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Today's Topics:
1. European satellite set to crash into moon (George Antunes)
2. APPLE COMPUTER INC FILES (8-K) (AAPL) (Monty Solomon)
3. Nellie Connally Dies; Rode with JFK on Fateful Day - Last
survivor (Greg Williams)
4. Pipe bomb look-alike blown up at Pier 14 in Myrtle Beach
(Greg Williams)
5. Skype phones sans the PC (Greg Williams)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 02 Sep 2006 00:00:58 -0500
From: George Antunes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] European satellite set to crash into moon
To: medianews@twiar.org
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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European satellite set to crash into moon
Friday, September 1, 2006 | 5:25 PM ET
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2006/09/01/smart-moon.html
The European Space Agency orbiter SMART-1 is expected to crash on the
surface of the moon Sunday ? on purpose.
The 285-kilogram spacecraft, which was launched in September 2003 and has
been orbiting the moon since November 2004, will end its mission by
crashing into the moon.
The dust and rock from the impact could rise up to 20 kilometres from the
lunar surface and may be visible to amateur astronomers using home telescopes.
SMART-1 is expected to hit the moon in a volcanic "lake" called Lacus
Excellentiae in the southern hemisphere. The rocks and dust released in the
impact are expected to give astronomers a better idea of the moon's
composition and origin.
The craft was launched, along with two other satellites, from French Guiana
on Sept. 27, 2003. Its mission is to test new technology, including new
solar powered ion thrusters and miniaturized infrared and X-ray cameras.
The ion engine converts solar power into electricity to convert atoms of
xenon gas into plasma, which is shot out of the engine at high speed.
Ion propulsion is less powerful than conventional chemical rockets but it
can run for longer using the same mass of propellant.
During its orbit of the moon, the satellite took up to 1,000 images per
week of the lunar surface. It took images of the same lunar features at
different angles to create a three-dimensional map of the surface.
It also used its X-ray camera to determine the chemical composition of the
moon. In June 2005, the ESA announced that SMART-1 had found calcium on the
moon, the first time the element had been found there.
SMART-1 is small (about the size of a dishwasher, but with 14-metre solar
wings), light and cheap as satellites go. The total cost was 110 million
euros or about $156 million, about a fifth of most major science missions.
The satellite is the first mission in the ESA's Small Missions for Advanced
Research in Technology program. The missions are designed to test new
technologies on small, inexpensive missions before using them on larger
projects.
It was built by the Swedish Space Corporation on behalf of the ESA.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2006 16:54:14 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] APPLE COMPUTER INC FILES (8-K) (AAPL)
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
APPLE COMPUTER INC FILES (8-K) (AAPL)
- Sep 1, 2006 06:05 AM (EDGAR Online)
- http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=60915910
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sat, 02 Sep 2006 20:56:31 -0400
From: Greg Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Nellie Connally Dies; Rode with JFK on Fateful
Day - Last survivor
To: Media News <medianews@twiar.org>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Nellie Connally Dies; Rode with JFK on Fateful Day
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5756903&ft=1&f=1003
NPR.org, September 2, 2006 ? AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Nellie Connally, the
widow of former Texas Gov. John Connally, has died. She was the last
survivor among those who were in President John F. Kennedy's limousine
when he was assassinated in November 1963.
Connally died in her sleep late Friday or early Saturday at Westminster
Manor in Austin, ;ongtime family friend Julian Read said. She was 87.
She had lived at Westminster Manor for about a year after moving from
Houston, said Read, who served as press secretary to Gov. Connally in
the 1960s.
"She died peacefully in her sleep overnight," Read said Saturday. "Total
surprise. She has been extremely active and vital the past few days and
weeks... It's a shock to all of us."
Connally had said the most enduring image she had of that day in
November 1963 in Dallas was of a mixture of blood and roses.
"It's the image of yellow roses and red roses and blood all over the
car... all over us," she said in a 2003 interview with
The Associated Press. "I'll never forget it. ... It was so quick and so
short, so potent."
As the limousine carrying the Connallys and the Kennedys wound its way
through the friendly crowd in downtown Dallas, Nellie Connally turned to
President Kennedy, who was in a seat behind her, and said, "Mr.
President, you can't say Dallas doesn't love you."
Almost immediately, she heard the first of what she later concluded were
three gunshots in quick succession. Connally slumped after the second
shot, and, "I never looked back again. I was just trying to take care of
him," she said.
Anniversaries and inevitable media interviews followed the Connallys for
decades to come.
She was active in numerous fundraising organizations. In 1989, Richard
Nixon, Barbara Walters and Donald Trump turned out for a gala to honor
her and help raise money for diabetes research.
"I've never known a woman with Nellie's courage, compassion and
character," Walters said at the ceremony. "For all her ups and downs,
I've never heard a self-pitying word from her."
The "downs" that Walters spoke of were when the Connallys found
themselves in financial difficulties.
Private business ventures after 1980 were less successful than
Connally's career as a politician and dealmaking Houston lawyer. An oil
company in which he invested got into trouble, and $200 million worth of
real estate projects went sour.
He filed for reorganization of his personal finances under Chapter 11 of
the federal bankruptcy code and for liquidation,
under Chapter 7, of the Barnes/Connally Partnership, the Austin-based
real estate venture that he founded with former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes.
The auction paid only a fraction of the $93 million in debts Connally
listed with the bankruptcy court in Austin.
Nellie Connally celebrated her 80th birthday with fellow breast cancer
survivors at a ceremony in the Nellie B. Connally Breast Center at
Anderson hospital in Houston. It had been 10 years since overcoming
breast cancer.
She served on the M.D. Anderson Board of Visitors since 1984, and a fund
in her name raised millions for research and patient programs.
She is survived by her daughter, Sharon Connally Ammann of Marble Falls;
and two sons, John B. Connally III of Houston and Mark Connally of Dallas.
Funeral services are pending.
--
Greg Williams
K4HSM
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.twiar.org
http://www.etskywarn.net
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sat, 02 Sep 2006 20:58:20 -0400
From: Greg Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Pipe bomb look-alike blown up at Pier 14 in
Myrtle Beach
To: Media News <medianews@twiar.org>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Pipe bomb look-alike blown up at Pier 14
Device placed to gauge storm surge of Ernesto
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/15424251.htm
By Janelle Frost and Tonya Root
The Sun News
A device meant to measure Tropical Storm Ernesto's impact caused an
evacuation at Myrtle Beach's Pier 14 restaurant and drew a crowd of
onlookers Friday after it was thought to be a pipe bomb.
Myrtle Beach police were called about 10:30 a.m. by someone walking on
the beach who noticed a metal box strapped to a pylon under the pier at
14th Avenue North, Myrtle Beach police Capt. David Knipes said. He said
police checked to see whether the device was registered by some agency,
but it was not.
Myrtle Beach police called the Horry County Police Department's
Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. The team decided to blow the top off
the box to reveal its contents, which turned out to be a device from the
U.S. Geological Service that measures wave height and frequency and
storm surge, police detective and team member Van Sissell said.
"Because of the type of equipment it was when we surveyed it, it
appeared to be a pipe bomb," Sissell said. "We did disrupt the device
... everything went very well."
Visitors Sue McCall, Ken McCall and Bill Tolliver, who were playing
bingo on the pool deck at the Yachtsman Resort, said they heard a pop.
"I thought it was a firecracker," Tolliver said. The group from
Lancaster, Ohio, has been staying at the Yachtsman, which is in front of
the Pier 14 restaurant.
Horry County police Lt. Larry Muncey said it was good that the concerned
person reported the device.
"When they find suspicious packages we treat it as suspicious," Muncey
said. "Since [Sept. 11, 2001], we have to be a little more secure with
these things. It's always better to be safe than sorry."
Myrtle Beach police learned such devices were in place at piers and
other places throughout the area, Knipes said.
He suggested the agencies responsible for such devices alert local
authorities that they are there to prevent damage to them if another
similar incident arises.
Paul Conrad with the U.S. Geological Survey said they had been in
contact with county emergency preparedness officials the whole time. He
said officials did not expect to cause a stir with their first use of
the temporary devices, called pressure transfusers, to collect tidal
changes during Tropical Storm Ernesto. About 40 of the devices,
including five along the Grand Strand, were put in place Tuesday along
the S.C. coast to record Ernesto's impact, Conrad said. Officials were
collecting the devices, which are housed in a pipe in a metal box and
could resemble a suspicious device, on Friday. They cost about $1,000 each.
"Any time water causes a hazard, we want to gather data to provide to
emergency managers to make decisions," Conrad said. "The ones on the
beach actually record data every two seconds, and that information is
really valuable for emergency-preparedness people. We knew what happened
was a potential because they look like that. After putting 40 of these
things out, I'm grateful only one of these things caused a stir."
At the last minute instead of placing the device at the Second Avenue
Pier, officials decided to put it at Pier 14 and failed to notify the
owners, Conrad said.
Officials called Pier 14 owners to apologize for the disruption.
About 10 to 12 workers at the Pier 14 restaurant were out of the
building for an hour and a half as police surveyed the device,
restaurant owner Bryan Devereux said. He said the police came and told
them that someone had strapped a metal box to the pylon under the pier
and that they should leave the building. The restaurant was not opened
yet for business.
"They wanted to play it safe," Devereux said. "We just waited at the
beach access."
Devereux said another business had a photo shoot at the pier Wednesday
and he thought maybe they left something behind. The restaurant opened
again around noon Friday.
"We weren't worried at all," Devereux said.
--
Greg Williams
K4HSM
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.twiar.org
http://www.etskywarn.net
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sat, 02 Sep 2006 21:55:46 -0400
From: Greg Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Medianews] Skype phones sans the PC
To: Media News <medianews@twiar.org>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Skype phones sans the PC
New cordless phones let users of the Internet phone service make calls
without a computer.
By Marguerite Reardon
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: August 31, 2006, 3:45 PM PDT
http://news.com.com/Skype+phones+without+the+PC/2100-7352_3-6111521.html
Skype on Thursday announced new cordless phones that will let users of
its Internet phone service make calls without a computer or Wi-Fi
connection.
The new Phillips VoIP841 and Netgear cordless phones plug into a
broadband connection and come preloaded with Skype software, allowing
users to make and receive phone calls without requiring them to have a
computer turned on.
Skype, which is owned by eBay, is essentially a software application
that turns broadband connections into phone lines. Users have
traditionally downloaded the Skype software onto laptops and PCs, then
used headsets and microphones to make calls from their computers over
the Internet.
In the past 18 months, Skype has expanded its service to appeal more to
the mass market. It introduced the SkypeIn and SkypeOut services that
allow calls to be made to and received from cell phones and regular
landlines for a fee. And with its partners it has introduced special
Skype handsets that plug in to PCs, Wi-Fi phones that connect users to
the Skype service through a wireless broadband connection, and several
other products that enable users to connect to the Skype service.
Thursday's announcement takes this strategy a step further.
"Skype has already introduced Wi-Fi phones and Skype for PocketPC
wireless," Stefan Oberg, general manager, desktop and hardware at Skype,
said in a statement. "Now Skype is taking the next step to introduce
PC-free cordless phones. The cordless phones for Skype launched today
give Skype users the flexibility to enjoy free Skype-to-Skype calls and
inexpensive calls to ordinary and mobile phones anywhere in the house,
at any time without a running computer."
The cordless phone makes the Skype service act just like a traditional
phone, but the company insists it is not a traditional phone
replacement, as other services such as Vonage which also sends calls
over the Internet, have claimed. The main reason is that Skype does not
offer emergency calling or enhanced 911 service.
The Philips and Netgear cordless phones have full color graphic
displays, an integrated contact list and a speakerphone. The Philips
VoIP841 cordless phone is on display this week at the Internationale
Funkausstellung, a consumer electronics show in Berlin. It will be
available to consumers during the holiday season for around $150.
--
Greg Williams
K4HSM
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.twiar.org
http://www.etskywarn.net
------------------------------
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