Saturday, April 14, 2007

2 other valuable F'reebies:
http://thetoolman.net/millionaire-mind/
http://thetoolman.net/article-writer/

 

 

MAGAZINE PREVIEW: Nano No-No

Nanotechnology is hailed as the next big thing in a miniscule package, a way of rescaling materials, even medicines, at the atomic size so that they are stronger, lighter, or interact with the body in a more targeted way. But preliminary studies show nanoparticles could potentially be harmful. Berkeley, California, oft regarded as a hippie outpost, has taken the lead on regulating the technology. It may not be alone in such regulations for long, as federal and local governments explore similar laws. In the meantime, companies that want to forge ahead with the development of nanotech products are forced to navigate a disjointed and complicated regulatory landscape. Find out more about nanotech regulation in the Red Herring cover story, "Nano No-No," on newsstands Monday. Here is a peek into the rest of our lineup:

  • "Google, then Gargle" explores startups in the crowded electronic personal health record space.

  • "More WhatSpace than MySpace" looks into censorship of the social networking site in China.

  • "Next Wave: Riding the Ripple" profiles mobile ad startup Millennial Media, headed by Paul Palmieri, former executive director of Verizon Wireless.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Apple delays Leopard; blame the iPhone
Apple said its operating system upgrade Leopard won't be released in June as planned. Why? The iPhone has absorbed Apple's engineering resources.
Larry Dignan: Apple's Leopard delay: Parsing spin, free passes and reality
Mary Jo Foley: Is Microsoft's Vista behind Apple's alleged Leopard delay?

Storm Worm strikes again
New variant of this January 2007 worm and Trojan combo is causing new headaches worldwide.

Bug hunters face online apps dilemma
Security holes in online applications may go unreported because well- intended hackers don't want to risk going to jail.

Fighting 'craplets' on new PCs
Marc Orchant: Craplets, the pre-bundled software loaded onto new PCs by OEMs, have gained another enemy, Walter Mosberg. Here are some ideas to stem the problem.

Microsoft confirms Vista OEM hack
Hack may allow users to bypass antipiracy feature, but no action is planned yet, according to a post on the Windows Genuine Advantage blog.

Cybercrooks exploiting new Windows DNS flaw
Attacks target Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 through a flaw in the Domain Name System code.
George Ou: How to protect your Microsoft DNS servers

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Lead Poisoning - Childrens Chalk

Chalk Talk

Claim:   Some brands of sidewalk chalk have contained high levels of lead.

Status:   True.

Example:   [Collected via e-mail, March 2007]

Hi everyone,

Be careful and only buy sidewalk chalk made from Crayola. Both of my children tested positive for lead exposure a few years ago. We had everything tested and it turned out to be sidewalk chalk. It was chalk they had gotten as a prize and it came from Joanne Etc. The only reason we tested the chalk is because a friend remembered hearing about a recall on sidewalk chalk in the past. The CPSC came to my house & took the chalk, due to its very high levels of lead. Both kids are just fine, fortunately our Dr.'s routine check up includes lead tests for everyone, not just those in particular areas.

So... if you have never had your kids tested, ask your Dr. And even if the package says "Conforms to ___ standard", if it isn't Crayola, don't buy it!

Origins:   This e-mailed alert began circulating on the Internet in March 2007. While we don't yet know the specific product referenced in the letter (the manufacturer wasn't named), there was indeed a Recalled brand of sidewalk chalk recall of certain brands of sidewalk chalk in 2003 because they were found to contain excessive amounts of lead.

In 2003, voluntary recalls were issued by both Target and Toys R Us for the "Double Dipp'n Fun" brand of sidewalk chalk then being vended by both retailers. Produced in China, the triangular chalk sticks were multicolored and sold for about 99 cents per package. Some 26,000 units were sold nationwide between March and July 2003.

Given that there does not appear to be a current Consumer Products and Safety Commission alert about sidewalk chalk, there is reason to believe the March 2007 e-mail about lead being found in that type of product refers to the 2003 incident. Indeed, the letter's "Both of my children tested positive for lead exposure a few years ago. We had everything tested and it turned out to be sidewalk chalk" tends to indicate the product in question was the "Double Dipp'n Fun" brand that was subsequently recalled.

As to why this matter is of note, while exposure to lead presents a hazard to all, it poses an especial danger to children. Additional care must be taken to limit their exposure to it.

Lead poisoning can reportedly lower intelligence, cause mental retardation, memory problems, depression, fatigue, hyperactivity, aggression, hearing loss, liver or kidney damage, osteoporosis, high blood pressure and anemia. Very high levels can damage the nervous system, kidneys and major organs and even result in seizures or death. It can also lead to infertility in men and cause spontaneous abortion in women. In the final stages of lead poisoning, the victim experiences convulsions, paralysis, blindness, delusions, and then coma. People can and have died of lead
poisoning.

Would you like water with your wine?


Nice place to go for dinner......

Check Out This Restaurant! How cool is that?

Click to enlarge Click to enlarge
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Origins:   The pictures displayed above are photographs of Ithaa, the unique undersea restaurant that opened at the Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa Rangali Island in April 2005. Ithaa — a word meaning "pearl" in the local Dhivehi language — is a tiny restaurant by resort hotel standards (it seats only 12 people), but it offers diners a "spectacular underwater view of colorful fish, sharks and other sea life in the surrounding coral reefs through curved, transparent acrylic walls." Guests begin their visits with drinks on a deck overhanging the Indian Ocean, then descend to the restaurant (16 feet underwater) via a spiral staircase, where they indulge in meals of contemporary Maldivian fusion cuisine served in four courses. (The cost per person for dinner ranges from $187 to $220.)

Update on Pet Food Recall

 We have compiled as comprehensive a list of recalled pet food products as possible from the information available to us, but pet owners should be sure to check all of the following sites to determine whether a particular brand (and form) of pet food is currently under recall: Brands and labels of pet foods that have been recalled so far include:
Recalled cat foods

Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority
Best Choice
Companion
Compliments
Demoulas Market Basket
Eukanuba
Fine Feline Cat
Food Lion
Foodtown
Giant Companion
Hannaford
Hill Country Fare
Hill’s Prescription Diet m/d Feline Dry
Hy-Vee
Iams
Laura Lynn
Li'l Red
Loving Meals
Meijer's Main Choice
Nutriplan
Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
Nutro Natural Choice
Paws
Pet Pride
Pounce Meaty Morsels Moist Chicken Flavor Cat Treats
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority US
Save-A-Lot Special Blend
Schnucks
Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans
Sophistacat
Special Kitty Canada
Special Kitty US
Springfield Prize
Sprout
Stop & Shop Companion
Tops Companion
Wegmans
Weis Total Pet
Western Family US
White Rose
Winn Dixie

Recalled dog foods

ALPO® Prime Cuts in Gravy
Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
Authority
Award
Best Choice
Big Bet
Big Red
Bloom
Cadillac
Companion
Demoulas Market Basket
Dollar General
Eukanuba
Food Lion
Giant Companion
Gravy Train Beef Sticks Dog Snacks
Great Choice
Hannaford
Happy Tails
Hill Country Fare
Hy-Vee
Iams
Jerky Treats Beef Flavor Dog Snacks
Laura Lynn
Loving Meals
Meijers Main Choice
Mighty Dog Pouch
Mixables
Nutriplan
Nutro Max
Nutro Natural Choice
Nutro Ultra
Nutro
Ol'Roy
Paws
Pet Essentials
Pet Pride - Good n Meaty
Presidents Choice
Price Chopper
Priority Canada
Priority US
Publix
Roche Brothers
Save-A-Lot Choice Morsels
Schnucks
Shep Dog
Springsfield Prize
Sprout
Stater Brothers
Stop & Shop Companion
Tops Companion
Wegmans Bruiser
Weis Total Pet
Western Family US
White Rose
Winn Dixie
Your Pet
Pet owners who think their animals may have been affected by contaminated products should contact a veterinarian and their local FDA office if their pets begin exhibiting symptoms of kidney failure (e.g., lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting). Cats are much more likely to be affected than dogs.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Life Easier For Linux Makers
Updated standards and toolkit improve development process for software groups.
By Eydie Cubarrubia

New products released Monday by the Linux Foundation will likely make life easier for software makers and promote further adoption of open-source software. The foundation, a nonprofit consortium dedicated to the growth of Linux, updated the Linux Standard Base, a set of programming standards that ensure applications are compatible with the Linux operating system. The LSB helps developers target multiple versions of the system with just one software package. The foundation also created a new testing toolkit, a suite of software that makes it easier for developers to ensure their products work with both old and new versions of Linux. All this could shorten the amount of time, and reduce the cost, involved in bringing new open-source software to market—especially good news for startups.

Find out more in today's story.

Patch Tuesday: Vista dinged again
Ryan Naraine: For the second time this month, Microsoft has shipped a security bulletin with patches for a "critical" Vista vulnerability that puts millions of users at risk of code execution attacks.
New Word 2007 flaws, exploits released