Lifestyle13

Yahoo! has been struggling financially with announcements in the past week that they’d be laying off about 1,000 workers.

Now Microsoft is making a $44.6-billion offer to buy Yahoo!

A U.S. spy satellite that can no longer be controlled could hit the Earth in late February or early March.

Link

 28 year old actor Heath Ledger was found by his housekeeper and masseuse on his bed this afternoon in his Manhattan apartment.

Foul play is not suspected. Ledger  received an Academy Award nomination for his work in “Brokeback Mountain.”  Ledger plays The Joker in the upcoming Batman film.

He was the father of a two year old daughter. 

From the first time I saw Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, I knew he reminded me of someone I’d seen before.  I couldn’t put my finger on it, though.  It was driving me nuts.

Then it hit me.  I knew exactly who he looked like:

Mitt Romney looks like Guy Smiley from Sesame Street.

In fact, I’ll go one step further.  I think Mitt Romney IS Guy Smiley. 

What’s my proof?

Has anyone ever seen them in the same room at the same time?

I swear sometimes I think, you need a license to catch a fish, but no license needed to raise another human being.  There are some parents out there that make me shake my head and think…why????

A 28 year old mother of a 13 year old in California has been arrested for providing nitrous oxide, aka laughing gas to her son and a group of students that would ditch school and go to her house to get high with her.  They would fill the balloons with the gas and inhale.  She’s been booked for investigation of multiple counts of child endangerment and contributing to the delinquency of a minor and her son was placed in protective custody. 

According to Business Week lying is on the rise.  Nearly 25% of almost 2,000 employees state they have observed their co-workers or companies lying to customers, workers, suppliers or the public.  That’s an increase of 19% over just a couple years ago.  The industries that came in tops for lying…hospitality and food, arts and entertainment, recreation and wholesalers. 

This reminds me of one of my favorite movies,  Liar Liar, with Jim Carrey.  It’s a funny but sweet story!

Comparing polls taken in 2005 and 1958, cars, motorcycles and auto accessories remain the most popular gift choice for Christmas.    This year… a car or plasma TV topped the list of a recent ABC News poll of just over 1000 adults.  Other popular responses: money, computers, vacations and jewelry.

What I get out of this survey is most people want what they know they probably are not going to get from someone else, just because of budget issues.  I think we all would like to give high end gifts, but most of us can’t.  Let’s face it. 

Miriam Webster announced the word of the year for 2007.  The winner…the internet video gaming term “w00t.”  A representitive from the leading dictionary publisher says “w00t’ is used to describe a feeling of triumph, similar to “woohoo” or “yay” or can be used for no reason at all.  The term “w00t” is traditionally spelled with two zeros in the middle instead of o’s which is a common trait among computer gurus.

According to a study from the State University at New York,  men and women kiss for different reasons. Women kiss to assess a potential partner, to establish and monitor the status of their relationship and evaluate the level of commitment of the man.  Men kiss to gain sexual favors and to make up after a fight.

Girls, did we know that all that was going on when we are kissing our man?

On this same subject did you ever wonder how kissing got started?  Some anthropologists believe that kissing evolved from sniffing.  We have powerful musk glands right underneath our eyes and each person has a distinct smell.  Kissing got started by people smelling each other and they would rub across the nose that evolved into kissing on the lips.

This week, Yahoo announced the top searches in 2007 .

Yahoo press release:

SUNNYVALE, Calif., December 03, 2007 – Yahoo! today announced the Top Trends in Search, as told through the billions of searches in 2007 conducted by millions of Yahoo! searchers around the globe. Yahoo!’s Top Trends in Search reveals a portrait of a culture on the brink of political breakaways, celebrity breakdowns, technological breakthroughs, environmental action, sporting errors and final farewells to popular icons.

“Searches can give us insight into a culture in motion and Yahoo!’s Top Trends in Search in 2007 reflects the world’s fascination with crossroads and breakthroughs. People weren’t just buzzing about celebrity. More than ever they sought to be environmentally responsible, were using the Web to find out about food and product safety and getting the scoop on the latest gadgets,” said Heather Cabot, Yahoo! Web Life Editor.

Top Trends in Search in 2007

News Stories – top 10 news stories

1.      Saddam Hussein

2.      Iran

3.      Iraq

4.      President George W. Bush

5.      Oil and Gas prices

6.      Barack Obama

7.      Hillary Rodham Clinton

8.      San Diego Fires

9.      Afghanistan

10.    Virginia Tech

This year, the availability of footage of Saddam Hussein’s final moments caused searches for him to soar making the late Iraqi leader the most searched figure in the news of 2007.  In addition, the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan propelled buzz throughout the year. With the ongoing diplomatic situation with Iran and visit from the Iranian president, Yahoo! users searched for more information on Iran than Iraq this year.  Among the Presidential hopefuls, who embraced the Web in larger numbers this year, Democratic contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton once again drummed up a large number of searches.

Grass is Always Greener – top 10 environmental searches

1.      Recycling

2.      Global Warming

3.      Freecycle

4.      Earth

5.      Pollution

6.      Al Gore

7.      Environmental Protection Agency

8.      Live Earth

9.      Hybrid Cars

10.    Solar Energy

2007 may go down as the year people stopped talking about the climate crisis and actually did something about it.  Yahoo! Searches found that people searched for ways to help the environment, on a global and personal level. Al Gore’s, “An Inconvenient Truth,” won an Academy Award and brought global warming to the fore-front. Also, “Freecycle.org,” a social networking approach to local recycling, emerged as a hit to consumers that sought to exchange used goods in their neighborhoods. 2007 saw searches about global warming and energy-saving cars reach their highest levels ever.

Celebrity Downslides – top 10 troubled stars

1.      Britney Spears

2.      Paris Hilton

3.      Anna Nicole Smith

4.      Vanessa Anne Hudgens

5.      Nicole Richie

6.      Amy Winehouse

7.      Rosie O’Donnell

8.      Tara Conner

9.      Michael Vick

10.    Owen Wilson

This year, Yahoo! searches kept up with the twists and turns of troubled Hollywood stars with Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith at the top. Traffic violations drove socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie to jail, and Lindsay Lohan went to rehab numerous times. The story of Anna Nicole Smith and her unexpected death resulted in a great spike in searches and Vanessa Ann Hudgens, the Disney star of “High School Musical”, became even more popular following her photo scandal.

The Year of I, You and Wii – top 10 in tech

1.      YouTube

2.      Wikipedia

3.      Facebook

4.      iTunes

5.      iPod

6.      iPhone

7.      Nintendo Wii

8.      Xbox

9.      Sony PlayStation 3

10.    Guitar Hero

In 2007, a cell phone had people camping on the doorsteps of local wireless stores. Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs, introduced the iPhone at MacWorld in January. From that moment on, searches on Yahoo! soared as people clamored for the latest gadget from the company who also brought us the infamous iPod. Nintendo’s Wii had a similarly seductive quality. The game console debuted in late 2006, amidst predictions of a stiff competition from the Sony PlayStation 3 and the new Xbox. However, gadgets and games weren’t the only things pushing tech to its limits - 2007 was also the year that presidential candidates en masse appealed to their citizenry through the Internet. Technology wasn’t so much breaking new ground, as it was entering into a new maturity.

Tag, You’re It – top 10 on del.icio.us

1.      Design

2.      HDTV

3.      Games

4.      Music

5.      Web 2.0

6.      Video

7.      Ubuntu

8.      Travel

9.      Photography

10.    Mac

Creativity and creation marked the 2007 searches on social search and bookmarking site, del.icio.us (http://delicious.com), which serves as the “shared Web memory” for millions of technologists, librarians, journalists, and others who enjoy staying on the cutting edge of what’s new and interesting in technology and society. The pursuit of design took the top spot among the millions of del.icio.us users, who shared and tagged Web pages and articles on how to groom a website and tinker with typography for maximum effect.

Recalling the Recall – top 10 consumer call-backs

1.      Pet Food Recall

2.      Fisher Price

3.      Thomas the Tank Engine

4.      Dog Food Recall

5.      Menu Foods

6.      E. coli

7.      Food Poisoning

8.      Toy Recall

9.      Peanut Butter recall

10.    Topps

In early spring of 2007, reports of poisoned dog food spurred frantic searches about the pet food recall. For weeks, pet owners examined every brand of food to gauge its safety, and some resorted back to homemade recipes just as a precaution. Toy recalls, bearing the likeness of Thomas the Tank Engine and Fisher Price, suddenly spiked in searches due to the discovery of lead based paint in their products.  Ultimately, the commanding search of food safety-related searches such as Menu Foods, E. coli, and Topps, surged to the top in an effort to stay informed. As companies’ spot-testing measures and governmental agreements worked to restore consumer confidence, searches of these issues and additional recall announcements continued.

Elementary Deductions - top 10 searches on Yahoo! Kids  

1.      Games

2.      Animals

3.      Dinosaurs

4.      Math

5.      Hannah Montana

6.      Solar System

7.      George Washington

8.      Halloween

9.      Sally Ride

10.    Global Warming

This year, kids ages 7–12 showed their environmental consciousness as they searched on topics of global proportions and endangered animals.  Global warming was among 2007’s top 10 searches on Yahoo! Kids. Although math topped the list of the most-searched school subject, science was also popular, with related searches on dinosaurs and the solar system remained high on the list among both boys and girls.

Hits, Runs and Errors – top 10 sports news

1.      NASCAR

2.      Maria Sharapova

3.      Boston Red Sox

4.      David Beckham

5.      Serena Williams

6.      Chicago Bears

7.      Christiano Ronaldo

8.      Super Bowl

9.      Ronaldinho

10.    Ashley Force

2007 featured several buzz-worthy sports searches, with Nascar at number one, continuing to be an American favorite.  Searches showed that Maria Sharapova was very hot this year, and Serena Williams’ triumph in the Australian open after a series of injuries made her a favorite of Yahoo! searchers.  In a final ode to joy, the Boston Red Sox capped the year with a fantastic finish to the baseball season.

Final Farewells – top 10 send-offs

1.      Harry Potter

2.      Anna Nicole Smith

3.      The Sopranos

4.      Rosie O’Donnell

5.      Gilmore Girls

6.      The OC

7.      Barbaro

8.      Richard Jeni

9.      Iwao Takamoto

10.    Captain America

In 2007, we said goodbye to a number of favorite characters, both real and fictional. Harry Potter, Hermione, and Ron, the creations of author J.K. Rowling, all of which whom earned the most fare-thee-well searches of 2007, and making it the final chapter of the young wizards’ adventures.  Anna Nicole Smith’s tragic passing intrigued many fans to search for her throughout the past year.  In that curious intersection of real and fictional worlds, the assassination of comic-book character, Captain America, who was gunned down after defending his civil liberties, was too laden with symbolism to ignore. His death provoked a strong search reaction, although plans for his legacy continue to be in the works.

To find out more about the top trends in Yahoo! Search go to http://buzz.yahoo.com/toptrends2007 or search for “Top Trends 2007″ on yahoo.com.

 

Motorcycle daredevil of the 1970’s, Evel Knievel,  died today. He was 69.  He was in failing health.   Knievel was best known for an  attempt that failed to jump Snake River Canyon in 1974 on a rocket-powered cycle.  Knievel had suffered nearly 40 broken bones before he retired in 1980.

Today is the annual Great American Smokeout .

Good luck to all who try to quit smoking today!!  I’m an ex-smoker, going on 22 years now and it can be done and after a short time, you will stop thinking of yourself as a smoker.  The same way you were before you took that first cigarette in hand.  It can be done!

An MSC Napoli container ship washed up BMW motorcycles, gearboxes and windscreens on the Branscombe Beach in East Devon.  People were using anything they could to pull the parts off the shore. The beach had to be shut by police after the roads leading to it became full of looters who came to Devon from all over Britain hoping to grab some parts for themselves.  The most valuable taken, BMW motorcycles which were wheeled straight off the beach.

It turns out all the parts can legally be kept by their finders as long as they file forms declaring their salvage to Sophia Exelby, the Receiver of Wreck.  BMW’s insurers have written off the loss because it would be too difficult to try to collect all the parts and check them for seawater or other damage.  BMW has offered to buy back the motorcycles for a salvage fee and is still negotiating with those who declared them.  They are worried the bikes may be unsafe and want to buy them back so they can destroy them. 

“BMW have issued a statement to all finders pointing out that these parts are listed as damaged on the BMW parts database and should not be used or sold and that liability for them now rests with the finders. “At present, we do not have any plans for prosecutions in relation to Napoli recoveries.”