Next step in launching astronauts from U.S. Soil: NASA awards commercial crew certification contracts

Dec. 11, 2012 ? NASA announced Dec. 10 the next step in its plan to launch American astronauts from U.S. soil, selecting three companies to conduct activities under contracts that will enable future certification of commercial spacecraft as safe to carry humans to the International Space Station.

Advances made by these American companies during the first contract phase known as the certification products contracts (CPC) will begin the process of ensuring integrated crew transportation systems will meet agency safety requirements and standards to launch American astronauts to the International Space Station from the United States, ending the agency's reliance on Russia for these transportation services. The second phase of certification will result in a separately competed contract.

CPC contractors are:

• The Boeing Company, Houston, $9,993,000
• Sierra Nevada Corporation Space System, Louisville, Colo., $10,000,000
• Space Exploration technologies Corp., Hawthorne, Calif., $9,589,525

"These contracts represent important progress in restoring human spaceflight capabilities to the United States," said Phil McAlister, director of the Commercial Spaceflight Development Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "NASA and its industry partners are committed to the goal of safely and cost-effectively launching astronauts from home within the next five years."

During the Phase 1 CPC contracts, from Jan. 22, 2013 through May 30, 2014, the companies will work with NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) to discuss and develop products to implement the agency's flight safety and performance requirements. This includes implementation across all aspects of the space system, including the spacecraft, launch vehicle, and ground and mission operations.

Under the contract, a certification plan will be developed to achieve safe, crewed missions to the space station. This includes data that will result in developing engineering standards, tests and analyses of the crew transportation systems design.

"I congratulate the three companies for their selection," said Ed Mango, CCP manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "This is the program's first major, fixed-price contract. The effort will bring space system designs within NASA's safety and performance expectations for future flights to the International Space Station."

The second phase of the certification contract, expected to begin in mid-2014, will involve a full and open competition. It will include the final development, testing and verifications necessary to allow crewed demonstration flights to the space station.

NASA is facilitating the development of U.S. commercial crew space transportation capabilities with the goal of achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective access to and from low-Earth orbit for potential future government and commercial customers.

While NASA works with U.S. industry partners to develop these capabilities, the agency also is developing the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration. Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS and Orion will expand human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration in the solar system.

For more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/5EghUIcrwoA/121211190040.htm

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How the Grinch Stole PowerPoint

Last week, we published a list of the Top 35 Presentation Books based on expert ratings.

As my daughter looked at that article over my shoulder, I began thinking about the books I like reading to her the most. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss is definitely a favorite this time of year.

Inspired by the good Dr. Seuss (and since it has been too long since the?12 Days of Public Speaking Christmas),?I offer this PowerPoint parody to you. I hope you enjoy it.

Every presenter at the conference liked speaking a lot?
But the Grinch, who preferred email and reports, did NOT!

The Grinch hated speaking ? the whole act of presenting!
Now, please don?t ask why he was so unrelenting.
It could be that his head wasn?t screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think the main reason for his lack of brain fiber
May be that he wasn?t a Six Minutes subscriber!

But, whatever the reason ? his head or his sneakers ?
He stood there on Conference Eve, hating the speakers,
Staring down from his cave with sour, Grinchy gloom
At the warm lighted projectors below in their room.
For he knew every speaker at the conference, sure enough,
Was busy now, adding more PowerPoint fluff.

For tomorrow, he knew, each woman and man,
Would deliver their slides according to plan.
And then, oh, the bullets! Oh the big round black bullets!
That?s one thing he hated: those big round black bullets.

The speakers, young and old, would then start to talk!
And they?d talk! And they?d talk! And they?d talk, talk, talk, talk!
They would talk about this, and they?d talk about that,
Mostly reading their bullets, boring to look at.

Then the audience would do something he liked least of all!
Every audience member, the tall and the small,
Would rise from their chairs where they were all napping,
They?d put their hands up and politely start clapping.

They?d clap, and they?d clap. And they?d clap, clap, clap, clap!
And the more the Grinch thought of this nap and this clap?
The more the Grinch thought, ?I must end all of that!
Why, for fifty-three years I?ve put up with it now!
I must stop the conference from starting? but how??

Then he got an idea!
An awful idea!
The Grinch got a wonderful awful idea!

?I know just what to do!? The Grinch laughed in his throat.
And he made a quick janitor?s hat and a coat.
And he chuckled and clucked, and laughed a great belly laugh:
?With this coat and this hat, I look like cleaning staff!?

Then the Grinch jumped in his van with his mops and his brooms
Toward the hotel and all its dim conference rooms.
He parked in the back near the dark service gate,
And he slipped through the doors where they loaded the freight.

All their laptops were dark. Quiet fans filled the air.
All the speakers were dreaming sweet dreams without care.
When he came to the very first laptop charging there.

Then he slithered and slunk up and down on his trek
Around the whole room, deleting every PowerPoint deck!
Gone were the bullets, both the big and the small,
Gone were transitions, gratuitous and all.
Gone were every 3-dimensional pie chart
Gone were the light bulbs and other clip art.
All were deleted ? there?d be no more clicks.
The backups went too, right off memory sticks.

Then (to be thorough) he deleted Keynote files too
Off the iMacs, and iPads, and those iPods ? ?Adieu!?
You would think that these actions would have sufficed,
But then he stole every single electronic device.

Then he found all the briefcases, purses and totes,
And proceeded to shred every last page of notes.
?No more reading out loud, no more eyes looking down,
They?ll be scared if they?re forced to look at the crowd!?

Then, he did the same thing in the other conference rooms.
All while pushing around his fake cleaning-up brooms.

He left the hotel, and sat out in his van
Giggling and smirking, with his ears up to scan.
?Pooh-pooh to the speakers? he was Grinch-ish-ly humming.
?They?re finding out now that no conference is coming.?

?They?re just waking up! I know just what they?ll do!
Their mouths will hang open a minute or two.
Then all the conference speakers will all cry ?Boo-hoo!??

?That?s a noise,? grinned the Grinch,??that I simply must hear!?
So he paused. And the Grinch put a hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising from the hotel.
It started in low. Then it started to swell?

But the sound wasn?t sad!?Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn?t be so!?But it WAS merry! VERY!

He peeked in at the conference. The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise!

Every speaker at the conference, the tall and the small,
Was speaking! Without any PowerPoint at all!
They were making their points and being quite persuasive.
Their message was sticking and being quite pervasive.
He hadn?t stopped presentations at all. They came!
Somehow or other, they came just the same!

And the Grinch, from his brain right down to his toe,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: ?How could it be so?
It came without projectors with lecterns to the sides!
It came without PowerPoint bullets on slides.?

And he puzzled three hours, ?till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn?t before!
?Maybe presenting,? he thought, ?doesn?t come from a slide.?
?Maybe presenting? perhaps? comes from passion inside.?

And what happened then???Well, at the conference they say
That the Grinch?s small heart grew three sizes that day!
And the minute his heart didn?t feel quite so small,
He entered the building and walked down the hall.
Then he waited for the speaker to finish and pause?
And he ? he himself ? the Grinch led the applause.

Source: http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/grinch-stole-powerpoint/

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Sanctions hit Iranian manufacturing hard

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? A conservative Iranian news website says the number of manufacturing companies in the country facing financial crisis has increased four-fold over the past four years to nearly 1,600.

The Monday report by tasnimnews.com reflects the impact of Western sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program. The website says the report has been drawn up by a government department but didn't elaborate.

Iran is under four sets of U.N. sanctions and Western punitive measures on its oil, banking and trade industries over the Islamic Republic's refusal to halt uranium enrichment ? a program that can be a pathway to nuclear arms.

The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sanctions-hit-iranian-manufacturing-hard-131237140.html

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Style At Home: Mary Graf Of Le Cart SF | theglitterguide.com

Tell us about Le Cart SF. What inspired you to start it?
Le Cart is an online store that sells one-of-a-kind, refurbished vintage or antique accessories and accent furniture for your home. We also host shows throughout the Bay area where our customers can view our pieces in vignettes which really do well. What is better than drinking wine and getting inspired to spruce up your house? My mom is somewhat of an antique collector so I had always recreated some of the pieces she passed down and Jenny obviously has a great eye with all of her design experience.

For years, we went together to the Alameda Point Antique Faire and had found so many great treasures that we started thinking we could fix them up and sell them. Originally we talked about opening a store because at least in our neighborhood in San Francisco there really isn?t a place to buy great, affordable statement pieces for your home. We are both too busy with our growing children to man a store for now so we keep it small on the website and plan to grow as we have more time.

?I love these windows in our downstairs living room. It?s a very sunny spot to relax. One of these days I want to get custom cushions made for the seats and fabulous curtains to really make the windows pop. The large watermelon pillows are from West Elm, I had the french ticking ones made, and the pillow in the Louis XV chair is from John Robshaw. My sequin front sweater is a score from H&M, the necklace is from The Copper Penny in Charleston, SC, and the booties are Loeffler Randall from Foot Candy, an amazing shoe store in Sonoma and St. Helena.?

?This is the back part of our ?playful? playroom. The front of this massive room is full of toys but we keep this TV area toy free. That huge window overlooks the San Francisco Bay so a seat in one of those club chairs from Palecek is sacred. I love white sofas but there is no way to have nice ones until my girls are grown up. These are from?Pottery Barn and Ikea. ?The pillows are from a variety of sources: some custom, others from Roberta Roller Rabbit, Fabricada and Etsy. The storage zebra ottoman is from Ballard, and holds so many of our old photo albums. It?s such a great coffee table when you have children.?

?

You have a love for refurbished and vintage pieces. How do you decorate your own home with them??
I think these pieces really make a home. If everything is new, where is the story? You have to buy pieces that you love and that speak to you and your taste in some way. Next to my fireplace, I have an old wire milk crate that I found at this fabulous store in Sonoma holding my firewood and then on the other side I have an occasional table that is a giant tassel. My husband?s grandparents had a milk farm and my mom always had our keys in the house on giant silk tassels so these two pieces are so nostalgic and personal but still look great.

Any favorite pieces in your home??
I love so many but I think my favorite is a set of four mirrors I found at Alameda. They are perfectly distressed, the shape is amazing, and they are delicately painted gold and emerald green and hang on the four opposite walls of my living room. I originally had them all four lined up in my dining room but my mom came up with the idea to separate them on each wall and it totally completes the room.

?I adore these Chloe chairs from Bungalow 5. Paired with a farm table from Harvest Home they make such a fun statement. I love the blue and white jars but sadly they are for sale on our Le Cart website, but I am happy to keep them if they don?t sell. My built in China cabinet is original to the house and is filled with everything from fine Limoges China to Chinese pottery and everything in between. I could collect China and glassware, I just don?t have the room.??

Favorite room in your house??
Definitely my downstairs living room. It is more like a ?salon? or a sitting room. Since we have a TV/playroom upstairs, this is our adult room with absolutely no sign of toys. We don?t have any sofas, just a mix of French chairs, wicker, rattan, a huge club chair and a large round ottoman that rolls around depending on where we want to prop our feet. It has a great fireplace and this is my husband?s and my favorite spot to have a glass of wine once the girls are in bed, a cup of coffee on the weekends while reading the Times before they are awake, and a great place for a dance party after dinner as it is connected by fabulous pocket doors to the dining room.

?This is one of my many vintage pieces from my mother?s wardrobe. She had fabulous clothes. This is an Anne Klein from her original line in the late 60?s before her death. I have worn this gold dress to so many events and I love that my mom did too at my same age. That is the beauty of classic, well made clothes.??

?This is one of my favorite photos from our wedding night. My sisters and I have all ?gone away? in the same Vintage Rolls. And it is a special night if my husband is drinking his favorite Glenlivet scotch from these crystal tumblers from Waterford. My mom gave me this set of hilarious linen cocktail napkins. The top one is obviously funny for us but others say things like ?Guests of Guests may not Invite Guests? and ?Who invited all these Tacky People?. ?Pretty funny.?

How would you describe your decorating style?
Since I am not a designer by trait, really only self-proclaimed by passion, my style is all over the place. I would say traditional but playful. I love a lot of white, neutral, classic furniture but I will always have unexpected color and patterns as the pop. I realize when I go home to Nashville and see my friend?s homes that I am definitely more in the California casual bucket. I will always be a Southern girl at heart and have an ode to that in my decorating, but I love that living in California gives you more free reign to be bold in your style.

Does living in San Francisco influence your home decor??
When I first drove Jenny past my new house, she immediately said it looks like a cottage in Seaside, FL. I was thrilled because I am a beach girl and actually love the bright white and fun colors of beach interiors. It is the top two units of a three story house and it is bright blue with white trim and has an amazing front ?porch? which is very rare in San Francisco. Even though San Francisco is chilly and not known as a beach town, I am only 5 blocks from the water and my girls are always playing on the beach. We have great views of the Bay so I went with it and incorporated some casual beach elements in my decor. A few painted wicker pieces, bright white bamboo dining chairs, and some great blues in my pillows.

?Jenny and I found a pair of these amazing inlaid bamboo tables at the Alameda Antiques Faire from a guy selling toy trains of all things. He had no idea how incredible these were. You would cry if you knew how much we paid for them. One of our best finds ever. She has the other one in her living room. I just purchased this set of china from an antique store in Healdsburg, it is so chic. And low cut flowers in mint julep cups are a must all over my house.?

Favorite places to shop for your home??
Obviously any flea market or antique shop, especially the ones in San Anselmo and Healdsburg. And I always bring my credit card on my Saturday morning runs because our neighborhood always has great estate sales. Summerhouse in Mill Valley is wonderful as is Ruby Living. And you never leave Sue Fisher King on Sacramento without the perfect hostess or birthday gift.

?

Any tips for people who want to score vintage items for their home? How can they make them look modern and cool??
Again, buy what you love and something that is nostalgic to your childhood or family. It will always make you smile. And if it is interesting to you, then I promise it will look great in your home, as it will make your house more homey and original. When searching for treasures, look for classic pieces that would be easy to paint or not too expensive to recover.?Our inventory that is painted in a pop color always sells fast. You can always add nail heads to a chair or bench to make them look more current and any vintage Lucite pieces look cool and modern.

How do you sparkle??
There are a lot of sequins and shimmer in my closet, tons of gold and silver shoes, and if you could see my house decorated for Christmas right now, you may be blinded by the sparkle. But the true sparkle comes from the love for my husband of ten years this year, my amazing little girls, and the friendships of my three sisters, parents and all my best friends throughout my life. You can?t shine without them!

?It took me a long time to decide on my bedroom scheme, and it is still a work in progress. I wanted soothing colors and a real retreat for my husband and I. Scheuer Linens here in San Francisco patiently helped me with this custom color for my Matouk Linens and I had the knot euros made from a Kravet linen from the San Francisco Design Center. The sunburst and orange throw were finds from One Kings Lane and the antique lamps are from once again, the Alameda Antique Faire. I used a chunky linen from Pindler & Pindler fabrics for the Ballard Stevenson headboard. I absolutely love my bed and wish I could spend more time in it.?

?

Source: http://theglitterguide.com/2012/12/11/style-at-home-mary-graf-of-le-cart-sf/

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Messi stands alone

Since Wednesday there were doubts whether he?d even play, but not only was Lionel Messi in the starting lineup for Barcelona at Real Betis today, he quickly answered the day?s big question:

Would he break the record?

That record was former Bayern Munich/Germany striker Gerd M?ller?s, the three-time European champion posting 85 goals in all FIFA-sanctioned competitions in 1972. Messi entered today?s game on 84: 72 for Barcelona; 12 for Argentina.

The record-tying goal came after only 16 minutes, with M?ller taking a back seat nine minutes later:

It?s apropos that the record-setter came on a goal that?s had to be added to Messi?s game. You didn?t see play like that when he broke into Bar?a?s senior team eight years ago. Since, Messi has matured from the widely talented right winger he was at 17 into the middle-of-the-field orchestrator he is today.

Charging at the defense, he lets his pass for Andr?s Iniesta go just in time to give his teammates space for a backheel. One touch later and Messi?s let go of a surgical far post finish. The opposing keeper has no chance.

Messi?s always been a phenom, but that kind of playmaking and precision are things he?s had to develop en route to becoming the world?s best player. His initial value was on the ball ? taking on his man to create his own opportunities, occasionally setting his teammates up for others.

He was a wildcard to team built around Ronaldinho, Deco, Samuel Eto?o, and Xavi.?Now his game embodies the best of all those players? skills: Xavi?s precision and prolificness; Deco?s nous; Eto?o finishing; Ronaldinho?s flair.

Though today?s accomplishment highlights his individualism, Messi?s matured into a player you can build a team around without fear it will devolve into a quest for numbers. The records just come.

MORE: All 86 goals, one video

After today?s 2-1 victory in Seville, Barcelona has four more games left on their 2012 schedule: a Copa del Rey home-and-away against second division Cordoba, a huge home match against Atletico (and Radamel Falcao) and a year-ender at Real Valladolid.

If he plays every game, as he wants to do, Messi could come close to 95 goals, but with 100 out of reach and Cordoba offering a chance for rest, look for Messi to settle in just short of 90.

Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/09/lionel-messi-record-gerd-muller-video/related

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Main Street vs. Wall Street in battle over Hostess

7 hrs.

Kayla Tausche and Jesse Bergman , CNBC

Of the two thousand Hostess Brands documents filed in the last year with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, it's one of the most recent ones ? a handwritten, five-page letter on loose-leaf notebook paper ? that stands out the most.

In document #1890, Don Sheridan of Wellesley, Mass., writes to say the Judge, the CEO, and the company's advisers should allow him to prepare a proposal for the Twinkie maker and its 30 brands.

Financial advisers to Hostess have set a deadline of Monday, Dec. 10, to submit initial interest in acquiring a liquidating Hostess or any number of its brands. Compared to the likes of the conglomerate snackmakers that will table billion-dollar bids, Sheridan would hardly seem a viable competitor. He is 59 years old, battling cerebral palsy and living on welfare. His academic qualifications are slim: He flunked out of accounting school at a younger age and, in conversations over the phone, describes himself as being "unemployed practically [his] whole life."

Despite the odds, Sheridan's is a very real dream.

And he's not alone. A mainstay of the collective American memory, the idea that Hostess ? Twinkies, Wonder Bread and all ? could go stale has struck a chord with consumers and collectors. It's drawn a singularly unique set of strangers to the world of wonky financial engineering, court hearings, and fire sales normally inhabited only by Wall Street pocket squares and white-shoe law firms.

CNBC: At Hostess, Everything's for Sale but the Kitchen Sink?

Enter the Hurst brothers. Twins Austin and Zach, 26, run a small private equity fund in Sarasota, Fla., and have a track record of small investments in early-stage tech companies. Their fund is small and run remotely, their experience working with large companies is nonexistent ? but they're gunning to take over the national baker, with big expectations.

"I honestly believe we can double the profitability," said Austin Hurst, the firm's managing general partner, reached by phone before the deadline. Hurst said the brothers, still working on a bid to submit to Hostess' bankers, were feverishly searching for wealthier ? and more knowledgeable ? investors to provide financial backing.

Cobbling together investors has been a familiar approach for would-be saviors of these iconic brands. In 2011, everyday consumers pledged more than $200 million to save hipster beer-maker Pabst Blue Ribbon Co. through BuyABeerCompany.Com, a crowdfunding website.

In a similar vein, Spencer Clark, CEO of eRaise, a nascent crowdfunding platform still in beta testing, launched the website DoughForHostess to solicit financial pledges from small-time investors who wanted to "save" the company. In roughly two weeks' time, the site received "thousands of responses from around the world," according to Clark ? totaling some $2 million in unofficial financial commitments. While Clark does not have the outright intention of bidding for the company (although there is a scenario, albeit a phenomenally slim one, where he'd take a shot at it), he does see a future where these kinds of main-street financed deals are very possible.

The Pabst effort, while valiant, got quashed. In June 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission shut down two rogue investors who were soliciting the public for the funds, but did not register the securities. The site was shut down following a cease-and-desist order, and the brand was scooped up by family-owned private equity shop C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. for $250 million.

CNBC:The Twinkie Factor: Planned Job Cuts Rise

Coincidentally, the Metropoulos family could save Hostess, too. The owner and principal Daren Metropoulos (also now chairman and CEO of Pabst) told CNBC the effort was "at the beginning stage of our due diligence."

In all likelihood, buying Hostess Brands would cost a multiple of Pabst. A representative for financial adviser Perella Weinberg ? tasked with selling the piecemeal brands ? said in a hearing that the sales could fetch roughly half of the brands' combined $2.4 billion in revenues.

The other, more established, bidders are likely to include large corporations backed by large commitments of capital by large investment banks. (Perella said at least six banks were retained.)

National competitor Flowers Foods recently expanded its credit facility in order to tap its cash reserves, signaling to analysts it plans to bid. Behind the scenes, executives from supermarkets and regional bakeries have been touring Hostess facilities and talking with management.

That's not stopping those like Sheridan and Hurst from racing to the finish line.

"Our exact bid has yet to be determined ? but it will be sizeable and it will be very competitive," Hurst said. "We're in it to win it."

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/main-street-vs-wall-street-battle-over-hostess-1C7524226

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Tanker run aground by superstorm

Powerful storm surges from Superstorm Sandy caused a nearly 170-foot water tanker to run aground in Staten Island, N.Y., on Monday night.

The front third of the tanker is grounded into Front Street. The city's waterfront was largely destroyed, which includes a number of businesses on the water.

The 168-foot tanker was moored about a mile away when Sandy's powerful force propelled it toward land.

No one was on the tanker and no one was hurt as a result of it running aground.

Sandy struck the East Coast on Monday night, leaving a trail of massive flooding, power outages and destruction. President Obama has issued disaster declarations for New York and New Jersey.

Also Read

Source: http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/tanker-run-aground-superstorm-120726358--abc-news-topstories.html

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