UPDATED - CNN presenter broadcasts live bathroom break conversation

You've got to love these stories - TV presenters forgetting about the microphone being on, and broadcasting to millions live about things they really didn't want the world to know about.

At least all the stuff about her husband was good, but I'd hate to be her for the next family gathering, and she has to explain to her sister-in-law that she really didn't mean anything by the whole control freak thing....

If anyone can find this on Google or YouTube, please post the link in the comments. Cheers.

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | CNN says sorry for live mic gaffe

UPDATE - I managed to find the link, so here you go if you missed it.....

Someone Stands Up To Rumsfield

And then George responds in typical fashion.....

Buy the Funky Lightbulbs

Save the world, one lightbulb at a time. How's that for a great idea. I'll be coming over the check you're in on the plan next week - you have been warned.

10 Reasons Why Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs) Will Change the World @ Alice Hill’s Real Tech News - Independent Tech

Be Sad - Wear a Hipster

So sad, that I'm not even going to link to where you can buy one. And don't you think that to make this product even slightly more appealing, they could have used a different model?

Morrisons carrier bags are the only way to go - everyone knows that....

IKEA photo has "unfotunate" image

So IKEA released their new catalog, and the first photo (a full two page spread I might add) has what looks like an unfortunate "item" (can you tell my mother sometimes reads this site? Hi Mam!) attached to the dog. IKEA insist that the photo hasn't been tampered with, and the offending appendage is in fact the dogs leg, and not a male specific piece of anatomy.

In the interests of good taste (I know, I know, it's rare for me), I'll save the photo for when you click the link to the story below.

CTV.ca | 'Unfortunate' photo wasn't tampered with: IKEA

Alfa Romeo 8c Spider Video

So here it is, the much anticipated first look (almost in the flesh) of the gorgeous new Alfa Romeo 8c Spider. It's better than I expected, and I was expecting a lot. I can't imagine how I will not be tempted into putting down a deposit on one of these things if/when they eventually make it to the USA. I better start practising though, coz a 2 seater sportscar isn't in the budget for me for a long time yet.

Jessica Simpson loses voice, starts rumors

So, Jessica Simpson had a whole host of appearances scheduled for this week to promote her new album (and here's hoping the album is better than that first song she pulled from it - Public Affair is awful if you ask me), but has had to cancel due to a throat infection or something.

No big deal in that, except that John Mayer has also lost his voice, which leads us to the rumours. From what I can tell, based purely on the fact that two singers have throat problems at the same time, US Weekly is running a story that the two are a couple now (presumably the "they caught it from each other snogging" is the premise here).

I'm sure if it's true, the story will run and run - maybe the fact that he has to put up with the dumb comments explains why Mr Mayer always looks like he's in serious pain when he sings?

Over a Million Flickr Photos Geotagged in 24 Hours

A quick follow on the yesterdays post about geotagging in Flickr - it appears that it has taken the world by storm, with 1.2 million photos being placed on the map in the last 24 hours. Hows that for proof that you've got something pretty hot on your hands in terms of new functionality.

I'm really hoping that this (and all the other great functionality Flickr has) will be the tipping point for some of the people holding out on using this site, in favor of something much less convenient (you know who you are....). I hadn't actually realized how big this site was until I read the following info on Techcrunch

Flickr continues to rock along, with 4.5 million registered users and 17 million unique visitors per month. They have just under 230 million total photos uploaded and 900,000 new photos are uploaded daily on average

17 million unique visitors a month? I'd be happy with 170!!

Techcrunch » Blog Archive » 1.2 million Flickr Photos Geotagged in 24 Hours

Free Music - Try SpiralFrog

Making a big splash in the financial news today was the announcement of a free music site called SpiralFrog (I hope they didn't pay someone to come up with that name...). So of course, I went to the site, and it's not even open yet - what's the deal with that - maybe just a way to piss you off so they can handle the reduced visitor numbers when it finally does go live?

Anyway, as long as I don't have to sign my life away, I might give it a blast, and see what it's like. Then again, I just read the release, and for some brainbusting reason, the music downloaded isn't compatible with an iPod - hows that for a way to keep your numbers down. I didn't think that anyone was left in the world without an iPod....

SpiralFrog inks music deal with Universal | CNET News.com

NmG Electric Car from Myers Motors

Well, it's definitely interesting - not quite sure whether this all electric vehicle is actually a bike or a car, but it's got more than 2 wheels and a roof, so falls into the car category if you ask me.

Awaiting input from the wife (currently jetting her way to a work trip in Vegas) before I announce the results of the "is it cute?" question.

Flickr adds Geotagging

Looks like Flickr (my favorite photo site) has added geotagging (or being able to put your photos on a map so you can see where they were taken). I just had a quick play, and have tagged the photos from the Enspiria Baseball night to Coors Field - the link is here. Should be great for vacations - being able to see some real photos of where you're going instead of having to rely on the questionable photos in travel brochures.

Enspiria Inspires the Rockies

P1010921
Originally uploaded by Neil Stone.

One win in the last 7 games - I'm sure it was our influence.

We were lucky enough to be treated to a night at the baseball by the company, the rain held off, and it looked like everyone had a blast.

My photos here, Neil's here.

Programmer Finally Testifies: U.S. Elections Rigged

Conspiracy theory stuff again - the programmer who wrote code to fix the general election testifies....

Programmer Finally Testifies: U.S. Elections Rigged

Tire Rings

Too late for my wedding (but Tonks, Neil and Lance, in plenty time for yours) come these "attractive" rings with tire prints on the outside. Never really been into jewellry much (apart from my wedding ring or watches, if you categorize them as such), so I doubt these will get added to my shopping list. If it's your thing, you can buy them here.

Comic sues Jews for Jesus

CNN gets the prize for the most misleading headline title so far this year. Reading it initially, I thought we were looking at another ridiculous lawsuit, where the comic was sueing Jews on behalf of Jesus (presumably coz of the crucifiction and all that).

It turns out however, that there is a group called Jews For Jesus, who apparently practice as Jews, but believe Jesus is the Messiah (sounds like a whole lot of contradictory issues there, but who am I to tell). They created a pamphlet that had the likeness of sueing comedian on them, and he wants it removed and the pamphlets destroyed. So, in reality, a crap story that I got dragged into by a misleading headline. Don't you just hate that?

CNN.com - Comic sues Jews for Jesus - Aug 25, 2006

Amazon aStore Testing

So, those kind folks over at Amazon have decided to let you create a whole store for use on your own site. It's still in beta at the minute, but thought I'd try it out just to see how it works out.

At some point, I might even get the colours and background etc to match, but if there's anythign specific you think I should list on there for sale, just let me know (but you can always use the search button on the page to find whatever you need).

Link is here - if it works properly, I'll add it to my permanent links somewhere sensible.

Nixta Starts Updating Again

So Nick goes through phases (sometimes long ones) of never updating anything on his site (although I must say recently it hasn't been as long as Mr Frostie Phil), and then, with the speed of a new fibre web connection, blasts the world with his brain contents (occasionally scary, always entertaining). In addition to that, he appears to have combined this with a new found Flickr fondness, so there's lots to enjoy.

Nixta's blog is here, and his photos are here. Comment to your hearts content...

And while you're there, don't forget to check out That's How It Happened, slightly related, but by association only (and kept much more up to date). The fixation on trainers is a little worrying though, but I guess Lauren will find it more entertaining than my fixation on cars....

Do Pop Up Poles Stop Terrorist Trucks?

You're just about to find out.....

YouTube Being Cranky

Sorry for the blank screens below if they're still there, and dodgy video playing, but it appears that all the recent press about YouTube seems to have broken their ability to stay up and functional on a regular basis.

New M3 Video (E90)

Someone stalked the M3 Test Team around some desert here in America to bring these photos direct to your door.

Up until now, I hadn't thought I'd like this car at all, and was waiting for the reviews to come in before deciding. But then I heard the engine noise.......

Foreign Flags Banned in Colorado?

What happened to the land of the free etc etc. A teacher was suspended for putting up flags in his classroom from other countries, even though it was part of his lesson plan. And it's here in Colorado...

TheDenverChannel.com - News - Teacher Suspended For Hanging Foreign Flags In Classroom

Lay People Off, Show them How to Save Money

Not sure how I missed this one, but Northwest laid of about 60 people earlier this month, and as part of the layoff package, included a list of 101 ways to save money.

At first hand, this sounds like something pretty practical, but then when you actually go down the list, it gets a little bit insulting. The one that apparently has had all the press (was I actually asleep when all of this came out), was item number 46 - "Don't be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash". #4 - Carpool, seems a little ironic, given they don't have a job anymore - where would they carpool too? The park?



MN Headhunter/Nerd Search: Northwest Airlines List Of 101 Ways To Save Money

Divided into Ethnic Groups for 'Survivor'

And off we go......

I'm sure this story will run for a while, but first cut is Survivor is basically dividing the contestants into 4 initial groups, based on their ethnicity (Black, White, Asian, Hispanic). The groups will merge later in the series, as is the norm, but I'm sure there'll be at least a bit of controversy over this.

Survivor says that it's a way to get more varied contestants, as 80% of the applications are from white people. Stay tuned to the pipes for all the latest..

CNN.com - New 'Survivor' to group players by ethnicity - Aug 23, 2006

Caterham and The 'Ring - a match made in heaven

And we're lucky enough to see it here. There were a few reasons for this post - one, to try and persaude Mr Wallace to clean up his desk, as the last time I saw it, it really was disgusting. Actually, no, that wasn't it, but you really should George, otherwise I'm taking photos and shaming you to the world.

Sorry, sidetracked again. Reasons - Caterhams are amazing (and one day I will own one), to allow you to tell how accurate the 'Ring in Project Gotham Racing 2 or 3 is, the soundtrack and to see the number of cars/bikes that were passed along the way. Anyway, it obviously takes around 8 minutes to watch this, so make sure you've got time - it's worth it.

Link is here coz I can't get the vid to embed properly. Grrrr...

BAM!!! - Don Vito Charged

Bam Margera's Uncle (from MTV's Viva La Bam show) took a quick trip to Denver and ended up spending more time here than he originally intended.

The "actor" who from what I can remember has trouble trying to speak in any sort of recognized version of English has been charged with 2 counts of sexual assault on a child, following a promo at the Colorado Mills mall. There are rumours in Denver of a cell phone camera shot proving his guilt, but they haven't been published anywhere I can find (and probably won't I imagine).

Luckily for him, he has Kobe's old lawyer, so even if he's as guilty as sin (which of course has yet to be proved), he'll probably get off on some technicality anyway.

Chocolate anyone?

So the latest phone from LG is called Chocolate on the adverts, but in real life has the usual selection of numbers and letters that I can't remember, and so won't write here.

Still haven't decided if I actually like this thing or not, but given it's only on Verizon over here, it's largely irrelevant until it moves to Cingular (unless we swap providers at the end of the year again, which I doubt will happen).

And next phone for me might have to be a smart phone type deal, especially given my current one could still be used for non-working time.

Top 5 Ways People Waste Money

So, sort of useful, but what got me was the fact that it's a top five list that goes up to 6, just coz the guy got his numbering wrong. Maybe he has an aversion to the number 5, but if so, why use it in the title?

Top 5 Ways People Waste Money | The Common Sense Investor

Blogging for big bucks (not me)

One of the articles in this months Business 2.0 (one of the must read business mags if you ask me for my personal opinion, which you didn't, but you're reading this so you sort of did) comments on how people are making millions from moving out of their regular little job world (or startup, or life as surfer or something). Although I know a few people are actually pulling in the big bucks, and there's always the chance that if you right a speciality blog you might get picked up by one of the agencies or media companies, I'm sure the majority of people who put out a few words here and there make either absolutely nothing, or pretty damn close to it (this site has been up for over a year now, and I'm still not up to 4 figures in revenue (and by 4 figures, I mean 10.00 dollars), although I have heard rumours we do have more than 4 readers now if I incude my mother).

I think this actually might be a good thing - if everyone suddenly got loaded from what they were writing, their point of view/perspective on what they were writing about might be a little different to when they first started out. I'm sure if Microsoft or someone started feeding me with free software, Zunes and Media PC's or something, I might tone down my "I Love Apple" occasionally if they asked. I know some of the techie gadget blogs have faced a little criticism from some people for getting freebies and previews of products to put out the good word.

We might also get another 500 million pointless websites with people posting for posting sake, rather than saying anything in particular, and who really needs to trawl through all those sites to find something worthwhile to read. I've still yet to come across anyone who said "The Internet, yeah. I read it once, but once you've been through it all, you kinda get bored". If anyone knows of this person, let me know and I'll see if I can drag an interview out of him - bet he knows loads about everything, and maybe even found out who really killed JR, sorry, I mean Kennedy...

And me personally? If I suddenly pulled in a couple of million for writing occasional ramblings on a web-site, do you think I'd still have time to write anything (especially with the Ferrari calling my name from the driveway??). I think not ;-)

Business 2.0: Blogging for big bucks - Aug. 22, 2006

Keane Star in Rehab - Concerts Cancelled

P1010717
Originally uploaded by Neil Stone.

It looks like the Denver concert was perfectly timed - just before the lead singer Tom Chaplin ended up in rehab. They cancelled a couple of concerts and the September US continuation looks like it's going to be rescheduled.

I'm just glad Neil got his pics before they bailed.

No Tubing in Boulder Creek

Not because you might bang your head, but apparently because of the high level of bacteria they've found in there recently. Double jeopardy chances of hurthing yourself then.......

TheDenverChannel.com - News - Tubers Asked To Stay Out Of Boulder Creek

Google Analytics is Free

For anyone with a website or two, an analytics tool helps work out who sees your pages of ranting and raving, where they live and whether or not they ever click on any of the adverts on the page (no is the answer if you're wondering about this page).

Anyway, Google bought some company a while back I think (although I can't remember the name), so they've got their own tool, it's tied into their AdSense stuff (the text ads on this page), and it's free. It's actually pretty interesting to see how people get to your page - either directly, searching on random things that you happen to mention, or from the Blogger pages etc. You also get a nice pretty map of the world, telling you where everyone is when they checked out your site - Mr Kirkwood, I presume it's you in France ;-) Now if I can only work out who in Brazil would want to check out the site, I could sleep a little easier at night. One day, I might post the map just to see if you can see you're own little dot on there, so stay tuned.

Google Analytics

Obafemi Martins in 10 million pound move

Maybe - the summer long search for Newcastle United seems to be almost over, with them agreeing a 10 million pound fee with Inter for the services of Martins. However, Sky Sports are apparently reporting a late bid from Portsmouth for his services, so we're not home and dried just yet. Fingers crossed all day now.

Newcastle started the season off well on Saturday with a win against Wigan - but given the number of injuries we ended up with by the end of the game, and the glut of games we have over the next few weeks (presuming we don't blow the UEFA game tomorrow), we're definitely in need of a few extra bodies.

BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Newcastle United | Newcastle agree £10m Martins fee

Accrington Stanley Does It Again

This one isn't a milk advert - it's the real deal. Nottingham Forest beaten in the first round of the League Cup by a club previously remembered for similiar heroics in the FA Cup.

BBC SPORT | Football | League Cup | Accrington 1-0 Nottingham Forest

Porn broadcast stuns news viewers

It wasn't on the actual news, it was on one of the little screens in the background. Probably the most interesting thing about this is that it was in Sweden, and resulted in 0 (zero) complaints from viewers. Given Canal + (the channel that was broadcasting) is a standard staple of life over there, and shows porn after 10 every night anyway, seeing it on a midnight news program wasn't exactly a big deal I guess.

CNN.com - Porn broadcast stuns news viewers - Aug 21, 2006

Like Better

Just try it - it's fun.....

photos you likebetter: you are what you like

Google is No. 1 search on AOL

I'm not sure whether this is funny, or scary. The most searched for item on AOL is Google.

Google is No. 1 search on AOL - 08/18/06 - The Detroit News Online

Office Training Video

I stumbled across this little treat on the web. Microsoft commissioned the UK Office stars to make an internal training video for them, and someone kindly loaded it up on Google. I think there's another part to this one I've posted here, so make sure you check out Google Video after you're done with this one.

Friday Roundup - Cars, Stars and Gadgets

OK - seems like lots going on today, and I'm busy, so condensing a few posts down to this neat little one package.

First off, pricing for the Jag XKR was announced - $86.5k for a real roof, $92.5k for one of those material things that fold down when it's sunny.

Next up, couple of Porsche spy pics - the new GT2 (which apparently might have lots and lots of carbon fibre in it, and up to 500bhp), followed by the facelifted Cayenne (which is still damn ugly) - both courtesy of World Car Fans.


















Star portion reserved for those bad boys with the alcohol - Mel Gibson got 3 years probation for his recent incident, and it looks like the boy from The Sixth Sense didn't get quite so lucky, and could be looking at a full 3 years in jail!

On the gadgets side, rumours of Microsofts Zume being just a remake of Toshibas Gigabeat player, Tivo wins a patent infringement case against Dish Networks, but then Dish immediately gets an injunction on the injunction, so they don't have to shut down their systems just yet. In more interesting news, Lions Gate is sort of confirming all the rumours of a Video iPod, with news that it had signed up with Apple to distribute digital movies through iTunes.

And that's all folks. Lunchtime over, back to work.

New BMW M3 (E90)

Having recently purchased my very own M3 I'm much more interested in any news on the new version than I would otherwise have been.

Which brings me to the latest speculation from that series of tubes called the web, where someone is claiming to have the specs and prices for the E90 version of the M3, with it's V8 powered engine and unfortunately bangled body (I am biased towards the current one, given I've still a few more years left of payments).

So, details pan out t0 (and don't forget, this isn't guaranteed in the slightest) base price of $53,975, 412 HP V8 with 310 ft/lbs of torque, a carbon fibre roof and SMG included as a no charge option. Lots of options to increase the price (but no ZCP package, or CS to the UK boys and girls, yet - but remember, the current version was out for about 4 or 5 years before this came available this go around), and even the Power Rear Sunshades have gone up $100 to $350 this time around (the only time I've ever used mine has been when I've been showing people what I had to buy to get mine delivered without a 3 month wait). And this time it looks like you can get Sirius installed direct, but given my wife fixed mine up very nicely thank you very much (and I haven't listened to a single minute of anything else since it's been in the car), this isn't as exciting as it might have been.

Anyway, I'll only start to drool if and when the car is confirmed as the best drivers car this side of a 997 C4S, and even then, I still think it looks too fat, and will be too heavy to handle as sweetly as my baby.

Get lazy, read REDDIT

If you can't be bothered to work out which news stories you should be reading by trawling through BBC, CNN, Drudge et al, welcome to Reddit, where good (or at least popular) stories are voted to the top, meaning you click less, smile more, and generally lead a happier life (or something like that).

The story currently hitting number 3 on my list is another Bush classic by the way - Bush telling the mother of a dead soldier "How do you know his life would have been good?". There's a way for the President to cheer someone up...

reddit.com: what's new online

Naked Air Travel

Not quite, but the latest screening technologies basically strip search you without the hassle of taking off your clothes.

Given the recent events over the last couple of weeks, the clamour for these machines is getting a little stronger - it looks like they're a lot more popular in Europe than they would be over here ('m sure the dress policy on the beaches might have something to do with this).

Anyway, you can check out the video here - I'm just waiting for the first round of products to enhance the look of your "thing" when being x-rayed.....

Matthews New Cell Phone / Mobile

I'm obviously a little jealous. Once again, the phones you can get back home are always better than the ones over here. Even US made Motorolas typically debut in Europe before the US - what's up with that?

Anyway, this one is the little brothers new toy - 5 megapixel camera, strobe flash, video recording and MP3 player all bundled into the one neat package.....

JonBenett Ramsey Suspect Arrested and Confesses

It's not often that a Denver story makes it onto the front page of the (UK version of the) BBC website, but such an occurance happened last night.

Probably the second most famous (or notorious) Denver storyline since I've been here has been the mysterious death of JonBenet (after Columbine, obviously) - the local press basically covering any new updates to the story (and randomly making things up on a quiet night) as if the story was just breaking.

Anyway, now that it looks like the police have their man, I wonder how many of the local radio, tv and newspapers are going to issue apologies to the parents (well, at least the dad, the mother died in June) for the lightly veiled "we know you did it, the police just can't prove it" undertone to every single story they ever did on this subject?

Vibrating Headphones

Now I haven't quite worked out why on earth you'd ever need your headphones to vibrate, but someone came up with the concept and released a pair. And 12 hours of vibrating pleasure with one battery no less.

Maybe the sound quality was so bad, they wanted to distract you - I have no idea. If anyone else has a clue, please fill me in....

More details here if you're really interested.

You Tube Barries!

First off, if you got a random email from me inviting you to join YouTube, sorry - I had no control over that. All I was doing was trying to see who was already registered out of my hotmail contacts (a wide, varied and never kept up to date list that has now made the incredible Dan Song registered as a friend in YouTube....), but it decided to take it upon itself to send an email to everyone without my permission. Nice.

Anyway, the result of that is some of you guys actually said yes, one of which was Mr Flangio. Now obviously, this could be a little on the scary side, so I limited myself to only one of his videos during a quick run through. Luckily it was a cracker, so it's below. Not sure setting your wife on fire is the best way to stay on her good side though Sean....

Carbon Fibre Baseball Caps?

I'm a big fan of carbon fibre, in the motoring sort of way. Anything that they use to build Ferrari's and Formula One cars is normally a winner (although I'm yet to be convinced of buying the paddle shifted version of the Ferrari if I ever save up enough money).

However, on the peak of a cap?? I've yet to be convinced, and having a quick look at the prices of these (115 Euros, which I'm not sure what it means in real money terms) they're not cheap either. And don't they need a logo or something on the front there?

While on the subject of caps, here's a little tip. If you don't want little plastic spikes poking you in the head from your favo(u)rite cap every time you wear it, don't put it in the washing machine, no matter how dirty it gets. I'm sure if I had of been brought up on this side of the pond, I probably would have known this, but being cap free throughout most of my life (probably until just a couple of years ago actually), I wasn't as knowledgable as I needed to be. Oh well, at least I only washed one of them.
Ginity