Europe tests reusable spaceship

By Irene Klotz

PARIS (Reuters) - The European Space Agency is preparing to launch an experimental reusable spaceship next summer following a successful atmospheric test flight this week, officials said at the Paris Airshow.

A mock-up built by Thales Alenia Space was dropped from a helicopter flying 1.9 miles above the Mediterranean near Sardinia on Wednesday to check its handling and parachute system, company officials said.

The 14.4 foot long (4.4 meter) craft, known as "IXV" as it is an intermediate experimental vehicle, splashed down in the ocean and was retrieved by an awaiting ship.

The test flight clears IXV for a follow-on demonstration run beyond the Earth's atmosphere in August next year. That program, in turn, paves the way for an orbital prototype dubbed "Pride", slated to launch in 2018.

The aim is to help Europe develop an autonomous atmospheric re-entry system that could be used on vehicles flying experiments in space, Roberto Provera, director of space transportation programs for Thales Alenia Space, told Reuters.

"It's the first time in Europe that we've tried something like this," Provera said, adding that it could eventually be used to carry people.

The vehicles are similar to but smaller than the U.S. military's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicles, built by Boeing. Like NASA's now-retired space shuttles, they have "lifting body" designs shaped to produce lift without airplane-like wings.

For its next test, Europe will launch another IXV vehicle on a Vega rocket from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana.

Once at an altitude of about 199 miles, the IXV will separate from the rocket and climb to about 267 miles before slamming back into the atmosphere at a speed of about 4.7 miles per second and parachuting into the Pacific Ocean.

Several U.S. firms are also developing reusable spaceships. Designs include traditional capsules, as well as "lifting body" vehicles.

SPACE STATION

Privately owned Sierra Nevada Corp., for example, is testing a vehicle called Dream Chaser that has NASA backing.

The U.S. space agency, which retired its space shuttles in 2011, is seeking commercial options to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, a permanently staffed research outpost that flies about 250 miles above Earth.

Virgin Galactic, a U.S. offshoot of billionaire Richard Branson's London-based Virgin Group, is testing a suborbital passenger vehicle called SpaceShipTwo, expected to start flying next year.

The U.S. military has two experimental unmanned reusable spaceships developed under its X-37B program. One is in orbit.

President Vladimir Putin told astronauts in orbit in April that Russia would send up the first manned flights from its own soil in 2018, using a new launch pad he said would help the once-pioneering space power explore deep space and the moon.

Thales Alenia said it has not yet finalized a price for Pride with the European Space Agency, but expects it will cost about the same as the IXV program, or roughly 200 million Euros ($264 million).

Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture owned 67 percent by France's Thales and 33 percent by Italy's Finmeccanica.

($1 = 0.7590 euros)

(Editing by James Regan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/europe-tests-reusable-spaceship-162022862.html

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Tropical Storm makes landfall in Mexico

MIAMI (AP) ? Tropical Storm Barry has made landfall in Mexico, threatening deadly flash floods and mudslides as it moves inland.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Barry made landfall Thursday morning. It was forecast to continue moving west over land for the next day or so before weakening and losing its tropical characteristics.

The second tropical storm of the Atlantic season had sustained winds at about 40 mph (65 kph) late Thursday morning. It was moving west at about 5 mph (7 kph).

A tropical storm warning was in effect from Punta El Lagarto to Tuxpan, in Veracruz state. However, the major concern was heavy rain that could create floods and mudslides, especially in mountain areas.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Tropical Storm Barry approached very close to Mexico's Gulf Coast on Thursday as civil defense workers readied emergency shelters and forecasters warned heavy rains could trigger potentially deadly flash floods or mudslides.

The second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season packed sustained 45-mph (75-kph) winds that were already being felt as the storm pushed very close to the coast northwest of the port city of Veracruz, forecasters said.

In Miami, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm was about 30 miles (45 kilometers) northwest of Veracruz at 8 a.m. EDT Thursday and heading west at 3 mph (5 kph) toward expected landfall.

"It's very close to the coast," Hurricane Specialist Lixion Avila told The Associated Press, adding a small forward part of the system had begun brushing close to land while most of the vast system was still out over the Gulf of Mexico.

He said the ill-defined tropical storm would be making landfall sometime later Thursday morning, slowly coming ashore over the course of hours.

Between 3 to 5 inches of rain were possible with up to 10 inches in some areas, the hurricane center said.

Avila warned the rains could trigger life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially over mountains.

"There is still going to be a lot rain in the hours ahead," he told AP by telephone.

Tropical storm force winds were spreading outward up to 80 miles (130 kilometers) east from the center of the system.

Early Thursday, blustery winds were already being reported around the Gulf Coast areas closest to the storm's center. Forecasters said tropical storm conditions were already being felt in some areas and that strong winds would continue through Thursday morning.

A tropical storm warning was in effect from Punta El Lagarto to Tuxpan, in Veracruz state.

Veracruz state Civil Protection Secretary Noemi Guzman said 2,000 shelters had been readied in the state with mattresses, blankets, water and canned food. She said the shelters at schools and recreation centers could house up to 306,000 people.

The port of Veracruz was closed to small vessels because of the strong winds, Guzman added.

The storm had formed as a depression off the coast of Belize on Monday and began moving northward, dumping heavy rains on parts of that country and northern Guatemala before entering the Gulf of Mexico off Mexico's Bay of Campeche and strengthening somewhat over warm Gulf waters.

After moving inland Thursday, the storm was expected to weaken throughout the day and then begin breaking apart Friday as it crosses southern Mexico, the hurricane center said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tropical-storm-barry-makes-landfall-mexico-150127191.html

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Video: SOTS Market Roadmap

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/52273710/

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On Buying Workout Supplements Online | What is How to

Xtend supplement, Jack 3D, Myofusion protein, and C4 pre workout are just among today?s most popular names when it comes to bodybuilding supplements. With the strong desire to improve workout performance and get the toned physique they?ve been aiming to have, it?s no wonder such supplements are always a hit among bodybuilders, gym aficionados, and athletes. Despite the popularity of bodybuilding and workout supplements, though, it?s necessary to be cautious with your choices all the time. This is to ensure your health and safety, maximum product effectiveness, and best value for your investment. Here are some tips to help you when you buy or search for workout supplements on the web.

Know what supplements you need.

Supplements are actually designed to provide health benefits depending on the primary ingredients used. This is why it?s always necessary to determine first the fitness goals you want to achieve. Remember that there are general supplements available in the market (usually those that offer a little of this and a little of that), as well as products that offer specific health benefits. Some of the supplements you can find in many local and online shops are energy and performance-enhancing supplements, fat-burners, and bodybuilding and muscle growth products. Determine your goals first so you can better assess which supplements will be most suitable with your fitness objectives.

Learn the basics of supplements.

After deciding on your fitness goals, it?s time to start searching for products that are known to provide the results you want to achieve. Aside from knowing what a particular product claims to offer, also know about the pros and cons of the primary ingredients used in the supplement. Creatine, protein, glutamine, and caffeine are among the popular ingredients that make up top supplements available in the market today. These ingredients, while generally beneficial to achieving bodybuilding and workout goals, have their own share of side effects (some are risky while others are less serious). It would be wise to get to know about the supplements you?re interested in so you?ll be aware of the benefits and known downsides of the products. Don?t trust manufacturer?s claims right away: it?s necessary to check user reviews and market feedback first to know if the product really delivers what it claims to offer.

Choose your store carefully.

Aside from checking out product specifications, benefits and downsides of your supplements, also make sure to choose your supplements shop wisely. It?s easy to find health shops online, but it?s quite tricky to find a shop you can entrust your health to. Ensure that the shop has good reputation when it comes to quality and genuine products, excellent customer support and after-sales service, product warranty and delivery, as well as competitive product pricing. To get started on your search, you can check NutritionWarehouse for Xtend supplement?and other equally popular workout and bodybuilding supplements in the market.

Source: http://www.whatishowto.net/2013/06/21/on-buying-workout-supplements-online/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=on-buying-workout-supplements-online

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KNOTT'S BERRY FARM: Park restores California mission models

This replica of Mission Santa Ines is being restored at Knott?s Berry Farm.

Knott?s Berry Farm, which has taken steps to reclaim its history in recent months, is quietly bringing back a long-ago attraction.

Knott?s is repairing 21 models of California missions that once lined the path from Ghost Town to Fiesta Village.

Knott?s used to have its own Camino Real. The park displayed scale models of the 21 California missions on a path from Ghost Town to Fiesta Village.

Knott?s has begun restoring these replicas in what it describes as an ongoing project on its website.

Work is being done on the side of the The Barn in Ghost Town, where park visitors can see the model of Mission Santa Ines, established in 1804 in what is now Solvang.

Santa Ines was the 19th of the 21 missions founded by Franciscan missionaries in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Source: http://blog.pe.com/2013/06/20/knotts-berry-farm-park-restores-california-mission-models/

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After Microsoft hits reset on its Xbox DRM policies, gamers react ...

It seems like the backlash was too much for Microsoft: Yesterday, President Don Mattrick wrote a blog post officially walking back the changes the company had made to game DRM for the Xbox One, citing ?user feedback.?

?While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content,? Hattrick wrote.

Here?s a summary of the changes:

• No more constant internet connection needed for disc or downloaded games, but you do need one to set the system up initially.
• Users will be able to play offline, but will no longer have the ability to play a game without the disc in the tray.
• Sharing is at the owner?s discretion, but is limited to physical sharing of the disc. The Xbox Live library shares introduced by Microsoft no longer exist.
• Games are eligible for resale at the behest of retailers (like Gamestop).

Essentially, the Xbox One now, for all intents and purposes, operates the same way that the Xbox 360 does today ? no cloud, no sharing, and no Internet.

This extensive rollback of all of Microsoft?s changes to the console has lead fans to call it the ?Xbox 180? ? and has divided a gaming community that is now suddenly confused about how to feel towards the Xbox One.

The change hasn?t necessarily won back the hearts of gamers automatically ? some in the community are now reacting towards Microsoft?s seemingly ?all-or-nothing? behavior that sacrifices all of cloud gaming and sharing properties to bring offline play to the table.

A popular infographic posted onto /r/ gaming, entitled ?What We Want Xbox One,? shows how Microsoft could divide DRM based on media choice and gives a pretty clear indication that the only thing gamers want in this instance is choice. The choice to play into the DRM measures that unlock the access to the cloud, and the option to play offline at another time.

Still others are involved in the backlash to the second backlash, defending Microsoft and deriding others for complaining about the features in the first place. One notable person in this camp is Gears of War?creator?Cliff ?CliffyB??Bleszinski, who expressed concerns on Twitter that walking back the DRM meant Microsoft left small-time developers out in the cold and prey to the resale industry.

?I want *developers* who worked their asses off to see money on every copy of their game that is sold instead of Gamestop. F*ck me, right?? Bleszinski tweeted.

And, still others are concerned that Microsoft refuses to address the level of data collecting and privacy implications of the system itself, and continue to press the company on unveiling more information about the system as a whole.

Plenty of memes?still poke at Xbox One?s?other mandatory feature, the Kinect.?SlashGear has also reported that the Xbox Kinect may have to come with a warning sticker that announced the government may have access to the device if a new bill, entitled the ?We Are Watching You? Act, passes congress.?Microsoft has done very little to allay concerns about privacy, which still has the potential to turn away a large section of the fanbase.

In the long term, it?s hard to imagine that Microsoft has alienated its entire community wholesale, and that its snap-decisions will drastically affect the Xbox One or future consoles from the company. However, what this proves is that forced DRM by requiring a constant online connection or server check-ins will never fly with the core gaming fanbase. When purchasing a game, players want to feel a sense of choice and of ownership ? that the game is theirs. Microsoft?s DRM undermined ownership, so the community complained.

I believe that there is a way to successfully implement a cloud-based system, but the next company to take a crack at it needs to listen to the gamers. Because really, all they want is the option. Is that too much to ask?

Source: http://gigaom.com/2013/06/20/after-microsoft-hits-reset-on-its-xbox-drm-policies-gamers-react/

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News in Brief: Some infertile men have heightened cancer risk

Those who don?t make sperm are more apt to develop malignancy

By Nathan Seppa

Web edition: June 21, 2013

Men who don?t produce sperm face nearly three times the risk of cancer compared with the male population average, researchers report June 20 in Fertility and Sterility.

About 4 million men in the United States are infertile, with a host of causes. Of them, about 600,000 men don?t deliver sperm from the testes to the semen at all.

Michael Eisenberg of Stanford University and his colleagues studied the medical records of Texas men who had visited a male health clinic between 1989 and 2009. The men averaged 36 years old when they were examined. Of 2,238 men found to be infertile, about one-fifth didn?t have any sperm in their semen.

Over an average follow-up time of 6.7 years, 10 of the 451 men who didn?t make sperm developed some kind of cancer, making them 2.9 times as likely as similar-aged men in the general Texas population to be diagnosed with cancer. The reason is unclear, the authors say. Men who were infertile for other reasons didn?t face an increased risk of cancer.?

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/351157/title/News_in_Brief_Some_infertile_men_have_heightened_cancer_risk

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Syria infiltrators, Jordan military clash, 1 dead

ZAIN, Jordan (AP) ? Jordan's military says infiltrators from Syria have clashed with Jordanian soldiers near the border. One infiltrator was killed and two wounded.

The attackers opened fire on a border post on Wednesday, according to a Jordanian military spokesman. Soldiers returned the fire.

The spokesman would not say how many infiltrators were involved or disclose other details. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Jordan is concerned about reports that fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah are reinforcing Syrian troops trying to retake control of Daraa province across the Jordanian border. Daraa is a key supply route for weapons for rebels.

Predominantly Sunni Muslim Jordan is nervous about the growing influence of Shiite Iran in the region. Iran is the main backer of both Hezbollah and the Syrian regime.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-infiltrators-jordan-military-clash-1-dead-200750386.html

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Martin jurors asked about presumption of innocence

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? George Zimmerman's defense attorney is probing a pool of 40 potential jurors about their views on the concept that a defendant is presumed innocent.

Defense attorney Mark O'Mara asked the jury candidates Thursday about their views that a person charged with a crime is innocent until prosecutors prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

It was the first chance for Zimmerman's attorney to question jurors who have made it to the second round of jury selection.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. He is pleading not guilty, claiming self-defense.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/martin-jurors-asked-presumption-innocence-135605890.html

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3D Printing Graduates from Plastic Chunks to Incredible Micro-Batteries

3D printing is great for building lifeless husks out of plastic, but soon we'll be able to start printing guts as well. Scientists have figured out how to coax a fully functioning lithium-ion battery out of nothing but some paste, and those small batteries could have big applications.

Developed by researchers from Harvard and the University of Illinois, each little power-pack is the size of a grain of sand and made up of two little comb-shaped bits of lithium metal oxide pastes which are then hardened, interlaced, and dunked in a tiny container full of electrolyte solution. The result is a battery that's not only 3D printable, but also as good as a tiny cellphone battery, with similar charge rates, power density, and cycle life.

Tiny batteries have existed before, but the size has always come at a cost. Medical implants, and other miniaturized devices have already started blowing past what existing micro-batteries can handle. And being able to 3D print these suckers makes production a breeze, once you have the right setup. Now we just need to figure out those graphene batteries and we'll be all set. [Harvard via Engadget]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/3d-printing-graduates-from-plastic-chunks-to-incredible-514265312

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Bobby Grajewski: Small Steps to Revive Industry in the U.S.

Growing up in the heart of what was once the furniture capital of world, I saw the devastating negative effects that outsourcing had on my native North Carolinian economy. With numerous companies moving their manufacturing operations overseas, over 50 percent of all North Carolina furniture jobs evaporated during my childhood, leaving many of my family friends struggling to make ends meet. This experience affected my outlook on life. I knew from that young age, I wanted to go into business and revive industry in the United States. I knew that I wanted to create opportunities where good, hardworking people could wake up in the morning and proudly go to a job that enabled them to provide for their families.

Though in retrospect this was a naive goal at the time, I too remember my parents recounting to me the Parable of the Faithful Servant and from this the axiom "to whom much is provided, much is expected." Keeping this in mind, I proceeded to take the steps necessary to make this lofty dream a reality. Following several years of business experience and an MBA at Wharton, I was eager to return home and give back to the community that has provided me so much.

Searching for opportunities outside of the typical finance and consulting career path, I reconnected with my childhood best friend, James Broyhill, who had recently started Heritage Handcrafted, a company that designs and manufactures handcrafted furniture and gift venture from aged whiskey, wine, and scotch barrels. A woodcraftsman since youth and the great-grandson of the founder of Broyhill Furniture, I knew James had "saw dust in his veins" and like me was eager to give back to the Tarheel State. Immediately impressed by James' design skills and diverse product line, I saw how the character of Heritage Handcrafted pieces reflects the depth of this medium and knew that we could possibly have a successful venture.

Yet in an age dominated by cheap foreign imports and technological innovation focusing on speed of production, Heritage Handcrafted -- with its handcrafted products and four week lead times -- stood in stark contrast to its competitors. How could a handcrafted company ever be successful?

This dilemma has been faced by all companies operating in the handcrafted industry. Yet from the success of companies like Uncommon Goods, CustomMade, and Etsy, it is clear that is possible. To compete against better capitalized players with cheaper offerings, the key to success has been creating processes that streamline operations while retaining handcrafted allure, creating niche unique, one-of-a-kind products, and developing a brand that highlights higher-end sophistication.

In handcrafted businesses, which are often small and unsophisticated, especially in their early stages, streamlining operations means developing consistent systems that provide for structure that allow things to run smoothly and efficiently. For entrepreneurs who often started as hobbyists, this is often a difficult transition. From the simplest: setting aside specific days for specific tasks to the more advanced of incorporating technology that aids one's handcrafted process, it is clear that having structure allows one to prioritize and ensure higher productivity. For Heritage Handcrafted, this meant recording step-by-step processes to make our products in an efficient way that maintained quality. It also meant incorporating a patented barrel stave straightening system which allowed barrel staves that once took a month to straighten manually to be straightened in a matter of minutes. These efforts have allowed our firm to create handcrafted products on a national scale.

Yet even with the highest productivity, a handcrafted business will fail if you make products customers do not want. Thus the key to a successful handcrafted company is knowing one's customer and creating products that mesh with their desires while retaining the perfect blend of sophistication and authenticity. The attention paid to design, art, and detail sets handcrafted products apart from its cheaper machine-made counterparts. This cannot be forgotten as a business scales. In a world, where people want to have one-of-a-kind, unique products; handcrafted products plays a pivotal role in achieving this differentiation while showcasing the skill and talent of the craftsman.

Finally, to compete against these national players, a handcrafted company needs to create a differentiated brand that "tells a story" and highlights the quality of its craftsmanship. You want the customer to not only purchase your product, but also purchase a piece of history. Ultimately, handcrafted items are conversation pieces, so a handcrafted company should make the retelling of their story easy for the customer. From the aesthetics of the website (colors and text) to the actual website content (copy and video footage), one's brand should be consistent and differentiated. In doing so, it will show the sophistication and high-end nature of one's products which in turn will assist in justifying the higher price point.

For American manufacturing to resurge in this competitive global market, handcrafted niche products are an essential pillar that needs to be developed. With cheaper foreign alternatives this will be no easy task, but it is not impossible. To survive and succeed, a handcrafted company must focus on streamlining processes, developing unique products, and creating a memorable brand. It has been an honor and a privilege to start Heritage Handcrafted, and I am proud to state that all of our products are made in the USA and we are employing numerous people throughout the Tar Heel state.

Heritage Handcrafted can be found at www.heritage-handcrafted.com and feel free to reach out to me via email at Robert@heritage-handcrafted.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bobby-grajewski/post_4974_b_3434194.html

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06/13/2013 - Washington State Horse Park-Swiftwater Invitational Hunter Jumper Show

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Source: http://www.nkctribune.com/tribcalendar/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=7145

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The Wedding Industry?s Pricey Little Secret

A wedding reception at the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Hotel in Hollywood Beach, Fla.

Courtesy of Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Hotel/Flickr

Weddings are expensive. There?s no way around it. Well, maybe one. But for most couples, eloping doesn?t start to seem like a really good idea until you?re neck-deep in the wedding planning process, and by then it?s too late.

Just how expensive are they? It depends, of course, on three factors: where you get married, how many people you invite, and whether you or anyone in your immediate family is the sort of person who can?t imagine a celebration without Chiavari chair covers. But when you?re starting to plan a wedding and trying to get a rough idea of how severely it is likely to dent your bank account, ?it depends? isn?t a very helpful answer. So my fianc?e and I did what most couples do: We asked Google how much the typical wedding costs.

The answer from all quarters?wedding sites, credible news outlets, the New York Post?is remarkably consistent, precise, and definitive. It is also grossly misleading, and almost certainly wrong.

?Average wedding cost $28,400 last year,? reports CNN Money. ?Average U.S. wedding costs $27,000!!? enthuses the New York Daily News. ?Average cost of U.S. wedding hits $27,021,? declares Reuters, which should know better. That?s more than just expensive. For a lot of people, it?s prohibitive.

These reports often point out that the national average doesn?t tell you everything, because the average cost in some states is much higher than in others. In New York City, for instance, the average cost is an eye-popping $76,687, according to CNN Money. Say ?I do? in Alaska, and the figure plummets to $15,504.

But even accounting for regional variation, these numbers seem exorbitant. And the New York number is positively Gatsby-esque. My fianc?e and I always knew we were not particularly well-off by Empire State standards, but we couldn?t believe that our fellow Manhattanites were shelling out a sum that exceeds our combined annual salaries on a single decadent day?s worth of nuptial festivities.

In fact, most of them aren?t?and nor is the typical American couple dropping $28,000 on a wedding, or anything particularly close to that number. So why does everyone report this number like it?s a fact?

The first problem with the figure is what statisticians call selection bias. One of the most extensive surveys, and perhaps the most widely cited, is the ?Real Weddings Study? conducted each year by TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com. (It?s the sole source for the Reuters and CNN Money stories, among others.) They survey some 20,000 brides per annum, an impressive figure. But all of them are drawn from the sites? own online membership, surely a more gung-ho group than the brides who don?t sign up for wedding websites, let alone those who lack regular Internet access. Similarly, Brides magazine?s ?American Wedding Study? draws solely from that glossy Cond? Nast publication?s subscribers and website visitors. So before they do a single calculation, the big wedding studies have excluded the poorest and the most low-key couples from their samples. This isn?t intentional, but it skews the results nonetheless.

Watch: Why are wedding dresses so expensive?

But an even bigger problem with the average wedding cost is right there in the phrase itself: the word ?average.? You calculate an average, also known as a mean, by adding up all the figures in your sample and dividing by the number of respondents. So if you have 99 couples who spend $10,000 apiece, and just one ultra-wealthy couple splashes $1 million on a lavish Big Sur affair, your average wedding cost is almost $20,000?even though virtually everyone spent far less than that. What you want, if you?re trying to get an idea of what the typical couple spends, is not the average but the median. That?s the amount spent by the couple that?s right smack in the middle of all couples in terms of its spending. In the example above, the median is $10,000?a much better yardstick for any normal couple trying to figure out what they might need to spend.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/weddings/2013/06/average_wedding_cost_published_numbers_on_the_price_of_a_wedding_are_totally.html

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Good Reads: From Google?s secret lab, to Japan?s economy, to the end of alimony

This week's round-up of Good Reads includes Google's lab, a reporter's tale of kidnapping, Japan's plan for revitalization, an undercover meat inspector, and a challenge to alimony.

By David T. Cook,?Staff writer / June 4, 2013

Google cofounder Sergey Brin gestures after riding in a driverless car.

Eric Risberg/AP/File

Enlarge

Google's secret lab

Google X, the search firm?s secretive research lab, is like Willy Wonka?s chocolate factory ? a workshop that needs to be protected from critical eyes ? or the technology equivalent of ?taking moonshots.? So says Astro Teller, the lab?s director, in the May 22 cover story for Bloomberg Businessweek.

Skip to next paragraph David T. Cook

Senior Editor and Washington Bureau Chief

Cook is senior editor and Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts.

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?The world is not limited by IQ. We are all limited by bravery and creativity,? Mr. Teller says. Getting around those limits is made a bit easier by the fact that Google had an R&D budget of $6.8 billion in 2012.

So far Google X has produced a driverless Lexus, capable of cruising unaided on Silicon Valley?s crowded 101 freeway. Another product: Internet-connected eyeglasses dubbed Google Glass. Future projects, Businessweek says, include an airborne turbine that sends electrical power down to a base station and a project to bring Internet access to undeveloped parts of the world. ?We are serious ... about making the world a better place,? Teller says.?

On being kidnapped in Syria

NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel recounts the harrowing story of being kidnapped with five colleagues while covering the conflict in Syria between rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in April?s?Vanity Fair.

Shortly after Mr. Engel and his crew crossed into Syria from Turkey, they were captured by 15 heavily armed men who loaded them into a container truck where they were bound, gagged, and blindfolded. Engel says his captors were from ?the most ruthless and lethal of Assad?s militias, the shabiha.?

For the next five days, the NBC team was moved constantly, threatened with death, and subjected to psychological torture. On the fifth night, the vehicle in which they were being moved ran into a checkpoint set up by rebels from a Sunni religious group that had been searching for them. In the ensuing gun battle, the journalists escaped.

This riveting tale is a reminder of the risks foreign correspondents take. ?Kidnapping is always a threat in this life,? Engel says.?

Revitalizing Japan?s economy

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe flies, Superman-like, above Tokyo?s skyline on the cover of the May 18-24 issue of The Economist as the magazine probes the action-packed first months of Mr. Abe?s return to an office he left in 2007.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/DkqbvDtWKcU/Good-Reads-From-Google-s-secret-lab-to-Japan-s-economy-to-the-end-of-alimony

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Moon radiation findings may reduce health risks to astronauts

June 11, 2013 ? Space scientists from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) report that data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) show lighter materials like plastics provide effective shielding against the radiation hazards faced by astronauts during extended space travel. The finding could help reduce health risks to humans on future missions into deep space.

Aluminum has always been the primary material in spacecraft construction, but it provides relatively little protection against high-energy cosmic rays and can add so much mass to spacecraft that they become cost-prohibitive to launch.

The scientists have published their findings online in the American Geophysical Union journal Space Weather. Titled "Measurements of Galactic Cosmic Ray Shielding with the CRaTER Instrument," the work is based on observations made by the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) on board the LRO spacecraft. Lead author of the paper is Cary Zeitlin of the SwRI Earth, Oceans, and Space Department at UNH. Co-author Nathan Schwadron of the UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space is the principal investigator for CRaTER.

Says Zeitlin, "This is the first study using observations from space to confirm what has been thought for some time -- that plastics and other lightweight materials are pound-for-pound more effective for shielding against cosmic radiation than aluminum. Shielding can't entirely solve the radiation exposure problem in deep space, but there are clear differences in effectiveness of different materials."

The plastic-aluminum comparison was made in earlier ground-based tests using beams of heavy particles to simulate cosmic rays. "The shielding effectiveness of the plastic in space is very much in line with what we discovered from the beam experiments, so we've gained a lot of confidence in the conclusions we drew from that work," says Zeitlin. "Anything with high hydrogen content, including water, would work well."

The space-based results were a product of CRaTER's ability to accurately gauge the radiation dose of cosmic rays after passing through a material known as "tissue-equivalent plastic," which simulates human muscle tissue. Prior to CRaTER and recent measurements by the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on the Mars rover Curiosity, the effects of thick shielding on cosmic rays had only been simulated in computer models and in particle accelerators, with little observational data from deep space.

The CRaTER observations have validated the models and the ground-based measurements, meaning that lightweight shielding materials could safely be used for long missions, provided their structural properties can be made adequate to withstand the rigors of spaceflight.

Since LRO's launch in 2009, the CRaTER instrument has been measuring energetic charged particles -- particles that can travel at nearly the speed of light and may cause detrimental health effects -- from galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events. Fortunately, Earth's thick atmosphere and strong magnetic field provide adequate shielding against these dangerous high-energy particles.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130611144325.htm

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NASA's Chandra turns up black hole bonanza in galaxy next door

June 12, 2013 ? Using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have discovered an unprecedented bonanza of black holes in the Andromeda Galaxy, one of the nearest galaxies to the Milky Way.

Using more than 150 Chandra observations, spread over 13 years, researchers identified 26 black hole candidates, the largest number to date, in a galaxy outside our own. Many consider Andromeda to be a sister galaxy to the Milky Way. The two ultimately will collide, several billion years from now.

"While we are excited to find so many black holes in Andromeda, we think it's just the tip of the iceberg," said Robin Barnard of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge, Mass., and lead author of a new paper describing these results. "Most black holes won't have close companions and will be invisible to us."

The black hole candidates belong to the stellar mass category, meaning they formed in the death throes of very massive stars and typically have masses five to 10 times that of our sun. Astronomers can detect these otherwise invisible objects as material is pulled from a companion star and heated up to produce radiation before it disappears into the black hole.

The first step in identifying these black holes was to make sure they were stellar mass systems in the Andromeda Galaxy itself, rather than supermassive black holes at the hearts of more distant galaxies. To do this, the researchers used a new technique that draws on information about the brightness and variability of the X-ray sources in the Chandra data. In short, the stellar mass systems change much more quickly than the supermassive black holes.

To classify those Andromeda systems as black holes, astronomers observed that these X-ray sources had special characteristics: that is, they were brighter than a certain high level of X-rays and also had a particular X-ray color. Sources containing neutron stars, the dense cores of dead stars that would be the alternate explanation for these observations, do not show both of these features simultaneously. But sources containing black holes do.

The European Space Agency's XMM-Newton X-ray observatory added crucial support for this work by providing X-ray spectra, the distribution of X-rays with energy, for some of the black hole candidates. The spectra are important information that helps determine the nature of these objects.

"By observing in snapshots covering more than a dozen years, we are able to build up a uniquely useful view of M31," said co-author Michael Garcia, also of CfA. "The resulting very long exposure allows us to test if individual sources are black holes or neutron stars."

The research group previously identified nine black hole candidates within the region covered by the Chandra data, and the present results increase the total to 35. Eight of these are associated with globular clusters, the ancient concentrations of stars distributed in a spherical pattern about the center of the galaxy. This also differentiates Andromeda from the Milky Way as astronomers have yet to find a similar black hole in one of the Milky Way's globular clusters.

Seven of these black hole candidates are within 1,000 light-years of the Andromeda Galaxy's center. That is more than the number of black hole candidates with similar properties located near the center of our own galaxy. This is not a surprise to astronomers because the bulge of stars in the middle of Andromeda is bigger, allowing more black holes to form.

"When it comes to finding black holes in the central region of a galaxy, it is indeed the case where bigger is better," said co-author Stephen Murray of Johns Hopkins University and CfA. "In the case of Andromeda we have a bigger bulge and a bigger supermassive black hole than in the Milky Way, so we expect more smaller black holes are made there as well."

This new work confirms predictions made earlier in the Chandra mission about the properties of X-ray sources near the center of M31. Earlier research by Rasmus Voss and Marat Gilfanov of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany, used Chandra to show there was an unusually large number of X-ray sources near the center of M31. They predicted most of these extra X-ray sources would contain black holes that had encountered and captured low mass stars. This new detection of seven black hole candidates close to the center of M31 gives strong support to these claims.

"We are particularly excited to see so many black hole candidates this close to the center, because we expected to see them and have been searching for years," said Barnard.

These results will be published in the June 20 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. Many of the Andromeda observations were made within Chandra's Guaranteed Time Observer program.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra Program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

For Chandra images, multimedia and related materials, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/chandra

For an additional interactive image, podcast, and video on the finding, visit: http://chandra.si.edu

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/gabkTj7i0Ew/130612154019.htm

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Increase Internet Traffic And Profit With This Expert Advice!

If you are a driven person with high levels of energy, network marketing just might be a very suitable business match for you. The following information will give you some effective and smart ideas on how to run a network marketing business successfully.

Wherever it is possible for you to use a signature online, be certain to link back to your business. When you use an auto signature, make sure the link is in it because every time you post, you link. Also, put your business link in your outgoing mail signature. This is one way to spread the news about your website without overwhelming your contacts; it can also help your search engine rank. Write a catchy sentence just before your link that makes people want to see your site.

If you get disheartened with website marketing, do not throw in the towel. You may be a step or two away from successful affiliate marketing when you give up. You need to make sure all your ducks are in a row when launching a website that is going to sell a product line or services. At times, this can take a lot of effort. That said, this work is what will make you successful in the end.

TIP! A great way to participate in link-sharing or advertising in general is to have a professional-looking ?Advertise with Us? badge built on your site. People that think alike will click it and your site will be linked to theirs, this will guarantee that your link will be visible to them.

Take the time to learn the basic rules of web page layout and design. Find things out online about HTML or CSS to know what you need to do. Spending just a half an hour every day learning about good web page design will give you a lot of ideas in as little as a few weeks.

Be sure to back up any claims about your business or products that you make with cold hard facts. If you can prove the effectiveness of your product through videos or testimonials, your customers will be more apt to believe in your products and services. This is why it is so important to sell products that you have used yourself.

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TIP! Be mindful that your website tag is highly important and will be used to define your website. The title of your website can determine how your customers perceive your business?s website.

Even if your Website marketing business is a success, continue to research the newest methods so you can make sure it stays that way. The Internet is always changing, and doing so rapidly, so staying abreast of the latest innovations and high ranking websites can help you a lot in knowing the best routes to take to make your product readily available to the general public.

If you have written a sound plan for marketing online, then you probably have some idea which of your products and services are the most profitable ones. Expand on the popularity of those products by bundling them with complementary products. Point out and promote the most effective complementary products and accessories for those good-selling items. This is a great way to cross-advertise and draw attention to newer or less popular products.

TIP! Use media to your full advantage. For example, demonstrate complicated products with a video.

Try hooking up with another online store to offer bulk quantities or special combinations of your products which you can offer at below market prices. This is a great way to link different types of markets, therefore increasing sales volume. Find a agent online to help you find the best deal on travel essentials. This is a great way to work with companies that are not your direct competitors.

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Offer at least one free service for your customers. People will stop by just for the free stuff, but sometimes they do stay longer if something on the site appeals to them. A helpful example would be a tax calculator on a website about finances.

TIP! While you may become frustrated, giving up on your internet marketing dreams is a sure way to fail. You may be close to achieving a successful internet marketing campaign when you stop.

As part of your affiliate marketing strategy, you should include some type of money back guarantee. Customers need to know you will make an effort to to accept responsibility for your products or services that don?t work out for them. Assuming the risks and giving your costumers a level of security will build your trust level with them.

Aim to provide people around the globe varying versions of your sites. Making your site available in different languages can be very savvy. This can expand your global audience significantly and quite possibly send sales soaring. If a visitor is reading content in their own language, they are much more apt to interact with the site and make a purchase.

People are more apt to listen to those who have an air of authority. Let others know that you hold a ranked position within your company. A label such as President or CEO is a great way to let people know that you are the one in charge.

TIP! When it comes to Internet marketing, it is important to watch what your competition is doing. It doesn?t matter what market you have, there is always competition.

You can find many email marketing services that can help you succeed in internet marketing, but it?s better just to do it yourself. Mass mailers, auto responders, and building mailing lists are all fairly simple things to master once you learn the ropes. Anything you learn might turn out to be useful late on as you develop your Website marketing strategy further.

Fast is a great word to use in ad campaigns, as well as in the language around your products. People are frequently more interested in speed than they are in saving money, so be sure to highlight the fact that you get things done quickly!

Use these helpful tips with your business. You can build the reliable groundwork to launch a really thriving network marketing career if you do.

TIP! Do you have a product that no one else offers? This will help to make you the go-to person for that particular thing. The customer will look at other things you have to offer, this will make your site legitimate and give you a higher rank.

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Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/increase-internet-traffic-and-profit-with-this-expert-advice

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Obesity can be predicted from infancy, researchers find

June 11, 2013 ? Infants as young as two months old already exhibit growth patterns that can predict the child's weight by age 5, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and Tennessee State University.

"Almost from birth, we quickly saw this growth pattern emerge in our curves and growth charts for weight over height," said Susan Ludington, the study's lead investigator and the Carl W. and Margaret David Walter Professor of Pediatric Nursing at Case Western Reserve.

Analyzing well-child records, normal-weight babies with a body-mass index (BMI) in the 17 percentile were found to have plateaued at about two months and rarely deviated over the next five years, she said. Overweight or obese babies crossed the 17 percentile many months later (about age 14 months) and continued an upward climb when BMI growth patterns were monitored.

The findings were reported in Clinical Pediatrics. Ludington collaborated with Lisaann Gittner, assistant professor of public service at Tennessee State University, and Harold Haller, director of Case Western Reserve's Center for Statistical Consulting.

The researchers found that, by age 5, normal-weight children developed differently from birth than those considered overweight, obese or severely obese.

For this study, 221 children were selected from 4,000 records of healthy children under the care of a health maintenance organization. Each had weight, height and medical records from nine well check-ups over the first five years of their lives.

None had a hospital or emergency room visit, medical procedure or other special medical condition, or were on medications that might skew results. No other study of early weight changes has used a sample of only healthy infants and children.

"We didn't want anything to interfere with regular eating," Ludington said.

She said the study also differed from others because researchers had access to maternal health records, with information about the mothers' pre-pregnancy weights and whether they smoked -- a factor that could influence the baby's weight.

The researchers suspect, based on prior research findings by others, how a mother ate during pregnancy might have contributed to a baby's hormones and the ability to satisfy a baby's hunger.

Tracking obesity to the first months of life came after Haller took a new statistical approach to infant growth. He plotted on a graph a baby's weight divided by height instead of using BMI scores as a guideline. By graphing, a pattern emerged that found both girls and boys known to be obese at 5 begin to show significantly higher weight over height than normal weight babies as early as 2-4 months of age.

Because such patterns emerge before children generally start eating solid food, early life growth patterns may provide important information about a person's future health issues, Ludington said.

The researchers also questioned using the BMI index as a guide to growth, which is based on European babies primarily breast-fed in the first year. In the United States, many babies have only formula feedings.

These findings could potentially change the age at which obesity is typically diagnosed, which is now at or after age two.

Ludington said the next step is to find a good intervention that takes into consideration whether a baby is fed on demand or a schedule, the amount of milk a baby receives, whether the baby should have breast milk or formula, and sleep/awake activity patterns of each infant.

Because this study offers a good control group of healthy children, Ludington said, a broader study with thousands of children will determine if those growth patterns hold up for all children, as well as healthy ones.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/J1ZdgB7K5p0/130611111708.htm

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Modern humans did not settle in Asia before eruption of Sumatra volcano 74,000 years ago, study finds

June 11, 2013 ? When did modern humans settle in Asia and what route did they take from humankind's African homeland? A University of Huddersfield professor has helped to provide answers to both questions. But he has also had to settle a controversy.

Professor Martin Richards, who heads the University's Archaeogenetics Research Group, co-authors a new article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It refutes a recent theory that there is archaeological evidence for the presence of modern humans in southern Asia before the super-eruption of the Mount Toba volcano in Sumatra. ?One of the most catastrophic events since humans evolved, it happened approximately 74,000 years ago. In 2005, Professor Richards led research published in an article in the journal Science which used mitochondrial DNA evidence to show that anatomically modern humans dispersed from their Africa homeland via a "southern coastal route" from the Horn and through Arabia, about 60,000 years ago -- after the Toba eruption.?

?However, a team of archaeologists excavating in India then claimed to have found evidence that modern humans were there before the eruption -- possibly as early as 120,000 years ago, much earlier than Europe or the Near East were colonised. These findings, based on the discovery of stone tools below a layer of Toba ash, were published in Science in 2007.

Now Professor Richards -- working principally with the archaeologist Professor Sir Paul Mellars, of the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh, with a team including Huddersfield University's Dr Martin Carr and colleagues from York and Porto -- has published his rebuttal of this theory. In doing so, they have been able to draw on a much greater body of DNA evidence that was available for the earlier article.

"One of the things we didn't have in 2005 was very much evidence from India in the way of mitochondrial sequences. Now, with a lot of people doing sequencing and depositing material in databases there are about 1,000 sequences from India," said Professor Richards.

?By using the mitochondrial DNA of today's populations and working backwards, and by drawing on a wide variety of other evidence and research, the team was able to make much more precise estimates for the arrival of modern humans in India.

?The evidence suggests dispersal from Africa and settlement in India no earlier than 60,000 years ago. "We also argue that close archaeological similarities between African and Indian stone-tool technologies after 70,000 years ago, as well as features such as beads and engravings, suggest that the slightly later Indian material had an African source," states Professor Richards.

"There were people in India before the Toba eruption, because there are stone tools there, but they could have been Neanderthals -- or some other pre-modern population," he adds.

"The replacement of the presumably archaic humans living previously in South Asia by modern people with these new technologies appears analogous to the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans in Europe and western Asia 50-40,000 years ago."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/0HihnQiwO14/130611084105.htm

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Microsoft lists new Play and Charge Kit, Chat Headset for Xbox One

Once you've purchased that hot new Xbox One, you've got to have a couple of accessories to go along with it. Naturally Microsoft has thought of that, as it just announced a new version of its Play and Charge Kit plus a refreshed Chat Headset to accompany the next-gen console. As with the previous iteration, the Kit bundles in a controller-compatible lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack plus a cable that'll charge the gamepad when connected to the console. Microsoft claims it can juice up twice as fast as its predecessor and is able to keep charging during gameplay or standby. You can either get the Kit by itself or as part of a controller bundle. The Chat Headset appears to be the same as it was before; it's a wired mono headset with wideband digital audio and a unidirectional microphone. We're still looking for details on pricing and availability (plus a picture or two), but we'll let you know more details as soon we do.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/m3EDgHGHSZY/

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Old Mars rover makes rock discovery

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Old Mars rover makes rock discovery
Nasa's ageing Opportunity rover on Mars continues to make significant discoveries with the observation of a rock rich in clay minerals - an indicator of ancient water activity.

Source: BBC News
Posted on: Monday, Jun 10, 2013, 8:04am
Views: 16

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128563/Old_Mars_rover_makes_rock_discovery

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Apple demos 'Activation Lock' security feature in iOS 7

We've heard quite a bit about iOS 7 today at WWDC -- in fact, the company made it clear there's still more to talk about. But despite having tons of new features to share, Apple set aside some time to walk through a new security utility, called Activation Lock. In essence, it is what it sounds like: if someone steals your phone and chooses to disable Find My iPhone, he won't be able to reactivate the phone. Same if they wipe the phone -- they'll be forced to sign in with your Apple ID and password, which they obviously wouldn't know. Barring extenuating circumstances (that "thief" happens to be a deranged ex-lover who knows your log-in credentials), the new feature should keep your data safe, if nothing else. But will it be a theft deterrent, as Apple hopes? That's a question we'll leave for another day. In the meantime, Activation Lock is available in beta today, and for iPhones, specifically. An iPad beta will follow in the coming weeks, with the final, public release set for this fall.

Follow all of our WWDC 2013 coverage at our event hub.

Filed under: Software, Apple

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/10/apple-activation-lock-security-feature-in-ios-7/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Scottish fiction writer Iain Banks dies at 59

FILE - An April 7, 2004 photo from files showing author Iain Banks at a function in London. Iain Banks? publisher says that the Scottish writer has died after falling ill with cancer. Banks was known for his general fiction and science fiction, the latter written under the name Iain M. Banks. Banks published his first novel "The Wasp Factory" in 1984. His first science fiction novel, "Consider Phlebas," was published in 1987. (AP Photo/PA,Yui Mok, File) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE

FILE - An April 7, 2004 photo from files showing author Iain Banks at a function in London. Iain Banks? publisher says that the Scottish writer has died after falling ill with cancer. Banks was known for his general fiction and science fiction, the latter written under the name Iain M. Banks. Banks published his first novel "The Wasp Factory" in 1984. His first science fiction novel, "Consider Phlebas," was published in 1987. (AP Photo/PA,Yui Mok, File) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE

LONDON (AP) ? Scottish writer Iain Banks, who alternately wowed and disturbed readers with his dark jokes and narrative tricks, has died, his publisher said. He was 59.

Banks, whose writing took readers from rural Scotland to the edge of space, announced in April that he was terminally ill with cancer and that his soon-to-be released novel, "The Quarry," would be his last.

A message on a website set up to provide updates to family, friends and fans quoted his wife Adele as saying Banks died in the early hours of Sunday. "His death was calm and without pain," she said.

His publisher, Little Brown, said in a statement that Banks' "ability to combine the most fertile of imaginations with his own highly distinctive brand of gothic humor made him unique. He is an irreplaceable part of the literary world."

Banks had two parallel literary careers: One as a general fiction author whose twisted plots are sprinkled with brutality, the other as a science-fiction writer whose imaginative universes spawned a fanzine and spun out a devoted online following. He even had two names: Iain Banks for the general fiction, Iain M. Banks, for the sci-fi.

Banks published his first novel, the dark and funny "The Wasp Factory" in 1984. His first science fiction book, "Consider Phlebas," was published three years later.

His books were both critical and popular successes. "The Crow Road" ? which opens with the memorable line "It was the day my grandmother exploded" ? was adapted for television in 1996.

He was cited as an inspiration by fellow writers in Scotland and beyond. "Trainspotting" author Irvine Welsh called him "one of my all-time literary heroes," and crime writer Ian Rankin remembered Banks' "great sense of fun, of excitement."

"He was a great guy to hang around with and somebody for whom life and the world were a fictional template for him to do as he pleased," Rankin said.

Banks was also an expert on Scotch whisky ? writing a book on the subject ? and was politically active, lending his name to left-wing causes including the anti-war movement and the cultural boycott of Israel.

In 2008, he was named one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945 in a list compiled by The Times of London.

In April, Banks announced that he had been diagnosed with gall bladder cancer and was "officially very poorly."

He canceled all public appearances and married his long-term partner, Adele, saying she had agreed to the honor of "becoming my widow."

Last month, he said he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection and praise his announcement had prompted.

"It means a lot, almost more than I can say, and ? whatever type or size of screen I read the comments on ? I come away from the computer, laptop, iPad or phone with a happy smile on my face," he wrote.

Banks is survived by his wife. Details of funeral arrangements were not available Sunday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-10-Britain-Obit-Banks/id-984ca04b1c714476b123b84df9044288

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Many soldiers fail to grasp Army sex assault problem: U.S. general

By David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army is failing to deal with sexual assault in its ranks because too many soldiers in positions of authority do not think there is a problem, the Army chief of staff told a summit of leaders called to address the issue.

General Ray Odierno told a gathering of officials in the Army's Sexual Harassment, Assault Response and Prevention program that when he travels to different bases and speaks to smaller units, he finds too many sergeants, lieutenants and captains who say they do not have a sex assault problem.

"That's baloney," he said. "That's the problem. We're not seeing ourselves."

Some think because they are in an all-male unit, they don't have a sexual assault problem, Odierno said.

"That's not right," he said. "In fact, you probably have some perpetrators, probably have some predators and you probably have some males who have probably been sexually assaulted or sexually harassed."

"We have not been successful in solving this problem," Odierno said. "We have a huge issue. And the main thing I want everybody to understand is that this is not just a passing issue. For whatever reason, this is one that we've had for a very long time. And we have not been able to defeat it."

Odierno's remarks come as the Pentagon is struggling to deal with a big jump in estimated cases of unwanted sexual contact, as well as a spate of high-profile cases of sexual assault, including some involving personnel charged with combating the crime.

An annual Pentagon study released recently estimated that unwanted sexual contact, from groping to rape, jumped by 37 percent in 2012 to 26,000 cases from 19,000 the previous year.

The issue has triggered outrage among lawmakers. Some are pushing legislation to force the military to be more accountable in handling sexual assault cases, and others are seeking to remove responsibility for prosecuting the crimes from the victim's military chain of command.

At the weekend, Odierno and Army Secretary John McHugh suspended the commanding general of U.S. Army forces in Japan, Major General Michael Harrison, due to allegations he failed to properly investigate a sexual assault complaint.

"From the things I see, we still have people out there who tolerate sexual assault and sexual harassment," Odierno told the summit. "Until we solve that problem, it's going to get worse."

He said dealing with the problem meant getting leaders from sergeants to lieutenant colonels to "take this on seriously, because we are not doing that today the way I want us to do it."

"This is important to me. I want to make sure everybody understands that," Odierno said. "I sent a message out that said it's my number one priority right now. And I'm not kidding."

(Reporting By David Alexander; Editing by David Brunnstrom)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/many-soldiers-fail-grasp-army-sex-assault-problem-004337536.html

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