>>>saddest news this weekend. over 230 people killed in a single, horrifying incident. and beyond the tragedy itself, it made so many people think of their own lives and situations they've been in, and incidents like it in the past. a nightclub in brazil, packed with happy people on a saturday night, listening to a band at 2:30 in the morning. suddenly, a fire. started small and then engulfed the club, filling it with smoke and hundreds of people in a panic. it got more urgent and complicated when some of the victims weren't allowed out. and today we learned of arrests and an investigation that is just getting under way. nbc's
keir simmons
is with us tonight to start us off from
santa maria
, brazil. keir, good evening.
>> reporter: good evening,
brian
. the
death toll
here is almost unimaginable. the gymnasium behind me became a makeshift morgue. more than 230 lives were lost, and scores more are still hospitalized. survivors said it was like a horror movie. a nightclub turned
death trap
.
>>i have been in the nightclub before.
>> reporter: audrey narrowly escaped. what did you see?
>>people crying. people dying in my sight.
>> reporter: hundreds of others, including two of her friends, did not.
>>i lost very
special people
to me.
>> reporter: today, the funerals began. so many dead, the coffins laid out in rows. found here by grieving
loved ones
. on saturday night, they had packed the kiss nightclub. survivors say the band set off pyrotechnics, igniting a fire in the ceiling. it spread in seconds, filling the club with smoke. the crowd panicked. confused
security guards
at first blocked the exits. in the stampede, audrey was nearly trampled. but she could breathe. but someone pulled her to safety. this is the club before the disaster. no windows. the front door, the only exit. early sunday morning, it was chaos. a struggle to revive victims. some survivors searched for
loved ones
. others smashed holes to let people escape. but for most, it was too late. bodies were piled up inside. most overcome by smoke. the bodies have been removed, but you can still smell the smoke and on the sidewalk flowers. the victims' names and faces are now filling brazilian tv and
social media
. many were students, teenagers.
santa maria
is a
university town
.
>>i'm very happy that i'm here. but i cannot explain how i feel about my friends. about the city.
>> reporter: four arrests have been made so far. reportedly, a club co-owner and two band members. brazil is in mourning, as everyone tries to make sense of it all.
brian
, this is the deadliest fire this country has seen in more than half a century. they blocked doors because they thought that
young people
hadn't paid for their drinks, and many back in the u.s. will be reminded of a
terrible tragedy
ten years ago in
rhode island
. again, a packed nightclub, a fire, and panic that ended in tragedy. back then, 100 lives were lost. here in brazil, that
death toll
has more than doubled. and
brian
, tonight, a fourth arrest here.
>>what a terrible story.
keir simmons
starting us off in brazil tonight. thanks.
Concrete is an essential part of our infrastructure.
And it?s all falling apart, as Robert Courland?s 2011 book Concrete Planet makes clear.
The Romans built concrete structures that lasted over 2 thousand years.? Ours will last a century ? at most.
Courland writes that the buildings and monuments we build may last less than a century, despite this, builders, architects, and engineers who know the shortcomings of steel and concrete continue to build structures that will deteriorate.
The problem isn?t the just the concrete; it?s the iron and steel rebar reinforcement inside.? Cracks can be fixed, but when air, moisture, and chemicals seep into reinforced concrete, the rebar rusts, expanding in diameter four or five-fold, which destroys the surrounding concrete, and ultimately destroys the building, road, bridge, dam, levee, home, airport runway, sewage and water pipes, school, canal, power plants, grain elevators, shipping piers, tunnels, and so on.
Courland says that engineers and architects have known about this problem a long time, yet either refuse to admit it or don?t think it matters.? The main theme of this book is that it does matter, as Courland explains in these three excerpts:
1)???? The lifespan of concrete is not only shorter than masonry, it ?is probably less than that of wood?We have built a disposable world using a short-lived material, the manufacture of which generates millions of tons of greenhouse gases.?? Cement is the third largest source of CO2 after autos and coal-fueled power plants.? The World Coal Association states that ?Coal is used as an energy source in cement production. Large amounts of energy are required to produce cement. Kilns usually burn coal in the form of powder and consume around 450g of coal for about 900g of cement produced?.
2)????? ??Even more troubling is that all this steel-reinforced concrete that we use for building our roads, buildings, bridges, sewer pipes, and sidewalks is ultimately expendable, so we will have to keep rebuilding them every couple of generations, adding more pollution and expense for our descendants to bear.? Most of the concrete structures built at the beginning of the 20th century have begun falling apart, and most will be, or already have been, demolished?.
3)????? The world we have built over the last century is decaying at an alarming rate. Our infrastructure is especially terrible:
1 in 4 bridges are either structurally deficient or structurally obsolete
The service life of most reinforced concrete highway bridges is 50 years, and their average age is 42 years?.
Besides our crumbling highway system, the reinforced concrete used for our water conduits, sewer pipes, water-treatment plants, and pumping stations is also disintegrating.? The chemicals and bacteria in sewage make it almost as corrosive as seawater, reducing the life span of the reinforced concrete used in these systems to 50 years of less.?
I?m sure the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) would agree. Below is their 2009 report card for America?s infrastructure (all of these use at least some, if not a lot, of concrete).
C+ Solid Waste
C Bridges
C- Public Parks and Recreation, Rail
D+ Energy
D Aviation, Dams, Hazardous Waste, Schools, Transit
Their 2013 report card will state we need over 3 trillion to fix this. But ASCE says nothing about the short life of concrete anywhere on their website, let alone demand that future projects be built to last.? The ASCE 2013 report card comes out March 19.? I?ll be watching to see if they even mention that we need to build millennia-long lasting concrete buildings, roads, bridges, dams, schools, drinking water pipes and facilities, and levees in the future.
We know there?s a problem, we know how to fix it (the last chapter explains how to make long-lasting concrete), and yet there?s no pressure to do it, because it?s cheaper to do it the wrong way, especially in a time of tight credit.?? To do it right, it costs a bit more up front, but the payback is tens of trillions of dollars in saved future costs. I predict Capitalism?s? short-term? focus will prevent long-lasting concrete projects from coming to fruition.
On top of that, there?s no demand from the public, journalists, engineers, or architects.? There has not been any outcry since this book was published to build with long-lasting concrete in the future that I can find.
Well, have only been two attempts to do something that I could find:
A bill that passed in the Senate (S.775) but failed in the House: The National Infrastructure Improvement Act, to establish a National Commission on the Infrastructure of the United States
The National Institute of Standards and Technology?s Engineering Laboratory has started to fund research to prevent concrete from cracking in a program called REACT: Reducing Early-Age Cracking Today.
Peak Energy and Concrete
It will take a tremendous amount of energy to replace and/or fix our concrete infrastructure, energy that will be less and less available.? Why waste our remaining energy and create vastly more greenhouse gas to make concrete, unless it will be built to last thousands of years like Roman Concrete?
Our descendants won?t be driving everywhere, in fact, they?ll probably wish they could convert the pavement to farmland, which will take centuries even after the cement is gone for the soil to recover ? why not start now?? Stop maintaining roads in the national forests, rural areas, and wherever else it makes sense ?let them return to gravel and eventually fade away.
Perhaps we should even consider DE-paving and DE-damming to restore streams, fisheries, wetlands, and ecosystems for future generations.
We should convert some roads to railways while we still have energy to spend, since trains are around seven times more efficient than trucks.
At this point it seems crazy to build projects with short-term concrete we KNOW will only last for decades.
Eventually buildings over 5 stories tall will be of little use ? why keep building skyscrapers?
Future generations won?t able to build, let alone repair and maintain what we construct.? Once we stop maintaining our concrete (and cement) structures, they will quickly fall apart.
We just won?t have the energy to build and maintain many concrete structures in a wood-based civilization.? Consider all the wood it used to take for a limestone kiln to make 1 cubic yard of lime: a dozen cords of wood (a cord is 4? x 4? x 8).
Another example Courland cites (page 139): Since the Mayans ?used 20 full-grown pine trees to create just 1 cubic meter of lime, the amount of deforestation caused by the need for farmland, plaster, and stucco probably tipped the environmental balance deep in the red?.
I wonder how many trees would be needed to build the 27.1 million cubic meter Three Gorges Dam in China?? ?I suspect even deforesting the earth wouldn?t be enough.
And those of you downstream from the Hoover and other large dams might be interested to know that these are still ?undergoing the curing process, thus forestalling corrosion. It will be interesting for our descendants to discover whether the tremendous weight of these dams will continue to put off the rebar?s corrosion expansion? (page 327).
Failing dams are a double tragedy, since electricity from hydro-power will be especially valuable as one of the few (reliable) energy sources in the future.
And what the hell are the people in the future going to do with all this concrete ? build sheep fences?
LONDON (Reuters) - The United Nations launched an inquiry on Thursday into the use of unmanned drones in counter-terrorism operations, after criticism of the number of innocent civilians killed by the aircraft.
The inquiry, announced in London, will investigate 25 drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories.
Most attacks with unmanned aerial vehicles have been by the United States. Britain and Israel have also used them, and dozens more states are believed to possess the technology.
"The plain fact is that this technology is here to stay, and its use in theatres of conflict is a reality with which the world must contend," said inquiry leader Ben Emmerson, the U.N. special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights.
"It is therefore imperative that appropriate legal and operational structures are urgently put in place to regulate its use in a manner that complies with the requirements of international law."
Criticism of drone strikes centers on the number of civilians killed and the fact that they are launched across sovereign states' borders so frequently - far more than conventional attacks by piloted aircraft.
Retired U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, who authored the U.S. counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan, warned earlier this month against overusing drones, which have provoked angry demonstrations in Pakistan.
Data collected by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism say 2,600-3,404 Pakistanis have been killed by drones, of which 473-889 were reported to be civilians.
The U.N.'s Human Rights Council asked Emmerson to start an investigation following requests by countries including Pakistan, Russia and China to look into drone attacks.
The inquiry will examine photographic and forensic material as well as witness statements. The resulting report and recommendations will be presented at the U.N. General Assembly in New York in October this year, Emmerson said.
He said that it he did not expect the inquiry to result in a "dossier of evidence" that would directly point to legal liability, but would help support the relevant states' own independent investigations.
Emmerson said Britain's Ministry of Defense had agreed to fully cooperate and he was optimistic he would receive good cooperation from the U.S. and Pakistani governments.
"We welcome this investigation in the hopes that global pressure will bring the U.S. back into line with international law requirements that strictly limit the use of lethal force," said Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Security Project.
"To date, there has been an abysmal lack of transparency and no accountability for the U.S. government's ever-expanding targeted killing program," she said.
It's been just over a week since we departed chilly Las Vegas, and now we've descended on the much warmer Golden State for the music industry's annual winter gathering. That's right, we're here in Anaheim, California for NAMM 2013 to fondle all the latest musical gadgets and attempt to make it through the week with our eardrums still intact. For keeping up with all of the happenings, be sure to take a gander here for all of the latest newsy bits and hands-ons that we'll encounter over the next few days.
For a time this game held the official world record for the most swears in a video game, notching up an impressive 189 f**ks. The vast majority of those effs came courtesy of Detective Washington, whose mouth was seemingly stuck on ?foul?. When asked by his partner, Agent G, if he ever felt like cutting back on all the profanity, Agent Washington?s reply is characteristically succinct and without ambiguity: ?F**k that motherf**ker!?
Despite the sterling work of Washington, the ?most swears in a game? record is currently held by the next commendable proponent of expletives on our list...
Quote: ?I?m gonna rip your motherf**king balls off!?
In the fall of 2010, Hoi-Ying Holman of the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) was approached by an international team researching a mysterious microbial community discovered deep in cold sulfur springs in southern Germany.
"They told me what they were doing and said, 'We know what you contributed to the oil-spill research,'" recalls Holman, who heads the Chemical Ecology group in Berkeley Lab's Earth Sciences Division. "They wondered if I could help them determine the biochemistry of their microbe samples."
Holman had co-authored a report in Science about bacteria in the Gulf of Mexico that thrived on the Deepwater Horizon oil plume. Using infrared spectromicroscopy at the Berkeley Synchrotron Infrared Structural Biology (BSISB) facility, which she directs at the Advanced Light Source (ALS), Holman helped determine how the novel bug obtained energy by eating the spilled crude. No stranger to subsurface bioscience, Holman would soon add a new actor to her cast of remarkable microbes.
Not extreme, but weird anyway
The name Archaea means "ancient things," but Archaea were recognized as a distinct domain of life less than forty years ago. First thought to be exclusively extremophiles ? lovers of boiling hot springs, deep-sea black smokers, acid mine runoff, and other inhospitable environments ? more and more archaea are found thriving in moderate and cold environments, almost always as minority members of much larger microbial communities.
A unique exception to this pattern was discovered less than 10 years ago in the Sippenauer Moor in Germany. In microbial mats in this cold sulfur spring's outflow, the SM1 Euryarchaeon lives in roughly equal abundance with bacteria in a community that forms symbiotic "strings of pearls": the archaea fill the "pearls" and filamentous bacteria cover the pearl surfaces and form strings between them. The two kinds of microbes were assumed to be syntrophic ? dependent on each other for nourishment ? but the biochemical details were a mystery.
Christine Moissl-Eichinger of the University of Regensburg was among the SM1 Euryarchaeon's discoverers. Before long what she calls "another amazing lifestyle" of the new archaeon emerged; biofilms that grew deep below the surface of another cold sulfur spring, the nearby Muehlbacher Schwefelquelle. Moissl-Eichinger and her team collected samples of the slime-like biofilm ? which first seemed to be pure SM1 ? on net traps underwater.
To augment their already extensive research, Moissl-Eichinger and Alexander Probst of her staff brought the Regensburg samples to Berkeley Lab, initially attracted by the PhyloChip, a DNA microarray invented by Berkeley Lab's Gary Andersen and Todd DeSantis and their colleagues. Because the PhyloChip probes for the 16S rRNA gene, found in all Bacteria and Archaea, it can quickly and accurately sort through all known species in a sample ? including those, like SM1 and many other microorganisms, that can't be grown in culture.
Probst and DeSantis, both now with Second Genome, Inc., and Andersen were joined by Kasthuri Venkateswaran of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a member of NASA's Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group. Probst wanted to know who was living where in the subsurface sulfur-spring samples; Venkateswaran's interest is understanding the role of Archaea in space and analogous sites. Although SM1 was by far the dominant species in the subsurface community, they found that small amounts of other archaea were present as well ? and about five percent of the community consisted of bacteria.
Bring on the synchrotron
Led by Andersen, the PhyloChip's inventors had contributed to the oil-spill research, and their previous association with Holman brought her and her BSISB colleagues aboard the SM1 research team.
"Lots of biochemical techniques can tell you what's in a sample ? lipids and carbohydrates, for example ? but just because they're there doesn't mean they interact," says Holman's colleague Giovanni Birarda, a member of the BSISB staff. "Synchrotron radiation?based Fourier-transform infrared spectromicroscopy ? SR-FTIR ? takes images and spectra of the same sample, so you can map the chemical relationships by combining the images with spectra that identify where the archaea and bacteria are."
Holman says, "The main difference is in their membrane lipids. Bacterial membrane lipids consist of fatty acids with long alkylic chains" ? functional groups of singly bonded carbon and hydrogen atoms ? "which have only one to two terminal methyl groups," groups with one carbon and three hydrogen. "By contrast, archaeal membrane lipids generally consist of branched and saturated isoprenes" ? a more complex common hydrocarbon ? "and are relatively less alkylic but have more methyl groups."
By revealing the bright spectral signals of alkylic and methyl groups, together with sulfur functional groups, synchrotron FTIR unambiguously identified the sulfate-reducing metabolic activity of the bacteria within the SM1 samples. The archaeal cells themselves showed no such activity, leading the researchers to posit a thriving mutual metabolism of the archaea and bacteria.
In many cases, such syntrophy requires close physical association. Covering the surface of each SM1 cell the researchers found spines made of three protein strands, equipped with terminal hooks where the strands divided. Moissl-Eichinger named them hami, Latin for barbs or hooks. These "nano-grappling hooks" apparently hold the microbial partners together, working in synchronization. The major hami protein is unlike any known proteinaceous archaeal or bacterial filaments.
How SM1 Euryarchaea interact with their bacterial partners may be a model for understanding other syntrophic relations essential to the carbon and sulfur cycles on which Earth's life depends. So far found in just two sites in Germany, the species is the only example yet of an archaeon that dominates a biological ecosystem ? but related species have been found in sulfur springs as far afield as Turkey and may be widespread.
DOE's Office of Science supported building and equipping the BSISB and also supports the ALS. For additional information, see below.
###
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: http://www.lbl.gov
Thanks to DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 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.
Posted on January 20, 2013 by Anne Thornley-Brown, M.B.A. @executiveoasis
With the trend towards shorter and shorter?time frames? it can be challenging to keep team building upbeat and interactive and yet retain the essential ingredients for effective team building.?I have previously blogged about one day team building pitfalls and ?how team building participants are getting shortchanged in the push for shorter team building.?Despite all the cautions, the trend towards short timeframes is clearly not going to disappear any time soon.
While I consider the following formats to be?far from ideal, here are 2 formats for effective team building when a longer session just isn?t possible.
Short Team Building Formats
Business Issue Focus:
15 Minutes:?Session starter Exercise (upon arrival or right after lunch to identify key issues for the session (in pairs and trios)
15 minutes:?CEO briefing to convey relevance to organizational issues and challenges
30 minutes:?Team Briefing by Facilitator to provide overview and zero in on key issues
30 Minutes:?Instructions for short simulation, game or board game, time for teams to confer and ask questions
1 Hour:?Short Brainstorming Exercise Focusing on Issues Identified During Session starter. Here are some ideas for brainstorming?6 Brainstorming Tools.
15 Minutes:?Break
30 Minutes:?Debriefing Questions in Teams
15 Minutes:?Mini-Presentations of Results from Team Exercise.
30 Minutes:?Debriefing.?Use an upbeat method for debriefing.?See my Cvent Blog post with?5 Way to Debrief (Without Boring?Participants)
15 Minutes:?Wrap up and Next Steps
Total: 4 Hours 15 Minutes
What?s missing is any type of business simulation or recreational activity to promote team bonding. The facilitator has to work extra hard to engage participants and retain any element of the fun factor. ?Here are some tips to get the most out of short, on-site team building:
6 Tips for Short Business Issue Focused Team Building
Selecti a theme that parallels and reflects the core issue(s) the organization is confronting.
Reinforce your theme through props, visuals, menu items for break, and background music and videos
Use one very vivid vehicle to present your content during the team briefing (e.g. a skit, short and targeted game). Take a look at my Cvent Blog feature with highlights from The Fresh Conference for a video with a?powerful skit?about dissecting the meeting formats that was used to kick of the team exercise.
Select a unique setting for the team exercise (e.g. outdoors, verandah, shisha tent in the parking lot, patio, gazebos).
Create a visual and tactile interface for the team exercise. (e.g. giant index cards or post-its, butcher block paper covering tables, game boards).
Get groups to use a creative method to report back about their findings (e.g. collages, storyboards, TV commercials, infographics, Pinterest Boards).
To buy yourself more time, begin with an early lunch (i.e. 11:30). Get creative and experiment with?interactive working lunch formats?that reinforce your theme. This will ensure that everyone is present for the start of your session.
To ensure that you session finishes by 4:30. Schedule the CEO briefing for the last 15 minutes of lunch. Be sure to serve his or her table first so that they are finished eating in time to present.
Short Business Simulation Format:
Snack 10:00 Start time of session.?
15 Minutes:?10:15?Session starter Exercise (upon arrival or right after lunch to identify key issues for the session (in pairs and trios)
15 minutes:?10:30?CEO briefing to convey relevance to organizational issues and challenges
30 minutes:?10:45?Team Briefing by Facilitator to provide overview and zero in on key issues
15 Minutes?11:15?? Instructions for simulation, game or activity. (Games or activities must be set up in advance to save time.)
45 Minutes:?11:30?Serve Working Lunch?with interactive format?Over Lunchtime for teams to confer.
15 Minutes: Question period in last 15 minutes when participants are finishing lunch.
2 ?3/4 Hours:?12:15?Game, board game or short simulation ? Some teams may not finish. Be prepared for critical feedback.
15 Minutes:?3:00?Break
30 Minutes:?3:15?Debriefing Questions in Teams??(include questions about possible business applications).
30 Minutes:?3:45?Debriefing
15 Minutes:?4:15?Wrap up and Next Steps
Total: 6 1/2 Hours including lunch
To buy yourself more time, begin with a mid morning break ?(i.e. 10:00) and start your session at 10:30. This will ensure that everyone is present for the CEO briefing.
To ensure that you session finishes by 4:30. Schedule the CEO briefing for the last 15 minutes of lunch. Be sure to serve his or her table first so that they are finished eating in time to present.
Now that you have sampled our innovative team building approaches through this blog, we hope that you will keep Executive Oasis International in mind the next time your company requires team building, an executive retreat or on-site consulting to boost the effectiveness of your teams.
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Forex trading is a marketplace, participated in all more than the earth, exactly where men and women can trade currencies for other currencies. One particular prevalent state of affairs is that an American Forex trader has purchased a few thousand yen in the earlier, but now sees the yen is shedding value relative to the dollar. If this man or woman is correct and decides to trade yens for pounds, he or she will generate a considerable earnings.
These trading on the currency marketplaces need to trade according to industry tendencies unless of course they have a distinct lengthy-expression goal that demands them to trade against the current market. Planning towards the market is typically extremely unsuccessful and dangerously nerve-racking.
It is not unheard of for beginner foreign exchange traders to really feel the rush of pleasure from trading and develop into overzealous. The majority of men and women can only put great focus into trading for about a few hrs or so. Be sure to just take regular breaks throughout your trading working day, and don?t forget ? the industry will constantly be there.
The account offer you choose should replicate you qualities and ambitions. Be reasonable in your anticipations and keep in thoughts your limits. You will not turn out to be a qualified trader overnight. When you are beginning out, you will want to keep with accounts that provide very low degrees of leverage. All aspiring traders really should be using a demo account for as very long as is essential. Be affected individual and build up your encounter prior to growing into even bigger trades.
Once persons get started building money from the marketplaces, they are likely to get overconfidence and make riskier trades. Permitting worry and stress disrupt your investing can yield very similar devastating consequences. Trade dependent on your understanding of the current market fairly than emotion. As quickly as emotions get included, you run the risk of building impulse decisions that will arrive back to harm you.
Maintaining a journal is a fantastic idea, and is inspired by a great deal of effective Forex traders. Contain all of your failureS and your successes in the journal. You?ll be equipped to much better monitor your development in fx trading with this journal, and you will have a reference for future trades.
Upwards and downwards marketplace styles in forex trading are obviously obvious, even so, one particular will generally be the stronger. When the market is in an upswing, it is effortless to promote signals. Use the tendencies to aid you pick your trades.
A huge majority of so-identified as ?black box? devices of investing are scams, so keep away from temptation to invest in them. Be cautious of any trading process that claims or demonstrates amazing effects devoid of outlining its methodology. In the vast the greater part of circumstances, the methodologies are getting hidden mainly because they are worthless.
There are a lot of aspects to investing that are critical to find out, this sort of as Fibonacci amounts. Fibonacci amounts give calculations and figures that can assist you in deciding when to trade. You can even plot your very best exits working with these.
In the planet of fx, there are quite a few approaches that you have at your disposal to make greater trades. The globe of forex trading has a tiny something for absolutely everyone, but what performs for one man or woman may well not for another. Hopefully, these guidelines have supplied you a commencing level for your individual strategy.
How To Find New Customers For Your Home Business, Some Tips For Success In Your Home Business
Playing games together as a family is something we love to do. And I in this week had the chance for my family to play the new Twister Dance Game from Hasbro. Now I am sure everyone is familiar with classic Twister, which is a fun party game. But now that I am older and less flexible there is no way I can twist my body into the pretzel positions that game requires! In addition the vinyl mat for Twister never folds up neatly and fits back in the box, so we rarely get it out to play. This Hasbro Twister Dance doesn?t require impossible body contortions, and it has separate Twister spots, not a huge vinyl mat.
The idea of Twister dance is to combine today?s best dance music with the iconic Twister spots and learn moves to today?s hot new dance songs. The way it works is that you arrange the spots on the carpet, and then follow the directions of the Twister Dance Console by watching the multicolored LED lights. The console only directs your feet, so you can do your own hand and arm movements and don?t have to worry about becoming a tangled mess like in the original Twister. The Twister Dance game comes with 5 built in songs:
?Till the World Ends,? TWISTER REMIX, performed by Britney Spears.
?Whip My Hair,? performed by Willow Smith.
?We R Who We R,? performed by Ke$ha.
?Cupid Shuffle,? performed by Cupid.
And an exclusive track, ?Caught Up in a Twister.?
Of course only 5 songs would get boring fast, so you can hook any mp3 player up to the game, and dance to your own songs. ?It has a built in algorithm to detect the beat of the song and determine moves that go with it. ?All in all it is very clever, and fun to play with. ?I like the fact that there is no winner in the game, so there are fewer conflicts. ?My 16 year old is a dancer, so whenever we play a dance game she wins easily. ?This just means no one ever wants to play with her, which annoys her. ?With Twister Dance there is no winner, so there are no hurt feelings!
NEW ORLEANS ? Feeling lonely? New research suggests you might want to reach out. Not only is loneliness an unpleasant condition, it can harm the body's immune system.
The new study, presented Saturday (Jan. 19) here at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, reveals that people who are lonely experience more reactivation of latent viruses in their systems than the well-connected. Lonely people also are more likely than others to produce inflammatory compounds in response to stress, a factor implicated in heart disease and other chronic disorders.
"Both, in different ways, indicate that the immune system is a little out of whack," said study researcher Lisa Jaremka, a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at Ohio State University College of Medicine.
The lonely body
Jaremka and her colleagues were interested in immune links to loneliness because feeling socially disconnected is associated with poor health and chronic disease. They recruited 200 female breast cancer survivors, average age 51, and 134 overweight, middle-age adults with no major health problems.
In the first study, the researchers analyzed the blood of the breast cancer survivors for antibodies against cytomegalovirus, a herpes virus. These common viruses can remain dormant and symptomless inside the body. Even when active, they may not cause symptoms, but they do trigger the immune system to produce antibodies, or protective proteins that help the immune system hunt down the rogue viruses. Higher antibody levels indicate higher levels of activated virus. The participants also filled out questionnaires about their loneliness and social connectedness. [7 Personality Traits That Are Bad For You]
The results revealed that the lonelier the participant, the higher the levels of cytomegalovirus antibodies in the blood.
"It's definitely indicating that the immune system is compromised in some way," Jaremka told LiveScience. "It's unable at that time, for whatever reason, in this case loneliness perhaps, to keep that virus under control."
In a second study, the researchers measured inflammatory proteins called cytokines in 144 of the breast cancer survivors as well as the healthy though overweight middle-age adults. The participants gave a blood sample and then were subjected to the stress of having to give an impromptu speech and do mental math in front of a panel of people in white lab coats. To up the anxiety, the panel gave the participants no encouragement.
"No matter what they say and no matter what jokes they crack, no matter how much they smile, the panel just stares at them, basically," Jaremka said.
The researchers also triggered the participants' immune systems with a harmless compound from bacterial cells before taking a second blood sample.
The lonelier the person, the higher the levels of cytokine interleukin-6 after the stressful speech. This cytokine is important for healing in the short term, because it promotes inflammation ? think of the redness and swelling that accompanies a healing cut. However, when cytokines react too readily, inflammation can be harmful. Chronic inflammation has been linked to coronary heart disease, arthritis, Type 2 diabetes and even suicide attempts.
Loneliness and stress
Researchers have long known that chronic stress has a similar inflammation-producing, immune-disrupting effect on the body. Loneliness, in fact, may act as its own source of chronic stress, Jaremka said. Earlier research shows that close and connected relationships are necessary to help people thrive; without them, people are under a constant stressful cloud of missing this crucial social connection.
People who are lonely also tend to react more strongly to negative events in their lives, Jaremka said. If lonely people experience daily life as more stressful, it may cause chronic stress, which in turn disrupts the immune system.
Solving the problem is harder than telling lonely hearts to go out and seek more close friends, Jaremka said ? it's easier said than done. But if researchers can figure out how loneliness results in poor health, they may be able to come up with treatments that disrupt the links, in essence making loneliness less of a burden, at least physically.?
The study shouldn't be seen as all doom and gloom, Jaremka said. The flip side is that those who feel close to friends and family can know that their health is likely getting a boost from those relationships.
"People who feel socially connected are experiencing positive outcomes," she said.
Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook & Google+.
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Spiritual Intelligence cannot be defined solely on the premise that closeness with a monotheistic deity, such as God/Allah/Krshna, would warrant its exaltation. Bearing in mind that the human spirit is autonomous in its nature, defining Spiritual intelligence using theistic approaches is inappropriate; and in this regard, The Philosophy of Intellectualism should serve as a launching platform to explore spiritual intelligence.
The debate shall proceed as follows:
(Round One) Both Opponents have the opportunity to introduce their stance on the topic, beginning with "Con." No rebuttals are permitted in the first round.
(Round Two) Opponents may now voice their opinions regarding the topic. Con will begin his expression, using logic, reasoning, evidence and supporting Facts. Pro will proffer his rebuttal, on the same premises, and eight rebuttals are permitted in this round.
(Round 3) Final points of argument will be expressed in this round. After six rebuttals, each opponent is allowed to summarise their opinion in one essay.
Grounds for disqualification:
Vulgarity. Irrationality. Illogical reasoning. Disrespect of opponent.
Hello, thank-you for proposing this debate, it is a very interesting concept, in my opinion, and I'd be more than happy to provide opposition to your reasoning.
I personally believe that intellectualism is not an appropriate philosophical method for understanding spirituality or the Divine. Intellectualism has one thing in common with spirituality, however, and that is that they are both entirely subjective.
An objective truth cannot be reached by subjective truths or experiences. I hold the grounds that an objective truth cannot be known by human beings because we are subjective by nature, and it is impossible to make a statement or propose a theory without having some attachment of our bias involved. Therefore, I am arguing that intellectualism should not be used as a platform to explore spiritual intelligence.
I look forward to this debate. I turn the argument over to Pro.
By Aaron Couch and Andy Lewis , The Hollywood Reporter
Here?s a sticker price that could make even billionaire Bruce Wayne think twice before buying.?
The first of six Batmobiles produced for the 1960s ABC "Batman" TV series has sold at auction for $4.6 million. The crowd at the Barrett-Jackson house in Scottsdale, Ariz., whooped and cheered, and the auctioneer hummed the theme to the classic show.
Barrett-Jackson / AP file
This 2012 file photo shows the the original Batmobile in Los Angeles. Batman's original ride, from the 1960s TV series, sold for $4.6 million at auction.
The car, designed by legendary Hollywood car customizer George Barris, sold for the upper end of its early estimates.
Photos from THR: Batman through the years
Barris constructed the Batmobile in just 15 days in 1966. It was built for $15,000 over a 1955 Ford Futura concept model (purchased for $1). It?s been in Barris? personal collection ever since, and contains Batman gadgets such as a Batphone and an oil squirter fashioned from lawn sprinklers. As an added bonus, it's road legal, should its new owner care to take it for a spin.
The winning bidder was Rick Champagne, a businessman and car collector from the Phoenix area who has been attending Barrett-Jackson auctions for 15 years.
Photos from THR: Batman's greatest onscreen villains
Champagne said he grew up watching the TV show and came to the auction determined to walk away with the car. Asked where he planned to store the car, the new owner joked, "in the living room. I'm going to tear down a wall and put in my living room."
The Batmobile ties the record for the highest price fetched for a movie car at auction. In 2010, the Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery in "Goldfinger"?set the record when it went $4.6 million. In 2011, the?"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" car auctioned for $805,000, shy of the $1 million it was expected to fetch.
LUXOR, Egypt (AP) ? Police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Muslim protesters trying to storm a Coptic Christian church in southern Egypt Friday, after a word spread that a Christian man sexually assaulted a 6-year-old girl.
Witnesses in Marashda village in the province of Qena said several shops and cars owned by Coptic Christians were torched overnight after Muslim villagers accused a merchant in his sixties of molesting the young girl.
Violence flared again after Friday prayers, with witnesses saying protesters surrounded the village's central Abu Fam church, hurling stones and trying to storm it. Some climbed the church walls and destroyed a cross atop it. Police fired tear gas to scatter the crowd.
Qena security director Gen. Salah Mazid was quoted in state media as saying that police are investigating the accusations against the merchant, who turned himself in at a nearby police station.
A resident who lives next to the church blamed extremist Islamists for spreading news of the accusations in order to enrage crowds and incite an attack on the church.
"They are terrorizing us. They try to find a reason to attack us," said the resident, asking not to be named for fear of retribution. "In no time, this village turned to a ball of fire."
"We know those behind it," he said, referring to the Group for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, an organization which he said over the past two months has been visiting cafes and ordering people not to smoke. They force Muslims to go to the mosque to pray, he added.
The villages of Qena are among the poorest in Egypt. They also have a significant Coptic Christian population.
Flare-ups of violence between Egypt's Christians and Muslims have become more frequent in the two years President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising, an event that also left the country's security weakened.
"We want law enforcement, not mass punishment of all Christians for an individual mistake," said Coptic activist Hana Hasseb. "What is the guilt of all of those whose stores were set ablaze?"
Egyptian Christians fear that the power vacuum that has followed Mubarak's overthrow is giving ultraconservatives and extremist Muslims a freer hand to attack churches and Coptic property.
Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the country's 85 million people, have long complained of discrimination by the state. They are the largest Christian community in the Middle East.
Violence is usually sparked by church construction, land disputes or Muslim-Christian love affairs.
Meanwhile, in the capital, thousands of Egyptian protesters marched to demand justice for victims of a violent rampage at a soccer game that left 74 people dead last year.
The rampage last February in the Mediterranean city of Port Said was one of the world's bloodiest cases of soccer-related violence, sparking a wave of protests against Egypt's security forces by zealous fans known as Ultras. They blame security in part for the deaths, saying they allowed one group of fans to attack another.
Ultras played a major role in protests against the former regime and subsequent military rulers, and have long clashed with police. Friday's protest comes a week before a court is set to rule on the melee. Senior police officers are among the 73 on trial.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks about the situation in Algeria, at the start of his remarks at King's College in London on Friday, Jan. 18, 2013, saying there will be "no quarter for terrorists in North Africa." (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks about the situation in Algeria, at the start of his remarks at King's College in London on Friday, Jan. 18, 2013, saying there will be "no quarter for terrorists in North Africa." (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
LONDON (AP) ? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the U.S. is working with the British and Algerian governments to assess what's happening on the ground at a natural gas complex in the Sahara where Islamic militants are holding hostages from at least 10 countries.
The fate of many of the captives remains uncertain.
Speaking Friday at Kings College in London, Panetta said the U.S. is "working around the clock to ensure the safe return of our citizens."
Panetta says the terrorists should be on notice that they'll find no sanctuary in Algeria or North Africa.
He says anyone who looks to attack the U.S. will have "no place to hide."
Panetta met later Friday with British Prime Minister David Cameron. Discussion of Islamic militant operations in Mali and Algeria dominated the unscheduled meeting, senior U.S. defense officials said, though the two also discussed budget issues, Syria, Iran and how they can work with other countries to address counter-terrorism.
Senior U.S. defense officials said the two talked in-depth about Algeria, exchanging views and comparing notes about the situation unfolding there.
The UK should get ready for science-based government, says Michael Brooks
In your wildest dreams, could you imagine a government that builds its policies on carefully gathered scientific evidence? One that publishes the rationale behind its decisions, complete with data, analysis and supporting arguments? Well, dream no longer: that's where the UK is heading.
It has been a long time coming, according to Chris Wormald, permanent secretary at the Department for Education. The civil service is not short of clever people, he points out, and there is no lack of desire to use evidence properly. More than 20 years as a serving politician has convinced him that they are as keen as anyone to create effective policies. "I've never met a minister who didn't want to know what worked," he says. What has changed now is that informed policy-making is at last becoming a practical possibility.
That is largely thanks to the abundance of accessible data and the ease with which new, relevant data can be created. This has supported a desire to move away from hunch-based politics.
Last week, for instance, Rebecca Endean, chief scientific advisor and director of analytical services at the Ministry of Justice, announced that the UK government is planning to open up its data for analysis by academics, accelerating the potential for use in policy planning.
At the same meeting, hosted by innovation-promoting charity NESTA, Wormald announced a plan to create teaching schools based on the model of teaching hospitals. In education, he said, the biggest single problem is a culture that often relies on anecdotal experience rather than systematically reported data from practitioners, as happens in medicine. "We want to move teacher training and research and practice much more onto the health model," Wormald said.
Test, learn, adapt
In June last year the Cabinet Office published a paper called "Test, Learn, Adapt: Developing public policy with randomised controlled trials". One of its authors, the doctor and campaigning health journalist Ben Goldacre, has also been working with the Department of Education to compile a comparison of education and health research practices, to be published in the BMJ.
In education, the evidence-based revolution has already begun. A charity called the Education Endowment Foundation is spending ?1.4 million on a randomised controlled trial of reading programmes in 50 British schools.
There are reservations though. The Ministry of Justice is more circumspect about the role of such trials. Where it has carried out randomised controlled trials, they often failed to change policy, or even irked politicians with conclusions that were obvious. "It is not a panacea," Endean says.
Power of prediction
The biggest need is perhaps foresight. Ministers often need instant answers, and sometimes the data are simply not available. Bang goes any hope of evidence-based policy.
"The timescales of policy-making and evidence-gathering don't match," says Paul Wiles, a criminologist at the University of Oxford and a former chief scientific adviser to the Home Office. Wiles believes that to get round this we need to predict the issues that the government is likely to face over the next decade. "We can probably come up with 90 per cent of them now," he says.
Crucial to the process will be convincing the public about the value and use of data, so that everyone is on-board. This is not going to be easy. When the government launched its Administrative Data Taskforce, which set out to look at data in all departments and opening it up so that it could be used for evidence-based policy, it attracted minimal media interest.
The taskforce's remit includes finding ways to increase trust in data security. Then there is the problem of whether different departments are legally allowed to exchange data. There are other practical issues: many departments format data in incompatible ways. "At the moment it's incredibly difficult," says Jonathan Breckon, manager of the Alliance for Useful Evidence, a collaboration between NESTA and the Economic and Social Research Council.
Hearts, minds and funding
There are economic issues. Most of the predictable areas where data and evidence would be useful span different departments, and funding for research that involves multiple government departments is near-impossible to come by at the moment. "Only counter-terrorism gets cross-departmental funding," Wiles says.
And those at the frontline of all this may also need convincing. Some teachers have already expressed reservations. There may be problems with parents not wanting their children to take part in education trials. For instance, in a control group they will feel left out of innovation; in the experimental arm they will worry that the old ways were better. What's more, teachers may be tempted to halt a trial early if they feel it is not helping students.
Nevertheless, the government is working with NESTA and a range of backers to create a set of institutions dedicated to gathering evidence that will impact on public policy. One example is the Early Intervention Foundation, which helps local government evaluate schemes that help preschool learning amongst children who would otherwise enter standard education at a disadvantage.
There will be announcements of more initiatives in the next few weeks, says Geoff Mulgan, NESTA's chief executive . "We're hoping this year the UK will jump a step ahead of every other country in the world in having a set of institutions dedicated to generating evidence and helping it to be used in day-to-day decisions."
Profile: Michael Brooks is a science writer and New Scientist consultant. His latest book is Free Radicals: The Secret Anarchy of Science, published by Profile/Overlook
Michael Brooks is a consultant for New Scientist
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FEBRUARY 6, 2013: Imam Feisal at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago IL
Imam Feisal to discuss his mission ?to reclaim religious and political discourse from the extremists of all faiths who dominate so many of the headlines.? As he notes, ?the real fault line in global religion and politics is not that between the Muslim world and the West, but rather between political and religious moderates of all faiths and extremists of all faiths? on Wednesday, February 6, 2013, 7:00 p.m. at Fourth Presbyterian Church (126 E. Chestnut Street v Chicago, Illinois 60611). The lecture to be followed by a reception and book-signing.
Click here to download the event flyer.
To add your voice to the voices of moderation, consider supporting our work by donating or joining our mailing list.
Don't Miss Family Tree University's Winter 2013 Virtual Genealogy Conference
Posted by Beth
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PLUS: Your Virtual Conference registration gives you the ability to download a copy of all sessions and watch them whenever and wherever you want.
AND: Get a "swag bag" of freebies from ShopFamilyTree.com
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Perhaps the most noted pet peeve among people actively engaged in a job search is the gatekeeper. A gatekeeper exists to stand between that job seeker and a hiring decision-maker, referral source, or networking contact. Today, the electronic gatekeeper is most prevalent. When trying to connect with those who can help in your job search, you?ll have to move around emails and phone answering devices that are meant to keep you out!? Let?s talk emails in this post.
Email. ?Many folks today have several email addresses and multiple settings for screens and filters. A person whose name appears on an organization?s website, or who appears publicly as an organizational leader or representative, is likely to have a public email with high screens that are seldom checked, and another day-to-day email that is the email connection for that person. Take it to the bank; a public email is inundated with spam; also assume that the holder will probably scan intermittently at most for something significant in the public email. There are some steps to potentially improve the odds of the holder paying attention to yours. Also keep in mind that not all people use email equally; twenty-somethings or college students are more likely to be on Facebook or texting.
Use what direct mail marketers refer to as the three-shot approach.
email.
wait three days and send the same email again.
wait four days and send the same email with a new greeting.
?Ms. Thomas, I?m not sure I have the correct email address for you. What follows is what I?ve been trying to find out the past two weeks. I know your time is valuable, and really? appreciate you taking a minute to respond.?
Then put the original email below that.
Keep this up for each email you can find. You might also guess a contact. Then query the person on LinkedIn. There are other free online searching techniques:
Pipl.com. A meta-search engine specializing in combing dozens of sources of online public information and people. Try your own name to test.
Google. Don?t bypass this! It?s a simple, frequently effective and often overlooked search step. Google the person?s name in a regular search, as well as Google News and Google News Archives.
Online Phonebook. Try Superpages.com or 411.com, which can cover entire states at a time or allow an inclusive one-time search of the entire U.S.
Social Networking. Leave no stone unturned and use social networking sites like Facebook, Cloassmates.com, etc. While their content generally shows up in Google or Pipl searches, you may find something at these sites missed with other search engines.
If you come up empty with free search methods, there are some low-cost online ?people-find? tools:
Jigsaw.com. I?m told this has the largest and most current database of people in the working world. It is likely that someone who works for a company (especially a large company) will be on Jigsaw. You can begin your search for free. There is a small cost for retrieving a full listing.
Intelius. This is a very comprehensive database of people-finding information, with a minimal charge for a complete listing.
NewspaperArchive. A colossal goldmine of newspapers?old and new, this site can be searched for news of people.
ReferencesUSA. This extremely comprehensive database has a gazillion names, but may be best accessed through a library, many of which subscribe to its service and allow patrons to use at no cost. Ask your local media specialist or librarian for more information.
You may roll your eyes thinking of guessing at emails. It can work! Review any emails you can find on an organization?s website. How are they structured? If they go by first initial then last name, your contact will most likely as well. If they are structured first name, underscore, last name, or first initial followed by first few letters of last name, that?s mostly likely how yours will be ordered. ?If you have additional knowledge of the person, your ?guessing? can be even easier. If you know a birth date, full name, spouse?s name, or other information, this can ease your search. Never hack; but do investigate!
Send your email to one person. This is probably your best shot at overcoming filters and screens. One-to-one. Do not copy; absolutely no mailing list. Also keep in mind where you?re emailing from. Use your discretion and just be aware. My research found that colleges and universities are one of the safest domains, ranking very high on security algorithms. If you?ve access to emailing from such a site, go for it!
Stay professional. While it may seem a no-brainer, I still see many email names that don?t represent or brand well. Cupcake24@hotmail.com is not the image you want. Use your name or variations that sound dignified. Use a current provider like Google gmail. Pay attention to your detail, right down to your signature and accompanying information. With every word and character, be cognizant of how you will be perceived by this person you are reaching out to for assistance.
Now, I always advocate following directions if applying for an advertised opening. Jump through the hoops as instructed. But use a bit of marketing to connect with those on the inside who might be able to help you?who will want to help you. And they can do so when there?s an advertised opening; and when it?s about an opportunity that although not posted, does or may exist!
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) -- State government hasn't properly balanced its checkbook for more than six years, and officials in Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's administration are warning lawmakers that New Mexico's cash surplus is $70 million to $460 million less than what has been anticipated.
Officials stress there's no immediate risk of New Mexico bouncing checks and being unable to pay its bills because of problems in the state's computerized accounting system.
However, New Mexico will have a smaller financial cushion in case of unexpected budget problems, and there's less surplus cash to spend on one-time projects such as capital improvements that the Legislature will consider during its 60-day session that started this week.
It's also likely the accounting discrepancies caused New Mexico to spend state tax dollars for some projects and programs in the past rather than tapping federal money that should have been used, according to state Controller Ricky Bejarano.
"When you don't reconcile your cash, you have no idea: 'Is money missing? Did money not get deposited?' It's high risk," Bejarano said in an interview Wednesday.
As it stands now, the administration has adjusted the state's year-end reserves to reflect a potential liability of at least $70 million for cash transactions that haven't been reconciled. That left New Mexico with reserves of about $713 million ? the equivalent of 13 percent of state spending ? at the end of the last budget year. Officials say it's fiscally prudent to keep balances of at least 10 percent.
However, the reserves could shrink even more if the state must write off larger amounts when a reconciliation of accounts is finally completed.
The exact amount of the cash discrepancy remains unclear, because it could take a year before historical transactions ? deposits and payments ? are analyzed, according to Bejarano. In just the past two years, for example, there have been about 1.4 million cash transactions.
The state has hired an outside firm to help sort out the accounting mess.
At issue is faulty implementation of a $30 million computer system in 2006, during former Gov. Bill Richardson's administration. From the outset, there were problems converting to the new centralized system from separate accounting operations used by agencies, including the treasurer's office.
But the system known as SHARE, or the Statewide Human Resources, Accounting and Management Reporting System, didn't match fund balances shown by state agencies with cash in the state's bank accounts.
"A government does two things essentially. It takes in money and it spends money. If you can't nail down your cash right from the get-go ? dead on arrival," Bejarano said.
In testifying to a House committee Tuesday, Finance and Administration Secretary Tom Clifford likened the problem to an individual with a checkbook register balance that's higher than the person's bank account. He said overall cash balances shown by government agencies are higher than what's reflected in bank accounts managed by the treasurer's office.
New Mexico's finances are far more complicated than those of an individual. The state will spend about $15 billion this year. It's a mix of state and federal revenue. There are more than 100 agencies in the accounting computer system and some receive different revenue that must be tracked separately. The state sometimes pays for expenses upfront and is later reimbursed with federal dollars.
State Treasurer James Lewis told lawmakers that officials are "moving down the right path" to correct the problem and ensure there's a proper cash reconciliation going forward.
But lawmakers remain upset the accounting troubles went unresolved for so many years.
"This is a very, very serious problem," said Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela, a Santa Fe Democrat.
___
Follow Barry Massey on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bmasseyAP .
