I'm a gamer who loves gaming. All sorts of gaming. When I was about four, an NES made its way into my house and hooked me on Super Mario Brothers. When I turned 21, the "anything goes" age in the US, I got started playing a different kind of game: poker. After all, a game's a game, right?
But with the Main Event of the WSOP (World Series of Poker) wrapping up this past week, it's had me thinking about not just poker itself, but gambling in general. It's one of the oldest?if not the oldest?ways that we as humans have entertained ourselves throughout our existence on this planet (beyond prostitution). Dice, tiles, and cards are the veterans of entertainment, and they have been involved in video gaming since the early goings. The AI might not have been advanced enough for advanced skill games like player-versus-player poker or gin, but video slots and blackjack are ever-present across nearly every gaming platform. Even the Magnavox Odyssey?the first commercially-available video game console?played a version of roulette!
The history of gaming is littered with not only the corpses of dead consoles, but of casino and gambling games. The original gaming juggernaut, the Atari VCS/2600, had Casino which featured blackjack, stud poker, and poker solitaire. The Intellivision had their own poker and blackjack titles named, appropriately enough, Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack, complete with a dealer on the screen to help narrate the action. Even the system with the Nintendo Seal of Quality, the NES, had a strong share of gambling love with Caesar's Palace, Blackjack, and Vegas Dream where your money is in jeopardy everywhere you go, along with unlicensed "favorites" like Hot Slots (complete with nekkid ladies at slot machines) and Peek-A-Boo Poker (with MORE nekkid ladies at the video poker machine). Hell, the Game Boy had a handful with Casino Fun Pack and Vegas Stakes.
And that's only in the US and Europe; in Japan, mahjong and pachinko games rule the roost. [I play Yakuza 4 mainly for mahjong. ~Ed. Nick] They show up simply everywhere, from the FamiCom to the NGPC and DS. They might be on every platform possible (and prevalently so) because "true" gambling is prohibited in Japan to certain public sports and prefecture-wide lotteries. Skill-based games like poker and mahjong are illegal to gamble on, along with machine games like video poker and slot machines, though pachinko is an odd gray area? not really "gambling" in presentation, but allowed to operate for prizes and such because of historical significance. It would only make sense that these games are played in a way that no money can change hands; namely, by plugging a cartridge into the platform of your choice.
Gambling games, while never being major console movers or "notable" titles, have quietly established themselves in our gaming realm. Games like Funtown Mahjong, Full House Poker, and the World Series of Poker franchise are still seeing releases and still selling enough to make the investment worthwhile. In the end, gambling games have the odds in their favor! HA! Get it? It's a play on? yeah. Gambling for free ain't going anywhere.
The International Space Station got three new crewmembers Wednesday, temporarily doubling in crew size with the arrival of a Russian Soyuz capsule.
The Soyuz TMA-22 delivered NASA astronaut Dan Burbank and Russians Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin, who blasted off from Kazakhstan on Monday. They moved onto the station about two hours after their capsule successfully docked.
The three newcomers were greeted with hugs and handshakes from American Michael Fossum, Russian Sergey Volkov and Japanese Satoshi Furukawa who have been at the station since June and are due to return to Earth next week.
The 39-year-old Shkaplerov and 42-year-old Ivanishin are making their first flights into space. Burbank, 50, who will take over command of the space station, is a veteran of 12-day shuttle missions in 2000 and 2006. The three men are to remain aboard the space station until March.
Officials at Russia's Mission Control outside Moscow and the cosmonauts' families radioed congratulations to the crew.
The mission's launch had been delayed for two months because of the crash of an unmanned Progress cargo ship in August. That failed launch raised doubts about future missions to the station, because the rocket the crashed ship used had the same upper stage as the booster rockets carrying Soyuz ships into orbit. The delay cut the crew numbers to three. Another launch next month will take the station back to its normal six-person crew.
William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space operations, said in a televised news briefing shortly after the docking that "the Russian team did the tremendous job of getting the launch and the docking ready."
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia ? Malaysian-led activists plan to hold a symbolic trial this month against former President George W. Bush and British ex-leader Tony Blair on charges of committing crimes against peace in the Iraq war.
The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal is an initiative of Malaysia's retired Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who staunchly opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Malaysian lawyer Yaacob Hussain Marican says the tribunal will convene a four-day hearing starting Saturday to determine whether Bush and Blair committed crimes against peace and violated international law in the Iraq invasion.
Yaacob said Tuesday the effort is modeled after a 1967 Vietnam war crimes panel convened by philosophers Bertrand Russell and Jean-Paul Sartre.
Kelly and a team of therapists get to work. Their work is to make Giffords work, because that?s how the brain learns: by doing. Kelly pats her arm, clasps her hand, tells her to give him a high five. A therapist manipulates Giffords? forearm, tapping it to a tune. The attendants constantly challenge, prod, and encourage her. ?You look great,? Kelly tells her, though she looks awful. ?You just got a little work to do.?
Female marathoners have less plaque than male counterparts, sedentary womenPublic release date: 14-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kristin Wincek kwincek@mhif.org 612-863-0249 Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation
While elite female marathon runners have fewer coronary plaques than their sedentary counterparts, they developed the same plaque volume and percent stenosis when it occurs, according to study findings presented Nov. 14 at the at the American Heart Association (AHA) scientific sessions in Orlando, Fla. This differs from their counterpart elite male runners who developed significantly more plaque volume than their sedentary counterparts.
Recent coronary artery studies suggest that elite male marathon runners may paradoxically have increased plaque formation. However, little is known about elite female athletes, since comparable coronary artery studies in women have not been reported.
"We had previously studied male marathoners, and were unpleasantly surprised by finding paradoxically more plaque in runners. We wanted to if the same was true for highly trained women runners," says the study's senior author Robert S. Schwartz, MD, an interventional cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis and physician researcher with Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation. "We were happy to discover that women who exercised extensively saw benefits in their cardiovascular health."
For the retrospective analysis, the researchers examined female long-distance runners for coronary artery plaque, on a risk-adjusted basis with age and risk-matched non-athletic female controls. The female athletes included had run a minimum of one marathon per year for 10 consecutive years. Using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) scans, they characterized the location and volume of coronary atherosclerotic lesions.
Using state of the art CCTA with very low radiation doses, 25 female runners (all without cardiovascular symptoms) were compared with 28 matched, sedentary controls. The average body mass index of the control group was 32, compared with 21.9 for the marathoners.
Schwartz and his colleagues identified 28 lesions in 14 of the sedentary females and seven lesions in five of the marathoners. Overall, the mean plaque volume for the control group versus the marathon group was 169.8 versus 95.8, and the average percent stenosis was 28 versus 10.3, respectively.
Unlike in the male counterparts, female marathoners had statistically significant fewer lesions compared with the sedentary group. However, on a per lesion basis, plaque volume and percent stenosis were not significantly different between each group, suggesting to the researchers that when plaque is present, both groups exhibited similar plaque characteristics.
"These findings show a positive physical result for women choosing to be competitive runners because the marathoners had lower heart rates, lower blood pressure, better cholesterol profiles and lower incidence of diabetes," Schwartz said. "This was an opposite finding than in the men."
The researchers are currently building statistical models in hopes of understanding whether the fact the studied male athletes were so much older than the studied female athletes is causing this disparity. "We are now seeking to determine whether there is truly a gender difference, or was it confounded by age," Schwartz explained.
###
Minneapolis Heart Institute
The Minneapolis Heart Institute is recognized internationally as one of the world's leading providers of heart and vascular care. This state-of-the-art facility combines the finest in personalized patient care with sophisticated technology in a unique, family-oriented environment. The Institute's programs, a number of which are conducted in conjunction with Abbott Northwestern Hospital, address the full range of heart and vascular health needs: prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.
Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation
The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation is dedicated to creating a world without heart disease through groundbreaking clinical research and innovative education programs. MHIF's mission is to promote and improve cardiovascular health, quality of life and longevity for all.
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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.
Female marathoners have less plaque than male counterparts, sedentary womenPublic release date: 14-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kristin Wincek kwincek@mhif.org 612-863-0249 Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation
While elite female marathon runners have fewer coronary plaques than their sedentary counterparts, they developed the same plaque volume and percent stenosis when it occurs, according to study findings presented Nov. 14 at the at the American Heart Association (AHA) scientific sessions in Orlando, Fla. This differs from their counterpart elite male runners who developed significantly more plaque volume than their sedentary counterparts.
Recent coronary artery studies suggest that elite male marathon runners may paradoxically have increased plaque formation. However, little is known about elite female athletes, since comparable coronary artery studies in women have not been reported.
"We had previously studied male marathoners, and were unpleasantly surprised by finding paradoxically more plaque in runners. We wanted to if the same was true for highly trained women runners," says the study's senior author Robert S. Schwartz, MD, an interventional cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis and physician researcher with Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation. "We were happy to discover that women who exercised extensively saw benefits in their cardiovascular health."
For the retrospective analysis, the researchers examined female long-distance runners for coronary artery plaque, on a risk-adjusted basis with age and risk-matched non-athletic female controls. The female athletes included had run a minimum of one marathon per year for 10 consecutive years. Using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) scans, they characterized the location and volume of coronary atherosclerotic lesions.
Using state of the art CCTA with very low radiation doses, 25 female runners (all without cardiovascular symptoms) were compared with 28 matched, sedentary controls. The average body mass index of the control group was 32, compared with 21.9 for the marathoners.
Schwartz and his colleagues identified 28 lesions in 14 of the sedentary females and seven lesions in five of the marathoners. Overall, the mean plaque volume for the control group versus the marathon group was 169.8 versus 95.8, and the average percent stenosis was 28 versus 10.3, respectively.
Unlike in the male counterparts, female marathoners had statistically significant fewer lesions compared with the sedentary group. However, on a per lesion basis, plaque volume and percent stenosis were not significantly different between each group, suggesting to the researchers that when plaque is present, both groups exhibited similar plaque characteristics.
"These findings show a positive physical result for women choosing to be competitive runners because the marathoners had lower heart rates, lower blood pressure, better cholesterol profiles and lower incidence of diabetes," Schwartz said. "This was an opposite finding than in the men."
The researchers are currently building statistical models in hopes of understanding whether the fact the studied male athletes were so much older than the studied female athletes is causing this disparity. "We are now seeking to determine whether there is truly a gender difference, or was it confounded by age," Schwartz explained.
###
Minneapolis Heart Institute
The Minneapolis Heart Institute is recognized internationally as one of the world's leading providers of heart and vascular care. This state-of-the-art facility combines the finest in personalized patient care with sophisticated technology in a unique, family-oriented environment. The Institute's programs, a number of which are conducted in conjunction with Abbott Northwestern Hospital, address the full range of heart and vascular health needs: prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.
Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation
The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation is dedicated to creating a world without heart disease through groundbreaking clinical research and innovative education programs. MHIF's mission is to promote and improve cardiovascular health, quality of life and longevity for all.
[ | 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.
Has Apple worsened the reported battery problems of its iPhone 4S? An update of its iOS 5 software on Thursday is resulting in complaints about battery issues -- even by some users who previously had no problems.
The version 5.0.1 update, delivered wirelessly, was supposed to correct bugs that caused the battery drain issues for some users, as well as fixing a bug affecting iCloud documents, adding multitasking gestures to the first iPad, and improving voice recognition for users in Australia who use dictation.
Wirelessly Delivered
One user, echoing the sentiments of many on the Apple Support Forums, wrote that "I seem to be losing battery life significantly after upgrading to iOS 5.0.1!!! Both my iPod4 and iPhone4. Before, I never noticed a problem. I even restarted my phone right after installing."
Another user said that, "after upgrading to 5.0.1, my iPhone is draining the battery even faster." A user named Healy79 said that, "after installing 5.0.1 I charged it up fully before going to bed and after 7 hours just sitting there lost 79 percent, and have lost further 5 percent while logging in and typing this."
Implicit in the battery brouhaha is the memory of Apple's Antennagate, following the release of the iPhone 4.
The reports of signal strength issues with the iPhone 4 began piling up shortly after its release. Apple had been suggesting that the signal-strength issue, which occurred when a user placed a hand or finger near the antenna on the lower left side of the device, was largely an optical illusion caused by faulty software that mistakenly showed more bars "than it should for a given signal strength."
The turning point was when Consumer Reports magazine wrote that it could not recommend the device because of those issues. The non-profit organization also said that "it's the company's responsibility to provide the fix -- at no extra cost to consumers."
Better Response Now?
Consumer Reports found that a piece of duct tape or "other thick, non-conducive material over the antenna gap" fixed the problem. Its engineers tested three different iPhone 4s purchased at three separate retailers in the New York area, as well as the iPhone 3GS and the Palm Pre, also on AT&T. The other phones did not have the same problem.
In a hastily-called press conference following the Consumer Reports' evaluation, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said it would offer a free bumper case to every iPhone 4 customer, a refund for any case already purchased, or a full refund for the return of an undamaged iPhone 4.
Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said that he updated three of his devices with the new iOS 5.0.1, and actually saw "battery life better than before."
Greengart noted that, in contrast to Apple's dilly-dallying during Antennagate, the company has responded quickly this time to the reports of battery life problems, including releasing an iOS version that they thought would correct the issue.
'Dateline NBC,' the signature broadcast for NBC News in primetime, premiered in 1992. Since then, it has been pioneering a new approach to primetime news programming. The multi-night franchise, supplemented by frequent specials, allows NBC to consistently and comprehensively present the highest-quality reporting, investigative features, breaking news coverage and newsmaker profiles.
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Public release date: 14-Nov-2011
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