Technology Slice Blog

Beaten Man Found in BMW Trunk - Police in New York City say a man found stabbed, bound and barely alive in the trunk of a BMW after a fender-bender had placed an online ad to sell the car. The NYPD says they are looking for the man they suspect was driving and fled the scene, 30-year-old Barion Blake of Manhattan. Police spokesman Paul Browne tells The New York Times that the motive appears to be the robbery. The newspaper also reports Blake has a history of stealing BMWs. Police say the bloodied 33-year-old victim — identified as Akeem Ajimotokan — was found in the car's trunk in upper Manhattan on Wednesday. The car had collided with a taxi and the driver fled. That's when police noticed a man in the trunk. Beaten Man Found in BMW Trunk

iPad-Only Paper - News Corp's much awaited tablet-only paper, specifically crafted for Apple's iPad is due to be launched on Feb. 2 at a price of 99 cents per week. Reuters reported that the digital publication called 'The Daily' will be unveiled by Newcorp's chairman Rupert Murdoch and Apple Vice President of Internet Services Eddy Cue. The earlier launch date of Jan. 19 was postponed due to technical issues. The digital paper will be initially available in US only. Reports of the project have been circulating since Murdoch stated in an interview with Australian Financial Review: "I'm starting a paper in six weeks. A brand new paper. It will be like the New York Post. But it will be national." He had also said that "It will only be seen on tablets. It will only employ 10 journalists - and maybe eight to 10 technicians." iPad-Only Paper

Hawaii Bill Obama Birth Certificate $100 - Moving to dispel claims that President Barack Obama was not born in Hawaii, his supporters in the state's legislature have introduced a bill that would allow anyone to get a copy of his birth records for a $100 fee. The idea behind the measure is to end skepticism over Obama's birthplace while raising a little money for a government with a projected budget deficit exceeding $800 million over the next two years. "If it passes, it will calm the birthers down," said the bill's primary sponsor, Rep. Rida Cabanilla. "All these people are still doubting it because they don't want the birth certificate from Obama. They want it from our state office." The bill introduced this week would change a privacy law barring the release of birth records unless the requester is someone with a tangible interest, such as a close family member. It was introduced by five Democrats but has not yet been scheduled for a publ...

Mark Salter Author of "O" - Washington has been buzzing over the identity of the anonymous author behind "O: A Presidential Novel," a fictionalized account of the 2012 presidential campaign starring an Obama figure named simply "O." The book features obvious stand-ins for Arianna Huffington, Sarah Palin and the website Politico, and it offers a complicated portrait of "O" as a somewhat-compromised idealist who sometimes struggles under the weight of the presidency. Hotsheet got an early copy of "O" and devoured it in a weekend; as I discuss in the video below, the author seemed likely to me to be a political reporter, not an administration insider. That's because while the book is great on the workings of a campaign and the interaction between reporters and their sources, it did not strike me as having great insight into the president or his White House. Now a suspect has emerged who is not, in fact, a political reporter - but ...

Palin to Keynote Reagan 100 - Sarah Palin will deliver a speech at Ronald Reagan’s former ranch to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth. On February 4th the former Alaska Governor will be the keynote speaker at the “Reagan 100 Opening Banquet” at the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara California. The celebration is being hosted by the Young America’s Foundation. In a press release the group said, “To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth, Governor Palin will reflect on the seminal speech by President Reagan, “Time for Choosing,” that discussed the risks and rewards before an America at a crossroads in the early 1960’s. Governor Palin will draw parallels to today while calling for young people to continue the Reagan revolution into the future.” Sarah Palin frequently refers to Ronald Reagan in her speeches and writing. Her last book, “America by Heart,” included 33 references to Reagan, her first book, “Going Rogue” 34 references. According to th...

Professor Charged with Urinating - A California university professor has been charged with peeing on a colleague's campus office door. Prosecutors charged 43-year-old Tihomir Petrov, a math professor at California State University, Northridge, with two misdemeanor counts of urinating in a public place. Arraignment is scheduled Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court in San Fernando. Investigators say a dispute between Petrov and another math professor was the motive. The Los Angeles Times says Petrov was captured on videotape urinating on the door of another professor's office on the San Fernando Valley campus. School officials had rigged the camera after discovering puddles of what they thought was urine at the professor's door. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/01/27/state/n050426S19.DTL#ixzz1CKvrTbyc Professor Charged with Urinating

Diet Programs Disease Risk - Losing weight is often touted as a way to improve health, but many weight-loss programs may not help stave off disease since people tend to gain the weight back, Australian researchers say. In a report in the International Journal of Obesity, they note the focus of such programs may need to change if they're really going to have a lasting effect. To test the potential impact of different diets, the researchers ran two computer simulations: One included a low-fat diet, the other a diet rich in whole grains and vegetables plus 180 minutes of exercise per week. According to the models, people lost an average of 8 to 12 pounds on the diets and kept the weight off for an average of 6 months. But the pounds slowly crept back on, and after less than 6 years, the dieters were back where they started -- negating any improvement in health from the weight loss. In addition, the researchers estimate that only about 3 percent of Australia's population w...