MIAMI (Reuters) - Police added a dose of scepticism on Wednesday to a report about a man who says he was shot by his dog while driving down a Florida highway.
Commander Steve Carr, a police spokesman in the central town of Sebring, where the shooting occurred on Saturday, said there were "some indications" the shooting victim may have made up his "dog shoots man" story.
Gregory Lane Lanier, 35, told police he thought the 9mm Beretta semi-automatic handgun on the floor of his pickup truck was unloaded when the black and tan English bulldog kicked it and caused it to fire.
Lanier was hit in his left leg and the bullet wound, patched up at a local hospital, was not serious.
"It's what he claims," Carr said of Lanier's account. "We didn't spend a lot of time investigating it. There doesn't appear to be any criminal act involved. You don't have to be licensed in Florida to carry a handgun."
Lanier could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Calls to a phone number listed for him in a Sebring Police Department report on the highway shooting went unanswered.
(Reporting by Tom Brown; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Dan Grebler)
All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2012 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2012 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.
>>>back to "hardball." now to the sideshow. first to the colorful congressional race going on in
south carolina
. there are 16 on the
republican side
alone. including
mark sanford
of course. and
teddy turner
the son of
ted turner
. turner is out with a new
tv ad
this week asking people to break up with career politicians. and
keep an eye
out for who gets prime
real estate
in a large
picture frame
and you know who the ad's out to get.
>>we've come a long way. i know it's been too much, but what's a few trillion? it was all for you. without change. i'll keep my promises this time. it'll be different. i'm sorry. for all the mistakes i've made. just give me one more chance.
>>break up with career politicians. the right guy,
teddy turner
.
conservative republican
, economics teacher, not a politician.
>>it doesn't take much guessing to guess who he's talking about here.
mark sanford
. he's in the biggest picture there with the other photos taking less space.
>>>next, think your
fast food
joint has anything to do with whether you're democrat or republican? think again. first okay let's
think ethnic
here. bagels, croissants, or doughnuts. for republicans it's bagels or croissants. republicans prefer doughnuts. republicans prefer chick-fil-a. democrats went for kfc. there is a political element to that one. finally
olive garden
. it was close here. more democrats answered no it's not. 44 to 41. it was the opposite for republicans 43% saying they serve authentic
italian food
. no consensus on whether they actually serve -- i love this. no consensus on whether the
olive garden
actually serves
italian food
or not.
>>>up next, if the budget cuts hit on friday, public may blame republicans now. but don't expect
president obama
to emerge unscathed. they all get hit with this stuff. you're watching "hardball"" stuff. you're watching "hardballhardball," the place for politics.
One woman wants to give the world its first black Bachelorette -- and we say it's about time. Misee Harris, a 28-year-old pediatric dentist, has launched a social media campaign to get the attention of the ABC reality show and let the network know that not all of the women it selects for the dating competition need to be white.
A security firm found it could bypass Google's two-step login verification process, reset a user's master password and gain full control of the account "simply by capturing a user's application-specific password."
Application-specific passwords are passwords generated by Google that you can opt to use instead of your master password. They are long and awkward, and the whole point of them is that they aren't really something you'd ever remember or even store anywhere. The trouble was, users were led to think they could only be used once, but Duo Security said, in a report, that they could in fact be used anywhere ? and without a second point of authentication. The trick for the hacker was to obtain the application-specific password, and that's really hard.
Duo shared its findings with Google, and as of Feb. 21, "Google engineers pushed a fix to close this loophole," the security firm said.
A Google spokesperson told NBC News Tuesday it is "not aware of any related abuse of accounts that use 2-step verification, and we increased the security for these accounts last week by increasing the authentication requirement for sensitive account actions."
In other words, while there may have been a vulnerability, Google isn't aware of anyone taking advantage of it, and the recent update likely put an end to the threat.
Furthermore, the threat, outlined by Duo, "required gaining access to an application-specific password (ASP), which was unlikely because ASPs are complex strings of characters that are not designed to be written down or memorized," said Google's spokesperson. "Without a separate vulnerability to obtain an ASP" ? that is, without someone already having hacked your account to look up these weird passwords ? "these accounts remained protected."
A two-step, or two-factor, verification login basically calls for two different proofs of your identity. Usually the first is a password; the second is a temporary code that's sent to your phone or generated by an app or software.
Google has been using two-step verification since 2010. Yahoo started using it in 2011, and so did Facebook, which refers to it as "login approvals." (You can read more about Google's two-step, or two-factor, verification process here.)
"If an attacker can trick a user into running some malware, that malware might be able to find and extract an ASP somewhere on that user?s system," Duo Security's report said.
Google's fix "helps this situation significantly," said Duo. "Though a compromised ASP could still inflict significant harm on a user, that user should ultimately retain control over his account (and the ability to revoke the ASP at the first sign something has gone wrong)." The ASP alone might help a hacker gain access to your Gmail on a device, for instance, but he or she would still need your master password to mess with your account settings.
While Duo Security's findings are worth noting, the bigger threat for most users is really the fact that we often pick terrible passwords in the first place.
On the bright side, Google said recently that its use of "automated risk analysis" has dramatically reduced the number of compromised Google accounts by 99.7 percent since their peak in 2011.
Check out Technology, GadgetBox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.
Ministry of Advanced Education,
Innovation and Technology
?
?
Students at the centre of StudentAid
BC upgrades
?
VICTORIA
Helping students manage their student loans and reducing wait times is the
impetus for a $3.2-million system upgrade that is now underway at StudentAid
BC.
?
By
March 2014, planned improvements will help students manage their accounts and
access funds more quickly by allowing them to apply for a loan, confirm their
enrolment and complete other important actions all online using improved e-services
and new self-service tools. At the same time, further enhancements will provide
institutions with enhanced e-services and self-service tools to speed up their
access, decrease their workload, and ultimately reduce costs.
?
Last
year, StudentAid BC handled nearly 400,000 paper applications and forms. When
fully implemented, the upgrades are expected to eliminate 90 per cent of the
paper and significantly reduce wait times for student loan approval and funds
disbursement.
?
After
government launched the new StudentAid BC website and mobile website last
summer, students were asked how their experience with StudentAid BC could be
made even better. They came up with some challenges:
????????
Provide
more timely service, especially around helping them get funds faster.
????????
Make
it easier to apply for loans with a fully electronic application process.
????????
Make
it easier and quicker to find out the status of their account self-service
anytime, anywhere.
?
Providing
a self-service student portal and eliminating paper will help streamline
transactions and improve communication so students can get their funds more
quickly, enabling them to focus on their studies.
?
?
Quote:
?
John
Yap, Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology
The
improvements were making to StudentAid BC services demonstrate our continued commitment
to support and enhance students post-secondary education experiences. We are
putting students in the drivers seat, with more access and better support and
service.
?
As
part of B.C.s Jobs Plan, we are working to build an increasingly skilled and
highly educated workforce, one that is ready to meet current and future labour
market demands. Improvements to StudentAid BC will help us achieve that goal.
?
Lucia
Heffelfinger Orser, director of external relations, UVic Students' Society
The
planned improvements to modernize the delivery of the StudentAid BC program
will enhance the user experience of students who apply for financial
assistance. It is a good step towards staying current with student
expectations. The Alliance of BC Students looks forward to continuing to
collaborate with the Ministry of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology
to represent the voice of our membership during this project.
?
Quick
Facts:
????????
The
Province is committed to helping qualified students get their education regardless
of their personal financial circumstances.
????????
In
the 2011-12 fiscal year, StudentAid BC provided financial assistance to over
66,000 B.C. students, who received over $750 million in student financial aid
that helped them pay for tuition, fees, books and living costs. Taxpayers cover
interest costs on government loans while a student is attending class and for
six months after graduation.
????????
The 2011
Student Outcome Survey results show that 49 per cent of B.C. baccalaureate
graduates reported some form of financial debt, with 36 per cent using
government student loans. The median amount borrowed by baccalaureate graduates
was $20,000.
????????
The
2011 survey of diploma, associate degree and certificate students in B.C. shows
50 per cent of respondents borrowed to finance their studies, with 25 per cent
using a government student loan. The median amount borrowed by diploma,
associate degree and certificate graduates was $9,000.
????????
In
the 2011 survey year, graduates reported using 5.4 per cent of their income, on
average, towards education debt repayment.
?
Learn
More:
????????
Find
out how StudentAid BC can help you map your future: http://www.aved.gov.bc.ca/studentaidbc/
????????
For
details on the Diploma, Associate Degree, and Certificate Student Outcomes
(DACSO) Survey visit: http://outcomes.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/DACSO/DACSOPublications/DACSOHighlights.aspx/
????????
Results
from the Baccalaureate Graduate Survey can be found at: http://outcomes.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/BGS/BGSTupcReports.aspx/
?
?
Media
Contact:
?
Dan
Gilmore
Ministry
of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology
250
952-6400
Dan.Gilmore@gov.bc.ca
?
?
Connect
with the Province of B.C. at: www.gov.bc.ca/connect
By Stephen C. Webster Wednesday, February 27, 2013 16:13 EST
?
A Republican lawmaker in New Hampshire made a startling comment Tuesday during a debate on a bill that would reduce the penalties for simple assault, claiming that ?a lot of people like being in abusive relationships.?
The remark by state Rep. Mark Warden (R) was caught on tape during a meeting of the New Hampshire House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. He was speaking in support of a bill his fellow lawmakers on the committee overwhelmingly voted to kill.
?Is the solution to those kind of dysfunctional relationships going to be more government, another law?? he said. ?I?d say no. People are always free to leave.?
Warden told The Concord Monitor on Wednesday that his remarks were ?taken out of context, but that?s all I?m going to say about that.?
While it is in fact common for people to return to abusive relationships, experts and therapists say it can often result in further violence. Additionally, many abusive partners manipulate their victims through physical and emotional means, making it difficult, and sometimes impossible, for them to leave in the first place.
?Victims of domestic violence have historically been characterized as masochistic women who enjoy being beaten. Evidence does not support this anachronistic psychological theory,? the Virginia-based Women?s Center explains. ?Rather, victims of domestic violence desperately want the abuse to end, and engage in various survival strategies, including calling the police or seeking help from family members, to protect themselves and their children. Silence may also be a survival strategy in some cases. Moreover, enduring a beating to keep the batterer from attacking the children may be a coping strategy used by a victim, but does not mean that the victim enjoys it.?
This video was published to YouTube on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013.
Road warriors who prefer travelling with a light footprint will find plenty to dig about the Dell Latitude 6430u, a Windows 8-equipped business ultrabook that deftly blends style and performance. Starting at $899 (our unit as configured had a sticker price of $1,327.79 list), the Latitude 6430u's fantastic keyboard, external optical drive, and exceptional battery life make it an ultrabook worthy of serious consideration.
Design and Features
Measuring 0.82 by 13.31 by 9.04 inches (HWD), the Latitude 6430u's svelte frame weighs 3.91 pounds, landing between the former business ultrabook Editor's Choice Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 (2.93 pounds) and the Asus S46CA-XH51 (4.35 pounds). While its all-black chassis suggests a strictly business affair, it's also decked out in a soft-touch paint whose smooth texture makes for a pleasant tactile sensation while setting the system apart from other business systems. The black finish is complemented by a silver-finished magnesium alloy wrapping around the system's corners, which makes for an overall elegant look.
The Latitude 6430u's 14-inch display has a maximum resolution of 1,366 by 768. While it's not quite as high as the Lenovo X1 Carbon's 1,600-by-900 resolution, it's nevertheless easy on the eyes, and the matte screen does a good job of delivering bright colors and crisp text. It's also good enough for 720p video, and since the Latitude 6430u comes bundled with a bus-powered external DVD burner that connects via eSATA cable, users can enjoy movies when they're not crunching numbers. The Latitude 6430u's built-in speakers are surprisingly loud, and despite its somewhat flat bass response, movies and music alike can easily be heard in small- to medium-size rooms. Sure, you won't be getting any noise complaints from your downstairs neighbors, but as far as ultrabooks go, the Latitude 6430u belts out decibels at admirable volume levels.
Typing on the Latitude 6430u's chiclet-style keyboard is a lovely experience, and despite the system's thin profile there's no noticeable flexing. With its spill-proof design, backlighting, and exemplary key travel, it has everything that one could want in a keyboard. As a rule of thumb, when accident-prone, coffee-drinking users who have difficulty seeing in the dark can type on an ultrabook with ease, it's generally understood that we're working with an excellent keyboard. Ditto for the trackpad, whose smooth quality and responsiveness is complemented by its full support of Windows 8 gesture controls. Two sets of right- and left-click buttons are located at the top and bottom edges of the trackpad, with the top pair designed to be used in conjunction with the black pointing stick lodged in the center of the keyboard. The pointing stick is useful for business users that prefer the traditional pointing stick and have tried and failed to retrain themselves to use a trackpad.
Port selection on the Latitude 6430u is average. The right side of the system houses a USB 3.0 port and an Ethernet port. The right side, meanwhile, sports a VGA port, another USB 3.0 port, and a combined mic/headphone jack. The rear of the system features a full-size HDMI port and a combined eSATA / USB 3.0 port on opposite ends of the system's cooling vents, the latter of which can be used with the bundled external optical drive.
The Latitude 6430u's 128GB solid-state-drive (SSD) comes with minimal bloatware, which is helpful since there's only 74GB of free space when you take it out of the box. Aside from Microsoft Office Starter 2010 and CyberLink's Media Suite burning software, not much else bogs down the system when you boot it up for the first time. It does, however, feature Intel vPro Technology, an IT-friendly set of security and manageability capabilities. The Latitude 6430u also comes with a business-class three-year warranty for basic hardware service.
Performance
The Latitude 6430u's combined 1.8GHz Intel Core i5-3427U CPU and 8GB RAM yielded solid performance on our benchmark tests. Its PCMark 7 score of 5,006 points outperformed other business-class systems, save for the Lenovo X1 Carbon (5,149 points), leaving others like the HP HP Elitebook Folio 9470m (4,699 points) in the dust. It also churned out a competitive Cinebench R11.5 score of 2.58 points, surpassing that of the Lenovo X1 Carbon (2.25 points) and nipping on the heels of the HP Folio 9470m (2.62 points) and the Lenovo ThinkPad X230t (3.09 points).
Though it's geared toward business, the Latitude 6430u also has the chops for moderate media creation. It completed our Handbrake video-encoding test in a brisk 1 minute 22 seconds, or half the time of the HP Folio 9470m (2:44). Similarly, its performance in our Photoshop CS6 test (5:08) outflanked the HP Folio 9470m (5:51) by a sizable margin. The Latitude 6430u's integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU churned out strong scores in our 3DMark 11 tests (1,254 points in Entry-level settings; 228 points in Extreme settings), once again outgunning the HP Folio 9470m (1,083 points and 211 points, respectively). Unsurprisingly, the Latitude 6430u fell in line with the rest of its class by failing to break the 30 frames-per-second (fps) playability barrier in our high-end gaming tests.
Unlike most ultrabooks, the Latitude 6430u's 60WHr battery can be popped out of the chassis. Even better, it lasted an impressive 7 hours 40 minutes on our battery rundown test, clocking in at over two hours longer than the HP Folio 9470m (5:36). If you're on the market for a system that can last an entire workday on a single charge, the Latitude 6430u is the way to go. Even better, it gives you the option of using a spare battery if you need to surpass the eight hour-mark without hovering by a power outlet.
The Dell Latitude 6430u is a great choice for those who want productivity for work without having to settle for a drab business-as-usual ultrabook. It comes with an external optical drive, sports an excellent keyboard, and boasts terrific battery life. While the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is still a superb business ultrabook that weighs a pound less, the Latitude 6430u's extra features justify its additional bulk, and it consequently snatches the crown by virtue of its larger port selection, removable battery, and inclusion of an HDMI output, It's a very close call, but at the end of the day the Latitude 6430u rightfully earns our Editors' Choice for business ultrabooks.
BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:
COMPARISON TABLE Compare the Dell Latitude 6430u with several other laptops side by side.
More laptop reviews: ??? Dell Latitude 6430u ??? HP EliteBook 2170p ??? Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A-BHI5T ??? Toshiba Satellite C875-S7340 ??? Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 ?? more
Secretary of State John Kerry busted out a bit of the language of Moli?re and G?rard Depardieu on Wednesday as he met in Paris with his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius. How?d he do?
Pas mal du tout, Monsieur Kerry. Not bad at all.
The Democratic former senator from Massachusetts learned French while attending a boarding school in Switzerland starting when he was 11. And he spent many childhood summers in the Atlantic coast region of Brittany with French relatives.
Those days are long gone?but while Kerry seemed a bit rusty, his opening remarks at a joint press conference with the French foreign minister sounded pretty solid to this native speaker (he starts at 4:51 in the video above, and a transcript is at the bottom of this post). And he poured on the charm to please his audience.
?We?ve just finished one of those wonderful French lunches that have never ceased drawing Americans to Paris for centuries,? he said, seemingly reading from notes or prepared remarks. And he also joked about anti-French sentiment in the United States. ?And now I?ll speak in English because otherwise they won?t let me return home.?
Kerry?s gesture thrilled the French, who appreciate it when visiting dignitaries make an effort to speak their hosts? language. Fabius, the French foreign minister, celebrated Franco-American cooperation on a range of foreign policy struggles like the bloodbath in Syria and Iran?s nuclear program?and hailed Kerry as ?someone who is known to be a friend of France? (?quelqu?un qui est connu pour ?tre un ami de la France?).
It was just a couple of weeks ago that the newly minted secretary of state, meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, had declined a reporter?s request for ?a little bit of French, please, maybe?? (?un peu de Fran?ais, s?il vous plait, peut-etre?? she asked).
?Not today?I?ve got to refresh myself on that,? Kerry said, drawing chuckles from his audience.
The French question is a vexing one for Kerry. During the 2004 presidential campaign, The New York Times raised eyebrows by granting anonymity to a ?Bush adviser? who wanted to snipe from behind cover that the Democratic candidate ?looks French.? That cheap shot, apparently code for ?elitist,? caught fire in the media, stoked by perennial anti-French sentiment and still-fresh frustration that the government in Paris opposed the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was the era of renaming ?French fries? as ?Freedom Fries? in the congressional cafeteria (the French consider fries Belgian) and calling the ?French kiss? something more acceptable to American audiences, ?The Patriot Act.? (OK, that last one was, ahem, tongue in cheek.)
Times have changed. Somewhat. Throughout the 2012 campaign, Mitt Romney unhesitatingly spoke French to people he met on the trail (and he took crap for it?even from Democrats). Romney, who learned French when he lived in France as a Mormon missionary, does really well on his feet, has good sentence structure and, like Kerry, his mild accent doesn?t make him hard to understand.
Does any of this matter? Peut-?tre (maybe). Diplomacy is often a language of symbolism and nuances, after all.
And an old story, handed down by foreign language professors, may illustrate another usefulness.
The story goes that, in the early computer era, the CIA spent a fortune on a device that could translate intercepted messages. The chairman of the congressional committee that funded the project, on a tour, was invited to submit a phrase that would be translated from English, into French, then into German, then into Russian, then into Chinese, and then back into English. The lawmaker thought a moment, then suggested ?out of sight, out of mind.?
The machine clacked and whirred and spat out a strip of paper. On it was the result: ?Invisible. Insane.?
Kerry's remarks in French:
"Merci beaucoup, Monsieur le Ministre. Vraiment, c?est chaleureux, et je vous remercie beaucoup pour votre accueil aujourd?hui. C?est un tr?s grand plaisir pour moi d??tre en companie du ministre des affaires ?trang?res, Fabius. Nous venons de conclure un de ces merveilleux d?jeuners fran?ais qui n?ont cess? d?attirer les Am?ricains ? Paris depuis des si?cles. Bien entendu, c?est un privil?ge de pouvoir partager tout repas avec Laurent. Il est un ami de confiance, un alli? fid?le et un partenaire appr?ci?, et je veux ? je le remercie pour tout ?a. La France, comme vous savez, est vraiment ? c?est le plus ancien des alli?s des Etats-Unis. On vous remercie pour ?a aussi. Et maintenant je parle en anglais parce qu?autrement on me laisse pas rentrer chez moi."
Translation:
"Thank you very much, Mister Minister. Really, that was [a] warm [welcome], and I thank you very much for your welcome today. It?s a great pleasure for me to be here with the minister of foreign affairs, Fabius. We just finished one of those wonderful French lunches that have never ceased drawing Americans to Paris for centuries. Of course, it?s a privilege to share any meal with Laurent. He is a trusted friend, a faithful ally, and a valued partner. and I want to thank him for all of that. France, as you know, is really?it's the oldest ally of the United States, so we would like to thank you for that, too. And now I'll speak in English, because otherwise they won?t let me return home.?
My wife has cold feet and wants out.? Too costly to get it to where she wants it looking.? The foreclosure deed was vested to wrong bank on accident.? The are being asked to extend date 3 weeks and waive the per diem language (related to if we would delay the closing) Bank is asking us to sign another addendum to extend the closing date which we have not signed yet.? Is the mtg in breach of contract by not closing on date of contract?
Counter addendum added to original contract states:
Closing... The closing date may be extended by the parties in accordance with the terms of this Addendum.? Unless the closing date is extended by the parties, if either party fails to close by the closing date, the non-defaulting party shall be entitled to exercise the remedies provided for in this addendum immediately and without notice.
Default: ... If seller fails to make full settlement or is in default due to seller's failure to comply with the terms, covenants and conditions of the contract and this addendum, buyer shall be entitled to a return of any earnest money as its sole and exclusive remedy and to a cancellation of the contract.
Despite a recent effort to move its servers to the cloud, Pirate Bay will be moving its base out of Sweden thanks to recent legal pressure. The Swedish Pirate Party that hosted the torrent site has been feeling heat from the film and music industry-backed Swedish Rights Alliance, which gave it until today to cut ties in order to avoid a lawsuit. As a result, the site has moved its operations to servers in Spain and Norway hosted by Pirate Parties there, saying it's had a contingency plan in place for awhile to do so. Anway, if the embattled site has to keep criss-crossing the seas while fighting legalbattles to stay afloat, it might make for another good documentary.
It's a phone, it's a tablet, it's the Galaxy Note 8.0, which Samsung unveiled this week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This device seems to hit the sweet spot between the 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II phone-tablet hybrid and the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. In terms of size, it's a step up from many of the 7-inch tablets on the market, including Samsung's own Galaxy Tab 7.
?I hate tombs,? Lara Croft sighs as she enters a musty crypt in Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics? bold reboot of the long-running series. The franchise had grown a bit musty in recent iterations, bogged down in clumsy shooting and silly supernatural elements like an evil Lara doppelg?nger, and distancing itself from the core experience of, you know, raiding tombs. Despite a string of solid if unspectacular efforts, Lara?s star had faded considerably, and Uncharted?s Nathan Drake largely supplanted her as gaming?s top adventurer, in gameplay and graphics ?until now. This new Lara has taken a page from Drake?s exploits and is officially reclaiming her throne.
In this new origin story, Lara is not a girl, not yet a woman when she is shipwrecked on a mysterious island. Separated from her crew and visibly scared, she is forced to grow up quickly when a murderous cult kidnaps her friends. Armed with a bow and arrow, she channels The Hunger Games? Katniss Everdeen in sheer grit and determination, gaining new weapons and abilities that open up the world as the game progresses in a nod to gaming?s first lady, Metroid?s Samus Aran.
The brutal island changes her, and voice actress Camilla Luddington (Grey?s Anatomy) gives a fully realized performance that sells Lara?s evolution from untested neophyte to warrior princess. She?s put through the wringer ? escaping burning buildings, getting tossed off cliffs and over waterfalls ? in a series of stunning set pieces that are as fun to play as they are to marvel at. The graphics are dazzling, zooming in close in tight corridors to show the emotion on her face, and then panning way out as she ziplines off a mountain, flaunting the game?s impressive scope and size.
The greatest improvement is in the game?s combat sequences. In past games, Lara would lock onto an enemy and then blast away with her trademark dual pistols, and it felt very disposable. But this game?s enemies are much smarter, rushing her, flanking her, and throwing explosives to keep her constantly scrambling for cover. While she gains access to several guns, the bow and arrow is most satisfying, as Lara can use it to silently pick off enemies from a distance or arm it with fire or explosive tips to make things go boom.
When not fighting crazed cultists, exploring the island is just as entertaining thanks to the rock-solid platforming system, which has Lara leaping across chasms and clinging to the sides of mountains. Hunting animals (sorry, Bambi!) and finding salvage rewards the player with XP that is used to upgrade weapons and unlock new abilities that prove invaluable. The titular tombs exist as optional side missions that are absolutely worth seeking out, since they contain clever physics-based puzzles that provide a nice reprieve from the campaign?s breakneck pace. Lara may hate tombs, but gamers are going to love them ? and her ? all over again. A?
Follow Aaron on Twitter: @airlinem
Read more: The most anticipated games of 2013 E3 Snap Judgment: More serious ?Tomb Raider? hits its target A new Lara Croft and ?Tomb Raider? reboot in the works ? farewell, Angelina Jolie
As more merchants flock to the web to sell their products, there has been a deluge of data to be indexed by retailers who are looking to see where certain products are being sold and for how much. Parsing and extracting the value from all of this data is a huge challenge. YC-backed Semantics3 has created a database that aims to track every product sold online, and every price it has ever been sold at, providing retailers with an API to this database.
The best way to?resign?is to leave your boss wishing you will return.
And the best way to do that is to be gracious and helpful as you move to a?new job?or step into self-employment. Even if you?re being ushered out, staying upbeat and professional can mean the difference between a good recommendation and good riddance.
?It?s always better to leave a door open than to open a new one,? said Jodi Glickman, president of Great on the Job, a communication training firm. ?You always want to leave on a high note so people will want to work for you again.?
So as you give your two weeks? notice, think through the ways you can shine and help ease the transition. ?Don?t rush out the door? without tending to relationships and future references you may need, saidBarbara Herzog, a career coach in Washington, D.C.
Here?s a half dozen ways to build relationships as you?re saying good-bye at the office:
1. Tell Your Most Valued Coworkers First.?The day you give notice, or as soon as possible afterward, call or visit ?the four or five people who have been most supportive of you,? said Herzog. These are your mentor, your best friend at work, the person who hired you ? in short the professionals you want to cultivate for the future. You want to tell them yourself you?re leaving.? Be sure to tell them how valuable their support was. If it seems appropriate, offer your help to them, their families or their nonprofit causes in the future.
2. Show Respect and Appreciation.??There is some credit due? since your work and development on your current job were a crucial part of why you landed the new one, said Glickman, whose posts appear on the?Harvard Business Review blog. ?Be appreciative.? This is important especially if you?re going to work for a competitor. Have a candid conversation with your boss explaining the value you expect to gain from your new job and expressing appreciation for her support and opportunities. Draw the distinction between your personal success and your attachment to the company you?re leaving, said Glickman.
3. Find Your Replacement.??I always encourage people to find their replacement? before they leave, said Glickman. If your boss prefers, tap your network and come up with at least three good prospects. Give your employer ?a head start? with people who are pre-vetted, she said
4.?Exit Without Negativity.?Even if you think your insights may help your colleagues or the next employees, don?t share anything negative or that needs fixing, said Herzog. ?It is counterproductive to your career,? she said. Instead, make your comments generic and be sure to say you ?appreciated the support of my supervisor and colleagues.?
5.?Send a Thank You Note.?Make the effort to send a?thank you note?to your supervisor and another senior manager who aided your career. ?Be specific about one or two things that meant a lot to you,? said Herzog. The thank you should be separate from a very short, two- or three-sentence resignation letter, and may be sent a few weeks after you?ve departed.
6. Follow Up.?Set a Google Alert so you stay in touch with news and changes at your former employer. Touch base with some of your contacts there three to six months after you?ve left. Send a ?thinking of you? note, article or piece of information, said Glickman. Then schedule a breakfast, lunch or coffee meeting and see if you can bring something valuable to them.
These approaches can work equally well for staffers departing or freelancers moving on, Glickman said, and smart employers also understand the value of good relations with their alumni networks. ?It makes good business sense to leave on good terms,? she said, since you never know when you will looking for work or someone to hire in the future.
Monday’s LogicBUY Deal is the customizable?10.1″ Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 Android 4.0 tablet with bundled Keyboard Dock (2258E5U)?for $349. ?Standard features: Qualcomm 1.5GHz dual-core and 1GB of LPDDR2 RAM 32GB memory IPS screen in HD resolution Front and rear camera Dual speakers with SRS TruMedia Keyboard dock has a?built-in battery with 18-20 hours runtime, 2 USB [...]
The Pro version of last year's Optimus G comes in two flavors: Japan gets a 5-inch 1080p phone, while Korea (and the US) is treated to a 5.5-inch phone at the same resolution, but with Qualcomm's latest mobile chip, the Snapdragon 600. We're getting to grips with the Korean flavor here at MWC and while we're still waiting on a launch dates more specific than Q2, we couldn't help taking this particular G Pro for a spin.
While the original wasn't particularly lacking in the battery department, that increase in resolution has been fortunately accompanied by a bigger battery, up from 2,100mAh to 3,140mAh in the Korean edition and 3,000mAh in the Japanese. Design-wise, the lines are softer, more curved and -- if we're honest -- more like the Galaxy S III. There's now a curved physical home button lodged beneath the screen, with capacitive back and menu buttons either side of it that light up with the faintest glow. The back of the phone now gently curves into the rest of the phone, with that eye-catching "crystal reflection" effect now subtly shading into the sides. We've been aching to try out another phone with a next generation Snapdragon processor, and the 1.7GHz quad-core beast didn't disappoint in our brief time with the device. Navigation and basic tasks were buttery smooth, even with LG's slightly gaudy 3D animations and Emotion UI. While we're reserving full judgement for a review, we are impressed with how LG's decided to move forward with one of its most well-received smartphones in recent memory.
Spiderman's webbing would be strong enough to stop a moving train, say physics studentsPublic release date: 25-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Hannah Tucker hct16@le.ac.uk 01-162-523-335 University of Leicester
University of Leicester physics students calculate that the strength of Spiderman's webbing is proportional to that of real spiders
In Spiderman 2, the superhero uses his webbing to bring a runaway train to a standstill moments before it plummets over the end of the track. But could a material with the strength and toughness of spiders' web really stop four crowded subway cars? According to University of Leicester physics students, the answer is yes.
A group of three fourth year MPhys students calculated the material properties of webbing needed in these conditions - and found that the strength of the web would be proportional to that of real spiders. Their paper, Doing whatever a spider can, was published in the latest volume of the University of Leicester's Journal of Physics Special Topics.
The journal is published every year, and features original short papers written by students in the final year of their four-year Master of Physics degree. The students are encouraged to be imaginative with their topics, and the aim is for them to learn about aspects of publishing and peer review.
Students James Forster, Mark Bryan and Alex Stone first calculated the force needed to stop the four R160 New York City subway cars. To do this, they used the momentum of the train at full speed, the time it takes the train to come to rest after the webs are attached, and the driving force of the powered R160 subway car. The students found the force Spiderman's webs exert on the train to be 300,000 newtons. They were then able to calculate the strength and toughness of the webs.
They found that the Young's modulus or stiffness of the web would be 3.12 gigapascals. This is very reasonable for spider's silk, which ranges from 1.5 gigapascals to 12 gigapascals in the orb-weaver spiders. The toughness of the silk was calculated as almost 500 megajoules per cubic metre. This is in line with web from a Darwin's Bark Spider - an orb-weaver with the strongest known webbing of any spider.
They conclude that the "friendly neighbourhood" superhero's webbing is indeed a proportional equivalent of that of a real spider and, consequently, it would be feasible for him to stop a moving train.
Alex Stone, 21, from Kingston upon Thames, said: "It is often quoted that spider-webs are stronger than steel, so we thought it would be interesting to see whether this held true for Spiderman's scaled up version. Considering the subject matter we were surprised to find out that the webbing was portrayed accurately."
James Forster, 22, from Wisbech, said: "While our work may not seem to be very serious it has helped teach us about applying physics to varying situations as well as the peer review process through which scientific journals operate. This makes it an invaluable experience to anyone who wants to go into research later in life."
Course leader Dr Mervyn Roy, a lecturer at the University's Department of Physics and Astronomy, said: "A lot of the papers published in the Journal are on subjects that are amusing, topical, or a bit off-the-wall. Our fourth years are nothing if not creative!
"But, to be a research physicist - in industry or academia - you need to show some imagination, to think outside the box, and this is certainly something that the module allows our students to practice.
"Most of our masters students hope to go on to careers in research where a lot of their time will be taken up with scientific publishing - writing and submitting papers, and writing and responding to referee reports.
"This is another area where the module really helps. Because Physics Special Topics is run exactly like a professional journal, the students get the chance to develop all the skills they will need when dealing with high profile journals like Nature or Science later on in life."
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Spiderman's webbing would be strong enough to stop a moving train, say physics studentsPublic release date: 25-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Hannah Tucker hct16@le.ac.uk 01-162-523-335 University of Leicester
University of Leicester physics students calculate that the strength of Spiderman's webbing is proportional to that of real spiders
In Spiderman 2, the superhero uses his webbing to bring a runaway train to a standstill moments before it plummets over the end of the track. But could a material with the strength and toughness of spiders' web really stop four crowded subway cars? According to University of Leicester physics students, the answer is yes.
A group of three fourth year MPhys students calculated the material properties of webbing needed in these conditions - and found that the strength of the web would be proportional to that of real spiders. Their paper, Doing whatever a spider can, was published in the latest volume of the University of Leicester's Journal of Physics Special Topics.
The journal is published every year, and features original short papers written by students in the final year of their four-year Master of Physics degree. The students are encouraged to be imaginative with their topics, and the aim is for them to learn about aspects of publishing and peer review.
Students James Forster, Mark Bryan and Alex Stone first calculated the force needed to stop the four R160 New York City subway cars. To do this, they used the momentum of the train at full speed, the time it takes the train to come to rest after the webs are attached, and the driving force of the powered R160 subway car. The students found the force Spiderman's webs exert on the train to be 300,000 newtons. They were then able to calculate the strength and toughness of the webs.
They found that the Young's modulus or stiffness of the web would be 3.12 gigapascals. This is very reasonable for spider's silk, which ranges from 1.5 gigapascals to 12 gigapascals in the orb-weaver spiders. The toughness of the silk was calculated as almost 500 megajoules per cubic metre. This is in line with web from a Darwin's Bark Spider - an orb-weaver with the strongest known webbing of any spider.
They conclude that the "friendly neighbourhood" superhero's webbing is indeed a proportional equivalent of that of a real spider and, consequently, it would be feasible for him to stop a moving train.
Alex Stone, 21, from Kingston upon Thames, said: "It is often quoted that spider-webs are stronger than steel, so we thought it would be interesting to see whether this held true for Spiderman's scaled up version. Considering the subject matter we were surprised to find out that the webbing was portrayed accurately."
James Forster, 22, from Wisbech, said: "While our work may not seem to be very serious it has helped teach us about applying physics to varying situations as well as the peer review process through which scientific journals operate. This makes it an invaluable experience to anyone who wants to go into research later in life."
Course leader Dr Mervyn Roy, a lecturer at the University's Department of Physics and Astronomy, said: "A lot of the papers published in the Journal are on subjects that are amusing, topical, or a bit off-the-wall. Our fourth years are nothing if not creative!
"But, to be a research physicist - in industry or academia - you need to show some imagination, to think outside the box, and this is certainly something that the module allows our students to practice.
"Most of our masters students hope to go on to careers in research where a lot of their time will be taken up with scientific publishing - writing and submitting papers, and writing and responding to referee reports.
"This is another area where the module really helps. Because Physics Special Topics is run exactly like a professional journal, the students get the chance to develop all the skills they will need when dealing with high profile journals like Nature or Science later on in life."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The Latitude 6430u's combined 1.8GHz Intel Core i5-3427U CPU and 8GB RAM yielded solid performance on our benchmark tests. Its PCMark 7 score of 5,006 points outperformed other business-class systems, save for the Lenovo X1 Carbon (5,149 points), leaving others like the HP HP Elitebook Folio 9470m (4,699 points) in the dust. It also churned out a competitive Cinebench R11.5 score of 2.58 points, surpassing that of the Lenovo X1 Carbon (2.25 points) and nipping on the heels of the HP Folio 9470m (2.62 points) and the Lenovo ThinkPad X230t (3.09 points).
As more merchants flock to the web to sell their products, there has been a deluge of data to be indexed by retailers who are looking to see where certain products are being sold and for how much. Parsing and extracting the value from all of this data is a huge challenge. YC-backed 
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Public release date: 25-Feb-2013
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