From kstp.com:
add to del.icio.usA computer glitch triggered a sudden plunge in the Dow Jones industrial average at mid-afternoon Tuesday, turning an already bad day in stocks into a head-turning spectacle.
Dow Jones & Co., the media company that manages the well-known index of 30 blue chip stocks, said it discovered shortly before 2 p.m. that its computers weren’t properly handling the day’s huge volume in trades at the New York Stock Exchange.
Bob Woodruff, ABC news correspondent and his wife were on Oprah and recounted the ordeal when he was hit with shrapnel in Iraq while riding in a tank. His wife, their five year old twins and two older children, were actually at Disney World, waking up for a day at Epcot. She got a call in their hotel room from the ABC news president that her husband had been hit with shrapnel in the brain. When she saw him at the medical hospital, surgeons had removed almost half of his skull and his brain was swollen “like a rugby ball” outside of his skull. She credits the medics on site with saving his brain and doing a dramatic enough procedure on the skull to allow the brain to swell and not destroy cells. She didn’t think doctors in the more litgious U.S. would have done enough.
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The Ellen DeGeneres Show is returning to tape three episodes in March at Universal CityWalk. The shows will be recorded on March 30 and 31. You can follow the link to request tickets.
If you aren’t able to get tickets, you can still join in the fun! Everyone is invited to the “Riff Raff†Street Party where you can watch the show taping LIVE on CityWalk’s big Astrovision screen. Plus you’ll be able to watch the show’s musical performances live on the CityWalk Plaza Stage!
I’d love to attend. Last time she was here I didn’t live here, and this time I’m going to be in Detroit attending Wrestlemania. Sorry Ellen, I think you’re funny, but you can’t compare to Wrestlemania.
add to del.icio.usFrom orlandosentinel.com:
The yearlong campaign bestows randomly selected guests at the resort with prizes such as a night in Cinderella Castle, but some folks say “no thanks.” “Sometimes, believe it or not, which I can’t understand, people say, ‘Nah, I’m leaving tomorrow or I don’t want to move my stuff . . .’ ” said Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo. “We have had some guests for whatever reason say that they couldn’t do it, so we go to the next person.”
I can’t believe someone would turn down a night in Cinderella’s Castle. But I guess when you think about it, not everyone’s a Disney nut like I am. My wife’s uncle comes to mind. He really doesn’t care for Disney or the theme parks and only goes to make the rest of his family happy. I also have a neighbors right here in Orlando with little kids who say they hate the theme parks.
add to del.icio.usFrom kotaku.com:
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–The new videogame-console war is firmly underway and Sony Corp.’s (SNE) PlayStation 3 looks like it is losing its once-dominant position in the $25 billion industry.
Packed with analysts and those pesky hard numbers, this Dow Jones story doesn’t paint a very pretty picture for the Playstation 3, but it is mostly a rehash of what we already know: The PS3 isn’t doing so great out of the box, but will likely stabilize and do just fine given enough time.
What we didn’t know, but I certainly suspected, is that Sony still plans to stick to their plans for the console, including not dropping the price for another few years and adding music and movies to the Playstation store.
Although analysts say price reductions would benefit PS3 sales, Sony isn’t likely to make any price cuts for at least another two years, said Kimberly Otzman, a spokeswoman for Sony Computer Entertainment America. She noted a similar time frame for lowered prices for the PS2. “We probably expect the same for PS3,” Otzman said, adding that while the console’s price is higher than competitors’, it comes completely packaged so consumers don’t have to buy extra equipment or attachments.” Meanwhile, Sony has said it is looking into expanding into music and movie downloads via the PS3, which comes equipped with the new high-definition DVD format - called Blu-ray.
Sony had a lot of momentum from the PS2 going into the PS3 and I think they bet on that momentum getting through this predictably harsh launch, the question is whether it will be enough to carry them over the hump. Brian Crecente
That’s why I bought a Wii! This just shows that even at the very high cost of the PS3, Sony is probably still losing money on every sale. Now to be fair, the Wii probably will not recieve a price cut until next year, but that is because they will most likely still be in high demand next Christmas with no need for a price cut. What is your opinion on this whole thing? Is Sony messing up more and more?
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Link
Have some Barbie, GI Joe, Star Wars/Trek or other 12-inch collectable figures you are having a hard time getting to stand? I just came across this stand. The wire runs up the pants leg (if the figure has pants) so it isn’t seen. I don’t have any yet, but they seem cool.
Here’s a link to a full review of them.
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From cnn.com
add to del.icio.usApple Inc. has delayed until March the launch of its gadget for streaming video and other content from computers to TVs, but the company would not explain why.
The company had said in January the $299 Apple TV set-top box would be available this month.
“Wrapping up Apple TV is taking a few weeks longer than we projected, and we now expect to begin shipments mid-March,” Apple spokeswoman Lynn Fox said Monday. She declined to comment further.
Apple TV is designed to move digital content from a user’s computer to a TV set and is anticipated to be a highly competitive product in the growing crop of offerings that deliver Internet-based videos to the television.
Some analysts are projecting the set-top box could be yet another hit product for Apple, adding to the Cupertino-based company’s growing fortunes as it expands its consumer electronics portfolio beyond Macintosh computers and iPod portable players.
From cnn.com
add to del.icio.usA scheduled March 15 launch has been delayed after the external fuel tank attached to the shuttle Atlantis and possibly the orbiter itself were damaged by a hailstorm at the launch pad Monday afternoon.
NASA meteorologists say wind gusts of 62 miles per hour and golf-ball-size hail were observed at pad 39A, where Atlantis was undergoing final preparations for launch.Workers at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida are still assessing the extent of the damage, but NASA managers decided Atlantis must be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for thorough inspections and repairs.
The rollback means Atlantis will not launch in March as planned. Program officials hope repairs can be completed for a launch in late April or May. However, if engineers determine the tank needs to be replaced, the launch would slide to the summer.
Shuttle program officials are gathered at Kennedy Space Center for a previously scheduled two-day flight readiness review for Atlantis. They were briefed Tuesday afternoon on the hail damage.
Initial inspections showed perhaps thousands of small divots gouged into the insulating foam on the top portion of the shuttle’s external tank. Engineers believe visible dings to the heat shield on Atlantis’ left wing are mostly cosmetic.
NASA personnel are extremely cautious regarding any damage to a shuttle’s external tank or heat shield.
In 2003, a piece of foam from Columbia’s external tank broke free during launch, cracking a gash in the leading edge of the shuttle’s left wing. When the shuttle re-entered the atmosphere to land, searing hot gases seeped into the hole, incinerating the orbiter and killing all seven astronauts aboard.
The March window to launch the shuttle to the International Space Station closes March 25, when NASA must stand down to allow a Russian Soyuz launch to ferry a new crew to the orbiting outpost. NASA engineers say they simply don’t have enough time make the repairs before the March window closes.
Managers are optimistic they will be ready to launch during a window that runs from approximately April 21 to May 22.
However, if the damage to the tank is extensive, program managers might opt to replace the tank. That would delay the launch to June at the earliest, as the replacement tank is still being processed at the Michoud Assembly Plant in New Orleans.
From yahoo.com:
Stocks had their worst day of trading since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks Tuesday, briefly hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down more than 500 points on a worldwide tide of concern that the U.S. and Chinese economies are stumbling and that share prices have become overinflated.
Ouch. There goes a good chunk of my investments. Anyone want to buy something on Amazon to help? ;)
add to del.icio.usWho would buy this? No one, I hope. People are cutting the hair off their Britney or regular dolls and trying to sell them on eBay. They’ll probably get a lot of hits, but I hope no bids.
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