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Friday, December 19, 2008

The Daily Show's Best Hanukkah Moments

As a midwestern asshole, my understanding of Hanukkah is based solely on the obligatory things they threw into our grade school holiday pageants to make them appear ecumenical. Posted by matt tobey :

Basically candles and dreidels. Which is bad, but spellcheck doesn't even recognize the word dreidel, so who's the jerk now? Luckily, it turns out there are a couple Jews who work on The Daily Show. Who knew? So maybe spellcheck and I can learn a thing or two from this video.


Burger King Unveils Meat-Scented Cologne


KTLA News

December 18, 2008

NEW YORK -- Fast food chain Burger King has released a new body spray for men that, according to its Web site, is "the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled mean."

The body spray, called "Flame," is being sold a Rickey's -- a New York City retailer -- and on the Web for a mere $4.00 per bottle.

"Flame by BK captures the essence of that love and gives it to you. Behold... now you can set the mood for whatever you're in the mood for," the Burger King site proclaims.

Yankees re-arm, introduce Sabathia, Burnett

New York hopes $243.5 million pitching pair can help team back to playoffs

Image: Burnett, Sabathia
Kathy Willens / AP
Yankees pitchers A.J. Burnett, left, and CC Sabathia share a laugh.
Video
New stars in pinstripes
Dec. 18: Sabathia says he has chills at the thought of being a Yankee.

NBC Sports


updated 9:00 p.m. ET, Thurs., Dec. 18, 2008

NEW YORK - Most teams triumphantly unveil a new ace. The New York Yankees presented a pair.

The sign board outside old Yankee Stadium beamed with an unusual message Thursday for a ballpark that already has seen its final game: “LET’S PLAY TWO,” read the top line. “CC & AJ 1 PM TODAY,” said the lower.

For $243.5 million, a lot in most places but a trifle in a city where a financier is accused of swindling billions, the Yankees signed two pitchers they hope will restore the franchise’s glory when it moves across the street to the new $1.3 billion Yankee Stadium next year.


There was a Christmas tree on the mound of the old ballpark, Yogi Berra was walking around and down in the cramped Stadium Club, 11 people were seated on chairs beside the podium. Manager Joe Girardi’s 9-year-old daughter, Serena, presented roses to the wives of CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.

Yankees president Randy Levine called the news conference “one last hurrah” for the 85-year-old stadium, scheduled for demolition starting next summer. Brian Cashman said the teddy bearish Sabathia “lights up a room when he walks in.”

“I hope he lights up a city,” the general manager said.

Disappointed, dismayed and dissed after their streak of 13 consecutive postseason appearances came to an end, the Yankees reversed course after a one-year experiment with young starters and exercised their economic might by finalizing huge contracts Thursday for the two highly pursued pitchers. Sabathia’s $161 million, seven-year deal is the highest for a pitcher. Burnett’s $82.5 million, five-year agreement would be the highest on many teams.

“We learned last year that injuries can happen across the board,” Yankees co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner said. “There’s no doubt pitching is a bit more worrisome, but you’ve got to live year by year and we’re focused on 2009.”

New York has used 51 starting pitchers since its last World Series title in 2000, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, tied for sixth in the majors and third in the AL. Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez, Jeff Weaver, Randy Johnson and Carl Pavano have all come and gone. Many of them were introduced with similar hoopla.

“You can’t stop swinging for the fences,” Cashman said, proudly wearing a World Series ring. “We’ve been here. We’ve done this before. How many times, right? And I’ve got this on my finger from the times where things have worked out. And I’ve got tread on my back from where I’ve been hit by a bus when it didn’t work out.”

Sabathia, wearing two large diamond earrings and more bling on his arm, slipped a large jersey with No. 52 over his dress shirt and Burnett put a trimmer No. 34 top over his. At 6-foot-7, about 300 pounds and with size 15 shoes, Sabathia carries big expectations to go with his big body.

“I’m not the best physique-looking guy,” Sabathia said.

To reel him in, the Yankees dazzled the 28-year-old left-hander with fellow Californian Reggie Jackson, tales of how they had coveted him for more than a year and a provision that allows the 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner to terminate his contract after three years.

Derek Jeter made a recruiting call, and Cashman traveled to Sabathia’s home in Vallejo, Calif., last week during the winter meetings to assure him and wife Amber that New York was a great place to live and pitch. That clinched it.

“Ten minutes after he left my house,” Sabathia said, “I called him and I looked at my wife, I said, you know, ‘I’ll be a Yankee.’ Every time I say that I still get chills thinking about that.”

Sabathia said the addition of a seventh season to the original $138 million, six-year offer was important. His wife said Cashman’s decision to offer the opt-out provision was key.

“When he said that, I said, ‘We’re going to love it,”’ she recalled.

Already, they spent Wednesday looking at houses in Alpine, N.J. The Sabathias intend to permanently move to the area.

They said the one-month gap between the Yankees’ initial offer and Sabathia’s acceptance was partly because they have a new child and partly because he wanted to hear from every interested team. He was concerned New York would withdraw its offer and move on.

“I was worried about the public perception here,” Sabathia said. “I don’t want anybody to think that I didn’t want to come here.”

Burnett seemed to be the wilder personality. He has a Pisces tattoo on his left hand in honor of his two sons. When asked about his trips to the disabled list (10), he interrupted the questioner.

“You don’t have to say the number,” he said.

The 31-year-old right-hander even received a recruiting call from Alex Rodriguez. Last September, Burnett got an unexpected recommendation to sign with the Yankees: from Carl Pavano.

His former Florida teammate, maligned for multiple injuries during his four seasons in New York, spoke with him during batting practice at Yankee Stadium.

“It’s a great place to play. It’s a great place to live,” Burnett said Pavano told him. “I was expecting to hear, you know, different things.”

Playing near his home in Maryland was important to Burnett. So was the chance to win.

“Of course, money had something to do with it,” he added. “How often do you get the chance to put on pinstripes? I mean, whether you want to admit that you love them or hate them, everybody wants to be a Yankee.”

Burnett was looking forward to picking out his locker in the oval clubhouse of the new ballpark, where the pair went to pose for pictures after the news conference. Before heading over, he heard a loud noise from above as he spoke with reporters.

“Get over to the new place quick,” he said. “We’re supposed to get out first.”

Notes: The Yankees still hope to re-sign Andy Pettitte. “He’s still excited about coming back,” manager Joe Girardi said. ... Steinbrenner said it was possible Joba Chamberlain could wind up splitting time as a starter and reliever. Steinbrenner also wouldn’t rule out chances of signing OF Manny Ramirez. “I guess as realistic as any of the other free agents, because we’re looking at all of them,” he said. “We’re just going to have to see what each day brings.”

Jennifer Aniston gives Letterman necktie from her GQ shoot

By Simon Cable and Donna Mcconnell

Jennifer Aniston made it very clear that she and on/off beau John Mayer are very much together as the pair strolled arm-in-arm, in a rare public display of affection in New York last night.

Smiling broadly as she snuggled up to her musician beau, the couple - both dressed in matching blue jeans and black jackets - strolled back to the 31-year-old's New York home after enjoying a dinner date with friends.

The 39-year-old actress looked every inch a woman in love as she enjoyed a break from promotional duties for new film Marley & Me.

Jennifer Aniston

So in love: Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer stepped out arm-in-arm in a rare public display of affection after dining out in New York last night

Jennifer swapped her thigh-high mini dresses for jeans and a biker jacket as she and John enjoyed a romantic night out.

And it was certainly a lot less revealing than the outfit she wore on the previous night when the actress's thigh-high mini dress revealed plenty of her toned flesh when she appeared on David Letterman's U.S. chat show.

Perhaps having just posed naked for a men's magazine, she thought her outfit rather demure.

John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston

Love match: The pair, wearing identical jeans and colour-coordinated tops, were very touchy-feely at the event

In fact her mesmerised host could hardly tear his eyes away from her legs as they chatted about her latest movie, Marley and Me.

Although her dress left little to the imagination, the former Friends actress was not in a particularly revealing mood.

John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston

Lookalikes: Jennifer Aniston appears to have adopted boyfriend John Mayer's dressed down style as they enjoy a stroll after dining out in New York last night

Scroll down to watch the video

Aniston

Baring gifts: An admiring David Letterman could hardly tear his eyes away from Jennifer Aniston's legs during her appearance on his talk show in New York


She became uncomfortable as Letterman fired off a series of questions about her latest boyfriend, guitarist John Mayer.

Enlarge Aniston

Jennifer gave Letterman the tie she wore on her GQ cover

'I think it's all been said at this point,' she retorted.

But Letterman dutifully plugged away, asking why she thought people were interested in her personal life.

'I don't know. Just ask yourself why you asked the question,' Aniston shot back.

The 39-year-old eventually told him that they met at a Hollywood party, but was clearly uncomfortable as the host kept asking more questions.

She attempted to end the conversation by giving short answers and laughing off Letterman's remarks.

Finally, he admitted defeat as Aniston continued to clam up.

'I'm an idiot,' he said. 'I can't even go any further with this.'

But the awkwardness was not over.

The host then ogled pictures of the naked actress writhing with male models in her recent GQ shoot.

Jennifer Aniston

Delighted: Letterman proceeded to put on the necktie to a strip-tease soundtrack

Jennifer Aniston

Helping hand: Jennifer declared 'I'm dressing Dave!'

Jennifer Aniston

It looks better on you, Jen: Letterman attempted to style out the look

The actress, who has appeared naked in several magazines over the years including another cover-shoot for GQ in 2005, shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

She again looked far from impressed as the pictures were held up to the audience.

Just as she couldn't get any more uneasy, Letterman held up pictures of her naked, apart from a man's tie, in her recent GQ shoot. Miss Aniston responded by presenting him with the tie as an 'early Christmas present'.

Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston

Special guest: The former Friends star arrived at the studio in a little party frock

Letterman immediately ripped off his own tie and as his band played strippers' music, put on Aniston's gift.

'Oh this is exciting - I'm dressing Dave!' Aniston said as she helped him. 'This is an historic moment in my career. That was fantastic!'

In the accompanying interview for the magazine, Aniston is a little more forthcoming about her decision to strip down saying: 'I feel more comfortably today than I ever did in my 20s or early 30s.

'I'm healthier. I'm more at peace in my mind and with my body.'

Jennifer Aniston

Earning her stripes: Jennifer on the cover of American GQ


Watch Jennifer Aniston on the Late Show with David Letterman here...


America's Worst Mall Foods!


By David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding
Provided by: Men's Health

It’s that time of year again, when you’re logging more hours than ever at the mall. Blame stress, blame shopping fatigue, or blame the irresistible smell of food-court treats slamming your senses from the minute you walk in the door—whatever the reason, you’ll probably end up chowing down at the mall during your shopping trip.


Here’s the danger: Studies have shown that the more temptation people resist, the harder it becomes to continue resisting. That means after hours of being surrounded by last-minute sales, special offers and life-changing, one-time deals, your ability to resist the enticing edibles of the mall food court may be severely compromised. And considering the industrial-strength calorie bombs we uncovered while researching the Eat This, Not That! series, a lack of willpower in the presence of mall eateries can be a very dangerous thing.

Fortunately, we’ve developed a guide to help you navigate the nutritional pitfalls that pollute nearly every mall food court in America. What follows is a list of the worst foods we discovered in our scramble to save shoppers serious calories in the holiday season. Proceed with caution.

WORST CHINESE MEAL
Panda Express
Orange Chicken
500 calories
27 g fat (5.5 g saturated, 1 g trans)
42 g carbs
810 mg sodium


FAT EQUIVALENT: 9 strips of Oscar Mayer Bacon!

Compared to other traditional Chinese meals (think multi-serving takeout boxes of carb-loaded lo mein), 500 calories doesn’t seem so bad. But consider the source—one small serving of Panda Express orange chicken usually comes with a second entrée (add another 300-400 calories) and a side of rice (add 450 calories if you choose the fried variety, 380 for the steamed). Make it a double serving of orange chicken and a side of fried rice and you’ve just consumed 75 percent of your day’s calories in one moment of weakness.

Eat This Instead:
Broccoli Beef
150 calories
7 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
510 mg sodium
11 g carbs


WORST SNACK
Auntie Anne’s
Glazin’ Raisin Pretzel
510 calories
107 g carbs
4 g fat (2 g saturated)
480 mg sodium


CALORIC EQUIVALENT: 2 slices of Pizza Hut cheese pizza!

It’s hard to consider this meal. Not all of Auntie Anne’s options are this heavy, though. The jalapeno pretzel (without butter) is a reasonable-sized snack that can give you the energy boost you need to make it through your shopping spree, without loading you down and threatening your waistline.

Eat This Instead:
Jalapeno Pretzel, no butter
270 calories
58 g carbs
1 g fat (0 g saturated)
780 mg sodium


WORST SLICE OF PIZZA
Sbarro
Stuffed Pepperoni Pizza, 1 slice
890 calories
g fat: unknown
mg sodium: unknown

CALORIC EQUIVALENT: 3 Snickers bars!

It’s probably no surprise that a pizza labeled “stuffed” would pack a caloric punch—but 890 calories for a single slice? You’d have to eat 3 Snickers bars, or 20 Chicken McNuggets, or 15 KFC Hot Wings to match that load. And that’s not even taking into account what are surely stratospheric fat and sodium counts. (Sbarro’s doesn’t release full nutritional information for their menu items. Check out what other dirty little secrets your favorite restaurants are hiding in this eye-popping expose!)

Eat This Instead!
New York Style Thin Crust Cheese, 1 slice
460 calories


WORST SIDE
Steak Escape
Ranch and Bacon Fries
1,044 calories
71 g fat
1,398 mg sodium
84 g carbs


CALORIC EQUIVALENT: 23 McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets!

Consuming half your day’s allowance of calories in one meal is bad enough—but in one side dish? Claiming innocence will never hold up in a Food Court of Law, though—not when a flood of ranch, a flurry of bacon, and a mountain of fried potatoes are involved. Until some nutritionally savvy company starts baking their fries in the oven, you’ll need to seek out alternative treatments to get your spud fix.

Eat This Instead:
Smashed Potatoes
246 calories
0 g fat
43 mg sodium
53 g carbs


WORST DRINK
Smoothie King
Grape Expectations II (40 oz)
1,096 calories
0 g fat (0 g saturated)
266 g carbs
250 g sugars


SUGAR EQUIVALENT: 13 Dunkin’ Donuts Chocolate Frosted Donuts!

Smoothie King calls this a way to “snack right”; we call it one of the quickest ways to pack on extra pounds. Even if most of the sugar comes from some form of fruit or fruit juice (in this case, ultra-sweet grape juice), the resulting blood-sugar surge (and inevitable energy crash) from this much sweetness may leave you struggling to find that last gift for Aunt Elma.

Drink This Instead:
Slim-N-Trim Orange-Vanilla 20 oz
250 calories
1 g fat (0 g saturated)
46 g carbs
38 g sugars


WORST BREAKFAST
Cinnabon
Regular Caramel Pecanbun
1,100 calories
56 g fat (10 g saturated, 5 g trans)
141 g carbs
47 g sugars


CALORIC EQUIVALENT: 8 White Castle hamburgers

Cinnabon and malls are inseparable. Consider it a symbiotic relationship: Researchers have found that men are turned on by the smell of cinnamon rolls, and further studies have shown that men are more likely to spend money when they’re thinking about sex. But just because Cinnabon might be good for the Gap doesn’t mean it’s at all good for you. This dangerously bloated bun—among these Fattiest Foods in America—contains nearly an entire day’s worth of fat and more than half of your daily allotment of calories. Reconsider your breakfast or snack options, but if you absolutely must eat something, make it Stix.

Eat This Instead:
Cinnabon Stix
379 calories
21 g fat (6 g saturated, 4 g trans)
41 g carbs
14 g sugars


WORST SOUP
Au Bon Pain
Large Macaroni and Cheese Stew with Bread Bowl
1,120 calories
42 g fat (19 g saturated, 1 g trans)
3,070 mg sodium
157 g carbs


SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 22 small orders of McDonald’s French Fries!

Whether it’s made from a giant fried tortilla or a massive hunk of sourdough, if you’re serving vessel is edible, you’re asking for trouble. In this case, the bread bowl adds a belly-building 600 calories to what is already one of America’s most decadent, over-the-top spoonables. If soup’s your thing, you’ll have a hard time keeping the sodium down no matter which bowl you order; good, old-fashioned tomato soup is as good as you’ll do at Au Bon Pain.

Eat This Instead:
Medium Old Fashioned Tomato Soup
200 calories
7 g fat (3 g saturated)
1,150 mg sodium
27 g carbs


WORST MALL FOOD IN AMERICA
Quizno’s
Large Tuna Melt Club with cheese and dressing
1,820 calories
147 g fat (27 g saturated, 1.5 g trans)
2,020 mg sodium
85 g carbs


CALORIC EQUIVALENT: 12 Taco Bell Fresco Style Beef Tacos!

Tuna off the grill or straight from the can is perfectly healthy; tuna drowning in mayonnaise, blanketed in melted cheese, and slicked with oily dressing is decidedly not. Not only does this sandwich carry with it nearly an entire day’s worth of calories and sodium, it also contains as much fat as 49 strips of bacon. In fact, it’s so bad that it will replace Quizno’s Classic Italian in our list of the 20 Worst Foods in America when we update it for 2009.

Eat This Instead:
Small Tuna Melt, no cheese, no dressing
500 calories
33 g fat (5 g saturated)
630 mg sodium
37 g carbs


Plan to have the little ones in tow this shopping season? Make sure they’re eating at the best possible places by checking out our list of the Best and Worst Restaurants for Kids.

Better yet, skip the restaurants now and then, and live off the healthiest staples in the supermarket. You’ll find them here.

Want to learn more about America’s best and worst foods? Sign up for the weekly Eat This Not That! Newsletter.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Looking to avoid colds and the flu this winter? Don't forget to eat these 5 fruits that'll keep you well.

More nutrition, health, and fitness secrets from Men's Health: Subscribe today with this special offer and save 50% off the cover price.

Build wealth, beat stress, and live at the top of your game! Tap the money, romance, and weight-loss power of Best Life. Save 80% off the cover price!

On sale Dec. 30. Order now!

More books in the Eat This, Not That! series:



Buy the book!

For parents and kids. Purchase now!

2008 Men's Health. All Rights Reserved.

Sky says 2012 London Olympics could be in 3D

Europe still isn't the place to be for limitless HD content, but London in particular could be a 3D extravaganza come 2012. The host city for the next Summer Olympics may be coming to your living room like never before, as Brian Lenz, head of product design and innovation at Sky, proclaimed that "there is a very good chance you'll see the London Olympics in 3D." The satcaster has already confessed to filming events in 3D, and given that the wide distribution of the 2008 Beijing Olympics in HD was all the rage, we suppose the third-dimension is the next logical step forward. Mirroring our own hopes and dreams, Lenz stated that what it really wanted was "glasses free technology." Here's hoping we inch closer to that at CES 2009.

[Thanks, Ben]

Want a retired space shuttle? They're up for grabs

In this image provided by NASA the space shuttle Endeavour, fresh from the AP – In this image provided by NASA the space shuttle Endeavour, fresh from the STS-126 mission and mounted …

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's soon-to-be-retired space shuttles are up for grabs.

The space agency said Wednesday it's looking for ideas on where and how best to display its space shuttles once they stop flying in a few years. It's put out a call to schools, science museums and "other appropriate organizations" that might be interested in showcasing one of the three remaining shuttles.

Beware: NASA estimates it will cost about $42 million to get each shuttle ready and get it where it needs to go, and the final tab could end up much more.

The estimate includes $6 million to ferry the spaceship atop a modified jumbo jet to the closest major airport. But the price could skyrocket depending on how far the display site is from the airport. Only indoor, climate-controlled displays will be considered.

"The orbiters will not be disassembled for transportation or storage," NASA insists in its nine-page request for information.

One space shuttle appears headed to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington. The remaining two would be placed in storage at Kennedy Space Center until their final homes are decided.

If a space shuttle is too pricey, NASA is offering some of its shuttle main engines for anywhere between $400,000 and $800,000, not counting shipping costs.

The space shuttles, so you know, will not come with any main engines.

NASA plans to retire Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour by Sept. 30, 2010, in keeping with President George Bush's initiative calling for a return by astronauts to the moon by 2020. A transition team set up by President-elect Barack Obama is reviewing all the options, however, including the possibility of keeping the shuttles flying beyond 2010.

If that happens, then all space shuttle deals are off.

___

On the Net:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/transition

New York City Is Breathtaking Following Google Earth Update

That's not a photo of New York. It's actually many photos of New York, textured on 3D models in Google Earth's latest update. And it's truly nothing short of amazing.

The Google Earth Blog estimates that the new New York City (captured here with Google Earth Pro) has seen an update with hundreds, if not thousands of new buildings. That wild estimate sounds right to us, as here's what the skyline looked like in January 2007:
Sure, this is just one city, but it's a sign of where Google Earth can go. Scratch that, it's a sign of where Google Earth is going. Really, really, really neat stuff (that will be a gloriously mundane commonplace in a few more years). [Google Earth Blog via CrunchGear]

Rare Yenko Camaros to Cross the Block at 2009 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction

Only a few hundred specialty Camaros were built by Don Yenko and his team from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. Since then, they've become some of the most desired Camaros in existence, and next month, four will cross the block at the 2009 Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, accompanied by a Yenko Nova.

When the Chevrolet Camaro debuted as a 1967 model, buyers could only order engines up to 396 cubic inches, putting the car at a disadvantage to the Mustangs and Barracudas of the world. Don Yenko saw an opportunity to provide buyers with what GM would not and began transplanting Corvette engines into Camaros. Soon after, he took advantage of GM's new COPO ordering system to get those big engines installed from the factory. For nearly 15 years, his team built some of the most highly-desired Camaros on the market, and following the sale of the Yenko family dealership and the death of Mr. Yenko, the cars have become highly-sought after collectors items. At the 2009 Barrett-Jackson auction, four original Yenko Camaros will roll across the auction block, along with a Yenko Nova, all released from collector Gary Holub's collection in near-perfect condition. All five cars are being sold with no reserve price.

"Many muscle car enthusiasts and car collectors worldwide believe that the Yenko Camaro defined America's appetite for performance in the late 1960s," said Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson. "Road racer and Chevrolet dealer Don Yenko learned how to manipulate the secret factory 'Central Office Production Order' (COPO) to turn the new Camaro into a formidable competitor to the Ford Mustang and Plymouth 'Cuda. The result was a special run of high-performance Yenko Camaros and later, special versions of the Nova, Corvair, Chevelle and Vegas, that ruled the roads. We're pleased that five of these rare muscle cars from a very special Yenko collection will cross the block at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale."

1981 Yenko Camaro Turbo Z

The first across the block with be a 1981 Yenko Camaro Turbo Z, the last series of Camaros that Yenko would put out. This car is number 10 of only 19 produced and is thought to be the only one with a cigarette lighter. Others had the lighter removed to make room for a boost gauge and water temperature gauge. The car also carries the distinction of being the first ever to win the prestigious Don Yenko Memorial Award, the first car entered in the Official Yenko Turbo Z Registry and featured on the cover of Muscle Car Magazine. Every piece of the car is original except for the battery, though the original battery is included in the sale, along with all of the car's original paperwork. It's powered by a turbocharged 350 cu-in V-8 mated to a four-speed automatic transmission.

1970 Nova Yenko Deuce Coupe

Next across the block will be the 1970 Nova Yenko Deuce Coupe. This car is on of 175 Nova Yenkos built and one of only 25 in Silver. The car features a 350 cu-in V-8 making 360 hp and mated to a four-speed manual transmission. Backed up by a 4.10 posi rear end, the Nova Yenko was meant to escape the attention of insurance agencies raising rates on high-powered muscle cars, as the stock 1970 Chevrolet Nova was much less powerful.

1969 Yenko Camaro

Following the Turbo Z and the Nova are three 1969 Yenko Camaros. The first is one of 30 built in Fathom Green and features a 427 cu-in V-8 making 425 hp. It's backed up by a four-speed manual transmission and features a special hood, dual exhaust system, increased cooling capacity, larger stabilizer bar, special suspension, Hurst shifter and Yenko gauges. The car is a ten-time show winner and has full documentation.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1 COPO

The second '69 Camaro to cross the block is not actually a Yenko, but very similar. Once Don Yenko cracked the COPO program, a few others decided to get in on the action. This 1969 Camaro ZL-1 COPO was ordered by Fred Gibb Chevrolet and was, at one point, owned by baseball star Reggie Jackson. This car is one of 50 built under the COPO program that qualified to run in the NHRA and is one of only 10 built in Fathom Green. To qualify for the NHRA, the car was ordered with an all-aluminum 427 cu-in engine backed up by a three-speed automatic transmission. It also received a special hood, heavy duty springs, heavy duty radiator and a 4.10 posi rear end. In its original form, the car ran a quarter-mile time of 11.08 seconds at 127 mph. The car later had a roll cage and a Ford nine-inch rear end installed and was repainted. In that configuration, it ran the quarter-mile in the 10.4 second range. It was later repainted in its original color and retains all documentation.

1969 Yenko Camaro

The last Yenko across the block is the rarest. It is a 1969 Yenko Camaro personally sold by Don Yenko for use in the NHRA. Only three cars were built and this one is believed to be the only survivor. The car is Daytona Yellow with a black vinyl roof and features a 427 cu-in, 425-hp motor mated to a three-speed automatic transmission. It also features a special hood, increased cooling capacity, a dual exhaust system, special suspension, power steering, a Hurst Shift Gate shifter, a 140-mph speedometer, a larger front stabilizer bar and rally wheels. This car has extensive documentation, including the original paperwork signed by Don Yenko himself. According to Holub, who's owned 44 Yenko cars, it is the most-documented car he's ever seen.

"I've been enamored with Yenkos since I was in high school," said Holub. "My goal then was to own one in my lifetime, but I've been fortunate enough to own 44 Yenkos throughout the years. The five special cars that will be sold at Barrett-Jackson include unprecedented documentation. The Daytona Yellow Camaro, for instance, includes the original Window Sticker and dealer packet from 1969."

If you're fortunate enough to be in Arizona next month, we recommend you get over to Scottsdale for the 38th annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction. This year's event will run from January 11 to 18, 2009 and will also feature a Ford Tri-Motor airplane and the first production 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. If you can't make it to the auction, check in here at Motortrend.com for the results immediately following the show.

by Scott_Evans
Source: Barrett-Jackson

Sharpen Your Sense of Smell and Taste

Every Bite and Sniff

20 strategies to protect your senses as you get older

We all know that feeling of having a bad taste in our mouth, or the way a stuffy nose makes even the most fragrant garlic pizza taste like cardboard. But did you know that our sense of smell and taste naturally declines as we age?

Often the change is so gradual you barely notice it. That wouldn't be a problem, except that it can affect your health -- studies find people with impaired ability to smell and taste tend to follow less healthful diets. It also puts you in danger: Your sense of smell serves as an early warning system for things like rotten food and gas leaks.

Here's how to sustain smell and taste so that every bite (and sniff) tells you what you need to know:

A dry mouth can affect your sense of taste. Drink water regularly.
comstockcomplete.com
A dry mouth can affect your sense of taste. Drink water regularly.
1. Serve food that looks like itself. Forget fancy-schmancy presentation. If you're serving fish, keep it looking like a fish. Your sense of taste is stronger if your brain can connect what you're eating with how it looks.

2. Put on your seat belt. A common cause of loss of smell (which then directly affects taste) is automobile accidents, even low-speed crashes, says Alan Hirsch, M.D., neurological director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. Any impact can shift the brain within your skull, tearing delicate nerve fibers that connect your nose to your brain.

3. Go for a brisk, 10-minute walk or run. Our sense of smell is higher after exercise. Researchers suspect it might be related to additional moisture in the nose.

4. Drink a glass of water every hour or so. Dry mouth -- whether due to medication or simply dehydration -- can adversely affect your sense of taste, says Evan Reiter, M.D., an otolaryngologist at Virginia Commonwealth University's Eye & Ear Specialty Center in Richmond.

5. Shuck a dozen oysters. Among their other benefits, oysters are one of the highest food sources of zinc, and zinc deficiencies contribute to a loss of smell as well as taste.

6. Make a list of any medicines you're taking and ask your doctor about their effect on smell and taste. Hundreds of medications affect taste and smell, including statins, antidepressants, high blood pressure medications, and chemotherapy drugs like methotrexate, also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. If your meds are on the list, talk to your doctor about possible alternatives or lower doses. Don't, however, stop taking your medication or cut your dosage on your own.

7. Stub out that cigarette and make it your last. Nothing screws up the smell receptors in your nose and the taste receptors on your tongue like cigarettes. Long-term smoking can even permanently damage the olfactory (a.k.a., sniffing) nerves in the back of your nose.

8. Eat only when you are hungry. Our sense of smell (and thus taste) is strongest when we're hungriest.

9. Humidify your air in the winter. Our sense of smell is strongest in the summer and spring, says Dr. Hirsch, most likely because of the higher moisture content in the air.

10. Eat in a restaurant or with other people. Dr. Hirsch calls this the "herd response." He cites studies that find that eating in the presence of other people makes food taste better than eating alone.

11. Stay away from the diaper pail and other stinky smells. Prolonged exposure to bad smells (like the sewer plant up the road) tends to wipe out your ability to smell, says Dr. Hirsch. So if you must be exposed to such odors on a prolonged basis, wear a mask over your nose and mouth that filters out some of the bad smells.

12. Add spices to your food. Even if your sense of smell and taste has plummeted, you should still retain full function in your "irritant" nerve, which is the nerve that makes you cry when you cut an onion, or makes your eyes water when you taste peppermint or smell ammonia. So use spices like hot chili powder to spice up your food.

13. Blow your nose and clean it out with saline spray. A simple thing, but it can help, because a blocked nose means blocked nerve receptors.

14. Chew thoroughly and slowly. This releases more flavor and extends the time that the food lingers in your mouth so it spends more time in contact with your taste buds. Even before you start chewing, stir your food around. This has the effect of aerating the molecules in the food, releasing more of their scent.

15. Stick to one glass of wine or beer. Dr. Hirsch's research finds the sense of smell declines as blood alcohol levels rise.

16. Eat a different food with every forkful. Instead of eating the entire steak at once, then moving on to the potato, take a bite of steak, then a bite of potato, then a bite of spinach, etc. Recurrent new exposures to the scent will keep your olfactory nerves from getting bored, thus enhancing your taste buds.

17. Make an appointment with an allergist. Stop trying to treat recurrent allergies or runny nose with over-the-counter products. See an expert. There are a range of lifestyle changes and medications that can have you breathing clearly (thus improving your sense of smell and taste) in just a week or so.

18. Reset your taste for sugar and salt by cutting them out for at least a week. Processed foods have so much sugar and salt that you'll practically stop tasting them if you eat these foods often. Try this experiment: Check the salt content of your favorite cereal, and if it's more than 200 mg sodium per serving, switch to a low-sodium brand for two weeks. Once you switch back, you'll suddenly taste all the salt you were overlooking. Same goes for sugar.

19. Avoid very hot foods and fluids. They can damage your taste buds.

20. Try sniff therapy. It is possible to train your nose (and brain) to notice smells better. Start by sniffing something with a strong odor for a couple of minutes several times a day. Do this continually for three or four months and you should notice your sense of smell getting stronger -- at least where that particular item is involved, says Dr. Hirsch.

Possible da Vinci sketches found on back of oil

Can you see anything? Infrared image shows drawings on the back of Leonardo da Vinci's The Virgin And Child With St Anne.

Can you see anything? Infrared image shows drawings on the back of Leonardo da Vinci's The Virgin And Child With St Anne. (Reuters: E Lambert/C2RMF)

Three sketches possibly drawn by Leonardo da Vinci have been found on the back of one of the master's major works.

Describing the find as "an exceptional discovery", the Louvre museum said in a statement that the drawings were found when da Vinci 1500s oil Virgin And Child With St Anne was undergoing routine examination in the laboratory.

"When taking down the work - an oil on wood - a curator from the paintings department noticed two barely visible sketches on the back, representing a horse's head and half a skull," the Louvre said.

Further examination revealed a third sketch, a Baby Jesus and Lamb.

"This is an exceptional discovery as sketches on backs of works are very rare and there is no known example of one from Leonardo to this day," it added.

The sketches, which are practically invisible to the naked eye, had never been noticed in the past when handling the extremely heavy work.

The work is made of four vertical planks of poplar backed by two horizontal wooden crosspieces.

After noting the presence of the two sketches, the back of the work was sent for further examination and the third sketch seen.

"While the style of the sketches evokes Leonardo da Vinci, research is continuing," the Louvre said.

- AFP

Windsurfer becomes first to test skills in Alaskan waters

Gazing up at the ominous mass of ice above this wind surfer got a little more than he bargained for when he decided to test his skills in the icy waters of Alaska.


Pro wind surfer Florian Jung is the first man to windsurf in Alaskan waters - Windsurfer becomes first to test skills in Alaskan waters
Pro wind surfer Florian Jung is the first man to windsurf in Alaskan waters Photo: BARCROFT MEDIA

Surfing just yards from the unstable 150 metre high walls of the Chenega glacier pro windsurfer Florian Jung became the first man ever to windsurf in the barren wilderness of Alaskan waters.

Facing Arctic winds and water temperatures of just one degree Celsius Mr Jung achieved a life long dream.

"I have always dreamed of windsurfing near a glacier," said the 24-year-old German. "No one else has surfed in front of the glaciers in Alaska before and I wanted to be the first.

"I normally surfs big waves in Hawaii and when I revealed my dream to a surfing friend back in Hawaii, he told me it couldn't be done. So I put my 1972 VW van on the line and off I went."

Flying out to the small town of Whittier in the glacier region of Alaska in August, Mr Jung set about his unusual adventure accompanied by a marine biologist in a boat.

2 of 2 Images
Mr Jung wore a special thermo neoprene-suit to cope with the 1-2 Celsius water temperature - Windsurfer becomes first to test skills in Alaskan waters
Mr Jung wore a special thermo neoprene-suit to cope with the 1-2 Celsius water temperature Photo: BARCROFT MEDIA

He said: "The population there is only 183 and when we arrived they couldn't believe what we were attempting to do."

Measuring one mile in length the Chenega Glacier is highly unstable with giant ice rocks breaking off and crashing into the water almost every half an hour.

"I studied the region and talked to a lot of scientists about the clima-change and what happens with the glaciers there at the moment," said Mr Jung.

"I am used to travelling from one sunny surf-spot to the next.

"When you see a glacier calving it is very impressive – but very dangerous. If an ice rock fell too close to myself or the boat then it could prove to be fatal for everyone."

Mr Jung wore a special thermo neoprene-suit to cope with the 1-2 Celsius water temperature.

Chenega Glacier is a tidewater glacier located in Prince William Sound and on the Kenai Peninsula in the American state of Alaska.

The glacier is a tourist attraction, drawing many kayakers and small cruise lines to Nassau Fjord where the glacier meets the ocean.

World's first flying car on the roads from next year - yours for just £130,000

By Daily Mail Reporter


It's been a pipe dream for 30 years but now the world's first fully available flying car is set to hit the roads next year.

Ever since the Back to the Future movies lit up our screens in the 80s, designers have dreamt of an automobile that could take to the skies at the push of a button.

And now qualified pilots can order their very own Terrafugia Transition 'roadable' plane for just £127,000, with delivery planned for late next year.

Flying car

The Terrafugia Transition 'roadable' plane can be kept at home, with wings folded up, in your garage

The 'light-sport airplane' promises to bring more 'flexibility and convenience to your flying'.

The plane, which has fold-out wings that span 27.5ft when extended, has an airborne range of 460 miles and can cruise at 115mph.

Back on terra firma, it is capable of travelling at 'highway speeds' in car mode.

Fuelling the 19ft long plane couldn't be simpler - you just drive it into a petrol station and fill it up with unleaded.

It is powered by a 100 hp, Rotax 912S, four-stroke engine.

Flying plane

Action! The 19-foot-long plane has an airborne range of 460 miles and can cruise at 115mph

A spokeswoman for designers Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA, said: ‘You can keep your Transition in your garage.

‘Then you simply drive to your local airport, fly up to 460 miles, land, convert and drive directly to your destination.

‘You'll always be ready to drive or fly.’

A series of simple commands made from the cockpit convert the white craft from plane to car and vice versa.

But the wings only fold out if the correct key code is entered by someone with a pilot's licence.

Flying car

Simple: The 'roadable' plane can be filled up at the local petrol station with unleaded

Unlike many 'flying car' concepts which use thrusters to take off vertically, the Transition needs a short runway to take to the air.

The spokeswoman added: ‘Never let questionable weather cancel or endanger your trip again.

‘You can simply divert and continue on the ground until the weather clears.’

You can secure your very own Transition aeroplane by simply paying a deposit of £6,500.

Flying car

Ease: Pilots will be able to drive to the local airport, take off and then fly for up to 460 miles (740 km)

The firm's website, 'Terrafugia.com', says of prospective owners: ‘Your deposit doesn't just reserve your very own roadable airplane, it gives us proof that today's pilot community is ready for this dream to finally become reality.

‘There's no risk to you - only the chance to be the first at your home field to unfold your wings and fly into the future.

‘Production schedules are filling up quickly.’

Tech for Under the Tree

We've picked out a few products that appeared in Technology Review's "To Market" section in 2008 and could make good last-minute presents.

Sony XEL-1

$2,500

The April 2001 issue of TR devoted an entire feature to a new display technology called organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), which left even "grizzled veterans of the flat-panel industry . . . goggle-eyed." By the end of 2006, we were reporting on the increasing use of OLEDs in handheld devices, but as late as April 2007, we were still saying that OLEDs were "limited to use in small displays, such as those in mobile phones."

That changed with Sony's XEL-1 OLED TV. The screen is still relatively small--only 11 inches diagonally. But for some film aficionados, its vivid color, wide viewing angle, low power consumption, and high contrast (unlike LCD screens, OLED screens are capable of true black, rather than the dark gray of a blocked backlight) have been enough to justify its $2,500 price tag.

Livescribe Pulse

$150 with one gigabyte of memory, $200 with two gigabytes

In May 2004, we described a Microsoft prototype of a new type of computer interface: a pen with built-in cameras that could turn handwritten script into digital data. But it was a much smaller company called Livescribe that ended up bringing pen-based computing into the mainstream. The Livescribe pen works in conjunction with paper imprinted with a special pattern, which is detected by the cameras in the pen's tip. The pen has a built-in audio recorder: someone attending a lecture can take notes on the special paper and then later, by tapping a single handwritten word, call up the corresponding section of the recording. The pen can also perform simple arithmetic: write down an equation, and the answer appears on the pen's screen.

A community of software developers has grown up around the pen. Some recent applications include the ability to draw a piano keyboard and "play" it by tapping the keys, and an English-Spanish dictionary that displays the Spanish translation of a handwritten English word on the pen's screen.

Polaroid PoGo

$90 to $100 for the printer, $14 to $16 for 30 sheets of paper

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in early 2008, a Polaroid spinoff called Zink unveiled a miniature, instant photo printer that went on the market in July as the Polaroid PoGo. The printer has hundreds of precisely controllable heating elements, and it uses special two-by-three-inch paper that contains three layers of nanocrystals. When the crystals are heated, they transform into an amorphous glass. Each layer of glass reflects a different color, and the blend of colors is controlled by the duration and temperature of the heating. The printer can connect to a digital camera with a USB cable or to a camera phone over a Bluetooth wireless connection.


GigaPan Imager

$279

The GigaPan Imager is the heart of a collaborative project that involves NASA, Google, Carnegie Mellon University, and Charmed Labs of Austin, TX. It's a robotic camera mount that enables the user to produce multigigapixel panoramic photos by stitching together images taken from different angles. The user uses the buttons on the imager to robotically move the camera so that it frames first the upper left-hand corner of the composite image and then the lower right-hand corner. The robot automatically steps through the intermediate positions, pressing the shutter button with a mechanical arm. The photos are uploaded to a computer, and software fuses them together.

The imager is still in its "beta" release, which means it's not quite as user friendly as it will be--but it's also $100 cheaper. If you're intrigued by the device but want to see how well it works before you buy one, gigapan.org features a large collection of photos produced by GigaPan users.

D+caf Caffeine Test Strips

$10 for a pack of 20

In a 2002 story on innovative biosensors, we wrote that "researchers have long hoped for ways to make cheap and long-lasting artificial antibodies." One of the companies that, in the intervening six years, developed just such a technology was Silver Lake Research, which claims that it can produce antibodies geared to any particular molecular target. Silver Lake has introduced antibody tests that municipalities can use to assess water supplies and that commercial farms can use to look for pathogens in cattle, but the company's first consumer product is a test for caffeine in supposedly decaf coffee and tea. Dip one of its tiny test strips into a fluid sample, and stripes on the strip will change color if the sample contains more caffeine than advertised.

A Way to Spot Cancer Early


Protein pull: A prototype scanner (top) detects cancer-specific proteins present in low concentrations in the blood by capturing them on magnetic sensors and tagging them with magnetic nanoparticles. The heart of the scanner is a silicon chip arrayed with magnetic sensors called spin valves (below).
Credit: Sebastian Osterfeld (top); PNAS (bottom)

A new system for detecting cancer proteins uses the same magnetic phenomenon that lets computer hard drives read and write data. The Stanford University researchers developing the system hope that it will detect cancer in its earlier stages, when it's easier to treat. MagArray, a startup in Sunnyvale, CA, will commercialize the technology.

Well before cancers are visible on medical imaging scans, their cells release small amounts of telltale proteins into the blood. Researchers are developing ways to detect those proteins, frequently by tagging them with fluorescent labels. But while all biological samples have some background fluorescence, they have virtually no magnetic background. Magnetic protein detection could thus yield a clearer signal, says Shan Wang, a professor of materials science and engineering and electrical engineering at Stanford University.

Another approach to early cancer detection involves devices that catch cancer proteins on the tips of vibrating nanostructures and measure how they affect the flow of electrical current. But since the Stanford device exploits a physical phenomenon that is already the basis for consumer electronics, it could prove easier to mass-produce. "This is one of the things that will make this technology a success: there's no need to prove manufacturability," Wang says. "The challenge is to combine it with biochemistry."

Wang's device takes advantage of giant magnetoresistance, a phenomenon that won its discoverers the 2007 Nobel Prize in physics. The device is built on a silicon chip arrayed with 64 magnetic sensors called spin valves. Each valve is coated with a different kind of antibody, a molecule primed to latch on to a particular cancer protein. When the chip is exposed to blood serum, the target proteins stick to the antibodies. Wang then adds a solution of magnetic nanoparticles, also attached to antibodies, that stick to the captured proteins. The magnetic field of the captured nanoparticles measurably changes the resistance of the underlying spin valve, allowing Wang to determine the concentration of cancer proteins in the serum.

In tests where the Stanford prototype scanned for cancer proteins, including a marker of colon cancer, it was two orders of magnitude more sensitive than the standard technique for detecting blood proteins, which uses a similar antibody capture sandwich in combination with fluorescent tags.

The idea of using magnetic sensing for biomarker detection originated with David Baselt, a researcher at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. But the Stanford group's use of magnetic nanoparticles "clearly speeds up the process," says David Walt, a chemistry professor at Tufts University. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Wang's group describes the detection of very low levels of seven cancer markers in serum in as few as 30 minutes. "The results with serum suggest the method has promise," Walt says.

Electronics giant Philips also plans to commercialize a handheld device that uses magnetic nanoparticles next year. The device captures molecules in saliva that indicate drug use and uses magnets to bring them to a simple imager.

But Marc Porter, a chemical-engineering professor at the University of Utah, is confident that magnetoresistance will be an important tool for diagnosing complex diseases like cancer and heart disease, where more sensitive readings of multiple proteins, not just one, will lead to better diagnoses. Along with Utah researcher Michael Granger, Porter is developing a biomarker scanner that works more like a computer hard drive than does Wang's, scanning a magnetoresistant head over magnetically labeled biological samples. Porter and Granger also plan to start a company to get their scanner on the market.

Wang adds that magnetic scanners should be much less expensive than standard biomarker scanners. The instrument that reads the output of Wang's chip is smaller than the optical systems required to read fluorescent signals, and it will probably cost less than $10,000. Other researchers working on biomarker-detection systems that use microfluidics are aiming for even smaller and cheaper systems that can go out into the field. But Wang says that his system will integrate well with existing hospital infrastructure.

Wang says that MagArray is writing up an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to do clinical trials of the cancer scanner in order to compare the blood-protein levels of healthy people and those with cancer. "At this point, the field of biomarkers is still under development," says Wang. "What the relative abundance of biomarkers means is not yet clear."

Plugging a Password Leak

Credit: Technology Review

From a computer-security perspective, the best Internet passwords are long and unique to one website, and contain a mix of letters, numbers, and special characters. Unfortunately, abiding by these guidelines can make logging in to different websites a challenging memory test. Password management tools are one solution for people who can't keep all their passwords straight, but these tools can pose their own security risks. Now researchers have found a way to make some of these systems more secure.

The researchers focused their work on a small but increasingly popular class of password managers created using bookmarklets--browser bookmarks that incorporate JavaScript code to perform a complex task, in this case, automatically logging a user in to a website. After studying six commercially available bookmarklets, the researchers identified a significant flaw: an attacker could fool the tools into revealing all of a user's passwords.

"It's a problem that needs to be taken seriously," says Ben Adida, a research fellow with Harvard's Center for Research on Computation and Society. Adida investigated the problem with Adam Barth, a postdoctoral fellow in computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, and Collin Jackson, a computer-science PhD candidate at Stanford University. Jackson recently gave a speech at MIT outlining the security problem and the team's solution.

Typically, a bookmarklet-based password manager stores passwords for a user's favorite websites on a central server somewhere. The next time the user visits one of those sites, he simply clicks on the bookmarklet to log in. "When the user clicks a bookmarklet, they've indicated that they want to release a password to the browser," says Jackson. "The question is, which one?"

The bookmarklet usually determines which website is currently displayed by checking the URL of the browser window using JavaScript. The password manager then uses that information to determine which password to release to the browser, and the user is automatically logged in.

Adida, Barth, and Jackson found that while each bookmarklet dealt with the details of the operation differently, they all shared one fundamental problem: they couldn't be trusted to know what website the user was actually visiting. With a few lines of code, the tool could be tricked into believing, for example, that the user was at her bank's website when really she was at an attacker's site.

"The attacks that we found worked a little bit differently for each password manager," Jackson says. But all of the six tools analyzed could be manipulated to reveal a user's stored passwords.

Fortunately, Adida and his team found a solution to the problem that was also easy to implement. Instead of checking the browser window's location, they suggest checking another attribute: the referrer header. As long as the bookmarklet uses a standard data transfer protocol known as a secure socket layer (SSL), the header cannot be easily forged.

Of the six bookmarklet companies contacted by the research team, five decided to implement the solution: Verisign, MyVidoop, Clipperz, PassPack, and MashedLife. The sixth company opted to warn its customers about the problem instead of fixing it as the researchers suggested.

"It was a very straightforward fix," says Scott Blomquist, chief technical officer for MyVidoop, of Portland, OR. "It only took a few minutes of developer time." Blomquist describes the vulnerability as "marginal"--noting that few people use the bookmarklet version of their password manager and that the attack would take some time and skill to implement.

Still, it could potentially expose users to significant financial loss. "It's unlikely that some attacker has actually done this," notes Adida, "but if [someone] had, you wouldn't even know." A user might notice that his bank account is empty, but it would be hard to figure out how the attack was perpetrated. "At the end of the day, a lot of this security stuff is a bit like selling life insurance. Most users are just not paranoid enough."

The researchers believe that in the future, there will be an even better solution to the bookmarklet problem: a new browser feature called postMessage. Barth says that the postMessage feature is designed to allow browser windows to transmit information back and forth securely, while accurately confirming the origin of each message. Once this feature is implemented in most browsers, Jackson says, it could be used to transmit passwords between browser frames or windows in a secure fashion.