Image: Weather Underground The strongest storm ever recorded in the Midwest swept through Minnesota, bringing fierce winds and torrential downpours along with it. It turns out the ‘superstorm’ caused the lowest pressure ever recorded in a U.S. non-coastal storm–955 millibars. The storm was stronger than the Great Ohio Storm of 1978, the previous record-holder, and stronger even than the storm that famously sank the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior in 1974. That’s according to
Continue reading …CNN Guest Mischaracterizes Focus on the Family as Pro-’Mean’ Toward ‘Gay People’
October 28, 2010 No CommentWith the recent accounts of anti-gay bullying in the news, there has been a backlash against people and organizations that promote traditional values. Call it a relentless pursuit to find someone to blame. As politicians like Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. , and organizations like Focus on the Family express their concerns over the promotion of homosexuality in the public square, they are regularly blamed for aggressive ignorant anti-gay bullying that results in horrible things, like the suicide of Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers University student .
Continue reading …Nexus Two does (or doesn’t) exist, is (or isn’t) being released this year
October 28, 2010 No Comment
After going most of the year with very little noise on the Nexus One’s successor — a phone Google has never committed to making, by the way — we’ve gotten a handful of conflicting rumors about this thing in the past few days. Let’s take a swipe at the buzz that’s circulating this week: British publication City A.M. says the Nexus Two is a Carphone Warehouse exclusive , will be released in time for the holidays, and probably won’t be made by Samsung. Android and Me is convinced that the Nexus Two will in fact be a Samsung product, will be announced at its November 8th press conference , will ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread (assuming 3.0 is Honeycomb ), and will be available on multiple carriers. Meanwhile, a quote from Google CEO Eric Schmidt from back in July may suggest there will be no Nexus One successor at all: “The idea a year and a half ago was to do the Nexus One to try to move the phone platform hardware business forward. It clearly did. It was so successful, we didn’t have to do a second one.” Of course, he goes on to say that the Nexus One’s sudden sunset was a shining example of Google’s “nimbleness” — and since the quote is from nearly four months ago, there’s little reason to doubt that the company could’ve easily done a 180 since then, particularly since we’re sure they’d like to have a clean, skin-free, and possibly carrier-free device to showcase Gingerbread. At any rate, time’s running out to get a product advertised and available in time to catch holiday buyers… so this’ll all have to shake out pretty quickly. Nexus Two does (or doesn’t) exist, is (or isn’t) being released this year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Goats for rent photo credit Goat Rental NW . Smack dab in the middle of downtown Portland, Oregon, on the corner of SE 11th Avenue and Belmont, there’s a small herd of goats that are doing what they do naturally – eating grass and weeds. The goat herd has attracted lots of attention from neighbors, however, and their grass eating, says the local Portland weekly Willamette Week , is brilliant in “any number of ways.” They are emissions-free mowers that give relief from the gas-powered tractor, and have a specialty in chomping up pernicious and invasive b… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Volcanic eruptions on Russia’s far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula tossed massive ash clouds into the air, forcing flights to divert and blanketing a town with ashes, officials said on Thursday. (Oct. 28)
Continue reading …More and more political scientists are coming into line with their predictions : With just days left until the Election, Larry Sabato from the University of Virginia Center for Politics says the election picture is getting clearer in his “Crystal Ball,” upping the number of pick-ups for Republicans. Even before Labor Day, Sabato predicted Republicans would pick up 47 seats, but now he says they will take home 55 seats once filled by Democrats. “If Republicans gain 55 seats, this will actually be there biggest gain since Franklin Roosevelt. The last time they will have done about this well was 1942. Even in 1994, which is a Republican landslide year, when Newt Gingrich came in during the Clinton Administration, Republicans gained 52 seats,” Sabato said during an interview with Fox News Channel Thursday morning. Sabato is predicting Republican gains in the Senate too. He says the GOP will pick up eight seats, which is short of the 10 they need to regain control. In a statement released Thursday, Sabato says he believes Republicans will pick up the open seats in Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire and Ohio, along with a few seats previously held by Democrats. Sabato tends to be a bit conservative in his estimates, so if he’s looking at 55 seats that’s probably the minimum we could expect.
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Actor Randy Quaid and his wife Evi were released from police custody Wednesday after being arrested in the city a week ago. The Quaids came to Canada seeking asylum, claiming to be running from killers who hunt celebrities. (Oct. 28)
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Image: Screenshot, Daily News It was bound to happen, I suppose. Lady Gaga’s infamous VMA dress–yes, the one comprised entirely of cuts of raw meat–aroused just enough outrage, intrigue, and general consternation that someone decided to copy it and sell it to the lucky public. For $100,000. The thing weighs 85 pounds, and according to this meat-dress’s creator, it’s not “tacky” like the one Gaga wore. This meaty gown is made of the finest cuts of porterhouse steak… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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It’s still a long way from the more budget-friendly model you may have been hoping for, but Bang & Olufsen has now at least introduced a smaller BeoVision LCD TV. That comes in the form of the company’s new 32-inch BeoVision 10-32, which hangs onto many of the features of the other BeoVision 10 series TVs, including edge LED-backlighting, a DVB-HD module, and a pair of built-in speakers that B&O says offers a sound quality that is “quite superior compared to the market level for TVs of this size” — you can even add your choice of one of two motorized stands. Just how much will it cost you? Try €4,000, or roughly $5,500. Full press release is after the break. Continue reading Bang & Olufsen rolls out 32-inch BeoVision 10-32 Bang & Olufsen rolls out 32-inch BeoVision 10-32 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Tubeless Toilet Paper Isn’t the Answer to Waste, Not Using Toilet Paper Is
October 28, 2010 No Comment
photo: Rhys Alton / Creative Commons Yesterday we learned that Kimberly-Clark will be soon testing toilet paper that doesn’t need an inner cardboard tube , all with the entirely admirable goal of cutting down on the million miles worth of tube waste thrown out annually. It really is pretty cool, and as Stephen Messenger says it is indeed “oddly revolutionary.” But when yo… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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