Anne Sullivan, 24
Matthew Renaud, 35
Robert Bebee, 41
Robert Garner, 29
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Newly discovered virus takes more lives, spreads
(CNN) -- A new SARS-like virus recently found in humans continues to spread -- with the worldwide total now at 49, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
Of the 49 known infections with the MERS-CoV virus, 27 have resulted in death, the organization said.
The latest deaths were reported in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi health ministry said Wednesday that three people died from their infections in the country's eastern region.
The virus is "a threat to the entire world," the WHO's general director said Monday.
It "is not a problem that any single affected country can keep to itself or manage all by itself," Margaret Chan said Monday in her closing remarks at the 66th World Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
Although many of the cases have occurred on the Arabian Peninsula, people have died of the infection elsewhere.
However, "all of the European cases have had a direct or indirect connection to the Middle East," the WHO said earlier this month. But "in France and the United Kingdom, there has been limited local transmission among close contacts who had not been to the Middle East but had been in contact with a traveler recently returned from the Middle East."
On Tuesday, a patient died in France after having contracted the virus during a trip to the Middle East, the WHO reported.
Coronaviruses cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, as well as a variety of animal diseases.
However, the new virus is not SARS.
The WHO recently gave it a more specific name: Middle East respiratory symptom coronavirus, or MERS-CoV.
It acts like a cold virus and attacks the respiratory system, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said. But symptoms, which include fever and a cough, are severe and can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure.
Health officials do not yet know much about how the virus spreads, which makes it hard for scientists to prevent infections, Chan said.
The WHO is calling for the world to pull together its resources to study and tackle the virus.
Remember this guy?
(Courtesy of the Washington Times)
Interview with Ted Williams, The Man With 'Golden Voice'
NEW YORK, May 20, 2013 — Each year the homeless population increases in the United States. The reasons for this vary. Natural disasters, disability, substance abuse, and lack of affordable housing are just a few factors that result in homelessness. According to The National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness, more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year in the United States.
Why is homelessness on the rise? The Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County provides an answer: “When a household is using more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, they frequently have to make difficult decisions about what to pay, be it housing, utilities, food, childcare, health care, education or transportation. With limited resources, one emergency or unplanned situation can begin a downward spiral into homelessness.”
What do the homeless themselves have to say about their struggle? Ted Williams, The Golden Voice, a formerly homeless man who became an internet sensation in 2011 after a recording of his voice went out to the public on Youtube, answers to this and other pressing questions.
Ted, a native of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York sat down to discuss how he became homeless and offers some suggestions for empowering the homeless to empower themselves.
The interview after the jump.
Interview with Ted Williams, The Man With 'Golden Voice'
NEW YORK, May 20, 2013 — Each year the homeless population increases in the United States. The reasons for this vary. Natural disasters, disability, substance abuse, and lack of affordable housing are just a few factors that result in homelessness. According to The National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness, more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year in the United States.
What do the homeless themselves have to say about their struggle? Ted Williams, The Golden Voice, a formerly homeless man who became an internet sensation in 2011 after a recording of his voice went out to the public on Youtube, answers to this and other pressing questions.
Ted, a native of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York sat down to discuss how he became homeless and offers some suggestions for empowering the homeless to empower themselves.
The interview after the jump.
I'd bid on this just for the hell of it.
State puts 'used' giant morgue refrigerator up for sale on eBay
It’s the creepy alternative to a beach cooler.
The state Office of Mental Health is selling a morgue refrigerator from a Manhattan psychiatric ward on eBay — calling it “used” but “in good condition.”
The bizarre ad lists the huge silver appliance, equipped with four doors for body storage, as having “signs of cosmetic wear” but being “fully operational.”
The fridge looks plucked from the set of “Law & Order: SVU.” At 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide, it could fit nearly 2,000 12-ounce cans of beer.
And the weirdest part? People are actually bidding on it.
The price was at $202 less than a day after it was posted.
A spokeswoman for the state Office of General Services, which sells unwanted government goodies, admits she’s never seen anyone sell a morgue fridge.
“Every once in a while, we get an unusual item — and this would be that,” said spokeswoman Heather Groll.
She added there are no rules about who the cooler can go to — any individual or agency could take it — and no background checks are required.
“Whoever buys it would have to come pick it up, so he or she would have to have some familiarity with [refrigerators] like that,” she said.
She said she had no clue who might want the item.
The Office of General Services has also sold barber chairs from prisons, police cars and scrap metal on eBay, she said.
The fridge ad was posted Thursday and garnered a $10 bid in the first few hours. The auction ends in late June.
The ad notes the buyer must pick it up from the Manhattan Psychiatric Center using his or her own transportation.
“Buyer must dismantle unit to remove from room,” it says
The buyer, the ad notes, is responsible for cleaning it. It also states the fridge is in good condition with few scrapes and bangs.
“The potential buyer is strongly encouraged to inspect item prior to bidding,” it says.
The item is a Norlake Scientific 4 Drawer Morgue Refrigerator with compressor on top.
All major credit cards are accepted.
It’s the creepy alternative to a beach cooler.
The state Office of Mental Health is selling a morgue refrigerator from a Manhattan psychiatric ward on eBay — calling it “used” but “in good condition.”
The bizarre ad lists the huge silver appliance, equipped with four doors for body storage, as having “signs of cosmetic wear” but being “fully operational.”
The fridge looks plucked from the set of “Law & Order: SVU.” At 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide, it could fit nearly 2,000 12-ounce cans of beer.
And the weirdest part? People are actually bidding on it.
The price was at $202 less than a day after it was posted.
A spokeswoman for the state Office of General Services, which sells unwanted government goodies, admits she’s never seen anyone sell a morgue fridge.
“Every once in a while, we get an unusual item — and this would be that,” said spokeswoman Heather Groll.
She added there are no rules about who the cooler can go to — any individual or agency could take it — and no background checks are required.
“Whoever buys it would have to come pick it up, so he or she would have to have some familiarity with [refrigerators] like that,” she said.
She said she had no clue who might want the item.
The Office of General Services has also sold barber chairs from prisons, police cars and scrap metal on eBay, she said.
The fridge ad was posted Thursday and garnered a $10 bid in the first few hours. The auction ends in late June.
The ad notes the buyer must pick it up from the Manhattan Psychiatric Center using his or her own transportation.
“Buyer must dismantle unit to remove from room,” it says
The buyer, the ad notes, is responsible for cleaning it. It also states the fridge is in good condition with few scrapes and bangs.
“The potential buyer is strongly encouraged to inspect item prior to bidding,” it says.
The item is a Norlake Scientific 4 Drawer Morgue Refrigerator with compressor on top.
All major credit cards are accepted.
Houston Motel Fire Kills 4 Firefighters, Sends 13 to Hospital
Four firefighters died and thirteen were hospitalized after battling a five-alarm blaze that overtook a Houston motel on one of the city's heavily traveled expressways today.
The fire in the southeastern part of Houston quickly engulfed a motel, the Southwest Inn.
The thick black smoke was visible for miles and, as the fire spread, the building's roof collapse, ABC station KTRK reported.
"We can confirm for you, at this time, we have four fatalities," said Janice Evans, a spokeswoman for the Houston Mayor's Office. "Families are being currently notified ... It's a very sad day for the Houston Fire Department and the city of Houston, as a whole."
Three firefighters were killed at the scene, while the fourth died at a hospital, The Associated Press reported.
Some of the survivors could be seen saluting, a traditional honor for a fallen comrade.
One of the firefighters killed today was a female, and became the second woman to die in the line of duty as a Houston firefighter.
At least six firefighters were injured battling the fire and were taken to the hospital.
The deaths today made the fire the deadliest in the history of the Houston Fire Department, The Associated Press reported.
"Houston firefighters mourn the loss of our three brothers and our sister and will forever honor their sacrifices," said Jeff Caynon, president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association. "This tragedy underscores the inherent dangers of our profession. Please keep Houston firefighters in your thoughts and prayers."
Caynon said the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association and the International Association of Fire Fighters were monitoring the conditions of the six injured firefighters and would be assisting them and their families.
More than 100 units responded to the fire and 155 firefighters were on scene in teams, KTRK reported. Firefighters were shuttling in and out of the fire, battling not only the intense heat and smoke but a wind that would not quit.
KTRK reported that the blaze burned out of control into the afternoon, several firefighters were overcome by dehydration from the intense heat and the blistering 95-degree temperature.
Late this afternoon, the fire was finally brought under control, according to KTRK. The cause was not known.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Start Button Returns in Windows 8.1
It's officially back.
After months of rumors, Microsoft finally announced that the venerable Start Button is coming back to Windows 8 in the upcoming "Blue" update, which will officially kick Windows up to version 8.1.
Antoine Leblond, corporate vice president of Windows Program Management, delivered the news in a May 30 Blogging Windows post. "We've improved the way you navigate to Start with the mouse by changing the Start 'tip' to be the familiar Windows logo," he wrote.
"The new tip appears anytime you move the mouse to the bottom left corner of the screen, and is always visible on the taskbar when on the desktop. There are also options to change what the corners do, and options to boot into alternate screens," added Leblond.
Since the debut of Windows 8, one of its most polarizing features—or non-features—was the lack of the Start Button, which graced the Windows desktop since Windows 95. Instead, the company instituted a Start Screen, the tiled interface that greets users when they boot up a Windows 8 system.
The decision was met with some outcry, but the company stuck to its guns.
In an effort to defend the decision, Marina Dukhon, a senior program manager lead on Windows' Core Experience team, took to the Building Windows 8 blog on Oct. 11 and stated Microsoft's case.
"We know major changes like this can be controversial and we are looking forward to continuing this dialog with you. I wanted to address some of the specific topics that have been brought up so far as they pertain to the design," stated Dukhon.
New Feature - Wallpapers!
If you scroll down to the very bottom of the page, you'll notice that I am adding slideshow gadgets.. These will have separate categories of wallpaper, and will take you to full size images to download from my Flickr account. Enjoy!
Internet sensation Grumpy Cat to star in upcoming film
(Reuters) - Grumpy Cat, who won fame on the Internet for her permanent scowl, will be getting Hollywood treatment in an upcoming film, the feline's manager Ben Lashes said in an email.
Grumpy Cat, whose real name is Tarder Sauce, went viral last year after the brother of owner Tabatha Bundesen posted a photo of the cat on the user-submitted social news site Reddit.
The film will be produced by Broken Road Productions, which has been behind such films as the Kevin James' 2009 comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," and Adam Sandler's 2011 comedy "Jack and Jill."
Photos of Grumpy Cat, whose scowl Bundesen said was caused by feline dwarfism, gained a following with ironic user-generated captions, like "I had fun once ... it was awful" and "Of all the nine lives I've lived ... this is the worst."
Grumpy Cat is no stranger to cameras, having already appeared on U.S. morning show "Good Morning America" and CNN's Anderson Cooper's daytime talk show, "Anderson Live."
Grumpy Cat will join the ranks of Hollywood's other four-legged furry A-listers such as Uggie the dog from Oscar-winning film "The Artist" and Buddy the basketball-playing Golden Retriever from 1997's "Air Bud."
Whoops: Evening News Program Accidentally Airs Graphic Sex Scene
Viewers tuning in to watch Tuesday's evening news broadcast on Greece's state-owned public TV station ET3 were surprised to see a bit more softcore porn than usual in between reports on the country's latest unrest.
That is to say, any softcore porn at all.
While the staid anchor went on about the news of the day, a graphic sex scene was clearly unfolding in one of the screens behind him.
Commenters from the region who witnessed the "breaking news" firsthand reported that, rather than accidentally allowing a pornographic film on the air, ET3 unwittingly highlighted an erotic movie that was being shown on its sister channel ET1 at the same time.
Given that you can sort of make out boobies, I imagine YouTube will be taking this down soon enough. So of course I have a copy you can download here.
Father of Chechen killed in Florida says FBI murdered him
MOSCOW — After FBI agents questioned Ibragim Todashev for hours on end about one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing, his father alleged Thursday, they murdered him to keep him from talking.
Abdulbaki Todashev, who applied Thursday for a U.S. visa so that he can pick up his son’s body in Orlando, where he died, said that he has heard nothing from U.S. officials about the May 22 shooting.
“I want justice. I want an investigation,” he said at a Moscow news conference. “They come to your house like bandits, and they shoot you.”
Ibragim Todashev, 27, was an acquaintance of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the alleged organizer of the Boston bombing. Todashev had moved to Florida two years ago from Massachusetts, his father said. He said FBI officials questioned his son on three separate occasions this spring.
The first time, they asked him about the bombing. The second time, his father said, they asked him about a triple murder in Waltham, Mass., that police suspect Tsarnaev may have carried out. The third interview, which took place at Todashev’s home and included Massachusetts state troopers, ended with his death, his father said.
Despite earlier accounts of the incident that suggested Todashev had a weapon, two law enforcement officials told The Washington Post on Wednesday that he was not armed. His father said that he was shot seven times. The FBI has said that he attacked an agent, just moments after confessing to his part in the Waltham slayings.
He who fights monsters... More on hackers
Do not be afraid.. there are those who are really fighting for you. Some of them aren't. That said, there is a difference between immature idiots and true hackers.
True hackers find things that could otherwise be used to hurt you and their goal is to bring these problems to the attention of companies that could have fixed it from the start, but chose not to.
What makes this more compelling is the fact that even with that, some of them still don't.
This video does a good job at bringing their point across.
True hackers find things that could otherwise be used to hurt you and their goal is to bring these problems to the attention of companies that could have fixed it from the start, but chose not to.
What makes this more compelling is the fact that even with that, some of them still don't.
This video does a good job at bringing their point across.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
It's about time these people got busted...
Ever heard of Liberty Reserve? No? Probably for the better. They are an online currency exchange that operated for years with the intent of helping criminals launder and distribute money.
All that was required to use their service was a name, a birthdate, and an email address. No efforts were made by the site to verify identities of its users.
Deposits could be made via credit card or bankwire, among other deposit options. The funds were then "converted" into Liberty Reserve Dollars or Liberty Reserve Euros, which were tied to the value of the US Dollar and the Euro respectively, or to ounces of gold.
Just as PayPal revolutionized how people shop online, making it possible to buy a microwave oven or concert tickets with the click of a button, Liberty Reserve sought to create a similarly convenient way for criminals to make financial transactions, law enforcement officials said.
In total, Liberty Reserve was used to transfer an estimated $6 billion over 55 million transactions. It has been linked to crimes including credit card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography and narcotics trafficking.
As of Tuesday, a visit to the Liberty Reserve website gets you this:
It is unclear if any businesses with legitimate funds tied up in the service will be able to recover their money.
Full article here.
All that was required to use their service was a name, a birthdate, and an email address. No efforts were made by the site to verify identities of its users.
Deposits could be made via credit card or bankwire, among other deposit options. The funds were then "converted" into Liberty Reserve Dollars or Liberty Reserve Euros, which were tied to the value of the US Dollar and the Euro respectively, or to ounces of gold.
Just as PayPal revolutionized how people shop online, making it possible to buy a microwave oven or concert tickets with the click of a button, Liberty Reserve sought to create a similarly convenient way for criminals to make financial transactions, law enforcement officials said.
In total, Liberty Reserve was used to transfer an estimated $6 billion over 55 million transactions. It has been linked to crimes including credit card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography and narcotics trafficking.
As of Tuesday, a visit to the Liberty Reserve website gets you this:
It is unclear if any businesses with legitimate funds tied up in the service will be able to recover their money.
Full article here.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
America's Oldest Hero
America's oldest veteran to spend quiet Memorial Day at Texas home
For his 107th Memorial Day, Richard Arvine Overton, who saw many of his fellow soldiers fall in the line of duty in World War II and even more die over the following decades, is planning a quiet day at the Texas home he built after returning home from World War II.
He wouldn’t want it any other way.
Overton, who is believed to be the nation's oldest veteran, told FoxNews.com he’ll likely spend the day on the porch of his East Austin home with a cigar nestled in his right hand, perhaps with a cup of whiskey-stiffened coffee nearby.
“I don’t know, some people might do something for me, but I’ll be glad just to sit down and rest,” the Army veteran said during a phone interview. “I’m no young man no more.”
Overton, who was born on May, 11, 1906, in Texas’ Bastrop County, has gotten used to being the center of attention of late. In addition to being formally recognized by Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell on May 9, Overton traveled to Washington, D.C., on May 17 as part of Honor Flight, a nonprofit group that transports veterans free of charge to memorials dedicated to their service. Despite serving in the South Pacific from 1942 through 1945, including stops in Hawaii, Guam, Palau and Iwo Jima to name a few, it was Overton’s first time in the nation’s capital.
“I was really honored when I got there,” Overton said of his visit to the World War II Memorial. “There were so many people, it was up in the thousands. And we danced and we jumped … them people tickled me to death. It made me happy as can be.”
The entire experience gave Overton a “good thrill,” he said, and the significance of visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial at a time when an African-American holds the country’s highest elected office was not lost him.
“I was very, very happy,” Overton continued, adding that he wasn’t deterred by Washington’s expansive National Mall. “At my age and my strength, I’m able to stand up and do anything. My mind is good, so I’m able to do what I want.”
For his 107th Memorial Day, Richard Arvine Overton, who saw many of his fellow soldiers fall in the line of duty in World War II and even more die over the following decades, is planning a quiet day at the Texas home he built after returning home from World War II.
He wouldn’t want it any other way.
Overton, who is believed to be the nation's oldest veteran, told FoxNews.com he’ll likely spend the day on the porch of his East Austin home with a cigar nestled in his right hand, perhaps with a cup of whiskey-stiffened coffee nearby.
“I don’t know, some people might do something for me, but I’ll be glad just to sit down and rest,” the Army veteran said during a phone interview. “I’m no young man no more.”
Overton, who was born on May, 11, 1906, in Texas’ Bastrop County, has gotten used to being the center of attention of late. In addition to being formally recognized by Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell on May 9, Overton traveled to Washington, D.C., on May 17 as part of Honor Flight, a nonprofit group that transports veterans free of charge to memorials dedicated to their service. Despite serving in the South Pacific from 1942 through 1945, including stops in Hawaii, Guam, Palau and Iwo Jima to name a few, it was Overton’s first time in the nation’s capital.
“I was really honored when I got there,” Overton said of his visit to the World War II Memorial. “There were so many people, it was up in the thousands. And we danced and we jumped … them people tickled me to death. It made me happy as can be.”
The entire experience gave Overton a “good thrill,” he said, and the significance of visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial at a time when an African-American holds the country’s highest elected office was not lost him.
“I was very, very happy,” Overton continued, adding that he wasn’t deterred by Washington’s expansive National Mall. “At my age and my strength, I’m able to stand up and do anything. My mind is good, so I’m able to do what I want.”
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