Spain Ranked Fourth, May Be Excluded

CNN: LINK

Since we’re on the topic  of sports. Fuck you, Peter Forsberg.

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) — Spain are threatened with possible expulsion from this year’s European Championship because of the government’s demands upon the national soccer federation. UEFA spokesman Gaillard, right, warns that Spain could face FIFA sanctions because of government intervention.
“It’s by no means an empty threat,” William Gaillard, a spokesman for European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, told The Associated Press. “I think FIFA would sanction Spain if there is no agreement.”
The Spanish government asked all sports federations not competing in this year’s Olympics to hold elections before the Beijing Games in August. The Spanish soccer federation, however, doesn’t end its four-year term until November.
“It’s not up to a government to tell a federation when to hold elections,” Gaillard said. FIFA, world soccer’s ruling body, can ban teams from international competition. It “is a very powerful weapon, so governments do give in,” Gaillard said. “FIFA has the utmost respect for national laws,” FIFA said by e-mail. “But if you are a member of an organization, and you agree to adhere to its regulations, then you must do so.” FIFA also said it would not let Spain off easy because they are among the best teams.
“We do not look at the ranking or status of a member association when determining if it should be suspended or not,” FIFA said. “In 2006, the current European champion Greece was suspended.”
Should Spain be excluded their absence could open the way for qualifying group rivals Northern Ireland to be handed a surprise slot in the finals. Spain, ranked fourth, is not the only country facing such problems, but it is the only one that could be suspended from June’s continental championship in Austria and Switzerland. “FIFA’s rules regarding elections are 100 percent compatible with Spanish law and with its electoral processes,” Spanish Sport Minister Jaime Lissavetzky said. “The truth is I don’t see anything to the contrary.” his month, FIFA warned Albania it could be suspended, provisionally lifted a suspension against Kuwait, forced Turkey’s government to accept independent soccer statutes and monitored elections for soccer officials in Iran, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Burkina Faso. FIFA also said it was working with soccer officials to hold elections in the Central African Republic, Indonesia and Palestine, and resolved a government interference case in Peru. Other cases are pending in Cyprus, Dominica and Togo.

I Am Attracted to Elijah Wood.

Yo Gabba Gabba! is a Children’s television series created by Christian Jacobs (alias The MC Bat Commander) and Scott Schultz. Yo Gabba Gabba! is hosted by a character named DJ Lance Rock, and five toy monsters: Brobee, Foofa, Muno, Plex, and Toodee. It features The MC Bat Commander and Ricky Fitness, two members of The Aquabats, and Adam Deibert (formerly of the Aquabats) as the voice of Muno the Cyclops. The absurd style of humor used in the show is intended, like The Aquabats, to appeal to adults through its manic, frenzied approach to wholesome messages, while at the same time carrying all the content of the average Nick Jr. program for the whole family.

Devo said it Best “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”

A San Francisco start-up called Get Satisfaction is the latest online ombudsman to try to mediate customer service complaints.
New York Times: LINK

Get Satisfaction allows people to post feedback about their experiences with any company they choose, and it encourages companies to visit its site, www.getsatisfaction.com, to respond publicly. Since September, when the site began, people have posted complaints or comments regarding 2,000 companies, and 40 percent of the companies have answered, at no charge to either side.
The Internet is rife with sounding boards for the disgruntled, who have their choice of blogs, sound-off sites like Yelp and Epinions, and dedicated customer service sites like Get Satisfaction, PlanetFeedback and Complaints.com.
All this venting can bring about some productive results — happier customers, resolved disputes — but it remains to be seen whether the sites that serve as intermediaries can actually turn a decent profit.
Complaints.com and PlanetFeedback make money from advertisements; the founder of PlanetFeedback, Pete Blackshaw, said in an interview that he made little money from the site but ran it mainly as a hobby. Matthew Smith, the founder of Complaints.com, said his site was profitable, but would not offer specifics.
Get Satisfaction, which is backed by venture capital and aims one day to be financially stable, has little if any revenue and has not decided if it will sell ads; rather, its goal is to persuade companies to buy the software it has developed. The software helps companies communicate with customers. It also organizes data about the people talking about their products and what they are saying.
For now, companies that want to use Get Satisfaction can grab a free application, or widget, from its Web site and put it on their own sites. The software code in the widget then directs customers to the dialogue on Get Satisfaction. As with many start-ups, Get Satisfaction hopes to build an audience first and make money later.
The company asserts that the Internet can lead to better customer service dialogue — if people make reasonable complaints, customers can help one another solve problems. It can also make companies more open to acknowledging their mistakes and to fixing them…

Tribute to Douchebags

Enjoy this video. This guy uses response videos to sXePhil to promote his video log. and turns out to be a douche bag, not only for be afraid of the grudge, but also for making fun of arabs and guitar hero video game players. get a life. What does happy taste like? It tastes like blood. sleep with one eye open, douche bag.

Why Pennsylvania is Better Than Indiana

Two Pa. students to bike to Alaska to raise funds to fight cancer
Times Leader: LINK 

Apart from not being near an ocean, Indiana has other qualities that make it worse than Pennsylvania  (really, whoa!) We don’t need 17 people to make a hamburger.

Two ambitious university students, 4,500 miles, 11 states and a part of Canada could equal money for cancer research.
Twenty-year-old Daniel Esten and 23-year-old Michael Frederick, both students at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, plan to bike this summer from western Pennsylvania to Anchorage, Alaska.
Funds they raise for the expedition from businesses, family and friends will be donated to the American Cancer Society.
The journey is to begin in June and end in August.
Currently, the duo are taking extensive bike rides and following a daily workout regimen for what promises to be an arduous journey of 70-mile bike rides each day. The summer trek will include climbing mountains with elevations as high as 9,200 feet.

17 People Make Hamburger in 101 Steps

Purdue group wins Rube Goldberg contest
Associated Press: LINK
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University students who devised a contraption that prepared a hamburger in 101 steps, including a conveyor belt that moved the cheese and buns, won Purdue’s regional Rube Goldberg Machine Contest.
Saturday’s win by the 17-member Purdue Society of Professional Engineers earns them a spot in the April 5 national Rube Goldberg contest, named for the late cartoonist known for his drawings of complicated devices performing simple tasks.
Team captain Drew Wischer said the group began working last fall on its entry in this year’s regional challenge of creating the most complicated way to make a hamburger. He and his teammates had spent about 4,000 hours perfecting its many pieces, parts and motions.
“I’ve been with this team for four years, and this is a wonderful way to leave the competition,” said Wischer, a senior in aviation technology from Cedarburg, Wis.
The team used a global travel theme in their hamburger-making machine. That journey began at Purdue, activated by a ticket punch for the Boilermaker Express before embarking first to London, with a stop at Big Ben…

I <3 Kaki King

Word of the Day: Septicaemia

Hospital scientist stole bacteria to kill herself
The Guardian: LINK

A biomedical scientist stole bacteria from the hospital where she worked in order to end her life by giving herself septicaemia, it emerged today. Jennifer Bainbridge removed the bacteria – found in MRSA and E coli germs – from North Tyneside general hospital, a health regulator panel heard last week. The 28-year-old said she planned to use the germs to kill herself when she “hit rock bottom” after suffering months of depression.
“I was basically going to give myself septicaemia,” she told the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.
“I just took what was available in the lab, but I made sure they were organisms which were not going to put anyone else at risk.”
At the last minute, she changed her mind and told her managers what she had done. She was suspended from her job last July and dismissed last month.
“Even thinking about it all now makes me upset,” she said, telling the paper that she now had a new job and did not want to work in the NHS again.
She was taken off the health professions council register for 18 months after the chairman of the hearing described her actions as “a matter for grave concern”. Colin Allies said a suspension was “necessary in the public interest and in the interest of the registrant herself”. A spokeswoman for Bainbridge’s former employers, the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation trust, said the trust had been aware of her history of depression. The spokesman said the trust had taken the scientist off weekend and on call shifts to help her cope.

What is septicaemia?
Septicaemia is a potentially life-threatening infection in which large amounts of bacteria are present in the blood. It is commonly referred to as blood poisoning. Bacteria usually spill over from the primary infection site into the blood and are carried throughout the body thereby spreading infection to various systems of the body. Infection spreads throughout the body via the blood stream.
The affected person may have symptoms of the associated condition that triggered the septicaemia such as symptoms of pneumonia or severe urinary infection. The condition usually begins with fever and chills. Drenching sweats may occur. The heart rate and respiratory rate (number of breaths per minute) rise in association with the rising fever. The affected individual will feel very ill indeed with profound feelings of weakness. As the condition evolves the person may begin to feel very cold and clammy. The blood pressure starts to fall and the person may lapse into unconsciousness. The skin becomes very pale and the person may exhibit petechiae. Petechiae are tiny spots on the skin, which do not blanch when a glass tumbler is applied to the skin.

Candle Inspired By Cholesterol

Geekologie: LINK

The Bravit Candle was created by Christoph Van Bommel. Basically you light the main wick, and then the flame can split and take different wick paths, sometimes with as many as 5 going at once. They cost anywhere from $80 – $170 depending on the size. The actual wick structure was “inspired from the molecular structure of cholesterol” and the candles were “specially designed for long romantic dinners, as the light can last up to 5 hours.” Ah yes, the cholesterol inspired romantic dinner candle. I’ll tell you what, I find cholesterol so romantic. Cholesterol and heart attacks both really get me in the mood.

 

Wired Cellphones! Finally, We’re in the Stone Ages.

Frizzifrizzi.it: LINK 

Are you looking for an idea to combine the past and present? New technology and prehistory? YUBZ (U Buzy Why?) Is your answer!
Under the motto “We chase the future, work on the past” has created a collection of cornette retro telephone line, fully functional with modern communication technologies.

Are you tired of the usual headset? The bluetooth stuff is for cumenda? This is the version for your phone that you can safely pimpare choosing colors of wires, cornette and you can comfortably carry Stein thanks to the system (for cellular handset and) or links (to attack up the phone if you believe and more like it).

On the site are also adapters for use with Skype YUBZ!
The prices seem more than fair, and you can buy the phone directly on the preferred site.