Category: News

Google wants to provide users with the most relevant results, it goes without saying and it’s obvious why. Better results means satisfied users, but also that the ads served with the search are more likely to be of interest to them. But in order to provide better results, Google needs to know more about them, sometimes more than people would like it to know. And it’s about to know even more, as Google has introduced Personalized Search to signed-out users as well.

“Today we’re helping people get better search results by extending Personalized Search to signed-out users worldwide, and in more than forty languages. Now when you search using Google, we will be able to better provide you with the most relevant results possible,” Bryan Horling, software engineer, and Matthew Kulick, product manager, wrote.

“Previously, we only offered Personalized Search for signed-in users, and only when they had Web History enabled on their Google Accounts. What we’re doing today is expanding Personalized Search so that we can provide it to signed-out users as well,” they added.

So, how exactly does it work? When a user is signed in and has enabled Web History, Google will keep track of their previous searches and the results that were more relevant to them. This way, it ca… (read more)

Eco Factor: Zero-emission concept car powered by Li-ion batteries.

With a keen eye on futuristic technology and the need for high performance cars with a low environmental impact, auto designer Daniel Fitzgerald has designed a stunning concept car dubbed the Laminar 2, which is a three-seater electric vehicle for the family of the future.

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Catnip (nepeta cataria) has been appreciated by thepeople for at least 2000 years. The plant was familiar to early Roman cooks and physicians and has long been a part of people’s gardens and health repertoires. It is often enjoyed as a tea for its soothing relaxing benefits.

It shouldn’t really surprise anyone at this point, but there are now rumors that MySpace will be rolling out Facebook Connect Integration sometime in the first part of 2010. Yes, the arch-enemies of just a couple of years ago are now making “friend requests.” But 2009 is not 2007, Facebook has clearly won the social-networking wars and MySpace has shifted strategy and is now looking to become an entertainment hub. And what any media outlet needs most is audience, and Facebook, with 350 million users, can certainly deliver on that.

Inside Facebook cites industry sources and claims that Facebook Connect will become an integral part of the site sometime next year and Facebook features will be leveraged in various sections of the social network. It is expected that Facebook’s social graph will become just as important as MySpace’s own and both will be available to users.

For a start, Facebook share buttons should be rolled out on MySpace Music and other content-focused areas. Facebook users should also be able to log in using their credentials to access some of the features on MySpace. What it means for MySpace users who may or may not be Facebook users as well is less clear, but perhaps a merger of the two accounts or at least the possibility to share the friends list is not com… (read more)

Eco Factor: Ecofriendly charger runs on solar energy.

RAYvolution Solar Products is catering to the growth in the number of portable electronic devices with a charger that doesn’t tax the electrical grid. The company has launched a new solar charger, dubbed the RAYvolution, that comes with a large solar panel to harvest clean energy from the sun.

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Eco Factor: Residential complex designed to generate solar energy for power.

Dubai has always served as a place where the most amazing and sometimes unrealistic architectural dreams come true. Be it the World Island or the Palm Islands, Dubai has proved that it can enrich itself with modern architecture to attract people with deep pockets.

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Blood clots that form most often in the leg are a concern after surgery. This is one reason why nurses try to get patients up and about as soon as is possible after surgery. For those who can’t, they usually have their legs exercised for them and they may have to wear special compression stockings.The biggest danger from these types of clots, called deep vein thrombosis (DVT), is that they can break away from the vein wall and travel to the lungs, where they become pulmonary emboli. A pulmonary embolus can cause death if it’s not treated quickly.Researchers in the United Kingdom used records of 947,454 middle aged women from the Million Women Study to check for admissions for surgery, how many developed a DVT and/or a pulmonary embolus after surgery, and how many died as a result. They found that of 239,614 surgeries (90,259 as inpatients), 5,419 had a blood clot and 270 died. This was compared to the average one clot in 6,200 women who didn’t have surgery.They also found that although the risk of DVT and PE differed depending on the type of surgery, overall, it increased within the first 12 weeks after surgery:

• 1 in 45 after hip or knee replacement
• 1 in 85 after cancer surgery
• 1 in 815 after day surgery

The results should be a wake-up call for surgeons. It used to be thought that the chances of developing a blood clot rose about 20% or so after surgery, but these findings show that it really is almost 70 times higher.The article was published yesterday in the on-line issue of BMJ.

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Image: PhotoXpress.com

Post from: Blisstree

Surgery Blood Clot Risk Higher Than Thought

When Google says it’s in “acquisition mode,” it’s not kidding. After staying mostly quiet on this front for the past two years or so, Google made its fourth acquisition in just a month. The company acquired AppJet, the startup behind EtherPad, a real-time collaborative word processor, for an undisclosed amount that some put around $10 million. EtherPad will close down on March 31 and the team will go on to work on Google Wave.

“We are happy to announce that AppJet Inc. has been acquired by Google. The EtherPad team will continue its work on realtime collaboration by joining the Google Wave team,” AppJet and Google announced on the EtherPad blog. “If you are a user of the Free Edition or Professional Edition, you can continue to use and edit your existing pads until March 31, 2010. No new free public pads may be created. Your pads will no longer be accessible after March 31, 2010, at which time your pads and any associated personally identifiable information will be deleted.”

For EtherPad users, the deal is not exactly good news. The product will be shut down, no new Pads can be created at this point and they have four months to get all their documents out. Professional Edition, the paid version, users will be able to export all of their data in one big ZIP file, the rest will presumably have to do it one at a time. But there’s some… (read more)

Could depression be as deadly as smoking cigarettes? Researchers from Norway and England think so. Their research, recently published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, found that depression holds a similar risk for death as smoking. (But don’t let that depress you!)

Researchers utilized a survey of more than 60,000 people and a comprehensive mortality database. However, for depressed people with some anxiety, there may be a silver lining.

The research found that depressed people with anxiety were less likely to die than those with depression alone. Dr. Robert Stewart, who led the team at the Institute of Psychiatry in Norway, said that one of the big messages from the research is that a little anxiety may actually be good for you. Researchers explain that help-seeking behavior associated with anxiety may be the key.

Dr. Stewart explained,”It would certainly not surprise me at all to find that doctors are less likely to investigate physical symptoms in people with depression because they think that depression is the explanation, but may be more likely to investigate if someone is anxious because they think it will reassure them.”

Help with Managing Depression

If you suspect you’re depressed, talk with your doctor about how you’re feeling. You can even invite a friend or family member to go with you. Symptoms of depression include frequent and prolonged feelings of sadness, loss of interest in everyday activities, lack of energy, sleeping too much or too little, difficulty with concentrating and making decisions, thoughts of suicide, and feelings of guilt or worthlessness.

Many depressed people benefit from lifestyle changes like increased exercise. Therapy involving talking with a professional, often for at least an hour each week, is helpful as well. Some depressed individuals may need medication or additional therapy.

(Image via stock.xchng)

Post from: Blisstree

Which is Worse: Depression or Smoking?

There’s not much chance you’re giving a duplicate gift with the fun finds below. Who doesn’t want to wake up to moonbeams or have a desk graced with a red Swingline?

1. Add some fun with dining table ping pong. The set from Restoration Hardware includes what you need for a fun game.

2. Offer up something classy and unexpected – the lace pedestal jewelry stand from Urban Outfitters.

3. Surprise with the 8 ball bean bag chair from The Bean Bag Boys. It would be a conversation piece or hit with kids. Available at amazon and made in the US.

4. Make it earth-friendly with the recycled cardboard wreaths from Uncommon Goods. They’re available in brown or white, and they’re made in the US.

5. Give something handy. A good (not plastic) pill box is difficult to find. Pottery Barn has a new antique-silver pill box inscribed with the phrase: “my cure for everything.” At two inches square, it’s perfect for pursing. It comes with a patina, so no need to worry over scratches.

6. Gently illuminate mornings with the retro-looking moonbeam clock, available at L.L. Bean.

7. Give an elegant thinksport bottle for keeping beverages cold or hot on the go.

8. Put together your own organic herb garden kit with certified organic seeds, plus recycled pots and gloves too.

9. Pretty up the home office with a red Swingline stapler from Think Geek! It’s perfect for fans of “Office Space.”

10. Cool whiskey without diluting it. Whiskey stones, dreamed up by soapstone workers in Vermont, keep your drink cool without melting.

(Images via Urban Outfitters and L.L. Bean)

Post from: Blisstree

10 Unexpected Home Gifts

The Chinese government has come out to remind the market that it will keep buying dollats as its core currency reserve holding, even though it believes the dollar will depreciate in the long term.

 

WSJ: "The composition remains as it was before. There is no major change" in the reserves, said Wang Xiaoyi, vice director of SAFE, which oversees the reserves. "We are not making any big adjustments in direction. Our operations are still as usual, meaning they follow the existing forex reserves management goal," he said on the sidelines of an economic forum in Beijing.

...

Mr. Wang said the "depreciation of the U.S. dollar is a long-term trend." In the near term, however, the dollar's key role as the global reserve currency won't change, SAFE said in the book.

This reminds us of the poin that China doesn't buy dollars in order to make money off them as an investment. They buy them in order to maintain the current global imbalance whereby the yuan's value is held down, over-stimulating U.S. consumer demand. Thus even if the dollar is a depreciatiing asset for them to hold, it's fine since China earns its return on investment in other ways, mainly via the export stimulus a weak yuan creates.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Dollar Surges Ahead Of Lunch
• Did Today's Jobs Report Kill The Dollar-Stocks Correlation?
• IMF: Rising Asset Correlations Prove Roubini's Dollar Carry Trade Warning

Homebrew coder FluBBa is back to release a new version of S8DS, a port of the SEGA 8-bit emulator SMSAdvance for the NIntendo DS. The latest update has added some new features and some other bug fixes.
 
Download:

Eco Factor: Sculpture made from recycled motorcycle parts.

Eco-minded designers at RoboSteel have come up with a life size MotorCycleMan (aka RoboMan), a human sculpture built entirely from recycled motorcycle parts. The sculpture is on show at the RoboSteel stand at the NEC Motorcycle Show and will be later offered as a prize.

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Eco Factor: Proposal to green Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway with a solar and wind linear park.

After serving Toronto for more than 45 years, The Gardiner Expressway is in need of renovation. While some have proposed a complete tear-down, Quadrangle Architects have something more green in mind. The Toronto-based architectural firm is proposing the construction of a “Green Ribbon” over the Gardiner Expressway.

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Eco Factor: Energy-saving mini desktop PC.

The fit-PC2i nettop is arriving on the market soon and is reportedly one of the most energy-efficient mini PCs, with a rated consumption of just 8W even at full load. Measuring just 4″ x 4.5″ x 1.05″ and weighing under a pound, the mini PC is also the world’s smallest dual gigabit Ethernet-equipped PC.

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For compelling economical, geopolitical, and environmental reasons, biofuels are considered an attractive alternative to fossil fuels for meeting future global energy demands. Melillo et al. (SCIENCE p. 1397, published online 22 October), however, suggest that a few serious drawbacks related to land use need to be considered. Based on a combined biogeochemistry and economic model, indirect land use (for example, clearing forested land for food crops to compensate for increased biofuel crop production on current farmlands) is predicted to generate more soil carbon loss than directly harvesting biofuel crops. Furthermore, increased fertilizer use for biofuels will add large amounts of nitrous oxide—a more effective heat-trapping molecule than carbon dioxide—to the atmosphere. Policy decisions regarding land and crop management thus need to consider the long-term implications of increased biofuel production.

This Week in SCIENCE Magazine, Volume 326, Issue 5958

Eco Factor: Concept faucet reduces water wastage.

With billions of people on the planet striving hard for a few gallons of fresh water, it becomes even more important for the privileged to try and save every drop. While there are many who love to thaw frozen food under a running tap, industrial designers are using their skills to make water wastage a thing of the past.

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Eco Factor: Sustainable treehouse powered by solar energy.

Lord, Aeck & Sargent Architects have constructed a sustainable treehouse that will serve as green living playground for kids with special needs. Dubbed the Wild Side, the treehouse is designed to be completely wheelchair accessible and provide a space where kids could seamlessly connect with nature.

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Are you looking for something different for a morning holiday meal? Check out this recipe from The Food Channel for their Egg Nog Rum French Toast — a perfect holiday breakfast or brunch for the adults in the family. This is wonderful with fresh fruit and can be complemented with toasted or candied nuts or even warm rum soaked sugared raisins. This recipe also can be done with 1/2 teaspoon of rum extract in place of the dark rum.

This is also a popular late-night breakfast for after Christmas Eve services or following the New Years Eve festivities.

Egg Nog Rum French Toast

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3-4 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup egg nog
• 2 tablespoons Dark Rum
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 12 slices cinnamon swirl raisin bread (thick cut)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar (1 cup sugar to 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon)

Preparation

1. In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs with a wire whip.
2. Add egg nog, rum, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, whip to combine.
3. Heat heavy skillet. Soak bread slices in egg mixture for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Soak only as many pieces of bread as you can fit in your griddle at one time. Two batches of six or three batches of four. Add melted butter to the medium hot griddle.
4. Sprinkle each slice of soaked bread with 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar and lay sugar side down in the griddle. Sprinkle additional 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar on top of each slice in the griddle.
5. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until French toast is a light golden brown and turn to cook other side.
6. Serve hot with creamy rum sauce or butter and maple syrup.

Creamy Rum Sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4

A perfect accompaniment to the Egg Nog Rum French Toast or any pancake or waffle brunch.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons cream cheese
• 4 ounces butter
• 1/4 cup syrup
• 1 tablespoon Dark Rum, Cruzan

Preparation

1. Warm cream cheese and butter to room temperature. This can be done in the microwave on 1/2 power.
2. Add syrup and dark rum.
3. Blend in a blender or food processor until smooth. Serve at room temperature.

These recipes are part of The Food Channel’s Holiday Morning Menu.

Post from: Blisstree

Egg Nog Rum French Toast

A new version of the highly addictictive homebrew game Super Smash Bros. Rumble DS has recently been released courtesy of homebrew coders Neeher, Diddy and PS991. The latest demo update has added s ton of features like