Jan
12

Wired Science Space Photo of the Day: The Star Factory

This is a near-infrared, colour-coded composite image of a sky field in the south-western part of the galactic star-forming region Messier 17. In this image, young and heavily obscured stars are recognized by their red colour. Bluer objects are either foreground stars or well-developed massive stars whose intense light ionizes the hydrogen in this region. The diffuse light that is visible nearly everywhere...
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Jazz world mourns Montreux founder “Funky Claude”

GENEVA (Reuters) – Claude Nobs, who founded the Montreux Jazz Festival nearly 50 years ago, has died after several weeks in a coma following a skiing accident, the festival said on Friday.The Swiss impresario immortalized by rock group Deep Purple as “Funky Claude” in the song “Smoke on the Water” and who lured the biggest stars of the music world to his festival on the shores of Lake Geneva died...
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Former Lab Technician Denies Faulty DNA Work in Rape Cases

A former New York City laboratory technician whose work on rape cases is now being scrutinized for serious mistakes said on Friday that she had been unaware there were problems in her work and, disputing an earlier report, denied she had resigned under pressure. The former lab technician, Serrita Mitchell, said any problems must have been someone else’s. “My work?” Ms. Mitchell said....
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Business Briefing | Retailing: Best Buy Shares Rally on Improved Holiday Sales

The Best Buy Company had better-than-expected holiday sales, setting off a gain of $2, or 16.4 percent, in its stock price, to $14.21 a share on Friday. The holiday quarter accounted for about a third of Best Buy’s revenue last year. The chain said that revenue at stores open at least a year fell 1.4 percent for the nine weeks ended Jan. 5. The company’s performance in the United States was flat....
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Jan
11

Nearly one-third of U.S. homeowners have no mortgage

What mortgage meltdown?While millions of Americans have suffered the angst of lost homes, equity and pride, nearly a third of...
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The Internet of Things Has Arrived — And So Have Massive Security Issues

Internet. Things. Add the “Of” and suddenly these three simple words become a magic meme — the theme we’ve been hearing all week at CES, the oft-heralded prediction that may have finally arrived in 2013.While not devoid of hype and hyperbole, the Internet of Things (IoT) does represent a revolution happening right now. Companies of all kinds – not just technology and telecommunications firms...
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‘Argo,’ ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ win at Critics Choice

(Reuters) – Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage drama “Argo,” “Lincoln” star Daniel Day-Lewis and “Zero Dark Thirty”‘s Jessica Chastain were among big winners at the Critics Choice Movie Awards on Thursday, taking honors for best picture, actor and actress, with Affleck nabbing the prize for best director.The all-star “Silver Linings Playbook” swept the comedy awards, winning best comedy film, best comedy...
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The New Old Age Blog: Taking a Zen Approach to Caregiving

You try to help your elderly father. Irritated and defensive, he snaps at you instead of going along with your suggestion. And you think “this is so unfair” and feel a rising tide of anger.How to handle situations like this, which arise often and create so much angst for caregivers?Jennifer Block finds the answer in what she calls “contemplative caregiving” — the application of Buddhist principles...
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Official Urges Greater Accountability by Euro Members

BRUSSELS — Olli Rehn, the European Union commissioner in charge of the euro currency, on Friday defended the bloc’s austerity policies and urged legislators to pass a law that would let him push countries even harder to shore up their finances. Signaling little let-up in the need for wrenching adjustments in Europe, Mr. Rehn also issued warnings to a wide range of countries — including...
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Jan
10

Irvine City Council overhauls oversight, spending on Great Park

Capping a raucous eight-hour-plus meeting, the Irvine City Council early Wednesday voted to overhaul the oversight and spending...
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