Llyr blog

Cedar Point Announces The Cedar Point K’NEX Great Thrill Ride Build-Off

K’NEX and Cedar Point have joined forces to launch the first-ever Cedar Point K’NEX Great Thrill Ride Build-Off.

Sandusky, OH (Vocus/PRWEB) February 01, 2011

K’NEX, the construction toy company headquartered in Hatfield, Pa., and Cedar Point amusement park/resort in Sandusky, Ohio, have joined forces to launch the first-ever Cedar Point K’NEX Great Thrill Ride Build-Off.

The Cedar Point K’NEX Great Thrill Ride Build-Off pits classrooms and other student groups in competition to build the most innovative and thrilling amusement park ride model using K’NEX building sets.

“Amusement park rides aren’t just fun to ride, they are also fun to create and a great way to teach important math and science principles,” said K’NEX President and CEO Michael Araten.“We are excited to partner with Cedar Point to award creative young builders through this unique building contest.”

Running from Jan. 31 through April 3, the Cedar Point K’NEX Great Thrill Ride Build-Off is designed for middle and high school classes and student organizations such as a science clubs.Upon registration, participants will receive a discount coupon that can be used for the purchase of materials from knex.com.However, no purchase is necessary to compete.

Participating schools must design and build a ride and submit a photo/video of the project on .The five winners will have their rides displayed at the park during Cedar Point’s Math and Science Week, scheduled from May 16-20.

Prizes include K’NEX building sets and gift certificates and complimentary admission tickets to Cedar Point. For more information, official contest rules, and to enter, visitor .

About Cedar Point’s Math and Science WeekDuring Math & Science Week, special educational programs, demonstrations and activities designed for middle and high school students are presented at the park.Other exhibitors include NASA’s Glenn Research Center of Cleveland, COSI (Center of Science and Industry) of Columbus, the Detroit Science Center and others.A Weather Education Day will also be held during the event.For additional information about Math & Science Week at Cedar Point, please visit .

About K’NEX BrandsFounded in 1992, K’NEX Brands, the world’s most innovative construction toy company, was established to make and sell what has become one of the world’s leading integrated construction systems for children.Recipient of more than 200 international awards and recognitions, K’NEX is America’s building toy company focused on building worlds kids love and encourages youngsters to “imagine, build and play.”

###

Aimee CirucciKnex(215) 996-4209Email Information

Egyptian clashes keep market sentiment in check

LONDON – Violent clashes in Egypt between pro- and anti-government demonstrators kept financial markets nervous on Thursday, while the euro slid after the European Central Bank's president said high inflation would prove to be only temporary.

Traders are monitoring the situation in Cairo as the Egyptian army moves to end the violence after standing by this week as the two sides battled with rocks, sticks, bottles and firebombs.

Though the market impact of Egypt's turmoil has diminished as the week progressed, it has fueled uncertainty.

That's evident in the oil markets, where traders worry oil-producing countries could be affected. A barrel of Brent crude in London is now trading just shy of $103, while the benchmark New York equivalent is around $11 lower at $91.54. Both are trading at their highest levels since 2008.

Sebastian Barbe, an analyst at Credit Agricole, said the threat of regional contagion "remains significant" and noted the sharp increase in the cost of insuring against a Saudi Arabian default.

"Mubarak's refusal to step down before the planned presidential election in September will likely fuel the protesters' anger and the next few days are unlikely to see a moderation of the conflict," Barbe said.

Against that backdrop, stocks have faltered.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.4 percent at 5,974 while Germany's DAX fell 0.2 percent to 7,171. The CAC-40 underperformed its peers, trading 1.2 percent lower at 4,017.

Wall Street was also poised for a sluggish opening — Dow futures were down 13 points at 11,972 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures fell 2.2 points to 1,297.80.

While keeping one eye on developments in Egypt, investors also have to monitor a heavy load of economic news this week, culminating in Friday's monthly U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for January.

However, the main point of interest Thursday is the monthly press conference from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, currently take place in the wake of the bank's decision to keep its main interest rate unchanged at the record low of 1 percent.

In early comments, Trichet reiterated the bank's view that price pressures would likely moderate despite upside risks to the short-term.

Figures earlier this week showed that inflation in the 17 countries that use the euro climbed further in January to 2.4 percent amid high energy and commodity costs. That took inflation further above the central bank's target of keeping inflation "close to, but below" 2 percent.

"Trichet is due to retire from the ECB at the end of October and he will likely want to secure his legacy as an inflation-vigilant central banker keen to preserve central bank independence," said Neil MacKinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital.

As he was speaking, the euro fell following a recent rally to near three-month highs. Europe's single currency has been buoyant since Trichet's last post-meeting press conference, when he toughened up his rhetoric against inflation.

By mid afternoon London time, the euro was trading 1.1 percent lower at $1.3663.

The euro has also been buoyed recently by hopes that EU policymakers have finally got a handle on a debt crisis that has already pushed Greece and Ireland into seeking bailouts.

There are hopes that a meeting of EU leaders Friday will provide confirmation of that view. The expectations are Germany is preparing to table a grand bargain that will see it pump in more cash into the eurozone's more indebted economies in return for stricter budgetary controls.

"Although a detailed and comprehensive policy solution might have to wait until the coming months, the broad outline of a policy solution, including debt restructuring for some of the peripherals, is likely alongside German insistence on a framework of strict fiscal policy objectives for the EU economies," VTB Capital's MacKinnon said.

Earlier, trading in Asia was muted due to the Lunar New Year holidays with markets closed in South Korea, Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Nikkei 225 stock average closed 0.3 percent lower at 10,431.36 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.5 percent to 4,817.20. Australian insurers jumped amid relief that Cyclone Yasi — among the most powerful storms to ever hit the country — appeared to have caused less destruction along the northeast coast than anticipated. Both Insurance Australia Group Ltd. and Suncorp Group Ltd. rose 3 percent.

D.C. Mayor-elect Vince Gray Scheduled as December 12 Sunday Forum guest at National Cathedral

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2010 – WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Washington National Cathedral will welcome District of Columbia Mayor-elect Vince Gray as guest at its Sunday Forum on December 12, at 10:10 a.m., in the Cathedral nave. The 50-minute forum featuring an interview with Cathedral Dean Samuel T. Lloyd III will be followed by questions and answers from attendees and an online audience. Lloyd and Gray will discuss Gray's plans for bringing the city together following his win as the seventh popularly elected mayor of Washington, D.C.

The Cathedral's Sunday Forum is a series that examines the intersection of faith and public life with a focus during the 2010-2011 season on civility in all areas of public discourse. The forum is free, open to the public, and webcast live at . Complimentary parking is offered in the Cathedral's underground parking garage.

Gray has served as chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia since 2007. He entered elected office before that in 2005 as D.C. councilmember for Ward 7. Prior to his elected roles in the D.C. government, Gray served as director of the District's Department of Human Services 1991-1994. In 1994 he was selected as the first executive director of Covenant House Washington, an international, faith-based organization dedicated to serving homeless and at-risk youth. Earlier in his career, which spans more than 30 years in social services, he served as executive director of the D.C. Association for Retarded Citizens. He will be sworn in as D.C.'s mayor in January 2011.

Who: Mayor-elect Vince Gray and Cathedral Dean Sam Lloyd

What: "One City," The Sunday Forum: interview and public Q and A

When: Sunday, December 12, 10:10 a.m.

Where: Washington National Cathedral nave, Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues, NW, and webcast live at

About Washington National Cathedral

Washington National Cathedral is a church for national purposes called to embody God's love and to welcome people of all faiths and perspectives. A unique blend of the spiritual and the civic, this Episcopal cathedral is a voice for generous-spirited Christianity and a catalyst for reconciliation and interfaith dialogue to promote respect and understanding. We invite all people to share in our commitment to create a more hopeful and just world.

Learn more at .

SOURCEWashington National Cathedral

mp3 (Wan-Day).Download The Final Riot tracks.Run Tings download mp3 albums.Download The General albums.Before I'm Getting Mad (nocat) download mp3 albums

Vitamin D Shortage Not Tied to Stroke Deaths in Blacks: Study

SUNDAY, Nov. 14 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that vitamin D deficiency does not boost stroke death rates among black patients, even though it appears to double the risk for whites.

The authors expressed some surprise at the findings, given that prior research has revealed that blacks are overall more prone to vitamin D deficiency and more likely to experience a stroke, compared with white patients. Blacks also have a 60 percent higher risk of dying from a stroke than whites, they added.

"We thought maybe the lower vitamin D levels might actually explain why blacks have higher risks for stroke," study author Dr. Erin Michos, an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said in a news release from the American Heart Association. "But we did not find the same relationship between vitamin D and stroke in blacks."

Michos and his colleagues are slated to present their findings Monday at the American Heart Association annual meeting in Chicago.

Stroke is the third most common cause of death in the United States, the authors noted.

Their analysis stems from a review of health records of approximately 8,000 adults obtained from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of Americans (NHANES-III) conducted between 1988 and 1994.

Almost 7 percent of the white patients were vitamin D-deficient, compared with more than 32 percent of the black participants. Whites with too little Vitamin D had twice the risk of dying from stroke as whites with adequate levels of the vitamin, which is obtained from fortified dairy products, fatty fish and exposure to sunlight.

The findings held up even after accounting for a host of socioeconomic and stroke risk factors, such as a history of diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, body-mass index, smoking, physical activity and/or alcohol use.

Blacks could have a natural resistance to the negative effects of vitamin D deficiency, Michos said. This could explain why blacks have fewer bone fractures than whites, despite the higher incidence of low vitamin D levels, Michos added.

More information

For more on vitamin D, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Stocks edge lower as Fed concerns offset M&A

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks slipped on Monday as concerns the Federal Reserve may scale back its efforts to stimulate the economy muted optimism over two big takeover bids.

The S&P 500 held above its 20-day moving average, now near 1,196 and marking a potential support level, though the index closed slightly lower.

The energy and materials sectors, which are sensitive to commodity prices and weaken when the dollar rises, led the way down as the Treasury bond market selloff picked up steam in the afternoon. The S&P materials sector (.GSPM) lost 0.9 percent.

"There's been concern that the quantitative easing is going to be scaled back. There is certainly the skepticism and uncertainty over QE 2 out there," said John Canally, an investment strategist and economist at LPL Financial in Boston.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) edged up 9.39 points, or 0.08 percent, at 11,201.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was off 1.46 points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,197.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) slipped 4.39 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,513.82.

Mergers and acquisitions kept the market afloat for most of the day after Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) agreed to buy mining equipment maker Bucyrus International Inc (BUCY.O) for $7.6 billion and data storage equipment maker EMC Corp (EMC.N) inked a deal to buy smaller rival Isilon Systems Inc (ISLN.O) for $2.25 billion.

Bucyrus surged 29 percent to $89.80, while Caterpillar rose 1 percent to $81.82 and helped the Dow close slightly higher.

Isilon was among the most active stocks on Nasdaq, jumping 28.5 percent to $33.77, while EMC slipped 1.2 percent to $21.45.

Analysts said they expect M&A deals down the line will see buyers focusing on gaining access to international markets, a potential driver of growth for companies as the U.S. economy recovers slowly.

If the S&P 500 holds above its 20-day moving average it could find itself in a tight range as it faces strong resistance around the 1,228 level. The Bollinger bands chart indicates the near-term target at 1,230, in the area of the 61.8 percent retracement of the slide from the 2007 historic highs to the 12-year lows of March 2009.

"That 1,220, 1,230 (level) is an important level and I don't think it's going to be easy to get through. We're going to need some sort of surprise good news to get us through there on a sustained basis," said Scott Wren, senior equity strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis.

Among gainers in the mining sector, Terex Corp (TEX.N) climbed 2.9 percent to $25.13 and Joy Global Inc (JOYG.O) shot up 7.5 percent at $77.77.

In economic news, retail sales posted their largest gain in seven months in October, lifted by purchases of motor vehicles and building materials. Separately, a gauge of manufacturing in New York state fell in November to its lowest level since April 2009.

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) shares fell 4.1 percent to $158.90 on concerns that the decision by a number of rivals, including Wal-Mart (WMT.N), to offer free shipping could challenge the online retailer's results.

Charts show Amazon's stock is technically weak in the short term, with the daily moving average convergence-divergence at a 'sell' since late October, except for a one-day blip last week. Momentum turned negative on Friday when it also accumulated a two-day drop of 4.4 percent.

And after Amazon's close on Friday below its 20-day moving average -- a first for the share since October 11 -- the Bollinger bands chart shows a near-term target of $158.65, more than 4 percent below Friday's close.

About 6.71 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, well below last year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,577 to 1,386, while on the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners by 1,420 to 1,195.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos and Angela Moon)