NASA loses contact with Phoenix Mars Lander

NASA scientists have announced they can no longer communicate with the Phoenix Mars Lander after lack of solar power and are calling an effective end to its five-month-plus mission on the Red Planet. Mission engineers last received a signal from the lander on November 2, the space agency said.

[Via]

Related Links:
Why Mars is irresistible
Hacker changes Phoenix Mars Lander Web site
First pic of water on Mars

Spam gets 1 response per 12,500,000 emails

How junk mailers still can make money? Thanks to one gullible idiot in 12,500,000 recipients.

A new study details how spammers – the bane of our email inboxes – still make pots of money, despite only receiving a response to one in every 12,500,000 emails they spam out.

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The Suicide Bomber Game

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a terrorist. I just think people who blow themselves up are stupid.

[Play]

Tough job requirements

No wonder nobody likes job hunting!

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Shaking a crying baby can cause brain damage

A crying baby should never be shaken as this can cause severe brain damage or even death, Germany's professional association for pediatricians said in Cologne. Parents should first leave the room or count to 10 and take a deep breath before acting hastily and doing something they later bitterly regret, the association advises. A pediatrician could recommend a nearby outpatient clinic that can make the interaction with a difficult infant easier.

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Start saving Energy today!

Edison was developed by Verdiem, a company that has helped enterprises the world over reduce energy waste from IT devices. Now Verdiem is bringing Edison into your home—at no cost whatsoever.

With one little click you can start saving energy and fight climate change. Absolutely FREE! Download size: 28MB

Anatomy of a hug

Any of these (especially the last one) apply to you?

[Via]

Need a good lawyer?

That's how Mafia Lawyer look for business

Panasonic to buy Sanyo

Panasonic Corp said it would acquire smaller rival Sanyo Electric Co, creating Japan's top electronics maker and foreshadowing further consolidation in an industry hit by slowing consumer demand.

The acquisition, which one analyst estimated could cost about $8.8 billion, would fortify Panasonic's competitiveness in rechargeable batteries and solar power equipment as demand grows for greener energy sources.

[Via]

Related Link:
Sony Vs Panasonic

Real Life Photoshop

Clever! And somehow heartwarming.

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Difficult Olympic Game

Use the QWOP keys to move your legs. Trust me, it's not easy!

[Play]

Everything also want pirated

Why Linux is going to fail in Malaysia

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Babies who play with toys in unusual ways 'more likely to develop autism'

Children diagnosed with autism played with toys in unusual ways as babies, spinning or rotating them more than usual, researchers have found.

It is hoped the findings will lead doctors to be able to spot which babies will be prone to developing the condition.

Babies later diagnosed with the condition also stared at objects more intently than usual, or looked at them through the corner of their eyes, according to the study by the University of California Davis.

[Via]

Ants are far better at managing congestion than humans

The planet's most intelligent insect is far more adept at managing congestion than humans, say scientists. This helps them move around their colony much more efficiently and why you never see the tiny creatures backed up in queues.

Ants have brains that contain about 250,000 cells - the largest among insects, according to collective intelligence expert Dr Dirk Helbing. He believes his ant study could hold the key to solving the bane of road congestion.

[Via]

Related Links:
Ad made using live ants

It's the new presidential handshake

Congratulations, Mr. President! Bump!

Watch Robot Plays Flight Of The Bumblebee

Classical musicians could have good reason to be worried as scientists have developed a musical robot that makes no mistakes.

Waseda University’s robotic flautist can play the challenging musical score of the ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ almost flawlessly.

And the robot has been designed with a human-like quality that allows it to engage with the audience, making in a contender for concert performances.

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Survival

A crazy little thing called LIFE..

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Be Careful What You Wish for

Dude, the teacher is always right!

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Make your computer speak what you type

Step 1: Open notepad, paste the following text

Dim message, sapi
message=InputBox("Enter the text you want spoken","Speak This")
Set sapi=CreateObject("sapi.spvoice")
sapi.Speak message

Like this


Step 2: Save the file, give it any name, but make sure it ends with .VBS


Step 3: Double click your VBS file, type something and click OK. Voila!


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How to display source code nicely on Blog

Step 1: Go to formatmysourcecode.blogspot.com, paste your original source code into 1st input box and click "Format Text"

Step 2: Copy the generated HTML on 2nd input box to your clipboard. Insert the HTML on your blog.

Sample output:

Dim message, sapi
message=InputBox("Enter the text you want spoken","Speak This")
Set sapi=CreateObject("sapi.spvoice")
sapi.Speak message

Error “Invalid Update Control CTF File” When Updating AVG

When updating AVG 8.0, you may encounter the error "Invalid Update Control CTF File". The error could be fixed easily using the solution posted at AVG Forum.

You just need to delete the CTF temp files in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Avg8\update\download.

Windows Vista users: Delete the .CTF files from the following folder:
C:\ProgramData\avg8\update\download

Typical Work Week

At least they understand each other on Wednesday. =)

[Via]

The Most Beautiful Goat in Saudi Arabia

Meet the Damascene goat named Qahr, the winner of the “Most Beautiful Goat” award at the Mazayen al-Maaz competition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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I found this answer helpful

QUESTION
What can I do if my Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 install code is 19 characters instead of 20?

ANSWER
If you are trying to install Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 and the code is only 19 characters long, then it is missing the last letter or number. This was due to a misprint on a small number or manuals and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

There is currently a work around that may allow you to bypass this issue. Since you have the first 19 characters of the code already, you can basically try "guessing" the last character. To do this, simply enter your existing code, and then for the last character, try the letters A-Z, and then the numbers 0-9. You should eventually get the right combination, and be able to play the game.

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Man or woman - who is writing that blog?

GenderAnalyzer uses Artificial Intelligence to determine if a homepage is written by a man or woman but the result turns out somehow unexpected for some blogs.

Results:
We think http://www.aprilcherrie.com is written by a woman.
We think http://leoniejasmine.blogspot.com is written by a woman.
We think http://sheylara.com is written by a man. [inaccurate]
We think http://www.chanlilian.net is written by a man. [inaccurate]
We think http://www.kennysia.com is written by a woman. [inaccurate]

Free Webmail Notifier

POP Peeper is an email notifier that runs in your Windows task bar and alerts you when you have new email on your POP3, IMAP (with IDLE support), Hotmail\MSN\LiveMail, Yahoo, GMail, Mail.com, MyWay, Excite, iWon, Lycos.com, RediffMail, Juno and NetZero accounts. Many notification options are availble to indicate when new mail has arrived, such as sound alerts (configurable for each account), flashing scroll lock, skinnable popup notifier, customized screensaver and more.

EA will cut 600 jobs to save $50 million

Publishing giant Electronic Arts is to implement a cost reduction plan resulting in the loss of around 600 jobs, or six per cent of the workforce.

The company announced the decision following financial results for the quarter ended September 30, which showed losses had increased considerably from USD 195 million last year to USD 310 million.

"EA announced today a cost reduction plan, which will include the elimination of approximately six per cent of the Company's workforce. The company estimates its cost reduction plan will result in annual pre-tax cost savings of approximately $50 million," said EA.

[Via]

Related Links:
EA Job Advert
American Express will cut 7,000 jobs
Starbucks closing 600 stores in the US
Goodyear to Close 92 Retail Stores
eBay to cut 10% of staff worldwide
HP to cut nearly 25,000 jobs by 2011

Daydreams Of A Real Geek

I will never, ever let this happen again.

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Let's order some cool T-Shirts

Just Shy @ $17.00


Life Would Be Easier If I Had the Source Code @ $12.99


I Write Code @ $12.99


No, I Will Not Fix Your Computer @ $12.99


Robot Dance Contest @ $15.00


ABCs @ $15.00


The Day The Fire Brigade Went On Strike @ $18.00

Got cool t-shirts to share? leave in the comment please =)

American Express will cut 7,000 jobs

In a stark acknowledgment of the tough times ahead in the credit card industry, American Express Co. said Thursday that it plans to cut 7,000 jobs, or about 10% of its worldwide work force, in an effort to slash costs by $1.8 billion in 2009.

The Manhattan-based credit card issuer said it is also suspending management level salary increases next year and instituting a hiring freeze.

The job cuts will be across various business units, but will primarily focus on management positions, the company said.

[Via]

Related Links:
Starbucks closing 600 stores in the US
Goodyear to Close 92 Retail Stores
eBay to cut 10% of staff worldwide
HP to cut nearly 25,000 jobs by 2011

RM20mil lottery jackpot

Instead of hugging each other with joy, a couple slapped each other after the husband found out that he had won a RM20mil lottery jackpot. They slapped themselves to make sure they were not dreaming as they could not believe he had won, especially after the wife retorted: “You must be joking and in your dreams!”

The winner found out that he had won the Mega Toto 6/52 Toto with his set of numbers – 17, 19, 20, 32, 39 and 41 – after checking the results in a Chinese daily. The man, in his 40s who is involved in the food business, simply could not believe it and kept on checking the results repeatedly before breaking the news to his wife.

WHY NOT ME?

[Via]

Related Link:
She Wants to Be a Millionaire

Why the boys always fall for a lady in red

Forget that little black dress. Gentlemen really prefer a lady in red. Blushing in shades of crimson, scarlet or deep rose, a girl is regarded as prettier and more desirable, research shows. She is also more likely to be asked out on a date - and have more money lavished on her during the outing.

The study, carried out at the University of Rochester in the U.S., involved a series of experiments in which men were shown a photo of a 'moderately attractive' young woman. In some cases, the colour of the border framing the picture was changed, in other cases the colour of the woman's blouse varied. Red, blue, green, grey and white were tested. In all cases, red was judged the most attractive. The men were much more likely to ask out a woman wearing red. And they estimated they would spend almost twice as much on her as one in blue.

[Via]

Horror Halloween Handrest

Terrifyingly realistic foam wrist-rest in the shape of a disembodied hand! Grotesque, yet comfortable @ $9.99

Google Chrome Logo

That's how Google got its colorful logo.

Misleading Parking Space

Worst part? That's acid. =)

It's 2 a.m.

I'm sleeping. You?

Turn your name into a face

TurnYourNameIntoAFace automatically converts your name (or anyone else’s) into an avatar.

SleepingChinese.com

Here’s a very funny website I just came across called Sleeping Chinese, which has about 700 photos of Chinese people sleeping.

Who ruins everything?

Mother

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Webcomic at AmazingSuperPowers

(Sorry about the quality of images, click on the thumbnail to see original version)

AmazingSuperPowers.com is a webcomic site maintained by Wes and Tony. Read their most ridiculously long-winded FAQ for more info.