Sunday, September 9, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Chocobo drink
From a blog:
Ingredients:Chocobo (Final Fantasy cocktail)
1/2 part Rose's Lime Juice Cordial
1/2 part Pineapple liqueur
1 Lemon wheel
Sent from my iMickey! 8(; - )
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Directions: Shake liquid ingredients and pour into a small glass. Float a lemon wheel on top.
Sent from my iMickey! 8(; - )
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R2D2 suitcase
From the Technabob blog:
R2-D2 Suitcase Carries More Than Holograms
Posted: 07 Sep 2012 10:00 AM PDT
Is there any better way to carry around your clothes than by using an astromech droid? Let a droid carry all of your stuff the next time you go on vacation with this awesome R2-D2 suitcase.
It's probably not an officially licensed piece of Star Warsmerchandise since it's simply called a "Robot Trolley," but who cares? It features four polycarbonate wheels so it should be quiet as it is rolling along and if you really want to get into the whole theme, you can always dress up as C-3PO when going through airport security with this thing.
Sure, it's not exactly shaped like our beloved droid friend, but it's close enough. Just pretend that R2 was in an accident with a trash compactor.
The R2-D2 suitcase Robot Trolley is available from Salvador Bachiller for €76 (~$96 USD
Sent from my iMickey! 8(; - )
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Apple rival to Pandora
From the Technabob blog:
Rumor Claims Apple is in Talks to Create a Pandora Rival
Posted: 07 Sep 2012 02:30 PM PDT
A rumor is making its rounds today from sources claiming to be familiar with the matter about plans Apple has for new music service. According to the sources, Apple is in talks to license music for a custom radio service similar to Pandora. The streaming music service would offer custom stations to users to allow them to automatically play music similar to a specific song or artist.
According to the sources, the Apple service would work on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers. The sources also claim that the service could possibly be available for computers using Windows. The source did add that the service would not be available for Android devices, which is no surprise.
As is typical with rumors, Apple is offering no comment. This could be a very popular service for a lot of people. A lot of users of Apple devices have been clamoring for a subscription music service for years, this could be as close as you get. I wonder if we will hear more on this on the 12th, along with Apple's likely iPhone 5 announcement
Sent from my iMickey! 8(; - )
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Pool Toys
From the Technabob blog:
Inflatable Star Wars Pool Toys Perfect for Floating in the Dagobah Swamp
Posted: 07 Sep 2012 04:00 PM PDT
Summer is nearly over, but that doesn't mean you can't still hit the pool or swim in the ocean for the next few months. These Star Wars inflatable pool toys are inspiration enough for me to hop back in the waters, even with Fall approaching.
As you can see, the series includes awesome Millennium Falcon and X-Wing Fighter floating loungers, as well as the world's best beachball – made to look like the Death Star. But I think the floating R2-D2 drink server is my favorite, as the little droid was built to serve after all. And if your favorite body of water happens to be a swamp, you can pretend to be on Dagobah.
Apparently, these things were made by Jakks Pacific a couple of years ago and distributed through Target stores in the US and Walmart stores in Canada. I never saw them in stores, and I'm not sure if they're still making them, but you might want to keep an eye out on eBay for them to turn up there. In the mean time, I found a Jar Jar Binks inflatable pool if you'd like to fill it with water and then throw Jarts at Jar Jar's face
Sent from my iMickey! 8(; - )
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Friday, September 7, 2012
Infant Abductions
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|---|
A Violent Trend Emerges
09/07/12
It is relatively rare for infants to be abducted by strangers. But it does happen. And recent analysis of abduction cases by the FBI suggests there are new and troubling trends for expectant parents to be aware of, including women kidnappers using violence to commit their crimes and social media to target their victims.
In April, for example, a 30-year-old Texas woman shot and killed a 28-year-old mother while kidnapping her three-day-old son from a pediatric center. The infant was recovered six hours later.
Exercising Good Sense Online and at Home |
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"For the most part, women are no longer going into hospitals and dressing in nurse's uniforms and walking out with children," said Ashli-Jade Douglas, an FBI intelligence analyst who works in our Crimes Against Children Unit and specializes in child abduction matters. That's because hospital security has greatly improved over the years.
A recent case illustrates the point: Last month, a woman entered a California hospital dressed in medical scrubs and abducted a newborn girl, hiding the baby in a bag. But when she attempted to walk out of the hospital, the baby's security bracelet triggered an alarm and the woman was caught.
Because of heightened hospital security, Douglas said, "now women who desperately want a child—and are willing to go to extreme lengths to get one—have to gain direct contact with their victims, and that's when things can turn violent."
The women who commit these crimes are usually between the ages of 17 and 33," said Douglas, who provides analytical support to our Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team. "Usually they are unable to get pregnant. Often, they will fake a pregnancy in the hopes of keeping a boyfriend or husband." In most cases, she added, the women intend no harm to the infants—and maybe not even the mother. "They just want a child to raise as their own and will do anything to get one."
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| Podcast: FBI intelligence analyst discusses issue. |
Another emerging trend, Douglas said, is that women desperate for a child are turning to social networking websites to locate victims. "We have seen several recent cases involving social networking sites," she explained, "and we see how easy it is to use these websites to gain access to targets."
In January, for example, a 32-year-old Florida woman developed a friendship with a younger new mother through a social networking site. The woman lied about having her own newborn and claimed the child was sick and in the hospital. The victim invited the woman to spend the night at her house, and the next morning, when the victim was in the shower, the woman abducted her two-week-old infant. She then deleted her contact information from the victim's social networking site, thinking she would not be found. The baby was recovered and the woman was arrested.
"Parents should check their privacy settings on social networking sites," Douglas said, and they should always use caution on the Internet (see sidebar). Without the proper settings, pictures posted online can contain embedded information that allows others to track your movements.
"This information is important to share with parents," Douglas said. "They should be aware of their physical surroundings and how they use the Internet. This can help protect mothers and their babies."
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Final Fantasy
Thinking of my baby girl.
From Technabob blog:
Final Fantasy Ultimate Box Gives You All 13 Games for $450
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Posted: 06 Sep 2012 07:00 AM PDT
Do you love the Final Fantasy games? I don't just mean love. I mean, are you obsessed with the franchise? Do you collect all of the merchandise? Well, here's the ultimate package to feed your obsession. To celebrate 25 years, Square-Enix(JP) has packaged together all of its core Final Fantasy titles into a single box set.
You'll not only get discs for Final Fantasy I through Final Fantasy XIII, but you also get a numbered presentation plaque with new artwork from character artist Yoshitaka Amano, a two-disc soundtrack and a commemorative DVD. It will cost you 35,000 yen, (~$450USD). To play all of the games, you'll need a PlayStation, a PlayStation 2, a PlayStation 3 and a PSP.
It will arrive in Japan on December 18th, but sadly it probably won't go on sale internationally any time soon, so the rest of us will just have to deal and whine about it.
Sent from my iMickeyphonia 8(; - ) ⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰
7 Side Effects of Drinking Diet Soda
Is Diet Soda Bad For You?
7 Side Effects of Drinking Diet Soda
Why you need a diet drink detox—stat!
By Mandy Oaklander
Deceivingly "Diet"
Pop quiz! What's the single biggest source of calories for Americans? White bread? Big Macs? Actually, try soda. The average American drinks about two cans of the stuff every day. "But I drink diet soda," you say. "With no calories or sugar, it's the perfect alternative for weight watchers…. Right?"
Not so fast. Before you pop the top off the caramel-colored bubbly, know this: guzzling diet soda comes with its own set of side effects that may harm your health—from kickstarting kidney problems to adding inches to your waistline.
Unfortunately, diet soda is more in vogue than ever. Kids consume the stuff at more than double the rate of last decade, according to research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Among adults, consumption has grown almost 25%.
But knowing these 7 side effects of drinking diet soda may help you kick the can for good.
Kidney Problems
Here's something you didn't know about your diet soda: It might be bad for your kidneys. In an 11-year-long Harvard Medical School study of more than 3,000 women, researchers found that diet cola is associated with a two-fold increased risk for kidney decline. Kidney function started declining when women drank more than two sodas a day. Even more interesting: Since kidney decline was not associated with sugar-sweetened sodas, researchers suspect that the diet sweeteners are responsible.
The Skinny on Artificial Sweeteners
Messed-Up Metabolism
According to a 2008 University of Minnesota study of almost 10,000 adults, even just one diet soda a day is linked to a 34% higher risk of metabolic syndrome, the group of symptoms including belly fat and high cholesterol that puts you at risk for heart disease. Whether that link is attributed to an ingredient in diet soda or the drinkers' eating habits is unclear. But is that one can really worth it?
Obesity
You read that right: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight after all. A University of Texas Health Science Center study found that the more diet sodas a person drank, the greater their risk of becoming overweight. Downing just two or more cans a day increased waistlines by 500%. Why? Artificial sweeteners can disrupt the body's natural ability to regulate calorie intake based on the sweetness of foods, suggested an animal study from Purdue University. That means people who consume diet foods might be more likely to overeat, because your body is being tricked into thinking it's eating sugar, and you crave more.
A Terrible Hangover
Your first bad decision was ordering that Vodka Diet—and you may make the next one sooner than you thought. Cocktails made with diet soda get you drunker, faster, according to a study out of the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia. That's because sugar-free mixers allow liquor to enter your bloodstream much quicker than those with sugar, leaving you with a bigger buzz.
Cell Damage
Diet sodas contain something many regular sodas don't: mold inhibitors. They go by the names sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate, and they're in nearly all diet sodas. But many regular sodas, such as Coke and Pepsi, don't contain this preservative.
That's bad news for diet drinkers. "These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it - they knock it out altogether," Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology at the University of Sheffield in the U.K., told a British newspaper in 1999. The preservative has also been linked to hives, asthma, and other allergic conditions, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Since then, some companies have phased out sodium benzoate. Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi have replaced it with another preservative, potassium benzoate. Both sodium and potassium benzoate were classified by the Food Commission in the UK as mild irritants to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes.
Rotting Teeth
With a pH of 3.2, diet soda is very acidic. (As a point of reference, the pH of battery acid is 1. Water is 7.) The acid is what readily dissolves enamel, and just because a soda is diet doesn't make it acid-light. Adults who drink three or more sodas a day have worse dental health, says a University of Michigan analysis of dental checkup data. Soda drinkers had far greater decay, more missing teeth, and more fillings.
Reproductive Issues
Sometimes, the vessel for your beverage is just as harmful. Diet or not, soft drink cans are coated with the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA), which has been linked to everything from heart disease to obesity to reproductive problems. That's a lot of risktaking for one can of pop.
Best BPA-Free Bottles for Your Workout
Published August 2012, Prevention | Updated August 2012
http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/diet-soda-bad-you
Read more: http://www.prevention.com/print/31447#ixzz25msW7Kph
Sent from my iMickeyphonia 8(; - ) ⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰
7 Side Effects of Drinking Diet Soda
Why you need a diet drink detox—stat!
By Mandy Oaklander
Deceivingly "Diet"
Pop quiz! What's the single biggest source of calories for Americans? White bread? Big Macs? Actually, try soda. The average American drinks about two cans of the stuff every day. "But I drink diet soda," you say. "With no calories or sugar, it's the perfect alternative for weight watchers…. Right?"
Not so fast. Before you pop the top off the caramel-colored bubbly, know this: guzzling diet soda comes with its own set of side effects that may harm your health—from kickstarting kidney problems to adding inches to your waistline.
Unfortunately, diet soda is more in vogue than ever. Kids consume the stuff at more than double the rate of last decade, according to research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Among adults, consumption has grown almost 25%.
But knowing these 7 side effects of drinking diet soda may help you kick the can for good.
Kidney Problems
Here's something you didn't know about your diet soda: It might be bad for your kidneys. In an 11-year-long Harvard Medical School study of more than 3,000 women, researchers found that diet cola is associated with a two-fold increased risk for kidney decline. Kidney function started declining when women drank more than two sodas a day. Even more interesting: Since kidney decline was not associated with sugar-sweetened sodas, researchers suspect that the diet sweeteners are responsible.
The Skinny on Artificial Sweeteners
Messed-Up Metabolism
According to a 2008 University of Minnesota study of almost 10,000 adults, even just one diet soda a day is linked to a 34% higher risk of metabolic syndrome, the group of symptoms including belly fat and high cholesterol that puts you at risk for heart disease. Whether that link is attributed to an ingredient in diet soda or the drinkers' eating habits is unclear. But is that one can really worth it?
Obesity
You read that right: Diet soda doesn't help you lose weight after all. A University of Texas Health Science Center study found that the more diet sodas a person drank, the greater their risk of becoming overweight. Downing just two or more cans a day increased waistlines by 500%. Why? Artificial sweeteners can disrupt the body's natural ability to regulate calorie intake based on the sweetness of foods, suggested an animal study from Purdue University. That means people who consume diet foods might be more likely to overeat, because your body is being tricked into thinking it's eating sugar, and you crave more.
A Terrible Hangover
Your first bad decision was ordering that Vodka Diet—and you may make the next one sooner than you thought. Cocktails made with diet soda get you drunker, faster, according to a study out of the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia. That's because sugar-free mixers allow liquor to enter your bloodstream much quicker than those with sugar, leaving you with a bigger buzz.
Cell Damage
Diet sodas contain something many regular sodas don't: mold inhibitors. They go by the names sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate, and they're in nearly all diet sodas. But many regular sodas, such as Coke and Pepsi, don't contain this preservative.
That's bad news for diet drinkers. "These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it - they knock it out altogether," Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology at the University of Sheffield in the U.K., told a British newspaper in 1999. The preservative has also been linked to hives, asthma, and other allergic conditions, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Since then, some companies have phased out sodium benzoate. Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi have replaced it with another preservative, potassium benzoate. Both sodium and potassium benzoate were classified by the Food Commission in the UK as mild irritants to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes.
Rotting Teeth
With a pH of 3.2, diet soda is very acidic. (As a point of reference, the pH of battery acid is 1. Water is 7.) The acid is what readily dissolves enamel, and just because a soda is diet doesn't make it acid-light. Adults who drink three or more sodas a day have worse dental health, says a University of Michigan analysis of dental checkup data. Soda drinkers had far greater decay, more missing teeth, and more fillings.
Reproductive Issues
Sometimes, the vessel for your beverage is just as harmful. Diet or not, soft drink cans are coated with the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA), which has been linked to everything from heart disease to obesity to reproductive problems. That's a lot of risktaking for one can of pop.
Best BPA-Free Bottles for Your Workout
Published August 2012, Prevention | Updated August 2012
http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/diet-soda-bad-you
Read more: http://www.prevention.com/print/31447#ixzz25msW7Kph
Sent from my iMickeyphonia 8(; - ) ⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰.⁰●⁰
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Mario Guitar and cool misc.
From the Technabob blog:
Posted: 03 Sep 2012 02:45 PM PDT
If I could play the guitar and play it well, then I'd definitely go out and try to score myself one of these awesome customized Mario Bros. guitars. I mean, just look at it.
Of course, the first thing I'd actually play is a rocked-out version of the Super Mario Bros. theme. How about you?
This custom guitar was made by 'geekd out', who hails from Australia. He describes it as:
24 Fret, Full size, amazing quality. Full floating tremolo, Locking neck, Easy access to the top of the neck, Mushroom inlays, amazing sound, and looks fantastic.
Here's a clip of him playing his awesome guitar:
Looks like the Super Mario guitar is for sale up on G33KeD for $489 Australian Dollars (~$500 USD), and you'd better move quick if you want one. You never know if Nintendo's lawyers will swoop in and try and stop to this wonderful (but likely unofficial) guitar.
[via Obvious Winner]
Posted: 03 Sep 2012 09:45 AM PDT
If you're a fan of rock 'n roll, odds are you're familiar with the band Queen, and you know the late vocal talent of Freddie Mercury was the frontman for the group. To celebrate his birthday, Rovio made Freddie Mercury an honorary member of the Angry Birds family.
Rovio has released a new animation featuring Freddie the Angry Bird riding his bicycle to a famous Queen song called "Bicycle Race." The video is live as of right now and you can view below. The video shows a birdified Mercury cruising on his bicycle wearing his Queen crown.
The mustachioed avian animation was created in support of the Mercury Phoenix Trust and Freddie for a Day, an event planned for September 5th to help raise funds for the fight against AIDS.
| Posted: 03 Sep 2012 07:00 AM PDT While most sit-down restaurants offer a way to add on a tip when you sign the credit card slip, It's a bit of a hassle to have to fish for some loose change or bills in your wallet after paying for a cup of coffee or snacks using your credit card. But if DipJar gets traction, then you might soon be able to leave tips simply by 'dipping' your card into the jar.  DipJar is an electronic jar of sorts that has been programmed to charge you $1 every time you dip your card into it. So if you want to leave a $5 tip, you're going have to swipe your card five times, so that might sound taxing. But really, how tiring is it to have to dip your card five times into the slot? I'd imagine not very much – though it might wear out the stripe on your card faster. The DipJar is currently being tested for use in coffee shops, restaurants, cafes, and every other establishment out there that accepts tips. You can contact the crew behind it if you want to get a DipJar for your own establishment. All you have to do is tell them a bit about your store and location and sign up on their site. If they like you, they'll send you a DipJar so you can start collecting tips electronically.       |
| Posted: 03 Sep 2012 06:45 AM PDT It seems like Apple's getting pretty bad at keeping its secrets. Either that, or people are just getting better at uncovering them. While they don't have a complete, working phone, the folks over at China's iColorOS somehow managed to get their hands on various parts of the iPhone 5 to assemble their very own version of the device.  By parts, we mean the exterior stuff like the case and metal plates because I'm sure no one would be able to leave Apple HQ with the actual insides of an iPhone 5 and live to tell the world about it. (I'm kidding. I think.)Here's what the leaked images prove:
        Of course, the exterior of the iPhone 5 tells us nothing about what's going on under the hood, like whether or not it's running a new A6 chip or the same A5 from the current iPad, nor does it tell us about the display's resolution, or any other hardware improvements, like the hotly-anticipated 4G connectivity. Guess we'll just have to wait until Apple's September 12 event for the full reveal. [via Nowhereelse.fr via Dvice] |
Morning Mayhem 09-04-2012
Don't you love going to work or school and not remember your combination or your passwords after a long vacation or holiday. I always happen to change all of mine the day before and it takes me awhile before I can remember. I had that swagger like - I got this, I'll remember. Oh and if I happened to write it down - I can never remember where I put it. <sigh>
I noticed to that I had toothpaste on my shirt. Nice! What a bonus.
Hope your morning is better.
"All of your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them." - ºoº Walt Disney ºoº
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