IBGerm

Understand that I personally haven’t tried this item yet, but if it looks and works half as good as their site says, I’m sold. http://www.cocooninnovations.com/

This nifty little product is designed to contain all of your stuff from roaming around in your bag. It is said to be made up of a woven grid of elastic bands. This allows for a highly veritable array of infinite configurations, that help keep your stuff in place.

Check out their site, or find them at many online stores. Prices range between 14.99-29.99, most places.

Two Thumbs up…..

NEW YORK – It is a common fear among users of Facebook and other social media around the world — how to deal with a friend request from your boss or employee.

A survey released on Thursday found that 56 percent of Americans say it is irresponsible to be friends with a boss and 62 percent say it is wrong to be friends with an employee.But 76 percent believe it is acceptable to be friends with a workplace peer, according to the survey of 1,000 people by Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project. "When the roles change what do you do then? Do you unfriend someone if they have now been promoted to be your boss or if you’re now their boss," said researcher Kelly Holland.

"We get into some really sticky situations there in terms of what people will think is responsible," she said.

When using social media at work, 73 percent say it is not appropriate to update your Facebook status, 82 percent say you should not upload photos, 72 percent believe tweeting is wrong and 79 percent say it is not acceptable to watch online videos.

Yet 66 percent say it is fine to check your personal email while at work.

"When people focus on responsibility, they know what the responsible thing is to do but whether they are doing that in practice or not is a different story," said Holland.

Americans are split on whether companies should review the social media profiles of job candidates with 52 percent saying it is appropriate and 48 percent saying it is unacceptable.

Social media can also lead to some difficult decisions when it comes to family and relationships. Sixty percent of those polled say that it is "completely acceptable" to unfriend an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend.

More than 40 percent of parents believe it is irresponsible to post photos of children online. Thirty one percent monitor their children’s Facebook accounts and almost 70 percent are friends with their children on Facebook or MySpace. But 72 percent limit the time their children spend on social media networks.

More than 80 percent of parents say that teachers should not interact with students online, but they are split when it comes to whether social media should be used as evidence to punish students’ behavior.

"The social media arena is incredibly complex in terms of responsibility," Holland said.

But despite the murkiness of social media responsibility, there is one area that nearly three-quarters of Americans agree on — they think it is "egotistical and a waste of time" to develop a Facebook page for a pet.

Ok, here is my rant for the day. It has been simmering since the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.  I’ve got no issue with Polo Ralph Lauren providing the hats, jackets, uniforms etc. In fact, I love it. We’re simply the best, the best dressed, the best in the sports etc.. USA USA USA. Ok, my beef is this. Did anyone else catch the team hats they hadon. I think they were kind simply silly, beacons of days gone by, like skiing in the Sierra Nevada’s in the 80’s, everyone with those silly knit hats with whimsical designs, oh I digress. My issue is with the US Flag Patch. I don’t know if it was a patch, or part of the hat itself, woven into it? The flag was so incorrect. In my opinion, this makes us look like chumps, we cant even get our flag right? This was the highest watched event in a long time, and here we’re wearing our flag wrong. Take a look at the picture, the flag has how many star? Ok people, let’s get out our American history books, how many starts are on the blue background, if you said 14, then you work in for Ralph Lauren, if you said 50 then you’re correct.

This just isn’t right, let’s break it down.

Part one, If this was just part of the hat and part of the design, well it just broke the Flag code put forth by this country…

The laws relating to the flag of the United States of America are found in detail in the United States Code. Title 4, Chapter 1 pertains to the flag; Title 18, Chapter 33, Section 700 regards criminal penalties for flag desecration; Title 36, Chapter 3 pertains to patriotic customs and observances. These laws were supplemented by Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations.

More specially, According to the Flag Code, a flag is anything "by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag."

The words "flag, standard, colors, or ensign", as used herein, shall include any flag, standard, colors, ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or of any part or parts of either, made of any substance or represented on any substance, of any size evidently purporting to be either of said flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States of America or a picture or a representation of either, upon which shall be shown the colors, the stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or of any part or parts of either, by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag, colors, standard, or ensign of the United States of America.

Source: Flag Code, Section 3

Therefore, a flag includes any representation of it of any substance, with stars and stripes of any number. This would include T-shirts and ties.

The Flag Code states that the flag should never be worn. (Section 8d): "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel."

So, if I’ve read this correctly, a flag really shouldn’t be used in part of a design in clothing at all.

Part two, if this was a flag patch, well then that is just really wrong. Source: Flag Code, Section 1

The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall be forty-eight stars [Note that sec. 2 which follows provides for additional stars. Today the flag has fifty stars representing the fifty states — Webmaster], white in a blue field

If you want to read the whole flag code, I recommend, http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagcode.htm (special thank you, great site with a wealth of knowledge)

Today, Illinois-based Incredible Technologies announced that its popular Golden Tee Golf game found in more than 10,000 bars worldwide, will soon be integrated with Facebook .

The games already present players with the option to upload 720p screencasts of their "Great Shots" directly to YouTube. When the player makes an unusually difficult shot such as a hole in one, it can be posted to YouTube and be live within five minutes. Incredible Technologies says that more than 70,000 of these videos have been posted in the year the feature has been live.

"Since 80% of Golden Tee players are also Facebook users, IT sees opportunity in developing programs that interface with Facebook," the company said today.

So if you have the type of friends who spend hours slamming the Golden Tee trackball in sports bars on the weekends, look forward to seeing plenty of status updates about it. Oh joy!!!!!

Pennsylvania: College students John Wagner and Leslie Pope have been arrested and charged with theft after they declined to pay a mandatory gratuity to the Lehigh Pub after they were given poor service.

The pair had to go to the bar for drink refills, get their own cutlery and napk ins, and wait an hour for the pub to serve their wings and salad. The menu states that an 18 percent gratuity is mandatory for parties over six.

"You can’t give us terrible, terrible service and expect a tip," said Pope, who conceded in answer to a media question that if it happened again he’s "probably gonna pay the tip anyway."

Alaska – The Juneau Police Department has reported life-threatening  injuries in the case of a 25-year-old man who used a .22-caliber rifle Friday afternoon to shoot himself in the mouth in order to determine whether or not it was loaded.

The release indicated that "the man joked that there was one way to find out if it was loaded and, at that point, he reportedly put the rifle in his mouth and pulled the trigger." Sgt. Dave Campbell said: "It looks like it was a tragic accident."

It occurred in Lemon Creek as he and others were planning a trip to the gun range. The man was found unresponsive but alive. "It’s still a bullet and when you’re talking about close range like that, small calibers are very dangerous," said Campbell.

source: AP

Associated Press

TULSA, Okla. — Arena football isn’t dead yet.

Officials from what will be known as Arena Football 1 said Monday that they will have at least 16 teams ready to play in 2010, including four in former Arena Football League markets: Salt Lake City, Chicago, Phoenix and Orlando, Fla. The Arizona Rattlers and Orlando Predators played in the old AFL, but the new league’s Chicago and Salt Lake City teams did not.

The league will also have teams from the AFL offshoot arenafootball2, as well as at least one team from another indoor league. It will be based in Tulsa. Commissioner Jerry Kurz said it would be a "brand-new league" not connected with the AFL or af2.

"There has been arena football before," said Kurz, a former af2 commissioner. "It’s been done well but not as good as it’s going to be done this time."

Kurz said more details of the league’s business structure — including what the players might be paid — will be announced during the coming weeks. He said the league would use a schedule similar to that used by the AFL and af2, with games starting in late March or early April and running through the summer.

Dan Newman, the owner of the Bossier-Shreveport (La.) BattleWings — who are moving from the af2 to the new league- said Arena Football 1 will use a rule book identical to those used by the AFL and af2.

"This is arena football," Newman said.

Arena Football 1 said its markets also will include Little Rock, Ark.; Fresno, Calif.; Des Moines, Iowa; Jacksonville, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Milwaukee; Oklahoma City; Spokane, Wash.; Huntsville, Ala.; Kennewick, Wash.; and Tulsa.

The new league said eight more teams have submitted membership applications. Newman said the league is negotiating with seven other former AFL franchises, including those in Tampa and San Jose.

Hank Stern, vice president of the San Jose SaberCats, said Monday that while that team was "looking to bring arena football back to San Jose," he wouldn’t comment about the new league "until things become clearer."

Kurz said other franchises will be considered for inclusion in the league through Oct. 9.

"We’ll grow as it fits us in a smooth economic model," he said. "Other leagues in many different sports have just grown to grow and we don’t want to do that. We want to make sure we go into markets that want us."

The old AFL canceled its 2009 season and folded in August, ending a 22-year run for the high-scoring indoor brand of football that helped launch the career of Super Bowl winner Kurt Warner. Play in af2 was never disrupted, but teams ended the season unsure of what would happen next. The AFL owned 50.1 percent of af2.

Kurz said that while previous arena football leagues were "well-intended," their business model resulted in overspending.

"The sports business has to be like every other business," he said. "You can’t spend more than you generate in revenue."

Kurz and Newman dismissed the possibility of a new version of the AFL forming. Newman noted the AFL canceled its 2009 season "because of a collective bargaining agreement that they agreed to that spiraled out of control. The financial model was broken and finally it broke the machine. It didn’t work. The AFL is not in existence, it’s in bankruptcy.

"They will not play in 2010. That precipitated the necessity to go to the drawing board and come up with a financially viable model that works to play arena football."

If the new league’s owners are patient and market the league correctly, there’s no reason it can’t succeed, even during the current recession, said Mark Nagel, a professor who teaches sports management at the University of South Carolina.

"If they can keep those expenses in control and have a good plan to attract the consumer who’s looking to do something that’s affordable, it might work in this economy," Nagel said.

Shy Anderson, the chief operating officer for the AFL’s Dallas Desperados — who won’t play in the new league — agreed with Nagel’s assessment, saying the business model for the AFL "wasn’t solid." He said the new league "will be great for the fans and the players who want to continue playing football."

"It is an entertainment sport," Anderson said. "It’s not a pure sport. It’s football played indoors with a lesser number of players. But there is a niche for it."

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

A news conference is planned Monday to announce the formation of a new arena football league with teams from the former AFL and af2 leagues.

Representatives of the af2 teams in Oklahoma City, Arkansas, and Spokane, Wash., all confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday that they intend to be part of the new league that will be based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz general manager Christie Cook says ownership meetings are planned this weekend in Tulsa to finalize which other cities will have teams.

The old AFL canceled its 2009 season before eventually folding in August, while af2 continued play in smaller cities across the U.S.

Games in the new league called Arena Football 1 are to start in late March or early April.

The teams involved are unknown at this time. Will they just bring those teams  back that don’t have another Pro Football team? They are also looking at the possibility if they have allot of team, they may try and do a Tier I and Tier II system. I for one like the fact the Arena Football is back.

Source: AP

Ok, maybe it is just me, but I find this truly stupid.

I use a well known AV software on three of my home computers. The other two run a well known free home version. I pay yearly for the well known paid AV software. Every year I get a notice to upgrade.update and pay for the next year. Mind you I have three computers and like the good techie that I am, I must have a license for each of them and not pay for one and place it on all of them. Right?? I get this notice and click the “one click update.” Sounds easy right? Well, If I do it via the web, I get a price of 39.99 for the next years service. This will only be good for one computer. Or, I can update to the next product bracket which  gives me options that I do not want nor will ever use, but I get a three user license all for 49.99. Oh course that is not what I even paid for it in the beginning. I don’t understand why I can buy a boxed copy of this from a big box store or even Amazon for a lot cheaper (a lot), then I can via this companies stupid upgrade site. Can somebody explain this to me?? So, I just got my purchased copy and re-paced in the new three person license copy on all my computers again…

"Two teenage girls (aged 10 and 12) found themselves trapped/lost in a storm water drain in Adelaide, South Australia. The interesting point of this article that makes it Blog worthy, is that although the teenage girls had mobile phones, instead of calling for help using 000 (Australia’s 911 number), they decided to notify people through Facebook. My guess is it was something along the lines of ‘Jane Doe is like totally trapped in a storm water drain, really need help, OMG!’. Luckily a young friend of the girls was online at the time and was able to call the proper authorities."

I think this is a true reflection on society today!

Points to be made-

Ages 10 and 12 are not typically teenagers but..you must be at least 13 to have a Facebook account. They have Facebook accounts. So they must be 13, and hence teenagers, even if they’re only 10 and 12.

Everyone knows that if you need to call for rescue, you use twitter.

"HELP ME! I am stuck and in real trouble and hurt real bad! I think my leg is broken, and I am losing a lot of blood. You can find me at" http://locme.

Maybe they didn’t have a signal strange enough for a call, but a text could get out (I hope this is the correct one).