Goldencents, Itsmyluckyday jog at Churchill Downs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) ? Doug O'Neill's first full day at Churchill Downs already has him feeling like he could achieve something special in the Kentucky Derby.

Again.

Back at the track for the first time since winning last year's Derby with I'll Have Another, the trainer is thinking about winning another Run for the Roses.

And why not?

This time around, the trainer has Goldencents, who like I'll Have Another, comes into the Saturday's Derby off a victory in the Santa Anita Derby.

"It's great to be back," O'Neill said. "It's wonderful looking at the twin spires and dreaming of what could be coming on May 4."

Goldencents has O'Neill looking forward to Saturday, especially after the 3-year-old colt took his first jog around the track. A day after making the cross-country flight from California, the colt co-owned by Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino jogged a leisurely mile with exercise rider Jonny Garcia aboard. Jockey Kevin Krigger looked on.

"He looked great," O'Neill said before showers passed over the track following the jog. "We just had an easy day with him, but I was real happy with the way he looked, Jonny was happy with the way he felt. If all goes well, we'll gallop him tomorrow."

Goldencents had his last workout Thursday at Santa Anita, covering six furlongs in 1:16.20 at Santa Anita. Most notable about the workout was covering the final three furlongs in 36.00, boosting O'Neill's Derby outlook.

Goldencents has won two of three starts this year and totals four wins in six career races. After a fourth-place finish in the San Felipe Stakes, the colt rebounded with a 1?-length win over Flashback in the Santa Anita Derby.

Krigger has been the regular rider and will have a chance on Saturday to become the first African-American jockey to win the Derby since 1902.

Though Krigger wasn't sure if he'd get aboard Goldencents before Saturday, O'Neill has about 10 mounts planned for him so the jockey becomes familiar with the track and its surface.

"I'm happy either way how we do it, so it doesn't really matter to me if I do or not," Krigger said. "I would like to, though."

Also, Florida Derby runner-up Itsmyluckyday jogged just over a mile following his van trip from Florida. The Holy Bull winner had his last workout Thursday at Calder Race Course, clocking 53:00 over four furlongs before making an 18-hour van trip to Kentucky.

Exercise rider Peter Shelton said Itsmyluckyday was bouncing and eager to keep going during his jog, just the kind of enthusiasm trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. was looking for.

"Everything went according to the plan that we had," Plesa said by phone. "It couldn't have gone any better."

The only Derby contender to post a workout Sunday was Code West, who went five furlongs in 1:00.40 under Hall of Famer Mike Smith. The workout pleased trainer Bob Baffert following the horse's sixth-place run in the Louisiana Derby, but Code West's status for the Derby will be determined after Baffert meets with owner Gary West.

The Derby field is limited to 20 starters. Code West is one of three horses tied for 20th in the qualifying points with 20, so it's uncertain whether he would make the field.

"Our options are the Derby, the Preakness, the Peter Pan," Baffert said. "The Belmont has been the target for him. ... We're going to go over it. There's no rush to judgment just yet."

Baffert plans to send out Govenor Charlie on Monday for the first time since April 11, a layoff caused by a foot bruise and soreness in his hind end.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/goldencents-itsmyluckyday-jog-churchill-downs-074105492.html

projectglass stock act new york auto show khalid sheikh mohammed masters par 3 gwen stefani overeem

Google's virtual assistant invades Siri's turf

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Google is trying to upstage Siri, the sometimes droll assistant that answers questions and helps people manage their lives on Apple's iPhone and iPad.

The duel begins Monday with the release of a free iPhone and iPad app that features Google Now, a technology that performs many of the same functions as Siri.

It's the first time that Google Now has been available on smartphones and tablet computers that aren't running on the latest version of Google's Android software. The technology, which debuted nine months ago, is being included in an upgrade to Google's search application for iOS, the Apple Inc. software that powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It's up to each user to decide whether to activate Google Now within the redesigned search app.

Google Now's invasion of Siri's turf marks Google Inc.'s latest attempt to lure iPhone and iPad users away from a service that Apple built into its own devices.

Google quickly won over millions of iPhone users in December when it released a mapping application to replace the navigation system that Apple dumped when it redesigned iOS last fall. Apple's maps application proved to be far inferior to Google's ousted service. The app's bugs and glitches made Apple the butt of jokes and fueled demand for Google to develop a new option.

Apple has been losing to Google on other fronts in a rapidly growing mobile computing market, an arena that was revolutionized with the iPhone's release in 2007. Smartphones and tablet computers running Google's free Android software have been steadily expanding their market share in recent years, partly because they tend to be less expensive than the iPhone and iPad. At the end of 2012, Android devices held about 69 percent of the smartphone market while iOS held about 19 percent, according to the research firm IDC.

Android's success has been particularly galling for Apple because its late CEO Steve Jobs believed Google stole many of its ideas for the software from the iPhone. That led to a series of court battles over alleged patent infringement, including a high-profile trial last year that culminated in Apple winning hundreds of millions in damages from Samsung Electronics, the top seller of Android phones. That dispute is still embroiled in appeals.

The rise of Android also is squeezing Apple's profit margins, and has contributed to a 40 percent drop in the company's stock price since it peaked at $705.07 last September around the time that the iPhone 5 came out.

Android's popularity is good news for Google because the company's services are built into most versions of the operating system. That brings more traffic to Google services, creating more opportunities for the company to sell ads ? the main source of Google's revenue.

Siri, billed by Apple as an "intelligent feature." Since the technology's release in October 2011, Apple has made it a centerpiece of some marketing campaigns that depict Siri and its automated female voice as an endearing and occasionally even pithy companion.

When asked for an opinion about Google Now, Siri responded: "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather Google later."

Google believes its Siri counterpart is smarter because Google Now is designed to learn about a user's preferences and then provide helpful information before it's even asked to do so. The technology draws upon information that Google gleans from search requests other interactions with the company's other services. Knowing a person's location also helps Google Now serve up helpful information without being asked.

"This concept of predicting your needs and showing you them at the right time is unique to Google Now," said Baris Gultekin, Google Now's director of product management. "We want computers to do the hard work so our users can focus on what matters to them so they can get on with their lives."

If the technology is working right, Google Now is supposed to do things like automatically tell people what the local weather is like when they awaken to help decide what to wear and provide a report on traffic conditions for the commute to work. During the day, Google Now might provide an update on the score of a user's favorite sports team or a stock quote of a company in a user's investment portfolio. On a Friday evening, Google Now might offer suggestions for movies to see or other weekend events tailored to a user's interests. For international travelers, Google Now might provide currency conversion rates, language translations of common phrases and the time back home.

Most of this automatic information is provided in summaries that Google calls "cards." Like Siri, Google Now also is equipped with voice technology that allows it to respond to questions and interact with users, though it hasn't shown the wit that amuses some of Siri's users.

The Google Now app for iOS isn't as comprehensive as the Android app, which only works on devices running on the latest version of Android ? known as "Jelly Bean." Some of the Android features missing from Google Now's iOS app include cards for showing airline boarding passes and movie tickets bought though online vendor Fandango. Both of those options are available on the iOS through Apple's built-in Passbook feature that's designed to be a digital wallet.

Google Now's expansion on to the iOS underscores Google's ambitions for the service. The company, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., views it as a pivotal tool in its effort to peer deeper into its users' brains. In doing so, Google believes it will be able to provide more useful services and also show more relevant ads. For Google Now to become more intuitive, it needs to widen its availability.

"The more you use Google Now, we will have a better chance of understanding what your needs are and providing you with the right information," Gultekin said. "It's a virtuous cycle."

Gultekin declined to discuss whether there are plans to make Google Now apps for mobile devices running on Microsoft's Windows system. He also refused to comment on speculation circulating in technology blogs that a Web version of Google Now will be offered as a replacement for iGoogle, a tool that allows people to encircle the Google search engine with a variety of services suited to their tastes. IGoogle is scheduled to close in November.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-04-29-Google-Apple-Dueling%20Assistants/id-636531294cf7433eb0077c22e032a924

Evil Dead halle berry kurt cobain Kamala Harris URI Facebook Home Ncaa Basketball Tournament 2013

Jay-Z, Taylor Swift Get Shout-Outs From President Obama

'I've got 99 problems but now Jay-Z is one,' President jokes at Correspondents' Dinner.
By Gil Kaufman

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706463/jay-z-obama-white-house-correspondent-dinner.jhtml

chris carpenter dick cheney hcg drops reason rally mad hatter azerbaijan ryan howard

Explorer West Middle school team wins 'Environmental Issues Slam'

April 25, 2013 at 12:00 pm | In Environment, West Seattle news, West Seattle schools | 1 Comment

As Earth Week continues, a local school is celebrating its students? achievements in a big event last night ? thanks to Amy French for sharing the photo and report:

The Explorer West Middle School community congratulates the three groups of students chosen to represent Explorer West at Washington Foundation for the Environment?s ?3rd Annual Great Environmental Issues Slam? last night at The Flagship REI Store. The 6 students (across three teams) had 5 minutes to present their issues to a packed room of audience members who had the chance to vote at the end. The other contestants were all talented, adult speakers from a range of non-profits.

One of the student teams, presenting on ?Drastic Plastic,? won the slam and the opportunity to donate $1,000 to the charity of their choice that is working to deal with the issue of plastics in our world?s oceans. Explorer West students will be voting this week to decide which non-profit receives the donation from Washington Foundation for the Environment.

Featured in the top photos is the winning group with EWMS Head of School Evan Hundley and history teacher Tim Owens, who Amy says ?was the lead in getting the school involved in the slam.?

RSS feed for comments on this post.

All contents copyright 2013, A Drink of Water and a Story Interactive. Here's how to contact us.
Header image by Nick Adams. ABSOLUTELY NO WSB PHOTO REUSE WITHOUT SITE OWNERS' PERMISSION.
Entries and comments feeds. ^Top^

Source: http://westseattleblog.com/2013/04/explorer-west-middle-school-team-wins-environmental-issues-slam

suge knight obama birth control mortgage settlement macauly culkin joe namath stefon diggs nazi ss

Quote of the Day (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/301460872?client_source=feed&format=rss

michael brockers lisa marie presley florida panthers tannehill joel ward mock draft north country

US man detained in Venezuelan post-vote crackdown

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? A 35-year-old filmmaker from California has been arrested by Venezuelan authorities who are accusing him of fomenting post-election violence on behalf of the U.S. government.

President Nicolas Maduro said Thursday that he personally ordered Timothy Tracy's arrest on suspicion of "creating violence in the cities of this country." Venezuela's interior minister said Tracy was working for U.S. intelligence, paying right-wing youth groups to hold violent demonstrations in order to destabilize the country after Maduro's narrow election win last week.

Friends and family of Tracy told The Associated Press that he had been in Venezuela since last year making a documentary about the country, which is bitterly divided politically as the socialist heirs of the late President Hugo Chavez struggle to maintain control of a country beset by economic and political turmoil

The Georgetown University English graduate was a story consultant on the 2009 documentary "American Harmony," about competitive barbershop quartet singing, and produced the recent Discovery Channel program "Under Siege," about terrorism and smuggling across the U.S.-Canada border as well the History Channel series "Madhouse," on modified race-car drivers in North Carolina.

"They don't have CIA in custody. They don't have a journalist in custody. They have a kid with a camera," said Aengus James, a friend and associate of Tracy's in Hollywood, California, and director of "American Harmony."

James described Tracy as "fearless" but also somewhat quixotic.

"This whole thing came about with him at a party in South Florida," he said. "He met this cute girl who says, 'If you really are a documentary filmmaker you'll come tell the story of what is happening in Venezuela,' and if you say something like that to Tim he goes, whether or not he knows a single person there or knows anything about the political situation or the consequences."

Tracy had been detained at least twice before by Venezuela's SEBIN intelligence police. The last time was five days before the April 14 presidential election when he was taking video of a pro-government rally in the port city of Puerto Cabello, said an associate who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to endanger people inside Venezuela.

The U.S. Embassy in Caracas declined immediate comment, citing citizen privacy.

Prosecutors said Tracy was arrested Wednesday evening as he tried to fly out of Simon Bolivar International Airport outside the capital, Caracas.

Tracy's father Emmet, of Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, said that in his last email his son had asked for some airline miles so he could fly to the United States so they could be together for the father's 80th birthday.

The prosecution said he would be brought to a court hearing Thursday to be formally charged under Venezuela's anti-terrorism laws.

The police had been friendly to Tracy during the previous incidents, with some even agreeing to appear in his documentary, the filmmaker's father said. Emmet Tracy said, however, that the family had begun urging his son to leave the country in light of the volatile political situation.

"Frankly it's the kind of scenario that we were concerned about and kept telling him," Emmet Tracy said.

Tensions in the country have been rising since Maduro beat opposition candidate Henrique Capriles in the April 14 election by less than 2 percentage points. The government insists the opposition fomented violence directed at ruling party supporters and official buildings in the days after the election. The opposition is demanding an audit of the vote, which it says was stolen.

Venezuela's government has long accused the United States of trying to undermine it, moving closer to Cuba, Iran and Russia after a failed 2002 coup attempt against Chavez that the George W. Bush administration initially recognized.

Tracy is the first American in recent memory to be detained in Venezuela on politically related charges, however.

"I gave the order that they detain him immediately, hand him to prosecutors with the proof that there is because nobody can be destabilizing this country, whatever they believe, because they're on the side of the bourgeoisie, no," Maduro said.

James said Tracy's Spanish is passable but not great.

He said Tracy "literally has no political agenda. He is very sympathetic to all sides. He's telling stories about people and what their life is like there."

"He has been involved in telling stories that told that international component. But he certainly never worked for the government," said James.

"He's trying to tell a human story," said James. "My fear is that he's gone in deeper than he should have."

__

Bajak contributed from Lima, Peru.

__

Frank Bajak on Twitter: http://twitter.com/fbajak

Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mweissenstein

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-man-detained-venezuelan-post-vote-crackdown-202455776.html

walking dead finale nascar bristol narwhal st louis university mario manningham mario manningham williams syndrome

3 Doors Down Bassist Enters Rehab, Due Back In Court

Robert Todd Harrell released on $100,000 bond on Tuesday in vehicular homicide case.
By Gil Kaufman

3 Doors Down bassist Robert Todd Harrell's booking photo
Photo: Davidson County Sheriff

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706305/3-doors-down-bassist-rehab-robert-todd-harrell.jhtml

where do i vote dixville notch Remember Remember The 5th Of November African painted dogs What Time Do Polls Open Krysten Ritter v for vendetta

A Surreal Jaunt Through the Largest Mall in North America

More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/2wEQ86Y5Cbw/a-surreal-jaunt-through-the-largest-mall-in-north-america

brandon jacobs brandon jacobs brian dawkins emma roberts north korea news north korea news giuliana and bill

Sup everone

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

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/_wI-4ozej8c/viewtopic.php

j.k. rowling j.k. rowling axl rose google earnings pat burrell hilary rosen grilled cheese

EE has lured 318,000 customers to 4G since launching five months ago (updated)

EE's just released its Q1 2013 earnings, giving us a look at its first full quarter with 4G services. The carrier says it's on track to its goal of a million 4G customers by the end of the year, thanks to the addition or migration of 318,000 LTE customers since the service launched.. Despite those more profitable clients, however, total service revenue (excluding hardware sales) was down 1.5 percent for the period over last quarter, to £1.42 billion. On one hand, the number of 4G additions could be seen as disappointing considering the company's strong marketing push of the service -- though on the other, the company's only just activated numerous regions, making that one million 4G subscriber goal seem more likely than not. We'll just have to wait a bit longer to see if Brits are really in love with LTE's extra zip -- and willing to pay for it.

Update: This article originally stated that EE added 318,000 4G customers in Q1 this year, but that figure actually represents the number of users the carrier has added since launching its 4G service. five months ago

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Comments

Source: EE

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/23/ee-lured-318-000-customers-to-4g-in-q1-2013/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

Opening ceremony London 2012 Olympics Schedule 2012 Olympic Medal Count 2012 Olympics 2012 Olympic Schedule 2012 NBC Olympics NBC Olympics schedule

Judge drops 3 murder charges against doctor Kermit Gosnell

Yong Kim / Philadelphia Daily News via AP file

Dr. Kermit Gosnell is interviewed by the Philadelphia Daily News at his attorney's office in Philadelphia In in 2010.

By Dan Stamm and Maryclaire Dale, NBCPhiladelphia.com

It took the prosecution five weeks to present their case against West Philly abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell and it took defense attorney Jack McMahon a couple of hours to knock a big hole through a critical part of their argument.

Three first-degree murder charges were dropped against Gosnell after McMahon argued that "there is not one piece...of objective, scientific evidence that anyone was born alive" at Gosnell's clinic.

Prosecutors have argued that the babies were viable and that Gosnell and his staff cut them in the back of the neck to kill them.

Gosnell was originally charged with eight counts of murder. Seven first-degree murder charges are for accusations that he killed seven newborns. The third-degree murder charge is for the 2009 death of Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year-old Bhutanese refugee prosecutors say received lethal doses of sedatives and painkillers at the clinic while awaiting an abortion.

Read more at NBCPhiladelphia.com

He also is charged with violating Pennsylvania abortion law by performing abortions after 24 weeks, operating a corrupt organization and other crimes. Gosnell was originally charged with seven counts of first degree murder.

Gosnell, 72, still faces five remaining murder charges and the possibility of the death penalty if convicted of any of the first-degree cases.

Judge Jeffery Minehart has not explained the reasoning behind today's rulling.

Former staffer Eileen O'Neill is also on trial. The 56-year-old Phoenixville woman is charged with practicing medicine without a license, and taking part in a corrupt organization. Six of the nine theft by deception charges she faced were dropped today as well because the prosecution didn't present any witnesses to support those charges.

The investigation into Gosnell's clinic began in February 2010 with agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI who were conducting two raids on Gosnell's clinic in search of drug violations. Instead, they stumbled upon "deplorable and unsanitary" conditions, including blood on the floor and parts of aborted fetuses in jars. State regulators followed up with their own investigation, shutting down the Women's Medical Society clinic at 3801 Lancaster Avenue in West Philadelphia and suspended Gosnell'slicense.

The case then went to a grand jury. Their nearly 300-page grand jury report released in January 2011 described Gosnell's clinic as a filthy, foul-smelling "house of horrors" that was overlooked by regulators.

Prosecutors said Gosnell made millions of dollars over three decades performing thousands of dangerous abortions, many of them illegal late-term procedures. The clinic had no trained nurses or medical staff other than Gosnell, a family physician not certified in obstetrics or gynecology, yet authorities say many administered anesthesia, painkillers and labor-inducing drugs.

The grand jury report stated furniture and blankets in Gosnell's clinic were stained with blood, instruments were not properly sterilized and disposable medical supplies were used repeatedly.

Bags, jars and bottles holding aborted fetuses were scattered throughout the building, which reeked of cat urine because of the animals allowed to roam freely.

State regulators ignored complaints about Gosnell and the 46 lawsuits filed against him and made just five annual inspections since the clinic opened in 1979, investigators said. Several state employees were fired and two agencies overhauled their regulations after the allegations.

Gosnell has always maintained his innocence. He pleaded not guilty and has remained held without bail since his arrest. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the infant deaths.

Prosecutors estimated Gosnell ended hundreds of pregnancies by inducing labor and cutting the babies' spinal cords and caused scores of women to suffer infections and permanent internal injuries, but they said they couldn't prosecute more cases because he destroyed files.

Eight clinic workers including Gosnell's wife, a beautician accused of helping him perform illegal third-term abortions, have pleaded guilty to a variety of crimes. Three of Gosnell's staffers, including an unlicensed medical school graduate and a woman with a sixth-grade education, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder for their roles in the woman's overdose death or for cutting babies in the back of the neck to ensure their demise.

In an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News after the clinic was raided, Gosnell described himself as someone who wanted to serve the poor and minorities in the neighborhood where he grew up and raised his six children, who include a doctor and a college professor.

McMahon, disputes that any babies were born alive. He has suggested that the woman who died, Karnamaya Mongar, had undisclosed respiratory problems that could have caused fatal complications.

McMahon has accused officials of "a targeted, elitist and racist prosecution" and "a prosecutorial lynching" of his client, who is black, and of applying "Mayo Clinic" standards to Gosnell's inner-city, cash-only clinic. He said Gosnell performed as many as 1,000 abortions per year, and at least 16,000 over his long career, with a lower-than-average complication rate.

After about a week of jury selection, seven woman and five men were chosen along with six alternate jurors. The trial began March 18 and is expected to last about two months.

Gosnell's former employees have testified that they were just doing what their boss trained them to do and described long, chaotic days performing gruesome work for little more than minimum wage paid under the table. An assistant testified she snipped the spines of at least 10 babies at Gosnell's direction, sobbing as she recalled taking a cellphone photograph of one baby she thought could have survived, given his size and pinkish color.

Mongar's 24-year-old daughter testified about the labor-inducing drugs and painkillers her mother was given as she waited hours for Gosnell to arrive for the procedure. She said her mother was later taken to a hospital, only after firefighters struggled to cut bolts off a side door of the clinic, but she died the next day.

Prosecutors wrapped up their five-week case with a former worker at Gosnell's clinic who testified that she saw more than 10 babies breathing before they were killed. The defense was slated to begin presenting its case Monday but Gosnell's attorney told the judge he was sick and went to a hospital for tests.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2b14fb98/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C230C178798260Ejudge0Edrops0E30Emurder0Echarges0Eagainst0Edoctor0Ekermit0Egosnell0Dlite/story01.htm

obama fbi Watertown Ma Krystle Campbell Pressure Cooker MIT Shooting NFL schedule 2013

Study reveals alcohol industry tactics to influence alcohol policy reform in Scotland

Apr. 23, 2013 ? The alcohol industry -- including supermarkets, drinks companies, and trade associations -- distorted international evidence on effective alcohol control measures in an attempt to influence the Scottish Government's public health policy to its advantage, according to a study published today in PLOS Medicine.

Researchers, led by Dr Jim McCambridge at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, found that the alcohol industry had ignored, misrepresented and undermined scientific evidence in submissions made to the Scottish Government's 2008 consultation, "Changing Scotland's relationship with alcohol." The consultation looked at policy proposals to introduce minimum unit pricing and end irresponsible promotions including below-cost selling of alcoholic drinks.

Dr McCambridge said: "There is a broad consensus internationally among researchers that the most effective measures to control problems caused by alcohol are to raise the price, control availability and restrict marketing activities. However, our study shows that key players in the alcohol industry constructed doubt about this wealth of scientific evidence and instead chose to promote weak survey-based evidence as well as making unsubstantiated claims to their advantage.

"These tactics mean it is harder for governments to make evidence-based policy where industry is involved. The public interest is not served by the alcohol industry's misinterpretation of research evidence and we must consider to what extent we should allow the health of the population to be compromised by these commercial interests."

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of York looked at 27 submissions made to the Scottish consultation by the alcohol industry.

Tesco criticised the data supporting the Scottish Government's proposals, claiming there was "little in the way of evidence" to support the impact of price on consumption. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association heavily promoted weak evidence in their submission, citing a small community trial which lacks thorough data.

The Portman Group made unsubstantiated claims that the proposals could "increase the appeal of alcohol to young people by creating a 'mystique'" and thereby "turning alcohol into a 'forbidden fruit'." They also claimed that the approach taken by the Scottish Government had been "widely discredited in research studies" when in fact there is broad consensus among researchers, who strongly support the approach as the correct one.

ASDA also made unsubstantiated claims about the adverse effects of policy proposals, saying they believed "minimum pricing and a promotions ban will create incentives for the black market and criminals and illegal door to door sales."

The findings raise concerns over the alcohol industry's ongoing involvement in alcohol policy-making for England and Wales. Unlike in Scotland, where submissions were available for all to see, not all submissions to the Home Office consultation on the implementation of the Government's Alcohol Strategy will be accessible in the public domain. It is unclear whether minimum unit pricing will be introduced.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. J. McCambridge, B. Hawkins, C. Holden. Industry Use of Evidence to Influence Alcohol Policy: A Case Study of Submissions to the 2008 Scottish Government Consultation. PLOS Medicine, 2013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001431

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/tRigVtf0LZg/130423172712.htm

best cyber monday deals best cyber monday deals macaulay culkin Larry Hagman macys apple apple

Chiefs hold No. 1 pick in draft for first time

FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2013 file photo, Luke Joeckel runs a drill during the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. Joeckel is considered a possible first pick in the NFL Draft, Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2013 file photo, Luke Joeckel runs a drill during the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. Joeckel is considered a possible first pick in the NFL Draft, Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

IFLE - In this Feb. 23, 2013 file photo, Central Michigan offensive lineman Eric Fisher runs a drill during the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. Fisher is considered a possible first round pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2013 file photo, Luke Joeckel answers a question during a news conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. Joeckel is considered a possible first pick in the NFL Draft, Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? The running joke around Kansas City at the end of last season went something like this: "The Chiefs are so bad" ? pause for effect ? "they can't even stink in the right year."

After going 2-14 to match the worst finish in franchise history, the Chiefs will have the top pick in the NFL draft for the first time. But there's no clear-cut No. 1 choice this year, and certainly no must-have franchise quarterback such as Andrew Luck on the board.

The Chiefs were in need of a QB, too, hence the joke. But they solved that problem for the time being when they shipped their second-round pick and a conditional choice in next year's draft to the San Francisco 49ers to land a former No. 1 overall pick, Alex Smith.

Now, the Chiefs are left to choose the best available on Thursday night.

"We're exploring our options," said general manager John Dorsey, adding that there's four players who the Chiefs were trying to nitpick in their final days of preparation.

"You still have to give yourself some options and kind of see how these four guys play, and watch the games as they're played," Dorsey said. "You understand they're people. Now, let's watch them play their respective position."

Dorsey wouldn't divulge which four players the Chiefs are considering, but common sense says at least two play the same position: Luke Joeckel of Texas A&M and Eric Fisher of Central Michigan, who are widely considered the best two offensive tackles available.

The Chiefs are almost certain to choose a blindside protector for Smith with their lone first-round pick, in part because of an uncertain situation surrounding incumbent Branden Albert.

Kansas City franchised the big left tackle after failing to reach a long-term contract with him, and Albert has made it clear that he wants stability. So the Chiefs have granted the Dolphins permission to speak with Albert's representatives, and the assumption is that a trade could be in place for a draft pick at some point before the weekend.

Even if a deal isn't worked out, the franchise tender that Albert signed only locks him up for next season, so the Chiefs could still be looking at a long-term solution at the position.

"Branden Albert is a good football player. We wouldn't have stuck the franchise tag on him if he wasn't," Dorsey said. "It's my job to explore all options, and that's kind of what's going on."

Joeckel has been considered the top available player, regardless of position, for months after protecting Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel last season at Texas A&M. The 6-foot-6, 306-pound tackle has excellent footwork and is technically sound, and that's what has made him stand out among a deep class of offensive tackles.

There has also been a late groundswell of support for the 6-foot-7, 306-pound Fisher. He didn't go up against the same kind of competition that Joeckel played in the Southeastern Conference, but he has exhibited the kind of mean streak on the football field that is coveted in a lineman.

"They're both really fine football players," said Dorsey, who wouldn't speak in detail on any specific players. "I think this year the offensive line position has some true prospects in it."

The Chiefs could also use help along the defensive line, at middle linebacker and even at running back, but the consensus among most draft experts is that those needs can wait.

Their priority is to upgrade along the offensive line.

"They've been fairly safe picks over the years," Chiefs coach Andy Reid added. "You evaluate the success rate with all the positions, and you'll come back to the offensive line and say, 'Yeah, that's a fairly safe pick, offensive tackle.'"

It's not the eye-catching pick that's going to energize fans, though, even if the reality is that no such player appears available. Luck and Robert Griffin III provided that kind of appeal in last year's draft, but there is a dearth of high-end quarterback prospects this season.

Otherwise, the Chiefs wouldn't have such a decision on their hands.

Kansas City was also listening to trade offers in the final days before the draft, and Dorsey made it clear that he would consider moving out of the top pick for the right deal.

"You have to weigh so many variables and options for the betterment of this organization," he said. "When you sit in this seat, you're not only responsible for yourself, but you're responsible for numerous other things within this organization. So, you have to weigh those factors in. At the end of the day, you have to do what's best for this organization."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-23-FBN-Draft-Chiefs/id-e80c5c7aab0343b98169defb1701b440

ncaa basketball tournament 2012 megamillions winning numbers lotto winner jerry lee lewis winning lotto numbers lottery tickets mega lottery

Nike Is Removing This 'Boston Massacre' T-Shirt ... - Business Insider

Nike

Nike is removing these shirts from sale.

?

Nike is in the process of removing this "Boston Massacre" T-shirt from its outlets, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell.

The shirt ? which shows the word "Boston" spattered with blood ? has nothing to do with the bombing of the Boston Marathon. Rather, it's a shirt for fans of the New York Yankees commemorating a 4-0 series of games in 1978 that the Yankees won against the Boston Red Sox.

The marathon bombing took place the same day as a Patriot's Day game at Fenway, home of the Red Sox.

You can see some online stores where the shirt was for sale here and here.

No doubt the shirts have become instant collector's items ? but where would you actually wear one?

Nike

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/nike-is-removing-this-boston-massacre-t-shirt-from-its-outlets-2013-4

Colin Powell Tyrann Mathieu noaa Jessica Ridgeway ipad mini

United in adversity: West, Texas, prays for Boston, which sends pizzas to West

As refugees in West, Texas waited to return to homes devastated by a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant, their talk, concern, and prayers turned to the terrorist attack in Boston. 'I've never been to Boston,' one Texan commented, 'but now I really want to go. It seems like a cool city.'

By Patrik Jonsson,?Staff writer / April 20, 2013

West, Texas, mayor pro tem Steve Vanek talks to the media in front of city hall Saturday, three days after an explosion at a fertilizer plant Wednesday night killed as many as 14 people and injured more than 160.

Charlie Riedel/AP

Enlarge

Lauretta Cvikel has her own problems. On Wednesday, she was knocked over by the explosion at West Fertilizer Plant, noting, "I never thought I'd be able see air move!" For another 20 minutes "that felt like forever" she didn't know the whereabouts of her pre-teen son, Allen, who was eventually found safe.

Skip to next paragraph

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

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

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

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

But as Ms. Cvikel tells her dramatic story, her thoughts suddenly wander eastward and to the North, to a manhunt and citywide lock down in Boston, which ended several hours later. Even as West continued to tally its casualties and homeless residents wandered around in their trucks, she noted, "I can't imagine what people in Boston are going through. We've been praying for them too."

Such reciprocal sympathies toward the end of inarguably the worst week of the year ? terror bombs, ricin letters, rural explosions, shootouts and manhunts ? also rubbed off on President Obama, who took a few minutes during his remarks on the capture of the Boston bomb suspect to mention the residents of West, Texas, saying, "We've also seen a tight-knit community in Texas devastated by a terrible explosion."

The phenomenon was in many ways natural: Victims of circumstance and tragedy easily empathize with others going through hard times. But it also pointed to a unique sense of national solidarity wrought by chaos and resolved by a sense of hope. "We are only beginning to make sense of a series of events that moved so fast, so furiously as to almost defy attempts to figure them out," explains Jesse Washington of the Washington Post.

Some here in West wondered how CNN's Anderson Cooper could have materialized in Boston only hours after leaving West, but there was little bitterness about the drift in national attention. If anything, residents of central Texas cheered the capture of the surviving bomb suspect because it buoyed their spirits as much as those of the applauding crowds on the streets of Watertown, clapping as police drove through.

Texas State Trooper Bryan Washko toured what he called "war zone" devastation early Friday before setting up a road block into a neighborhood knocked over by the Wednesday night explosion.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/SwNcLUba47Q/United-in-adversity-West-Texas-prays-for-Boston-which-sends-pizzas-to-West

day light savings daylight saving time 2012 grapes of wrath silent house nfl mock draft project m colts

Hospitalized suspect in Boston bombings awaits charges

By Scott Malone

BOSTON (Reuters) - The badly wounded Boston Marathon bombing suspect faced federal charges as early as Monday and the city of Boston planned tributes to the dead after a week of blasts, shootouts, lockdowns and one of the largest manhunts in U.S. history.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, an ethnic Chechen college student suspected of carrying out the attacks with his older brother, lay in a Boston hospital under armed guard. He was unable to speak after he was captured with throat injuries sustained during shoot-outs with police.

Police declined to comment on media reports he was communicating with authorities in writing.

"There have been widely published reports that he is (communicating silently). I wouldn't dispute that, but I don't have any specific information on that myself," Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis told CNN. "We're very anxious to talk to him and the investigators will be doing that as soon as possible."

The FBI said on Monday morning that Tsarnaev remained in serious condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Tsarnaev's capture on Friday night ended a manhunt that virtually shut down greater Boston for some 20 hours. His older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died after a gunfight with police early Friday morning.

The city of Boston crawled back to normal on Monday, a week after twin bombs exploded at the crowded finish line of the city's famous marathon road race, killing three people and wounding 176. Ten of the injured lost limbs.

The crime scene around the blasts was still closed but was expected to reopen within a day or two. Signs declaring "Boston Strong" hung about the city.

Memorial services were set on Monday for two of those killed in the bombings: Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager, and Chinese graduate student Lingzi Lu.

An 8-year-old boy, Martin Richard, was also killed.

PAUSE AT TIME OF BOMBINGS

The city also planned to pause at 2:50 p.m. EDT to mark the moment a week ago when the two bombs made of pressure cookers and packed with nails and ball bearings tore through the crowd watching runners complete the Boston Marathon.

In the days that followed, investigators examining thousands of images from surveillance video, media coverage and spectators taking pictures were able to pick out two men as suspects, later identified as the Tsarnaev brothers.

On Tuesday, the day after the attack, the younger Tsarnaev was working out in the gym at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, listening to music on his iPod, when he struck up a conversation with fellow sophomore Zach Bettencourt.

Bettencourt said he and Tsarnaev chatted about the bombings.

"It's crazy this is happening now," Bettencourt recalled Tsarnaev telling him. "This (these bombings) is so easy to do. These tragedies happen all the time in Afghanistan and Iraq."

Police said the Tsarnaev brothers made enough additional bombs for them to believe that more attacks were planned. They were also armed with handguns. A shootout with police in the Boston suburb of Watertown early Friday morning left more than 200 spent shell casings in the street.

Neither Tsarnaev brother was licensed to own guns in the towns where they lived, Cambridge, Massachusetts, authorities said on Sunday.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could be charged with several crimes including use of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and bombing of places of public use in addition to homicide, said former federal prosecutor and University of Notre Dame law professor Jimmy Gurul?.

Because death resulted, each statute authorizes the death penalty, he said.

Though the case is likely to involve officials at the highest levels including Attorney General Eric Holder, the prosecutor in charge will be Carmen Ortiz, the U.S. attorney for the district of Massachusetts.

Ortiz has faced criticism for coming down too hard on some defendants, but that approach may become a legal asset for the biggest case of her career, said attorneys who have faced off against her.

The Tsarnaev brothers emigrated to the United States a decade ago from Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim region in Russia's Caucasus. The men's parents, who moved back to southern Russia some time ago, have said their sons were framed.

Much of investigators' attention has focused on a trip to Russia last year by Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and whether he became involved with or was influenced by Chechen separatists or Islamist extremists there.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev traveled to Moscow in January 2012 and spent six months in Dagestan, a law enforcement source said. Neighbors in Makhachkala, the region's capital city, said he kept a low profile while visiting there last summer, helping his father renovate an apartment unit.

That trip, combined with Russian interest in Tamerlan communicated to U.S. authorities and an FBI interview of him in 2011, have raised questions whether danger signals were missed.

(Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen, Mary Ellen Clark, Ross Kerber and Hillary Russ; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Phil Barbara and Frances Kerry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hospitalized-suspect-boston-bombings-awaits-charges-under-guard-004558605.html

Perez Hilton Michelle Obama Oscars Wissam Al Mana seth macfarlane oscar winners anne hathaway Castel Gandolfo

Key Tricks For Increasing Self Improvement | MySpareTime.net

Remember that everyone is different, so what may work for one person?s development, may not work with yours. Because of this, you must take the time to learn as much as you can to assist you in your path to self improvement. By reading this article, you will find several tips which can benefit you with your personal growth.

Try and improve one thing at a time rather than broadening your focus. While there may be a number of aspects that you?d like to work on, concentrating on one aspect at a time makes it more likely that you will succeed. This also helps ensure long-term change in your personality, as it will be easier for you to maintain new habits if they are introduced slowly.

You must determine what you would like to achieve in your life. Once you?ve done this, get out there and do it. If you do nothing but sit around dreaming of how you want your life, you?ll never get it. Identify your goals and take the necessary actions to make it happen.

TIP! Wisdom and modesty are two integral components of life. Use your daily situations to learn about what you can and cannot change about the things in your life.

Instead of focusing on your outward appearance, look inside. Clothes and looks are no reflection of the true personality of person. What really matters in life is your true personality. Build your inner character rather than focusing on outside appearance.

Sexual capitol is an important new trait that?s being researched. This is basically another term for charisma. It involves using charm to get people to like you. Some people are unable to socialize well, but being able to can be extremely beneficial.

Many people starting on a personal development journey struggle because their goal is too vague and unspecific. Create a specific goal for yourself. If you create a clear goal, you will achieve the results you want.

To be successful in your life, you will need to have a good coach to help you through the process. Every champion has a great coach; the advice of a knowledgeable mentor is priceless. Everyone is supposed to help show the way to others. Without someone to teach them the right way of doing things, it?s impossible to expect them to be able to properly succeed. All achievers learned from someone else.

TIP! Focus on making your time spent working as productive as possible. Something you can do is to increase the amount of short breaks you take throughout the workday.

You need to decide what type of lifestyle would suit you best, then you can set goals that can realistically be attained. Identify your weaknesses and strive to overcome them so you can become a stronger, better person.

Read several highly-rated books on self improvement. Take the time to read a few books to find new ideas and tips you had not thought of. Books on the topic of self improvement can be poorly written. To avoid this, make sure you read books that have been reviewed well.

Leadership is an important part of someone?s self improvement. While there are multiple ways to define leadership, most people regard it as influence. Carefully assess your own thoughts on leadership. Think about the circumstances that have had the most influence in your life. What were the root changes that occurred? What personal qualities do you have that make you a good team player? You will know where your rightful position is in a team after you have answered these questions for yourself.

If you want to enhance your approach to personal development, learn to be humble. Realizing that you are but a small part of the bigger picture will potentially open your mind to attaining new insights. As soon as you have this idea lodged in your brain, you are going to want to understand and be able to learn different things, which leads to improving yourself.

TIP! Base your development plan on your values and goals. Focus on those areas first to make the positive changes that are most important to your happiness.

Strive to make each day a bit better than the previous one. Steady, unending improvement should be your goal. Try and improve yourself daily.

Rather than bragging to others about all of your accomplishments, instead ask people about theirs. You will find that you will learn more about those around you better by doing this. Not only that, you can respect them by knowing more about them.

You can learn how to handle difficult problems without over-reacting. Stay graceful under fire, and you will gain confidence that helps in your day to day life. Rhythmic deep breathing will help you regain control and remain self-assured.

Pick up a pen and paper, and write yourself a positive letter. List all your great attributes on an index card. Carry it with you, and refer to it when necessary. An even more effective solution would be to read the list out and have it recorded on video; playing it back when you are feeling low. This might sound silly but it really helps.

TIP! When you start missing your self-made goals and guidelines, that?s a sign that you need to take a moment to figure out what the problem is. Check online and find others whom share similar goals with you and find out what they are doing compared to what you?re doing.

Try to determine what things matter most in your life and devote your attention to them. The key to attaining inner peace is knowing what really matters and finding the good in what you have.

One great personal development goal you can set is to practice being more selfless. You can benefit greatly by just making some simple sacrifices and helping others. Making sacrifices for others can help you to transcend feelings of selfishness and jealousy.

One important aspect of self improvement is making the choice to lead a healthier life. When you are feeling good, it is easier to feel better about yourself. You will feel stronger and have more control over your time and money since you won?t have as many medical expenses. Making choices that lead to a healthy lifestyle should be a part of your daily routine.

Comfort shopping is not a good idea. Shopping your stress away, or ?retail therapy? as some people say, is really more of a stress inducer, because it distracts you from the stress for a while but it all comes back with big bills and interest charges when the bills come in.

TIP! Self discipline is a requirement for successful personal development. Make sure that you develop self control skills.

The secret to unlocking your happiness could be taking a few short jaunts outside of your comfort zone. Many people stay in their comfort zones to avoid rejection or failure, so they aren?t as happy or fulfilled. If you take risks, chances are you will be happier.

Having a good attitude will empower your growth as an individual. A negative attitude won?t help you advance in life and may actually lead you down the wrong path. Staying positive and acting with a good attitude can help you attain your goals.

Advice has little meaning if it goes unused. You must implement these tips into your every day life if you would like to see an effect. Success is earned, not granted. Give these tips a shot and look for any noticeable personal development improvements.

The condition in which you keep your body can significantly impact your mental state. Make sure you treat your body properly: follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly. Don?t forget that a healthy body helps ensure a healthy mind.

TIP! Challenges should always be undertaken. New challenges open new possibilities for you.

Read the following article, you might find it very interesting!
4 Reasons to Skip the Is He The Right Boyfriend Quiz

Share and Enjoy

Source: http://mysparetime.net/key-tricks-for-increasing-self-improvement/

jim jones tony stewart kurt busch kurt busch nba dunk contest 2012 act of valor woody guthrie

Indian police arrest suspect for rape of 5-year-old as protests build up

By Devidutta Tripathy and Frank Jack Daniel

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Hundreds of angry protesters gathered outside the headquarters of Delhi police on Saturday after a five year-old girl was allegedly raped and tortured, reviving memories of a brutal December assault on a woman that shook the country.

Police arrested a man they accuse of the attack from the eastern state of Bihar, and he was being brought to Delhi for interrogation. Doctors say the girl suffered severe injuries and bruising all over her body including her neck and genitalia.

Protests that began on Friday grew more intense after video footage showed a policeman slapping a woman protester, and following reports investigators offered the victim's family 2,000 rupees not to file a case.

The assault on the girl revived memories of the gang rape by five adult men and a teenaged boy of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a bus on December 16 in New Delhi.

That woman died of her injuries in a Singapore hospital. The case caused an outpouring of anger in Delhi. While statistically India does not have the world's highest incidence of rape, the frequency and apparent increase in brutal crimes has become a major political issue in the nation of 1.2 billion a year before elections.

On Saturday, a group of men and women kicked and pushed yellow metal barricades at the gates of the police station in an attempt to break through.

The girl was "conscious and alert" and her condition stable, but her injuries are infected and so severe she may need corrective surgery, an official of the state-run All India Institute of Medical Sciences hospital told reporters.

Police identified the accused as a 22-year-old called Manoj, arrested late on Friday in Bihar where he had fled after leaving the girl for dead in an apartment in the same Delhi building the family lives in.

The girl was kept in captivity for 40 hours, police said. The accused was a temporary worker in garment factories and lived with his father, a juice seller, police said. He was hiding at his in-laws' house when he was captured.

In a televised news conference, a deputy commissioner said police will seek to establish if more people were involved in the alleged rape after the accused is questioned.

Interior minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said the government was conducting an inquiry into allegations of police negligence.

HELD FOR 40 HOURS

The girl, whose parents work as laborers and live in a slum in the outskirts of Delhi, went missing from home on April 15, according to Manish Sisodia, an official of the Aam Aadmi Party which organized a protest on Friday.

Local media said she was found by neighbors who heard her crying two days later.

B.N. Bansal, a doctor from the Swami Dayanand Hospital, where the girl was initially admitted for treatment, said on Friday that the young victim had undergone an operation after she was brought in with extreme injuries.

"We found candles and an oil bottle from inside the child when we operated upon her," Bansal told reporters. "The next 48 hours will be crucial for her."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office said in a statement that he was deeply disturbed by the latest incident. In December his administration had faced criticism for failing to respond quickly to the horrific attack on the physiotherapy student.

The unprecedented protests by thousands of people across India eventually forced Singh's government to pass tougher laws to fight gender crimes in March.

But activists on Friday said the laws were not enough to deter sex offenders in India's largely patriarchal societies.

"If you thought just bringing in a new law will stop crimes, your are wrong. They will reduce, but won't stop. You need community policing to stop these crimes," activist Kiran Bedi told an Indian TV channel.

It was the second case of alleged rape in 48 hours to trigger protests and police brutality, after hundreds of people fought police in the city of Aligarh 135 km (83 miles) from Delhi on Thursday. One policeman was filmed hitting an old woman hard with a club in the protest. ($1 = 54.0750 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy and Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/indian-police-arrest-suspect-rape-5-old-anger-062348117.html

tony romo Good Friday 2013 good friday Dufnering What Is Good Friday Alexis Wright Monsanto Protection Act

Device to mitigate power outages, prevent equipment damage

Apr. 19, 2013 ? A local power failure in Ohio ten years ago caused a series of cascading power failures that resulted in a massive blackout that affected 50 million people and caused billions of dollars in damage and lost revenue.

Such blackouts could be prevented in the future, thanks to a new piece of equipment developed by engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas. The device regulates or limits the amount of excess current that moves through the power grid when a surge occurs.

"We didn't invent the fault current limiter," said Alan Mantooth, Distinguished Professor and executive director of the National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission, based at the university. "But we have developed the first one using a silicon-carbide semiconductor device and technology, which we have developed over the past five years. The significance of this material cannot be overestimated. It is much more durable and responds so much faster than materials currently used in systems on the U.S. power grid."

A fault current, also known as a surge, occurs when too much current flows through the electrical power grid in an uncontrolled manner. A fault current is typically caused by an accident or unintended event, such as lightning or contact between power lines and trees. These events cause short-circuits, which result in a rapid increase in the electricity drawn from power sources within the grid.

When these sources do not have extra power to give, cascading or rolling blackouts can occur. This is what happened in Ohio, much of the northeast United States and parts of Canada in 2003.

A fault current limiter can be thought of as a giant surge protector. When excess current travels through a power line, the limiter absorbs it and then sends only what is necessary farther down the line, Mantooth said. The system thus ensures uninterrupted service when the fault is intermittent. Most consumers would not even detect a problem. Furthermore, if the fault is more permanent and will require repair to power lines, Mantooth said, the device then opens much like a normal circuit breaker, which would thus prevent further damage due to excess current.

Proper coordination and device placement will prevent cascading outages, he said.

"This device really can mean the difference between 25,000 customers or 5 million customers being affected," Mantooth said.

The U of A researchers worked with silicon-carbide, a semiconducting material that is stronger and faster than conventional materials used in the power grid. High-speed switching devices within the limiter rapidly insert energy-absorbing impedance into the circuit or use advanced control techniques to limit the fault current, Mantooth said.

Silicon-carbide has other benefits as well. Its properties allow for extremely high voltage, and it is a good thermal conductor, which means that it can operate at high temperatures without requiring extra equipment to remove heat. Overall, use of the material will reduce the mass and volume of equipment needed on a power grid.

Mantooth envisions the device working in concert with circuit breakers on individual buildings, especially critical facilities such as hospitals. It could also serve neighborhoods, where one limiter could regulate current and thus preserve power for many houses. Depending on the size of the building or neighborhood, devices would vary in terms of amperage and voltage.

Mantooth said the U of A's system, and fault current limiters in general, are examples of devices that will make and serve a "smart" grid, meaning they will play an integral role in the U.S. Department of Energy's vision for a more efficient and more reliable power grid.

The National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission is funded as part of the federal government's focus on research and development on smart grid and renewable technologies. The center is one of only a few university-based research centers chosen by the Energy Department to investigate electronic systems to make the nation's power grid more reliable and efficient.

The Energy Department has funded the center since 2005 because of the university's research expertise in advanced power electronics and long-term investigation of silicon-carbide.

Mantooth is holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Mixed-Signal Integrated Circuit Design and Computer-Aided Design in the College of Engineering.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

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

---

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/matter_energy/electronics/~3/9kQDcVYGYOc/130419094143.htm

windows 8 Emanuel Steward nyc.gov SAT Notre Dame Football Schedule detroit tigers Tsunami

92% Jurassic Park: An IMAX 3D Experience

All Critics (95) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (95) | Rotten (8) | DVD (38)

The enthralling man-vs.-nature parable based on the late Michael Crichton's best-selling novel hasn't aged one bit.

The 3-D process adds not just dimension but depth - a technological extension of cinematographer Gregg Toland's deep-focus innovations in The Grapes of Wrath and Citizen Kane. The change in perspective creates greater intensity.

I'm a fan of this movie. It is thrilling, and the 3-D treatment is a nice enhancement.

This movie doesn't just stand the test of time, it transcends it.

"Jurassic Park" remains an absolute thrill from a Spielberg in top form: Funny, scary, fast-moving and full of just-right details.

"Jurassic Park" was impressive in 1993. Twenty years later, it's flawless.

The film is a classic and the chance to see it on the big screen again (or for the first time) should not be missed

Sentiment is explained by science as the family impulse that motivates so many Steven Spielberg stories is revealed to be an evolutionary imperative in this near-perfect action-adventure.

[Looks] better not only than effects-driven movies of the same period, but better, frankly, than half of what gets released nowadays.

Kids who love dinosaurs will love it. And who doesn't?

confirms both Spielberg's mastery of cinematic thrills and the comparatively empty bombast of today's summer tentpole movies, even the better ones.

Jurassic Park shows us a director in transition, and the film captures his transformation in its own kind of cinematic amber.

[The] 3D [conversion] provides the definitive version of this classic film. Jurassic Park has been transformed with with artistry, nuance and sophistication, and it's an absolute must-see during this brief run.

The 3D effects had me nearly jumping out of my seat. Some say Hollywood is converting too many old films to 3D. But, "Jurassic Park" was the perfect choice. There's nothing more fun than sharing a seat with a snapping dinosaur.

Spielberg treats us as he does his characters, leading us into a strange land and expecting us to make it out with all our faculties intact; it's a tall order, given the heart-stopping, bloodcurdling, limbs-numbing excitement packed into the second hour.

It is as if time has passed the movie by. "Jurassic Park" remains solid entertainment, but the awe and wonder have faded.

The thrill of seeing live dinosaurs on screen is not as acute today as it was 20 years ago admittedly, but there is still some 3D awe left in the creations that roared 65 billion years ago...

The 3D isn't pushed on the audience, but it does reveal the amount of depth that Spielberg actually put into the film 20 years ago.

While it's not the most profound of Spielberg's works or the most entertaining from a popcorn perspective, it's one of the most technically flawless movies he's ever produced.

Jurassic Park 3D is like being reunited with an old friend; an old friend that wants to eat you and maul you to death, but still. A classic is reborn in glorious IMAX with a vibrantly stunning use of 3D.

If releasing the film in 3-D is the only way to get it back in theaters, then the gimmick is an acceptable addition. The 3-D is good. But when a movie is this near flawless, nothing is needed to make it better.

The 3D conversion ruins everything, like the comet that killed the dinosaurs, making Jurassic Park the rare amusement I'd prefer to revisit at home.

A beast of a movie is gifted a superfluous-but-superb rouging of the cheeks, offering fanatics something new to study while newcomers will be ruined for any future television airings.

The tasteful Jurassic Park 3D conversion injects new wonder and excitement into one of the most captivating adventure movies ever made.

There is nothing like experiencing this fabulous, larger-than-life, groundbreaking movie where it was meant to be experienced. And in 3D!

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jurassic_park_an_imax_3d_experience_1993/

minka kelly James Holmes court Rupert Sanders bachelorette penn state Ernie Els Teen Choice Awards 2012