Christian

Friday, August 6, 2010

Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres vacate American Idol

”American Idol” enthusiasts know that Simon Cowell is no longer within the seat of judgment. It is unknown how die-hard fans will deal with the latest exodus, however. Ellen DeGeneres informed her adoring public that she is leaving behind “AI”. Now the Los Angeles Times reports that Kara DioGuardi has been given the boot. That leaves Randy Jackson and bare seats that may very well be filled by Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.

The ‘American Idol’ experience derailed

Fox and the producers of the show think there’s still some magic left. According to Deadline.com, Jennifer Lopez is slated to fill the Kara DioGuardi seat with additional magic once Season 10 starts. Like Paula Abdul before her, Jennifer Lopez started her entertainment career as a dancer. A Lopez return to Fox may remind a number people of her stint as a dancer on “In Living Color”.

’AI’ viewer base has shrunk

Decreased viewership has “American Idol” producers nervous, despite the show’s favored status among American viewers. Reports are that they were on the verge of letting Ellen DeGeneres go. However, the producers allowed Ellen to leave rather than firing her as they did DioGuardi. Ellen was non-confrontational in a statement- “A couple months ago, I let Fox and also the ‘American Idol’ producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me”. If not the “right fit” for “Idol” means that she often seemed like someone on the deck of the Titanic, then yes, Ellen wasn’t a good fit.

Fox Networks Group chairman Peter Rice said in his own announcement that “We love Ellen and understand and support her decision to bow out of ‘Idol’”.

Improving chemistry

”Idol” Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe made no bones about how Kara DioGuardi, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson didn’t mesh well onscreen. Adding a visibly uncomfortable Ellen DeGeneres to the mix only served to underscore that fact. Lythgoe would have loved to have Paula, Usher and Elton John, but it apparently was not meant to be. J. Lo and Steven Tyler have probably the most buzz.

Steven Tyler is playing it cool

Gossip site X17 Online spotted Steven Tyler outside the Sunset Marquis hotel in Los Angeles and asked for his take. Some sources think “Idol” plans to bring in Tyler within the head judge seat vacated by Cowell. Tyler revealed nothing. But he did not say no, either.

Additional reading

Los Angeles Times

latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2010/07/kara-dioguardi-out-of-tune-with-american-idol.html

The Washington Post

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/29/AR2010072905730.html

X17 Online

x17online.com/celebrities/steven_tyler/x17_xclusive_steven_tyler_tight_lipped_on_new_gig_as_idol_judge-07302010.php

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Gorilla glass shields your TV from Wii damages

Leave it to a company that opened during the United States Civil War to solve the very modern problem of Wii television incidents. The Associated Press reports that mega-strong Gorilla glass, which was at first invented in 1962 and known as Chemcor, could become a multibillion-dollar boon for Corning, Inc. Soon, Corning will use Gorilla glass in high-end TVs and touch-screen tablets.

Gorilla glass started to come on strong in 2008

After decades of nothing, Corning began to use Gorilla glass in cell phones in 2008. That at the moment produces $ 170 million per year, and entry to the television and touch-screen gadget markets would multiply earnings for Corning into the billions. Also appealing to the high-end flat screen TV clientele would be the possibilities of a Gorilla glass frameless flat screen. It would be tough enough to stay together, yet look more like art than an appliance. Gorilla glass’ resistance to scratching, denting or other breakage would both preserve a high-end television’s elegance and cut down on broken glass from dreaded Wii accidents.

Three times stronger and half as thick

Gorilla glass compares quite favorably with ordinary glass, writes the Associated Press. It’s 3 times as strong and much thinner. In fact, the glass on flat screens can be thinner than a dime, which makes for much cheaper shipping because of the weight decrease. Corning is currently working with Asian manufacturers to introduce Gorilla glass to the television market by early 2011. Share prices of Corning are already up, which is a good sign. They made $ 5.4 billion on TV glass in 2009, and the demand should cause Gorilla glass sales to increase that number tremendously. Adding Gorilla glass to TVs is forecasted to add only $ 30 to $ 60 per unit.

Gorilla glass – ready for other products?

Corning is confident that Gorilla glass is suitable for myriad products. For instance, refrigerator doors, automobile sunroofs and stationary touch-screen interfaces are all opportunities. But for now, Corning seems content go ape and make billions more on flat screen TV glass.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Kalamazoo River and Lake Michigan at risk from oil spill

Michigan oil spill threatening Kalamazoo River superfund site

The Kalamazoo River oil leak has spurred a declaration of a state of emergency in Michigan. At 9:45 a.m. on Monday morning, an oil pipeline started leaking 19,500 barrels of oil to the river. The EPA and Enbridge Energy are working together to try and control the oil slick.

The oil leak of the Kalamazoo River

The cause of the oil pipeline leak isn’t yet known. Thus far, the operator of the pipeline, Enbridge Energy estimates that more than 800,000 gallons of oil dumped into the river. Only about 60 miles from Lake Michigan, the Kalamazoo River oil leak is quickly moving toward the lake. Residents within the area re reporting sickening fumes and wildlife coated with oil.

Promised restitution from Enbridge Energy

As outlined by spokespeople for Enbridge Energy, the business will “do all it can to minimize the spill’s impact on communities.” The 30-inch pipeline was used to carry crude oil from Griffith, Ind., to Sarnia, Ontario. The dedication of Enbridge to the cleanup has been questioned by many politicians. While Enbridge has estimated that 819,000 gallons have spilled, other experts have put the number at 1,000,000 gallons or more. Cleanup will likely cost several hundred million dollars.

Will the EPA help clean up the spill

The EPA has been asked to come help clean up the Kalamazoo River oil leak. There are severe concerns about the Kalamazoo River Superfund cleanup site. Gasoline fumes could interact with the PCBs at the cleanup site. This could create fumes that are toxic to animals and individuals. The EPA has not yet committed to helping clean up the Kalamazoo River oil leak, though they will most likely have heavy involvement — financial or otherwise — within the cleanup.

Politics getting involved in the Catalonia bullfighting ban

Bullfighting is to Spain what baseball is to America. The Spanish province had, on July 28, bullfighting banned. In 2010, the Catalan bullfighting ban will start. The ban was passed by Catalonian parliament in Barcelona when animal rights activists cheered with job and happiness. Numerous suspect animal cruelty was not the reason the bullfighting ban was put into place. It was a political act of Catalon nationalism as the province tries to set itself apart from the rest of Spain.

Catalonia bullfighting ban doesn’t care about the bulls

The Catalonia bullfighting ban is not about the bulls; it is about politics. NPR reminds us that there were only 15 bullfights in the one Catalonian bullring every year anyway. When it passed, numerous worried that Spanish culture would be tainted, when others were glad the cruelty was going to end. Catalonians want to be independent from Spain by breaking from Spanish tradition. The bullfighting ban in and around Barcelona is expected to have little effect on the suffering of the bulls. About 1,000 bullfights take place in Spain every year.

Madrid and Catalonia separated through bullfighting

The Catalonia bullfighting ban was taken seriously by fans and Spanish conservatives. The Associated Press reports the Popular Party is hoping there won’t be any anti-Spanish rebukes although that seems unlikely. Catalonia is a wealthy and powerful province with its own language (Catalan) and culture, as well as a strong penchant for self-rule. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if this was entirely political considering Catalonia always tries to be different from the rest of the country.

Using bullfighting to work up rebellion

The Catalonia bullfighting ban indeed has nothing to do with sympathy for the bulls bleeding to death within the bullring, according to Spanish travel blogger Damian Corrigan. Writing for About.com, Corrigan said Catalonia’s self-indulgent struggle for freedom is illogical and irrelevant in today’s Europe. Really, all that Catalonians want are less taxes going to Madrid. Coherent political stances are optional and rebellion exists simply for the sake of rebellion.

Boston missing animals - residents believe fisher cats are to blame

Reports of precious family pets disappearing and turning up dead are flooding in at an alarming rate in Boston, Mass. Numerous citizens feel that fisher cats are at fault. Individuals are recommended to take caution, as the wild weasel-looking fisher cat has been discovered in many locations of residential neighborhoods. Article source – Boston residents say fisher cats are to blame for missing pets by Personal Money Store.

Fisher cat to blame for missing pets

Boston residents believe the high number of pets disappearing within the area is due to fisher cat assaults. While people are being warned to take additional precaution in order to protect their pets and small children, the number of missing pets continues to rise. Various residents claim the fisher cat was spotted in people’s fences, back yards and porches in broad daylight. A man in Andover even captured video clips of a fisher cat spotted in a tree.

Linda Ribeiro is a resident in Dover who lost two cats and a dog. She said she saw a fisher cat two weeks ago that was as large as a coffee table. ”Almost looked like a sea serpent or something,” Ribeiro said. “The head was up and then it came down to short front legs and then the back goes up and arches and then this long tail that’s stuck up in the air.”

Fisher cats- what exactly are they?

Fisher cats fall within the very same family as weasels, minks, otters and skunks. Long, thin and low to the ground, the medium-sized fisher cat is a predator that will eat anything it can discover. Fisher cats, as outlined by Wikipedia, are among a few predators that will actually look for and kill porcupines. They’re active throughout the year and are perhaps most lively in dawn and dusk hours.

What to do

Across the region missing posters are turning up as troubled pet owners search for their beloved pets that have all of a sudden disappeared. Not too long ago the fisher cat was nearly extinct, but as outlined by wildlife officials, it appears the species are returning in rapid numbers. For pet owners and families will small kids, the best thing to do is to remove or secure anything around the home that may attract the fisher cats. Get rid of garbage and compost and keep pet rabbits and birds also as their food secure, as the fisher cats “view domestic cats and rabbits as food and will prey to them when hunting.”

Monday, August 2, 2010

Get information from any person off Facebook with the Facebook torrent

Get the Facebook torrent for free to download others' info

A hacker created the Facebook torrent that is accessible to any person who wants files from Facebook data. Rob Bowes is the person who decided it would be fun to put time into making a web crawling code to steal info off Facebook from 171 million users. The file, about 2.8 GB, has been posted online as a torrent. Facebook made their remark on the issue saying all the details is what can be found with a search engine and doesn’t matter all that much. But others say the Facebook torrent is another indictment of Facebook privacy policy, and users should be concerned.

Stealing info from 171 million Facebook users

The Facebook torrent contains names, profile URLs and unique user IDs for 171 million Facebook members. Pirate Bay is where Bowes, who heads Skull Security, has decided to place this torrent for the world, reports the Daily Tech. It was the morning of July 28 when there were already 13,000 active downloads happening. Details Facebook users didn’t hide with privacy setting is shown here. The torrent doesn’t consist of, luckily, those who have privacy settings set to friends only.

Facebook difficulties with privacy

The Facebook torrent comes at a bad time when Facebook is already suffering the losses from their change on privacy settings to allow commercial use. In a statement to BBC News, Facebook said personal info individuals have “agreed to make public” was collected by a researcher, and that no one’s privacy has been compromised. Tech Crunch suggests that users decide soon to change their privacy settings to “friends only.” When leaving your settings at “everyone,” you are bound to have individuals like Bowes who are willing to steal you info and abuse it.

Personal data on Facebook torrent can never be deleted

The Facebook torrent information is available to anybody who uses the search engines Google, Bing or Facebooksearch. The Facebook torrent contains a simple snapshot in one moment in time of Facebook that will last forever, reports Future. The details can never go away, even when users delete their accounts or change their privacy settings.

Facebook torrent and what it targets

Bowes decided to consist of in the torrent the programs used to get all the details to steal from one fifth of Facebook users. Tech Crunch explains that Bowes wants more than just searchable users and intends to get the rest. By default, it is not likely Facebook will change to friends only, which is what people want and threatening to quit for-

Go to Account and Privacy Settings and Applications, Games, and Websites (link near the bottom, in a box) and Public Search and (Uncheck box).

Additional reading

Daily Tech

dailytech.com/Info+on+100M+Facebook+Users+Harvested+and+Posted+in+Torrent++Legally/article19198.htm

Tech Crunch

techcrunch.com/2010/07/28/hacker-proves-facebooks-public-data-is-public/

Future of the Internet

futureoftheinternet.org/facebooks-ocean-of-names-becomes-a-torrent

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Low mortgage rates make refinancing an option for every person

Mortgage rates so low make people consider refinancing

Just as the mortgage rates are at record lows right now doesn’t mean the U.S. housing market is getting any better. Since the real estate market is so slow, and mortgage rates have gone down significantly, many are more able to discover opportunities within the market. Having a lower interest rate will helps numerous be willing to take that step of losing some money to hopefully do better within the long run. Many are losing their homes, but coming out ahead with what they get instead. Others are learning that spending their own cash to refinance mortgages is one of the safest investments to make these days.

Mortgage rates at record lows with a poor housing market

Economists told the Wall Street Journal that right now, trading homes or refinancing your home is going to make a huge difference to your cash flow. Better homes are available to anybody who’s willing to make the sacrifice with their mortgage. Since with mortgage rates so low, monthly payments of larger homes are still manageable.

Cash-in refinancing versus cash-out refinancing

Typically, people refinance to “cash out” some of the equity they’ve built up in their homes over the years so they can use the cash. Oddly enough, more people have been interested in “cash-in” refinancing, as outlined by the Los Angeles Times. It makes sense that individuals would put more money into their home considering that’s one of probably the most stable investments now and days. In last year’s fourth quarter, a 3rd of all borrowers who refinanced mortgages lowered their principal balances by putting money into the deal rather than taking it out.

Invest in homes wisely

Some individuals are opting to pay down their mortgages early. Totalmortgage.com reports that interest saved is interest earned. Paying down a mortgage — even an underwater mortgage — early is basically equal to putting that money in something that yields an equivalent return to the borrower’s mortgage rate. Real estate investing like that is a breath of the outdoors these days. Many individuals just want to refinance in order for their loan to become a 15 or 20 year loan rather than a 30 year loan. Doing this, one can save thousands of dollars and will even have lower monthly payments a lot of the time.