Archive for February 2011
Rachel Maddow Seizes Her Moment at Post-Keith Olbermann MSNBC – The Daily Beast
by Howard Kurtz Info
Keith Olbermann’s sudden departure from MSNBC has created the biggest challenge of Rachel Maddow’s broadcasting career—becoming the face of a cable network at an uncomfortable crossroads.
The woman at the whiteboard, in a brown hoodie, white T-shirt, and jeans, scribbles away as the debate careens from John Boehner to abortion rights to Silvio Berlusconi’s teenage gal pal.
It is part graduate seminar, part standup comedy, as Rachel Maddow challenges the 17 mostly female staffers on every suggestion for that night’s show. While Maddow strafes such favorite conservative targets as the billionaire Koch brothers (“They’re doing a good job of marginalizing all criticism of them as hysterical”), her sharp tongue doesn’t spare Democrats. She says Hillary Clinton, during the Egyptian protests, “pulled a full Baghdad Bob: ‘Pay no attention to that burning barricade behind me.’”
The newsroom falls silent as Maddow uses a marker to render her decision on the six surviving subjects. But no one can decipher her scrawl. “There’s usually a direct relationship between the legibility of my penmanship and my level of confidence in the segments,” she explains to laughter.
via Rachel Maddow Seizes Her Moment at Post-Keith Olbermann MSNBC – The Daily Beast.
BBC News – Thousands of Gmail accounts accidentally wiped
Thousands of Gmail users have been left with empty inboxes after their accounts were accidentally wiped clean.
As well as missing e-mails, many reported that their contacts had also disappeared.
Google, which operates Gmail, said that a small percentage of its users had been affected.
Some accounts have already been restored, suggesting the data was not permanently deleted.
In a statement, Google said: “This is affecting less than .08% of our Gmail user base, and we’ve already fixed the problem for some individuals.”
The company said that engineers were working to restore service.
Google does not release official figures for the number of Gmail accounts, however it is believed to be between 150 million and 200 million.
That would mean that around 150,000 users were affected by the problem.
Gmail outages on this scale are rare, according to Alex Chitu, whose blog Google Operating System, charts the company’s cloud computing initiatives.
He told BBC News that although service was being restored, many users were angry about the way the outage had been handled.
“Today’s issue shows that Gmail is far from perfect and Google should do a better job at communicating with users.
“When you can’t access your message and your Google account is disabled, it’s nice to know why,” he said.
via BBC News – Thousands of Gmail accounts accidentally wiped.
Crumb Robot Vacuum | Foodbeast Crumb Robot Vacuum | The Premiere Food News Resource
Ever dream of a tiny little Robot Vacuum that will never get tired of cleaning up your messes? Well those dreams are quickly becoming a reality, especially in those pesky areas including those kitchen tables and that messy desk, ideal for either home or office use. With three colors to choose from (red, gray or black), these little robots are powered by a simple on / off button located on the top of their heads. Now I don’t have to worry about those pesky crumbs from my peanut butter and jelly sandwich! If only these little guys could get in between the keys on my keyboard…now that would be amazing! ($14.99 @ UsefulThings Store)
via Crumb Robot Vacuum | Foodbeast Crumb Robot Vacuum | The Premiere Food News Resource.
Penis graffiti dropped from Russian competition | Metro.co.uk
The graffiti was painted by opposition Russian art group Voina in June last year to protest against tight security in the city.
Organisers of the prize for innovation, awarded by Russia’s State Centre of Contemporary Arts, had included the picture, which Voina called A Penis In KGB Captivity, on its shortlist.
However, after failing to get Voina’s approval to include the picture, organisers decided to remove it. The painting, which pointed skywards when the bridge was raised, was eventually washed off by firefighters.
It had originally faced the St Petersburg headquarters of Russia’s Federal Security Service.
Voina has condemned the decision to withdrawn the painting from the competition’s shortlist.
via Penis graffiti dropped from Russian competition | Metro.co.uk.
Last living U.S. WWI veteran dies – This Just In – CNN.com Blogs
Frank Buckles, the last living U.S. World War I veteran, has died, a
spokesman for his family said Sunday. He was 110.
Buckles “died peacefully in his home of natural causes” early Sunday morning, the family said in a statement sent to CNN late Sunday by spokesman David DeJonge.
Buckles marked his 110th birthday on February 1, but his family had
earlier told CNN he had slowed considerably since last fall, according his
daughter Susannah Buckles Flanagan, who lives at the family home near Charles Town, West Virginia.
via Last living U.S. WWI veteran dies – This Just In – CNN.com Blogs.
Penrith mayor Kevin Crameri stood down over behaviour
MOST men would agree that an opinion on a woman’s chest size is best kept to oneself. But this Sydney mayor is not most men.
Kevin Crameri, awarded an OAM in 1999 for services to local government and the community, has stood down as mayor of Penrith – and faces possible suspension – following an investigation into allegations he behaved inappropriately on an overseas business trip. Mr Crameri was on a three-week trip to East Asia last November, when he allegedly propositioned an interpreter for a threesome and commented on the chest sizes of Asian women.
William Shatner – Biography – he’s 80 in March!
Set a course for the stanna stairlift system, Mr Sulu
Handsome Canadian-born actor who – despite his detractors – has notched up an impressive 50-years-plus in front of the camera, most recently displaying comedic talent, and being instantly recognizable to several generations of cult TV fans as the square-jawed Capt. James T. Kirk, commander of the starship USS Enterprise.
Shatner spent many years honing his craft in TV and live theater before debuting alongside Yul Brynner in The Brothers Karamazov (1958). He was kept busy during the 1960s in films such as The Stranger (1962) and Judgement at Nuremberg (1961) and on television guest-starring in dozens of shows such as “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” (1955), “The Defenders” (1961), “The Outer Limits” (1963) and “The Twilight Zone” (1959). In 1966 Shatner boarded the USS Enterprise for three seasons of “Star Trek” (1966), co-starring alongside Leonard Nimoy, with the series eventually becoming a bona-fide cult classic with a worldwide legion of fans known as “Trekkies”.
