Disney to buy "Star Wars" producer for $4.05 billion

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co has agreed to buy filmmaker George Lucas's Lucasfilm Ltd and the "Star Wars" franchise for $4.05 billion in cash and stock, a blockbuster deal that includes the surprise promise of a new film in the series in 2015.

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger, in prepared remarks for analysts, said the plan was to release a new movie in the series every two to three years thereafter. The last "Star Wars" picture was "Revenge of the Sith" in 2005, and Lucas has in past denied any plans for more.

Lucas, a Hollywood icon known for exercising control over the most minute details of the fictional universe he created, will remain as a creative consultant on the new films.

"It`s now time for me to pass 'Star Wars' on to a new generation of filmmakers," he said in a statement. Lucas will become the second-largest individual holder of Disney shares, with a 2.2 percent stake.

Disney will pay about half the purchase price in cash and issue about 40 million shares at closing.

Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, in prepared remarks, said the deal would lower Disney's earnings per share by a low single-digits percentage in fiscal 2013 and 2014. He also said Disney would repurchase all of the issued shares on the open market within the next two years, on top of planned buybacks.

This deal marks the third time in less than seven years that Disney has signed a massive deal to take over a beloved studio or character portfolio, part of its strategy to acquire brands that can be stretched across TV, movies, theme parks and the Internet.

In early 2006, Disney struck a deal to acquire "Toy Story" creator Pixar, and in the summer of 2009 it bought the comic book powerhouse Marvel Entertainment

"Because Lucas is private, I would assume most investors would be surprised (by the deal). My point of view is that Disney already has a great portfolio and this adds one more. They don't have any holes, but their past deals have been additive," said Morningstar analyst Michael Corty.

From a fan's perspective, critics said there was sure to be at least some excitement at the prospect of episode seven in the saga of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

"Do I want to see more Star Wars movies? Not really, but they're not making these movies for me. There's a whole new generation of Star Wars fans, and they worship the prequels like folks my age worshipped the original trilogy," the film writer "Mr. Beaks" said on the well-regarded industry site Ain't It Cool News.

Besides "Star Wars," the Lucasfilm deal also includes rights to the "Indiana Jones" franchise, though Disney did not elaborate on any plans for that series.

(Additional reporting by Michael Erman in New York and Himank Sharma in Bangalore; Writing by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Ciro Scotti)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/disney-buy-star-wars-producer-lucasfilm-4-05-200720453--finance.html

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Add Fun to the Home With a Game Table Set | Traffic Secrets

There isn?t much better than good friends, good food, and lots of laughs. Would you enjoy playing games and entertain friends and family? Does everyone love to flock to your house for game night? Adding a game table set to your home can be the perfect way to give a new level of fun to game night. There are lots of various kinds of sets to choose from you can use diversely.

All of us have a load fun on card game night. Girls usually meet up for any nice game of bridge while the fellow gang up for that notorious poker night. Then the whole family all comes together for any fun family card game like Uno. There are so many different games you are able to decide to play with a card set. You can aquire a card table set that?s made solely for taking part in cards or one that?s multifunctional so that the top could be flipped and you can apply it dining in order to play board games too.

If you love to get together with your friends and family members for a fun game of pool you might want to choose a billiard table as your game table. Pool could be a fun game to learn for the entire family but most people have to go to sports bars or pubs when they want to play pool. If you are a devoted player why not get a pool table and produce the sport home? You?ll soon find your house is the new meet up place for all of your friends.

Once you choose which type game table works best for your needs, it will be time to go shopping. Take a summary of your must haves in a set along with you. Look for a game table that?s durable. Your don?t want your table failing following the first few games. Check the materials the table is made from and ensure they?re quality. Be sure to shop around to get the best price. The price of the set you buy will largely rely on the kind of table you select. If you shop around you will find a great set at a fair price. You will be on the right path to lots of fun game nights.

For More Information Regarding game of SET And the best about SET, Please Leave a Comment

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Source: http://traffic-secrets.org/add-fun-to-the-home-with-a-game-table-set

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Visualized: Nikon's Small World microscope photography contest winners

3D render? The latest submission to deviantART? No, that's a microscopic photo of the blood-brain barrier in a live zebrafish embryo taken by Dr. Jennifer Peters and Dr. Michael Taylor at 20X magnification, and it's the latest winner of Nikon's annual Small World Photomicrography Competition. Not surprisingly, the runners-up in the contest (drawn from some 2,000 submissions) are just as impressive -- hit the links below for a look at all of them. Those interested in having themselves featured next year (and taking home up to $3,000 in Nikon gear) have until April 30th to get their submissions in for the next competition.

Filed under: Cameras, Alt

Visualized: Nikon's Small World microscope photography contest winners originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wired Science  |  Nikon Small World  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/25/visualized-nikons-small-world-microscope-photography-contest-w/

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Middle school roundup: North Whitfield softball wins league title ...

For the 10th time in the past 12 seasons, the North Whitfield Middle Lady Pioneers are the North Georgia Middle School Athletic League softball champions.

Coach Melanie Reed?s team upset top-seeded and previously undefeated Westside 4-0 in the championship game Monday at Northwest Whitfield High to claim back-to-back league titles.

?We started off kind of rocky at the start and had a lot of rain ? and the first time we were really together as a team we were playing a game,? Reed said. ?We finally pulled it all together and put together a great run.?

Seventh-grade pitcher Shelby Walters was the winner in the championship game, striking out 11 and giving up just two hits. She was supported by error-free defense from the Lady Pioneers.

North Whitfield (11-2-1) was led offensively by catcher Sydney Ross, who was 3-for-4 in the title game, while Alyie Coker, Madeleine Kalafut and Walters were all 2-for-4.

Alyssa Ward and Jolene Gale had the lone hits for the host Lady Rockets (13-1).

The game was scoreless until the third, when singles by Kalafut and Coker and a walk to Ross set the stage for Tori Henderson, who delivered a two-run single to right for a 2-0 lead. The Lady Pioneers added their final two runs in the seventh. Ross delivered a two-run single to bring in Makenzie Eaton and Caroline Kiker.

It was more than enough offense for Walters.

?She is a very special pitcher,? Reed said . ?She is a freak of nature. I used to call (Northwest standout pitcher) Emily Boyd that. Shelby had a perfect game this year and three or four no-hitters. She is just a phenomenal player. She is the full package.?

North Whitfield advanced to the title game with a 2-1 win over New Hope in the semifinals, where Walters also struck out 11.

New Hope took an early 1-0 lead before Henderson tied the game in the fourth with an RBI single to bring in Ross, who had doubled to lead off the inning. In the fifth, Hannah Jackson led the inning off with a single and came all the way around to score on Eaton?s triple to get the win.

Reed said her group of eighth-graders responded to the slow start this season.

?I love this group of girls,? she said. ?They have a special place in my heart. They were almost all playing as sixth-graders. They really stepped up and took control. You can?t ask much better for the way they came out in the championship game and hit the ball.?

No other statistics or results from the league playoffs were reported by The Daily Citizen?s deadline.

Golf

? North Whitfield?s boys and Gladden?s girls were the winners in a nine-hole tri-match that also included New Hope on Monday at Spring Lakes Golf Club in Chatsworth.

In the girls match, Tori Owens shot a 42 to earn medalist honors and lead Gladden to the win. Teammate Peyton Hawkins added a 60 for the Lady Warriors? 102, which put them ahead of New Hope (118) and North Whitfield (118).

New Hope?s Aleana Thompson and Autumn Thompson each turned in a counting round of 59, while North Whitfield?s Serene Wiggins (58) and Jenna Bagley (60) scored for the Lady Pioneers.

Also participating were Gladden?s Erica Chambers (61), New Hope?s Savannah Lofty (62) and North Whitfield?s Jovin Adams (61).

In the boys match, Trevor Owens shot a 47 to earn medalist honors and lead North Whitfield to the win. David Manis (48), Walt Douglas (50) and Trent Collins (55) also scored for the Pioneers, whose 200 bested New Hope (231) and Gladden (253).

New Hope?s scores came from Haven Morgan (52), Trey Swinney (59), Riley Jordan (59) and Carson Wright (61). Gladden was led by Tony Burns (61), while Mason Ankney, Patrick Parrish, Tucker Patterson and Blaine Thornbury each shot a 64.

Also competing were North Whitfield?s Will Douglas (57) and Carter Staten (61).

In junior varsity boys action, North Whitfield?s Will Brooker (56) and Gannon Beavers (60) combined for the winning 116 over Gladden?s 128, which came from Chandler Simmons (64) and Joseph Messer (64).

Also participating were North Whitfield?s Austin Burton (62) and Sam Wilson (63).

? In a nine-hole boys match between North Whitfield and New Hope last week at Lookout Mountain Golf and Country Club, the Pioneers? 209 topped New Hope?s 235.

Manis shot a 50 to earn medalist honors and lead North Whitfield, which also got counting rounds from Will Douglas (51), Walt Douglas (52), Owens (56) and Collins (56).

New Hope?s counting rounds came from Morgan (55), Jordan (59), Swinney (59) and Wright (62).

Also participating for North Whitfield were Staten (58), Brooker (62), Wilson (62), Beavers (63), Burton (63), Jacob Hawkins (63) and Taylor Garlock (63).

In the girls match, no participants were able to break triple-bogey on the course, so each girl scored a 63 and each team tied at 126.

New Hope?s golfers were Lofty, Rylee Merritt, Aleana Thompson and Autumn Thompson. North Whitfield?s participants were Bagley and Wiggins.

The Daily Citizen?s area middle school roundup publishes each Monday and Thursday in The Daily Citizen. Coaches should send results to sports@daltoncitizen.com, with the final score, outstanding performers, team?s win-loss record and date and location of the competition included in the report.

Events that take place on Monday and Tuesday must be received by noon Wednesday for publication; events that take place on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday must be received by noon Sunday for publication. Events reported after the deadline or without complete information may not be published.

Source: http://daltondailycitizen.com/sports/x1400198553/Middle-school-roundup-North-Whitfield-softball-wins-league-title-again

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How to Take Your Small Business to the Next Level - SmallBizLady

Every week asSmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with JJ Ramberg, @JJRamberg, the host of Your Business?on MSNBC, which is dedicated to issues affecting small business owners. Ramberg is also the co-founder of GoodSearch.com, a search engine that donates 50 percent of revenue to the charities and schools its users designate. She?s the author of the new book, It?s Your Business, 183 Essential tips that will transform your small business.

SmallBizLady:?You?ve?been hosting Your Business?on MSNBC for six years now. Who is your favorite person that you?ve interviewed?

JJ Ramberg: While I don?t have one favorite, one of the people who made the biggest impression on me was Kim Bensen from Kim?s Light Bagels.? Kim had spent most of her adult life raising her children and running her house.? But, when her husband lost his job, she decided to take their small amount of savings and invest it into an idea she had to make low-fat bagels.? This was a big risk ? they had no income, four kids and a mortgage and Kim had basically no business experience.? She did have a strong sense that there was a market for her product, and a won?t-take-no-for-an-answer kind of personality. She worked incredibly hard knocking on doors until she finally got one retailer to sell her bagels.? Now, Kim has a company that not only supports her own family, but the families of all her employees!

SmallBizLady: I know you are an entrepreneur yourself. What is the proudest moment of your life as a small business owner?

JJ Ramberg: In 2005, my brother Ken and I launched a company called GoodSearch.com which turns your everyday actions into ways to support your favorite cause.? So, each time you search the internet, shop online or dine out, a donation is made to your favorite charity or school at no cost to you.? Last year, 15 million people used GoodSearch. My proudest moment was the day we sent checks to the charities that first year.? We were still very much in start-up mode and so we printed all the checks ourselves, gathered in my brother?s living room and had an assembly line of people printing the checks and stuffing the envelopes.? It was so exciting because it was the moment that proved that our idea really resonated with people.

SmallBizLady: What is the biggest lesson?you?ve?learned in your business?

JJ Ramberg: Prioritizing is incredibly hard and yet mission critical.? As entrepreneurs and small business owners, a lot of us see opportunity around every corner and are constantly coming up with new ideas.? At GoodSearch, at any given time, we have a list of about twenty new initiatives that we are very excited about launching.?? And, we want them all done yesterday.? But obviously that?s not possible.? So, we have very focused management meetings where we talk about what we think our team should tackle first, second, third etc? We often come into the meetings with each of us having different ideas of where things should land on that priority list, but we leave the meetings all in agreement.?? Setting that clear direction is incredibly important to the success of how our company operates.

SmallBizLady: You wrote the book ?It?s Your Business.?? It includes 183 tips that you learned from people you?ve interviewed.? What is your favorite tip in the book?

JJ Ramberg: Tip number 101 is one of my favorites. It?s ?Turn no into yes ? part one.?? The basic idea is that if a potential client decides she does not want to work with you, don?t let this be the end of the relationship ? keep their need or project in mind and contact them after a week or so with a piece of advice or an article or something that relates to their project.? This should not be a solicitation for their business, but something to keep you top of mind in case something goes wrong with the service provider they ended up choosing.

SmallBizLady: Do you have an example of how to turn a No into Yes in a small business?

JJ Ramberg: I sure do. Ashlie Yair runs a company that designs events ? A.Y. Dzyne.? She was contacted by someone who wanted her company to plan a child?s birthday party.? Ashlie put together a proposal, but the potential client ended up not hiring her, saying she decided to do it herself.? About a week later, Ashlie sent the woman an email saying that she came across a castle that would work perfectly for the party and she just wanted to pass it along.? The next day, the potential client sent Ashlie an email thanking her for the link and asking if A.Y. Dzyne was still available for hire.? Just a few minutes of Ashlie?s time ended up getting her a new job!

SmallBizLady: What tip from the book do you find yourself using the most in your own company?

JJ Ramberg: I try to use Tip 109 every day -? Never say no to a potential client. Basically, if someone asks if you provide something, instead of saying no, try and answer in a way that explains what you do offer.? Here?s an example.? I was sitting in the reception area of Pilates on Fifth in New York City and a woman walked in and asked the receptionist, ?Do you have yoga here??? Instead of answering no, the receptionist said ?We have Pilates and cardiolates, have you ever tried cardiolates??? The founders of the studio, Kimberly and Katherine Corp told me that they have trained people to not say no.? No is off-putting and a conversation ender.? As you can guess, in the example I just gave, the woman ended up signing up for a cardiolates class. If the receptionist had simply answered ?No, we don?t have? yoga,? it?s likely that potential customer would have just walked away.

SmallBizLady: Confidence is such an issue for small business owners, how can people be more confident in running their business?

JJ Ramberg: At some point, as an entrepreneur, you just have to take a risk.

SmallBizLady: What is the biggest mistake you see entrepreneurs make?

JJ Ramberg:? Making things too confusing! As small business owners, our companies are our babies.? And so, when someone asks us about it, we often start going on and on and on about every little detail.? Well, you have to remember that saying too much is often akin to saying nothing.? The listener gets lost, confused or bored.? Every time you explain what your company does to someone new, give yourself a test ? is this simple enough for someone who does not live this company every day to understand?? As one company I just interviewed told me, always do the KISS check ? Keep It Simple Stupid!

SmallBizLady: The holidays are getting to be around the corner, I saw that you have a fun tip about giving your clients gifts.

JJ Ramberg: I do!? This was one of the first tips we gathered for the book.? It?s tip 123 and the advice is to send your holiday gifts right before Thanksgiving.? That way your gift will not get lost in a pile of other gifts and will really stand out!

SmallBizLady: It seems that you care strongly about socially responsible business.? How can people incorporate being socially responsible in their own companies?

JJ Ramberg: I truly believe that running a strong company and keeping people employed is socially responsible in and of itself.? In addition, you can do little things every day to help out your community or a cause you care about.? For example, if you go to GoodShop.com, you can link over to stores like Office Depot or Target and buy all of your office supplies and a percentage of what you spend will go to your favorite charity.? You can also sponsor local nonprofits or events that help your community.?Doing good is a great way to both feel good and get the word out about your company.

SmallBizLady: You and your brother Ken run your business together, that sounds like it could be tough at times. Do have suggestions for how to run a successful family business?

JJ Ramberg: It?s actually never tough.? I feel incredibly lucky to be working with Ken as he?s one of the smartest and most creative people I?ve ever known.? I think we both have different strengths and really appreciate what the other brings to the table.? Ken and my mom had started a business together previously (Jobtrak which they sold to Monster.com) and so it may just be in our blood that we have good working relationships with family members.? My suggestion is that before you go into business with a family member, be very clear that you not only love them as your brother (sister, mom etc.), but also that you respect them as a business person.

SmallBizLady: People often talk about work/life balance.? How do you manage it?

JJ Ramberg: Well there is no doubt that I had a very busy last few years.? Within five years, I launched a company, launched a tv show, got married and had three kids (who are now 2, 4 and 5).? That said, I have a wonderful support system everywhere.? Scott Leon, the executive producer of Your Business, and the entire staff (including my two co-authors Lisa Everson and Frank Silverstein) are all dedicated, as I am, to making this show the best it can be.? At home, I have a great husband who shares in everything we do there.? And at GoodSearch, Ken, my brother has been an incredible co-founder. About a year ago, we also hired Scott Garell, the former President of Ask.com, to be the CEO of the company. ?So, the key is, surround yourself with good people.? ?I try to separate my work and family life so that when I?m working, I?m working and when I?m with my family, that gets my full attention. Granted, it doesn?t always work, but I try!

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat?on Twitter. Here?s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson?s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is America?s #1 small business expert. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. She writes a weekly column on social media for The New York Times. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.?

Source: http://succeedasyourownboss.com/10/2012/how-to-take-your-small-business-to-the-next-level/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-take-your-small-business-to-the-next-level

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Indiabulls Real Estate To Launch Several Projects Outside Mumbai ...

?Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd?is set to launch as many as seven projects outside Mumbai in the remaining part of 2012-13, a move that could help the company hedge against the over-exposure to its core market.

The firm will launch primarily residential as well as office projects in Sonepat, Gurgaon, Indore and Chennai, according to a company presentation released post its quarterly results announcement late Tuesday.

Having said that, Indiabulls still has a high-value portfolio of projects in and around Mumbai, including a newly launched township in Savroli on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Mumbai and its neighbourhood constitute more than half of Indiabulls? portfolio in terms of project value. ?The strategy is to focus on metro markets such as Mumbai and Greater Mumbai, NCR (National Capital Region that includes Delhi) and Chennai,? said?Saurabh Mittal, co-founder and vice-chairman, Indiabulls Real Estate.

While most of the firm?s Mumbai projects are in the luxury category, it has no specific pricing for its projects outside the region. ?We are looking to do projects in both premium and mid-market categories to cater to both kinds of buyers, depending on the location,? said Mittal. The projects are subject to regulatory approvals.

Since April, the Mumbai-based developer has launched two projects?a super-luxury residential project, Blu, in south Mumbai, and IB Golf City in Savroli, a premium residential township with a golf course.

Indiabulls relaunched Blu earlier this year, and it is now being sold at a base price of around?Rs.45,000 per sq. ft. The project is coming up on mill land that the firm bought in 2010 for about?Rs.2,000 crore. Indiabulls plans to re-launch the first of its Sky projects in Lower Parel, Mumbai, as well by the end of 2012 with new specifications.

According to the presentation, the company had a total saleable area under construction of 19.44 million sq. ft as of 30 September. Of this, 10.35 million sq. ft has been sold for?Rs.6,583 crore and the remaining space is expected to sell at?Rs.13,074 crore as per the current market rates.

Indiabulls Real Estate has done nearly?Rs.1,200 crore of pre-sales in its projects across India, of whichRs.900 crore was from projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

The company had a land bank of around 3,589 acres and added another 212.09 acres in the September quarter. ?Most of it (the land) is for future development with a three-five years horizon,? said a person familiar with the development.

Macquarie Research, in a 4 October India property report, said Indiabulls Real Estate?s over-exposure to high-end residential property in Mumbai was a risk because of high speculative and investor interest.

?If Indiabulls? project portfolio outside MMR takes off well, it would be a balancing factor because the dependence on the Mumbai property market would cease and it would also boost its sales numbers,? said an analyst with a domestic brokerage, who didn?t want to be named.

For the September quarter, Indiabulls posted a net profit of?Rs.32.24 crore, down 17.43% from a year ago and down 14.59% from the preceding June quarter. Total income from operations rose marginally by 0.7% year-on-year to?Rs.342.30 crore, and by 59.45% sequentially.

In August, Canada-based?Veritas Investment Research Corp.?targeted Indiabulls Real Estate andIndiabulls Power Ltd?in a report saying the purpose of the former firm seemed to be to bilk institutional and retail investors for the benefit of select insiders. Indiabulls retaliated by initiating legal proceedings.

"You can have everything in life that you want if you just give enough other people what they want."

Source: http://gurgaonscoop.posterous.com/indiabulls-real-estate-to-launch-several-proj

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OSHA Fines Redhook Brewery $63,500 For Workplace Safety ...

Posted October 24, 2012 at 4:56 PM by Chris Furnari

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Redhook maker Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) for 14 violations of workplace safety regulations.

The fines followed an OSHA investigation spurred by the April 24 death of Redhook worker Ben Harris, 26, at the CBA?s Portsmouth, N.H. brewery.

CBA now faces a total of $63,500 in fines ? $13,000 of which are associated with Harris? death. Harris was pressurizing a plastic keg when it exploded, killing him; OSHA contends that CBA failed to install an air pressure regulating system, which could have prevented the death.

?The inability to regulate air pressure when cleaning out kegs exposed employees to a recognized hazard of being struck by keg debris, should the keg explode due to it being over pressurized,? said Rose Ohar, OSHA?s New Hampshire Area Director. ?This could have been avoided.?

The agency also found 12 additional citations relating to brewery safety during the investigation, including ?deficiencies in procedures for work in a confined space, incomplete procedures for locking out machines? power sources before performing maintenance, unguarded machinery, the improper storage of oxygen and acetylene tanks, and failing to inform welders of chromium hazards,? according to OSHA.

The brewery believed it was operating safely, and has addressed all of the citations, according to a statement from CBA.

The CBA has 15 business days to comply; the local Concord, N.H. OSHA office confirmed to Brewbound.com that the brewer has a scheduled conference for Oct. 31 to discuss the findings.

Citations aside, Harris? death points to growing concerns in the craft beer industry about the safety of plastic kegs. Since the incident, there have been two additional reports of exploding plastic kegs at other craft breweries and some brewers are now beginning to move away from the package.

Below is an official statement from CBA and the complete press release from OSHA.

From CBA:

?The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released the citations of its investigation into the tragic accident at the Redhook Brewery involving Ben Harris last April. The OSHA investigation found that Redhook Brewery and parent company Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) did not willfully violate workplace safety standards. Redhook did receive citations which have already been addressed. The Portsmouth brewery uses compressed air to push waste beer out of returned kegs prior to washing and filling. The brewery believed it was operating safely because it has historically washed and filled only stainless steel beer kegs without incident. Redhook had never worked with plastic beer kegs at the time of the accident and has implemented policies to ensure that plastic kegs are not processed. Additionally, Redhook has installed pressure reducing and pressure relief devices to ensure that no incoming keg is exposed to pressure in excess of 60 psi.?

From OSHA:

CONCORD, N.H. ? The U.S. Department of Labor?s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Portland, Ore.-based Craft Brew Alliance Inc. with 14 alleged serious violations of workplace safety standards following the April 24 death of an employee at the company?s Redhook Brewery in Portsmouth. The employee was using a compressed air line to purge liquid from the interior of a plastic keg when the keg exploded and fatally struck him.

An investigation by OSHA?s Concord Area Office determined that the explosion resulted from excess air pressure introduced into the keg from the keg cleanout line. The line lacked an air regulator that would have limited its air pressure to less than 60 PSI, or pounds per square inch, which is the maximum air pressure limit recommended by keg manufacturers. In this case, OSHA also found that other employees who used the cleanout line were exposed to the same hazard while cleaning out steel kegs.

One serious violation related to the fatality is exposing employees to struck-by hazards by exceeding manufacturers? recommended air pressure maximum while cleaning out kegs. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

?The inability to regulate air pressure when cleaning out kegs exposed employees to a recognized hazard of being struck by debris should the kegs explode due to being overpressurized,? said Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA?s New Hampshire area director. ?One means of correcting this hazard, among others, and preventing future deaths or injuries is to install an air pressure regulator on the keg cleanout line so that the air pressure does not exceed manufacturers? recommended maximum.?

OSHA?s inspection of the brewery identified numerous additional hazards unrelated to the explosion. These include deficiencies in procedures for work in a confined space, incomplete procedures for locking out machines? power sources before performing maintenance, unguarded machinery, the improper storage of oxygen and acetylene tanks, and failing to inform welders of chromium hazards. Thirteen additional serious violations have been cited for these conditions.

Craft Brew Alliance Inc. faces a total of $63,500 in proposed fines, and has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet informally with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA?s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency?s Concord office at 603-225-1629.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA?s role is to ensure these conditions for America?s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.?

Source: http://www.brewbound.com/news/osha-fines-redhook-brewery-63500-for-workplace-safety-violations

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How to: AA Pompadour | Rowan Family Tree

Due to popular demand! here one of the videos I used to do Spice?s hair.?you can do 1 or 2 twists up the back, but I prefer just one big french twist. I found I could fold Spice?s bang hair up tidily into a ball and then just needed 2 pins to pin it down behind her ?poof? at the front. Have FUN!!!

PS: She was?worried what kids would say about her hair at school ? there is one little?boy who is a teaser?and made her friend cry last haircut. But only positive responses. Just to be sure, though, I armed her with this cheeky response to any criticism: ?G___, what do you know about fashion?? NOTHING.?

She was ready, but didn?t need to use the grade 1 trash talk.

All praise for the pompadour!

Source: http://rowanfamilytree.com/2012/10/24/how-to-aa-pompadour/

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The Seattle Star ? The Ghastly Impermanence: Poets and the Poetry ...

The blind medium of radio in its unique power upon the ear of stimulating the imagination makes for a kind of drama which can embrace subjects film and theatre may never approach. Its subtle and mercurial manipulation of sounds and words, allied to its quality of immediacy and intimacy with the listener, give it possibilities of development that await only the right dramatist. We think now of the poetic plays of Mr Louis MacNeice, of Dylan Thomas?s Under Milk Wood and of Mr Samuel Beckett?s All That Fall as tentative but real steps towards the discovery of radio drama?s proper form. Can the playgoer fail to find this medium of help? ? J.L. Styan, The Elements of Drama

Radio and poetry are a natural coupling. Both are primarily arts of the ear. Both are essentially ambiguous and draw their strength from ambiguity. Both, also, are relics of a world in which sound was the dominant means of distributing messages to a broad public.

Even before Reginald Fassenden?s landmark audio broadcast of 1906 in which he broadcast a partial reading of the Book of Luke, radio operators of the DeForest company were broadcasting poetry in Morse code to people expecting the results of yacht races from Marconi company broadcasters. Hungarian ?telephone newspapers? were transmitting poetry to guests at Budapest?s hotels. Not merely a dilettante activity for European bourgeois, poetry existed throughout the world in a state of high esteem, something that cut across social class and even across national boundaries at a time when European and American nationalism were at their peak.

That nationalism was one of the fundamental causes of World War I. But even in World War I the belief in poetry as a healing force persisted. American army hospitals used poetry broadcasts to entertain their patients.

Before a great while the boys of U. S. Army in France who are injured while doing their ?bit,? will be persuaded to forget their aches and pains along with all the hardships of war, by strains of music, carried to them by wireless. It is planned that they will hear novels and poetry and news stories, the soldier boy who is too ill even for a little entertainment not being disturbed, for the entertainment will be distributed in individual doses by wireless telephone and phonograph. ? The Wireless Age, April 1918

It makes perfect sense that a culture whose most powerful public mass medium was audio should value the spoken word highly. Poets themselves were well aware of this quality of radio. As the medium spread widely, more and more poets began to use it to broadcast their published works with innumerable readings. It would take awhile, however, before poets began to write new material especially for the medium itself.

Among the first, if not the first, to do this was Archibald MacLeish with his play The Fall of the City. MacLeish found radio naturally attractive. ?Somehow or other,? said MacLeish, ?I had the sense that radio offered an opportunity for dramatic poetry that should be seized.?

Seize it he did. With a cast of Orson Welles, Burgess Meredith and Adelaide Klein, together with extras from the Seventh Regiment Armory (!) and music by Bernard Herrmann, MacLeish?s Fall of the City became one of the most brilliant pieces ever broadcast on the CBS Network. In a time when coast-to-coast broadcasts were virtually unheard of, The Fall of the City was broadcast coast-to-coast twice, once from New York in 1937 and again in 1939 from the Hollywood Bowl. The response was phenomenal. Over one million people listened. Critics wrote about the play as a parable of Hitler?s invasion of Austria?a couple days after the first broadcast of the play?and praised MacLeish?s ?prophetic? gifts. Time magazine wrote in its review, ?Artistically radio is ready to come of age, for in the hands of a master a $10 receiving set can become a living theatre, its loudspeaker a national proscenium.? Audiences wrote letters to CBS like the following:

On this day I played my game and got tired, came home and filled the tub, turned on the radio, got into the tub, and the goddamn thing began spouting poetry at me! And if I could have got it, I?d have choked it, but I couldn?t! And you want to know something? It?s great!

The strength of MacLeish?s play lies not only in his gift for evocative language but also in the nature of radio itself. Since radio tends toward abstraction when evoking a location, the ambiguity of place allows the listener to imagine whatever locale one thinks appropriate. MacLeish?s poetic style itself relies upon ambiguity and multiple layers of meaning so the union of medium and text is exactly appropriate.

This poetic ambiguity attracted other poets to the medium as well. Bertolt Brecht?s Trial of Lucullus became a kind of sensation on both sides of the Atlantic. The Swedish radio station for whom he wrote it declined its broadcast on grounds they wished to remain politically neutral. An obvious parable like MacLeish?s about the brutality of conquering generals?and suggestive of Hitler?s invasion of Poland as MacLeish?s play suggested the Austrian Anschluss?it was broadcast first in Switzerland in May of 1940 and published in the United States by New Directions in 1943 as one in a series of Poets of the Year that also included Dylan Thomas and e.e. cummings. The Trial of Lucullus became even more of a hot potato when it was adapted to a musical opera by Brecht and Dessau after the war and was refused performance on grounds of its ?formalism.?

In truth, it is far from formalist. It is quite direct, oddly so for a play by Brecht. Again, the radio medium helps strengthen the poetic conceit of the play with its abstract nature. Where the opera is perhaps too literal in its metaphor of Rome=Germany, the spartan quality of the radio script relies on ambiguity that would be less likely to shock yet still convey the meaning of the piece quite readily.

In Great Britain, the poet Louis MacNeice had made several ?radio features? before finding his voice lay more truthfully in a poetic approach to drama. While this poetic approach was certainly present even in the features?leading some of the features to be mistaken for ?dramas? to this day?it finally manifested fully in MacNeice?s first ?fantasy? play. The Dark Tower, broadcast in January of 1946, became legendary. BBC Third Programme producer George MacBeth, himself a fine poet and editor of many books of poetry, referred to it as ?the best piece of writing ever done for radio? and many others share that opinion. Its music by composer Benjamin Britten certainly contributes to that. After writing numerous features for the BBC from 1941-1945, MacNeice concluded finally that it was time to use the radio medium for a different purpose than mere documentary.

My own impression is that pure ?realism? is in our time almost played out, though most works of fiction will remain realistic on the surface. The single track mind and the single-plane novel or play are almost bound to falsify the world in which we live?. Some element of parable therefore, far from making a work thinner and more abstract, ought to make it more concrete. Man does after all live by symbols.

The Dark Tower is, as MacNeice terms it, a parable play. Unlike the poetic dramas of MacLeish or Brecht, it is not in verse. Yet no one will doubt its poetry. Taking off from Robert Browning?s ballad ?Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,? MacNeice turns the entire genre of the knight?s quest from Browning?s essay in psychology into a shadowy, anti-psychological parable of the very human dilemmas of the new nuclear age.

As television came and absorbed radio audiences after the war, radio itself needed to be rethought. Not only its content but its entire raison d?etre required analysis. Different producers had different ways of dealing with this.

By and large networks in the United States simply ran away from the prospect, concentrating their monies upon the newest technology. In Canada, radio drama would hold its own and reach its apex in this period before the CBC finally decided to cast its lot with television. The BBC in Britain went the other way, completely restructuring the entire experience of radio with a larger cultural goal in mind of which television was only a remote part. In postwar Germany, however, something quite extraordinary happened: with a country lying largely in rubble and poverty widespread, radio actually grew in importance. Television was too expensive and theaters were closed or destroyed. Radio drama and radio broadcast redefined itself there in an extremely sophisticated way and the modern H?rspiel began its ascendancy.

In all these cases, the power of radio to evoke imaginative inner worlds remained in the background. The background would soon enough become foreground in Britain and Germany; the United States and Canada would take a bit longer. The 1950s opened the way for a new wave of playwrights and a new idea of theater for them to explore. Three poets especially would lead the way in Europe: Samuel Beckett, Dylan Thomas and G?nter Eich.

Recordings:

The Fall of the City from the Internet Archive

The Trial of Lucullus, via UbuWeb

The Dark Tower, courtesy of Moyra Bligh

Email Omar Willey at comments@seattlestar.net

Source: http://www.seattlestar.net/2012/10/the-ghastly-impermanence-poets-and-the-poetry-of-radio-drama/

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Ai Weiwei's 'Gangnam Style' Isn't Bad

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Sunburn, Job In Sun Linked To Skin Cancer - Personal Liberty Digest

TAMPA, Fla. (UPI) ? A history of blistering sunburn and having a job in the sunlight was associated with increased risk of skin cancer, U.S. and French researchers found.

The study, published in the journal BioMed Central, found both a history of blistering sunburn and having a job in the sun were associated with basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas.

Sunlight exposures at younger ages ?tended to be associated with squamous cell carcinoma, but not basal cell carcinoma, risk,? researchers concluded.

Senior study author Dana E. Rollison of the Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida and the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France surveyed people with both types of cancers, as well as those with no history of skin cancer, to determine the effects of intermittent versus continuous sunlight exposure, as well as the timing of the exposure and age.

?There are more than a million new cases of basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas diagnosed in the United States each year,? Rollison said in a statement. ?While mortality associated with non-melanoma skin cancers, such as basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas is low, patients may experience substantial morbidity and treatment costs are high.?

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UPI - United Press International, Inc. Since 1907, United Press International (UPI) has been a leading provider of critical information to media outlets, businesses, governments and researchers worldwide.

Source: http://personalliberty.com/2012/10/24/sunburn-job-in-sun-linked-to-skin-cancer/

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China rare earths producer suspends output

BEIJING (AP) ? China's biggest rare earths producer has suspended production in an effort to shore up plunging prices of the materials used by makers of mobile phones and other high-tech products.

State-owned Baotou Steel Rare Earth (Group) Hi-tech Co. said in a statement released through the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it suspended production Tuesday to promote "healthy development" of rare earths prices. It gave no indication when production would resume and phone calls to the company on Thursday were not answered.

Beijing is tightening control over rare earths mining and exports to capture more of the profits that flow to Western makers of lightweight batteries and other products made of rare earths. China has about 30 percent of rare earths deposits but accounts for more than 90 percent of production.

Beijing alarmed global manufacturers by imposing export quotas in 2009. It also is trying to force Chinese rare earths miners and processors to consolidate into a handful of government-controlled groups.

Baotou Steel Rare Earth announced a similar one-month halt to production last October, also in an attempt to push up prices by reducing supplies.

The United States, the European Union and Japan have challenged China's quotas in the World Trade Organization as a violation of its free-trade commitments. Beijing has defended its controls as necessary to safeguard a scarce resource and minimize environmental damage from mining.

Rare earths are 17 minerals used in goods including hybrid cars, weapons, flat-screen TVs, mobile phones, mercury-vapor lights and camera lenses. The United States, Canada, Australia and other countries also have rare earths but most mining stopped in the 1990s as lower-cost Chinese ores came on the market.

The global economic slowdown has hurt demand, pushing down rare earths prices. Some manufacturers have been prompted by the Chinese controls to switch to alternative materials.

Beijing's trading partners complain its export controls push up rare earths prices abroad and give buyers in China an unfair advantage.

The price of one rare earth, lanthanum oxide, has fallen 65 percent on global markets since the start of this year to $15 per kilogram this week, according to Lynas Corp., an Australian miner. But that still is nearly double price of $9 per kilogram paid by buyers in China.

Other rare earths have shown similar price declines and a wide margin between prices in China and abroad.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-10-25-China-Rare%20Earths/id-f50bed83e9b44349b901e9dc78ccc3c5

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Florida's state debt to decline again this year

TALLAHASSEE?Florida will report in December that it has significantly reduced its outstanding debt for the second year in a row, and that continued refinancing of outstanding debt will save more than $1 billion on future interest payments, the state?s top bond finance official said Tuesday.

A second year of lower debt appears to portend a reversal of a long trend. Two years of reductions follow about a decade of increasing debt loads and represent the first year-over-year drops in 20 years.

In a preview of an annual report due later this year, Director of Bond Finance Ben Watkins told Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet that the year-end report is likely to say the state reduced its debt by about $1.5 billion this year, following last year?s reduction of debt by $500 million.

The main reason the state isn?t issuing new debt, primarily in its biggest borrowing program, the Public Education Capital Outlay, or PECO bonding program, because of lower revenue and efforts to be more frugal.

PECO bonding, which funds school construction, relies largely on revenue from utility taxes, known as gross receipts taxes, to pay back bondholders. Revenue from the tax has dropped in the down economy and there hasn?t been any money available for new construction bonding in the most recent year.

Lawmakers have also slowed down funding for land-buying for conservation purposes, another purpose for which the state has in the past borrowed more heavily.

Watkins also said the state has refinanced more than $6 billion in debt over the last three years ? nearly a third of the state?s entire debt portfolio ? to take advantage of low interest rates, allowing for a reduction in interest from 4.65 percent to 4.33 percent.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vertical_26/~3/qzYKSkFWM70/state-debt-to-decline-again-this-year.html

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Commutist podcast: iPad Mini and iMac gets skinny

Apple unveiled a smaller iPad, a thinner iMac and so much more at a special event today. A special Apple event deserves a special edition podcast! Erica Ogg and Kevin Tofel provide all the news you need to know for your way home from work.

Apple is slimming down and bulking up for a combative holiday season with a new iPad Mini, iPad, iMac, Mac Mini and more. Erica Ogg was at the event and gives us the skinny on the minis and Kevin Tofel breaks away from his victory lap to give us his thoughts on today?s special edition Commutist podcast episode.

download

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iTunes

Stitcher Radio

PREVIOUS EPISODES:

Boxee Cloud DVR, Apple Rumors and Chromebook

Commutist?interview: Joy of X author Steven Strogatz

Commutist?podcast: Patent trolls, Costco ban and Passbook?s home?run

Commutist, meet Nerdist, and interview with Chris Hardwick

T-Metro, Broadband Caps, Remembering Steve Jobs

Apple?s iO-Mess, Dirty Data Centers and Tesla

News from the Mobilize Conference

Paul Tough: How Children Succeed and what you can learn from them

The iPhone 5 Event

Come on, Kindle, Light My 4G Fire

Source: http://gigaom.com/2012/10/23/commutist-podcast-ipad-mini-and-imac-gets-skinny/

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Sigma Aviation Services: B767 Captains Required - East Africa

***Now Hiring - B767 Captains Required - Assessments Africa Immediately***

Sigma Aviation Services on behalf of our client airline based in the Africa are currently seeking applications from qualified and experienced Captains on the B767 for a 12 month contract with the potential for extension. This is an excellent opportunity for experienced pilots to join a well established national flag carrier, permanent type positions

An excellent package is on offer which includes:
- Attractive base salary
- Flight Allowances
- Accommodation allowances
- Excellent location
- Local transport
- Long term contract with well established carrier

Minimum requirements:
- JAA / FAA / ICAO ATPL
- Hold First Class Medical Certificate
- B767/757 type rating on license
- Current on type within the last 12 months
- Nil history of accidents / incidents
- Total flying jet time of 3500 hours, 2500 hours PIC on jet, 1500 hours on B757-767

Must be under 60 years

Assessments will be held in Africa, please advise upon application when you are available for assessment.

Sigma Aviation Services brings a dedicatedmanagement team of aviation industry professionals with many years of experience.

Source: http://jobs.flightglobal.com/job/1401351583/b767-captains-required-east-africa/?TrackID=110&deviceType=Desktop

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Who are the muppets now? Goldman expos? falls short of hype

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The tell-all book that Goldman Sachs Group Inc former equity derivatives salesman Greg Smith has delivered may end up being remembered more for the marketing skills he picked up at the Wall Street bank than for any bombshell revelations.

Smith created a furore earlier this year when he resigned from the blue chip Wall Street firm, alleging in a New York Times Op-Ed column that the firm had engendered a "toxic" culture of treating clients as "muppets" - slang in Britain for idiots - and relieving them of their money.

Smith then promised a book about the bank, building up expectations of an expos? with new insights about the culture at Goldman. The threat prompted a public relations campaign and internal inquiries at the bank, as it tried to avoid another hit to its image after suffering a barrage of bad publicity in recent years.

Smith reportedly received $1.5 million (937,000 pounds) as an upfront payment for the book, which is being published by Grand Central Publishing, a unit of Hachette. He has lined up a series of interviews, including one with Reuters, to talk about the book "Why I left Goldman Sachs", which will be released on Monday.

Early reviews of Smith's 288-page book are now in, and they aren't good. Reviewers, who received copies of the full book, have panned it for being a sleepy read with no big revelations -- or worse, misleading.

The tawdriest revelations are about a bachelor party in Las Vegas with a topless woman, and Smith having seen Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman's chief executive, in the buff after showering at the gym.

"There were no examples of a toxic culture at work, no actual names of morally bankrupt people and no examples of a client getting ripped off," wrote James Stewart, himself the author of top selling business books such as Den of Thieves, in his column in the New York Times.

"Mr. Smith's book might even bolster Goldman's reputation. After all, if Mr. Smith is the ultimate insider, and this is as bad as it gets ? Mr. Smith in a hot tub at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas with a topless woman ? then he hasn't made much of a case," said Stewart.

Stewart also cast doubt on some of the anecdotes Smith tells in his story, interviewing people who were in his internship class, such as Teddy Schwarzman, son of Blackstone Group LP CEO Stephen Schwarzman. Schwarzman and others say the incidents Smith described, such as an intern running out of a room crying after being humiliated by a more senior Goldman executive, never happened.

Other early reviews have also been critical. The financial blog Dealbreaker mocked less-than-revelatory anecdotes in Smith's book, including one in which a managing director threw out a "cheddar cheese salad" that an intern had brought him for lunch, instead of the cheese sandwich he had asked for. That anecdote led to more jokes on Twitter and other financial blogs about what, exactly, a cheddar cheese salad is.

Smith's publicist, Jimmy Franco, did not respond to a request for comment for this article.

Smith's ability to so easily build up buzz about his book over the past few months shows how difficult it has been for Goldman to try to counter perceptions that it is the poster child for all that's wrong on Wall Street.

In 2010, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused the bank of betting against clients on a mortgage trade, charges that were later settled, but nevertheless led to a firestorm of criticism. One of its former traders, Fabrice Tourre, is due in court next summer to face civil charges for his involvement in those events.

Smith's allegations had raised the same questions about Goldman's culture and ethics all over again.

For its part, Goldman has characterized Smith as a disgruntled and mediocre employee who stirred up all this attention because he did not get the raise and promotion he wanted. Smith spent 12 years at the investment bank. By the time of his resignation, he was a vice president, earning about $500,000 a year, Goldman said.

Goldman has said that it looked into Smith's assertions and did not find any evidence of employees misbehaving or treating clients poorly. Blankfein told CNBC recently that the firm "went over everything like crazy and, frankly, we could find nothing."

The marketing strategy for the book shines a spotlight on tactics used by publishers and authors to drum up sales for upcoming publications - and the problems that it can create when the book in question fails to deliver.

It appears to be "a typical example of overpromising and under-delivering," said George Belch, chair of the marketing department at San Diego State University and an expert on consumer behaviour, who noted that he has not yet read the book.

"What they do is try to drum up publicity and whet the public appetite, and clearly Goldman Sachs, for certain portions of the population, is intriguing. But that doesn't mean the book will do anything more than reinforce your disdain for the industry if you already feel that way."

Smith's failure to meet expectations also raises uncomfortable questions for the Times, which first published his allegations in an op-ed column.

On Friday morning, New York Times business columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin said on CNBC he thought the newspaper might have been "duped" by Smith into publishing the op-ed in the first place, given the lack of substantial information in the book.

A Times spokeswoman declined to comment.

TRADER MENTALITY

Smith, who vanished from the public spotlight after his Times op-ed appeared in March, will make his first television appearance on Sunday evening, on the CBS show "60 Minutes."

A clip of the show released on Friday has him recounting an incident in which he says a 24- or 25-year-old junior salesman calls a client a "muppet" after charging the client an additional $1 million for a trade.

"Now you could think to yourself, 'Is this some rogue guy who's just talking callously about clients?'" Smith told CBS. "But his boss, who's a managing director, was sitting right next to him nodding and chuckling along."

In the interview, Smith wears a dark blue suit, white shirt and red tie, talking for the first time to the public in his native South African accent.

Smith told CBS he does not think he betrayed Goldman and that he has gone on this public campaign to try to affect change at a firm he was once proud of.

Belch, the marketing professor, said that by publicly slamming the firm, Smith might have done more harm than good, since the book appears to have little new information.

"Here's another book about how we got taken to the cleaners by the financial services industry," said Belch. "Well, yeah, what a shock. Most people don't want to spend money to read about it."

(Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra in New York; Editing by Paritosh Bansal, Martin Howell and Marguerita Choy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/muppets-now-goldman-expos-falls-short-hype-000345779--sector.html

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RolePlayGateway?

The city of Edge located in the Oban star-system.

Prologue:

"Subject 426-G, report to Sector 2 for immediate decontamination."

The air spoke to her, a harsh, tinny voice filling the tight chamber, a disembodied robotic drone that came from somewhere unseen, from the ceiling, the floor, the walls and corners, everywhere.

She looked up blankly, staring at a flickering red bulb hung limply from the roof on a single spindly strand of wire. She looked up through blurred, tired eyes, dazed and confused like a newborn baby, soulless eyes, the thoughts behind them empty, vacant. Red light lit the room, a dim throbbing pulse that stuck to the world, to anything it touched, like glue, coating everything with a thin film, a bloom of eye-straining scarlet, the warm afterglow of a fire, of smouldering embers and scorched rock. She sat slumped on the floor in a heap, barely clothed, barely conscious, steam rising rising from her body in twisting, wispy ribbons. Her skin was damp, coated with tiny bobbled droplets of viscous, transparent fluid that shone like a thousand tiny red stars under the dangling light's watchful gaze. The woman had been discarded, thrown away, yesterday's waste, dumped in a forgotten corner like an old rag-doll.

The voice rang from the air again, urgent and commanding, ordering her to do something. Just what, though, she wasn't sure; the words ? some far-flung corner of herself assured her that's what they were, though the definition and meaning escaped her ? flowed into her and sat heaped in her mind, a towering pile of jumbled meaning, building up and bloating her thoughts like so much undigested food, clogging her mind with a delirious headache. For a few minutes she had no idea where she was, who she was, when, how or why, or even any knowledge of these concepts. The world washed over her wasted body, smooth stone against a swelling ocean, her mind empty, a child's.

Something clunked deep inside the wall her body leaned against, cogs turning, steel rods slipping in and out of place. The metal slab slid back, then dropped out of sight, swallowed by a mouth in the floor, and very suddenly the room became much bigger. She felt tiny, alone, utterly confused, a thousand thoughts raced through her head, if only they would stop, if only she could understand them. A burst of brightness shone through from the new door, a shaft of bright white flooded the chamber, cleaning away that horrible, sickly red. The woman turned her head, tilting it back in search of this new wonder, and her body followed without thought. She fell back against the solid cold steel floor, knocking her head against the surface, her eyes tightening in pain. They opened slowly, catching a momentary glimpse of something, something familiar, not familiar, but that she knew.

It dawned on her then, her memories came flooding back, the walls of their cage washed away, the world crystallised in a single moment of clarity, and she knew everything she'd known before. She'd been Wiped, must have been, she knew now, though that simple fact had escaped her previous self. And now they were both going to pay for it. The voice called to her a third time, angry now, impatient, and before she could react, before she could move, her bare, naked shoulder was caught in an iron pincer, a solid metal claw-like vice. She was pulled, dragged back from the chamber, out across the numbing cold metal floor and into the light, a light that now faded, leaving everything in blackness. She was moved with inhuman force, the beck of an inhuman voice, a force she lay helpless against. The woman became very, very afraid.

She watched blankly as the light of her cell became smaller, drifting into the distance until it became a single pin-prick, then disappeared completely, giving way to a fog of complete dark. From the walls and corridors drifting invisibly past her there flitted clouds of whispers, abject whines, pitiless howls echoing from those unlucky enough to Clear early. She sailed past them in cold apathy, her skin raw and bloodied from its bare scraping across the varied metal surface, she gritted her teeth in pain without so much as a wince. Just anger, anger and self-pity. Programming kicked in at that moment, the sort of delay that had already caused her current situation, and a new wealth of knowledge flooded into her already saturated mind, knowledge she'd rather have done without. Protocol had been violated, and now... Well, now she was off to face her punishment. It was as simple as that.

An early Clearing was thought by many, though particularly newcomers, to be torture, something painful, undesirable, or just plain bad luck. You got to learn quickly that that small measure of pain and momentary terror was the best thing that could happen to you; the alternative, for most, was far worse, far more scarring. The woman stared down the long, endless hallway, a stretch of world drowned in pitch, and closed her eyes.

She wouldn't see light again for a month.

OOC: Roleplay Summary:
It's the 22nd century (the future, the far future, not today, not tomorrow, not next year, we're talking over a century from now. The Future), and you're a citizen of Edge, an inmate of one of the galaxy's largest, oldest and most ruthlessly violent prisons. Whether or not you're a new arrival of this particular hold, you've been a convict for a long, long time. Whatever your crimes, whatever your reasons for being here, all that matters is that you're a prisoner.

Forget your Human Rights, because you sure as hell don't have any here; the only thing that's going to ensure your survival is you, and you alone.

Edge was once a pristine new colony of Earth, a settlement at the furthest reaches of humanity's interstellar space-flight capability, but now? Now it's just a forgotten husk, relegated to housing the scum of every society rich enough to send their prisoners there. The old high-rise towers, immaculate sprawling coastal villas and megacities have long since crumbled into dust, rust and disrepair.

There is no culture, there is no economy, there is no government, there is no authority here except for what few automated systems Earth has left behind. There is nothing but what you can scrounge up from the wreckage. Some people have made a life here, in spite of their terrible crimes against humanity, setting up an existence that, at least superficially, resembles home, a home they knew once, but now lies in distant memory, a vague haze of images from a past they don't quite remember, or wished they never did.

Most of Edge is a crumbling wasteland, with civilisation just an echo, but there are places where order stands firm against the chaos and anarchy, a place far removed and protected from the onslaught of its inhabitants. This place is known as the Compound, and this, not the moon itself, not anything else, this is your world, where you eat, where you sleep, where you are punished. You don't so much as serve out your sentence; there is no chance of redemption, of freedom, of escape: you're here forever.

Welcome to Edge.

[ooc]Player Information:

The role of players in this role... play, is that of prisoners of this terraformed moon which, if it hasn't been mentioned enough already, is called Edge. While I might ideally like our players to be anything they want to be, there are a few practical constraints for this scenario, which I'll lay down below.

1: The Galaxy is devoid of known intelligent life-forms, our interstellar travel is barely even in its infancy, and if I see one more military/science-experiment character I will lose my sanity, therefore: You are, in 99.9% of cases and unless otherwise specifically requested, Human, in biological make-up if not temperament and mentality.

2: For rather insignificant reasons, inmates will all (that is, without exception) have either a) Been prisoners of Edge for a couple of years, or b) been in the prison system elsewhere for a couple of years. If a new arrival on Edge, you'll be the latter.

Since harsh worldwide reforms on Earth in the late 2000s, convicts are classified as sub-human, without any enforced rights or legal protection, no government mandated rehabilitation programmes, and no contact with the outside world. They're dumped on decrepit, washed-out shells of former settlements like Edge and left to rot. Crime rates on Earth are phenomenally low.

And...

3: Edge is a dangerous place. If you're not fully comfortable with, or prepared for, your character to experience pain and discomfort at any time and any level up to and including death, then this is probably not the best environment for that character. Or you.

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Beyond that, there are one or two four terms you should become familiar with:

Programming: The artificial insertion of information into a person's memory, using a variety of processes with varying legality. Programming normally takes place after a Wipe, where the individual's memory and thought processes are more pliable, and is used most often on the prison population during CryoShip transit to a new facility, where instilled in their minds are the protocol, rules and regulations of the new holding area. Programming asserts itself during, or just after, Clearing, allowing a fresh inmate to adjust themselves quickly and efficiently to the practices of a given environment.

Wipe: An induced loss of mental information or knowledge. Through intense chemical and psychological means, areas of an individual's memory are blanked out, removed completely, or blocked from access. A Wipe is in most cases temporary, and often a necessary pre-requisite of Programming.

Clearing: The automatic process of recovering lost information, or the revealing of new information, in a person's mind, normally following a Wipe or Programming session. Clearing can take any amount of time and varies from person-to-person, but generally takes place within 24-hours of a Wipe. Normal Clearing encompasses a slow trickle of memory back into the conscious mind based on the body's current stimuli, and is reasonably harmless. Early Clearing on the other hand, where previous information and knowledge re-establishes itself in a person's consciousness all at once, is often immensely painful and can result in permanent mental damage.

RET: Relative Earth Time. Quite a lot of people, colonials, settlers and the like throughout the explored regions of space still count time using Earth's local 60/60/24/365 system, even on worlds whose orbit and rotation times and seasons are vastly different. Some people say it helps to ground them in unfamiliar or inhospitable environments, others say it's just lazy. It confuses everyone regardless, but works pretty well in space.
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Finally we reach the arena of Character Creation. All I will ask from you is a Character Summary, meaning a short-ish block of text including the Name, Sex and Serial Number of your character, along with any other information you consider relevant such as a picture or the inclusion of a written description of their appearance. Serial Numbers consist of three numbers suffixed with a letter. My character is, as stated, 426-G, but I expect most of you to be late 'D's, 'E's and very early 'H's, or earlier on in the alphabet if you've been on Edge a particularly long time. Anything else you include is at your discretion, as is the length; I'll read it regardless.

I would like, for no discernible reason, balanced sexes in terms of characters, so take that into consideration when coming up with something. And we'll be starting at Compound, either as new arrivals or people already processed and held there, unless someone specifically requests they start out in the Zones and unregulated areas where all the shit goes down. Compound is more or less a run-down, town-sized prison with very high walls, maintained by automated systems and squads of robotic guards. Fun.
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There's a fair bit of this universe I haven't ironed out, and some things may not be clear off the bat for people, so if you have any queries, however stupid you might think they are, just ask.

Alright then, let's rock.[/ooc]

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Bacteria that work together to cause infection

I?m on holiday at the moment, so this post is adapted from the archives. It was originally posted at my old blog over on Field of Science.

There are lots of things I enjoy about studying bacteria. I love their biochemistry and the secret inner workings of their metabolic pathways. I love that everything they do they manage within the confines of a single cell, and I love that you can go into a bacterial cell fairly easily and just mess around with the genes until they make what you want.

But what I?m really enjoying exploring at the moment is more ecological bacteriology; how bacteria interact with their environment, how they respond to changes to stresses and, most importantly, to other bacteria. I?ve covered how natural throat bacteria can help destroy dangerous pathogens such as MRSA Staph aureus so in this post I?m going to look at almost the opposite; how some bacteria can give each other a helping hand in order to infect humans.

Campylobacter jejuni is a bacteria that I feel a special affinity for because I?ve worked with it, back in my first ever summer project. Unfortunately it?s not a very nice bacteria and can lead to bad stomach illnesses with some rare but quite threatening complications. It?s found in chicken meat and cheese as it is perfectly capible of surviving happily in animals without causing them any diseases.

One of the problems with working with Campylobacter jejuni (henceforth shortened to C. jejuni) is that it?s very fussy about the amount of oxygen it?s in. C. jejuni is microaerophilic, which means it needs oxygen, but only small amounts,. If you give it too much all the cells will die. This problem was solved in my old lab by using tightly sealed containers and special packs of ? stuff ? which were put inside the containers to create the right conditions. This raises an important question; if the bacteria have to be coddled and protected just to culture on a plate in the lab then how on earth do they survive and grow on the surface of chicken meat?

A recent study (reference below) found that the C. jejuni were being aided by surrounding bacteria. The picture below shows both C. jejuni and a bacteria called Pseudomonas putida in close interaction, with long fibre-like structures connecting them. No one seems to be really sure what the fibre-like structures are, they may be being used for chemical communication, or they may just be keeping the bacteria in close physical contact.

The C. jejuni is the more slender and slightly spiral shaped bacterium in the centre, the others are Putida. Image from the reference.

Both bacteria were identified as being in close contact, as well as being seen together under the microscope. Further experiments were done to show that the P. putida was required for C. jejuni survival ? a range of different C. jejuni strains were grown in both the presence and absence of the supporting P. putida to see how long they could survive in completely aerobic conditions. The results are almost hilarious, without the help of the P. putida bacteria the Campylobacter just die, really quickly:

Image taken from the reference below

Figure A (top) shows the C. jejuni with P. putida grown as well, Figure B (beneath) shows the C. jejuni grown alone. The graphs show the count of living cells over time, and it?s clear that without the help of P. putida the C. jejuni dies much quicker. Interestingly it was found that the interaction between particular strains of both C. jejuni and P. putida was fairly specific as well. As you can see in the graph above, only three of the C. jejuni strains have survived past 50 hours with the help of this particular P. putida, although they surive longer than with no help at all.

As P. putida are aerobic, the most likely explanation for how they are helping is that they create a microenvironment of decreased oxygen within their immediate surroundings. This is the kind of environment that it is thought C. jejuni will naturally migrate to. It?s interesting to consider that this might be less of a mutual helping relationship and more of a seriously exploitative one, with the C. jejuni swarming as quickly as possible towards the environment created by the P. putida and then wrapping them all up in a sticky mesh to stop them moving away.

This special relationship is not applicable for all C. jejuni, in other environments such as in humans and in chicken poo the C. jejuni exist fine on their own, but in the highly aerobic environment of the meat surface they rely on other bacteria to survive. The implications for treatment of bacteria are intreguing (especially for antibiotic resistant strains of C. jejuni) but this is another reminder that despite laboratory conditions bacteria do not just exist in isolation. They inhabit a whole tiny world, with challenges of its own, surrounded by other bacteria that change their environment both for better and for worse.

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Reference: Hilbert F, Scherwitzel M, Paulsen P, & Szostak MP (2010). Survival of Campylobacter jejuni under conditions of atmospheric oxygen tension with the support of Pseudomonas spp. Applied and environmental microbiology, 76 (17), 5911-7 PMID: 20639377

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