Software major has 6,000 jobs vacant due to shortage of skilled workers
New Delhi, Sept. 29:?
Microsoft has urged the US Government to issue 20,000 additional H-1B visas to foreign workers with skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
In addition, it wants US Congress to allocate 20,000 green cards for workers with these skills.
The software giant has proposed that the companies that use the H-1B visas from this supplementary pool should pay $10,000 for each employee who gets the visa, while green card approval will entail a fee of $15,000.
Brad Smith, Microsoft's General Counsel and Executive Vice-President, Legal & Corporate Affairs, has proposed this plan as a long-term strategy wherein the money generated by issuing the additional visas can be utilised to fund higher education for Americans.
According to Microsoft, this approach could raise up to $500 million a year ? or $5 billion over a decade ? that the federal government can distribute to states where STEM education investments are needed.
?Our nation faces the paradox of a crisis in unemployment at the same time that many companies cannot fill the jobs they have to offer. In addition to the short-term consequences for businesses and individuals, we risk these jobs migrating from the US, creating even bigger challenges for our long-term competitiveness and economic growth,? Smith said in his post.
Companies across the information technology sector are creating new jobs in the US faster than they can fill them. Microsoft has 6,000 jobs vacant, an increase of 15 per cent over the last year, due to shortage of STEM-skilled professionals. While the overall unemployment rate hovers around 8 per cent, unemployment in computer-related occupations has fallen to 3.4 per cent.
US visa has become the bane of Indian IT companies. In March the US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced an increase in the application fee of H1-B visas.
In June, the Immigration authority announced that it had reached the cap on Congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B work visas, the most sought after by Indian professionals.
thomas.thomas@thehindu.co.in
'; } else if (google_ads[0].type == "html") { s += google_ads[0].snippet; } else if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { // Adjust text sizes to occupy the majority of ad space. if (google_ads.length == 1) { ad_title_class = 'ad_title_large'; ad_text_class = 'ad_text_large'; ad_url_class = 'ad_url_large'; } else { ad_title_class = 'ad_title'; ad_text_class = 'ad_text'; ad_url_class = 'ad_url'; } for(var i=0; i
Australia-based Exoma Energy has begun drilling eleventh exploration well in the onshore Galilee basin, located in Queensland, Australia, as a part of its Galilee Joint Venture?s 2012 exploration program.
The company is drilling the Fittleworth-1 shale exploration well in permit ATP 1005P to a planned total depth of 1,159m and is targeting oil and gas in the Toolebuc shale.
Exoma has plans to core the well through the Toolebuc shale section. The core samples will then be analyzed in laboratory.
Upon the completion of coring Exoma will further drill the well to provide depth control to local seismic data.
The company owns 50% interest each in the permit ATP 1005P as well as in the exploration well.
CNOOC, joint venture partner of The Galilee Joint Venture 2012 exploration program, is providing the first $50m of the partnership's expenditures for Exoma's five Galilee Basin ATP exploration permits.
Online gambling company Amaya Gaming might soon take over the Ongame poker network from bwin.party. The company might announce the acquisition next week.
It has long been speculated that Amaya is interested in taking over the Ongame poker network that is being owned by bwin.party digital entertainment. Lately there have been speculations about Amaya abandoning its plan to take over the network due to its intention to acquire US company Cadillac Jack for $167 million.
This week, on the other hand, news surfaced that the Ongame deal is still on-track and that Amaya will release a statement about this subject next week. It's believed that Amaya might take over the network for as less as $6.5 million.
To reflect on the price, earlier the year gaming technology provider Shuffle Master announced that it was interested to take over the network and offered a price of EUR 30 million. Three months after the announcement, Shuffle Master withdrew its offer.
The price of the network continued to decline during the year. This is attributed to declining player numbers and lack of registrations. At this moment the network has 20% less players than during the same period last year. Despite this, the Ongame network is still the fifth largest online poker network on the market.
The network's sale might actually further decrease player numbers because bwin.party plans to migrate all bwin Poker players to the PartyPoker network after a successful sale.
Still, taking over the network for just $6.5 million can be very advantageous to any company. The fact that at this moment the Ongame network mostly operates in regulated markets will allow it to apply for a USA online poker license when online poker will become regulated in the States.
Amaya's plans with the network are not know at this moment but it's very likely that the company intends to use the network to create a presence on the US online poker market when this practice becomes regulated.
OnlineCasinoAdvice.com will continue to report about this case as soon as Amaya Gaming releases a statement next week.
Tags: Amaya Gaming, Ongame Poker Network, bwin.party, Online Poker Industry, US Online Poker
Shortage of Engineers Is Causing 'Crisis' In Tech Industry A lack of qualified workers in the tech industry is causing a crisis, says Microsoft. The firm has started lobbying in Washington, calling for a new approach to science, technology, engineering and math teaching at schools, and warning that if changes are not made, the U.S. will lose out to other, better-prepared nations.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The colorful dresses of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo will go on display for the first time in November after being kept hidden from public view for 50 years at the request of her husband, acclaimed muralist Diego Rivera.
Curators of the Kahlo's "Blue House" in Mexico City discovered a trove of 300 dresses, bathing suits, accessories and photographs in 2004 and are now ready to show the public 22 items from the unique wardrobe that turned her into a fashion muse.
The exhibit explores Kahlo's fascination with Mexico's indigenous women and her penchant for richly embroidered ethnic frocks, flowery headpieces and ornate silver jewelry that earned her a photo shoot with Vogue magazine in 1937.
It also reveals how she chose clothes to hide her disfigurement after a bout of childhood polio that left one leg thinner than the other and a devastating bus accident that broke her spine in three places and left her in constant pain and scarred from subsequent surgeries.
"We must remember that Frida - like Diego - wanted the colors, the dress, the culture of Mexican women to be public and known," said Carlos Phillips, head of the museums that exhibit Kahlo and Rivera's work.
"They were attempting to rescue a people which had been abandoned. Mexican society dressed like Europeans. Those types of clothes weren't appreciated as much anymore," he said.
Kahlo and Rivera are two of Mexico's most celebrated figures, and their on-off stormy marriage was among the most prominent of the 20th century art world.
Kahlo, who died from pneumonia in 1954 at age 47, led a troubled life fraught with illness and tumultuous love affairs. A member of the Mexican Communist Party, she was a fierce supporter of the country's traditional culture.
"Frida Kahlo without a doubt is a very important icon in the fashion scene," said Kelly Talamas, editor of Vogue magazine for Mexico and Latin America.
"She had more of a dark side, and also had her side in which she was inspired by the colors and the textures and the people and the culture here in Mexico," she said. "I think that's what's most inspiring to designers, that the pieces that she wore create a story."
Vogue has commissioned contemporary Frida-inspired pieces from several designers to display alongside the originals.
PAIN AND DISFIGUREMENT
Kahlo began painting as a teenager while convalescing from the crash in 1925 and her work and the numerous self-portraits for which she is best known reflect the searing pain she lived with until her death.
The museum had respected Rivera's request to keep Frida's clothing under lock and key for half a century after she died in 1954. Rivera had wanted to preserve the items and protect them from people who might not take care of them properly.
When they did start examining the items, they were thrilled to find the exact outfit worn in the 1937 Vogue shoot.
Seen by Reuters, it features a European-inspired green, ruffled blouse with high neck and long sleeves, with small buttons down the back, and a voluminous, ivory-colored silk taffeta skirt with a floral print and lace hem. A magenta shawl wrapped around the shoulders completed the look. The blouse now has some stains from Kahlo's oil paints.
"She didn't just choose any dress. This particular dress ... symbolizes a strong woman," said Circe Henestrosa, the exhibit's curator.
"It's also a dress that projected her political beliefs and her desire to promote her Mexican identity. As far as her disability, it's a dress that allowed her to hide her physical imperfections," she said.
(Writing by Bernd Debusmann Junior and Louise Egan; Editing by Simon Gardner)
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@speeddating101.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.
More information about this error may be available in the server error log.
Additionally, a 500 Internal Server Error error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
Apache/2.2.22 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.22 OpenSSL/0.9.8e-fips-rhel5 mod_auth_passthrough/2.1 mod_bwlimited/1.4 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 Server at speeddating101.com Port 80
Tough economic forces and lousy summer weather seem to be determined to try and take charge of the wholesale energy supply market. Prices tumbled throughout the middle of June to new lows. Annual gas prices are now 15% lower than the same time last year, while annual power prices fell to a two-year low and are 22% down year-on-year.
Falling power prices dragged annual spark spreads down 7% to ?3.4/MWh, and even that reliable stalwart coal is having a hard time of things, with slipping prices buffering the fall of dark spreads slightly to a ?17.9/MWh premium to spark spreads.
So what's been setting off these price crashes? Well, concerns about debt in the Eurozone nations hasn't helped. Greece lurches from crisis to crisis and even the election of a new government is doing little to allay fears about its long-term future. But it's slowing economic growth in the US and China that has really pushed international energy markets downwards. Brent crude oil tumbled to $97.6/bl, its lowest level since January 2011, and annual API coal dropped to a new 20-month low of $95.4/t.
However, all of this is good news for consumers. While we may be missing out on that 'BBQ summer' the forecasters promised us, both domestic and commercial end-users have seen energy prices drop in real terms. A fall in inflation has also helped to stabilise the retail market, but the big difference has been at the pumps, where motorists have finally started to see the numbers on the forecourts going down instead of up. This, combined with lower electricity and gas costs, has given the British economy a short respite, during which it has a chance to push up production and keep the fragile heart of UK PLC beating for a while longer.
Biomass - holding the fort?
Ironically, it's been the biomass market that has held the fort. Despite biomass contracts dropping, with prices for 2013 down 1% to ?88.5/t, prices are still around 6% higher than this time last year. They've recovered from their four-year low and are at their highest level for five months. This boost has been helped in no small measure with the approval of the plans for a 40MW staw-fuelled biomass plant in Snetterton, Norfolk, which have finally been given the go-ahead.
The weather outside is frightful...
The real headline grabber throughout June and into July has been the atrocious weather the UK has experienced. Lower than average June temperatures and storm after storm has resulted in a rise in UK gas demand. Supply peaked at 223.1mcm on 11th June, in the middle of the bad weather. Industry watchers believe that the unseasonably bad weather has encouraged many people to do something they wouldn't normally do in June - they turned the heating up. The result was that although the national system decreased 0.1%, the regional system climbed 2.2%. To date, summer demand (measured from April 1st) was down 7.8% on the national system but up a staggering 31.1% on the regional system, compared to the same time last year.
What this indicates is that while gas demand for power generation is down year-on-year, consumption by households and small businesses has risen. This means that gas consumption is acting as a barometer for the productiveness of the UK economy and while the big users may be struggling, homes and businesses are continuing to ride out the worst of the economic storm, putting a more positive face on what has been a difficult few months.
How prices will fare in the next few weeks will depend on three things - the resolution (or otherwise) of the Eurozone crisis, and the economic condition of the US and China. If they start to wobble you could see prices start to climb back up again.
Graham Paul - Services Delivery Director (EDW Technology). EDW have a long history developing, implementing and supporting best-of-breed software solutions. Since 2000, their electricity pricing system - part of ERS (Energy Retail Suite) has enabled energy retailers with powerful and highly competitive IT systems, transforming customer experience, improving business efficiency, reducing costs and boosting profits.
Construction of the Devil?s Slide tunnel bypass started the week of Sept. 21, 2007, 10 years after San Mateo County residents voted in favor of building the tunnel as a safe way around treacherous Highway 1.
Shore residents should have lower bridge-tunnel tolls
As you all know, before you go on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel there is a toll of each way or if you cross within 24 hours. The toll is a burden to the residents on the Shore as well as commuters.
Barton Springs Pool To Close For Repair
Barton Springs Pool in South Austin will close its shallow end starting Oct. 1 for repair work, with the rest of the pool closing a month later. Workers will repair a bypass tunnel located on the north side of the pool that allows for the normal flow of water in Barton springs to pass, and small floods to bypass the swimming area, helping to maintain the quality of water. ...
Schiff sends MTA a letter slamming the 710 tunnel
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) sent a letter to regional transportation officials on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012, opposing the proposal to build a 4.5-mile tunnel connecting the Long Beach (710) Freeway in Alhambra to the Foothill (210) Freeway in Pasadena.
Tired Ontario Liberals guilty of having tunnel vision
McGuinty?s sole focus on public-sector salaries has sapped the party?s will to even attempt any positive changes in other policy areas
710 tunnel could be health hazard
But specialist tells meeting that scrubbers will cleanse emissions. Transportation officials are considering a 4.5-mile tunnel connecting the 710 to the Foothill (210) Freeway in Pasadena is one of five alternatives to ease traffic in the region.
Tunnel Vision: Subterranean Park to Stay Sunny with Fiber-Optic Skylights [Slide Show]
Tunnel Vision: Subterranean Park to Stay Sunny with Fiber-Optic Skylights [Slide Show]
Tunnel project could push rats, roaches into Seattle buildings
Seattle's Alaskan Way viaduct tunnel project threatens to create an unpleasant spillover effect, and one that just might make your skin crawl.
Health hotline: Doctors to answer questions on hand, wrist and elbow conditions and injuries
Contrary to popular belief, spending too much time at a computer keyboard doesn't necessarily lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.
NSW opposition backs tunnel air monitoring
Calls from health lobby groups for increased air pollution monitoring in Sydney's M5 tunnel have been backed by the NSW opposition.
Japan's main opposition party has chosen Shinzo Abe, the nationalist former prime minister, to lead it, positioning him to likely return to the prime minister's office by year's end.
By Gavin Blair,?Correspondent / September 26, 2012
Japan's newly elected main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Shinzo Abe takes the rostrum as he stands next to a Japanese national flag at a news conference at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday, Sept. 26.
Toru Hanai/Reuters
Enlarge
As Japan's relations with China and Taiwan reach the lowest point in years, the country's main opposition party has elected a hawkish former prime minister to lead the party, positioning him to be the likely next premier.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
Shinzo Abe, who resigned as Japan's prime minister in 2007 a year and a day after taking office citing of deadlock and health problems, was chosen as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday. With an election in the next few months, and the Democratic Party of Japan government trailing badly in opinion polls, Mr. Abe looks set to return to the prime minister's office, though probably with the help of a coalition partner. ?
Abe is seen as a strong nationalist and, along with all the other candidates in the leadership race, has been calling for a tougher line with China over the territorial row about the set of small islands that Japan calls Senkaku and China calls Diaoyu. However, analysts say he will take a pragmatic approach if he becomes prime minister, as he did in his last period in office. Indeed, early comments following his election as party leader indicate he has already begun to soften his stance.?
"We must show our will to firmly protect our territorial waters and the Senkaku islands in the face of China's actions. That said, when I took office as prime minister six years ago, I visited China first because the Japan-China relationship is very important," Abe told reporters in Tokyo after his victory today. "Even if our national interests clash, we should acknowledge that we need each other and control the situation while thinking about things strategically. My stance on this has not changed."?
As a politician, Abe is known by critics as a security hawk who has angered China and Korea with what were seen as denials of parts of Japan?s wartime aggression. In office, however, he was more conciliatory, choosing not to visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, where the souls of?Class A war criminals are said to be interred.
?If Abe does become prime minister, the right-wing in Japan is likely to be disappointed, while people in the center will be reassured,? says Jun Okumura, a senior political analyst at the Eurasia Group. ?
However, the tensions with China over the islands, which the Japanese government recently bought from a private landowner to head off a more provocative bid to buy them by Tokyo?s nationalist governor, are unlikely to be solved easily.
The Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers held tense talks on the issue Tuesday in New York, at the periphery of a United Nations meeting, though reportedly made no progress.
To complicate matters further, Taiwan, which also claims the islands, sent a flotilla to within three miles of the disputed territory on Tuesday. Japan?s Coast Guard boats sprayed a water cannon at them, ordering the boats to leave. The Taiwanese boats responded with their own water canons and received a hero?s welcome when they returned home.
?The water fight was an embarrassment and begs the question: Why didn?t the Japan Coast Guard shoot water at the Chinese ships that entered Japanese territory? It?s like a first-grader fighting with other kids in the same grade but scared to fight with the third-grade kids,? says the Eurasia Group?s Mr. Okumura. ?
?This must have created a good deal of satisfaction in Beijing, as it brought Taiwan closer to the Chinese side,? adds Okumura.
Interestingly, Abe is popular with some pro-independence politicians in Taiwan. That may partially be explained by the fact that both his grandfather and great uncle were pro-Taiwanese politicians. Japan does not officially recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state in order to avoid antagonizing China, which regards Taiwan as rogue province. ?
September is Gynecological Cancer Awareness Month. Awareness can save lives.
Gynecological Cancer Facts:
80,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with gynecological cancers ? uterine, ovarian, and cervical the most prevalent ? each year.
The most common type of gynecological cancer is uterine cancer, also known as endometrial cancer.
50,000 women are diagnosed with uterine cancer each year.
Uterine cancer is linked to excess body fat, which increases the amount of insulin, estrogen, and inflammation in the body.
22,000 woman are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, and more than half will die because of late diagnosis.
Early warning signs for ovarian cancer are bloating, pelvic pain, trouble eating, and frequent urination.
If caught before it spreads, the cure rate for ovarian cancer is 90 percent.
The CDC recommends all teenage girls be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus (HPV) ? a sexually transmitted disease linked to cervical cancer ? for early prevention.
Breast Cancer
All women should do a monthly self-examination, ( in the shower? is an easy place to start.)? according to Dr. Oratz.? Most women should see a doctor 1-2 times a year.? Women should check for the shape of their breasts, any changes in skin color, any discharges, and any changes in skin texture.
?
?
The Top 5 Cancers Affecting Women By Debra-Lynn B. Hook
A cancer diagnosis can often be directly linked to your family medical history, your lifestyle choices, and your environment. You can?t control your family medical history, and only some aspects of your environment are up to you. But lifestyle choices like diet, weight, activity level, and smoking are yours to manage.
?Preventive measures are so heavily underutilized by people. And yet they work. Everything in moderation really works,? says Richard R. Barakat, MD, chief of the gynecology service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering?Cancer Center in New York City.
While the overall odds are that two out of three women will never get cancer, 700,000 women were diagnosed with cancer in 2008 (the most recent year for which CDC data is available), most with one of the following types:
Breast cancer accounted for 26 percent of female cancer cases and 15 percent of the 272,000 female cancer deaths that year. A woman?s odds of getting this cancer: 1 in 8
Lung and bronchus cancers accounted for 14 percent of female cancer cases and 26 percent of all deaths. A woman?s odds of getting this cancer: 1 in 16
Colon and rectal cancers accounted for 10 percent of all cancer cases and 9 percent of all deaths. A woman?s odds of getting this cancer: 1 in 19
Uterine cancer accounted for 6 percent of all cancer cases, and 3 percent of all deaths. A woman?s odds of getting this cancer: 1 in 41
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma accounted for 4 percent of all cancer cases and 3 percent of all deaths. A woman?s odds of getting this cancer: 1 in 53
As you learn about the common risk factors for each of these cancers, you can take steps to correct the ones within your control.
Breast Cancer Risks
?
?
Risk factors for breast cancer, the most common cancer among women, include:
?
?
?
Age: Two of three women with invasive breast cancer are 55 or older.
Family history: Your risk is doubled if your mother, sister, or daughter has had it.
Race: White women are more susceptible than African-Americans, although African-American women are more likely to die from breast cancer, partly because their tumors may grow faster.
Dense breast tissue
Previous radiation treatment to the chest
A greater than average number of menstrual periods (starting before age 12, reaching menopause after age 55)
No pregnancies, or having your first pregnancy after the age of 30
Taking birth control pills: The level of risk goes back to normal 10 years after stopping the pill.
Past treatment with the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES), once used to prevent miscarriage
Post-menopausal hormone therapy: Avoiding this treatment decreases your risk of breast cancer.
Not breastfeeding
Being overweight and having a high-fat diet
Lack of exercise
Drinking heavily: University of Oxford researchers who studied 1.3 million women over a seven-year period found that moderate drinking ? as few as one to three drinks per week ? puts you at higher risk for breast cancer.
Lung and Bronchus Cancer Risks
A look at the percentages of deaths among people diagnosed with this form of cancer shows just how deadly?lung cancer is, at close to the reverse of?breast cancer statistics. Most striking is our ability to lower those numbers: 80 percent of all lung cancers in women (and 90 percent in men) might be avoided if people didn?t smoke; smokers are 10 to 20 times more likely to get lung cancer than nonsmokers. Family history also plays a part. Other risk factors include exposure to:
Second-hand smoke
Radon gas
Arsenic
Tar
Soot
Besides following an?exercise plan and a healthy diet, limiting your alcohol intake can also help keeplung cancer at bay.
Colon and Rectum Cancer Risks
More than 90 percent of colon cancers occur in those 50 and older. Risk factors include:
A personal or family history of colorectal cancer, polyps, or inflammatory bowel disease
Inactivity
Smoking
Heavy drinking
Low-fiber, high-fat diet that includes lots of processed meat and few fruits and vegetables
Early detection is a lifesaver, especially when it comes to colon and rectum cancers. It usually takes 10 to 15 years for abnormal cells to grow in the colon, which means if you have regular colonoscopy screenings to look for polyps and remove them before they become abnormal, you can stay on top of this deadly disease.
A new study from the National Institutes of Health also found a promising connection between calcium and dairy food intake and a lower risk of colon cancer. This study, which tracked 200,000 men and 200,000 women over a seven-year period, is significant because it used a larger population sample to support smaller studies with the same findings.
?
Uterine Cancer Risks
Hormonal changes, particularly related to estrogen, play a significant role in your?risk for uterine cancer, also known as endometrial cancer. Risk factors include:
?
A greater than average number of menstrual periods
No pregnancies
Taking estrogen therapy
Obesity and having a high-fat diet
Past or present use of?tamoxifen for breast cancer
Some kinds of ovarian tumors
Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Age
Diabetes
A family history of colon cancer
A personal history of breast or ovarian cancer
Some cases of endometrial hyperplasia, a thickening of the uterine lining
Using birth control pills over a period of time, but ultimately having multiple pregnancies, can help decrease your risk.
?
Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Risks
This disease, which can show up in your lymph nodes, spleen, tonsils and adenoids, thymus gland, or bone marrow, attacks the body?s lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system. Risk factors include:
?
A weakened immune system, especially if related to long-term infection or organ transplant
Age: Most cases occur in people 60 or older
Exposure to certain chemicals, especially insecticides and herbicides
Obesity
Autoimmune diseases
There are no known prevention methods for Non-Hodgkins lymphoma , other than to avoid diseases that cause immune deficiency; the most preventable of these diseases is?HIV.
Making all the lifestyle improvements you can, most of which involve simple changes to your diet and?exercise habits, will go a long way toward improving your health and helping to reduce your risk of cancers common to women.
Bringing tears to the eyes of gamers everywhere, Nintendo (NTDOY) has confirmed to CVG?that its upcoming Wii U console and its accompanying Wii U GamePad will be region-locked. To bring everybody up to code, Nintendo, along with Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT) have had a tradition of preventing video game consoles sold in one region from working with video game software from another region. Every home console Nintendo has released since the original Nintendo Entertainment System has been region-locked, as well as its 3DS handheld lineup. The exception to the rule was the DS, which has gone on to sell more than?152 million units worldwide as of July.?The new Wii U console?launches on November 18th?starting at $299.99 for the Basic
Contact: Peter Michaud pmichaud@gemini.edu 808-936-6643 Gemini Observatory
Despite being infamously demoted from its status as a major planet, Pluto (and its largest companion Charon) recently posed as a surrogate extrasolar planetary system to help astronomers produce exceptionally high-resolution images with the Gemini North 8-meter telescope. Using a method called reconstructive speckle imaging, the researchers took the sharpest ground-based snapshots ever obtained of Pluto and Charon in visible light, which hint at the exoplanet verification power of a large state-of-the-art telescope when combined with speckle imaging techniques. The data also verified and refined previous orbital characteristics for Pluto and Charon while revealing the pair's precise diameters.
"The Pluto-Charon result is of timely interest to those of us wanting to understand the orbital dynamics of this pair for the upcoming NASA New Horizons mission to Pluto," said Steve Howell of the NASA Ames Research Center, who led the study. In addition, Howell notes that NASA's Kepler mission, which has already proven a powerful exoplanet discovery tool, will benefit greatly from this technique.
Kepler identifies planet candidates by repeatedly measuring the change in brightness of more than 150,000 stars to detect when a planet passes in front of, or affects the brightness of, its host star. Speckle imaging with the Gemini telescope will provide Kepler's follow-up program with a doubling in its ability to resolve objects and validate Earth-like planets. It also offers a 3- to 4-magnitude sensitivity increase for the sources observed by the team. That's about a 50-fold increase in sensitivity in the observations Howell and his team made at Gemini. "This is an enormous gain in the effort underway to confirm small Earth-size planets," Howell added.
To institute this effort Howell and his team which included Elliott Horch (Southern Connecticut State University), Mark Everett (National Optical Astronomy Observatory), and David Ciardi (NASA Exoplanet Science Institute/Caltech) temporarily installed a camera, called the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI), among the suite of instruments mounted on the Gemini telescope.
"This was a fantastic opportunity to bring DSSI to Gemini North this past July," said Horch. "In just a little over half an hour of Pluto observations, collecting light with the large Gemini mirror, we obtained the best resolution ever with the DSSI instrument it was stunning!"
The resolution obtained in the observations, about 20 milliarcseconds, easily corresponds to separating a pair of automobile headlights in Providence, Rhode Island, from San Francisco, California. To achieve this level of definition, Gemini obtained a large number of very quick "snapshots" of Pluto and Charon. The researchers then reconstructed them into a single image after subtracting the blurring effects and ever-changing speckled artifacts caused by turbulence in the atmosphere and other optical aberrations. With enough snapshots (each image was exposed for only 60 milliseconds or about 1/20 of a second) only the light from the actual objects remains constant, and the artifacts reveal their transient nature, eventually canceling each other out.
DSSI was built at SCSU between 2007-2008 as a part of a United States National Science Foundation Astronomical Instrumentation grant and mounted on the Gemini North telescope for a limited observing run. The instrument is likely to return to Gemini North for observations in mid-2013 for general user programs from across the international Gemini partnership. Any such arrangement will be announced along with the call for proposals for Semester 13B, in February 2013.
###
This work was funded in part by the National Science Foundation and NASA's Kepler discovery mission and will be published in the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in October 2012.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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.
Contact: Peter Michaud pmichaud@gemini.edu 808-936-6643 Gemini Observatory
Despite being infamously demoted from its status as a major planet, Pluto (and its largest companion Charon) recently posed as a surrogate extrasolar planetary system to help astronomers produce exceptionally high-resolution images with the Gemini North 8-meter telescope. Using a method called reconstructive speckle imaging, the researchers took the sharpest ground-based snapshots ever obtained of Pluto and Charon in visible light, which hint at the exoplanet verification power of a large state-of-the-art telescope when combined with speckle imaging techniques. The data also verified and refined previous orbital characteristics for Pluto and Charon while revealing the pair's precise diameters.
"The Pluto-Charon result is of timely interest to those of us wanting to understand the orbital dynamics of this pair for the upcoming NASA New Horizons mission to Pluto," said Steve Howell of the NASA Ames Research Center, who led the study. In addition, Howell notes that NASA's Kepler mission, which has already proven a powerful exoplanet discovery tool, will benefit greatly from this technique.
Kepler identifies planet candidates by repeatedly measuring the change in brightness of more than 150,000 stars to detect when a planet passes in front of, or affects the brightness of, its host star. Speckle imaging with the Gemini telescope will provide Kepler's follow-up program with a doubling in its ability to resolve objects and validate Earth-like planets. It also offers a 3- to 4-magnitude sensitivity increase for the sources observed by the team. That's about a 50-fold increase in sensitivity in the observations Howell and his team made at Gemini. "This is an enormous gain in the effort underway to confirm small Earth-size planets," Howell added.
To institute this effort Howell and his team which included Elliott Horch (Southern Connecticut State University), Mark Everett (National Optical Astronomy Observatory), and David Ciardi (NASA Exoplanet Science Institute/Caltech) temporarily installed a camera, called the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI), among the suite of instruments mounted on the Gemini telescope.
"This was a fantastic opportunity to bring DSSI to Gemini North this past July," said Horch. "In just a little over half an hour of Pluto observations, collecting light with the large Gemini mirror, we obtained the best resolution ever with the DSSI instrument it was stunning!"
The resolution obtained in the observations, about 20 milliarcseconds, easily corresponds to separating a pair of automobile headlights in Providence, Rhode Island, from San Francisco, California. To achieve this level of definition, Gemini obtained a large number of very quick "snapshots" of Pluto and Charon. The researchers then reconstructed them into a single image after subtracting the blurring effects and ever-changing speckled artifacts caused by turbulence in the atmosphere and other optical aberrations. With enough snapshots (each image was exposed for only 60 milliseconds or about 1/20 of a second) only the light from the actual objects remains constant, and the artifacts reveal their transient nature, eventually canceling each other out.
DSSI was built at SCSU between 2007-2008 as a part of a United States National Science Foundation Astronomical Instrumentation grant and mounted on the Gemini North telescope for a limited observing run. The instrument is likely to return to Gemini North for observations in mid-2013 for general user programs from across the international Gemini partnership. Any such arrangement will be announced along with the call for proposals for Semester 13B, in February 2013.
###
This work was funded in part by the National Science Foundation and NASA's Kepler discovery mission and will be published in the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in October 2012.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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.
What were the members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences thinking when they filled out their ballot for best actor in a drama this year? No offense to unexpected winner Damian Lewis. He's worthy of major accolades for bringing Nicolas Brody to life on "Homeland," there's no denying it. But this year, he was the long shot. After all, there were two other stars who seemed be in a dead heat for the golden winged award.
For the past four and a half seasons, "Breaking Bad's" Bryan Cranston has shown the prime-time TV world the believable evolution of a man who's gone from a terminally ill teacher and family man to a meth-cooking kingpin ... and family man. As Walter White, he's gone dark and then some, and his performance is truly special.
It's a role that's earned him the statuette three times before -- for good reason.
Then there was Jon Hamm, who many believed was poised to take the top drama honor this year for his perfect portrayal of the tortured soul who juggles booze, business and womanizing -- "Mad Men's" Don Draper.
So why no Emmy for either one of these men this time? Especially after Cranston revealed his acting range to be broader and better than ever before, and Hamm's continued to make Draper a must-see TV character? Perhaps Cranston's drama has simply become too dark for the voters. Maybe they hope to recognize him next year, for his work on the remainder of the final of the show. And maybe the Academy just doesn't see in Hamm what "Mad Men" fans do. But the right answer could be that the dramatic-actor field was just flooded with big talent, and these men were lost in the mix.
In addition to Lewis, Cranston and Hamm, Steve Buscemi made the best actor in a drama list for his work as Nucky Thompson on "Boardwalk Empire." Michael C. Hall received a nom for his title role in "Dexter." And the man behind "Downton Abbey's" lord and master, Hugh Bonneville, was on the list, too.
No doubt the Academy members had a tough decision to make. And that might explain the evening's other snubs as well.
Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
Such as? When "Homeland" went on to beat out "Breaking Bad," "Mad Men" (which came up nil for the night), "Game of Thrones" and even "Downton Abbey" to take the Emmy for best drama series.
Other notable oversights included Mayim Bialik of "The Big Bang Theory," who lost the supporting actress in a comedy award to "Modern Family's" Julie Bowen. And Bialik's fellow "Big Banger" Jim Parsons didn't get his due trophy for lead actor in a comedy series thanks to Jon Cryer's shocking win for his work on "Two and a Half Men." (Note: Even Cryer himself was shocked, telling the crowd, "Something has gone terribly wrong.")
While many thought the lead actress in a comedy series would surely go to Tina Fey ("30 Rock"), Amy Poehler ("Parks and Recreation") or Melissa McCarthy ("Mike & Molly"), in a three-way snub, it was actually "Veep's" Julia Louis-Dreyfus who snagged it.
And while it seems hard to argue with a "Daily Show" win for variety series, this time, given Stephen Colbert's consummate work as Super PAC-man over the past year, it's hard not to call that one a snub, too.
Which stars or shows do think were snubbed during Sunday night's 2012 Emmy Awards? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.
People want to earn a stable source of income. However, each business venture requires some form of capital whether in form of skills or money to start. This makes it quite hard for many people to start their own businesses because they cannot raise the necessary amounts of money to establish businesses in certain sectors. These are some of the barriers to entry into certain industries such as transportation industry because the machines are quite expensive. Even for an existing firm, funding a growth strategy can be an uphill task since there are stringent measures that have been put by lending institutions. Despite all these, businesses and individuals must find ways of funding their operations and growth oriented strategies. For instance, there are various sources of commercial truck financing.
Commercial banks are some of the greatest lenders for such business activities. Lending is one of the core businesses of commercial banks thus businesses and individuals apply for loans from these institutions. The credit departments in banks then analyze the ability of an applicant to repay the loan and also the viability of a proposed business or the financial performance of existing business.
Some businesses and individuals can save enough money for purchase of such vehicles. This requires the individual to have a vision considering that Lorries are quite expensive to purchase. Therefore, the savings must have been made for a considerable length of time for them to be enough for such purpose.
In some places, people come together to form associations which they use to buy various assets. This makes purchase of assets quite easier since different people contribute towards the project. The members can then share the proceeds from such businesses which an in turn be used to buy additional trucks.
SACCOs and other co-operative societies often advance loans to their members for various projects especially ones aimed at increasing output from members. This makes it easy for people to purchase heavy machinery since the interest rates are fairly low. In addition, the duration of loans is quite long thus spreading the loan over a long period making repayment easy.
Companies issue shares to new shareholders or existing shareholders to finance various growth strategies. Among these include the purchase of assets that enhance efficiency and output of these institutions. Proceeds from issuance of stocks or sell of bonds can be used to finance buying of trucks.
It is also common for entrepreneurs to seek funds from friends and family members. These are likely to support an idea especially for those who have financially stable friends or family members. The advantage of such loans is that it has fair terms such as low interest and long repayment period. In addition, some family labor may be obtained on the same thus reducing operating expenditures.
People can also acquire such assets on credit just like it is possible to obtain other assets such as inventory in a manufacturing or merchandising firm. There must however be good credit history for someone to be advanced credit on such machines. Commercial truck financing is thus made easy when a firm has been in operation for a long time thus building confidence in the suppliers.
When you need commercial truck financing take a look at www.transcommercialcapital.com. You can easily apply for your loan online when you see us at http://www.transcommercialcapital.com today.
Communications:Mobile-Cell-Phone-SMS Articles from EzineArticles.com
Why Do Businesses Use A Send SMS Message Online Service?
Any business today knows how important it is for them to be able to communicate effectively with their clients if they want to see theirs thrive. One way of course of doing this is through them sending information regularly to their customers by sending them SMS messages.
GoArticles Traffic Analysis Recent Articles
The SEO Big Four
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, best practices can?t be mastered or accomplished in a day. It requires getting to know Google like an intimate friend ? what it likes, what it doesn?t like, where it ?
If you eat an animal bi-product you should be forced to watch slaughterhouse videos and you should be made to look at endless pictures of battered/murdered/tortured animals. Don?t like it? Don?t eat it. If you can?t even watch what you are doing to another living?
I?ll watch all those videos while eating a pork chop stuffed inside a chicken breast with a side of steak wrapped in bacon and shrimp. Don?t give a fuq
Yeah most rapists and child molesters and murderers all have the same mindset you do. Have fun with that.
Find HUTCHINSON HOUSE WEST CONDO Homes For Sale and HUTCHINSON HOUSE WEST CONDO Home Values. We also have information on mortgages, insurance, movers and other Treasure Coast Real Estate Services for anyone looking to sell or buy a home in beautiful Martin COUNTY Florida.
Paul Kitchen and Starfish Team provide clients, family and close friends with professional, honest and dependable service. A resident of Treasure Coast, Paul is extremely familiar with the local neighborhoods including HUTCHINSON HOUSE WEST CONDO, school districts and the Treasure Coast Real Estate market in this beautiful Florida town.
Paul Kitchen Broker-Owner Starfish Real Estate 8985 SE Bridge Road Hobe Sound, Florida 33455 (772) 539-8380 (800) 793-7304 toll free Treasure Coast Real Estate Treasure Coast Real Estate Blog
Tagged as: HUTCHINSON HOUSE WEST CONDO, Treasure Coast Real Estate
Students stretch in preperation for their class. Several classes are now being hosted to help students stay healthy.
The Monmouth College Wellness Program and the Trotter Fitness Program are encouraging students to relax, get up and dance, and run for their lives! The group has started several programs that allow students to get in shape, including Muevelo, Yoga, and the Run For Your Life! Project. According to the Wellness Program?s website, their mission is to ?enhance the healthy development of the mind, body, and spirit of members of the campus community through physical exercise, health and fitness awareness, and recreational activities in a well maintained environment.? They have created several programs for students that encourage these areas of development. The Run For Your Life program is a semester long program that sets a mileage goal at the beginning of the semester and allows students to complete their predefined mileage by running, biking, or swimming. When their mileage is complete, participants get a free t-shirt. The Wellness Program is also continuing its Muevelo classes this semester. The class teaches its members how to move and dance to the rhythms of Latin music. Junior Rachel Whitlock took part in a class. She said, ?The class is so fun and really gets you moving. You don?t realize it?s a workout until you feel sore the next day.?
Participants work out to the new dance program hosted by the Wellness and Trotter Fitness Programs
Muevelo runs every Wednesday at 6:30pm. Also running this year is a 4- week Yoga program designed to provide students a relaxing workout. This program runs every Monday at 5pm. The Trotter Fitness Center also hosts drop- in workshops every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month. During these workshops, students can receive information about a wide range of topics from staying healthy to starting a workout routine. The Wellness Program continues to put out new programs throughout the year and encourages students to ask questions about any current programs. Students are encouraged to talk to attendants in the Trotter Fitness Center or to email MC Wellness at wellness@monmouthcollege.edu.
Online gambling company Amaya Gaming might soon take over the Ongame poker network from bwin.party. The company might announce the acquisition next week.
Breast Cancer 
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 26-Sep-2012
Share ] 
??
