Technology Slice Blog

Former flight attendant T.J. Newman has landed a two novel deal after imagining her new books while working one of her shifts. Her first book, a thriller, named "Falling"  is set to be released in July. The story is based on a flight where the pilot and his family have been kidnapped while the passengers are oblivious. Newman has started on her second novel but the story remains a mystery for now.

Sarah Palin NYT Lawsuit Dismissed - A federal judge on Tuesday tossed out a defamation lawsuit by Sarah Palin against The New York Times, saying the former Alaska governor failed to show the newspaper knew it was publishing false statements in an editorial before quickly correcting them. The written ruling by Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said the lawsuit seeking unspecified damages "fails on its face to adequately allege actual malice." The decision came weeks after the onetime Republican vice presidential nominee sued over an editorial titled "America's Lethal Politics." It was published in June after a gunman opened fire on Republican lawmakers in Virginia, wounding U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise. Sarah Palin NYT Lawsuit Dismissed

HTC U11 Ocean - The latest HTC flagship phone has been announced and it is to be called the HTC U11 Ocean. It has had mixed reviews so far. Some say the hardware is lacking as it is no improvement on any of the other flagships from other manufacturers. Others say it is a great improvement and will sell well. The hook for the new HTC is the new squeeze gesture. The phone has pressure sensors around the edges so squeezing it with different pressure will make it do different things. This feature seems like more of a gimmick than a reason to buy it. I would imagine most people that buy the phone would barely ever use it. It does have one thing going for it though. The price! It is more than $200 cheaper than the Galaxy S8 or the IPhone 7. Time will tell how popular it will be. HTC U11 Ocean

Kraft Brand to Dissapear - Kraft is a brand that has graced the shelves of Australian grocery stores for more than 90 years. Two thirds of our homes include one or more of their products. Yet, despite it being one of the world’s biggest brands — worth $12 billion globally according to Forbes — by the end of the year it will have disappeared from Australia and New Zealand altogether. The brand first arrived in Australia in 1926, and the name ‘Kraft’ has adorned everything from Mac & Cheese to Vegemite. But despite it being worth more than Nestle or Kellogs, it’s now headed to the brand bin. While the products themselves will remain, the Kraft name is being sidelined. This month, Kraft Singles was replaced by UK brand “Dairylea Slices”. Kraft Brand to Dissapear

Homeless Man Aided Wounded - Stephen Jones, 35, was sleeping near Manchester Arena when he heard a loud bang, which he initially believed to be fireworks. In an interview with ITV News, he detailed the aftermath of the deadly attack that left at least 22 dead and dozens injured. When Jones and his friend saw everyone screaming and running, they began to run with the crowd. But when they realized what was happening, they ran back and saw women and children leaving the arena with "blood throughout the stairs" and victims lying on the ground. He explained that his instincts led him back inside the building. "There was a lot of homeless people that stayed there and helped and that's what we done. And obviously when we seen children like that with blood... having to pull nails and stuff out of their arms and I pulled one out of this little girl's face," Jones said. Jones felt like he had no choice but to help the children who were covered in blood, "cr...

Credit Card Surcharge Laws Australia - A new ban stops businesses from charging payment surcharges on credit, debit and prepaid card payments that are excessive. The ACCC will investigate consumer complaints and take enforcement action where necessary. When you pay a business using certain payment types, for example a credit card, the business incurs costs for processing the payment. These costs are usually paid by the business to its bank. Some businesses include these costs in the price they charge for their goods or services. Others pass the costs on as a payment surcharge. A payment surcharge is an additional amount charged by a business when you pay for goods or services by one form of payment (e.g. a credit card) rather than another (e.g. cash). On 25 February 2016 the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Payment Surcharges) Act 2016 became law. It inserted a new part into the CCA banning excessive payment surcharges and provided new powers for the ACCC. The ban is found ...

There have been recent rumblings about Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson starting a political career and he has made light of this by posting a picture of himself on Instagram with the numbers "2020". This is all a part of a Saturday Night Live skit where The Rock is running for president, and he's running mate is Tom Hanks. All joking aside with the popularity of both The Rock and Tom Hanks, they may have a chance at the presidency.

Donald Trump has fired FBI boss James Comey in spectacular fashion with Comey himself saying he only heard about the firing when he saw it on t.v. Speculation has been rife about the reason for the firing but it certainly is interesting that it occured almost immediately after Comey asked for funds to investigate the Russian meddling in the election. According to the president, Comey was a showboat and was not fit to lead the FBI.

The budget for the near future has been announced by Liberal party treasurer Scott Morrison with some surprise inclusions. The most shocking being the new levy on the big banks. The new levy is expected to earn the government billions of dollars that will go towards repairing the budget. Understandably, the banks are outraged but it looks like there is little they can do about it. The most likely outcome will be the banks somehow passing on this levy to customers regardless of the amount of warnings the government issues. The second surprise was the increase in the medicare levy resulting in most Australians pays hundreds of dollars more every year. This move will stop the medicare freeze and result in more people paying less out of their pockets for doctors visits.

Stanislas Wawrinka has beaten Rafael Nadal in a thrilling match to become the latest Australian Open champion. While Nadal was the favorite, Wawrinka proved to be the better player on the day. The game finished in four sets. Nadal was plagued by injury not to his knee, but to his back. He had work done to it during the match but the extent of the injury was not clear. He was visibly upset at the loss and was fighting back the tears during his post match speech.

Rafael Nadal has dispatched Roger Federer in straight sets to book himself a place in the Australian Open final to be played on Sunday night. The first set was a tough one going to a tie breaker however, the second and third were taken by Nadal without too much trouble. Nadal has had a tough run being out of the game for 7 months with a knee injury but came back with a bang. Rafael Nadal will now play Stan Wawrinka in the final.

American Arrested with $5 million in Sydney - An American citizen has been caught with over $5 million dollars stored in several suit cases. The suit cases were found when after the police started cracking down on international money laundering and drug trafficking. The man had only been in the country for 2 days and denied any of the money belonged to him. The man is now in custody awaiting trial.

Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln - DreamWorks Studios just announced that Daniel Day-Lewis will take on the role of President Abraham Lincoln in the long-in-development biopic to be directed by Steven Spielberg. Lincoln, which playwright Tony Kushner has adapted from the Doris Kearns Goodwin book Team of Rivals, has been on Spielberg's docket for years, with Liam Neeson once attached to star as the 16th president. Kushner also co-wrote Spielberg's Munich, which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Kathleen Kennedy and Spielberg are producing the project, which the director will begin filming next fall. “Daniel Day-Lewis would have always been counted as one of the greatest of actors, were he from the silent era, the golden age of film or even some time in cinema's distant future," said Spielberg. "I am grateful and inspired that our paths will finally cross with Lincoln." DreamWorks expects to have the film in theaters late in 2012 through Disney...

Amish Staggering Growth in Midwest - The Amish are one of the fastest-growing religious groups in North America, according to a new census by researchers at Ohio State University. The study, released July 27 at the annual meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, suggests a new community sprouting every three and a half weeks. Nearly 250,000 Amish live in the U.S. and Canada, and the population is expected to exceed 1 million around 2050. The growth may not be visible outside Amish country, but the rural settlements definitely see the boom. “This place has grown,” said Daniel Miller, 52, who has spent his life on an Amish settlement here. “It’s because all of the kids.” Many Amish families have multiple children, Miller said, adding that those children often stay in the community and eventually sprout families of their own. There are currently 99 church districts, or communities, in Middlefield, which is east of Cleveland in central Northeast Ohio. Miller said he remembers when...

Anna Chlumsky Veep - Twenty-one years after she played an adorable tomboy in the 1991 coming-of-age film, Chlumsky is showing off her more glamorous side. The 31-year-old actress showed up to the New York screening of her new show, HBO's "Veep," on Tuesday wearing a sexy form-fitting Gianni Versace dress (from New York Vintage), smouldering eyes, and a cascade of curls brushed to the side by hair stylist Creighton Bowman. If that wasn't far enough from her breakout role as Vada Sultenfuss in "My Girl," Chlumsky also accessorized with jewelry by House of Lavande and shoes by Walter Steiger. The blond beauty returns to the spotlight in "Veep," portraying the chief of staff to the vice-president of the United State (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus). The HBO series is an American version of "The Thick of It," a BBC show that spawned the 2009 film "In the Loop," in which Chlumsky also played a part. Anna Chlumsky Veep

Comedian Gallagher Heart Attack - Prop comic Gallagher, best known for obliterating watermelons with a sledgehammer, suffered a heart attack on Wednesday night. The 65-year-old was taken by ambulance to a hospital after he complained of having chest pains. Gallagher's manager, Craig Marquado, spoke with CBS 11 of Dallas. Marquado said Gallagher is having "very serious issues with his heart." He expected his client to be in the hospital for an extended period. According to various sources, including TMZ, Gallagher (real name: Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr.) was in a Texas bar when he suddenly collapsed. He was set to perform later that night. This isn't Gallagher's first heart attack. He suffered a minor one onstage last year while performing in Minnesota. Though he was arguably most famous during the '80s, Gallagher remains a well-known comedian. In the '90s, Gallagher's younger brother, Ron Gallagher, began impersonating his big bro and performed a sim...

Kim Dotcom Appeal - Alleged internet pirate Kim Dotcom will appeal today's decision denying him bail, his lawyer says. Dotcom, a German millionaire and founder of file-sharing site Megaupload, was arrested on Friday on behalf of United States authorities, including the FBI, in a police raid at his $30m Coatesville mansion. US authorities were now seeking his extradition. They alleged Dotcom's company breached copyright laws costing copyright owners more than US$500m in what they call the "Mega Conspiracy". The 38-year-old, who was previously convicted of hacking and insider trading, has denied any wrongdoing. Dotcom was today remanded in custody, with judge David McNaughton saying he posed a "significant" flight risk. He will be held until February 22, when extradition papers are expected to be filed. However Dotcom's lawyer, Paul Davison, QC, said that decision would be appealed to the High Court. Davison spoke of the disappointment at the deci...

Ohio School Shooting - Authorities said a teen gunman opened fire inside the school cafeteria around 7:30 a.m., fatally wounding one student and seriously injuring four others. The suspect was taken into custody near his car a half-mile from the Cleveland-area school of 1,100 students. Heather Ziska, 17, said she was in the cafeteria when she heard popping noises in the hall. She said she saw a boy she recognized as a fellow student enter the cafeteria and start shooting. "Everybody just started running," said 17-year-old Megan Hennessy, who was in class when she heard loud noises. Hiding in classrooms, frightened students spent more than an hour trying to communicate with the outside world and get reliable information, said senior Matt Goergen, 17, who was in first-period English class when the school went into lockdown. Many in the room didn't believe there was a shooting until "a girl sitting next to me got a call from her dad saying it was real," he said...

Uma Thurman Expecting - Uma Thurman is pregnant with her third child. The 41-year-old actress is expecting with her businessman boyfriend Arpad Busson. The actress's manager Jason Weinberg confirmed the news exclusively to MailOnline. The Kill Bill star already has two children - Maya, 13, and 10-year-old Levon - with her ex-husband Ethan Hawke. Busson also has two children, Arpad Flynn Alexander Busson and Aurelius Cy Andrea Busson, with former girlfriend Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson. Earlier this month, the blonde beauty was spotted wearing baggy clothes and crossing her arms over her stomach in the front row of the Tommy Hilfiger show during New York Fashion Week. The actress, who is known for her fondness of elegant fitted gowns, was wearing a loose navy outfit and matching coat. Before her front row appearance she was also seen on set of the new drama series Smash. Uma looked striking in a pink Hindu-inspired outfit as she filmed scenes for the NBC musical sh...