feynman ropy: March 2013

Sunday, March 31, 2013

UConn women run past Maryland 76-50

Connecticut forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, right, lines up a shot against Maryland guard Katie Rutan (40) during the second half of a women's NCAA college basketball regional semifinal in Bridgeport, Conn., Saturday, March 30, 2013. Mosqueda-Lewis scored 17 points as Connecticut won 76-50. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Connecticut center Stefanie Dolson pivots to the basket against Maryland forward Tianna Hawkins during the second half of an NCAA women's college basketball tournament regional semifinal in Bridgeport, Conn., Saturday, March 30, 2013. Connecticut won 76-50. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Maryland forward Alyssa Thomas, center, threads between Connecticut forward Morgan Tuck, left, and forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, right, during the first half of an NCAA women's college regional semifinal basketball game in Bridgeport, Conn., Saturday, March 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Connecticut guard Kelly Faris (34) shoots against Maryland center Alicia DeVaughn, right, during the first half of a women's NCAA college regional semifinal basketball game in Bridgeport, Conn., Saturday, March 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Connecticut forward Breanna Stewart, right, tries to block a shot by Maryland center Alicia DeVaughn (13) during the first half of an NCAA women's college regional semifinal basketball game in Bridgeport, Conn., Saturday, March 30, 2013. At bottom right is Connecticut center Stefanie Dolson. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) ? Connecticut's youngest players have the Huskies back in an old and familiar spot.

Freshmen Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck combined for 35 points as UConn (32-4) advanced to their eighth straight regional final with a 76-50 blowout over Maryland on Saturday.

"I think we were 16 for 28 from the floor, our freshmen," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "One turnover between the three of them. I thought they were the key to the game today for sure."

Stewart and sophomore Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis each had 17 points to lead the Huskies. Stewart also had eight rebounds and four blocked shots.

Jefferson made several key defensive stops and her two fast-break layups capped a 9-0 run to start the second half, giving UConn a 44-26 lead and control of the game.

"We got in a nice offensive flow," she said. "Once the transition game came, then the offensive flow was right there."

Her layup midway through the half stretched the lead to 60-38. She finished with 10 points and Tuck had eight as the Huskies bench outscored Maryland's 25-0.

"They didn't play like freshmen at all," center Stefanie Dolson said. "They came out confident and ready to play. They knew what they needed to do for our team and what they can do."

Two-time ACC player of the year Alyssa Thomas, who had scored 29 and 28 points in the team's first two tournament games, was held to 13 for Maryland, which finished its season at 26-8. Tianna Hawkins and Chloe Pavlech each had 11 points for the Terps.

Maryland trailed 35-26 at the half and went scoreless for the first 3 minutes after intermission allowing UConn to blow the game open.

"I thought we'd come out of the locker room with a lot more energy," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "They came with a knockout punch in the second half."

The Huskies will play Kentucky on Monday night in a rematch of last year's regional final, which was played just over 100 miles away in Kingston, R.I. UConn won that game 80-65.

The Wildcats beat Delaware 69-62 earlier Saturday.

Connecticut will be playing in a regional final for the 19th time. The Huskies have made five consecutive trips to the Final Four and are seeking their eighth national title.

It was the second win over Maryland this season for UConn. The Huskies won by 15 points in the Jimmy V Classic in December. Thomas had just six points in that game, and the Huskies held the Terps to just 48 points, their lowest output this season. They also were outrebounded 39-35, one of just five times that happened this season.

Maryland came into the game ranked second in the nation in rebounding margin, grabbing more than 14 more boards per game than its opponents. The Terps had outrebounded opponents in 32 of their first 33 games.

But UConn won that battle this time around 41-36.

"We were really looking forward to getting back on the court," Stewart said. "We knew Maryland was very physical and we just wanted to come out and disrupt them defensively."

Maryland hit just seven of its first 23 shots, but was 4 of 7 from 3-point range during that span, and trailed just 23-20 midway through the first half.

But 3-pointers from Bria Hartley and Kelly Faris pushed the lead to nine, and started a 12-1 run.

The Huskies looked as if they were about to extend that further, when Faris drove to the basket and appeared to take a hard foul. But there was no whistle, infuriating coach Geno Auriemma, who received a technical foul.

Thomas made one of two foul shots, then hit a jump shot that cut the lead to nine 35-26 at halftime.

UConn is 44-4 in NCAA tournament games played in the state and 8-1 in Bridgeport.

UConn's lone blemish came against Duke in 2006 in the regional final.

Maryland was in its 10th regional semifinal and looking to make back-to-back trips to the regional final despite losing three players this season to ACL injuries, including the expected starting backcourt, guards Brene Moseley and Laurin Mincy.

"Next year we'll have plenty of numbers, a full roster," Thomas said. "Not to take away from this season, but looking forward to next season, we're going to be a tough team to stop next year."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-30-NCAA-Maryland-Connecticut/id-798112618ecd4614adc4a11c6e0afeeb

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Analysis: NKorea threat may be more bark than bite

University students punch the air as they march through Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, March 29, 2013. Tens of thousands of North Koreans turned out for the mass rally at the main square in Pyongyang in support of their leader Kim Jong Un's call to arms. Placards read: ?Let?s crush the puppet traitor group? and ?Let?s rip the puppet traitors to death!? (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

North Koreans punch the air during a rally at Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, March 28, 2013. Tens of thousands of North Koreans turned out for the mass rally at the main square in Pyongyang in support of their leader Kim Jong Un's call to arms. The placard reads: "U.S. forces, get out!" (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

North Korean army officers punch the air as they chant slogans during a rally at Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, March 28, 2013. Thousands of North Koreans turned out for the mass rally at the main square in Pyongyang in support of their leader Kim Jong Un's call to arms. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

North Koreans gather during a rally at Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, March 28, 2013. Tens of thousands of North Koreans turned out for the mass rally at the main square in Pyongyang in support of their leader Kim Jong Un's call to arms. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? Across North Korea, soldiers are gearing up for battle and shrouding their jeeps and vans with camouflage netting. Newly painted signboards and posters call for "death to the U.S. imperialists" and urge the people to fight with "arms, not words."

But even as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is issuing midnight battle cries to his generals to ready their rockets, he and his million-man army know full well that a successful missile strike on U.S. targets would be suicide for the outnumbered, out-powered North Korean regime.

Despite the hastening drumbeat of warfare ? seemingly bringing the region to the very brink of conflict with threats and provocations ? Pyongyang aims to force Washington to the negotiating table, pressure the new president in Seoul to change policy on North Korea, and build unity inside the communist country without triggering a full-blown war.

North Korea wants to draw attention to the tenuousness of the armistice designed to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula, a truce Pyongyang recently announced it would no longer honor as it warned that war could break out at any time.

In July, it will be 60 years since North Korea and China signed an armistice with the U.S. and the United Nations to bring an end to three years of fighting that cost millions of lives. The designated Demilitarized Zone has evolved into the most heavily guarded border in the world.

It was never intended to be a permanent border. But six decades later, North and South remain divided, with Pyongyang feeling abandoned by the South Koreans in the quest for reunification and threatened by the Americans.

In that time, South Korea has blossomed from a poor, agrarian nation of peasants into the world's 15th largest economy while North Korea is struggling to find a way out of a Cold War chasm that has left it with a per capita income on par with sub-Saharan Africa.

The Chinese troops who fought alongside the North Koreans have long since left. But 28,500 American troops are still stationed in South Korea and 50,000 more are in nearby Japan. For weeks, the U.S. and South Korea have been showing off their military might with a series of joint exercises that Pyongyang sees a rehearsal for invasion.

On Thursday, the U.S. military confirmed that those drills included two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers that can unload the U.S. Air Force's largest conventional bomb ? a 30,000-pound super bunker buster ? powerful enough to destroy North Korea's web of underground military tunnels.

It was a flexing of military muscle by Washington, perhaps aimed not only at Pyongyang but at Beijing as well.

In Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un reacted swiftly, calling an emergency meeting of army generals and ordering them to be prepared to strike if the U.S. actions continue. A photo distributed by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency showed Kim in a military operations room with maps detailing a "strike plan" behind him in a very public show of supposedly sensitive military strategy.

North Korea cites the U.S. military threat as a key reason behind its need to build nuclear weapons, and has poured a huge chunk of its small national budget into defense, science and technology. In December, scientists launched a satellite into space on the back of a long-range rocket using technology that could easily be converted for missiles; in February, they tested an underground nuclear device as part of a mission to build a bomb they can load on a missile capable of reaching the U.S.

However, what North Korea really wants is legitimacy in the eyes of the U.S. ? and a peace treaty. Pyongyang wants U.S. troops off Korean soil, and the bombs and rockets are more of an expensive, dangerous safety blanket than real firepower. They are the only real playing card North Korea has left, and the bait they hope will bring the Americans to the negotiating table.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said North Korea's "bellicose rhetoric" would only deepen its international isolation, and that the U.S. has both the capability and willingness to defend its interests in the region.

Narushige Michishita, director of the Security and International Studies Program at Japan's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, isn't convinced North Korea is capable of attacking Guam, Hawaii or the U.S. mainland. He says Pyongyang hasn't successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.

But its medium-range Rodong missiles, with a range of about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers), are "operational and credible" and could reach U.S. bases in Japan, he says.

More likely than such a strike, however, is a smaller-scale incident, perhaps off the Koreas' western coast, that would not provoke the Americans to unleash their considerable firepower. For years, the waters off the west coast have been a battleground for naval skirmishes between the two Koreas because the North has never recognized the maritime border drawn unilaterally by the U.N.

As threatening as Kim's call to arms may sound, its main target audience may be the masses at home in North Korea.

For months, the masterminds of North Korean propaganda have pinpointed this year's milestone Korean War anniversary as a prime time to play up Kim's military credibility as well as to push for a peace treaty. By creating the impression that a U.S. attack is imminent, the regime can foster a sense of national unity and encourage the people to rally around their new leader.

Inside Pyongyang, much of the military rhetoric feels like theatrics. It's not unusual to see people toting rifles in North Korea, where soldiers and checkpoints are a fixture in the heavily militarized society. But more often than not in downtown Pyongyang, the rifle stashed in a rucksack is a prop and the "soldier" is a dancer, one of the many performers rehearsing for a Korean War-themed extravaganza set to debut later this year.

More than 100,000 soldiers, students and ordinary workers were summoned Friday to Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang to pump their fists in support of North Korea's commander in chief. But elsewhere, it was business as usual at restaurants and shops, and farms and factories, where the workers have heard it all before.

"Tensions rise almost every year around the time the U.S.-South Korean drills take place, but as soon as those drills end, things go back to normal and people put those tensions behind them quite quickly," said Sung Hyun-sang, the South Korean president of a clothing maker operating in the North Korean border town of Kaesong. "I think and hope that this time won't be different."

And in a telling sign that even the North Koreans don't expect war, the national airline, Air Koryo, is adding flights to its spring lineup and preparing to host the scores of tourists they expect to flock to Pyongyang despite the threats issuing forth from the Supreme Command.

War or no war, it seems Pyongyang remains open for business.

___

Lee is chief of AP's bureaus in Pyongyang, North Korea, and Seoul, South Korea. She can be followed on Twitter at twitter.com/newsjean. Eric Talmadge in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-29-NKorea's%20Battle%20Cries/id-63ac49854e1746d59248a06ab25783ca

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Feds respond to Exxon criticism over Mont. spill

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- Federal officials say a report that found Exxon Mobil Corp. took "reasonable precautions" to address flooding that triggered an oil spill into Montana's Yellowstone River did not reflect the government's final determination in the case.

Friday's statement from the Department of Transportation comes after Exxon criticized a $1.7 million proposed penalty over its 2011 Silvertip pipeline break.

The company said allegations it failed to address flood risks were contrary to findings last year by federal investigators. About 63,000 gallons of crude spilled after floodwaters exposed the pipeline and it broke.

Government spokeswoman Jeannie Layson said the earlier findings did not comprise the complete investigation, and cannot be compared to the proposed penalty.

Exxon has until late April to appeal. Spokesman Patrick Henretty said the company is evaluating its next steps.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/feds-respond-exxon-criticism-over-184043841.html

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Saturday, March 30, 2013

For the love of Joffrey! Stars dish on 'Thrones'

By Anna Chan, TODAY

Forget young love. On HBO's "Game of Thrones," there are just "tactical relationships," Sophie Turner, who plays long-suffering Sansa Stark, told The Clicker at the show's season three premiere in Seattle.

Helen Sloan / HBO

Margaery (Natalie Dormer) gets to know her king, Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), a bit better on season three of "Game of Thrones."

One of those strategic pairings is that of boy-king Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell. In the season two finale, the little tyrant on the Iron Throne broke his engagement to poor Sansa and made Margaery his new betrothed to bring Houses Tyrell and Baratheon -- Lannister, really -- together.?

"(Sansa's) free of being betrothed to (Joffrey), but she's still a prisoner of his," Turner told us of the upcoming season. "It was kind of better when she was betrothed to him and she kind of had a purpose and she knew her means of escape. ... Now, she's not going to become queen, so she's just a prisoner."

As "just a prisoner," that means Joffrey may have even less reason to tone down the beatings and other public humiliations for his former betrothed.?

Not that things are going to be great for Joffrey's new queen-to-be, either. Sure, he seemed to be a bit enchanted by her in season two, but nice guy he is not.

"She's in for a nasty shock!" Natalie Dormer, who plays Margaery, told us of her character. "She has not a clue what she's getting herself into. (She's learning the) really hard way. ... The audience might know Joffrey very well after two seasons, but Margaery doesn't know him at all."

The actress wouldn't reveal if Margaery will suffer the same abuse as Sansa, but explained why she'll stick around regardless of what she might go through.

"(Margaery's) ultimate goal is to be queen," Dormer said of the character, who was previously married to the now deceased King Renley. "She wants her son to be on the Iron Throne. When people ask who's going to get on the Iron Throne, Margaery's answer is, 'My son.' That's what she's aiming for. That's what the Tyrells are aiming for. Their way to power and control of Westeros is through heritage, their offspring."

But unlike Sansa, Margaery will have loved ones close by to help her navigate the power-hungry and sometimes cruel Lannisters.

"The Tyrells are a very close family, very loyal," Dormer said, and they'll all show up at court to figure out how to best play the game of thrones against the Lannisters. "We're trying to be politically savvy, but we're trying to not do it in a way that gets our hands too dirty because we want to have the moral high ground, whereas the Lannisters are right down there in the dirt with all their tricks!"

Leading House Tyrell will be Margaery's grandmother, Lady Olenna Redwyne (Diana Rigg), better known as the Queen of Thorns for her wit and sharp tongue. (Think "Downton Abbey's" Dowager Countess in Westeros.) According to Dormer, Olenna is going to prove to be quite the foe for Lena Headey's Queen Cersei.

"The Queen of Thorns is going to outmaneuver Cersei, and if you watch season three, you'll see her do it!" Dormer teased. "We had so much fun shooting these scenes!"

Season three of "Game of Thrones" premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. on HBO.

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Friday, March 29, 2013

Omnicane pretax profits fall 6.5 pct in 2012

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Leading Mauritian sugar producer Omnicane reported a 6.5 percent fall in pretax profit to 540.59 million Mauritius rupees in 2012 due to lower refined sugar output but said production would increase this year.

Omnicane said on Friday revenue had dropped to 3.870 billion rupees from 3.952 billion a year earlier.

"Operating profit was down by 17.2 percent compared with 2011, mainly as a result of an 18.3 percent reduction in refined sugar production ... and a 11.1 percent drop in sugar cane crop," the company said in a statement.

Earnings per share fell to 5.86 rupees from 5.88 rupees.

The firm said it expected production of both cane and refined sugar to rise in 2013 based on weather conditions.

Shares in Omnicane closed unchanged at 75 rupees.

The group said its ethanol plant under construction would be operational in August.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/omnicane-pretax-profits-fall-6-5-pct-2012-122743934--finance.html

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GOP moves to catch up with Democrats on technology

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2012 file photo, Taylor Pineiro, of New York, a deputy field organizer for the Obama campaign, works the phone at a field office in Scranton, Pa., on Election Day. Republicans are moving aggressively to repair their technological shortcomings from the 2012 election, opening a new tech race to counter a glaring weakness against President Barack Obama last year. (AP Photo/Scranton Times & Tribune, Butch Comegys, File) WILKES BARRE TIMES-LEADER OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2012 file photo, Matt Sagorski, a volunteer for the campaign of President Barack Obama, walks in a neighborhood with voter registration forms, in Miami. Republicans are moving aggressively to repair their technological shortcomings from the 2012 election, opening a new tech race to counter a glaring weakness against President Barack Obama last year. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republicans are moving aggressively to repair their technological shortcomings from the 2012 election, opening a new tech race to counter a glaring weakness against President Barack Obama.

With the blessing of party leaders, a new crop of Republican-backed outside groups is developing tools to improve communication with voters, predict their behavior and track Democratic opponents. After watching Obama win re-election with the aid of an unprecedented technological machine, GOP officials concede an urgent need for major changes in the way they reach voters. They are turning to a younger generation of tech experts expected to play a bigger role in the 2014 midterm elections and beyond.

"I think everybody realized that the party is really far behind at the moment and they're doing everything within their realistic sphere of influence to catch up," said Bret Jacobson, a partner with Red Edge, a Virginia-based digital advocacy firm that represents the Republican Governors Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Heritage Foundation.

Alex Skatell, former digital director for the GOP's gubernatorial and Senate campaign operations, leads a new group that has been quietly testing a system that would allow Republicans to share details about millions of voters ? their personal interests, group affiliations and even where they went to school. Democrats began using related technology years ago, giving Obama a significant advantage last fall in personalizing communication with prospective supporters.

With no primary opponent last year, Obama's re-election team used the extra time to build a large campaign operation melding a grass-roots army of 2.2 million volunteers with groundbreaking technology to target voters. They tapped about 17 million email subscribers to raise nearly $700 million online.

Data-driven analytics enabled the campaign to run daily simulations to handicap battleground states, analyze demographic trends and test alternatives for reaching voters online.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, in contrast, had only a few months after a lengthy primary fight to try to match Obama's tech advantage. He couldn't make up the difference. Romney's technology operation was overwhelmed by the intense flow of data and temporarily crashed on Election Day.

A 100-page report on how to rebound from the 2012 election, released last week by Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus, includes several technology recommendations.

"The president's campaign significantly changed the makeup of the national electorate and identified, persuaded and turned out low-propensity voters by unleashing a barrage of human and technological resources previously unseen in a presidential contest," the report said. "Marrying grass-roots politics with technology and analytics, they successfully contacted, persuaded and turned out their margin of victory. There are many lessons to be learned from their efforts, particularly with respect to voter contact."

Skatell, 26, is leading one new effort by Republican allies to fill the void. His team of designers, software developers and veteran Republican strategists is now testing what he calls an "almost an eHarmony for matching volunteers with persuadable voters" that would let campaigns across the country share details in real time on voter preferences, harnessing social media like Facebook and Twitter.

Other groups are working to improve the GOP's data and digital performance.

The major Republican ally, American Crossroads, which spent a combined $175 million on the last election with its sister organization, hosted private meetings last month focused on data and technology. Drawing from technology experts in Silicon Valley, the organization helped craft a series of recommendations expected to be rolled out later this year.

"A good action plan that fixes our deficiencies and identifies new opportunities can help us regain our advantage within a cycle or two," said Crossroads spokesman Jonathan Collegio.

A prominent group of Republican aides has also formed America Rising, a company that will have a companion "super" political action committee that can raise unlimited contributions without having to disclose its donors. Its purpose is to counter Democratic opposition research groups, which generated negative coverage of Romney and GOP candidates last year.

America Rising will provide video tracking, opposition research and rapid response for campaign committees, super PACs and individual candidates' campaigns but does not plan to get involved in GOP primaries. It will be led by Matt Rhoades, who served as Romney's campaign manager, and Joe Pounder, the research director for the Republican National Committee. Running its super PAC will be Tim Miller, a former RNC aide and spokesman for former GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman.

Romney and several Republican candidates were monitored closely by camera-toting Democratic aides during the campaign, a gap that Miller said American Rising hopes to fill on behalf of Republicans.

Brad Woodhouse, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, said his party has "a several years' lead on data and analytics infrastructure and we're not standing still."

Of the GOP effort, Woodhouse said, "We don't see them closing the gap anytime soon."

___

Peoples reported from Boston.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-28-Republicans-Tech%20Race/id-609fa0dedaf04d1aba5e637706e503ca

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And that's the way it was: March 27, 1947 : Columbia Journalism ...

He?s been called ?arguably the most powerful arbiter of consumer tastes? in personal technology. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, Eric Schmidt and Marissa Mayer have sought out his opinion. And profiles from the height of his influence in the mid-aughts, linger droolingly on his substantial compensation. But Walt Mossberg, the Wall Street Journal?s lead technology writer, began his career as a journalist in what might be thought of as the anti-capital of the digital age: Detroit.

After graduating from Columbia?s J-school in 1970, Moss was hired as reporter for the Journal, where he?s been ever since. He started off covering the auto industry in Detroit, then moved to Washington, where he reported on labor, energy, and national security. In 1991, he started writing ?Personal Technology,? a weekly WSJ column that he conceived of and created while the personal computer was still in its toddlerdom. In the column, Mossberg reviews new products and analyzes issues that affect the industry?from the perspective of the consumer.

Along with his WSJ colleague Kara Swisher, Mossberg founded and hosts the Journal?s D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, CA. The annual conference brings together technologists, and climaxes with a prominent industry leader or leaders being interviewed by Mossberg and Swisher on stage. (The most famous of these sessions was the joint interview of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.) The two columnists also co-edit the All Things Digital website.

From the now-famous first line of his first column??Personal computers are just too hard to use, and it isn?t your fault??Mossberg has been demanding that companies build with the user in mind. And technologists, by their own testimonials, have listened, sometimes incorporating Mossberg?s criticisms and suggestions into their product designs. When it comes to personal technology of the past two decades, Walt Mossberg has been the most influential journalist writing, and the first consumer among equals.

Sang Ngo is an associate editor at CJR.

Source: http://www.cjr.org/the_kicker/and_thats_the_way_it_was_march_18.php

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Report: James Holmes Would Enter Guilty Plea in Exchange for Life Sentence

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/report-james-holmes-would-enter-guilty-plea-in-exchange-for-life/

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Fancy 6 Months Free In The Italian Alps Building Startups? Check Out TechPeaks

A new kind of tech accelerator has launched in one of the more unlikely places: the Italian Alps. TechPeaks (see what they did there?) calls itself a "People Accelerator" because individuals and teams will be able to join it without an idea but a desire to build something. It will launch with ?13 million in funding. It's also taking more of a partnership rather than competitive approach, working with seven Technology Universities (via the European Institute of Innovation and Technology ICT Labs) and seven other international tech accelerators, listed here. The idea is to help unite the many fragmented European tech initiatives. And oh my are they are fragmented.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/X-4nZIUS8cY/

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Complementing Fine Arts: Folded Book Sculptures by Luciana Frigerio

Amazing Paper Art Complementing Fine Arts: Folded Book Sculptures by Luciana Frigerio

In case you thought books are just for reading, well, here?s something we want to show you, that might exceed your expectations!?We figured out that books are a wonderful way to express art. Yes, of course, a book is a piece of art itself, but beyond our regular perception, there?s another one. And another. And so on! We are so excited to see that creativity has no limits when it comes to arts! ?Luciana Frigerio, a?Vermont-based artist created a unique collection of paper art, simply called?Folded Book Sculptures. Basically that was exactly what she did. She folded page by page, creating emotional (timeless) messages by using books. She only used Times New Roman and Helvetica as fonts, because of their impact upon the viewers.

Folded Pages Art Complementing Fine Arts: Folded Book Sculptures by Luciana Frigerio

And what a better way to complement art than blending one?s exquisite taste in books with talent, devotion and hard work! The result is simply spectacular, as you can see! All the messages have a positive and powerful impact. The intriguing amount of creativity of this paper art collection determined a man to propose to his fianc?, by setting ?the book messages? on the shelf in a bookstore.?Her ?universe of paper? can be actually bought from her online Etsy Store.

Messages From Folded Pages Complementing Fine Arts: Folded Book Sculptures by Luciana Frigerio I Love You Message Complementing Fine Arts: Folded Book Sculptures by Luciana Frigerio Books With Folded Pages Complementing Fine Arts: Folded Book Sculptures by Luciana Frigerio Beautiful Work of Art Complementing Fine Arts: Folded Book Sculptures by Luciana Frigerio Brilliant Way of Expressing Love Complementing Fine Arts: Folded Book Sculptures by Luciana Frigerio Interesting Proposal Complementing Fine Arts: Folded Book Sculptures by Luciana Frigerio

Source: http://freshome.com/2013/03/27/complementing-fine-arts-folded-book-sculptures-by-luciana-frigerio/

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Murdoch's The Sun tabloid to charge for online access

LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's British tabloid The Sun will start charging for access to its website in a package with highlights of Premier League soccer matches, publisher News International (NI) said on Wednesday.

"Later this year the pay model will be applied to The Sun across every platform," said a spokesman for NI, the British newspaper arm of News Corp.

"We will be offering our valued Sun readers a bigger and better experience than they have ever had before - one that in addition to FA Premier League clips will offer a full and attractive subscription model across digital and print."

The Sun, the country's top-selling newspaper with a print circulation of 2.28 million in February according to ABC, is the only one of Murdoch's British titles to have content freely available online, although it does have a paid-for app.

The Times and The Sunday Times have been behind a paywall since 2010.

Newspaper groups are looking at ways to drive revenue from online publishing to help counter falling print circulations and tough advertising markets.

The Daily Telegraph, the country's top-selling daily broadsheet title, said on Tuesday it would start charging for its Internet edition using a metered model, which gives readers a numbers of articles for free.

The Sun, however, will be the first popular tabloid to charge for online access, and NI is hoping that offering soccer clips will encourage subscriptions.

Chief Executive Mike Darcey told reporters on Tuesday evening that charging for The Sun online would "iron out any inconsistencies" across the group's titles.

"And those sorts of Premier League rights can really start to kick start that transition," he said at an event at NI's London office.

NI bought the rights to show online clips of action from English Premier League soccer games from the 2013-2014 season in January.

Darcey did not specify pricing or a date for the change, beyond saying it would happen in the second half of the year, coinciding with the start of the soccer season in August.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Mark Potter)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/murdochs-sun-tabloid-charge-online-access-125810407--finance.html

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US training Syrian moderates in Jordan: officials

In this image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army fighters aim their weapons during clashes, in Damascus countryside, Syria on Monday, March 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

In this Sunday, March 24, 2013 image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army fighters drops a shell into a firing tube, in Damascus countryside, Syria. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? For months now, the United States has been training secular Syrian fighters in Jordan with the goal of bolstering the array of forces battling President Bashar Assad's regime while at the same time strengthening the hand of moderates among the country's fractured opposition, American and foreign officials said. They said the effort is ongoing.

The training has been taking place since late last year at an unspecified location, concentrating largely on Sunnis and tribal Bedouins who formerly served as members of the Syrian army, officials told The Associated Press. The forces aren't members of the leading rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, they said. The U.S. and others fear the growing role of extremist militia groups in the rebel ranks, including some linked to al-Qaida.

Officials said the operation is being run by U.S. intelligence. But those in Washington stressed that the U.S. was only providing nonlethal aid at this point, stopping short of a step that is being increasingly advocated by lawmakers in Congress but which the Obama administration opposes.

Others such as Britain and France are involved, officials added, though it's unclear whether any Western government is providing materiel or other direct military support after two years of civil war that, according to the United Nations, already has killed more than 70,000 people.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the program.

Officially, the Obama administration has been vague on the subject of what type of military training it may be providing, while insisting that it is doing all it can ? short of providing weapons to the rebels or engaging in its own military intervention ? to hasten the demise of the Assad family's four-decade dictatorship.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday the U.S. has "provided some logistical nonlethal support that has also come in handy for the Syrian rebels who are, again, fighting a regime that is not hesitating to use the military might of that regime against its own people.

"That is something we're going to continue to work to bring to an end," he told reporters.

It's unclear what effect the training has had in the conflict. It has become a quagmire, with Assad's regime unable to snuff out the rebellion and Syria's opposition incapable thus far of delivering any serious blow to the ruling government's grip on Damascus and control over much of the country.

Some of the Syrians the U.S. is involved with are in turn training other Syrians inside the country, officials said.

They declined to provide more information because they said that would go too deep into intelligence matters. Defense Department officials insisted the Pentagon isn't involved with any military training or arms provisions to the Syrian rebels, either directly or indirectly. The CIA declined to comment.

The New York Times reported Monday that the CIA helped Arab governments and Turkey sharply increase their military aid to Syria's opposition in recent months, with secret airlifts of arms and equipment. It cited traffic data, officials in several countries and rebel commanders, and said the airlift began on a small scale a year ago but has expanded steadily to more than 160 military cargo flights by Jordanian, Saudi and Qatari planes landing at Turkish and Jordanian airports.

The training in Jordan, however, suggests the U.S. help is aimed somewhat at enhancing the rebels' capacity in southern Syria, the birthplace of the revolution two years ago when teenagers in the sleepy agricultural outpost of Dara'a scribbled graffiti on a wall and were tossed into jail, spurring Syria's own version of an Arab Spring uprising. Much of the violence since, however, has been in the northern part of the country, where rebels have scored several military successes after the Assad regime cracked down brutally on peaceful protesters.

Despite months of U.S. and international support to build a cohesive political movement, Syria's fractured opposition is still struggling to rally Syrians behind a common post-Assad vision. And the opposition coalition appears as much hampered by its political infighting as its military deficiencies against an Assad regime arsenal of tanks, fighter jets and Scud missiles.

The coalition's president, Mouaz al-Khatib, resigned his position Sunday because of what he described as restrictions on his work and frustration with the level of international aid. He said Monday he would still represent the opposition this week in Doha, where the Gulf state of Qatar will host a two-day Arab League summit starting Tuesday.

Al-Khatib's resignation comes only days after the opposition chose Ghassan Hitto, a long-time Texas resident, to head its interim government after intense wrangling over posts and influence that U.S. officials say has strained the opposition's unity and caused friction among its primary benefactors Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

It's also unclear how al-Khatib's departure will affect the U.S. goal of political negotiations with amenable members of the Assad regime to end the civil war, given the moderate preacher's support for talks. Much of the Syrian opposition, including Hitto, rejects such talks.

___

Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Lara Jakes in Washington and Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-26-US-US-Syria/id-2cdd5ed8745843229e253d7fec05c73d

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Video: Tomorrow In :30

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/51324888/

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Spring snow closes US schools, cancels flights

AAA??Mar. 25, 2013?2:53 PM ET
Spring snow closes US schools, cancels flights
By MICHAEL RUBINKAMBy MICHAEL RUBINKAM, Associated Press?

A city of Winchester crew picks up recycling along snow covered, tree lined Fairmont Ave. in Winchester, Va. as a storm dumped several inches of heavy, wet snow in the area. on Monday March 25, 2013. The National Weather Service says some areas in southwest Virginia could see up to 10 inches of snow Monday. Other areas could receive up to 6 inches. (AP Photo/The Winchester Star, Ginger Perry)

Jonathan Hines digs his car out of the snow on State Street, in Lafayette, Ind., on Monday, March 25, 2013, after a record-setting storm dumped more than 7 inches of snow in the area, bringing plows out in force and keeping police busy chasing a string of slide-offs. (AP Photo/The Journal & Courier, Brent Drinkut) MANDATORY CREDIT; NO SALES .

Snow accumulates on crosses at the Church of St John the Baptist in Larksville, Pa., Monday March 25, 2013. There were no major problems reported despite the widespread snowfall. (AP Photo/The Citizens' Voice, Mark Moran) MANDATORY CREDIT Mark Moran PAWIC102

Dakota Kimble 11, left, his brother, Kaden Kimble 9 and father David Kimble teamed up to shovel several inches of snow from their front sidewalk and a neighbor's Monday morning, March, 25, 2013 in Winchester, Va. The National Weather Service says some areas in southwest Virginia could see up to 10 inches of snow Monday. Other areas could receive up to 6 inches. (AP Photo/The Winchester Star, Ginger Perry)

A pedestrian and a baby try to keep the snow off while walking along the Coney Island boardwalk in New York, Monday, March 25, 2013. A wide-ranging storm is hitting the East Coast after blanketing the Midwest and burying thoughts of springtime weather under a blanket of heavy wet snow and slush, though less snow was predicted to fall as the storm moves eastward. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

HAMBURG, Pa. (AP) ? Five days into spring, warm weather and budding flowers are just a rumor as the East Coast endures another blast of winter.

A wide-ranging storm that buried parts of the Midwest weakened as it moved east Monday morning. But it still managed to carpet lawns and fields in a fresh layer of white. Many schools opened late or closed early, and hundreds of flights have been canceled.

The cold temperatures and miserable mixture of snow and rain have people longing for more seasonable weather.

Stopped at a Pennsylvania gas station, 24-year-old Jessica Cunitz says, "I'm ready for flip flops."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-25-Spring%20Storm/id-68a8b5daff784c52ac73be205f24bd14

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Embryos of world's most endangered cat preserved

Iberian Lynx Conservation Breeding Program

The Iberian lynx is the most endangered wild cat species worldwide.

By Megan Gannon
LiveScience

It seems counterintuitive that castration could help save a species facing extinction. But through removing the ovaries of a female Iberian lynx, scientists say they were able to collect and preserve embryos from the world's most endangered wild cat for the first time.

Conservationists are hoping the fertilized eggs could be implanted into a surrogate mother of a closely related species, possibly a Eurasian lynx female. Even one successful surrogate pregnancy could be a boost for felines, whose declining population had been estimated to be less than 200 a decade ago.

One Iberian lynx named Azahar, which was part of a breeding program in Silves, Portugal, had problems giving birth and underwent two emergency Caesarean sections in two consecutive pregnancies. Conservationists decided that, for health reasons, they shouldn't try breeding Azahar again and the cat's ovaries were removed by castration.

But immediately after Azahar's castration surgery, scientists say they obtained embryos and ovarian pieces from the feline in a process adapted from one used on domestic cats. [Feline Fun! 10 Amazing Facts About Cats]

"Seven days after mating we expected to flush embryos?from the uterus," Katarina Jewgenow, a specialist from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Berlin, said in a statement. But instead, the oocytes (unfertilized eggs) and embryos had to be flushed out of the oviducts. This told the team something new about Iberian lynxes ? their embryos develop more slowly than those of domestic cats.

The group of specialists also intervened when scientists decided to castrate a female Iberian lynx in captivity in Do?ana, Spain. Named Saliega, this cat was relatively old (12 years), already gave birth to 16 cubs, and developed a mammary tumor last summer after her last lactating period.

"From her we only flushed unfertilized eggs, thus the male was not fertile," Natalia Mikolaewska, an IZW doctoral student, said in a statement. But the team was at least able to recover and freeze those oocytes, which could later be fertilized and implanted in a surrogate.

"The next step we are discussing right now is to implant these embryos into a foster mother, which might be an Eurasian lynx female," said Jewgenow.

The Iberian lynx is the only wild cat to be listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and IZW is working with the Iberian lynx Conservation Breeding Program to help save them.

If reviving a dying species sounds ambitious, consider the scientists who are trying to bring back animals that are already extinct. Biologists did actually resurrect the extinct Pyrenean ibex?in 2003 by creating a clone from a frozen tissue sample harvested before the goat's entire population vanished in 2000. But that clone survived for only a few minutes after birth. Researchers gathered in Washington, D.C., on March 15 for a forum called TEDxDeExtinction, hosted by the National Geographic Society, to dive into some of the practical and ethical questions surrounding current efforts to revive animals that have been dead for much longer than the Pyrenean ibex, such as the passenger pigeon and woolly mammoth.

Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook?and Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/29f8abec/l/0Lscience0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C250C174569370Eembryos0Eof0Eworlds0Emost0Eendangered0Ecat0Epreserved0Dlite/story01.htm

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Indiana holds off Temple 58-52 to reach NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

ASSOCIATED PRESS March 24, 2013 5:04PM

Updated: March 24, 2013 5:06PM

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) ? Victor Oladipo hit a key 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining and Indiana, minutes away from being the second No. 1 seed to be swept from the NCAA tournament, held off Temple 58-52 on Sunday in the East Regional.

The Hoosiers (29-6) trailed by four with 2:56 left, but closed with a big run to advance to the round of 16 for the second straight year.

Indiana will play No. 4 seed Syracuse in the regional semifinals on Thursday in Washington.

Temple?s Khalif Wyatt scored 31 points to lead the Owls (24-10), who gave one of the Big Ten?s big boys all they could handle before collapsing when it mattered most.

Oladipo, who spent the afternoon trying to slow down Wyatt, scored 16 and Cody Zeller added 15 for the Hoosiers.

Source: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/19074155-419/indiana-holds-off-temple-58-52-to-reach-ncaa-tournament-sweet-16.html

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Knox must wait 1 more day for Italy court decision

ROME (AP) ? Italy's highest court delayed until Tuesday a decision on whether American student Amanda Knox will face a new trial in the murder of her British roommate ? an unusual but not unprecedented move.

The court heard six hours of arguments Monday and spent several hours deliberating that and a handful of other cases before announcing it would issue a decision at 10 a.m. (0900 GMT) Tuesday on whether the 2011 acquittals of Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito will stand.

Italian prosecutors have asked the high court to throw out the acquittals of Knox and Sollecito in the murder of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher and order a new trial.

The high court normally issues the decisions the same day it hears arguments. But prosecutor general Luigi Riello told reporters that "in very complex cases, it happens" that the court takes another day.

Lawyers for Sollecito declined to speculate on what the delay could mean for the decision. Sollecito's father was calm about the development.

"We have waited so many years, one night is not going to make a difference," Francesco Sollecito said outside the courthouse. He said he hadn't spoken to his son, who did not attend the hearing, about the day's proceedings.

Knox, meanwhile, was waiting anxiously in Seattle to hear if her long legal battle is over.

"She's carefully paying attention to what will come out," attorney Luciano Ghirga said as he arrived at Italy's Court of Cassation in Rome. "This is a fundamental stage. The trial is very complex."

Knox, now 25, and Raffaele Sollecito, who turns 29 on Tuesday, were arrested in 2007, shortly after Kercher's body was found in a pool of blood in her bedroom in the rented apartment she shared with the American and others in the university town of Perugia, where they were exchange students. Her throat had been slashed.

Prosecutors alleged that Kercher was the victim of a drug-fueled sexual assault.

Knox and Sollecito have both maintained their innocence, although they said that smoking marijuana the night Kercher was killed had clouded their recollections.

Knox and Sollecito were convicted and given long prison sentences: 26 years for Knox, 25 for Sollecito. But an appeals court acquitted them in 2011, criticizing virtually the entire case mounted by prosecutors. The appellate court noted that the murder weapon was never found, said that DNA tests were faulty and added that Knox and Sollecito had no motive to kill Kercher.

After nearly four years behind bars in Italy, Knox returned to her hometown of Seattle and Sollecito resumed his computer science studies. Knox is now a student at the University of Washington, according to her family spokesman, Dave Marriott.

In the second and final level of appeal, prosecutors are now seeking to overturn the acquittals, while defense attorneys say they should stand.

The court can decide to confirm the acquittal, making it final, or throw out the Perugia appellate court ruling entirely or partially, remanding the case to a new appeals court trial.

In that case, Italian law cannot compel Knox to return to Italy. The Italian appellate court hearing the case could declare her in contempt of court but that carries no additional penalties.

It is unclear what would happen if she was convicted in a new appeals trial.

"If the court orders another trial, if she is convicted at that trial and if the conviction is upheld by the highest court, then Italy could seek her extradition," Knox's lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said.

Italy is not obliged to seek her extradition but it could decide to do so. Then it would be up to the United States to decide if it honors the request. U.S. and Italian authorities could also come to a deal that would keep Knox in the United States.

Riello, the prosecutor general, argued before the court that there were ample reasons "not to bring down the curtain on the case."

Riello said the appellate court was too dismissive in casting aside DNA evidence that led to the conviction in the lower court, arguing that another trial could make way for more definitive testing.

Defense attorneys said they were confident the acquittals would be upheld.

"We know Raffaele Sollecito is innocent," said his attorney, Giulia Bongiorno, who called the entire case "an absurd judicial process."

Before the court, Bongiorno argued there was an "unending series of errors by scientific police" in how they handled evidence in the case, including the fact that the crime scene had been disturbed "and possibly contaminated" during the investigation.

A young man from Ivory Coast, Rudy Guede, was convicted of the slaying in a separate proceeding and is serving a 16-year sentence. Kercher's family has resisted theories that Guede acted alone.

The lawyer for the Kercher family, Francesco Maresca, said the family was likely to issue a statement when the decision is announced. They did not attend the arguments.

The court is also hearing Knox's appeal against a slander conviction for having accused a local pub owner of carrying out the killing. The man was held for two weeks based on her allegations, but was then released for lack of evidence.

Riello argued that conviction should stand because "you cannot drag in an innocent person while exercising your right to a defense."

Knox's lawyer Dalla Vedova said the slander verdict should be thrown out because Knox had not been advised that she was a suspect during the questioning.

"The girl was confused, worn out" after 14 hours of questioning by police that stretched overnight, Dalla Vedova said, adding that while Knox was alone, 36 investigators signed the interrogation sheet.

___

Associated Press writer Chris Grygiel contributed from Seattle.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/knox-must-wait-1-more-day-italy-court-210655782.html

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Monday, March 25, 2013

NASA's hold on outreach sparks outcry; Uwingu aims to help fill gap

L. Calcada / N. Risinger / ESO

An artist's conception shows the planet Alpha Centauri Bb, orbiting one of the stars in a nearby triple-star system. A commercial venture known as Uwingu says it will use proceeds from a contest to give Alpha Centauri Bb a new name to support endangered educational and public outreach efforts.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

NASA's plan to suspend educational and public outreach activities due to budget sequestration?has sparked protests from some of the space agency's biggest fans, and a commercial venture known as Uwingu wants to help fill the gap. Uwingu says it will?direct proceeds from its contest to name the closest exoplanet toward projects that are facing budget cuts.

The venture was set up last year to offer space-themed entertainment that would raise money for education and space science. Just last week, Uwingu kicked off an effort to come up with a "people's choice" name for Alpha Centauri Bb, an Earth-sized planet that was detected last year just 4.3 light-years away.

It takes $4.99 to nominate a name, and 99 cents to cast a vote. The contest closes on April 15, and the winner will be announced the next day. Some of the proceeds will go toward paying the company's expenses, but the target is to put at least half of the money into a fund to support research and education.?

Rough patch for NASA
When the company made its public debut, the founders said the Uwingu Fund could serve as a lifeline for scientists and educators if NASA's budget ran into a rough patch. Sequestration certainly qualifies as a rough patch: The automatic spending cuts will force NASA to scale back its budget by roughly $900 million for the fiscal year.

As part of its plan to comply with sequestration, NASA officials on Friday ordered the suspension of?educational and public outreach activities, also known as EPO. Planetary scientist Alan Stern, Uwingu's CEO and a former NASA associate administrator, said the suspension has put educational and public outreach programs "under severe and sudden stress."

"At Uwingu, we believe that private and commercial funding of space-based initiatives ? including research and EPO ? is more important now than ever," Stern said in a statement Monday. "That's the purpose of The Uwingu Fund, which is fueled from people participating in the naming contest for Alpha Centauri's planet. Today we're announcing that Uwingu is taking action to combat the severe, adverse impact of sequestration on NASA EPO by directing all Uwingu Funds proceeds raised through this contest to grants to EPO professionals and projects."

In the grand scheme of things, education and public outreach aren't the most expensive things that NASA does. The continuing resolution that governed spending for the current fiscal year set aside $137 million for the agency's education account, and sequestration would trim that figure by $7 million. NASA budgets additional funds for public outreach on a mission-by-mission basis, but the expense is still a small proportion of NASA's $17.8 billion budget.

Outcry over outreach
Friday's move nevertheless sparked an outcry from many who rank education and public outreach among NASA's strongest suits. Over the weekend, more than 4,500 people signed onto an?online?petition urging the White House to "repeal" the EPO spending cuts.

"This is something that hits extremely close to home, and not just because I may not have a position this summer as a result of this," Scott Lewis, media director for Astrosphere New Media Association, said in a Google+ posting. "NASA's education and public outreach?is something that opens the eyes of thousands, if not millions of people, to the magnificence of science, technology, engineering and mathematics."

One of the ventures that could be affected by the budget cuts is?CosmoQuest, an online educational project that sponsors virtual star parties, citizen-science projects and similar activities with NASA support. Pamela Gay, a professor at Southern Illinois University who is CosmoQuest's project director, said the effect on funding is not yet clear?? but she's already preparing for cutbacks.

"I'm looking at multiple fundraisers," Gay, who is on Uwingu's board of advisers, said in a?Google+ posting?on Sunday. "While I'm less worried about CosmoQuest than I was yesterday, it is clear that many good people in the NASA EPO community are deeply in jeopardy. I continue to encourage you to help us seek donations so that I can recover as needed from any cuts we incur, and, as additional funding allows, work to contract people who do lose their jobs to help us build new and amazing things for CQX. I'm hoping you will help me build a safety net for our community."

Correction for 3:55 p.m. ET March 25:?I referred to Scott Lewis as an astronomer at Citrus College ??which prompted this email from Lewis, a.k.a. "The Bald Astronomer": "I'm not an astronomer at Citrus College, but a student there. I am, however, media director for Astrosphere New Media Association, on the education/public outreach team for CosmoQuest, owner of KnowTheCosmos.com, and an all-around attractive man. haha."

More about sequestration's effects:?

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the?Cosmic Log?community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space,?sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

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