Dear A.I.G., I Quit!

The following is a letter sent on Tuesday by Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of the American International Group’s financial products unit, to Edward M. Liddy, the chief executive of A.I.G.

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I'm just excited that there's going to be a Green Lantern movie!

Earlier today, IESB broke the story that Chris Pine was rumored to be at the top of a list of names for the role of Hal Jordan/Green Lantern. It's more than just a rumor... It's LEGIT! Green Lantern is scheduled to begin filming mid-September in Australia.

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Paraplegic Man Suffers Spider Bite, Walks Again

He has been confined to a wheelchair for 20 years. Now a paraplegic manis walking again, and his doctors call it a miracle. CBS13 went toManteca to find out how a spider bite helped get him back on his feet.

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New Batman game preview.

This is shaping up to be an awesome game. I'm a little behind the curve with games, the last system I bought was the xbox. Looks like I'm gonna have to break down and buy the 360.

MTV Shows

iPhone OS 3.0 coming March 17th!

We just got the announcement. Set your clocks, mark your calendars. It's going down March 17th.

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Crash of speeding Ferrari kills MMA figure Charles Lewis

He was a former lawman who called himself "Mask" and advocated a hold-nothing-back lifestyle that helped transform MMA fighting into a craze and turned his own fighting apparel company into a multimillion-dollar business. Before dawn Wednesday in Newport Beach, Charles Lewis was killed when his Ferrari collided with a white Porsche.

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6 Ways how I let Twitter work for me

Very interesting article in different ways to use Twitter for you benefit. Gives you some great ideas, and explains some nifty tricks used by Twitterers.

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If You Can Read This Turn Me Over [PIC]

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Traveling with the iPhone 3G.

I just came back from a great week of snowboarding out in Snowbird, Utah. Before I left for the trip, I contemplated whether or not to bring my laptop. Traditionally, I've always taken my Macbook with me. I actually considered buying a netbook just for this trip. Although, it would have been great for surfing and checking email, I decided that on this trip I would bring nothing but my iPhone and my digital camera. I made sure to bring extra SD memory cards with me, as I wouldn't have a computer to download my photos to. It would have been nice, if the iPhone had an adequate camera, I could have done the whole trip with only the iPhone.

I also brought along the PSP, but surprisingly I only used it once and for about a 1/2 hour. It seems the PSP has dropped to the wayside as my iPhone is now my device of choice. My last gadget along for the ride was the Solio Charger. From the get go, the iPhone was a tremendous help. On the flight there, I used the ebook reader, watched an episode of Patrick Swayze's new show "The Beast", listened to music and played a few games. The in-flight entertainment on Delta was lacking and it seems like everything now has a price tag on it now, from $2 headphones to $8 meals. It's great that I didn't have to pay $6 just to watch an inflight movie.

Upon arrival, I used the iPhone's GPS and maps program to guide me to the resort. En route, we saw a billboard advertising Cracker Barrell, which happens to be a favorite of mine. We got off the highway, but some how got lost. Using the App "Man-go", we were able to get back on track and find it easily. While there we took some pictures with the iPhone's crummy, but functional camera. Sent a quick text to my buddies to let them know we were on the way. I loved that the phone changed time zones by itself.

While on the mountain, despite being 8,000 feet above sea level, 3G worked great, and our resort had free wi-fi. Although my buddy's laptop picked up the wi-fi fine, I noticed that the antenna on the iPhone was unable to effectively pick up a usuable signal. I ended up turning off the wi-fi as the 3G speeds were faster. I checked email, with the twitterfon app and facebook app, updated all my friends and family back home with pictures and stories from my trip. On our first night, we used the maps program again to find and get directions to Bohemian the restuarant. After dinner, I hooked up my iphone to the TV with my composite cables and we all watched a movie together. Who needs to rent dvd's?

On the 3rd day, I got a text from a friend that someone we know was mentioned in a newspaper article, so using my iPhone, while sitting in a chair lift, I was able to pull up the article and read it for myself. I used the phone to check weather and ski conditions every day, and keep up to date on all news from NY.

Finally on the last day, we decided to take a tour of Salt Lake City. Again, the only guide we had was google maps. I was amazed at how easy it was to get around the city, and we were never lost or without direction. We were able to check out reviews for a restaurant before eating there, then we used the phone to look up history of points of interest such as the University of Utah, the State Capital, and even to learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints. Since we used the phone so much, I was happy to have my Solio Charger to recharge the phone while at the airport. We checked in early, so again I used the phone to check stocks (I'm a glutten for punishment), read news, and check weather back in NYC. Once on the plane I entertained myself with "Don't Mess With the Zohan" I've had this movie on my phone for so long, but kept putting off watching it. I'm sorry I had because it was pretty funny! When that movie was done, I went back to reading my ebook.

Lastly when we finally arrived, I was able to text my brother and let him know that I've arrived a little early and to pick us up. Over all, I never missed not having a laptop with me at all. I didn't have much down time there so, as we were on the move the whole time, perhaps if I had more time to sit and chill, I might have missed my Macbook more. On this trip, the iPhone rose to the challenge and was all I needed!

9 Foods To Eat For A Killer Immunity

While an all-around diet is the key to stronger immunity, these particular immune system-boosting foods and ingredients can keep you in fighting condition. (Click on "Print this" to view all on a single page)

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Simon and Garfunkel Stage Surprise Reunion in NYC

Paul Simon’s first show at New York’s renovated Beacon Theatre this past Friday night ended with his former partner Art Garfunkel coming onstage to stunned applause by an A-list crowd that included Paul McCartney, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Jon Bon Jovi, Rosie O’Donnell and many others.

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49 Killed as Continental Plane Crashes Into NY Home

County Executive Chris Collins said that there may have been as many as 50 people aboard the plane and crew members had reported mechanical problems as they approached Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Several injured people were taken from the scene to Erie County Medical Center for treatment.

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Some Banks Now Want to Return Government Money

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have indicated their companies were hoping to return bailout funds as quickly as possible, on worries government may intrude further in their business. (Subtext...living on 500K salaries, no more 1st class hotels, junkets...gee, maybe they can make it on their own after all struggle on their own.)

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Bangkok will be submerged by 2030

“Right now, nothing is being done,” says Meteorologist Smith Dharmasaroja, head of Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Center. “And if nothing is ever done? Bangkok will be flooded.” By 2030, Bangkok will lie under 1.5 meters (5 feet) of seawater, Smith says. He is calling for a massive dike spanning the Gulf of Thailand, a $2.8 billion project.

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OFFICIAL: Street Fighter The Legend of Chun Li (U.S. ENGLISH) 2009

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1DxKVLVOJ4

Sent from my iPhone

Think Before You Click: The Top Five Internet Scams

Internet scams are by no means a recent phenomenon, but certain scams come back again and again. Here are five popular Internet scams that you should be on the lookout for.

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80's Cartoons for the grown up!

The Superbowl was actually pretty awesome. There were some amazing plays, and a few commercials were actually memorable. Watching some of these commercials makes me realize that there's a lot of talk of the X generation, the Y generation, the "text" generation and all. I'm not sure what they each mean, but I'm pretty happy to be in my generation. I was the born in the 70's, and raised in the 80's generation. I grew to He-man, Transformers, G.I.Joe and a host of other really great cartoons. It's absolutely great that so many of these are now becoming excellent movies! That means that this had as much of an impact to me as it did to lots of other people are around my age group. So we may not have been the age to grow up to Facebook, or myspace, or even SMS and Skype, but we are the age that grew up to AIM, Apple computers when they were known as Apple IIe's, and video games where you have to go to an arcade. We may not be cutting edge, but it's great to see cutting edge technology applied to our fantasies! See the following videos for G.I. Joe and Transformers 2. Explore your childhood fantasies!

Pepsi Ad

Since we're on the topic of Superbowl commercials, here is another one. This one is from Pepsi, and the reason I singled this one out is because Gina Carrano is in it. If you follow MMA at all, or even the new American Gladiators, Gina Carrano should be a familiar name! Here she is, being portrayed as this generations Bruce Lee. While I think she's great, I'm not sure she's got quite the same cultural impact, but what can I say, she's really hot!

This Peta ad had been rejected from airing on Superbowl Sunday.

Hulu.com, free content online

I've been playing around with this website quite a bit, and I tell you, it's not bad. It seems to be actually run by major studio networks (well at least NBC), and is ad driven. The ads aren't too bad, and in fact less then what you see when watching tv. The sound is good, and some movies have a 480 resolution setting, which is pretty clear. There doesn't seem to be a way to watch this on the iphone yet, so far Joost seems to have the upper hand here. Joost was the clear front runner in this genre, but Hulu.com was a little more savvy by allowing this to run off Flash, and directly from the web. Joost required you to use a Java plugin that you had to download and launch each time you wanted to run it. The selection is very large, but very incomplete. For example Battlestar Galactica is a popular series available on Hulu.com, but it seems to have only season 4. The earlier ones aren't there, perhaps intentionally so that once you're hooked by watching the available season, you'll have to spring for the others out of your own pocket. I actually like this service for the older, harder to find shows. such as Buck Rogers, Who's the Boss and the original Battlestar Gallactica. Here's the very first episode of season 1 of the original BSG, courtesy of Hulu.

oh hai guys

Great photo!

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Sylvester Stallone at 62 (PIC)

Stallone has definitely been hitting the gym hard. Maybe a little too hard. Shouldn't he be getting discount movie tickets and early bird dinners?

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Wall Street progress higher in early trading

NEW YORK – Wall Street rebounded smartly in early trading Wednesday after investors found some reassurance from IBM’s better-than-expected forecast for 2009. Stocks tumbled Tuesday on fears governments would be forced to take over wobbly banks to avoid their collapse.

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CNET News.com: UStream.tv live viewing comes to the iPhone - CNET News

This email was sent from theoriginalupstairs@gmail.com

Message from sender:

UStream.tv live viewing comes to the iPhone - CNET News
URL: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10146133-2.html

UStream's live streaming service comes to the iPhone and does it in style. You can browse and search through programming and watch it live on your phone.

CNET: The source for computers and technology http://www.cnet.com

Devastating hit sends Mcgahee off the field in a stretcher

This was such an awesome game, the only blemish was this devastating hit. For a few scary moments it looked as if Mcgahee and Clark could be seriously hurt. Thankfully both of them are going to be ok. Watch the video below to see this crushing hit!

Watch Obama's Inauguration live!

Ok, maybe you didn't in some lottery which allowed you to go to the Presidential Inauguration. Maybe you don't like crowds (and there are going to be some big crowds!). Maybe you're going to be stuck at work, or maybe you simply don't care that much. Either way, there are lots and lots of websites that purport to stream the even live. I'm not sure why you'd want to watch it on your computer when all the major networks will be broadcasting it live to your glorious big, clear TV set. If you are somewhere that has no TV, but does have a computer with internet access, like work, there are many sites that will stream the inauguration. Here is a list of a few. HULU, USTREAM, Joost. All the major news networks will have coverage as well, including CNN, MSNBC and CBS.

If you don't have access to a computer, the iphone has a couple of applications that may help, the first is Joost. They are streaming this event, and they do have an iphone application. Hopefully they will stream to both the computer and the iphone applicaitons. They only work on wifi though, no 3G. Ustream also has an iphone applicaiton, but as of this writing it has not yet been released. You could try emailing them for a pre-releashed copy at iphone@ustream.tv.

Of the new mediums out there,twitter has shown to be one of the best at live action coverage. check them out and use the tag #inauguration in the search feature to follow live when thousands of people who use twitter. Where ever you may be, may technology help you to enjoy it!

How Not to Be a Douchebag Tourist in NYC

Do not stop moving in the middle of the street! And other great tips! Funny read, if you're a NYer, past or present, this is a must read!

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US Airways Crash Rescue Picture Citizen Jouralism

Janis Krums from Sarasota, Florida posts the first photo of U.S. Airways flight 1549 on Twitter from his iPhone.

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Toyota Prius

Watching one of these zipping along Broadway gets one to thinking.
This is such a different era and times are continuing to change at a
rapid pace. Namely the American Auto makers are certainly no longer
the exclusive makers of these yellow taxis. There was a time that all
taxis were Ford or Chevrolet. How long before we see a cop car made by
Honda? An accord patrol car perhaps?

The second point is the "green" concept. While I applaud the attempt
to improve our ecological footprint, is it really working? These cabs
get the same mileage out as regular cars when they are driven
aggressively, and these are cabs for crying out loud! Anyway,
hopefully we're heading in the right direction.

US Airways plane crashes into Hudson River right next to NYC

The plane is a US Airways plane.The plane went down near 57th street around 3:30 p.m. Rescuers are on the scene.There is no word on injuries or cause of the crash at this time.

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Ex-officer arrested in BART shooting

The former police officer accused of shooting an unarmed man at a northern California commuter train station was arrested Tuesday in Nevada, authorities told CNN affiliate KGO.

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Mysterious credit card charge may have hit millions of users - The Boston Globe

Mysterious credit card charge may have hit millions of users - The Boston Globe

Posted using ShareThis

AT&T Discount

If you work for a major company it may pay to check if your carrier
offers discounts to those employees. I double checked with AT&T and
they just applied a 20% discount to my account! Check with yours, it
never hurts!

Sent from my iPhone

Underworld:Rise of the Lycans

Seriously. Are they kidding. No matter how hot Kate Beckingsale is going to look in that leather outfit, I still think the 3rd installment in this movie trilogy is going to suck. Prequels as a general rule suck. Part of the allure of the original Underworld was the meld of the old world supernatural creatures with the modern day high tech gadgetry. The prequel is hundreds of years in the future and seems to pinpoint the time that Selene (Beckingsale) first becomes a vampire. What's wrong with this is, remove the gadgets, turn back the clock a few hundred years and introduce a non-vampire Beckingsale and what do you have? Why doesn't that sound familiar? I'll give you a hint add Hugh Jackman. That's right it's Van Helsing all over again. Remember what an awesome movie that was? Me neither, that movie sucked and it looks like the next Underworld ROTL will too. Go see Taken, Defiance, or Gran Torino instead. Your Welcome. Sent from my iPhone

15 year old Girl Punched by Cop Police Brutality SERIOUS !

Wow, it's not what you think, but definately worth the watch!

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTmPErxrU7o

Sent from my iPhone

JT asked us to send you this post from Engadget

From: Engadget
URL: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/10/vaio-p-now-with-more-windows-7/
Sent from: JT
Sent to: badblueboy.tawee@blogger.com
Comments: Does anyone remember Sony's first pocket laptop? It was out way before there were any "netbooks". It was also small and was intended to do anything a full sized computer could do. It was also one of the first laptops to include a built in camera. All this was almost 10 years ago, and was called the Picturebook. I was torn between this or the Blueberry original ibook. I chose the Ibook and never looked back!

---

VAIO P, now with more Windows 7

01-10-2009

We just couldn't help ourselves, and put this Windows 7 .iso we had lying around exactly where it belongs: on Sony's VAIO P. After mucking around on "the internet" figuring out the best way to install it, we ended up going the lazy route and dragging / dropping the plain files onto a folder on a USB drive, hitting setup.exe and watching the installer do its magic -- and it worked flawlessly! We weren't timing it or anything, but we'd say 45 minutes or so is a good guesstimate for the install. A few thoughts:

• It boots fast! Not that Vista was that bad on the boot front, but we're pretty happy with this.
• No Aero. That's to be expected, but the lack of transparency and visual effects makes the OS look quite a bit different than most of the screenshots out there.
• It's very responsive. To be honest, a lot of that could be from the fact that this is a clean install, minus all the crap Sony loads on. Still, we're very happy for the start menu to pop open instantly, windows to redraw like God intended... it's pretty great.
• Browsing is 100% better. Internet Explorer pops open in a flash, and pages load in times nearly on comparison with "real" computers. Also, scrolling is ultra smooth, whereas with Vista it was stuttery all the way down.
• There's a lot more to explore. We've just scratched the surface, but we love what we've seen so far.

Update: both videos are after the break!

Update 2: for those who've asked: yes, the webcam works, and no, we haven't had any luck getting Aero up and running, though we have the video drivers loaded -- we're not saying it's impossible, in fact, it's likely very possible, since plenty of other similarly specced netbooks can pull it off, but it's just not happening for us just yet.
[Gallery Removed for Email]

Snowball thrown on Facebook ruins friendship

the title says it all

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I thought you should see this story

Upstate NY traffic stop ends in shooting

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_7732/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=67Za4LAp

Sent from my iPhone

Personal Submarines, cause submarines are cool!

The Ocean Pearl, C-Quester 3 and OrcaSub are seriously expensive, but will make it possible for consumers to go if not 20,000 leagues under the sea, then up to 2,000 feet. Check them out, and then read about one PM editor's experience driving the Ocean Pearl.

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Palm Pre in-depth impressions

Tons of photos of the Palm Pre from Engadget

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Get a text message when you're about to get ticketed.

Original Article
'Smart' French parking meters to send tickets by text message
'Smart' parking meters that send motorists a text message when they have spent too long in a parking space and incurred a fine could become a familiar sight on British high streets.

Last Updated: 12:30AM GMT 08 Jan 2009
About 60 local authorities in France have already installed a system that detects the presence of vehicles and alerts police if drivers exceed their allotted time.
The metres were devised by Technolia, an engineering company. In the future, they hope to use the technology to send a text message to the car's owner, warning them when their pre-paid parking time is running out.
"We are revolutionising parking with the individual monitoring of spaces," Claude Zandona, the company's managing director, told the Times.
The meters create magnetic fields that register the metal mass of vehicles and have a direct computer link to a police station, the paper said.
In the town of Issy-les-Moulineaux cars are allowed 20 minutes of free parking. But if they overstay, the smart meter sends a message to a police control room, which alerts officers through their mobile telephones 15 minutes later.
"That way police and wardens don't have to spend the day walking up and down the road," said Mr Zandona, who wants to bring the technology to Britain and a number of other countries.
"The police can go and sit in a café if they like and just pop out when they get a message to say a car is parked illegally. They have an 80 per cent chance of finding the car still there between 12 and 18 minutes after the limit, we have found. That's why we warn them after 15 minutes."
Mr Zandona wants to expand the system so motorists pay for parking with a personal identification number incorporated into their mobile telephones.
"The meter would then send a text message to warn you five minutes before your time was up. You could buy more time through your phone if you wanted.
"But if you didn't, you'd get another message to say you'd overstayed and been fined."
He said the fines could be sent directly to drivers' homes, reducing or even eliminating the need for wardens.

Cops loosen up on minor violations

Article in the Post today about cops targeting less serious infractions:
SOME petty crime is apparently too petty for the NYPD.
The department is edging away from a highly successful model of attacking all minor offenses to focus more on major crimes and counterterrorism, insiders told The Post.
Read More -
COPS LOOSEN UP ON PETTY CRIME

CNET News.com: Delete 10 Facebook friends, get a free Whopper - CNET News

This email was sent from Email Sender

Message from sender:

Delete 10 Facebook friends, get a free Whopper - CNET News
URL: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10136679-36.html

Fast-food chain Burger King's new Facebook application will give you a coupon for a free burger if you start trimming that friends list. What it won't do: trim your waistline.

CNET: The source for computers and technology http://www.cnet.com

Google Street View Used To Help Find Kidnapped Girl

The cell phone company provided provided latitude and longitude coordinates and triangulated them to learn where the two missing people were. Coordinates kept coming in within 300 feet of each other. "Then I Googled it," Deputy Chief Lozier said. Using street view, he was able to look back and forth from the intersection and identify a motel...

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Solio Charger

I got this as a gift for Christmas. Solio Charger. I was very excited, it's basically a power pack to charge your portable devices, like your cell phone, mp3 player and digital camera. I only really only carry one device with me which runs out of juice quickly, and that's the iphone. I thought it would be great to be able to recharge my phone on the go, or at work. The best part about this charger is that if you happen to drain it and you don't have access to a wall outlet, you can recharge the Solio with nothing but solar power. Great! Too bad it doesn't work with my Iphone 3G. Apparently it works fine with the original model, but not the newer one. That sucks.

My baby

Testing out photo blogging via email. The weather has been so crappy
lately, I really miss riding my bike. I can't wait till it warms up
and I can really take the gal out. Maybe I'll take a nice roadteip on
her like I've been planning!

Apple Keynote cartoon

Credit xkcd

Today (January 5th) Is The Most Stressful Day Of The Year

Today is the most stressful day of the year, according to researchers. A combination of the cold weather, economic gloom and end to Christmas festivities will leave workers battling the January blues.

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Fox News TWITTER account hacked? or Bill O'Reilly is gay?

A few minutes ago the official Fox News Twitter account posted “Breaking: Bill O Riley is gay” (referring to the host of the popular Fox show O’Reilly Factor), right after a legitimate message about making turkey lettuce wraps.

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Britney Spears twitter account hacked

I'm pretty sure Britney's account has been hacked as her last tweet is:

HI Yall! Brit Brit here, just wanted to update you all on the size of my vagina. Its about 4 feet wide with razor sharp teeth.

Either that or she's having a really bad day.

Blogging from iphone

It's really late (early depending on how you look at it) and I'm
trying out blogging by email on my iPhone. I've been using my iPhone
for facebook as well as twitter. If this works well, I will have all
my social networks available on my iPhone. Awesome!

Sent from my iPhone

Soulja Boy's House Robbed at Gunpoint

Remember the Soulja Boy video where he was hanging out at his house, and six thugs armed with pistols and AK-47s busted in and robbed the place? Wait...that really happened. The incident took place at Soulja Boy's home Dec. 30. No one was injured. In a video released the next day, two masked dudes took credit and said there was only one weapon.

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Gizmodo Recommendation: Brother QuattroT 6000D: Now Even Sewing Machines Are HD

a post on Gizmodo:

Title: Brother QuattroT 6000D: Now Even Sewing Machines Are HD
Link: http://gizmodo.com/5122239/brother-quattrot-6000d-now-even-sewing-machines-are-hd

says: Even home economics is getting high tech!

For Apple, 2008 Was a Very Good Year

Apple was a busy company in 2008. Over the past twelve months, the number of Apple-branded products on the street has become so broad and ubiquitous that it's hard to go a day without seeing evidence of it, even if you're not a Mac, iPhone or iPod owner.

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Man Tries to Fool Cops by Calling 911 During Stop

Officers said they were following a 28-year-old man's car Monday to make a traffic stop when they got a 911 call for an armed robbery happening several blocks away.

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Large Form iPod Touch To Launch in Fall ‘09

We’ve got this from three independent sources close to Apple: expect a large screen iPod touch device to be released in the Fall of ‘09, with a 7 or 9 inch screen.

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Mastering the art of the all-you-can-eat buffet

If you’re a Buffet Amateur like me, your pupils dilate and your mouth starts watering as soon as you spot the long table full of steam trays and criss-crossed table cloths. Since then I’ve been tutored on the art of mastering the all-you-can-eat buffet. Everybody’s got their own techniques, but here’s what I’ve learned over the years.

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11 Geeked-Out Movies we're Waiting For in 2009

The holiday movie season has come and gone without so much as a certified blockbuster. Thank goodness for 2009, which is chock-full of movies for every fanboy (or girl).

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Been gone a while

I haven't had much time to update this blog. It's not because I'm busier then before, but because there are so many social networks out there I don't have time to use them all. I'm a big fan of facebook now, so mostly I'll update there in the form of my status. I also use Loopt, which works well in conjunction with Facebook. I'm new to twitter, but I'm loving that as well. If you want to find me at any of these places here are the links.

Facebook
Loopt
Twitter

WASP Knife

The WASP knife is basically a knife with a compressed air cartridge built into the handle. When you stab something (like a person), you push a button and the compressed air fills the cavity and practically freezes the surronding tissue. Basically it will really fuck you up. If you are in Law enforcement, be wary of this. A regular knife in the wrong hands is bad enough. This thing is a disator waiting to happen.

New Camera

It's been a long time since I've owned a "real" digital camera. Most of the pictures you see on this blog are either from my Treo 700p, which has done a pretty good job so far. Otherwise I simply download them off the web from websites (such as the above photo of my new camera) or from friends who send pictures from services such as snapfish or kodak. Now however, I have a brand new toy. This camera looks to do everything I need, with the only sacrifice being it's size. It's a little bit bigger then these ultra small compact point and shoots thats so popular theses days. Our biggest selling point is the lens has a 10x optical zoom, which coupled with it's image stabilization really allows one to get up close and personal. I intend to take many, many photos and post them here when I return!

Travel Companians

Well you know I don't need an excuse to buy new gadgets especially when it's video game. I have a long flight ahead of me, so I figured I'd better get some entertainment in case I don't like any of the movies on board. I picked up a used copy of Gods of War:Chains of Olympus. It's everything it's cracked up to be. I haven't enjoyed a game this much in a long time (maybe since Halo) on the Xbox. While I was at the local Gamestop, I noticed also that the actually had a few Wii's available. That's my next big purchase! Although the long lines for the GTA4 makes me want to buy an 360 or PS3 to see what all the fuss is about.

Iron Man

Go see this movie. Now. It's great. A little tip though. Stay after the credits, you will be rewarded. If you follow Marvel Comics, you'll enjoy the clip at the end. If you don't, you'll be a little confused.

Little Danielle turns one!

Tempust fugit, latin for "time flies". It's so true. I feel it was only a weeks ago that we welcomed young Danielle into the world, and here we are already, her 1st birthday! It was great to see so many of the old gang again. It's funny cause we all look exactly the same just a little bit older, a little grayer and we move a tad bit slower! Of course at each outing, there are more and more kids in tow!

Maria sings the opera!

My first Opera ever, and surprisingly, I loved it! Here's the gang out in support of Maria Todaro, our resident kick boxer/Opera singer! As usual she kicks ass (pun intended)! We saw her show at the John Jay College Theatre, and were thouroughly impressed with both the show and the performance of all the actors! Cool note, they had a cake at the end of the performance, shaped to look like the theatre! Very cool. I tried 2 out of 5 flavors. Chris somehow managed all 5!

Ting ties the knot

It was a long time coming, but Ting finally tied the knot. The wedding was a lot of fun and we did everything from the "electric slide" to traditional thai (laotion) style dancing. I of course continued with my "shadow boxing" dance style, which is very easy to do, but slightly dangerous for your dance partners! Ting congratulations, and we'll certainly miss you when you move off to Iowa!

Giant Stingrays Found Near Thai City [PICS]

Recreational fishers and biologist Zeb Hogan hold a live, 14-foot-long (4.3-meter-long) giant freshwater stingray the fishers caught in the Bang Pakong River in Chachoengsao, Thailand, on March 31, 2008.

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Kwame takes first place!

Kwame's first go at a bona fide karate tournament was a rousing success! It seemed like the cards were stacked against him when he found out there weren't going to be enough people in his division to compete against, so he was forced to compete one division up in the brown belt division. Although outranked, Kwame was far from out classed and competed easily in this higher division.

Kwame did a terrific kata, flowing smoothly from movement to movement, with snappy kicks and loud kiai's. His performance earned him a medal, and there would be more to come. Next he and his uke (partner) expertly performed some very sharp self defense moves which clearly impressed the judges. The throws were clean, the strikes sharp and the overall execution was nearly flawless. Despite having to squeeze in more techniques due to the higher difficulty of the division, and all this having been done last minute, Kwame still managed to take the first place prize! Ouso!

Lastly, after having already competed in 2 events, Kwame went on to the last event. A grueling exchange of punches and kicks which utimately culminated in Kwame taking an impressive second place win. Although at one point a judge warned him for an illegal technique to an opponents head, Kwame was clearly in the running for another first place win. A lucky shot by his competitor sealed the deal, ending Kwame's day with an impressive medal, a second place finish in sparring and a first place trophy for self-defense. Well done Kwame!

I went to HS with this dude! What the hell????

BY REBECCA BAKER
THE JOURNAL NEWS • APRIL 1, 2008

Dan Culhane scammed his friends and their families out of $1.17 million by convincing them of a future windfall if they would help him retrieve his trust fund.

"It was all a complete lie," said Jeff Leddy of Larchmont, one of Culhane's victims. "When the D.A. knocked on our doors, Dan was still telling us the deal was real."
Culhane, 32, a former star hockey player at Mamaroneck High School, will spend the next 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 years in prison for his scheme. He was sentenced yesterday in White Plains by Westchester County Judge Susan Cacace.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny in December. A hockey standout for the Mamaroneck Tigers in the early 1990s, he was convicted of bilking 17 people over several years. He could have gotten 4 1/2 to 15 years behind bars.

Culhane asked his victims, all friends and acquaintances, to help him retrieve an inheritance left by his mother. Once the trust was settled, Culhane promised them a large cash reward for their "investment."

"We thought we were clearing up old taxes for his mom's estate," Leddy said. "There was never a trust."

So far, Culhane has paid back just $120,000 of what he stole.

At least 10 of his victims were in the courtroom yesterday.

Defense lawyer Arthur Aidala asked for a sentence of one to three years, saying the longer Culhane spends in jail, the longer his victims would have to wait for their money.

Culhane apologized to his victims and for embarrassing his family.

"I can't put into words how ashamed I am and how miserable my life has become because of my actions," he said.

His apology meant little to Eugene Augustine, a retired New Rochelle firefighter, who gave $109,000 to Culhane because his son believed his story.

Augustine, 70, said he and his wife were forced to sell their home upstate to make up the loss. His son, Matthew Augustine, lost $139,000 in the scam.

"Matt came to us and asked for money under pretext that we were going to have a windfall coming back," he said. "He was my son, so I believed him."

"As time kept going on, I said something just doesn't fit right here," the elder Augustine said. "Dan kept saying, 'I've got the money coming. Don't worry about it.' "

Aidala said the influence of alcohol played "a major role" in Culhane's crimes.

He handed the judge affidavits from people who said Culhane did not act alone.

Assistant District Attorney Matt Brotman questioned the validity of the affidavits because of the relationships between Culhane and those who wrote them.

Leddy, 39, said he was good friends with Culhane's older brother. He said Culhane promised him millions of dollars.

"He kept telling me, 'Hang in there, it's almost over,' " Leddy said.

Leddy said he was scammed out of $300,000 and lost his business in sports facilities construction. He said he had to move back in with his mother in Larchmont.

"It's been about the worst five years I could have imagined," he said. "He has lied, cheated and swindled from honest people his entire adult life, and has destroyed many lives in the process."

Reach Rebecca Baker at rebaker@lohud.com or 914-694-5064.

Charlton Heston passes away at 84

Legendary actor, civil rights leader and political activist Charlton Heston passed away today, at the age of 84.

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Amazing interview with Steve Jobs

One of my favorite podcasts, Mahalo Daily with an exclusive interview with Steve Jobs. The reporter, Veronica Belmont is as cute as ever! Check it out!

See, white men really can't jump!

Lion Tackles "Martial Artist"

Apparently this woman studies some sort of martial art. The lion thinks she's a dancing zebra and pounces on her. It's really funny watching stupid people. Reminds me of that Chris Rock line, "The Lion didn't go crazy, it went LION!"

Russia's 'Rambo' dies after shoot-out with police

This is one serious badass! A heavily armed recluse nicknamed Russia's Rambo of the Forest has been gunned down in a shoot-out with police.Alexander Bichkov, had lived a semi-feral existence in the woods for 20 years, terrorising locals and the police if they ventured near him.A giant at 6ft 7in with a wild straggly beard, the man lived in an old shack and self-made camps.

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Flashlight converts into gun!

In honor of St. Patricks day:6 Ways Fate Screwed Ireland

Ah "The Luck of the Irish." Has a crueler phrase ever been coined? The sad truth is, the Irish are about as unlucky as a race can be while, you know, still being white.

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That's a whole lotta gun for this tiny girl!

Skinny Girl Owned By Desert Eagle - Watch more free videos

Give some dumbass chick, with pipe cleaner arms, and no training a loaded .50 cal Desert Eagle, point her down the field, with instructions to "squeeze the trigger" and "put your tongue back in your mouth" and hilarity ensues!

Wendy's Commercial that never aired

It's a little funny, but nothing too crazy, not sure why they never aired it.

I found this NYTimes article, thought I'd share it.

In New York, Only Older Officers Pack the Old .38
By MICHAEL WILSON
The New York Times
December 16, 2004

Roughly 19 out of 20 officers in the New York City Police Department carry the semiautomatic pistols that have been standard issue for 11 years, a boxy handful of steel and polymer as clean and smooth as many of their young faces.

This story is not about them. It's about the 1 in 20, and the old, heavy piece parked on that officer's hip like a jalopy at the top of the driveway. Wow, people say - look at that thing. Does it work?

An older model of sidearm was grandfathered in with officers who are, in some cases, grandfathers. It is thick, but elegant in its way, its grip curling lazily out of the holster, the grooves in the hammer like those around aging eyes.

It goes by many names - thirty-eight, six-shooter, pea-shooter, wheel gun - but the .38-caliber revolver is a dying breed on the belts of New York, soon to go the way of the rosewood nightstick.

Today, a few more than 2,000 service weapons are revolvers, down from more than 30,000 in 1993. Never again, the police said, will new revolvers be issued, and so the number shrinks with every retirement. Many officers own two guns, and some officers continue to carry revolvers off-duty, but again, that choice is no longer available to new recruits.

More than anything else, it is carrying a gun - the daily familiarity of it, the expectation that it must be used on a second's notice - that most sets apart the police from the policed.

And yet, choosing the gun was unceremonial, rushed and uninformed: pick up a revolver off a table, see how it feels, try the next one, then a third, then pick your favorite. Then, during training, the recruits learned to respect this piece of equipment that can take a human life. Now it feels strange to leave the house without it. They have come a long way together, these 2,000 officers and their revolvers. Uniforms have come and gone, and the belly under the belt has grown, but the gun hanging there is not to be messed with.

"Eventually, they'll all be gone," said Inspector Steven J. Silks, commanding officer of the firearms and tactics section of the Police Academy. "It's like people who like to have a stick shift. You take it away from them, they feel like they can never drive in the snow again."

In the early years of the Police Department, officers carried any weapon they chose, until Theodore Roosevelt, as president of the Board of Police Commissioners, ordered the 4-inch, .32-caliber Colt revolver to be the standard sidearm. Training with the guns began on Dec. 30, 1895.

Ninety-eight years later, in 1993, after much debate among the department and the unions and legislators in Albany, the department switched from revolvers to semiautomatics, primarily to meet the advanced weaponry carried by criminals and dispel the perception that the officers were outgunned.

The newer guns were easier to reload and held 15 rounds in the magazine and one on the chamber, almost three times as many as the revolver. Officers with revolvers were allowed to keep them if they chose, while rookies received the new guns.

So, the model of an officer's gun dates him or her like rings on a tree. The outer bands are the semiautomatic, 9-millimeter pistols. The next ring is much thinner, the brief period of the so-called spurless revolver, a gun with an internal hammer that for safety cannot be cocked. Finally, in the center, there is the classic revolver, such as the Smith & Wesson Model 10 or the Ruger Police Service Six, more commonly seen on "T. J. Hooker" reruns or film noir than on the streets of New York.

The grips still echo the earliest revolvers, designed in the 19th century to feel like the handle of a plow in a man's hand. Lt. Eugene Whyte, 45, with 22 years on the job, remembers arriving at a meeting for the Republican National Convention this summer, and men in suits quickly calling him aside, agog at his snub-nosed sidearm. "I had Secret Service guys asking me if they could see it," he said. "It was as if I was carrying a flintlock pistol."

It is not only fellow law officers who notice. Officer Andrew Cruz, 41, was posted in Times Square recently when a tourist did a double take at his revolver. "He said, 'Old school,' " the officer recalled. They get that a lot: "You're a real cop," or, "You must have seen a lot," or, "You must be getting ready to retire."

"They say, 'What are you, an old timer?' " said Officer Mark Steinhauer, 41, who joined the department in 1991. "My answer to them is, 'It worked for John Wayne.' "

The guys with revolvers, they say, are the same guys who married their high school girlfriends. Dependable. No surprises.

"It's put me through 20 years, and I'm still alive," said Officer Gregg Melita, 41, who not only carries a Ruger Police Service revolver, but the old "dump pouches," two leather carriers that hold loose cartridges. "This is when guns were guns, and cops were cops," he said. "The new guys don't even know what dump pouches are. They go, 'Hey, what's that hold?' " He chuckled. "'Bullets, kid.'"

The design of a 9-millimeter magazine, with a spring pushing cartridges in single file into the chamber, makes it susceptible to malfunction, to jamming. With a revolver, there is always another round ready to fire, no matter whether the one before it did.

"These aren't Ferraris," Inspector Silks said. "These are Chevrolets."

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly ordered the switch to 9-millimeter pistols 11 years ago, and learned to shoot one himself. But it is his revolver, a Colt Detective Special, that he carries today, under the slight break in his trouser leg at the left ankle.

"It's easier to carry, for me, anyway, the revolver. I've carried it for a long time," he said. "I actually won it in the Police Academy, many years ago," graduating first in his class. It is inscribed: "Bloomingdale Trophy won by Probationary Patrolman Raymond W. Kelly. May 15, 1967."

As for the decline of the revolver, he said, "I don't think it means very much, tactically. I don't see that much difference in shooting a semiautomatic handgun or a revolver. The difference, people will tell you, is dependability. You take a revolver that's been in a drawer for 100 years, take it out, pull the trigger, and it's going to go off. Automatics have the potential, probably more so than revolvers, for jamming. At least, that's what people think."

Officers with revolvers say that yes, they feel more comfortable with a gun that is virtually malfunction-proof, and that six shots at a time, along with their extra six-shot speed-loaders, ought to be enough. "After 18 rounds, if I can't hit him, I'm in big trouble," said Officer Sean Murtha, 40, who carries two speed-loaders. (And he would be a statistical aberration. To date in 2004, the average number of rounds fired by a single officer in a police shooting is 2.8, down from 4.6 in 2000 and 5.0 in 1995.)

But there is something else about the gun. It makes a statement.

"It has to do with identity," said Officer Cruz, from the 88th Precinct in Fort Greene in Brooklyn. "You see someone with a .38, you know they've got some time on them."

Officer Melita, with his dump pouch, joined in 1986 and patrolled in Harlem for 18 years. He believes his gun shows younger officers that he was at work when times were different in New York. "That's how you can tell who's been on the job awhile," he said. "Back when it was, you know, wild."

Officers must appear twice a year at the firing range in Rodman's Neck in the Bronx. Detective Tomasa Rodriguez, with the Midtown South precinct, remembered the announcement for everyone with revolvers to step aside to a separate range. "It was embarrassing. All the young kids were looking at us like, 'Oh my God, these people, they're emotionally disturbed, they still have a .38,'" she said. "Before you know it, you're out of there. There's, like, two or three people. I told my partner, 'I was embarrassed at the range.' But I don't care. I like my weapon, I know how to use it."

The department had 2,367 revolvers in service in 2003. At last count this fall, that number had dropped to 2,019. Wait, make that 2,018 - Marty Paolino, 42, retired from the 88th Precinct a few weeks ago. ("I never wanted to go for the special training," he said on his last day of work. "They don't pay you enough.") Next year, with the expected retirements of officers who joined in 1985, a relatively large class of recruits, hundreds of revolvers will disappear from service.

It is too soon for eulogies, but not much. For an epitaph on the revolver's tombstone, consider two statements from two officers, six little words for why they kept their six-shooters.

"I hate change."

"It looks cool"

Here we go! Buckle up, cause it's gonna get rough out there!

The U.S. unexpectedly lost jobs in February for the second consecutive month, adding to evidence the economy is in a recession.Payrolls fell by 63,000, the biggest drop since March 2003, after a decline of 22,000 in January that was larger than initially estimated, the Labor Department said today in Washington.

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Alien Prank Video

These guys love tormenting their room mate, whose terrified of Aliens. This video goes from weird to freaky in 0 - 60. Check out the video.


Roommate Alien Prank Goes Bad - Watch more free videos

Larry Davis, piece of trash meets his maker.

This is a long post. Larry Davis who in the 1980's had a shootout with the NYPD, resulting in six cops getting injured. He somehow managed to escape, resulting in a nationwide manhunt. Read the article below, taken from wikipedia. This is once again proof that there is some sort of karmic justice. Good riddance.

Larry Davis (May 28, 1966 - February 20, 2008), who changed his name to Adam Abdul-Hakeem in 1989, was a New Yorker who shot six New York City police officers on November 19, 1986 when they raided his sister's Bronx apartment to arrest him on charges of murdering five drug dealers. At trial, Davis's defense attorneys claimed that the raid was staged to murder him because of his knowledge of the involvement of corrupt police in the drug business. With the help of family contacts and street friends, he eluded capture for the next 17 days despite a massive manhunt. Once the search was narrowed to a single building, he took a family hostage but surrendered to police under the belief that the presence of reporters provided assurance that he would not be harmed.[1] His ability to survive the shootout, though outnumbered, and to elude capture in the subsequent massive manhunt gained him near folk hero status in some quarters.[2] Davis was found guilty of weapons possession and murder and was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.[3] In 2008, Davis was stabbed to death by another inmate.[4]
Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Raid and escape
3 Search and capture
4 Trials
4.1 Murder of four Bronx drug dealers
4.2 Attempted murder of nine police officers
4.3 Murder of Victor Lagombra
4.4 Murder of Raymond Vizcaino
5 Representations on film
6 Death
7 References
[edit]Background


The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.
This section has been tagged since February 2008.
Davis was sought as a suspect in seven murders: the execution-style killing of four drug dealers in a Bronx apartment, another during an apparent drug robbery in Manhattan, and two more. During the weeks before the raid, he knew he was wanted by the police and avoided his own apartment, spending time at his girlfriend's and at his two sisters' adjoining apartments on Fulton Avenue. At age 20, Davis had a record of arrests and convictions dating back to early 1983 and had violated his probation for a 1984 robbery.[5][6]
Acting on a tip, in the evening of Wednesday November 19, 1986 a team of 27 officers and detectives from the Bronx 41st Precinct station house and the NYPD's elite Emergency Service Unit assembled in a parking lot. Wearing bulletproof vests and armed with shotguns and handguns, they went to the six-story Fulton Avenue building where two of Davis's sisters had adjoining apartments on the ground floor.
[edit]Raid and escape

At about 8:30 p.m. 15 officers surrounded the building and 12 others entered; nine of these went to the three-room apartment of Davis's sister Regina Lewis and seven entered it. Davis, his girlfriend, his sister and her husband were in the apartment along with four children. Lewis's two infant children were asleep in the bedroom at the rear.[5]
According to an interview with Regina Lewis the next day, she answered a knock at the door and the police entered the living room with guns drawn. They told the adults to get the children out, and called out "Come out, Larry, you don't have a chance - we've got you surrounded." Thinking the police were about to start firing, Lewis shouted "Don't shoot! My babies are back there!" At trial, accounts would differ as to whether Davis or the police fired first. From the darkened bedroom Davis fired a 16-gauge sawn-off shotgun and a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, wounding six of the seven officers in the living room, two seriously. The police took cover, returning fire as they retreated. In the confusion no one kept track of Davis, who slipped into his other sister's apartment and escaped out a back window.
Police collected the shotgun and the expended shells from the .45-caliber pistol that Davis took with him. A .32-caliber revolver and .357 Magnum pistol were also left behind.[5] Ballistics tests would later link the .32-caliber revolver to the Manhattan drug dealer killing and the .45 caliber pistol to the four dead Bronx dealers.[7] In the interview with Regina Lewis, she said that she had complained to her brother about him bringing guns to the apartment and told him to get out; he did leave but returned. She also quoted him as telling her, "If I'm caught in the street, the police are going to shoot me. But I am going to shoot them first."[8]
A police official said that all escape routes had been covered by officers but none apparently saw Davis leave. He also said that the wounded officers were unable to return fire effectively due to the presence in the apartment of the two infants and other bystanders. Davis fired four shotgun blasts and nine .45 caliber pistol shots; the police fired four shotgun blasts and 20 pistol shots. Neither Davis nor the two infants with him in the bedroom were wounded.[5]
The following year, three of the wounded officers accused the NYPD of "negligent" and "reckless" planning and execution of the raid, and blamed the Bronx detectives for creating "chaos" by bursting into the apartment before Emergency Service Unit officers could seal off escape routes.[9]
[edit]Search and capture

The six wounded officers were carried across the street to the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital and the manhunt began. The surrounding area and the rest of the building were searched immediately. Police stakeouts were set up at terminals, bridges and tunnels leading out of the city and a nationwide alarm was issued. As the manhunt spread, raids were staged in Chicago, Albany, Newark and other cities where Davis had relatives or friends. A man who said he was Davis called ABC-TV, expressing fears he would be beaten by police and stating he would not be taken alive.[5]
Acting on a tip that Davis had been seen entering his mother's home four days after the escape, police searched the building while interviewing Mary Davis in a laundromat across the street. She suffered an apparent heart attack shortly thereafter.[10] As she recuperated three days later, she urged her son to call the NAACP, who had offered to help arrange a safe surrender.
Davis was the youngest of 15 children.[11] Five of his six brothers had been arrested a total of 63 times with 31 convictions including one for murder, leading police not to seek family cooperation in the search.[12][2] The homes of his siblings and other family members came under observation and their telephones were tapped. By the end of the search, nine buildings occupied by Davis friends, acquaintances or relatives had been raided.[2]
On the afternoon of December 5, 1986 police received a tip that Davis had been seen entering the Bronx housing project where his sister Margaret lived. They surrounded the 14-story building, closed off local streets and posted sharpshooters on nearby rooftops. After searching his sister's second-floor apartment, police began a systematic canvass of all 312 units. During the afternoon, Davis forced his way into a family's 14th-floor apartment just as a neighbor and her son arrived, holding both families at gunpoint for several hours. After threatening the safety of the four remaining hostages, at 11:45 p.m. Davis released the two visitors and sent the hostage husband out to pick up food from a nearby Chinese restaurant. He also ordered the husband to call his mother's and sister's tapped telephones and give false location information. When the husband returned with the food he was stopped for questioning by the police and informed them that his wife and two daughters were being held.[1]
Police set up a command post in a nearby apartment and by 1:30 a.m. had established telephone contact. At one point Davis threatened to kill the hostages with a hand grenade, at other points he chatted with negotiators about stereo equipment, asked about a lawyer and showed concern for his own safety, saying that he was afraid police would harm him. Throughout, negotiators repeated "There is no use running, you have nowhere to hide now."[13]
To assure Davis that he would not be harmed, police showed him the press credentials of three reporters in a nearby apartment and allowed him to speak to his girlfriend. At about 7 a.m. Larry Davis laid down his .45-caliber pistol and surrendered. As he was taken from the building in handcuffs, residents leaned out of their windows, clapped and chanted "Lar-ry! Lar-ry!".[1]
[edit]Trials

After the shootout and manhunt the Bronx District Attorney's office, together with District Attorney offices in Manhattan and Long Island, had a long list of charges against Larry Davis including weapons possession, murder of drug dealers, attempted murder of police, kidnapping, and automobile theft. Despite three trials in two years, prosecutors were unable to convince a jury of Larry Davis' guilt for any but the weapons charge, finally getting a conviction over four years after the shootout.
[edit]Murder of four Bronx drug dealers
During their opening and closing arguments Davis's attorneys William Kunstler and Lynne Stewart contended, without producing any evidence, that the prosecution evidence was fabricated and that the murder charges were a frame-up to excuse the police raid on Davis's sister's apartment. They further contended that Davis had been recruited into a drug ring by rogue police officers and that the object of the raid was to kill him. The prosecution contended that Davis was a crack dealer who specialized in the armed robbery of other crack dealers, and presented testimony from more than 50 witnesses, including ballistic evidence and fingerprints on a cash box that placed Davis at the scene of the October 1986 murders. The jury found conflicting testimony from witnesses, and discrepancies in times given by prosecution witnesses. After deliberating for nine days, the longest in Bronx history for a single defendant, the jury acquitted Davis of the charges.[14]
[edit]Attempted murder of nine police officers
Davis was next tried for shooting six police officers during the apartment raid. He was charged with nine counts of attempted murder, six counts of aggravated assault, two of criminal use of a firearm and eight of criminal possession of a weapon. During jury selection, each side charged the other with racist tactics. The defense charged that the prosecution was deliberately excusing black women because they might be sympathetic to Davis. The judge found that the defense as well had abused their peremptory challenges, "to exclude white jurors on racially motivated grounds". Judge Fried dismissed the first six seated jurors and declared a mistrial.[15] A second mistrial was declared at the request of both sides after the only white juror on the new jury expressed a concern about possible police harassment if he voted to acquit Davis.[16] The jury finally seated was made up of ten blacks and two Hispanics.[17]
Once the trial began, ballistic experts linked the shootings to the .45-caliber pistol seized when Davis was captured. Several wounded officers, including "point man" Thomas McCarren who entered first, identified Davis as the person who had shot them. McCarren testified that when he entered the apartment Davis got up from the couch and ran down a narrow hall to the back bedroom carrying a handgun. McCarren pursued, and the next time he saw Davis was when Davis shot him in the mouth with the .45 pistol. A 12-gauge shotgun slug was found embedded in a drawer in the bedroom and the defense suggested that McCarren was carrying a 12-gauge shotgun and was the first to fire. McCarren said that he had been carrying a shotgun earlier in the evening but had turned it over to another detective assigned to cover the rear of the building, and was armed with only a 38-caliber service revolver when he entered the apartment.[18]
The defense contended that Davis feared for his life and acted in self-defense. Without producing any evidence, they charged that Bronx police were corrupt and involved in the drug trade,[19] and that the police had opened fire first. Davis's mother testified that a police officer had pushed her and threatened to kill her son two weeks before the raid, and that she had warned her son, while also complaining to the Police Department's Civilian Complaint Review Board. The Board sustained her complaint.[11]
On November 20, 1988, after deliberating 38 hours over five days, the jury acquitted Davis of attempted murder and aggravated assault charges but found him guilty of six counts of criminal possession of a weapon.[17] Interviewed by a reporter afterward, the jury forewoman said Davis was a "young and innocent kid who got recruited by a few corrupt policemen... they came in to wipe him out... they wanted him dead so he couldn't squeal on them... they would have killed him." She said the jury believed the defense assertion that the police fired first and that Davis was defending himself.[19]
McCarren, the detective most seriously wounded and forced by his injuries to retire, called the jury's verdict "a racist verdict", and said "The day this happened, a bunch of good honest police officers went to lock up Larry Davis because he had killed people, and not for anything else." Defense attorney Kunstler said "The jury understood what happened – that he acted in self-defense." Defense attorney Stewart said "I really think that the black community is no longer going to have black Sambos, they're going to have black Rambos."[17]
Davis was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison on the weapons possession charges.
[edit]Murder of Victor Lagombra
In October 1989 Davis went on trial for the September 1986 murder of Victor Lagombra, described by the prosecutor as a "mid-level" crack dealer. The prosecution charged that Davis killed Lagombra in a "cold-blooded act of savagery" when Lagombra walked into a Manhattan apartment while Davis and two other men were robbing two drug dealers. Ballistics tests showed that Davis's 32-caliber revolver was used in the killing. The defense produced two witnesses who testified that Davis was in Florida making a rap album on the day of the murder.[20][7]
After a five-week trial and three days of deliberations, Davis was found not guilty. Although William Kunstler was not Davis's attorney in this case, he afterward repeated earlier statements that Davis had helped dishonest police sell drugs, and said that the constant accusations against Davis were a conspiracy.[21]
[edit]Murder of Raymond Vizcaino
In January 1987 Davis's older brother Eddie Davis was arrested on charges of murdering a drug dealer during an August 1986 robbery attempt. According to the prosecution, Eddie Davis and Larry Davis, along with two others, shot Raymond Vizcaino to death through an apartment door on Webster Avenue in the Bronx. A jury found Eddie Davis guilty in June 1989.[22]
Larry Davis went on trial for the Vizcaino murder five months later. He was found guilty on March 14, 1991.[23] Already serving 5 to 15 years on weapons charges, he was sentenced to serve an additional 25 years to life. After the sentencing, Davis spoke for about an hour, repeating his longstanding complaint that the police and the court system were engaged in a vendetta against him.[3]

Sharper Image files for Bankruptcy

Looks like there isn't such a huge demand for R2D2 robots, lightsabers and hand cranked flashlights after all. As for getting a free massage at the mall from those nifty massage chairs, looks like Brookstones gonna have the sole monopoly on those. Expect a lot of grumpy and tired husbands crowding Brookstones while the wifey shops!

Lunar Eclipse

Last night was a very cool lunar eclipse. I hope you were all out there to enjoy it. Yes it was chilly, but definately worth it. Here's a blurb about it taken from gothamist.com:

Tonight is the last chance until December 2010 to witness a total lunar eclipse. This is the third such eclipse in the past year. With any luck the weather will cooperate. It looks like there will be breaks in the clouds over the city, which should make for dramatic views. Break out the tripods and cameras!

A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth wedges itself between the sun and moon, casting its shadow on the latter. Unlike a solar eclipse you can look at a lunar eclipse without frying your retinas! The partial eclipse, when the earth's shadow starts to take a bite out of the moon, begins at 8:43 p.m.. By 10 p.m. the moon will be swallowed by the earth's shadow and will remain that way until nearly 11 o'clock. Bad Astronomy Blog and NASA have lots more details. As the earth's shadow creeps across the moon the moon doesn't get completely dark as you might expect, but turns brownish or even blood red. The reddish hue is because some sunlight gets refracted through the earth's atmosphere.

New Knight Rider

I watched this pilot last night, with great expectations and a lot of anticipation. My first impressions - the car, is really cool, the show is really lukewarm. While watching this 2 hour premier, I occasionally found myself picking up my laptop and browsing the internet. Not good, that means, that there were plenty of slow parts that caused me to lose interest. The new Michael Knight is okay, not bad, but not great. I hate to say it, but David Hassellhof simply had a lot more charisma. The female lead is not that attractive, again, I find her merely...Meh.

Now the new KITT, on the other hand is pretty slick. At first I was disappointed to learn that the new KITT would be a Mustang. A Mustang?!?! How exotic can you make a Mustang. Well they did a pretty good job with it and KITT actually looks pretty bad ass. It's good that KITT is revolutionary, cause when the rest of the FORD car's parts break down, KITT can automatically call AAA and send a tow truck!

SPOILER ALERT- don't read further if you still haven't seen the show.
I like the new abilities of KITT, but I am also annoyed that they've jumped into the nanotech bandwagon. It didn't make sense in the Bionic Women, and it doesn't really make sense here. Basically, with nanotech, KITT is now invincible as long as his computer is on. Blah, Blah, Blah. Too complicated and not really accurate with nanotech. We see bullets crash into the slick fiberglass hull, only to be instantly repaired, the spoiler being created out of thin air, and KITT's color instantly change. Ok, I can but that. But an SUV ramming into you at high speed, and coming to a complete stop crushing the SUV, yet leaving KITT unscracthed....Come on. What the hell happened to inertia, momentum and impact? We have technology that can circumvent that too? Also, making one of the characters a lesbian, doesn't automatically make her more interesting. As a matter of fact, the way that was thrown out there was a little awkward and seemed to serve no purpose other then making a statement like, "look at us, we're progressive, our heros can be gay too". Who cares? How does this affect the story? It doesn't.

I give KITT a 7 out of 10, but the show 5 out of 10.

Worlds most annoying commercial!

For some reason, this commercial makes people want to throw their TV's out the window. It's so annoying it makes me laugh! I hate it too, but I always play it cause it makes my wife batty!

Equilibrium.

Was just thinking about this movie. I love the "gun kata" concept, too bad it's all fiction, because it's really badass! Here's a clip from the movie (soundtrack not from the movie). Movie came out in 2002, before Christian Bale did "Batman".

This is why I sometimes hate NYC!

You'd never believe that we are considered to be the cultural mecca of the west once you see this video. People can be such assholes. This video is not for the faint of heart, but know that it's 100% for real, and happened earlier this week outside a Manhattan midtown bar.

Happy Chinese New Year!

This year is the year of the Rat. In the Chinese Zodiac, this represents the first sign, so it's a fresh beginning of sorts. Read more below:

THE YEAR OF THE RAT, 2008

February 7, 2008 - January 25, 2009 (Earth)

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2008 is a Year of the Rat (Earth), which begins on February 7, 2008 and ends on January 25, 2009. First in the cycle of 12 Animal signs, Rat Year begins the sequence and recurs every twelfth year. It is a time of renewal in so many ways. From New Year to Valentine's Day, to the arrival of spring, may all the blessings and delights of the New Year be yours.

A Rat Year is a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. This is a good year to begin a new job, get married, launch a product or make a fresh start. Ventures begun now may not yield fast returns, but opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way for you to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly, and make the most of every opening you can find. People born in an Earth Rat are said to be logical realists, shrewd, charming, ambitious, and inventive. Of course, the entire horoscope must be considered when making any personality assessment.

In Chinese, the Rat is respected and considered a courageous, enterprising person. People born in the Year of Rat are clever and bright, sociable and family-minded. They have broad interests and strong ability in adapting to the environment and able to react adequately to any changes.

They are gifted in many ways and have an easy going manner. They are active and pleasant, tactful and fantastic, and are able to grasp opportunities. They seem to have interests in everything and hope to participate in doing it and usually do it very well.

Eddie Murphy predicts Giants win!

True I should have posted this after the Giants beat the Packers to win the Div. Championship, but better late then never. How eerie is this?

Giants upset the Patriots!!!

WOW! What an awesome Superbowl! It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a game this much! I hope you all were watching!

Beware! Guard Dog!

That's what that sign actually says. Beware of dog farting in it's sleep maybe.

Tribute to 9/11

This is an old Superbowl commercial, which happens to be a tribute to 9/11. I thought it was well done, very classy. Check it out.

Grand Central Freezes in time.

This is a great video, wish I'd seen this in person!