Chismillionare's recipe of the week

Fig, Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Crostini

Executive Chef Jim Nuetzi recommends serving impressive yet easy-to-prepare delicacies like crostini with goat cheese, fresh proscuitto and fig.

Ingredients (Serves 24)

French Bread Baguette Loaf, Sliced 1/2" thick	24 slices
Goat Cheese	12 oz
Olive Oil	3 Tbsp
Onions, Red, thinly sliced	3 oz (1 small each)
Fresh Figs, cut into wedges 1/4"	6 ea.
Fennel Bulb, fresh, thinly sliced	8 oz
Dark Brown Sugar	1 tsp
Red Wine Vinegar	2 Tbsp
Ginger, fresh, finely chopped	2 Tbsp
Black Pepper, freshly ground	1/4 tsp
Prosciutto, paper thin slices	6 oz
Fig Essence, prepared	2 oz
Chervil (or fresh flat leaf parsley)	1/8 bunch
Water (if necessary; see below)	2 Tbsp

Preparation
1. Slice the French bread into ½ thick rounds, spread out on clean, dry sheet pan and toast under broiler until golden. Turn over each slice and spread a 1/8 inch layer of goat cheese over surface of each slice of bread to crust edge. Lay on a clean, dry sheet pan (or cookie sheet) and set aside.
2. In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil and add the fennel and red onions. Sauté over medium heat for several minutes to bring out the natural juices from the fennel. Stir occasionally to prevent browning. If the fennel becomes too dry and does not appear to be getting tender, add 2 tablespoons of water to the pan.
3. Once fennel is wilted and tender, add the fresh figs, dark brown sugar, red wine vinegar, ginger and black pepper and reduce heat, stirring gently to combine, being careful not to break up figs. Add the fig essence and cook over gentle heat until the mixture is thick and syrupy in texture.
4. Remove fig mixture from heat and store at room temperature until ready for service.

At Service
1. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of fig mixture on each slice of French bread and spread fig mixture evenly over surface to crust edge. Top with a paper thin slice of prosciutto (no larger than the slice of bread), folding in an accordion style if necessary to fit within the crust edge.
2. Place sheet pan in oven and bake at 400° F until they are just warmed, being careful not to dry the prosciutto out.
3. Drizzle the surface of each crostini with fig essence and garnish with a small sprig of chervil.
4. Serve immediately.

AT&T to use Vobile technology to thwart piracy

AT&T (T) may soon beef up its antipiracy arsenal. The biggest U.S. telephone company is considering technology that could give it a heads-up when customers are watching partners' copyrighted video, BusinessWeek has learned. AT&T is in talks with NBC Universal and Walt Disney (DIS) about using the knowhow to guard against illegal distribution of their shows and films.

By embedding the technology, a so-called content recognition system made by tiny Vobile, AT&T could prevent users of its network from distributing or viewing copyrighted material or force them to watch it in ways sanctioned by the content owner. In effect, the company would create a kind of no-piracy zone where studios and producers would feel safe distributing content, knowing they'd be paid for its use. BusinessWeek has also learned that AT&T, NBC, and Disney have invested a combined $10 million in Vobile.

Business Week article

Asus Eee available now for $399

Technical Details

• Ultra-compact notebook with full QWERTY keyboard and 7-inch display
• Powered by 900 MHz Intel Mobile CPU and pre-installed Linux operating system (compatible with Windows XP)
• Over 40 built-in applications for learn, work and play
• 4 GB solid-state flash memory drive; 512 MB RAM; 10/100 Fast Ethernet; 54g Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
• Connectivity: three USB 2.0; VGA output; microphone and headphone; Secure Digital card reader

Buy it here

Breaking Ground on Cellulosic Ethanol

The Range Fuels plant, to be located in southeast Georgia, could be producing ethanol as soon as next year. It's being funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the agency's effort to increase the use of biofuels. The DOE is providing a total of $76 million to the company for the construction of its new plant. At first, it will produce 20 million gallons, eventually increasing that amount to 100 million.

Almost all of the more than five billion gallons of ethanol produced in the United States has been made from cornstarch. But ethanol from cellulosic sources is an attractive alternative because it could potentially require less fossil-fuel energy to produce, and its supplies of biomass are vast. Indeed, if biofuels are ever to displace more than about 10 percent of gasoline in the United States, cellulosic ethanol will be essential. But making ethanol from cellulosic biomass is much more difficult than making it from cornstarch. And the process for converting biomass into biofuels has not been economically viable.

However, Range Fuels CEO Mitch Mandich says that the company can produce ethanol at prices competitive with corn-based ethanol--even factoring in the high capital costs associated with building a cellulosic-biofuel plant. Range Fuels has developed a two-step thermochemical process for converting wood chips and other types of biomass into a combination of alcohols that include ethanol, methanol, propanol, and butanol. In the first step, called gasification, heat, pressure, and steam convert biomass into a mixture of primarily hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This gas mixture, called syngas, is then exposed to catalysts that convert it into alcohols. The process is similar to the Fischer-Tropsch process that has been used for decades to convert coal into liquid fuels.

Article here.

Video of New Research Conducted with PlayStation Eye

+ Posted by Richard Marks // SCEA R&D Manager, Special Projects

Most of you probably already know about the launch of the PlayStation Eye, and hopefully you’re as excited as we are here in PlayStation R&D. By the time products launch, our contribution is usually long past, but this time we wanted to join the fun. So we thought we’d give you an exclusive first glimpse at some of our new research that uses PS Eye.

We grabbed our lab camcorder and filmed some tech demos created by newcomer Anton Mikhailov (he’s the guy playing games in the videos). Anton has been using PS Eye to let users add their own content into games. So far, he’s focused on simple, familiar games (like lunar lander and tank battle) that he can code for PS3 in a day or so. These games are pretty old school, but they become amazingly fun again when you get to add your own content. And when the PS3 adds physics to your content, things become even more fun! (why does everyone keep mentioning Little Big Planet?)

Check out the videos. We filmed them without cuts so you could see how easy it is to add your own content.

Note that these are tech demos, not products. We just wanted to let you see one of our crazy ideas of how the PS Eye might be used in the future. Anton or I will be answering questions, so let us know what you think!

Used condoms winding up in people's hair

From correspondents in Beijing

USED condoms are being recycled into hair bands in southern China and selling well in local markets and beauty salons.

But they could spread the sexually transmittable diseases the condoms were originally meant to prevent, state media said today.

Rubber hair bands had been found in local markets and beauty salons in Dongguan and Guangzhou cities in southern Guangdong province, China Daily newspaper said.

"These cheap and colourful rubber bands and hair ties sell well ... threatening the health of local people," it said.

Despite being recycled, the hair bands could still contain bacteria and viruses, it said.

"People could be infected with AIDS, warts or other diseases if they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while weaving their hair into plaits or buns," the paper quoted a local dermatologist as saying.

A bag of ten of the recycled bands sold much cheaper than others on the market, accounting for their popularity, the paper said.

China's manufacturing industry has been repeatedly tarnished this year by a string of scandals involving shoddy or dangerous goods made for both domestic and foreign markets.

HP Scitex TJ8300/TJ8500

Wow, maybe we should get one of these

just take a look at this monster

jesus. you can buy it here. if you are gonna buy it, for god’s sake go easy on the ink.

that’s a PC on the right. it looks tiny.

Wal-Mart’s $200 PC - sold out

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 4:45 am

About two weeks ago, Wal-Mart began selling $200 Linux-based PC. The initial run was around 10,000 units. Now Wal-Mart is sold out. Has Linux now found a niche?

The system sold by Wal-Mart was an Everex’s TC2502 gPC and is the first mass-market $200 desktop PC. The spec of the system is very low - 1.5 GHz VIA C7 CPU embedded onto a Mini-ITX motherboard, 512MB of RAM and an 80GB Maybe a more relevant question is not whether Linux has found a niche, but whether Windows has outgrown the average user?hard drive - but this doesn’t matter because the system does pretty much everything that your average PC users wants. With the gPC you can surf the web, send and receive email, work with word processor and spreadsheet documents, chat with friends, keep a blog updated, edit photos and pictures, even burn DVDs thanks to the built-in DVD burner. About the only thing that your average home user won’t be able to do with this PC is play games on it.

One thing that interested me about this PC is that it is shipped in a tower case when the components would fit into a much smaller case. I wondered why this was the case until I came across a write-up on Wired:

Even at the low end, however, image is everything. The gPC is built using tiny components, but put inside a full-size case because research indicates that Wal-Mart shoppers are so unsophisticated they equate physical size with capability.

That “Wal-Mart shoppers are so unsophisticated” bit is a tad worrying because I do wonder whether someone who equates case size with capability should be put in charge of a Linux system. The reviews seem pretty positive though. Maybe Wired have underestimate the kind of person who shops at Wal-Mart. Positive reviews far outweigh negative ones. However, the comment that stood out was this:

when you want to jazz it up, just spend 10 bucks for a new linux distro

Interesting comment, eh?

Now here’s what’s interesting about this PC. It doesn’t have what it takes to run Windows Vista, but it has more than enough power to do pretty much everything that users want from a PC. As hardware costs have plummeted, and the power that can be squeezed from components increased, the cost of having Windows installed on such a PC becomes too high a proportion of the cost of components. For example, if you wanted to load Windows Vista Home Basic onto this system (not that I’d suggest that you tried - the PC just couldn’t cope with Vista), you’re adding between $60 and $90 to the cost of the PC (depending on what the vendor pays for an OEM license, if you do it yourself, expect to pay the higher price in this spectrum). In fact, Wal-Mart do sell a similar system with Home Basic pre-installed (this system has an extra 512MB of RAM, a SATA 150 drive instead of an ATA 150 hard drive, and comes with a keyboard and mouse) for $298. Add Microsoft Office to that cost and the price of software doubles the price of the hardware. By installing Linux and OpenOffice, the total cost of the PC is kept as low as possible. While the price of hardware has fallen dramatically, the price of Windows hasn’t. This could be Microsoft’s Achilles’ Heel. This low price point will appeal to many.

Has Linux finally found a niche in which it can compete against Windows or will the interest in these kinds of systems be limited? I think that Linux might well have found a good niche. Sure, these low-end systems will never appeal to those who want power at any cost (and who don’t mind if their systems belch black smoke to achieve that power) but for people looking for a very cheap PC at a rock bottom price (this system is so cheap that I doubt you could build one for as good a price if you added shipping charges for the components into the deal), this must be a pretty irresistible deal.

Maybe a more relevant question is not whether Linux has found a niche, but whether Windows has outgrown the average user?

Best Bear Fight ever caught on Video

Best Bear Fight On Video | Funny Jokes at JibJab

The 25 Most Baffling Toys From Around the World

Featured

By
Chris Bucholz

These are weirdest, most ill-conceived toys from around the globe. If you're about to say that they're "weird" only because of our own xenophobic ignorance of other cultures, well, we have two words for you: Poop toys. You'll see. Surprisingly, not all of these are from Japan. #25. This one is, though. We're used to Japan's superior electronics companies ensuring they get new televisions, video games and cell phones before the rest of us, but who knew they'd get the second coming of our Savior a full three years before the rest of the world. You have to love the fact that they've decided to use the box to point out ways your Jesus Robot can help you get chicks. As if you needed them to tell you. #24. These dolls from Russia quite clearly have both male genitalia and the long flowing hair typically associated with females. We're stumped and aroused. Is it possible they're doll versions of David Lee Roth? Not that it really makes it any better. #23. Playmobil makes little figurines in the shape of hundreds of different professions, but only the Hazmat disposal crew provides children with the stark reminder that mankind's excesses will eventually doom us all. #22. "You see, girls, your father was in the air force. He was an F-15." #21. Why you'd ever feel the need to conceal a USB stick in a doll wearing a bondage mask is beyond us, although it's probably a small blessing that it's not withdrawn via the gimp's ass. #20. Teaching a 3 year old how to clean and prepare a fish used to be a difficult and messy task. No longer! #19. The thing flying out of the toilet appears to be a plastic piece of poop, molded in the traditionally popular swirl-cone shape. Projectile excrement is a popular prank in Japan, and the workplace injuries that result are a major drain on the economy. #18. Shimajiro is the toilet training tiger that swept all over the Web in a video a little while back. When either of the two buttons are pressed, he exclaims a short burst of pro-toilet-training rhetoric. "Crap! Crap like a champion!" and "RRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHH!" seem the likeliest options. #17. What on earth is going on with the right side of this toy? Is that a horse coming out from behind the shield? Is this toy some kind of centaur, or is that shield concealing an unnatural sexual act? There are a lot of questions here, and none of the potential answers is very savory. #16. On the left is a mysterious toy. On the right, a graphical representation of a virus. And, on the bottom is a picture of what can only be a child catching herpes. #15. We're told this is some sort of child's sled, and that thing sticking out of it is a handle, upon which the child can hang on while enjoying an exciting winter adventure. Why? What did you think it was? #14. The closest we can figure is that they're selling a life-sized plush camel, but to make more money they're selling it one body part at a time. This is the head. #13. What better way to market your putter with a golden penis on the tip than with three cute cartoon animals? Just imagine Jack Nicholson coming at you, swinging one of these. Hell, now that we've written it, we're having a hard time thinking about #12. The Japanese have a weird relationship with poop. On the one hand they love it. On the other hand ... there is no other hand. That's why it's weird. #11. This man does not know why he must wear the poop hat. He can only grimly accept his fate. #10. "Hey, what's the deal with that blonde girl talking on the phone over there? I've never noticed her before." "Her?" (looks) "Oh. We don't have to worry about her." "Why not?" "Just because." #9. Stories about dolls that have to go undercover as cats to bust up feline organized-crime syndicates is one of those quirky Japanese things that Western culture hasn't appropriated yet. Yet. #8. And, just as we sometimes adopt and misunderstand certain features of Japanese culture, so, too, do the Japanese sometimes misunderstand ours. #7. Making toilet training fun and approachable is an admirable goal, but this seems like a good way for your child to develop an unnatural affection toward their own waste products. At a bare minimum, the sympathetic "Why me?" faces on the waste products will make flushing the toilet a psychologically jarring event. #6. When designing finger puppets, it's critical to only portray them from the waist up, because as soon as you put legs on them it looks like you're giving your diminutive new friend one hell of a ride. The dazed expression on this particular example only adds to the effect. #5. The Japanese version of the Scooby Doo team is made up of Sadslab, Baby Sauron, Raging Emo, Yellowturd and Soulglutton. #4. We don't care what he says it's for, when a clown comes at you with a syringe, head the other way, quickly. #3. This is a practice stripper poll, that was yanked from toy store shelves in the U.K. last year when some fussy killjoys questioned whether it was a good idea to market stripper poles toward children. #2. Yes, that's a gun that fires teddy bears. Although crime is rare in Japan, when it happens, it is absolutely hilarious. #1. Aside from the ubiquitous LEGO, there's dozens of different building block systems marketed throughout the world. However, none of them are as sexually frustrating as Cock Bloc Super.anything else.

Paper_Rock_Scissors_Who_is_the_true_winner_Pic

Patriots to Use Wind Energy at Gillette Stadium

Even the New England Patriots are going green.

The Kraft Group has reached a four-year deal with Baltimore-based Constellation NewEnergy to purchase renewable-energy credits from windmills for football game days and nights at Gillette Stadium.

Thus, Midwestern wind will supply power to the Gillette Stadium lighthouse, the 612 light bulbs shining on the field, scoreboards and more than 40 concession stands.

The NFL team will purchase enough credits "to match all their game-day electricity needs." Kraft Group President & COO Jonathan Kraft said the deal "could help build awareness that other organizations have an opportunity to make a similar choice for the environment, according to the Boston Globe.

"We are very excited about having sports teams come in because not only can they green their own footprint, they can also get the message out to the many people who get to these venues," said Matt Clouse, director of the Green Power Partnership.

Hammer nail by juggling hammers

Guinness - Tipping Point Commercial

Chismillionaire Deal of the Week

With Chis' out of the office today, I thought I would post on his behalf:

The key here is that this is powered by USB, no fussy powerplugs to deal with

120GB Ultra-Portable USB 2.0 External Hard Drive (Passport Model)

Instantly add portable storage for all your business files, music, videos, and games with a WD Passport Portable Hard Drive. This compact drive weighs only a few ounces and holds tons of valuable data that can be easily shared between office and home, or between Macintosh computers and PCs. Because the drive is powered directly through the USB cable, there is no power adapter to carry. WD understands the importance of the information on your drive so weve designed an elegant and rugged enclosure to protect the 2.5-inch WD hard drive and the data on it. Includes synchronization & encryption, and Google software.



Key Features

Easy - Installation is a snap because you don't really "install" this drive; you just plug it in and it's ready to use. There is no CD to install; the included software loads from the drive the first time you plug it in.

Smart - Powered by the USB bus, so no separate power supply needed.

Ultra-portable - This ultra-portable drive fits easily in your pocket or purse, weighs only a few ounces and holds tons of valuable data.

Synchronized and Secure - WD Sync™ synchronization and encryption software lets you save your critical data, and take it with you. Plug your drive into any PC, edit files, read e-mail, and view photos. Then sync all of your changes back to your home or office computer. (Windows only)

Google™ software - Search your drive, manage your photos, and simplify Web searches with included Google software. (Windows only).

Fast - 5400 RPM hard drive – almost 24% faster than 4200 RPM drives.

Stylish - Elegant glossy black case with soft-touch base.

Compatible - Use with Windows® and Macintosh® computers.

Ideal For

* Carrying important files and e-mail between work and home or on the road
* Sharing large files between office and home, between Mac and PC
* Backing up your existing notebook hard drive for extra data safety.



120GB Ultra-Portable USB 2.0 External Hard Drive (Passport Model)
Specifications
Data Transfer Rate 480Mbps External Maximum USB 2.0
Form Factor External Hot-swappable Portable
Rotational Speed 5400 rpm
Hard Drive Interface USB 2.0
Interfaces/Ports 4-pin USB 2.0 USB
Compatibility USB 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, Plug n Play
Buffer 2MB
Platform Support PC, MAC
Product Line Passport
Dimensions 0.590" Height x 3.14" Width x 5.110" Depth


CLICK HERE FOR PURCHASE

Star Wars - enough said!

Dolphins rescue surfer from shark

A pod of bottlenose dolphins helped protect the severely injured boarder

By Mike Celizic

TODAYShow.com contributor

updated 9:57 a.m. ET, Thurs., Nov. 8, 2007

Surfer Todd Endris needed a miracle. The shark — a monster great white that came out of nowhere — had hit him three times, peeling the skin off his back and mauling his right leg to the bone.

That’s when a pod of bottlenose dolphins intervened, forming a protective ring around Endris, allowing him to get to shore, where quick first aid provided by a friend saved his life.

“Truly a miracle,” Endris told TODAY’s Natalie Morales on Thursday.

The attack occurred on Tuesday, Aug. 28, just before 11 a.m. at Marina State Park off Monterey, Calif., where the 24-year-old owner of Monterey Aquarium Services had gone with friends for a day of the sport they love. Nearly four months later, Endris, who is still undergoing physical therapy to repair muscle damage suffered during the attack, is back in the water and on his board in the same spot where he almost lost his life.

“[It] came out of nowhere. There’s no warning at all.

Maybe I saw him a quarter second before it hit me. But no warning. It was just a giant shark,” Endris said. “It just shows you what a perfect predator they really are.”

The shark, estimated at 12 to 15 feet long, hit him first as Endris was sitting on his surfboard, but couldn’t get its monster jaws around both surfer and surfboard. “The second time, he came down and clamped on my torso — sandwiched my board and my torso in his mouth,” Endris said.

That attack shredded his back, literally peeling the skin back, he said, “like a banana peel.” But because Endris’ stomach was pressed to the surfboard, his intestines and internal organs were protected.

The third time, the shark tried to swallow Endris’ right leg, and he said that was actually a good thing, because the shark’s grip anchored him while he kicked the beast in the head and snout with his left leg until it let go.

The dolphins, which had been cavorting in the surf all along, showed up then. They circled him, keeping the shark at bay, and enabled Endris to get back on his board and catch a wave to the shore.

Our finned friends
No one knows why dolphins protect humans, but stories of the marine mammals rescuing humans go back to ancient Greece, according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

A year ago in New Zealand, the group reports, four lifeguards were saved from sharks in the same way Endris was — by dolphins forming a protective ring.

Though horribly wounded, Endris said he didn’t think he was going to die. “Actually, it never crossed my mind,” he told Morales.

It did, though, cross the minds of others on the beach, including some lifeguards who told his friend, Brian Simpson, that Endris wasn’t going to make it.

Simpson is an X-ray technician in a hospital trauma center, and he’d seen badly injured people before. He had seen Endris coming in and knew he was hurt.

“I was expecting him to have leg injuries,” he told Morales. “It was a lot worse than I was expecting.”

Blood was pumping out of the leg, which had been bitten to the bone, and Endris, who lost half his blood, was ashen white. To stop the blood loss, Simpson used his surf leash as a tourniquet, which probably saved his life.

“Thanks to this guy,” Endris said, referring to Simpson, who sat next to him in the TODAY studio, “once I got to the beach, he was calming me down and keeping me from losing more blood by telling me to slow my breathing and really just be calm. They wouldn’t let me look at my wounds at all, which really helped.

A medivac helicopter took him to a hospital, where a surgeon had to first figure out what went where before putting him back together.

“It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle,” Endris said.

Six weeks later, he was well enough to go surfing again, and the place he went was back to Marina State Park. It wasn’t easy to go back in the water.

“You really have to face your fears,” he told Morales. “I’m a surfer at heart, and that’s not something I can give up real easily. It was hard. But it was something you have to do.”

The shark went on its way, protected inside the waters of the park, which is a marine wildlife refuge. Endris wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I wouldn’t want to go after the shark anyway,” he said. “We’re in his realm, not the other way around.”

International Shark Attack Research Foundation: Learn more about the organization and their work to prevent shark attacks by visiting this site.

© 2007 MSNBC Interactive

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21689083/

Righteous Kill Movie Trailer

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro (in their first team-up since Heat) play two Veteran New York City Detectives on the hunt for a vigilante who may be one of their own. Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino, 50 Cent and John Leguizamo also star. Righteous Kill will hit theaters in 2008.

Thank God its Friday!!!!!!

Thousands of bananas wash up on shore

Wed Nov 7, 2:22 PM ET

Thousands of bananas washed up on two Dutch North Sea islands on Wednesday after at least six containers fell off a cargo ship in a storm and at least one burst open, a local official said.

"I think everybody on the island has a bunch now," said Gossen Buren, a shipping official at the local lighthouse.

A half-mile stretch of beach on Terschelling island, 70 miles north of Amsterdam, was littered with bunches of unripe fruit from Cuba, Buren said. Bananas also washed up on neighboring Ameland island.

Terschelling residents are no strangers to stuff turning up on their beach; a year ago thousands of tennis shoes, aluminum briefcases and children's toys washed ashore, drawing crowds of treasure-hunting residents. Some 20 years ago it was a load of sweaters.

Plenty of beachcombers came early Wednesday for a look, said Buren, "but not as many as when we had the sneakers."

Buren said he hadn't tasted any of the bananas to see if they were salty. "It still looks pretty green," he said.

It wasn't immediately clear what would happen to the bananas. Buren said some locals had suggested sending them to nearby zoos.