The Most Realistic Artificial Brain Has a Mind of Its Own
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by Julie Snyder
"You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I'm telling you why..."
As a child, a present from Santa may have encouraged good behavior during the holiday season.
Something or someone new's out there!
It might be time to move over Santa. Make way for the elf!
A few years ago, hardly anyone had heard about these little helpers that keep tabs on kids.
Now it seems, almost every family has an "elf."
Will you be participating in this new holiday tradition? Do you think the "Elf" replaces Santa?
Carol Aebersold was suffering empty nest syndrome. Her twin daughters suggested that they write a book based on the family's Christmas tradition, their elf, Fisbee.
Fisbee arrived every Thanksgiving. Each morning until Christmas Eve, the girls would race out of bed to see where he was hiding today.
Years later, daughter Christa realized that no other families shared that ritual. Certain that others would fall in love with the tradition, she quit her job, moved back to Georgia and helped produce the book.
In 2005, the elf and his book, "The Elf on the Shelf" made their debut. Have you wondered how Santa keeps track of all these kids? The word's out. He sends a scouting elf on a mission to see if the kids are naughty or nice.
? Give your elf a name.
? Be kind and thoughtful. No good deed goes unnoticed by the little guy.
? Head to bed; while you sleep, the elf flies off to the North Pole and reports to Santa.
? Wake up; find where he ended up and what he's been doing. Yours might hide in the freezer, in your underwear drawer or peek down from a picture frame.
? Don't touch the elf or he loses his magic.
? On Christmas Eve, say, "Good-bye. See you again next Christmas season!"
This tradition takes the "Santa is watching you" concept to a whole new -- and incredibly fun -- level. Your child sets off on a scavenger hunt every day and you have a new creative outlet.
? Where can he hide tomorrow?
? Should he be naughty or nice?
? How much mess do I feel like cleaning up?
High-flying elf: Harness your elf to a balloon and let him float around all day.
Watch your shoes: Set the little guy in shoe, holding the laces as if guiding a sleigh.
Inspire reading, writing and imagination. Leave the elf by a new book or leave it with holding a note that asks your child to finish elf's half-written story.
Just watching the treats: Dribble cookie crumbs on the elf and leave him next to the cookies, as if he ate some.
Giving back: Have your elf leave money and ask that it be used to buy a toy for toys for tots or leave a note asking your child to gather old clothing to donate.
"Elfie is an adorable little spy for Santa. Each night he flies back to the North Pole to file his report, and each morning a 'scavenger hunt' ensues to see where he's landed. Our elf gets harder to find as Christmas approaches. Last year, Grace woke us up with laughter when she found him sitting on her potty," Ellie says.
Lillie shares, "It's so much fun. This morning, he was snuggling with Jason's puppy in a "towel" watching Jason's brand new movie. Tonight Ichabod will decorate his Christmas tree with his underwear and socks. Tomorrow night, he'll bring the stuff to make homemade cookies for Jason's teachers next week."
"My younger boys love finding the elf in different places. One year, I forgot to remove him on Christmas Eve. My kids asked why he was still there. I told them that Johnny liked them so much that he wanted to see them open their presents," Carolyn admits.
Has your family adopted the 'Elf on a Shelf" tradition? What fun and crazy things will your elf do this year?
Source: http://www.pregnancy.org/article/the-elf-on-a-shelf-holiday-fun-for-your-family
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DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have been married for five years. I recently discovered that she made between 10 and 20 porn videos when she was 19. We got married when she was 27. We have four kids from two previous marriages.I am devastated. When I confronted her about it, she cried harder than I had ever seen. She said she was lost, and it's the biggest regret of her entire life.I understand how hard it can be to tell someone you have done something like this. I haven't led a perfect life either, and I have my own skeletons and things that I would never mention. But still, I can't get over this. ...
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(Reuters) - Japan's ruling Democratic Party (DPJ), unveiled its election manifesto on Tuesday, vowing to defend the nation's interests with "cool-headed" and "practical" diplomacy to contrast with the hawkish rhetoric of its main opposition rivals.
Following are key points from the DPJ's campaign platform:
FOREIGN POLICY AND SECURITY
- Promote "cool-headed" and "practical" foreign diplomacy and defense, and deepen an alliance between Japan and the United States.
- Do utmost to protect Japanese territory by expanding and strengthening guarding and surveillance carried out mainly by Japan's Coast Guard.
- Strengthen relationships with countries of the Asia-Pacific region such as China, Korea, ASEAN nations, India, Australia and Russia.
ECONOMY
- Compile a large-scale extra budget at the beginning of 2013 for seamless economic policy to beat deflation and boost the economy.
- Aim to achieve average annual nominal economic growth of about 3 percent and real growth of 2 percent by the fiscal year 2020/21 by focusing on green energy, healthcare and agriculture areas, and speeding up trade partnerships to tap growing overseas markets.
- Continue regulatory and institutional reforms in areas such as energy, healthcare and farming.
- Set up an environment where corporations including small-and-medium-sized firms can develop business by reviewing tax system, regulations and support for locating.
- Do the utmost to beat deflation in cooperation with the Bank of Japan based on the joint statement issued in October 2012. Aim to beat deflation by the fiscal year 2014/15.
- Take decisive steps against excessive yen's strength and rapid currency moves reflecting the view sharp yen rises are harmful to the economy.
- Speed up reconstruction in the areas hit by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis by strengthening the reconstruction agency, special economic zones and through subsidies.
- Allocate all the revenue from sales tax increases to financing of the social security while adopting measures to ease the burden imposed on low-income earners.
- Halve Japan's primary budget deficits by the fiscal 2015/16 and achieve primary a budget surplus by fiscal 2020/21.
SPENDING CUTS AND SAVINGS
- Introduce a law that will require ministries and government agencies to carry out annual reviews of public projects with the view of cutting wasteful spending.
- Reduce the number of parliamentary seats by cutting 75 of 480 lower house seats and 40 in the 242-member upper house during the next ordinary parliamentary session.
TRADE
- Pursue the U.S.-led free trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), in parallel with free trade among Japan, Korea and China, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
- In doing so, protect Japan's agriculture, food safety and universal health-care system based on a premise to protect national interests.
ENERGY POLICY
- Employ all the policy resources available to make it possible to put an end to nuclear power generation by the 2030s.
- Deregulate the utility sector including possibly "unbundling" regional utilities' control of power generation and transmission of electricity.
- Compile a plan within 2012 to secure safe decommissioning of nuclear reactors damaged by the natural disaster and thorough safety checks of nuclear reactors which Japan restarted after the disaster.
(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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OTTAWA ? Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos said he was surprised to hear his name mentioned at a commission of inquiry into Quebec?s construction industry Wednesday, and questioned the accuracy of the emerging evidence.
In an interview with Postmedia News, Housakos confirmed that he frequented an exclusive Montreal club to do networking, while noting that he had no business dealings with any of the representatives from the construction industry or municipal politics who are now under scrutiny by the commission over allegations of corruption and bid-rigging.
Housakos said he joined the venue, Club 357c, as a marketing consultant?in 2007 and 2008, following an invitation from Montreal-area businessman Paolo Catania.
?I just don?t see the issue (with me) at the commission,? Housakos said. ?I have never been in any shape, way or form in any business activity with these guys, directly or indirectly.?
Housakos, who gave up his membership at the prestigious club in Old Montreal before Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced his appointment to the Senate in December 2008, said he was prepared to answer questions at the commission, headed by Quebec Justice France Charbonneau.
?At the end of the day, I support the commission?s work 100-per-cent, and I just want to put on the record (that) at no such time has the commission called me or questioned me in regards to anything,? Housakos said. ?This is the first time I have gotten wind of my name at this commission and it would have been, I think, appropriate that they would take the time to inform people and question people on issues before they go forward.?
Housakos confirmed that he had crossed paths over the years with businessmen such as Catania and Joe Borsellino, as well as Bernard Trepanier, a fundraiser for municipal political party Union Montreal.
Catania and Trepanier are among a group of people facing charges in connection with an alleged bid-rigging scheme over a city of Montreal construction contract.
Housakos could not recall details of all of the meetings he had at the exclusive venue, but said he was checking his records to review what happened.
?We?re talking about events that happened five years ago, so my recollection is not as clear as it should be,? Housakos said.
But Housakos suggested some of the records presented as evidence Wednesday about his events at Club 357c were mistaken.
For example, he said a June 2007 event he hosted on behalf of the provincial Action democratique du Quebec party was not a fundraising event, as it was described at the commission, but rather a networking event to meet with the business community. He also denied evidence suggesting that Borsellino, from Garnier Construction, had attended the event.
?So that to me is false. It?s erroneous,? Housakos said. ?I don?t know if he was at the club while I was at that event, but at no such time did I ever come across Joe Borsellino in 2007 and I have no reason to believe that Mr. Borsellino would have been present at any of my meetings or events.?
Housakos, who was appointed by the government to the board of Via Rail before his Senate appointment in December 2008, also worked as an executive at a prominent engineering firm, BPR, in 2008 and was a major fundraiser for the ADQ.
He said he had met Catania several years earlier at a public event and was later invited to join the club.
?Paolo Catania was the gentleman who introduced me to the club, years back. He was an active member in the club,? Housakos said. ?We could have, on a couple of occasions, had lunch, that would be for sure. It?s possible.?
Housakos also noted that no one received any favours or preferential treatment from the federal government.
?I haven?t seen any accusations ? that?s the problem I face with this,? he said. ?I know in the House of Commons, they?re going to take liberties again, under the curtain of parliamentary immunity, and it?s unfortunate, but you can?t defend yourself against no allegations, and all I?ve seen so far are some breakfasts and lunches at a club that I was a member of with individuals who since then seem to have had some difficulty with the law, in some cases, obviously not in all of their cases. So what more can I say??
Opposition MPs asked the Harper government to explain Wednesday whether it knew what was going on in the private meetings at the club.
Harper dismissed the issue as ?hearsay,? without mentioning Housakos by name.
?I have no information of any credible allegation against this particular individual,? Harper said.
? With files from Christopher Curtis, Postmedia News
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The U.S. Department of Transportation is fining online travel company Travelzoo Inc. $50,000 for failing to properly disclose to consumers that they were selling flights operated by airlines using code-sharing arrangements.
Under code-sharing arrangements, an airline will sell tickets on flights that use its own designator code but are actually operated by a separate airline. Federal rules require airlines and ticket agents to disclose to consumers, before they book a flight, if the flight is operated under a code-sharing arrangement.
"Passengers deserve to know which airline will be operating their flight before they purchase their tickets," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.
The federal department also ordered Travelzoo to cease and desist from future violations
A representative for Travelzoo was not immediately available to comment.
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By: Investment_U
Alexander Green writes: Albert Einstein wasn?t famous as an investor. He was a genius who revolutionized theoretical physics. But if he were alive today, it?s pretty clear what he would be doing with his money. And you should be doing it, too.
Let me explain?
It?s a truism that when times are good, investors tend to forget about risk and focus on opportunity. When times are bad, investors tend to forget about opportunity and focus on risk.
This is exactly the opposite of what they should be doing, of course.
But today you have a great opportunity to both limit risk and generate superb returns in your stock portfolio with ? stifle that yawn ? stodgy, old dividend-paying stocks. These investments aren?t nearly as boring as you may think. And in the decade ahead, their returns are likely to be outstanding.
Let?s start with the basics. Dividend yields are a company?s annualized payment divided by its share price. When share prices fall ? as many have over the last month ? yields rise.
It still astonishes me that investors are willing to lend money to the U.S. Treasury for the next 10 years at less than 2%. What a terrible bet, one that virtually guarantees a negative, real (i.e. after inflation) return over the next decade.
A far better bet is a diversified portfolio of dividend-paying stocks. Understand that, over the long run, stock market performance is tied to economic growth. And ? news flash ? the growth outlook in the developed world today isn?t exactly torrid.
Understand furthermore that over the eight decades through 2010, dividends contributed 44% of the stock market?s return, according to Fidelity Investments. Sometimes it was much more. During the 1970s, for example, dividends generated 71% of returns.
Dividend stocks today represent an unusual opportunity. U.S. corporations are sitting on $2 trillion in cash, a record amount. More S&P 500 companies have initiated or raised dividends this year through August than during the same period in any of the last seven years. And there?s plenty of room for more increases. Payments are less than one third of profits, a historic low.
If you?re a growth-oriented investor, you probably don?t think much about dividends. You?re interested in doubling or tripling your money. And with a bit of patience, you can.
Analysts often talk about the lost decade, how stocks have essentially returned nothing since the market highs in the spring of 2000. But the story has been very different with dividend-paying stocks.
Over the past decade ? with dividends reinvested:
Today there are plenty of blue-chip stocks with decent (and growing) dividends attached. Consider Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), AT&T (NYSE: T), Merck (NYSE: MRK), or Verizon (NYSE: VZ).
Or, for a more-diversified approach, plunk for a few shares of PowerShares Dividend Achievers Portfolio (NYSE: PFM), the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (NYSE: VYM), or the WisdomTree Total Dividend Fund (NYSE: DTD).
Dividend stocks alone won?t generate a mouth-watering return. But dividends will rise over time ? and surprising things happen when you reinvest them. Picture a snowball rolling downhill.
Albert Einstein understood this. As he observed, money compounding ?is the most powerful force in the universe.?
Good Investing,
Alex
Source : http://www.investmentu.com/2012/November/what-albert-einstein-would-invest-in-today.html
by Alexander Green , Oxford Club Investment Director Chairman, Investment
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Disclaimer: Investment U Disclaimer: Nothing published by Investment U should be considered personalized investment advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized investment advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended by Investment U should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.
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Source: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article37737.html
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You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Continue reading The Daily Roundup for 11.24.2012
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/24/the-daily-roundup-for-11-24-2012/
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