Saturday, February 13, 2010

Finesse and Synquis

1:44 AM SHAZIA MALIK

Finesse and Synquis (pronounced "sin-qwiss") were often compared to Salt and Pepa in the 80s, but they totally were doing their own thing, delivering a color-coordinated, high energy, wedge-haircut good time with the help of several biker-short clad dancers. No wonder they drew such a crowd.If you need more F&S, check out their music video for "Straight from the Soul" (it should be noted this video has been OMG Kevin"s Facebook status for over a week n...

Still in the dark on Steve Jobs

1:43 AM SHAZIA MALIK

Last month, I did a blog entry slagging off at the Apple board and its total failure of corporate governance, keeping shareholders in the dark about Steve Jobs, his health and the likelihood or otherwise of him staying at the company.If nothing else, the board confirmed its ineptitude at the firm's annual shareholders meeting. As Reuters reports, the board just said Jobs remained deeply involved with the company, without spelling out exactly how, and refused to answer questions about reports that the US Securities and Exchange Commission was examining Apple's conduct in disclosing Jobs' health problems.That's not to say shareholders seem...

I Mean Seriously, Americ

1:43 AM SHAZIA MALIK

America, you"ve got to be kidding me. Did you really fall for all the sentimental crap the producers shoveled out about personality-free performer Michael Sarver? Apparently you did because the sympathetic yet bland roughneck earned a place in the American Idol top twelve last night, baffling thousands of people who surely expected that spot to go to Anoop Desai, Ricky Braddy, or at least Tatiana del Toro. In Ricky, we would have had a better vocalist. In Anoop, we would have had a better personality. And in Tatiana, we would have had a better crazy. C"mon now. This is just ludicrous.After seeing Tatiana"s fluttering heart nearly send her...

20 Best Free PC Games

1:43 AM SHAZIA MALIK

ExtremeTech has compiled their list of the 20 Best Free PC Games around at the moment, and it’s pretty good. Flash games are specifically excluded, so there will be some games here that you’ve not seen before. Good to bookmark for those rainy Sundays.We’re here to help you separate the wheat from the chaff. What follows are some of the best free PC games you can get online. Our rules are simple: 1. It must be an honestly free game… 2. No utterly simple flash games… 3. It has to run on modern Windows syste...

Peek at Arlenis Sosa ad for Lancome

1:42 AM SHAZIA MALIK

What can I say, except that she looks gorgeous and I can"t wait to see the rest of the campaign. Anyone ever use Lancome products? I seem to remember trying one of their Color ID foundations a few years back but not being impressed enough to buy it.Source: Dominican Fashion Mod...

Alex McCord Parents in the City

1:42 AM SHAZIA MALIK

If you"re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!I’ve been catching up with the Real Housewives of New York City Season 1 and Season 2.   It struck me time and again how close Alex McCord and Simon van Kempen are, it’s clear they are truly in love and devoted to each other.Alex was gracious enough to talk to me about her life recently! The first thing I must mention is that she is really down to earth… that doesn’t really come across on the show. Originally from Kansas, Alex now lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two kids, Francois and Johan.Alex doesn’t pretend to have a perfect life, but...

Bullshit Detector

1:42 AM SHAZIA MALIK

The Local Government Association in the UK has compiled a list of bullshit terms that should not be used by councils. If you pay council tax, then you might be interested in how much bullshit you"re getting for your money. Well now"s your chance to find out.There was only 1 bullshit term found on The Presurfer.Enter the URL of a web page to check for bullsh...

ScreamBody

1:41 AM SHAZIA MALIK

ScreamBody is a Wearable Body Organ. ScreamBody is a portable space for screaming.When a user needs to scream but is in anynumber of situations where it is just not permitted, ScreamBody silences the user"s screams so they may feel free to vocalize without fear of environmental retaliation, and at the same time records the scream for later release where, when, and how the user choos...

I'M OFF TO SEE IMOGEN HEAP!

1:41 AM SHAZIA MALIK

First Train Home official video...

When You Hand Out Pink Slips

1:40 AM SHAZIA MALIK

© Mykl RoventineBusinessWeek ran a good article this week on things not to say when the time comes to hand someone their pink slip.People are getting laid off. Right and left, east and west, all over the place. And it"s not always because they deserve to be let go.Job cutting is never easy, but it often becomes progressively harder as we go deeper into an organization. At the beginning, employers may be able to lay off only weak employees they might have considered letting go anyway. While these weak performers are human beings worthy of dignity and respect, we can make ourselves feel okay about their terminations because they are based...

Picnic by Juicy Couture

1:40 AM SHAZIA MALIK

The speaker dimensions are 12"H x 13"W x 6"D. There"s no word on the wattage, so the sound quality is anyone"s guess. The kit is available for $248. Just like the tagline says it"s "everything you need to take your beau or bestie out for a picnic."Via UberGi...

Staying safe in snow

1:40 AM SHAZIA MALIK

The inviting expanse of shimmering snow contrasts with the non-malignant blue sky above. The ski instructor briefly goes over the planned run, his first charge glides off into the distance and sets off a slab avalanche. The group all look on helplessly as their friend is buried under a wall of snow. Bernhard Budaker of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA knows this kind of scenario is all too common. But scientists at the Institute recently developed a new avalanche airbag system for ABS Peter Aschauer GmbH, in which an electronic unit ensures a ski instructor or friend of any similarly hapless individual...

In search of speed

1:40 AM SHAZIA MALIK

You couldn't have asked for a better day for a competition. It's minus five degrees, the sun's shining and there's not a breath of wind. The snow's perfect and the biathlete's in top form. He's one of the best he can win the race. Often there's only a few thousandths of a second between the victor and the vanquished, so the gliding ability of his skis is very important. And this depends on several factors, not least whether the wax mixture he's applied suits the particular type of snow.Anyone looking for optimal ski performance must first understand the laws of friction. That is why wax and ski coating manufacturers are counting on the expertise...

Inmates comfortable with diversity

1:39 AM SHAZIA MALIK

'Ethnicity, Identity and Social Relations in Prison', carried out by Dr. Coretta Philips of the London School of Economics, explored how prisoners' ethnic identities helped them cope with prison life, and whether such identities informed a social pecking order and the formation of gangs. More specifically, it explored the influence of prison practices on prisoner and group identities.In January 2009 British broadsheets voiced fears of a flourishing gang culture in UK top-security prisons following an inspection report on Long Lartin jail in Worcestershire. By contrast, the LSE research - comprising ethnographic studies conducted in Kent...

Judges' rulings are being swayed by campaign contributions

1:39 AM SHAZIA MALIK

Labor law expert Michael LeRoy says he found evidence that judges' rulings are being swayed by campaign contributions from businesses, based on a new study of more than 200 state court cases. | Photo by L. Brian StaufferPhoto byL. Brian Stauffer A pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling could aggravate the influence of corporate campaign spending that already has skewed justice in some of the nation's courts, a University of Illinois labor law expert warns.Michael LeRoy says he found evidence that judges' rulings are being swayed by campaign contributions from businesses, based on a newly released study of more than 200 state court cases. The...

Lifestyle Traits and Foreclosure Rates

1:39 AM SHAZIA MALIK

A homeowner's station in life and personal spending beliefs and habits are important indicators of the borrower's potential for home-mortgage default, say scientists in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Business."Our research has shown that a borrower's personal traits and behaviors have considerable influence on their willingness and ability to repay a mortgage loan and avoid foreclosure," says Stephanie Rauterkus, Ph.D., UAB assistant professor of finance."Traditionally, the industry has focused on default pressures like income, credit scores or loan-to-home-value ratios, but our research has shown that borrowers...

Historical Medical Videos from Wellcome Trust

1:38 AM SHAZIA MALIK

Wellcome Trust has a Youtube channel on which they feature videos from the 20th century including films about surgeries, medical issues and the everyday lives of doctors.A new digital collection of moving images on 20th-century healthcare and medicine is now online. Over 450 titles – 100 hours of film and video – have been transferred and are freely available under Creative Commons licences.Here are a few examples:Cruel Kindness: a 1967 UK educational film about childhood obesity Acute appendicitis from 1931: Caesarean section from 1930: (Hat tip: BoingBoi...

Things to Do if You Get Sick on Vacation

1:38 AM SHAZIA MALIK

© Leonid MamchenkovFodor's has some useful tips availabel for what to do if you get sick on a trip.Getting a cold or the flu is bad enough, but when it strikes less than 24 hours before getting on the plane-or worse, while you're flying-panicking won't speed up your recovery. Rather than succumbing to a sneezy fate, take immediate action by following these top five tips en route.Top number one? Check your carry-on along with the rest of your bags so that you don't have to haul around any extra weight. You don't need the stress. Read the other t...

Satisfied and Well-informed Consumers

1:38 AM SHAZIA MALIK

Expert consumers like to be surprised by unusual product presentation, while novices crave familiarity, so claims a new Pitt/USC study titled "Smart Subcategories: How Assortment Formats Influence Consumer Learning and Satisfaction," to be reported in the recent issue of "Journal of Consumer Research"."How can retailers help consumers become more informed about the products they use while also making them happy?" write authors Cait Poynor, Pitt assistant professor of business administration in the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, and Stacy Wood, University of South Carolina professor of marketing. The answer seems to be in organizing...

Yale Admissions Video

1:37 AM SHAZIA MALIK

In some ways, you gotta admire Yale for going out on a limb and producing an entire musical admissions video with which to promote the finer elements of their storied institution. On the other hand, you also have to laugh. And laugh. And laugh. Granted, this video still can"t touch the pure brilliance of Appalachia State University"s recruiting efforts (the benchmark for all catchy collegiate tunes), but really, who can?Nevertheless, this video, titled "That"s Why I Chose Yale," plays sort of like a forgotten number from Enchanted. I half expected Amy Adams to come swirling into frame, crooning "How doooo yoooooou knoooowwww???????" But alas, the best we get is Brian Williams, who thankfully refuses to sing his two cameo lines. As for the rest, well, it"s mainly just a bunch of effete...

Egg Shape Mobile Living Space

1:36 AM SHAZIA MALIK

This unit, the blob VB3, is mainly made by polyester, and holds all necessary items one could possibly need as bathroom, kitchen, lighting, sleeping space and several niches for storage.Moreover, the nose can be opened automatically and functions as a porch. While being closed, it blends into a complete smooth bl...

Epson Artisan 810 Multifunction Printer

1:35 AM SHAZIA MALIK

For most people space is at a premium and even though they have become household necessities, a computer printer, fax machine, digital scanner and a photocopier take up too much room.So the answer is the popular, "all-in-one unit", or "multifunction device", as they are now called, but are they as good as separate units?The latest entry by Epson in this crowded field is their Artisan 810 and it looks like an all around winner.This puppy does everything, except scan negatives, and is Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectable so check out Epson's Artisan 810 Multifunction Device.Take a camera with you whenever possible, and look around, you'll find a...

Getting the Best Prices on Cheap Flights: Book In Advance to Save Money Says Southall Travel

1:34 AM SHAZIA MALIK

Most people nowadays plan and book their entire vacation online. It is a much easier process that does not involve a middleman like a travel agent and the whole procedure is within your control. You can actually book a vacation even a year in advance and get good deals on the same. Most of the online travel websites even offer a combination package that has both airfare deals as well as cheap hotel deals. You have an option of booking a vacation with your desired time, location, and even budget with the help of Internet.However you must also do a little bit of research to understand how you can actually grab a good deal. Recently Southall...

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