Science Genius Rap Battles: Awesome New York Students Engage In Educational Rap-Offs (VIDEO)

We are in love with these ninth graders, who apparently spend their class time writing science-related rhymes with their teacher in preparation for an epic end-of-year rap battle.

It’s part of a pilot program that uses rap music to teach science in 10 New York City public schools, created by Dr. Chris Emdin of Columbia University’s Teachers College.

“The people who most embrace hip-hop culture are the same populations who are most disinterested in school and disinterested in science,” Emdin told CBS News.

Read More…
More on Fun Stuff

Apple Is Finally Going to Ditch Samsung’s Chips

Apple Is Finally Going to Ditch Samsung's Chips

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has finally signed a deal with something called Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to make its guts for future iPhones and iPads. Specifically, TSMC will start mass-producing 20 nanometer chips for Apple in 2014, paving way for longer battery life in Samsung-less iPhones and iPads.

Read more…

    

Military Faults Guards In Guantánamo Captive’s Suicide By Overdose

A U.S. military investigation found Guantánamo troops didn’t follow their own rules, allowing a captive to take a fatal overdose of an anti-psychotic drug a day after he was moved into a disciplinary cell from the detention center’s psychiatric ward.

A 79-page report, released Friday under the Freedom of Information Act, showed the “standard operating procedures,” or SOP, governing the U.S. Army Military Police required soldiers to regularly check on captives kept in solitary cells at Camp 5, Guantánamo’s maximum-security lockup.

Read More…
More on Guantanamo Bay

A Lot of Cameras Are Going to Change in the Tiniest Way Possible

A Lot of Cameras Are Going to Change in the Tiniest Way Possible

If you use a Sony or Fujifilm camera or Nokia phone or anything like that, you may notice a slight difference in future editions of your favorite camera and phones. The iconic Carl Zeiss imprint on the camera lens will now be just ZEISS. I guess they were growing tired of non photogs asking who the heck is Carl Zeiss?

Read more…

    

PinPres Children’s Shelf Allows You To Choose The Design

PinPres Children's BookshelfThe PinPres is a unique shelving unit designed to make use of the idea of the small version that is on desks in offices throughout the world. You know the idea. Press an object into the back of it and it creates a design on the front as the pins are moved. A shelf built the same way allows you to customize the shelves or toy storage spots that meet your child’s specific needs.

Chris Weigant: Friday Talking Points — Professional Edition

Well, we’ve been away for two weeks, and those two weeks were just chock-full of political news, so we’ve got a lot to cover. The reason for the interruption in columns was, of course, our attending Netroots Nation, the yearly conclave of bloggers, Progressives, and all and sundry who like hanging out with them. Which brings us to this week’s unusual title — today’s Friday Talking Points, for the first time ever, are going to be professionally-produced and focus-group-tested. More on this later.

We’ve got a lot to cover, so we’re going to do it very quickly here, but I have to begin by pointing out, once again, what a helium-brain David Gregory truly is. The moderator of Meet The Press is a journalistic lightweight on his best> of days — even when some interviewee breaks some real news on his show, Gregory can be counted on to not realize such news has been made, at least until someone else informs him of the fact. The man couldn’t think his way out of a paper bag, although he does have that boyish grin and good hair going for him — which is all that really matters to NBC.

Last Sunday, Gregory interviewed Glenn Greenwald (the reporter at the center of the Edward Snowden leak story), and asked him a classic “Have you stopped beating your wife, Senator?” question. Here is what Gregory thought it’d be a good idea to ask Greenwald, without a shred of evidence or fact to back it up:

Read More…
More on Gay Marriage

California Gay Marriage Opponents Call Restart A ‘Disgrace’

SAN FRANCISCO — Sponsors of California’s same-sex marriage ban say a federal appeals court decision that clears the way for gay weddings to resume is “disgraceful.”

Anthony Pugno, general counsel for a coalition of religious conservative groups, called Friday’s order from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals an “outrageous act” by judges and politicians determined to overturn voter-approved Proposition 8.

Read More…
More on Prop 8

Nokia Trade-Up program offers Lumia discount for swapping in an old cell phone

Nokia is attempting to earn some new Lumia converts by announcing its new Nokia Trade-Up Program, which is a clever title saying between the lines that, “No matter you turn in, you’re trading up.” Under the program, current smartphone owners who have grown tired of their old, possibly beat-up handsets can turn them in, buy

Read The Full Story

Facebook implements new policy to crack down on objectionable ad material

Image

No one really likes ads, but for better or worse, they’re a sort of necessary evil when it comes to, you know, making money online. And while Facebook’s not likely to stop sprinkling your stream with paid content, the social network announced a new plan today to tackle some of the more…questionable content that’s made its way onto the site. Starting Monday, the service will implement a new review process for deciding which Pages and groups will get their own accompanying ads. That process will be manual to start, with an automated version in the future. Facebook plans to have all the offending violent, graphic and sexual content removed by the end of next week.

Comments

Source: Facebook Newsroom

Eric Garcetti 101: 9 Things You Didn’t Know About LA’s Next Mayor (PHOTOS)

In honor of Eric Garcetti’s offbeat inauguration this Sunday at Grand Park, we’ve compiled a list of the mayor-elect’s craziest quirks and most surprising hobbies.

Unlike his predecessors, Mayors Antonio Villaraigosa, James Hahn and Richard Riordan, Garcetti isn’t planning to hold some fancy-shmancy inauguration ball; instead, he’s hosting a free block party at Grand Park, a location perfect for large crowds and blaring music. Moby, an electronica luminary, will be among the musical performances.

Choosing to move the ceremony to this setting reflects Garcetti’s eccentric charm. He’s a true LA hipster at heart — eco-warrior, social media connoisseur, yoga guru and even part-time actor. Click through the slideshow to get an inside look at Garcetti’s secret hipster life…

Read More…