Billy Dean's Insurance Company to Drop Him Following Barn Fire ...

Jason Kempin

After dealing with the heartbreaking loss of his barn due to a fire, things continue to get worse for country star Billy Dean.

Not only did he lose his barn, tractor, fishing boat, cherished mementos and master recordings that were kept inside the barn, but now the singer is losing his longtime insurance company. The barn fire was Dean?s third claim through Farm Bureau Insurance, and the company now plans on dropping the Deans from making any future claims.

?It?s a three strikes you?re out kind of a deal,? Dean tells Taste of Country. ?They were great on the other couple of claims, and we?ve been paying them for 18 years or something, so I just kind of look at it like it?s my money that I put in the bank for an emergency. We?re hoping they?re going to make it right. We just want to be fair.?

?It makes it really difficult to get anybody else to insure you after that,? Dean continues, adding that the other two claims were from bursting pipes and an air conditioner leak ? both which flooded his property. ?I wasn?t aware of the three strikes you?re out issue, but I guess that?s just business. The risk they?re taking and the risk we?re taking that nothing?s going to happen. But it happened, so we?ll see. Hopefully they?ll make it right and we can rebuild.?

While Dean and his insurance company attempt to reach an agreement about their future together, the ?Somewhere in My Broken Heart? singer says his concerts on the Dean Acres property will continue as planned. The next series of shows will take place March 30, 31 and April 1 and will celebrate Dean?s 50th birthday. ?We?ve just got a massive cleanup job on our hands, but I think we?ll get it done in time,? Dean assures.

But not even the fire, which has been ruled an accident, can keep Dean?s spirits down for too long, as he still has so much to be grateful for in his life and his career. ?We can?t help but feel lucky, just because there?s an apartment above that barn, and we had a guest staying there,? Dean notes. ?They left about 30 minutes before the fire department was called, so we just feel really lucky because we didn?t have any way for anyone in that apartment to get out if a fire did occur at the bottom. I?m optimistic and I?m going to think Farm Bureau will make it right because I?ve liked them for a lot of years. I?m going to give them the benefit of the doubt that they?ll make it right.?

Source: http://tasteofcountry.com/billy-dean-barn-fire-insurance-claim/

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Editor: Hacking might have occurred at 2nd tabloid (AP)

LONDON ? The editor of Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper told a media ethics inquiry Monday it is possible illegal phone hacking took place at the tabloid, which was edited for almost a decade by CNN celebrity interviewer Piers Morgan.

The editor of sister title the Sunday Mirror told the same tribunal that she couldn't be sure illicit eavesdropping hadn't gone on there, too ? but the papers' publisher said the company had no plans to launch an internal investigation into possible wrongdoing.

Mirror editor Richard Wallace had told the inquiry earlier that hacking "might well" have been going on at the Mirror in the early 2000s.

But he said he had no knowledge of it and insisted "ethical issues are embedded" within the culture of the paper's newsroom.

The judge-led inquiry into press standards was set up in the wake of revelations that Rupert Murdoch's now-shuttered News of the World had illegally eavesdropped on the voice mails of celebrities, politicians and even crime victims in its quest for scoops. Some alleged victims have accused other newspapers outside the Murdoch empire of wrongdoing, too.

Comments made by Morgan have raised suspicions that phone hacking may have been going on while he was in charge of the Daily Mirror.

Morgan told an earlier session of the inquiry that he didn't believe he ever listened to hacked voicemail messages while he was editor between 1995 and 2004.

Morgan told the committee his earlier comment that "loads of newspaper journalists were doing it" was based on rumor and hearsay.

But Morgan refused to explain how he had heard a voicemail message left by former Beatle Paul McCartney on the phone message system of McCartney's now ex-wife Heather Mills.

Morgan's description of the message in a 2006 article for the Daily Mail led some to wonder whether he'd obtained it through phone hacking. Mills has said there was no way Morgan could have obtained it honestly.

Wallace, who took over as editor after Morgan was fired in 2004 for running faked pictures of British soldiers allegedly abusing Iraqis, said he had never heard that message.

He acknowledged "it's possible" that phone hacking was the source of a 2002 story on the romantic life of Sven-Goran Eriksson, then England's national soccer coach.

Tina Weaver, editor of the Sunday Mirror, was asked about a BBC report that claimed phone hacking had gone on "pretty much every day" for a period at the newspaper.

"I don't believe it to be true," she said, but admitted the BBC's claim had never been internally investigated.

Sly Bailey, chief executive of the newspaper's publisher, Trinity Mirror PLC, acknowledged that after a News of the World reporter and a private investigator were arrested for phone hacking in 2006, "lots of journalists were speculating" about the extent of similar wrongdoing at other tabloids.

But she said that at the Mirror titles "there was no evidence and we saw no reason to investigate."

And she said she didn't plan to investigate now.

"I don't think it's the way to run a healthy organization, to go around conducting investigations when there is no evidence," Bailey said.

The still-unfolding hacking scandal has sparked the resignations of several top Murdoch executives, senior police officers and Prime Minister David Cameron's spin doctor, a former News of the World editor.

The inquiry, led by judge Brian Leveson, is hearing this week from editors of daily newspapers and celebrity magazines including Hello! and OK!

Separately, Britain's Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke suggested journalists may be justified in using illegal practices such as phone hacking, if they are exposing an "extreme wrong" and told a committee of lawmakers that reporters should not be prosecuted for using illegal methods, if the stories they are reporting are in the wider public interest

"There are some cases where journalists are justified in going to the limits," Clarke said. "Normally I do not think they should obtain stories by bribery, by blackmail or by phone-tapping... Just occasionally they do that because they are investigating extreme wrong."

He pointed to the exposure of lawmaker expense scandals and cricket spot-fixing by journalists as cases where it's possible illegal tactics were used to gather information.

"I don't know how they got the information about the House of Commons expenses, but it is quite possible that they bribed somebody to get hold of the information," Clarke said. "I really don't know that. It was a very good thing that it was got from somewhere and the public interest was being served."

___

Online: http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_britain_phone_hacking

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Enter Business Insider's Caption Contest To Win A $50 Gift Card

Have you ever thought that you could give Madison Avenue copywriters a run for their money??This is your chance to prove it, with Business Insider Advertising's first-ever caption contest.

Here's how it works: every Sunday we will post a new image from an ad, and you'll decide what the caption should be -- think?The New Yorker's?cartoon contest for the advertising world.

Email your caption to Lstampler@businessinsider.com by midnight on Thursday along with your name, where you live, and what you do. The winner will be announced on Friday and get a $50 gift certificate for Amazon.com (along with bragging rights, of course). We'll also publish a few of the runners-up.

This week's advertisement, shown on the right, was created by Mccann Erickson, Tel Aviv.

Although the campaign was created to advertise JDate -- full ad can be seen here -- don't let that limit your copy. Your creativity will be rewarded.

Email your caption to Lstampler@businessinsider.com?with your name, where you're from, and what you do for a chance to win $50 at Amazon.com.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/enter-business-insiders-advertising-caption-contest-2012-1

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Players, teams start rush to settle in arbitration (AP)

NEW YORK ? Players and teams started rushing to settle arbitration cases Monday, a day before the sides were to swap proposed salaries.

Eleven players agreed to contracts, leaving 126 set to exchange figures after 142 filed for arbitration last week. About 100 more were expected to reach agreements before the sides submit proposals Tuesday afternoon for one-year contracts that are not guaranteed.

San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum was expected to set records for the highest salaries asked for and received in arbitration. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner made $13.1 million last season, completing a two-year deal worth $23.2 million.

The highest figure ever requested was $22 million by Houston pitcher Roger Clemens in 2005 after he became a free agent and accepted arbitration. Among players with less than six years of major league service, the high of $18.5 million has been held by Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter since 2001.

San Francisco figures to top the $14.25 million the Yankees submitted for Jeter.

Others set to swap include NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw and Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Andre Ethier, Philadelphia pitcher Cole Hamels and teammate Hunter Pence, World Series star Mike Napoli of Texas and Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Garza.

Washington pitcher Gio Gonzalez, acquired from Oakland last month, has the big deal thus far, a $42 million, five-year contract that includes both a club option and a vesting player option. It could be worth $65.5 million over seven seasons.

Settlements are happening more slowly than in recent years: The 142 players who filed were the most since 150 in 1992.

About a half-dozen more players will become eligible for arbitration next year, when eligibility increases slightly for players with two to three years of major league service, from the top 17 percent by service time to the top 22 percent. They join unsigned players with at least three but less than six years of service.

Among one-year contracts announced Monday were deals for Pittsburgh All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan ($4.1 million) and right-hander Charlie Morton ($2,445,000), Detroit right-hander Rick Porcello ($3.1 million) and left-hander Phil Coke ($1.1 million), Kansas City second baseman Chris Getz ($937,500) and catcher Brayan Pena ($835,000), New York Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes ($3.2 million), Los Angeles Angels third baseman Alberto Callaspo ($3.15 million), Milwaukee outfielder Nyjer Morgan ($2.35 million) and Washington catcher Jesus Flores ($815,000).

In a deal not yet announced, San Francisco outfielder Angel Pagan agreed at $4.85 million.

Among free agents, oft-injured reliever Joel Zumaya and Minnesota agreed to an $850,000, one-year contract, a person with direct knowledge of the deal said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team had yet to announce it.

Philadelphia and pitcher Joel Pineiro agreed to a minor league contract, a person familiar with that deal said, also on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced.

Boston agreed to minor league contracts with pitchers Aaron Cook and Justin Germano that were announced, and a deal with Vicente Padilla that was not announced. Cincinnati agreed to a minor league deal with catcher Dioner Navarro.

In a trade, Colorado acquired right-hander Guillermo Moscoso and left-hander Josh Outman from Oakland for outfielder Seth Smith, who struck out against Boston's Jonathan Papelbon for the final out of the 2007 World Series.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbo_baseball_rdp

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Path for Android updates to fix ICS-Twitter authentication

I've been desperately trying to convert from Foursquare to Path for bothering most of my social networks at once, but a pretty critical bug was keeping that from happening. But Path's just released an update that fixes Twitter authentication in Ice Cream Sandwich, as well as keeping push notifications from being delivered if, in fact, that's the way you want it.

For the uninitiated, Path is sort of mix of Foursquare and a much smaller Facebook. The idea is to have a tight-knit group of friends with which you share. Of course, adding the ability to share via Twitter, Facebook and, yes, Foursquare, opens it up to much more. The app itself is stunning, though it could use a little refresh for 720p displays.

If you haven't checked it out yet, we've got download links after the break.

read more

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

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Particle-free silver ink prints small, high-performance electronics

Friday, January 13, 2012

University of Illinois materials scientists have developed a new reactive silver ink for printing high-performance electronics on ubiquitous, low-cost materials such as flexible plastic, paper or fabric substrates.

Jennifer Lewis, the Hans Thurnauer Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and graduate student S. Brett Walker described the new ink in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

"We are really excited about the wide applicability and excellent electrical properties of this new silver ink," said Lewis, the director of the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory at the U. of I.

Electronics printed on low-cost, flexible materials hold promise for antennas, batteries, sensors, solar energy, wearable devices and more. Most conductive inks rely on tiny metal particles suspended in the ink. The new ink is a transparent solution of silver acetate and ammonia. The silver remains dissolved in the solution until it is printed, and the liquid evaporates, yielding conductive features.

"It dries and reacts quickly, which allows us to immediately deposit silver as we print," Walker said.

The reactive ink has several advantages over particle-based inks. It is much faster to make: A batch takes minutes to mix, according to Walker, whereas particle-based inks take several hours and multiple steps to prepare. The ink also is stable for several weeks.

The reactive silver ink also can print through 100-nanometer nozzles, an order of magnitude smaller than particle-based inks, an important feature for printed microelectronics. Moreover, the ink's low viscosity makes it suitable for inkjet printing, direct ink writing or airbrush spraying over large, conformal areas.

"For printed electronics applications, you need to be able to store the ink for several months because silver is expensive," Walker said. "Since silver particles don't actually form until the ink exits the nozzle and the ammonia evaporates, our ink remains stable for very long periods. For fine-scale nozzle printing, that's a rarity."

The reactive silver ink boasts yet one more key advantage: a low processing temperature. Metallic inks typically need to be heated to achieve bulk conductivity through a process called annealing. The annealing temperatures for many particle-based inks are too high for many inexpensive plastics or paper. By contrast, the reactive silver ink exhibits an electrical conductivity approaching that of pure silver upon annealing at 90 degrees Celsius.

"We are now focused on patterning large-area transparent conductive surfaces using this reactive ink," said Lewis, who also is affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, the Micro and Nanotechnology Lab and the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the U. of I.

###

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: http://www.uiuc.edu

Thanks to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 35 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116725/Particle_free_silver_ink_prints_small__high_performance_electronics

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Iran OPEC government warns Arab oil producers (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iran's Gulf Arab neighbors should not raise their production to replace Iranian oil if the European Union goes ahead with a ban on Iranian crude imports, Iran's OPEC governor said on Sunday.

The EU has agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian oil, while the United States has pressured Asian buyers to reduce imports to starve Tehran of revenue for its disputed nuclear program.

Asian leaders from some of Iran's biggest oil sales markets are already touring the Middle East to secure supplies, as tension over Iran's nuclear plans builds, while European buyers may rely more heavily on Arab oil producers should an EU ban come into effect.

Iran OPEC Governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi said Tehran would see any move to fill in for Iranian crude as Gulf Arab oil producers siding with Iran's western opponents.

"If the oil producing Gulf states give the green light to replacing Iran's oil these countries would be the main culprits for whatever happens in the region -- including the Strait of Hormuz," Khatibi told the Sharq daily newspaper.

"Our Arab neighbor countries should not cooperate with these adventurers... These measures will not be perceived as friendly."

EU countries have proposed "grace periods" on existing contracts of one to 12 months to allow companies to find alternative suppliers before implementing an embargo.

Khatibi, a key part of Iran's OPEC negotiating team, said there was a good chance that the EU would not go through with its threat to ban Iranian crude imports if Gulf Arab producers refused to back it.

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Saturday the world's biggest oil exporter was ready and able to meet any increase in demand, without making any reference to sanctions on OPEC rival Iran, while Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited the kingdom to boost cooperation with China's biggest oil supplier.

China is also Iran's biggest oil buyer, importing over half a million barrels of Iranian crude a day to fuel its economic growth, making Beijing wary of upsetting Tehran and an opponent of sanctions against it.

Iran, OPEC's second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia with output of about 3.5 million barrels per day, has threatened to block the vital oil export route of the Strait of Hormuz if further sanctions prevent it from selling oil.

About a third of all sea-borne oil was shipped through the Strait of Hormuz in 2009, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and U.S. warships patrol the area to ensure safe passage.

The United States has said it would not tolerate any attempt to disrupt shipping in the strait, but Iran's navy commander Habibollah Sayyari said Tehran could control the vital export route.

"Iran has always exercised domination over the Strait of Hormuz," Sayyari was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying.

The United States and its allies suspects Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons but the Islamic Republic says it is only interested in nuclear technology for generating electricity.

(Writing by Ramin Mostafavi, editing by Jonathan Thatcher and Daniel Fineren)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120115/wl_nm/us_iran_oil_khatibi

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