The mobile ninjas over at Android Developers have announced a new medium for advice, collaboration and training: Google+. The collective will use the social networking site to help developers "meet, share, and connect with the people behind the Android developer experience." Programming tips, SDK announcements and training offerings are all on the menu, and the group is promising to hold weekly "broadcast office hours" for live Q&A using the Hangouts feature built-in to Google+. Hit the source link to invite the coding co-op into your virtual circle of choice.
This week is all about the big game, but even if you're not watching the Super bowl, there's a lot to tune in for. We've got a slew of new premieres, plenty of NBA and NHL action, and even an old favorite coming home on Blu-ray. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Next Level One of the best science fiction series ever returns, this week, remastered and in HD. Check after the break for a video splitscreen showing off the original video crossed over with the new special effects, which were recomposited back on top of the original film negatives for what seems to be an incredible new experience. Not ever revisitation has gotten a positive reception, but it appears this is one fans will enjoy. The release this week is a quick three episode teaser of what's to come, the full meal of season one is still on the way later this year. (January 31st, $14.99 on Amazon)
I Just Want My Pants Back Yet another young adult dramedy on MTV, but after the solid efforts of RJ Berger and Awkward (we're going to pretend the ill-fated port of Skins never happened) it may be worth a shot. The title comes from the main character, who is left looking for his pants which were taken by a particularly special one night stand that he's trying to find in the big city. Yeah. (February 2nd, MTV, 11PM)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? After months of talking and weeks of voting, Hollywood's actors finally name their picks for the best performances in the films and TV shows of 2011 at the annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday.
The SAG honors, which are closely watched in the race for Oscars, follow the Golden Globe, Critics' Choice and other awards given by media watchers, as well as acknowledgements from the U.S. Producers Guild and Directors Guild, which represent their respective professional groups in industry matters.
"The Artist," a romantic tale of a fading actor whose career is eclipsed by the woman he loves just as talkies are putting an end to silent pictures, has won top awards from many of those groups including the Directors Guild on Saturday night and will look to do as well with SAG voters on Sunday.
But "Artist" faces stiff competition from civil rights-era drama "The Help," which comes into Sunday night's awards with more nominations, four, more than any other movie, as well as from George Clooney-starring "The Descendants".
The actors in all three of those movies, along with the performers in Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" and the ladies of comedy "Bridesmaids," will compete for the night's top honor, best ensemble cast in a film.
The SAG Awards are a key barometer of which films and actors have a good chance at winning Oscars, the world's top film honors given on February 26 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, because performers make up the largest voting branch of the academy.
In other SAG races, Clooney, playing a father struggling to keep his family together, squares off against Jean Dujardin of "Artist" fame and Brad Pitt for his role as a numbers-crunching baseball executive in "Moneyball." The other two nominees in that category are Demian Bichir in the little seen "A Better Life" and Leonardo DiCaprio for "J. Edgar."
The SAG race for best actress is seen as a tight one among Meryl Streep playing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady," Viola Davis as a maid in "The Help" and Michelle Williams for her turn as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn."
Rounding out that category are Glenn Close in a gender-bending role as a butler in "Albert Nobbs" and Tilda Swinton as a troubled mother in dark drama, "We Need to Talk about Kevin."
SAG also hands out awards for best supporting roles in movies, and it honors performances in TV dramas, comedies and mini-series. But because of SAG's importance in the Oscar race, the film categories are most closely followed.
The SAG Awards air on U.S. TV on Sunday night from Los Angeles on cable networks TNT and TBS.
(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Sandra Maler)
At this point in his career, it's safe to put John Earner in the "names as destiny" category. Following a hugely successful run with Playfish, he's leaving the social game developer today to start as an entrepreneur in residence at Accel, according to?sources. A former naval officer, he joined as the company in 2008 as its first game producer, where he shepherded the development of its first big simulation game, Pet Society. Having figured out how to monetize virtual goods with it, he went on to launch the company's next big hit, Restaurant City.
Tiny bubbles float algae to the water's surface for harvest and processing. Sophie Bushwick reports.
January 27, 2012
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Algae naturally produce oil. When it?s processed, that oil can be turned into biofuel, an alternative energy source. There?s just one snag?harvesting the oil from algae-filled water is prohibitively expensive. But researchers have come up with an effervescent solution: bubbles smaller than the width of a human hair can help reduce the costs of collecting algae oil.
So-called microbubbles are already used for water purification?they surround contaminants and float them out of the liquid. Similarly, in water containing algae, bubbles can float the algae to the surface for easy collection and processing.
The research builds on previous work that used microbubbles to grow algae more densely and thus increase production. This time, however, the researchers produced the fizziness with a new method that uses far less energy, and is cheaper to install. The study is in the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering. [James Hanotu, HC Hemaka Bandulasena and William B Zimmerman, Microflotation performance for algal separation]
Although microbubbles improve algae harvesting in the lab, they still have to work at larger scales. The researchers are planning a pilot program for an algae biofuel plant, in the hope of making really green energy.
?Sophie Bushwick
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]???
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COLONIA JUAREZ, Mexico ? White House hopeful Mitt Romney rarely mentions a key fact as he works to woo Hispanics ahead of Tuesday's Republican presidential nominating contest in Florida ? his own Mexican heritage.
"I would love to be able to convince people of that, particularly in a Florida primary," he said Wednesday in an interview with Univision, a Spanish-language television network. "But I think that might be disingenuous on my part."
His father, George, was born in Mexico, and his extended relatives still live in that same community, the border state of Chihuahua. The younger Romney's second cousins, tall men with light hair who speak American-accented English, share the family's last name and Mormon faith. They support his White House candidacy, but not his tough stance on immigration.
They've also never met him, though Romney's siblings have been to the house where their father was born on July 8, 1907, among a colony of Mormon pioneers in a stunning agricultural valley at the foot of the Sierra Madre. George Romney's family left Mexico when he was 5, returning to the U.S. to escape the violence of the Mexican Revolution.
"A lot of people ask why hasn't Mitt come back to see where his roots are. His father left here at such a young age and I don't think that he has that culture embedded like we do," said Leighton Romney, 52, who was born in the United States and is registered to vote in Arizona. "I live here because I love my country," he added. "That's Mexico."
He manages the fruit growers cooperative Grupo Paquime in nearby Nuevo Casas Grandes, and readily showed off his elaborately researched family tree to an Associated Press reporter who visited the office where he sells fruit to Walmart de Mexico and other large chains.
A two-term Michigan governor, George Romney faced questions about his eligibility to run for president in 1968 because he wasn't born in the United States. Yet, George was born a U.S. citizen, not Mexican, because his parents were U.S. citizens. And in those days, Mexico didn't grant dual citizenship so the parents had to choose one country or the other. Mitt Romney has said neither his father nor his grandparents spoke Spanish.
Like all U.S. politicians today, Romney walks a fine line between courting voter rage against illegal immigration, mostly from Mexico, and seeking the support of Hispanics, the fastest-growing voting group in America. In the rare cases where Romney has noted that his father was born in Mexico, he has done so to illustrate how the now-wealthy family came from humble beginnings rather than using the fact as a way to discuss immigration.
The Romneys can trace the family history to 1555, where they have records of a Mr. Romney, no first name, born in 1555 in the town of Tonbridge, England. The Mexican roots are intertwined with their Mormon faith.
The candidate's great-grandfather, Miles Park Romney, was born in 1843 in Nauvoo, Ill., where Joseph Smith founded the Mormon church. Miles Park Romney had five wives and 30 children, and fled to Mexico after passage of the 1882 Edmunson Act that barred polygamy. Among the first Mormons to settle in to the rolling Mexican valley bordering Texas, Miles Park Romney married his fifth wife after the church banned the practice in 1890.
Among the 11 children borne by Miles Park Romney's first wife were brothers Gaskell and Miles Archibold Romney.
The family fled back to the U.S. in 1912, when the Mexican Revolution struck Chihuahua and revolutionary forces invaded the English-speaking communities.
Gaskell Romney stayed in the U.S., with his five children, including Mitt's father, George.
But Gaskell's brother, Miles Archibold Romney, returned to Mexico.
The Mexican Romneys, who number about 40, live in solid brick homes with gingerbread accents and green lawns. They count themselves among the most prosperous ranchers and farmers in an area just 190 miles from the border city of El Paso, Texas. They ranch cattle and grow peaches, apples and chili peppers. They also run businesses, a prestigious school with an American football team and basketball program where the students emerge speaking flawless English.
"It is a very open community, where we have been progressive, and we have shaped a life for ourselves, our children, that we think is a healthy life," said Leighton Romney. "We have been here for generations."
Colonia Juarez and its surroundings have not escaped the drug violence that first terrorized the Mexican border and has now migrated to other parts. Meredith Romney, Leighton's brother, was kidnapped in 2009 and held hostage for two days in a cave until his family paid an undisclosed ransom.
The family says the area has gotten safer in the last year and that kidnappings have decreased. They credit Chihuahua's new governor, Cesar Duarte, who took office in 2010.
The town of 1,035 people has another emblematic symbol of the community's success: a white marble temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with a golden statue of Moroni, the angel said to have visited Joseph Smith. Next to it is the LDS-affiliated Academia Juarez, with three-story brick buildings and large lawns more reminiscent of Utah than Mexico.
Leighton's nephew, Brandon Romney, 33, grows chili peppers and helps with the school's sports teams. During a recent basketball game, he ran around giving instructions in both English and Spanish to teenagers playing on the court and stopped to talk about his famous relative.
"He's just another guy to me," Brandon Romney said. "Some people get kind of a sense of pride about it. I've never known him, never talked to him."
Brandon Romney and his other relatives who are eligible to vote in America plan to support their distant cousin. Some say they will donate to him if he wins the nomination.
The family generally sees him as a smart businessman who can lead America out of its economic turmoil. They only part ways on immigration, sharing the Mexican view that migrants seeking work in the U.S. should be given a legal means to do so.
The candidate has taken a hardline against illegal immigration. He favors a U.S.-Mexico border fence and opposes education benefits for illegal immigrants. He would support legislation that seeks to award legal status to some young illegal immigrants who serve in the armed forces, but not for those who attend college.
This week, Romney said he favors policies that encourage "self-deportation," where illegal immigrants decide on their own to leave the U.S., over those that would require the government to return the immigrants to their home countries.
Octomom Nadya Suleman's octuplets turn three today.
Pray for them. Even if you're not religious ... just pray.
We're legitimately shocked they all survived this long, looking relatively healthy to boot, her as the mom, but hey, it's a very pleasant surprise. Eight times over.
Nadya Suleman took her octuplets out for some fun to celebrate, hitting up the Seascape Kids Fun venue in Los Angeles. Looks like a good time was had, except perhaps by the random paparazzi guy creeping in the background.
Suleman's octuplets are Noah, Maliyah, Isaiah, Nariah, Makai, Josiah, Jeremiah and Jonah.
Her other children are Elijah Makai, Amerah Yasmeen, Joshua Jacob, Aiden, Calyssa Airelle and Caleb Kai. Yes, that makes 14 kids and no jobs in all.
INDIANAPOLIS ? Indiana is poised to become the first right-to-work state in more than a decade after the Republican-controlled House passed legislation on Wednesday banning unions from collecting mandatory fees from workers.
It is yet another blow to organized labor in the heavily unionized Midwest, which is home to many of the country's manufacturing jobs. Wisconsin last year stripped unions of collective bargaining rights.
The vote came after weeks of protest by minority Democrats who tried various tactics to stop the bill. They refused to show up to debate despite the threat of fines that totaled $1,000 per day and introduced dozens of amendments aimed at delaying a vote. But conceding their tactics could not last forever because they were outnumbered, they finally agreed to allow the vote to take place.
The House voted 54-44 Wednesday to make Indiana the nation's 23rd right-to-work state. The measure is expected to face little opposition in Indiana's Republican-controlled Senate and could reach Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels' desk shortly before the Feb. 5 Super Bowl in Indianapolis.
"This announces especially in the Rust Belt, that we are open for business here," Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma said of the right-to-work proposal that would ban unions from collecting mandatory representation fees from workers.
Republicans recently attempted similar anti-union measures in other Rust-Belt states like Wisconsin and Ohio where they have faced massive backlash. Ohio voters overturned Gov. John Kasich's labor measures last November and union activists delivered roughly 1 million petitions last week in an effort to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Indiana would mark the first win in 10 years for national right-to-work advocates who have pushed unsuccessfully for the measure in other states following a Republican sweep of statehouses in 2010. But few right-work states boast Indiana's union clout, borne of a long manufacturing legacy.
Oklahoma, with its rural-based economy that produces comparatively fewer union jobs than Indiana, passed right-to-work legislation in 2001.
Hundreds of union protesters packed the halls of the Statehouse again Wednesday, chanting "Kill the Bill!" and cheering Democrats who had stalled the measure since the start of the year.
House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer said the legislative battle has been an "unusual fight" from the beginning, but Democrats waged a noble effort against majority Republicans determined to pass the bill.
"What did they fight for? They fought for less pay, less workplace safety and less health care. This is their only job plank: job creation for less pay with the so-called right to work for less bill."
Republicans foreshadowed their strong showing Monday when they shot down a series of Democratic amendments to the measure in strict party-line votes. Democrats boycotted again for an eighth day
Republicans handily outnumber Democrats in the House 60-40, but Democrats have just enough members to deny the Republicans the 67 votes needed to achieve a quorum and conduct any business. Bosma began fining boycotting Democrats $1,000 a day last week, but a Marion County judge has blocked the collection of those fines.
The measure now moves to the Indiana Senate which approved its own right-to-work measure earlier in the week. Gov. Mitch Daniels has campaigned extensively for the bill and said he would sign it into law.
___
Tom LoBianco can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/tomlobianco
Ahead of any possible Ultrabook announcements, Sony's looking to give its existing VAIO catalogue a (relatively underwhelming) shot in the arm with a bundle of hardware retweaks. The Z series looks to gain the most out of the Spring refresh, with a new off-white Carbon Fiber Silver color option set to be offered up alongside an optional LTE modem. The series also gets a processor step-up, with new Intel Core i5 and i7 options rounded off with the choice of SSD storage. Including the connectable drive, prices for the series refresh will start from $1,950. Meanwhile, both the S (13-inch, $800, 15-inch, $980)and E series will get a similar bump to Core i7 processors, with both the S and aforementioned Z series able to lock into an extended sheet battery accessory. If minor processor improvements, more battery options and LTE connectivity enough to fork over your cash, you can expect the revitalized units to arrive early next month.
U. of Nebraska to lead $25 million project targeting E. coli threatPublic release date: 23-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: James Keen jkeen3@unl.edu 402-762-4506 University of Nebraska-Lincoln
48 scientists from 11 universities to conduct integrated research, education, extension projects
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will lead a $25 million project to reduce throughout the beef production chain the occurrence of E. coli strains that pose a major threat to public health.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture announced the grant at UNL on Monday, Jan. 23.
The project targets Shiga-toxin producing E. coli, or STEC, which cause more than 265,000 illnesses in the United States annually. Eating contaminated food or having direct contact with fecal matter from infected cattle and other ruminants cause most of these illnesses.
UNL will lead a team of 48 scientists from 11 land-grant universities and other partner institutions to conduct integrated research, education and extension projects on eight types of STEC. Studies will include the best-known STEC, E. coli O157:H7, along with seven strains that are not as well understood, partly because outbreaks due to these strains are rarely identified.
UNL and Kansas State University -- with 32 scientists -- will conduct most of the research, education and extension work for this project.
"This research has enormous ramifications in Nebraska and across the nation," UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman said. "Beef is big business in the state, and the industry prides itself on delivering a safe product to consumers. This project will help ensure the safety of beef products, through the research conducted at participating institutions, the transfer of this knowledge to collaborators in the beef industry and educational programs for consumers."
The $25 million grant is the largest-ever USDA grant to UNL and one of the single largest grants it's ever received.
"Shiga toxin-producing E. coli are a serious threat to our food supply and public health, causing more than 265,000 infections each year," said Chavonda Jacobs-Young, acting NIFA director. "As non-O157 STEC bacteria have emerged and evolved, so too must our regulatory policies to protect the public health and ensure the safety of our food supply. This research will help us to understand how these pathogens travel throughout the beef production process and how outbreaks occur, enabling us to find ways to prevent illness and improve the safety of our nation's food supply."
Jim Keen, a UNL veterinary scientist who is leading the project, said there are 500 known STEC, 100 of which can cause illness in humans. This research will focus on the seven most dangerous strains of E. coli, plus a new strain that made its first widespread appearance in an outbreak in Europe in 2011.
"We will be studying the entire beef chain, from the time an animal is born until the time beef products are consumed," said Keen. He is based at the Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center near Clay Center, Neb.
Scientists will build on years of research into E. coli O157:H7 by UNL and other institutions as a baseline, Keen said. He noted that O157:H7 is something of an anomaly among STEC because it is relatively easy to culture and study. The other 99 strains of STEC that can cause illness typically come and go without being diagnosed. While large-scale E. coli outbreaks garner headlines, they represent only about 25 percent of infections. The rest are individualor small-scale outbreaks.
The first step will be to develop diagnostic techniques to determine the presence of STEC in cattle, both pre- and post-harvest.
Scientists also will:
study the biological and epidemiological factors that drive STEC-caused illnesses;
develop intervention techniques to reduce STEC risks from cattle, hides, carcasses and beef and devise ways to implement these interventions for all sizes of beef producers;
develop a risk analysis model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of mitigation strategies;and
communicate findings to stakeholders, food safety professionals, regulators, educators and consumers so they can implement efforts to lower STEC exposure.
About one-third of the $25 million will be devoted to extension and educational efforts, Keen said. For example, university students from across the country will have opportunities for internships with any of the 48 scientists.
"Part of this project is to help educate the next generation of scientists" who will deal with these issues in the coming decades, Keen said.
In addition to UNL and KSU, participating institutions include: North Carolina State University; the University of California, Davis; the University of Delaware; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; the New Mexico Consortium; USDA-Agricultural Research Service; New Mexico State University; Texas A&M University; and the University of Arkansas.
Ronnie Green, Harlan vice chancellor of UNL's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said UNL is well-suited to lead the research.
"With 6.2 million cattle and the nation's No. 1 ranking for red meat production, Nebraska is an economic epicenter for the beef industry," Green said. "This collaborative research will enable the University of Nebraska and 10 partner institutions to expand on a long history of high impact research to ensure the safety of beef products on dinner tables around the world."
Prem S. Paul, UNL vice chancellor for research and economic development, said: "Today's complex challenges simply demand this kind of large-scale collaborative and interdisciplinary approach. Working together, we can accomplish so much. I commend USDA NIFA for funding big, multi-institutional grants to address big problems."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
U. of Nebraska to lead $25 million project targeting E. coli threatPublic release date: 23-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: James Keen jkeen3@unl.edu 402-762-4506 University of Nebraska-Lincoln
48 scientists from 11 universities to conduct integrated research, education, extension projects
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will lead a $25 million project to reduce throughout the beef production chain the occurrence of E. coli strains that pose a major threat to public health.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture announced the grant at UNL on Monday, Jan. 23.
The project targets Shiga-toxin producing E. coli, or STEC, which cause more than 265,000 illnesses in the United States annually. Eating contaminated food or having direct contact with fecal matter from infected cattle and other ruminants cause most of these illnesses.
UNL will lead a team of 48 scientists from 11 land-grant universities and other partner institutions to conduct integrated research, education and extension projects on eight types of STEC. Studies will include the best-known STEC, E. coli O157:H7, along with seven strains that are not as well understood, partly because outbreaks due to these strains are rarely identified.
UNL and Kansas State University -- with 32 scientists -- will conduct most of the research, education and extension work for this project.
"This research has enormous ramifications in Nebraska and across the nation," UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman said. "Beef is big business in the state, and the industry prides itself on delivering a safe product to consumers. This project will help ensure the safety of beef products, through the research conducted at participating institutions, the transfer of this knowledge to collaborators in the beef industry and educational programs for consumers."
The $25 million grant is the largest-ever USDA grant to UNL and one of the single largest grants it's ever received.
"Shiga toxin-producing E. coli are a serious threat to our food supply and public health, causing more than 265,000 infections each year," said Chavonda Jacobs-Young, acting NIFA director. "As non-O157 STEC bacteria have emerged and evolved, so too must our regulatory policies to protect the public health and ensure the safety of our food supply. This research will help us to understand how these pathogens travel throughout the beef production process and how outbreaks occur, enabling us to find ways to prevent illness and improve the safety of our nation's food supply."
Jim Keen, a UNL veterinary scientist who is leading the project, said there are 500 known STEC, 100 of which can cause illness in humans. This research will focus on the seven most dangerous strains of E. coli, plus a new strain that made its first widespread appearance in an outbreak in Europe in 2011.
"We will be studying the entire beef chain, from the time an animal is born until the time beef products are consumed," said Keen. He is based at the Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center near Clay Center, Neb.
Scientists will build on years of research into E. coli O157:H7 by UNL and other institutions as a baseline, Keen said. He noted that O157:H7 is something of an anomaly among STEC because it is relatively easy to culture and study. The other 99 strains of STEC that can cause illness typically come and go without being diagnosed. While large-scale E. coli outbreaks garner headlines, they represent only about 25 percent of infections. The rest are individualor small-scale outbreaks.
The first step will be to develop diagnostic techniques to determine the presence of STEC in cattle, both pre- and post-harvest.
Scientists also will:
study the biological and epidemiological factors that drive STEC-caused illnesses;
develop intervention techniques to reduce STEC risks from cattle, hides, carcasses and beef and devise ways to implement these interventions for all sizes of beef producers;
develop a risk analysis model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of mitigation strategies;and
communicate findings to stakeholders, food safety professionals, regulators, educators and consumers so they can implement efforts to lower STEC exposure.
About one-third of the $25 million will be devoted to extension and educational efforts, Keen said. For example, university students from across the country will have opportunities for internships with any of the 48 scientists.
"Part of this project is to help educate the next generation of scientists" who will deal with these issues in the coming decades, Keen said.
In addition to UNL and KSU, participating institutions include: North Carolina State University; the University of California, Davis; the University of Delaware; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; the New Mexico Consortium; USDA-Agricultural Research Service; New Mexico State University; Texas A&M University; and the University of Arkansas.
Ronnie Green, Harlan vice chancellor of UNL's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said UNL is well-suited to lead the research.
"With 6.2 million cattle and the nation's No. 1 ranking for red meat production, Nebraska is an economic epicenter for the beef industry," Green said. "This collaborative research will enable the University of Nebraska and 10 partner institutions to expand on a long history of high impact research to ensure the safety of beef products on dinner tables around the world."
Prem S. Paul, UNL vice chancellor for research and economic development, said: "Today's complex challenges simply demand this kind of large-scale collaborative and interdisciplinary approach. Working together, we can accomplish so much. I commend USDA NIFA for funding big, multi-institutional grants to address big problems."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
I?ve long suspected that my colleague?Eugene Kim?faked his weekly sick days. Without fail, he calls in sick every Thursday (NB. Wednesday night is Ladies' Night here in New York City) and leaves me to cover all his menial responsibilities. Tired of his truancy, I became determined to gather evidence of his fake illnesses and expose him to HR.?Fortunately, there's an app for that.
eBlaster Mobile?will cost you a pretty penny ($69.95/year for one license, direct), but it's one of the more comprehensive mobile surveillance tools in the parental control category of mobile security apps. Brought to you by PC surveillance expert SpectorSoft, the folks behind Spector Pro 2011,?this tool lets you discreetly track every call, text message, website visited, and GPS coordinate on your target's Android device; it captures even more on a BlackBerry device, such as BBM conversations and Instant Messages sent via Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, and Google Talk. These cell phone activities (called "Activity Reports") are emailed to you at a frequency and detail you can adjust, though not as much as I'd like.
Parental espionage eBlaster Mobile is marketed towards parents who want to monitor their children?s mobile usage, particularly in an era where they have to worry about sexting and truancy and what not. Spector Soft insists that its customers inform their child that the program has been installed, but of course for my purposes, I haven't. Unless Eugene roots his Android, he won't be able to find a monitoring process in Task Manager.
Getting started To download eBlaster Mobile, you have to load Spector Pro's Website on your mobile browser, as it isn't available in the Android Market yet. So one day while Eugene was away from his desk, I grabbed his Samsung Galaxy Nexus, input my email address at the prompt, installed the app, and quietly put the phone back in its place. This app is made for stealth; there were no obvious traces of eBlaster Mobile anywhere in his Task Manager or startup screen, so Eugene had no idea it had been tampered.?
What you see here folks is a Windows 7 desktop theme developed by Flickr user David Molina. Ice Cream Sandwich is pretty darn good looking, and David wanted to bring some of that to his desktop PC.
It's not the simplest implementation, and there's quite a few different components involved. The end result though is definitely worth it, and a surprisingly accurate representation of ICS on your PC. Full instructions can be found by hitting the source link below.
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) ? A new documentary film offers a glimpse into the life of Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei, conveying a creative, brave, yet humble man who has become more cautious following his 81-day government detention in 2011.
"Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry," which premiered at the Sundance film festival on Sunday, features interviews China's leading artists and activists and people who surround Ai in is life.
It includes footage that humanizes the man, showing suprising tears from his mother worried about his safety, the artist playing with his young son, and highlights from his projects such as a poor response to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
Ai, who was named the world's most powerful artist by U.K-based ArtReview magazine in October since his release, appears in interviews only before his detention, but not after his release.
The 54-year-old bearded, burly Chinese artist wanted to attend the Sundance screening "but felt it was just going to invite too much trouble," the film's director Alison Klayman told the audience after a standing ovation in Park City, Utah, where the festival takes place.
Ai became a symbol for China's crackdown on artists and dissidents when his disappearance and secret detention after battling Chinese authorities sparked an international outcry.
Last November he paid a bond of 8.4 million yuan (then $1.3 million) on a tax evasion charge, which he denies, while his supporters continued to raise the full, combined bill of 15 million yuan (then $2.4 million.)
Klayman spent several years chronicling his rise to prominence and told the audience she believed the detention of the artist, which became a rallying point for China's free speech and other movements, had changed him.
"There was absolutely a change. I really think about it as: there was the time before the detention and there was the time after," she said. "The big thing is that he is constantly changing, he always has been, so I don't know where it is going to end up."
INSIGHT INTO AI
The film offers audiences some insight into Ai's childhood, family, formative time spent living for years in New York and his reasons for often criticizing China's government, which is expressed in many of his contemporary works.
"If you don't act, the danger becomes stronger," says Ai, who had a hand in designing the Bird's Nest stadium at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and has had installations at some of the world's major museums including London's Tate Modern Gallery.
"Never Sorry" shows his efforts gathering and listing more than 5,000 names of students who died in the Sichuan earthquake,
pointing to shoddy school construction and claiming that he was punched in the head by police in Sichuan's capital Chengdu.
But it also offers glimpses of a loving father and stoic son rarely publicly separated from his art and activism.
"Every night I can't sleep," his mother, Gao Ying, says to him in the film before breaking down in tears because she is worried she will not see him again.
"We'll endure what we can," he answers calmly, before later calling himself "an eternal optimist."
Klayman, who doubted there would be a public screening of the film in China, told the audience it was clear that being a father had altered Ai's life, too, along with detention.
He seems more careful, she said, when talking about footage in the documentary showing that upon his release, Ai uncharacteristically speaks little to reporters.
"He does have to be a lot more cautious. If this was a year ago he would be here," said Klayman.
(Reporting By Christine Kearney; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
DAVIE, Fla. ? New Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin stood at a lectern, swallowed hard and began to talk about his son's recent drowning. His wife and their five surviving children sat to the side with somber expressions reflecting a loss worse than any game.
Moments later everyone was laughing as Philbin joked about his good fortune in becoming a first-time head coach. He and his family are counting on a bright future to ease the pain of the recent past, and his introductory news conference Saturday was part of the healing process.
"All people suffer loss," said Philbin's wife, Diane. "When you lose someone, it's part of life, but you have to be resilient. You have to take the bad things and difficult times and turn them into good, and that's what we will do. And we'll do it with the Miami Dolphin family."
Philbin, the Green Bay Packers' offensive coordinator for the past five years, said he's eager to lead the Dolphins back to the top of the NFL. He noted they haven't been there since 1973, the year of their most recent Super Bowl championship season.
He also did a little math regarding his career. He has been an assistant since 1984 ? 10,061 days, by his count ? and said that gives him sufficient experience to succeed as a head coach.
"I have a lot of faith in what I'm capable of doing," he said. "I've been fortunate to work with a lot of good people. I've been fortunate to be around winning programs, places where we developed players, we developed men, we had good teams. I'm just confident we'll be able to build the same thing here in Miami."
And then, 22 minutes into the news conference, the subject turned to his son's death.
Philbin interviewed with the Dolphins for the first time Jan. 7. The next day, the body of 21-year-old Michael Philbin was recovered from an icy Wisconsin river.
"You're heartbroken. You're devastated. It's hard to comprehend," Philbin said.
He spent a week away from the Packers, drew comfort from a funeral that included 68 family members, then rejoined his team last Sunday for its divisional playoff loss to the New York Giants.
Philbin said he went home that night uncertain whether to remain a candidate for the Dolphins' job ? or whether the position was even still open.
"I had no idea," he said. "The TV hadn't been on in our house for a week."
Philbin then received a pep talk from his 16-year-old son, Tim.
"He said, `You're going to go after the job, aren't you?'" Philbin recalled. "I said, `I don't know what I'm going to do.' I was dejected on a lot of different fronts. He said, `You'd better go after that job. Michael would want you to.'
"That was the start of me getting back and getting moving again."
Philbin met Wednesday for a second interview with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and general manager Jeff Ireland, who admired the way the coach dealt with the family tragedy.
"You find out what a person is all about in times like that," Ross said. "He's a strong person, a family person. He has a lot to look forward to. I think this opportunity and change of scenery is probably great for him."
Ross said Philbin reminds him of the only coach to lead Miami to a Super Bowl, Hall of Famer Don Shula. Philbin played a significant role in the development of Pro Bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers and helped the Packers rank in the top 10 in the NFL in yardage each of the past five seasons.
They won the Super Bowl a year ago and went 15-1 this season.
"When I first met Diane Philbin today, she said something I took to heart," Ross said. "She said, `You hired Joe to win, because that's what he's all about.' I think that sums it up."
Not that Philbin was the Dolphins' first choice. Jeff Fisher turned them down a week ago to become coach of the St. Louis Rams.
With a coach finally in place, Ross couldn't resist taking a jab at Fisher.
"We interviewed six people in person," Ross said. "With the exception of one, they were all excited about wanting to lead the Miami Dolphins."
Ross fired Tony Sparano last month with three games to go in his fourth year as coach. The Dolphins finished 6-10, their third consecutive losing season, and haven't won a playoff game since 2000.
Philbin becomes Miami's seventh coach ? including two interim coaches ? in the past eight years. Ross is desperate for some stability, which sounds good to Philbin.
"I'm 50 years old," the coach said. "I anticipate this being the last job I ever take."
When the news conference ended, Philbin posed for photos holding a Dolphins helmet and wearing a smile. Off to the side, his wife thought of their late son and fought back tears.
"Michael's looking down," she said. "And Michael's happy."
AKRON, OHIO (Reuters) ? Ohio prosecutors unveiled a 28-count indictment against Richard James Beasley on Friday for the murders of three men who answered a phony Craigslist job ad.
Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh made the announcement during a news conference. The prosecutor's office has previously said it would pursue the death penalty against Beasley, 52, for the killings.
Beasley, of Akron, Ohio, is charged with the murders of Ralph Geiger, David Pauley and Timothy Kern, and for the attempted murder of Scott Davis.
(Reporting By Kim Palmer; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Paul Thomasch)
ANTRIM, Northern Ireland (Reuters) ? A Northern Irish Catholic was found guilty on Friday of the 2009 murder of two British soldiers outside an army base, one of the worst attacks since a 1998 peace deal mostly ended three decades of sectarian violence.
The shootings were claimed by the Real IRA, a dissident group which opposes the Irish Republican Army's ending of its armed campaign against British rule.
Brian Shivers, 46, from county Londonderry, was found guilty of the killing of soldiers Patrick Azimkar, 21, and Mark Quinsey, 23. His co-accused Colin Duffy, 44, was acquitted.
Azimkar, 21, and Quinsey, 23, were shot dead outside the Massereene Barracks in Antrim as they collected a pizza just hours before they were due to fly out to Afghanistan. Four other people were seriously injured, including the pizza delivery men.
(Reporting by Ivan Little; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Andrew Roche)
Many high-risk Americans don't get hepatitis B vaccinePublic release date: 19-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: David Orenstein david_orenstein@brown.edu 401-863-1862 Brown University
More than half, 51.4 percent, reported not being fully innoculated in 2007 survey
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] Although there is an effective vaccine for hepatitis B and public health officials have a strong sense of who is at highest risk for the infectious liver disease, tens of thousands of people in the United States contract the virus every year. According to a new study by researchers at Brown University, missed opportunities to administer the vaccine continue to be a reason why infections persist.
"This is a really simple thing that we could do and if somebody ends up getting the disease because we didn't make the effort then I think that's really a shame," said Brian Montague, assistant professor of medicine in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a physician at The Miriam Hospital.
Yet in an analysis published Jan. 12, 2012, in advance online in the journal Infection, senior author Montague and lead author Farah Ladak found that in a nationally representative sample of high-risk adults, 51.4 percent said they were unvaccinated. More than half of them had the potential to receive the vaccine based on their reported contact with health care providers.
The study is based on responses by more than 15,000 adults to the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, which gathers health information from more than 430,000 people across the United States. The respondents in the study's analysis acknowledged engaging in risk behaviors such as certain sexual practices or needle drug use and could definitively report their hepatitis B status. Previous research has found that more than 95 percent new infections in adults occur among people with such behavioral risk factors.
Montague, Ladak, and their co-authors sought to figure out who among this highly vulnerable population was going unvaccinated and whether and where they could have received the three required shots.
They found that vaccinations were relatively infrequent among adults older than 33 (vaccinations have increased markedly in children since the 1990s), among people with less access to health insurance, and among people who have also not been vaccinated against other diseases such as the flu.
But even among people with access to health care, including people who reported specific contact with health care providers, thousands of people went unvaccinated, Ladak said. The study identifies places where improved vaccine delivery would make a substantial difference for instance when people are tested for HIV, such as at the doctor's office, in a hospital or clinic, and especially in jail.
For those infected as adults, hepatitis B does not always result in persistent infection and chronic liver disease, but it is especially likely to do so among people infected with HIV. Such co-infections are common because many of the risk factors for contracting either virus are the same.
"In persons visiting [HIV-testing] locations there was a high prevalence of people who had not received the vaccine," said Ladak, a Brown public health graduate. "One of the areas that really stuck out was jails and prisons. Given that many states have mandates to vaccinate incarcerated individuals, you wonder why in so many of these prisons people have not received vaccinations."
Ladak noted that the new study's figures from 2007 closely mirror similar research published in 2000, suggesting that despite widespread awareness among public health officials that vaccinations have been lacking among adults, there has not been clear progress.
Calls to do better
The study lends additional support to the urging of the Institute of Medicine, which in a 2010 report emphasized the importance of seizing opportunities to vaccinate people for hepatitis B and C. The report suggested that officials have not devoted enough resources to vaccination programs, perhaps because the infections sometimes don't present any symptoms, as a reason for the continued prevalence of the diseases.
Montague said some programs are also structured to ensure missed opportunities. For example, funding for HIV care programs allows testing and vaccination of those who are HIV positive. Funding is often not available, though, for combined screening for hepatitis B together with HIV.
"Given that the risks for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C overlap, what we need is integrated testing and prevention programs and strategies that link those cases identified with effective treatment in the community," Montague said.
###
In addition to Montague and Ladak, other authors were Annie Gjelsvik, Edward Feller and Samantha Rosenthal.
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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.
Many high-risk Americans don't get hepatitis B vaccinePublic release date: 19-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: David Orenstein david_orenstein@brown.edu 401-863-1862 Brown University
More than half, 51.4 percent, reported not being fully innoculated in 2007 survey
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] Although there is an effective vaccine for hepatitis B and public health officials have a strong sense of who is at highest risk for the infectious liver disease, tens of thousands of people in the United States contract the virus every year. According to a new study by researchers at Brown University, missed opportunities to administer the vaccine continue to be a reason why infections persist.
"This is a really simple thing that we could do and if somebody ends up getting the disease because we didn't make the effort then I think that's really a shame," said Brian Montague, assistant professor of medicine in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a physician at The Miriam Hospital.
Yet in an analysis published Jan. 12, 2012, in advance online in the journal Infection, senior author Montague and lead author Farah Ladak found that in a nationally representative sample of high-risk adults, 51.4 percent said they were unvaccinated. More than half of them had the potential to receive the vaccine based on their reported contact with health care providers.
The study is based on responses by more than 15,000 adults to the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, which gathers health information from more than 430,000 people across the United States. The respondents in the study's analysis acknowledged engaging in risk behaviors such as certain sexual practices or needle drug use and could definitively report their hepatitis B status. Previous research has found that more than 95 percent new infections in adults occur among people with such behavioral risk factors.
Montague, Ladak, and their co-authors sought to figure out who among this highly vulnerable population was going unvaccinated and whether and where they could have received the three required shots.
They found that vaccinations were relatively infrequent among adults older than 33 (vaccinations have increased markedly in children since the 1990s), among people with less access to health insurance, and among people who have also not been vaccinated against other diseases such as the flu.
But even among people with access to health care, including people who reported specific contact with health care providers, thousands of people went unvaccinated, Ladak said. The study identifies places where improved vaccine delivery would make a substantial difference for instance when people are tested for HIV, such as at the doctor's office, in a hospital or clinic, and especially in jail.
For those infected as adults, hepatitis B does not always result in persistent infection and chronic liver disease, but it is especially likely to do so among people infected with HIV. Such co-infections are common because many of the risk factors for contracting either virus are the same.
"In persons visiting [HIV-testing] locations there was a high prevalence of people who had not received the vaccine," said Ladak, a Brown public health graduate. "One of the areas that really stuck out was jails and prisons. Given that many states have mandates to vaccinate incarcerated individuals, you wonder why in so many of these prisons people have not received vaccinations."
Ladak noted that the new study's figures from 2007 closely mirror similar research published in 2000, suggesting that despite widespread awareness among public health officials that vaccinations have been lacking among adults, there has not been clear progress.
Calls to do better
The study lends additional support to the urging of the Institute of Medicine, which in a 2010 report emphasized the importance of seizing opportunities to vaccinate people for hepatitis B and C. The report suggested that officials have not devoted enough resources to vaccination programs, perhaps because the infections sometimes don't present any symptoms, as a reason for the continued prevalence of the diseases.
Montague said some programs are also structured to ensure missed opportunities. For example, funding for HIV care programs allows testing and vaccination of those who are HIV positive. Funding is often not available, though, for combined screening for hepatitis B together with HIV.
"Given that the risks for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C overlap, what we need is integrated testing and prevention programs and strategies that link those cases identified with effective treatment in the community," Montague said.
###
In addition to Montague and Ladak, other authors were Annie Gjelsvik, Edward Feller and Samantha Rosenthal.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The mobile ninjas over at Android Developers have announced a new medium for advice, collaboration and training: Google+. The collective will use the social networking site to help developers "meet, share, and connect with the people behind the Android developer experience." Programming tips, SDK announcements and training offerings are all on the menu, and the group is promising to hold weekly "broadcast office hours" for live Q&A using the Hangouts feature built-in to Google+. Hit the source link to invite the coding co-op into your virtual circle of choice.
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Public release date: 23-Jan-2012
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