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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) ? Hunter Mahan was bracing for the worst of Pebble Beach, his golf bag weighed down with rain gear and everything else to handle nasty weather.

Instead, he was reminded how much he loves this place.

It helps that Mahan drilled a 3-wood onto the 18th green for a two-putt birdie that gave him a 6-under 66 and a share of the lead to par with Russell Knox in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Better yet, the rain everyone was expecting early in the afternoon never showed up.

So when Mahan was asked about the most interesting part of the day, all he could think of was that it was boring ? in a good way.

"I had a good time with my partner. The pace was great. The weather was good," he said. "I think the most interesting thing was we had perfect weather when it was supposed to rain at noon. We were all expecting rain. The bag probably weighs 100 pounds right now."

Mahan took advantage of a gorgeous day by attacking Pebble Beach, the place to be when the conditions are calm. He missed only two greens ? one of those on the edge ? and only had one birdie attempt longer than 20 feet.

It was a good start, but nothing more. With three very different courses in the rotation, weather than can change without notice and one course with a different par, no one has a good idea where they stand until after three rounds on Saturday.

Knox, who grew up in northern Scotland and has family roots in California, made the most of his limited starts on the PGA Tour. He had a 6-under 64 on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula. Knox finished out of the top 125 on the money list last year as a rookie, so his opportunities will be limited this year.

"I came in here with a lot of confidence because I feel like I've been playing very well," Knox said. "Just haven't had the chance to play. It was nice to get off to a good start."

The best round might have belonged to Seung-yul Noh of South Korea, who played at Spyglass Hill. It's typically the toughest of the three courses when conditions are benign, and such was the case on Thursday.

Pebble and Monterey Peninsula played nearly a half-shot under par, while Spyglass was almost a half-shot over par.

Noh reached 7 under until making bogeys on the last two holes for a 5-under 67, which only slightly soured his day. He still had the best score at Spyglass.

"Still a good score. I'm really happy with that," Noh said.

Even more impressive is that he felt half-asleep. Noh played in Dubai last week and is still coping with jet lag.

Also at 5 under were Scott Langley (65 at Monterey Peninsula) and Matt Every, who had a bogey on his final hole at Pebble Beach for a 67.

The day was not without a few adventures.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, among the newest members at Augusta National, beaned a spectator on the sixth hole. Dustin Johnson, a two-time winner at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, had a four-putt on his way to a 3-over 73 at Monterey Peninsula. John Daly had a three-putt from 3 feet on the seventh hole and took four to get down from about 18 feet just off the ninth green. He had a 77.

Vijay Singh had a 72 at Pebble Beach, evidence that the PGA Tour still has not decided whether he will be suspended for using deer-antler spray, according to a Sports Illustrated and later confirmed by Singh's statement last week in Phoenix. The spray is said to contain an insulin-like growth hormone on the tour's list of banned substances. A decision is not expected this week.

Phil Mickelson, going after a record-tying fifth win in this tournament, couldn't make as many putts at Monterey Peninsula as he did in his wire-to-wire win at Phoenix Open last week. He opened with a 69 at Monterey Peninsula.

"One of the things I've learned over the years here is you need to be patient," Mickelson said. "There's plenty of birdie holes throughout the three courses. Hopefully, I'll get a good run tomorrow and try to shoot myself up into contention."

Lee Westwood made his debut in this tournament by playing with his father, and while he had a 68, he's not sure the score had any bearing on having a good time. Westwood was at Pebble Beach, and while it was a good start for him, he made up ground in the wrong places.

The scoring at Pebble comes on the opening seven holes. He played those in 1 under, missed three putts inside about 12 feet. Then, he picked up four birdies over his final 10 holes.

"But it was nice doing it all with Dad and being able to walk the fairways," Westwood said. "You sort of tick off bucket-list courses, and Pebble Beach would definitely be one of them. To actually play in a competition in the AT&T with your dad and tick that one off something really special."

About the only thing Mahan he doesn't like about this tournament are his memories, particularly two years ago. He made a furious rally on the back nine, twice was tied for the lead, and then reached the par-5 18th in two in the final round. But he three-putted for par, giving D.A. Points a cushion. Mahan was runner-up by two shots.

"It was disappointing to finish second in 2011, so I definitely want to win here," he said. "This is an historic tournament, so I think anyone that tees it up here knows the importance of it and knows that to be a champion, what this would mean. I'm excited to be in this position right now, but obviously there's a lot of work to do. I do look forward to this every year, and definitely want to win this tournament at some point in my career."

DIVOTS: Heath Slocum made four eagles in 1,602 holes that he played on the PGA Tour last year. He made two in a 13-hole stretch on Thursday, hitting a 3-wood to 7 feet on the sixth hole at Pebble Beach and a 3-wood to 7 feet on the 18th hole. He opened with a 69. ... David Duval, making his first start of the year, opened with a 79 at Spyglass and later said on Twitter his knees were troubling him and he had a hard time walking the course. ... Geoff Ogilvy had a 73 at Spyglass. He needs to finish about fifth this week to qualify for the Match Play Championship, which he has won twice.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mahan-shares-lead-pebble-beach-001412119--spt.html

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Trader Brandon Barb, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. Strong earnings reports from media giants Disney and Time Warner aren't impressing investors in early trading, and major U.S. market indexes are opening lower. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Daniel Trimble, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. Strong earnings reports from media giants Disney and Time Warner aren't impressing investors in early trading, and major U.S. market indexes are opening lower. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Christian Sanfilippo, left, and trader Doreen Mogavero work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. Strong earnings reports from media giants Disney and Time Warner aren't impressing investors in early trading, and major U.S. market indexes are opening lower. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traders Michael Smyth, left, and Richard Newman work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. Strong earnings reports from media giants Disney and Time Warner aren't impressing investors in early trading, and major U.S. market indexes are opening lower. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Peter Mancuso, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. Strong earnings reports from media giants Disney and Time Warner aren't impressing investors in early trading, and major U.S. market indexes are opening lower. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks were flat on Wall Street as the latest round of earnings reports failed to give investors an impetus to push the market's recent rally forward.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 7.22 points to 13,986.52 on Wednesday, after trading slightly lower for most of the day. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.83 point to 1,512.12. The Nasdaq composite was three points lower at 3,168.48

Time Warner rose $2.05, or 4.1 percent, to $52.01 after the company said its net income grew 51 percent in the last three months of 2012 even as revenue was largely unchanged. Marathon Oil Corp. fell 32 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $34.40 after its fourth-quarter net income fell 41 percent on higher exploration costs and taxes.

Stocks are consolidating their gains after surging since the start of the year. The Dow closed above 14,000 for the first time since December 2007 Friday and had its best January in almost two decades. The index is up 6.7 percent this year; the broader S&P 500 is 6 percent higher.

"There's no question that we need to take a pause and let reality catch up," said Jim Russell, an investment director at U.S. Bank.

The rally started when lawmakers reached a last-minute deal at New Year's to avoid the "fiscal cliff," a series of steep tax increases and spending cuts that would have kicked in at the beginning of the year. The gains continued on optimism that the housing market recovery is gaining momentum and that the job market is healing.

While the budget deal reached in January dealt with tax increases, it didn't tackle spending cuts.

Automatic spending cuts, which would hit everything from defense spending to popular benefit programs, were scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, but were postponed till March 1. Russell says stocks will be unlikely to rise strongly while talks heat up in Washington over the spending cuts, which are also referred to as sequestration.

The rally has pushed stocks close to record levels. The Dow is 178 points off its record close, reached in October 2007, and the S&P is 53 points below its all-time high, achieved in the same month.

"We've had a really nice move up here, whether we graduate to the next level, I think is questionable," said Ben Schwarz, Chief Market Strategist at Light Speed Financial. "We're looking for something to spark it."

More than half of the companies in the S&P 500 have now reported earnings for the fourth quarter and analysts are expecting earnings for the period to rise by 6 percent, according to data from S&P Capital IQ. That puts earnings growth on track to increase for the third straight quarter after slowing to 0.81 percent in the second quarter of 2012.

As investors have become more comfortable holding riskier assets like stocks, they have cut their holdings in defensive investments like U.S. government bonds, sending yields on those bonds higher.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, has risen more than 20 basis points since the start of the year and is trading close to its highest level since April. The yield fell 4 basis points to 1.96 percent Wednesday.

Among other stocks making big moves:

? Ralph Lauren surged $9.72, or 5.9 percent, to $174.63 after the designer clothing company posted a 27 percent increase in income. The company is reporting strong spending among its affluent shoppers in the U.S. and improving trends in Europe.

? Walt Disney rose 23 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $54.52 after the company posted fiscal first-quarter profits that exceeded analysts' expectations. The entertainment giant's stock rose to a record $55.50, boosted by optimism about the earnings potential of its networks, movies and theme parks.

?Boise Cascade, a wood products and building materials company, jumped $5.15, or 24.5 percent, to $26.15 on its first day of trading.

? Aflac fell $2.31, or 4.3 percent, to $51.18 after the insurer reported its fourth quarter earnings late Tuesday. RBC Capital Markets cut their forecast for the company's 2013 earnings to reflect the impact of a weaker Japanese yen. Aflac earns a significant portion of its revenues in Japan.

? Liberty Global Inc., the cable TV operator controlled by media mogul John Malone, fell $1.82, or 2.7 percent, to $66.06 after it said it is buying U.K.-based Virgin Media Inc. in a $16 billion deal.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-06-Wall%20Street/id-ac8fb287aecb493aaae26ca530481894

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albanijudy03 · Feb. 6, 2013

Feb. 6, 2013 ? Reading text on digital devices like tablet computers requires less effort from older adults than reading on paper, according to research published February 6 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Matthias Schlesewsky and colleagues from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from Georg August University G?ttingen and the University of Marburg, Germany.

In the past, surveys have shown that people prefer to read paper books rather than on e-readers or tablet computers. Here, the authors evaluated the origins of this preference in terms of the neural effort required to process information read on these three different media. They found that when asked, both young and old adults stated a strong preference for paper books, but when they compared eye movements and brain activity measures, older adults fared better with backlit digital readers like tablet computers.

The authors measured two parameters in the readers: time required for visual fixation, and EEG measures of brain activity with the different reading devices to identify the amount of cognitive processing required for each device.

The researchers found that younger readers between the ages of 21 and 34 showed similar eye movements and EEG measures of brain activity across the three reading devices. Older adults aged 60-77 years spent less time fixating the text and showed lower brain activity when using a tablet computer, as compared to the other media. The study concludes that this effect is likely due to better text discrimination on the backlit displays. None of the participants in the study had trouble comprehending what they had read on any of the devices, but based on the physiological measures assessed, the researchers suggest that older readers may benefit from the enhanced contrast on electronic reading devices.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Public Library of Science, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Franziska Kretzschmar, Dominique Pleimling, Jana Hosemann, Stephan F?ssel, Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Matthias Schlesewsky. Subjective Impressions Do Not Mirror Online Reading Effort: Concurrent EEG-Eyetracking Evidence from the Reading of Books and Digital Media. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (2): e56178 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056178

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/gRFC_sX7qJc/130206185839.htm

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albanijudy03

In my last post, I discussed the questions a business needs to raise before it can decide whether the time is right to establish a board.

If?you?ve?decided the time is right, there are a couple of obvious options.

Some companies may first set up an advisory board to provide independent advice on issues including business development and strategy.

An advisory board is not a decision-making entity and is not regulated under the Corporations Act, although advisory boards need to be careful that they are not in fact a governing board (because in this case the legal duties and obligations of a director might be applied).

An advisory board is often part of a transition process to a more formal, governing board with functions regarding risk, strategy, compliance and monitoring company performance.

Other companies create a governing board from the outset, which means the directors have legal duties and liabilities under the Corporations Act.

If you choose this path, first carefully consider the following key questions that we at Directors Australia ask all clients in this position:

Is your business ready for the transition ? both financially and emotionally?
What will be the impact of loss of control and independence for the owner/s?
Is the timing right given other things going on in the business?
Are there family issues to be sorted through first?
If it?s a family business, which family members will sit on the board?
What is the ideal skill set to deliver on your company?s strategic plan and where are the gaps?

Selecting an independent director to suit your business

Many family and other SME businesses initially feel comfortable appointing known advisors or peers to an advisory board.

This can be a good mechanism to integrate ?outsiders? into the business.

As a business moves to a formal, governing board, it is important to draw in a wide pool of candidate directors who have experience in business, governance and strategic thinking.

It?s also important to not only look for people with the right skills and experience, but who are also a good cultural fit for the business.

In the family business context this means looking for someone who understands and can effectively work within the family?s culture, values and goals.

A good starting point to selecting the right directors is drafting a position description outlining what the board is ideally seeking.

This document should be at the core of the search and selection process.

It will need to cover:

Professional skills (e.g. financial, strategic marketing)
Personal attributes and behaviours (communication style, ability to collaborate)
Expectations (such as number of meetings, involvement in strategic planning and representing the company at industry events).

Kerryn Newton is a guest blogger and an experienced director and managing director of Directors Australia, a specialist board performance and board recruitment consultancy working with clients around Australia.

Source: http://www.businessstrategyblog.com.au/3396/how-to-create-a-board-for-your-business-part-2/

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albanijudy03 · Feb. 5, 2013

Feb. 5, 2013 ? UT Dallas researchers are extending the borders of virtual reality, going beyond virtual spaces in which people can see and hear each other to an environment that adds the sense of touch.

The technology would make it possible for physical therapists, for example, to work with patients in other locations. When a patient pushes down on a device, a doctor's device in another location would also move down with the same force, as if the patient were physically pressing the doctor's hand.

Professors in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science are creating a multimedia system that uses multiple 3-D cameras to create avatars of humans in two different places, and then puts them in the same virtual space where they can interact.

In traditional telemedicine, a doctor and patient both appear on the same screen and are able to talk, but they are not in the same physical space.

"With in-home rehabilitation, doctors ask a patient if he or she has done their exercises, but the patient may not be doing them correctly," said Dr. Balakrishnan "Prabha" Prabhakaran, professor of computer science at UT Dallas and a principal investigator of a $2.4 million project funded by the National Science Foundation to create the system.

"It is one thing for a patient to say he or she did their exercises, but it is another to watch them in action, feel the force exerted, be able to correct them on the spot and get immediate response."

With large amounts of data, such as tracking images or movement, there could be significant lag time or delays in transmission. The grant funds creation of the algorithms and software needed to transmit the data through the internet in real time. There are four major areas of this system under research by experts in the Jonsson School.

Haptic Devices

Haptic devices are pieces of equipment with resistance motors that apply force, vibration or motion to the user to provide feedback. For example, touching a virtual stone with a haptic device would feel hard, while touching a virtual sponge would provide less feedback and feel more pliable.

If both doctor and patient have haptic devices in his or her physical environment, the applied force can be sent to the other person. A doctor could feel the strength of a patient's muscle, for example.

"Each device sends lots of data and combining that information in real time is a big challenge," Prabhakaran said.

Prabhakaran has expertise in multimedia systems and using haptic devices in real time.

Teleoperation and Control

Anyone who has used a service such as Skype has likely experienced a delay in communication -- suddenly words get lost or are slow to transmit. A similar effect could happen with haptic devices.

"We absolutely do not want instability," Prabhakaran said.

Dr. Mark W. Spong, dean of the Jonsson School and holder of the Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair in Electrical Engineering and the Excellence in Education Chair, is a leading researcher in control and teleoperation -- operating of machines at a distance. He is developing techniques to eliminate instability in communicating the data from the haptic devices over the network.

3-D Data Compression

To minimize the amount of data that needs to be exchanged, sophisticated algorithms need to be created. That's where Dr. Xiaohu Guo, associate professor of computer science at UT Dallas and a project co-principal investigator, comes in. He's an expert in computer graphics, animation and modeling.

Guo is refining techniques to not only allow the data between haptic devices to be transmitted over the network more efficiently, but also creating 3-D visual images of original movements in real time.

"We do not only want the person to be moving the device, we want them to have a visual feel of what the movement is causing," Prabhakaran said.

Guo has had success transforming large amounts of data using what is known as spectral transformation techniques. These techniques rely on manifold harmonics to first transform 3-D images into points that represent the surface of an object. The data is then compressed into a smaller form that can be sent faster over networks.

Body Sensors

People using this platform would use body sensors similar to those installed in smartphones that can tell whether the user is looking at the device in portrait or landscape views.

"If we put body sensors on the patients, then his or her movements can be tracked with high accuracy," Prabhakaran said. "The advantage of the sensor is the data that is generated is only a few bytes large, so it is easily transmitted over the network.

"You need a 3-D model to provide visual perspective, but if you are dealing with a lousy network and can not have consistent visual perspective, the body sensors could provide that information."

Dr. Roozbeh Jafari, assistant professor of electrical engineering at UT Dallas and a co-principal investigator of the project, is an expert in cyber-physical systems. He has built wearable computers for monitoring different aspects of human health, behavior and thought, and is developing sensors for this project.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are working on other aspects of the system, such as refining the overall user experience and coordination of the cameras used to visually capture the movements and interactions. Rehabilitation specialists at the Dallas VA Medical Center will test the system on patients.

While the main goal of the research, which is about halfway complete, is telemedicine, other applications include dance instruction or any type of education in which people need to be in the same space, Prabhakaran said.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Texas, Dallas, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/e2AFANcIW-s/130205143336.htm

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Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press via AP

The household penny jar may soon become a thing of the past in Canada.

By Rob Gillies, The Associated Press

TORONTO ? Canada has begun phasing out its penny, the nuisance one-cent coin that clutters dressers and costs more than its one-cent value to produce.

The Royal Canadian Mint on Monday officially ended its distribution of pennies to financial institutions.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced last year they were a nuisance and had outlived their purpose.

While some may still use pennies, the government has issued guidelines urging store owners to start rounding prices to the nearest nickel for cash transactions.

Electronic purchases will still be billed to the nearest cent.

The government has said the cost of the penny exceeds its monetary value. Production is $11 million a year.

The coins, which feature two maple leaves and Queen Elizabeth II in profile, will remain legal tender until they eventually disappear from circulation.

'Nothing a penny will buy'
Opposition New Democrat Member of Parliament Pat Martin gave a poetic goodbye to the penny in Parliament on Monday.

"There's nothing a penny will buy any more, not a gum ball or small piece of candy," Martin said. "Note the penny is a nuisance. It costs too much to make. They clutter our change purse and they don't circulate."

?They build up in piles in old cookie jars under our beds and in our desk drawers. You can't give them away. They cost more than what they're worth. It's time to put them all out to pasture, put them out to the curb. No, the penny is useless, but there is one thing I'd say, I hope they don't start treating old MPs this way."

Google is marking the passing of the penny with a dedicated doodle on its Canadian home page.

The currency museum at Canada's central bank has already taken steps to preserve the penny's place in Canadian culture. A mural consisting of nearly 16,000 one-cent pieces has been assembled at the museum to commemorate the coin's history, said assistant curator Raewyn Passmore.

New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Sweden and others have also dropped the penny.

The U.S. Treasury Department has said the Obama administration has looked at possibly using cheaper materials to make the penny, which is now made of zinc.

Two bills calling for the end of the U.S. penny, introduced in 2002 and 2006 by Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe, failed to advance in the House of Representatives.

The U.S. zinc lobby has been a major opponent to suggestions that the penny be eliminated.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/05/16852390-you-cant-give-them-away-canada-drops-penny?lite

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You know when you get that craving for just a little something sweet after the dinner dishes are cleared, but don?t have anything to nibble? That can be a desperate moment. Personally, I always turn to chocolate chip cookies ? I always have chocolate chips in the cupboard, so hot cookies are only 20 minutes away. When desperation hits, pantry and fridge staples like chocolate chips, oats, cream cheese, and even frozen bananas can be a total life saver.
Hot Baked Nutella and Cream Cheese Sandwich