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.