49ers plan to bring back QB Alex Smith for 2012 (AP)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. ? Coach Jim Harbaugh has told 49ers quarterback Alex Smith the team plans to re-sign him beyond this season.

Smith, the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick out of Utah, received a $4.9 million, one-year contract as a free agent last July after the lockout ? when many, including Smith himself, figured he'd be headed elsewhere following six up-and-down seasons. He has thrived under Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback who recently endorsed Smith as the team's answer behind center moving forward.

"I've told Alex that," Harbaugh said Monday. "I wouldn't tell you (the media) something I wouldn't tell Alex.

"I told Alex, `Hey, we're going to want you to come back here next year.' He's focused on the season, and that's where his mindset wants to be. And I totally respect that, and we'll talk about it and address it once the season is over. That's the way I understand it right now."

The 27-year-old Smith has thrown for 3,150 yards and 17 touchdowns with only five interceptions for the NFC West champion Niners (13-3), who earned the No. 2 playoff seed in the NFC and a first-round bye this week.

Smith is a big reason San Francisco finished with 10 total turnovers, which equaled the 2010 Patriots for fewest in NFL history since 1941.

Smith ? booed from every direction during recent seasons at Candlestick Park ? has said much of this season's success comes from him not trying to do too much in Harbaugh's West Coast offense.

He has shown the poise under pressure and decision making Harbaugh believed Smith still had in him when Harbaugh took over last January. Smith isn't ready to reflect on his resurgent 2011 season or the franchise's turnaround after going eight years without a playoff berth or winning record.

"You know, it's hard when you're still in the thick of it. It's probably a better question to ask me after the end of the season when everything is wrapped up," he said. "Right now there's still a lot on the line. Not quite time for me to reflect on anything. We've done some good things, putting ourselves in a good situation."

Smith, who has played for a different offensive coordinator in each of his seven NFL seasons, has earned the confidence of his teammates. He went 21 for 31 for 219 yards in Sunday's regular-season finale, a 34-27 win at St. Louis.

"I firmly believe that Alex Smith can do nothing but just keep getting better," said tight end Vernon Davis, who had eight catches for 118 yards against the Rams.

"At this point ... all he can do is get better. If he's willing and that's what he wants. He wants to be successful and learn as much as he possibly can about this game and try to find ways to help this team get better down the road. I'm all for it. I'm a big supporter."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120102/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn49ers_smith

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Atomic refrigerator could make coldest things possible even colder

The level of control over matter that scientists are now developing to create ultra-cold objects could also be used to create entirely new states of matter and super-powerful quantum computers, researchers added. ?

The coolest things of the future might be created using what are essentially refrigerators that work on the atomic level, researchers say.

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The level of control over matter that scientists are now developing to create ultra-cold objects could also be used to create entirely?new states of matter?and super-powerful quantum computers, researchers added.

Scientists routinely cool matter to a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero,?the coldest temperature?theoretically possible, which corresponds to?minus 459.67 degrees?Fahrenheit (minus-273.15 Celsius). Still, they would like to chill matter to even-colder temperatures to better understand other extreme phenomena, such as superconductivity, where electrons zip without resistance through objects.

Now physicists reveal a new way to create ultra-cold matter, with an idea similar to how fridges work. Refrigerators pump a fluid known as a refrigerant around the area they are cooling. This fluid sucks up heat. The refrigerant is then pumped someplace where it dumps this heat.

Chill atoms

First the researchers cooled?atoms of rubidium?with lasers. When set up properly, these beams can force atoms to glow in a way that makes them emit more energy than they absorb, thus making them colder.

When the atoms gave off light as a result of being hit with the laser, this exerted a slight pressure on them. The scientists took advantage of that pressure to control the atoms, either keeping them in place or moving them around, sometimes creating collisions. [Wacky Physics: The Coolest Little Particles]

The researchers then made the atoms even colder with evaporative cooling, in which matter gets cooled in much the same way as a cup of coffee loses its warmth ? the hottest atoms are allowed to evaporate, leaving behind the colder ones.

Finally, the researchers used webs of lasers known as "optical lattices." When two atoms are made to collide within the optical lattice, the excitations of one suppress the excitations of the other, a phenomenon called "orbital excitation blockade." The excited atoms are then removed from the system -- taking away entropy, the amount of energy available for work -- thus causing the remaining atoms to chill down.

In experiments with rubidium atoms in optical lattices, the physicists successfully demonstrated they could remove entropy from atoms via orbital excitation blockade. In principle, they can reach temperatures 10-to-100-times colder than currently achieved, to temperatures of tenths-to-hundredths-of-a-billionth of a degree above absolute zero. However, they likely need lasers of longer wavelengths to do so in real life, said researcher Markus Greiner, a physicist at Harvard University.

Exotic matter

Their research could help "create exotic new states of matter, ones never seen before," Greiner told LiveScience. "Who knows what the properties of these materials might be?"

The ability to create perfect arrays of atoms could also be "a great starting point for a general-purpose quantum computer," Greiner said. Quantum computers exploit the?bizarre nature of quantum physics?? such as how subatomic particles can effectively spin in two opposite directions at the same time ? to run calculations exponentially faster than normal computers for certain problems.

Research into?quantum computers?has mostly been on devices designed to each crunch one specific kind of problem, but optical lattices could lead to general-purpose quantum computers that, like modern personal computers, can tackle many different kinds of problems.

The scientists detailed their findings in the Dec. 22 issue of the journal Nature.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/xfBDGXb_WRM/Atomic-refrigerator-could-make-coldest-things-possible-even-colder

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Guy Felix Gerfers, 92, San Antonio, Texas

GERFERS Guy Felix Gerfers went to be with Lord on December 28, 2011 at the age of 92. He was born on July 11, 1919 in San Antonio, Texas to Richard Peter Gerfers and Rosie Lee Edmondson Gerfers. He graduated from Brackenridge High School in 1938 and then went on to join the Army Air Force. He retired from the U.S. Postal Service with 35 years of dedicated service. Mr. Gerfers was preceded in death by his brothers, Clyde and Gilbert Gerfers. He is survived by his loving wife of 72 years, Mary Louise Gerfers; daughter, Debbie Hartman; son, Gary Gerfers & wife, Janine; sisters, Doris Langley and Dorothy Coy; 5 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews and other family members. SERVICES Visitation will be held on Tuesday, January 3, 2012 from 6:00pm until 9:00pm at Mission Park Funeral Chapels North. Graveside Services will be on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 9:30am at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery, with Air Force Honors. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the National Kidney Foundation. You may sign the on-line guestbook at www.missionparks.com under the obituary section. MISSION PARK NORTH 3401 CHERRY RIDGE SAN ANTONIO TX 78230 (210) 349-1414

Source: http://kens5.tributes.com/show/Guy-Felix-Gerfers-93017773

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Chinese Cultural Arts Celebration at The Huntington

Event will welcome the Year of the Dragon

From STAFF REPORTS
Published: Sunday, January 1, 2012 | 5:10 PM

To mark the beginning of the lunar new year season and usher in the Year of the Dragon, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens will host a Chinese Cultural Arts Celebration on Saturday, Jan. 15, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

According to the Chinese calendar, the new year officially begins on Jan. 23, 2012. Festivities traditionally continue for two weeks. The event is a prelude to The Huntington?s Chinese New Year Festival, which will be held on Feb. 4?5.

During the day-long Cultural Arts Celebration, visitors will be able to experience authentic Chinese music, theater, and folk crafts. Artists and performers from Jiangsu Province, China, will present traditional puppet opera and demonstrate crafts such as inner-painted glass, paper cutting, and sugar sculpture. Dragon dancers and musicians will add to the spirit of celebration. Many of the day?s activities will take place in and around The Huntington?s Chinese garden, Liu Fang Yuan, the Garden of Flowing Fragrance.

Program Highlights:

• Dragon Dancers at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
• Chinese Brush Painting Demonstrations from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Spring Thunder Chinese Music from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Jiangsu Artists Demonstrations from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Yangzhou Puppet Theater at Noon & 3 p.m.
• Martial Arts Performance at 12:30 p.m. & 2:30 p.m.

All presentations are included with general admission to The Huntington: $20 adults, $15 seniors, $10 students (ages 12?18), $6 youth (ages 5?11), and free for children under 5. Members of The Huntington are admitted free.

For additional information, call 626-405-2100 or visit www.huntington.org.

Source: http://pasadenanow.com/main/chinese-cultural-arts-celebration-at-the-huntington

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iPad 3 To Come Early 2012 With Better Screen And Battery

Apple could release two versions of its iPad 3 and we could be seeing the tablet a soon as late January according to new reports from the far east.

The reports come from Korean publication Digitimes who has spoken to those loose-lipped supply chain sources, who have apparently confirmed that there will be two versions.

Digitimes? source reckons the new tablet will be unveiled at the iWorld/Macworld conference which is scheduled to take place January 26.

The iPad 3 has been at the centre of plenty of rumours over the last few months, with many experts expecting the screen resolution will see a significant increase. If the rumours are true the iPad 3 will come with a 9.7-inch screen with a QXGA resolution, which is an impressive 1536?2048.

Other upgrades being tipped for the new tablet are a A6 processor, two cameras, 5 and 8 megapixels respectively, and a new battery that could be as high as 14,000mAh (the battery tech of the iPad 2 is a mere 6,500mAH). So it could feasibly have a battery life of upwards of 20 hours which would be ideal for heavy gamers and film buffs alike.

As for two new versions of the iPad ? this does make sense, but only if Apple is looking to take Amazon on at its own game and offer a budget-friendly tablet and then make its money back from apps and other media.?Its worked for the Kindle Fire so far, so why not the iPad?

Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.

Tags: 20 hours, 2012, Apple, Battery, Early, ipad 3, January, screen, standby time

Source: http://blog.gadgethelpline.com/ipad-3-early-2012-screen-battery/

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Retail gasoline prices rise 4 cents across Texas (AP)

HOUSTON ? Retail gasoline prices across Texas jumped 4 cents this week as motorists continue traveling during the holidays, some to New Year's gatherings.

AAA Texas on Thursday reported that the average price at the pump is $3.09 per gallon. The association says gasoline prices nationwide are also up 4 cents, reaching $3.25 per gallon.

AAA Texas says Texarkana has the highest average price statewide for gasoline, at $3.13 a gallon. El Paso has the cheapest gasoline, at an average $2.97 per gallon.

The association says the current statewide average is 19 cents higher than it was during the same time last year, but 80 cents lower than the record high for Texas 2011, which was $3.98 set in mid-May.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gas_prices_texas

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