Technology Slice Blog

South Dakota Hundreds of Dead Birds - The deaths of 200 starlings in Yankton, South Dakota this week is no mystery -- they died as the result of poison set out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an official said on Thursday. USDA wildlife biologist Ricky Woods explained that a large group of starlings was causing problems in a north Nebraska cattle feedlot, eating the feed and leaving waste on both the feed and equipment. So the USDA put out DRC 1339 poison for the birds, Woods said. "Lethal means are always a last resort," said Woods. "In this situation it's what we had to do." Woods said most of the birds died near the site of the feed lot, but about 200 were strong enough to fly about 10 miles north to Yankton, where they died, puzzling some local residents. He could not say how many birds died altogether. Woods said putting out poison for birds is not common, but sometimes is necessary. "It depends on the situation," he said. He said t...

Mother of Anorexic French Model Commits Suicide - The mother of an anorexic French model who died in November has committed suicide, reports say. Marie Caro killed herself this month because she felt "enormous guilt" for admitting her daughter Isabelle into a French hospital where she later died, her husband Christian told Swiss newspaper 20 Minutes, the Daily Mail reported. Isabelle Caro, 28, was admitted to Bichat Hospital in Paris for severe dehydration, but passed away on November 17. "[Marie] felt guilty for having put my daughter in the Bichat Hospital. My daughter did not want to go to that hospital," Mr Caro told 20 Minutes. Caro is famous for a 2007 anti-anorexia campaign in which she was photographed nude. At that time, she weighed 32 kilograms and was 1.65 metres tall. The photographs, taken by Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani, sparked debate in the fashion industry and were banned by Italy's advertising watchdog, while France's ...

Eric Schmdit Replaced as CEO at Google - Google Inc said co-founder Larry Page will take charge of day-to-day operations as chief executive officer starting April 4. Current CEO Eric Schmidt will assume the role of executive chairman. Google also reported revenue of $8.44 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $6.67 billion in the year-ago period. Net revenue, excluding fees that Google paid to partner websites, was $6.37 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, on average, were expecting net revenue of $6.06 billion. Eric Schmdit Replaced as CEO at Google

Home Sales Lowest Since 1997 - Sales of U.S. previously owned homes jumped more than forecast in December as buyers tried to lock in low mortgage rates before the economic recovery pushed borrowing up further. Purchases of existing houses, which are tabulated when a contract closes, increased 12 percent to a 5.28 million annual rate, the most since May and exceeding the highest estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median price dropped 1 percent from a year earlier, and the share of sales represented by foreclosures climbed. Buyers are returning to the housing market after a government tax credit expired in the middle of 2010, indicating the drop in prices and cheap lending rates are making homes more affordable. At the same time, unemployment in excess of 9 percent and record foreclosures are among concerns that have prompted Federal Reserve policy makers to follow through with a second...

Heavy Drinking Abnormal Heart Rhythm - Regular and heavy drinkers are putting themselves at risk for a common heart problem that may do long-term damage, according to a recently published review by Japanese scientists. People who frequently drink alcohol, and drink a lot of it, seem to be more prone to a problem called a heart-rhythm disturbance atrial fibrillation than those who abstain. The researchers, from the University of Tsukuba Institute of Clinical Medicine in Ibaraki, Japan, built on the already-established knowledge that a drinking binge can trigger the condition, dubbed AF for short. Heavy Drinking Abnormal Heart Rhythm What hadn't been clear was whether or not people's drinking habits may factor in to atrial fibrillation, which causes the upper chambers of the heart to contract erratically and wildly rather than at their normal pace and rhythm. The paper's authors analyzed 14 prior studies and saw that those who drank the most were more likely to dev...

Sacha Baron Cohen Saddam - Borat and Bruno actor Sacha Baron Cohen is to star in a comedy inspired by a book thought to be written by the former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. The Dictator is a loose adaptation of the novel Zabibah and the King, which was a best-seller in Iraq in 2000. Paramount Pictures said the film would tell "the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed". It will be released on 11 May 2012. Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel - writers on Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm - have been recruited to pen the script. The Dicator will be directed by Larry Charles, who worked with Baron Cohen on both the Bruno and Borat comedies. Although Zabibah and the King was written under the pseudonym "The Author", it is believed it was written by ghost-writers carefully supervised by Hussein. Sacha Baron Cohen Saddam

James Gandolfini Watches Real Housewives - "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" is one of the Bravo reality TV franchise's most dramatic installments and it appears they have one very famous fan - James Gandolfini... sort of. When asked at the Television Critics Association Winter 2011 Session for HBO's "Cinema Verite" about which reality TV shows the cast watches, the former "Sopranos" patriarch revealed he's seen the show. "I have seen 'Housewives of Atlanta,'" he admitted "That was extraordinary, it really was," he said with a raised eyebrow. But Kim Zolciak and the gang might not want to take that as a compliment, as the actor noted that reality TV these days has "turned to sh**." In "Cinema Verite," James plays Craig Gilbert, the television producer behind the real life groundbreaking '70s TV documentary, "An American Family," which is considered by many to be the first r...

Survivor Winner Fabio Arrested - Judson Birza, the winner of "Survivor," season 21 in Nicaragua, was arrested Wednesday afternoon on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance ... TMZ has learned. Law enforcement sources tell us cops noticed Birza at around noon riding a skateboard in the street -- which is illegal. They stopped Birza, noticed he was acting strangely, and determined he was under the influence. Survivor Winner Fabio Arrested

Wendy Williams Love Triangle - Wendy Williams will host a new series, "Love Triangle," that's a cross between a game show and a talk show. The series puts Williams in the role of adviser to a guest trying to choose one relationship over another. It's set to debut April 18 on the Game Show Network. Williams, host of a daily syndicated TV talk show, said Thursday she won't change her style for the GSN show but will rely on humor as she tries to help people untangle romantic quandaries. She'll also rely on a lie detector, Williams said. Last week, it was announced that her syndicated TV show, "The Wendy Williams Show," was renewed for a third season. Wendy Williams Love Triangle

Daniel Pearl Murder New Details - The wrong men were convicted of murdering US reporter Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and beheaded in Pakistan in 2002, and US officials stood in the way of the real murderers being brought to justice for the grisly crime, a report released Thursday says. British-Pakistani Omar Sheikh and three other men who were convicted of killing Pearl were not even present when the Wall Street Journal reporter was murdered, says the Pearl Project report, which was led by Pearl's friend and former colleague, Asra Nomani. Meanwhile, the man fingered in the report as Pearl's killer, Al-Qaeda strategist and suspected mastermind of the attacks of September 11, 2001, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is unlikely ever to be brought to justice for the journalist's brutal slaying. The report says Mohammed told US investigators at Guantanamo Bay prison that he slit Pearl's throat and severed his head, and a technique called vein-matching has shown that his hand...

Gabrielle Giffords Stood Up Looked Out Window - Just 12 days after she was shot in the head, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords can stand with assistance, has tried to speak and is using an iPad, doctors and her husband said on Thursday. In a key turning point in the congresswoman's recuperation, Giffords is to be moved on Friday from the Tucson hospital where she has remained since the shooting to a special rehabilitation facility in Houston, Texas. At a news conference on her last full day at University Medical Center in Tucson, doctors said she has come a long way in a short time given the severity of her injury. "She is beginning to stand with assistance, she is scrolling through an iPad -- these are all fantastic advances for her. They do show higher cognitive function," Dr. Michael Lemole, chief of neurology at UMC told reporters. "But I do want to caution ... that she has a long road ahead of her," he added. Giffords, 40, was shot through t...

Jon Gosselin Quits New Real Job? - Jon Gosselin quit his new 9-to-5 job with Global Green Property Services, which helps businesses become more environmentally friendly. “It involved too much travel for him,” claims a source close to Jon. “[Jon] needed to be near his eight kids, that’s why it didn’t work out.” Jon Gosselin Quits New Real Job?

Justin Bieber PETA Ad - With "a lot of animals getting abused in different homes, in different situation," Justin Bieber encourages his devotees to be aware of that "situations." To spread his message to the world, the pint-sized teen idol teams up with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and is featured in the latest ad of the organization. Bieber is seen wearing a black hoodie in the ad featuring tagline "My World Includes Compassion for Animals. Yours Should Too." His right hand is clutching a microphone, and his left hand holding his beloved pooch. "We moved to a city where we didn't really know anybody, so I kinda wanted a friend around. And Sam was kinda like that friend," he said. "My dad and I used to go and hang out ... just go and visit the different animals and stuff," he went on. "It's really important that people adopt. I really encourage going out to an animal shelter or a place where you c...

Portia De Rossi Claims Ex Ran off with Her Brother's Wife - The more excerpts we read from Portia de Rossi’s book, Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, the more we actually want to go out and buy a copy of the juicy memoir for ourselves. In the latest selection, published in the Daily Mail, the actress claims her ex-husband left her in order to start a relationship with her brother’s wife. De Rossi, 37, was married to documentary filmmaker Mel Metcalfe from 1996 to 1999. When Metcalfe ran off with her brother’s wife, Renee Kappos, de Rossi and her sibling ended up helping each other through their tough times. "When my husband left me, my brother moved into my place ... My husband ran off with his wife, so we kept each other company and we liked to go out for margaritas and Mexican food to commiserate,” de Rossi writes in her memoir. In retrospect, the actress says, she should have been suspicious of Metcalfe and Kappos, but the betrayal was shocking nonethele...

JFK Inauguration 50 Years Ago Today - As he took the podium to deliver his Inaugural Address fifty years ago today, President Kennedy inspired the nation with stirring words that still resonate in the hearts and minds of Americans fifty years later. “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” -- John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address Friday, January 20, 1961. President Kennedy’s comm...

How to Extend Gas Mileage - Gas mileage changes from car to car. SUV's suck the juice while hybrids do their best not to. Regardless of the model, there are ways you can extend gas mileage. Tyre pressure can influence gas mileage. Low tyre pressure will cause uneven wear on your tyres, but more importantly it will reduce your gas mileage. Keeping your tyres inflated to the recommended pressure will ensure you get the best gas mileage you can. Be careful not to over-inflate your tyres though. This will cause them to wear very quickly. Uneven driving will also suck the gas faster. Uneven driving meaning hard acceleration when you don't need to. The most fuel efficient way of driving is steady driving. Accelerating only when you need to and keeping a constant speed as long as possible. Coasting when you see a red traffic light will also help. How to Extend Gas Mileage

Guest List Chinese State Dinner - Chinese President Hu Jintao is in the U.S. and Barack Obama is throwing a state dinner. The guest list is star studded. Here are some of those invited. The President and Mrs. Obama His Excellency Hu Jintao Mr. Jackie Chan, Beverly Hills, CA The Honorable Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense Mr. Robert Iger, The Walt Disney Company, Burbank, CA Guest List Chinese State Dinner

American Idol Premiere Jan 19 - Talent search American Idol has returned to US screens for its 10th season - with a new line-up of judges. Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and singer Jennifer Lopez have joined original judge Randy Jackson, following the departure of Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres. Show producers Fox hope their combined star power will help boost ratings, which have seen a decline in recent years. Last season's finale was watched by 24 million, down five million on the year before. Yet it remains the most watched show in the US. Without Cowell, can the new show succeed? Judging from these verdicts, critics and fans think it can. American Idol Premiere Jan 19

Giffords Released from Hospital Friday - Less than two weeks after surviving a bullet through the brain, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords stood up and looked out the window of her hospital room Wednesday as she prepares to move to Houston to begin an arduous journey of intensive mental and physical rehabilitation. Hospital spokeswoman Janet Stark said Giffords was able to stand on her feet with assistance from medical staff Wednesday in another significant milestone in her recovery. The next step is extensive rehabilitation in which she will have to relearn how to think and plan. It's unclear if she is able to speak or how well she can see. And while she is moving both arms and legs, it's uncertain how much strength she has on her right side. Her swift transition from an intensive care unit to a rehab center is based on the latest research, which shows the sooner rehab starts, the better patients recover. Giffords' family hopes to move the Arizona congresswoman on Friday to...

'Singing' Dog Bronx Couple Eviction - Howling-mad neighbors at a Riverdale co-op are fighting to put a couple out on the street because their daughter's "singing" dog violates the Bronx building's no-pets policy. An appeals court ruled that the Bonnie House co-op board can go ahead with eviction proceedings against Rita and Murray Hyman over their daughter's Maltese pooch, Rocky, who howls along when Rita sings. The harsh ruling keeps the case alive in Bronx Housing Court and has the Hymans barking back. "Rocky gives me a whole different outlook on life and keeps me going," said Rita Hyman, 62, who was left disabled after a 2003 car crash and considers Rocky her "therapy dog." "They've hurt me so much by trying to take away our special relationship," she said. "Who will I sing with?" The legal dogfight began inSeptember 2007 after the Hymans' daughter Julie began bringing Rocky to day-long visits w...

Porsche Cajun SUV China - Iconic Porsche 911 sportscars could in the future be produced in factories in Asia or the United States, the German firm's chief executive said on Sunday. "This year, we are going to discuss whether to start assembly in Asia or North America," Matthias Mueller told Focus magazine. "The main thing is that the car has 'Engineered by Porsche' on it. Where it is produced is no longer so important," he added. Currently, the company manufactures its cars in factories in Leipzig, in eastern Germany and Stuttgart, in the west. Porsche saw a strong gain in sales in 2010. Some 95,000 cars were delivered to customers last year, an increase of 25 percent. Porsche Cajun SUV China

Is Your Child Addicted to Video Games? - Video games have become commonplace in the home with children having some sort of games console or computer at home. It is usually a PC, an XBOX 360 or a Sony Playstation 3. Games can be good in moderation, but some times kids take it overboard if not properly supervised. Children can become addicted to video games very easily causing major problems in their development. How do you know if your child is addicted to video games? First major sign, they spend too much time playing them. Three hours of video game play is not normal. Neither is one hour every day. One hour every second day should be the absolute maximum. Another sign is your child is avoiding activities they usually do and playing video games. If your child stops going to the park to play with their friends like they usually do, it has become a problem. Too much video game play can cause serious problems in children. They become anti-social and isolated. They do not develop ...

Dogs Guided Remotely Can Take on Risky Tasks - Trained dogs are smart enough to find bombs, drugs, people, and the safest way to cross the street -- but only with a capable handler nearby. Now a new system developed at Auburn University could turn canines into remotely guided "super dogs" that can take on risky tasks. "With our system you don't have to be in eyesight, versus human guides that do have to be within sight," said David M. Bevly, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Auburn University who worked on the research. In the past, remote guidance research focused on other animals or relied on invasive implanted electrodes to give commands. Instead, Bevly and his team created an external, real-time navigation system for trained dogs. They designed a custom harness equipped with GPS, sensors, a processor and a radio modem that connects wirelessly to a computer system. The pack vibrates slightly on the left or right side and emits differe...

Man Admits Mailing Hundreds of Tarantulas - A German national who shipped hundreds of live tarantulas into the United States through the mail pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal smuggling charge, prosecutors said. In pleading guilty, 37-year-old Sven Koppler admitted mailing some 247 live tarantulas to federal agents in Los Angeles, who were posing as buyers as part of an investigation dubbed "Operation Spiderman." Koppler further admitted sending the agents 22 Mexican red-kneed tarantulas, a species of spider formally known as Brachypelma smithi that is protected under an international treaty. Man Admits Mailing Hundreds of Tarantulas Koppler, who lives in Wachtberg, Germany, faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on April 11, U.S. Attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek said. Authorities say the investigation into Koppler began in March, when a routine inspection turned up about 300 live tarantulas in a package he mailed to Los Angeles...