Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Five solutions to keep yourself from a traffic ticket

Five of the simplest methods to stay away from a traffic ticket

The first stop to avoiding a traffic ticket is avoiding getting stopped. Avoiding a police offer’s gaze, though, isn’t always easy. There are a couple of things you are able to do to help ensure that your vehicle is not the one that the police notice.

Follow all laws

First, don’t make an effort to break as numerous traffic laws as you are able to – try to follow the rules. Follow the speed limit, come to full stops, and be nice to pedestrians. If you drive defensively and avoid obvious mistakes, police are less likely to notice you.

Choose your ride carefully

While urban legend is that certain colors of automobiles get ticketed more or less often, very few studies have been done one way or one more. There are some models of cars that do get ticketed more often, though. If you’ve a choice, do not choose one of the automobiles on the top 10 most ticketed list.

Stay with the group

Though striking it out on your own and feeling the wind inside your hair sounds good, you are less likely to get a ticket if you are a part of a pack. Keep your speed consistent with the rest of the cars on the road.

Drive with the big boys

Though they may go a bit more slowly than a sports car, large rigs on the freeway are your friends. Semi drivers generally warn each other of speed traps that are ahead. Staying close to a semi and driving as slowly as they do will help you keep away from a ticket.

1 – Fix all the little things

Damage to your car makes it stand out, no matter where you are driving. A brake light that has gone dark may not seem dangerous, but it does give an officer a legitimate reason to pull you over. Don’t risk it; spend the cash now to conserve on insurance costs and stress later.



Get information from any person off Facebook with the Facebook torrent

Facebook torrent to steal personal data

Data off of Facebook is now accessible to anybody with the Facebook torrent which was created by a hacker with a lot of free time. Ron Bowes wrote a web crawling code that scraped the Facebook directory for details about 171 million Facebook users. Bowes put the 2.8 GB file online as a torrent. Facebook says this is the same information found with any kind of Facebook search making it unimportant. Many feel like this is just an additional example of how easy it is to hack Facebook with all of the privacy issues they’ve been having recently. Source for this article – Facebook torrent hack makes free download of personal user data by Personal Money Store.

171 million Facebook users exposed

The Facebook torrent contains names, profile URLs and unique user IDs for 171 million Facebook members. Skull Security head, Bowes, was reported by the Daily Tech to have posted this torrent on Pirate Bay. As of the morning of July 28, the Facebook torrent had about 13,000 active downloads on Pirate Bay. The data that Bowes scraped and packaged contains details Facebook users have either chosen to share or neglected to protect. Any person who worked out their privacy settings to say only friends could see their information aren’t in this torrent that Bowes created.

Facebook and privacy

Facebook privacy setting were changed most recently for commercial use which is why people are more concerned with this Facebook torrent. In a statement to BBC News, Facebook said personal information individuals have “agreed to make public” was collected by a researcher, and that no one’s privacy has been compromised. However, Tech Crunch said with the advent of the Facebook torrent hack, now would be a good time for the default Facebook privacy settings to change to “Friends Only.” Letting “Everyone” see your Facebook info involves a hacker who can grab your personal data, package it and sell it to the highest bidder.

Nothing can change what’s happened with Facebook torrent

Facebook said the personal info mined and distributed within the Facebook torrent could be found by any person on Google, Bing or Facebooksearch. But Future of the Internet makes the point the Facebook torrent is a snapshot of Facebook’s directory that lasts forever. If you’re in it, you’ll never have that information deleted, even if you try to delete you account completely or change your privacy settings to something else.

Facebook torrent and what it targets

In addition to the personal data for one fifth of all Facebook users, the Facebook torrent contains the programs Bowes used to mine the data. Tech Crunch explains that Bowes wants more than just searchable users and intends to get the rest. Until Facebook switches to friends only by default, which is unlikely, users opt out-

Go to Account and Privacy Settings and Applications, Games, and Websites (link near the bottom, in a box) and Public Search and (Uncheck box).

Additional reading

Daily Tech

dailytech.com/Info+on+100M+Facebook+Users+Harvested+and+Posted+in+Torrent++Legally/article19198.htm

Tech Crunch

techcrunch.com/2010/07/28/hacker-proves-facebooks-public-data-is-public/

Future of the Internet

futureoftheinternet.org/facebooks-ocean-of-names-becomes-a-torrent



Monday, August 2, 2010

Slim your bill and waistline down by saving money on food

It easy to become overwhelmed when it comes to saving money, but it can be very simple. Many individuals believe that saving money on food, vacations or even retirement is a difficult task that demands lots of skill and sacrifice. Nevertheless, it doesn’t have to be that way, particularly for individuals who start off small and slow with a couple of small changes at home.

Tricks to saving money on food

First off, make sure to keep things simple — focus on relatively easy solutions to conserve, like saving money on food purchases. Although the price of food continues to increase, you can nevertheless dodge the need for pay day loan if you know a couple of simple tricks on how to really save money on food. Overtime, your little savings will add up and you will slowly notice a optimistic change in your finances if you keep on practicing good eating and saving habits.

Consider getting store brands

An easy way to slim down on the grocery bill is to buy store brand food. As budgets get tighter and food prices run high, increasingly more consumers are turning to store brands — including higher income families. Store brand offerings that are just as good as or better than name brand products can be found almost anywhere you go. More than ever, many supermarket chains are offering store brand products of better quality, so you typically can’t quite possibly tell the main difference with name brand items.

Advantages of getting in bulk

One other way to conserve cash on food and avoid the probable need for pay day loans is to buy in bulk. Try to find the items that cost the most and find out whether buying in bulk will save you more money in the end. You may want to stay away from buying highly perishable items like fresh fruits and vegetables in bulk, but things like rice, potatoes, beans and pasta can be stored for a long period of time. Be careful, though, because purchasing in bulk can also work against you if you overstock and throw things away. You’ll essentially be throwing hard-earned cash down the drain.

Stay from impulse getting

Write a shopping list before you head out to the supermarket. Write down your weekly or monthly necessities while understanding the difference between your preferences and wants. Impulse buying could be deadly to your budget, so plan ahead and stay within your boundaries. Start a separate list for things you need but can do without and put it away for the meantime. As you watch your cash grow by saving money, go back to that list and spending budget for one item at a time. Always compensate efforts to conserve money, but keep in mind how the greatest rewards in life are free of charge.

Tip: The busiest time of the day is the best time to plan a small purchasing trip. Make certain you’ve your shopping list with you. Once you are there, you can get in, get it and get out in no time, leaving no room to snoop around and spark temptation.

Make meals at home

For those who have a busy day-to-day schedule, this could be a bit tricky. Bear in mind, nevertheless, that you can save some severe cash just by making your own meals at home. One more thing to keep in mind is the truth that excessive intake of processed foods and eating out constantly can leave a negative effect on your weight and overall health. For those of you who run busy lifestyles, planning ahead of time will help a great deal. And that’s where the magic of the crock pot comes in. Start preparing the night before by putting all the ingredients within the slow cooker. On your way out the door the next morning, take a couple of short moments to pull it out of the fridge and have it cook all day while you’re out and about. It’s as quick and easy as getting online pay day loans. You can come home after a long, busy day to a delicious home-cooked dinner everyone will enjoy.



Saturday, July 31, 2010

Khmer Rouge executioner nets only 19 years behind bars for genocide

Lately, one of the tribunal trials of a Khmer Rouge official, decades after the murderous Khmer Rouge was forced from power. In 1999, one of the chief executioners of the murderous regime, Kaing Guek Eav, also spelled Kang Kek Iew, or “Comrade Duch” was found and put on trial. The trial of the man who presided over more than 17,000 executions has concluded. Credited for time served, the man who presided over 17,000 executions at his prison will serve only 19 years in jail. Survivors of the Khmer Rouge and the bereaved of the executed are outraged at the comparatively light sentence.

Warden for the Khmer Rouge murdered thousands

In 1975, the Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia. The goal of leader Pol Pot and also the Khmer Rouge was to liquidate the upper and middle class, and found a collectivist farming utopia. The regime right away set about executing anybody they considered opponents, including educators, intellectuals, and perhaps individuals that wore glasses. Kaing Guek Eav was the head of security for the state police, the Santebal, and ran the notorious Tuol Sleng Prison, also called S-21. Over 17,000 inmates were sent to Toul Sleng to be tortured and executed. From that 17,000 that were sent, 12 lived to talk about it.

Capture and the trial

When the Khmer Rouge were toppled in 1979, their personnel scattered. Pol Pot went into hiding, eventually being discovered and put under house arrest until his death in 1998. Other officials of the Khmer Rouge went on trial, and some nevertheless are. Kaing Guek Eav surrendered to authorities in 1999, having been found near the Thai-Cambodian border living under an assumed name. A long trial process began with the Khmer Rouge tribunals. He was convicted of crimes against humanity, and on July 26 2010, he was credited for 11 years of time served and five years of pretrial detention against a 35-year sentence. He will serve 19 years in prison, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

What you need, my son

The sentence has not gone over well with survivors and families of the victims of the Khmer Rouge. Millions perished under the Khmer Rouge, and he may live long enough to be released. Chum Mey, one of the 3 nevertheless living survivors of Tuol Sleng was present at the trial. His wife and children were tortured and murdered by the Khmer Rouge. He said that “millions of individuals died, lots of money has been spent on the court – and also the perpetrator is free (in 19 years)? I am not happy with that.”

Additional reading

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge

csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0726/Khmer-Rouge-executioner-found-guilty-but-Cambodians-say-sentence-too-light

bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10763409



Ansel Adams negatives turns $ 45 to $ 200 million

Ansel Adams would be happy if he were still alive to see how investments have paid off. Rick Norsigian bought a box of glad negatives at a garage sale for a song. After 10 years of trying, he finally certain experts the negatives were taken by legendary photographer Ansel Adams. Now he’s poised to reap a crazy return on his $ 45 investment. Now these photos are appraised for about $ 200 million. Source of article – A $ 45 investment in Ansel Adams negatives returns $ 200 million by Personal Money Store.

Photos from Ansel Adams in a garage sale

Black and White photos of the American West were what Ansel Adams, who died in 1984, was known for. Images by Ansel Adams of Yosemite National Park in California are among the most famous. Norsigian told CNN that he bought two boxes of glass negatives for $ 45 although the sellers wanted $ 70 for them. Robert Moeller who’s an art expert concluded that “with a high degree of probability, that the images under consideration were produced by Ansel Adams,” reports CNN.

’Missing link’ in Ansel Adams life is what these pictures are

Within the photographer’s career, these photos appear to be a “missing link” reports CNN who was told by David W. Streets, art dealer. July 27, these photos were shown at the Beverly Hills gallery. $ 200 million is the lowest amount Norsigian will get for a return on his investment. 5,000 plates were destroyed in a 1937 darkroom fire although these 65 negatives seem to have made it.

Ansel Adams began a Zone System

The photos had to be taken between 1919 and also the 1930s considering the silver tarnishing on the Ansel Adams photos, and that was way before the Yosemite pictures become famous in the 1940s. A Wikipedia page on Adams reports that he co-developed a way to determine proper exposure and adjust the contrast of the final print, and he called it the Zone System. The resulting clarity and depth of Ansel Adams’ Zone System defined the classic Ansel Adams images. Special cameras were used by Adams to create very sharp pictures.

Discovering Ansel Adams negatives

The Ansel Adams garage sale photographs nevertheless have their doubters, despite the endorsement of art experts. The blog, Croanca, points out that the individuals in the CNN article is probably not at all qualified to say that these are really Ansel Adams photographs. Admirers of Ansel Adams worry about adequate reproduction of the plates. Someone at visualjournalism.info wonders if the Ansel Adams photographs could be produced good enough.

Further reading

CNN
cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/07/27/ansel.adams.discovery/?hpt=Sbin
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansel_Adams



Friday, July 30, 2010

Reporting car malfunctions to the NHTSA

Millions of cars drive around the country each day. Some cars, at some points, do malfunction and break down. If you experience a breakdown or malfunction that might be the result of a safety defect in your car, you should report it. NHTSA car malfunctions by Car Deal Expert.

How reporting defects helps

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is charged with keeping an eye on the safety of vehicles and vehicle-related products on the road. With millions of automobiles on the road, though, the NHTSA cannot track each single issue that may crop up. The NHTSA doesn’t know how to “connect the dots” without the help of other people. You should know what needs to be investigated and what needs to be recalled. Car manufacturers often don’t like admitting defects in their autos until a safety recall is initiated, so reporting to the NHTSA is the only sure way to make certain action is taken on your complaint.

What you need to report

You should report any safety complaint or possible concern to the NHTSA. Failing brakes needs to be reported. Airbag malfunctions need to be reported. Report child seat difficulties, tires troubles, and troubles with other components as well. This list should consist of anything you may find could hurt somebody, cause a crash, or make a possible crash worse.

How you are able to report to the NHTSA

It is easy to report NHTSA difficulties. You can report a problem online, at the Office of Defects Investigation site or by calling 888-327-4236. You’ll have to know the make and model of the car you need to complain about. In case there is an investigation, the NHTSA will need to know how to get a hold of you. There is a huge database that connects all of the complaints to see if everyone else has made the same complaint as you.

Further reading

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation site
odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm



Apple Magic Trackpad - The beginning of the end of the mouse?

The Magic Trackpad was finally introduced at the Apple Store Tuesday, enhancing the desktop with the multi-touch gestures used for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Rather than pointing and clicking, the Magic Trackpad lets you compute with gestures once you connect it via Bluetooth to your Mac. The Magic Trackpad is a window on the future of computer interfaces, some analysts say. Others believe the demise of the PC mouse at the hand of Apple industrial design is premature.

Magic Trackpad a classic Apple industrial design

Apple’s distinctive industrial design comes through within the Magic Trackpad. The sleek, glass-covered aluminum device matches the same angle and height as the Mac desktop keyboard it’s intended to sit next to. CNNMoney.com reports that Tuesday morning the Apple Store began selling the multi-touch Magic Trackpad. The online store went down for a while shortly before the Magic Trackpad went live, causing the usual intense blogging about what Apple industrial design would come up with next.

Turbo multi-touch for the desktop

The Apple Magic Trackpad enables two-finger scrolling, pinching to zoom, rotating with your fingertips, three-finger swiping or switching between applications with four fingers among its multi-touch gestures . Apple says users can switch from typing to gesturing seamlessly, or do both simultaneously, as well as swipe through pages online like flipping through a magazine. Plus, inertial scrolling makes moving up or down a page feel entirely natural.

Does Apple see 3D within the Magic Trackpad’s future?

The multi-touch Magic Trackpad could signal the start of a long-term strategy by Apple to prepare users for a future 3D interface. Johnny Evans at Computer world believes that since Apple owns patents for 3D user interfaces, the Magic Trackpad is the first step in a plan to get users accustomed to the gestured required to operate it. Evans hypothesizes about a multi-touch interface in 3D where you appear to reach right into your screen. He also described the possibility of computing with head and arm movements or voice via Apple’s motion-detecting iSight camera .

Is the Magic Trackpad a mouse killer?

The Magic Trackpad doesn’t signal the demise of the mouse, said Jared Newman at PC World. Old habits are hard to break, he said. When he used the Magic Trackpad he complained that the lack of traditional ergonomics made his fingers tired. He was also frustrated by the inability to lift and click after running out of mousepad room when he was dragging something. And because of the necessity of a mouse for games, people will always want them around .

Further reading

CNNMoney.com

cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/07/27/apple.magic.track.pad/index.html?npt=NP1″

Computerworld

blogs.computerworld.com/16607/apples_magic_trackpad_is_more_than_you_think?source=rss_blogs”

PC World

pcworld.com/article/201978/4_reasons_apples_magic_trackpad_wont_kill_the_mouse.html?tk=hp_blg”