News for today's 2018

Do-It-Yourself Tests Enable Cancer Diagnosis in Bathroom - Bloomberg

8:02 AM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><a href="http://www.modedx.com/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Mode Diagnostics Ltd.</a> wants to bring the medical laboratory into your bathroom -- with a mobile phone-size device that can detect signs of cancer right before your eyes.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The do-it-yourself test market, estimated at $2 billion to $3 billion globally, is expanding 20 percent a year as new checks for colon and prostate cancer, HIV, chlamydia, stomach ulcer, sperm count and drug abuse take their place on pharmacy shelves alongside standards such as blood-sugar monitors for diabetics and pregnancy tests, according to Alan Hirzel, a London-based partner at consulting company <a href="http://www.bain.com/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Bain & Co</a>.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Behind the growth is a shift in behavior as consumers become more aware of the signs and symptoms of disease and scour websites for tools to diagnose themselves. That trend may benefit Mode and boost shares of <a topic_url="http://topics.bloomberg.com/ip-group-plc/" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/IPO:LN" density="sparse" title="Get Quote" ticker="IPO:LN" class="web_ticker" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">IP Group Plc (IPO)</a>, which owns 45.7 percent of the closely held Scottish company.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"Up until this point, medicine and health have been either treatment at the hospital or at the physician's office," Mode Chief Executive Officer Paul J. Heaney said in an interview. "The third place is now the home."</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Mode expects to begin selling its colon-cancer test, the first in a series of do-it-yourself medical checks it's developing, directly to patients for about 25 pounds ($38) through online retailers such as <a href="http://Amazon.com">Amazon.com</a> Inc. in the second half of the year, Heaney said. The company is awaiting European regulatory permission this year, Heaney said.</div><h2 style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.3em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Quick Results</h2><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The test, which involves inserting a stool sample into a canister containing a solution, takes less than three minutes to produce results, while patients may have to wait weeks after mailing specimens to a laboratory, he said. The company's product is an improved digital version that requires fewer steps than older at-home colon tests. Patients who receive a positive result need to see their physician for confirmation, Heaney said.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Heaney expects Mode will receive clearance, allowing the colon cancer test to be sold in European Union countries by the end of the year, followed by a decision by the FDA in 12 to 18 months. It is also working on adapting the device's electrochemical biosensor for use in chlamydia and other diseases.</div><h2 style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.3em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">'Huge Appetite'</h2><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"There is a huge appetite for self-diagnostics" from people who want discretion or are anxious about hereditary conditions, Hirzel said in an interview. "It has the potential to reduce the cost of care and make health care more effective."</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">1st Health Products Ltd., a U.K. provider of self- diagnostic tests that was taken private last year in a <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/management-buyout/" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">management buyout</a> from <a topic_url="http://topics.bloomberg.com/valirx-plc/" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/VAL:LN" density="sparse" title="Get Quote" ticker="VAL:LN" class="web_ticker" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">ValiRx Plc (VAL)</a>, sells 10,000 to 12,000 tests a year, about 16 percent through <a href="http://www.valimedix.com/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">websites</a>. Direct sales are growing about 15 percent, according to Patrick Kirby, a director and co-owner.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"Hospitals have realized they can't do everything and patients are using the Internet," Kirby said in an interview. "It will grow if we get the right tests."</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">1st Health Products' top sellers are its tests for chlamydia, a biological marker that may indicate prostate cancer, urinary-tract infections, colon polyps that may signal cancer and commonly abused drugs including cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis, Kirby said. Prices range from 10 pounds to 15 pounds and most of the tests check for the presence of an antibody or antigen that causes a color change.</div><h2 style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.3em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Corporate Customers</h2><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Women buy half or more of the company's tests, including its prostate-specific antigen screen for a cancer that only affects men, Kirby said. Customers for the drug screen include a large bank, which Kirby declined to identify; others are schools and parents of teens struggling with drug habits.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Mode may pitch products to insurers who want to reduce the cost of treating life-threatening illnesses discovered at a late stage, Heaney said. The company has hired a representative in<a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/china/" density="sparse" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">China</a> to establish a presence in that market, he said.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The prospect of more testing and the possibility of an uptick in false positive results -- which suggest disease that isn't ultimately supported by further testing -- may scare away some payers, said analyst Vadim Alexandre of Daniel Stewart & Co. in London.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"You don't want a whole bunch of tests on the market that are sending people with false positives to clinics," Alexandre said.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Still, aging populations and spiraling medical costs are forcing governments to explore different ways of delivering health care, made possible with new technology, said Patrick Flochel, global head of Ernst & Young's pharmaceutical practice.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"Governments have an interest in financing prevention," Flochel said, suggesting that devices like Mode's may eventually be reimbursed.</div><h2 style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.3em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Life-threatening Diagnoses</h2><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Regulators require reliability of new screens to be comparable to old-style laboratory tests, testing companies said. Mode said its Measure device for <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/colon-cancer/" density="sparse" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">colon cancer</a> has 98 percent accuracy and 1st Health Products and closely held <a href="http://www.care.co.at/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Care Diagnostica</a> Produktions say their products' sensitivity in picking up signs of disease is about 90 percent.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The biggest challenge for at-home tests in <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/europe/" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Europe</a> is getting customers to pay for them when tests are offered at the doctors' office for no additional charge, said Kim Scheuringer, chief executive officer of Moellersdorf, Austria-based Care Diagnostica, which sells at-home tests for conditions including <a href="http://www.care.co.at/en/consumer/general-health-testing/colon-polyps/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">colon cancer</a> and chlamydia.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The companies have also had to address the impact that a positive result may have on a customer who receives a life- threatening diagnosis at home alone rather than in the presence of a doctor or a nurse who can counsel them. Home HIV tests are illegal in the U.K. under a 1992 law that was intended to ensure accuracy and provide support to patients, according to the <a href="http://www.mhra.gov.uk/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency</a>.</div><h2 style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.3em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">HIV Test</h2><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/food-and-drug-administration/" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Food and Drug Administration</a> approved the U.S.'s first rapid at-home saliva test for HIV, OraQuick by <a topic_url="http://topics.bloomberg.com/orasure-technologies-inc/" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/OSUR:US" density="sparse" title="Get Quote" ticker="OSUR:US" class="web_ticker" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">OraSure Technologies Inc. (OSUR)</a> of Bethlehem, <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/pennsylvania/" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Pennsylvania</a>, in July. The company agreed to provide a 24-hour support hotline and the FDA <a href="http://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/BloodBloodProducts/ApprovedProducts/PremarketApprovalsPMAs/UCM312534.pdf" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">concluded</a> the screen would identify 44,000 new cases of HIV and prevent 4,000 transmissions of the virus in its first year of use.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">1st Health Products is seeking to raise $500,000 to $1 million to expand its range of tests and distribution of its products, Kirby said. His long-term goal is to develop the company over the next three to four years and then possibly sell it, he said.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Mode is mulling over proposals from prospective manufacturers and will need to raise about 5 million pounds this year to get the product off the ground, Heaney said. It should quickly become profitable, he said. In addition to IP Group, which invests in new businesses based at U.K. universities, Mode's other investors include the <a href="http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Scottish Enterprise</a>, <a href="http://www.parkwalkadvisors.com/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Parkwalk Advisors Ltd.</a> and <a href="http://www.kelvincapital.com/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Kelvin Capital</a>.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; position: static; z-index: auto; ">Heaney said a licensing deal or initial public offering may eventually occur, or the company could be sold.</div></div><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-22/do-it-yourself-tests-enable-cancer-diagnosis-in-bathroom.html">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-22/do-it-yourself-tests-enable-cancer-diagnosis-in-bathroom.html</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Do-It-Yourself Tests Enable Cancer Diagnosis in Bathroom - Bloomberg

Mode Diagnostics Ltd. wants to bring the medical laboratory into your bathroom -- with a mobile phone-size device that can detect signs of ...

snow day

5:26 AM Anonymous 0

We survived the storm and are on our second snow day. Funny how that term's (snow day) meaning changes so drastically when you are the parent, rather than the child.<br /><br />We've already gone outside to play in the snow three times and have enjoyed several cups of hot chocolate.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVpsNu1aByA5koMVC2TVx_rZ7Er8BxTQpq7hZINs8M7icFBlortQRaQqj5lm4n4Qn8L-_r9vFOMZ0QQboAkpPP87eTIlZCGQOeZgxv_RQfLuZzxr__AWpn06xpXxdMVFoupzv9LuMYi9p/s1600/EveDrinksHotChocolate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVpsNu1aByA5koMVC2TVx_rZ7Er8BxTQpq7hZINs8M7icFBlortQRaQqj5lm4n4Qn8L-_r9vFOMZ0QQboAkpPP87eTIlZCGQOeZgxv_RQfLuZzxr__AWpn06xpXxdMVFoupzv9LuMYi9p/s640/EveDrinksHotChocolate.jpg" width="590" /></a></div><br />The natives are already getting restless though so we are venturing out today. Wish us luck and have a great weekend!

snow day

We survived the storm and are on our second snow day. Funny how that term's (snow day) meaning changes so drastically when you are the p...

Join the PIL Network – and enter their amazing competition…

4:25 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhg5WaZgk3KdRwJthncbYfDdIQckKlZWBVbHx9TgWxuOI8XLdQmmdWTlEFiaRJbIThdnRQCl8AWqaphrTxck359kl2KBh1IUuH4e57fB3upsSKgZDKJHgsyP74sC1kSdq-IjXd-zWzq4M/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDoeSDMZ8M8Kc_kZHgTg4RmcUzesjtvJdVqzqE4RqcOkPOhHLF67isTo6WeiHzhB3euFXXKyHUJbL2aXsMWLaQ4rbmlJ3dkI0x7ice6vhTnA_j8jJPxH2wJhyHSF31V97Lp-NT9I4fdcs/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What is the Partners in Learning Network?</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/16693300" width="476"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Details of the Partners in Learning Network competition</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s another super competition up for grabs for educators this time from Microsoft. This involves simply joining the Partners in Learning Network, inviting your friends and by so doing being in a draw for a new Windows Surface. Here are the details of the competition:</span><br /><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Dear Innovative Educators<br />We are thrilled to offer you an opportunity to win a “<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-US/surface-with-windows-rt/home?WT.mc_id=cpc_US-en_bing_mshh&WT.srch=1&semid=ef_BNG_e_bc5c98gb8q63u4bgtp30_1614045084&WT.search=1">Surface</a>” for your school! “<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-US/surface-with-windows-rt/home?WT.mc_id=cpc_US-en_bing_mshh&WT.srch=1&semid=ef_BNG_e_bc5c98gb8q63u4bgtp30_1614045084&WT.search=1">Surface</a>” is a new and highly innovative Microsoft tablet device powered by Windows 8! It already made headlines around the world. <u></u><u></u> </span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b></b><u></u><u></u> </span></i><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b><i><b>How do you win?</b></i></span><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All you need to do is refer Educators to the <a href="http://www.pil-network.com/">Partners in Learning Network</a>. The Educator with the highest Referrals wins a Surface!<u></u><u></u> </span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u></u><u></u> </span></i><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b><i><b>When does the competition start?</b></i></span><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The competition starts NOW until May 15, 2013 at midnight (Pacific Time Zone).<u></u><u></u> </span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u></u><u></u> </span></i><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b><i><b>When is the winner announced?</b></i></span><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Winner will be announced via email on May 17, 2013.<u></u><u></u> </span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b></b><u></u><u></u> </span></i><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b><i><b>How does the competition work?</b></i></span><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is easy!<br />All you need to do is:<br />• Go to your profile on the <a href="http://www.pil-network.com/">Partners in Learning Network</a><br />• Click on the link "Invite others to join"<br />• Send the invitation to all your colleagues<br />• Make sure your colleagues click on the Orange “Join Me” link in the email invite for you to get the credit<u></u><u></u></span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u></u><u></u> </span></i><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i><i>We'll keep track of how many joined from your referrals and let the best educator win!<u></u><u><br /></u>Happy Referral<br />The Educator Team”</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, why don’t you respond and visit the Partners in Learning Network? You’ll be AMAZED at all the free and interesting resources you find there – a prime example of ‘teachers teaching teachers!’</span><br /><br /></div>

Microsoft Join the PIL Network – and enter their amazing competition…

What is the Partners in Learning Network? Details of the Partners in Learning Network competition There’s another super competition up for g...

BRITAIN: SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE

3:58 AM Tukiyooo 0

<br /> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQVxaRo_lS5Fq3S5y21FHGT0bt7gS1RMYtqqKvdSUDSdMj4m0bDVp9fFDSZF636odK0jwlmf8Cz_MEnuuG7kQLM606UyzoKLu7aQrKQqAyQA6xhbbyiMFWswBtfeptaMmgAMpSyaVVFdD/s1600/Faslane_Naval_Base_Crown_Copyright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQVxaRo_lS5Fq3S5y21FHGT0bt7gS1RMYtqqKvdSUDSdMj4m0bDVp9fFDSZF636odK0jwlmf8Cz_MEnuuG7kQLM606UyzoKLu7aQrKQqAyQA6xhbbyiMFWswBtfeptaMmgAMpSyaVVFdD/s400/Faslane_Naval_Base_Crown_Copyright.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Faslane Naval Base</span> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Photo Credit: Crown Copyright</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ISSUE OF NUCLEAR FORCE LOOMS FOR SCOTTISH VOTE</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">By Tony Osborne</span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Source:<span style="color: #666666;"> </span>Aviation Week & Space Technology</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLW8AXFtHFJm20fcY1uLk3ovhMBvetm_h6nL5q5A_I2WTj2HB1bBMAH1M8NE1dT_dr5b5wqX093xZPAdGgiG0rTq4JH8d_MrqwnmgFpdx75uMODggWLZEJmbBVh3P-tjhAvE1SyZ-kIWEP/s1600/image2s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLW8AXFtHFJm20fcY1uLk3ovhMBvetm_h6nL5q5A_I2WTj2HB1bBMAH1M8NE1dT_dr5b5wqX093xZPAdGgiG0rTq4JH8d_MrqwnmgFpdx75uMODggWLZEJmbBVh3P-tjhAvE1SyZ-kIWEP/s320/image2s.jpg" width="282" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In 2014, the people of SCOTLAND will be asked whether their country should become independent. A “yes” response will have dramatic consequences for the defense of the BRITISH Isles. </span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Since 1707, SCOTLAND has been a part of the UNITED KINGDOM and has almost always been governed centrally from London. But the creation of a devolved government in 1999 and the 2011 swearing in of a nationalist administration has accelerated the march to independence. Under SCOTTISH National Party (SNP) plans, an independent Scotland would keep sterling as its currency—at least initially—and retain the queen as its head of state. Though a close relationship with ENGLAND seems solid, defense remains something of a sticking point. </span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Since the 1960s, the U.K.'s submarine-based nuclear deterrent has been situated on the highly guarded Faslane Naval Base. Four Vanguard-class submarines, each capable of carrying 16 Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles, maintain a constant vigil. But the SNP has a rigorous non-nuclear weapons policy and wants the Trident system withdrawn as early as possible. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: blue;">TRIDENT SYSTEM </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">WITHDRAWAL</span> </span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This could prove precarious, because “unlike most nuclear powers, the U.K. has just one single delivery method for its nuclear weapons,” says Prof. Malcolm Chalmers, an expert on U.K. defense policy at the Royal United Services Institute think tank. “If it wanted to be belligerent, an independent SCOTLAND could demand the removal of Trident and the U.K. would have no choice but to unilaterally disarm, because there is no alternative [site to house the subs]. </span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“If we still had an airborne nuclear deterrent . . .we would have simply moved the aircraft and the weapons to another base in England, but the infrastructure for these submarines has been built up over time to very specific standards . . . ,” adds Chalmers. It would take more than a decade to recreate the infrastructure, he says. </span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Such a “radical” move is unlikely, as it would upset NATO and EUROPEAN Union members. Until October 2012, the SNP was anti-NATO because it felt the organization was a “nuclear weapons-based alliance,” but the party now feels it could be a member of NATO's “Partnership for Peace” program. </span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Chalmers believes that SCOTLAND will take a cautious approach, urging that the nuclear weapons be moved at London's earliest convenience. That might make some Scots unhappy, but at least they will no longer be paying for the system or the multibillion-pound program that will eventually replace it. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ECONOMIC FACTOR</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">But others are concerned that the country's small but important defense industry could move to the U.K. as well. Shipbuilding, which employs 5,000 people in SCOTLAND, would be most at risk, particularly as current BRITISH government policy is to produce ships and submarines for the Royal Navy using national industry. Much of this capacity is in SCOTLAND, but in the event of independence it is likely that military vessel manufacturers would exit. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIiQX2b1sbBPdP99aSWRhbd-a8k64PXFIwLK0I4frEEC8ulf2S7zUrP6QUcim_n-wngWbJ7x21EanPsAQiNdop6ezB0Vu3JbgQqevFIrPs4d7ZBFxBBpsaLLXo28g1Mc7y027zAZfhDx2/s1600/mapofgreatbritain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIiQX2b1sbBPdP99aSWRhbd-a8k64PXFIwLK0I4frEEC8ulf2S7zUrP6QUcim_n-wngWbJ7x21EanPsAQiNdop6ezB0Vu3JbgQqevFIrPs4d7ZBFxBBpsaLLXo28g1Mc7y027zAZfhDx2/s400/mapofgreatbritain.jpg" width="246" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">The U.K. would also likely move its 15,000 employees south of the border, along with four Army infantry battalions, two Royal Marine Commando units and five squadrons of Tornado and Typhoon fighter aircraft. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">SCOTLAND will then need to consider its own defense. Government ministers have already disclosed that a SCOTTISH defense budget would be around £2.5 billion a year ($3.9 billion), enough, according to Chalmers, for a defense force larger than that of IRELAND but—as a proportion of GDP—around the same as the smaller SCANDINAVIAN countries. SCOTLAND has significant interests to look after. Many of its exports come from North Sea oil, so capabilities will have to be created to patrol the oil and gas fields, and capabilities must be put in place to deal with cyberwarfare and counter-terrorism. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">“There would not be much point in SCOTLAND inheriting equipment and assets from the U.K. because the U.K. armed forces have now been structured for deployment overseas. . . . [Creating a] new military from scratch will not be easy. Significant one-off costs will also be involved,” adds Chalmers. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">There are also questions about the make-up of a SCOTTISH armed force. Would it comprise an entirely fresh pool of SCOTTISH citizens? But then, exactly who is a SCOTTISH citizen? Currently, nearly 800,000 SCOTLAND-born people live elsewhere in the U.K. and will not be able to vote in the referendum. Yet, 400,000 denizens who were born outside SCOTLAND but now reside there—can. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Recent opinion polls suggest enthusiasm for SCOTTISH independence has slumped somewhat. Approximately 23% are saying they would vote “yes,” so it is perhaps no wonder that government departments are spending more time studying how to urge SCOTS to say “nay” rather than planning for an affirmative outcome. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">The SCOTTISH government is planning to hold its referendum in fall 2014, and if the people green-light the idea, it is the administration's intention is to have a constitutional platform in place for SCOTLAND to become independent by March 2016. </span><br />

BRITAIN: SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE

Faslane Naval Base Photo Credit: Crown Copyright ISSUE OF NUCLEAR FORCE LOOMS FOR SCOTTISH VOTE By Tony Osborne Source: Aviation Week &a...

Grappling With Nostalgia

9:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Cheeeeeers Chuckleheads, and Happy Friday!!<br /><br />Recently the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it is dropping wrestling from its list of sporting events effective with the 2020 Olympic Games.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7eRTj3ErSY9JgAfVKhbzaIAopAXLcTaDzjJMBVvt3bhDSq3SSbvWDEvzfjQ5GEFYPyFDvp6cvfNy_f3hXBU6Oq6QzFMQGtYCVDLnnNCDsNw0S2__WPk_8YA4r7dh_JGpYlJq44Jyv1w/s1600/Olympic+Wrestling+2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7eRTj3ErSY9JgAfVKhbzaIAopAXLcTaDzjJMBVvt3bhDSq3SSbvWDEvzfjQ5GEFYPyFDvp6cvfNy_f3hXBU6Oq6QzFMQGtYCVDLnnNCDsNw0S2__WPk_8YA4r7dh_JGpYlJq44Jyv1w/s320/Olympic+Wrestling+2020.jpg" width="320" /></a>I was shocked.  After all, wrestling is one of the most purest forms of sport ever, and I feel it is a sport that embodies the “Olympic spirit”, but evidently the IOC feels that while that may be true, it doesn't draw enough ticket sales or TV ratings.<br /><br />I’m not a big wrestling fan myself, but I am a bit of traditionalist and one who can be very sentimental at times, and this news led me to think of things and people that I have experienced in my forty eight years that have gone to the wayside or been kicked to the curb.<br /><br />So my friends…What follows is a list of people (excluding family, which is a given) and things that I miss from days gone by.<br /><br /><b>Rotary Phones…</b><br /><br />Ah, the clickity clack sound of the rotary dialing.  I miss those big, black, ten pound, wall huggin’ phones.  I still remember the one we had at 1508 S. Limestone when I was 4 or 5 years old.<br /><br />I remember one day standing on a chair and being handed the phone so I could talk to my sister Anne who was an army nurse in Vietnam.  It was mind altering hearing her from so far away.  The call was made even cooler by the fact that we had to say “over” when we finished our sentences.<br /><br />I remember Anne telling me that she was sending my brother Marty and I piñatas.  We got them weeks later, but there was no candy inside. Darn clever those yellow devils, but I still do miss that phone.<br /><br /><b>Bunting…</b><br /><br />Do some of you not know what a bunt is?  I’m sure you don’t, because today nobody in Major League Baseball knows how to lay down a good bunt.  When I played Little League, I received a trophy because I was so damn good at it.  The pitcher throws the ball and you either square around and bunt it where you want it to go, or drag it down the baseline at the last minute.<br /><br />These days when the manly major leaguers go to bunt, they look like a female softball player takin’ a slap swing at the ball.  Pathetic!!<br /><br /><b>Phil Hartman…</b><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWHA1UubHt1d-OrPSD0iYDAnBAl_chT7CA6xGCfMXp4tsUqhs6g96QAQwU2m6DYHcY84uS73VUQ9Eb7-czUic9dC-U38WPILRWrJBxWYWbL8t3sj_fwW2ZuXtnC-B298KuWJr8UgPRLIg/s1600/Phil+Hartman-Bill+Clinton+SNL+Warlords.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWHA1UubHt1d-OrPSD0iYDAnBAl_chT7CA6xGCfMXp4tsUqhs6g96QAQwU2m6DYHcY84uS73VUQ9Eb7-czUic9dC-U38WPILRWrJBxWYWbL8t3sj_fwW2ZuXtnC-B298KuWJr8UgPRLIg/s320/Phil+Hartman-Bill+Clinton+SNL+Warlords.jpg" width="248" /></a>I am not one who even comes close to being a person who suffers from celebrity worship syndrome, but Phil Hartman is one celeb that I did, and still do, adore.  Hartman was so damn talented in so many areas.  He was an actor, graphics guy, and just naturally funny.<br /><br />You may know him from <i>NewsRadio</i>, or from SNL as the Anal Retentive Chef, but he always killed me when he played Bill Clinton.  That bastard had me at, <i>“Warlords.”</i>  Sadly, his drug addicted wife murdered him in 1998.  To this day I miss him, his talent, and the decades of laugh giving he had left in him.<br /><br /><b>Radio…</b><br /><br />When I speak of radio, I specifically mean AM and short wave radio.  When I was a kid I would go to bed in Springfield, Ohio with an AM transistor radio and it was so cool, because at night I could pick up stations from NYC, Chicago, St. Louis, and hold on…Canada!! I thought that was so cool. Shortwave was the same thing only HUGE.  I could listen to stations all over the world!!<br /><br />I still can, but it’s not a challenge.  I can just Google any radio station and click on to listen.  Back in the day it was work, I had to carefully get the tuner knob just right.  It was an accomplishment, and I miss that.<br /><br />Yes, I just turned 48 recently, and I am not going through one of those “back in my day” things.  I love technology.  I love being able to talk to people I would otherwise never know. I love doing the IWS Radio show, but…<br /><br />Just as wrestling was and is one of the roots of Olympic competition, the things that I have mentioned are part of my root system as a person, and I need to hold on to them if only in memory, and I hope that you too, take time to acknowledge things from your past that no matter how trivial, bring a smile to your face or make you reflect.<br /><br /><i>Cheers!!</i><br /><br />Matt-Man<br /><a href="mailto:mattmaniws@ymail.com">mattmaniws@ymail.com</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/MattMan_IWS" target="_blank">@mattman_iws</a></div>

Grappling With Nostalgia

Cheeeeeers Chuckleheads, and Happy Friday!! Recently the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it is dropping wrestling from ...

The Cecil Hotel: What a Dead Body in a Water Tank Does for Your Yelp Reviews

8:37 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img alt="AP" height="400" src="http://timenewsfeed.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/hotel-roof-body-side.jpg?w=260" width="229" /><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Tourists in Los Angeles were shocked to learn this week that the body of a Canadian woman had been found at the bottom of a water tank at their hotel in the city’s downtown area. Elisa Lam, 21, was last seen at the Cecil Hotel on Jan. 31, according to L.A. police. Her parents reported her missing earlier this month, and a maintenance worker discovered the body Tuesday as he was looking into complaints about the water pressure in the building. It seems very possible that guests have been drinking and bathing with water contaminated by a body that has been decomposing for nearly two weeks.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">But the suspicious death of the 21-year-old is only the latest in a series of unfortunate incidents that have taken place at the Cecil, which dates back to the 1920s and is located near the city’s seedy Skid Row. “There were murders there in the 20s and 30s,” Chris Nichols, associate editor of <em>Los Angeles Magazine,</em> <a href="http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/02/20/36038/long-dark-history-cecil-hotel-downtown-los-angeles/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">told</a> South California Public Radio. In 1962, a 27-year-old woman jumped out of a window, killing herself and the pedestrian she landed on. In 1964, Goldie Olsen — a former telephone operator known as the pigeon lady of Pershing Square — was found strangled to death in her room, <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/26/travel/tr-lizzieside26" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">according to</a> the <em>Los Angeles Times.</em></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Two infamous serial killers, <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/richard-ramirez-12385163" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Richard Ramirez</a>, the “Night Stalker,” and Austrian journalist <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/jack-unterweger-12103266" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jack Unterweger</a>, are believed to have stayed at the Cecil during the 1980s. Ramirez was a regular who <a href="http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/02/20/36038/long-dark-history-cecil-hotel-downtown-los-angeles/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">reportedly</a> checked in for 14 days, paying $14 a night. He was later found <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/richard-ramirez-12385163" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">guilty of 13 murders</a> and is currently on death row in California. Unterweger, who had been convicted of murder in 1974 in Austria but released in the 1990s, was later charged with killing 11 prostitutes while on parole, including three found strangled <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1994-06-30/local/me-10223_1_los-angeles" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">“with their bras”</a> during his stay in Los Angeles. He was convicted of nine of the murders in 1994 and hung himself in his cell the following day.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">While the Cecil Hotel now markets itself as a boutique hotel — and underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation five years ago — sightseeing buses still stop at the historic building as part of a <a href="http://esotouric.com/mainhotel" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">“Hotel Horrors and Main Street Vices”</a> tour. In 2008, a <em>Los Angeles Times </em>headline <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-body-water-tower-20130220,0,3005517.story" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">billed</a> the lobby as a place where “the hip and the near-homeless meet”: “The rooms are small, bugs scamper across the floors and in the dim hallways, one sometimes encounters guests who have been using drugs or alcohol.” At the moment, rooms are a bargain, <a href="https://www.reservations-page.com/c00574/h09919/be.ashx?vl=b7d2288c-3c5f-47ae-90d3-51d7a90d510c" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">according to</a> the hotel’s website.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Yelp reviewers agree, complaining about everything from cockroach infestations and cigarette burns in the bed sheets to homeless people loitering. In light of this week’s events, there has been an influx of new reviews of the two-star hotel — “this hotel definitely offers something for the macabre tourist” — on its Yelp page.</div><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /><br /></span></div>

The Cecil Hotel The Cecil Hotel: What a Dead Body in a Water Tank Does for Your Yelp Reviews

Tourists in Los Angeles were shocked to learn this week that the body of a Canadian woman had been found at the bottom of a water tank at th...

PlayStation 4 Not Backwards Compatible With Retail or Digital Games

8:35 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/80i_6UnnsRg?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe> <h2 class="article_subtitle" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px;">A new console brings a new, dedicated ecosystem.</h2><div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-right: 6px;">In a roundtable conversation with journalists, President of Sony’s Worldwide Studios noted that PS3 games of both the retail and downloadable variety will not be compatible with PlayStation 4, at least not natively. In other words, your PS3 discs won’t work in the new console nor will the games you downloaded. This means that hits like Journey, The Unfinished Swan, Shatter and hundreds of other games available in the digital space will not be carried over to PlayStation 4 in addition to the collection of PS3 discs sitting on your shelf.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-right: 6px;">There’s a catch, though: emulation. The PlayStation 3 doesn’t read PlayStation 2 discs (at least not anymore), but it can play PS2 games via the PlayStation Store in an emulated environment. Yoshida concedes that this is possible for PlayStation 4 supporting legacy PlayStation consoles as well. Indeed, the Gaikai presentation during PlayStation 4’s reveal touched on this “everything, everywhere” mentality. But for now, downloaded PS3 games won’t work “unless, somehow, some games work on emulation. And the easiest thing, technically, would be to make PSone games work on PS4 with emulation. But we’re not talking about our emulation plans as yet.”</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-right: 6px;">In short, “There are two ways [to play legacy content]: emulation or cloud services [from Gaikai]. But native support [of digital games from PS3], no, sorry. It doesn’t work.”</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-right: 6px;">But how about some good news to close? Yoshida reaffirmed that “disc-based games on PS4” will work on any other PlayStation 4. So, <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02/21/sony-exec-playstation-4-doesnt-block-used-games" style="border: 0px none; color: #003399; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; resize: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">as first reported yesterday</a>, PS4 will have no used games/shared games lock for retail, store-bought titles.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-right: 6px;"><br /></div></div></div>

PlayStation 4 PlayStation 4 Not Backwards Compatible With Retail or Digital Games

A new console brings a new, dedicated ecosystem. In a roundtable conversation with journalists, President of Sony’s Worldwide Studios noted...

Google Glass tech offers vision of the future

8:32 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">The wearable internet-connected gadget, not expected to hit the market until 2014, will retail for under $1,500.</span><br /><img src="http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2013/2/21/2013221173553943734_20.jpg" /><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">The glasses will handle most of the same tasks as smartphones, but respond to voice commands </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></span><br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">A new <a class="InternalLink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1uyQZNg2vE" style="color: #fb9d04; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">promo video</a> for its internet-connected glasses technology known as <a class="InternalLink" href="http://www.google.com/glass/start/" style="color: #fb9d04; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Google Glass</a> has given potential early adopters a chance to buy the as yet unreleased product.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">The video, posted on Wednesday, touted the wearable technology as one of the biggest advancements in personal computing in many years.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">In the video, people wore the glasses while skydiving, riding a rollercoaster, skiing, and swinging on a trapeze, but Tom Royal, editor of the London-based magazine <em>Popular Science UK</em>, cautioned that the product will require a great deal of investment and infrastructure.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">"It's going to require a huge investment around the world to make these things work" anytime and anywhere as the video purports, Royal told Al Jazeera.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Though he says the glasses come in "a clever looking, quite attractive package", Royal, like other analysts, said consumers should temper their expectations.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">"The danger of hyping something this much is that clearly the technology is far behind where the hype is right now," Rocky Agrawal of reDesign Mobile, said, adding, "there's a real danger of setting the expectations bar too high".</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">The glasses will handle most of the same tasks as smartphones, but respond to voice commands instead of fingers touching a screen.<br /><br />The glasses include a tiny display screen attached to a rim above the right eye and run on Google's Android operating system for mobile devices.<br /><br />Google has said the mass-market version of Google Glass will cost less than $1,500 - the price paid by an exclusive number of computer programmers last June - but more than a smart phone.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">The California-based company does not plan to start selling "Google Glass" in the mass market until 2014.</div></div>

Google Glass tech Google Glass tech offers vision of the future

The wearable internet-connected gadget, not expected to hit the market until 2014, will retail for under $1,500. The glasses will handle mos...

PS4: We recap the best moments, from ‘Watch_Dogs’ to ‘Destiny’

8:11 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img src="http://latimesherocomplex.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/original1.jpg?w=600" /><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The PS4 was unveiled last night — did you miss it? Don’t worry, we’ve got your recap. In an event that stretched on for hours, Sony showed off the Playstation 4 for the world to see, even if it didn’t show what the physical console itself looks like.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Amid Sony’s hype, bold promises and the claims of the PS4’s inevitable superiority were a number of game demos, conceptual trailers and more from both first- and third-party publishers. Look below for every clip you may have missed, or wish to re-watch, from last night’s event.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Killzone: Shadow Fall”</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sony’s premier first-person shooter, the fourth installment of “Killzone” follows in its predecessors’ footsteps, looking to be a continued spectacle of explosions, iron-sight gunplay and a seemingly never-ending stream of Helghast.</div><span class="embed-youtube" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="368" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xWKgGdTyQZc?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="600"></iframe></span><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />“Watch_Dogs”</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ubisoft’s new IP stole the show during last year’s E3 conference, and it may have done the same for Sony’s PS4 reveal. On display was what Ubisoft claimed was an example of the emergent gameplay offered by its new open-world effort. “Watch_Dogs” is a confirmed PS4 launch title.</div><span class="embed-youtube" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="368" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EtBh4QzZKz4?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="600"></iframe></span><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />Quantic Dream’s tech demo</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></strong>Perhaps the most impressive display of the PS4′s graphical power, “Heavy Rain” developer Quantic Dream unveiled just a taste of the tech it’ll be using for future PS4 projects.</div><span class="embed-youtube" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="368" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MUMOHSL53L8?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="600"></iframe></span><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />“Deep Down”</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Capcom’s latest IP looks like a mix between its own “Dragon’s Dogma” and the “Dark Souls” series, serving as a fantasy-focused showcase for the company’s new engine, code-named “Panta Rhei.”</div><span class="embed-youtube" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="368" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VXAa5TCrUfM?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="600"></iframe></span><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />“Destiny”</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bungie, now a third-party developer after leaving Microsoft and the “Halo” franchise behind, confirmed Wednesday that not only will upcoming FPS “Destiny” be on the PS3 and the PS4 (on launch at that), but the game will feature exclusive Playstation content.</div><span class="embed-youtube" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="368" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6kJkiwDeWqQ?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="600"></iframe></span><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />“Infamous: Second Son”</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The third entry in Sucker Punch’s “Infamous” series, “Second Son” appears to take a break from series star Cole MacGrath in favor of a new protagonist, one with a decidedly more political focus.</div><span class="embed-youtube" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tHSeyPl--Fw?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="560"></iframe></span><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />“The Witness”</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The long-awaited successor to the indie darling platformer “Braid,” Jonathan Blow’s “The Witness” looks like a “Myst”-inspired next-gen offering, one that Blow promised would be a lean, mean puzzle-focused machine.</div><span class="embed-youtube" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="368" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Brd0F7rlXCI?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="600"></iframe></span><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />“DriveClub”</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Instead of tantalizing racing fans with another installment in the “Gran Turismo” series, Sony revealed a new racing game with a focus on social integration.</div><span class="embed-youtube" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="368" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLol_ykYs3OQ65y4avMdbMk_k96z3lMt6W&hl=en_US" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="600"></iframe></span><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />“Knack”</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The very first game unveiled at Sony’s conference, “Knack” evokes the character-based titles like “Crash Bandicoot” and “Spyro” that helped fuel the first Playstation’s success.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="embed-youtube" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="368" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLol_ykYs3OQ65y4avMdbMk_k96z3lMt6W&hl=en_US" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="600"></iframe></span><br />And finally, Sony unveiled a trailer for the PS4 itself:</div><span class="embed-youtube" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="368" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/x7QhUL8NUK4?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="600"></iframe></span><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Weigh in on your own favorite moments, or your skepticism about Sony’s upcoming hardware and lineup of games, below.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia, times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Morgan Little</div></div>

Sony PS4 news PS4: We recap the best moments, from ‘Watch_Dogs’ to ‘Destiny’

The PS4 was unveiled last night — did you miss it? Don’t worry, we’ve got your recap. In an event that stretched on for hours, Sony showed o...

Sony PS4 event gets skewered in animated parody

8:09 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/q0vcqayut0E?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Taiwanese animators Next Media Animation is taking the Sony PlayStation 4 event to task.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><ul class="arrows gray" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="background-image: url(http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/cbs/generic/genericSprite.png); background-position: -15px -911px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57570387/sony-announces-playstation-4-dual-shock-4-controller/" style="border: 0px; color: #b12124; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sony announces PlayStation 4, DualShock 4 controller</a></li><li style="background-image: url(http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/cbs/generic/genericSprite.png); background-position: -15px -911px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57570518/ps4-wont-block-used-games-143-developers-on-board/" style="border: 0px; color: #b12124; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">PS4 won't block used games, 143 developers on board</a></li></ul><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sony announced its next-generation video game console at a press event in New York City, but the PS4 itself was a no-show.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sony says that the PS4 features a PC-like body architecture, x86 CPU, enhanced PS GPU, 8 gigabytes of unified memory, local storage hard drive and an updated DualShock 4 controller.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The animation group created a video mocking the PS4 at Wednesday's press event. Sony treated members of the press to experience what using the next-generation console might feel like with live demonstrations, but did not actually show the video game console or hint at a price point.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Watch the video below. Parental discretion is advised for mild animated nudity and violence.</div><br /><br /></div>

Sony PS4 news Sony PS4 event gets skewered in animated parody

Taiwanese animators Next Media Animation is taking the Sony PlayStation 4 event to task. Sony announces PlayStation 4, DualShock 4 controlle...

Patrick saves her car for 500 start

8:05 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img alt="Tony Gibson, left, shakes hands with driver Danica Patrick" src="http://static.foxsports.com/content/fscom/img/2013/02/21/022113-Nascar-Danica-Patrick-Tony-Gibson-DG-PI_20130221195806759_660_320.JPG" /><br /><br /><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #1a303a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.</h3><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;"><a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/cup/driver/danica-patrick/288175" style="color: #5c6e70; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Danica Patrick</a> was teasing us all along.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;"></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;">Patrick promised to mix it up during the first Budweiser Duel qualifying race on Thursday. But the polesitter for Sunday’s Daytona 500 never led a lap. She quickly fell out of the lead pack in the first few circuits and after 10 laps was 22nd in the field.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;">After the 60-lap exercise, Patrick finished 17th in her qualifier — not that it matters since she’s locked in to the pole position.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;">“Yeah, it’s not an exciting mission when you’ve just got to bring it home,” Patrick said. “But, it is for the Daytona 500, so you’ve got to keep that in mind. I learned that the outside (line) is strong and it carries a lot of good momentum.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;">“And then I learned that you need some friends. I also learned that you can’t be too tight because that outside is what’s good but you can’t be too tight, which mine was. It was way too tight at the start. But we wanted to be conservative. We didn’t want to have any issues with the GoDaddy car. We wanted to make sure we’ve got it on that front row for Sunday."</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;">Patrick acknowledged that her afternoon was far from scintillating. With the exception of her tachometer breaking — which made it impossible to ascertain her speed on pit road — Patrick had no major mechanical issues.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;"></div><div class="parentWrapper" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #252525; float: right; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; padding: 4px 0px 4px 8px;"><div class="fs-partner-includes" style="border-left-color: rgb(186, 192, 196); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 11px; margin-right: -10px; margin-top: 11px; padding-left: 20px; width: 240px;"><a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/gallery/The_best_of_Danica_Patrick" id="inline-num-1 - link-num-1" style="color: #265970; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="best of danica"><img align="middle" alt="best of danica" href="http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/gallery/The_best_of_Danica_Patrick" src="http://o.static.foxsports.com/content/fscom/img/2013/01/10/danica_20130110124048156_202_97.JPG" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: none;" target="_blank" /></a><h3 style="color: #1a303a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/gallery/The_best_of_Danica_Patrick" id="inline-num-1 - link-num-2" style="color: #265970; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">DANICA'S BEST</a></h3>There's no one like Danica, both on and off the track. Check out some of our favorite <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/gallery/The_best_of_Danica_Patrick" id="inline-num-1 - link-num-3" style="color: #265970; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">photos of Danica in action</a>.</div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;"></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;">“I knew there was something wrong and then when I got out there on the track it showed I was going 10,000 rpm,” Patrick said. “I’m sure I’d love to have the kind of speed that comes with 10,000 rpm gives you, but it wasn’t right. So, it’s good to get those little bugs out of the way. We’ll fix them and be solid for Sunday.”</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;">For crew chief Tony Gibson, surviving the Duel was the goal for his rookie driver.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;">“The important thing is the car is in one piece for Sunday,” Gibson said. “She learned what she needed to learn, but the car is in one piece for the big race. We’ll tear the car down and change everything out, the tachometer obviously too, and do some practice on Friday and Saturday.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;">“It’s always a challenge to get through the Duels clean and we did that.”</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 14px;">Patrick will make her second Daytona 500 start on Sunday. Last year the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet barely made it to the second lap before she was collected in a wreck. Patrick soldiered home in an ill-handling car and finished 38th, 64 laps down.</div></div>

NASCAR Patrick saves her car for 500 start

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. Danica Patrick was teasing us all along. Patrick promised to mix it up during the first Budweiser Duel qualifying race ...

28 in 28 #21: BIM in Small-Scale Sustainable Design

7:30 PM Tukiyooo 0

<i>February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The "<a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/search/label/28%20in%2028">28 in 28</a>" series features a different book every day of the month.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470590890,subjectCd-CS30.html"><b><i>BIM in Small-Scale Sustainable Design</i></b></a> by  François Lévy<br />Wiley, 2011<br />Hardcover, 312 pages<br /><br /><img alt="28-28_BIM.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/28-28_BIM.jpg" title="Book cover" /><br /><br />At its core BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a pretty simple idea: A 3-dimensional virtual model is embodied with data that can be used to generate drawings, spreadsheets, and other relevant output. But the complexities are many, partially due to the fact that the shift from CAD to BIM is a much greater one than the shift from hand drafting to CAD. The earlier transition from paper to digital still involved the drawing of plans, sections, elevations, and so forth via lines, but BIM dispenses with drawing (for the most part, at least) in favor of the modeling of systems (walls, windows, doors, roofs, etc.). On top of that fact is learning BIM software, determining how to integrate BIM into an office's and project's workflow, and coordinating with consultants, among many other considerations.<br /><br />When it comes to integrating BIM within a project's workflow, it is often used purely for construction documents, coming after schematic design and entering the picture sometime within design development, depending on the firm. <a href="http://francoislevy.com/">François Lévy</a>, an architect in Austin, Texas, believes that for small, skin-load dominated buildings (versus large, systems-heavy buildings) BIM is best introduced in the early phases of a project, where it can be used to aid with site analysis, massing, solar studies, passive heating/cooling, and hydrology, to name a few areas where the intelligent modeling can be queried for information. This is not to say that a highly detailed and "figured out" model needs to be generated in the conceptual or schematic design phase; BIM software enables models with respectively "lo-fi" information to be created and still carry intelligent data.<br /><br />Lévy's argument unfolds over eleven chapters that address the uses of BIM mentioned above, as well the relationship between BIM and sustainable design, BIM software, and collaboration. Each chapter is accompanied by a brief case study that is helpful in grounding Lévy's ideas in specific practices, most of them external to his own. Falling somewhere between a technical textbook and a theoretical exposition, the book is helpful as a guide for architects interested in integrating BIM into their workflow. With an emphasis on small buildings (single-family houses, mainly), that pool is large, and the book makes a convincing argument for working BIM into the early stages of a design. That argument would be even stronger if the book were illustrated in color; as is, many of the renderings and model views lack contrast and differentiation between surfaces to make them fully legible. This is unfortunate but not a fatal flaw for a book that intelligently embraces a technology's impact on making buildings better and more responsible.<br /><br /><b>US: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470590890/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470590890&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy from Amazon.com" border="0" src="http://www.archidose.org/books/buy-from-tan.gif" /></a> CA: <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0470590890/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470590890&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy from Amazon.ca" border="0" height="28" src="http://www.archidose.org/books/buy-from-tan-ca.gif" width="90" /></a> UK: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0470590890/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470590890&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy from Amazon.co.uk" border="0" height="28" src="http://www.archidose.org/books/buy-from-tan-uk.gif" width="90" /></a></b>

28 in 28 #21: BIM in Small-Scale Sustainable Design

February is Book Month on A Daily Dose of Architecture. The " 28 in 28 " series features a different book every day of the month. ...

The Benefits of Exercising Outdoors - NYTimes.com

7:11 PM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:"><div style="text-align: left; "><div class="postContent" style="color: black; margin-left: 126px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">While the allure of the gym — climate-controlled, convenient and predictable — is obvious, especially in winter, emerging science suggests there are benefits to exercising outdoors that can't be replicated on a treadmill, a recumbent bicycle or a track.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">You stride differently when running outdoors, for one thing. Generally, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3266869/" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: underline; ">studies find</a>, people flex their ankles more when they run outside. They also, at least occasionally, run downhill, a movement that isn't easily done on a treadmill and that stresses muscles differently than running on flat or uphill terrain. Outdoor exercise tends, too, to be more strenuous than the indoor version. In studies comparing the exertion of running on a treadmill and the exertion of running outside, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8887211" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: underline; ">treadmill runners expended less energy</a> to cover the same distance as those striding across the ground outside, primarily because indoor exercisers face no wind resistance or changes in terrain, no matter how subtle.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">The <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17127577" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: underline; ">same dynamic has been shown to apply to cycling</a>, where wind drag can result in much greater energy demands during 25 miles of outdoor cycling than the same distance on a stationary bike. That means if you have limited time and want to burn as many calories as possible, you should hit the road instead of the gym.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">But there seem to be other, more ineffable advantages to getting outside to work out. In a <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21291246" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: underline; ">number of recent studies,</a> volunteers have been asked to go for two walks for the same time or distance — one inside, usually on a treadmill or around a track, the other outdoors. In virtually all of the studies, the volunteers reported enjoying the outside activity more and, on subsequent psychological tests, scored significantly higher on measures of vitality, enthusiasm, pleasure and self-esteem and lower on tension, depression and fatigue after they walked outside.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Of course, those studies were small-scale, short-term — only two walks — and squishy in their scientific parameters, relying heavily on subjective responses. But a <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22846594" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: underline; ">study last year of older adults</a> found, objectively, that those who exercised outside exercised longer and more often than those working out indoors. Specifically, the researchers asked men and women 66 or older about their exercise habits and then fitted them all with electronic gadgets that measured their activity levels for a week. The gadgets and the survey showed that the volunteers who exercised outside, usually by walking, were significantly more physically active than those who exercised indoors, completing, on average, about 30 minutes more exercise each week than those who walked or otherwise exercised indoors.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Studies haven't yet established why, physiologically, exercising outside might improve dispositions or inspire greater commitment to an exercise program. A <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22472137" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: underline; ">few small studies have found</a> that people have lower blood levels of cortisol, a hormone related to stress, after exerting themselves outside as compared with inside. There's speculation, too, that exposure to direct sunlight, known to affect mood, plays a role.</p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">But the take-away seems to be that moving their routines outside could help reluctant or inconsistent exercisers. "If outdoor activity encourages more activity, then it is a good thing," says Jacqueline Kerr, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, who led the study of older adults. After all, "despite the fitness industry boom," she continues, "we are not seeing changes in national physical activity levels, so gyms are not the answer."</div></div><footer class="postMeta" style="display: block; clear: both; padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 21px; padding-left: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><div class="postRelated module wrap" style="color: black; margin-bottom: 12px; clear: both; display: block; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; position: static; z-index: auto; "><a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/the-benefits-of-exercising-outdoors/">http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/the-benefits-of-exercising-outdoors/</a><div class="relatedArticlesModule column lastColumn" style="float: left; display: inline; overflow-x: visible; overflow-y: visible; margin-right: 0px !important; width: 427px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 15px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></div></div></footer></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

The Benefits of Exercising Outdoors - NYTimes.com

While the allure of the gym — climate-controlled, convenient and predictable — is obvious, especially in winter, emerging science suggests t...