VaVoom

Grandma's Meth Lab

2008-12-19T12:09:00.003-05:00

Bristol Palin, Sarah Palin’s pregnant daughter, is due on Saturday. However, Bristol’s mother-in-law to be has taken away the spotlight by being arrested. Sherry Johnson, mother of Levi Johnson, who is Bristol’s baby’s father, was arrested after Alaska State Troopers searched Sherry’s house as a part of an undercover drug investigation. Sherry was charged with six felony counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance.

Governor Palin did not issue a statement because, according to her spokesman, Bill McAllister, this is not a state government matter. I can’t wait to see what SNL has their Sarah Palin say! Sherry’s was interview by the Huffington Post this past summer. Johnston said her son and Palin's daughter had planned to wed before they found out about the pregnancy. As for being in the spotlight, Johnston told the Huffington Post, "This is out of my league... I'm just a country gal and I want to keep it that way."

Well, no wonder she wanted to keep to herself. She was – allegedly – running an underground meth lab! I do feel bad for Bristol, who absolutely does not need any added stress right before her due date. I hope she is able to keep claim about this, and maybe she will think twice about asking Grandma Johnson to baby sit.

Something's Fishy

2008-12-18T16:54:00.004-05:00

Jeremy Piven is giving his regards to Broadway … and leaving! He is abruptly ending his run on Broadway’s Speed-the-Plow. His reason: high mercury count. Okay, what? What ever happened to the good, old-fashioned stomach flu?

Well, turns out that this is essentially like being poisoned. According to the FDA, there are some guidelines on how to avoid reaching a high mercury count. The biggest, easiest one is to not eat sushi more than once a week. Turns out, Piven was eating sushi about two times a day. Apparently Piven also takes Chinese herbs that also heighten mercury levels.

Okay, so I just had sushi last night and tuna for lunch so I’m nervous. I’m not feeling to great, could I suffer from high mercury levels? The symptoms range from impairment of peripheral vision, lack of coordination of movements, impairment of speech, muscle weakness, skin rashes, mood swing, memory loss, mental disturbance… Okay, I can check off almost all of these except I don’t have a skin rash. I’m sure I’m okay though.

Just to be safe though, I'm gonna take a little break from fish.

MTA (major tension aches)

2008-12-17T13:25:00.002-05:00

Well, it happened. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) approved an austerity budget for 2009 that calls for cuts on bus, subway and commuter rail service and an increase in fares and tolls.

First off, if their cutting services, how can they increase the fares? Secondly, how can they cut the service anymore? The past few weekends the subway system in New York has been terrible with service changes/cuts. I actually had to go to Brooklyn in order to get an uptown F train in Manhattan, which still doesn’t make any sense to me.

If the MTA does not receive new sources of revenue, the base subway fare will probably rise to at least $2.50 starting in June, which means my beloved unlimited MetroCard will cost me a at least a whopping $100. A meeting next week will set the maximum possible increases, but it seems the inevitable is the worst-case scenario.

There is an rescue plan effort lead my Richard Ravitch, who Governor Patterson appointed, that calls for a payroll tax of a third percent, which will be paid by businesses in the region served by the authority. This tax is estimated to generate an estimated $1.5 billion, which will help in the long term. This plan also calls for tolls on the bridges over the East and Harlem Rivers. The fare increase would be about 8 percent, but they claim this would eliminate most service cuts.

I understand the need for a possible fare increase, but don’t increase my fare and take away services! That just will not make people (me) happy. Anyway, I’m seriously considering just buying a bike and hoping I am able to successfully weave in and out of traffic unharmed.

‘Honestly, who throws a shoe…?’

2008-12-16T13:27:00.003-05:00

I had a great chuckle when I heard about the Iraqi journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, who threw a shoe at President Bush. Oh my. Turns out that this is actually much more than just a shoe throwing. Calling someone the “son of shoe” is one of the worst insults in Iraq. It means that the person is worse than the scum that’s underneath your shoe. As Zaidi threw his shoe he said, “This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!” Bush was able to dodge the shoe, but he can’t dodge the attention this incident brings about.

The Arab world has – surprisingly – had mixed reactions to the sole slinger. Someone offered $10 million to buy just one of the shoes that was hurled at Bush. Zaidi was also awarded with a medal of courage.

Some Arabs, however angry they are at President Bush, called the act a breach of respect of traditional Arab hospitality toward guests. Technically, Bush is a guest, but does that really still count since he started the war with them?

Even though there was some initial disagreement about whether Zaidi was right to through the shoe, it brought about an eventually overwhelming sense of unity. Al Baghdadia, the network Zaidi is a correspondent for, did not put out an apology for Zaidi’s actions and actually had his picture up for most of the day. Al Baghdadia took calls from viewers with their reactions and most were supportive of the shoe throwing.

If you haven’t seen the footage of the news conference, check it out here.

A Diamond in the Rough

2008-12-15T16:43:00.005-05:00

The economic crisis is devastating for some more than others, but Google’s numbers have managed to remain stable, and company executives seem optimistic that difficult times may make many of its services more appealing.

I know that I was vigorously on Google trying to get the best results for a cheap flight to California for the holidays. Google has also helped me come up with some ideas for Christmas presents for the family. It’s not just American folks like me, however, helping Google stay on top. Its international revenue is very much to thank.

For Google, international revenue came in ahead of domestic dollars, and $4 billon of the $5.5 billion in revenue came straight from Google.com. I also shouldn’t neglect to mention that Google’s success is greatly driven by keeping costs in check – no pun intended. For instance, Google has managed to keep its payments to partners stable for all of fiscal 2008. This means that as long as Google can drive revenue up, profits will follow.

Google is doing its best to make sure that the dollars keep rolling in, though. It doesn't take its lead in the search business for granted; Search results now returned results from Google Images and YouTube. This should continue to draw users to its search and let the company push its other services.

Lets not forget about Google’s other efforts, the Chrome browser, which I’ve mentioned in this blog and Android, an open handset alliance project that is the first complete, open and free mobile platform. These two additions are expected to also help drive up Google's revenue.

Even if, however, the new additions do not lead to an increase in revenue, Google still has a tight grip on its costs, and the economic turmoil has not taken hold. It’s nice to know someone is doing well.

Till Death Do They Part

2008-12-12T11:22:00.004-05:00

Finally. Netflix decided to settle down with someone worthwhile. The union of TiVo and Netflix in October 2008 came as good news to many and now, as of December 2008, Netflix subscribers can enjoy the honeymoon. The new dynamic duo has teamed up to bring streaming shows and movies to TiVo owners' TV screens. This make Netflix¹s attempt to move their online streaming video from computer screen to TV screen a success.

So, here’s how it works: users logon to their Netflix account like normal and pick out the movies and TV shows they want to watch. Then, those selections are automatically available for them to choose from on their TV. This means that you can browse through the library of more than 12, 000 movies and TV episodes at http://www.netflix.com, add them to your Netflix instant queue, and then watch them on TV with just a click of the TiVo remote.

This is, however, not the first time Netflix and TiVo have come together. In 2004, Netflix and TiVo worked together to develop a prototype Internet film-delivery service. This project fell through due to licensing and technology issues, but perhaps that strike out was a good thing since this new union between Netflix and TiVo is a homerun. Netflix now has 8.7 million subscribers and TiVo has about 3.6 million people in it’s user base. Suddenly, performing at Madison Square Garden doesn’t seem so huge. The hard part – bringing these two together – is over and now they just need to make sure their audience is entertained. I’m sure with the plethora of movie and TV selections, no one will utter the words ‘there’s nothing on TV…’

Like many of us trying to find the right person to make that lasting union, Netflix has tried other methods of reaching their TV goal. Netflix tried to launch it’s own set-top box called the Roku in May 2008. The $99 device, which streamed content from subscribers’ accounts to their TV, fell flat. The last thing we need is another box atop the TV as wires strangle every last each of space. So, Netflix decided to take a different path and in July 2008, Netflix and Microsoft made an announcement that the Xbox 360 would gain Netflix streaming capabilities for free (outside your monthly Netflix subscription).

So, now that you have both Xbox 360 and TiVo can stream your Netflix ‘watch instantly’ feature, which one should you choose? As far as video quality, Xbox 360 and TiVo are tied. The visual quality in each box’s rendering capability makes it impossible to tell the difference between the two. As far as navigation, you’re probably better with TiVo since it allows you to fast forward and rewind through the entire movie where the Xbox 360 does not allow you to do so in all titles. Only some HD titles allow you to do so and SD titles allow you to seek by way of thumbnail pictures. This really isn’t that big of a deal, but I suppose I’d have a slight preference for TiVo over Xbox 360. But that’s also probably considering that I have no other need for an Xbox.

Google Chrome: More Than Just A Browser

2008-12-11T12:00:00.007-05:00

The web has evolved over the last decade into an interactive interface, and Google thinks the old web browsers are not keeping up with the demands of web users. Google’s new web browser, Chrome, has promised to be oh-so-much-more than just a browser. Chrome is an open-source web browser with minimal design and uses advanced technology to ideally make the web faster, safer and easier to use. Chrome’s initial launch in September 2008, displayed some new features and has, since then, responded to the feedback and made some major and minor tweaks before launching out of beta in January 2009.

Chrome offers up an Incognito privacy mode, which allows the user to open a private window that is never logged into your computer. There are two different reasons I can see for having such a feature – one is naughty and one is nice. The naughty reason is for a porn addict to keep his tits and tats searches private, and the nice reason is to make sure that your mom (or whoever you’re buying presents for) doesn’t stumble upon their birthday gift receipt. Whatever your reason for privacy is, it’s an interesting new feature.

The integrated search capabilities in Chrome offered in the URL bar expands on Firefox’s search options. In addition to the dropdown search engine choices, Chrome’s new search candy, called Omnibox, will replace the individual address search boxes and offer search suggestions, popular pages and history pages. Here’s the part I like: it will automatically replicate a webpage’s own search box. So I could type “eBay” hit TAB and then the item I’m searching for, and … wah-la … I’m right where I need to be. So, really this cuts out the middleman, and takes you to your final destination faster, which I love.

Anytime I am surfing the web, I have multiple tabs opened. I am a multi-tasker, and when one of those tabs crashes and all of my other tabs come crashing down with it, I freak out. Chrome offers of a way to isolate individual tabs to prevent the heartbreak of losing everything you're working on. I’d much rather lose one page than all of them.

Perhaps one of Google’s smartest decisions with Chrome’s new applications is a plan to formulate a new extension system that will allow independent developers to add-on to the browser to meet their specific needs. Yes, there are some basic features that we all need, but I’m sure my needs as an online journalist slightly differ than those of an electrical engineer. Going along with this, Chrome developers have listened to initial complaints about an inadequate bookmark tool bar and have decided to add-on a full bookmark manager.

Google Chrome has done well in product reviews, but changing your web browser is kind of like moving apartments in Manhattan. There has to be something wrong with where you’re living at the moment, and you have to find something amazing in order to go through the hassle of an NYC move. So, does Google Chrome offer up that “something amazing” in order to make the switch?

Firefox has been good to me, but with the new Omnibox and isolated tabs, I’ve got to say I’m pretty excited for Chrome’s launch in January. So, with Chrome planning on coming out of beta in the near-future, I’m going to definitely at least try it out, but Google better make sure that they are absolutely ready to come out of beta because if the slightest things goes wrong with Chrome, people will be running back to Firefox with open arms.

Russian Roulette

2008-12-10T13:01:00.014-05:00

Scott Ruffalo, brother to movie star Mark Ruffalo (most recently the star of Blindness with Julianne Moore), died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a game of Russian roulette.

This is terribly tragic, but I can't help but think 'people actually play Russian roulette?' Of course he was under the influence of controlled substances, but I just don't see the rationalization that someone could make to actually play the game, which leads me to think that Scott Ruffalo must have suffered from depression or something... Unfortunately, after a little research, I come to find that this isn't the first time someone has died from a "game" of Russian roulette.

The Washington Post reported in February 2007 about a young teen, Timothy Van Buren, who died supposedly from playing a game of Russian roulette. The crazy thing about this young teen is that he was a star football player, applying to colleges and contemplating becoming a firefighter. Doesn't seem he suffered from depression. Weird. Oh, wait, there' s more. In December of 1999 The LA Times ran an article about a 16-year-old boy, Chris Adamakis, who died ... yes, that's right ... by playing Russian roulette. More? Oklahoma City's KOCO news network reported the death of an 18-year-old, Elisio Perez Jr., who died -- again -- from playing a game of Russian roulette. These deaths are not attributed to depression or even drug use. So, I am going to turn to what I first believed to be "far-stretched," but now I'm beginning to think it may not be that out there.

Now, I've actually never seen The Deer Hunter, (I know! I know! It's on my list of movies to watch) but I know the premise of the movie, and I wonder if there's some sort of weird connection between the two. Since the majority of the deaths I've found due to Russian roulette have been teens, it makes me think the impressionable nature of a teenager could have potentially been swayed by -- what I've heard -- is a powerful movie. Scott Ruffalo was not a teen, he was 39 years old, but that doesn't mean that under his influence of controlled substances, he wasn't slightly impressionable and in a fantasy world.

People blamed Columbine on Marilyn Manson, so I suppose it's not a stretch to blame a movie.

Another Day ... Another Governor in Trouble

2008-12-09T22:55:00.001-05:00

When I first saw what Illinois governor, Rod R. Blagojevich, was up to, I thought 'why would he risk it?' Simple answer: $.

How is Blagojevich significantly different than a man who scalps his 50-yard-line football tickets? Greed has -- in many ways -- taken over. It seems the saying 'rules were made to be broken' is a reality in the political world. From Spitzer's prostitution romps to Bloomberg's attempted term restriction fight, it seems we get to choose which rules we want to follow. Okay, great, I've got some rules I'd like to change -- I don't want to have to pay taxes and want free health insurance. :) Yeah, right.

Well, at the rate we've been going with political gossip, folks like Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears must be thrilled some of the heat is off them!

Welcome

2008-12-09T22:16:00.003-05:00

Welcome. Since this is the first blog post on VaVoom, it seems necessary to let you in on what you will and won't find here.

You will find:

--reaction to the latest news (both national and international)
--technology news/thoughts

--exercise stories/tips

--nutrition and recipes

--music reviews

--gossip

You won't find:

--dull, boring dribble

Initially I was going to choose one of the topics listed above, but I do not have a one-track mind, so this is not going to be a one-track blog.

Stay tuned! Look for a new blog every Monday-Friday.