Category: News

  • The Laidley House by Zac / de Vito Architecture

    laidley-main

    Jim Zack and Lise de Vito, owners of Zack de Vito Architecture, were the creative force behind the Laidley House, located in San Francisco. Their companion company, BuiltForm Construction, was charged with building the home, which occupies a narrow lot with views of the city, the bay, and the Bay Bridge.

    The house was built with sustainability in mind, and includes reclaimed, rapid renewable, low toxicity materials, photovoltaic electric and solar hydronic systems. A notable feature is the use of a panelized framing system, where 90% of the framing was constructed off-site.

    A modern, open floor plan is paired with copious glazing to take advantage of the views. A stairway spans three levels and allows light to fill interior spaces. The stairway is indicative of the attention to detail present throughout the house, and is custom fabricated from water jet cut steel stringers, acrylic treads and steel and glass guardrails.

    Continue reading for more images.
























    Source: Contemporist


  • Believe and you’ll achieve: British Army launches get-fit podcast. Clearly Hulk Hogan uses it.

    hhogan

    Absolutely brilliant. The British Army has produced a series of podcasts (hence the story’s appearance here) designed to get you, the average loaf-about, into tip-top shape. Let’s give ‘em a listen, shall we?

    So the podcast is free, of course, and is called Army Fit: Personal. The podcast is divided into several levels, and I’m listening right now to level one, beginner.

    Oh god yes, there’s a dance beat in the background. It sort of sounds like Menu music from Wipeout for the PlayStation. I guess that’s the difference between the Brits and their American cousins: whereas the U.S. Army would have used something like Metallica in the background, the Brits are skipping along to pop-trance. Plus 200 DKP.

    There’s a British man yelling at me. “Every minute counts!” and “You can do it!” and “I can see your sweat!” and “Believe and you’ll achieve!”

    See, if I had a video camera I could have made a fun two-minute video out of this. Jogging around in the snow and whatnot.

    Yes, we’re sorta in a holding pattern till CES starts up tomorrow and Wednesday.

    Recent pic of Hulk Hogan from the WrestlingObserver message board. He’s on TNA tonight! (But Bret Hart is on WWE. What to watch?!)


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  • Specs and pics of the Viliv N5, S10, HD5, and P3 surface pre CES 2010

    viliv s10 bladeIt looks like Viliv has a lot planned for CES 2010 this week. In true Internet fashion, most, if not all, of Viliv’s upcoming products leaked out today. The only thing missing are the prices and release dates. At least we have the specs for not only the multi-touch convertable S10 Blade netbook and N5 clamshell, but also all the info on the OLED, Android-equipped P3 and 10809-capable HD5 PMPs.

    To be honest, most of this info was out previously. The S10 Blade debuted over the summer and then Viliv somewhat announced the N5 a couple weeks back. But no matter, the rest of the specs are here for your enjoyment.

    viliv s10S10 Blade – Convertable Multi-Touch Tablet

    • Intel Atom Z530 (1.6GHz) / Z550 (2.0GHz)
    • Windows 7 Home Premium
    • 10.1 -inch 1366 x 768, WXVGA, multi-touch, swivel screen
    • SSD capacity: 32GB, 64GB, 128Gb
    • 1Gb DDR2 SDRAM 533
    • 802.11b/g
    • Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
    • HSPA/TD-SCDMA/EVDO/WiMAX Connectivity options
    • Camera
    • 2 USB Host, 1USB link
    • 10 hour max battery life
    • Dimensions: 260[W] x 185[L] x 17-26[H]mm
    • Weight: 1.21Kg / 2.67 lbs

    viliv n5N5

    • Intel Atom Z52 (1.33 GHz)
    • Windows 7 Home Premium
    • 4.8 WSVGA [1024 x 600] touchscreen
    • SSD 32GB
    • 1Gb DDR2 SDRAM 533Mhz
    • 802.11b/g
    • Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
    • HSPA/TD-SCDMA/EVDO/WiMAX Connectivity options
    • Camera
    • GPS Sirf Star 3
    • QWERTY keyboard
    • 1 USB Host, 1USB link
    • 5 hour max battery life
    • Dimensions: 172[W] x 86[L] x 25[H]mm
    • Weight: 399g / 0.88 lbs

    viliv hd5 and p3Viliv HD5

    • 5-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen
    • Full HD / 1080p MKV playback
    • Windows CE 6.0
    • 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
    • HDMI port, SDHC port
    • Optional T-DMB / DAB
    • Size: 83[W] x 130[H] x 13 [T]mm

    Viliv P3

    • 3.7-inch AMOLED 800 x 480 Capacitive touchscreen
    • 1280 x 720p support, HD / 720p MKV playback
    • Coretex ARM 800Mhz
    • Windows CE 6.0 & Android dual booting
    • WiFi / G-sensor / Vibration motor
    • 8GB, 16GB, 32GB SSD
    • MicroSD slot
    • Optional T-DMB / DAB
    • Size: 116[W] x 62.5[H] x 9.8[T]mm

    [Blog.Naver.com via UMPC Portal]


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  • Panoramica de Bucaramanga, (NUEVA)

    Una nueva desde el voladero Las Aguilas.

  • Nokia brings more legal complaints against Apple

    Filed under: ,

    Well, you can’t say the company isn’t persistent. Nokia has already sued Apple over GSM patents, and last week Nokia filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission, which asked the commission to ban the import of Apple mobile products including the MacBook, iPhone and iPods.

    Now, our sister site, Engadget reports Nokia has filed another federal complaint against Apple, alleging that Curpertino is violating 7 more Nokia Patents. Nokia says these violations are all implementation patents, or features that differentiate Nokia products from the rest of the market.

    Nokia claims that the infringing technologies are present in the iPhone 3G, 3GS, iPod touch, iPod Nano and Classic, as well as the Mac Pro, the Mac Mini, the MacBook and the MacBook Air.

    Whew! Nokia wants a jury trial, and an injunction against Apple for allegedly violating the patents.

    Not to be outdone, Apple is already counter-suing Nokia from its earlier suits, claiming essentially that Nokia missed the boat on updating mobile phone technology and wants access to Apple patents, while slowing Apple growth.

    The big winners in all this will likely be the lawyers. Keep watching this space. We’re following all the bloody details.

    [Via Engadget]

    TUAWNokia brings more legal complaints against Apple originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Estimates emerge of Apple’s Q1 iPhone, Mac sales

    Filed under: , , ,

    Apple typically reports their 1st quarter financial results in late January, so we’ll have to wait a few more weeks for the official word. However, the analysts have begun to share their estimates and the numbers are very impressive.

    Brian Marshall at Broadpoint.AmTech has estimated that Apple sold 3.3 million Macs during the last quarter, according to MacNN. Here’s a little perspective: Apple’s all-time sales record for Macs, set during the previous quarter, is 3.05 million. That record was a 17 percent jump from the 2.6 million it sold in the same quarter a year ago. Marshall also suggests that laptop sales could be up as much as 19 percent year-over-year at 865,000 units.

    Meanwhile, Philip Elmer-DeWitt has begun gathering estimates of iPhone sales and posting them at Brainstorm Tech. They range from 11.30 units sold (Brian Marshall at Broadpoint AmTech) to 8.17 units (Mark Moskowitz, J.P. Morgan). The interesting thing is that the low estimate, 8.17 million iPhones sold, would represent a 10.8% increase from the last September’s record of 7.37 million if true.

    Despite would could have been a rocky year for Apple — Steve Jobs was out for serious health reasons and a lousy US economy — they did very well. Are you optimistic for 2010 or waiting for the other shoe to drop?

    TUAWEstimates emerge of Apple’s Q1 iPhone, Mac sales originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • AAII: Citi Is Wrong, Investor Bullishness Just Hit A Two-Year High

    bullratio

    Bullish sentiment has hit almost a two-year high according to a sentiment survey from the American Association of Individual Investors. (shown to the right)

    The Big Picture: If you take this together with the fact that the Investors Intelligence (II) Bull/Bear Ratio has also hit its 2007 peak (see Bullishness at Record Levels), some might say that bullish sentiment has reached a contrarian extreme.

    What's odd here is that this AAII sentiment metric appears at odds with many other measures in the market, such as fund flow data based on mutual funds and certain proprietary sentiment models such as those from Citi's Tobias Levkovich (shown below, note how sentiment in blue seems to be at the lower end of the range).

    Perhaps the difference is due to the fact that many un/under-invested investors have suddenly become bullish, thus have yet to invest based on their newly bullish beliefs. Or it could be giant global conspiracy. Either way, it'd be interesting to know what exactly causes the disconnect...

    citisent

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  • Samsung’s YP-R1 gets firmware update, some of it will cost ya (video)

    Samsung's YP-R1 gets firmware update, some of it will cost ya
    Firmware updates that improve performance while also boosting battery life? Love ‘em. Firmware updates that nickle and dime you for things like new fonts? Hate ‘em. So, mixed feelings then on news that Samsung’s YP-R1 media player is getting an update that will make the thing more snappy and more longevous, as shown in the video demonstration after the break. That the company will start charging for things like themes and new text styles, however, seems a bit unfortunate. Also on the for-pay list will be downloadable games, the first of which, Touch & Number, will sell for 2,000 won (about $1.75). It’s no Crash Bandicoot, but sounds just as fun — right?

    Continue reading Samsung’s YP-R1 gets firmware update, some of it will cost ya (video)

    Samsung’s YP-R1 gets firmware update, some of it will cost ya (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Helium Digital straps your wrist with HDBT-990 Bluetooth communicator

    This Helium Digital HDBT-990 Bluetooth wristband could be a godsend for businessmen who want to avoid sticky wires and phones to answer a call while jogging, except it does look kind of bland (too hard to add a watch?). If appearance isn’t what you’re after, this wristband does offer audible caller ID, A2DP (although it’s unclear if you can get stereo output — we see no headphone jack here; probably just for higher mono fidelity), noise cancellation, and vibration alert for both incoming calls and when your phone is out of range — the latter kind of mimicking the nio Bluetooth tag. Battery-wise it’ll do 4 hours of talk time and 160 hours for standby. All yours for $87 starting in February.

    Helium Digital straps your wrist with HDBT-990 Bluetooth communicator originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Stocks Start The New Decade By Exploding Higher

    russia rocket

    In the words of one Ice Cube: “Today was a good day.”

    The DJIA gained a massive 1.5%, closing at 10583 whilst the NASDAQ and S&P 500 ended up 1.73% and 1.6%, respectively.

    Nearly every sector was up, with the exception of “home improvement” and some utility companies. One of the biggest problems on the Street today was the Rambus (RMBS) “fat finger” fiasco in which all trades below $20.73 a share were canceled.

    Overall, the bulls reigned king and picked up right where they left off last year.

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  • Dog Saves 11-Year-Old From Cougar Attack

    Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

    An 11-year-old British Columbia boy is alive and well after being saved from a cougar attack in his backyard by his family’s protective golden retriever.

    Austin Forman was collecting firewood from the yard of his family’s home outside Vancouver on Saturday when a cougar viciously charged him.

    Lucky for Austin, Angel — the family’s 18-month-old pooch — was right by his side, quickly moving between him and the wild cat. The cougar was killed by local police and the dog sustained puncture wounds around her head and neck and a swollen eye is the scuffle. She is expected to make a full recovery.


  • Do Higher Bond Rates Signal A Recovery?

    Last week I debated the Federal Reserve’s 2010 monetary policy philosophy on CNBC’s Kudlow Report with host Larry Kudlow and UC-Irvine business professor Peter Navarro. Since it was one of those segments where you never have enough time to fully address all of the points made, and since I have had a little additional time to reflect on some of what was said, I thought it might be good to provide a more detailed response to a challenge put forth by Kudlow. He says that the bond market is signaling a boom by pushing up interest rates, and that the Fed should follow suit. I disagree and want to better explain why.

    First, here’s the clip, in case you’re dying to see me in action:

    Kudlow is one of the most cheery optimists for 2010 I’ve heard from. Earlier in the show, I believe he said that he expected something like 5% to 6% GDP growth in 2010. I think we’ll be lucky if it’s half that. He believes that the bond market is signaling this recovery. In the course of the discussion he asks me:

    As we come to the end of the year, the whole Treasury interest rate structure has increased by 50, 60 basis points or more. To me that is a signal the Fed should heed. The market is trying to pull the Fed up and the Fed may not be listening, Daniel, what’s your take? There are two-year rates, there are five-year rates, and the 10- and 30-year rates. They’re all going up. Is that not signaling a boom? Is that not telling the Fed they should follow and start raising their own rate and withdraw and shrink their balance sheet, Daniel?

    I don’t believe that this is signaling a boom, but would blame a few other factors on why bond yields are increasing.

    First, as I noted a week ago, Treasury yields are taking a hit from, both, supply and demand. First, the government is going to flood the market with debt in 2010 to fund all of its spending. With all that supply investors are going to require a better return to soak it all up. Second, they’re also going to demand a higher risk premium, as many believe that the U.S. debt levels are getting riskier.

    There are other factors driving up rates as well. Inflation expectations are growing, which should also increase the nominal rate for longer-term bonds. The U.S. is pondering historically unprecedented financial regulation, which thrusts a great deal of political uncertainty into the financial markets. That also amounts to a higher risk premium on bonds. Finally, many bond yields were too low prior to the financial crisis, as they didn’t properly reflect the risk present in these securities. Investors likely recognize that this must change once Wall Street goes back to business as usual.

    So no, I don’t think the bond market is simply betting on a huge economic recovery in 2010. And if it is, then, well, I think it’s wrong. As I say in the clip, if we’ve learned anything from the financial crisis, it’s that investors aren’t as smart as they think and can get things very, embarrassingly wrong. This could be yet another case of irrational exuberance in a sort of mini-bubble.

    That’s why I don’t believe the Fed should follow suit and take drastic action to reduce its balance sheet. I actually worry that ending some of its programs in the first quarter is already a little bit too aggressive. As I’ve mentioned, I don’t see the mortgage-backed securities market comfortably walking on its own two feet in 2010, so mortgage rates could consequently skyrocket, hampering the housing recovery. Consumer credit could also suffer by ending the Fed’s Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, harming spending and GDP growth.

    Finally, wish I had posed a question to Kudlow and Navarro: what’s worse — a little bit of inflation, or unemployment increasing to 15% in 2010? I’d prefer the former, but if the Fed drastically reduces its balance sheet — and we aren’t out of the woods — then the latter could result. I think that the Fed would be taking a huge risk by acting too aggressively to shrink its balance sheet too soon. That could cause the Great Recession to become another Great Depression. I also don’t believe that inflation can manifest itself too significantly until the economy has fully recovered. Thus, the risk posed by shrinking monetary supply in 2010 appears far greater than the benefit.





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  • Could Wolverine’s Leaking Have Helped It At The Box Office?

    We still can’t understand why Fox studios acted the way it did over the leak of the Wolverine movie. There were so many better options that didn’t involve freaking out and eventually wasting FBI resources. We did note, when the movie was released, what a fantastic opening weekend it had. Of course, some argued that it would have had an even better opening weekend without the leak, but, of course, no one knows for sure.

    However, Ross Pruden points us to an interesting analysis by Reid Rosefelt trying to more carefully analyze the leak’s impact on Wolverine. Rosefelt compares Wolverine’s opening weekend to lots of other highly touted movies, and then even breaks out the movies that were “the latest installment of a very lucrative franchise” (of which there were a bunch this year). In that class, Wolverine earned a lot more than any of those other similar movies, with the exceptions of Twilight and Transformers — and, again, it’s worth remembering that Wolverine got dreadful reviews. But it is worth noting that Wolverine outgrossed other highly touted “franchise” movies like Harry Potter’s latest and Star Trek — both of which got much better reviews.

    Rosefelt also does a nice job pointing out how silly Hollywood’s new favorite line is whenever anyone points out the record year at the box office. We’ve seen it from our usual cast of Hollywood insiders who frequent the comments here, where they say that the box office doesn’t matter. Piracy is really impacting DVD sales and that’s what will kill Hollywood. Of course, this is funny on a variety of levels, starting with the fact if Hollywood had had its way, the DVD player would never have existed, because home video machines (you may recall) were the “Boston Strangler” to the movie industry. It’s also amusing because Hollywood has been working hard to prevent one of the biggest DVD buyers, Redbox, from buying its DVDs. Rosefelt points out that the data does show that DVD sales are down, but notes that rentals are way up. It appears that people just find it easier to rent than to buy — and a large part of that may be uncertainty over HD format (and the ridiculous price put on many Blu-ray discs). Once again, it’s looking like the decline in DVD sales might not be the fault of piracy, but of the industry and its own practices yet again.

    Again, none of this shows for certain that the Wolverine leak helped at the box office, but it’s hard to take seriously any argument that it was harmed. Wolverine did massively well at the box office and outshone many other movies from equally popular franchises, which received much better reviews.

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  • Jeans: Stylish, Classic, And a Decent Defense Against Rattlesnake Bites | Discoblog

    rattlerRelax, Indiana Jones. Snakes aren’t so scary… as long as you’re wearing a good pair of jeans.

    According to research done by scientists in California, denim provides more than classic American fashion statement. While this may seem somewhat obvious, the researchers are happy to announce that covering your legs with jeans doesn’t just reduce the amount of venom that a snakebite can inject into your system—it reduces it by a lot. From Reuters:

    Drs. Shelton S. Herbert and William K. Hayes used latex gloves filled with saline to simulate a human appendage, then exposed the gloves to bites from small and large southern Pacific rattlesnakes. Some of the latex “limbs” were covered in a layer of denim.

    The researchers found that compared with the jeans-less gloves, those covered in denim absorbed about two-thirds less venom from the rattlesnake bites. Instead, a high proportion of the venom “spilled harmlessly” onto the denim, the researchers report in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

    Two things come to mind as a result of this study. One: Yes, scientists will study anything. And two: If you’re planning to hike in rattlesnake country, forget about working on your leg tan and just throw on those old Levi’s.

    Come to think of it, perhaps this explains President Obama wearing those thick, high-waisted “mom jeans” to throw out the first pitch at this summer’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The St. Louis Cardinals’ home stadium is presumably free of venomous snakes, but the Secret Service takes nothing for granted.

    Related Content:
    Discoblog: Snake with Foot, Beaten to Death with Shoe
    Discoblog: “Spitting Cobras” Don’t Really Spit After All
    DISCOVER: Is That a Gun in Your Pocket, Or Are You a Size 2?

    Image: flickr / Marcy Reiford


  • What German cities do you know by name?

    No maps, lists, or glancing at the other posts allowed.

    Berlin
    Cologne
    Brandenburg
    Munich
    Bremen

    Hamburg
    Jena
    Erfurt
    Eisenach
    Stuttgart

    Wiesbaden
    Leipzig
    Oberemmegau
    Albstadt
    Frankfurt

    Frankfurt o.d.t.
    Mannheim
    Karlsruhe
    Muenster
    Paderborn

    Freiburg
    Aix-la-Chapelle (forgot the German name)
    Flensburg
    Potsdam
    Rostock

    Halle
    Neustadt

  • Magic Mouse Drains Keyboard Batteries

    So the holidays are over. The food portions are returning to healthy sizes but the damage is done. New Year resolutions you’ve been ruminating on for weeks must now be taken seriously. It’s time to get in shape. No more excuses! No more distractions. You have that nice new Mac so you think, “Hey, I’ll type ‘em up and print ‘em out! If they’re pinned up on the wall I can’t possibly fail!”

    Only, you might have a problem doing any typing if recent reports prove accurate. It seems the combination of Magic Mouse and Apple Wireless Keyboard are a toxic mix. Over on the Apple Support Discussions forum users are reporting that, since installing their Magic Mouse, their Apple Wireless Keyboards have been guzzling power like there’s no tomorrow.

    Brand new, planet-killing alkaline batteries don’t make it through a full week. Tree-hugging rechargeables manage less. Users have been forced to revert to backup mice (mouses?) or switch-out their keyboards for a more traditional, wired variety.

    User cbcirrus writes;

    Apple Tech Support furnished three replacement aluminum keyboards (unfortunately one DOA and all three were three battery version). All replacement keyboards suffer from the low battery life issue.

    They now claim it is a bluetooth driver issue and the engineers are working on a solution, presumably a new driver or patch. One tech said engineering believes the magic mouse bluetooth is interfering with keyboard bluetooth communication and/or sleep mode. No estimate as to time frame for solution just a suggestion to use rechargeable batteries until issue is resolved.

    I haven’t been hit by the battery bug described here, but I’ve certainly had my own issues with the Magic Mouse / Wireless Keyboard combo which I suspect may be related. I’ve found that my Apple Wireless Keyboard interferes with my Magic Mouse. I simply can’t have both devices working at the same time in the same room without my Mouse pointer losing the will to live and being reduced to a stuttering, crawling, sorry excuse for a pointer.

    Changing wireless channels on my router and Time Capsules made no difference. In the end I had no choice; if I wanted to continue using the Magic Mouse, sans judder, I had to switch keyboards to the wired variety that originally came with the Mac Pro.

    About a month ago I found a thread on Apple’s discussion site explaining that — for 2009 Mac Pros — the problem doesn’t lie with the Broadcom bluetooth radio but with its drivers. Unfortunately, Apple isn’t privy to Broadcom’s firmware roadmap and can’t say when an update will arrive.

    Oddly, I cannot find that thread now. I suspect that at some point in the intervening weeks it has been edited/removed. If you can find it, please share in the comments below. I mention it here because it sounds awfully similar to the explanation above… perhaps the two issues are connected?

    Have you experienced issues with using the Magic Mouse and Apple Wireless Keyboard together?

  • Report: 2011 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe coming with turbo power, possible hybrid

    Filed under: , , ,

    Mercedes-Benz C-Class – Click above for high-res image gallery

    After the resounding sales flop of the Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor hatchback, you’d be forgiven for assuming M-B wouldn’t want to toe the entry-level waters any time soon. According to Inside Line, though, the success BMW has had with the 1 Series Coupe has prompted Mercedes to rethink a new two-door version of its latest C-Class.

    The discontinuation of the CLK and the emergence of a new, larger E-Class Coupe means that there’s space in Mercedes’ lineup for a smaller, entry model that would do battle with the aforementioned BMW 1 Series as well as the slightly larger 3 Series and Infiniti G37.

    Naturally, we can expect a couple of DOHC V6 powerplants, in this case utilizing direct injection for added power and reduced fuel consumption and emissions. Interestingly, reports indicate that we may also see a smaller V6 with twin turbochargers designed to battle the 300-horsepower BMW 135i. A naturally aspirated V6 may also be offered as a hybrid.

    Finally, what Mercedes-Benz wouldn’t be complete without an AMG version to spice things up a bit? Not this one, as a 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 is likely on the menu along with the expected suspension and braking upgrades. We’ll know how much of this is fact and how much is rumor sometime in 2011, which is when the C-Class Coupe is expected to hit the market.

    [Source: Inside Line]

    Report: 2011 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe coming with turbo power, possible hybrid originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Girl, You Know It’s True: The Tiger Woods Column

    This break, we learned that unlike Santa Claus, Tiger Woods doesn’t stop at three hos. None of Woods’ 16 or so alleged mistresses have been confirmed, but let’s just assume for a second that all these mistresses are in fact telling the truth and Tiger had literally dozens of women waiting for him to bring the ruckus.

    If so, Woods is more ruthlessly efficient off the golf course than on it–at least until allegations of a romp in a sand trap surface. His diligence in keeping many affairs secret for so long while simultaneously being the most dominant athlete in the world is an achievement worthy of recognition.

    Best (Alleged) Mistress: Holly Sampson

    Needless to say, there’s a lot of competition here. There’s the prostitute who was engaged to someone else. The one a British tabloid called a “sex-addicted cougar.” The one who has appeared in four films whose titles included the word “MILF.” The Playmate and prostitute. The former Miss Universe. Jessica Simpson. The one who appeared on VH1’s “Tool Academy.” Tiger’s women come from all walks of life, from Vegas cocktail waitresses to prostitutes to nightclub managers to porn stars to…O.K., maybe not all walks of life, but a lot of them.

    The best is Holly Sampson, an actress who appeared on “The Wonder Years” with Stanford alum Fred Savage. Later, she’d be in over 80 porn movies, including an upcoming one based on her night with Woods. A topless Sampson alleged an affair with Woods, adding “he has talent on field and he has talent in the bedroom.”

    Sampson, like many of Woods’ women, was blond and blue-eyed, making some call him a self-hating Cablinasian. Those people underestimated Woods’ Rain Man-like genius. With mistresses who looked vaguely like his wife, Woods was able to travel freely. If you saw him out at a restaurant with a blue-eyed blonde woman, you would just assume it was his wife. Do you really know what his wife looks like well enough to call him out on it? Nobody wants to pull an Austin Powers, insisting that “it’s a man, baby!”

    The Mark Sanford Award for Best Electronic Message: “I will wear you out.

    Was this in an ad touting Woods’ incredible work ethic that allowed him to outlast other golfers physically and mentally, or was it a text message he sent to cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs? Parents: when you name your daughter “Jaimee,” this will happen.

    Best Advertising Campaign: Accenture

    Accenture had a good run with Tiger Woods, including such slogans as “The road to high performance isn’t always paved,” “It’s what you do next that counts,” and of course, “Strategy 80%. Exit Strategy 80%.”

    Best Career Move: Turn Evil

    Woods should stop trying to market himself as a suave good guy and embrace his role as a villainous playboy. In short, less Gillette, more Axe. Specifically, a brand of Axe guaranteed to get the stripper glitter out. Also, he should do Viagra ads that are basically reenactments of Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin’” video.

    Woods should leave his wife, start hanging out with Charlie Sheen and bring at least two scantily-clad women everywhere. He should refer to other golfers as “cracka-ass crackas,” grow cornrows and put out a rap CD. He would be a mature, responsible family man who ditched his wife to become a selfish, childish jerk with immature friends. It would be like watching a romantic comedy in reverse.

    Best Rumors: All

    The car accident was a fraud to cover the damage Nordegren did to Woods’ face. Woods is in Phoenix having facial reconstruction surgery. Nordegren fled to a private Swedish island. Woods paid women to say he was good in bed. Woods had “crazy Ambien sex.” Nordegren will sign with Puma to spite Woods. Nordegren chased him down the driveway with a golf club, causing the crash. Woods was high when he crashed. Woods has a pill/sex addiction.

    Woods’ marriage was a sham. Woods funded his mistress’ liposuction. Woods used bribery and threats to keep his mistresses quiet. He watched “Desperate Housewives” with one mistress. Tiger Woods spiked a story about his affairs by agreeing to appear on the cover of Men’s Health. Woods appeared standing behind Barack Obama as his caddy next to the headline “10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger” in the January 2010 issue of Golf Digest (O.K., that happened).

    I can’t say whether these rumors are true or false–the debate never ends. The most private and famous athlete went from nobody knowing anything about him and assuming he is boring to nobody knowing anything about him and assuming that he is an Ambien-fueled sex monster whose wife left him looking like Harvey Dent.

  • Video: Top Gear’s Richard Hammond test-drives the Lexus LFA

    Top Gear Lexus LFA

    Top Gear has rung in the 2010 with Richard Hammond’s review of the new Lexus LFA supercar followed by a lap of the Top Gear track by The Stig. You can check out both in the two videos posted after the jump – but be sure to do it quick before copyright infringements force YouTube to pull the video offline.

    Click here for more news on the Lexus LFA.

    Refresher: Power for the Lexus LFA comes from a 4.8L V10 engine that makes 552-hp with a maximum torque of 354 lb-ft. Mated to a 6-speed Automated Sequential Gearbox, the LFA goes from 0-60 mph time of just 3.5 with a top speed of 202 mph.

    Follow the jump for the videos.

    2011 Lexus LFA:

    2011 Lexus LFA 2011 Lexus LFA 2011 Lexus LFA 2011 Lexus LFA

    2011 Lexus LFA:

    – By: Kap Shah


  • Palm: Exchange Calendar Issue & Workaround Confirmed, OTA Fix Planned

    Palm has updated its support Web site with a confirmation of the Exchange/webOS calendar error and workaround previously discussed here:

    Palm has discovered that the turn of the year 2010 has surfaced an issue that affects customers who use Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) to synchronize their calendars. Data remains intact on the device; however, this issue prevents the data from being displayed correctly in the Calendar application. It impacts all versions of webOS.

    Customers synchronizing calendars using EAS are not able to see events from any calendar source on their webOS phone until they perform a manual workaround to correct the issue (see below for instructions). After performing the workaround, Calendar events from each source should display correctly.

    This manual workaround may need to be performed again if the issue resurfaces. Palm is actively working on a software update and will provide a new version for download over the air as soon as possible.

    The support article goes on to describe the year-shift workaround that others have found temporarily solves the problem.

    We’re glad to see that Palm plans an OTA update to address this issue, and will let you know as soon as it becomes available.