FT Chronicle

Announced by Plastic Logic was a new ebook reader to be launhed in January 2010, the Que.

Describing the device as the first “proReader” designed for business professionals, the Que wants to “connect its users with their business and professional newspapers, books and periodicals… and supports the document formats business users need (including PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents)”.

Plastic Logic says the Que store will be powered by Barnes & Noble, the Amazon rival that’s making a big play for the ebook and ebook reader market with both Plastic Logic and iRex team-ups revealed recently.

Mophie is about to launch the newest technology in mobile phone industry, iPhone with credit card reader on it.

The Credit Card Reader will be a combination of a dedicated hardware device that bolts on to your iPhone or iPod touch, and third party app that will allow small businesses the ability to take credit card payments on the go.

Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year’s Eve.

Those who will welcome and join the New Year countdown will also experience seeing a full moon.

The New Year’s Eve blue moon will be able to be seen in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. But in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year’s Day, making January a blue moon month for them.

However, the Eastern Hemisphere will observe a partial lunar eclipse, which will not be visible in America, on New Year’s Eve when part of the moon enters the Earth’s shadow.

A blue moon is the second full moon in a month. A full moon occurred on Dec. 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year’s countdown.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12. On average, an extra full moon in a month — a blue moon — occurs every 2.5 years. The last time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year’s Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won’t come again until 2028.

Blue moons have no astronomical significance, said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Remember Hollywood catastrophic films “Deep Impact” and “Armageddon.“

Well, Russia’s got a plan to knock a large asteroid off course and to reduce its chances to collide with Earth using a spacecraft to be dispatched, even though U.S. scientists say such a scenario is slim.

Russia’s space agency Chief Anatoly Perminov told Golos Rossii radio they would call a meeting to weigh up a mission to Apophis saying his agency might eventually invite NASA, the European Space Agency, the Chinese space agency and others to join the project.

When the 270-meter (885-foot) asteroid was first discovered in 2004, astronomers estimated its chances of smashing into Earth in its first flyby, in 2029, at 1-in-37.

NASA had put the chances that Apophis could hit Earth in 2036 as 1-in-45,000. In October, after researchers recalculated the asteroid’s path, the agency changed its estimate to 1-in-250,000.

Don Yeomans, who heads NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program, said better calculations of Apophis’ path in several years “will almost certainly remove any possibility of an Earth collision” in 2036.

Without mentioning NASA’s conclusions, Perminov said that he heard from a scientist that Apophis is getting closer and may hit the planet. “I don’t remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032,” Perminov said.

“People’s lives are at stake. We should pay several hundred million dollars and build a system that would allow us to prevent a collision, rather than sit and wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of thousands of people,” Perminov said.

Perminov wouldn’t disclose any details of the project, saying they still need to be worked out. But he said the mission wouldn’t require any nuclear explosions.

Claudine Barretto’s funny scene – ASAP
This is how she react live on national TV… ahahahha

An enraged Manny Pacquiao strikes back at the Mayweathers filing a lawsuit in federal court in Las Vegas on Wednesday alleging that Mayweather and others defamed him by falsely saying Pacquiao used performance-enhancing drugs.

“Liars go to hell. They should be man enough and own up to their words,” added Pacquiao, who provided proof that Mayweather Jr. had charged him of using performance enhancement drugs.

The Mayweathers (Floyd Jr., Floyd Sr. and Roger) had claimed in past interviews that Pacquiao, BoxingScene’s 2009 Fighter of the Year, was into some kinds of steroids.

Pacquiao said the black propaganda is intended at systematically tearing down his legacy as one of the finest fighters of all time.

In an October audio recording, Floyd Jr. maliciously attributed that the Philippines is a maker of the best PEDs, which irked the Filipino fighter more.

Pacquiao said Floyd Jr. and those who are blameworthy should be punished, whether it be in the courts or in the ring and he stressed that a lawsuit will be filed against his detractors whether or not his fight with Floyd Jr. will push through in Las Vegas.

Team Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions require Pacquiao to undertake a new set of drug testing measures other than those already mandated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Pacquiao repeated that he has no opposition to drug testing and will provide any specimen, whether it be blood or urine samples, just right after the fight but not a day or two before, for obvious reasons.

The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum is preparing to open negotiations with World Boxing Association super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman as talks with Mayweather falter.

Agence France-Presse

HOUSTON – Aaron Brooks scored 27 points and Luis Scola added 13 with 12 rebounds Tuesday as Houston overcame outstanding showings from Chris Paul and David West to beat New Orleans 108-100 in a National Basketball Association contest.

Paul had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists for his 11th career triple-double and first this season. West had 44 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Hornets from falling to 2-13 on the road this season.

Shane Battier scored 20 points and Carl Landry added 18 off the bench for the Rockets, who went 12 for 23 from three-point range.

West helped the Hornets rally to take the lead after Houston led by 10 at halftime.

West scored 22 points in the third quarter on 7-for-10 shooting. Scola poked him in the eye with 3:45 left, but West returned after a timeout and scored eight more points as New Orleans took an 82-74 lead.

But with West on the bench to start of the fourth quarter, the Rockets edged ahead 87-86, and after he returned they still were able to build the lead to 96-86.

Devin Brown’s three-pointer for New Orleans cut Houston’s lead to 100-98, but Trevor Ariza dunked and sank a free throw, then Paul missed on a drive and Landry nailed a free throw with 27 seconds left to seal the victory.

José Protacio Rizal Mercado Alonso y Realonda, to be precise…

though you are dead!

*

Things you may not know ’bout him:

Rizal spoke and wrote in 20 languages.

He traveled around the world three times.

Rizal is a bookworm having a collection of books tantamount to a library

He is 5’3 tall.

The firing squad, which is tasked to shoot Rizal, is composed of Filipinoes. Behind them are Spanish soldiers ready to shoot them dead if they resist shooting him.

**

Several things i have read ’bout him:

I have read Rizal Without the Overcoat by Ambeth Ocampo which made me realize a Jose Rizal way much different than those portrayed in our textbooks and peso coins.

I also read one article on a book saying that Rizal is an incarnation of Jesus! Well, it showed parallelism, but you’ll never know!

There are so many rumors about him such as: he fathered Adolf Hitler, his homosexual issues, his retraction and the list goes on.

I have read an essay that says if Jose Rizal still lives today, he will be shot again. And if he keeps on reviving, he will be shot over and over again.

***

I remember what my professor in my Rizal subject said. “Rizal surely prepared his heroism.” I asked why. She responded, “Look and take notice. He made sure his photographs were taken, daily accounts were written and things be truly preserved.”

I agreed to my prof having realizing that there are a vast collection of Rizaliana items out there while other heroes only have few.

****

I’m gonna speak about others saying Jose Rizal did not want the Philippines to be freed by the Spaniards. But, truly, he kept in mind a plan to get rid of those conquerors. First, he tried to buy Sandakan in a part of Borneo where he plans to establish a Philippine colony there. Second, is to form a secret organization, the La Liga Filipina. Last, is to observe Cuba, how to smuggle arms and to get foreign support. His novels say his views on revolution, don’t they? But all of that are being overcame by events. He was arrested in a trip to Cuba. He was mocked by false trial and executed in Bagumbayan.

And in talking about him being more of a reformist than a revolutionist.

News bloopers from CBS 12…

US and Canada-Avatar has topped the Christmas box office in a record-breaking weekend for cinemas.

Sci-fi epic Avatar took $75m (£47m) in its second weekend, according to early studio estimates.

In its 10 days of release, Avatar has made $212m (£132.6m) in the US, and could be on its way to grossing more than $1bn (£625.6m) worldwide.

“This thing is going to be playing and playing, I can tell you that,” said Bert Livingston, 20th Century Fox distribution executive. “There’s a lot of business out there. Everybody’s got good movies out.”

In second place was Sherlock Holmes, which stars Robert Downey Jr as Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective with a weekend total of $65.4m (£41.m), taking $24.9m (£15.6m) on Christmas Day alone.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which opened on Wednesday, took the third place with $50.2m (£31.4m) at the weekend and $77.1m (£48.2m) in its five days of release.

It’s Complicated, a love triangle comedy starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, opened in fourth place with $22.1m (£13.8m) in takings.

In fifth place acquired $11.8m (£7.26m) was Up in the Air, starring George Clooney.