'Step By Step': Where Are They Now? (PHOTOS)

THEN: Suzanne Somers (Carol Foster-Lambert)

After "Three's Company" and the Thighmaster (and those Playboy pictorials in between), Somers looked to return to the primetime sitcom world and landed on "Step By Step."

NOW: Suzanne Somers

As "Step By Step" came to an end, Somers co-hosted the revised "Candid Camera" show. Then, in 2001, the actress announced she had breast cancer and just a few years later, <a href="http://www.broadway.com/buzz/94649/suzanne-somers-the-blonde-in-the-thunderbird-to-close-on-july-23/" target="_blank">Somers made her Broadway debut in 2005 with the one-woman show "The Blonde in the Thunderbird,"</a> a collection of stories about her life and career. It closed in less than a week due to poor reviews and disappointing ticket sales. In 2012, Somers began an online talk show at CafeMom, <a href="http://thestir.cafemom.com/entertainment/132456/suzanne_somers_joyce_dewitt_threes" target="_blank">three episodes of which featured a reunion with her "Three's Company" co-star Joyce DeWitt</a>, with whom she didn't speak for 30 years. Soon thereafter, Somers kicked off her own talk show on Lifetime. Earlier this year, Somers, who has been married to Canadian TV host Alan Hamel for 36 years, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/28/suzanne-somers-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills_n_2569035.html" target="_blank">made a cameo on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."</a>

THEN: Patrick Duffy (Frank Lambert)

While the world was still wondering who shot J.R., Duffy signed on for "Step By Step" just after "Dallas" ended its impressive 13-year run on CBS. As he did on "Dallas," Duffy often directed "Step By Step," totaling 49 episodes by the time the series ended in 1998.

NOW: Patrick Duffy

While starring on "Step By Step," Duffy appeared in two "Dallas" TV movies and he also reunited with his former cast mates in the TV special "'Dallas' Reunion: Return to Southfork" in 2004. Since "Step By Step" ended, Duffy also made appearances on shows like "Diagnosis: Murder," "Reba" and "Touched By An Angel" before he began <a href="http://www.boldandbeautiful.com/index.cfm/pk/view/cd/naa/cdid/400202/pid/400107" target="_blank">a limited run on the daytime soap" The Bold and the Beautiful."</a> In 2012, Duffy reprised his role as Bobby Ewing on TNT's remake of "Dallas," which also <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/12/dallas-goodbye-jr-tribute-funeral-video_n_2858156.html" target="_blank">co-starred Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing until his passing</a>. Duffy has been married to Carlyn Rosser for nearly 40 years. The couple has two sons and three grandchildren.

THEN: Staci Keanan (Dana Foster)

Keanan was a child acting veteran by the time "Step By Step" came around. She'd done many commercials and starred on "My Two Dads" for three years before earning the part of responsible bookworm Dana, the eldest of the Foster children.

NOW: Stacy Keanan

By the time "Step By Step" ended in 1998, Keanan had changed the spelling of her name to Stacy in an effort to age herself a bit. Since the show's cancellation, she's had roles in a few Christian films and she made a cameo in the 2010's "You Again," with her "Step By Step" co-stars Patrick Duffy and Christine Lakin. Now 38, Keanan is married to British actor Guy Birtwhistle.

THEN: Angela Watson (Karen Foster)

After years of being a beauty pageant queen, Watson found her first breakout role as the vain and ditzy aspiring model Karen, Carol's middle child and the subject of a lot of the show's punchlines.

NOW: Angela Watson

Watson hasn't acted much since "Step By Step," but she did create a foundation to try to help other child actors protect themselves (<a href="http://www.hugsamerica.com/cast/" target="_blank">Child Actors Supporting Themselves, abbreviated as CAST</a>) after her parents reportedly tried to spend millions of dollars of her earnings from her seven seasons on the show.

THEN: Christopher Castile (Mark Foster)

Castile appeared in the Miller-Boyett sitcom "Going Places," which also starred Alan Ruck, Heather Locklear and his soon-to-be TV sister Staci Keanan. The two were moved to "Step By Step" and Castile played the nerdiest of the Foster-Lambert bunch and Carol's youngest child. While on the show, he also starred in "Beethoven" and "Beethoven's 2nd" and he began to voice Eugene Horowitz on Nickelodeon's "Hey Arnold!" He left the cartoon after only eight episodes and was replaced by Jarrett Lennon, the actor who was originally cast as Mark on "Step By Step."

NOW: Christopher Castile

Castile retired from acting following the cancellation of "Step By Step" in 1998. He got his B.A. from California State University in Long Beach in 2005 and went on to get his M.A. in 2008. Castile currently resides in Canada with his wife Alison (pictured). He's <a href="http://www.biola.edu/academics/undergrad/hps/faculty/" target="_blank">a political science professor at Biola University</a>.

THEN: Sasha Mitchell (Cody Lambert)

Mitchell got his first big TV break playing James Beaumont, J.R. Ewing's illegitimate son on "Dallas" -- meaning he was Patrick Duffy's character's nephew -- and he went on to play Duffy's nephew again as the dim-witted Cody who lived in his van on "Step By Step."

NOW: Sasha Mitchell

Mitchell was fired from "Step By Step" after the fifth season due to<a href="http://www.oocities.org/unincompoop/shocking8.html" target="_blank"> some personal problems</a>, only returning for one episode in the show's seventh and final season. Since then, he's only had a few guest spots on TV shows like "NYPD Blue" and "ER," but no major roles. He's currently married to Rachel Mitchell (formerly known as Sharmaine Rayner).

THEN: Brandon Call (J.T. Lambert)

Call began his career as a child actor in the mid-'80s, appearing in the daytime drama "Santa Barbara" and in the primetime hits "St. Elsewhere" and "Baywatch" before landing the role of eldest Lambert child, J.T. (short for John Thomas) on "Step by Step." After a day of work on the show in September 1996, <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/33533/step-by-step-s-brandon-call-shot" target="_blank">Call got into a traffic dispute while driving home and was shot in both arms</a>. He made a full recovery, but since the show ended in 1998, Call has been largely under the radar. <a href="http://washedupcelebrities.blogspot.com/2007/08/brandon-call.html" target="_blank">Various message boards report that he's a gas station owner in California</a>.

THEN: Christine Lakin (Al Lambert)

Lakin got her big break playing Frank's tomboyish only daughter Al (short for Alicia) on "Step By Step." Eventually, she grew out of her backwards baseball hats, ponytails and baggy clothes.

NOW: Christine Lakin

After "Step by Step" was cancelled in 1998, Lakin went on to graduate from UCLA with a B.A. in Communications. She continued to have minor TV roles on "7th Heaven," "3rd Rock From The Sun," "Boston Public" and "Veronica Mars" before becoming a regular cast member in MTV's "Wild 'n Out," an improv comedy show, in 2006. Two years later, Lakin starred alongside Paris Hilton in the maligned movie "The Hottie and the Nottie," which required extensive makeup to make her into "the Nottie." Lakin continued to have bit parts on TV and in movies, including "Melissa & Joey," "Bones" and "You Again," and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/29/veronica-mars-justin-long-movie-christine-lakin_n_3521640.html" target="_blank">she recently returned to "Veronica Mars" for the late show's upcoming movie</a>.

THEN: Josh Byrne (Brendan Lambert)

Byrne won the role of the youngest member of the entire Foster-Lambert clan on "Step By Step" after some experience on "Who's The Boss?" as well as a part in the film "Mr. Saturday Night" as a young Billy Crystal. Bryne appeared in all but the show's final season and his disappearance from "Step By Step" was never explained.

NOW: Josh Byrne

Not much is known about Byrne since his "Step By Step" disappearance, but based on his Facebook, it's clear the actor still enjoys acting, at least in some respect: He appears to frequent Renaissance fairs.

THEN: Emily Mae Young (Lilly Foster-Lambert)

Emily Mae Young joined "Step By Step" in its final two seasons as Lily Foster-Lambert, Carol and Frank's only biological daughter. (The character was born in the fifth season but aged up when the show returned for Season 6). Young was all over TV at the time: She was also <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCBpHtkLjmU" target="_blank">the famous face of Welch's juice</a>. After "Step By Step" ended, however, Young also faded into obscurity. She's currently 23 years old.

THEN: Bronson Pinchot (Jean-Luc Rieupeyroux)

After his breakout role as Serge in "Beverly Hills Cop," Pinchot went on to play Balki Bartokomous on "Perfect Strangers" -- a role that garnered him an Emmy nomination -- before being brought in to replace Sasha Mitchell's character Cody in Season 6, playing Jean-Luc, a male beautician and Carol's business partner.

NOW: Bronson Pinchot

Pinchot left "Step By Step" to headline CBS' short-lived alien comedy "Meego," and eventually found himself on VH1's reality show for has-been celebrities, "The Surreal Life." In 2008, he did several episodes of "The Young and the Restless," and he's currently starring on DIY's "Bronson Pinchot Project," a reality show that follows him as he flips houses. Pinchot also recently <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/29/bronson-pinchot-perfect-strangers-weather_n_2980967.html" target="_blank">took over a local weather report</a> and it was hilariously disastrous.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/29/step-by-step-where-are-they-now-photos_n_3518915.html

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[ROM][AOSP][4.2.2](6/29/2013) "Shiny", OTA-Like, Stock Android 4.2.2 JDQ39E - No bugs!

Source:
Mod Type: ROM?????Difficulty: Easy?????Mod Status: Stable?????Mod Base: AOSP?????Carrier: Verizon
Requires Root: No?????Apply In: CWM Recovery?????Optional: Deodexed?????Optional: Debloated?????Android Version: 4.2.2 (JB)
"Shiny" OTA-Like JDQ39E Android 4.2.2 for VZW Galaxy Nexus (Toro)
Skip right to the downloads (if you dare )
Hello there RootzWiki community! I'll admit this is a pretty spontaneous post; I've been building ROMs from the Android Open Source (Project) for awhile now, but I've never "published" any of them. I myself own a Verizon Galaxy Nexus, so I've always built from AOSP to make sure I'm as up to date as possible. Well, that's a little background so let's get going with the overview of the ROM itself:

Overview
This ROM is Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2, build JDQ39E. The ROM is built directly from source, that is, the Android source code published by Google available for download to all of us developers. The reason I say the ROM is "OTA-like" is because I make VERY few modifications to it, aside from the things that it takes to get the ROM working. I'll go into detail about those things below, but basically I just want the ROM to make your phone feel stable and shiny and new as if it has just received a new OTA update. That being said, it's clear that the landscape of Nexus devices is changing as new ones are released. Therefore, the other primary goal of this ROM is to keep our Galaxy Nexus as close to the modern Nexus design as possible. This means that I will also add in features that will still be stock, but will also make our phones as close to a current Nexus as possible.

As for how I handle the forum side of things, I'm always open to comments, questions, suggestions, requests, etc. I know that most of those things will often be in the form of criticism, but it's okay, I think I can handle it :) That being said, I do also have a life and am a college student, so I may not get to come on here ALL the time. I will check back as frequently as possible, and I'm hoping that you guys will help each other out as much as possible! Keep it friendly! :) So now for the details...

Features

• Stock Android 4.2.2, build JDQ39E
  
• Source (AOSP) built kernel (boot.img)
  
• Deodexed
  
• Easily rootable (see information below)
  
• G-Apps (GMail, Play Store, etc.) included in build along with Nexus apps
  
• Stock browser replaced with Google Chrome
  
• Shiny restart options - access them by holding down the power button and then long pressing on "Power Off"
  
• 4.2 wallpapers and sounds included
  
• All the crazy Google proprietary app stuff has been taken care off (Email2.apk, ExchangeGoogle.apk, DeskClockGoogle.apk, etc. all included)
  
• Updated frequently
  
• Everything works!

So what do I mean when I say "Everything works!"?
I'm sure by now you all know that when someone says that, it usually ends up not being true. This ROM is not an exception to that rule, but I can say that I've tested most of the things that would be expected to work in stock Android, such as...

• WiFi Tethering (no subscription check)
  
• Bluetooth streaming
  
• Google account sign-in and auto-restore of apps and settings
  
• Google Wallet
  
• Location Services (pretty fast GPS lock in my area also)
  
• Believe it or not, December is still a month!
  
• Photosphere
  
• Android beam
  
• Photo editing with the new filters
  
• Email
  
• Exchange support
  
• Like I said, the normal stuff (data, voice, hardware acceleration, etc.)
  
• More things that aren't important enough to mention here - check out the changelog for a more comprehensive list

Possible Bugs
It's impossible for me to test for and notice EVERY single possible bug in the operating system, so as of right now I can't say that there are any, although I'm sure you will find some. If you do, report them here!

Other IMPORTANT Information
Root
But wait, nothing in this post said anything about root!!!11!!1!1!!! That's right, my ROM does NOT have root built in! (I don't use any root apps, and it's important to the whole "OTA-like" theme). That being said, the ROM is easily rootable; I made sure of this because I know that many, many of you will use root for many useful purposes. If you want to root the ROM, it's as easy as installing Koush's superuser control app/su with this ZIP file. More detailed information can be found in the "Installation Instructions" section. **NOTE** If you are rooted and upgrading to a new build, you should not have to reflash the rooting flashable ZIP because the ROM will keep root for you.

Updates
I'm probably going to update the ROM itself once every few days (at least once a week) because there are constantly updates being pushed to the Android source. I probably won't make many changes myself except with updating binaries or fixing bugs. Because of this, I'm not going to keep an extensive changelog. You can always check out the AOSP code review for recent changes to the source. I'll only a keep a changelog of big, notable, and important changes. Everything else will be low-level optimizations that will make the experience much smoother without you even knowing :)

Radios
This ROM will (most likely) work with any toro radios; however, I of course recommend using the most recent, Verizon-approved radios which are the FK01 and FK02 radios. My ZIP installation package for these radios can be downloaded here.

Bootloader
Once again, I'm assuming that this ROM will work with all tuna/toro bootloaders; BUT for optimal experience and performance, use the newest Google-approved bootloader, PRIMELC03. My ZIP installation package for that bootloader can be downloaded here.

ClockworkMod Recovery
I personally recommend using ClockworkMod Recovery as it has always worked well for me with no quirks. Android 4.2 messed up a few aspects of recoveries because of its multi-user system. ClockworkMod Recovery has been updated to correct some of these issues, and I recommend updating to the most recent version, 6.0.2.3. You can flash either the touch recovery or non-touch recovery image through fastboot OR you can download my flashable recovery update ZIP (touch/non-touch) and flash it in recovery. Check out the installation instructions for more details on this.

Some Other Not-so-important Information
Naming Conventions
All of my ROM ZIP files are automatically generated by my build computer. The file name always begins with baldwinguy77_toro_aosp so you know that it's my build for toro. That prefix is always followed by the date in mmddyy format (e.g. 112212), a hyphen ("-"), and the time in 24-hour, hhmmss format (e.g. 153945). Finally, all builds end with the "signed" suffix - it just helps me know which packages have finished building and which have not. Hopefully this helps everyone to know which update is newest; I stay away from version numbers because I let Google do all of the version control.

File Hosting
I've switched over from using Dev-host to a privately hosted site, graciously and generously given to me by RootzWiki user Goofball. Dev-host is still an amazing service, but it's much more convenient for me to use a privately hosted site, plus I get my own suburl and FTP access! HUGE thanks to Goofball, please check out his RootzWiki profile here! The private hosting will definitely help me deliver a better experience to you guys as far as downloading goes. You can view all of my uploaded, public files here: http://shinyrom.goofball.org/

Older builds are found here: http://d-h.st/users/baldwinguy77

Also, if anyone ever wants to mirror for me, please feel free so long as you keep the file name and the file itself intact. As for everyone who downloads from a posted mirror: BE CAREFUL! Always use a virus scanner and be careful with what you are putting on your device!

Installation Instructions (VERY IMPORTANT - Note: You can flash all of these ZIPs in CWM or TWRP)
ROM
1. Download the latest version of the ROM from the download post. (Also download any other files you will need to install, such as Koush's Superuser Root ZIP, the radios installation ZIP, the bootloader installation ZIP, etc.)
2. Put the file(s) you downloaded in step 1 on your phone's internal storage (sdcard).
3. Turn off your phone.
4. Boot into the bootloader of the phone by holding down both volume buttons and the power button simultaneously until you feel a vibration and see a large arrow that says "Start".
5. Use the volume keys to change the arrow until it says "Recovery," then press the power button to boot into recovery.
6. Because of differences in recovery types, I will make the following steps rather generic.
7. Wipe cache.
8. Wipe dalvik cache.
9. If you want to be 100% sure there are no problems, wipe data. If you are coming from another ROM or Android version, wipe data. If you do not wipe data and something goes wrong, repeat this process but wipe data - this step is not necessary if you are simply upgrading.
10. If you are updating your radios, flash FF02_FG02_Radios-signed.zip
11. If you are updating your bootloader, flash PRIMELC03_Bootloader-signed.zip
12. Flash the ROM (baldwinguy77_toro_aosp...signed.zip)
13. If you are rooting, flash Chainfire's SuperSU ZIP file - this step is not necessary if you were rooted on the previous build and are simply upgrading.
14. Reboot your phone, and enjoy!

**Note: If you are simply upgrading to a new version of the ROM and want to keep root, follow the exact instructions above, and do not format /system. It really is not necessary to format /system at any time (unless specifically noted), as the ROM installer has this function built in.

Mods
1. Download the latest version of the mod(s) you wish to install from the download post.
2. Put the file(s) you downloaded in step 1 on your phone's internal storage (sdcard).
3. Turn off your phone.
4. Boot into the bootloader of the phone by holding down both volume buttons and the power button simultaneously until you feel a vibration and see a large arrow that says "Start".
5. Use the volume keys to change the arrow until it says "Recovery," then press the power button to boot into recovery.
6. Because of differences in recovery types, I will make the following steps rather generic.
7. Wipe cache.
8. Wipe dalvik cache.
9. Install the mod(s) you downloaded in step 1.
10. Fix permissions (not really necessary)
11. Reboot and enjoy!
**Note: You can remove all mods you've installed by dirty flashing the latest version of the ROM.

ClockworkMod Recovery (Fastboot method - must have an unlocked bootloader and fastboot in your path)
1. Download either the CWM touch recovery image or non-touch recovery image to your computer and rename it to "recovery.img".
2. Power off your phone.
3. Boot into the bootloader of the phone by holding down both volume buttons and the power button simultaneously until you feel a vibration and see a large arrow that says "Start".
4. Plug your phone into your computer using the standard USB cable.
5. Open the command prompt/terminal and navigate to the folder where your "recovery.img" is saved.
6. Type "fastboot devices" to make sure your phone is recognized; a serial number should show up on the screen.
7. Type "fastboot flash recovery recovery.img" and wait for the process to complete (should be quick).
8. You're done! Use the volume keys to select "Recovery" and boot into your new recovery!

ClockworkMod Recovery (Flashable ZIP method - easier)
If you are updating your recovery before flashing a ROM, these steps should ALL be completed PRIOR to flashing the ROM.
1. Download either the touch recovery flashable ZIP or the non-touch recovery flashable ZIP.
2. Place the ZIP file downloaded in step 1 on your internal storage/sdcard.
3. Turn off your phone.
4. Boot into the bootloader of the phone by holding down both volume buttons and the power button simultaneously until you feel a vibration and see a large arrow that says "Start".
5. Use the volume keys to change the arrow until it says "Recovery," then press the power button to boot into recovery.
6. Choose "Install update from sdcard"
7. Select "Choose file from sdcard"
8. Find the flashable recovery ZIP file you downloaded and install it
9. Back up to the root menu of recovery
10. Select "advanced"
11. Select "reboot recovery"
12. The phone should boot up into your new recovery!

Credits
As with most ROMs, I only did a small part to get everything together. Also, a note that should be made here is that when I am using someone else's file, I ALWAYS host files on the shinyrom server to ensure that I don't put any unnecessary stress on their servers. Any file, however, still belongs to and is accredited to its original creator as listed below:
Willyjay - For providing us with lots of amazing and innovative mods for the ROM! Check out his RootzWiki profile here!
Inmanster - Another great modder who we are fortunate to have here in the thread. He works in collaboration with Willyjay and his mods for many things, but also does some of his own unique mods! Check them out in the download post and check out his RootzWiki profile!
Chainfire - For their SuperSU app and su binary, as well as the convenient ZIP update package, which was previously used and recommended. Check out their website, http://www.chainfire.eu/
Groupers - My new buddy on RootzWiki who helped me out with a GPS issue that popped up in 4.2. Check out his RootzWiki profile!
Google - Without their amazing staff and willingness to share the source code of their operating system, I wouldn't have been able to build this ROM!
Samsung - We all may have some mixed feelings about them, but in the end they gave us the amazing, hackable phone that is the Galaxy Nexus.
RootzWiki - Their extremely innovative and supportive community helps myself as well as hundreds of other developers and thousands of users to thrive, and exemplifies the heart and soul of Android.
Dev-Host - The file-sharing service with virtually no limits on sharing - kudos to them and their hard work. d-h.st
Koush and the ClockworkMod/ROM Manager Team - They make the best recovery that's been around for longest, and their constant updates allow us to keep making ROMs! Also, Koush's recently released open source Superuser control app is the best available and the one linked to in the thread. Thanks Koush! clockworkmod.com
Kevdliu - Huge thanks to this dev and their amazing quick settings mod! Please check out their thread here!
The CyanogenMod Team - For a working implementation of DSPManager on Android which can be ported to any AOSP-based ROM! Without them and Bigwavedave25, the DSP manager mod would not be available! Be sure to thank them and to check out the CyanogenMod website! Also, for their feature-filled version of the stock Messaging app which is available as a mod for my ROM!
bouchigo - a Rootzwiki user who has helped to make the CM10 Messaging app available as a mod for my ROM in conjunction with Willyjay for bringing it to my attention. Check out his Rootz profile and be sure to thank him!
Schoat333 - A Rootzwiki user who helped out Willyjay with the bubble styled MMS mods. The credit for the screenshots to go along with the mods goes to him! Check out his thread and his RW profile, and be sure to thank him!
Yarly - The most experienced RootzWiki admin I've ever had the pleasure of talking with, who taught me some new debugging tricks and answered some of my questions.
Razorloves - Another RootzWiki admin who helped me out with a few problems and answered a lot of my questions!
Tiny4579 - A kernel dev here on RootzWiki who also took the time to talk with me and answer a few of my questions. Be sure to check out his RootzWiki profile and his kernel thread for the GNex!

Thanks to everyone for their hard work and sharing that work with others!

DISCLAIMER
Come on guys, it's a Galaxy Nexus, to what extent could it really get messed up? Nonetheless, in case someone flashes this then puts their phone in the microwave or something and tries to blame it on me, I am not directly responsible for anything that occurs, either negative or positive, from flashing this ROM to your phone. Despite that, I am posting in the spirit of the Android community, a community that I have embraced and belonged to for several years, and I would never try to hurt any of your innocent, beautiful phones.

Okay that's about it! THE ROM DOWNLOAD LINK AND A SUMMARY OF ALL FILE DOWNLOADS CAN BE FOUND BELOW!

Edited by baldwinguy77, Yesterday, 08:49 PM.

Source: http://rootzwiki.com/topic/36706-romaosp4226292013-shiny-ota-like-stock-android-422-jdq39e-no-bugs/

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Alaska: 3 dead in small plane crash near Cantwell (Providence Journal)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/316009175?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Obama says managing Afghanistan exit is a priority

Four people who were on the ground the night of the Benghazi attacks last year are writing a book about their experience, and they're getting a $3 million advance from Twelve Books to do it. The authors are unnamed, according to New York Post's Keith J. Kelly, who describes them as "members of the elite security team from the annex of the US Embassy." That annex, we now know, was the CIA annex, which makes this book deal really fascinating. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-says-managing-afghanistan-exit-priority-111250278.html

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'Dexter' review: take out part of Your Brain and Enjoy

By Tim Molloy

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - The premiere of the final season of "Dexter" finds our favorite serial killer looking for a psychopath who surgically removes parts of his victim's brains.

For the last two seasons, "Dexter" has invited us to remove some of our minds, too. There's plenty of room for shows that don't ask us to think, but "Dexter" wasn't always one of them. Its fourth season was pulp at its best, a Swiss timepiece of a construction that put Dexter up against a brilliantly worthy enemy (John Lithgow) and more than delivered on its sense of menace.

Season 5, which paired Dexter with Julia Stiles as an assault victim seeking vengeance, wasn't as good, but what would have been? The clock didn't really fall apart until the sixth and seventh seasons. The show seemed to lose its way as ridiculous murders and silly subplots bought time until the inevitable end. It took Dexter's sister Deborah (Jennifer Carpenter, pictured) much too long to catch him in the act, and when she did, her response seemed totally out of sync with the Deb we'd come to know and like.

So killer ratings aside, plenty of critics wish Dexter had hung up his knives sooner. Just imagine if Deb had arrested him at the end of Season 5, and then we'd been treated to a season of Dexter trying to do what he does while surrounded by killers on death row. Am I resorting to fan fiction? Yes. But I'm not the first "Dexter" fan to wish it had done something different than it did.

If you've made it this far into the series, nothing I say will stop you from sticking around for this eighth season, premiering Sunday on Showtime, to see how it ends. And you should, even if "Dexter" has turned into one of those shows where some of the fun is heckling. This time around, you'll find things to gripe about, but also some good news.

"Dexter" still takes a lot of the same shortcuts it has for the past two seasons. It's still dragged down by hokey exposition, much of it provided by Dexter (Michael C. Hall) in his monotone and monotonous voiceovers. It still goes for cheap thrills, like the pandering nudity in the premiere. An explanation for Angel taking a career 180 is forced.

But the show also promises to bring Dexter's story full circle. A well-cast Charlotte Rampling joins the show as a serial killer expert whose droll performance all but screams: I know a secret.

By the second episode, written by series vet Manny Coto and directed by Hall, the show even finds its deadpan humor again. Dexter's voiceover is finally put to good use as he examines a fellow killer's house and tries to guess where he keeps his implements. Quinn and Angel have a funny moment involving a quilt. And Rampling's plotline starts to crackle.

After a full season of Deb seeming out of sorts, she finally has a cool arc. She's now working for private detective agency, and deeply resents Dexter for her decision to kill LaGuerta. She's in the midst of one of those "Dexter" spirals, like Quinn's in Season 6, that we suspect will be conveniently short. And she has an assassin pursuing her. Fun.

The second episode also introduces some intriguing ideas about the role of sociopaths in our evolution. I'll be really impressed if "Dexter" finds somewhere to go with those ideas, since lately it's been content to throw them at the wall like so much splatter.

It will take Dexter at his best to take that splatter and find his way to a conclusion. Time is running out, and we need "Dexter" back on its old clock.

The premiere of the final season of "Dexter" airs Sunday at 9/8 c on Showtime.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dexter-review-part-brain-enjoy-004227398.html

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lern2play Resources and Information. This website is for sale!

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Dominican groups reject gay US ambassador nominee

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) ? Religious groups in the Dominican Republic said Friday they are outraged by the nomination of a gay U.S. ambassador to the conservative Caribbean country.

James "Wally" Brewster would be the seventh U.S. ambassador in history to be openly gay, but opponents are asking the administration of Dominican President Danilo Medina to reject his nomination.

Rev. Cristobal Cardozo, leader of the Dominican Evangelical Fraternity, said he worried about the message that Brewster's presence might send.

"It's an insult to good Dominican customs," he said.

Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez, president of the Conference of the Dominican Episcopate, echoed similar sentiments.

"You can expect anything from the U.S.," said Lopez, who is also the archbishop of Santo Domingo.

Meanwhile, Vicar Pablo Cedano criticized the nomination as "a lack of respect, of consideration, that they send us that kind of person as ambassador."

"If he arrives, he'll suffer and will be forced to leave," Cedano warned, without elaborating.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Daniel Foote said in a brief statement to reporters that Brewster was nominated because of his skills as an international businessman and his ideas on democracy and human rights.

"Brewster arrives as an ambassador, he's not coming here as an activist for the gay community," Foote said.

Local gay and lesbian activists condemned the outrage, saying the words of religious officials were filled with hate.

Nominating a gay man as ambassador should be viewed as normal, according to a statement by the umbrella nonprofit LGBT Collective.

The groups' stance "contrasts with the silence maintained by prelates and pastors when it comes to sexual assaults on children," said Leonardo Sanchez, of the nonprofit gay group Friends, Always Friends.

Officials with Medina's administration have declined to comment on the issue.

"It would be in bad taste for the state to comment on this nomination," said Cesar Pina, a judicial consultant to the presidency.

The debate comes as activists prepare for an annual gay pride parade scheduled for Sunday in the capital of Santo Domingo, which has hosted the parade for about a decade.

Brewster is currently a senior managing partner for the Chicago consulting firm SB&K Global. He also was a fundraiser for Obama and an inaugural committee contributor.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dominican-groups-reject-gay-us-ambassador-nominee-220408808.html

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We're live at Microsoft Build 2013 with Windows Phone Central!

Seems like of late not a week passes without some form of event, and this week it's back over to Microsoft with their annual Build developer conference. Microsoft does make some stuff for the Mac and iOS devices, and likewise a lot of iOS users are also Windows users, so there's plenty of interest to look out for. Though, some of us are just hoping for a typically energetic performance from Steve Ballmer.

Our buddies Daniel Rubino and Sam Sabri from Windows Phone Central are on the ground in San Francisco all week covering the event, starting with their liveblog of today's keynote at 9AM PT/12PM ET. You'll find the links you'll want to follow down below.

• Microsoft Build 2013 Keynote Live blog ? 9AM PT/12pm ET
• Microsoft's //build/ 2013 and what we expect to find this week in San Francisco

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/bywZCPNu5aI/story01.htm

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Heart failure tied to higher cancer risk: study

By Genevra Pittman

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with heart failure are also more likely to be diagnosed with cancer, according to a new study that followed older adults with and without heart problems.

The findings don't prove that heart failure, when the heart can't pump enough blood to the rest of the body, causes cancer. Researchers said more studies are needed to determine what might explain the link.

"People have not really considered any association of heart failure and cancer together, at least not developing cancer after diagnosis," said Dr. Adrian Hernandez, a cardiologist at the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.

But Dr. Sudhir Kushwaha, who worked on the study at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said the association makes sense, because a lack of blood and oxygen could create problems in many organs.

"The (heart failure) patient should be aware or alert to any new symptoms that might develop," he told Reuters Health.

Close to six million Americans have heart failure, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms include trouble breathing and fatigue.

For the new study, the researchers matched 961 newly-diagnosed heart failure patients with people of their same age and gender that didn't have the disease.

A similar proportion of those participants - 22 to 23 percent - had already had cancer. There were 596 cancer-free study pairs, who the researchers then followed, starting when participants were an average of 73 years old.

Over the next eight years, 244 people still in the study were diagnosed with cancer, including colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and blood cancers.

After accounting for certain disease risks such as people's weight and whether they smoked, Kushwaha and his colleagues calculated that heart failure patients were 68 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than their heart failure-free pairs.

Although people with heart failure were sicker in general - with more diabetes and high blood pressure, for example - that didn't explain their greater cancer risk, the study team wrote in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Kushwaha's group said there are a few possible explanations for the link, all of which need more study. Certain heart drugs could increase cancer risks, or stress and inflammation from heart failure itself might play a role, as could lack of oxygen.

It's also possible the link can be explained by people with heart failure seeing their primary care doctors more often and thus getting more screening tests, researchers said.

"Sicker people tend to be seen in medical encounters all the time ? they get more lab tests, more people ask them whether they want to be screened," said Dr. Jersey Chen, a cardiology researcher from Kaiser Permanente's Mid-Atlantic Permanente Research Institute in Rockville, Maryland.

"That may explain why the difference seems to be this high," Chen, who wasn't involved in the new research, told Reuters Health.

Kushwaha, however, said that explanation was unlikely - both because the difference in cancer rates took a couple of years to show up, and because people without heart failure still saw their doctors regularly.

According to Hernandez, who didn't participate in the study, the next step will be to follow people with and without heart failure, taking into account exactly how many tests they receive.

Chen agreed that type of data is needed to figure out the underlying association.

"I wouldn't make patients worry about this, that either they have a higher risk of cancer right now or that they should change their medications or treatments," he said.

"I think it's way too preliminary to invite those kinds of clinical changes."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/d1cHYE Journal of the American College of Cardiology, June 25, 2013.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/heart-failure-tied-higher-cancer-risk-study-183547945.html

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Pitch Perfect: Why Our Shoulders Are Key To Throwing

Coach John McCarthy, with Home Run Baseball Camp, talks Harry Kaplan, 12, through a proper pitch at Friendship Recreation Center in Bethesda, Md., in June.

Heather Rousseau/NPR

Coach John McCarthy, with Home Run Baseball Camp, talks Harry Kaplan, 12, through a proper pitch at Friendship Recreation Center in Bethesda, Md., in June.

Heather Rousseau/NPR

The ability to throw a baseball or any object with speed and precision is unique to us humans. And that ability depends on certain features of our anatomy that arose in our ancestors over 2 million years ago, according to a study published in this week's issue of the journal Nature.

It's not that other animals can't throw. But their throws aren't as powerful as ours. Consider our closest relative, the chimp. "An adult chimpanzee can throw only about 20 miles per hour, despite being very athletic," says Neil Roach, an anthropologist at George Washington University and an author of the new study. In comparison, a professional baseball pitcher or cricket bowler can throw a ball at speeds of 90-100 mph.

So, what makes us such good throwers? To answer that question, Roach enlisted 20 athletes at Harvard University, many of them baseball players. He stuck reflective markers on their bodies ? at the shoulder, the elbow, the wrist and the waist ? and filmed the students using 3-D cameras as they threw balls into the distance.

"That allowed us to know how the motion was generated in three dimensions," Roach says. Next, he and his colleagues used mathematical modeling to analyze the individual movements of the parts of the body involved in throwing.

Harry Kaplan practices pitching during Home Run Baseball Camp at Friendship Recreation Center in June. Kaplan's arm is stretched long and toward the ground as his hips are faced away from the pitcher. A chimp, in contrast, could never throw a fastball.

Heather Rousseau/NPR

Harry Kaplan practices pitching during Home Run Baseball Camp at Friendship Recreation Center in June. Kaplan's arm is stretched long and toward the ground as his hips are faced away from the pitcher. A chimp, in contrast, could never throw a fastball.

Heather Rousseau/NPR

Our shoulders, it turns out, are crucial to high-speed throws, Roach says, because they store a lot of elastic energy, thanks to a crisscross of ligaments and tendons.

These bands of connective tissue are thick and short. When a pitcher prepares to throw by cocking his arm, the fibers controlling the shoulder get stretched like an elastic band. When he whips the arm forward to throw, the muscles, ligaments and tendons spring back to their original positions and release their elastic energy ? propelling the ball from his hand. The pitcher's shoulder acts like a slingshot.

Human shoulders are broader than our primate cousins', and our shoulder blades are located along the flat of the upper back, explains Daniel Lieberman, a physical anthropologist at Harvard University and a co-author of the study. The shoulder blades of chimps, on the other hand, are positioned more along the side of the body, he says. "If your shoulders are more vertically oriented ? like in a chimpanzee ? then the muscles can't generate that much power.

"Our earliest ancestors also had chimp-like shoulders," Lieberman says. But evidence from two fossils suggests that may have changed with Homo erectus, a species that lived about 2 million years ago. The fossils Lieberman and his colleagues examined had shoulders resembling a modern-day human's.

Homo erectus shared two more features with humans that Lieberman and his team think crucial to the ability to throw with power: a slender, flexible waist, which allows us to twist the torso in relation to our hips and legs, and a twist in the shape of the humerus, the bone that connects the shoulder to the elbow. These features "evolved bit by bit," Lieberman says, "but they appear all in a package in Homo erectus."

He and his team think the ability to throw also gave this ancestral species an evolutionary advantage. "We don't have fangs. We don't have claws and massive paws," Lieberman notes. Without such built-in weapons, the ability to hurl objects with force and precision must have allowed Homo erectus to become a more efficient hunter.

Barry Zito, of the San Francisco Giants, pitches against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver, in May.

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

"Homo erectus's long limbs and relatively slender body have long suggested to anthropologists that there's something different about this creature," says John Shea, an anthropologist at Stony Brook University who wasn't involved in the study. He notes that previous studies by Lieberman have suggested that Homo erectus was a good runner.

"You put these things together," Shea says, "and you have the primate equivalent of a fighter jet ? something that can run for a long time, and has projectile weapons on board."

Shea thinks those projectile weapons were likely to have been stones of some sort. (The oldest spears go back only about 400,000 years.) Archaeologists often find "hand-grenade-sized stones" along with skeletons from that era, he says. And scientists initially thought the rocks might have been raw materials for stone tools. But in light of the new findings, Shea says, those stones may well have been weapons used by ancient humans to hunt or to chase away another predator from their kill.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/06/27/195188631/pitch-perfect-why-our-shoulders-are-key-to-throwing?ft=1&f=1007

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Publishing executive wins Maxwell Perkins Award

NEW YORK (AP) ? A publishing executive who has helped release books by such acclaimed authors as Jhumpa Lahiri, Jane Smiley and James Salter has won the Maxwell E. Perkins Award for lifetime achievement in fiction.

Robin Desser of Alfred A. Knopf is the latest recipient of a prize named for the editor of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Desser, a vice president and editorial director at Knopf, has worked on a wide range of fiction, from such acclaimed debuts as Sandra Cisneros' "The House On Mango Street" to books by established stars such as Salter and Smiley.

The Perkins award is sponsored by the nonprofit Center for Fiction. Previous winners include Nan A. Talese of Doubleday and Jonathan Galassi of Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/publishing-executive-wins-maxwell-perkins-award-020456658.html

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WWE doctor goes in-depth on diagnosing and treating concussions

WWE Superstars put their bodies on the line in the highly competitive and demanding world of sports-entertainment. Behind the scenes, WWE physician Dr. Chris Amann discusses his role, how injuries like concussions are diagnosed, plus current and future treatments for such injuries in WWE.

WWE.com: Dr. Amann, can you describe your challenging role within WWE? Do you find it difficult to tell an injured Superstar ? regardless of how bad they want to get back into that ring?? that they?re just not ready to step back into action?

Dr. Chris Amann: Not at all. My job as a WWE physician is to make sure that the Superstars are safe and healthy, not only in the short term, but in the long term. In that regard, we are very aggressive in terms of making sure that anybody who has any concussion or post-concussive symptoms not return to the ring until their brain is fully healed.

WWE.com: What is ImPACT Testing and how is it used to manage concussions?

Amann: It?s a test that was developed several years ago by Dr. Joseph Maroon. It measures brain function such as memory, speed and recall. We use it as an extension of our physical exam when we?re trying to determine if someone?s brain function has been affected by a concussion, which is a trauma-induced changed in neurologic status. In WWE, that is usually a result of some sort of head trauma.

WWE.com: Can ImPACT Testing diagnose a concussion?

Amann: It does not diagnose a concussion. A concussion is diagnosed by typical, classic signs and symptoms which will include dizziness, confusion and sometimes memory changes. That?s a definition of a concussion. The ImPACT Test is an extension of our physical exam, in that we use it to help determine someone?s reaction time, memory and brain processing in order to see if they were affected by a concussion.

WWE.com: How does WWE manage concussions?

Amann: We manage concussions as do other professional sports organizations. The latest guidelines out of Zurich, Switzerland, that were created in 2012 in a consensus statement give us the latest guidelines and expert opinion on how to manage concussions. We use ImPACT Testing and we also use exertion testing.

Exertion testing is a process of getting somebody in the situation of their own sports-specific exertion. For example, with a Superstar, we want to get them in the ring, exert them in the ring and have them do moves and activities similar to what their sport is. We want to see if that provokes any symptoms of a concussion, such as headaches, blurred vision or dizziness.

WWE.com: Why is it important to run a Superstar through that before sending him or her back into the ring?

Amann: The ImPACT Test is a good way to try and figure out if someone?s brain functioning has returned to its normal, baseline state. As part of every Superstar?s initial physical examination and history that we do during their pre-contract screening, we do a baseline ImPACT Test. So that if someone does sustain a concussion, we can use the information from their ImPACT Test after their concussion and compare it to their baseline.

The exertion testing is basically to tell us if the brain is ready to go back to activity. In some cases with some Superstars that have suffered concussions recently, they?ve passed their ImPACT Test, however they get symptoms when they get back into the ring. That tells us that the brain just isn?t ready yet for physical activity and that it hasn?t fully recovered yet.

Some media outlets have interpreted our use of exertion testing as something new within the management of concussions. That is not true. We?ve always used exertion testing in addition to physical examination and ImPACT Testing to get an overall picture of whether or not a Superstar is ready to return to the ring.

WWE.com: What is the future of concussion diagnoses and management?

Amann: There are lots of exciting things going on right now. A lot of people are looking at various supplements ? such as fish oil and other antioxidants?? that may be protective to the brain. There are some blood tests being looked at as possible markers for concussions, which would help us diagnose when the brain has undergone a concussion.

WWE.com: Compared to other professional sports, where does WWE rank as far as their concern towards concussions?

Amann: There is an absolute proactive approach taken by both the medical team and the management when it comes to not only concussions, but to other injuries to the Superstars as well. Myself and [WWE physician] Dr. Michael Sampson both use the latest guidelines and latest tests available for helping us manage concussions. We really feel that WWE and the medical staff is at the forefront of concussion management. For example, WWE is?donating $1.2 million to the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy

As the research evolves on concussion diagnosis and management, the WWE medical staff will always be on the forefront of that research and implementing new tools and strategies that are shown to be effective in managing concussions.

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Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/wwe-dr-chris-amann-on-concussions

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Three planets in habitable zone of nearby star: Gliese 667c reexamined

June 25, 2013 ? A team of astronomers has combined new observations of Gliese 667C with existing data from HARPS at ESO's 3.6-metre telescope in Chile, to reveal a system with at least six planets. A record-breaking three of these planets are super-Earths lying in the zone around the star where liquid water could exist, making them possible candidates for the presence of life. This is the first system found with a fully packed habitable zone.

Gliese 667C is a very well-studied star. Just over one third of the mass of the Sun, it is part of a triple star system known as Gliese 667 (also referred to as GJ 667), 22 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion). This is quite close to us -- within the Sun's neighbourhood -- and much closer than the star systems investigated using telescopes such as the planet-hunting Kepler space telescope.

Previous studies of Gliese 667C had found that the star hosts three planets with one of them in the habitable zone. Now, a team of astronomers led by Guillem Anglada-Escud? of the University of G?ttingen, Germany and Mikko Tuomi of the University of Hertfordshire, UK, has reexamined the system. They have added new HARPS observations, along with data from ESO's Very Large Telescope, the W.M. Keck Observatory and the Magellan Telescopes, to the already existing picture [1]. The team has found evidence for up to seven planets around the star [2].

These planets orbit the third fainter star of a triple star system. Viewed from one of these newly found planets the two other suns would look like a pair of very bright stars visible in the daytime and at night they would provide as much illumination as the full Moon. The new planets completely fill up the habitable zone of Gliese 667C, as there are no more stable orbits in which a planet could exist at the right distance to it.

"We knew that the star had three planets from previous studies, so we wanted to see whether there were any more," says Tuomi. "By adding some new observations and revisiting existing data we were able to confirm these three and confidently reveal several more. Finding three low-mass planets in the star's habitable zone is very exciting!"

Three of these planets are confirmed to be super-Earths -- planets more massive than Earth, but less massive than planets like Uranus or Neptune -- that are within their star's habitable zone, a thin shell around a star in which water may be present in liquid form if conditions are right. This is the first time that three such planets have been spotted orbiting in this zone in the same system [3].

"The number of potentially habitable planets in our galaxy is much greater if we can expect to find several of them around each low-mass star -- instead of looking at ten stars to look for a single potentially habitable planet, we now know we can look at just one star and find several of them," adds co-author Rory Barnes (University of Washington, USA).

Compact systems around Sun-like stars have been found to be abundant in the Milky Way. Around such stars, planets orbiting close to the parent star are very hot and are unlikely to be habitable. But this is not true for cooler and dimmer stars such as Gliese 667C. In this case the habitable zone lies entirely within an orbit the size of Mercury's, much closer in than for our Sun. The Gliese 667C system is the first example of a system where such a low-mass star is seen to host several potentially rocky planets in the habitable zone.

The ESO scientist responsible for HARPS, Gaspare Lo Curto, remarks: "This exciting result was largely made possible by the power of HARPS and its associated software and it also underlines the value of the ESO archive. It is very good to also see several independent research groups exploiting this unique instrument and achieving the ultimate precision."

And Anglada-Escud? concludes: "These new results highlight how valuable it can be to re-analyse data in this way and combine results from different teams on different telescopes."

Notes

[1] The team used data from the UVES spectrograph on ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile (to determine the properties of the star accurately), the Carnegie Planet Finder Spectrograph (PFS) at the 6.5-metre Magellan II Telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, the HIRES spectrograph mounted on the Keck 10-metre telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii as well as extensive previous data from HARPS (the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher) at ESO's 3.6-metre telescope in Chile (gathered through the M dwarf programme led by X. Bonfils and M. Mayor 2003-2010.

[2] The team looked at radial velocity data of Gliese 667C, a method often used to hunt for exoplanets. They performed a robust Bayesian statistical analysis to spot the signals of the planets. The first five signals are very confident, while the sixth is tentative, and seventh more tentative still. This system consists of three habitable-zone super-Earths, two hot planets further in, and two cooler planets further out. The planets in the habitable zone and those closer to the star are expected to always have the same side facing the star, so that their day and year will be the same lengths, with one side in perpetual sunshine and the other always night.

[3] In the Solar System Venus orbits close to the inner edge of the habitable zone and Mars close to the outer edge. The precise extent of the habitable zone depends on many factors.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/DpMy_6AWEjY/130625073544.htm

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Zumbl.com Is Like Chatroulette Without The Privates

Remember Chatroulette? That was a good time. Anyway, two IIT Delhi computer science students, Abhishek Gupta and Saurabh Kumar have created a chat system that allows you to find random people based on your interests. Unlike competitors like Omegle, Zumbl.com aims to match people with rooms containing folks who tend to like the same things, be they knitting, self abuse, or sci-fi. Obviously the site is a little quiet right now – the pair have seen about 3,000 users in the past few days – but they’re pretty bullish on the idea: they dropped out of college to enter the Digital Media Zone, Toronto incubator in 2012. “We are going a step further from Facebook Graph Search where we not only give people the ability to search for other people of their choice but also, a way to contact them,” said Gupta. The service focuses on avatars that grow as you use the service. “Our idea of avatars is one of its kind where the avatar of a person evolves on the basis of his/her behavior unlike the conventional marketplaces offered by imvu.com. More precisely, after a conversation the tags that one receives as a part of the feedback from the other users shapes his avatars. This ensures that the avatars add meaningful value to the profiles.” One clever hack they’ve added is a Snake-like game that you play while waiting for people to chat with. It’s a nice time-waster before you waste a little time chatting. The team has raised $20,000 from the CEO of Snapdeal, Kunal Bahl, to help support the 8 member student team and they accepted $20,000 in 2012 from the Digital Media Zone. They are seeing 450,000 messages per day in 15,000 chats, a good number for a site still in alpha. “During my first year at college, someone introduced me to Omegle.com while I was looking for portals to chat with strangers. It required you to talk profanely or switch on your webcam or pretend to be an American girl to strike a conversation. As an experiment, I started working with two friends on a facebook application to let users chat meaningfully,” said Gupta. “Since then, we have pivoted in small ways according to the user feedback, highly inspired by the ideas of a Lean Startup.” Thus far folks have been pretty nice on the site. Because you can up or downvote users and

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/4NS_fqRVYrk/

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AOL Reader beta officially available for your RSS-perusing needs (hands-on)

Wondering how AOL's RSS client will rank as a Google Reader replacement? Today's the day we find out, as the access doors to the AOL Reader beta have officially swung open. Feedly's been killing it for some weeks, and Digg's freemium setup is two days away -- but we couldn't resist getting an early taste of what our parent company (Disclaimer alert!) is cooking. Join us past the break where we've spilled all the details about this latest entrant in the field of feed readers.

Filed under: Internet, Software

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/24/aol-reader-hands-on/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Hemisphere Factor

Natalie Martinez and Josh Carter in Under the Dome

Courtesy of CBS Broadcasting Inc.

The 2009 Stephen King novel Under the Dome concerns a small town abruptly sundered from the rest of America by a transparent hemispherical membrane of seeming supernatural origin. To visualize this, imagine the surface of the Earth as the flat surface of a footed cake plate and the dome as the thingie atop it. Does the phrase Glass Cloche Encounters capture the spirit of the book? Would an invocation of The Simpsons? Trappuccino be more apt? These questions are not rhetorical; really, I?m asking, for in describing the premise of this thousand-page novel, I also have defined the only circumstances under which I would read it.

Sorry, but I haven?t even gotten to The Stand yet, and the pilot episode of Brian K. Vaughan?s television adaptation of Under the Dome (CBS) is a very good advertisement for seeing what else is on TV this Monday at 10 p.m.

The series does itself no favors with an introductory sequence that wanly recalls Twin Peaks as it introduces the characters and their situations. Highly skeptical, eyebrows growling, I witnessed an eerie close-up of a bird on a limb, a bit of music recalling Angelo Badalamenti, a waitress post-coitally slipping into a mint-green diner dress to work a shift at a failing restaurant. ? ?My notes say I saw a corpse wrapped in plastic, but that might just have a figment of hypnotic suggestion, a vision conjured by the other sounds and images?genre-markers saying, ?Welcome to the Superficially Cozy Small Town Harboring Dark Secrets.?

In the novel, this town goes by the name of Chester?s Mill, Maine. In the pilot, the location of Chester?s Mill remains unidentified. The series hints that the town could exist Down East; among the people trapped under the dome are an artsy-fartsy interracial lesbian couple from California, who are passing through town on their way to drop off their surly teenage daughter at summer camp. But the series was shot in North Carolina, with the apparent aim of sucking enough charm out of Wilmington to allow it to pass for a generic Everytown, and the series was cast with a cynical eye for demographic balance, such that it never welcomes the viewer to the state of suspended belief.

Thus has an opportunity been missed. An Under the Dome that crackled with realistic rural Maine flavor?with subtitles to translate the accents and everything?could be a lot of fun. I?m imagining the natives? self-reliance coming in handy as they endure their sci-fi confinement?and also their libertarian streaks clashing with the reflexive attack on civil liberties described in the plot. (On CBS, Breaking Bad?s Dean Norris juicily plays Big Jim Rennie, a selectman who, faster than you can say exigent circumstance, uses the dome crisis to solidify his big-time plans for small-town domination.) And in my version, the characters would include a clutch of Bowdoin sophomores who found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time while heading to Stowe in a 325i.

What we get instead are a plucky Latina sheriff?s deputy, a ruggedly handsome and doggedly mysterious Army vet, a newspaper editor with an investigative background and a Rebekah Brooks tonsure, and a local DJ who may yet develop into an amalgam of Samuel L. Jackson?s Mister Se?or Love Daddy and John Corbett?s Chris Stevens. There?s also a set of unsupervised teenage siblings; when the dome landed, their mother was eating at a chain restaurant in the next town over, and the kids? discussion of that meal occasions a sentence never heretofore uttered in the history of the American language: ?Mom?s having brunch with Uncle Steve at Denny?s.? No one brunches at Denny?s, of course. That would be like domiciling at an EconoLodge.

The dialogue tends in that fashion toward florid improbabilities of vernacular speech. When a small aircraft collides with the dome, one character says to another, ?Call the FAA!?? Reply: ?The feds?!?

Vaughan, writing and directing these lines, is hauling the Stephen King brand into risky territory. The risk is boredom?the half-puzzled, half-irritated sort of boredom elicited by later seasons of Lost. Under the Dome?s showrunner, in addition to writing addictive comic book series, was indeed a producer of late-season Lost, and CBS?s effort to explore current trends in semi-existential speculative fiction is almost charming in its awkwardness. So far, the main philosophical riddle it inspires is: Why don?t these guys try digging their way out?

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/television/2013/06/stephen_king_miniseries_under_the_dome_on_cbs_reviewed.html

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'Singing' rats show hope for older humans with age-related voice problems

June 24, 2013 ? A new study shows that the vocal training of older rats reduces some of the voice problems related to their aging, such as the loss of vocal intensity that accompanies changes in the muscles of the larynx. This is an animal model of a vocal pathology that many humans face as they age. The researchers hope that in the future, voice therapy in aging humans will help improve their quality of life.

The research appears in The Journals of Gerontology.

University of Illinois speech and hearing science professor Aaron Johnson, who led the new study along with his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin, said that aging can cause the muscles of the larynx, the organ that contains the vocal folds, to atrophy. This condition, called presbyphonia, may be treatable with vocal training, he said.

Johnson said in a healthy, young larynx the vocal folds completely close and open during vibration. This creates little puffs of air we hear as sound. In people with presbyphonia, however, the atrophied vocal folds do not close properly, resulting in a gap during vocal fold vibration.

Degradation of the neuromuscular junction, or the interface between the nerve that signals the vocal muscle to work and the muscle itself, also contributes to the symptoms of presbyphonia, Johnson said. In a healthy human, when the signal reaches the neuromuscular junction, it triggers a release of chemicals that signal the muscle to contract. But an age-related decline in the neuromuscular junction can cause weakness and fatigue in the muscle, and may result in a person having a breathy or weak voice and to become fatigued as a result of the extra effort needed to communicate.

Surgery and injections may help correct the gap between the vocal folds seen in presbyphonia, but these invasive procedures are often not viable in the elderly population, Johnson said.

His previous experience working with the elderly as a former classical singer and voice teacher propelled Johnson to "become interested in what we can do as we get older to keep our voices healthy and strong."

"We know exercise strengthens the limb musculature, but we wanted to know if vocal exercise can strengthen the muscles of the voice," Johnson said.

To find out if vocal training could have an effect on the strength and physiology of the vocal muscles in humans, Johnson turned to a rat model. Rats make ultrasonic vocalizations that are above the range of human hearing, but special recording equipment and a computer that lowers the frequency of the rat calls allows humans to perceive them. (They sound a bit like bird calls).

Because rats and humans utilize similar neuromuscular mechanisms to vocalize, the rats make ideal subjects for the study of human vocal characteristics, Johnson said.

Both the treatment and control groups contained old and young male rats. In the treatment group, a female rat was placed into a cage with a male rat. When the male expressed interest in her, the female was removed from the cage, causing the male rat to vocalize. The male was rewarded with food for these vocalizations, and after eight weeks of this operant conditioning in which rewards were only given for certain responses, all of the rats in the treatment group had been trained to increase their number of vocalizations during a training session.

At the end of the eight-week period, the researchers measured the intensity of the rats' vocalizations and analyzed the animals' larynges to see whether the training had any effect on the condition of their neuromuscular junctions.

The researchers found the trained old and young rats had similar average vocal intensities, but the untrained older rats had lower average intensities than both the trained rats and the young rats that had not been trained. They also found several age-related differences within the groups' neuromuscular mechanisms.

"Other research has found that in the elderly, there is a dispersion, or breaking apart, of the neuromuscular junction at the side that is on the muscle itself," Johnson said. "We found that in the older rats that received training, it wasn't as dispersed."

These "singing rats" are the "first evidence that vocal use and vocal training can change the neuromuscular system of the larynx," Johnson said.

"While this isn't a human study, I think this tells us that we can train ourselves to use our voices and not only reduce the effects of age on the muscles of our voices, but actually improve voices that have degraded," Johnson said.

Johnson is also affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at Illinois.

Audio file: Rats like those used in University of Illinois speech and hearing sciences professor Aaron Johnson's study make ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) that are above the range of human hearing, but special recording equipment and a computer that lowers the frequency of the rat calls allows humans to perceive them. As the recording shows, the USVs sound a bit like bird calls. : http://news.illinois.edu/WebsandThumbs/johnson,aaron/rat_vocalizations.mp3

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/rWhIRV-PWjQ/130624141418.htm

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High court sends back Texas race-based plan

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2012 file photo, Abigail Fisher, right, who sued the University of Texas, walks outside the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court has sent a Texas case on race-based college admissions back to a lower court for another look. The court's 7-1 decision Monday leaves unsettled many of the basic questions about the continued use of race as a factor in college admissions. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2012 file photo, Abigail Fisher, right, who sued the University of Texas, walks outside the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court has sent a Texas case on race-based college admissions back to a lower court for another look. The court's 7-1 decision Monday leaves unsettled many of the basic questions about the continued use of race as a factor in college admissions. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

People wait outside the Supreme Court in Washington as key decisions are expected to be announced Monday, June 24, 2013. At the end of the court's term, several major cases are still outstanding that could have widespread political impact on same-sex marriage, voting rights, and affirmative action. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

People wait outside the Supreme Court in Washington as key decisions are expected to be announced Monday, June 24, 2013. At the end of the court's term, several major cases are still outstanding that could have widespread political impact on same-sex marriage, voting rights, and affirmative action. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

People line up in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Monday, June 24, 2013, before it opened for its last scheduled session. The Supreme Court has 11 cases, including the term's highest profile matters, to resolve before the justices take off for summer vacations, teaching assignments and international travel. The court is meeting Monday for its last scheduled session, but will add days until all the cases are disposed of. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Affirmative action in college admissions survived Supreme Court review Monday in a consensus decision that avoided the difficult constitutional issues surrounding a challenge to the University of Texas admission plan.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the court's 7-1 ruling that said a court should approve the use of race as a factor in admissions only after it concludes "that no workable race-neutral alternatives would produce the educational benefits of diversity."

But the decision did not question the underpinnings of affirmative action, which the high court last reaffirmed in 2003.

The justices said the federal appeals court in New Orleans did not apply the highest level of judicial scrutiny when it upheld the Texas plan, which uses race as one among many factors in admitting about a quarter of the university's incoming freshmen. The school gives the bulk of the slots to Texans who are admitted based on their high school class rank, without regard to race.

The high court ordered the appeals court to take another look at the case of Abigail Fisher, a white Texan who was not offered a spot at the university's flagship Austin campus in 2008. Fisher has since received her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the lone dissenter. "In my view, the courts below adhered to this court's pathmarking decisions and there is no need for a second look," Ginsburg said in a dissent she read aloud.

Justice Clarence Thomas, alone on the court, said he would have overturned the high court's 2003 ruling, though he went along with Monday's outcome.

Justice Elena Kagan stayed out of the case, presumably because she had some contact with it at an earlier stage when she worked in the Justice Department.

Kennedy said that courts must determine that the use of race is necessary to achieve the educational benefits of diversity, the Supreme Court's standard for affirmative action in education since 1978. The high court most recently reaffirmed the constitutionality of affirmative action in Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003, a case involving the University of Michigan.

"As the Court said in Grutter, it remains at all times the university's obligation to demonstrate, and the judiciary's obligation to determine, that admissions processes 'ensure that each applicant is evaluated as an individual and not in a way that makes an applicant's race or ethnicity the defining feature of his or her application,'" Kennedy said.

University of Texas president Bill Powers said the university plans no immediate changes in its admissions policies as a result of Monday's ruling and will continue to defend them in the courts.

"We remain committed to assembling a student body at the University of Texas at Austin that provides the educational benefits of diversity on campus while respecting the rights of all students and acting within the constitutional framework established by the court," Powers said.

But Edward Blum, who helped engineer Fisher's challenge, said it is unlikely that the Texas plan and many other college plans can long survive. "The Supreme Court has established exceptionally high hurdles for the University of Texas and other universities and colleges to overcome if they intend to continue using race preferences in their admissions policies, said Blum, director of The Project on Fair Representation in Alexandria, Va.

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton said the court "ducked" the big issues in the case. While he would have preferred that the justices affirm the use of race in college admissions, "a duck is better than a no, but not as good as a yes," Sharpton said. Sharpton, along with Martin Luther King III, was leading a National Press Club news conference announcing initial plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the march on Washington.

Retired Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and John Paul Stevens, both members of the majority in the Grutter case, were in the courtroom Monday for the Texas decision.

The challenge to the Texas plan gained traction in part because the makeup of the court has changed since the last time the justices ruled on affirmative action in higher education in 2003. Then, O'Connor wrote the majority opinion that held that colleges and universities can use race in their quest for diverse student bodies.

O'Connor retired in 2006, and her replacement, Justice Samuel Alito, has shown himself to be more skeptical of considerations of race in education.

Texas automatically offers about three-quarters of its spots to high school graduates based on their class rank as part of what was called the "top 10 percent" plan under a 1990s state law signed by then-Gov. George W. Bush. Since then the admissions program has been changed so that now only the top 8 percent gain automatic admission.

Race is a factor in filling out the rest of the incoming class. More than 8 in 10 African-American and Latino students who enrolled at the flagship campus in Austin in 2011 were automatically admitted, according to university statistics.

In all, black and Hispanic students made up more than a quarter of the incoming freshmen class. White students constituted less than half the entering class when students with Asian backgrounds and other minorities were added in.

The university said the extra measure of diversity it gets from the slots outside automatic admission is crucial because too many of its classrooms have only token minority representation, at best. At the same time, Texas argued that race is one of many factors considered and that whether race played the key role in any applicant's case was impossible to tell.

The Obama administration, roughly half of the Fortune 100 companies and large numbers of public and private colleges that feared a broad ruling against affirmative action backed the Texas program. Among the benefits of affirmative action, the administration said, is that it creates a pipeline for a diverse officer corps that it called "essential to the military's operational readiness." In 2003, the court cited the importance of a similar message from military leaders.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-24-Supreme%20Court-Affirmative%20Action/id-7d3818e843964ee0888ff6afa512ffda

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