Do a Few Chores to Warm Yourself Up Without Touching the Thermostat [Winter]

Home-centric blog Re-Nest shares a quick tip for staying warm as winter approaches: instead of turning up the thermostat, get up and move a little bit with the vacuum to keep yourself comfortable.

It isn't the most mind-blowing tip in the world, but if putting on a sweatshirt doesn't really help the temperature of your apartment, try getting up and doing a few chores. Not only will the movement warm you up, but you'll get something done in the meantime:

Last night I found myself cold in my house and needing to tidy up before my mom arrived for a short visit. Rather than bury myself under blankets on the couch, I vacuumed. Within a few minutes, I was warm from lugging my Bissell around and happy to be getting the job done. Similarly, I find that I don't mind handwashing dishes so much in the winter because I enjoy the warm water.

If you really hate doing chores, of course, you could just head to your computer room and play video games?I find sitting at my computer is consistently much warmer than my TV room.

Photo by Douglas Cootey.

How To Warm Up Without Turning Up the Heat: Do Chores | Re-Nest

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NASA's RXTE detects 'heartbeat' of smallest black hole candidate

Friday, December 16, 2011

An international team of astronomers has identified a candidate for the smallest-known black hole using data from NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). The evidence comes from a specific type of X-ray pattern, nicknamed a "heartbeat" because of its resemblance to an electrocardiogram. The pattern until now has been recorded in only one other black hole system.

Named IGR J17091-3624 after the astronomical coordinates of its sky position, the binary system combines a normal star with a black hole that may weigh less than three times the sun's mass. That is near the theoretical mass boundary where black holes become possible.

Gas from the normal star streams toward the black hole and forms a disk around it. Friction within the disk heats the gas to millions of degrees, which is hot enough to emit X-rays. Cyclical variations in the intensity of the X-rays observed reflect processes taking place within the gas disk. Scientists think that the most rapid changes occur near the black hole's event horizon, the point beyond which nothing, not even light, can escape.

Astronomers first became aware of the binary system during an outburst in 2003. Archival data from various space missions show it becomes active every few years. Its most recent outburst started in February and is ongoing. The system is located in the direction of the constellation Scorpius, but its distance is not well established. It could be as close as 16,000 light-years or more than 65,000 light-years away.

The record-holder for wide-ranging X-ray variability is another black hole binary system named GRS 1915+105. This system is unique in displaying more than a dozen highly structured patterns, typically lasting between seconds and hours.

"We think that most of these patterns represent cycles of accumulation and ejection in an unstable disk, and we now see seven of them in IGR J17091," said Tomaso Belloni at Brera Observatory in Merate, Italy. "Identifying these signatures in a second black hole system is very exciting."

In GRS 1915, strong magnetic fields near the black hole's event horizon eject some of the gas into dual, oppositely directed jets that blast outward at about 98 percent the speed of light. The peak of its heartbeat emission corresponds to the emergence of the jet.

Changes in the X-ray spectrum observed by RXTE during each beat reveal that the innermost region of the disk emits enough radiation to push back the gas, creating a strong outward wind that stops the inward flow, briefly starving the black hole and shutting down the jet. This corresponds to the faintest emission. Eventually, the inner disk gets so bright and hot it essentially disintegrates and plunges toward the black hole, re-establishing the jet and beginning the cycle anew. This entire process happens in as little as 40 seconds.

While there is no direct evidence IGR J17091 possesses a particle jet, its heartbeat signature suggests that similar processes are at work. Researchers say that this system's heartbeat emission can be 20 times fainter than GRS 1915 and can cycle some eight times faster, in as little as five seconds.

Astronomers estimate that GRS 1915 is about 14 times the sun's mass, placing it among the most-massive-known black holes that have formed because of the collapse of a single star. The research team analyzed six months of RXTE observations to compare the two systems, concluding that IGR J17091 must possess a minuscule black hole.

"Just as the heart rate of a mouse is faster than an elephant's, the heartbeat signals from these black holes scale according to their masses," said Diego Altamirano, an astrophysicist at the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands and lead author of a paper describing the findings in the Nov. 4 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The researchers say this analysis is just the start of a larger program to compare both of these black holes in detail using data from RXTE, NASA's Swift satellite and the European XMM-Newton observatory.

"Until this study, GRS 1915 was essentially a one-off, and there's only so much we can understand from a single example," said Tod Strohmayer, the project scientist for RXTE at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Now, with a second system exhibiting similar types of variability, we really can begin to test how well we understand what happens at the brink of a black hole."

Launched in late 1995, RXTE is second only to Hubble as the longest serving of NASA's operating astrophysics missions. RXTE provides a unique observing window into the extreme environments of neutron stars and black holes.

###

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center: http://www.nasa.gov/goddard

Thanks to NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center for this article.

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Panetta becomes first Pentagon chief to visit Libya

By msnbc.com news services

TRIPOLI - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Tripoli Saturday, taking advantage of the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi in an eight-month civil war to become the first Pentagon chief to set foot on Libyan soil.

But Panetta has indicated that the U.S. will give more time to gain control of the militias that overthrew Gadhafi before determining how to help the fledgling government.

---

"The last thing you want to do is to try to impose something on a country that has just gone through what the Libyans have gone through," said Panetta on Friday before landing in Tripoli.

"They've earned the right to try to determine their future. They've earned the right to try to work their way through the issues that they're going to have to confront," he said.

Libya's weak interim government is struggling to assert control two months after the capturing and killing of Gadhafi.

Late Thursday the International Criminal Court said his violent killing may have been a war crime.

Panetta will meet with members of the transitional government in Tripoli on Saturday, and make an emotional visit to what historians believe is the gravesite of 13 U.S. sailors killed in 1804. Those deaths were caused by the explosion of the U.S. ship Intrepid, which was slipping into the Tripoli harbor to destroy pirate ships that had captured an American frigate.

While eager to encourage a new democracy that emerged from Libya's Arab Spring revolution, the U.S. is wary of appearing as trying to exert too much influence after an eight-month civil war. At the same time, however, leaders in the U.S. and elsewhere worry about how well the newly formed National Transitional Council can resolve clashes between militia groups in the North African nation.

Sanctions lifted
Ahead of Panetta's visit, the Obama administration announced it had lifted sanctions the U.S. imposed on Libya in February to choke off the Gadhafi regime's funds while it was violent suppressing peaceful protests. The U.S. at the time blocked some $37 billion in Libyan assets, and a White House statement said Friday's action "unfreezes all government and central bank funds within U.S. jurisdiction, with limited exceptions."

Recovery of the assets "will allow the Libyan government to access most of its worldwide holdings and will help the new government oversee the country's transition and reconstruction in a responsible manner," the White House said.

But the continuing violence in Libya, including recent skirmishes between revolutionary fighters and national army troops near Tripoli's airport, reflects the difficulties that Libya's leaders face as they try to forge an army, integrating some of the militias and disarming the rest.

Officials acknowledge that process could take months, and that they can't force the militias to go along.

Panetta told reporters Friday that his visit to the Libyan capital will give him a better sense of the situation and allow him to pay tribute to the people for bringing down Gadhafi and trying to establish a democratic government.

"It seems to me they are working through some very difficult issues to try to bring that country together," said Panetta. "It's not going to be easy. This is not a country that has a tradition of democratic institutions and representative government. This is going to take some work "

US to provide assistance
But he said he has seen indications that the Libyans are making progress.

"I think that any country like Libya that was able to do what they did and show the courage that they did in making the changes that took place there ? I'm confident that ultimately they're going to be able to succeed in putting a democracy together," he said.

Panetta said the U.S. is prepared to provide Libya any assistance it needs.

By traveling to Libya, however, Panetta was highlighting the different approaches that the U.S. and other countries are taking with respect to rebellions against tyrannical leaders.

The U.S. and NATO provided months of military power and assistance to the Libyan rebels, but officials have made it clear they do not intend to do the same in Syria despite the furor over President Bashar Assad's crackdown on pro-reform demonstrators.

Panetta, who met with Turkish officials Friday, said they did not discuss any specific steps to increase pressure on Assad to step down.

But they talked about the need to work together with other nations to "get Assad to do the right thing."

At some point, he said, he believes that the type of uprisings that happened in Libya and elsewhere across the Middle East will take place in Syria.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/17/9511757-panetta-lands-in-tripoli-becoming-first-us-defense-chief-ever-to-visit-libya

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The Engadget Show - 028: Boeing's 787, the Tokyo Motor Show and the year in review

It's been a crazy year for the Engadget Show, but don't count us out just yet. We've got one more exciting episode to hit you with before the year's up. This time out, Tim travels to San Francisco, to check out the high performance BRD RedShift SM electric motorcycle and Zach H. takes a trip to Japan to tour the Tokyo Motor Show with Autoblog's Damon Lavrinc and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Darren joins Tim and Brian in-studio to talk the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the Motorola Xyboard and the Asus Transformer Prime and Engadget founder Peter Rojas pops by the show to discuss the year that was. We close the episode and the year with an Engadget Show highlights reel and a performance by Brooklyn's own My Best Fiend.

Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater
Special guests: Peter Rojas, Darren Murph, Damon Lavrinc
Producer: Guy Streit
Director: Michelle Stahl
Executive Producers: Joshua Fruhlinger, Brian Heater and Michael Rubens
Music by: My Best Fiend

Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 028 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 028 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show - 028 (Small)

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Congress spars over payroll tax-cut extensions: What does it mean for you? (The Ticket)

McConnell, left and Reid, right (Dennis Cook/AP)

Senate Democrats on Monday introduced an altered proposal to extend payroll tax cuts ahead of their expiration Dec. 31. But it's far from clear whether the Senate proposal can break the current stalemate over the issue in Washington.

At stake is a temporary tax break that affects nearly every employed American-- an estimated 160 million people, according to the White House. The break lowers the Social Security payroll tax for employees from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent. But the provision is set to expire Dec. 31--meaning that if Congress fails to pass an extension, workers will be paying 2 percent more in Social Security taxes in the year head. That higher rate works out to an average of $1,000 for a typical middle-class family, according to the White House. Democrats are trying to couple their proposal payroll-tax cut with a similar extension of federal unemployment benefits, which are likewise set to expire at year's end.

The Democrats' plan will reportedly propose a further payroll tax reduction from 4.2 to 3.1 percent. The official plan had not yet been released as of Monday afternoon.

President Obama on Monday warned lawmakers to extend payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits--or else risk hurting American families during the holiday season.

"It would be a terrible mistake for Congress to go home for the holidays" without extending unemployment insurance and leave "1.3 million Americans out in the cold," Obama said at a White House news conference.

Watch video of the president's press conference below:

Democrats and select Republican leaders such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have voiced support for extending the payroll tax cut, but the parties have failed to find common ground about how the government would go about paying for it.

The new Democratic proposal unveiled Monday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada included a plan that had been a past sticking point for Republicans--a surtax on Americans earning more than $1 million. But Reid said Democrats have now agreed to make that surtax temporary in order to corral some Republican support.

"The scaled-back, temporary tax on the very richest Americans?a group with an average income of $3 million a year?is also a sincere attempt to get Senate Republicans on board," Reid said in a Senate floor speech Monday afternoon, according to prepared remarks.

Reid argued that wealthy earners, a supermajority of Republicans, plus a majority of the tea party all support having the country's top income earners pay more in taxes. "Republicans in Congress dismiss [this temporary tax] at their peril. The American people are watching," Reid warned.

To drive that point home, the White House on Monday unveiled a timer available on the White House's website to count down the days until "middle class tax increases" take effect.

Democrats immediately depicted their new proposal as a "compromise" Monday, but Republican leaders countered that they had yet to see or judge the proposal before Democrats decided unilaterally to characterize it as a compromise.

Other popular Yahoo! News stories:

? Jobless in Iowa: a third of the state's unemployed have been looking for work for six months or more
? Herman Cain drops out of presidential race
? Newt Gingrich hits Iowa airwaves for the first time

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/democrats/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20111205/pl_yblog_theticket/congress-spars-over-payroll-tax-cut-extensions-what-does-it-mean-for-you

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Bank of China to step in as Saab part owner: source (Reuters)

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) ? Saab's Dutch owner and China's Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile have agreed that the Bank of China, the nation's fourth-largest bank by market value, will come in as part owner of the ailing carmaker, according to a source familiar with the deal.

Under the new deal, the Bank of China will replace Chinese investor Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. Youngman and the Bank of China will own just under 50 percent of the company.

The move could help pave the way for an approval by General Motors, which still has preferential shares in Saab and rejected an earlier rescue plan. It said in November it would stop supplying components and technology if Youngman and Pang Da succeeded with their acquisition bid.

Saab has lurched from crisis to crisis in the past year. The company has not produced a car in months because of unpaid salaries and bills.

The new plan has been handed over to GM.

Saab was not immediately available to comment.

The company is currently under court protection from creditors in Sweden after unions representing Saab employees began proceedings to put it into bankruptcy over unpaid wages.

Pang Da operates auto dealerships in China while Youngman produces commercial vehicles, including buses and trucks, and sells cars under the Lotus brand.

GM operates in China in a partnership with state-run automaker SAIC Motor Corp Ltd.

(Reporting by Mia Shanley in Stockholm and Sara Webb in Amsterdam; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111204/bs_nm/us_sweden_saab

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Romney, Gingrich focus of GOP race with Cain exit

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaks to supporters and volunteers during a rally Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaks to supporters and volunteers during a rally Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at a town hall style event in the Staten Island borough of New York Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. Gingrich praised GOP presidential rival Herman Cain for bringing optimism and big ideas to the 2012 campaign on Saturday. Polls show that Gingrich's candidacy has surged in recent weeks, with many showing him topping the Republican field. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Gloria Cain, left, blows a kiss to the crowd as she arrives with her husband, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, right, at an event Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Atlanta. Cain announced he is suspending his campaign for president. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) ? With the implosion of Herman Cain's campaign amid accusations of adultery and sexual harassment, the once-crowded 2012 Republican presidential field appears to be narrowing to a two-man race between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

GOP voters have one month before the leadoff Iowa caucuses. Gingrich is showing strength in the latest Iowa poll, while Romney is strong in New Hampshire, site of the first primary.

Romney has maintained a political network since his failed 2008 presidential bid, especially in New Hampshire. Gingrich, whose campaign nearly collapsed several months ago, is relying on his debate performances and the good will he built up with some conservatives as a congressional leader in the 1980s and 1990s.

Gingrich's efforts appear to be paying off in Iowa. A Des Moines Register poll released late Saturday found the former House speaker leading the GOP field with 25 percent support, ahead of Ron Paul at 18 percent and Romney at 16.

Cain's suspension of his campaign Saturday, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry's continued struggles to make headway with voters, have focused the party's attention on Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, and Gingrich, a one-time congressman from Georgia. They offer striking contrasts in personality, government experience and campaign organization.

Their political philosophies and differences are a bit harder to discern. Both men have changed their positions on issues such as climate change. And Gingrich, in particular, is known to veer into unusual territories, such as child labor practices.

Romney has said he differs with Gingrich on child labor laws. Gingrich recently suggested that children as young as nine should work as assistant school janitors, to earn money and learn work ethics.

Cain's announcement in Atlanta offered a possible opening for Romney or Gingrich to make a dramatic move in hopes of seizing momentum for the sprint to the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus. Neither man did. They appear willing to play things carefully and low-key for now.

At a town hall meeting in New York sponsored by tea party supporters, Gingrich declined to characterize the race as a direct contest between himself and Romney. Any of the remaining GOP contenders could stage a comeback before the Iowa caucuses, he said. "I'm not going to say that any of my friends can't suddenly surprise us," Gingrich said.

But once high-flying contenders such as Perry and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota have not managed to bounce back so far, despite weeks of trying.

Cain's once-prospering campaign was undone by numerous allegations of sexual wrongdoing.

Gingrich, twice divorced and now married to a woman with whom he had an extramarital affair, has been the most obvious beneficiary of Cain's precipitous slide.

But Perry, Bachmann and possibly others are likely to make a play for Cain's anti-establishment tea party backing. Time is running short for them to establish themselves as the top alternative to Romney, who has long been viewed with suspicion by many conservatives.

___

Fouhy reported from New York.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-12-04-GOP%20Campaign/id-4cb360e392c64c909899eaf7518b3105

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