Monday, 31 December 2012

Zodiac Serpentine Sneakers - The AF1 Year of the Snake are an Ancient Chinese-Inspired Kicks (TrendHunter.com)

The Chinese zodiac designated 2013 as the year of the snake therefore, Zhijun Wang created the AF1 Year of the Snake custom kicks as a commemorative piece.

Wang describes that his design is inspired by the ?Chinese Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Calendar? and the ?Gui Si.? According to Wang ?Gui belongs to water in The Five Elements.? Therefore, the sneakers incorporate a laser printed design that depict flowing waves. The lines of the water are etched in the sneakers like a curving crawling serpent.?

The AF1 Year of the Snake shoes also include the Chinese characters for snake on the outside of the heel. There are also Chinese characters for two and zero and then for one and three on either side of the tongue.

Source: http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/af1-year-of-the-snake

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Democrats, Republicans apart on key "fiscal cliff" issues: Reid

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The FBI is still searching for one of two convicted bank robbers who escaped last week from a high-rise jail in downtown Chicago by lowering themselves on a makeshift rope nearly 20 stories to the street. Kenneth Conley, 38, and his cellmate, Joseph Jose Banks, 37, escaped from the Metropolitan Correctional Center early on the morning of December 18. The pair apparently broke a window in the cell they shared, squeezed through the opening and lowered themselves to the street. They then hailed a cab to make their getaway. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/democrats-republicans-apart-key-fiscal-cliff-issues-reid-192740673--business.html

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Sunday, 30 December 2012

For Recreation, Sports activities Collecting Bobby Hebert Jersey is a ...

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Source: http://www.standrewsharbourtrust.org/?p=153223

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Saturday, 29 December 2012

Fewer US banks failing as industry strengthens

WASHINGTON (AP) ? U.S. banks are ending the year with their best profits since 2006 and fewer failures than at any time since the financial crisis struck in 2008. They're helping support an economy slowed by high unemployment, flat pay, sluggish manufacturing and anxious consumers.

As the economy heals from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, more people and businesses are taking out ? and repaying ? loans.

And for the first time since 2009, banks' earnings growth is being driven by higher revenue ? a healthy trend. Banks had previously managed to boost earnings by putting aside less money for possible losses.

Signs of the industry's gains:

? Banks are earning more. In the July-September quarter, the industry's earnings reached $37.6 billion, up from $35.3 billion a year earlier. It was the best showing since the July-September quarter of 2006, long before the financial meltdown. By contrast, at the depth of the Great Recession in the last quarter of 2008, the industry lost $32 billion.

? Banks are lending a bit more freely. The value of loans to consumers rose 3.2 percent in the 12 months that ended Sept. 30 compared with the previous 12 months, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. More lending fuels more consumer spending, which drives about 70 percent of economic activity. At the same time, overall lending remains well below levels considered healthy over the long run.

? Fewer banks are considered at risk of failure. In July through September, the number of banks on the FDIC's confidential "problem list" fell for a sixth straight quarter. These banks numbered 694 as of Sept. 30 ? about 9.6 percent of all federally insured banks. At its peak in the first quarter of 2011, the number of troubled banks was 888, or 11.7 percent of all federally insured institutions.

? Bank failures have declined. In 2009, 140 failed. In 2010, more banks failed ? 157 ? than in any year since the savings and loan crisis of the early 1990s. In 2011, regulators closed 92. This year, the number of failures has trickled to 51. That's still more than normal. In a strong economy, an average of only four or five banks close annually. But the sharply reduced pace of closings shows sustained improvement.

? Less threat of loan losses. The money banks had to set aside for possible losses fell 15 percent in the July-September quarter from a year earlier. Loan portfolios have strengthened as more customers have repaid on time. Losses have fallen for nine straight quarters. And the proportion of loans with payments overdue by 90 days or more has dropped for 10 straight quarters.

"We are definitely on the back end of this crisis," says Josh Siegel, chief executive of Stonecastle Partners, a firm that invests in banks.

The biggest boost for banks is the gradually strengthening economy. Employers added nearly 1.7 million jobs in the first 11 months of 2012. More people employed mean more people and businesses can repay loans. And after better-than-expected economic news last week, some analysts said the economy could end up growing faster in the October-December quarter ? and next year ? than previously thought.

That assumes Congress and the White House can strike a budget deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" ? the steep tax increases and spending cuts that are set to kick in Jan. 1. If they don't reach a deal, those measures would significantly weaken the economy.

Banks have also been bolstered by higher capital, their cushion against risk. Banks boosted capital 3.8 percent in the third quarter, FDIC data show. And the industry's average ratio of capital to assets reached a record high.

On the other hand, many banks are no longer benefiting from record-low interest rates. They still pay almost nothing to depositors and on money borrowed from other banks or the government. But steadily lower rates on loans other than credit cards have reduced how much banks earn.

"This interest-rate pressure on the banks becomes very difficult to overcome," says Fred Cannon, chief equity strategist and director of research at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. "It's a big headwind for banks."

Many banks have reported lower net interest margin ? the difference between the income they receive from loans and the interest they pay depositors and other lenders. It's a key measure of a bank's profitability.

The industry's average net interest margin fell to 3.43 percent in the third quarter from 3.56 percent a year earlier.

Some big banks have also cautioned that their earnings are up mainly because they've shed jobs, bad loans and weak businesses rather than because of an improved economy. They include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. All managed to recover from the financial crisis in part because of federal aid.

Small and midsize banks have taken longer to rebound. They held risky commercial real estate loans used to develop malls, industrial sites and apartment buildings. Many such loans weren't repaid. But as the economy has strengthened, fewer such loans have soured, and many small and medium-size banks have recovered.

For example, at M&T Bank Corp., a regional institution based in Buffalo, N.Y., net income soared in the third quarter. M&T attributed its gain to reduced loan losses and higher mortgage revenue. The bank repaid the remaining $381 million of the $600 million in bailout aid it had received during the crisis.

Yet analysts say regional banks are still feeling squeezed from reduced borrowing by companies.

Many banks complain they've been hampered by new regulations, especially stricter requirements for the capital they must hold to protect against unexpected losses. Rules enacted after the crisis have compelled some banks to move more capital into reserves and reduce the amount available to lend.

Some of the biggest banks say their customers have held off on borrowing in part because of slower global growth and concern about the "fiscal cliff."

To avoid a collapse, some weak banks have sought mergers with larger institutions. In the July-September quarter, 49 banks were absorbed in mergers, up from 45 in the April-June quarter, FDIC data show.

The torrent of failures after the crisis and the increased mergers have thinned the number of banks to 7,181 with about 2.1 million employees as of Sept. 30. That compares with 8,451 banks with 2.2 million employees in the second quarter of 2008.

"The pressure is on to consolidate the industry," says Siegel of Stonecastle Partners. He thinks more than 1,000 banks will be absorbed within five to seven years.

Consider BancTrust Financial Group Inc., based in Mobile, Ala., with around $1.3 billion in assets. Burdened with bad loans tied to Florida real estate, the bank couldn't repay $50 million in federal bailout aid it received during the meltdown, and it struggled to stay profitable. So it decided to put itself up for sale.

It's now being acquired by Trustmark Corp in Mississippi, which has about $9.9 billion in assets. The acquisition will help Trustmark expand in Florida and Alabama.

"Some of the smaller (banks) are just throwing up the flag," says Cornelius Hurley, a former counsel to the Federal Reserve Board who heads Boston University's Center for Finance, Law and Policy.

___

To see a list of Bank failures in 2012, view this interactive: http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/banks/

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fewer-us-banks-failing-industry-strengthens-135411347--finance.html

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LG wants the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 terminated, says it breaches viewing angle patents

LG wants the Samsung Galaxy Note 101 terminated, says it breaches viewing angle patents

When Samsung came swinging with allegations of OLED patent infringements and corporate theft, LG promptly counter-sued. Samsung then escalated by broadening its list of patent complaints, forcing LG to do what any dignified electronics brawler would have to do: file for a retaliatory injunction against the "sale, manufacture and importation" of one of Sammy's products. The device at stake today is the unsuspecting Galaxy Note 10.1, which has no direct rival among LG's current product range but which is claimed to have breached three LG display patents concerning the improvement of viewing angles. For its part, Samsung is dismissing the attack as "unjustified" and doesn't seem overly concerned by LG's demand for damages -- nothing less than a billion won ($1 million) for each day the Note 10.1 continues to be made and sold.

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Record set in solar cell efficiency - with the light of a thousand suns

13 hrs.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy have created a solar cell that can convert 44 percent of sunlight hitting it into electrical energy, setting a new record for solar cell?efficiency. But it was only achieved by multiplying the power of the sun by nearly 1,000.

The ongoing research is being done at the III-V Multijunction Photovoltaics group at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where the previous record of 43.5 percent was set. So while it's not a huge leap in efficiency, it's still a record.

The researchers achieve these high efficiencies by stacking multiple "junctions" into a single solar cell, each of which absorbs light at a slightly different wavelength. The "III-IV" in the name refers to the fact that the elements used?come from the third and fifth columns of the periodic table.

A new material with many desirable properties was?discovered by accident (gallium arsenide diluted with nitrogen), but proved extremely difficult to manufacture. Researchers needed to use a technique called molecular beam epitaxy to minimize impurities in the material ? but no one in the world could do it.

Solar Junction, a company started by researchers from Stanford University, decided to take up the challenge. With a few million dollars in funding, Solar Junction and NREL managed to make the new process work. The result was the "SJ3" cell, which has been breaking records ever since.

The catch is that it's not like a traditional solar cell, which simply receives sunlight on its surface and creates a modest charge from the photons. The SJ3 cell requires the power of the sun to be multiplied by special lenses, creating a beam of light hundreds of times brighter than ordinary sunlight.

In this kind of system, the power is measured in "suns": A beam 10?times brighter than the sun would be described simply as 10 suns. And?the previous efficiency record was set by a lens system that created 415 suns. The latest record was set using 947 suns.

Naturally, one may wonder if such a design is practical ? after all, how often does the sun shine a thousand times brighter than normal? But the lenses actually take normal sunlight that might have hit in a diffuse way on normal cells and concentrate it onto the more efficient SJ3 cell. So in the end it's just using the same area of sunlight in a different way.

The NREL emphasized in the report describing the record that the SJ3 design can easily replace solar systems used in satellites and other space-bound machines ? but it's lighter and more efficient, reducing rocket load and allowing for more onboard electronics.

What's next? Tweaking the design to include a germanium layer used previously could raise efficiency as high as 50 percent ? definitely?a major landmark in solar power, if researchers?can achieve it, although applying it to everyday power needs is another project?altogether.

Information on other research being done by the NREL, including other forms of solar cells and systems, can be found at their webpage. More technical details about the SJ3 cell are in?the NREL article describing the record.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBCNews Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/record-set-solar-cell-efficiency-light-thousand-suns-1C7753189

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US household debt burden hits 29-year low

5 hrs.

WASHINGTON --?A measure of the burden of U.S. household debt tumbled in the third quarter to its lowest level in 29 years, which should help free up money for consumer spending and support the economy.

The household debt service ratio -- an estimate of the share of debt payments to disposable personal income -- fell to 10.61 percent from 10.72 percent in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday.

It was the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 1983.

"Consumers have more money in their pockets to spend, which should be positive for the economic recovery going forward," said Gennadiy Goldberg, an economist at TD Securities in New York.

U.S. households built up a massive debt load as the housing bubble expanded and efforts to pay down those debts have been a restraint on spending and the economy's recovery.

The debt service ratio, which takes into account outstanding mortgage and consumer debt, peaked in the third quarter of 2007, shortly before the economy tipped into recession.

The Fed has sought to help consumers dig out by keeping interest rates near record lows. It has held overnight rates near zero since December 2008 and has bought around $2.4 trillion in bonds to further lower borrowing costs.

Even though households are now in better shape, analysts caution that consumer spending could stall if Congress fails to prevent higher taxes from taking hold next year.

An even broader measure of financial obligations that includes automobile lease payments and the cost of renting a home also fell in the third quarter, dropping to 15.74 percent of disposable income -- the lowest level since the first quarter of 1984.

That drop reflected an easier burden for homeowners as mortgage debt payments dropped to 8.90 percent of disposable income in the third quarter, the lowest in 11 years.

Both the overall homeowners measure and separate mortgage gauge peaked in the third quarter of 2007.

"You have a lot of people refinancing their mortgages at lower rates," Goldberg said.

In contrast, the relative cost of rent rose to its highest level since the first quarter of 2010.

The weak housing market has led Americans away from home ownership and toward renting, pushing up rents. At the same time, a modest economic recovery has encouraged some people who had moved in with family and friends to seek their own lodgings, further strengthening the rental market.

While a lightening of household debt burden puts the recovery on firmer ground, it also highlights a hesitance to take on new debt, which could be an obstacle to spending.

"We all (would) like to see better growth in credit, banks being more willing to make more loans to consumers, demand for loans rising," said Omair Sharif, an economist at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut.

"That would push the ratio higher, but that's not necessarily a such a bad thing, especially if rates are so low and you are able to service that debt."

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/us-household-debt-burden-hits-29-year-low-1C7753188

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Friday, 28 December 2012

3 Tips To Improve Your Network Marketing Recruiting Game |

Thursday, December 27th, 2012 at 5:40 AM ?

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?

?Increase the success of your network marketing recruiting by learning how to share your business opportunity with total strangers.

?

As online marketers we get comfortable hiding behind a computer, prospecting behind the cloak of Facebook, Twitter and our Blogs. But, to become a true recruiting machine online there will be times where you will have to get out from behind the curtain, step outside of your comfort zone, and actually talk to prospects on the phone that you do not know.

Shocking but true?

As you are building a network marketing business (online or offline) you want to have a team that is willing to engage and talk to people instead of pushing links to presentation overviews.

People join opportunities not because of the products or compensation plans, but because they truly feel the person they collaborate with in business can help them achieve their goals.

Here are 3 of the most important steps to?Network Marketing Recruiting: prospecting a total stranger

Step 1 ? Pique there interest. People in the industry are pitched all the time, sometimes to the point where they miss a great opportunity because they are so quick to dismiss it as ?just another person pitching me their business?.

Asking people questions, following up with light chitchat, and leading into piquing a prospects interest is an art ? something that most people don?t have the patience or tact to use. So here is an example of how to pique a prospects curiosity and open the door to see if they are even open to reviewing a new stream of income:

Script -

?Just throwing this out there, but would you be open to doing something on the side that doesn?t interfere with what you are currently doing?

I?m just curious to see if you keep your options open when it comes to making money.?

If the prospect says yes, and is open to the idea, you can reply with a clarifying question such as this one:

?So, just out of curiosity, why would you be open to making extra income from home??

This is a great question because number one you haven?t pitched anything to them, and you now know WHY they may be interested in building their own home based business.

Lastly, instead of sharing all the great things your opportunity can do for them, let your tools and resources do the work. Take a step back and open up the door for the tools to qualify your prospect. This will do 2 things ?

1) allow you to talk to more people, and

2) it will allow you to determine just how serious someone is about your type of business.

Remember, not everyone is going to be a good fit for your company ? so before you spend your precious time telling your prospect everything there is to know about how wonderful your company and products are ? let them tell you they are interested first. This step is crucial and will save you a lot of heartache.

So here is how you can direct someone to your tools:

?That sounds great, well hey, I am heading into a conference call right now, but let me get your number and email address, and I will send you some information.?

Once you grab their contact information ? this is the time to end the conversation and ask them, ?When would be a good time to get back with you??

If you follow these simple steps, you will be able to prospect total strangers with ease. Prospecting, while it may seem scary, is simply about knowing what to say. Use the resources you have available to reach the people you bring into your business and these same resources will weed out the unqualified candidates without wasting their time or yours.

Network Marketing Recruiting is about your ability to build rapport while prospecting total strangers

The game changer for most is to get a cold market prospect to their warm market with rapport. Now this is the art of network marketing recruiting. Your ability to be outgoing and genuine is the key behind these tips!

Video blogging or vlogging makes it quick and easy for you to build rapport and offer value to your cold to warm market prospects.

Simple action steps for to take! Nework Marketing recruiting 3 Tips To Improve Your Network Marketing Recruiting Game

  1. Create an online sales funnel
  2. During upsell offer as a bonus- a free coaching call
  3. coaching call- build rapport
  4. from the rapport you build guide them to the tools and resources of your network marketing program online.

Now these action steps are easy, yet require you to learn some skills for online marketing. Allow me to introduce you to the program that helped cut the learning curve in half and helped me generate over 300 leads on a part time bases for my Network Marketing recruiting?efforts.

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To our Massive Success,

Mike Penny

P.S. Be sure and leave your comments and feedback below!

Enjoy 3 Tips To Improve Your Network Marketing Recruiting Game

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Source: http://michael-penny.com/3-tips-to-improve-your-network-marketing-recruiting-game/

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Rider Strong: Engaged to Alexandra Barreto!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/rider-strong-engaged-to-alexandra-barreto/

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Thursday, 27 December 2012

Two new species of orchid found in Cuba

Dec. 27, 2012 ? Researchers from the University of Vigo, in collaboration with the Environmental Services Unit at the Alejandro de Humboldt National Park (Cuba), have discovered two new species of Caribbean orchid.

The Caribbean islands have been natural laboratories and a source of inspiration for biologists for over two centuries now. Suffice to say that the studies by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the tropical archipelagos contributed to the emergence of the theory of evolution.

In this case, a Spanish research team from the University of Vigo has discovered two new species belonging to the orchid family (Orchidaceae: Laeliinae) in Cuba. They have been called Tetramicra riparia and Encyclia navarroi. The two plants were found in the eastern and western zones of the island respectively.

"The first species described, Encyclia navarroi, is an orchid with considerably large flowers. A year later we discovered the Tetramicra riparia species, with very small flowers. The latter is so named because it grows on the banks of stony streams in the mountains of Baracoa, one of the rainiest and least explored areas in Cuba," as ?ngel Vale explained. Vale is a researcher at the University of Vigo and co-author of the studies published by the journals Systematic Botany and Annales Botanici Fennici.

Darwin was very much drawn to the orchid family, and used it to propose certain hypotheses about the importance of the relations between flowers and pollinators for biodiversity. Between 25,000 and 30,000 species of these plants are estimated to exist. However, the mechanisms that explain this amazing variety are only now being discovered.

"We could highlight their extraordinary capacity to interact with different types of pollinators. Contrary to most plants, many orchids do not produce nectar or other substances to compensate insects and birds that visit them," explained the researcher.

Orchids' deceit pollination

Despite this, floral visitors are attracted by orchids' colours and shapes, which enables the plants' sexual reproduction. This is known as deceit pollination.

The University of Vigo Plant Ecology and Evolution research team, which Vale belongs to, is studying the ecological and evolutionary consequences of deceit pollination in orchids that are endemic to the Greater Antilles: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. One of the mysteries they aim to solve is if the deceit orchids have a greater taxonomic and genetic diversity than other nectar-producing species.

Vale and his team are drawing up studies in the Antilles not only to reconstruct the evolutionary history of orchids but also to analyse the effect of pollinators in the reproduction of plants, and how this interaction has modelled the colourful aspect of these Caribbean flowers.

"Despite the fact that T. riparia's flowers have a complete central petal, just like other species that make up a subgenre endemic to Cuba; the way they grow is very similar to a more widespread group that seems to have diverged on the neighbouring island of Hispaniola. Our work provides molecular evidence of the greater relationship of T. riparia with these species on the neighbouring island. This is in consonance with the geological history of the Caribbean islands, according to which the eastern end of Cuba was in close contact with that land," pointed out Vale.

Scientists are currently trying to estimate how many millions of years ago this and other Caribbean species saw the light of day. This will enable them to test whether the ancestor of this species was already in Cuba, or if on the contrary, it evolved from an ancestor that colonised the island from neighbouring archipelagos.

"Just as with most orchids, which offer no compensation to their pollinators, Encyclia navarroi and Tetramicra riparia receive very few visits from bees. This is one of the basic reasons that guarantee the survival of these plants, and also help protect the populations of their pollinators," explained the scientist.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Plataforma SINC, via AlphaGalileo.

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Journal References:

  1. ?ngel Vale, Danny Rojas, Yosvanis Acanda, Natividad L. S?nchez-Abad, Luis Navarro. A New Species of Tetramicra (Orchidaceae: Laeliinae) from Baracoa, Eastern Cuba. Systematic Botany, 2012; 37 (4): 883 DOI: 10.1600/036364412X656491
  2. ?ngel Vale, Danny Rojas. Encyclia navarroi (Orchidaceae), a new species from Cuba. Annales Botanici Fennici, 49: 83 - 86, 26; 2012

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/UIue5KsHzb4/121227080048.htm

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Why Is Cashmere More Expensive Than Other Kinds of Wool?

Cashmere Goat at Wales Cashmere comes from the soft undercoat of goats bred to produce the wool

Photograph by iStockphoto.

Winter is upon us, which means that cashmere sweaters?a staple of holiday gift-giving and cold-weather fashion?have returned to store shelves. Those planning to purchase a garment boasting the label ?100 percent cashmere? can expect a hefty price tag; at Banana Republic, one cardigan is priced at $198; elsewhere, you can find cashmere sweaters for upward of $500. Why is cashmere so much more expensive than other kinds of wool?

Its costly production process and scarcity. Cashmere comes from the soft undercoat of goats bred to produce the wool. It takes more than two goats to make a single two-ply sweater. The fibers of the warming undercoat must be separated from a coarser protective top coat during the spring molting season, a labor-intensive process that typically involves combing and sorting the hair by hand. These factors contribute to the relatively low global production rate of cashmere?approximately 30,000 pounds a year compared to about 3 billion pounds of sheep?s wool.*

The name cashmere comes from an old spelling of Kashmir, the region where its production and trade originated, possibly as early as the Mongolian empire in the 13th century. According to historian Michelle Maskiell, author of ?Consuming Kashmir: Shawls and Empires, 1500-2000,? from the 1500s to as late as the early 1900s, Iranian and Indian emperors used Kashmiri shawls in political and religious settings; in the Mughal Indian courts, for example, the acceptance of a shawl from a political figure established a hierarchy between the giver and the receiver. In the late 18th century, Scottish textile manufacturer Joseph Dawson discovered shawls made from cashmere in India? and began to import the material to his factory in Scotland. Dawson sold shawls to upper-class British women who prized the fabric for its softness and warmth. (High-quality cashmere can be up to eight times warmer than sheep?s wool despite its light weight.)

But not all cashmere is equally luxe: The texture, color, and length of the fibers all affect manufacturing and pricing. Naturally, whiter cashmere fibers require less dye, diminishing the damage that coloring causes to its natural softness. Quality also depends on the region in which the wool is collected. In Inner Mongolia, for instance, the winters are harsh and the goats have a more meager diet, which produces the finer hair seen in the highest quality garments. Still, even the best raw material can be compromised by a sub-par finishing process. The fineness of a cashmere item comes down to that process, as the spinning and weaving of the fabric affects the look, feel, and touch of the final product.

China is the largest supplier of the raw material needed to make cashmere wool, but Europe has mastered cashmere manufacturing methods, and has cornered the market on premium quality (and costlier) products.

Luxury Explainer thanks Nick Hahn, founder of Hahn International, LTD and Karl Spilhaus, president of the Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute.

Correction, Dec. 27, 2012: This article originally stated that the annual production of sheep?s wool is 3 million pounds. It is 3 billion pounds. (Return to the corrected sentence.)

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=732aef3b0b9dd571c0d3f890b8725b9a

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A MotherHood Experience: Welcome Baby M!

A MotherHood Experience: Welcome Baby M! skip to main | skip to sidebar

Welcome Baby M!



Saturday, December 22nd at 2:52AM we gave a warm (early) welcome to our newest addition to the family, Baby M! She came to us right before Christmas, a tiny gift weighing 5 lbs 8oz. The sweetest bundle of joy, I fell instantly in love with her.?

My mother was there for the birth along with my hubby for support. I needed it as her birth was quite painful but quite fast - she really wanted to come out and meet everyone!?

We ended up getting the OK to go home on the 23rd provided we come back on Christmas Eve for a follow-up and tests etc. So, the morning of the 24th I gathered up Baby M and took her to the hospital. We waited an hour after the tests for results and then it happened.?

Baby M had to be admitted to the NICU for Jaundice as her bilirubin levels were quite high. They had hoped it would only take six hours under the bili-lights and another test so she could be home for Christmas morning but this wasn't the case.?

Our Baby M stayed the night Christmas Eve at the NICU and Christmas day was spent on pins and needles waiting for phone calls - good or bad. During the gift opening at home with the older two kids we got both bad and good news. Her jaundice was clear but another problem arose - she couldn't hold any formula down which was causing a concern to the nurses and doctor.?

With her blood test clear the hospital called me to get some insight about my previous?preemie? our son, who had?re-flux??Re-flux?did not allow him to properly digest food and we had to sleep him elevated and burp frequently with feedings to avoid him spitting up his meal. Around?6 pm?that evening the hospital called with good news, our Baby M was ready to come home, she was diagnosed with?re-flux?and changing her sleep position is what helped.?

My mom was again right there to help bring me back to the hospital but this time to bring our Baby M home! I went from being in a?somber?mood to being overjoyed within a matter of seconds from that fateful phone call. There is no feeling worse than helplessness when it comes to your children and loved ones being sick.?

My one and only Christmas wish this year was to have my three babies under one roof for Christmas. I got my Christmas wish.

It has been an emotional roller coaster the past five days and the ride is just beginning with this little one as we embark on a new journey as a new family of five. Every day is a new blessing with this baby.

Welcome to the family Baby M, Welcome Home!?



Disclosure: Personal post by AME. All comments, opinions and images are those of the author and are copyrighted.?

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Source: http://www.amotherhoodexperience.com/2012/12/welcome-baby-m.html

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Monday, 24 December 2012

Fantasy Romance (Need 1 male/ 1 female)

The rpg has just started but I opened up two slots due to inactivity of a player.

Anyway, here's the intro.

Link: http://www.roleplaygateway.com/roleplay/elemental-connections-saga

Introduction
Notice (Read first): I am in need of at least one Co-GM, so I won?t start the RPG until I at least have one. If you want to be a Co-GM, please request that along with your reservation! I require experienced players with moderating experience or who are willing to take leadership roles. At max I will allow 3 Co-Gms. Ideally I want 2 Co-Gms. Update: I have 2 co-gms now.

Co-Gms: Haas33 and ShadetheWerepire

Time- 2012

Place- Upper State NY, USA

Plot 1- Imagine this situation: what would happen if you learned you were the reincarnation of the very first of your kind? The first male dragon, the first female faerie, the first male vampire, or the first female unicorn? And what would you do if you learned that you had a soul mate and must pair up with the other Firsts to save Earth? Well that is exactly what is happening to 16 college students, all going to the same university. Half of them are continuing students and the other half are news students. The new students are actually the soul mates of the continuing students and when the soul mates start meeting each other, things start to happen and one day all 16 find themselves on a parallel planet of Earth called Remura, which they must save in order to save Earth, but that?s another tale (the 2nd plot in this case).

Information- each char is ? of a soul mate pair. Also 1 pair represents a certain species and element. All 16 have the Yin/Yang symbol somewhere on their body (Soul mates will have their marks on the same spot or body part). It should be noted that I want all characters to be 18 years old at least and will list which certain things to put in each character skelly. I?ll be creating different OOC threads and it?s mandatory to look at them before creating your character. It should also be noted none of the characters will be able to change into their true forms until the 2nd plot starts; however, midway through the 1st plotline, they?ll be able to use magic. Also, all students have some kind of psychic ability already. Read rules for further instructions.

The chars I need at the moment are-

Female Dragon
Male Faerie

Read the Rules for further instructions please.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/9eBCMcuDxZ8/viewtopic.php

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Thursday, 20 December 2012

Japan LDP coalition partner: Will call for BOJ easing in policy agreement

Wednesday, 19 December, 2012

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Source: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/breaking-news/asia/japan-ldp-coalition-partner-will-call-boj-easing-policy-agreement-20121219

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Abused Dog 'Herbie' Gets Doctor Check-Up | FOX8.com ... - WJW

Posted on: 5:31 pm, December 19, 2012, by Bliss Davis, updated on: 05:35pm, December 19, 2012

Herbie walks around at the animal hospital on Monday, December 10, 2012. (Photo Credit: Doc Rick Broz)

Herbie walks around at the animal hospital on Monday, December 10, 2012. (Photo Credit: Doc Rick Broz)

LORAIN, Ohio ? A dog found neglected and abused got a very important health check-up Wednesday.

Herbie, a pit bull mix, is receiving treatment for a cataract. He was found emaciated on a lawn on W. 11th Street in Lorain December 1. Other than that, his keepers at the Lorain Animal Clinic say his health is improving and he enjoys walking around the clinic.

The Humane Society is offering a $5,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest of those responsible for abusing Herbie.

?Justice for Herbie? has also set up a reward for an arrest and conviction.

For more on Herbie, click here

Source: http://fox8.com/2012/12/19/abused-dog-herbie-gets-doctor-check-up/

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Sunday, 16 December 2012

Foreclosure Homes For Sale Pleasanton CA November 2012 ...

Foreclosure Homes For Sale Pleasanton CA November 2012 Update Pleasanton CA Real Estate December 15, 2012 | Homes for Sale in San Ramon, Danville CA, Dublin CA, Pleasanton ?2012 Bay East. ?2012 CCAR. ?2012 EBRD. All rights reserved. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This information is provided from three separate sources: Bay East, CCAR and EBRD. The listings presented here may or may not be listed by the Broker/Agent operating this website. Information last updated on 12/16/12 2:32 AM PST.

This IDX solution is (c) Diverse Solutions 2012.

Source: http://vickiesellshomes.com/foreclosure-homes-for-sale-pleasanton-ca-november-2012-update-pleasanton-ca-real-estate-december-15-2012/

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Saturday, 15 December 2012

Do You Accept the Science of Climate Change? [Excerpt]

Some reject global warming science thanks to a misinformation campaign funded by fossil-fuel companies


a-newer-world-cover Image: Courtesy of William Hewitt

Editor's Note: Excerpted from A Newer World?Politics, Money, Technology, and What's Really Being Done to Solve the Climate Crisis, by William F. Hewitt. With permission from the publisher, University of New Hampshire Press. Copyright ? William F. Hewitt, 2012. (University of New Hampshire Press is an imprint of University Press of New England, www.upne.com.)

A concerted, focused, and well-funded campaign of disinformation has been waged against climate change.

This attempt to discredit the science, to instill a sense of doubt about the conclusiveness and the extent of the agreement within the scientific community, is a story well told by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway in Merchants of Doubt. Oreskes looked at 928 ? 10 percent ? of all the papers published on climate change in peer-reviewed science journals over a ten-year period. She chose the 928 papers at random. Not one disputed the view that manmade greenhouse gases (GHGs) were causing a catastrophic environmental crisis.

Greenpeace, for one, has published well-documented reports on the funding for climate change denial by ExxonMobil and Koch Industries, among others. Journalists James Hoggan and Ross Gelbspan have also done considerable spadework in uncovering the campaigns mounted by fossil fuel special interests to discredit climate science. Hoggan writes, for instance, that "it's a story of deceit, of poisoning public judgment ? of an anti-democratic attack on our political structures and a strategic undermining of the journalistic watchdogs who keep our social institutions honest."

Gelbspan says, "The reason most Americans don't know what is happening to the climate is that the oil and coal industries have spent millions of dollars to persuade them global warming isn't happening." Greenpeace notes that the ongoing "campaigns against climate science continue to receive funding from big oil and energy interests ? not just ExxonMobil, but a raft of other companies and foundations whose profits are driven by the products that cause global warming."

A prominent public relations consultant, Frank Luntz, wrote a memo in 2000 that was widely circulated among conservatives seeking to debunk climate science and blunt any public policy progress on the issue. "Voters believe there's no consensus about global warming within the scientific community. Should the public come to believe that the scientific issues are settled, their views about global warming will change accordingly. Therefore, you need to continue to make the lack of scientific certainty a primary issue in the debate."

The problem lies in the fact that even though the misinformation and doubt promulgated by the denialists flies directly in the face of the unequivocal evidence produced by scientists over more than 30 years ? and wholly accepted within the scientific community ? the media has too often taken the misinformation at its face value. At best, the media has continuously opined that there is a "debate" in scientific circles. At worst, they have broadcast the most outrageous of the claims being touted.

As early as 1994, Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer saw the danger: "What they've done is try to take scientific understanding and put it on the same level with political opinion. After all, if scientific understanding is the same as political opinion, then everybody's opinion is equally valid. There are no facts. And if there are no facts, there is no extra validity to acting on environmental problems than not acting." (As Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said: "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.")

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=65fc9d3898c1c0d19d4ba8004fdffa9d

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MetLife says 2013 profit may be well below Wall Street view

(Reuters) - MetLife Inc , the largest life insurer in the United States, warned that 2013 earnings might be well below what Wall Street expects and said it needed to accelerate its strategic plans amid a persistently low interest-rate environment.

While MetLife has said in past that it was well equipped to handle years of low rates, particularly with a hedging program it put in place, the company acknowledged on Thursday that it was in a "lower-for-longer" scenario.

Because their obligations are usually long-term, life insurers invest the premiums they collect in hopes of generating sufficient return to pay those obligations over time. In a low-rate environment, it becomes much harder for insurers to generate enough return to meet those commitments.

MetLife said operating earnings per share next year would be lower than this year, defying expectations of low single-digit growth. However, it also said the forecast was "broadly consistent" with its long-term outlook of a year ago.

The company made the comments ahead of its investor day on Thursday.

In December 2011, at the company's last investor day, Chief Executive Officer Steve Kandarian said he thought MetLife could increase earnings every year, even in a persistently low-rate environment. The new forecast assumes earnings could be steady, even as per-share results decline.

MetLife expects to earn between $5.5 billion and $5.9 billion, or $4.95 to $5.35 per share, in 2013. Analysts on average had forecast $5.47 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Its operating earnings forecast excludes discontinued operations and net investment gains and losses.

Shares of MetLife were up 0.6 percent at $33.82 in trading before the market opened. At Wednesday's close, the stock had risen about 5 percent since the beginning of the year.

For this year, the insurer expects operating earnings between $5.5 billion and $5.6 billion, or $5.15 to $5.25 per share, compared with the analysts' average estimate of $5.25 per share.

On Wednesday, MetLife won approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for the sale of its deposit-taking business to a unit of General Electric Co's GE Capital.

The long-delayed approval brings MetLife one step closer to shedding its banking business and its bank holding charter, which it wants to do so it can increase its dividend and buy back stock.

(Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Rodney Joyce and Lisa Von Ahn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/metlife-warns-2013-earnings-may-well-below-expected-132415743--sector.html

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Friday, 14 December 2012

Wooden hip be lovely? Replacing damaged bones with implants based on wood

Dec. 13, 2012 ? Could aging and damaged bones be replaced with implants based on wood? That's the question Italian researchers from the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management hope to answer.

Accidental damage, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, bone cancer and other diseases, represent a constant threat in the lives of millions of people and, with the progressive aging of the world population, this threat can only increase. Indeed, more than 2.2 million bone grafting procedures are performed annually around the world and this number is increasing as lifestyles change and people live longer. As such, finding biomimetic materials that are similar to bone in terms of strength, flexibility and density is a pressing concern for medical scientists. The hope is that it might be possible to displace or at least augment metal alloy implants using such materials.

The structure of some woods at the microscopic level is very close to that of natural bone and it shares some of those desirable properties, such as unique biomechanical properties, i.e. high strength and lightness at the same time, due to its hierarchical organization.

Now, Ugo Finardi (Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth-CERIS-CNR, and University of Torino), and Simone Sprio (Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics -- ISTEC-CNR), have carried out a case study on the implications of a new technology recently developed by the Research Group on Biomaterials of ISTEC. In that work, the researchers, Anna Tampieri, Simone Sprio and Andrea Ruffini, took inspiration from nature and used a nanotechnological approach to transform rattan wood into hierarchically organized implants. These biomimetic materials have a strength and flexibility similar to natural bone, something that cannot be achieved with current metal alloy technologies.

The technology described by Finardi and Sprio explains how the hierarchical physical structure of rattan wood might be used as a scaffold for creating a synthetic material to replace damaged and lost bone. An additional benefit is that such a material could be load bearing, a factor that has precluded the use of earlier biomimetic materials.

The processing of the raw wood to remove chemical components incompatible with implants for humans is long and complex but the benefits of producing a material that is so similar to bone and can be shaped to fit perfectly far outweigh such issues, the team suggests. The process involves heat treatment of the wood to remove cellulose, lignin and other plant materials but to leave behind a carbon skeleton that can then be infiltrated and reacted with calcium, oxygen and phosphate to make a porous material, chemically and mechanically mimicking bone. The Research team says that unlike metal alloys, ceramics and even donor bone, their patented material is low cost, has very good biomechanics, is biocompatible and can be integrated into existing bone, thus properly assisting bone regeneration.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Inderscience, via AlphaGalileo.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Ugo Finardi, Simone Sprio. Human bone regeneration from wood: a novel hierarchically organised nanomaterial. International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management, 2012; 13 (4) [link]

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/RPLm5nFZFnc/121213121343.htm

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Bora s Picks (December 14th, 2012)

How fake images change our memory and behaviour by Rose Eveleth:

The year was a memorable one ? looking back at the unforgettable images over the past 12 months, you might think of apocalyptic-looking clouds over Manhattan during Hurricane Sandy, or Mitt Romney?s children mistakenly standing in a line spelling out the word ?MONEY?, or even the winning US Powerball lottery ticket that became the most shared picture on Facebook. There?s only one problem. All these images are fake?

Jaws for Thought: the negative portrayal of sharks in the media by Olivia Emms:

Nothing is more likely to get people thinking about the need to focus on conservation than a cute red panda or a beautiful Iberian lynx. When it comes to general appeal you can?t beat the poster creatures of conservation, but what about a great white shark??

How stores trick our senses to make us buy more (Part 1 of 5: Taste) by Jordan Gaines:

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me??a bunch of crap I really didn?t need. With just sixteen shopping days until Christmas, it?s easy to get roped into buying things we might not actually have on our gift list?.

Once-Extinct Toads Reintroduced to Wild by Douglas Main:

A tiny, vanished toad has returned home. About 2,000 Kihansi spray toads have been reintroduced into the Kihansi Gorge in Tanzania after the animal was declared extinct in the wild. This is the first example of an amphibian species that had been declared extinct in the wild being repatriated to its native habitat, according to a release from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), an environmental group which has led the effort to return the toads to their home?.

Curiosity?s Cousins: Autonomous Polar Robots Explore Earth?s Extremes by Nadia Drake:

Earth?s poles are the wheeling grounds for two polar rovers: solar-powered Cool Robot and its younger cousin Yeti. The pair, designed by a team led by engineer Laura Ray at Dartmouth College, are among the first autonomous polar robots to go to work. Now, knee-high Yeti is on an expedition to Antarctica, peering beneath the ice and snow on Mt. Erebus, in search of steam-carved caves hiding in the volcano?s ice cap?.

Making the most of citizen scientists by Penny Sarchet:

Citizen science?the practice of involving the general public in research projects?is a growing trend in the UK, but what are the practical implications for a researcher hoping to reach out beyond academia? Citizen science is booming like never before, with more than 230 projects counted in a recent report commissioned by the UK Environmental Observation Framework, a partnership of funders including the Natural Environment Research Council. Asking the public to make observations can unlock valuable information, as long as you do it effectively, EOF says?.

Nate Silver & Technology in Mass Communication by Paige Brown:

For one of my final exams this semester, we had to answer the question of whether technology is changing the role and function of media from the perspective of twelve different authors. More than a tedious final exam, I found this topic intriguing and thought-provoking. I?ve shared my final paper below, and would love blog responses from fellow science and mass comm-ers!?

Different escape plan for city birds by Becky Summers:

Rural birds will pick a fight but city birds play dead, a recent study suggests. Researchers studied how birds of the same species, living either in the city or country, responded to being caught by a human. They found that those from urban areas have developed very different escape mechanisms to their country cousins. City birds will play dead when attacked, but rural birds will peck aggressively and attempt to escape?.

A scientific history of shopping by Jacob Ward:

If you joined me on an amble I had through central London last week, you would have seen ? as I did ? some curious pieces of scientific and commercial history. The first stop on my walking tour was Burlington Arcade ? some of you might be familiar with this location, as it?s right round the corner from the Royal Academy on Piccadilly and neighboured by the famous Courtyard Societies ? The Geological Society, Linnean Society, Royal Astronomical Society, Society of Antiquaries, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. In an area so rich with scientific history, it would be easy to overlook some fascinating examples of the unique effects technology have had on the history of the shopping centre ? and Burlington Arcade just happens to be one such example?.

Boredom Didn?t Exist as an Emotion in Darwin?s Days by Rachel Nuwer:

In 1868, Darwin set out to quantify human emotion in a series of novel experiments. He took advantage of a new technology, photography, to capture people whose faces were artificially contracted by harmless electrical probes into expressions resembling those of emotions running from deep sadness to elation. Then, he showed those photos to viewers who interpreted the emotions so Darwin could assess their universality. The Scientist quotes Darwin?s conclusion, published in The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals: ?The young and the old of widely different races, both with man and animals, express the same state of mind by the same movements.??

Seeing double: How do 3D movies really work? by Rachel Feltman:

Movies are great, movies with explosions are better and movie explosions three inches from your face are the best. Three-dimensional technology brings us there, and it seems like lately everything is being released in 3D. What does that mean, beyond higher ticket prices and lots of dorky glasses??

A brush with sound: Dorit Chrysler, virtuoso of the theremin by Arielle Duhaime-Ross and Rachel Feltman:

Dorit Chrysler is an Austrian born, New York based musician who plays the theremin. Difficult to play and almost impossible to master, the theremin is unique in that it generates sound without any direct touch by the musician. When played well, it?s a feat of both physics and art?.

The Evolution of ?Hack? by Hannah Cheng:

To ease freshman into the intensive world of MIT, Stephen C. Ehrmann, class president of 1971, completely rewrote the student handbook, formerly known as The Social Beaver. Originally an impersonal list of local services and conveniences, the revised ?How to Get Around MIT? was a casual, easy-to-read record, ?a survival guide written by students, for students.? ?

Anatomical Mashups by Sabrina Richards:

Anyone with arachnophobia is all too aware of how a spider moves. And we?re all accustomed to the rhythm of human ambulation. So it?s a little disconcerting to see a human pouncing like a spider. The creature?a woman?s body carried by long spidery legs?is part of artist Brian Andrews? animation ?Hominid,? a tale of predator and prey inspired by x-ray films of human and animal skeletons?.

Pretty, sluggish by Eliot Barford:

On land, ?slug? means slow, slimy, green and fond of cabbage, but it doesn?t have to be that way. From today, ?slug? should make you think of beauty, carnivorous appetites and the surprising ingenuity of evolution. My first Seabeast of the Week is the nudibranch, a type of sea slug?.

Feces study gets the poop on gorillas? diet by Tanya Lewis:

Chemical signatures in a gorilla?s feces reveal a lot about short-term changes in its diet, a new study finds?.

Battle Brews Over a Small, Vital Fish by Emma Bryce:

The fate of a nondescript fish called the menhaden will be the focus of debate on Friday when the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission meets in Baltimore to consider whether a catch limit should be imposed to end what many groups see as the outright exploitation of the species. So far, environmental groups, recreational and commercial fishermen, birders and others have generated over 100,000 comments in favor of protecting the fish?.

New Microscopy Technique Gets Close Enough To See The Lengths Of Atomic Bonds by Amber Williams:

For the first time, scientists have used an imaging technique that?s so precise that it?s possible to see the different lengths of individual atomic bonds. Using a method called non-contact atomic force microscopy, IBM researchers scanned a microscopic probe with a tip only an atom wide over a nanographene molecule and measured the forces between the probe and the sample. In this colored image, the bonds with more electrons?which are also shorter?are a brighter green.

Hormone helps keep men faithful by Rachael Stubbins:

The hormone oxytocin plays a significant role in keeping men faithful to their partners, according to a new study. Men in relationships who have been exposed to the hormone are less comfortable in close proximity to other women. This is the first study to look at the role of oxytocin in male-female monogamy among humans and it is also the first to look at how the hormone influences the social distance between men and women?.

Engler?s Ornithopter: Useless Research or an Idea Waiting to Take Flight? by Danya Rumore:

Some inventions take hold and change the world. Many?such as automobiles, computers, and iPhones?fundamentally alter the way we work, play, travel, and even think. Others flop and end up forgotten or, perhaps even more ignominiously, sequestered in the ?Archives of Useless Research,? a collection of books and pamphlets stored in the gold mine of knowledge that is the MIT Archives. ?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=7a344ee1d7797507e81305fc7b4c6ef0

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