Monthly Archives: December 2010

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The holidays are a good time to learn about chocolate toxicity in dogs

Chocolate is America’s favorite flavor and it comes in many forms that your dog may get access to. Dogs are more likely to consume chocolate around holidays such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day. If your dog hasn’t gotten into chocolate yet, you can be sure that there is a significant chance that they will. Prepare yourself for the day it happens and know what to do immediately after your dog has eaten chocolate.

Why chocolate bad for dogs

Chocolate is directly toxic to dogs because it contains theobromine, a chemical that is contained in the chocolate liquor component of chocolate. Chocolate liquor is the liquid that is extracted from the grinding of the hulled cacao bean. The more chocolate liquor there is in chocolate, the higher the theobromine and concentration of toxin. Chocolate also contains caffeine, which also plays a role in its toxicity.

Theobromine is readily absorbed following ingestion and is widely distributed throughout the body and it peaks within the blood at between 30 and 60 minutes after ingestion. This in combination with the caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and affects the way the body regulates calcium, leading to increased activity of body and heart muscle. The stimulation of the heart causes it to beat too fast and if not controlled it can compromise heart function and can lead to death.

Clinical signs after ingestion can include vomiting, diarrhea, restlessness, hyperactivity, muscle twitching, accidental urination, increased breathing rate, increase heart rate, and convulsive seizures late in the clinical course.

What to do if your dog consumes chocolate

The first thing you should do is secure what is left of the chocolate and the packaging. You should collect information that a veterinarian will need to determine if your dog needs immediate veterinary emergency care. You will need to know your dog’s weight, the type of chocolate consumed (dark chocolate, cocoa powder/baking, unsweetened, semisweet, or milk chocolate), how long ago it was consumed, and the amount that was consumed. In general, baking chocolate and dark chocolate are much more toxic than milk chocolate.

With information in hand, you have three options. The first option is to go to a veterinary emergency hospital or your local vet right away. Expect to pay an office visit and emergency fee even if your dog does not need treatment. The second option is to call the Animal Poison Control Center (888-426-4435) for a consultation costing $65. The most cost-effective option is to go online to VetLIVE and have a licensed online vet calculate the amount of theobromine ingested and recommend a course of action for just $12.95. These online vets consult with pet owners about all diseases and conditions 24/7.

What treatment may include

Your dog’s treatment will depend on the veterinarian’s calculation to see if the amount of chocolate consumed by your dog warrants therapy. It takes approximately four days for the effects of chocolate to get out of your dog’s system. If the chocolate was only just eaten, it is possible to induce vomiting. If the chocolate had time to be absorbed, therapies can include, activated charcoal, cathartics, control of hyperactivity and seizures with drugs, control of a fast heart rate, treatment with drugs for low blood pressure, and bladder catheterization to prevent re-absorption of toxins from the urine.

Jed Schaible, VMD, MBA is a veterinarian and writer for several pet publications. Jed currently practices veterinary medicine in Pennsylvania with his wife, Laci, who is also a veterinarian.

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The New reality – .me is for mobile, not .mobi

In growing numbers individuals and companies are doing what free market normally does, takes whatever is given to them from higher ups and adopts them to what they make the most sense for.

In this case ICANN approved the .mobi domain name for mobile devices, in essence taking one of the largest domain names ever in terms of characters (.com’s are 3 characters long) .mobi weighs in at 4 characters forcing people to type in 4 characters on their tiny mobile device.

“When .me showed up it was a no-brainer, it’s a good moniker for “mobile enabled” stated Roger Wehbe, President of Yooter InterActive

“In my opinion people want to type less on their mobile, not more. So it’s our policy to use .me domains for mobile only sites, as 2 characters are clearly better than 4 for mobile devices.” he continued.

Over the next few years more and more people registered the .me domain name and many individuals now accept the .me not for what it was intended, the personal website, but rather for what it’s best use is for, being mobile enabled.

It’s a running joke that Ben Bernanke is printing money like no tomorrow, so we decided to setup 2 websites called Ounce.Me and Inflation.Me. Figured they were good domain names for what our purpose was.

In essence we wanted people to check up the spot price of Gold and Silver in a coin shop “to make sure they aren’t getting ripped off” using the ounce.me mobile phone app, then we wanted to allow them to read some commentary on it via inflation.me

Next thing you know within days thousands of people showed up, with no marketing or advertising around it.

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Gold / Silver prices head upwards

Gold and Silver prices have reversed their two day decline. Silver is at $28.64 and Gold is at $1,382.20 Markets are still spooked at European Debt concerns and “printing of money” in the United States.

In other news ammo and dry food have increased sales. Confederate flag manufacturers have noticed a marked uptick. “Hoss came in yesterday and bought 4 flags, one for each side of the bunker he is building” said Randy “dryfoot” Miller owner of “DRY-FOOT” general store in Milton, Alabama.

heh.

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TIME MAGAZINE to name Julian Assange ‘MAN OF THE YEAR’

Julian Assange is to be named the Time Magazine “Person of the year / Man of the year” award. Currently Julian Assange is held in prison due to not “wearing a condom” which most watchers suggest he is actually being held due to the the Wikileaks release of secret and classified information.

The Whistle Blower has threatened to release the password for a file called insurance.aes256 if political action is taken against him, and clearly this morning the threat level has been raised regarding the full release of the over 1 gb file.

The Encrypted file insurance.aes256 is protected with a 256-digit key, it’s something no one can really break with today’s machines.

It would take a government computer or network of computers hundreds of years, if not longer to decrypt it. For an average desktop, we’re talking thousands of years.

“The Cable Gate archive has been spread, along with significant material from the US and other countries to over 100,000 people in encrypted form. If something happens to us, the key parts will be released automatically. Further, the Cable Gate archives is in the hands of multiple news organisations. History will win. The world will be elevated to a better place,” Julian Assange wrote recently.

It’s our bet that this qualifies.

Time Magazine historically has made the man of the year not the one that contributes most to society, but rather the one that causes the most disruption. In this case Julian Assange qualifies to being highly disruptive.

Enjoy the new reality.

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Ben Bernanke states QE3 is not printing money

Ben Bernanke said fears that the Fed would be printing more money and taking inflation risks through its bond purchases was a “myth.” He said the Fed isn’t printing money when buying Treasuries and the purchase won’t result in a significant expansion of money circulating in the market.

We want to get this right Ben, sorry for our misunderstanding on the issue. I think we understand now. Printing a bigger dollar figure on a computer screen doesn’t equate to printing it on paper. We completely understand this now. So the Federal Reserve creating new dollars to buy all the US government debt is not printing money.

As a typical American Citizen I completely trust you know what you are doing with these computer generated dollars. I am sure there is a method to the madness.

You stated on November 21, 2002 “The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press or today, its electronic equivalent, that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at no cost.” then you continued to say “Even if households decided not to increase consumption but instead re-balanced their portfolios by using their extra cash to acquire real and financial assets, the resulting increase in asset values would lower the cost of capital and improve the balance sheet positions of potential borrowers. A money-financed tax cut is essentially equivalent to Milton Friedman’s famous “helicopter drop” of money”

Milton Friedman stated “price deflation can be fought by “dropping money out of a helicopter”

God help us all. By the time he’s done gas is going to be 12 bucks a gallon and everyone is going to be paying with gold and silver coins.

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Ounce.Me reports Gold / Silver Ratio at 1:47

In two breaking news stories today, Ounce.Me is reporting that the Gold Silver Ratio has hit 1:47 and the Ounce.Me sum is nearly at $4,000.

Both stories are historic watershed moments.

The fact that it now takes $4,000 to buy 1 ounce of all 4 precious metals (Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium) makes it official that the Planet has officially adopted the precious metal standard for currency.

Think about it, it takes $4,000 dollars to buy a total of 4 ounces of metal. With one of them trading under 30 dollars.

The next thing is the gold / silver ratio. Historically over the past 40 years it’s traded at 1:60 … now it’s 1:47 … perhaps something to do with the fact that there is nearly 5 times as much Gold than Silver out there… and what’s left of silver is being consumed on solar panels…. but hey what do investors know.

You won’t be able to buy Silver at any price if this continues.

Enjoy the new reality.

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We must be the only country on earth that can state the unemployment rate is dropping without actually creating jobs

Unemployment in the United States has reached an epic level of 17% according to Federal Statistics.

17% is the latest figure on the U-6 measure of Unemployment and the most accurate of all unemployment rate measures, it is the only measure that counts underemployed as well. IE: the guy working Part Time at McDonald’s flipping hamburgers whereas 2 years ago he was a contractor making $50,000 a year.

That guy most likely will foreclose on his house as if he was unemployed due to the fact his mortgage and other bills were designed to fit the $50,0000 income, not the $9,000 income.

Underemployment in terms of part time work at a fast food joint when someone is looking for a real full time job are counted as unemployed according to the U-6 measure, as it should be.

Many of the 99 weekers are going to flipping hamburgers soon, and they will vanish off the U-3 standard (the one that is often stated in the media, but will still appear on the U-6).

You got it people, in the next few weeks as the Unemployment benefits expire for several million individuals, the standard unemployment rate will count those people as “employed” or “not in the work force” hence making it artificially appear as if they are employed.

The bogus part of this is that it’s not like these people have jobs, the ones that have their benefits cut just won’t get an unemployment check. So they are “not a problem anymore” as far as the statistics of the U-3 is concerned.

Enjoy the new reality, in about 2 weeks at least 3 million Americans are going to tossed off the Unemployment lines…. they won’t have a job, nor will they have income… but they are not unemployed.

The U-3 unemployment rate is expected to decrease to 9.3% from current 9.8% when reporting is done in January or February.

We must be the only country on earth that can state the unemployment rate is dropping without actually creating jobs.

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Lexus Captures the Conversation from Inside the New CT 200h Hybrid with “Darkcasting”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Late Night Talk Show Series Hosted by Whitney Cummings Connects Interesting Personalities in a New Car Test Drive

Torrance, Calif., November 15, 2010 — Introducing “Darkcasting.” It’s part test drive, part late night talk show, part real time feedback. Whatever it is, it’s no 30-second spot for the new Lexus CT 200h, but an actual series hosted by actress and stand-up comedian Whitney Cummings that captures the (nearly) unfiltered conversations of influential personalities who take the new Lexus hybrid for a spin in their home cities–San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. The net result is a series of conversational vignettes–the kind that happen when influencers drive through storied neighborhoods and compare reference points and shared nostalgia. “Which neighborhood do you call home?  How would you say the city’s energy has shaped you?”

“With Darkcasting, we’re providing a mobile studio from which an entertaining talk show takes place against a moving cityscape. It helps us see the car through the lens of creative people from a variety of professional fields,” says Dave Nordstrom, Lexus vice president of marketing.

“The show features a group of real drivers, not just driving enthusiasts, who give their honest impressions of the car and what is most relevant for them–maybe it’s the 42 miles per gallon or maybe it’s simply fun to drive.”

Lexus anticipates that the talk show will, quite literally, jump start the conversation within the varied social networks of the influencers/drivers because of the context they provide. For example turntable master DJ Qbert and soul singing Goapale drive the CT across the Bay Bridge and discuss Oakland’s music scene; Model and it-girl Harley Viera-Newton cruises past her favorite boutiques in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. These, and other drivers will showcase the car’s relevance to potential customers, urban progressive consumers for whom the car was conceived.

“Darkcasting” is another program in the brand’s multi-phased introduction of the CT, the newest gateway product to Lexus, through the creation of branded content. “Darkcasting” follows last summer’s original short film “Dark Ride,” which first teased consumers to engage with the CT while sitting shotgun in a thrilling, interactive online chase.

“If phase one of our campaign was ‘engage,’ phase two is about engrossing customers in conversation,” says Nordstrom. “What we want to convey is that the CT is like no other luxury hybrid on the market. We’re playing with ways to introduce the car–challenging content formats and marketing platforms. It’s fun for us as a brand because there is nothing else like it in our portfolio.”

“Darkcasting,” an episodic series shot in six cities, rolled out its first episode November 4th. The city “cast ensembles” include social media influencers, young entrepreneurs and movers and shakers from technology, fashion, media and entertainment. Drivers were sourced by the brand for their varied and topical career choices or influencer reach, along with their interest in taking a test drive.

Episodes can be found on the CT 200h’s official “Darker Side of Green” portal and feature a bevy of car content, like a personalization studio that allows users to build out their own car and related campaign color like behind-the-scenes footage of the city drives and interviews that bring the viewer into the worlds of its driver personalities–what did they think of the driving experience? What did they Tweet? Taking a page from film and television marketers, Lexus prompts consumers to “tune in” to “Darkcasting” episodes through robust entertainment and lifestyle media and marketing channels.

Getting customers engrossed in the conversation also means opening up active dialogue. The brand currently engages with its audience via Twitter (@Lexus) and Facebook (Facebook.com/lexus). The newly-relaunched www.DarkerSideofGreen.com  site is managed by a dedicated editorial team and features a real time stream of Tweets, comments and social media integration (including Twitter, Facebook, and the location-based Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places).

CAMPAIGN LINK: www.darkersideofgreen.com/darkcasting

VIEW TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyVjganGV3Y

TRAILER EMBED CODE:

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The all-new CT 200h premium compact hybrid will go on sale in the U.S. in early 2011 as the first dedicated hybrid vehicle in the premium compact arena of the near luxury segment. Expected to be the luxury leader in fuel economy with 42 MPG combined, the stylish, sporty five-door also delivers a dynamic, fun-to-drive experience. The CT is powered by a 1.8L Atkinson cycle four-cylinder gas engine with Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i) and Lexus Hybrid Drive technology. Featuring Drive Mode Select, four drive modes including EV, which operates purely on electricity and is perfect for within-city jaunts, and Sport Mode, a first for any Lexus hybrid, offering the driver true personalization of the driving experience, the CT is a game-changer for Lexus’ hybrid portfolio.

With its reputation for high-quality products and exemplary customer service from its 228 dealers, Lexus has been the top-selling luxury automaker in the U.S. for ten years in a row.  In addition, Lexus is the luxury hybrid leader, now offering four hybrids, and soon to be five, when the CT is launched, that provide the best in innovative technology and first-class luxury.  When Lexus was established in 1989, it offered two models of vehicles.  Now, more than 20 years later, Lexus offers variations of 11 vehicles, from the entry-level IS 250 to its first V10 supercar, the LFA.

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MEDIA CONTACTS: LIME pr + promotion on behalf of Lexus

Jeannine Magno Feyen 212-352-4621 | jmagnofeyen@limeprpromo.com

Claudia Strauss 212-352-4537 | cstrauss@limeprpromo.com

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NASA launching their own PR campaign – says they found life

Why do I suspect that the below press release will be about how they “think” that a bacteria can live in some random condition that is similar to an exoplanet that they discovered 100 light years away?

I could picture it now “NASA has found a new type of bacteria in Mono Lake, California, which lives with levels of arsenic in its biology that were believed impossible.”

I highly doubt the release is going to say “We got a signal from Alpha Centauri, they aliens are going to show up next week with a ton of Gold and Silver to bail out Europe”.

If it’s anything other than that, then I suggest we start building a Gorn Cannon.

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Cathy Weselby
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-2791
cathy.weselby@nasa.gov
Nov. 29, 2010

MEDIA ADVISORY : M10-167

NASA Sets News Conference on Astrobiology Discovery; Science Journal Has Embargoed Details Until 2 p.m. EST On Dec. 2

WASHINGTON — NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 2, to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe.

The news conference will be held at the NASA Headquarters auditorium at 300 E St. SW, in Washington. It will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency’s website at http://www.nasa.gov.

Participants are:
- Mary Voytek, director, Astrobiology Program, NASA Headquarters, Washington
- Felisa Wolfe-Simon, NASA astrobiology research fellow, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, Calif.
- Pamela Conrad, astrobiologist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
- Steven Benner, distinguished fellow, Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Gainesville, Fla.
- James Elser, professor, Arizona State University, Tempe

Media representatives may attend the conference or ask questions by phone or from participating NASA locations. To obtain dial-in information, journalists must send their name, affiliation and telephone number to Steve Cole at stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov or call 202-358-0918 by noon Dec. 2.

For NASA TV streaming video and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about NASA astrobiology activities, visit:

http://astrobiology.nasa.gov

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Beware of what you type as 17 years later it comes back

What were you doing on December 2, 1995 at 3 am ? I know what I was doing. I was posting a for sale ad for a BBS that was to be a competitor for Juno, I had the idea first of a Free E-mail service, but my salary at the school’s computer lab + college costs put a damper on my ability to buy them . So in the 8 months it took me to save up enough to buy the basic hardware and software for 2 markets, Juno received 20 million in VC … so I started selling my stuff before it even went online knowing I couldn’t compete. I was about 19 years old at the time… pretty much a kid with a dream… and a dream I completely forgot until I stumbled on this article I posted back in 1995.
You have to click on this to enlarge

I completely forgot that event. It took place almost 2 decades ago. Until I stumbled on my for sale ad I posted online back in 1995.

It’s mind boggling to say the least that it took a memory jog like that in order to even remember what happened back in the haydays of the .com boom.

But what if I posted something not so innocent as selling my BBS… suppose I typed something about something else? Your employer could just as easily dig that up and it’s game over.

All these teens and 20 somethings posting garbage online about “X” or “Y” … this literally can come back to haunt you years later.. You post something terrible when you are 17 and a senior in high school…. you finish high school… finish college… get your first job… switch to your second job for a higher pay…. then bingo … married, 2 kids… and your employer finds this terrible post you made.

Talk about delayed pain.

You think it’s crazy? Go ahead and read what I wrote back in 1995… start counting years.

Enjoy the new reality.

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