Wednesday, April 10, 2013

What's Next For The Best Male Performance Nominees?

Our look at the future of the 2013 MTV Movie Awards nominees continues with a glimpse into the future for the Best Male Performance category. These five leading men have a ton coming up, so here's our handy roundup. VOTE FOR BEST MALE PERFORMANCE NOW! Click past the jump to see what Ben Affleck, Bradley [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/04/09/mtv-movie-awards-best-male-performance/

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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Facebook Home

On the other hand, pioneer smartphone vendor HTC is suffering. Profits for the last quarter hit a record low, dropping through the analyst estimates, after their latest phone launch went off at half cock. The HTC One was meant to launch in 80 markets and made it to the start-line in three.

Here?s the first low-cost BlackBerry OS 10 device, the R10 Curve. Meanwhile, Canada?s export promotion agency vendor-financed 500,000 BlackBerries for Telefonica.

A nice 40th anniversary early adopter story.

T-Mobile USA has joined the price disruptors, and it?s working - for the first time in four years, its ?branded? customer base - i.e. excluding wholesale - is growing. Overall, they added 587,000 customers in Q1, concentrated in prepaid and in wholesale.

You?ll also note that last week?s AT&T/Verizon x Vodafone merger story has been denied to death, although of course the tale of the Verizon Wireless shares runs on.

Italy may be heading down to 3 MNOs, after Telecom Italia and Hutchison 3 Italy confirmed they are planning to merge.

Bouygues Telecom is going to launch LTE on the 1st of October, once its 1800MHz refarming is complete.

TIM Brasil has gone with Nokia Siemens Networks to build a LTE network in time for the footy.

China Mobile and Vodafone are jointly bidding for a licence in Burma.

Etisalat, which is trying to buy Vivendi?s 53% stake in Maroc Telecom, has taken out a $8bn loan to pay for it.

Zain has put off floating its Iraqi operation until the second half of the year, while their boss is apparently ?keen? on moving into Libya. Maybe life is boring after they sold the old Celtel sub-Saharan businesses to Bharti Airtel.

And Idea Cellular gets a $710m tax bill.

BT CEO Ian Livingston complains about his competitors being ?copper luddites?, because they want regulated access charges for BT?s FTTC network.

He?s responding to Charles Dunstone of Carphone Warehouse?s remark that ?there is so much government money going into subsidising higher broadband speeds but no one really knows where it is going and how it is being spent? - of course, Dunstone knows very well where it is going, because it?s essentially all going to BT, strengthening its position as incumbent vis-a-vis the, er, ?copper luddites?.

The Daily Telegraph also runs an uncritical profile of Openreach CEO Liv Garfield.

Meanwhile, Google Fiber may be coming to Austin, Texas. Google also commissioned Benoit Felten to write a paper on net neutrality.

The UK?s emerging small cell industry is being bought up. PicoChip was snapped up by Mindspeed Technologies, Cisco grabbed a stake in ip.access, and now Ubiquisys is a Cisco division for ?205 million.

22% of the British use public WiFi at least weekly. We?ll be updating this Analyst?s Note on public WiFi very soon.

Indosat is looking to double its WLAN assets, in what it describes as ?WiFi offload?. We must have heard that one before?

Tests on UK 4G deployment suggest that TV interference isn?t a problem.

Twilio is now available with Google App Engine, and they?re giving away minutes for new GAE users. It just gets easier to deploy voice. They also took part in a hackathon sponsored by the FCC, which set a challenge to do something about robocalls. The upshot, basically a voice spam filter, is described here.

Simwood discusses Ofcom?s review of narrowband. The DEA doesn?t like Apple?s iMessage, as the encryption actually works. RevK has finished implementing the PABX functions in his Firebrick routers.

As well as fixing the problems with HTC One launch, HTC is pinning its hopes on a new product. Facebook announced its ?Facebook Home? this week. It?s not exactly a Facebook Phone, but rather a UI overlay for Android, but it will mostly be shipped with the HTC First phone on AT&T and Orange, so a lot of users will probably experience it as such. We?re covering this development in far more detail in a separate note, so watch this space.

Hulu is up for sale again, and the leading bidder for the TV networks? online TV network is a former News Corp executive, Peter Chernin, whose buyout vehicle is offering $500 million. As always with Hulu, and indeed media operations more generally, the key will be the terms on which it can get content from the rightsholders.

Dan Rayburn is scathing about the hype around Aereo, the company that wants to pick up broadcast TV and re-stream it on the Internet. We would go further. If Aereo is meant to compete with cable TV, it has a huge problem: the cablecos are very good at distributing online video, whether because they have more capacity for Internet streaming, or because they can just broadcast it via the traditional CATV channel. It makes no fundamental economic sense to take content from a more efficient distribution system and distribute it via a less efficient distribution system, unless something subsidises the distribution heavily.

Dan also thinks you should calm down about HEVC, the magic video codec that will solve all your problems according to its promoters. It?s still expensive and there?s no content, and those are the least of the problems.

What?s the online business model most likely to succeed? According to a leading VC investor, it appears to be selling something to people who will give you money for it, an option so radically new you can be certain nobody?s considered it before.

However, TenCent says it has no intention of charging for WeChat or QQ. But Nokia is charging the equivalent of 1.5p a month for Nokia Life, its emerging market SMS-based service, which just landed in Kenya.

Free Android apps are worryingly spammy.

After Google shuttered the Reader, Should Yahoo! jump in to save RSS as a format?

A group of Sun Microsystems veterans are working on a big data/cloud optimised storage module that integrates some processing into the storage. Understanding Google?s flit from WebKit. Firefox 20 update drops.

Ever wondered where all the patents are coming from? A study suggests the US Patent Office lowered its standards to keep up with the pace.

From the Internet of Things to the Web of Things: High Scalability notes an interesting dissertation on the future of M2M.

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BBC Research introduces the Stagebox, a device that plugs into TV production equipment and puts it on the Internet, thus making an all-IP production environment possible.

Don?t miss UKNOF 25 in London on the 18th April, which has a truly impressive line-up.

Source: http://www.telco2.net/blog/2013/04/telco_20_news_review_135.html

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Monday, April 8, 2013

Phantom Flex4K camera unveiled, blasts through 1000 4K frames per second (video)

Phantom Flex4K camera blasts through 1000 4K frames per second video

Vision Research just upped the 4k speed barrier by a near order of magnitude with the launch of its Phantom Flex4K cinema camera at NAB. Starting at $110k, it builds on its Phantom Flex predecessor with up to 1,000 fps in 5 second bursts at 4k, 2,000 fps in 2k and 3,000 fps at 720p resolution -- speeds that'll net you almost three minutes of 4k video when played back at 24 fps. The full 16:9 Super 35 sensor-equipped model can be had with PL, PV Canon EOS or Nikon F/G mounts and will capture RAW or compressed footage in an "industry-standard," but as yet unspecified format. The Flex4K will also be available with a Phantom Cinemag IV, which will hold up to 2TB of data, or nearly 2 hours of RAW 4k footage at normal recording speeds. Other features include a Bluetooth transmitter and handheld Phantom RCU for remote operation, 12+ stops of dynamic range, HD-SDI video output and a camera control interface and form factor that hews to industry norms, according to Vision Research. If you're still reading after seeing the six-figure price tag, check the videos or More Coverage link after the jump for more.

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Source: AbelCine

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/08/phantom-flex4k-camera-unveiled-at-NAB/

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A Wolf Dog Hybrid, a Monster of a Pet |

A wolf dog hybrid is a canine that is, as its name suggests, part wolf and part dog. They are independent, magnificent creatures which some?experienced dog-folks keep as pets:

According to the article I read, many myths exist about wolf dog hybrids. Some say they are unable to be trained and vicious while some claim they are as tame as a?Golden Retriever. Some feel they live longer than other ?dogs? and are less prone to disease.

With regular dogs and wolf dog hybrids, there are a few similarities:

  • In reality, a wolf in captivity has the same life expectancy as a large dog, from 12-14 years.
  • Both dogs and wolves are susceptible to the same infectious diseases.
  • Additionally, the efficacy of a standard dog vaccine given to wolves and hybrids may be questionable.

Wolf Dog Hybrids As Guard Dogs

As far as making excellent guard dogs, by nature wolves are shy animals, so generally are not effective in this capacity. If any aggressive tendencies are observed in wolf dog hybrids, those may be fear induced, which can make them hard to handle and unpredictable.

Do Wolf Dog Hybrids Make Good Pets?

So while they are extremely attractive canines (and made excellent guides for me during my time in the desert), do wolf dog hybrids make good pets for an average dog owner?

While many folks say they make excellent pets for those who are familiar with their special needs, but in general, my answer is ?absolutely not.? Since these canines are a cross between a wolf and a dog, they need special handling and training by a person dedicated to these animals.

With patience and consistency, even a dog that is hard to train can learn. But the wolf dog temperament tends toward dominance, and will constantly test his or her ?master.? ?In order to avoid constant battles, the owner must establish ?alpha? status to ?dominate? the hybrid.

That animal is humungous.

Source: http://themellowjihadi.com/2013/04/06/wolf/

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Kim Kardashian Pregnant Belly: It's Real!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/kim-kardashian-pregnant-belly-its-real/

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Why is the Mafia investing in renewable energy?

The renewable energy industry is apparently becoming a favorite playground for the underworld, Alic writes.?Lucrative government subsidies for the construction of wind farms and a fairly lax regulatory system have made renewable energy attractive to the Mafia.

By Jen Alic,?Guest blogger / April 5, 2013

A wind turbine erected in Le Carnet, western France. The uncomfortable truth for Italy is that its high-ranking status as an ambitious installer of renewable energy programs?particularly wind?has been achieved on a significant level in the underworld, Alic writes.

David Vincent/AP/File

Enlarge

When the Italian authorities seized $1.7 billion in mafia-linked assets this week, many were surprised to see learn that the renewable energy industry is apparently becoming a favorite playground for the underworld.

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The?assets seized?included 43 wind and solar energy companies, along with 66 bank accounts linked to mafiosa Vito Nicastri?also now known as the ?Lord of the Wind?.

This came as a surprise only to those who haven?t been following the renewable energy industry in Europe closely. In?2010, Italian authorities froze Nicastri?s assets after an investigation turned up evidence that the Mafia was actually using renewable energy projects to launder money.

Nicastri, 57, is a colorful figure who has been linked to the ?godfather? of Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia, Matteo Messino Denaro.?(Related article:?Italian Anti-Mafia Police Seize ?1.3 Billion from the King of Alternative Energy)?

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Global warming mystery: Are North and South really polar opposites?

Two studies, one about plants covering previously frozen landscapes in the Arctic, the other about expanding winter sea ice in Antarctica, appear to say different things about global warming.

By Pete Spotts,?Staff writer / April 1, 2013

A Greenpeace activist dressed as a polar bear floats on the Moskva River to protest oil drilling in the Arctic, in Moscow, Russia, April 1, 2013.

Mikhail Metzel / AP

Enlarge

The amount of land in the high Arctic covered by trees and upright shrubs could increase by up to 52 percent by midcentury, warming the region to levels climate scientists had previously not expected to see there until 2100.

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That's the take-home message from a new study that looks at statistical ties between climate and vegetation types to estimate how the Arctic's landscape could change with global warming. The impact of the vegetation changes on the region's climate not only would be felt at lower latitudes through changing atmospheric circulation patterns, researchers say. The changes also would affect the range and types of wildlife in the area and the livelihoods of the Inuit who rely on the wildlife for food.

The results are appearing just as a new study from the bottom of the world offers an explanation as to why warming in Antarctica might appear to some people to be on hold, given a 20-year trend of expansion in winter sea ice.

Taken together, the two studies highlight the ways in which human-triggered warming averaged over the entire planet can play out in unique ways in specific regions of the globe ? in this case, two regions that play a critical role in Earth's climate system as "sinks" for heat generated in tropics.

At the top of the world, warming at the surface has occurred at nearly twice the rate of warming as the world as a whole. Some studies indicate that the winter temperatures have been rising at least four times faster than the summer temperatures. This warming has brought trees and woody, upright shrubs to areas once dominated by tundra.

Previous studies of the impact of a greener Arctic on the region's climate indicated the trend would reinforce warming.

On the one hand, a green canopy could shade soils once the snow melts, keeping them cooler than they otherwise would be and slowing the release of CO2 from soils.?But a darker canopy also would capture and reradiate heat ? warming the air earlier in the spring and slowing the return of cold temperatures in the fall. In addition, during the growing season, trees give off water vapor, a potent greenhouse gas, through a process known as evapotranspiration. This also would tend to reinforce warming in the region.

Earlier studies had suggested that the factors that reinforce warming would win out, contributing 0.66 to 1.8 degrees Celsius (about 1.2 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit) to Arctic warming. But modelers had to make a best guess on how much additional land would be covered by trees and upright shrubs. They settled on an increase of about 20 percent by 2100.

A team led by Richard Pearson of the American Museum of Natural History in New York took a different approach. They used statistical tools to determine the climate conditions each of 10 broad vegetation types could tolerate. Then they used climate models to explore the range of conditions the models projected for the Arctic by 2050. The two sets of results allowed them to estimate the new ranges for the vegetation types. Some, such as trees and upright shrubs migrated north. Other types, in coastal regions with nowhere farther north to go, vanished.

The approach has been used for other regions, notes Scott Goetz, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Research Institute in Woods Hole, Mass., and a member of the team performing the study. But, he adds, its the first time anyone has applied the technique to the Arctic.

Overall, the team found that if climate-induced shifts in plant types were patchy, the changes would affect 48 to 69 percent of the Arctic regions they studied above 60 degrees north latitude. Those regions spanned northern Russia, northern Alaska, and northern Canada.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/Glq64U46Mwk/Global-warming-mystery-Are-North-and-South-really-polar-opposites

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Southern California sagebrush better suited to climate change, study finds

Apr. 1, 2013 ? California sagebrush in the southern part of the state will adjust better to climate change than sagebrush populations in the north, according to UC Irvine researchers in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology affiliated with the Center for Environmental Biology.

The results of their study, which appears online in Global Change Biology, will assist land management and policy decisions concerning coastal sage scrub restoration.

California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), also known as "cowboy cologne," is the fragrant gray-green shrub that once filled area ranch land. It's found on coastal hillsides for more than 400 miles along California's Pacific coast. Only about 10 percent of its original habitat remains -- the rest having been converted to human use -- and is home to a number of endangered species, including the California gnatcatcher, which depend on plants like sagebrush.

In their study, Jessica Pratt and Kailen Mooney transplanted sagebrush from sites up and down the California coast to a test garden near UC Irvine to see which shrubs were best able to withstand particular environmental challenges. They measured the differences in plant traits and responses to experimentally altered precipitation.

The researchers found that populations from southern sites, with historically variable rainfall amounts, adjusted with greater ease to altered precipitation than did populations from the historically invariant north. Accordingly, they asserted, reaction to climate change will differ across this species's range, with southern populations adapting more readily to future conditions.

"For instance, sagebrush from San Diego stretches, where precipitation varies substantially from year to year, were better able to respond to changes in precipitation than those from the San Francisco area," said Mooney, an assistant professor of ecology & evolutionary biology.

He and Pratt also analyzed long-term climate data from along the California coast and discovered that year-to-year variability in rainfall has been increasing.

Taken together, these findings suggest that it might be prudent to plant Southern California sagebrush on Northern California hillsides to compensate for this heightened fluctuation in precipitation.

Taxpayers and private donors currently spend millions trying to properly manage the remnants of coastal sage scrub and other diverse habitats that remain on public and private land. Pratt and Mooney hope to determine which strategies are most effective for the least cost.

"This work addresses basic issues in ecology in an applied framework that will be immediately useful in informing land management and policy decisions for coastal sage scrub restoration," said Pratt, a Ph.D. candidate in ecology & evolutionary biology. "Understanding the responses of important species to environmental change -- and how those responses scale up to affect other species -- will help us predict and mitigate the impacts."

The study received support from the Newkirk Center for Science & Society, the UC Irvine Graduate Division (through a 2011-12 Public Impact Fellowship), the Orange County Association of Environmental Professionals, the Newport Bay Conservancy and the Lake Forest Garden Club, as well as grants from the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Center for Environmental Biology at UC Irvine links academic research and education with ecosystem management, stewardship of natural resources and sustainability efforts throughout Southern California.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Irvine.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Jessica D. Pratt, Kailen A. Mooney. Clinal adaptation and adaptive plasticity inArtemisia californica: Implications for the response of a foundation species to predicted climate change. Global Change Biology, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12199

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/Z-fdaRAQISY/130401132100.htm

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Tuesday, April 2, 2013

APRIL FOOL!

  • Self-inflating Whoopie Cushions

    The whoopie cushion dates back to Roman times, but modern day rubber versions appeared in the 1920s. Those required the prankster to blow into them. <a href="http://www.creativekidstuff.com/self-inflating-whoopie-cushion.html" target="_blank">The 21st century version</a> has a hole in the center that guarentees it will inflate quickly after each use.

  • Flying Butterfly

    This <a href="http://www.creativekidstuff.com/flying-butterfly.html" target="_blank">butterfly</a> has a wind-up rubber band and lays flat in a book or magazine until the unsuspecting rube opens it and gets the shock of their lives. OK, not their lives. Maybe not even their hour, but it is pretty cool looking. http://www.creativekidstuff.com/flying-butterfly.html

  • Rubber Pencil

    It looks like a pencil -- sorta. It feels like a pencil -- sorta. But when the unsuspecting rube tries to write with this <a href="http://www.creativekidstuff.com/rubber-pencil.html" target="_blank">rubber writing utensil,</a> it will bend in crazy ways that are sure to confound him or her momentarily.

  • "I'm A Douche" Mug

    It's the perfect office prank. It looks like a normal coffee mug -- except for the hidden <a href="http://www.vat19.com/dvds/im-a-douche-coffee-mug.cfm" target="_blank">"I'm A Douche"</a> message printed on the bottom. Don't tell your unsuspecting rube. Please? It's funny!

  • Gotcha Gadgets

    Some studies suggest that America needs to increase interest in the sciences among kids. But how to do it? By showing them how science can be used to prank family and friends with <a href="http://www.creativekidstuff.com/klutz-gotcha-gadgets.html" target="_blank">Gotcha Gadgets.</a> Your kid made the remote control emit a farting sound? Annoying now, but not in 40 years when he or she collects a Nobel Prize.

  • Ghost Pepper Candy

    The unsuspecting rube who tries <a href="http://www.vat19.com/dvds/ghost-pepper-candy-spicy-watermelon.cfm" target="_blank">these candies</a> won't be such a jolly rancher afterwards. At first, it seems like a sweet watermelon-flavored candy, but it soon gives way to the blistering taste of ghost pepper, one of the most incendiary peppers known to humans. Have a camera ready. Seriously.

  • Unfortunate Fortune Cookies

    The fortune cookie is ubiquitous at Chinese restaurants. Funny fortune cookies are common as well. But <a href="http://www.vat19.com/dvds/search.cfm?q=Unfortunate+fortune+cookies&x=-241&y=-256" target="_blank">cookies with snarky comments bordering on insulting</a> are all too rare. Slip these in the bag the next time you get takeout and don't be surprised if someone wants to take YOU out.

  • Prank Packs

    Everyone loves a gift and these boxes are worth the extra expense. Basically, <a href="http://www.vat19.com/dvds/prank-packs-empty-gift-boxes.cfm" target="_blank">these are boxes for fake, weird, non-existent products</a> and you put a real gift inside of them. The disappointment in the faces of the unsuspecting rubes will be hilarious.

  • Chocolate Soap

    Kids: If you get in trouble for using bad words, this is the soap you want to be punished with. It looks like soap. It feels like soap. But it's <a href="http://www.niftycandy.com/weirdcandy.html" target="_blank">actually delicious chocolate.</a> Imagine the looks on the faces of your unsuspecting friends when you take a bite out of it.

  • Rattle Snake Eggs Gag

    You can't take snakes on a plane, but you could try this novelty instead. Just wind up the washer, put in the envelope and wait for someone to open. That rattling noise will surely make anyone gripe like Samuel L. Jackson.

  • Woopsy Doopsy Gag

    Tease the neat nuts in your life by leaving out these messy condiment wrappers. Well, my six-year-old son was fooled.

  • Telefork

    Everyone knows that the food on someone else's plate is always more appetizing. But how to access it? I know, this Telefork stretches, allowing compulsive eaters access to do their dinner companion's plate.

  • Money Snatcher

    Everybody wants to find money on the ground which is why the money snatcher is a classic prank. Attach a dollar to the device, set it on the ground and wait for the unsuspecting rube to snatch. That's when you pull it away, all the while squealing with laughter and delight.

  • Hurry Scurry Cockroach

    People hate being pranked and they hate cockroaches. This wind-up toy allows you to press two buttons of annoyance at once. You don't have to thank me, but, hopefully, the exterminator who comes to your friend's house after they get fooled by this <a href="http://partyfunbox.com/collections/jokes-and-novelties/products/hurry-scurry-cockroach" target="_blank">wind-up bug</a> will give you a kickback.

  • Chattering Teeth Gag

    The first set of wind-up <a href="http://partyfunbox.com/collections/jokes-and-novelties/products/chattering-teeth" target="_blank">chattering teeth</a> were invented in 1949 by Eddy Goldfarb. Now there are lots of variations, some with feet, some without.

  • Fake Vomit: A Look Back

    "Whoops" was the first fake vomit to hit the market in 1959. Since then, fake vomit sales have been fairly steady as the product is discovered by each new generation.

  • Fake Vomit: A Look Back

    According to fake vomit historians Stan and Mardi Timm, the idea for imitation upchuck came from an employee of famed game designer Marvin Glass, who was walking down the street saw somebody's vomit on the street, and he did a double-take when he realized it would make a great gag. Although Glass hated the idea, Irving Fishlove, of the Chicago-based novelty company H. Fishlove & Co., loved it and bought the idea.

  • Fake Vomit: A Look Back

    Fake vomit is a fairly consistent product, although there are variations on color, texture and size. Stan Timm says today's product isn't as good as it used to be, but says sprinkling water on it improves the effect.

  • Fake Vomit: A Look Back

    Fake vomit is still a consistent seller, but people like novelty products historian Kirk Demarais wonder if the industry can survive, especially since there aren't many bodily fluids left unimitated.

  • Bloody Magic Nail

    Faking an injury is as American as French Fries and Dutch Apple Pie and this realistic looking<a href="http://www.windycitynovelties.com/214105p/bloody-nail-headband.html" target="_blank"> nail through the head</a> is sure to fool your boss when you explain why you can only work a half-day.

  • Magic Ink

    It's a simple gag, perhaps the simplest. You go up to someone who is dressed fancy and spray them with this <a href="http://www.windycitynovelties.com/6306p/magic-ink.html" target="_blank">disappearing ink.</a> They get mad. You laugh. Then it disappears. Just like this slide will in 10 seconds. Tee hee.

  • Joy Buzzers

    The <a href="http://www.windycitynovelties.com/gcssearch.aspx?w=buzzers" target="_blank">joy buzzer</a> was invented in 1928, but didn't really shock people, but the blunt end used to poke the unsuspecting rube did hurt a little. This is one prank that is better in theory than actual practice as it never delivers the bang promised in cartoon.

  • Plastic Ice Cubes With Spiders

    <a href="http://www.windycitynovelties.com/11104p/bugs-in-a-plastic-ice-cube.html" target="_blank">Plastic ice cubes with bugs </a>are another prank idea that works better in theory than in reality. In the most basic scientific terms: plastic cubes feel nothing like real ice. For those unfamilar with ice, it is very cold and slippery. Plastic, while it can be cool to the touch, doesn't get cold enough to make this trick work.

  • Squirt Rings

    These<a href="http://www.windycitynovelties.com/11249p/plastic-squirting-finger-ring.html" target="_blank"> plastic rings can be filled with any liquid</a> --please no acid -- and can be squirted at your victim. The ring designs give away this gag a mile away -- far beyond the distance that they shoot. However, they can still annoy even if the rube is not so unsuspecting.

  • Fart Bombs

    It's a simple equation sure to lead to prank paradise: You throw a <a href="http://www.windycitynovelties.com/6268p/fart-bomb-bags.html" target="_blank">fart bomb.</a> It land and it stinks. Everyone's happy. Well, you're happy. The other people are really angry. Now's the time to run.

  • Potty Mouth

    The <a href="http://www.potty-mouth.com/" target="_blank">Potty-mouth</a> is a humanitarian device wrapped in the guise of an annoying prank. It reminds everyone using the bathroom to put the toilet seat down after using it via a sensor attached to the toilet. I smell a Nobel Peace Prize in the future. Wait! I was wrong. It was just a fart bomb.

  • Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/april-fool_n_2990663.html

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    Church gunman in rambling Ohio court appearance

    ASHTABULA, Ohio (AP) ? An ex-convict charged with killing his father at an Easter Sunday church service in Ohio made rambling comments during an appearance in court, and the prosecutor requested a psychiatric evaluation.

    The suspect, 28-year-old Reshad Riddle, appeared Monday afternoon in Ashtabula (ash-tuh-BYOO'-luh) Municipal Court in an orange jail jumpsuit with his ankles and wrists in chains.

    The bearded Riddle made rambling comments about God and said he wanted to be treated fairly. The prosecutor asked for $1 million bail and, if he makes it, a psychiatric evaluation and 24-hour monitoring.

    No plea was entered on an aggravated murder charge and two weapons counts.

    Police say he went to the church and killed his father, 53-year-old Richard Riddle, with a single shot from a handgun Sunday afternoon. Worshippers fled in panic.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/church-gunman-rambling-ohio-court-appearance-184402350.html

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    Monday, April 1, 2013

    Rivals prepare for legal battle over abortion bans

    Rival legal teams, well-financed and highly motivated, are girding for court battles over the coming months on laws enacted in Arkansas and North Dakota that would impose the nation's toughest bans on abortion.

    For all their differences, attorneys for the two states and the abortion-rights supporters opposing them agree on this: The laws represent an unprecedented frontal assault on the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a nationwide right to abortion.

    The Arkansas law, approved March 6 when legislators overrode a veto by Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe, would ban most abortions from the 12th week of pregnancy onward. On March 26, North Dakota went further, with Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signing a measure that would ban abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, when a fetal heartbeat can first be detected and before some women even know they're pregnant.

    Abortion-rights advocates plan to challenge both measures, contending they are unconstitutional violations of the Roe ruling that legalized abortion until a fetus could viably survive outside the womb. A fetus is generally considered viable at 22 to 24 weeks.

    "I think they're going to be blocked immediately by the courts ? they are so far outside the clear bounds of what the Supreme Court has said for 40 years," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

    The center will be leading the North Dakota legal challenge and working in Arkansas alongside the American Civil Liberties Union's state and national offices. Both Northup and ACLU lawyers say they have ample resources to wage the battles, and they expect victories that would require their attorneys' fees to be paid by two states.

    Dalrymple, in signing the ban, acknowledged that its chances of surviving a court challenge were questionable, but said it was worth the eventual price tag ? at this point unknown ? in order to test the boundaries of Roe.

    North Dakota's attorney general, Wayne Stenehjem, initially said lawyers from his office would defend any lawsuits but is now considering hiring outside help. His office is working on a cost estimate for the litigation that could be presented to lawmakers soon.

    "We're looking at a sufficient amount to adequately defend these enactments," Stenehjem said.

    A lead sponsor of the Arkansas ban, Republican state Sen. Jason Rapert, said threats of lawsuits "should not prevent someone from doing what is right."

    He contended that the ban had a chance of reaching the U.S. Supreme Court through the appeals process and suggested that the victory predictions made by abortion-rights lawyers amounted to "posturing" aimed at deterring other states from enacting similar bans.

    In both Arkansas and North Dakota, the states' lawyers will be getting pro bono assistance from lawyers with Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal group.

    Mathew Staver, the group's chairman, said supporters of the bans were resolved to fight the legal battles to the end, and issued a caution to the rival side.

    "They ought to hold off on their celebrations," he said. "The cases have a long way to go through the court system."

    The North Dakota ban is scheduled to take effect Aug. 1, along with two other measures that have angered abortion-rights backers. One would require abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, the other would make North Dakota the first state to ban abortions based on genetic defects such as Down syndrome.

    The Center for Reproductive Rights is reviewing its options regarding the latter two bills, but definitely plans to challenge the 6-week ban before Aug. 1. Northup said her team is pondering whether to file suit in state court or U.S. district court.

    In Arkansas, where the 12-week ban would take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session, abortion-rights lawyers plan to file their challenge in federal court within the next few weeks.

    Bettina Brownstein, who will be representing the ACLU of Arkansas in the case, said the U.S. district court with jurisdiction over Little Rock had issued rulings in past abortion-related cases that gave her confidence of victory this time.

    "Eventually it could go to U.S. Supreme Court on appeal, but that would take a while, and they may not want to hear it," she said. "It's a question of how much money the state wants to spend."

    Northup chided officials in both Arkansas and North Dakota for their willingness to spend taxpayers' money on difficult and divisive legal cases.

    "It's important that the citizens of those states realize that every dollar spent to defend blatantly unconstitutional laws is taxpayers' dollars wasted," she said.

    Attorneys' fees for the upcoming cases are impossible to estimate at this stage, but Northup said her organization received $1.3 million in fees from Alaska after that state lost a recent case regarding an abortion-related law.

    The last few years have been intensely busy for the Center for Reproductive Rights, the ACLU and other abortion-rights legal groups as Republican-controlled legislatures have enacted scores of laws seeking to restrict access to abortion. At least two dozen such measures are currently the target of lawsuits, said Northup, who vowed that her organization "will not let unconstitutional laws go on challenged."

    Some of the recent laws place new requirements on abortion clinics, others require abortion providers to perform certain procedures or offer state-mandated counseling before an abortion can take place.

    At least 10 states have passed bills banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain at that stage. One of those laws, in Idaho, was struck down by a U.S. district judge on March 6, while the laws in Georgia and Arizona have been temporarily blocked by judges pending further court proceedings.

    Abortion-rights advocates, while eager to defeat the new bans in North Dakota and Arkansas, worry about the impact of the broader surge of restrictions.

    "I don't believe these bans are going to take effect, but the danger is that they make the other laws look reasonable," said Talcott Camp, deputy director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project. "The ultimate goal is to take this decision away from a woman and her doctor and give it to the politicians."

    One of the most frequent targets of the anti-abortion laws is the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which ? in addition to providing a range of other health services ? is the nation's leading provider of abortions.

    Planned Parenthood's president, Cecile Richards, said she found it frustrating that women "continue to be a political punching bag." But she saw an upside to the wave of anti-abortion legislation: more members and more donations for her organization.

    "These attacks have served to energize our supporters," she said. "We've gained 2 million members in the past two years."

    There's new energy on the other side as well.

    The tough North Dakota laws have been welcomed by the protesters who gather weekly in Fargo outside the state's lone abortion clinic.

    Among those on hand for the latest protest at the Red River Women's Clinic was Scott Carew, 50, who had brought two anti-abortion posters nailed to pieces of wood.

    "Certainly, we're proud of the governor standing up for life," Carew said. "We're going to keep standing up for life until we can't stand up anymore."

    ___

    Associated Press reporters James MacPherson in Bismarck, N.D., David Kolpack in Fargo, N.D., and Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.

    ___

    Follow David Crary on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CraryAP

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rivals-prepare-legal-battle-over-abortion-bans-144901559.html

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    Krista Neher #VSMM Training Class Is Top Business Pick | Social ...

    Heard it through the Social Vine? Did you know now you can embed Vine videos into practically anything, including blog posts!

    Social Media Expert Krista Neher shares the inside track on how businesses get  visual mojo.

    Social Media Expert Krista Neher shares the inside track on how businesses get visual mojo.

    Yet another way of visual storytelling. ?Things are getting Va-va-voom Visual.

    But where is the business roadmap to visual?

    CEO of Boot Camp Digital Krista Neher kicks off a new training program based on her latest book Visual Social Media Marketing. She is the author of the bestseller?Social Media Field Guide and the co-author of Social Media: A Strategic Approach, which is one of the first textbooks on social media marketing.

    Meet up with Krista Neher online and learn how to get visual!

    What: Visual Social Media Marketing

    When: April 9th, 2013

    Online Training Time: 11:30 am ? 1:00 pm (EST)

    Investment: $27 for either class

    *if you want the online training but can?t make the time, it will still be available on-demand as a recording afterwards

    Register and get more information at http://bootcampdigtal.com/vsmm

    Here is what you?ll learn:

    • What is visual social media marketing? #VSMM

    • What kind of content you should be posting online.

    • How to come up with the right images and content for your brand to share.

    • Case studies of companies that have had success using visual social media marketing.

    • How to take advantage of visually-focused sites like Pinterest and Instagram

    • How to focus your strategy on visual content on networks like Facebook and Twitter

    • What kind of visual content you should include on your website and why

    Make sure to register today, the online training price of $27 is for a limited time only!

    Visual Social Media Online Training with Krista Neher

    Visual Social Media Online Training with Krista Neher

    Businesses today aren?t being heard on social media because they?re not adapting to the newest trend in social media ? Visual Social Media Marketing (#VSMM).

    Read more about Krista?s social media savvy credentials, ?follow her on Twitter?or better yet?order her latest book Visual Social Media Marketing.?

    Go Va-va-va Voom with Visual.

    Google+

    Source: http://socialprchat.com/visual-social-media-expert-kristaneher-shares-how-vsmm-drives-more-traffic-webinar/

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    Cowon D20 launches in Japan, keeps MP3 players alive 90 hours at a time

    Cowon D20 launches in Japan, keeps MP3 players alive 90 hours at a time

    There's no denying it: the MP3 player market is in free fall, and competitors often have to either go big or go home if they want to justify their work over the many smartphone alternatives. Cowon is still kicking, and the extreme battery life of its new D20 player may be a good explanation as to why. Along with 13 hours of video, it can play 90 hours of music on a charge -- enough that the tunes could blast non-stop through a long weekend. Not that the player will otherwise rock the boat, as it's still carrying a 2.5-inch, 320 x 240 resistive touchscreen, 8GB to 32GB of built-in storage, an SD card slot and Cowon's familiar (if hyper-stylized) interface. The company is partly counting on a low cost to get its foot in the door. Following a tease earlier this month in Russia, the D20 is launching in Japan at prices between ¥11,800 ($125) and ¥16,800 ($178) -- not a bad deal, so long as endurance rules your world.

    Filed under:

    Comments

    Via: Akihabara News

    Source: Cowon

    Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/5bCXl6C8V8c/

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    Nev. crash kills 5 in Calif. family; teen arrested

    Five members of a Southern California family were killed Saturday when their van was rear-ended by an 18-year-old driver who was later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, authorities said.

    The dead were among seven family members who were in the van, authorities said. The other two ? the 40-year-old female driver and a 15-year-old boy ? were hospitalized in critical condition.

    Jean Soriano of California was booked into the Clark County Detention Center after he was treated and released at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Loy Hixson said.

    The crash happened at about 3 a.m. on Interstate 15 near the Utah line. Soriano's sport utility vehicle struck the van from behind, causing both vehicles to spin out of control and roll near Mesquite, some 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, investigators said.

    A 23-year-old passenger in Soriano's SUV was treated at the hospital and released.

    Authorities believe Soriano was returning from a visit with family in Utah to his home in California at the time of the wreck, Hixson said. They didn't immediately release his hometown or the names or hometowns of the victims.

    Beer bottles were found in the SUV, Hixson said, and troopers performed a blood-alcohol test on Soriano at the hospital. The results won't be known for a couple of weeks, he said.

    Hixson said only two of the seven people in the van were wearing seatbelts. The five who were not buckled in were ejected, but one survived.

    "Unfortunately, so many in the van weren't wearing seatbelts, and some might have survived had they been wearing them," Hixson said. "We see it so many times where people can survive simply by having a seatbelt on."

    The van was carrying a couple, their children and some aunts and uncles, he said. Killed were three men in their 40s, a teenage female and an adult female.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nev-crash-kills-5-calif-family-teen-arrested-022253861.html

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    Man rams car into Calif. Wal-Mart, 4 injured

    SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) ? A man in a large red sedan hit two cars in the parking lot of a San Jose Wal-Mart before ramming the car through the front of the store then assaulting customers inside, officials said. The attack injured four people, one of them seriously.

    The man crashed the Oldsmobile Cutlass through the storefront near the pharmacy Sunday and collided with a beer display before stopping, police and witnesses said.

    The unidentified driver then got out of his car and used a blunt object to attack people, San Jose police Officer Albert Morales said. The driver was arrested when officers arrived.

    Investigators have not determined how fast the driver ? described as a man in his 30s ? was going at the time of the crash but the car went about 20 feet into the Wal-Mart Supercenter that had about 70 people inside in San Jose, Morales said.

    One person suffered what Morales described as serious injuries. He did not know the extent of the injuries to the three other people but said they were not life-threatening. The injured included a store employee.

    There was no immediate word about what motivated the suspect.

    Customer Sharon Kaye told the San Jose Mercury News the driver sideswiped her car as he made several runs around the parking lot before driving between poles at the entrance and crashing into the store.

    "At first, I thought I may have done something to anger him while driving," she said. "But then I realized he was out to get into the store."

    After the crash, the entrance to the Wal-Mart was roped off with yellow police tape, and workers put up large boards covering the automatic doors where the car had entered.

    A Wal-Mart spokeswoman told the Mercury News that the store remained shut down for several hours, and an employee was among those hurt.

    "We're obviously very concerned about the associate who was injured," spokeswoman Kory Lundberg said.

    Shopper and witness Tianna Doan told the newspaper the employee was a cashier who was hit with the object and had a head injury.

    Calls to the store by The Associated Press went unanswered Sunday.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/man-rams-car-calif-wal-mart-4-injured-081638838.html

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    Giant panda artificially inseminated at U.S. National Zoo

    By Reuters

    Veterinarians at the National Zoo artificially inseminated the zoo's female giant panda Mei Xiang on Saturday after natural breeding failed to occur, zoo keepers said.

    Mei Xiang was put under general anesthesia and inseminated with a combination of fresh semen and frozen semen collected from the zoo's male giant panda Tian Tian. The scientists said they planned a second insemination later on Saturday.

    Veterinarians detected a rise in hormone levels on Tuesday, indicating Mei Xiang was ready to breed but said "no competent breeding" between the panda pair had occurred.

    "We are hopeful that our breeding efforts will be successful this year, and we're encouraged by all the behaviors and hormonal data we've seen so far," said Dave Wildt, head of the Center for Species Survival at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

    Scientists will continue to monitor Mei Xiang's hormone levels in the coming months and conduct ultrasounds to determine whether she is pregnant. A pregnancy lasts between 95 and 160 days, they said.

    Mei Xiang has given birth to two cubs. One died a week after its birth last year. The other was born in 2005 and is now at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong.

    (Reporting by Jane Sutton; editing by Jackie Frank)

    (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Click For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

    Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2a2b2190/l/0Lscience0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C30A0C175321880Egiant0Epanda0Eartificially0Einseminated0Eat0Eus0Enational0Ezoo0Dlite/story01.htm

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