Category: News

[via Google]

Filed under: Google, Science & Technology, Video, YouTube

MySpace, the popular social network that aims to focus its platform around social games, has recently launched Games Lab, a program that will invite game developers to the company’s headquarters in Seattle and Los Angeles to work together with MySpace personnel for several weeks.

The person in charge of the games division, Manu Rekhi… (read more)

At last, here comes the link and the steps to download Google Pacman for free! In celebration of Pac-Man 30^th Anniversary, we continue to bring you PacMan perks and fun. As the Google Pacman game is no longer available online, you may now play the Google Pacman game even offline. To download Google Pacman for free follow the steps below:

1. Click the link: http://github.com/macek/google_pacman.

2. Then, click “Download Source”

3. A pop-up message will appear, select ZIP if you are using Windows or TAR if you are using MAC OS platform.

4. Once the file is downloaded, decompress or unzip the file; you will obtain a folder “macek-google pacman”

5. Inside the folder, click “index.html” file.

6. Enjoy and play Google Pac Man Game

Related posts:

1. Play Google Pac Man Game Offline! Steps to Download Free Google Pac Man Game!
2. Working Copy Pac Man 30th Anniversary Google Doodle Logo
3. Pac-Man 30th Anniversary Free Download: Google Pacman Ends, Download Pacman Game Now!

Eco Factor: System to store surplus wind generated electricity as ice to cater peak energy demands.

In an effort to reduce peak need for air conditioning on hot California afternoons, a consortium of municipal utilities in California will being retrofitting government offices and commercial properties with systems that use ice made at night using surplus wind power to replace air-conditioning during the afternoon.

The system will reduce fuel consumption by the state utilities by 30 percent and by individual building owners by up to 90 percent. Developed by Ice Energy, the system makes cheap ice overnight when electricity demand is low, using a high-efficiency compressor that freezes 450 gallons of water. In the middle of the day the device shuts down the air conditioner and instead pipes a stream of coolant from the melting block of ice to an evaporator coil installed within the building’s HVAC blower system.

The block of ice will take about six hours to melt completely, which covers the peak afternoon load on the grid. A total of 6000 devices will be installed by 11 small participating utilities at 1500 locations to provide 53MW of energy storage to reduce load on the grid.

Via: CleanTechnica

I am not a fan of fake meat products, and I find no real need for them or craving in my vegetarian diet. There is one time, however, when I need some quick protein and salt, and fake meat comes in handy: backpacking. A friend introduced me to Stonewall’s Jerquee. These chewy treats are made from vegetable protein, and the original flavor is a little spicy. They do take a little getting used to, and my daughter calls them “dog treats”. I wouldn’t eat Stonewall’s Jerquee everyday, but I think they are a good snack during physical endurance activities.

Lovely idea but don’t waste/spend too much time playing the 30th anniversary Google PAC-MAN doodle. A win-win cooperation between Google and NAMCO.

[via Google’s PAC-MAN rules & Celebrating PAC-MAN’s 30th birthday]

Filed under: advertising, Business, Fun, Game, Japan, Marketing

Despite life-threatening illness, Bret Michaels beat the odds and made it to finish line Sunday of “The Celebrity Apprentice” and was rewarded the victory prize of $250,000 which will be proceeded for charity.

“Lately it seems like me just standing up risking my life,” Michaels said, adding that it was worth the risk and he ‘came to win’. He walked haltingly and with a slight limp. His presence in the show brought a moment of honest reality to a carefull constructed TV genre.
Along with the other finalist, Holly Robinson Peete, the last two standing in the contest was asked to create a brand new flavor of the drink Snapple with a complete product launch and a commercial. Both flavors was sold in locations in the United States. The proceeds from the sale of the drink had been turned directly into their chosen charities. This was a great news for
their chosen charities.

Michaels, who as a child was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, claimed the winner’s prize for the American Diabetes Association, and Peete learned that her charitable group would receive a matching amount.

Related posts:

1. Celebrity Apprenctice Winner 2010: After All Sacrifices Everything Comes To An End
2. Bret Michaels at Oprah, The Apprentice and His New VH1 series
3. Ron Burkle donated a whopping amount of $200,000 to Holly Robinson Peete

by Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON
– Right-wing darling Sarah Palin accused President Barack Obama on Sunday of
being lax in his response to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster and suggested this
was because he is too close to Big Oil.

The
former vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor, who champions offshore
drilling, criticized the media for not drawing the link between Obama and Big
Oil and said if this spill had happened under former President George W. Bush
the scrutiny would have been far tougher.

“I
don’t know why the question isn’t asked by the mainstream media and by others
if there’s any connection with the contributions made to President Obama and
his administration and the support by the oil companies to the
administration,” she told Fox News Sunday.

More
than $3.5 million has been given to candidates by BP over the last 20 years,
with the largest single donation, $77,051, going to Obama, according to the
Center for Responsive Politics.

Palin
suggested this close relationship explained why Obama was “taking so
doggone long to get in there, to dive in there, and grasp the complexity and
the potential tragedy that we are seeing here in the Gulf of Mexico.”

The
BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers, and
sank two days later. Ever since, hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil,
perhaps even millions, have been spewing each day into the sea.

The
resulting slick, now the size of a small country, threatens to leave Louisiana’s
fishing and coastal tourism industries in tatters, ruin pristine nature
reserves, and cause decades of harm to the ecology of fragile marshes that are
a haven for rare wildlife and migratory birds.

The
Obama administration has been forced to defend its response to the disaster as
some Republicans have sought to portray it as its Katrina, an allusion to
Bush’s mishandling of the response to the hurricane that devastated Louisiana
in 2005.

White
House spokesman Robert Gibbs mocked Palin’s suggestions that Obama was somehow
in bed with the big oil companies because of 2008 presidential campaign
contributions.

“Sarah
Palin was involved in that election, but I don’t think, apparently, was paying
a whole lot of attention,” Gibbs said on CBS’s “Face the Nation”
program. “I’m almost sure that the oil companies don’t consider the Obama
administration a huge ally. We proposed a windfall profits tax when they jacked
their oil prices up to charge for gasoline. My suggestion to Sarah Palin would
be to get slightly more informed as to what’s going on in and around oil
drilling in this country.”

Earlier
this month, Obama ratcheted up criticism of BP over the spills, betraying
frustration with the company’s failure to stop the leak, and more recently
announced a bipartisan presidential commission to probe the huge oil spill.

Obama
has also accused oil companies of enjoying a “cozy relationship” with
the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency set up to monitor the
energy sector, which was later broken up into three separate agencies. He
ordered “top to bottom” reform of the agency after it was accused of
allowing BP and other oil companies to drill in the Gulf without first
obtaining required permits.

“BP
will pay for every bit of this,” Gibbs said Sunday. “We have to
figure out and make sure that the relationship that is had with government and
oil companies is not a cozy relationship as the president said.”

He
also dismissed analogies with Katrina, which still haunts U.S. politics and
provides an easy comparison for the media when considering the longer-term
fallout that may plague Obama’s energy agenda for months or even years.

“If
you look back at what happened in Katrina, the government wasn’t there to
respond to what was happening,” said Gibbs. “That quite frankly was
the problem. I think the difference in this case is we were there immediately.
We have been there ever since.”

Palin,
who quit the Alaska governorship after serving less than half of one term,
famously promoted the slogan “Drill, baby, drill!” that rallied
supporters while dismissing possible environmental impact of offshore drilling.
Her detractors switched the line to “Spill, baby, spill!”

Related Links:

In wake of Gulf spill, should this be the summer of energy reform?

Show how much you—and BP—care with a commemorative oil spill T-shirt

Matthews tells Obama to kill BP’s disaster capitalism

Quando se fala em inovação nos desenhos de carros, o Centro de Design e Estilo da Citroën é referência no mundo inteiro como o mais ousado e criativo. Basta olhar para um dos veículos da marca para indentificá-lo, à primeira vista, como um Citroën. E é por isso que há 90 anos a Citroën tem ditado tendências no cenário do design automotivo.

Para compartilhar sua criatividade e incentivar designers do mundo todo, a Citroën organizou seu primeiro concurso internacional de design gráfico, o Créative Awards. Os inscritos terão a oportunidade de expressar sua criatividade personalizando um CITROËN DS3. O vencedor verá seu projeto exposto no C42, vitrine da Marca no coração da mais bela avenida do mundo, a Champs-Élysées, em Paris.

Os dossiês poderão ser entregues até 4 de julho de 2010 através do site http://www.citroencreativeawards.com/?lang=en . Os trabalhos serão examinados por um júri composto por peritos da marca e do mundo do design, da arte ou ainda das mídias. São eles: Anne Boulay (Chefe Redatora da Revista GQ), Sonia Perrin (Diretora da Fundação Cartier), Arthur King (Artista Plástico, DJ e Produtor) e Xavier Dixsaut (Diretor Inovação Louis Vuitton Malletier).

Além de um prêmio em dinheiro, o vencedor do concurso terá a sorte de ver seu projeto apresentado no C42 no mês de outubro de 2010, na oportunidade da nova temporada Mundial de Paris. E, como recompensa de um projeto de estilo, sua proposta de personalização do teto será apresentada como elemento de série na gama produto 2011.

Citroën DS3
Forte em suas exigências de estilo, o DS3 quer ser exclusivo graças a seu amplo leque de personalizações, com notadamente os múltiplos stickers de teto que têm a figura das coleções de prêt-à-porter.
Este carro chique abre seu guarda-roupa aos candidatos do CITROËN CREATIVE AWARDS para explorar universos inesperados e acentuar ainda mais seu caráter único. Os participantes, designers amadores ou de experiência, deverão de fato propor sua própria interpretação do teto e do painel de bordo do recém-nascido modelo da linha europeia.

Fonte: Citroën

Parliamentary Leader of Family First NSW, Dr Gordon Moyes has pointed to the severe social, economic, and health costs to society and family life incurred by the widespread misuse of alcohol. As he explained, “Alcohol and substance abuse are related to poverty, violent crime, academic under-achievement, high health care costs, family breakdown, child abuse, homelessness, teen pregnancy, and work problems.”
He continued, “The cost begins early in life, with maternal alcohol abuse associated with adverse perinatal outcomes such as foetal alcohol syndrome, pseudo-Cushing’s syndrome, alcohol withdrawal in the newborn, and increased risk of perinatal mortality. The incidence of foetal alcohol syndrome has been estimated to be 250 to 500 new cases per year in Australia, which is heart-breaking and preventable.”

“During childhood we also have problems with underage drinking,” Dr Moyes explained. “Australian research shows that more young people are drinking alcohol, drinking at an earlier age and increasingly adopting harmful drinking patterns. It is estimated that at least two thirds of the alcohol consumed by young people under 25 years of age poses a risk of short-term or acute health consequences.”

“This heavy use leads to many hospitalisations. In Australia the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AER) estimated that approximately 72,302 hospitalisations were attributable to the misuse of alcohol and the financial burden of alcohol misuse to the community has been estimated to be $4.5 billion per year, including lower productivity due to lost work days, road accident costs and legal and court costs, as well as health costs.”

“In Australia, past studies have found that alcohol abuse plays a significant role in violent crime. It is estimated that about 13% of Australians aged 14 years and over (well over one million people) have been physically abused at least once by someone affected by alcohol, while 16% have had their property damaged at least once. Alcohol has also been implicated in about one-third of sexual assault cases, and many other innocent people bear lifelong scars of glassings, assault and injury in road accidents.”

“In Australia thirty-seven per cent of road injuries in males and 18% in females are attributed to alcohol, as are 12% of male and 8% of female suicides. Alcohol is also implicated in 47% of assaults, 44% of fire injuries, 34% of fall injuries and drowning and 16% of child abuse incidents. At least 1% of our population (about 180,000 people) has a close family member with a serious alcohol problem. Isolation, neglect, aggression and disruption within the family, particularly spouse abuse, are frequent. Sexual and financial problems, stress, verbal and physical abuse, separations and divorce are also common between couples where at least one partner abuses alcohol.”

A Victorian report in 1988 found that alcohol was definitely or possibly involved in 53% of several thousand reported incidents of family violence. Children are particularly affected by having an alcoholic parent and they are more likely to become depressed, have lower IQ, and be alcohol dependent themselves in the future. In 1992, there were 226 hospital episodes resulting from alcohol-related child abuse in Australia. However, the extent of family problems is probably underestimated because there is underreporting of alcohol-related domestic violence.

“Alcohol and drug abuse have reached epidemic proportions: crime, violence, divorce, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, organic brain syndrome, school problems, job problems, mental health problems, family problems, financial problems, etc., are all consequences of alcohol and drug abuse as it ripples throughout society and all of these have financial costs. Police and paramedics and others involved in public security are often assaulted. We need a return of the Summary Offences Act so that violent drunks are locked up for the sake of public safety.”

“I never laugh at the antics of a drunk nor can I accept his fellow drinkers’ praise of how well he holds his drink or what he achieves in spite of it. The rest of society pays the price of his drinking. I have spent fifty years of my life helping people who have willingly drunk alcohol only to find the cost was extremely high.”

“I have worked every week for fifty years with those who were homeless, who lost their mental capacity, whose marriages and professions were in tatters, whose children were on their own, and whose actions in the end added nothing to their credit or to our society. It doesn’t matter what offices they have held nor what achievements they have accomplished, if they have the intelligence to know the consequences of their actions and still continue to drink, they are a disgrace to society which has a right to be protected from them,” he said.

REV THE HON. DR GORDON MOYES, A.C., M.L.C.
Contact: Rev Dr Gordon Moyes AC MLC – 0407 433 499 or 4389 1860

What could David Jaffe be working on right now? A lot of us sure are wishing it’s Twisted Metal, but unfortunately, it looks like Mr. Jaffe’s got something else on his mind.
 
 
 

Bmw introduced last year the brand new 5-Series GT but it appears it also did a little mistake. Apparently, the problem is that the car was available only with rear-wheel drive and a V8 engine.

“The V-8 was probably not the right car to launch it with,” said Rich Brekus, BMW’s general manager of sales for North America. Of course, this will change as Bmw is planning to introduce an all-wheel-drive model in June as well as a six-cylinder engine in the fall. Since its launch, Bmw sold only 1,143 GTs, outperforming sales of the 5-series wagon last year. “This time next year,” O’Donnell said, “we’ll tell you if it’s successful or not.”

[via autonews – sub. required]

Source: Car news, Car reviews, Spy shots

Although not even our sources are not sure about these photos, what you see here might the real thing, the Ferrari 458 Italia Challenge.

The car is lowered comparing it to the standard version, has plastic windows, a new set of 9-spoke racing wheels wrapped in high-performance tires and a slightly reworked bodykit. Also a new roll cage was installed in this car convincing us that we are looking at the 458 Italia Challenge. More details to be revealed! See more photos after the jump!

[source autoblog via axis of oversteer]

Source: Car news, Car reviews, Spy shots

Do you know 17 year old car insurance is higher than others? But no worries, we tell you how to get cheap car insurance for 17 year old driver. These methods have been proven works and successfully get a great discount from most of the car insurance companies. Before you can get a big discount from insurance companies, you will have to understand the reason why is car insurance so high for teenagers. It will then very easy to get cheap car insurance as long as you catch some of the tips here.

17 year old car insurance

17 year old, a wonderful age in our life. There are a lot of people wish to be “17 again” once they have passed their teenager age. It is a year to start learning to drive and get a cool car after get the driving license. However, things don’t seem to be so smooth when the chances to get cheap car insurance for teenager are extremely low especially in UK.

There will be a little bit more requirement when a 17 year-old teenager ask for car insurance quotes. These details that usually will be used to create car insurance quote are:

The driver age. Age play an important part in getting insurance quotes. Younger = expensive, older = cheaper.

Driver’s gender. Male or female does matter. Male drivers are tending to have higher risk as male driver usually drive faster.

Car model. The model of the car you purchase will affect the insurance price. Car with more safety features like ABS brakes, air bags, alarm system, theft system will be able to get cheaper car insurance.

Car model year. It is different with driver’s age. Older car = cheaper insurance, younger car = expensive insurance.

Area code and Zip code. Car insurance companies usually will ask you to key in zip code of where you stay. This is to check on the accident statistic base on the area you stay.

See also 17 year old car insurance related: Why is car insurance so high for teenagers, Car insurance UK young drivers.

How to get cheap 17 year old car insurance

Alright, do not get upset after read through all the negative point of how hard to get cheap car insurance for teenager. There are always exists for that. Here are some of pretty good tips to get cheap car insurance for teenager under 20 year old. Now you feel 17 Again?

17 year old student grades

Most of the youngster will have student grades while this may no longer applicable for old people who had graduated years ago. Show the insurance company good student grades in your school. Car insurance company will consider cheaper price for student who have good grade.

The safety of the car

Provide some of this information when you apply for car insurance. Places where you park the car and how you travel, from your house to school, the car park either in your house garage or your school car park. Tell the insurance company you did not park the car at backstreet.

Buy the car insurance on your parents’ policy

Another great way of saving some money is to go on your parents’ policy if they are driving. The only disadvantage is the no-claim bonus will not build up but this could help you save some money in short term.

In conclusion, the legal driving in most of the countries is 17. It is too risky to get on the road without any car insurance. The best way is to get the tips and run to any car insurance companies around you to get cheap 17 year old car insurance.

Source: Cars, Fast Cars, Cool Cars, Sports Cars

Found under: Motorola, Android, Shadow, Google, Verizon, Eclair, Froyo,

Is this the Motorola DROID 2 aka Shadow Some people seem to think so as this unknown Motorola device got its specs leaked over at Howard Forums. Judging from the specs the Shadow will be one hell of a beast but for reasons only known to Motorola Android 2.1 clair is preferred over Froyo.Hit the more link for the specsTablet form-factor4.1 TFT FWVGA screenTexas Instruments OMAP 3630 Processor2GB built in memoryAndroid 2.1 with soon-to-follow upgrade to 2.2Moto BLUR wi

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For the new Porsche Cayenne models TECHART offers Formula and Formula II light alloy wheels as well as Formula III forged light alloy wheels in dimensions of 20- to 23-inch. Besides attractive standard color variants, all TECHART wheels are available in individually matched custom colors.

High quality full leather interior in new color options and a unique design as well as the TECHART Rear-Seat-Entertainment options are just two highlights for the new Cayenne generation. A maximum of driving pleasure plus quick shifting and perfect handling enable the TECHART 3-spoke sport steering wheels with the paddle shifters. The TECHART paddle shifters have unlimited individualization options and are available for all Porsche sport steering wheels and multifunction steering wheels with PDK gearshift switches as well as all TECHART sport steering wheels.

The TECHART engine styling package with carbon cover as well as the TECHART sport tailpipes in polished stainless steel, which are available in a few weeks, complete the first TECHART Individualization options for the new Cayenne.

Source: Lincah.Com – New Car and Used Car Pictures

Found under: BlackBerry, RIM, 9800, Bold, Slider, Palm, Pre, Pictures,

The BlackBerry Bold 9800 is one sexy looking handset if I didnt know better I would totally get one when its out but alas I am not a BlackBerry fan so Ill have to pass. Anyway this beautiful looking handset with BlackBerry 6 OS installed is just too beautiful not to drool over unlike the original Bold we hope this one lives up to the hype.I noticed how RIM added two ways of navigating around the 9800 this is what the BlackBerry Storm devices should have been because in my opin

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Bret Michaels cheated death itself to grasp victory on the third season finale of Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice on Sunday night. The rocker and reality star was hired by money-grubbing mogul Donald Trump itle after creating a fun Snapple ad campaign in the season’s final challenge, besting actress Holly Robinson Peete (Can’t stand her!) and winning $250,000 for his charity of choice, The American Diabetes Association.

Peete’s charity — benefitting autism research — will receive the same cash prize, thanks to Apprentice sponsor Snapple.

The victory comes at the end of a tough month for Bret. Michaels’ future in the competition had been in doubt since the Poison star suffered a brain hemorrhage last month. Then just last week, he began feeling numbness on the left side of his body and his face. Testing showed that Bret had suffered what doctors call a warning stroke. After the stroke added to the rocker’s laundry list of medical misfortunes, further testing also showed that Michaels has a hole in his heart, which will require surgery.

Linking Up with the 1^st LAR

Friday, May 21, 2010

6:30am Camp Bastion, Afghanistan

We were packed like sardines on the C-130 flights from Kabul through Kandahar to the British base in Helmand Province, Camp Bastion, last night.  In full body armor, we sat on canvas benches alongside civilian contractors and NATO troops from various countries.  Space is so tight, you have to interlock knees with the people sitting across from you, forming a zigzag zipper formation with your legs.

I sat next to a Danish soldier who was returning to Afghanistan after a couple weeks of R&R in Denmark.  This is his tenth tour. Two of those tours were back to back and his decision to stay in theater destroyed his marriage.  His now ex-wife, who works in finance, wanted him to come home and get a desk job.  But he couldn’t, saying “that just isn’t me”.  He said “THIS is me.”  For many troops, serving in the Middle East for months on end during these ongoing conflicts are driving a wedge between their careers and their personal lives… another casualty of war.

We arrived at Camp Bastion, which is attached to the Marine base Camp Leatherneck, at 1:30am.  We were greeted by a couple of guys from the public affairs officer’s office who told us we had an early flight and it would be best to just catch a few Z’s along side the flight line for a few hours, instead of wasting time driving to Leatherneck.  So much for midnight chow! (I’d heard Leatherneck has one of the best mess halls, and I was looking forward to it.)

We were taken to a building made of plywood where various troops were sprawled out asleep on all the cots.  So we spent the night sleeping outside on wooden benches made of widely spaced 2 x 4s. Planes, choppers and Ospreys took off and landed all around us all night.

Nervous that I mis-set my iPhone alarm, I woke up early. Unable to get comfortable on the 2x4s again, I looked to the ground to put on my ink stained boots.  Yesterday, our London based photographer Mal James wrote to remind me to put my blood type and penicillin allergy on my boots, just in case something happens and I’m unable to speak with a medic. Because I don’t have dog tags, my name and blood type is also on my flak jacket and helmet.

It’s now 8:30am. Rick, Keith and I just split a breakfast of champions: a peanut butter granola bar and a coconut and chocolate candy bar.  Today’s the day we link up with the 1^st LAR. We met many of them in March during their training at Twenty-nine Palms in California.  I’m excited to see them again.

Volkswagen will announce Tuesday that it will take a 90 percent stake in Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A, people familiar with the matter told Automotive News Europe.

The Giugiaro family will retain 10 percent in the Italian design house that is famous for styling cars such as the first-generation VW Golf.

VW plans to acquire control of Italdesign to help reach its goal of becoming the world’s largest automaker by 2018 with sales of 10 million vehicles a year. To reach that goal, VW’s 10-brand group, including Porsche, will need more designers and engineers. In 2010 alone, VW group plans to add 60 models, including upgrades.

Italdesign, co-founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1968, currently has 975 employees and 800 computer aided design workstations.

Giorgetto Giugiaro, 71, who is Italdesign chairman, and his son, Fabrizio, 45, who heads the design and model division, are expected to continue working at the company following the VW takeover.

Italdesign does not disclose its financial results. The most recent data available shows that in 2008 the company increased its revenues 6.2 percent to 136 million euros ($166 million) and reported an operating breakeven.

Sources told ANE that the VW takover will be announced at Italdesign’s headquarters in Moncalieri, 15km south of Turin on Tuesday morning.

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Source: Car news, reviews and auto show stories