Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Logitech's new Lifesize CEO targets growth pickup (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Logitech's video conferencing unit LifeSize expects new products and a bigger sales team to boost revenue growth starting this quarter, after it reported only a 6 percent rise for October-to-December.

"Last quarter was a transition quarter for LifeSize. Our expectation is to get back to growth rates we have had, starting this quarter," Colin Buechler, the unit's new chief told Reuters in an interview.

LifeSize, a distant No.3 in a $3 billion market dominated by Cisco and Polycom, was growing at rates of 19 percent and 35 percent over the previous two quarters, winning market share and catching up with the two frontrunners.

In addition to weaker economies, flagged in last week's quarterly report, Buechler said heavy investments into emerging markets and transitions to new products hampered performance in the quarter.

On Tuesday LifeSize unveiled its new UVC software platform for enterprises, which integrates a company's existing video conferencing technology and uses idle equipment from anywhere in its network, similar to other "virtualized" IT functions.

It expects the platform, which expands its offering and competes most directly with hardware offerings from more established rivals, to be one of the growth drivers for the company.

Logitech, maker of computer mice, speakers, webcams and keyboards, bought Lifesize for $405 million in 2009. Wider take-up of videoconferencing could also boost sales of its webcams.

Buechler, the former sales and marketing chief at LifeSize who took over from founder Craig Malloy earlier this month, said he will focus on international growth as chief of the business.

"My number one priority is global expansion," he said, adding this included expanding the market with mobile and cloud-based offerings and further simplifying usage of video conferencing, as well as growing the footprint of the firm.

The growing market has spurred a wave of acquisitions in the sector, with Cisco splashing more than $3 billion on Norwegian firm Tandberg, and Polycom buying HP's video conferencing unit.

(Editing by Mark Potter)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/tc_nm/us_logitech_lifesize

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'Office' Spin-Off 'Not Necessarily A Thing Yet'

'It's just an idea,' writer and co-star B.J. Novak tells MTV News at the SAG Awards.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Kara Warner


Rainn Wilson as Dwight in "The Office"
Photo: NBC

When Steve Carell's Michael Scott left "The Office" last spring, no one really knew who would helm the Scranton Branch of Dunder Mifflin. Eventually the company hired from within and that coveted managerial spot went to Andy Bernard, played by "The Hangover" star Ed Helms. Just as goofy and perhaps less bumbling than his predecessor, week after week Bernard has used his Cornell University education to try to be the glue that keeps the office together.

When MTV News caught up with writer and castmate B.J. Novak on the red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday night, he teased that the show still has some legs and that, even eight seasons in, there's still some surprises up the sleeves of the writers on the long-running NBC comedy, even as they think about how the show might wrap up someday.

"We have some things in mind how Jim and Pam might end up, and how Dwight might end up, and how Andy and Erin might end up," he said. "And I've always had a vision for how Creed ends up, and it's not pretty. But we're still feeling it out. We're still kind of learning the dynamics in the post-Steve Carell era and hopefully we'll find a lot of new surprises."

There is, however, lots of talk that one of those folks will get their own spin-off in the coming years. Last week, sources said that a Dwight Schrute spin-off is in the works and that it would focus on Rainn Wilson's character and his life at Schrute Farms, incorporating other members of the eccentric Schrute family. But any plans for that show are mysterious to Novak. "It's just an idea and I'm not involved in it," he said. "And I'm interested to see how they develop it, but it's not necessarily a thing yet. It's just an idea."

Would you be a regular viewer of a Dwight Schrute spin-off? Leave your comments below!

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678123/the-office-spin-off.jhtml

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Awesome World War II Dogfighting Filmed On Zero Budget [Video]

One of the things I love computers for is how they have democratized the access to things that once were only attainable by a very few. This World War II short film called The German is a perfect example. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ldxDgneOE1M/this-awesome-world-war-ii-dogfighting-was-filmed-on-zero-budget

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National Puzzle Day Celebration and Contest Comes To Redwood City

Redwood City, CA Patch:

Contestants are traveling from Vermont, Colorado, and yes, Redwood City, to participate in the 4th National Puzzle Day Celebration and Contest hosted by Jigsaw Java.

On Saturday at 10 a.m., Oddfellows Hall on Main Street will be filled with frenzied teams of puzzle lovers racing to complete a 1000-piece puzzle for a $500 cash prize

Read the whole story: Redwood City, CA Patch

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/28/national-puzzle-day-redwood-city_n_1239175.html

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Gingrich wants panel to look at in vitro clinics (AP)

LUTZ, Fla. ? Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich called Sunday for a commission to study the ethical issues relating to in vitro fertilization clinics, where infertile women receive treatment to get pregnant and large numbers of embryos are created.

"If you have in vitro fertilization you are creating life. And therefore we should look seriously at what should the rules be for clinics that do that because they're creating life," said Gingrich, who opposes abortion and says life begins at conception.

Gingrich, who is campaigning for votes in Tuesday's Florida primary, did not expand on his proposal for a commission. His remarks seemed to open the possibility of a larger federal role over IVF clinics across the country than currently exists.

Standing outside the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, where he had attended Sunday worship services, Gingrich also said he opposes the use of leftover embryos for stem cell research, which advocates say offers the hope of treatments or even cures for a variety of diseases.

The issue of stem cell research has become politically charged over the past decade, as scientific technique has advanced.

Former President George W. Bush, who opposed abortion rights, signed an executive order in 2001 that said federal funds could be used for stem cell research only on lines that were already in existence, which scientists subsequently said had been compromised.

President Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights, jettisoned Bush's restrictions on federal funding for stem cell research after taking office.

In vitro fertilization involves creating an embryo outside a woman's body, then implanting it inside the womb. Excess embryos may be stored at the clinic, discarded, used for research or made available to other couples. A study nearly a decade ago estimated there were as many as 400,000 in existence.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_el_pr/us_gingrich_embryos

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Activists and bloggers fear Twitter censorship (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO ? Bloggers and activists from China, the Middle East and Latin America said Friday they were afraid that new Twitter policies could allow governments to censor messages, stifling free expression.

Thursday's announcement that Twitter had refined its technology to censor messages on a country-by-country basis raised fears that the company's commitment to free speech may be weakening. Twitter is trying to broaden its audience and make more money by expanding around the globe.

"I'm afraid it's a slippery slope of censorship," said social media commentator Jeff Jarvis, interviewed at a gathering of business and government leaders in Davos, Switzerland.

"I understand why Twitter is doing this ? they want to be able to enter more countries and deal with the local laws. But, as Google learned in China, when you become the agent of the censor, there are problems there," he added.

Egyptian activist Mahmoud Salem, who tweets and blogs under the name "Sandmonkey," questioned in a tweet whether Twitter "is selling us out."

Twitter sees the censorship tool as a way to ensure individual messages, or tweets, remain available to as many people as possible while it navigates a gauntlet of different laws around the world.

Before, when Twitter erased a tweet it disappeared throughout the world. Now, a tweet containing content breaking a law in one country can be taken down there and still be seen elsewhere.

Twitter will post a censorship notice whenever a tweet is removed. That's similar to what Internet search leader Google Inc. has been doing for years when a law in a country where its service operates requires a search result to be removed.

Like Google, Twitter also plans to the share the removal requests it receives from governments, companies and individuals at the chillingeffects.org website.

The similarity to Google's policy isn't coincidental. Twitter's general counsel is Alexander Macgillivray, who helped Google draw up its censorship policies while he was working at that company.

"One of our core values as a company is to defend and respect each user's voice," Twitter wrote in a blog post. "We try to keep content up wherever and whenever we can, and we will be transparent with users when we can't. The tweets must continue to flow."

Twitter, which is based in San Francisco, is tweaking its approach now that its nearly 6-year-old service has established itself as one of the world's most powerful megaphones. Daisy chains of tweets already have played instrumental roles in political protests throughout the world, including the Occupy Wall Street movement in the United States and the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia and Syria.

It's a role that Twitter has embraced, but the company came up with the new filtering technology in recognition that it will likely be forced to censor more tweets as it pursues an ambitious agenda. Among other things, Twitter wants to expand its audience from about 100 million active users now to more than 1 billion.

Reaching that goal will require expanding into more countries, which will mean Twitter will be more likely to have to submit to laws that run counter to the free-expression protections guaranteed under the First Amendment in the U.S.

If Twitter defies a law in a country where it has employees, those people could be arrested. That's one reason Twitter is unlikely to try to enter China, where its service is currently blocked. Google for several years agreed to censor its search results in China to gain better access to the country's vast population, but stopped that practice two years after engaging in a high-profile showdown with Chain's government. Google now routes its Chinese search results through Hong Kong, where the censorship rules are less restrictive.

In China, where activists quickly caught on to Twitter despite it being blocked inside the country, artist and activist Ai Weiwei tweeted Friday: "If Twitter censors, I'll stop tweeting."

China's Communist Party remains highly sensitive to any organized challenge to its rule and responded sharply to the Arab Spring, cracking down last year after calls for a "Jasmine Revolution" in China.

Many Chinese find ways around the so-called "Great Firewall" that has blocked social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Nelson Bocaranda, a Venezuelan journalist, radio host and outspoken opponent of President Hugo Chavez, warned that Twitter's decision could prompt a government crackdown on critics' tweets ahead of the Oct. 7 presidential election.

"Twitter has become a weapon to preserve our embattled democracy," said Bocaranda, who has more than 482,000 followers.

Twitter is "an important tool" for Venezuelans to share information as local media resort to self-censorship as means of avoiding conflict with government officials, Bocaranda added.

Salem, the Egyptian activist, added in a tweet on his account: "This is very bad news."

"Is it safe to say that (hash)Twitter is selling us out?" he wrote.

"Clearly there is a huge user backlash against this latest move by Twitter," said blogger Mike Butcher, editor of Tech Crunch Europe.

"It was seen as one of the few platforms that was free of any kind of censorship, heavily used during for example Arab spring and even in Russia lately over protests over the elections. It is, to some extent, something that we could have predicted," Butcher said.

In its Thursday blog post, Twitter said it hadn't yet used its ability to wipe out tweets in an individual country. All the tweets it has previously censored were wiped out throughout the world. Most of those included links to child pornography.

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt declined to comment on Twitter's action and instead limited his comments to his own company.

"I can assure you we will apply our universally tough principles against censorship on all Google products," he told reporters in Davos.

Google's chief legal officer, David Drummond, said it was a matter of trying to adhere to different local laws.

"I think what they (Twitter officials) are wrestling with is what all of us wrestle with ? and everyone wants to focus on China, but it is actually a global issue ? which is laws in these different countries vary," Drummond said.

"Americans tend to think copyright is a real bad problem, so we have to regulate that on the Internet. In France and Germany, they care about Nazis' issues and so forth," he added. "In China, there are other issues that we call censorship. And so how you respect all the laws or follow all the laws to the extent you think they should be followed while still allowing people to get the content elsewhere?"

___(equals)

Associated Press writers Christopher Toothaker in Caracas, Venezuela, Angela Charlton in Davos, Switzerland, Cara Anna in New York and Ben Hubbard in Cairo contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_hi_te/us_twitter_censorship

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Oil price waver on Persian Gulf supply concerns (AP)

Oil prices moved in a narrow range Friday as Iran prepared to consider a ban on crude sales to European Union countries.

Iranian leaders are scheduled to debate the ban Sunday in response to EU plans to embargo Iran's oil by summer because of that country's nuclear program. Investors worry that any ban could cause supply disruptions.

Benchmark oil fell 14 cents to finish at $99.56 per barrel after climbing as high as $100.63 per barrel earlier in the session. Brent crude rose 67 cents to end at $111.46 per barrel in London.

EU countries account for about 18 percent of Iran's oil exports. Analysts believe any shortfall in Europe could be made up by other countries. If it stops selling oil to Europe, Iran should find takers in Asia. China is its biggest oil customer.

Iran also has threatened to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. About one-fifth of the world's supply of oil is shipped through the strategic waterway. The U.S. and other nations have said they will not tolerate an Iranian blockade. U.S., British and French warships regularly patrol the Gulf.

In other trading, gasoline futures jumped almost 3 percent on concerns about future supplies after next month's closure of the big Hovensa refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It produced about 350,000 barrels per day, but the high price of crude has made it unprofitable. The closure comes as many refineries slow down for regular spring maintenance.

Gasoline futures rose 8 cents to end at $2.92 per gallon. Futures prices are up about 10 percent since the start of the year.

Natural gas prices rose again on Friday, after dropping more than 4 percent on Thursday. Futures contracts rose 7 cents, or 2.8 percent, to finish at $2.68 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Natural gas hit a 10-year low last week, driven down by huge supplies and mild winter weather that's kept furnaces turned down. Now forecasts show a colder weather pattern emerging for the Midwest and the Northeast in February, which would mean more natural gas will be needed for heating. The buildup of natural gas supplies may also slow as producers cut back. Chesapeake Energy, ConocoPhillips and Consol Energy said this week that they would reduce some natural gas operations.

Heating oil futures rose 2 cents to end at $3.07 per gallon.

At the pump, AAA says the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline rose a penny on Friday, to $3.39. That's about 15 cents more than a month ago and nearly 29 cents more than a year ago.

___(equals)

AP Energy Writer Jonathan Fahey contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Pats' line has tough job against Giants' pass rush (AP)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. ? Tom Brady felt the power of the New York Giants' pass rushers when he was sacked five times in their first Super Bowl confrontation.

Four years later, the New England Patriots' offensive linemen expect another fierce attack on their quarterback in the championship rematch on Feb. 5. The Giants will indeed have plenty of strong, speedy pass rushers zeroing in on Brady.

"This year, they're definitely the best defensive line in football," Patriots right guard Brian Waters said Friday. "The wave of good football players they throw at you definitely makes them a difficult task."

There's Jason Pierre-Paul with 16 1/2 sacks, Osi Umenyiora with nine and Justin Tuck with five. Chris Canty and Mathias Kiwanuka also can put pressure on the quarterback.

"They've got good pass rushers across the board," left guard Logan Mankins said, "and when their backups come in they're good, too, so you're going to always have four guys that are very good pass rushers in the game."

At least Brady has Super Bowl experience against an aggressive Giants pass rush.

The Patriots' quest for a perfect 19-0 season ended with a 17-14 loss in the 2008 Super Bowl. After the Giants scored the decisive touchdown with 35 seconds left, Brady was sacked for the fifth and final time.

Mankins didn't care to discuss his memories of the Giants' pass rush on that day.

"That was four years ago," he said Friday. "Next question."

But Umenyiora thinks the Patriots view the upcoming game as a chance to get even.

"Of course," he said. "I mean, if I were them, that's what I would be doing. Great players ? Mankins, (Matt) Light, the (Sebastian) Vollmer kid. They have some very good football players. They were embarrassed about that last game and they are going to do everything in their power not to allow that to happen."

The Patriots have had some memorable, if regrettable, games when Brady's gotten hit.

In the opener of the 2008 season, he suffered a season-ending knee injury when he was hit by Kansas City safety Bernard Pollard. In a 33-14 wild-card playoff loss to Baltimore on Jan. 10, 2010, Brady was sacked three times. The next year, he was sacked five times as the New York Jets won a divisional playoff game 28-21.

But Brady has received decent protection recently. He was sacked a respectable 32 times in the regular season. In the playoffs, he wasn't sacked in a 45-10 win over Denver and was sacked just once in a 23-20 win over Baltimore in the AFC championship game.

The Giants sacked him just twice in their 24-20 win on Nov. 6. But one of those sacks, by Michael Boley, forced a fumble and the Giants took a 10-0 lead on the next play on Brandon Jacobs 10-yard run.

"Tom has been in this position before," said running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who may do more blocking than usual. "We have to come out and just be assignment sound."

At times, the Giants use four defensive ends, trying to generate speed against the power of the offensive linemen.

"That's the biggest difference," Waters said, "knowing who you're going against from play to play. You have to know that every one of those guys have different elements of their game from JPP (Pierre-Paul) and his long arms and his super athletic ability to a guy like Tuck, who is a veteran, a guy who is always going to give you one look and do something different to the bigger guys in the middle, the guys who are real physical."

So what's an offense to do?

It can keep an extra blocker in, a running back or wide receiver. It can have a wide receiver or tight end throw a chip block before starting his route. It can throw quick passes before the pressure reaches Brady.

Draw plays and screen passes can slow down pass rushers by making them hesitate before charging the quarterback, but the Patriots have used those infrequently this season.

Deion Branch came up with an original tactic for him and his fellow wide receivers.

"Well, if we can switch positions with the linemen, hopefully (defensive) linemen move out and then we block the corners," he said with a laugh. "But, overall, there's a lot of things we can do. We'll make those adjustments on the sideline."

They can also fight.

Umenyiora said he and Patriots left tackle Light did that in their first meeting this season.

"I've actually fought him twice, a for-real fight on the football field twice. Me and him have history and we are going to rekindle that," Umenyiora said. "He wasn't as bad in the Super Bowl, but this past game we fought again. I don't know what it is he does, but there is something he is doing that really gets under my skin. I am not that type of guy. He is the only guy I have ever fought on the football field.

"I think he is more important to his team than I am right now. So if we both fight and get kicked out (Pierre-Paul) and Tuck will have a field day."

___

AP Sports Writer Tom Canavan in East Rutherford, N.J. contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_patriots_protecting_brady

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Editor's Selections: Roman lead poisoning, Dyslexia, Intelligence in context, and A. bosei's teeth


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Part of my online life includes editorial duties at ResearchBlogging.org, where I serve as the Social Sciences Editor. Each Thursday, I pick notable posts on research in anthropology, philosophy, social science, and research to share on the ResearchBlogging.org News site. To help highlight this writing, I also share my selections here on AiP.

Bloggers in the social sciences have been busy in the last week. You?ll find no shortage of interesting posts. There were some tough calls to make, but choose I must:

  • The fall of one of the most powerful empires to have existed continues to fascinate us 1500 years after the fact. At Powered by Osteons, Kristina Killgrove investigates whether lead poisoning might have played a role in the Roman Empire?s undoing.
  • One in ten people are on the spectrum for dyslexia. Dr. Stuart Farrimond makes a brief case for the genetic preservation of dyslexia, suggesting that it would have granted our evolutionary ancestors much needed benefits for survival in a world that was vastly different from out.
  • Have you ever been in a situation where you just didn?t feel smart? Greg Laden explains that intelligence may be a socio-cultural signal that varies from context to context.
  • What big teeth you have, A. bosei! At Lawn Chair Anthropology, Zachary Cofran tries to make sense of A. bosei?s dentition, which does not seem suited for its diet.

I?ll be back next week with more from anthropology, philosophy, and research.

Krystal D'CostaAbout the Author: Krystal D'Costa is an anthropologist working in digital media in New York City. You can follow AiP on Facebook. Follow on Twitter @krystaldcosta.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=5ba74019b422975348d70424cd2df229

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Friday, January 27, 2012

New version of Google Music Manager allows easy downloading of purchased tracks

Music Manager

Here at AC, we love Google Music, and some of us have it cranked high all day long while the lovingly sweet sounds of Led Zepplin or Motorhead coax us through the workday.  But I digress, and maybe that's only me.  We especially love it when changes get made to makes things easier, and today is a good day for easy.  Google has updated the Google Music Manager program to allow for easy downloading of songs you have uploaded or purchased from the Android Market.  Music Manager is the portion of the service you run on your computer to upload and manage your library, and we have to admit when compared to competitors like iTunes or Zune it's a little sparse.  

With today's update, you can download all your legitimately *cough* purchased and uploaded music with just a few button clicks.  Right click on the Music Manager in your system tray, open the options dialog and choose the "Download" tab.  From there you have the option to download your library.  If you've downloaded it before, you'll also have an option to only download newly added songs.  The tracks are saved in the folder you specify as 320 kbps .mp3 files.  Your songs still stay in the cloud, but now you've got a local copy as well.

In addition, server side changes now allow you to share the Youtube video for purchased songs with your Google+ circles.  Click the dropdown next to the song title to share the video with your circles, and they'll see it in their Google+ timeline.  Now if only the rest of the planet could use Google music, it would be perfect.

Source: Android Market support; via +Android

 



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/1hJse_21Xfc/story01.htm

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Bruce Jenner: My teens don't need college

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

?

By Us Weekly

Who needs a college degree when fame and fortune awaits?

Since their first appearance on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" in 2007, Kendall and Kylie Jenner have become stars in their own right, thanks to lucrative modeling campaigns and a thriving teen fashion empire.

PHOTOS: Kardashians as kids

When Us Weekly spoke to their father Bruce Jenner at the Performance 3D demonstration in NYC Monday, the 62-year-old Olympian admitted his girls' careers are so busy they may not pursue higher education.

"If they want to go to college, certainly, I think it's a good idea. But I'm not the advocate of, 'You've got to go to college!'" Bruce said. "I think by the time they graduate from high school, they will probably be in a position to go right to working."

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Bruce defends Kendall's racy bikini photo shoot

Like their older sisters Kourtney, 32, Kim, 31, and Khloe, 27, Kendall and Kylie are becoming branded businesswomen, Bruce explained. "They've just developing their clothing line for Sears -- it's a little more teen-oriented, the clothing line. And they're working all the time on the show."

With two magazine covers under her belt (American Cheerleader and Teen Prom), Kendall, 16, is poised to become the next big supermodel, Bruce added.

VIDEO: Bruce freaks out when he finds out Kendall is on birth control

"She'll probably have a career by the time she's out of high school," Bruce told Us. "If that's what she wants to do, that's good. I don't know if college is going to be that important for her."

Do you agree the girls don't need college? Vote in our poll, and tell us on Facebook.

Bruce Jenner's teens have millions. Do they need college?

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10235644-bruce-jenner-my-teens-dont-need-college

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Sony Alpha NEX-7 emerges from the waters, ready for action

Sony leapt onto the stage to perfect its tap-dancing routine tell the world that the NEX-7, after being beset with flooding-based delays, will take a bow at the end of February. The company's flagship mirrorless ILC will set you back $1,350 for the kit edition with an 18-55mm lens. If you've got a little (weeny bit) more cash, a further £839 ($1,300) will place a compatible Carl Zeiss-branded 24mm F.1.8 lens in your grubby hands. If you're interested in learning what we thought about it, check out our detailed hands-on here.

Sony Alpha NEX-7 emerges from the waters, ready for action originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/sony-alpha-nex-7-emerges-from-the-waters-ready-for-action/

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Wikileaks founder gets talk show on Russian TV

Andrew Winning / Reuters

WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange shown arriving at the High Court in London on Nov. 2, 2011.

By msnbc.com staff

A new talk show hosted by Julian Assange, detained Internet activist and founder of the whistleblowing website Wikileaks, will air next month on Russian TV.

In a statement on his website, Assange said he will host a series of interview programs with "key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries." ?The show will appear on Russia Today (RT), a Kremlin-financed English-language satellite news network.

The program, called "The World Tomorrow," will be taped at?the?house north of London where Assange has been under house arrest since December 2010.?He is?awaiting a court decision in Britain on his extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations.

"We liked a lot of the WikiLeaks revelations. It was very much in sync with what Russia Today has been reporting about the Arab Spring, and about the duplicitous policies of the US and its allies all along," Peter Lavelle, a senior journalist with RT told the Christian Science Monitor.

"I think the Russian government will be pleased [to see Assange working on RT]. It's a soft power coup for Russia," Lavelle said.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

?

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10236899-wikileaks-founder-gets-talk-show-on-russian-tv

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Citizen Kane Screens Inside Hearst Castle

When the film "Citizen Kane" came out in 1941, William Randolph Hearst gave it an unequivocal two thumbs down.

The press lord kept ads for the film out of his many newspapers. Just before its release, one of his allies in Hollywood tried to buy the footage in order to burn it. Another approached FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, who launched a decade-long investigation of Orson Welles, the film's 26-year-old director, producer, co-writer and star.

But rosebuds bloom in unlikely places. Seventy-one years after Hearst's effort to derail it, "Citizen Kane" will be shown at Hearst Castle's visitors center, with the blessings of the Hearst family.

The March 9 screening on the five-story-tall screen at the Hearst Castle Theater is part of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.

Wendy Eidson, the festival's director, said the film probably has never been seen on Hearst's sprawling estate. Since 1958, the opulent landmark, which Hearst called "La Cuesta Encantada" (The Enchanted Hill), has been open to the public as a state park.

"I tossed out the idea of screening 'Citizen Kane' there as a joke, and they didn't laugh," Eidson said. "I was sort of floored."

Steve Hearst, the mogul's great-grandson, said the event will present the film as a work of fiction rather than as a documentary about the life of the patriarch known to family members as W.R.

"It's a great opportunity to draw a clear distinction between W.R. and Orson Welles, between the medieval, gloomy-looking castle shown in 'Citizen Kane' and the light, beautiful, architecturally superior reality," he said.

"Citizen Kane" is the unflattering portrait of a character resembling Hearst, a sensationalistic newspaper tycoon with political ambitions, a young mistress in show business, a jaw-dropping mansion and an insatiable zeal for collecting art.

The parallels between Hearst and Charles Foster Kane are obvious ? but so, too, are the differences, said Steve Hearst, who manages the family's ranches and other business interests.

"The character Orson Welles depicted was quite a bit more flamboyant and outgoing than W.R. was," he said. "He wasn't the kind of guy who would be dancing in the editorial room with his staffers."

Another big difference was in the film's portrayal of Kane's love interest, a booze-soaked singer forced by Kane into a disastrous operatic career. Hearst's real-life mistress, Marion Davies, was a talented comic actress later described by Welles as "an extraordinary woman ? nothing like the character."

By all accounts, Hearst was angry over her portrayal. Decades later, Welles agreed: "I always thought he was right to be upset about that," he said in a 1969 interview with director Peter Bogdanovich.

In the film, Charles Foster Kane dies alone in his castle, a pathetic old man. His final word is the enigmatic "Rosebud" ? the name, as it turned out, of the sled Kane had kept from his childhood.

When Hearst died in 1951, he was surrounded by family at the Beverly Hills mansion he shared with Davies.

"His last words went unrecorded," said film scholar James Naremore.

Though Hearst knew enough about "Citizen Kane" to dislike it immensely, he never actually saw the film, according to Davies and others.

Welles even liked to tell a story about the tycoon declining a personal invitation to see it. In the 1969 interview, he said he bumped into Hearst in an elevator at the Fairmont Hotel the night the film opened in San Francisco.

"He and my father had been chums, so I introduced myself and asked if he'd like to come to the opening of the picture," Welles recalled.

The reception was chilly.

"He didn't answer," said Welles, who, ever the showman, took full advantage of the moment:

"As he was getting off at his floor, I said, "Charles Foster Kane would have accepted.' "

steve.chawkins@latimes.com

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924353/news/1924353/

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Stuttering Reflects Irregularities in Brain Setup

Head Lines | Mind & Brain Cover Image: January 2012 Scientific American MagazineSee Inside

A stutter indicates a massive change in brain wiring that affects more than just speech

Put on a pair of headphones and turn up the volume so that you can?t even hear yourself speak. For those who stutter, this is when the magic happens. Without the ability to hear their own voice, people with this speech impediment no longer stumble over their words?as was recently portrayed in the movie The King?s Speech. This simple trick works because of the unusual way the brain of people who stutter is organized?a neural setup that affects other actions besides speech, according to a new study.

Normal speech requires the brain to control movement of the mouth and vocal chords using the sound of the speaker?s own voice as a guide. This integration of movement and hearing typically happens in the brain?s left hemisphere, in a region of the brain known as the premotor cortex. In those who stutter, however, the process occurs in the right hemisphere?prob?ably because of a slight defect on the left side, according to past brain-imaging studies. Singing requires a similar integration of aural input and motor control, but the processing typically occurs in the right hemi?sphere, which may explain why those who stutter can sing as well as anyone else. (In a related vein, The King?s Speech also mentioned the common belief that people who stutter are often left-handed, but studies have found
no such link.)

In the new study, published in the September issue of Cortex, re?searchers found that the unusual neural organization underlying a stutter also includes motor tasks completely unrelated to speech. A group of 30 adults, half of whom stuttered and half of whom did not, tapped a finger in time to a metronome. When the sci?entists interfered with the function of their left hemisphere using trans?cranial magnetic stimulation, a non?invasive technique that temporarily dampens brain activity, nonstutterers found themselves unable to tap in time?but those who stuttered were unaffected. When the researchers interfered with the right hemisphere, the results were reversed: the stut?tering group was impaired, and the nonstutterers were fine.

According to lead author Martin Sommer, a neuroscientist at the University of G?ttingen in Germany,the results suggest that the left-hemisphere defect underlying a stutter causes trouble with sensory integra?tion in general, rather than specifically speech-related problems as was his?torically thought. ?Like in stroke pa?tients, the right side seems to jump in and compensate,? Sommer ex?plains. But that part of the brain did not evolve to handle those tasks, so problems?such as a stutter?can emerge.


Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=c7558a398e757489d5d8727726deb647

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Romney to release taxes, Gingrich ready for Obama (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Stung by a South Carolina setback that capped a bad week, Mitt Romney said he would release his tax returns Tuesday in hopes of ending a campaign distraction while revived rival Newt Gingrich said he was the strongest Republican to go "toe to toe" with President Barack Obama.

Rick Santorum, third in the South Carolina vote, maintained he was the lone "consistent conservative" left in the race and pledged to keep campaigning in Florida, next on the calendar with its Jan. 31 primary, and beyond.

The newly scrambled presidential contest shifted to Florida after Gingrich stopped Romney's sprint to the nomination with a convincing victory in the first-in-the South primary. For now, that removed the air of inevitability that surrounded Romney's candidacy. But Florida is larger, more diverse and more expensive, and brings new challenges for Gingrich. Once again, he must show he can overcome financial and organizational disadvantages, as he did in South Carolina.

"One of the reasons I think people in South Carolina voted for me was a belief that I could debate Obama head to head, that I could convey conservative values," said Gingrich as the candidates made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows.

"I think we had better be prepared for a tough campaign, whoever we nominate," the former House speaker said. He added, "I can go toe to toe with President Obama on big things. ... I think you can draw a very strong case that in the end the dynamics of a Gingrich/Obama fight are much better for Republicans than the dynamics of a Romney/Obama fight."

Romney said it was "not a good week for me" and cited all the time he had spent talking about his tax returns as his rivals pressed him to make them public before his promised date in April.

After months of resistance, Romney had said last week that he would release tax information for 2011, but not until close to the tax filing deadline. That also was seen as a time, before the South Carolina race rattled his front-runner status, when the GOP nomination might have been decided.

"I think we just made a mistake in holding off as long as we did. It just was a distraction. We want to get back to the real issues of the campaign: leadership, character, a vision for America, how to get jobs again in America and how to rein in the excessive scale of the federal government," said Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and venture capitalist.

Romney disclosed last week that, despite his wealth of hundreds of millions of dollars, he has been paying in the neighborhood of 15 percent, far below the top maximum income tax rate of 35 percent, because his income "comes overwhelmingly from investments made in the past."

"Given all the attention that's been focused on tax returns, given the distraction that I think they became in these last couple of weeks," Romney said Sunday he would release his 2010 returns and estimates for his 2011 returns at the same time "so there's not a second release down the road."

"We'll be putting our returns on the Internet, people can look through them," Romney said. "It will provide, I think, plenty of information for people to understand that the sources of my income are exactly as described in the financial disclosure statements we put out a couple of months ago.

During 2010 and the first nine months of 2011, the Romney family had at least $9.6 million in income, according to a financial disclosure form submitted in August.

Further focusing attention on his wealth was Romney's offhand remark to reporters that his income from paid speeches amounted to "not very much" money. In the August disclosure statement, he reported being paid $373,327.62 for such appearances for the 12 months ending last February. That sum alone would him in the top 1 percent of U.S. taxpayers.

In addition, Romney owns investments worth between $7 million and $32 million in offshore-based holdings, which are often used legitimately by private equity firms to attract foreign investors. Such offshore accounts also can enable wealthy investors to defer paying U.S. taxes on some assets, according to tax experts.

"I know people will try and find something," Romney said, adding, "We pay full, fair taxes, and you'll see it's a pretty substantial amount."

Santorum, who beat Romney and Gingrich in leadoff Iowa, scoffed at the suggestion he might leave the race so conservatives could rally behind Gingrich against Romney.

"The idea that conservatives have to coalesce in order to beat Mitt Romney, well, that's just not true anymore. Conservatives actually can have a choice. We don't have to rush to judgment,' he said.

"The longer this campaign goes on," Santorum said, "the better it is for conservatives, the better it is for our party."

Santorum's continued presence ensures at least some division among Florida's tea party activists and evangelicals, a division that could help Romney help erase questions about his candidacy.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul likely will not be a factor in Florida. He already had said he was bypassing the state in favor of smaller subsequent contests.

As the first Southern primary, South Carolina has been a proving ground for Republican presidential hopefuls in recent years. Since Ronald Reagan in 1980, every Republican contender who won the primary has gone on to capture the party's nomination.

Returns from 95 percent of the state's precincts showed Gingrich with 41 percent of the vote to 27 percent for Romney. Santorum was winning 17 percent, Paul 13 percent.

Already, Romney and a group that supports him were on the air in Florida with a significant television ad campaign, more than $7 million combined to date.

Gingrich appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," CBS' "Face the Nation" and CNN's "State of the Union." Romney was on "Fox News Sunday," while Santorum was on ABC's "This Week" and CNN.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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Monday, January 23, 2012

At least 150 killed in Nigeria Kano attacks (AP)

KANO, Nigeria ? An internal Red Cross document seen by an Associated Press reporter in north Nigeria's largest city shows at least 150 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks by a radical Islamist sect there.

A spokesman at Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital in Kano, the city's largest, declined to immediately comment Sunday on the latest count.

The toll of the attacks claimed by Boko Haram could be seen as armed police drove by in a pickup truck with a corpse wrapped in a white burial shroud. Children outside the hospital also sold surgical masks to responders going into the hospital's overflowing mortuary.

President Goodluck Jonathan arrived in Kano on Sunday afternoon to pay his condolences. A military attack helicopter flew over the city center as he visited, and soldiers stood guard around the areas where the sect had attacked Friday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_af/af_nigeria_violence

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Bodum Bistro Drip Coffee Maker: It?s Not Bitter

Danish kitchenware supremo Bodum has granted itself a do-over on the worst machine in your kitchen: the coffee-embittering drip machine. The new Bistro is a cross between old-school percolator and currently-fashionable pour-over coffee. And for convenience, it looks hard to beat. When you wake up, you head–like any rational human–to the kitchen to make coffee. [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/p1pxhS7emBw/

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[OOC] Tainted Shadows part one

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Tainted Shadows part one?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.


Not sure if we can reserve characters, but if so, I would like to reserve a female teen position. I will be posting a character profile in a few hours

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EU online spending estimated to grow 16 percent, reach ?232 billion in 2012

Pardon us Americans as we act surprised, but it turns out that we have one more thing in common with our Euro brethren: a growing number of us dislike shopping in stores. According to Kelkoo estimates, online spending in the European Union is projected to continue its upward trend, which is said to reach somewhere in the neighborhood of €232 billion before year's end. If the estimate holds, this would be a 16 percent increase over the €200 billion raked by e-tailers during 2011, and is naturally assumed to come at the expense of traditional brick and mortar outfits, whose growth is projected to increase by a mere 1.8 percent.

The data gathered also suggest there's significant room for expansion, however, as online spending accounted for just 7.8 percent of all EU retail sales in 2011, with the UK, Germany and France being responsible for a whopping 71 percent of that tally. The 16 percent projected growth is a slight decline from 2011, which saw EU online spending grow by 18 percent -- although, Europe's growing habit for click-and-ship continues to outpace the US, which grew by only 12.8 percent in 2011. Now, since you've crammed all these numbers, why not check the funny pages?

[Shopping button via Shutterstock]

EU online spending estimated to grow 16 percent, reach ?232 billion in 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Register  |  sourceKelkoo  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/yt-0fGy9qfE/

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Megaupload site wants assets back, to fight charges (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The Internet website Megaupload.com, shut down by authorities over allegations that it illegally peddled copyrighted material, is trying to recover its servers and get back online, a lawyer for the company said on Friday.

The company and seven of its executives were charged in a 5-count, 72-page indictment unsealed on Thursday accusing them of engaging in a wide-ranging and lucrative scheme to offer material online without compensating the copyright holders.

Authorities in New Zealand arrested four of those charged, including one of its founders, who legally changed his name to Kim Dotcom. Assets were also seized money, servers, domain names and other assets in the United States and several countries.

"The company is looking at its legal options for getting back its servers and its domain and getting its servers back up online," Megaupload's lawyer Ira Rothken told Reuters. "Megaupload will vigorously defend itself."

He said the company simply offered online storage. "It is really offensive to say that just because people can upload bad things, therefore Megaupload is automatically responsible," he said.

No decision has been made yet about whether they will fight extradition from New Zealand to the United States, Rothken said.

U.S. authorities have painted a much darker picture of the company's operations, saying that Megaupload readily made available copyrighted material including music, television shows, movies, pornography and even terrorism propaganda videos.

Users could upload material to the company's sites, which then would create a link that could be distributed so others could download it, according to the indictment. Some paid subscription fees for faster upload and download speeds.

Despite complaints from copyright holders, the Megaupload did not remove all of the material when requested to do so, prosecutors said. The company's executives earned more than $175 million from subscription fees and advertising, they said.

POSSIBLE NEW MEGAUPLOAD SITE

Less than a day after U.S. authorities shut down the Megaupload.com site and several of its sister sites, there appeared to be an attempt to resurrect the site.

Twitter was flooded with messages circulating a new Internet Protocol address, but the site offered no substantive content immediately and it did not appear that it was sanctioned by Megaupload.

The new website, which is being hosted in the Netherlands, looked similar to the original Megaupload.com website. The company's lawyer said that he was not directly familiar with the new site.

"We're not familiar with any official effort at this point to get the site back up in light of the fact that its major servers are in the possession of the United States government and other governments," Rothken said.

One of those arrested on Thursday was Bram van der Kolk, who has citizenship in the Netherlands and New Zealand. He oversaw programming and the network structure for Megaupload's websites, according to court papers.

U.S. officials were asked on Thursday about the risk of the site reappearing elsewhere in the future, a key issue that has confronted authorities in the past when they've tried to shut down Internet sites selling counterfeit goods.

"Right now we're in the process of executing search and seizure warrants and certainly it's not going to pop up again today. But I couldn't speculate as to what may or may not happen in the future," one Justice Department official said on Thursday.

Another official said "maintaining and running and assembling a site like this is very expensive. And obviously the seizure of financial assets is critical in this type of investigation and prosecution in preventing it from going forward."

The case, which started as an investigation in March 2010, emerged just as lawmakers in Congress have been battling over new legislation sought by the television, movie and music industries that was aimed at making it harder for such material to be so easily peddled over the Internet.

Some major technology companies, including Google and Facebook, have sought to derail the current versions of the legislation because they were concerned they would lead to censorship and lengthy litigation.

Earlier on Friday, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid postponed a vote on one bill that was set for Tuesday until several issues are resolved.

(Additional reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston; Editing by Howard Goller, Gary Hill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/media_nm/us_usa_crime_piracy

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Head of Norwegian intelligence resigns over gaffe (AP)

NORWAY, Oslo ? The head of Norway's intelligence service, Janne Kristiansen, is resigning from her post after apparently disclosing too much information during a hearing in parliament.

Justice Minister Grete Faremo says the PST-head informed her of her resignation late Wednesday, and that it would have immediate effect. Kristiansen will be replaced by her deputy, Roger Berg, until further notice.

According to the statement late Wednesday, it was during a hearing in parliament that Kristiansen "expressed herself in a way that could be interpreted as a breach of confidentiality."

Several Norwegian newspapers say Kristiansen made the gaffe when answering a question about Pakistan, revealing too much information concerning Norwegian intelligence activities in the country.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_eu/eu_norway_intelligence_chief

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Designing a Pet-Friendly Garden | Latest Exclusive Animal and Pets ...

Gardeners have an inherent quality of being in love, perpetually, with nature. Their love for foliage can go beyond the religious mowing and mulching activities. It is a passion for plants that, perhaps no words could justify. Most nature lovers share the same sentiments towards animals. However, trouble knocks when you love both, and want them to coexist. You know that your pet, your best friend, exercises his liberty to carry out inquisitive excursions through the garden, and he is highly capable of making a mess of your garden. In addition to this, your gruff mood. Well, it?s a different question altogether now. So what do you do, for the sake of designing a pet-friendly garden? To help you rest in peace, (pun not intended), explained here are pet-cum-garden-friendly ideas that will have your pet and your greens thrive together.

Creating a Pet-friendly Garden

To have a pet safe garden, you must have a good plan. A feasible plan is one that lets your pet fool around without causing any damage to your precious greens. Your plan should club your garden?s safety and your pet?s interest. Sounds tough? Don?t believe me? Then scroll through? to believe it yourself!

Path-ecology
Pets, more often than not, have their favorite path to wander. They, in the actual, love to have a path that leads them, rather than they creating a path of their own. However, I would advise that before you plan to construct one, try to study ?his path?. By his path, I mean, that your doggie, while roaming around the garden, has paved a way for himself. If you notice that he has a definite route, consider your job half done. All you are left with, is laying the pavement. Providing a stipulated doggie path can save your saplings from being stomped heavily and bearing the brunt of your pooch. Your pet?s pleasure would know no bounds and your plants can breathe peacefully as well!

Hanging Gardens
When digging serves to be your doggie?s ?first love?, you, the poor gardener is bound to get perturbed. However, there is good news, if you don?t want to see your pet and your plants crossing each other?s paths, then why not have your plants hung in baskets or containers above the ground, away from the pet?s reach. Twining a trellis is also a good idea if you possess climbers. Your furry pal is sure to find the task of messing your plants up there quite difficult.

Just Jig, Don?t Dig
Digging is an activity that, gardeners wish did not exist in their canine?s instincts. However, let?s face the fact. They are good diggers, so why not dedicate an area that can serve as their ?play? station. Plant a grass cover to ward off the weeds. You could lay his little fiddles there and join him while he jigs with his belongings. Gradually, you will notice that your pet recognizes his designated play area and puts up his antiques there.

Potty-ing Grounds
In the name of protecting your garden from pet poop, designating a section for this purpose is advisable. Assign a place, dug specifically for your pet, to do the honors and accompany him when he has to attend the call of nature. Going along with your pet for a few days will help in conditioning him to visit the same spot. This will keep your garden feces-free. Another inclusion to your garden, especially for cats, would be placing a log or two, meant specially for your kitty to sharpen her claws, thus demarcating her area.

Go Organic
Curiosity kills the cat, an adage of sorts that fits in here perfectly. Pets have an interrogatory attitude that can land them in trouble. Digging and sniffing are major feats they perform while strolling in the garden. Thus, the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers can spell danger for your pet. Cocoa mulch, used for landscaping contains a poisonous substance called theobromine. This ingredient can cause muscle stiffness and vomiting, leading to death. To ensure that your plants receive the required nutrition and your pet is safe and sound, use organic products that don?t mean harm to pet health. Instead of cocoa, you may use cedar or pine mulch to nourish your plants.

Touch-me-Not
How you wish your plants could say that to your pets, while they put their heart and soul to blob out the plant. Anyway, let?s think about what?s possible. What about citrus fruit peel, or eucalyptus, or better still, neem oil. Possible? Oh yes, you can sprinkle either eucalyptus or neem oil when you want to secure your plants from the pulling sessions. These are natural products and absolutely cruelty-free. To keep your doggie from prying on your saplings, you could also place tomato cages around them.

Shady Body
All those who have heard that pets love to bask in the sun, have heard it right. However, pets do not appreciate the sunshine all throughout. They would love to roll in the shade too. Consider adding some shade in the form of a large plant, or a tree to your landscape. An outdoor beach umbrella can add freshness to the landscape and let your pet enjoy the shade as well. While the hot summer sun shines, your dog can snatch a cool snooze in there. In addition, your plants are safe too.

Aqua-Sure
Provide fresh and clean water regularly for your pet. This also helps you in enhancing the landscape as you construct, two to three tiny water bodies that resemble the shape of a pudding bowl. Also, where water bodies reside, the area around, maintains a consistency in temperature. This place will thus, be marked by him, as his very own turf. And for those scorching days, your pet can quench his thirst and feel refreshed once again.

Take a Dip
If your garden has a pool, chances are that your canine companion too is fond of taking a dip into the pool. While it is all sunny and scorching, your pet would prefer to dive in, rather than roll on the garden greens. You can rest assured that, besides the sun, there is nothing else bothering your garden or plants. Nevertheless, it is required that you train your canine to adhere to your order of entering and exiting the pool, only when you are around. Construct a ladder that leads him in and lets him out. Although, dogs are good swimmers, it is a must that you supervise them when they are at it. To ensure upgraded safety, create a fence around the pool with a considerable space for the ladder. Water bodies, not to forget, add a touch of serenity to the garden and are a favorite of many landscape lovers too.

Blunder Plants
This one?s a big no-no. You should be aware of plants that can be toxic for your pet and ensure that you don?t plant them in your garden. Castor beans, rhododendron, jasmine, crab apple, garlic and yew are some plants that could cause cardiac problems for your pet. Thorny and bushy plants are great topiary additions, however they may prove hurtful to your pet.

With these ideas for designing a landscape garden, that is pet and plant-friendly, you could forge ahead and have a space where you, the gardener, your flora and fauna coexist and prosper. Now, that?s called a true nature patriot, aren?t we!

Source: http://pets.withzoo.com/2012/01/designing-a-pet-friendly-garden/

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