Heroes Of The Storm Latest Patch Adds New Hero To The Game

During BlizzCon, Blizzard unveiled several new heroes that they would be adding to Heroes of the Storm. One of the new heroes unveiled was Jaina, who is from the Warcraft franchise. Well the good news is that for gamers who have access to the Heroes of the Storm Alpha, Jaina’s character has been added to the game in the latest patch.

Blizzard has also unveiled Winter Veil skins which gamers can go ahead and buy to add some customization to their hero characters, much like is the case with other MOBAs such as Valve’s Dota 2. The Winter Veil skins include the Reign-deer Mount, Great-father Winter Rehgar, and Winter Veil Jaina.

These skins can be purchased individually but gamers who don’t mind spending money to get it all can do so by paying $29.97 for the entire bundle which pretty much includes what we have mentioned above. It is admittedly a tad pricey but we guess there are gamers out there who don’t mind spending money to collect these skins.

Blizzard has also announced what they are calling Stimpacks. These are basically consumables that will award additional gold and experience points in the game. However Blizzard has yet to mention how much these Stimpacks will cost and at the moment they are unavailable in the store. In the meantime you can check out Jaina’s Heroes of the Storm trailer in the video above.

Heroes Of The Storm Latest Patch Adds New Hero To The Game

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Hearthstone’s Goblins Vs Gnomes Expansion Pegged For 8th December Release

hearthstone 640x400Back in November Blizzard announced a new expansion to their Hearthstone game called Goblins vs Gnomes. The game was pegged for a release in December but no specific dates were mentioned, and now that we’re in December, when exactly might we be able to look forward to the game?

Well the good news is that Blizzard has officially revealed the released date for the game, which is now set at the 8th of December for Americas region which will also include Southeast Asia and Oceania. For our friends and readers in Europe, Korea, Taiwan, and China, the rollout of the expansion is set for the 9th of December, a day later, so fret not the difference in release will not be too drastic.

For those who might have missed Blizzard’s announcement during BlizzCon, Goblins vs Gnomes will be the second expansion for Hearthstone following the Curse of Naxxramas which was released earlier this year. Unlike Curse of Naxxramas, Goblins vs Gnomes will be a much bigger expansion.

The expansion will introduce new minion types, new themes, as well as over 120 new cards that players can either win, purchase, or craft. So gamers, are you looking forward to getting your hands on the expansion?

Hearthstone’s Goblins Vs Gnomes Expansion Pegged For 8th December Release

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Texans' Andre Johnson Treats 11 Kids To A Christmas Shopping Spree

Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson is known as one of the best offensive players on the field. Off the field, he’s known for something else: He’s practically the living embodiment of Santa Claus.

For the eighth consecutive year, Johnson has treated at-risk children from child protective services to a shopping spree at a local Toys R Us store.

Johnson, who wears #80 on his jersey, gives the kids 80 seconds to run through the store and fill a shopping cart.

Johnson said his uncle came up with the idea.

“He was like, ‘Give ‘em 80 seconds to run through the store and let ‘em just get what they want.’ And I was like, ‘That’s not enough time.’ And he was like, ‘They can grab a lot,’” Johnson told the Houston Chronicle.

“So we did it the first year and when the kids came back, I was like, ‘Wow, I didn’t think they could grab that much stuff in that amount of time.’” he said. “So we just rolled with it from there and we just kept doing it every year.”

7th Annual Shopping Spree at Toys R Us

A photo posted by Andre Johnson (@ajohnson1500) on Dec 12, 2014 at 7:47am PST

In reality, the kids get even more than what they can grab in those 80 seconds as Johnson also gives each child a gaming system and games as well as gifts to give to their siblings.

The final bill totaled $16,266.26.

It was so high that Johnson’s credit card company flagged the first register’s bill of more than $5,000 as suspicious. ESPN reports that Johnson had to call and explain it was really him spending all that money on toys.

This is such a wonderful, wonderful blessing,” Georgia Gay told HoustonTexans.com. Her grandson, Benjamin, was one of the children who took part in the event.

“Can you put words on this? You can’t put words on this,” Gay said. “Especially as parents and grandparents, some of these things we won’t be able to buy at this time. I thank God for this, and I thank Andre Johnson for this.”

I’m in a blessed situation so I’m able to help other people. That’s all that matters,” Johnson said in a Houston Chronicle video. “I’ve always said, if I was able to make it I would do stuff like this.”

Kids were able to run through the store and grab whatever they wanted.

A photo posted by Andre Johnson (@ajohnson1500) on Dec 12, 2014 at 7:48am PST

“You go through stuff as a kid growing up. You understand certain situations,” Johnson told ESPN. “I understand some of the things these kids go through.”

American Teacher Stabbed To Death In Abu Dhabi Restroom

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An American school teacher was stabbed to death in a public restroom at a mall by a suspect wearing the traditional black robe, full-face veil and gloves commonly worn by local women throughout the Arab Gulf region, local police said Tuesday.

A statement posted on the Abu Dhabi Interior Ministry’s website said the victim was stabbed Monday with a sharp tool that has been confiscated by police. The statement said the American woman was 37 years old. Her name has not been made public. The victim had 11 year-old twins who are now in the custody of police until their father, who is the victim’s ex-husband, arrives from abroad.

Col. Rashid Borshid, head of the Criminal Investigation Department, said the attacker remains at large. He said police are investigating possible motives and the gender of the attacker.

He said a fight broke out between the victim and the attacker in the women’s restroom just before the stabbing, which took place on the upscale Reem Island in Abu Dhabi.

“The Abu Dhabi Police will spare no effort in order to unveil this heinous crime and bring the culprit to justice,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.

The U.S. Embassy in the United Arab Emirates said they are aware of the incident that took place Dec. 1 and are in contact with Emirati authorities. The embassy said it stands ready to offer all possible consular services.

The UAE is a Western-allied, seven-state federation that includes the glitzy commercial hub of Dubai and the oil-rich capital of Abu Dhabi. It is home to a sizable Western population where foreigners outnumber Emirati citizens.

The UAE prides itself on being a safe haven in the turbulent Middle East. It is part of the U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes against Islamic State group fighters in Iraq and Syria.

Accident Occurred At Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk Says

(Reuters) – Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Wednesday an accident had occurred at the Zaporizhye nuclear power plant (NPP) in south-east Ukraine and called on the energy minister to hold a news conference.

“I know that an accident has occurred at the Zaporizhye NPP,” Yatseniuk said, asking new energy minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn to make clear when the problem would be resolved and what steps would be taken to restore normal power supply across Ukraine.

News agency Interfax Ukraine said the problem had occurred at bloc No 3 – a 1,000-megawatt reactor – and the resulting lack of output had worsened the power crisis in the country. Interfax added that the bloc was expected to come back on stream on Dec. 5.

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

9 Household Uses For Beer

We already knew vodka could double as an all-natural air freshener, but now we’ve found new purpose for another alcohol we have lingering around the house: beer.

Turns out leftover beer doesn’t have to live in your fridge — there are a whole bunch of household uses for the beverage, from furniture polish to face masks.

Consult this graphic from the pros at Chadwicks, and hop to it!

9 Household Uses for Beer Leftovers #infographic

h/t Visualistan

Peanut Blossom Cookies: The Heartbreaking Tale Of A Delicious Underdog

This is a story of the underdog. It’s about self-respect, it’s about never giving up. It’s about abandoning labels, overcoming judgment, rising above the masses. It is a story about a peanut butter cookie, topped with a chocolate Hershey’s kiss.

peanut chocolate cookie

Formally called the “peanut blossom,” these cookies are near-ubiquitous around Christmastime. They are the penicillin of cookies — they came into existence by accident. Legend has it that Ohio resident Freda Smith intended to make a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and after mixing part of the dough, realized her pantry was without chocolate chips. So, she grabbed a bag of Hershey’s Kisses instead and baked them atop the nutty confection.

The story does not end there. Ms. Smith entered her great mistake into the ninth annual Pillsbury Bake-off competition in 1957. Despite the objective deliciousness of Smith’s blossoms, her recipe didn’t even place in the contest. They were trumped by Gerda Roderer’s “accordion treats” — an Alsatian-type cookie that gets a unique shape by being baked in pleated aluminum foil. The main ingredients of Roderer’s winning recipe are butter, sugar, flour and vanilla. Nothing too spectacular.


Accordion treats, via Ipso Fatto

These cookies earned Roderer the grand price of $45,000. Smith, on the other hand, left the Bake-Off with diddly squat. And yet, the peanut blossom has survived more than 50 years of cookie consumption, while the accordion treat is undoubtedly less popular. I’d personally like to demand a recount.

bake off
The prize-winning accordion treats were featured on the cover of the 9th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest cookbook, which included all of the contestants’ recipes.

Smith’s cookie didn’t go totally unappreciated — it just took a little longer to get some recognition. In 1999, the peanut blossom was inducted into the Pillsbury Bake-Off Hall of Fame and was apotheosized in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Sadly, Smith passed away in 1963 and didn’t live to see her heavenly recipe garner the esteem it always deserved. In her place, Smith’s daughter, Jo Anne Smith Lytle, accepted the honor at a ceremony held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

freda smith
Freda Smith of Gibsonburg, Ohio

You can honor this subjugated sweet by whipping up a batch at home. Here’s the original recipe.

Though Bake-Off judges erred in 1957, the contest has produced a legion of great recipes that have become mainstays in American households, like French silk chocolate pie, candy bar cookies and loaded potato pinwheels. This year, the winner of the 47th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest will be announced on December 3 and will win $1 million. This is the first year that voting is open to the public, and the winner will be announced on ABC’s “The Chew” at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

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Child Care And Education Costs Are Off The Charts. Literally.

The costs of educating and caring for children just keep soaring.

Just check out this chart from a recent Brookings Institution analysis of consumer price data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showing how various costs have changed relative to median U.S. household income in recent decades:

brookings chart

There are several striking things on this chart. For one, the costs of energy, gasoline and hospital services are rising far more quickly than income. Meanwhile, the prices of appliances and personal computers have fallen. And the price of a new car has risen a lot more slowly than income.

But the most jaw-dropping thing is the dark blue line that charts the rise in child care and tuition costs. That line goes so high it doesn’t even fit on the chart. So we refigured the chart, in an effort to show just how goddamned high child care and tuition costs have gotten:

chart

Child care and tuition costs include elementary, high school and college tuition and fees, as well as child care and nursery school, according to the BLS.

Here is a graphical representation of what that means for parents:

Though they’re not shown on the chart, other important prices are also outstripping income, including rent, legal and professional services, and hotel rates.

“These large sectors and the high prices they charge are contributing heavily to the slipping economic position of American households,” the Brookings analysts wrote.

The households they’re referring to are low- and middle-class households, which suffer more when the costs of necessities rise. That has added to the pain of the slow destruction of the middle class in recent decades. It has also been a drag on the U.S. economy, which depends heavily on consumer spending. As the Wall Street Journal noted in its own analysis of consumer price data, the meteoric rise in the costs of health care, rent and education has led to a slowdown in spending on clothing and entertainment. As a result, large retailers and restaurant chains are struggling to get customers to spend.

Washington State Man Crashed Car Into Store To Steal Guns: Sheriff

BURIEN, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say a driver crashed into a Washington sporting goods store on purpose so he could steal guns, and then he tried to hide in the ceiling.

The King County sheriff’s office says it arrested a suspect after a more than four-hour standoff at the Big 5 store in Burien, south of Seattle. The car smashed through a metal grate and glass doors at the business early Tuesday. No employees were inside at the time.

Sgt. DB Gates says authorities determined the wreck was an apparent burglary attempt targeting firearms after responding deputies found cases holding the store’s rifles and ammunition were disturbed. They also heard noises in the ceiling where they believed the suspect was hiding.

A tactical squad was called to surround the building, and authorities eventually apprehended the man. The team then searched for any other suspects inside.

Uber to launch carpooling in New York City tomorrow

uber-820x4201Uber’s carpooling service UberPool was introduced in August, and rolled out as a beta of sorts in San Francisco for US users. Fast forward a few months, and now the ridesharing service is looking to expand UberPool, announcing yesterday that it’ll begin testing it in New York City soon. This makes for three locations total where UberPool is available — … Continue reading