Military Families Rein In Spending on Summer Vacations, First Command Reports

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Command reports the economy is impacting the rest and relaxation plans of military families, with nearly half of active-duty homes cutting back on summer vacation spending.

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China's Huawei unveils 6 Android devices

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Padres bounce Braves, win 9th in last 10

By BERNIE WILSON

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 9:56 p.m. ET Aug. 29, 2012

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The San Diego Padres finally have things sorted out in the owner's box and on the field.

Hours after closing an $800 million deal to buy the team, the third generation of the O'Malley family met the players and coaching staff, and then watched as Chase Headley and the Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 8-2 Wednesday for their ninth win in 10 games.

Headley hit a two-run single and left-hander Eric Stults won his fourth straight decision as the Padres took two of three from the Braves, who lead the NL wild-card race.

Hours earlier, the new owners promised to run the Padres in the same first-class manner that Walter and Peter O'Malley once ran the Dodgers. The new ownership group includes Peter O'Malley's sons, Kevin and Brian, and nephews Peter and Tom Seidler. It also includes San Diego businessman Ron Fowler, the executive chairman who has been designated as the team's control person.

The new owners briefly spoke to the team before the game.

"We're excited," Headley said. "I think it's big. Finally there's a resolution. It seems like it's taken an awful long time since all this started. Everything I've heard, and just talking to those guys, they seem real excited. I think they're going to put the Padres in a real good situation to be successful."

Fowler stressed in a news conference and to the players that the owners want the focus to be on the players.

"One of the first things Ron said was this game is about the players and always has been about the players," Headley said. "It's good that they know that. Obviously, having a good relationship between the players and ownership, as well as with the front office, is key to being successful. It's exciting that it's over and we feel we have a tremendous group in place."

Manager Bud Black called it "a great day."

"Once the game started, baseball took over, which is what the new owners talked about," the manager said. "They talked about, this is about baseball, this is about the players, this is about the Padres. Our guys played a very good baseball game. The guys have been playing well, they've been playing hard. Against a very good Braves team, Stultsy and our offense and our defense and our bullpen did a nice job."

Headley's two-run single to right in the fifth inning off Tommy Hanson gave the Padres a 4-1 lead. Everth Cabrera reached second when his popup went over the head of retreating third baseman Chipper Jones as shortstop Paul Janish came in behind him. Jones was charged with an error. Will Venable singled and stole second, and both scored on Headley's single.

That gave Headley 30 RBIs in August, making him the eighth Padres player to get that many in a month. The last San Diego player with 30-plus RBIs in a month was Ryan Klesko in May 2001, when he set a team record with 40.

"If you're producing runs, regardless of how you're producing runs, I think you're going to be effective," Headley said. "I feel like this month I've had so many opportunities. We've had a lot of guys do a really good job and put a lot of pressure on the pitchers."

San Diego also scored two runs in the fourth. Yasmani Grandal drew a leadoff walk and Mark Kotsay hit a one-out single to right. Logan Forsythe doubled to left to bring in Grandal, and Cameron Maybin followed with a sacrifice fly.

The Padres added on in the eighth with a two-run single by pinch-hitter Chris Denorfia and RBI singles by Grandal and Yonder Alonso.

Atlanta scored an unearned run in the fifth. Michael Bourn's sacrifice fly brought in Dan Uggla, who singled and advanced to third on second baseman Forsythe's throwing error. David Ross homered leading off the ninth, his seventh.

Jones, who is retiring after this season, received a standing ovation in the eighth inning before his final at-bat in San Diego. He stepped out of the box and tipped his helmet to the crowd. Jones singled and was erased on an inning-ending double play.

He also received a nice gesture before his first at-bat, and stepped out to tip his helmet.

Jones made his big league debut for the Braves at San Diego on Sept. 11, 1993, back when the Padres played at Qualcomm Stadium.

"Obviously, a nice gesture by the fans a couple of times today," Jones said. "It was nice to get a hit my last at-bat. I've always enjoyed coming here to San Diego. It's been one of my favorite places to come."

Stults (4-2) allowed an unearned run on five hits in six innings, struck out five and walked two.

Hanson (12-7) gave up four runs, three earned, on eight hits in 4 2-3 innings. He struck out three and walked two.

NOTES: Padres C Nick Hundley had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and OF James Darnell had arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder. The team said both operations went well. In addition, farmhand Beamer Weems underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder. ... Both teams are off Thursday. The Braves return home to open a series against Philadelphia on Friday, when Mike Minor (7-10, 4.71 ERA) is scheduled to start opposite Roy Halladay (8-7, 3.88). The Padres head to Colorado, where on Friday lefty Clayton Richard (11-12, 3.72) is scheduled to start against Alex White (2-6, 5.49).

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Playoff surprises are looming

Ask the MLB Expert: As best teams ? Yanks, Rangers, Nats, Reds ? nurse issues, expect the hottest team to make a run through the playoffs.

Longoria's 2 HRs helps Rays pop Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Evan Longoria homered twice, Tampa Bay roughed up Matt Harrison and the Rays beat the Texas Rangers 8-4 Wednesday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/48836393/ns/sports-baseball/

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Oil stays above $95 as Hurricane Isaac goes inland

The price of oil hovered above $95 a barrel on Thursday after a powerful storm that had shut down refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast started to ease as it moved inland.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for October delivery was down 2 cents to $95.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 84 cents to finish at $95.49 a barrel on Wednesday.

In London, Brent crude rose 75 cents to $113.29 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Traders were watching for any reports of significant damage from Hurricane Isaac as it passed over oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm's heavy winds and rain were not expected to cause extensive damage to oil production and refinery operations.

"Although a lot of the production capacity was closed down, it was a precautionary measure and we're not hearing any reports of significant damage," said Nick Trevethan, senior commodities strategist at ANZ Research in Singapore. "There have been some power outages that may interfere with the restart of some onshore facilities."

Trading volumes were low as markets awaited U.S. Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke's highly anticipated speech on Friday at an economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Market watchers are hoping for signs that the Fed is willing to take action to spur growth in the U.S.

They are also anticipating the release of manufacturing data out of China. Worse-than-expected numbers could put pressure on Beijing for more stimulus measures to help revive growth in the world's No. 2 economy.

Meanwhile, an unexpected rise in U.S. crude stockpiles was helping to keep a ceiling on oil prices.

"The U.S. inventory data presented (Wednesday) afternoon by the U.S. Department of Energy additionally weighed on prices," said analysts at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "Last week, crude oil stocks rose sharply by 3.8 million barrels, putting them 7.5 percent higher than the five-year average and at their highest level for this time of year since 1990."

In other Nymex energy trading, heating oil advanced 2.2 cents to $3.1444 a gallon while wholesale gasoline rose 1.09 cents to $2.9277 a gallon. Natural gas slipped 2.4 cents to $2.661 per 1,000 cubic feet.

___

Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oil-stays-above-95-hurricane-isaac-goes-inland-122322680--finance.html

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Perplexed about philanthropy | New Philanthropy Capital's Blog

Now that the dust has well and truly settled following George Osborne?s 100% retreat on his so-called philanthropy tax, it is useful to reflect on what it told us. Not so much about how strange government decision making seems to be at present ? with policies brought in without thought only to be withdrawn a little later. Nor indeed how dysfunctional the Treasury is and how poor decision making is on tax in the UK.

No, what interests me more is what it seems to show we Brits think about the concept of philanthropy. Because we seem confused and perplexed.

Philanthropy is a strong word that has connotations of Victorian Britain, of the rich dispersing their largesse to look after the less fortunate, or to build municipal civic libraries or museums. For many years we admired such people but were grateful that we no longer had to depend solely upon whether they decided to do good or not, nor what strings they might attach to it (be that religious strings or stipulations on what schools taught).

So rich people, giving away money is sort of good, and we love the fact that Bill Gates does it so much; but it is a little peculiar.

That is a problem given that as the state pulls back we are going to have to depend much more on the voluntary and charity sector, whether we call it the Big Society or not. One aspect of this will be much more reliance on volunteers keeping services going ? allowing some public services to be run on a shoestring as either charities that rely on volunteering undercut other contract bidders who do not, or where the community itself either has to run its library or community centre for free or just does not have one.

As the state withdraws, the relative importance too of the rich ? cutely and coyly known as high net worth individuals in the philanthropy and charity fundraising world ? does rise. We need their money if we are to fund the arts and historic buildings that government has less money for but even more in areas like adult mental health, new approaches to isolation of older people, looking after and trying to solve the problems of homelessness and drug addiction ? all areas where cuts are biting hard.

So how do we persuade these well off people to put the money into charity rather than to spend it on yet another home or a new yacht? Well, one of the answers ends up being about tax. And just as we all search for the most tax efficient place to put our (usually meagre) savings in we know the well off will be doing the same (with the help of expensive advisers) ? so it is intuitively right that we need some tax breaks to get them to give to charity not to mammon.

And then we get uncomfortable. We are giving tax breaks to very rich people to encourage them to give because the state has cut back its spending and there are more needy people as a consequence of a recession caused ? to at least some extent ? by very rich bankers. All a little strange.

And where politicians are answerable to us for the way they spend our money, the tax-break spenders can give as they want. So if supporting an elite sports charity and one that does up old Georgian buildings or supporting Oxbridge to get ever nicer facilities takes their fancy more than looking after the poor in a forgotten northern town, then so be it.

There is no right or wrong answer to any of this. It reflects the British ambiguity to the role of the state and in our attitudes to wealth. It is also a manifestation of the tensions we feel as a nation between the desirability of local, do-it yourself, voluntaristic action to attack problems and the horror of the unfairness of a postcode lottery in what services are available and a belief that the state must not just stand by when people are in trouble.

But while the mixed feelings will not go away, the need for philanthropic money is only going to increase. So we will get a lot more soul searching as the decade goes on.

This blog was originally published earlier this month on Public Finance.

Source: http://newphilanthropycapital.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/perplexed-about-philanthropy/

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Daytrading, Stock Trading, Investing and Forex Trading ? The Value ...

Some go on to make enough to live on, some an especially cushty living and some make a genuine fortune. There are numerous investors who make trading their sole occupation. Others return to their old job, annoyed and scared of ever doing anything different and giving up on their hopes of the life they actually wish to live. Here's a story about a man?? What if you might leverage a powerful solid research of market factors and patterns, correctly envisioning the best stocks to buy? What if androids can do all of that for you? These are what automated stock market dealing robotic systems do best. What if you had a technique to tell which stocks are intending to make a slaughtering in the market? Spot the ?gainers? earlier without counting on brokers or sly insider information. These systems scan the market steadily for the best emerging stocks. Stocks are influenced daily by foreseeable information and arithmetic.

This suggests you quickly know which stocks are going to make a gain. You can purchase inexpensive early and sell higher later earning masses of bucks each day or thousands of bucks each week on your investment with the best stockmarket trading system. The advantages of an automatic share trading robotic system are giant. As the more well capable you are on the language then you'll get more successful. The best thing about the stock market trader software is the incontrovertible fact that they're programmed to recognise the trends and advise you of which stocks are probably going to be good to make an investment in. * There are new technologies out there now that will seriously improve the probability for successful stock market trading.

They also are comparatively cheap and easy to utilise. If you're think about making an investment in a stock market trader software then it'd be to your benefit to learn all you are able to about the various type and the good points and bad points of every one before purchasing one. This is effective as the market advances in patterns which repeat themselves often each 7 years typically. Some automated stock market trading systems particularly target penny stocks and shares when attempting to find trading prospects. This may be seen and shown by the undeniable fact that we are going into and out of recessions continually whether or not it's larger or smaller one or more times ten years. This is effective because penny stocks and shares are the least expensive, most uncertain and wildly changing investments to be found in the market as it is far easier to persuade their position and price with less trading activity. As an example, the 1st automated securities dealing system pick which was aimed at penny stocks and shares especially which I invested in was priced at $.18 a share.

Source: http://traders101.com/2012/08/28/the-value-of-collaborating-in-ridicule-stock-market-trading-games/

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Republican convention is in full-throated roar

Ann Romney reaches out to hug her husband Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney after she addressed the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Ann Romney reaches out to hug her husband Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney after she addressed the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

President Obama runs to take the stage during campaign stop on the campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. Obama is making a two-day swing through the country to visit colleges. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie addresses the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A delegate bows her head in a moment of prayer at the end of the second session of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

(AP) ? The Republican National Convention is finally in full-throated roar, cheering presidential nominee Mitt Romney's name at every turn in a long-sought show of unity.

A soft-sided portrayal of the Republican candidate as husband and father, painted by his wife on the stage, combined with a parade of gleeful Obama-bashers Tuesday as the GOP seized its moment after days of worry about the hurricane that simultaneously roared ashore in Louisiana.

Romney made his debut at the convention two days before his own speech, rousing the crowd into cheers as he took the stage briefly to share a kiss with his wife after she spoke.

Ann Romney's prime-time speech was in large measure an outreach to female voters as she declared her husband "will not let us down" if elected president.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-08-29-Presidential%20Campaign/id-0548f0de7190451da29a32ce4dc9e159

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Easy Workouts For Caregivers - Retirement Homes

As a stay-at-home caregiver for my disabled husband, my daily at-home workouts are vital for my physical health and mental sanity.? Luckily, I have danced and exercised for most of my 61 years?nothing extreme, as I am more weakling than athlete?but just enough to be fun and keep me in shape.

Over the years, I have amassed a large collection of workout DVDs?each DVD contains from 3 to 6 separate routines, including warm-up exercises and cool-down stretches.? I do part of one DVD each day, spending only 20-30 minutes.? The variety keeps me from getting bored: aerobics; strength training and toning with 3-lb. weights or toning band; kickboxing; Pilates; floor exercises; and lots of dance, from hip-hop, jazz and salsa, to ?Dancing with the Stars? routines.? Some workouts are more aerobically challenging, and some are just easy fun.? If there?s a day when I?m not feeling up to par, I may just do the warm-up and cool-down sections of a DVD for stretching and blood circulation.

Workout DVDs can be found online and in stores of all kinds (even the grocery store!); many can be had for only $10-$12.? There is an endless number of video workout choices, from extremely challenging all the way down to simple exercises that chair- or bed-bound people can do.? My favorite video instructors are Chris Freytag and Jennifer Galardi?their varied routines are fun and clearly taught, with moderately vigorous levels of exertion.

These home workouts do not require a huge amount of space; I do them in a relatively small area of my family room.? I don?t need to push myself to go out to a gym, which can be inconvenient and expensive;? nor do I need a gym-presentable workout wardrobe?I just wear whatever is comfortable!

As we age, it?s important to keep stimulating our minds?learning new dance routines works our memory and coordination skills.? I do my daily workout in the late afternoon, to re-energize me for the second half of my challenging caregiving day; if I miss exercising on any day, I really feel draggy.

Of course, you should check with your doctor before taking on new exercise routines if you do not ordinarily exercise, and always listen to your body to avoid over-exertion or injury.

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Restaurant review: The Fat Duck, Bray ? Trivial Pursuits

In last year?s exceptional documentary Closer To The Edge, central protagonist Guy Martin says that the word unbelievable is bandied around too much these days. Despite spending most of the film inches from self-afflicted doom, he refutes claims that what he?s doing is unbelievable, going on to say ?When a man eats his own head, I will hold me hands up and say: ?THAT is unbelievable?.?

It?s hard to argue with his sentiment. In the overhyped, sensationalist world in which we live, reputations are built up and knocked down with one fell swoop of a journalist?s hand. Amid mediocrity, the good can seem great, the great can seem extraordinary and the plausible is often labelled with that word? Unbelievable.

It was with those sage words ringing in my ear that I arrived in the sleepy Berkshire village of Bray last week to go for dinner at Heston Blumenthal?s flagship restaurant The Fat Duck. Three Michelin stars are not handed out willy-nilly, indeed only four such places in the UK have ever been exalted to such pantheons of greatness, but at the same time I was wondering if food could ever achieve the tag affixed by so many to the place. Unbelievable.

The restaurant itself is a surprisingly low-key affair. No garish sign outside (it?s entirely possible to walk past and not even acknowledge its existence), nor lavish d?cor to distract you. The bells and whistles that adorn so many places are stripped out. This is a gastronomic experience, laid bare. Even the element of choice is removed, something an indecisive and non-fussy eater like myself is hugely appreciative of. You are seated, told what you are going to eat, and that is the end of it. The curtain is raised.

The first course (of fourteen, no less) was described as nitro poached aperitifs, a phrase that only really makes sense in hindsight. A choice of three classic pre-dinner drinks were offered, in mousse form, and poached in smoking liquid nitrogen before your very eyes. The waiter?s dexterity in their creation somehow transforming the scientific-looking canisters into an effortless art form. This is far from the only time this bridge between those age-old polar opposites is crossed during the course of the meal. The result here, resembling a small meringue, was ice cold yet melted in the mouth to leave the exact sensation of your drink of choice. It was a strong opening statement.

A tasty dish of red cabbage gazpacho was quickly followed by another of the eccentrically original creations that I had gone to experience. We were instructed to place a slither of oak moss on our tongues to prepare our palates for what was to follow. A slice of truffle toast sat aside a bowl of quail jelly, crayfish cream and chicken liver parfait. As the moss coated your mouth and prepared you for the earthy nature of the truffles, dry ice was poured liberally all over the table top, lending the impression that you were eating from the morning fog in a woodland clearing.

If you go down to the woods today?

At this stage it?s probably worth noting that the inner cynic is screaming at you to ignore this OTT mumbo jumbo, but the fact of the matter is that you have gone to this extraordinary place to be entertained both sensually and theatrically. If you buy into the drama of the piece, the rewards are obvious. It was, needless to say, phenomenal.

Next up was one of the signature dishes of the place, in the form of snail porridge. The equally famous eggs and bacon ice cream had sadly been removed from the menu a while ago, but when Heston first hit the scene all those years ago, it was these dishes that captured the nation?s imagination. Many would recoil at the thought of snail porridge, it sounds rather like the sort of elaborately repulsive things that the baddies in Roald Dahl novels would eat, like bird pie or snozcumbers. It was however deliciously textured, and topped off with some intricately shaved fennel. Another extraordinary taste sensation.

Snail porridge

It feels strange that I would not elaborate on the next course, but with fourteen to get through, the ?mere? excellently roasted foie gras (which I hasten to add would be a highlight of most other meals) seems somewhat too ordinary to mention. The same cannot be said of the next dish.

The mad hatter?s tea party from Alice in Wonderland was lovingly, deliciously and totally insanely recreated in front of our eyes. A gold pocket watch was dropped into a teapot of clear liquid, only to transform the contents into a tea-coloured consomm? once shaken. From here, you were instructed to pour the contents into a teacup of veal and miniature poached egg to create the famous mock-turtle soup that the Hatter served up. It was a hilarious concept really, and one that played on the inner child in everyone. A good, yet unspectacular tasting dish was elevated through interaction. Conceptually, it took the cheap thrill you got from adding your own salt to crisps, or shaking your own salad? and ramped up the theatre a notch or ten.

Mad Hatter?s Tea Party? Before and after.

The following dish was another headline act, the sounds of the sea. For this, we were given a conch shell with headphones coming out of it (as most conches do, naturally), and were instructed to listen to the noise of a gently-lapping shore as we marvelled over what was in front of us. A shoreline scene, briny sea crafted from edible froth, a sand substance made of anchovy and tapioca, all strewn with edible seaweed and sashimi, was to be the focus our four remaining senses. Heston has long claimed that sound can enhance your sense of taste and while it certainly added to the novelty of the experience, to my humble taste buds, the aural aspect was probably unnecessary. Bah, humbug!

The sounds of the sea

The rest of the menu was a mix of the extravagant and the excellent, with the two very rarely separated. Salmon poached in a liquorice gel proceeded immaculately cooked lamb. A cup of hot and iced tea (each entering a different side of your mouth to cause the oral equivalent of when you?re simultaneously washing your hands under a hot and cold tap) was followed by a tiny edible picnic, complete with a white chocolate rug and wild strawberries.

By the time the sweeties came out at the end, I was unsure as to whether it was even the same meal as when I started. Fans of Heston?s television programmes will know that he possesses a sizeable inner child, and this manifests itself in the doggie bag you are given to go home with. Edible wrappers, coconut tobacco, jam-filled playing cards. It?s straight out of Willy Wonker, and given that you almost certainly?won?t?have room for them after the meal, a nice way to carry the experience over to the following day.

Anyhow, in summation, what were my overall feelings. Of course it is pretentious, that?s without question. In terms of sheer quality, you can definitely do better elsewhere, while the bill is big enough to make a Toucan jealous. But that?s missing the point. This is food served as theatre. This is novelty and invention, in the grand traditions of this fair isle. And with that in mind I find it hard to deny that, despite my reservations over the word, much of what you eat at The Fat Duck is? unbelievable.

by Harry Harland

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Source: http://trivialpursuits.org/2012/08/28/restaurant-review-the-fat-duck-bray/

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