The Lunar Eclipse December 2010

Last December 13, 2010, star gazers and sky watchers enjoyed the bright Geminid meteor shower. For those who missed watching and witnessing this phenomenon, don’t fret because this December 21, 2010 there will be another meteor shower – the Ursids meteor shower according to space.com.

The Ursids meteor shower aren’t supposedly bright enough as the Geminid, but the stars and the moon are aligned on a very nice position on this night that the Ursids meteor shower will be visible.

There will be a Lunar Eclipse on December 20 or 21 depending on the area and thus, we will have a darker sky, but the stars will be brighter and the meteor shower seen. Do refer to the diagram above to see in which countries the Lunar Eclipse December 2010 can be seen.

NComputing

The NComputing solution separates a desktop PC environment from a physical machine to create a client-server computing model. That is, a user's desktop is hosted remotely and accessed via a access device over the network. A user no longer has a physical PC.
Windows XP instead of Windows Server software
Only under very limited circumstances. If you (the customer) have licensed the appropriate number of Windows Server operating system and associated Client Access Licenses for simultaneous access by multiple users to the Licensed Computer, you may install and run the NComputing vSpace Software on a separately licensed Windows XP Client operating system in lieu of the Windows Server operating system. You may only install and use either the Windows Server operating system software or the Windows XP Client operating system software but not both. Note that while Microsoft allows this limited use of the Windows XP client operating system configuration under these specific circumstances, support for NComputing’s vSpace software running on Windows XP is solely provided by NComputing. Microsoft does not provide any support for NComputing vSpace Software or for the Windows XP Client operating system in this configuration; you should seek support from NComputing for issues relating to the NComputing vSpace Software and its use with the Windows XP Client operating system.source:http://www.ncomputing.com/

Comcast Email

Nov 05, 2010 (SmarTrend(R) News Watch via COMTEX) -- Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSK) traded in a range yesterday that spanned from a low of $19.60 to a high of $19.98. Yesterday, the shares gained 2.00%, which took the trading range above the 3-day high of $19.58 on volume of 5.4 million shares. Often times after large one-day gains, short term traders will seek to take profits and, as such, investors should be cautious.

Shares of Comcast are currently trading above their 50-day moving average (MA) of $17.32 and above their 200-day MA of $17.03. Look for the MA to provide support for a short-term pullback in the shares.

SmarTrend has the shares in an Uptrend and expects the share price to pullback toward the $19.58 support level. Afterwards, we expect it to move upward with its peers in the SmarTrend CATV Systems industry.source:http://www.zacks.com

Zabasearch

ZabaSearch, a leading people search engine, today announced ZabaSphere, a real-time alert based system that enables users to find out who and when someone searches for them online by their name or social security number. ZabaSearch is bringing a new level of digital transparency to consumers that empowers them to take control over their digital lives.ZabaSphere is a free personal online monitoring and tracking service that enables users to manage the information that is available about them online and what shows up in search engine results for their name. ZabaSphere emails a ZabaAlert when the consumer's name is searched in ZabaSearch, Google, Bing and other locations. The consumer will be provided with information about the person searching on their name. ZabaSphere also enables users to view their own personal monitoring page where they can view historical ZabaSphere activity and manage ZabaAlert email notifications.

Zaba Search is a comprehensive search engine that searches for people related information from the millions of public records that exist in various places such as social sites, government records, public records, address and phone directories, business profiles and more. ZabaSearch's people search can provide more relevancy than traditional white pages or general purpose search engines because the search experience is optimized for people search. ZabaSearch's people search matches names and information across a variety of databases intended to produce more relevant, comprehensive and accurate results than general searches making it a better experience for consumers. source: http://www.sfgate.com/

Columbus Day Closings

Columbus Day is celebrated on the second Monday of every October and this year it falls on the 11th of October, 2010. Columbus Day is mostly a national holiday but still there are some offices and banks which remain open on this day while others honor this day by remaining closed.

If you are planning to carry out your day-to-day operations on Columbus Day, then you first better check that what will remain open on this day and what will be closed.

Most of the federal and state workplaces will be closed on Columbus Day but the situation varies from state to state. On the other hand, most of the municipal workplaces will be open today. The U.S. Postal Service has its day off on Columbus Day, so there will be no mail delivery today. On the other hand, the majority of the public libraries will be open.

Shops, grocery stores and shopping malls will mostly remain open on normal hours during Columbus Day.source:http://www.allvoices.com/

Yahoo Down Because Of Server Hangup

Yahoo Down Because Of Server Hangup – The front page of Yahoo was down throughout the day. The news quickly made its way to the social networking websites, including Twitter, where Yahoo being down became a trending topic. It was the first time that the homepage of Yahoo had suffered downtime in more than a decade, leading some experts to speculate that something could be seriously wrong with the website. Luckily for Yahoo, who is currently in the middle of buyout discussions, they were able to identify the problem and get things running smoothly very quickly after the reports surfaced.

Most individuals who attempted to load the website received the “Connection Refused” error. Most of their subsidiary sites including their Yahoo mail program continued to work throughout the outage.

Yahoo posted a statement shortly after the outage was reported saying that they were looking into the issue and were aware that the site was down. It was not immediately clear what might have caused the outage, but Yahoo was able to respond quickly to the issue and get the site working again fairly quickly.source:http://news.mwza.com

The outage must have looked bad because Yahoo has been rumored to be in the middle of buyout talks with AOL. Some joked that perhaps the site was coming down so that AOL could put their logo on it. Yahoo has not officially confirmed any buyout talks but rumors have continued to run rampant throughout the process, leading most to conclude that a buyout is something that Yahoo would at least be willing to discuss.

Brooklyn Bridge Closed Due to Suspicious Packages, Now Reopened

The Brooklyn Bridge was closed to pedestrians and cars due to the discovery of suspicious packages Friday. Reports indicate that there may have been two packages, one on each side of the bridge. Cops were worried that these may have been bombs of some sort.After the police handled the packages, the bridge was reopened to commuters.

Geohot Is Back

The world famous computer hacker Geohot is back and he’s already making waves.

Geohot next week will be releasing an exploit to jailbreak any Apple iDevices. This included the iPad, iPhones, and the new iPad Touch. This is for people that don’t like the current Apple operating system and are confident enough in what they are doing to jailbreak the devices.

The new Geohot tool is named as Limera1n. It is expected to be out next week, and if you are a hacker, you will know where to get it.

Geohot says he will provide a guide and instructions on how to download and install the expolit on the web, and if you follow him on Twitter.http://www.techjackal.net/internet/2010/10/09/geohot-is-back/

Health Tips

Over the past few years there has been a tremendous increase of nutritional liquid supplements on the market. Many of these products advertise high levels of absorption, claiming that they are much easier to digest than tablets. Some manufacturers even claim that they have a bioavailability rate of 100%.

Although there are some good companies in the supplementary industry, you should take most of these claims with a grain of salt. Most companies make misleading or exaggerated claims so they can sell their products for higher prices. To avoid being taken advantage of, individuals should understand the basic principles behind nutrients to help determine the true efficiency and bioavailability of each supplement. source:http://www.healthiertomorrow.org/

'Here You Have' Email Virus Spreading Rapidly

If, as I did, you get a message in your email box today with the subject line saying, "Here you have", do not open it and delete it from your inbox immediately. significant percentage of corporate email users in the United States are being deluged with a strong and quickly spreading virus today that appears to be from somebody in your company and/or contact list. The email implies that they are sending you a link to a document . The body of the virus laden message reads, "Hello: This is The Document I told you about, you can find it Here.http://www.sharedocuments.com/.While the origin of the 'here you have' email virus is not yet known, nor is it the extent of its spread known, it is clear that a large number of email inboxes, mostly on corporate email systems have been infected with it.

The motivation of some to create email viruses is not always clear. More often than not, it is a prank, albeit it a serious one as it saps productivity and could cause widespread network problems if not handled the right way.

As the country faces the 'here you have' email virus today, hopefully the word is spreading to as many people as possible to delete the message without opening it. Opening it will generally result in everybody in your contact list getting the message sent to them...allowing the 'here you have' email virus to continue its spread before being shut down.Source: Twitter.com

Labor Day

This Labor Day weekend, job prospects appear about as inviting as the leftover potato salad. But President Obama found encouragement in the Friday jobs report for August.
Despite a rise in unemployment to 9.6 percent and a total loss of 54,000 jobs (farewell, census workers), the private sector created 67,000 jobs actually last month. This is considerably more than economists expected and the eighth month of the private sector increases.
"Jobs are created. They're just not as fast as they need to be made," said Obama. "We just have to accelerate."
No argument there. Indeed, it takes 125,000 new jobs per month just to growth in the number of employees agree.
The president will lay out some ideas on that next week, including, reportedly, tax relief for small businesses that drive job growth. Tax cuts would be a move away from the White House's strategy of stimulus spending by the government-created jobs.
To date, the administration and Congress generally followed Keynesian principles require the government pumps in money when the economy should teach.
Money from the 2009 Recovery Act, which cost an estimated 814 billion U.S. dollars, helped state and local governments to keep public employees on the payroll, unemployment assistance, paid for infrastructure projects, and provided that the individual and business tax breaks.
According to the independent Congressional Budget Office, the Recovery Act created or preserved 1.4-3.3 million jobs in the second quarter.
But it is not a "summer recovery", as promised. Some claim that the Greek debt crisis threw a wrench in the weak recovery from disturbance of the show, then drove down consumer confidence. Others claim that stimulus was the wrong tool - what was needed was the kind of relief that the Obama administration is now apparently considering.

One idea is a temporary tax holiday for small businesses. It would be the employers exempted from payment of social security and other taxes on employees, making hiring cheaper. Depending on factors such as how long the tax holiday would last - if too short, it will not be business concerns about the longevity and strength of a recovery to overcome - it would make the federal budget more than 300 billion U.S. dollars cost.
The administration is also talking about the ongoing restoration of the lapsed research and development tax credit. This incentive rewards companies that research new technologies at home in the United States. That can cost about 100 billion U.S. dollars over the next 10 years.
Given the slow economic growth and persistent unemployment, hoping that Obama was two-pronged support for helping companies to hire and grow in America to find. He must be able, if he offers a way to pay for his ideas. It is important to voters who worry about the deficit pile-on.
Even if Obama can balance the math, the President may be unable to political balance. The subject of tax cuts has generally a wedge issue for the November elections.
Republicans argue that all of the Bush-era tax cuts - set to expire at the end of this year - should be extended. Obama wants to extend tax relief only for those families earning less than $ 250,000. It is time for the rich to pay, says the president, but Republicans replied that "the rich also" many small business owners who would be hurt by an increase in the tax contains.

GOP lawmakers would accept payroll tax relief for small businesses in exchange for the approach of the Bush tax cuts for Obama? Or would they prefer his planned tax increases on higher incomes as a campaign theme?

Democrats would be willing to reduce government spending in order to pay for the kind of business tax cuts the President has in mind (as, indeed, she asks him to make such a sacrifice)?

This is the kind of wrangling that voters can expect to see in the coming weeks. What they want is less bickering, more jobs.

Dubai Plane Crash

Two crew members aboard an American UPS cargo plane are believed to have been killed after the aircraft crashed in Dubai today.

According to a United Arab Emirates official who appeared on local television station al-Arabiya, the plane was attempting to land at Dubai International Airport when it crashed due to technical problems. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft setting fire to vehicles as it crashed and going up in a fireball. Some witnesses told Al-Jazeera that they had seen a fire on the aircraft before it crashed.

UPS spokeswoman Kristen Petrella said the Boeing 747-400 went down at about 8pm and was en route to the UPS hub in Cologne, Germany. Although the company has not officially confirmed casualties, it said two crew members were on board. "This incident is very unfortunate and we will do everything we can to find the cause. Our thoughts go out to the crew members involved in the incident and their families," UPS said in a statement.

Although local reports said the plane had come down near a busy highway intersection south-east of the airport, posters on the Professional Pilots Rumour Network (PPRN) suggest the aircraft went down near an area known as Silicon Oasis. The state news agency, Wam, reported the crash in an unpopulated desert area.

One poster on the PPRN said: "Just five minutes ago. I heard and saw an aircraft, possibly an airliner going down in Dubai near Silicon Oasis. It has just over-flown my house and [there was] a big fireball."UPS, a courier company based in US city of Atlanta, confirmed in a statement that one of its cargo planes had been involved in an accident in Dubai and said it was working to obtain more details.MrMachfivepointfive wrote on PPRN: "UPS. Declared Mayday. Was on approach 30L and then veered off course. Last radar hit showed descending through 500' doing 250kts."

In October 2009, a Sudanese Boeing 707 cargo plane crashed in the desert outside Dubai, killing six crew members. Emirati regulators have since banned Azza Transport, the plane's Sudanese owner, from operating in the country.

Google Voice

On Wednesday, the Web giant announced that American users of its Gmail Web service could call numbers in the United States and Canada for free from within their browsers. Calls elsewhere cost less than many traditional long-distance domestic calls: You pay 2 cents a minute to call Ireland, Korea, Argentina and many other countries. (Google's rates top out at 99 cents a minute for those calling the island nation of Nauru.)

The Skype Internet-calling service charges slightly more for international calls, but it also charges about 2 cents a minute for domestic calls.

Gmail's rates should be familiar to users of Google's free Google Voice service, a separate option that the Mountain View, Calif., company only opened to the public in June. But using Google Voice requires logging into a Web site or launching a program on your phone (if one is available for it) and, in some cases, waiting for Google to connect your call.

Calling from within Gmail, by contrast, requires nothing more than installing a small plug-in program (available for Windows XP or newer, Mac OS X 10.4 or newer and some versions of Linux) and logging into Gmail. Click the "Call phone" link to the left of your inbox, type in a number, click the big blue "Call" button and things proceed as if you had just finished spinning a Bell System phone's rotary dial.

If you have a Google Voice account, the other person will see that number in their caller ID. You can also answer their calls from within Gmail; an incoming call will generate an alert in the bottom right corner of the Gmail window, which you can click to answer.

fiba world championship 2010

USA Team overcame a relatively slow start to cruise past Croatia, 106-78, in their first preliminary game of the 2010 FIBA World Championship. This was a rematch of the 1992 Olympic gold medal game, which, of course, the Dream Team won to capture the gold.

Croatia took a 19-18 lead in the first half, but Kevin Durant and company responded with a run that game them a 48-26 lead at halftime. Durant was the game's top scorer, but Team USA spread the ball around pretty evenly. Here are game stats from USA's top scorers:

Kevin Durant: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Eric Gordon: 13 points, 1 steal
Chauncey Billups: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Russell Westbrook: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
Rudy Gay: 10 points, 4 rebounds

With this win, Team USA is now 1-0 in Group B standings, which places them at the top alongside Slovenia. At 2:30 P.M. Eastern, Group B action will continue when Brazil plays Iran.

Here are Team USA's remaining Group B games:

Sunday, August 29: Slovenia
Monday, August 30: Brazil
Tuesday, September 1: Iran
Wednesday, September 2: Tunisia

Offutt Air Show 2010

The Offutt Air Show 2010 is going to be entertaining the spectators with its superb flight maneuvers today and tomorrow. The features that are unique to the Offutt Air Show 2010 are aircrafts like the F-18/A hornet, Thunderbird and especially the F-22 Raptor. There are very rare instances when F-22s are used in air shows for flight maneuvers and this is one of them.

The crowd would be very lucky to see the stunts of the Offutt air show and apart from the performances of the fighter pilot there would also be stunts from vintage aircrafts. One vintage aircraft that is especially worth mention is the feature of the Pirate Skies Wing Walker. This is going to be a very amazing performance because in this performance a man is going to walk on the wings of a vintage aircraft. This daring stunt would be one of the main attractions of the show and it would satisfy the hunger of action hungry spectators.

The fighter or attack aircraft stunts are going to be supremely spectacular because they would be flying extremely high velocity stunts that are going to be impossible even for a regular fighter aircraft. All three fighter aircrafts in the Offutt Air Show are supersonic fighter planes that are very maneuverable except for the F-22. But what the F-22 lacks in maneuverability, it makes up for in speed. There are very few aircrafts in the world that are faster than the F-22 in a straight line. That is one of the features that the F-22 would be demonstrating.

Moon and Mars august 2010

Moon and Mars August 2010 - We recently heard about the hoax about two moons, which were supposed to see in a same sky on August 27. But then came the time there was nothing visible as such. Although the spread of this species rumor is nothing new. In the past there were several incidents of phone messages that have created great confusion among the people. Those in the holes for the two moons in the sky, many of them still remember Orson Welles' 1938 radio production of The War of the Worlds.
That was a huge hit. Moreover, it caused a huge expenditure. And when the pass fake message across the world this is a first suspicion. The messages that everyone sitting and watching the development.

Airforce Portal

13,518 of 28,510 airmen were selected for promotion to sergeant in the Air Force officials. This reflects a 47.41 percent selection rate.
The average score for those selected was 282.88, and an average time in grade of 1.97 years, the average time in service is 4.55 years. The average score is based on this point averages: 131.31 invoked for performance reports, decorations for 0.94, 71.18 for promotion fitness examination and 59.08 for the specialty knowledge test.
The staff sergeant promotion list will be announced publicly today, August 19 at 8 pm The results can also be seen on the public website of the Center on Air Force personnel http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/ . Also, Airmen Airman obtaining the rank of sergeant will be promoted with regard to their promotion sequence number from next month.
But all the selections are not official until the data verification process is complete and this can lead to 10 days after the promotion release date to take. AFPC officials will contact Airmen through their military personnel

Intel: McAfee Adds Level Of Security To Products Using Intel Chips

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) - Intel 's 7.68 billion U.S. dollars purchase of McAfee Inc. (MFE), a level of security to add all products that use Intel chips, executives from the chip maker said Thursday.
Renee James, head of Intel's software company, said the acquisition will chips used in servers and PCs in addition to new areas Intel has, such as targeted mobile devices and embedded products, everything from billboards to automated equipment are benefiting.
The companies also see all the areas where Intel sells chips and markets where the software industry can grow, Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini said.
"Our opinion is that everywhere we sell a microprocessor, there is a possibility to sell security software with it," said Otellini during a conference call to discuss the deal.
On Thursday, Intel announced plans to McAfee, which makes security software to protect computers from viruses and spyware to buy. The deal is the largest in the history of Intel and is a reflection of the chip giant growing ambition in areas outside the PC market, where it dominates.
McAfee shares rose 58% to $ 47.16, hitting the highest price since 1999. Intel shares were down just 3.5% to $ 18.91.

Obama to host Ramadan/Ramazan meal Friday—White House

US President Barack Obama will Friday join an evening meal to break the daily fast observed by Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, the White House said.

The hosting of Iftar will be held in a dining room at the White House, his spokesman said.

Obama participated in a traditional Ramadan meal in September 2009, where he praised Islam as an integral part of the United States.

Earlier this week the president offered his best wishes to Muslims in the United States and around the world as they welcomed the holy month, saying: "All of us must remember that the world we want to build—and the changes that we want to make—must begin in our own hearts, and our own communities.

Obama said the rituals of Ramadan "remind us of the principles that we hold in common, and Islam's role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings."

"Here in the United States, Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been part of America and that American Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country," he said.

Survey Says: Next H.P. CEO to Come From H.P. or I.B.M.

The C-Suite has spoken and called for a Hewlett-Packard or I.B.M. executive to end up as H.P.’s next chief executive.

Cook Associates, an executive search firm, surveyed 500 top executives from the technology sector and financial community to discover their thoughts on H.P.’s future. About 43 percent of the respondents felt the most qualified replacement for Mark Hurd would come from H.P. or I.B.M., said Jeff Leopold, a managing director at Cook. (The survey will be published Monday).

In fact, Todd Bradley, the current head of H.P.’s PC business, tied with Steve Mills, the head of software at I.B.M., as the individuals best suited to follow Mr. Hurd.

In a confirmation that the C-Suite has a sense of humor, the respondents had Mr. Hurd tied with H.P.’s corporate technology chief, Ann Livermore, in the second spot. But, short of some shareholder revolt, it’s hard to see Mr. Hurd coming back anytime soon.

All in all, the C-level executives demonstrated a profound lack of creativity. They clearly skewed toward H.P. and I.B.M. candidates – the obvious choices – and produced suggestions originating from only six of the 20 largest companies. Just 11 percent of the respondents suggested that a woman replace Mr. Hurd, and no one offered up a candidate with a European or Asian background, even though many of the executives surveyed have worked abroad.

“The wisdom of the crowds suggest that H.P.’s current strategy is quite sound and that an internal executive is probably most able to keep the company on its path,” Mr. Leopold said.

About 25 percent of the respondents added that an internal executive or member of the H.P. board would be best.

“That eclipsed all of the other things,” Mr. Leopold said. “That is a very strong statement.”

With stints at General Electric, FedEx, Palm and Gateway, Mr. Bradley has the diverse experience one tends to want to see in a chief executive of a large company, Mr. Leopold said. In addition, Mr. Bradley already heads up a $42 billion business, making him equipped to deal with serious scale. H.P., the world’s biggest tech company in terms of revenue, did $115 billion worth of business last year.Mr. Mills could provide H.P. with some much need software expertise. Despite numerous acquisitions, H.P.’s software business has failed to keep up with the rest of the company.

Executives from Apple, Boeing, Dell, EMC, Motorola and Oracle were also mentioned in the survey.

Few people have suggested that H.P. hire someone from the telecommunications market, although this could be an interesting move. The company needs to inject life into its mobile business and give the Palm products a boost.

Friday the 13^th, and basically you have three options: to be afraid during the day, to ignore it completely, or to laugh with it. Given that laughter is a great stress reliever.Friday the 13th happens at least once every year and at the most 3 times as per the modern calendar. However, there’s only one 13th Friday this year and also only one the next year on May 13, 2011. But there will be three in 2012 in the months, January, April and July.

Belize Map

Belize (formerly British Honduras), is a country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Although Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official language. Belize is bordered by Mexico to its north, by Guatemala to its south and west, and by the Caribbean Sea to the east.

This large map map shows the various villages, towns and cities in Belize as well as major highways, rivers, islands and elevation of the country.

It's 'Goliath versus Goliath' as Oracle files patent lawsuit against Google

Oracle Corp. dropped a major bombshell on Google Inc. late Thursday, kicking off what could be an epic clash of Silicon Valley titans.

Oracle filed a patent and copyright infringement lawsuit against Google over its Android software that uses technology Oracle bought when it acquired Sun Microsystems Inc. in January. Google's Android software is used in mobile phones produced by Motorola Inc., Taiwan’s HTC Corp. and others.

“In developing Android, Google knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle’s Java-related intellectual property,” Redwood City-based Oracle said in a statement. “This lawsuit seeks appropriate remedies for their infringement.”

A spokesman for Mountain View- based Google said in an e-mailed statement: "We are disappointed Oracle has chosen to attack both Google and the open-source Java community with this baseless lawsuit. The open-source Java community goes beyond any one corporation and works every day to make the Web a better place. We will strongly defend open-source standards and will continue to work with the industry to develop the Android platform.”

"This is a case of Goliath versus Goliath," IDC analyst Al Hilwa said.

The surprise bid to control use of the software has sparked an uproar in Silicon Valley. The lawsuit is the first to attempt to milk money from Java. It seeks unspecific damages and an injunction. An injunction could throw a major monkey wrench into developers building applications using Android software and in the production of Android phones.

Sun’s Java lets developers write software that works on a variety of computers and systems and runs on countless mobile devices. Sun held thousands of patents but backed open source sharing. It cut licensing deals for Java, but also offered free versions. It was often criticized for not making enough money from Java.

Oracle’s maverick Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison called Java “the single most important software asset we have ever acquired.”

And Android mobile phones are emerging as a very valuable business line for Google. To date, there are 60 Android devices built by 21 handset makers. Android will be in almost a fifth of all smart phones by 2012, research firm iSuppli Corp. projects. That has set off furious competition and a flurry of patent-infringement claims including claims from Microsoft Corp., which has said that Android may infringe on its patents.

Of all the executives in Silicon Valley, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt is more aware than most of the value of Java. He worked at Sun and led its Java development efforts before joining Google in 2001.

Java is essential to Android, analysts said. "This will have an effect on Android," Hilwa said.

Android software is used by handset makers and carriers as well as legions of software developers. "All of these people are going to be concerned whether they are in compliance or if they are infringing on patents," Hilwa said. "There is all of the sudden a cloud of uncertainty over Android that could impact the adoption of Android down the road depending on how these things play out."

Michigan's Upper Penninsula not too far from Whistling Straits

The talk up here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is all about PGA Championship at Whistling Straits this week and, of course, whether Tiger Woods will be a factor. Whistling Straits, which is located in Kohler, Wisconsin, is little more than 150 miles from several good golf courses in the UP.
In truth, the UP feels more like Wisconsin than Michigan does sometimes. They are both part of the same land mass, and you will find many more fans than your Green Bay Packers Detroit Lions fans will be in Marquette, Mich. Of course, the Packers have much better track record, too.
For those who find their way into the PGA Championship in Kohler, it would be good to make for a nice distraction. The Island Hotel Casino are very playable and interesting Sweetgrass Golf Club on his property.
Designed by Paul Albanese, who used to work for Jerry Matthews, Sweet Grass has vast fairways and greens, an island green, a double green you could find a small jet and an even larger green on a par 3, where the pin placement can a five country-club difference. It's fun because it's hard to lose a ball - but not impossible with areas of native grass catching the really big shots.
The resort offers a reasonable package and golf packages to play for about $ 250 for two nights and rounds at the Sweet Grass and Mike de Vries Grey Walls designed Course at Marquette Golf Club and Golf Club on Pine Timber Stone Mountain to take. They are all within an hour and a half mile apart, and all are very different.
Grey Walls is probably unlike anything you've ever seen. With the enormous height, it offers a lot of ego-boost tee shots and numerous unusual rock outcroppings around the greens and fairways to give as many pleasant and bad bounces.
Matthews Timber Stone is a design that most traditional of the three boxes represent. It has tree-lined rolling fairways, undulating greens and many doglegs. And if you hang long enough, you can trade your clubs for skis in the Pine Mountain Resort, which opened in 1939 by Fred Pabst of Pabst Blue Ribbon glory. But judging from temperatures this week, in the mid 80s, which seems a long way to go.

India and New Zealand Cricket Match

ODI match between India and New Zealand will be played at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Rangiri, August 10 Tue 2:30 p.m. IST. IND vs NZ Tri-Series. Against New Zealand to his poor run with the coin toss coin remains. New Zealand won the toss against India captain Dhoni and made a disastrous start. Today is the first game of the MicroMax Cup has started to be played between India and New Zealand. The match will be played at Dambulla.
The first ODI India vs New Zealand derive be played at the Dambulla Stadium on Tuesday, 10/08/2010, 1430 0900 GMT start time () Check the schedule. Tri-series between India, New Zealand and SriLanka to start from tomorrow. The first match will be played between India and New Zealand on 8/10/2010. Indian batting line-up seems to have withered beneath the great and wonderful bowling attack from New Zealand seamers. They have already lost four wickets. Watch the cricket match live streaming video on the Internet.

Florida Issues Unemployment Compensation Extension Guidelines

The Agency for Workforce Innovation began paying benefits this week to many Unemployment Compensation customers who were affected by recent federal legislation.

Payments for customers with continuing claims who are currently enrolled in the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program began on Monday, August 2.

Customers whose benefits had lapsed but may be eligible for EUC under the new law may begin claiming retroactive weeks beginning Monday, August 9.

Customers who may be entitled to payments under the Extended Benefits (EB) program can apply online or begin certification for retroactive EB weeks as necessary, beginning Monday, August 9, as well.

In order to ensure benefits are paid as quickly and accurately as possible, and to avoid delays or overwhelming the state’s 1970s-era Unemployment Compensation processing systems, claims for customers whose benefits had lapsed will be processed and entered into the system incrementally.

“The agency has been working diligently to ensure eligible beneficiaries are able to receive their payments as expeditiously as possible,” said AWI Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo. “Due to the large numbers of claims and the length of time since the programs expired, we must proceed with caution to ensure our computer systems are functioning properly. A system overload would cause undue delay for all Unemployment Compensation beneficiaries, which would be unacceptable.”

HOW CAN CUSTOMERS CLAIM BENEFITS?

Unemployment Compensation customers are required to certify their continued eligibility for each week of potential payment. As soon as a customer’s account indicates there are weeks to certify, the agency suggests they do immediately.

All customers, except some who are required to file a new EB claim, should be able to certify for weeks of entitlement by Friday, August 13.

Honda’s Recall 2010 : Accords, Civics and Elements recalled

Honda’s Recall 2010 includes Accord and Civics models from the 2003 year and Elements from the 2003-2004 years. Honda has recalled about 4, 00,000 vehicles in the US, due to an ignition switch problem. The recall will begin in late September. According to Honda Motor Co, it is the third recall over the same problem since 2003. The Previous two were in 2003 and 2005.
The company said the problem could allow the key to be removed without the transmission being shifted into park and also told to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the defect with the automatic transmissions could lead to a vehicle rolling away and increase the risk of a crash.

Honda in a statement reported that “several complaints about such failures” and “a small number of related incidents, including one that resulted in a minor injury.” Nearly 197,000 ‘Accord’ and 117,000 ‘Civic’ models from 2003, as well as 69,000 Element models from 2003-04 years are included in the recalls.

On Monday 9thAugust, the company said “it was recalling more than 428,000 vehicles in the United States and Canada because of a defect that could cause the cars to roll away if they are parked incorrectly”

Honda plans to begin notifying customers from late September, 2010 with instructions for scheduling the repairs. The owners can contact Honda at (800) 999-1009. Honda has issued the third recall over the problem in the recent year. Previously, Honda had two recalls for the same problems in 2003 and 2005.

Plenty of fish species in our seas

AUSTRALIAN and Japanese seas share top honours as home to the greatest diversity of ocean life in the world, according to a census.

Both nations boast nearly 33,000 species of marine plant, animal and micro-organism, according to the first results of the international 10-year-long Census of Marine Life, reported yesterday in the journal PLoS One.

The oceans off China, the Mediterranean Sea and the oil-soaked Gulf of Mexico round out the top five areas most diverse in known marine species.

The census included known species in 25 biologically significant regions, from the Antarctic through temperate and tropical waters to the Arctic.

Roughly, one-fifth of all species were crustaceans which, combined with molluscs and fish, comprised half of all known species across the globe. While impressive, Australia's tally was not complete, said regional lead author, marine ecologist Alan Butler. "We think we've only seen about 20 per cent of what's there," said Dr Butler, who is with CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research in Hobart.

His group concluded there were 32,897 scientifically described species, mostly animals, in databases, many of which go back 200 years. Of those, 130 are introduced species. Among the 58 threatened species are nine species of Brachionichthyidae, Australian handfishes.

"We need to protect this biodiversity," said Dr Butler, who claimed short-term threats came from human activity such as offshore drilling and the impacts of fishing. He said climate change was the greatest long-term threat, triggering shifts in currents and increased acidification of the seas.

Dr Butler speculated that Australia boasted so many species because it was isolated after it broke away from the giant continent Gondwana about 50 million years ago. "There was a long, isolated southern boundary where things could evolve," he said.

Indiana State Fair

The Indiana State Fair has started up its annual extravaganza of farm exhibits, midway rides, musical acts and foods of all sorts.
The fair opened its 17-day run in Indianapolis on Friday, with the high school marching band competition at the grandstand and the largest hog contest among the highlights.
Milder temperatures are expected for the fair's first weekend. That could lead to big crowds at the fair, which drew nearly 974,000 visitors last summer when it was extended to include three weekends.

CBS profit jumps as ad sales climb

In a statement, CBS /quotes/comstock/13*!cbs/quotes/nls/cbs (CBS 15.20, -0.33, -2.13%) Chief Executive Les Moonves commented: "Looking to the second half of 2010, all signs point to ongoing growth and profitability."

He added that ad trends indicate "that the recovery is continuing," and that CBS should get "a significant lift in political advertising" leading up to the November elections.

CBS said it earned $150.1 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with a profit of $15.4 million, or 2 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Excluding items related to the early extinguishment of debt and a restructuring, CBS said it would have earned $175.2 million, or 25 cents a share, in the latest three months.

Revenue rose 11% to $3.33 billion.

On average, analysts polled by FactSet Research were expecting a profit of 21 cents a share on sales of $2.14 billion.

otal ad sales rose 9%, affiliate and subscription fees were up 12%, and content licensing and distribution revenue increased 19%.

Tax Free Weekend NC 2010: Shop Til You Drop

Isn’t it great to feel that you can shop for the weekend tax FREE? It was declared already that today is the start of Tax Free weekend NC 2010. So make the most out of it and if you are really interested on a great shopping for this weekend, prepare yourself now and go to the nearest store that you want to shop now.

The Tax Free Weekend NC 2010 will give you the chance to save more money in purchasing products and take the advantage to buy back school supplies for your children.

This will also be the best time for you to buy your favourite gadget, upgrade your computer and buy your favourite clothes and sports equipment since the US government will impose a free tax weekend.

Tax Free Weekend applies to:
* Clothing, footwear, and school supplies under $100
* Sports and recreation equipment under $50
* Computers under $3,500
* Computer equipment under $250

The taxed free weekend starts on Thursday at midnight and last until 11:59 on Sunday. So hurry up now and grab this opportunity now.

Wikipedia in trouble with the FBI?

What is behind the FBI's attempt to shake down Wikipedia? The FBI says that Wikipedia should not be using their seal. Is it to keep others from getting a copy? If so, why is Wikipedia the only organization taking heat?

Fast Company is telling us, If you were tasked with finding an image of the FBI's seal, where would you look? Likely, you'd head to Google or Bing, where a quick image search would return tens of thousands of results.

IT Business Edge reports, CNET News reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigations is demanding that Wikipedia take down the FBI's official seal in an article about the agency because it had not approved use of the image.

TG Daily says, The Federal Bureau of Investigations does not like the fact that its Wikipedia entry has a high-resolution image of its seal, but Wikipedia says there's nothing illegal about posting it online.

Corning's 1962 Invention Finally Hits Its Stride

Coming to a TV screen near you — Gorilla glass!
Yeah, not exactly a get-rich quick scheme since it took almost 50 years to find a marketable use for it, but Corning thinks it may finally have the next big thing — nearly unbreakable touch screens and TV screens.

The 159-year-old glass pioneer expects that its Gorilla glass will be worth billions when it finally gets used to create hard-to-break, scratch or dent flat screen TVs or touch screen tablets.

Corning first started searching for a strong-as-steel glass back in the '50s and came up with the formula for Gorilla glass in 1962 but the manufacturer couldn't find the right commercial application for it. The glass is three times as strong as conventional glass and is super thin — about the thickness of a dime. Now, as consumer demand for frameless flat screens and unbreakable tablets is exploding, Gorilla glass could be the muscle behind a market flex worth billions.

So far, there are more than 100 devices with Gorilla glass, including Motorola's Droid smart phone and LG Electronics' x300 notebook. The company is hush-hush on whether Apple's smash iPad tablet features Gorilla glass.

This isn't the first time it's taken awhile for Corning to turn its' brainpower into Benjamins. Way back in 1934, a chemist named Frank Hyde fashioned fused silica into optical fiber, but it wasn't until the 70s that the company began using it in communications.

Economic Calendar - 2 August 2010

One of the key statistics out this week will be the ISM Purchasing Manager Index for July. This will be one to watch closely for more clues on how things are tracking 1 month into the second half of this year. It will also be interest to see in the context of China just releasing their PMI number in the weekend; recording 51.2, down from 52.1, as seasonal and government factors put the brakes on activity slightly.

In monetary policy it is likely to be a boring week in spite of the three high profile central banks meeting this week. The RBA is unlikely to increase the interest rate, instead opting to wait and see. The Bank of England wont be tightening just yet (and further easing is pretty low probability). The ECB will likewise just sit on their hands, but of course the accompanying statement will be very informative as usual.

On the employment front, the much watched US nonfarm payrolls figure will also add further clues to the state of the US economy - will we see a pick up? or will further signs of a double-dip show through? Canada will also report, but is in a better position than the US. New Zealand will also release its quarterly employment report, and will likely show further improvement.

This week there's US ISM PMI for July, following China's weekend release of their PMI numbers. On the monetary policy front, there's the RBA, BoE, and ECB all meeting this week to review policy settings. It's also a big employment numbers week, with the US (nonfarm payrolls), Canada, and New Zealand releasing their recent employment statistics.

NASCAR Driver Elliott Sadler Crash

The big NASCAR race this weekend in Pocono was plagued by a bit of rain. The delay was brief but once the racers were on the track, everything seemed to be going as planned. The worst part about the high speeds and raceways is the fact that accidents do happen. However, the Elliott Sadler crash on Sunday was nothing short of amazing.
he Sprint Cup driver slid sideway down a straightway and managed to hit the steel guardrail head-on. The bottom line for most racers boils down to the fact that a straightaway should not be the place for a vicious head first crash. However, this is the second big accident on the Pocono track this year. Pocono officials have indicated that changes would be made to make the track safer and obviously, the Elliot Sadler crash is just verification that indeed, something has to be done.

NASCAR racing is dangerous even in the safest of situations. Big name drivers have suffered at the hands of NASCAR crashes but race officials hope to make changes for the better soon. At Pocono, the safety is about the barriers which actually don’t contain a lot of catch fencing. Instead, just looking at the Elliot Sadler crash, it’s obvious that the old steel guardrails should be replaced sooner than later.

Calcium supplements may raise risk of heart attack

Calcium supplements, which many people consume hoping to ward off osteoporosis, may increase the risk of heart attack by as much as 30 percent, researchers reported Friday.

These tiny tablets which carry concentrated doses of calcium were also associated with higher incidences of stroke and death, but they were not statistically significant.

The researchers advised people consuming calcium supplements to seek advice from their doctors, take more calcium-rich foods and try other interventions like exercise, not smoking and keeping a healthy weight to prevent osteoporosis.

"People regard calcium supplements as natural but they are really not natural at all," Ian Reid, professor of medicine at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, said in a telephone interview.

Reid and colleagues in Britain and the United States conducted a meta-analysis encompassing 11 studies that tracked nearly 12,000 elderly people over four years.

Half of them were given calcium supplements and the other half placebo or dummy pills with no therapeutic content. The results were published in the British Medical Journal.

"What we found was a 30 percent increase in heart attacks in the people who were randomized to take calcium," Reid said.

"If you have 1,000 people taking calcium for five years, we will expect to find 14 more heart attacks, 10 more strokes and 13 more deaths in the people given calcium than they would have had if they hadn't been treated with calcium," Reid said.

"That is 37 more adverse events and we expect 26 fractures being prevented. So calcium is associated with more bad things happening than with bad things prevented."

While experts are not certain about the biological mechanism by which calcium supplements may damage the body, studies in the past have linked high levels of blood calcium to more heart attacks and damage to blood vessels, Reid said.

"When you take calcium supplements, your blood calcium level goes up over the following four to six hours and goes up to the top end of the normal range," he said.

"That doesn't happen when you have calcium to eat in your diet because the calcium from food is very slowly absorbed and so the blood calcium level hardly changes at all."

Higher blood calcium may lead to the formation of plaques in blood vessels, which can lead to heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, Reid explained.

"People have always focused on fat levels in the blood as driving that process (plaque formation) but there is increasing evidence now that calcium levels in the blood might drive that as well," he added.

Palmdale Fire

Today the Palmdale fire reached LA County, destroying a huge area in its path. Affected zones by the wildfire damage include Palmdale, Annaverde, Leona Valley and Ritter Ranch.t has been reported that around 2000 people have been evacuated from the hills around Palmdale and northern Los Angeles County on Thursday night. Authorities are also advising people to keep the car and home windows shut to keep them from inhaling smoke. In the meantime, efforts to put out the fire continue and official information tells us that five thousand acres have been devastated by the –so far- uncontrollable fire.

Help to control the fire come from different sides; today News10.net informed that Sacramento has sent 50 firefighters and 10 engines to help with the Palmdale fire.

Fire Inspector Matt Levesque said “the fire was active on all flanks, driven by heavy brush and dry brown grasses that burn easily.”

National Cheesecake Day: Discover the Hot Deals

National Cheesecake Day is just one of the famous American days dedicated to the things we love like the Ice Cream Day.It is generally celebrated on July 30 and most Americans see it as a national holiday, even if they did not recognize

The exact origin of this festival are unknown, but it is a day that has gained much attention in recent years, thanks to the Internet and food blogs.

One of the main producers of cheese cake in the U.S., the Cheesecake Factory also using the event to promote its products to people and to try to get tasty desserts.

They are doing the same thing today, by offering 50 percent lower prices on their cheesecake slices and donating a portion of their sales to the U.S. for One Year organization Feeding.

When we think of more than 30 types of cakes from the company, this may prove a big day for you to go out and explore the world of delicious cheesecake.

UK Home gets Toy Story 3 space

If you're a UK Home user you'll be used to getting content late, or not at all, but this week is a happy week because the much requested (and pretty cool-looking) Toy Story 3 personal space will finally appear on the UK Home network.
You are just the size of a toy in the giant bedroom, which is packed with mini games and other activities, including the ability to mess around with Andy's dark board, jump on his very springy bed, play with a ball and blocks and explore the hidden nooks and crannies behind all his junk.
Elsewhere in this week's update, the Midway Carnival space will get a new Trigger Happy In-A-Box arcade cabinet, which you can play in your personal spaces. "If you've already bought the key to unlock access to this cabinet in Darla's Den, you'll get a discount," explains Sony.
There's a bunch of new furniture items going up for sale, including the "Spider Legs collection". And there's some new Monkey Island 2-themes headwear appearing too.

Apparently Sony will also stop selling balls for the Supa-Fun Robo-Goalie Time!! mini-game during Thursday's maintenance, or something. And if you have balls you should use them before July 29 when the game will be removed to make way for "a new feature".

mocospace

MocoSpace the largest U.S. social networking site at least 11 million users is designed for a mobile device. It includes features such as mobile chat, instant messaging, sharing photos and videos, blogs and forums. With this in mind, MocoSpace special attention to the safety of its users and functions that may be protected.

When we look at user safety, MocoSpace with the help of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force are taking this very seriously. Here are some tips that the safety of users requires careful MocoSpace. Users should not unsafe or offensive behavior to report, they have to be honest with regard to their age and if found to be under 18 years the account will be removed by MocoSpace. The profile should not inlcude personal information such as an e-mail address, telephone number or postal address. Privacy settings should be adjusted so that only friends can access your information. Cyberbullying, as it appears to be serious, will result in the user's account removed and possibly prosecution.

For users in particular teenagers, this information applies to them. Other tips are security, accepting an invitation from friend only people you know and trust and most importantly, the opinion of MocoSpace and all social networking sites do not meet someone in real life you've only talked online. Internet Safety Task Force conducted a recent study which concludes that anyone can endanger young people in particular. It may be in the form of harassment, sexual or exposed accosted by inappropriate content.

Medical Mystery or Hoax: Did Cheerleader Fake a Muscle Disorder?

Desiree Jennings was living a dream come true. The 25-year-old had a marketing job at a major company, was married to a handsome, successful man, and had challenging hobbies: she was an avid runner, and a cheerleading ambassador for the Washington Redskins football team.

But almost overnight Jennings went from the picture of happiness and health, to a twisted, stuttering vision of pain and suffering.

After a routine flu shot last fall, Jennings said she began experiencing fever and painful body aches. The symptoms quickly progressed until she could only walk with a twisted, halting gait, and had trouble reading, doing simple math -- even remembering things. Her condition put a halt on her once-frenetic lifestyle.

"I want to work, I want to be doing something," she said. "But who's going to hire somebody who can't remember what they did the day before?"

Jennings developed another odd symptom -- a strange foreign accent; the Midwestern woman suddenly sounded British. "It sounds like an accent, but it's not. I just can't pronounce words anymore," she said.

But perhaps worse of all is what happens when Jennings tried to recall specific memories. In her "20/20" interview, Jennings' speech devolved to stuttering, then complete gibberish.