Updated: Mythbusters regular Erik Gates dies after 30ft fall, picture
sad news, Erik Gates, a regular guest on the discovery channel show Mythbusters has died as result of a freak accident.
Gates was working onsite for his electrical company when he fell through a skylight. He suffered serious blunt trauma to the chest and then died.
Gates guest starred on four episodes of Mythbusters as the "amateur rocket expert". He was very involved in rocketry, even creating his own website called Gates Brother Rocketry.
The official mythbusters twitter account sent out two tweets honoring Gates saying, "Team MB wishes to express our deepest sympathies on the passing of our beloved rocket expert, Erik." and "You were an honorary MythBuster and will be sorely missed."
It was earlier mistakenly reported that one of Erik's brothers, Dirk Gates, had also recently died as well, but that is UNTRUE and deep, sincere apologies and condolences go out to the family and friends of Erik Gates.
Dutch to Use Full-Body Scanners on Flights to U.S.
The major international airport of the Netherlands will begin using full-body scanners on passengers flying to the US to prevent a recurrence of the security breach that allowed a would-be bomber to smuggle explosives onto a flight to Detroit from Amsterdam on Christmas Day, the Dutch authorities said Wednesday.
The new measures were announced as the Dutch interior minister discussed the government’s early investigation into the thwarted bombing.
At a news conference at The Hague in the Netherlands the interior minister, Guusje Ter Horst, characterized preparations for the attack as professional but its execution as amateurish, according to The Associated Press.
“It is not exaggerating to say the world has escaped a disaster,” Ms. Ter Horst said. Dutch officials said the accused bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, had raised no red flags as he arrived in Amsterdam from Nigeria and transferred to his Detroit-bound flight at Schiphol Airport. He arrived at 5:37 a.m. on Dec. 25, passed through security screening at a metal detector without setting off any alarms and departed for the United States at 8:55 a.m.
He had a visa to enter the United States, and he presented a valid Nigerian passport as he boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253. The Interior Ministry’s report said Mr. Abdulmutallab was traveling on a round-trip ticket purchased in Ghana.
Ms. Ter Horst said the explosives used in the attack appeared to be professionally made, and that it appeared they had been given to Mr. Adbulmutallab.
In a letter to the Dutch Parliament posted on the counterterrorism office’s Web site, Ms. Ter Horst said the attack demonstrated “a fairly professional approach, comparable to earlier attempted attacks against civil aviation,” referring to the thwarted 2001 attack by the “shoe bomber,” Richard Reid.
Although Dutch officials said they would deploy the scanners “immediately,” a spokesman for the country’s counterterrorism office said only 7 of the airport’s 15 full-body scanners were currently ready for use. The rest would be deployed within three weeks after receiving software upgrades.
A voluntary recall of Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplets is being expanded because of consumer reports of an unusual moldy odor with the 100-count bottles, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said late on Monday.
The FDA said it and Johnson & Johnson were expanding recall to all available product lots of the pain caplets with the distinctive red EZ-open cap.
The initial recall involved five lots of the product in November after reports of an unusual musty or mildew-like odor that was associated with nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea, the FDA said.
The agency said the odor was believed to have been caused by the breakdown of a chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging materials.
It said the health effects of the compound have not been well studied, but the events reported to the company have been temporary and not serious.
The FDA said consumers who bought Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplet 100-count bottles with the red cap from the lots included in the recall should stop using the product and contact McNeil Consumer Healthcare for a refund or replacement.
Napolitano Says ‘No Indication’ Bomb Attempt Part of Larger Plot
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said U.S. officials have “no indication” that an attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight approaching Detroit on Christmas Day was part of a larger plot.
“Right now we have no indication that this is part of anything larger,” Napolitano said today on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “The investigation continues.” She said officials are seeking to learn whether the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had any ties to the terrorist organization al- Qaeda.
“It would be imappropriate to speculate about whether or not he had such ties,” Napolitano said.
Thousands of bargain-hungry shoppers are flocking to high street chains across the country snap up post-Christmas discounts.
With Boxing Day falling on a Saturday, retailers are expecting today to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
It is estimated that more than £3bn will be spent by shoppers, with 80% of the British public expected to visit the sales.
Sky reporter Tessa Chapman said the queues at Manchester's Trafford Centre had started forming at 6am as retailers promised discounts of between 40% and 60%.
"The shopping centre is hoping to attract 140,000 shoppers through the door, they have 10,000 parking spaces and are expecting each and every single one to be filled," she said.
"They have got 200 shops here and the vast majority will be open and taking advantage of the fact that for the first time in 11 years Boxing Day falls on a Saturday."
Next and Debenhams threw open their doors at 7am, and Selfridges started trading at its Birmingham and Manchester branches at 8am.
At Selfridges' flagship store in London, hundreds of people had queued outside the shop which opened for business at 9am.
Mary Adonis, 32, who lives in Portobello, west London, arrived at the Oxford Street department store at 2am to get a prime spot.
She said: "I want to look in all the departments, maybe for a bag. I love Gucci."
More than 125,000 shoppers are expected to descend on Bluewater Shopping Centre in Greenhithe, Kent.
General manager Andrew Parkinson said car parks were already 70% full by 11am.
"Key to this is that most retailers did not go on sale pre-Christmas," he explained
"Shoppers are therefore travelling to Bluewater to find real bargains, of which there are plenty."
Meanwile, Capital Shopping Centres, which owns 14 shopping sites across the UK, said it was expecting bumper days today and tomorrow.
Commercial Director Trevor Pereira said: "Customers have been flooding through our 14 centres' doors from the early hours today.
"Shoppers have been planning their sale purchases before the VAT hike comes into effect, and as a consequence we are extremely busy."
Charlie Sheen arrested, released; Brooke Mueller Sheen and drink??
The sad Christmas tale of Charlie Sheen arrested and charged with a reported 2 felonies and 1 misdemeanor charge of domestic violence against his wife Brooke Mueller Sheen in Aspen, Colorado is gaining clarity.
After accounts that Charlie Sheen would not be able to post bond after his arrest, TMZ.com reports that he paid $8,500 after talking to a county judge. He's out of jail.
Moreover, his wife, Brooke Mueller Sheen, was given a breath test to determine the level of alcohol in her body relative to her blood; the percentage was .13. By contrast, Charlie Sheen was given the same test and posted .04. TMZ wrote that law enforcement sources say Brooke Mueller Sheen was "legally drunk" when she called 911.
In a way, this is beginning to read like the Tila Tequila / Sean Merriman incident all over again. In that case, an intoxicated Tila Tequila called 911 reporting that Sean Merriman allegedly assaulted her. The San Diego County District Attorney dropped the case after witnesses and Merriman claimed he was trying to stop her from driving while drunk.
The difference here is there are no reported witnesses as of this writing, just Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller Sheen.
Charlie Sheen said Brooke Sheen was the agressor and he was trying to defend himself. Again, that's very similar to the Tila Tequila / Sean Merriman disagreement.
Stores open on Christmas Day 2009 - Are there Walmart Christmas Day hours?
Are you needing that last minute Christmas day gift? Did you forget to buy some item for dinner? Did you run out of alcohol on this Christmas Day? While many stores will now stay open on Thanksgiving, those same stores will now close on Christmas Day in order to allow all their employees to spend the day with their families.
Depending on where you are, there are some stores open though. A safe bet is if you have Walgreens in your area. They have normal hours even on Christmas, which is something I learned years ago. CVS Pharmacy's are also open. Some grocery stores are open, but these are usually not the big chains. Call around in your area.
As for the big retailers like Wal-mart, Target, and Best Buy? Most closed early on Christmas Eve, and will not reopen until early the day after Christmas. However, some are offering Christmas Day online sales that they hope bring people in.
Whatever you do today, have a very Merry Christmas!
Cancer-struck Prunedale family's invitation to Starbucks a ruse
Cathy and Rowland Bories stood in line with 3 of their 4 grandchildren and 2 foster kids in a packed Starbucks in Prunedale on Thursday afternoon. Jordan, their 12-year-old granddaughter, was looking at a tall pile of gift-wrapped presents lying in a corner of the coffee shop when she saw her name on one of them. "Oh my God, this has my name on it!" Jordan yelled.
It wasn't long until the news broke that the Borieses weren't there for coffee at all.
Instead, a group of Prunedale residents, Starbucks employees and members of a community church had come together on Christmas Eve with one goal in mind — to spread holiday cheer to the Bories family.
As soon as Cathy found out, the tears of joy began to flow.
"This is amazing; I can't believe this," she said while hugging Starbucks manager Emy Fischer.
"Thank you so much," Bories said.
"You deserve it," Fischer replied.
"We just wanted to brighten up what would have been a bleak Christmas for them," Fischer said.
It hasn't been an easy year for the Bories family.
Rowland Bories said he had a heart attack in March. He had open-heart surgery in April — and his heart stopped in the operation room before he was revived.
Months later, Cathy said, the family found out Rowland had cancer.
"Stage three, very aggressive, prostate [cancer]," she could barely say. Rowland is set to start chemotherapy early in the new year.
To those health problems, add the responsibility of caring for their grandchildren and foster kids.
"It's been a really tough year," Cathy Bories said.
While she continued to cry, shocked by all the presents and hugs from people she's never met, her 6-year-old grandson only had a smile on his face.
"Is this all our presents?" asked Jimmy Blackmore, while holding on to a soccer ball and a carton of chocolate milk.
Then the coffee shop burst into singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," led by about 20 congregation members from Prunedale's New Life Community Church.
Cathy Bories said she thought they'd been invited for coffee and to sing Christmas carols.
It is interesting to see what criteria app developers are using to judge how successful their iPhone app are. Brian Akaka, founder of Appular disclosed his criteria. The answer is a mixture of rave reviews in the media; user feedback; and a rating on the iTunes app store itself.
As Appular points out, there are already over 100,000 apps in the App Store and that number is growing daily. So Appular specialises in working with developers to create a marketing strategy that will maximise the visibility of their apps.
As Akaka says, “It has become increasingly challenging for developers to differentiate their apps from thousands of others. So what does he do? He contacts GoMo News for a start.
Akaka is particularly keen to pump up the success of Crosswords. No prizes for guessing what this app does.
It’s the app for crossword fans to get their fix where ever they are, apparently. The app costs $9.99, and has received a 4.5 rating in iTunes with over 1,700 reviews.
“For it to be so popular - at that price point - you know that this app is well executed,” Akaka enthuses. The app is obviously US orientated because it provides players with access to puzzles from US publications such as Boston Globe, Village Voice, Wall St Journal, and the New York Times Classic.
It’s purportedly received rave reviews from Wired’s Charlie Sorrel and Daring Fireball’s John Gruber. If you go onto the Appular site, you can win a $25 iTunes voucher for coming up with an interesting use for Simplenote.
Big marketing budget, huh?
The last app being promoted is an iPhone version of the game, Urban Rivals. This is reportedly a popular online trading card game with over 7 million registered users and 50,000 daily plays.
Have you watched the cool Clerk 2 sequel video? Do you want to be one of persons looking for this video? Clerk 2 is indeed worthy to watch.
This is the tough one, the one I mulled over for a week before writing this. Without a doubt, the most successful comedic sequel of the decade was Clerks 2, both in its box office take and the number of fans who were fully happy with Kevin Smith's return to his roots. Me, on the other hand, I wasn't. The magic was gone. I tried ... really I did. I rushed to see it opening night, then waited months to see it again, hoping my dislike was just a bad mood, a passing phase. No dice. I preferred the '90s shocks, and a black and white world without dance sequences. Nevertheless, I'm glad it pleased most of you, and it definitely deserves this spot on an overall scale.
What is an Infragard? They have just finished their elections. Who won? This is a very notable organization for us to be familiar with.
yann Bradbury has been elected President of the InfraGard National Members Alliance (INMA) and Kathleen Kiernan has been reelected as Chairman. InfraGard was started by the FBI 13 years ago as an alliance between it and over 34,000 vetted members to provide interface with the Bureau and the leaders and experts of this country’s critical infrastructure.
Ms. Bradbury has served in various leadership roles within InfraGard. She has been President and VP of the InfraGard Nebraska Members Alliance, InfraGard Regional Representative for the West Region, Vice President of Regional Communications- INMA, 2006 Awards Committee Chair, and, most recently, as a member of the INMA Board of Directors. Ms. Bradbury is an Associate Director of Compliance for Digital River.
