FREE IS MY LIFE: MOVIE REVIEW: Pitch Perfect

This move review for "Pitch Perfect" was written by guest blogger Liz Parker...

When I saw a tweet from actress Elizabeth Banks asking for extras in her film Pitch Perfect last November, I offhandedly mentioned it to a friend of mine who lives in Baton Rouge. My friend jumped at the chance to be an extra, which resulted in this post. It should come as no surprise, then, that I was very eager to see?Pitch Perfect more than a month before it was in theaters. Although I didn't see my friend in the movie, the film was definitely worth seeing, and is a mix of "Glee meets Mean Girls meets Bridesmaids," as someone tweeted.

Beca (Anna Kendrick, 50/50) arrives at Barden University as a freshman but doesn't want to be there - she would rather be in L.A. pursuing her dream to be a DJ. Her dad is a professor at Barden so he expects her to take advantage of a free college education there. Her roommate Kimmy Jin (Jinhee Joung) doesn't really like her, yet she accompanies her to the Activities Fair anyways to see what's being offered on campus. The Barden Bellas, an a capella group headed up by Chloe (Brittany Snow, Hairspray) and Aubrey (Anna Camp, The Help), are desperately recruiting singers due to an unfortunate mishap at the A Capella Finals last year, and they ask Beca if she can sing. She blows them off, but later Chloe corners her while Beca is singing in the shower, and asks her to try out for auditions.

Beca of course makes the Barden Bellas, who claim they have significantly "lowered" their image, so to speak, and what follows is her journey in a capella, where she meets Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson, Bridesmaids) and the adorable Jesse (Skylar Austin, Taking Woodstock), who is a member of The Treblemakers, an all-male a capella group at Barden that always wins in competition. Aubrey has made all of the Bellas take an oath to not get involved with any Treblemakers, and Beca starts to find this harder to observe as she gets cloesr to Jesse, who she also works with at the campus radio station.

Rebel Wilson of course steals the show in this film, but that's not surprising because she's awesome in pretty much every movie she's in (including the recent hit Bridesmaids). Anna Kendrick can sing very, very well, and she will wow you with her talents, especially since she's never been in any other singing/dancing films recently. The film was also spot-on when it came to "college life": when I was a student at U of M, there was "Festifall" each year where a capella groups and others would recruit new members, and the "Activity Fair" that Beca goes to reminded me of that.

Yes, see this film, though I will caution you that for some reason there are excessive amounts of vomiting. The film is definitely not perfect: I didn't feel like Beca's father was really needed, since his small role in the movie is mostly to nag her. The chemistry between Beca and Jesse was great, and Skylar Austin is now on my "watch list" for young actors. Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Kick-Ass) also has a few cameo scenes in this film as well. Brittney Snow is best known for Hairspray and John Tucker Must Die, which I really liked, but hasn't been seen much since then, and she proves here that she's definitely still a great actress; her scenes with Anna Camp occurred often, since they are the leaders (and seniors) in the Bellas. If you like singing or watching singing groups even a little bit, you will love Pitch Perfect, and the film proves itself to be highly entertaining.

Pitch Perfect is currently playing in theaters, and is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 100 minutes. 4 stars out of 5.

*Author's Note: We were told that this was NOT the finished print of the film; some images and sound were not completely finished yet.

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Liz Parker is a University of Michigan graduate with a degree in Creative Writing and Literature, and she loves going to the movies.?Visit her at her movie blog?Yes/No Films

Source: http://www.freeismylife.com/2012/09/movie-review-pitch-perfect.html

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Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Spam-Blocker Articles from EzineArticles.com

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Spam is the scourge of the internet. No one wants to have spam comments filling up their WordPress website. It reflects poorly on you as a site owner, and this is especially true if you WordPress site represents your business! Fortunately there are some great tools available to make eradicating spam on your WordPress site a piece of cake.

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Experts Blame IT Spoofing on Lack of Awareness About Digital Security

RIYADH, 23 April ? Inadequate knowledge of firewalls and other elements of the data security system is rendering some of the Kingdom?s major organizations vulnerable to cyber attacks. ?One of the problems we have faced ?

Source: http://www.cursebuster.vpanelhosting.net/wordpress/?p=2307

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Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) | DarkMedia.com

by Julianne Snow:

[Low Spoiler] Synopsis:

Resident Evil: Afterlife opens at an underground Umbrella facility in Japan where all of the Alice clones are about to make good on their promise to Umbrella CEO Albert Wesker (as shown at the end of Resident Evil: Extinction). The Alice clones are killed in the destruction of the facility, but the original Alice escapes aboard Wesker?s aircraft. The aircraft crashes, but Alice walks away from the wreckage.

Six months after the crash, Alice is searching for the friends she sent off in search of Acadia, the safe haven mentioned in the broadcasts in Resident Evil: Extinction. She follows the message to the correct coordinates, but discovers an abandoned beach littered with abandoned vehicles of all kinds. Thinking that Arcadia was just a pipe dream, she prepares to leave and ends up being attacked by Claire, who is under the control of Umbrella by way of a device attached to her sternum. After removing the device, Claire begins to regain her memory and slowly, piece by piece, she shares what happened to her and her friends once they got to the coordinates.

Leaving the abandoned beach, they fly south to Los Angeles looking for other survivors. What they find is a prison surrounded by the undead in which a few survivors have sought refuge. Landing the plane in a heart-pounding manner, Alice and Claire become part of the prison survivors. Together they want to escape the prison and get to Arcadia, which Alice and Claire soon learn is floating salvation in the form of a freight vessel just off the coast.

Their destination: Arcadia and Freedom

Their mission: Find a way to get to Arcadia

Their fate: Why would I tell you now? Go and watch the movie!

Review:

This installment of the Resident Evil franchise ranks high on my list as one of my favourites. In Resident Evil: Afterlife you really get to see just how far humanity has fallen down the food chain. And it?s a great example of how you cannot always choose who you?re forced to spend the rest of your life with.

The setting of the prison is such a symbolic reference to what life has become for the survivors. The stark reality of the prison being completely surrounded by the undead is not lost on the audience either; there is no escape from the T-Virus.

New characters are introduced in Resident Evil: Afterlife that immediately force you to make a decision as to whether or not you like them. Notable among that group are Luther West (played by Boris Kodjoe) and Bennett (played by actor Kim Coates). I?ll leave it up to you to decide whether you love or hate these two? Standout performances include Milla Jovovich (Alice), Ali Larter (Claire), and Wentworth Miller (who?s still trying to break out of prison? something that is not going to get lost on anyone watching the film).

The zombie action is standard until you realize that Anderson has added a new twist ? zombies can swim and tunnel underground, using those skills to their advantage in order to breach the lower levels of the prison. Another terrifying addition is The Executioner; a massive axe wielding monster replete with thick nails through his burlap covered head. (In a speed dating scenario, I?d put an X beside ?No thank you? before he?d even have a chance to sit down!)

Resident Evil: Afterlife is available on DVD and Blu-ray from?Amazon.com.

?

DarkMedia contributor Julianne Snow was first lulled into the horror genre by her parents during an ill-advised viewing of Alien when she was only 4 years old. Since that date, it?s been a given that Julianne will watch and read anything that is horror related. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies from?Sirens Call Publications?and?Open Casket Press, as well as The Sirens Call and various other websites showcasing short fiction. She is the author of the Days with the Undead series, which can be found on her website?dayswiththeundead.com. Her first novel,?Days with the Undead: Book One?was published in early 2012 and is based on her popular web serial. Find her on Twitter?@CdnZmbiRytr. Join the conversation! We?d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Please also take a moment to sign up for email updates on all the latest from the Dark. There?s more where this came from! You can find DarkMedia on Facebook, Tumblr on Twitter at @DarkMediaOnline, and on our very own (free) social network, DarkMedia City.

Source: http://www.darkmediaonline.com/movie-review/resident-evil-afterlife-2010/

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Betting Industry Routing To Homes And Offices Via Internet

Betting industry is one of largest and biggest contributors in shaping up world's economy.And with the help of internet, there is no need to travel down to casinos and gambling places which are miles away from you.

Internet has played most crucial role in bringing betting platform in your homes and offices. With a click of a button, millions of dollars are transferred and many more transactions are carried out in a matter of few seconds.

Earlier betting and gambling was privilege for landlords and super rich class people but not today. Even the teenagers as well as youth are showing up their interest in betting activity.

There are billions of people all over the globe for whom betting and gambling have become a routine part of their life. While real time gaming and sporting events have increased in the market,people are enjoying gambling over such sporting events. Online sports' betting is gaining its popularity day by day and millions and billions of dollars are wagered on sporting events around the world. From racing, football, basketball, poker, boxing, golf, tennis etc are being bet on and is minting money for gamblers.
Internet has made betting process simpler, private as well as trustworthy. Today many betting websites are trusted upon rather than going to casinos.

From getting tips, to placing a bet and thereby getting the money, online sport betting is simply phenomenal way of making cash business. There is various betting exchange all over the world like US betting exchange, UK betting exchange, Asia's betting exchange etc which control betting activity over the internet.

One of the front runners and most popular website in Asia betting exchange is ibcbet. People literally flock downs to this website and there are millions of members who bet on it over the various sporting events.

If you are a gambling geek then ibc bet is a perfect platform for you. All you need to do is to register over the website so that you can access various opportunities of betting and even look out for various betting tips.

Ibc bet is highly sophisticated online gambling website which has won trust of millions of members by providing security, privacy as well as ample of opportunities for gambling.

Considering the future of gambling and betting, ibcbet have designed its website accordingly as well as constant up gradation makes gambling more exciting and entertaining.

They have classified various games categorically, like football betting is done on afb88.

Source: http://www.artipot.com/articles/1389763/betting-industry-routing-to-homes-and-offices-via-internet.htm

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Source: http://santarosa.towns.pressdemocrat.com/2012/09/news/mr-ryders-big-birthday/

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Outstanding Personal Injury Law Firm - Businesss Search Network

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What do Ohio's white working-class voters want?

BRIDGEPORT, Ohio (AP) ? To look at Ohio is to glimpse America in a nutshell ? a state full of places where laborers, truck drivers, cooks, store clerks and business owners form the backbone of small-town life. Places where the deli cashes checks, cars and trucks are "vehicles" and the NFL takes a back seat to high-school football.

It also is a place where presidents are made. No candidate has won without Ohio's 20 electoral votes since John F. Kennedy in 1960. Barack Obama won here in 2008 by about 260,000 votes, 52 percent to 47 percent.

That's why Ohio's white, working-class voters have taken center stage in the election, with Obama and Mitt Romney crisscrossing the state this week as they enter the campaign's homestretch.

These voters may well decide who wins the White House. So what do they want? About two dozen interviews in eastern Ohio revealed some answers:

They are looking for a president who understands what it's like to punch a time clock all month and still come up short on the bills, for a leader who will help the people in work boots as much as those in wingtips. They see money being doled out, from welfare to bank bailouts, and ask why nobody has lent them a hand. They talk of getting rid of everyone in Washington and starting fresh.

Generations of sweaty work and union membership make many deeply skeptical of a Republican multimillionaire CEO like Romney, and polls show he trails among white working-class Ohioans. But there also is widespread frustration with the Democratic president and pessimism about the future.

"If the election was right now, I'd choose 'none of the above,'" says coal miner J.R. Cross, leaving a payday loan store in Bridgeport with money for his oldest son's college bill.

He voted for Obama in 2008 but thinks the president helped Wall Street and the auto industry instead of the working class. He thinks Romney favors the rich and that he bankrupted companies to make investors a profit. His vote will be a last-minute decision ? and he doubts that it will make a difference.

"Whoever gets elected, we're screwed," Cross says.

Nationally, Romney holds a strong edge among white voters with jobs and no college degree: Sixty-three percent favored Romney, compared with 28 percent for Obama, according to an Associated Press/GfK poll conducted Sept 13-17.

But the president does much better in union-heavy Ohio, where Obama's auto bailout has helped keep unemployment a point below the national rate. Fifty-one percent of white voters with no college education preferred the president, compared with 45 percent who backed Romney in a recent University of Cincinnati/Ohio Newspaper Organization poll. The margin of error was plus or minus 6 percentage points.

"I think Obama can bring things back. I really do," said Valinda Liggett, an electrician, as she shopped in a dollar store in Dillonvale. "He's trying. Rome wasn't built in a day. He can only do so much."

Still, conversations with people along the hills and in towns around state Route 7, which hugs the Ohio River on the Ohio-West Virginia line, showed much frustration with the economy.

Shuttered steel mills and the Great Recession have drained businesses and jobs from what once were vibrant towns. Many dislike the Obama administration's stance on the coal industry, which puts food on thousands of tables in this region. Along the two-lane roads that curl through the hills west of Route 7, yard signs reading "Stop the War on Coal ? Fire Obama" are a common sight.

Millie Brown, who tends tables and the grill at a Steubenville truck stop, has some choice words for both candidates. When you make $20,000 a year, she says, every day is a struggle.

"It's hard to make enough to buy gas to drive to work, let alone pay bills," she says, pulling on a generic menthol cigarette. "A gallon of milk is $4.29. That's ridiculous. I never thought I'd see the day when eggs are $2 a dozen."

Like many others interviewed, Brown says the economy would be much better if Obama had used stimulus funds to give large checks ? five, six or even seven figures ? to individual working Americans.

The math doesn't come close to adding up, but this frequent flight of fancy shows how wrong it feels to many of these voters when bailed-out banks pay huge bonuses, or first lady Michelle Obama goes on an expensive trip, or Romney parks some of his millions offshore.

"I'm a white guy with a job. I won't get no help," says Tony Gern, a truck driver from Coshocton.

His girlfriend works two jobs, but they are still barely scraping by. Gern came up short one recent month and tried to get some government assistance but was turned down. "A guy that has no job, 10 kids, he can go to the welfare office and they hand him a check," he says.

Gern says he will watch the debates before deciding how to vote. Right now, he sees Obama as more of a regular guy than Romney.

"If I was digging a ditch, Obama would come down and get a little dirty. He'd probably do it with me," Gern says. "Romney, he wouldn't do it. He's never done that kind of work. He's never had his hands dirty."

But Romney's business career is a plus for Russell Banfield and his wife, Betty. The retired couple ? he was a coal miner; she was a secretary ? are classic Ohio independents who voted for Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama.

Now, they are disappointed by the president's decisions on the deficit and the stimulus.

"If I have a problem here on my property, will the USA bail us out?" Russell Banfield says, standing outside his one-story house in Belmont, population 453. "We're on a limited income. We have to make do. Why doesn't Congress? Why doesn't the president?"

"Romney is rich, he made money, he worked, he earned it," Banfield says. "He had a brain to know how to do it, so he has a brain to know what to do now."

An hour down the road, behind the cash register of a small market, Debbie Winland greets customers by name as they buy items like spaghetti sauce, beer, hot pepperoni rolls wrapped in foil and high school football tickets. Movies on VHS tape cost $5.

Winland is troubled by bailouts, the stimulus and people who work their whole lives but end up with nothing. Both candidates seem out of touch: "They're neck and neck, really. Zero to zero," she says.

"Give me someone to vote for."

___

Jesse Washington covers race and ethnicity for The Associated Press. He is reachable at http://twitter.com/jessewashington or jwashington(at)ap.org.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ohios-white-working-class-voters-want-071822131--election.html

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Harman shows off its upcoming JBL docks and speakers, we go eyes-on

Harman announced a fair amount of JBL-branded speakers back at IFA, but that wasn't all it had to announce before the year goes out. Today we met with in the company in NYC, where it was ready to show off even more of its upcoming wireless and dock speakers. In fact, don't tell Harmon than the 30-pin connector is on its way out, as its $199 OnBeat Venue (seen above and $139 OnBeat aWake are ready to pair up with your last-gen iOS devices. The Venue is rated for a peak output of 30-watts and features a stow-away dock a tweeter and woofer combo for both stereo channels, component outputs for use with TVs, an obligatory 3.5mm jack and Bluetooth if you'd prefer to go wireless. The aWake shrinks things down to about 13 watts, and features a digital clock so that you can use it on your bedside night stand -- despite its small size, it'll easily dock an iPad. Both systems also work with free JBL apps for iOS that'll enhance the experience. According to the company, it's also working on solutions for the Lightning connector, but wouldn't reveal any hard details.

Gallery: JBL Onbeat Venue and aWake Bluetooth speaker docks eyes-on

Moving along to dedicated speakers, you might recall the SoundFly BT, which recently got outed during its trip to the FCC. The 20-watt Bluetooth-equipped unit is strictly intended to plug directly into wall outlets, having only a status light with no inputs or buttons. It'll set you back $149 when it hits shelves, and if you tack another another $50 you can get an AirPlay-equipped version instead. We gave the BT a quick listen and it sounded surprisingly big with a fair amount of bass extension -- impressive considering it's petite and it plug-friendly design. A Harmon rep even noted that the hotel we were in was interested in procuring some for its rooms. Sadly, the units aren't remotely water-resistant, even though our demo area was a bathroom.

Gallery: JBL SoundFly BT and Air eyes-on

Lastly, we're actually most intrigued by the $59 Harman / Kardon BTA 10 dongle. The nearly matchbook-sized box connects to any speaker via its 3.5mm jack, allowing you to stream over Bluetooth 4.0 on the fly. Power is supplied via a micro-USB cable, and a blue indicator light lets you know that it's powered up. Harmon's mainly created it to add Bluetooth functionality to its non-wireless speakers, but it can be used with any speaker of your choice. We're also told that it overs very high-quality, despite being Bluetooth, thanks to some in-house development dubbed as TrueStream. There's no exact word on when all of these units will hit shelves, but you can peek the galleries for better looks -- check the source link for full details.

Gallery: Harman / Kardon BTA 10 Bluetooh Adapter eyes-on

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Household, Portable Audio/Video

Harman shows off its upcoming JBL docks and speakers, we go eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 17:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. actress sues anti-Islam filmmaker, YouTube in federal court

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An actress who said she was duped into appearing in an anti-Islam film that stoked violent protests across the Muslim world took her legal bid to federal court on Wednesday in a renewed effort to force it off YouTube.

The lawsuit filed by Cindy Lee Garcia names the popular online video site YouTube and its parent company Google Inc. as defendants, along with the Egyptian-American Coptic Christian from California believed to be behind the making of the film.

Last week, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied Garcia's request for a temporary restraining order that would have required YouTube to stop posting the crudely made 13-minute video, finding the actress was unlikely to prevail on the merits of her case in state court.

As in her previous lawsuit, Garcia accused the purported filmmaker of fraud, libel and unfair business practices. But her federal lawsuit also asserts a copyright claim to her performance in the video, titled "The Innocence of Muslims."

Garcia's case was the first known civil litigation stemming from the video, billed as a film trailer, which depicts the Prophet Mohammad as a fool and a sexual deviant. The clip sparked a torrent of anti-American unrest in Egypt, Libya and dozens of other Muslim countries over the past two weeks.

The outbreak of violence coincided with an attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.

U.S. and other foreign embassies were also stormed in various cities across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. For many Muslims, any depiction of the prophet is considered blasphemous.

Google has refused to remove the film from YouTube, despite pressure from the White House and others to take it down, though the company has blocked the trailer in Egypt, Libya and other Muslim countries.

COPYRIGHT ISSUE

Garcia's lawyer argued in court last week that her client, who is from Bakersfield, California, has suffered harm similar to a person whose privacy is violated by the unauthorized release of a sex tape.

But Google's attorneys said that the rights of an actor do not protect that person from how a film is perceived.

In her latest lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Clara, California, Garcia says that Google is infringing on the copyright she holds to her performance in the film by distributing the video without her approval via YouTube.

Garcia's lawsuit identifies Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, a Los Angeles-area Coptic man who has served time in federal prison for bank fraud, as the film's producer.

On Saturday, a Pakistani cleric offered a $100,000 reward to anyone who killed the film's maker. Garcia said in her lawsuit that an Egyptian cleric had issued a fatwa, or religious edict, against anyone who served as a director, producer or actor in the video.

According to Garcia, Nakoula operated under the assumed name of Sam Bacile, misleading her and other actors into appearing in a film they believed was an adventure drama called "Desert Warrior."

After the fact, however, she learned that some of her lines spoken in the production had been dubbed over.

The alteration made it look like Garcia "voluntarily performed in a hateful, anti-Islamic production," the lawsuit says, adding that she has "been subjected to credible death threats and is in fear for her life and the life and safety of anyone associated with her."

Nakoula has been in hiding for much of the past two weeks after being questioned by federal authorities looking into whether he may have violated terms of his probation in the making or promotion of the video.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-actress-sues-anti-islam-filmmaker-youtube-federal-050220346.html

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Financial Market ? Mortgage a home to pay Junior's student loans?

Dear Dr. Don,
I have a question about college financing and home cash-out refinancing. I have about $100,000 in federal and private student loans, and most of the interest rates are around 7 percent. My parents are interested in knowing if they can do a cash-out refinance on a second home that has no mortgage (because they paid it off) to pay off my student loans. Is this a good idea? With home loan rates around 3 percent, it seems to make sense. Any suggestions would be wonderful. Thank you.
? Chad Collegian

Dear Chad,
Your parents tapping the equity in their second home to pay off your student loans can make financial sense in terms of reducing the interest expense on your college education.

Replacing student loans with mortgage financing takes away some important features of those loans, such as loan deferment and loan forbearance, for periods when you can?t make the payments or need to make reduced payments. Also lost are any loan forgiveness provisions, if you become disabled or die, while the loans are outstanding.

Any tax deductions lost on the student loans might be replaced by a mortgage interest deduction, but that would depend on your parents? mortgage balances on both their main home and their second home. If the student loans are in your name, then you?re the one losing the tax break when your parents take on the mortgage debt.

That begs the question: Who is responsible for the student loan debt? If it?s all in your name and you?re asking if it makes sense for your parents to pay off your loans by taking out a mortgage, that may reduce the total interest expense ? but it then becomes their responsibility to pay off the mortgage.

A lot of parents, and even grandparents, are writing me complaining that when they co-signed student loans they didn?t expect to get stuck with paying them back. It?s often a reasonable complaint.

You?ve invested in your human capital by going to college. It?s expected that the return on that human capital ? your future earnings ? will be used to make the loan payments.

Other parents expect to finance their children?s education. It?s one of their life goals to send their children to college. If that?s the case with your parents, and they want to reduce the interest expense by taking out a mortgage on their second home to pay off the student loans, it can make sound financial sense for them to do so.

Get more news, money-saving tips and expert advice by signing up for a free Bankrate newsletter.

To ask a question of Dr. Don, go to the ?Ask the Experts? page and select one of these topics: ?Financing a home,? ?Saving & Investing? or ?Money.? Read more Dr. Don columns for additional personal finance advice.

Bankrate?s content, including the guidance of its advice-and-expert columns and this website, is intended only to assist you with financial decisions. The content is broad in scope and does not consider your personal financial situation. Bankrate recommends that you seek the advice of advisers who are fully aware of your individual circumstances before making any final decisions or implementing any financial strategy. Please remember that your use of this website is governed by Bankrate?s Terms of Use.

Source: http://market.orkitra.com/?p=5077

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BMW i3 sheds its skin, shows off carbon skeleton

Want to know how the BMW i3 electric car can be so light (2,800 pounds) despite hauling around a massively heavy battery pack? A lot of it has to do with its carbon chassis. BMW uses something called CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) to create a material that is light, strong and, crucially, cheap enough to actually be used in production. The car is still on track for its 2013 release, where it will be sold out of posh i Stores like the one recently opened in London.

Gallery: BMW i3 cutaway and car

Steve Dent contributed to this post.

Filed under: Transportation

BMW i3 sheds its skin, shows off carbon skeleton originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/27/bmw-i3-sheds-its-skin-shows-off-carbon-skeleton/

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O's blast Jays to keep pace in playoff chase

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:31 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2012

BALTIMORE (AP) - After losing two straight games to Toronto, the Baltimore Orioles broke out the big bats.

The Orioles tied a team record by with seven home runs to rout the Blue Jays 12-2 and stay within 1 1/2 games of the AL East lead.

Chris Davis and Manny Machado each connected twice and the Orioles remained close to the division-leading New York Yankees, who won 8-2 in Minnesota.

Nate McLouth hit a leadoff shot in the first inning and Jim Thome and Mark Reynolds also homered. Baltimore has hit seven home runs three times, most recently on Aug. 26, 1985.

"Home runs are very unique, and when you do what we did tonight, it's something to be proud of. It's something that doesn't happen a whole lot in the game," Thome said.

Thome's home run was the 612th of his career and the first he's hit at home for the Orioles.

"Up and down the lineup, everyone swung the bat well. It's been fun," Thome said.

Davis finished with a career-high five RBIs to help the Orioles split a four-game series with the last-place Blue Jays.

"This was a tough series. It was one of those ones that you don't want to see at the end of the season coming in off a long road trip," Davis said.

"I think if you'd have told us a few months ago that we'd be a game-and-a-half out with six games left, I think you'd be pretty happy with that."

Beginning Friday, the Orioles have three games with Boston at home and three at Tampa Bay.

"We just got through playing Boston and we played them well. Obviously, the three in Tampa are going to be tough, but we're at a point where we still have a chance, so that's all you can ask for," Davis said.

The Orioles trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth before hitting three home runs.

Thome led off with his third homer since joining the Orioles. With two outs, Machado hit his fifth of the year for a 3-2 Baltimore lead. All of Machado's home runs have come at home, and his drive was the Orioles' 200th homer of the year.

Davis' three-run drive gave the Orioles a five-run inning and finished Carlos Villanueva (7-7).

Villanueva equaled a career high by giving up four home runs.

"Those mistakes I made, they hit them with authority. They put the power stroke on them and made me pay for them," Villanueva said.

Machado and Thome are the first AL teammates to hit home runs in the same inning with an age difference of more than 20 years, according to home run historian David Vincent.

Thome is 42 and Machado is 20 - Thome's major league career began 10 months before Machado was born.

"That's crazy," Machado said. "It's a pretty good stat. I remember when I used to watch (Thome) play when I was a little kid. Now to hit a home run in the same inning he did, just feels great."

Davis hit his second home run in the seventh. On Aug. 24, he hit three home runs against the Blue Jays, also in a game started by Villanueva. He has 28 home runs.

Reynolds hit his 23rd homer in the sixth and Machado added a two-run shot in the eighth.

Miguel Gonzalez (8-4) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings. He allowed Edwin Encarnacion's 42nd home run with two outs in the top of the first.

With one out in the fifth, J.P. Arencibia, who went 7 for 9 in the four-game series, doubled and scored on Anthony Gose's single.

NOTES: Orioles LHP Randy Wolf was put on the 60-day disabled list with a torn ligament in his left elbow. Baltimore purchased the contract of INF-OF Bill Hall from Triple-A Norfolk. Hall will provide outfield help while Lew Ford is out with a groin injury. ... Deion Sanders, in town for Thursday's NFL Network game between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, took batting practice with the Orioles before the game. Sanders, who played nine years in the majors, was an outfielder for Baltimore manager Buck Showalter in the minors while in the Yankees' organization. ... The Orioles are off Thursday and begin a three-game series with Boston on Friday. Baltimore RHP Chris Tillman (8-2, 3.08 ERA) faces Red Sox RHP Aaron Cook (4-10, 5.13). ... On Thursday, Toronto hosts New York to begin a four-game series. Blue Jays RHP Brandon Morrow (8-7, 3.28) faces Yankees RHP Ivan Nova (12-7, 4.94).

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Mailbag: Save Cy Young votes for Kimbrel

MLB mailbag: Braves closer Craig Kimbrel has had the kind of utterly dominant season that should earn him some attention in the NL Cy Young race. But winning the award figures to be a difficult proposition for him.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/49188577/ns/sports-baseball/

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In Home Senior Care: Vial of Life | ElderAuthority.com

Vial of Life

I consider myself pretty savvy and informed about aging and senior health issues.? So, last weekend? when I attended the Alzheimer?s Association 2012 Walk to End Alzheimer?s in Dallas, TX. I was surprised to learn about a simple, practical, in home health idea that has been out for at least three years.? I don?t know how I missed it.

Before the walk began I strolled amongst the tables of sponsors who had helped to make the walk such a success.?? Professional Caretakers, Inc., a professional home health care agency in Texas, was distributing a pretty blue bottle labeled the Vial of Life.

The Vial of Life is a way to make your medical and health records available to family and emergency professionals should you have a medical emergency.? I have done this for me and my husband by maintaining up-to-date records of our contact information, medical histories, prescriptions, allergies, and insurance information in a spreadsheet on my computer. I keep a printout in a folder by the front door.

The Vial of Life takes it a couple of steps further.? It is a community-based program that provides lifesaving Information for Emergencies.?? The Vial contains a page that you can fill out with Primary Medical Conditions, Health Information, Current Medications, Previous Medical Conditions, and Emergency Contacts.? In addition the Vial contains a refrigerator magnet. ? The paper work is placed inside the pretty blue bottle, which is then placed visibly in the refrigerator.? Emergency workers are trained to look for a Vial of Life sticker or magnet either by the front door or on the refrigerator.

Providing your medical information to emergency personnel could save your life or the life of a family member.

I took two Vials? home with me, placed my records in one and my husbands records in the other.? The magnet is now on the refrigerator door and we have yet one more safety net in place.? Some times the best things in life really are free.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 26th, 2012 at 9:31 pm and is filed under ElderCare, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Source: http://www.elderauthority.com/in-home-senior-care-vial-of-life

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Apple ditched Google Maps over turn-by-turn navigation spat

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Custom Energy Efficiency: Hotels | CleanTechies Blog ...

I don?t think I have ever appreciated a hotel as much as I did during a trip to Houston for a cleantech tradeshow. The humidity was off the charts and it felt like I was slowly melting into the sidewalk going to and from the show each day. But the second I stepped into that hotel, everything was perfect.

The temperature was just right- not frigid, but certainly cool enough to be a fantastic antidote for the sweaty, sticky heat outside. My room was lit softly, a welcome relief from the glaring sun, but still bright enough to read and work comfortably. And best of all, I had full control over everything in my small empire- dimmers for the lights, temperature control and timers for the air conditioning.

These much-appreciated conveniences come at a steep price for hotels who spend an average of 6 to 10% of all operating costs on energy. Up to 75% of that is eaten up by space conditioning, with an average of 30% just for air conditioning. For hotels in hotter climates (like steamy Houston), air conditioning energy consumption is closer to 50% and represents a major burden on a hotel?s bottom line.

Here are just a few ideas for hotels looking to save energy?

Lighting

This is the go-to area that most people think of first for energy savings. While energy efficient ways of lighting up a hotel should be employed, these measures are really a small part of a larger set of changes needed. On average, lighting only makes up 12-18% of overall hotel energy use, so energy efficiency gains will have a relatively small impact on the overall energy profile of the hotel. Fortunately, making lighting more energy efficient is relatively easy:

Energy efficient bulbs make the most out of the existing lighting system. Not only do CFL bulbs and LED lights (appropriate for things like exit signs) use less energy, but they also have a longer lifespan which cuts down on replacement costs.

Occupancy sensors can make a substantial difference to the energy usage of lighting. Most hotel rooms are only occupied for a fraction of the day, and it is estimated that over 75% of guest room lighting energy consumption happens when the room is empty!

Having smart sensors like these ones, that turn off lights when a guest leaves their room can result in huge efficiency gains. Significant savings can also be made by installing occupancy sensors in public areas like meeting rooms, restrooms, hallways, etc.

Space Conditioning

As mentioned above, space conditioning eats up the majority of a hotel?s energy. It offers the single largest opportunity for energy savings and the related cost reductions.

Insulation can make a big difference in the energy efficiency of any building, and hotels are no exception. If your hotel is poorly insulated, all the improvements in the world for your heating and cooling system will be secondary to the gains you can make by upgrading your insulation.

Air conditioning is a huge energy pig in hotels. It gobbles up a massive amount of energy, and often hoteliers feel at a loss for how to change this. Guests demand constant cooling when it is hot out- I?m embarrassed to say that I honestly would have pitched a fit if my hotel room was not air conditioned in Houston! So hoteliers cannot simply turn off the A/C to save energy.

Stay tuned for details in a feature article on Smartcool?s results for hotels like JW Marriott, Hilton and Radisson, which will be published later this week in the Chartered Institute of Building Service Engineers (CiBSE) Journal Hotel & Leisure Supplement.

Source: http://blog.cleantechies.com/2012/09/25/custom-energy-efficiency-hotels/

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Consumer Confidence Rises To Highest Level In 7 Months On Job ...

WASHINGTON -- Americans are more confident in the economy than they have been in seven months, an encouraging sign for President Barack Obama with six weeks left in the presidential race.

A new survey of consumer confidence rose Tuesday to its highest level since February on expectations that hiring will soon pick up. And a separate report showed home values rising steadily, signaling sustained improvement in housing.

"This is like an opinion poll on the economy without the political parties attached," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics, a consulting firm. The confidence survey "says people are feeling better. If so, they are less likely to vote for change."

The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence shot up in September. The jump surprised many economists because the most recent hiring and retail sales figures have been sluggish.

The increased confidence could help explain recent polls that show Obama with a widening lead over Mitt Romney in some battleground states.

The consumer confidence index is closely watched because consumer spending drives nearly 70 percent of economic activity. The index jumped from 61.3 for August to 70.3 for September. It remains well below 90, the level that is thought to signify a healthy economy.

Among those feeling more optimistic about the economy is Darlene Johnson of Silver Spring, Md., who works for the National Institutes of Health. The value of Johnson's 401(k) account has risen. Home sales in her neighborhood have ticked up, too, and are commanding higher prices.

"I feel like things are stabilizing," she said. "I don't feel as uneasy as I did a few months ago."

But Johnson, who voted for Obama in 2008, remains undecided on which candidate to back. And she's still a bit nervous about the future.

"It will depend on how my pockets are looking," she says. "Everyday circumstances will drive my decision on how I am going to vote."

Economists point to some key reasons why consumers have grown more confident.

Stocks are up: The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index has surged nearly 15 percent this year. Gas prices have leveled off after rising for several months. And the broad increase in home prices is likely giving would-be buyers more confidence. When prices rise, buyers don't worry so much that a home might lose value after they bought it.

National home prices rose 1.2 percent in July compared with a year ago, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday. That was the second straight month in which year-over-year home prices have increased.

Some economists question whether the higher level of confidence is sustainable. They've seen the index spike briefly before since the Great Recession ended more than three years ago. Some say confidence could be affected by negative campaign ads that focus on the economy.

But others note that even a weak economy doesn't feel so bad to many consumers once it begins to make steady improvement.

"The economy is perceived in relative rather than absolute terms," noted St. Louis University political scientist and pollster Ken Warren.

Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo, suggests that former President Bill Clinton might have helped boost confidence with his rousing speech on Obama's behalf at the Democratic National Convention in early September. The Conference Board's consumer confidence survey was conducted Sept. 1-13.

Clinton "rekindled memories of better economic times" and assured voters that the U.S. economy was on the right track, Vitner said.

The consumer confidence survey polled 500 people. The part of the survey that gauges consumers' confidence in the economy now and the part that gauges their outlook for the next six months both rose. Consumers were much more optimistic about the short-term outlook for business conditions, employment and their financial situation.

The rising home prices could also help Obama's prospects. Prices are rising in many large cities in swing states such as Florida, Colorado, Michigan and North Carolina. Prices have risen 3.6 percent in Tampa, Fla., in the past year, for example. And they're up 5.4 percent in Denver, 6.2 percent in Detroit and 2.2 percent in Charlotte, N.C.

A Washington Post poll out Tuesday showed Obama leading Romney among likely voters in Ohio, 52 to 44 percent. The president also had a slight edge in Florida, 51 to 47 percent among those most likely to vote.

Obama is also gaining the upper hand on which candidate is better able to handle the economy. Registered voters in Ohio preferred Obama on the economy by 50 percent to 43 percent, and in Florida by 49 percent to 45 percent.

___

D'Innocenzio contributed from New York. Associated Press Writer Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed to this report.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/26/consumer-confidence-september-2012_n_1915598.html

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Dell OptiPlex 9010 Small Form Factor

• Pros Tools not required to open chassis and swap components. Solid multimedia performance.
• Cons Cramped interior. USB 3.0 ports aren't color-coded.
• Bottom Line With an easily accessible, IT-friendly chassis that can pop open without any tools, the Dell OptiPlex 9010 Small Form-Factor is a solid choice for businesses looking to save space without necessarily compromising performance, though more nimble systems in the same price range are readily available.

By Ahmer Kazi As its name suggests, the Dell OptiPlex 9010 Small Form Factor (9010 SFF) ($1,618 direct) falls toward the smaller side of Dell's OptiPlex 9010 commercial desktop lineup, landing between the Ultra Small Form-Factor and the full-tower desktop models. Despite its compact size, though, it packs solid hardware into an IT-friendly system that doesn't require any tools to open the chassis or swap components. For businesses looking to preserve space without necessarily compromising performance, it's a good option. That said, it's fairly pricey, and both similarly sized systems and better performers are readily available.

Design and Features
The 9010 SFF is housed in a compact chassis that measures 11.4 by 3.7 by 12.3 inches (HWD). Overall, it's not nearly as small as either the Polywell Poly i1000A-3770T or the Alienware X51 , but those systems are arguably too small, as neither can accommodate any internal expansion whatsoever. The 9010 SFF can be positioned vertically or horizontally, as demonstrated by the four rubber feet on its right side. The left side of the chassis, meanwhile, can easily be removed by pulling on the built-in handle?a convenient feature that lets your IT staff open the system up and swap out components without any tools.

The front panel is primarily covered by a gray plastic grille and features a slot-loading DVD burner, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, and headphone and microphone jacks. The rear sports even more USB ports, with a pair of USB 3.0 ports alongside four USB 2.0 ports. Additionally, there's an RJ-45 port, a VGA port, three DisplayPorts, and two PS/2 ports. It's a healthy serving of ports, though it's worth nothing that two of the USB ports will be occupied by the included wired mouse and keyboard. On a related note, the 9010 SFF's USB 3.0 ports don't sport the familiar blue that's typically used to distinguish speedier USB 3.0 ports from their slower USB 2.0 counterparts. Instead, Dell has opted to place a barely noticeable "SS" (Super Speed) insignia above the USB 3.0 ports; it's not a major design flaw by any measure, but it will require your IT staff to do an extra bit of squinting when plugging in USB 3.0 peripherals.

As mentioned earlier, the real draw of the 9010 SFF is its ability to be upgraded and maintained without the use of any tools. Simply pull the handle on the left side of the chassis and you'll be greeted with an easily accessible?though densely packed?arrangement of hardware accented by easy-to-see light blue handles and grip points. Sliding out the optical drive allows for access to the 3.5-inch 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD that's encased in a metallic bay, which one removes by pulling on a circular blue lever. Removing the HDD reveals four DIMM slots on the 9010 SFF's motherboard, two of which are occupied by 4GB DDR3 SDRAM. Beneath the discrete 1GB AMD Radeon HD 7470 card is an empty half-height PCIe x16 slot, which can be outfitted with something along the lines of a low-powered graphics card or a WLAN 802.11n card after you swing out a plastic hinge that, in turn, allows you to pop out the metallic grille locked into the chassis. Overall, the 9010 SFF is remarkably easy to service and maintain despite its somewhat cramped interior.

Performance

The 9010 SFF performed admirably against other small form-factor desktops, though it was handily outclassed by the larger enterprise-class HP Z220 CMT Workstation nearly across the board. Its PCMark 7 score of 2,980 landed at the bottom of the pack, coming within striking distance of the Alienware X51 (3,055 points) but trailed the rest of its peers, including the Shuttle X6100 (4,514 points). On the other hand, the 9010 SFF led the pack in our multimedia benchmark tests. It completed our Handbrake video encoding test in a brief 1 minute 4 seconds, edging past both the HP Z220 (1:05) and the Poly i1000A-3770T (1:11) by a thin margin. Likewise, it completed our Photoshop CS5 in 2 minutes 48 seconds, breezing past the Shuttle X6100 (3:00) and the Alienware X51 (3:36) without breaking a sweat. And while the 9010 SFF's Cinebench R11.5 score of 7.48 points fell a little short of the HP Z220 (7.55), it nonetheless muscled past the rest of the group, especially the Shuttle X6100 (5.68) as well as the Alienware X51 (4.91).

Despite its discrete 1GB AMD Radeon HP 7470 GPU, the 9010 SFF had difficulty breaching the 30 frames per second (fps) playability barrier in our gaming tests. To nobody's surprise, the X51 dominated the group in this arena, leaving the rest of the group gasping for air. In our Crysis benchmark tests, the 9010 SFF's performance (40 frames per second or fps in medium quality at 1,280-by-720 resolution; 4fps in high quality at 1,920-by-1,080 resolution) fell way below that of other systems, especially the HP Z220 (84fps and 11fps, respectively) and, to a more pronounced extent, the class-leading X51 (88fps and 22fps, respectively). Similarly, the 9010 SFF struggled in our Lost Planet 2 benchmark tests (16fps in middle quality at 1,280-by-720 resolution; 4fps in high quality at 1,920-by-1,080 resolution), missing the Poly i1000A-3770T by a narrow margin (18fps and 5fps, respectively) while, once again, being thoroughly outgunned by the X51 (86fps and 35fps, respectively). As far as 3D rendering goes, the 9010 SFF's 3DMark 11 scores (1,094 in Entry mode, 185 in Extreme mode) came close to that of the Poly i1000A-3770T (1,200 and 201, respectively), but, unsurprisingly, fell below both the HP Z220 (3,097 and 570, respectively) and the Alienware X51 (5,184 and 1,059, respectively).

Overall, the Dell OptiPlex 9010 Small Form-Factor is a good system whose shortcomings are tempered by its remarkable accessibility and expandability despite its compact profile. It doesn't perform with unbridled power like some of its peers, but its IT-friendly design makes it an appealing choice for businesses. Still, its high price tag is difficult to justify in the face of more nimble competitors, and, moreover, businesses that are purely interested in sheer computing power would be better off with our current Editors' Choice for single-processor workstations, the HP Z220 CMT Workstation.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Dell OptiPlex 9010 Small Form-Factor with several other desktops side by side.

More desktop reviews:
??? Dell OptiPlex 9010 Small Form Factor
??? Toshiba LX835-D3230
??? Lenovo ThinkCentre M92p Tiny
??? Vizio 27-inch All-in-One PC (CA27-A1)
??? HP Z220 CMT Workstation
?? more

By Ahmer Kazi

Ahmer Kazi is a junior analyst for the PCMag Hardware team. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Television and Film from St. John's University, where he also minored in English. He additionally holds a Juris...

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