• MySpace has become more popular than Friendster
.

• A lead venture capitalist for Friendster says Friendster will
  become profitable "within 90 days", but doesn't reveal how.
  

Indians Reach Out to Help Homeland After Tsunami | article
Dr. Nutan Parikh, president of the local Indian group The Friends of India, has both family and friends who live in western India. In the days after the quake struck, Dr. Parikh said he and other Las Vegans with ties to India were consumed by worries about loved ones.

"We really didn't know the extent of this until the day after," Dr. Parikh said. "We found ourselves wanting desperately to find out how friends and family are, and what we could do to get in touch with them. Many of the phone lines were dead."

While he fortunately learned none of his friends were seriously injured, others were not as lucky. The Friends of India has been meeting for the past month, trying to come up with the best way to help the relief effort. The group started with fund-raisers within the Indian community that have netted $50,000, and now the organization is branching out its fund-raising efforts to the rest of Las Vegas.

* Random Googleable webcams
* Airtran Pilot Shows up for Work Drunk and Armed
* Report says train fire that caused 2002 Gujarat riots was accident
* Scientific Truth in Product Labels
PUBLIC NOTICE AS REQUIRED BY LAW: Any Use of This Product, in Any Manner Whatsoever, Will Increase the Amount of Disorder in the Universe. Although No Liability Is Implied Herein, the Consumer Is Warned That This Process Will Ultimately Lead to the Heat Death of the Universe.
* World Bank grants $1 billion for Mumbai projects
* Carbon and nanotech create way to cheaply see in the dark
* More twentysomethings living at home - 56% of 18-24-yr olds; 25% of 24-yr olds; 20% of 26-yr olds
* JavaScript: The World's Most Misunderstood Programming Language

Gizmodo interviewed Bill Gates and posted the interview on his blog in four segments: blogs and RSS, Microsoft's vision, XBox 2, and digital rights management.

I liked how the interview ended:

Gizmodo: I think we just disagree.
Gates: No, I actually don't think we disagree.

Gizmodo was arguing that the Microsoft DRM, which limits the how often a file can be copied, shouldn't be placed on purchased music. Gates said the DRM was just a piece of software and that anyone (from doctors to musicians) could use it to protect their information.

Unfortunately, it seems the DRM can't protect another group - its users.

Burnt Toast for Drunk, Clams
Not only can burnt toast sober up the hung over, it can also cure cancer in clams.

Said environmental engineering professor Dick Luthy:
"They’ve known for a long time that an antidote for certain kinds of poisoning is to give activated carbon. You sorb up [the poison] with the carbon and it passes through the gut and is eliminated. And if you don’t have activated carbon, in a pinch you can use burnt toast.”

Why cure clams? The cancer-causing PCBs don't kill the clams, but do impact things higher in the food chain (ie people, or sharks).

Is Favre Done?
Four picks against a Vikings defense that had 11 interceptions all year, two straight playoff losses in Lambeau, and he's looking older by the game. Maybe Favre should go into politics. Or acting..

The Eagles and Falcons should make the NFC Championship Game easily, each facing off against a mediocre team that struggled to go 8-8 in the regular season. The Pats and the Colts on the other hand will fight to the death in Foxboro. My pick is the Colts - the Pats have dominated the rivalry so far, but their banged up defense goes against a Colt offense coming off a record-setting year.

Practice? | Listen
I took the "Practice" rant by Allen Iverson and set it to a backbeat back in 2002. My crowning achievement in mixing audio, alongside the "Weed and Coke Intro".

Kobe's Jersey Drops Out of Top 50 in December | article

In June, during the rape trial, three Bryant jerseys were in the top 5 in terms of units sold.

Industry insiders say that while fans may have been willing to look the other way during the rape scandal, they seem far less willing to forgive him now for what they see as the breakup of a championship team.

Seven of the top ten best selling jerseys in December were either LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony jerseys.

The Washington Post has an article on my favorite actor, Don Cheadle, who I've seen in Picket Fences, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven. His newest movie, Hotel Rwanda, is about how one hotel owner saved over 1,000 refugees from being massacred during the genocide in Rwanda in the 1990s.

From the article:
Cheadle felt so strongly about the story that, when director Terry George approached him to play the role, he didn't take offense at George's caveat: If Denzel or Will Smith showed interest, then all bets were off. George would have to go with the A-list, the better to obtain funding. After all, movies about massacres in central Africa aren't generally considered a box office bonanza.

Yes, of course, Cheadle told him, in an anecdote that has become part of the press junket lore. "I thought getting [the movie] made would trump me being in it," Cheadle says.

Don Cheadle, a Star But Still in Character

Immigrants Outlive U.S.-Born Residents | article

Immigrants who come to the United States live an average of three years longer than people born here. The life span difference reflects both immigrants’ innate vitality and their reluctance to embrace Americans’ drive-thru, drive-everywhere mentality.

Immigrants outlive the U.S.-born population even though they’re more likely to be poor and less likely to see a doctor.