Monday, April 29, 2013

RolePlayGateway?

(WORK IN PROGRESS/MORE RACES TO COME)
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HUMAN
Image
Main trait: Adaptable
Life span: 70-100 years
Average Height: 5'2"-6'2"
Average Weight: 100-200 lbs

Humans in Chrome are widespread, can be found in most regions and, in general, are fierce and disagreeable, which can sometimes lead certain other races to view them with contempt. They are renowned for their diversity and ambition, and although they lack specialization, they can excel in many areas. Regardless of their precise origins, humans have been undeniably successful. While hardly the only dominant race of Chrome, humans are one of them and the most recent to obtain dominance. In spite of this strength, or perhaps because of it, humanity is an eternally fractured and divided race, broken up into over a dozen ethnic offshoots. It is believed that this is in part because humanity, unlike most other races, did not emerge as a whole but rather in several places at once, thereby resulting in its diversity.

The average human isn't as hardy as the average dwarf or as nimble as the average halfling. The average elf has a greater knack for arcane magic, and the average orc is certainly stronger. But human adaptability and energy makes the concept of an "average" human pretty nebulous. Individually, humans are vastly different from one another. Two humans chosen at random have less in common with each other than two elves -- and if the two humans come from different cultures, they might have less in common with each other than an elf and a dwarf do.

The Human mind is a strange amalgam of nostalgia and futurism, being enamored of past glories and wistfully remembered ?golden ages,? yet at the same time quick to discard tradition and history and strike off into new ventures. Relics of the past are kept as prized antiques and museum pieces, as humans love to collect things?not only inanimate relics but also living creatures?to display for their amusement or to serve by their side. Other races suggest this behavior is due to a deep-rooted urge to dominate and assert power in the human psyche, an urge to take, till, or tame the wild things and places of the world. Those with a more charitable view believe humans are simply collectors of experiences, and the things they take and keep, whether living, dead, or never alive, are just tokens to remind themselves of the places they have gone, the things they have seen, and the deeds they have accomplished.

Humans are fecund, and their drive and numbers often spur them into contact with other races during bouts of territorial expansion and colonization. In many cases, this tendency leads to violence and war, yet humans are also swift to forgive and forge alliances with races who do not try to match or exceed them in violence. Proud, sometimes to the point of arrogance, humans might look upon dwarves as miserly drunkards, elves as flighty fops, halflings as craven thieves, gnomes as twisted maniacs, and hybrids as embarrassments and so on?but the race's diversity among its own members also makes many humans quite adept at accepting others for what they are.

Human society throughout Chrome's history seems to be in a state of constant flux as empires fragment and new kingdoms subsume the old. In general, humans are known for their flexibility, ingenuity, and ambition. Other races sometimes envy humans their seemingly limitless adaptability, not so much biologically speaking but in their willingness to step beyond the known and press on to whatever might await them. While many or even most humans as individuals are content to stay within their comfortable routine, there is a dauntless spirit of discovery endemic to humans as a species that drives them in striving toward possibilities beyond every horizon.

At the current day there is only one major human civilization. The Republic of Ebony which is the 1st democratic nation in a thousand years and its only about three hundred years old (youngest country in Chrome). Although Humans are scattered in settlements all across the world.

RELIGION
Humans are both more religious and less religious than members of the other races. They are less religious in that many humans do not care about religion, and no deity can claim the worship of more than a fraction of humanity. Yet they are more religious in that their variety comfortably supports dozens of faiths, each with adherents more numerous than those of many nonhuman deities.

Less Religious: Humans' drive and energy sometimes get in the way of religious matters. Some humans are too practical or too busy with mundane concerns to spend time praying to a being they cannot see, have never met, and receive nothing from. Humans generally demand tangible assistance from a deity's church before they offer their fealty in return. Humans naturally juggle multiple allegiances (to family, to country, to community, and so forth), and some just don't have room in their lives for a religious relationship.

Another barrier that keeps humans from embracing religion is that humans don't have a cohesive mythology and a set pantheon. The dwarves know that Moradin fathered them, and the gnomes know they're the creation of Garl Glittergold. Humans are not so certain of their origins, and no major deity demands their exclusive allegiance. Some humans claim that Pelor is the greatest of the gods, but others worship Heironeous or Kord with equal fervor. Because humanity has so many gods, no one deity can win the allegiance of the entire race.

More Religious: Many humans are adaptable enough to work all sorts of religious practices into their daily lives. Once a bond between deity and human worshiper is established, it quickly grows strong. "The goddess Ulariis says I have to get up before dawn to pray to her," thinks the human. "But Ulariis makes sure the fields around the city grow lots of wheat, so it's definitely worth it." In exchange for a benefit, whether tangible or intangible, a human is willing to change her routine and follow the dictates of a particular religion.

Some humans do worship a deity in a profound and deep way. In fact, those humans with faith are so staunch in their convictions that their single mindedness frightens even dwarves. After all, most dwarves know the god Dumath is their ultimate father, and that he watches over them -- it's an obvious fact that no one in dwarven culture would deny. But a deeply religious human has chosen a deity from among dozens of equally powerful gods, and she maintains that religious allegiance despite being surrounded with humans who don't agree with that choice.
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Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/RolePlayGateway

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Rolling Stones rock small LA club ahead of tour

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? For one night only, the Rolling Stones were an up-and-coming band again.

The legendary group rocked a small club in Los Angeles on Saturday night for a miniscule crowd compared to the thousands set to see them launch their "50 and Counting" anniversary tour a week later on May 3 at the Staples Center.

The band kicked off Saturday's hush-hush 90-minute concert at the Echoplex in the hip Echo Park neighborhood with "You Got Me Rocking" before catapulting into a mix of new and old material, as well as their bluesy covers of classics from Otis Redding ("That's How Strong My Love Is"), Chuck Berry ("Little Queenie") and The Temptations ("Just My Imagination").

"Welcome to Echo Park, a neighborhood that's always coming up ? and I'm glad you're here to welcome an up-and-coming band," lead singer Mick Jagger joked after the second song of the evening, "Respectable."

Despite clocking in several decades as a band, Jagger, drummer Charlie Watts and guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood showed no signs of slowing down Saturday.

Jagger, who promptly ditched a black-and-white track jacket emblazoned with the band's logo after the first few songs, worked the crowd into a sing-a-long frenzy with "Miss You," complete with a harmonica solo from the strutting frontman.

Tickets to the Echoplex concert were sold earlier in the day for $20 each ? a fraction of what tickets to the tour cost.

Hundreds of fans lined up outside the El Rey Theatre across town earlier Saturday for a chance to attend the spontaneous show. Buyers were limited to one ticket, and they were required to pay with cash, show a government-issued ID, wear a wristband with their name on it and be photographed. Their names were verified at the venue, which has a capacity of about 700.

Cameras and smartphones weren't allowed inside the Echoplex, which usually plays host to hipster bands and mash-up dance parties. The lack of personal recording devices made the Stones' performance feel even more exclusive and old school, freeing concertgoers' hands of the gizmos that have become commonplace at concerts nowadays, and further bonding the crowd, many of whom built up camaraderie during the confusing ticket lottery earlier in the day.

Toward the end of Saturday's show, the band was joined by former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor for their version of Robert Johnson's "Love in Vain," as well as "Midnight Rambler."

The band, which was backed by Darryl Jones on bass, Chuck Leavell on keys, Bobby Keys on sax and Bernard Fowler and Lisa Fischer as back-up singers, encored with the hits "Brown Sugar" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash."

"(This is) the first show of the tour, probably the best one," Jagger said at the end of the 90-minute set.

Bruce Willis, Gwen Stefani and Skrillex were among the famous faces in the sold-out crowd.

Rumors of the surprise show spread across social networks last week after the band teased the appearance on their Twitter accounts. The dance-pop band New Build, which was originally scheduled to play the Echoplex on Saturday, was first to leak details about the performance.

"Our gig got shifted b/c the Rolling Stones are playing Echoplex," the band posted Friday on Twitter. They joked that they were looking forward to "having it out" with the Stones.

The Rolling Stones performed a few dates together in London, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Newark, N.J., last winter, but didn't announce a tour until earlier this month. They will play 17 dates in the United States but said they may add more down the line. The lowest price for tickets to the show at the Staples Center, which has a capacity of about 20,000, is $250.

___

Online:

http://www.rollingstones.com

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rolling-stones-rock-small-la-club-ahead-tour-125211752.html

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Presidents help George W. Bush dedicate library

President Barack Obama, and former presidents, from second from left, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter arrive for the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center ,Thursday, April 25, 2013, in Dallas. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Tom Fox) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET USE BY AP MEMBERS ONLY; NO SALES

President Barack Obama, and former presidents, from second from left, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter arrive for the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center ,Thursday, April 25, 2013, in Dallas. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Tom Fox) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET USE BY AP MEMBERS ONLY; NO SALES

Former president George W. Bush speaks during the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center Thursday, April 25, 2013, in Dallas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

President Barack Obama laughs with former first lady Barbara Bush during the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center Thursday, April 25, 2013, in Dallas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Former President George W. Bush, center, shares a laugh with his wife, former first lady Laura Bush and father, former President George H.W. Bush during the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Thursday, April 25, 2013, in Dallas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

President Barack Obama laughs as he sits between his wife, first lady Michelle Obama and former first lady Barbara Bush after his speech during the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Thursday, April 25, 2013, in Dallas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

(AP) ? President Barack Obama on Thursday praised his predecessor at the dedication of his library for showing strength and resolve in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks and said if Congress passes immigration reform "it will be in large part thanks to the hard work of President George W. Bush."

Obama spoke along with all four living former presidents in a rare reunion honoring one of their own at the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. "To know President George W. Bush is to like him," Obama said.

The presidents ? Bush, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter ? were cheered by a crowd of former White House officials and world leaders as they took the stage together to open the dedication. They were joined on stage by their wives ? the nation's current and former first ladies ? for the outdoor ceremony on a sun-splashed Texas morning.

It was a day for recollections and reveries, and no recriminations or remorse.

The five men have been described as members of the world's most exclusive club, but Obama said they are "more like a support group."

"Being president above all is a humbling job," Obama said. He there were moments that they make mistakes and wish they could turn back the clock, but "we love this country and we do our best."

He said Bush started an important conversation by speaking to the American people about the United States as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants and he hopes Congress will act this year to pass reform, which Bush wasn't able to achieve.

The leaders put aside the profound ideological differences that have divided them for years for a day of pomp and pleasantries. For Bush, 66, the ceremony also marked his unofficial return to the public eye four years after the end of his deeply polarizing presidency. "Oh happy day," Bush said as he took the stage.

President George H.W. Bush, who has been hospitalized recently for bronchitis, spoke haltingly for just about 30 seconds while seated in his wheelchair, thanking guests for coming out to support his son. A standing ovation lasted nearly as long as his comments, and his son and wife helped him to his feet to recognize the applause.

Clinton, too, was warmly received by the heavily Republican crowd, who applauded and laughed along with Clinton's joke-peppered speech. He concluded on a serious note about the importance of the leaders coming together. "Debate and difference is an important part of every free society," Clinton said.

President Jimmy Carter praised Bush for his role in helping secure peace between North and South Sudan in 2005 and his approval of expanded aid to the nations of Africa. "Mr. President let me say that I am filled with admiration for you and deep gratitude for you about the great contributions you've made to the most needy people on earth," Carter said.

Former first lady Laura Bush said the library isn't just about her husband, but reflects the world during his time as the first president as the 21st century. "Here we remember the heartbreak and heroism of Sept. 11 and the bravery of those who answered the call to defend our country," she said.

In a reminder of his duties as the current Oval Office inhabitant, Obama planned to travel to Waco in the afternoon for a memorial for victims of last week's deadly fertilizer plant explosion.

Presidential politics also hung over the event. Ahead of the ceremony, former first lady Barbara Bush made waves by brushing aside talk of her son, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, running for the White House in 2016.

"We've had enough Bushes," said Mrs. Bush, the wife of George H.W. Bush and mother of George W. Bush. She spoke in an interview with NBC's "Today" show.

Yet George W. Bush talked up the presidential prospects of his brother in an interview that aired Wednesday on ABC.

"He doesn't need my counsel, because he knows what it is, which is, 'Run,'" Bush said.

Key moments and themes from George W. Bush's presidency ? the harrowing, the controversial and the inspiring ? would not be far removed from the minds of the presidents and guests assembled to dedicate the center, where interactive exhibits invite scrutiny of Bush's major choices as president, such as the financial bailout, the Iraq War and the international focus on HIV and AIDS.

On display is the bullhorn that Bush, near the start of his presidency, used to punctuate the chaos at ground zero three days after 9/11. Addressing a crowd of rescue workers amid the ruins of the World Trade Center, Bush said: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."

"Memories are fading rapidly, and the profound impact of that attack is becoming dim with time," Bush told The Associated Press earlier this month. "We want to make sure people remember not only the lives lost and the courage shown, but the lesson that the human condition overseas matters to the national security of our country."

More than 70 million pages of paper records. Two hundred million emails. Four million digital photos. About 43,000 artifacts. Bush's library will feature the largest digital holdings of any of the 13 presidential libraries under the auspices of the National Archives and Records Administration, officials said. Situated in a 15-acre urban park at Southern Methodist University, the center includes 226,000 square feet of indoor space.

A full-scale replica of the Oval Office as it looked during Bush's tenure sits on the campus, as does a piece of steel from the World Trade Center. In the museum, visitors can gaze at a container of chads ? the remnants of the famous Florida punch card ballots that played a pivotal role in the contested 2000 election that sent Bush to Washington.

Former first lady Laura Bush led the design committee, officials said, with a keen eye toward ensuring that her family's Texas roots were conspicuously reflected. Architects used local materials, including Texas Cordova cream limestone and trees from the central part of the state, in its construction.

From El Salvador to Ghana, Bush contemporaries and former heads of state made their way to Texas to lionize the American leader they served alongside on the world stage. Among the foreign leaders set to attend were former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The public look back on the tenure of the nation's 43rd president comes as Bush is undergoing a coming-out of sorts after years spent in relative seclusion, away from the prying eyes of cameras and reporters that characterized his two terms in the White House and his years in the Texas governor's mansion before that. As the library's opening approached, Bush and his wife embarked on a round-robin of interviews with all the major television networks, likely aware that history's appraisal of his legacy and years in office will soon be solidifying.

An erroneous conclusion that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, a bungling of the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina and a national debt that grew much larger under his watch stain the memory of his presidency for many, including Obama, who won two terms in the White House after lambasting the choices of its previous resident.

There's at least some evidence that Americans are warming to Bush four years after he returned to his ranch in Crawford, even if they still question his judgment on Iraq and other issues. While Bush left office with an approval rating of 33 percent, that figure has climbed to 47 percent ? about equal to Obama's own approval rating, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released ahead of the library opening.

Bush pushed forcefully but unsuccessfully for the type of sweeping immigration overhaul that Congress, with Obama's blessing, is now pursuing. And his aggressive approach to counterterrorism may be viewed with different eyes as the U.S. continues to be touched by acts of terrorism.

Although museums and libraries, by their nature, look back on history, the dedication of Bush's library also offers a few hints about the future, with much of the nation's top political brass gathered in the same state.

Clinton's wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, stoked speculation about her own political future Wednesday in a Dallas suburb when she delivered her first paid speech since stepping down as secretary of state earlier this year. Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, another potential 2016 contender, flew to Texas to take part in the library dedication.

Obama, too, may have his own legacy in mind. He's just a few years out from making his own decision about where to house his presidential library and the monument to his legacy.

___

Associated Press writer Nomaan Merchant contributed to this report.

___

Follow Josh Lederman on Twitter: http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-25-Bush%20Library/id-bdb1cd4487ee467db05cdf1b18636d6e

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Look in the mirror: Just substitute 'Canadian' for 'American child-care ...

An article in the April 29 issue of The New Republic has generated considerable interest in U.S. child care as its content and perspective have been picked up and extended in social media, other magazines, U.S. TV, radio and daily newspapers and even in offshore news media. The hell of American daycare: the barely regulated, unsafe business of looking after our children describes a case of a fire in a family child-care home caring for seven very young children. The case -- prominent in the media for some time -- involved an untrained 23-year-old caregiver/owner who had left the kids alone to go shop at Target, a practice that --? testimony at the trial asserted -- was not new. An oil-filled pot left cooking on the stove caught fire and four children died. Eventually the caregiver who -- it became clear -- had a criminal record -- was sentenced to 80 years in prison.

The article indicts the United States for -- essentially -- child neglect. The author writes that ?despite the fact that work and family life has changed profoundly in recent decades, we lack anything resembling an actual child care system. Excellent day cares are available, of course, if you have the money to pay for them and the luck to secure a spot. But the overall quality is wildly uneven and barely monitored, and at the lower end, it?s Dickensian.?

Jonathan Cohn, the author, reports research that ?deemed the majority of operations to be ?fair? or ?poor? and notes that while ?day care is a bruising financial burden for many families,? ?only minimal assistance is available to offset these expenses. And so many parents put their kids in whatever they can find and whatever they can afford, hoping it will be good enough.? The article chronicles how President Richard Nixon?s presidential veto of a national child-care program back in 1970 had ended movement towards a child-care system in the U.S. ?

Does this all sound familiar? To me, it?s like looking at a mirror image of our own child-care situation. Reading Cohn?s story, I found myself substituting ?Canadian? for ?American,? and expect that others with an interest in early childhood education and child care, young children and social policy in Canada will be doing the same. ?

The article illustrates the absence of a child-care system, which for parents translates to mean that there are few (or no) options, and that securing good child care is in large part, a matter of luck. Cohn?s interview with one of the dead toddlers? mothers, a single mother trying to keep a job to earn a living for herself and her child -- and maybe even advance to a better job -- says it all about what the lack of child-care options to help her and other parents mean. This is not different than what we hear in Canada -- the stories parents tell about the lack of choices available in Canada reflect our equally dismal situation.

The story of ?Jackie?s Daycare? -- the child-care home in which the tragedy occurred -- with its lack of public oversight and unsafe, insalubrious conditions (the home child care in this case was ?registered,? with virtually no requirements and monitored not at all, or minimally, at best) reflect the kinds of perilous conditions in some unregulated (sometimes illegal) child care revealed in a CBC Marketplace story only last month. And while Canada has not experienced a child-care tragedy on the scale of this one in some time, just in the last two weeks, two child death cases in unregulated child care in Mississauga, ON and Port Coquitlam, BC have come back to the criminal courts, though they have received much less media interest in Canada than the ?Jackie?s Daycare? case did in the U.S. ?

There is also a telling parallel (though different methodology) between the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) study that found that most of the child care it studied was ?fair? or ?poor? and the sole national Canadian study of quality, You Bet I Care! (now almost 15 years old) that reported that of the centres it studied, ?the majority provided care that was of minimal to mediocre quality.?

Demand for child care has grown as the labour force participation rate of mothers with young children has continued to rise in both countries (though more steeply and to a higher rate in Canada) while today the child development value of high quality early childhood education and care is well recognized by experts and the general public in both countries.

And ironically, the rejection of a national child-care program by the highest government official in the U.S. and in Canada -- President Richard Nixon in 1971 and Prime Minister Stephan Harper in 2006 -- is unique to the two countries. In 1971, as a very recent immigrant to Canada fresh from working on the American Head Start program, I had been following the successful progress of national legislation to begin building the first U.S. national child-care program through both houses of Congress. I was stunned when Nixon exercised the rarely-used presidential veto to override Congressional assent (his veto message spoke of the threat of ?Sovietizing? the American family and his opposition to coming down on the ?side of communal approaches to child rearing against the family-centered approach") -- just as I was stunned 35 years later when Stephen Harper unilaterally abrogated the hard-won federal-provincial bilateral agreements that were to set the stage for building Canada?s first national child-care program.

Following the end of Canada?s first effort at a national child-care program, in 2008, Canada was ranked lower than the United States (which was among the lower ranking countries studied) in a 25-country UNICEF study of early childhood education and child-care access and quality benchmarks. ?

This year, in his federal budget proposal, Barack Obama included funds to the states for preschool targeted to modest and low income families, as well as increased funds for Head Start -- not quite the comprehensive national early childhood education and care program we envision here in Canada. Still -- it?s a far cry from the contempt for ECEC that Canadians with an interest in child care have been experiencing from the Conservative federal government since 2006 and the ?we can?t afford it? from tax-cutting and books-balancing provincial political parties and governments. Indeed, based on the UNICEF study, it seems that Canada spends even less money on ECEC than does the U.S.

So Canadians who still think that most young families need, and want, the kinds of options for decent quality affordable child care and early childhood education that families in other countries enjoy need to be thinking about their political choices and preparing to join with others in exercising them. Otherwise, our child-care choices for the foreseeable future will remain limited to cross-border examination of our own unsatisfactory reflection in American mirrors.

Source: http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/child-care-canada-now/2013/04/look-mirror-just-substitute-canadian-american-child-car

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SiriusXM Internet Radio


Remember Sirius satellite radio? How about its competitor XM? In the early aughts, these two companies battled it out for satellite subscription dollars only to merge in 2008 to ensure survival. The new company, SiriusXM, rolled on, servicing both Sirius and XM account holders by dropping duplicate stations, and adding new stations, features, and radio receivers. But you don't need hardware to enjoy SiriusXM's commercial-free mix of news, talk, comedy, and music. A SiriusXM Internet Radio subscription lets you stream over 140 satellite radio channels to your computer, tablet, smart phone, and Internet radio devices. It's a lot like streaming audio services such as Slacker, Spotify, and Songza, but with a major difference: 100 percent live radio. SiriusXM's 2013 update bring a new feature, MySXM, which lets subscribers personalize the listening experience.

Radio Days
Slacker began dabbling in live radio in 2012 with ESPN content, but SiriusXM bases its entire model on that idea. You arrive at a home screen featuring a variety of categories after logging in with your credentials: All, Music, Sports, Howard Stern (yes, the King of All Media has his own category), News & Issues, Talk & Entertainment, and Latin & World. SiriusXM doesn't have as many top-level stations as Slacker, but once you drill down, you'll discover several genres, ranging from decade-specific music ('90s on 9) to more niche offerings (Cinemagic, which plays strictly movie soundtracks). There are over 140 channels to sample.

The main content area shows all the channels within a category (Opie & Anthony under the Talk & Entertainment heading, for example) and related information such as the name of the song that's playing, as well as artist name. A bar across the top of the interface lets you favorite songs (for fast access), share tracks (Facebook, Twitter), buy songs (Amazon, iTunes), and set alerts (learn when a song is playing anywhere within the SiriusXM universe). Despite these many options, the interface is remarkably clean and uncluttered.

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Talk to Me
TuneStart is my favorite Sirius XM feature. When you channel-hop you'll never jump into the middle of a song; TuneStart automatically plays songs from the beginning when you stumble onto a track. Sometimes it catches the tail end of a song that played before the one you wanted, but it's not a dealbreaker. This is, after all, a feature that traditional radio stations lack and is a welcome addition. On a similar note, you can also pause and rewind live radio courtesy of a five minute buffer. If you really need to capture a sizeable programming chunk, Start Now lets you turn back the clock a massive five hours, which is perfect if you miss a morning show on your commute. You simply click the Start button to hear music from hours ago.

There's a search box that works differently than other streaming music services. Sirius XM broadcasts live radio, so you can only search for content that's currently playing. For example, an Aerosmith query may return either no results, or display the songs playing across the network. Slacker has the vantage here with its on-demand features (if you have a paid account).

The 128 Kbps streaming audio delivered clear, crisp audio to a Razer headset. When I fired up the Studio 54 channel?which plays some of the '70s best dance tunes?I enjoyed satisfactory bass and other low end sounds that didn't overwhelm other parts of the track. It sounded a hair better than Slacker's audio offerings.

Private Dancer
SiriusXM's new MySXM feature lets listeners adjust each channel?s controls for a more custom fit listening experience. The channel-specific sliders allow users to tweak library depth, familiarity, music style, tempo, region, and other attributes.

90s on 9, for example, served up songs based on how I adjusted the Era, Popularity, and Style sliders. The options let me adjust the range between early 90s and late 90s, the decade's biggest hits vs. a greater variety, and more rhythm-centric works vs. pop/rock. I tweaked 90s on 9 to play only the biggest hits of the early '90s?and it delivered. Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" ('92), Boyz II Men's "Motownphilly" ('91), Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" ('90), and R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" ('91) played in succession. That high school-era programming really took me back to my late teens, and I loved every minute. I found myself wishing that Slacker, my current go-to stream audio service, had a similar personalization feature. After all, music released in 1990 sounds radically different from music released in 1999.

There are just over 50 MySXM-enabled at the time of this review, but SiriusXM plans to add more channels to its MySXM channel line-up over time.

Play Misty for Me
If you're a radio diehard?especially one disgusted at the state of traditional over-the-air music, news, and talk?consider Sirius XM a must-have. It not only puts decades of music at your finger tips, but the comedy circuit, and lifestyle and political talk, too. If you're looking to discover new artists, you may want to check out streaming music sites that offer recommendations based on your mood and time of day (Songza), or favorite artists and songs (Pandora, Slacker). Still, SiriusXM gets an Editors' Choice nod for crafting an excellent all-purpose live radio service.

More Music Services and Players Reviews:
??? SiriusXM Internet Radio
??? Twitter #music (for iPhone)
??? Twitter #music
??? ShowScoop Concerts (for iPhone)
??? Songkick
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/8-9Ni7bVT28/0,2817,2408006,00.asp

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AT&T loses contract phone subscribers in 1Q

(AP) ? AT&T Inc. says that it added a net 296,000 devices to its contract-based plans in the first quarter, but the gain was due entirely to tablets, which carry lower monthly fees.

Excluding tablets, the carrier lost a net 69,000 devices from its contract-based plans, the first such loss.

The figures were announced Tuesday as the company reported a 3 percent gain in net income to $3.7 billion, or 67 cents per share.

Excluding the sale of an advertising business, adjusted earnings came to 64 cents per share, matching the expectation of analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue fell nearly 2 percent to $31.36 billion, below the $31.74 billion that analysts were looking for.

Shares of the Dallas company are off 2 percent to $38.20 in after-hours trading.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-23-Earns-ATandT/id-fd65bd06c07b44d8bc72c8e9a7795d58

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More antibiotics may not always be better

Finish the course of pills: that's what all doctors say when they prescribe antibiotics, and for now, you should heed them. But new research suggests that might not always work as well as they assume, and may even compound the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Doctors consider it good practice to hit bacterial infections with high doses of antibiotics for days or longer, to make sure all the bacteria are dead. To treat tough infections such as TB, they combine two or more antibiotics in order to prevent the evolution of resistance, so if a bug starts resisting drug A, it will still be killed by drug B.

But much of this is based on assumption rather than evidence, says Robert Beardmore at the University of Exeter in the UK. He and his colleagues tested this by treating cultures of E. coli with two antibiotics considered synergistic ? they kill more bacteria together than separately. They found that bacteria did indeed die off fast on the first day.

But any bacteria that survived were those with genes for resisting both drugs, and they boomed as drug-sensitive competitors died. Bacterial loads were higher after treatment than they had been before it, and higher drug doses just quickened the growth of resistant populations.

"It's a double-edged sword," says Andrew Read of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, who was not involved in the work. "If you kill all the bacteria with your initial dose, great." But if not ? and antibiotics fall to sub-lethal levels at some time or in some part of the body during treatment ? then problems arise.

Further experiments performed by Beardmore's team suggest that not only synergistic drugs but also longer treatment might not hammer the surviving bacteria as intended. Instead such approaches might make more of the survivors antibiotic-resistant, and may even worsen the infection. "We need to base treatment on better evidence," says Read.

"I'm not advocating low dosing," says Beardmore, as this does lead to resistance. But, he says, we need a better understanding of how antibiotics work in different situations instead of going on untested assumptions.

He is now testing whether antibiotics that antagonise each other ? one may interfere with another's binding to bacteria, for instance ? might actually work better than synergistic drugs. This counter-intuitive possibility, thrown up by a mathematical model of bacterial evolution, might work in practice because antibiotics that antagonise each other do not make antibiotic resistance so advantageous.

Journal reference: PLoS Biology, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001540

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Judge dismisses lawsuit against NYC taxi-hailing app pilot

Judge dismisses lawsuit against NYC taxi-hailing app pilot

Taxi hailing apps have had a rough time getting started in the Big Apple. After the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) put the kibosh on Uber and subsequently blessed e-hailing apps with a 12-month test, the TLC faced a setback of its own: a lawsuit. Filed in March by 10 livery (black car) service outfits against the TLC and New York City, the suit packed seven complaints and temporarily put the pilot on hold. Among the claims were concerns that the program clouds the legal distinction between black cars and yellow medallion taxis, that it puts the elderly at a disadvantage and would enable cab drivers to discriminate by refusing service to certain passengers. Today, a judge dismissed the suit and lifted the order, clearing the way for the year-long trial to progress. There's no word on just when Uber and the likes of other e-hailing apps will be allowed to operate, but with legal hurdles out of the way, that should happen fairly soon.

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Via: The Washington Post

Source: City of New York

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/RGw1xh2nUtw/

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Study: Source of organic matter affects Bay water quality

Study: Source of organic matter affects Bay water quality [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: David Malmquist
davem@vims.edu
804-684-7011
Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Persistence of 'urban' organics downstream favors dead-zone formation

Each time it rains, runoff carries an earthy tea steeped from leaf litter, crop residue, soil, and other organic materials into the storm drains and streams that feed Chesapeake Bay.

A new study led by researchers at William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science reveals that land use in the watersheds from which this "dissolved organic matter" originates has important implications for Bay water quality, with the organic carbon in runoff from urbanized or heavily farmed landscapes more likely to persist as it is carried downstream, thus contributing energy to fuel low-oxygen "dead zones" in coastal waters.

The study appears in this month's issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, and was highlighted by the journal's publisher, the American Geophysical Union, as an "AGU Research Spotlight" in their print and online channels.

The study was authored by VIMS post-doctoral researcher Dr. Yuehan Lu (now at the University of Alabama), VIMS Professor Elizabeth Canuel, Professor Jim Bauer of Ohio State University, Associate Professor Youhei Yamashita of Hokkaido University in Japan, Professor Randy Chambers of the College of William & Mary, and Professor Rudolf Jaff of Florida International University.

Low-oxygen dead zones are a growing problem in Chesapeake Bay and coastal ecosystems worldwide. While most management practices focus on reducing inputs of nitrogen and other nutrients known to fuel dead zones, Canuel says "organic matter from the watershed may also contribute. One goal of our study was to examine the quality of organic matter derived from streams and its potential to contribute to dead-zone formation."

As streams and rivers carry dissolved organic matter downstream, bacteria or sunlight can modify it into compounds and forms that are more difficult for organisms to use. While the team's research showed no significant difference in bacterial degradation of organic matter from cleared or forested watersheds, Canuel says it did show that "organic carbon in runoff from watersheds affected by human activity is less susceptible to solar degradation than that from forested watersheds."

"Urban organics" thus remain at higher levels longer, says Canuel, "delivering more organic material to the river mouth and increasing the likelihood that low-oxygen conditions will develop in downstream locations such as estuaries and the coastal ocean."

The research team conducted their study using samples taken from seven small streams that flow into the James and York rivers, major tributaries of Chesapeake Bay. Three of these streams drain forested watersheds, with 87 to 100% tree cover, while the other four drain watersheds largely converted by human activity into pasture, cropland, or pavement and buildings.

The authors aren't yet sure why the organic carbon from the more developed watersheds is less vulnerable to breakdown by sunlight in rivers and streams, but suggest that it might be because it has already been exposed to appreciable sunlight in the less shady urban and agricultural environment.

Says Canuel, "Urban organics may persist downstream because their more photoreactive compounds have already been degraded due to greater light exposure in urban areas, farm fields, and pastures, leaving only the more photo-resistant, refractory compounds to wash into the coastal zone."

The team's findings provide one possible mechanism for an observed increase in the concentration of dissolved organic carbon in the surface waters of North America and Europe during the last few decades, and have implications for management of water quality in coastal zones worldwide.

"Our results show that future studies should assess not only the quantity of dissolved organic carbon entering our rivers and streams, but also its source," says Canuel. "Understanding how organic matter from developed and undeveloped watersheds behaves in the aquatic environment will contribute to the development of more effective watershed management practices and hopefully more successful efforts to reduce the number, extent, and duration of low-oxygen dead zones."

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Study: Source of organic matter affects Bay water quality [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: David Malmquist
davem@vims.edu
804-684-7011
Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Persistence of 'urban' organics downstream favors dead-zone formation

Each time it rains, runoff carries an earthy tea steeped from leaf litter, crop residue, soil, and other organic materials into the storm drains and streams that feed Chesapeake Bay.

A new study led by researchers at William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science reveals that land use in the watersheds from which this "dissolved organic matter" originates has important implications for Bay water quality, with the organic carbon in runoff from urbanized or heavily farmed landscapes more likely to persist as it is carried downstream, thus contributing energy to fuel low-oxygen "dead zones" in coastal waters.

The study appears in this month's issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, and was highlighted by the journal's publisher, the American Geophysical Union, as an "AGU Research Spotlight" in their print and online channels.

The study was authored by VIMS post-doctoral researcher Dr. Yuehan Lu (now at the University of Alabama), VIMS Professor Elizabeth Canuel, Professor Jim Bauer of Ohio State University, Associate Professor Youhei Yamashita of Hokkaido University in Japan, Professor Randy Chambers of the College of William & Mary, and Professor Rudolf Jaff of Florida International University.

Low-oxygen dead zones are a growing problem in Chesapeake Bay and coastal ecosystems worldwide. While most management practices focus on reducing inputs of nitrogen and other nutrients known to fuel dead zones, Canuel says "organic matter from the watershed may also contribute. One goal of our study was to examine the quality of organic matter derived from streams and its potential to contribute to dead-zone formation."

As streams and rivers carry dissolved organic matter downstream, bacteria or sunlight can modify it into compounds and forms that are more difficult for organisms to use. While the team's research showed no significant difference in bacterial degradation of organic matter from cleared or forested watersheds, Canuel says it did show that "organic carbon in runoff from watersheds affected by human activity is less susceptible to solar degradation than that from forested watersheds."

"Urban organics" thus remain at higher levels longer, says Canuel, "delivering more organic material to the river mouth and increasing the likelihood that low-oxygen conditions will develop in downstream locations such as estuaries and the coastal ocean."

The research team conducted their study using samples taken from seven small streams that flow into the James and York rivers, major tributaries of Chesapeake Bay. Three of these streams drain forested watersheds, with 87 to 100% tree cover, while the other four drain watersheds largely converted by human activity into pasture, cropland, or pavement and buildings.

The authors aren't yet sure why the organic carbon from the more developed watersheds is less vulnerable to breakdown by sunlight in rivers and streams, but suggest that it might be because it has already been exposed to appreciable sunlight in the less shady urban and agricultural environment.

Says Canuel, "Urban organics may persist downstream because their more photoreactive compounds have already been degraded due to greater light exposure in urban areas, farm fields, and pastures, leaving only the more photo-resistant, refractory compounds to wash into the coastal zone."

The team's findings provide one possible mechanism for an observed increase in the concentration of dissolved organic carbon in the surface waters of North America and Europe during the last few decades, and have implications for management of water quality in coastal zones worldwide.

"Our results show that future studies should assess not only the quantity of dissolved organic carbon entering our rivers and streams, but also its source," says Canuel. "Understanding how organic matter from developed and undeveloped watersheds behaves in the aquatic environment will contribute to the development of more effective watershed management practices and hopefully more successful efforts to reduce the number, extent, and duration of low-oxygen dead zones."

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/viom-sso042313.php

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Monday, April 22, 2013

Tom Cruise Takes Back Box-Office Crown With 'Oblivion'

Sci-fi flick takes the #1 spot this weekend with a $38.2 million debut.
By Ryan J. Downey


Tom Cruise in "Oblivion"
Photo: Universal Pictures

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706098/box-office-oblivion-tom-cruise.jhtml

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US providing Syrian rebels $123M more in aid

ISTANBUL (AP) ? The United States is providing Syrian rebels with $123 million in new nonlethal aid that may include body armor and other types of supplies that haven't been part of the assistance package in the past.

The additional money will double the nonlethal assistance to the Syrian opposition as well as increase humanitarian aid. The nonlethal aid could include armored vehicles, night vision goggles and advanced communications equipment.

Foreign ministers from the main supporters of the rebels trying to topple the Syrian government were meeting in Istanbul over the weekend to increase pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down. The United Nations estimates that the fighting in Syria has killed more than 70,000 people.

"The stakes in Syria couldn't be more clear: chemical weapons, the slaughter of people by ballistic missiles and other weapons of huge destruction, the potential of a whole country ... being torn apart into enclaves, the potential of sectarian violence," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement.

"This bloodshed needs to stop and that's what brought us here tonight on Saturday and a very early Sunday morning to talk about the possibilities for peace and transition," Kerry said.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers said they welcomed the Syrian National Coalition's "firm rejection of extremism and its commitment not to use chemical weapons" and cited those commitments in agreeing to enhance and expand support for all coalition institutions.

The foreign ministers said they recognized the "need to change the balance of power on the ground" and, in looking at the current flow of military assistance, welcomed the additional pledges and commitments to further increase the support to the Supreme Military Council. The head of the council provided a military briefing during the meeting.

Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib said in a statement, "Our revolution is for the entire Syrian people."

Still, the Syrian National Coalition said the limited support, while appreciated, wasn't enough. "We call on the international community to be more forthcoming and unreserved to fulfill its responsibilities in extending support that is needed by the Syrian people," the coalition said in a statement.

The foreign ministers also urged an immediate investigation by the United Nations to substantiate claims that chemical weapons had been used. "If these allegations are proven to be correct, there will be severe consequences," they said.

European nations were considering changes to an arms embargo that would allow arms transfers to the Syrian opposition. But European Union action seemed unlikely before May, and the fresh U.S. help fell short of the strongest demands from the Syrian National Coalition: drone strikes to disable Assad's chemical weapon and missile capability; a no-fly zone requiring significant military operations; and a U.N. resolution that condemns Assad for attacks on Syrians.

"The technical ability to take specific action to prevent the human tragedy and suffering of innocent civilians, mostly women and children, is available in the form of specific intelligence and equipment," the group said in a statement before the conference ended.

"Syrians understand that such ability is within the reach of a number of members of the Friends of Syria group, yet nothing serious has been done to put an end to such terror and criminality."

At the open of Saturday's meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said he wanted the conference to help bring peace to Syria, which has endured more than two years of civil war.

"I hope this meeting will be helping to peace in Syria, to regional peace and global peace. At the end of the day, we are all working together to end the pains of Syrian people," he said.

German's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, spoke of giving the opposition greater political power and concrete support. "That is how we are trying to ease the pain of the Syrian people," he said. "A violent solution is not a solution, only a democratic one is a real solution."

Kerry met with Davutoglu and Khatib before the conference got underway.

In the latest clashes, Syrian troops backed by pro-government gunmen captured at least one village in a strategic area near the Lebanese border, activists and state media reported.

President Barack Obama has said he has no plans to send weapons or give lethal aid to the rebels, despite pressure from Congress, some administration advisers and appeals from the Syrian opposition leadership.

Since February, the U.S. has shipped food and medical supplies directly to the Free Syrian Army, but Obama recently expanded that include defensive military equipment.

Kerry's announcement on Saturday was the first under that new authorization. So far, the U.S. has provided an estimated $117 million in nonlethal aid to the Syrian opposition, according to the White House.

Some Arab states are supplying the rebels with arms, and Britain and France are leading a push to modify the European Union's arms embargo on Syria to permit weapons transfers to the opposition.

The embargo is to expire at the end of May unless it is extended or revised.

Those in favor of the change say there have been no decisions on whether to actually supply the rebels with arms. They argue that allowing such transfers would increase the pressure on Assad. U.S. officials say they support testing this strategy.

Germany and the Netherlands, however, are said to be reluctant to support the step because they fear it would lead to further bloodshed.

Kerry said before leaving Washington that the conference aim was to get the opposition and all prospective donors "on the same page" with how Syria would be governed if and when Assad left power or was toppled.

The U.S. and its European and Arab allies are struggling to find ways to stem the escalating violence that has led to fears that chemical weapons may have been used. Despite international pressure, Assad has managed to retain power far longer than the Obama administration or its allies expected.

The U.S. is not opposed to other countries arming the rebels, provided there are assurances the weapons do not get to extremist groups that have gained ground in the conflict.

Kerry planned to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov next week in Brussels on the sidelines of a NATO-Russia Council meeting. He has said he has not given up on persuading Moscow to reverse its support for Assad.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-providing-syrian-rebels-123m-more-aid-221654440--politics.html

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Google fined $190,000 in Germany for illegal WiFi snooping with Street View cars

Google fined $190,000 in Germany for WiFi snooping with Street View cars

Google's been taking heat for a number of years since its Street View cars were found to be pulling WiFi data, and the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information has today hit the search giant with a 145,000 euro fine (almost $190,000) for its indiscretions. You may not remember this specific case in Germany -- it was nearly three years ago that investigations began, after all -- but it has now come a close with this fine and the ruling that El Goog illegally recorded personal data including emails, passwords and pictures, which have all reportedly been deleted. We know the company has enough cash to pay in full, so the ruling will likely make more of a dent to its image than its bank account.

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Via: PCWorld

Source: Hamburg's Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/-ik_ySi5CnQ/

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Sunday, April 21, 2013

Celebrity Stoners On 4/20 Weed Day

Celebrity Stoners On 4/20 Weed Day

Celebrity tokersToday is April 20, aka 4/20, and while that means nothing to many of us…it’s the unofficial holiday for weed smokers in the United States. Stoners all know 4:20 means it’s time to hit light it up. Now, we don’t condone illegal drug use, but here’s a list of known celebrity stoners! We’ve compiled a ...

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Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/04/celebrity-stoners-on-420-weed-day/

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Thursday, April 18, 2013

Some Google services hit by partial outage

(Recasts) PARIS, April 18 (Reuters) - Paris St Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti criticised his players for lack of concentration and "too much self-importance" after they were knocked out of the French Cup in the quarter-finals. "It is a huge disappointment especially because of the team's attitude," Ancelotti was quoted as saying in French media on Thursday, the day after defeat on penalties at Evian Thonon Gaillard. "There was no concentration, no character, too much self-importance," the Italian said. "The season is not finished but tonight is a disaster. I am sorry. It is my responsibility. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-services-hit-partial-outage-133904974--sector.html

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