Official: Gulf states ready to offset Iran oil

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Gulf Arab nations are prepared to offset any potential loss of Iranian oil in the world market, a senior Saudi oil official said as Iranian officials stepped up their rhetoric Wednesday about shutting off a key supply route.

The remarks from the world's largest oil producer came after Iran's vice president on Tuesday warned his country was ready to close the Strait of Hormuz - a vital waterway through which a sixth of the world's oil flows - if Western nations impose sanctions on its oil shipments.

And on Wednesday, Iranian navy chief Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, added that Iran's Navy can readily block the strait if need be. His comments to Iran's English-language state Press TV came as Iran held a 10-day drill in international waters near the strategic chokepoint.

Western nations are growing increasingly impatient with Iran over its nuclear program, and worries abound that new sanctions on the country could target its oil exports.

While the comments by Vice President Mohamed Reza Rahimi and the Iranian admiral may be little more than a warning by the Islamic Republic, they still stoked fears in the market.

A closure of the strait could temporarily cut off some oil supplies and force shippers to take longer, more expensive routes that would drive oil prices higher. It also potentially opens the door for a military confrontation with Iran that would further rattle global oil markets.

The Saudi oil ministry official told The Associated Press that OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers were ready to step in if necessary. He did not say what other routes the Gulf nations could take to ship the oil if the strait was closed off. The official spoke late Tuesday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue.

Theodore Karasik, an analyst at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, said Iran would likely need to use a combination of sea mines and direct attacks on ships passing through the strait to truly close it.

"They would physically have to attack and maintain hold of that property. And everyone in the neighborhood is going to (try to) stop them," Karasik said.

Reflecting unease over the rising tensions in the Middle East, the U.S. benchmark crude futures contract for February deliver was up above $101 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Its London-based Brent counterpart fell slightly, but still remained above $109 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, has been producing about 10 million barrels per day, leaving it with over 2 million barrels per day in spare capacity.

The oil rich kingdom is widely seen as the only producer able to offset production losses elsewhere. But others would have to also boost their output to accommodate a loss of exports from Iran, which is the world's fourth largest oil producer.

Gulf Arab oil ministers, who met in Cairo on Dec. 24, declined to comment on whether they were eying alternative routes for oil in the case that Iran closes off the Strait of Hormuz. The ministers had gathered for a meeting of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries.

OPEC, of which both Iran and Saudi Arabia are members, agreed on Dec. 14 to set its output ceiling at about 30 million barrels per day - in line with the bloc's current production. In the OAPEC meeting in Cairo days later, the ministers appeared comfortable with that level and said future moves would be determined based on demand and supply fundamentals in the market.

Sanctions targeting Iranian oil would hit Europe and Asia markets hardest. Crude from the country does not go to the United States because of existing sanctions.

The West maintains that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, a charge the country denies. Iran says its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes, such as generating electricity.

---

El-Tablawy reported from Cairo. AP Business Writer Adam Schreck contributed reporting from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_SAUDI_OIL?SITE=CAGRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Chavez struggles to fix Venezuela's housing crisis (AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela ? For more than a year, thousands of Venezuelans have been living in disaster shelters, sleeping in bunks and sharing bathrooms.

Their long wait for government homes shows how far President Hugo Chavez still has to go to fulfill his promises of aid for the poor after nearly 13 years in office.

Opposition politicians estimate that more than 30,000 people remain in the shelters waiting for Chavez to deliver. And yet, his inability to keep such grand promises doesn't seem to be a serious handicap as he seeks re-election next year.

"I trust Chavez will get us into an apartment. I just don't know when that could occur, and waiting so long is becoming more and more difficult," said Christian Ortiz, who spent a second Christmas in the crowded shelter with his wife and two children.

For months, Ortiz and his family have been watching construction workers shoulder steel rods and pour cement as they build a government apartment building two blocks away from the community center where they are living. They expect to eventually be assigned one of the 400 apartments in the half-finished building, and are hoping that 2012 will be their year.

Caracas has long had large hillside slums of "ranchos" slapped together with bricks and concrete, many built on unstable ground that regularly collapses in rainstorms. Torrential rains and landslides in late 2010 destroyed homes in parts of Caracas and forced tens of thousands of evacuees to move into disaster shelters nationwide.

A year later, Chavez's government is struggling to cope with a shortage of affordable housing so severe that it could easily take a decade or more to remedy.

Those living in disaster shelters are only part of the problem. A recent government survey found that more than 3.1 million of the nation's roughly 29 million people have inadequate housing.

Chavez set a goal of building about 150,000 homes this year, and he said on Saturday that more than 125,000 housing units have been completed. His opponents question the official figures, and the government hasn't provided a detailed breakdown of homes built by the government and private construction companies, nor has it specified whether the figures include refurbished housing.

"It's December and we have the same homeless people waiting for houses for a year due to lack of commitment and inefficiency," opposition lawmaker Julio Borges said at a recent news conference. He accused the government of inflating its figures and providing far fewer homes than it claims.

"If 100,000 houses were built as they say, to whom did they give them?" Borges asked.

Housing Ministry officials did not respond to requests for an interview.

Chavez's construction effort has leaned not on local builders but instead has enlisted construction companies from allied countries such as Iran, China, Russia, Brazil and Cuba.

The leftist leader has also expropriated buildings and vacant lots where construction crews have been cleaning debris and laying foundations. The government has seized 1,045 parcels of land and buildings this year, including 461 properties and assets from construction companies, according to a report by Conindustria, the country's largest industrial chamber.

Chavez recently said his government has poured 52 billion bolivars, or about $12 billion, into housing projects this year, according to the state news agency. That helped the construction sector grow 10 percent in the third quarter of the year and contributed to overall quarterly growth of 4.2 percent, according to the Central Bank.

The lofty goal of constructing more than 150,000 homes in a year hasn't been reached, critics say, in part due to excessive bureaucracy and lack of communication among dozens of companies and institutions that Chavez has tapped. The country's construction chamber has also complained about shortages of supplies, including cement.

In addition to construction firms, the government has enlisted the Housing Ministry, state-run oil and petrochemical companies and a host of pro-Chavez state governors and other officials to oversee the projects.

The government also has used an unorthodox variety of buildings to temporarily house displaced families: an unfinished shopping mall, a horse-racing track and even tent-like shelters in a courtyard behind Chavez's presidential palace.

Some of the homeless have moved into privately owned hotels that opened their doors to evacuees at the government's request.

When Chavez was sworn in as president in 1999, the country already suffered a major shortage of housing, a problem that grew from heavy migration to urban slums and a construction industry that had focused on building homes largely for the middle class and the affluent.

The country's housing deficit has long been more severe than those of many other Latin American nations, said Paulina Villanueva, who heads the Villanueva Foundation, a Caracas-based think tank that analyzes urban planning.

The problem goes back to the 1940s and '50s, when the growth of Venezuela's oil industry and the decline of its farming economy prompted many to migrate to the cities in search of jobs, Villanueva said. She said that for much of Chavez's presidency, the government seems to have had priorities other than the housing crisis.

Many poor Venezuelans live crammed in slum housing with zinc roofs, sometimes lacking running water. Others have seized abandoned buildings where they live as squatters.

Hundreds of such squatters fill an unfinished 45-story skyscraper in Caracas that has been abandoned since the mid-1990s. Often known as the Tower of David after the late entrepreneur David Brillembourg, who invested in the building, the high-rise's helicopter pad marks a strong contrast to the smashed windows that leave many occupants exposed to the wind and rain.

Chavez has fed the hopes of many Venezuelans by vowing to provide a roof for every family in need, and the government is heavily promoting its efforts. Banners flying beside newly built red brick buildings tout the "Great Housing Mission," while during the televised inauguration of one apartment complex in western Lara state, a giant inflatable likeness of Chavez wobbled in front of the building.

Opposition politicians have tried to use the government's performance against Chavez in the run-up to the October presidential vote, when he will seek another six-year term. But thus far, the potential for political fallout seems limited.

Ortiz and many others living in the shelters still hold out hope that Chavez will eventually come through, and the president's approval rating has been hovering around 50 percent in recent polls.

"We trust Chavez. He promised us a house, and we're sure we'll have one sooner or later," said Katiuska Hernandez, 32, who gathered her belongings in boxes as she and her family left a shelter temporarily to spend the holidays with relatives. "The problem is the delay. This process has taken too much time."

Some have grown so impatient living in the shelters that they have begun venting frustration in small protests where they hold hands to block streets and demand results.

Chavez has urged patience. When heavy rains earlier this month forced more Venezuelans into disaster shelters, he offered about $350 in cash assistance to each displaced family.

"We are resolving numerous problems such as housing all at once," Chavez said last month.

On a breezy hilltop overlooking the Caribbean Sea near Caracas, a flagship housing project is being built by a joint company formed by the Venezuelan and Cuban governments.

Chavez calls it Caribia Socialist City, and the government says it will become a model self-sufficient community with a state-run supermarket, small farms and schools.

The Socialist City may be a metaphor for how far Chavez still has to go in addressing the housing shortage. Plans call for about 80,000 homes to be built. So far, after more than three years of construction, the Housing Ministry has said that about 600 families have been able to move into the first apartments.

___

Christopher Toothaker on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ctoothaker

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111227/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_housing_crisis

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Holiday roundup: From a Google Fiber poem to a ? 'Holidaysbutt?'

We've rounded up more than a half-dozen creative, clever and sometimes confusing holiday greetings from startups, web development shops, marketing firms and, in its usual festive mode, Google. Check out the short descriptions and screenshots below for a link to each item of seasonal cheer (screenshots from respective websites), and don't forget to visit our holiday post to see our picture with Santa.

(If we're missing a holiday greetings in the Silicon Prairie, please add a link in a comment below or send it to danny@siliconprairienews.com.)

Interactive Shift, a web and mobile development firm in Des Moines, recapped its year and offered holiday greetings to the music of James Brown in its animated "Annual Report."

Team members of Lincoln's Don't Panic Labs, Nebraska Global's "people incubator" and the training ground for its in-house software development muscle, answered the question "What Christmas Means to Us." (Video from Don't Panic Labs on YouTube.)

Think Big Partners, an incubator and coworking space in Kansas City, held a contest titled "The 12 Days of Coworking."

Employees of Far Reach Technologies, a web design and development firm in Cedar Falls, Iowa, struck a pose for the final frame of its animated holiday greeting.

SkyVu Entertainment, a game development company in Omaha, followed the quirkiness of its?Battle Bears?game?with its post proclaiming it put the " 'butt' back into 'Happy Holidaysbutt' " (One commentor asked: "When did Battle Bears have butt?" My question exactly.)

The folks at Saturday Mfg., a marketing firm?in Des Moines, handed out a holiday safety sign kit to its clients and friends, who are now posting submitting pictures of the signs in the wild on Saturday Mfg.'s?Facebook page. (Hat tip to Des Moines Egotist.)

Google Fiber's pending arrival in Kansas City?inspired Paul Pauesick, the IT director of the Kansas City, Kan. Board of Public Utilities, to pen a version of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." (Hat tip to Kansas Business Journal.)?

The Google Fiber Team?posted a video wishing Kansas City a happy holidays, saying on YouTube, "We can't wait to see you in 2012."

Did you see our Halloween wrap-up? Check it out: "Silicon Prairie Spooky: Startups, agencies celebrate Halloween".

Source: http://feeds.siliconprairienews.com/~r/siliconprairienews/national/~3/FPgzcw-Ekn0/holiday-roundup-from-a-google-fiber-poem-to-a-holidaysbutt

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[OOC] The Academy Magic and Fighting

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97% The Muppets

Were I to rate the film based purely on nostalgia and enjoyment, I'd have to go beyond 5 stars (interestingly enough, I think many folks my age will remember the cartoon "Muppet Babies" more than "The Muppet Show," though I got my fair share of both, thankfully). It truly captures the absurd, self-aware, and sentimental humor that Jim Henson use to dazzle young and old audiences alike for years and years, and posits a very tough question: why we haven't made room for these little creatures in our world today? Have we opted for a new brand of irony, one which cannot be wrapped in light humor and empathy (favoring apathy and distancing effects, perhaps)? Or have our attention spans become so fleeting that we require digital spectacle and an aesthetic quality simply unachievable through live action puppets and theatrical sketches? The film's opening sequence, complete with misdirected camera tricks a la vintage David Zucker and a jovial song and dance number that involves an entire suburban community, feels simultaneously captivating and bizarre -- appealing to muscles in our head and heart we may have neglected to exercise in quite some time. Yet any critique the movie aptly makes about the state of entertainment today gets charmingly adorned by clever gags and heartfelt storytelling, all which ask us for a suspension of disbelief somewhat unseen in modern entertainment (particularly of the comic variety). It's only shortcomings lie in the attempt to cram so much nostalgia into one too many plot lines -- somehow, the "weight on Kermit's shoulders" dilemma and his appeal to Mrs. Piggy doesn't quite land as strongly as Walter's identity crisis ("Man or Muppet" blends hilarity and pathos in the best of ways), and we can't help but want more time just visiting with Gonzo, Fozzie, Statler, and Woldorf -- which, you could argue, is a success in itself. You'll leave having had a wonderful time and hopefully reaching on the shelf for those old Muppet Show VHS's. Can the franchise move forward, though? One can only hope.

December 20, 2011

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_muppets/

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Case Closed? Columbus Introduced Syphilis to Europe

News | Health

Syphilis was one of the first global diseases, and understanding where it came from and how it spread may help us combat diseases today

By Charles Q. Choi and LiveScience ?| December 27, 2011

Image: Library of Congress

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, but when he returned from 'cross the seas, did he bring with him a new disease?

New skeletal evidence suggests Columbus and his crew not only introduced the Old World to the New World, but brought back syphilis as well, researchers say.

Syphilis is caused by Treponema pallidum bacteria, and is usually curable nowadays with antibiotics. Untreated, it can damage the heart, brain, eyes and bones; it can also be fatal.

The first known epidemic of syphilis occurred during the Renaissance in 1495. Initially its plague broke out among the army of Charles the VIII after the French king invaded Naples. It then proceeded to devastate Europe, said researcher George Armelagos, a skeletal biologist at Emory University in Atlanta.

"Syphilis has been around for 500 years," said researcher Molly Zuckerman at Mississippi State University. "People started debating where it came from shortly afterward, and they haven't stopped since. It was one of the first global diseases, and understanding where it came from and how it spread may help us combat diseases today."

Stigmatized disease

The fact that syphilis is a stigmatized sexually transmitted disease has added to the controversy over its origins. People often seem to want to blame some other country for it, said researcher Kristin Harper, an evolutionary biologist at Emory. [Top 10 Stigmatized Health Disorders]

Armelagos originally doubted the so-called Columbian theory for syphilis when he first heard about it decades ago. "I laughed at the idea that a small group of sailors brought back this disease that caused this major European epidemic," he recalled. Critics of the Columbian theory have proposed that syphilis had always bedeviled the Old World but simply had not been set apart from other rotting diseases such as leprosy until 1500 or so.

However, upon further investigation, Armelagos and his colleagues got a shock ? all of the available evidence they found supported the Columbian theory, findings they published in 1988. "It was a paradigm shift," Armelagos says. Then in 2008, genetic analysis by Armelagos and his collaborators of syphilis's family of bacteria lent further support to the theory.

Still, there have been reports of 50 skeletons from Europe dating back from before Columbus set sail that apparently showed the lesions of chronic syphilis. These seemed to be evidence that syphilis originated in the Old World and that Columbus was not to blame.

Armelagos and his colleagues took a closer look at all the data from these prior reports. They found most of the skeletal material didn't actually meet at least one of the standard diagnostic criteria for chronic syphilis, such as pitting on the skull, known as caries sicca, and pitting and swelling of the long bones.

"There's no really good evidence of a syphilis case before 1492 in Europe," Armelagos told LiveScience.

In the seafood?

The 16 reports that did meet the criteria for syphilis came from coastal regions where seafood was a large part of the diet. This seafood contains "old carbon" from deep, upwelling ocean waters. As such, they might fall prey to the so-called "marine reservoir effect" that can throw off radiocarbon dating of a skeleton by hundreds or even thousands of years. To adjust for this effect, the researchers figured out the amount of seafood these individuals ate when alive. Since our bodies constantly break down and rebuild our bones, measurements of bone-collagen protein can provide a record of diet.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=f900e57bf7eb6a96d21eafb63afbd343

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White Supremacist Radio Host: Ron Paul Was Scheduled and Confirmed in 2006 (Little green footballs)

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Rockmelt 5, el navegador integrado a Facebook, ha salido

Rockmelt, el navegador que mezcla a Chrome, con una fuerte integraci?n con Facebook, acaba de lanzar una nueva versi?n Beta que trae interesantes mejoras. Es gracias a esta integraci?n, que Rockmelt ha conseguido una buena cantidad de asiduos usuarios.

Source: http://bitacoras.com/anotaciones/rockmelt-5-el-navegador-integrado-a-facebook-ha-salido/24881741

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Christmas blast kills 19 at Nigeria church (Reuters)

ABUJA (Reuters) ? A powerful blast hit a Catholic church on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital Abuja during a Christmas service on Sunday killing many people, residents said, and one counted 19 bodies from the explosion.

Emergency services said 10 bodies had been recovered from the scene so far, and earlier said there were not enough ambulances available to evacuate all the dead and the wounded.

Witnesses said St Theresa's Church in Madala, an Abuja satellite town about 40 km from the city centre, was packed out and that there were many dead from the blast, which also blew out windows of neighboring houses.

"In these three vehicles, there are 15 bodies," a Federal Road Safety official in a reflective jacket told Reuters on the scene outside a police cordon, gesturing at three ambulances.

Hours later, another blast went off at the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church in the central, ethnically and religiously mixed town of Jos, witnesses and police said.

A Reuters cameraman on the scene said he saw one lightly wounded policeman from that explosion, but there were no reports of other casualties.

"I heard the blast. My house shook," resident Tony Akpan said of the Madala Catholic church bomb.

"I came out to the front of the church to see what was happening. I counted 19 bodies myself, many of them mutilated, and five destroyed vehicles."

Another witness, Timothy Onyekwere, said: "We were in the church with my family when we heard the explosion. I just ran out. Now I don't even know where my children or my wife are. I don't know how many were killed but there were many dead."

Some said the blast was inside and others thought it came from just outside the church.

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Yushau Shuaibu, who had earlier confirmed there had been a bombing at a church, later put out a statement saying the blast had been on the highway nearby, not at the church itself.

It was not known who exploded the bomb but Nigerian security forces are battling the militant Islamist Boko Haram group, which wants to impose Islamic sharia law across the country split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.

"We are presently there, evacuating the dead and the injured, but unfortunately we don't have enough ambulances, the NEMA spokesman said by telephone. "Most of our ambulances have gone to operate on the major highways of the country," he added.

A Reuters reporter at the scene said the whole area around the church was cordoned off by police. The reporter saw thousands of angry youths set up burning road blocks on the main highway from Abuja leading to Nigeria's largely Muslim north.

Police and the military tried to disperse them by firing live rounds into the air along with tear gas amid chaotic scenes.

BOKO HARAM LINK?

There was no claim of responsibility, but Islamist sect Boko Haram has been blamed for dozens of bombings and shootings in the north, and has claimed responsibility for two bombings in Abuja this year, including Nigeria's first suicide bombing on the U.N. headquarters in August that killed at least 23 people.

Last Christmas Eve, a series of bomb blasts around Jos killed 32 people, and others people died in attacks on two churches in the northeast of Africa's most populous nation.

Gun battles between the security forces and Boko Haram killed at least 68 people in two days of fighting in northern Nigeria, authorities and hospital sources said on Saturday.

Boko Haram has been blamed for scores of shootings and bombings in Nigeria's remote, semi-arid northeast, including a spate of attacks in the past few weeks.

Boko Haram -- which in the Hausa language spoken in northern Nigeria means "Western education is sinful" -- is loosely modeled on the Taliban movement in Afghanistan.

Rights groups say more than 250 people have been killed by Boko Haram since July 2010.

On August 26, a suicide bomber struck the U.N. building in Abuja. At least 23 people were killed and 76 wounded by the bombing which gutted the ground floor and smashed almost all the windows. Boko Haram claimed responsibility on August 29, demanding the release of prisoners and an end to a security crackdown aimed at preventing more bombings.

The blast was the first known suicide bombing in Nigeria. It marked an escalation in the group's tactics and revealed an increase in the sophistication of explosives it uses.

(Reporting by Felix Onuah and Tife Owolabi in Jos.; Writing by Tim Cocks and Peter Millership)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111225/wl_nm/us_nigeria_blast

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LogMeIn remote desktop app goes free on iPhone and iPad

Looks like LogMeIn Inc. has suddenly cottoned on to the freemium business model, deciding to offer its basic remote desktop app for iPhone and iPad entirely gratis. Previously, you had to hand over $29.99 for the simple pleasure of accessing your PC and Mac desktops via LogMeIn Ignition, but the new free version (simply 'LogMeIn') amply provides for that barebones service, while bells and whistles are reserved for those who buy an in-app subscription to LogMeIn Pro at $40 per year -- including things like HD video and sound streaming, file transferring and integration with cloud storage services . Confusing matters slightly, the old Ignition app won't die. It'll live on in the App Store with a massively inflated price to support old Ignition customers and -- most importantly -- give them grandfather rights to Pro features, so they don't feel left out and start sniffing around the competition. There's a full PR after the break, and it also mentions that Android update is on its way in 2012.

Continue reading LogMeIn remote desktop app goes free on iPhone and iPad

LogMeIn remote desktop app goes free on iPhone and iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/24/logmein-remote-desktop-app-goes-free-on-iphone-and-ipad/

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Helen's Top Tips for Aspiring Metalworkers: A Jewelry Expert's Metalsmithing Dos and Don'ts

I meet people on a regular basis who want to learn metalsmithing and other jewelry fabrication techniques, and I'm fortunate to always have a wealth of resources to share with them. One such resource is Helen Driggs, senior editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine and host of best-selling jewelry-making Metalsmith Essentials series DVDs, including Basic Fabrication, Textures and Patinas, and Riveting and Cold Connections.

In addition to those, Helen is also a metalsmithing teacher. Former Beading Daily editor Kristal Wick interviewed Helen awhile back to find out Helen's advice for aspiring metalworkers. Kristal confessed that metals are excciting and alluring to her--me too!--but also intimidating. Many folks are intimidated by taking that leap, but Helen shared great information and metalsmithing tips that I wanted to share with you, too--especially for all of you who have vowed to go beyond stringing or wirework to metalsmithing in the New Year! You can do it! Here's how.

Kristal: What's your best advice for anyone who wants to begin working in metal?

Helen: The most important thing I did was take a 10-week Jewelry and Metals class at the The University of The Arts in Philadelphia. It gave me a firm foundation in all of the basics, plus I learned to solder, use the shop tools properly, and I had access to open-studio time to continue working after hours. That time was invaluable, because I was able to see what the metals majors were working on, ask lots of questions, and I was exposed to many techniques and metalworking disciplines that weren't covered in my basics class, such as blacksmithing, enameling, forging, and casting. Seeing that work going on helped me to decide what I wanted to pursue in my own work. Plus, art school is just a kick!

Kristal: Do you have any Dos and Don'ts for the aspiring metalworker?

Helen: DON'T buy every tool just because it is there. Buy what you need, as you need it, or as you learn how to use it. Buy it if you are certain you need that tool at least once a week. It's really better to have lots of metal than lots of tools! Although I seem to have lots and lots of tools...

DO take every class or workshop you possibly can, according to your interests. Being a good metalworker is based on skill building: each thing you learn builds on what you have already learned. Even if you don't want to go in the specific direction the class is focused on, be open to learning what that teacher can show you. Pay attention and commit to making the object you are learning to make to the best of your ability. Do it the way the teacher shows you. Take a lot of notes and ask the teacher for more information. Then, you can freelance later at home.

DON'T work too far above your skill level, because you will only become frustrated. Sure, everybody wants to make complex, well-designed, interesting, and beautiful pieces with gold and precious metal. But first you need to be a competent fabricator, be able to solder well, use your tools like an expert, know how to set stones, and work in several metals to do that. The best thing to do is practice a technique without a thought of making a piece of jewelry. Work in copper or brass. Get good at sawing, forming, and soldering. When you perform a specific task over and over, you'll eventually have what it takes to make nice jewelry. Make twenty bezels just for the sake of learning. It's worth it. "Go slow and get them all" is my motto.

DO read everything you can to learn about techniques. There are literally millions of ways you can go with metal. It's your job as an artist to find your way. Once you find a technique you like, try making 5 or 10 pieces using that technique to build a body of work with a logical progression. Eventually, you'll figure out where to go next.

DON'T give up. If a piece stonewalls you, set it aside for awhile and start something else. Eventually, through good work and practice, an idea to solve the problem on the set- aside piece will spring up. All artists have blocks?it is a natural part of the cycle of creativity. I always have?four or five works running at once. Breaking away to do something different is often just what I need to help me go back to address a problem in another work.

DO try something spontaneous once in awhile. Creativity is really just play. Just take out a hammer and a sheet of copper and see what happens. Or, find a project in Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist and give it a whirl. If you don't have the exact materials, do the best you can with what you have. Remember?you are learning, so no effort is wasted. --Helen

Learn More About Metalsmithing with Helen
So if you're ready to embark on a metalsmithing adventure and learn more, get Helen's first DVD, Metalsmith Essentials: Basic Fabrication?(or download it instantly).?Through nine lessons, Helen walks you through the steps to get started with metal jewelry fabrication, including sawing, filing, hammering, forging, texturing, and more. You'll learn about metalsmithing safety, metal jewelry-making tools, and the fundamentals behind making jewelry out of silver as well as alternative metals brass and copper. She also shares how to punch and drill holes in metal, cold connections, metal stamping, money- and metal-saving tips, fold-forming techniques, and how to properly finish your designs. It's a truly comprehensive metalsmithing introduction!

Even More Metalsmithing
Still want more? We've gathered all of our best metalsmithing information and resources in one convenient spot. Think of it as your go-to resource for metalsmithing and bookmark the Metalsmithing page!

---

Source: http://www.jewelrymakingdaily.com/blogs/daily/archive/2011/12/23/helens-tips-for-aspiring-metalworkers-a-jewelry-experts-metalsmithing-dos-and-donts.aspx

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Verizon Galaxy Nexus Review

Just about a month after the international Galaxy Nexus was released, Verizon got it?s first Nexus device packed to the brim with LTE goodness. To go along with that added network speed, the Verizon Galaxy Nexus picked up a few holiday pounds as well. They managed to squeeze a slightly bigger battery than it?s European kin. Along with being Verizon?s first Nexus device, the Galaxy Nexus also brings Ice Cream Sandwich. Ice Cream Sandwich is Google?s latest OS, and is now the single OS across both phones and tablets. I?ve been using the Galaxy Nexus for about a week, so let?s get into my thoughts on this device.

?

Hardware

The first thing you are going to notice when you pick up the Galaxy Nexus is that lovely screen. Samsung has brought a 4.65 inch HD Super Amoled Display (1280 x 720)to the table. You?ll find it underneath the contour display first seen on the Nexus S. Notably missing from the back of the device is the Google name. In it?s place you?ll find both the Verizon logo with their LTE logo. While this is unusual for the Nexus line, I?m willing to deal with it. It is on the back where I can easily ignore it. On the back you?ll notice a 5MP Camera with flash. It can shoot video up to 1080p and has zero shutter lag. Under the textured battery cover you?ll find the 1850 mAh battery and a Verizon Micro-Sim to access those 4G speeds. No Micro-SD slot is available, but the phone comes with 32GB of storage. Inside the device is powered by a dual-core TI-OMAP 1.2 GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. The top of the device is empty, the left has a volume rocker, and the right has a power button as well as three charing pins. The bottom is where you?ll find both your micro-usb port and headphone jack. The battery pulls double duty here as it also contains all the necessary NFC technology. Google Wallet isn?t supported, mainly because Verizon has their own wireless payment technology coming down the pipes. (Don?t worry, the homebrew community has righted this wrong and Google Wallet is now installable via a downloadable APK.) Back on the front you?ll notice an ear piece, (These things do make calls you know) a 1.3MP front facing camera, and that?s about it. The rest is just smooth glass. All button functionality is left to the display to keep it that way. You may notice a multi-colored ?notification LED at the bottom of the phone.

While the housing of the device is plastic, the textured back keeps the device from feeling cheap. Besides, all you?ll be able to see is the massive screen. Even though you get a large display, it feels smaller because of minimal bezel. At first I thought the lack of hardware buttons would turn me off on this device, but they are absolutely wonderful. They can be there when you need them, and get out of the way when you don?t. While it is still needed for legacy support, a lot of apps no longer have use for the menu key. When it isn?t needed you will not even see it as an option. No longer will you need to dig for hidden options under that key. This of course will keep getting better as more and more apps move their settings into their app interface, where it should be. Another thing I love is the zero shutter lag camera. Being able to take multiple pictures faster than I ever have gives me more chances of getting the shot that I want. Mind you that the camera is not the highest quality we have seen from even Samsung themselves, it does produce pretty good shots outside, in good light. Things start to get a little grainy when we go indoor and start reducing the lighting conditions. For some this might be a deciding factor, but those quick shots are now tough to go back from for me.

Software

This is the first device to ship out of the box with Google?s latest operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich. On top of that, Nexus devices lack all the device manufacturers? customization that populate all the other devices come with. This is definitely a big draw, and helps updates to be a lot more speedy. I?m not an Android expert who knows all the differences that Google has baked into this latest version, but I can say without a doubt it is the smoothest interaction I?ve had with Android to date.

?

?

Multi-tasking

The Nexus has a button dedicated to multi-tasking. Hitting it will reveal all of your opened apps in a vertical, scrollable column on the right side of your screen. Killing an app is as easy as swiping it to the right, off the screen. This is a big improvement from the limited list view used in previous versions, and a lot easier than the multi-tasking found in iOS. Multi-tasking works from any app, so getting around is that much easier.

Widgets

Widgets have been moved from the home screen menu, to the app drawer. I like this move to having everything in one spot. They are also easily resizable.

Software Keyboard

Like previous versions, the software keyboard can be used in either portrait or landscape orientation. I find landscape a little too large for good typing. I must say the size of this screen allows for a lot more content to be visible when the portrait keyboard is in use, compared to other devices. I?m still waiting for Swype to be updated to be compatible with Ice Cream Sandwich. The Swype developers say that Google made a change in how Android reports screen size. This makes sense since Ice Cream Sandwich works on both phones and tablets. The stock keyboard works well enough for me, and there are plenty of keyboards available in the Market once they are Ice Cream Sandwich compatible.

?

Network Speed

This handset is equipped with Verizon?s 4G LTE network. When you have it available, this is a huge improvement in speeds over 3G. However, the fact that 4G is a battery drain has not been unfounded yet. This maybe the reason every other major device OS has yet to implement LTE into their devices. If you find yourself not going to be able to top off your device, it might be best to disable the LTE network. This will help immensely with battery use. When on the 4G network I averaged between 5-7 mb/s down, and 2-5 up. (Pensacola, Florida)Of course those in other 4G areas have speeds much higher than this.

?

Battery Life

Like I stated earlier about network speed. Right now LTE and battery life don?t mix. If the rest of this handset appeals to you, you have to have a strategy to get through the day. With 4G turned off I was easily able to make it through my 7-3 job. With 4G on I was looking for a charger around 1. The power control widget is already in place for a reason. You need to use it. This makes it super easy to toggle WiFi, Bluetooth, location services, account syncing and screen brightness. You?ll want to at least have a charger in your car. Extreme users will want to look into either the slightly extended battery, or an extra battery. For my money, I?d buy the extra battery and charger. You won?t need to switch doors that way. This is mainly because the extended battery is only 2100 mAh, or a 14% increase in capacity. A second factory battery will double your battery life, except for reboot time. Your opinion could be different of course. Remember as more accessories come out that the NFC chip for the Nexus is located in the battery, so third-party batteries would likely be without that circuitry. Without NFC, mobile payments through Google Wallet will not work, nor will Android Beam, or any other NFC based application that might hit the market.

?

Camera

The main camera comes in at 5MP, and is capable of shooting in 1080p with continuos ?auto-focus. It also features ?Zero Shutter Lag? which, just as the name implies, allows you to fire off shots just about as fast as you can hit the button. The shots come out generally well, but low light conditions are not as good as we have seen on other top end handsets.

?

Conclusion

If you are an Android fan on Verizon, this handset should definitely be on your list of phones to check out. Packing LTE and a 4.65 inch?HD Super Amoled Display into a single device is a big ?factor. Add in that this is a Google device that will have huge developer support going forward for all your hacking needs, and you get a pretty convincing message. A Nexus device is always first in line for updates, and free from all the skins that lay on top of Android. While the camera isn?t the highest quality, the zero shutter lag is definitely a thing of beauty. I definitely want both quality and speed in my next device. Ice Cream Sandwich is the smoothest Android experience to date. As with previous versions, the beauty of Android is the ability to replace almost any piece of the user experience, making a device that is truly yours.

Source: http://hottipscentral.com/verizon-galaxy-nexus-review/

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Justin Bieber Sings in the Holidays on The X Factor Finale

The X Factor crowned its first-ever U.S. champion last night... but it took two hours to do so.

Indeed, Melanie Amaro did not hear the great news until many acts had taken the stage, foremost among them a certain blonde-haired 17-year old.

Justin Bieber sang in the holiday via a pair of classics. First, he teamed with iconic artist Stevie Wonder on "Chestnuts Roasting." Then, he made the dreams of Drew Ryniewicz come true by asking her to close out "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" along his side on stage. Watch below to see both covers, including Justin getting his major dance on for the second...

Justin Bieber and Stevie Wonder - Chestnuts Roasting

Justin Bieber and Drew Ryniewicz - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/justin-bieber-sings-in-the-holidays-on-the-x-factor-finale/

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Video: On the home stretch ?

Christmas wish: Little listeria victim is home

Kendall Paciorek was born three months ago, but she didn't come home until this week, just days before Christmas. The premature girl was one of the tiniest victims of a deadly outbreak of listeria in contaminated cantaloupe.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45757539#45757539

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Greek weekend strike to shut down museums (AP)

ATHENS, Greece ? Greek guards say scores of archaeological sites and museums across the country will be shut down over weekends beginning at Christmas as they strike to protest the lack of extra weekend pay.

The guards' association says in a statement Thursday it has not been paid extra for working weekend shifts for over two months.

It says workers will keep the weekend strike going until the ministries of culture and finance solve the problem.

Greece has been kept solvent only through international bailouts since May 2010.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/fossils/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_en_ot/eu_greece_strike

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50 Cent to Britney Spears: Congrats, Girl!

Ever since Britney Spears got engaged to Jason Trawick last week, celebrities everywhere - and even K-Fed for that matter - have been wishing her all the best.

One of more vocal supporters over the years (really) has been 50 Cent, who told told reporters at the VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul concert in NYC how happy he is.

"I am so happy for her," the rapper said, before musing, "Britney Spears had a rough time. The press took the biggest opportunity ever to dog her."

"When you reach that point, you work really hard to get where she is. It’s very interesting because the public likes to build you to destroy you for entertainment's sake."

"I’m just really happy for her to be happy."

Fiddy continued by saying he thinks Britney is ready to be married for a third time (before K-Fed, she wed high school pal Jason Alexander for 55 hours).

"I hope she is," he remarked. "Wouldn’t you like to hope that? Let’s just put that out there in the universe, that she is ready."

She seems it. She and Jason Trawick, her former agent, were close long before they were a couple, and he's been an enormously positive influence on her.

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/50-cent-to-britney-spears-congrats-girl/

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McDowell comes down from his high, ready to climb (AP)

ORLANDO, Fla. ? Imagine winning two of golf's biggest trophies only a couple of months apart. Then, right when it looks as though a dream season can't get any better, competing against a limited field of stars and beating Tiger Woods on the last day when no one gave you much of a chance.

That's how it was for Mark O'Meara in 1998.

And that's why he can appreciate how difficult it was this year for Graeme McDowell to follow up on a blockbuster season.

"I was winding down in my career, so it was a little different," O'Meara said Monday. "But I know Graeme a little bit. Look, it's hard to live up to the hype. All of a sudden, you feel like every major you should be in contention. You're thrust into the limelight. It heightens the expectations that people place on you.

"And sometimes, there's a little bit of a letdown."

O'Meara scooped up a career's worth of magic in 1998 when he birdied the last two holes to win the Masters, and at age 41, became the oldest man to win two majors in one season when he captured the British Open in a playoff at Royal Birkdale. If that wasn't enough, he went to Wentworth for the World Match Play Championship and wound up facing Woods in the 36-hole final. All square with seven holes remaining ? three of them par 5s ? O'Meara beat him with a birdie on the last hole.

McDowell's season in 2010 was eerily similar.

He won his first major in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and then topped that with a week in Wales that felt better than a major. The Ryder Cup came down to the final match, and McDowell hit a 6-iron to 15 feet for a birdie on the 16th hole to take the lead and go on to win the cup for Europe.

Wrapping up his season in an 18-man field at Sherwood, he rallied from a four-shot deficit and made a pair of 20-foot birdie putts on the 18th hole to beat Woods in a playoff. No one had ever come from more than two shots behind to beat Woods in any pro tournament.

The encore proved more difficult than McDowell realized.

"No doubt the expectation levels were cranked up," he said last week at Lake Nona during a corporate day for Ecco golf shoes. "I played like a man who wanted it really, really badly. And you can't want it so badly that you get in your own way."

As he looks back on a year in which he had as many top 10s as missed cuts ? seven each ? McDowell wishes he would have taken more time off. He spent the holidays with his family in Northern Ireland, and then flew across two oceans to Kapalua to start the new season. He shot 62 the last day and missed a playoff by one shot, and then he flew halfway around the world to Abu Dhabi and tied for third.

Not a bad start.

Finally, he gave himself a four-week break to recharge and reflect. He's not sure he accomplished either.

"It was a switched-on break, not a switched-off break, and I think there's a difference," he said. "There's a huge difference between taking two, three, four weeks off in the middle of the season because you never really switch off. And when I did switch back on, things felt different. My swing wasn't there. My head wasn't there."

He had a one-shot lead at The Players Championship until closing with a 79. He never missed a shot in practice at the British Open, then chopped his way to a double bogey on the opening hole at Royal St. George's and wondered what hit him.

"Last year, everything went right," he said. "This year, everything went wrong."

Even so, McDowell figures he learned more about himself during a winless 2011 than when he felt as though he won everything in 2010.

The greatest lesson?

"That your own expectations are dangerous," he said. "The good times in golf and bad times in golf are so different. As golfers, we're unbelievably good at berating ourselves when things go wrong. We're not so good at giving ourselves credit when things go right. And there's something to be learned there."

Was it that bad a year?

He only made it through two rounds of the FedEx Cup playoffs, and he only made it to the weekend at one major. Still, he fell only seven spots in the world ranking and finished the year at No. 13. It was only two years ago that McDowell was thrilled to crack the top 50.

He earned 158 world-ranking points, slightly more than Rickie Fowler. It wasn't all bad.

"I probably earned enough world-ranking points for a top 50 or 35 player. In the past, that would have been a great season for me," McDowell said. "All of a sudden, it's not a great season for me. It's a huge disappointment. Have I really changed that much in a couple of years? It's the perception of what's good.

"I started experiencing great highs, and all of a sudden I needed so much more of it," he said. "When the game wasn't giving me them as readily, I was getting frustrated with myself. I went into the year promising I wouldn't make these mistakes. Even though I knew the pitfalls, I couldn't stop from falling in them."

A year ago, McDowell didn't want his year to end. This year, it couldn't end soon enough.

He carries a lighter load home to Northern Ireland this week to spend Christmas with his family. McDowell no longer has possession of the U.S. Open trophy. Memories of the Ryder Cup are not as fresh. Woods won the very tournament where McDowell beat him a year ago.

He can only hope he is bringing with him something that ultimately proves as valuable as any trophy ? perspective.

"The biggest thing I learned this year was to never take anything for granted," McDowell said. "And to realize that expectation levels are dangerous."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111220/ap_on_sp_go_ne/glf_on_the_fringe122011

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Verizon Galaxy Nexus day, ICS when? [From the Forums]

WooHoo! Verizon released the Galaxy Nexus -- finally! Did you get one today? If so -- let us know. We've been celebtrating the release all day in the Android Central forums as many folks are now sharing their thoughts on the long awaited device. Got something to add? Hop on in.

• Galaxy Nexus Forums - Get one? Need help setting it up? Have questions?
• HTC Rezound Forums - Went to trade for a Nexus and got slapped in the face
• Droid RAZR Forums - ICS by the end of the month?
• Droid Bionic Forums - Did the OTA fix the "phantom" external SD card issue?
• Android Contest Forums - Keep warm & functional with smarTouch gloves - 2 pairs available

If you're not already a member of the Android Central forums, you can register your account today.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Pde7xOi6Dmc/story01.htm

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Shock jock Howard Stern gets "America's Got Talent" gig (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Controversial radio shock jock Howard Stern will be the new judge on TV show "America's Got Talent", NBC said on Thursday, and will also continue to host his daily radio program for SiriusXM.

Stern, 57, will replace departing talk show host Piers Morgan on the panel when the talent show returns for a 7th season in the summer of 2012.

Production of the show will move to New York to accommodate Stern's schedule.

"Howard Stern's larger-than-life personality will bring a thrilling new dynamic to 'America's Got Talent' starting this summer," said NBC alternative programming chief Paul Telegdy.

"He's a proven innovator and his track record in broadcasting is truly remarkable. Howard is very passionate about this show and is fully committed to its future," Telegdy said in a statement.

Stern is known for conducting sexually explicit interviews, his raunchy sense of humor and for his satirical comments on religion, race and other hot button topics.

"America's Got Talent" created by British entrepreneur Simon Cowell, is one of the most successful shows for NBC and the outspoken Stern had been Cowell's top choice to join the judging panel.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Patricia Reaney)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/media_nm/us_howardstern_gottalent

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Researchers turn a DSLR into hyperspectral camera using PVC and duct tape, MacGyver green with envy

Hyperspectral imaging is a method that captures a far greater amount of the electromagnetic spectrum than a regular photograph. This makes it ideal for a variety of uses, from night vision to identifying mineral deposits from afar, but the problem is that hyperspectral sensors don't come cheap. However, some intrepid imaging scientists have come up with a way to turn your DSLR into a hyperspectral camera using stock SLR glass, a gel diffraction filter, PVC pipe, duct tape, some serious ingenuity and plenty of elbow grease. Thusly did they build a (relatively) cheap-as-chips imaging spectrometer that can deliver spectral resolution equal to that of commercial solutions at a far lower cost.

The result of their labor is a computed tomography image spectrometer (CTIS), which takes hyperspectral images by splitting light into spectral bands with a diffuser and recording them using a Canon EOS 5D Mark I in HDR mode. As constructed, the prototype takes a spectral resolution of up to 4.89nm in a 120 x 120 pixel area, though at a longer exposure time than dedicated devices. Having proven their concept, the plan is to build another lens extension using custom tubes and lenses that'll both reduce weight and increase the aperture to shorten the exposure time -- all for less than a grand. You can see both the camera's construction and some sample images in the gallery below, plus you can dig deep into the nitty gritty behind this bit of imaging black magic at the source link.

Gallery: DSLR hyperspectral camera

Researchers turn a DSLR into hyperspectral camera using PVC and duct tape, MacGyver green with envy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/hksnoLCOAZU/

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