Sony Alpha 7 and 7R: the full-frame mirrorless ILC is finally here!

Sony Unveils World's First Full-Frame Mirrorless Cameras

New Sony Alpha 7 Series Are World's Smallest, Lightest Full-Frame Interchangeable Lens Cameras

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 15, 2013 – Sony's new α7 and α7R digital cameras are the world's smallest full-frame interchangeable lens models2. Highly anticipated by professional photographers and imaging enthusiasts alike, the two new cameras offer an unmatched combination of creativity, customizability and portability.

The α7R model features a 36.4 effective megapixel 35mm Exmor® CMOS sensor – the highest resolution sensor in the history of Sony's α line – with no optical low pass filter for added resolving power and increased image detail. The α7 model boasts an impressive 24.3 effective megapixel 35mm Exmor® CMOS sensor and an innovative fast Hybrid AF system.

Each camera is equipped with advanced imaging features including a powerful new BIONZ® X processor; fast AF capabilities; a clear, bright XGA OLED Tru-finder, full HD 60p video recording, Wi-Fi® and NFC connection, dust-and moisture- resistance and more.

"With these new α7 camera systems, Sony has completely redefined the look and feel of a professional-grade digital camera," said Mike Kahn, director of the interchangeable lens camera business at Sony Electronics. "The α7 and α7R cameras are significantly smaller, lighter and more portable than any other full-frame interchange lens camera yet deliver image quality, power and performance that professionals and enthusiasts crave."Both cameras feature full customization and control to meet the needs of the most demanding photographers. There are 9 different customizable buttons and 46 assignable functions that can be adjusted based on shooting preferences, including fully customizable front and back dials, a rear control wheel and an exposure compensation dial. Users can preview all changes to photographic settings in real-time on the high-contrast, 2.4 million dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder or the high-resolution tiltable 3" LCD screen.

The new cameras share a powerful new BIONZ X processor that accurately reproduces details in textures in real-time via extra high-speed processing capabilities, and allows for exceptional low noise performance in all types of lighting conditions.

Additionally, the powerful processor combined with the advanced, high resolution sensors allow both cameras to shoot pro-quality Full HD video (AVCHD progressive, 1920x1080p @ 60p) with richly detailed colors and ultra-low noise.

Clear Image Zoom has been enhanced for video recording as well, allowing for powerful close-up shots without sacrificing pixel count. Other pro-style movie features include an audio recording level control and display plus a "live" HDMI® output for passing through video to an external monitor or recording device.

The new cameras both have on-board Wi-Fi and NFC capabilities for instant image sharing and transfer to compatible smartphones and tablets. The α7R and α7 models can access Sony's platform of PlayMemoriesTM Camera Apps, allowing users to add new effects, filters, utilities and more. This platform includes new 'Multiple Exposure' app, which automatically combines sequential exposures into one creative shot, and 'Smart Remote Control'4, which allows for direct control of exposure and shutter speed from a connected smartphone and is particularly useful for self-portraits or group shots5. Find out more at www.playmemoriescameraapps.com .The new α7 and α7R cameras each have a tough, magnesium alloy build and are dust and moisture resistant for standing up to some of the toughest weather conditions.

α7R Camera

Designed for professional photographers and highly advanced enthusiasts, the new α7R model is the world's smallest and lightest full-frame interchangeable lens camera2.

It has an impressive 36.4 effective megapixel full frame sensor and no optical low pass filter, ensuring that the extraordinary resolving power is fully realized and resulting in an unprecedented level of detail and clarity in images.

The camera features a new Fast Intelligent AF technology that delivers blazingly quick, accurate autofocus. Additionally, there are a total of three selectable sizes for the Flexible Spot AF frame, minimizing the risk of accidentally focusing on the wrong target.

α7 Camera

Offering an exciting entry into the world of full-frame photography, the α7 camera features an advanced 24.3 effective megapixel full-frame Exmor CMOS sensor paired with the powerful new BIONZ X processor.

The exciting new camera has an innovative Fast Hybrid AF system that combines phase- and contrast-detect AF methods to ensure speedy, accurate autofocus. It can also shoot at up to 5 fps continuously with non-stop AF tracking, allowing it to keep pace with fast- moving athletes, wildlife or energetic children.

New Sony α Lenses and Accessories

There are a total of 5 new full-frame E-mount lenses designed to take full advantage of the powerful imaging capabilities of the α7R and α7 cameras, including mid-range zoom lenses from Sony and Carl Zeiss, two bright Zeiss Sonnar T*TM prime lenses and a premium- quality G LensTM telephoto zoom. Sony's growing E-mount interchangeable lens lineup now consists of 21 different lenses including the new full-frame models.

In addition to the new lenses, there are also two new-generation mount adaptors that give photographers the ability to utilize full-frame Sony A-mount optics on the α7 and α7R cameras. The LA-EA3 adapter simply adds compatibility for existing A-mount lenses the new cameras, while the LA-EA4 model adds the ultra-fast focusing and shooting capabilities of Sony's innovative Translucent Mirror Technology.

There is also a new vertical grip (VG-C1EM) that offers greater comfort during vertical shooting and can accommodate two separate NP-FW50 batteries for extended battery life and shooting time. A new BC-TRW compact external battery charger that quickly charges batteries and is great for travel, and FA-CS1M off camera shoe allows the use of external flashes (HVL-43M, 20M) in off-camera wired applications. Additionally, the new3

LCS-ELCA premium soft leather carry case protects the α7 and α7R cameras from scuffs and marks while being carried.

Pricing and Availability

The Sony α7R and α7 full-frame interchangeable lens cameras will be available for purchase this December.

The α7R camera will be offered as a body-only for about $2300.

The Sony α7 compact system camera will be offered with a 28-70mm F3.5 – F5.6 full- frame lens (model SEL2870) for about $2000. It will also be offered as a body-only for about $1700.

The versatile new LA-EA3 and LA-EA4 mount adapters will be available in December for about $200 and $350, respectively.

The new VG-C1EM vertical grip and LCS-ELCA premium case will also be available in December for about $300 and $ 140, respectively.

The new camera and all compatible accessories will be available at Sony retail stores (www.store.sony.com) and other authorized dealers nationwide.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/16/sony-alpha-7-7r?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000589
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Florida executes man with new lethal injection drug

By Bill Cotterell

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida prison officials on Tuesday carried out what they described as the first execution in the United States using the sedative midazolam hydrochloride in a lethal injection.

Midazolam was pumped into William Happ, 51, as the first of three drugs in a lethal injection cocktail designed to induce unconsciousness, paralysis and death by cardiac arrest, the Florida Department of Corrections said.

He was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. EDT in the execution chamber at the Florida State Prison in Starke and there appeared to be no suffering or unusual reaction stemming from the use of the new drug, department spokeswoman Misty Cash said.

In a hand-written final statement, Happ confessed to killing 21-year-old Angie Crowley, who was raped and murdered in 1986. He also apologized to those who believed in his innocence.

"It is to my to agonizing shame that I must confess to this terrible crime," he wrote.

Like many other death penalty states across the country Florida is running out of pentobarbital, a barbiturate that has long been the first of three drugs administered in a lethal injection "protocol" for executions.

Supplies of pentobarbital are low because its manufacturer has clamped down on sales of the drug for executions, prison officials said. Just last week, Missouri postponed an execution set for October 23 due to uncertainty about using a different drug, propofol, as a pentobarbital substitute.

Legal experts had voiced concern over whether midazolam, commercially known as Versed, would spare Happ from suffering extreme pain when the second and third drugs were administered.

Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, called the use of the drug in an execution "an experiment on a living human being."

No late appeals were filed on behalf of Happ, who was sentenced to death in 1989 and abandoned his appeals in September.

Another Florida death row inmate, Etheria Jackson, has a hearing scheduled in Jacksonville federal court November 6, contending that the use of midazolam might violate the U.S. Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual punishment" by allowing inmates to suffer in their final minutes.

Cash told Reuters state authorities had been satisfied that the new drug represented a humane replacement for pentobarbital, however, and would not open the door to "unnecessary or wanton infliction of pain and suffering."

"The department was required to develop a new protocol because we have limited supplies of pentobarbital sodium that will expire at the end of November 2013," Cash said.

(Editing by Tom Brown and Bob Burgdorfer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/florida-executes-man-lethal-injection-drug-000054384.html
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Worst Case Scenario for Obamacare

Consider for a moment what will come next for Obamacare, in the context of Ezra Klein’s five thoughts on the disastrous launch of the program – a bellwether of sorts for how the administration failed to live up to the expectations it sold to the law’s supporters and opinion leaders. There are a few different directions it can go from here, but the worst case scenario hasn’t really entered people’s consciences yet, in part because the insurers are staying quiet at the moment. The reality now is that the system is at least a month from actually working, and likelier two or (gasp) three, given the enormous range of problems. And that could make for a real disaster.

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2013/10/15/worst_case_scenario_for_obamacare_317901.html
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Remembering The Woman Who Gave Motown Its Charm

Powell mentored Motown artists like Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and the Supremes. "Ladies dance with their feet, not their buttocks," she'd tell the girl groups.

Tony Ding/AP

In 2007, decades after Maxine Powell had retired from training a generation of black artists at Motown, a reporter from a Cleveland television station asked her whether anyone had been particularly difficult to work with.

Powell cut her off before she finished. "I don't have that," she said. "No one is difficult. Each person is a beautiful, unique human being. So if you have a problem and you're acting negative, you have been conditioned."

She went on. "So I said to my students, 'Allow me to help you unlearn that and realize and discover what a beautiful flower you are.' "

Powell, who died this weekend at the age of 98, was Motown's director of artist development during its heyday, and her job was to teach the label's young musicians how to present themselves in public. "They did come from humble beginnings," she told the Cleveland reporter, "some of them from the projects, some of them were using street language, some were rude and crude."

But to audiences at the time, those beginnings would have been invisible. For a long stretch in the 1960s, Motown's clean, factory-precise sound dominated popular music. The label's roster — the Temptations, the Supremes, The Jackson 5 — helped desegregate the radio waves. Motown was a kind of machine: Songs were written by committee, and artists had their images meticulously managed and cultivated. This meant that Motown's artists made incursions into places that black artists were not often seen; according to a Contemporary Black Biography interview, Powell told artists she was preparing them for "the White House and Buckingham Palace."

She was known to her charges as a straight-talking taskmaster. In 2009, All Things Considered host Rebecca Roberts asked her what kind of tips she gave artists:

"Body language. Everybody walks, but I teach how to glide. I teach how if you drop something, how to pick it up. If your slip comes down around your feet, how to stand in the basic standing position and step out of it smiling, with your hip bones pushed forward and the buttocks pushed under. You never, never protrude the buttocks because it means an ugly gesture, you see? They learned all of those things. I was turned loose to do whatever was necessary to make the artist look first-class."

But some artists were initially resistant to her instruction. She told the Detroit News that Marvin Gaye felt that he didn't "need 'charm school.' "

She corrected him: "It's a finishing school."

"Well, I don't need finishing," he told her.

" 'You don't need as much as some, but you close your eyes when you're singing, and people think you're asleep,' I told him," Powell recalled. " 'And you slouch. So we'll work on those two things.' "

She also worked with the Temptations, Tammi Terrell, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder. ("But I didn't do anything for Stevie," she told Roberts. "Stevie was always beautiful.")

"Two days a week when you were back in Detroit you had to go to artists' development," Robinson said. "It was mandatory. You went there and learned so many things about being in show business."

But Powell said that her work wasn't simply about prettifying pop stars — she saw it as part of the larger fight for black progress. "All my life I was thinking of things that would help my race become outstanding and I thought of class and style ... two things that would be accepted around the world," she told the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Just this summer, Powell told people gathered at an event in her honor that she would "teach until there's no breath left in my body." And indeed, Martha Reeves, the lead singer of the Vandellas and later a member of Detroit's City Council, said she dispatched Powell to schools and retirement homes to teach children and the elderly about "poise and pride."

Today, black artists don't have trouble making it to the White House. Beyonce was the toast of the inaugural ball in 2008, and Jay Z, her husband, was on the dais during President Obama's second inauguration this year. Black artists no longer need charm school to burnish their palatability with white audiences; today, authenticity has as much cachet as respectability, if not more. Motown desegregated the airwaves, normalizing black celebrity enough that black people would eventually not always have to be perfect in public spaces. (Indeed, many of the artists that Powell tutored — Gaye and Terrell, in particular — later dealt with their demons in the limelight.) That's a reality that Maxine Powell and Motown helped to bring about, even if that may not have been their intent.

To the last, Powell was a picture of grace.

"Thank you so much for being here," Roberts said to her on All Things Considered.

Impeccable as always, Powell responded: "You're perfectly welcome."

You can listen to Karen Grigsby Bates's obituary for Maxine Powell on NPR's All Things Considered, which is embedded at the top of this article.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/10/15/234738593/remembering-the-woman-who-gave-motown-its-charm?ft=1&f=1039
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HTC One Max review

The debate around giant smartphones is over. Manufacturers like Samsung, Sony and LG have amply demonstrated that it's possible to build a pocketable, phone-like device with a screen bigger than five inches. Now it's HTC's turn. But instead of re-imagining the much-praised One for this new category ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/pkn782hxBRs/
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U.N. extends NATO force in Afghanistan for last time

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to extend the mandate of the NATO-led force in Afghanistan for the last time before it hands over total responsibility for security to Afghan forces at the end of 2014.

The resolution adopted by the council said the situation in Afghanistan "still constitutes a threat to international peace and security."

It expressed serious concern about security in the country, pointing to ongoing violence and terrorist activities by the Taliban, al-Qaida, and other illegal and extremist groups as well as by criminals and those involved in the illegal drug trade.

The Taliban have escalated attacks in recent months as they try to take advantage of the withdrawal of foreign troops. In June, Afghan forces took the lead for security nationwide, leaving the NATO-led International Assistance Force known as ISAF entirely in a supporting, backseat role.

ISAF has dropped dramatically in strength as it prepares to leave — down from 130,000 troops two years to just over 87,200 troops on Aug. 1, including 60,000 Americans.

The Security Council extended ISAF's mandate until Dec. 31, 2014, the final day for transferring full security responsibility to the Afghan government.

Its action followed an outburst Monday from Afghan President Hamid Karzai who alleged that the U.S. and NATO inflicted suffering on the Afghan people and repeatedly violated its sovereignty. Despite his critical remarks, the Obama administration is still optimistic that a U.S.-Afghan agreement over the future role of American troops in the country can be finalized in the next few weeks.

Karzai made the comments on the 12th anniversary of the start of the American campaign in Afghanistan against al-Qaida that ousted its Taliban allies from power. The invasion was in response to the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, which claimed nearly 3,000 lives.

The Security Council welcomed a 2010 agreement between NATO and Afghanistan to provide practical support to improve Afghanistan's "capacity and capability to tackle continued threats to its security, stability and integrity."

It encouraged ISAF and other partners to accelerate the training and mentoring of the Afghan National Security Forces, now numbering more than 350,000 men and women.

The council said the goal is to have an Afghan force that is "self-sufficient, sustainable, accountable and ethnically balanced," and is able to provide security and ensure the rule of law throughout the country.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-extends-nato-force-afghanistan-last-time-210252242.html
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Can Iran, The West Overcome Distrust To Make A Nuclear Deal?

Nuclear negotiators from six world powers and Iran head to Geneva for talks surrounded by more optimism than has been seen in years. Positive rhetoric from the new administration of President Hasan Rouhani has raised hopes that diplomacy may once again be ascendant instead of sanctions and threats of military action. Analysts say the trick will be getting the slow-moving negotiating process to respond before these expectations fade. Much will depend on the West's, and especially Washington's, willingness to consider leaving low-level uranium enrichment in Iran's hands, and on whether Congress can be persuaded to hold off on more punitive sanctions that could derail the diplomatic effort.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=234234173&ft=1&f=1004
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List of NPC's

RolePlayGateway is proudly powered by obscene amounts of caffeine, duct tape, and support from people like you. It operates under a "don't like it, suggest an improvement" platform, and we gladly take suggestions for improvements or changes.

The custom-built "roleplay" system was designed and implemented by Eric Martindale as of July 2009. All attempts to replicate or otherwise emulate this system and its method of organizing roleplay are strictly prohibited without his express written and contractual permission; violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

© RolePlayGateway, LLC | with the support of LocalSense

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CNIO researchers discover a new regulator of drug detoxication

Public release date: 11-Oct-2013
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Contact: Nuria Noriega
comunicacion@cnio.es
Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO)

The CNIO group led by researcher Erwin Wagner discovered that the Fra-1 protein is causally involved in liver fibrosis and protects the liver from drug-induced liver damage

Drug abuse and alcohol are some of the most frequent causes of liver damage, particularly in developed countries. Such kind of liver damage can cause irreversible liver failure and even cancer. Researchers from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) have discovered an important new protective role of the Fra-1 protein, which neutralizes the damage caused by agents, such as the analgesic drug acetaminophen (Paracetamol). This is the first study to reveal a function of Fra-1 in protecting this important organ. The study is published today in the journal Hepatology.

The journal includes a comment by David A. Brenner, from the University of California, who is a leader in the field of gastroenterological research, specializing in diseases of the liver. In the comment, Brenner highlights the importance of this study, saying that it "should provide new insights into the complex role of AP-1 [a family of proteins which Fra1 is part of] in liver disease and the potential role of inhibitors of the signalling pathway in the treatment of specific liver diseases."

A NEW 'SUPER-DETOXIFYING' MOUSE

Key to the study has been a new 'super-detoxifying' mouse model generated by the team around Erwin Wagner, Director of the BBVA Foundation-CNIO Cancer Cell Biology Programme and holder of an ERC Advanced Grant.

"Our mouse was designed to produce extra Fra-1 protein only in the liver, which allowed us to study its specific function in this organ and thus eliminate side effects that an excess of protein might have in other tissues", explains Sebastian Hasenfuss, first author of the study.

According to the article, increased production of Fra-1 in the liver of these mice protects the organ from damage caused by drugs, such as Paracetamol. Moreover, Erwin Wagner's team also found that the removal of Fra-1 in mice causes a significant increase in liver damage.

How Fra-1 protects the liver is another question that Wagner's team answers in the article. On one hand, Fra-1 stimulates genes related to the glutathione defence system against free radicals and thus avoids cellular damage. On the other hand, Fra-1 stimulates genes that cause the removal of toxins from the body.

These results bring to light a new molecular component that could be key in future studies searching for new drugs for diseases related to the accumulation of toxic compounds, such as acute liver disease, alcoholism or cancer.

The team also highlights the importance that Fra-1's detoxifying role might have in the generation of chemotherapy resistance: "Tumour cells use very similar mechanisms as Fra-1 to eliminate chemotherapeutic agents", says Wagner, concluding that: "This makes us think that tumours might use Fra-1 to generate chemotherapy resistance and thus be able to keep growing."

###

Reference article:

The AP-1 transcription factor Fra-1 is dispensable for murine liver fibrosis, but modulates xenobiotic metabolism. Hasenfuss SC, Bakiri L, Thomsen MK, Hamacher R, Wagner EF. Hepatology (2013). doi: 10.1002/hep.26518

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 11-Oct-2013
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Contact: Nuria Noriega
comunicacion@cnio.es
Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO)

The CNIO group led by researcher Erwin Wagner discovered that the Fra-1 protein is causally involved in liver fibrosis and protects the liver from drug-induced liver damage

Drug abuse and alcohol are some of the most frequent causes of liver damage, particularly in developed countries. Such kind of liver damage can cause irreversible liver failure and even cancer. Researchers from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) have discovered an important new protective role of the Fra-1 protein, which neutralizes the damage caused by agents, such as the analgesic drug acetaminophen (Paracetamol). This is the first study to reveal a function of Fra-1 in protecting this important organ. The study is published today in the journal Hepatology.

The journal includes a comment by David A. Brenner, from the University of California, who is a leader in the field of gastroenterological research, specializing in diseases of the liver. In the comment, Brenner highlights the importance of this study, saying that it "should provide new insights into the complex role of AP-1 [a family of proteins which Fra1 is part of] in liver disease and the potential role of inhibitors of the signalling pathway in the treatment of specific liver diseases."

A NEW 'SUPER-DETOXIFYING' MOUSE

Key to the study has been a new 'super-detoxifying' mouse model generated by the team around Erwin Wagner, Director of the BBVA Foundation-CNIO Cancer Cell Biology Programme and holder of an ERC Advanced Grant.

"Our mouse was designed to produce extra Fra-1 protein only in the liver, which allowed us to study its specific function in this organ and thus eliminate side effects that an excess of protein might have in other tissues", explains Sebastian Hasenfuss, first author of the study.

According to the article, increased production of Fra-1 in the liver of these mice protects the organ from damage caused by drugs, such as Paracetamol. Moreover, Erwin Wagner's team also found that the removal of Fra-1 in mice causes a significant increase in liver damage.

How Fra-1 protects the liver is another question that Wagner's team answers in the article. On one hand, Fra-1 stimulates genes related to the glutathione defence system against free radicals and thus avoids cellular damage. On the other hand, Fra-1 stimulates genes that cause the removal of toxins from the body.

These results bring to light a new molecular component that could be key in future studies searching for new drugs for diseases related to the accumulation of toxic compounds, such as acute liver disease, alcoholism or cancer.

The team also highlights the importance that Fra-1's detoxifying role might have in the generation of chemotherapy resistance: "Tumour cells use very similar mechanisms as Fra-1 to eliminate chemotherapeutic agents", says Wagner, concluding that: "This makes us think that tumours might use Fra-1 to generate chemotherapy resistance and thus be able to keep growing."

###

Reference article:

The AP-1 transcription factor Fra-1 is dispensable for murine liver fibrosis, but modulates xenobiotic metabolism. Hasenfuss SC, Bakiri L, Thomsen MK, Hamacher R, Wagner EF. Hepatology (2013). doi: 10.1002/hep.26518

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/cndi-crd101113.php
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Joe Thornton's four-goal game celebration would ... - Yahoo Sports

Via @bonksmullet.

Two days on from his incredible, four-goal performance, capped with the early frontrunner for goal of the year, the hockey world is still buzzing about nineteen-year-old sensation Tomas Hertl. But on Thursday, the conversation took a slight turn when Washington Capitals' coach Adam Oates gave voice to a growing crowd of dissenters, calling Hertl's move disrespectful.

And that's when Joe Thornton came to Hertl's rescue. Sensing that the conversation was beginning to turn against his linemate, the Sharks' captain decided to do his captainly duty Thursday, turning the attention away from Tomas Hertl and squarely on himself.

How did he do that? He whipped out one doozy of a quote. From Jason Botchford of The Province:

Hearing a question to Marleau about Hertl and whether he was showboating, Thornton said: “Shut up, have you ever played the game?”

When the press turned his way, he then added:

“I’d have my [rooster] out if I scored four goals. I’d have my [rooster] out, stroking it.”

In Hertl's defense, he's new to this country. That's a good way to get deported.

But seriously, oh my God. Thornton can't possibly have actually said that, can he? David Pollak?

Well then.

Yeah, we can probably safely assume that Joe Thornton didn't expect to be quoted. But he was. And now here we are.

Amazingly, Thornton's never had a four-goal game. He's at nearly a point a game over his lengthy NHL career, racking up 1120 points in 1128 games with his mad dangles, and he's registered four career hat tricks, the most recent of which came October 27, 2010 versus the New Jersey Devils. But he's never dropped four on an opponent. Which is why he's never dropped trou on an opponent.

When he does, though, well, if you thought Hertl's between-the-legs move was over the top, just wait for Jumbo Joe's to rock out on his fourth tally of the night. It'll bring new meaning to the term "junk goal".

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/joe-thornton-four-goal-game-celebration-probably-better-195736956--nhl.html
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A Glowing Pump That Lets Drivers Know You're Doing Roadside Repairs

There's a reason that Topeak's MiniRocket iGlow bike bump won a 2013 Red Dot Design Award: the transparent barrel encases a internal optical fiber that turns a small red LED into a brilliantly-visible glowing safety strip. And at just 67 grams, it adds minimal weight to your bike's frame, so it's easy to always keep on hand. A pair of watch-sized batteries powers it continuously for up to 50 hours on its brightest setting, and 100 hours when dimmed.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/JxVwcGj5Wo0/a-glowing-pump-that-lets-drivers-know-youre-doing-road-534969745

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Howard Dean open to another presidential run (Washington Post)

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Nissan shows off 185 mph ZEOD RC electric prototype, plans to race it at Le Mans

Nissan's just pulled the covers off its fancifully styled ZEOD RC race car that may eventually hit speeds of up to 300km/h (about 185mph). Though the acronym stands for "zero emissions, on demand," the vehicle could end up being a hybrid model that switches between gas and EV modes (as opposed to a pure electric car) by the time it hits Le Mans in 2014. Regardless, the company's Nismo racing division (creator of the all-electric Nismo RC) plans to enter it in the so-called Garage 56 class of the famed race, reserved for vehicles that showcase breakthrough technology. While the company flaunted the design at Circuit de la Sarthe in France today, the car won't start trials until later this summer, after which the final drivetrain will be chosen. Prior to hitting the track, though, it'll have its work cut out just to top Toyota's P001, the current EV lap-speed champ.

Gallery: Nissan 185 mph ZEOD RC electric prototype

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Ex-Enron CEO gets 10 years cut from sentence

HOUSTON (AP) ? Ex-Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling ? seen by many as exemplifying the worst in corporate fraud and greed in America ? could be released from prison in about four years after a federal judge on Friday shaved off a decade from his original sentence of more than 24 years.

Skilling's resentencing during a packed courtroom hearing brought one of the country's most notorious financial scandals ? the collapse of the once-mighty energy giant ? to a conclusion that upset some former Enron workers.

Ex-Enron worker Diana Peters, the only victim who spoke at the resentencing hearing, said afterward in a phone interview that Skilling should have to serve his entire original sentence.

"Jeffrey Skilling has never taken any responsibility for his actions," said the 63-year-old Peters, who lives in Huntsville, north of Houston. "He has no remorse for the end result of what happened."

Even before Friday's resentencing, which was part of a court-ordered reduction and a separate agreement with prosecutors, Skilling had already been set to have his sentence of about 8? years shortened after an appeals court vacated his original sentence by U.S. District Judge Sim Lake.

The appeals court ruled that a sentencing guideline was improperly applied. However, Skilling's resentencing was delayed for years as he unsuccessfully sought to overturn his convictions, including appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Justice Department said in order to resolve a case that's gone on for more than 10 years, it agreed to an additional reduction of about 20 months as part of a deal to stop Skilling from filing any more appeals. Federal prosecutors say it will allow for $41.8 million of Skilling's assets to be distributed as restitution to victims of Enron's 2001 collapse.

Skilling, 59, who has been in prison since 2006, declined to make a statement during Friday's hearing.

His attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, said he disagrees with claims that his client, who "still maintains his innocence," never expressed remorse for what happened at Enron. He said Skilling wasn't aware of the illegal activities of others but "took complete responsibility for all the actions" at the company.

Petrocelli said the reduction, combined with time off for good behavior and other factors, means Skilling is likely to be released by 2017.

During the hearing, prosecutor Patrick Stokes criticized Skilling for continuing "to cast himself as a victim" and said Skilling "is anything but a victim."

"Mr. Skilling was not only at the pinnacle of Enron, he was at the pinnacle of the fraud schemes," Stokes said.

Once the money from Skilling's assets is added, about $560 million in restitution will have been collected for victims of the Enron scandal, Stokes said.

Former Enron employee George Maddox said he still blames Skilling for his losing $1.3 million in retirement savings when Enron collapsed. Maddox worked for 30 years as a plant manager with the company.

"Long sentences are for no one but poor people," said Maddox, 79, who lives in the East Texas town of Van and is now supporting his 16-year-old grandson and himself mainly on Social Security income.

Even with the reduced sentence, Skilling's prison term is still the longest of those involved in the Enron scandal. He was the highest-ranking executive to be punished. Enron founder Kenneth Lay's similar convictions were vacated after he died of heart disease less than two months after his trial.

Philip Hilder, a Houston attorney who represented several ex-Enron executives who cooperated with prosecutors, called Skilling's new sentence "a fair resolution" to his case.

But Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago-based attorney who represented 10 people who lost money in Enron's collapse, called the new sentence "a slap in the face" to ex-Enron workers and investors.

Skilling was convicted in 2006 on 19 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors for his role in the downfall of Houston-based Enron. The company, once the seventh-largest in the U.S., went bankrupt under the weight of years of illicit business deals and accounting tricks.

The U.S. Supreme Court said in 2010 that one of Skilling's convictions was flawed when it sharply curtailed the use of the "honest services" fraud law ? a short addendum to the federal mail and wire fraud statute that makes it illegal to scheme to deprive investors of "the intangible right to honest services."

The high court ruled prosecutors can use the law only in cases where evidence shows the defendant accepted bribes or kickbacks, and because Skilling's misconduct entailed no such things, he did not conspire to commit honest services fraud.

The Supreme Court told a lower court to decide whether he deserved a new trial; the lower court said no.

Enron's collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work, wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions and rendered worthless $60 billion in Enron stock. Its aftershocks were felt across Houston and the U.S. energy industry.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano at http://www.twitter.com/juanlozano70 .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-enron-ceo-gets-10-years-cut-sentence-210206372.html

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Exclusive: FINRA beefs up policing of arbitrators

By Suzanne Barlyn

(Reuters) - Wall Street's industry-funded watchdog said it was beefing up oversight of its 6,500 securities arbitrators after one of them was criminally indicted and suspended from the practice of law but failed to properly disclose those legal run-ins.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's new policy comes after Reuters asked questions about the background of Demetrio Timban, a Medford, New Jersey-based arbitrator who has become a central figure in a lawsuit between Goldman Sachs Group Inc and a wealthy investor. "In light of your questions, we reexamined our paneling process and initiated this change," a FINRA spokeswoman said in an email.

Timban was indicted by the state of New Jersey for practicing law without a license, although charges were later dropped under a state program to deal with nonviolent offenses. He was also reprimanded by a Michigan regulator for the New Jersey incident and passing $18,000 in bad checks.

Timban said in an interview that he had closed his New Jersey office and the check-writing incident was "accidental," as a family member was supposed to wire funds to cover the check. But FINRA said it did not learn of the New Jersey indictment for five months and that Timban failed to tell it about the Michigan problems altogether, while he arbitrated the Goldman case.

Investors and the securities industry must use FINRA's arbitration system to resolve their legal disputes, such as battles over brokers' signing bonuses or investor claims of mistreatment. Timban's failure to meet his obligations to disclose his legal problems led to questions about how FINRA polices its arbitrators and the reliability of their decisions.

In response to questions from Reuters over the past few days, a FINRA spokeswoman said late on Thursday that the regulator has adopted a new policy of conducting annual background checks on its arbitrators and an additional review before appointing arbitrators to a case. Previously, FINRA checked its arbitrators only when they applied, and required them to self-report new information, such as any legal troubles.

While FINRA's new policy is in response to the Timban matter, there have been other instances in which arbitrators have failed to self-report information, the spokeswoman said.

"The integrity of our arbitrator roster is of utmost importance to FINRA," she said.

The new policy could help weed out problem arbitrators early on and lead to fewer lawsuits seeking to overturn awards.

The change is "really at the heart of the fairness of the process," said Phil Aidikoff, a lawyer in Beverly Hills, Calif. who represents investors.

Terry Weiss, a lawyer for Greenberg Traurig LLP in Atlanta who represents brokerages, said the new policy might unearth extreme problems in an arbitrator's past, but it would not solve everything. Arbitrators may still be sloppy about not disclosing other facts that can reveal bias against a party, said Weiss, who declined to comment on the Goldman case.

FINRA began background checks for all new arbitrator applicants in 2003, covering everything from employment verification to potential criminal run-ins.

In 2009, the regulator took on a year-long project to run checks on about 4,000 arbitrators in its pool who had not been checked because they were already serving as arbitrators when the new system came in.

The check did not reveal any negative information about Timban, the FINRA spokeswoman said.

She said the regulator had taken numerous other steps in recent years to enhance disclosure by arbitrators, including training materials and newsletters. FINRA also looks into parties' allegations about arbitrators that occur during a case and relies on parties' evaluations of arbitrators at the end of each case to detect problems.

Arbitrators do not have to be lawyers and are typically paid $200 per half-day session.

GOLDMAN CASE

Timban has become a central figure in a lawsuit filed by the family investment vehicle of Richard Caruso, who founded Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp in 1989. Goldman Sachs won the arbitration against the investment vehicle, Athena Venture Partners LP, which sought to recoup a $1.4 million loss.

Athena is claiming that Timban's legal troubles had an impact on its arbitration and is asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to throw out the FINRA ruling, according to a June 7 court filing.

Timban was acting as a "public arbitrator" - one who is not affiliated with the securities industry and is typically more consumer-friendly than an industry arbitrator, said Athena's attorney, David Moffitt, in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Athena was depending on him in that role.

Had Timban disclosed his situation, been removed and replaced with a different public arbitrator, the case could have turned out differently, Moffitt said. Instead he abandoned the case in the wake of his problems with his Michigan law license, Athena alleged. That left the two remaining arbitrators in the case to decide themselves, Athena said.

A FINRA spokeswoman, however, said that Timban participated in the decision and agreed with the other two arbitrators.

A Goldman spokeswoman said the arbitrators' ruling was correct and that Athena's claims were not proven in arbitration. "We will continue to defend ourselves in any venue if necessary," she said.

Timban said he fulfilled his obligations in the Goldman case and that Athena was "reaching for straws."

(Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn with additional reporting by Ashley Lau; Editing by Linda Stern, Paritosh Bansal and Ryan Woo)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-finra-beefs-policing-arbitrators-050110767.html

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Instagram Video Already Has Ads

Instagram creator Kevin Systrom is unveiling video for Instagram literally as I write this and Lululemon is already using it for marketing.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/WI3db_JSLn8/instagram-video-already-has-ads-519286686

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