Monday, December 31, 2012

Cambridge Heating Cooling & Duct Cleaning

Facts:

  • Using electricity as its energy source, heat pumps are used for either the heating or cooling of your home by transferring heat between
    two reservoirs.
    In the warmer months, the heat pump acts like an air conditioner, removing heat from the air inside your home and transferring it outside.
    During colder months, heat from outdoor air is extracted and transferred to the interior of your home. Believe it or not, even a 32? Fahrenheit day produces enough heat to warm a home via a heat pump.

?

Benefits:

  • Year-round, energy-efficient indoor comfort for moderate climates -?A central heat pump helps maintain comfortable temperatures inside your home and reduces humidity levels year-round. Homes located in regions with severely?cold temperatures may?either require supplemental heating or be better served with an air conditioner/furnace combination.
    Cleaner air -?As your heat pump system draws air out of various rooms in the house through return air ducts, the air is pulled through an air filter, which removes airborne particles such as dust and lint. Sophisticated filters may remove microscopic pollutants, as well. The filtered air is then routed to air supply duct work that carries it back to rooms. Whenever the air conditioner is running, this cycle repeats continually, constantly filtering and cleaning the air in your home.
    Quieter operation -?Because the compressor bearing unit of the typical central heat pump system is located outside the home, the indoor noise level from its operation is much lower than that of a free-standing air conditioning unit.

Source :?http://www.goodmanmfg.com/HeatingCooling101/HowaHeatbrPumpWorks/tabid/1408/Default.aspx

Source: http://camheating.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-heat-pump-works-facts-using.html

pro bowl 2012 roster yamaguchi road house occupy oakland occupy oakland morgellons disease arik armstead

Phobia The Usual Attack Women - Health, Medical & Fitness

Phobia in women often underestimated people. Maybe because it was a phobia about insects such as cockroaches and spiders. Nevertheless, we should not underestimate the phobias that exist in a person. However phobia is certainly very scary for people and if you want to cure it is certainly not arbitrary.

1. Arachnaphobia

It is a phobia of spiders. Perhaps we often see scenes spider bite and people become poisoned. Or maybe because of personal experience to see a spider that endanger the lives of other people as a child. Surely can make its own trauma and fear. Many women are afraid of seeing a spider, or it could be because of an unpleasant experience because of it.

2. Acrophobia

Phobia is often experienced by both men and women. Fear of heights is often happens to many people, even if we?re looking at the 2nd floor basement of a mall. It seems despite holding on the outskirts of the balcony, still afraid of the fall.

3. Glossophobia

Often we are afraid to speak in front of crowds. Fear of making mistakes when speaking, afraid to do things that shame and fear on the minds of people towards our appearance. Try to practice more and make the planned topics. Understand the topic and do not memorize it because it will make you look stiff. With better planning and understanding can make you more relaxed when in front of crowds.

4. Achluophobia

Generally we stayed with adequate lighting and happy atmosphere that makes our life more bright. But when he was in a dark place, some people may feel very scared. If you have a fear of the dark, no need to panic. Panicking will only make your anxiety increases. Try to calm down and look for the light source nearby.

5. Claustrophobia

A narrow or jostling is stressfull. Phobia of the condition of this kind may occur in women who have a traumatic childhood shyness or in a crowd of many people. But who knows whether this is true phobia diskonan yes if there are up to 50% at the mall where women generally like spending time diskonan?

6. Atychiphobia

Maybe you rarely know this one phobia. Phobia is a form of fear of failure. Perhaps the issue is often experienced, but in some people, these symptoms occur with moderate to strong intensity that can harm somebody. Handling may require treatment by a specialist.

7. Mysophobia

Fear is such an inconvenience when self unhygienic and prone to germs. As a result, we frequently washing your hands or carry hand sanitizer everywhere.

8. Ophidiophobia

Phobia of this one was justifiably a phobia of women. Many women are afraid of reptiles such as snakes, lizards and even lizards. Instead of seeing, hearing his name also sometimes been afraid.

Phobias can occur due to many things. Unpleasant experiences in the past, the lack of knowledge and anxiety. Some phobias can be overcome by a simple technique, but when it reaches great intensity, the doctor should cure through therapy. Hope you are not afraid anymore

Source: http://cpmapestworld.net/?p=164

billy cundiff super bowl tickets superbowl birmingham news lee evans lee evans 49ers vs giants

Mark Schlabach / Northern Illinois isn't the first unlikely team to reach a BCS game - college football

- You could say Alabama is playing for its place in history. With a victory in the Discover BCS National Championship Game, the Tide can become the sport's first back-to-back consensus national champion since Nebraska in 1994-95, as well as the first school to win three national titles in the BCS era (the Tide also won in 2009).

- Fourteen consecutive top-five finishes. Two national championships. The record for most wins in a decade. If we are going to talk about college football dynasties, Mark Schlabach writes, then Florida State of the 1990s has to be on the list.

- Alabama and Notre Dame are two of the most legendary programs which to add to their resumes with another national title on January 7th.

Source: http://www.fantasysp.com/columns/cfb/201314/northern-illinois-isnt-the-first-unlikely-team-to-reach-a-bcs-game--college-football

Walking Dead Season 3 vampire diaries derek jeter Red Bull Stratos Redbull Stratos steve mcnair vice presidential debate

Little enthusiasm among GOP for Hagel, but he has Obama's support

President Barack Obama said he saw nothing that would disqualify former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel from being nominated for US defense secretary. However, some Republicans have expressed doubts about Hagel's positions on Iran and Israel.

By Jeff Mason,?Reuters / December 30, 2012

Former US Republican Senator Chuck Hagel (c.) chats with Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel (r.) as she arrives to a ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington, in 2009. President Barack Obama is expected to announce his nominees for secretaries of state and defense in the next two weeks, with former Republican senator Hagel on the short list of potential choices to head the Pentagon.

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters/File

Enlarge

President?Barack Obama?offered strong support for former Republican Senator?Chuck Hagel?as the potential next U.S. defense secretary but said in remarks aired on Sunday that he had not yet decided on a nominee for the?Pentagon?post.

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'; // -->

Hagel is considered a leading candidate to replace outgoing Secretary of Defense?Leon Panetta, but the former?Nebraska?lawmaker has come under criticism for his record on?Israel?and for a comment that being gay was an inhibiting factor for being an ambassador.

"I've served with?Chuck Hagel. I know him. He is a patriot. He is somebody who has done extraordinary work both in the?United States Senate, somebody who served this country with valor in?Vietnam," Obama told NBC's "Meet the Press" in an interview taped on Saturday and broadcast on Sunday.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/sJ1-1AMu7o0/Little-enthusiasm-among-GOP-for-Hagel-but-he-has-Obama-s-support

lisa marie presley florida panthers tannehill joel ward mock draft washington redskins north country

India gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital

India gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital
US-INDIA-RAPE:India gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital

By Kevin Lim

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Indian gang rape victim whose assault in New Delhi triggered nationwide protests died in hospital on Saturday of injuries suffered in the attack, a Singapore hospital treating her said.

The death of the 23-year-old medical student could spawn new protests and possibly fresh confrontations with the police, especially in the Indian capital, which has been the focus of the demonstrations.

"We are very sad to report that the patient passed away peacefully at 4:45 a.m. on Dec 29, 2012 (15:45 a.m. ET Friday). Her family and officials from the High Commission of India were by her side," Mount Elizabeth Hospital Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Loh said in a statement.

The woman, who was severely beaten, raped and thrown out of a moving bus in New Delhi, was flown to Singapore by the Indian government on Wednesday for specialist treatment.

Most rapes and other sex crimes in India go unreported and offenders are rarely punished, women's rights activists say. But the brutality of the assault on December 16 triggered public outrage and demands for better policing and harsher punishment for rapists.

The case has received blanket coverage on cable television news channels. The woman has not been identified but some Indian media have called her "Amanat", an Urdu word meaning "treasure".



Earlier on Friday, the hospital had reported that the young woman's condition had taken a turn for the worse. It said that her family had been informed and were by her side.

T.C.A. Raghavan, the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, said after her death that the family has expressed a desire for her body to be flown back to India.

At a briefing earlier on Saturday, Raghavan declined to comment on reports in India accusing the government of sending her to Singapore to minimize the possible backlash in the event of her death.

Some Indian medical experts had questioned the decision to airlift the woman to Singapore, calling it a risky maneuver given the seriousness of her injuries. They had said she was already receiving the best possible care in India.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has been battling criticism that it was tone-deaf to the outcry and heavy-handed in its response to the protests in the Indian capital.

"It is deeply saddening and just beyond words. The police and government definitely have to do something more," said Sharanya Ramachandran, an Indian national who is working as an engineer in Singapore.

"They should bring in very severe punishment for such cases. They should start recognizing that it is a big crime."

"SIGNIFICANT BRAIN INJURY"

The Singapore hospital said earlier that the woman had suffered "significant brain injury" and was surviving against the odds. She had already undergone three abdominal operations before being flown to Singapore.

Demonstrations over the lack of safety for women erupted across India after the attack, culminating last weekend in pitched battles between police and protesters in the heart of New Delhi.

New Delhi has been on edge since the weekend clashes. Hundreds of policemen have been deployed on the streets of the capital and streets leading to the main protest site, the India Gate war memorial, have been shut for long periods, causing commuter chaos in the city of 16 million.

Political commentators and sociologists say the rape has tapped into a deep well of frustration that many Indians feel over what they see as weak governance and poor leadership on social and economic issues.

Many protesters have complained that Singh's government has done little to curb the abuse of women in the country of 1.2 billion. A global poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in June found that India was the worst place to be a woman because of high rates of infanticide, child marriage and slavery.

New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India's major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures. Government data show the number of reported rape cases in the country rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011.

(Reporting by Eveline Danubrata and Kevin Lim; Writing by Kevin Lim in Singapore and Ross Colvin in New Delhi; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Page: 1

Source:Reuters. All Rights Reserved

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/digitalmediaonlineinc/tPHj/~3/hAr_DYVVg7E/viewarticle.jsp

young jeezy world wildlife fund gsa keith olbermann andrew bynum the time machine michelin tires

Sunday, December 30, 2012

The Benefits of Mindfulness in Early Parenting | World of Psychology

The Benefits of Mindfulness in Early ParentingWhen my first daughter was born ? nearly 15 years ago ? I remember a level of anxiety that I carried with me wherever I was and whatever I was doing.

Was I doing things right? Would my decisions as a parent serve her well? Would she grow up to be a well-adjusted person, at ease and self-confident?

Being in the mental health field, these things were of primary importance to me. I would often ask myselff: Was I stimulating her enough? Was I providing her with an optimal amount of external stimuli? Was I stimulating her too much, interfering with her ability to soothe herself?

The answers from developmental and parenting experts were contradictory and confusing. They ranged from advice, such as never to put your baby in a crib (the equivalent of being ?put behind bars?), to the need to teach your baby to self-soothe by several months of age. (Otherwise she will have difficulty developing a sense of independence and self-reliance.)

I was, as many new mothers are, vulnerable to the ?shoulds? and ?shouldn?ts? that were expressed all around me, both from experts and from other new mothers.

Our culture is one which places a lot of pressure on new mothers to parent their infants in a way that both provides a more advanced and fine-tuned form of stimulation than we were parented with (from Baby Einstein to readings of Ulysses in utero) while at the same time criticizing them for raising children who are ?too needy? and ?self-absorbed.?

What I wish I had known at this vulnerable time ? and which sadly seems all too obvious in retrospect ? is that more important than whether I was providing this kind of stimulation or that, or whether I purchased the car seat with the absolute highest safety rating or not, was my ability to be present with my children, and that giving them my presence was more important than any other decision I might make as a parent.

What does it mean to give one?s presence? In short, it means to find moments, and more moments, to leave one?s thinking/analyzing/judging brain behind and to just be with one?s baby, staring into their eyes, smelling their scent, trusting one?s intuition, and being available to respond in a spontaneous and loving manner to the cues they inevitably provide us with.

In my work as a psychologist with pregnant and postpartum women, what I have seen repeatedly is women?s lack of ability to trust themselves and their babies to know what is right for this mother-baby dyad, and this particular family. Just like the birthing process itself, which has become so heavily ?medicalized,? early motherhood and parenthood have become the domain of scholarly experts rather then living mothers.

So how is a new mother to protect herself from the commercialization and anxiety of motherhood?

First and foremost, limiting external input from books, magazines, websites, and professionals may be important. Rather than looking outside for generic advice and direction, it may well be better to turn inward ? allowing yourself to listen to what feels right in this moment for you and your baby. Make time to sit with your feelings. Pay attention to sensation. Make room to name the feeling and to observe how it may change with moments of meditative awareness.

And ask yourself the question: ?What do I most need in this moment, and what does my baby most need??

Trust that babies are powerful, resilient beings who need moms to give them the room to learn to communicate their needs, who model self-care, and who allow moments of spaciousness to color their days rather than lists of ?shoulds.?

Mindfulness-based Advice for New Mothers

Below is a list of suggestions you may find helpful. What is right for you, however, is different than what will be right for any other new mother. Breathe deeply, pay attention to sensation, and?

  1. Do your best to get sleep.
  2. Try to have at least some time for yourself every day.
  3. Do your best to make time for connecting with your partner each day.
  4. Combat isolation.
  5. Ask for and accept help.
  6. Don?t compare your baby or your situation to someone else?s.
  7. It is not a helpful strategy to blame yourself for your experience.
  8. Be kind to yourself.
  9. Allow yourself some luxuries.
  10. If you experience yourself as overwhelmed by advice sit still and turn inward.
  11. Identify and make use of constructive stress relievers.
  12. Seek professional help if you are feeling low or anxious. You can go in for a ?well check? if nothing else.
  13. Prioritize what?s really important. Try to let go of standards of perfection.


????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 29 Dec 2012
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Hassan, G. (2012). The Benefits of Mindfulness in Early Parenting. Psych Central. Retrieved on December 30, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/12/29/the-benefits-of-mindfulness-in-early-parenting/

?

Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/12/29/the-benefits-of-mindfulness-in-early-parenting/

susan g komen kenyon martin kenyon martin big miracle slab city super bowl snacks appleton

Lindsay Lohan: London Luxury Lady

Posted Saturday December 29, 2012 12:40 PM GMT

Showing off her luxurious lifestyle despite recent financial woes, Lindsay Lohan arrived at the Dorchester hotel in London, England on Saturday (December 29).

The "Mean Girls" star wore a long, expensive-looking fur coat with black-heeled boots as she smiled at paparazzi before making her way inside the swanky digs.

As previously reported by GossipCenter, the 26-year-old actress will be featured on an upcoming episode of "Million Dollar Decorators."

Along with host Kathryn Ireland, the fiery redhead sets out to redecorate her home on a budget of $250,000. A clip of the episode includes Lindsay admitting, "I got bored so I started decorating with Chanel."

Source: http://gossipcenter.com/lindsay-lohan/lindsay-lohan-london-luxury-lady-783276

Ohio Lottery Colorado Lottery Pa Lottery finish line ups Ebates lotto

Saturday, December 29, 2012

At Israel school, anyone can learn to be a prophet

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, Shmuel Fortman Hapartzy, the Cain and Abel School for Prophets founder and teacher speaks to students in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, Shmuel Fortman Hapartzy, the Cain and Abel School for Prophets founder and teacher speaks to students in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, students sit outside of the Cain and Abel School for Prophets founder in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, brochures for the Cain and Abel School for Prophets are displayed in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, a painting of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson adorns the wall in the Cain and Abel School for Prophets in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

(AP) ? Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets.

For just 200 shekels, about $53, and in only 40 short classes, the Cain and Abel School for Prophets says it will certify anyone as a modern-day Jewish soothsayer.

The school, which launched classes this month, has baffled critics, many of whom have dismissed it as a blasphemy or a fraud.

On a religious level, Jewish tradition recognizes a few dozen prophets from the biblical era ? from the monumental figures of Abraham, Moses and Elijah to lesser known foretellers of doom and tormented questioners like Micah the Morashtite and Habakkuk. Tradition says no one can be a prophet ever since the Romans destroyed the second temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 and the era of prophecy can only be revived with the arrival of the Messiah and the temple's rebuilding. As one Talmudic phrase puts it, the only prophets now are children and fools.

But also, on a philosophical level, how do you learn divine inspiration in school? And can anyone learn?

"There is no way to teach prophecy," said Rachel Elior, a professor of Jewish thought at Jerusalem's Hebrew University. "It's like opening a school for becoming Einstein or Mozart."

That hasn't deterred the school's founder and sole teacher Shmuel Hapartzy, a follower of Chabad, a worldwide Orthodox Jewish outreach and worship movement that has come under fire because part of its membership crowned its late leader the Messiah. The Chabad movement in Israel has distanced itself from the school.

Anyone looking in the curriculum for "Parting the Sea 101" or "How to Predict the Future" or even "Principles of Proclaiming A Jeremiad" will be disappointed. Instead, students learn about the meaning of dreams, the classification of angels, the mysteries of the holy spirit. They learn how to discern a person's inner feelings from his or her external behavior and appearance.

Hapartzy can't guarantee his course will give his students a direct line to God. But, he says, the syllabus provides the essential tools to bring out the prophet in anyone.

"In the past there were prophets but even now, in our time, divinity is being revealed to everyone. We just need to open our eyes to it," said Hapartzy at his introductory course, which is held at a religious center in grungy south Tel Aviv, known more for its licentious street parties than piety.

And graduates do get a diploma.

There's little "profit" motive to the venture. Hapartzy said the token fee is to prove students' dedication and is donated to the religious center hosting the school. There's no application process ? anyone who wants to become a prophet can do so by just showing up for the course.

The school's inaugural class this month welcomed a mixed bag of 12 students ranging in age from 18 to 50. One man had scruffy stubble and wore a blue track suit. Another walked in with a guitar slung over his back. Others fiddled with their phones during the lecture or stepped out to smoke. Two had long beards and wore Jewish skullcaps.

Darya Popdinitz, who drove in from Jerusalem for the course, wore a pink hat with dangling pompons. She said her knowledge of biblical prophets was limited, but she was "curious" about the course.

"It's a real diverse mix of people," said Hapartzy.

The class itself is a modest study group. In the small room, the men sat in a circle around Hapartzy, with the women separately in a corner, following Orthodox Judaism's segregation of the sexes. Hapartzy lectures and hands out study material ? photocopied excerpts of holy books ? and a question period follows. The students' homework is to conduct good deeds and pray.

The 34-year-old Hapartzy has a varied background. A software engineer and Russian immigrant, with a long beard and dressed in black ultra-Orthodox garb, he said he was originally an atheist. He dabbled in "sciences, mysticism, Chinese philosophy, astrology, black magic and Christian cults" until, he said, he turned to Judaism.

He compiled the study materials from writings he said could be found in any religious library ? including, no surprise, the books of the biblical prophets. Since there's no traditional set course for becoming a prophet, Hapartzy used his own judgment for what subjects would be appropriate.

Like some in the Chabad movement, Hapartzy believes that the Messiah has already come and that the age of redemption is nigh, so it has possible to have prophets again. Claims by some that late leader Rabbi Menachem Schneerson was the Messiah split the Chabad movement and brought harsh criticism from other Jews.

Hapartzy said his school aims to prepare everyone for the new messianic era. The school is named after the sons of Adam and Eve ? Cain was the first murderer and Abel the first victim. The name represents a person's different spiritual poles, which the school aims to unite, Hapartzy said.

The desire to open up the realm of prophecy to anyone has raised hackles in some circles.

"It's completely crazy," said Menachem Brod, a Chabad spokesman. Facebook commenters have accused the school of "charlatanism and blasphemy."

Roie Greenvald, a 27-year-old tennis instructor attending the classes, also showed some skepticism. While he expressed interest in the spiritual development the course offers, one crucial detail stands in the way of his religious elevation.

"I'm not going to become a prophet," he said. "I don't think it pays very well."

___

Follow Tia Goldenberg at http://twitter.com/tgoldenberg

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-29-Israel-Prophet%20Motive/id-004fa1b965f843729d82faa220aaa677

hot wings recipe 7 layer dip recipe chris carter superbowl 2012 kickoff time what time is the super bowl 2012 nfl mvp lana del rey snl performance

Aliens! Gangsters! Superheroes! 10 video games to look forward to in 2013

Featured

24 min.

The holiday shopping season is officially over?and that means the spasm of big game launches is over as well,?right? Well, no. In some ways, the rush of video?game releases?is just getting started.

For a variety of?reasons, some of the games we were most looking forward to getting our thumbsticks on in 2012?had launch dates pushed back into early 2013. Quite a few hotly?anticipated games are stacked up for a debut in?the new year?... and?some are just weeks away from arriving on shelves.

And while the spring game line-up is crowded, the rest of the ?year is looking pretty packed?as well. Quite a few?best-selling game franchises will make a big return in 2013 while some brand new titles are getting ready to tempt players with original stories and?intriguing new?gameplay.

Below you'll find 10 of the games we're most looking forward in 2013. Stop by the discussion section?to let us know which titles you're saving your?hard earned?gold coins for.

"Dead Space 3," ?Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC?-?Feb. 5
The?space-faring fright?fest that is the "Dead Space" series gets a new entry in the next few weeks. But while the?previous games dropped players?into terrifying solo mission filled with grotesque?creatures known as Necromorphs, this newest game?encourages players to?experience these monstrosities (and the fear they inspire)?with a friend.

Two-player, drop-in/drop-out co-operative play is the name of the?game as?you and buddy head to the icy planet of?Tau Volantis to discover the source of the Necromorph plague. Sure, you can go it all alone, but you'll get more out of the?survival horror?story if you partner up. Also, you'll have someone to hug when the undead leap at you from the dark.?

"Aliens:?Colonial Marines," Wii?U,?Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation?3?-?Feb. 12
Speaking of a good space-faring scare, the "Alien" franchise is about to get another installment, in the form of a?video?game.?Not only has?Gearbox Software billed?"Aliens: Colonial Marines" as the spiritual sequel to Jim Cameron's?"Aliens"?? the second "Alien"?movie ??but the game?is even considered part of the canon by 20th Century Fox.

InGame editor Todd Kenreck got an advance look at "Aliens: Colonial Marines." Check out his video?above.

As the name suggests, you get to play a U.S.?Colonial Marine on a mission to investigate the U.S.S. Sulaco spaceship, and?find out what happened to Ellen Ripley and?her crew.?As you play, you'll get to visit some of the most famous?locations from the films and wield some of their?most iconic weapons and equipment. And?we're hoping that, at some point in the game, we'll also get to utter the phrase, "Game over man, game over!"

"Rayman Legends," Wii U?-?Feb. 26
The bright, colorful, zany platforming game "Rayman Origins" was one of my very?favorite games of 2011. And "Rayman Legends"???a direct sequel to that game???looks like it will offer even more?music-filled, action-packed, wacky fun???but with a new twist.?That is, "Rayman Legends"???originally scheduled to arrive in November???will launch exclusively for Nintendo's new Wii U game machine in February instead. And since it's a Wii U exclusive, that?means it will be putting the machine's unique tablet-style GamePad?controller to use.

I gave?"Legends" a try at the Penny Arcade Expo earlier this year and loved the way?one player could use?the GamePad controller ??and?its touchscreen ??to assist up to four other players using standard?Wii Remote controllers. You can use the GamePad to do?things like grab and pull creatures out of the ground, open secret paths and knock enemies out of the way. I dare say "Rayman Legends" is a very good reason to pick up a Wii U if you haven't already.

"Tomb Raider,"?Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC?-?March 5
The forthcoming "Tomb Raider" game is another title?that found itself?delayed from 2012 to 2013. But hopefully that extra time will mean extra polish for?this reboot of one of the most famous series?in video?game history.?

The action-adventure/platforming?game is set to?re-imagine leading lady Lara Croft's early, formative years. And while it has already inspired its fair share of controversy?due to an alleged sexual assault scene, we can't wait to see the new places the?developers take this storied franchise. From what we've seen so far, Croft has been given a darker, grittier backstory (a la the?character reboot we've seen in?the new Batman/Dark Knight?films). It's a backstory that makes her more human and less of a (top-heavy)?caricature. And to that we say: It's about time.

"Bioshock Infinite," PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC?-?March 26
Earlier this year, the team at Irrational Games told?us we'd have to wait until next year?to get our hands on "BioShock Infinite" because they wanted more time to make it "even more extraordinary."?Needless to say, after all this waiting, our expectation for this game???the third in the critically acclaimed?BioShock franchise???are very high.

And, indeed, "Infinite"?will take us back in time and?high up into the sky, as we play?agent Booker DeWitt, a man sent on a mission?to the airborne city of Columbia. His mission: to find a young woman named Elizabeth (recently?modeled by Russian gamer/costumer?Anna Moleva). This first-person shooter promises to?drop players into a intrigue-and-adventure-filled?alternate vision?of America during the Age of Steam, while bestowing upon?us?some unique powers.

The waiting isn't over yet, but in the meantime you can check out the new?video above, which offers a preview of the first few minutes of "Bioshock Infinite."

"Injustice: Gods Among Us," Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U - April
There is an age-old question asked by geeks of all ages: Who would win in a fight ... ?Batman or Superman? Flash or the Green Lantern? Catwoman or Wonder Woman? The forthcoming fighting game "Injustice: Gods Among Us" will, at last, provide us with the answers we seek.

The game drops many of your favorite heroes and villains from the DC Comics universe into "a world where the lines between good and evil are blurred." And it's here that the developers at NetherRealm promise "Injustice" will give us "heroes and villains engaging in epic battles on a massive scale." A look at the trailer above shows they aren't kidding. When superheroes collide, mere mortals better run and hide.

"The Last of Us," PlayStation 3?-?May 7
Brought to us by the developers behind the critically acclaimed?Uncharted games, "The Last of Us" not only promises to?blend survival and action gaming?elements in unique ways, but to take us on a story-driven journey with deep, well-crafted characters.

The game takes place 20 years after a plague decimated the population, leaving civilization in ruins and the survivors?not only fighting off?infected humans but fighting with?their own fellow survivors as well. It's in this setting that we meet the grizzled survivor?Joel and the?14 year-old girl, Ellie, that he's charged with protecting. "The Last of Us" is the kind of game aimed at?grown-up players looking for thoughtfully?crafted,?grown-up gaming. Fans of "The Walking Dead" should definitely be?lining up for this one.

"Grand Theft Auto V,"?PlayStation 3, Xbox 360?-?Spring 2013
At long last, Grand Theft Auto?is hitting the road again. The?GTA games have pioneered open-world gaming, giving players the freedom to roam immense digital landscapes filled with crime,?adventure and?some very colorful characters. And Rockstar says that "GTAV" ??which takes place in and around?the fictional Southern California city of Los Santos???will be its?biggest game?yet.

"Grand Theft Auto V"?will allow players to switch between three friends/partners in crime and will?center around performing heists.?We'll get to play?Michael, a wealthy ex-gangster; Trevor, a wise-cracking crazy man with a short fuse; and?Franklin, a professional repo man. Sounds like a recipe for?trouble?... and lots of crime-filled?fun. Meanwhile,?"GTAV" developer Rockstar Games?recently revealed that the game will head underwater as well. And as the new?screenshot above indicates, that means we better get ready?for ...?sharks!

"Pikmin 3," Wii U?-?Spring/Summer 2013
Nintendo recently announced that it was delaying its?highly anticipated real-time?strategy game until the second quarter of 2013. And while waiting is a bummer, we're used to it when it comes to this delightful series.

It's been?eight long?years since "Pikmin 2" let us control swarms of the?adorable?little ant-like creatures?as they try to survive in the big BIG world. With "Pikmin 3,"?we'll be able to control these delightful Pikmin using either the GamePad or Wii Remote controller as we?set them to various tasks such as breaking down barriers, harvesting food and?taking out enemies. And?for the first time ever, we'll?get to see these creatures and their strange, wonderful?world in gorgeous HD.

"Beyond: Two Souls,"?PlayStation 3?- Late?2013
"'Beyond' will be unlike anything else you've experienced before," David Cage, the director for this forthcoming PlayStation 3?game has promised. And we have good reason to believe him. "Beyond: Two Souls" is being made by the team at?Quantic Dream, the development company that brought us the surprisingly compelling and emotionally mature cinematic game "Heavy Rain."?

"Beyond: Two Souls" is described as?a "psychological action thriller;" and it will star the excellent Academy Award-nominated actress?Ellen Page?as Jodie Holmes,?a young woman who possesses strange, supernatural powers thanks to a?psychic link to an invisible entity.?Cage says the?game will take players on a journey through?15 years of Holmes'?life as it explore themes of?death and the afterlife.?Your decisions will?determine her fate. Very intriguing indeed.

?Winda Benedetti?writes about video?games for NBC?News. You can follow her tweets about games and other things?on Twitter?here?@WindaBenedetti?and you can?follow her?on?Google+.?Meanwhile, be sure to check?out the?IN-GAME?FACEBOOK PAGE?to discuss the day's?gaming news and reviews.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/ingame/aliens-gangsters-superheroes-10-video-games-look-forward-2013-1C7661431

tupac hologram tupac back tax deadline death race buffet rule carlos santana baa

Experts: Trained police needed for school security

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The student's attack began with a shotgun blast through the windows of a California high school. Rich Agundez, the El Cajon policeman assigned to the school, felt his mind shift into overdrive.

People yelled at him amid the chaos but he didn't hear. He experienced "a tunnel vision of concentration."

While two teachers and three students were injured when the glass shattered in the 2001 attack on Granite Hills High School, Agundez confronted the assailant and wounded him before he could get inside the school and use his second weapon, a handgun.

The National Rifle Association's response to a Connecticut school massacre envisions, in part, having trained, armed volunteers in every school in America. But Agundez, school safety experts and school board members say there's a huge difference between a trained law enforcement officer who becomes part of the school family ? and a guard with a gun.

The NRA's proposal has sparked a debate across the country as gun control rises once again as a national issue. President Barack Obama promised to present a plan in January to confront gun violence in the aftermath of the killing of 20 Sandy Hook Elementary School students and six teachers in Newtown, Conn.

Agundez said what happened before the shooting in the San Diego County school should frame the debate over the NRA's proposal.

With a shooting at another county school just weeks before, Agundez had trained the staff in how to lock down the school, assigned evacuation points, instructed teachers to lock doors, close curtains and turn off the lights. He even told them computers should be used where possible to communicate, to lessen the chaos.

And his training? A former SWAT team member, Agundez' preparation placed him in simulated stressful situations and taught him to evade a shooter's bullets. And the kids in the school knew to follow his advice because they knew him. He spoke in their classrooms and counseled them when they came to him with problems.

In the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre, school boards, administrators, teachers and parents are reviewing their security measures.

School security officers can range from the best trained police officers to unarmed private guards. Some big city districts with gang problems and crime formed their own police agencies years ago. Others, after the murder of 13 people at Columbine High School in 1999, started joint agreements with local police departments to have officers assigned to schools ? even though that was no guarantee of preventing violence. A trained police officer at Columbine confronted one of two shooters but couldn't prevent the death of 13 people.

"Our association would be uncomfortable with volunteers," said Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers ? whose members are mostly trained law enforcement officers who "become part of the school family.'"

Canady questioned how police officers responding to reports of a shooter would know whether the person with a gun is a volunteer or the assailant.

Former Rep. Asa Hutchinson, who also was a top Homeland Security official and will head the NRA effort, said the program will have two key elements.

One is a model security plan "based on the latest, most up-to-date technical information from the foremost experts in their fields." Each school could tweak the plan to its own circumstances, and "armed, trained, qualified school security personnel will be but one element."

The second element may prove the more controversial because, to avoid massive funding for local authorities, it would use volunteers. Hutchinson said in his home state of Arkansas, his son was a volunteer with a local group "Watchdog Dads," who volunteered at schools to patrol playgrounds and provide added security.

He said retired police officers, former members of the military or rescue personnel would be among those likely to volunteer.

There's even debate over whether anyone should have a gun in a school, even a trained law enforcement officer.

"In general teachers don't want guns in schools period," said Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, one of the two large unions representing teachers. He added that one size does not fit all districts and said the union has supported schools that wanted a trained officer. Most teachers, he said, do not want to be armed themselves.

"It's a school. It's not a place where guns should be," he commented.

The security situation around the country is mixed.

?The Snohomish School District north of Seattle got rid of its school officers because of the expense.

?The Las Vegas-based Clark County School District has its own police department and places armed officers in and around its 49 high school campuses. Officers patrol outside elementary and middle schools. The Washoe County School District in Nevada also has a police force, but it was only about a decade ago that the officers were authorized to carry guns on campus.

?In Milwaukee, a dozen city police officers cover the school district but spend most of their time in seven of the 25 high schools. In Madison, Wis., an armed police officer has worked in each of the district's four high schools since the mid-1990s.

?For the last five years, an armed police officer has worked in each of the two high schools and three middle schools in Champaign, Ill. Board of Education member Kristine Chalifoux said there are no plans to increase security, adding, "I don't want our country to become an armed police state."

?A Utah group is offering free concealed-weapons permit training for teachers as a result of the Connecticut shootings. Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne proposed a plan to allow one educator in each school to carry a gun.

Ed Massey, vice chairman of the Boone County, Ky., school board and president of the National School Boards Association, said his district has nine trained law enforcement officers for 23 schools and "would love to have one in every school."

"They bring a sense of security and have done tremendous work in deterring problems in school," he said. "The number of expulsions have dramatically decreased. We used to have 15 or 20 a year. Now we have one or two in the last three years."

An officer, he said, "is not just a hired gun. They have an office in the school. They are trained in crisis management, handling mass casualties and medical emergencies."

He said a poster given out by the local sheriff's department shows one of the officers and talks about literacy and reading.

Kenneth Trump, president of the National School Safety and Security Services consulting firm, said having trained officers in schools is "more of a prevention program than a reactive program if you have the right officers who want to work with kids."

But he also criticized a drop in funding for school security, saying, "Congress and the last two administrations have chipped away to the point of elimination of every program for school security and emergency planning."

Dr. Ronald Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center that provides training to schools, said the NRA's suggestion of using volunteers "is a whole new concept of school safety." He questioned whether the NRA wants to bring the best sharpshooters on campus.

"How is that going to create a positive atmosphere for young people?" he asked. "How does that work on the prevention side?"

Agundez, 52, who retired as a policeman in 2010, learned shortly before his retirement just how much his trained reaction to a shooter affected students at Granite Hills High.

He was writing a traffic ticket and the driver's whole body started shaking. He had been a student that day nine years earlier.

"He gave me a hug," Agundez recalled. "He said 'I always wanted to thank you.' You saved our lives."

___

Associated Press writers Todd Richmond, Michael Tarm, Greg Moore, Ken Ritter, Sandra Chereb and Donna Blankinship contributed to this report.

___

Follow Larry Margasak on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/LarryMargasak

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/experts-trained-police-needed-school-security-091515160--politics.html

hall of fame occupy dc ufc 143 fight card my fair lady conversion disorder the chronicle spinal stenosis

Friday, December 28, 2012

Statin drug shows promise for fighting malaria effects

Statin drug shows promise for fighting malaria effects [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 27-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Phil Sahm
phil.sahm@hsc.utah.edu
801-419-8512
University of Utah Health Sciences

Lovastatin may decrease brain inflammation, mental deterioration associated with infection

(SALT LAKE CITYResearchers have discovered that adding lovastatin, a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug, to traditional antimalarial treatment decreases neuroinflammation and protects against cognitive impairment in a mouse model of cerebral malaria. Although there are differences between mouse models of cerebral malaria and human disease, these new findings indicate that statins are worthy of consideration in clinical trials of cerebral malaria, according to an article published in the Dec. 27 issue of PLOS Pathogens.

Malaria, a parasitic infection that is transmitted to humans by the female Anopheles mosquito, is one of the leading infectious diseases worldwide. Cerebral malaria is a severe, potentially fatal neurologic complication of infection by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Studies of children with cerebral malaria show that cognitive deficits, such as impaired memory, learning, language, and mathematical abilities, persist in many survivors long after the infection itself is cured.

"Over 500,000 children develop cerebral malaria each year in sub-Saharan Africa, and persistent cognitive dysfunction in survivors is not only a major public health concern, but also a significant socioeconomic burden," says Guy Zimmerman M.D., associate chair for research in the Department of Medicine at the University of Utah and senior co-author on the study. "There is an urgent and unmet medical need for therapies that treat or prevent cognitive impairment in cerebral malaria."

Statins, a class of drugs best known for their ability to lower cholesterol, have also been shown to be active in modulating a variety of immune system responses. In their research, Zimmerman and his Brazilian colleagues evaluated the effect of statins in a mouse model of cerebral malaria. The researchers found that adding a drug called lovastatin to traditional antimalarial therapy prevented cognitive dysfunction in mice infected with cerebral malaria. They discovered that addition of lovastatin decreased white blood cell accumulation and leakiness in blood vessels in the brain. Lovastatin also reduced production of damaging oxygen-containing molecules and other factors that promote inflammation.

"The molecular mechanisms that give rise to cerebral malaria and subsequent cognitive dysfunction are not yet known," says Zimmerman. "However, the fact that statin treatment decreases both injurious blood vessel inflammation and cognitive dysfunction suggests that a combination of vascular and inflammatory triggers leads to cerebral pathology and intellectual deficits."

Zimmerman and his colleagues also studied lovastatin in an experimental model of bacterial sepsis, a severe whole-body inflammatory state that can also lead to cognitive impairment. They found that lovastatin also prevented cognitive impairment after bacterial sepsis.

"Our findings are exciting because the clinical implications extend beyond cerebral malaria to other severe systemic inflammatory syndromes complicated by brain involvement," says Zimmerman. "We believe our observations are the first experimental evidence to support the possibility of using statins to reduce cognitive impairment in critically ill patients."

###

This study is the latest result of a long-term collaboration between Zimmerman and Dr. Hugo Castro-Faria-Neto and his group at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, a Brazilian research institute dedicated to the study, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases. This collaboration began when Dr. Castro-Faria-Neto was a visiting scientist at the University of Utah. Future research will focus on additional investigation into the molecular mechanisms of cerebral malaria and the responses of key immune cells to malaria toxins, as well as on studies of the systemic inflammatory component of malaria in human patients.



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


Statin drug shows promise for fighting malaria effects [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 27-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Phil Sahm
phil.sahm@hsc.utah.edu
801-419-8512
University of Utah Health Sciences

Lovastatin may decrease brain inflammation, mental deterioration associated with infection

(SALT LAKE CITYResearchers have discovered that adding lovastatin, a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug, to traditional antimalarial treatment decreases neuroinflammation and protects against cognitive impairment in a mouse model of cerebral malaria. Although there are differences between mouse models of cerebral malaria and human disease, these new findings indicate that statins are worthy of consideration in clinical trials of cerebral malaria, according to an article published in the Dec. 27 issue of PLOS Pathogens.

Malaria, a parasitic infection that is transmitted to humans by the female Anopheles mosquito, is one of the leading infectious diseases worldwide. Cerebral malaria is a severe, potentially fatal neurologic complication of infection by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Studies of children with cerebral malaria show that cognitive deficits, such as impaired memory, learning, language, and mathematical abilities, persist in many survivors long after the infection itself is cured.

"Over 500,000 children develop cerebral malaria each year in sub-Saharan Africa, and persistent cognitive dysfunction in survivors is not only a major public health concern, but also a significant socioeconomic burden," says Guy Zimmerman M.D., associate chair for research in the Department of Medicine at the University of Utah and senior co-author on the study. "There is an urgent and unmet medical need for therapies that treat or prevent cognitive impairment in cerebral malaria."

Statins, a class of drugs best known for their ability to lower cholesterol, have also been shown to be active in modulating a variety of immune system responses. In their research, Zimmerman and his Brazilian colleagues evaluated the effect of statins in a mouse model of cerebral malaria. The researchers found that adding a drug called lovastatin to traditional antimalarial therapy prevented cognitive dysfunction in mice infected with cerebral malaria. They discovered that addition of lovastatin decreased white blood cell accumulation and leakiness in blood vessels in the brain. Lovastatin also reduced production of damaging oxygen-containing molecules and other factors that promote inflammation.

"The molecular mechanisms that give rise to cerebral malaria and subsequent cognitive dysfunction are not yet known," says Zimmerman. "However, the fact that statin treatment decreases both injurious blood vessel inflammation and cognitive dysfunction suggests that a combination of vascular and inflammatory triggers leads to cerebral pathology and intellectual deficits."

Zimmerman and his colleagues also studied lovastatin in an experimental model of bacterial sepsis, a severe whole-body inflammatory state that can also lead to cognitive impairment. They found that lovastatin also prevented cognitive impairment after bacterial sepsis.

"Our findings are exciting because the clinical implications extend beyond cerebral malaria to other severe systemic inflammatory syndromes complicated by brain involvement," says Zimmerman. "We believe our observations are the first experimental evidence to support the possibility of using statins to reduce cognitive impairment in critically ill patients."

###

This study is the latest result of a long-term collaboration between Zimmerman and Dr. Hugo Castro-Faria-Neto and his group at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, a Brazilian research institute dedicated to the study, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases. This collaboration began when Dr. Castro-Faria-Neto was a visiting scientist at the University of Utah. Future research will focus on additional investigation into the molecular mechanisms of cerebral malaria and the responses of key immune cells to malaria toxins, as well as on studies of the systemic inflammatory component of malaria in human patients.



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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/2012-12/uouh-sds122112.php

rachel maddow gia la riots new jersey devils torn acl derrick rose injury st louis news

Ouya developer kits are shipping, $99 Android game console ...

The makers of the Ouya video game console have started shipping developer kits to folks who paid $699 or more during the team?s successful Kickstarter campaign. The company plans to start shipping Ouya units to customers early in 2013, with the video game console selling for about $99 plus shipping.

ouya

SlashGear reports the first units should begin arriving this week.

The Ouya game console is a small box with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, WiFi, Bluetooth, a USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, and HDMI ports.

It runs Google Android software, but it?s not a phone or a tablet. Instead the Ouya console is designed to be plugged into your television so you can play games on the big screen. It also includes a wireless game controller, a game store, and more.

The developer consoles come with two controllers ? but their main appeal is that they?re shipping a few months ahead of the final units, which should give game developers (or serious enthusiasts) a chance to try out the device before it?s available to the general public, and adapt games to run on the platform.

While there?s no shortage of video game consoles for the living room, the developers of the Ouya project want to lower the barriers to entry for independent game developers. Basically, if you can create a game that runs on Android, it can run on Ouya ? you don?t need to go through the hassle of signing with a game publisher, packaging the title on a disc and distributing it to game stores.

On the other hand, the Ouya is expected to ship to regular customers in early 2013 with hardware that was state of the art in early 2012. While you can still write some pretty nifty games for the Tegra 3 processor, Samsung and Qualcomm are already offering mobile processors with significantly more graphics power, and NVIDIA is expected to launch a Tegra 4 chip soon.

Will the Ouya feel dated by the time it finally arrives? Then again? with a $99 price tag, does it really matter?

via SlashGear and Ouya Forum

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Twitter, or "like" us on Facebook. Thanks for visiting!

  • Game formatDownloadable
  • Drive capacity8 GB
  • Controller typeWireless
  • Video outputsHDMI
  • Announced07/10/2012
see all specs ?

There are not any user reviews for this product yet.
Why not be the first to write one?

Get better reviews from people who actually have this product!

write a review

Source: http://liliputing.com/2012/12/ouya-developer-kits-are-shipping-99-android-game-console-coming-in-2013.html

tiger woods masters 2012 nikki haley stan van gundy navy jet crash virginia beach crash stephen hawking marion barry

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Twitter users flaunt guns brought by Santa: 'I'll shoot more than my eye out'

5 hrs.

Last year, much of the Web's post-Christmas ire was directed at Twitter users who, like ungrateful brats, complained that Santa brought the wrong color iPhone?or failed to deliver a car. This year, Internet denizens are upset that some people?are?bragging about their new guns???on Twitter and Instagram.

In the wake of?the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.,??gun control has once again?become a topic of national debate. Yet?the?controversy?isn't preventing those who are excited about the?firearms Santa brought from joyfully posting about them on social media.

No matter which side of the gun control debate you're on, these images ??first noticed by?the Verge's T.C. Sottek?and?the Atlantic Wire's Rebecca Greenfield?? could?make you uncomfortable.?There are plenty of men and women ? some who appear to be teenagers???who appear to be disregarding the NRA's three fundamental?rules of gun safety, particularly keeping fingers away from triggers, and pointing the guns only in safe directions. It's especially problematic?since these posts are often accompanied by the #NRA hashtag.

Not that the recipients seem to care.?"I got just what I wanted," one Twitter user wrote. "An Armalite semi-automatic AR-15 rifle. It's like the Christmas Story, but I'll shoot more than my eye out."

"Aw what a nice #assultRifle #santa left me haha (plus a box of 1200 bullets)," the caption on a young woman's Instagram photo said,?next to the image of a rifle resting on the hearth?next to a pile of wrapped Christmas gifts. (The girl later claimed, in a comment under her own post, that the gun was her dad's.)

Another Instagram user proudly posed in what appear to be fur-lined boots and a fur vest while holding her prized present. "Furs & Guns," she writes, "yes, it was a red-neck Christmas."

Searches for hashtags such as #AR15, #NRA, #Bushmaster, #gun and #SecondAmendment reveal plenty of photos of folks posing with their new firearms in front of Christmas trees and declaring how much they love their gifts.

One does have to wonder whether we'd pay as much attention to these images if it weren't for the recent national?focus on firearms and the anticipation of tighter gun control measures. It's also worth asking if this apparent?surge in gun pride isn't a side effect?of the Newtown?tragedy as well.?As a prior report points out, while "a spike in gun?sales is common after a mass shooting," and "the latest rampage has generated record sales in some states."

Between those sales statistics and social media's never-ending?craving for drama, perhaps it was inevitable that last year's whiny gift?recipients?surrendered the spotlight to this year's gift-wrapped rifles.

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/twitter-users-flaunt-guns-brought-santa-ill-shoot-more-my-1C7659316

the cutting edge fox 8 news indy 500 angelina jolie leg daytona artie lange nascar daytona 2012

Easy way to finance your car ? get a car loan ...

These days car has become an essential commodity in our everyday?s life!! So there are many people who own one on their name and at the same time there are many who don?t have one even. There are many reasons for not having a car and the first and foremost reason is not having enough credit to own one.

If you do not have enough money you can still own a car of your choice. There are plenty of finance institutions that help you in that way. They provide car loans assisting the ones who cannot make enough credit to own a car.

?What you need to check for?

It is true that getting a car loan despite of bad or good credit is an easy task. But the point that needs to grab your attention getting a car loan at a reasonable interest rate. Get a finance company that offers you loan at a cheap interest rates. It is necessary that you minimize your burden on your finances and repaying abilities.

How can you locate the best one?

If you are in a search for a finance company, search on the net!! The world is just one click away from you. You can call for quotes from various banks and can select the best one. Also go with recommendations from your friends and family. Remember, you shouldn?t get into tough times while expecting for a comfortable life. Never consider just a single quote and make a decision. Instead it would be a good decision to shop around to make out the best loan deal. If you are good creditor it is easy for you to find a loan with interesting benefits.

And these days with the advancing trends there are some companies that offer finance for bad creditors also, so there is nothing to worry more. Only thing is they might ask for a security so you should be ready for it!!

Source: http://www.uniformsplusescondido.com/easy-way-to-finance-your-car-get-a-car-loan/

vanessa bryant vanessa bryant Prince Harry naked Prince Harry Vegas Melky Cabrera Mayim Bialik Rich Kids of Instagram

Charities Got Fewer but Bigger Online Gifts Last Week - Prospecting ...

The number of gifts people are making online slowed last week for the second time in a row, compared with this time a year ago, but because donors are giving much larger average gifts, charities are barely feeling a decline in donations.

The number of gifts fell 12 percent last week, following a decline of 6 percent in the second week of December.

Still, the total dollar value of online gifts dropped by less than 1 percent last week because the average online gift rose to $149.21, up from $131.92 in the same week of 2011.

Those figures, based on donations to 8,700 charities that accept donations through the nonprofit group Network for Good, come after a promising start?to the giving season last month and in initial days of December. The increases were triggered in part by the number of appeals for Superstorm Sandy and #GivingTuesday, an effort to increase charitable giving after Thanksgiving.

The lackluster fundraising returns in online giving this month seem to mirror the sluggish pace of holiday sales, which retailers say may be the worst since 2008.

But fundraising experts caution not to take too much from online-giving patterns because those gifts are a small percentage of what many charities raise.

What?s more, not all donations are suffering. Many donors are making large contributions this year because of fears that Congress won?t come to a deal on the fiscal cliff, allowing taxes to rise, and concerns that legislators could limit write-offs for charitable deductions next year.

Tell us what you?re seeing in the total value of donations your charity is raising in the last crucial days of the fundraising season.

See our interactive graphic to track year-end online giving by day.

Source: http://philanthropy.com/blogs/prospecting/charities-got-fewer-but-bigger-online-gifts-last-week/37431

green bean casserole How long to cook a turkey Turkey Cooking Time red dawn sweet potato pie sweet potato pie green bean casserole recipe

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Will your law firm survive 2013? | International Business Development

Home ?\? Will your law firm survive 2013? | International Business Development


?Competition continues to bear down on traditional law firms from numerous angles, including LPO?s with sales divisions seeking to tear away market share.?

Donna Seyle?s insight:

A useful summary of various opinions and conclusions on business development for law firms in the coming year.


See on www.intlbusinessdevelopment.com

Source: http://lawpracticestrategy.com/will-your-law-firm-survive-2013-international-business-development/

george washington russell westbrook horsetail falls ice t downton abbey new york knicks president day

Business Loans And Interest Rates: Understanding The Basics | The ...

Although financial experts have declared an official end to the recession; the economy is far from out of the woods and as a result; banks are continuing to restrain their loan lending, tighten their requirements and reject a large proportion of loan applications particularly from the small and medium businesses.

As the economy continues to remain trapped in financial struggle; the small and medium business owner is viewed as far too much of a financial risk and as a result, obtaining the ideal and much needed commercial finance lending can be viewed as far too difficult but is all hope actually lost?

Business loans have always been difficult to obtain however, in today?s economy the independent lender and in particular the commercial mortgage broker has shone through to provide the ideal business lending whatever the situation may be.

A commercial mortgage is deemed the most popular form of business lending and can help a new or existing company to procure the ideal commercial property. As a long term financial agreement; a commercial mortgage can last for up to twenty five years and is made available at a fixed rate to enable steady cash flow issues. By providing sufficient personal and business income details, business financial agreements, projections and cash flow documentation a specialist broker will determine your loan credibility and whether such a long term agreement is the best option. If agreed, a commercial mortgage can be the ideal form of business finance, enabling the success of business and what?s more is that, as a form of long term finance interest rates are often relatively low.

For those businesses in need of urgent financial aid whether to assist with a debt issue, cash flow problems or perhaps even to secure a deal or the purchase of a new property; a bridging loan is considered the ideal, short term solution.

As a form of short term lending, a bridging loan can often be secured within a matter of days, exact amounts that can be borrowed under such terms will of course be dependent upon lenders. As a short term agreement, often borrowed between one to twelve months; a bridging loan is considered as high risk and thus the application will be an intense procedure and equity to secure the loan will be required. As such a short term, risky loan the interest rates of a bridging loan will be undoubtedly high.

Despite the continuing loan rejection amongst banks; the commercial mortgage broker is able to assist, whether you have been previously rejected or not, in finding the right business loan for you. As an independent company; brokers are not driven by the hard commission based structure of banks but in fact effectively work for the benefit of a business meaning that, long term success will always be taking into account when determining financial solutions.

The commercial mortgage and bridging loan are just two examples of business finance however, bear in mind that whichever option you select for your business; interest rates will vary depending on the borrowed sum and agreement length. Ensure to discuss all available options and interest rates before you agree to anything or you could find yourself facing risky, fluctuating payments.

Do You Want To Rock Your Online World? At VA-Live We Show You How...

Source: http://theboardmagazine.com/2012/12/business-loans-and-interest-rates-understanding-the-basics/

wrestlemania results womens final four josh hutcherson google april fools office space shell houston open mega millions winners

Storm brings tornadoes, snow to South; two dead

MOBILE, Alabama (Reuters) - A major winter storm system swept through the southern United States on Tuesday, spawning tornadoes in several states and killing two people in weather-related road accidents.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said a tornado struck Mobile, Alabama, home to about 200,000 people, at about 5 p.m. local time (2300 GMT). There were reports of damage to trees and widespread power outages, along with some structural damage, but no injuries or fatalities.

Tornadoes also touched down in Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana, flattening houses and causing some injuries, according to the NWS.

The wild Christmas weather was expected to continue into early Wednesday - the NWS' Storm Prediction Center forecasted the development of "a few strong tornadoes and thunderstorm wind damage over parts of the southeast" this evening and overnight.

It warned that tornadoes at night at this time of year can be particularly dangerous because they are usually fast-moving and obscured by rain and darkness. Areas mostly likely to be hit by strong storms include southern and eastern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and southwest Georgia, the NWS warned.

Tuesday's storms also contributed to a 21-vehicle pile-up that shut down a major highway in Oklahoma City and tens of thousands of power outages.

A Texas man died after an accident involving a tree in the road, and another person died in a weather-related accident on I-44 in Oklahoma, according to local authorities.

The storm was expected to evolve into a blizzard from Arkansas to southern Illinois on Tuesday night, with snowfall of up to a foot in some areas, according to Accuweather.com.

Accuweather.com senior meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski warned on the website that travel will be "extremely treacherous, if not impossible, as the snow clogs roads, such as interstates 24, 55 and 57, and the blowing snow severely lowers visibility."

The Indiana governor's office issued an advisory Tuesday evening that "non-essential employees" who live in areas where snow emergencies have been declared do not have to come to work.

The snowstorm will shift on Wednesday to the eastern Great Lakes and northeastern region, with a blizzard warning in effect for Cleveland starting at 7 a.m. on Wednesday (1200 GMT), forecasters said. Cleveland could get up to a foot of snow, according to the NWS.

Southern Indiana is under a blizzard warning starting early Wednesday morning, according to NWS meteorologist Crystal Pettet. Indianapolis could see its biggest snowfall in four years, with a possibility of 10 to 12 inches of snow.

"Conditions should be pretty bad in time for rush hour," Pettet said.

CHRISTMAS SNOWFALL

In the town of McNeill in southern Mississippi, an apparent tornado destroyed 12 homes and injured eight people, though none of the injuries appear life-threatening, said Danny Manley, director of the Pearl River County Emergency Management Agency.

Manley said the homes could not be rebuilt, as some had lost roofs and their top stories and one was smashed by a tree.

Another apparent tornado hit Centreville, Mississippi, in the southwestern part of the state, injuring one person, destroying a trailer and heavily damaging other homes and buildings, according to Tim Destri, a NWS meteorologist in New Orleans.

A tornado destroyed a building 13 miles southeast of Crockett, Texas, and a bank lost a section of its roof, according to Accuweather.com.

Freezing drizzle overnight led to 10 separate collisions on Interstate 40 in Oklahoma City early on Tuesday, said Betsy Randolph, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The city also got a rare Christmas snowfall.

The 21-vehicle pile-up included three tractor-trailers and shut down the westbound lanes for about five hours, she said. Twelve people were taken to hospitals, and troopers were checking on the severity of their injuries.

Ahead of the storm's path, parts of eastern West Virginia are under a winter storm warning. Ice accumulations of up to half an inch are expected in higher elevations, the NWS said.

(Reporting by Kaija Wilkinson, Ian Simpson and Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Sandra Maler, Todd Eastham and Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/storm-brings-tornadoes-white-christmas-parts-south-010903992.html

barney frank kim richards robert hegyes mary louise parker mary louise parker cher morgellons