Toddlers and Newborns | The Parent Report

Toddler and newborns. Tips for keeping jealousy at bay.

Toddlers and Newborns

Introducing a toddler to a newborn can be quite a challenge.? After all, until now your toddler may well have been the one and only and little did she think there?d be competition.? While how a toddler responds to a new baby can be as varied as toddlers themselves, there are ways you can help ease your young child into this very big life change, says Kaz Cooke author of Kid Wrangling.

?I think the best thing you can do when bringing home a new baby is to prepare your toddler as much as possible, and to give them a role. Often people will give a toddler a doll and perhaps practice and pretend that it?s their baby, so that they?ve got their baby and then Mommy?s got the new baby. And I know that it does help a lot of people once the new baby has come, for someone else, a dad or a gramma, to take the baby so that the mom has absolutely one-on-one time with that toddler so they don?t feel too left out.?

The Parent Report?s guest expert is Kaz Cooke author of Kid Wrangling.

Adapted from?The Parent Report Radio Show. Any advice or information contained herein should never be a substitute for professional and/or medical advice, diagnosis and treatment. For more information please review?Terms of Service.

Source: http://www.theparentreport.com/2013/02/toddlers-and-newborns/

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CSN's Ratto: Manti Te'o is the next Tim Tebow

The NFL Combine grinds out its 40 times every day, and the good ones make otherwise rational people effervesce. The bad ones make people tut-tut in disapproval, as though a bad 40 time is an admission of systematic embezzlement.

And then there was Manti Te?o 4.82 Monday, which promptly brought the question of his sexuality back into play.

Now that, children, is some litmus test.

It took awhile to sort out its significance, because as with everything else he will ever do, his much alleged homosexuality and bizarre fake girlfriend saga have commingled with his ability as a player, and a 4.82 40 time means he isn?t perceived to be nearly the player his admirers wish him to be.

[MAIOCCO: Whispers from Indianapolis -- Harbaugh-Ertz reunion?]

And forgive us for this, but he is becoming the next Tim Tebow, modified to take in differing circumstances. We?ll explain that momentarily.

Te?o?s slow 40 time has now made it that much easier for teams to avoid the issue entirely. And there are lots of things that ?issue? can be, as in:

??????? Asking someone outright if he?s gay, with the same artlessness Miami general manager Jeff Ireland showed when he asked Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute.
??????? Making alleged homosexuality an issue because of ?what it might do to the locker room.? The subject has actually been tested many times, just surreptitiously, and to date no team has been destroyed by it. At least not so anyone says. But old fears die hard.
??????? Avoiding a media ?circus,? as though Te?o isn?t going to bring one wherever he goes anyway. The ?circus? will follow him about because, well, because this is his turn in the barrel, and that?s the way it goes in Fame City.

Monday?s debate was how many teams wanted to know if Te?o is gay, as proffered by Pro Football Talk. The answer is probably 32, because football people want to know everything, just so they can say they had no idea about it later.

The response to that was a brief and spirited debate about where a potential employer?s rights end and a potential employee?s right to privacy begins. Most pure football fans dismissed that as irrelevant to the greater point, which is that they want to know if Te?o is gay, as well.

But the 4.82 mooted all of it. Now teams that were on the fence about him can pass and use his combine time as the shield. Teams that wanted him can find a faster linebacker and skip the hard part. And the teams that really wanted him can now reference the Tebow-In-Denver experience and say, ?What exactly are we getting here??

Then they can reference the Tebow-In-New-York experience and say, ?Well, we definitely don?t want that.?

And the truth is, nobody knows what Te?o brings, good or bad. Speed alone does not determine a linebacker?s worth, though it indubitably helps. There are other measurables, and besides, coaches love to go on and on about ?intangibles,? usually in a context of, ?I see them, you don?t, and I?m smarter than you.? Te?o may have them. Tebow surely has some.

Tebow, however, has been a barely mitigated disaster despite them. He can?t effectively play the position he wants to, he worked for a team president who actually played the position and knows the vast difference between where Tebow is and where it is, he went to the worst possible team to try and prove the first guy wrong, and now his very name makes most non-residents of Bristol, CT, cringe.

And Te?o is now in a similar situation for a completely different reason. People will take whatever playing shortcomings he may have and mix them into a concoction that subtly but perceptibly takes into account his sexuality, whatever it might be. He has said repeatedly that he is straight, and the clear answers, that it doesn?t matter and is really none of our business, are not going to be applied, ever. He grew up in a bad time twice, in which sexual preference is still too often a silent disqualifier in athletics, and in which nobody?s word is good any more because too many people have lied too many times for too many reasons for anyone to be truly trusted.

But he?ll always have that bad 40 time ? a famous time in a bad litmus test in an overblown circumstance ? just to make his life even more complicated. What Monday did merely got a few more teams off the horns of their self-made dilemmas. It did nothing whatsoever for him.

Source: http://www.csnbayarea.com/blog/ray-ratto/manti-teo-next-tim-tebow

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VF Corp Appoints New VP, Controller & Chief Accounting Officer ...

By Kailee Bradstreet
Tue, Feb 26 2013 12:47 pm | Comments

Reef, Vans, The North Face, and Timberland parent company has named Scott Roe as its new Vice President ? Controller & Chief Accounting Officer.

PRESS RELEASE: GREENSBORO, N.C.?(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 26, 2013? VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC), a leader in branded lifestyle apparel and footwear, today announced that Scott A. Roe has been named as the company?s Vice President ? Controller and Chief Accounting Officer and a member of its Operating Committee. As announced on May 29, 2012, Bradley A. Batten, who previously held the role, is retiring after 10 years of service with VF

?Scott has played an important role in the evolution of our finance team; most recently in providing financial oversight of our international business during a period of exceptional growth,? said Bob Shearer, VF Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. ?His experience will serve our shareholders well as he assumes this important leadership position at VF.?

In 2012, Roe was promoted to VF?s Vice President ? Finance and began working closely with Batten on transition plans. During this period, he also assumed responsibility for financial oversight of the Jeanswear Americas and Imagewear coalitions. From 2006 to 2012, Roe served as VF?s Vice President ? Finance and Chief Financial Officer of the company?s international business. Prior to that, he held a series of financial leadership roles within the company?s Intimates coalition. Roe joined VF in 1996 after serving as a senior auditor for Ernst & Young.

About VF

VF Corporation is a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel and footwear with more than 30 brands. The company?s largest five brands are The North Face?, Wrangler?, Timberland?, Vans?, and Lee?. Other brands include 7 For All Mankind?, Bulwark?, Eagle Creek?, Eastpak?, Ella Moss?, JanSport?, Kipling?, lucy?, Majestic?, Napapijri?, Nautica?, Red Kap?, Reef?, Riders?, Splendid? and Smartwool?. For more information, visit www.vfc.com.

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TAGS: bob shearer, reef, scott roe, the north face, timberland, vans, vf corp

Source: http://business.transworld.net/123294/news/vf-corp-appoints-new-vp-controller-chief-accounting-officer/

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Nintendo Wii Mini arriving in the UK on March 22nd

When Nintendo's Wii Mini landed in Canada, as far as we were concerned, the land of Due South was welcome to it. After all, the company had robbed the budget model of its internet connectivity, backwards compatibility and its, you know, charm. Unfortunately, Nintendo now feels that the UK deserves its own opportunity to be underwhelmed by the hardware, and so will launch the system in Blighty on March 22nd. Naturally, there's no word yet on pricing, but we'd get even tetchier if Nintendo tried to price it over, say, £70.

Filed under: Gaming, Nintendo

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Source: Games Industry

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/R9jxXb8Coy4/

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Bobby Brown: Prison Bound for Third DUI Arrest

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/bobby-brown-prison-bound-for-third-dui-arrest/

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And You Thought Hot Chocolate Couldn't Taste Any Better ...

February 25, 2013 by Caroline Sober

So, I?m sitting at my desk right now. It?s cold outside. We?re in the late February doldrums of winter here in Wisconsin. As I look out the window at the snow blanketing the prairie around our office building and the blah gray sky, a cup of hot chocolate sounds pretty darn good. Late winter seems to bring out that particular craving for me. Maybe for you, too? I can just imagine how it?d taste: warm, frothy, velvety, creamy, rich,?chocolaty, delicious. Can you taste it, too? Mmmm, hot chocolate. Hot chocolate is a good, good thing. This is not news. We know this.

But did you know the color of the cup you select from which to drink your hot chocolate directly affects how good it tastes? Yeah, me neither. But apparently it does.

Researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the University of Oxford have found that hot chocolate actually tastes better when served in an orange or cream-colored cup, versus a red or white cup. It?s the latest study to add to existing research that has shown that we perceive and experience food differently depending on the container from which it?s served. Their study included 57 participants, asked to evaluate samples of hot chocolate as served from four differently colored, but otherwise identical, plastic cups. The colors sampled were white, cream, red and orange. All the cups were white on the inside. After tasting each drink, the participants were asked to give it a score between 1 and 10 for different qualities such as enjoyment, sweetness, flavor and chocolate aroma.

Though the sample size was fairly small, the results were crystal clear: all the participants thought the hot chocolate in the orange and cream-colored cups was better than the others, even though it was the exact same beverage. Some even went so far as to label the hot chocolate served from the cream-colored cups as ?sweeter? and ?more aromatic? than any of the others. The white plastic cups scored the worst. Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, one of the study?s authors, concludes that ?The color of the container where food and drink are served can enhance some attributes like taste and aroma,? information that is doubtless of some significant interest to anyone involved in selling food, or hosting a very well-received dinner party.

This team?s research adds to existing evidence that the taste of food and drink is at least somewhat dependent upon the visual characteristics of its container, although the reason why is not yet known. Other studies exploring this effect, and cited by the researchers of this study, have had similar findings:

• Using a yellow container increases lemony flavor
• Using blue or other ?cold? colors for packaging increases the ?thirst-quenching? characteristics of a cold beverage
• Liquid served from pink containers tastes sweeter
• The flavor of strawberry mousse is sweeter and more intense when served on a white plate rather than a black plate
• Coffee served in brown packaging is stronger and more aromatic; coffee served in red packaging is less strong; coffee served in yellow or blue packaging is ?smoother?

The ramifications for food packaging and presentation seem fairly significant. I would imagine this research already has the attention of the food packaging industry, and perhaps a few savvy restaurant owners. Piqueras-Fiszman says, ??it is a case of experimenting to understand how the container itself affects the perceptions that the consumers have on the product.?

And now, you?ll please excuse me while I go shopping for a nice big orange cup. It still just looks so cold outside, and I have a feeling I?m going to succumb to that hot chocolate craving sooner rather than later. I might as well make it as delicious and memorable an experience as possible.

References

1. Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, Charles Spence.?The Influence of the Color of the Cup on Consumers? Perception of a Hot Beverage.?Journal of Sensory Studies, 2012; 27 (5): 324 DOI:?10.1111/j.1745-459X.2012.00397.x
   

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Tigers' 2013 Football Schedule Announced | WSPA

By: Clemson Athletics | WSPA-TV
Published: February 25, 2013 Updated: February 25, 2013 - 3:27 PM

CLEMSON, SC --

Clemson?s 2013 football schedule includes three games against teams that finished the 2012 season in the top 10 in the nation.? The schedule? was released by the Atlantic Coast Conference on Monday.

Two of the three games against top 10 teams from 2012 will be non-conference opponents Georgia and South Carolina.? Clemson and Nevada are the only schools in the nation to play two non-conference games against teams that finished the 2012 season in the top 10.

Clemson will open the season with Georgia at home and close the season at South Carolina.? The Tigers also face a 2012 top 10 Florida State team at Clemson on October 19.

Clemson will have a pair of Thursday night games that will be televised nationally by ESPN, September 19 at NC State and November 14 vs. Georgia Tech at Clemson. It will be Clemson?s first home Thursday night game since October 25, 2002 when Clemson played NC State, and just the third in history.

It will be just the second year that Clemson has played a pair of Thursday night games. The 2002 season was the only other year it has happened. With the two Thursday night games and a 14-week time span for the regular season due to the nature of the calendar, Clemson will not play on four Saturday?s once the season begins. ?Clemson will not play on September 14, September 21, November 9 and November 16.

?Having a Thursday night, nationally televised home football game on ESPN will be a tremendous positive for the university,? said Athletic Director Dan Radakovich. ??As the only football game on television that night, we will have an opportunity to showcase our football and athletics program as well as our university community. ??

?All of us within the Department of Athletics understand the complexities of playing host to a Thursday night game and the challenges it presents for many on campus, including professors with afternoon classes. ?We will work with President Jim Barker, university administrators and the appointed team to make the event a wonderful example of what Clemson University can do.?

Clemson opens the season at home against Georgia, the first meeting between the two long time rivals since 2003. Georgia finished the 2012 season ranked fourth by USA Today while Clemson was ranked ninth.?

The programs had legendary games during the 1977-87 era when both were consistent top 15 teams. The two teams were 5-5-1 against each other during that era and the average victory margin was just 4.7 points per game.? Nine of the 11 games were decided by a touchdown or less.

Georgia won the National Championship in 1980 and a 20-16 win over Clemson was a big victory for the Bulldogs. Clemson then won the National Championship in 1981 and a 13-3 win over the fourth-ranked Bulldogs was one of the most important wins in the Tigers drive to the title.

After a game on September 7 against South Carolina State, the Tigers will have 12 days to prepare for their first ACC game, a September 19 contest at NC State. The two teams played the second highest scoring game in Clemson history in terms of combined points in a 62-48 Tigers win last year. Clemson has won eight ?of the last nine against the Wolfpack, but NC State won the last meeting in Raleigh in 2011.

Clemson returns home for a September 28 game against Wake Forest. Clemson has defeated the Demon Deacons at Clemson six consecutive games dating to 1998.

The first game in October will be at Syracuse in what will be the first ACC game for the Orangemen. ?Syracuse will play in the ACC this year for the first time after competing in football? in the Big East every year since 1991.

It will be the second meeting on the gridiron between Clemson and Syracuse. The teams first met in the January 1, 1996 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, FL. The game will be played in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. Clemson has won each of its last two games in domed stadiums, wins over Auburn and LSU last year at the Georgia Dome.

Clemson returns for consecutive home games October 12 and19 against Boston College and Florida State, respectively. ?Clemson has won four of the last five against Boston College, including each of the last two when the Tigers have scored at least 36 points in each game.

The winner of the Clemson vs. Florida State game has gone on to win the Atlantic Division of the ACC each of the last four years. In fact, the winner of the regular season meeting has gone on to win the ACC Championship each of the last two years. The Tigers have won five in a row over the Seminoles at Death Valley. ??Both teams finished in the top 10 of the final USA Today poll last year and should both be ranked in the top 10 of the 2013 preseason poll.

Clemson will play road games on consecutive Saturdays for the only time all year when the Tigers play at Maryland on October 26 and at Virginia on November 2. ?The trip to Maryland will be the last ACC game between the Terps and Tigers as Maryland will be in the Big Ten in 2014. Clemson and Virginia will play for the first time since 2009 when the Tigers won at Death Valley.??The trip to Virginia will be the last out of state ?game of the year.

After an open date on November 9, Clemson will play host to Georgia Tech on Thursday night, November 14. It will be the second consecutive year Georgia Tech comes to Clemson, the first time a team has played two years in a row at Clemson since the 1993-94 era when four league schools played at Clemson back to back seasons. Georgia Tech played at Clemson on a Thursday night in 1998 and came away with a close victory.

Clemson will face The Citadel at home on November 23,? giving the Tigers consecutive games against option offenses,? then finish the regular season atSouth Carolina on November 30. This will be the first time Clemson has played a non-conference game the week before meeting the Gamecocks since 1979 when Clemson played Notre Dame in South Bend the week before playing?at South Carolina.

?It is always exciting to get the schedule and plan out the season,? said Clemson Head Football Coach Dabo Swinney.? ?It will be a challenging schedule from top to bottom with three teams that finished in the top 10 last year and those teams should be top 10 teams again this year. ?It will be a challenging ACC season as well. Thursday night games bring great exposure to your program and I am glad we do not have a quick turnaround (four days to prepare) in either situation.?

Special game day designations such as Homecoming, Parents Day and Military Appreciation Day will be announced at a later date.

Clemson 2013 Football Schedule
Aug. ???31 ???????GEORGIA
Sept. ??7 ?????????SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
Sept. ??14 ???????OPEN
Sept. ???19 ??????#at NC State
Sept. ???28 ??????WAKE FOREST
Oct. ???5 ?????????at Syracuse
Oct. ???12 ???????BOSTON COLLEGE
Oct. ???19 ???????FLORIDA STATE
Oct. ???26 ???????at Maryland
Nov. ??2 ?????????at Virginia
Nov. ???9 ????????OPEN
Nov. ??14 ???????#GEORGIA TECH
Nov. ???23 ??????CITADEL
Nov. ??30 ???????at South Carolina
# Games played on Thursday evening televised on ESPN.

Source: http://www2.wspa.com/sports/2013/feb/25/tigers-2013-football-schedule-announced-ar-5677626/

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Top U.S. diplomat kicks off nine-nation "listening tour" (Reuters)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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Today on New Scientist: 25 February 2013

First fruits of a groundbreaking art-science tie-up

A pioneering collaboration between two of London's most prestigious cultural institutions shows that sci-art has come of age

The great illusion of the self

Your mind's greatest trick is convincing you of your own reality. Discover the elaborate illusions involved and what they mean in our special feature

Stunning seeds: a biological meteor wreathed in flames

Some seeds have a look that evokes all-consuming fire, says an artist who captures their portraits with a flatbed scanner

Armband adds a twitch to gesture control

The Myo band turns electrical activity in the muscles of a user's forearm into gestures for controlling computers and other devices

Treat malware as biology to know it better

Treating computer viruses as a biological puzzle could help computer scientists get a better handle on the wide world of malware

Take my taxi to the moon

Susmita Mohanty, the founder of India's first private space company, Earth2Orbit, wants India to claim bigger piece of the space-launch pie

How electrodes in the brain block obsessive behaviour

Why deep brain stimulation can help people with OCD was a mystery, but now it seems the treatment fixes brain signalling well beyond the stimulated area

Ancient continent hides beneath Indian Ocean

The sands on Mauritius's beaches are older than the island itself, suggesting a hidden continent is the source

New blood test finds elusive fetal gene problem

Take parents' DNA and make a computer model of their fetus's genome - comparison with the real thing will show up problems that other tests miss

Amazon to open market in second-hand MP3s and e-books

A new market for second-hand digital downloads could let us hold virtual yard sales of our ever-growing piles of intangible possessions

People in a vegetative state may feel pain

Scans have revealed activity in areas of the brain responsible for the emotional aspects of pain in people thought to have no subjective awareness

Sewage solutions: Six alternative toilet technologies

Two-and-a-half billion people don't have access to sanitary toilets, but standard designs aren't an option without a sewer network. See some alternatives here

Rusty rocks reveal ancient origin of photosynthesis

Iron oxide in the world's oldest sedimentary rocks suggest photosynthesis evolved 370 million years earlier than we thought, not long after life began

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This Neat Lego Automaton Can Draw Portraits

This is Legonardo, an automaton capable of drawing portraits. Obviously, it doesn't have the complex clockwork used by automatons of old, like its Swiss counterpart made by Pierre Jacquet-Droz and Henri Maillardet in the 18th century. But it's pretty neat anyway. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/1hi9GoBnPa8/this-neat-lego-automaton-can-draw-portraits

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A Juicy Hands-On With The Facebook Omni-Gift Card

"Uh Facebook Gift Card?", the Jamba Juice cashier said with a twang. "I don't even know what that is." But that didn't stop her from ringing up my purchase with Facebook's big move into brick-and-mortar commerce. Facebook announced the card last month, and today I was one of the first to try it out. Here's how it felt to swipe Facebook's hopeful disruptor of the $100 billion US gift card market.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/OuiHfUM7_Rs/

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Iran Drone Capture Denied By Revolutionary Guard

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard is denying that it captured a foreign unmanned aircraft during a military exercise in southern Iran.

A spokesman for the Guard, Yasin Hasanali, told The Associated Press that the drone was actually being used during the drill as a supposed enemy aircraft.

Iranian media on Saturday quoted a spokesman for the Guard as saying that its electronic warfare unit had taken control of a foreign drone's navigation system and forced it to land during the site of the military exercise.

Iran has claimed to have captured several U.S. drones, including an advanced RQ-170 Sentinel CIA spy drone in December 2011 and at least three ScanEagle aircraft.

The Guard's military exercise, code-named Great Prophet-8, ends on Monday.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/24/iran-drone-capture-denied_n_2753230.html

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2013 NFL Combine: Ryan Swope Sees Reunion with Tannehill as "Pretty Cool"

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2013 NFL Combine: Ryan Swope Sees Reunion with Tannehill as "Pretty Cool" ?
Posted:

With the NFL Scouting Combine underway, news, rumors, and speculation will continually flow out of Indianapolis as results filter in, scouts or general managers talk with certain players, or soon-to-be free agents' representatives f... [?Read Full Article...?]

Posted at: The Phinsider

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Source: http://www.phins.com/new-load.php?id=66307

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Who will be the next ?Mr. WrestleMania??

The Road to WrestleMania is in high gear, and whenever The Show of Shows is at the forefront, so is the name of one WWE Hall of Famer: Shawn Michaels.

It?s been three years since Michaels? legendary career-ending duel against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. In that time, The Grandest Stage of Them All has only grown larger, and the excitement and spectacle surrounding it more fervent. Yet with HBK no longer an active competitor and WrestleMania 29 just around the corner, WWE.com pondered a simple ? and perhaps, misguided ? question: Can there ever be another ?Mr. WrestleMania??

And if so, who would it be? (No, we?re not counting Michael Cole?s one-time claim in 2011.)

Before jumping into the hot-button topic of trying to anoint a current Superstar the next??Mr. WrestleMania,? we first had to figure out what it was, exactly, that made HBK the man on The Grandest Stage of Them All in the first place. For the more than dozen Superstars and WWE personalities we asked, this question was a no brainer. In some cases, the query garnered just short of a chuckle.

?That?s not even a question,? WWE newcomer Bo Dallas said.

?I don?t even know where to begin,? Michaels? former D-Generation X cohort Billy Gunn answered, before rattling off a litany of reasons.

?He?s The Showstopper, man,? R-Truth croaked. ?That?s qualification enough right there.?

No matter which Superstar we asked, the sentiment was the same. HBK might not have always won at The Show of Shows (his record was a pedestrian 6-11) and he wasn?t always in the main event (he competed last in five of his 17 WrestleManias), but he could always be counted on to deliver one of the evening?s most memorable performances, if not the most memorable.

?It?s pretty simple,? Cody Rhodes replied. ?Shawn Michaels was always potentially in a major match at WrestleMania, but that?s not what it is. It?s the fact that after his match, very few people could follow it.?

(VOTE:?Which Superstar is best positioned to become the next "Mr. WrestleMania"?)

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Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/29/who-will-be-next-mr-wrestlemania

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Petition to legalize phone unlocking reaches goal

Devin Coldewey , NBC News ? ? ? 9 hrs.

A Whitehouse.gov petition to rescind the recent decision making personal unlocking of cell phones illegal has reached the 100,000 signatures necessary for an official response from the administration.

Unlocking is the process of removing carrier restrictions on a device; For instance, a phone bought at Verizon might only work on its network, even if its hardware is compatible with AT&T's network. By unlocking it, a user could take their phone to another network and avoid having to buy a new one.

Various carriers took different approaches to unlocking phones, some offering unlocked phones out of the box, some making the process a chore. But if you wanted to do it, you generally could.

That is, until October of 2012 brought a decision from the Librarian of Congress that, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), unlocking your own phone was technically illegal, and could only be done with carrier permission. A 90-day grace period allowed one last chance to unlock, but ended on Jan. 26, at which point it became forbidden by law.

The decision was criticized widely by groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation for removing consumer options for no good reason. Owners of phones, they argued, should be able to do whatever they like with them ? from installing custom software to unlocking the device for new carriers.

Shortly before unlocking became officially illegal, a petition on the Whitehouse.gov We The People site was started, asking for the decision to be rescinded, or if that wasn't possible, to pass a law allowing phone unlocking. With just two days left before its expiration, it hit the 100,000-signature mark that means the administration will issue an official response.

It's doubtful that unlocking will be made legal again in a hurry (such legislation would certainly take time), but at the very least, it is clear that many are concerned about this perceived misstep in tech governance.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/petition-legalize-phone-unlocking-reaches-goal-1C8485954

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Virtual office software developed in Coralville coming to iPad

Sococo, a company based in California with an office in Coralville, has developed virtual office software called Team Space. The application will be available on the iPad and iPhones within the next few months. (Image courtesy of Sococo)

Software designed in Coralville soon will allow employees to use a virtual office to connect with co-workers from an airport, the beach or any other location.

Sococo, which is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and has six employees in Coralville, said Thursday its Team Space product will be available on Apple iPads and iPhones in the next few months. The software has been available only on Windows and Mac operating systems.

Team Space allows subscribers to connect with other co-workers through a variety of methods, including audio, video and instant messaging, within a?customizable office floor plan. ?The online workplace keeps colleagues connected regardless of their physical location.

Joe Cook, lead platform software engineer in the Coralville office, said Sococo uses Team Space every day to operate.

?We work within our own virtual office building online, as if we were in the physical building,? Cook said.

Within the software, avatars represent employees, and a blinking light indicates when one person is talking to another. Documents and other programs can be shared, and those without the software can join conversations by phone.

Users can ring a bell to get someone?s attention, or knock on the door to the person?s virtual office. Encryption ensures private conversations in each office or conference room.

Sococo IOS and Mac developer Thaddeus Ternes talks to a co-worker based in Oregon using the company's virtual office floor application Team Space at Sococo in Coralville. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Two of the principal founding engineers of the technology, Joe Altmaier and Bob Butler, work in Coralville. Cook said Team Space initially was designed for demonstration purposes only, but has become the company?s flagship product.

Cook, who joined Sococo about six months ago, worked in a traditional office at his previous employer and was not sure how well he would transition to a virtual office.

?Moving from a physical paradigm of an office to a virtual paradigm was very jarring for me, at first,? Cook said. ?But remarkably, within days, I just kind of got past that. Now I don?t even think about it.?

Cook said the technology is useful for businesses that have offices in multiple locations or employees who work remotely. Subscribers can select an office floor plan from a catalog, or Sococo?s graphic artists will design one from scratch.

?We?re seeing a rise with more and more telecommuters around the states and abroad,? Cook said. ?I think we?re well-positioned to assist companies that want to keep those lines of communication open.?

Source: http://thegazette.com/2013/02/22/virtual-office-software-developed-in-coralville-coming-to-ipad/

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GOP senator signals support for Hagel nomination

WASHINGTON?Barring any new, damaging information, Chuck Hagel has secured the necessary votes for the Senate to confirm him to be the nation's next defense secretary. A vote ending the bitter fight over President Barack Obama's choice for his revamped second-term, national security team is expected next week.

Hagel cleared the threshold when five-term Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama said he would vote for the former GOP senator from Nebraska after joining other Republicans last week in an unprecedented filibuster of the Pentagon nominee.

"He's probably as good as we're going to get," Shelby told the Decatur (Ala.) Daily.

Although a Republican, Hagel has faced strong GOP opposition, with many of his former colleagues voting last week to stall the nomination. Republicans have questioned Hagel's support for Israel, tolerance of Iran and willingness to cut the nuclear arsenal. His opposition to the Iraq war after his initial vote for the conflict angered his onetime friend, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

GOP lawmakers demanded more time to review the nomination that a divided Armed Services Committee had approved on a party-line vote.

Shelby's support was a clear sign of weakening Republican opposition, and it prompted two letters within hours from Hagel's fiercest GOP foes. One letter went to the president calling on him to withdraw the nomination, the other to GOP senators pleading with them to stand together against Hagel.

Fifteen

Republicans senators wrote that Hagel lacks the bipartisan support and confidence to serve in the vital job of defense secretary.

"The occupant of this critical office should be someone whose candidacy is neither controversial nor divisive," wrote the senators?all opponents of Hagel. Leading the effort was Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the party's No. 2, who is up for re-election next year.

One name missing from the letter was McCain, who has called Hagel unqualified but indicated last Sunday that he wouldn't stand in the way of a Senate vote.

Separately, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, sent a letter to his GOP colleagues urging them to vote again to block the nomination when the Senate returns from its recess next week. He acknowledged the reality that if the GOP fails to block a vote, Hagel proponents have the votes to approve him on an up-or-down vote.

"Make no mistake: A vote for cloture is a vote to confirm Sen. Hagel as secretary of defense," wrote Inhofe. He said that while the Senate traditionally defers to presidents on their Cabinet choices, "our nation is at war. The Senate must insist on confirming only the most effective leaders."

The Senate Republicans' closed-door weekly meeting on Tuesday will be crucial to Inhofe's hopes of keeping the GOP in line on Hagel.

At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney rejected GOP calls for Hagel to withdraw. He complained that Republicans were putting politics ahead of national security, pointing out that the administration wants Hagel to be part of decisions on the size of the U.S. force in Afghanistan as American and coalition forces wind down combat operations.

"This waste of time is not just meaningless political posturing because we firmly believe that Sen. Hagel will be confirmed. The waste of time is of consequence," Carney told reporters.

The Senate also is holding up the nomination of John Brennan to be CIA director, with Republicans and Democrats seeking more information about the U.S. policy on the use of drones. Hagel and Brennan would join Secretary of State John Kerry in Obama's overhauled, second-term national security team.

If confirmed, Hagel, a twice-wounded Vietnam combat veteran, would succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is stepping down after four years first as CIA director and then Pentagon chief.

In a boost for Hagel's nomination, former Republican leader Bob Dole, a decorated World War II veteran, issued a statement Thursday saying, "Hagel's wisdom and courage make him uniquely qualified to be secretary of defense and lead the men and women of our armed forces. Chuck Hagel will be an exceptional leader at an important time."

Hagel is expected to get all 55 Democratic votes and the support of three Republicans?Sens. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Mike Johanns of Nebraska and Shelby. Two other Republicans?Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska?voted last week to allow the nomination to move ahead and are expected to do the same next week, giving Hagel the requisite 60 votes out of 100 necessary to end a filibuster.

An up-or-down vote on confirmation, with only a majority necessary, could occur as early as Wednesday.

The filibuster left the administration angry and troubled by the prospect of a nomination in limbo, with opposition groups redoubling their efforts to scuttle Hagel and the uncertainty of a weeklong Senate break. But the administration is more confident about Hagel's prospects after private conversations with several senators to ensure Hagel gets past the 60-vote barrier, according to an official close to the confirmation process. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss private conversations.

Hagel's nomination also has become entangled in GOP demands for more information from the Obama administration about the deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last September that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has described Hagel as "radical" and pressed for Obama to abandon the nomination. Graham sent a new letter to Hagel this week with fresh questions about Israel, after Hagel responded to a separate Graham letter on Israel last week.

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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

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Follow Donna Cassata on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DonnaCassataAP

Source: http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_22636338/gop-senator-signals-support-hagel-nomination?source=rss

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Chelmsford High sports roundup

Eleanor Almeda placed sixth on the uneven bars and qualified for the all-around at the Mass. Gymnastic Coaches Individual Competition last weekend. Michelle Jaquint placed ninth on the uneven bars.? Chelmsford is seeded fourth for the North Team Sectionals that will be held on Saturday at Hudson High School.

Boys basketball

Chelmsford needed a victory at Billerica last Friday night and it looked like they would get it throughout the first half.? But, Billerica came back in the second half to win 69-59.

The Lions led 24-14 at the end of the first period.? Russell Olive had four 3-pointers including three in a row.?? Brad Hausler and Matt Kuda were rebounding well and Chelmsford's pressing defense was bothering the Indians.? The Lions built their lead to 41-27 at the half with several players contributing to the offense.

In the third period, Billerica went on a 13-point run and then tied the game 48-48 with 1:22 left in the period.? It remained tied at 50-50 when the period ended.? Billerica outscored Chelmsford, 18-9, in the fourth period to get the victory and end the Lions' tournament hopes.? Anthony Silva finished with 13 points including three 3-pointers.? Russell Olive finished with 14 points and Jackson Gamer added with eight points.

Haverhill 62, Chelmsford 58

Haverhill visited Conrad Gym last Tuesday night as the Lions celebrated Senior Night.? In a hard-fought game that saw the Lions get within three points with five seconds to go, Haverhill won 62-58.

Chelmsford trailed 19-14 at the end of the first period.? They were plagued by turnovers.? Eric VanGelder hit two 3-pointers in a row at the start of the second period to close the gap but Haverhill's freshman Saul Phiri scored 11 of Haverhill's 14 points in the period and they took a 33-25 lead at the half.

Haverhill built their lead to 50-37 at the end of the third quarter.

Chelmsford rallied in the fourth quarter on the strength of the play of VanGelder and Jack Campsmith.? But, the Lions could not catch the Hillies as Phiri? hit two foul shots at the end to cinch the win. He finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds.

Eric VanGelder led the scoring for Chelmsford with 16 points.? Voshon Holmes had 14 points and Jack Campsmith added 10 points for Chelmsford.?

Boys hockey

It was Senior Night at The Chelmsford Forum last Saturday night and the Lions responding by outscoring Billerica, 8-3.?

Billerica scored in the first nine seconds of the first period, but that was the last time they would lead.? Danny Ferri made it 1-1 at 2:09 of the period with Drew Dawson assisting.? Derek Adamson put the Lions ahead 2-1 at 3:42 and Jack Olson got the assist.? Danny Ferri scored at 10:54 on an assist from Tommy Bishop to make it 3-1.? Patrick Couillard upped the score to 4-1 at 13:51 with Bishop assisting and the period ended that way.

Brad Albers replaced Derek Noble in the net for the second and third periods.? After Billerica made it 4-2, Jonathan Fairbanks scored to make it 5-2.? Then, with just seconds left in the second period, Michael DeDonato scored to make it 6-2 and Drew Dawson assisted.

In the third period, C.J. Emmons made it 7-2 with Andrew Knightly getting an assist and Mike DeDonato upped the score to 8-2 with assists going to Matt Calnan and Jesse Lye.? Late in the period, Billerica closed the scoring at 8-3.

?We were able to play everyone,? said Chelmsford High head coach Mike McGrath. ?I was particularly pleased to have Brad Albers see action in goal.? It was a great way to celebrate Senior Night.???

Girls basketball

The CHS girls varsity basketball team defeated Lawrence, 47-33, last Friday night to improve to 8-10 for the season and 6-1 in Division II of the MVC, good for a share of the Division II title.

Annie Donahue, who missed part of the season with an injury, continues to play a key role for Kevin Branco's squad.? She scored seven points and pulled down nine rebounds.? Amanda L'Hussier had a good night as she snagged eight rebounds and made two steals.

Chelmsford 37, Haverhill 21

Chelmsford traveled to Haverhill last Tuesday and picked up a 37-21 win and qualified for post-season tournament play.

The Lions took over in the first half as they out-scored the Hillies, 20-3.? The scoring was spread out with Trish Blumeris getting 8 points, Amanda Marsh 7 points and both Annie Donahue and Claire Markey getting six points.

Girls hockey

Chelmsford traveled to South Boston to face Boston Latin and came home with a 6-0 victory.? The win put the Lions at 7-9-2 for the season.? Julianne Sheehan led the Chelmsford scoring with three goals and an assist.? Rachel Bossi added two goals and an assist while Devon Livingston had a goal and two assists.? Siana Rosado was in goal and made 21 saves while picking up the shutout.

Boys track

Chelmsford athletes performed well at the Division I State Championship Meet at the Reggie Lewis Center last weekend.

Dan Nolan turned in a personal best time of 4:33.52 in the mile while Quinn Cooney placed fifth in 4:2713.? The 4 X 200 relay of Zach Lattimore, Joe Maniscalco, Greg Johnson and Connor Brown took seventh in 1:34.22, their best time of the season.? The 4 X 800 relay team of Dan Nolan, Kevin Murphy, Max Higson and Quinn Cooney place eighth in 8:17.37.

Girls track

Alli Wood lowered her own school record for the 600 to 1:38.11 and placed fourth at the Division I State Championship Meet at the Reggie Lewis Center last weekend.? Meg Duffy turned in a personal best in the mile with a time of 5:34.? Jennie Pisarik ran a personal best for the indoor season of 5:21.53.

Wrestling

Chelmsford took third place at the Division I North Sectional Championship held at Chelmsford High School last Saturday.? St. John's Prep was first with 249.5 points, Lawrence was second with 186.5 and the Lions were third with 175.5.?

Scott McQuade and James Clasen who won titles at 145 and 152 led the Lions.? Ben Melisi was second at 170 and Sean Sarault was second at 185.? Tyler Carmolli (113) and Jake Ahern (138) both placed third.? Finishing fourth were Griffin Murray (106) and Adam Civinskas.? Kyle McQuade (160) took fifth and Jimmy Barry was sixth.

Boys swimming

Chelmsford placed 10th with 101 points at the Division I State Championship Meet at Harvard on Sunday.?

Sophomore Andrew Majeski was the Lions' top performer.? He took second in the 500 freestyle in 4:44.95, the fifth fastest time in school history.? He was fifth in the 200 freestyle in 1:45.97, also the fifth fastest time in school history.? Senior Dan Pires was second in 1-meter diving with 526.20 points, the second highest total in school history.? Junior Chris Danielli placed in two individual events.? He was 10th in the 50 freestyle in 22.52, ninth fastest in school history and 15th in the 100 freestyle in 50.26.? Senior Ethan Eckhoff placed fifth in the 1-meter diving with 400.55 points, currently the eighth highest total in school history.? The 200 freestyle relay team of John Phinney, Andy Sheu, Daniellli and Majeski placed eighth in 1:32.71.? Sean Regan, Ben Sperry, Danielli and Majeski were 13th in the 400frestyle relay in 3:26.06.

?We had a great year,? said Chelmsford High first-year coach Craig Vitale. ?Every swimmer and diver on the team performed beyond their expectations.? Our divers were a strong point and did consistently well all year.? Sophomore Andrew Majeski lost only two individual races during the dual meets, took second in both individual events at the MVC's. and then cracked the top five times in CHS history with monster swims in the 200 and 500 freestyle at the state meet.? Junior Chris Danielli had two personal bests in the 50 and 100 freestyle and matched that with two big relay swims.? Senior Sean Regan swam a personal best in the 100 backstroke and leading off the 400 freestyle relay.? He did so while still wearing a cast from a broken hand.? We look forward to building upon this season?s success in coming years.?

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Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/chelmsford/sports/x171151416/Chelmsford-High-sports-roundup?rssfeed=true

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NCIX February Super Sale: HP Deskjet AiO Printer $30, Microsoft Arc Wireless Keyboard $20 and More!

If you're up this late browsing RedFlagDeals, chances are, you're waiting on the weekly NCIX sale. This week's February Super Sale, features close to 200 weekly surprise specials which you'll want to get in on quickly as stock is limited. We've taken a quick look at the list and have listed some of the highlights below:

The sale is live now but expires on February 27 at midnight.

Source: http://feeds.redflagdeals.com/~r/redflagdeals/latestdealsrss/~3/8U1ak9DTCNo/

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Israel/Palestine focus shifts - Fri, 22 Feb 2013 PST

The Academy Awards ceremony will make history this year with the first nomination of a feature documentary made by a Palestinian. ?5 Broken Cameras? was filmed and directed by Emad Burnat, a resident of the occupied Palestinian West Bank town of Bil?in, along with his Israeli filmmaking partner, Guy Davidi. What does a Palestinian farmer wear on the red carpet in Hollywood? We were almost prevented from knowing, as Burnat, his wife and 8-year-old son were detained at Los Angeles International Airport and threatened with deportation. Despite his formal invitation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences??

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The Academy Awards ceremony will make history this year with the first nomination of a feature documentary made by a Palestinian. ?5 Broken Cameras? was filmed and directed by Emad Burnat, a resident of the occupied Palestinian West Bank town of Bil?in, along with his Israeli filmmaking partner, Guy Davidi. What does a Palestinian farmer wear on the red carpet in Hollywood? We were almost prevented from knowing, as Burnat, his wife and 8-year-old son were detained at Los Angeles International Airport and threatened with deportation. Despite his formal invitation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as an Oscar-nominated filmmaker, it took the intervention of Oscar-winning documentarian Michael Moore, who now sits on the Academy Board of Governors, followed by Academy attorneys, for Burnat and his family to gain entry into the?country.

?5 Broken Cameras? is in competition at the Oscars with an Israeli documentary, ?The Gatekeepers,? a film that features interviews with the six surviving former directors of Israel?s Shin Bet, the country?s secret internal security service, which functions as sort of hybrid of the U.S. FBI and CIA. In the film, all six condemn the current practices of Israeli occupation and settlement?expansion.

In a remarkable case of life imitating art, as celebrities gather for the entertainment industry?s biggest gala of the year, the Israel/Palestine conflict is being played out on the streets of?Tinseltown.

Hours after regaining his freedom, Burnat issued a statement that read: ?Last night, on my way from Turkey to Los Angeles, CA, my family and I were held at US immigration for about an hour and questioned about the purpose of my visit to the United States. Immigration officials asked for proof that I was nominated for an Academy Award for the documentary ?5 Broken Cameras? and they told me that if I couldn?t prove the reason for my visit, my wife Soraya, my son Gibreel and I would be sent back to Turkey on the same?day.?

He went on: ?After 40 minutes of questions and answers, Gibreel asked me why we were still waiting in that small room. I simply told him the truth: ?Maybe we?ll have to go back.? I could see his heart?sink.?

Gibreel?s birth in 2005 was the motivation for the film. Emad Burnat got his first camera then, to record his fourth son growing up. At that time, the government of Israel began building the separation wall through Bil?in, provoking a campaign of nonviolent resistance from the Palestinian residents and their supporters. As Burnat recorded the protests, his cameras were smashed or shot, one by one, destroyed by the violent response from the Israeli army and the armed Israeli?settlers.

Dror Moreh is the Israeli director of ?The Gatekeepers.? Moreh told me: ?The settlements are the biggest obstacle to peace. If there is something that will prevent peace, it?s the settlements and the settlers. I think this is the largest and most influential and most powerful group in Israeli politics. They?re basically dictating the policy of Israel in the last years. I think that definitely for the Palestinians, the settlements are the worst enemy in their way to the homeland. When they see everywhere, in Judea and Samaria now, the settlements that are built like mushrooms after rain, they see how their country is?shrinking.?

Both ?5 Broken Cameras? and ?The Gatekeepers? are up for the Oscar against other very compelling nominees: ?How to Survive a Plague,? about the AIDS epidemic; ?The Invisible War,? about rampant, unprosecuted rape in the U.S. military; and ?Searching for Sugar Man,? about renewal for a musician long thought?dead.

Burnat finished his statement on his detention at Los Angeles International Airport: ?Although this was an unpleasant experience, this is a daily occurrence for Palestinians, every single day, throughout the West Bank. There are more than 500 Israeli checkpoints, roadblocks, and other barriers to movement across our land, and not a single one of us has been spared the experience that my family and I experienced yesterday. Ours was a very minor example of what my people face every?day.?

Regardless of which documentary wins, the 2013 Oscars mark a historic shift in the public dialogue on Israel/Palestine, a long-overdue shift to which 40 million television viewers will be?exposed.

Amy Goodman is the host of ?Democracy Now!,? a daily international TV/radio news hour. Denis Moynihan contributed research to this?column.

Source: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/feb/22/israelpalestine-focus-shifts/

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Spinning camera gives a ball's-eye view of the game

Hal Hodson, technology reporter

The drama of that final pass is about to get a whole lot closer. A video camera built into the side of an football would normally just provide a dizzying swirl of images as the ball spirals through the air, but computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, Japan, have found a way to turn that whirling world into a steady stream of video framed on the field of play.

Project leader Kris Katani got the idea after coming across a 1938 Popular Mechanics article, in which a 16-millimetre film camera was mounted inside a balsa-wood football to record a throw from the air. Katani's method gets a much better result, capturing video at 120 frames per second and turning the spinning footage into a solid stream in a couple of minutes.

To do this, the software in the ball recognises common features of the ground below in each new frame of video. Images of the sky are discounted. It then knits the individual frames together to create a smooth sequence.

In a paper describing the ball camera, due to be presented at the Augmented Human conference in Stuttgart, Germany, next month, the group writes that the end goal is to "extend the frontiers of the spectator experienceby capturing the excitement of being on the field through the ball's first-person point of view".

Katani is confident the technique could be miniaturised and streamlined to fit unobtrusively into a US National Football League football, but suspects that the NFL's strict standards will hold the technology back in the near future. "If professional hardware were to come in, you'd be able to separate the lens from the recording device," he says, allowing for the recording device to be stored securely within the ball. "The technology is there."

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Trading places with us makes robots better teammates

I am not a natural team player: I hate to have to rely on other people performing well but, equally, I am devastated if I fear I have let them down. That makes working with me a tough brief for my latest teammate, Abbie, a bright orange, industrial robot arm. Together we are going to insert three screws into a tabletop.

It seems simple but, behind-the-scenes, a profound human-machine connection could emerge. I just need to meld my mind to her software brain.

Whether humans and robots can bond as teammates used to be a theoretical concern. Factory robots tend to sit in cages, safely cordoned off from their human colleagues, so the two cannot touch, let alone collaborate. That is starting to change.

Baxter, a robot that can work safely beside humans, was launched by Rethink Robotics of Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the end of last year. Meanwhile, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology is creating safety standards for us to share workspace with robots by 2014.

To fully exploit this opportunity, Stefanos Nikolaidis, one of Abbie's programmers, and his supervisor, Julie Shah, want to teach robots to work fluidly with people and be better at anticipating their actions ? as well as winning their trust. To do this, they have turned to human psychology.

My collaboration with Abbie will be based on a psychological technique called cross-training, in which members of a team work more effectively if they swap roles in preparation for a task. The rationale is that they will converge on a shared plan ? or mental model ? to complete the task, leading to fewer errors on the day.

Will the same be true for Abbie and me? From the beginning, the chips are stacked against us ? deliberately.

There are two ways to perform our task: Abbie can either get to work as soon as I have put the first screw in the hole, or wait until I have them all in place and then screw down all three in one go. I express a preference for the first option, so Nikolaidis loads Abbie's software brain with the exact opposite preference ? to ensure the mind-meld is as hard as possible to achieve.

We rehearse in a virtual workshop and swap roles so I control a virtual Abbie wielding a screwdriver and she controls a virtual me. When she puts a screw in place I jump in to screw it down before she has moved onto the next one, even though she's programmed to expect me to wait.

When it is time to try the task for real, Nikolaidis uploads the updated version of Abbie's brain into the robotic arm and I don a black glove covered in red LEDs to make it easier for the robot to read my hand movements. We stand facing each other across a bench top drilled with three holes.

I know I have adapted as a result of the rehearsal but has Abbie? Abbie's machine-learning software analysed my behaviour as I carried out her role, which gave her a glimpse of my expectations of her. Because I performed it differently to the way she had been programmed, she should have modified her behaviour to meet my expectations. "The goal becomes not only to do the task, but in a way that is closer to the person's preferences," says Nikolaidis. We start the task Abbie's way but end up completing it in a hybrid fashion ? she starts to do things my way once I've positioned the second screw.

I am not the only human capable of bonding with a robot. Shah and Nikolaidis asked 18 volunteers to cross-train with virtual Abbie. They spent less time idle than a control group that simply rated how well she performed. Those who cross-trained also stood closer to Abbie, spent more time moving at the same time as her ? a sign of fluidity that perhaps arose from greater trust ? and reported a stronger belief that Abbie had "learned their preferences". The results will be presented on 4 March at the Human-Robot Interaction conference in Tokyo, Japan.

Disappointingly, I didn't feel an eerie connection to my robo-teammate, but perhaps that is a sign of how well the training worked. "The fact that you weren't thinking about it at that level ? or stressed out ? that's a success of cross-training too," says Shah.

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