Wed, 22 Aug 2007 08:57:42 GMT

Music Player WidgetsRUs

Music widgets have now moved into the mainstream with many powerful features that you can add to jazz up your web site in a snap. CNET's article Eight (and a half) free Web music players focuses on music players that you put on your web site and program with a playlist.

When your web page is called the flash-based player is automatically downloaded from the music site. The players are easy to add to your web site. The music service provides code that you just paste into your web page.

Players covered are Imeem, MyFlashFetish boombox, SeeqPod, FineTune, Project Playlist, SplashCast, Streampad, Hypster, and Last.fm

The sites offer a lot of features for your widget like customizable player displays, recommended music (Last.fm), video and photos, ratings, social networking, uploadable songs, large music libraries, and web music searches. Posted by: Marc      Read more     Source

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 05:33:57 GMT

Network Reinvents Itself With Interactivity

The Game Show Network (err, excuse me they were renamed with the ever so trendy new moniker: GSN) has a new program called Without Prejudice? The New York Times describes it this way:
The 60-minute episodes examine how participants judge their peers, based on their views of hot-button topics (like gun control and immigration) and their reactions to moral dilemmas (like whether to try to return a cellphone left in a taxi to its owner). The network is also encouraging viewer reaction through online polls and chat rooms on its Web site, www.gsn.com.
I guess this is a departure from the Family Feud and Newlywed Shows normally on display at GSN.

Interactivity is a trend that you will see much more of in the near future. Without Prejudice? is just such a show because it asks viewers to play along at home using computers, and some original online games - like one mocking Mel Gibson's drunken tirade in 2006 and Paris Hilton's recent stay in jail - have been played more than a million times each. The network is also experimenting with mobile phone applications and TV remote control game play.



Interactivity also creates new opportunities for advertisers, as well as encouraging viewers to watch shows live, rather than taping them to watch later: Mr. Cronin, the CEO, calls GSN a "Tivo-proof network." About a third of the network's advertisers have packages that include interactivity, meaning that Web players can win prizes for correctly answering questions about commercials.

GSN's next entry, a month long quiz show tournament called "Grand Slam," is also designed to promote interactivity. As 16 of the country's top game-show contestants face off in a studio, viewers will be able to play along at home. Posted by: martino      Read more     Source

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:56:16 GMT

New Artworks Unveiled in Montreal

If only I had more walls to hang them on, I'd be a serious collector of automobile art. No, make that transportation art, as I'm also a fan of trains, planes, ships and boats. (Yes, one of these days I'll grow up.) Unfortunately my 1-bedroom condo has limited wall space and without spoiling the clean-lined modern decor, there's no more room. But that doesn't stop me from admiring other works and recommending them to viewers who may have gallery space available or are willing to squeeze one more piece onto a den wall. I'm already using my laundry room as an overflow.

Which gives me an opportunity to recommend to our wall-wealthy viewers some 33 different retro-inspired posters from the Levesque Collection, available from l'art et l'automobile online. Alain Levesque is one of the world's finest poster artists, whose latest works were unveiled at the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. He recreates, among others, the classic race cars of Monaco and the muscle car racers of Watkins Glen (an era I remember well). The collection includes posters and limited edition giclees, priced from $20-$250. is a gallery and auction house specializing in transportation-related art of all kinds. Posted by: Philip Powell      Read more     Source

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:50:09 GMT

Passiflora lutea

Thank you again to David Smith for sharing a photograph of a Delaware native wildflower (original plus more photos via the BPotD Submissions forum).

Of the roughly five hundred species of passionflower, yellow passionflower is the northernmost-growing species. It is native to the eastern and south-central United States. Passiflora Online has a short, anecdotal factsheet. Posted by: Daniel Mosquin      Read more     Source

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 15:19:11 GMT

California May Soon Get Its First cellulose-waste to Ethanol Production Plant

With the world plunged into suffocation from global warming leading to chocking the cities across the world, the need to lower the overall greenhouse gas emissions is growing in importance.

Vehicles being the major contributors to carbon production, the search for alternative energy to run them are on besides many others, ethanol being one of the established alternative energy elements.

Cuing up with this necessity, California too needs ethanol production facility of itself. So, to build the states first cellulose to ethanol production facility, BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc. has filed for its permits with Los Angeles County.

The $40 million project to have its most reduced carbon footprints will be using green and wood waste streams for feedstock. The facility will be built adjacent to the Lancaster landfill.

To add to its contribution towards the environment, the facility plans to use recycled water and will generate roughly 70 percent of its total energy needs from lignin i.e. reusing one of its process co-product.

If the plant gets its permit and can successfully meet its target-production of more than 70 billions gallons of fuel grade ethanol from the all-1 billion tons of recoverable waste in the US, this plant would surely be an “exemplary” for such environment-friendly future system modules.

Image Posted by: Irani      Read more     Source

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 05:17:43 GMT

UN Asks Developed Nations to Further Cut Emissions

A UN special meet on climate change harped on the developed world to carry more of the burden of tackling greenhouse emissions. Warning that if let loose to envelope the planet, these carbon emissions will choke the atmosphere poisoning the man-friendly environment, the UN also called for less-developed nations to contribute their bit in cooling the atmosphere.

Every one of us is familiar of the havoc that carbon emissions are wreaking in the atmosphere, raising mercury levels to an extent that calls for urgent attention. Relentless development, reckless industrialization, merciless destruction of flora is fuelling the atmosphere to an extent that would devour the entire planet one day. Human warming of the planet in the form of carbon emissions propelled by petrol eating vehicles, power plants, and industries is discharging innumerable pollutants into the atmosphere resulting in a rise in global temperatures.

The earth has already started showing dangerous signs of times to come. Melting glaciers, flooding, droughts, constant hurricanes, rising seas, dying creatures, and what not, all is the result of global climate change.

British economist Nicholas Stern acknowledges that carbon dioxide emissions need to be curtailed by at least 50 percent by 2050, if we want the earth to remain a green planet forever. Necessitating the need for cuts Stern asserts,

Because of reasons of past responsibility and better access to resources, the rich countries should take much bigger objectives than that 50 percent. They should be looking for around 75 percent cuts.

The better-placed richer nations must share most of the responsibility to financing cuts in emissions in poor undeveloped countries, which are fighting poverty and have no resources to their avail to contain emissions. Industrialized developed nations need to review their policy on climate change by allowing opportunities like carbon trading and offsetting to prosper.

Sunita Narain, director of India’s Center for Science and Environment, in her address snubbed the richer developed nations for the disproportionate sharing of the emissions. Asserting that the need of the day is an urgent attention on behalf of the developed world to share the ecological imbalance considerably, Narain retorts,

The rich world has to reduce emissions far more drastically than it has done so to date. The political leadership is very high on rhetoric but very low on real action when it comes to delivering the goods on climate change.

At a time, when most of the nations of the world are fighting a bizzare change in climate in the form of floods in one part and droughts in the other, risking everyone from humans to animals, a global consensus on reining global warming has to be reached.

The developed countries should start searching environment technology to support the environment rather than snubbing poor underdeveloped nations to cut their development for the sake of global climate. Is the developed world right in asking for such a huge demand from the poor nations, whose economy still needs wheels to sustain itself and run? If restraining their development process will hurt their economy, then how can rich countries ask for cuts from the poor nations? It is the bounden duty of the rich developed nations to lead from the front in a global effort to tackle global warming.

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Via: Image2 Posted by: Amitmishra      Read more     Source

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 05:03:00 GMT

Fund of Endangered Children: Listen to Teddy

Fund of Endangered Children, a non-profit making organization had launched this thought provoking direct campaign in the Czech Republic with a view to raise funds. The campaign was launched with a view to address the largest companies in the country and persuade them to contribute generously for a noble cause. The second aim of the campaign was to engage the general public as well to initiate a general discussion about the issue of tortured children.

People usually are aware of this sensitive issue but until they are personally involved, they remain passive. The campaign is based on the fact that tortured children generally do not tell to anyone about their abuse except their trusted one such as teddy bear. The advertisers decided to send a DM pack to the CEOs of large companies including a real teddy bear with a recorded message of a tortured girl.

According to the claims, the organization experienced 1000 percent return on investment. The campaign was awarded bronze at Cannes Lions this year. The campaign was created by Proximity Prague.

Via Cannes Lions Live Posted by: Balendu      Read more     Source

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 17:11:37 GMT

Camera and Digital Picture Frame All-in-one

Certainly you can see the practicality to the Samsung SS700, which is both a Camera as well as a digital picture frame. The designer, Jin Woo Han, figured why shoot and pics and mount them on different devices.

Right now, the Samsung SS700 is still in the design stage, but I'm guessing it's scheduled to be put out if it's got the Samsung name on it. Unfortunately, I don't know the specs, so I don't know about the Megapixels and so on. You got to love it for concept alone.

Via Gizmodo Posted by: Mark Rollins      Read more     Source

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 06:38:19 GMT

Jodie Sweetin Weds Best Friend

When actress Jodie Sweetin had met Cody Herpin she did not have even the slightest idea that her best pal would one-day turn out to be her better half. The couple exchanged vows at the Little Church of the West on the Vegas Strip in the presence of just some close friends.

Sweetin, 25, and Herpin, a 30-year-old set driver and actor met each other through mutual friends and had been good friends for a long time. The two began taking their relationship seriously in May this year around Memorial Day.

Sweetin who recently hosted Fuse’s Pants-Off Dance-Off said:

We wanted to keep it quiet. We came to Vegas to get married. Cody is my best friend. I married my best friend, and I couldn’t ask for anything more. He’s an unbelievable person.

The two later on plan to celebrate their wedding in a big way for family and friends although they do not have any scheduled day and place for that huge ceremony.

The couple did not leave for a planned honeymoon, but did spend some close moments in each others company in Sin City. For a change the duo didn’t do anything so great as they just ate at the Bellagio Hotel’s restaurant few times.

Sweetin first marriage was with police officer and semi-pro tennis player Shaun Holguin. She married him in 2002 and separated after four years in late 2006 as her alcohol and meth addiction put Holguin status as a police officer in jeopardy.

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Source: People Posted by: Fineblog      Read more     Source

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 21:54:46 GMT

Watches Penguin Behavior to Learn About Antarctic

Can you guesstimate how old antarctic ice sheets are? Well, Steven D. Emslie has. The North Carolina university professor uses a particular species of penguins and radio carbon dating methods to determine the age of the Antarctic ice sheets. The prof. estimates that Ross Ice shelf advanced northwards about 13,000 years ago and it started to retreat end of the ice age.

The Adlie penguins tend to return to the same spot every year leaving a mountain of debris behind. This kind of debris is a treasure for researchers involved in Antarctic ice sheet studies.

These penguins are the smallest in Antarctica. Being small, they tend to nest in ice free zones of the shelf. The small creatures colonize debris all over the glacier. These colonies of penguins mark the advancing or retreating ice shelf. Thus, the Adlie penguins are immense help to the study.

Until now, there was no way to measure the ’shifting interface between ice and water’. This is what Prof.Emslie has been working on. The professor has managed to publish couple of articles on this study as of now. I think this is a great study and just the fact that penguins are providing all the clues is very unique.

The first article titled ‘A 45,000 year record of Adlie penguins and climate change in the Ross Sea, Antarctica‘ has been published on the Ross Ice shelf. This one studies the movements of the Ice shelf(advance and retreat). The shelf is a part of the massive glacier system. This movement can be studied by examining how the penguins behave.

The second one was published on July 10th in Geology. This article is mainly on the dietary conditions of the penguins. The professor mentions that the penguins are feeding off krill because the climate change has also changed the penguin’s food habits. According to the paper, the former diet of penguins was mainly fish oriented. However, with the climate of the Southern ocean changing, there’s not much of fish left to devour.

The North Carolina professor’s research was funded by the National Science Foundation, NASA and also National Geographic.Hopefully, there will be more studies like this in near future on global climate change and it’s influence.


Image Credits: Junglewalk, Esf, Junglewalk Posted by: Apabritabasu      Read more     Source