Google invades Siri's turf with iPhone, iPad app

This undated image made available by Google shows "Google Now." Google is trying to upstage Siri, the sometimes droll assistant that answers questions and helps people manage their lives on Apple's iPhone and iPad. The duel begins Monday, April 29, 2013, with the release of a free iPhone and iPad app that features Google Now, a technology that performs many of the same functions as Siri. (AP Photo/Google)

This undated image made available by Google shows "Google Now." Google is trying to upstage Siri, the sometimes droll assistant that answers questions and helps people manage their lives on Apple's iPhone and iPad. The duel begins Monday, April 29, 2013, with the release of a free iPhone and iPad app that features Google Now, a technology that performs many of the same functions as Siri. (AP Photo/Google)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Siri may be feeling a little job insecurity. The sometimes droll assistant that answers questions and helps people manage their lives on Apple's iPhone and iPad is facing competition from an up-and-coming rival made by Google.

The duel began Monday with the release of a free iPhone and iPad app that features Google Now, a technology that performs many of the same functions as Siri.

It's the first time that Google Now has been available on smartphones and tablet computers that aren't running on the latest version of Google's Android software. The technology, which debuted nine months ago, is being included in an upgrade to Google's search application for iOS, the Apple Inc. software that powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It's up to each user to decide whether to activate Google Now within the redesigned Google Search app, which is available through Apple's app store.

Siri tried to dismiss the competitive threat. When asked for an opinion about Google Now, Siri responded: "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather Google later."

Mike Allton, a St. Charles, Mo., resident who has owned an iPhone for four years, could hardly wait to check out Google Now, even if Siri might interpret it as a betrayal.

Siri "is looking a little green with envy," Allton, 36, said with a laugh after he installed Google's new app. "I love Apple products, but I like to see the competition because it probably will lead to even more improvements. I believe this technology is going to be even more deeply ingrained in our lives a few years from now."

Other iPhone users ? even those who have grown fond of Siri ? welcomed Google Now's arrival to iOS in mostly enthusiastic and sometimes amusing remarks posted on Twitter and Google Plus. One person joked that Google Now is so helpful that the technology prompted him to wash his hands after using the bathroom. The biggest gripe was about the possibility of Google Now's location-tracking features draining a device's battery more quickly.

Google Now's invasion of Siri's turf marks Google Inc.'s latest attempt to lure iPhone and iPad users away from a service that Apple built into its own devices.

Google quickly won over millions of iPhone users in December when it released a mapping application to replace the navigation system that Apple dumped when it redesigned iOS last fall. Apple's maps application proved to be inferior to Google's ousted service. The app's bugs and glitches made Apple the butt of jokes and fueled demand for Google to develop a new option.

Apple has been losing to Google on other fronts in a rapidly growing mobile computing market, an arena that was revolutionized with the iPhone's release in 2007. Smartphones and tablet computers running Google's free Android software have been steadily expanding their market share in recent years, partly because they tend to be less expensive than the iPhone and iPad. In 2012, Android devices held about 69 percent of the smartphone market while iOS had about 19 percent, according to the research firm IDC.

Android's success has been particularly galling for Apple because its late CEO, Steve Jobs, believed Google stole many of its ideas for the software from the iPhone. That led to a series of court battles over allegations of patent infringement, including a high-profile trial last year that culminated in Apple winning hundreds of millions in damages from Samsung Electronics, the top seller of Android phones. That dispute is still embroiled in appeals.

The rise of Android also is squeezing Apple's profit margins and has contributed to a nearly 40 percent drop in the company's stock price since it peaked at $705.07 last September around the time that the iPhone 5 came out.

Android's popularity is good news for Google because the company's services are built into most versions of the operating system. That brings more traffic to Google services, creating more opportunities for the company to sell ads ? the main source of Google's revenue.

Siri is billed by Apple as an "intelligent feature." Since the technology's release in October 2011, Apple has made it a centerpiece of some marketing campaigns that depict Siri and its automated female voice as an endearing and occasionally even pithy companion.

Google believes its Siri counterpart is smarter because Google Now is designed to learn about a user's preferences and then provide helpful information before it's even asked to do so. The technology draws upon information that Google gleans from search requests other interactions with the company's other services. Knowing a person's location also helps Google Now serve up helpful information without being asked.

"This concept of predicting your needs and showing you them at the right time is unique to Google Now," said Baris Gultekin, Google Now's director of product management. "We want computers to do the hard work so our users can focus on what matters to them so they can get on with their lives."

If the technology is working right, Google Now is supposed to do things like automatically tell people what the local weather is like when they wake up to help decide what to wear and provide a report on traffic conditions for the commute to work. During the day, Google Now might provide an update on the score of a user's favorite sports team or a stock quote of a company in a user's investment portfolio. On a Friday evening, Google Now might offer suggestions for movies to see or other weekend events tailored to a user's interests. For international travelers, Google Now might provide currency conversion rates, language translations of common phrases and the time back home.

Most of this automatic information is provided in summaries that Google calls "cards." Like Siri, Google Now also is equipped with voice technology that allows it to respond to questions and interact with users, though it hasn't shown the wit that delights some of Siri's users.

The Google Now app for iOS isn't as comprehensive as the Android app, which only works on devices running on the latest version of Android ? known as "Jelly Bean." Some of the Android features missing from Google Now's iOS app include cards for showing airline boarding passes and movie tickets bought though online vendor Fandango. Both of those options are available on the iOS through Apple's built-in Passbook feature that's designed to be a digital wallet.

Google Now's expansion on to the iOS underscores Google's ambitions for the service. The company, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., views it as a pivotal tool in its effort to peer deeper into its users' brains. In doing so, Google believes it will be able to provide more useful services and also show more relevant ads. For Google Now to become more intuitive, it needs to widen its availability.

"The more you use Google Now, we will have a better chance of understanding what your needs are and providing you with the right information," Gultekin said. "It's a virtuous cycle."

Shawn Jacob, a student at the University of North Texas, activated Google Now on his iPhone Monday and was startled by how much the service already knew about him when he logged in for the first time. "I was blown away," Jacob, 21, said. "It made me wonder if I really want Google to know this much about me. It's like Google wants to take over the world."

Gultekin declined to discuss whether there are plans to make Google Now apps for mobile devices running on Microsoft's Windows system. He also refused to comment on speculation circulating in technology blogs that a Web version of Google Now will be offered as a replacement for iGoogle, a tool that allows people to encircle the Google search engine with a variety of services suited to their tastes. IGoogle is scheduled to close in November.

___

Online:

http://www.google.com/landing/now/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-04-29-Google-Apple-Dueling%20Assistants/id-922de12ef38041d59010ae22b654a7d3

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The Military's New Flying Gas Station Will Be Open 24/7 Anywhere in the World

KC-135 Stratotanker planes have been refueling fighter craft in-flight for more than 60 years. While such longevity is commendable, the US military?s fleet of mid-air refuellers is in desperate need of an update. And that?s where this new flying gas station comes in.

The Boeing KC-46A is a derivative of the Boeing 767-200 built at Boeing?s Everett, WA facility and converted to military use at another Boeing facility in Puget Sound. The KC-46 program has been a long time coming. Congress and the military have wrangled over funding for the project for more than a decade, finally agreeing to an initial investment of $3.5 billion in 2011 for Boeing?s design. The aerospace company has until 2017 to deliver the first 18 tankers with the remaining 161 due in 2028. In all, explains Maj. Gen. John Thompson, program executive officer and program director for the KC-46, the deal is "worth about $32 billion in then-year dollars, goes from about two years ago out into the 2020s and is something that they will be able to leverage into a very important weapon system for the United States Air Force for decades to come. Absolutely, it is a win-win."

The KC-46A will offer greatly-improved performance and capabilities than its sexagenarian predecessor. The new plane measures 165 feet in length with a 157 foot wingspan. It?s powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney PW4062 turbofan engines, each providing 63,300 lbf of thrust to get the plane?and the 212,299 pounds of fuel it carries?off the ground and keep it aloft for a range of more than 6,000 nautical miles.

The plane?s crew of three (two pilots and a boom operator) operate within a large glass cockpit augmented with banks of monitors providing critical mission information. The pilots use a bank of 15-inch displays to check flight and weather data while the refueling operator will be afforded a set of 24-inch 3D displays giving him a panoramic 185 degree field of view.

Designed to support and refuel any fixed-wing receiver capable aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, and Marines, the plane is typically equipped with either a 1,200 gallon-per-minute center-line boom or 400 gallon-per-minute Centerline Drogue System. It can also carry a pair of 400 gallon-per-minute Wing Air Refueling Pods to pull crazy stunts like this. What?s more, the KC-46A can itself receive in-flight refueling, allowing it to remain aloft practically indefinitely.

In addition to fuel, the KC-46A can carry up to 114 people, 18 standard military cargo pallets, or 58 patients (24 litters, 34 ambulatory). Across the board?fuel, passengers, and cargo? the KC-46A carries more than the plane it will eventually recapitalize.

[Air Force News 1, 2, 3 - Defence News - Wikipedia - GAO - Images: USAF]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-militarys-new-flying-gas-station-will-be-open-24-7-484398864

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Daily Chronicle | Are lesbians more accepted than gay men?

CHICAGO ? It may be a man?s world, as the saying goes, but lesbians seem to have an easier time living in it than gay men do.

High-profile lesbian athletes have come out while still playing their sports, but not a single gay male athlete in major U.S. professional sports has done the same. While television?s most prominent same-sex parents are the two fictional dads on ?Modern Family,? surveys show that society is actually more comfortable with the idea of lesbians parenting children.

And then there is the ongoing debate over the Boy Scouts of America proposal to ease their ban on gay leaders and scouts.

Reaction to the proposal, which the BSA?s National Council will take up next month, has been swift and often harsh. Yet amid the discussions, the Girl Scouts of USA reiterated their policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, among other things. That announcement has gone largely unnoticed.

Certainly, the difference in the public?s reaction to the scouting organizations can be attributed, in part, to their varied histories, including the Boy Scouts? longstanding religious ties and a base that has become less urban over the years, compared with the Girl Scouts?.

But there?s also an undercurrent here, one that?s often present in debates related to homosexuality, whether over the military?s now-defunct ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell? policy or even same-sex marriage. Even as society has become more accepting of homosexuality overall, longstanding research has shown more societal tolerance for lesbians than gay men, and that gay men are significantly more likely to be targets of violence.

That research also has found that it?s often straight men who have the most difficult time with homosexuality ? and particularly gay men ? says researcher Gregory Herek.

?Men are raised to think they have to prove their masculinity, and one big part about being masculine is being heterosexual. So we see that harassment, jokes, negative statements and violence are often ways that even younger men try to prove their heterosexuality,? says Herek, a psychologist at the University of California, Davis, who has, for years, studied this phenomenon and how it plays out in the gay community.

That is not, of course, to downplay the harassment lesbians face. It can be just as ugly.

But it?s not as frequent, Herek and others have found, especially in adulthood. It?s also not uncommon for lesbians to encounter straight men who have a fascination with them.

?The men hit on me. The women hit on me. But I never feel like I?m in any immediate danger,? says Sarah Toce, the 29-year-old editor of The Seattle Lesbian and managing editor of The Contributor, both online news magazines. ?If I were a gay man, I might ? and if it?s like this in Seattle, can you imagine what it is like in less-accepting parts of middle America??

One of Herek?s studies found that, overall, 38 percent of gay men said that, in adulthood, they?d been victims of vandalism, theft or violence ? hit, beaten or sexually assaulted ? because they were perceived as gay. About 13 percent of lesbians said the same.

A separate study of young people in England also found that, in their teens, gay boys and lesbians were almost twice as likely to be bullied as their straight peers. By young adulthood, it was about the same for lesbians and straight girls. But in this study, published recently in the journal Pediatrics, gay young men were almost four times more likely than their straight peers to be bullied.

At least one historian says it wasn?t always that way for either men or women, whose ?expressions of love? with friends of the same gender were seen as a norm ? even idealized ? in the 19th century.

?These relationships offered ample opportunity for those who would have wanted to act on it physically, even if most did not,? says Thomas Foster, associate professor and head of the history department at DePaul University in Chicago.

Today?s ?code of male gendered behavior,? he says, often rejects these kinds of expressions between men.

We joke about the ?bro-mance? ? a term used to describe close friendships between straight men. But in some sense, the humor stems from the insinuation that those relationships could be romantic, though everyone assumes they aren?t.

Call those friends ?gay,? a word that?s still commonly used as an insult, and that?s quite another thing. Consider the furor over Rutgers University men?s basketball coach Mike Rice, who was recently fired for mistreating his players and mocking them with gay slurs.

If two women dance together at a club or walk arm-in-arm down the street, people are usually less likely to question it ? though some wonder if that has more to do with a lack of awareness than acceptance.

?Lesbians are so invisible in our society. And so I think the hatred is more invisible,? says Laura Grimes, a licensed clinical social worker in Chicago whose counseling practice caters to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender clients.

Grimes says she also frequently hears from lesbians who are harassed for ?looking like dykes,? meaning that people are less accepting if they look more masculine.

Still, Ian O?Brien, a gay man in Washington, D.C., sees more room for women ?to transcend what femininity looks like, or at least negotiate that space a little bit more.?

O?Brien, who?s 23, recently wrote an opinion piece tied to the Boy Scout debate and his own experience in the Scouts when he was growing up in the San Diego area.

?To put it simply: Being a boy is supposed to look one way, and you get punished when it doesn?t,? O?Brien wrote in the piece, which appeared in The Advocate, a national magazine for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.

Joey Carrillo, a gay student at Elmhurst College in suburban Chicago, remembers trying to be as masculine as possible in high school. He hid the fact that he was gay, particularly around other athletes. As a wrestler, he says he never wanted to hear someone say, ?Oh, THAT?S why he wrestles.?

In fact, though more gay and lesbian athletes are coming out in college, gay male professional athletes in major sports have waited to do so until they have left their sport, one of the more recent being Robbie Rogers, an American soccer player who played professionally in England. There have been reports that gay male athletes who are currently playing may be on the verge of going public.

But women have already done so with little backlash.

U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe, for instance, came out right before she played in last year?s Olympics. WNBA star Seimone Augustus and the league?s No. 1 draft pick, Brittney Griner, are some of the more recent female athletes to follow suit.

In Hollywood in recent years, both openly gay men and lesbians have had successful careers. And when it comes to television and movies, it appears there are more high-profile gay male characters.

Still, while many see the two dads on the ?Modern Family? sitcom as groundbreaking, others have a sense that the societal discomfort with gay men as parents is at the root of many of the jokes.

?A good portion of that is for comedic effect,? says Don Todd, a 32-year-old father in a two-dad family in Orange, Calif. He doesn?t think most people would think it was as funny if the characters were two moms.

Herek, the researcher at UC-Davis, has, in fact, found in surveys that heterosexuals think lesbians would be better parents than gay men.

Nancy Dreyer, a mother in a two-mom family, has noticed this in her own life.

?With gay male friends of ours who have kids, people will say, ?My gosh, who takes care of this baby?? ? as if they?re not capable,? says Dreyer, whose 57 and lives in suburban Boston.

The assumption, she says, is that men aren?t nurturing. And if they?re too nurturing, she says, people get suspicious, noting that no one has ever questioned her and her partner about their ability to raise their son, who?s now in college.

She?s noticed the different ways society treats gay men and lesbians, partly because she has a brother, Benjamin Dreyer, who?s gay. The Dreyer siblings say it?s difficult to compare their experiences because Benjamin came out in college, and Nancy in her early 30s.

So he was the first to tell their parents. ?They yelled at me. They took you to dinner,? Benjamin Dreyer, who?s 54 and works in publishing in New York City, now jokes with his sister.

Truth was, as a young gay man coming of age as the AIDS epidemic took hold, his parents simply worried, and with good reason, his sister says.

There?s little doubt, they both say, that AIDS influenced the perception of gay men.

Benjamin Dreyer says he dealt with societal bias by avoiding it, and surrounding himself with people he knew would be supportive, including his parents, eventually.

But he?s also realizing how quickly the need to do that is disappearing. He was surprised and pleased, for instance, when he attended his nephew?s high school graduation last year. There, he saw a gay male graduate with his boyfriend, open and accepted by all his peers.

?It?s mind-boggling,? Benjamin Dreyer says. ?It?s wonderful.?

Carrillo, too, decided to live openly when he arrived at Elmhurst College. He joined a fraternity and even painted a rainbow ? a common symbol of the gay community ? on his fraternity paddle. To his surprise, there was some backlash from a couple of his straight fraternity brothers who feared people would think their fraternity was the ?gay fraternity.?

?There?s a long way to go,? says Carrillo, who graduates next month. But he still feels hopeful.

?Honestly, I see it ? everywhere there?s progress.?

___

Martha Irvine is an AP national writer. She can be reached at mirvine(at)ap.org or at http://twitter.com/irvineap

There are 33 hours, 6 minutes remaining to comment on this story.

Source: http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2013/04/27/are-lesbians-more-accepted-than-gay-men/ao2g0gn/

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Lawmaker believes Boston suspects were trained

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says he believes the Boston Marathon bombing suspects had some training in carrying out their attack.

Rep. Michael McCaul is citing the type of device used in the attack ? shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs ? and the weapons' sophistication as signs of training.

Homemade bombs built from pressure cookers have been a frequent weapon of militants in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen once published an online manual on how to make one.

McCaul also tells "Fox News Sunday" that he thinks the suspects' mother played "a very strong role" in her sons' radicalization process and that if she were to return to the United States from Russia, she'd be held for questioning.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawmaker-believes-boston-suspects-were-trained-133504391.html

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Baffert won't start a horse in Kentucky Derby

Trainer Bob Baffert watches morning workouts at Churchill Downs Monday, April 29, 2013, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Garry Jones)

Trainer Bob Baffert watches morning workouts at Churchill Downs Monday, April 29, 2013, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Garry Jones)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) ? Bob Baffert won't be saddling a horse in Saturday's Kentucky Derby for the first time since 2008.

The Hall of Fame trainer said Monday that Govenor Charlie would not run. His other possibility, Code West, also won't compete in the Derby at Churchill Downs.

Sunland Derby winner Govenor Charlie was 11th on the points leaderboard that determines the 20-horse field for the 1?-mile race. Code West was ranked 21st.

Baffert hasn't been on the Derby sidelines since 2007 and '08. He has won the race three times, but not since 2002.

Govenor Charlie galloped Monday for the first time since April 11, a layoff caused by a foot bruise and soreness in his hind end.

"You cannot have any kind of hiccup," Baffert said. "We want to be competitive and if you're not competitive, my clients don't want to be in there. We're just going to watch and good luck to everybody else."

Baffert said Govenor Charlie could be pointed toward the May 18 Preakness, while Code West is a possibility for the Belmont Stakes on June 9.

Three weeks ago, Baffert took Santa Anita Derby runner-up Flashback out of consideration because of a knee injury that will sideline the colt at least two months.

"It wasn't meant for me to be in the Derby this year," he said.

Baffert will saddle Midnight Lucky in the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, then fly home to California for his youngest son's first Communion on Saturday, when the family is planning a Derby watch party.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-29-RAC-Kentucky-Derby-Baffert/id-e7970d08fe18485592eb5ff2a15f6216

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Are lesbians more accepted than gay men? | The Salt Lake Tribune

ADVANCE FOR USE SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2013 AND THEREAFTER - Sarah Toce, editor of a daily online news magazine "The Seattle Lesbian," poses for a photo Friday, April 19, 2013, in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, in an alleyway that has been the site of fights and other violence against gay men. Even as society has become more accepting of homosexuality overall, longstanding research has shown more societal tolerance for lesbians than gay men, and that gay men are significantly more likely to be targets of violence. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Society ? Research shows more societal tolerance for lesbians, and gay men face more violence.

Chicago ? It may be a man?s world, as the saying goes, but lesbians seem to have an easier time living in it than gay men do.

High-profile lesbian athletes have come out while still playing their sports, but not a single gay male athlete in major U.S. professional sports has done the same. While television?s most prominent same-sex parents are the two fictional dads on "Modern Family," surveys show that society is actually more comfortable with the idea of lesbians parenting children.

And then there is the ongoing debate over the Boy Scouts of America proposal to ease their ban on gay leaders and scouts.

Reaction to the proposal, which the BSA?s National Council will take up next month, has been swift, and often harsh. Yet amid the discussions, the Girl Scouts of USA reiterated their policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, among other things. That announcement has gone largely unnoticed.

Certainly, the difference in the public?s reaction to the scouting organizations can be attributed, in part, to their varied histories, including the Boy Scouts? longstanding religious ties and a base that has become less urban over the years, compared with the Girl Scouts?.

But there?s also an undercurrent here, one that?s often present in debates related to homosexuality, whether over the military?s now-defunct "Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell" policy or even same-sex marriage. Even as society has become more accepting of homosexuality overall, longstanding research has shown more societal tolerance for lesbians than gay men, and that gay men are significantly more likely to be targets of violence.

That research also has found that it?s often straight men who have the most difficult time with homosexuality ? and particularly gay men ? says researcher Gregory Herek.

"Men are raised to think they have to prove their masculinity, and one big part about being masculine is being heterosexual. So we see that harassment, jokes, negative statements and violence are often ways that even younger men try to prove their heterosexuality," says Herek, a psychologist at the University of California, Davis, who has, for years, studied this phenomenon and how it plays out in the gay community.

That is not, of course, to downplay the harassment lesbians face. It can be just as ugly.

But it?s not as frequent, Herek and others have found, especially in adulthood. It?s also not uncommon for lesbians to encounter straight men who have a fascination with them.

story continues below

"The men hit on me. The women hit on me. But I never feel like I?m in any immediate danger," says Sarah Toce, the 29-year-old editor of The Seattle Lesbian and managing editor of The Contributor, both online news magazines. "If I were a gay man, I might ? and if it?s like this in Seattle, can you imagine what it is like in less-accepting parts of middle America?"

One of Herek?s studies found that, overall, 38 percent of gay men said that, in adulthood, they?d been victims of vandalism, theft or violence ? hit, beaten or sexually assaulted ? because they were perceived as gay. About 13 percent of lesbians said the same.

A separate study of young people in England also found that, in their teens, gay boys and lesbians were almost twice as likely to be bullied as their straight peers. By young adulthood, it was about the same for lesbians and straight girls. But in this study, published recently in the journal Pediatrics, gay young men were almost four times more likely than their straight peers to be bullied.

At least one historian says it wasn?t always that way for either men or women, whose "expressions of love" with friends of the same gender were seen as a norm ? even idealized ? in the 19th century.

"These relationships offered ample opportunity for those who would have wanted to act on it physically, even if most did not," says Thomas Foster, associate professor and head of the history department at DePaul University in Chicago.

Today?s "code of male gendered behavior," he says, often rejects these kinds of expressions between men.

We joke about the "bro-mance" ? a term used to describe close friendships between straight men. But in some sense, the humor stems from the insinuation that those relationships could be romantic, though everyone assumes they aren?t.

Call those friends "gay," a word that?s still commonly used as an insult, and that?s quite another thing. Consider the furor over Rutgers University men?s basketball coach Mike Rice, who was recently fired for mistreating his players and mocking them with gay slurs.

If two women dance together at a club or walk arm-in-arm down the street, people are usually less likely to question it ? though some wonder if that has more to do with a lack of awareness than acceptance.

"Lesbians are so invisible in our society. And so I think the hatred is more invisible," says Laura Grimes, a licensed clinical social worker in Chicago whose counseling practice caters to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender clients.

Next Page >

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/56228624-68/gay-lesbians-says-scouts.html.csp

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My Sister's Baby Shower - Carrots 'N' Cake

My sister?s baby shower was a huge success! It was a beautiful day, tons of family and friends were in attendance, and the mommy-to-be had a wonderful time. We couldn?t have asked for a better day!

I can?t wait for baby Matthew to be here! Less than 2 months to go!

What?s your favorite boy?s name??

Tagged as: baby shower, baby shower favors, cake, cousins, family, Grammie's house, party

Source: http://carrotsncake.com/2013/04/my-sisters-baby-shower.html

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Private Aircraft Charters Great Option - ArticleSnatch.com

By: Corporatecharters Private airplane charter offers you the freedom to talk things in full confidentiality with your closest crew. You could sketch out some of the top most secrets and share business secrets in complete privacy without the fear getting overheard. You could be ahead of your competition and be well ahead of time to the business spot, to take advantage of time. Early birds catch the prey. First come are first served. These are not some of the old adages that are said without fact contained in it.

There is a lot of meaning associated towards it. Business people in the present day scenario have started to use the air charter flights, big time. They find these kinds of air charter jets to be far more convenient enough to save a lot of time and efforts. The costs have come down now in the present day scenario, as there is number of corporate jet charters that are available as of today. The competition in the trade has brought down the costs towards the benefit of the end users.

Private plane charters are not costlier option in the present day scenario. Air charter jet, companies have grown in the recent past in huge numbers all over the world. The cost associated towards opening one such corporate jet charters, service, is not too much, while compared to opening up any big business unit.

Private plane charters, demand is increasing on a daily basis. The number of users of the air charter jet, among the private companies has increased dramatically over the past two years. Corporate jet charters are preferred by the conglomerates, rather than public flights, for their special top men to travel around. Private plane charters, give you a lot of liberty and advantage in time and money as well in some cases. Air charter jet, are being leased by companies as of today. Corporate jet charters, find a lot of gain in that way.

Jet air charter facilities are quite exceptional. You can enjoy the services which you cannot avail in a first class or business class in the public charter flight services. Although, you do have plenty of options. You do not have to go out there and stand in the long queues meant for boarding the public charter plane service that is common for all. You need to rely on the conventional airport for this purpose which has its own disadvantages of bomb hoax and other threats inclusive of traffic on the way.

---

About the Author:
Corporate Charters, LLC is specialized in arranging private jet airplane & private aircraft charters as we have been providing these charter flight services for more than last 25 years throughout the world.

Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com

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Fire breaks out at collapsed factory in Bangladesh

SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) -- A fire broke out late Sunday in the wreckage of the garment factory that collapsed last week in Bangladesh, with smoke pouring from the piles of shattered concrete and some of the rescue efforts forced to stop.

The fire came four days after the collapse, as rescuers were trying to free a woman they found trapped in the rubble. The flames broke out when sparks were generated by those rescuers trying to cut through a steel rod to reach the woman, said a volunteer rescuer, Syed Al-Amin Roman. At least three rescue workers were injured in the fire, he said.

Rescuers have retreated from the part of the wreckage where the fire erupted, but were still trying to reach any possible survivors in other parts of the destroyed eight-story building.

Firefighters were frantically hosing down the flames.

"Hopefully we will be able to control it," said Brig. Gen. Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder, who is overseeing rescue operations.

It wasn't immediately clear what happened to the trapped woman.

The fire came hours after the owner of the illegally-constructed building was captured Sunday at a border crossing with India.

Mohammed Sohel Rana was arrested in Benapole in western Bangladesh, just as he was about to flee into India's West Bengal state, said Jahangir Kabir Nanak, junior minister for local government. Rana was brought back by helicopter to the capital Dhaka where he faced charges of negligence.

Rana's capture brought cheers and applause when it was announced on a loudspeaker at the site of the collapsed building in the Dhaka suburb of Savar.

At least 377 people are confirmed to have died in the Wednesday collapse. Three of the building's floors were built illegally. The death toll is expected to rise but it is already the deadliest tragedy to hit Bangladesh's garment industry, which is worth $20 billion annually and is a mainstay of the economy. The collapse and previous disasters in garment factories have focused attention on the poor working conditions of workers who toil for as little as $38 a month to produce clothing for top international brands.

Bangladesh's garment industry was the third largest in the world in 2011, after China and Italy, having grown rapidly in the past decade. The country's minimum wage is the equivalent of about $38 a month.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fire-breaks-collapsed-factory-bangladesh-165955376.html

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Visualized: Boeing supersonic airliner concept soars in a wind tunnel, quietly

No, you're not looking at an early preview of Star Wars Episode VII -- it just might represent the future of air transport, though. Boeing has spent years developing a truly quiet supersonic airliner concept, the Icon II, and what you see is an aerodynamics test of a mockup in a vaguely Death Star-like wind tunnel at NASA's Glenn Research Center. The starfighter design is for more than just show, as you'd suspect. Its V-tail design moves sonic booms further back, reducing the chance that shockwaves will reach the ground (and our ears) intact, while the top-mounted engines isolate engine noise. Boeing and NASA are ultimately hoping for production passenger aircraft discreet enough to fly over land at supersonic speeds, although we can't help but think that the sci-fi look is a convenient bonus.

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Source: New Scientist

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

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