A Story a Day

What is Google Chrome OS?

2009-11-20T19:29:00.001-08:00

Legitest video ever...

2009-11-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

One of best videos in youtube. Made from lots of webcams, time and brain.

Youtube Link

Who knew facebook could save you?

2009-11-12T11:00:00.001-08:00

For Rodney Bradford, 19, updating his Facebook status with cryptic, insignificant details about his life saved him from years in the slammer. The Brooklyn teenager was exonerated from charges of armed robbery after it was found he updated his Facebook status one minute before the crime occurred.
Bradford was arrested and was subsequently held for 12 days on suspicion of robbing two people in the Farragut Houses, a Brooklyn public housing complex, where he lives on Oct 17.
Bradford and other witnesses attested that he was actually miles away at his father's apartment building in Harlem during the crime.
His defense attorney, Robert Reuland, pointed out to a Brooklyn assistant district attorney that Bradford wrote a message on Facebook asking his girlfriend where his pancakes were one minute before the robbery occurred. The Facebook message read: "ON THE PHONE WITH THIS FAT CHICK . . . . . WHERER MY I HOP"
The district attorney subpoenaed Facebook and the charges were then dropped once it was verified that the Facebook posting was made from a computer at the Harlem apartment complex at 71 West 118th Street in Manhattan, according to The New York Times.
Reuland, however, admitted to The Times that Bradford could have ostensibly had someone else log onto Facebook for him, but it seems unlikely, due to the fact that both his father and stepmother said he was in Harlem at the time.

Obama's Veterans Day: Honors Dead, Makes Surprise Visit To Graves

2009-11-11T13:58:00.000-08:00

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, where they honored Veterans' Day and made a surprise visit to the area reserved for troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, walking among the grave sites and talking to mourners.

"To all of them -- to our veterans, to the fallen and to their families -- there is no tribute, no commemoration, no praise that can truly match the magnitude of your service and your sacrifice," he said.

Obama pledged he would do right by all veterans and families, saying: "America will not let you down."

Video of Obama laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns:

Video of Obama's speech:

2012 Prophecies Sparking Real Fears, Suicide Warnings

2009-11-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

It's almost the end of the world, according to purported Maya predictions, and the 2012 apocalypse business is booming.

Survival kits, documentaries, and nearly 200 books presenting the "real" 2012 story are all on offer. And you could probably surf the Web from now until Armaggedon—tentatively slated for December 21, 2012—and still see just a fraction of the Web sites and products devoted to the topic.

But amid all the hype—including a viral marketing campaign for 2012, the disaster movie opening Friday—some people are developing honest "end times" anxiety that has experts seriously concerned.

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2012 Prophecies Sparking Real Fears, Suicide Warnings
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First Posted: 11-10-09 11:12 AM Updated: 11-10-09 12:36 PM

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Commentsby Brian Handwerk for National Geographic News

It's almost the end of the world, according to purported Maya predictions, and the 2012 apocalypse business is booming.

Survival kits, documentaries, and nearly 200 books presenting the "real" 2012 story are all on offer. And you could probably surf the Web from now until Armaggedon—tentatively slated for December 21, 2012—and still see just a fraction of the Web sites and products devoted to the topic.

But amid all the hype—including a viral marketing campaign for 2012, the disaster movie opening Friday—some people are developing honest "end times" anxiety that has experts seriously concerned.

SEE PHOTOS: Six End-of-the-World Myths Debunked

NASA's Ask an Astrobiologist Web site, for example, has received thousands of questions regarding the 2012 doomsday predictions—some of them disturbing, according to David Morrison, a senior scientist with the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

"A lot of [the submitters] are people who are genuinely frightened," said Morrison, who thinks movie marketers, authors, and others out to make a buck are feeding some of the fears.

"I've had two teenagers who were considering killing themselves, because they didn't want to be around when the world ends," he said. "Two women in the last two weeks said they were contemplating killing their children and themselves so they wouldn't have to suffer through the end of the world."

2012 Movie Just Entertainment

Part of the worry, Morrison says, is being fanned by a suite of Web sites created by 2012 distributor Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The sites appear to represent scientific organizations, press releases, and 2012 whistle-blowers all intent on telling the "truth" about our upcoming doom.

Now all the 2012 marketing sites display clear disclaimers that the contents are "Part of the 2012 Movie Experience."

But those labels weren't there from day one, adding to the suggestion that the doomsday scenarios might have some truth behind them, Morrison said.

Sony Pictures spokesperson Steve Elzer argues that it's clear the film's marketing materials are tied to the promotion of the movie.

"When moviegoers see trailers or visit Web sites linked to our film," he said, "they know this is an entertainment experience, just as those who see materials created for Transformers understand robot aliens have not really landed or those who attend Twilight: New Moon know vampires are not actually among us."

2012: Is This the Way the World Will End?

In general, fear over the 2012 doomsday prediction is just another example of a scenario that has been repeated over the centuries, said University of Wisconsin historian Paul Boyer.

Baptist preacher William Miller, for example, convinced as many as a hundred thousand Americans in the early 1800s that the second coming of Jesus Christ would happen in 1843. It didn't, much to the Millerites' "great disappointment."

And Hal Lindsey's 1970s national bestseller The Late, Great Planet Earth suggested that the end could come in the 1980s. We're still here and so is Lindsey, who has since revised his theories.

"The crucial date always seems to be within a decade or so of the present, so that you have a sense of imminence, that it's going to happen soon," said Boyer, author of When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture.

A healthy distrust for authority fuels the fire.

Conspiracy theorists often believe that world governments and those "in power" know all about some impending disaster but are doing nothing to save the rest of us.

Now, thanks to the Internet, such theories can gain traction quickly and spread more widely than ever before.

Yet something must account for the enduring appeal of an upcoming Armageddon. Perhaps it's knowing the future when others don't, or being one of the select few to solve impenetrable mysteries, Boyer said.

"For a lot of people I think it's almost kind of a parlor game. But there are also people who take it very seriously," he said.

"What strikes me is the total lack of historic awareness that people who get caught up in these things seem to exhibit. The most elementary look at history shows such a series of these episodes that are then proven false.

"Yet despite that, there always seems to be a market."

Maya 2012: Truth Better Than Fiction

Anthony Aveni, a Maya expert and archaeoastronomer at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, has also seen the effects of 2012 hysteria firsthand.

"I got into an email dialogue with a high school student who was quite seriously concerned that the world was going to end," he said. "This person thought we were all going to die. That motivated me to write about it."

His book, The End of Time: The Maya Mystery of 2012, is one of several attempts by experts to dispel the myths of the Maya apocalypse and instead focus attention on the facts about the ancient culture.

"It's a teaching moment," Aveni said. "If we allow people to fear 2012 and miss a great opportunity to learn about the Maya and their amazing culture, then we're not doing our job."

Beat It! and Eat It!

2009-11-09T01:23:00.001-08:00

One of the most popular Wierd Al's of the day is Eat it! which doesn' t make a whole lot of sense till you have watched beat it.Beat It is one of the most popular music videos of michael Jackson watch beat it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqxo1SKB0z8

Then watch the Wierd Al
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyfcOriVKBM

Windows 7 sales 234% higher than Vista

2009-11-08T15:08:00.000-08:00

We wouldn't expect Microsoft to say anything other than positive things about Windows 7, but it's another thing when an independent company comes out an confirms that Windows 7 really is off to a good start. But one has to wonder--are sales of Win7doing well because people can't wait to rid themselves of Vista? Or are sales of Win7 doing well because of Win7's own merits?

Whatever the case, Microsoft's newest operating system is off to a fantastic start, with sales of the system up 234% (during its first week on the market) compared to Vista during its first week. Regardless of your opinion on things, that's a large percentage, particularly during a time period where people are pinching pennies and are more likely than ever to remain on their current OS for the time being.

"Microsoft's program of early low-cost pre-sales, high visibility marketing, and aggressive deals helped make the Windows 7 software launch successful," said NPD vice president of analysis Stephen Baker. "In a slow environment for packaged software Windows 7 brought a large number of customers into the software aisles," he said.

Microsoft's Head of Windows Experience, Julie Larson-Green says the OS development train isn't just stopping here obviously. Larson-Green notes: "Emerging trends, such as gesture-controlled interfaces, like that found on Microsoft’s prototype Project Natal gaming system, are also of particular interest. “There are things we’re learning about that weren’t there at the start of Windows 7.” (credit: Telegraph.co.uk)

Of course sales weren't the only thing going up in Redmond. Revenue from Win7 also surpassed Vista by 83% out of the gate, and the OS also gave a nice bump to sales of new PCs. Were you one of those who snagged Win7 early? Are you pleased with the upgrade?

Therapy prevents brain disease

2009-11-06T09:51:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON – French scientists mixed gene therapy and bone marrow transplants in two boys to seemingly halt a brain disease that can kill by adolescence. The surprise ingredient: They disabled the HIV virus so it couldn't cause AIDS, and then used it to carry in the healthy new gene.
The experiment marks the first time researchers have tried that long-contemplated step in people — and the first effective gene therapy against a severe brain disease, said lead researcher Dr. Patrick Aubourg of the University Paris-Descartes.
Although it's a small, first-step study, it has "exciting implications" for other blood and immune disorders that had been feared beyond gene therapy's reach, said Dr. Kenneth Cornetta, president of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.
"This study shows the power of combining gene therapy and cell therapy," added Cornetta, whose own lab at Indiana University has long researched how to safely develop gene delivery using lentiviruses, HIV's family.
The research was published in Friday's edition of the journal Science.
In 20 years of gene therapy research, there have been few home runs and some headline-making setbacks — including a risk of leukemia caused by otherwise successful gene therapy for another rare disorder, "bubble boy disease." That's a risk that specialists hope a lentivirus-based gene therapy will eliminate.
Best known from the movie "Lorenzo's Oil", adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD, is a rare genetic disease that, in its most devastating form, destroys the coating of nerve fibers in boys' brains. Without that coating, called myelin, the neurological system breaks down. The disease typically strikes between the ages of four and 10, leading to blindness, deafness, dementia and loss of muscle control, and killing them within a few years.
Bone marrow transplants can halt ALD by letting new myelin-forming stem cells take root. But it's difficult to find a matching marrow donor, and the transplant itself is very risky.
So what if stem cells from the boys' own bone marrow could be genetically corrected, eliminating the ALD mutation? To do that, Aubourg's team had to overcome a technical hurdle: Gene therapy works when scientists harness deliver a healthy new gene by attaching to a virus that can harmlessly infect cells. But none of today's so-called gene therapy "vectors" could penetrate enough of the stem cells needed for an ALD treatment to work.
Unlike most viruses, HIV can penetrate stem cells, and it sticks permanently. So Aubourg's team removed the genetic parts of HIV that make it dangerous, leaving basically a scaffolding to carry the new therapeutic gene.
Then they culled stem cells from two 7-year-old boys in the early stages of ALD, and mixed in the healthy gene. The boys underwent bone marrow-destroying chemotherapy and then had their genetically corrected stem cells reinserted.
Two years later, the boys have shown no sign of worsening brain damage and are functioning well with 15 percent of their blood cells producing the healthy protein, said Aubourg, who plans to test the experimental procedure in more patients. An advocacy group, the Stop ALD Foundation, is working to raise money for a similar U.S. study.

--Courtesy of ScienceMag.org

Fox Gives Rush Limbaugh 30 Minutes To Tee Off On Obama

2009-11-05T05:02:00.000-08:00

The Obama White House has, for the past few weeks, waged an informal war on Fox News, lashing out against the network for its conservative bias and blacklisting it from interviews with high-ranking administration officials.

So what type of counter-punch did Fox have to offer?

On Sunday they handed over the first half of their hour-long Sunday show to an interview with bombastic radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh

A hard-hitting interview it surely wasn't.

Host Chris Wallace let Limbaugh tee off on all facets of the Obama agenda, domestic and foreign. The radio talk show accused the president of not caring about success in Afghanistan. "I know this is going to sound controversial but I don't think he cares," he said, before accusing Obama of "dithering" on whether or not to send more troops to the theater. "If he cared about it, Chris if he cared about it we've got soldiers and their families worrying about what we are going to do."

Wallace let him go on, relatively uninterrupted. Limbaugh accused Obama of not wanting victory in Afghanistan, just, merely, a manageable situation. He said the president was trying to placate his base by taking his time before sending more troops. And he insisted that the president's visit to Dover air force base to see the returning coffins of U.S. soldiers was an opportunistic "photo-op." He concluded by questioning Obama's "commitment to national security" as well as the Democratic Party's " commitment to the U.S. military."

"They will put their political survival and their political power being gained over everything else," he bellowed. As evidence, Limbaugh insisted that throughout the Iraq War, "it was Barack Obama and the Democratic Party which actively sought the defeat of the U.S. military."

The Obama White House has, for the past few weeks, waged an informal war on Fox News, lashing out against the network for its conservative bias and blacklisting it from interviews with high-ranking administration officials.

So what type of counter-punch did Fox have to offer?

On Sunday they handed over the first half of their hour-long Sunday show to an interview with bombastic radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh

A hard-hitting interview it surely wasn't.

Host Chris Wallace let Limbaugh tee off on all facets of the Obama agenda, domestic and foreign. The radio talk show accused the president of not caring about success in Afghanistan. "I know this is going to sound controversial but I don't think he cares," he said, before accusing Obama of "dithering" on whether or not to send more troops to the theater. "If he cared about it, Chris if he cared about it we've got soldiers and their families worrying about what we are going to do."

Wallace let him go on, relatively uninterrupted. Limbaugh accused Obama of not wanting victory in Afghanistan, just, merely, a manageable situation. He said the president was trying to placate his base by taking his time before sending more troops. And he insisted that the president's visit to Dover air force base to see the returning coffins of U.S. soldiers was an opportunistic "photo-op." He concluded by questioning Obama's "commitment to national security" as well as the Democratic Party's " commitment to the U.S. military."

"They will put their political survival and their political power being gained over everything else," he bellowed. As evidence, Limbaugh insisted that throughout the Iraq War, "it was Barack Obama and the Democratic Party which actively sought the defeat of the U.S. military."

On the home front, the radio show host was equally caustic. He called the White House's economic agenda "a total attempt to remake the country" and accused various portions of Obama's health care proposal to be unconstitutional. In a reflection of just how soft the interview was at times, Wallace turned at one point to viewer questions.

The Obama White House has, for the past few weeks, waged an informal war on Fox News, lashing out against the network for its conservative bias and blacklisting it from interviews with high-ranking administration officials.

So what type of counter-punch did Fox have to offer?

On Sunday they handed over the first half of their hour-long Sunday show to an interview with bombastic radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh

A hard-hitting interview it surely wasn't.

Host Chris Wallace let Limbaugh tee off on all facets of the Obama agenda, domestic and foreign. The radio talk show accused the president of not caring about success in Afghanistan. "I know this is going to sound controversial but I don't think he cares," he said, before accusing Obama of "dithering" on whether or not to send more troops to the theater. "If he cared about it, Chris if he cared about it we've got soldiers and their families worrying about what we are going to do."

Wallace let him go on, relatively uninterrupted. Limbaugh accused Obama of not wanting victory in Afghanistan, just, merely, a manageable situation. He said the president was trying to placate his base by taking his time before sending more troops. And he insisted that the president's visit to Dover air force base to see the returning coffins of U.S. soldiers was an opportunistic "photo-op." He concluded by questioning Obama's "commitment to national security" as well as the Democratic Party's " commitment to the U.S. military."

"They will put their political survival and their political power being gained over everything else," he bellowed. As evidence, Limbaugh insisted that throughout the Iraq War, "it was Barack Obama and the Democratic Party which actively sought the defeat of the U.S. military."

On the home front, the radio show host was equally caustic. He called the White House's economic agenda "a total attempt to remake the country" and accused various portions of Obama's health care proposal to be unconstitutional. In a reflection of just how soft the interview was at times, Wallace turned at one point to viewer questions.
Story continues below

"If President Obama were to agree to a question what would you ask him," the question read.

"I love Fox viewers! I love them!" Limbaugh had chimed in right before.

The interview did, at one point, turn personal. Wallace managed to sneak in a few questions about Limbaugh's addiction to painkillers and allowed the talk show host to go off for a bit on the NFL (for denying his bid to purchase a football team). But for thirty minutes, it was an exercise in turning the White House a punching bag. What are your thoughts on Vice President Biden, Wallace asked at one point.

"Pompous, a bit of a windbag, and wrong," Limbaugh replied.

"About?" said Wallace, with the slightest of amused grins on his face.

"Pretty much everything," Limbaugh concluded.

Budget Monitor Says G.O.P. Bill Leaves Many Uninsured

2009-11-05T04:54:00.000-08:00

The Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday that an alternative health care bill put forward by House Republicans would have little impact in extending health benefits to the roughly 30 million uninsured Americans, but would reduce average insurance premium costs for people who have coverage.

The Republican bill, which has no chance of passage, would extend insurance coverage to about 3 million people by 2019, and would leave about 52 million people uninsured, the budget office said, meaning the proportion of non-elderly Americans with coverage would remain about the same as now, at roughly 83 percent.

The budget office has said that the Democrats’ health care proposal would extend coverage to 36 million people, meaning that 96 percent of legal residents would have health benefits. The Democrats’ bill would cost $1.1 trillion, with the costs more than covered by revenues from new taxes or cuts in government spending, particularly on Medicare.

House Republicans, including their leader, Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, have said that they did not intend for their legislation to expand insurance coverage, because they viewed that goal as unaffordable. Instead, they said the bill was tailored narrowly to reduce costs.

According to the report by nonpartisan budget office, the Republican bill would reduce future federal deficits by $68 billion over 10 years, compared to a reduction of $104 billion by the House Democrats’ legislation.

The findings by the budget office mostly seemed to confirm assertions by Democrats that the Republican bill, offered as an amendment to the Democrats’ measure, would do little to change the status quo.

But Republicans will certainly find aspects of the cost analysis to brag about. The budget office predicted savings for the federal government of $41 billion over 10 years as a result of provisions to limit costs related to medical malpractice lawsuits.

In addition, many Republicans have said the country cannot afford a hugely expensive health care bill at a time of staggering federal deficits, and the total cost of insurance provisions in the Republican bill would be just $61 billion compared to $1.1 trillion for the Democrats’ bill.

The budget office also said that the Republican bill would reduce average insurance premiums, though the budget office cautioned that its calculations in that regard were subject to a high degree of uncertainty.

The budget office said that in the Republican plan, premiums would be reduced the most for people who buy insurance in the individual or small-group market, but that people who get large-group insurance through their employers would also see some reduction in cost. “The combination of provisions included in the amendment would reduce average private health insurance premiums per enrollee in the United States relative to what they would be under current law,” the budget office said.

It said premiums would be cut by 7 percent to 10 percent in the small group market; by 5 percent to 8 percent in the individual market; and by up to 3 percent in the large group market, which is where 80 percent of Americans get their coverage.

The budget office carefully hedged its findings, writing: “Some provisions of the legislation would tend to decrease the premiums paid by all insurance enrollees, while other provisions would tend to increase the premiums paid by less healthy enrollees or would tend to increase the premiums paid by enrollees in some states relative to enrollees in other states. As a result, some individuals and families within each market would see reductions in premiums that would be larger or smaller than the estimated average reductions, and some people would see increases.  The estimates of changes in average premiums are very preliminary and are subject to an unusually high degree of uncertainty.”

Republicans hailed the budget office findings as evidence that they had produced a superior bill, while Democrats ridiculed the same findings as evidence that the Republican bill would accomplish virtually nothing.

“Across the country the American people are calling on Washington to pass responsible reform that will lower health care costs,” Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, the No. 3 House Republican said in a statement late Wednesday. “Yesterday, House Republicans answered that call by putting forward common-sense health care legislation that reduces the deficit, lowers premiums, and ensures coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.”

But Representative George Miller, Democrat of California, chairman of the Education and Labor Committee and one of the main architects of the Democrats’ bill, said the Republicans had come up short.

“Tonight CBO confirmed that the Republicans’ only solution for health reform is to preserve the status quo,” Mr. Miller said in a statement. “It will leave 52 million Americans literally out in the cold, does nothing to help low-income and middle-class families afford quality health care, and protects insurance companies’ power to deny claims and stand between patients and their doctors.”

courtesy of prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com

Your request is being processed... Food Lobby Mobilizes, As Soda Tax Bubbles Up

2009-11-04T20:02:00.000-08:00

Washington lobbyists have been enjoying a multi-million-dollar sugar rush from the food industry.

Soft drink makers, supermarket companies, agriculture and the fast-food business have poured millions into campaigning against what they fear could be a burgeoning national movement to raise money for health care reform by taxing sweetened beverages.

During the first nine months of 2009, the industry groups stepped up their lobbying in Congress. They have spent more than $24 million on the issue of a national excise tax on sweetened beverages and on other legislative and regulatory issues, according to an examination of lobbying reports filed with the Senate Office of Public Records. The review shows that 21 companies and organizations reported that they lobbied specifically on the proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages - which among other things would include sodas, juice drinks and chocolate milk.

About $5 million of the money was spent on a national advertising campaign aimed at Capitol Hill lawmakers and promoting a newly formed coalition called Americans Against Food Taxes . The group bills itself on its website as a coalition of "responsible individuals, financially-strapped families, [and] small and large businesses" but its 400-plus membership list is dominated by industry heavyweights such as Burger King Corporation, Coca Cola, Pepsico and Domino's Pizza.

Many health officials and advocacy groups have argued for years that sugary drinks, particularly those with high-fructose corn syrup, have been key contributors to a rise in obesity rates in the United States, especially among children. Some argue that the time is right for a soda tax, which they say could not only cut consumption but also generate revenue to close state budget gaps and pay for new health care programs.

A proposal for a national excise tax on soft drinks surfaced in a May funding policy options paper during the Senate Finance Committee's deliberations on health care reform. Food lobbyists attacked then and continued their efforts in July when President Obama raised the possibility of a soda tax in an interview with Men's Health magazine. The proposal has not emerged in any of the health care reform bills still in play on Capitol Hill.

But the issue may be gaining traction in some key states. This week, California lawmakers are holding a high-profile hearing in Los Angeles to examine the link between childhood obesity and sugary drinks. In New York, Gov. David Paterson has revived the idea of a sugared beverage tax after a previous proposal was shot down by the legislature earlier this year in the face of industry opposition.

"We are reacting to the situation we find ourselves in," said Kevin Keane, senior vice president for the American Beverage Association, which alone spent more than $7.3 million on lobbying and advertising in the third quarter of 2009, more than six times what it spent in the previous quarter. "In the fourth quarter we are on target to do as much, if not more," Keane said. "We really don't know when the threat is over."

Lobbyists for the industry groups argue that soft drinks cannot be blamed for obesity. A beverage tax, they say, would unfairly single out one type of product and would be a particular burden on low-income people, who can least afford to pay a few cents more per can or bottle.

"To say soda is the only cause of obesity, that's not correct. Just walk down the street and count the number of White Castles or Burger Kings or Jack in the Box," said Nelson Eusebio, executive director of the National Supermarket Association. "If we eliminate soda, would people stay away from fried food, hot dogs and all the other junk out there?"

Supporters of a beverage tax make the comparison to tobacco, saying that it makes sense to impose a levy on sugary drinks to offset health care costs. Such beverages now account for 10 to 15 percent of the calories consumed by children and adolescents, according to an April 2009 report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"For each extra can or glass of sugared beverage consumed per day, the likelihood of a child becoming obese increases by 60 percent," said the article, co-authored by Kelly D. Brownell, a professor of psychology at Yale University, and Thomas R. Frieden, a physician who was then New York City health commissioner and now heads the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Sugar-sweetened beverages ... may be the single largest driver of the obesity epidemic," wrote the authors, who argued for a federal or state tax.

In the Senate, a federal beverage tax was not perceived as a deep enough well of potential revenue, some congressional aides said in interviews. Others pointed out that the members of the Senate Finance Committee are especially sympathetic to the food industry: Democratic Chairman Max Baucus hails from Montana, a large producer of sugar beets. Iowa, the home state of ranking Republican Chuck Grassley, is the nation's largest producer of corn.

"It ran into a committee with a lot of farm members," said Chuck Marr, director of federal policy at the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank in Washington that examines fiscal policies. "Senate Finance is a farm-dominated committee."

The National Corn Growers Association spent $200,000 to lobby Congress against the tax and other issues through September, records show. Jon Doggett, an association spokesman, said other factions of the sugar lobby pushed hard on Congress, but didn't describe their work on public filings as specific to the sweetened beverage tax. "They have kind of kept their heads down a little bit," Doggett said. "Nobody plays politics better than the sugar guys."

In state capitals, the financial crisis has sparked more interest from officials scrambling to make up for lost tax revenue. Although 33 states have sales taxes that apply to soda, the taxes are not aimed at raising money for health care and generally are too low to affect consumption, according to another New England Journal of Medicine article. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a health advocacy group, released a study this October that estimated that states could generate as much as $10 billion a year by adding a seven-cent tax to a 12-ounce can.

This week's hearing in Los Angeles, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Alex Padilla, was prompted by a policy brief on soda consumption called "Bubbling Over," published in September by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy and UCLA. It found that 41 percent of the state's children between the ages of two and 11 drink at least one sweetened beverage a day.

One of the speakers will be Yale University's Brownell, co-founder and director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. He said he expects to see the beverage tax adopted first by the states.

"It's just a matter of time," Brownell said. "If the tobacco tax is any precedent--and I think it is--it will happen first in the states. ... If politicians in other states see it happen in California, they will see it as a winning issue."

Keane, of the beverage association, agrees that the industry has never faced such a political challenge. He said he helped design the television ad campaign for Americans Against Food Taxes to focus on families and to point out how a new tax could squeeze the middle class. One scenario portrayed a family at a campsite as a narrator intoned: "This is no time for Congress to be adding taxes on the simple pleasures we all enjoy, like juice drinks and soda .... We all want to improve health care, but taxes never made anyone healthy."

In two other 30-second ads that played in prime time in the past few weeks, a young mother says: "They say it's only pennies. Well, those pennies add up when you're trying to feed a family. Washington, are you listening? What doesn't seem like much to you can be a lot to us."

Keane said the ads were aimed at lawmakers more than consumers. "We found that all the lawmakers in D.C. get their news on satellite, so we had to buy national cable ads to reach them," Keane said. "It directly targeted the policymakers and staff and those who are directly active and engaged in the process."

In addition to the producers of Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, and Snapple, Americans Against Food Taxes also counts the U.S. Chamber of Commerce among its many partners and has encouraged Hispanic and African-American interest groups to write letters and send e-mail blasts against the sugar tax as unfair to lower-income families.

Elena Rios, a physician who is president of the National Hispanic Medical Association, said she sided with the beverage industry because a tax on soda wouldn't be "a comprehensive approach" to health problems in her community.

"I'm not convinced that [a sugared beverage tax] is a positive incentive to make people aware of nutrition," Rios said. "So instead of sugar, what do they use? Sweetener? I think we have to step back and take a broad approach."

The National Supermarket Association's Eusebio, a leader in Americans Against Food Taxes, said his organization is providing grassroots manpower. When New York Gov. Paterson raised the possibility of a soda tax, Eusebio organized petition drives in neighborhoods that would feel the pinch of a few pennies on a can of Coke.

At Key Food Supermarket at 161st Street in New York, shoppers who wanted to protest the tax waited in a line that stretched a city block, Eusebio said.

He has since coordinated with grocer associations in South Florida, Massachusetts and Connecticut - all who see a nickel-a-can tax as prohibitive.

"Unfortunately, these days whenever a state or federal government needs money--and right now the state of New York needs money--this is what happens," Eusebio said. "They are trying to make this out as something else. This is just a way to raise money."

courtesy of huffington.com

Maine Voters Repeal Law Legalizing Gay Marriage

2009-11-03T22:23:00.000-08:00

PORTLAND, Maine — Gay marriage was put to a vote in Maine on Tuesday in a closely watched referendum that gay-rights activists across the country hoped would prove for the first time that their cause can prevail at the ballot box.

Voters had to decide whether to repeal or affirm a state law that would allow gay couples to wed. The law was passed by the Legislature in May but never took effect because of a petition drive by conservatives.

Early returns showed a close contest, as forecast. With 229 of 608 precincts reporting, each side had 50 percent.

A vote to uphold the law would mark the first time that the electorate in any state endorsed gay marriage. That could energize activists nationwide and blunt conservative claims that same-sex marriage is being foisted on states by judges or lawmakers over the will of the public.

However, repeal – in New England, the region of the country most supportive of gay couples – would be another heartbreaking defeat for the marriage-equality movement, following the vote against gay marriage in California a year ago.

It would also mark the first time voters had torpedoed a gay-marriage law enacted by a legislature. When Californians rejected same-sex marriage, it was in response to a court ruling, not legislation.

Maine's secretary of state, Matthew Dunlap, said turnout seemed higher than expected for an off-year election and voter interest appeared intense. Even before Tuesday, more than 100,000 people – out of about 1 million registered voters – had voted by absentee ballot or early voting.

Five other states have legalized gay marriage – Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut – but all did so through legislation or court rulings, not by popular vote. In contrast, constitutional amendments banning gay marriage have been approved in all 30 states where they have been on the ballot.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/03/maine-gay-marriage-vote-e_n_344688.html

"If we don't win, then Maine will have its place in infamy because no state has ever voted for homosexual marriage," said Chuck Schott of Portland, who stood near a polling place in Maine's biggest city with a pro-repeal campaign sign.

Another Portland resident, Sarah Holman said she was "very torn" but decided – despite her conservative upbringing – to vote in favor of letting gays marry.

"They love and they have the right to love. And we can't tell somebody how to love," said Holman, 26.

Hundreds of gay-marriage supporters gathered in a Portland hotel ballroom in the evening to await the results. On display was a three-tiered wedding cake topped with two grooms on one side, two brides on the other, and the words "We All Do."

In addition to reaching out to young people who flocked to the polls for President Barack Obama a year ago, gay-marriage defenders tried to appeal to Maine voters' independent streak – a Yankee spirit of fairness and live-and-let-live.

The other side based many of its campaign ads on claims – disputed by state officials – that the new law would mean "homosexual marriage" would be taught in public schools.

Both sides in Maine drew volunteers and contributions from out of state, but the money edge went to the campaign in defense of gay marriage, Protect Maine Equality. It raised $4 million, compared with $2.5 million for Stand for Marriage Maine.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, voters in Washington state decided whether to uphold or overturn a recently expanded domestic partnership law that entitles same-sex couples to the same state-granted rights as heterosexual married couples. And in Kalamazoo, Mich., voters approved a measure that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Among other ballot items across the country:

_ Maine voters defeated a measure that would have limited state and local government spending by holding it to the rate of inflation plus population growth. A similar measure was on the ballot in Washington state.

_ Another measure in Maine, headed for approval, would allow dispensaries to supply marijuana to patients for medicinal purposes. It is a follow-up to a 1999 measure that legalized medical marijuana but did not set up a distribution system.

_ In Ohio, partial results were too close to call on a measure that would allow casinos in four major cities: Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/03/maine-gay-marriage-vote-e_n_344688.html

courtesy of huffingtonpost

'09 Exit Polls: Voters Approve of Obama, Wary of Economy

2009-11-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

Vast economic discontent marked the mood of Tuesday's off-year voters, portending potential trouble for incumbents generally and Democrats in particular in 2010. Still the gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey looked less like a referendum on Barack Obama than a reflection of their own candidates and issues.
New Jersey voting
An early voter signs in to cast her ballot at a polling station Nov. 3, 2009, in Hoboken, N.J. Democratic Governor Jon Corzine faces Republican Chris Christie and independent Chris Daggett in today's election.
(Hiroko Masuike/Getty Images)

The gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey looked less like a referendum on Barack Obama than a reflection of their own candidates and issues. Still, the two Republican victories, in predominantly Democratic New Jersey and in purple Virginia, had to smart.

Just under half the voters in Virginia, 48 percent, approved of the way Obama is handling his job, rising to 57 percent in New Jersey. Most in both states, in any case, said the president was not a factor in their vote.

Perhaps most striking were economic views: A vast 89 percent in New Jersey and 85 percent in Virginia said they were worried about the direction of the nation's economy in the next year; 56 percent and 53 percent, respectively, said they were "very" worried about it.

Voters who expressed the highest levels of economic discontent heavily favored the Republican candidates in both states – underscoring the challenge Obama and his party may face in 2010 if economic attitudes don't improve. The analogy is to 1994, when nearly six in 10 voters said the economy was in bad shape, and they favored the out-of-power Republicans by 26 points, helping the GOP to a 52-seat gain and control of Congress for the first time in 42 years.

In Virginia on Tuesday, voters who were "very" worried about the economy concern supported the Republican winner, Bob McDonnell by a wide margin, 77-23 percent. In New Jersey, while the gap wasn't quite so broad, voters who were most worried about the economy backed the Republican Chris Christie by 61-34 percent as he unseated incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine.
McDonnell also won those who called the economy the single most important issue in their vote, by 15 points. Corzine won economy voters by a wide margin in New Jersey, suggesting some fight on the issue for Democrats in 2010. But Corzine badly lost voters who were focused on property taxes, and they were almost as numerous as economy voters in his state.

Another challenge for Corzine – and a sobering result for incumbents more broadly – was that the top candidate attribute selected by voters in his state was the desire for a candidate who "can bring needed change," the same mantra Obama rode to victory a year ago. This year, "change" voters favored Christie by 67-26 percent.

A key factor, as in most elections, was independents: Obama split Virginia independents with John McCain in 2008, en route to becoming the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the state since 1964. McDonnell, though, won independents by a thumping 66-33 percent.

Corzine, too, lost independents in New Jersey by a wide margin, 60-30 percent – the reason he lost a state where Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 10 points.

Twenty-four percent in Virginia said they'd cast their vote in part to show opposition to Obama, 17 percent to support him – a 7-point negative gap, although most, 56 percent, said he was not a factor in their vote. In New Jersey it was an even split: Nineteen percent said they cast their vote in part to express support for the president, an identical 19 percent to show opposition to him, while 60 percent said he wasn't a factor.

At the same time, substantial numbers in both states expressed a view that government "is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals," a measure of concern about activist government. And conservatives accounted for more voters in both states than they did in 2008 – their turnout was up by 7 points in Virginia and by 5 in New Jersey.

Also notable was the very sharp drop-off in voting by young adults: Voters under age 30 accounted for just 9 percent of voters in New Jersey (compared with 17 percent in 2008) and 10 percent in Virginia (down from 21 percent a year ago). Young voters were Obama's biggest supporters last year, but their uncertain turnout makes them a less reliable base. And while Corzine won them broadly Tuesday, under 30s in Virginia favored the Republican, McDonnell, by 10 points.

A summary of results in each state follows.

Cable Modem Hacker Caught

2009-11-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

A U.S. man is facing federal criminal charges for allegedly selling modified cable modems and software that enabled free Internet access at super-fast broadband speeds.

Ryan Harris, owner of TCNISO, ran a mail-order Web site and retail store in San Diego that sold software and modded cable modems. The products enabled "users to obtain faster, upgraded internet service without paying the premiums charged by the ISP," according to the indictment, which is dated Aug. 19 but was unsealed just last week.
Harris, who went by the name DerEngel, is charged with conspiracy, aiding and abetting computer fraud and aiding and abetting wire fraud, according to the indictment, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Federal prosecutors allege Harris and TCNISO took in more than US$1 million in revenue between 2003 and this year.
Harris and three unindicted co-conspirators created software that modified a cable modem so that it could adopt the MAC (Media Access Control) address used by the ISP (Internet service provider) to identify a paying Internet subscriber's modem.
Those MAC addresses, however, were stolen from paying users using software Harris and his company created, the indictment alleges.
Harris allegedly also modified a configuration file in modems that would then enable broadband speeds up to 10 times faster without paying the ISP more. The modem hacking products went by the names "Sigma," "Blackcat" and "DreamOS," the indictment said.
A more sophisticated product, "SigmaX," was capable of blocking ISPs from "probing" a modem on its network to see if it had been modified.
In the indictment, prosecutors wrote they found that Harris was allegedly seeking MAC addresses and configuration files used in a major metropolitan area in a posting on TCNISO's forum in March 2007.
From 2006 to 2008, prosecutors also wrote they observed others trying to trade or sell stolen MAC addresses with others on TCNISO's forum.
About a year ago, TCNISO sold through its Web site two Motorola SB5100 BlackcatUSB cable modems, three Motorola SB4200 Sigma cable modems and one copy of Harris' book to an undercover FBI agent in Boston. The indictment alleges that Harris assisted the agent during the purchasing process in a subsequent phone call. The modem enabled free Internet access.
Harris was open about his modding, even writing a book called "Hacking the Cable Modem" that has a cover photo of a modem meshed with an unlocked padlock. He is scheduled for an arraignment in Boston on Dec. 17.

--Courtesy of PCWORLD.COM

Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA

2009-11-02T19:53:00.000-08:00

"Vi sitter här i Venten och spelar lite DotA" (English "We're sitting in Ventrilo, playing DotA" and in some countries shortened to "DotA") is a song by Swedish dance DJ Basshunter. The lyrics, in Swedish, are about using the voice chat program Ventrilo while playing the Warcraft III Custom Map Defense of the Ancients.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OzWIFX8M-Y

white and nerdy

2009-11-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

"White & Nerdy" is the second single from "Wierd Al" Yankovic's album Straight Outta Lynwood , which was released on September 26, 2006. It parodies the song "Ridin" by Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone. One of the most popular parodies that has attracted audiences from many age groups. The link below leads to the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Zc9NyYH-k

One thing you can do with your little free time

2009-11-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

For those of you that are out of ideas on how to spend your free time... voila here is your chance to look at one interesting and productive thing to do. Take interesting scenes from different movies and make a video look at the video below... This one is supposed to be an inspirational one.

Astronomers Find Organic Molecules Around Gas Planet

2009-10-31T14:48:00.001-07:00

Peering far beyond our solar system, NASA researchers have detected the basic chemistry for life in a second hot gas planet, advancing astronomers toward the goal of being able to characterize planets where life could exist. The planet is not habitable but it has the same chemistry that, if found around a rocky planet in the future, could indicate the presence of life.

'It's the second planet outside our solar system in which water, methane and carbon dioxide have been found, which are potentially important for biological processes in habitable planets,' said researcher Mark Swain of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 'Detecting organic compounds in two exoplanets now raises the possibility that it will become commonplace to find planets with molecules that may be tied to life.'

Swain and his co-investigators used data from two of NASA's orbiting Great Observatories, the Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope, to study HD 209458b, a hot, gaseous giant planet bigger than Jupiter that orbits a sun-like star about 150 light years away in the constellation Pegasus. The new finding follows their breakthrough discovery in December 2008 of carbon dioxide around another hot, Jupiter-size planet, HD 189733b. Earlier Hubble and Spitzer observations of that planet had also revealed water vapor and methane.

The detections were made through spectroscopy, which splits light into its components to reveal the distinctive spectral signatures of different chemicals. Data from Hubble's near-infrared camera and multi-object spectrometer revealed the presence of the molecules, and data from Spitzer's photometer and infrared spectrometer measured their amounts.

'This demonstrates that we can detect the molecules that matter for life processes,' said Swain. Astronomers can now begin comparing the two planetary atmospheres for differences and similarities. For example, the relative amounts of water and carbon dioxide in the two planets is similar, but HD 209458b shows a greater abundance of methane than HD 189733b. 'The high methane abundance is telling us something,' said Swain. 'It could mean there was something special about the formation of this planet.'

Other large, hot Jupiter-type planets can be characterized and compared using existing instruments, Swain said. This work will lay the groundwork for the type of analysis astronomers eventually will need to perform in shortlisting any promising rocky Earth-like planets where the signatures of organic chemicals might indicate the presence of life.

Rocky worlds are expected to be found by NASA's Kepler mission, which launched earlier this year, but astronomers believe we are a decade or so away from being able to detect any chemical signs of life on such a body.

If and when such Earth-like planets are found in the future, 'the detection of organic compounds will not necessarily mean there's life on a planet, because there are other ways to generate such molecules,' Swain said. 'If we detect organic chemicals on a rocky, Earth-like planet, we will want to understand enough about the planet to rule out non-life processes that could have led to those chemicals being there.'

'These objects are too far away to send probes to, so the only way we're ever going to learn anything about them is to point telescopes at them. Spectroscopy provides a powerful tool to determine their chemistry and dynamics.'

You can follow the history of planet hunting from science fiction to science fact with NASA's PlanetQuest Historic Timeline at http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/timeline/ .

This interactive web feature, developed by JPL, conveys the story of exoplanet exploration through a rich tapestry of words and images spanning thousands of years, beginning with the musings of ancient philosophers and continuing through the current era of space-based observations by NASA's Spitzer and Kepler missions. The timeline highlights milestones in culture, technology and science, and includes a planet counter that tracks the pace of exoplanet discoveries over time.

More information about exoplanets and NASA's planet-finding program is at http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov .

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency and is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md., conducts Hubble science operations. The institute is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for research in Astronomy, Inc., Washington, D.C.

JPL manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA

Car Skills

2009-10-31T07:45:00.000-07:00

Caution: Not for the Fainthearted

For those who have claimed to have good observational skills, here is your chance to put it to the test.

Basically there is a video link below this, click on th link and if that doesn't work copy past it this will take you to the video. There, you will observe a car passing through the road(place close attention to the car, you will notice some changes as it goes). Some will be able to see the change, while others won't be able to. Also please comment on our blog to tell us what you think about the video.
Have fun!

link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQQLdN0qCPs

If there are any issued with this link, put comments and I will fix as soon as i can.

Most distant object ever seen.

2009-10-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

PARIS (AFP) – It took 13 billion years to reach Earth, but astronomers have seen the light of an exploding mega-star that is the most distant object ever detected, two studies published Thursday reported.

The stunning gamma-ray burst (GRB) was observed by two teams of researchers in April, and opens a window onto a poorly known period when the Universe was in its infancy.

GRBs are the most violent explosions known to exist, and can be 10 million times more luminous than the brightest of galaxies.

They accompany the catastrophic death of a massive star, and are probably triggered by the collapse of the star's centre into a black hole.

Dubbed GRB 090423, the new discovery was first spotted by the NASA satellite Swift.

Astronomers alerted to the find trained several of Earth's largest telescopes skyward just in time to see the gamma-ray burst's fading afterglow.

The discovery is especially exciting for scientists because the explosion occurred during the so-called "cosmic dark ages", which started a mere 400,000 years after the Big Bang set the Universe in motion some 13.7 billion years ago.

During this period, free electrons and protons combined to form neutral atoms with the same number of positive and negative charges, resulting in an opaque -- or "dark" -- universe.

Not until 800 to 900 million years after the Big Bang were atoms and molecules "re-ionised", or electrically charged, resulting in the relatively transluscent inter-galactic medium we see today.

GRB 090423 flashed and crashed toward the end of these dark ages, making it the oldest object ever seen.

"This observation allows us to begin exploring the last blank space on our map of the Universe," said Nial Tanvir, a professor at the University of Leicester and lead author of one of the studies.

"It is tremendously exciting to be looking back in time to an era when the first stars were just switching on," said Andrew Levan, a professor at the University of Warwick in Britain and co-author of the same study.

The previous record holder for oldest object is at least 150 million years younger than the newly discovered gamma-ray burst.

Both studies were published in the British science journal Nature.

Call me feature added.

2009-10-29T12:43:00.001-07:00

Yes, you can now call me using google voice for free.
Enter your number and your name below, and google will automatically connect you. You can hide your number too, i dont need it and if you dont reach me, leave me a voice mail if you want me to get back to you. :)

What's wrong with our economy?

2009-10-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to zoom in.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Courtesy of imgur.com

Facebook Virus

2009-10-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

A new variant of the Bredolab Trojan horse is attached to a fake "Facebook Password Reset Confirmation" e-mail, security firm MX Labs is reporting.
Some users are receiving the e-mail from "The Facebook Team," according to the security firm. The sender's e-mail address displays "service@facebook.com." In reality, the address and sender were spoofed.

MX Labs found that the e-mail was accompanied by an attachment named, "Facebook_Password_4cf91.zip and includes the file Facebook_Password_4cf91.exe" that, the e-mail claims, contains the user's new Facebook password. The security firm said that the element between the underscore and .zip are randomly chosen letters and numbers for each recipient.
When a user downloads the file, it could wreak havoc on their computer. MX Labs said in a blog post that the Trojan horse Bredolab "executes files from the Internet, such as rogue anti-spyware. To bypass firewalls, it injects its own code into legitimate processes svchost.exe and explorer.exe. Bredolab contains anti-sandbox code (the trojan might quit itself when an external program investigates its actions)." In other words, it's nasty.
Once it makes its way to the user's PC, Bredolab creates "%AppData%\wiaservg.log" and "%Programs%\Startup\isqsys32.exe" in the user's system files. MX Labs said that it also creates two new processes, called "isqsys32.exe" and "svchost.exe."
Another security watchdog, M86 Security, wrote that there's more to the outbreak than Bredolab. After it sneaks its way onto the user's computer, M86 said, Bredolab downloads a bot called Pushdo. The company found that Pushdo immediately starts "spamming out more of these Facebook password reset e-mails."
For its part, Facebook was quick to point out that the e-mail containing the virus wasn't coming from the social network.
"This virus is being distributed through email, not on Facebook," a Facebook spokesperson wrote. "The email is disguised as a Facebook password reset e-mail with an attachment that purportedly contains the new password, but is actually the virus. We're educating users on how to detect this through the Facebook Security Page."
Facebook said that users should be "suspicious of unexpected emails claiming to be from Facebook." The company also said that it will never send users a new password as an attachment.
Those users that have downloaded the file should use anti-malware software to remove it. Click here for a list of security software available from CNET's Download database.

China looking for U.S. missing bomber

2009-10-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

China has begun looking for the remains of a U.S. Air Force bomber and its crew that crashed over the southern part of the country some six decades ago during the Korean War, state media reported.

The B-29 "Superfortress" caught fire and came down in Raoping county, Guangdong province, on November 5, 1950, Xinhua news agency said in a report late on Monday. Villagers found 15 bodies, four of which were buried on the site of the crash.
The reported crash site is hundreds of miles from the combat zone in Korea, but en route to the U.S. bases in Japan from which the bombers operated during the war.
Chinese military archivists are now looking through old documents and "could very likely discover the remains of personnel on the U.S. B-29 bomber," Xinhua said.
"Primary research of the archives has found more than 100 documents relating to missing U.S. servicemen," Xinhua added.
The U.S. Department of Defence says more than 8,100 U.S. personnel are still officially listed as missing from the Korean War, in which U.S.-led forces faced off against the North Koreans and their Chinese allies.
China agreed with the United States last year that it would search though its archives to look for clues of the whereabouts of missing U.S. personnel, many of whom went missing during the 1950-53 Korean war.
Military relations between China and the United States have been strained of late, due to several naval confrontations.
Beijing has repeatedly called on the United States to reduce and eventually stop air and sea surveillance close to its shores.
But on Monday, a top Chinese general said in Washington that he backed better military-to-military relations with the United States.

Why you can’t stop playing Bejeweled

2009-10-27T06:27:00.000-07:00

We've all been there. The clock tells us it's time to call it a night, but we don't want to do so until we've completed just one more level. 90 minutes later, we're still using that same excuse.

There's something about well-designed games – especially casual titles – that captivates players. Every title has its own secret sauce, but solving the mystery of their deep engagement isn't as hard as you might think. In fact, it often comes down to six factors.

Sounds – Those little pings and muted explosions might not stand out in your mind when you're playing, but they have a lot to do with why you can’t stop. The next time you play "Bejeweled" or "Peggle," notice how the notes get progressively higher on combinations. That's one of PopCap's secret weapons.

"It turns out that people really respond to the rising pitch," says Jason Kapalka, cofounder and creative director of PopCap Games. "That's a trick that never gets old and one that we use again and again."

On-screen changes – Another go-to trick at PopCap is a constantly evolving screen. Every action you take changes the way the game looks in some form or fashion. These changes, says Dr. Carl Arinoldo, a New York psychologist, actually increase your engagement.
"Every time you do something, you’ve essentially got a new visual stimulus in front of you," he says. "This helps to increase concentration and keeps your brain going. Every time there's something new on the screen, you're putting together new groups of brain cells."
Generous scores – Ever notice how high your score is in most casual games? In the end, it doesn't mean much, but you still feel a real sense of accomplishment. That's deliberate. Aiming for a score of 1 million is a lot more engaging than shooting for 1,000.
"It's kind of the pinball machine rule," says Kapalka. "There's no reason a pinball machine has to score in the hundreds of thousands or millions, but if your average game of pinball scored 53 points, no one would enjoy it."

Low pressure – Sometimes a ticking clock adds to the fun of a game, but it's often a distraction – and an unnecessary source of stress. That's why PopCap games tend to be slow-paced or have no time limit at all. There were plenty of word-based games before "Bookworm," for instance, but most had timer elements to them. That created a high-pressure environment.
Instead of making the game time-based, PopCap added new ways to lose, such as the burning tiles, but let the player move at his or her own pace.
Cognitive benefits – Between keeping your brain stimulated and avoiding high pressure, playing these games actually has some beneficial qualities. Stress levels go down and, according to Arinoldo, attention spans increase.
"People report their concentration and focusing improves," he says. "On top of that, they also assist with problem solving and decision making. ... I actually recommend them to my patients as far as stress management is concerned."
Big rewards – Many PopCap titles are offshoots of existing games. "Bookworm," for instance, owes a big debt to Scabble. And "Peggle" wouldn't exist if it weren't for Pachinko. At their core, the games typically aren't particularly fun to watch being played. So when a user hits a new level, there needs to be a significant visual reward.
"With Peggle, a lot of work went into the 'extreme fever' area at the completion of a level, where you get the rainbows, fireworks and 'Ode to Joy' is played," says Kapalka. "That's a big payoff for the player."

-Courtesy of Yahoo News

Man Arrested for Being Naked in His OWN HOME

2009-10-26T00:18:00.000-07:00

SPRINGFILED, Va. - A debate continues in Northern Virginia that is bringing the issue of civil liberties to the national stage. A 29-year-old Springfield man says he was making coffee in the nude was arrested after a neighbor saw him, and on Wednesday police were back out in his neighborhood looking for others who might have seen him. Eric Williamson, 29, is a commercial diver who grew up in Hawaii and rents home with several co-workers. Williamson told FOX 5's Will Thomas his roommates were not home and he walked into the kitchen to make coffee about 8:30 a.m. Monday. "Yes, I wasn't wearing any clothes but I was alone, in my own home and just got out of bed. It was dark and I had no idea anyone was outside looking in at me," Williamson said. But at about 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning, a neighbor walking her son to school says he deliberately exposed himself-- not once, but twice. First, she says it happened as he was standing in the glass doorway in the kitchen, and then again at a front window.
"We've heard there may have been other people who had a similar incident," said Mary Ann Jennings, a Fairfax County Police spokesperson.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE ORIGINAL STORY FROM FOX 5
The complaint came from an unidentified woman who was walking with a 7-year-old boy. A Fairfax County Police spokesperson said officers arrested Williamson for indecent exposure because they believe he wanted to be seen naked by the public. On Wednesday, investigators told FOX 5 they have reason to believe there may have been another incident in which someone saw Williamson naked in front of his window. They're asking anyone who may have seen Williamson in the nude through his windows to come forward, even if it was at a different time.
Police are especially concerned because the house is located across the street from a bus stop for school children. So on Wednesday, officers canvassed the neighborhood with fliers, asking anyone who may have been subject to an exposure to come forward. The department spokesperson says in a rare move, they're releasing more information about the case.
"Because this was being spun into a national story, and the idea you can't be naked in your own house-- we wanted to come forward and say in this case our officers believed there was probable cause the law had been violated," said Jennings. Eric has since moved out of the rental house he shared with several diving buddies. And, by phone on Wednesday, the father of a 5-year-old girl maintained his innocence, as he did Monday in an exclusive interview with FOX 5.
"I'm a loving dad-- any of my friends would tell you that," Williamson said. "There is not a chance on this planet I would ever, ever do anything like that to a kid."
Police wouldn't release the incident report or the name of the mother who filed the complaint. FOX 5 has learned she is a respected member of the community, and just happens to be the wife of a Fairfax County Police officer.
FOX 5 also spoke with some of Williamson's roommates, and they said they believed Eric was drunk on Monday morning when they were all leaving for work around 5 a.m. The alleged exposure happened around 8:30 a.m. Williamson, however, says he was drinking on Sunday night, but was not drunk on Monday morning.

courtesy of myfoxdc.com

Day light saving on Nov. 1

2009-10-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

Daylight Savings Time 2009 fall back is November 1. Daylight Savings Time begins at 0200, but Daylight Savings Time 2009 fall back is confusing for many.

The European Union experienced a Daylight Savings Time fall back today - October 25. In the past, the Daylight Savings Time fall back took place in last Sunday in October.

Now, Daylight Savings Time takes place on the first Sunday in November.

Daylight Savings Time has an interesting past. A big reason that countries like Daylight Savings Time is because it helps conserve energy by keeping daylight stretched longer.

The Daylight Savings Time fall back period is actually a return back to Standard Time. In March, people have to "spring forward", losing an hour. When "spring forward" takes place, daylight is stretched longer and the use of artificial lights is unwarranted.

During WWI, Germany was the first country to use Daylight Savings Time. America eventually started using Daylight Savings time in order to save fuel for the war efforts. After the war, Daylight Savings Time was repealed. Throughout the world, inconsistent use of Daylight Savings time created problems, and even caused a train wreck in France.

The Oil Embargo in 1973 raised the popularity of Daylight Savings Time. The period was extended all year long, and saved the US nearly 3 million barrels of oil each month. After the Oil Embargo was over, Daylight Savings Time reverted back to 6 months a year, then increased to 7 months a year in 1986.

In 2007, Daylight Savings Time was extended once more. Now, the Daylight Savings Time is extended 3 or 4 weeks in the spring and 1 week in the fall.

Extending the Daylight Savings Time fall back causes a lot of confusion, especially when other countries still have Daylight Savings Time fall back set for this week.

Missing Daylight Savings Time fall back could cause you to show up early for events. Be sure to set your clocks back 1 hour by 0200 on November 1st. Better yet, set your clocks back an hour before you go to bed on October 31, so the clock is accurate when you wake up.

Again, Daylight Savings Time fall back is November 1 - the first Sunday in November. It starts at 0200.

Swine flu-national emergency

2009-10-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

President Obamahas declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, allowing hospitals and local governments to speedily set up alternate sites for treatment and triage procedures if needed to handle any surge of patients, the White House said on Saturday.

The declaration came as thousands of people lined up in cities across the country to receive vaccination, and as federal officials acknowledged that their ambitious vaccination program has gotten off to a slow start. Only 16 million doses of the vaccine were available now, and about 30 million were expected by the end of the month. Some states have requested 10 times the amount they have been allotted.

Flu activity — virtually all of it the swine flu — is now widespread in 46 states, a level that federal officials say equals the peak of a typical winter flu season. Millions of people in the United States have had swine flu, known as H1N1, either in the first wave in the spring or the current wave.

Although there has been no exact count, officials said the H1N1 virus has killed more than 1,000 Americans and hospitalized over 20,000. The emergency declaration, which Mr. Obama signed Friday night, has to do only with hospital treatment, not with the vaccine. Government officials emphasized that Mr. Obama’s declaration was largely an administrative move that did not signify any unanticipated worsening of the outbreak of the H1N1 flu nationwide. Nor, they said, did it have anything to do with the reports of vaccine shortages.

-Courtesy of NYTimes

Bueno? Dobre? How to learn a foreign language online

2009-10-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

Whether I was squeezing myself into a crowded subway car or admiring the fall leaves around at Tsaritsino Park, I was constantly learning new Russian words during my two-week study trip to Moscow last October.

The Internet offers a variety of options for people looking to learn foreign languages.

Free online learning
With the boom in social media, it makes sense that learning a language online would take on a Facebook-like component. My general impression is that these are great ways to exchange languages with people all over the world, but you might not always get helpful feedback. Watch for more on language learning »
With Livemocha, you get to learn the language of your choice while helping others who want to speak your native tongue. Once you complete a structured lesson, you submit your own writing and audio recordings to other users for feedback. Reading a sentence aloud and then sending my recording off was pretty intimidating, but I got a response within 10 minutes from a girl in Russia who gave it five stars and a "Good!!" -- although she was surely too kind.
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I also got to review English submissions from other users, which felt especially gratifying because I had just been in their uncomfortable situation of sending off my words to strangers.
There's also Lang-8, which is all about the practice of writing. You essentially keep a journal in the language you are practicing, and others in the online community read and correct it.
Want more structure? The Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium gives out awards every year for outstanding language-learning Web sites: read the full list. No Russian sites made it there, but for Spanish (my second language) they cite a wonderful (and free) interactive refresher called Spanish Language and Culture with Barbara Kuczun Nelson.
This site uses popular Spanish songs, photo essays and other activities to teach grammar and vocabulary. It's intended for people who have had some exposure to the language, however.
iPhone apps
If you've got an iPhone, you've got a way to get exposure to your language of choice wherever there's adequate reception. In general, I'm kind of in awe of the idea that I can have a pre-recorded voice pronounce words as many times as I want so I can match it (although standing in the subway and repeating the same foreign word over and over might draw some unwanted attention).
First, I checked out AccelaStudy, an iPhone app that offers practice in 15 languages, including Russian. The free version shows and pronounces 132 words in "study" mode. In "flashcard" mode, you get a word in English and then touch the screen to "turn over" the card and hear and see the Russian translation. I like that you can listen to each word as many times as you want before you think you're pronouncing it right.
The quiz, though, is only 10 words, which are the same in the audio version and don't seem to vary. However, $7.99 will get you access to more than 2,100 unique words. This seems like a good supplement for language learning but not ideal on its own, especially since there's no speaking or writing practice.
For some, Byki, also available in multiple languages, may be more useful. For $7.99, you get flash cards with audio and pictures, and I feel that both elements are essential for my own learning of new words. The app comes with 1,000 words, which is less than half that of AccelaStudy, however.
I am intrigued that you can use this app to see how your vocabulary words are being used in real time on Twitter. For those without an iPhone, you can get free version of Byki for Mac or PC, or a "deluxe" version you can use to import vocabulary lists to the iPhone.
Paying more for immersion
The gold standard of computer-based language learning seems to be Rosetta Stone. Here's what I love: It forces you, like a real situation in a foreign country, to stretch the limits of your understanding but gives you feedback so that you learn and progress.
Instead of memorizing words, you confront pictures and learn to describe what's going on. In the two months since I started the beginning Russian levels, I've been exposed to a variety of everyday vocabulary words through pictures and constant audio reinforcement. It is gratifying at the end of each unit to have a "milestone" activity in which you interact with the people in pictures, simulating the frustration you feel when you forget how to say something basic off-the-cuff in a new language.
The obvious downside for this program is the cost: $229 for Russian Level 1, for instance. Some people, such as myself, are able to get Rosetta Stone through corporate programs or universities. The other downer, depending on what your needs are, is that there is no explicit explanation for why the grammar is used the way it is.
In other words, I have no idea what the different "cases" are in Russian, even though I understand that endings of words change in different constructions. On the other hand, small children who grow up fluent in English don't learn that in English the phrase "if I had known" is in the "pluperfect subjective tense"; they just learn to say "if I had known."
A rival to Rosetta Stone is Transparent Language, which is less expensive ($179 for the complete edition) and owns the Byki products mentioned above. But Mac users beware: It's only for PC.
Use it or lose it?
All of these resources have shown me that, although I let many months lapse before trying to resume my Russian, I haven't lost it all. In fact, Grant Goodall, linguistics professor at the University of California, San Diego, says that if you spent a significant amount of time interacting in a language at some point -- even a decade ago or more -- a lot of it may return.
"It seems to be that the higher your ability level that you attained to begin with, the more likely it is to come back later in life," he said.
He also noted that, although your ability to learn a new language goes down with age, it never goes away completely. A 20-year-old will learn faster than a 40-year-old, who will learn quicker than a 60-year-old, but anyone at any age has the ability to take on a new tongue.
I believe these digital resources are worthwhile tools for improving your language skills. Of course, nothing replaces the learning, and the joy, that comes with negotiating daily life in a different language in a foreign place.

-courtesy of CNN

Girl found in NY claims no memory of name, home, family

2009-10-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

Authorities are seeking the public's assistance in identifying a teenage girl who mysteriously turned up in Manhattan two weeks ago, claiming to have no memory of her family, her home -- or even her own name.

The teen has recalled an excerpt from the fantasy novel "Fool's Fate" by Robin Hobb.

"I just want to know who I am," the girl says in a statement released by the New York City Administration for Children's Services. The teen, who is being referred to as Jane Doe, continues, "I want to know who I am and what happened to me."
The Caucasian young woman, described by New York ACS as "very soft-spoken," is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, light-skinned, with short, straight, cropped blond hair and blue eyes. Doctors are estimating her age to be between 14 and 17.
ACS Commissioner John B. Mattingly appealed to the public in a statement, "asking anyone who may know this young woman to help us locate her family as quickly as possible, so we can safely reunite her with those who love her."
The girl was found in midtown Manhattan around 12:30 a.m. October 9 outside the Covenant House youth shelter, although the organization tells CNN that she was not a resident at the time and did not appear as if she intended to seek refuge at the facility.
According to its Web site, with nearly 7,000 youths seeking shelter per year, "Covenant House New York is the nation's largest adolescent care agency serving homeless, runaway and at-risk youth."
A security guard for the shelter noticed the girl walking around on the sidewalk near Covenant House and approached her. Finding her unresponsive, he called the New York City Police Department.
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Police officers interviewed the young woman, but it became clear that she couldn't provide authorities with any information about herself. The NYPD said she was wearing military green camouflage pants, a black shirt and a pair of black sneakers when she was discovered.
Children's Services says the girl recently wrote down the name "Amber" and has responded to it on one occasion, but she has no idea whether it's her name.
On another occasion, she is said to have recalled certain words, which turned out to be an excerpt from the fantasy novel "Fool's Fate" by Robin Hobb. The girl is also apparently writing a fantasy story of her own that features a heroine named Rian "who's been raised by the commander of the guard post on the edge of a fantasy kingdom," the young woman said.
While the girl is confused and her story remains vague, Mattingly said, "she is safe with us, and we are doing all we can to help her, but she needs to find her family."
She is apparently reviewing materials for a high school GED exam, saying that she is able to do the math but has no recollection of studying the history and science portions. However, according to the Children's Services statement, the young woman "can easily retain the information."
New York City Administration for Children's Services and police are asking anyone with information about the young woman or her family to contact the NYPD Missing Persons Squad at 212-694-7781 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS

-Courtesy of CNN

Berg “Haunted” After Watching Paranormal Activity view!

2009-10-23T02:24:00.000-07:00

Oh, sweet Jesus, that nice couple Katie and Micah are about to go to sleep again! They already suspect that their house is haunted. Micah has propped up his video camera in their bedroom to record any unusual phenomena, so they'll know what awful thing happened the previous night, while they were sleeping. The bedroom door moved a couple of inches and then ... moved back!

Big hairy deal, say cynics who were bred on gross-out horror movies. Show us heads exploding, chests busting, legs sawed off. Yet the packed audience at a late-night screening of Paranormal Activity in Times Square this past week didn't need gore effects to be scared witless. Yes, they knew it was only a movie — one that, like The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield and plenty others before it, used "found footage" to give a patina of realism to the fanciful events that were dreamed up by writer-director Oren Peli and are endured by actors Micah Sloat and Katie Featherston (using their real names). But when that door moved, the crowd's collective gasp just about sucked all the oxygen out of the theater.
The campaign to bring Paranormal Activity to the public is already a movie-industry legend. Shot three years ago by Peli, an Israeli-born video maker, for $11,000 in a week in his house, the picture played a few fright festivals in 2007. While DreamWorks considered buying the rights to do a remake with stars, Steven Spielberg took a copy of PA home to watch it; when he finished his screening, he found his bathroom door inexplicably locked. (He thought the DVD was haunted.) Two weeks ago, Paramount started playing Peli's film at midnight in 16 college towns. Many showings were sold out. Sorry, come back next week, if you dare. No tickets created a hot ticket — the movie grossed $1.2 million in its early, limited engagements — and Paramount stoked the fever by urging fans to go online and "demand" a wider release. More than a million such requests came in, allowing Paramount's website to brag that PA was "the first-ever major film release decided by You."
This weekend, PA has expanded to all-day runs on 159 screens in 44 cities, and according to early reports, it's headed for a box-office breakout — perhaps the highest three-day gross of any film showing in fewer than 200 venues. "Look out, cuz there's a freight train coming," an executive from a rival studio told Deadline Hollywood's Nikki Finke, "and Paramount is going to make a TON of cash on this pickup. Cuz they ain't spending anything on it, and who knows where the ceiling is!" The box-office figures will make headlines, giving the movie more free publicity and luring bigger crowds that are eager to learn what all the screaming is about. (See the 100 best movies of all time.)
Beyond the viral ingenuity of the marketing, what's cool about PA is that it's not just a fun thrill ride; it's an instructive artistic experience. A horror-movie revisionist, Peli follows a less-is-more strategy. He knows that waiting for the big scary jolt does more damage to the nervous system than getting it. The tension builds slowly, as the apprehensive Katie, a student, and the skeptical Micah, a day trader, feel the first emotional tremors. The movie keeps us in its grip because we never leave the couple's haunted property and because all we see is what the camera has recorded when held by Micah or Katie, or when left on at night to monitor their bedroom. That claustrophobia creates a bond between the couple and the audience; they can't escape, and neither can we.
Peli downplays shock and emphasizes suspense: a shadow creeping across a wall or the ripple of an unseen form under the bedsheets. The gore scenes in splatter movies carry a sadistic punch, but those are outside most moviegoers' experience. What Peli is interested in is dread, a feeling everyone is familiar with. (Will I lose my job? Has she found someone else? Why hasn't our kid come home yet? What's that strange rash?) Movies take that anxiety, crystallize it and, because fiction demands an ending, resolve it. The threat is provided, the fear made flesh, the monster confronted. All gone — feel better? Horror movies provide vicarious psychotherapy in an hour and a half. PA is different. At the end, it doesn't let viewers off the hook. It leaves them hanging and dares them to turn that last shiver into a laugh of relief that the delicious ordeal is over.

Microsoft releases Windows 7

2009-10-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp launched Windows 7 on Thursday in its most important release for more than a decade, aiming to win back customers after the disappointing Vista and strengthen its grip on the PC market.
The world's largest software company, which powers more than 90 percent of personal computers, has received good reviews for the new operating system, which it hopes will grab back the impetus in new technology from rivals Apple Inc and Google Inc.
"It's the first really significant release of Windows in a decade," analyst Brendan Barnicle of Pacific Crest Securities told Reuters Television. "Given the missteps around Vista, people really questioned Microsoft's relevancy in the technology space. So this is a critical first step for Microsoft regaining that credibility."
The new system -- which is faster, less cluttered and has new touch-screen features -- comes almost three years after the launch of Vista, whose complexity frustrated many home users and turned off business customers.
The success of Windows -- which accounts for more than half of Microsoft's profit -- is crucial for Chief Executive Steve Ballmer to revive the company's image as the world's most important software firm.
"I have to say I'm chomping at the bit," Ballmer told an audience of Microsoft customers and partners in Toronto on Wednesday, adding that he is ready to make sales calls himself on Windows 7.
Sales won't immediately impact the bottom line of Microsoft, which is expected to post a lower quarterly profit on Friday.
- By guest writer, Suraj T.

New feature added...

2009-10-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

We have added a new feature in the site. Its called AnswerTips by Answers.com. It allows readers to find definition of words more quickly by double clicking most of the words in this website.

Franken ANNIHILATES KBR attorney

2009-10-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

To expand on the diary somewhat, while it may be blatantly obvious to most of us here, there are those who have been trying to defend the "No" votes. In case anyone asks about what possible justification there might have been for voting against this amendment, there are only two:
If the amendment was attached to some totally unrelated larger bill which you were against, and, and the only way to vote against the bill as a whole was to vote against this amendment (which happens in many cases).
if the wording of the bill was too vague or open to massive abuse (the "unintended consequences" issue).
HOWEVER, in this case, you could vote for the amendment and still vote against the main bill (which is actually a DoD spending bill anyway, not the sort of thing Republicans are going to be against as a rule), and the actual full text is VERY specific and narrow (bottom right of page S10069):
Sec. 8104. (a) None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any existing or new Federal contract if the contractor or a subcontractor at any tier requires that an employee or independent contractor, as a condition of employment, sign a contract that mandates that the employee or independent contractor performing work under the contract or subcontract resolve through arbitration any claim under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or any tort related to or arising out of sexual assault or harassment, including assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, or negligent hiring, supervision, or retention.
In other words, it specifically covers: --Violations of core civil rights --Rape --Assault --Torture --Kidnapping --Knowingly (or being criminally negligent about) hiring sick, sadistic, twisted rapist/murderer types
These are all criminal actions which have absolutely NO business being dealt with via arbitration, which is intended for disputes over intellectual property, compensation, nondisclosure of corporate secrets, that sort of thing.
In addition, this amendment doesn't force the companies abandon contracts with these provisions--it simply says that the Federal Government of the United States refuses to do businesses with those businesses that continue to do so. Halliburton is still free to do business with other corporations if they wish; they just lost their single biggest client, that's all.
In this particular case, there are exactly zero legitimate reasons to vote against it. Christ, they could have at least abstained or something (for the record, 2 Democrats didn't vote at all due to illness or scheduling conflicts).

Leech provides DNA against robber.

2009-10-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian man faces jail for armed robberyafter police used blood from a leech to make a DNA match from a 2001crime scene, a court spokeswoman said on Monday.

Peter Alec Cannon, 54, pleaded guilty to aggravated armed robbery in the Supreme Court in Launceston on the island state of Tasmania on Monday.

Crown prosecutor John Ransom told the court that a policeman had picked up a leech from near a safe at the scene of the crime from which forensic scientists extracted blood and a DNA sample, according to a report in local newspaper The Mercury.

Seven years later, when Cannon was arrested and charged with a drugs crime, police took a DNA sample from him and it matched the sample from the robbery.

The court heard that Cannon and another man had robbed and assaulted a 71-year-old woman at her bushland home, stealing $500 from her.

The court spokeswoman said Cannon was remanded in custody for sentencing on Friday this week.

Mom teaches son how to shoot heroin, Son dies of OD

2009-10-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

A 46-year-old Burlington mom is in some serious trouble after she allegedly taught her 16-year-old son how to shoot heroin. The teen ended up overdosing and now prosecutors connecting her to the death. Parent of the year award! Thank you Wisconsin for showing us everything we don't want to be in life

Patricia L. Strosina is charged with intentionally contributing to the delinquency of a child resulting in death. She could face 25 years in prison if convicted in connection to her son's Sep. 14 death.

When police found the teen, he was slumped over a desk at his dad's house with a syringe, a burned spoon and other drug paraphernalia. He died of an overdose of heroin and cocaine.

The story of this teen's fall into hard drugs is extremely depressing, especially for any parent who actually cares about their kids.

Several witnesses, including a case worker, told investigators that the teen had been shooting heroin with his mother and that she originally taught him how to do it. She would even bring him along on drug runs and shoot up with him. Witnesses even saw her shoot him up. Strosina admitted to doing drugs with her son and said she used heroin with him a week before his death.

-Aayush

Life possible on Europa, Jupiter's moon?

2009-10-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

A model of Europa's interior, including a global ocean. If a 100 kilometer-deep ocean existed below the Europan ice shell, it would be 10 times deeper than any ocean on Earth and would contain twice as much water as Earth's oceans and rivers combined. Credit: NASA/JPL
New research suggests that there is plenty of oxygen available in the subsurface ocean of Europa to support oxygen-based metabolic processes for life similar to that on Earth. In fact, there may be enough oxygen to support complex, animal-like organisms with greater oxygen demands than microorganisms

The global ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa contains about twice the liquid water of all the Earth’s oceans combined. New research suggests that there may be plenty of oxygen available in that ocean to support life, a hundred times more oxygen than previously estimated.
The chances for life there have been uncertain, because Europa’s ocean lies beneath several miles of ice, which separates it from the production of oxygen at the surface by energetic charged particles (similar to cosmic rays). Without oxygen, life could conceivably exist at hot springs in the ocean floor using exotic metabolic chemistries, based on sulfur or the production of methane. However, it is not certain whether the ocean floor actually would provide the conditions for such life.
Therefore a key question has been whether enough oxygen reaches the ocean to support the oxygen-based metabolic process that is most familiar to us. An answer comes from considering the young age of Europa’s surface. Its geology and the paucity of impact craters suggests that the top of the ice is continually reformed such that the current surface is only about 50 million years old, roughly 1% of the age of the solar system.
Richard Greenberg of the University of Arizona has considered three generic resurfacing processes: gradually laying fresh material on the surface; opening cracks which fill with fresh ice from below; and disrupting patches of surface in place and replacing them with fresh material. Using estimates for the production of oxidizers at the surface, he finds that the delivery rate into the ocean is so fast that the oxygen concentration could exceed that of the Earth’s oceans in only a few million years. Greenberg presented his findings at the 41st meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences now under way in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
Greenberg says that the concentrations of oxygen would be great enough to support not only microorganisms, but also “macrofauna”, that is, more complex animal-like organisms which have greater oxygen demands. The continual supply of oxygen could support roughly 3 billion kilograms of macrofauna, assuming similar oxygen demands to terrestrial fish.
The good news for the question of the origin of life is that there would be a delay of a couple of billion years before the first surface oxygen reached the ocean. Without that delay, the first pre-biotic chemistry and the first primitive organic structures would be disrupted by oxidation. Oxidation is a hazard unless organisms have evolved protection from its damaging effects. A similar delay in the production of oxygen on Earth was probably essential for allowing life to get started here.
Richard Greenberg is the author of the recent book “Unmasking Europa: The Search for Life on Jupiter’s Ocean Moon”, which offers a comprehensive picture of Europa for the general reader.

-Edwin

Weird Police Force

2009-10-18T21:06:00.001-07:00

A town's entire police force has quit in Hungary after winning more than £10 million in the lottery.

The 15-strong squad in Budaors scooped the jackpot with their ticket on Tuesday and all resigned on the spot.

Police chiefs have scrambled back-up units to the region until more full-time officers can be recruited.

It was the sixth biggest win in Hungarian lottery history, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Meanwhile, a woman in Ohio sparked a riot in a clothing store after falsely claiming she'd won the lottery and would pay for everyone's purchases.

The woman arrived at the Burlington Coat Factory in Columbus by limousine and by the time police got there 500 people were inside with another 1,000 queueing.

The woman was arrested after staff discovered she had no money and the whole stunt was a hoax.

Angry customers threw merchandise around as they looted the store. Police said it looked as though a hurricane passed through it.

Linda Brown, 45, was arrested over the incident. No charges have yet been filed, pending a mental evaluation.

-Aayush

Welcome

2009-10-18T11:55:00.001-07:00

Welcome to StoriesNews. You can find all sorts of weird, interesting, funny and important news, from all over the world.

-Aayush & Edwin