Thursday, November 5, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Transforming your iPhone into a Security Camera
Many of those who are using the popular iPhone from Apple is not aware that there is a new application in the market called the IP Camera that works perfectly as a security device. Most users are aware that through the iPhone, one can view Webcams across the globe by connecting to the internet. However, the IP Camera allows you to do much much more than just viewing other Webcams.
With Wi-Fi connection available, one can use the IP Camera to take pictures using your iPhone (within a period of every 12 to 15 seconds) and upload the photos onto a Web site which is easily accessible from any other laptop using the same network. All you have to do is insert the local HTTP address given to you, and the IP Camera will not stop running until you manually close it. Archiving seems to be a problem though, as it does not keep a record of which photos are taken most recently or details similar to that. It is also not possible to change the photo taking frequency, something that may be a drawback for some users as a 15 second gap is deemed too short a period.
With this application, you now have your very own secret monitoring camera!
Link:http://ibtimes.com.au/articles/20091012/iphone-apple.htm
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
OFW ‘abused’ after mistaken Facebook post on Ondoy
A controversial statement allegedly made by a Filipina overseas worker in Dubai that mocked Filipino victims of tropical storm Ondoy sparked negative reactions among many Pinoys here and abroad.
Jacque Bermejo has been the target of hate threads from Filipinos after someone used her identity to post a very offensive statement against Pinoys affected by the onslaught of tropical storm Ondoy on social networking site, Facebook.
“buti n lng am hir in dubai! maybe so many sinners bak der! so yeah deserving wat hapend (sic),” the comment read.
The said statement generated more than 1,000 responses from Filipino Facebook users.
The comments included hate messages, accusations and threats from fellow Filipinos.
A user named “Ondoy” posted on September 28, 2009: “Hambalusin na yan!”
Anonymous said: “don’t worry dadalaw tayo sa burol ni jacq bermejo. titingnan natin kung talagang patay siya! (sic)”
Jay-ar said: “meron ba kaung pix ng taong yan? baka kasi makasalubong ko sya mabigyan lang ng mag asawang bitch slap! grrrr…!! (sic)"
Srub09 commented: “sana sya na lng ang inanud ng baha!!porke nakapunta na ng ibang bansa.kung sino na makapagsalita…sipain ko yang mukha mo! (sic)”
Pusa said: “naloka ako sa mga comments sa kanya sa multiply… kasi naman in times like this we should all unite and do our best to help and we don’t need negative thoughts. (sic)”
Alyssa stated: “she’s pathetic and lacks good moral. dummy.(sic)”
Several new accounts on Facebook were also created under her name by irate users.
‘A Victim Too’
However, in an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau, the person behind the controversial name maintained her innocence.
Bermejo denied posting the insulting remarks on Facebook. The marketing executive is saddened by the comments she receives from fellow Filipinos for something she says she did not do.
“Pero naman kung ako siguro ang nakakita sa post na yun, mag iisip naman ako na, bakit naman niya gagawin iyan. Bakit niya ilalagay ang picture niya? Bakit niya ilalagay ang real identity niya? Parang bine-bait niya sarili niya na, ‘Ok, kill me’,” said Bermejo.
She explained that someone hacked her Facebook account and manipulated its contents two years ago. This prompted her to deactivate her account.
Furthermore, she brought the incident to the Dubai Police who advised her to just open another account.
She also revealed that accounts under her name in other social networking sites like Multiply and Friendster were not hers.
The hacker continued to manipulate the said sites often posting negative comments against her friends.
The last post that insulted people affected by the typhoon alarmed her. She said that after the post, many people started issuing threatening statements against her.
“Pero after this, itong post na ito, unang-unang ginawa ko kagabi umalis ako sa bahay ko. Doon ako natulog sa bahay ng mga kapatid ko kasi natatakot ako,” she said.
Her close friends could not help but feel sorry for what happened to her. They said their friend is clearly an innocent victim. They also appealed to fellow Filipinos to put an end to the issue.
“Gusto ko naman ma-clear yung (name) niya dahil hindi naman ganun si Jacque. And, kung sino ang gumawa nun, he is, something talaga is wrong sa kanya, dapat sana stop na yung mga ganung things eh,” said her friend “Mel”.
‘Official Statement’
A Facebook user posted Bermejo’s alleged official statement dated September 29, 2009 in the hopes of clearing her name.
She said that an unidentified source created the accounts using her name, her personal details, and pictures.
“Because of these incidents, I reported such abuses and sent my credentials to the administrators of such sites, particularly Facebook. I have been abused and am still being abused online in social networking websites such as Facebook, Friendster, Multiply etc,” Bermejo’s statement said.
Her friends called her up and informed her about the cruel “shoutout” on the Facebook account and the numerous comments from other users.
“These malicious statement(s) which are posted under account names Jacque or Jackie are not of my doing. It is unfortunate that such statements were maliciously attributed to me and I do sympathize and understand the adverse and somehow verbally violent reaction that has been elicited by such insensitive statements or posts. Rest assured, I have taken every legal step that can be done in this regard,” the statement added
“I am devastated and shocked at the extent my character, my personal information and private space have been violated,” she stated.
Bermejo has taken legal steps to address the problem. She sought the help of the Philippine Consulate in Dubai and the National Bureau of Immigration to identify the motive and person behind the moves to discredit her.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Transformers' shape-shifts into noise, nonsense
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A joyless cacophony, an insistent and seemingly endless onslaught, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," director Michael Bay's follow-up to the 2007 smash "Transformers" plays more like a parody of a Bay movie.
You name it, it gets shot up, blown up or otherwise obliterated in a massive fiery ball, from suburban homes and cars to aircraft carriers and even an Egyptian pyramid. Along the way, our sense of sanity and humanity also get destroyed, as we feel as if we are being held captive by these walking, talking, shape-shifting robots — both the good guys and the bad.
The Autobots and Decepticons aren't the only ones assaulting us in their epic battle: Regular people are just as obnoxious — probably more so — with their nonstop yelling and yammering. Everyone is overcaffeinated, everyone screams their lines, perhaps so they can hear each other over the explosions and the thunderous score.
Who knows, and more importantly, who cares? It is impossible to become emotionally invested in the Transformers, cool-looking as they may be when the movie settles down for a rare moment (the work of the venerable Industrial Light & Magic), because it's impossible to tell who's doing what to whom. It's all one messy amalgamation of twisted steel and shattered glass, accompanied by generic crunching and shrieking sounds. The only robots with any discernible personality traits, aside from bravery or antagonism, are the Autobot twins, Mudflap and Skids. These are shockingly crass and unfortunate black stereotypes, jive-talking fools who can't read and bumble their way from one mishap to the next. They are Jar Jar Binks in car form.
After only an hour, it all feels boring and numbingly repetitive, and one glance and the watch tells you you've got another solid hour and a half to go.
What's that, you say? You want to know what the "Transformers" sequel is about? How quaint. Basically, it follows the further adventures of plucky, young Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf, seriously straining his likability), who is yet again stuck in the middle of the eternal fight between the noble Autobots and the evil Decepticons.
The mythology is much more dense than that, though, as we learn from several self-serious, expository speeches delivered by Autobot leader Optimus Prime (voiced as always by Peter Cullen), Decepticon leader Megatron (Hugo Weaving) — oh yes, he's back — and the elderly Brit, Jetfire (Mark Ryan). Something about millennia of history and oppression, and capturing the energy of the sun. (Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman returned to write the script, along with Ehren Kruger, inspired by the Hasbro Transformer toys and the animated '80s TV show.)
Megan Fox is also back as Sam's impossibly hot girlfriend, Mikaela, with whom he hopes to maintain a long-distance relationship as he heads off to college. (The first time we see her, it's from behind in a pair a Daisy Duke shorts as she's bent over a motorcycle seat; this, and running across the desert while maintaining perfect lip gloss, are all she's asked to do.) Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson also provide eye candy as commanders of a secret team that works alongside the Autobots to hunt down any remaining Decepticons; this requires them to look hot in camouflage as they squint pensively into the sunset.
Laughs are unusual in this brawny endeavor, but if anyone gets them, it's John Turturro as a former secret agent who gets hauled back into the fray. You'll feel as if you've been dragged in, too.
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," a DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, some crude and sexual material, and brief drug material. Running time: 150 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.
___
Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:
G — General audiences. All ages admitted.
PG — Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
PG-13 — Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.
R — Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
NC-17 — No one under 17 admitted.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h3F_P0po5ZMVUnHtWG733Ki7p_WQD990H9800
Monday, June 22, 2009
Air France Crash Photos
The world saw the disappearance of an A330 Air Frane during its trans Atlantic flight between Rio to Paris .
Here are two shots taken inside the plane before it crashed.
In the first photo, there is a gaping hole in the fuselage through which you can see the tailplane and a vertical fin of the aircraft.
In the second photo, one of the passengers is seen being sucked out of the gaping hole.
The photos were found in a digital Casio Z750, amidst the debris. Although the camera was destroyed, the Memory Stick was recovered. Investigating the serial number of the camera, the owner was identified as Paulo G. Muller, an actor of a theatre for children known in the outskirts of Porto Alegre .. It can be imagined that he was standing during the turbulence, he managed to take these photos, just seconds after the tail loss and the aircraft plunged. The structural stress probably ripped the engines away, diminishing the falling speed, protecting the electronic equipment but unfortunately not the victims. Paulo Muller leaves behind two daughters, Bruna and Beatriz.Thursday, June 18, 2009
Paris Hilton brings her reality show to Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Paris Hilton said she studied the culture of Dubai and promised the Middle East version of her reality show will steer clear of the drinking and the swearing it had in Los Angeles and London.
The remarks came as Hilton, 28, launched the Mideast edition of her "Paris Hilton's My New BFF" series in Dubai, a glitzy sheikdom in the United Arab Emirates. BFF stands for best friends forever.
"I wanted to know everything about this place first because I wanted to make sure everything was OK," the hotel heiress was quoted as saying by The National newspaper Thursday. "I just want to respect everyone here."
The fame-loving Hilton promised to dress conservatively and said her Dubai-based MTV series will be open to women only. There will be no finger pointing and laughing at anybody, the show's producers said.
"I expect to learn a lot here. It's a completely different world," Hilton also said.
Twenty-two contestants will try their best to become Hilton's new BFF in the 20 days she will spend in the Emirates. No air date has yet been set for the Mideast show.
When not filming her reality show, intended for broadcast throughout the Arab region, Hilton will explore the desert, go camel riding, get a henna tattoo and go skiing on Dubai's famed artificial ski slope inside a shopping mall.
The show's producer Michael Hirschorn said that the filming will last some three weeks, while the finale will be filmed in Los Angeles. The plan is to build "My New BFF" into a global franchise, with Hilton searching for BFFs around the world.
Hilton previously filmed two seasons in Los Angeles for MTV and one in London for British television.
Contestants were competing fiercely for the title in the U.K. and the U.S. versions of the show. They drank alcohol and used foul language and tactics to earn it — something producers said will not be allowed in Dubai.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Bruno nudity stunt on Eminem's face was staged!
In an instance of live-television being too good to be true, it turns out the Bruno-Eminem feud hatched Sunday night at the MTV Movie Awards was staged, according to Scott Aukerman, Andy Samberg's head writer for the show.
"Yes, the Bruno/Eminem incident was staged. That’s all anyone wants to talk about, so let’s get it out of the way. They rehearsed it at dress and yes, it went as far as it did on the live show then," wrote Auckerman on his blog.
Eminem, who lost his mind when Bruno, Sacha Baron Cohen dressed as his flamboyant Austrian alter-ego and resplendent in thigh-high white boots and crotchless underwear, came down on a harness to land -- rear first -- on the angry Relapse rapper's cheek and lips.
To see the clip, please click here.
Lest we forget -- and believe me, like many, I did -- Eminem is also an actor, who worked with the great Curtis Hanson on the film 8 Mile. Casting-wise, Eminem was the perfect choice for Baron Cohen. After all, Eminem has a history of entirely disproportionate responses to silly, awards show stunts. (He's already feuded with N'Sync, Moby, Christina Aguilera and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog).
Alas, even if the stunt, like much of Sacha Baron Cohen's brilliant work on Borat, was staged (and that film was expertly scripted), it was just another example of how good his work is. He made a boring telecast seem lively, and brought Eminem back into the public eye. Bruno, no doubt, will be this summer's sexiest film. We just have to be a little more skeptical if we see him back into the angry mouth of a white Eminem.
Monday, May 25, 2009
How to get indexed by Google in ONE hour
If you’re not familiar with how some people accomplish getting their web sites submitted to Google quickly, you are going to absolutely love this article.
I’ve bet you’ve heard from many people that it can take days, weeks, even months to get indexed by Google. If you have heard that, you’re now thinking, “OK Jamie, you must have had a really stressful day at work today and you’re now hallucinating that this is possible!”.
If I read this blog title a while ago, I’m sure I would be thinking the same thing as you! Ok, let’s move on to how to get indexed by Google within one hour.
The secret is quite simple. Almost every site in today’s Internet world uses the social network sharing buttons. On my Website, http://www.iptecworld.com I include it on every article page. I also include it on the main listing pages underneath my article summary.
If you don’t already have one of these on your sites, get one now, just search “Share This” or “Add This” and you will find a ton of web sites that tell you to put a few lines of Javascript code on your web site and it does the rest.
Ok, so now you have this button added to your web site? Perfect, I would suggest going to a page on your web site that you think will be the most valuable to other users and submit it to a couple of those sites listed in the button.
I have personally found excellent success with both Digg and Reddit. I launched a web site about 1 or 2 months ago, submitted two links to Digg. I waited about an hour or so and searched Google with keywords that I felt I targeted well and lo and behold there it was, my page was found and indexed with Google. Not only was it found, it was in the top 10!
Don’t just stop here though. Submitting to the above sites will provide you with some quick traffic. It won’t last long if people don’t like your site. Plus, it won’t cause your other pages to be indexed either. It really is just a start.
The next step is to create an XML sitemap of your content. Once you’ve done this, create an account on the Google Webmaster Tools. You will need to add your domain and verify your site before continuing.
Once you’ve completed this, add your sitemap that you previously created. Within a few minutes (some times longer), Google will validate your sitemap and queue all of your links to be indexed.
This of course is not a guaranteed solution to be indexed any faster. But Google certainly seems to crawl your sitemap on a regular basis and check the links. It also checks how often your site is updated, the more frequently it is updated, the more frequently Google will crawl your content!
If it’s possible, you should try to perform some kind of daily updates to your site. Ideally if you allow users to comment, hopefully there will be several new comments per day and this will cause your data to be considered new.
I hope you’ve found this article useful. Happy Googling! If you would like more tips and techniques, visit my Website at http://www.iptecworld.com
I have been developing web sites for over 10 years and 6 years professional. I recently have decided to begin sharing my knowledge through articles and my Website:
http://www.iptecworld.com
Prison Break: The Final Break
THE SKINNY: The final two-hours that pieces together the ending of the series – and the death of Michael Scofield – together with the years that we didn’t get to see with our beloved characters of PRISON BREAK.
It is the made-for-DVD two-hour event PRISON BREAK: THE FINAL BREAK that will debut July 21 on both standard and Blu-ray.
The plot is as follows: Michael (Wentworth Miller) is no longer a wanted man so the government goes after the woman he loves, Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) and locks her up in an all-female prison. Now, Michael must break her out because a price has been put on her head.
All of the cast returns including Lincoln (Dominic Purcell), Sucre (Amaury Nolasco), T-Bag (Robert Knepper), Mahone (William Fichtner) and even Gretchen (Jodi Lynn O’Keefe) – who must in the same prison as Sara.
Here is the breakdown on the DVDs:
Blu-ray Disc Features:
PRISON BREAK: THE FINAL BREAK BD is presented in widescreen format (1.78:1 aspect ratio) with English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio with English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin and Thai subtitles. The BD also includes a copy on DVD. Bonus features include:
· Deleted Scenes
Single-Disc DVD Features:
PRISON BREAK: THE FINAL BREAK is presented in widescreen format (1.78:1 aspect ratio) in English 5.1 Dolby Surround with English, French and Spanish subtitles. Bonus features include:
· Deleted Scenes
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Swine flu: FAQ
What is swine influenza?
Swine influenza (swine flu) is caused by type A influenza virus and gives pigs the flu. Swine flu viruses cause regular outbreaks of flu in pigs but death is infrequent. The viruses may circulate among pigs throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months similar to outbreaks in humans. The classical swine flu virus (an influenza type A H1N1 virus) was first isolated from a pig in 1930.
How many swine flu viruses are there?
Like all flu viruses, swine flu viruses change constantly. Pigs can be infected by avian, human and swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort and new ones emerge that are a mix of swine, human and/or avian influenza viruses. Over the years, different variations of swine flu viruses have emerged. Right now, there are four main influenza type A virus subtypes that have been isolated in pigs: H1N1, H1N2, H3N2, and H3N1. However, most of the recently isolated influenza viruses from pigs have been H1N1 viruses.
Can humans catch swine flu?
Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred. Most commonly, these cases occur in persons with direct exposure to pigs, such as children near pigs at a fair or workers in the swine industry.
There have been documented cases of one person spreading swine flu to others. In 1988, an outbreak of apparent swine flu infection in pigs in Wisconsin resulted in multiple human infections, and although no community outbreak resulted, there was antibody evidence of virus transmission from the patient to health care workers who had close contact with the patient.
Why is this strain of flu causing so much concern?
It's a brand new mutation that's never been seen before. That's why it's not just hitting people in the highest risk groups — those over 65 and younger than two.
Flu is not usually a huge worry among the vast majority of healthy people because over the course of our lives, we are exposed to several flu strains. We develop some immunities. When we get the flu, we'll normally just feel really awful for a week or two. But when you have no immunities at all to a new strain, normally healthy people face as much of a risk as higher risk groups.
How does swine flu kill?
Swine flu — just like any other flu — is a respiratory infection. It exploits a weakened immune system to attack major organs — especially your lungs. When it gets into your lungs, it can lead to pneumonia, which can kill you. The flu can also cause secondary infections in your body — any of which can lead to failure of vital organs and death.
Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?
No. Swine flu viruses are not transmitted by food. You cannot get swine flu from eating pork or pork products. You won't get swine flu from handling uncooked pork either. You can get sick from putting uncooked or undercooked pork in your mouth, but you won't get swine flu.
On May 7, 2009, the World Health Organization once again said that it is generally safe to eat pork. The world health body said existing sanitary and animal health checks were sufficient to safeguard the food supply against the swine flu virus. The statement came a day after an official said it was possible the virus could survive freezing if a slaughtered animal was sick. However, it is illegal to slaughter a sick or dead animal.
If you eat meat from an animal that was sick or had died before it was slaughtered you are taking major risks, the least of which is swine flu.
It's also impossible to catch swine flu from eating fruits and vegetables imported from Mexico or any other country that has recorded cases of swine flu. Swine flu — like all influenza viruses — is not a food-borne illness.
How common is swine flu infection in humans?
In the past, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received reports of about one human swine flu virus infection every one to two years in the U.S., but from December 2005 through February 2009, 12 cases of human infection with swine flu have been reported. Five of the 12 cases occurred in patients who had direct exposure to pigs, six in patients reported being near pigs, and the exposure in one case was unknown.
What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans?
The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
How does swine flu spread?
Influenza viruses can be directly transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs. Human infection with swine flu viruses are most likely to occur when people are in close proximity to infected pigs, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits at fairs.
Human-to-human transmission of swine flu can also occur. This is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people, which is mainly person-to-person transmission through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the flu virus. People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.
What is known about human-to-human spread of swine flu?
In September 1988, a healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman was hospitalized for pneumonia and died eight days later. A swine H1N1 flu virus was detected. Four days before getting sick, she had visited a county fair swine exhibition where there was widespread flu-like illness among the pigs.
In follow-up studies, 76 per cent of swine exhibitors tested had antibody evidence of swine flu infection but no serious illnesses were detected among this group. Additional studies suggest that one to three health care personnel who had contact with the patient developed mild influenza-like illnesses with antibody evidence of swine flu infection.
How are human infections with swine flu diagnosed?
To diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen is ideally collected within the first four to five days of illness and sent to the CDC for testing.
What medications are available to treat humans with swine flu?
Four antiviral drugs are licensed for use in the United States: amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. While most swine flu viruses have been susceptible to all four drugs, the most recent seven swine flu viruses isolated from humans are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine. Right now, the CDC recommends oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine flu viruses.
What other examples of swine flu outbreaks are there?
The most well known outbreak of swine flu was 1976 one among soldiers in Fort Dix, N.J. The virus caused illnesses in at least four soldiers and one death; all were previously healthy. The virus was transmitted in close contact at a basic training camp. It was thought to have circulated for a month and disappeared. The source of the virus, the exact time of its introduction into Fort Dix and factors limiting its spread and duration are unknown. The outbreak may have been caused by introduction of an animal virus into a stressed human population in close contact during the winter.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Malacañang Palace names new senior officials
Palace names new senior officials
By Dino Maragay Updated April 23, 2009 10:05 AM
MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang has announced the appointment of several senior officials.
In a press briefing yesterday, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said President Arroyo has named Ann Blyth Tia as the new Office of Regional Concerns (ORC) chief and head organizer of Mrs. Arroyo’s provincial visits.
Tia will take over the post previously held by Undersecretary for Presidential Engagements Marilou Frostrom, one of the fatalities of a helicopter crash last April 7.
Frostrom was also the head of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS).
Tapped as appointments secretary was Bong Joves, Ermita added.
Orlando Hondrade is the new undersecretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). He replaces the late DPWH Undersecretary for Luzon Ramon Aquino, who died last March 19 due to multiple organ failure after being ambushed by unidentified men at the department’s compound in Port Area, Manila.
Other appointments include Mark Milan as assistant secretary at the Department of National Defense; Dr. Arthur Aquino as president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation; and Jose Mamauag as commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=460410&publicationSubCategoryId=200
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Finale puts ‘Prison Break’ to rest
Finale puts ‘Prison Break’ to rest
Alan Pergament
The first reaction of many viewers to Friday’s two-hour series finale of the Fox series, “Prison Break,” might be something like: “Prison Break” is still on the air?
I checked out of the series a year after Cheektowaga’s William Fichtner checked in as FBI agent Alex Mahone in 2006. Since I escaped “Prison,” I hadn’t realized that the series that premiered in 2005 and ran in the Monday night time slot of “24” had itself turned into “24.”
The enjoyable first season of “Break” focused on a MacGyverlike brother, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), who took brotherly love to an amazing degree. He committed robbery to get near his incarcerated brother, Lincoln Burrow (Dominic Purcell), who was wrongly convicted of killing the vice president’s brother. Michael planned to help his brother escape and try and uncover a conspiracy led by something referred to as The Company.
Oh, there were more preposterous moments (like going to prison voluntarily isn’t preposterous enough) than there were on “24,” but at least there was an endgame— the escape from prison. Fox couldn’t let a good thing end. Ratings were strong enough to extend the stay of “Prison” despite critical resistance. “Prison” eventually went on way too long, which is why the finale airs at 8 p. m. on Channel 29 on a Friday night, where shows are sent to die.
If you’ve also taken a break from “Prison,” the finale isn’t so much difficult to follow as it is difficult to get emotionally involved. Scofield is in possession of a hard drive, Scylla, which could “trigger” a world war. His psychotic mother Christina (a cartoonish Kathleen Quinlan) and a big bad general want Scylla as badly as Scofield wants to save his brother and his own girlfriend, the beautiful prison doctor Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies), who helped the brothers escape years ago.
With the help of some other escapees, a lot of silliness over Scylla ensues and the series ends sappily with what has become a routine finale ritual—a look at the future.
The plot twists and the surprises aren’t much. In fact, the best thing about the finale is that “Prison Break” has no future and been put out of its misery. 2 stars out of 4
• Last week’s episode of “Scrubs”— which was either the series or season finale —was an Emmy winner by comparison. Written by series creator Bill Lawrence (who also appeared in a cameo in the final scene as a janitor), it revolved around the unreal expectations that J. D. (Zach Graff) had on his final day as a resident.
There were heartwarming moments, goofy moments, clever moments. Best of all, the real sappiness was saved for a “Mary Tyler Moore”-like hug between the actors when the outtakes of the series were played.
If it was the series finale, “Scrubs” did it in style. However, there has been talk that ABC—which owns the show—may bring it back with new cast members. That probably would be a mistake of “Prison Break” proportions.
• “House” ended its season three nights ago with a smart episode about the two sides of the brain that at times almost was as confusing as some time travel episodes of ABC’s “Lost.”
By the end, the apparent jump-the-shark affair that Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) supposedly had in last week’s episode with Dr. Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) was revealed as the product of his pill-popping hallucinations. Cuddy then had House’s buddy Dr. Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) drive House to a psychiatric hospital, presumably to recover by the start of next season.
The trip happened simultaneously to the much-delayed wedding of Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) and Chase (Jesse Spencer), a routine plot that balanced the darkness of House’s story. All in all, it was a brilliant ending to a complicated season that often taxed the brain.
Monday, May 4, 2009
11 Ways to Get Extra Cash
Who couldn’t use a little more moolah these days? If you’ve lost your job, taken a pay cut or are just looking for ways to boost your income, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance can help. Here we offer 11 smart tips for generating extra cash. See if any might put more money in your pocket by clicking the navigation bar to your right.
Sell Your Stuff Online
Kiplinger’s senior editor Jeffrey Kosnett and his wife recently made $200 selling flatware they no longer used through the popular online auction site eBay. You, too, can unload everything from furniture and furnishings to collectibles and clothing on eBay or Craigslist.
Sell your old, unwanted books on Amazon. Kosnett’s wife, Deborah, says the key to selling your wares on the Web is to research similar merchandise that has been sold recently through the site and price competitively.
Be a Shopping Spy
You can get paid up to $20 if you agree to browse a store and provide feedback on customer service, merchandise quality, and other quality-control metrics. Start by visiting the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s Web site (www.mysteryshop.org) to see a database of jobs with legitimate companies. Sign up with several companies because it can take a while to be contacted. If you like to shop, can pay close attention to detail and can be dispassionate, this could be a good money-making opportunity.
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• As Prices Rise, Some See $2 Gas
• Celebrity Charity Auctions
• More Travelers Redeeming Miles for Merchandise
Visit the Family & Home Center
One word of warning: Watch out for scams that require you to pay a fee or wire a cashier’s check.
Operate a Call Center From Your Home
You might consider a job (for up to $14 an hour) with a virtual call center, such as Arise Virtual Solutions (www.willowcsn.com), West Corp. (www.west.com) or Alpine Access (www.alpineaccess.com). As an independent contractor (or, in some cases, an actual employee with benefits), you would provide customer support for companies such as Office Depot, Sears, J.Crew and even the Internal Revenue Service.
In general, you must provide your own computer, designated telephone line and high-speed Internet connection -- and, in some cases, pay for your training to become a certified agent. But if you have the time, companies need “operators standing by.”
Tutor Students
Some parents are willing to pay big bucks to see Junior and Janie succeed. So if you speak a second language, such as Spanish or French, or have great math, science or writing skills, you might be able to earn extra cash imparting your knowledge to kids -- even college students -- for $20 to $30 an hour.
Check with local schools and universities to see if you can advertise your services on their bulletin boards. Or post your services on Craigslist.
Join a Street Team
This is a relatively easy way for young adults who are outgoing and articulate to earn some fast cash. Street teams promote products, films, albums, events and more by handing out samples, interacting with people on the street, or dressing as mascots.
To get a job at $17 to $25 an hour, sign up with a company such as Street Team Promotion.com or A.D.D. Marketing. Actually, if you sign up with several companies, you’re more likely to get a steady flow of jobs, says James Aquafredda, managing director of Street Team Promotion.com. Make sure, though, that the company has a contract that specifies when you’ll get paid.
Walk the Dogs
Why not get a little exercise while you earn anywhere from $15 to $30 an hour? Working folks will pay plenty for you to take Rover or Scruffy on a daily stroll while they’re at the office.
If you don’t want to brave the elements, you might consider pet sitting for people while they’re on vacation. Advertise your services in veterinarians’ offices and on Craigslist.
Be a Babysitter
Just graduated and can’t find a job? Retired and looking for a little extra dough? Like children? From full-time gigs to occasional stints, babysitting can be a fun way to put money in your pocket. In big cities such as New York and Washington, expect to earn up to $20 an hour as a babysitter or nanny. (In small and midsize cities, the going rate is closer to $7 to $10 an hour.)
Advertise your services on Craigslist, the bulletin board at your local house of worship, or by word of mouth.
Write for the Web
Sorry, Kiplinger.com isn’t hiring. But plenty of Web sites are looking for freelancers to write blogs, commentary, and reviews for about $15 to $30 an hour or article. For example, if you know a lot about a particular subject or region, you might be able to be a “guide” and write articles for About.com (http://beaguide.about.com/ ).
In all major U.S. cities, Craigslist has ads for writing gigs. Demand Studios (www.demandstudios.com) offers freelance work for writers, copy editors and filmmakers.
Make Your Hobbies Pay Off
Amateur photographers are in demand to shoot weddings and events, especially in a recession when people are reluctant to hire high-priced pros. If you’re a great cook, you could hold a workshop or prepare meals for a busy family. Tech-savvy? You could teach classes on Web design.
See what your services might fetch by checking out ads on Craigslist or in your local paper or community Web site. Then hang out a virtual shingle.
Sell Your Unwanted Gold Jewelry
Although the price has dropped a bit since the beginning of 2009, the going rate for this precious commodity is still near $900 an ounce. That’s a pretty penny for jewelry you no longer wear or bling that reminds you of a best-forgotten suitor.
Gold-buying shops are popping up at malls across America.
Adjust Your Tax Withholding
This is probably the fastest and easiest way to put more cash in your pocket. If you got a big refund this year, you’re not alone: The average refund so far this year is $2,700. But think about it: You're letting Uncle Sam hold on to your money for a whole year and paying you 0% interest.
Why wait until next spring to get the money you really need now? To see how much you could gain by adjusting your withholding, try our easy-to-use withholding calculator.
Copyrighted, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Manny Pacquiao stuns Ricky Hatton with KO
By Leslie Wilson Jr, Sports Editor
Published: May 03, 2009, 07:57
Dubai: The Philippines' Manny Pacquiao showed why he is rated the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by knocking down Britain's Ricky Hatton three times to win their much anticipated junior lightweight showdown in Las Vegas on Saturday.
In a fight that was seen as a matchup of two great fighters looking to cement their place in boxing history as the best pound-for-pound stars, Pacquiao totally outclassed his rival in 359 explosive seconds.
Hatton felt the full force of Pacquiao's speed and power as he suffered what was only the second defeat in his career and first at 140-pounds.
The Englishman's only loss came in 2007 when he moved up to welterweight and was stopped in the 10th round by US star Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The Filipino was in great form right from the first bell at the MGM Grand Arena; landing a high percentage of his power-packed combinations to get Hatton in all sorts of trouble.
Pacquiao sent the Englishman crashing to the canvas twice in an action-packed first round and then knocked the lights out of Hatton with a devastating right cross to the head with seconds remaining in round two.
Ringside doctors rushed to the aid of Hatton, who lay motionless on the canvas, However, he eventually recovered and was able to leave the ring unaided before being taken to hospital for a routine post-fight test.
"I am surprised this fight was so easy," said Pacquiao. "I did work hard in my training camp and it paid off. This is as big a victory for me as when I beat Oscar De La Hoya."
Pacquiao's trainer Freddy Roach, who had predicted a quick knockout by his fighter, said, "This is no shock at all. Hatton pumps his hands before he throws a punch, and it makes him a sucker for the right hook. Manny is a monster, he is the best fighter ever. There is no surprise here."
Both fighters are 30-years-old and were trying to cement their spot in ring history in the junior welterweight division, but it was Pacquiao who totally dominated his opponent from the first bell.
Hatton had no answer to the left-right combinations that the Filipino icon threw at him and twice hit the deck in one of the most explosive opening rounds of a boxing match.
Pacquiao then finished the fight with a thundering right to the jaw that floored the Briton.
"That was the best knockout punch I've ever seen," Pacquiao trainer, Roach, said. "It was the perfect shot. That rarely happens."
According to computer statistics, Pacquiao landed 73 of 127 punches in just under six minutes, including 34 of 53 power punches in the second round, while Hatton connected on only 18 of 78.
Pacquiao matched the all-time record by becoming a champion in his sixth different weight class by lifting Hatton's International Boxing Organisation junior welterweight world title after dispatching now-retired six-division champion Oscar de la Hoya.
Pacquiao will reportedly take home $12 million from the bout while Hatton was set for an $8 million-payday. Pay-per-view income alone for the megafight is believed to have crossed $40 million.
For Pacquiao, the future looks bright with a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr already being talked about.
Hatton's trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. did not attend the postfight news conference, leaving co-trainer, Lee Beard, to do the talking.
"We knew about Manny's speed and that it could play a factor in the fight," Beard said. "What you saw was two rounds of action and Ricky got caught."
Gulfnews Link: http://www.gulfnews.com/sport/Boxing/10309880.html
I really didn't see the punch coming! - Hatton
LAS VEGAS - Favorite Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines claimed the IBO light-welterweight title with a stunning second round knockout of British holder Ricky Hatton on Saturday.
The 30-year-old southpaw twice knocked the Englishman to the canvas in the opening round before ending the fight with a stinging left hook at the MGM Grand Hotel's Garden Arena.
The ring announcer said the bout, scheduled for 12 rounds, had ended two minutes 39 seconds into the round but that was later corrected by officials to two minutes 59 seconds.
"I was surprised that this was so easy but I've worked hard in training camp since the beginning of March," a beaming Pacquiao said in a ringside interview. "He was wide open for the right hook. I knew he would be looking for my left.
"It's nothing personal. I was just doing my job.
"This is as big for me as the De La Hoya win," the Filipino added, referring to his eight-round stoppage of 10-times world champion Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vegas in December.
Hatton, who had stopped American Paulo Malignaggi in November to retain his IBO light-welterweight belt, was left motionless in the centre of the ring for several minutes before being helped to his feet to sit on a stool.
"It was a hard loss but I am okay," the 30-year-old Manchester boxer said before being taken to the nearby Valley Hospital as a precaution.
"I really didn't see the punch coming but it was a great shot. I know I will be okay."
Widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Pacquiao improved his career record to 49-3-2 with 37 knockouts.
Hatton, who had never previously lost at his natural weight of 140 pounds, slipped to 45-2 with 32 knockouts.
Capacity crowd
Watched by a capacity crowd of around 16,000 that included Hollywood actors Christian Bale and Jack Nicholson and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., Hatton began the opening round by cramping Pacquiao and repeatedly forcing him to back-peddle.
However, the Filipino responded with a flurry of combinations late in the round, bloodying the Englishman's nose with a right hook before sending Hatton sprawling to the canvas.
Under concerted pressure, Hatton was pinned to the ropes before again being knocked to the floor by a Pacquiao left hook.
Pacquiao maintained the dazzling pace in the second round, landing a series of sharp punches and jabs before feinting with the right and unleashing a stinging left hook to the jaw, which put Hatton flat on his back.
"This was no surprise," said Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach, who had predicted his man would need only three rounds to win. "Hatton pumps his hands before he throws a punch. He is a sucker for the right hook and this is what we worked on.
"He cocks back before he throws his punches. He fights the same way over and over. I studied tapes of all his fights for the last two months and I know him as well as I know my own fighter."
Pacquiao dominated the official ringside statistics, connecting with 73 of 127 punches thrown to 18 of 78 for Hatton. He also landed 65 power punches compared to Hatton?s 16.
Hatton's trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. said: "I really felt Ricky would get him. I don't want to go into it more than that."
Pacquiao could next fight the winner of the bout between Mayweather Jr., who announced earlier he would come out of retirement, and Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez who meet in a non-title welterweight fight in Las Vegas on July 18.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Pacquaio vs Hatton Free Live Streaming
8:00 am Philippines === May 3, 2009 === Sunday Morning
6:00 pm U.S. ======== May 2, 2009 === Saturday Evening
2:00 am U.K. ======== May 3, 2009 === Sunday Morning
3:00 am Oslo, Norway = May 3, 2009 === Sunday Morning
Here's the OFFICIAL links will broadcast the event.
NOTE: be sure to copy all the links before the fight! Thanks! HAPPY VIEWING !!!
JUSTIN TV LINK:
http://www.justin.tv/TeamRN ( courtesy of RN Halawi )
SOPCAST LINK:
sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/24267
sop://broker1.sopcast.com:3912/6002 – CCTV-5 NEW !!!
You’ll need to download SOPCAST in able to use the above link.
DOWNLOAD HERE :
http://download.sopcast.cn/download/SopCast.zip
KRALIX LINK:
http://www.kralix.com/2009/04/watch-pacquiao-vs-hatton-fight-online-live-streaming/
PACQUIAO FIGHTS B L O G S P O T LINK:
http://pacquiaofights.blogspot.com/
TEAM PILIPINAS LINK: ( courtesy of RN Halawi )
http://teampilipinas.info/search/label/Pacquiao%20vs.%20Hatton
http://www.youtube.com/user/dude2nuckle
http://www.justin.tv/TeamRN
PUNCH TV (not sure)
http://www.mogulus.com/punchtv
FEEL FREE TO POST YOUR LINK / S HERE !!! THANK YOU ! ! ! :toast:
Ill be updating this post for any updates on the fight so stay tuned for the updated post.
Keep checking this thread, every now & then.... "See You At The R i n g s i d e ."
Share & Enjoy Watching ! ! ! Ilabas ang mga inumin at mga pulutan !!! Kampay !!!
PAMBANSANG KAMAO Video: ( Watch it! ) -->
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tig0PcE32ow
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IF YOU HAVE EXTRA MONEY TO BUY PPV , PLEASE DO IT... LETS SUPPORT MANNY PACQUIAO!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Approval expected over Flintshire's £400,000 CCTV plan - HAVE YOUR SAY
The CCTV service was launched in Flintshire in 2002, as part of a partnership between North Wales Police and town and community councils.
About 46 cameras were originally installed to monitor open spaces across the county, in a bid to reduce anti-social behaviour, criminal damage and alcohol-related violence.
Over the past six years, the number of cameras has increased to 120 and the new plans, if approved, will see all equipment updated and two operators on duty in the control room at all times.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Millionaire 'carried out sexual assault on mother-of-two while his own CCTV system recorded attack'
By Chris Brooke
Last updated at 1:49 AM on 16th April 2009
A millionaire businessman was caught on his own CCTV system allegedly attempting to rape a terrified mother-of-two at his luxury mansion, a court heard.
David Atherton, 51, sexually assaulted the 49-year-old woman in his kitchen before threatening to drown her in his swimming pool, it was alleged.
She managed to escape semi-naked to her car, but he snatched the keys off her as she tried to drive away and the victim eventually raised the alarm by flagging down a passing motorist, Leeds Crown Court heard.
Atherton, who made a fortune selling his internet retail business, was a drug addict who was said to have carried out the attack in a 'drugged and or drunken state'.
James Goss, QC, prosecuting, said he had become 'paranoid' through his long-term cocaine addiction.
He believed there was a 'bent police' conspiracy against him involving the woman, with secret passages within the walls of his home and people filming him.
He had installed an intricate CCTV system at his recently renovated £1.5million home in Bolton, with cameras triggered by movement both inside and outside the property.
Images from these cameras allegedly showing the violent sex attack were shown to the jury.
Atherton denies attempted rape, two sex assaults, making threats to kill and false imprisonment.
Mr Goss said the defendant 'has been a successful businessman' and became 'very rich' as a result.
Atherton, who has a grown-up daughter from his former marriage, lived alone at the time of the incident on August 17 last year.
He knew the victim, who drove to his house at his request following a shopping trip. Once in the kitchen the woman was subjected to an unprovoked and violent sex attack in full view of one of his security cameras.
The court heard he 'forced her to the floor and ripped her jeans off' before sexually assaulting her.
Throughout the three-minute attack she was 'crying and telling him to get off'.
He also slapped and punched her and got her in a head-lock, the court heard.
The woman was wearing no underwear and was naked from the waist down when he then took her to the swimming pool.
Mr Goss said he told her he would 'take her to the pool to kill her' and told the woman to take her top off.
But she managed to break free and ran outside to her Range Rover with Atherton in pursuit. The CCTV camera outside showed how Atherton struggled at the car doorway for about 20 minutes, allegedly trying to stop her escaping.
During the tussle, the woman was 'screaming' at Atherton who 'kept throwing things out of the car'.
At one point, she reversed the vehicle with him 'hanging on.' Eventually he snatched the ignition key and went back in the house.
The woman put on a pair of pyjamas she had bought during her earlier shopping trip and ran down the driveway.
She was 'crying and distressed' and asked the first motorist who stopped to phone the police.
The woman was taken to hospital where she was found to have bruising to her jaw, a swollen and bruised neck and bruised thigh.
Police arrested Atherton in an apparently 'intoxicated state'. He was interviewed by police and handed in a statement in which he claimed the woman was a ' prostitute and drug dealer' who had a 'preference for rough sex and simulated rape'.
He said she had 'fully consented' to the incidents caught on camera, which were not sex attacks but a 'simulated sex session'.
In 2006 Atherton sold his business Dabs.com, selling computers and electronic equipment online, to BT for a reported £30 million.
Stealthy Rootkit Slides Further Under the Radar
By Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service - Wed Apr 15, 2009 2:20PM EDT
Thousands of Web sites have been rigged to deliver a powerful piece of malicious software that many security products may be unprepared to handle.
The malicious software is a new variant of Mebroot, a program known as a "rootkit" for the stealthy way it hides deep in the Windows operating system, said Jacques Erasmus, director of research for the security company Prevx.
An earlier version of Mebroot, which is what Symantec named it, first appeared around December 2007 and used a well-known technique to stay hidden. It infects a computer's Master Boot Record (MBR). It's the first code a computer looks for when booting the operating system after the BIOS runs.
If the MBR is under a hacker's control, so is the entire computer and any data that's on it or transmitted via the Internet, Erasmus said.
Since Mebroot appeared, security vendors have refined their software to detect it. But the latest version uses much more sophisticated techniques to stay hidden, Erasmus said.
Mebroot inserts program hooks into various functions of the kernel, or the operating system's core code. Once Mebroot has taken hold, the malware then makes it appear that the MBR hasn't been tampered with.
"When something is trying to scan the MBR, it displays a perfectly good-looking MBR to any security software," Erasmus said.
Then, each time the computer is booted, Mebroot injects itself into a Windows process in memory, such as svc.host. Since it's in memory, it means that nothing is written to the hard disk, another evasive technique, Erasmus said.
Mebroot can then steal any information it likes and send it to a remote server via HTTP. Network analysis tools such as Wireshark won't notice the data leaking out since Mebroot hides the traffic, Erasmus said.
Prevx saw the new variant of Mebroot after one of the company's consumer customers became infected. It took analysts a few days to nail down exactly how Mebroot was managing to embed itself in the operating system. "I think everyone at the moment is working on modifying their [antimalware] engines to find it," Erasmus said.
And those companies need to act fast. Erasmus said it appears that thousands of Web sites have been hacked to deliver Mebroot to vulnerable computers that don't have the proper patches for their Web browsers.
The infection mechanism is known as a drive-by download. It occurs when a person visits a legitimate Web site that's been hacked. Once on the site, an invisible iframe is loaded with an exploit framework that begins testing to see if the browser has a vulnerability. If so, Mebroot is delivered, and a user notices nothing.
"It's pretty wild out there now," Erasmus said. "Everywhere you go, you have a chance to be infected."
It's unknown who wrote Mebroot, but it appears that one aim of the hackers is to simply infect as many computers as possible, Erasmus said.
Prevx has a self-named specialized security product that works alongside antivirus software to detect drive-by browser exploits, password stealers, rootkits and rogue antivirus software.
Prevx released the 3.0 version of its product on Wednesday. The software will detect malware infections for free, but users must upgrade to get the full removal functionality. However, Prevx 3.0 will remove some of the more evil malicious software, including Mebroot, as well as any advertising software, known as adware, free of charge, Erasmus said.
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090415/tc_pcworld/stealthyrootkitslidesfurtherundertheradar
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
With recent police activity, anti-terror adverts and CCTV everywhere no wonder we're all scared stiff
So it has now become one of the main causes of anxiety. Among all the other worries that people face - the recession, crime, hospital superbugs and terrorism - a new fear has emerged: that of the Big Brother state.
According to a survey by the Mental Health Foundation, we are a pretty fearful lot. In fact, more than seven million of us are living with some sort of anxiety problem.
And the proliferation of surveillance equipment such as CCTV cameras (of which we have more than the rest of Europe put together) only makes people more worried of the very things the cameras are designed to tackle: crime and terrorism.
It is ironic that something which is supposed to put our minds at rest has exactly the opposite effect.
But there is also a darker side to the proliferation of monitoring equipment which should also be a cause of great concern to us all.
The evidence can no longer be ignored that after a decade of New Labour, Britain has become a far worse place for honest citizens to live their lives as they please, away from the eyes and ears of the state.
In the name of 'efficiency' and 'national security', our civil liberties have been systematically eroded.
We have calmly allowed our rulers to grab enormous and unprecedented power. They claim it is needed to protect us from criminals, but in fact they are using it to bully and enslave us with a litany of regulation and red tape.
Police and other state officials have turned from our servants into our masters.Yahoo to cut hundreds of jobs
Posted on - Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:26PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Yahoo Inc is preparing to lay off several hundred workers in the first round of cuts since Carol Bartz became chief executive in January, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
The layoffs could be announced next Tuesday, when Yahoo reports its first-quarter financial results, according to the source, who wished to remain anonymous because of the issue's sensitivity.
Yahoo's last round of layoffs was in December, under former CEO and co-founder Jerry Yang. The company, which is the No. 2 U.S. Internet search provider, finished 2008 with roughly 13,600 employees, down by more than 1,600 employees from the third quarter of 2008.
Yahoo declined to comment on the planned layoffs, first reported by the New York Times on Tuesday.
The cuts would come almost two months after Bartz implemented a broad internal management reorganization and as Yahoo explores partnerships to help revive its growth.
Yahoo and Microsoft Corp met recently to discuss a deal involving the company's search business, according to a source familiar with the matter who wished to remain anonymous.
The search company has projected that sales in the first quarter could be down as much as 16 percent at $1.53 billion.
Shares of Yahoo were up 3 cents at $14.10 in after hours trade.
(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing Bernard Orr and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Topical Spray Helped Men With Premature Ejaculation
MONDAY, April 6 (HealthDay News) -- A new spray enabled men with premature ejaculation to delay their orgasm six times longer than before, according to a study that included 300 European men.
The men, with clinically diagnosed premature ejaculation, were randomly selected to receive a placebo spray with no active ingredients (100 men) or the PSD502 spray, which contains 7.5 milligrams of lidocaine and 2.5 mg of prilocaine (200 men).
During the three-month study, the men used either the placebo or the PSD502 spray five minutes before intercourse. The men and their partners then used a stopwatch to record the time from vaginal penetration to ejaculation. The men were instructed to abstain from sexual activity or masturbation for 24 hours before each recorded episode of intercourse.
The men who used the PSD502 spray (treatment group) delayed their orgasm from an average of 0.6 minutes to 3.8 minutes, compared to just over 1 minute for those who used the placebo spray. That means the PSD502 spray helped men last 6.3 times longer than normal, compared to 1.7 times longer than normal for those who used the placebo, the study authors said.
The study found that after three months of treatment:
- 90 percent of the men in the treatment group were able to delay ejaculation for more than 1 minute following vaginal penetration, compared with 54 percent of those in the placebo group.
- 74 percent of men in the treatment group were able to last 2 minutes before ejaculation, compared with 22 percent of those in the placebo group.
- 62 percent of men in the treatment group said their orgasms were "good" or "very good" after three months, compared with 20 percent before the start of the study. For men in the placebo group, the figures were 19 percent at the end of the study and 21 percent before the start of the study.
- More patients and partners in the treatment group reported improvements in perceived control, personal distress, satisfaction with sexual intercourse, and interpersonal problems.
The most common problems noted in the study were loss of erection and a burning sensation in the vagina.
The study findings were published in the April issue of the journal BJU International.
"Premature ejaculation can be a very distressing condition for men and can cause distress, frustration and make them avoid sexual intimacy," lead researcher Professor W. Wallace Dinsmore, of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, U.K., said in a news release.
"Our study shows that when the PSD502 spray was applied to the man's penis five minutes before intercourse it improved both sexual performance and sexual satisfaction, which are key factors in treating premature ejaculation."
More information
The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about premature ejaculation.
Keep an eye on the game
By Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times-Washington Post
Published: April 08, 2009, 23:09
Here's some evidence that staying hooked to your favourite games may be good for you after all.
According to a study published online in Nature Neuroscience, people who played 50 hours of action video games showed significant improvement in contrast sensitivity function, a key aspect of vision, .
Contrast sensitivity function refers to the ability to detect small differences in shades of grey, and it is one of the most vulnerable elements of vision. Scientists believe it is affected by deterioration of the eye itself.But a team of researchers from The University of Rochester and Tel Aviv University suspected that changes in the brain played a role as well. If so, they reasoned that mental exercise could offer some improvement.
To find out, they recruited video game novices in their 20s and asked some of them to play Atari's Unreal Tournament 2004 and Call of Duty 2 by Infinity Ward, two fast-paced games that require players to aim and shoot weapons from battle vehicles.
Others were assigned to The Sims 2 from Electronic Arts, an elaborate simulation game that doesn't ask players to make any quick or visually precise moves. Participants were asked to play their games for a total of 50 hours over nine weeks. The researchers measured each player's contrast sensitivity function before and after their training and found that the sensitivity of people assigned to the shoot-'em-up games improved by an average of 58 per cent. Those who played The Sims improved, too, but not as much as those who played action games.
The benefits lasted for months and may even last for years. "Generally our results establish that time spent in front of a computer screen is not necessarily detrimental to vision,"the authors of the research wrote.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Woman finds $357,959 cashier's check and returns it
By JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press Writer John Rogers, Associated Press Writer – Wed Apr 8, 4:49 pm ET
LOS ANGELES – As she walked from a post office, Talon Curtis thought she'd found one of those gimmicky sweepstakes offers on the ground that scream something like "$357,959.55" in big bold letters and "This is not a real check" in much smaller type. But just as she was about to do her part for a cleaner planet and deliver the paper from the parking lot to a trash can, she noticed it was a real cashier's check with a real signature.
"I couldn't believe it. I almost passed out," Curtis, who works as a loan negotiator, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "I have never seen a check that big. Not in my possession, anyway."
She immediately set out to find its rightful recipient, but it was Saturday afternoon and the banks were closing. On Monday, with help from KCAL-TV reporter Dave Malkoff, she located the check's owner, who had arrived at her bank in a panic.
"I think she had walked in at the same time the bank manager called me back," Curtis said. "I could hear her walking up to him. and I could hear all this commotion in the background."
Curtis said she spoke briefly with the woman on the phone about a possible meeting, but Pacific Mercantile Bank instructed her to mail the check to them instead.
Not willing to take a chance on the mail, Curtis delivered it personally. A bank employee confirmed it had arrived.
Curtis said she never thought of keeping the check for herself, and she declined the woman's offer of a reward. Still, she's just a little disappointed.
"I just wanted to see her face," Curtis said, laughing. "I just wanted to let her know that there are honest people left in this world."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090408/ap_on_fe_st/odd_big_check
Gossip writer out of job after "Wolverine" review
LOS ANGELES - Columnist Roger Friedman is out at FoxNews.com after reviewing an illegally downloaded copy of Fox's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" last week.
Friedman, who wrote the Fox411 column for FoxNews.com, met with Fox News executives Monday. Following the meeting, the company issued a statement saying the parties had "mutually agreed to part ways immediately."
Friedman could not be immediately reached for comment.
By admitting to having downloaded the film, which doesn't arrive in theaters until May 1, Friedman earned a big thumbs-down from News Corp., Fox News' parent company.
The trouble began Tuesday when an illicit copy of the film made its debut onto the Web. Fox immediately condemned the theft and copying of an unfinished workprint of the film and enlisted the FBI and the Motion Picture Assn. of America to track down the perpetrators.
Downloading a copy of the film himself, Friedman wrote a positive review that appeared in his Fox411 column Thursday.
"I doubt anyone else has seen this film. But everyone can relax. I am, in fact, amazed about how great "Wolverine" turned out. It exceeds expectations at every turn," he wrote.
But he also described how easy it is to download any film or TV show and joked he might decide to catch up on some other recent films via illegal downloads.
Fox -- pointing that out Fox News is a separate business under the News Corp. banner -- responded Friday, "This behavior is reprehensible and we condemn this act categorically, whether the review is good or bad."
Parent News Corp. issued its own condemnation, saying, "Roger Friedman's views in no way reflect the views of News Corp.," and adding, "Once we learned of Roger Friedman's post, we asked Fox News to remove it, which they did immediately."
After word began to circulate late Saturday that Friedman had been removed as well, News Corp. amended its statement, adding that Fox News had "promptly terminated Mr. Friedman."
But the columnist's status still appeared unclear Sunday afternoon.
Friedman would not comment except to say, "Reports of my death have been extremely exaggerated."
"This is an internal matter that we are not prepared to discuss at this time," a Fox News spokesperson said, leaving the entire matter in question.
Twenty-four hours later, Fox News and Friedman had gone their separate ways.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Workprint Leaked Online
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is currently slated for a May 1, 2009 release date in the U.S., but unfortunately, it looks like a few people might be getting their hands on the film a bit earlier than intended. Reports are pouring in that a full-length, DVD-quality workprint of the film has been leaked onto the internet and is quietly making its way across various bittorrent sites and other unsavory online venues. According to Drew McWeeny at HitFix, who has evidently seen parts of the video file, the copy is “near-finished…marred only by a few unfinished FX shots.” In addition, “there’s no timecode, no watermark…nothing. It’s a clean, perfect copy.”
This is perhaps the biggest leak for a major tentpole release in recent memory. Leaving aside the well-known phenomenon of Oscar screener leaks, workprint leaks have certainly happened in the past. For example, Eli Roth’s Hostel 2 leaked onto the internet several weeks before its release (in that situation, Roth was furious and blamed the leak for the film’s weak box office performance). Other films such as Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Michael Moore’s Sicko also experienced similar issue. However, those films were all relatively small compared to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a film which 20th Century Fox was probably betting on to help revive its recent lackluster box office performance.
The film’s production has already been plagued by bad buzz, and with a fairly pristine copy of the film floating around for consumption by the very audience the film is targeted at, it will all probably combine to have a dramatic and negative impact on this film’s opening and overall box office performance.
How did X-Men Origins: We get Leaked on the Internet?
Today an unwatermarked, time code free workprint of X-Men Origins: Wolverine leaked on the internet. Within hours thousands of people had a version of the upcoming Fox release, and once a file like this is in the wild it can never be fully brought back in.
How the hell did this happen?
I got in touch with a friend of mine who works in a post-production facility here in Los Angeles and he seemed to think my question was funny. "I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often," he said.
While studios bend over backwards to police film critics at press screenings (I've become used to security guards with night vision lenses staring at me while I'm watching a movie), the post-production process is apparently porous. Burned DVDs are swapped around with aplomb in this world; in fact I was told that the Wolverine DVD was switching hands for the last couple of weeks. It's hard to nail down where in the post-production process the Wolverine leak originated; it could have been someone working in digital FX, someone working on the titles, or even someone working on the trailer. Hell, it could be somebody working on the DVD release, for that matter.
My source told me stories of people blithely taking home DVDs of major upcoming studio blockbusters - some with watermarks, some without - so that they wouldn't have to work overtime at the office. And it's not just the honchos who have this access. My source told me about interns bringing DVDs home to watch with their friends. Even he seemed incredulous about the lackadaisical security at most of these post-production houses.
I've experienced some of this stuff first hand. I had someone from a post house meet me at a coffee shop and show me the Cloverfield trailer on a laptop. I've had files emailed to me that are clearly watermarked with post house names. I know a filmmaker who had his film pirated in the post-production stage, and who managed to nail the guy who was handing out DVDs to his friends. And I've come across some of these DVDs myself, although I never knew that they were so rampant.
Post isn't the only source of major leaks; these days getting a script to an unmade movie isn't even a badge of insider honor. They seem to be available to anyone who wants them. Someone told me that the security on the script for Cabin in the Woods was so tight no one would get it. Just to prove him wrong I got it three days later. I don't say that to boast but to explain how lax security is on the script end; once something hits an agency, PDFs of it may as well be deposited in the mailboxes of the biggest movie site writers. But while that's a problem - the mass leak of the script to Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds being one example - it's not half as damaging as the leak of an actual movie. Very few people will read a script. Many more will watch a DIVX file.
I have a feeling that the Wolverine leak is the tip of the iceberg. My source tells me that he suspects the person who leaked it may have been motivated by a grudge against the house where they work - perhaps someone who has been laid off or had his hours reduced (although to be fair he did also say that it's just as likely that this leak came from a dumb intern who simply made a copy for a friend. My friend has no actual knowledge of the particulars of this specific leak). The ease with which a DVD can be ripped and disseminated makes it child's play, and the ubiquity of laptops make it simpler and simpler for someone to rip a movie without even taking the disc off premises. Studios can keep being worried about someone sneaking a Flip camcorder into a press screening, but the real problem is right in their own system. So far they've been amazingly lucky, but how long can that luck hold out?