TV channel squeeze proposed to pay for tax cuts (AP)

NEW YORK ? Call it the Great Channel Squeeze.

Congress is considering letting cellphone companies pay television stations to give up their frequencies so they can be put to better use for wireless broadband.

The idea is to squeeze over-the-air television, which has few viewers, into a smaller slice of the airwaves. The government would be the broker in the deal and would use some proceeds to fund tax cuts and unemployment benefits.

In years to come, you might see Channel 17 cease to broadcast and Channel 49 take its place, for instance. The empty slot at Channel 49 would then become available for a range of wireless services. That could mean faster downloads for smartphones and tablet computers.

Although vast swaths of broadcast spectrum were freed when television signals converted from analog to digital in 2009, much of that has already been claimed. Technology companies have been clamoring for even more airwaves to satisfy growing consumer appetite for movies, books and websites on mobile devices.

The Federal Communications Commission sees more spectrum as a way to extend high-speed Internet access to places where phone and cable TV companies don't have enough customers to offer landline broadband connections.

"Unless we free up new spectrum for mobile broadband, the looming spectrum crunch risks throttling our mobile economy and frustrating mobile consumers," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement this week.

In a sense, this proposal is a reflection of the times. In the U.S., there are more wireless devices in use than there are people. Meanwhile, various studies show that fewer than 10 percent of households get their TV signals over the air ? the rest have cable or satellite service.

The FCC's national broadband plan envisions freeing up 500 megahertz of spectrum over the next 10 years. As much as a quarter of that could come from television.

But many things need to happen first.

For starters, Congress needs to give the FCC authority to do this.

The House included that authority in a bill it passed Tuesday to extend Social Security payroll tax reductions and unemployment coverage. Congress estimates that $16.5 billion could be generated over 10 years by auctioning the broadcast channels and another slice now used for public safety. But President Barack Obama opposes the bill for reasons unrelated to spectrum, and the Senate is working on its own version of the package.

Once the FCC gets authority, it needs to find broadcasters willing to cede their frequencies. Station owners would share in auction proceeds if they turn in their broadcasting licenses and either cease operations or become cable-only channels. They would be compensated to build new towers and make other adjustments if they need to switch frequencies. Congressional revenue estimates already factor that in.

The National Association of Broadcasters isn't sure how many stations would go along.

"Local TV stations are doing pretty well in terms of advertising sales," NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton said. "It would surprise me if there would be the sort of stampede to go out of business."

That said, the NAB supports the proposal as long as stations aren't forced or pressured to give up their frequencies. If stations must move, the NAB wants to make sure they aren't the ones paying for it and won't face more interference or any reduction in how far their signals go. Wharton says the House bill includes good protections for broadcasters, but a similar measure in the Senate does not.

Television stations once had Channels 2 to 83, except for 37, which is used for astronomy. Channels 70 to 83, mostly used to retransmit signals from other channels, disappeared in the 1980s and have been reassigned to other uses. Stations gave up Channels 52 to 69 in 2009 as part of a transition to digital broadcasts, and much of that has already been reassigned.

The House-passed bill would allocate some of what's left from the digital transition to build a broadband network for public safety. It would also auction off spectrum that police, firefighters and emergency workers now use for voice communications.

Depending on how many stations want to participate, Channels 31 to 51, excluding 37, could be freed up under the proposed program.

The changes could ultimately take several years and won't be easy. The NAB says nearly 40 percent of the nation's 1,735 full-powered stations now use one of the 20 channels targeted. Broadcasters would have to upgrade equipment, and viewers using antennas would have to find the station's new home.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_tv_channel_squeeze

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Motions Unmask Moods

Head Lines | Mind & Brain Cover Image: November 2011 Scientific American MagazineSee Inside

Problems with motor control may be a key factor in bipolar disorder

Image: Elijas van Roon/Corbis

None of us can stand perfectly still. No matter how hard we try, our bodies constantly make small adjustments, causing us to sway slightly as we stand. A new study finds that people with bipolar disorder tend to sway more than those who are unaffected, which may lead to new ways to treat and diagnose the illness.

When psychologists diagnose bipolar disorder, they typically look for mood swings between agitated mania and bleak depression. Previous studies have linked bipolar disorder to abnormalities in the cerebellum and basal ganglia, regions of the brain that are also important for motor control. This connection led Indiana University psychologist Amanda Bolbecker and her colleagues to hypothesize that people with bipolar disorder might also have problems with motor skills.

To test their idea, Bolbecker?s team had 16 people with bipolar disorder and 16 age-matched healthy control subjects stand on a device called a force platform. The platform is similar in ap?pearance to a bathroom scale, but instead of measuring weight it calculates the pressure from different parts of the feet, which indicates how the body is swaying.

In every trial?with their eyes open or closed and with their feet different widths apart?the people with bipolar disorder wobbled more than the healthy subjects, indicating problems with motor control. The patients had the most trouble with their eyes closed, which suggests that the bipolar brain has difficulty integrating sensorimotor information, those inputs from the body and senses that assist the brain in maintaining balance and body position.

Bolbecker points out that the cerebellum, located at the base of the brain, helps to regulate movement and is also involved in emotional reactions, such as fear and pleasure. In addition, the cerebellum connects to other parts of the brain linked to cognition, mood regulation and impulse control, three areas in which patients with bipolar disorder often have difficulties. If the cerebellum is damaged at the cellular level, it may create problems with both mood and motor control.


Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=05229f9eaf76ef7f6c94398ee132bb02

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Summary Box: Russia sells fighter jets to India (AP)

YES TO JETS, NO TO NUKE: Russia signed a deal Friday to provide India with 42 fighter jets, but the two nations have failed to strike a deal on a nuclear power plant.

REGULAR CUSTOMER: India has been a leading customer for Russian weapons since the Soviet times, buying combat jets, missiles, navy ships and other weapons worth billions of dollars. Russian weapons still account for the bulk of the Indian military arsenals.

NOT IN MY BACK YARD: Indian and Russian officials did not sign a deal to complete the Koodankulam nuclear plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Russia had pledged to build two of four reactors at the $3 billion plant, but construction has been delayed due to protests by local residents concerned about the plant's safety.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_russia_india_summary_box

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Nintendo 3DS tour guides might make the Mona Lisa less underwhelming

Other than wine, cheese and overwhelming apathy, the Louvre stands alone as France's most prized national treasure. It's enormous, it's teeming with art, and it's really old. Starting in March, though, the museum will get an infusion of comparatively new technology, thanks to the Nintendo 3DS. As the AFP reports, Nintendo has agreed to provide the Louvre with some 5,000 pocket consoles, to be offered as digital tour guides for museum patrons. With these devices tucked securely inside their fanny packs, wandering tourists will be able to pinpoint their location within the museum, select themed itineraries, and listen to audio commentary available in seven different languages. The consoles will eventually replace the museum's more traditional audio guides, as part of a wider campaign to bring 21st century technology to the Louvre's 12th century confines. "We are the first museum in the world to do this," Agnes Alfandari, the Louvre's head of multimedia, told the AFP, adding that a slate of dedicated smartphone and tablet apps is also in the works.

[Image courtesy of TrendHunter]

Nintendo 3DS tour guides might make the Mona Lisa less underwhelming originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/16/nintendo-3ds-tour-guides-might-make-the-mona-lisa-less-underwhel/

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Some Helpful wedding Planning Tips You May Need

Dec 8th

For lots of couples, nuptials do not only mean to order a dinner hall for the party reception. Having a wedding checklist to preparing for your wedding will solve all your problems as it enables you to have necessary items in mind and make all wedding details in order.

Irrespective of where you are going to hold your wedding ceremony, the wedding will need a considerable series of planning together with suggestions and information.

Preparing for your big day involves lots of elements, such as invitation card designs, bridesmaid dresses, outfit for bride?s parents and relatives, not only means picking up the proper bridal flower bunches. But try to notice that your big day should be special and impressive. As we know that all things have budgets, to balance your budget is important.

Most couples get troubles in wedding preparation. Firstly conceive a modified month-by-month checklist with an estimated date. Add all meetings associated with your marriage to your checklist for the sake of missing.

The wedding reception is where all the people you invited represent simultaneously to commemorate your new life style-wed status. Your reception may contemplate and support the formality of your wedding. Plus, the reception place must be chosen counting on its accessibility, cost, proximity to the observance location, and how many people the place can accommodate. The entertainment you select will count on the kind of wedding concepts designed ? such as the stylish quartet or the marriage band.

Writing the vows by yourself is a good concept if you desire to give the observance an individual feeling. Don?t timid about this because each one of us will experience it; and it is the announcement of your true love to your life partner.

Wedding dress would be the focus during the entire process of ceremony. The flawless bridal wear could make the bride state her charming collarbones and shoulders. Thus to find a proper wedding gown is indispensible as it will state your figure well. However, pay attention to that your wedding dress must be snug to don all day long. Try to get some tips from friends who have lately got hitched so that you are able to reduce your budgets when your wedding is approaching.

If you think plan your wedding is time-consuming, have wedding planners done it for you. They are sure to realize your desires and design the ceremony that shows your style, flavor and character, all meet your cost. Most significant of all, the big day is concerned your bonding, specialize the instants of the observance and commemorate the time of your wedding. Last but not the least, do not forget to take some glorious wedding shots!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 8th, 2011 at 10:09 am and is filed under Wedding Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.artsyweddingblog.com/some-helpful-wedding-planning-tips-you-may-need

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Video: Retailers hope to profit from last-minute shopping

>>> retailers have nine days left to eat up a lot of ground and conveniently shoppers have that same time remaining to cover a lot of ground before christmas . that's why this is going to be a busy and crowded weekend out there, starting with the mall parking lot . nbc's tom costello in reston, virginia, for us tonight. hey, tom, good evening.

>> reporter: hi, brian. we're at a great spot here because it includes an outdoor skating rink in the shomg area. you know the current sales slogan, nobody pays full retail anymore? a lot of people are taking that to heart. they're demanding big discounts both online and in the stores. retailers are desperate this weekend. they want to get shoppers in and merchandise out. if you thought the stores were packed over the thanksgiving weekend, and they were, then prepare yourself for tomorrow, on this last full weekend before christmas , some of the biggest retailers are slashing prices to lure in those shoppers who haven't yet finished, from the promenade in santa monica --

>> i haven't bought anything for anyone yet.

>> i don't have a strategy yet. i think when i get to the stores i'll figure it out.

>> reporter: to the magnificent mile in chicago.

>> anything over 50% i feel is a good deal especially like being a student, i need those sales.

>> reporter: while store sales soared at the weekend after thanksgiving, we have since suffered the biggest drop in 11 years, with americans struggling through a rough economy while still carrying high levels of debt, retail annist dana telsey is on a ten-city tour gauging holiday sales.

>> we found promotions drive traffic. on average the average promotion is around 40% off.

>> reporter: still since lower than expected sales since black friday, the national retail federation has actually raised its holiday shopping forecast, now expecting a 3.8% increase in sales over last year, but for that to happen, this weekend is critical. since the saturday before christmas falls on christmas eve this year, many retailers are calling tomorrow super saturday. in salt lake city , overstock.com was itself overstocked, and just auctioned off an entire warehouse for pennies on the dollar, and with consumer spending accounting for 70% of the economy, what happens in the next week is critical.

>> the stakes are huge, not only for retailers but for all businesses, it sets the tone for activity as we make our way into 2012 whether business also broadly go out and invest and hire and that's vital to the economic recovery.

>> reporter: vital to the economy he says. we talked to a lot of retailers, to target, to walmart, jcpenney, macys, abercrombie, the gap, you name it, many are talking about extended hours in the run-up to christmas , deep discounts and the sales to start big time tomorrow.

>> tom costello, going to slip in shopping if not skating while being able to say he's on assignment for us tonight, well done. tom, thanks.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45703728/

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RI town sues state's main landfill over stench

Garbage trucks, right and behind, empty their load as bulldozers process the waste at the Central Landfill, in Johnston, R.I., Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011. Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena sued the state's main landfill Wednesday over noxious odors that have plagued residents for several weeks. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Garbage trucks, right and behind, empty their load as bulldozers process the waste at the Central Landfill, in Johnston, R.I., Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011. Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena sued the state's main landfill Wednesday over noxious odors that have plagued residents for several weeks. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Ralph Macari, right, an environmental quality technician for the R.I. Department of Environmental Management, uses a hydrogen sulfide analyzer to measure parts per million of the gas in the air, in Cranston, R.I., Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011. Johnston, R.I. Mayor Joseph Polisena sued the state's main landfill Wednesday over noxious odors that have plagued residents for several weeks. The Central Landfill is located in Johnston, a neighboring town to Cranston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A garbage truck empties its load as bulldozers process the waste at the Central Landfill, in Johnston, R.I., Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011. Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena sued the state's main landfill Wednesday over noxious odors that have plagued residents for several weeks. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A bulldozer drives along a ridge as seagulls swarm in the foreground at the Central Landfill, in Johnston, R.I., Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011. Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena sued the state's main landfill Wednesday over noxious odors that have plagued residents for several weeks. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

(AP) ? Residents in this Rhode Island town say the stench moved in this fall, rolling off the state's main landfill and spreading its eye-watering fumes for miles.

After weeks of waiting for officials to eliminate the odor, Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena said he had had enough. He and the Johnston Town Council on Wednesday sued the agency operating the landfill, seeking an immediate end to the odor and damages to compensate for the suffering of residents. He said the smell damages the quality of life in this town of 29,000 just west of Providence.

"The odor has no conscience," Polisena told The Associated Press. "It travels through different neighborhoods. You can't measure the effect of this. It has to end."

The agency in charge of the landfill, the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corp., has dug dozens of wells to trap the gas and dumped tons of soil to smother the smell. Agency Executive Director Michael O'Connell said he understands the distress the odor has caused.

"There are only a few things you can do to fix an odor problem," he said during a recent tour of the landfill. "We're running out of time. We'll do whatever we have to do."

The odor can be traced to a number of factors, O'Connell said, including rain that clogged wells that trap the gas. A decision made years ago to open up more landfill space for trash may be to blame as well, he said.

Complaints about the smell have come from as far as Attleboro, Mass., about 20 miles to the northeast. Residents say it often smells like rotten eggs, though it's also been described as sickly sweet.

"It's nauseating," said Elizabeth Falvo, a 29-year Johnston resident. Falvo said odors from the landfill occasionally have been noticeable in the past but never as bad as they've been in the past several weeks. "It makes my eyes water when it's really strong."

Richard Zompa began noticing the smell several weeks ago outside his North Providence home, several miles from the landfill.

"It's kind of a sweet, but not a good sweet," Zompa said. "I've smelled rotten eggs and it's not that. It's strong and it hits you hard."

Polisena said he worries the smell will hurt property values and the town's reputation as a great place to raise a family or start a business just outside the dense urban bustle of Providence. The lawsuit, he said, was filed as a last resort.

"We've been very patient," Polisena said. "We gave them the time they needed. The time ran out."

According to the lawsuit, the smell first became a problem in April but grew much worse this fall. The landfill received 46 odor complaints in October and 249 in November, according to the suit. On Monday, the mayor's office received 70 calls about the smell.

After complaints began to mount, state environmental officials started regular landfill inspections and sent roving bands of workers into neighborhoods to track the smell and efforts to end it. The workers have used equipment to measure the concentrations of landfill gasses, but the nose knows best, according to David E. Chopy, chief of compliance and inspection at the state's Department of Environmental Management.

"The nose is far more sensitive than any instrument we have," Chopy said.

The lawsuit, filed in Providence County Superior Court, also names as a defendant Broadrock Renewables, an energy company that uses gas from the landfill to generate electricity. The suit alleges that Broadrock hasn't done enough to collect the gas.

Bill Fischer, a spokesman for Broadrock Gas Services, said the company had not yet seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it. But, he said, "Broadrock is doing everything within its control to assist in addressing the odor issues."

The 275-foot high, 200-acre landfill is the main depository for municipal trash in Rhode Island. The Resource Recovery Corp. is a quasi-public agency that operates the landfill on behalf of the state.

O'Connell said rain was filling older gas wells and making it difficult to collect landfill gas, causing the gasses to leak into the atmosphere.

Several years ago, new landfill area was opened up for trash, but then the economic downturn caused a decline in the amount of garbage going into the landfill. As a result, more "uncapped" landfill space than needed was opened, O'Connell said, making it easier for gas to escape.

O'Connell said the new gas wells and the extra soil to cover the landfill should soon cause the odors to dissipate.

State health officials say the fumes can cause nausea, itchy eyes and breathing difficulties, though they haven't noticed any major health problems associated with the landfill.

At the behest of the local state representative, the General Assembly created a committee to study the odor and find ways to prevent similar problems in the future.

"It's a pungent smell that doesn't go away," said Rep. Stephen Ucci, D-Johnston, who said he's received more constituent calls about the odor than any other issue in his seven years in the General Assembly. "It gets in your car. If you open the car windows more comes in. You have to actually leave the area to get away from it."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-14-Landfill%20Odor/id-70d1af696b8f46a8af3c4408634fcfbf

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Is Triceratops one or three species? Debate rages

Triceratops, with its three large horns and great ruffled headdress, seems distinctive enough, but at one time paleontologists had named more than a dozen different species of the rhinoceros-like dinosaur.

These have been condensed into three recognized species in the Triceratops genus, but some researchers believe that number should be lower still: They suggest there is just one Triceratops, of whom the size and shape of its skull and head ornaments changed as it matured.

"It's important to understand how different dinosaurs grew," study researcher John Scannella, of Montana State University, told LiveScience in an email. "We are learning that many of them underwent considerable transformations throughout development, which leaves the potential for many different-looking growth stages that may be misinterpreted as many different-looking species of dinosaur."

The three species in question are: Triceratops, the classic three-horned, clown-ruffled dinosaur; Nedoceratops hatcheri, which the researchers suggest is an intermediate stage, but is only represented by a single fossil; and Torosaurus latus, which seems to be much larger than Triceratops and of which there are about a half dozen good-quality specimens. In the growth-stage scenario, Torosaurus would be the "old man" of the group.

Not everyone fully agrees with the remodeling, particularly Andrew Farke, a researcher from the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology in California. "I agree with them on many points? It's just the interpretation that I disagree with," he said, referring to the reserachers' conclusion that the different species are just different growth stages of the same species.

The "holy" trinity
One of the main differences among the three skulls is a set of large holes in the crown of Torosaurus. These holes are much smaller in Nedoceratops and in Triceratops they seem to be absent, though a close examination by Scanella showed evidence of the beginnings of these holes in some Triceratops.

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"By cutting up the frills of many Triceratops and examining thin slices under the microscope, it is possible to actually see how the skull changed shape throughout growth," Scannella wrote in an email to LiveScience. "We can actually see incipient holes developing in specimens with solid frills."

The researchers also explained other differences in shape between the skulls, including extra spikes around the edges of the crown in Torosaurus. The researchers believe that these bony protrusions on Triceratops split in two later in life, as the animal matured, appearing more like Torosaurus.

This hasn't been seen in other dinosaurs with similar morphologies, Farke said. "Looking at the growth cycle of other horned dinosaurs, there's no evidence that this number changes as they grow," he said. "The scales don't double in number, they just get bigger."

Tri-Triceratops
Supporting this theory is the lack of juvenile Torosaurus specimens, some researchers say. The fossils discovered seem to fit a normal population curve: few young, few old, but many middle-age animals, as one would expect if you were to take a cross section of a living population, said Robert Sullivan, a researcher from the State Museum of Pennsylvania, who wasn't involved in the study.

Spencer Lucas, another researcher who wasn't involved in the study, from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, said more samples are needed to prove that these skulls all come from the same species, especially for the less-represented fossils.

"[Scanella] may be right and it is a good idea. It's forcing people to really look at the variation and the differences in anatomy in the different dinosaur fossils," Lucas said. "But he still lacks the silver bullet." A group of samples from the same "bone bed" containing individuals of all different ages would do the trick, Lucas said.

Most of these Triceratops, Torosaurus and Nedoceratops fossils do come from the same area (the Northwestern United States) and the same time frame ? one that covers only about 2-million-to-3-million years ? according to Sullivan.

"It's a really important study, I really think they are on to something, I still have a little problem accepting that Torosaurusis separate, but that's my own point of view," Sullivan said. "I'm more inclined to agree with them that Torosaurus is probably an old-age Triceratops. A lot of people don't want to give up a notion of a separate animal, though."

The study was published Dec. 14 in the journal PLoS ONE.

You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter @microbelover. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45676546/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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