Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Would You Let Your Teen Sleep With Their Boyfriend or Girlfriend in Your Home?

Kelly Rossiter Contributor
From http://parentables.howstuffworks.com/

Photo credit: Lambert/Getty Images

The summer my son was nineteen, he said quite casually, that he and his girlfriend would like to sleep together at the cottage, if that was okay with us. I think my husband was a bit surprised, maybe even shocked, but I said yes without any hesitation. When a friend of mine, whose son was also nineteen found out about it, she said she would never let her son sleep with his girlfriend in her house. I replied that Hugh was old enough to drive a car, to drink legally (in Canada), to leave home, and to die for his country, he should be allowed to have sex. She said "But he should have it in the back of a car, like everybody else!"

He was still a teenager, but as far as I was concerned, he was an adult and it was his own business. So what would my cut-off age be? I'm not really sure, but I remember the summer he left to be a camp counsellor at the age of 16 I suggested he take condoms with him. No need, he said, the camp keeps a big jar of them in the staff lounge. Of course, he was going to be out of my sight for two entire months, and it seemed prudent of me to raise the issue with him, rather than pretend he wouldn't have sex, but would I have let him sleep with a girlfriend then? Maybe not. At fourteen, absolutely not, but then he went to a boy's school, so opportunities with girls did not abound, and it was something I didn't actually have to face. Would I have thought differently about this issue if I were talking about my daughter, rather than my son?

There is a new book entitled Not Under My Roof: Parents, Teens and the Culture of Sex by Amy Schalet, who interviewed 130 Dutch and American parents as well as teenagers between the ages of fifteen and seventeen on their attitudes regarding teens and sex in the home. Dutch parents, as it turns out, are much more permissive than their American counterparts. Nine out of ten Dutch parents had allowed or would consider allowing teen sleepovers when the kids reached the age of sixteen or seventeen while nine out of ten American parents say they would not allow it. Researchers say that Dutch teenagers are less likely to have unwanted pregnancies and far more likely to use contraceptives than American teens. They also report fewer STDs in Dutch teenagers than American. Not only that, Dutch kids apparently are less deceptive with their parents, meaning if American kids are having sex, they are more likely to be lying about it to mom and dad.

Ultimately, of course, parents will do what they are most comfortable with, and that may mean never allowing their teenaged children sleep with girlfriends or boyfriends. It's an interesting topic, especially given how sexualized so much of North American culture has become on one hand, and how conservative it has become on the other.

How do you feel about this? Would you let your teenager have a sleepover?

More Great Tips about Sex and Kids

7 Things Every Parent Should Discuss With Their Children and 3 Things They Absolutely Should Not

Breaking News: Teenage Boys Masterbate at Lot. Seriously

On Dating, Car Maintenance and Doing the Right Thing

Seal of approval (warning cute factor exceeds 100%)

From: http://www.thermoblog.com/

Click here for the Full Article: Seal of approval (warning cute factor exceeds 100%)

9 people you don’t want to end up next to on a plane

Posted by Max Steven Miller

From: http://guyism.com/

annoying airplane people 9 people you dont want to end up next to on a plane

It’s the middle of the summer. There’s a whole lot of traveling going on. You’ve either recently been on a plane, are currently on a plane, or will be on a plane in the near future. So, you’re more than familiar with the “seating lottery.” You know, those horrible few minutes when you’re sitting in your assigned seat praying you end up next to a Kate Upton look-alike who smells like a vanilla bean, when in reality, you’ll end up next to one of the following people on this list.

9 The Talker

This one doesn’t look so bad. But from the minute they sit next you, they decide to tell you their entire life story. Which, no matter where you’re going, happens to last the entire flight and doesn’t contain a single bit of interesting information. Oh, thank you for that 90-minute anecdote about how you used to catch crawfish in the creek behind your house with your Pappy when you were a kid. I guess on the bright side, it beats having to sit through the in-flight showing of Arthur.

8 The Comatose

This jerk also seems harmless when he first sits down. That is until he falls asleep within seconds and stays asleep throughout the duration of the flight. And now you’re trapped… in the window seat. Have to go to the bathroom? Too bad! Unless you feel like playing a game of leapfrog to get there. Hope you have some sort of fetish with complete strangers sleeping next to you with their mouths open and their heads resting on your shoulder. Otherwise, it’s going to be a miserable flight.

7 The Armrest Hog

So you made it safely through the seating lottery. You have two people next to you who really don’t seem to be all that bad. For once, you’re going to have a pleasant flight. That’s when the Battle at Little Armrest begins. This person comes in all shapes and sizes, yet they all feel that their elbow is more deserving of armrest space than yours. Worst case scenario is ending up in a middle seat between two of these pricks and having to spend the flight feeling like you’re trapped in a flying coffin.

6 The Terrified Flyer

Ready to relax? Too bad. You’ve got a seat next to the most nervous person on the plane. If the sweat dripping off her brow wasn’t a good enough indicator, the multiple pills she throws back as soon as she sits down should do the trick. She’s gripping the armrests with the kind of confidence that says, “This plane is going down for sure.” In fact, the only time she lets go is to cross herself right before takeoff. You better hope the in flight movie isn’t Castaway, otherwise you might have a nervous breakdown on your hands.

5 The Seat Kicker

Alright, so technically this little bastard doesn’t sit next to you. But you’ll find yourself wishing he did since he has chosen the seat in front of him (yours) as a vertical trampoline. His mom is dead asleep, so you try to calm the kid down yourself, but a lack of discipline in his household has made him immune to these attempts. My suggestion? Close your eyes and just pretend you’re in one of those The Sharper Image shiatsu chairs. You know, if those things came with an ADHD setting.

4 The Short-Shorts/Open-Toed Shoe Guy

You can pretend to focus on that issue of Sky Mall all you want. The Hawaiian print shirt this guy is sporting will grab your attention from the moment he steps on the plane. If that doesn’t do the trick, the obnoxious flip-flopping of his sandals will. When he sits next to you, you’ll notice a pair of the filthiest feet on the planet connected to a pair of hairy legs that single-handedly serve as proof that we are related to primates. The worst part of all is that he has a pair of short shorts on that would make Richard Simmons squeamish. Hope you enjoy climbing over that to get to the bathroom.

3 The Ridiculously Fat Guy

You see this guy coming all the way from the front of the plane. He can barely make his way down the aisle. He’s clipping elbows left and right with his belly and extra arm fat. You begin to rock back and forth in your seat praying he doesn’t cram into the seat directly next to you for the next five hours. But, alas… you get to spend the rest of the flight feeling like a toothpick at the bottom of a bag of marshmallows.

2 The Woman with the Crying Baby

She seems harmless enough. That baby is passed out comfortably on her shoulder. She sits down next to you and all is well. The minute the plane takes off, however, is when the little brat starts bawling its eyes out. The kid sounds like a goat being choked underwater. Good luck getting some shuteye. The crying continues until the minute the plane pulls into the terminal when the kid ultimately passes out again. You would’ve had a more peaceful flight sitting next to Rosemary’s baby.

1 The Sick F*ck

This person is way too easy to spot. She’s the one that looks like she should be in an emergency room, not on an airplane. There’s more snot dripping down her nose then a kindergarten boy’s. Her eyes are puffy and resemble Steve Buscemi’s. This is the worst possible person to sit next to because you’re taking this experience off the plane with you. There is no way you’re going to spend an entire flight next to her and not catch whatever it is that she has. Better take a look around and see if there’s an open seat next to a fat guy in short-shorts who is passed out with his mouth open due to his overuse of Xanax, while his wife talks your ear off and hogs the armrest instead of controlling their kid who is kicking your seat from behind you. You’ll hate human beings afterwards, but at least you’ll have your health.

Michael Jordan Tribute Video ‘Invincible’

http://thehoopdoctors.com/

Quite simply, this mix is the greatest tribute to ‘The GOAT’ Michael Jordan I’ve ever seen on YouTube by an NBA Mixmaster. Back in December 2010 we showed you the trailer for this tribute video by LK12Productions. It will give any fan of the game goosebumps just watching:

3D-printed Mario Kart turtle shells race to rescue American economy

By Sharif Sakr
From http://www.engadget.com/

As soon as you see these little RC Koopa shells, you know that life can't be that bad. In fact, they've already had a hallelujah-inducing impact on the world of the 3D-printing genius who created them. Ten days ago, Michael Curry (aka Skimbal) was among America's 13.9 million unemployed, having been unceremoniously booted out of his ailing architect's firm. All he had was a $700 MakerBot printer to stop his hands from idling, but he made the most of it. MakerBot saw his stuff and were as bowled over as we are, so they just gave the guy a job. We're dusting off our Wii controllers and even those little plastic steering wheels in celebration.

Gizmodo

ThingiVerse

Amazing Pictures Of New York's Next Subway, Under Construction Right Now

Simone Foxman

From: http://www.businessinsider.com/

Image: MTAPhotos on Flickr

The MTA has released new photos of construction on the 7 line extension in midtown Manhattan, which is nearing the end of the heavy construction phase.

Regardless of the controversy surrounding the expensive project, these massive holes in the earth serve as a testament to the marvels of modern engineering.

If all continues to go according to plan, the 7 line will extend to the 34th St.-Penn Station stop as soon as December 2013.

Click here to see photos >

View As One Page

Beavis & Butt-Head & Phish

Start-up to release 'stone-like' optical disc that lasts forever

New optical disc aims for consumer market first, then corporate archives

By Lucas Mearian

From: Computerworld

Start-up Millenniata and Hitachi-LG Data Storage plan to soon release a new optical disc and read/write player that will store movies, photos or any other data forever. The data can be accessed using any current DVD or Blu-ray player.

Millenniata calls the product the M-Disc, and the company claims you can dip it in liquid nitrogen and then boiling water without harming it. It also has a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) study backing up the resiliency of its product compared to other leading optical disc competitors.

Millenniata CEO Scott Shumway would not disclose what material is used to produce the optical discs, referring to it only as a "natural" substance that is "stone-like."

Millenniata's M-Disc is made of a stone-like substance that the company claims does not degrade over time.

Like DVDs and Blu-ray discs, the M-Disc platters are made up of multiple layers of material. But unlike the former, there is no reflective or die layer. Instead, during the recording process a laser "etches" pits onto the substrate material.

"Once the mark is made, it's permanent," Shumway said. "It can be read on any machine that can read a DVD. And it's backward compatible, so it doesn't require a special machine to read it - just a special machine to write it."

While Millenniata has partnered with Hitachi-LG Data Storage for the initial launch of an M-Disc read-write player in early October, Shumway said any DVD player maker will be able to produce M-Disc machines by simply upgrading their product's firmware.

Millenniata said it has also proven it can produce Blu-ray format discs with its technology - a product it plans to release in future iterations. For now, the platters store the same amount of data as a DVD: 4.7GB. However, the discs write at only 4x or 5.28MB/sec, half the speed of today's DVD players.

"We feel if we can move to the 8X, that'd be great, but we can live with the four for now," Shumway said, adding that his engineers are working on upping the speed of recording.

Millenniata is also targeting the long-term data archive market, saying archivists will no longer have to worry about controlling the temperature or humidity of a storage room. "Data rot happens with any type of disc you have. Right now, the most permanent technology out there for storing information is a paper and pencil -- until now," Shumway said.

In 2009, the Defense Department's Naval Air Warfare Weapon's Division facility at China Lake, Calif. was interested in digitizing and permanently storing information. So it tested Millenniata's M-Disc against five other optical disc vendors: Delkin Devices, Mitsubishi, JVC, Verbatim and MAM-A.

"None of the Millenniata media suffered any data degradation at all. Every other brand tested showed large increases in data errors after the stress period. Many of the discs were so damaged that they could not be recognized as DVDs by the disc analyzer," the department's report states.

Recordable optical media such as CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs are made of layers of polycarbonate glued together. One layer of the disk contains a reflective material and a layer just above it incorporates an organic transparent dye. During recording, a laser hits the die layer and burns it, changing the dye from transparent to opaque creating bits of data. A low power laser then can read those bits by either passing through the transparent dye layer to the reflective layer or being absorbed by the pits.

Over long periods of time, DVDs are subject to de-lamination problems where the layers of polycarbonate separate, leading to oxidation and read problems. The dye layer, because its organic, can also break down over time, a process hastened by high temperatures and humidity.

While the DVD industry claims DVDs should last from 50 to 100 years, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), DVDs can break down in "several years" in normal environments. Additionally, NIST suggests DVDs should be stored in spaces where relative humidity is between 20% and 50%, and where temperatures do not drop below 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

Gene Ruth, a research director at Gartner, said generally he's not heard of a problem with DVD longevity. And, while he admits that a DVD on a car dashboard could be in trouble, the medium has generally had a good track record.

But Ruth said he can see a market in long-term archiving for a product such as the M-Disc because some industries, such as aircraft engineering, healthcare and financial services, store data for a lifetime and beyond.

Millenniata partnered with Hitachi-LG Data Storage to provide M-Ready technology in most of its DVD and Blu-ray drives. Shumway said the products will begin shipping next month and should be in stores in the beginning of October.

Hitachi-LG Data Storage's M-Disc read-write player.

"We felt it was important that we first produce this with a major drive manufacturer, someone that already had models and firmware out there," Shumway said.

Unlike DVDs, which come in 10-, 25-, 50- or 100-disc packs, M-Discs will be available one at a time, or in groups of two or three for just under $3 per disc. Millenniata is also courting system manufacturers in the corporate archive world.

"We're working with some very large channels as we train their distribution networks to launch this," he said. "At the same time, we're launching this at Fry's [Electronics] so consumers can see it and be introduced to this technology."

4 Days Old And Already Badass

AIDS: USC Says Prof Pin Wang Has Invented 'A Virus That Hunts Down HIV-Infected Cells'

By Dennis Romero
From http://blogs.laweekly.com/

Sometimes the best way to catch a mouse is the natural way -- with a cat.

Using that philosophy, it seems, USC chemical engineering Professor Pin Wang might have just hit one out of the park. The university announced today that he "created a virus that hunts down HIV-infected cells."

You read that right. A living thing that preys on another living thing (but one we don't care for). Of course, it's a little more complicated than that:

Wang's "lentiviral vector" virus doesn't actually eat or destroy HIV-infected cells, but it does mark them for the kill, accomplished by drugs that can then better target them for destruction.

As is, HIV drugs can destroy healthy cells too. USC:

The process is analogous to the military practice of "buddy lasing" - that is, having a soldier on the ground illuminate a target with a laser to guide a precision bombing strike from an aircraft.

In the lab, Wang's virus has been known to destroy 35 percent of HIV-infected cells. Not a cure yet, but not bad at all.

'I Love Trash' Documentary Covers The Art Of Dumpster Diving

From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

I Love Trash

The new film 'I Love Trash' is a documentary that follows two friends as they live for three months by getting everything they need out of the trash. They arrive at an unfurnished apartment with the clothes on their back and a flashlight, and we slowly see them decorate their apartment and make clothes from things they've found in dumpsters. The film is a compelling journey of two friends as they make a life out of what others throw away, calling into question our society of consumption. Watch a preview below, and watch the whole documentary here.

A Look Into: Better Typography For Modern Websites

By Jake Rocheleau

from http://www.hongkiat.com/

Digital text can be formatted in so many flavors. With the further advancement of web fonts and browser scripts, we have seen new project code for developers to utilize. Web designers, too, are looking for the best strategy to code their websites and build a uniform typographic style between all of their pages.

Plenty of professional web designers have written on the topic including updated features and services. You have to consider each web page as a singular document breaking off your root layout design. Under this view it’s easy to see how typography can flow from page-to-page and offer a unique outlet for creativity. And this becomes especially apparent building unique classes for your paragraphs and headings.

creative paper typography styles A Look Into: Better Typography For Modern Websites

Below I’ll be going into some fantastic ideas for aspiring typography designers interested in building for the web. Blogs, social networks, and businesses are always looking to update their current website. And CSS styles for web typography provide an excellent source to begin refreshing your pages.

Differences in Today’s Internet

The modern web has advanced dramatically since early 2000. There are loads of new features for web designers to create fantastic works of graphic design, logos, banners, and practically anything else. The release of HTML5 and CSS3 specifications have also taken their toll on the old way of building web fonts.

It is now entirely possible to include your own fonts with the CSS @font-face property. You can use any TrueType(.ttf) or OpenType(.otf) file and store a copy locally on your server. Then with some CSS3 magic include the family anywhere on your webpage!

font face A Look Into: Better Typography For Modern Websites

Under this technique alone it’s possible to see how developed our modern Internet has become.

And with jQuery growing in popularity every day it’s no surprise we can build astounding animation effects coupled with custom fonts. As an alternative to the method above the TTFGen plugin for jQuery lets you include any TrueType font onto your webpage.

jquery ttfgen A Look Into: Better Typography For Modern Websites

This method is a bit more reliable since you don’t need a modern browser supporting CSS3 standards to make it work. But of course legacy browsers such as Internet Explorer 6 will struggle to render properly.

But thank goodness most users have switched over to newer browsing software that do support these standards! And when you’re developing for the web you should consider exactly who your market is for. You can’t please everybody all the time, but you can sure try to get close enough.

The Purpose of Digital Typography

Sort of a strange idea to consider, but what is the real purpose of digital text? To convey information, share sources, and offer your opinion to the world of Internet users. Text is the most simplistic form of media for sharing thoughts and ideas. But it’s also very complex and contains major details that photos/videos just can’t use.

Your visitors are likely to find your website based on keywords in your text or headings – just another reason to pay careful attention to your web copy. And once you’ve gained some attention to your website you need to hold onto their concentration. This is most easily done with bold headings and even-spaced page text.

bold headings A Look Into: Better Typography For Modern Websites

If you’re writing an article or tutorial then you need to use clear language. It’s equally as important how your page text looks and the quality of your content. The larger your text appears the easier it’ll be to read and scan for keywords. And since paragraphs will contain the majority of your content, you should spend a lot of time prototyping for the right fit. Paragraphs are used to convey your message in bit-sized chunks broken down into sentences. Understand how you write and plan ahead to get a fitting page layout.

Additionally with your page text comes media and secondary content. If your paragraphs contain primary information, maybe you have graphs or imagery to spice up the page. These accents are just the right touch keeping users moving through your site.

Videos and images are able to break up your content and make it seem like readers are moving faster through your article. But use these items sparingly and don’t let anything overwhelm your core message. Users are (mostly) coming to your site for information and don’t want too many distractions.

All of the other formatting options are used to specify functionality or purpose. For example, hyperlink text is often a different color from the rest to stand out as “clickable”. You may work with bold or italicised words adding emphasis into your sentences. And the use of blockquotes or preformatted text can help to delineate fundamental statements or web code, respectively.

Webpage Headers

One of the most important assets to your web typography are heading tags. If you’re unfamiliar with HTML headings range from

to

with the former holding the most importance and latter the least. This markup is useful to understand since Google also ranks your domain and web pages based on content structure. Thus you ultimately have control over which keywords you use and what tier of headings you would require.

Even though the standard HTML5 specification includes up to 6 different heading styles, I would recommend using between 3-4. It’s not necessary to include them all in your pages. And it’s also highly unlikely you’ll find a use for 6 different headings. When first sitting down to build your styles try drafting a few examples for headings to see what you like.

Photoshop is excellent for this scenario. You could also try coding out different headings in HTML to see how they look in browser. What’s important is to work with your page flow and design headings according to their rank.

For example, your

tags should standout the most among all your page headings.

and

are the most popular tags and recommended by Google for crawling page content. Using design effects such as bold font, underlines, dashed borders, or different colors will help your titles jump off the page.

Spacing is also important when it comes to headings, or any piece of your content for that matter. Make sure you add additional margins between your headings and main content area. If you’ve made your font large enough, each heading should stand out as it’s own core block. This look is ideal if you want to grab your readers’ attention with a clear message.

Building Unique Hyperlinks

There is plenty to say on the topic of page links. One way or another you’ll have to use hyperlinks in your code. They are extremely important as the main navigation interface between different pages on your site. You may also link to other blogs or even your archived blog posts for reference at a later date.

You should pick the holding text for your link very carefully. This is the specific content which will be accented by a link style. For example "click here" is very popular and used for direct downloads most of the time. Try to avoid this systematic approach and instead get a bit creative with your hyperlink text. Your visitors are much more likely to click a link if they can also recognize context and maybe figure out what the new page will contain.

When going to style your links you should consider the following – how changes would look in your page setup, what type of background color are you working on, and what color is the text for contrast?

building hyperlinks A Look Into: Better Typography For Modern Websites

Links should appear blatantly off the page as click-able items – after all, that is their function. This is why the old blue with underline text effect works so well. But if you find that an alternate color works better you should try it out. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for link designs. Just browse around the web a bit and you’ll surely put together something outstanding.

hyperlinks A Look Into: Better Typography For Modern Websites

One point of interest is a few features you should try avoiding. Things such as changing the text font family or font size can be very annoying. This will cause the text to distort and move, which may place the mouse cursor just out of the link zone. In a similar manner you should avoid adding extra margins/padding to your links or hover effects. These work much better when you stay simple. A color change or added underline goes a long way in user experience.

Construction of Styled Lists

Chances are good you’ll have to also work with lists at some point. Included is both ordered and unordered lists in HTML. These are perfect for offering a small collection of ideas, products, people, or links online in a very small amount of space. Styling isn’t all that different than paragraphs or headings, either.

Your visitors should understand immediately that they are looking at a list of items. Keep each list item separate and located on a new line in your page. Add some extra space between them, if possible. This will give some breathing room and appear as a nice breakup for article text. If you’d like you can even bold the font or indent lists a bit to stand away from the standard layout margins.

taming list A Look Into: Better Typography For Modern Websites

Adding additional features to help your list stand out isn’t a requirement. But if you enjoy the block-layout style it really holds focus on your lists. You could try adding a light background or icons. A List Apart has a great writeup on taming lists which I think includes some very powerful tidbits of knowledge. But if you’re keeping page content linear and using list blocks only when needed, you shouldn’t run into any design setbacks.

How to Create In-Page Quotes

The appearance of quotations and citations are very limited these days. In the early web you wouldn’t see very much of these elements in use. Perhaps in editorials, essays, or educational papers. But HTML5 has certainly updated the rules a bit which makes citing blockquotes a whole lot easier.

blockquotes A Look Into: Better Typography For Modern Websites

The HTML5 Doctor website includes a fascinating resource for discussing this exact topic. They discuss the use of content inside blockquotes as appearing internal to the document structure. So you can include headings, paragraphs, and even lists and footers, too. The main use of a

tag would be to seclude your sources or citation. The new HTML5 blockquote element includes an attribute cite. You could add a website address into this value citing where you found an original quote working within web semantics.

To design your standard blockquote element doesn’t take too much creativity. Forum software has often used a great system for quotes with an embossed background and indented division. You’ll also often see quotation marks used as a light background image to spice up the block element.

blockquotes 02 A Look Into: Better Typography For Modern Websites

Quotes are frequently used in web pages to pull out content even from the current article and have it stand out among the rest of your text. Use this effect to repeat important information and drill it into your reader’s subconscious.

Using Custom Webfonts

It’s possible through today’s technology to work with fonts not installed on your visitor’s machine. You can include a few lines of script to update your website working with almost any type of font you wish. There are a few services online which let you do this. The most popular is easily Google Web Fonts which you gain access to under a free Google Account.

As an alternative typekit is a fantastic competitor which does offer a free plan. Your page should be pulling under 25k pageviews monthly and will only have access to their trial library of fonts. The highest member access is full library which would cost $49/year on unlimited websites.

I’ll be walking you through a quick setup of both starting first with Typekit.

Typekit

To get started first register your free account. If you’re sure you want to spend money feel free to register under another plan, however for this demonstration a free account is more than enough. After a few pages you’ll be directed to enter your site name and URL.

If you’d like to go live with your script then enter your root domain URL with no http://. You can also offer localhost if you’ll be testing on your machine.

typekit A Look Into: Better Typography For Modern Websites

Once that’s all set you’ll be redirected to a page where you can grab the web code. Only 2 lines of JavaScript are required into your page header. When this is all set hit their fonts page and start choosing your library. When you click on a font a new window will appear. From here it’s possible to play around and include additional options for your new font family. This includes options such as bold, oblique, light, and many others.

For your CSS styles Typekit will automatically create a selector. By default this is a class type which includes the font name prefixed with “tk-”. So for example using Sovba I would simply include the class tk-sovba onto any page content. You’re also allowed to add new selectors specific to your page stylesheet.

All you have to do now is include this class somewhere into your page. Refresh and make sure you’ve cleared your cache if nothing appears right away. It can take up to 5-10 minutes for their servers to update your list as well. For all WordPress users they offer a free typekit plugin which makes including your fonts a lot easier.

Google Web Fonts

Web Fonts is another great service provided by Internet search giant Google. They offer a huge collection of fonts online absolutely free. But notice their service behaves slightly different than TypeKit, and actually works a little easier.

You are initially greeted with a wall of text and many different font families. You should choose the fonts you wish to include in your website at first and add them into a single collection. Be conservative with your choices since it does take a lot of bandwidth and loading time to include each resource from Google’s servers.

google webfont A Look Into: Better Typography For Modern Websites

Try to limit yourself to using 1-3 fonts at most, 5 maximum. Once you’ve chosen your fonts Google will offer you 3 different embedding styles:

Classic CSS,
@import CSS, and
JavaScript include

The @import works great directly inside your main stylesheet. This will clear up a lot of room in your header as well, most notably since Google’s include statement would be moved elsewhere. I wouldn’t recommend the JavaScript code since it’s very lengthy and a lot slower than either CSS style. But notice how Google does not create default selectors and classes for you.

Instead you’re given the fonts as possible properties for your font-family attributes. Most of the time you can include your font as-is with regular single quotation marks.

As an example including the font family Varela Round would work as such: font-family: 'Valera Round', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;

This is one particular reason I enjoy Google’s service over Typekit. Not to say that Typekit is lacking in options or usability tactics. But Google has the power to offer many more type faces and you can choose which classes/IDs will get to display them. As a web developer you are given more creativity and fluid motion to build as you see fit.

Conclusion+Resources

Out of the many topics we’ve covered here I hope there are a few to spark your interest. Webpage typography is an extremely important part to any user experience. The Internet is a growing platform for building powerful web applications and communicating with anybody worldwide. These resources are not only free, but have vast support groups by techies everywhere.

If you’re looking for more in-depth content to cover I’ve shared a few of my favorite links below. These include tutorials and some fantastic articles showcasing interface design related to typography. And designing for the web creates a whole new atmosphere to engulf your users in a rich and creative layout.

FBI's Child ID app helps iPhone users find their missing children

By Amar Toor
From http://www.engadget.com/

The FBI has just released its very first mobile app, aimed at helping parents deal with their worst nightmare -- a missing child. Known as Child ID, the application allows users to store their kid's photos and identifying information directly on their handsets, making it easier to provide authorities with vital data whenever the little one disappears. Parents can also use the tool to dial 911 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children with the tap of a button, and can instantly e-mail their child's details to law enforcement officials, thanks to a dedicated tab. Of course, some may feel uncomfortable with keeping such personal information stored on a smartphone, but the Bureau insists that none of the data will be collected or shared without authorization -- and they're pretty good at keeping secrets. For now, Child ID is available only for iPhone, though the FBI plans to expand it to other mobile devices in the near future. Interested iOS users can download it for themselves, at the iTunes link below.

TUAW

FBI

Britney Spears with Nicki Minaj - Femme Fatale Tour - Live at TD Garden - Boston - August 8, 2011

Nicki Minaj - Super Bass - Live at the TD Garden

Britney Spears - Intro - Hold It Against Me - Live at the TD Garden

Britney Spears - 3 - Live at the TD Garden

Britney Spears - Piece Of Me - Live at the TD Garden

Britney Spears - BIG FAT BASS - Live at the TD Garden

Britney Spears - Gimme More - Live at the TD Garden

Britney Spears - Baby One More Time - into - S & M (Rihanna Cover) - Live at the TD Garden

Britney Spears - Trouble For Me - Live at the TD Garden

Britney Spears - I'm A Slave 4 U - Live at the TD Garden

Britney Spears - I Wanna Go - Live at the TD Garden

Britney Spears - Womanizer

Britney Spears - Ninjas & Toxic - Live at the TD Garden

Britney Spears - 'Till The World Ends - Remix with Nicki Minaj - Live at the TD Garden

Monday, August 8, 2011

VIDEO: 15 of the biggest, baddest, most ludicrous poker hands in the world

By Ali Plumb
From http://www.asylum.co.uk/

Now we don't pretend to be poker experts here at Asylum, but we do love a friendly game every couple of weeks or so.

Normally it's just an excuse to eat our bodyweight in Pringles, drink approximately a gallon of beer (each) and vent our frustration with each other in the form of red and black bits of card.

But recently, our love of the good old-fashioned game of poker has extended from the lazy casual meet-up every once in a while to searching for the biggest and best hands of Texas Hold 'Em YouTube has to offer – every other day.

Somehow, we managed to unhook ourselves from the tractor beam-like pull of Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Sam Farha (or whoever you like most, really) on everyone's favourite video site and get on with our lives...

...until now. Pulling together our favourite bad beats, big bluffs and all-out uber-lucky mega-hands, we've got approximately loads of clips to show you today, all of them table-slammingly exciting/mad/lucky (delete as appropriate). In other words... enjoy – you may be some time.

QQ vs. KK vs. AA vs. 77 vs. 55

AA vs. KK vs. KK

KJ (suited) vs. AA

87 (suited, in the dark) vs A3

AA vs. AA

A4 vs. KJ vs. 99 – AQ9 flop

27 (offsuit) vs. K10

27 vs. KK

92 vs. 98 vs. AJ

A4 vs. 99

35 vs. 98 – 835 flop

AJ vs. KK – 3Q10

AA vs. KQ vs. AK

K5 (diamonds) vs. A8 (clubs)

AA vs. 109