Knowing a Little of Everything Is Often Better Than Having One Expert Skill

Creativity and innovation seems to flow from dedication to a particular type of work, but productivity and ideas blog the 99u noticed a trend: the best stuff seems to come from generalists, or people who know about a wide variety of topics.

You can't know about just one thing. Not only does that make you an often boring conversationalist, but it prevents you from connecting with others through your work as well. Thinking of things without any connection, without multiple perspectives, leads to work that's often un-relatable. Being more of a generalist makes it possible to take something personal and share it with others in a way they not only understand but can appreciate:

At the same time, creativity often requires drawing analogies between one body of knowledge and another. Pablo Picasso merged Western art techniques with elements of African art. He was struck by the way African artists combined multiple perspectives into a single work, and that helped lead to the development of cubism. Similarly, great scientists often draw parallels between different areas to create new ideas. In the history of science, Johannes Kepler struggled to understand how the planets could move around the sun, and drew on his knowledge of light and magnetism to try to understand the force that moved the planets.

So don't feel you have to be incredible at one single thing. Often the best work comes from those who attempt to understand everything they can.

Picasso, Kepler, and the Benefits of Being an Expert Generalist | The 99u

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/Q6yg5hRqdWo/knowing-a-little-of-everything-is-often-better-than-having-one-expert-skill

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First lady wears Thom Browne coat and dress

President Barack Obama, accompanied by his daughters Sasha and Malia, first lady Michelle Obama and mother-in-law Marian Robinson, waves as they arrive at St. John's Church in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, for a church service during the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Barack Obama, accompanied by his daughters Sasha and Malia, first lady Michelle Obama and mother-in-law Marian Robinson, waves as they arrive at St. John's Church in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, for a church service during the 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? First Lady Michelle Obama is wearing a navy Thom Browne coat and dress.

The fabric for the first lady's Inauguration Day attire was developed based on the style of a man's silk tie. The belt she is wearing is from J.Crew and her necklace and earrings were designed by Cathy Waterman. She wore J.Crew shoes, and added J.crew gloves and Reed Krakoff boots for the outside ceremony.

Her daughter Malia is also wearing a J.Crew ensemble. Sasha Obama is wearing a Kate Spade coat and dress.

At the end of the Inaugural festivities, the first lady's outfit and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-21-Obama-First%20Lady-Dress/id-22b955ad594549ac9c89c483cee4b1ab

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Why Twilightland Would Be 'Awful,' According To 'Austenland' Producer Stephenie Meyer

The 'Twilight' author has no interest in a 'Twilight' vacation, but would love to play make-believe within Jane Austen's novels.
By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Stephenie Meyer at Sundance on Saturday
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1700526/stephenie-meyer-austenland-sundance-2013.jhtml

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Newtown debates future of school where 26 died

Glen Hoffman of Extra Mile Ministries with K9 crisis comfort dog Beau, listen during a community meeting at Newtown High school on the future of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. Talk about Sandy Hook Elementary School is turning from last month's massacre to the future, with differing opinions on whether students and staff should ever return to the building where a gunman killed 20 students and six educators. Standing at right is Francis Pennorla, moderator. (AP Photo/Michelle McLoughlin, Pool)

Glen Hoffman of Extra Mile Ministries with K9 crisis comfort dog Beau, listen during a community meeting at Newtown High school on the future of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. Talk about Sandy Hook Elementary School is turning from last month's massacre to the future, with differing opinions on whether students and staff should ever return to the building where a gunman killed 20 students and six educators. Standing at right is Francis Pennorla, moderator. (AP Photo/Michelle McLoughlin, Pool)

Aimee Tabor, mother of a Sandy Hook Elementary School student, speaks during a community meeting at the Newtown High school on the future of Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. Talk about Sandy Hook Elementary School is turning from last month's massacre to the future, with differing opinions on whether students and staff should ever return to the building where a gunman killed 20 students and six educators. Standing at right is Francis Pennorla, moderator. (AP Photo/Michelle McLoughlin, Pool)

Kristen Kinsey, of Newtown, speaks during a community meeting at Newtown High School on the future of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. Talk about Sandy Hook Elementary School is turning from last month's massacre to the future, with differing opinions on whether students and staff should ever return to the building where a gunman killed 20 students and six educators. Standing at right is Francis Pennorla, moderator. (AP Photo/Michelle McLoughlin, Pool)

Newtown First Selectwoman Patricia Llodra speaks during a community meeting at the Newtown High School on the future of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. Talk about Sandy Hook Elementary School is turning from last month's massacre to the future, with differing opinions on whether students and staff should ever return to the building where a gunman killed 20 students and six educators. Standing at right is Francis Pennorla, moderator. (AP Photo/Michelle McLoughlin, Pool)

Area residents enter Newtown High School for a community meeting to determine the future of the Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Jan. 13, 2012. Talk about Sandy Hook Elementary School is turning from last month's massacre to the future, with differing opinions on whether students and staff should ever return to the building where a gunman killed 20 students and six educators. (AP Photo/The News-Times, Michael Duffy)

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? A month after a gunman killed 26 people at an elementary school, some Newtown parents say the building should be demolished, while others believe the school should be renovated and the areas where the killings occurred removed.

Talk has turned to the future of the Sandy Hook Elementary School as life slowly begins moving forward in town. Resident at a public meeting Sunday made passionate arguments about whether their kids should ever return to the site of the tragedy.

"I have two children who had everything taken from them," said Audrey Bart, whose children attend the school but weren't injured in the shooting. "The Sandy Hook Elementary School is their school. It is not the world's school. It is not Newtown's school. We cannot pretend it never happened, but I am not prepared to ask my children to run and hide. You can't take away their school."

But fellow Sandy Hook parent Stephanie Carson said she can't imagine ever sending her son back to the building where 20 first-graders and six educators died.

"I know there are children who were there who want to go back," Carson said. "But the reality is, I've been to the new school where the kids are now, and we have to be so careful just walking through the halls. They are still so scared."

The meeting at Newtown High School about the future of Sandy Hook drew about 200 people. A second meeting has been set for Friday. Town officials also are planning private meetings with the victims' families to get their input.

On Monday, the grassroots group Sandy Hook Promise invited victims' family members to a news conference where an initiative to prevent similar tragedies was to be unveiled.

Co-founder Tim Makris said Friday the group, formerly known as Newtown United, does not represent or speak for the families. "We're here to help and support the families when they're ready to move forward," he said.

Although opinions were mixed at Sunday's meeting in Newtown, most agreed that the Sandy Hook children and teachers should stay together. They've been moved to a school building about seven miles away in a neighboring town that has been renamed Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Mergim Bajraliu, a senior at Newtown High School, attended Sandy Hook, and his sister is a fourth-grader there. He said the school should stay as it is, and a memorial for the victims should be built there.

"We have our best childhood memories at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and I don't believe that one psychopath ? who I refuse to name ? should get away with taking away any more than he did on Dec 14," he said.

Police say Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother at the home they shared in Newtown before opening fire with a semi-automatic rifle at the school and killing himself as police arrived.

Last week, residents around town expressed similar opinions about the school's future.

Susan Gibney, who lives in Sandy Hook, said she purposely doesn't drive by the school because it's too disturbing. She has three children in high school, but they didn't attend Sandy Hook Elementary School. She believes the building should be torn down.

"I wouldn't want to have to send my kids back to that school," said Gibney, 50. "I just don't see how the kids could get over what happened there."

Laurie Badick, of Newtown, whose children attended the school several years ago, said she's torn. "Sandy Hook school meant the world to us before this happened. ... I have my memories in my brain and in my heart, so the actual building, I think the victims need to decide what to do with that."

Fran Bresson, a retired police officer who attended Sandy Hook Elementary School in the 1950s, wants the school to reopen, but he thinks the hallways and classrooms where staff and students were killed should be demolished.

"To tear it down completely would be like saying to evil, 'You've won,'" the 63-year-old Southbury resident said.

Residents of towns where mass shootings occurred have grappled with the same dilemma. Some have renovated, some have demolished.

Columbine High School, where two student gunmen killed 12 schoolmates and a teacher, reopened several months afterward. Crews removed the library, where most of the victims died, and replaced it with an atrium.

On an island in Norway where 69 people ? more than half of them teenagers attending summer camp ? were killed by a gunman in 2011, extensive remodeling is planned. The main building, a cafeteria where 13 of the victims died, will be torn down.

Virginia Tech converted a classroom building where a student gunman killed 30 people in 2007 into a peace studies and violence prevention center.

An Amish community in Pennsylvania tore down the West Nickel Mines Amish School and built a new school a few hundred yards away after a gunman killed five girls there in 2006.

Newtown First Selectwoman E. Patricia Llodra said that in addition to the community meetings, the town is planning private gatherings with the victims' families to talk about the school's future. She said the aim is to finalize a plan by March.

"I think we have to start that conversation now," Llodra said. "It will take many, many months to do any kind of school project. We have very big decisions ahead of us. The goal is to bring our students home as soon as we can."

___

Associated Press writers Michael Melia and Pat Eaton-Robb in Hartford, Conn., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-14-Connecticut%20School%20Shooting/id-5586167a0a0e4043b630586f5a6daff3

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Beaches, bombs and gangsters _ Corsica's dilemma

AJACCIO, Corsica (AP) ? The bombs exploded across hundreds of miles of Corsican coastline, gutting two dozen villas nearly simultaneously on some of Europe's most beautiful ? and valuable ? land. Elsewhere on the same French island off the Mediterranean coast, a young man was shot to death in his car, his stepson wounded beside him.

The night of violence in early December epitomized the problems of Napoleon's native island today: Organized crime is gaining ground, spreading beyond the usual vices on the mainland to real estate, tourism and politics back home. And separatists, who extinguished themselves in a spasm of deadly infighting in the late 1990s, have come back with a vengeance, as they wage a desperate battle to prevent mob-dominated mass tourism from dooming their dreams of self-rule.

Corsican coastal land prices have risen as much as five times in as many years, and the number of tourists also has shot up as a once-exclusive haven for the wealthy and their yachts and private vacation homes became a destination for cruise ships and budget flights. Corsican mobsters ? infamous in mainland France and the United States for their ties to gambling, nightclubs and drugs ? saw a killing to be made back home.

Gang warfare over Corsican spoils and the separatist bombing campaign have created a climate of lawlessness, although the combatants have been careful not to turn the violence on the tourists themselves.

"The state has completely failed," said Dominique Bianchi, a former nationalist leader who recently stepped down as mayor of the southern village of Villanova. "In this world, there's only one thing that counts: how to divide the loot."

Shaken by the bombings, and the recent assassinations of a defense lawyer and community leader, the Paris government is making new promises to clean things up on an island where separatist sentiment has simmered ever since France officially took charge in 1769. Corsica has emerged as a jewel of French mass tourism only recently: More than 4.2 million tourists visited the island last year, compared to 2.4 million in 1992. The 2013 Tour de France, the world's premier cycling competition, will begin here ? adding to the sense that Corsica has joined the big leagues as a top travel destination.

Complicating the challenge for France is what mainland officials describe as a code of silence ? known as "omerta" ? that also runs through areas of mafia-plagued southern Italy. Locals say it's fear, not omerta, that keeps people silent.

Of the 85 gangland killings and attempted assassinations in Corsica in the past eight years, only one case ? a plot against a former nationalist turned president of Corsica's biggest soccer team ? has ended in conviction.

Both the mob violence and the bombings claimed by militant nationalists have the same root, Corsicans say: the land.

Three-quarters of the coastline is untouched, the beaches and Mediterranean views achingly empty of a human presence just a 90-minute flight from Paris ? as developers were scared off by gangland warfare and separatist militancy. "Where else could you go and have this kind of virgin land? It doesn't exist anymore," said Dominique Yvon, who is part of an anti-corruption group on Corsica.

Through the 1990s, the island was rocked by more than 1,000 separatist bombings of vacation homes and construction sites. For mainstream investors, France's Cote d'Azur, much more stable despite its own mob presence, was the place to be.

Then the separatists imploded in the late 1990s. And organized crime came home, seeing an opening to make new profits laundering drug money, much of it during three decades of heroin sales in the United States ? spearheading the so-called "French Connection" drug ring ? and on the Cote d'Azur, according to Thierry Colombie, who has written a book about the Corsican mob.

Most of the tourists who stayed overnight on the island in 2012 stayed in villas, many of them suspected of links to mob money, that popped up on the coastline when the bombing wave of the 1980s and 1990s finally ended. The number of cruise ship day visitors has also risen from 298,000 in 2001 to 1.1 million in 2011; they spend money in stores, restaurants and clubs before returning to their ships.

Each summer, the population of Corsica doubles from its 300,000 residents. Visitors pay a premium for ocean views and spend money in restaurants and nightclubs. They fly in by plane or sail into harbors like Ajaccio, outfitted for yachts and cruise ships. They come despite a murder rate about eight times higher than the rest of France, largely thanks to the fact that no tourists have been killed in Corsican gangland or separatist violence.

For most of the 20th century, the French government's driving focus was on ending nationalist sentiment, even as Corsica's problem with feeding the global criminal underworld grew. The "French Connection" brought hundreds of millions of dollars worth of heroin into the United States. And Corsican mobsters dominated the gambling and prostitution houses of Paris.

When the latest wave of gangland killings started, in 2006, the French government looked the other way, hoping the criminals would implode the way the nationalists had.

Then, at the end of 2012, when score-settling reached beyond established criminals to Corsica's mainstream political class, the government began to pay serious attention. First, a prominent defense lawyer was killed as he made his usual stop at a gas station on his way to work in Ajaccio. Next, a former nationalist with a uniquely powerful post as head of the chamber of commerce was shot as he closed up shop.

As president of the chamber of commerce, Jacques Nacer was in charge of the air- and seaports that are the island's link to the outside world, and the government money that keeps both up and running. Authorities have not said why they think he was gunned down, beyond noting that it was a professional killing.

More than 15 years ago, the chamber's president used the airport as a helicopter base for drug running between Africa and Europe. His successor was convicted in a fraud scheme involving government contracts.

The slain defense lawyer, Antoine Sollacaro, was best known for representing the nationalist who killed the island's highest ranking official, prefect Claude Erignac, in 1998. Police have offered no theories on his death, beyond noting that it had the same professional hallmarks as all of Corsica's gangland murders.

These killings finally caught the attention of France's top security and justice officials, who stood before the cameras to vow that this time, things would be different. "In Corsica, those who give the orders are known. Everyone knows and no one speaks," said French Interior Minister Manuel Valls.

Of course they don't speak, counters Raphael Vallet, a police investigator in Corsica. Most people can offer only rumors, and those who might know more can't look to the state's shield in France ? which, unlike Italy and the United States, has no robust witness protection program for mobster turncoats.

"If you're dealing with someone who is capable of killing you at any moment and we say 'we can't protect you,' would you talk?" said Vallet. "Corsicans are no less brave than anyone else."

The Corsican city of Ajaccio was the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, who left the island as a youth after deciding that greatness couldn't be attained there. Many others have made similar bets about their future on an island with few resources beyond its natural beauty. Among them, a preferred path has been criminal empire.

French government policy was ? and remains ? that Corsica is an integral part of the nation. Islanders, meanwhile, call the rest of France "the continent" and proudly speak their own Italian-inflected language that the Paris government once tried unsuccessfully to wipe out.

The bombings of Dec. 7 struck at 31 villas, all of them with absentee homeowners away on "the continent."

The nationalist FLNC, which announced its resurrection in a theatrical news conference in July complete with masks and guns, claimed responsibility on Dec. 19 and denied any collusion with organized crime, saying gangsters had "prospered in the shadow of the French state for decades."

The explosions appeared to have no links to the hit on the young man, whose death is believed to be the latest professional killing to go unsolved.

Bianchi, the former mayor, was once jailed for his links to the group and has since publicly renounced violence. But he, like many Corsicans, couldn't bring himself to condemn the bombings in a place they consider their homeland.

"Even if I don't approve, I understand. I understand because in the current climate of Corsica, where there is enormous land speculation, there is a revolt," he said. "We don't want their country ... to become a place just for rich retirees in the next 10 or 15 years. We don't want it to become another Cote d'Azur."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-13-EU-Corsica-Gangs-and-Bombs/id-8bd1838219ba422196048af7fc96f3be

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Noit Joystick makes an appearance at CES, promises more face time at CTIA

We get pitched plenty at our CES stage, but not everyone is as capable of stopping us in our tracks as Noit founder Lael Alexander, who busted out a dummy version of the Joystick (or Joistick, depending on which part of the company's catalog you read). It's a phone / controller, with calling capabilities, Bluetooth, WiFi and NFC jammed into a uniquely holdable design. Flip it open to reveal the screen and a QWERTY keyboard, a la messaging phones of the past.

There are mouse buttons and a gyroscope built in, so you can also use the Android device as a controller, if you're so inclined. It's also got NFC, an HDMI port, Bluetooth, 64GB of storage and "the best sound design," according to Alexander, who promised his company would have something more concrete to show at CTIA.

Gallery: Noit Joystick makes an appearance at CES, promises more face time at CTIA

Continue reading Noit Joystick makes an appearance at CES, promises more face time at CTIA

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/12/noit-joystick/

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Javier Vazquez update: Washington Nationals rotation retirement puerto rico wbc

Javier Vazquez has pitched well enough in the Puerto Rican winter league to create a free-agent market for himself. The biggest bidder may be the Washington Nationals.

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Nats have "heavy interest" in the 36-year-old righthander. Vazquez has been throwing his fastball in the low 90s as he prepares to pitch for Puerto Rico in this year's World Baseball Classic.

Vazquez retired after the 2011 season, and he has said he isn't certain he wants to return to the majors. He did say that if he returns, he'd prefer to pitch for a winner. The Nats are the reigning NL East champions.

Washington, the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox and New York Mets have scouted Vazquez's recent starts in Puerto Rico.

Source: http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2013-01-13/javier-vazquez-update-washington-nationals-rotation-retirement-puerto-rico-wbc

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California Cold Snap Threatens Citrus Crop, Strands Motorists

An Arctic air mass sent temperatures plunging across California, forcing the 17-hour closure of a key interstate highway through the mountains north of Los Angeles and threatening citrus crops in the state's vast central valleys, authorities said on Friday.

By Brandon Lowrey

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An Arctic air mass sent temperatures plunging across California, forcing the 17-hour closure of a key interstate highway through the mountains north of Los Angeles and threatening citrus crops in the state's vast central valleys, authorities said on Friday.

Temperatures throughout the state fell by as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius) below normal, allowing snow to accumulate at elevations as low as 1,500 feet, the National Weather Service reported.

Although no further snow was expected to fall over the weekend, temperatures were expected to continue to drop on Saturday before gradually warming into next week, the weather service said.

About 4 inches of snow fell on Thursday on a winding stretch of the Interstate 5 known as the Grapevine, which passes through mountains between Los Angeles and Bakersfield, prompting authorities to shut down the north-south artery for 17 hours beginning Thursday afternoon.

Stranded motorists packed motels on either side of the Grapevine overnight. California Highway Patrol officers reopened the roadway at about 9 a.m. local time on Friday and began escorting cars along the treacherous route, CHP Officer Mike Harris said.

Precise weather conditions along the Grapevine during the freeze were not recorded, but neighboring areas posted temperatures in the mid-20s Fahrenheit, said Stuart Seto, a forecaster for the National Weather Service.

In the San Joaquin Valley, a major agricultural area, low temperatures in the teens threatened to kill citrus crops, which are in danger of perishing whenever the mercury falls below 28 degrees, said meteorologist Jeff Barlow said.

The Weather Service alerted farmers to the danger so they could take precautions, but there may still be a heavy loss.

"They won't be able to save all of the crops," Barlow said. "This is going to be a pretty significant freeze event for the central California citrus crops."

In normally temperate San Diego, temperatures were expected to reach 39 degrees on Friday night, closer to the record low of 34 degrees set in 1888 than the normal 59 degrees, said Robert Balfour, a National Weather Service forecaster.

"The rest of the country is probably laughing at us, saying, `You call that cold?'" Balfour said.

(Reporting and writing by Brandon Lowrey; Editing by Steve Gorman and Marguerita Choy)

Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=california-cold-snap-threatens-citrus

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Pro Football Hall of Fame: Broncos' Karl Mecklenburg, Terrell Davis and Steve Atwater miss chance for 2013

No Broncos made the list of finalists announced Friday morning for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2013.

Linebacker Karl Mecklenburg, running back Terrell Davis and safety Steve Atwater ? all Broncos' Ring of Fame members ? had made the list of 25 semifinalists. The list was trimmed by the Hall's Board of Selectors in December and the 15 modern-era finalists were announced Friday.

Those 15 finalists and two Seniors Committee nominees (Curly Culp and Dave Robinson) will now be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame at a Feb. 2 meeting of the Board of Selectors in New Orleans, the day before the Super Bowl.

It is the fifth time Davis has been a semifinalist, but he has yet to be named a

Former Broncos running back Terrell Davis signs autographs for fans during the 2011 season. (Denver Post file photo)

finalist. It was the second time Mecklenburg and Atwater have been semifinalists.

Among this years' finalists is a rare group of first-year eligible players. Larry Allen, Jonathan Ogden, Warren Sapp and Michael Strahan, all in their first year of eligibility, were all among the 15 finalists.

Three wide receivers ? Cris Carter, Andre Reed and Tim Brown ? were again among the 15 finalists. Also to be considered will be Jerome Bettis, former 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr., Kevin Greene, Charles Haley, former Browns owner Art Modell, former Giants/Patriots/Jets coach Bill Parcells, Will Shields and Aeneas Williams.

The Hall of Fame's Class of 2013 will be announced Feb. 2 at 2:30 p.m. Mountain Time.

Jeff Legwold: jlegwold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jeff_legwold

Source: http://feeds.denverpost.com/~r/dp-sports-broncos/~3/25H7R6UhQNk/mecklenburg-davis-and-atwater-miss-chance-hall-call

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Hands-on with Vivitar's kid-friendly Camelio tablet

In addition to announcing availability for the XO tablet, Vivitar is outing the new 7-inch Camelio slate at CES. Like the XO, it has a family-friendly bent, with optional $20-$30 "personality kits" that customize the user experience with themes like Thomas the Tank Engine. Vivitar had the slate on hand -- and even provided approximate pricing and availability info -- but it's mum on specs for the moment, as it still considers this device to be in the prototype phase. About that MSRP: it will be about $129, with a release date in late spring.

We spent a few minutes playing with the Camelio, and though there were no pre-loaded kiddie apps or personality kits to play with, it's clear that this device is made for the younger set. The slate isn't incredibly thin, but its rounded edges and textured backing make for a grippable design that looks ready to withstand a few drops. The 7-inch screen doesn't dazzle with bright images; we'd guess the resolution is a standard 1,024 x 600. When the device ships, expect it to run Android 4.2. At least on the version we saw today, there's not as much of a personalized skin as you'd expect with a child-friendly tablet. That's likely because most of the customization comes via the optional theme kits. Each of those kits includes a case for the tablet along with a code that unlocks wallpapers, widgets and other branded content.

Along the edges are the standard volume toggle, power button and headphone jack, along with a microSD card slot and a micro-USB port. This is a WiFi-enabled device, and Vivitar said battery life is rated for seven to nine hours. Check out our hands-on gallery, and check back for a video soon.

Gallery: Vivitar Camelio tablet hands-on

Continue reading Hands-on with Vivitar's kid-friendly Camelio tablet

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Court to hear 2 days of arguments on gay marriage

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Supreme Court says it will hear two days' worth of arguments over laws affecting gay marriage during the last week of March.

Justices on Monday announced they will hear arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry on March 26 and United States v. Windsor on March 27.

The first case involves California's constitutional amendment that forbids same-sex marriage. The second concerns a federal law that denies gay couples who legally marry the right to obtain federal benefits available to heterosexual married couples. The court scheduled one hour's worth of arguments on each day. Justices can still extend the amount of time given to arguments in each case, however.

Nine states ? Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Washington? and the District of Columbia allow gay marriage.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-07-Supreme%20Court-Gay%20Marriage/id-fc301590d112497290ccc7579943c7a4

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Re: "Hints" coming from my own tree - Family Tree Maker software ...

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Thumbs For Food: Hoshino Coffee (Dhoby Ghaut) | ThumbsForFood

Hoshino Coffee is a new Japanese Restaurant that is brought over to Singapore. It is famous for it's hand-dripped coffee as well as it's souffle. Being a dessert fan, I was eager to try out it's desserts! So, we went to Hoshino for tea time.

?It is not a restaurant that is enclosed. In fact, it has an "open-concept" situated in the new, air-conditioned, Plaza Singapura Extension. As such, you don't have to be worried about the heat from outdoors. Somehow, Hoshino gives me a cafe feel, especially given that it specializes in coffee. However, they do serve main courses such as curry, pasta and stuff as well. I guess I would return to try it's main courses.

They have a variety of Matcha drinks available. So, we decided to try their Matcha Latte with Softee (about $10). I guess for the price, I was expecting more or something different. Well, it tasted very normal. The matcha flavor wasn't as rich as I was hoping for. The softee was really just a scoop of vanilla ice-cream that made the drink more milky. Guess I won't be ordering this in future.

Green Tea Souffle with a scoop of softee ($9.80) was picked as our dessert because we really like green tea. I like that it was baked nicely with the top layer a bit crisp and the insides soft and fluffy. And yes, we ordered Hoshino Blended Coffee ($5.80).?Well, it's coffee is said to be hand-dripped. It really is quite a strong coffee in terms of caffeine. It will be a favorite among dark coffee lovers. Also, there is 50%off if you need a refill.

Overall, we felt that the prices of drinks and desserts are really quite high. So, I would say that the price does not befit the food served. Ambience wise, pretty noisy and since it's new, you got to queue. I don't think the desserts and drinks were memorable. But, since, many others have said that their pasta and curry is not bad, I shall visit it again another day. Till then.?

Our Rating: 6.5/10

68 Orchard Road

#03-84 Plaza Singapura

Tel:?63383277

Love, Y

Source: http://thumbsforfood.blogspot.com/2013/01/hoshino-coffee-dhoby-ghaut-thumbsforfood.html

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Ferret Info > Free Pet Ebook - Free-Ebooks-Canada

Free Pet ebook ?Ferret Info? includes topics Behavior Challenges and Training Tips, Caring for Your Ferret, Ferret Health: When to See the Veterinarian and First Aid Tips, Ferret Proofing Your Home, Housing Your Ferret, Introducing Your Ferret to the Family, Is a Ferret Right for You?, Keeping Your Ferret Entertained, Travel Considerations and Understanding Ferret Behavior and Body Language. Free ebook comes with giveaway rights. Click ?Ferret Info? to download (497 KB pdf) or view this free Ferret info ebook. Download pdf & ecover HERE.

Tagged Ferrets, Pets. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://free-ebooks-canada.com/?p=6330

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Nvidia unveils Android gaming handheld powered by 'world's fastest ...

Graphics powerhouse Nvidia is entering the portable gaming market with Project Shield, an Android handheld fitted with the company's newly unveiled quad-core Tegra 4 mobile processor. Shield, showcased by Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang at this year's CES, resembles a PS3 or Xbox 360 twin-stick controller but attached to a flip-top 5-inch 'retinal display' multitouch screen with 1280x720 HD resolution at 294 dpi. The Tegra 4 chip it contains, which Nvidia claims is the world's fastest mobile processor, offers effectively six times greater visual output than its Tegra 3 predecessor, as found in Microsoft Surface tablets. Nvidia tells our friends at Engadget that the device is expected to ship in Q2 of this year. One crucial factor which remains undisclosed is the price.

Shield also has 38 watt hours of batteries, which translates into 5 to 10 hours of gameplay or 24 hours of HD video, and a bass reflex audio system with a greater signal-to-noise ratio than the iPhone 5. In addition to the standard audio jack, Shield has a microSD slot, a micro USB port, and an HDMI port that Huang demonstrated with an LG 4K resolution HDTV. Shield's 'console-grade' analog sticks are joined by a d-pad and a standard quartet of buttons, as well as triggers and bumpers.

Huang also demonstrated a few games from Nvidia's Tegrazone store being played on the device, followed by a brief run of mega-mech battling in Hawken. Next, Huang detailed how Shield can wirelessly stream from a PC across a local network to Shield, using this to play Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Assassin's Creed 3 on the handheld. As Engadget reports, there was perceivably very little lag. The demo also showed Shield accessing Steam on the PC, with Huang underling the ease with which Big Picture Mode can be used via Shield to bring Steam games to HDTVs.

You can watch the full CES demonstration of Project Shield on Nvidia's Twitch.tv page. It's roughly 40 minutes long, and begins at around the 2h02m mark.

Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/07/nvidia-unveils-project-shield/

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Custom Home Building Permits Jump in Vienna

If you are living in Vienna Virginia, then may have noticed the non-stop custom home construction boom that has been going on over the past few years. And, honestly, if you haven?t noticed then you really need to get offline right now!

New Home Building Permits Vienna Virginia

2012 proved to be another record setting year up 21% for new home building permits in the Town of Vienna. Although not all of these new homes will be built (remember, they are permits issued) the trend is amazing and signals a strong shift in the overall inventory of homes within 22180.

Although I have seen luxury home builders buying homes to tear down (sold a few myself), I am amazed at the sharp 21% increase especially as prices escalate. Data from MRIS show sales prices from $1.2 to close to $1.6 million, but there are some homes exceeding that price that never hit the MLS. And some home owners are opting to have their homes torn down and having a new custom home built by one of the many custom builders in town.

Vienna Custom Home

In my opinion, a few factors?fueling this construction include the rapid building of the Silver Line Metro, traffic and commuting concerns, a strong jobs picture with low mortgage interest rates.

Vienna has always benefited from the stations along Metro?s Orange Line which feature parking garages and bus service. The area around the Vienna Metro was built up quickly in the 1980s with town homes and detached colonial style homes. At that time there was abundant land with cows grazing (yes, I?m serious). Today the MetroWest project is well underway.

Land along the Silver Line is already substantially developed, but much of the land is under utilized or under developed. Since many of the homes in that area were built in the 1960?s and 1970?s, the Tyson?s area has developed into the region?s job powerhouse. Drive any morning on the beltway and you will see cars pouring into the area from Maryland.

This traffic crush has been addressed by the new toll lanes along the beltway, but those lanes end at the American Legion Bridge into Maryland. As a result, many people are moving from Maryland into Vienna to be closer to home eliminating their bone-crushing commutes. Essentially, if you can make it home in time to coach your son?s lacrosse team then your life has a bit more meaning. Know what I mean?

The employment picture in Fairfax has diversified in the past 30 years from just being a government bedroom community. That fact, and factors such as 3.5% mortgage interest rates and large down payments have allowed consumers to support what the builders are planning to build.

Seeing this custom home transformation up close

When I remodeled my home in Vienna in 2004, there were two ?new? homes on my street. Over the years there may be a new one or two built, but in 2012 they must have put steroids in the water because seven homes were either built or are currently under construction. In most cases these homes have replaced 1957 era one level rambler style homes of approximately 1,500 square feet. And with average Fairfax County homes grossing one of the highest incomes in the United States, these homes needed either significant additions to be functional or complete replacement. Today?s digital lifestyles also require better power and communications needs than were built into homes during the Eisenhower Administration.

Where do we go from here?

Although the chart above shows just three years, they are the years immediately after the great national real estate meltdown. The trend shows a bullishness that would impress any analyst, but remember that permits don?t indicate immediate activity. The face of Vienna Virginia will continue to change with detached homes getting replaced with new detached homes.

Home buyers in Vienna will have to compete with builders and investors who view houses far differently than a young family would view it, and home sellers will also have to face the reality that their home isn?t as valuable to many as is the land it sits on. A tear down home in Vienna will be eyed by builders who, a decade ago, may have not seen the potential. Lot selection doesn?t seem to be an important factor for most builders although it really needs to be for the future home owners.

At this point in early 2013 with inventories at low levels, it looks like another competitive year for builders and consumers searching for a custom home in Vienna.

Source: http://www.dougfrancis.com/custom-home-building-permits-jump-vienna-virginia/

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Do You Think Like Sherlock Holmes?

Illustration by Rob Donnelly.

I do not think like Sherlock Holmes. Not in the least. That was the rather disheartening conclusion I reached while researching a book on the detective?s mental prowess. I?d hoped to discover that I had the secret to Sherlockian thought. What I found instead was that it would be hard work indeed to even begin to approximate the essence of the detective?s approach to the world: his ever-mindful mindset and his relentless mental energy. Holmes was a man eternally on, who relished that on-ness and floundered in its absence. It would be exhausting to think like Sherlock. And would it really be worth it in the end?

It all began with those pesky steps, the stairs leading up to the legendary residence that Sherlock Holmes shares with Dr. Watson, 221B Baker Street. Why couldn?t Watson recall the number of steps? ?I believe my eyes are as good as yours,? Watson tells his new flatmate?as, in fact, they are. But the competence of the eyes isn?t the issue. Instead, the distinction lies in how those eyes are deployed. ?You see, but you do not observe,? Holmes tells his companion. And Holmes? ?Now, I know there are seventeen steps,? he continues, ?because I have both seen and observed.?

To both see and observe: Therein lies the secret. When I first heard the words as a child, I sat up with recognition. Like Watson, I didn?t have a clue. Some 20 years later, I read the passage a second time in an attempt to decipher the psychology behind its impact. I realized I was no better at observing than I had been at the tender age of 7. Worse, even. With my constant companion Sir Smartphone and my newfound love of Lady Twitter, my devotion to Count Facebook, and that itch my fingers got whenever I hadn?t checked my email for, what, 10 minutes already? OK, five?but it seemed a lifetime. Those Baker Street steps would always be a mystery.

The confluence of seeing and observing is central to the concept of mindfulness, a mental alertness that takes in the present moment to the fullest, that is able to concentrate on its immediate landscape and free itself of any distractions.

Mindfulness allows Holmes to observe those details that most of us don?t even realize we don?t see. It?s not just the steps. It?s the facial expressions, the sartorial details, the seemingly irrelevant minutiae of the people he encounters. It?s the sizing up of the occupants of a house by looking at a single room. It?s the ability to distinguish the crucial from the merely incidental in any person, any scene, any situation. And, as it turns out, all of these abilities aren?t just the handy fictional work of Arthur Conan Doyle. They have some real science behind them. After all, Holmes was born of Dr. Joseph Bell, Conan Doyle?s mentor at the University of Edinburgh, not some, well, more fictional inspiration. Bell was a scientist and physician with a sharp mind, a keen eye, and a notable prowess at pinpointing both his patients? disease and their personal details. Conan Doyle once wrote to him, ?Round the centre of deduction and inference and observation which I have heard you inculcate, I have tried to build up a man who pushed the thing as far as it would go.?

Over the past several decades, researchers have discovered that mindfulness can lead to improvements in physiological well-being and emotional regulation. It can also strengthen connectivity in the brain, specifically in a network of the posterior cingulate cortex, the adjacent precuneus, and the medial prefrontal cortex that maintains activity when the brain is resting. Mindfulness can even enhance our levels of wisdom, both in terms of dialectism (being cognizant of change and contradictions in the world) and intellectual humility (knowing your own limitations). What?s more, mindfulness can lead to improved problem solving, enhanced imagination, and better decision making. It can even be a weapon against one of the most disturbing limitations that our attention is up against: inattentional blindness.

When inattentional blindness (sometimes referred to as attentional blindness) strikes, our focus on one particular element in a scene or situation or problem causes the other elements to literally disappear. Images that hit our retina are not then processed by our brain but instead dissolve into the who-knows-where, so that we have no conscious experience of having ever been exposed to them to begin with. The phenomenon was made famous by Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris: In their provocative study, students repeatedly failed to see a person in a gorilla suit who walked onto a basketball court midgame, pounded his chest, and walked off. But the phenomenon actually dates to research conducted by Ulric Neisser, the father of cognitive psychology, in the 1960s and 1970s.

One evening, Neisser noticed that when he looked out the window at twilight, he had the ability to see either the twilight or the reflection of the room on the glass. Focusing on the one made the other vanish. No matter what he did, he couldn?t pay active attention to both. He termed this phenomenon ?selective looking? and went on to study its effects in study after study of competing attentional demands. Show a person two superimposed videos, and he fails to notice when card players suddenly stop their game, stand up, and start shaking hands?or fails to realize that someone spoke to him in one ear while he?s been listening to a conversation with the other. In a real-world illustration of the innate inability to split attention in any meaningful way, a road construction crew once paved over a dead deer in the road. They simply did not see it, so busy were they ensuring that their assignment was properly carried out.

Inattentional blindness, more than anything else, illustrates the limitations of our attentional abilities. Try as we might, we can never see both twilight and reflection. We can?t ever multitask the way we think we can. Each time we try, either the room or the world outside it will disappear from conscious processing. That?s why Holmes is so careful about where and when he deploys that famed keenness of observation. Were he to spread himself too thin?imagine modern-day Holmes, be it Benedict Cumberbatch or Jonny Lee Miller, pulling out his cell to check his email as he walks down the street and has a conversation at the same time, something you?ll never see either of these current incarnations actually doing?he?d be unable to deploy his observation as he otherwise would. Enter the email, exit the Baker Street steps?and then some.

It?s not an easy task, that constant cognitive vigilance, the eternal awareness of our own limitations and the resulting strategic allocation of attention. Even Holmes, I?m willing to bet, couldn?t reach that level of mindfulness and deliberate thought all at once. It came with years of motivation and practice. To think like Holmes, we have to both want to think like him and practice doing so over and over and over, even when the effort becomes exhausting and seems a pointless waste of energy. Mindfulness takes discipline.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=636c40ea52056ab2a0c8aa4bed401660

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3 Social Networks to Watch in 2013 | Business 2 Community

A recent survey conducted by STRATA asked 80 of its agency clients, ?Which Social Media are you most likely to use in your clients? campaigns?? Over 80% noted Facebook as their prime network, with YouTube and Twitter rounding out the top three. A survey by StrongMail reports that brand respondents plan on increasing their 2013 investment in the usual social suspects: Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, while MarketingProfs reports that 51.8% plan to boost spending on social media across the board. While there?s little reason to ignore the reigning kings of the social media sphere, early adoption of smaller, niche networks can pay dividends. Here are three social networks to watch in 2013:

1. Quora

Quora allows its community of users to post questions and answers on a variety of clearly organized topics. Users can collaborate and suggest edits to questions and answers, creating a cascading pseudo-wiki.

While Quora is not necessarily a sexy network, it is a growing one. According to KISSmetrics, Quora grew an estimated 37,000% between January 2010 and January 2011. In May of 2012, the network secured $50 million in funding.

With growth and expansion comes a greater pool of content that marketers can leverage. While a marketer or brand could make a name for themselves by contributing to the community, a greater opportunity may exist in data mining the network.

For example, a business could research what questions are being asked about topics in their industry and use those pain-points as a basis for their content marketing strategy. If you?re ever short on topics to blog about, simply browse Quora in the category or categories you operate in.

2. Inbound.org

While the brainchild of SEOMoz CEO Rand Fishkin and HubSpot founder Dharmesh Shah doesn?t fit the traditional mold of a social network, it is however a vibrant community of the who?s who in the internet marketing world.

Users on Inbound.org can submit articles on a variety of topics ? SEO, Social, Mobile, Video, etc. ? and members of the community can upvote and comment on submissions. The homepage becomes a Reddit-style leaderboard of the most popular articles. Additional game elements allow users to gain Karma points and track their submissions and upvotes.

Though it?s frowned upon to submit your own articles (or those of your clients), it can be a strong source of referral traffic. Furthermore, you can bet that the most up-to-date information on all aspects of internet marketing is being shared here. Savvy marketers should check the site daily to keep abreast of the industry.

For more information on the future plans for Inbound.org, check out: http://portal.sliderocket.com/CROLD/The-Future-of-Inbound-org

3. Myspace

Yes, Myspace. Before you totally discount the newly refreshed (again) network that everyone loves to hate, spend some time with its new interface and features. Even The Verge admits that Myspace now ??has some nice features that work pretty well.?

Unfortunately, the site is in a closed beta, which means new users must request an invite or get one from a friend. With an invitation, you can login via Facebook for a quick profile build.

True to its roots, Myspace represents an opportunity for musicians and recording artists ? no doubt an influence of new co-owner Justin Timberlake. The Independent offers tepid support of its new features for music discovery and media curation on personal profiles.

Despite any stigma it currently carries, Myspace?s new ownership and direction makes it worth keeping an eye on.

What social networks will you be focusing on in 2013? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

For more information about how to use social media in your marketing efforts, download our Increasing Conversions with Social Media guide.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/3-social-networks-to-watch-in-2013-0366238

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