Mitt Romney keeps low profile amid nastiness on debt ceiling. Is that smart? (The Christian Science Monitor)

Washington ? The increasingly bitter political wrangling over raising the debt limit and reducing the deficit has drawn in the majority of Republican presidential candidates, with some pledging never to raise the debt limit and others mincing few words in their criticism of President Obama and the Democrats.

Except for the frontrunner, Mitt Romney.

The former Massachusetts governor has stayed low key as the rhetoric heats up between Mr. Obama and congressional Republican leaders, who are engaged in high-stakes negotiations to avert a default on the national debt beginning Aug 2.

With Mr. Romney???s rivals for the nomination trying to gain traction, is this a good strategy?

RECOMMENDED: National debt ceiling 101: Is a crisis looming?

When asked by a reporter for comment on the dispute, the Romney campaign will dutifully send out a statement that is critical of Obama, albeit in measured tones. But according to the Wall Street Journal, it dates to April.

?President Obama is responsible for frightening new levels of federal spending and deficits,? the statement reads. ?As a result, the nation has amassed an unheard-of level of debt that imperils our financial standing in the world. I?ve never seen an enterprise in more desperate need of a turnaround than the US government.

???We cannot lose sight of the need to move the president toward meaningful fiscal responsibility. A vote on raising the debt ceiling has to be accompanied by a major effort to restructure and reduce the size of government.??

The campaign also notes that Romney recently signed the ?Cut, Cap, and Balance? pledge organized by a coalition of conservative groups. The pledge opposes any debt limit increase unless three conditions are met: substantial spending cuts; enforceable spending caps; and passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.

Romney?s cautious approach stands in contrast to the sharper lines of his competitors. In her first campaign ad, released last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota pledged never to vote for a debt-ceiling increase. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas holds the same position. In an oped Tuesday in the Des Moines Register, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty accused Obama and congressional Democrats of ?using the debt ceiling debate to threaten default if their thirst for more taxes and spending isn?t satisfied.?

Romney?s competitors have also chided him for laying low, suggesting it shows a lack of resolve. But in fact, Romney?s decision to play it low-key is smart, says Ford O?Connell, co-founder of the conservative Civic Forum PAC.

?Governor Romney has done the bare minimum to appease fiscal conservatives and tea paryters by signing the Cut, Cap, and Balance pledge,? says Mr. O?Connell. ?And given the number of twists and turns this debate is going to take before we come to a solution, it?s better to keep your options open.?

Romney officials have pointed out that the negotiations are taking place behind closed doors, and the campaign is not privy to developments as they unfold. Instead, Romney has focused on the economy.

But that hasn?t stopped top Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod from also weighing in on Romney?s tight-lipped approach to the debt talks. In a post Tuesday on the Obama campaign?s Facebook page, Mr. Axelrod said the GOP presidential candidates had ?fallen in line with the most strident voices in their party, rejecting any solution that would include closing gold-plated tax loopholes.?

Axelrod singled out an exception, Romney, who ?has refused to even address the issue.?

RECOMMENDED: National debt ceiling 101: Is a crisis looming?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20110713/ts_csm/397165

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The 10 Best Moments in Pro-Gaming History

Rod 'Slasher' Breslau ?Competitive gaming and eSports are not a new phenomenon.

The act of playing games for sport has been growing in popularity since the mid 90's. From Doom 2 deathmatch, NetQuake and Descent, to Warcraft 2 on Kali, Diablo and Ultima Online PvP?to say nothing of going down to the local arcade to spend your quarters and wait your turn on Street Fighter 2?people have loved playing each other in video games.

Although eSports has only reached new heights largely due to the growing number of competitive players at organized tournaments like Major League Gaming's Pro Circuit and GOMTV Global StarCraft II League, there is a rich, detailed history of events from the past 15 years.

The vibrant, passionate, competitive communities across several games and genres are, arguably, the backbone of some of the largest developers in the world. Blizzard, Bungie, Infinity Ward, id Software, Valve, Capcom, and Epic all have, behind them, strong competitive gaming fanbases. Players have dedicated their entire lives to being the very best, with skill ceilings you couldn't stick ladders to get to. For those who don't like to watch other people play video games, give the best moments in eSports a shot. You may very well start.

Here is a compilation of some of the best competitive matches of all times...

10. Grubby vs Moon ? Warcraft 3 - World eSports Games Semifinals ? 2006 - Hangzhou, China

Many would consider Jang "Moon" Jae to be the best Warcraft 3 player of all time. He was nicknamed "The Fifth Race" by the community for his innovative and dominant play with Night-Elf. He signed a three-year, $500,000 deal in 2009. Many would also consider Orc hero Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen to be the best western Warcraft 3 player of all time, having won the most titles and recently started his own personal brand, very much in the vein of the most accomplished western professional player of all time, Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel.

By 2006, both players had dominated the Warcraft 3 scene, taking 16 titles combined. Grubby's streak included western events ESWC 2005, DigitalLife 2005 and BlizzCon 2005. Moon had been cleaning up against harder competition winning two seasons of WEG and three seasons of MBCGame. They had also never met each other in an official match before.

The fandom and passion for Warcraft 3 in China is rivaled only by Korea's zeal for Starcraft, leaving no better stage for such a matchup than the World eSports Games Semifinals. Although both players were at the peak of their play, anyone you asked had Moon as the favorite going into the match. At the time of play, Moon had gone an undefeated 28-0 in televised play against Orc players. During the 2006 era of play, Night-Elf's Druid of The Talon/Claw was so difficult for Orc players that Grubby was quoted in a pre-event interview saying "if you want to be good vs NE as an Orc, you need like one month full concentration on this match-up and that means you can't practice anything else, making u worse vs Orc, Human, and Undead." That quote was also in reference to Moon whom he was happy not to face ? in the group stages.

SPOILER ? THE RESULT
(Game 4) ? Commentary by Jaczie Lo

Grubby takes down Moon 3-1 to break the Fifth Race's undefeated streak, and to provide a breakthrough for all of his Orc brethren. In one of the only times I can remember, fans rush the stage?like they swarm the court at the end of college basketball games?and mobbed Grubby at his computer. Grubby's close friend and teammate Yoan "ToD" Merlo won the other semifinal in similar upset fashion against Chinese superstar XiaoFeng "Sky" Li to set up their dream final.

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9. BoxeR vs YellOw ? Starcraft: Brood War ? 2004 ? EVER OSL Semifinals ? Seoul, Korea

The Korean Starcraft fanbase has catapulted professional players at the dawn of the millennium to heights that Western audiences still have yet to see. Two players emerged at the forefront. They were the sport's ambassador: the Emperor, Lim "SlayerS_BoxeR" Yo-Hwan, and his long-time rival, Storm Zerg Hong "YellOw" Jin Ho.

What started in 2001 with a nailbiting 3-2 victory for BoxeR in the Coca-Cola OSL, extended throughout the history of Korean Starcraft, even into YellOw's recent retirement from the game two weeks ago. By 2004 YellOw had a second nickname coined for him: the "King of Silver." He consistently lost to BoxeR or NaDa in tournament finals.

BoxeR and YellOw once again met up in the 2004 OSL Semifinals, BoxeR looking for his third StarLeague title, YellOw just to take out BoxeR. What developed is one of the first and greatest showings of mindgames and swagger that Starcraft can offer, and why BoxeR has been king.

The Match
? Commentary in Korean

SPOILER ? THE RESULT
BoxeR bunker-rushes YellOw three times in a row to sweep the series and head to the grand finals. BoxeR had specially prepared three straight bunker rushes that would be extremely hard for a Zerg player. Beyond that, he messed with YellOw's head?-and everyone else's more than ever before. BoxeR went on to lose in a close 3-2 series to teammate Choi "iloveoov" Yeon-Sung in the Finals.

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8. Fnatic vs AgaiN ? Counter-Strike 1.6 ? World Cyber Games Finals - 2009 ? Chengdu, China

Contrary to what most people would expect, the Counter-Strike 1.6 community had more prize money in 2009 than it ever had in the scene's history, even though the game was a decade old. New strategies were still coming out, old strategies were brought back, and current ones were refined. This kept the game fresh, earning it a claim as the most skill-oriented real-time FPS shooter on the market.

In 2009 Swedish team Fnatic had taken the community by storm, coming through with the most dominant performance in a year with what was considered the most competitive year in the game's history. Led by Patrik 'cArn' Sattermon, MVP Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg and rising star Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund swept every major event that year including Season 3 of the Intel Extreme Masters (beating AgaiN), ESWC 2009, and World eSports Masters 2009. They earned a then-record breaking $153,122 in prize money.

This led upto the 2009 World Cyber Games, one of the last events of the year, and an event that the Fnatic organization had never won in it's history. Many believed this to be the year for that to happen. Polish team AgaiN, who had the same lineup together for many years, was looking to become the only CS team in history to win two WCG titles, having won the 2006 finals in Italy. AgaiN, led by their superstar Filip 'Neo' Kubski, had been slumping all that year with disappointing results, but were known to step it up in big moments. This was one of them, as China's love for eSports extends past Warcraft 3 to all genres, setting up an extraordinary shot of people watching the final game in the main hall, spilling outside the doors where screaming fans were crushed together. What transpired is one of the most memorable games in CS 1.6 history.

The Match
(Map 1 ? de_Nuke) ? Commentary by ReDeYe&bsl

(Map 2 ? de_Train) ? Commentary by ReDeYe&bsl

SPOILER ? THE RESULT
Fnatic and AgaiN embark on one of the most legendary Nuke games in history. With Fnatic on matchpoint 15-11 (16 rounds to win) and AgaiN low on money with only enough for two of their players to buy, AgaiN executes some beautiful teamwork to win four rounds in a row and send it into overtime.

Both teams would trade round after round, each coming through in the clutch. They forced the match into four overtimes. With the score 27-26 in favor of AgaiN, fnatic's GeT_RighT had a large health advantage over a 20 health LordB. GeT_RighT would lose his second crucial 1 v 1 moment of the match, giving AgaiN the win. They would go on to win the second map 16-12, and take their second WCG title. Fnatic has never won the World Cyber Games.

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7. Fatal1ty vs Vo0 ? Painkiller - Cyberathlete Professional League World Tour Finals ? 2005 ? New York City, USA

While the CPL's name was marred in several controversies in its history and is mocked today by all angles of the eSports industry, it was king in 2005. They had just announced the CPL World Tour, a $1,000,000 tournament series with stops in nine countries, and a $500,000 final in New York City on MTV Overdrive inside the Nokia Theater. The games featured on the tour were a duel-deathmatch FPS, which had been a staple at the CPL, along with Counter-Strike 1.6. What many did not see coming was that Painkiller, most likely known for "shooting shuriken's and lightning", was the game the CPL used. They didn't use the world standard that was Quake 3 nor its sidekick Unreal Tournament 2004. One person not complaining was Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager, the Dutch Quake ProMode madman. He excelled at a gameplay form that was different than the vanilla Quake 3 gameplay in a number of areas, including fast weapon-switching and Quakeworld-style air control while strafing. Both such elements were prevalent in Painkiller, but not much so in Quake 3 or UT2004. Quake and UT were the games Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel had won championships in.

Painkiller is a deathmatch game where aggression is rewarded more than ever, a style that perfectly fit Vo0, but not the rather defensive and calculated Fatal1ty. It showed throughout the CPL World Tour season as Vo0 went 5-2 against Fatal1ty, with all championship matches earning him five titles, MVP of the year, and first seed for the finals. While Fatal1ty won two of his own, Vo0 was considered to be the best Painkiller player in the world by a good bit. Both players progressed through the finals in NYC to meet in the winner's bracket final, where Vo0 disposed of Fatal1ty handily 2-0. Fatal1ty would come back through the lower bracket to face-off against Vo0 in the grand finals for a $150,000 first place prize, the largest top-end prize purse in eSports history.

The Match - Commentary by Joe Miller

Cpl WT final Fatal1ty vs Vo0

[Watch it here]

SPOILER ? THE RESULT
Fatal1ty makes a remarkable comeback in four straight maps to beat Vo0 4-2. Fatal1ty's playstyle turned extremely defensive, which worked well for him and frustrated Vo0 more than any other plan could. Fatal1ty forced Vo0 into positions that he had not experienced all year, and took him by surprise. While not the flashiest match to watch, the defensive mind-games in such an aggressive game really are fun to observe. Fatal1ty took home a record-breaking $150,000 and cemented his legacy as the most accomplished Western pro gamer of all time.

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6. Daigo "The Beast" Umehara vs Alex Valle ? Street Fighter Alpha 3 International Finals ? 1998 ? San Francisco

Before the Justin Wong/DaigoUmehara rivalry blossomed to what it is today, the original American Street Fighter superstar Alex Valle had his own rivalry against The Beast. These two men started competing in what was the first-ever meeting between the U.S. and Japan in any Capcom fighting game. Daigo, with his V-Akuma, made his first-ever trip to the States by winning an extremely large Japanese qualifying tournament, while Valle was America's best. Both players saved tactics for the finals, holding back in previous rounds, including special mixups from Valle's V-Ryu that Japan had never seen before. The crowd then was just as hyped as the fighting game community's crowd is now, an ever-passionate community.

Match footage and part six of a six-part documentary.

SPOILER ? THE RESULT
Daigo Umehara makes a mark that has been repeated and elevated every year to this very day, defeating Alex Valle in a close 2-1 set in clutch fashion. The beginning of 13-year legacy for the best Street Fighter player ever.

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5. MC vs PuMa ? Starcraft 2 ? North American Star League Season 1 Finals - 2011 ? Ontario, California

StarCraft 2 (along with Street Fighter IV) has been the biggest boom to eSports in quite some time, possibly ever. The SC2 community has now gathered a very skilled, large and diverse group of professional players. Leagues have organized several million dollars in combined prize money along with decent salaries and the necessary practice conditions for all players worldwide. Games have been extremely entertaining and watched in larger numbers than ever before. But many don't realize that StarCraft 2 is still such a young game, only one year old. The skill cap and metagame still have a ways to go, especially with two more games coming out.

Just this past weekend in the NASL finals, Min Chul 'MC' Jang and Lee "PuMa" Ho Joon showed us the highest amount of skill in StarCraft 2 that we've seen thus far. Most expected MC in the finals. as he has been the most consistent Starcraft 2 player to date (albeit a bit of a few months back). PuMa, a StarCraft 1 A-teamer who recently switched to Starcraft 2, came over to America for the first time on a whim by winning a 1024-man open bracket for the last qualifying spot. This was his first major SC2 singles tournament appearance. The experience and mechanics he brought over as a recent SC1 player propelled him all the way into the finals against MC, a final everyone wanted to see. As the finals were a very American-sports-style Best of Seven, the match that transpired was one of those great sports moments: A Game 7.

Highlights of all maps including final map and ceremony. -Commentary by iNcontroL&Gretorp)
(Full match requires $25 VOD payment to NASL)

by ESFIWorld.com

SPOILER ? THE RESULT
Unexpected by most, PuMa went up 3-1 against MC, putting a lot of pressure on himself as he has shown nerves to get to him in big moments, while MC has been used to it. MC used this to his advantage and brought the series back with relentless play, coming back from the dead four or five times on the sixth map, all to force the epic Game 7. After six straight-up long games, MC tried to keep this one short with aggression, but PuMa's defense in response was perfect...perfect enough to make the guy that wasn't even supposed to be there, PuMa, $50,000 richer.

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4. Team 3D vs Team Phreaks ? Halo 2 ? Major League GamingNational Championship Finals - 2005 ? New York City

Team 3D, later known as Final Boss, had a run through Halo 1 and 2 that is historic. It's unlike anything that has ever been accomplished by any other team during the existence of the franchise. They have won 18 of the 23 total MLG Halo 1 & 2 events, placing second at the five they didn't win. The core lineup of Tom "Ogre2" Ryan, Dan "Ogre1" Ryan, and David "Walsh" Walshy, propelled them to become the most famous Halo team of all time. Along their run in 2005, they had a critical Game 5 National Championships Finals match on Oddball Midship against Team Phreaks (Ghandi, ShocKWav3, StrongSide& Karma). The match went down to the very last seconds, as both teams were tied at 4:58 (of 5:00!). The winner of this map would very likely go on to win the series.

The Match

[Watch it here]

THE RESULT ? SPOILER
Both sides kill each other's whole teams several times over in the final minute. Team 3D comes through in the clutch to gain the victory and get themselves on championship point. They would shortly thereafter defeat Phreaks, giving them the 2005 National Championship and an undefeated season.

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3. Coollervs Cypher ? Quake Live ? QuakeCon 2010 Finals ? Dallas, Texas

The Russian Anton "Cooller" Singov and Belarussian Alexey "Cypher" Yanushevsky have been dominating and entertaining the Quake world for more than a decade with a style of play that brings out the very beauty that the game beholds. Air rockets, prediction railgun shots and plasma balls, a perfect hitscan lightning-gun, and mindgames within mindgames are the elements expected in these match-ups. It was more than that with these two.

Cooller was the oldschool legend who had been trucking through and making people look like "nothink on lan". Cypher was five years younger than Cooller and considered his foe to be his idol. Watching the Russian play had inspired him to play competitively. As Cypher grew in prominence, he started to meet Cooller in the brackets quite often, winning nearly all the time. Cooller was having trouble with one of his finest students, and couldn't get around it. Cooller had never won QuakeCon before and wanted that trophy.

The Match
Commentary on all maps by Jay "2GD" Harding & Joe Miller.

(Lost World)

(Battleforged)

(Furious Heights)

(Aerowalk)

(Blood Run)

THE RESULT ? SPOILER
With Cooller up 2-1 in maps and on the verge of his first ever QuakeCon championship, Cypher plays one of the most intelligent defensive Quake games in history, running and dodging on the fastest and most aggressive map of the game. Cypher forces Overtime on the fourth map to send it to a fiftth. Both players' mindgames are fully on display on the last map. There is a low score throughout and another overtime to boot. Cypher takes a one-frag lead with 30 seconds remaining and nine health to his name, claiming his second QuakeCon title.

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2. Flash vs Jaedong ? StarCraft: Brood War - Korean Air OSL 2 ?2010 ? Shanghai, China

The two biggest stars in Brood War were Lee "Flash" Young Ho and Lee Jae Dong, having met in the last two major tournament finals in Korea (MSL and OSL), and at least one of them competing in the finals of the last seven major titles. Flash was looking for his third OSL championship which earns him The Golden Mouse, a status only three players had achieved (including Jaedong in 2009). He would also become the second player ever, after Lee "NaDa" Yun Yeol, to win OSL and MSL gold in the same season. He was confirmed as the first player to be in six consecutive MSL and OSL finals. And he was also gunning to take down Jaedong in three straight tournament finals, something Jaedong clearly did not want to happen.

For the first time in history, the OSL finals occurred outside of Korea, landing in Shanghai, putting even more hype on the event. Flash knew what had to be done.

The Match

(Map 1 pt 1, Eye of The Storm)

(Map 1 pt 2, Eye of The Storm)

(Map 2, Polaris Rhapsody)

(Map 3, Grand Line)

(Map 4pt 1, Flight Dreamliner)

(Map 4 pt 1, Flight Dreamliner)

THE RESULT ? SPOILER
Flash wins the OSL Golden Mouse, MSL and OSL in the same reason, scoring three wins in a row over his rival, Jaedong. Since then he has won another MSL, winning the Golden Badge, a similar three-title championship like the OSL. He is the second player to ever do this next to NaDa, and will look to surpass him for most championships ever won on road to the best Starcraft player of all time.

1. Daigo Umehara vs Justin Wong ? Street Fighter III: Third Strike ? EVO World Championships Finals ? 2004 ? Pomona, California

Capcom's Seth Killian told a stat on a recent tournament live stream about the number of views the Daigo vs Justin Third Strike video has gotten from all the videos combined. It's in the 20+ million range, making it the most-watched competitive gaming moment of all time. This match, and one 37-second moment, seems to capture the core essence and emotion of what we all feel about competitive gaming in the scene's community. If you haven't seen it, do so now. And if you haven't seen the full match, also do that, you may learn something.

The Match

(The Moment, with Seth Killian on commentary)

(The Full match)

THE RESULT ? SPOILER
Daigo Umehara creates the most memorable moment in history.

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BONUS! Just missed the cut:
DaigoUmerhara vs Justin Wong ? Street Fighter IV ? EVO World Championhips Finals ? 2009 ? Las Vegas, USA

Daigo wins an extremely close final in the biggest Street Fighter IV tournament at that time. Daigo has won EVO SF4 twice in a row, and is looking for his third straight this month.

The Match

(part 1)

(part 2)

(part 3)

(part 4)

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ANOTHER BONUS
X3 vsNiP ? Counter-Strike 1.3 - CPL Winter Finals ? 2001 ? Dallas, Texas

X3 vsNiP was the first time the U.S. and Europe (Sweden) had ever played on LAN, with the two undisputed best teams on each continent meeting up for the final. There was star power was abound on both sides, with Kyle "KSharp" Miller, and Ronald "Rambo" Kim on the American X3 team and Emil "HeatoN" Christensen and Tommy "Potti" Ingemarsson representing the Swedish powerhouse,

The Match

(de_Nuke, No commentary, first map only)

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I hope some people will come away from this with a greater understanding of eSports, and to have felt what all of us do when we watch these games. Big thanks to Duncan "Thorin" Shields and Tony "Ponder" Cannon for their vast knowledge and expertise within this field.

Rod "Slasher" Breslau works for Major League Gaming as well as co-hosts and produces a Live On Three, a live podcast about all eSports. Major League Gaming's next Pro Circuit competitionis being held at the Anaheim Convention Center July 29-31. It will feature StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty on PC, Call of Duty: Black Ops on the PlayStation 3, and Halo: Reach on Xbox 360, all of which will be streamed online throughout the weekend. Follow MLG's Twitter for updates. Live On Three airs every Wednesday at 7 PM EST on the One More Game website. (Top photo by Adrian Turner /ECL X-Series | Flickr)

Source: http://kotaku.com/5820907/the-10-best-moments-in-pro+gaming-history

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Astronauts fix another failed computer on shuttle (AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ? After getting a little free time Thursday, the last space shuttle crew was woken up to deal with a second computer failure on Atlantis.

The astronauts switched to another of the five main computers on board, and NASA said the shuttle was in "stable condition with no concerns for the crew's safety." A computer had also failed on Sunday.

The crew had gone to bed late Thursday afternoon, but Mission Control woke them up about 1 1/2 hours later because of the failed computer. NASA said they would troubleshoot the problem on Friday.

Sunday's computer glitch occurred just before the shuttle linked up with the International Space Station. Engineers said the problem was likely caused by a bad switch throw. That computer was working again Monday after new software was installed.

The check-and-balance network of computers provides redundancy during the most critical phases of the mission, and will be needed when Atlantis lands next week to close out the 30-year shuttle era.

Earlier Thursday, the crew got some time off after a hectic week to savor their historic experience.

"This is one of the first days we've been able to take a deep breath and appreciate what we're doing up here," said shuttle commander, Christopher Ferguson.

Until Thursday, the workload in orbit was so intense that the four astronauts had only fleeting moments of realizing "wow, this is really it," astronaut Rex Walheim said in a series of TV interviews.

"But boy, it's going to hit when we land and wheels stop," he added.

On Friday afternoon, the 10 astronauts aboard the linked Atlantis and space station will get another break from their chores to take a phone call from President Barack Obama.

Before kicking back and relaxing, Ferguson said the space station delivery mission was going well and that the back-and-forth cargo hauling was three-quarters completed.

"Atlantis is purring like a kitten," he said. "I think she's about 25 years or so old, but she performs just like a newborn."

Atlantis first rocketed into orbit in 1985. This is its 33rd flight and the 135th shuttle mission overall. Atlantis will join Discovery and Endeavour in retirement, following its landing next week.

The space shuttle delivered nearly 5 tons of food, clothes and other household goods in a giant canister to the space station ? an entire year's worth of supplies. NASA wants the orbiting lab well stocked in case private companies fall behind in their effort to take over shuttle supply runs. The first such commercial flight is expected by year's end.

While the unmanned cargo ships are smaller than NASA's shuttles, Ferguson pointed out there are many more of them, launching from all over the world. But the craft burn up in the atmosphere after they undock.

"From a return standpoint, bringing things back from the space station and getting them to Earth, we're going to miss the space shuttle," he said.

Atlantis, for instance, will return more than 7,000 pounds of discarded equipment and trash from the space station, freeing up much needed room. Engineers will take apart some of the broken machinery to see what went wrong and, hopefully, learn from the mistakes.

Astronaut Sandra Magnus ? who spent more than four months on the space station a few years back ? said she's amazed at how much bigger it is now that it's finished. She said she sometimes thinks: "Wow, look what we did. We built this huge, huge, monster laboratory orbiting the Earth, with cooperation from countries all over the world."

Mission Control allotted plenty of time Thursday for the two crews to linger over an "all-American meal" of grilled chicken and barbecued beef brisket that was packed for them, complete with baked beans and Hostess apple pie.

And while space station resident Ronald Garan Jr. tweeted that he "had a great dinner tonight," it wasn't clear to controllers whether the astronauts had eaten the special meal or whether they were saving it for another day. NASA had urged the public to share in the virtual dinner, publishing the recipes online.

Three of the space station crew marked their 100th day in space Thursday: Garan and Russians Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyaev. They will remain on board until September.

Atlantis' trip, by comparison, is a scant 13 days. It will undock Tuesday and aim for a Florida homecoming Thursday.

A TV broadcaster asked Ferguson if he'll make "a Neil Armstrong type statement" at touchdown. Atlantis will miss landing on the 42nd anniversary of Armstrong's "one small step for man" speech by one day; by adding a day to the mission earlier this week, NASA bumped Atlantis' homecoming to July 21.

"I put some thought into how we're going to reflect on the moment," Ferguson said, "and perhaps we'll just save that until the wheels-stop call and we'll let you know then."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110715/ap_on_sc/us_space_shuttle

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Astronauts turn into 'moving men' at space station (AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ? The 10 astronauts on the orbiting shuttle-station complex can turn all their attention to hauling things back and forth now that their single spacewalk is over.

The last spacewalk of NASA's 30-year shuttle era ended successfully Tuesday. It cleared the way for Wednesday's focus on space station stockpiling.

Atlantis delivered a year's worth of food, clothes and other supplies to the International Space Station. Both crews are unloading the cargo carrier that flew up on the shuttle. They will fill it back up with space station trash and discarded equipment for return to Earth next week.

The 13-day mission is the last ever for a space shuttle. After that, all three shuttles will become museum displays.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110713/ap_on_sc/us_space_shuttle

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First Time Cruise Tips

A cruise offers the perfect opportunity to rest, relax and enjoy more cities from the comfort of a giant float. When on a cruise means that you unpack only once and then have fun as you were pleased with the staff incredibly accommodating and occupation. But for those who have never done a cruise, it could be daunting as you may not know what to expect. Here are some guidelines to help you do that is not your first cruise experience,Forgotten.

The first thing that should be at the time of booking a cruise can be done is to do your research. Learn everything you can on the cruise ship before you make a payment. Find out if the cruise-specific, gender-specific cruises or other specialists who may not enjoy is age. Booking a cruise to find for your family, just booked your cruise for spring break can be an experience that left a sour taste in my mouth. Finding the right cruise for yourneeds is very important because the right amount can make or break your vacation.

One focus of research should be the dining rooms and beds on the ship. When it comes to beds, cruise ships offer a variety of options. The easiest way to an interior cabin that is the most economical choice, as it provides a comfortable sleeping area with or without a window overlooking the sea. Be aware if you book a room on the inside, when one of your travel groupis prone to claustrophobia. The next option for an inside cabin, an outside cabin, which has a window, but not the best out of my sight.

Then you can lounge with an outdoor patio or balcony, ocean views and a feeling of intimacy in your balcony offers upgrade. Cruise ships also offer suites and mini suites, which typically have a queen or king-size bed, separate sitting area and balcony. Be aware of some mini-suiteshow can you be a cabin with balcony and could not be worth the extra expense. You can not go wrong with any of these styles, which is only space for sleeping and changing clothes. Most of the time on the ship will be spent elsewhere.

Expect to see any room for less than book a hotel room, but not discouraged. Cruise ships have pretty much "in recent years developed and the cabins have well thought-storage options, which means it can fit thoughtall your stuff in your room with plenty of room to spare. If you are a person who is seasick, you should not be rotated by a cruise. The technology was developed to reduce the movement of ships at sea. You can also use a room in the middle of the ship closest to the sea tend to the movements of the ship the slightest notice.

When it comes to dining on board, make sure you do your homework. Some ships offer only a narrow space plan, where you are assigned to A Table gives the time and space for the duration of your cruise. This can sometimes be uncomfortable, have some shipping companies adapted their restaurants to be flexible. Often there are several restaurants and bars make it on board that allows you to mingle while driving.

Another helpful tip for first time cruisers is to be aware of the "Cruise Time." This is important for international cruises that pass through different> World Clock. In this case, it is liable for a time zone so that Cruise is not constantly change the time on their clocks, and there is food and entertainment. Discover the time the ship stick so that it refrain from all activities of the fun is because you had the wrong time. It is also bring a good idea to use a small travel alarm clock as most cabins are not equipped with an alarm system .

Study the layout of the ship andDesign is a good idea before they board ships, as can be very large in those days. On board a ship of unknown often be so intimidating when you are ready and know what they can expect to dispel these concerns.

Source: http://leisure-first-time-cruising.chailit.com/first-time-cruise-tips.html

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Pandora ditches Flash, opens up the HTML5 box for redesign

Looks like Adobe has lost yet another ally to the silky smooth allure of HTML5. Internet radio service Pandora has traded in the once ubiquitous Flash for the increasingly adopted web standard, citing, among other things, the ability to lop precious seconds off the site's load time. The upgrade is part of a major redesign for the service, said to have been inspired by the company's own iPad app. The old features are largely intact, but many, like Twitter and Facebook integration, have been revamped. The update will be rolled out to Pandora One subscribers soon, in something of a limited testing mode, with other users following later. Those with browsers that aren't fully HTML5-friendly will still be able to access Flash features as backup.

Pandora ditches Flash, opens up the HTML5 box for redesign originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/13/pandora-ditches-flash-opens-up-the-html5-box/

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