NEW YORK — These moms curse a lot, drink to excess, reveal scary truths and draw twisted little stick figures of their kids pooping and whining relentlessly. And this Mother’s Day, they’re bringing their derelict parenting to you.
The authors behind a fresh round of parenting books love their munchkins, to be sure, but there’s something about the scorched earth narrative that sells memoirish parenting books these days.
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WASHINGTON — Rebel Wilson, now appearing in Michael Bay’s “Pain and Gain,” had a little pain of her own when visiting the nation’s capital this past weekend.
Wilson told 947FreshFM’s Tommy McFly she fell at the the Washington Hilton, at the Washington Post’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner pre-party.
“I’d rolled my ankle,” Wilson said. “I’m totally fine. I’m just, like, terrible in high heels…And then, you know, they had free alcohol.”
WASHINGTON — Dawn Andrade of North Highlands, Calif. worked as a customer service administrator for an IT company for most of her adult life before getting laid off five years ago. Since then she’s had a succession of jobs, each paying less than the one before.
Right now, she’s earning $8.75 an hour in a call center, helping people with the debit cards on which they receive unemployment insurance payments. “I answer calls for people in California, New Jersey and South Carolina,” she said, explaining that people call to say, “Where’s my money? How come I don’t have my money?”
Before that she earned $9.40 per hour working part time for a company that sold chocolate strawberries, and before that she worked seven months for a propane company that paid $12 hourly. And before that, after her original career fell apart, she worked in a different call center. Andrade, 57, doesn’t understand why she’s wound up with such unstable employment after a long career.
What a load off!
Wesley Warren Jr. — the 44-year-old Las Vegas man whose 132 pound scrotum made headlines worldwide — had surgery to resolve his condition, which is caused by an excess of watery fluid collecting around his testicles.
“There are a lot of shows about makeovers, but this is a real makeover,” Dr. Joel Gelman, who performed the surgery on Thursday, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He’s basically a new man.”
Millions of people have heard Steve Jablonsky’s music, even if they’ve never heard of Steve Jablonsky. The 42-year-old composer has written the scores for the last five Michael Bay films, including all three “Transformers” movies and Bay’s latest, “Pain and Gain.”
“The one thing Michael Bay does, and I tell him this every movie, is he gives me this huge stage. People are going to see his movies, no matter what,” Jablonsky told HuffPost Entertainment. To his point: The “Transformers” franchise has grossed over $2.7 billion around the globe. “He’s presenting me with audience to hear my stuff just because he’s got the audience already. I’m very appreciative of that.”
Jablonsky assisted on scores for the Bay films “Armageddon” and “Pearl Harbor,” but didn’t get his big break until “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” the horror reboot that Bay’s Platinum Dunes production company produced in 2003. His work there impressed Bay, especially because of Jablonsky’s compensation.
When it comes to summer, the mercury certainly takes quite a jump up, don’t you think so? This would cause us to go scampering for more frequent baths, as well as turning on the air conditioner or fan. Well, for some of us who so happen to have a patio or deck at our homes, fitting an outdoor fan is always a good idea (also to chase those pesky mosquitoes away!), but an even better idea would be an evaporative cooling fan that when it does its job properly, would not only keep you nice and cool, it helps keep things wetter than normal. Enter the $399.95 Hoseless Evaporative Cooling Fan.
The Hoseless Evaporative Cooling Fan is said to be able to reduce the air temperature by as much as 30º F, where it gently mists the surrounding area. Using a trio of patented nozzles to create micro-fine droplets that feel dry to the touch and evaporate almost instantly, the Hoseless Evaporative Cooling Fan comes with a 2 3/4-gallon reservoir that allows you to enjoy up to 5 hours of uninterrupted misting, where you can also adjust the density of mist adjusts with a simple turn of a dial. Boasting weather-resistant powder-coated metal and plastic construction, the Hoseless Evaporative Cooling Fan will feature a couple of wheels on the base which lets you move it around in a jiffy.
[ Hoseless Evaporative Cooling Fan copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Some of you may have heard of Philips’ Ambilight, a technology that’s only present in some of the company’s high end TVs. Ambilight projects ambient lighting that matches the colors and brightness of what’s being displayed on screen. Lightpack does the same thing and then some. Plus, it can be installed on any TV or monitor.
Lightpack consists of a small central device that you attach at the back of your TV. The box connects the 10 small LED strips that provide the lighting to a desktop computer where you’ll install Prismatik, the software that controls the LEDs. Prismatik analyzes the images being output from your PC or Mac to your display and instructs the LEDs to light up accordingly.
Keep in mind that Lightpack isn’t capable of analysing data coming across an HDMI cable to add ambient light to TVs without a computer. Its makers are working on another project to do that, but it’s not likely to make it to market any time soon due to HDMI/HDCP licensing issues, Phlips exisiting Ambilight patents, and high production costs.
Prismatik also has many advanced features. For example, you can turn the LEDs into mood lighting even when your TV is off. Because Lightpack is built on open source hardware and software, if you know how to program you’ll be able to extend its functionality, like using the LEDs for Skype notifications or for indicating the temperature. Watch the video for more:
Pledge at least $80 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a Lightpack unit as a reward. Note that the current unit only works with displays that have a diagonal length between 10″ to 50″. If you have a larger TV you might need to get two Lightpacks.
The Nintendo 3DS has already been through a lot. The first-ever glasses-less 3D portable console didn’t have the most glamourous of launches when it hit the market more than two years ago. Tainted by an underwhelming batch of debut software, controversial 3D effect, and a disappointing battery life, the 3DS didn’t have a whole lot going for it out of the gate.
If that wasn’t enough of a burden, the 3DS was also forced to follow up the original DS, a predecessor that is approaching worldwide sales of 154 million units combined. It’s the best-selling portable console of all time. (Credit: CNET)
But in the 25 months since its release, the 3DS has made significant strides. A focus on the platform’s online store and a hardware refresh with a much bigger screen and better battery have begun to right the ship. Most importantly, a bevy of compelling software has been made available — though some have criticized the company’s continual recycling of classic games.
In addition to hardware and software improvements, Nintendo has made up ground on consumer interactivity. To better keep its audience in the know, the company has been conducting a series of videos that have shed a generous amount of transparency on upcoming titles and news — a move that has seemed to generate an organic buzz throughout its loyal consumer base.
Among the announcements made at the most recent Nintendo Direct video… [Read more]
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We’d like to thank the Academy and all the little people who helped along the way — but mostly we’d like to thank you, our viewers, for helping The Engadget Show win not one, but two Webby Awards this year. That’s right, our plucky little show managed to pick up two of the coveted coils, and we’re frankly overjoyed. We’re so pumped, in fact, that we don’t want the winning to end. As our way of thanking you for the support you’ve given the show in the past year, we’re giving away a shiny new 32GB HSPA+ Nexus 7 to two lucky winners (one for each Webby, naturally), which you can use to watch the latest episode! And once you’re done with that, there’s an included $25 Google Play gift card to find more stuff to watch (there are plenty more free episodes for you, once that runs out).
Note: Please enter using the widget below, as comments are no longer valid methods of entry. The widget only requires your name and email address so we know how to get in touch with you if you win (your information is not given out to third parties), but you will have an option to receive an additional entry by liking us on Twitter if you so desire.
Virgin Media doles out many minutes and data to mobile users with its Premiere plan, but it hasn’t had a truly unlimited option for those who don’t want to even think about their calling habits. It’s assuaging those minds today with new VIP tiers that offer unlimited domestic voice, data and text messaging. The exact perks depend on the level of commitment, however. Traditional customers can pay £26 per month (£31 if they’re not already Virgin customers) with promises of unlimited calls to frequently costly 08 numbers. For SIM-only customers, it’s all about the price — while they don’t get the 08 number exception, the £15 they pay per month for otherwise unlimited access is comparatively cheap. The new rates may not always make sense depending on local coverage and a desire for LTE, but we’d at least keep them in mind.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Source: Virgin Media (1), (2)
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