National University of Singapore-trained pharmacist honored by Ireland's oldest university

Public release date: 2-Jul-2012
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Contact: Tsuey Ling Yong
sciytl@nus.edu.sg
65-651-67874
National University of Singapore

Dr. John Climax conferred Doctorate in Science by Trinity College Dublin

Clinical scientist and National University of Science (NUS) alumnus, Dr John Climax, has been conferred a Doctorate in Science by Ireland's leading university, Trinity College Dublin (TCD). The ceremony took place on Friday 29 June 2012.

One of five honorary degrees conferred by TCD, it recognises Dr Climax's contributions as a scientist and in founding and building the global clinical research company ICON.

Dr Climax received his primary degree, Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy) in 1977 from University of Singapore, which is NUS today. In 2005, he was presented with the NUS Faculty of Science Outstanding Alumni Science Award.

He has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and contract research industries in both Europe and the United States. He founded ICON Clinical Research PLC with a team of just five people back in 1990, 10 years after he left Singapore for Dublin in 1980 as Research Fellow, at the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology.

On his close ties with Singapore, Dr Climax said: "I am grateful to my teachers at the School of Pharmacy at then University of Singapore (now NUS) and the research training I received at the Kandang Kerbau Hospital's department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology under the direction of Professors S. Karim and S. S. Ratnam. Those were my transformational years."

Beating recession

Sharing how he built up ICON, Dr Climax said: "I recall the moment when the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology was taken over by a competitor, and my then boss and friend, Dr Lambe, and I were made redundant. The early 1990s were a time of deep recession in Ireland. There were job offers for us from the US and elsewhere in Europe, but we decided to forego them and to start a similar organisation ourselves. There was one small problem though we had no money. We were on the dole, and we both had families and mortgages."

He and his friend persevered. They took a bank overdraft, knocked on doors of professional services companies and got hold of past clients. After some hardship and lots of faith, his company was born.

From its humble beginnings 23 years ago, ICON has become a global provider of outsourced development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. It is today quoted on the NASDAQ in the US and on the ISEQ in Europe, and employs close to 9,000 people in 81 offices across 42 countries. Last year, it made an after tax profit of US$39 million on gross revenues of US$1.3 billion.

Three years ago, ICON celebrated its tenth year of operation in Singapore by moving its central laboratory to a new, larger facility at Loyang Way. This was in response to a rapid growth in demand for its services and the fact that Singapore had become a regional hub for drug development in Asia-Pacific.

Reaping success

Now Chairman Emeritus of ICON, Dr Climax is also a founding member of the Board of the Science Gallery at Trinity College and Adjunct Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

In 2010, he founded Dignity Sciences, a start-up pharmaceutical company that specialises in the area of ageing. Also in the same year, he was invited to deliver the Commencement address to NUS' Pharmacy graduands. (To read his speech, click here)

In 2005, Dr Climax became a founding member of the board of the Science Gallery, a novel public science outreach based at TCD, which promotes collaboration between artists and scientists through various exhibitions and lectures. Since it opened its doors in February 2008, its exhibitions have been seen by over 800,000 visitors.

Dr Climax is Director of Science Gallery International, a set-up that plans to develop eight science gallery hubs around the world by 2020, in partnership with leading universities in major cities such as London and Moscow.

Recently, Google donated 1 million (US$1.3 million) to support the development of a Global Science Gallery Network, which is to be officially launched this year during Dublin's tenure as European City of Science.

In 2004, Dr Climax established the Human Dignity Foundation, a Swiss-based charity that seeks to alleviate child poverty through holistic change projects in Africa, Europe and Asia. He is serving as the foundation's director.

###

More information about the Doctorate in Science honorary degree being conferred by TCD is available at: http://www.tcd.ie/registrar/honorary-degrees/.

Contact Person: Carolyn FONG
Contact: (65) 6516 5399
Email: carolyn@nus.edu.sg

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 2-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tsuey Ling Yong
sciytl@nus.edu.sg
65-651-67874
National University of Singapore

Dr. John Climax conferred Doctorate in Science by Trinity College Dublin

Clinical scientist and National University of Science (NUS) alumnus, Dr John Climax, has been conferred a Doctorate in Science by Ireland's leading university, Trinity College Dublin (TCD). The ceremony took place on Friday 29 June 2012.

One of five honorary degrees conferred by TCD, it recognises Dr Climax's contributions as a scientist and in founding and building the global clinical research company ICON.

Dr Climax received his primary degree, Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy) in 1977 from University of Singapore, which is NUS today. In 2005, he was presented with the NUS Faculty of Science Outstanding Alumni Science Award.

He has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and contract research industries in both Europe and the United States. He founded ICON Clinical Research PLC with a team of just five people back in 1990, 10 years after he left Singapore for Dublin in 1980 as Research Fellow, at the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology.

On his close ties with Singapore, Dr Climax said: "I am grateful to my teachers at the School of Pharmacy at then University of Singapore (now NUS) and the research training I received at the Kandang Kerbau Hospital's department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology under the direction of Professors S. Karim and S. S. Ratnam. Those were my transformational years."

Beating recession

Sharing how he built up ICON, Dr Climax said: "I recall the moment when the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology was taken over by a competitor, and my then boss and friend, Dr Lambe, and I were made redundant. The early 1990s were a time of deep recession in Ireland. There were job offers for us from the US and elsewhere in Europe, but we decided to forego them and to start a similar organisation ourselves. There was one small problem though we had no money. We were on the dole, and we both had families and mortgages."

He and his friend persevered. They took a bank overdraft, knocked on doors of professional services companies and got hold of past clients. After some hardship and lots of faith, his company was born.

From its humble beginnings 23 years ago, ICON has become a global provider of outsourced development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. It is today quoted on the NASDAQ in the US and on the ISEQ in Europe, and employs close to 9,000 people in 81 offices across 42 countries. Last year, it made an after tax profit of US$39 million on gross revenues of US$1.3 billion.

Three years ago, ICON celebrated its tenth year of operation in Singapore by moving its central laboratory to a new, larger facility at Loyang Way. This was in response to a rapid growth in demand for its services and the fact that Singapore had become a regional hub for drug development in Asia-Pacific.

Reaping success

Now Chairman Emeritus of ICON, Dr Climax is also a founding member of the Board of the Science Gallery at Trinity College and Adjunct Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

In 2010, he founded Dignity Sciences, a start-up pharmaceutical company that specialises in the area of ageing. Also in the same year, he was invited to deliver the Commencement address to NUS' Pharmacy graduands. (To read his speech, click here)

In 2005, Dr Climax became a founding member of the board of the Science Gallery, a novel public science outreach based at TCD, which promotes collaboration between artists and scientists through various exhibitions and lectures. Since it opened its doors in February 2008, its exhibitions have been seen by over 800,000 visitors.

Dr Climax is Director of Science Gallery International, a set-up that plans to develop eight science gallery hubs around the world by 2020, in partnership with leading universities in major cities such as London and Moscow.

Recently, Google donated 1 million (US$1.3 million) to support the development of a Global Science Gallery Network, which is to be officially launched this year during Dublin's tenure as European City of Science.

In 2004, Dr Climax established the Human Dignity Foundation, a Swiss-based charity that seeks to alleviate child poverty through holistic change projects in Africa, Europe and Asia. He is serving as the foundation's director.

###

More information about the Doctorate in Science honorary degree being conferred by TCD is available at: http://www.tcd.ie/registrar/honorary-degrees/.

Contact Person: Carolyn FONG
Contact: (65) 6516 5399
Email: carolyn@nus.edu.sg

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/nuos-nuo070212.php

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France faces tougher cuts despite Hollande promises

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande, elected in May on a promise to avoid growth-sapping austerity measures, should make tough savings and public sector job cuts to meet a European deficit target, the national audit office said on Monday.

Economists have warned for months that faltering economic growth was gnawing a hole in state revenues, but Hollande kept the issue largely under wraps until he won the presidency and his Socialist party topped parliamentary elections in June.

He now risks angering the public, along with leftist allies and trade unions, to achieve what the audit office estimated would be more than 33 billion euros ($42 billion) in savings next year to reach an EU deficit goal of 3 percent of GDP.

Including an additional one-off charge of 5 billion euros to cover tax repayments to foreign investment funds mandated by a recent EU ruling, next year's adjustment would total an unprecedented 4 percent of state spending.

That comes on top of 6-10 billion euros in budget savings needed this year for France to achieve a deficit target of 4.4 percent of GDP, the auditor said.

With its debt already due to exceed 90 percent of GDP this year, a level at which economists say it starts to sap economic growth, France risks being sucked deeper into Europe's debt crisis.

"The country is in the danger zone in terms of its economy and public finances. We cannot rule out the possibility of a debt spiral," Didier Migaud, head of the Court of Auditors, told a news conference. "2013 is a crucial year. The budgetary equation is going to be very hard: much harder than expected due to the worsening of the economic picture."

He added: "Missing deficit targets would damage France's credibility and could cause an unsustainable debt increase, making it impossible to finance it at sustainable interest rates."

Despite some progress last year in cutting its deficit, France remained a laggard in terms of reforming public finances. While most euro zone peers cut spending last year, France used less efficient tax increases to trim its 2011 deficit to 5.2 percent of GDP - well above the 3.8 percent euro zone average.

The government will again rely on some 7.5 billion euros in tax rises, mostly on the wealthy and big corporations, in a revised 2012 budget due to go before the cabinet on Wednesday.

But for 2013, unpopular welfare and civil service job cuts appear unavoidable, the court said, appearing to run counter to Hollande's insistence that his government would hold the overall number of government employees steady.

"It will require unprecedented cuts to public spending and increases in taxation," Migaud said. "If the government wants any room for maneuver, it needs to cut its number of staff."

AUDITOR WARNS ON GROWTH

Public sector job cuts will be tough to explain to an electorate already fretting over a wave of private sector layoffs and alarmed at the prospect of a squeeze on their generous welfare system. State spending in France runs at 56 percent of GDP, second only to Denmark in the western world.

Persistent economic gloom was a key reason why Hollande defeated conservative Nicolas Sarkozy last month. Fears of more misery have already knocked seven points off the new president's approval rating to 51 percent, one poll showed.

Migaud is a Socialist politician appointed by Sarkozy, giving the auditor's recommendations bipartisan authority.

The auditor said it had not uncovered any skeletons left by Sarkozy's outgoing government but pointed to 1.2 to 2 billion euros of likely unfunded spending this year in areas like defense, agriculture and housing, saying this was normal.

The root of the problem is that France's budget was too optimistic on growth and the likely rise in tax revenues. The auditor said 2012 growth would likely be around 0.4 percent, less than the 0.7 percent budgeted figure, and 1 percent for 2013, shy of the previous government's 1.75 percent forecast.

Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said in a newspaper interview published on Monday the government would revise down official growth forecasts in line with these estimates as it uses the audit to prepare the 2013 budget, due in the autumn.

"There are a few priority (government departments) like education, justice, security and the unemployment office, which will see their resources increase, but for the rest, we need to make savings," he told the newspaper.

If the 33 billion euros next year were split evenly between spending reductions and new taxes, the government could find the 16.5 billion euros of expenditure savings by slowing state spending increases to the pace of inflation, the auditors said.

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, due to set out his legislative agenda on Tuesday, has said the central government - which accounts for four-fifths of the deficit - would hold spending flat between 2013 and 2015. Economists have questioned whether this can be done without cutting staff.

To boost tax revenues, the auditor recommended slashing widespread exemptions and increasing broad-based levies such as sales tax and the CSG welfare charge. Hollande's government has already said it will roll back Sarkozy's decision to shift some of France's onerous labor charges onto an increase in VAT.

Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac said there would be no VAT rise in the amended 2012 budget bill.

The court report did not take into account measures approved by the government since it took office in mid-May, including a 2 percent rise in the minimum wage, which would increase pressure on public spending, officials said.

(Editing by Paul Taylor and Will Waterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/french-auditor-says-cuts-needed-meet-deficit-goals-083713184--business.html

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Soyuz spacecraft lands safely in Kazakhstan

AAA??Jul. 1, 2012?6:25 AM ET
Soyuz spacecraft lands safely in Kazakhstan
By PETER LEONARD??By PETER LEONARD

Russian space agency rescue team carry U.S. astronaut Donald Pettit, center, shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz TMA-03M space capsule at the south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Sunday, July 1, 2012. The Soyuz capsule, which carried two astronauts and Russian cosmonaut safely returned to Earth on Sunday after a half-year stint on the international space station, with a landing on the Kazakh steppe. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, pool)

Russian space agency rescue team carry U.S. astronaut Donald Pettit, center, shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz TMA-03M space capsule at the south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Sunday, July 1, 2012. The Soyuz capsule, which carried two astronauts and Russian cosmonaut safely returned to Earth on Sunday after a half-year stint on the international space station, with a landing on the Kazakh steppe. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, pool)

Support and medical personnel carry Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, foreground, and Flight Engineers Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency, center, and Don Pettit of NASA, background, to the medical tent shortly after they landed in their Soyuz TMA-03M capsule in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. (AP Photo/NASA, Bill Ingalls)

A Russian Soyuz TMA-03M space capsule lands about 150 kms south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Sunday, July 1, 2012. The Soyuz capsule, which carried U.S. astronaut Donald Pettit, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, and Netherlands' astronaut Andre Kuipers safely returned to Earth on Sunday after a half-year stint on the international space station, with a landing on the Kazakh steppe. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, pool)

A Russian Soyuz TMA-03M space capsule lands about 150 kms south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Sunday, July 1, 2012. The Soyuz capsule, which carried U.S. astronaut Donald Pettit, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, and Netherlands' astronaut Andre Kuipers safely returned to Earth on Sunday after a half-year stint on the international space station, with a landing on the Kazakh steppe. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, pool)

A Russian Soyuz TMA-03M space capsule lands about 150 kms south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Sunday, July 1, 2012. The Soyuz capsule, which carried U.S. astronaut Donald Pettit, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, and Netherlands' astronaut Andre Kuipers safely returned to Earth on Sunday after a half-year stint on the international space station, with a landing on the Kazakh steppe. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, pool)

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) ? A Soyuz space capsule carrying a three-man multinational crew touched down safely Sunday on the southern steppes of Kazakhstan, bringing an end to their 193-day mission to the International Space Station.

Around a dozen recovery helicopters zeroed into the vast uncultivated land mass, where NASA astronaut Donald Pettit, Russia's Oleg Kononenko and Dutchman Andre Kuipers landed in the Russian-made capsule.

Russian space officials quickly surrounded the craft, which performed a perfect upright textbook landing, and erected ladders to begin the process of pulling out the astronauts.

The voyage from the space station started 3 -1/2 hours earlier, when it undocked and began a slow, gentle drift away. It made a perfect landing in the still and summery weather at 2:14 pm local time (08:17 GMT), right on schedule.

Commenting on the landing, NASA TV reporter Rob Navias described it as "a bullseye."

Kononenko was the first to be extracted from the descent module. He looked pale and tired, but medical staff announced him healthy. Pettit, second out of the module, was heard to say: "It's good to be home."

The three men were hoisted into recliners and posed for photos for a number of minutes before being carried into a tent for further checks.

Writing on his NASA blog on the eve of his departure from the space station, Petit write: "I only hope that my small efforts here, perhaps adding one grain of sand to the beach of knowledge, will help enable a generation of people in the future to call space 'home.'"

Petit and his colleagues were part of the team that handled the arrival to the space station last month of the privately owned SpaceX Dragon capsule. That became the first private delivery to the International Space Station.

The retirement of the U.S. shuttle fleet has left Russia's venerable Soyuz spacecraft as the only means to deliver crews to the orbiting laboratory.

Russians Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin and U.S. astronaut Joseph Acaba are expected to remain onboard the orbiting space station for a further three months.

They will be joined later this month by NASA astronaut Suni Williams, Russia's Yury Malenchenko and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide, who are set to take off on a Soyuz spaceship from the Baikonur cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan.

Associated PressNews Topics: Space launch industry, Space industry, Science, Spacecraft, Space technology, Aerospace technology, Industrial technology, Technology, Aerospace and defense, Industrial products and services, Industries, Business, Manned spacecraft

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-01-Space%20Station/id-601168dbafca46c6835d93cec4912ed9

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Space Station Astronauts Headed Home to Earth

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/space-station-astronauts-headed-home-earth-052214256.html

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Stupid things you do with a smartphone -- and how to fix them

16 hrs.

Adam Dachis , Lifehacker

Your smartphone can be your second brain, but it can also turn you into a person with no sense of direction, poor social skills and next to no privacy. Fixing these problems is easy, but first you need to know about them. Here are all stupid things you're doing with your smartphone.

Stupid Thing #1: You're overreliant on your smartphone, causing you to forget?important numbers and directions
A lot of people think your smartphone is making you stupid. That's not true, but you may occasionally rely on it to a fault???or at least to the detriment of self-sufficiency. Rely too much on turn-by-turn GPS and you'll never learn how to get anywhere yourself. You probably can't recall more than a few of your contacts' phone numbers, which is fine until your phone's dead and it's an emergency. While you can't be expected to recall every little bit of data that crosses your path, you can benefit a lot by storing certain things directly in your gray matter. If you want to use your smartphone intelligently, it needs to be a supplement???not a replacement???for the tasks you should be able to complete on your own.

To fix this problem, it may be time to reprogram your memory. You're not used to retaining information your smartphone can provide, so you have to start taking the time to remember the information you request. When you receive driving directions, look through them a few times, repeat them aloud and remember them as you make your trip. You can always reference them again at a stoplight if you forget a turn or two, but making the effort to remember is the important thing. This way you'll be able to make the same trip again without the need to look up directions at all. After enough trips in the same city, you'll just know where you are without the aid of your phone.

When it comes to your to-do lists and phone numbers, don't just store them in your phone. Write them down on paper, with an actual writing implement. The act of writing can actually improve your ability to learn, so you'll get more out of the process. On top of that, look at phone numbers before you dial them and say them as you dial to help you remember them. An easy fix is simply replacing your favorite contacts' names with their numbers. Thoroughly look at your to-do list at the top of each day so you know what you need to get done, rather than just referencing the list whenever you need a new task. Having your tasks in your memory will help make you more productive because you'll be able to plan what you want to do and when quite a bit better. There's nothing wrong with having this information in your phone, but a good chunk of it ought to be in your brain as well.

Stupid Thing #2: You won't pay $1 for a great app
There are a ton of great, free apps for smartphones, but sometimes there's a better app for a small price???a price many won't pay. Take Sparrow for example. You get a free mail client with your iPhone, and it's not half bad. Sparrow, on the other hand, is amazing???especially if you're a Gmail user. It's currently priced at $2, and that's a barrier to entry for many people in spite of high praise from friends and people all over the web. When Apple started their app store, and Google followed with theirs, we entered a world where software became very inexpensive. It's not unusual to want to avoid paying for it because we know there are so many great options available for free. But sometimes, it's worth it.

Look at it this way: sometimes you'll pay $15 for a meal you could make yourself for $5. You do this because the $15 meal is going to taste better and you won't have to spend time making it. The same goes for apps: sometimes you should spend a few dollars to get something awesome that will save you time and effort???or that's just really fun. If you're concerned about overspending, set a monthly app budget. Not only will you have a better, more functional smartphone, but you'll be supporting the developers who work hard to bring you great things. It's a win-win.

Stupid Thing #3: Your phone notifies you about everything
Your phone's notification system is like a dog trainer and you are, unfortunately, the dog. When you're notified all the time, you become accustomed to constantly pulling out your phone to see what just happened. It's gotten so bad for some people that people feel their phone vibrating when it's not. If you've ever checked your phone because you thought it vibrated but it turned out nothing happened at all, you've probably enabled too many notifications.

I've set my phone to silent most of the time and simply check it periodically to see if there's anything new I need to know about. This works well for me. I've yet to miss anything urgent. That said, it's not a solution for everybody. Chances are you either need notifications as they happen for work, or you?simply prefer to be more up-to-date. In that case, you just need to prune your notifications so you receive the stuff you consider important and ignore the stuff you can look at later. For the most part, this means editing each app's notification settings and keeping them on if they're important, turn off vibration if they're unimportant, and turn them off if they're useless. This will minimize your daily distractions and help you avoid checking your phone every second of the day.

Stupid Thing #4: You're distracted by your smartphone while driving
Texting while driving is more dangerous than driving drunk. You've no doubt heard that before, and you probably still send text messages from your car???or at least check out that last notification???while it's rolling down the road. Chances are you know this is bad, but the desire to send that text overrides your better judgment in the moment. While you'd most likely be better off not using your smartphone at all, it is possible to drive safely while using your phone???at least in small ways. The key is to keep your eyes???and your focus???on the road.

Realistically, you're always going to have distractions in the car that are going to hurt your focus. Keeping those distractions to a minimum will help you drive more safely. This means using voice control to change a song or send a text message while operating a moving vehicle, and both iOS and Android have comprehensive voice control features. If you're on an older iPhone without Siri, Vokul can bridge the gap. If you're an Android user who wants a personal assistant like Siri, you have plenty of options. Voice control is a much better way to control your smartphone without taking your eyes or your focus off the road, but it still qualifies as a distraction. Your best bet, if you just have to change that song or send a text message, is to do it at a stoplight. Because you're using voice control you'll be able to keep an eye on the light to know when it changes, but you won't need your full attention because the vehicle isn't moving. If you live by those rules, you'll have a lot less to worry about.

Stupid Thing #5: You don't monitor your privacy settings
Your smartphone retains a lot of personal data, and this points to two privacy issues. First, if your phone is stolen, the thief has easy access to your data. Second, apps on your phone may be tracking a little more information than you want. Both problems are very simple to fix.

To resolve the stolen phone problem, secure your smartphone with a password and enable remote wipe. This way no one can easily access your personal data, and you can destroy that data remotely if you've got something particularly sensitive.

To keep your phone from tracking you in unwanted ways, schedule a regular privacy audit once a month. (You should do this on the web and on your computers, too, by the way.) This is easy (albeit a bit limited) on the iPhone, as you can just open the Settings app and tap Location Services to enable or disable app access. (In iOS 6, these settings will be in a new Privacy tab that will allow you to toggle various types of information an app can access.)

Managing your privacy on Android is a little more complicated, but you also have greater control. First, you'll want to make sure your phone isn't running Carrier IQ?a program that's capable of tracking and reporting a massive amount of data without your knowledge. Second, an app called Privacy Blocker can perform that privacy audit for you. It'll take a look at the apps installed on your Android and give you an overview of the data they're collecting. If an app is overreaching, delete it.

Stupid Thing #6: You neglect other people in favor of your smartphone
Social media may be intended to bring us together, but it's equally skilled at keeping us apart. When spending time with other people, you can't exactly interact with them when you're using your smartphone???it's that pesky multitasking myth. Your phone's a device intended to keep you connected to people you care about. When you're with them, it's best to put the smartphone away. Solving the problem is often that simple.

If you're easily distracted, however, turn off alerts and notifications. If other people you're with are constantly checking their phones, politely ask them to save it for later. Technology is awesome, but it's often addictive. It's always with you, unlike people. So separate your smartphone and your human time. It's a better way to stay connected.

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There you have it. A few simple fixes and you're back to using your phone for good.?

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Source: http://www.gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/technology/gadgetbox/stupid-things-you-do-smartphone-how-fix-them-854049

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Tips for refreshing your home with paint color | Pasco News

30 Jun, 2012

For many people, the onset of spring and summer is the ideal time to take on a home improvement project. Paint is a popular choice for those looking to freshen up their space, given that it is an easy, economical activity and a fun way to make a dramatic difference.

In fact, painting tops spring home improvement wish lists, according to the 2012 Spring Home Improvement Survey by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI). With seven of 10 homeowners planning home improvement projects, nearly half (49 percent) cite painting as the most-desired need. They say that bedrooms and bathrooms are the first targets for fresh paint (both at 29 percent), followed by living or family rooms (28 percent).

To help people jump start spring endeavors with low-cost project ideas and tips, NARI and Sherwin-Williams are launching National Painting Week on April 16. ?People are looking for more cost-saving ways to enhance their spaces,? says NARI chairman Paul Zuch, certified remodeler. ?Some of the most dramatic transformations are projects like resurfacing cabinets or changing kitchen or bathroom hardware, as well as painting the interior or exterior of your home.?

With today?s technologies at your fingertips, determining the right paint color is easy and anyone can be their own interior decorator.

* Choose colors like a pro using coordinated color collections. ?It?s easy to achieve designer looks in your own home with HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams,? says David Bromstad, HGTV designer. ?Each of the collections represents a style to match your own, and features colors that work together in any combination. The wallpaper coordinates with the colors and the exterior color collections highlight your home?s architecture to achieve a harmonious look room to room, inside and out.?

* See your finished look without picking up a brush with Sherwin-Williams? color visualizer, where you can digitally repaint your space, or get inspired with Chip It! (www.letschipit.com), which instantly turns any online image into a color palette using more than 1,500 colors. With the mobile ColorSnap app, you can turn anything that inspires you into paint colors. Capture an image with your smartphone and you will be able to see the paint color and two complementary colors.

* Liven up your living area by revamping the bedroom, giving new life to an old piece of furniture or staining the deck.

* Define your style. Make a statement combining bolder paint colors with their neutral counterparts.

* Use high-quality materials. Spending a little more at the outset saves money in the long run.

For more tips, visit www.NationalPaintingWeek.com.

Source: http://www.pasconews.com/tips-for-refreshing-your-home-with-paint-color.html

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Former Israeli PM Yitzhak Shamir dies

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Yitzhak Shamir, the hawkish Israeli leader who two decades ago first balked at U.S. calls to trade occupied land for Middle East peace, died on Saturday after a long illness. He was 96.

The second longest-serving prime minister after Israel's founder David Ben-Gurion, Shamir clung to the status quo. Admirers saw strength and resolve in his position, while critics called him an intransigent naysayer who allowed Arabs to cast Israel as obstructing reconciliation.

"Yitzhak Shamir belonged to the generation of giants that founded the State of Israel and fought for the freedom of the Jewish people in its own land," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement after his death.

Shamir professed a commitment to peace, calling it "the only prize ... that can justify any war," but insisted Israel never be rushed into a deal or lose its nerve.

"Big countries, I told myself, can afford to make mistakes; small ones cannot," he wrote in his memoir "Summing Up".

Born in Poland with the surname Yezernitzky, Shamir moved to British-ruled Palestine before the Holocaust, in which his family died. Steely and secretive, he ran missions against British and Arab targets for the hardline Jewish underground group Irgun, taking his Hebrew name from an alias used to evade police dragnets.

Captured and deported to Eritrea in 1946, the diminutive, beetle-browed Shamir missed much of the fighting that led to Israel's founding two years later. Upon his return, he found himself out of step with the country's left-leaning political leadership of the day.

The Mossad spy service provided Shamir a back door to power. Recruited in 1955, Shamir clambered up the Mossad's ranks during shadow wars with regional foes and international hunts for Nazi fugitives.

He credited a posting in France with lending some refinement to his style - "the scenery, the way people looked, the food, the wine, Piaf," he reminisced - and prepared him for his 1980 breakthrough as foreign minister for the rightist Likud party.

Shamir was a mistrustful diplomat. Prime Minister Menachem Begin had signed a landmark peace accord with Egypt in 1979, yet Shamir bristled at Cairo's insistence that Israel make way for Palestinian independence.

"Judea and Samaria are an integral part of the land of Israel, neither 'captured' ... nor 'returnable' to anyone," he said, using biblical terms for the occupied West Bank, which, along with the Gaza Strip, the Israelis had extensively settled, and where the Palestinians seek statehood.

Ruined by Israel's 1982 Lebanon invasion, Begin resigned and was succeeded by Shamir, who would later enter an awkward coalition with Shimon Peres' left-leaning Labour party in which the two leaders rotated the premiership between them.

It was a turbulent time. Shamir was forced to crack down on challenges from a new Jewish underground made up of West Bank settlers, who attacked Arab notables and plotted to bomb a Jerusalem mosque, and from the first Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, which erupted in 1987.

Rather than seek accommodation with the Palestinians, Shamir championed new settlements and the immigration of hundreds of thousands of Soviet and Ethiopian Jews in a bid to keep ahead of the growing Muslim population under Israeli rule.

Although known as a hardliner, Shamir nonetheless showed teeth-gritting restraint during the 1991 Gulf War. At the urging of the United States, he held Israel's fire in the face of Scud missile salvoes by dictator Saddam Hussein rather than retaliate and endanger the U.S. alliance with Arab powers battling to expel Iraq from Kuwait.

His forbearance on that occasion drove home Israel's subordination to Washington's Middle East interests.

"I can think of nothing that went more against my grain as a Jew and a Zionist, nothing more opposed to the ideology on which my life has been based, than the decision I took ... to ask the people of Israel to accept the burden of restraint," Shamir said later.

After the war, U.S. President George H.W. Bush called on Israel to accept multi-party peace talks with the Arabs. His administration hardened the demand by postponing $10 billion (6.36 billion pounds) in U.S. loan guarantees that the Shamir government needed to absorb new immigrants.

Shamir hinted darkly that Bush, leader of the country's most important ally, was an anti-Semite, but relented on attending the Madrid peace conference, where he became the first Israeli leader to sit opposite Palestinian, Syrian, Jordanian and Lebanese delegates.

The event was short on reconciliation - Shamir spoke of peace with only "self-government" for the Palestinians - but paved the way for the bilateral negotiations pursued by Labour's Yitzhak Rabin, who rode a wave of Israeli optimism to defeat Shamir in a 1992 election.

Shamir was infirm and withdrawn from public life in later years. With Likud back in power and his former deputy foreign minister Netanyahu as premier, Israel remains at loggerheads with the Palestinians, with many disputes still festering.

"The truth is that, in the final analysis, the search for peace has always been a matter of who would tire of the struggle first, and blink," he wrote in his autobiography.

(Editing by Roger Atwood)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-israeli-pm-yitzhak-shamir-dies-182044778.html

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