Ice Sauna Goes to 10 Below Zero

Had enough of the heat? How about sitting in a snowy room where it is 10 degrees below zero? Now that is what I call relaxing. As stupid as this concept sounds, the "Snow Room" exists, and it was recently showcased in a Hotel Equipment Fair in Turkey. Plus, it will go on sale to all luxury hotels and spas starting this year.

The Snow Room was developed by MNK—a company that has made a name for themselves developing saunas. While the idea does seem strange, it appears that hot/cold therapy is common in northern European countries. So the idea of sitting in what is essentially a meat locker for relaxation (and to watch your penis die) may not be so far fetched after all.

By Sean Fallon

Windows XP: The OS That Won't Quit

Phasing out an old operating system is nothing new for Microsoft, but Windows XP is unique in that it may be too good to die.

The deadline for Windows XP downgrades has been pushed back twice now, remaining in effect until July 31, 2009-a strong indication that enough users want to stay with the aging XP rather than give Vista a chance.

Parody Song

I KISSED A GIRL PARODY - I KISSED YOUR MOM LYRICS

The Facebook Virus Spreads: No Social Network is Safe

"Koobface" is the name of the Trojan worm that's been making its way through the social networking site Facebook lately, but to the site's users, it's been simply known as "the Facebook virus." That name will soon become a misnomer, though, because the worm is now spreading outside of Facebook's walls to attack other social networks like Bebo, MySpace, Friendster, MyYearbook, and Blackplanet.

About Koobface

Once a computer has become infected with the Kooface worm, it spams the friends belonging to the owner of the computer by leaving comments on their profiles. Those comments appear to come from the infected user, saying things like "Are you sure this is your first acting experience?", "is it u there?", "impressive. i'm sure it's you on this video", "How can anyone get so busted by a spy camera?" and "You're the whole show! i'm admired with you." Save for that last one, whose bad English will likely raise a flag that all is not what it seems, the other comments appeal to people's vanity. They wonder: is that really a video of me? and then click through on the link provided.

How To Protect Yourself From Koobface and the complete Article

posted at: ReadWriteWeb

Bush Condemns Free National Wi-Fi

In another nod to his alleged "free-market" principles, President Bush has expressed disapproval of the free nationwide Wi-Fi proposal being considered by the FCC and Congress.

It's an inauspicious time to decry helpful, even vital democratic initiatives in favor of ideology -- after all, many of our most outspoken critics of federal mandate and regulation have ended up looking dogmatic, shortsighted or downright ignorant of late.

But that hasn't stopped the Bush team from making its anti-populist agenda known. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez issued an open letter to the FCC this week, stating the administration's argument against legislation that could lead to nationwide no-fee wireless Internet. The administration hopes to influence FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to overturn the proposal during the FCC's next scheduled meeting on December 18th.

The legislation, which is before Congress now, would require whoever buys the chunk of wireless spectrum being auctioned next year to set aside a quarter for no-fee service to rural areas that don't have broadband access.

Welcome to the Jungle Baby!

Jungle Disk Desktop Edition lets you store files and automatically backup data easily and securely to Amazon.com's S3 Storage Service.

Jungle Disk is more than just backupMost online backup services can only be used for basic backup. You select the files you want to backup and if you need to restore, you use their proprietary software or web page to select the files to restore, often waiting several minutes or hours before you can access your files. Jungle Disk has a great automatic backup system, and can easily be used for basic data backup, but Jungle Disk also gives you a complete network drive that you can use from multiple machines - like an unlimited size USB drive that you can connect to from anywhere. The exclusive caching features in Jungle Disk make it so that using your network drive is as fast as a local drive, and you don't need to constantly transfer data from the server.
This also allows you to use your favorite 3rd party backup tool such as ChronoSync, SyncBack, or rsync to manage your data if you prefer - something no other online backup service offers.

Shave the Date: No Bush Left Behind

My fellow Americans. Regardless of how you voted this past Tuesday, the timely exit of President Bush should be something we can all agree on.

And for such a momentous occasion, a celebration is in order.

So to commemorate our new found freedom from the last eight years, the Mominatrix is encouraging you to unite together and “Shave the Date” -- Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009, when we will leave no bush behind.

Read it all here: Mominatrix

Online File Backup Services

Compare and review services that provide backups of all the files stored on your computer's hard drive including financial documents, emails, digital photos, music and more.

Online File Backup Comparisons
View Full Comparison Chart

Carbonite
Rating: 5 Stars
Go to SiteReview
Best overall online backup service; cheapest way to store unlimited data plus 15% discount

Mozy
Rating: 5 Stars
Go to SiteReview
Excellent option for most users; special 10% discount with coupon code NEXT

Elehantdrive
Rating: 4 Stars
Go to SiteReview
Very good service with excellent infrastructure and security

Beinsync
Rating: 3 Stars
Go to SiteReview
High fees and relatively low storage limits

Box
Rating: 3 Stars
Go to SiteReview
Great file access and collaboration options but no automated backups and limited storage

View Full Comparison Chart

Mixcraft by Acousitca

Mixcraft, an audio looping and editing tool made by Acousitca, is the first application for Windows that makes it simple to start building a song in a matter of minutes like you can with GarageBand. Mixcraft integrates loop importing. Mixcraft is even compatible with Apple Loops used in GarageBand. Voice and music recording are supported both with virtual and real instruments. Beat matching and key changes happen on the fly just like they do in GarageBand.

Get it at TOP DRAWER DOWNLOADS : Mixcraft

Not something you had to take from your "rents" but a cool little program!

FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec, an audio format similar to MP3, but lossless, meaning that audio is compressed in FLAC without any loss in quality. This is similar to how Zip works, except with FLAC you will get much better compression because it is designed specifically for audio, and you can play back compressed FLAC files in your favorite player (or your car or home stereo, see supported devices) just like you would an MP3 file.

Get it here: FLAC

A Cup of Java...

During most of my running clinics, the subject of caffeine is frequently raised. "Is there any benefit from taking coffee before a race?" someone will ask. My answer has always been: "It gets me to the line."

I have never been a scientist about caffeine. I have ignored the evidence pro and con. Drinking coffee or some other caffeine-containing drink has always been the way I jump start my engine in the morning. Life does not get under way until my first cup of coffee in the morning.

On race day, my standard operating procedure is coffee on arising, followed by a diet cola on the drive to the race. Runners have been described as people with energy, dedication and discipline. I like to think I share in those qualities - but not before my cup of coffee. Coffee takes me out of my drowsy half-awakened state and transforms me into a person eager to get on with the heroic quest.

Coffee lovers are familiar with these matutinal effects. And that first cup drunk, the world is ready to be conquered and I am equal to the task.

These psychological effects of caffeine cannot be denied. It does away with what the psychologists call "task aversion." I am no longer thinking of reasons not to run this race. I am willing and wanting to join my friends at the starting line of this agony-to-be.





The Complete Essey "A Cup of Java"

The phone that feels the flu before you do

By PETER SVENSSON (AP Technology Writer)
From Associated PressDecember 03, 2008 4:44 PM EST

NEW YORK - Did your parents tell you to remember your scarf when you went out, so you wouldn't catch a cold? Today, the advice might be: Remember your cell phone.

A maker of over-the-counter cold and flu remedies released a program this week for the T-Mobile G1, also known as the "Google phone," that warns the user how many people in an area are sneezing and shaking with winter viruses.

The "Zicam Cold & Flu Companion" will say, for instance, that 8 percent to 14 percent of the people in your ZIP code have respiratory illnesses, representing a "Moderate" risk level. To give germophobes and hypochondriacs even more of a thrill, it also says what symptoms are common, like coughing and sore throat.

Matrixx Initiatives Inc., the Arizona company that makes products under the Zicam brand, gets the information on disease levels from Surveillance Data Inc. - which gets its data from polling health care providers and pharmacies.

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Food Requests Up 35 Percent and Climbing!

As the nation is mired in a recession, requests at Valley food banks are rising steadily, as is the number of job seekers using CareerLink centers.

And the demands for food and searches for employment are expected to increase in the coming months.

I'm really hoping we see change over the next four years! Barack Obama