Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Top 10 Funny Baby Videos

Hey guy, even though this was a very old youtube video, but I do love the baby laughing, let’s enjoy!!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Love in the life

When he reviews his life, he found that it was a dream probably, the time has taken away the autumn and winter for the past several years, his tears are tired and the dream has gone constantly in a wink, perhaps life is nothing.
Forgotten lots of joy and sorrow in the past, enjoy the memorial dairy, even the time has gone away in a hurry, but she always in his dreams.
Something has been lost and cause no pain, although she remained lots of memories, he has had a good time being with her, life has nothing to be sorry.
The time is living quietly while new moon, there will be a bright sun tomorrow, no matter it was right or wrong, she has walked within his memories.

Brobdingnag Restaurant

America's Unbeaten Food Challenges

For many people, the word eating challenge evokes the iconic scene in the movie "The Great Outdoors,"when John Candy tackles "The Old 96er" to the chagrin of his digestive tract. More recently, the Travel Channel's "Man vs. Food" show has popularized eating challenges, which have increasingly become a strategy for restaurants across the country to make a name for themselves, draw in new customers, and simply have fun.

For those testing their fortitude through eating challenges, clearing a plate of outrageously large or spicy meals will often win them a T-shirt, their photo on the wall, and dinner on the house. There are some challenges, however, that push the limits of consumption and no individual has yet to cross the proverbial finish line.

So, which eating challenges remain undefeated? See the full slideshow.



'That Burger' Challenge
Restaurant: That Bar
Location: Danville, California

A massive, undefeated burger challenge can be found at That Bar in Danville, California. Appropriately named "That Burger," the monstrous mass of meat and cheese measures approximately 1 foot in diameter, and includes two 100 percent Angus beef patties, one of which has a hole in the middle where a grilled cheese sandwich is placed. Each patty is topped with four different cheeses - cheddar, American, pepper jack and Swiss - as well as a woven bacon patty. Finally, the burger is topped with crispy shoestring fries and doused in barbeque sauce, with an appropriately sized bun. The challenge also includes one-quarter pound each of fries and onion rings on the side.

In more than 40 attempts, nobody has been able to finish the challenge in the allotted time of one hour. "We're going to need a professional eater to do this challenge," says Stephanie Emig, co-owner and co-founder of That Bar, which is located about 30 minutes outside of San Francisco. "We wanted to have a giant burger. It was a collaboration between the three owners and our chef, and it took a couple tries but eventually we got it to work."

Emig says the burger was created in order to have an interesting menu item. When someone does place an order for the That Burger, it's likely for a group to share. "It's a popular burger on weekend nights for big groups. And if someone does manage to get through this pile of meat and grease all by themselves: They will earn a T-shirt that reads "I ate That Burger at That Bar and it was That Good."


The Inferno Bowl
The Inferno Bowl
The Inferno Bowl
Restaurant: Nitally's ThaiMex Cuisine
Location: St. Petersburg, Florida

Generally, there are two things that make an eating challenge difficult: sheer size of the portion, or overwhelming heat or spice. The Inferno Bowl at Nitally's ThaiMex Cuisine has both.

The soup is served in a 48 ounce bowl and includes no less than 12 different peppers from around the world. Although the mix changes with the season, it always includes bhut jolokia (also known as the "ghost chili"). The chilies themselves comprise about 16 ounces of the soup. The restaurant uses both Thai and Mexican techniques to draw as much heat out of the peppers as possible.

Ally Valdez, who owns Nitally's with his wife, describes how the dish was created: "My wife is from Thailand and my family is from Mexico...we always argued about who ate the hottest food. So, we went out of our way to find the hottest peppers we could use and made a soup that hardly any family members could eat." They served the soup in traditional Chinese bowls meant for family-sized servings, but limited it to one person. "We found that the people who could eat the hot food couldn't eat that much, and the family members who could deal with the quantity couldn't handle the heat."

Valdez says that since the challenge began in 2009, 116 people have attempted to finish the Inferno Bowl. The closest challenger came within two spoonfuls before throwing in the towel. Others throw in more than that. The Inferno Soup is so spicy that the restaurant requires challengers to eat it outside, since about 40 percent of the challengers have vomited while trying to finish the soup within the 30 minutes allotted.

"You have to come from the depths of hell to finish this," says Valdez, who is currently offering a jackpot of $800 to the first person to conquer the Inferno Bowl.


Full-o-Bull Challenge
Full-o-Bull Challenge
The Full-o-Bull Challenge
Restaurant: Cowtown Diner
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

Not only does Cowtown Diner's Full-o-Bull Challenge boast that it serves the largest chicken fried steak in the world, it might very well be the largest eating challenge, to boot. That's not a surprising claim, given that things are always bigger in Texas. The Full-o-Bull "is Texas to the core," says Scott Jones, owner of Cowtown Diner.

The challenge includes a 64 ounce chicken fried steak, served on an extra-large pizza pan, measures 14 inches in diameter and weighs about 10 pounds with gravy. But wait, that's not all: You must also finish the Texas-sized sides, which include four pounds of mashed potatoes and 10 pieces of Texas toast.
There's one piece of good news: The time limit to the Full-o-Bull challenge is relatively leisurely. You have from when the restaurant opens at 7 a.m. to the time it closes at 2 a.m. to finish the meal.

In the nearly two years since the challenge was created, close to 175 challengers have tried and failed to finish the Full-o-Bull. Jones says the inspiration for the challenge was to have "bragging rights in a place that is known for its beef," and notes that when someone takes on the challenge, the staff sings songs and draws attention to the event.

If anyone ever wins the challenge, they'll get their $70 meal on the house and a shirt that reads "I came to Cowtown Diner hungry and left Full-o-Bull."


The J&J's Kitchen Sink Challenge
The J&J's Kitchen Sink Challenge
The J&J's Kitchen Sink Challenge
Restaurant: J&J's Pizza Shack
Location: Northern Indiana (five locations)

In what is perhaps the oldest undefeated eating challenge in the country, the Kitchen Sink challenge at J&J's Pizza Shack in Indiana has confounded eaters for 27 years. The pizza is the brainchild of John Bogdan, the now-retired founder of J&J's, who created the 16-inch round deep-dish pizza, It includes sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, green olives, black olives, ham, Canadian bacon, bacon bits, and mozzarella cheese; it weighs about 6 pounds and must be completed within one hour.

Kim S., the manager at the Lake Station restaurant, says the Kitchen Sink is an extremely popular dish for J&J's, because most orders are for groups and corporate events. In fact, The Kitchen Sink is the restaurant's best-selling specialty pizza.

The pizza, which is intended to feed four to six people, has an estimated two to three challengers per year, and at least 100 people have attempted the challenge in the history of J&J's. Surprisingly, the closest anyone has come in recent history to finishing the pizza was a 12-year-old girl, who ate 16 of the 20 pieces before she had to give in.

"When someone does try, the wait staff is all curious, because we really want to see someone do it," says Kim. And, what does someone win if they do finish off the pie? They don't have to pay the bill - the $27.55 pizza is free.

Note: The pizza pictured left is not the challenge pizza, but a normal-sized "Kitchen Sink" from J&J's.

The Hail Mary Challenge
The Hail Mary Challenge
The Hail Mary Challenge
Restaurant: Stadium Grill
Location: Columbia, Missouri

Since opening in August 2009, Stadium Grill in Columbia, Missouri has been offering the "Hail Mary Challenge," which involves finishing the "Unnecessary Roughness," a massive burger measuring an impressive 8 inches high. Restaurant manager Joe Collins says more than 150 challengers have attempted to conquer the burger, including competitive eater Randy Santel. All have failed.

The Unnecessary Roughness includes five-plus pounds of meat, including griddled burgers, bacon, and pulled pork, three cheeses, onion rings, and fried eggs, all stacked between two buns. To complete the challenge, a contender not only must finish the burger but also polish off a full pound of French fries, all within 60 minutes. If someone can conquer The Hail Mary challenge, they will be rewarded with their meal on the house (a $50 value) and $50 in food and drink every month for a year. Best of all, you will become legend in your own time: The Stadium Grill will name the burger after the first victor.

Collins says the burger does a good job of bringing business to the restaurant. "We display it on the weekends for people to see, and we'll sometimes display it out in front of the door." Those that do order it are most likely to share it with friends. "That's not part of the challenge," says Collins, but he's happy to sell it anyway he can.


http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/5-undefeated-eating-challenges-171400230.html

Monday, November 14, 2011

Let's read a magazine

A touch to learn and discover with Timbuktu, first iPad magazine for kids


Learning, discovering… touching. There is a huge opportunity in the intersection between tablet computers and education: two young Italian entrepreneurs decided to explore it, launching Timbuktu, first News magazine for children on the iPad. Their mission is creating  editorial programs on touch screen for kids, for educators and parents too. Being next generation of educational publishing, using technologies as an instrument for imagination and discovery of the world.
“By 2015 we will have 40 titles plus the magazine in six languages, addressing also the Asian markets with a Chinese and a Japanese version” said Elena Favilli, journalist who studied at Bologna University and Uc Berkeley, Ceo of Timbuktu Labs and Editor in Chief of Timbuktu magazine, unveiling the opening of the iPad magazine on Japanese market in 2012.
Winner of the 2010 Working Capital Telecom Prize, start up competition sponsored by Telecom Italia,  Timbuktu Labs builds cross-platform reading experiences that bring the most advanced methods of education into the publishing market.
The today market of fifty millions tablets, 10 millions of which owned by people with kids, “Will become five times bigger in five years: this means a potential of 50 millions users”, said Francesca Cavallo, Creative Director and co-founder of Timbuktu, which has today users in more than 50 countries.
Timbuktu were among the finalists in the Start up competition at the Mind The Bridge Venture Camp last week in Milan. Where Favilli and Cavallo made an impressive pitch (some excerpts in the video above).

Funny Pics 111114

OMG!!!!

Ashton Kutcher's Tweet-Too-Soon and the Quality of Speed

The Penn State scandal left a lot of people blind sided, and no one more so than Ashton Kutcher. AsKashmir Hill describes in her ‘Google before you tweet’ post, Kutcher was tragically behind the news in a medium where, to quote a conversation I had with Forbes Chief Product Officer Lewis DVorkin, “Speed is Quality.”* Kutcher’s speed and immediacy has indeed been an important quality of his online success, since few genuine celebrities are willing to ride bareback as he has on Twitter.


The Penn State scandal left a lot of people blind sided, and no one more so than Ashton Kutcher. AsKashmir Hill describes in her ‘Google before you tweet’ post, Kutcher was tragically behind the news in a medium where, to quote a conversation I had with Forbes Chief Product Officer Lewis DVorkin, “Speed is Quality.”* Kutcher’s speed and immediacy has indeed been an important quality of his online success, since few genuine celebrities are willing to ride bareback as he has on Twitter.
But Kutcher’s quick retraction and promise to have his tweets vetted by his PR company didn’t salvage his reputation as much as slowing down a bit and reflecting (in public) on his need for speed would have. As online content producers, we’re all in this position of balancing our concern for propagation (now, now, now!) vs. persistance (and then, and then, and then…) Barring a takedown of the internet by Conficker, what you post or tweet will be with you forever. No question, the odds of something embarrassing surfacing in front of a potential employer, a curious electorate or future father-in-law can always be cut down by some prophylactic Googling. But slowing down is in itself a quality and one that can lead to better content, especially in its persistant form.
I’m a busy guy , and I don’t post as often or as immediately as I would like to. And though I sometimes feel like I’m letting the team down, many times I find that if I wait a beat something will emerge that gives me an original angle on something that I would have missed if I felt compelled to file immediately.
As a case in point, I write a blog for the City of Portland, Maine, calledLiveWork Portland that promotes the creative economy here to artists and entrepreneurs from away who might consider relocating to Portland. Last weekend I was covering a creative economy conference in Camden, Maine, called Juice 3.0. I wanted to write a post about what was distinctive about the creative entrepreneurs that I met at the conference and the kind of innovation culture that I see developing in Maine. Sure enough, a few days after the conference, The New Yorker shows up in my mailbox (yes, the physical magazine, not the app!) and Malcolm Gladwell has an article about Steve Jobsas a “tweaker.”
Gladwell’s point about Jobs is that his “sensibility was editorial, not inventive. His gift lay in taking what was in front of him … and ruthlessly refining it.” But even more important than his revisionist recasting of Jobs’ creative genius (still formidable) is his description of the origins of the Industrial Revolution in England:
One of the great puzzles of the industrial revolution is why it began in England. Why not France, or Germany? Many reasons have been offered. Britain had plentiful supplies of coal, for instance. It had a good patent system in place. It had relatively high labor costs, which encouraged the search for labor-saving innovations. In an article published earlier this year, however, the economists Ralf Meisenzahl and Joel Mokyr focus on a different explanation: the role of Britain’s human-capital advantage—in particular, on a group they call “tweakers.” They believe that Britain dominated the industrial revolution because it had a far larger population of skilled engineers and artisans than its competitors: resourceful and creative men who took the signature inventions of the industrial age and tweaked them—refined and perfected them, and made them work.
In 1779, Samuel Crompton, a retiring genius from Lancashire, invented the spinning mule, which made possible the mechanization of cotton manufacture. Yet England’s real advantage was that it had Henry Stones, of Horwich, who added metal rollers to the mule; and James Hargreaves, of Tottington, who figured out how to smooth the acceleration and deceleration of the spinning wheel; and William Kelly, of Glasgow, who worked out how to add water power to the draw stroke; and John Kennedy, of Manchester, who adapted the wheel to turn out fine counts; and, finally, Richard Roberts, also of Manchester, a master of precision machine tooling—and the tweaker’s tweaker. He created the “automatic” spinning mule: an exacting, high-speed, reliable rethinking of Crompton’s original creation. Such men, the economists argue, provided the “micro inventions necessary to make macro inventions highly productive and remunerative.”
And there I had it! That was my lead, that was my angle. What I had seen at the Juice conference was that the intersection of the creative economy and the innovation economy in Maine was being powered by a larger than average concentration of “tweakers.” What I have found in Portland and now in this network of innovation clusters spreading throughout the state is that kind of engineering of the possible that powered the Industrial Revolution and could well power the Post-Industrial one. And not only that. Just as I managed to get Ashton Kutcher into the headline and the lead of this post (quite organically, I think) I managed to get Steve Jobs into the LiveWork Portland post!
Paradoxically, learning to slow down can help you speed up when you need to. Years ago, I studied tai chi with the great William C.C. Chen, in New York. I was surprised to find out that many of Chen’s senior students were boxers and that the ultimate goal of this slow, peaceful, controlled movement was fighting. But sure enough, if you speed up those slow arm and leg movements you’ve got some dynamite punches and kicks at your disposal.
* See Lewis’s inaugural post at Forbes where he says , “In the ruckus of the online universe, quality is evolving. Right now, it’s more about timeliness.”

Stalked Steve Jobs - Christine Comaford

I Stalked Steve Jobs (And How To Get A Meeting With ANY VIP)

I was a young CEO and I needed answers. Steve Jobs had them. There was only one thing to do.
So I sent a FedEx letter.

Then I sent another.

Then I started calling.

Then I sent another FedEx, and called some more. Finally, after 7 FedExs and 12 phone calls, Steve’s assistant said he wanted to talk with me.

“You keep sending FedExs and calling. So let’s end it. What do you want?” Steve said, with his characteristic charm.

“Five minutes of your time. I really admire your accomplishments and as a young CEO I have a few questions no one else can answer.”

“Bring a timer.”

“I will. Oh—and thanks.”

He had already hung up.

My surface agenda was to get 5 minutes of advice, watch how Steve’s mind worked, bask in his brilliance, then have a breakthrough.

My subterranean agenda was to find hope again. It was the early 1990’s and I’d left my engineering post at Microsoft. I was depressed and wanted to know why we weren’t really changing the world as fast and as well as we could. Windows hadn’t deeply changed people, hadn’t deeply helped. Wasn’t technology supposed to do that? All I saw were the limitations of software, hardware, peripherals. I’d left feeling frustrated after years of 12-14 hour days pounding code that refused to become bug free.

Remember those chunky white metal kitchen timers from your childhood? The ones with the dial and the ticka ticka ticka sound and the “bing!” ringer? Two weeks later, timer in hand, I shaked Steve’s hand and set the dial for 5 minutes. We’re at a dark conference table at NeXT. He is slouching at the head of the table, to my right. Ticka ticka ticka.

I won’t bore you with the questions I asked, they were mere prompts to get Steve talking. What I do want you to know is that during this conversation, which was almost 18 years ago, Steve shared his vision of the future.

And it was glorious. He described a world where our computers were so seamlessly integrated into our lives that everything we needed was easily accessible. He described the iPod, iPad, iPhone nearly 2 decades before they hit the market. I watched how his brain moved—without limitation—from what might enhance a customer’s life, to what that would mean to them and how they would benefit, to how this would change the world.

He didn’t question that whatever he envisioned could, and would, be created. He didn’t agonize over whether current limitations would hold him back.

I could feel my brain expanding, it felt so big around Steve, so open and limitless. I was tracking him, following his twists, turns, expansions. I felt so smart around him, and it was glorious and freeing and…
Ticka ticka ticka ding! My five minutes was up. I rose to leave, bowing a little as I backed away.

“I’m not done with you yet. Sit down.”

And zoom! We were back in brain expansion mode immediately, flying into the future, the wind blowing our hair, everything possible, everything important. And we needed to create it. It was our destiny.

Forty five minutes later Steve released me. Sitting in my overheated car in the sunny Redwood City parking lot, my head bursting with the remarkable, complex, complete vision of Steve Jobs in my head, I made a commitment.

I would no longer see barricades. Stumbling blocks would now be seen as stepping stones to something better, or something to crawl over or walk around. Previous limitations would now be a mere triviality, at worst a slight inconvenience. There were insanely great things to create and we were here to create them and that’s all there was to it. All thoughts to the contrary were irrelevant.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

10 kitchen tips to keep you slim

Keep healthy foods visible…

A study by researchers at Cornell University found that we are three times more likely to eat the first item we see in the kitchen than the fifth, meaning that keeping healthy food visible could aid your dieting goals. Try to make healthy food options more accessible by ensuring they are as appealing and convenient as possible, as well as making them visible and easy to find. Leave out a colourful fruit bowl, prepare a salad in advance, and put some chopped veggies at the front of your fridge, for example.

… And move ‘bad’ foods out of sight

Just as putting healthy foods in a prominent position can help your diet, it follows that the opposite is also true. While it may be best to avoid buying junk food completely, if you must stock up on the odd treat make sure they are hidden away at the back of cupboards to help prevent cravings. By making these foods a little more difficult to get to (store them behind piles of tins, in high cupboards or in locked drawers – whatever helps), you will also prevent mindless snacking and give yourself some thinking time to decide whether you really want to give in to temptation.

Get some fridge-spiration

To help stay motivated in the face of your cravings, try transforming your fridge from a source of temptation into an inspirational reminder of your progress so far. Consider sticking your favourite photograph of yourself on your fridge for a positive reminder of why you should resist those cravings next time you’re tempted to hit the fridge. Alternatively, stick on a motivational quote or a handwritten note to yourself listing five good reasons not to binge.

Opt for small, blue serving dishes

While many of us think we are eating standard portion sizes, this is in fact not always the case. To help reduce your temptation to overeat, try swapping your plates, bowls, glasses and cutlery for smaller ones, which will help control your serving sizes as well as how quickly you eat. Also, while you are making the switch, think about opting for a blue color scheme for your crockery, as blue is thought to act as an appetite suppressant.

Set aside an eating area

Whether you eat your meals in the kitchen or a separate dining room, it is important to set aside an area with a table where you can sit down and eat. Furthermore, it is important to ensure you actually sit there. Make it a rule never to eat out of packets or standing up and you will find that this drastically reduces your tendency to overeat. The process of putting food on a plate and sitting down to eat it not only reduces the tendency to mindlessly pick at food, it also increases your awareness of what – and how much – you are eating, and may make you think twice about doing it.

Keep your kitchen tidy

If you’re lacking motivation to cook, it may be that your kitchen’s to blame. Cluttered worktops and messy cupboards hardly act as an incentive to start whipping up a gourmet delight so, if you have to clear a path to the oven or forge through piles of half-opened packets of food to get to what you want, it may be time to give your kitchen a makeover. Treat your kitchen as a place for food preparation – rather than a rubbish dump, mailroom or storage space – and you may be more inspired to reach for the wooden spoon rather than a takeaway menu the next time hunger strikes.

Impose a TV ban

If you’re one of the large number of people who prefers to eat their meals in front of a TV or computer screen, then you could be sabotaging your diet without even realizing it. According to research findings published in the British Journal of Nutrition, eating when distracted can cause you to ignore signals from your body that you’ve had enough, leading you to eat more than you normally would. To help cut your calorie intake, make sure you keep distracting items such as the television out of your eating area, and try to keep the two activities separate.

Set kitchen “closing hours”

To help cut the amount of food you are consuming, it is helpful to make the kitchen out-of-bounds once you have finished your evening meal. Move anything you may need during those hours out of the kitchen (and no, this doesn’t include chocolate!), then turn off the light and close the door as a reminder to yourself that the kitchen is now closed. While you will still need to rely on your own willpower to stick to these rules, this should help reduce mindless snacking and trips to the kitchen next time you’re feeling bored.

Spice up your kitchen

Your cupboards and fridge may be packed with healthy items, but how’s your spice rack looking? You might not class it as a kitchen essential, but if you’re looking to cut calories in your meals it can help to keep a well-stocked herb and spice rack. Not only does adding herbs and seasonings to your meals add flavoring to your food without extra calories, but spices such as cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper and ginger can actually help promote weight loss.

Kill your cravings with vanilla

If you struggle to resist sugar cravings following your evening meal, it may be worth investing in a vanilla-scented air freshener or candle for your kitchen. A study at St George’s hospital, south London, found that using vanilla-scented patches on the back of participants’ hands significantly reduced their appetite for sweet foods and drinks.  It is thought that this is due to the smell of vanilla, which is believed to help suppress sweet cravings.

advantages and disadvantages

NUTS: Apple Faces IPhone Glitches, Google Comforts Android Partners

Apple tried to fix its iPhone 4S problems but may have made them worse, while Google reassured handset makers it will keep fighting for Android.

News Under the Sun is a weekly column rounding up all the events on in the mobile industry. Want the news but don’t want it every day? Subscribe to our weekly Facebook or Twitter page.

Apple Addresses iPhone Problems

Apple released an iOS 5 update to address numerous complaints about iPhone 4S battery drainage and bugs in iCloud documents.

The upgrade is available for all iPad and iPhone models from 3GS onward. However, users said the update isn’t working, and may be making the problems worse.

A researcher also discovered a pivotal flaw in Apple’s iOS software that allows mobile apps to download new commands from a remote computer. There are no signs hackers have taken advantage of the flaw, but the company is working to fix the problem.

Another iPhone 4S glitch mutes outgoing calls, affecting all three major U.S. carriers and adding to the growing number of glitches Apple’s newest device is experiencing. IPhone 4S users complained of a yellow tinge on some screens and Siri outages as well.

Apple is working on a fix for its auto-correct feature in the iMessage app, which users have complained about since its 2007 release. The fix unveils a “suggestions bar” with several options for correcting text.

In spite of these problems, Consumer Reports Tuesday said it officially recommends the iPhone 4S, granting Apple’s device a highly coveted approval.

Apple said it has “no plans” to release Siri on older devices, preferring to keep the voice-activated assistant exclusive to the iPhone 4S. Apple fans who want the company’s latest gadget will have to buy the newest device in order to get it, keeping demand for the 4S high.

In addition, Apple is giving iPhone 4S shipment priority to its own retail stores. Device sales continue to surge, but Apple’s U.S. carrier partners are seeing less frequent shipments as the company wrestles with the logistics of meeting demand.

With the device’s popularity soaring, Apple is now selling unlocked versions of the iPhone 4S, which allow customers to jump between carriers without being tied to a contract.

true or false??

Report: Facebook will give users more say over privacy to settle investigation

SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook is nearing a settlement with federal regulators that would require the world’s most popular online hangout to obtain approval from its users before making changes that expose their profiles and activities to a wider audience, according to a report published Thursday.

Citing people familiar with the situation that it did not name, The Wall Street Journal said Facebook has agreed to make the changes to resolve a nearly 2-year-old investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.
Both Facebook and the FTC declined to comment to The Associated Press.

If the settlement is approved by FTC’s commissioners, it would require Facebook to get explicit consent from its 800 million users before changing its privacy settings, according to the Journal.

Seeking a user’s prior consent is known as an “opt in.” Facebook sometimes makes changes that it believes will improve its social network and then leaves it to users to reset the things that they don’t like — a process known as “opting out.” Companies introducing a feature or service generally prefer an “opt out” system because fewer people take the steps required to get out of the changes.

The FTC opened its probe into Facebook after the website made changes that automatically showed users’ names, pictures, hometowns and other personal information available for anyone on the Web to see. That upset people who had deliberately programmed their privacy settings to confine that information to a specific group of friends or family.

As part of its proposed settlement, Facebook would also submit to government reviews of its privacy practices for 20 years, according to the Journal.

The audits are similar to the scrutiny that Internet search leader Google Inc. agreed to undergo earlier this year. That agreement settled an FTC investigation into Google’s handling of people’s personal information in February 2010 when it launched a service called Buzz to counter Facebook. Buzz exposed the email contacts of unwitting users, a breach that the FTC considered to be a deceptive practice.
Google is now in the process of closing Buzz to focus on another social network called Plus that debuted in June.

In an interview with Charlie Rose shown earlier this week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he believes the website’s changes over the past year have given users greater control over their privacy.

“I think we’re going to need to keep on making it easier and easier, but that’s our mission, right?” Zuckerberg told Rose. “I mean, we have to do that because now, if people feel like they don’t have control over how they’re sharing things, then we’re failing them.”

Watch out for the 12 Scams of Christmas this holiday season

The holidays are a time when many of us think about connecting with old friends, traveling to be with family and shopping until we’re blue in the face.
But all the busyness of the holiday season also makes it the perfect time for cybercriminals to prey on their unsuspecting victims online.
To help combat the perils of Christmas criminals, cyber security experts McAfee Inc. has released its annual list of the ‘12 Scams of the Holidays,’ highlighting some of the ways internet users are open to fraudsters and hackers that can take advantage of you.

1. Hotel “wrong transaction” malware emails

2. Mystery shopper scams
3. “I’m away from home” scams
4. Phony Facebook promotions and contests
5. Scareware, or fake antivirus software
6. Malicious content and websites
7. Malicious mobile apps
8. Mac malware
9. Zombie infections
10. Holiday phishing scams
11. Online coupon scams
12. “It” gift scams
What are some of your tips for staying safe online this holiday season, Yahoo! readers?

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Person of the Year

I believe that nobody will disagree with Steve Jobs is the “Person of the Year” in 2011. Since he was a great inventor, many great and convenience devices to turn up because of him.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs spotted smiling at California campus
He has managed and leading up the whole Apple ran out of the sinking business, therefore, we glad for Mr. Jobs’ willpower and hard working to hold on straight until the very last moment before he passed away, and even he has well prepared how does Apple going for the next couple of years.

Steve Jobs, he not only changed the world, but “gave us that spirit again that something was possible.”


If chosen, Jobs would be the first person to receive the award posthumously. Does he deserve it?To say that Jobs “‘changed the world’ isn’t hyperbole?”  I can say, “Certainly, he did it!!”  It’s nearly impossible to imagine [the world] without a personal computing!

According to Walter Isaacson’s bio, Jobs thought he would win in 1982 for his work on the Macintosh. Instead, the award went to “the computer” as “‘Machine’ of the Year,” and TIME wrote a negative profile of Jobs that left the tech titan in tears. Now, almost 30 years later, it’s time he finally won.

“Will Steve Jobs be TIME’s next Person of the Year?”

Friday, November 11, 2011

11/11/11: ARE YOU ONE WITH THIS WEEK'S FATEFUL DATE?

WASHINGTON (AFP) - This coming Friday at 49 minutes before noon, people around the globe will experience a numerically auspicious hour and date unlike any other in modern times: 11:11, on 11/11/11.
File photo shows St Stephen s Tower, also known as Big Ben, in central London. This coming Friday at 49 minutes before noon, people around the globe will experience a numerically auspicious hour and date unlike any other in modern times: 11:11, on 11/11/11.
While millions may marvel at the once-per-century string of ones on their clocks, mobile devices and calendars, to be sure much of humanity will hardly bat an eye.
But many numerologists, metaphysicists, psychics and their followers, occultists and conspiracy theorists will be watching for signs of some broad humanistic awakening, a harmonic convergence, even a portal opening into a new dimension, as some experts predict a major "shift in consciousness."
Thousands will gather for 11/11/11 ceremonies, trance dances or day-in-the-life video projects around the world, and several Facebook pages marking the date have popped up.
A Spanish charity for the blind named ONCE (Eleven) is holding a special lottery with 11 one-million-euro prizes and a super jackpot worth 11 million euros.
From Israeli-born psychic Uri Geller to "visionary" author and 11-11 expert Solara -- and even fans of the movie "This Is Spinal Tap," for whom the number 11 holds cherished meaning -- many are hailing the synchronicity of the date.
"It's certainly significant to have a triple master number" on the calendar, Solara, who goes by one name, told AFP.
"I envision a big shift in consciousness on the planet, and it's coming to a point with this date."
Solara lives in Peru, and while she is keeping her 11/11 plans secret, she says groups in more than 50 countries will mark the auspicious moment.
At 1111 GMT they will "join together and sit as silent watchers who oversee worlds within worlds," and whose perspective will "strengthen the resonance of trueness just by their presence," she said.
For numerologists, Freemasons and occult groups, 11 holds special resonance.
Some say it has psychic properties or represents a channel to the subconscious, while others stress its inborn duality, a reflection of the good-and-evil paradigm that Solara believes has been present since the dawn of humanity.
The Internet is humming with bloggers who insist the mystical 11 pops up with alarming regularity in schemes such as 9/11. Not only did the terror attacks occur on September 11, they note, but the twin towers resembled an 11, and the first plane to strike the World Trade Center was Flight 11.
Others cite the prophecy of Saint Malachy, who in the 11th century predicted there would be 112 popes before a biblical apocalypse. The current pontiff, Benedict XVI, is the 111th pope.
Historically the date carries weight. The World War I armistice was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
"There's an interesting synchronicity in how many things in this reality align with the number 11," said Ellie Crystal, an author, psychic, blogger and metaphysical explorer.
There was an 11/11/11 100 years ago, of course, "but human consciousness was not in the same place it is today," she told AFP.
Americans and others began focusing on 11:11 over the last several decades, with the advent of the digital clock.
"They'd see 11:11 and say 'hmm,' then they'd go about their business," Crystal said. "And the next day they'd see it again. It makes people wonder, what is this whole thing about?"
It's about pseudo-scientific bunk, an example of "confirmation bias" in which people spot hits but conveniently forget misses, insisted John Hoopes, a University of Kansas professor who specializes in knocking down such theories and uses dates like 11/11/11 to teach critical thinking.
Some people use numerology "to try and understand the world, but it has about as much scientific significance as the lyrics to 'The Age of Aquarius,'" Hoopes said.
Yet Crystal and others see 11:11 as a pre-encoded trigger, an "awakening code" that could elevate consciousness.
She said some are even convinced a physical portal will open on Friday, transporting believers across a bridge from the duality of this world into a new oneness.
"A portal will not open," Crystal asserted bluntly. And, barring a horror film named "11-11-11" coming out on November 10, there will be "no doomsday, nothing apocalyptic."
That could occur 13 months later, she quipped, citing a myth that the world will end along with the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012.
But with a Christian radio broadcaster mistakenly predicting that the rapture would occur May 21, 2001, then on October 21, some are seeing a chance to inject humor into what will in all likelihood be just another day.
The Nigel Tufnel Day Appreciation Society has been petitioning to have November 11, 2011 christened Nigel Tufnel Day, to honor the guitarist in the classic "Spinal Tap" mockumentary who shows how his amplifiers "go to 11."
So just what will happen on Friday? Those whose brains are wired for 11:11 will notice a realignment, Crystal said.
"If you don't feel it, no biggie."

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

International Men’s Day

Take care of the world, it is your home!






The sea is stained in red and it is not because of the climate effects of nature. It's because of the cruelty of the human beings (civilised human) who kill hundreds of the famous and intelligent Calderon dolphins.

This happens every year in Feroe Island. In this slaughter the main participants are young teens.  WHY?   A celebration, to show that they are adults and mature!  In this big celebration, nothing is missing for the fun. Everyone is participating in one way or the other, killing or looking at the cruelty supporting like a spectator.

Is it necessary to mention that the dolphin Calderon, like all the other species of dolphins, its near extinction and they get near men to play and interact. In a way of PURE friendship.

They don't die instantly; they are cut 1, 2 or 3 times with thick hooks. And at that time the dolphins produce a grim cry like that of a newborn child.

But he suffers and there's no compassion while this magnificent creature slowly dies in its own blood

Its enough!!!

We forward this until it goes around the world that many more people will know about this shameful act.