Philosophers have argued for centuries, millennia actually, about whether our lives are guided by our own free will or are predetermined as the result of a continuous chain of events over which we have no control. On the one hand, it seems like everything that happens has come kind of causal explanation; on the other hand, when we make decisions, it seems to us like we have the free will to make different decisions. Most people seem to favor free will, and while many, across a range of cultures, reject what is referred to as determinism, they remain conflicted over ...

When combined with on-Oahu wind farms and solar energy, the Interisland Wind project planned to bring 400 megawatts (MW) of wind power from Molokai and Lanai to Oahu could reliably supply more than 25% of Oahu's projected electricity demand, according to the Oahu Wind Integration Study (OWIS). For the purposes of the research project, the OWIS released today studied the impact on the Oahu grid of a total of 500 MW of wind energy and a nominal 100 MW of solar power, though a good deal more utility-scale and customer-sited solar power is expected on Oahu. The study ...

Starting February 16, 2011, New York State is increasing the penalty for using a cell phone while driving, an initiative supported by New York personal injury lawyer David Perecman. There will be two driver penalty points, in addition to the fine of $100 for violations of the cell phone law. "This could mean more fines and court appearances for drivers who refuse to stop talking on a cell phone while driving, or texting while driving in New York, and the hope is that drivers will think harder before they use a cell phone or text while driving in New York," personal injury ...

More than half of the world's population now lives in cities, yet we know little about how urbanization affects biodiversity. In one the first studies of its kind, ecologists in Indianapolis, USA have used 70 year-old dried plant specimens to track the impact of increasing urbanization on plants. The results are published this week in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Ecology. Lead by Dr Rebecca Dolan, director of the Friesner Herbarium, Butler University, the team examined 2,800 dried plants collected around Indianapolis before 1940 and compared these with ...

Cases of police and prosecutorial misconduct continuously pop up in the media. Television stations report stories of defendants wrongfully convicted who serve years in prison for crimes they didn't commit. Luckily, the law says that defendants in certain situations who are erroneously sent to prison can seek compensation in civil court for constitutional violations or illegal procedures committed by overzealous prosecutors. But, obtaining legal recourse in these instances isn't as easy as it sounds. In most cases, state actors acting in their official capacity are immune ...

In the wake of last year's rejection of damages caps under Illinois law, recently introduced federal legislation seeks to limit non-economic damages in nursing home negligence and medical malpractice claims while reducing the statute of limitations. Yet again, some politicians choose to ignore the evidence that such measures have a negligible effect on overall costs while drastically curtailing individual legal rights. The Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011 (H.R. 5), introduced in January, would also restrict liability in cases ...

NH Hotels, the Spanish hotel company leader, and AMResorts, the North American hotel company, have signed a strategic agreement to develop a new formula of collaboration which will join together their commercialisation activities, brand management and hotel management. The pilot plan for this alliance will be implemented in two NH hotels in Dominican Republic, both located in Bavaro Beach (Punta Cana). From the 1st of May, the NH Royal Beach and NH Real Arena will be operated by NH, but under AMResorts' luxury brands Secrets Resorts & Spas and Now Resorts & Spas. AMResorts ...

Pat Vitucci, a Bay area independent financial advisor, and KGO Radio host Len Tillem*, a Bay area estate planning attorney, will launch a "virtual seminar" available to the public through the KGO Radio website. The 1 hour financial seminar covering numerous financial topics from retirement planning and asset allocation strategies to estate planning and tax strategies, will be available beginning Friday, April 1st at noon through Sunday, April 3rd. Anyone can view the event on their own time starting on the KGO Radio home page. "Len and I have done financial seminars ...

IT professionals are optimistic about their prospects in the job market, according to new research by leading job site, reed.co.uk. Three quarters of IT workers believe they'll be offered the jobs that they want within the next six months, with the same proportion predicting that a growth in technology will give the UK's job market a boost this year. High application levels and competition for new jobs were seen by the 500 respondents as the biggest challenges for landing a new role, whilst more than three quarters said that holding the right professional qualifications ...

Award-winning leisure airline Monarch is boosting its services to the Eastern Med this summer, with the launch of new scheduled flights to Bodrum in Turkey and the Greek island of Corfu from May. Find cheap flights now via www.monarch.co.uk with fares starting from only GBP68.99 one way including all taxes and charges. The new Eastern Med flights will also be joined by a host of additional services to some of Monarch's key European hotspots across the Balearic and Canary Islands plus Cyprus. The new and additional flights for summer 2011 include: - *NEW* Luton - ...

Most popular for their easy to use interface, and user friendly cashier; RTG also offers the most comprehensive list of slot games with intriguing bonus features, and engaging themes. Slot machines are the most popular game in the industry, and Realtime Gaming recognized this and offers new games to their players on a frequent basis. Unlike many of their competitors, RTG casinos accept USA players. All of their slot machines have interactive bonus features, colorful and vibrant graphics and many have themes much like the slots you would find on a Vegas casino floor. ...

Unique Gifts and Decor, Inc. announced that it is carrying a new line of eco friendly unique gifts and home decor products. The products are made from a revolutionary new compound called CompoClay. Don Oppenheim, vice president, stated: "We are very excited about this. These products fit in perfectly with our theme of offering truly unique gift and home decor products. CompoClay enables us to make a positive contribution to the environment while affording us the opportunity to offer our customers a beautiful, unique new line of products." CompoClay is made from ...

Once reserved only for the rich and famous, a true Fashion Week experience is now open to travelers visiting Ohio's capital city. Experience Columbus has teamed up with the Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) and the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel to offer a one-of-a-kind Fashionista Getaway Package. CCAD, recently named one of the top 20 fashion design schools in the world, will host its annual Fashion Show on Friday May 13. Nearly two dozen up-and-coming design students will showcase their collections at the glitzy event, which is a perennial sellout. These ...

Global Vision Technologies (GVT), a leader in human services software for child welfare and social services, and Rowland Family Resource Center of La Puente, California officially announced the implementation of FAMCare, GVT's child welfare software platform. FAMCare will be used to help Rowland deliver and track a vast array of services they provide to the children, parents and families in the Rowland Unified School District. The Family Resource Center offers a variety of no-cost programs and services to children, youth, and families who reside in the communities served ...

There's no better way for travelers to immerse themselves in a new destination than to soak up the local way of life through its cuisine and culture. Mansfield, Ohio offers travelers a chance to check out some of the most unique and unusual museum collections in the nation. From a walk through fire service history to meeting the world's first robot, the north central Ohio region offers some of the most extraordinary and rare museum experiences. Travelers can find complete information on Mansfield and its museums at www.MansfieldTourism.com or by calling (800) 642-8282. ...

The success of the iPad and other tablet PC's is being received as a much needed boost for the publishing industry. Newspapers and magazines have seen sales and advertising revenues fall during the last decade, however the new platforms and subscriber models will allow publishers to reach new audiences and increase advertising income. However the impact on the printing industry is far less clear. Will the increased interest in digital content, create a parallel interest in the printed counterparts? Or could this spell a further decline in an already uncertain trading ...

HerAgenda.com collaborated with Triple L Society to develop the new "No one Ever Slows Her Agenda" tee shirts. The goal with selling the shirts is to raise money for the relaunch of HerAgenda.com. To make the vision come to life of a new site, HerAgenda.com made the motto come to life in the form of tee shirts and a campaign featuring young up and coming power women. These women have been active in their industries for years and are all under the age of 25. They leveraged those relationships and early experiences to launch their own companies, create their own websites, ...

Michaël Theys, Founder of AfricaFreak has teamed up with tour operator, Acacia Africa, the specialist travel blogger agreeing to host a 30-minute virtual tweet up on Saturday 19 March. Adventurers logging into Twitter from 2.45pm (GMT) will be able to quiz the expert on Acacia Africa's 58-day Ultimate African Overlander, Michaël's recent expedition covering eight countries including, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. One explorer who definitely knows his way around the continent, Michaël has spent over 20 years living in Africa, ...

It can help anybody save lots of money in terms of edging when they have chosen the most appropriate form of turf. Buffalo Turf is quite simple to maintain and edge with no hard edge or simply by utilizing a dedicated edging machine since it does not have any rhizomes. Palmetto is the best Buffalo for edging as it grows more slowly in to the garden though all other Buffalo forms are great for gardens. Among the nominal edging Buffalo types are the Sapphire and Matilda. If the gardener is the type of person who would love to do a lot more edging, then Kings Pride and Sir ...

Elevate: I Am are currently in the studio with producer Steve Evetts (Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die) putting the final touches on their new LP The Ghost Eclipse Sessions. The band has set a physical and digital release of the album through ALF Records for June 2011. Physical versions of the record will be available exclusively through Hot Topic stores and live shows while the digital will be on most online retailers. Elevate: I Am features A Static Lullaby lead vocalist Joe Brown and former members of Southern California band Lorene Drive. Elevate: I Am ...

The multi-value database community has always been kept a very closed community, due mostly to lack of national marketing, minimal exposure in education and a natural fear of feeding the competition. Yet, despite this, the multi-value market grew to hundreds of thousands of users around the world. The days of having end-users live in anonymity are long past - the practice has done more harm than good. It is our goal to finally bring into a single database, the majority of multi-value users and businesses and to be able to provide everyone with a visual representation ...

Fisher Capital on Boiler Room Equipment, Inc: Triad Boiler Systems manufactures uniquely rugged small-footprint hot water boilers, steam boilers, and radiant heating systems. All our boilers use 12 gauge firetubes in compact vessels that fit through very small doorways! Inputs range up to 2,000,000 BTU's. Create a highly efficient system with millions of BTU's by sequencing a string of these modular vessels. TRIAD's commercial boilers and industrial grade Hot Water Heating, Domestic Hot Water, and Steam boilers are used in a wide variety of applications. Our commercial ...

"We have developed a very unique natural cleaning product line that combines food grade ingredients with plant based essential oils. They are safe, effective and chemical-free.", states the president of Ways Cleaning. "Sometimes knowing what a product does not contain is as important as knowing what is in it. We developed these cleaning supplies using wholesome ingredients and they do not include any harsh chemicals, preservatives or synthetic fragrances." An online survey showed that most maid service customers associate the smell of harsh chemicals, like bleach, to ...

Professional Advantage is the honoured recipient of the 2010 XMPro Partner Achievement Award for Australia and the United Kingdom. Professional Advantage is a successful company passionate about seeing their customers improve their business performance through the application of leading-edge technology. With a 20 year success track record Professional Advantage has worked with over 1000 organisations including well-known companies such as AFL, Flight Centre, Hays Personnel, Serco Sedexho Defence Services, Starbucks Coffee Australia, Sungard, and many others. They are ...

Colorado based photographer and marketer Sandy Puc' and acclaimed wedding photographer Jerry Ghionis will be stopping in Portland on March 20 to share their expertise in the Power of Passion Show. The tour kicked off in Denver and will be stopping in 32 cities across the nation. Puc' and Ghionis have been exciting audiences in cities such as Dallas, Houston, and Baton Rouge to name a few. The photographers have delighted audiences with their unmatched enthusiasm and humor in addition to touching attendees emotionally with Sandy's continued work with charitable organizations ...