Best Albums Of 2012

From Bruno Mars to Tame Impala (and everywhere inbetween), Bigger Than The Sound picks the 20 best albums of 2012.
By James Montgomery

Best Albums of 2012
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1698825/best-albums-2012.jhtml

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Cabulous Rebrands As Flywheel, Plans Major Marketing Push To Bring E-Hail To Cabs Across The US

Mobile transportation startup Cabulous launched in 2010 with plans to bring Uber-like e-hailing to taxi fleets throughout the country. And while it's been fairly successful in getting cabs signed up and attracting new customers, the company has decided to rebrand as Flywheel, and will be making a big marketing push around the new name in urban markets like New York City and San Francisco.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/rtiyN4JdTCU/

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Video: Dealbook Conference; Apple TV on the Way?

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50180831/

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Astronomers discover 'missing link' of black holes

Dec. 12, 2012 ? The discovery of a binging black hole in our nearest neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda, has shed new light on some of the brightest X-ray sources seen in other galaxies, according to new work co-authored by astronomers from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research's Curtin University node.

Using a suite of Earth-orbiting X-ray telescopes, including NASA's Swift and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton satellites, a large international team of astronomers watched as the X-ray emission from the black hole -- found over 2million light years away -- brightened and faded over the course of six months.

The study, published in the scientific journal Nature, also shows what happens when black holes feast rapidly on the material stripped from a companion star.

It is the second Ultraluminous X-Ray source (ULX) to have been spotted in Andromeda -- the Milky Way's nearest neighboring galaxy -- in the past two years.

X-ray telescopes have shown many nearby galaxies to host ULX sources, which can be bright enough to outshine an entire galaxy in X-rays.

Astronomers have spent years debating whether these are black holes just a few times the mass of the Sun which are gorging themselves on gas from an orbiting star, or whether they are more massive black holes eating more sedately.

Lead author Dr Matthew Middleton, who led the latest research while at Durham University, said the findings helped solve this debate.

Dr Middleton, now based at the University of Amsterdam, said: "The black hole we observed in Andromeda is the missing link.

"Our observations tell us that this ultraluminous X-ray source -- and by extension, many others -- is just a run-of-the-mill black hole, only about ten times the mass of the Sun, that is swallowing material as fast as it can."

Dr Middleton added: "We watched a black hole go from nibbling daintily at an appetiser to binging on the main course, and then gradually slowing down over dessert."

Black holes in our own Milky Way galaxy are very rarely seen to binge, but when they do, they also launch very powerful beams of material called jets, which are blasted outwards at close to the speed of light, and can be tracked using sensitive radio telescopes.

The team trained the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array on the black hole, and saw extremely bright radio emission that dropped by a half in just 30 minutes.

"Discovering these radio waves from an ultraluminous X-ray source is the smoking gun, a dead giveaway that these are just normal, everyday black holes," said co-author Dr James Miller-Jones, of the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Perth, Australia.

"This tells us that the region producing radio waves is extremely small in size, no further across than the distance between Jupiter and the Sun."

This finding was confirmed by zooming in using the world's most eagle-eyed radio telescope, the Very Long Baseline Array.

This was the first time that radio jets had been detected from a stellar-mass black hole outside our own Milky Way galaxy.

Despite the large distance to Andromeda, the absence of dust and gas in that direction allows an unhindered view of the feast, giving scientists key new insights into how jets are produced by a binging black hole.

Co-author Dr Natasha Hurley-Walker, also from the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, said: "We were very lucky that this ULX appeared in our local neighbourhood; its proximity meant that we could make these radio observations and demonstrate that the black hole emitting the X-rays is fairly small."

ICRAR is a joint venture between Curtin University and The University of Western Australia providing research excellence in the field of radio astronomy.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR).

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Matthew J. Middleton, James C. A. Miller-Jones, Sera Markoff, Rob Fender, Martin Henze, Natasha Hurley-Walker, Anna M. M. Scaife, Timothy P. Roberts, Dominic Walton, John Carpenter, Jean-Pierre Macquart, Geoffrey C. Bower, Mark Gurwell, Wolfgang Pietsch, Frank Haberl, Jonathan Harris, Michael Daniel, Junayd Miah, Chris Done, John S. Morgan, Hugh Dickinson, Phil Charles, Vadim Burwitz, Massimo Della Valle, Michael Freyberg, Jochen Greiner, Margarita Hernanz, Dieter H. Hartmann, Despina Hatzidimitriou, Arno Riffeser, Gloria Sala, Stella Seitz, Pablo Reig, Arne Rau, Marina Orio, David Titterington, Keith Grainge. Bright radio emission from an ultraluminous stellar-mass microquasar in M 31. Nature, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature11697

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/1veHo7vapMw/121212130756.htm

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Psy Fashion Fail: Un-Suited For Public (Photos)

Psy’s fashion fail is so obvious it hurts my eyes to think about it. I have never seen anyone in my life who could ruin a good suit like him. It’s almost like he only got half of his bags when he deplaned from Korea and had to make due with what he had. This overnight sensation is hard to read. The video of him saying some awful, anti-American things has me a little pissy, but I love his song. One thing we can all agree on is that he doesn’t know how to dress. I have included a bunch of random pictures of him in terrible looking suits for you to examine. He prefers to dress in a sport coat of some sort. The only issue is that they don’t fit right, and they are usually mismatching with his shoes — which violates the first rule of wearing a suit. What do you think of these photos? Pictures: PR Photos

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/NUxeUVeTPJc/

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As China handset makers upgrade chips, pressure remains on profit margins

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese mobile phone makers chasing market share with lower prices in the world's biggest smartphone market will see their margins continue to be pressured as they upgrade to quad-core chips to satisfy demand from users for faster speeds and flashier graphics.

Most smartphones now are equipped with single and dual-core chips, but Chinese handset makers are planning quad-core powered devices as consumers get more picky with the speed of screen swipes, how fast they can download movies, send a photo via WeChat messaging or seal a purchase on Taobao online mall.

"The Chinese handset vendors have now extended their reach and low-price strategy to the quad-core phone segment," Lisa Soh, an analyst with Macquarie, said in a report. "This hurts the hope that the Chinese handset makers can improve margins through moving up product segments."

Already, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, ZTE Corp, Lenovo Group Ltd and Xiaomi Technology, have unveiled quad-core smartphones running on Google Inc's Android operating system. They are using chips mainly from Samsung, Qualcomm and Nvidia.

Industry executives expect more quad-core models next year as chipmakers such as Qualcomm and Mediatek introduce processors customized with Chinese applications that will make it easier, quicker and cheaper for handset makers to launch new products.

U.S.-based Qualcomm Inc and Taiwan's Mediatek Inc have unveiled the high-end chips with designs that will help Chinese mobile phone makers launch smartphones in a shorter time at lower costs.

On Wednesday, Mediatek, Taiwan's biggest chip designer that sells more than 80 percent of its mobile phone processors to Chinese vendors, launched its quad-core chip and expects its partners to unveil handsets early next year, executives said.

Smartphone sales are booming in China, which has more than 1 billion subscribers. Sales will grow to 165-170 million units this year from 78 million a year earlier, research firm Gartner said, helped by the proliferation of Internet use.

Currently, Samsung is the top smartphone brand in China, but Chinese vendors are fast gaining traction. China's Lenovo, Coolpad and Huawei are now ranked No. 2, 3 and 5 respectively in the Chinese smartphone market, IDC said.

"The only gap between the smartphone versus the consumer in emerging countries is the price," said David Ku, CFO of Mediatek, which expects to ship more than 110 million smartphone chips this year.

Jeff Lorbeck, senior vice president for Qualcomm's product management told Reuters this month that it was likely that some of the quad-core powered smartphones could sell below 1,000 yuan ($160).

"I like to use my phone to buy things online, update my status on Renren (a social networking site) and read what friends are up to on weibo microblogs," said Liu Liang, a 24-year-old financial executive who lives in Beijing and uses a quad-core Samsung Galaxy Note II.

"I haven't bought a Chinese smartphone. But if my friends start recommending me good models and Chinese smartphones step up in their branding, I'll definitely consider one."

($1 = 6.2460 Chinese yuan)

(Additional reporting by Grace Li; Editing by Matt Driskill)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-handset-makers-upgrade-chips-pressure-remains-profit-075740300--sector.html

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The Collector's Lair

Police are slowly giving up as a dangerous sociopath continues to abduct and kill victims across the state of Maine. The ones kept alive have special talents, and are part of his collection, kept to entertain him as time drags on. [LAST TRY.]

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I have tried to find some pictures for this, but I have found none that match the images in my mind. So I am going to try and explain this as well as I can to you.

The Collector's lair is a warehouse, a large one, abandoned in the middle of the forest near the coast. These woods stretch for miles and have been unmarked by human hands for a long time, s it was one the perfect places for the Collector to hide. Inside the warehouse, it is dank and dark with cracked boards. But underneath, you will find clean, expensive looking rooms where the Collector and his helper sleep along with a kitchen near the second level doorway leading to where the victims are kept. Another story down, you will walk into a room with unbreakable glass that has speakers, control panels with buttons to control doors and other parts of the rooms, and cameras and video screens to monitor cells and other parts of the warehouse. The door is solid iron, and only the Collector and his helper have a key to lock and unlock it.

Beyond that small control room is a long hallway, with eight cells, four on each side. Each cell is small, but big enough to hold a bed, a toilet with a curtain around it, a sink, a table with a chair, and a rack with clothes on it. Each cell has a video camera placed at the top left corner near the door, aiming itself on the entire cell.The cells have solid, thick iron doors that can only be opened by the control room or one of the keys or a secret code number by the Collector and his helper, and have little mail box like openings on the bottom for meals to be delivered without opening the doors. There are bars on each side of the doors at the very top, and can only be seen out of using a chair to stand on top of. The walls inside this entire area are solid, dark colored concrete and is kept clear of mold and other foul or ill causing substances as the Collector is a very clean man. Showers are in a seperate room at the end of the cell block hallway, long with another special room that the Collector uses for torture or punishment. (I'll let the collector's player come up with the appearance of that room.) And to top it off, each Cell has a golden plaque at the top near the dim light that reads 1) Never try to escape 2) Never use physical violence against me, and 3) Never call out for help.

Out to the left of the left hand cells near the control room is a room with a bright light on the ceiling. It has four stations. One has a desk with a very expensive looking computer on it, and has no internet access and only word on it. This is on a fine, wood desk with a comfortable chair. Then, there is another desk filled with paper, pencils, paints, and other artistic utensils as well as an easel next to it. Third, there is a chair with a stack of song books with a microphone in front of it and a small pair of speakers near the chairs as well as a tape recorded on the microphone itself. Lastly, there is a large grand piano at the back of the room with a microphone taped to the top of the piano and sheet music lined up across the shelf above the keys. Each chair is chained to the ground, where there are shackles made for the ankles in case the Collector feels a need to restrain his victims. This room is called The Meeting Room.

To escape, you have to go up two floors. You have to make it through three main doorways. The control room, the second level, and then the third level doors with a key or a code that allows the doors to open. The nearest town from that warehouse is over ten miles away, and along the way there are too icy cold rivers shifting with ice. To leave, is almost impossible.

DarlingRapture

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North Korea Launches Long-Range Rocket Despite Warnings (Voice Of America)

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One Final Snowflake..

Everyone has a wish before they die. Kane Faust, a young lady of the age of fifteen, suffers from a deathly illness, and has only six months left. In a world that snows so rarely, Kane wants to see it snow, before she, "kick's the bucket".

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Medical Quack: Prostate Cancer Now Detectable by Targeted ...

Nobody likes having a biopsy and now with using technology to actually be able to see where the tissue is sampled is increasing accuracy with prostate cancer biopsies and this also makes me think that is it possible to expand this type of diagnosis maybe to other types of cancers? Below is the study done at UCLA and one man?s story of how he went around and around before his diagnosis was found when conventional biopsies missed without having a ?visual target?.? Ultrasound and MRIs working together.? BD?

From the website:

Who Should Have a Targeted Prostate Biopsy?:
Because at this time availability is limited for targeted biopsy, we are currently recommending it for men who are suspected of having prostate cancer, but whose tests have been inconclusive, e.g., men with:

• Persistent, unexplained PSA elevation, or
• Prior negative biopsy, or
• Increased prostate cancer gene expression (PCA3 urine test), or
• Apparent low-risk prostate cancer interested in Active Surveillance.

Press Release:
Ground-breaking research by a UCLA team of physicians and engineers demonstrates that prostate cancer can be diagnosed using image-guided targeted biopsy.

?

Traditionally found only by blind biopsy, a procedure that dates from the 1980s, prostate cancer now appears detectable by direct sampling of tumor spots found using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in combination with real-time ultrasound, according to the UCLA study released Dec. 10, 2012 early online for the January 2013 issue of The Journal of Urology^?.

?

The study indicates that the MRI and ultrasound fusion biopsy, which is much more accurate than conventional blind biopsy, may lead to a reduction in the numbers of prostate biopsies performed and allow for early detection of serious prostate cancers.???

?

The study involved 171 men who were using active surveillance to monitor slow growing prostate cancers or men who had persistently elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) - a protein produced by the prostate that can indicate the presence of cancer ? but had prior negative biopsies. The UCLA biopsies were done in about 20 minutes in an outpatient clinic setting under local anesthesia.

?

Elevations in serum PSA level trigger nearly all of the one million prostate biopsies performed in the United States every year. Annually, about 240,000 new cases of prostate cancer are discovered. Thus, about 75 percent of the biopsies are negative for cancer. However many of those men with negative biopsies but elevated PSA levels may still harbor malignant tumors that were missed by conventional biopsies, said study senior author Dr. Leonard S. Marks, a professor of urology and director of the UCLA Active Surveillance Program.

?

?Early prostate cancer is difficult to image because of the limited contrast between normal and malignant tissues within the prostate,? Marks said. ?Conventional biopsies are basically performed blindly, because we can?t see what we?re aiming for. Now, with this new method that fuses MRI and ultrasound, we have the potential to see the prostate cancer and aim for it in a much more refined and rational manner.?

?

The new targeting process is the result of four years of work funded by the National Cancer Institute and based in the Clark Urology Center at UCLA.??

?

Since the mid-1980s, prostate cancer has been diagnosed using trans-rectal ultrasound to sample the prostate. Unlike most other cancers, prostate cancer is the only major malignancy diagnosed without actually visualizing the tumor as a biopsy is done, Marks said.

?

With the advent of sophisticated MRI, imaging the prostate improved and provided a picture of tumors within the organ. However, trying to biopsy the prostate with the patient inside the MRI has proved to be cumbersome, expensive and time consuming. Thus the fusion process evolved, permitting the targeted biopsy to be done in a clinic setting.

?

In this study, the volunteers undergo MRI first to visualize the prostate and any lesions. That information is then fed into a device called the Artemis, which fuses the MRI pictures with real-time, three-dimensional ultrasound, allowing the urologist to see the lesion during the biopsy.

?

?With the Artemis, we have a virtual map of the suspicious areas placed directly onto the ultrasound image during the biopsy,? Marks said. ?When you can see a lesion, you?ve got a major advantage of knowing what?s really going on in the prostate. The results have been very dramatic, and the rate of cancer detection in these targeted biopsies is very high. We?re finding a lot of tumors that hadn?t been found before using conventional biopsies.?

?

Prostate cancer was found in 53 percent of 171 study volunteers. Of those tumors found by the fusion biopsy technique, 38 percent had a Gleason score of greater than seven, which indicates an aggressive tumor, more likely to spread than tumors with lower scores. Once prostate cancer spreads, it?s much more difficult to treat and survival decreases.

?

Robert Meier, a 58-year-old high school art teacher from Visalia, enrolled in Marks? study after three prostate biopsies all came back negative for cancer despite climbing PSA levels.

?

In 2008, Meier tore his rotator cuff and as part of his pre-surgery exam, blood tests were done. His PSA was at six ? four or lower is considered normal. His doctor sent him to an urologist, who performed tests to rule out everything else that could be causing high PSA levels, including infection and an enlarged prostate. The doctor found nothing. Meanwhile Meier?s PSA climbed to eight.

?

A biopsy was performed and was negative. Meier?s PSA jumped to nine and yet another biopsy came back negative. When his PSA reached 11.7, another round of biopsies was ordered.

?

?These biopsies can be extremely painful and I was put in the hospital several times so they could be done under general anesthesia,? Meier said. ?It takes about a month to recover.?

?

And like his PSA levels, Meier?s anxiety was also rising. If he didn?t have prostate cancer, why were his levels going up?

?

After a second opinion in Santa Barbara and months of being tested and treated with a medicine designed to shrink his prostate and lower PSA, Meier was referred to UCLA and Marks in 2011. By then his PSA was nearly 18, up more than 10 points in three years. An MRI revealed a prostate lesion and he underwent a biopsy using the Artemis device. He did have cancer, and it was aggressive.

?

?Dr. Marks told me that I had a cancer that could spread and it needed to come out now,? Meier said. ?He told me that at my relatively young age and the severity of the tumor, I had no choice.?

?

Meier?s prostate and 24 nearby lymph nodes were removed robotically at UCLA in February by Dr. Arnold Chin, assistant professor of urology. Follow up tests show that Meier is cancer free today.

?

?This program works,? Meier said. ?I had jumped through all these hoops and had all these tests with two different doctors and they found nothing. It took UCLA to determine that I had an aggressive cancer that could have killed me. I feel like I was in very good hands at UCLA.?

?

The UCLA study team included doctor-scientists from urology, radiology, pathology, the Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology (CASIT) and biomedical engineering.

?

?Prostate lesions identified on MRI can be accurately targeted with MR-Ultrasound fusion biopsy in a clinic setting using local anesthesia,? the study states. ?Biopsy findings correlate with the level of suspicion on MRI. Targeted prostate biopsy has the potential to improve the diagnosis of prostate cancer and may aid in the selection of patients for active surveillance and focal therapy.?

?

The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute (RO1CA158627). The MRI and ultrasound fusion technology used in the study is described in a video posted here.

Source: http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2012/12/prostate-cancer-now-detectable-by.html

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5 of the Best Rated Dog Crates, Dog, Cat and other Pet Friendly ...

Is it time to replace the dog crate you?ve had since your buddy was a puppy? Or did you get a new pooch and need a crate for him/her to hang out in when you can?t supervise?

Shopping for new pet items can be overwhelming. So many crates look the same yet can range in price, some may not be sturdy enough for your dog, and some may be missing things you want like a cover or the ability to be easily transported for trips. We?ve done some hunting around and have found crates that have received the highest reviews on Amazon and are the best selling on their site.

Merry Products Pet Cage with Crate Cover

With over 30 reviews, this solid wood cover comes with a metal crate turning the crate into a functional table surface, while its original structure is kept intact to keep the pet confined, without limiting the pet?s visibility or comfort. The panels give the crate a more finished look and help conceal it in the home. It can be an end table next to your couch and a great place for your dog to snooze while you?re out. There?s a plastic tray on the bottom that can be slid out to clean and you can place a bed in there or your dog?s favorite blanket.

Buy it on Amazon

Wicker Pet Residence

Another indoor pet crate that won?t clash with your furniture. It?s made of wicker that is easy to clean and won?t absorb fluids or odors. The elevated feet keep the crate from ruining your floors and it comes with a pan that can be removed to clean. It?s a great alternative to a wire crate.

Buy it on Amazon

Petmate Portable Pet Home

Need a crate that can go where you go? This travel crate is perfect for you and your pup. It?s made from heavy duty canvas and has plenty of ventilation. The crate comes with 4 ground stakes for outdoor use and a carrying case. If you are a camper and your dog will love her/his own ?tent.?

Buy it on Amazon

NOZTONOZ Sof-Krate

This crate is very cool. It?s durable, well-ventilated, and is great for big dogs. The Firstrax NOZTONOZ Sof-Krate Indoor/Outdoor Pet Home allows you to take your best friend with you anywhere you go. Bring the portable pet crate along with you on family vacations, trips to the groomers or visits to the veterinarian. It?s perfect for quick trips and extended excursions, great for overnight hotel stays, or simply set up at home to create a quiet, safe retreat for your dog.

Buy it on Amazon

Firstrax Port-A-Crate E2 Indoor/Outdoor Pet Home

This crate is another portable, lightweight one that can be folded up and taken with you on road trips. It?s made of steel and tightly weaved fabric with mesh windows that are shaped like bones. When it is folded up, it?s as flat as can be and very sturdy. There are over 200 reviews from happy customers who have bought the Port-A-Crate for their puppies, dogs, and even cats. Yes, cats.

Buy it on Amazon

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Source: http://www.petswelcome.com/articles/5-of-the-best-rated-dog-crates.html

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London home of Charles Dickens open after renovation

LONDON (Reuters) - The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million-pound refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary.

Dickens lived at 48 Doughty Street in central London with his family between 1837 and 1839. There, in his mid-20s, he wrote "Oliver Twist" and "Nicholas Nickleby", novels that made him a rising literary star.

The four-storey brick row house was restored to its early Victorian splendour to feel less like a museum and more atmospheric, museum director Florian Schweizer told Reuters.

"We wanted to recreate it like a home, so visitors could feel like they're actually visiting Charles Dickens and that he might step back in at any time," Schweizer said.

Inaugurated in 1925, the museum is the author's only surviving London house. Its redesign, largely funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund, comes in the year marking the 200th anniversary of Dickens's birth in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and opens the house's kitchen and attic to the public for the first time.

Visitors are guided through the dimly lit home not by museum signage on the walls but painted silhouettes of a young Dickens, with long hair and no beard, challenging the mainstream image of "the older Dickens", said Schweizer.

They can tour the writer's dining room, wine cellar ("Dickens loved his booze"), bedroom and study. There, surrounded by ceiling-high bookshelves, stands the author's original desk, where he finished "The Pickwick Papers" and dreamed up the characters of Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby.

"He could have just been a one-novel sensation, but it was here that he built on that first reputation made with The Pickwick Papers, and by the time he moved out it was pretty clear he was there to stay," Schweizer said, noting the house had an "inspirational" dimension, especially for young visitors.

"It's the beginning of a career - that makes it special."

IMMERSIVE

Dickens lived in the house with his wife Catherine, the eldest three of their 10 children and his sister-in-law Mary.

Mary died in the house at age 17, a heartbreaking episode which left Dickens incapable of writing for weeks and inspired many of the angelic heroines and heroes in his novels.

The bedroom she died in is a space to reflect on the author's relationship with death and displays extremely rare photographs of the 1865 railway accident in Staplehurst, Kent, which Dickens survived with his young mistress Ellen Ternan.

This "more evocative, more immersive" version of the 87-year-old museum will offer guided costumed tours and workshops for school groups, Schweizer said.

The museum has also expanded into neighbouring 49 Doughty Street, which has been transformed into a learning centre to accommodate school trips and improve access for the disabled.

It features, until February, costumes from the recent film adaptation of Dickens' novel "Great Expectations", including that of Abel Magwitch, played by Ralph Fiennes, and Miss Havisham, played by Helena Bonham Carter.

The Charles Dickens Museum has so far welcomed about 30,000 visitors per year, with almost half coming from overseas, and numbers are expected to rise to 45,000 in 2013.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/london-home-charles-dickens-open-renovation-223645132.html

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DIY Upholstery ? How To Upholster : Home Improvement

You are here: Home / General / DIY Upholstery ? How To Upholster

If you want to know how to upholster your chairs and sofas to a perfect condition using diy upholstery so?your furniture looks as if a professional upholsterer has done the job?(and you want to save yourself a huge amount of money in the process) ??then?read every word on this web site very carefully.

That?s because you?re about to discover diy upholstery and the secrets behind tufting, stitching, buttoning?and how to restore sagging seats, replace worn coverings, replace any worn out springs, re-new stitching. And more, MUCH more.

The covering is worn. The seating isn?t as comfortable as it used to be. The bottom is sagging where the webbing has broken. Perhaps, you can even see the springs.

Mind you, this is still stylish furniture, despite its present appearance. Sofas and chairs anyone would be proud to have in their lounge or sitting room ? if they were only restored to new condition.

Yet, when visitors come round for an evening and sit down on your chair or sofa you feel, well, embarrassed by its sorry state. And, perhaps you?re using a throw to disguise your furniture?s present condition.

Of course, you could throw out your furniture and buy new?but that would be sacrilege. They don?t make furniture like they used to, do they? These modern mass produced sofas?they just haven?t been built to last. And they lack character. They?ve been thrown together. No real craftsmanship in them is there?

And, quite frankly, if you decide to buy new you?ve got the un-budgeted cost of several thousand dollars for a new chair or sofa. And do you want to buy modern furniture when you prefer old traditional furniture? Of course you don?t. Any brand new piece would look out of place in your sitting room or lounge.

Oh sure you?d have a professional job done by using a full time upholsterer ?IF? (And it?s a big IF)?you?ve sourced a good upholsterer. BUT at some cost. They do know how to charge. And you could be in for a shock when you see the invoice.

Alternatively you could attend upholstery classes, week after week, to learn the upholstery skills yourself. Of course you?d have to take time out of your busy schedule to go to evening classes. And pay to attend them.

A way that shows you step-by-step how to competently do the upholstery job yourself. Imagine?re-upholstering any piece of furniture to the same standard as a professional upholsterer.

So your chairs and sofas have?Firm seating which has been stuffed correctly and is smooth and regular with no dips or lumps. Neat tidy stitching which is straight and pleasing on your eye. A cover which is tight in the right places and pleasing on your eye. And tightly sown buttons which sit snugly in the covering.

In other words a finished re-upholstering job you?

Posted by Dan on Monday, December 10, 2012 at 12:21 pm?
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Source: http://www.theyellowads.com/home_improvement/diy-upholstery-how-to-upholster

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Correction: People-PSY-Protests story

In a story Dec. 7 about the South Korean rapper PSY, The Associated Press erroneously reported the date of a charity concert where the singer is slated to perform. The concert is Sunday, Dec. 9, not Dec. 21. It will be broadcast on TNT on Dec. 21.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Viral rapper PSY apologizes for anti-US protests

PSY apologizes for anti-US protests; says they were 'deeply emotional' reaction to Iraq war

By CHRIS TALBOTT

AP Music Writer

South Korean rapper and Internet sensation PSY is apologizing to Americans for participating in anti-U.S. protests several years ago.

Park Jae-sang, who performs as PSY, issued a statement Friday after reports surfaced that he had participated in concerts protesting the U.S. military presence in South Korea during the early stages of the Iraq war.

At a 2004 concert, the "Gangnam Style" rapper performs a song with lyrics about killing "Yankees" who have been torturing Iraqi captives and their families "slowly and painfully." During a 2002 concert, he smashed a model of a U.S. tank on stage.

"While I'm grateful for the freedom to express one's self, I've learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I'm deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted," he wrote in the statement. "I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused by those words."

The 34-year-old rapper says the protests were part of a "deeply emotional" reaction to the war and the death of two Korean school girls, who were killed when a U.S. military vehicle hit them as they walked alongside the road. He noted anti-war sentiment was high around the world at the time.

PSY attended college in the U.S. and says he understands the sacrifices U.S. military members have made to protect South Korea and other nations. He has recently performed in front of servicemen and women.

"And I hope they and all Americans can accept my apology," he wrote. "While it's important that we express our opinions, I deeply regret the inflammatory and inappropriate language I used to do so. In my music, I try to give people a release, a reason to smile. I have learned that thru music, our universal language we can all come together as a culture of humanity and I hope that you will accept my apology."

His participation in the protests was no secret in South Korea, where the U.S. has had a large military presence since the Korean War, but was not generally known in America until recent news reports.

PSY did not write "Dear American," a song by the Korean band N.EX.T, but he does perform it. The song exhorts the listener to kill the Yankees who are torturing Iraqi captives, their superiors who ordered the torture and their families. At one point he raps: "Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law, and fathers/Kill them all slowly and painfully."

PSY launched to international acclaim based on the viral nature of his "Gangnam Style" video. It became YouTube's most watched video, making him a millionaire who freely crossed cultural boundaries around the world. Much of that success has happened in the U.S., where the rapper has managed to weave himself into pop culture.

He recently appeared on the American Music Awards, dancing alongside MC Hammer in a melding of memorable dance moves that book-end the last two decades. And the Internet is awash with copycat versions of the song. Even former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, the 81-year-old co-chairman of President Barack Obama's deficit commission, got in on the fun, recently using the song in a video to urge young Americans to avoid credit card debt.

It remains to be seen how PSY's American fans will react. Obama, the father of two pop music fans, wasn't letting the news change his plans, though.

Earlier Friday, the White House confirmed Obama and his family will attend a Dec. 9 charity concert where PSY is among the performers. A spokesman says it's customary for the president to attend the "Christmas in Washington" concert, which will be broadcast Dec. 21 on TNT. The White House has no role in choosing performers for the event, which benefits the National Children's Medical Center.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/correction-people-psy-protests-story-170343661.html

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Go to China, top architect tells Scots graduates

ARCHITECTURE graduates are stacking supermarket shelves because there is ?nothing for them here? and it is easier to find work in China, according to a leading member of the profession.

Glasgow-based Alan Dunlop said a stagnant building sector, lack of commercial projects and red tape meant small Scottish firms had a better chance of winning contracts in the Far East than at home.

Dunlop is part of a British team short-listed to design a ?219 million tourist resort on a 150-hectare site on the South China Sea coast. His previous work includes the award- winning Hazelwood School in Glasgow for blind and deaf children and the city?s iconic Radisson SAS hotel.

Dunlop, a visiting professor at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, now spends much of his time in China.

He said: ?I?m telling all my students that the moment they qualify, get out to China because that is where the work is happening. There?s nothing ?really for them here.

?These students are leaving after seven years of architectural education and they?re not able to find a job, they?re stacking shelves in supermarkets.?

Dunlop said a lack of commercial building meant the only work available in Scotland was for big public projects, but that stifling industry rules put off small firms such as his from ?applying for them.

?To qualify for public projects you have to satisfy the pre-qualification questionnaire [PQQ], then you have to have ?10 million indemnity insurance and things like that, and this prohibits small firms like this one, despite my 25 years of experience, from ?competing for big projects. It is absurd. It?s as much to do with box ticking and, frankly, covering your backside, as it is about making sure you have got the right architect to do the job. It is really bizarre.

?But it?s not the same in ?China. They don?t require the same PQQ requirements and form filling. I can use the expertise and experience I have and then team up with a firm of architects based in China and compete for these huge ?international contracts.? Neil Baxter, secretary of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, blamed the lack of opportunities here on misinterpretation of European laws on public procurement.

?People are so risk averse and so lacking in knowledge about what is required under European law, that they go way overboard with the stipulations and requirements, and they fundamentally get it wrong,? he said.

?They get it wrong in a way that is bad for the public purse and is very bad for private practice.?

Baxter said procurement ?experts might ask a firm applying to design a school in Scotland to show it had designed several others in the past five years. ?Very few practices have done that, so it ends up going to big practices, usually ones outside Scotland,? he said.

?Alan is right, China is a much more relaxed regime. Things are decided by diktat and effectively they can still design on the basis of a pure quality decision. It is a nonsense, but China is an easier place for Scots designers to work than Scotland.?

He added: ?You end up pushing people out and effectively disallowing small practices. You could say it?s beneficial internationalisation, or you could say it?s a shame we?re not using local talent ?locally. That?s not sustainable.?

Dunlop is collaborating with the China office of Scottish firm John Thompson and Partners (JTP) and London-based Gillespie?s on the tourism ?resort project. Shanghai-based JTP partner Alan Stewart said: ?Five years ago we began working in ?China following an invitation by a local private developer to join a design competition for a settlement south-west of Shanghai.

?More work was to follow and soon we were faced with the problem of managing ?client relations 6,000 miles from home base. The strain on those working on Chinese projects and travelling to and within China proved unsustainable so we decided to take the plunge and establish a subsidiary China studio in 2012.?

Admitting that setting up a business there had involved negotiating a maze of employment and resident visas, as well as dealing with tax and ?licencing issues ? a process he described as draining ? ?Stewart said companies had to be fully committed to achieve success in China. He said: ?Chinese people prefer to do business with people they know and trust. ?Guanxi? is the term given to the networks of influence that pervades business culture. In practise it means building the relationship between client or business partners over time.?

Dunlop is also an external examiner at a new school of architecture in Suzhou, near Shanghai, where he hopes to help the English-speaking faculty become the first Chinese institution to gain full Royal Institute of British Architects accreditation. He said UK firms had a lot offer China.

?The education system in China has less emphasis on critical engagement and conceptual thinking, so that is a service architects in the UK are providing,? he said. Dunlop, JTP and Gillespie?s has reached the final three bids for the resort in the Dapeng Peninsula of Guangdong, from 39 initial submissions. The winner is to be announced ?early next year.

Twitter: @sloan1874

Source: http://www.scotsman.com/go-to-china-top-architect-tells-scots-graduates-1-2682396

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3-D printer helps create a biobot

These bots were made for walking ? out of rat heart cells and hydrogel.

Scientists have paired these unlikely ingredients to create simple biological machines that look something like a front-loaded inchworm and can step their way through fluid at speeds up to 236 micrometers per second.

Bioengineers working at the boundary between organics and mechanics dream of harnessing the power of biology's nuts and bolts. Some have built tweezers out of DNA; others have made sensors by sticking bacteria on a chip. It's no easy task ? plastic and metal are far more predictable materials to work with.

But in work published recently in Scientific Reports, a team of bioengineers described how they came up with a way to manufacture biobots quickly and efficiently with a three-dimensional printer.

The printer builds preprogrammed shapes layer by ultrathin layer, until it has constructed a soft "body" out of hydrogel, a class of polymers that includes the stuff contact lenses are made from, said senior author Rashid Bashir, a bioengineer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The researchers designed a roughly 7-millimeter bot that looks something like an asymmetrical see-saw: The boxy base is shifted toward one side, creating one long leg and one short one.

Then the scientists seeded living rat heart cells onto one side of the body, where they beat in sync. When the heart cells contracted, the robot's long leg flexed and pushed off the ground, causing it to "step" forward, in the direction of its shorter side. (Asymmetry, they found, was key: A more symmetrical design got nowhere.)

The shape of the biobot ? where the base was placed along the length of the robot's body, for example ? dictated how the bot moved and how far it went. The one in the study can only move forward. But the researchers plan to experiment with other designs that may allow the bots to move in different directions.

"They can have multiple legs; they could be able to go in different directions; they might go right, or left; they might reverse," said Roger Kamm, a bioengineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was not involved in the study.

And they'll be built quickly with the 3-D printing technology, which can cut the construction time from a day or so to a matter of minutes, said Columbia University bioengineer Henry Hess, who also was not involved in the study. (There's no way to make the rat heart cells grow any faster, though, he pointed out.)

Scientists have used 3-D printers before, and others have built synthetic critters, including walking bots and jellyfish-like swimmers. But combining bioengineering with this high-tech printing method is what makes these biobots so exciting, Kamm said.

"It opens up a lot of new potential," Kamm said. "You can go so many different directions with this basic design."

The technology is in the very early stages, and its future uses are unclear. But the researchers see some possible practical applications down the line.

For example, Kamm said, they could take muscle cells and attach them to neural cells that sense toxins or other chemicals. When a specific chemical is detected, the neurons could send the muscle cells a signal to move.

The work helps lay the foundation for making bigger, more complex biological machines using components from all over the plant and animal kingdoms, he added.

amina.khan@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/g1xiYgJd57M/la-sci-bio-bots-20121208,0,186179.story

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VIRGINIA GUARD HELPS UNION RE-ENACTORS CROSS THE RIVER THIS TIME AROUND

By RUSTY DENNEN

To cross the Rappahannock River for the Battle of Fredericksburg, Union Army engineers used horses, wagons and manpower to carry wooden pontoon boats to the water while Confederate snipers relentlessly picked them off.

Union re-enactors of that Dec. 11, 1862, crossing from Stafford County will have a much easier time today on a floating steel bridge erected by Army National Guard engineers using big trucks, a small fleet of boats and cellphones to communicate.

And no one was taking pot shots at them from the Fredericksburg shore.

"This is definitely a lot different than how they did it during the Civil War," said 1st Lt. Marianne E. Heldmann, commander of the Bowling Green-based 189th Engineer Company, which spent most of Friday moving the bridge sections to a staging area off Ferry Farm below City Dock. It was a combination training opportunity and history encounter.

The unit has a link to the Civil War. Its headquarters component, the 276th Engineer Battalion, traces its lineage back to the Confederate 1st Virginia Regiment, which saw action in Fredericksburg.

It was a strange scene Friday. Modern soldiers with Confederate ties building a bridge for Union re-enactors to attack a Southern city.

Heldmann said it was a great opportunity for the troops.

"This is an important training event for us; we get to work with so many civilian agencies," she said at the staging area at Little Falls Run Landing on the Stafford County shore.

Erecting the bridge sections on a flowing river, she added, is more complicated than doing the job in a lake at Fort A.P. Hill.

About 120 troops from the Caroline County unit gathered at the Little Falls Run landing with Army-green 5-ton trucks loaded with bridge sections and the boats needed to push them upriver to the City Dock.

The Improved Float Bridge components were unloaded at the landing. Each one unfolded into a 22-foot section of bridge as it hit the water. Four bridge boats, brought in from the Bowling Green Armory, guided the sections to a spot in the river where they were connected for the 45-minute trip upstream.

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Boehner says Obama pushing U.S. toward "fiscal cliff"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican House Speaker John Boehner accused President Barack Obama of pushing the country toward the "fiscal cliff" on Friday and of wasting another week without making progress in talks.

With three weeks left before a combination of steep tax hikes and deep spending cuts kicks in unless Congress intervenes, Boehner said the administration had adopted a "my way or the highway" approach and was engaging in reckless talk about going over the cliff.

"This isn't a progress report because there is no progress to report," Boehner told reporters at the Capitol. "The president has adopted a deliberate strategy to slow-walk our economy right to the edge of the fiscal cliff."

The day's rhetoric did point the way to a possible compromise that has been discussed for weeks on the main sticking point, tax hikes for the wealthy.

While Obama wants tax rates raised to 39.6 percent from 35 percent, he has not ruled out a smaller increase, perhaps to 37 percent. On Friday, Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Joe Biden indicated flexibility on the "37 percent solution."

Biden was most explicit, saying that raising the rate was "not a negotiable issue; theoretically we can negotiate how far up."

"There are a lot of things that are possible to put the revenue that the president seeks on the table," Boehner said when asked about the same thing.

Pelosi, questioned later about Boehner's remark, said, "It's not about the rate, it's about the money."

But the bleak report from Boehner prolonged the economic uncertainty surrounding the fiscal cliff, which has already riled markets, slowed down business decisions and disrupted the budgeting processes for government at all levels across the country.

Economists say going over the cliff could throw the economy back into a recession.

Obama has called for extending the tax cuts set to expire on December 31 for middle-class taxpayers, but letting them rise for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. Boehner and Republicans oppose his plan, preferring to find new revenues by closing loopholes and reducing deductions.

Boehner characterized as "reckless talk" Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's comment this week that the administration was prepared to go over the cliff if tax rates for the wealthiest were not increased.

The downbeat assessment was in line with what Boehner has offered for weeks as the two sides hold their ground on Obama's call for raising tax rates and Republican calls for cuts in entitlements like the Medicare and Medicaid healthcare programs for seniors and the poor.

Congressional aides said there were no plans for meetings on the issue this weekend. Future talks will be limited to Boehner and Obama and their staffs as the deadline approached, aides said.

Boehner said his telephone conversation with Obama on Wednesday and renewed staff talks on Thursday had not made any progress.

'MORE OF THE SAME'

"The phone call was pleasant, but it was just more of the same. Even the conversations the staff had yesterday were just more of the same. It's time for the president, if he's serious, to come back to us with a counteroffer," Boehner said.

Boehner and the House of Representatives leadership submitted their terms for a deal to the White House on Monday, after Obama offered his opening proposal last week.

The plans from both sides would cut deficits by more than $4 trillion over the next 10 years but differ on how to get there. Republicans want more drastic spending cuts in entitlement programs, while Obama wants to raise more revenue with tax increases and to boost some spending to spur the sluggish economy.

With polling showing most Americans would blame Republicans if the country goes off the cliff, more House Republicans have been urging Boehner to get an agreement quickly, even if it means tax hikes for the wealthiest.

But Boehner could have a challenge selling an eventual agreement to conservative Tea Party sympathizers in the House, some of whom are openly critical of the concessions the speaker has already made.

Boehner has been under fire from the right for proposing $800 billion in new revenue and for removing from House committees four conservative Republican lawmakers who were seen as bucking the leadership.

"When he couples this conservative purging with a negotiated tax increase of $800 billion, we are starting to see more and more signs that he's not dedicated to fiscally conservative beliefs," Andrew Roth of the influential anti-tax group Club for Growth told Fox News.

If the question of whether to raise tax rates is resolved, the two sides will then try to figure out a way to deal with the spending cuts, perhaps postponing or trimming them. They will also work toward a longer-term deficit-reduction package to be taken up after the new Congress is sworn in next month.

At a news conference on Friday, Pelosi threw her support behind a White House proposal to give Obama power to raise U.S. borrowing authority without legislation from Congress.

The debt ceiling issue, which provoked a 2011 showdown that led to a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, has become entwined in the fiscal cliff debate. The debt limit will need to be raised in the next few months.

"The White House and House Democrats are on the same page on the debt ceiling," Pelosi said.

(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Rachelle Younglai, David Lawder and Richard Cowan; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Eric Beech and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boehner-says-obama-pushing-u-toward-fiscal-cliff-011708014--business.html

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