Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/111022
Friday, February 22, 2013 – Daily News 5A FEATURES No relationship with daughter Dear Annie: My daughter hasn't spoken to me in 20 years. ''Linda'' is 45 years old and has been married since around 1993. I wasn't invited to her wedding, so I am not sure. I think she Annie's received a master's degree, but I wasn't invited to her gradu- by Kathy Mitchell ation, so I'm not and Marcy Sugar sure of that, either. Linda's mother left me for her married lover when our daughter was 6. Instead of taking custody, I felt it best for her mother to raise her, which was a big mistake. My current wife enjoyed a good relationship with Linda. We visited her during her college years and gave her money to spend. But once she finished her degree, we never heard from her again. She didn't reply to our phone calls, letters or emails. Linda's brother informed me that she and her husband have four children we have never met. The oldest must be about 16 and the youngest about 3, but I do not know any of their birthdates. When I tried to find out why she stopped all contact, the only thing she said was, ''Whatever the reason that you think it is.'' Linda was trained as a family counselor. What happened in her training Mailbox that would lead her to refuse a relationship with her own father? The divorce wasn't my idea, so why am I left out in the cold? — Father Who Can't See His Child Dear Father: This has nothing to do with Linda's training. More likely, it is some grudge she has been holding onto for years. Since you are in contact with your son and he is in touch with his sister, ask him to act as your intermediary. Have him tell Linda that you are sorry for anything you may have done that has created this estrangement, and you want to know how to reconcile. We hope she is responsive. Dear Annie: I am only 11, but I want the truth and not the lies most people tell kids. I have had a best friend, ''Janie,'' for about four years. I am an only child, and my parents are divorced, so Janie is everything to me. I recently started middle school, and now we only have one class together. Janie recently became friends with another girl. I don't think I can compete with this girl, because she is really pretty and wears designer clothes. Anyway, Janie and this girl always hang out together, and it makes me feel really left out. I can't lose her. She is like the sister I never had. Should I do something? If so, what? — Lost and Alone Dear Lost: Here's the truth, and you may not like it: In middle school, it is not unusual for kids to develop new interests and new friends. Some of them discard their old friends in the process. If Janie is so shallow that she chooses her friends based on their clothes, she's not much of a true friend, and we think you know that. It's OK to tell her you miss the friendship you once had and then see whether she is more attentive. But you are also changing and maturing. As much as you have relied on Janie in the past, it's time for you to hold your head up and make new friends who are steadfast and appreciate you as you are. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it. Dear Annie: Like ''Too Well Endowed in Kansas,'' I have struggled for years with the same problem. I'm 72 years old, and my current doctor is the only one who suggested breast reduction as a way to help with my back, neck and other issues. I figured I was too old, but the doctor said I was a perfect candidate. I had surgery and am loving the results. — Newfound Freedom in New York Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to anniesmailboxcomcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. Sony shows PlayStation 4 capabilities, but no box NEW YORK (AP) — Sony showed off what the PlayStation 4 can do, but not what it will look like. The Japanese electronics giant talked about its upcoming game console for the first time and said it will go on sale this holiday season. But Sony didn't reveal the device itself. Presenters played games that were projected on screens in a converted opera house, but the PlayStations themselves were hidden backstage throughout Wednesday evening's two-hour event. ''I don't know that the box is going to be something that's going to have a dramatic impact on people's feelings about the game. It will be a color and a size fairly comparable to previous consoles,'' said Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, the U.S.-based arm of the PlayStation business. ''There's a big story to tell here, and it's going to take between now and the holiday season to get all the details out there,'' Tretton said in an interview. Tretton said the price of the PS4 hasn't been decided yet, but hinted that it won't be as high as the PlayStation 3 was initially. The PS3 debuted in 2006 with two models for $500 and $600. It now sells for about $300. The PS4 will be jostling for attention this holiday season with Microsoft's successor to the Xbox. Details on that device are expected in June. Xbox 360 came out a year before PS3 and has been more popular, largely because of its robust online service, Xbox Live, which allows people to play games with others online. Having an event this early allows Sony to grab the spotlight for a few months, though the absence of an actual device was noted by many people on Twitter and elsewhere. Some analysts said the lack of details made it difficult to say whether Sony had a winner in PS4. The company's U.S.-based stock fell 2.6 percent in midday trading Thursday. Analysts at Jefferies & Co. called the announcement ''ho-hum'' and said PS4 was ''not a INCOME TAX PREPARATION Fast, Friendly, Reasonable Fees Fee for Short or Long form includes all the tax credits and E-filing with direct Deposit. Also Bookkeeping, Payroll and Financial Services available P RALPH CAMPBELL, EA Enrolled Agent 855 Walnut St. #2 530-529-9540 must have.'' Success will depend on further details from Sony and from Microsoft on its rival Xbox, they wrote in a research note Thursday. Sony did reveal that the insides of the PS4 will essentially be a ''supercharged PC,'' much like an Xbox. That's a big departure from the old and idiosyncratic PlayStation design and should make it easier for developers to create games. Sony Corp. is using processing chips made by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. ''One of the big challenges we faced in the past was that we created great technology that we handed over to the development community, and they had to go through a learning curve before they could harness it. And when they did, we saw some phenomenal games,'' Tretton said. ''We wanted to lower that barrier of entry and really give them the ability to create tremendous gaming experiences from Day One.'' The adoption of PC chips also means that the new console won't be able to play games created for any of the three previous PlayStations, even though the PS4 will have a Blu-ray disc drive, just like the PS3. Instead, Sony said gamers will have to stream older games to the PS4 through the Internet. Other new features revolve around social networking and remote access. With one button, you can broadcast video of your game play so friends can ''look over your shoulder virtually,'' said David Perry, co-founder of the Sonyowned Internet game company Gaikai. With remote play, you can run a game on the PS4 to stream over the Internet to Sony's mobile gaming device, the PlayStation Vita, which debuted last year. The goal is to make the PS4 so good at figuring out what games and other content you want that it can download it without being asked, so that it's available when you realize you do want it, Sony said. ''Our long-term vision is to reduce download times of digital titles to zero,'' said Mark Cerny, Sony's lead system architect on the PS4. The PS4 is arriving amid declines in video game hardware, software and accessory sales. Research firm NPD Group said game sales fell 22 percent to $13.3 billion in 2012. With the launch of the PS4, Sony is looking to attract people who may have shifted their attention to games on Facebook, tablet computers and mobile phones. Forrester analyst James McQuivey said Sony is missing the point by building what amounts to an upgraded PS3. ''Sony believes the future will be like the past and has built the game console to prove it,'' he said. ''Tablets and smartphones now engage more people in more minutes of gaming than consoles will ever achieve.'' Sony showed an updated controller that adds a touchpad and a ''share'' button. The controller also features a light bar, which means a new PlayStation camera can more easily track the device for motion control. Dennis Fong, CEO of the gaming-centric social networking site Raptr, thinks Sony's focus on sharing Berries & Veggies SATURDAY'S CLASS- Feb. 23rd @ 11AM: CARE & PRUNING OF BERRIES Grow Delicious Berries in your own backyard! SUNDAY'S CLASS – Feb. 24th @ 11am SUCCESSFUL SEED STARTING Learn the basics of seed starting! VICTORY GARDENING 101 SERIES Saturday's - March 2, 9, & 16th at 10am & 1pm Join us for a series of classes all about vegetable gardening from the ground up! Great class series, with lots of information. Presented by George Winter & Gordon Elliot CLASS ONE: THE BASICS CLASS TWO: PLANTING YOUR GARDEN CLASS THREE: WATERING, FERTILIZING, COMPOSTING & PESTS Check out our website or FB for more information. Please call or email to reserve your seat. *Note: All classes are free, class size is limited. WYNTOUR GARDENS 365-2256 8026 Airport Road, Redding I-5 North, Exit #673, Rt on Knighton, Rt on Airport Located 1 mile south of the Airport (Next to Kents Mkt) Open Mon-Sat 8-5 & Sunday's 10-4 wyntourgardens.com Facebook inform@wyntourgardens.com with the PS4 will be good for both gamers and business. ''The ability to capture an image, video or instantly broadcast what's on players' screen to their friends is transformational for the new generation of consoles,'' said Fong. ''Providing them with community tools to create videos and live broadcasts is a cool feature for gamers, and also great for business. User-generated content keeps players engaged with the game even while they aren't playing it and also attracts new users from the buzz generated around this content.'' The bulk of Wednesday's event was devoted to demos of games for the PS4, including a realistic team racing simulator, ''Drive Club,'' super-powered action sequel ''Infamous: Second Son,'' artsy puzzler ''The Witness'' and several first-person shooter games, including ''Killzone: Shadow Fall.'' Beyond games, the PS4 will let people create animation in 3-D using a Move motion controller — all in real time. Last fall, Nintendo launched the next generation of gaming consoles with the Wii U, which comes with a tablet-like controller called the GamePad. The controller allows two people playing the same game to have different experiences depending on whether they use the GamePad or a traditional Wii remote, which itself was revolutionary. Hormones from fat cells cause damage throughout our bodies molecule that DEAR DOCTOR K: increases Why is abdominal fat insulin resisworse for your health tance (raising than fat around the hips the risk of Type and thighs? 2 diabetes). In DEAR READER: addition, visWhen it comes to body ceral fat cells fat, location counts. Fat make certain above the waist (the "apple" shape) is much Dr. K proteins that trigger lowmore dangerous than fat by Anthony L. in the butt and thighs Komaroff, M.D. level inflammation. This is a (the "pear" shape). In most people, about 90 risk factor for heart disease. You can estimate your percent of body fat lies in a layer just beneath the skin. visceral fat by measuring The remaining 10 percent your waist circumference. — called visceral fat — lies (I've put an illustration out of reach, deep within explaining how to do this on website, your abdomen. It's found in my the spaces surrounding your AskDoctorK.com.) Ideally, liver, intestines and other waist circumference should organs. It's also stored in a be less than 35 inches for flap of tissue that lies under women and less than 40 inches for men. your stomach muscles. To keep visceral fat at Visceral fat is a key player in a variety of health prob- bay: — Keep moving. Exerlems, including cardiovascular disease, dementia, cise can help you reduce asthma, and breast and col- your waist circumference, lose visceral fat and gain orectal cancer. What makes visceral fat muscle mass. Engage in at so dangerous? Research least 30 minutes of moderover the past 20 years has ate-intensity activity most completely changed our days. — Eat right. Choose a understanding of what fat is. We've always known that balanced diet that helps you fat is composed of billions achieve and maintain a of cells called fat cells. We healthy weight. Avoid prodused to think that fat was ucts that encourage belly fat, just a layer of insulation to including trans fats and fruckeep heat inside our bodies tose-sweetened foods and during cold weather. We beverages. — Don't smoke. The didn't think that fat, and fat cells, really did anything more you smoke, the more more than provide insula- likely you are to store fat in your abdomen rather than tion. However, we've discov- on your hips and thighs. — Forget the quick fix. ered that fat cells — particularly fat cells inside the Liposuction doesn't reach abdomen (visceral fat)— are inside the abdominal wall to little hormone factories. your visceral fat. You may They are constantly produc- change your appearance ing substances that get into with liposuction, but you the blood and travel to other won't improve your health. parts of the body, where they Dr. Komaroff is a can have profound effects. For example, some of the physician and professor at hormones produced by fat Harvard Medical School. To cells affect your appetite, send questions, go to your metabolism, even your AskDoctorK.com, or write: blood pressure. Researchers Ask Doctor K, 10 Shattuck at Harvard have discovered St., Second Floor, Boston, that visceral fat secretes a MA 02115. YouTube data now part of Billboard Hot 100 chart NEW YORK (AP) — Viral videos are hits on the Web, and now they can help propel a song to the top of the Billboard charts. Billboard has announced that U.S. YouTube data is now one of the factors when ranking Hot 100 songs and songs on its other charts. The new rule went into effect this week, with the viral-video hit ''Harlem Shake'' debuting at No. 1. Other factors include radio airplay, digital download sales, physical single sales, on-demand audio streaming and online radio streaming. Billboard's new rule incorporates all official videos on YouTube, including Vevo. ''Harlem Shake'' by Brooklyn producer Baauer features few lyrics. The video has a heavy dance-flavored beat. It became a viral success thanks to hundreds of YouTube videos of people dancing to the song.