Skip to Content

July 2009

Phone lost 4 days at sea found, recharged, returned (Reuters)

Fri, 07/31/2009 - 18:25 — admin

TAIPEI (Reuters) –
A mobile phone lost at sea for four days washed up in perfect condition in Taiwan after drifting 37 km (23 miles) and was discovered by a park lifeguard who tracked down the shocked owner to return it, the finder said on Friday.

Yu Hsin-leh of Taipei lost the phone on July 24 while snorkeling near the Taiwan port city of Keelung, Taiwan's United Daily News reported.

On Monday, it turned up in Longdong Bay Park on the island's northeasternmost cape after floating past numerous towns and rocky outcroppings.

A small water-resistant case had protected the phone at sea, said park lifeguard Lin Huan-chuan, who found it.

Lin said he recharged the battery and called Yu's wife by finding her in the phone's list of saved numbers.

"All the phone's functions were normal," Lin said. "The owner was extremely surprised as he figured he had lost it for good."

(Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

Weis: McMackin used 'poor judgment' (AP)

Fri, 07/31/2009 - 17:04 — admin

HONOLULU – Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis on Friday said the Fighting Irish program was offended by derogatory comments made by Hawaii coach Greg McMackin but has accepted his apology and will move on.
"Coach McMackin demonstrated poor judgment when, while making comments critical of our football program, he used a derogatory word," Weis said in a statement. "Speaking only for our football program, we were offended by the remarks."
McMackin has repeatedly apologized for the comments made during a media briefing Thursday at the Western Athletic Conference football preview in Salt Lake City. He used a slur usually targeted at gays to describe Notre Dame's chant before last year's Hawaii Bowl.
Weis said he received a phone call from a contrite McMackin on Friday, and "we accept his apology and we will move on."
Weis said it was in the best interests of the Notre Dame program to address the issue promptly, put it to rest and focus on the upcoming season.
The Fighting Irish routed the Warriors 49-21 in the Hawaii Bowl for their first postseason victory in 15 years. McMackin called it the worst loss in his 40 years of coaching.
McMackin's comments have stunned this state, where the story has created a stir online and has led the front pages of both Honolulu newspapers. The headline in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin read, "Mack Under Attack."
His comments have been sharply rebuked by everyone from Gov. Linda Lingle to gay and lesbian groups.
The second-year Warriors coach was meeting with athletic director Jim Donovan and Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw on Friday to discuss the incident. He could be reprimanded by the school or the WAC.
WAC commissioner Karl Benson said McMackin's comments "clearly violate" the WAC code of conduct, but he will wait and see what the university does before considering sanctions.
Before joining the Warriors, McMackin spent three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers as associate head coach and linebackers coach under Dennis Erickson. He has also served as defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks and several college programs, including Texas Tech, Miami, Navy, Utah and Idaho.

Amazon.com sued over deleted digital book copies (Reuters)

Fri, 07/31/2009 - 16:34 — admin

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) –
"Amazon.com ate my homework."

That's a legitimate excuse for one high-school student whose notes for a homework assignment vanished when the online retailer remotely deleted digital copies of George Orwell's "1984," off consumers' Kindle devices.

Justin Gawronski of Michigan claims his copy of the classic title about the dangers of totalitarianism, purchased in June for $0.99, disappeared along with the "copious notes" he took.

"Mr. Gawronski powered on his Kindle 2 only to watch '1984' vanish before his very eyes," according to the complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington.

Gawronski and a second plaintiff claim Amazon does not have the right to delete any digital content from its customers' Kindles, the much-touted electronic readers made by the company.

In deleting the content, Amazon breached the terms of its own contract with its customers, the lawsuit claims.

"Amazon has no more right to delete e-books from consumers' Kindles and iPhones than it does to retrieve from its customers' homes paper books it sells and ships to consumers," according to the complaint.

The lawsuit cites what it calls Amazon's "unfair and deceptive business acts and practices" and seeks class-action status.

Earlier this month, Amazon acknowledged it had deleted certain purchased e-books from the Kindles of an undisclosed number of owners.

It said a third party had added the books to the catalog using the company's self-service platform. Amazon deleted the copies from consumers' devices after learning that the third party did not have the rights to the books, it said.

The complaint filed Thursday is the second consumer lawsuit filed in two weeks against the Seattle-based Internet giant.

A Kindle owner has also sued the company claiming the protective cover of the Kindle can damage the device's screen. That lawsuit also seeks class action status.

In the case over the deleted notes, the second plaintiff, California resident Antoine Bruguier, claims that Amazon never revealed why it deleted his copy of 1984 and did not provide a substitute version when asked.

The lawsuit seeks damages and injunctive relief as necessary.

Amazon's Kindle is one of several electronic readers on the market that allow consumers to read books, magazines and newspapers on a tablet-like device that downloads content digitally.

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing Bernard Orr)

Folding Tandem Bike

Fri, 07/31/2009 - 16:04 — admin

Folding bicycles typically cost more than non-folding bicycles of comparable quality, because they have more parts to allow folding. This results in a more complicated design, which is more complex to manufacture. There is also a smaller market for this type of bike. As an alternative to folding, some models achieve similar results by separating into two or more parts. These are sometimes grouped in the same category as folding bicycles but are also referred to as break-away, disassemblable, or separable bicycles.

Folding bicycles often separate or fold in the middle of the frame, which, depending on the design, can weaken the frame and cause more energy-absorbing flexing. Many have elongated seatposts and stems. These longer components, which project above the frame like masts, experience greater bending stresses where they meet the frame, compared to the shorter components of regular bikes. There have been sporadic reports of failure in these components in online message forums[citation needed], and at least one recall due the failure of the steering mechanism.[citation needed] Folding bicycles necessarily have more parts, to allow folding and to lock the frame when unfolded. This results in a more complicated design, with more parts that can potentially fail.

Folding Tandem Bike

Allen Stanford replaces criminal defense lawyer (Reuters)

Fri, 07/31/2009 - 15:04 — admin

HOUSTON (Reuters) –
Allen Stanford, the Texas financier accused of a $7 billion fraud, replaced his criminal attorney, Dick DeGuerin, with attorneys from the Patton Boggs law firm, the law firms said on Friday.

"Mr. R. Allen Stanford today announced that the law firm of DeGuerin and Dickson has been replaced as criminal defense counsel," the statement from a Patton Boggs spokeswoman, said.

Robert Luskin, a managing partner at the Washington, D.C law firm, will lead the defense team, the firm said.

The spokeswoman declined to provide additional details.

Luskin was a lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice and has expertise in money laundering and racketeering, according to the Patton Boggs website.

DeGuerin had been working with Stanford since March. He was never officially retained because the billionaire's assets have been frozen since February when civil fraud charges were filed.

"All I have to say I will say in my motions to withdraw," DeGuerin said.

Stanford, 59, is accused of leading a $7 billion Ponzi scheme centering on certificates of deposit issued by his offshore bank in Antigua. He is in jail awaiting trial and has denied any wrongdoing.

Patton Boggs also represents Stanford in the related civil fraud case filed in U.S. District Court in Dallas.

The criminal case is filed in federal court in Houston, 4:09-cr-00342 USA v. Stanford et al.

(Reporting by Anna Driver)

IPOD Speakers

Fri, 07/31/2009 - 14:52 — admin

The quality of loudspeaker systems until the 1950s was poor. Continuous developments in enclosure design and materials have led to significant audible improvements. The most notable improvements in modern speakers are improvements in cone materials, the introduction of higher temperature adhesives, improved permanent magnet materials, improved measurement techniques, computer aided design and finite element analysis.

The diaphragm is usually manufactured with a cone or dome shaped profile. A variety of different materials may be used, but the most common are paper, plastic and metal. The ideal material would be stiff (to prevent uncontrolled cone motions), light (to minimize starting force requirements) and well damped (to reduce vibrations continuing after the signal has stopped). In practice, all three of these criteria cannot be met simultaneously using existing materials, and thus driver design involves tradeoffs.

IPOD Speakers

Film journalist Armando del Moral dies (Reuters)

Fri, 07/31/2009 - 12:10 — admin

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) –
Armando del Moral, an influential journalist who covered show business for the Spanish-speaking world in the 1940s and '50s, died July 21 in North Hollywood of natural causes. He was 93.

Del Moral also helped establish the Golden Globe Awards; acted as Hollywood representative for the Mexican actors union; wrote, produced and directed a radio soap opera; and helped studios with their Spanish-language publicity campaigns. For more than 30 years, del Moral wrote and edited the magazine Cine-Grafica, offering coverage of the Hispanic social and entertainment scene in Los Angeles.

A Spanish Civil war refugee, del Moral arrived in Mexico in 1939, became a reporter and began covering the country's blooming film industry. He settled in Los Angeles in 1943 and five years later was named a vice president of the Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association (the forerunner to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association). He served as host and awards presenter during a number of the organization's Golden Globe ceremonies.

The charismatic del Moral headed the Spanish-language publicity campaign for George Sidney's "Pepe" (1960), which starred famed Mexican comedian Cantinflas; wrote publicity articles for Disney; and provided counsel on "The Magnificent Seven.". He also directed Alfred Hitchcock for the Spanish-language ads for "Psycho"; the British helmer had trouble speaking Spanish, del Moral recalled.

Del Moral also was involved in Mexican film publicity, working with Azteca Films and collaborating with Clasa Mohme and Columbia Pictures, the major distributors of Mexican films.

In 1954, he began writing, producing and directing a successful Spanish-language soap opera, "Maria Elena," which was syndicated throughout the U.S. and Mexico.

Among del Moral's survivors are his daughter Matilde del Moral of Barcelona and his sons Roger of Washington and Ralph of Sacramento, California.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)

Madonna writes of her spiritual awakening (AFP)

Fri, 07/31/2009 - 11:58 — admin

JERUSALEM (AFP) –
Pop diva Madonna recounted to Israelis the long spiritual search that led her to the Jewish mystic religion Kabbalah, in an article published on Friday by Israel's largest newspaper.

The Material Girl, who will be in Israel in September as part of her Sticky and Sweet tour, said she had travelled the world many times over, dined with state leaders and achieved a high level of success but still felt that something was missing from her life.

"I was raised a Catholic and my father was very religious, but none of my questions ever got answered," she wrote in the article that appeared in the Yediot Aharonot newspaper in English and Hebrew.

The Queen of Pop's spiritual search led her to practice yoga, study Buddhism, Taoism and the Art of War -- a 16th century military treaty -- and read about the early Christians.

"I learned a lot and I was very inspired but I still could not connect the dots and find a way to take this knowledge and apply it to my daily life.

"I was looking for an answer," the 50-year-old pop icon said.

She said her search was over after she turned to the Kabbalah, an ancient Jewish mystic tradition.

In 1997 Madonna came into contact with a Los Angeles-based centre that teaches an eclectic mix of Orthodox Jewish tradition and positive thinking aimed at spiritual well-being.

"I realised I had finally found a belief system of philosophy that incorporated science and spirituality," said Madonna, who has since donated millions of dollars to schools in Britain and the United States that teach Kabbalah.

In 2004 Madonna took the Hebrew name Esther but has not converted to Judaism.

From the point of view of Orthodox Jews, her studying the Kabbalah is sacrilege as they consider this must be reserved to married men over 40 who have poured over Talmudic texts for years.

Woods to return to Firestone (AP)

Fri, 07/31/2009 - 11:52 — admin

AKRON, Ohio – Tiger Woods has entered the Bridgestone Invitational next week at Firestone, making it official that he will play three straight events concluding with the final major of the year.
It is not unusual for the world's No. 1 player to compete three straight weeks on the PGA Tour, although the third tournament has never been a major. Woods is playing the Buick Open this week. The PGA Championship follows the Bridgestone Invitational.
Woods is a six-time winner at Firestone, having won the last three times he has played in this World Golf Championship. He was unable to defend this title last year because of knee surgery that kept him out the second half of the year.

Obama backs quick action to fix depleted car fund (AP)

Fri, 07/31/2009 - 10:46 — admin

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama praised members of Congress from both parties for rushing to pump new money into a popular cash-purchase program that is running out of money.
Obama spoke Friday as the House passed the measure 316-109. It would pour $2 billion from the economic stimulus program into the "cash-for-clunkers" initiative and to give consumers more time to take advantage of trade-in rebates for older cars.
The president said initially there had been skeptics about the car-purchase program, but that now "we're already seeing a dramatic increase in showroom traffic" across the country. He said the program "gives consumers a break" and helps to reduce pollution.



Theme by Dr. Radut.