New LagFix application promises to fix mystery lag on some devices

LagFix is an app (rooted phones only) with an unimaginative name that uses a standard Linux tool to help fix "lag" on Android devices. Lag is a term that gets thrown around pretty liberally, without any real definition attached to it. In this case, I'm familiar with the tool being used so I know what this app attempts to address -- times when your system is stopped, waiting on the memory controller to be told which storage blocks are free and which are in use, so it knows where it can write data to the device storage. While this is happening, the system is halted until the memory controller gets the answer it needs. This is a standard process in every operating system, and in reality is a lot more complicated than I've explained here. For our purposes today, this covers the important things to know.

This can be done on the fly (and this is how stock Android does things) or it can be done using a Linux utility called Fstrim. When a stock Android system does it on the fly while data is being written, sometimes some folks (this is important, and we'll talk more about it later) see their device slow down while the memory controller is waiting to know which storage blocks are in use, and which are free. People call this a form of lag, and lag is universally hated. 

A solution, one often used on Linux desktops, is to use the Fstrim utility. It goes through the storage and tells the memory controller which blocks are really free, and which are in use. The memory controller doesn't have to ask, because it has just been told. Eventually, this all changes and the memory controller needs told again. On the desktop, people set up Fstrim to run at a specific interval to keep things in sync. 

The LagFix app (I really want a better name put on this one) provides the user with a way to run the Fstrim tool. In theory, when your devices gets sluggish, you run the app and things no longer have to stop for the memory controller. We've kicked the idea around, looked at what the app does, and can't see any reason why it should be harmful. The theory behind the app, and a good many of user testimonials reflect this, is sound and should work nicely -- if you need it. And the "if you need it" part is the key. 

Until we know exactly why some folks see lag, and others don't, we can't say for certain that you should use this tool. We can't echo the developer's claims that this is all well known and fact with some devices, because it's all based on anecdotal evidence by users who aren't really aware of what is going on. What I can say is that it shouldn't hurt anything, and if your device is stuttering while in use, you can certainly give it a try. Of course, there's still the question of why Google does not use the Fstrim utility by default in Android. When using any utility like this that affects the inner workings of your hardware, the risk is always on you.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/rI21srt1fFY/story01.htm

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Hearing loss may push decline in memory, thinking | Health X Pert ...

Older Americans who have hearing loss have an accelerated decline in thinking and memory abilities, compared to those with normal hearing, according to a study published in ?JAMA Archives of Internal Medicine . Those with hearing loss experience a 30% to 40% greater decline in thinking abilities compared to their counterparts without hearing loss, according to the findings published Monday. Hearing loss is common among old older adults, affecting about two-thirds of adults 70 and older, and about one-third of adults younger than 60, according to lead study author Dr. Frank R. Lin of Johns Hopkins University.? A large number of people with hearing loss are untreated, Lin explained, because they associate hearing loss with the stigma of getting older. About two years ago Lin and his associates published a paper showing that hearing loss was associated with greater risk for developing dementia. ?Fortunately most of us will never develop dementia, but most of us will experience some kind of cognitive decline over time,? explained Lin. Rather than looking at hearing loss and dementia, the researchers studied people with normal cognitive function to determine whether people with hearing loss had different rates of memory and thinking decline compared to people with normal hearing. Dementia rates are projected to rise as the world's population ages, the study noted; identifying factors that may contribute to cognitive decline and dementia in older adults may lead to ways to slow and treat brain decline. The researchers studied?about 2,000 older adults enrolled in a long-term study which began in 1997. All subjects included in the study had no dementia or cognitive impairment.? Each subject went through an audiometric assessment performed in a sound-treated booth, which Lin described as ?the gold standard? for hearing testing. Their memory, thinking abilities and decision-making were also tested. Both tests were repeated at three, five and six years, and researchers looked at average decline in memory and thinking abilities, comparing people with normal hearing to those with reduced hearing. ?We found that people with hearing loss had a faster rate of mental decline compared to people with normal hearing. ? And the greater the rate of hearing loss, the faster the decline of memory and thinking. It was dose dependent,? said Lin. People with hearing loss took 7.7 years to have a five-point drop in their thinking skills, compared to 10.9 years for people with normal hearing. Why does this happen? Lin said there?s no definite explanation, noting that various explanations may apply. When people suffer from hearing loss, it?s not that they can?t hear. It?s that the cochlea, the part of the inner ear that converts a complex sound to a precise signal that goes to the brain for decoding, isn?t doing a good job converting, so people hear a garbled signal. Lin described it like a bad cell phone connection. One theory is that "if the brain is dedicating extra resources to try and hear what?s going on, it's probably taking away from other brain resources like thinking and memory, ? explained Lin. A second explanation, using the cell phone example, is that people experiencing lousy reception end up tuning out, because it?s so labor intensive to try to hear the call. This explanation plays into the idea of social isolation, which has been shown to have negative health effects including increased illness, death rates, and increased cognitive decline and dementia. A third possible explanation is that some mechanism in the brain is affecting both hearing and brain function. Lin said it's likely that the hearing loss and brain decline are explained by all three factors. He also acknowledged that while his study tried to adjust for other factors affecting hearing and cognitive abilities, they did not account for factors including something in the inflammatory process or the age of mitochondria, the energy factories of cells. Lin thinks the big public health question is whether treating hearing loss will have an impact on brain function and memory decline. Filed under: Aging , Brain , Conditions Tagged: Ann J. Curley ? CNN Medical Assignment Manager

Read the original:?
Hearing loss may push decline in memory, thinking

Source: http://healthxpert.org/hearing-loss-may-push-decline-in-memory-thinking/

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Oxygen chamber can boost brain repair years after stroke or trauma

Jan. 23, 2013 ? Stroke, traumatic injury, and metabolic disorder are major causes of brain damage and permanent disabilities, including motor dysfunction, psychological disorders, memory loss, and more. Current therapy and rehab programs aim to help patients heal, but they often have limited success.

Now Dr. Shai Efrati of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine has found a way to restore a significant amount of neurological function in brain tissue thought to be chronically damaged -- even years after initial injury. Theorizing that high levels of oxygen could reinvigorate dormant neurons, Dr. Efrati and his fellow researchers, including Prof. Eshel Ben-Jacob of TAU's School of Physics and Astronomy and the Sagol School of Neuroscience, recruited post-stroke patients for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) -- sessions in high pressure chambers that contain oxygen-rich air -- which increases oxygen levels in the body tenfold.

Analysis of brain imaging showed significantly increased neuronal activity after a two-month period of HBOT treatment compared to control periods of non-treatment, reported Dr. Efrati in PLoS ONE. Patients experienced improvements such as a reversal of paralysis, increased sensation, and renewed use of language. These changes can make a world of difference in daily life, helping patients recover their independence and complete tasks such as bathing, cooking, climbing stairs, or reading a book.

Oxygen breathes new life into neurons

According to Dr. Efrati, there are several degrees of brain injury. Neurons impacted by metabolic dysfunction have the energy to stay alive, but not enough to fire electric signals, he explains. HBOT aims to increase the supply of energy to these cells.

The brain consumes 20 percent of the body's oxygen, but that is only enough oxygen to operate five to ten percent of neurons at any one time. The regeneration process requires much more energy. The tenfold increase in oxygen levels during HBOT treatment supplies the necessary energy for rebuilding neuronal connections and stimulating inactive neurons to facilitate the healing process, explains Dr. Efrati.

For their study, the researchers sought post stroke patients whose condition was no longer improving. To assess the potential impact of HBOT treatment, the anatomical features and functionality of the brain were evaluated using a combination of CT scans to identify necrotic tissue, and SPECT scans to determine the metabolic activity level of the neurons surrounding damaged areas.

Seventy-four participants spanning 6 to 36 months post-stroke were divided into two groups. The first treatment group received HBOT from the beginning of the study, and the second received no treatment for two months, then received a two-month period of HBOT treatment. Treatment consisted of 40 two-hour sessions five times weekly in high pressure chambers containing oxygen-rich air. The results indicate that HBOT treatment can lead to significant improvement in brain function in post stroke patients even at chronically late stages, helping neurons strengthen and build new connections in damaged regions.

A potential avenue for prevention

Although the study focuses on patients only through three years post-stroke, Dr. Efrati has seen similar improvement in patients whose brain injuries occurred up to 20 years before, belying the concept that the brain has a limited window for growth and change. "The findings challenge the leading paradigm since they demonstrate beyond any doubt that neuroplasticity can still be activated for months and years after acute brain injury, thus revealing that many aspects of the brain remain plastic into adulthood," says Prof. Ben-Jacob.

This study also "opens the gate into a new territory of treatment," adds Dr. Efrati. The researchers are currently conducting a study on the benefits of HBOT for those with traumatic brain injury. This treatment also has potential as an anti-aging therapy, applicable in other disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia at their early stages.

"It is now understood that many brain disorders are related to inefficient energy supply to the brain," explains Dr. Efrati. "HBOT treatment could right such metabolic abnormalities before the onset of full dementia, where there is still potential for recovery."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Friends of Tel Aviv University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Shai Efrati, Gregori Fishlev, Yair Bechor, Olga Volkov, Jacob Bergan, Kostantin Kliakhandler, Izhak Kamiager, Nachum Gal, Mony Friedman, Eshel Ben-Jacob, Haim Golan. Hyperbaric Oxygen Induces Late Neuroplasticity in Post Stroke Patients - Randomized, Prospective Trial. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (1): e53716 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053716

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/26cdKWsBxnU/130123144218.htm

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91% Lincoln

All Critics (195) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (177) | Rotten (18)

It's the most remarkable movie Steven Spielberg has made in quite a spell, and one of the things that makes it remarkable is how it fulfills those expectations by simultaneously ignoring and transcending them.

Lincoln paints a powerful and compelling portrait of the man who has become an icon. We don't need to see more of his life to understand how rare a figure he was - this window is more than sufficient.

Lincoln offers proof of what magic can happen when an actor falls in love with his character. Because as great as Day-Lewis has been in his many parts, he has never seemed quite so smitten.

The film masterfully captures the dual dilemmas facing the president in the final months of his life: how to bring the war between the states to an end, and how to eradicate slavery, once and for all.

Lincoln is a stirring reminder that politics can be noble. Might there be a lesson here for today's shrill D.C. discourse? 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.

Day-Lewis' voice is thin and reedy, which jibes with historical accounts but subverts our expectations. His attitude makes listeners lean in, and so do we, magnetized by his kindly reserve.

This is handsome-looking history, but Spielberg's worshipful treatment slows down its pulse.

As unexpected as it is intelligent, thanks to virtuoso work from Spielberg and Kushner, Lincoln is landmark filmmaking, while Day-Lewis is so authentic he pulls off that stovepipe.

Lincoln is okay: a well-acted, nicely shot, perfectly watchable biopic that I assume has one hundred times more resonance when viewed from the opposite of the Atlantic.

A film as absorbing and unassuming as the central character.

Steven Spielberg's masterly, high-minded recreation of Abraham Lincoln's long-shot battle to get the 13th amendment outlawing slavery through a hostile Congress.

The filmmakers write history with lightning, and their instrument is Daniel Day-Lewis as the graying, hunched and shuffling Lincoln, bent but not broken and as tall and thin as a stick figure in a Tim Burton cartoon.

Lewis keeps his fire on a low flame, quietly navigating the underlying tone of hagiography and emerging as a believable man, and exactly the kind of pragmatic idealist America could use today.

This is movie magic -- history coming to life, before our eyes.

Even as a historical figure considerably better known than any he's played before, there's no trace of impersonation in Lewis's performance.

As one of this generations greatest actors, two time Oscar winner Day-Lewis is a shoo-in for a chance at a third trophy.

As essential an entry in Spielberg's catalog as his most popular blockbusters and heralded epics.

Spielberg undoubtedly is asking us to pay attention and learn something - there is no nodding off in this class - but even with all the talk of ratification, and envoys, and securing votes, Lincoln is an engaging, if not rousing film-going experience.

Lincoln is a performance masterclass. Spielberg humanises the icon and admires Lincoln the man - in the face of the challenges that defined him. It's a special effort in the capable hands of a legend.

Lincoln is Spielberg's best film since 2005's Munich, and one of 2012's finest.

This is an almost religiously revered president portrayed as he's never been portrayed on screen before, a tale told with grace and sophistication. If only for this fact alone, Lincoln is a work deserving of praise.

Especially in today's frustratingly gridlocked political environment, Lincoln is timelier than ever. It gives us hope that government can accomplish great things even as it drags itself through the muck and strain of corruption.

While Spielberg captures a time, Day-Lewis captures another brilliant performance, and some of the supporting actors may capture Oscar nominations, the film didn't capture my soul the way I was hoping.

The film presents Abraham Lincoln's deliberations as a function of his innate morality, as well as an emotional rightness.

A fascinating history lesson taking place mostly in the backrooms of Washington.

Good film, but 'Lincoln' is not a movie about Abraham Lincoln - it's about a man in an Abe costume posing as someone who had overwhelming love for African-Americans, when in reality that was far from the Lincoln documented in history.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lincoln_2011/

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7 Days To Change Your Life | O3 Health And Fitness - Asheville ...

Jan 13
21

The Real Food Challenge

Processed foods, additives and chemicals are inferior to real food and are potentially harmful to your health.
So why do you still eat it?
Why do you still eat that packaged granola bar and snack on those whole grain crackers? You may think that heart healthy label means something, but it doesn?t hold a candle to real food.
What is Read Food?
Here?s an easy way to tell if your food is real or not: If your food can go bad, it?s good for you. If your food can?t go bad, it?s bad for you.
Real food is fresh and unprocessed.
The Real Food Challenge
This real food challenge has the potential to change your body forever. Take the next 7 days to ONLY eat real food. One week is a very short time in the grand scheme of things, and I know you can do this.
Just try it for one week to see and feel the difference in your body.
The Rules
During the next 7 days you will avoid eating all of the following food items:

• Bread
• Grains
• Rice
• Crackers & Chips
• Packaged snacks
• Sugar & Corn Syrup
• Soda Pop
• Packaged Bars
• Baked Goods
• Candy

Here?s a list of the real foods that you will eat instead:

• Seasonal, organic Vegetables
• Seasonal, organic Fruits
• Lean, organic meat, fish & eggs
• Nuts and Seeds

Those four categories of food can be combined into endless, flavorful combinations. Check out the following meal ideas:
Breakfast:Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. What you decide to eat when you first wake up will set the tone for the rest of your meals that day.

• Scrambled organic eggs, sliced tomato and a handful of seasonal berries.
• Half of a dressed avocado and a few slices of nitrate-free bacon.
• Pancakes made with coconut flour and topped with chopped nuts.

Lunch: ??Plan your lunch ahead of time in order to avoid turning to a fast food joint or vending machine. Pack your lunch the night before and carry it with you.

• Dark baby greens topped with chopped chicken breast and diced tomatoes.
• Albacore tuna (packed in water), mixed with finely chopped cucumber over cauliflower rice. (See recipe below)
• Turkey and Spinach Salad

Dinner: ??Dinner is the meal where most people splurge and eat far more calories than they should. Eating at home is the first step in reducing your dinnertime calories.

• Grilled white fish, saut?ed spinach and almond bread.
• Baked chicken breast with steamed broccoli and quinoa.
• A big bowl of arugula topped with saut?ed asparagus and sliced hardboiled eggs.

While healthy eating is a huge factor in achieving your ideal weight, exercise is the other (very important) half of the equation.
Your exercise routine should be challenging and should be done on a regular basis.
Call or email me today and we will get you started on the exercise program that will reshape your body in 2013.

Just 7 Days

How quickly does a week fly by? Pretty fast, right?
When you decide to eat only real food for 7 days you will be amazed at the positive improvement that you feel and see in your body.
Do this challenge for yourself.
In one short week you could be in the same, worse, or you could be leaner and excited.
The choice is yours.

This entry was posted on January 21, 2013 at 6:08 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Blog by KeithW

Source: http://www.o3healthandfitness.com/2013/01/7-days-to-change-your-life/

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Private equity deals - Fortune Finance: Hedge Funds, Markets ...

Direct Marketing Solutions Inc., a Portland, Ore.-based direct marketing company for Fortune 1000 companies, has been acquired by an investor group that includes?Caymus Equity Partners?andCenterfield Capital Management. No financial terms were disclosed, except that TCF Capital Funding provided $8.5 million in senior secured credit facilities.?www.teamdms.com

The Flexitallic Group, a maker of industrial static sealing products, has acquired?Custom RubberProducts, a Houston, Texas?based maker of plastic products for upstream and midstream oilfield and industrial markets.? No financial terms were disclosed, except that European Capital Ltd. invested $7 million in unitranche bonds to support the deal. Flexatallic Group is owned by?Eurazeo PME.www.customrubber.com

Intermedia, the world's largest third-party Microsoft Exchange hosting provider, has agreed to acquireTelanetix Inc.?OTC BB: TNIX), a Belleview, Wash.?based provider of cloud-based communications solutions. The deal is valued at approximately $55 million, including $13 million in assumed debt and other liabilities. Shareholders in New York-based Intermedia include?Nokia Growth Partners?and?Oak Hill Capital Partners.?www.intermedia.net

Investcorp?has agreed to acquire?FishNet Security Inc., a Kansas City-based provider of enterprise information security solutions and consulting, from?Lake Capital Management, according to Dow Jones. No financial terms were disclosed.?www.fishnetsecurity.com

L-com, a network connectivity company owned by?Odyssey Investment Partners, has acquiredMilesTek Corp., a Denton, Texas?based provider of network connectivity products for military and commercial end markets. No financial terms were disclosed. Sellers include Castle Island Partners and HighPoint Capital Management.?www.l-com.com

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan?has agreed to acquire?SeaCube Container Leasing Ltd.?(NYSE:BOX) for approximately $467 million, or $23 per share (13.3% premium to Friday's closing price). SeaCube is a Park Ridge, N.J.-based container leasing company.?www.seacubecontainers.com

The Riverside Company?has acquired?Alchemy Systems, an Austin, Texas-based SaaS provider of food and workplace safety training solutions. No financial terms were disclosed.?www.alchemysystems.com

SintecMedia, a broadcast management software provider owned by?Riverwood Capital, has acquiredArgo Systems, an Atlanta-based provider of business solutions to the cable network and operators industry. No financial terms were disclosed.?www.sintecmedia.com

Tempo Cagri Hizmetleri, a Turkish call center and distant services company, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from?Globalturk Capital?and?Mitsui & Co.?www.globalturkcapital.com

Work Service?(Warsaw: WSE), a Poland-based temporary staffing and personnel outsourcing company, has secured a ?26 million equity commitment from?PineBridge Investments. The deal would give PineBridge a 20.02% ownership position.?www.workservice.pl

Sign up for Dan's daily email newsletter on deals and deal-makers:?GetTermSheet.com

Source: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/01/22/private-equity-deals-280/

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UK's Prince Harry returns from Afghanistan

In this photo taken Dec. 12, 2012 and made available Monday Jan. 21, 2013 Britain's Prince Harry or just plain Captain Wales as he is known in the British Army, wears his monocle gun sight as he sits in the front seat of his cockpit at the British controlled flight-line in Camp Bastion southern Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defense announced Monday that the 28-year-old prince is returning from a 20-week deployment in Afghanistan, where he served as an Apache helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps. (AP Photo/ John Stillwell, Pool)

In this photo taken Dec. 12, 2012 and made available Monday Jan. 21, 2013 Britain's Prince Harry or just plain Captain Wales as he is known in the British Army, wears his monocle gun sight as he sits in the front seat of his cockpit at the British controlled flight-line in Camp Bastion southern Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defense announced Monday that the 28-year-old prince is returning from a 20-week deployment in Afghanistan, where he served as an Apache helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps. (AP Photo/ John Stillwell, Pool)

In this photo taken Nov. 3, 2012, and made available Monday Jan. 21, 2013 of Britain's Prince Harry, or just plain Captain Wales as he is known in the British Army, smiles as he plays computer games with his fellow Apache Helicopter crew, during his 12 hour VHR (very high ready-ness) shift at the British controlled flight-line in Camp Bastion southern Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defense announced Monday that the 28-year-old prince is returning from a 20-week deployment in Afghanistan, where he served as an Apache helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps. (AP Photo/ John Stillwell, Pool)

In this photo taken Nov. 3, 2012, and made available Monday Jan. 21, 2013 of Britain's Prince Harry, center, or just plain Captain Wales as he is known in the British Army, reacts as he plays computer games with his fellow Apache Helicopter crew, during his 12 hour VHR (very high ready-ness) shift at the British controlled flight-line in Camp Bastion southern Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defense announced Monday that the 28-year-old prince is returning from a 20-week deployment in Afghanistan, where he served as an Apache helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps. (AP Photo/ John Stillwell, Pool)

In this photo taken Nov. 3 2012, and made available Monday Jan. 21 2013 Britain's Prince Harry or just plain Captain Wales as he is known in the British Army, races out from the VHR (very high ready-ness) tent to scramble his Apache with fellow Pilots, during his 12 hour shift at the British controlled flight-line in Camp Bastion southern Afghanistan, The Ministry of Defense announced Monday that the 28-year-old prince is returning from a 20-week deployment in Afghanistan, where he served as an Apache helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps. (AP Photo/ John Stillwell, Pool)

In this photo taken Nov. 2, 2012, made available Monday Jan. 21 2013 of Britain's Prince Harry or just plain Captain Wales as he is known in the British Army, sits in the front seat of his cockpit in Camp Bastion southern Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defense announced Monday that the 28-year-old prince is returning from a 20-week deployment in Afghanistan, where he served as an Apache helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps. (AP Photo/ John Stillwell, Pool)

LONDON (AP) ? Capt. Wales is coming home to be Prince Harry once again.

The Ministry of Defense revealed Monday that the 28-year-old prince is returning from a five-month deployment in Afghanistan, where he served as an Apache helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps. It did not immediately divulge his exact whereabouts.

In interviews conducted in Afghanistan, the third in line to the British throne described feeling boredom, frustration and satisfaction during a tour that saw him fire at Taliban fighters on missions in support of ground troops.

When asked whether he had killed from the cockpit, he said: "Yea, so lots of people have."

He also spoke of his struggle to balance his job as an army officer with his royal role ? and his relief at the chance to be "one of the guys."

"My father's always trying to remind me about who I am and stuff like that," said Harry, the younger son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. "But it's very easy to forget about who I am when I am in the army. Everyone's wearing the same uniform and doing the same kind of thing."

Stationed at Camp Bastion, a sprawling British base in the southern Afghan desert, the prince ? known as Capt. Wales in the military ? flew scores of missions as a co-pilot gunner, sometimes firing rockets and missiles at Taliban fighters.

"Take a life to save a life. That's what we revolve around, I suppose," he said. "If there's people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we'll take them out of the game."

Harry's second tour in Afghanistan went more smoothly than the first, in 2007-2008, which was cut short after 10 weeks when a magazine and websites disclosed details of his whereabouts. British media had agreed to a news blackout on security grounds.

This time, the media were allowed limited access to the prince in return for not reporting operational details.

A member of the air corps' 662 Squadron, the prince was part of a two-man crew whose duties ranged from supporting ground troops in firefights with the Taliban to accompanying British Chinook and U.S. Black Hawk helicopters as they evacuated wounded soldiers.

He said that while sometimes it was necessary to fire on insurgents, the formidable helicopter ? equipped with wing-mounted rockets, Hellfire laser-guided missiles and a 30mm machine gun ? was usually an effective deterrent.

Harry shared a room with another pilot in a basic accommodation block made from shipping containers, and passed the time between callouts playing video games and watching movies with his fellow officers. His security detail accompanied him on base, but not when flying.

"It's as normal as it's going to get," Harry said of the arrangement. "I'm one of the guys. I don't get treated any differently."

But he said he still received unwanted attention at Camp Bastion, which is home to thousands of troops.

"For me it's not that normal because I go into the cookhouse and everyone has a good old gawp, and that's one thing that I dislike about being here," he said. "Because there's plenty of guys in there that have never met me, therefore look at me as Prince Harry and not as Capt. Wales, which is frustrating."

Ever since Harry graduated from the Sandhurst military academy in 2006, his desire for a military career has collided with his royal role. After his curtailed first Afghan deployment, he retrained as a helicopter pilot in order to have the chance of being sent back.

The speed and height at which Apaches fly make them hard for insurgents to shoot down, but Harry's squadron commander, Maj. Ali Mack, said the prince had still faced real danger.

"There is nothing routine about deploying to an operational theater ? where there is absolutely an insurgency ? and flying an attack helicopter in support of both ISAF and Afghan security forces," Mack said.

The danger was underscored soon after Harry arrived at Camp Bastion in September, when insurgents attacked the adjacent U.S. base, Camp Leatherneck, killing two U.S. marines and wounding several other troops.

Harry said he would have preferred to have been deployed on the ground with his old regiment, the Household Cavalry, rather than spending his tour of duty at Camp Bastion, a fortified mini-city replete with shops, gyms and a Pizza Hut restaurant.

Harry said it was "a pain in the arse, being stuck in Bastion."

"I'd much rather be out with the lads in a PB (patrol base)," he said.

Despite the frustrations of base life, Harry said he relished the flying: "As soon as we're outside the fence, we're in the thick of it."

"Yes, OK, we're supposedly safe, but anything can go wrong with this thing, but at the end of the day we're out there to provide cover and protection for the guys on the ground," he said.

Many of Harry's family have also seen combat ? most recently his uncle, Prince Andrew, who flew Royal Navy helicopters during the 1982 Falklands War. His grandfather, Prince Philip, served on Royal Navy battleships during World War II.

Older brother William, who is second in line to the throne, is a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue pilot. He, too, has expressed a desire to serve on the front line, but officials consider it too dangerous.

Harry said he thought William should be allowed to serve in combat.

"Yes, you get shot at. But if the guys who are doing the same job as us are being shot at on the ground, I don't think there's anything wrong with us being shot at as well.

"People back home will have issues with that, but we're not special. The guys out there are. Simple as that."

He said that while William was envious of his Afghan experience, his elder brother's job had its advantages.

"He gets to go home to his wife and his dog, whereas out here we don't," Harry said. "We're stuck playing PlayStation in a tent full of men."

After the respite from scrutiny, the prince is returning to a Harry-hungry media eager for images of the eligible bachelor, and stories of his off-duty escapades.

Just before he went to Afghanistan, Harry hit the headlines during a game of strip billiards at a Las Vegas hotel.

He apologized for the incident. "It was probably a classic example of me probably being too much army, and not enough prince," he said.

But the prince was frank about his frustration with the intense coverage he faces. He said his deep distrust of the press began when he was little, but he still reads what's written about him despite others' advice that he shouldn't, "because it's always rubbish."

"I probably let myself down, I let my family down, I let other people down," Harry said. "But at the end of the day I was in a private area and there should be a certain amount of privacy that one should expect."

Later in the year he hopes to join a group of injured servicemen on a charity race to the South Pole, and in July he is due to become an uncle when William's wife Catherine gives birth to her first child.

Harry said that he "can't wait" to be an uncle, but hoped that Kate would be given privacy during her pregnancy.

And he conceded that he felt more comfortable as Capt. Wales than as Prince Harry.

He said he tried to balance three facets of his life ? "one in the army, one socially in my own private time, and then one with the family and stuff like that."

"So there is a switch and I flick it when necessary," he said.

"Army comes first. It's my work at the end of the day."

__

This story is based on a pool report from Afghanistan.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-21-Britain-Prince%20Harry/id-dd03c55060e64662bede3e079fc61a5f

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