Girls basketball: Union 47, Maple Ridge (B.C.) 38

By Columbian Staff

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Tuileisu Anderson scored eight of her 17 points in a crucial third quarter, then Angelique Williams scored eight of her 18 points in the fourth quarter to secure the victory for the Titans.

Union will face Reynolds of Oregon at the Gresham tournament at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

The two teams were tied at the half, but the Titans got defensive in the third quarter, holding Maple Ridge to six points.

Union connected on seven 3-pointers in the game.

UNION 47, MAPLE RIDGE (B.C.) 38

UNION (5-2) ? Aman Kaur 0, Jessica Chatman 2, Angelique Williams 18, Tuileisu Anderson 17, Nicole Woodside 2, Molly Petrie 4, Hannah O?Donnell 0, Mykaila Forsyth 3, Cassie Anderson 1. Totals 18 (7) 4-8 47.

MAPLE RIDGE ? Marchard 1, LaMont 3, Orum 22, Severinski 0, Antaya 3, Williams 9. Totals 12 (1) 13-21 38.

Union 10 11 14 12?47

Maple Ridge 11 10 6 11?38

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Source: http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/dec/28/girls-basketball-union-47-maple-ridge-bc-38/

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Oil vs. Natural Gas for Home Heating: Which Costs More?

Only eight percent of U.S. homes use oil heat today. Natural gas is both cheaper and has lower carbon emissions than oil, though it is still a fossil fuel and its green-friendliness is overstated. Most eco-advocates would rather see a shift to truly renewable heating sources like geothermal or solar. Image: iStock/Thinkstock

Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that gas furnaces cost less to run and burn cleaner than their oil counterparts? If I make the switch, how long should I expect it to take for me to pay back my initial investment? And are there any greener options I should consider??
-- Veronica Austin, Boston, MA

It is true that natural gas has been a more affordable heat source than oil for Americans in recent years. The federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that the average American homeowner will pay only about $732 to heat their home with gas this winter season (October 1 through March 31) versus a whopping $2,535 for oil heat. While the price of natural gas has remained relatively stable in the last few years, oil prices have been high and rising thanks in large part to continued unrest in Middle Eastern oil producing countries. Just two years ago the average winter home oil heating bill was $1,752.

While oil prices are likely to remain high and volatile in the foreseeable future, most energy analysts agree that pricing for natural gas, much of which is still derived domestically, is not expected to rise or fluctuate substantially in the U.S. any time soon. According to EIA economist and forecaster Neil Gamson, the U.S. already has a glut of natural gas and expects even more domestic production to come online soon as drillers are set to open up the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and New York to more gas development.

Only about eight percent of U.S. homes are on oil heat today. Most are in the Northeastern U.S. and were built back in the day when oil was the cheapest way to keep toasty through the long winters. Many utilities have since put gas lines into neighborhoods that didn?t have them in the past, opening the door for homeowners to switch out old inefficient oil furnaces for more efficient gas units.

The federal government?s 30 percent tax credit (capped at $500) for upgrading to a high efficiency furnace expires at the end of 2011 but will likely be extended in one form or another into 2012. In the meantime, some states, municipalities and utilities offer their own incentives and low-interest loans on upgraded, high-efficiency furnaces. Check what?s available in your area via a zip code or map-based search online at the website of the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE). Regardless of incentives, gas furnaces tend to cost less than their oil counterparts anyway, but installing one from scratch will incur an extra thousand dollars or two to run a gas line to it from the street. If natural gas continues to be substantially cheaper than oil, the fuel cost savings alone would pay back the up-front equipment and infrastructure investment within five years in most cases.

Environmentally speaking, gas has lower carbon emissions than oil, but hydraulic fracturing (?fracking?)?the highly controversial gas extraction method increasingly employed today (drillers inject water, sand and chemicals at high pressure underground to break through rock and access the natural gas)?takes a heavy toll on surrounding ecosystems and regional water quality. Most environmental advocates would rather see people transition to truly renewable heating sources like geothermal or solar. If you?re going to the cost and trouble of switching out an oil furnace for something new, a geothermal heat pump may cost more ($7,500 and up) than a new gas heating system but will save big bucks and emissions in the long run. For those in reliably sunny areas, a solar heating system will cost even more up front but can deliver similar long term economic and environmental benefits.

CONTACTS: EIA, www.eia.gov; DSIRE, www.dsireusa.org.

EarthTalk? is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Subscribe:www.emagazine.com/subscribe. Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=cc95c70154ed8ad12772e0cc0833ec1e

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Samsung hits milestone with Galaxy Note; one million shipped globally

Samsung announced today that it has reached a respectable milestone with its Galaxy Note tablet/smartphone hybrid, citing one million units shipped globally to date.What makes the figure even more impressive is that the Note isn't officially available yet in one of Samsung's largest markets-- the United States. The Galaxy Note is currently gaining in popularity in France, Germany, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Samsung says, and will hit American shores "next year." Hit the source link for Samsung's full statement, via its Flickr account.

Source: Samsung

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/iu1krh6g_us/story01.htm

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California Supreme Court set to rule on redevelopment money

The California Supreme Court will issue a long-awaited ruling Thursday on the legality of the state's move to grab $1.7 billion in redevelopment money to help close California's budget shortfall -- a move that rocked cities around the Bay Area and across the state.

The ruling, expected at 10 a.m., should give critical guidance on two state laws: one that dissolves redevelopment agencies and redirects their property tax revenues to the state, and a second that allows agencies to stay afloat if they agree to relinquish a large portion of their funding, which will be used to pay for schools.

San Jose's agency, until recently the state's second largest and the architect of the city's downtown renewal, said it could not afford the payment for schools and would close shop. But most others in the state -- including Oakland, San Francisco, Walnut Creek and Concord -- are hoping to pay the money and survive. Oakland, for instance, would like to use redevelopment money in its bid to retain the A's baseball team, which San Jose is trying to land.

The state's high court promised a 10 a.m. ruling on its website Wednesday. The Supreme Court previously had agreed to rule on the crucial issue by Jan. 15, when half of the redevelopment money is slated to be turned over to the state for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

Redevelopment agencies, joined by the cities of San Jose and Union City, challenged the budget move earlier this year in a lawsuit, arguing that

it violates the terms of voter-approved Proposition 22, a measure designed to bar the state from seizing local funding, including redevelopment money, to pay its bills. Redevelopment advocates maintain the budget gambit is unconstitutional, while state lawmakers and the governor insist the Legislature has ultimate authority over redevelopment funding.

During arguments in November, the seven-member Supreme Court sent mixed signals on how it may rule in the case.

But the stakes are high for California's already shaky budget outlook and the fate of the state's nearly 400 redevelopment agencies.

Contact Howard Mintz at 408-286-0236.

Source: http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_19632057?source=rss

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All-Eagle Golf Capsules

Thursday December 29, 2011

Chad Alibozek
Junior, Hoosac Valley

The Hurricanes? steadiest regular season performer, Alibozek has won the Berkshire Classic, the de facto individual county championship, two of the last three years. Two years ago, he finished second.

The coach?s take: It?s unbelievable to watch him play. He?s really got the total game. I wish everyone would practice as much as Chad.

-- Hoosac coach Jay Sniezek Hayden Jarck
Senior,Pittsfield

The linchpin of Pittsfield?s post-season run, Jarck shot a 7-over par at the Ludlow Country Club, along with teammate Adam Brickle. Those scores helped the Generals finish third in Western Mass. Division I. At the state tournament in Millis, Jarck was the county?s top finisher again with a three-over par 75 to tie for sixth. That keyed the Generals? 12th-place overall state finish.

The coach?s take: Last year, he was real good. But this year, he took it to a whole new level. He?s by far the best player I?ve ever coached.

-- PHS coach Lucas Polidoro

Thomas Villetto
Junior, Lenox

The most consistent golfer on the Millionaires? Western Mass. Division III champions. He finished fourth overall at the Western Mass. tournament, and then followed up with a sixth-place finish in the state meet. The Millionaires finished ninth in the state. This is Villetto?s

second consecutive All-Eagle selection.

The coach?s take: Tom is a competitor. This year, he started slowly, but as the year went on, he got his game under control, and he turned in his best scores in the biggest matches. I think he?s going to be great next year.

-- Lenox coach Dick Salinetti

Bryan Cota
Senior, McCann Tech

This will be Cota?s third consecutive year on the All-Eagle team. Finished tied for second in the Western Mass. Division III golf tournament, with a 75 at the Berkshire Hills Country Club.

The coach?s take: I didn?t have to do a lot of coaching with him. He taught me a few things, to be honest. It was fun to watch him attack a course, and shape shots and play so skillfully. We will miss him.

-- McCann coach Justin Kratz

Shawn Folan
Senior, Wahconah

Rebounded nicely to finish second in the Western Mass. D-II meet, despite shooting a 9 on the par-5 12th hole at Springfield?s Franconia Golf Course. Folan was the Warriors? most consistent golfer this season.

The coach?s take: Great work ethic, but I was most impressed by the things you didn?t see. He helped me bring along some of the young guys, which was a big help. And I think if he had not had that one bad hole, he?d have won Western Mass.

-- Wahconah coach Pete Terpak

Bryan Levardi
Senior, Taconic

Finished fourth overall in the Western Mass. Division I golf tournament. Finished third in the Berkshire Classic with a five-over par 79 at the Berkshire Hills Country Club.

An opposing view: Very sound fundamentally, very consistent. He was Taconic?s leader this year.

-- Lenox coach Dick Salinetti

Matt Freitag
Senior, Hoosac Valley

Freitag came on late in the season for the Hurricanes, shooting a 77 at the Division II state tournament in Northborough, good for 16th and the best score among county golfers. He also had a strong finish in the Western Mass. tournament, shooting an 83 to finish sixth overall.

The coach?s take: He is kind of overshadowed by Chad [Alibozek], but he?s a hard worker, and he was only one stroke behind Chad in average. He practices just as hard as Chad, too.

-- Sniezek

Source: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/localsports/ci_19636547?source=rss

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Sri Lanka edge towards second-Test defeat of South Africa

Sangakkara took advantage to plough on and opener Tharanga Paranavitana struck successive boundaries off Morkel before debutant Marchant de Lange opened with a maiden over.

Morkel finally got some reward for his good line and length as Paranavitana's thick edge was well held by Ashwell Prince at fourth slip to leave the score at 20 for two, bringing Mahela Jayawardene to the crease.

He did his utmost to settle Sri Lanka down as he flicked a Morkel delivery through midwicket to the boundary.

Dale Steyn returned to the attack and almost accounted for Jayawardene, whose edge behind fell just short of the slips, before the same batsman took Sri Lanka's lead past 200 with another boundary.

However, he was gone for 14 as he padded up to a De Lange delivery. Sri Lanka reviewed the decision but the ball was bound for the top of the stumps and the tourists were now 44 for three.

First-innings centurion Thilan Samaraweera was the next man in and he played a risky nudge down to backward square leg which only just eluded the diving Hashim Amla, but he was able to bed down well with Sangakkara as the pair took Sri Lanka's second innings into three figures.

Sangakkara brought up his 50 off 102 balls with an angled drive down to third man off Morkel, which was going for four until Imran Tahir slid in to ultimately save two runs.

South Africa finally made another breakthrough as Tahir dismissed Samaraweera for 43, who edged the ball onto his pad and into his off stump to make it 138 for four.

Angelo Mathews made just three before he swiped at a Steyn bouncer and Boucher took a comfortable catch to give South Africa brief hope at 141 for five, but Sangakkara again brought stability to the tourists' innings.

His 12th four came up off Jacques Kallis to move him to 95, and he then progressed to 99 off the next ball with another boundary, flicking the ball to midwicket. He brought up the ton off 161 balls, striking two off the final delivery of the same Kallis over, and ended the session alongside Chandimal, who was 23 not out.

Chandimal set the pace after tea and survived a run-out chance when AB de Villiers was off target with his shy at the stumps, conceding four overthrows. Chandimal made it two half-centuries from as many Test innings in the 65th over but was gone for 54 when he edged a Steyn ball behind.

Sangakkara's wicket was finally claimed by Tahir as the Sri Lanka batsman holed out to Smith at deep mid-on for 108, having faced 190 balls. Rangana Herath (five not out) and Thisara Perera (six not out) came together before bad light forced the teams off in the 71st over.

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568364/s/1b56e7d7/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Csport0Ccricket0Cinternational0Csouthafrica0C8980A6960CSri0ELanka0Eedge0Etowards0Esecond0ETest0Edefeat0Eof0ESouth0EAfrica0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Most Popular Blu-Ray Playback Suite: Cyberlink PowerDVD [Hive Five Followup]

Watching Blu-ray movies on your HTPC or on a Blu-ray enabled laptop is easier than ever. There are a number of players that promise to play Blu-ray video as long as you have a Blu-ray drive in your system, and last week we asked you asked you which tool you used for the job. Then we took a look at the top five Blu-ray playback suites. Now we're back to crown the overall winner.

CyberLink PowerDVD took the top spot with 40% of the votes cast, the far and away winner. Second place was hotly contested however, with AnyDVD HD taking second place with just under 24%, and PotPlayer took the third place slot with 21% of the votes cast. In fourth place was ArcSoft Total Media with close to 10% of the votes cast, and Corel WinDVD Pro bringing up the rear in 5th place with under 5% of the overall vote.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/qhXw1o7pUpY/most-popular-blu+ray-playback-suite-cyberlink-powerdvd

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Iran threatens to block oil shipments

By The New York Times
Published: December 28, 2011 Updated: December 28, 2011 - 12:00 AM

WASHINGTON --

A senior Iranian official Tuesday delivered a sharp threat in response to economic sanctions being readied by the United States, saying his country would retaliate against any crackdown by blocking all oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for transporting about one-fifth of the world's oil supply.

The declaration by Iran's first vice president, Mohammad-Reza Rahimi, came as President Barack Obama prepares to sign legislation that, if fully implemented, could substantially reduce Iran's oil revenue in a bid to deter it from pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

Before the latest move, the administration had been laying the groundwork for cutting off Iran from global energy markets without raising the price of gasoline or alienating close allies.

Apparently fearful of the expanded sanctions' possible impact on the already stressed economy of Iran, the world's third-largest energy exporter, Rahimi said, "If they impose sanctions on Iran's oil exports, then even one drop of oil cannot flow from the Strait of Hormuz," according to Iran's official news agency.

Iran just began a 10-day naval exercise in the area.

Obama administration officials have recently said that the United States has a plan to keep the strait open in the event of a crisis.

In Hawaii, where Obama is vacationing, a White House spokesman said there would be no comment on the Iranian threat. That seemed in keeping with an effort to lower the level of angry exchanges, partly to avoid giving Iran the satisfaction of a response and partly to avoid spooking financial markets.

But the energy sanctions carry the risk of confrontation, as well as economic disruption, given the unpredictability of the Iranian response.

Some administration officials believe that a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States ? which Washington alleges received financing from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps ? was in response to U.S. and other international sanctions.

Merely uttering the threat appeared to be part of an Iranian effort to demonstrate its ability to cause a spike in oil prices, thus slowing the U.S. economy, and to warn U.S. trading partners that joining the new sanctions, which the Senate passed by a rare 100-0 vote, would come at a high cost.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tbo/nationworld/~3/CUzOFts3vgI/

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NASA finds smallest ever black hole by its 'heartbeat' (video)

NASA's found the smallest black hole it's ever seen, thanks to the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) -- weighing around three times as much our own sun, it's near the bottom weight limit for the super-heavy phenomena. It was discovered by its unique "heartbeat", an X-Ray emission that takes place when gas sucked from a nearby star is swirled around the event horizon until friction causes it to super-heat. The disc then repeats the process every 40 seconds and when examined, looks just like the readout on an ECG machine. After the break we've got a video that talks you through it all and we won't mind if you start booming "Space... the final frontier..." halfway through -- we did too.

Continue reading NASA finds smallest ever black hole by its 'heartbeat' (video)

NASA finds smallest ever black hole by its 'heartbeat' (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/AMe6AqnIS3o/

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