Saturday, February 2, 2013

Villa Marvillosa, the perfect family home?

Luxury villa for sale on Costa Blanca

Finding the perfect family home in Spain can be surprisingly difficult ? if you are looking for somewhere that has character, is well located, private, fully reformed (to a luxurious standard) and suitable for children.

This may seem an odd assertion but look around and you will see that many properties for sale in Spain are on anaemic new estates with an elderly or second home demographic.? To make matters worse, these properties (however luxurious) tend to have small plots and are not located close to schools and services.? Frequently, they have, more or less, a uniform design and minimal accommodation, something that is far from desirable for family life.

Of course, there are exceptions to the general rule.? One is the house of a friend of mine, located close to the vibrant town of Gandia in Valencia Province.? Certainly, it deserves close attention, if you are looking for a Spanish property that is truly exceptional ? and it represents, to my mind, the best luxury family home for sale in Spain (and I have seen hundreds!).

So, what makes this gorgeous villa so different and so perfect?

Well there are four principal reasons:

1.?? It is a very substantial property, comprising some 843m2(!) of build on a 4,439m2 urbano plot.

There are six double bedroom suites (including a vast master bedroom suite) and a separate one bedroom apartment.? The property also has a games room, library, television room, huge main living area, a dining room and study ? so, there is ample space for entertaining, working, relaxing and, of course, for children to play.

As you would expect, the kitchen is very large, open plan and ideal for either family use or the preparation of food for large parties.? It is also perfectly located beside the dining room, whilst having direct access out to the terrace beside the swimming pool.

Fabulous villa for sale Gandia area

The swimming pool is completely private and very large (15m x 5m!) and has a diving board and salt water cleaning system.? It is a heated pool with an automatic pool cover (essential when small children are around) and a 5m x 2m Jacuzzi with water jets!

The house also has a massive garage with a gym area, workbench and room for three cars ? with an additional storage room.

2.?? The property has a superb and very large (4,439m2) private plot that is not overlooked by any other houses.? This is important, of course, but, gloriously, the plot is mature and blessed with many mature and productive fruit trees, extensive flower beds, a vegetable garden and an extensive area laid to lawn.? The garden is fully irrigated and even has a practice area for golf!

Meanwhile, high fences and hedges surround the garden and make it completely secure, allowing your children and any animals to roam freely and safely.

Villa of your dreams for sale Gandia, Spain

3.? The villa is located just outside Gandia and has a wonderful position that overlooks the verdant citrus groves of La Safor.? The sea forms a glorious visual boundary to one side of the property with, to the other, dramatic mountains that rise steeply up from the surrounding land.

In fact, one of the delights of the villa is that the fantastic beaches of La Safor are little more than a ten minute drive away, whilst an equivalent journey takes you into the mountains and superb walking in totally unspoilt wilderness areas.? These are also great for mountain biking, rock climbing and bird watching.

Perhaps, most importantly, the villa is within five minutes? drive of a first class, private Spanish school which takes pupils from kindergarten age all the way through to Bachillerato (UK ?A? Level equivalent).? The children of the owners go to this school and can confirm that the school works well and provides a sound and loving education.? Meanwhile, an international school is located in nearby Alzira in which the British curriculum is taught ? should you wish your children to have an English speaking education.

Beautiful 6 bedroom villa for sale Costa Blanca

Gandia, of course, is well known as a remarkably well connected town.? It is only 50 minutes? drive (or train ride) to Valencia City and its international airport and is close to two excellent golf courses located at Oliva Nova and Carcaixent (Gandia has a nine hole course and a tennis club).? The town has fine restaurants, hundreds of bars and cafes and all the shops (big and small) that you could possibly need for day to day living.? Indeed, the infrastructure surrounding the villa is very fine and you can obtain anything you need with ease.

4.? The villa has been extensively (and very tastefully) reformed by the current owners, who have spared no expense in making sure that the property is in immaculate condition, with all the fixtures and fittings of the highest quality.

luxury-villa-for-sale-Costa-Blanca  1108clf 4

It also goes without saying that this property is fully legal and has the full range of services that you would expect with regard to mains water, electricity and land line telephone lines (with ADSL).

So, can you find somewhere better?

I rather doubt it, frankly, and I have seen thousands of properties in Spain.

So, if you want a luxurious family property in Spain ? one that has a wonderful atmosphere and one that has everything that you could possibly desire ? then La Masia is surely for you!

Luxury villa for sale Gandia

For more specific details about this unique property do have a look below and, if you are interested in further information, then please do not hesitate to contact me?

DETAILS OF THE BEST FAMILY HOME FOR SALE IN SPAIN!

Plot size: 4,439m2

Constructed area: 843m2

Usable living space: 473m2

Original build date: 1985

Price: 1,495,000 Euros

?Accommodation

*?? Master bedroom suite: large triple aspect main bedroom with views to the sea, large walk-in dressing room, large double aspect bathroom with spa-size bath, two ceiling-mounted showers, twin sinks, separate WC.

*?? A further 5 bedroom suites, all double size bedrooms with walk-in closets and separate bathrooms with bath and shower.

*?? Open plan kitchen/breakfast room with fully equipped modern kitchen: island with induction hob, two ovens, microwave, steam oven, heating drawer, fridge, freezer, wine fridge. Ample cupboard space including larder cupboards.

*?? Separate laundry with washing machine and drier.

*?? Games room.

*?? Library with floor-to-ceiling fitted shelving and wood-burning stove.

*?? Television room with wood-burning stove.

*?? Double-height main living area with gallery and main fireplace.

*?? Dining room with fitted glass cabinets.

*?? Study with floor-to-ceiling fitted cupboards and bookshelves

*?? Massive garage with gym area, workbench, room for three cars. Additional separate storage room.

*?? Separate basement apartment with large bedroom, bathroom and open plan kitchen/living area and french windows opening onto the garden.

*?? Pool bathroom with shower and WC.

Outside

*?? Extensive terraces with views to the mountains and the sea, covered pool-side seating area, paella house, washing house with retractable roof, two garden storage casitas, automatic entrance gates.

*?? 15m x 5m swimming pool with diving board. Salt water cleaning system. Automatic pool cover. 5m x 2m Jacuzzi pool with water jets. Pool heating system.

*?? Garden: irrigation system, extensive lawn area, many mature and productive fruit trees, extensive mature flower beds.

FOR MORE DETAILS PLEASE

CONTACT ME

?

Source: http://casalasafor.com/2013/02/villa-marvillosa-the-perfect-family-home/

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Burger King UK finds horse DNA in patties

LONDON (Reuters) - Fast food chain Burger King said traces of horse DNA were found in samples of patties from a food-processing plant in Ireland but that the meat never reached its eateries.

"Four samples recently taken from the Silvercrest plant have shown the presence of very small trace levels of equine DNA. This product was never sold to our restaurants," the company said in a statement on Thursday.

"They promised to deliver 100 percent British and Irish beef patties and have not done so."

Burger King previously dropped the firm, which had been approved to supply burgers to its restaurants in Britain, Ireland and Denmark.

Traces of horse DNA were found in beef burgers sold by supermarkets Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland.

"We are deeply troubled by the findings of our investigation and apologise to our guests, who trust us to source only the highest quality 100 percent beef burgers. Our supplier has failed us and in turn we have failed you." said Burger King's vice president of global quality, Diego Beamonte.

The Miami-based chain said its investigation showed the source of the Silvercrest contamination was the same non-approved Polish supplier identified by the Irish department of agriculture.

Food safety experts said horse meat poses no added health risks to consumers, but the discovery has raised concerns about the food supply chain and the ability to trace meat ingredients.

(Reporting By Costas Pitas)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/burger-king-uk-finds-horse-dna-patties-003212392--finance.html

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NASA Launches Next-Generation Communication Satellite | Majic ...

Home?>?News?>?NASA Launches Next-Generation?Communication?Satellite

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ? The first of NASA?s three next-generation
Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), known as TDRS-K, launched

at 8:48 p.m. EST Wednesday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in

Florida.


?TDRS-K bolsters our network of satellites that provides essential

communications to support space exploration,? said Badri Younes,

deputy associate administrator for Space Communications and

Navigation at NASA Headquarters in Washington. ?It will improve the

overall health and longevity of our system.?


The TDRS system provides tracking, telemetry, command and

high-bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human

exploration missions orbiting Earth. These include the International

Space Station and NASA?s Hubble Space Telescope.


?With this launch, NASA has begun the replenishment of our aging space

network,? said Jeffrey Gramling, TDRS project manager. ?This addition

to our current fleet of seven will provide even greater capabilities

to a network that has become key to enabling many of NASA?s

scientific discoveries.?


For more information about TDRS, click here.


Top News Stories of?2012

Tags: generation > launch > nasa > next > satellite

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Source: http://myhoustonmajic.com/2912080/nasa-launches-next-generation-communication-satellite/

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Friday, February 1, 2013

Lewis says he's 'agitated,' not angry, about story

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Ray Lewis is "agitated."

Not because the Baltimore Ravens linebacker thinks the magazine report linking him to a company that purports to make performance-enhancers will affect his play or that of his teammates against the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl ? the final game of a 17-year NFL career that most assume will earn him a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Rather, Lewis did not want to spend time discussing the subject in private with his head coach or in public with the media, as he did Wednesday, when his forceful denials ? and attacks on the owner of the supplement company ? meant the matter intruded for a second consecutive day on his retirement send-off.

"It's so funny of a story, because I never, ever took what he says or whatever I was supposed to do. And it's just sad, once again, that someone can have this much attention on a stage this big, where the dreams are really real," Lewis said, wearing his white No. 52 Ravens jersey, gray sweat pants and a black hat with the team's purple logo. "I don't need it. My teammates don't need it. The 49ers don't need it. Nobody needs it."

He smiled widely when the first question at his media session was about the topic ? surely, he figured it was coming ? then chuckled later while addressing it. Known for his frequent references to God and faith, Lewis called the whole episode a "joke" and a "trick of the devil," adding that he told teammates: "Don't let people from the outside ever come and try to disturb what's inside."

Sports Illustrated reported Tuesday that Lewis sought help from a company called Sports With Alternatives To Steroids (SWATS), which says its deer-antler spray and pills contain a naturally occurring banned product connected to human growth hormone. The 37-year-old Lewis, the MVP of the 2001 Super Bowl, is the leading tackler in the NFL postseason after returning from a torn right triceps that sidelined him for 10 games.

SI reported that company owner Mitch Ross recorded a call with Lewis hours after the player hurt his arm in an October game against Dallas. According to the report, Lewis asked Ross to send him deer-antler spray and pills, along with other items made by the company.

On Wednesday, Lewis called Ross a coward and said he "has no credibility."

Ross declined an interview request from The Associated Press but emailed a statement reading: "It is the view of SWATS and Mitch Ross that the timing of information was unfortunate and misleading and was in no way intended to harm any athlete. We have always been about aiding athletes to heal faster and participate at an optimum level of play in a lawful and healthy manner. We never encourage the use of harmful supplements and/or dangerous drugs."

Told by a reporter that he seemed angry, Lewis replied: "Me? Never angry. I'm too blessed to be stressed. Nah. You're not angry. You can use a different word. You can use the word 'agitated,' because I'm here to win the Super Bowl. I'm not here to entertain somebody that does not affect that one way or another."

Christopher Key, a co-owner of SWATS, said in a telephone interview that the company removed NFL players' endorsements from its website because "all the players were given letters by the NFL two years ago saying they had to cease and desist and could not continue to do business with us anymore."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed that but did not respond to other requests for comment about SWATS or Lewis' involvement.

Teammates uniformly pushed the same message as Lewis and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh ? "Everybody heard about it, but we're not worried about it," is the way rookie running back Bernard Pierce put it ? and several said NFL players often are offered products to aid in muscle-building or recovery.

"You've got to be real careful. You've got to think there's a reason they're giving you this product," Pierce said. "If someone has success, another person wants to be mentioned in that ? like, 'Oh, I'm the reason for that.' If anybody tries to give me anything or tries to sell me on their stuff, I say, 'Go right to my agent.'"

Wary of using something that has no real benefit ? or, worse, that would result in a positive drug test administered by the league ? players seek approval first from the NFL, the union, or a team trainer or doctor.

"I've been approached," Baltimore nose tackle Ma'ake Kemoeatu said. "They'll come to me and they tell me, 'This will help you with recovery and all that.' I say, 'OK. I appreciate it.' And then I will call the NFL."

Another athlete mentioned in the SI story, three-time golf major champion Vijay Singh, released a statement Wednesday at the Phoenix Open, acknowledging he used deer-antler spray and saying he wasn't aware that it may contain a substance banned by the PGA Tour.

Sports Illustrated reported that when it spoke to Lewis for its story, he acknowledged asking Ross for "some more of the regular stuff" on the night of the injury and that he has been associated with the company "for a couple years."

Lewis' stance was different Wednesday.

"He told me there's nothing to it. ... He's told us in the past, he's told us now, that he's never taken any of that stuff, ever," Harbaugh said. "And I believe Ray. I trust Ray completely. We have a relationship. I know this man. And I know what he's all about. It's just too bad it has to be something that gets so much play."

While Lewis did face a handful of questions about SWATS, plus some on-field topics, he never had to deal Wednesday with a single reference to a dark chapter in his life: He pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in connection with the stabbing deaths of two men after a Super Bowl party at an Atlanta nightclub in 2000.

"We all in here have a past. You know? But how many people actually dwell into it? You know? Nah, it ain't about your past. It's about your future," Lewis said in response to a question about keeping focused on Sunday's game.

"And for me and my teammates, I promise you, we have a strong group of men that we don't bend too much, and we keep pushing forward. So it's not a distraction at all for us," he said, raising a clenched fist.

"The trick of the devil is to kill, steal and destroy. That's what he comes to do. He comes to distract you from everything you're trying to do. There's no man ever trained as hard as our team has trained. There's no man that's went through what we went through," Lewis said. "So to give somebody credit that doesn't deserve credit, that would be a slap in the face for everything we went through."

Asked about deer-antler spray, 49ers tight end Vernon Davis' take was, "I don't think Ray would take any substance."

Carlos Rogers, a San Francisco cornerback, chuckled when asked about it and what effect the headlines could have on the Ravens.

"I don't think they'll get a distraction. I don't know what to make of that. I heard it was something that can't be detected. They can't test (for) it, anyway," Rogers said. "Him saying that he's never failed a test, he probably hasn't failed a test for what they test for."

Boasting that "you will never fail a drug test from taking our product," SWATS co-owner Key said the company has sold its products to more than 20 college football players each at Southeastern Conference schools Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, LSU and Georgia.

Alabama has sent two cease-and-desist letters to SWATS, university spokeswoman Debbie Lane said, adding: "UA has been aware of this situation for some time, and we have monitored this company for several years." Auburn and LSU representatives also said they have asked the company to stay away from students.

___

AP Sports Writer John Zenor in Tuscaloosa, Ala., contributed to this report.

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lewis-says-hes-agitated-not-angry-story-194400446--nfl.html

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13 Former West Texas Prison Employees Indicted for Accepting Bribes

U.S. Department of Justice Press Release:

Federal authorities arrested 12 former Ector County Correctional Center (ECCC) guards and one former ECCC employee this morning for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for smuggling contraband to inmates inside the federal detention facility announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Mark Morgan, El Paso Division.

The defendants are individually named in 13 federal grand jury indictments returned on January 23, 2013, and unsealed today. The indictments allege that during 2011 and 2012, the correctional officers, as well as Barbara Garrett, a food service worker, smuggled in contraband to inmates, including cell phones and chargers as well as tobacco and marijuana, in exchange for cash in knowing violation of their official duties. Those indicted and arrested include:

  • Jovanna Marie Olivarez, age 21, of Odessa

  • Matthew Ryan Williams, age 20, of Odessa

  • Dennis Earl Newsome, age 63, of Austin, TX

  • Charlette Smith, age 46, of Odessa

  • Nancy Torres Morales, age 36, of Odessa

  • Valerie Ann Arenivas, age 22, of Odessa

  • Gabriel Angel Navarette, age 23, of Odessa

  • Jennifer Armida Lopez, age 25, of Odessa

  • Jessica Lucia Smith, age 33, of Monahans, TX

  • Jazmine Desiree Cruz, age 19, of Odessa

  • Jonathon Wayne Meza, age 29, of Odessa

  • Barbara Jean Garrett, age 52, of Andrews, TX

  • Ashley Dawn Clark, age 29, of Crane, TX.

Each defendant is charged with one count of accepting a bribe. Upon conviction, each defendant faces up to 15 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.

This case was investigated by agents with Federal Bureau of Investigation together with investigators from the Odessa Police Department and the Ector County Sheriff's Office along with cooperation from the United States Marshals Service and ECCC. Assistant United States Attorney John Klassen is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.

?

An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

?

Source: http://www.kwes.com/story/20848488/13-former-west-texas-prison-employees-indicted-for-accepting-bribes

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Researchers unveil first artificial enzyme created by evolution in a test tube

Thursday, January 31, 2013

There's a wobbly new biochemical structure in Burckhard Seelig's lab at the University of Minnesota that may resemble what enzymes looked like billions of years ago, when life on earth began to evolve ? long before they became ingredients for new and improved products, from detergents to foods and fuels.

Seelig created the fledgling enzyme by using directed evolution in the laboratory. Working with colleague Gianluigi Veglia, graduate student Fa-An Chao, and other team members, he subsequently determined its structure, which made its debut December 9 as an advance online publication in Nature Chemical Biology. Lab tests show that the enzyme (a type of RNA ligase, which connects two RNA molecules) functions like natural enzymes although its structure looks very different and it is flexible rather than rigid. Seelig speculates the new protein resembles primordial enzymes, before their current structures evolved.

Seelig and Veglia are professors in the College of Biological Sciences, where Fa-An Chao is a graduate student. Both faculty members have appointments in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics and Seelig is member of the BioTechnology Institute.

While a handful of groups worldwide are developing artificial enzymes, they use rational design to construct the proteins on computers. Instead, the Seelig lab employs directed evolution. "To my knowledge, our enzyme is the only entirely artificial enzyme created in a test tube by simply following the principles of natural selection and evolution," he says.

Rational enzyme design relies on preconceived notions of what a new enzyme should look like and how it should function. In contrast, directed evolution involves producing a large quantity of candidate proteins and screening several generations to produce one with the desired function. With this approach, the outcome isn't limited by current knowledge of enzyme structure.

"Just as in nature, only the fittest survive after each successive generation," Seelig explains. The process continues until it produces an enzyme that efficiently catalyzes a desired biochemical reaction. In this case, the new enzyme joins two pieces of RNA together.

"It's kind of like giving typewriters to monkeys," he says. "One monkey and one typewriter won't produce anything clever. But if you have enough monkeys and typewriters, eventually one of them will write 'to be or not to be'." The lottery provides another analogy. "If you buy more tickets, you're more likely to win," Seelig says.

Like all proteins, the new RNA ligase enzyme is a chain of amino acids folded into a 3D structure, but the resemblance stops there. Natural enzymes, like all proteins, are made from alpha helices and beta strands. Seelig's artificial enzyme lacks those structures. Instead, it forms around two metal ions and is not rigid. "Compared to enzymes we know from nature, the artificial enzyme has a rather unusual structure and dynamics," Seelig says.

For decades, naturally occurring enzymes have been tweaked by industry to make industrial processes and products more effective. The ability to create enzymes from scratch using a natural process opens the door to a vast array of new products that provide business opportunities and improve quality of life without harmful environmental effects.

Going forward, Seelig plans to create enzymes with useful applications while he continues to explore the underlying basic science of enzyme structure and function, aiming to learn more about the origin of enzymes and how proteins evolve.

"Enzymes have always fascinated me," he says. "It's rewarding to do work that has practical applications yet provides the opportunity to better understand how life on earth evolved."

###

University of Minnesota: http://www.umn.edu

Thanks to University of Minnesota 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.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126548/Researchers_unveil_first_artificial_enzyme_created_by_evolution_in_a_test_tube

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