Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Daas Torah - Issues of Jewish Identity: <b>Conservative</b> Judaism <b>...</b>

Some of Conservative Judaism's top leaders found little to criticize within their own movement when they gathered together December 7 for a panel discussion on the future direction of their troubled denomination. ...
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Live At Copenhagen: Left Out In the Cold � The Foundry <b>...</b>

The Heritage Foundation's Steven Groves and Ben Lieberman are live at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference reporting from a conservative perspective. Follow their reports on The Foundry and at the Copenhagen Consequences Web site. ...
Read More... [Source: Conservative - Google Blog Search]

Norway's Hydrogen Highway gets an electric back road

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Back in May, 30 teams driving pure electric and hydrogen vehicles participated in theEVS Viking Rally from Oslo to Stavanger, Norway to mark the 24th Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS) and the opening of the Hynor Hydrogen Road. For 2010, the event is changing its name to the Zero Emission Rally (see?) and will again feature plug-in hybrids, EVs and H2 cars. Instead of sticking to the main roads as it did in 2009, the 2010 route will send the vehicles on smaller back roads. Tipster and translator Finn S. says that there is no explanation in the Norwegian article on BilNorge about whether these rural areas have been outfitted with hydrogen refueling stations or high-speed EV recharginginfrastructure. During a California-to-Canada hydrogen car rally earlier this year, the organizers brought the hydrogen along in big tanker trucks. Thanks to Finn S. for the tip!

[Source: BilNorge, Photo: Cato Buch / ZERO]

Norway's Hydrogen Highway gets an electric back road originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opera Mobile 10 for Android now available, but not to you

Android's always in need of a better browser. Hell, every mobile platform is -- yes, even your precious Pres and iPhones can always stand to eke out a little more speed, a little more rendering capability, and a little more functionality (yeah, that's right, Flash), and Opera Mobile has always been at or near the top of the game. Version 10 -- which is currently in public beta for Windows Mobile and Symbian -- has now been turned loose on Android, but the catch is that it's only available to carriers and manufacturers of devices right now. The reason? Opera claims that these versions "present limitations that hinder mass consumer distribution" without elaborating -- and if you ask us, Android's built-in browser has plenty of "limitations" in its own right, so seriously, Opera, go ahead and turn it loose. We won't judge. Okay, maybe we will, but we'll go easy.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Opera Mobile 10 for Android now available, but not to you originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How The White House Keeps Track of Cabinet Members� Smartphones [PIC]

Here�s a good catch by CNN from this White House video that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the Obama administration�s cabinet meetings.

While it appears almost the entire cabinet uses BlackBerry as their smartphone of choice (I think I see one Razr in the pile � really?), all devices are to be left at the door before meetings begin.

As you can see, the relatively low-tech way of keeping track of which phone belongs to which statesman is fairly amusing. It also appears that United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice needs no less than three BlackBerry devices to remain connected.

Here�s a big screen capture:

Tags: blackberry, Mobile 2.0, smartphones, whitehouse


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Greenhoof � Blog Archive � My Bloggingheads discussion on climate <b>...</b>

Last week I recorded an episode of Bloggingheads.tv with Jim Manzi, a tech entrepreneur and frequent blogger on conservative websites on the subject of climate change. Manzi is known as one of the (few) reasonable conservatives on the ...
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The Light and How to Swing It: The low level tank part 2


With the Light as his strength, Gregg Reece of The Light and How to Swing It faces down the demons of the Burning Legion, the undead of the Scourge, and helps with the puppet shows at the Argent Ren Faire up in Icecrown. This week he's trying to help those of you crazy enough to tank Gnomergon when it's still a level appropriate instance.

We're doing a much longer than expected series of articles on the low level dungeon runners now that the new cross-realm Dungeon Finder is up and running. This is part two of our series on the low level tank. Last week we talked about the basics of threat, avoidance, mitigation, and what stats to be on the lookout for when choosing gear.

We did promise to get into talents and skills this week, but that would have ended up being three pages long. So we're going to leave skills until next week and just concentrate on talents this time around. If you're extremely new, take a look at this nice article explaining talents for new players. If you've got that down, let's start move on to more paladin specific info.

Continue reading The Light and How to Swing It: The low level tank part 2

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The Light and How to Swing It: The low level tank part 2 originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Most Popular Top 10s of 2009

Every weekend, we comb our memories and archives to compile 10 useful items addressing a specific topic you may have forgotten about, or just happen to be excellent. Here are the 20 list(icle) posts that proved the most popular in 2009.

1. Top 10 Tiny & Awesome Windows Utilities

The best boxing doesn't always happen at the heavyweight level. Likewise, some of the best things you can load onto your Windows system are tiny little guys that just make day-to-day writing, working, and surfing better.

2. Top 10 Must-Have Firefox Extensions, 2009 Edition

We didn't change everything from our original 2006 list, but we did mix up our favorite add-ons for our favorite browser with a few essentials that Lifehacker editors, and readers, have found indispensable.

3. Top 10 Windows 7 Boosters

Just before Windows 7 dropped, we put together the apps that developers had updated or released new to integrate with Windows 7. Some add in things missing from Microsoft's latest OS, while others improve on what's already there.

4. Top 10 Firefox 3.5 Features

To think that Firefox 3.5 was almost labeled 3.1, a small iteration. The latest release included a lot to crow about, including much-needed performance improvements, but also many subtle refinements.

5. Top 10 Underhyped Webapps, 2009 Edition

Gina had only compiled her list less than two years ago, but the web's become an even bigger playground for developers since then. The truly helpful and useful ones, without gigantic advertising budgets, were worth highlighting. Photo by thievingjoker.

6. Top 10 Tricks MacGyver Would Be Proud Of

This was Adam's favorite Top 10 of at least the year, if not possibly all time. Either he's really into short, goofy fan fiction, or just appreciates a number of 1980s pop-culture references sprinkled into his listicles. Either way, it's fun to make like everyone's favorite duct tape enthusiast with these clever hacks. Image by PoweredByLarios�.

7. Top 10 Ubuntu Downloads

Free software rocks, and free software running on a free platform is heavenly stuff. Check out the apps that make Ubuntu a better place to work, play, and explore. Image by Andrew Mason.

8. Top 10 Battery Hacks, Tips, And Tricks

Modern batteries help us feel like we're living in the future, with cellphones that can do anything and laptops that can work anywhere—when they're fully charged. Otherwise, getting the most out of them requires some old-fashioned cleverness and energy frugality, detailed in these tips. Photo by conskeptical.

9. Top 10 Cheap or Free Home Theater Upgrades

Once everything's hooked up, it's easy to just point your HD TV in the right direction and call it a day on your home theater setup. Take on a few of these projects and pointers, though, and you'll get a nicer-looking, better-performing system. Photo by chunkysalsa.

10. Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill

Why was this so popular? Because almost everybody loves an excuse to be outside, and nearly everyone loves an excuse to obsess over tasty food. That's just our guess, anyways, and these 10 skills testify to how geeky this excuse can really get. Photo by adactio.

Those 10 may have been the most popular, but if you're still eager for some more listicle goodies, here's a quick overview of the next ten most popular.

  • 11. Top 10 Tools for a Free Online Education
    "It's easy to forget these days that the internet started out as a place for academics and researchers to trade data and knowledge. Recapture the web's brain-expanding potential with these free resources for educating yourself online."
  • 12. Top 10 Apps that Boost Your Media Center
    "Streaming video, digital DVD backups, DVR recording-it's all possible from your TV-connected media center, and you don't need a system administrator to pull it off. These 10 apps make filling and controlling your media center PC even easier."
  • 13. Top 10 Home Office Hacks
    "Whatever kind of work you do at home, your office is one place you want to spend the time to make comfortable and convenient. Take 10 of our tips on organizing, fixing, and streamlining that space."
  • 14. Top 10 Tricks for Creatively Hiding Your Stuff - Security - Lifehacker
    "Every kid has a creative stash for secret stuff, but that useful enthusiasm doesn't have to die off just because we've traded treehouses for desks. See how you can hide money, files, workspaces, and more in today's Top 10."
  • 15. Top 10 Computer Hardware Fixes and Upgrades - Hardware - Lifehacker
    "If your desktop or laptop parts have died or seen better days, you've got a friend. All of your Lifehacker editors-and many helpful net denizens-have upgraded or repaired faulty systems, and we've rounded up some of their most helpful tutorials."
  • 16. Top 10 Productivity Basics Explained
    "There's a core set of habits and techniques that filter and color a lot of what we write about at Lifehacker, but we rarely step back to explain them for newcomers. Let's get back to basics with 10 productivity tactics."
  • 17. Top 10 Tools for Your Blog or Web Site
    "Having your own hosted web domain has never been cheaper, or easier, with the vast array of free resources out there. Here are our ten favorite tools to help anyone launch and maintain their internet presence."
  • 18. Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Better Coffee
    Coffee doesn't always make work better, but you can definitely work to get better coffee. From four-cup hotel machines to French presses, from home-roasted beans to decorative foam-we've got a wealth of tips for enjoying a better cup.
  • 19. Top 10 Tricks for Making Your Playlists Rock
    "If music is part of your everyday work routine, workout, or commute, stuffing your player full of tunes and hitting shuffle just won't cut it. Scan these 10 tips for improving and expanding your music playlists."
  • 20. Top 10 Outlook Boosters
    "Outlook is such a fixture of office and computer life, its potential as a central life-organizing inbox is easily taken for granted. Empower your Outlook with these add-ons, link-ups, and data management techniques."

Want a quick blast from the past? Our most popular top 10s of 2008 and 2007 are just a click away.
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Sony considered SSD, network storage for PS3 Slim

Could the the PS3 Slim have been even slimmer? It could have, according to Sony's Masayuki Chatani, but it would've cost you. That word comes from a wide-ranging interview Chatani gave to Tech-On!, in which he revealed (seemingly for the first time) that Sony had considered using SSD drives or even network storage to further reduce the size of the console. SSD drives were ultimately rejected, as you might have guessed, due to cost reasons, and Chatani says that network storage ultimately proved to still be simply too impractical for a game console. He also said that the PS3 could have been made slimmer if Sony had just left the power supply on the outside, but that would have "imposed restrictions on transport and use, making it harder to use freely." Not a whole lot in the way of big revelations otherwise, but you can check out the complete interview at the link below.

Sony considered SSD, network storage for PS3 Slim originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What&#39;s A (National Security) <b>Conservative</b> To Do With Barack Obama <b>...</b>

As recently as October, the conservative view of Barack Obama's foreign policy had little nuance: The president was seen as weak, apologetic, and deferential, someone who was voluntarily abandoning America's preeminent role as a world ...
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Batman sequel trailer breaks out of the Asylum

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Both comic book and video game fans knew this was coming, but the Joker will be making a grand return in a Batman: Arkham Asylum sequel (tentatively called Batman: Arkham Asylum 2). No longer content with taking over the facility with the worst inmate containment rating in history, it looks like the superpowered criminals are going to spread out into the city of Gotham and bring the Asylum to the to the citizens.

That's not all. Joker looks a little sick in the sequel, and we don't just mean sick in the head or full of infectious laughter. It's quite possible that one of his sadistic practical jokes may backfire on him this time. No other information outside of this teaser trailer is available, so we'll have to wait and see how things develop.

Download HD Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 Teaser Trailer (207 MB)

Batman sequel trailer breaks out of the Asylum originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YankeePhil: Congrats to the <b>Conservative</b> Blogs. 12 of 20.

Congrats to the Conservative Blogs. 12 of 20. More Shameless Plugging. Ireland's Green Turns Blue. I am sure they will question who paid for the sign... If the Republican Senators are actually against "O.. ...
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Nokia taking Ovi Store criticism to heart, planning revamped version to rival App Store

Not quite sure if you've noticed, but some pretty significant shifting is going on in the heart of Espoo. Just days after Nokia announced that it would be closing up its flagship shops in London, New York and Chicago, in flies this: a new Ovi Store is already in the works, and if all goes well, it'll be available for public use as early as next Spring. For those keeping tabs, that's right around a year after the (admittedly tumultuous) launch of the existing platform, which has yet to live up to the firm's own expectations according to George Linardos. In case you're wondering (and c'mon, you're wondering), Mr. Linardos is the head of products at Nokia's media group, and in speaking with the Financial Times, he confessed that the Ovi Store "had been outpaced by Apple." He also admitted that the chorus of complaints from end-users were driving the next version, noting that his company has "screens up in [their] offices running Twitter feeds [of gripes] all day long." In fact, he likened the act to "sitting there and getting punched in the face."

As for the next go 'round, he's looking to take a "tortoise and hare" approach when it comes to competing with Apple, who he himself claims "radically changed" the world around us when the App Store was introduced. As it stands, George sees the Ovi Store as a "jambalaya" of services, with Ben Wood -- an analyst at CCS Insight -- proclaiming that "none of those [work] properly." In the future, Ben has confessed that Ovi needs "to get all their ducks lined up, including hardware, software and services." So, what exactly will said ducks look like early next year? We're told that new features will include "in-application payments, a redesigned user interface that makes apps easier to discover and faster operation," and beyond that, the outfit is also looking to toss in recommendations based on the app purchases of their friends. This is definitely stirring stuff to hear from someone deep within Nokia's lairs, and it certainly makes us all the more excited to see what the next generation will bring. Nothing like a little competition in the market place to really light a fire up under someone's posterior, right?

Nokia taking Ovi Store criticism to heart, planning revamped version to rival App Store originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Extinct Bees and Drugs Haunt Douglas Coupland's "Generation A"

A science fictional echo of his classic Generation X, Douglas Coupland's latest novel Generation A imagines a future where fuel is scarce and bees are extinct. Suddenly, five people are stung. Five people with strange molecules in their blood.

After Coupland published the groundbreaking novel Generation X in the early 1990s, surly speculative writer Kurt Vonnegut gave a grumpy speech to some college students in which he scoffed at the term "Generation X" and suggested that they should instead be called "Generation A" since they were "at the beginning of a series of astonishing triumphs and failures." Clearly, that comment is the inspiration for this novel.

Like all of Coupland's novels, Generation A is written in immediately engaging, genuinely funny prose. He's the kind of writer who calls GMO corn a "carb dildo" and gives one of his characters a hilarious obsession with the show Starblazers. Shuttling quickly between the first-person perspectives of his five bee-stung characters - from Sri Lanka to New Zealand - Coupland quickly sketches in a five-mintues-into-the-future world where everything is just a little bleaker than it is today. Transportation has gotten incredibly expensive due to impending peak oil, and everybody seems to have gotten hooked on an antidepressant called Solon that makes time seem to pass more quickly and calms people's fears of the future. And somehow, all the bees in the world have gone extinct, which means no more wildflowers, very little fruit, and (of course) no honey.

Still the world is recognizably our own, especially once it's made familiar to us via the goofy, heartfelt patter of Coupland's characters. Harj survived the Indian Ocean tsunami (but his family didn't) and now he works in a Sri Lankan call center for Abercrombie & Fitch. In his spare time, he's created a fake e-commerce website that sells "celebrity room tones" - audio files that capture what silence sounds like in rooms that famous people live in. Zack creates cock-and-ball-shaped crop circles in his own cornfields; Julien is obsessed with World of Warcraft; Samantha is obsessed with various geotagging games online (creating "earth sandwiches" by taking a picture of a piece of bread on the ground in New Zealand, while somebody across the globe in Spain takes a picture of another piece of bread on the ground); and Diana is an evangelical Christian with Tourette's. And all of them have one thing in common: After they're stung by supposedly-extinct bees, they're scooped up by a team of scientists and forced to undergo weird tests in an underground facility in Atlanta.

The setup for the novel is simply terrific, and the subtext is intriguing from the start. Flowing beneath the surface of this quirky eco-thriller is a meditation on the way media consumption has become both an addiction and form of redemption for our characters - and, by extension, the whole human species. Locked into their quarantine cells in Atlanta, the main characters aren't allowed to have any books, computer, or television. They're forced to contemplate how stark and freaky their lives would be without reading and engaging with the world through everything from music to World of Warcraft. What's particularly smart is the way Coupland makes no distinction between the addictive allure of reading and the distractions of the internet. All are, ultimately, ways of feeding our minds with a combination of beauty and "carb dildo" garbage.

Once the bee-stung are released, they discover they can't return to their old lives. Something about them has changed profoundly, and they need to come together and talk about it. So they accept an invitation from Serge, one of the scientists who studied them, to visit a remote island together where he can study them further - and they can get to know each other. It turns out what Serge really wants them to do is tell stories. He hints mysteriously that this is part of what he's researching, and that storytelling is related to why the bees chose to sting them. We also begin to realize that somehow this research is related to the drug Solon.

The entire second half of the novel is taken up with the stories that our characters tell teach other. Some are clearly based on their life experiences; others are parables about storytelling itself and the meaning of human connection. Taken together, these tales begin to form an organic whole, a portrait of people obsessed with finding the words to explain their experiences even while they are unable to find other people to share those experiences with. It's a risky and weird right-turn for the novel to take, though not unexpected for Coupland. He's known for his joyful experiments with language and form.

While most of the stories were amusing to read, I wound up feeling like this section of the novel was fairly uneven. There were simply too many stories, without any exposition between them, and we lost the thread of the compelling tale that Coupland had set up for us in the riveting first half of the novel. Though the book has a great ending, Coupland simply gets derailed when the characters tell stories instead of figuring out what connects them to each other and the bees. Arguably, storytelling is what connects them, and we get hints from very early in the book that there is a molecule called an "eon" that is released into the bloodstream when humans experience stories. But many readers will grow frustrated with Coupland's way of exploring this idea.

Despite these problems, this is one of the rare science fiction novels that will make you laugh out loud. Coupland's comic prose is simply terrific, but never in a way that feels cheap or mean. He's completely in love with his characters, and their weird observations about the world are achingly true. Regardless of whether you adore or ignore the storytelling half of the novel, you'll be amused and diverted. Especially if you've liked Coupland's other novels, you won't want to miss this one.


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Nintendo: Mega Man 10 teleporting down in March

Though we just found out about Mega Man 10, we won't have to wait long at all before we can try it. Nintendo's new Q1 schedule gives a March 2010 date for the WiiWare run-and-gun -- just two months after Capcom starts releasing Phoenix Wright ports. What a wonderful time to have an Internet-connected Wii and enjoy Capcom products.

With the release so close, we expect more information to come out soon, starting with character art for all the bosses and the mysterious third character. We currently only know of the delightful Sheep Man and Commando Man.

JoystiqNintendo: Mega Man 10 teleporting down in March originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Citigroup to repay $20 billion in bailout money

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Citigroup (C) said Monday it is repaying $20 billion in bailout money it received from the Treasury Department, in an effort to reduce government influence over the banking giant.

The New York-based bank was among the hardest hit by the credit crisis and rising loan defaults. It has received one of the largest bailouts of any bank during the financial crisis. The government gave it $45 billion in loans and agreed to protect losses on nearly $300 billion in risky investments.

Continue reading Citigroup to repay $20 billion in bailout money

Citigroup to repay $20 billion in bailout money originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo: GTA Chinatown Wars sales 'frustrating'

Nintendo's focus on "evergreen" titles has been a staple of the publisher for years now, with marketing support lasting longer than ever with this generation's major releases. So it surprised us last April when the company said it hoped "word of mouth" would help push GTA: Chinatown Wars' lackluster initial sales higher as the months progressed. However, when executive vice president Cammie Dunaway recently spoke with MTV Multiplayer, Nintendo's traditional message quickly returned. "Part of what's needed is you have to continue to put marketing support behind these titles."

She also called sales "frustrating, quite frankly," but declined to comment on Rockstar's marketing surrounding the release of the game. Dunaway remained diplomatic through the conversation though, only offering, "The old dynamic of 'throw it on television for a few weeks and then move on and forget it' just doesn't work," giving us little more than a taste of her real feelings behind the release's marketing push. Check out the whole clip after the break.

Continue reading Nintendo: GTA Chinatown Wars sales 'frustrating'

JoystiqNintendo: GTA Chinatown Wars sales 'frustrating' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buy anything: 2010 should be a can't-lose year for investors

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buy-anything-2010-forecast-to-be-a-cant-lose-year-for-investorsNow that Goldman Sachs has forecast that 2010 will be a good year for stocks (and if they expected a lousy year, do you think they'd announce it or just quietly sell?), it's official: All four widely held asset classes -- stocks, bonds, precious metals and real estate -- are expected to continue rising in unison.

The Fed has announced that interest rates will stay near-zero for the foreseeable future, bolstering bonds. Thanks to massive government support of the mortgage market, real estate has "turned the corner." And gold is believed by many analysts to be on its way to $1,350 at a minimum.

Continue reading Buy anything: 2010 should be a can't-lose year for investors


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Snoop Dogg Is a Gadget Hound

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Born in Long Beach California, superstar MC and hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg got his start in the West Coast gangsta rap scene in the early '90s. After exploding into the rap world with Dr. Dre on The Chronic, Snoop Dogg spent his time creating some of the hottest tracks of the past decade, including 'Gin and Juice' and 'Drop It Like It's Hot,' while also finding time to star in films like 'Half-Baked,' 'Old School,' 'Training Day' and 'Bones.' (He even showed up on a Season 2 episode of 'Weeds.')

Snoop Dogg's highly-anticipated new album, the Teddy-Riley-produced 'Ego Trippin,' is out now. The first single, 'Sensual Seduction,' has been a huge success with its '70s-and-early-'80s-inspired vintage sound (and video).

We've also gathered from our various forays into celeb-studded video game events that Snoop Dogg is also huge gadget fan, so we sent him some questions, and he actually wrote us back. Read on to see Snoop Dogg's unexpurgated thoughts on the iPhone, Slingbox, and more.


What gadgets do you always bring with you to the set?

Mac, 360, iPhone, Sidekick, BlackBerry, Slingbox, chuuch


What cell phone do you have right now and what do you love/hate about it?

I use all 3 - iphone, blackberry, n sidekick


Who's the last person you sent a text message to and what was it about?

Teddy Riley and DJ Quik about qdt


Where do you go (site or service) pretty much every time you get online?

Youtube


What annoys you most about your iPod, cell phone, or laptop?

When they freeze up or when my sling box doesn't work overseas, ya dig?!?


Name one thing you wish your iPod/cellphone/laptop could do that it doesn't do now?

nuffin. They do it all


What upcoming gadget can you not wait to get your hands on?

Madden every year


You're stranded on a desert island: What gadget do you bring?
iPod - I got music n movies on it or def my sling box


What's the most-played song or artist on your iPod?

that's a tuff question.....


BlackBerry, Sidekick, or Treo?


BlackBerry and Sidekick.


Are you getting an iPhone-if so, why?

Just got one last week.


What's the longest time you've ever spent playing a video game in one sitting and what game was it?

Madden, couple hours, I always win the tournaments when we play on tour. That's why I be playin tha longest.


Do you use/have a Mac or PC? Why?

Mac, cuz they tha shit. I can do anything on it.


Related Links:

SwitchedSnoop Dogg Is a Gadget Hound originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Update: Glenn Beck no longer a 'paid spokesman' for Goldline

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When we last checked in on Glenn Beck, the baby-faced conservative host was being credited as a "paid spokesman" for Goldline, a gold-coin vendor, even as his employer, News Corp.'s (NWS) Fox News, was saying its personalities aren't allowed to make product endorsements. Clearly, something had to change.

And now something has. In response to inquiries from DailyFinance, Fox's legal department sent a letter to Beck's agent, George Hiltzik, laying out the network's position. Now, as The New York Times notes, Goldline has subtly reframed the nature of its relationship with Beck.

Continue reading Update: Glenn Beck no longer a 'paid spokesman' for Goldline

Update: Glenn Beck no longer a 'paid spokesman' for Goldline originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monday, December 14, 2009

Apple apologizes for iMac delays, keeps mum on DOA / display issues

Some contrition is better than none, we suppose, and upon being probed about lengthy delays on top of two-week shipping times for its slick 27-inch iMacs, Apple has this weekend tossed its expectant fans an overdue apology:

The new iMac has been a huge hit and we are working hard to fulfill orders as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience or delay this may cause our customers.
Considering the 27-inch Core i7 machines are both the major attraction of the latest iMac refresh and the source of the most headaches for Apple, it's quite appropriate that the company would address its failure to make more prompt deliveries, but we're troubled that there's no further acknowledgement of the widespread issues plaguing those who have received their deliveries. Ah well, we'll take what little corporate humility we can find, and if you're fretting about your own machine, you can check it out for some of the more common defects at the link below.

Apple apologizes for iMac delays, keeps mum on DOA / display issues originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tag Heuer New Caliber 1887 Watch Movement SNAFU


This was certainly a sticky situation for Tag Heuer, the details are a bit murky, but the situation is clear. Tag Heuer recently announced their "new, in-house made and designed" Caliber 1887 automatic chronograph movement. All seems well with the movement itself, but the problem is that Tag Heuer didn't design it. Nope, they sort of cosmetically altered an over 10 year old Japanese Seiko movement design (Seiko 6S37). So after 150 years, Tag Heuer's anniversary surprise was on loan from Japan. I do understand that this was arranged with Seiko, and that Tag Heuer will actually be building the movements in limited quantities themselves. At least Seiko isn't doing everything.

Tag Heuer got caught red handed by the watch lover community who noticed the similarities between the two movements. This qualifies us as true nerds, seeing details such as this. Tag Heuer would have gotten away with it to, if it wasn't for us meddling bloggers! That's right, thank the internet watch lover community, who is responsible for this situation being discovered. A powerful indication to the watch industry of what the internet can do for them, or against them. In good taste, as a response to the situation, Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Christophe Babin himself went online to respond to the "accusations." He honorably admitted a "mistake" by Tag Heuer and that the movement was in fact "adopted" from Seiko.

The clear winner in this whole situation is first and foremost the power of the Internet watch lover community, second Seiko, and third Tag Heuer for responding to a sticky situation quickly and admirably. Seiko movements are pretty outstanding, and it is funny that here even the Europeans are rather tacitly suggesting that. Plus, Tag Heuer is a rather mainstream watch brand. Meaning that most people who buy their watches will never even know about this situation. Tag Heuer admitted wrong doing, hopefully a few heads will be caved in there in the marketing department, and they will go on their lives being good watch designers, not movement designers. Lastly, there are several watch forums and blogs that knew about this situation but refused to mention it even though they discussed the new Tag Heuer Caliber 1887movement. They lose the most in this situation for the destruction of valuable street cred among Internet watch lovers who simply expect more.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

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Tag Heuer New Caliber 1887 Watch Movement SNAFU originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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9ff reveals even more bonkers GT9-R - is this the world's fastest production car?

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9ff GT9-R - Click above for high-res image gallery

Bonkers is a relative term, when you think about it. Case in point: the 9ff GT9. With 973 horsepower and a 409 km/h top speed - that's 254 mph, friends - this was already one bonkers supercar. And then 9ff comes along with the GT9-R, an even faster version with - wait for it - 1120 horsepower and a claimed 414 km/h (257 mph) top speed. That's enough to outgun the 412 km/h (256 mph) record set by the SSC Ultimate Aero TT to claim the top-speed crown. That's right: pending outside verification at least, this is the world's fastest car. On the way, it'll hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.9 seconds, 200 km/h (124 mph) in 7.4 and 300 (186 mph) in 14.9. Right, bonkers.

Although - like 9ff's tuner cars - the GT9-R is loosely based on a Porsche 911, it only bears what could barely be described as a passing resemblance. Just about the entire thing is built from scratch, with a 4.0-liter boxer six all but completely rebuilt.

Only twenty examples of the range-topping GT9-R will be offered, although the *ahem* lesser versions with 750 or 987 horsepower are also available, each built to order to the customer's specifications. We're just afraid to ask how much many euros that entails, especially when the existing GT9 went for half a million. Details in the press release after the jump and photos in the gallery below.


Gallery: 9ff GT9-R


[Source: 9ff]

Continue reading 9ff reveals even more bonkers GT9-R - is this the world's fastest production car?

9ff reveals even more bonkers GT9-R - is this the world's fastest production car? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massive $12 Million Basquiat on Offer at Christie's


On Nov. 10 Christie's in New York will auction off an epic 15-ft. wide Jean-Michel Basquiat painting as part of its Post-War and Contemporary Art sale. The painting is expected to fetch up to $12 million. Brother Sausage (detail above), painted in 1983 and featured on the cover of Basquiat's catalogue raisonné, is a cartoon strip-like composition of six panels hinged together to form a narrative frieze of multiple drawings and Xeroxed overlays, each laden with themes of racial inequality and prejudice, wealth and corporate greed in a fame and consumer-obsessed American. Christie's notes the work is "steeped in Basquiat's signature style, raw energy and ingenious, loaded layering," exemplifying the artist at the pinnacle of his career. Also included in the auction are Andy Warhol's Tunafish Disaster, painted in 1963 and estimated at $6 - $8 million; and Jeff Koons' Large Vase of Flowers from 1991, estimated at $4 - $6 million.

[via JustLuxe]

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Massive $12 Million Basquiat on Offer at Christie's originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Killing Floor updates, Red Orchestra on sale and mod updates

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Sit down, dude and dudettes, because this will be a tad confusing. Tripwire Interactive has been busy today issuing a new update to their shooter game Killing Floor via Steam, putting their first game Red Orchestra on sale and updating two free mods, one for each game.

First, Killing Floor has been updated with four of the winning maps from their recent level making competion added to the main game. Also every owner of Killing Floor now has two Guest Passes that they can give to friends. They can play the game for free for up to three days. Finally, Killing Floor's free sci-fi based mod Defense Alliance 2 is now available to download via Steam.

Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, Tripwire's WWII shooter, is now on sale via Steam for just $4.99 until Monday. There's also a major new update to the game's free mod Mare Nostrum which adds 12 new maps, 14 new weapons, over 20 vehicles and 26 Steam achievements.

Killing Floor updates, Red Orchestra on sale and mod updates originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I Get Emails: Why Fiscal <b>Conservative</b> Shouldn&#39;t Support The <b>...</b>

Here's a question I received from a RWN reader this week-end: As a fellow right wing nut, could I ask why we Republicans are not supporting the proposed Medicare budget cuts? As a fiscal conservative, you know that a balanced budget ...
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Conservative Leads in Chile Race - Wall Street Journal


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<b>Conservative</b> Group Aims to Make Bible Less Liberal | I Am Bored

Conservative Group Aims to Make Bible Less Liberal. Give up your worldly possessions? Help the poor? Screw that! Jesus was no liberal hippy!
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