Double-amputee vet's bike found one day after it was reported stolen

Tiffini Skuce

Matt DeWitt's custom-made mountain bike was stolen in Alaska on Tuesday and found on Wednesday. It was specially made for him so that he can steer with his prosthetics and shift gears with his knees.

By Elisha Fieldstadt

A custom-made bike for a double amputee veteran was found Wednesday morning, after it had been stolen two days earlier along with four other vets? bikes in Alaska, police said.

The bike was built by an organization called Ride 2 Recovery for Matt DeWitt, an Army veteran who served six years in Afghanistan before losing his forearms. ?

DeWitt said the first time he rode it was Monday, the first day of an R2R-sponsored trip to Alaska. After the group locked it up in a U-haul truck outside of?their hotel that night, the bike was stolen, preventing DeWitt from participating in the remaining two rides during the trip.

John Wordin, founder of Ride 2 Recovery,?said that everywhere they went in Alaska, people knew about the bike from local media coverage. ?We had to make sure whoever had that bike knew exactly what it was and knew it was worthless to that person.?

Dani Myren, a spokeswoman for the Anchorage Police Department who had assisted the Ride 2 Recovery staff on Tuesday, said that Wednesday ?around 8:20 a.m., we received a call from a citizen who saw an unattended bicycle in Kincaid Park.?

She said the thief must have dropped it off after realizing he or she couldn't "really resell this without drawing attention to it.??

When?DeWitt got news that his bike had been turned in, Wordin said the vet was ?very, very excited and happy.?

On Tuesday, DeWitt had expressed his disappointment that, if the bike wasn't returned,?he wouldn't be able to train for an upcoming 100-mile race that he had been invited to enter in August.

Alison Valenziano, R2R?s director of administrative operations, was not sure they would even?be able to rebuild a bike for DeWitt before the race.

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Scott?Moro, the technician who built the bike?said that designing and modifying it took about three months. When he heard the police had found?the bike, "I screamed out 'woohoo,'? Moro said.

Wordin said he and Moro actually?may have been more happy than DeWitt when they heard the news.?The two men had struggled to figure out how to help DeWitt steer with his prosthetics and shift gears with his knees.

?It was super, super-cool ? it took a long time to perfect,? Wordin said.

Valenziano said the bike was worth more than $10,000, not including Moro and Wordin's time and labor.

?The cool thing is that this is the special bike,? Myren said, adding: ?I don?t want to minimize that the other bikes are missing.?

Myren said the officer who recovered the bike confirmed it was, in fact, DeWitt?s -- and then took fingerprints from the bike, in hope that it would lead him to the remaining four missing bikes.

Police were trying to track down the group in order to get the bike back to DeWitt, Myren said. The group had gone on a daytrip ?right after they heard? the bike had been turned in, said Valenziano.

Myren said the bike wasn't terribly damaged, but police were working?to make?sure they could??present it to the gentleman in full operational order,? so DeWitt could resume riding as soon as he gets it back.

Ride 2 Recovery gives mountain bikes to veterans to help them overcome their physical and mental wounds, said Valenziano. She said they have modified bikes for vets without arms, vets without legs and even a tandem bike for a man who lost his sight at war.

Related:

Thief takes custom-made bike made for double amputee veteran

Tiffini Skuce

Matt DeWitt's custom-made mountain bike took three months to plan and build. It was stolen in Alaska on Tuesday but turned into police on Wednesday morning after someone spotted it in a park.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2dd93ea3/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C260C191589310Edouble0Eamputee0Evets0Ebike0Efound0Eone0Eday0Eafter0Eit0Ewas0Ereported0Estolen0Dlite/story01.htm

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After Waze's Big Exit, Car-Community App Fuelzee Wants To Gamify Your Trips For Gas

Google swooped on Waze earlier this month, shelling out $1.1 billion to acquire the crowdsourced traffic app -- indicating there is mileage (and cash) in crowdsourcing-plus-cars. Exactly how much of either remains to be seen but a just launched iOS app, called Fuelzee, reckons there's enough of both to build a new car-centric community in and around trips to the gas station.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/uub11oDy5ZM/

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$99 Ouya Android game console launches, already sold out at Amazon

BEIJING (Reuters) - A U.S. businessman held captive by about 100 workers in a Beijing factory said on Wednesday he was hopeful of a resolution to a row about pay in the next day or two. Chip Starnes, president of the Florida-based Specialty Medical Supplies, said from behind his barred office window that the workers were demanding severance packages identical to those offered to 30 recently laid off employees - even though there weren't going to be any more layoffs. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/99-ouya-android-game-console-launches-already-sold-001532961.html

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Getting the carbon out of emissions

June 26, 2013 ? Proposed method could be more efficient than previous systems and easier to retrofit in existing power plants.

Many researchers around the world are seeking ways to "scrub" carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the emissions of fossil-fuel power plants as a way of curbing the gas that is considered most responsible for global climate change. But most such systems rely on complex plumbing to divert the steam used to drive the turbines that generate power in these plants, and such systems are not practical as retrofits to existing plants.

Now, researchers at MIT have come up with a scrubbing system that requires no steam connection, can operate at lower temperatures, and would essentially be a "plug-and-play" solution that could be added relatively easily to any existing power plant.

The new electrochemical system is described in a paper just published online in the journal Energy and Environmental Science, and written by doctoral student Michael Stern, chemical engineering professor T. Alan Hatton and two others.

The system is a variation on a well-studied technology that uses chemical compounds called amines, which bind with CO₂ in the plant's emission stream and can then release the gas when heated in a separate chamber. But the conventional process requires that almost half of the power plant's low-pressure steam be diverted to provide the heat needed to force the amines to release the gas. That massive diversion would require such extensive changes to existing power plants that it is not considered economically feasible as a retrofit.

In the new system, an electrochemical process replaces the steam-based separation of amines and CO₂. This system only requires electricity, so it can easily be added to an existing plant.

The system uses a solution of amines, injected at the top of an absorption column in which the effluent gases are rising from below. The amines bind with CO₂ in the emissions stream and are collected in liquid form at the bottom of the column. Then, they are processed electrochemically, using a metal electrode to force the release of the CO₂; the original amine molecules are then regenerated and reused.

As with the conventional thermal-amine scrubber systems, this technology should be capable of removing 90 percent of CO₂ from a plant's emissions, the researchers say. But while the conventional CO₂-capture process uses about 40 percent of a plant's power output, the new system would consume only about 25 percent of the power, making it more attractive.

In addition, while steam-based systems must operate continuously, the all-electric system can be dialed back during peak demand, providing greater operational flexibility, Stern says. "Our system is something you just plug in, so you can quickly turn it down when you have a high cost or high need for electricity," he says.

Another advantage is that this process produces CO₂ under pressure, which is required to inject the gas into underground reservoirs for long-term disposal. Other systems require a separate compressor to pressurize the gas, creating further complexity and inefficiency.

The chemicals themselves -- mostly small polyamines -- are widely used and easily available industrial materials, says Hatton, the Ralph Landau Professor of Chemical Engineering Practice. Further research will examine which of several such compounds works best in the proposed system.

So far, the research team, which also includes former MIT research scientist Fritz Simeon and Howard Herzog, a senior research engineer at the MIT Energy Initiative, has done mathematical modeling and a small-scale laboratory test of the system. Next, they hope to move on to larger-scale tests to prove the system's performance. They say it could take five to 10 years for the system to be developed to the point of widespread commercialization.

Because it does not rely on steam from a boiler, this system could also be used for other applications that do not involve steam -- such as cement factories, which are among the leading producers of CO₂ emissions, Stern says. It could also be used to curb emissions from steel or aluminum plants.

It could also be useful in other CO₂ removal, Hatton says, such as in submarines or spacecraft, where carbon dioxide can accumulate to levels that could endanger human health, and must be continually removed.

The work was supported by Siemens AG and by the U.S. Department of Energy through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/electricity/~3/8uT9pW8An2g/130626143110.htm

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Benefits of VoIP for travelers | Voicebuy VoIP Provider

Benefits of VoIP for travelers

With the summer holiday season in full swing, many of us think about having a rest and relax after a hard working year. One of the issues while on the road is how to stay in touch with family, friends and business contacts. Fortunately, in the era of intense technological advancements, there are various methods of communication that are cost-effective and easy-to-use. And here VoIP may become one of the cheapest and flexible ways of keeping you connected with your acquaintances while traveling.

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The following advantages turn VoIP into a truly effective way of making cheap international calls from abroad.

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One of the most significant advantages of VoIP is that it enhances flexibility and portability of communications. If you have Wi-Fi network you can enjoy free international calls, or else use available internet networks to connect your contacts directly from your home or mobile phone number with cheaper calls. VoIP makes it possible to use the service anytime and anywhere regardless of time and location.

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Another feature which makes VoIP communication worth using throughout your travel is the call forwarding option which may be especially useful for business people. Due to this feature calls may automatically be transferred to another number in case the main line is busy, or else they can be redirected to additional number after answering the call.

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VoIP is also a great option due to its IP faxing services. The latter allows business travelers to send and receive documents on-the go in real time over an IP-based network. In this case fax data are being transmitted over the Internet which means that costs are significantly less as compared with conventional faxing services when fax data are sent over long-distance telephone lines.

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While on the road, VoIP may be the best solution for money-saving international calls to your friends and close ones. Avail of the wide range of VoIP services provided by Voicebuy since our calling rates will save you money even when traveling overseas.

Source: http://www.voicebuy.com/2013/06/25/benefits-of-voip-for-travelers

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Spatial training boosts math skills

June 25, 2013 ? Training young children in spatial reasoning can improve their math performance, according to a groundbreaking study from Michigan State University education scholars.

The researchers trained 6- to 8-year-olds in mental rotation, a spatial ability, and found their scores on addition and subtraction problems improved significantly. The mental rotation training involved imagining how two halves of an object would come together to make a whole, when the halves have been turned at an angle.

Past research has found a link between spatial reasoning and math, but the MSU study is the first to provide direct evidence of a causal connection -- that when children are trained in one ability, improvement is seen in the other. The findings will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Cognition and Development.

Kelly Mix, professor of educational psychology, said the findings suggest spatial training "primes" the brain to better tackle calculation problems. Mix authored the study with Yi-Ling Cheng, a doctoral student in MSU's College of Education.

"What's shocking is that we saw these improvements in math performance after giving the students just one 20-minute training session in spatial ability," Mix said. "Imagine if the training had been six weeks."

Understanding the connection between spatial ability and math, she said, is especially important in the early elementary grades because many studies indicate early intervention is critical for closing achievement gaps in math.

Spatial ability is important for success in many fields, from architecture to engineering to meteorology, according to a Johns Hopkins University paper. An astronomer must visualize the structure of the solar system and the motions of the objects in it, for example, while a radiologist must be able to interpret the image on an X-ray.

Some education experts have called for including spatial reasoning in the elementary math curriculum. But there are many forms of spatial ability and Mix said it's important to first figure out how each of them may or may not relate to the various math disciplines.

To that end, Mix is leading a larger study that tests elementary students on different forms of spatial ability and math performance.

Mix's research into spatial ability and math is funded by two grants totaling $2.8 million from the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/qnePuR5O67Q/130625121239.htm

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Investigating iMessage security and privacy claims

How secure and how private is iMessage, Apple's SMS/MMS-like communications platform? Earlier this month, after news broke about the NSA's electronic surveillance program, codenamed PRISM, Apple released a statement detailing some specifics on the number of requests they receive from government agencies for customer records. As part of the statement, Apple claimed that iMessage conversations use end-to-end encryption and therefore cannot be decrypted by Apple:

For example, conversations which take place over iMessage and FaceTime are protected by end-to-end encryption so no one but the sender and receiver can see or read them. Apple cannot decrypt that data.

Matthew Green, cryptographer and research professor at Johns Hopkins University, has raised some important questions about these claims, based on what little information is publicly available about iMessage encryption. In a post on his Cryptography Engineering blog, Green writes:

And that's the problem with iMessage: users don't suffer enough. The service is almost magically easy to use, which means Apple has made tradeoffs -- or more accurately, they've chosen a particular balance between usability and security. And while there's nothing wrong with tradeoffs, the particulars of their choices make a big difference when it comes to your privacy. By witholding these details, Apple is preventing its users from taking steps to protect themselves.

The first point Green raises is that iMessages are backed up and can be restored to a new device. If iMessages can be restored to a new device, then the encryption key can't be locked to the device. You can also read messages after resetting your password, meaning that the data must not be encrypted with your password either. This makes it unlikely, if not impossible, that the keys used to encrypt the stored messages are not possessed or recoverable by Apple.

Ultimately, there's no way for a person to know that messages are being encrypted with the correct public key to ensure only the intended recipient can decrypt them.

Green's second point has to do with how Apple distributes iMessage encryption keys. If you send another person an iMessage, it is encrypted using their public key. They can then decrypt the message using their private key. However, you have no way of knowing whose public key you're receiving from Apple to encrypt the messages. For instance, Apple could theoretically have you encrypt the messages with their public key, in which case, Apple could decrypt the message being sent with their private key. This isn't a particularly likely scenario as such an act, once discovered, would destroy any goodwill users have with Apple in entrusting them with their privacy. Although, a third party could also do the same if they had access to Apple's systems. Ultimately, there's no way for a person to know that messages are being encrypted with the correct public key to ensure only the intended recipient can decrypt them.

The third issue raised is Apple's ability to retain metadata. Even if all of the contents of your iMessages are securely encrypted, Apple's statement says nothing about protecting the metadata of those messages. This metadata would show who you talked to at what time, and possibly other seemingly innocuous details. While many people don't find this too concerning, an alarming number of details can be gleaned from this type of metadata. Without Apple addressing it in their statement, it remains unknown how this metadata is protected, if at all.

Finally, while iMessage does make use of SSL to encrypt communications with Apple's directory lookup service, it does not employ certificate pinning. SSL helps guarantee that communications are encrypted between the client and server. However, without certificate pinning, there is no assurance as to the identity of the server. It is not unheard of for valid SSL certificates to be forged, making it possible for malicious third parties to perform intercept traffic. Certificate pinning works by explicitly telling an application which SSL certificate should be trusted, rather than trusting any certificate issued by a trusted certificate authority.

This doesn't necessarily mean you should stop using iMessage.

This doesn't necessarily mean you should stop using iMessage. Many electronic communication methods, such as email, don't offer any sort of encryption by default. iMessage's encryption, at the very least, offers protection from casual eavesdroppers or criminals looking to capture your information. The points outlined by Green mean it could be possible for Apple, and in-turn law enforcement agencies, to decrypt communications sent over iMessage.

Unfortunately, it's difficult to know anything more specific without Apple providing more details on how they secure these communications.

Source: Cryptography Engineering

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/UeiLtJ_urgo/story01.htm

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