Sunday, July 21, 2013

Alfred Hitchcock's Silent Films Brought To Life | Stuff.co.nz

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Alfred Hitchcock has gone down in movie history as a chatty fellow, the roguish filmmaker and droll TV host gleefully impersonated by Anthony Hopkins in last fall's "Hitchcock." But the British-born master of suspense began ...

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/8946230/Hitchcocks-silent-films-brought-to-life

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Small one Owner Hotel- Bait and Switch in New Mexico

I recently reserved a hotel room online due to the website they have advertises newly renovated condos for $1500. I get there and the hotel was the exact opposite. It was missing part of the counter top, nails sticking up out of the floor, the outside door would not secure, electrical wire exposed, etc., I get there and refuse to stay there. The owner of the hotel said it should have not been rented out due to its condition. I go reserve a room at another hotel business down the way. I get back home to the state I live in and the owners wife refuses to refund my money, saying there are no cancellations. I have disputed it with my credit card. They are siding with the hotel since there contract says no cancellations. Is there anything I can do? I didnt just cancel to cancel. I did it because of safety issues. Now when I google there name on the computer, several people have experienced what I have. If it was a big hotel chain I could think of lots of people to call but this is a mom and pop thing. This is not right and they are misrepresenting themselves to the public.

?

Are there Hotel Boards or laws or anything that Mom and Pop Hotels have to answer to??


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What is this civil rights icon doing at Comic-Con? (cbsnews)

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Saturday, July 20, 2013

Alleged Wife-beater Can't Be Charged in CA for HI Assault - FindLaw

He called her a fat cow. She mentioned his past patronage of prostitutes. After some pushing, shoving, and scuffling, he punched her in the face, resulting in a detached retina and permanent loss of vision in the eye. She told the Hawaiian police that she had fallen. They returned from their vacation two days later.

They were married that fall, but with nuptials did not come bliss. Barely a year after they tied the knot, he became incensed at her regular tardiness in returning home from work. A verbal argument ensued. Soon thereafter, he was squeezing her throat until she lost consciousness. When she awoke, he threatened her adult sons, and then suffocated her again until she lost consciousness.

She came forward days later out of fear for her sons' safety.

Michael Fortner was charged with numerous domestic violence offenses, including charges related to the activities in Hawaii. The obvious question was: can he be charged in Monterey, California for conduct that occurred wholly in Hawaii?

The answer should be no, but because we?re lawyers, and all of us (understandably) hate wife-beaters, the District Attorney tried to find a way ? and the trial court agreed!

Criminal jurisdiction is relatively simple. The basic rule in California is that jurisdiction lies in the ?territory of which it is committed.? Common sense, right? There are three additional exceptions provided for by statute that create a sort of long-arm jurisdiction for very specific situations:

Section 27: where any part of the crime was committed in this state.

The criminal act supporting the Hawaii charges was the actual, single punch. That occurred in the hotel room in Hawaii. This section does not apply.

Section 778: where an offense commences outside of the state, but is consummated within the state, such as through the use of an agent.

The punch commenced in Hawaii. The prosecution tried to argue that the eye injury, and treatment, were the consummation, but the injury was a direct and immediate result of the punch. Section 778 does not support jurisdiction.

Section 778a: where a person, with intent to commit a crime, does more than a de minimis part of the crime in the state (prepares or consummates the crime in California).

Again, this doesn?t apply. The punch was not planned for in advance. The prosecution contended that he ?chose to exercise control over Jane Doe by verbal and physical abuse? and that he intended for the punch to affect her behavior once they returned to California. That argument stretches far beyond the statute and prior case precedent.

We applaud the effort, however.

Related Resources:

Source: http://blogs.findlaw.com/california_case_law/2013/07/alleged-wife-beater-cant-be-charged-in-ca-for-hi-assault.html

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LA Galaxy v Vancouver Whitecaps Preview

KEY PLAYERS

Attacking

After missing some games due to international duty Russell Teibert returns to the Whitecaps for the match against the Galaxy. It was the game against L.A. in early May that Teibert broke through with his two goal performance. Look for him to return to the right side where he will make his runs at the net as well as providing service to his teammates.

Due to international duty the Caps avoided having to deal with the scoring ability of Robbie Keane in the last match. The Irishman is an injury doubt for this one but if he plays, he will be LA's key player. In the three regular season trips to LA the striker has two goals and two assists against Vancouver. In his last four games this season Keane has two goals and four assists and has become more of a facilitator as he has almost matched his assist totals from last year.

Defence

After a couple of average outings and an extended break from an Eastern trip, Y.P. Lee regained the form that is expected from the world class player. There wasn't a player from the Fire that could break him down defensively and he got forward for a couple of chances. With Teibert returning from the national team, the two will look to pick up where they left off in late June.

Another key player who was missing from their first matchup this season was left back Todd Dunivant who has been dealing with a couple of injuries. The 2003 first round pick is a solid defender being named to the best XI of 2011 and a three time winner of the MLS Cup. He is also a threat going forward where he is able to send in some good crosses and make dangerous runs into the box.

WHO?S ON FORM

After an off game against Seattle, Camilo returned back to form with two great individual plays that led to his brace. In his last nine games the Brazilian has scored ten times and assisted on three others and he is now in the top spot for the Golden Boot race. He has already matched his totals from 2011 when he led the team in goals and has done it in half the games played.

Normally a provider, central midfielder Marcelo Sarvas has become a goal scorer of late with three goals in his last four starts. It has moved him to become the second in the team for scoring and has also doubled his totals from last season.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Vancouver Whitecaps (4-3-3) Brad Knighton; Lee Young-Pyo, Brad Rusin, Johnny Leveron, Jordan Harvey; Jun Marques Davidson, Gershon Koffie, Nigel Reo-Coker; Russell Teibert, Kenny Miller, Camilo Sanvezzo

Los Angeles Galaxy (4-4-2) Carlo Cudicini; Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant; Hector Jimenez, Juninho, Marcelo Sarvas, Robbie Rogers; Robbie Keane, Gyasi Zardes

2013 RECORD

Vancouver Whitecaps:
9W-5D-5L-32P
3rd in Western Conference
Last Match: 3-1 Win v Chicago Fire

Los Angeles:
9W-3D-8L-30P
5th in Western Conference
Last Match: 2-1 Loss at Portland Timbers

OVERVIEW

After a couple of games at home, Vancouver Whitecaps return to the road as they travel to Southern California to face Los Angeles Galaxy. This will be their second meeting of the season as the Caps, led by a Russell Teibert brace, finally beat the Galaxy 3-1 at B.C. Place.

Prior to that match the Caps had never beaten the 'cornerstone' franchise in MLS. In their three regular season trips to the newly named StubHub Center the Caps hadn't scored a goal before Darren Mattocks tallied one in their first round match of last year?s playoffs but the home win in May has led to a resurgence and new found self belief against teams like LA and away from home in general.

The Whitecaps will start Brad Knighton in goal once again. He was a few seconds away from picking up his third clean sheet in four matches last week before letting his anger show in conceding a stoppage time goal. The two full backs on the backline will be Lee Young-Pyo and Jordan Harvey. There had been a hope that Andy O?Brien would be fit enough to return but he is still not ready and Brad Rusin will continue to partner Johnny Leveron in the middle.

The midfield will remain the same. Jun Marques Davidson returns as the holding mid with Gershon Koffie and Nigel Reo-Coker in front of him. If fit, Russell Teibert should get straight back into the starting eleven and play alongside Camilo and Kenny Miller up front. The trio hope to quickly reform the dangerous attack force that they were before the Gold Cup.

The Galaxy have had a tough start to the season with the retirement of David Beckham and Landon Donovan missing for the beginning of the season but the biggest loss occurred when they traded Mike Magee after ten games. While they are one of the top scoring teams in MLS, since the trade of Magee for Rogers their totals have dropped.

In their first ten games the Galaxy had scored 17 goals while after the transaction they have scored 13 times in the same number of games. When it comes to points, the results have been the same as L.A. have picked up 13 of their 30 points after the trade.

While they are relatively healthy, the defending champs are without captain Landon Donovan, who is with the US on international duty for the Gold Cup. It was looking like their best defender Omar Gonzalez would also be away but unfortunately for the Caps, he has been allowed to stay behind for this match. Robbie Keane is also a serious injury concern after coming off last week amid concerned faces.

While the Whitecaps' previous form in LA will probably still see them going into this match as underdogs, they are one of the hottest teams in MLS, picking up 23 out of their last 30 points. Included in that run were two road wins against New York and D.C. United but they have yet to win one away from home in the West.

The Caps will attempt to keep their rise trending upwards in the Western Conference with another result against a tough team. Despite the struggles of L.A. this season they still have the champion's mentality as the defending MLS Cup holders so the Caps must carry their momentum on the road.

Source: http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?4798-LA-Galaxy-v-Vancouver-Whitecaps-Preview

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Friday, July 19, 2013

Collegiate Licensing Company confirms new college football deal with EA

Electronic Arts and the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), the agency that manages the licensing of college football programs, have signed a new agreement for EA's college football games, the CLC confirmed to Polygon today.

According to the CLC, the new contract with EA will take effect next July and run for three years. It gives EA the rights to use "more than 150 colleges, conferences and bowl games" in its college football video game series, said a representative for the CLC in an email to Polygon, confirming a Joystiq report from earlier today. There's no word yet on whether any schools have opted out of the new agreement. The agreement is non-exclusive because of the $27 million settlement in Pecover v. Electronic Arts, an antitrust lawsuit regarding EA's football games.

Earlier this week, the NCAA announced it would not renew its licensing agreement with EA; shortly afterward, EA and the CLC said they would continue to produce college football video games. EA's existing NCAA Football franchise will continue under a new name with a new game on next-generation consoles in 2014, even though the games will no longer include the name or logo of the NCAA. That makes this year's NCAA Football 14 the last game in the 20-year-old series to bear the "NCAA Football" branding.

We've reached out to EA and the CLC for more details on the agreement, and will update this article with any information we receive.

Update: A representative for the CLC declined to provide information on the financial terms of the agreement. In response to a question asking why the organization is continuing its relationship with EA when the NCAA is backing out because of legal troubles that all three groups share, the rep told Polygon, "There's no reason to discontinue the game, which has been, and is, in compliance with rules regulating college football.

"There's no reason to discontinue the game"

"Throughout its relationship with EA, CLC has made clear and will continue to make clear, that the participating collegiate institutions are not granting ? and have never granted ? any license or rights to utilize the name, face, image or likeness of any athlete, whether a current or former student athlete. The license granted is for use of the university's, or conference's or bowl's name, logo and other identifying marks.

"In the future, though the game would be marketed under another name, each school will continue to maintain all approval rights for its individual trademarks, stadiums, uniforms, mascots, traditions, and other school-specific indicia in the game. EA will continue to be required to develop games that are in compliance with all applicable NCAA rules as per requirements in the EA trademark license agreement."

Source: http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/19/4538332/ea-collegiate-licensing-company-new-college-football-deal-confirmed

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U.S. sees lower-than-expected Obamacare insurance costs (reuters)

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Rihanna Fans Throw Food (VIDEO) After Late Start

You know the drill. Rihanna stays out late before a show drinking and partying, sending outrageous tweets, and enjoying being a major star. But, oh wait, she has a show to do the next day! This has happened at least half a dozen times in the last month or so. Rihanna is simply not prioritizing her shows. This isn’t some spammy hater trying to pass judgement off on her. This is the truth. But one fan apparently decided they had enough of the waiting and took it upon themselves to teach her a lesson — elementary school style! RadarOnline reports that a fan chucked some food at RiRi after she made them wait an ungodly amount of time for the show to start. Multiple tweets have been sent out this summer complaining about how she is not really putting her all into her shows and that she is always late. People are pretty pissed about it. Different things started to fly onstage at a recent concert in Manchester, including a bag of chips. When she saw it, Rihanna said: “There?s a good crazy and there?s a bad crazy. When you throw sh*t up here, that?s an epic fail?I swear to [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/Aa5LV87k0Y0/

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Thursday, July 18, 2013

Engaging Sort of Sport Fencing - Home Improvement Blog

Written by frank k. soliman

People take part in sports activities to be physically top fit and gaze after a healthy lifestyle. Sports don?t only enhance physique, but also adds to the mental and emotional well-being of men and women. Likewise, sports also foster the spirit of friendship, sportsmanship, and teamwork among players. The increase in the volume of people actively engaging in this sort of recreation has resulted towards the opening of extra establishments offering sports.

Sports facilities offer people the opportunity engross themselves in various regular activities. It does not take job of the facility to safeguard the clientele from unnecessary injuries. One way to do that is simply by sports fencing. Sports fencing will enclose the sides of sports facilities. Sports fencing separates the various areas used from the facility; there are assigned areas to the players as well as the spectators too. This is in order to avoid unwanted injuries, and enhance the flow of activities. Fencing the sides of sports facilities prevents balls from straying into other locations. It offers a superior protection to both athletes and the spectators. It might enhance the look of the place; you?ll be able to choose between several materials from galvanized iron to plastic or vinyl. Fencing contractors can get a new form of a sports fence to maximize functionality. There are various kinds of sports fence. Instances of sports fencing include football fence, basketball fence, soccer fence, palisade sport fence, sports mesh fence, and welded wire fence. The type of sports fence is made in line with the sports played from the area. Sports fence usually supplies good visibility towards the spectators, are durable, as well as simple to setup. Sports fencing resembles multi game area fencing also called MUGA fencing. A MUGA is definitely an area the place where a various sports could be took part in one arena from basketball, to football, hockey, and a lot of other sorts of sports.

Plenty of fencing companies specialize in sports fencing. Mesh is reasonable, resilient, as well as simple to setup; this will make it a popular selection for sports fencing and MUGA fencing (Check automated gates also). A chain link fence is also a common option for sports fencing. Mesh can be achieved from metal, vinyl, or even plastic woven together. A good example is often a diamond mesh made from stainless steel wire and aluminum alloy wire. Mesh provides extensive uses besides sports fencing. It really is used to prevent trespassing from private establishments; technology-not only in gardening, or even in kennels.

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Source: http://shrednwmagazine.com/engaging-sort-of-sport-fencing/

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July 16 rec golf roundup: DeForest, Rodriguez advance at Met Junior

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Published: 2:00 AM - 07/17/13

Met Junior

Cottekill's Ethan DeForest and Highland Mills' Ryan Rodriguez advanced to the round of 16, winning two matches at Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Conn.

DeForest, who will be a Rondout Valley senior, defeated Zach Egermeyer of Glen Rock, N.J., 3 and 2 in the round of 32. He beat Chris Lambrou of Baldwin 4 and 3 in the first round.

Rodriguez, who will be a Cornwall sophomore, beat Katonah's Christian Cavaliere 1 up in the round of 32. He edged Great Neck's Ross Hoffman on the 19th hole in the first round.

Three local golfers were eliminated in the first round.

New Paltz's Sean Copeland was defeated by Cameron Young, the 2012 Ike champion and top seed, 7 and 5.

Warwick's Sean Ginley lost to Paolo Matti of Union, N.J., 8 and 6.

Drew Billard, a 2013 Sullivan West graduate, was defeated by No. 9 seed Ryan Rose of Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., 3 and 1.


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Source: http://recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130717/SPORTS/307160334/-1/rss02

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Nasdaq forum site hacked, passwords compromised

43 minutes ago

Pedestrians walk past the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York's Times Square in this June 4, 2012 file photo. REUTERS/Eric Thayer/Files

? ERIC THAYER / Reuters

News of the hack was shared the same day Wall Street companies participated in an exercise against a cyberattack.

NEW YORK ? Cybercriminals targeted Nasdaq OMX Group's community forum website and gained access to the email usernames and passwords of the members of the site, which took two days to come back online on Thursday evening.

The New York-based exchange operator said in an emailed letter to users of the forum that no e-commerce or transactions of any kind were taking place on the website. The forum was open to the general public to join.

Nasdaq spokesman Joseph Christinat could not say how many people's information may have been compromised.

The cyberattack happened on Tuesday, the same day a report was released saying that around half of the world's securities exchanges had been targeted by cyberattacks last year.

Cybercrime appears to on the rise both in terms of sophistication and complexity, widening the potential for infiltration and large-scale damage, the report, by the International Organization of Securities Commissions' research department and the World Federation of Exchanges Office, said.

A major attack could result in widespread public mistrust and a retreat from the markets, it added.

On Thursday, Wall Street firms, along with exchanges and regulators, held a simulated cyberattack in order to help participants prepare to combat the real thing. The drill, named Quantum Dawn 2, was organized by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

Nasdaq said in the letter to its forum users that it was upgrading and restoring the forum website, where users can discuss issues such as market moves.

The exchange said all passwords expired and asked that members update any other accounts that may have the same passwords.

Nasdaq has been targeted by cybercrime in the past. In 2010, hackers infiltrated the exchange's computer systems and installed software that allowed them to spy on the directors of publicly held companies, Reuters reported.

And last year in February, Nasdaq and Kansas-based exchange operator BATS Global Markets said they were hit by denial-of-service attacks, which seek to disrupt websites and computer systems by overwhelming the targeted organizations' networks with computer traffic.

In October 2011, NYSE Euronext's New York Stock Exchange website was inaccessible for 30 minutes, according to an Internet monitoring company, but the exchange said there was no interruption of service.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Windows 8.1 Guide: SkyDrive app, a seamless integration to the cloud

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Source: pureinfotech.com --- Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Microsoft has offered SkyDrive as a cloud storage solution for years, but it wasn?t until Windows 8 that people really started noticing the service, while Apple?s... ...

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Video: Time to rethink the great rotation?

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'Aggressive,' 'devastating' fire burning thousands of acres in Southern California

Stuart Palley / EPA

A long exposure of the Mountain Fire as seen from Highway 74 on Monday night in Mountain Center, Calif. The fire grew from 4,700 to 8,000 acres overnight.

By M. Alex Johnson, Staff Writer, NBC News

A "very aggressive" fire in Southern California's San Jacinto Mountains grew to 8,000 acres Tuesday, damaging several structures, forcing mandatory evacuations and spreading heavy smoke into the Coachella Valley, officials said.

"There's a disaster area in there. It's devastating," Scott Visyak, a spokesman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told NBC Los Angeles?on Tuesday.


"There's several homes lost. There's several homes standing. The fire had just gone through there very aggressively," Visyak said.

The so-called Mountain Fire, which ignited at 1:43 p.m. (4:43 p.m. ET) Monday, was burning Tuesday afternoon near the Idyllwild Pine Cove, according to the joint state and federal incident report.?Visyak said it was headed over Palm Canyon and into Andreas Canyon.

About 650 firefighters were battling the fire, which nearly doubled in size, from 4,700 acres to 8,000 acres, in just a few hours overnight. The incident report said it was only 10 percent contained.

Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com

With an "extreme" potential for further growth, the fire was being upgraded to a Type 1 incident management response ? the biggest there is ? the report noted.

The flames are spreading through chaparral, or shrubland, and timber that are highly flammable because of the dry winter, officials said. Ninety-plus-degree temperatures, humidity in the single digits and shifting winds approaching 15 mph have also presented fire crews with a challenging task.

"With the heavy fuels we've got and the temperatures we're experiencing, it's making it a very aggressive, hot fire right now," Visyak said.

At least one home was destroyed, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported Tuesday, along with another building that was under renovation. Clouds of smoke hung over the mountains as airplanes and helicopters made water drops, it reported.

Mandatory evacuations were in effect for about 50 homes in the area, as well as the Living Free Animal Sanctuary and the Zen Mountain Center.?

Related:

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Robots Being Developed To Automate Farm Labor - Business Insider

farmer, american farmer

REUTERS/Mike Blake

SALINAS, Calif. (AP) ? On a windy morning in California's Salinas Valley, a tractor pulled a wheeled, metal contraption over rows of budding iceberg lettuce plants. Engineers from Silicon Valley tinkered with the software on a laptop to ensure the machine was eliminating the right leafy buds.

The engineers were testing the Lettuce Bot, a machine that can "thin" a field of lettuce in the time it takes about 20 workers to do the job by hand.

The thinner is part of a new generation of machines that target the last frontier of agricultural mechanization ? fruits and vegetables destined for the fresh market, not processing, which have thus far resisted mechanization because they're sensitive to bruising.

Researchers are now designing robots for these most delicate crops by integrating advanced sensors, powerful computing, electronics, computer vision, robotic hardware and algorithms, as well as networking and high precision GPS localization technologies. Most ag robots won't be commercially available for at least a few years.

In this region known as America's Salad Bowl, where for a century fruits and vegetables have been planted, thinned and harvested by an army of migrant workers, the machines could prove revolutionary.

Farmers say farm robots could provide relief from recent labor shortages, lessen the unknowns of immigration reform, even reduce costs, increase quality and yield a more consistent product.

"There aren't enough workers to take the available jobs, so the robots can come and alleviate some of that problem," said Ron Yokota, a farming operations manager at Tanimura & Antle, the Salinas-based fresh produce company that owns the field where the Lettuce Bot was being tested.

Many sectors in U.S. agriculture have relied on machines for decades and even the harvesting of fruits and vegetables meant for processing has slowly been mechanized. But nationwide, the vast majority of fresh-market fruit is still harvested by hand.

Research into fresh produce mechanization was dormant for years because of an over-abundance of workers and pressures from farmworker labor unions.

In recent years, as the labor supply has tightened and competition from abroad has increased, growers have sought out machines to reduce labor costs and supplement the nation's unstable agricultural workforce. The federal government, venture capital companies and commodity boards have stepped up with funding.

"We need to increase our efficiency, but nobody wants to work in the fields," said Stavros G. Vougioukas, professor of biological and agricultural engineering at the University of California, Davis.

But farmworker advocates say mechanization would lead to workers losing jobs, growers using more pesticides and the food supply becoming less safe.

"The fundamental question for consumers is who and, now, what do you want picking your food; a machine or a human, who with the proper training and support, can" ... take significant steps to ensure a safer, higher quality product, said Erik Nicholson, national vice president of the United Farm Workers of America.

On the Salinas Valley farm, entrepreneurs with Mountain View-based startup Blue River Technology are trying to show that the Lettuce Bot can not only replace two dozen workers, but also improve production.

"Using Lettuce Bot can produce more lettuce plants than doing it any other way," said Jorge Heraud, the company's co-founder and CEO.

After a lettuce field is planted, growers typically hire a crew of farmworkers who use hoes to remove excess plants to give space for others to grow into full lettuce heads. The Lettuce Bot uses video cameras and visual-recognition software to identify which lettuce plants to eliminate with a squirt of concentrated fertilizer that kills the unwanted buds while enriching the soil.

Blue River, which has raised more than $3 million in venture capital, also plans to develop machines to automate weeding ? and eventually harvesting ? using many of the same technologies.

Another company, San Diego-based Vision Robotics, is developing a similar lettuce thinner as well as a pruner for wine grapes. The pruner uses robotic arms and cameras to photograph and create a computerized model of the vines, figure out the canes' orientation and the location of buds ? all to decide which canes to cut down.

Fresh fruit harvesting remains the biggest challenge.

Machines have proved not only clumsy, but inadequate in selecting ripe produce. In addition to blunders in deciphering color and feel, machines have a hard time distinguishing produce from leaves and branches. And most importantly, matching the dexterity and speed of farmworkers has proved elusive.

"The hand-eye coordination workers have is really amazing, and they can pick incredibly fast. To replicate that in a machine, at the speed humans do and in an economical manner, we're still pretty far away," said Daniel L. Schmoldt at the U.S. Agriculture Department's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

In southern California, engineers with the Spanish company Agrobot are taking on the challenge by working with local growers to test a strawberry harvester.

The machine is equipped with 24 arms whose movement is directed through an optical sensor; it allows the robot to make a choice based on fruit color, quality and size. The berries are plucked and placed on a conveyor belt, where the fruit is packed by a worker.

Still, the harvester collects only strawberries that are hanging on the sides of the bed, hence California's strawberry fields would have to be reshaped to accommodate the machine, including farming in single rows, raising the beds and even growing varieties with fewer clusters.

Experts say it will take at least 10 years for harvesters to be available commercially for most fresh-market fruit ? not a moment too soon for farmers worried about the availability of workers, said Lupe Sandoval, managing director of the California Farm Labor Contractor Association.

"If you can put a man on the moon," Sandoval said, "you can figure out how to pick fruit with a machine."

----

Contact Gosia Wozniacka at https://twitter.com/gosiawozniacka

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/robots-being-developed-to-automate-farm-labor-2013-7

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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Miley Cyrus Should Take Her 'Twerk Addiction' To Dillon Francis

MTV's Artist to Watch tells MTV News why he has a perfect song for Miley.
By Elizabeth Lancaster

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1710665/dillon-francis-miley-cyrus-twerk.jhtml

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NBA Trade Rumors: Detroit Pistons Want To Trade For Rajon Rondo

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Source: kingjamesgospel.com --- Monday, July 15, 2013
Jan 23, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (9) takes the ball down the court in the first quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports The Detroit Pistons are interested in trading for Rajon Rondo and are seemingly willing to offer an expiring contract and Brandon Knight in return. However, the Boston Celtics are unlikely to make the deal unless it includes either Andre Drummond or Greg Monroe, according to the Boston Globe. The Pistons are quite interested in Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo , but they don?t have a package to offer that would attract president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to making a deal. The Celtics would presumably ask for emerging center Andre Drummond , who is as close to untouchable as a younger player can get. Detroit would like to send the Celtics Brandon Knight and an expiring contract, but that wouldn?t be nearly enough. (via Boston Globe) With that offer, the Pistons were clearly hopeful that the Celtics would be willing to move Rondo based on the fact that his value is low now, as he recovers from a torn ACL. If Boston does end up moving Rondo, it will likely be after he returns to the floor and shows that he is capable of playing at a high level. ? ...

Source: http://kingjamesgospel.com/2013/07/15/nba-trade-rumors-detroit-pistons-want-to-trade-for-rajon-rondo/

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Monday, July 15, 2013

LA prosecutor files to revoke Brown's probation

1 hour ago

Los Angeles prosecutors have moved to revoke probation for singer Chris Brown, who was charged last month with misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving without a valid license.

Copyright ? 2013 Tribune Broadcasting Company

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/entertainment/los-angeles-district-attorney-moves-revoke-chris-browns-probation-6C10642340

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Israel Airstrike Targeted Advanced Missiles That Russia Sold to Syria, U.S. Says

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Source: whatreallyhappened.com --- Saturday, July 13, 2013
Israel carried out an air attack in Syria this month that targeted advanced antiship cruise missiles sold to the Syria government by Russia, American officials said Saturday. ...

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/world/middleeast/israel-airstrike-targeted-advanced-missiles-that-russia-sold-to-syria-us-says.html?_r=1&

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HBT: Bogaerts, Butler impressed at Futures Game

Not that the score really matters, but the U.S. team topped the World squad in the All-Star Futures Game again this year, winning 4-2 and outhitting the competition 9-3. Of course, this game is more fun to watch for the individual performances that any sort of team effort. So, let?s get right to the prospects who shined and those that fell flat:

The standouts

- Xander Bogaerts (SS Red Sox): The world team?s best prospect, Bogaerts singled back up the middle in each of his first two at-bats and walked in the fourth. In the first, he fouled off a two-strike slider from Noah Syndergaard and then grounded a 96-mph heater back through the box. He was caught stealing in the first, mostly because of an odd slide that caused him to miss the bag with his front leg. He showed much better instincts in the fourth, when he raced home on a sac fly and evaded the catcher?s tag by going inside the baseline and hooking around it.

- Eddie Butler (RHP Rockies): The 22-year-old Butler turned in the most impressive inning of the game, even if he did allow a single before getting a double play. He topped out at 98 mph with his fastball, and he struck out Bogaerts on three pitches, including a 90-mph changeup with lethal movement down and in to the right-handed hitter. There are questions about how Butler will hold up as a starter, but he could probably help the Rockies as a reliever right now if they want to go that route.

- Arismendy Alcantara (2B Cubs): Showing his emerging power, Alcantara pulled an Anthony Ranaudo fastball into the second deck at Citi Field. Alcantara has 13 homers in 389 at-bats in Double-A this year after hitting seven in 359 at-bats in the FSL last year and two in 390 at-bats in the Midwest League in 2011. The Cubs just recently moved him from shortstop to second base to make room for Javier Baez on the Smokies. He?s always profiled better there anywhere, and he could be the team?s replacement for Darwin Barney next summer or in 2015.

- Christian Yelich (OF Marlins): A couple of other guys might have more potential, but Yelich is the best hitter, as of July 14, 2013, of anyone who was playing today. He showed it by doubling over center fielder Gregory Polanco?s head in his first at-bat and singling in his second. The Marlins might make room for him in the outfield soon by trading Justin Ruggiano.

- Jesse Biddle (LHP Phillies): It was a tough call whether Biddle or Archie Bradley showed the best curve of the day. Biddle?s is reminiscent of Barry Zito?s, and while he doesn?t have the ceiling of a Bradley or a Taijuan Walker, he doesn?t lack for polish. He stranded two runners in the fifth, and he was the one pitcher to get four outs today.

- Rafael Montero (RHP Mets): With the game being played at Citi Field, the Mets had the starting pitchers for both sides today, with Montero going for the World team and Syndergaard pitching for the U.S. Montero needed just nine pitches in his inning of work, but he still managed to mix in a couple of nice sliders.

The disappointments

- Michael Ynoa (RHP Athletics): After battling injuries, Ynoa, one of the biggest Latin American signings ever, broke through in the Midwest League this year, posting a 2.14 ERA in 15 starts (54 2/3 innings) for Beloit. However, he?s given up 11 earned runs in 7 2/3 innings since moving up to the California League and he didn?t impressive with his command or stuff today. He gave up a two-run homer to the Diamondbacks? Matt Davidson in his inning of work.

- Reymond Fuentes (OF Padres): Fuentes was the World Team?s leadoff man because of his .412 OBP in Double-A this year, but he made first-pitch outs in two of his three at-bats today. One was a routine fly to center and the other was a pop to shortstop. Fuentes did have a better at-bat in between, battling back from an 0-2 count to eventually ground out on Archie Bradley?s seventh pitch.

- Byron Buxton (OF Twins): It was more a disappointment for us watching than any reflection on Buxton as a prospect, but Buxton saw 11 pitches today, swung at three and made contact just once, hitting a foul ball. He struck out swinging in both of his appearances.

- Henry Urrutia (OF Orioles): Some think the 26-year-old Urrutia, a Cuban defector in his first year in the minors, could come up and help the Orioles down the stretch, but he didn?t show much today. He grounded out in each of his first three at-bats, with the third going for a double play, before drawing a four-pitch walk from a wild Kyle Crick his last time up. Maybe that shouldn?t overshadow the fact that he?s hit .365/.427/.531 in the minors this year, but his tools aren?t all that impressive.

- Addison Russell (SS Athletics): I think Russell is a tremendous prospect, but he was overmatched at the plate today, particularly in his first at-bat against Enny Romero, when he went down swinging at a slider off the plate. He was also Ynoa?s lone strikeout victim. Russell, though, is just 19. He may well be back as the U.S. team?s starting shortstop in this game again next year.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/14/all-star-futures-game-wrap-u-s-beats-world-4-2/related/

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N. Ireland Violence Flares for Second Day (Voice Of America)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/319186489?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Artificial cells to study molecular crowding and gene expression created

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Scientists have approximated molecular crowding in an artificial cellular system and found that tight quarters help the process of gene expression, especially when other conditions are less than ideal.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/QcScE0STxlw/130714160942.htm

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Microsoft to improve Xbox One hardware prior to launch?