Leopards and Lions and... Lions?

]The Verge has a very nice video overview of Apple's newly announced Mac OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion. Many of the changes seem to be putting the iOS experience on your computer.

Notification Center: A new, blue icon will appear when new notifications have been received. Clicking the icon will open the center itself, which can pull notifications from "Calendar", "Messages" and even third-party developers.

Messages: iChat with a brand new look and better FaceTime integration.

Airplay Mirroring: View your computer screen on your Apple TV by clicking an AirPlay icon. Streaming music, watching video, etc. are all available options.

Game Kit: Multiplayer gaming between Mac, Iphone, iPad and iPod Touch will be available. With AirPlay you can use your TV to compete against a friend who’s on their iPad, while you use your computer.

Apple also has their own overview available.

Weed on a Plane

40lbs. of marijuana were found on a plane while flying through Barack Obama's airspace over Los Angeles. The president was flying from Los Angeles to a fund raiser in Corona Del Mar when a Cessna 182 aircraft began to fly closer to the White House helicopter, Marine One. The “Mary Jane” was found after the Cessna 182 was asked to land. One of the more interesting tidbits, whether the Cessna 182's pilot was high while flying, has yet to be revealed. How fun/scary would that be?

Be My Date?

Original Video

Video Response

My Take

Image Source: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01214/plane-cargo_1214188i.jpg

Rumor In Your Rumor

Remember when people first started talking about the new iPhone before the 4S was released? About a bigger screen, new design and latte mixing capabilities? Well, according to an anonymous source who spoke with Business Insider, a redesigned iPhone is still very real but was set aside a few months before the 4S announcement. The source said he spent some time with the prototype of the new phone which included a 4 inch screen, a processor not under the constraints of a "limiter" and an integrated home button that could not be pushed.

Big Break

 The Wall Street Journal did a short piece detailing the ways 3 individuals (two college grads and one high-school grad) went about getting into their current job positions. It's not super in-depth, but seems to reaffirm what I'm sure many of you've been hearing -- find an internship!

Occupy
A UC Berkeley graduate student named Alex Barnard spoke to The Daily Californian after one of his ribs broken by a police baton and being told that he had "no rights.” He was arrested along with 31 other protestors. The police where present to take down tents that the university did not allow.

One of the protestors, Celeste Langan, was actually an English professor (a grown-ass woman) who said that the police showed excessive force to an essentially non-violent gathering. "Rather than take my wrist or arm, the police grabbed me by my hair and yanked me forward to the ground, where I was told to lie on my stomach and was handcuffed. Since the tents posed no immediate threat to public safety, their haste and level of force was unwarranted."

And so, "Occupy" continues. You can catch a video of the event at the YouTubes.

It's not so funny or particularly awesome but members of Congress are apparently trading stocks with insider information. "Oh the market is about to crash? Guess it's time to sell..."

Image Source: autismgenome.org

Earlier this week, the United States uncovered a plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Washington, D.C. At least one suspect has been taken into custody by the Department of Justice and the department also claims there were plots to blow up the Israeli and Saudi Arabian embassies in Washington. This has thus far been the closest Iran has come to carrying out an attack on the U.S. homeland.

Iran has been left alone for too long. It’s only a matter of time before it actually succeeds and attacks U.S. soil and citizens. This is not only a problem for the U.S., but Europe and Middle Eastern countries as well. These regions of the world cannot allow countries like Russia, China, Venezuela, North Korea and Syria to push them around, and they need to pressure the United Nations to do something about this rouge nation.

The Iranian president has claimed the Holocaust never happened and said he wishes to see our great ally, Israel, wiped off the face of the earth. Iran would also like to see the Saudis removed from power as well. Also take into consideration it’s nuclear aspirations and you have a mess.

It’s time the United States and Europe fix the problem they caused in Iran and for the people of the Middle East find the courage to get rid of these evil dictators who control them. Iran mistreats anyone who does not follow, or deviates away from, its strict Sharia Law. Stoning is still a common punishment in the country, they do not respect the voice of the people (especially women) and they hold unfair elections.

If we allow these so called leaders of Iran to continue to spout lies, threaten the U.S. and its allies and seek nuclear weapons, then we are looking at a major problem. Who knows what ties Iran has to terrorists groups such as al-Qaida, who would like nothing more than to set off a bomb in a major U.S. or European city? The time to act is now, and the U.S. should not be alone this time. If we do go to war with Iran, we better not just end up nation-building after a permanent government is put in place (as history does repeat itself).

If you have even the slightest interest in some of the physiological effects that the war overseas has caused soldiers, you should, at the very least, check out Vice’s interview with Jim Frederick, author of the novel Black Hearts.

The interview covers a portion of the hardships endured by a platoon of the 101st Airborne Division while they were fighting in an area called the “Triangle of Death”. It’s crazy stuff and really makes you wonder how often things of this nature occur. Spoiler alert, they would have gotten away with it if everyone had kept their mouths shut.

On a lighter note, have you seen this 3-D printer? You scan any object, make any modifications that you’d like (such as the coloring of a certain area) and this printer will actually make a tangible replica of whatever you’ve scanned. You can check it out at LiveLeaks. I can’t imagine this being at all affordable but it’s still interesting, nonetheless.

Also, this video is awesome.  Hooray for risking your life!

South Carolina’s legislature could soon enact a new rule that would force USC and other colleges to accept fewer out-of-state students.

It’s a dumb regulation from a legislature that refuses to fund higher education but seems extremely excited to regulate it. Leave higher education alone. Seriously. Or fund it. But that’s a rant for another day.

What’s equally idiotic to the legislature’s actions is the response from USC administrators.

It's time for pain in South Carolina.

South Carolina legislators are facing a historic budget shortfall of more than $800 million. There is no federal stimulus money in sight. Legislators refuse to raise taxes. It means there will be significant cuts to state agencies and programs that residents critically need.

The Christmas and New Year's holidays typically mean time with family, lots of resting up and New Year’s resolutions. The presidential family was no different from others these holidays as they spent theirs near the president’s hometown in Hawaii.