Saturday, March 29, 2008
Why is Google Black?: Lights Out for Earth Hour
Google users who are in the UK might notice that the Google homepage has turned completely black today. Google is trying to draw attention to Earth Hour, which "uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming."
Although technically a completely black webpage uses the same amount of power as a white webpage on a modern monitor, it does send a message of support for the effort to stop global warming. In fact, on March 29, 2008, 24 cities around the world will be participating in Earth Hour by turning off their lights for one hour starting at 8 p.m.
When businesses and homes Sydney turned off their lights in 2007, there was a 10% reduction in energy consumption recorded.
The idea of a black Google isn't new: Blackle was the first to implement the suggestion that a black Google homepage might actually save energy.
Lycos Cinema: Watch Full-Length Classic Movies and TV Shows
Lycos has been in a long and slow decline for many years now with nothing in particular to draw in new users (they've even outsourced their search to Microsoft). But Lycos Cinema might give some of you a reason to go back.
Lycos Cinema has a wide range to movies and television shows that you can watch on-demand for free. If you don't expect the latest Hollywood blockbusters, then you won't be too disappointed with the offerings, which are mostly decades-old classic movies like "The Phantom of the Opera" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
The experience that Lycos is trying to evoke is that of a movie theater so the site lets you schedule screenings of movies with your friends and watch together at a set time. You can also chat with your friends while watching movies.
Lycos Cinema
Lycos' Painful Decline
Labels: Technology
Friday, March 28, 2008
Phonautograph: Oldest Recording of "Au Clair de la Lune"
Seventeen years before Thomas Edison patented his phonograph, there was the phonoautograph. Invented by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville, the phonautograph "etched sound waves onto sheets of paper blackened by smoke from an oil lamp."
The French inventor's device was not intended to playback sound like Edison's phonograph, but it is now known to be the world's first recording of sound. To get around the playback problem, scientists in Berkeley, California, made high-resolution scans of the paper and used a "digital stylus" to decipher the grooves etched by the phonautograph, which revealed a short 10-second rendition of the folk song "Au Clair de la Lune" sung by a female voice.
Previously, it was thought that Edison's recording of "Mary had a little lamb" was the earliest recording, and instead of soot, the phonograph used a wax cylinder to record sounds.
The scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, who recovered the sounds from the phonautograms, are part of a group called First Sounds, which seeks to "make mankind's earliest sound recordings available to all people for all time."
You can download and listen to an MP3 of the phonautograph recording of "Au Clair de la Lune" here.
Phonautograph [Wikipedia]
Labels: Technology
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Kristin Billie Davis & Wicked Models Photo Gallery
Kristin Billie Davis
Kristin "Billie" Davis, the madam for a high-end prostitution ring called Wicked Models, has been linked to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer resigned earlier this month after he was caught in the Emperor's Club VIP prostitution scandal.
The 32-year-old well-endowed blonde performed services for clients in addition to running the business. Davis has apparently met with Spitzer several times since 2003 with his visits to Wicked Models well-documented in financial documents and other evidence recovered by police. She has made an estimated $6 million from operating four websites promoting hookers. According to the New York Times, she was arrested earlier this week while in the process of destroying records and fleeing New York City.
Ms. Davis had been tipped off that arrest was imminent. Her Web sites stopped functioning a few days after her indictment, which was recently unsealed, he said, and her brothels were suddenly shut down and emptied. She was arrested on Tuesday.
Mr. McConnell, who had asked for $10 million bail, also asserted that Ms. Davis had at one point sought to interest reporters in writing about her and described herself on a Web site as "a madam running the world’s largest escort agency that grosses over $6 million per year."
It's thought that Davis has accrued a list of over 10,000 clients including major sports figures and entertainers.
Wicked Models
The Wicked Models website (archive) pitches their services this way:
Do you dream of a beautiful girl, a certain type, a certain personality - perhaps a model, a centerfold or the college cutie next door? Here at Wicked Models we believe in turning your dreams into reality. Only the very best is good enough for you.
Wicked Models provides customized personal attention to all of our clients. We have the highest standards and handpick all of our girls. We are an elite agency and only work for the best - what you see really is what you get. We pride ourselves on being more than an agency, we are a personalized service and want to establish a long-term relationship with all of our clients. Whether you are looking for an hour date or a weekend companion, we are committed to your satisfaction.
While we understand that there are agencies that specialize in one type, perhaps "supermodels", we do not limit ourselves to that philosophy. We believe that there are many desirable types and pride ourselves in our range of beauties. We do work with many top models from top agencies, however, we also selectively recruit many girl next door types- as long as they meet our standards.
Rates for models began at $1000 an hour to $1600, which is significantly cheaper than the Emperor's Club VIP. You could easily telephone (212) 542-3137 to arrange a booking. But not just anyone could become a Wicked Model. There were tough standards that had to be met:
The hiring process at Wicked Models is very selective. It is not enough to be beautiful, there are many beautiful girls. You must also be educated, charming and have a warm, pleasing demeanor. We require all girls to have a Bachelor's Degree (unless they are currently attending college), speak at least 2 languages, have charisma and charm with a sensual disposition. Our hiring process includes 2 personal interviews lasting 2 hours each. Many of our girls are fashion models which means a minimum height of 5'8. These girls have credits in the top fashion magazines and have walked the runways of Paris and Milan. Some of our models are centerfold types and have graced the covers of Maxim and FHM. We also work with the All American Girl next door type who is typically Ivy League educated or currently attending a Top Tier University. We only work with the best!
Kristin Billie Davis Photo Gallery
Kristin Billie Davis [NYPost]
Kristen on the Ground [NYPost]
Kristen Leans [NYPost]
Kristen Adjusts Glove [NYPost]
Wicked Models Photo Gallery
Victoria and Suzette, Wicked Models
Carrie and Sabine, Wicked Models
Nataly and Aubrey, Wicked Models
Julie and Luciana, Wicked Models
Herb Peterson: Egg McMuffin Inventor
Herb Peterson, the inventor of McDonald's Egg McMuffin, has died at age 89. His popular breakfast sandwich, which combines an English muffin, grilled egg, and cheese, has enabled McDonald's to maintain an enduring edge over its fast food competition.
Breakfast wasn't always part of the menu at McDonald's. Part of the problem was finding a breakfast item that could be eaten with your fingers like the other menu items (hamburgers, french fries, etc.). The Egg McMuffin was created by Peterson in response to this need:
By Christmas of 1971, Peterson had been working on the product for months. he had experimented with prepackaged Hollandaise, which he rejected as too runny. He replaced it instead with a slice of cheese, which when melted on a hot egg produced the consistency he was looking for. He also had to develop a foolproof way of preparing an egg on a grill to give it the appearance of a poached egg. Poaching eggs did not fit with McDonald's assembly line production process, but Peterson solved the problem by developing a new cooking utensil--a cluster of six Teflon-coated rings--that was placed on the grill to give eggs the rounded shape of an English muffin. When he added grilled Canadian bacon, Peterson had a breakfast product perfect for a sandwich-oriented fast-food chain.
In addition, the Egg McMuffin is one of the healthier items on the McDonald's menu with just 300 calories and 12 grams of fat.
Petersen started out working at McDonald's advertising firm, D'Arcy Advertising, before eventually becoming a franchisee and opening six McDonald's restaurants in the Santa Barbara area.
Egg McMuffin
Labels: Technology
Mind Habits Health Game
Mind Habits might just be a video game that's good for your health. By playing just five minutes a day, you can lower your stress and anxiety and increase your self-esteem. At least that's what researchers at McGill Univeristy have shown. This is how the creators describe Mind Habit's approach to helping you reduce stress in your life:
We started with the idea that just as playing the game Tetris over and over for hours can start to shape the way you look at the world (even in your dreams!), playing a specially-designed computer game might also help to improve your thoughts and feelings about yourself
We drew on research showing that certain people have attentional biases toward socially threatening information, so they automatically focus on any sign of rejection or criticism from others, which in turn perpetuates their sensitivity to rejection and heightened tendency to experience social stress.
The Canadian scientific study [PDF], which is used in Mind Habit's marketing,
asked call centre workers to play a very simple game for 5 minutes before they started work. The game involved finding, as quickly as possible, an image of a single smiling face in an array of 16 photos, the rest of which showed a frowning face. The team found that employees who had played the game produced 17 per cent less of the stress hormone cortisol after their shift than those who did not play the game.
How does this translate to less stress? Researcher Michael Baldwin thinks that when you "dismiss" the frowning faces in the game, you "disengage" from stress.
The Mind Habit game itself involves selecting words that positively reinforce your self-image ("Who Are You"), picking a smiling face out of a crowd of frowning ones ("Matrix"), and clicking on smiling faces in clouds ("Grow Your Chi") among other activities. You can play the demo here.
Mind Habits Game
Mind Habits Game Options
Labels: Technology
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Amber Lee Ettinger: "Hillary! Stop the attacks! Love, Obama Girl"
Amber Lee Ettinger, better known to fans as "Obama Girl", vaulted to prominence last year with her video "I Got a Crush...On Obama", which expressed her love for Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama.
The 24-year-old model and actress is back with a new video, "Hillary! Stop the attacks! Love, Obama Girl", which asks rival candidate Hillary Clinton to stop disparaging Obama in the press (indirectly helping Republican candidate John McCain). She "knows" that Clinton secretly has a crush on Obama as well. Amber Lee Ettinger also offers another helpful piece of advice: maybe Hillary can be vice president as a consolation prize for stepping aside.
Ettinger is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City with plans to start her own clothing line in the future, according to her MySpace profile, which also includes a slew of provocative photos and YouTube videos. This is apparently her Facebook profile.
Amber's modeling profile lists her appearances in popular magazines like FHM and Maxim along with her modeling requirements (no adult modeling, for instance). Her talents and skills include acting, voice over talent, dance, music, and performance, but not, however, singing. She actually lip-synchs all her videos.
"Hillary! Stop the attacks! Love, Obama Girl":
Amber Lee Ettinger Photo Gallery
Amber Lee Ettinger's MySpace
D.B. Cooper Parachute Found
In 1971, D.B. Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient flight from Portland and asked for a $200,000 ransom in exchange for the release of hostages. He famously escaped with the money by jumping out the back stairs of the Boeing 727 with a parachute.
Over the years, a number of suspects have been identified as D.B. Cooper. One bizarre theory involves a sex-change operation:
Forman said a friend of his -- who was a loner, like the FBI described -- confessed to Forman and his wife. The friend, who looked similar to the FBI sketch, was a proficient skydiver, an expert with dynamite and mysteriously disappeared in the days around the hijacking.
The kicker: Forman's friend was a woman named Barbara Dayton; family and friends say she is believed to be the first person in Washington to have a sex-change operation.
"What a perfect alibi," said her niece, Billie Dayton. "When my dad saw the FBI sketch, the first thing he said was, 'That looks like Bobby.'
Dayton retracted her Cooper claim after realizing she could still be arrested for the crime.
Now, children playing near Amboy, Washington have apparently discovered the white parachute that Cooper used to jump off the plane. Cooper used a Navy Backpack 6 parachute, which has a 26 foot canopy. The FBI is looking to analyze the parachute to verify whether it belonged to Cooper. But the mystery of whether Cooper survived his parachute landing remains.
D.B. Cooper Sketch [Seattle PI]
D.B. Cooper Parachute [AP]
Jonas Brothers Fan Club
The Jonas Brothers have launched an online fan club, Team Jonas, to let fans purchase concert tickets before they are made available to the general public. The three brothers, Joseph, Nicholas, and Kevin, are best known for their Christian teen pop vocals. Their self-titled album, "Jonas Brothers", went platinum with songs like "SOS" and "When You Look Me in the Eyes" among the most popular.
The Jonas Brothers Fan Club has already begun offering presales of tickets to their Summer 2008 tour, which is called "Burning Up", for club members. Each member gets a code that they can use to redeem 4 tickets.
Their fame has already inflated their ego sufficiently that the privilege of joining their fan club is anywhere from $34.99 to $59.99 depending on what kind of membership you want.
Is listening to their music in person worth the expense of a club membership? Maybe for tweens. A review of the Jonas Brothers' album "It's About Time" says:
Nicholas Jonas still has an incredible voice that has plenty of room to grow, but in many areas of the album, it clashes with his brothers. When you add that to lyrics that are shallow and music that can't decide if it wants to be bubblegum pop or pop/punk, you don't get much that will appeal to anyone beyond the pre-tween crowd - no matter how "hot" the 6th graders think Nick is.
I don't know why the label decided to scrap Nick's solo album in favor of this, but I think it was a bad move.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Hillary's Bosnia Lie Exposed by YouTube Video
Being a politician has gotten tougher now that YouTube is here to set the record straight. That's what Hillary Clinton has discovered with several video clips of her 1996 Bosnia trip finding their way onto YouTube.
Clinton's recollection of her Bosnia trip is: "I remember landing under sniper fire. There was no greeting ceremony, and we basically were told to run to our cars. Now that is what happened."
Unfortunately, news clips of her Tuzla trip (scroll down) show something completely different. Hillary is accompanied by her daughter, Chelsea, as she steps off the plane and is greeted by an 8-year-old girl, Emina Bicakcic, who reads a poem to her. No running. No sniper fire.
CBS News on Hillary's Bosnia Trip:
Hillary's Bosnia Lie:
Miss Bimbo Fashion Game
Miss Bimbo is a "virtual fashion game" that asks young girls to take care of virtual dolls called "bimbos." The controversy arises because girls are encouraged to put their dolls on extreme diets and have them undergo plastic surgery so they can "become the hottest, coolest most famous bimbo ever!"
Nothing is off limits. In keeping with the shallowness of the game's universe, breast implants, diet pills, and billionaire boyfriends are all part of process of becoming popular, and over 200,000 girls are playing the British version of Miss Bimbo.
So how much does it cost to keep your bimbo (just barely) alive?
Users are given missions, including securing plastic surgery at the game's clinic to give their dolls bigger breasts, and they have to keep her at her target weight with diet pills, which cost 100 bimbo dollars.
Breast implants sell at 11,500 bimbo dollars and net the buyer 2,000 bimbo attitudes, making her more popular on the site.
And to get more bimbo dollars for clothes or a face-lift, girls can, conveniently, either send text messages at $3 a pop or use PayPal. But if they get a rich boyfriend, all their needs will be magically taken care of. There's also a form of gambling on Miss Bimbo. Girls can "challenge" other players' bimbos and place bets using bimbo dollars.
Miss Bimbo's designers defend themselves by saying the game simply reflects "real life."
Nicolas Jacquart, the 23-year-old web designer from Tooting, south London, who created it, said: "It is not a bad influence for young children. They learn to take care of their bimbos. The missions and goals are morally sound and teach children about the real world.
"If they eat too much chocolate in the game it is bad for their bimbos' bodies and their happiness levels compared to if they eat fruit and vegetables, which reinforces positive healthy eating messages.
"If they are having problems with boyfriends or at work, the bimbos can talk through them with a psychiatrist.
"The breast operations are just one part of the game and we are not encouraging young girls to have them, just reflecting real life."
The concept first gained popularity in its French incarnation, Ma Bimbo, which has over a million registered users.
Miss Bimbo
Winning Miss Bimbo
Labels: Technology
Barbie Bandits: Strippers Turned Bank Robbers (Pictures)
The "Barbie Bandits" were two teenage strippers who decided that robbing a bank would be "exciting." Now, one member of the duo, Ashley Miller, is getting 2 years in prison for her role in the robbery while her accomplice, Heather Johnston, is facing 10 years parole.
The two 19-year-olds met while working at a strip club called Shooter Alley near Atlanta, Georgia. Ashley's stage name was "Adrienne" while Heather's was "Charlie." They could easily make more than $1000 for a few days work, but it wasn't enough. The pair got the idea of pulling a bank heist from Miller's boyfriend, ex-convict Michael Chastang.
But not everything went as planned. For one, they took a wrong turn and almost wound up robbing the wrong Bank of America. But after that gaffe, the actual heist went off smoothly. Ashley and Heather wore jeans and designer sunglasses for the robbery and joked with each other while waiting for their money. Some bank customers didn't even know a robbery was taking place.
With the $11,000 from the heist, the Barbie Bandits went to a local mall, shopped at Gucci, and got their hair done at an expensive salon. But the party ended abruptly when they were arrested two days later.
Barbie Bandits [ABC News]
Ashley Miller & Heather Johnston [Smoking Gun]
Monday, March 24, 2008
Dash Store: Kim Kardashian's Fashion Boutique
As first Paris Hilton and then Kim Kardashian have shown, a scandal can do wonders for your "career." Kim Kardashian managed to get a hit TV show, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians", greenlighted and even started a fashion boutique called Dash with her sisters Kloe and Kourtney.
The trio now have plans to sell clothing online at Shop Dash Online. Their Dash MySpace profile currently has over 27,000 friends, and you can get an idea of their fashion sense from their Dash Boutique FALL 07 collection.
The bricks-and-mortar Dash store is located at 4774 Park Granada Ste 5, Calabasas, CA 91302. Their hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 a.m. Saturday. Rumor is that if you call them up, you might even get to speak to one of the Kardashian sisters. Their number is (818) 222-4122.
Citysearch has this brief summary of the apparel store:
Tucked away inside a small Calabasas shopping center, Dash has quickly become a destination for both fashionistas and celeb-gawkers hoping to catch a glimpse of E!'s most overexposed family. The boutique's black-carpeted, white-walled interior boasts accents like two full-length, crystal-framed mirrors and a sparkly chandelier in an effort to evoke Harlow's Old Hollywood. For night-on-the-town chic, it's hard to beat Alice & Olivia, Foley & Corrina, Catherine Malandrino, Nicole Miller, Serfontaine, Ella Moss and other ubiquitous names.
Dash Store [Zimbio]
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Deltalina: Watch Katherine Lee in Delta's New Flight Safety Video
You might actually pay attention to the in-flight safety video the next time you fly Delta Air Lines if Deltalina has her way. Deltalina, or Katherine Lee, has become a YouTube phenomenon after starring in the normally yawn-inducing video.
The 33-year-old flight attendant gets her nickname from a combination of "Delta" and Angelina Jolie, who fans say she resembles. The attention-capturing video features special effects, an unusual soundtrack, and "finger wags" for a more modern feel.
On the soundtrack behind the mandatory Federal Aviation Administration safety instructions — such as how to buckle a seat belt, how to wear an oxygen mask and when to put away a cell phone — the new video is backed by a smooth jazz drumbeat and ethereal electronic tones. In one spot, the viewer suddenly sees a digital sparkle on the smile of a shaven-headed male flight attendant who is demonstrating how to properly wear a life vest.
There's also the finger wag. Halfway through the 4-1/2 minute video, Lee unexpectedly and playfully wags a long finger at the camera while instructing that "Smoking ... is not allowed, on any Delta flight."
The audition process to star in the video was tough. From 82 initial flight attendants, only 10 were selected to be in the video, and one chosen for the lead role.
You can watch Deltalina in action below:
