Moderate doses of alcohol increase social bonding in groups

ScienceDaily (June 29, 2012) ? A new study led by University of Pittsburgh researchers reveals that moderate amounts of alcohol -- consumed in a social setting -- can enhance positive emotions and social bonding and relieve negative emotions among those drinking.

While it is usually taken for granted that people drink to reduce stress and enhance positive feelings, many studies have shown that alcohol consumption has an opposite effect. In a new paper titled "Alcohol and Group Formation: A Multimodal Investigation of the Effects of Alcohol on Emotion and Social Bonding," research shows that moderate doses of alcohol have a powerful effect on both male and female social drinkers when they are in a group.

The paper is published online in Psychological Science.

According to the researchers, previous alcohol studies testing the impact of alcohol on emotions involved social drinkers consuming alcohol in isolation rather than in groups.

"Those studies may have failed to create realistic conditions for studying this highly social drug," said Michael A. Sayette, lead author and professor of psychology in Pitt's Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. "We felt that many of the most significant effects of alcohol would more likely be revealed in an experiment using a social setting."

Sayette and his colleagues assembled various small groups using 720 male and female participants, a larger sample than in previous alcohol studies. Researchers assessed individual and group interactions using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) and the Grouptalk model for speech behavior.

They concluded that alcohol stimulates social bonding, increases the amount of time people spend talking to one another, and reduces displays of negative emotions. According to Sayette, the paper introduces into the alcohol literature new measures of facial expression and speech behavior that offer a sensitive and comprehensive assessment of social bonding.

Sayette and eight colleagues took special care in the methods they employed to form the groups. Each participant was randomly assigned to a group of three unacquainted "strangers." Each group was instructed to drink an alcoholic beverage, a placebo, or a nonalcoholic control beverage. Twenty groups representing each gender composition (three males; one female and two males; two males and one female; and three females) were assigned to the three different beverage scenarios. Group members sat around a circular table and consumed three drinks over a 36-minute time span. Each session was video recorded, and the duration and sequence of the participants' facial and speech behaviors were systematically coded frame by frame.

Results showed that alcohol not only increased the frequency of "true" smiles, but also enhanced the coordination of these smiles. In other words, alcohol enhanced the likelihood of "golden moments," with groups provided alcohol being more likely than those offered nonalcoholic beverages to have all three group members smile simultaneously. Participants in alcohol-drinking groups also likely reported greater social bonding than did the nonalcohol-drinking groups and were more likely to have all three members stay involved in the discussion.

"By demonstrating the sensitivity of our group formation paradigm for studying the rewarding effects of alcohol," said Sayette, "we can begin to ask questions of great interest to alcohol researchers -- Why does alcohol make us feel better in group settings? Is there evidence to suggest a particular participant may be vulnerable to developing a problem with alcohol?"

The new research sets the stage for evaluation of potential associations between socioemotional responses to alcohol and individual differences in personality, family history of alcoholism, and genetic vulnerability.

Additional Pitt researchers on the project were Pitt graduate students in psychology Kasey Creswell, John Dimoff, and Catharine Fairbairn and professors of psychology Jeffrey Cohn, John Levine, and Richard Moreland. Other researchers included Bryan Heckman, a graduate student in psychology at the University of South Florida, and Thomas Kirchner, a research investigator at the Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies.

The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

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Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120629211854.htm

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Unsolved Mysteries of Copyright Law, 1963 Edition : Marquette ...

I recently came across an interesting cluster of similar statements from copyright decisions in the late 1950s and early 1960s, which struck me as significant:

It is a curious fact that although the Copyright Law has remained without relevant change since 1909 this case should present a question both basic and novel. Does either the Copyright Act or the common law provide copyright owners with a remedy against non-manufacturing sellers of unauthorized phonograph recordings of copyrighted songs?

Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. v. Goody, 248 F.2d 260, 262 (2d Cir. 1957).

The question is whether an unpaid manufacturer of copyrighted goods, which are alleged to be defective by the copyright proprietor who has ordered them, may sell them in satisfaction of his claim for the contract price without infringing the ?exclusive right? of the proprietor to ?publish * * * and vend the copyrighted work,? 17 U.S.C. ? 1(a); there is a related question as to the rights of persons who have already purchased some of the goods from the manufacturer. It seems exceedingly strange that these questions should arise for the first as is apparently the case, one hundred and seventy-three years after the initial grant of copyright protection by Congress, 1 Stat. 124 (1790), and two hundred and fifty-four after the Statute of Anne, 8 Anne, c. 19 (1709). Whether the lack of precedent is attributable to an unusually high standard of dealing, and of solvency, on the part of copyright proprietors and those manufacturing for them, or to an unaccustomed and unexpressed previous consensus in the profession as to the applicable rule of law, it is none the less remarkable.

Platt & Munk Co. v. Republic Graphics, Inc., 315 F.2d 847, 849 (2d Cir. 1963).

This action for copyright infringement presents us with a picture all too familiar in copyright litigation: a legal problem vexing in its difficulty, a dearth or squarely applicable precedents, a business setting so common that the dearth of precedents seems inexplicable, and an almost complete absence of guidance from the terms of the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. ? 1 et seq.

Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. v. H. L. Green Co., 316 F.2d 304, 305 (2d Cir. 1963).

These are opinions by three different Second Circuit judges, in order, Hincks, Friendly, and Kaufman. They deal with separate issues, but they?re all related in a way ? they all deal with the liabilities of ancillary parties to some sort of infringement. And in all three the judges express surprise that these questions haven?t been litigated to death, or resolved by statute, or both, already.

This surprise requires two conditions. First, that the answers had not in fact been arrived at. That much seems clear; law on indirect liability of any sort is sparse before 1963 ? Shapiro, Bernstein v. H.L. Green is the famous case that announced the modern standard of vicarious liability in copyright law ? and explanation or analysis of the basis for that liability is sparser still. There only a handful of cases from the 1920s through the 1940s, most of which are the ?dance hall cases.? The case law more or less originates with Kalem v. Harper in the Supreme Court in 1911, and Gross v. Van Dyk Gravure Co., a 1916 Second Circuit decision. Both opinions essentially infer the existence of indirect liability from the general nature of law. Kalem: ?The defendant not only expected but invoked by advertisement the use of its films for dramatic reproduction of the story. . . . It is liable on principles recognized in every part of the law.? Gross: ?Why all who unite in an infringement are not, under the statute, liable for the damages sustained by plaintiff, we are unable to see.?

The second condition is the judges? beliefs that questions of indirect liability frequently arise and therefore should have been resolved long before the late 1950s. This is a bit more opaque: why did Judges Hincks, Friendly, and Kaufman (and presumably the other members of their panels: Lumbard, Waterman, Thurgood Marshall, and SDNY Judge Weinfeld) all believe that these questions were not novel and should have been resolved long ago? Two cases dealt with sound recordings and one with educational toys or puzzles, but the particular facts of these industries do not seem to be the only issue, because similar questions had arisen in the book publishing industry: Drone?s 1879 treatise discusses the liability of sellers of books who were not involved in writing or publishing them.

My guess is that something shifted in the selection of enforcement targets in the 1950s. We tend to think of the pursuit of intermediaries and secondary actors as a modern response to the Internet?s effect on direct infringement, but perhaps something similar occurred in the mid-1950s to mid-1960s ? the post-war boom era that featured a dramatic expansion in both the middle class and mass consumer culture, but also, perhaps, declining costs in manufacturing certain sorts of copyrightable materials on a large scale. The manufacturing defendant in Goody, Joseph Krug, recorded a radio broadcast of the Glenn Miller Orchestra during World War II and pressed and sold his own records. He does not seem to have been associated with any larger enterprise, and the opinion says little more about him other than that he settled. In Platt & Munk, the main defendant was the manufacturer of the puzzles and activity books under contract with Platt & Munk, who then attempted to mitigate its losses when its goods were rejected as nonconforming. Again, the facts are unclear, but it seems likely the manufacturer, Republic Graphics, was a small and recent entry to the game book/puzzle publishing market, with a lack of repeat play between the two.

In Shapiro Bernstein v. H.L. Green, copyright professors always focus on H.L. Green, the department store. The directly infringing entity was Jalen Amusement Co., about which the opinion says little. Jalen is still around, but apparently not in the record-selling business any more. But this news article makes clear that Jalen was the leading edge of a shift in the industry ? it was, according to the stepson of one of its founders, a pioneer in record retailing:

?We were always told he opened the first record store in America. When he was 18 ? I have a picture of him smoking a cigar at 18! ? he and his partner made a deal with the guy who owned the Woolworth?s store in Baltimore.?

Records had always been sold at radio stores; Jones? stepfather aimed to sell 78s at a freestanding concession within Woolworth?s. He ended up opening about 100 locations at five-and-dimes from Canada to Florida, supplying them out of a warehouse in Baltimore. (He ultimately sold his concessions to ABC Records and started a chain of ?Seasons Four? record, card and novelty shops at shopping centers and strip malls.) Shortly after his family moved to Pikesville, Apple Records gave his parents a trip around the world for selling the most copies of the Beatles album ?Let It Be.?

There?s a lot to explore here. Why did Jalen open ?concessions? at Woolworth?s and H.L. Green rather than its own stores? Was it common for department stores to rent out space like that? What led the major department stores to enter the record retail business in that fashion? And, if Jalen got resistance from the major record labels (which it appears it did), where did it get its records from?

On that last point it appears that Jalen not only purchased records from small, and in some cases disreputable, record presses, but also it owned a few labels of its own, such as evidently Deresco Records and Worthmore Records. This may be the basis for the court?s statement that Jalen ?manufactured? the bootleg records at issue.

Something seems to have happened in the late ?50s that suddenly made it attractive for a small player like Jalen to open a chain of stores dedicated solely to the sale of records, moving them out of radio stores. This apparently had not been profitable in the 1930s or 1940s. Again, I can only guess, but my guess would be stereo equipment. A large number of middle class families coming out of the Depression and war years flush with cash are going to spend it, and one thing they might spend it on is home entertainment. Like performances, that requires copyright owners to have legal rights over the point of sale if they are going to able to effectively trade content for money. But control over those points of sale, at least in the record industry, appears to be ebbing in the 1950s. (Somewhat like the perpetual rise of the middle class, it may be difficult to find an era in which music copyrights are free from disruption.) Something similar is occurring for television and non-traditional publishers like Platt & Munk; in the 1970s, the film industry will suddenly discover a home market opening up as well. But when courts turn to the law for doctrine to help them resolve these disputes, there isn?t any.

This is in sharp contrast to more well-developed areas of the law, like torts, where the rise of complex causal chains created by industrialization and the emergence of a national market led to the development and refinement of concepts like negligence and products liability. Negligence famously shed its categorical all or nothing approaches from the 19th century in favor of a balancing approach in the First Restatement of Torts, balancing not only the plaintiff?s negligence against the defendant?s, but also the foreseeability of the harm and ? crucially ? the costs of avoiding it. Courts in copyright cases looked back to a series of intellectual property cases that stretched into the late nineteenth century, that concerned intentional rather than negligent collaborations, and that did not consider the costs of precautions at all. That last omission has wreaked untold havoc in copyright law, up through and including Viacom v. YouTube.

Cross-posted at Madisonian.net.

Source: http://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2012/06/29/unsolved-mysteries-of-copyright-law-1963-edition/

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Seattle's new landmark Great Wheel opening on waterfront

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Seattle's latest tourist landmark, a 17-story Ferris wheel billed as the tallest to go into year-round operation in the United States, opened to the public on Friday, giving riders a new panoramic view of the city and its environs.

The towering, white "Great Wheel" features 42 enclosed gondolas with space for up to 252 passengers total. The 175-foot-tall (53-metre-tall) wheel cost $20 million and was constructed as part of a private-sector initiative to revitalize Seattle's waterfront.

While the 212-foot-high (66-metre-high) Texas Star is taller, it only operates during the annual State Fair of Texas in Dallas.

Seattle's new wheel "is like a baby London Eye," said 32-year-old co-owner Kyle Griffith, referring to London's famed 443-foot-high (135-meter-high) wheel along the Thames River.

The London Eye is Europe's tallest Ferris wheel. The tallest in the world, Singapore's 541-foot (165-metre) Singapore Flyer, is more than twice as high as Seattle's newest attraction.

The Great Wheel was designed to draw visitors to the Pacific Northwest city's gritty waterfront, often framed by fog and drizzle, amid worries that a traffic-clogging construction project underway nearby would keep tourists away.

That project, a $3.1 billion, 1.7-mile (2.7-km) deep-bore tunnel, is being built to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, an elevated 1950s-era north-south artery. The new tunnel is scheduled to open between late 2015 and early 2016.

"Our whole idea was to create an attraction that was a neat thing to make people want to come down to the waterfront," said Griffith, vice president of Great Western Pacific Inc.

The wheel opened to the public after an afternoon ceremony attended by about 1,000 invited guests, including Mayor Mike McGinn and family of the developers.

The University of Washington's Husky Marching Band played for the crowd, and its musicians were among the first to ride the attraction.

"It's the bling that Seattle needed," said Patty Chasman, 60, after taking her first ride.

Said Anna Lynn Heine, 12, "I could see everything."

'ICON DU JOUR'

Seattle's wheel weighs more than 280,000 pounds (127 tonnes)and extends 40 feet over Puget Sound's Elliott Bay at Pier 57.

The pier has a storied history. A Japanese freighter docked at the location in 1896, opening trade between Seattle and Asia.

A year later, the steamship Portland arrived, bearing a "ton of gold" from northwest Canada's Klondike, thus launching an Alaska Gold Rush, as Pier 57 lore would have it.

Each enclosed gondola on the wheel is equipped with heating and air-conditioning and seats six passengers for the 12-minute, three-spin ride.

One car features a glass floor and red leather seats, and will host special-occasion dinners and cocktails, Griffith said.

Tourism officials hope the Great Wheel will lure some of Seattle's 9.9 million annual overnight visitors to its central waterfront, a 1.5-mile (2.4-km) walk from the Space Needle, the city's most famous attraction.

Globally, high-tech wheel rides are undergoing a resurgence after being out of vogue for 30 years, analyst Dennis Speigel, president of Ohio-based International Theme Park Services Inc, told Reuters.

"Wheels are now the 'icon du jour,'" Speigel said.

On Staten Island, New York, plans are in the works for a 600-foot-tall (183-metre-tall) "observation wheel" to become the world's tallest.

Two new wheels also are under discussion in Las Vegas, Speigel said. Developers broke ground on one, a 500-foot-tall (152-metre-tall) wheel in March 2011 across from the Mandalay Bay resort and casino.

Another opened in South Carolina's Myrtle Beach last year.

"Overseas, they're all getting taller and taller. In the next 10 years we'll see a 1,000-foot-high (300-metre-high) wheel," Speigel said.

(Editing by Mary Slosson, Steve Gorman and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/seattles-landmark-great-wheel-opening-waterfront-044034658.html

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On 7/11: Five Steps for a Successful Business Presentation | The ...

If you want to learn how to effectively communicate with your customers, then attend this month?s Channel Expert Hour on July 11 at 11am PT/2pm ET with Joe Panettieri (editorial director of MSPmentor, The VAR Guy, Talkin? Cloud) and Paul Glen, award-winning author and Computerworld columnist.

Paul will discuss:

• 5 Critical Steps for a Successful Presentation
• 3 Questions to Ask Yourself Prior to Presenting
• How to Foster Understanding and Retention with Your Customers

Joe will weigh in with your questions. Find out how to be a pro at presenting to gain new customers and expand business with your existing ones!

Click here to register now.

?

Read More About This Topic

• Related posts are coming soon

Source: http://www.thevarguy.com/2012/06/29/on-711-5-steps-for-a-successful-business-presentation/

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US plans bid to retrieve Arab dictators' assets

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[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-plans-bid-retrieve-arab-dictators-assets-225024883.html

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100,000 Jobs Mission in Chicago Seeks Veterans - IDES and IDVA Partner to Put Veterans to Work;Pre-Registration is Encouraged for Best Service, Results

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=2&RecNum=10340

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Mark Fecteau named new CEO of Westinghouse Electric Japan

Mark Fecteau has been appointed the new president and CEO of Westinghouse Electric Japan.

Fectau will replace Jack Allen, who spearheaded the initiative to form Westinghouse Electric Japan in 2009. Allen will continue to serve in his role as president of the company?s Asia region.

Fectau also will replace Allen as a member of the WEJ board of directors.

"The appointment of Mr. Fecteau will allow Westinghouse to increase management focus on the Japanese market and strengthen other customer connections within the Asia Region," said Allen in a statement.

Previously, Fectau served as vice president of operations for WEJ. He also served as vice president, Asian Strategy.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vertical_16/~3/XFM7-wqBXr8/mark-fecteau-named-new-ceo-of.html

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We are descended from bark chewers, 2 million-year-old fossil reveals (+video)

By analyzing teeth and carbon remains from isotopes from fossil specimen Australopithecus sediba, German scientists discovered early humanity chewed bark.

By Charles Choi, LiveScience Contributor,?LiveScience / June 27, 2012

The teeth of what may be humanity's immediate ancestor, Australopithecus sediba (skull from a male juvenile shown here), revealed the species likely lived off a woodland diet rather than the grasses of an open savanna.

Lee Berger

Enlarge

The immediate ancestor of the human lineage may have lived off a woodland diet of leaves, fruits and bark instead of a menu based on the open savanna as other extinct relatives of humanity did, researchers say.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "off"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // --> A study published in today's issue of the journal Nature reveals that Australopithecus sediba, an ape-like creature with human features living in a region about 50 miles northwest of today's Johannesburg, exclusively consumed fruits, leaves and other forest-based foods, even though its habitat was near grassy savanna with its rich variety of savory sedges, tasty tubers and even juicy animals. Video from Johns Hopkins University.

Food was a major environmental force that shaped the human lineage ? perhaps influencing key moments such as when humans' ancestors started walking upright ? and these new findings help reveal the complex evolutionary paths these ancestors took in response to the world around them, the scientists add.

The findings are based on fossils of the extinct hominin Australopithecus sediba that were accidentally discovered in 2008 by the 9-year-old son of a scientist in the remains of a cave in South Africa. The fossils were 2 million years old.

A hominin is the lineage that includes humans and their relatives after they split from those of chimpanzees. ?Australopithecus means "southern ape" and is a group that includes the iconic fossil Lucy, while sediba means "wellspring" in the South African language Sotho. This hominin's mix of human and primitive traits has made a strong case for it being the immediate ancestor of the human lineage. [Image Gallery: Our Closest Human Ancestor]

Chimpanzees, humans' closest living relatives, prefer fruits and leaves even when grasses are abundant. By contrast, extinct species of humans and australopiths apparently preferred diets richer in grasses or grass-eating animals.

Scientists can gauge what our ancient relatives might have eaten by looking at their teeth, particularly the marks and remnants left on them by food. They also can look at the carbon isotopes making up fossils; the grasses that dominate savannas engage a kind of photosynthesis that involves both normal carbon-12 and heavier carbon-13, while trees and shrubs rely on a kind of photosynthesis that prefers carbon-12.

By analyzing two fossil specimens, researchers found that the diet of Au. sediba apparently differed substantially from those of most other extinct species of hominins studied to date.

Carbon isotopes from the remains suggest Au. sediba ate nearly completely woodland diets, comparable to forest specialists such as giraffes. In addition, tiny fragments of a diverse range of plant tissues, including bark and wood, were found in the teeth of one of the individuals.

"There is more variety in our past than we expected," said researcher Amanda Henry, a paleoanthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. "We're seeing more variation among the diets and behaviors of early hominins than we'd previously seen."

The findings suggest "there wasn't a single, straight line from an early, primitive hominin to us," Henry told LiveScience. "Many of our ancestors and relatives branched out, tried new things and generally worked at doing what was best in their environment at that particular time."

Henry and her colleagues are now looking for remnants of food stuck in the teeth of other extinct hominins. They detailed their findings online June 27 in the journal Nature.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?& Google+.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/uXTeSylqIbU/We-are-descended-from-bark-chewers-2-million-year-old-fossil-reveals-video

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HP plans to hold off on building ARM-based Windows tablets, focus on x86 instead

Whether it's put off by Microsoft's own push into tablets with Surface or just taking a wait-and-see approach, HP has now confirmed that it won't be among those offering ARM-based Windows 8 (or RT) hardware when the OS makes its long-awaited debut later this year. That possibility was first reported by SemiAccurate earlier today and has now been backed up by Bloomberg, which has the official word straight from HP spokesperson Marlene Somsak. She noted that HP will instead be focusing solely on x86-based devices, a decision that she says was "influenced by input from our customers," adding that the "robust and established ecosystem of x86 applications provides the best customer experience at this time and in the immediate future." What's more, Somsak went on to say that HP's first Windows 8 tablet will focus on the business market, which certainly lines up with the leaked device pictured above that surfaced a few months back.

HP plans to hold off on building ARM-based Windows tablets, focus on x86 instead originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/8dz49JMdZnw/

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Texas' health care decisions pending after ruling

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Texas leaders were left licking their wounds and weighing their options Thursday after a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding most of President Barack Obama's historic health care overhaul.

Gov. Rick Perry called the ruling a "stomach punch to the American economy," while state Attorney General Greg Abbott interpreted it as somewhat of a victory for states' rights. In the aftermath, it's unclear how Texas will address the creation of insurance markets, or whether the state will expand Medicaid after the ruling stated the federal government can't withhold states' entire Medicaid allotment if they don't expand the program.

Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said the governor's office will work with Abbott and the appropriate state agencies to determine the effects of the court's decision. The governor gave few specifics, but did blast the ruling, saying that "freedom is under assault."

"I kind of feel like I'm watching that old movie 'The Godfather' and the American people looked the Godfather in the face and he said, 'I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse,'" Perry said on Fox News Channel. "And that offer is, 'You're going to buy my insurance, and if you don't, I'm going to tax you.' That is just unconscionable."

About 6.2 million Texans ? a quarter of the state's population ? are uninsured.

The state estimates about 2 million people would have been added to the Texas Medicaid rolls in the first two years under a Medicaid expansion. But with the Supreme Court giving Texas the leeway to hold off on that expansion without losing federal funds, the decision on whether to do so will be decided when the Legislature convenes in January.

"The state is going to have to consider several options. One is whether or not they want to expand the state Medicaid system consistent with the parameters set out in Obamacare, or if the state wants to exempt itself from that expansion," Abbott said on a conference call from Washington. "That will be a policy decision for the policymakers in Austin to make."

Texas Health and Human Services estimated that the Medicaid expansion would cost the state $27 billion in the first 10 years.

Agency Commissioner Tom Suehs said he is pleased the court gave states the choice not to expand Medicaid, saying the law "put states in the no-win situation of losing all their Medicaid funding or expanding their programs knowing that they would face billions of dollars in extra costs down the road."

Erin Daly, spokeswoman for Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, said the speaker has charged the House Committees on Insurance and Public Health with monitoring implementation of the law, which will guide legislators' work once they are back in session next year.

Texas was one of more than two dozen states that sued, claiming Congress did not have the authority to enact the health care overhaul.

The attorney general said Texas was planning further legal action to stop the health care law. But health care advocates said it was time for the state to move toward implementing the changes called for in the act.

"Starting today, there's no real excuse for dragging your feet," said Bee Moorhead, executive director of Texas Impact, a statewide religious grassroots network with a focus that has included health care for all people. "It's time to go ahead and roll up your sleeves and get to work and stop thinking up a way to circumvent this ruling."

Texas has not yet implemented the exchange where individuals and small businesses can shop for private coverage from a range of competing insurers. States face Nov. 16 deadline to submit a plan to the federal government for an exchange. The federal government will implement the system by 2014 if Texas doesn't comply in time.

Abbott said a decision on creating an insurance market will be "hammered out in the coming weeks and months."

He said that even though the court's ruling went against Texas, it was still a victory for individual liberty and states' rights.

He said that "despite the outcome of this case, the federal government is more restrained than it was yesterday," noting that the court sided with Texas and other states that filed lawsuits claiming the law violated congressional powers under the federal Commerce Clause. But Abbott acknowledged losing the case because of the court's "novel application" of federal taxation authority.

Chief Justice John Roberts cast the deciding vote, and Abbott said that, upon close examination of dissenting Justice Anthony Kennedy's opinion, "it looks as though Chief Justice Roberts may have seemingly engaged in some judicial activism as opposed to strict construction in order to reach a result."

Roberts was "quite literally reaching to uphold the validity of the law," the attorney general said.

___

Stengle reported from Dallas.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-health-care-decisions-pending-ruling-124651085--finance.html

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Halogen Light Bulbs Are Better Power Ef ... - IdeaMarketers.com

What particularly is a normal light bulb, also referred to as an incandescent light bulb, and a halogen lamp? Well, here follows a small description of both.

The light bulbs seen in regular households are generally known as the Incandescent bulbs. But they are regarded as electricity stealers in comparison to alternative light source choices, for the reason that just about a tenth of the electricity taken in in fact will become light, and then the remainder of that power is wasted. They typically work for about 750 to 1000 hours of usage, so, it is not effective.

The incandescent light bulbs are made from a reasonably large and thin frosted glass envelope. On the inside of the glass is a gas identified as argon and/or nitrogen. In the core of the light you will discover something called the tungsten filament. What happens is that the energy heats up the filament. And like any metal that becomes hot, the tungsten becomes white hot and then that heat sends out a great deal of light. Because the tungsten inside the filament slowly disappears and deposits within the glass bulb it will carry electric power until finally it is actually too thin and so the bulb will definitely burn out.

A halogen light bulb functions fundamentally the same as an incandescent light bulb. The reason behind this is that any halogen light bulb also makes use of a tungsten filament; the only difference is that it is encased in a smaller quartz cover. If the cover for the filament were being manufactured from glass it would certainly have burned, since it is so close to the filament.

The gas that is used in these bulbs is a gas belonging to the halogen group. The property of these gases is extremely interesting and they are simply mixed with tungsten vapor. The moment the temperatures are effectively high, the halogen gas will blend with the tungsten atoms when they disappear and then redeposit them on the filament. This procedure of recycling makes it possible for the filament to work for a whole lot longer.

The possibility is there to run the filament of the halogen bulb hotter, meaning that it should create more light per unit of power. Considering that the quartz cover is very near to the filament it makes it extremely hot compared to a regular bulb. Although there is an increase of heat, the halogen light bulb consumes 25 percent less energy.

However, there exists a new class of halogen bulbs that has been recently developed. They make use of a particular infrared covering to redirect infrared light back toward the tungsten filament, which in turn reduces the wasted heat and improves efficiency by up to 30 percent in comparison to a standard incandescent bulb.

For a wider variety of bulbs, including Fluorescent, LED and Energy Efficient light bulbs as well as Halogen bulbs go and have a evaluate http://www.microlamp.com. These days you are able to buy just about anything over the internet, even light bulbs, so why not make use of this opportunity.

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Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner: Health Care Lives! Long Live Health Care!

I sat on the edge of my seat, with butterflies in my stomach, waiting this morning for the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act.

Why?

I, like millions of other moms, have family members with pre-existing conditions who've already been helped by the consumer protections in the Affordable Care Act. And the very idea of health reform being rolled back and that those I love dearly again being at the mercy of insurance companies that could cancel their health policies just when they need them most, or deny coverage completely due to pre-existing conditions, has been keeping me awake at night.

In short: The Supreme Court ruling today had me doing a happy dance of relief. And I'm not alone. At my organization, MomsRising, we've heard from thousands upon thousands of moms across the country about how the Affordable Care Act has already made a critical difference in their lives.

Moms like Julie Walters, whose 5-year-old daughter has a rare health condition and was facing a lifetime limit to her health coverage before the Affordable Care Act was passed:

"I'm so overjoyed and relieved! I will be able to sleep soundly for the first time in months now knowing that the Supreme Court won't allow the insurance industry to put a cap on my daughter's health care or punish her for a pre-existing condition that is no fault of her own."

And, moms like Tracy Heiman, who wrote to us with this after the passage of health reform:

"With the passing of reform, I have relief that my son until the age of 19 will not be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition. I have relief that my son will not have to face an annual or lifetime limit for his care. I have relief that my son can stay on our health insurance plan until the age of 26. Our insurance company cannot drop us from the plan when we need insurance the most."

"There may not be a cure for my son's sarcoma at this time, and this fact weighs heavily for our family. But knowing that health care insurance, because of reform, has been improved and a safety net has been put into place, we can have some peace."

Tracy and Julie are also not alone in their relief today. Their children are among the one out of two Americans who have a pre-existing condition who will be/would have been protected from denials of coverage by the Affordable Care Act

Indeed, The Affordable Care Act has improved the lives and health of millions. So far, because of health reform:

? 86 million Americans have been able to get important preventive care including well checks, vaccines, and cancer screenings that help reduce health care costs down the line.

? Approximately 3.1 million young adults are no longer uninsured because they now have the option of staying on their parents' health plans -- giving this generation a chance to get a healthy start to their adult life.

? Approximately 5 million children with pre-existing conditions are not facing a lifetime of insurance denials and reaching a lifetime limit of medical care.

At MomsRising, we've heard from thousands of moms and dads across the country who are sleeping better at night because they know their families can get the health care they need.

The Affordable Care Act also has made it possible for women to get the preventive care they need by requiring all new insurance plans to cover certain preventive health care services without cost-sharing. This is critical for women, who tend to have more preventive health needs and lower incomes than men. The list of required benefits includes vital women's health services such as: mammograms; screenings for cancer, gestational diabetes, domestic violence, HIV and sexually transmitted diseases; lactation and breastfeeding support and equipment, well-woman visits, and contraception.

Approximately 20 million women have already received a prevention service at no cost. For many, having these prevention services makes the difference between having these screenings and not. A report by the Commonwealth Fund found that in 2009, more than half of women delayed or avoided preventive care because of its cost. That's double the number who put off preventive care just two years earlier. Removing cost sharing requirements improves women's access to important preventive services. In fact, one study found that the rate of women getting a mammogram went up as much as 9 percent when cost sharing was removed.

MomsRising member Cindy's experience is a perfect example. As advised by her doctor, Cindy scheduled a colonoscopy after her 50th birthday. However, she had to cancel the procedure after learning that it would cost her $2,300 because she had used her insurance policy's entire allotment for prevention care (just $300 per year!) on her annual physical, leaving her responsible for any additional preventive services. A year later, after the no-cost prevention care provision of health reform took effect, Cindy got her colonoscopy free of charge. She's relieved she can take care of herself and be there for her two children. Cindy is now one of the 54 million Americans who has received at least one preventative health service without a co-pay or deductible payment.

One in two Americans has a pre-existing condition. That means approximately 129 million people could be denied care without the Affordable Care Act's preexisting condition protections. The new benefits of health reform have already saved lives and freed millions of Americans from worrying that they'll lose or be denied insurance due to preexisting conditions. Because of this provision, MomsRising member Dawn's young son has been able to get coverage for a pre-existing eye condition. Before the Affordable Care Act, Dawn was facing crushing monthly bills just to pay for necessary treatments for her child. Now she's able to sleep at night because she knows her son is covered, and can no longer be excluded from health care coverage due to his condition.

Health care reform has already begun providing tax credits for small businesses to purchase coverage for their employees. Nan, a small business owner who owns a record label, says the Affordable Care Act has "improved my business, my life, and can go on to improve the lives of the people I represent." Because of health reform, she received $12,000 in health credits, which she was able to reinvest into her business. Her monthly health care premiums for her staff also went down for the first time in a dozen years.

As the MomsRising member stories show, rolling back health-care reform hurts our families and our economy. Keeping the Affordable Care Act moving forward saves lives, as well as protects both our pocketbooks and our personal freedoms to get the health care we and our families need, when we need it. The new benefits have freed millions of Americans from worrying that they'll lose or be denied insurance.

Too much is at stake to remain silent. Already, before the ink was dry on the Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act this morning, some corporate lobbyists and politicians are continuing to try to find a way to gut families' access to healthcare by undermining this critical law that protects healthcare consumers -- playing politics with our health, instead of working to create jobs and strengthen our economy.

We've seen first-hand the positive impact health reform has had already -- and we won't go back to the days when consumers had no power to fight against insurance company abuses like dropping people from coverage when they get sick. MomsRising members have advocated for accessible, affordable health care since the organization was founded in 2006. Our members have played an active role in supporting the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Together, we've made more than 600,000 constituent contacts with legislators. MomsRising members have met with Members of Congress in their district offices, shared their stories with lawmakers, made phone calls to legislative offices, sent emails and sent messages which were delivered to federal legislators in-person by MomsRising members and staff in Washington, DC.

Moms are powerful: We fight for our kids' health, and we fight for change.

We will celebrate this victory by continuing to work our hardest to protect the health of families across the country.

When our children's health is on the line, nothing can stop us. Our nation's families need health reform. Not only so that moms and dads across the nation can sleep better at night, but also because allowing everyone to have secure, affordable access to preventative healthcare saves tax dollars and helps our economy in the long run.

?

Follow Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rowefinkbeiner

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How Drive way Pavers Can Adjust Your Own Home ? Yapperz.com ...

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Elephant tusks, ivory torched to keep out of smugglers' hands

James Morgan / WWF-Canon via AP

Seized elephant tusks and ivory ornaments go up in smoke Wednesday in Libreville, Gabon.

By Miguel Llanos, msnbc.com

The Central African nation of?Gabon on Wednesday burned all the elephant tusks and ivory ornaments it had in its stockpile?-- an amount equivalent to 850 elephants -- so that smugglers, via corrupt government officials, won't get their hands on the black market commodities treasured in China and other parts of Asia.

"Gabon?s elephants are under siege because of an illegal international market," President Ali Bongo said. "I call on the international community to join us in this fight" by cracking down on smugglers and buyers. "If we do not reverse the tide, the African elephant is in serious trouble."

The international wildlife monitoring agency TRAFFIC is among those that fear skyrocketing prices for ivory will tempt more government officials across Africa to join the illegal trade.

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"If not managed properly, ivory stockpiles in the hands of government suddenly 'get legs'," Tom Milliken, TRAFFIC's ivory trade expert, said in announcing the burn. "Zambia lost 3 tons of ivory from the government?s strong room just last week and Mozambique lost 1.1 tons in February."

"Gabon?s actions effectively keep the ivory out of the way of temptation," he said.

Kenya last year burned several tons of seized tusks and ivory as well, though that was not so much to deter temptation as it was to send a signal about the rampant illegal trade, where ?tusks can sell for hundreds of dollars a pound.?

TRAFFIC's data showed record levels of tusk and ivory seizures last year.

Even before the spike in recent years, Africa's elephant population is estimated to have shrunk from 1.3 million in 1979 to 450,000 in 2007.

Worth some $10 million on the black market, nearly 11,000 pounds of ivory was burned on Wednesday -- including almost 1,300 pieces of rough ivory made from tusks and almost 18,000 pieces of worked ivory.

The international community in 2008 did try to ease the demand -- and the high prices that lure poachers -- by allowing Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to sell their stockpiles, but prices continued upward.

The same strategy by Gabon would also fail, the conservation group WWF told msnbc.com.

"Commercialization would encourage additional elephant poaching," said Lee Poston, a spokesman for the WWF's U.S. office. "Like illegal drugs, seized ivory has no legitimate monetary value."

Gabon is home to more than half of Africa's remaining forest elephants.

Lee White, head of Gabon's National Parks Agency, said Africa had lost nearly 80 percent of its forest elephant population in the last 20 years.?

"Gabon is the last sanctuary," he said at Wednesday's ceremony, Reuters reported. "For example, there are now 20 times more elephants in Gabon than in the Democratic Republic of Congo, even if that country is 10 times larger than Gabon."

But even Gabon is threatened. Two elephant massacres were reported in the last year and Gabon has had to create an elite military unit to protect its wildlife.

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In neighboring Cameroon, several hundred elephants were killed earlier this year for their ivory -- inside a national park.

China was allowed to purchase tusks and ivory from the authorized sale in 2008, but conservationists say buyers there have abused the system by forging documents.

"It's essential that, given China's insatiable appetite for ivory, its 'ivory trading nation' status be revoked," Bill Travers, head of the Born Free Foundation, said in a statement.?

The issue is expected to come up at a meeting next month among nations that are party to a treaty on the trade in wildlife.

Just days after Rock Center aired Harry Smith's report, "The Last Stand," on the growing epidemic of illegal rhino poaching in South Africa, three of the rhinos featured were attacked by poachers. Rock Center's Harry Smith reports.

The head of the treaty committee testified before a U.S. Senate committee last month, urging the U.S. and other nations to crack down.

A report coming out shortly will reveal that "the levels of illegal killing exceed what can be sustained in all four African sub-regions in 2011, with elephant populations now in net decline,"?John Scanlon, secretary-general of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, told the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

Rhinos have also been slaughtered by smugglers after their horns, which are ground up to be used as a purported medicinal powder. The price for rhino horn has made it more valuable than gold.

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

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Ancient human ancestors had unique diet

ScienceDaily (June 27, 2012) ? When it came to eating, an upright, 2 million-year-old African hominid had a diet unlike virtually all other known human ancestors, says a study led by the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany and involving the University of Colorado Boulder.

The study indicated that Australopithecus sediba -- a short, gangly hominid that lived in South Africa -- ate harder foods than other early hominids, targeting trees, bushes and fruits. In contrast, virtually all other ancient human ancestors tested from Africa -- including Paranthropus boisei, dubbed "Nutcracker Man" because of its massive jaws and teeth -- focused more on grasses and sedges, said CU-Boulder doctoral student Paul Sandberg, a co-author on the new study.

The A. sediba diet was analyzed using a technique that involved zapping fossilized teeth with a laser, said Sandberg. The laser frees telltale carbon from the enamel of teeth, allowing scientists to pinpoint the types of plants that were consumed and the environments in which the hominids lived. The carbon signals from the teeth are split into two groups: C3 plants like trees, shrubs and bushes preferred by A. sediba, and C4 plants like grasses and sedges consumed by many other early hominids.

The teeth from the two A. sediba individuals analyzed in the study had carbon isotope values outside the range of all 81 previously tested hominids. "The lack of any C4 evidence, and the evidence for the consumption of hard objects, are what make the inferred diet of these individuals compelling," said Sandberg.

"It is an important finding, because diet is one of the fundamental aspects of an animal, one that drives its behavior and ecological niche. As environments change over time because of shifting climates, animals are generally forced to either move or to adapt to their new surroundings," said Sandberg of CU-Boulder's anthropology department.

The researchers concluded from their scientific tests that bark and other fracture-resistant foods were at least a seasonal part of the A. sediba diet. While bark and woody tissues had not been previously documented as a dietary component of any other ancient African hominids, such foods are consumed by many contemporary primates and contain both protein and soluble sugars. The diet of A. sediba may have been similar to that of today's African savanna chimpanzees, Sandberg said.

One unique aspect of the project was the analysis of microscopic, fossilized particles of plant tissue known as phytoliths trapped in ancient tooth tarter, a hardened form of dental plaque, said corresponding study author Amanda Henry of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

"The fact that these phytoliths are preserved in the teeth of 2 million-year-old hominids is remarkable and speaks to the amazing preservation at the site," said Sandberg. "The phytolith data suggest the A. sediba individuals were avoiding the grasses growing in open grasslands that were abundant in the region at the time."

A third, independent line of study -- analyzing microscopic pits and scratches on A. sediba teeth, which reveal what they were eating at the time just prior to death -- also confirmed that at least one of the hominids was eating harder foods, said Sandberg.

A paper on the subject was published online by Nature on June 27. Other paper authors included Professor Matt Sponheimer of CU-Boulder, Peter Ungar of the University of Arkansas, Benjamin Passey of Johns Hopkins University, Lloyd Rossouw of the Bloemfontein National Museum in Bloemfontein, South Africa, Lee Berger and Marion Bamford of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa and Darryl de Ruiter of Texas A&M University.

A. sediba is particularly intriguing to anthropologists. The first two individuals discovered -- a juvenile male and an adult female from the Malapa Cave site roughly 30 miles north of Johannesburg in 2008 --apparently had fallen into a hidden pit in the cave and died. With an upright posture and long arms, the curious creature appears to have characteristics of both primitive and modern hominids, including a human-like ankle, short fingers and a long thumb for possible precision gripping and a relatively complex brain compared to earlier hominids, according to researchers.

The jury is still out on exactly where these hominids land on the family tree. A. sediba may have been a descendant of A. africanus, which was spawned by A. afarensis, a hominid represented by "Lucy" who lived about three million years ago and is considered by many to be the matriarch of the human family.

The A. sediba remains at Malapa were dated to 2 million years by scientists, a precise number obtained by measuring the decay of isotopes of uranium into lead that occurred in a type of mineral deposit known as flowstone that capped the fossil-bearing layer.

Paleontological evidence, including pollen and phytoliths, shows that the region around Malapa likely was a mix of abundant grassland and woody vegetation about 2 million years ago, said Sandberg. The team's carbon isotope research on the ancient teeth of rodents and hooved mammals that inhabited the region at the time indicated they had a strong affinity for C4 grasses and sedges.

"What fascinates me is that these individuals are oddballs," said CU-Boulder's Sponheimer. "I had pretty much convinced myself that after four million years ago most of our hominid kin had diets that were different from living apes, but now I am not so sure. And while our sample is too small to be conclusive, the rate at which Malapa is spewing hominid fossils makes me reasonably certain we won't have to wait another two million years to augment our data set. "

The study was funded in part by the National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, the Malapa Project at the Institute for Human Evolution at the University of Witwatersrand and the Max Planck Society.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Colorado at Boulder.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Amanda G. Henry, Peter S. Ungar, Benjamin H. Passey, Matt Sponheimer, Lloyd Rossouw, Marion Bamford, Paul Sandberg, Darryl J. de Ruiter, Lee Berger. The diet of Australopithecus sediba. Nature, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature11185

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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PFT: Lions' Berry apologizes for DUI arrest

A law school professor of mine once suggested a stock answer to the inevitable question posed by potential clients who believe their rights have been violated:? ?Can they do that??

?Well,? the stock answer goes, ?did they do it?? If they did, then we know they can.?

That simply reality becomes relevant when assessing the Lions? options for dealing with a roster that has generated six ? six! ? arrests this offseason, with defensive back Aaron Berry (pictured) the most recent defendant.? Teams that choose not to get tough with players who get in trouble hide behind the CBA, claiming that there?s nothing that teams can do and that they must defer to the league on off-field conduct.

Technically, that?s right.? (With one exception, to be mentioned below.)? As a practical matter, it?s a cop out.

Teams ?can? take a wide variety of steps to punish a player, CBA be damned.? The most convenient device is the catch-all ?conduct detrimental to the team.?? While the player could challenge any fines or suspensions, claiming that the team is skirting the substance-abuse and/or personal-conduct policies, such efforts could serve only to make the situation worse for the player.? It also would create the distinct impression that the player isn?t accepting responsibility for his actions, which may not go over well with the fans.

For the team, it sends a strong message that bad behavior won?t be tolerated.

There?s precedent for team?s disregarding league policies when players allegedly disregard the law.? In 2008, the Steelers benched receiver Santonio Holmes with pay for a marijuana arrest.? In 2010, the Colts suspended punter Pat McAfee for one game without pay after an alcohol incident.? Neither action was authorized by the CBA; neither player fought his punishment.

Last year, the Vikings initially suspended cornerback Chris Cook for conduct detrimental to the team after an arrest for domestic violence, which clearly falls within the scope of the personal-conduct policy.? Then, the Vikings gave Cook the Keyshawn treatment, paying the 2010 second-round pick not to play for the balance of the season (and in turn nearly tearing the locker-room apart).? Cook didn?t fight it, though he easily could have.

So the Lions ?can? fine or suspend, with or without pay, any of the players who have gotten arrested, if the Lions want to.? To date, they don?t.

The Lions also ?can? without consequence engage in one specific form of discipline after a player gets in trouble away from the field.? Paragraph 9 of the Standard Player Contract provides that, ?if Player has engaged in personal conduct reasonably judged by Club to adversely affect or reflect on Club, Club may terminate this contract.?

Though it may not be wise to start cutting talented players, the Lions eventually may decide to make an example out of one or more of their less-skilled problem children.

Regardless, if/when the Lions or any other team claim they can?t take action against players who get in trouble off the field, the reality is that, indeed, they can.

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OECD: High-income Americans should pay more taxes | Business ...

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Lego and Google Chrome team up, want to cover Australasia in your models and plastic bricks (video)

Lego has allied itself with Google's Chrome browser, creating a web app that lets users craft their own houses, creatures and models, and then delicately place them across the whole of Australia and New Zealand. Celebrating 50 years of pre-teen Lego architecture in the Land Down Under, you can grab a plot of land from the source, start throwing some bricks together now and share your creations on the very public map and Google+. According to Australia's Daily Telegraph, Lego Build hopes to roll out globally through Chrome later this year, but one continent should keep us busy until Google's I/O conference kicks off later this week.

Continue reading Lego and Google Chrome team up, want to cover Australasia in your models and plastic bricks (video)

Lego and Google Chrome team up, want to cover Australasia in your models and plastic bricks (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 04:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Telegraph, Sascha Pallenberg (Google+)  |  Lego Build  | Email this | Comments

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PressNewsRoom ? Blog Archive ? Youth Fitness and Nutrition ...

Dr. Mark McCullough explains that lower back pain doesn?t have to make your life miserable.

Battle Creek, Mich. ? June 27, 2012 ? Dr. Mark McCullough, Founder and CEO of Pure Health Solutions, LLC, recently published an article on his website (http://www.ivaluelife.com/) focused on lower back pain. ?The article, titled ?Lower Back Pain Doesn?t Have to Make You Miserable? explains that even long-term lower back pain can be resolved.

Battle Creek health and wellness expert Dr. McCullough writes, ?Lower back pain can make it difficult to get a good night?s sleep. It can make sitting in a chair at work impossible. And the sports you used to love, like golf, basketball, and tennis? Out of the question.?

Dr. Mark is a contributor to the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall-Street Journal Best-seller One Minute Wellness. Dr. McCullough co-founded Next Level Health, a program to help doctors start up and run successful ?patient-centered? care to their respective communities. Dr. Mark is founder and CEO of both Pure Health Solutions, LLC, a nutritional consultancy, as well as BCXfit, LLC, a Crossfit Affiliate in Battle Creek.

Dr. Mark also served as the Team Doctor for the 2005 IBL Champion Battle Creek Dr Mark McCullough Family Chiropractic Battle Creek Michigan Knights from 2005-09 and is currently the Team Physician for Team Active Cycling and Multisport Team as well as the Priority Health Cycling and Multisport Team. Dr. Mark?s mission is in serving his patients and helping potential students of Natural Whole Body Health realize and achieve their potential as Doctors.

The entire article can be found http://www.ivaluelife.com/articles/lower-back-pain-doesnt-have-to-make-you-miserable.php

Learn more about Dr. Mark McCullough at http://www.ivaluelife.com/ or contact him at (269) 964-3300.

About Dr. Mark McCullough:

Dr. Mark McCullough established McCullough Family Chiropractic in 1999. Within the first few years of operation, Dr. McCullough?s clinic became one of the largest Chiropractic Clinics in the state of Michigan, and one of the largest National Health Clinics in North America. His clinic serves as a holistic health center, dealing with spinal correction, therapeutic massage, functional nutrition, functional fitness, and disease prevention. In addition to being a licensed chiropractor, Dr. McCullough is also a nutritional consultant, as well as a specialist in both Youth Fitness and Youth Nutrition as certified by the International Youth Conditioning Association.

Dr. McCullough served as the Team Doctor for the 2005 IBL Champion Battle Creek Knights from 2005-09 and is currently the Team Physician for Team Active Cycling and Multisport Team, as well as the Priority Health Cycling and Multisport Team. Dr. McCullough?s incredible contributions to his local community of Battle Creek have generated national interest and as a result, he has been invited as a guest speaker to many of the schools that teach Health Care and Wellness around the country.? At seminars, conferences, and media appearances throughout North America, Dr. McCullough teaches people how to apply his Whole Body Wellness Solutions that will get individuals to the Next Level in health, happiness, and life.

Along with having hosted a radio show, Dr. McCullough is a contributor to the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall-Street Journal Best-seller One Minute Wellness.? Dr. McCullough?s mission is in serving his patients and helping potential students of Natural Whole Body Health realize and achieve their potential as Doctors.? His innovative strategies, inspiration, and passion for helping people are the foundation to his thriving practice in Battle Creek, Michigan as well as the many clinics he consults around the nation.

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