Joos Orange Solar Charger

For frequent travelers and adventure junkies alike, the Joos Orange Solar Charger ($149 direct) is a nice, ruggedly built solar charger that supports a variety of devices. It can even charge while fully submerged in water. But with rugged construction comes significant heft, which could be a problem for travelers who prefer to pack light. If you have plans to summit Mt. Rainier and absolutely need power on the go, the Joos Orange Solar Charger could be a good choice. But if you're looking for a truly portable charging option, the Joos will likely be too big and heavy, and its maximum output isn't strong enough for larger devices.

Design and Features
The Joos Orange measures 8.58 by 5.77 by 0.79 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.5 pounds. This thing is really solid, with a hard, unyielding plastic body and a solar cell covered in automotive-grade urethane. On the back are two adjustable legs that can prop the Joos Orange up for maximum light capture. It is clear the Joos Orange was meant to withstand pretty much anything you could throw at it, with everything screwed tightly shut and the only port sealed with a rubber stopper.

There are two LED-indicator lights on the front, which correspond to solar charging activity and battery life. The minimalist design is great for durability, but difficult to decipher without the manual. For example, you have to count the LED blips to determine how much charge is left or if it is generating solar energy. Beneath the rubber stopper is a micro USB connector, which lets you connect the charger to a computer or mobile device using the included port adapters. The adapters in our package included mini USB, micro USB, a full-sized female USB, LG phone, and Apple's dock connector.

In testing, I had some problems with getting a clean connection, which were solved with a little finagling where the adapter meets the included cable. Actually charging devices worked well enough, as the Joos Orange provided a steady charge to my iPhone 4 when in direct sunlight. However, the maximum battery charging voltage is only 4.2V?not enough to power an iPad 2 or other similarly power-hungry devices.

Conclusions
There is no doubt about the durability and build quality of the Joos Orange Solar Charger. If you want a green source of energy on the go, that can also keep up with your active lifestyle, the Joos Orange could be a nice addition to your equipment inventory. However, the Orange Solar Charger's heft and inability to power larger devices really hold it back. I'd rather carry extra batteries, if possible, than lug around the 24-ounce Joos Orange. But then again, I'm not much of an outdoorsman.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/dqrckXArYeE/0,2817,2398158,00.asp

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Simon Cowell?s tears as X Factor Kerry McGregor dies: Mogul revealed his sadness on Twitter after 2006 finalist Kerry McGregor, 37, loses cancer battle

Golden-voiced contestant Kerry ? who was in a wheelchair when she made it through to the ITV1 show's final rounds in 2006 ? was just 37.

Cowell, 52, said of her death from bladder cancer: "I really admired Kerry and my thoughts now go out to all of her family and friends."

Sharon Osbourne, 59 ? Kerry's mentor on the series which Leona Lewis went on to win ? also took to Twitter. She said: "So sad about Kerry McGregor's passing. Much love and respect to her and her family."

The singer, of West Lothian, leaves partner Dean Robertson, 36, and son Joshua, seven.

Upset ... Simon Cowell's Twitter message

She was crippled in an accident at 13 but pursued her dream of singing and acting ? appearing in a Channel 4 sitcom. She had been fighting cancer since 2009.

Susan Boyle said Kerry's X Factor appearance gave her the courage to enter Britain's Got Talent. They became friends and were due to record a duet, a cover of Susan's Wings To Fly.

Shocked ... Kerry's mentor Sharon Osborne on the show and Simon Cowell

j.blackburn@the-sun.co.uk

Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/x_factor/4041998/Simon-Cowells-tears-as-X-Factor-Kerry-McGregor-dies-Mogul-revealed-his-sadness-on-Twitter-after-2006-finalist-Kerry-McGregor-37-loses-cancer-battle.html

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Lilliquist replaces Duncan as Cards pitching coach for '12

ST. LOUIS -- Derek Lilliquist will be making the calls from the St. Louis Cardinals dugout instead of receiving them next season.

The Cardinals retooled their coaching staff Friday while Dave Duncan takes an open-ended leave of absence, elevating Lilliquist from bullpen coach to pitching coach and replacing him in the pen with Dyar Miller.

General manager John Mozeliak said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press that he didn't know whether Duncan planned on returning for a 17th season. Mozeliak said reports that Duncan will retire were speculation at this point.

"Honestly, I don't know that answer," Mozeliak said. "The one thing I wanted to make clear, I did want Lilly and Dyar to know they'd be with the team. I want clarity going into 2012."

If Duncan does not return, the Cardinals will be defending their World Series title without three of their biggest figures. Tony La Russa retired as the third-winningest manager in major history the day after the World Series parade. Three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols, who anchored the No. 3 spot in the lineup for 11 seasons, agreed to a $240 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels.

The 45-year-old Lilliquist filled in as pitching coach when the 66-year-old Duncan took a leave of absence last August to be with his wife, Jeanine, following surgery to remove a brain tumor. Duncan returned to the team in time for its run to a World Series championship but the Cardinals announced Thursday he was taking another leave related to his wife's recovery.

During Lilliquist's time as the fill-in pitching coach, the Cardinals charged from 10 1/2 games back in the NL wild card standings. They clinched a playoff spot on the final day of the season, then upset the Phillies, Brewers and Rangers to take the title.

"I think he has the confidence of our pitchers and obviously has had the time to learn under Dave," Mozeliak said of Lilliquist. "He was always somebody that I believed had a bright future."

Duncan returned in time for the regular season finale at the request of La Russa, who had decided a month earlier that he would be retiring, and wanted Duncan at his side when his managing career concluded.

Duncan coached alongside La Russa for 33 seasons with the Chicago White Sox (1979-86), Oakland Athletics (1986-95) and Cardinals. He's coached several Cy Young winners, including LaMarr Hoyt, Dennis Eckersley and Chris Carpenter, and has been credited with resurrecting the careers of countless pitchers including Woody Williams and Jeff Suppan, who played major roles on Cardinals postseason runs.

Lilliquist was bullpen coach last year and had been retained in that spot under new manager Mike Matheny. The 65-year-old Miller, who pitched for seven major league seasons, has been with the organization since 1985.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cbssportsline/mlb_news/~3/pYvquYHEiyU/rss

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Daycare providers say kids are too inactive (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Potential playground hazards, a focus on classroom learning and boring play equipment have children spending too little time being physically active at daycare, according to a survey of staff members at child care centers in Ohio.

"Physical activity is essential for kids in this age group for preventing obesity and for development," said lead study author Dr. Kristen Copeland, a professor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Yet, according to the responses from the daycare staff, parents seem to value more traditional, classroom-based activities.

The researchers surveyed 49 child care providers from Cincinnati about potential barriers to kids' physical activity.

The children are "still learning how to skip, how to play with balls, how to share and take turns. But the teachers were saying they were pressured by the parents and somewhat by state early learning standards to emphasize classroom learning," Copeland told Reuters Health.

More than half of kids aged three to five years in the United States go to daycare centers, preschools or nursery schools, her team writes in the journal Pediatrics.

Although the teachers agreed that moving around is important, safety concerns were also a big barrier to kids' time spent running around and climbing.

Some of the teachers said that parents have asked for their kids to sit out of any vigorous activity to avoid getting hurt on the playground.

In cases when outdoor equipment had been updated to meet safety standards, the gear became boring and kids either tired of playing on it or they used it dangerously to make it more stimulating, the providers reported.

Daycare facilities couldn't always afford sufficiently challenging equipment, they said.

"Young children learn by moving," said Russell Pate, a professor at the University of South Carolina who was not involved in this study. "I am concerned that preschools and child care centers are placing a very heavy focus on the development of pre-academic skills."

This research "adds in a significant way to a growing body of information that indicates that the characteristics of preschools influence the physical activity levels of young children," Pate told Reuters Health.

Pate has shown in earlier work that children spend a very small portion of their time in daycare moving around vigorously.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, and the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education recommend that preschoolers should be allowed an hour and a half to two hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day.

He said there are ways to encourage kids to exercise.

Teachers can incorporate movement into classroom activities, and daycare centers can stock up on mobile equipment, such as tricycles and balls, which entice kids to move.

Copeland added that parents should make sure their children dress appropriately to play outside -- no flip flops and warm clothes.

"My advice for concerned parents would be to ask daily, 'did my child go outside today? And do they go outside daily except in the most extreme weather?'"

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/y3ZdYU Pediatrics, January 4, 2012.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120104/hl_nm/us_daycare_inactive

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Scores killed in Iraq bombings targeting Shiites (AP)

BAGHDAD ? An apparently coordinated wave of bombings targeting Shiite Muslims killed at least 78 people in Iraq on Thursday, the second large-scale assault by militants since U.S. forces pulled out last month.

The attacks, which bore the hallmarks of Sunni insurgents, come ahead of a Shiite holy day that draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from across Iraq, raising fears of a deepening of sectarian bloodshed. Rifts along the country's Sunni-Shiite faultline just a few years ago pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war.

The bombings in Baghdad and outside the southern city of Nasiriyah appeared to be the deadliest in Iraq in more than a year.

Thursday's blasts occurred at a particularly unstable time for Iraq's fledgling democracy. A broad-based unity government designed to include the country's main factions is mired in a political crisis pitting politicians from the Shiite majority now in power against the Sunni minority, which reigned supreme under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.

Some Iraqis blame that political discord for the lethal strikes.

"We hold the government responsible for these attacks. They (the politicians) are bickering over their seats and these poor people are killed in these blasts," said Baghdad resident Ali Qassim not long after the first bomb went off.

The attacks began during Baghdad's morning rush hour when explosions struck the capital's largest Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City and another district that contains a Shiite shrine, killing at least 30 people, according to police.

Several hours later, a suicide attack hit pilgrims heading to the Shiite holy city of Karbala, killing 48, police said. The explosions took place near Nasiriyah, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad.

Hospital officials confirmed the causalities. Authorities spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release figures of the dead and wounded, who numbered more than 100.

The blasts occurred in the run-up to Arbaeen, a holy day that marks the end of 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, a revered Shiite figure. During this time, Shiite pilgrims ? many on foot ? make their way across Iraq to Karbala, south of Baghdad.

Baghdad military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said the aim of the attacks is "to create turmoil among the Iraqi people." He said it was too early to say who was behind the bombings.

Coordinated attacks aimed at Shiites are a tactic frequently used by Sunni insurgents.

The last U.S. combat troops left Iraq on Dec. 18, ending a nearly nine-year war. Many Iraqis worry that a resurgence of Sunni and Shiite militancy could follow the Americans' withdrawal. In 2006, a Sunni attack on a Shiite shrine triggered a wave of sectarian violence that pushed the country to the brink of civil war.

"People have real fears that the cycle of violence might be revived in this country," said Tariq Annad, a 52-year-old government employee in Sadr City, after Thursday's bombings.

Attacks on Wednesday targeted the homes of police officers and a member of a government-allied militia. Those strikes, in the cities of Baqouba and Abu Ghraib outside Baghdad, killed four people, including two children, officials said.

Two weeks earlier, militants killed at least 69 people as a wave of bombs ripped through mostly Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad. An al-Qaida front group in Iraq claimed responsibility.

Iraq's political mess is providing further ammunition for extremists.

Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government issued an arrest warrant for the country's top Sunni politician last month. The Sunni official, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, is holed up in Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region in the north ? effectively out of reach of state security forces.

Al-Maliki's main political rival, the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, is boycotting parliament sessions and Cabinet meetings to protest what its members say are efforts by the government to consolidate power.

Gala Riani, a Middle East analyst at IHS Global Insight, said the political storm feeds into Sunni fears they could be marginalized by the Shiite-dominated government ? worries that Sunni militants are trying to exploit.

"The political crisis has set up a perfect scenario for Sunni militants to re-establish themselves," she said. "It's very sectarian in nature and gives them fuel for their fire."

While the political showdown appears far from being resolved, there are tentative signs of progress.

Al-Maliki met Thursday with the Sunni speaker of parliament, Osama al-Nujaifi, a member of al-Hashemi's Iraqiya party. In televised comments afterward, they described the talks as positive and said they will work to find a way out of the crisis.

Earlier, both men condemned Thursday's bombings.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland also denounced the "terrorist violence" in Iraq and called the attacks "desperate attempts by the same kind of folk who've been active in Iraq trying to turn back the clock."

Britain's Foreign Office minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Alistair Burt, urged Iraq's leaders to renew their efforts to break the political impasse.

Meanwhile, six Iraqiya lawmakers broke ranks with their party over the boycott by attending a parliament session. Ahmed al-Jubouri, one of the Iraqiya lawmakers who participated, said he did so to "encourage all blocs to sit together and open dialogue."

___

Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub, Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Mazin Yahya in Baghdad, and David Stringer in London contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120106/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

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Paddlefish sensors tuned to detect signals from zooplankton prey

Public release date: 5-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Catherine Meyers
cmeyers@aip.org
301-209-3088
American Institute of Physics

In 1997, scientists at the Center for Neurodynamics at the University of Missouri - St. Louis demonstrated that special sensors covering the elongated snout of paddlefish are electroreceptors that help the fish detect prey by responding to the weak voltage gradients that swimming zooplankton create in the surrounding water. Now some of the same researchers have found that the electroreceptors contain oscillators, which generate rhythmical firing of electrosensory neurons. The oscillators allow the electroreceptors to create a dynamical code to most effectively respond to electrical signals emitted naturally by zooplankton. The results are presented in a paper appearing in the AIP's journal Chaos.

To test the response of paddlefish electroreceptors to different stimuli, the researchers recorded signals from electrosensory neurons of live fish, while applying weak electric fields to the water in the form of computer-generated artificial stimuli or signals obtained previously from swimming zooplankton. The team then analyzed the power contained in different frequency ranges for the noisy input signals and the corresponding electroreceptor responses, and compared the two. In addition to finding that the paddlefish sensors best encode the signals emitted by zooplankton, the team also found that as the strength of the input signal was raised, the firing of the fish's sensory neurons transitioned from a steady beat to a noisy pattern of intermittent bursts. This bursting pattern became synchronized across different groups of electroreceptors, increasing the likelihood of the signal reaching higher-order neurons. This provides a plausible mechanism to explain how reliable information about the nearness of prey is transferred to the fish's brain, the researchers write.

###

Article: "Sensory Coding in Oscillatory Electroreceptors of Paddlefish" is published in Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science.

Authors: Alexander B. Neiman (1) and David F. Russell (2).

(1) Neuroscience Program, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ohio University (2) Neuroscience Program, Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 5-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Catherine Meyers
cmeyers@aip.org
301-209-3088
American Institute of Physics

In 1997, scientists at the Center for Neurodynamics at the University of Missouri - St. Louis demonstrated that special sensors covering the elongated snout of paddlefish are electroreceptors that help the fish detect prey by responding to the weak voltage gradients that swimming zooplankton create in the surrounding water. Now some of the same researchers have found that the electroreceptors contain oscillators, which generate rhythmical firing of electrosensory neurons. The oscillators allow the electroreceptors to create a dynamical code to most effectively respond to electrical signals emitted naturally by zooplankton. The results are presented in a paper appearing in the AIP's journal Chaos.

To test the response of paddlefish electroreceptors to different stimuli, the researchers recorded signals from electrosensory neurons of live fish, while applying weak electric fields to the water in the form of computer-generated artificial stimuli or signals obtained previously from swimming zooplankton. The team then analyzed the power contained in different frequency ranges for the noisy input signals and the corresponding electroreceptor responses, and compared the two. In addition to finding that the paddlefish sensors best encode the signals emitted by zooplankton, the team also found that as the strength of the input signal was raised, the firing of the fish's sensory neurons transitioned from a steady beat to a noisy pattern of intermittent bursts. This bursting pattern became synchronized across different groups of electroreceptors, increasing the likelihood of the signal reaching higher-order neurons. This provides a plausible mechanism to explain how reliable information about the nearness of prey is transferred to the fish's brain, the researchers write.

###

Article: "Sensory Coding in Oscillatory Electroreceptors of Paddlefish" is published in Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science.

Authors: Alexander B. Neiman (1) and David F. Russell (2).

(1) Neuroscience Program, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ohio University (2) Neuroscience Program, Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/aiop-pst010512.php

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On Wall St., it's not much, but it's two in a row (AP)

Stocks barely budged Wednesday, and investors held on to their gains from a strong opening to the year. It wasn't much, but after the lurching, up-and-down weeks of 2011, investors were grateful for the winning streak.

Strong December sales helped the stocks of automakers and specialty stores. Banks, health care companies, and utilities fell slightly. Netflix surged after its first good news in months.

But nothing else moved much. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 21.04 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 12,418.42. The Dow opened the year with a 180-point gain Tuesday, which brought it to the highest level since July.

"At least thus far in 2012 we haven't followed the path of 2011, where if it's a good day, there's a bad day right away," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical analyst with Schaeffer's Investment Research.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index and Nasdaq also had big gains Tuesday but only moved a fraction of a point a day later. The S&P inched up 0.24 to close at 1,277.30. The Nasdaq fell 0.36 to 2,648.36.

"It's healthy to see that after a big rally," said Randy Warren, chief investment officer for Warren Financial Service. "People need to sit back and think about it."

Retailing industry stocks rose 0.8 percent as a group after post-Christmas sales came in 5.3 percent better than a year ago. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. rose 1.8 percent, and Ross Stores Inc., which sells discounted clothes, rose 0.7 percent.

Big-box stores fell, though. Analysts have been concerned that some stores raised holiday sales with deep discounts that will hurt profits. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fell 1.1 percent, making it the second-biggest decliner among the Dow's 30 stocks. Target Corp. fell 2.2 percent and Kohl's Corp. fell 1.4 percent.

Automakers delivered a strong end to 2011, helped carmaker stocks. Analysts had been expecting December to be a strong sales month for cars on the theory that more confidence in the economy would unlock pent-up demand. Ford Motor Co. rose 1.5 percent and General Motors Co. rose 0.5 percent after those two companies and Chrysler reported strong increases in December and full-year sales.

Visa Inc. fell 1.8 percent and MasterCard Inc. fell 3.3 percent. Janney analysts downgraded both to "neutral" from "buy" and predicted that Americans will keep cutting their personal debt.

The biggest winner in the S&P 500 was Netflix Inc., up 11.4 percent. The company, which delivers movies and TV shows online and by mail, said customers had streamed more than 2 billion hours of video in the fourth quarter.

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes briefly popped above 2 percent, then fell to to 1.98 percent in the afternoon. Yields have been falling over the past year as investors have loaded up on low-risk investments. A rise in yields suggests that investors are more willing to take risks by parking money elsewhere in exchange for higher rewards.

The price of gold rose $12.20 to $1,612.70 per ounce. Oil rose 26 cents to $103.20.

European markets declined, and the euro fell back below $1.30, to $1.2945, within a penny of its lowest level in a year. Another increase in Italy's borrowing costs renewed worries about Europe's efforts to restore confidence in its debt-hobbled governments.

In other corporate news:

? Acme Packet Inc., which makes phone equipment, plunged 19 percent after saying its quarterly profit and revenue would be well below analyst expectations.

? Yahoo Inc. fell 3.1 percent after the company named Scott Thompson, president of eBay Inc.'s PayPal division, as CEO ? its fourth in five years. Yahoo has been without a permanent CEO since firing Carol Bartz in September. EBay fell 3.8 percent.

? Fallen photography pioneer Eastman Kodak Co. fell 18 cents to 47 cents after The Wall Street Journal, quoting people familiar with the matter, reported it is preparing a bankruptcy filing in case its efforts to sell some of its patents fail. On Tuesday, Kodak said its stock could be removed from the New York Stock Exchange if it doesn't rise above $1 in the next six months.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120104/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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