Nov 29, 2008

Is Mariah Carey Pregnant? Ellen Seems To Think So!


Lately, there’s been a mess of speculation that Mariah Carey and hubby Nick Cannon are expecting a little bundle of joy. And Mariah’s appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” is only raising the alert level on the baby-bump watch.

When asked by the talk-show host if she is pregnant, the singer gave this response, “No, that’s OK [to ask],” E! Online reported. So, the wily Ellen instead offered the pop star a glass, saying, “You don’t have to answer that. Let’s just toast with champagne.”

Mariah then gave her a whole slew of excuses, other than being pregnant, for not drinking the bubbly. “It’s just fattening!” she said. “This is peer pressure! … It’s too early for me. I only drink after 3 p.m.

You can’t blame Ellen for trying. “No, let’s toast to you not being pregnant,” she ventured. Mariah, who only pretended to sip her champagne, wasn’t down for that sort of toast either. “I can’t believe her,” Mariah said. “Why would we toast to that? How about to the future? For both of our futures, who knows what they hold.”

Ellen again insisted that Carey was pregnant, but Mimi still resisted: “I didn’t say that. No, no, no. My mother would be at home, like, on the computer, like, ‘What are you talking about?’ We will let you know when we’re going to have a family.” Watch the video

Nov 24, 2008

Palin Pardons Turkey While Others Slaughtered


Gov. Sarah Palin has granted the traditional Thanksgiving pardon to one lucky turkey, but the video that shocked some viewers captured what was happening in the background.

As she answered questions Thursday at Triple D Farm & Hatchery outside Wasilla cameras from the Anchorage Daily News and others showed the bloody work of an employee slaughtering birds behind the former Republican vice presidential candidate.

On the video, Palin didn't comment about the slaughter as she answered questions, saying she's thankful that her son's Stryker brigade is relatively safe in Iraq and the rest of her family is healthy and happy. She said she's glad to be back in Alaska.

"This was neat," she said of the outing. "I was happy to get to be invited to participate in this. For one, you need a little bit of levity in this job, especially with so much that has gone in the last couple of months that has been so political obviously that it's nice to get out and do something to promote a local business and to just participate in something that isn't so heavy-handed politics that it invites criticism. Certainly we'll probably invite criticism for even doing this, too, but at least this was fun." Video01 and Video02

Railroad Attacked For Ordering Children Off Trains


Germany's national railway company has come under fire from passenger groups after inspectors ordered children off trains because they did not have the right tickets.
Deutsche Bahn has apologized for the embarrassing incidents that made headlines across the country.
In the fourth such expulsion in three weeks, a 12-year-old schoolgirl was made to leave a train an hour's ride from home because she could not pay a 40 euro ($50) fine.
"It is purely foolish to react in such a way," said Karl-Peter Naumann, director of the passenger organization Pro Bahn. "Banishing them from the train is inhumane and causes unnecessary problems."
German newspapers had already condemned Deutsche Bahn on Tuesday after a 14-year-old was told to leave a train because her ticket was only valid later in the day.
Earlier, a 13-year-old and a 12-year-old were also forced to leave trains. One child had to carry her cello 5 km (3 miles) home in the dark while the other was left on a platform with no money or mobile phone.
Wednesday, Deutsche Bahn said all ticket inspectors would have to sign an agreement promising not to banish children from trains if traveling alone.
"Everybody should know that it is unacceptable to throw children off the train," a spokesman told the TAZ daily.

Lunar Baby Thermometer Avoids Sticking Things Up the Wrong Places


According to designer Duck Young Kong—probably the best name ever in the history of best names ever—his Lunar Baby Thermometer is great because "it eliminates the need to insert an external tool while holding them in a still position" since it uses the "common and natural behavior of putting your hand on the forehead to measure internal heat of their body". It's a good idea. Until somebody tells you that the forehead may not be the best place to measure temperatures.

For a baby less than 3 months old, the armpit is the best, while a kid older than 4 or 5 years will be better with an oral check. The unlucky babies between 3 months and 4 yours are, I'm a afraid, stuck with the thermometer up their buttocks. Technicalities aside, however, this design is, if not accurate, at least cute and fool-proof: Once it's done, the thermometer will flash a LED light and beep.

The World's Most Depressed People Watch the Most TV


We're presented with an interesting conundrum this fine afternoon. Exhibit A: A new study says unhappy people watch more TV. Exhibit B: People dealing with the switch from analog to digital TV are probably the most unhappy TV watchers on the planet right now, next to anyone who's been hoodwinked by the HDTV department at Best Buy. There was even a NASCAR wreck this week because of digital TV.

So, if we use the powerful forces of logic on this little puzzle, we can deduce that the digital switch is making analog TV owners unhappy, which makes them want to watch more TV, which they soon will be unable to do because the signal is about to get cut off. There have been wars started for less, so we anticipate come February 2009, the world is going to end, three years earlier that predicted. Take THAT, Mayans!

The 30-year study, published by the fine folks at the University of Maryland, also discovered that people who read and socialize well are happier on average, and watch watch less TV. This is actually in line with my own research findings, The Jack Loftus Method, which found people are generally happier when having sex with other people, and not their television screens.

And finally, from the Duh! department, comes this gem from Maryland researcher and sociologist John Robinson:

"TV doesn't really seem to satisfy people over the long haul the way that social involvement or reading a newspaper does," said Robinson, who was also the study co-author. "It's more passive and may provide escape - especially when the news is as depressing as the economy itself. The data suggest to us that the TV habit may offer short-run pleasure at the expense of long-term malaise."

Unless, of course, you're watching porn. Then we all win.

GM Working On New "Cadillac One" Limo For Obama


Now that we're going to have a new president, it's time for a new presidential limo—and GM is whipping up quite a doozy for the new Prez-elect. “Cadillac One” will be based off of the GMC Topkick, which you may remember as Ironhide from Transformers.

For pretty obvious reasons, details on what exactly makes up the new limo are scarce, but it will most likely include five-inch thick glass (which can stop military assault rifles), cellphone jammers and blast-proof ceramics. But will it have backseat DVDs for watching Spongebob on? Guess only Malia and Sasha will know for sure.

Windows 3.x Discontinued


Believe it or not, up to November 1st many could and still were buying licenses for Windows 3.x (mainly for embedded systems like cash registers and airline entertainment systems from companies like Virgin). But on that day, Microsoft discontinued their licensing of the product. After 18 years, the iconic Windows platform is no more.

Requirements for the OS included a 8086/8088 processor with clock speed of 10MHz, 7MB of storage (better move Police Quest to a floppy) and 640KB of RAM. And when you realize that Vista requires a minimum of 1GHz processor and 20GB of storage, it's easy to see why at least some low end systems will miss the platform, until they just grab a copy of Linux instead.

Nov 23, 2008

25 Years Ago, Bill Gates Announced Windows 1.0


Two decades and a half ago on November 10th, Bill Gates unveiled Microsoft's first operating systems. Oh, it wasn't for sale yet—no, no, it's still only 1983 and we wouldn't see Windows on store shelves until 1985. But that didn't stop the young heart throb Gates.

Gates wasn't at all shy when promoting his debut Windows OS at New York's Helmsley Palace Hotel that day, claiming that it, powered by a unique graphical interface, would be running 90% of IBM systems by 1984 (before missing the launch date by a year, of course). To his credit, that ridiculously lofty number is just about identical to the Windows marketshare of today.

Windows 1 wouldn't be around for long, with its Windows 2 predecessor following just two years later.

Astronauts Getting First Space Kitchen Fridge Ever



They may be rocket scientists and spend years training for things going awry in the void of space, but NASA has revealed that astronauts in the International Space Station will face the biggest, most dangerous challenge humans have ever encountered through thousand of years of history: Home remodeling. Next weekend, the ISS will get the necessary materials to do an extreme makeover in the living area of the ISS, adding new quarters, urine recycling systems, a "state of the art" space gym, and the first kitchen fridge ever:

• New rooms will be added to the living area, increase the number of bedrooms from three to five, and the numbers of baths and kitchens from one to two.

• New water recovery system will be installed. It will recycle urine and condensation into drinking water, freeing space, lugging trips and making possible to increase the number of permanent astronauts in the ISS from three to six.

• New exercise machine capable of 30 routines will be installed.

New fridge will be installed in the kitchen. This will be the first fridge ever in the space station, which will help the astronauts to keep fruit fresh for longer periods of time, as well as having cold drinks like—I guess—orange juice, Martinis and Margaritas.

NASA hasn't disclosed if Joe the Plumber will be travelling as part of the crew of seven that will take all these material in the space shuttle Endeavour this weekend. Hopefully not. Or maybe yes.

DHL Dies


DHL, a popular shipping alternative to FedEx, UPS and the US Postal Service, has gone belly up in the ever more fun economic crisis. On November 10th the company announced that it will end all domestic shipping services starting January 30th (which means 9,500 layoffs) while only international shipping to/from the US will remain. Hopefully one less competitor in the ring won't increase all of our internet shipping costs too greatly.

AMD Employee Stole $1 Billion In Secrets From Intel


Former-Intel employee, current-AMD employee, and probable future-Federal prison resident Biswamohan Pani is the guy who stole a whole bunch of confidential information from Intel, according to the FBI. Now, Federal prosecutors have officially charged the 33-year-old engineer for stealing more than one billion dollars in trade secrets from Intel. One billion, with B of "Bloody Hell This Dude Is Nuts".

Biswamohan spent the last two weeks at Intel copying files labeled as "Confidential," "Top secret," and "You are dumb and you are going to get so screwed, Biswamohan." That included documents of all kind, including secret plans for chips and battle stations. Intel thought something was not going well, called the FBI, and the investigation that followed leaded to his arrest. As his defense, Pani says that he copied the files for his wife, who also works at Intel. For all the feds care, he may as well have said that he stole them as a birthday present for his mom or as souvenirs to decorate his house.

Flat Light Bulbs Are an Incandescent Innovation


The world may be moving on to CFLs, but at least one designer is still thinking about how to improve the classic incandescent bulb. Joonhuyn Kim's concept is simple: flat bulbs take up less space and make them easier (and cheaper) to store and transport. A great idea, if not a little late. Perhaps makers of soft-serve style CFLs could take a page out of this book somewhere down the line.

How the CNN Holographic Interview System Works


CNN's holographic election coverage is fancy pantsy, but how did they manage to send 3D 360 degree footage of virtual correspondent Jessica Yellin from Chicago all the way to the station's election center in NY? As Arthur C. Clarke says, Magic. A magic made possible from technology Vizrt and SportVu with the help of forty-four HD cameras and twenty computers. Here are the details.

On the subject's side:

• 35 HD cameras pointed at the subject in a ring

• Different cameras shoot at different angles (like the matrix), to transmit the entire body image

• The cameras are hooked up to the cameras in home base in NY, synchronizing the angles so perspective is right

• The system is set up in trailers outside Obama and McCain HQ

• Not only is it mechanical tracking via camera communication, there's infrared as well

• Correspondents see a 37-inch plasma where the return feed of the combined images are fed back to them. Useful for a misplaced hair or an unseemly boogar

• Twenty "computers" are crunching this data in order to make it usable

On the HQ side:

• Only used on two out of 40-something total camera feeds that CNN has

• Wolf Blitzer really loves it (or loves Jessica Yellin)

• The delay is either minimal, or we've gotten used to satellite delay that we don't even notice now

• An array of computers takes the crunched info feed from the subject's side in order to mesh it with the video from Wolf's side.

• Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the images are actually "projected" onto the floor of the CNN studio so that Wolf can actually talk to the person, you know, in a face to face. So it's not quite Star Wars just yet. Only after computers merge the video feeds together do you get a coherent hologram + person scenario.

Nov 21, 2008

Medical Card-Reading Tester Can Produce Almost Instant Diagnosis


Hypochondriacs should be comforted to hear that scientists have developed a card-reading device that can test blood, urine and saliva for diseases and illnesses instantly. This medical card-reader uses the giant magnetoresistance principle, which means it can diagnose diseases from bodily samples just as a computer would collect data off hard disk drives.

Because it is currently the size of a desktop computer, this device will not be available for commercialization as of now. So, if you're too impatient to find out whether or not you tested positive for gonorrhea, and you just can't seem to keep it in your pants in the meantime, please use a condom. Thank you.

Nov 20, 2008

Firestrike: World's First Solid-State Battlefield Laser Now Available


Get ready for some real pew pew, because Northrop Grumman has just announced that the first ever high-energy, solid-state lethal laser for actual war applications is now available for ordering. This means that you can pay now a few millions and get yours for Xmas. The new Firestrike units offer 15 kilowatts of power, but can be combined to offer 100 kilowatts of technological terror, capable of actually destroying the enemy. According to the company, this new laser "changes the game" of military engagement.

This is a big leap in laser weapons because, until now, the only effective way to get laser weapons to work with enough lethal power was using chemicals. These were extremely heavy and the whole firing process extremely hazardous. The solid-state laser in Firestrike is hard and very easy to manage, as it only requires electricity and has no by-products. It's also very rugged, according to Northrop's beam-cannon chief Dan Wildt.

LG, Sharp and Chunghwa Fined $585 Million For LCD Price Fixing


After nearly three years of investigation, LG, Sharp and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd have admitted to participating in a cartel between 2001 and 2006 that fixed prices of LCD screens affecting "millions of American consumers who use computers, cell phones and numerous other household electronics every day." The Justice Department has ordered the companies pony up $580 million in fines—$400 million from LG, $120 million from Sharp and $65 million from Chunghwa.

According to the Justice Department, these price fixing schemes specifically targeted TFT-LCD panels sold to Dell for their computers, Motorola for the Razr and Apple for the iPod. So, by screwing them they screwed us all.

First Look At the New USS Enterprise


Entertainment Weekly's got an exclusive first picture of the new Enterprise, also known as the old Enterprise, also known as Kirk's Enterprise. It looks quite Enterprisey—a sort of mashup between the old sensibilities of TOS, the more advanced special effects of the USS Enterprise E (Picard's latest ship) and Scott Bakula's lousy junker. Looking at it again, those fat nacelles make it seem more like a cross between the Enterprise A and the Enterprise B. In any case, a high five to JJ Abrams and his effects crew for making a ship we're looking forward to seeing go "pew pew pew" next year.

Moshi Alarm Clock Will Only Shut Off If You Ask It Nicely


The Moshi IVR clock is one of those rare, heartwarming products that serves two marginalized demographics: the blind and the chronically rude. For blind folks the benefit is obvious, as all of the clock's major functions are controlled with simple verbal commands. This includes alarm deactivation, but not necessarily how you'd expect. "Gggugugughghghhhhh" or "SHUT UP" won't do the trick — you've got to greet Moshi to initiate voice commands, then politely ask it— uhh, her — to turn off the alarm. Sort of like if you're talking to a human, assuming that human hovers by your bed and plays a plastic recorder into your ear every morning at 7:30am.

As a product, the Moshi is pretty focused. There's no radio or MP3 support, and the alarm and voice command options are limited and unchangeable, though there is a pleasant "Sleep Sound" ambient noise function. The concept of an alarm clock that requires an ongoing, if simple, conversation to function properly is enough to justify its reasonable $50 price, and endorsement by the World Blind Union would seem to indicate that it's not a complete gimmick. Moshi Clock.

Nov 19, 2008

Can Owning a Pet Help You Live Longer?


According to a study by the Minnesota Stroke Institute that followed more than 4,000 cat owners over 10 years, owning a cat can dramatically reduce a person's chance of dying from heart disease [source: Mundell]. Specifically, people who owned cats were 30 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack. Although those researchers cannot make the same conclusions about dogs based on the data they gathered, they suspect a dog study would provide similar results.

That study merely adds to the existing evidence that shows how animals can benefit human health. For example, psychologists have found reason to believe that owning a dog helps lower your blood pressure and your cholesterol [source: BVA]. And other research shows that pets help us feel better overall and help us to deal with stress, which can be a source of illness [sources: Laino, BBC News].

And let's not forget the benefits for the elderly. For example, one study observed neural activity in seniors while they walked or interacted with a dog [source: Motooka]. It turned out that walking with a dog gave seniors a boost in parasympathetic nervous system activity, which is good because the parasympathetic nervous system helps calm and rest the body.

For whatever reason, pets certainly can have a special effect on their owners. On the next page, find out more about pets' amazing ability to improve our health. Is it really possible for a dog to foresee its owner's seizures and even detect cancer?

Stories abound about the healing abilities of pets. For instance, one boy who did not talk for six years finally chose to start talking after a therapy dog visited his school [CBS News]. Organizations, such as the Delta Society, train dogs to help disabled people perform tasks. The Delta Society feels so strongly about the health benefits of animals to humans that it is dedicated to spreading knowledge about the issue as well as services.

The psychological benefits of pets can make a big difference in someone's life. This seems to be especially true for kids who are struggling to deal with death or illness in the family. Certain studies have concluded that children with dogs cope better with these serious situations [source: Howie]. Researchers believe this probably has to do with the obvious fact that pets provide love and with the fact that the structured routine required for taking care of a pet is a positive for the child. Kids aren't the only ones who benefit from pets during these difficult times; the spouses of cancer patients said they believed pets helped them cope as well.

Peru Offers Bald Dog of Incas to Obamas


LIMA (Reuters) – Peruvians crazy about their national dog, a bald and often toothless breed popular among Incan kings, offered Monday to send a hypoallergenic puppy to the Obama family.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has promised daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, a new pet for the White House. But Malia is allergic to most breeds, he said Friday as speculation swirled about the dog the family would choose.

Owners of the Peruvian Hairless Dog, a breed dating back 3,000 years and depicted in pre-Hispanic ceramics, say it is perfect for kids who are sensitive to dogs.

"They do not cause any type of allergy and are very friendly and sweet," said Claudia Galvez, 38, director of the Friends of the Peruvian Hairless Dog Association.

"We want to give a male puppy to Obama's daughters, so they get to experience all the joys of having a dog but without any allergies."

According to Peruvian folklore, the dogs have above-average body temperature, which compensates for their lack of hair and helps alleviate symptoms of asthma or arthritis suffered by their owners.

Galvez delivered a letter detailing her offer to the U.S. embassy in Lima Monday and hopes Obama will accept it.

Galvez has a 4-month-old pedigree puppy to send to the Obama family. For now, she is calling it Ears because it has two large, perky ones.

"But if we send it to the United States, its official name will be Machu Picchu," she said, referring to the ancient Incan citadel, Peru's top tourist attraction.

Nov 8, 2008

Glock: I Did NOT Let Lewis Through


F1 DRIVER Timo Glock blasted claims he let Lewis Hamilton overtake him to claim the world championship title.

The German has insisted his dry tyres had slowed him down when Brit Lewis slipped past on the penultimate corner of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

British hearts sunk with two laps of the season-ending race remaining when title hopeful Hamilton slipped to sixth after being passed by Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel then surged past Glock into fourth place to leave Hamilton to battle it out with the German for the fifth position the Briton required to clinch the title.

In one of the most tense moments in the history of the sport, Hamilton then overtook Glock to win the title.

To anyone watching yesterday’s season finale, it might have seemed that Glock gifted the championship to Hamilton, but the German denied he had let Hamilton intentionally pass.

“I was pushing really hard to keep fourth place and if you look at the lap times I was actually faster than Jarno (Trulli) on the final lap and he was the only other car on dry tyres at that stage,” said Glock.

Most of the cars started the race on wet tyres after a downpour at the circuit before the race began.

After the track dried out the cars then changed to dry tyres but when the heavens opened with five laps remaining Hamilton and the rest of the leaders pitted to change to intermediate tyres, which have significantly more tread.

Crucially for Hamilton, Glock chose not to pit and he remained on dry tyres for the rest of the race which allowed the 23-year-old to make up the large gap between the pair with two laps left.

Intermediate tyres have significantly more grip than dry tyres which left Glock with the tough task of keeping the car under control on the slippery surface.

“I didn’t even know that Lewis was directly behind me. I was concentrating so hard on keeping the car on the track,” said Glock.

“The final lap was one of the hardest laps I have done in Formula 1 because there was no grip at all and on dry tyres it was almost impossible to keep the car on track.

“It was not so bad until the final lap when the rain really began to come down very heavily and it was just impossible.

“It was so difficult to just keep the car on the track because it was very wet and the car was basically undriveable in those conditions. I was sliding everywhere, with absolutely no grip at all.”

Isu Biden, Sarah Palin, Hingga Irak


Sejak pertarungan memanas, capres Republik John McCain terus mencoba memainkan taktik sumir. Pada awalnya McCain berharap bisa menjual isu kebijakan luar negeri, yang dia anggap akan lebih mengena bagi masyarakat. Namun, isu luar negeri, terutama soal Irak, tidak lagi mengena. Berdasarkan jajak pendapat, dari semua lembaga, isu Irak bukan urusan utama.

Setelah krisis, faktor ekonomi kini menjadi perhatian utama warga AS, di mana Obama dianggap lebih mampu ketimbang McCain.

Lagi, Barack Obama mengantisipasi kelemahannya dalam kebijakan luar negeri dengan menunjuk Joe Biden sebagai calon wakil presiden. Jualan McCain soal kebijakan luar negeri juga makin hancur dengan penunjukan Sarah Palin sebagai pendampingnya.

Lidah Palin keseleo. Dia mengatakan, Rusia bisa dia lihat >

Lagi pula, McCain juga dianggap tidak piawai soal kebijakan luar negeri karena ternyata dalam delapan tahun pemerintahan Presiden George W Bush, citra AS di mata dunia hancur berantakan. ”Kita tidak mau lagi menerima kenyataan bahwa citra AS terus memburuk. McCain akan sama saja dengan Bush,” kata Becky Campbell, wartawan dari Johnson City Press, di Johnson City, Tennessee.

Pengangkatan Palin sebagai pendamping juga membuat McCain seperti menjilat ludah sendiri karena pernah mengatakan bahwa Obama tidak siap sebagai presiden. Palin yang tidak berpengalaman berbalik menjadi sasaran kecaman pada McCain.

McCain juga berharap isu aborsi dan perkawinan sesama jenis bisa menjatuhkan Obama mengingat Republik pada umumnya didukung kaum konservatif. Kemudian muncul isu ekonomi dengan hancurnya sektor keuangan. ”Orang-orang tidak memerhatikan isu-isu seperti ini lagi,” kata Brittany Long, mahasiswa East Tennessee State University.

Ambruknya ekonomi membuat warga menjadikan isu ekonomi menjadi prioritas, di mana McCain turut tercoreng karena semua ini lagi-lagi dianggap sebagai warisan Republik.

Harapan McCain mendulang pamor sebagai eks veteran juga tidak menggugah. ”Ayah saya militer, nyatanya tidak mendukung McCain. Menjadi veteran, sama seperti ayah saya yang juga pernah bertugas di Vietnam, tidak menjadi jaminan untuk siap sebagai presiden,” kata Corie Shaun, warga Tennessee.

Karena itu, McCain mencoba memainkan isu bahwa Obama adalah teroris dan mengaitkannya dengan Bill Ayers. Hal itu langsung membuat McCain juga menjadi sasaran kecaman karena dia ternyata juga terlibat penjualan senjata ke Iran di bawah pemerintahan almarhum Presiden Ronald Reagan, dan kemudian membiayai pemberontakan di Nikaragua.

McCain mencoba memojokkan Obama dengan menyebutkan bahwa Rashid Khalidi, warga Palestina, dikatakan pernah dekat dengan Obama. Kemudian muncul kecaman bahwa adalah McCain yang pernah menyumbang dana 400.000 dollar AS lebih kepada pihak Hamas di Palestina. Tentu saja Khalidi membantah dirinya teroris Palestina dan demikian juga Obama membantah tudingan sumir itu.

McCain mencoba meraih simpati dengan merangkul Joe Lieberman, termasuk merangkul warga Yahudi mengingat Liberman adalah Yahudi Amerika. Akan tetapi, pamor Lieberman jelek karena dia adalah pemberontak Demokrat yang berpaling mendukung Republik. Politikus pelarian tidak dihargai di AS.

McCain dan Palin mencoba merangkul pendukung Hillary Clinton dengan menyatakan rasa simpati kepada Hillary Clinton setelah kalah pada pemilu pendahuluan dari Obama. Namun, tindakan ini juga jadi bumerang. ”Tidak untuk McCain, tidak untuk Palin,” ujar Hillary pada Konvensi Nasional Demokrat di Denver Agustus lalu.

Kemudian McCain mengampanyekan Samuel J Wurzelbacher, Joe the Plumber, seorang pengusaha yang menentang program ekonomi Obama, terutama program pajak Obama yang akan meningkatkan pajak korporasi. Akan tetapi, Joe the Plumber ternyata adalah pengusaha yang tidak punya izin.

Demikianlah McCain selalu terbentur aksi-aksi sumir yang dia lakukan. Dalam aksi komedinya, Tina Fay, pelawak yang meniru Sarah Palin, mengatakan, ”Berhadapan dengan Obama, McCain seperti garbage.”

Nov 6, 2008

Browse a Censored Web Through the China Channel FireFox Plugin


It's no secret that the Chinese government censors web content, but what's it like to actually be a citizen trapped inside the Great Firewall of China? A new FireFox plugin called China Channel can show you.

It reroutes your IP through China, allowing you to look like any other digital Chinese citizen from anywhere in the world. Click on a banned site and BAM! You lose your browsing privileges for 15 minutes. But luckily, in this version, you can just reopen the browser with a newly assigned IP.

Dubai's Newest Insane Skyscraper to House a Restaurant in a Glass Pod at 2,150 Feet


Oh look, another insane tower planned for Dubai! This one is dubbed the Anara Tower, and while it's not going to be the tallest in the world (it'll be about 500 feet shorter than the Burj Dubai at 2,150 feet), it's still incredible all on its own.

The defining element of the Anara Tower has got to be the massive propeller-like structure at the very top, at the center of which will be a glass-ceiling hub containing one of the world's most luxe restaurants. Unfortunately, the propeller doesn't rotate, but I guess we'll let that slide.

In the tower itself there will be 300 insanely-expensive apartments, a 250-room luxury hotel and gardens every 27 floors. Construction is due to start by the end of next year.

Nov 5, 2008

Goodbye, Productivity: MTV Music Site Posts Every Music Video Ever


We hope you've got some time to kill, because the new MTV Music website is pretty much the coolest thing ever for music fans. At long last, the MTV name is being associated with music videos again, because the "music" channel has gone and put its entire archive of music videos online, all embeddable and in high quality. It's like Hulu for music videos, only with less ads (for now). And it's awesome.

The site's still very young, but just poking around shows the amazing amount of content on there. There aren't just music videos on here, but also songs played on shows like VH1 Storytellers and MTV Unplugged.

Nov 4, 2008

Mengapa Pada Selasa, 4 November 2008?


Hari Selasa setelah Senin pertama pada bulan November selalu menjadi hari pemilu presiden AS. Hari Selasa setelah Senin pertama tahun 2008 jatuh pada tanggal 4 November.

Awal penentuan soal hari Selasa ini diputuskan pada tahun 1845. Kemudian pada tahun 1875, hari Selasa juga sekaligus diputuskan sebagai hari pemilihan DPR AS. Pada tahun 1914, hari Selasa juga ditetapkan pemilu Senat AS.

Pertanyaan selanjutnya, mengapa pemilu dilakukan pada awal November? Pada awalnya, komposisi warga AS didominasi para petani. Karena itu, politisi AS menilai bahwa bulan November adalah bulan paling senggang bagi para petani untuk beramai-ramai memberikan suara.

Waktu senggang ini perlu agar para petani memiliki masa santai berjalan dari pelosok pedesaan ke sentra-sentra pemilu. Masalah, bulan November adalah bulan di mana masa panenan sudah usai, atau masa musim gugur yang ditandai dengan musim panen sudah usai.

Masa tanam terjadi pada musim semi dan musim panas adalah masa mengelola tanaman, menyiangi dan memupuki, serta seterusnya. Nah, masa musim gugur, cuaca masih dianggap bersahabat bagi warga bepergian menuju kotak-kotak pemilu yang dulunya harus melalui jalanan rusak dan becek.

Pertanyaan selanjutnya, mengapa harinya jatuh di setiap hari Selasa itu. Dulu kala, warga AS harus menempuh jarak yang relatif jauh untuk memilih. Hari Senin dianggap kurang tepat karena warga harus mulai berangkat untuk memilih sejak hari Minggu. Padahal, hari Minggu adalah saat berbakti di gereja-gereja.

Ada juga alasan lain mengapa pemilu selalu dilakukan hari Selasa setelah Senin pertama. Politisi AS ingin menghindari agar hari pemilu tidak jatuh pada tanggal 1 November. Ada dua alasan untuk ini.

Pertama, setiap 1 November adalah Hari Semua Orang Kudus (All Saints Day), hari libur bagi pemeluk Katolik. Jadi, jika 1 November jatuh pada hari Selasa, maka pemilu tidak akan dilakukan karena hari Selasa pada tanggal ini bukanlah hari Selasa setelah hari Senin pertama di bulan November.

Alasan kedua, hampir semua pedagang umumnya sibuk melihat rekening pembukuan setiap tanggal 1 setiap bulannya. Politisi AS khawatir bahwa sukses atau kegagalan bisnis pada bulan sebelumnya akan memengaruhi pilihan para pedagang.

Palin Takes Prank Call From Fake French President


TORONTO – Sarah Palin unwittingly took a prank call Saturday from a Canadian comedian posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and telling her she would make a good president someday.

"Maybe in eight years," replies a laughing Palin.

The Republican vice presidential nominee discusses politics, the perils of hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney, and Sarkozy's "beautiful wife," in a recording of the six-minute call released Saturday and set to air Monday on a Quebec radio station.

Palin campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt confirmed she had received the prank call.

"Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy and other celebrities, in being targeted by these pranksters. C'est la vie," she said.

The call was made by a well-known Montreal comedy duo Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel. Known as the Masked Avengers, the two are notorious for prank calls to celebrities and heads of state.

Audette, posing as Sarkozy, speaks in an exaggerated French accent and drops ample hints that the conversation is a joke. But Palin seemingly does not pick up on them.

He tells Palin one of his favorite pastimes is hunting, also a passion of the 44-year-old Alaska governor.

"I just love killing those animals. Mmm, mmm, take away life, that is so fun," the fake Sarkozy says.

He proposes they go hunting together by helicopter, something he says he has never done.

"Well, I think we could have a lot of fun together while we're getting work done," Palin counters. "We can kill two birds with one stone that way."

The comedian jokes that they shouldn't bring Cheney along on the hunt, referring to the 2006 incident in which the vice-president shot and injured a friend while hunting quail.

"I'll be a careful shot," responds Palin.

Playing off the governor's much-mocked comment in an early television interview that she had insights into foreign policy because "you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska," the caller tells her: "You know we have a lot in common also, because ... from my house I can see Belgium."

She replies: "Well, see, we're right next door to different countries that we all need to be working with, yes."

When Audette refers to Canadian singer Steph Carse as Canada's prime minister, Palin replies: "Well, he's doing fine and yeah, when you come into a position underestimated it gives you an opportunity to prove the pundits and the critics wrong. You work that much harder." Canada's prime minister is Stephen Harper.

Palin praises Sarkozy throughout the call and also mentions his wife Carla Bruni, a model-turned-songwriter.

"You know, I look forward to working with you and getting to meet you personally and your beautiful wife," Palin says. "Oh my goodness, you've added a lot of energy to your country with that beautiful family of yours."

The Sarkozy impersonator tells Palin his wife is "so hot in bed" and then informs her that Bruni has written a song for her about Joe the Plumber entitled "Du rouge a levres sur une cochonne" — which translates as "Lipstick on a Pig."

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama derided his Republican challenger John McCain's call for change in Washington as "lipstick on a pig," days after Palin made a lipstick joke at the Republican convention. The McCain-Palin campaign then released an ad implying Obama was calling Palin a pig with that remark.

The caller asks Palin if Joe the Plumber is her husband and adds: "We have the equivalent of Joe the Plumber in France. It's called Marcel, the guy with bread under his armpit."

He also tells the Alaska governor that he loved the "documentary" made about her and referred to a pornographic film with a Palin look-alike made by Hustler founder Larry Flynt.

She answers tentatively, "Ohh, good, thank you, yes."

The callers then reveal the prank and identify themselves and their radio station.

"Ohhh, have we been pranked?" Palin asks before handing the phone to an aide who ends the call.

Obama's campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs, commenting on the prank, said: "I'm glad we check out our calls before we hand the phone to Barack Obama."

Watch the video

Palin as President

Nov 2, 2008

USB Floppy Drive Concept


Designer Thomas O'Connor has come up with a concept to join the legions of goofy USB flash drives with this charming USB Floppy Drive. Take one of those floppy disks granpappy's always going on about, hollow it out, stuff it with some flash storage and a USB dongle and you've got a "sustainable" and nostalgic USB drive. It looks to be a mere concept right now, but I bet an enterprising modder could whip one of these up in no time.

World Record Sandwich?


TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran failed Friday to register what it said would be the world's largest sandwich in the Guinness book of World Records after people rushed forward and began eating it -- before it was measured.

Event organizers had planned to stuff the 1,500-meter-long sandwich with 700 kg of ostrich meat and 700 kg of chicken, and display it in a park in the capital Tehran.

But as the sandwich was being measured, chaos ensued. The giant snack was gone in minutes, a Reuters witness said, leaving the three Guinness representatives present with a dilemma.

One of the event's organizers said video footage of the sandwich would be sent to Guinness officials.

"We still think the sandwich will be recorded in the Guinness book because of all the evidence and footage that we will send them," Parvin Shariati said.