SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The San Antonio Spurs needed a lift after a succession of injuries to key players and a series of deflating losses.

Patty Mills return gave the Spurs a boost, but withstanding an emotional and physical matchup with the Houston Rockets provided what they truly needed - a win.

Danny Green had 24 points and San Antonio held off a late rally to beat Houston 110-106 on Sunday, snapping a six-game skid against its intrastate rivals.

Mills had eight points, all in the final quarter, but his energy was the spark that helped the Spurs snap a two-game skid. The 6-foot guard from Australia even dived on his surgically repaired right shoulder for a loose ball in the first half and played all but 12 seconds in the fourth quarter.

His energy, just his activity is was contagious, San Antonio forward Tim Duncan said. It was great for us; brought a huge spark to the team.

Duncan had 16 points and Manu Ginobili had 15 for the Spurs (19-13).

James Harden had 28 points and Dwight Howard added 24 points and 17 rebounds for Houston (21-8). The Rockets newest additions had differing levels of success: Corey Brewer scored 25 points and Josh Smith added five points.

Smith sat all but 30 seconds in the final seven minutes due to what Houston coach Kevin McHale deemed a lack of familiarity on a couple of missed defensive assignments.

It wasnt just Smith that seemed lost, though. Houston had 25 turnovers, including eight in the final quarter that resulted in 11 points.

We werent really sharp all night, McHale said. They beat us on back cuts. They beat us on cuts and we werent as sharp as we needed to be and the turnovers just killed us tonight, 25 of them, just too many turnovers.

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Green leads injury-depleted Spurs to win

The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms.[1][2][3][4] The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that the right belongs to individuals,[5][6] while also ruling that the right is not unlimited and does not prohibit all regulation of either firearms or similar devices.[7]State and local governments are limited to the same extent as the federal government from infringing this right per the incorporation of the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791, as part of the first ten amendments contained in the Bill of Rights.

The Second Amendment was based partially on the right to keep and bear arms in English common-law and was influenced by the English Bill of Rights of 1689. Sir William Blackstone described this right as an auxiliary right, supporting the natural rights of self-defense, resistance to oppression, and the civic duty to act in concert in defense of the state.[8]

In United States v. Cruikshank (1876), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that, "The right to bear arms is not granted by the Constitution; neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence" and limited the applicability of the Second Amendment to the federal government.[9] In United States v. Miller (1939), the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government and the states could limit any weapon types not having a reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia.[10][11]

In the twenty-first century, the amendment has been subjected to renewed academic inquiry and judicial interest.[11] In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision, expressly holding the amendment to protect an individual right to possess and carry firearms.[12][13] In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the Court clarified its earlier decisions that limited the amendment's impact to a restriction on the federal government, expressly holding that the Fourteenth Amendment applies the Second Amendment to state and local governments to the same extent that the Second Amendment applies to the federal government.[14] Despite these decisions, the debate between the gun control and gun rights movements and related organizations continues.[15]

There are several versions of the text of the Second Amendment, each with capitalization or punctuation differences. Differences exist between the drafted and ratified copies, the signed copies on display, and various published transcriptions.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] The importance (or lack thereof) of these differences has been the source of debate regarding the meaning and interpretation of the amendment, particularly regarding the importance of the prefatory clause.

One version was passed by the Congress,[24][25][26][27][28]

As passed by the Congress and preserved in the National Archives:[29]

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

As ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, then-Secretary of State:[30]

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

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Second Amendment to the United States Constitution ...

It's time to restore the respected and noteworthy legacy of Joe Paterno and the image of Pennsylvania State University.

I don't believe opinions of cynics, detractors and rival fans deserve any merit. While these naysayers sit back, point their fingers and gloat, Penn State continues to pursue high standards. Penn State graduates proudly sit atop the list of the 25 schools rated highest by job recruiters, and the football players who stayed the course despite many obstacles have become outstanding role models.

And who was held in higher esteem or respected more in college sports and higher level academics than Joe Paterno during his 60-plus years as a coach at Penn State? His football program was one of only three not to be cited for any major NCAA infractions during the 46 years he was head coach.

Paterno began his "Grand Experiment" in 1966. His goal was to build a program that excelled both in the classroom and on the field. It worked! The coach's football players repeatedly exhibited above-average academic success compared to other NCAA football programs.

Education is first at Penn State. Paterno's players had an 85 percent graduation rate, and these high academic accomplishments continue across all the PSU athletic teams. The latest graduation success rate statistics for Penn State student-athletes is 89 percent, seven percentage points above the national rate. Eight athletic teams posted rates of 100 percent.

Paterno and his wife, Sue, devoted much of their time and financial efforts to Penn State and the State College area. Their 1993 fundraising campaign amassed $13.75 million dollars for a new library. The university honored the Paternos by naming the library expansion, the Paterno Library. The Paternos donated an estimated $7.5 million to the library, for scholarships and to charitable functions. (The university received a $100,000 donation from the Paternos in December 2011, after the coach was fired.)

Unfortunately, as the tragic events of the Sandusky scandal unraveled, university trustees caved in to the media frenzy. Paterno was fired (imagine being terminated over the telephone after devoting 60-plus years to one profession, business or institution), unreasonable NCAA sanctions were accepted, and the coach's statue was removed from the front of Beaver Stadium.

Why did the NCAA become involved in a criminal situation? Yes, it was a criminal act not a football one. The NCAA's threat of the "death penalty," a complete shutdown of the football program, forced the university into accepting unprecedented sanctions.

The NCAA based the majority of its decisions on information in the Freeh Report. Three of the historic NCAA sanctions directly affected the players: nullification of all football wins between 1998 and 2011 (112 wins), four years of reduced football scholarships and a four-year bowl ban. Players were also allowed to transfer to another school and play immediately. Only seven players transferred during the lengthy period, a prime example of the players' faith in the football program and Penn State.

It's still difficult for me to understand how the appalling and tragic behavior of one former coach, no longer employed by the university had anything to do with football games played between 1998 and 2011. What was the NCAA thinking? Former players, despite having no association with the criminal behavior saw their wins erased as if the games were not played. They suffered the collateral damage from the criminal acts.

Excerpt from:
Second Mile Sandusky Scandal

City high school graduation rates are a cruel charade

The headline on Colin Campbell's recent report on Baltimore City high school graduation rates was misleading ("Graduation rates at city schools below average, but rising," Dec. 16).

In his letter to the editor, Mark Wilson ("Who cares what the CIA does to terrorists?" Dec. 21) asks whether he is living in the "Twilight Zone" because he sees nothing wrong with torturing people to get so-called information from them. Perhaps he is. He fails to grasp that the people in...

Sony Pictures Entertainment has canceled the release of its satiric film, "The Interview," as a result of major U.S. movie chains' refusal to screen it because of terrorist threats from North Korea.

The spending bill recently approved by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama includes provisions important to Marylanders ("For better or worse, spending bill passes," Dec. 15). Thanks to the hard work of Sen. Barbara Mikulski, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, federal...

Christmas came early this year for the Hippodrome's "loyal subscribers." But it wasn't the nice side of Christmas, it was the Grinch that came to visit ("Hippodrome feels the heat from reseating process," Dec. 19).

Original post:
Opinion - Baltimore Sun

Netflix ( NFLX )reported its third quarter numbers on October 15, 2014 and the stock has fallen approximately 25% since then. Even though Netflix delivered on the revenue guidance, the selloff has largely been due to the disappointing numbers it posted with respect to streaming subscriber additions. Our price estimate for Netflix stands at $299 , implying a discount of about 12% to the market.While we believe that Netflix has a lot going on in its favor, there are some risks that warrant a conservative valuation of the stock.

See our complete analysis for Netflix

What's Going Well For Netflix?

On the whole, Netflix is a relatively strong growth story and has a lot of things working for it. Netflix's revenue grew at 21% in the year 2013 and is expected to grow at 25% in 2014, which means it will cross the $5 billion mark for the first time and come in at around $5.46 billion. Its subscribers have been increasing at a good pace. The overall subscriber base crossed 50 million mark for the first time in the second quarter of 2014, and the company added another 3 million in the third quarter. The subscriber growth, in essence, is being fueled by media consumption shifting to internet. The presence of wide variety of devices available to play Netflix's movies via internet significantly enhances customer experience. This will continue to be a catalyst for streaming subscribers in the US. Its growing focus towards original content has been paying off and shows such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black have been immensely popular. It is considered a pioneer in online streaming and is well placed with respect to total domestic subscribers and the overall quality of content in comparison to its competitors like Hulu and Amazon Prime Instant Video. Netflix has been aggressively expanding its international streaming operations and recently launched in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg, gaining access to a potential market of about 66 million broadband households. It also officially announced that it plans to launch in Australia and New Zealand in March 2015.

However, These Risks Can Not Be Ignored:

- Subscriber Growth In The U.S. May Be Slowing Down

There are still concerns surrounding the future growth drivers of the company and the biggest concern is the underperformance in the domestic streaming subscriber additions. Netflix added a little less than 1 million subscribers domestically in the third quarter of 2014, as opposed to its earlier expectation of 1.33 million. The company increased the price of its online streaming plan from $7.99 to $8.99 and cites this as the primary reason for the decline in demand. While this may be the case, there are genuine concerns that Netflix's US business could be entering its maturity phase and that the market could become saturated in the coming years. Incremental customer additions will become difficult for the company in such a scenario.

- International Streaming Is Still In Losses

The international streaming segment is growing at a rapid pace. The number of international subscribers stood at 15.84 million at the end of third quarter of 2014, an increase of 72% over the same period a year ago. As stated earlier, Netflix entered 6 new markets in Europe this year and has no intention of slowing down as evident from its announcement to launch in Australia and New Zealand next year. However, this aggressive expansion is coming at a cost. The international segment continues to operate at a loss. Even though the contribution margin for the first nine months of 2014 came in at -9% compared to -44% for the year ago period, the expansion into new countries will put severe stress on this number in the coming quarters. This is primarily due to the lack of operating leverage that Netflix will face in these new markets as the subscriber count will be low in the initial period and many new subscribers will be in the trial phase. Large marketing expenditure in the countries where the service has been recently launched is also unavoidable. All these factors will contribute to a period where the top-line growth will not result in profitability for the international segment of the company. Currently, we are projecting that Netflix's international segment will just about break even in 2015 and will start having positive contribution margin from 2016 onward. It will then stabilize at current domestic levels by the end of our forecast period.

Original Content Is Expensive

The rest is here:
Why We Believe That Netflix Is Still Overvalued

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - The cohesion was instant at Colorado State, even with all the transfers and junior college additions.

Thats because of video game sessions in the locker room after practice. And bowling nights. And movie matinees. And watching fighter Floyd Mayweather Jr.s last bout at the home of guard Gian Clavell, who whipped up his famed Puerto Rican chicken-and-rice dish his mom taught him to make.

The 24th-ranked Rams are a tight-knit group of overlooked vagabonds arriving from the University of Arizona, Navy, North Carolina Central, Northwest Kansas Technical College, Southern Illinois and places in between.

Colorado State possesses an attitude - picked fifth in the Mountain West preseason poll - and a savvy coach in Larry Eustachy who melds the pieces seamlessly together, helping the Rams (12-0) to their best start in school history. Theyre one of eight remaining unbeaten teams heading into a game at New Mexico State on Saturday, but will be without starting center Tiel Daniels (calf) and key reserve Clavell (shoulder) as they stay behind for treatment.

The whole team is filled with chips on their shoulders, said Stanton Kidd, a forward from Baltimore who transferred in from North Carolina Central. Colorado State never gets the respect we deserve. But we dont really care. We just want to win.

Its easy to see why the Rams didnt receive a whole lot of preseason love: They had a largely unknown group.

Sure, senior sharp-shooter Daniel Bejarano was back, along with senior post player J.J. Avila, who played at Navy before his arrival at Colorado State last season. After that, no one really knew much about the Rams ensemble.

But they had three players in Daniels (Southern Illinois), John Gillon (Arkansas-Little Rock) and Stanton who practiced all last year even as they sat out under the NCAA transfer rule. So, they had a built-in familiarity.

Clavell, a junior college arrival from Caguas, Puerto Rico, fit right in as well, holding dinner parties for the team off the court as the team cooked on it.

We dont care who scores the most points or who got the most rebounds, Bejarano said. We have that feel of a brotherhood, of a family. We just find ways to win.

See the article here:
No. 24 Colorado State off to program's best start

OK, this was technically 2008 in gaming... but some faces may be mentioned again.

It may be hard to believe, but on January 1, 2015, we will be halfway through the decade known as the 2010s (the '10s? The teens? The twenty-teens? None of these sound right...). The passage of time being what it is, we guess this moment was inevitable. Still, we're finding it hard to get used to the fact that we're about to be in the second half of the second decade of the "new" millennium.

Mid-decade breaks are a good chance for introspection and retrospection, so we've decided to look back at what the decade so far has brought to the world of gaming. To that end, we asked Ars editors to pick up to five games as personal favorites from the past five years.

For this list, we were looking for games that have stuck with us over the years, the games we've spent countless hours immersed inside, the games we recommend to friends without reservation. These are personal picks that reflect the eclectic and wide-ranging tastes of our individual editors, not necessarily the games that will be regarded as the "best" by the critical establishment. We didn't allow more than two editors to pick any one game to ensure a list that wasn't just a bunch of repetitive selections of the same old titles.

The resulting list, below, is an expansive collection of the game's we'll collectively think about when we fondly look back on the games of the early-post-aughts (nope, that phrasing doesn't work either). With another five years ahead before this decade's a wrap, who knows how many more great titles will stand with these classics on the next such list.

Modern pop-culture loves old pop-culture. Other mediums use this freely (see the rumored Ghostbusters movies for just the latest example) but gaming seems somewhat hesitant. Beyond familiar faces in new places (i.e. Smash Bros.) and endless iterations in on-going series, the idea of an homage doesnt really come into... play. (Sorry.)

Create an opportunity, someone will fill it. Abobos Big Adventure avoided the logistical headaches involved with a remake by going free-for-all online, and the result is a glorious bit of nostalgia. Navigate Abobo (yes, the Double Dragon boss) through level after level of loving NES homageContra, Zelda, Mega Man, Punch-Out!!each requiring you to dust off game-specific skills. Abobos filled with in-jokes, what you remember as difficult still remains difficult (looking at you Balloon Fight), and its all topped off by a tremendous end-game sequence with the best and most-over-the-top call back of them all. Itll take awhile, but this is a worthy timesink down memory lane. -Nathan Mattise

Every game in the Arkham series (with the exception of unworthy "Blackgate" DLC) are fantastic experiences, but Arkham City has to be my favorite because of its great story, sheer length, and scopeit keeps going on and on and on... -Jennifer Hahn

Striking graphics, an astonishing variety of guns, a strong story, an abundance of side missions, compelling characters, good jokes, the occasional tear, and a villain we can all take pleasure in hating: our second visit to Pandora delivers a finely crafted action RPG experience. -Peter Bright

But this entry is underrated in my book. Black Ops 2 showed us that the Call of Duty series had the potential to offer so much more than the narrow, linear gameplay for which the series has become known. Black Ops 2 included a seamlessly branching storyline. Actions taken (or not taken) within the game changed the way the story unfolded, and unusually for this class of game, those actions were not all signposted with quick time events. Instead, they're natural, realistic consequences of actions taken within the game.

See the original post here:
Looking back at the best games of the 2010s (so far)

Sherlock is now available to stream on Netflix UK.

The first two series of the Benedict Cumberbatch series - totalling six 90-minute TV films - have been added for members in the UK and Ireland.

Totalling 14 episodes, series six was the second run to feature Matt Smith as the Doctor and also stars Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill and Alex Kingston.

The streaming service also recently made episodes of Homeland and American Horror Story available to UK members, with the first two seasons of both series now available to stream.

From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series - Why you must watch on Netflix now

Watch a clip from the second series of Sherlock below:

See original here:
Sherlock, new Doctor Who added to Netflix UK

December 23, 2014 - Eastern League (EL) Altoona Curve CURVE, Pa. - The Altoona Curve are pleased to announce front office staff additions and promotions for the upcoming 2015 season. Corey Homan, who has been with the Curve the past three seasons as the Director of Group sales, has been promoted to Director of Ticketing. Isaiah Arpino joins the front office staff full-time in 2015 with the title of Mascot Development/Marketing Coordinator while Jess Knott has been hired as a Ticket Associate.

Homan enters his 11th season in minor league baseball and it will be his first as the Director of Ticketing after spending the past three seasons as the Director of Group Sales. A native of Centre Hall, Homan is in the midst of his second stint with the Curve after rejoining the team in 2012. Homan previously worked for the club from 2003-06 before spending two seasons with the State College Spikes (2006-07). A resident of Altoona, Homan graduated from Penn State with a journalism degree in 1999.

Arpino joins the team's full-time staff for the first time but is no stranger to Peoples Natural Gas Field or the Curve. He previously worked with the team for six seasons as a game day mascot performer during his high school and early college years. Born in Altoona, Arpino recently graduated from Kutztown University with a degree in communication design. He worked as a mascot/marketing intern with the Curve during the 2013 season before spending 2014 touring the minor league baseball circuit with Reggy "The Purple Party Dude" of Bruce Productions.

Knott will come on board for her first season as a full-time front office member in 2015 after spending the 2014 season as a box office intern with the club. On track to graduate from Penn State Altoona in May with a degree in business and a concentration in accounting, Knott began her college career at Lycoming College where she played basketball for two seasons. An Altoona native, Knott graduated from Altoona Area High School in 2010 before venturing into college.

"We're extremely pleased to announce Corey's promotion and the full-time hiring of Isaiah and Jess," said Curve General Manager Rob Egan. "Corey has worked for the Curve for seven of his previous ten minor league seasons, makes great connections with our fans, and is a leader-by-example whom our younger staff members learn from on a continual basis. Isaiah is tremendously talented as a performer, graphic designer, and marketer. He got a jump on his career here during high school and has continued to build his skills both inside and outside of our organization. Jess got her first experience in baseball with the Curve last season and will be a great addition to our staff as she focuses on special group outings and programs like our Field of Dreams and Ritchey's Dairy Curve Kids' Club. On top of their job attributes, Corey, Isaiah, and Jess are all area natives."

Season tickets, mini plans and flex books (presented by DelGrosso's Amusement Park) for the 2015 season are all on sale now. For more information on plans and group rates for the 2015 season, please visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the Curve front office at Peoples Natural Gas Field during normal business hours.

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Curve Announce Front Office Staff Additions and Promotions for 2015

Jenna Brayton December 23, 2014 11:08 AM EST

This year, you can interact with the White House holiday decorations!

This year, technology is playing a big role in creating the holiday experience at the White House. One of the newest additions to the annual White House Holiday tour is an interactive digital snowscape that allows visitors to become a part of the festive display of Holiday decorations.

The interactive installation captures visitors movements, showing them projected on the wall as a flurry of snowflakes in a serene winter wonderland full of holiday trees, a snow-covered ground, and snowflakes. As visitors enter the East Wing of the White House and walk through Book Sellers, they can quickly recognize their own outline in the scene projected on the wall. The shapes that the display captures then drive several types of immersive interactive displays, where participants manipulate the images just by moving their hands and bodies. The more a visitor moves, the more sparkly effects in the snow will appear, encouraging visitors to continue to interact.

But how does it work exactly?

The interactive digital snowscape works by using sensors and computers to capture movement. Specifically, small, depth-sensing cameras along with several computers sit in a projector and allow people to use their own bodies to generate images on the wall. The computers in the digital interactive display are small but powerful -- they are used to run custom software that generates graphics for the display. The computers run software called OpenGL an application programing interface that supports 2D and 3D graphics.

Additionally, to create all the images that a visitor sees on the wall, projectors work together with the computers to display the virtual snowscape that people are placed in. The projectors use the images generated in real time, and project those images onto the virtual landscape. Visitors to the White House are able to see the virtual snowscape as clearly as they are because it was created using 3D modeling and rendering tools.

To see how it really works, check out the interactive displays plans, below!

(by Second Story, a part of Sapient Nitro, of Portland, Oregon)

And, check out 2014 White House holiday visitors walking by and interacting with the snowscape.

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How Did We Do That? The White House Digital Holiday Decorations