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

Hello everyone! I hope your year has been going well so far. Let’s jump right into it, shall we?

Chrome Phone

For you fancy kids rockin’ Google’s newly released Galaxy Nexus or another device running Android 4.0, Google has released a beta version of Google Chrome on the Android Market. In addition to incognito browsing, “Chrome for Android” allows users to sync whatever tabs they have open on their computer to sync with their device by signing in to a Google account. You can watch an introduction video HERE.

Elementary Molecules

A 10-year-old girl from Missouri, Clara Lazen, happened upon a new molecule while rearranging some atoms used to create nitroglycerin. Tetranitratoxycarbon (sound it out) is a combination of nitrogen, oxygen and carbon that does not exist in nature but can be created artificially. Her teacher, Kenneth Boehr, and a colleague realized that this was indeed a new molecule and one Professor Robert Zoellner wrote a paper on the subject, which was co-authored by Clara. In short, the atom can be used to either store energy or blow stuff up.

Like. Comment. Share.

Last week Facebook went public and many people received a nice chunk of change following the announcement including an artist, Dave Choe, who accepted stocks instead of money[/url] for painting Facebook’s Palo Alto location in 2005. ABC held an interview with Choe in which he discusses his newfound lack of privacy.

Dat Sh*t Cray

A Tumblr account run by a 17-year-old girl named Kate is chronicling her journey to becoming thinner. She’s currently 5’10” with a current weight of 127 and an ultimate goal of being 115 – something more in line for a woman around 4’10”. Another girl, Antonia, 16, also runs a “thinspo” blog.

“I like images that show skinny, happy girls,” she writes in an email to the Huffington Post. “They look so confident and we can see their bones through their skin. It's the most beautiful thing ever. I also like tips about food or how to ignore hunger.”’

Now there seems to be two types of “thinspo” blogs out there – those that post before and after pictures of seemingly healthy women and others that condone unhealthy dietary practices (pro-ana) to achieve a “dream body”. I don’t understand…

Vidya

 Robo With a Shotgun

Image Source: http://techzoomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/google-chrome.jpg

Personality Test
The New York Times has taken it upon themselves to look at what type of creature you are - a zombie or a vampire. If you're unsure, it gives several traits of each type. For instance, it describes vampires as charismatic introverts who write bad poetry... about bad poetry. Zombies, on the other hand, are more clumsy, a little extroverted and a lot more awesome. Okay, I added that last part. The article also deems famous people and entities as one or the other (Twitter, New York and Oprah to name a few).  Which are you? Choose sides, but choose wisely.

Experimental Comedy
Next up, The Times reports that comedian Louis C.K. will soon be releasing his next special. It will include material from his upcoming shows in Manhattan and will be sold exclusively on his website for only $5. C.K. said that he'd rather give his material directly to the people who want it instead of going through a cable network or online service like Netflix.

"You can be a loser and watch this thing," he said. "You can be in prison."

Unfortunately, the first thing that comes to mind is piracy. If this is available for download there isn't really any way to stop it. However, Radiohead's "In Rainbows" went down a somewhat similar route and did pretty well for itself.

Worlds Collide
Remember those Mexican cartels I wrote about a few weeks ago? Check out the Stratfor Report, this anonymous Veracruz message, anonymous member Barrett Brown's thoughts and this exposure of drug cartel collaborators abandoned.

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
CNN.com has a story up with a list of reasons of why Mr. Rogers was the best neighbor of all time... OF ALL TIME!

Have a great week and check out these awesome watercolors!

Image Source: 944.com

Alright, keeping it short and sweet this week but there are a few things worth noting:

Internet Blacklist Bill: House Edition

A new version of the Internet Blacklist Bill was unveiled Oct. 26 which, if passed, would allow the Department of Justice to block users from accessing certain websites accused of copyright infringement.Techdirt.com is saying this could potentially end up being the "great firewall of America.” Music and video sharing sites  like YouTube would surely feel the effects of such a bill if it’s passed, and wouldn't have any say in a trial before removal. Ridiculous.

Don't Hack Me Bro

Not satisfied with The Weather Channel, Chinese hackers are suspected to have tampered with U.S. satellites in 2007 and 2008 for climate control and terrain observation. The satellites in question aren’t dangerous, but the chances of giant lasers beaming down from our own satellites are probably slim to none in the near future. But it's still fun to think about. Businessweek.com cites a report by the U.S. - China Economic and Security Review Commission saying that the hackers interfered with an Earth observation satellite twice; the first time for two minutes in June and the second for nine minutes in October.

Talk Dirty to Me

"The New York Times" is reporting that a dedicated television set released by Apple will be powered, in large part, by Siri. There aren't any firm dates yet but according to the article, we could potentially see an announcement in late 2012 followed by a release in 2013. Voice communication has always been an interesting feature to include with technology, but isn't always perfect and usually becomes more of a novelty than anything else. So while I like the idea of having a siri-powered television, I'd also keep a good ol’ remote  nearby.

Happy Halloween!

Image Source: www.truthhunters.co.uk

It’s a landmark week in the news. Yes, there are the Wisconsin layoffs going on, the protests in Africa and the Middle East, Apple’s iPad 2 “supposedly” being released on Wednesday and the death count still rising following the earthquake in New Zealand. But I want to bring attention to an issue that we, Americans, need to pay attention to in the world of news, sports and media.

With all the high-profile news going on this week, it’s hard to go through it all and really figure out what really affects us students at South Carolina. Aside from the protests in Bahrain and across the region forcing gas prices to rise even higher, the national government’s looming budget deadline for the coming year has most strongly grabbed my interest.

Yes, I’m about to get into economics. But wait! Before you click that "back” button, hear me out.

It's easy to be critical of USC's Student Government for its inefficiency. But a new proposal that would provide free taxicab rides to students is brilliant.

If the taxicab proposal is enacted, any student can hail a cab, free of charge. It will go within 5 miles of campus and is paid for by student activity fees. It will effectively replace Cocky's Caravan, the failed bus service.

You betcha!

The Mama Grizzly herself, Sarah Palin, is coming to Books-a-Million in Sandhills on Dec. 3 to promote her new book, “America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag.”

Democrats and the mainstream media are looking at next month’s mid-term elections like the apocalypse, except worse. Just two years after putting the Democratic party’s savior himself into the White House, Democrats are supposedly in danger of losing their majority in the House and possibly the Senate. A New York Times projection released Friday has the Democrats losing 47 or 48 seats in the House, and said losing up to 78 seats is “entirely possible.” To put it lightly, Democrats are screwed, if you listen to this guy.

Call it dirty politics if you want (I see it as educating the voter), but Democrats need to focus on why (most) Republicans simply aren’t interested in good governing and bipartisanship anymore.

Democrats have done some things Republicans disagree with in the past two years (see: everything Democrats have done in the past two years). Republicans were simply unable to agree on anything with Democrats. Health care? 160 Republican amendments, 0 Republican votes. Wall Street Reform? Widespread private sector solutions (Republicans are supposed to like these), six Republican votes. Democrats need to make Republicans look like the stubborn bully in your preschool class – a bully that hates big government and taxes for the wealthy.

Or, maybe Republicans will make themselves look bad all by themselves. They have to roster to do it: Jim DeMint, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann have done it before. Bottom line: Democrats need to stop apologizing for what they’ve done and start blaming Republicans. It sounds bad, but it’s the truth.

P.S. This blog is biased. Obviously.