HP Equipment Was Almost Sold To Iran - Business Insider

(Reuters) - A major Iranian partner of Huawei Technologies offered to sell at least 1.3 million euros worth of embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran's largest mobile-phone operator in late 2010, documents show.

China's Huawei, the world's second largest telecommunications equipment maker, says neither it nor its partner, a private company registered in Hong Kong, ultimately provided the HP products to the telecom, Mobile Telecommunication Co of Iran, known as MCI. Nevertheless, the incident provides new evidence of how Chinese companies have been willing to help Iran evade trade sanctions.

The proposed deal also raises new questions about Shenzhen-based Huawei, which recently was criticized by the U.S. House Intelligence Committee for failing to "provide evidence to support its claims that it complies with all international sanctions or U.S. export laws."

At least 13 pages of the proposal to MCI, which involved expanding its subscriber billing system, were marked "Huawei confidential" and carried the company's logo, according to documents seen by Reuters. In a statement to Reuters, Huawei called it a "bidding document" and said one of its "major local partners," Skycom Tech Co Ltd, had submitted it to MCI.

The statement went on to say, "Huawei's business in Iran is in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations including those of the U.N., U.S. and E.U. This commitment has been carried out and followed strictly by our company. Further, we also require our partners to follow the same commitment and strictly abide by the relevant laws and regulations."

In October, Reuters reported that another Iranian partner of Huawei last year tried to sell embargoed American antenna equipment to Iran's second largest mobile operator, MTN Irancell, in a deal the buyer ultimately rejected. The U.S. antenna manufacturer, CommScope Inc, has an agreement with Huawei in which the Chinese firm can use its products in Huawei systems, according to a CommScope spokesman. He added that his company strives to comply fully with all U.S. laws and sanctions.

Huawei has a similar partnership with HP. In a statement, the Palo Alto, Calif., company said, "HP has an extensive control system in place to ensure our partners and resellers comply with all legal and regulatory requirements involving system security, global trade and customer privacy and the company's relationship with Huawei is no different."

The statement added, "HP's distribution contract terms prohibit the sale of HP products into Iran and require compliance with U.S. and other applicable export laws."

Washington has banned the export of computer equipment to Iran for years. The sanctions are designed to deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons; Iran says its nuclear program is aimed purely at producing domestic energy.

CLOSE LINKS

Huawei and its Iranian partner, Skycom, appear to have very close ties.

An Iranian job recruitment site called Irantalent.com describes Skycom as "a leading telecom solution provider" and goes on to list details that are identical to the way Huawei describes itself on its U.S. website: employee-owned, selling "solutions" used by "45 of the world's top 50 telecom operators" and serving "one-third of the world's population."

On LinkedIn.com, several telecom workers list having worked at "Huawei-skycom" on their resumes. A former Skycom employee said the two companies shared the same headquarters in China. And an Iranian telecom manager who has visited Skycom's office in Tehran said, "Everybody carries Huawei badges."

A Hong Kong accountant whose firm is listed in Skycom registration records as its corporate secretary said Friday he would check with the company to see if anyone would answer questions. Reuters did not hear back.

The proposal to MCI, dated October 2010, would have doubled the capacity of MCI's billing system for prepaid customers. The proposal noted that MCI was "growing fast" and that its current system, provided by Huawei, had "exceeded the system capacity" to handle 20 million prepaid subscribers.

"In order to keep serving (MCI) with high quality, we provide this expansion proposal to support 40M subscribers," the proposal states on a page marked "HUAWEI Confidential."

The proposal makes clear that HP computer servers were an integral part of the "Hardware Installation Design" of the expansion project. Tables listing equipment for MCI facilities at a new site in Tehran and in the city of Shiraz repeatedly reference HP servers under the heading, "Minicomputer Model."

The documents seen by Reuters also include a portion of an equipment price list that carries Huawei's logo and are stamped "SKYCOM IRAN OFFICE." The pages list prices for HP servers, disk arrays and switches, including those that already are "existing" and others that need to be added. The total proposed project price came to 19.9 million euros, including a "one time special discount."

The proposed new HP equipment, which totaled 1.3 million euros, included one server, 20 disk arrays, 22 switches and software. The existing HP equipment included 22 servers, 8 disk arrays and 13 switches, with accompanying prices.

Asked who had provided the existing HP equipment to MCI, Vic Guyang, a Huawei spokesman, said it wasn't Huawei. "We would like to add that the existing hardware equipment belongs to the customer. Huawei does not have information on, or the authority to check the source of the customer's equipment."

Officials with MCI did not respond to requests for comment.

In a series of stories this year, Reuters has documented how China has become a backdoor for Iran to obtain embargoed U.S. computer equipment. In March and April, Reuters reported that China's ZTE Corp, a Huawei competitor, had sold or agreed to sell millions of dollars worth of U.S. computer gear, including HP equipment, to Telecommunication Co of Iran, the country's largest telecommunications firm, and a unit of the consortium that controls TCI.

The articles sparked investigations by the U.S. Commerce Department, the Justice Department and some of the U.S. tech companies. ZTE says it is cooperating with the federal probes.

TCI is the parent company of MCI.

(Additional reporting by Grace Li and Chyen Yee Lee in Hong Kong and Marcus George in Dubai; Edited by Simon Robinson)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/hp-equipment-was-almost-sold-to-iran-2012-12

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Mexico City Wants to Become the Next Times Square

The plan is as big as this mammoth city: Turn a seedy metro hub into Mexico City's Times Square; clear swarms of feisty vendors and remodel the historic Alameda Central; illuminate the plazas and walkways of a park twice the size of New York's Central Park.

Mexico City's government is trying to transform one of the world's largest cities by beautifying public spaces, parks and monuments buried beneath a sea of honking cars, street hawkers, billboards and grime following decades of dizzying urban growth.

It's time to tame the city. Today is about giving the city back to pedestrians.

- Juan Carlos de Leo Gandara, head of the Iberoamerican University's sustainable urban projects

Despite the challenges, the ambitious, multimillion-dollar program carried out by former center-left Mayor Marcelo Ebrard and continued by his successor, Miguel Angel Mancera, is winning praise from urban planners and many residents. And it's turning the metropolis into an experiment in how to soften urban sprawl.

"It's time to tame the city," said Juan Carlos de Leo Gandara, head of the Iberoamerican University's sustainable urban projects. "Today is about giving the city back to pedestrians."

In the Alameda, made iconic in the Diego Rivera mural "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda," concrete sidewalks were replaced by marble, and makeshift vendor stands were kicked out ? a renovation that cost about $18.7 million. Instead of a motley patchwork of folding tables and tarps, the newly opened park, anchored by the art nouveau Palacio de Bellas Artes theater, is a sea of greenery and calm in the midst of racing traffic.

"It used to be very dark, with no lighting. It really wasn't a place to bring my son," said Alma Rosa Romero, a 32-year-old housewife standing by the new dancing-water fountains, holding her child's hand. "Now it's beautiful."

Other completed projects include a once-neglected plaza with an Arc de Triumph-style monument to Mexico's 1910 revolution, which has been remade at a cost of $28.6 million from a homeless encampment to an oasis where families frolic and children run through spurts of water gushing out of the pavement. The copper dome of what started out as the country's Congress building is newly polished and gleaming.

Downtown, at the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception of Tlaxcoaque, the city has installed multi-colored fountains that light up at night and replaced a parking lot with a larger plaza for pedestrians. The city has also converted Francisco I. Madero street in the historic center into a pedestrian walkway stretching to the Zocalo, the plaza that's home to the National Palace and massive Metropolitan Cathedral. And under a popular bridge near the hip neighborhood of Condesa, the city made way for a taco joint and a playground.

"A city where people go out to the streets is safe, happier and raises the quality of life," said Daniel Escotto, chief architect of Mexico City's Public Areas Office, which was founded in 2008 to manage urban renewal. "We are renovating floors, facades and adding plants and lighting and more elements that can shape this concept."

Yet in a city defined in many ways by its disorder, the plan is also being slammed by those who take pride in surviving the urban jungle.

"Yes it's safer, and it's renovated, but what happens to the emblem of Mexico City?" said Baltazar Romeo, 47, a hospital worker eating a sandwich at the newly remodeled Alameda. Gone were the street performers who once dressed as the Three Wise Men during Christmas and charged tips for photos with children. "The city is becoming soulless," Romeo said.

One of the flagship renovation projects is the once-seedy, swarming Glorieta de Insurgentes, a roundabout and metro station in central Mexico City that sees hundreds of thousands of commuters pour through every day.

The circular plaza was sunk to let pedestrians stream below busy thoroughfares and catch their trains or buses or just hang out. Around its rim careen cars in a roundabout that briefly merges two of the city's biggest thoroughfares, the mighty Insurgentes and Chapultepec avenues.

When the plaza was built in 1969, the city's top priority was moving an onslaught of cars and people from one point to another. Highways and beltways elsewhere went up to cope with the population boom, and sprawl spread farther out. Once-famous and safe streets and plazas suffered from neglect by planners and became slum-like neighborhoods people avoided after sunset. A brown haze covered the new skyline as motorists became the focus of the new infrastructure.

The Insurgentes roundabout turned into a place to hurry through. Homeless people took over abandoned warehouses nearby while surrounding office and apartment buildings fell into disrepair. Many of the plaza's shops became sleazy Internet cafes cowering beneath giant billboards.

"It couldn't be more hostile to public life or pedestrian life," said Ken Greenberg, a Toronto-based architect and urban designer who recently visited Mexico. "The whole thing just has a kind of very harsh feeling of a highway right in the middle of the city."

Urban designers are now seeking to infuse the chaos with the glitzy excitement of Times Square or London's Piccadilly Circus. Sixty-foot cylinders covered with circular screens streaming LED tickers have already been erected. The crabgrass-filled flower beds and low benches used as skateboard launches have been bulldozed for a sleek open-air look bathed in white, patterned concrete.

The makeover is meant to create a more appealing space for commuters using bikes and public transit in a city that won infamy as the world's most painful for commuters in a 2011 IBM survey.

"What Mexico City needs is to emphasize its identity through its public spaces," Escotto said.

The government says the Insurgentes project will also debut a new model for restricting advertising to designated spots. In 2010, local government banned advertisements on all public and private buildings, threatening a $9,000 fine for those who refused to comply. Two years later, however, the city is still blanketed by billboards.

Future projects include a cleanup of 67 bridges around the city and more lighting for plazas and walkways throughout Chapultepec Park, Mexico City's grand urban green space.

Some projects, including the Insurgentes roundabout, are being completed with the help of private funds. The roundabout renovation includes $4.5 million from 15 advertising companies that are erecting the giant LED screens. Critics worry the arrangement will benefit private companies more than city residents. Much of the beautification of the historic center was paid for by telecommunications billionaire Carlos Slim.

Some wonder whether Mancera, who is from Ebrard's party, will continue the effort and whether the city has the money to maintain its improvements. The question for this teeming city is whether its attempt to clean up will hold or whether the sprawl will ultimately prove more powerful.

"How is this work going to look in the next five months, or five years?" asked De Leo Gandara of the Iberoamerican University. "Will they preserve it? Will it still be clean? Are they keeping it together or is it forgotten again?"

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Taiwan?s China trust in talks to buy Tokyo Star bank for USD$580mn

TOKYO, Dec 30 ? Taiwan?s Chinatrust Commercial Bank is in talks with US investment fund Lone Star Funds and other shareholders of Tokyo Star Bank to take over the Japanese lender for some ?50 billion (RM20.61 million), Japanese media reported today.?

The Taiwanese bank is expected to acquire a nearly 100 per cent stake in the Tokyo-based regional bank, with Lone Star Funds, Shinsei Bank and France?s Credit Agricole likely to make a decision on the offer early next year.?

Chinatrust will need to gain the approval of Japan?s Financial Service Agency before the deal is struck. The acquisition by the Taipei-based lender would bolster its international operations and boost its retail banking business in Japan.?

Tokyo Star has been troubled by a slump in earnings since the global financial crisis in 2008 and its shareholders have been looking for a buyer. ? Reuters

Source: http://allnews.rss.themalaysianinsider.com/c/33362/f/567634/s/270c0eda/l/0L0Sthemalaysianinsider0N0Cbusiness0Carticle0Ctaiwans0Echina0Etrust0Ein0Etalks0Eto0Ebuy0Etokyo0Estar0Ebank0Efor0Eusd580Amn0C/story01.htm

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Officers' 'gut feeling' leads to missing LA tot

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky police officers Emily Smith, left, and Jennifer Ockerman followed what their instincts when they noticed a toddler improperly dressed for a frigid winter night on the campus.

?

NBC Los Angeles

Alouette Day-Moreno-Baltierra, 17 months, was spotted in Kentucky by two officers.

By Samantha Tata, NBC Los Angeles

When two University of Kentucky officers noticed a toddler in nothing but a short-sleeved onesie being pushed in a stroller on a windy, frigid night, they had a ?gut feeling? that something was amiss, said University of Kentucky Police Chief Joe Monroe.

That hunch led to the discovery of a 17-month-old girl who was reported abducted from Los Angeles, possibly by a family member, on Oct. 15.

A woman who police believe is the toddler?s grandmother was taking the child ? without shoes, gloves, hat or anything to protect her face ? on a stroll through the University of Kentucky campus Thursday night, when the temperature had dropped to 29 degrees and the wind was blowing about five miles per hour, Monroe told NBC Los Angeles.?

---

Read more at NBC Los Angeles

Campus police officers Jennifer Ockerman and Emily Smith spotted Maria Baltierra-Dejesus, 62, pushing Alouette Day-Moreno-Baltierra in a stroller through a campus parking lot.

"This is an example of where the responding officers followed a gut feeling that something just wasn?t right with the situation," Monroe said in a press release.

Baltierra-Dejesus, who lives in New York, was booked in Kentucky on suspicion of endangering the welfare of a minor and custodial interference. She was receiving medical treatment Friday night, though Monroe would not say why.

Monroe said it was not clear where the girl?s parents are, and that she apparently belonged to the State of California.

For now, Alouette is in custody of the Kentucky Child Protective Services, which is working with LAPD and the FBI to return her to California, Monroe said.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/29/16239339-officers-gut-feeling-leads-to-recovery-of-missing-la-toddler?lite

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Canon Pixma MG6320 Wireless Photo All-in-One Printer

The Canon Pixma MG6320 Wireless Photo All-in-One Printer is a handsome and well designed multifunction printer (MFP) primarily for home use. It's a joy to use, and it prints very good text; otherwise its output quality is solid if unspectacular. It is relatively slow, which may not be an issue if your printing demands are light.

The MG6320 can print, copy, and scan. It can print from and scan to memory cards, scan as an attachment to an email; to a PC; or a network drive. You can preview images on its 3.5-inch LCD touch screen.

This is a handsome MFP, glossy black with beveled front and side panels and rounded corners, and a lid concealing the flatbed on top. (A white version with black trim is also available.) The front panel's centerpiece is the touch screen. The only other button, also a touch-sensitive virtual button, is the on/off switch.

The MG6320 measures 5.9 by 18.4 by 14.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 18.3 pounds. It's considerably more compact than the Canon Pixma MG5320 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-in-One , though it lacks much of that MFP's 300-sheet paper capacity. The MG6320 has a 125-sheet main paper tray plus a 25-sheet photo tray that fits 4-by-6 paper, and a built-in automatic duplexer.

This model includes the ability to print on printable optical discs, or on CD, DVD, or Blu-ray cases. The two paper trays are stacked together right underneath the fold-open output tray, a design that makes efficient use of space. The MG6320 has 6 ink tanks: pigment black; yellow; cyan; magenta; dye black; and gray; the latter two to enhance photo quality.

A program in the software suite lets you set the text and images for printing on optical disks, and offers a choice of layout templates. My Image Garden lets you organize photos and easily use them in creative projects.

Mobile Printing
This AirPrint compatible MFP also provides access to Pixma Cloud Link, which lets you print pictures from online photo albums; and Google Cloud Print, which lets you send documents to your printer from any Web-connected computer, smart phone, or device. You can print photos directly from your camera with its PictBridge WLAN. It has memory-card slots for a variety of formats in the CF, SD, and MS Duo families.

Connectivity
It offers Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB connectivity; I tested it over a wired network with drivers installed on a PC running Windows Vista. Along with a host-based driver, which installs by default, one can optionally install (by checking a box) an XPS driver, which lets you print out documents created in the XML Paper Specification (XPS) document format that Microsoft developed. Most users will only need the host-based driver, which is the one I tested it with.

Print Speed
The Canon Pixma MG6320 printed out the latest version of our business applications suite (as timed by QualityLogic's hardware and software) at a speed of 2.4 effective pages per minute (ppm), which is slow for an inkjet MFP in its price range. Two less expensive models, the Epson Expression Premium XP-600 Small-in-One and the Editors' Choice Kodak ESP 3.2, turned in speeds of 4.9 and 3.2 ppm, respectively. The Canon Pixma MG5320, which I reviewed two years ago, tested at 3 ppm. The Editors' Choice Epson Expression Premium XP-800, which adds fax and other office-centric features to a good mix of home features, tested at 5.2 ppm.

Output Quality
Overall output quality was typical of an inkjet, with text quality a little above average, graphics quality on the low side of average, and photo quality average for inkjets. Text quality may be good enough, depending on how picky you are, for documents such as resumes with which you want to create a good visual impression, but not for uses that require very small fonts such as demanding desktop publishing applications.

As for graphics, some of the illustrations looked a bit muted, with under-saturated colors. Very thin colored lines were barely visible. Many illustrations showed dithering in the form of fine graininess and dot patterns. Posterization (the tendency for abrupt shifts in colors in places where they should be gradual) was visible in one illustration.

Overall, photo print quality is about what you'd expect from drugstore prints. Even with the extra black and gray ink tanks, our monochrome test photo showed traces of red in some light gray areas.

Running Costs
The cost per printed page for the MG6320, based on the most cost-effective cartridges, is 4.6 cents per monochrome page and 13.5 cents per color page, a little on the high side. ?Although these ink costs are in effect identical to those of both the Epson XP-600 and XP-800, they can't compete with the ESP 3.2, for which Kodak claims 3.2 cents per monochrome and 9.5 cents per color page.

The Canon Pixma MG6320 Wireless Photo All-in-One Printer is a handsome and well designed home-centered MFP. It has solid output quality, with above-par text for an inkjet. It is slow for its price; we've seen faster MFPs such as the Editors' Choice Kodak ESP 3.2 for considerably less. The ESP 3.2 also has significantly lower running costs. The Kodak has better photo quality than the MG6320, but has lower (100-sheet) paper capacity and lacks Ethernet connectivity.

In outputting our business applications suite, the Epson Expression XP-600 finished in less than half the MG6320's time. It had slightly better photo quality, though not as good text.? Its feature set is similar to the Canon's, though it adds a port for a USB thumb drive.

The MG6320 may not be the fastest, nor the most cost-effective printer, and there are others that surpass it in output quality. I do give this MFP points for user experience and design, with handsome appearance, responsive touch screen, and efficient placement of paper trays and other features. It's certainly up to the needs of most home users, and has a touch of style.

More multifunction printer reviews:

??? Canon Pixma MG6320 Wireless Photo All-in-One Printer
??? Dell C1765nfw Color Multifunction Printer
??? Epson Expression Premium XP-600 Small-In-One Printer
??? Epson WorkForce WF-3520
??? Epson WorkForce WF-2530
?? more

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Ma praises charity work in Africa

The China Post - Saturday 29th December, 2012

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- President Ma Ying-jeou yesterday praised a Buddhist organization for its charity work in Africa, adding that Taiwan has become an exporter of goodwill and ...

Manufacturing sector wont see growth until Q2 TIER

The China Post - Saturday 29th December, 2012

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan's manufacturing sector has seen lackluster growth for nine consecutive months, according to data released yesterday by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research ...

Govt to offer mainland tourists re-entry permits for cruises

The China Post - Saturday 29th December, 2012

TAIPEI--Taipei will offer Chinese tourists double-entry permits to encourage them to take cruises in and out of Taiwan, Hsieh Li-kung, the chief of the National Immigration Agency, said ...

Local bourse expected to perform better in 2013 TWSE chairman

The China Post - Saturday 29th December, 2012

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp. (TWSE, ?????) Chairman Schive Chi said yesterday that he expects the stock market to perform better in the coming year, citing improvements in ...

Interior Ministry says political parties on the rise in country

The China Post - Saturday 29th December, 2012

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Ministry of Interior (MOI, ???) yesterday announced that there are a total of 224 registered political parties in Taiwan, up by 15 from last ...

Alliance threatens to paralyze MRT on New Years Eve

The China Post - Saturday 29th December, 2012

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The National Alliance for Workers of Closed Plants yesterday threatened to paralyze the operation of the mass rapid transit systems in Taipei during the New Year's Eve if the ...

Travel fair in 2013 to pitch Chinese New Year deals

The China Post - Saturday 29th December, 2012

TAIPEI--A travel fair targeting Taiwanese who plan to travel during the Lunar New Year holiday will open on Jan. 4, with more than 130 exhibitors scheduled to participate, the show's organizer ...

Lin scores 21 but Rockets 5-game win streak ended

The China Post - Saturday 29th December, 2012

TAIPEI--The Houston Rockets' five-game winning streak was ended by the Spurs in San Antonio on Friday, the third straight time Houston has lost to its Texas rival this ...

Sports Affairs Council to end as part of govt restructuring

The China Post - Saturday 29th December, 2012

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Sports Affairs Council (SAC) under the Executive Yuan will come to an end in 2013 after 15 years of existence, and will be reborn as the Sports Agency under the Ministry of ...

US visa exemption and energy price hikes among 2012s top news events

The China Post - Saturday 29th December, 2012

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Radio Taiwan International (RTI) listeners recently ranked the United States Visa Waiver Program (VWP) as the top Taiwan news story of ...

Something for everyone when ushering in New Year

The China Post - Saturday 29th December, 2012

In Taipei, revelers can attend a city-sponsored countdown party that will feature performances by pop diva Chang Hui-mei, singer and TV host Harlem Yu and Aaron Kwok from Hong Kong. The highlight, ...

101 fireworks to be theatrical designer

The China Post - Saturday 29th December, 2012

TAIPEI--Taipei 101 Tower, one of tallest skyscrapers in the world, will stage a theatrical New Year fireworks show to celebrate the arrival of 2013, the pyrotechnic design company Groupe F promised ...

Source: http://www.taipeinews.net/index.php/sid/211657910/scat/0dd057261bcc461b

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Basic question about Windows 8 UI - Computers, Math, Science ...

WP Members: > 70,000 New Today: 11 New Yesterday: 34

Basic question about Windows 8 UI ??? ???Wrong Planet Autism Forum Index -> Computers, Math, Science, and Technology ???? guitarman2010 Toucan Joined: May 13, 2012 Age: 29 Posts: 261 Location: ...a galaxy far far away... Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 8:39 pm?? ?Post subject: Basic question about Windows 8 UI Ok, to start off, I have zero experience with the new Windows 8 Metro UI and at first look it is intimidating. My father-in-law just got a Windows 8 laptop this evening and he's extremely frustrated with the UI. He is 60 years old, grumpy and not very keen when it comes to PCs. My question is: "How to get a classic Windows UI in the Windows 8 environment?" I briefly Googled the issue but was directed to download third-party software that would display the classic UI. I'm scared to mess around too much with someone else's device for fear of screwing it up. I root Android phones and tablets and write my own programs so I do have technological knowledge but not enough to feel confident in tackling this issue myself. Is there an option in the settings that would enable this feature? Thanks so much for taking the time to read this, any help will be greatly appreciated! _________________ When u hit the walls of sanity, u have no-where to go.... Back to top ? '); //--> redrobin62 Phoenix Joined: Apr 03, 2012 Age: 50 Posts: 2461 Location: Seattle, WA Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 10:39 pm?? ?Post subject: I really do believe Windows 8 is better that 7. That's the good news. The bad news is things are spread out in a relatively illogical fashion. This creates a steeper learning curve than it did with 7. It's been frustrating, even for someone like me who's been using Windows for years. Just try utilizing the PDF functions of their built-in reader and you'll see the hoops you have to go through to print, increase print size or rotate documents. That said, it does seem the only way to revert back to a W7 UI in W8 is to use the 3rd party programs. _________________ If you think he's eloquent now just wait till he's sober! Back to top ? '); //--> ??? ???Wrong Planet Autism Forum Index -> Computers, Math, Science, and Technology??? ?

Forums ?

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The Need to Develop Personalized Medicine Before We Cause ...

Researchers at the Harvard Medical School investigated the effect of androgen deprivation in a preclinical mouse model of stable high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia induced by the loss of the PTEN tumor suppressor. They found that androgen deprivation treatment of these mice accelerated the progression to invasive disease.

Shidong Jia, M.D., Ph.D. And associates found that surgical or chemical castration caused the stable HG-PIN to progress to invasive castration-resistant prostate cancer. Targeting the PI3K pathway pharmacologically or genetically reversed the PTEN-loss induced HG-PIN phenotype. Blocking both the PI3K pathway and the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway blocked the growth of the castration-resistant prostate cancer.?Together, these data have revealed the potential adverse effects of anti-androgen chemoprevention in certain genetic contexts (such as PTEN loss) while showing the promise of targeted therapy in the clinical management of this complex and prevalent disease,? Jia and colleagues conclude.

This study does not have any direct significance for any man on ADT, but it does point out the very significant potential harms that we might be causing by lumping together all forms of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer, like all other cancers, is not just one disease with every man responding the same to each treatment. A treatment that works for one man might actually be ?poison? to another.

We need to spend time learning about the different types of prostate cancer and we need to learn about how these different types of cancers will respond to our potential different treatments. If we don?t, we might actually be doing more harm than good for many men.

the study was published on-line December 20 in Cancer Discovery

Joel T. Nowak, M.S.W., M.A.

Source: http://advancedprostatecancer.net/?p=3621

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Jessica & Eric Are Expecting! See Their Sweetest Moments

The happy couple is expecting baby No. 2! Look back at their most aww-worthy moments and get the inside scoop on their relationship

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Having A Successful Home Based Business Made Easy | Mike ...

As with most things, getting your home business enterprise going is easier when you start with the right knowledge. This article contains a number of tips about starting your own work from home business.

TIP! Keep your home business on as tight of a budget as you can. Working from home has the benefit of not costing you money for office rental.

Patience is a must. Don?t expect home businesses to be successful right away. Building an successful work from home business takes time and constant hard work. One of the most important traits you can have while running your business is patience.

While it may seem to entice customers with discounts when you are starting a business, it is a recipe for disaster if you do it too much. Make sure that you have very clear and understandable payment terms set up, and they are written on every invoice and document that you give to your client. You should also include a late payment penalty (eight percent is standard) and make sure your clients know this upfront.

TIP! If you are running a home business, meticulously track every mile you drive for tax purposes. As an entrepreneur, your tax status allows you to deduct driving expenses that stem from business operations.

A work from home business only needs a simple website, so instead invest your money in beta testing. Ensure that your webpage will load in all different places and on people?s phones, as well. If your site displays equally well across platforms, then all of your potential customers will be able to find the information they need when researching your company.

Promote your business online. Either by yourself or through a professional designer, have an easily navigable website constructed for your customers. Your customers will appreciate if you provide them with helpful content, methods of communicating with you, and the ability to order your products or services through your website. Learn more on how you can design a winning website for your home based business.

TIP! Treat your clients to a lunch or dinner, and make sure you look into tax breaks for the money you spend. A dinner with clients is partially deductible from your taxes.

During the process of setting up your online business, research local area business that are in similar markets and find out what they charge for goods and services. This information will allow you to build your own rates that are competitive in the market. If you don?t charge what you?re worth, you won?t make enough to meet your needs.

Emergency Fund

TIP! Embark on a business related trip. Business trips, unlike vacations, are at least partially deductible from your taxes.

To ensure the financial security of your business set up an emergency fund. Such a fund helps you deal with unplanned costs and maintain smooth operations during times of financial uncertainty. Do not withdraw from your emergency fund unless it is absolutely necessary. If you do end up using it, make sure to rebuild the fund quickly.

Offering a subscription or membership option for popular products or access to certain content is another way to drive sales. A subscription service could earn you a lot of money, if your website and your audience is suited to it.

TIP! Everyone should have business cards. You can even find some good business cards for free or cheap online.

Your work from home business should meet all security standards since you will be storing client information in your home. It may be that you need to purchase safety equipment and enforce regulations regarding access. This will help ensure your family?s safety and help you avoid any accidents that could be a nightmare for your business. Even home-based businesses can be subjected to inspections.

Be a forward thinker. Try to remember that your past successes are in the past. You should focus on what the future will bring. You will then be able to prepare of things to come and things that might happen. In this way, you will not find yourself surprised.

TIP! Taking out a loan will make investors curious about your business, and they may want you to lay out your plans and reasons thoroughly. Put your thoughts to how to be the most effective with the funds you have.

When it comes tax time, you want to make sure that you are taking all of the deductions and credits available that you can legitimately qualify for. When you claim every deduction you legally can, you will save a great deal of money when it comes time to pay your taxes.

Based Business

TIP! Consider what you hope to achieve with your business, and write a comprehensive business plan. You may change the business plan over time, or you might even completely disregard it.

It?s a dream of many people to run their own home based business. Starting your home based business may be hard if you don?t understand how to succeed with it.

With regards to some additional info, just take a look at this particular complete discussion MLM Sponsoring because what you will discover will certainly elevate your personal business and give you new insights into Home Business.

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Source: http://www.empowernetwork.com/getfreedom/blog/having-a-successful-home-based-business-made-easy/

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Katie Holmes' Broadway play 'Dead Accounts' closes

FILE- This undated file photo provided by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows Nobert Leo Butz as Jack, left, and Katie Holmes as Lorna, in a scene from "Dead Accounts" at Broadway's Music Box theatre in New York. Holmes' play ?Dead Accounts? will close within a week of the new year. Producers said Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, that Theresa Rebeck's drama will close on Jan. 6 after 27 previews and 44 performances.(AP Photo/Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Joan Marcus, File)

FILE- This undated file photo provided by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows Nobert Leo Butz as Jack, left, and Katie Holmes as Lorna, in a scene from "Dead Accounts" at Broadway's Music Box theatre in New York. Holmes' play ?Dead Accounts? will close within a week of the new year. Producers said Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, that Theresa Rebeck's drama will close on Jan. 6 after 27 previews and 44 performances.(AP Photo/Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Joan Marcus, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Katie Holmes' return to Broadway will be much shorter than she would have liked.

The former Mrs. Cruise's play "Dead Accounts" will close within a week of the new year. Producers said Thursday that Theresa Rebeck's drama will close on Jan. 6 after 27 previews and 44 performances.

The show, which opened to poor reviews on Nov. 29, stars Norbert Leo Butz as Holmes' onstage brother who returns to his Midwest home with a secret. Rebeck created the first season of NBC's "Smash" and several well-received plays including "Seminar" and "Mauritius."

Holmes, who became a star in the teen soap opera "Dawson's Creek," made her Broadway debut in the 2008 production of "All My Sons." She was married to Tom Cruise from 2006 until this year.

___

Online: http://www.deadaccountsonbroadway.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-12-28-Theater-Katie%20Holmes/id-8e836737345e48279bee6e910c3ffc19

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tani3510: heroes scripture: medicate sophi: charlesmurra8: Speed ...

23 Dec

I installed some speed reading apps and tested them. I?ve so far notices a few ?categories? or groups of equals:

• One kind exists mostly from showing a text word by word in the middle of the screen. Showing each word a very short time and so you can read at a high wpm because you never need to move your eyes.
• Another kind is merely a speed reading article disguised as app.
• Another kind is no speed reading app but just a reading app with a fancy name.
• Yet another kind is training in the form of news/actually.
• And the last kind is a training app, not for your own stuff but purely for training.

I only tested them quickly and unions talked the non-interesting. But they aren?t quite what I?m looking for. Maybe I should write one myself for training and guided reading.

This entry was posted in Other and tagged Android, Self Improvement, Speed Reading. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://www.tjenwellens.eu/other/speed-reading-apps-for-android/

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Husband arrested in slaying of Wisconsin officer

This undated photo provided by the Wauwatosa Police Department shows officer Jennifer L. Sebena, who was found shot to death Monday, Dec. 24, 2012. Police on Tuesday released a statement saying they're pursuing multiple leads. (AP Photo/Wauwatosa Police Department)

This undated photo provided by the Wauwatosa Police Department shows officer Jennifer L. Sebena, who was found shot to death Monday, Dec. 24, 2012. Police on Tuesday released a statement saying they're pursuing multiple leads. (AP Photo/Wauwatosa Police Department)

MILWAUKEE (AP) ? Authorities arrested the husband of a slain suburban Milwaukee police officer who was shot dead on Christmas Eve while out on patrol.

Ben Gabriel Sebena, of Menomonee Falls, was booked into Milwaukee County Jail on Wednesday on a preliminary charge of first-degree intentional homicide in the death of his wife, Jennifer Sebena, the Wauwatosa police department said.

It wasn't immediately clear if Ben Sebena had a lawyer. Kent Lovern, an assistant district attorney, said he didn't know if anyone was representing Sebena yet or whether Sebena would be formally charged later Thursday.

Authorities have released few details about Jennifer Sebena's killing, but said the Wauwatosa police officer was patrolling alone on the night she was killed. Officers found her body early Monday after she failed to respond to radio calls. She had been shot several times.

Jennifer Sebena, 30, had worked for the department for two years, and she is the first officer killed on active duty in the 96-year history of the department. Wauwatosa is a city of about 46,000 people just west of Milwaukee.

Her husband, also 30, is a decorated U.S. Marine veteran who served two tours in Iraq before suffering severe arm and leg injuries in a mortar attack in 2005.

Ben Sebena was honorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps as a corporal in 2005. Among his 10 medals and commendations were a Purple Heart, a Good Conduct medal and a badge as a rifle expert.

In a 10-minute video filmed for his church group in 2010, he described the mortar attack as well as his blossoming online courtship with Jennifer, whom he knew from high school.

"Our love flourished. We became actually infatuated with each other," he said in the video for Elmbrook Church in nearby Brookfield. His identity in the video was confirmed to The Associated Press by Elmbrook Pastor Scott Arbeiter.

Arbeiter said the church holds an annual men's conference in which organizers feature the stories of certain individuals. Ben Sebena talked about his transformation from a troubled teen to a Marine Corps veteran who rediscovered his faith in God. He eventually went on to counsel other troubled veterans.

Arbeiter, who said the Sebenas hadn't been active in the church for about a year, said the Elmbrook family was grieving along with the victim's family.

"None of this is news anyone wants to hear," he said. "This is tragic on so many different levels."

Jennifer Sebena's funeral is scheduled for Saturday.

___

Associated Press writer Carrie Antlfinger contributed to this report.

___

Dinesh Ramde can be reached at dramde(at)ap.org.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-27-Wisconsin-Officer%20Slain/id-6a877f0df13443d69682dec1676f4621

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Starbucks to use cups to send "fiscal cliff" message to lawmakers

(Reuters) - Starbucks Corp will use its ubiquitous coffee cups to tell U.S. lawmakers to come up with a deal to avoid going over the "fiscal cliff" and triggering automatic tax hikes and spending cuts.

Chief Executive Howard Schultz is urging workers in Starbucks' roughly 120 Washington-area shops to write "come together" on customers' cups on Thursday and Friday, as U.S. President Barack Obama and lawmakers return to work and attempt to revive fiscal cliff negotiations that collapsed before the Christmas holiday.

Starbucks' cup campaign aims to send a message to sharply divided politicians and serve as a rallying cry for the public in the days leading up to lawmakers' January 1 deadline to deliver a plan to avert harsh across-the-board government spending reductions and tax increases that could send the United States back into recession.

"We're paying attention, we're greatly disappointed in what's going on and we deserve better," Schultz told Reuters in a telephone interview.

The CEO said he has joined a growing list of high-powered business leaders, politicians and financial experts in endorsing the Campaign to Fix the Debt, (www.fixthedebt.org) a well-funded nonpartisan group that is leaning on lawmakers to put the United States' financial house in order.

Starbucks plans to amplify its "come together" message via new and old media, including Twitter and Facebook posts, coverage on AOL's local news websites and advertisements in The Washington Post and The New York Times.

"If (talks) do not progress, we will make this much bigger," Schultz said of the messaging campaign.

Schultz is no stranger to using the world's biggest coffee chain as a platform to advocate for more political cooperation in Washington.

During the debt ceiling debate in August 2011, he made a splash by calling for a boycott of political contributions to U.S. lawmakers until they struck a fair and bipartisan deal on the country's debt, revenue and spending.

"We are facing such dysfunction, irresponsibility and lack of leadership" less than two years after the debt ceiling crisis, Schultz said.

Washington narrowly avoided a U.S. government default, but not before down-to-the-wire wrangling prompted the country's first-ever debt rating downgrade.

"There is something so wrong that we can be here again and not have the ability to put party aside for the betterment of the country," said Schultz. "We have the same language and rhetoric. Unfortunately we aren't learning much."

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Martin Howell and Jeffrey Benkoe)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/starbucks-cups-send-fiscal-cliff-message-lawmakers-130316123--finance.html

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Engadget's CES 2013 Preview: Household

With CES looming like an electrically charged storm of news and announcements, it's time for us to give you our best bets on what you'll see come January. During the month of December, we'll bring you a series of CES preview posts, forecasting what you can expect when the news deluge begins. For more of what's to come, check out our hub.

Last year, we saw the likes of Motorola, LG and Samsung continue to demonstrate their technical skills on washing machines, fridges, home automation and even cars. While some Engadget editors struggled to see even half the appeal of those WiFi-connected washing machines at CES 2012, Motorola's Connected Home gateway showed a realistic vision of how a wireless home should work, with its gateway router tying your Android devices to your thermostat, security system and lighting. However, we haven't heard much since January from Motorola when it comes to its household system, so it wouldn't surprise us if the Google-owned manufacturer has a refreshed, possibly deeper system to show us this time. But what else will the middle of Nevada have to offer the forward-looking homemaker in the next year? We have more ideas after the break.

Continue reading Engadget's CES 2013 Preview: Household

Filed under: Household

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When Buying A Condo Beware Of The Transitory View | Getting Real

By Gary Lucido, today at 6:42 am

"There is nothing permanent except change." The best real estate advice when buying a condo in a downtown Chicago high rise may have come from Heraclitus around 2500 years ago. Just because a condo has a great view today doesn't mean it will have a great view tomorrow. The Chicago skyline is constantly changing and you never know what is going to be torn down to make way for a much taller building that will destroy your million dollar view.

When searching for a condo with a great view the number one question that buyers often have (at least they should have this question) is what could be built outside their windows. A good sign: your windows look out over a park or a historic building or you're right on the lake or river. A bad sign: your windows look out over a parking lot/ garage or a cruddy building or, God forbid, a vacant lot. And don't be fooled by a little sliver of land that looks too narrow to build anything on. You'd be surprised what these developers will build on.

However, your judgment in these matters will be clouded by realtors attempting to close a sale by sharing all sorts of "expert opinions" on the permanence of a particular view: "This area has a zoning restriction so buildings can't be taller than _____" or "That building is only going to be_____stories tall" or "That land belongs to_______ so they will never build on it" or "3 developers tried to get a building approved for that location but the alderman keeps blocking it". I've heard them all.

Well, realtors really need to be careful with what they say because it's a flagrant violation of the Illinois Real Estate License Act to just make stuff up or assert as fact something you can't be totally sure of: "Licensees shall treat all customers honestly and shall not negligently or knowingly give them false information." In fact, there have been cases of buyers suing realtors for misrepresenting the permanence of a view. Crain's recently reported on two such lawsuits involving disappearing views in Chicago.

The first lawsuit goes back to 2004 when two buyers sued the Fordham's developer for failing to disclose construction of a high rise next door. The second lawsuit, for $50,000, was recently filed by two law professors from the University of Chicago (talk about picking the wrong buyers to tangle with!) who bought unit 3702 at 600 N Fairbanks in Streeterville for $1.05 MM in August. The listing agent allegedly "assured them an adjacent medical office building planned by Northwestern University Hospital would only reach 24 stories" when in fact it will rise to the 36th floor of their building. In addition, the listing agent and the seller "allegedly told the plaintiffs not to discuss the purchase with building management or residents once it went under contract, keeping the plaintiffs from discovering the true height of the tower before closing".

If this latter claim is true it's just plain weird. I could almost understand trying to keep buyers away from other residents but trying to keep them away from the building management? I actually try to encourage my buyers to talk to the building manager and having a listing agent trying to block that would be a huge red flag.

When you're talking about whether or not a view will be blocked it's caveat emptor big time. The only way to protect yourself from the cacophony of wisdom spewing from realtors' mouths is to listen to it with a large nugget of salt. Either have your realtor research it further (unless they're the one making the claims) or research it yourself. That means checking the zoning or calling the alderman's office or just applying some basic logic.

Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/getting-real/2012/12/when-buying-a-condo-beware-of-the-transitory-view/

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Egypt constitution passes with 63.8 percent

CAIRO (AP) ? The head of Egypt's election commission says the new constitution has passed with a 63.8 percent "yes" vote in a referendum.

According to official results announced Tuesday, 32.9 percent of voters participated.

The announcement turns the Islamist-drafted charter into the country's first constitution after the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak out of office after nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule.

The opposition had campaigned against the constitution, charging that it will usher in Islamic rule in Egypt and restrict freedoms. It has vowed to challenge the results.

Judge Samir Abou el-Maati, the head of the electoral commission, denied allegations that judicial supervision was lacking in the vote.

The official results closely mirror unofficial results announced by the Muslim Brotherhood, the main group that backed the charter.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-25-Egypt/id-5bd2cb103ae44584ad714ce30e9844c0

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What Is Frankincense?

You've probably heard that Frankincense was one of the three gifts brought to the baby Jesus by the three wise men, according to The Gospel of Matthew. But what the heck is it?

Frankincense is the dried sap of trees in the Boswellia genus, particularly Boswellia sacra. These trees grow in Oman, Yemen and the Horn of Africa, including Somalia and Ethiopia. When dried, the sap is burned as incense and thought to have several medicinal properties. Frankincense producers wound the tree using a traditional chisel-like tool, after which a milky white sap leeches out of the hole, forming "tears." The first sap is not collected, and is thought to cleanse the wood of impurities, according to an Omani tour guide interviewed by the BBC. Once this dries, the hole is enlarged and deepened, after which sap comes out, dries, and is collected about two weeks later. ?

The right stuff

This tapping process is repeated several times at several points throughout the year, depending upon the region. After the stonelike gobs are gathered, they are put out to dry. The highest quality frankincense is silvery and clear, or with a slight green tinge. Brown-yellow frankincense is the most readily available and the cheapest type. In Oman, the best stuff is reserved for the sultan, Qaboos bin Said Al Said, and is hard to get outside the country, according to Slate.

The frankincense-producing lands in Oman are perhaps the best known and most ancient source of the material. It's been traded there for thousands of years, and shipped on boats to the Mediterranean, India and China. The Romans wanted to get into this trade, the BBC reported, sending 10,000 troops to the area in the first century B.C. to conquer and control the commodity's production. But the Romans never got there, driven back by the heat and aridity of the desert. Even today, it takes 11 hours to drive from Oman's capital of Muscat into the cooler, coastal hills in the country's south where B. sacra flourishes. [5 Surprising Facts About Christmas]

According to Businessweek, the frankincense trade became the most lucrative in the world from 1000 B.C. through A.D. 400. For a time, it made southern Arabia the richest place on Earth, Businessweek reports. Herodotus wrote of the frankincense produced in this region, but warned that the trees were guarded by flying serpents.

Woodsy and fruity

Frankincense has a lemony, musky odor. As Jackie Spinner put it in her Slate piece, "I asked a dozen Omanis to tell me straight-up if they liked the smell, which is both woodsy and fruity, and ancient, which can describe a lot of smells, including my grandmother snapping Juicy Fruit gum in front of a campfire. ? Every Omani I pressed professed a great love for the smell." It is burned at Roman Catholic Masses and used in Arabic wedding and birth ceremonies. Asked why it was given to the baby Jesus, one Omani man told Spinner it was given "to ward off evil spirits and snakes." (One wonders about the tolerance of the serpents that allegedly haunted southern Oman's Boswellia groves.)

Frankincense was once much more valuable and sought after, partially due to its supposed health benefits. But modern studies have revived an interest in the material. Some studies suggest Frankincense may have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties.

Unfortunately, Boswellia trees are in decline, due in part to over-tapping of trees to meet increased demand, as well as climate change. One study estimated the number of Boswellia trees could decline by 90 percent in the next 50 years. Another study, published recently in the journal Annals of Botany, hopes to correct that. It's the first time researchers have examined the tree's sap-secreting system, according to study authors, with results suggesting a maximum of nine tapping spots per tree. Due to high demand, up to 27 tapping spots are made per tree in some commercial sites in Ethiopia, according to the study.

This story was provided by Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site to LiveScience. Reach Douglas Main at dmain@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @Douglas_Main. Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries. We're also on Facebook & Google+.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/frankincense-143209180.html

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Nasty weather threatens Gulf Coast for Christmas

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Nasty weather, including a chance of strong tornadoes and howling thunderstorms, could be on the way for Christmas Day along the Gulf Coast from east Texas to north Florida.

The storms held off long enough, though, to let Christmas Eve bonfires light the way for Pere Noel along the Mississippi River, officials said.

Farther north, much of Oklahoma and Arkansas were under a winter storm warning, with freezing rain, sleet and snow expected on Christmas. A blizzard watch is out for western Kentucky. And no matter what form the bad weather takes, travel on Tuesday could be dangerous, meteorologists said.

The storms could bring strong tornadoes or winds of more than 75 mph, heavy rain, quarter-sized hail and dangerous lightning in Louisiana and Mississippi, the National Weather Service said. The worst storms are likely from Winnsboro, La., to Jackson and DeKalb, Miss., according to the weather service's Jackson office.

"Please plan now for how you will receive a severe weather warning, and know where you will go when it is issued. It only takes a few minutes, and it will help everyone have a safe Christmas," said Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant.

In Alabama, the director of the Emergency Management Agency, Art Faulkner, said he was briefing both local officials and Gov. Robert Bentley on plans for dealing with a possible outbreak.

Forecasters said storms would begin near the coast and spread north through the day, bringing with them the chances of storms, particularly in central and southwest Alabama. No day is good for severe weather, but Faulkner said Christmas adds extra challenges because people are visiting unfamiliar areas. Also, people are more tuned in to holiday festivities than their weather radio on a day when thoughts typically turn more toward the possibility of snow than twisters, he said.

"We are trying to get the word out through our media partners and through social media that people need to be prepared," Faulkner said

Meteorologists also recommended getting yards ready Monday, bringing indoors or securing Christmas decorations, lawn furniture and anything else that high winds might rip away or slam into a building or car.

"Make sure they're all stable and secure ? that there's not going to be any loose wires blowing around and stuff like that," or bring them inside, said Joe Rua, with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, where storms were expected to roar in from Texas after midnight.

In the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, Timothy J. Babin said the 10 or so wire Christmas sculptures in his yard and more than 180 plastic figures in his mother's yard are staked down.

Dozens of toy soldiers, a nativity scene, Santa and nine reindeer (don't forget Rudolph), angels, snowmen and Santa Clauses fill the yard of his mother, Joy Babin.

"From a wind standpoint, we should be fine unless we're talking 70, 80, 90 miles an hour," Timothy Babin said.

On Christmas Eve, more than 100 log teepees for annual bonfires are set up along the Mississippi River in St. James Parish, which is a bit more than halfway from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, and about 20 in St. John the Baptist Parish, its downriver neighbor, parish officials said. Most are 20 feet tall, the legal limit.

Fire chiefs and other officials in both parishes decided to go ahead with the bonfires after an afternoon conference call with the National Weather Service.

The bad weather was expected from a storm front moving from the West Coast crashing into a cold front, said weather service meteorologist Bob Wagner of Slidell.

"There's going to be a lot of turning in the atmosphere," he said.

In California, after a brief reprieve across the northern half of the state on Monday, wet weather was expected to make another appearance on Christmas. Flooding and snarled holiday traffic were also expected in Southern California.

Ten storm systems in the last 50 years have spawned at least one Christmastime tornado with winds of 113 mph or more (F-2) in the South, Chris Vaccaro, a National Weather Service spokesman in Washington, said in an email. The most lethal were the storms of Dec. 24-26, 1982, when 29 tornadoes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi killed three people and injured 32; and those of Dec. 24-25, 1964, when two people were killed and about 30 people injured by 14 tornadoes in seven states.

Farther north, some mountainous areas of Arkansas' Ozark Mountains could see up to 10 inches of snow, the weather service said Monday. Precipitation is expected to begin as a mix of rain and sleet early Tuesday in western Oklahoma before changing to snow as the storm pushes eastward during the day. The weather service warned that travel could be "very hazardous or impossible" in northern Arkansas, where 4 to 6 inches of snow was predicted.

Out shopping with her family at a Target store in Montgomery, Ala., on Christmas Eve, veterinary assistant Johnina Black said she wasn't worried about the possibility of storms on the holiday.

"If the good Lord wants to take you, he's going to take you," she said.

___

Associated Press writer Bob Johnson in Montgomery, Ala., and Ken Miller in Oklahoma City, Okla., contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nasty-weather-threatens-gulf-coast-christmas-215722967.html

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SELF's Best Fitness Tips Ever | Yahoo! Health

1. BEST MOTIVATION FOR SUPERHUMAN WILLPOWER

Make like Ironman world champion Chrissie Wellington and dedicate each mile you run (or walk or bike, whatevs) to an inspiring person in your life. You?ll never bonk midworkout again.

The Real-Life Example: ?I?ll think of someone who reminds me that I can do more, like my mom, and I?ll push so much harder during that mile. When I get home, I?ll call or text all the people I thought of?and it turns into a productive workout and a lovefest.? ?Marissa Stephenson, SELF fitness editor

2. BEST MOTIVATION FOR INSTANT MOJO

When you feel too stressed to sweat, remember: Exercise improves your ability to remain chill and happy in chaotic situations. It mellows your brain?s neurons, so when life gets crazy, your heart doesn?t race and your mood doesn?t tank.

The Real-Life Example: ?I remind myself, Workouts aren?t something you want to do. They?re what you need to do to stay happy.? ?Julie Ordonez, Corona, California

3. BEST MOTIVATION FOR SHARPER FOCUS

Repeat a mantra when the going gets tough. It trains your brain to home in on the positive, not the pain.

The Real-Life Example: ?Saying ?Finish what you start? always helps me keep going.? ?Marjorie Korn, SELF reporter-researcher

4. BEST MOTIVATION FOR DAILY SUPPORT

You?re mere seconds away from constant encouragement: Sign up for SELF?s newsletters and you?ll receive workouts, recipes and more sent to your phone or inbox.

The Real-Life Example: ?Without SELF?s daily emails, I?m not sure I could?ve lost the last 15 pounds.? ?Laura Earle, Jasper, Alberta

5. BEST MOTIVATOR FOR FUN TRAINING

No one fires us up to move like duo Katrina Hodgson and Karena Dawn of ToneItUp.com. They?re smart and bubbly, they make exercise feel easy?aaand you kinda wanna be their bestie. Jump on K+K?s fanwagon:

6. BEST GET-FIT GEAR FOR SEEING RESULTS

Standing on these squishy pods ($43 for six;?Spri.com) turns any strength move into an abs firmer, because it forces your core muscles to engage in order to keep you balanced.

The Real-Life Example: ?Using these worked wonders for my body. My boyfriend even said so!? ?Sophie Martin, Boston

7. BEST FITNESS APP FOR WORKOUT IDEAS

The Nike Training Club app (free at Nike.com) delivers custom workouts and more than 100 body drills. We got hooked after watching Glee?s Lea Michele tout it?with a totally toned body.

The Real-Life Example: ?I downloaded this and never looked back. Now I?m 15 pounds lighter, and stronger, too.? ?Victoria Budosh, Annapolis, Maryland

8. BEST DVD FOR TONING AT HOME

This set ($49; Walmart.com) from our Tae Bo boo, Billy Blanks, earns you a boxing body without the ring and comes with the necessary resistance bands, too.

The Real-Life Example: ?I saw changes in my arms within two weeks.? ?Carin Gorrell, SELF nutrition director

9. BEST BRA FOR A BIG BUST

If you?re a double D or bigger, stop what you?re doing?well, read this first?and nab an Enell Sports Bra. There?s no better way to ban bounce and keep your girls separate and snug (but not smushed). And because it clasps in the front, you won?t battle to get it on and off.

The Real-Life Example: ?This bra is awesome. It supported me through training for two half marathons this year.? ?Amanda Woerner, SELF assistant editor

10. BEST SCULPTING TIP

For sexy lines, clench the muscles you?re about to work: You?ll increase your activation by 26 percent.

The Real-Life Example: ?To really focus, it helps me to repeat the muscle name in my head.? ?Jaclyn Emerick, SELF editorial assistant

11. BEST TIP FROM A GURU: JILLIAN MICHAELS

?For slimmer thighs, zero in on moves that work multiple muscle groups. My go-to lower-body tighteners are yoga poses Chair, Crescent, and Warrior.?

12. BEST TIP FROM A GURU: SHAUN T

?When you are making excuses, stand up and do a minute of jumping jacks. Say, ?I have zero excuses!? Find a goal, use positive reinforcement, and get to it.?

13. BEST TIP FROM A GURU: TRACY ANDERSON

?The keys to chiseling your arms in a sexy way are lighter weights?no more than 3 pounds?and high reps. My clients (like the gorgeous Gwyneth Paltrow) do 100!?

14. BEST CARDIO TO ERASE FAT

Our Holy Grail for holy cow cal-blasting: trainer Phil Campbell?s Sprint 8 plan. Pick any activity for 16 minutes of interval training; alternate 30 seconds at max intensity with 90 seconds at an easy pace.

The Real-Life Example: ?It torches calories, mobilizes fat and revs my metabolism.? ?Meaghan B. Murphy, SELF deputy editor

15. BEST CARDIO TO STAY ON THE BANDWAGON

The no-fail way to get excited about exercise again: Train for a triathlon. Checking off your weekly triad of workouts will help you bust through any rut, and, hey, you might even score a medal.

The Real-Life Example: ?Having a ready-made schedule keeps me motivated, getting outside and having fun.? ?Lauren Theodore, SELF senior director of public relations

Download SELF?s full four-week triathlon training plan!

16. BEST CARDIO TO INCREASE YOUR SPEED

Sounds counterintuitive, yet it totally works: Add a 45-minute slow day to your weekly cardio regimen and you?ll be zippier every other day. Low-intensity workouts build endurance and refuel tired muscles.

The Real-Life Example: ?My recovery runs help speed work. The next day, I?ll be truly all-out.? ?Jennifer Bikel, SELF associate photo editor

17. BEST AB TONER: The Plank

Start in a raised push-up position, hands beneath shoulders, feet hip-width apart and head, butt, and ankles in a straight line. Hold for 1 minute.

See how to do it here.

The Real-Life Example: ?What could be better than a do-anywhere move that gives you amazing abs and arms? After acing plank, I can do 30 push-ups?up from 12. I?m a stud!? ?Paula Derrow, SELF articles director?

18. BEST LEG TONER: The Jump Lunge

Start in a lunge, knee over ankle. Jump, switch legs in air, and land in a lunge with opposite foot forward. Quickly switch sides and repeat for 1 rep; do 12 reps.

See how to do it here.

The Real-Life Example: ?I got awesome results doing jump lunges.? ?Lindsey Benoit, New York City?

19. BEST BUTT TONER: The Sideswipe

On all fours, grab left toes with left hand and extend leg to side. Then, still holding toes, bend leg to rest left ankle on right thigh, and sink into sitting position. Rise onto right knee; repeat. Do 8 reps on each side.

See how to do it here.

The Real-Life Example: ?This move transformed my lower body and makes me feel powerful.? ?Alexandra Wren, Spring Valley, New York

20. BEST ARM TONER: The Superwoman

Lie facedown on a stability ball, a weight in each hand, arms extended at shoulder level, feet against wall so body is parallel to floor; hold for 3 counts. Bring arms out to sides; hold, then rotate arms behind you, palms down; hold. Return to start; do 12 reps.

See how to do it here.

The Real-Life Example: ?I swear by this move. It?s quick and easy, and it works. My arms look so toned!? ?Annemarie Kautz, Croswell, Michigan

Source: http://health.yahoo.net/experts/healthieryou/selfs-best-fitness-tips-ever

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