Best Buy
Electronics retailer Best Buy is headed for the exits. I can’t say when exactly, but my guess is that it’s only a matter of time, maybe a few more years.
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China axes two-thirds of popular television shows
Chinese reality TV show, Super Girl is an annual national singing contest produced by Hunan Satellite Television.
On January 1st, an order to curb “excessive entertainment” on television came into force in China. In response, the number of scheduled entertainment programs has dipped sharply from 126 a week to just 38, according to Xinhua, the state news agency.
1st meteor shower of 2012 amazes skywatchers
A Quadrantid meteor is seen streaking across a cloud-spattered sky with shadowy rocks in the foreground in this dazzling photo by astrophotographer Roberto Porto taken on Jan. 4, 2012 on Tenerife Island in Spain’s Canary Islands during the meteor shower’s peak.
A dazzling display of “shooting stars” kicked off the 2012 skywatching season early Wednesday (Jan. 4), thrilling amateur astronomers around the world with views of the Quadrantid meteor shower.
Usually one of the most dependable meteor displays of the year, the Quadrantid meteor shower peaked at about 2:30 a.m. EST (0730 GMT) in a brief, but eye-catching, light show. Quadrantid meteors are the leftover crumbs of a shattered comet that broke apart centuries ago, NASA scientists say…
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Google busted for violating own rules and will lower search ranking for Chrome
Google got BUSTED!
But Google apparently didn’t know it was doing this.So, with full denial still on its lips, Google has decided to slap its own wrist and downgrade the page rank on Google Chrome for at least two months, reports Search Engine Land.
In a statement published to Search Engine Land, Google said…
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Amazing coat hanger sculptures by David Mach
Coat hanger sculpture by David Mach.
Sometimes the items we use everyday seem dull and ordinary. We never think that one day they might serve as material for an inspiring piece of art. Toasters, buttons and even eggshells have become quite impressive art pieces in the past, and predicting the materials that we’ll see used in the future is almost impossible. When it comes to pure creativity, artists who venture into the unknown have to be the most inspiring for aspiring artists today. Overlooking the obvious is nothing an artist should ever do it seems, and that becomes apparent when you find art pieces that border on the brink of madness. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Amazing coat hanger sculptures by David Mach”
Online university helps adult learners finish college
An estimated 37 million Americans have some college credit but no degree. Western Governors University is trying to change that. The nonprofit online school is challenging many traditional concepts about higher education with a new approach aimed to help adult students finish college.
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Parasitic flies attack honeybees turning them into zombies
“Zombie” fly parasite causing decline of honeybee population.
A pile of dead bees was supposed to become food for a newly captured praying mantis. Instead, the pile of bees ended up revealing a previously unrecognized suspect in colony collapse disorder a mysterious condition that for several years has been causing declines in U.S. honeybee populations, which are needed to pollinate many important crops. This new potential culprit is a bizarre and potentially devastating parasitic fly that has been taking over the bodies of honeybees (Apis mellifera) in Northern California.
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Car seat sensors ID drivers by their rear ends
Pressure-sensing seat
Hilarity quickly ensues when Larry David calls out “I’d know that tush anywhere!” When your car says it – or at least, thinks it – the result is the engine starting and personal comfort preferences like climate control and seat positioning being remembered and activated, hands free. It’s still sort of hilarious, of course, but you can’t deny the security or the practicality inherent in the concept.
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Ten paradoxical traits of the creative personality
Of all human activities, creativity comes closest to providing the fulfillment we all hope to get in our lives. Call it full-blast living.
Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. Most of the things that are interesting, important, and human are the result of creativity.
What makes us different from apes–our language, values, artistic expression, scientific understanding, and technology–is the result of individual ingenuity that was recognized, rewarded, and transmitted through learning…
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Office ceilings mimic lighting of cloudy days with new LED design
Will LED ceilings improve our office moods?
We know that nature makes us nicer, but can we bring nature inside virtually and still keep the positive effects? researchers from the Stuttgart-based Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO want to find out with an interesting concept for making an office ceiling look like the sky, complete with rolling clouds.
The ceiling, which extends the entire length and width of the room, simulates lighting conditions similar to what you’d experience sitting out on a lawn somewhere, with slight variations as clouds pass over. The goal is to make you feel like you kind of are sitting out on a lawn somewhere…
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Record 1.2 billion global apps downloaded in a week
All that time off during the holidays paid off for app developers, with a record-breaking 1.2 billion global downloads combined from Apple’s App Store and Android Market, a big bump of 60 percent from early December.
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5 whimsical workspaces in Inventionland
George Davison, founder and chief executive officer of Davison International.
Davison International Inc., a 285-employee company that designs and creates kitchen gadgets, toys and other consumer products, relocated in 2006 to a 61,000-square-foot building in Pittsburgh, Pa. Its interior, which followed a year-long, $5 million renovation, is intended to encourage creativity and a positive attitude among staff. One third of its inventions are its own creations. The remainder are commissioned by third parties. (Pics)
