The Case Against Working at Home

Are you sure working from home is such a good idea?

Photo by Ingram Publishing

Elsewhere in Slate, Farhad Manjoo argues that Marissa Mayer is wrong.

I completely get the utopian fantasy of working from home: the baby napping in his crib in the next room, the gold light filtering in through the window, a tagine made with vegetables from the farmers market simmering on the stove, while you are answering emails and brainstorming ideas, the dream of modern connected life. But is that the way it really works out?

Or, in fact, is eight-tenths of your attention during a pressing work call focused on whether the clamoring hooligans in the next room are going to agitate for something, or burst in, or stay quiet?? Is a large unmapped portion of your brain engaged in trivial domestic calculations: Did I remember to pay the cable bill? Is it time to change the laundry and put it into the dryer? Is your attention, in truth, divided, conquered? (And let?s be honest: The reason we want to work at home is that we want our attention to be divided.)

As a professor and writer, who works both from home and office, I don?t feel hugely qualified to comment on matters of corporate policy. But in the recent hullabaloo over Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer?s decision to stop allowing employees to work from home, I do wonder about all the righteous insistence that we should tear down the walls, break down the barriers, and all toil away in our bathtubs. I don't entirely buy the line that domestic life can hum on unfettered around us as we are all concentrating like Tolstoy on the task at hand.?

People argue that they can work just as efficiently, or more efficiently from home, but efficiency is not the only measure of whether working at home is a good idea. Is it possible that our ideas, our creativity, our wilder bursts of thought are often, or at least sometimes better achieved outside the home, in a more neutral space? I know from experience that it?s not that simple to transport your work thoughts into your house. I know what it is like to carry a laptop to a coffee shop, just to shake free of the clutter of home thoughts. One of the great thinkers on work-life conditions, Virginia Woolf, argued that our ideas themselves are subtly, but importantly, affected by the mundane, material conditions surrounding us. In A Room of One?s Own, she talks about the intangible but crucial effect on one?s concentration and quality of thought of things as seemingly superficial or irrelevant as a meal. She wrote that our ideas ?are attached to grossly material things, like health and money and the houses we live in.?

Of course those who have spent a lot of time working at home will recognize that being in your pajamas, in your bed, seeing little sticky handprints that you should really clean up, remembering an argument you had the night before in that same room, creates a different state of mind than the office state of mind. One of the reasons that the office must have been invented is to banish for a little while that home self, to get away from her and her preoccupations.?

In this weirdly emotional debate, we should at least be willing to admit that something is lost and something is gained from working at home. That the comfort and flexibility are counteracted by certain constrictions on the imagination, by a competition of focus, even by the relaxation and familiarity of home. In one of the places I work, there were cries this week that Mayer is ?draconian? in suggesting that her employees should drag themselves into the office, but to me it doesn't seem outrageous or draconian or Mussolini-like that a certain employer might choose to have her employees work in the office.

It seems instead that the dreamers of the technological dream have already gotten what they wanted; they have already achieved the perfect, ominous mingling of our attention: No matter where we work, whether the commute is to an office or the kitchen table, the line between our professional lives and our homes have basically been obliterated. You can be in bed with a boyfriend and emailing your boss, reading a child to sleep and fielding a text from your assistant. The separation between ?home? and ?work? is largely fictional as it is. It seems sometimes that our persistent, if silly, fantasy of ?having it all? often translates into having it all in the same minute. Which is to say that there are currently very few spaces you can go where your work cannot find you, very few moments where you are not available to both work and home. Rather than desperately pursuing the any further mingling, the separation of work and life might in fact be something to strive for or long for, something rare and more precious than we think.

Those up in arms about Mayer?s disrespect for ?the work-life balance? should consider this possibility: ?The work-life balance? might be best served by keeping work at work. By trying to pursue that tiny sliver of a chance of keeping the office and the thousands of meaningless work details and memos and preoccupations out of your home. ???

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=b1585f3ea9ec662a5d42cc52c0fc2691

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Nintendo's stork to deliver 3DS models in blue and pink to Japan

If you're a gamer and love you some bright colors, Nintendo's got just the bundle of joy with a couple of new 3DS models. "Pink Gloss" and "Light Blue" colors will arrive to the handheld console on March 20th along with a boost in memory from the usual 2GB to 4GB for 15,000 yen (about $160). The rug might be pulled from under your brightly-hued dreams if you're not in Japan, though -- only players in that country will be able to nab it.

Filed under: Gaming, Nintendo

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Via: Engadget.jp

Source: Nintendo Japan (translated)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/27/nintendos-stork-delivers-3ds-models-in-blue-and-pink-to-japan/

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Hagel: Time to 'turn the page' on decade of war

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Chuck Hagel was sworn in Wednesday as defense secretary ? President Barack Obama's third in just over four years and the first who really wanted one of Washington's toughest jobs.

Introducing himself to Pentagon workers shortly after taking the oath of office, Hagel said he was humbled by the opportunity and ready for the challenge. He survived a contentious confirmation process in which some Republican senators questioned his suitability for the job and suggested he lacked the character to lead the military.

"I'll be honest, I'll be direct, I'll expect the same from you," he told a standing-room-only audience of several hundred civilian Defense Department workers and members of the military. "I'll never ask anyone to do anything I wouldn't do."

He called the automatic budget cuts due to take effect on Friday ? to include $46 billion in Pentagon reductions ? "a reality" that "we need to deal with."

He'll also have to deal with the complexities of winding down the war in Afghanistan. U.S. combat troops are to fully withdraw by the end of next year, but Obama has yet to announce how many troops may stay to continue training and advising the Afghan army and targeting al-Qaida and affiliated extremist groups.

Hagel made no explicit mention of Afghanistan, but in a written statement to Pentagon employees he mentioned that 34,000 U.S. troops will come home over the coming year.

"As we turn the page on more than a decade of grinding conflict, we must broaden our attention to future threats and challenges," he said, citing cyber warfare as an example. He also emphasized the importance he places on alliances like NATO.

Hagel succeeds Leon Panetta, who had hoped to retire from public service after serving as Obama's first CIA director but was talked into taking over last July for Robert Gates, a holdover from President George W. Bush's Pentagon. Gates made a point of carrying a "countdown clock" tracking the time until he could retire.

Panetta had already retreated to his home in California last weekend to follow the outcome of Senate votes Tuesday that granted Panetta his wish not to have to return to Washington. He had packed his bags, boxed up his office and said his final farewells days earlier.

Hagel was confirmed on a Senate vote of 58-41, with four Republicans joining the Democrats in backing him. Hagel's only GOP support came from former colleagues Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Dick Shelby of Alabama and Mike Johanns of Nebraska ? all three had announced their support earlier ? and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

The vote came just hours after Republicans dropped their unprecedented delay of a Pentagon choice and allowed the nomination to move forward on a 71-27 vote.

Hagel, 66, has said he did not ask for the Pentagon job but has embraced the opportunity.

"I will do everything in my power to be the kind of leader that you expect and you deserve, also, the kind of leader the country expects and deserves," the Vietnam combat veteran said in 15 minutes of remarks in which he struck a tone of humility.

A two-term Republican senator from Nebraska, Hagel was introduced to his Pentagon audience by a fellow Nebraskan ? Sgt. 1st Class John Wirth, of Gordon, Neb., an 11-year Army veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq.

Wirth was a reminder that Hagel is one of only a few defense secretaries who served in the military's enlisted ranks. He was an Army sergeant in 1967-68 and was wounded in Vietnam. He served in the Senate from 1997-2009 and more recently was chairman of the Atlantic Council, a prominent think tank in Washington.

With a touch of humor, Hagel alluded to his days in the enlisted ranks, where grunts rarely come in contact with four-star generals like Ray Odierno, the Army's top general, who was among the military brass sitting in Hagel's audience.

"He makes me shake a little, being an old Army sergeant," Hagel said with a chuckle.

Hagel said that after taking the oath of office he spent a few minutes walking through an outdoor memorial to victims of those killed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. He recalled that he was on Capitol Hill at the moment a hijacked American Airlines jet slammed into the Pentagon not far from the defense secretary's suite, killing 125 people inside the building and all aboard the plane.

He said he "reflected a bit on what happened that day," when nearly 3,000 people were killed in New York City, Washington and in rural Pennsylvania. Quoting the late British leader Winston Churchill, Hagel called the terrorist attack a "jarring gong." It set in motion dynamics "that we are living with today," Hagel said.

Hagel said he felt it important to take time out of his first day as defense secretary to tell the entire workforce that he looks forward to leading in tough times.

"Now I've got to go to work," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Donna Cassata and Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hagel-time-turn-page-decade-war-200148059--politics.html

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Pope legacy: Teacher who returned to church roots

FILE - This Sept. 6, 2006 file photo shows Pope Benedict XVI wearing a "saturno hat", inspired by the ringed planet Saturn, to shield himself from the sun as he waves to the crowd of faithful prior to his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, files)

FILE - This Sept. 6, 2006 file photo shows Pope Benedict XVI wearing a "saturno hat", inspired by the ringed planet Saturn, to shield himself from the sun as he waves to the crowd of faithful prior to his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, files)

FILE - This Nov. 3, 2006 file photo shows Pope Benedict XVI's hand as he waves to faithful from his car at the end of his visit at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, files)

FILE - Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, in this April 19, 2005, file photo. Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, who chose the name of Pope Benedict XVI, became the 265th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis/file)

Pope Benedict XVI waves to faithful during his final general audience in St.Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI has recalled moments of "joy and light" during his papacy but also times of great difficulty in an emotional, final general audience in St. Peter's Square before retiring. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Faithful are reflected in the roof of Pope Benedict XVI's pope-mobile as he arrives to celebrate his last general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Benedict XVI basked in an emotional sendoff Wednesday at his final general audience in St. Peter's Square, recalling moments of "joy and light" during his papacy but also times of great difficulty. He also thanked his flock for respecting his decision to retire. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? On Monday, April 4, 2005, a priest walked up to the Renaissance palazzo housing the Vatican's doctrine department and asked the doorman to call the official in charge: It was the first day of business after Pope John Paul II had died, and the cleric wanted to get back to work.

The office's No. 2, Archbishop Angelo Amato, answered the phone and was stunned. This was no ordinary priest. It was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, his boss, who under the Vatican's arcane rules had technically lost his job when John Paul died.

"It tells me of the great humility of the man, the great sense of duty, but also the great awareness that we are here to do a job," said Bishop Charles Scicluna, who worked with Ratzinger before he became Pope Benedict XVI, inside the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In resigning, Scicluna said, Benedict is showing the same sense of humility, duty and service as he did after the Catholic Church lost its last pope.

"He has done his job."

___

When Benedict flies off into retirement by helicopter on Thursday, he will leave behind a church in crisis ? one beset by sex scandal, internal divisions and dwindling numbers.

But the 85-year-old pope can count on a solid legacy: While his very resignation was his most significant act, Benedict ? in a quieter way ? also set the church back on a conservative, tradition-minded path.

He was guided by the firm conviction that many of the ills afflicting the church could be traced to a misreading of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

He insisted that the 1962-65 meetings that brought the church into the modern era were not a radical break from the past, as portrayed by many liberals, but rather a continuation of the best traditions of the 2,000-year-old church.

Benedict was the teacher pope, a theology professor who turned his Wednesday general audiences into master classes about the Catholic faith and the history, saints and sinners that contributed to it.

In his teachings, he sought to boil Christianity down to its essential core. He didn't produce volumes of encyclicals like his predecessor, just three: on charity, hope and love. (He penned a fourth, on faith, but retired before finishing it.)

Considered by many to be the greatest living theologian, he authored more than 65 books, stretching from the classic "Introduction to Christianity" in 1968 to the final installment of his triptych on "Jesus of Nazareth" last year ? considered by some to be his most important contribution to the church. In between he produced the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" ? essentially a how-to guide to being a Catholic.

Benedict spent the bulk of his early career in the classroom, as a student and then professor of dogma and fundamental theology at universities in Bonn, Muenster, Tuebingen and Regensburg, Germany.

"His classrooms were crowded," recalled the Rev. Joseph Fessio, a theology student of Ratzinger's at the University of Regensburg from 1972-74, and now the English-language publisher of his books.

"I don't recall him having notes," Fessio said. "He would stand at the front of the class, and he wasn't looking at you, not with eye contact, but he was looking over you, almost meditating."

It's a style that he's kept for 40 years.

"If you hear him give a sermon, he's speaking not from notes, but you can write it down and print it," Fessio said. "Every comma is there. Every pause."

___

Benedict never wanted to be pope and he didn't take easily to the rigors of the job. Elected April 19, 2005, after one of the shortest conclaves in history, Benedict was, at 78, the oldest pope elected in 275 years and the first German in nearly a millennium.

At first he was stiff.

Giovanni Maria Vian, editor of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, recalled that in the early days Benedict used to greet crowds with an awkward victory gesture "as if he were an athlete."

"At some point someone told him that wasn't a very papal gesture," Vian said. Benedict changed course, opting for an open-armed embrace or an almost effeminate twinkling of his fingers on an outstretched hand as a way of connecting with the crowd.

"No one is born a pope," Vian said. "You have to learn to be a pope."

And slowly Benedict learned.

Crowds accustomed to a quarter-century of superstar John Paul II, grew to embrace the soft-spoken, scholarly Benedict, who had an uncanny knack for being able to absorb different points of view and pull them together in a coherent whole.

He traveled, though less extensively than John Paul, and presided over Masses that were heavy on Latin, Gregorian chant and the silk brocaded vestments of his pre-Vatican II predecessors.

Benedict seemed genuinely surprised by the warm reception he received ? as well as the harsh criticism when things went wrong, as they did when he lifted the excommunication of a bishop who turned out to be a Holocaust-denier.

For a theologian who for decades had worked toward reconciliation between Catholics and Jews, the outrage was fierce and painful.

Benedict was also burdened by what he called the "filth" of the church: the sins and crimes of its priests.

As prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Benedict saw first-hand the scope of sex abuse as early as the 1980s, when he tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Vatican legal department to let him remove abusive priests quickly.

But it was 2001 before he finally stepped in, ordering all abuse cases sent to his office for review.

"We used to discuss the cases on Fridays; he used to call it the Friday penance," recalled Scicluna, who was Ratzinger's sex crimes prosecutor from 2002-2012.

Still, to this day, Benedict hasn't sanctioned a single bishop for covering up abuse.

"Unfortunately, Pope Benedict's legacy in the abuse crisis is one of mistaken emphases, missed opportunities, and gestures at the margin, rather than changes at the center," said Terrence McKiernan of BishopAccountability.org, an online resource of abuse documentation.

He praised Benedict for meeting with victims, and acknowledged the strides the Vatican made under his leadership. But, he said Benedict ignored the problem for too long, "prioritizing concerns about dissent over the massive evidence of abuse that was pouring into his office."

"He acted as no other pope has done when pressed or forced, but his papacy has been reactive on this central issue," McKiernan said in an email.

Benedict also gets poor grades from liberal Catholics, who felt abandoned by a pope who seemed to roll back the clock on the modernizing reforms of Vatican II and launched a crackdown on American nuns, deemed to have strayed too far from his doctrinal orthodoxy.

Some priests are now living in open rebellion with church teaching, calling for a rethink on everything from homosexuality to women's ordination to priestly celibacy.

"As Roman Catholics worldwide prepare for the conclave, we are reminded that the current system remains an 'old boys club' and does not allow for women's voices to participate in the decision of the next leader of our church," said Erin Saiz Hanna, head of the Women's Ordination Conference, a group that ordains women in defiance of church teaching.

The group plans to raise pink smoke during the conclave "as a prayerful reminder of the voices of the church that go unheard."

___

But Benedict won't be around at the Vatican to see it. His work is done. "Mission Accomplished," Vian said.

And as the pope told 150,000 people in his final speech as pope: "To love the church is to have the courage to make difficult, painful choices, always keeping in mind the good of the church, not oneself."

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-28-Vatican-Pope's%20Legacy/id-547a873066384d7980445b2b5022414a

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Gunmen kill Pakistani reporter near Afghan border

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? A Pakistani private news channel says gunmen have shot and killed one of its reporters in the country's tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Rana Jawad, an official at Geo News, says their reporter Malik Mumtaz was targeted in Miran Shah, the main city in North Waziristan.

It was not immediately clear whether the attack on Malik was related to his work.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Wednesday's killing.

Acccording to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least seven reporters were killed in Pakistan last year, making it the third most deadly country for journalists.

In November, police defused a bomb attached to the car of Geo's anchorperson Hamid Mir in Islamabad.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gunmen-kill-pakistani-reporter-near-afghan-border-125614286.html

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Jeb, George P. Bush talk education in Texas

George P. Bush talks about education as he makes the opening statements at the Texas Business Leadership Council, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

George P. Bush talks about education as he makes the opening statements at the Texas Business Leadership Council, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush talks about education as he addresses the Texas Business Leadership Council, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, in Austin, Texas. Bush said Tuesday night that America spends more on public education than any other country and yet about a third of students aren't ready for college when they graduate high school. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

George P. Bush, left, talks to guests prior to making the opening statements at the Texas Business Leadership Council, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and his rising-political-star son, George P. Bush, spoke together Tuesday in Texas on education issues, and both men resisted efforts to get them to talk in detail about future political plans.

The elder Bush, who is often mentioned as a possible contender for president in 2016, told an education forum organized by the Texas Business Leadership Council, "I urge you to be big and bold, and if people get offended, so what?"

"Politics can't always be like mamby-pamby land," said Bush, who said America's public schools have for too long been organized to best suit the "economic needs of adults" such as unionized teachers and school administrators, rather than students.

Bush was governor from 1999 until 2007 and trumpeted the overhaul of Florida public schools implemented under his watch.

He said public schools here and elsewhere have become "a public, unionized monopoly" and that the only way to weaken it is to expanded school choice while tightening teacher evaluation standards and limiting tenure.

George P. Bush, meanwhile, originally had been scheduled to introduce his father Tuesday, but said that doing so was "very emotional" and instead delivered a short warm-up speech.

He has announced plans to seek statewide office in Texas next year. He hasn't said which one but said he's leaning toward land commissioner ? though he's been mentioned as a possible contender for attorney general or even governor.

His mother, Jeb Bush's wife, is from Mexico and both men speak Spanish. But the younger Bush has been especially celebrated by Texas Hispanics who hope he can help the party connect with the state's Hispanic voters. Hispanics are Texas' fastest growing demographic but also overwhelmingly support Democrats.

Jeb Bush refused to comment on his son's future except to say he was proud of him.

"Now I know what my Dad feels like," Bush, whose father is former President George H.W. Bush, said after the event.

"It's incredibly emotional. It's pride and no trepidation because he's been involved a lot," Bush said of his son. "He's been engaged in helping others, so he knows the ropes, he knows what it's like, he knows what he's getting into."

The elder Bush has been seen by many nationally as a more moderate GOP voice. "The last two or three election cycles, we've been against things rather than for things," Bush said following his speech.

But pressed on whether he should run for president to make sure those ideas are heard, he replied: "I have no idea what I'll be doing four years from now. It's way too early to speculate."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-26-US-Texas-Father-and-Son/id-33a403a50c654502ad2c78f5275ed6d3

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Donkey, buffalo found in South African meat products

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Donkey, water buffalo and other unconventional ingredients have been found in almost two thirds of hamburgers and sausages tested in South Africa, a study released on Tuesday showed.

The tests by the University of Stellenbosch were planned before a scandal broke out in Europe over horsemeat labelled as beef that raised concerns worldwide over the risks to human health from a complex and nebulous meat supply chain.

"Our study confirms that the mislabelling of processed meats is commonplace in South Africa and not only violates food labelling regulations, but also poses economic, religious, ethical and health impacts," co-author Louw Hoffman of the university's Department of Animal Sciences, said in a statement.

Soya, donkey, goat, water buffalo and plant material were found in up to 68 percent of the 139 minced meats, burger patties, delicatessen meats, sausages and dried meats tested by the university. The items were not listed as ingredients.

Pork and chicken were the most common fillers found in products that were not supposed to contain them, according to the study that used DNA testing techniques and was published in the journal Food Control.

No similar discoveries had been made over the past two years, when DNA testing became more widely used in South Africa.

Stricter food labelling laws came into effect in the continent's largest economy in March last year, with mandatory information required on content, country of origin and allergens.

But there is no mandatory government testing of food sold in South Africa.

"It is a wake-up call for the industry to abide with the new labelling regulations," Hoffman, a noted game meat researcher, told Reuters.

He said extensive tests over two weeks of more than 100 samples had found no trace of horse meat.

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Jon Herskovitz and Tom Pfeiffer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/donkey-buffalo-found-south-african-meat-products-140125978.html

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SES New York Keynote Speaker Says Internet is TV's Best Friend ...

The Internet didn?t kill TV! According to Mike Proulx, the Internet has become TV?s best friend. Proulx will be the opening keynote speaker at SES New York 2013. The leading event for experienced marketing and advertising professionals will take place March 25-28, 2013, at the New York Marriott Marquis.

Proulx is a Senior Vice President and the Director of Social Media at Hill Holliday, a renowned advertising agency based in Boston, where he leads a team with a focus on cross-channel integration, emerging and social media. He has spent the last 17 years working at various interactive, high-tech, and new media companies on the agency-side, client-side, and as an entrepreneur. He has spoken at dozens of events and has been widely featured in the press including The New York Times, Fast Company, TV Guide, Forbes, BusinessWeek, Mashable, BuzzFeed, and NPR.

Proulx conceived, produced, directed, and co-host the TVnext summit, which took place in early 2011 and 2012. He is the co-author of Social TV, a best-selling book from Wiley publishing that launched in February of 2012. He is also the host of the social TV web series, ?The Pulse on Lost Remote?. He holds a Master?s degree in Computer Information Systems from Bentley University and in 2012 was named the Ad Club?s Media All Star.

His opening keynote is titled, ?Social TV: How Marketers Can Reach and Engage Audiences by Connecting Television to the Web, Social Media, and Mobile.?

Search Engine Watch (SEW) asked Mike Proulx (MP) five questions about his upcoming keynote. Here are his answers:

SEW: How does the convergence of television with the web, social media, and mobile change our behaviors and shake up our long standing beliefs about TV?

MP: There are those who believe that television is a traditional medium with an impending death. The web, social media, and mobile have evolved TV into a multi-screen experience that transcends devices. Not only are we watching more television than ever before, we?re interacting with programming on the ?second screen? in ways that enrich storylines and bring us together to virtually co-view. The modern era of television is a new media that?s more social, more connected, and more portable?and because of this TV is more alive than it?s ever been.

SEW: How has social media created a new and powerful "backchannel" and why does this fuel the renaissance of live broadcasts?

MP: There are a ton of posts happening in social media about any given TV show as it airs. Since Twitter is open and public, it acts as television?s backchannel filled with real-time commentary and conversation ? And it?s not just about TV series but also TV commercials giving producers and marketers instant feedback about their content. Live television events are seeing some of the highest ratings in years and social media brings a level of community and connection to TV watching the likes of which the medium has never before experienced.

SEW: Can you give us some examples of how mobile devices allow us to watch and interact with television whenever and wherever we want?

MP: Tablets, smartphones, and laptops enable television?s portability but it?s apps like HBO Go, ABC Player, Xfinity Remote, and CNN that deliver ?TV? content via those devices. And in the 4G world of mobile, we can watch TV in places once inconceivable. My favorite spot? Laying out on the roof deck on a warm summer night with my iPad in hand streaming HBO?s The Newsroom.

SEW: Why would ?connected TVs? blend web and television content into a unified big screen experience that will bring us back into our living rooms?

MP: Apple TV, Roku, Boxee TV, Google TV, Samsung Smart TVs, etc. stream online video (that was once relegated to our computer screens) onto the ?big screen? of our living rooms. HD YouTube clips suddenly come to life in ways that are far more impactful and dynamic than tiny smartphone screens further blurring the lines of what?s ?TV.? While the notion of TV everywhere lets us watch TV at will regardless of our physical location, the increasingly seamless ability to channel streaming video through the TV set makes the living room that much more compelling.

SEW: With the television landscape changing, why should brands approach the medium once labeled ?traditional? as new media?

MP: TV has become mashed up with the Web, social media, and mobile. Television networks, providers, brands, and agencies must continue to unshackle themselves from dated business and advertising models and rediscover television as a new medium. This means planning television and digital together to tell stories across devices and engage viewers with TV experiences not just TV shows. The speed, scale, and degree of change that has and is happening create enormous opportunity for those brands who have the courage to innovate.

SES New York 2013 offers a variety of conference passes and on-site training. If you register by Thursday, March 7, 2013, you can save up to $600 on Platinum or All Access passes.

For more information, click on Rates and Registration Details. Group discounts for 4 or more pass holders from the same company are also available by contacting [email?protected] and are the best value for the lowest price possible.

I should disclose that SES New York is a client of my agency. But, trust me, TV is not dead yet.

---

Become an Expert Digital Marketer at SES New York
March 25-28, 2013: With dozens of sessions on Search, Social, Local and Mobile, you'll leave SES with everything and everyone you need to know. Hurry, early bird rates expire February 21. Register today!

Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2250850/SES-New-York-Keynote-Speaker-Says-Internet-is-TVs-Best-Friend

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MSPs continue teen pregnancy probe - WestLothian Courier

Feb 26 2013

Children's charities will give their views on what needs to be done to reduce teenage pregnancy rates when they appear before MSPs.

Holyrood's Health Committee will hear from representatives from various organisations on Tuesday as it continues its inquiry into the issue.

Charities due to appear at the committee include Who Cares? Scotland, CHILDREN 1st, NSPCC Scotland; the Family Planning Association and Brook, among others.

The session is expected to cover the reasons why teenagers become pregnant, the action being taken to reduce teen pregnancy rates, including sex education, and the challenges faced by those working in this area.

In a written submission to the committee, Who Cares? Scotland has suggested MSPs should also hear directly from teenagers who have experienced teen pregnancy "in order to understand how current support services are provided to them, and what needs they are and are not meeting, from their perspective".

Figures published in June showed a key Scottish Government target for reducing pregnancies among under-16s was missed.

Ministers had hoped to cut the pregnancy rate in this age group to 6.8 pregnancies per 1,000 girls by 2010. But the pregnancy rate for that year was 7.1 per 1,000 - the same as it had been in 2009.

NHS Fife was shown to have the highest rate among under-16s and under-18s while NHS Ayrshire and Arran had the highest rate among the under-20s.

Source: http://www.westlothiancourier.co.uk/west-lothian-news/scottish-news/2013/02/26/msps-continue-teen-pregnancy-probe-62405-32881822/

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Estate Planning When It's Just the Two of You | Ellwood City News

Planning for the future can take a different shape when children aren?t involved. With no braces to pay for or tuition bills to finance, couples don?t have many of the financial obligations that require resources and can impact an estate. On the other hand, these couples must plan for a future that will not include adult children to give them a helping hand ? physically, emotionally or financially ? as they age.

Estate planning is important regardless of your parental status. A well-crafted estate plan assigns decision makers, designates heirs and specifies who gets what after you and your partner pass away. It allows couples to create contingencies for individual survivorship and can help minimize taxes. It also can help ensure your mutual wishes are respected as health or cognitive abilities decline.

Assign decision makers. Couples without children can each execute a power of attorney naming their spouse to act on their behalf. Each can also designate an alternate attorney-in-fact to act on your behalf in the event you both become unable to make decisions regarding your finances and property. This person may also be assigned the responsibility of executor of your estate¹. If you have no children to name, you might consider asking a trusted family member or friend (generally someone younger) or a professional in the estate planning business to take on these responsibilities.

A living will?also called an advance healthcare directive?is another important legal document both of you should have on file. It specifies your wishes in the event of an incapacitating illness and enables your assigned designee to make decisions about your health care on your behalf.

Decide how your assets will be distributed. An attorney can help you draw up a will that specifies how and to whom your assets will be distributed when one or both of you pass away. Without a will in place, your estate will be handled according to the statutes of the state in which you reside. Often, when there are no children or designated heirs identified in a last will and testament, the surviving spouse is the primary heir, then other living relatives, which could include parents and/or grandparents, siblings and siblings? children. If this is what you intend, you can make that clear in your will; if not, determine how you want to split your assets among your relatives, loved ones and causes that are important to you.

Your estate plan can include strategies for giving financial gifts before or after your death. Under current federal tax law for 2013, an individual may gift up to $14,000 per person to as many people as he or she would like without gift tax consequences. You can also pay college tuition for anyone without being subject to gift taxes or using any of your annual or lifetime gift tax exclusions, as long as you pay the institution directly.

Create avenues for charitable giving. If you don?t plan to leave a significant amount of your assets to family, you may choose to give charitably to causes you?re passionate about. There are other ways to be generous in a tax-efficient way while you and your partner are both are still living. You can donate to a donor-advised fund and receive tax benefits upfront, while suggesting how the funds should be invested and later distributed to your chosen nonprofit organization. With a charitable lead trust, the charity receives payments for a period of time after which you or your heirs receive any remaining assets in the trust. A charitable remainder trust operates in the reverse, giving you or your heirs a stream of payments for a period of time (not exceeding 20 years) or for life, and leaving any remaining amount to the selected charity.

Plan for the unexpected. Your estate plan should include adequate insurance coverage for unexpected events. Be sure to name the appropriate beneficiaries, including one another, on your respective policies. Since moving in with a child isn?t an option, you may wish to purchase long-term care insurance policies that help cover assisted living services or nursing home care as needed later in life.

Consult the experts to create a comprehensive estate plan.

A financial advisor can help you and your spouse or partner make plans for the handling of your estate. In conjunction with legal and tax advisors who understand state and federal tax and estate planning laws, you can take steps to ensure you both have sufficient means to live well after the other passes and that your mutual wishes are respected regarding the legacy you leave.

Source: http://news.ellwoodcity.org/2013/02/27/estate-planning-when-its-just-the-two-of-you/

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Hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Stand Pouch

We've seen some Android tablets essentially ape the iPad's Smart Cover, which protects the screen while closed and doubles as a stand when folded in on itself. Samsung's gone a different route with the Galaxy Note 8.0 Stand Pouch.

Pouches in and of themselves are hardly new in the mobile space. But Samsung's here also doubles for a stand for the Galaxy Note 8.0. Slip the Note 8.0 into it (the inside is soft and warm and safe, like ... something soft and warm ... or at least soft) to keep things nice and safe.

The pouch -- notice how it's segmented here -- folds in on itself in the usual triangle manner. From there, you get a couple options for angles -- one high, for media viewing, the other low, say, for typing.

Samsung's got a host of colors -- I'm partial to the boring (but nicely textured) gray you see here.

We've got some more pics of the Samsung Stand Pouch after the break.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/sdcupiz1jBM/story01.htm

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White House questioned over donors' access

White House spokesman Jay Carney on Monday answered growing questions about whether big donors to President Barack Obama's nonprofit Organizing for America (OFA) are being promised access to the president.

His answer? Well, kind of.

While Carney had responded "no" when Fox News' Ed Henry asked if a recent report "suggests that access to the president is being sold," his explanation sidestepped the issue. He offered instead a string of policy proposals, definitions and a recitation of campaign finance rules.

On Friday, New York Times reporter Nicholas Confessore wrote of an alleged pay-for-access arrangement through OFA: "Giving or raising $500,000 or more puts donors on a national advisory board for Mr. Obama?s group and the privilege of attending quarterly meetings with the president, along with other meetings at the White House."

On Monday, Carney emphasized that the group, which was born out of the president's campaign committee, is an "independent organization"; that administration officials follow rules regarding separation between outside groups and the administration; and that the president supports campaign finance transparency.

When pressed again to explain the reports, Carney referred questions to OFA.

?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/administration-faces-donors-paying-obama-access-204215484--politics.html

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Fish discards ban 'may be diluted'

26 February 2013 Last updated at 02:38 ET By Roger Harrabin Environment analyst

Plans for a total ban on the practice of discarding fish at sea are to go before Europe's fisheries ministers, with some fearing they will be diluted.

An outright discards ban is favoured by the European Commission and parliament, but it is being resisted by France, Spain and others.

Ministers will consider a compromise text, that a Commission source described as "acceptable".

It would delay fisheries reform beyond the current proposal of 2016-2019.

It would also allow maybe 7% of fish to be discarded, exempt some species from the ban altogether, and give fishing crews extra catch quotas for an interim period.

It would also allow blue whiting, one of the most abundant stocks of the North East Atlantic, to be dumped if it is inadvertently caught. Boarfish may also be exempt.

Some ministers are striving to soften the provisions of the reform package to protect their fleets from sudden change.

Hi-tech nets

But the Fisheries Commissioner, Maria Damanaki, urged ministers not to compromise.

"The politicians must listen to what the public is telling them," she said. "The public does not want fish to be just thrown away."

She said all caught fish should be landed; if they were of low value, they should be turned into fish meal.

The Irish Fisheries Minister, Simon Coveney, who is chairing the meeting, said: "It is imperative that European Fisheries Ministers collectively take this progressive but challenging decision now and co-operate in agreeing appropriate and effective measures to eliminate discards with ambitious timelines."

But he is obliged at the meeting to find a joint position that the Council can negotiate with the Commission and parliament - and compromise will be difficult as several nations, including the UK, consider than any slipping from a total ban would be wrong.

The "progressive" nations fear that any discussion of exempt species would open the door for further exemptions.

In a review of global discarding, the UN noted that the north-east Atlantic had the highest discard level in the world, estimated at 1.3 million tonnes - the majority attributed to the EU. The Commission estimates that 23% of all fish caught by EU vessels are discarded.

Discussions at the Fisheries Council may last into the night, although on a less contentious note, ministers are likely to re-commit to better technology to prevent unwanted fish being caught in the first place

Follow Roger on Twitter @rharrabin

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21584863#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Bobby Brown sentenced to 55 days in jail for DUI

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Bobby Brown has been sentenced to 55 days in a Los Angeles jail and four years of probation for a drunken driving case.

City attorney's spokesman Frank Mateljan (mah-tell-JIN') says Brown was sentenced Tuesday after pleading no contest to charges he was under the influence and driving on a suspended license when he was arrested in October.

Brown was on probation for another DUI case at the time.

The 44-year-old "New Edition" singer was ordered to report to jail March 20. He also was placed on four years of informal probation and will be required to complete an 18-month alcohol treatment program.

Brown's attorney Tiffany Feder had no immediate comment on the sentence.

The sentence was first reported by celebrity website TMZ.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bobby-brown-sentenced-55-days-jail-dui-005238178.html

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Sinopec to buy stake in Chesapeake assets for $1.02 billion

(Reuters) - China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) will buy half of Chesapeake Energy Corp's Mississippi Lime oil and gas properties in Oklahoma for $1.02 billion to increase its presence in the booming North American shale gas industry.

Output from shale fields in the United States and Canada has jumped over the last three years due to the advent of drilling methods such as hydraulic fracturing.

Companies in China, which has the largest shale reserves in the world, are keen to get the know-how of drilling in such unconventional fields.

China's state-owned CNOOC Ltd has struck a deal to buy Canadian oil and gas company Nexen Inc for $15.1 billion, while Pioneer Natural Resources Co said last month it would sell a stake in its assets in the Wolfcamp shale field of Texas to Sinochem Group for $1.7 billion.

Sinopec, Asia's largest oil refiner, will buy 50 percent of Chesapeake's 850,000 acres of net oil and natural gas leasehold properties in the Mississippi Lime shale field in northern Oklahoma, the companies said.

The Mississippi Lime assets will be bought by Sinopec International.

"The deal is about $200 million below our modeled assumption for similar acreage but (with) more production," analysts at investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co said.

Chesapeake shares were down marginally at $20.40 in premarket trading on Monday. The stock has risen about 23 percent this year.

However, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Neal Dingmann. said the deal was very positive for Chesapeake.

"The price based on all metrics appears better than what myself or the Street expected, especially the $2,400 per acre metric," he said.

Chesapeake has about 2.1 million net acres of leasehold in the Mississippi Lime region, which straddles northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas.

Chesapeake's production from the Mississippi Lime region jumped 208 percent to an average of 32,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the fourth quarter, the company reported this month.

About 45 percent of the total output was oil, 46 percent was natural gas and the rest was natural gas liquids.

Sinopec's deal with Chesapeake, the second-largest gas producer in the United States, will help the Oklahoma City-based company cut down its debt, which stood at $12 billion as of December 31.

Chesapeake, which closed $12 billion of asset sales last year, is targeting asset sales of $4 billion to $7 billion in 2013, the company said in a presentation earlier this month.

Chesapeake said in December it would sell most of its natural gas processing and gathering assets for $2.16 billion to Access Midstream Partners LP .

The company's board and big shareholders are trying to rein in spending, pay down debt and increase production of more profitable oil.

Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon, who co-founded the company in 1989, is stepping down on April 1 following a tumultuous year during which the company faced a liquidity crunch and a governance crisis.

Sinopec struck a deal with Devon Energy Corp in January 2012 to buy a third of the U.S. oil and natural gas producer's interest in five developing fields for about $2.2 billion.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sinopec-buy-stake-chesapeake-assets-1-02-billion-114944716--finance.html

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Page Not Found (404) - Salon.com

Copyright ? 2013 Salon Media Group, Inc. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited.

SALON ? is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon Media Group Inc.

Associated Press articles: Copyright ? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.salon.com/salon/index

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Stocks plunge as Italy appears headed for gridlock

NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks are dropping sharply as investors worry that Italy could be seized with political paralysis, stymieing the country's economic reforms and causing another flare-up in the region's debt crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 216 points to 13,784 Monday, a loss of 1.6 percent and the biggest drop since November.

The Standard & Poor's 500 dropped 27 points, or 1.8 percent, to 1,487. The Nasdaq lost 45 points to 3,116.

An early gain was gone by midday after reports from Italy suggested that the country was headed for political gridlock following strong gains by former premier Silvio Berlusconi and a protest campaign led by a former comedian.

Four stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was average, 3.8 billion shares.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-plunge-italy-appears-headed-gridlock-211110758--finance.html

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Ranulph Fiennes pulls out of 'Coldest Journey' expedition

British polar adventurer Ranulph Fiennes, known as the oldest person to summit Mount Everest in 2009, couldn't continue his winter Antarctica crossing expedition, dubbed 'The Coldest Journey,' due to frostbite.

By Danica Kirka,?Associated Press / February 25, 2013

In this 2009 file photo, British explorer Ranulph Fiennes, who became the oldest Briton to scale Mount Everest, is seen relaxing on his return from the mountain in Katmandu, Nepal.

Binod Joshi/AP/File

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British explorer?Ranulph?Fiennes on Monday pulled out of an expedition to cross Antarctica during the region's winter after developing frostbite ? a bitter disappointment for an adventurer who had spent years preparing for one of the last great polar challenges.

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The explorer and his five-member team had hoped to traverse nearly 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) in a place where temperatures often dip as low as minus 70 Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit). The expedition, dubbed "The Coldest Journey," will continue without him.

"The condition is such that he has very reluctantly decided ... to withdraw from Antarctica while the possibility to do so still exists, before the onset of the Antarctic winter," the expedition said in a statement.

Fiennes, who has been going where others fear to tread for decades and in 2009 became the oldest person to summit Mount Everest, already is missing parts of his fingers on his left hand because of frostbite suffered on a North Pole expedition a decade ago.

"This will be my greatest challenge to date," he had said on his website before the journey began. "We will stretch the limits of human endurance."

The polar trek is especially dangerous because no aircraft can travel inland in the winter due to the darkness and risk that fuel will freeze. That means that there would be virtually no chance of a search and rescue operation if disaster strikes.

The team is working toward evacuating Fiennes from Antarctica, but that evacuation is being hampered by a blizzard. The team said he was transported by snowmobile to the Princess Elisabeth Station, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) from his current position. From there, he will be flown to Novo to get a connecting flight to Cape Town in South Africa.

But he will be unable to leave until there is a let-up in weather conditions. The remaining members of the team plan to start the crossing as scheduled March 21.

"This decision has not been taken lightly and it is, naturally, a huge disappointment to Fiennes and his colleagues," the statement said.

The expedition is trying to raise $10 million for the charity "Seeing is Believing," which seeks to prevent blindness.

Polar adventurer and balloonist David Hempleman-Adams, who walked unsupported to the South Pole in 1996, said he believed the winter crossing would be unprecedented.

"The crossing's definitely been done before," he said. "However that was very different. That was in summer months. And that was hugely supported with aircraft and things like this. As far as I know this will be the first winter crossing."

The team has been outfitted with high-tech equipment that prompted comparisons to the preparations for a flight into space, including special breathing apparatus. The expedition will use 20-ton tractors to transport sledges with mounted living quarters and fuel that is designed not to freeze in the extreme temperatures.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/dTYJJNhfMi0/Ranulph-Fiennes-pulls-out-of-Coldest-Journey-expedition

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From the Editor's Desk: Welcome to Barcelona

We're back, once again, for Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. This is my fourth year here. And like previous years, this one appears poised to present its own challenges as well as opportunities to showcase new tech.

On one had it's easy to look at the schedule, what we know is coming -- and what we think we know is coming -- and shrug it off. HTC, usually the highlight (or at least one of them) at MWC, has already announced its flagship for 2013 in the HTC One. Samsung's not expected to do the Galaxy S4 for a few more weeks, though it did already drop the Galaxy Note 8.0 on us. (And it did so on a day usually reserved for travel and/or accidentally leaking devices on the sides of buildings.)

So what's left to look forward to? LG's going to roll out a slew of new devices. ASUS always brings something interesting. And I'm curious to see where things stand with Mozilla and its Firefox OS, which we've played with before. Ubuntu may get the nerd credit, but it's Mozilla that's set to have the first dedicated hardware. It's not Android, specifically, but it's set to take on Android in emerging markets. So my interest is piqued.

Plus, Mobile World Congress moved to a new venue this year. I'll sorely miss the view of the Fira de Barcelona, with the towers at the entrance and the castle looking down from the hill. But the Gran Fira (just a train change and another stop down the road) promises better logistics, we're told, and is a much newer, more modern venue. So we'll see if that makes up for whatever majesty is lost.

And the food. Oh, the food and wine in Barcelona. If you can ever get the chance to come here and gorge on tapas for a few nights, I highly recommend it.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/5mli3suV59U/story01.htm

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California warden kills mountain lion stalking hiker in Placer County

A snow-covered popular Placer County hiking trail was reopened Tuesday after a state Fish and Wildlife warden was forced to shoot and kill a mountain lion Sunday, authorities say.

Authorities were first alerted to an aggressive mountain lion Saturday evening when a hiker on the Stevens Trail near Colfax, fearing for his safety, called 911.

"He noticed he was being followed by a mountain lion," said Mark Michilizzi, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. "The behavior was consistent with a mountain lion that is stalking prey."

Fish and Wildlife wardens, Placer County sheriff's deputies and a California Highway Patrol helicopter responded to the call and apparently scared off the mountain lion, Michilizzi said.

Sunday morning, a warden returned to the area to post signs and warn hikers of the threat of an aggressive mountain lion when he noticed a cougar, apparently the same one, preparing to pounce on him, Michilizzi said.

While it is illegal to hunt mountain lions in California, at that point the animal wasn't just a risk to public safety, officials said. It was a risk to the warden, who shot and killed the cat.

"The officer acted appropriately," Michilizzi said. "The mountain lion wasn't cornered. The mountain lion was actively approaching him."

Michilizzi said a necropsy will be performed to help officials learn more about the health of the animal and what might have triggered the

behavior.

"Deer are the primary prey for mountain lion," Michilizzi said. "When they start looking to humans, we want to know why."

He said hikers should not call 911 when spotting a mountain lion, but this instance was different.

"Mountain lion attacks are rare. This type of behavior is rare," Michilizzi said.

He advised anyone who spots a mountain lion not to run. Instead, turn and face the lion while making oneself as big as possible and throw rocks, sticks or leaves, he advised.

Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_22645209/california-warden-kills-mountain-lion-stalking-hiker-placer?source=rss_viewed

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EPA findings at toxic California Superfund site concern area residents

By Stephen Stock and David Paredes, NBCBayArea.com

Some residents who live around Moffett Federal Airfield near Mountain View, Calif., say they are scared. Others say they?re not worried at all.

Depending on whom you talk to, the Environmental Protection Agency?s findings of higher than expected levels of TCE in the air and in the groundwater near the Mountain View property is either a cause for big concern or no big deal.

But one thing is certain. Everyone is talking about the new test results from the EPA showing a presence of toxic chemicals in the air and in the groundwater in and around the Middlefield, Ellis, Whisman (or M-E-W) Superfund site.

According to the EPA, the underground Superfund site include a wide variety of toxic chemicals including PCE and vinyl chloride, chemicals left over from the budding semi-conductor industry that got its start in the buildings along Middlefield and Whisman Roads and Ellis Street.

The chemical of most concern and most quantity in the toxic underground plume is a chemical called trichloroethylene, known as TCE.?It's a cleaning solvent once commonly used by the military and the budding semi-conducting industry 30 years ago.

The EPA says that TCE is a toxic solvent that causes cancer in people and heart deformities in unborn babies. According to EPA experts the toxic plume has been lurking underground for decades ever since nascent semi-conductor companies apparently dumped or allowed TCE and other chemicals to leak into the ground.

According to EPA officials the United States military also used TCE to clean airplanes and vehicles during that same time period.

The plume extends from under the runway at Moffett Field a mile and a half south and west under Highway 101 and past Middlefield Road. To the north it goes to Whisman Road and south to just past Ellis Street.

The plume of mostly TCE is believed by EPA investigators to be about a half-mile wide at its widest point.

After NBC Bay Area?s Investigative Unit began asking questions in April 2012 about possible health effects of the TCE plumes, the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC) opened its own probe.

After exhaustive research and analysis of three decades worth of health data, California?s state cancer registry announced that it found a higher than expected number of people living in neighborhood surrounding the M-E-W Superfund site who had contracted a group of cancers the registry?s scientists call non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The higher than expected incidence of these cancers occurred during the years 1996 to 2005.

NBC Bay Area

Now the EPA admits that until recently it had somehow missed some ?hot spots? of higher than acceptable levels of TCE in groundwater and in the air in several homes and more than 20 commercial buildings in the area. Two of the hotspots were found by EPA investigators along Evandale Avenue outside the original plume area.

That concerns some residents who live on that road. Residents like Theresa Larrieu, who has lived in a home along Evandale with her family for a quarter century. Larrieu said that the family always knew the M-E-W Superfund was nearby but figured it didn?t directly affect them since it wasn?t right next door. The Superfund site was far enough away, Larrieu thought, to be present but not an impact on her family?s health or life. Now, with these new EPA test results, the TCE plumes appears to actually be right next door and it may even be under Larrieu?s home. The EPA has conducted air, water and soil tests in and around the home but the results have not come back as of this writing.

Larrieu says she's worried and is holding her breath waiting on the results of those air and water sample tests the EPA took from her home. ?Scared. Nervous. Worried. Very worried,? Larrieu said when asked to describe her emotions. ?(There?s) way more suspense than I need in my life.?

?Your first thought is your health, is this affecting us is this affecting other neighbors that I know had health issues,? said Larrieu.

The EPA shares Larrieu?s concerns and M-E-W Superfund Site manager Alana Lee emphasizes they are working hard to address and clean up the mess. ?We cleaned up over 5 1/4 billion gallons of contaminated water and over 110,000 pounds of toxic contaminant,? said Lee.

But Lee also said that the EPA also missed these hot spots of TCE both in groundwater and in the air inside some buildings along Evandale Avenue including two homes outside the original plume area.

?The concentration (found there) is very high,? said Lee, ?A very high concentration.?

How high?

According to documents from test results, the highest TCE levels that the EPA measured in ground water in the area reached 130,000 parts per billion. The EPA considers anything over 5 parts per billion unsafe.

In the commercial buildings nearby, including two now occupied by Google, EPA tests found TCE in the air at levels 26 times higher than the level considered by the EPA to be acceptable and safe.

?Once we found these concentrations, which were a surprise, we took immediate action,? said Lee.

EPA

Bruce Panchal?s home is one of the two houses located on Evandale where the EPA found high levels of TCE. The companies responsible for the toxic chemical cleanup installed a series of four pipes in and around his home to ventilate the toxic TCE fumes leeching from the ground away from the house?s interior to the outside.

Even so Panchal said he?s not worried. ?They found a high concentration and with the system it pumps out all the fumes so it safe,? said Panchal.

Panchal and his family have lived in his home along Evandale for 45 years. He said he worked for the budding semi-conductor businesses that got their start in his neighborhood. He even said he handled the chemicals now in question and dumped them in the ground back then.

Despite the new contraptions now pumping air away from the inside of his house, he says he isn?t worried about his or his family?s health. ?I?m living proof that they have an issue with the fumes but it is not death defying or a detriment to your health,? said Panchal.

EPA officials said they also found high levels of TCE in more than twenty different commercial buildings between Whisman Road and Ellis Street. Included among those buildings are two new office complexes for Google employees where, the EPA says, renovations and construction allowed higher than expected levels of TCE to leech from the ground through the buildings? concrete slabs and into the air inside.

It is in some of these buildings where EPA investigators found levels of TCE vapors in the interior air that were as much as 26 times higher than acceptable safe levels with air conditioning systems off.

The EPA says it has systems in place in and around those buildings to keep vapors outside.

Google tells us they take this matter seriously and they?ve already taken measures to ensure that the buildings and the work area is safe.

Theresa Larrieu worries that it may be too late to keep her family from feeling the health effects of this toxic plume. She wonders how long they may have been exposed to these vapors and chemicals that went undetected until recently.

?It is scary,? said Larrieu. ?I?m very scared. I have children. I have grandchildren.?

Larrieu also remains concerned that not even the EPA can say how long the fumes have been leeching into the neighborhood or how long she and her family have unknowingly been exposed.

When we asked the EPA if they knew exactly how long have these newly discovered TCE hot spots had been there the EPA?s Superfund Site manager Alana Lee said, ?We don?t know.?

When we asked whether the toxic chemicals migrate underground or traveled down Evandale Avenue or whether those chemicals had been lurking there underground along with the rest of the toxic plume for decades, Lee had the same answer. ?We don?t know.?

The EPA said it will take decades more to clean up this toxic mess.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/23/17068747-epa-findings-at-toxic-california-superfund-site-concern-area-residents?lite

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