Rene already expressed the opinion that if Amazon, Google, et. al really want to come at the iPad mini based on price, what they're really doing is telling people to buy a $150 BlackBerry PlayBook. So, in the interest of science, I picked one up to put it's through it's paces.
First off, the iPad mini is incredibly light, almost too light. I toss my PlayBook around a lot and the iPad mini feels as though I may break it I tossed it too hard. It's also really thin. Almost stupidly thin. I get why Apple opted to go with the smaller bezels and they do look great but overall, I would have preferred something a little thicker to grab onto. Landscape is fine but portrait annoys me. Apple says there's software to reject unintentional touch events, but it's still a pain point.
Like the iPhone 5, the iPad mini has that slick anodized aluminum backing on it. It looks good but it doesn't feel particularly grippy. I prefer the softer finish on the BlackBerry PlayBook and even the Google Nexus 7.
The BlackBerry PlayBook has a 1024x600 screen at 169 ppi while the iPad mini has a 1024x768 screen at the original iPhone's 163 ppi. A lot of people have been complaining about the lack of Retina display on the iPad mini, especially compared to the higher density Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire now on the market. I'm not really bothered by it. Some stuff looks better on the iPad and some stuff looks better on the PlayBook. Text, in my opinion, looks better on the PlayBook. It's all in the eyes of the beholder.
While the iPad mini has stereo speakers, a first for an iOS device, and that makes it less likely your hand will completely cover up the sound while playing a game or watching a video, the sound levels are still way to low. On the PlayBook, even if you do cover up the speakers, their loudness makes up for it.
Check out the video above for some more hands-on impressions and a quick run through of the iPad mini vs. the BlackBerry PlayBook. If you have any questions, drop them in the comments, and if you're a PlayBook owner who's also picked up an iPad mini, let me know how you think they compare!
TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - Military prosecutors said on Monday they would seek the death penalty for a U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers when he ventured out of his camp on two drunken forays earlier this year.
The lead prosecutor, Lieutenant Colonel Jay Morse, told a preliminary hearing he would present evidence proving "chilling premeditation" on the part of Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The shootings of mostly women and children in Afghanistan's Kandahar province in March marked the worst case of civilian slaughter blamed on an individual U.S. soldier since the Vietnam War and eroded already strained U.S.-Afghan ties after more than a decade of conflict in the country.
Bales faces 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder, as well as charges of assault and wrongfully possessing and using steroids and alcohol while deployed.
Morse said he was submitting a "capital referral" in the case, requesting that Bales be executed if convicted.
The hearing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state is expected to last two weeks and include witness testimony in Afghanistan carried by live video, including villagers and Afghan soldiers.
At the end, military commanders will decide whether there is sufficient evidence for Bales to stand trial by court-martial.
Bales, dressed in camouflage Army fatigues and with his head shaven, embraced his wife in court before the hearing began. He then sat silently watching the proceedings from the defense table as Morse summarized the prosecution's account of the events of March 10-11.
According to Morse, Bales had been drinking with two fellow soldiers before he left his base, Camp Belambay, and went to a village where he committed the first killings.
Morse said Bales then returned to the camp and told one of his drinking buddies, Sergeant Jason McLaughlin, "I just shot up some people," before leaving again for a second village am killing more people. Morse called Bales' actions "deliberate, methodical."
DESCRIBED AS WEARING BED SHEET LIKE A CLOAK
The prosecution showed a video shot by night-vision camera from a surveillance balloon over the camp, showing a figure they identified as Bales walking back to the post wearing a dark blue bed sheet tied around his neck like a cloak.
He is seen being confronted by three soldiers, including the two men prosecutors said he had been drinking with, who order him to drop his weapons and take him into custody as he is heard saying, "Are you fucking kidding me?"
One of the three, Corporal David Godwin, testified that Bales kept repeating the words, "I thought I was doing the right thing," and "It's bad. It's bad. It's really bad."
Godwin recounted that he, Bales and McLaughlin had been drinking whiskey together for 45 minutes in McLaughlin's room while watching the Hollywood film "Man on Fire," which stars Denzel Washington as a former assassin bent on revenge.
Prosecutors said Bales had been armed with a rifle, a pistol and a grenade launcher. They said the killings took place over a five-hour period in two villages and the dead included members of four families. Most had been shot in the head.
Bales, who is not expected to testify during the so-called Article 32 hearing, had been confined at a military prison in Kansas from March until he was moved in October to Lewis-McChord, where his infantry regiment was based.
John Henry Browne, Bales' civilian lawyer, has suggested that Bales may not have acted alone and may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Browne told Reuters last month that he and an Army prosecutor planned to question five to 15 Afghan villagers and military personnel as key witnesses from Kandahar Air Field.
Bales also has two military defense counselors. One is Gregory Malson, who represented William Kreutzer, a U.S. Army sergeant sentenced to life in prison three years ago for killing an officer and wounding 18 U.S. soldiers in a 1995 shooting spree.
Separately, Bales is subject to a review of his mental fitness to stand trial, often referred to as a "sanity board." The Army has not disclosed the status of that evaluation.
Bales' wife, Kari, told a local NBC affiliate, KING5-TV, before Monday's hearing that she believed he was innocent, as a massacre of innocent civilians was "not something my husband would have done ... not the Bob that I know."
The shootings highlighted discipline problems among U.S. soldiers from Lewis-McChord, which was also the home base of five enlisted men from the former 5th Stryker Brigade charged with premeditated murder in connection with three killings of unarmed Afghan civilians in 2010.
Four of those men were convicted or pleaded guilty in court-martial proceedings to murder or manslaughter charges and were sentenced to prison. Charges against the fifth were dropped.
(Additional reporting by Laura L. Myers; Writing by Steve Gorman, Editing by Cynthia Johnston and David Brunnstrom)
Last weekend I had the privilege of catering a wedding for a sweet friend of mine. ?While I am not a pro, occasionally catering has been a fun hobby for me. ?For this particular wedding I made the cake and set a buffet with heavy hors d'oeuvres. ?It was simple yet fairly elegant which is something most of us strive for when doing any type of entertaining.
We all like to have friends and family over in our homes, but often it can be stressful, especially when everyone is coming over to your house for dinner and you want it to be "just so perfect." ?Nothing is perfect, so the easiest thing to do is let that notion leave your head. ?Your goal as a hostess is to create a memorable evening without stressing yourself out through the budget, decorating and menu!
And it really can be done!
Entertaining has nothing to do with using a lot of money to impress people, it's about making memories for all (including yourself) to cherish and creating moments that build close and lasting relationships. ?After all, the main reason we have friends and family over is to spend time with them and they accept because they want to spend time with you! ? If you are a stressed out host/hostess, you will have stressed out guests! ?If you set the mood, relax, and have fun, your guests will as well.
?With Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays right around the corner (which means many of us will be opening our homes), I thought it might be a good time to share a few of my basics for hosting a little soiree in our homes. The easiest way I have found to entertain is through a buffet. Set up correctly, buffets are a classy and practical way to serve large numbers (and work well for small groups as well) at one time as well as remove any pressure from setting that perfect table!
Here Are a Few of My Tips for Planning & Setting a Buffet:
**Choose your theme. ?Your imagination is your greatest gift, use it! ?Host a tea, an open house, a bowl party, an Oscar night dinner, a caroling party, or a dessert buffet.
**Determine your menu.?If you are having friends over to watch football on New Years Day, you probably don't want a menu filled with "high maintenance" foods such as a crown roast or salmon. ?A hamburger or BBQ buffet would be perfect as would heavy appetizers such as chicken wings, chips and dips. ?How are you going to enjoy the games if you are constantly in the kitchen cooking food, so keep that menu simple!
A few other easy appetizer ideas are stuffed mushroom caps, lamb meatballs w/ a dip, ?shrimp ceviche, Buffalo wings w/ blue cheese dip, or chicken salad.
**Your guest don't care if you made all of the food, or if some (or all) of it is take-out! ?If you know that you can purchase a dish that tastes better than you can make it, then do so. ?Just remember to throw out the take-out containers and serve it as you are serving everything else. ?And don't forget to delegate dishes as well! ?A themed "pot-luck" is really easy and a lot of fun!
**Plan your serving pieces ahead of time. ?Set out and label the platters you will use a couple of days a head of time so that you aren't racing last minute trying to find that certain platter!
**Your buffet should look full! ?If your table is large, group your food together instead of spreading it out. ?At the end set of a cold drink or coffee bar. ?Everything in one place! ?Serve you food on matching or at least coordinating dishes and let it play a role in your decorating. ?Mixed with candles and a few accessories, you have a decorated table.
**Keep your buffet balanced.? Don't serve just a bevy of proteins, throw in some fruit, a vegetable (a crudite is perfect for this) and even dessert.
**Set your plates at the beginning of the buffet, leaving silverware and napkins at the end. ?It keeps everyone from performing a juggling act while trying to fix their plate. ?Also decide if you want a line down both sides of your buffet, or does it work better in your space to have guest make a loop. ?No matter which way you set it up, make it easy to access all of the food.
Here are a few ideas for arranging your buffet:
For this last buffet I set up, I did a line down both sides. For hors d'oeuvres ?I prefer to have my dishes set in a specific order: ?cold items, followed by any hot entrees, salad, and then setting dessert up on a separate table. ?I used my cheese platter as the centerpiece of the table.
For a dinner buffet I would set it up a little differently:
*Appetizer or soup *Fish or soup *Main Course(s) *Side dishes *Salad *Cheese and/or fruit *Dessert (which I still to prefer in a separate location if the space is available
**If you are hosting a come and go event, set up different "stations" for serving foods as people mingle. ?Set out appetizers in the living room, cocktails in the dining room, dessert by the fireplace .... this allows your guests to mix it up and not feel confined by the space.
**Keep your decor seasonal or simple. Top your table with a pretty tablecloth add, your food, and a few accessories. ?You can't go wrong with candles. ?Scatter votives down your table, or create a display of pillar candles (both unscented of course) on a mirror. ?I used my autumn pumpkins for decorating last weekend, but I have even let a cake serve as a centerpiece in the past.? Elevate a few platters on concealed boxes to create height and drama to your table. See how easy it is? ?Just let your imagination go and enjoy hosting a party in your home! ?Will you host friends or family in your home this holiday season? ?It's not too late to plan something, and definitely not to early to plan details of your event. ?
Okay. I got a chuckle out of the story of your username. :P If you don't fall in love with "Gloomybun" you can PM one of our Administrators and have your username changed. It's usually a one-time thing, though, so be sure you know it's what you want!
Aside from that, I wanted to welcome you to RolePlayGateway. We are a huge community of writers and storytellers, all looking to connect creatively and get our worlds out there, and into the light! Glad to have you joining us. Please feel free to jump in. If you have any questions about anything, don't hesitate to field them here. Someone will get back to you.
Boulder, CO, USA Not very long ago a professional geologist's field kit consisted of a Brunton compass, rock hammer, magnifying glass, and field notebook. No longer. In the field and in the labs and classrooms, studying Earth has undergone an explosive change in recent years, fueled by technological leaps in handheld digital devices, especially tablet computers and cameras.
Geologist Terry Pavlis' digital epiphany came almost 20 years ago when he was in a museum looking at a 19th-century geology exhibit that included a Brunton compass. "Holy moly!" he remembers thinking, "We're still using this tool." This is despite the fact that technological changes over the last 10 years have not only made the Brunton compass obsolete, but swept away paper field notebooks as well (the rock hammer and hand-lens magnifier remain unchallenged, however).
The key technologies that replace the 19th-century field tools are the smart phone, PDA, handheld GPS, and tablet PC and iPad. Modern tablets, in particular, can do everything a Brunton compass can, plus take pictures and act as both a notebook and mapping device, and gather precise location data using GPS. They can even be equipped with open-source GIS software.
Pavlis, a geology professor at The University of Texas at El Paso, and Stephen Whitmeyer of James Madison University will be presenting the 21st-century way to do field geology on Monday, 5 Nov., at the meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA) in Charlotte, N.C. The presentations are a part of a digital poster Pardee Keynote Symposium titled, "Digital Geology Speed-Dating: An Innovative Coupling of Interactive Presentations and Hands-On Workshop."
"I had a dream we would not be touching paper anymore," says Pavlis. "I'm now sort of an evangelist on this subject."
That's not to say that the conversion to digital field geology is anywhere near complete. The new technology is not quite catching on in some university field courses because the technology is more expensive and becomes obsolete quickly, says Pavlis.
"Field geology courses are expensive enough for students," he notes. As a result, the matter of teaching field geology with digital tools is actually rather controversial among professors.
Meanwhile, on the classroom side of earth science education, there are new digital tools that bring the field into the classroom. One of them is GigaPans - gigantic panorama images.
"A GigaPan is basically a really big picture that's made of lots of full-resolution zoomed-in photos," explains geologist Callan Bentley of Northern Virginia Community College. To make a GigaPan, you need a GigaPan Robot that looks at the scene and breaks it into a grid, then shoots the grid. That can result in hundreds or even thousands of images. The GigaPan system then stitches them together. The resulting stitched image is uploaded to the GigaPan.org website where everybody can see it.
"In geology, we look at things in multiple scales," says Bentley. "A well-composed GigaPan is very useful." Bentley will be presenting GigaPans at the same GSA meeting session as Pavlis, along with others using the latest technology to study and teach geology.
GigaPans were developed by Google, NASA, and the robotics lab at Carnegie Mellon University. Bentley got involved when the "Fine Outreach for Science" program recruited him. Since then, he has documenting geology of the Mid-Atlantic region.
"I have used some of it in the classroom," said Bentley. "I have students look at a scene, make a hypothesis then look closer to test the hypothesis."
###
CONTACTS:
Terry Pavlis
+1 (915) 747-5570
Callan Bentley
+1 (540) 933-6244
WHAT:
Session No. 91: Digital Geology Speed-Dating: An Innovative Coupling of Interactive Presentations and Hands-On Workshop
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday, 5 Nov.
WHERE: Charlotte Convention Center: Hall B
Small (hand-sample-scale):
http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/11403
http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/2166
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/103122
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/103870
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/98984
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/94714
Medium (outcrop-scale):
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/112956
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/110837
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/75096
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/74776
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/83143
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/90685
Large (landscape-scale):
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/114032
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/10458
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/46259
http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/57636
http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/104068
http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/31687
And, as a bonus, this one is lots of fun:
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/2121
Find out what else is new and newsworthy by browsing the complete technical program schedule at https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2012AM/finalprogram/.
To identify presentations in specific areas of interest, search topical sessions by discipline categories or sponsors using the drop-down menus at www.geosociety.org/meetings/2012/sessions/topical.asp, or use your browser's "find" feature to search for keywords or convener names.
Representatives of the media and public information officers from universities, government agencies, and research institutions, may participate in technical sessions, field trips, and other special events. Eligible media personnel will receive complimentary registration and are invited to use GSA's newsroom facilities while at the meeting. Journalists and PIOs must pay for any short courses or field trips in which they wish to participate.
For information on media eligibility, go to www.geosociety.org/meetings/2012/media.htm. Media personnel may register onsite in the GSA Newsroom (room 204) at the Charlotte Convention Center. Wireless Internet access and a quiet space for interviews will be provided in the newsroom, along with beverages and light snacks throughout the day.
Newsroom Hours of Operation
Saturday, 3 Nov., 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, 4 Nov., through Tuesday, 6 Nov., 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday, 7 Nov., 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Newsroom telephone number (incoming calls): +1-704-339-6207 (starting Saturday afternoon).
Contact Christa Stratton, GSA Director of Communications & Marketing, for additional information and assistance.
www.geosociety.org/meetings/2012/
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?
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.
Boulder, CO, USA Not very long ago a professional geologist's field kit consisted of a Brunton compass, rock hammer, magnifying glass, and field notebook. No longer. In the field and in the labs and classrooms, studying Earth has undergone an explosive change in recent years, fueled by technological leaps in handheld digital devices, especially tablet computers and cameras.
Geologist Terry Pavlis' digital epiphany came almost 20 years ago when he was in a museum looking at a 19th-century geology exhibit that included a Brunton compass. "Holy moly!" he remembers thinking, "We're still using this tool." This is despite the fact that technological changes over the last 10 years have not only made the Brunton compass obsolete, but swept away paper field notebooks as well (the rock hammer and hand-lens magnifier remain unchallenged, however).
The key technologies that replace the 19th-century field tools are the smart phone, PDA, handheld GPS, and tablet PC and iPad. Modern tablets, in particular, can do everything a Brunton compass can, plus take pictures and act as both a notebook and mapping device, and gather precise location data using GPS. They can even be equipped with open-source GIS software.
Pavlis, a geology professor at The University of Texas at El Paso, and Stephen Whitmeyer of James Madison University will be presenting the 21st-century way to do field geology on Monday, 5 Nov., at the meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA) in Charlotte, N.C. The presentations are a part of a digital poster Pardee Keynote Symposium titled, "Digital Geology Speed-Dating: An Innovative Coupling of Interactive Presentations and Hands-On Workshop."
"I had a dream we would not be touching paper anymore," says Pavlis. "I'm now sort of an evangelist on this subject."
That's not to say that the conversion to digital field geology is anywhere near complete. The new technology is not quite catching on in some university field courses because the technology is more expensive and becomes obsolete quickly, says Pavlis.
"Field geology courses are expensive enough for students," he notes. As a result, the matter of teaching field geology with digital tools is actually rather controversial among professors.
Meanwhile, on the classroom side of earth science education, there are new digital tools that bring the field into the classroom. One of them is GigaPans - gigantic panorama images.
"A GigaPan is basically a really big picture that's made of lots of full-resolution zoomed-in photos," explains geologist Callan Bentley of Northern Virginia Community College. To make a GigaPan, you need a GigaPan Robot that looks at the scene and breaks it into a grid, then shoots the grid. That can result in hundreds or even thousands of images. The GigaPan system then stitches them together. The resulting stitched image is uploaded to the GigaPan.org website where everybody can see it.
"In geology, we look at things in multiple scales," says Bentley. "A well-composed GigaPan is very useful." Bentley will be presenting GigaPans at the same GSA meeting session as Pavlis, along with others using the latest technology to study and teach geology.
GigaPans were developed by Google, NASA, and the robotics lab at Carnegie Mellon University. Bentley got involved when the "Fine Outreach for Science" program recruited him. Since then, he has documenting geology of the Mid-Atlantic region.
"I have used some of it in the classroom," said Bentley. "I have students look at a scene, make a hypothesis then look closer to test the hypothesis."
###
CONTACTS:
Terry Pavlis
+1 (915) 747-5570
Callan Bentley
+1 (540) 933-6244
WHAT:
Session No. 91: Digital Geology Speed-Dating: An Innovative Coupling of Interactive Presentations and Hands-On Workshop
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday, 5 Nov.
WHERE: Charlotte Convention Center: Hall B
Small (hand-sample-scale):
http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/11403
http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/2166
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/103122
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/103870
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/98984
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/94714
Medium (outcrop-scale):
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/112956
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/110837
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/75096
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/74776
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/83143
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/90685
Large (landscape-scale):
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/114032
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/10458
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/46259
http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/57636
http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/104068
http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/31687
And, as a bonus, this one is lots of fun:
http://gigapan.com/gigapans/2121
Find out what else is new and newsworthy by browsing the complete technical program schedule at https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2012AM/finalprogram/.
To identify presentations in specific areas of interest, search topical sessions by discipline categories or sponsors using the drop-down menus at www.geosociety.org/meetings/2012/sessions/topical.asp, or use your browser's "find" feature to search for keywords or convener names.
Representatives of the media and public information officers from universities, government agencies, and research institutions, may participate in technical sessions, field trips, and other special events. Eligible media personnel will receive complimentary registration and are invited to use GSA's newsroom facilities while at the meeting. Journalists and PIOs must pay for any short courses or field trips in which they wish to participate.
For information on media eligibility, go to www.geosociety.org/meetings/2012/media.htm. Media personnel may register onsite in the GSA Newsroom (room 204) at the Charlotte Convention Center. Wireless Internet access and a quiet space for interviews will be provided in the newsroom, along with beverages and light snacks throughout the day.
Newsroom Hours of Operation
Saturday, 3 Nov., 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, 4 Nov., through Tuesday, 6 Nov., 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday, 7 Nov., 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Newsroom telephone number (incoming calls): +1-704-339-6207 (starting Saturday afternoon).
Contact Christa Stratton, GSA Director of Communications & Marketing, for additional information and assistance.
www.geosociety.org/meetings/2012/
[ | 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.
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Public release date: 5-Nov-2012
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