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osemeli · Oct. 31, 2011

St. Louis well-prepared to remain a contender next season

Charlie Riedel / AP

Tony La Russa, left, will not be returning to St. Louis next?season. Will Albert Pujols leave as well? Even if he does, Cardinals well-prepared to be contenders.

OPINION

By Tony DeMarco

NBCSports.com contributor

updated 11:47 a.m. ET Oct. 31, 2011

Tony DeMarco

There really is only one burning question as the St. Louis Cardinals turn their attention to a World Series title defense: Albert Pujols, who officially became a free agent on Sunday.

And manager Tony La Russa, who announced his retirement Monday, can offer a pretty good indication of how things are going to unfold.

"This is a great organization; he's a great player,'' La Russa said. "And part of their greatness is their conscious, their intelligence. They're going to try like heck to make it work. The organization is going to try to keep him here, and Albert wants to stay here.''

So the growing feeling is that it will get done ? probably crossing the $200 million barrier that the Cardinals approached with their January offer. The Cardinals want to keep their payroll near this year's $110 million figure, so there aren't likely to bump up their offer too far. But unless Pujols is just overwhelmed by something else, the parameters of an entire-career-in-St. Louis deal are in place.

Still, until that happens, it's front burner on the MLB Hot Stove. In fact, it's a big enough issue, complete with ramifications that run throughout the game's salary structure, that commissioner Bud Selig has an opinion on it.

"Albert has to go and do what he does,'' Selig said. "As a traditionalist, I hope it can be worked out. I hope Albert stays in St. Louis. I really do.''

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak puts it this way: "I think it's refreshing when you can have a player be identified with one organization. To have something where a player ends up like a Cal Ripken, and plays for one organization as long as he did, it's an anomaly at this point. Hopefully, we can accomplish another one.''

Pujols didn't avoid the question when asked while he was on the post-Game 7 podium. He met it head-on, but with an admonishment for the questioner.

"I don't think that's a question right now that you should ask,'' he said. "Right now, it's just enjoying the moment, man. Sitting at first base with three outs left (in the top of the ninth inning in Game 7), and just thinking about all the things we went through this year as a group, just how special this group of guys that we have are.''

Special enough that the Cardinals already have gotten through much of the process of re-signing them. You see, as Mozeliak admitted during the World Series: "It's funny, because getting into the postseason this year was somewhat of a surprise. So we were starting to begin a lot of preparatory work as far as looking at 2012.''

Chris Carpenter signed to a two-year, $21 million extension for 2012-13 on Sept. 11.

Lance Berkman signed a one-year, $12 million extension for 2012 on Sept. 22.

Club options on Adam Wainwright totaling $21 million for 2012 and 2013 were picked up during the World Series.

Also locked up for 2012: Matt Holliday ($17 million), Kyle Lohse ($11.875 million), Jake Westbrook ($8.5 million), Yadier Molina ($7 million option).

"I think we're pretty fortunate as we look to 2012 that we already have a lot of the key components we can just put into play,'' Mozeliak said.

The anticipated return of Wainwright, who missed all of this season after undergoing surgery, will be like signing a free-agent ace. He's expected to return to the top of the rotation, in front of Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Lohse and Westbrook.

That makes Edwin Jackson an expendable free agent. Two more potential rotation candidates from the bullpen are Lance Lynn and Marc Rzepczynksi, and the organization's top two prospects are right-handed pitchers on the verge ? Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez.

David Freese's MVP-filled postseason has elevated his status, and at 28, only health is standing between him and some highly productive seasons. And in the good-problem-to-have department, the Cardinals might have to find more at-bats for Allen Craig behind the regular outfield trio of Holliday, Jon Jay and Berkman.

They also have decisions to make on veteran middle infielders Rafael Furcal, Ryan Theriot and Skip Schumaker, as well as relievers Octavio Dotel and Arthur Rhodes.

"One of the things we've tried to focus on over the last four-five years is making sure that our minor-league system is going to be able to produce some every-day players or middle to top-of-the-rotation starters,'' Mozeliak said.

"I'm happy to say we believe our pipeline is very strong, and so if there is an Albert-less club in the future, we still think we have a lot of positives coming.''

? 2011 NBC Sports.com? Reprints

More news

La Russa retires on top

HBT: Tony La Russa announces Monday that he is retiring as manager of the world champion St. Louis Cardinals.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45097483/ns/sports-baseball/

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osemeli

This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of October 24, 2011:

Fan of white phones? Here ya go: the BlackBerry Bold 9900, Curve 9360 and Torch 9810 can be pre-ordered on Phones4U. If white doesn't do it for you, the Curve 9300 will be available in pink. [Stuff]
HTC has announced its partnership with Dropbox, which means you can get 5GB of available storage on any of the company's Android devices. [Twitter]
A few customers on Verizon's family plans have noticed a peculiar addition to the company's #DATA service; when the text showing the data usage arrives, it now mentions "shared," which may be an indication that Big Red's on its way to offering shared data plans in the near future. [Droid-Life]
Rumors have flown for some time about LG's attempt at reviving the Prada series by introducing the K2 (aka the P940), and now we're finally starting to see images of the Android device leak out. Apparently, it'll be less than 9mm thin, offer an 8MP camera, 1.3MP front-facing cam, 21Mbps HSPA+ and have a 4.3-inch display with 1,000 nits of brightness. [PhoneArena via UnwiredView]
Research in Motion announced BlackBerry Business Cloud Services for Microsoft Office 365, which extends Microsoft Exchange Online to the BlackBerry lineup. It's geared toward midsized businesses and enterprises. Head to the source for the details. [Microsoft-News]

Mobile Miscellany: week of October 24, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/29/mobile-miscellany-week-of-october-24-2011/

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osemeli

Album is singer's follow-up to F.A.M.E., released earlier this year.
By Jocelyn Vena

Chris Brown
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Chris Brown has already dropped F.A.M.E. this year, and now he's prepping for the release of his follow-up album, Fortune. The singer tweeted some of the titles of the singles on the album, which is expected to drop before year's end.

"Continue requesting WET THE BED [off F.A.M.E.] at ur radio stations. Also, the new singles from FORTUNE are being mixed!" he wrote on Twitter. "STRIP [off his Boy in Detention mixtape] is one of the singles off of FORTUNE so request at RADIO!"

In addition to "Strip," Breezy shared a few more song titles from the album. "I'm also really excited about the release of my single titled 'BIGGEST FAN' produced by the RUNNERS!" he said, before retweeting a message from his production team. "@chrisbrown 'Biggest Fan' is gonna be epic!! And wait till they hear what else we have in the vault together! Ha!"

In other Brown-related news, if Team Breezy can't wait to hear what he's cooking up for Fortune, that's just fine. The singer even tweeted a link to a song he penned for his pal Justin Bieber's Christmas album, Under The Mistletoe. It dropped as more songs off the November 1 release are hitting the Internet, including tracks featuring Mariah Carey and Busta Rhymes.

The track is a melodic R&B jam about making Christmas special for someone you love. "Be my babe this Christmas eve/ Be my holiday/ My dream/ Lay your head on me, I got you babe," he sings on the chorus. "Kissing underneath the tree/ I don't need no presents, girl/ You're everything I need/ Let me give you all of me/ Together on this Christmas Eve."

If it feels like Brown is everywhere these days, that's because he certainly is busy. He's wrapping up his tour next week before he begins work on his next film, "Planet B-Boy," alongside "Lost" star Josh Holloway. As the title suggests, it's a look inside the world of b-boys and breakdancers.

Related Artists

Chris Brown

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1673344/chris-brown-fortune-singles.jhtml

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osemeli

ERCIS, Turkey?? A 13-year-old boy was pulled from a collapsed building without injury on Friday, five days after Turkey's powerful earthquake struck, and state-run TV said he survived by drinking rain water that seeped through cracks in the wreckage around him.

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The boy, Ferhat Tokay, also used shoes under his head as a pillow and peered through a tiny gap in the wreckage to see when it was day or night outside, his uncle said.

Tokay was discovered early Friday morning, soon after rescue workers from Azerbaijan had sent the uncle and other relatives away from the site to get some rest, saying there was no chance of finding the missing boy alive.

"He didn't even have a scratch on him!" the uncle, Sahin Tokay, told NTV television. "He was hungry on the first day, but the hunger pangs later disappeared."

The 7.2 magnitude quake leveled about 2,000 buildings in eastern Turkey on Sunday, killing at least 575 people and leaving about 2,500 injured and thousands of homeless.

Authorities say another 5,700 buildings are now unfit for habitation.

The government's crisis management center said 187 people have been freed from the rubble alive.

Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said search and rescue efforts were continuing "in small sections" of Ercis, the hardest-hit area. "Hopefully we will be successful in pulling out survivors there too," he told reporters.

But news from one of those sites was gloomy. Rescuers recovered the body of a missing father whose 2-week-old baby girl had been pulled alive from the rubble with her mother and grandmother on Tuesday.

Ferhat Tokay was working in a shoe shop on the ground floor of a multistory building in the town when the quake hit. State-run Anatolia news agency said he kept alive by drinking water that reached him in the wreckage during heavy rains.

'We prayed'
Turkey is mostly Muslim, and in Ercis on Friday many people held traditional Muslim prayers outdoors, in parks or in streets strewn with rubble from the earthquake.

Others prayed in tents or in the few mosques still standing, Anatolia said.

One of them was the Seyid Muhammed mosque. Its only damage is a gaping crack at the foot of its minaret.

As men entered it to pray Friday, its imam, Selahattin Tasdemir, said: "It wouldn't have been considered a sin to not pray today because these people are victims and in a difficult situation."

"But their conscience wouldn't allow it. They're used to praying, so we prayed," he said in an interview with Associated Press Television News.

The 213-person Azerbaijani rescue team that saved Tokay on Friday is equipped with sniffer dogs and it has saved nine other people from the wreckage since Sunday night.

On Thursday, the team pulled 18-year-old Imdat Padak from another destroyed building in Ercis. During that effort, rubble hit one of its sniffer dogs, Cip, while it was searching a narrow gap, seriously injuring its paws.

Meanwhile, aid workers delivered tents, prefabricated homes, blankets and heaters from a dozen other countries to the desolate and cold areas hit by the quake.

Survivors complained about a shortage of tents following the quake and the government acknowledged initial difficulties in sending aid. Officials also have said some aid trucks have been looted before reaching Ercis.

Sahin, the interior minister, said the shortage of tents had largely been overcome by Friday.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45078457/ns/world_news-europe/

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osemeli

WASHINGTON ? Americans spent in September at three times the pace of the previous month, even though their incomes barely budged. They financed their spending binges by saving at the lowest level since the start of the Great Recession.

Consumer spending rose 0.6 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Friday. The gain was driven by a big rise in purchases of durable goods, such as autos.

Consumers earned only 0.1 percent more after their income fell by the same amount in August. And after adjusting for inflation, their after-tax incomes fell 0.1 percent last month ? the third straight monthly decline.

As a result, they saved less. The savings rate fell to 3.6 percent, the lowest level since December 2007.

Expectations were high after the government said Thursday that consumer spending helped fuel annual growth of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter, the best quarterly expansion in a year.

Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. It grew at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the third quarter. That's more than triple the growth in the April-June quarter.

The economy would have to grow at nearly double the third-quarter pace to make a dent in the unemployment rate, which has stayed near 9 percent since the recession officially ended more than two years ago.

Economists doubt consumers can keep spending like they did this summer without earning more. Many are struggling with higher prices for food and gas. For spending gains to be sustained, employers need to step up hiring.

In recent months, job growth has stagnated. Employers have added an average of only 72,000 jobs per month in the past five months. That's far below the 100,000 per month needed to keep up with population growth. And it's down from an average of 180,000 in the first four months of this year.

Employers added only 103,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate remained 9.1 percent for a third straight month.

The government releases the October employment report on Nov. 4.

And spending could tumble next year if Congress fails to extend a Social Security tax cut, which gave most Americans an extra $1,000 to $2,000 this year, or long-term unemployment benefits. Both expire at the end of the year.

Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist for Capital Economics, predicts that overall growth will cool in the fourth quarter and next year. He predicts growth of just 1.5 percent for all of 2012.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, is more optimistic. He expects roughly the same 2.5 percent growth in the October-December quarter and also in the first three months of next year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111028/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_consumer_spending

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osemeli

Click here to read How Alaskan Mining Led To the Invention of the Electric Razor

When you're in Alaska staking a mining claim for months on end and it's the early 20th century, shaving is a major drag. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/p4O3-yqa5NY/how-alaskan-mining-let-to-the-invention-of-the-electric-razor

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osemeli

GAZA (Reuters) ? Israel's air force bombed an Islamic Jihad base in the southern Gaza Strip Saturday, killing a commander and four munitions experts from the Palestinian faction, officials on both sides said.

The strike in Rafah followed a Palestinian cross-border rocket launch this week which the Israelis blamed on Islamic Jihad. That attack caused no casualties but a rocket landed deep enough to set off sirens on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Fresh salvoes were fired Saturday evening, wounding two Israelis and calling into question the duration of a relative lull secured by Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers, who last week held a major, Egyptian-brokered prisoner swap with the Jewish state.

Islamic Jihad said an explosion in its Rafah training camp killed commander Ahmed al-Sheikh Khalil and four comrades who oversaw the manufacture of bombs and rockets for the faction.

Doctors said two other militants were hurt in the incident, during which witnesses reported Israeli helicopters overhead.

In Jerusalem, the Israeli military said in a statement that its aircraft had "targeted a terrorist squad ... that was preparing to launch long-range rockets."

It said those struck were responsible for the rocket launch late Wednesday, though no Palestinian faction had claimed responsibility.

Islamic Jihad, a sometime Hamas ally, has chafed at its recent efforts to impose de facto ceasefires with Israel.

Hamas last week repatriated an Israeli soldier it captured in 2006 in exchange for the staggered release of more than 1,000 jailed Palestinians. That deal, mediated by Egypt, stirred speculation a more enduring detente could be in the works.

NO TRUCE NOW

"There is no chance of speaking about a truce now, following such a big crime against leaders of the group," said Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Ahmed.

"Now we are talking about the suitable response to this crime," he said, a threat of retribution echoed by other militant groups.

Within hours, at least 12 Palestinian rockets and mortar bombs hit different sites in southern Israel, lightly wounding two civilians, police said. Islamic Jihad and the more secular factions Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades separately took credit.

The salvoes appeared to have overwhelmed Iron Dome, a rocket interceptor that Israel began deploying outside Gaza in April.

Islamic Jihad released images of what it said was a vehicle-mounted multiple rocket-launcher used by its men, a launch platform recalling those of Libyan rebels and not previously seen in Gaza. Israel says Gazan arsenals have been boosted by gun-running from Libya since the fall of its ruler, Muammar Gaddafi.

Remarking on the Rafah deaths, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri accused Israel of a "serious escalation against our people."

In keeping with Israeli government policy, the military statement said: "The Hamas terror organization is solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip."

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Dan Williams, Editing by Rosalind Russell)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111029/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_violence

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osemeli

President Barack Obama has dinner with campaign donors and winners of the "Dinner with Barack" contest at The Liberty Tavern in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington, Va., Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011. From left to right: Ken Knight, U.S. postal worker from Chandler, Ariz.; Wendi Smith, artist and retired professor from Corydon, Ind.; Casey Helbling, enterpreneur from Minneapolis, Minn.; President Obama; Juanita Martinez, retired teacher from Brighton, Colo. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) ? Two retirees, a U.S. Postal Service worker and a business owner from politically important Midwestern and Southwestern states, all donors to President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, got a rare opportunity Thursday to bend his ear over dinner.

Obama said afterward that he's president because of people like them.

"This dinner is important because I'm only president thanks to the work of millions of Americans like the four I just met," he tweeted.

Obama's re-election effort offered "Dinner with Barack" to help boost campaign contributions in the April-to-June fundraising quarter, during which it reported raising more than $47 million. Giving was not required, but the campaign requested donations of at least $5 from anyone willing to contribute.

Keeping its end of the deal, the campaign was paying for one night in a hotel and flying in the contributors from Arizona, Colorado, Indiana and Minnesota ? all states important to Obama's re-election hopes.

Of those states, Obama lost only Arizona in 2008. His campaign has floated the idea of trying to compete this time around in the traditionally Republican-leaning state. Minnesota traditionally leans Democratic, but most of the upper Midwest states, which have suffered as a result of the economy, appear to be up for grabs heading into next year's presidential contest.

The donors were identified as: Juanita Martinez, a retired teacher from Brighton, Colo.; Wendi Smith, an artist and retired professor from Corydon, Ind.; Ken Knight, a U.S. Postal Service employee from Chandler, Ariz.; and Casey Helbling, an entrepreneur and small-business owner from Minneapolis.

Dinner was held at The Liberty Tavern in Arlington, Va., which serves modern American cuisine, according to its website.

Reporters allowed into the upstairs dining room before any food or drinks were served heard Obama and Knight chat about spring training and the Chicago White Sox, Obama's favorite baseball team. Obama, dressed casually in slacks and a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, then asked each donor where they were from as reporters were escorted back downstairs. He spent about an hour at the restaurant before returning to the White House.

Vice President Joe Biden, a subsequent addition to the dinner, did not attend because he was out of the country, having led a U.S. delegation to Saudi Arabia on Thursday to offer condolences after the recent death of the kingdom's second-in-line for the throne.

Obama had dinner with campaign donors when he first ran for president. The dinner contest will be held quarterly as the presidential race steams toward a November 2012 finish line.

In a video announcement from his 2008 campaign, Obama said he wanted to meet donors over dinner because national political candidates spend too much time at fancy fundraisers with the well-to-do, closed off from hearing the concerns and needs of ordinary people.

Coincidentally, Thursday's dinner was scheduled a day after Obama returned from a three-day fundraising swing through Nevada, California and Colorado. He headlined six fundraisers, including at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas and the Hollywood home of actors Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas. The trip also included stops where Obama met everyday people, including at Roscoe's, a popular chicken restaurant chain in Los Angeles.

Two months ago, Obama had lunch on Capitol Hill with a group of campaign volunteers who were selected based on essays they wrote about organizing. Obama got his start in politics by working as a community organizer in Chicago.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-10-28-Obama-Donor%20Dinner/id-cea75007d7764b48be6ad9ed1cf3b224

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osemeli

Their approval ratings are so bad these days that even Congress hates Congress.

Sen. Lindsey Graham is so embarrassed about the 9 percent approval rating ? released Tuesday night in a New York Times/CBS poll ? that he?s going incognito.

?It?s so bad sometimes I tell people I?m a lawyer,? the South Carolina Republican told POLITICO on Wednesday. ?I don?t want to be associated with a body that in the eyes of your fellow citizens seems to be dysfunctional. It matters to me.?

?We?re below sharks and contract killers,? added freshman Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.).

Indeed, lawmakers themselves aren?t among the 9 percent who approve of their own work.

The record low approval ratings were met Wednesday with a mixture of shock, anger, sadness, frustration and wry gallows humor, with many lawmakers wondering who in their right mind would actually believe Congress is worthy of approval.

But in predictable partisan fashion, they blamed each other, President Barack Obama, the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the public?s failure to grasp how Congress is supposed to work, among other causes.

?I want to know who the 9 percent are, I?m afraid they have drivers? licenses,? quipped Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.).

In spite of the jokes, the shockingly low congressional approval rating could become a drag on both Republican and Democratic incumbents ahead of next year?s elections.

It also puts even more pressure on the powerful deficit-slashing supercommittee to do something - anything - to break the political stalemate over slashing the U.S. budget deficit.

And the long-term effects of such negative numbers for Capitol Hill, and Washington in general, could prompt more voters to abandon party affiliation and register as independents, dramatically reshaping political campaigns, lawmakers suggested Wednesday.

Political operatives in both parties see opportunity as well. Republicans think they can grab control of the Senate in 2012, and Democrats are hopeful they can win back their House majority, swept away in the 2010 tea party tsunami. Such a double switch has never happened before in American history.

Still, some lawmakers believe that they?ll be fine politically since voters historically tend to stick with their own representatives even if Congress is tanking.

?That high?? joked Rep. John Larson (Conn.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said in response to the poll. ?It?s reflective of the public?s response to the quagmire that?s become Washington, D.C. Fourteen million people out of work, 25 million people that are [under-employed], they see Washington involved in an endless ?Tastes great, less filling? argument where nothing gets done.?

?It?s kind of like Tennessee football - it?s a hard season,? deadpanned Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), a depressed alumnus of the University of Tennessee and backer of the troubled Volunteer football program.

While Congress has never been a popular institution in the eyes of the public, 2011?s nasty partisan battles between the GOP-controlled House and Democratic-led Senate - compounded with the $14 trillion-plus national debt and stubbornly high unemployment rate ? seem to have only made matters worse.

It is unlikely that the U.S. economy will get much better before voters go to the polls next November, meaning each party will aggressively make the case that the other is to blame. That means more partisan wrangling.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1011_66956_html/43401281/SIG=11moir56j/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66956.html

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osemeli

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

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45079855#45079855

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osemeli

[Every so often Life, Unbounded allows itself a little more speculative leeway, a little bit of armchair musing, this post is very much in that vein, and yes, it was written on a Mac]

Exhibit A

Like many scientists of my generation the first time I experienced Steve Jobs was through the almost magical interaction with a mouse, a crisply black and white screen, and Mathematica.

As a budding astronomer back in the early 1990?s most of my computational needs were taken care of by a hulking great machine called a VAX. Working with this was not unlike working in the cloud with a netbook, except the netbook was a green screen terminal and the cloud was just a couple of doors away, humming in monotone within an air-conditioned room. It performed just fine, and the sensation of logging into this virtual world was mildly thrilling (one could even see who else was online, an excellent way to keep track of friends and to send live messages on the command line. Many a pub outing was arranged by little ASCII notes.) But every so often there was a need to get some extra leverage on a tricky calculation, a bit of algebraic assistance, and that usually meant a trip to the promised land, a session with the Apple Mac running Wolfram?s marvelous Mathematica.

The contrast couldn?t have been greater. Here was a single small machine operating for your sole benefit, its internal disk making satisfying clunking noises as it spun up and down, and that silky massage of mouse, menu, and musical alerts lulling you into a sense of security and comfort. It was like finding an alien artifact that was willing to serve you with its superior technology. Solving integrals was never so satisfying. But time went by and Apple dipped into a dismal cycle of repetition and missed opportunity, and only the diehard scientists kept their Powerbooks clutched to their hearts, occasionally letting the rest of us have a go. Then, in a stroke of genius, Apple (with Steve Jobs again at the helm, drawing on his NeXT computer system as inspiration) made Macs built on the Unix operating system. Suddenly OSX gave scientists their hearts desire ? a recognizable command line, the ability to easily compile and run their codes, and still receive the sweet, sweet caress of a user-friendly graphical interface. Put it inside a titanium laptop and who could possibly resist?

It may sound a bit trite, but I don?t think one should underestimate the impact that these pieces of technology have had on basic, raw, scientific progress. The same Mac oil that has lubricated writers and other creators has also lubricated countless scientists ? we may like our hardware and software hardcore, but we are so much more productive when we don?t have to think about the little things, from typing up a letter to making a glorious slide show for a presentation. Communication and creativity greatly benefit from the right tools.

All of which leads me on to something else, something very much to do with our efforts to study the universe around us. In astrobiology it?s an issue that comes up again and again because it?s truly the biggest of all. Is there intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? It?s both a good and a bad question ? it?s good because, well, because we?d all like to know whether there are other beings, other consciousnesses out ?there? that are recognizably like us in any way. It?s also a bad question because the more you pick at it the trickier it gets. What, after all, do we mean by intelligence? While we may have some ways of defining human styles of cognitive behavior (abstraction, modeling, morality) these are far from fully agreed upon and may be very far from being applicable to anything but the limited set of multi-cellular life that currently roams the Earth, in the tiny sliver of time that rests upon the deep multi-billion year history of this world.

The truth is that any meaningful, practical, search for evidence of ?intelligent? life is really a search for technology produced by life, whether it?s in use or remains as an artifact. This is the basis of modern SETI; we?re not looking for evidence of altruism among the stars, or for stanzas of poetry written in the cool hydrogen gas of distant nebula (although of course that would be awfully nice). We?re looking for deliberate or inadvertent signs of technology, from structured radio transmissions to high bandwidth optical flashes and perhaps even the tell-tale evidence of industrial pollutants in the atmospheric spectrum of some unfortunate terrestrial-type world.?

This may sound awfully Earth-centric, there are a lot of assumptions about social order and the progress of knowledge and technology in these statements. But there are many ?rules? that emerge spontaneously from complex systems, like biological evolution and cooperative behavior. It is not unreasonable to think that the terms of engagement of a species with its surroundings are more to do with the nature of physical laws and mathematics in our universe than the specifics of chemistry and chance here on our world. They might not apply everywhere, but there?s a good chance they apply in more than one place.

It may also be that the deeper truth to what we are looking for is not even a technological civilization, yes that?s the outward signature, but if our world is anything to go by then the root cause may often be the influence of individual units of a species, like Steve Jobs. Someone like him may not be able to operate in a vacuum, they may also not be the most scientifically brilliant (with due respect, I never heard Jobs mention his latest weekend efforts in quantum field theory), but they become a focal point ? an aggregator ? and an enabler. Some may argue that not all technological societies require these individuals, take the former Soviet Union as an example. But while it didn?t operate according to the ?laws? of the free market and opportunity (which doubtless meant that there would never have been an Apple Mac with a ?Made in the USSR? stamp) it still ? despite the socialist ideals ? owed a huge debt to individuals. If you took away the Sakharov?s and the Zel?dovich?s and many others then the net technological and scientific might of a society would be greatly lessened.

Obviously no individual, no matter how brilliant, persuasive, exasperating or tyrannical, operates in a vacuum. But I think there is also pretty good evidence that without these individuals, who for whatever reason (genius, luck, tenacity) serve to explore the outer edges of creativity, a species as a whole is going to be limited. They are, in some senses, the mutations that allow a system to jump across to a new part of the landscape of possibilities, and that may mean that they represent part of a universal pattern for any life in the cosmos ? if it?s out there.

Thus, if there comes a day when we find ourselves deciphering a clearly structured radio signal from perhaps one of the Kepler exoplanets or puzzling over the polluted atmosphere of a small terrestrial-type planet a few dozen light years away, we may in fact be witnessing the direct influence of a single individual on those worlds. We may be detecting the existence of a Michael Faraday, a James Clerk Maxwell, a Robert Stephenson, a Marie Curie, a Guglielmo Marconi, or indeed a Steve Jobs.

?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=3434a73de562e11433132041d08f3753

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slice_peter_jackson_02

In one of the most exciting collaborations in a great while, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson teamed up on this fall?s The Adventures of Tintin. Spielberg directed the film as his first foray into motion-capture, with Jackson onboard as a very hands-on producer. The plan, if audiences flock to this first Tintin, has always been to make a trilogy of films based on Herge?s beloved characters, with Jackson directing the second installment. Anthony Horowitz was hired to pen the sequel last year, and now Jackson has confirmed that the Tintin follow-up is planned to be his next film after he finishes The Hobbit. Hit the jump for more.

At this year?s Comic-Con, where Spielberg was joined onstage at the Tintin panel by surprise guest Jackson, Spielberg proclaimed that if enough of us go to see this first Tintin, Jackson gets to direct the next one. While it was already known that the plan was for Jackson to take the helm after Spielberg, the Lord of the Rings director recently confirmed in the print edition of The Hollywood Reporter (via The Playlist) that the Tintin sequel will indeed be his next film after The Hobbit if they get the go-ahead.

Spielberg elaborated that Sony and Paramount have a lot of faith in this first Tintin and have already made moves to get the sequel in a ready position:

?[Sony and Paramount] were willing to do one movie with us and then give us the financial werewithal to develop a script, do all the visual storyboards and get it really in launch position. So we can launch pretty quickly on a second movie. The script is already written.?

So it certainly sounds like they?ve already done quite a bit of work on the sequel. While Spielberg?s film drew heavily from Herge?s books The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham?s Treasure, the sequel will draw from the stories Prisoners of the Sun and The Seven Crystal Balls.

One would assume that Spielberg would be taking on the producer role on this next film as he swaps jobs with Jackson, but the director said that his involvement hasn?t exactly been worked out yet [Edit: In the following quote Spielberg is talking about returning to direct the third film and not his involvement on the second film. The article doesn't mention what job Spielberg will have on the second film, but one would assume he'll be producing ]:

?We haven?t talked about that. But I had such a wonderful time working on this; it liberated me as a director because I was able to run around by myself. It was a big collaboration, but at the same time it was one of the most personal experiences I?ve had. When you can actually hold the camera and create your shots, you don?t have a lighting team, a key grip electricians??

I?m hoping Spielberg returns if Jackson gets the chance to helm his own Tintin. From what we?ve seen so far in the way of behind-the-scenes footage, it looks like the two almost worked as co-directors in a very fruitful collaboration. However, it?ll be awhile before lensing could begin. Jackson?s going to be wrapped up in The Hobbit for quite some time, and Spielberg has his plate full with filming on Lincoln, Robopocalypse, and a number of other projects he?s considering at the moment. Nevertheless, the footage from Tintin looks fantastic and I?m excited to check out what adventures Spielberg and Jackson have cooked up.

For those interested, here?s a full 38-minute animated adaptation of Prisoners of the Sun:

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1923821/news/1923821/

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Sprint just started building out its LTE network, but being the eager beavers that they are, the folks in Overland Park are already talking about taking the Now Network to the next level. Iyad Tarazi, Sprint's VP of network development and engineering, said that Sprint will be rolling out an LTE-Advanced network in the first half of 2013. (As a brief refresher, LTE-Advanced is a true 4G technology that can make regular LTE speeds look positively pedestrian in comparison.) Tarazi added that we would see 12 LTE devices in 2012 and that over 250 million people will have access to Sprint-flavored LTE by the end of 2013 -- with voice over LTE service coming in the first quarter of that year. For those (hundreds?) of you worried about the fate of of WiMAX, well, don't. Apparently, the out-of-favor 4G network will continue to be supported for several more years due to Sprint's agreement with Clearwire. So, it appears Sprint's really making a run at Verizon's LTE hegemony. Good luck Mr. Hesse, you're probably going to need it.

Sprint's LTE getting Advanced in 2013, WiMAX's inferiority complex intensifies originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 23:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2011 file photo, a man who declined to be identified pulls a sheet of plastic over his beading at encampment at City Hall during a rain storm in Philadelphia. With thousands of people roughing it in parks for up to six weeks related to the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, public health is a growing worry in the encampments. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2011 file photo, protestors walk along a path beside tents erected in front of Oakland City Hall as part of the "Occupy Oakland" protest in Oakland, Calif. With thousands of people roughing it in parks for up to six weeks related to the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, public health is a growing worry in the encampments. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 24, 2011 file photo, people sleep in New York's Zuccotti Park, home to Occupy Wall Street protesters. With thousands of people roughing it in parks for up to six weeks related to the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, public health is a growing worry in the encampments. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? With thousands of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators roughing it in parks for up to six weeks, garbage, human waste and hygiene are becoming a growing worry in public encampments nationwide.

Poor food storage exacerbated a rat infestation in Oakland. Inspectors found open human waste in Philadelphia. Hypothermia cases developed in Denver after a snowstorm hit.

Disease is the chief concern with so many people living in close proximity without proper sanitation.

"Any time you have a large number of people in an event like this, there's potential for illness to spread rapidly," said Angelo Bellomo, director of environmental health for Los Angeles County. "Conditions can change within an hour or two."

Poor food storage, along with public urination and defecation, led Oakland police to dislodge 200 protesters from a plaza outside City Hall before dawn Tuesday.

In Philadelphia, sanitary conditions have worsened at the 350-tent Occupy Philly camp, said city managing director Richard Negrin. The camp has four portable toilets that have not been cleaned or emptied regularly.

Health officials, who conduct daily inspections of Los Angeles' camp, have directed organizers to dispose of wastewater from portable showers into drains rather than the ground, and to increase the number of portable toilets, have them emptied twice a day and provide water jugs for hand-washing.

Close-quarters living can facilitate the spread of germs through airborne, foodborne or person-to-person contact. Norovirus has caused outbreaks of gastroenteritis on cruise ships, for example, while adenovirus has caused influenza and other respiratory illnesses in military barracks.

So far, no outbreaks of illness have been reported from the grassroots demonstrations that have sprouted nationwide to oppose policies viewed as promoting corporate greed. Medical tents in Los Angeles have only treated minor ailments such as scrapes and colds.

Protesters in Denver, however, said they took two demonstrators to a hospital with symptoms of hypothermia during an snowstorm that started Tuesday night.

Some demonstrators complain that the health issues have been exaggerated as a pretext to crack down on the camps. Authorities did not seem to be concerned about unhygienic conditions that existed before, they said.

"They never go and clean up Skid Row," said Juan Alcala, a camper in Los Angeles, where more than 350 tents are jammed on a lawn around City Hall.

The protesters are taking pains to keep the premises clean but acknowledge it's an ongoing battle to keep up as tents proliferate and attract the attention of public health officials.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told the Los Angeles Times that county health inspectors have expressed concerns over the cleanliness of the camp. The mayor also said the city's lawn and trees are suffering.

"The lawn is dead, our sprinklers aren't working ... our trees are without water," Villaraigosa told the Times.

Although protesters formed a sanitation committee from the start, hygiene issues have gotten more complicated than Occupy LA organizers anticipated.

The camp is largely well kept, although numerous trash bins around the site were overflowing during recent visits. Organizers pay a private hauler $57 a week to collect the rubbish daily after being fined by the city for failing to remove trash.

As the scent of marijuana wafted in the air and drumbeats sounded in a steady rhythm, organizers roamed the camp, urging people to pick up their trash and not to walk barefoot. Most people complied and some pitched in. Alcala seized a large palm frond and swept concrete walkways.

Protesters said overall, people were careful about rubbish. "I smoke and I'm really conscious about not throwing my butts on the ground," said another camper, John Waiblinger.

Personal hygiene has been a more difficult issue.

Many people use showers at homeless shelters in Skid Row, while some have organized bathing trips to homes, said organizer Gia Trimble.

Others said they used the camp showers on site, filling up a plastic bag with solar-heated water or hot water from a City Hall faucet. The bag, which has a tube to spray the water, hangs from a cord.

"I use the solar-heated shower or even those moist towelettes," Alcala said. "We're clean here."

Campers said they weren't worried about illnesses. Nevertheless, some were taking commonsense precautions.

Tommy Schacht, who was brushing his teeth with bottled water on a recent morning, said he goes home to shower and change clothes, and mostly used bathrooms at nearby businesses or public facilities instead of the portable toilets on site.

"I don't worry about that at all, but I try to stay away from people that are dirty," he said.

Some campers' clothing was visibly grubby, although others said they went to friends' homes or Laundromats to do laundry.

Food handling has posed other problems.

The camp shut down its food tent, where volunteers made everything from sandwiches to a tabouli-type salad in blenders, after inspectors noted that it was not in compliance with food handling laws.

Now, donated prepared foods, ranging from cookies to packaged sandwiches, are distributed. Most campers make their own meals, heating up Ramen noodles, canned soup and refried beans on small gas-powered camp stoves.

Schacht, who's been camping out for more than a week, said he was cooking lots of pasta ? "anything that can be made with hot water, that's easy."

Organizers said that although they continue to hammer out unforeseen logistical issues, they're trying to keep the political cause paramount.

"It's a very interesting time for us. We're dealing with trying to become self-sufficient," said Trimble. "We don't want the focus to be on their living conditions, we want it to be on the movement."

___

Associated Press writers Marcus Wohlsen in Oakland, Calif., Kristen Wyatt in Denver, and Kathy Matheson in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2011-10-27-Occupy%20Wall%20Street-Public%20Health/id-0e7945b7fb0a4878a0710990f222a3b0

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Debora MacKenzie, consultant

(Image: Paul Sakuma/AP/PA

A book about biotech pioneer Genentech from the company's point of view skimps on science in favour of a glossy tale of daring and chutzpah

IN TODAY'S biotech industry, start-up companies sprout from every university biology department, looking to hook up with big pharma or agrochemical firms to take their patented, DNA-based ingenuity lucratively to market. But that option did not exist in 1973, when university researchers created the first artificial gene sequences of recombinant DNA. By 1980 it did, largely due to the struggles, luck and sheer chutzpah of these pioneering molecular biologists. They blazed a commercial and cultural trail, one followed not just by biotechnology but also by the rest of modern high-tech industry.

The leader of the pack was Genentech. If you are interested in a blow-by-blow account of its early, triumphant years - founder and biochemist Herbert Boyer did this, his partner, venture capitalist Robert Swanson, did that, then they beat everyone to synthesis of human insulin - this is your book.

Science writer Sally Smith Hughes presents things entirely from Genentech's point of view, based on its own archives and oral history project. This is perhaps fitting for a company that so embodies US West Coast narcissism (as well as the area's more admirable values) that it commissioned a bronze statue of its two founders' legendary first meeting over beer. Still, history told by participants has value.

There might have been better ways to tell it, though, than a repetitive Homeric paean extolling "masculine" energy, competition and high jinks. In particular, more background on the actual science the company did may have better conveyed the magnitude of what these characters accomplished. But Smith Hughes seems to assume you don't want the details.

Other glossed-over details that, in depth, could have made this a more balanced read include early concerns about genetic modification, and events at the 1975 Asilomar meeting in California, at which scientists agreed to self-police their work on recombinant DNA. Also lacking is context from sources outside the company, as well as insight into Genentech's later years, when triumphs yielded to success, litigation and the firm's eventual acquisition.

This is an encyclopaedic account of one firm's role in a crucial era of biotechnology. It will surely be an invaluable resource for more balanced histories of those amazing years.

Book Information
Genentech
by Sally Smith Hughes
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
$25

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/1992e02f/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cculturelab0C20A110C10A0Cblazing0Ea0Etrail0Efor0Egenetics0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2006 file photo, IBM Senior Vice President Virginia Rometty speaks in New York. IBM on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 announced that Rometty will succeed outgoing CEO Samuel Palmisano, who is retiring after reaching traditional retirement age of 60, effective Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Dima Gavrysh, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2011 file photo, Samuel J. Palmisano, President CEO of IBM Corporation reacts while being introduced prior to delivering a lecture on "Ideas that shaped a century" part of the IBM Centennial Lecture Series, in Singapore. Palmisano is retiring as IBM CEO after reaching traditional retirement age of 60. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, file)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? IBM Corp. has passed a milestone, naming the first female CEO in the company's 100-year history.

The selection of Virginia "Ginni" Rometty, announced Tuesday, is also a statement about the growing influence of women in the top tiers of the technology world.

Two of the biggest technology companies will have female leaders when Rometty's appointment takes effect Jan. 1. Last month, Hewlett-Packard Co. named Meg Whitman, former eBay Inc. chief and candidate for California governor, as its CEO.

Their appointments are "setting a fabulous example" in the promotion of female executives, said Jean Bozman, an analyst with IDC who has followed IBM and HP closely for years.

"It does create an environment in which more of these high-ranking women executives can see that's within reach," Bozman said. "The more that happens, the more normal that will be. I think this might be a great sign that we've turned a corner. Certainly the Baby Boomers have wanted this for a long time."

Rometty, IBM's sales and marketing chief, is taking over from Sam Palmisano, who this year turned 60, the age at which IBM CEOs have traditionally stepped down.

Rometty, 54, will be among more than a dozen female CEOs in the Fortune 500. Another prominent female CEO of a technology company is Ursula Burns of Xerox Corp., who has held that title since 2009.

HP, of course, had another female CEO, Carly Fiorina, but her tenure ended in acrimony when she was forced out in 2005 over disappointing financials and the fallout from her hard-fought battle to buy Compaq Computer.

HP and IBM are bitter rivals that have followed somewhat inverted paths for years.

When IBM was near collapse two decades ago with the eroding dominance of its mainframes, HP thrived with the advent of personal computing and Silicon Valley's dot-com boom. Now the tables are turned ? IBM is thriving while HP is hurting.

Two of technology's most powerful women will square off from sharply different positions.

Rometty will inherit a company in a sweet spot.

IBM, which is based in Armonk, N.Y., has proven resilient in the downturn because of hard decisions it made in the 1990s to focus on the high-margin areas of software and technology services, moving away from computer hardware. Rometty played a leading role in the transformation.

She was instrumental in the formation of IBM's business services division, including overseeing IBM's $3.5 billion purchase of PricewaterhouseCoopers' consulting business in 2002, which is a key element of a strategy that has made IBM a heavily copied company. Rometty joined IBM in 1981 as an engineer.

She is "more than a superb operational executive," Palmisano, who is keeping his job as chairman, said in a statement.

IBM's stock has more than doubled since the depth of the recession in 2008. Meanwhile, HP stock has fallen by about 50 percent.

A series of scandals has led to turmoil at the top of HP, with former CEO Mark Hurd resigning under pressure last year over ethical violations, and his successor, Leo Apotheker, being fired after less than a year on the job after fumbling an important restructuring.

One of Whitman's first moves was to accelerate a decision about whether HP will sell, spin off or keep its personal computer business, the largest in the world by sales. Investors seem undecided about what course they want HP to take. Some analysts worry that Apotheker did irreparable harm to the brand by announcing it was for sale before a buyer had been found, making it potentially hard to sell and hard to keep.

Analysts have generally said that both women are right for their roles ? HP needs Whitman's star power to woo Wall Street while IBM needs a steady operator with broad experience like Rometty to continue IBM's predictable, steady growth.

IBM dates to June 16, 1911, when three companies that made scales, punch-clocks for work and other machines merged to form the Computing Tabulating Recording Co. The modern-day name followed in 1924.

It had a boys' club image but shed it long ago. Rometty's status as a front-runner for the CEO job was a poorly kept secret. Industry insiders have whispered about it for years, and Tuesday's announcement was only a mild surprise because of its timing.

IBM CEOs have traditionally stepped down at 60 years old, but Palmisano had tamped down talk of his retirement, insisting that he wanted to stay on as chief. In rare public comments, he said last year that he was "not going anywhere" and that there's no formal policy at IBM dictating when a CEO should retire.

Bobby Cameron, an analyst with Forrester Research who has worked with IBM in various roles over the years, said that in meetings with Rometty is "engaging" and inquisitive. Her interest in emerging technologies, not just the established sales leaders, is an important characteristic. Cameron thinks she's an ideal choice to continue Palmisano's work.

"I think she's smart. She asks questions; she doesn't just come in with an agenda, and she's interested in the leading edge, not just what's driving volume ? all those things are important for a CEO to have," Cameron said.

Palmisano has the same characteristics, Cameron said.

"I think it will be more of the same, and I think that's a good thing," he said.

Nevertheless, investors' reaction was muted. IBM shares fell $1.16, or 0.6 percent, to $179.20 in extended trading Tuesday, after the announcement.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-10-26-IBM-CEO/id-c873115464d748d991b704d170677b4d

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WASHINGTON ? House Republicans are pitching a six-year transportation construction plan as a major jobs bill that can win bipartisan approval before next year's election, a key GOP lawmaker said Monday.

Even while prospects for enacting President Barack Obama's jobs plan have dimmed, Republican backing has grown for a long-term transportation bill to boost employment. Transportation and road-building industries, especially the beleaguered construction industry, are also pressuring lawmakers to make a multi-year commitment of federal funds. Without that, states and private investors will have trouble financing large infrastructure projects.

The most significant obstacle to passing the bill was eliminated when GOP leaders recently agreed to keep spending on highway programs at current levels even though gas tax revenues are declining, said Rep. John Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The GOP bill would spend about $285 billion over the six years, but would spur far greater investment in roads, bridges, and transit systems through federal loans and loan guarantees, Mica said at a media briefing.

"This is what we hope will be the core of not just a Republican, but a congressional jobs effort," Mica, R-Fla., told reporters.

Still unclear is where Republicans will find the funds to make up as much as a $100 billion shortfall between gas tax and other transportation tax revenues and what they are proposing to spend. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, suggested last month that royalties from expanding oil and gas development might be one way to find the money, but any proposal along those lines is likely to draw strong opposition from Democrats on environmental grounds.

GOP leaders are exploring a variety of possible funding sources, Mica said.

"We haven't come up with a solution, but we will find a way to fund at least current (spending) levels," he said.

He said his target for passing the bill is March 31, when current authority for highway programs expires.

Last month, Obama announced a $447 billion jobs plan that included new spending on infrastructure, education and aid to state and local governments paid for in part by tax increases on the wealthy. His plan includes $50 billion to immediately put Americans to work building roads, bridges, airport runways and other projects. But efforts to pass the full measure were blocked by Senate Republicans, who see the president's proposal as a second economic stimulus.

That's left Obama and his Democratic allies pushing lawmakers to pass the bill in individual pieces, an uncertain prospect at best.

Historically, highway programs ? and, since the 1980s, transit programs as well ? have been paid for primarily by gas and diesel taxes that go into a federal trust fund. Every five or six years Congress has passed a long-term plan for spending those funds.

But the last long-term transportation plan expired more than two years ago. Congressional efforts to pass a new plan stalled primarily because lawmakers have been unable to agree on how to pay for the program in the face of declining gas tax revenues. Boosting the gas tax is politically unpalatable to both parties.

Meanwhile, Congress has kept highway and transit programs going through a series of eight short-term extensions.

Earlier this year, House GOP leaders were adamant that any transportation bill be paid for entirely through trust fund revenues to prevent increasing the federal deficit. That would have required cutting spending by about a third.

Since then, "I think everyone came to the understanding we need more money in transportation," Mica said.

Mica's Senate counterpart, Environment and Public Works Committee chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has proposed a two-year, $109 billion transportation bill. She and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., have been struggling to find an extra $12 billion to meet lawmakers' demands that the bill be fully paid for.

Committee action on the Senate bill is scheduled for early November.

Boxer said she was pleased House Republicans have given up demands that transportation spending be cut by a third.

"Their support for higher funding levels is a very positive thing," Boxer said in an email. "I am confident that (the Senate) will pass a two-year bill which would be fully paid for, and I am very open to a six-year bill as long as it is fully paid for in a way that has bipartisan support and does not cut jobs elsewhere in the economy to pay for transportation."

Mica rejected Obama's proposal to create a $10 billion "infrastructure bank" to spur private sector investment in transportation and other projects of national or regional significance. He said it would take too long and cost too much to set up the bank. Republicans have also said they fear a bank might be vulnerable to political considerations when choosing which projects to fund.

However, both Mica and Boxer are proposing to increase an existing federal program that provides loans and loan guarantees for major transportation projects. The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program currently spends about $120 million a year; both lawmakers would boost its funding to $1 billion annually.

"There's not that much that separates us on this," Mica said.

____

Follow Joan Lowy at http://twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

____

Online:

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee http://transportation.house.gov/

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee http://epw.senate.gov

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111024/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_transportation_jobs

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Thomas Jefferson University Hospital cuts Whipple procedure wound infections in half with new measures

Public release date: 26-Oct-2011
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Contact: Steve Graff
stephen.graff@jefferson.edu
215-955-5291
Thomas Jefferson University

Stopping smoking at least 2 weeks before surgery, gown and glove change prior to skin closure helped reduced infection rates

PHILADELPHIAThomas Jefferson University Hospital surgeons found that a carefully-selected surgical care check list of 12 measures reduced Whipple procedure wound infections by nearly 50 percent.

Smoking cessation at least two weeks prior to surgery, gown and glove change prior to skin closure, and using clippers over razors to shave the surgical area are some of the measures that helped reduced infection rates, according to the study published in the October 26 online issue of the Journal of Surgical Research.

In a retrospective study, Harish Lavu, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University, and colleagues analyzed clinical data from 233 consecutive Whipple procedures -- also known as a pancreaticoduodenectomy, an operation to treat cancerous tumors of the pancreas. -- from October 2005 to May 2008 on patients who underwent routine preoperative preparation (RPP). That preparation is less comprehensive than the 12 measure surgical care bundle. For instance, it uses a razor for hair removal and iodine skin preparation and does not include smoking cessation.

They compared those rates to 233 consecutive Whipple procedures performed from May 2008 to May 2010 following the implementation of the surgical care bundle.

The researchers found a 49 percent reduction in wound infections in the surgical care bundle group (7.7 percent) compared to the RPP group (15 percent). The difference was statistically significant.

"It is typically quite difficult to achieve a 50 percent reduction in an adverse outcome," Dr. Lavu says. "We can make a significant impact on lowering wound infection in patients undergoing this surgery by using this set of guidelines."

Wound infection rates for Whipple procedures are historically higher and more common than in other procedures. Infections can be painful and require reopening the incision, which can ultimately leave scarring. Also, if an infection is not identified quickly, it can spread and patients can become very ill.

Two standout measures, Dr. Lavu says, are the gown and glove change prior to skin closure and intraoperative wound edge protection, which separates edges of the incision from contact with visceral contents, instruments and gloves during the procedure. And, like past studies have shown, using chlorhexidine-alcohol for skin preparation, instead of iodine, helps lower the risk of wound infections.

"The preoperative and post operative briefings alone, which are now being instituted in many American hospitals, reduce complications simply by improving communication among members of the health care team," Dr. Lavu says.

While some procedures at certain hospitals include a similar surgical care bundle, Jefferson's is the first one, to the author's knowledge, that has been implemented for pancreatic surgery.

"Now it is the standard of care here, and we are trying to move the surgical care bundle as it applies to other kinds of surgery, even in other departments at Jefferson," Dr. Lavu says.

The 12 measures that were implemented at Jefferson in 2008 and include:

Absence of remote infection
Preoperative smoking cessation
Pre-admission chlorhexidine-alcohol skin preparation
Preoperative clipper hair removal
Preoperative chlorhexidine-alcohol skin preparation
Preoperative antibiotic administration
Intraoperative would edge protection
Intraoperative glycemic control
Intraoperative temperature control
Gown and glove change prior to skin closure
Deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis and beta-blocker administration
Pre and post-operative briefings

###

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