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31 Jan 09:30

Winter storm causes havoc in US South

A winter storm that hit the southern United States yesterday all but paralyzed the city of Atlanta, stranding people in cars at stores and children at their schools. The storm only brought a few inches across the region but with the ice caused major problems in America's southern region. Lloyd Young ( 28 photos total )

Traffic is snarled along the I-285 perimeter north of the metro area after a winter snow storm on Jan. 29 in Atlanta. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said early Wednesday that the National Guard was sending military Humvees onto Atlanta's snarled freeway system in an attempt to move stranded school buses and get food and water to people. Georgia State Patrol troopers headed to schools where children were hunkered down early Wednesday after spending the night there, and transportation crews continued to treat roads and bring gas to motorists, Deal said. (David Tulis/Associated Press)

    






31 Jan 09:29

The client when I ask about the random quotation marks all over the source

image

31 Jan 09:19

Ukrainian uprising

by Arnold Chao

Kiev, Grushevskogo 23.01

Two months of clashes between anti-government protesters and riot police have resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov on Jan. 28, 2014. Photographers captured the standoff that included barricades, fires, and persistent demonstrations in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

See more photos in the Ukraine Protests gallery and # EuroMaydan #ЄвроМайдан group.

Photos from IgorPetrof, o_ned, Sasha Maksymenko, Jennifer C, and Orion Alexis.


31 Jan 09:18

'One Ring' Scam

by snopes@snopes.com
Scam alert: Telephone customers return one-ring calls from foreign phone numbers and are supposedly being charged hefty fees.
31 Jan 08:21

when ur in a fight with ur best friend…



when ur in a fight with ur best friend…

31 Jan 08:21

Photo

Cooper Griggs

that's just mean



31 Jan 08:20

U.S. Wants To Add $1.23 Billion To Bank Of America’s Tab For Countrywide Scam

by Chris Morran

(Meg)

(Meg)

Back in October, a federal jury found Bank of America liable for a Countrywide Financial program that deliberately sold piles of worthless loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the housing bubble went kaflooey. At the time, prosecutors had only sought $864 million in penalties, but now the Justice Dept. claims that number should be $2.1 billion.

The subject of the government’s lawsuit was a former Countrywide program dubbed the High Speed Swim Lane (better known as the “Hustle”), which removed many of the existing roadblocks and safety checks of the loan underwriting process in order to approve as many home loans as possible in a short period of time. The DOJ alleged that Countrywide’s motive for the Hustle was to issue these loans then quickly sell them off to Fannie and Freddie without disclosing that some of the mortgages weren’t worth their value in Monopoly money, let alone U.S. currency.

The original estimate of $864 million presented by the feds was an estimate of actual losses taken by Fannie and Freddie on these toxic loans. But then the judge in the case asked the DOJ to think about its penalty request not in terms of loss, but in terms of Countrywide’s ill-gotten gains.

Reuters reports that during the trial, the DOJ’s evidence showed the Countrywide only made a profit of $165.2 million from these loans, but the number presented in yesterday’s court filing bases the $2.1 billion number on the failed lender’s gross gains rather than the net.

The DOJ, which has not exactly been bullish about seeking maximum penalties from the nation’s largest banks and its executives, is asking the court for the higher amount “punish defendants for their culpability and bad faith, and to deter financial institutions and their executives who would engage in similar fraudulent mortgage schemes.”

Yesterday’s filing also seeks a $1.1 million penalty against former Countrywide exec Rebecca Mairone, accused of running the Hustle program for Countrywide. Hopefully she’ll be able to afford it, as she later moved on to work for JPMorgan Chase to run its foreclosure review department.

Bank of America continues to deny its liability in this matter, saying the Hustle was over and done with before it swooped in to save the collapsing Countrywide — a move that has already cost BofA at least $40 billion in penalties, settlements, loan adjustments, and legal fees. The bank has previously said it would consider appealing the jury’s finding.

31 Jan 08:19

I need a guide: yasuaki onishi

by turn
30 Jan 20:29

Another Super Bowl, Another Bad Lip Reading of the NFL

Submitted by: Unknown

30 Jan 20:28

Photo



30 Jan 20:15

YIMMY'S YAYO™

by chinkone
30 Jan 20:10

How Google Broke Itself and Fixed Itself, Automatically

by timothy
Cooper Griggs

So wait, are we to understand that the system (the collection of computers only) fixed itself?

lemur3 writes "On January 24th Google had some problems with a few of its services. Gmail users and people who used various other Google services were impacted just as the Google Reliability Team was to take part in an Ask Me Anything on Reddit. Everything seemed to be resolved and back up within an hour. The Official Google Blog had a short note about what happened from Ben Treynor, a VP of Engineering. According to the blog post it appears that the outage was caused by a bug that caused a system that creates configurations to send a bad one to various 'live services.' An internal monitoring system noticed the problem a short time later and caused a new configuration to be spread around the services. Ben had this to say of it on the Google Blog, 'Engineers were still debugging 12 minutes later when the same system, having automatically cleared the original error, generated a new correct configuration at 11:14 a.m. and began sending it; errors subsided rapidly starting at this time. By 11:30 a.m. the correct configuration was live everywhere and almost all users' service was restored.'"

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Read more of this story at Slashdot.








30 Jan 17:38

NSA phone-records spying is totally, utterly illegal

by Cory Doctorow

215 allows FBI to get records relevant to an investigation. PCLOB: NSA program fails on "FBI", "records," "relevant" & "investigation."

— Julian Sanchez (@normative) January 23, 2014

As Julian Sanchez points out, the NSA's program of phone record collection is clearly, unequivocally, and totally illegal (and the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board agrees). The Patriot Act's section 215 allows the FBI to collect relevant records for a specific investigation.

The NSA isn't collecting records, it isn't the FBI, the data it collects isn't relevant, and there is no specific investigation. It's pretty amazing that there are still people (including Obama) insisting that the program is legal.

Believe it or not, he's not even being that glib here. Section 215 is pretty clear on all of those things. It's just for the FBI, and allows them to get records relevant to a specific investigation. Yet, the program is run by the NSA, which collects the data, instead of the FBI. It is not collecting "records" as intended by the law, and most of those records are irrelevant, and none of this is tied to any particular investigation. I'm reminded of the joke that the Holy Roman Empire wasn't actually holy, Roman or an empire.

When the law includes four basic conditions, and basically all four of them are not met, the program is beyond illegal. It's just a farce. It's kind of amazing that President Obama and other NSA defenders are still arguing that the program is perfectly fine.

Almost Everything About The Bulk Collection Of Phone Data Is Illegal [Michael Masnick/Techdirt]

    






30 Jan 17:38

Edward Snowden nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

by Xeni Jardin


Edward Snowden. Photo: Barton Gellman for Washington Post.

Two politicians in Norway nominated NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden for a Nobel Peace Prize. Brian Fung for the Washington Post:

In their nomination letter, Baard Vegar Solhjell and Snorre Valen, who hail from the Socialist Left party, said Snowden's revelations "contributed to a more stable and peaceful world order." Nominations — which are generally secret but sometimes announced by those submitting the paperwork — must be filed by Feb. 1. Snowden likely has dozens of competitors, so there's no guarantee he'll get anywhere. Still, it'd be ironic if Snowden and Obama each wound up winning the same honor just a handful of years apart.

    






30 Jan 17:33

Confused little girl meets her fathers twin for the first time

by bspcn

q

30 Jan 17:32

24 things you might not know about Fight Club

by bspcn
1. At the beginning of the movie, after the traditional copyright warning, there is a second warning that flashes for a second.
2. Director David Fincher has claimed in interviews that there is at least one Starbucks cup visible in every scene in the movie.
3. Tyler Durden flashes on screen four times before we actually meet him as a character.
4. And, in an early scene of the narrator, there is an ad for Bridgeworth Suites playing on a TV in front of him…
…Featuring Brad Pitt.
5. The breath in the cave scene is actually Leonardo Di Caprio’s breath from Titanic, composited into the shot.
6. Brad Pitt didn’t want his parents to watch the movie but they insisted. They changed their minds when they saw this scene:
7. Before shooting, Brad Pitt and Edward Norton actually took boxing and soap-making classes.
8. And, according to IMDB, Brad Pitt actually went to a dentist to have his front tooth chipped for the role.
9. 5’2” Helena Bonham Carter wore huge platform shoes to be closer in height to 5’11” Brad Pitt and 6’0” Edward Norton.
10. And she insisted that her make-up artist do all her make-up left-handed, because she thought the character of Marla wouldn’t care about, or be good at, that kind of thing.
11. During this scene, when a Fight Club member sprays a priest, the camera shakes slightly because the cameraman couldn’t keep from laughing.
12. Before deciding on Brad Pitt, the producers initially wanted Russell Crowe to play Tyler Durden.
13. And both Sean Penn and Matt Damon were considered for the role of the narrator, which Edward Norton eventually played.
14. Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Michelle Gellar were both offered Helena Bonham Carter’s role of Marla Singer. Witherspoon turned it down because it was “too dark,” and Gellar’s contract with Buffy didn’t let her accept the role.
And Courtney Love and Winona Ryder were also considered for the role.
15. The font used for the title and credits is called “Fight This.”
16. When the narrator is sitting at work writing haikus, the names on the document on his screen are of the film’s Production Assistants and crew members.
17. This line of pillow talk was originally supposed to be “I want to have your abortion” but Laura Ziskin, a producer at Fox 2000, found that too offensive. The director agreed to change the line, on the condition that the new line wouldn’t be up for negotiation. When Ziskin saw the new line (“I haven’t been fucked like that since grade school”) she found it to be even more offensive, but couldn’t do anything about it because of their agreement.
18. In the scene where the narrator first punches Tyler Durden, Edward Norton was supposed to fake-hit Brad Pitt…
But at the last minute, director David Fincher told Edward Norton to actually punch Brad Pitt. Pitt’s wince of pain is real, and you can see Norton laughing about it.
19. Marla Singer’s phone number is the same as Teddy’s number in the movie “Memento.” It is also the same as the Hong Kong Restaurant’s phone number in “Harriet The Spy,” Eddie Alden’s phone number in the movie “Someone Like You,” and the number for a mental institution in an episode of the show “Millennium.”
20. While filming this scene, Edward Norton was actually completely nude from the waist down. On the DVD commentary, he tells director Fincher this and then jokes, “Did you notice I never had to go to the bathroom that day?”
21. To look convincingly like sagging flesh, Bob’s fat-suit was filled with birdseed. It weighed more than 100 pounds.
22. When Tyler is giving a speech to the Fight Club, he looks directly at Jared Leto’s character when he mentions rockstars. The year before the film’s release, Jared Leto formed the now platinum-selling band “30 Seconds To Mars.”
23. The movie contains several subtle hints about the special “relationship” between Tyler Durden and the narrator. For instance, when they both get on a bus together, the narrator only pays the fare for one person. Later in the movie, when they are together in a car that Tyler is driving, the narrator also gets out on the driver’s side.
24. And, finally, in the last scene of the film, there is a single frame flash of male genitalia, just like Tyler Durden would insert into films at his projectionist job.
30 Jan 17:25

Self portrait. [the_luth]

Cooper Griggs

Nailed it.



Self portrait. [the_luth]

30 Jan 17:25

The versatility of pizza. [maximumble]



The versatility of pizza. [maximumble]

30 Jan 17:24

[poorlydrawnlines]

30 Jan 17:24

[hundred6]

30 Jan 17:23

Mientras tanto, en una gasolinera rusa…

by La Gusa

Una solución simple, eficiente y ecológica ante un problema común y que trae a muchos de cabeza. Yo sólo añadiría el uso del vocablo copón después de mover el coche. Para añadir énfasis y sensación de triunfo ante la adversidad.

Visto en Like Cool

Ver más: coches, gasolina, rusia
Seguir @NoPuedoCreer - @QueLoVendan

 

30 Jan 17:22

rantingrandall: It’s synthetic… I hope.







rantingrandall:

It’s synthetic… I hope.

30 Jan 17:22

[godson86]

30 Jan 17:21

Record Temperatures Freeze a Path to the Spectacular Lake Superior Ice Caves

by Christopher Jobson

Record Temperatures Freeze a Path to the Spectacular Lake Superior Ice Caves Wisconsin Lake Superior is it spring yet ice caves
Photo © Kelly Marquardt

Record Temperatures Freeze a Path to the Spectacular Lake Superior Ice Caves Wisconsin Lake Superior is it spring yet ice caves
Photo © Kelly Marquardt

Record Temperatures Freeze a Path to the Spectacular Lake Superior Ice Caves Wisconsin Lake Superior is it spring yet ice caves
Photo © Andy Rathbun

Record Temperatures Freeze a Path to the Spectacular Lake Superior Ice Caves Wisconsin Lake Superior is it spring yet ice caves
Photo © Andy Rathbun

Record Temperatures Freeze a Path to the Spectacular Lake Superior Ice Caves Wisconsin Lake Superior is it spring yet ice caves
Photo © Andy Rathbun

Record Temperatures Freeze a Path to the Spectacular Lake Superior Ice Caves Wisconsin Lake Superior is it spring yet ice caves
Photo © Andy Rathbun

Record Temperatures Freeze a Path to the Spectacular Lake Superior Ice Caves Wisconsin Lake Superior is it spring yet ice caves
Photo © Andy Rathbun

Record Temperatures Freeze a Path to the Spectacular Lake Superior Ice Caves Wisconsin Lake Superior is it spring yet ice caves
Photo © Andy Rathbun

Record Temperatures Freeze a Path to the Spectacular Lake Superior Ice Caves Wisconsin Lake Superior is it spring yet ice caves
Photo © Barbara Alwes

Record Temperatures Freeze a Path to the Spectacular Lake Superior Ice Caves Wisconsin Lake Superior is it spring yet ice caves
Photo © Kelly Marquardt

For the first time since 2009 Lake Superior has frozen thick enough to safely permit access to the ice caves at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in northern Wisconsin. An estimated 1,000 people are arriving daily to trek out to the islands for a glimpse of frozen caves which are covered in a cascade of icicles formed from water runoff and waves that splashed against the caves before the surface solidified. If the weather holds out, officials estimate the caves could remain open for another month. A huge thanks to Kelly Marquardt, Andy Rathbun and the Wisconsin Department of National Resources for sharing photos of the caves. (thnx, Amy!)

Update: Journalist Andy Rathbun who provided many of the photos above, now has his own article about the ice caves over on the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

30 Jan 17:21

Photo



30 Jan 17:21

Photo



30 Jan 17:20

Photo



30 Jan 13:42

#Euromaidan: Must-see photos and stories from the front lines

by Cory Doctorow


An amazing post on Livejournal from Ilya "Zyalt" Varlamov gives a glimpse of life behind the barricades at the #Euromaidan uprising in Kiev, Ukraine. Zyalt's photos and text convey the diversity of the rebel lines -- "from students to pensioners" -- and the ingenuity they display in everything from homebrewed catapaults to morale-boosting drumming ("When casual stone- and grenade-throwing takes place, the knock is monotonous, in order to set rhythm and keep the morale. When Berkut attacks, drumming becomes louder and everyone hears that – for some it is a signal to run away, for some, on the opposite – defend the barricades.") At the end, we see the moment when the smoke clears and the truce begins. This is nailbiting, engrossing, terrifying stuff.

Here's hoping that all our readers in Ukraine are safe, especially Daniel, who wrote our first post on #Euromaidan.

I would like to dispel the most common myths about Maidan.

1."They destroyed the whole city" Not true. All of the action you see in the pictures are happening on a small square near the entrance to a Dinamo stadium. This is a government sector, there is no intereference in peaceful life outside of this area. If you make an analogy with Moscow, imagine that the barricades are someone in the area of Ilinka or Varvarka, near the president's administration. Sure, it's the center, but regular Moscovites wouldn't notice. There is dark smoke and fire on all pictures: those are mostly burning tires. There is not tangible damage to the buildings. Unfortunately one store burned down last night near the barricades, resulted from a poorly thrown molotov cocktail. Even the statue of Lobanovsky, located in the epicenter of fighting has been covered with cloth to prevent damage. Overall, the protesters are very careful regarding property. They've take apart fences and benches, but no windows are broken, noone is vandalizing, and all looters are caught and beaten. So the picture is pretty apocalyptic, but things are not so bad.

2. "This is not a revolution, nothing horrible is happeneing"

Also not true. This is a real revolution. Decide for yourselves: it's been two months since the center of Kiev has been in the hands of the opposition. Several government buildings are seized. The work of many government offices is paralyzed. The opposition has created barricades, which the authorities have not be able to take. Despite the freezing temps, tens of thousands of people are on the streets for the last two months. The system of defense and supply chain are established. There is perfect order at the protestor HQ, people are fed, dressed, people are pooling money to gather supplies. The most important thing: the people in power are unable to restore order. The police has failed several times at try to storm the barricades. I'll make a separate post about this, but trust me, the only way to dismantle this is with heavy artillery, or drop in commandos. Every day the opposition is securing more territories. What is this if not a revolution?

3. "The entire Kiev is paralyzed, there is no peaceful life for the regular people."

Kiev is living its own life. All stores and cafes are working, people are going to work, study in universities, get married, divorce and even die their own death. Most of the Kiev populace are not inconvenienced. Imagine if Navalny took over the Red Square and set up his camp there. What would change for you, Moscovites? Nothing. So the only people who are inconvenienced are toruists. A few stores and cafes had to close down in the very center. Also, those living in the center have troubles with logistics. But the entire Kiev is not paralyzed.










Revolution in Kiev, Ukraine (via Hacker News)

    






30 Jan 13:34

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation

by Christopher Jobson

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

New Ridiculously Imaginative Playgrounds from Monstrum Set the Monkey Bars High for Innovation playgrounds kids

Danish design firm Monstrum (previously) continues to redefine the modern playscape, constructing numerous fantastical scenes for kids to climb on in locations around the world. Founded by Ole B. Nielsen and Christian Jensen, the award-winning firm has an extensive background in theatrical set design in theaters throughout Copenhagen that strongly influences their groundbreaking aesthetic. Each new playground becomes the backdrop for a dramatic scene, from towering robots to hoards of attacking insects. For their most recent creation in Moscow’s famous Gorky Park, Mostrum constructed a gargantuan octopus overtaking a huge oceanliner, complete with slides, cargo nets and climbing walls (shown above in subzero temperatures). See more recent work in their project portfolio.

30 Jan 05:29

Audi’s Super Bowl Ad Stars a Horrifying ‘Doberhuahua’ Hybrid

by Kimber Streams

Audi has released “Doberhuahua,” its Super Bowl ad starring a Chihuahua-Doberman hybrid. Instead of being cute, the strange dog’s huge head and vicious nature make it rather horrifying.

For this year’s Big Game, Audi has conceived a never-before-seen creature to show the frightening consequences of bringing compromise into the world.

via Audi