Garmin's Approach S4 watch can guide you through over 30,000 golf courses, send notifications to your wrist

Garmin® Expands Approach® Series with S4, a Sleek Golf Watch with High-Res Touchscreen Display and Smart Notifications

OLATHE, Kan./ October 15, 2013/Business Wire-Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced the Approach S4 GPS golf watch-a feature-packed golf watch to expand the already popular Approach Series. The Approach S4 has a high-res touchscreen display that is sunlight readable and offers a dedicated Green View button. It boasts a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that can last for up to 10 hours in golf mode. The S4 comes preloaded with more than 30,000 international courses [1] with free lifetime course updates, so there are no additional fees or subscriptions. The Approach S4 also has Smart Notification technology when paired with a compatible Apple smartphone. This allows the watch to wirelessly receive information from the phone's notification center such as emails, text messages, so golfers can leave their phones in their bags while on the course. Like other Garmin Golf GPS devices, the S4 gives precise distances to the front, middle and back of the green, and incorporates layup, dogleg and shot distances all while keeping score and tracking statistics on the digital scorecard. The Approach S4 has a fashionable and functional design that is great on the golf course, and as a stylish everyday wristwatch.

"The Approach S4 is the natural evolution of wearable golf technology," said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. "The hi-res touchscreen display makes it easier than ever for golfers to stay on top of their game, and the Smart Notification functionality allows them to stay connected while on the course. Plus, the extended battery life allows for a full weekend of golf on one charge. The Approach S4 will give golfers a competitive edge on the course, but the sleek form factor and smart watch technology makes it appropriate for everyday wear."

The Approach S4 is a golf watch like no other. The high-res touchscreen display is glove-friendly and easy to read, even in direct sunlight. Weighing only 2.06 ounces, and water resistant to 10 meters, the Approach S4 packs powerful features into a small, easy to wear package. It boasts the longest golf mode battery life in the Approach watch lineup with 10 hours. The Approach S4 incorporates Smart Notification technology, which allows golfers to stay connected while on the course. When paired with a compatible smartphone (iPhone 4s and above running iOS7.0 and above), the S4 acts as a wireless extension of the device through Bluetooth Low Energy so users can receive emails, text messages and more while on the course.

Like other Garmin golf GPS devices, the Approach S4 provides precise distance to the front, middle and back of the green. It also shows layup and dogleg distances, and adds a Measure Shot feature, which calculates yardages for shots played anywhere on the course. With the S4, users will even be able to input and save customizable yardage points, like water hazards or bunkers, to help golfers place shots more precisely. Additionally, the Approach S4 adds a dedicated button for easy access to the Green View screen. This feature shows golfers the true shape and layout of the green, and allows them to touch and drag the pin to the day's location so they'll know exactly how much power to put into their swing.

The S4 can be used all over the world, and because more than 30,000 courses are onboard, golfers will never have to worry about subscription fees or roaming charges. Golfers who are traveling, playing unfamiliar courses, or those who simply want to better understand their courses at home will be able to do so in style with the Approach S4. The digital scorecard feature allows individual scorecards to be saved, reviewed, shared and printed, so golfers are able to track their progress over time. Scores can be recorded in either Stroke Play or Stableford. The Approach S4 is also able to track golfer statistics, which allows players to enter information such as strokes, putts and fairways hit, along with their score at the end of each hole. This info is tabulated, and some stats like putts per round, greens in regulation and fairways hit, can be displayed at the end of the round. The S4 has an easy-to-use interface and comes equipped with an odometer and round timer so golfers can track the distance walked and time spent playing. The S4 will come in black and white, with optional colorful accessory bands sold separately.

The Approach S4 will be available in Fall 2013, and will retail for $349.99. It will be available at specialty golf retailers and golf course pro-shops. The Approach S4 is the latest addition to Garmin's outdoor segment, which focuses on developing technologies and innovations to enhance users' outdoor experiences. Whether it's golfing, hiking, hunting or geocaching, Garmin outdoor devices are becoming essential tools for outdoor enthusiasts of all levels. For more information about Garmin's other outdoor products and services, go to garmin.com/sports and facebook.com/garmin.

About Garmin International Inc.
Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation. Since 1989, this group of companies has designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices and applications – most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin's products serve automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual pressroom at www.garmin.com/pressroom or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin and Approach are registered trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.

All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Notice on Forward-Looking Statements:

This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. Such statements are based on management's current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of such Form 10-K is available at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

FCC Notice:

The Approach S4 has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. These devices are not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.

[1] Currently, there are no golf courses available in Asia for Approach S-series devices sold outside of Asia. For more detail, please see http://sites.garmin.com/clsearch/intosports/golfcourse.html.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/16/garmin-approach-s4-golf-watch/?ncid=rss_truncated
Related Topics: Derrick Thomas   Jordan Linn Graham   david wilson   phoebe cates   Teen Beach Movie  

Lenovo intros the Miix2, its first 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet; coming soon for $299

Remember when we reviewed Acer's (sorta crappy) W3 tablet, and assured you it wouldn't be long before we saw more 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablets? Well, with that latest Windows update due out tomorrow, you'd better believe the smaller Windows tablets are about to start pouring in. Now that we've heard ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/OCIuSMuv9lY/
Category: demarco murray   EBT   new orleans saints   What Is Labor Day   Sarin gas  

University of Toronto research warns against Wi-Fi in cars

Public release date: 16-Oct-2013
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Contact: Sean Bettam
s.bettam@utoronto.ca
416-946-7950
University of Toronto

Study shows drivers will be too distracted even if devices are voice-operated

TORONTO, ON Plans to provide high-speed Internet access in vehicles, announced last month by Canadian telecommunications company Rogers Communications and American provider Sprint Corporation, could do with some sobering second-thought, says a researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto.

"Because of the potential for driver distraction, safety should be of great concern," said Professor Ian Spence, author of a new study on the impact of auditory distractions on visual attention. "Many people assume that talking to a voice-operated device will be as safe as using a hands-free cell phone, but neither activity is safe."

Spence and a team of researchers asked subjects to perform an attentional visual field test in which they repeatedly identified the random location of an object in visual clutter displayed on a computer monitor. Poor performance on the test is known to be a good predictor of unsafe driving. Subjects performed the test while carrying out a range of listening and/or speaking tasks or in silence.

An example of an easy task was listening to recordings of news items, much like listening to a car radio. More difficult tasks required subjects to answer simple yes-no questions while performing the visual test. Subjects answered by either speaking out loud in some experimental conditions, or merely thinking of the answer in others. The most-demanding questions required subjects to take the last letter of a presented word (e.g. apple) and speak another word beginning with that letter (e.g. elephant).

Subjects who completed the test of visual attention coupled with the listening/speaking tasks were as accurate as those who completed the visual test in silence. However, they responded much more slowly as the difficulty increased as much as one second slower with the most demanding tasks.

"It did not matter whether the subject spoke the answer aloud or simply thought about the answer," said Spence. "It was the thinking, not speaking, that caused them to slow down."

Spence said the practical consequences are clear.

"At 50 kilometres per hour, a car travels 13.9 metres in one second. A driver who brakes one second earlier than another driver to avoid a collision, will either prevent it completely or be traveling more slowly when it occurs, lowering the probability of severe injury or fatality. A delay in braking by as much as one second presents a significant threat to safe driving and casts doubt on the belief that hands-free voice-controlled devices reduce driver distraction."

###

The study "How speech modifies visual attention" appears in the September/October issue of Applied Cognitive Psychology. The research was funded by a Discovery Grant to Spence from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Prof. Ian Spence

Department of Psychology

University of Toronto

Ian.spence@utoronto.ca

416-978-7623

Sean Bettam

Communications, Faculty of Arts & Science

University of Toronto

s.bettam@utoronto.ca

416-946-7950

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

Public release date: 16-Oct-2013
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Contact: Sean Bettam
s.bettam@utoronto.ca
416-946-7950
University of Toronto

Study shows drivers will be too distracted even if devices are voice-operated

TORONTO, ON Plans to provide high-speed Internet access in vehicles, announced last month by Canadian telecommunications company Rogers Communications and American provider Sprint Corporation, could do with some sobering second-thought, says a researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto.

"Because of the potential for driver distraction, safety should be of great concern," said Professor Ian Spence, author of a new study on the impact of auditory distractions on visual attention. "Many people assume that talking to a voice-operated device will be as safe as using a hands-free cell phone, but neither activity is safe."

Spence and a team of researchers asked subjects to perform an attentional visual field test in which they repeatedly identified the random location of an object in visual clutter displayed on a computer monitor. Poor performance on the test is known to be a good predictor of unsafe driving. Subjects performed the test while carrying out a range of listening and/or speaking tasks or in silence.

An example of an easy task was listening to recordings of news items, much like listening to a car radio. More difficult tasks required subjects to answer simple yes-no questions while performing the visual test. Subjects answered by either speaking out loud in some experimental conditions, or merely thinking of the answer in others. The most-demanding questions required subjects to take the last letter of a presented word (e.g. apple) and speak another word beginning with that letter (e.g. elephant).

Subjects who completed the test of visual attention coupled with the listening/speaking tasks were as accurate as those who completed the visual test in silence. However, they responded much more slowly as the difficulty increased as much as one second slower with the most demanding tasks.

"It did not matter whether the subject spoke the answer aloud or simply thought about the answer," said Spence. "It was the thinking, not speaking, that caused them to slow down."

Spence said the practical consequences are clear.

"At 50 kilometres per hour, a car travels 13.9 metres in one second. A driver who brakes one second earlier than another driver to avoid a collision, will either prevent it completely or be traveling more slowly when it occurs, lowering the probability of severe injury or fatality. A delay in braking by as much as one second presents a significant threat to safe driving and casts doubt on the belief that hands-free voice-controlled devices reduce driver distraction."

###

The study "How speech modifies visual attention" appears in the September/October issue of Applied Cognitive Psychology. The research was funded by a Discovery Grant to Spence from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Prof. Ian Spence

Department of Psychology

University of Toronto

Ian.spence@utoronto.ca

416-978-7623

Sean Bettam

Communications, Faculty of Arts & Science

University of Toronto

s.bettam@utoronto.ca

416-946-7950

---

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| Share

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/uot-uot101613.php
Category: mlb   Alison Pill   pharrell   tony stewart   brandon jennings  

Maryville, Missouri sex assault case: Hack group Anonymous plans 'Twitter storm'

David Eulitt / Kansas City Star via AP

The Nodaway County Courthouse in downtown Maryville, Mo.

By Kevin Murphy, Reuters

The online activist group Anonymous said on Tuesday it would launch a "Twitter storm" and stage a rally in a Missouri town to protest the dropping of sex charges against two ex-high school football players in an incident involving a 14-year-old girl.

Prosecutors in Nodaway County charged the male teenagers in connection with the incident at a party in January 2012 in Maryville, Mo. They said they dropped the case because of lack of evidence.

Anonymous, a loosely associated international group of activists and hackers, said it was planning an October 22 rally outside a courthouse in Maryville to support the girl, Daisy Coleman. It also plans to use Twitter to draw attention to the case.

Coleman and her mother, Melinda Coleman, have spoken about the case publicly in interviews with the Kansas City Star and other media. Melinda Coleman could not be reached immediately for comment on Tuesday.

"We demand an immediate investigation into the handling by local authorities of Daisy's case," Anonymous said in a statement posted online. "We have seen Daisy's story all too often."

Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder on Tuesday asked that the case be reopened, urging state Attorney General Chris Koster and Nodaway County Prosecutor Bob Rice to join him in asking the circuit court to convene a grand jury in the case.

"The appalling facts in the public record shock the conscience and cry out that responsible authorities must take another look," said Kinder, a Republican. Koster, like Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, is a Democrat.

The renewed focus on the case, which has drawn comparisons to the 2012 rape of a 16-year-old girl in Steubenville, Ohio, followed the Star's publication on Sunday of a months-long investigation.

The newspaper reported that one of the teenagers is from a prominent local family and admitted having sex with Coleman after providing her with alcohol, but said it was consensual. He was originally charged with felony sex assault.

The other teenager was accused of videotaping part of the encounter with an iPhone and was charged with felony sexual exploitation of a minor, the Star said. Both were 17 at the time of the incident and had been Maryville High School football players, it said.

Melinda Coleman told the Star that many people in Maryville, a city of about 12,000 in northwestern Missouri, turned on her daughter and family after they pursued the case and the family moved out of town after repeated threats and harassment.

Rice said on Tuesday that the article did not include all the facts about the criminal case.

"There was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt," Rice said in a statement. "The state's witnesses refused to cooperate and invoked their 5th Amendment privilege to not testify."

Nanci Gonder, a spokeswoman for Koster, said the state attorney general would not get involved in the case.

"Charging decisions in criminal cases are placed within the discretion of elected county prosecutors in Missouri," Gonder said. "State law provides the Attorney General's Office with no authority to review or overrule a prosecutor's charging decisions."

In the Ohio case, Anonymous accused authorities of shielding the popular Steubenville High School football program after two players were accused of raping a teenage girl at a party. The players were later convicted and a grand jury recently indicted a school employee on charges of obstructing the investigation. 

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663306/s/32858213/sc/38/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C10A0C160C20A9875450Emaryville0Emissouri0Esex0Eassault0Ecase0Ehack0Egroup0Eanonymous0Eplans0Etwitter0Estorm0Dlite/story01.htm
Category: Tomas Hertl   House of Cards   Teyana Taylor   burn notice   Hyon Song-wol  

Uncork'd Picks Up Rights to 'Exit to Hell'

Uncork’d Entertainment has picked up North American VOD, digital and home entertainment rights to horror drama Exit to Hell, previously known as Sickle.

Horror staple Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th, Hatchet) stars as Sheriff Slade Sickle, a man described as having “an abiding appetite for justice,” according to the producers. The flick centers on a naive group of thugs that rob a Mafia-run strip club and head to the border, only to run into trouble in a wind-swept town named Redstone.  

The movie, which is also supposed to be a carnage-filled tribute to grindhouse cinema, co-stars Tiffany Shepis (Nightmare Man, Dark Reel) and Rena Riffel (Showgirls, Mulholland Dr.).

It was written, directed and produced by Robert Conway and Funhouse Features’ David Friedman and Justin Anderson. Anthony Casanova exec produced. 

Hell is expected to hit VOD in early November and then DVD in early 2014.

Stated Conway: “Much has changed in the world of home video distribution and [Uncork’d founder] Keith [Leopard] understands the shifting marketplace. Uncork’d embraces streaming VOD services such as iTunes and Xbox as well as the kiosk vendors who have largely replaced the traditional brick and mortar outlets. To put it simply, we know that our film is in good hands, and we expect that Exit to Hell is merely the first of many titles we will release through Uncork’d.”

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/THRComicCon/~3/azyuEWUCUNU/story01.htm
Tags: Texas A&m Football   Dancing With the Stars 2013   harry potter   Cal Worthington   nate robinson  

Social Shopping Startup Shopcade Bags $4M To Fuel Mobile Growth & A Big Data Play

Social shopping and deals-focused startup Shopcade, which launched out of the U.K. in November 2011, has raised £2.5 million (circa $4 million) to accelerate its growth on mobile. Investors in the funding round include Pascal Cagni, formerly head of Apple’s European business from 2000 to 2012, and Michel Combes, CEO of telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent and ex-CEO of Vodafone Europe.

First order of business for Shopcade’s mobile push: expanding its app portfolio. Shopcade doesn’t currently have an Android app — but will be launching one next month, along with a refreshed-for-iOS-7 iOS app.

Shopcade’s ecommerce platform hosts products from more than 16,000 retailers and over 150,000 brands — with a focus on fashion, clothes and accessories but also incorporating other product categories such as books, media and electronics.

Its primary target is young females but it isn’t excluding men either…

The current Shopcade app lets users keep tabs on items they want to buy, informing them when something on their list goes on sale. It also pushes out personalised recommendations, and lets users follow each other to style stalk trendsetters (aka other users whose style they dig). Users can add items to their Shopcade list from any website, not just the items Shopcade hosts.

Last year the startup was focused on adding more game mechanics to its offering to ramp up user engagement — by, for instance, generating the Trendsetter score for each user to rank themselves against their peers. It also introduced a system of perks to reward its most influential shoppers.

This year it’s been focused on expanding its deals segment, introducing deals that are specifically tied to items users have added to their wish lists. Another focus has been on outreach: in June it launched a widget targeting fashion bloggers and publishers, allowing them to embed a showcase of product picks — or auto-populated products related to page contents — in a grid or carousel.

It’s also pushed into celebrity tie-ups, by allowing its users to have the chance to style a celebrity look under its ‘Stylist for a Day’ campaign.

Going forward, Shopcade evidently sees big data as its bread and butter, based on the intel it’s continually gathering about fashion-focused shoppers’ likes (and by implication dislikes) — and then selling that ‘trend spotting’ business intelligence back to large retailers so they can decide what to stock on their shelves.

Shopcade’s expansion into widgets helps with that, allowing it to cosy up to other fashion-focused communities. Mobile is another key data point to this big data play, furnishing Shopcade with more up-to-the-minute data on what its users are after.

As an example of the kind of trends it’s apparently able to call, Evan Adelman, Shopcade CTO, said funny pet costumes started to trend on the platform ahead of Halloween — and crucially ahead of marketing spending for Halloween — adding that the category is now highlighted on Amazon.com.

Commenting on the funding round in a statement, Pascal Cagni added: ”By identifying the game-changing opportunities in mobile commerce, Shopcade is set to become the leading mobile shopping platform targeting fashionable young females audience.”

Prior angel investors in Shopcade include Daniel Bernard, former CEO of European retailer Carrefour; Ian Livingston, co-founder of Eidos Games; and Lord John Birt, former director general of the BBC.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/WTSrAvYaEOg/
Related Topics: LC Greenwood   Cassidy Wolf   Olivia Nuzzi   brandon jennings   Behati Prinsloo  

Nielsen: Global Ad Spending Rose 2.8 Percent in First Half of Year

Global advertising spending rose 2.8 percent in the first half of 2013, according to latest Nielsen data.

Gains in Latin America and the Asia Pacific region drove worldwide growth, but European ad spending continued to decline amid economic challenges.

"Marketers continue to gradually increase their global ad spending" as growth accelerated to 3.5 percent in the second quarter, according to Nielsen’s latest Global AdView Pulse report.

It didn't provide absolute dollar figures for ad spending.

Latin America ended the first half of 2013 with an ad gain of 13.1 percent, while
Asia posted a 6.4 percent increase, according to Nielsen.

The Middle East and Africa region reported a 3.9 percent improvement in ad spending, while North America was up 2.7 percent. Nielsen didn't break out the U.S. performance.

Europe remained the main laggard in the first half of the year with a 6 percent ad spending decline, according to Nielsen.

U.K. ad revenue declined 2.3 percent, for example. The only gains over the first six months of 2013 in Europe came in  Switzerland (up 0.6 percent), Norway (up 2.5 percent) and Greece (up 7.4 percent), which last year saw a big drop amid its economic crisis.

"Although many marketers remain conservative with advertising budgets, those in Latin America continue to buck the norm," Nielsen concluded. In Europe, "marketers remain modest with their ad budgets amidst the region's continued fiscal crisis," it said.

Argentina was a key contributor to growth in Latin America region with a gain of nearly 30 percent. Indonesia, China and the Philippines helped lead growth in the Asia-Pacific region, which reached $51 billion in ad spending in the first half on 2013.

The Nielsen Global AdView Pulse measures spending on TV, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, outdoor and Internet display advertising.

E-mail: Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/international/~3/nxgoKpVXiRA/story01.htm
Category: Scandal   Justin Morneau   vince young   ashton kutcher   Ross Lynch  

The Stooges In Winter: Moe, Larry And Curly Drawn Together

The Three Stooges in their younger years.

Columbia Pictures/AP

The Three Stooges in their younger years.

Columbia Pictures/AP

When Kurt Vonnegut dedicated his novel Slapstick to Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, he pinpointed the way an ideal team can transcend chemistry. Like Vonnegut's Wilbur and Eliza, the twins who became geniuses only in each other's presence, Laurel and Hardy united to become two halves of a single being. They bickered, they kicked each other's backsides, and were always mired in "another fine mess," but there was always the sense that they could not survive apart.

Much the same could be said of the Three Stooges, a comedy team with the flawless internal logic of a fine-tuned clock. There is Moe, the leader (by temperament if not acclamation), a tough-minded bruiser who gets things done and brings some semblance of organization. There is Curly, Moe's polar opposite — cheerful, energetic, optimistic, and totally incapable of seeing what is not in front of him (in A Plumbing We Will Go, he tries to fix a leak by attaching one pipe after another until he is trapped in a cage). And there is Larry, the middleman personified – he has no distinctive personality, but he's essential in the same way as ski poles.

If there were no Moe, the group would collapse into chaos (notice how Curly and Larry almost never talk to each other?). If there were no Larry, their films would be about a mean guy beating up a nice guy (Curly and Larry outnumber Moe, and could overpower him if they wanted to). And if there were no Curly ... well, I guess there would be Shemp, if you're into that sort of thing, but nobody wants to see just Moe and Larry. Why do these men stay together, despite the fact they don't seem to particularly like each other? Because apart, they could not function in the world.

Cartoon Stooges, as seen in the mid-'60s.

Madacy

Cartoon Stooges, as seen in the mid-'60s.

Madacy

Curly was long gone by the time of The New Three Stooges, a 1965-66 cartoon show new to DVD from Madacy, but if viewed with generosity, it offers some insight into the Stooges in winter.

The Stooges had enjoyed a career renaissance when their vintage shorts were syndicated to television in 1958, but with most of their audience now children, the team had eliminated malicious violence from their act — no more eye pokes, just light slapping. With portly vaudevillian "Curly Joe" DeRita filling the "third Stooge" slot (which suffered a mortality rate comparable to Spinal Tap drummers), the aging team offered a kindler, gentler brand of slapstick in personal appearances and films.

Each episode opens and closes with a live-action segment with the comedians engaged in some wheezy tomfoolery or other — they're bakers, they're painters, they're digging for treasure, etc. Production values are nonexistent: Each episode is filmed in a public park or no-frills soundstage (warehouse?), and the slapstick plays out in long, punishingly static medium-shots. Like the boys' 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures, these set pieces have little context — no need to know why the Stooges are at an airport or a barbershop, just that they're there.

In a freeze-frame from one of the live-action wraparounds, the Stooges are still at it, sort of.

Madacy

In a freeze-frame from one of the live-action wraparounds, the Stooges are still at it, sort of.

Madacy

Even if the Stooges hadn't downplayed violence, such measures might have been necessary: At 68 and 63, Moe and Larry look a little the worse for wear (Moe's hideous dye-job doesn't help matters). They are slower and saggier, less vicious but still ornery. Moe has evolved into an almost benevolent curmudgeon, and as for "Curly Joe," while surely one of the least-funny men who ever lived, he does offer a credible simulation of Jerome "Curly" Howard as an exhausted 56-year-old. Collectively, they have the same combination of coziness and prickliness as an old married couple.

The 156 cartoons are cheap and forgettable, and the 40 live-action wraparounds that repeat in order to surround them all are not very funny (and the sight of the boys cavorting in skin-tight swimsuits is not for the faint of heart). But for Stooge completists, they offer a strange sort of comfort. In the autumn of their years, the Stooges are still at it, once again starting some new business together, once again throwing pies in their weary faces, and still irretrievably locked in each other's orbit.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2013/10/15/234665181/the-stooges-in-winter-moe-larry-and-curly-drawn-together?ft=1&f=1048
Category: yom kippur   sons of anarchy  

'Bionic man' walks, breathes with artificial parts

NEW YORK (AP) — Gentlemen, we can rebuild him, after all. We have the technology.

The term "bionic man" was the stuff of science fiction in the 1970s, when a popular TV show called "The Six Million Dollar Man" chronicled the adventures of Steve Austin, a former astronaut whose body was rebuilt using artificial parts after he nearly died.

Now, a team of engineers has assembled a robot using artificial organs, limbs and other body parts that comes tantalizingly close to a true "bionic man." For real, this time.

The artificial "man" is the subject of a Smithsonian Channel documentary that airs Sunday, Oct. 20 at 9 p.m. Called "The Incredible Bionic Man," it chronicles engineers' attempt to assemble a functioning body using artificial parts that range from a working kidney and circulation system to cochlear and retina implants.

The parts hail from 17 manufacturers around the world. This is the first time they've been assembled together, says Richard Walker, managing director of Shadow Robot Co. and the lead roboticist on the project.

"(It's) an attempt to showcase just how far medical science has gotten," he says.

The robot making appearances in the U.S. for the first time this week. Having crossed the Atlantic tucked inside two metal trunks — and after a brief holdup in customs — the bionic man will strut his stuff at the New York Comic Con festival on Friday.

Walker says the robot has about 60 to 70 percent of the function of a human. It stands six-and-a-half feet tall and can step, sit and stand with the help of a Rex walking machine that's used by people who've lost the ability to walk due to a spinal injury. It also has a functioning heart that, using an electronic pump, beats and circulates artificial blood, which carries oxygen just like human blood. An artificial, implantable kidney, meanwhile, replaces the function of a modern-day dialysis unit.

Although the parts used in the robot work, many of them are a long way from being used in humans. The kidney, for example, is only a prototype. And there are some key parts missing: there's no digestive system, liver, or skin. And, of course, no brain.

The bionic man was modeled after Bertolt Meyer, a 36-year-old social psychologist at the University of Zurich who was born without his lower left arm and wears a bionic prosthesis. The man's face was created based on a 3D scan of Meyer's face.

"We wanted to showcase that the technology can provide aesthetic prostheses for people who have lost parts of their faces, for example, their nose, due to an accident or due to, for example, cancer," Meyer says.

Meyer says he initially felt a sense of unease when he saw the robot for the first time.

"I thought it was rather revolting to be honest," he says. "It was quite a shock to see a face that closely resembles what I see in the mirror every morning on this kind of dystopian looking machine."

He has since warmed up to it, especially after the "man" was outfitted with some clothes from the U.K. department store Harrods.

And the cost? As it turns out, this bionic man comes cheaper than his $6-million-dollar sci-fi cousin. While the parts used in the experiment were donated, their value is about $1 million.

__

Associated Press reporters David R. Martin in New York and Hannah Buchdahl in Washington contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bionic-man-walks-breathes-artificial-parts-151617572.html
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Pope Francis bids farewell to problematic No. 2

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The changing of the guard is underway at the Vatican.

Pope Francis bid farewell Tuesday to the Vatican's No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who was blamed for many of the gaffes and problems of the papacy of Benedict XVI. And at a ceremony inside the Apostolic Palace, Francis welcomed his new chief collaborator, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, a career diplomat who was sent from the Holy See to Venezuela during Bertone's tenure.

The handover represented a tangible sign of change for the Vatican following Bertone's scandal-marred term, which climaxed with the 2012 theft of Benedict's papers by his butler. But many other problems of Benedict's reign — from his rehabilitation of a Holocaust-denying bishop to the Vatican's response to the 2010 sex abuse scandal — have been pinned on Bertone.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-francis-bids-farewell-problematic-no-2-104117718.html
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Explosion hits upscale Myanmar hotel, one injured: police

By Jared Ferrie

YANGON (Reuters) - A female guest was injured in an explosion in an upscale hotel in Myanmar's biggest city late on Monday, police said, in what could be the latest in a string of bombings in recent days.

Police are already investigating a series of bombings that began on Friday, when an explosion killed two people and wounded one in a guesthouse in the town of Taungoo, about 55 km (35 miles) from the capital, Naypyitaw.

Although the cause of Monday's blast in Yangon has not yet been determined, police lieutenant captain Han Win Soe said: "We are looking at who stayed in the room before that guest."

Security officers were sifting through a debris-filled room on the ninth floor of Traders, a popular hotel in downtown Yangon, according to a Reuters witness. Glass from the room's window was spread out across the street below.

"It sounded like a subdued explosion," said Graeme Romer, a guest who was staying on the eighth floor.

He said he went downstairs to the lobby to ask about the explosion and saw an injured woman wrapped in bed sheets lying on the floor. "She was bleeding profusely," Romer said.

The hotel's general manager, Phillip Couvaras, confirmed that a guest had been taken to the hospital.

"The hotel management is working with the local authorities who are investigating this incident," he told reporters outside the hotel lobby. He said the blast occurred close to midnight.

Two bombs exploded in Yangon on Saturday, according to police, one at a bus stop that caused no injuries and another that slightly wounded two boys. Police also said they found an unexploded bomb in a Yangon restaurant on Monday.

Authorities have not said who they think is behind the recent bombings, although presidential spokesman Ye Htut linked them to Myanmar assuming chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

A new quasi-civilian government has launched sweeping political and economic reforms over the past two years after decades of military rule, with the United States, the European Union and others easing or lifting sanctions in response.

"It must have been carried out to create worries and concerns among the people and to make the international community doubt the security standard in Myanmar at a time when Myanmar is going to take the ASEAN chair," Ye Htut told Radio Free Asia's Burmese language service.

Myanmar has been hit by bombings before. Three explosions during the Water Festival in 2010 killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 170. In May 2005, three bombs at a convention center and markets killed 23 people and wounded more than 160.

Authorities blamed the 2005 bombing on ethnic rebel groups and a government in exile.

(Additional reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Editing by Paul Tait)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/explosion-hits-upscale-myanmar-hotel-one-injured-police-235253533.html
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Social Security raise to be among lowest in years

By Stephen Ohlemacher, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — For the second straight year, millions of Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees can expect historically small increases in their benefits come January.

Preliminary figures suggest a benefit increase of roughly 1.5 percent, which would be among the smallest since automatic increases were adopted in 1975, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Next year's raise will be small because consumer prices, as measured by the government, haven't gone up much in the past year.

The exact size of the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, won't be known until the Labor Department releases the inflation report for September. That was supposed to happen Wednesday, but the report was delayed indefinitely because of the partial government shutdown.

The COLA is usually announced in October to give Social Security and other benefit programs time to adjust January payments. The Social Security Administration has given no indication that raises would be delayed because of the shutdown, but advocates for seniors said the uncertainty was unwelcome.

Social Security benefits have continued during the shutdown.

More than one-fifth of the country is waiting for the news.

Nearly 58 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children get Social Security benefits. The average monthly payment is $1,162. A 1.5 percent raise would increase the typical monthly payment by about $17.

The COLA also affects benefits for more than 3 million disabled veterans, about 2.5 million federal retirees and their survivors, and more than 8 million people who get Supplemental Security Income, the disability program for the poor.

Automatic COLAs were adopted so that benefits for people on fixed incomes would keep up with rising prices. Many seniors, however, complain that the COLA sometimes falls short, leaving them little wiggle room.

David Waugh of Bethesda, Md., said he can handle one small COLA but several in a row make it hard to plan for unexpected expenses.

"I'm not one of those folks that's going to fall into poverty, but it is going to make a difference in my standard of living as time goes by," said Waugh, 83, who retired from the United Nations. "I live in a small apartment and I have an old car, and it's going to break down. And no doubt when it does, I'll have to fix it or get a new one."

Since 1975, annual Social Security raises have averaged 4.1 percent. Only six times have they been less than 2 percent, including this year, when the increase was 1.7 percent. There was no COLA in 2010 or 2011 because inflation was too low.

By law, the cost-of-living adjustment is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, a broad measure of consumer prices generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It measures price changes for food, housing, clothing, transportation, energy, medical care, recreation and education.

The COLA is calculated by comparing consumer prices in July, August and September each year to prices in the same three months from the previous year. If prices go up over the course of the year, benefits go up, starting with payments delivered in January.

This year, average prices for July and August were 1.4 percent higher than they were a year ago, according to the CPI-W.

Once the September report, the final piece of the puzzle, is released, the COLA can be announced officially. If prices continued to slowly inch up in September, that would put the COLA at roughly 1.5 percent.

Several economists said there were no dramatic price swings in September to significantly increase or decrease the projected COLA. That means the projection shouldn't change by more than a few tenths of a percentage point, if at all.

Polina Vlasenko, a research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, projects the COLA will be between 1.4 percent and 1.6 percent.

Her projection is similar to those done by others, including AARP, which estimates the COLA will be between 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent. The Senior Citizens League estimates it will be about 1.5 percent.

Lower prices for gasoline are helping to fuel low inflation, Vlasenko said.

"In years with high COLA's, a lot of that had to do with fuel prices and in some cases food prices. Neither of those increased much this year," Vlasenko said. "So that kept the lid on the overall increase in prices."

Gasoline prices are down 2.4 percent from a year ago while food prices are up slightly, according to the August inflation report. Housing costs went up 2.3 percent and utilities increased by 3.2 percent.

Advocates for seniors say the government's measure of inflation doesn't accurately reflect price increases older Americans face because they tend to spend more of their income on health care. Medical costs went up less than in previous years but still outpaced other consumer prices, rising 2.5 percent.

"This (COLA) is not enough to keep up with inflation, as it affects seniors," said Max Richtman, who heads the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. "There are some things that become cheaper but they are not things that seniors buy. Laptop computers have gone down dramatically but how many people at 70 are buying laptop computers?"

The cost of personal computers dropped by 10.6 percent over the past year, according the CPI-W.

That's a small consolation to Alberta Gaskins of the District of Columbia, who said she is concerned about keeping up with her household bills.

"It is very important to get the COLA because everything else you have in your life is on an upward swing, and if you're on a downward swing, that means your quality of life is going down," said Gaskins, who retired from the Postal Service in 1989.

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663306/s/3267b20c/sc/30/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C10A0C130C20A9475160Esocial0Esecurity0Eraise0Eto0Ebe0Eamong0Elowest0Ein0Eyears0Dlite/story01.htm
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The LEGO Battle of Helm's Deep Is Appropriately Epic

10:12 AM PDT 10/10/2013 by Graeme McMillan

Question: What do you get if you mix 150,000 LEGO bricks, 2,000 LEGO minifigures, six months of effort and a couple of Lord of the Rings fans? Answer: The LEGO Battle of Helm's Deep. Prepare to be amazed -- and just a little bit jealous that you don't have one, too.

There's already an official version of the famous battle from Lord of the Rings, but this custom creation by a couple of fans is more than 100 times the scale, weighing about 400 pounds and the result of 18 months' worth of preparation before building even started.

STORY: First Look: 'Lord of the Rings' Lego Toyline (Photos)

The result is intricate, surprisingly beautiful, and a testament to the power of fandom, if not outright obsession. Hopefully, someone at LEGO has seen this and decided to offer the fans some kind of reward -- even if it's only some free LEGO bricks for their next creation.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/THRComicCon/~3/Px47zgwBPd0/story01.htm
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