Sunday, March 31, 2013

Paralyzed ex-athlete's foundation helping others

Hal Hargrave Jr., who is paralyzed from the neck down after a car crash when he was 17, chats with his trainer Chris Fitzgerald as he gets ready for his physical therapy session at a gym in Claremont, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. After years of grueling physical therapy, Hargrave started the nonprofit Be Perfect Foundation and raised $2 million to help other young people who couldn't afford the same kind of rehabilitation program made available to him. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Hal Hargrave Jr., who is paralyzed from the neck down after a car crash when he was 17, chats with his trainer Chris Fitzgerald as he gets ready for his physical therapy session at a gym in Claremont, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. After years of grueling physical therapy, Hargrave started the nonprofit Be Perfect Foundation and raised $2 million to help other young people who couldn't afford the same kind of rehabilitation program made available to him. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Hal Hargrave Jr., who is paralyzed from the neck down after a car crash when he was 17, leaves after his workout in Claremont, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. After years of grueling physical therapy, Hargrave started the nonprofit Be Perfect Foundation and raised $2 million to help other young people who couldn't afford the same kind of rehabilitation program made available to him. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Hal Hargrave Jr., left, who is paralyzed from the neck down after a car crash when he was 17, shares a laugh with his trainer Chris Fitzgerald during his physical therapy session at a gym in Claremont, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. After years of grueling physical therapy, Hargrave started the nonprofit Be Perfect Foundation and raised $2 million to help other young people who couldn't afford the same kind of rehabilitation program made available to him. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Hal Hargrave Jr., who is paralyzed from the neck down after a car crash when he was 17, shares a laugh with his trainer Chris Fitzgerald during his physical therapy session at a gym in Claremont, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. After years of grueling physical therapy, Hargrave started the nonprofit Be Perfect Foundation and raised $2 million to help other young people who couldn't afford the same kind of rehabilitation program made available to him. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The logo of Be Perfect Foundation started by Hal Hargrave Jr. is seen at a gym in Claremont, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. Hargrave Jr., who is paralyzed from the neck down after a car crash when he was 17, started the nonprofit Be Perfect Foundation and raised $2 million to help other young people who couldn't afford the same kind of rehabilitation program made available to him. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

(AP) ? As he rolls through the front door of the sprawling Claremont Club fitness center and shouts a friendly hello here and there, for just a moment it's as if nothing has changed since Hal Hargrave Jr. was the big, friendly teenage gym rat who haunted this place.

The burly Hargrave's head was filled with dreams of playing college baseball as he strode into the gym, stretched out on a bench and pressed 300 pounds above his body. Again and again.

He's still big and burly, his arms still muscular and he still works out nearly every day. Only these days Hargrave uses that strength to move his wheelchair in and out of the gym, where he still works out 20 hours a week and knows just about everybody in the place.

These days, though, Hargrave's goal is to get walking again, something he lost the ability to do on July 26, 2007, when he swerved his truck to avoid debris in the road. It flipped four times, the cab collapsing on him and snapping his spine. It left him paralyzed from the neck down.

The irony is never lost on Hargrave that he was delivering handicapped-accessible bathroom doors as part of a summer job. If it was a sign to a strapping 17-year-old athlete that his life was headed in the wrong direction, it would seem to have been a particularly harsh one, but Hargrave doesn't see it that way.

"Some people call me crazy for putting it this way, but I have been given a gift," the talkative, friendly 23-year-old says with a smile over lunch at the gym's small cafe. "They see this as an ailment. I don't."

He sees it instead as something that gave him a chance to help others, to have his life truly make a difference.

It inspired him to create the Be Perfect Foundation, a nonprofit charity that has raised $1.2 million to provide wheelchairs, make homes more accessible and, most importantly, keep more than 100 people in rehabilitation programs they otherwise couldn't afford.

All of which would have been pretty impressive if Hargrave had just stopped there. But he didn't.

He persuaded the Claremont Club president to turn a racquetball court and a basketball court into a wing for people with paralyzing injuries. Then he got Project Walk, a spinal rehabilitation center where he'd been treated, to open its first franchise in this bucolic college town 35 miles east of Los Angeles for those who couldn't make the commute to its San Diego area headquarters.

"Here's a 17-year-old boy who had a debilitating, life-changing accident," said Mike Alpert, who runs the Claremont Club and whose daughter has known Hargrave since the two were in kindergarten. "So many people that go through that would give up. Would be depressed. Would blame everybody else. Here's a young man who just said, 'I have a calling to change the world and to help people through what's happening to me. And then he goes out and does it! How special is that?"

"He's an amazing young man," echoes Devorah Lieberman, president of University of La Verne, where Hargrave is a full-time student.

Although he hasn't regained full use of his fingers (he fist bumps rather than shakes hands), he's gotten back enough to take notes on his iPad. He maintains a near-perfect 3.8 grade point average.

Lieberman will never forget the first time they met two years ago at a basketball rally. Hargrave, never known to be shy, rolled up and introduced himself. He told her how he'd been hurt and she expressed her condolences.

"And he said to me, 'DO NOT be sorry! It was a blessing.'"

Then he gave her a Be Perfect bracelet that she wears to this day.

Not that the road back from the accident was easy.

"It was very touch and go the first two weeks," recalled his father, Hal Hargrave Sr., who still chokes up when he talks about what his son has overcome and accomplished. "They had him on breathing machines. He got pneumonia. ... We didn't know if he was going to stay with us or not."

Hargrave himself thought he would die as he lay trapped in the truck. Those stories about your life passing before you, he says, are true.

Although he's big and strong again, nerve damage keeps his body in a near perpetual state of motion, giving the impression he's fidgeting uncomfortably in his chair although he really feels little.

Given only a 1 to 3 percent chance of walking again, he threw himself into rehabilitation with the same fervor that once made him a high school sports star. Gradually movement returned to his shoulders, then his arms and hands. Lately he's started to get some in his legs as well.

"It's nothing that's too controlled movement yet, but it's coming back and I'm doing things that doctors are in disbelief about," he says happily.

It was after one of his arduous rehabilitation sessions, where limbs are yanked and twisted and bodies are placed in expensive machinery to simulate walking, that an epiphany led to his foundation.

Brian O'Neil, an electrician who had suffered a similar injury in a dirt-bike crash, told him he wouldn't see him again. He'd lost his job, was about to lose his house, didn't have insurance and couldn't afford any more rehabilitation.

Before he left the center, Hargrave persuaded his father to pick up the cost of O'Neil's rehabilitation. Then, on the ride home, he decided why not help others as well?

He was told that running a foundation wouldn't be easy, especially for a guy going through his own grueling rehabilitation. But he was adamant.

"He didn't like the word no. And he didn't like the word can't," Hargrave Sr. says, chuckling at the memory of raising the oldest of his four children.

O'Neil was blown away ? and still is.

"For such a young man he's very ? I can't even find the words to mention the kind of guy Little Hal is," O'Neil, using the nickname close friends call Hargrave by, says emotionally. "He's just a great kid."

Hargrave scheduled the first of what would become annual fundraisers at the height of the Great Recession and he hoped he might get lucky and raise maybe $30,000. After $250,000 poured in, he thought: "Maybe we can do this forever."

So he soldiers on, getting up each day, working out, running the foundation, hanging out with friends, going to school. Still a sports fanatic, he's earning a degree in communications with the hope of someday becoming a sports broadcaster.

But the foundation will always come first.

"I had dreams of going off and going to school and becoming a baseball player and doing this and that," he says as he finishes lunch. "But when I think back on it, it was so selfish. And now my dreams are much different. My dreams are to keep people in therapy and my dreams are to help other people. That's what my life is about at this point."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-31-Paralyzed%20With%20Purpose/id-e70c77df0605431d85253daaca3631eb

Zeek Rewards vanessa bryant vanessa bryant Prince Harry naked Prince Harry Vegas Melky Cabrera Mayim Bialik

Why To Choose Gatwick Aiport Hotels?

Hotels near Gatwick airports provide you the needed comfort to relax before taking up the flight. These hotels are furnished with facilities to provide value added services to their guests. Read on the article to know more about such hotels.

Traditionally, hotels are usually located far away from airports forcing travellers to commute for several miles between their hotels and the airport to catch their flights. This is changing since more and more airports are having hotels built around them to serve those travellers who would love to stay near the airport. They are many reasons why one should use the services of airport hotels rather than travel to the city hotels.

It allows you to travel without worry or stress. By booking an airport hotel at your destination prior to your flight, you will travel with a peace of mind since you will not be thinking of whether you will be late or there will be traffic jam especially if your flight is to arrive during rush hours. These hotels also ensure that you do not need to drive to your home when you arrive late at night. Driving at night is dangerous especially after you had a long flight. You can have a rest and wait to drive home the next day when you have already relaxed enough and when there is also no heavy traffic. The hotels are also available in different sizes,style and also in price. Apart from the five star hotels around the airports, there are also budget hotels. This means that you will be able to find a hotel that fits both your needs and your pocket.

If you are connecting flights or your flight has been cancelled or delayed, instead of travelling to further hotels to get a place to relax and enjoy food from, you can visit Gatwick airport hotels. These are near and hence you will not waste more time travelling to and from the hotel when you are coming back to the airport. This reduces the chance of you getting stuck in traffic and hence not only wasting time, but also risking missing your flight. These hotels also offer there customers great discounts. Some discounted hotels offer passengers discounts of up to 75 percent.

The hotels also provide their clients with value added services such as parking spaces and airport car rentals. Some of these hotels also offer their clients 'Park and Fly'. This means that you can park your car there and fly to your destination without having to worry about its security. When you come back, you will simply take your car and drive home hence there is no need to hire a taxi or rent a car if you already have one. There are also hotels that offer free parking services to clients so long as they have spend at least a night in the hotel.

Every Gatwick Airport hotel is also fit with amenities and facilities to ensure your life is as comfortable as possible while you stay there. You will find things such as iron and iron board in the rooms. Most of these hotels also have business centre, fitness centre, spa and some may also have swimming pools. In top of these, these hotels provide their clients with good nutritious meals plus quality room services..

About the Author:
The author of this article is associated with Days Hotel Gatwick, providing comfortable accommodation to the travellers. For further details, log on to dayshotelgatwick.com

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Why-To-Choose-Gatwick-Aiport-Hotels-/4510504

Kitty Wells Marissa Mayer Jon Lord Colorado shootings dark knight rises Aurora shooting James Eagan Holmes

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Real People, Real Money - 7 Web Designers Who Earn Passive ...

You already know that as a web designer or a web developer you need passive income.?However, making money online might seem like some unrealistic fantasy: sure, maybe those ?4-hour work week? folks can chill in Thailand while the money is rolling in, but what about everybody else?

This is why I decided to show you what web designers CAN and DO to make passive income online.

How can web designers make passive income online?

Web designers who want to create streams of passive income are in a very good situation right now. Most businesses nowadays either have strong online presences or are completely virtual. What does this have to do with passive income?

It means that web designers and web developers who want to earn passive income have plenty of opportunities to do so:

  • E-books:? the supply of e-books has not yet matched the demand. Every day there are thousands of new people reading e-books on their portable devices, and many of these people want to learn web design and web development, something that you can teach them.
  • Online courses: many people are looking for instructional e-books, but the other half of these people prefer a more interactive setting. Online course providers like TeamTreeHouse and Udemy are the leading examples of this, but you can start your own course as well, just setup a simple blog and host your videos for premium memberships.
  • Apps: the amount of people using smartphones and tablets is steadily increasing, and there?s always a huge demand for new and unique applications that will either help or entertain the user.
  • Software As A Service (SaaS): more and more companies and individuals are using services to help manage their payroll, team management, storage, and the like. These services require monthly fees and are mostly automatic. Imagine developing an online system and offer it for $5 a month. Imagine how much can you earn passively using this method?
  • WordPress themes: thousands of people start their own blog daily, and many of these people use WordPress as their CMS. Just check ThemeForest.net and see for yourself how much WordPress theme authors make.
  • WP plugins: under WordPress? terms of use, plugins should be open source, and therefore free. There?s a workaround here. Offer a free edition and an extended edition that you can charge for.
  • PSD templates: There?s never too many PSD templates available out there. Developers in a hurry will grab any template that closely resembles their perfect template, tweak it a little, and use it for their clients. No need to hire a web designer!

Making money while you sleep is not something that only exists in the alternative universe of unicorns and rainbows. You, as a web designer or a web developer, can create streams of passive income for yourself, assuming that you are willing to put in ?all the time and energy required to pull it off. It?s not easy, but it?s also definitely possible.

7 web designers who successfully make money online?

There are plenty of web designers and web developers who are already taking advantage of opportunities in front of them:

1. Jacob Cass Explains How He Built A Successful Web Design Blog

%tutke

Jacob Cass is a multidisciplinary designer and art director who has worked the all kinds of clients, including the likes of Disney, Jerry Seinfeld, Red Bull, Nike and VitaminWater. He currently works as an interactive art director/designer at a NYC agency, Ammirati, while also freelancing under his business and blog Just Creative. He also runs Logo of the Day, a logo gallery website dedicated to showcasing the best logo designs around the world, and Logo Designer Blog, a blog dedicated to branding and identity design.

In this interview, Jacob Cass answers the following questions:

  • What role did Jacob?s blogging success play in his web design career?
  • How Jacob managed to build such a popular blog and a massive social media following?
  • How does Jacob earn money with Just Creative?

You can read the interview?here.

2. How Sacha Greif ?earned $15,000+ with an e-book he wrote in 3 weeks.

%tutke

Sacha Greif is a web designer who specializes in user interfaces for web and mobile apps. He has worked with clients such as Hipmunk, Le Monde, MileWise and UNESCO. Sacha runs his own start-up, Folyo and has released his own e-book, which was very well received. He also runs his own web design blog.

In this interview, Sacha explains the following:

  • How Sacha come up with the idea for his e-book ?Step by step UI design??
  • How he decided the appropriate price for this particular product?
  • How Sacha managed to get the link to his landing page on the front page of Hacker News?

You can read the interview here.

3. Chris Spooner on his blogging success

chris-spooner-design-blogs

Chris Spooner is a graphic and web designer from the UK who runs two popular design blogs Blog.SpoonGraphics and Line25.

In this interview:

  • Why did Chris decide to start his own web design blog in the first place?
  • How does he come up with ideas for blog posts and what does his writing process look like?
  • How does Chris earn money with his blogs?

You can read the interview here.

4. How Ruben Gamez turned BidSketch into a successful online business

Ruben Gamez is the solo founder of?Bidsketch?, an online proposal software website for web designers.

In this interview:

  • Why did Ruben decide to build Bidsketch in the first place?
  • How did he manage to turn his side project into a successful ?business while ?having a full time job?
  • How did Ruben know when it was the right time to quit his job and start working on his business full-time?

You can read the interview here.

5. Jarrod Drysdale explains how he ?made more than $38 000 with his e-book

jarrod-drysdale-interview

Jarrod Drysdale is a web designer who runs his own blog at Studio Fellow. During his career as a designer, Jarrod has worked with tech startups, movie studios, financial companies and consumer brands. He also wrote an e-book for startup founders ?Bootstrapping Design?.

In this interview:

  • What was the biggest lesson that Jarrod learned from his failed startup?
  • How did he test his idea before starting to write an e-book to make sure people actually wanted it?
  • What is the main reason why Jarrod?s launch was so successful?

You can read the ?interview here.

6. Jacob Gube on the explosive growth of Six Revisions

Jacob-Gube-Interview-Founder-Tips

Jacob Gube is the founder of Six Revisions, one of the most popular and fastest growing web design blogs on the Internet. He?s also a web designer and web developer who specializes in front-end development and PHP development.

In this interview:

  • How did Jacob turn Six Revisions into one of the fastest growing web design blogs on the internet without any prior experience in online marketing?
  • How does he manage the logistics of running a high traffic blog with an international team of writers?
  • What is the main reason for the explosive growth of Six Revisions?

You can read the interview here.

7. How a teenager built a profitable web design blog in one year.

Stelian_Subotin

Stelian Subotin is a web designer and a writer.

In this article:

  • Why did he decide to start his own web design blog when he was only 16?
  • How did he manage to go from zero to 650 000 unique monthly visitors in one year?
  • How did he monetize his blog and how much did he earn from it?

You can read the article here.

FAQ about Passive Income

I?m a single 20-something freelance web designer/web developer. I?ve read the ?4-hour work week?. It all sounds very appealing: I?d love to be able to travel the world without having to worry about money too much. Is it really possible for someone like me to create streams of passive income that would make this dream come true?

Yes.

You don?t need that much money to pull that off. With $2000-3000/month you can easily travel through most places in Eastern Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. That?s of course assuming that you?re fine with traveling on a lower-end budget (no ?5-star hotels).

I?d say that your best bet is probably SaaS because it?s recurring income (as opposed to one-time purchases such as e-books or video courses).

It might take longer than you think to get to that $2000-3000/month level, though.

I have a full-time job, family, and a mortgage. I don?t want to quit my job and?backpack?through Southeast Asia. ?I want extra income to create a better life for my family. Is making money online a good option for me?

Yes, if you are willing to put in the time and energy required to create and maintain streams of passive income, which might be demanding when combined with your other obligations.

I?d even say that passive income is necessary to people who have serious financial obligations (kids, car payments, health insurance, mortgage, etc.).

You don?t want the livelihood of your family to depend on a single source of income: your job. We all saw how well that worked out for thousands of people back in 2008, didn?t we?

In my opinion, passive income is more about financial security, than it is about the ?location independent lifestyle.

How much time does it take to create a reliable source of passive income?

It depends.

You can start making a little amount of money straight away by creating WP plugins and selling PSD templates.

You will need a lot more time and knowledge if you want to make money with e-books, apps, video courses, SaaS, etc.

I?d say that it will probably take longer than you think. Don?t quit ?your job just yet.

How much time does it take to maintain a source of passive income?

It depends on what kind of system of passive income you have set up.

In general, once the system is up and running, you should be able to maintain it by spending a few hours a week or so on it, especially if you outsource many tasks related to it.

Keep in mind that often if you don?t spend time on marketing your product/service the stream of passive income dries up over time, though.

Do you need to have a blog in order to make money online?

No.

You need to find a real pain that people are experiencing right now and offer a solution that they are willing to pay for.

I?d even say that I think that blogging is often overrated for the wrong reasons. It is indeed a good way to build your personal brand and accelerate your web design career. It isn?t the easiest way to make money online though, it requires a lot of resources and time.

I?d say that if making as much money as possible is your primary goal you might be better off by creating a video course or SaaS.

Attention: making passive income online is not as easy as it might look!

Okay, so I don?t like giving people rose tinted glasses, then watching them fail, therefore I?ll be blunt with you:

Bad news: Making money online is HARD. It requires a massive time and energy investment over an extended period of time. Please don?t even start if you are not willing to face this harsh reality.

Good news: You can achieve similar results much faster than most people in these interviews. In order to do that, you need to commit to learning online marketing, which will help you avoid wasting time on all the silly mistakes that beginners make. It?s much easier to get the results you want when you know what you are doing.

The world of online marketing can be very confusing, though. You are bombarded with conflicting advice from different gurus. How do you know which people are legitimate experts and which are just con artists? That?s the problem: you don?t.

This is the reason why I?ve compiled the list of my favorite online marketing resources:

?7 websites that will help you learn online marketing from scratch?

Entrepreneurship is not easy. I?m not going to sugarcoat this: it might take you months or even years until you get your first business off the ground. Time will pass anyway, though. Why not put it to a good use?

Source: http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/web-designers-who-earn-passive-income/

humber perfect game ufc 145 fight card ufc145 chimpanzee chimpanzee the lucky one pittsburgh pirates

AMD Radeon HD 7990 says hello, plays a bit of Battlefield 4 at GDC

AMD Radeon HD 7990 says hello, plays a bit of Battlefield 4 at GDC

Gamers were down-right spoiled at this year's GDC with a full 17 minutes of beautiful Battlefield 4 in-game footage. Minds blown, AMD took responsibility for the part it played in the mess, admitting the demo was running on its Radeon HD 7990 graphics card. It's the first time the company's confirmed the existence of the long-fabled card, and went as far as calling the case-busting monster "the world's fastest." All we know is the card combines two of the HD 7970's Tahiti GPUs -- AMD's not sharing the full specs -- but the eagle-eyed folks at AnandTech have plucked a few extra details from the limited pictures available. They note the open-air cooling, which would require a drafty case but mean the fans should run fairly quiet, and that power consumption is likely to be no more than 375 watts. Not much to go on, we know, but we'll be waiting eagerly for AMD's full reveal. Now, your BF4 video awaits. (Warning: the game dialogue contains a few naughty words).

[Image Credit: AnandTech]

Filed under: , , ,

Comments

Via: AnandTech

Source: AMD Gaming (Facebook)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/29/amd-radeon-hd-7990/

Sylvia Kristel st louis cardinals Steelers Schedule tory burch Al Smith Dinner Herman Melville Books Kyna Treacy

Look out squirrels: Leopards are new backyard wildlife

Friday, March 29, 2013

A new study led by WCS-India scientist Vidya Athreaya finds that certain landscapes of western India completely devoid of wilderness and with high human populations are crawling with a different kind of backyard wildlife: leopards.

The study found as many as five adult large carnivores, including leopards and striped hyenas, per 100 square kilometers (38 square miles), a density never before reported in a human-dominated landscape.

The study, called "Big Cats in Our Backyards," appeared in the March 6 edition of the journal PLoS One. Authors include: Vidya Athreya and Ullas Karanth of the Wildlife Conservation Society and Centre for Wildlife Studies in Bangalore; Morten Odden of Hedmark University College; John D. C. Linnell of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research; and Jagdish Krishnaswamy of Asoka Trust for Research of Ecology in the Environment.

Using camera traps, the authors founds that leopards often ranged close to houses at night though remained largely undetected by the public. Despite this close proximity between leopards and people, there are few instances of attacks in this region. The authors also photographed rusty spotted cat, small Indian civet, Indian fox, jungle cat, jackal, mongoose ? and a variety of people from the local communities. The research took place in western Maharashtra, India.

"Human attacks by leopards were rare despite a potentially volatile situation considering that the leopard has been involved in serious conflict, including human deaths in adjoining areas," said big cat expert Ullas Karanth of WCS. "The results of our work push the frontiers of our understanding of the adaptability of both humans and wildlife to each other's presence."

The authors say that the findings show that conservationists must look outside of protected areas for a more holistic approach to safeguarding wildlife in a variety of landscapes.

###

Wildlife Conservation Society: http://www.wcs.org

Thanks to Wildlife Conservation Society for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 46 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127521/Look_out_squirrels__Leopards_are_new_backyard_wildlife

apple earnings the glass castle jennifer hudson trial north korea threat brandon jacobs brandon jacobs brian dawkins

A Full, Offline Thesaurus in Your Pocket to Impress Anyone, Anywhere

Sure, there may already be a veritable cornucopia of dictionaries, thesauruses, and other word reference apps out there, but Thesaurus Rex is the thesaurus app to end all thesaurus apps. Packed with more information than you could ever hope to know and fast to boot, this will become the last word reference software you'll need. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/D7oQENFl5qM/a-full-offline-thesaurus-in-your-pocket-to-impress-anyone-anywhere

today show katt williams greg mcelroy new york post bob costas bowl projections Jovan Belcher

Friday, March 29, 2013

Google adds Street View to ghost town inside Japan nuclear zone

AP / Google

This March 2013 image released by Google shows its camera-equipped Street View vehicle as it moves through Namie in Japan, a nuclear no-go zone where former residents have been unable to live since they fled from radioactive contamination from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant two years ago.

By Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press

TOKYO? ? Concrete rubble litters streets lined with shuttered shops and dark windows. A collapsed roof juts from the ground. A ship sits stranded on a stretch of dirt flattened when the tsunami roared across the coastline. There isn't a person in sight.

Google Street View is giving the world a rare glimpse into one of Japan's eerie ghost towns, created when the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami sparked a nuclear disaster that has left the area uninhabitable.


The technology pieces together digital images captured by Google's fleet of camera-equipped vehicles and allows viewers to take virtual tours of locations around the world, including faraway spots like the South Pole and fantastic landscapes like the Grand Canyon.

AP / Google

This screenshot, made from the Google Maps site provided March 27, 2013 by Google, shows stranded ships left as a testament to the power of the tsunami which hit the area two years ago.

Now it is taking people inside Japan's nuclear no-go zone, to the city of Namie, whose 21,000 residents have been unable to return to live since they fled the radiation spewing from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant two years ago.

Koto Naganuma, 32, who lost her home in the tsunami, said some people find it too painful to see the places that were so familiar yet are now so out of reach.

She has only gone back once, a year ago, and for a few minutes.

"I'm looking forward to it. I'm excited I can take a look at those places that are so dear to me," said Naganuma. "It would be hard, too. No one is going to be there."

Namie Mayor Tamotsu Baba said memories came flooding back as he looked at the images shot by Google earlier this month.

He spotted an area where an autumn festival used to be held and another of an elementary school that was once packed with schoolchildren.

"Those of us in the older generation feel that we received this town from our forbearers, and we feel great pain that we cannot pass it down to our children," he said in a post on his blog.

"We want this Street View imagery to become a permanent record of what happened to Namie-machi in the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster."

Street View was started in 2007, and now provides images from more than 3,000 cities across 48 countries, as well as parts of the Arctic and Antarctica.

More on Street View tours:

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

?

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2a128c0a/l/0Lscience0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C270C174918350Egoogle0Eadds0Estreet0Eview0Eto0Eghost0Etown0Einside0Ejapan0Enuclear0Ezone0Dlite/story01.htm

katt williams greg mcelroy new york post bob costas bowl projections Jovan Belcher Charlie Batch

Prebiotics: Do supplements in baby formula help prevent allergies?

Mar. 25, 2013 ? Prebiotic supplements in infant formula may help to prevent eczema, according to a systematic review published in The Cochrane Library. However, the review highlights a lack of high quality evidence for the effects of prebiotics in preventing allergies.

It is thought that bacteria lining the gut may play an important role in a child developing sensitivities to certain foods and allergens, regulating immune responses and determining how they will react to the same substances in later life. Prebiotics are indigestible components of breast milk, fruit and vegetables that stimulate the growth and activity of healthy bacteria in the gut. They are distinct from probiotics, which are cultures of live bacteria such as those added to yoghurts and infant formula. Prebiotics can also be added to infant formula. However, it is unclear exactly what effect these supplements have on the development of allergies.

The researchers drew together data from four studies involving a total of 1,428 children. Children were given formula containing prebiotic supplements or, as a control, standard formula. Studies followed children to between four months and two years of age and reported the number who developed allergies. Eczema was significantly reduced in children who were fed formula containing prebiotics. Only two studies investigated asthma. The number of children who developed asthma was similar whether they were given formula with added prebiotics or without. In one study looking at urticaria (hives), giving children formula containing prebiotics did not prevent any cases of the allergy.

Only one study assessed the effect of giving formula containing prebiotics to high-risk children, who had close family members with allergies. In this study, prebiotics reduced both eczema and asthma, but there were no significant reductions in allergies overall in high-risk children. "Given these findings, it remains unclear whether the use of prebiotics should be restricted to infants at high risk of allergy or may have an effect in low risk populations," said lead researcher, John Sinn of the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia.

"Overall, we found some evidence that infant formula containing prebiotic supplements can help prevent eczema in children up to two years of age," said Sinn. "However, the quality of existing evidence is generally low or very low. More high quality research is needed before we can recommend routine use of prebiotics for prevention of allergy."

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 Wiley.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. JK Sinn, DA Osborn. Prebiotics in infants for prevention of allergy and food hypersensitivity. The Cochrane Library, 2013 (in press) DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006474

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/health_medicine/nutrition/~3/szTO79OWy3I/130328075716.htm

aurora borealis gcb mary j blige dionne warwick patricia heaton arsenic and old lace leslie

Celebrities Who've Talked About Their Breasts

  • Sofia Vergara

    "I mean, a normal girl will just put the dress on and leave. I need them to be like an armory. My dresses are like a work of art inside because, you know, I am 40 years old, I had a baby, and I am a 32F boob," <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/sofia-vergara-bra-size_n_2901248.html" target="_blank">Vergara told Vogue. </a>

  • Jennifer Love Hewitt

    "I need, like, an insurance invitation. If somebody was like, 'Hey, you know what? We would like to insure your boobs for $2.5 million dollars,' I'd be like, 'Do it. Love it! Why not?'" <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-body/news/jennifer-love-hewitt-jokes-that-her-boobs-are-worth-5-million-2013103" target="_blank">Hewitt told USA Today</a>, adding, "These things right here are worth $5 million!"

  • Katy Perry

    "I'm generally around 130 pounds, which is totally fine for me. But when I was a kid, I was the same height and weighed more like 145. And I had enormous boobs that I didn't know what to do with, so I wore minimizers, which were not cute. Those thick-ass straps! I got made fun of for the over-the-shoulder boulder holder...and all I wanted was to look like Kate Moss. Little did I know that these things would come in handy someday," <a href="http://www.elle.com/pop-culture/cover-shoots/fantastic-voyage-2" target="_blank">Perry told Elle.</a>

  • Jessica Simpson

    "My boobs are way too big to run at this point. I'm just walking," Simpson <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/05/jessica-simpson-body-not-bouncing-back-supermodel_n_1857390.html" target="_blank">told USA Today</a> four months after giving birth to her first child.

  • Lea Michele

    "These babies are great," Michele <a href="http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity-lifestyle/celebrities/lea-michele-interview.">told Marie Claire of her breasts</a>. "They are my prizewinners. For a while they were out and about, showing off on Broadway every night, then they came to L.A. and were like, ?No one else looks like me here!? They were nervous to make their appearance but feel they?ve earned their place. So they asked if they could come out, and I was like, ?All right, you guys.? They definitely rose to the occasion, so I?m going to continue to give them more opportunities.?

  • Britney Spears

    "I have a love-hate relationship with my boobs. At the moment I hate them. I want them smaller," Spears told the Daily Star (<a href="http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/46101/britney-spears-my-boobs-are-sexy-but-they-get-in-the-way">via EntertainmentWise</a>). "I know they look sexy, but sometimes they get in the way."

  • Amber Riley

    "I don't deprive myself. But I want to be healthy. I love my breasts, my face, my butt. I love myself," Riley said, <a href="http://wonderwall.msn.com/tv/who-said-it-glee-edition-21658.gallery?photoId=94212">according to Wonderwall</a>.

  • Dolly Parton

    "My breasts have served me well. I don't know if I'm supporting them or they're supporting me. But of course I've had them jacked up a bit. And they're part of the persona. It always takes a bit of pressure off me." (<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/04/dolly.jessica.breasts/">via CNN</a>)

  • Sofia Vergara

    ?I know [my breasts] have opened doors for me, let?s be real," <a href="http://www.luckymag.com/magazine/2012/11/sofia-vergara#slide=1">Vergara told Lucky magazine</a>. "But I so hate when I see Gisele and she is wearing a tiny little tank top with no bra, like, ?Oh, I just threw this on, I look so cute.? If I wore that I would look like I was pregnant, or a fat stripper.?

  • Kate Upton

    "My one wish... I would have smaller boobs. Just kidding! Hahaha," <a href="http://www.gq.com/women/photos/201207/kate-upton-gq-july-2012-cover-story">Upton laughed to GQ</a> in July.

  • Christina Hendricks

    "I?m learning to celebrate what I was born with, even though it?s sometimes been inconvenient. Having larger breasts has made it harder for me to shop throughout the years, but I?ve learned to love it," <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1388042/Christina-Hendricks-life-shaping-nicely-Im-learning-celebrate-I-born-with.html">Hendricks told the Daily Mail</a>, adding, "It?s so bizarre that people are constantly asking if my breasts are real or fake. They?re so obviously real that anyone who?s ever seen or touched a breast would know."

  • Jennifer Love Hewitt

    ?It?s horrible to say, but I like my boobs," <a href="http://www.maxim.com/girls-of-maxim/april-2012-cover-girl-jennifer-love-hewitt-interview">she told Maxim magazine in 2011</a>. "They?ve always served me well. They?re good.?

  • Jessica Simpson

    ?Been getting lots of questions about this alleged breast reduction?not to worry?I LOVE MY BOOBIES!! They aren?t going anywhere!" Simpson tweeted in 2011. (<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2011/09/jessica-simpson-loves-her-boobies/">via ABCNews</a>).

  • Scarlett Johansson

    ?I would never have a boob job. I get compliments about them but I have my parents to thank for them," Johansson said (<a href="http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/41083/scarlett-johansson-i-love-my-boobs">via Entertainmentwise</a>). "I think they could win awards, you know!?

  • JWoww

    "I want my boobs out," JWoww said about her wedding dress (<a href="http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/articles/20120930jwoww-wedding-dress.html">via azcentral.com</a>). "I want a corset looking top and then the bottom to really poof out. I really want something sexy with a princess feel."

  • Kim Kardashian

    ?I remember crying in the bathtub. I took a washcloth, made it hot, put it over my chest and prayed, ?Please don?t let them grow any bigger. They?re embarrassing me,'" <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/181591/kim-kardashian-cried-over-growing-boobs">Kim wrote on her blog</a>. "All my friends were super skinny, and that just wasn?t my body type. But I watched my mom, who was always comfortable with herself, and she helped me with my outlook.?

  • Heidi Montag

    ?Giving my self a soft tissue breast massage," <a href="https://twitter.com/heidimontag/status/23247380709">she tweeted</a>. "Ladies we have to keep those implants soft.?

  • Keira Knightley

    "Sometimes they make [my boobs] a lot bigger than they actually are," <a href="http://www.celebuzz.com/video-post/keira-knightley-talks-about-her-small-breasts-on-ellen/">Knightley told Ellen DeGeneres about photographers and editors.</a> "I'm happy with them the size they are, but I'm alright with [Photoshop] unless they make them really droopy.

  • Kirsten Dunst

    ?Yes, I do have big boobs. People don?t realize because I cover up a lot, but they are there. Big boobs," Dunst said (<a href="http://www.vh1.com/celebrity/2011-08-18/kirsten-dunst-wants-you-to-know-that-she-has-big-boobs/">via VH1</a>).

  • Shakira

    "Lucky that my breasts are small and humble, so you don't confuse them with mountains." Lyrics to Shakira's song "Whenever, Wherever."

  • Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/celebrities-talked-breasts_n_2959413.html

    dodgeball 2012 pro bowl postsecret ufc on fox 2 supercross christina aguilera etta james funeral sundance film festival

    Thursday, March 28, 2013

    The instant camera goes digital with the Polaroid Socialmatic camera

    Most people my age and older have heard of Polaroid instant cameras, although they went out of style once digital photography became mainstream. Recently, Socialmatic LLC announced that they have an agreement with Polaroid to market a new-age instant camera, the Polaroid Socialmatic camera.?This camera brings the old style of printing out photos directly from [...]

    Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/03/27/the-instant-camera-goes-digital-with-the-polaroid-socialmatic-camera/

    Julian Castro Blue Moon August 2012 Eddie Murphy Dead Democratic National Convention 2012 myocardial infarction What Is Labor Day jersey shore

    Lululemon Yoga Pants Return Test: Bend Over, Ladies!

    Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/lululemon-yoga-pants-return-test-bend-over-ladies/

    read across america vikings stadium breitbart dead db cooper fafsa branson missouri davy jones dead

    Same-Sex Parents May Face Harsher Criticism Than Others - Health ...

    %name Same Sex Parents May Face Harsher Criticism Than Others

    WEDNESDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) ? Bystanders judge same-sex parents more harshly than straight parents, according to a new study.

    Researchers examined people?s responses to the actions of gay and straight parents, and found that gay parents were much more likely to be viewed negatively in identical situations involving poor parenting behaviors.

    ?We noted that when parents displayed favorable parenting behaviors like comforting an upset child, gay and straight parents were judged in a similar, positive manner,? Sean Massey, of the interdisciplinary research group for the study of sexuality and gender at Binghamton University, in New York, said in a university news release.

    ?However, if parents got frustrated ? raised their voice or slapped their child on the hand ? the gay parents were judged more negatively than the straight parents,? said Massey, a research associate professor.

    The findings, published in the March issue of the Journal of GLBT Family Studies, are important because holding gay parents to a different standard adds additional stress to the already stressful job of being parents, Massey said.

    This type of attitude may also harm same-sex couples? chances of adopting or becoming foster parents, Massey said in the news release.

    ?We feel that it is very important for social workers and adoption counselors to be made aware of the effects of modern anti-gay prejudices and they need to educate themselves and develop policies that help protect against these potential biases,? Massey said.

    He noted that hundreds of thousands of children in the United States are waiting to find a foster or adopted family, but there is a shortage of people willing to take them into their homes. Gay parents can provide homes for these children, but this study suggests they may be at a disadvantage.

    ?Raising awareness of these attitudes is a critical step in being able to utilize a potentially valuable pool of prospective adoptive and foster parents, but it is also vital to improving the day-to-day lives of our families and our children,? Massey said.

    The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement Sunday supporting same-sex marriage and restating its support for the adoption of children by gay families.

    More information

    The U.S. Health and Human Services Administration has more about gay and lesbian adoptive parents.

    HEALTHDAY Web XSmall Same Sex Parents May Face Harsher Criticism Than Others

    Source: http://news.health.com/2013/03/27/same-sex-parents-may-face-harsher-criticism-than-others/

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

    Nearly 50 inmates escape Libyan prison, 1 killed

    Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nearly-50-inmates-escape-libyan-prison-1-killed-202040165.html

    michigan football askew blue moon ann romney farrah abraham Paul Ryan Speech chris cooley

    Wednesday, March 27, 2013

    Cellphone buyback ATMs tempt ? but also thwart ? thieves

    Cellphone buyback ATMs that dispense cash for phones and other electronics sound like a petty thief's dream. And indeed, a recent article in the Washington Post called attention to the machines serving as a speedy, low-risk fence for stolen property. But EcoATM, which operates a network of 340 machines in 20 states, is trying to make things hard, if not impossible, for criminals.

    "We totally recognize that people steal cellphones," the company's director of marketing, Ryan Kuder, told NBC News. "We've got a policy to return any phone we find that has been reported lost or stolen at no charge ... so we've got a serious disincentive to accept stolen phones."

    To that end, EcoATMs actually perform quite a battery of authentications on the seller and phone itself:

    • Several high-resolution pictures are taken of the person selling the phone.
    • They must present a valid ID showing them to be over 18.
    • This ID is checked against internal and police blacklists.
    • A thumbprint is taken.
    • The serial number of the phone is recorded and cross checked with available stolen phone databases.
    • Finally, the purchase must be manually approved by an EcoATM representative, who can access all this data.

    Yet this still might not be enough ? a thief might use an accomplice with a clean record to sell the devices, or go to a kiosk in another city, where the phone won't appear on local stolen-phone databases. But Kuder points out that these are the same risk that other pawn shops and trade-in-friendly store face.

    Like those establishments, EcoATM works with police. But while there is some collaboration, it's necessarily limited owing to the lack of a single nationwide or worldwide lost and stolen phone registry. Carriers, likewise, have no central listing of phone serial numbers that are still under contract, reported lost, and so on. EcoATM shares this info "fully and transparently" with police, but that's not as easy or universal to do as it could be.

    In the meantime, the company's buyback machines, though susceptible to clever criminals, at least provide a nice paper trail ? unlike, for example, Craigslist, the popular classifieds site that is largely anonymous and frequently used as a cash-only clearing-house for stolen items.

    With hundreds of thousands of devices bought back by the kiosks, and then recycled or resold, the automated ecosystem is new and growing. Still, it may never be 100 percent crime-proof.

    Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

    Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2a05f5da/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cgadgetbox0Ccellphone0Ebuyback0Eatms0Etempt0Ealso0Ethwart0Ethieves0E1C90A85219/story01.htm

    H c mitt romney mark zuckerberg mark zuckerberg maurice jones drew Yash Chopra

    Tuesday, March 26, 2013

    Certain bacteria suppress production of toxic shock toxin: Probiotic potential looms

    Certain bacteria suppress production of toxic shock toxin: Probiotic potential looms

    Monday, March 25, 2013

    Certain Streptococci increase their production of toxic shock syndrome toxin 1, sometimes to potentially dangerous levels, when aerobic bacteria are present in the vagina. But scientists from the University of Western Ontario have discovered certain strains of lactobacillus bacteria are capable of dampening production of that toxin according to research published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

    "The risk of potentially fatal toxic shock syndrome appears to be influenced by the types of bacteria present in the vagina," says principal investigator Gregor Reid.

    In planning the study, "I figured that the Staphylococcus aureus strains with the ability to produce toxic shock syndrome toxin might only do this under certain environmental conditions," says Reid. "In the vagina, that means depending on pH and the other bacteria living there."

    The researchers took swabs from women with clinically healthy vaginal status, with intermediate status, and from those diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis. They then identified the bacterial species, and assayed for toxic shock syndrome toxin 1. "In particular, Streptococcus agalactiae, often referred to as Group B streptococci, an organism of particular concern when giving birth, increased toxin production 3.7-fold," says Reid. But various species of lactobacillus repressed toxin production, one by 72 percent.

    "These experiments emphasize that for proper clinical care of women, we need to know all bacterial types present in the vagina," says Reid. "Culturing is inadequate, and while some microscopy is feasible if the viewer develops the expertise to assess the vaginal smears, rapid 16s sequencing systems are needed as a diagnostic tool," because many species are "very difficult to culture," or have never been cultured.

    "We need to vastly improve how we diagnose infections and determine the risk of infection of women," says Reid. He also recommends "improving our ability to manipulate microbiota [with probiotics] in lieu of using broad spectrum antibiotics that were developed 40 years ago, and are not very effective in the vagina, and certainly not designed to neutralize toxins."

    ###

    American Society for Microbiology: http://www.asm.org

    Thanks to American Society for Microbiology for this article.

    This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

    This press release has been viewed 14 time(s).

    Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127414/Certain_bacteria_suppress_production_of_toxic_shock_toxin__Probiotic_potential_looms

    ray j anthony shadid gary carter this means war bobby brown suzanne somers colbert

    Gordon-Levitt gets excited on 1997 'Jeopardy'

    By Randee Dawn, TODAY contributor

    Before he was a time traveler ("Looper") or Abraham Lincoln's rebellious son ("Lincoln"), Joseph Gordon-Levitt was a young actor appearing on "Third Rock from the Sun." And in 1997, he was also a contestant on a celebrity charity "Jeopardy!" episode who was very excited to know the answer. Or rather, to know the question.

    As the video clip shows, from the moment host Alex Trebek pulled up the "answer" clue that referred to Holden Caulfield, a long-haired Gordon-Levitt starts pulling an Arnold Horshack (look it up, kids) impersonation in the back: "Oooh! Oooh!" he cries, and is just so thrilled to be able to give the correct "question" of "What is 'Catcher in the Rye?'" adding "that's my favorite book!"

    Amusing additional notes: Trebek referring to him as "Joey," hearing his voice break just a little when giving the "question" and a quick flash of the other contestants -- Kirsten Dunst and Benjamin Salisbury (from "The Nanny"). Props to Buzzfeed for explicating the entire episode, pointing out some highlights (Gordon-Levitt, of course) and lowlights (no one knew "Moby Dick"). You can watch the whole show below, if you like!

    Related content:

    More in The Clicker:

    Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/03/25/17455404-joseph-gordon-levitt-gets-very-excited-in-1997-jeopardy-episode?lite

    ashley greene marquette university Chris Porco march madness cbs sports ncaa tournament kids choice awards

    NFL Free Agency 2013: Steelers were in pursuit of QB Brian Hoyer

    The Cardinals may have been wise to place a second-round tender on Hoyer.

    Last week, Brian Hoyer signed his second-round tender with the Arizona Cardinals, meaning that unless the team decides to trade or cut him, he will be one of the quarterbacks on the roster next season. No team is allowed to negotiate with Hoyer now that he has signed the tender and he is no longer considered a free agent, which is bad news for the Steelers, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via NFL.com).

    Bouchette states that the Steelers had interest in signing Hoyer to be the backup to Ben Roethlisberger before signing his tender with the Cardinals.

    The Steelers were not willing to part with a second-round pick for a backup quarterback (obviously), so it became moot. The Cardinals were obviously aware that teams were going to have interest in him, which is why they placed such a high tender on him instead of hoping for the best.

    The oddest part about all of this is that the Cardinals actually signed Hoyer last season after he was released from the Steelers. If they would have kept him on their roster, they would have had the option of tendering Hoyer instead of the Cardinals.

    In all, it was a good move by the Cardinals as they were able to secure their backup (and possible starter) by paying him just $800,000 more for the season.

    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

    Source: http://www.revengeofthebirds.com/2013/3/24/4142312/nfl-free-agency-2013-steelers-were-in-pursuit-of-qb-brian-hoyer

    Gabriel Aubry cyber monday deals small business saturday small business saturday best cyber monday deals best cyber monday deals macaulay culkin

    Monday, March 25, 2013

    'Dancing With the Stars' pro Val Chmerkovskiy: I'm pushing Zendaya past her limits

    Steffen Thalemann

    "Dancing With the Stars" pro Valentin Chmerkovskiy.

    "Dancing With the Stars" pro Valentin Chmerkovskiy will be blogging about his experiences and thoughts on his fourth quest for the mirror ball trophy in The Clicker throughout the season. The 14-time US champion in dance is paired with 16-year-old Disney star Zendaya, who plays Rocky Blue on "Shake It Up!"

    By Valentin Chmerkovskiy

    First of all, thank you to all the fans for all of your support, the really encouraging, really great comments I received after the debut performance with Zendaya! It means a lot that people take the time to write something nice for us to see, whether it?s on Twitter or Instagram or a website. I want to say that I really appreciate all the love and support. It makes me stay motivated, and it really inspires me to do better.

    Last Monday?s performance was so inspiring! Not just for people watching. When I dance, I?m just in a different zone. When she dances, she?s in a different zone. That Monday night performance, it was heaven on earth! It was a feeling that you can?t really explain. At the end when we took our bow, and just hearing the roar and understanding that we just did something special? All the hard work paid off. It?s an unexplainable high. That kind of feeling is what we?re fighting for every day, every week. It?s worth the sweat, it?s worth the hard work.

    I feel the thing about Monday?s performance with the contemporary wasn?t even the choreography or the dancing. It was just her performance. She?s a star now. Mark my words: I?ve worked with her for three weeks. She?s going to be a superstar. She?s the next Beyonce. She?s the next mega superstar.

    This week we?re doing the jive. The jive is a very fast, very upbeat type of dance. The origins are -- vaguely speaking -- of the rock ?n? roll genre and era of dance: swing, Lindy, all those higher-paced, energetic dances. This is where having an understanding for connection and synergy and bonding and understanding each other and dancing completely in unison is very crucial to making this dance work. She?s put on three-inch heels, which is very difficult to dance in, and is something that is pretty new to a girl who is 16 years old. She?s a sneakerhead! She loves her Nikes and her Adidas! So it?s a challenge.

    I?m not going to reveal too much about it. The dance is ? honestly, I?m so happy with how the dance came out! We don?t need too much production. We don?t need too much story. The story is simple. The song is very old-school sounding. When I hear the song, I think 1920s flapper vibe. I?m going to wear my pinstriped suit and she?s going to wear her flapper dress, and we?re going to come out and show a jive.

    I basically choreographed the routine that I would?ve been dancing with a pro. That?s how challenging it is. I basically drove her, destroyed her into doing it pretty damn close to a pro! I?m excited to do an authentic, really competitive, challenging routine that doesn?t have a lot of fluff, but is something different. ? I?m glad that I finally have a partner that I can showcase those things with. Zendaya is somebody that I don?t hold back anything with choreographically. I?m not sacrificing anything.

    I want her to be Zendaya at her best. It?s not easy because it?s constant work. I?ve put her through the same grueling practice schedule and work schedule that everybody else goes through, if not probably more. When she goes through that, that?s the result that you see -- Monday?s performance.? And it doesn?t matter if it?s contemporary, jive or tango. I will put the pressure on and I know a diamond is going to be the result. I just want to keep doing that, keep creating beautiful things, keep putting the pressure on, and see what she can do. I think she can do anything.

    Whatever the judges want to give us, I?ll be happy with. I?m looking for what I want to see. At the end of the day, this is a matter of my pride and my integrity ? my integrity to her parents, my integrity to ?Dancing With the Stars? and the production, my integrity to everything that I represent as a teacher. It?s my integrity to my craft. That?s all I want. I want to come out and I want to surprise the people that I love. I want to surprise her parents. I want to surprise my parents. I want to surprise our fans. Those are the people I?m really prioritizing here.

    Tune in Monday night to ABC, ?Dancing With the Stars?! And vote for Team Valdaya (3406)! We really appreciate it!

    Related content:

    More in The Clicker:

    Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35197/f/653459/s/29fa4c6f/l/0Ltheclicker0Btoday0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C250C174574110Edancing0Ewith0Ethe0Estars0Epro0Eval0Echmerkovskiy0Eim0Epushing0Ezendaya0Epast0Eher0Elimits0Dlite/story01.htm

    Rivals Kaepernick Eddie Vanderdoes puppy bowl national pancake day bar refaeli Paul Harvey

    Michael Dell May Lose Control Of PC Maker After Two Competing Buyout Bids Emerge

    Michael DellDell's board is looking at two surprise takeover bids from Blackstone Group and billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, reports Reuters citing sources close to the discussion. A special committee is deciding whether either proposal would trump an existing $24.4 billion buyout offer from the PC maker's founder Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake.

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

    ernest borgnine ESPYs 2012 venus williams Freeh Report direct tv wimbledon ray allen

    Marriage health check recommended for older couples - Marilyn ...

    Older couples should reassess their relationship as they approach retirement, Relate has claimed.

    In a new survey of over 50s, conducted by for the relationships advisors by Ipsos MORI, a happy relationship came second only to good health in a list of the most important factors in a relationship. In addition, 91 per cent of the respondents described a happy relationship as ?very important? in retirement.

    Meanwhile, three quarters of the over 50s said they would ?turn to their partner in times of need?.

    Ruth Sutherland, Chief Executive of Relate, said older couples should use the approach of retirement to take a fresh look at their marriage.

    ?This survey tells us that strong and healthy relationships are a key ingredient for a good old age?. Retiring is a good time to think about your relationship ? is it ready for the changes that later life can bring? We know at Relate that people often don?t seek help until things are going badly wrong in their relationship and we?re encouraging people to invest early to get the most out of their old age.?

    The advisory service has launched a new website focused on relationships in later life. It has also partnered with grandparents website Gransnet to offer an online ?relationship checker?. This asks users to consider whether their relationship is ?drifting in the doldrums of midlife or sailing off into the sunset.?

    It notes:

    ?Midlife can be wearing on romance ? but relationships can also stay fit.?

    Gransnet editor Geraldine Bedell ?said: ?We?re delighted to partner with Relate on this important campaign?.All sorts of things can knock relationships off course, but with a little TLC, relationships can also spiral upwards again surprisingly quickly.?

    Photo by?Detective C?via Flickr under a Creative Commons licence

    Was this post valuable?

    Share this post

    Get free family law updates

    Source: http://www.marilynstowe.co.uk/2013/03/24/marriage-health-check-recommended-for-older-couples/

    matterhorn chris harrison girl scouts printable bracket game change own stacy francis

    Syrian rebel military leader rejects new PM

    BEIRUT (AP) ? The head of the Syrian opposition coalition's military branch has refused to recognize the body's new prime minister, saying he was not properly elected.

    Louay Almokdad, aide to Gen. Salim Idris, told The Associated Press by phone Sunday that the rebel Free Syrian Army would not recognize the U.S.-educated IT expert chosen last week to head a rebel interim government.

    Almokdad said Ghassan Hitto was elected without the support of prominent Syrian opposition figures and that a recognized prime minister must have broad support.

    Hitto received 35 out of 48 votes cast by the 63 active members of the opposition Syrian National Coalition last week.

    Many prominent opposition figures boycotted the vote, saying Hitto was unknown and backed by outside powers like Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebel-military-leader-rejects-pm-144734278.html

    sacha baron cohen best picture nominees 2012 academy awards 2012 albert nobbs a star is born oscar nominees oscar nominations 2012

    Sky's the limit? Southeast Asia budget airlines bet big on growth

    By Anshuman Daga

    SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Lion Air's record aircraft orders underline the ambitious plans the privately held Indonesian group is hatching to emerge as a pan-Asian low cost carrier, throwing a serious challenge to AirAsia Bhd, the region's biggest budget airline.

    The rivalry intensified on Friday when Lion Air launched its first service in Malaysia, barging onto AirAsia's home turf, but the pace of expansion has raised questions about whether airlines are overextending themselves.

    Financiers and industry executives, however, say the party is just starting, with the region's budget carriers just beginning on the rapid growth path enjoyed by Ryanair Holdings Plc and Easyjet Plc in Europe and Southwest Airlines Co, the pioneer of the model, in the United States.

    "I think it's been pretty rational in the sense that it is underpinned by economic prospects," Eric Eugene, BNP Paribas's global head of transportation banking, told Reuters in an interview in Singapore. "It's underpinned by the number of people capable of paying fares and flying."

    The staggering bets being placed by both airlines rest on the dominant market shares they enjoy in their home countries and the hope that rising disposable incomes will drive Asia's growing middle class to keep flying to new destinations.

    Lion Air's co-founder Rusdi Kirana placed a blockbuster order for 234 medium-haul jets with Airbus this week, just a year after ordering a record 230 Boeing planes.

    Despite the projections of sharp growth, some bankers and lessors have expressed concerns that the series of record-breaking orders risks flooding Southeast Asia with too many narrowbody planes.

    "The one thing that we have to consider is that the delivery span of those aircraft is over, probably, 10 years," said BNP Paribas's Eugene.

    "So, if you put this number of aircraft in perspective of economic growth, and in perspective of aircraft retirement, actually our own results show that it's not irrational."

    And, in a move that could reduce the risk of having too many unused planes if demand projections don't pan out, Lion Air has also set up Transportation Partners, an aircraft leasing company in Singapore, and hired senior financiers.

    Establishing a base in Singapore, a growing aviation financing hub, might help Lion Air to diversify its portfolio outside Indonesia, where the country risk is much higher, and enable it to tap into a wider circle of banks for funding.

    REGIONAL RIVALRY

    The emergence of Lion Air presents Malaysia's AirAsia with the most serious challenge to its dominance of the region's budget flight business.

    However Tony Fernandes, AirAsia Group's CEO, believes tight control on costs and ties with one planemaker will help his group retain its advantage.

    "One aircraft the A320. Lowest cost airline in the world. That's the key. Lowest cost always wins," Fernandes tweeted on Friday.

    AirAsia operates 120 aircraft and expects 360 more to be delivered up to 2026, excluding leased aircraft.

    Lion Air controls a little less than half of the market in Indonesia's booming economy, home to 240 million people spread over 17,000 islands. AirAsia has recently started operations in the archipelago, but is a very small player in the market.

    Lion Air has ambitious plans to start airlines across Asia-Pacific and is breaking into AirAsia's home market with its flights between Kuala Lumpur and the East Malaysian cities of Kuching and Kota Kinabalu through a partially owned venture, Malindo Air.

    "What caught on in Europe with EasyJet and Ryanair 10 years ago is happening here now," Ranga Karumbunathan, managing director of origination at leasing company Avolon, said on the sidelines of an Asia aviation financing conference organized by industry consultancy CAPA. "So, I think the pie is big enough."

    ASEAN HOPES

    Investors have high hopes for plans by the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) for a single market for a combined economy of $2 trillion, with free movement of goods, services, investment and skilled labor among 600 million people.

    Data from CAPA shows that 52 percent of seat capacity in Southeast Asia is operated by low cost carriers, or LCCs in the industry jargon.

    "In less than a decade, LCCs went from virtually nothing to a majority share. So, clearly, a new market segment has been established," said Campbell Wilson, chief executive of Scoot, the medium-to-long-haul budget carrier owned by Singapore Airlines Ltd.

    Airlines and leasing companies are expected to take delivery of about 175 aircraft in Southeast Asia over the next two years, accounting for one-third of all deliveries in the Asia-Pacific region, according to aviation data provider Ascend Online Fleets. The bulk of the deliveries will be in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

    "It has got all the ingredients - large population in sub-three-hour flights along with a growing middle class, very rapidly growing economies and developing infrastructure, the ability to find people who haven't flown before and get them flying," said Paul Sheridan, head of consultancy, Asia, at Ascend.

    "And then airports that are very happy to see low cost airlines flying in and out."

    Singapore's Changi Airport, one of the main Asian gateways for international travelers, closed its no-frills terminal this year as it could not cope with the rapid expansion of the LCC segment. The sparse budget terminal, housed in a separate facility, was a big put-off for travelers looking to catch connecting flights.

    Singapore is building a fourth, larger terminal estimated to cost $1 billion and be completed by 2017.

    Around one-third of travelers going through Singapore are budget travelers, up from a negligible share a decade ago.

    "I think if we go back and look at Ryanair, even Southwest, there were times in their evolution when they made some brave decisions about ordering planes which people thought were nuts," John Duffy, Chief Operating Officer of Transportation Partners, Lion Air Group's leasing company, told the Singapore conference.

    "And probably Emirates as well, actually. But they have continued to generate traffic, sustain load factors, sustain yield."

    (Editing by Alex Richardson)

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/skys-limit-southeast-asia-budget-airlines-bet-big-023024996--finance.html

    matt kenseth bridge to nowhere primary results dale earnhardt jr michigan primary daytona 500 winner cleveland plain dealer