Quit watching Olympics on the job, LA workers told

By Samantha Tata and Angie Crouch, NBCLosAngeles.com

The Olympics are more than 5,000 miles away from Southern California, but they?re affecting the way Los Angeles does business ? so much, in fact, that LA?s chief technology officer has implored city employees stop watching the games at work for fear of cyber chaos in City Hall.

"We are experiencing a high volume of traffic due to people watching the Olympics online. I respectfully request that you discontinue this as it is impacting city operations," Randi Levin wrote in an email sent to employees Tuesday.

Olympic fans ? and addicts ? can stream the games live online, which is apparently taking its toll on municipal bandwidth and slowing down the city's computer network.

Team USA has been well-represented on the podium, scoring 23 medals so far to tie with China.

Among those decorated athletes are several Southern California stars ? including beach volleyball legends Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, and gymnastics phenoms McKayla Maroney and Kyla Ross.

The email to city employees came the same day Diamond Bar?s Alex Morgan was to take the field with the U.S. women?s soccer team, and the women?s gymnastics team was looking to strike gold for the first time since 1996.

Several people at LA?Live on Tuesday night said they don't think employees should be discouraged from catching a glimpse of the games at work, saying Americans work hard the rest of the year and deserve to see their country in action.

Related:?Nothing gets done in August (and that's OK)

"I don?t know if people are actually going to obey that rule at work. I mean, this is the Olympics. This is a big deal," said one man.

But bosses seem to have a different understanding. FedEx manager Anthony Butler says watching sports on the job is bad for business.

"I don?t have an edict, but it?s kind of an understanding that TV-watching at work is not appropriate," he said.

Time spent watching the Olympics online could cost U.S. companies $650 million. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

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Source: http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/01/13072929-quit-watching-olympics-on-the-job-la-workers-told?lite

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Guys who like My Little Pony gather for 'BronyCon'

SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) ? Dale Fjordbotten is a proud "My Little Pony" fan, with the shiny blue body suit and yellow lightning bolt, blue wings and blue tail to prove it.

Like many "Bronies" ? boys and men who like the cartoon "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic"? the 25-year-old college student turned out over the weekend for "BronyCon Summer 2012" at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, which drew 4,000 men, women, boys and girls, many in colorful wigs and costumes.

"I thought about what people would say. 'It's creepy. It's weird. It's a ... show for little girls,'" said Fjordbotten, from Staten Island, N.Y. "It's just a great show ... the story line, the plot, the beautiful animation."

Bronies say they're a misunderstood lot who've gotten a bad rap from the media. They're all about the show, friendship, love and tolerance, and they have no bad intentions, they say.

"I discovered that there's nothing to be ashamed of being a Brony," said 19-year-old James Penna of Mastic in Long Island, N.Y. "People are into what they're into."

Outside the convention center, young men danced and sang along with songs from My Little Pony cartoon that blasted from loud speakers as a video screen on a large truck showed the show's characters. One observer said it almost felt like a Grateful Dead concert.

Inside, vendors sold stuffed ponies, pony accessories, pony signs, pony hats and just about every pony item imaginable. Stars who do the show's voices signed autographs and gave speeches.

Staff appeared to be a little overwhelmed at times. It was just over a year ago when BronyCon attracted about 100 people to some meeting rooms in New York City. Now there are thousands of Bronies across the country.

Hasbro released the first My Little Pony toys in 1983, and they led to television specials, a film and the first TV series from 1986 to 1987.

The brand stuck around through the years. But along came animator Lauren Faust, who was hired by Hasbro and sparked new life to My Little Pony when she created the "Friendship is Magic" series.

Faust had worked on "The Powerpuff Girls" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" before dreaming up the land of Equestria, where My Little Pony characters like Twilight Sparkle, Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie get into all kinds of adventures.

Faust told The Associated Press at BronyCon on Saturday that she never imagined the show would be such a hit with teenage boys and young men. She said her main target was little girls, but she hoped to draw in moms and perhaps some boys with strong characters and compelling story lines.

"We live in a society where saying that something is for girls is the equivalent to saying that something is stupid, or saying that something isn't worthwhile," Faust said.

"I think that's awful and I think that kind of attitude needs to be changed," she said. "And these men are doing it. ... They're proud that they're forward-thinking and modern enough to look past this misogynistic attitude."

Faust said she, like the Bronies, is disturbed at the negative images some people have about men who like the show.

"There are a lot of people who when they first hear about men watching a show for little girls, they're taken to a creepy place," she said. "They think there's something wrong with that, something devious about it. I think that's unfortunate.

"I don't think you have to have bad intentions to like little girls or to like the things that they like," Faust said. "And it's upsetting to me that people jump to those conclusions. I think it's unfair to men and I think it's unfair to girls and women."

To set the record straight about Bronies, Faust, John de Lancie and others are producing a documentary that filmed over the weekend at BronyCon. De Lancie is the voice of Discord on "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" and is perhaps best known for playing "Q'' on "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Zac North traveled from his hometown of Dayton, Ohio, to be with fellow Bronies in New Jersey this weekend. He dressed as his favorite character, the antagonistic Discord, wearing a hooded and multicolored costume complete with a dragon tail, since Discord is a pony-dragon hybrid.

Why does he like the show?

"It's colorful and innocent, which is something I don't have in my life," the 26-year-old Sam's Club worker said. "I like the community away from the show."

Twenty-year-old My Little Pony fan Gabby Pantaloni of Hershey, Pa., said she was kind of shocked that so many guys like the show, as she stood in a line at BronyCon to get her picture taken with other enthusiasts dressed like her favorite character Rarity.

"After watching the show, I could see why anyone of any age would like it," she said. "I think it just makes us all feel like kids again. Some of us are afraid of growing up. We're all just kids at heart."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/guys-little-pony-gather-bronycon-160957992.html

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Public workers say organized labor is at a turning point

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Gillmor Gang: What Are You, Four?

The Gillmor Gang ? Danny Sullivan, Dan Farber, Dan Taschek, and Dan Gillmor ? no, that's not right. Steve Gillmor, Steve Taschek... No. Without Scoble, we have little time to get to the point, which this week is Google's Do As Much Evil as Possible Tour. @dannysullivan returns with a 20 minute diatribe on paid inclusion, whatever that means. ? Without Kevin Marks, we have to fend for ourselves until @stevegillmor picks a fight about Google's war with Apple and its consequences for Google +. In rebuttal, Danny ends up proving @stevegillmor even more right than usual. Hovering just off camera is the sense that with all this talent and possibility, shouldn't these guys work together as they did when the disruption began? Hey, how old are you anyway?

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Obama to announce crackdown on oil market manipulation

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Mali coup leaders partially reopen airport

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mali-coup-leaders-partially-reopen-airport-163305188.html

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Cheap Epoxy Flooring Coatings | My Home Improvement Tips

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Jessie J sings that she just needs to make the world dance and that we should overlook in regards to the price ticket, which you can do if you?re looking at epoxy flooring coatings which might be easy enough for dancing, inexpensive to install and have great insulating and anti slip properties.

Epoxy flooring prices a fraction the price of other types of flooring but affords a far better surface that may?TechArt USA usually tell its own story. For instance, flooring portray can present steerage to guests in a constructing such as a hospital the place completely different colored strains are painted for folks to comply with to the varied departments. Hazards can be highlighted in locations the place limitations would simply be a nuisance resembling across the fringe of the pit in a car restore service center.

Arduous, durable and versatile are the important thing parts that have ensured the success of epoxy flooring over the last few decades. The flexibility comes in two types: the flooring will be laid so that it seals around tough-shaped objects such as a pillar but additionally it is versatile when hardened in that if a hard object lands on it, comparable to a crate falling off a excessive shelf, the resin dissipates the impression across the floor serving to to insure that there is no such thing as a harm to the surface resin; whereas, the identical affect on a concrete floor would chip or crack the surface. If there is damage, then the epoxy ground can simply be repaired.

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The insulating properties of epoxy Industrial Flooring Coatings can turn a chilly environment into a snug place to work. For instance, the epoxy floors seal proper to the edges of a constructing helping to make sure that chilly air and damp don?t come via into the working environment. For people walking round a warehouse all day, the sleek texture of the ground makes it a simple place to work and if there is a vehicle in use resembling a forklift truck, or a tow truck in an aircraft hangar, then it could actually move round with out causing unnecessary vibration for the driver.

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If a liquid is spilled on an epoxy resin floor, the anti-slip properties of the resin flooring retain security, which many other kinds of floors can?t, even when a liquid is cleaned up. Nonetheless, if extra grip is required on a sloped area, then the flooring might be ribbed to ensure that vehicles can transfer round with out slipping.

Instances to go well with you

Flexibility in terms of the choice of colors of the resin and ease with which floor portray may be undertaken are complemented by flexibility when it comes to implementation. Most organizations can?t afford lengthy non-productive periods, which is why the best of the epoxy provide companies set up new flooring at instances to swimsuit shoppers such as at evening and over weekends. In other words, flexibility for clients comes in some ways and all to provide a floor that?s optimum for its intended job.

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This post is written by Jesse Green 8.

Source: http://www.cbsrem.com/cheap-epoxy-flooring-coatings/

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