Computer Users Beware….

If you have computer files you’d rather not lose, now is a good time to make sure your anti-virus software is up to date. A worm set to activate Friday will corrupt documents using the most common file types, including “.doc,” “.pdf,” and “.zip.”

Hundreds of thousands of machines are believed to be infected, mostly in India, Peru, Turkey and Italy, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer for Finnish security company F-Secure Corp.

The worm, known as “CME-24,” “BlackWorm,” “Mywife.E” or a number of other monikers, even tries to disable anti-virus software that is out of date, he said.

Thus, users should make sure their software is turned on and has the latest definitions, generally available for free from the software vendor’s Web site. F-Secure also has created a free removal tool.

“If you are infected, and you find out about it today, you still have time to get rid of the virus,” Hypponen said.

As worms go, the spread of BlackWorm is relatively low. But worms these days are generally designed to help spammers and hackers carry out attacks, not to destroy files as this one does. So the impact this time may be more severe.

Microsoft Corp. issued an advisory Tuesday warning customers about the worm, which affects most versions of its Windows operating system.

Users should be safe if they have the latest anti-virus software or if their computers are set with limited privileges, a common setting in larger organizations. They are vulnerable if they, like many small business and home users, leave their computers set with full administrative rights.

And users should check the date on the computer. The worm hits the third of every month, so if the computer’s local calendar settings are off, Hypponen said, files may be destroyed sooner or later, even if the computer is never turned on Friday.

Roadkill Chef Whips it Up….

LONDON: It needs a brave soul and a strong stomach to have dinner with
Arthur Boyt.

For he is a connoisseur of roadkill flesh, and among the dishes served in
his kitchen are casseroles made from squashed badger, hedgehog, otter, rat,
rabbit or pheasant.

And his recipes may soon gain a wider following, because he hopes to publish
a roadkill cookery book.

Mr Boyt, 66, who used to work in the fire protection business, has tucked
into a labrador – “just like a nice piece of lamb” – two lurchers (hunting
dogs), cats and a great horseshoe bat, not to mention squirrels, foxes,
mice, deer and pigeon. He even brought a dead porcupine back from holiday in
Canada. He has a weasel in the freezer but thinks it is too smelly to eat,
and he has just picked up a barn owl he is keen to taste.

But his favourite snack is badger sandwich. He is partial to the badger
head, which he says includes four distinctive tastes: the jaw muscles,
salivary glands, tongue and brains.

VERIZON LAUNCHES NAVIGATOR

Date Posted:   Yesterday, 3:21 PM
Source:   Verizon Wireless

Verizon today announced VZ Navigator, a new service that will provide directions and locations of nearby services to subscribers using aGPS enabled phones. When a user launches Navigator, the network and GPS satellites will determine his location. That data can then be used to locate nearby businesses such as restaurants or banks, and can also be used to provide turn by turn directions to a destination. The service is initially available on the newly launched Motorola V325; Verizon has not promised the application for additional handsets. Navigator will cost $10 for a month of unlimited use, or $3 for 24 hours. Sprint has already launched a similar service for most of their new handsets.

CONCRETE CUBICLE WORK TIP OF THE DAY

Voice mail. Never answer your phone if you have voice mail. People don’t call you just because they want to give you something for nothing– they call because they want YOU to do work for THEM. That’s the way to live. Screen all your calls through voice mail.

If somebody leaves a voice mail message for you and it sounds like impending work, respond during lunch hour. That way, you’re hardworking and conscientious even though you’re being a devious weasel. If you diligently employ the method of screening incoming calls and then returning calls when nobody is there, this will greatly increase the odds that they will give up or look for a solution that doesn’t involve you.

The sweetest voice mail message you can ever hear is “Ignore my last message. I took care of it.” If your voice mailbox has a limit on the number of messages it can hold, make sure you reach that limit frequently. One way to do that is to never erase any incoming messages. If that takes too long, send yourself a few messages.

Your callers will hear a recorded message that says, “Sorry, this mailbox is full”–a sure sign that you are a hardworking employee in high demand.

Major earthquake hits off Indonesian coast

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A magnitude-7.7 undersea earthquake rocked eastern Indonesia early Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There was no danger of a tsunami, and no injuries were reported.

The earthquake occurred in the Banda Sea about 120 miles south of Ambon city, the USGS said. It occurred at a depth of 212 miles.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no destructive tsunami threat existed.

Amran, an official at Indonesia’s meteorological agency in the capital, Jakarta, said there were no immediate reports of damages or injuries. Like many Indonesians, he goes by only one name.

The Internet news portal Detik.com reported from Ambon that people fled their houses in panic when the earthquake, which lasted about two minutes, struck.

Ambon is about 1,600 miles east of Jakarta.

Scientists use Net game to forecast epidemics

By Stefanie Olsen
http://news.com.com/Scientists+use+Net+game+to+forecast+epidemics/2100-11395_3-6031234.html

An Internet game akin to “Where’s Waldo?” for tracing the movement of dollar bills has helped scientists develop a statistical model for predicting the spread of an epidemic in this country.

Researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organization have used the Web game “Where’s George?,” which monitors the geographic circulation of dollar bills by their serial numbers, to forecast how a virus would spread from human to human.

The physicists based their research on the idea that like viruses, money is transported by people from place to place.

“Since we can’t track people with tracking devices, like we do animals, we needed to get data that provided us with millions of movements of individuals,” said Lars Hufnagel, a post-doctoral fellow at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at UCSB.

“We use these dollar bills as radar devices for humans,” he said. Hufnagel co-wrote an article on the research in this week’s Nature journal.

Threat of a human “superflu” has lorded over people’s minds around the world since the spread of bird flu in Asia and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) overseas. Modern transportation and travel make it much easier for a disease in one region of the world to spread to another quickly. In contrast, centuries-ago pandemics moved slower across geographical regions because people typically traveled only a few kilometers daily.

It’s difficult to forecast how an epidemic might spread today, given that there’s no quantitative analysis on how people move around in a country, or from country to country. Hufnagel’s research, conducted with two other scientists, aims to create a statistical model for how people move about despite the mode of transportation, but tracking dollar bills is not conclusive.
In other news:

* Surveying the mobile TV landscape
* Photos: Computational couture
* No booze or jokes for China’s Googlers

Hufnagel said that the group’s findings were surprising because the bills moved along a simple mathematical model, called universal scaling laws. In this case, scaling laws describe movement from local areas to regional to long-distance lengths, but they have been applied to biology and physical systems.

Using data from half a million bills tracked on the site, the scientists developed a scaling law theory that describes the observed movements of travelers over distances from just a few kilometers to a few thousand. For example, most money travels locally, but there is a small likelihood it will move across the country.

In modeling epidemics, Hufnagel said, the scale becomes specific to the disease. A more severe epidemic might travel differently than a less severe one, for example.

TOLLBOOTH MADNESS..

DALLAS (AP) — A driver who racked up about $76,000 in charges for cruising through toll booths without paying has pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor citations.
Evangelina Gonzalez, 41, entered the plea Thursday and agreed to pay one-tenth of the total, about $7,600.
 More Stories About…
* Michael Stephens
* Attorney Marcelle Jones

“It was more than fair,” said Gonzalez’s attorney, Michael Stephens.

Had Gonzalez used a toll pass, her trips would have cost about $1,800, according to tollway authorities. Instead, they said, she drove through the booths nearly 3,000 times without paying between June 2003 and November 2005. The $25 administrative fees for each violation added up.
Attorney Marcelle Jones said the tollway authority was “satisfied” with the arrangement. If Gonzalez meets the terms, prosecutors could dismiss the citations, with approval from the North Texas Tollway Authority, Jones said.

HDTV Market to Exceed $25 Billion This Year

By John P. Mello Jr.

“You don’t want to build too much into the TV,” said Stephen Baker, an analyst with the NPD Group. “Consumers tend not to want too much built into their televisions, and the technology for a television doesn’t move quite as fast as the technology for the external devices that are going to help you manage all your entertainment.”

Free WiFi Hotspot Locator from TechNewsWorld
Wondering where to find the nearest publicly available WiFi Internet access? Our global directory of 87,000 locations in 26 countries is a terrific tool for mobile computer users.

The global market for high-definition televisions (HDTV) and their ancillary products — personal video recorders, DVD players, game consoles and set-top boxes — will eclipse US$25 billion this year, according to a report released Wednesday by ABI Research , of Oyster Bay, N.Y.

As the HDTV market grows, commoditization will threaten margins and attract new players into the fray, noted Vamsi Sistla, the author of the report titled “The Future of the High Definition Television Market.”

Sex helps calm nerves before public speaking

LONDON – Forget pretending you are talking to one person or concentrating on a single point in the audience — having sex is good way to calm nerves before giving a speech or presentation.

But Stuart Brody, a psychologist at the University of Paisley in Scotland, said it has to be full sexual intercourse to get the best results.

He studied nearly 50 men and women who recorded their sexual activities for two weeks and analyzed its impact on their blood pressure levels when under acute stress, such as when giving a speech.

Brody discovered that the volunteers who had sexual intercourse were the least stressed and had blood pressure levels that returned to normal more quickly than people who engaged in other types of sex.

But people who had abstained from sex had the highest blood pressure response to stress.

Even after taking into account stress due to work or other factors, the range of responses to stress were best explained by sexual behavior.

“The effects are not attributable simply to the short-term relief afforded by orgasm but rather, endure for at least a week,” Brody told New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday.

He believes that the release of the so-called “pair bonding” hormone oxytocin might explain the calming effect.

Fla. Men Arrested for Dog Vs. Hog Fights

MIAMI

Authorities arrested five men for setting up fights between dogs and wild boars at an Indian reservation in South Florida.

The men, including the founder of a boar-catching dog association, were charged with animal cruelty Thursday after a 14-month investigation into the fights at the Seminole Indian reservation near Okeechobee, authorities said.

Undercover Seminole police attended a fight on Oct. 9, 2004, in the backyard of a Seminole Indian’s home, authorities said. Twenty-one dogs and at least 14 wild boars were involved, they said.

Hog-dog fights typically match a pit bull terrier or bulldog against a wild boar in a pen for 60-second bouts.

“It’s a little known blood sport that’s been around for 25 years,” said John Goodwin of The Humane Society.

Among those arrested was Art Parker, of Fort Lawn, S.C., of the International Catchdog Association., which has a Web registry of boar- catching dogs.

Parker remained jailed Friday, according to Mary Luther, who described herself as the owner of the dog-fighting organization. Luther called the arrests “domestic terrorism” and accused authorities of acting at the behest of animal rights activists.

Hog-dog fights are “no more cruel than when I do bird hunting with my dogs,” she said in a telephone interview.

Los Angeles sues makers of ‘Grand Theft Auto’

LOS ANGELES – The city attorney’s office has sued the makers of “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” for allegedly hiding pornographic material inside the video game, officials said.

Rocky Delgadillo said his office sued Rockstar Games and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., for making misleading statements in marketing the game and engaging in unfair competition.

A telephone call made after business hours to a Take-Two spokesman in New York was not returned.

The game, released in October 2004, features characters that commit crimes such as murder, drug dealing and pimping. The game also had an embedded “mini game” in which characters could engage in explicit sexual acts.

The industry board that rates video games gave it a mature rating but would have given it an adults-only rating if it knew of the explicit content, Delgadillo said.

The game’s rating was later changed and retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Best Buy Co., pulled copies from their store shelves.

But the game was re-rated only after more than 12 million units had been sold, generating about $600 million in retail sales. The city attorney’s office estimated that more than 200,000 units have been sold to date in California, generating more than $10 million in retail sales.

“Businesses have an obligation to truthfully disclose the content of their products — whether in the food we eat or the entertainment we consume,” Delgadillo said.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, was part of an ongoing investigation into the marketing of video games, authorities said. The game also spurred several states to crack down on sales of mature-rated games to minors.

Delgadillo is seeking civil penalties from Rockstar Games Take-Two Interactive. He also is requesting that Take-Two and Rockstar take action to ensure full disclosure to consumers about the content of their video games.

FORD PLANTS LOSES IT’S DAMN MIND

DEARBORN, Mich. – The parking lot at Ford Motor Co.’s Dearborn Truck plant just got a little more exclusive.

Plant manager Rob Webber announced Monday that, starting Feb. 1, the parking lot may be used only by employees who drive vehicles built by Ford or one of its subsidiaries.

Webber’s move came the same day Ford announced a restructuring plan under which it will cut up to 30,000 jobs and close 14 facilities by 2012. Ford said the plan is designed to make the company’s North American division, which lost $1.6 billion last year, profitable by 2008.

“It was something this plant manager took upon himself. It’s not a company-wide policy,” Ford spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari said, adding that Webber made the decision after consulting with local UAW leaders.

Jerry Sullivan, president of United Auto Workers Local 600, which represents about 2,600 workers at the plant, applauded Webber’s move.

“Everybody’s in this together. (We need) to buy the products we make and support the company,” Sullivan said. “This is a good place to start.”

The UAW in the past has banished Asian and European vehicles from its parking lots. The restriction at Dearborn Truck, however, may be the first to be sanctioned by an automaker, The Detroit News reported Friday.

The ban applies to both salaried and hourly workers with permits to park on site. About 15 percent of Dearborn Truck employees have such permits. Employees who don’t drive Ford products can still park in an employee lot across the street from the plant.

Those employees will include a veteran skilled tradesman who said he drives a vehicle made by DaimlerChrysler AG because it gives him “the most bang for my buck.”

“They can’t tell you how to spend your money,” said the man, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals. “It’s still a free country.”

QUOTES FROM EMPLOYEE APPRAISAL REPORTS

Since my last report, this employee has reached rock bottom and has started to dig.

His men would follow him anywhere, but only out of morbid curiosity.

I would not allow this associate to breed.

Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap.

When she opens her mouth, it seems that this is only to change whichever foot was previously in there.

He would be out of his depth in a puddle.

This young lady has delusions of adequacy.

She sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them.

This associate should go far – and the sooner he starts the better.

This associate is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.

AOL WINS SUIT AGAINST SPAMMER

By MATTHEW BARAKAT

A man who sent billions of junk e-mails hawking online college degrees, sexually explicit Web sites and “generic Viagra” must pay more than $5 million in penalties to America Online, a federal judge ruled.

Christopher William Smith, of Prior Lake, Minn., was considered one of the world’s worst spammers, operating under the name Rizler. He is now in jail in Minnesota awaiting trial on criminal charges that he violated federal drug laws while operating an online pharmacy.

On Tuesday U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton issued a summary judgment against Smith ordering him to pay $5.3 million in damages and $287,000 in legal fees to AOL, which filed a civil suit against Smith under the Can-Spam act.

AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said Smith “was the poster child for the Can-Spam Act,” which Congress enacted in 2004 to crack down on unsolicited junk e-mail.

“This is someone we’ve been pursuing for three years,” Graham said. “It’s one of the largest judgments we’ve received.”

Hilton issued a summary judgment in favor of Dulles-based AOL after Smith “refused to participate in this case, willfully disregarding … discovery obligations and failing to comply with multiple court orders,” according to the judge’s order.

Court records show that Smith’s lawyers withdrew from the case several months after it was filed.

In addition to e-mails promoting generic Viagra and pornographic Web sites, Smith also advertised cable TV descramblers and penis enhancement pills.

In an initial response to AOL’s lawsuit, Smith’s lawyers denied wrongdoing and questioned the constitutionality of the Can-Spam law.

Graham said that AOL has won tens of millions of dollars in judgments against more than 30 spammers under the federal law and a similar Virginia law.

America Online, Inc. is a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.

Man auctions permanent advertising tattoo on back of neck

A 25-year-old man from Maine is auctioning off the back of his neck as advertising space. The winning bidder can put a permanent tattoo ad on the back of Mark’s neck.
Mark Greenlaw from Biddeford, Maine has ran crazy auctions since the day he started the all famous weirdebay.com but nothing could prepare him for his newest adventure. The 25 year old has decided to offer a permanent advertising spot on the back of his neck to the highest bidder, when sitting down with Mark Greenlaw he had a smile that would make you think he was just your normal crazy guy, in reality he is a very nice guy at age 25.

Mark Greenlaw has three kids ages 5, 3, and 2 his exact words to me were “I am doing this auction to help support my family and if it takes a little pain and a logo on the back of my neck to do so then I will do it.” When asked does it bother you that this company will be branded on you for life? He replied: “Not at all I think it will be fun for both myself and the company, just image the media exposure the company will receive.”

Mark Greenlaw’s auction can be found on the world famous auction site E-bay his user ID is maineelectronics the auction currently has one bid of ninety nine cents but the reserve has yet to be met, The auction still has 9 days and 12 hours remaining as of January 16, 2006 and you can also search for this auction by the auction ID which is 5657013788.

In the auction Mark Greenlaw has stated that a Portland, Maine based radio station WPOR with DJ Joe Lerman will be doing a live interview with him on Wednesday, January 18 and during that interview he will tell the listeners who the highest bidder is and what their company is.

2 Tons of Pot Found in Border Tunnel

Authorities said they discovered more than 2 tons of marijuana in a cross-border tunnel that began near the Tijuana airport and ended inside a warehouse on the U.S. side.

The 2,400-feet long passageway is longer than most of the 21 cross- border tunnels that have been discovered since authorities began keeping track after the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.

“It was like being in a cavern or a cave,” said Michael Unzueta, customs special agent in charge in San Diego.

The tunnel’s discovery prompted the U.S. Attorney’s office in San Diego to open a criminal investigation, said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Mexican authorities found the entrance about 100 yards south of the border on Tuesday, and officers on the U.S. side found the exit Wednesday. Mexican officials allowed reporters and photographers, including an Associated Press photographer, into the tunnel late Wednesday.

The tunnel was about five feet wide and high enough for an adult to stand inside, had a cement floor, and lights mounted on one of the hard soil walls. It was equipped with a pulley system on the Mexican side.

Four tunnels have been discovered this month in the Tijuana-San Diego area, including more primitive tunnel that was also found Wednesday when a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle struck a sinkhole.

Alleged Crack Dealer Uses Business Cards

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – The business cards got a response, but surely not what their owner had in mind when he had them printed up.

They came to the attention of Leavenworth police, who used them to make a drug arrest last week.

Sylvester J. Williams, 21, of Leavenworth, was charged Monday with possessing crack cocaine with the intent to sell it, Maj. Patrick Kitchens of the Leavenworth Police Department said.

Kitchens said Williams remained in custody Wednesday on $75,000 bond.

He said police had heard for some time that Williams had been selling drugs in the area. “Then we heard that he was handing out business cards,” the officer said. “In the course of our investigation we were fortunate to come up with one, and we gave him a call.”

Kitchens said the business card had an image of what appeared to be an alarm clock being hit by a boxing glove and said: “For a quick hit on time call the boss.”

“When he answered, we agreed to buy some crack from him, we went up there, and we arrested him,” Kitchens said.

The arrest was made Friday.

“It makes our job considerably easier when they advertise and let us know where to get ahold of them,” Kitchens said.

Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kansascity.com

Internet brain trust aims to shame spyware makers

Eric Auchard

Internet researchers at Harvard and Oxford universities are seeking to enlist Web users in a program to name and shame suppliers of spyware and other malicious software programs.

The Stop Badware Coalition will seek to spotlight companies that make millions of dollars by tricking Web users into putting spyware, adware or other deceptive software on their machines, said organizers from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard and the Oxford Internet Institute. The multi-year project is financially backed by Google and computer makers Lenovo Group and Sun Microsystems. It is advised by US consumer advocacy group Consumer Reports WebWatch, its backers said.

“This is mostly a highlighting and warning and education project,” said Vint Cerf, one of the pioneers of the Internet who now holds the title of chief Internet evangelist at Google.

Cerf is serving on the advisory board of StopBadware.org.

The coalition aims to solicit reports of malicious software from Web users through its site, StopBadware.org. Then it will issue reports naming offending products and companies in an effort to educate consumers.

Over time, project organizers said, they hope to team up with commercial security software makers to create automated tools to block “badware.”

These tactics seek to go beyond lawsuits and efforts to work with regulators to use the power of publicity to expose what organizers say are the unethical practices of aggressive marketers.

These firms have been criticized widely for spreading software that installs incessant pop-up advertisements on PCs.

Ten Commandments for “Working Hard”

1. Never walk without a document in your hands.  

People with documents in their hands look like hardworking employees heading for important meetings.  People with nothing in their hands look like they’re heading for the cafeteria.  People with a newspaper in their hand look like they’re heading for the toilet.  Above all, make sure you carry loads of stuff home with you at night, thus generating the false impression that you work longer hours than you do.

2. Use computers to look busy.  

Any time you use a computer, it looks like “work” to the casual observer.  You can send and receive personal e-mail, chat and generally have a blast without doing anything remotely related to work.  These aren’t exactly the societal benefits that the proponents of the computer revolution would like to talk about but they’re not bad either.  When you get caught by your boss – and you *will* get caught — your best defense is to claim you’re teaching yourself to use new software, thus saving valuable training dollars.

3. Messy desk

Top management can get away with a clean desk.  For the rest of us, it looks like we’re not working hard enough.  Build huge piles of documents around your workspace.  To the observer, last year’s work looks the same as today’s work; it’s volume that counts.  Pile them high and wide.  If you know somebody is coming to your cubicle, bury the document you’ll need halfway down in an existing stack and rummage for it when he/she arrives.

4. Voice Mail

Never answer your phone if you have voice mail. People don’t call you just because they want to give you something for nothing – they call because they want YOU to do work for THEM.  That’s no way to live.  Screen all your calls through voice mail.  If somebody leaves a voice mail message for you and it sounds like impending work, respond during lunch hour when you know they’re not there – it looks like you’re hardworking and conscientious even though you’re being a devious weasel.

5. Looking Impatient and Annoyed

According to George Costanza, one should also always try to look impatient and annoyed to give your bosses the impression that you are always busy.

6. Leave the office late

Always leave the office late, especially when the boss is still around.  You could read magazines and storybooks that you always wanted to read but have no time until late before leaving.  Make sure you walk past the boss’ room on your way out.  Send important emails at unearthly hours (e.g. 9:35pm, 7:05am, etc.) and during public holidays.

7. Creative Sighing for Effect

Sigh loudly when there are many people around, giving the impression that you are under extreme pressure.

8. Stacking Strategy

It is not enough to pile lots of documents on the table.  Put lots of books on the floor etc.  (thick computer manuals are the best).

9. Build Vocabulary

Read up on some computer magazines and pick out all the jargon and new products.  Use the phrases freely when in conversation with bosses. Remember:  They don’t have to understand what you say, but you sure sound impressive.

10. MOST IMPORTANT:

DON’T forward this to your boss by mistake!!!

Age…

I just found out that a co-woorker is only 3 years older than me, and man I thought they were at least 10-15 years older than me. People sure do age differently….