picks in 2013!

Senior QB Garrett Gilbert is a classic transfer story. He wasn?t going to be the guy at Texas so he transferred to a place where he could play and improve his NFL stock after being highly touted as a recruit. SMU seemed like a great fit for him but last year he just wasn?t as efficient throwing the ball as you would expect from a QB in Jones? system.

He completed just 53% of his passes with only a 15/15 TD/INT ratio. If he is not better than the Mustangs are sunk because the quality of defenses in their new league should be higher than what they are used to.

It would be helpful if the Mustangs had a solid ground game but that seems unlikely given that Zach Line(another transfer), the second leading rusher in program history (behind Eric Dickerson) has graduated.

Also not helping is that the line returns just 2 starters . They are trying to replace Line with another Longhorns castoff in RB Traylon Shead who played a year in junior college before matriculating to SMU.

Shead has looked good on the practice field but will need to produce in games in the fall.

Surprise, last year SMU had the third best scoring defense in C-USA and was #1 in the conference against the run.

On the flip side they were #11/#109 against the pass which is why it is a bit of a mixed bag that all the starters returning from the unit are in the back seven. Teams from the former Big East are generally pretty balanced on offense so SMU will have to find some linemen that can stuff the run and hope that experience will help a secondary that was torched at times last season.

C-USA was a passing league so those numbers could be a little inflated ? maybe.

2013-14 Record Projection: 3-9

Unfortunately I think this is going to be a down year for SMU.

The defense is likely to take a big step back this season and I am not sure the offense is ready to pick up the slack. QB Gilbert would need to have a super efficient season and I am just not sure he has it in him.

He does have a couple of starting wideouts returning but it might not be enough if the ground game doesn?t produce. Also not helping matters is a tough schedule. The non-conference is probably a 1-3 deal with games against Texas Tech and @Texas A&M and @TCU (plus a visit by Montana State). Even if they can split those there are at most three victories in their AAC slate as they have some tough home and road games and will be facing some unfamiliar opponents.

It doesn?t look very promising right now and this is probably a team to forget when it comes to wagering.

2013 Mustangs Schedule

AUG 30 ? Texas Tech
SEP 7 ? Montana State
SEP 21 ? @Texas A&M
SEP 28 ? @TCU
OCT 5 ? Rutgers
OCT 19 ? @Memphis
OCT 26 ? Temple
NOV 9 ? @Cincinnati
NOV 16 ? Connecticut
NOV 23 ? @South Florida
NOV 29 ? @Houston
DEC 7 ? UCF

GRAB OUR BEST Expert CFB Picks for 2013 NCAA FOOTBALL Betting! ??>

Source: http://www.capperspicks.com/blog/ncaa-football/smu-mustangs-predictions-2013-betting-lines-schedule-3813/

elvis presley elvis presley Rob Parker Comcast Rob Ryan bethenny frankel sacramento kings

John F. Russell: Baseball finding its place in Ski Town USA

John Russell

John Russell's sports column appears Sundays in Steamboat Today. Contact him at 871-4209 or email jrussell@SteamboatToday.com.

Find more columns by John here.

Steamboat Springs ? Sure, we live in a ski town, but this summer has proven there is room for other sports in the shadows of Howelsen Hill.

Steamboat Springs long has been known as a baseball town ? at least for many teams from across the country that travel here to play in the Triple Crown baseball tournament every summer. But baseball is one of those sports that has always struggled to find its place in the mountains of Northwest Colorado.

But things seem to be changing.

In late July, Dave Roy and the American Legion Post 44 baseball team from Steamboat Springs collected the Legion B state championship. The win marked the end of a 27-5 season that the coach is hoping will carry over to the high school season in the spring.

Last week, a 13-and-younger baseball team from Steamboat Springs played in the Triple Crown World Series. Things started off slow for the hometown team, but after watching the team play a couple of games, I couldn?t help but feel the players were on the verge of a big win. It came Friday afternoon when the local team came out on top of a 17-11 score beating another Colorado team.

It might be just one game, but teams from Steamboat rarely have success in the tournament that draws top players from across the country. There were no expectations, at least outside the team?s dugout, when the all-star team took the field Wednesday.

The idea that Steamboat could throw a team together in a few weeks and pull out a win in this tournament was a long shot. I think the Colorado Rockies would have a better chance of sweeping the Atlanta Braves in every series for an entire season.

I?m not saying it was impossible, but after 20 years of covering Triple Crown tournaments, I would say a Steamboat team winning is unlikely.

Let's face the facts: Playing baseball in Ski Town USA is an uphill battle. It?s like riding your mountain bike to the top of Storm Peak in the highest gear with two flat tires. It?s like attempting to ski down the Why Not ski run on Alpine skis the first week of August.

In places like Denver, Houston or Danville, Calif., the baseball season consumes most of the year. The players on those teams were hand picked, and their parents already are busy planning the children?s high school and college baseball careers.

In Northwest Colorado, we have players committed to the game and players willing to train in gyms or travel for the chance to play in the spring. We have coaches like Roy who see a future for baseball in the shadows of Howelsen Hill.

This summer, the American Legion Post 44 team won a state title, and last week, the young players from Steamboat Springs proved with their play that they can hold their own in any tournament ? even one that takes place in their own backyard.

To reach John F. Russell, call 970-871-4209 or email jrussell@SteamboatToday.com

Source: http://www2.steamboatpilot.com/news/2013/aug/04/john-f-russell-winning-isnt-always-reflected-score/

Wesley Johnson Lorenzo Lamas Treyvon Martin casey anthony cory monteith al sharpton george zimmerman

China Crowns Asia's Tallest Tower In Shanghai

Work on the main structure of the world's second tallest skyscraper has been completed, as the final beam was placed on the Shanghai Tower.

A crane placed the steel beam 1,900ft above the ground in Shanghai, China's commercial hub, as the building formally overtook Taiwan's Taipei 101 building to become the highest tower in Asia.

Globally it is second only to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which stands at 2,723ft.

The Shanghai Tower, which costs an estimated $14.8bn yuan (?1.56bn), will reach over 2,066ft when it is finally finished.

"It's a landmark and it will change the skyline of Shanghai," Xia Jun, of US design firm Gensler said.

His comments came at a media conference following the traditional "topping out" ceremony.

"I don't think the importance of an architecture lies entirely in its height," he added.

The structure stands alongside China's previous tallest building, the 1,614ft Shanghai World Financial Centre - and is due to open next year, by which time it may have been surpassed as the tallest building in China.

Chinese firm Broad Group have announced plans to construct an 2,749ft tower in the central Chinese city of Changsha, which they say will be completed in April.

But reports in state-run media late last month said construction on the tower had been called off, because the building had not gained full local government approval.

Work on the Shanghai tower began in 2008, and its construction was partially backed by Shanghai's city government.

Concerns were raised last year when long cracks began to appear in the ground close to the building, prompting fears that ground around the tower was subsiding.

But Ding Jiemin, an architect who collaborated on the tower's design, played down fears on Saturday.

"These problems were just during construction period, it will not affect the security of the architecture," he said.

China is home to three of the world's 10 tallest buildings, according to research group Emporis -- which did not count the Shanghai Tower.

The Shanghai Tower's final beam was decorated with red ribbons and flags, and carried a banner which read: "Team of hoisting heroes".

• 
• 

Source: http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/china_crowns_asia_s_tallest_tower_in_shanghai

heat Julius Richard Petri Prancercise kfor espn3 pacers Grumpy Cat

Woman describes raccoon attack in Central Park

A possibly rabid raccoon attacked a woman out an evening stroll in New York City?s Central Park, Gothamist reports.

Taraka Larson, who plays in the Brooklyn band Prince Rama, encountered the raccoon on Tuesday night near the pond at 59^th Street.

?I was having a really nice magical sunset walk with myself, listening to Donna Summer and the sun went down and I was just in the moment, listening and walking and appreciating everything,? Larson told Gothamist. ?And I noticed these two little dance partners blocking my path.?

Larson stopped to take an Instagram of one of the raccoons, but the animals got closer and started sniffing around her shoes.

?I thought they would go away,? she said. ?And then one of them got on top of my shoes and got under the tongue of my shoe and then wrapped its claws and started to gnaw on my leg. Instinct took over and I kicked it of and ran away.?

After getting help at the Plaza Hotel, Larson was rushed to a nearby urgent care center and later to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital. She was given 15 shots in her ankle to ward off any possible infection and will have to return to the hospital for five more visits.

The number of rabid raccoons in Central Park has increased in recent years, with dozens located by the city?s Department of Mental Health and Hygiene at the start of this year alone. Back in 2008, one Manhattan resident told the New York Times that some of the raccoons he had seen in Central Park were ?big like dogs.?

Larson?s advice for avoiding these nocturnal scavengers is simple: ?Don?t smell like trash, and if you see raccoons, run away.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/woman-attached-by-raccoon-in-central-park-161146649.html

Celeste Holm Stephen Covey klimt breaking bad breaking bad food network star British Open 2012

Fuel-saving idle elimination coming to the masses

Autos

Michael Strong The Detroit Bureau

8 hours ago

GM?s move to make start/stop technology standard on the 2014 Chevy Malibu is the first ripple of the wave of U.S. vehicles that will be outfitted with the technology as automakers search for more ways to improve gas mileage.

It comes with a variety of names, including a start-stop system, idle elimination, idle-stop-go and micro-hybrid.

?Engine stop-start isn?t a brand new technology, but the latest systems benefit from significant advances made in the last few years,? said John Nielsen, AAA?s director of Automotive Engineering and Repair.

?This technology is only going to gain momentum as vehicle manufactures work to meet the more stringent Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards set for 2016.?

The idea behind start/stop is that the engine shuts down when stopped for a period of time, then when engaged it starts up again. Ideally the driver would never notice it, but with past systems drivers have complained about delayed engine response, excessive noise, shuddering and shaking with systems.

More from The Detroit Bureau:?Ousted from Volvo, Jacoby Now Will Run GM's Vast International Empire

Most vehicles with the system have a shut off switch allowing drivers to simply turn it off if they?re unhappy with it. The Malibu will not have a kill switch. It?s the first high volume, non-hybrid to not offer the option of a kill switch.

But with corporate average fuel economy numbers rising in the coming years, companies have been working diligently to refine the technology. This system is expected to improve the Malibu?s fuel economy by 5 percent in city driving.

The first non-hybrid stop-start systems in the U.S. market arrived on high-end vehicles from BMW, Mercedes and Porsche. For the 2013 model year, Jaguar joined the group. It?s not surprising that European and Japanese vehicles would lead the way on bringing the technology to the U.S. as it's estimated that 40 to 45 percent of vehicles in those places use the technology.

While it was once tied to expensive vehicles, the technology is running across all makes and models in 2014. The new BMW 4-Series, 1-Series and 3-Series will have it, as will the Jaguar F-Type, Audi RS7, Ford Fusion and Mazda3. Even trucks will start to see some systems: Dodge is adding stop-start to its V6-powered Ram 1500 pickup for a one mile per gallon fuel economy improvement.

More from The Detroit Bureau:?Ford Admits Delaying Recall, Pays $17 million?Fine

Lux Research, a research and advisory firm providing strategic advice and ongoing intelligence for emerging technologies, predicts that more than 8 million vehicles in North America will be equipped with engine stop-start systems by 2017.

Additionally, IHS Automotive predicts more than 20 percent of vehicles built in North America will have the system by 2017, which is four times higher than the current number of vehicles.

Knowing the public?s perception of the system, GM spent a lot of time to perfect its version before putting it in the Malibu. Besides issues related to noise and vibration, shutting off the engine also impacts the car?s other systems, like lights, air conditioning, etc.

To avoid problems, the Malibu?s stop-start consists mainly of a beefed-up starter and a small auxiliary battery in the trunk. The extra battery is there so drivers won?t notice a momentary dimming of lights or slowing of the air-conditioning fan when the engine stops and starts.

The car uses the same electronic controls as several hybrids GM already builds. Those vehicles are widely considered industry leaders for smooth, unobtrusive operation.

Among other things, the system is programmed so it doesn?t keep cycling on and off in stop-and-go driving in heavy traffic. It also measures the inside and outside temperatures to keep the passenger compartment comfortable.

More from The Detroit Bureau: Jaguar to unveil its first-ever SUV

One reason the technology hasn?t caught on is that it isn?t necessarily cheap. The systems cost a few hundred dollars, but drivers can make it up, according to AAA. If gasoline costs $3.75 per gallon, the owner of a car that normally gets 20 mpg and is driven 12,000 miles per year would save an estimated $167 per year in fuel costs if the vehicle were equipped with an engine stop-start system. In this case, the system would pay for itself in less than two years and offer ongoing savings thereafter.

Another reason for the lack of promotion is that the Environmental Protection Agency, which helps determine mileage ratings for cars and trucks, doesn?t perform an appropriate test to help determine the system?s effectiveness and its impact on mileage ratings.

Copyright ? 2009-2013, The Detroit Bureau

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663286/s/2f7ceb2e/sc/28/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Cfuel0Esaving0Eidle0Eelimination0Ecoming0Emasses0E6C10A830A979/story01.htm

yankees Bb&t Maria Sibylla Merian Holly Sonders Pizza Lemon phillies

Find my Android phone: Google launching phone locator and ringer for misplaced devices

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: www.mobileburn.com --- Friday, August 02, 2013
Android users have long relied on apps like Find My Droid and Lookout Mobile Security to locate their lost or stolen phones. Phone tracking will soon be a native feature of Android with the release of a new Android Device Manager service from Google. Read the full story here. ...

Source: http://www.mobileburn.com/21890/news/find-my-android-phone-google-launching-phone-locator-and-ringer-for-misplaced-devices

UFC 160 criminal minds London attack Doodle 4 Google Sergio Garcia kellie pickler miranda kerr

Russia gives Snowden asylum, Obama-Putin summit in doubt

By Timothy Heritage and Steve Holland

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia rejected U.S. pleas and granted American fugitive Edward Snowden a year's asylum on Thursday, letting the former spy agency contractor slip out of a Moscow airport after more than five weeks in limbo while angering the United States and putting in doubt a planned summit between the two nations' presidents.

The United States wanted Russia to send Snowden home to face criminal charges including espionage for disclosing in June secret American internet and telephone surveillance programs. The White House signaled that President Barack Obama may boycott a September summit with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Snowden, whose disclosures triggered an international furor over the reach of U.S. spy operations as part of its counterterrorism efforts, thanked Russia for his temporary asylum and declared that "the law is winning."

Anatoly Kucherena, Snowden's Russian lawyer, said the 30-year-old had found shelter in a private home of American expatriates.

Putin's move aggravated relations with the United States that were already strained by Russian support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in that country's bloody civil war and a host of other issues.

"We see this as an unfortunate development and we are extremely disappointed by it," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in Washington. "We are evaluating the utility of a summit, in light of this and other issues, but I have no announcement today on that.

Other high-level U.S.-Russian talks were also put in doubt.

Discussions planned for next week between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and their Russian counterparts are now "up in the air," according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor, has avoided the hordes of reporters trying to find him since he landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport from Hong Kong on June 23. He gave them the slip again as he left the transit area where he had been holed up.

State television showed Snowden, wearing a backpack and a blue button-up shirt, getting into a gray car at the airport, driven by a young man in a baseball cap.

"Over the past eight weeks we have seen the Obama administration show no respect for international or domestic law but in the end the law is winning," Snowden, whose first leaks were published two months ago, was quoted as saying by the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy group, which has assisted him.

"I thank the Russian Federation for granting me asylum in accordance with its laws and international obligations."

Grainy images on state television showed Snowden's document, which is similar to a Russian passport, and revealed that he had been granted asylum for a year from July 31.

'MOST WANTED MAN'

"He is the most wanted man on planet Earth," Kucherena told Reuters.

Kucherena said Snowden wanted to rent an apartment and find work in Russia, and had no immediate plans to leave.

Snowden, who had his U.S. passport revoked by Washington, had bided his time in the transit area between the runway and passport control, which Russia considers neutral territory.

"He needs to work. He is not a rich man, and the money that he had, he has of course, spent on food," said Kucherena, who sits on two high-profile Russian government advisory bodies.

"Snowden is an expert, a very high-level expert, and I am receiving letters from companies and citizens who would eagerly give him a job. He will not have any problems," the lawyer said.

Snowden already has been offered a job by Russia's top social networking site.

A pledge not to publish more information that could harm the United States was the condition under which Putin said Snowden could receive safe harbor. "Edward assured me that he is not planning to publish any documents that blacken the American government," Kucherena said.

Snowden was accompanied by Sarah Harrison, a WikiLeaks legal researcher. "We would like to thank the Russian people and all those others who have helped to protect Mr. Snowden. We have won the battle - now the war," WikiLeaks said on Twitter.

"I am so thankful to the Russian nation and President Vladimir Putin," the American's father, Lonnie Snowden, told Russian state television.

Bruce Fein, an attorney for Lonnie Snowden, spoke twice on Thursday with Kucherena. The discussions were about Edward Snowden's safety - "he is fine" - and about arranging a visit to Russia by Snowden's father and his legal team to see his son, a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

Lonnie Snowden has not had direct contact with his son yet and "nobody knows where he (Edward) is," the source said.

The visit to Russia could occur in the next three weeks or so, the source said.

U.S. LAWMAKERS INCENSED

Prominent U.S. lawmakers - Republicans and Democrats - condemned Russia's action and urged Obama to take stern retaliatory steps beyond the issue of the September summit.

It is not clear whether Obama might also consider a boycott of the G20 summit in Russia in September, immediately after the planned summit with Putin, or of the Winter Olympics, which Russia will host in the city of Sochi next February.

"Russia has stabbed us in the back, and each day that Mr. Snowden is allowed to roam free is another twist of the knife," said Senator Chuck Schumer, a close Obama ally and fellow Democrat who urged Obama to recommend moving out of Russia the summit of G20 leaders planned for St. Petersburg.

Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, already sharp critics of Putin, called Russia's action a disgrace and a deliberate effort to embarrass the United States. They said the United States should retaliate by pushing for completion of all missile-defense programs in Europe and moving for another expansion of NATO to include Russian neighbor Georgia.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov played down concerns about the impact on relations with the United States.

"Our president has ... expressed hope many times that this will not affect the character of our relations," he said.

Snowden hopes to avoid the same fate as Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army soldier convicted on Tuesday on criminal charges including espionage and theft related to releasing classified data through WikiLeaks.

Nicaragua, Bolivia and Venezuela have offered Snowden refuge, but there are no direct commercial flights to Latin America from Moscow and he is concerned the United States would intercept any flight he takes.

Snowden also has received a marriage proposal via Twitter from Anna Chapman, the glamorous former agent who was deported to Russia from the United States in a Cold-War style spy swap in 2010.

Putin has said he wants to improve relations with the United States amid differences over the Syrian civil war, his treatment of political opponents and foreign-funded non-governmental organizations. He would have risked looking weak if he had handed Snowden over to the U.S. authorities.

More than half of Russians have a positive opinion of Snowden and 43 percent wanted him to be granted asylum, a poll released by independent research group Levada said this week.

(Additional reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel, Gabriela Baczynska, Alexei Anishchuk, Katya Golubkova and Gleb Stolyarov in Moscow, Mark Felsenthal and Tabassum Zakaria in Washington, and Andrew Osborn in London, Editing by Will Dunham and Jim Loney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-gives-snowden-asylum-obama-putin-summit-doubt-034622610.html

clintonville battlestar galactica blood and chrome my morning jacket roger goodell psychosis dianna agron million hoodie march

Red Sox owner buys Boston Globe for $70 million

John Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, purchased the Boston Globe as well as the websites BostonGlobe.com, Boston.com, The Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Telegram.com, and a 49 percent interest in Metro Boston. The New York Times bought the Boston Globe in 1993 for $1.1 billion.

By Associated Press / August 3, 2013

Boston Red Sox owner John Henry has an agreement to buy The Boston Globe in a $70 million deal that will give Henry the 141-year-old newspaper, its websites and affiliated companies.

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Enlarge

Businessman John Henry, the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, has entered into an agreement to buy The Boston Globe for $70 million, a massive drop from its record $1.1 billion price two decades ago.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

The impending purchase from The New York Times Co. marks Henry's "first foray into the financially unsettled world of the news media," the Globe said Saturday. The deal will give Henry the 141-year-old newspaper, its websites and affiliated companies, it said.

The Times announced in February it was putting the Globe and related assets up for sale four years after calling off a previous attempt to sell it. The company's CEO said at the time selling the Globe would help the company focus attention on The New York Times brand.

Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy confirmed the planned sale of the Globe and other media properties to Henry. The Times said the all-cash sale, expected to close in 30 to 60 days, includes BostonGlobe.com, Boston.com, The Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Telegram.com, the direct mail marketing company Globe Direct and the company's 49 percent interest in Metro Boston, a free daily newspaper for commuters.

Henry cited the "essential role that its journalists and employees play in Boston, throughout New England, and beyond."

"The Boston Globe's award-winning journalism as well as its rich history and tradition of excellence have established it as one of the most well respected media companies in the country," Henry said in a statement.

Henry, who also owns the English Premier League soccer club Liverpool F.C., said he would reveal details about his plans for the Globe in the next few days.

Globe editor Brian McGrory said the newspaper's Red Sox coverage and its editorial decisions won't be affected by the sale.

"We have no plans whatsoever to change our Red Sox coverage specifically, or our sports coverage in general, nor will we be asked," McGrory told the newspaper. "The Globe's sports reporting and commentary is the gold standard in the industry."

The Times bought the Globe from the family of former Globe executive Stephen Taylor in 1993 for what it said was the highest price paid for an American newspaper. The price Henry is paying is less than 7 percent of the 1993 price.

The Globe and other newspapers have faced difficulties in recent years as readers have fled to the Internet and advertisers have cut spending on newspapers and moved more ads online. Still, the Globe is a journalistic institution in New England and was lauded for its coverage of the deadly Boston Marathon bombings in April.

A 2009 round of cost-cutting, involving pay cuts, helped put the Globe on better financial footing and prompted the Times to call off a planned sale. In late 2011, the Globe started charging for access to its online version at BostonGlobe.com, which helped to boost circulation revenues.

The Times company doesn't separate Globe revenue from The New York Times revenue in its financial statements. But the Globe had an average weekday circulation of 230,351 in the six months through September, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. The newspaper's increase in digital subscriptions more than offset declines in print. But the total is still down significantly from the nearly 413,000 it boasted in September 2002.

The Globe isn't the only newspaper to see a huge drop in its price at sale time.

In April 2012, Philadelphia's two largest newspapers sold for $55 million, a fraction of the $515 million paid by a group of investors in 2006. The buyers of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News included influential New Jersey Democrat George Norcross III, former New Jersey Nets owner Lewis Katz and cable TV mogul H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/thLAcZ9Tzk0/Red-Sox-owner-buys-Boston-Globe-for-70-million

Google Docs Huell Howser Justin Bieber Smoking Weed Katherine Webb Cut for Bieber AJ McCarron ups

Looking for dedicated Members

I am looking for dedicated players in a drama RP. I have several players already, but I am afraid that they may drop out soon if we don't get more players soon.

Here's the link:
Precious Love

Literate players only. I'm annoyed when someone can't spell correctly. We're human, though, so some mistakes are alright, just make sure that we don't have to decipher anything and we'll be fine.

I used to be nice... Then I got bored.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/N4zQ0qDWzw8/viewtopic.php

Fox News Live Boston lockdown jennifer love hewitt 4/20 boston Cnn Live Logan airport

Pacino movie films in middle of concert by Chicago

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? An Al Pacino movie broke out in the middle of a concert by the band Chicago, with thousands of fans serving as extras.

Cameras were wheeled onstage during intermission of the group's show at the Greek Theatre on Friday night to film a scene from Pacino's upcoming movie "Imagine," in which he plays aging rock star Danny Collins.

With coaching from the director, the crowd chanted the name of Pacino's character as the 73-year-old actor walked on stage to sing "Hey Baby Doll" in a black suit. The movie co-stars Michael Caine, Annette Bening and Jennifer Garner.

"This is an improvisation," Pacino told the crowd. "You just came in and got it. That's not easy."

Chicago's band members remained on stage to watch and clap along during the 25-minute filming. After a few takes, the crowd grew restless and there was scattered booing for the real musicians to resume playing.

Earlier in Chicago's set, Joe Mantegna of CBS' "Criminal Minds" joined his hometown band to sing "If You Leave Me Now."

Pacino returned to the stage during Chicago's encore and sang and danced to their hit "25 or 6 to 4."

"For a shy guy from the South Bronx, this has been great," Pacino said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-08-03-US-People-Al-Pacino/id-a4b114a24d19449f8acf0f0b6d3cbba7

George Bush After Christmas Sales 2012 Charles Durning Webster Ny Mcdonalds Restaurants Open on Christmas Day santa tracker

BlackBerry begins BBM beta for Android (update: official comment)

Blackberry promised us back at BBLive that we'd see BBM on Android and iOS devices before the end of the summer. Well, we've hit the dog days of August, and while most of those devices are still BBM-free, it appears a select few Androids are finally getting to beta test the app. Blackberry OS reports that email invites are rolling out now to folks registered with BlackBerry's Beta Zone to test out BBM. Other than registration, users simply need a handset running Android 4.0 and up and they'll be messaging across the great platform divide in no time. We've reached out to the good people at BlackBerry for comment on the matter, and will update this post when we hear back.

Update: We just got an official comment on the beta rollout, and it turns out the it had a limited number of slots, which have all been claimed:

BlackBerry has begun internal testing of BBM on Android and iOS devices. We invited our employees to nominate friends and family to participate in a limited Android beta. Those slots are now full. For more information, please visit www.blackberry.com/bbm.

Filed under: Mobile, Blackberry

Comments

Source: Blackberry OS

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/01/blackberry-begins-bbm-beta-for-android/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

winter solstice Jabari Parker 2012 australia Brothers Grimm Tate Stevens Miss Universe 2012

Skipton Building Society's profits rise 60 per cent (From Bradford ...

Skipton Building Society?s profits rise 60 per cent

1:00pm Thursday 1st August 2013 in News By Chris Holland, Business Reporter

Skipton Building Society made nearly as much profit in the first half of this year as it did in the whole of 2012.

Pre-tax profits at the mutual financial group grew by nearly 60 per cent to ?34.4 million against ?21.7m at the halfway stage last year and just below the ?35.4m for the whole of 2012.

The success came as the society attracted 11,000 more customers and increased gross lending by two-thirds to ?1.09 billion. It also boosted net lending by ?455m, or 4.4 per cent, at a time when overall UK residential mortgage lending was flat.

The Skipton drew down ?410m under the Bank of England?s Funding for Lending Scheme which had increased its net UK mortgage lending since its launch by ?656m.

Mortgage arrears (where the arrears balance was greater than 2.5 per cent of the total outstanding balance) fell to 1.16 per cent from 1.3 per cent, below the industry average of 1.42 per cent.

Skipton increased retail savings balances by ?319m to ?9.74bn, a growth of 3.4 per cent.

It saw continued improvement in the performance of its mortgages and savings division where profits increased by ?12.5m to ?16.2m, compared to ?3.7m for the first half of 2012. The result was boosted by higher lending business and falling savings rates.

Chief executive David Cutter said the Skipton had continued to improve its key capital ratios and maintain prudent levels of high-quality liquidity, while meeting members? needs through a personalised approach to service, further growth in lending and competitive savings products.

The group?s estate agency division, Connells, increased profits by a quarter to ?23 million from ?18.5 million in the first half of 2012 as a result of a 16.8 per cent increase in house sales.

Homeloan Management, the mortgage servicing business, traded profitably in a subdued outsourcing market, lifting pre-tax profits to ?300,000 against ?100,000 a year earlier.

Skipton?s three financial advice businesses overturned a ?500,000 loss 12 months ago to post ?500,000 profits as they benefited from a buoyant stock market for most of the period.

David Cutter said: ?I am delighted to report a 59 per cent increase in profits at the same time as growth in mortgage and savings balances and capital ratios.?

?I am particularly pleased at the way in which we have achieved our results. We remain committed to being an organisation that cares about our customers, continually offering good value products to our members, backed up by outstanding personal service.?

Source: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/10584287.Skipton_Building_Society___s_profits_rise_60_per_cent/

pnc Pain and Gain Justin Pugh dallas cowboys Jarvis Jones minnesota vikings Eric Reid

Give A Memorable Folsom Cremation Ceremony - Organizations ...

Give A Memorable Folsom Cremation Ceremony

0 views This article is copyright free and is published in Organizations ? News and Society Joined: Jun 05, 2012

5212 articles

Providing your beloved deceased with the cremation services that you desire is what the staff members believe in. This is what you receive when you get in touch with Folsom cremation services as each and every staff member fully understands the criticality of this situation and believes that the wishes of your deceased one should be honored. There are a variety of packages that are offered and these packages ensure that irrespective of the budget you possess, the arrangements would be made in such a manner that bidding farewell to your loved one would take place in the manner you desire.

Planning as you Desire

To cater to the needs of the burial of different individuals, there are different packages that are offered and these packages are all come with the best of services which would give a peaceful farewell to your loved one. The services that are offered include different kind of cremation caskets which comprise of a plastic box which comes under the most basic form of plan; a wooden urn that is that comes under a standard plan, or an urn that comes under the preferred CatID and is named as ashen pewter. To top it all, the cremation services are planned in such a fashion that the desires of the family members as well as the deceased are put into proper effect.

Compassion Serves the Purpose during these Harsh Times

When it comes to crematory services, compassion is something that serves the purpose and carries the attitude of a proper crematory service towards a positive direction. When working with the cremation services provided by the crematory, you will be dealing with the staff members that are experienced and well planned so that all your needs can be taken care of in a compassionate manner by making this last farewell a memorable one.

Comprehensive Services to Ensure Quality

The services that are offered to you after the passing of a loved one are flexible and these services ensure a proper crematory ceremony in the manner you plan and desire. cremation Folsom is carried on in a traditional manner and the options are customizable and hence they are accompanied by funeral services that are traditional in nature. Cremation services are flexible and are planned in such a manner that the variety includes a service that is memorial, a traditional service, graveside service and last but certainly not the least, an informal service.

About author: William Klein

Other article from News and Society

Get Desired Cremation Ceremony At Folsom Cremation
Cremating a loved one is an act that needs to be committed with utmost devotion and that act is requires the assistance of professionals who can stand with you and for you irrespective of whether you require a planned ceremony or a ceremony that has to happen ...

View by 1 people

Posted by William Klein in , Funeral Director In Folsom To Provide Reliable Grief Services
We all are attached with all our relations someway or other and if anybody has left us, we want that the last rituals performed should be in a nice way. We all want that our loved ones be cremated with full respect and dignity. Funeral director in Folsom is a ...

View by 2 people

Posted by William Klein in , Germany?s Electric and Gas Suppliers Look toward Canada
Germany?s electric and gas suppliers always seem to be making energy headlines. As an alternative energy leader and with all the nation?s sweeping energy reforms, the nation?s traditional and alternative electric and gas suppliers have had a lot to deal ...

View by 5 people

Posted by Laura Ginn in , Electric and Gas Deal Struck between Iraq and Iran
In spite of the infamous war between them during the 1980s that lead to thousands upon thousands of deaths, Iraq and Iran have reach an agreement relative to electric and gas providers. Iraq has been plagued with electricity woes leading to blackouts, but ...

View by 6 people

Posted by Laura Ginn in , CORGI Registered for Gas Safety
September 16th through the 22nd, 2013, is officially designated as Gas Safety Week in the UK. Will you be ready to celebrate with a clear conscience that your home is certain to be gas-safe and gas-smart? Requesting a visit from an engineer who is CORGI ...

View by 6 people

Posted by Laura Ginn in ,

Source: http://www.zuarticles.com/article-details/give-a-memorable-folsom-cremation-ceremony.html

USA VS Mexico Alexis DeJoria Tubby Smith opm passover Florida Gulf Coast University Aaron Craft

Moto X, iPad mini offer refinements, not innovation

(MoneyWatch) There are rumors aplenty about what two mobile giants, Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG), are planning for new-device releases. Apple is supposedly planning on an iPad mini with a Retina display from frenemy rival and supplier Samsung. Google will unveil its Moto X smartphone, showing what the search giant and the hardware company it acquired can achieve working together.

But notice that the level of breathless excitement among pundits, the press and fanboys is less than it might have been even a year ago. A Retina display on the iPad mini? It's simply moving the feature from the larger sibling down to the highly popular smaller, and less expensive, model. The Moto X is expected to have some nice features but nothing earthshaking.

And that is the likely near future of mobile development. There will be niceties, but not necessarily anything so attention-grabbing that people flock to the model, forsaking all others.

The clear sign of this happened on the last day of July, when the American Customer Satisfaction Index announced that Samsung moved ahead of Apple in U.S. consumer satisfaction. That was not only an upset, but one that happened in Apple's stronghold of consumer allegiance.

Not only did two of Samsung's older smartphones take first and second place (the latest Galaxy S 4 wasn't available during the survey period), but there wasn't a great increase in customer satisfaction between the iPhone 5 and the 4S and 4. ACSI thought this meant that "Apple customers themselves don't see much difference between the iPhone 4, 4S or 5." Apple's recent earnings announcement confirmed that many consumers opt for older models.

After all, why upgrade when the premium cost doesn't necessarily deliver features or design much more advanced than what a lower price can bring? This isn't an Apple problem so much as a natural innovation problem for the mobile industry. There are two types of innovation: the type that jumps ahead of what has gone before, as the early iPhones did, and the incremental improvement that makes things better over a long period.

Incremental innovation is important, honing concepts and improving implementation. However, it isn't anywhere near as exciting for gadget junkies. Incremental innovation seems to be the phase that smartphones and even tablets are stuck in. Screens get improved. You might have new antenna layouts. But that doesn't match the revolutionary abilities that you get the first time touch interfaces are available on small devices.

That doesn't mean innovation is dead. It's moving as it should. And none of this excludes the possibility of a major breakthrough or novel application, whether an image projected up to your eyes without having to hold the phone up or a wrist-worn device that can control your smartphone, electronics in a car or home appliances. Many people will carefully watch Apple this fall for any monumental advance, but also to see if the days of big mobile innovation will remain, for now, asleep.

Source: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsBusiness/~3/n0gFJHE4vQg/

california earthquake california earthquake tyson chandler tyson chandler the pirates band of misfits cleveland browns minnesota twins