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August 2009

Fragrance Oil

Thu, 08/27/2009 - 06:19 — admin

Fragrance Oil

All oils, with their high carbon and hydrogen content, can be traced back to organic sources or space. Mineral oils, found in porous rocks underground, are no exception, as they were originally the organic material, such as dead plankton, accumulated on the seafloor in geologically ancient times.

Oils are also produced by plants, animals and other organisms through organic processes, and these oils are remarkable in their diversity. Oil is a somewhat vague term to use chemically, and the scientific term for oils, fats, waxes, cholesterol and other oily substances found in living things and their secretions, is lipids.

Mars Orbiter Suffers Computer Glitch, Again (SPACE.com)

Wed, 08/26/2009 - 23:39 — admin

NASA's
powerful Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter entered a protective slumber Wednesday -
the fourth time this year - after inexplicably rebooting its main computer yet
again.

The anomaly
popped up early Wednesday as the 4-year-old
orbiter circled Mars, marking the third spontaneous computer
reboot for the spacecraft this year. In a fourth glitch, which occurred earlier this month, the orbiter switched to its backup
computer unexpectedly.

"We
hope to gain a better understanding of what is triggering these events and then
have the spacecraft safely resume its study
of Mars by next week," said Jim Erickson, the spacecraft's project
manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., in a statement.

Currently,
the $720 million spacecraft is in a protective safe mode awaiting instructions
from Earth and is in communications with its mission control team, NASA
officials said.

JPL
engineers are working to diagnose the ailing orbiter's problem before making
any attempt to resuscitate its six science instruments. The work is expected to
take several days.  

The Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter unexpectedly rebooted
its main computer in February and June in glitches that engineers initially
believed were caused by hits from stray solar particles or cosmic rays. Earlier
this month, the spacecraft swapped to its Side B computer, a backup, also for
reasons that remain unknown.

In each
case, engineers revived the spacecraft after a few days.

NASA
launched the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter toward the red planet in 2005. It is the most powerful
orbiter ever sent to Mars and has beamed home more data and images than all
other missions to the red planet combined.

The orbiter
completed its primary mission in late 2008 and is currently in the middle of an
extended mission that runs through mid-2010.

Video
- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
SPACE.com
Video Show - Rover Tracks on Mars
Get to Know
MRO: 10 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Facts
 

Original Story: Mars Orbiter Suffers Computer Glitch, AgainSPACE.com offers rich and compelling content about space science, travel and exploration as well as astronomy, technology, business news and more. The site boasts a variety of popular features including our space image of the day and other space pictures,space videos, Top 10s, Trivia, podcasts and Amazing Images submitted by our users. Join our community, sign up for our free newsletters and register for our RSS Feeds today!

Celebrity birthdays for Aug. 30-Sept. 5 (AP)

Wed, 08/26/2009 - 21:12 — admin

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Aug. 30-Sept. 5:
Aug. 30: Country singer Kitty Wells is 90. Actor Bill Daily ("I Dream of Jeannie," "The Bob Newhart Show") is 82. Actress Elizabeth Ashley is 70. Actor-turned-politician Ben Jones ("The Dukes of Hazzard") is 68. Actress Peggy Lipton ("The Mod Squad") is 62. Comedian Lewis Black ("The Daily Show") is 61. Actor Michael Chiklis ("The Fantastic Four," "The Shield") is 46. Actress Michael Michele ("ER," "Homicide: Life On The Street") is 43. Country singer Sherrie Austin is 38. Guitarist Lars Frederiksen of Rancid is 38. Actress Cameron Diaz is 37. TV personality Lisa Ling ("The View") is 36. Singer-guitarist Aaron Barrett of Reel Big Fish is 35. Singer Rich Cronin of LF0 is 34. Guitarist Ryan Ross (Panic At The Disco) is 23.
Aug. 31: Actor Warren Berlinger ("Operation Petticoat," "The Joey Bishop Show") is 72. Drummer Jerry Allison of Buddy Holly and the Crickets is 70. Singer Van Morrison is 64. Guitarist Rudolf Schenker of Scorpions is 61. Actor Richard Gere is 60. Singer Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze is 52. Drummer Gina Schock of The Go-Go's is 52. Singer Tony DeFranco of The DeFranco Family is 50. Keyboardist Larry Waddell of Mint Condition is 46. Guitarist Jeff Russo of Tonic is 40. Singer Deborah Gibson is 39. Bassist Greg Richling of The Wallflowers is 39. Actor Zack Ward ("A Christmas Story," "Titus") is 39. Actor Chris Tucker ("Rush Hour") is 37. Actress Sara Ramirez ("Grey's Anatomy") is 34. Singer Tamara of Trina and Tamara is 32.
Sept. 1: Comedian-actress Lily Tomlin is 70. Actor Don Stroud is 66. Singer Archie Bell of Archie Bell and the Drells is 65. Singer Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees is 63. Drummer Greg Errico of Sly and the Family Stone is 61. Talk show host Dr. Phil is 59. Singer Gloria Estefan is 52. Jazz saxophonist Boney James is 48. Singer-guitarist Grant Lee Phillips ("Gilmore Girls") is 46. Country singer-songwriter Charlie Robison is 45. DJ Spigg Nice of Lost Boyz is 39. Actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira ("Desperate Housewives") is 38. Actor Scott Speedman ("Felicity") is 34. Guitarist Joe Trohman of Fall Out Boy is 25.
Sept. 2: Actor Meinhardt Raabe (Munchkin coroner in "The Wizard of Oz") is 94. Dancer-actress Marge Champion is 90. Jazz pianist Horace Silver is 81. Singer Sam Gooden of The Impressions is 70. Singer Jimmy Clanton is 69. Singer-turned-minister Joe Simon is 66. Singer Rosalind Ashford of Martha and the Vandellas is 66. Sportscaster Terry Bradshaw is 61. Actor Mark Harmon is 58. Actress Linda Purl is 54. Drummer Jerry Augustyniak of 10,000 Maniacs is 51. Drummer Paul Deakin of The Mavericks is 50. Actor Keanu Reeves is 45. Actress Salma Hayek is 43. Actress Cynthia Watros ("Lost," "Titus") is 41. Singer K-Ci of K-Ci and JoJo is 40. Actor Katt Williams ("Norbit") is 36. Bassist Sam Rivers of Limp Bizkit is 32. Drummer Spencer Smith of Panic at the Disco is 22.
Sept. 3: Actress Helen Wagner ("As The World Turns") is 91. "Beetle Bailey" creator Mort Walker is 86. Actress Anne Jackson is 83. Actress Eileen Brennan is 77. Country singer Tompall Glaser is 76. Actress Pauline Collins is 69. Singer-guitarist Al Jardine (Beach Boys) is 67. Actress Valerie Perrine is 66. Drummer Donald Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad is 61. Guitarist Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols is 54. Actor Steve Schirripa ("The Sopranos") is 52. Guitarist Todd Lewis of The Toadies is 44. Actor Charlie Sheen is 44. Singer Jennifer Paige is 36. Actor Nick Wechsler ("Roswell") is 31.
Sept. 4: Actress Mitzi Gaynor is 78. Singer Merald "Bubba" Knight of Gladys Knight and the Pips is 67. Actress Jennifer Salt ("Soap") is 65. Bassist Ronald LaPread (The Commodores) is 59. Actress Judith Ivey is 58. Drummer Martin Chambers of The Pretenders is 58. Actress Khandi Alexander ("ER," "NewsRadio") is 52. Actor-comedian Damon Wayans is 49. Guitarist Kim Thayil (Soundgarden) is 49. Actress Ione Skye is 39. Singer Richard Wingo of Jagged Edge is 34. Actor Wes Bentley ("American Beauty") is 31. Singer Dan Miller of O-Town is 29. Singer Beyonce Knowles (Destiny's Child) is 28. Actor Trevor Gagnon ("The New Adventures of Old Christine") is 14.
Sept. 5: Comedian-actor Bob Newhart is 80. Actor George Lazenby is 70. Actor William Devane is 70. Actress Raquel Welch is 69. Singer Al Stewart is 64. Singer Loudon Wainwright III is 63. Cartoonist Cathy Guisewite ("Cathy") is 59. Actor Michael Keaton is 58. Drummer Jamie Oldaker of The Tractors is 58. Actress Debbie Turner-Larson (Marta from "The Sound of Music") is 53. Singer Terry Ellis of En Vogue is 46. Drummer Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine (and of Audioslave) is 41. TV personality-musician Dweezil Zappa is 40. Actress Rose McGowan is 36. Actor Andrew Ducote ("Dave's World") is 23. Actor Skandar Keynes ("The Chronicles of Narnia") is 18.

Raiders like rookie tight end's progress (AP)

Wed, 08/26/2009 - 21:00 — admin

NAPA, Calif. – The Oakland Raiders drafted Brandon Myers to help ease the blocking workload of fellow tight end Zach Miller, but halfway through the preseason it's been the rookie's pass-catching skills that have stood out most.
Myers, a sixth-round selection and the last player the Raiders grabbed in this year's NFL draft, has been one of the team's biggest surprises of training camp. He leads the team in receptions (six), receiving yardage (104) and scored his first touchdown in last week's 21-20 loss to San Francisco.
His catches and yardage are more than Miller and projected starting wide receivers Javon Walker and Darrius Heyward-Bey have combined this preseason, though to be fair he's played more than the others with the exception of Heyward-Bey, the Raiders' first-round draft pick.
"For us, we needed to get a third tight end who could take some of the stuff off of Zach, and I think Brandon has allowed us to do that," Oakland coach Tom Cable said. "Where he's showing up is catching the football more and more. There was kind of an unknown expectation in regards to that. He certainly has proven that he can do those things, and that's just who he is."
Myers is leaving nothing to chance.
He caught three more passes in practice Wednesday then had to hustle to dinner after spending nearly 90 minutes in the trainer's room getting an IV after cramping up at the end of the workout. Following a quick meal, the rookie from Iowa was off to a round of meetings.
His recent performances in practice and in the preseason have made Myers a topic of discussion in Oakland, but the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder shrugs off the hype.
"I guess that was just what people pegged me as, the blocker," Myers said. "I caught passes in college so it's not like this is the first time I ever caught balls. I've tried to be more consistent and that's helped me out a lot."
Myers put up modest numbers in college — 56 receptions, 665 yards and nine touchdowns — but was an All-Big Ten pick as a senior when he was third on Iowa in catches and helped the Hawkeyes reach the Outback Bowl.
He didn't garner much attention during the Scouting Combine and was considered by many to be a longshot in the draft.
The Raiders, however, saw a versatile, agile player who once scored five touchdowns in a high school game and helped lead his high school basketball team to a 27-0 record and the Iowa Class 2A state championship as a senior.
In four weeks of training camp, Myers has proven to be all Oakland's coaching staff envisioned and then some. That's encouraging news for Miller, who led the Raiders with 56 receptions and 778 receiving yards despite being the constant focus of opposing defensive coordinators.
If Myers continues the way he's been playing, it's likely Miller's numbers will go up in 2009.
"I feel like we both bring different aspects to the game but of course I'd like to be like him," Myers said. "He's an elite tight end in the league. I'm still just trying to get a spot on the roster so we haven't really thought about anything like that."
Notes: The Raiders released WR Samie Parker and placed CB Jason Horton on injured reserve. The team also signed cornerback Michael Hawkins and defensive lineman Joe Cohen.

Norway mayor sends letter to Britain through gas pipeline (AFP)

Wed, 08/26/2009 - 19:48 — admin

OSLO (AFP) –
A Norwegian mayor has sent a letter to a British local politician through the world's longest underwater pipeline, its operators said Wednesday.

Bernhard Riksfjord, mayor of Aukra in western Norway, dropped the letter into the 1,200-kilometre (800-mile) Langeled pipeline on August 19.

Five days later, it popped out in the town of Easington, northeast England, where it will be handed to parish council chair Stuart Haywood.

"It is not the fastest method, nor is it the cheapest but it is certainly the most 'underwater' letter ever sent," said Lisbet Kallevik, spokeswoman for Norwegian gas transport firm Gassco, which operates the pipe.

The letter was placed in a box, dropped in the pipeline and then moved using pressurised gas.

In the letter, Riksfjord wished Haywood well and invited him to visit Aukra.

It will be handed over to Haywood during an official ceremony on Thursday, said Gassco.

The event was organised to mark the first inspection of the Langeled, which started operations in October 2007.

Kennedy to have Boston funeral, Arlington burial (AP)

Wed, 08/26/2009 - 19:33 — admin

WASHINGTON – Sen. Edward M. Kennedy will lie in repose Thursday and Friday at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, followed by his funeral Saturday at a city church and burial later that day near his slain brothers at Arlington National Cemetery.
Kennedy's family plans to travel by motorcade with his body from their compound on Cape Cod, Mass., to the library in Boston on Thursday. The facility will be open to the public for certain periods on both days while Kennedy lies in repose. The Kennedys have planned a private memorial service at the library for Friday night, according to a schedule of events released by Kennedy's Senate office.
On Saturday morning, a funeral Mass for the late senator will take place at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica — commonly known as the Mission Church — in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston. The cavernous basilica on Tremont Street, built in the 1870s, was where Kennedy prayed daily while his daughter, Kara, successfully battled her own cancer.
"Over time, the Basilica took on special meaning for him as a place of hope and optimism," the family statement said.
Kennedy died late Tuesday after a yearlong struggle with brain cancer. He was 77.
A burial service at Arlington was scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
Kennedy, who served in the Senate for nearly half a century, will be laid to rest near his brothers, former President John F. Kennedy and former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, on the famous Virginia hillside that serves as the burial sites of others from the storied clan, including former first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis.
At the site of the eternal flame rest four Kennedy family members: the former president and his wife; their baby son, Patrick, who died after two days; and a stillborn child. Robert Kennedy's grave is a short distance away and somewhere near it is the most likely site for Edward Kennedy's burial.
"Senator Kennedy spent more days than most at Arlington visiting the graves of his beloved brothers and paying tribute to the fallen men and women of Massachusetts who gave their lives for our country," the statement said.
A senior defense official said the Kennedy family some time ago approached the Army to explore the possibility of burying the senator at Arlington, the nation's most celebrated burial ground of fallen military and the resting place of astronauts, Supreme Court justices and other giants in American history.
Kennedy is eligible for burial at Arlington by virtue of his service in Congress as well as his two years in the Army, 1951 to 1953. He was a private first class and served in the military police at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, then located in Paris and now in Belgium.
The family met with Arlington officials again Wednesday to finalize the plans, said a second defense official.
___
Associated Press writers Pauline Jelinek in Washington, Philip Elliott in Oak Bluffs, Mass., and Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this story.

Granite Pulls

Fri, 08/21/2009 - 02:23 — admin

Granite Pulls

A cabinet is usually a box-shaped furniture, either standing alone as a piece of furniture or built into or attached to a wall (such as a medicine cabinet) typically made of wood but now often made of synthetic materials, and used for storage of miscellaneous items.

Cabinets usually have one or more doors on the front that are mounted with door hardware and occasionally a lock; they may also contain drawers. Short cabinets often have a finished surface on top that can be used for display, or as a working surface such as the countertops found in kitchens.

Tables turned on US tax cheats (The Christian Science Monitor)

Fri, 08/21/2009 - 00:38 — admin

Wealthy tax cheats prize the privacy of the offshore bank that hides their identity – and their money. But in a landmark deal announced this week, the US and Swiss governments are using that same tool of secrecy to flush out suspected American tax dodgers. The irony towers like the Alps.
When both governments explained their agreement on Aug. 19, they withheld enough details to keep US tax evaders guessing: Am I one of the 4,450 account holders at Swiss banking giant UBS whose identities will be turned over to US authorities?
That unknown will hopefully push US tax evaders to voluntarily fess up and pay up before a Sept. 23 deadline in a general leniency program. Such self-reporting may hurt their bottom line, but it will spare them jail time and a lifetime of guilt.
At one point in this case, the US had sought the names of 52,000 UBS clients, indicating a large field of potential cheats. The IRS has spoken only broadly about the criteria for settling on the smaller number of accounts, describing them as ones where the IRS believes people haven't paid their taxes.
Meanwhile, the Swiss government has agreed to review and process American accounts at other Swiss banks that fit the pattern of the UBS suspects. Which banks might those be? The IRS cleverly didn't say, but tax cheats are now on notice that the hole blown in this bastion of international bank secrecy is going to get bigger and may very well swallow them.
Cunningly, the UBS names will not be released all at once, but rolled out over months. That will perpetuate the uncertainty for any cheaters among them. If the IRS prosecutes, the identities of well-known personalities are bound to be disclosed, embarrassing them and serving as a lesson to other cheats.
Kudos to the US government for its dogged pursuit of tax dodgers in a banking system that has heretofore been largely unassailable. And praise to the Swiss government for broadening its definition of fraud and living up to a treaty with the US that allowed this case to be resolved.
But one also has to admire the construction of this agreement and the resulting pressure it will put on tax cheaters to come clean. It uses the same principle that the IRS applies to Joe and Jane taxpayer – keeping them honest by keeping them guessing about an audit.
You never know. And that's the point.

Police: Model's body had no fingers, teeth (AP)

Thu, 08/20/2009 - 23:08 — admin

BUENA PARK, Calif. – A reality TV contestant was charged with murder Thursday in the death of his ex-wife as the manhunt for the suspect spread to Canada and police provided gruesome new details about the killing.
Police said Ryan Alexander Jenkins removed the teeth and fingers of Jasmine Fiore, presumably to impede authorities in their efforts to identify the naked body after it was found stuffed in a suitcase in a California trash bin over the weekend.
The former swimsuit model and Jenkins were briefly married after a quickie Las Vegas wedding this year, and had been fighting in recent months. Prosecutors said the two checked into a San Diego hotel Aug. 13, and Jenkins checked out the next morning. Fiore was not seen alive again.
He reported her missing Saturday night and then vanished after the body was found. Authorities suspect he drove 1,000 miles to Washington state and then hopped in a boat to a peninsula on the border, where he walked into Canadian territory. Canadian police said ground, air and canine units are involved in the search.
"At this time, although we believe he crossed the border, we're not one hundred percent sure of that," U.S. Marshal Chief Inspector Thomas Hession said. "There will be no stone unturned and we'll look under every rock for him." Buena Park police Lt. Steve Holliday said he's possibly armed with a handgun.
A car and empty boat trailer belonging to the 32-year-old Calgary, Alberta native were found at a marina in the remote northwest Washington town of Blaine.
Whatcom County Sheriff's deputies received a report Wednesday that a man matching Jenkins' description arrived by boat at Point Roberts, Wash., about 10 miles from Blaine at the tip of a peninsula. The point is reachable by land only from Canada, and Jenkins is believed to have walked across the border from there.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said police agencies across Canada are on the lookout for Jenkins.
Jenkins was a contestant on the VH1 reality TV show "Megan Wants a Millionaire."
After taping for the VH1 series finished in early March, Jenkins met 28-year-old Fiore in Las Vegas casino and the two got married on March 18, said Fiore's mother, Lisa Lepore.
But in May, the two were fighting because he was jealous of her ex-boyfriends, Lepore said. "She had the marriage annulled."
Fiore's ex-boyfriend, Robert Hasman, urged Jenkins' friends and family to help police find him.
"Ryan Jenkins is an animal, what he has done to Jasmine is unspeakable and it's just not right and I'd appreciate your help," Hasman said at a news conference.
The federal government was issuing a federal warrant which Canadian authorities can use to detain him on the murder charges, Buena Park Police Capt. Ken Coovert said.
If Jenkins is apprehended north of the border, authorities there could extradict him but only with assurances that he would not face the death penalty. Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman with the Orange County district attorney's office, said the death penalty issue hasn't been addressed yet.
Prosecutors recommended a bail of $10 million.
"Mr. Jenkins is considered dangerous, possibly armed, and has the financial means to hide anywhere in the world," said Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. "Anyone helping Mr. Jenkins hide from the police may go to prison themselves."
Court records show that Jenkins was charged in June in Clark County, Nev., with a misdemeanor count of "battery constituting domestic violence" for allegedly hitting Fiore in the arm and will be tried in December.

Jenkins also has a criminal history in his hometown of Calgary, Canada. He was sentenced to 15 months of probation in January 2007 on an unspecified assault charge, according to the Alberta, Canada Ministry of Justice. No further details were available.

Neal Tomlinson, a partner at the law firm representing Jenkins in the Nevada case, did not return an e-mail seeking comment sent after business hours Thursday. He declined to comment earlier in the week.

A preliminary coroner's report indicated Fiore was strangled.

At least one actor who appeared on "Millionaire" with Jenkins at a mansion in the Hollywood Hills was shocked by the latest developments and remembered a suave bachelor who grew in confidence as taping progressed.

Jenkins earned the nickname "Smooth Operator" because of "his cheeky cockiness. And I mean that in a friendly way," said Rob Locke, who played the host, a butler named Niles.

"We were all under the impression that he was single. Then I saw on Facebook that he got married and there were photos of him and his wife. My personal observation was, 'Wow, that was quick,'" Locke said, adding that taping ended in March.

Jenkins, variously described as an architect, real estate developer and investment banker from Calgary, appeared in at least three episodes of the series "Megan Wants a Millionaire," about a woman seeking to land a wealthy bachelor by putting suitors through their paces, such as designing a marketing campaign for her pet Chihuahua.

On the show, Jenkins was identified as an investment banker who had a couple million dollars.

A resume posted on the professional networking site LinkedIn.com says Jenkins graduated from Mount Royal College in Calgary in 1999, has a license to fly commercial airplanes and worked in investment sales and as president of a boutique development company focused on cutting-edge green technologies.

VH1 said it has postponed any future airings of the show. The statement also said that the show was an outside production licensed to VH1, but that it was produced and owned by 51 Minds Entertainment.

51 Minds said in a statement that Jenkins never would have been accepted for its show if the company had known of his past criminal history.

____

Associated Press writers Robert Gillies in Toronto, Jeremy Hainsworth in Vancouver, Robert Jablon and Raquel Maria Dillon in Los Angeles, Ken Ritter in Las Vegas, Amy Taxin in Buena Park and Doug Esser in Seattle contributed to this report.

Mens Wallets

Thu, 08/20/2009 - 22:08 — admin

The word "wallet" has been in use since the first century A.D. to refer to a bag or a knapsack for carrying articles. The word may derive from Proto-Germanic. The ancient Greek word kibisis, used to describe the sack carried by the god Hermes and the sack in which the mythical hero Perseus carried the decapitated head of the monster Medusa, has been typically translated as "wallet". Usage of the term "wallet" in its modern meaning of "billfold" in American English dates to 1834.

Billfolds were developed after the introduction of paper currency to the West in the 1600s. (The first paper currency was introduced in the New World by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1690.) Prior to the introduction of paper currency, purses (usually simple drawstring leather pouches) were used for storing coins. Early wallets were made primarily of cow or horse leather and included a small pouch for printed calling cards.

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