Barcode Scanner Bins Make Recycling Fun For Nerds

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for recycling, but it's the process I'm not so thrilled about. For bottles and newspapers things are fairly simple, but there is a whole grey area that makes knowing what is appropriate for recycling more complicated. The Barcode Trashcan offers a high tech solution that utilizes the product barcode to help sort and separate items.

Many recyclables feature a number value that denotes whether it can or can not be recycled. When scanned, these bins read that number and the corresponding can opens for your convenience. Unfortunately, the only real benefit I see in this concept is that I would spend less time thinking about which bin to throw my beer bottles into. The real tough recycling questions generally don't have a barcode slapped on the side. So, it appears that I will have to continue utilizing the woods and trash dump runs under the cover of darkness to deal with those issues. [Yanko Design]

Gordie Howe hat trick

In ice hockey, a Gordie Howe hat trick is a variation on the hat trick, wherein a player scores a goal, gets an assist, and participates in a fight in a single game. It is named after Gordie Howe, who was known for both his scoring ability and his truculence. Despite the feat being named after him, Gordie Howe only ever recorded one "Gordie Howe hat trick" during his career on December 22, 1955 in a game between the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins.

The Gordie Howe hat trick is not a widely recognized formal statistic. The San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Montreal Canadiens are the only teams in the NHL that record their franchise's Gordie Howe hat tricks.

Thirteen people injured in shooting at Northern Illinois University

Several people have been shot at Northern Illinois University, according to information heard Thursday afternoon over a police scanner and from eyewitness reports.

University Police posted a message on the school's Web site by 4:14 p.m. saying the gunman was “no longer a threat” and “the immediate danger has passed.” Northern Illinois University police say a gunman who opened fire inside a lecture hall, injuring several people. The Associated Press is reporting that the shooter is dead.

NIU sophomore Zach Seward, 20, was in Room 101 of Cole Hall when the shooting took place. About 90 students were in the class at the time, he said.

A white male in a black hat and black hoodie opened the side door on the stage in the lecture hall, then pulled a shotgun, pumped it and just started firing at people at about 3:05 p.m. Seward said it seemed there were no intended targets.

“I didn't hit it was real. It was just a normal day of lecture hall,” he said.

Seward said he ducked and ran out of the room, thinking that he thought he could get shot in the back.

“You see this kind of stuff on TV and you never think it would happen to you,” he said. “I don't think I could ever go into that classroom again.”

Seward said he later spoke with students who had stayed in the classroom. They told him the shooter later took out a pistol and continued shooting.

Shane Pope, 21, a junior studying in finance, said the shooter “came in the side stage door on the stage where the teacher was talking and unloaded with a shotgun right into the front row. Everybody put their heads down and ran out, and he just kept shooting. ... It was the scariest thing ever. It was right at 3:05 because I was thinking about cutting out of class early to go have a beer - I should have.”

Kishwaukee Community Hospital spokeswoman Sharon Emanuelson said that 13 people from the shooting had been treated at the hospital. Most had gunshot wounds to the head. At least one was airlifted to a hospital in Rockford, and two additional helicopters were waiting on site in case they were needed, Emanuelson said.

The hospital expects 15 to 20 people to come from the shooting, Emanuelson said. No fatalities had been reported by 5 p.m.

Phone lines in DeKalb reportedly were jammed by 4 p.m.

As of 3:45 p.m., two shooting victims were being tended to at nearby Neptune Hall, a student residence hall. Shortly before 4 p.m., another victim was pulled out of Cole Hall, according to eyewitness reports. The northern door to Cole Hall was smashed, according to eyewitness reports.

Police have established a perimeter around Cole Hall, and 15-20 emergency vehicles were in the area.

A Daily Chronicle photographer on the scene reported five people have going by on stretchers. Blood was apparent and obvious, the photographer said.

At least two people are reported down in DuSable Hall, and one person was shot in the head, according to eyewitness reports. It could not be confirmed if it was from a gunshot.

Emergency services personnel have been called in from throughout DeKalb and Kane counties to help with the situation.

A university spokeswoman said at 3:10 p.m. she had just heard about the shooting and could not immediately comment on the situation.

At 3:20 p.m., the university posted a campus alert on its Web site.

“There has been a report of a possible gunman on campus,” the alert read. “Get to a safe area and take precautions until given the all clear. Avoid the King Commons and all buildings in that vicinity.”

Shortly afterward, they posted an announcement that classes were canceled for Thursday night. Authorities reportedly secured the scene as of 3:25 p.m.

At 4:31 p.m., the Web site posted asked all NIU students are asked to call their parents as soon as possible. Classes have been canceled for Friday, according to the university.

Counseling is also available on campus for students at the Neptune Dining Hall, Campus Life Building 100 and the Psychological Services Center in the Psychology/Computer Science Building. Students may go to any residence hall for counseling.

AVG Anti-Virus plus Firewall

• 100% virus detection — AVG’s scanning engine has received numerous awards for its excellent detection of “in the wild” viruses, including the VB100% award. Its unique combination of detection methods provides full protection against viruses, worms and trojans.
• Full on-access protection — The powerful AVG Resident Shield provides maximum protection by scanning every file opened, executed, or saved. It also prevents the opening or executing of infected files.
• Flexible intelligent scanning — The AVG Resident Shield can include/exclude files from being scanned based on individual file extensions and can handle exceptions for potentially unwanted programs such as adware.
• Full e-mail protection — AVG checks every e-mail sent or received, providing full protection from e-mail-borne threats. AVG supports all leading e-mail clients, including MS Outlook, The bat!, Eudora, and all other SMTP/POP3-based e-mail clients, such as Outlook Express. Encrypted connections using SSL are also supported.
• Automatic threat handling — AVG can automatically heal or remove infected files and other threats such as trojans and worms.
• Control over all network access — The AVG Firewall monitors all communication to and from the computer, blocking external attacks and preventing trojans from exporting confidential data. The AVG Firewall configuration wizard automatically creates access rules for all popular software. In addition the firewall can switch profiles automatically, based upon the current connection type, ensuring seamless changeover for notebooks.
• Powerful scheduling — AVG automatically provides recommended daily schedules for scanning and updating, and also allows you to create custom-scheduled events.
• Multiple language support — No need to buy a special language version.

DOWNLOAD

Savage Meat Cleaver Murder of New York City Therapist

New details in the bizarre case of the murder of a New york therapist by a meat cleaver-wielding lunatic have emerged including the strange items left behind by the killer. Sources say police discovered knives, rope, duct tape, women’s clothing and adult diapers abandoned by the pudgy-faced murderer after he slaughtered 57-year-old Kathryn Faughey in her upper East Side office. A visibly rattled resident in the building reported hearing screams of “No one is helping me! No one is helping me!” by the suspect during the crime. While an undoubtedly horrifying crime, do you think the “Law and Order” writers have already begun a script based on the incident?

FOX Sportscaster Josh Booty Tased

FOX Sportscaster Josh Booty, yeah that’s his real name, went ballistic after police arrested him early this morning for DUI.

Sources say Booty was so uncooperative they had to use “less than lethal force” to contain him.

“Booty was belligerent and uncooperative,” said Orange County Sheriff’s spokesperson Jim Amormino

After being tased, Josh fell to the ground, hitting his head and cracking it open. He was taken to a hospital where he was stitched up.

We guess police don’t like out-of-control bootys.

Report: Zach Thomas to be cut

According to ESPN, the Dolphins plan to cut longtime linebacker Zach Thomas, whose 2007 season was truncated by a concussion and migraines. One of only three players to record at least 100 tackles in each of his first 10 seasons, Thomas is a seven-time Pro Bowler with a number of friends on the Patriots. He’s contemplating retirement, though according to the ESPN story, he’d consider playing for a team with a chance of winning it all.

Considering the need the Patriots are going to have for linebacker depth, Thomas could be an intriguing option. He turns 35 in September.

Jane Fonda: you can't say that on television

Jane Fonda used some colorful language on the this morning's Today Show. I sure hope they did some serious clearance work to make sure that Jane could drop the "C" word on television. Otherwise, the FCC is going to have to raid their studios and put Matt Lauer in a head lock. Of all the four letter words -- and there are some juicy ones out there -- c*nt is on the short list of words I try to forget, so I never accidentally say it on national TV.

Hydrazine

Hydrazine is the chemical compound with formula N2H4. It is widely used in chemical synthesis and is a component in some rocket fuels. With an ammonia-like odor, hydrazine has a liquid range and density similar to water.

Leon Czolgosz

As a young man, Leon Czolgosz (1873-1901) worked in a wire mill in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a good employee, retaining his job even through an economic depression. In 1898 he suffered a breakdown, and returned to the family farm. He made trips to hear the anarchist leader Emma Goldman speak, and approached several anarchist groups, who rebuffed him. In 1901, Czolgosz moved to Buffalo, New York, site of the Pan American Exposition. There, in a receiving line on September 6, he shot President McKinley two times. Czolgosz--who gave his name to police as Fred Nieman, or Fred Nobody--later stated in reference to his decision to assassinate McKinley, "I didn't believe one man should have so much service, and another man have none." After a brief trial, Czolgosz was convicted. He was executed on October 29, 1901.

MRN Radio wins seven NMPA Awards

The National Motorsports Press Association held their annual Awards Ceremony on Sunday, January 20 and MRN Radio earned multiple honors.

Motor Racing Network (MRN Radio) – The Voice of NASCAR, won seven awards in four different categories. The awards were won by the network as a whole, with three individuals being sited for their efforts, as well.

In the Long Form Radio category, Live Event Director Ryan Horn won Third Place for the “Road to the Nextel Cup” which aired during the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Awards ceremony in New York City. In the Short Form category, Producer Marty Hough won Second Place for “NASCAR Live.”

MRN Radio took two of three awards in the Spot News category. Producer Marty Hough won First Place for “NASCAR Live” and Co-Lead Anchor Joe Moore won Third Place for “NASCAR Today.” Both shows are long-time staples of the MRN Radio Network heard throughout the country on a majority of their 750 affiliates.

For the Live Event category, MRN Radio earned two of three honors. They were awarded First Place for the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. That race featured a last-lap chase to the checkered with Jamie McMurray winning by .005 seconds over Kyle Busch. The network also won Third Place for the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in October.

The prestigious Broadcaster of the Year Award is the one saved for last. And, MRN Radio represented with Producer Marty Hough winning Co-Broadcaster of the Year honors.

“It is always a testament of the people, professionalism and dedication that MRN puts forth in every aspect of our programming when it’s recognized by your peers,” said MRN President David Hyatt. “Each week, we strive to do the absolute best in our live events and programs for our listeners. I am very proud of the fact the NMPA recognized our team’s efforts and awarded our network accordingly.

“We are especially proud of our producer Marty Hough being named a Co-Broadcaster of the Year. It’s good to see someone’s hard work, talent and dedication being recognized.”

MRN Radio, which has been broadcasting NASCAR events since 1970, is the primary source for NASCAR stock car racing and related radio programming. Their award-winning play-by-play coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series is delivered via satellite to over 700 radio stations nationwide plus the American Forces Radio Network.

MRN Radio is the largest independent sport radio network in America. For more information on MRN Radio, visit www.mrnradio.com. MRN Radio is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Speedway Corporation, a leading promoter of motorsports activities, currently promoting more than 100 racing events annually; as well as numerous other motorsports-related activities. For more information, visit the Company’s Web site at www.iscmotorsports.com.

Storm Worm - Worst Virus Attack

The Storm worm authors are waging a multi-pronged attack and generating the largest virus attack some researchers say they’ve seen in 2 years.

“We are basically in the midst of an incredibly large attack,” said Adam Swidler, a senior manager - security company Postini. “It’s the most sustained attack that we’ve seen. There’s been nine to 10 days straight days of attack at this level.”

Swidler said in an interview with InformationWeek, the attack started a little more than a week ago, and Postini since then has recorded 200 million spam e-mails luring users to malicious Web sites. Last Thursday, however, the company tracked 42 million Storm-related messages in that day alone. Before this attack, an average day sees about 1 million virus-laden e-mails, according to Postini. As of Tuesday afternoon, Postini researchers were predicting they would see that day between 4 million and 6 million virus e-mails — 99% of them associated with the Storm worm.

While the number of spam e-mails has dropped significantly, it’s still far above normal levels, so Swidler isn’t ready to say the attack is over.

The viruses is not embedded in the e-mails or in attachments. The e-mails, many of them otherwise empty, contain only a link to a compromised Web site where machines are infected with a generic downloader. This helps pull the computers into the malware authors’ growing botnet, while also leaving them open for further infection.
(read all: informationweek)

RCA DTA800 Digital Converter for Analog TVs Updated, Delayed

We kinda forgot all about this little box for old folks with old TVs that was announced way back at CES and promised by the end of this year. It's got a fresh paint job and later street date (January), dropping a little more than a year before analog broadcasts shutdown in 2009 in favor of all-digital broadcasts, which your TV can't pick up if it's not digital—unless you have this digital converter box or one like it. If you don't wanna roll down to Best Buy for a new TV, you can knock $40 off the DTA800 and keep on trucking with your grandma TV.

Kathryn Faughey, NYC Psychologist Hacked to Death

Police in Manhattan’s Upper East Side have identified the 56 year old psychologist who was hacked to death with a meat cleaver as Dr. Kathryn Faughey. Her office is located on East 79th Street and she is said to reside in a home across the street. Composite photo of assailant available at the end of this post.

The psychologist was attacked on Tuesday night, and one of her colleagues, Dr. Kent Shinbach, 70, sustained serious injuries while trying to help her ward off the male suspect. The staff psychiatrist was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill/Cornell.

Faughey was a licensed psychologist, practicing cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses on changing feelings and behaviors. The male suspect, apparently one of her patients, was said to be very deranged, and the murder weapons were likely a meat cleaver and knife, both found at the scene. The knife was severely bent.

Police were summoned by a building doorman at 9:00pm Tuesday night. The scene was said to be blood soaked and totally trashed. The assailant reportedly told the doorman that he was coming to see Dr. Shinbach. He chatted with another patient in the waiting room and then entered Dr. Faughey’s office. Dr. Shinbach found her there after she had been assaulted, and was then attacked by the same assailant, who reportedly had three weapons.

The suspect escaped from the basement of the building. He is described as middle aged with blonde hair. We will provide more details as they emerge.

Dan Burton

Danny "Dan" Lee Burton (born June 21, 1938), American politician, is a member of the United States House of Representatives for Indiana's 5th congressional district, which includes most of the northern suburbs of Indianapolis as well as the southern fringe of the Fort Wayne area. A Republican, his first term in the United States Congress began in January 1983. He was elected to his twelfth term in November 2006.

Burton's district includes Tipton, Grant, Miami, Wabash, Huntington, Hamilton, and Hancock counties, and parts of Marion, Shelby, Howard and Johnson counties.

In 2008, he faces a challenger in the Republican primary: John McGoff, who by April 2007 stills trails Burton in cash on hand. Burton is the only one of Indiana's nine members of congress to face a primary challenger.

The Real World: Philadelphia

The Real World: Philadelphia is the fifteenth season of MTV's popular reality television series The Real World, which focuses on seven diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships. The Philadelphia installment began filming in April 2004,[1][2] and premiered September 7 later that year.[3] This was the fourth season to be filmed in the northeastern United States, after The Real World: New York in 1992, The Real World: Boston in 1997 and The Real World: Back to New York in 2001.

American Idol: Top 24

TOP 12 GIRLS

1. Gina Glocksen
2. Melinda Doolittle
3. Haley Scarnato
4. Alaina Alexander
5. Antonella Barba
6. Jordin Sparks
7. Lakisha Jones
8. Stephanie Edwards
9. Leslie Hunt
10. Sabrina Sloan
11. Nicole Tranquillo
12. Amy Krebs

Top 12 Boys:

1. Chris Sligh
2. Sundance Head
3. Blake Lewis
4. Brandon Rogers
5. Rudy Cardenas
6. Sanjaya Malakar
7. Phil Stacy
8. Chris Richardson
9. Nick Pedro
10. Paul Kim
11. A.J. Tabaldo
12. Jared Cotter