Updated: Mythbusters regular Erik Gates dies after 30ft fall, picture
sad news, Erik Gates, a regular guest on the discovery channel show Mythbusters has died as result of a freak accident.
Gates was working onsite for his electrical company when he fell through a skylight. He suffered serious blunt trauma to the chest and then died.
Gates guest starred on four episodes of Mythbusters as the "amateur rocket expert". He was very involved in rocketry, even creating his own website called Gates Brother Rocketry.
The official mythbusters twitter account sent out two tweets honoring Gates saying, "Team MB wishes to express our deepest sympathies on the passing of our beloved rocket expert, Erik." and "You were an honorary MythBuster and will be sorely missed."
It was earlier mistakenly reported that one of Erik's brothers, Dirk Gates, had also recently died as well, but that is UNTRUE and deep, sincere apologies and condolences go out to the family and friends of Erik Gates.
Dutch to Use Full-Body Scanners on Flights to U.S.
The major international airport of the Netherlands will begin using full-body scanners on passengers flying to the US to prevent a recurrence of the security breach that allowed a would-be bomber to smuggle explosives onto a flight to Detroit from Amsterdam on Christmas Day, the Dutch authorities said Wednesday.
The new measures were announced as the Dutch interior minister discussed the government’s early investigation into the thwarted bombing.
At a news conference at The Hague in the Netherlands the interior minister, Guusje Ter Horst, characterized preparations for the attack as professional but its execution as amateurish, according to The Associated Press.
“It is not exaggerating to say the world has escaped a disaster,” Ms. Ter Horst said. Dutch officials said the accused bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, had raised no red flags as he arrived in Amsterdam from Nigeria and transferred to his Detroit-bound flight at Schiphol Airport. He arrived at 5:37 a.m. on Dec. 25, passed through security screening at a metal detector without setting off any alarms and departed for the United States at 8:55 a.m.
He had a visa to enter the United States, and he presented a valid Nigerian passport as he boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253. The Interior Ministry’s report said Mr. Abdulmutallab was traveling on a round-trip ticket purchased in Ghana.
Ms. Ter Horst said the explosives used in the attack appeared to be professionally made, and that it appeared they had been given to Mr. Adbulmutallab.
In a letter to the Dutch Parliament posted on the counterterrorism office’s Web site, Ms. Ter Horst said the attack demonstrated “a fairly professional approach, comparable to earlier attempted attacks against civil aviation,” referring to the thwarted 2001 attack by the “shoe bomber,” Richard Reid.
Although Dutch officials said they would deploy the scanners “immediately,” a spokesman for the country’s counterterrorism office said only 7 of the airport’s 15 full-body scanners were currently ready for use. The rest would be deployed within three weeks after receiving software upgrades.
A voluntary recall of Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplets is being expanded because of consumer reports of an unusual moldy odor with the 100-count bottles, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said late on Monday.
The FDA said it and Johnson & Johnson were expanding recall to all available product lots of the pain caplets with the distinctive red EZ-open cap.
The initial recall involved five lots of the product in November after reports of an unusual musty or mildew-like odor that was associated with nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea, the FDA said.
Napolitano Says ‘No Indication’ Bomb Attempt Part of Larger Plot
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said U.S. officials have “no indication” that an attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight approaching Detroit on Christmas Day was part of a larger plot.
“Right now we have no indication that this is part of anything larger,” Napolitano said today on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “The investigation continues.” She said officials are seeking to learn whether the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had any ties to the terrorist organization al- Qaeda.
“It would be imappropriate to speculate about whether or not he had such ties,” Napolitano said.
Thousands of bargain-hungry shoppers are flocking to high street chains across the country snap up post-Christmas discounts.
With Boxing Day falling on a Saturday, retailers are expecting today to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
It is estimated that more than £3bn will be spent by shoppers, with 80% of the British public expected to visit the sales.
Sky reporter Tessa Chapman said the queues at Manchester's Trafford Centre had started forming at 6am as retailers promised discounts of between 40% and 60%.
"The shopping centre is hoping to attract 140,000 shoppers through the door, they have 10,000 parking spaces and are expecting each and every single one to be filled," she said.
"They have got 200 shops here and the vast majority will be open and taking advantage of the fact that for the first time in 11 years Boxing Day falls on a Saturday."
Next and Debenhams threw open their doors at 7am, and Selfridges started trading at its Birmingham and Manchester branches at 8am.
At Selfridges' flagship store in London, hundreds of people had queued outside the shop which opened for business at 9am.
Mary Adonis, 32, who lives in Portobello, west London, arrived at the Oxford Street department store at 2am to get a prime spot.
She said: "I want to look in all the departments, maybe for a bag. I love Gucci."
More than 125,000 shoppers are expected to descend on Bluewater Shopping Centre in Greenhithe, Kent.
General manager Andrew Parkinson said car parks were already 70% full by 11am.
"Key to this is that most retailers did not go on sale pre-Christmas," he explained
"Shoppers are therefore travelling to Bluewater to find real bargains, of which there are plenty."
Meanwile, Capital Shopping Centres, which owns 14 shopping sites across the UK, said it was expecting bumper days today and tomorrow.
Commercial Director Trevor Pereira said: "Customers have been flooding through our 14 centres' doors from the early hours today.
"Shoppers have been planning their sale purchases before the VAT hike comes into effect, and as a consequence we are extremely busy."
Charlie Sheen arrested, released; Brooke Mueller Sheen and drink??
The sad Christmas tale of Charlie Sheen arrested and charged with a reported 2 felonies and 1 misdemeanor charge of domestic violence against his wife Brooke Mueller Sheen in Aspen, Colorado is gaining clarity.
After accounts that Charlie Sheen would not be able to post bond after his arrest, TMZ.com reports that he paid $8,500 after talking to a county judge. He's out of jail.
Stores open on Christmas Day 2009 - Are there Walmart Christmas Day hours?
Are you needing that last minute Christmas day gift? Did you forget to buy some item for dinner? Did you run out of alcohol on this Christmas Day? While many stores will now stay open on Thanksgiving, those same stores will now close on Christmas Day in order to allow all their employees to spend the day with their families.
Depending on where you are, there are some stores open though. A safe bet is if you have Walgreens in your area. They have normal hours even on Christmas, which is something I learned years ago. CVS Pharmacy's are also open. Some grocery stores are open, but these are usually not the big chains. Call around in your area.
As for the big retailers like Wal-mart, Target, and Best Buy? Most closed early on Christmas Eve, and will not reopen until early the day after Christmas. However, some are offering Christmas Day online sales that they hope bring people in.
Whatever you do today, have a very Merry Christmas!
Cancer-struck Prunedale family's invitation to Starbucks a ruse
Cathy and Rowland Bories stood in line with 3 of their 4 grandchildren and 2 foster kids in a packed Starbucks in Prunedale on Thursday afternoon. Jordan, their 12-year-old granddaughter, was looking at a tall pile of gift-wrapped presents lying in a corner of the coffee shop when she saw her name on one of them. "Oh my God, this has my name on it!" Jordan yelled.
It wasn't long until the news broke that the Borieses weren't there for coffee at all.
Instead, a group of Prunedale residents, Starbucks employees and members of a community church had come together on Christmas Eve with one goal in mind — to spread holiday cheer to the Bories family.
As soon as Cathy found out, the tears of joy began to flow.
"This is amazing; I can't believe this," she said while hugging Starbucks manager Emy Fischer.
"Thank you so much," Bories said.
"You deserve it," Fischer replied.
"We just wanted to brighten up what would have been a bleak Christmas for them," Fischer said.
It hasn't been an easy year for the Bories family.
Rowland Bories said he had a heart attack in March. He had open-heart surgery in April — and his heart stopped in the operation room before he was revived.
Months later, Cathy said, the family found out Rowland had cancer.
"Stage three, very aggressive, prostate [cancer]," she could barely say. Rowland is set to start chemotherapy early in the new year.
To those health problems, add the responsibility of caring for their grandchildren and foster kids.
"It's been a really tough year," Cathy Bories said.
While she continued to cry, shocked by all the presents and hugs from people she's never met, her 6-year-old grandson only had a smile on his face.
"Is this all our presents?" asked Jimmy Blackmore, while holding on to a soccer ball and a carton of chocolate milk.
Then the coffee shop burst into singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," led by about 20 congregation members from Prunedale's New Life Community Church.
Cathy Bories said she thought they'd been invited for coffee and to sing Christmas carols.
It is interesting to see what criteria app developers are using to judge how successful their iPhone app are. Brian Akaka, founder of Appular disclosed his criteria. The answer is a mixture of rave reviews in the media; user feedback; and a rating on the iTunes app store itself.
As Appular points out, there are already over 100,000 apps in the App Store and that number is growing daily. So Appular specialises in working with developers to create a marketing strategy that will maximise the visibility of their apps.
As Akaka says, “It has become increasingly challenging for developers to differentiate their apps from thousands of others. So what does he do? He contacts GoMo News for a start.
Akaka is particularly keen to pump up the success of Crosswords. No prizes for guessing what this app does.
It’s the app for crossword fans to get their fix where ever they are, apparently. The app costs $9.99, and has received a 4.5 rating in iTunes with over 1,700 reviews.
“For it to be so popular - at that price point - you know that this app is well executed,” Akaka enthuses. The app is obviously US orientated because it provides players with access to puzzles from US publications such as Boston Globe, Village Voice, Wall St Journal, and the New York Times Classic.
It’s purportedly received rave reviews from Wired’s Charlie Sorrel and Daring Fireball’s John Gruber. If you go onto the Appular site, you can win a $25 iTunes voucher for coming up with an interesting use for Simplenote.
Big marketing budget, huh?
The last app being promoted is an iPhone version of the game, Urban Rivals. This is reportedly a popular online trading card game with over 7 million registered users and 50,000 daily plays.
Have you watched the cool Clerk 2 sequel video? Do you want to be one of persons looking for this video? Clerk 2 is indeed worthy to watch.
This is the tough one, the one I mulled over for a week before writing this. Without a doubt, the most successful comedic sequel of the decade was Clerks 2, both in its box office take and the number of fans who were fully happy with Kevin Smith's return to his roots. Me, on the other hand, I wasn't. The magic was gone. I tried ... really I did. I rushed to see it opening night, then waited months to see it again, hoping my dislike was just a bad mood, a passing phase. No dice. I preferred the '90s shocks, and a black and white world without dance sequences. Nevertheless, I'm glad it pleased most of you, and it definitely deserves this spot on an overall scale.
What is an Infragard? They have just finished their elections. Who won? This is a very notable organization for us to be familiar with.
yann Bradbury has been elected President of the InfraGard National Members Alliance (INMA) and Kathleen Kiernan has been reelected as Chairman. InfraGard was started by the FBI 13 years ago as an alliance between it and over 34,000 vetted members to provide interface with the Bureau and the leaders and experts of this country’s critical infrastructure.
Ms. Bradbury has served in various leadership roles within InfraGard. She has been President and VP of the InfraGard Nebraska Members Alliance, InfraGard Regional Representative for the West Region, Vice President of Regional Communications- INMA, 2006 Awards Committee Chair, and, most recently, as a member of the INMA Board of Directors. Ms. Bradbury is an Associate Director of Compliance for Digital River.
rnold Stang, an actor who appeared alongside Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra and was known for his nerdy looks and distinctive nasal voice, has died. He was 91.
Stang died Sunday of pneumonia at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Massachusetts, said JoAnne Stang, his wife of 60 years.
She attributed her husband's career longevity to his willingness to tackle any professional challenge.
"He was really unique, because he could perform in any role, comedy or drama, he just loved it all," she said Tuesday. "He always thought of himself just as an actor, not any particular kind of actor, but just an actor who would play whatever he was asked to play."
Metrolink is set to roll out new crash-resistant cars, nearly five years after the deadly Glendale train wreck that killed Eleven people.
The cars have "crush zones" that collapse to absorb impact, said Metrolink spokeswoman Angela Starr. Metrolink officials say it will be the first commuter train line in the nation to use the technology. Two cars a cab and passenger car will arrive next month and the agency hopes to phase in a total of 117 cars, said Starr. The first two cars will be in service as early as next summer. Nearly five years after a deadly Metrolink train wreck in Glendale intensified debate about passenger car design, Southern California's commuter rail service will soon take delivery of new high-tech, crash-resistant cars, officials announced Thursday.
Stock futures are pointing to a higher opening Monday, following gains in the major markets overseas in what is expected to be a quiet week of trading.
Trading is likely to be light during the Christmas holiday-shortened week, but that can add to volatility. Markets will be closed Friday.
Investors traditionally avoid placing big bets during the last two weeks of the year. Traders are likely to be closing out books and locking in gains from a nine-month rally. Major indexes are all sharply higher in 2009.
Natalie White, the 26-year-old whom Russell Hantz took under his wings, has won Samoa edition of “Survivor“. The former pharmaceutical sales rep from Van Buren, Arkansas took the title of sole survivor when she gained 5 out of the 7 votes from the jury panel.
Russell, in the meantime was placed second with two votes while Mick Trimming who got none was crowned the second runner-up. The finale on Sunday, December 20 begun with the elimination of Jaison and Brett in respective order. Brett won his third immunity but in the final immunity competition, Russell beat him.
I don't watch the show on a regular basis, if nothing else is on and I need background noise, I will turn of the channel to this strange cast of characters. Now after reading the following article, I am not even going to turn the white noise on...the ideal that this woman is going to have a baby scares the heck out of me. That poor baby will have a perm, manicure and dressed in high fashion before it is a year old.
Kourtney Kardashian doesn't have much maternal instinct, at least not when it comes to delivering a baby.
The pregnant sister of Kim and Khloe mistakenly thought her water broke recently, People.com reports.
"She's never experienced it; she has no idea," Khloe Kardashian said Thursday in an interview on KIIS-FM with Ryan Seacrest. "She was out at lunch – this is TMI – and some fluid came down her leg and she was like, 'My water broke!' She bbm'd me and I go, 'No, no, no, you will know. You're fine.' "
The star of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" did not specify whether the fluid was urine or not but does understand why her 30-year-old sister is concerned. According to Khloe Kardashian, her sister is due "any minute!"
A winter storm is already coating streets and highways in southeastern Pennsylvania, and flight cancellations are already being reported at the Philadelphia International Airport.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service say 12 to 18 inches of snow is expected in the city and surroundings areas, with a bit more further south. Officials say 15 to 25 mile per hour winds with higher gusts could produce near-blizzard conditions.
Philadelphia is declaring a snow emergency as of 9 a.m. — meaning cars parked on streets designated snow emergency routes will be towed — and the city school district has canceled all weekend activities. Officials are asking people to avoid travel if at all possible.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says it has been spraying roads with a salt solution since Thursday and all of its 402 trucks have been mobilized throughout the five-county Philadelphia region.
A Paris court has found Google guilty of copyright infringement in a ruling which could have ramifications for it is plans to digitise the world's books.
The search giant must pay 300,000 euros (£266,000) in damages and interest to French publisher La Martiniere.
It was one of many to take Google to court for digitising its books without explicit permission.
Google was also ordered to pay 10,000 euros a day until it removes extracts of the books from its database.
Google wants to scan millions of books to make them available online.
This court case will be seen as a victory for critics of the plan who fear Google is creating a monopoly over information.
Publisher Herve de La Martiniere launched his court case three years ago but Google continued to scan books during this period.
La Martiniere, the French Publishers' Association and authors' group SGDL who started the court battle initially demanded that Google be fined 15m euros (£13.2m).
The book publishers claimed that scanning books was an act of reproduction and, as such, was something that should be paid for.
The Long anticipated and highly hyped up movie AVATAR opens up today. The movie was directed by Oscar winning director James Cameron. He first conceived the idea for the movie 15 years ago when the technology to realize his vision did not exist. Although it’s early in the day, and the jury is still out, here are some ratings and reviews from around the web.
* IMDB (internet movie database) users give the movie 8.4 out of 10 stars.
* Rotten Tomatoes rates Avatar at 82%
* Yahoo! Users give the movie an B+
* Critics give this movie an A-
* Rolling Stone gave it 3.5 our of 4 stars
Rogers Ebert calls it an "...an extraordinary film." Read his full review here
Rolling Stone says “Cameron's talent may just be as big as his dreams." Read the full review here
E! Online called it "...an immersive epic unlike any other." Their full review is available here
Although some of the user ratings may change as more people see the movie and their reviews are averaged in, it sounds like an overall great movie. If you’re into computer graphics, this should be a couple of hours of nothing but eye candy.
Twitter has been hit by a embarrassing security breach.
A group claiming to be Iranian Cyber Army managed to redirect Twitter users to its own site displaying a political message.
Twitter said the attack had been carried out by getting at the servers that tell web browsers where to find particular sites.
The site said it would start an investigation into what allowed the "unplanned downtime" to take place.
Twitter was hit by the security breach at 2200 PCT (0600 GMT) which led to users being redirected to a page showing a message declaring it had been hacked by the Iranian Cyber Army.
Today is free shipping day 2009 for the last minute online shoppers. If you're like me, only half your holiday shopping is done. Free shipping day 2009 is the last day you can order online for delivery for Christmas. Many merchants offer free shipping day 2009 to encourage you to make those purchases you put off.
Free shipping day 2009 started at 12:00 AM and will continue until midnight tonight. More than 500 major merchants are participating in free shipping day 2009 on December 17. I missed Black Friday sales and Cyber Monday deals after losing my BIL on November 23. I did manage to catch a great pre-Thanksgiving online sale at Toy R Us so Santa will be here for the kids.
Free shipping day 2009 merchants include ToysRUs, Macy's, Sears and Borders. If you have a Borders or Macy's gift card from Gather, today is a good day to cash it in online!
Will you take advantage of free shipping day 2009? Last night we had the children's holiday concert and today is parent-teacher conference day. I'll also be squeezing my work in so I hope to catch free shipping day 2009 deals later tonight. Hopefully, the hot items won't be out of stock...
Here is the video from Luke Knowles, founder of free shipping day (which has been around for 2 years) about shopping on free shipping day 2009:
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde says France is to introduce a tax on bankers' bonuses similar to the one introduced in UK.
Any bonus above 27,000 euros ($39,000; £24,000) will be taxed at a rate of 50% on payments given out in 2010.
Ms Lagarde told reporters that a bill would be brought before the French parliament in January.
Last week, UK Chancellor Alistair Darling announced a similar measure in his pre-Budget report.
French officials had said last week that a bonus tax was on the cards, but no details were given.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she is sympathetic to the idea but that it might be against German law.
Taxes on bonuses are being brought in to quell public anger about the high level of bankers' pay when many of the banks have received government support.
Microsoft ends 10-year fight with Europe on web browsers
Microsoft has reached agreement with European Union anti-trust regulators to allow European users a choice of the web browsers.
The accord ends 10 years of dispute between the two sides.
Over that time, the EU imposed fines totalling 1.68bn euros ($2.44bn, £1.5bn).
The European Commission said Microsoft's legally binding agreement ended the dispute and averted a possible fine for the company.
The Commission's concern was that the US computer giant may have broken competition rules by bundling its Internet Explorer web browser with its dominant Windows operating system.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "Millions of European consumers will benefit from this decision by having a free choice about which web browser they use."
Better browsers
She said the company's pledge was an incentive for web browser companies to innovate and offer better browsers in the future.
Internet Explorer is used by more than half of global internet users, with Mozilla's Firefox at about 32% and Norway's Opera with 2%.
It was the minnow operator, Opera, that brought the latest complaint about browsers in 2007.
The company's chief executive, Jon von Tetzchner, agreed the move would boost innovation.
"This is a victory for the future of the web. This decision is also a celebration of open web standards, as these shared guidelines are the necessary ingredients for innovation."
Microsoft's commitments on web browsers will be valid in the European Economic Area for five years.
Dominant bundle
In preliminary findings released in January, the European Commission said Microsoft "may have infringed" a European Treaty by "abusing its dominant market position" by bundling the company's web browser with its Windows PC operating system.
In July, Microsoft proposed a consumer choice screen that allowed users to pick from a number of different browsers.
The Commission then asked Microsoft to improve the choice screen, which it has now done.
Long history
In 2004, the EU fined Microsoft and forced it to offer a version of its Windows operating system without Microsoft's own media player.
The company was also told to give rivals more information about how Windows works, so they could make their own software integrate better with the operating system.
Microsoft appealed against the decision but lost its case in 2007.
Outstanding concerns
There remain, though, unresolved areas of dispute between the two parties. Although here, too, progress has been made.
Microsoft has submitted an improved version of undertakings it made in July on interoperability.
These are designed to address EU concerns about improving the compatibility of third-party products with several Microsoft ones, such as Windows and Microsoft Office.
The Commission welcomed this move too, but said it would monitor its impact on the market. Any findings would be taken into account in a pending anti-trust investigation on interoperability, it said.
The time magazine picked Ben Bernanke as its person of the year. This is the second win for him, as he and everyone else in the universe won in 2006 when “You” was the person of the year.
Such is the relevance of the awad.
Nonetheless, I think this is apt. In a year that saw a president use a $787 billion stimulus to turn a projected 9% unemployment rate into a 10% actual unemployment rate, who (besides Tim Geithner) better represents the breath-taking economic incompetence of today’s leadership in Washington?
Wrote Time: “He is not, in other words, a typical Beltway power broker. He’s shy. He doesn’t do the D.C. dinner-party circuit; he prefers to eat at home with his wife, who still makes him do the dishes and take out the trash. Then they do crosswords or read. Because Ben Bernanke is a nerd.”
Nerds!
That’s it.
Run the nerds out of Washington.
They are out of touch with reality. It is time to go William F. Buckley Jr. on them. Get the telephone book in Charleston, West Virginia, pick the first 200 names and put them in charge.
And then there is this: “Professor Bernanke of Princeton was a leading scholar of the Great Depression. He knew how the passive Fed of the 1930s helped create the calamity — through its stubborn refusal to expand the money supply and its tragic lack of imagination and experimentation.”
that is the opposite of what actually happened. Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt were interventionists who screwed up the economy so bad that it took a world war to end it.
Picture of a 48 year old Tiger Woods alleged woman still hot today
Still the world wants to see who is this woman whom the Tiger Woods had an affair. It is time consuming to wonder why a 48 year old woman can attract the greatest golfer of all time?
Theresa Rogers Photos, if you are in quest for these pictures, we are also. As of the latest on Tiger Woods, he hasn’t been seen since his car accident and he will try to keep himself out of the spotlight. Hopefully Woods and his family will come back and that Elin will forgive him.
Theresa Rogers Photos and Pictures, are they hot as expected to be?
The L. L. Zamenhof Google Logo The Google home page is featuring a logo for 150th birthday of L. L. Zamenhof. L. L. Zamenhof is known for inventing a constructed language designed for international communication known as Esperanto.
According to Wikipedia, Esperanto is used by 100,000 and 2 million speakers for over a century and has 1,000 native speakers but was never adopted by a country as their official language.
Google is the only major search engine to have a portal page just for this language, it can be found google.com/intl/eo/.
There are some people upset with Google that they picked a logo for Zamenhof over a logo for the U.S. Bill of Rights, which went into effect 218 years ago, today.
DIY Home Sleep Research with Cameras, and Accelerometers, EEGs
If you sleep like a princess, and wonder what keeps you tossing and turning at night, perhaps there’s a gadget that can find pea under your mattress.
Companies are begun selling electronics directly to consumers that can help anyone monitor their sleep and adjust their bedtime routine, and some people haveinvented their own tracking systems. Slip on a wireless wristband or headband and focus your camcorder before you hit the sack, and the next morning you will wake up to a mound of data.
At a Quantified Self meetup at Wired’s San Francisco offices Dec. 7, around 100 people gathered to share their data-driven sleep habits. The founders of the Wakemate startup were on hand to talk about their wristband that keeps track of your sleep patterns. It’s equipped with an accelerometer and a bluetooth transmitter that connects with a free smartphone app. The accelerometer is the same that’s in the highly popular (and backordered) Fitbit exercise tracking device. The Wakemate will be very hackable and cost just $50, but won’t ship until January.
So if it’s a Christmas gift for a sleepy friend you’re after, you might want to check out the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach, an alarm clock that records electrical signals from your brain with a headband. In the morning it returns a chart of how much time you spent in light, deep and REM sleep, as well as a personal sleep score (which they call your ZQ). It can also make waking up easier to wake you if you ask it to, by choosing a lighter sleep moment to rouse you.
Techology investor Esther Dyson gave the Zeo a mixed review at the meetup. For example, the headband has little pads that wear out quickly, and must be replaced. But the biggest problems are on the software side: Zeo does not allow more than one user to share the device, and makes it hard to extract the raw data. Despite those flaws, Dyson said she plans on experimenting with it some more.
If you want an even better picture of your sleep, you can follow the example of San Francisco resident, Matt Bell. After years of feeling drowsy all day and not knowing whay, he set up a bedside camcorder with an infrared illuminator in search of an answer. The footage was revealing.
“The biggest thing that surprised me was seeing how much I moved around while sleeping,” Bell said at the meetup. “It was fascinating to glimpse at the workings of this hidden unconscious world that occupies close to a third of our lives.”
In his quest for a perfect night of rest, Bell experimented with the lighting in his bedroom, his diet, his sleeping positions, and lots of drugs. He even kept a daily log of how well he slept, his mood during the following day, and how much excitement he experienced during the prior day.
Several inmates from US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay are to be transferred to an Illinois prison, the White House is expected to announce.
The Officials are due to confirm that Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Illinois will be acquired by the federal government, US media report.
It will house about 100 Guantanamo detainees suspected of terror offences, reports say.
President Barack Obama has pledged to close Cuba-based camp.
However, with officials still trying to work out what to do with about 215 inmates still at the camp, he admitted in November that a 22 January deadline had slipped to later in 2010.
The near-empty Thomson prison, about 150 miles (240km) from Chicago, was promoted as an alternative by Illinois Senator Richard Durbin.
Sen Durbin and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn are expected to be briefed by White House officials about the announcement on Tuesday, the Associated Press news agency reported.
The Thomson prison, built in 2001, has the capacity for 1,600 inmates, but due to budget constraints only houses 200 prisoners.
It would be sold to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and then part of it leased to the Department of Defense, reports say.
Federal prisoners would be held at the facility, as well as the former Guantanamo inmates, officials said.
"Closing the detention centre at Guantanamo is essential to protecting our national security and helping our troops by removing a deadly recruiting tool from the hands of al-Qaeda," a US official said in a statement.
"[Tuesday's] announcement is an important step forward as we work to achieve our national security objectives."
Of the remaining Guantanamo inmates, some are expected to be sent to other countries, while others could face military tribunals or be tried in US courts.
Prisons in Colorado, Montana and elsewhere in Illinois had expressed an interest in housing Guantanamo inmates.
stocks opened higher Monday as investors were relieved to see Abu Dhabi's $10 billions rescue of Dubai, while acquisition plans announced by Exxon Mobil helped lift the energy sector.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 26 points, or 0.3%, to 10497, in early trading. Boeing was its best-performing component, up 1.5%. Alcoa was also strong, up 1.2% as metals futures climbed.
Exxon Mobil kept the measure's gains in check. It tumbled 3% after having announced a $31 billion all-stock acquisition of XTO Energy, boosting the oil giant's presence in the natural-gas industry.
However, XTO--which is not a Dow component--jumped 16%, as the deal represents a 25% premium to its Friday closing price. A number of other energy stocks also moved higher as speculation rose about other potential acquisition candidates.
The gains in the energy sector came despite declines in crude-oil futures. In other markets, the dollar was lower against both the euro and the yen. Gold futures moved higher. Treasurys also rose, with the 10-year note recently up 1/8 to move 3.535%.
Across other stock measures, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.5%. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.5%, led by its energy sector. Its materials sector was also particularly strong. Financial stocks made up the only S&P 500 sector in the red.
Monday's stock gains come after Abu Dhabi loaned Dubai the funds necessary to pay off a bond as well as give it breathing space to renegotiate debts on Dubai World. While the U.S. was expected to have little direct exposure to Dubai World, concerns were rising in recent weeks about any indirect fallout.
Among stocks in focus Monday, Citigroup fell 4.1%. The banking giant reached an agreement with the U.S. Treasury to repay $20 billion of government aid. The New York bank will issue $20.5 billion in securities to pay for the deal, and could issue another $3 billion worth of notes in the first quarter of 2010.
Sun Microsystems jumped 9.3% after Oracle said it's had constructive discussions with the European Commission over approval of its deal to buy Sun. Oracle edged up 1.4%.
Tiger Woods's and caddie Steve Williams has strenuously denied having any knowledge of the world number one's "infidelity". Tiger Woods is currently taking an indefinite break from golf in order to tackle problems in his private life.
"I had no knowledge of what was going on," the Kiwi told New Zealand's Sunday News newspaper. "If I did, I would say I did. I'm an honest person.
"When he is not competing, I am back in New Zealand. I have no knowledge of what he is doing."
Woods became the centre of a media storm after crashing his car into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his Florida home at the end of November.
The 14-time major winner has not been seen in public since, as speculation about his private life intensified.
Allegations followed about extra-marital affairs and on Friday, Woods admitted for the first time that he has been unfaithful to his wife Elin.
"I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children," said Woods in a statement.
New Zealander Williams has been the caddie for Woods for all but one of his 14 major championship wins.
The world's number one golfer was also Williams' best man when he got married in 2006.
There has been speculation as to how much Woods's inner circle knew of the "transgressions".
Williams added: "What people fail to realise is I (just) work for Tiger Woods.
"I live in New Zealand, I travel to and from New Zealand to caddie for Tiger Woods. I am not with him 24/7. Whilst I am a very good friend of his... I don't know what he does off the course.
"Tiger just said he needs a break and I don't want to put any pressure on the guy.
"He will know in his mind, and his family will know in their mind, when it is the right time for him to return to playing golf.
"He will have the right people counselling him and between the people that counsel him, his wife and his immediate friends, when he is ready to come back he will be ready to come back.
"I am committed to him. I understand he needs a break to sort his personal stuff out. And I will be there for him when he wishes to return to play."
And Williams reiterated that if was to be axed by Woods, that would be the end of his caddying career.
"I have always stated that my last caddie job will be caddying for Tiger," he added.
It is a huge bet: $1 billion dollars a year and 16,000 jobs. That is what's on the line as state lawmakers consider changing Indiana gaming laws to compete with new casinos in neighboring states.
In Michigan, two tribal casinos have opened just across the Indiana border. Ohio is building casinos in Toledo, Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. Kentucky is close to allowing slot machines at racetracks. And Illinois, facing a $13 billion budget deficit, could finally authorize a Chicago casino.
Added together, Indiana stands to lose more than $700 million a year in gaming revenue if it does nothing, according to a Legislative Services Agency report.
The threat from those states is real, said state Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville.
"We've put together a pretty solid industry that actually employs over 16,000 people in the state of Indiana," Kenley said. "Are we going to do things that are going to keep it so that they can continue to operate and keep those people employed ... or are we going to turn our backs on them and create problems for them?"
It is not just the casino industry at risk. State and local governments, which take in more than $1 billion a year in taxes and fees from Hoosier casinos, also stand to lose from new competition. Gambling, including the Hoosier Lottery, is the third-largest source of revenue for the state of Indiana after income and sales taxes. Local governments reap more than $200 million a year from casinos. Last week, Indiana put some skin in the game.
The state Legislature's Gaming Study Committee released a list of 17 findings -- actions the Indiana General Assembly could approve to stay ahead of the other states. They include helping casinos save millions of dollars by eliminating the mandate that riverboats that never move must still have working engines and a sailing crew; authorizing casinos to conduct off-boat tournaments and award alcohol as prizes; and restructuring the way slot machines at Indiana horse tracks are taxed.
NWI pins hopes on land
Perhaps most significant was the finding that Indiana's 10 riverboat casinos be allowed to move to land-based gaming. When Indiana legalized riverboat gaming in 1993, the thinking was that if it didn't work, boats would be easier to get rid of than buildings.
Now that casinos contribute so much to the state in terms of taxes and jobs, "the basis by which they were placed on water seems not to have much weight at this point in time," said Ernie Yelton, executive director of the Indiana Gaming Commission.
Gary may be the first city to see its casino go on land. State Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, said she will introduce legislation in January allowing the two Majestic Star Casinos to move from Lake Michigan into a new building on land adjacent to the Borman Expressway near Interstate 65. That move could lead to at least $11 million in new casino revenue, according to a state report. Gary Mayor Rudy Clay said it's long past time Indiana move out of the "dark ages" and "Rip Van Winkle" era of confining casinos to riverboats.
"It's time to move forward here with land-based casinos and match these other states that are getting ready to put them up," Clay said.
But Indiana isn't going "all in" for Hoosier casinos.
While the Gaming Study Committee recommended many changes sought by the industry, the committee also said Indiana should keep intact its $3 per person casino admission tax and a wagering tax that ranges up to 40 percent of revenue -- one of the nation's highest.
Mike Smith, executive director of the Casino Association of Indiana, said the 12 casino members of the association understand it's hard to cut taxes when Indiana is in dire financial straits. Since July, state revenue has come in $450 million below forecast, leading to state agency budget cuts and nearly 100 state worker layoffs. "Every dollar we give away is a dollar we don't have for K-12 and higher ed," said state Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale.
While there was no major tax recommendation this time, Smith said the committee's report "opens the door for looking down the road when things get a little bit better in the economy."
What about Chicago?
While new casinos in Michigan and Ohio may hurt Indiana casino revenue overall, the threat to Northwest Indiana casinos has always been the possibility of a casino in the city of Chicago.
Earlier this year, the Illinois Senate approved legislation authorizing a Chicago casino. That measure got amended out of existence in the Illinois House in November. Any new proposal for a Chicago casino would have to start over at the beginning of the legislative process.
Nevertheless, 2010 may be the year Illinois finally approves a Chicago casino. Given the state's multibillion-dollar budget deficit and politicians' fears of raising taxes in an election year, expanded casino gambling might be seen as an easy way to bring in more revenue. Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said he's not worried about the effects of a Chicago casino on the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana's largest.
"That's not a happy day for Horseshoe Casino if that happens, but we're still the big boy," McDermott said. "They're going to have to compete with us."
The Illinois Senate legislation would have allowed for a maximum of 2,000 gaming positions at tables and slot machines at a Chicago casino. The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond has 4,239 gaming positions with no maximum limit.
Lighting Eight Practical Candles for Hanukkah, Candles Two
Happy Hanukkah!
Today we are going to consider a second practical candle to the light this Hanukkah season: the Gospel.
The Bible refers to the Good News that God is broadcasting to the world as “the light of the gospel”
Picture, for a moment, a candle. A candle, for the most part, is a wick surrounded by wax. Pretty simple, basic.
A candle has a purpose. In our day, many people use candles as a means to make a room smell good. That’s not the real purpose of a candle.
A candle is for giving light. A candle dispels darkness.
For a candle to fulfill its purpose, it must be lit. Fire must meet wick.
God’s Good News to the world, the Gospel, is like a candle. It is basic. It is not meant to be confusing or complicated. And like a candle, it has to be activated.
A candle will never fulfill its purpose until it is lit. It must be “turned on!”
The Good News must be acted upon for it to really be good news in your life.
Suppose you pick up the daily newspaper and read an advertisement for an item that you have been waiting to go on sale. Let’s pretend it is some new fangled electronic-digital gizmo. (And you all thought I was “old school!” I am up to date!) This gadget is being advertised at “half price” and “buy one get one free.” This is really good news. On top of that, if you are one of the first one hundred to respond, this store will double your order, free of charge!
As great as that sounds to you, that good news is absolutely meaningless if you do not make a personal application of it. It is only effectual to those who actually go to that store and take advantage of the great offer.
God’s Good News to you is just like that.
The Messiah wants to have a personal relationship with you. He desires to pay your sin debt. He wants to bestow an unlimited number of blessings upon you. But….this is not really good news if you do not make it yours.
The candle of the Gospel must be lit in your life.
Please take a moment to read About Messiah for more details of the Good News of the Gospel.
If you have never accepted Yeshua Jesus into your life, I pray that during this Hanukkah season, you will.
Philippines President Gloria Arroyo is lifting martial law in a southern province where 57th people were killed in political violence, aides have said.
Martial law was imposed in Maguindanao a week ago to quell what the government said was a rebellion by the Ampatuan clan, blamed by police for the death.
Members of a rival clan and journalists were among those killed on 23 November as they went to file election papers.
A senior official said the martial law edict would be lifted at 1300 GMT.
In the past week, police and military personnel have carried out a major operation against those suspected of involvement in the massacre last month.
Twenty-four people have been charged with rebellion, including several figures from the Ampatuan clan. Maguindanao's governor, Andal Ampatuan Sr, was among them.
His son, clan leader and local mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr, has been charged with multiple counts of murder.
Large quantities of weapons and ammunition were also seized in the operation. Critics opposed the imposition of martial law on 4 December, saying the massing of armed men in Maguindanao did not constitute sufficient grounds for the measure.
A special session in the Philippines Congress has been debating the declaration of martial law over the past four days and the government has faced stiff questioning.
Now it says it has achieved its objectives but the number of suspects it previously said it was seeking and the number arrested do not seem to add up, says the BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok.
The government was criticised initially for reacting too slowly to the massacre and then came under fire for over-reacting when it imposed martial law, our correspondent adds.
It was the first time martial law had been used in the country since the fall of autocrat Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
Clan leader Esmael Mangudadatu, whose relatives were among those killed, has alleged the massacre was carried out to prevent him running against the younger Ampatuan for governor of Maguindanao next year.
Thirty journalists who were accompanying Mr Mangudadatu's supporters as they went to file his candidacy for 2010 were also murdered.
Tiger Woods is taking an indefinite break from the professional golf to tackle problems in his private life. In statement on his website, he said he was aware of the disappointment "my infidelity" had caused to his family. The world's top golfer said he wanted to "try to repair the damage done" and asked for privacy.
His biggest sponsor, Nike, said it would continue to stand by him but Mr Woods's agent said it was too early to discuss any other business deals. On his website, Mr Woods said he was "profoundly sorry" and asked for forgiveness.
The 33-year-old said: "I would like to ask everyone, including my fans, the good people at my foundation, business partners, the PGA Tour, and my fellow competitors, for their understanding. "What's most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing.
"After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person."
In a separate statement on his website, he also indicated he would be taking some time off from his responsibilities with the Tiger Woods Foundation - a charity he set up with his late father to help young people
He said he knew his staff would continue efforts to maintain the foundation's work during his "absence". He has been married to his wife Elin for five years and they have a two-year-old daughter and 10-month-old son.
In a statement, Nike said: "Tiger has been part of Nike for more than a decade.
"He is the best golfer in the world and one of the greatest athletes of his era. We look forward to his return to golf.
"He and his family have Nike's full support."
Mr Woods's agent Mark Steinberg also voiced his support for the golfer's decision but said it was "premature" to discuss particular business deals. "Suffice it to say, we have had thoughtful conversations and his sponsors have been open to a solution-oriented dialogue," he said. Of course, each sponsor has unique considerations and ultimately the decisions they make we would fully understand and accept.
In a statement the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour said it supported the golfer's decision, the Associated Press news agency reported. Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said the celebrity's "priorities are where they need to be".
"We look forward to Tiger's return to the PGA Tour when he determines the time is right for him," he said.
In London, lawyers for the world number one golfer obtained an injunction preventing certain information purportedly about him being published. It was granted by a judge at the High Court, and concerns alleged information which cannot be disclosed for legal reasons.
Last week Mr Woods apologised to his family for "transgressions".
Speculation about his private life has been intense since he was involved in a car crash outside his Florida home two weeks ago.
Newspaper allegations followed about extra-marital affairs.
Mr Woods has not been seen in public since the accident, in which his car hit a tree and fire hydrant.
The golfer, who was found bleeding and semi-conscious, was later charged with careless driving, which carries a $164 (£98) fine and four points on his driving record.
Mr Woods has become an international sporting icon since winning his first major in 1997 at the age of 21. At 33, he is just four short of equalling Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major victories and is regarded as one of the world's all-time great golfers.
Iran faces "significant" new sanctions over it is nuclear programme, according to US Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
And he reiterated that all options - including possible military action - should stay on the table.
Mr Gates was speaking to US troops during a visit to northern Iraq.
His comments come a day after the US, Britain and France warned that Iran faced tougher sanctions unless it immediately complied with UN Security Council resolutions.
Mr Gates said: "I think that you are going to see some significant additional sanctions imposed by the international community, assuming the Iranians don't change course."
But despite warning that possible military action should stay on the table, he said it would "only buy some time, maybe two or three years".
Iran is already subject to UN sanctions over its nuclear programme, which the West suspects is for military purposes.
Any move towards a new round of sanctions is expected to involve long and arduous negotiations with reluctant Security Council members, such as China, says the BBC's Barbara Plett at the UN.
There is also the question about whether or not agreement could be won on significantly tougher restrictions, she adds.
Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is for purely peaceful purposes and has warned that further sanctions will be ineffective.
It has not signed up to a six-nation compromise plan over its controversial uranium enrichment programme.
Russia, China, the US, UK, France and Germany have suggested uranium enrichment for civilian nuclear energy could be regulated if Iran handed over its uranium to Russia to manage the process.
Digital rights groups and bloggers have heaped criticism on Facebook's changed of privacy policy. Critics said the changes were unwelcome and "nudged" people towards sharing updates with the wider web and made them findable via search engines.
The changes were introduced on 9 December via a pop-up that asked users to update privacy settings.
Facebook said the changes help members manage updates they wanted to share, not trick them into revealing too much. "Facebook is nudging the settings toward the 'disclose everything' position," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the US Electronic Privacy Information Center (Epic). "That's not fair from the privacy perspective."
Epic said it was analysing the changes to see if they amounted to trickery.
In a statement, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said: "These new 'privacy' changes are clearly intended to push Facebook users to publicly share even more information than before. "
It added: "Even worse, the changes will actually reduce the amount of control that users have over some of their personal data."
Facebook began testing the privacy changes during mid-2009 before introducing them site-wide. The changes let people decide who should see updates, whether all 350 million Facebook members should see them, and if they should be viewable across the web.
Barry Schnitt, a Facebook spokesman, said users could avoid revealing some information to non-friends by leaving gender and location fields blank.
He said the changes to privacy made it easier to tune the audience for an update or status change so default settings of openness should have less impact.
"Any suggestion that we're trying to trick them into something would work against any goal that we have," said Mr Schnitt.
Facebook would encourage people to be more open with their updates because, he said, that was in line with "the way the world is moving".
Assessing the changes, privacy campaigners criticised a decision to make Facebook users' gender and location viewable by everyone.
Jason Kincaid, writing on the Tech Crunch news blog, said some of the changes were made to make Facebook more palatable to search sites such as Bing and Google.
Blogger Marshall Kirkpatrick was worried that the default setting for privacy was to make everything visible to everyone.
"This is not what Facebook users signed up for," he wrote. "It's not about privacy at all, it's about increasing traffic and the visibility of activity on the site."
He also criticised the fact that the pop-up message that greets members asking them to change their privacy settings was different depending on how engaged that person was with Facebook.
He said Facebook was "maddeningly unclear" about the effect of the changes.
Many users left comments on the official Facebook blog criticising the changes. Some said they had edited their profiles and reduced their use of the social site to hide information they do not want widely spread either by accident or design.
