Louisiana Tech held a ceremony during Thursday’s game honoring two former quarterbacks: football legend Terry Bradshaw and Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson.
Phil Robertson, who played quarterback at Louisiana Tech, was the first string quarterback ahead of Terry Bradshaw and set a record of passing in a single game.
“The quarterback playing ahead of me, Phil Robertson, loved hunting more than he loved football,” Terry Bradshaw wrote in his 2001 book It’s Only a Game.
Phil Robertson, who played quarterback at Louisiana Tech, was the first string quarterback ahead of Terry Bradshaw and set a record of passing in a single game
“He’d come to practice directly from the woods, squirrel tails hanging out of his pockets, duck feathers on his clothes. Clearly he was a fine shot, so no one complained too much.”
Phil Robertson was benched for Terry Bradshaw for being distracted. The Duck Dynasty patriarch himself said he was distracted during his playing days.
“One time a bunch of geese came over and I was over there with the coach and talking about techniques or whatever, a big skull session on the practice field. I heard these geese,” Phil Robertson told ESPN.
“Remember we were practicing in the fall of the year – and the grand passage as we call it – the ducks and geese were coming from Canada. I heard these blues and snow geese coming over and I sort of fell into a trance. Of course I had my headgear next to my chest and I’m looking toward the sky and finally one of them coaches looked around, and he started cursing at me, <<What the hell you doing son? Get over here! What are you looking up at?>> I said, <<A bunch of them geese, Coach. Boy they pretty, ain’t they?>> He said, <<Get your butt over here>>.”
Duck Dynasty’s Sadie Robertson will be adding singer to her impressive resume, which already includes fashion designer and model.
Sadie Robertson made her modeling debut at New York Fashion Week on Monday, September 9, to show off her Sadie Robertson Live Original line during the Evening By Sherri Hill Spring 2014 show at the Trump Tower.
In addition to styling a black-and-white polka-dot ball gown, the A&E reality star walked down the runway in a beautiful, short beige dress.
Sadie Robertson’s parents, Willie and Korie, and other family members took a break from operating their Duck Commander company, which makes products for duck hunters, and traveled from Monroe, Louisiana, to support Sadie at the show.
Sadie Robertson will be lending her voice to the upcoming Duck the Halls -A Robertson Family Christmas album
“First time at New York Fashion Week,” Korie Robertson told Us Weekly.
“We’ve been to New York before, of course, but first time at Fashion Week and we’ve had a great time. We’re so proud and so happy about the partnership with Sherri Hill. She’s been awesome. And they’re a family business like we are, so we feel really great.”
Sadie Robertson said she likes to design dresses that are “unique” and “daddy-approved”, but she also has a celebrity fashion icon that she admires.
“I’ve been saying Carrie Underwood,” she said.
“She’s a country girl and she dresses very nice, classy.”
Korie Robertson also revealed that Sadie will be lending her voice to the upcoming Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas album.
“Sadie sings on it. Yeah, she has a couple of solos,” Korie Robertson said.
“And Willie wrote a song for it, so it’s really a lot of fun.”
Nicki Minaj is being sued by electronic artist Clive Tanaka for copyright infringement over her hit song Starships.
Clive Tanaka has filed a lawsuit against the rapper, producer RedOne and songwriters Carl Falk, Wayne Hector and Rami Yacoub.
He claims they copied “substantial portions” of his song Neu Chicago for the chart-topping single, which reached number two in the UK last year.
The mysterious electronic artist, who has never revealed his real identity, had attorney Christopher Niro file legal documents on his behalf in Chicago court on Wednesday.
Nicki Minaj is being sued by electronic artist Clive Tanaka for copyright infringement over her hit song Starships
Neu Chicago has amassed 100,000 listens on YouTube and was licensed for two major television adverts in Scandinavia.
The lawsuit alleges RedOne, Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub, who have all lived in neighboring Sweden, had “a very good opportunity” to hear the song.
According to the Chicago Tribune newspaper, Christopher Niro contends: “We believe [the songs] are similar to the point that it is nearly impossible for it to be a coincidence.”
Clive Tanaka is seeking compensation for the damage done to his “professional reputation and goodwill” following the song’s release in March 2012, as well as all the profits Nicki Minaj, 30, and her collaborators have earned from Starships.
This isn’t the first time Nicki Minaj has faced legal trouble over her music.
In 2010, Nicki Minaj was sued for allegedly damaging a pink Lamborghini sports car she rented for her Massive Attack music video shoot.
Kate Middleton made her first red carpet appearance since becoming a mother.
The Duchess of Cambridge beamed as she accompanied husband Prince William to the Tusk foundation gala dinner at The Royal Society in London.
Kate Middleton, 31, wore a glittering floor-length Jenny Packham dress covered in sequins with her brunette hair carefully curled over her shoulders and simple, pretty make-up.
She finished the look with sparkling stiletto heels and diamond jewellery.
Kate Middleton made her first red carpet appearance since becoming a mother
Prince William, who wore smart black tie, is a patron of the Tusk charity, and expected to make a speech at the end of the awards ceremony which will be hosted by journalist Kate Silverton.
Last night’s awards aim to celebrate outstanding achievement in the field of African conservation, recognizing the achievements of individuals who are ensuring the future of Africa and bringing the challenges faced by the continent to a global audience.
Just last month, Kate Middleton made her first public appearance since the birth of Prince George when she attended the Anglesey ultra-marathon with Prince William.
Then, Prince William had revealed that Kate was bearing the brunt of the night duties – and that their son was proving to be quite a nocturnal little fellow.
The Duchess revealed that her mother, Carole, – or granny as she called her – had come up to babysit, and told locals that he was “sleeping well”.
Kate Middleton mentioned during the visit she was keen to get “back into shape” after the birth.
Last night’s outing marks the start of a new role for Prince William as he begins a new life outside the military.
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has issued a message marking the 12th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
In the audio message, Ayman al-Zawahiri talks of the need for small-scale attacks – and even a boycott – to damage the US economy.
The message may be seen as a sign of diminishing ambitions and a more realistic assessment of what al-Qaeda’s central organization can achieve.
Ayman al-Zawahiri’s message also praised the bombings in Boston in April.
His message begins with a familiar claim that his organization has the upper hand.
He says that the US has fled Iraq and Afghanistan in “defeat”.
He goes on to emphasize the importance of so-called “lone-wolf”, or small-scale attacks as part of al-Qaeda’s strategy.
Such attacks, he argues, will have an economic impact above all.
“We must bleed America economically by provoking it, so that it continues its massive expenditures on security. America’s weak spot is its economy, which began to totter from the drain of its military and security expenditure,” Ayman al-Zawahiri says.
Ayman al-Zawahiri advocates “continuing the drain of military and security expenditures so that we keep America in a state of tension and anticipation, [wondering] when and where the next blow will come”.
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has issued a message marking the 12th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks
“Keeping America in a state of tension and anticipation does not cost us anything but [organizing] dispersed strikes here and there. In other words, just as we defeated it in a war of nerves in Somalia, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan, we must afflict it with a similar war in its own home.
“These dispersed strikes can be carried out by one brother, or a small number of brothers.”
The emphasis on smaller-scale strikes may well be seen as an acknowledgement of a diminishing ability of al-Qaeda’s central leadership to plan and carry out major, organized attacks of the type it managed in the past.
That shift is evident in Ayman al-Zawahiri calling on supporters to begin an economic boycott.
“We must explain to them that every dollar’s worth of goods that we buy from America and her allies amounts to a bullet or shrapnel that kills a Muslim in Palestine or Afghanistan.”
Most analysts believe that the al-Qaeda core in Pakistan has been severely damaged and this message appears to be an acknowledgement of that reality.
However, affiliates in other parts of the world – notably al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen – are said by government officials to remain a threat.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, who has historically tended to focus more on ideology and strategy, also spends a significant amount of the message talking about recent events in Egypt.
He says that the US was behind the “coup” against the Muslim Brotherhood.
He also criticizes Mohamed Morsi, the deposed president who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, saying he was not governing according to Islamic law and had committed to abide by security agreements with the US and Israel.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, whose background before joining al-Qaeda was in Egypt’s Islamist movements, also emphasizes his opposition to the Brotherhood’s willingness to work through democratic politics.
He criticizes other Islamist movements in places like Tunisia for coming to “an understanding with America”.
The events in the Middle East have raised serious ideological challenges for al-Qaeda, with it appearing increasingly irrelevant amid signs that protests, people power and even democratic elections might be a more viable vehicle for change than the kind of violence that al-Qaeda espoused.
However, with the optimism of the past few years fading fast, Ayman al-Zawahiri appears to be hoping that al-Qaeda’s ideology of rejecting democracy and promoting uncompromising violence might be able to gain more of a foothold.
Syria remains a key focus for international attention – including for al-Qaeda. Ayman al-Zawahiri warns Islamist opposition groups there not to come to any agreement with “secularists” who are also fighting the Assad regime.
“Let what happened in Egypt be a lesson to them,” Ayman al-Zawahiri says, before arguing that the jihadists groups need to unite in the region.
This may well be a reference to recent reports of splits and divisions, not just within Syrian jihadist groups but also with the Iraqi-based groups.
At least 37 people have died in a fire that engulfed a psychiatric hospital in north-western Russia, officials say.
The blaze occurred in the village of Luka, in Novgorod region. The timber-built hospital housed some 60 people.
A nurse who tried to guide patients to safety was among the dead, Russian media report. So far 22 bodies have been recovered at the scene.
The fire broke out just before 03:00 local time. A patient smoking may have started it.
Officials had previously ordered the building to be closed because of safety concerns.
The fire started in the male ward and spread quickly through the single-storey Oksochi hospital, emergency ministry officials say. TV pictures later showed the gutted building.
At least 37 people have died in a fire that engulfed a psychiatric hospital in north-western Russia
“Medical personnel saw a patient who was shrouded in flames. It’s possible that he was smoking in bed and the mattress caught fire,” regional governor Sergei Mitin told Russia’s Interfax news agency.
He added that the ward housed severely ill patients.
The patients and staff had been ordered to move to a new building by August 2014 because the timber hospital was unsafe.
Twenty-three people managed to flee the blaze. A senior investigator from the ministry for emergencies, Yuri Deshevykh, said the fire alarm had worked, triggering an evacuation.
The fire was extinguished overnight, and hundreds of rescuers are searching the nearby forest, hoping to find any survivors who may have taken refuge there.
A criminal investigation is now under way for “causing death by negligence”.
Several fires at state institutions across Russia in recent years resulted in heavy loss of life.
In April, a blaze at another psychiatric hospital near Moscow killed 38 people.
In 2009, 23 people died at an old people’s home in the north-west Komi region, while in 2007, 63 were killed at a home in Krasnodar, southern Russia.
In 2006, a fire at a Moscow drug rehabilitation clinic killed 45 women.
Twitter plans to join the stock market in the most hotly anticipated flotation since Facebook’s last year.
Referring to the official paperwork needed to join the market, the company tweeted: “We’ve confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO [initial public offering].”
Investors value Twitter, founded in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, at more than $10 billion.
Twitter gave no further details as to the timing or price of the offering.
The microblogging service is on track to post $583 million in revenue in 2013, according to advertising consultancy eMarketer, up from $288 million in 2012.
Most of Twitter’s funding comes from advertising, with companies paying for “promoted tweets” that appear in users’ Twitter feeds.
Advertisers are keen to target Twitter’s 200 million active users, who send more than 500 million tweets a day.
Twitter plans to join the stock market in the most hotly anticipated flotation since Facebook’s last year
But some analysts believe the risk for Twitter post-flotation is that if the drive for greater advertising revenue leads to increased numbers of adverts in and around the site, they could become intrusive and unpopular with users.
Nearly two-thirds of users access Twitter via mobile devices that have traditionally been difficult for advertisers to reach.
This is one reason why Twitter has acquired MoPub, a mobile-focused advertising exchange, for a reported $350 million.
Facebook listed on the stock market in May last year. Although it initially created excitement among investors, its share price performed poorly, before recovering this summer.
The timing of the IPO is likely to be related to renewed activity in stock market flotations. There have been 131 IPOs priced so far in 2013, according to IPO tracking firm Renaissance Capital – a 44% increase on the same period last year.
Analysts say Twitter must continue to innovate under the scrutiny of public ownership.
Once a company has filed paperwork with US regulators for a planned IPO, it enters a so-called “quiet period” when it is not allowed to speak to the media.
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website, a company can file a confidential prospectus for a public share sale if it is classified as an “emerging growth company” with revenue of less than $1 billion.
Head of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Hassan al-Thawadi has rejected calls for the tournament to be awarded to another country.
FIFA is expected to move the tournament to winter to avoid Qatar’s high summer temperatures.
And Football Association chairman Greg Dyke said the tournament might have to move location if a suitable time to play in Qatar could not be agreed.
But Hassan al-Thawadi insists there is “no reason” why Qatar should not host the event as planned in 2022.
“We’ve worked very, very hard to ensure we’re within the rules of the bidding, within the rules of the hosting agreement,” he said.
Head of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Hassan al-Thawadi has rejected calls for the tournament to be awarded to another country
“At the same time we’re delivering on all the promises that we’ve made. We’re working very hard to deliver it. The commitment is there.”
FIFA president Sepp Blatter is determined to switch the 2022 World Cup to the winter as summer temperatures can reach 50C in the Middle Eastern country.
Sepp Blatter, 77, has admitted the governing body may have made a “mistake” in awarding the tournament to Qatar in the summer.
“[Qatar] is the right place, the Middle East is the right place,” said Hassan al-Thawadi, who is Secretary General of the Qatar 2022 Organizing Committee.
“We are representing the Middle East, it is a Middle Eastern World Cup, so it is the right place. The Middle East deserves to host a major tournament.”
The Premier League has taken an opposing stance, with chief executive Richard Scudamore insisting the tournament should go ahead in the summer.
However, Europe’s leading clubs have said they are “open” to the possibility of a winter World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of the European Club Association (ECA) believes it is “probably” better to switch the finals to winter.
News anchor Julie Chen has revealed that she had a cosmetic eye surgery at the age of 25 to make her look “less Asian” as a young TV news reporter.
Julie Chen, 43, made the emotional admission in an episode of The Talk yesterday, describing how she was told she would never be an anchor because she is Chinese.
“My secret dates back to – my heart is racing – it dates back to when I was 25 years old and I was working as a local news reporter in Dayton, Ohio,” she said.
“I asked my news director … over the holidays if anchors want to take vacations, could I fill in? And he said, <<You will never be on this anchor desk, because you’re Chinese>>.
“He said <<Let’s face it Julie, how relatable is you to our community? How big of an Asian community do we have in Dayton? On top of that because of your Asian eyes, I’ve noticed that when you’re on camera, you look disinterested and bored>>.”
Unsurprisingly, her boss’s words hit her hard.
“I wanted to cry right then and there,” Julie Chen said.
“It felt like a dagger in my heart, because all of my life I wanted to be a network anchor. . . I started recording my newscasts every day and all I could see was my eyes, and I’d ask myself, <<Does he have a point? . . . Do I look bored?>>.”
Julie Chen has revealed that she had a cosmetic eye surgery at the age of 25 to make her look “less Asian” as a young TV news reporter
The Ohio news director was not the only one to say such a thing to Julie Chen, now one of CBS’s most familiar faces.
“I started meeting with agents for career advice, and this one big-time agent basically told me the same thing,” she continued.
“He had the biggest names in the business. . . He said, <<I cannot represent you unless you get plastic surgery to make your eyes look better>>. He then whips out a list of plastic surgeons who have done this procedure.”
Julie Chen’s family in Queens, New York, was divided on the idea though. While her parents had witnessed the racist bullying that saw her called “Ching Chong” on the school bus, they feared she was denying her Chinese heritage.
“I consulted with my mother, and [she greeted me with] silence. She said, <<This is a deeper conversation that we have to have with your father>> . . . This divided my family.
“Eventually, my mom said, <<You wouldn’t have brought this up to me unless this was something that you wanted to do>>. And they told me that they’d support me, and they’d pay for it, and that they’d be there for me.”
Julie Chen went ahead with the procedure, which removed the excess skin that creates the double eyelid appearance.
She admits that she did get more high-profile work after the cosmetic surgery, but she did have concerns about whether she should have agreed to do it so readily.
“After I had it done, the ball did roll for me, and I wondered, did I give into the man?” Julie Chen told The Talk.
Not that she harbors any regrets: “I don’t like to live with regrets.”
“I did it. I moved on. No one is more proud to be Chinese than I am.”
Jonathan Trappe, who is trying to cross the Atlantic in a lifeboat suspended by some 370 multicolored helium balloons, says he has made his first stop-over landing.
Jonathan Trappe lifted off from the city of Caribou in the state of Maine amid heavy fog at dawn on Thursday.
Ten hours later, Jonathan Trappe said on Facebook he had “landed safe” and would spend the night at the undisclosed location.
Ascending up to 25,000ft, Jonathan Trappe hopes to cover his “epic” 2,500-mile trip to Europe within six days.
Jonathan Trappe, an IT manager from North Carolina, has previously completed successful cluster balloon voyages across the Alps and the English Channel.
Depending on weather conditions, Jonathan Trappe could touch down anywhere between Northern Africa and Scandinavia.
“Weather is absolutely the most dangerous factor,” he said minutes before take-off.
“It’s the only thing that will carry me across, but bad conditions could also ruin the attempt or endanger my life.”
The capsule the adventurer is riding in is a lifeboat, which can be used in case he is forced to land over water.
Jonathan Trappe is trying to cross the Atlantic in a lifeboat suspended by some 370 multicolored helium balloons
“This is a serious piece of emergency gear that mariners rely upon to save their lives if their mother ship goes down,” Jonathan Trappe said.
Some 150 volunteers helped to fill the balloons with helium on Wednesday evening.
At sunrise, Jonathan Trappe ascended from a softball field in Caribou, near the Canadian border, in a scene reminiscent of the animated movie Up, in which a house attached to cluster balloons travelled across the skies.
“It was nail-biting waiting for a weather window that would allow me to get up into the air and catch those transatlantic winds we’d been seeing,” he said.
“I need to get on them and ride them across like a conveyor belt.”
By Thursday afternoon, Jonathan Trappe confirmed he was heading toward Newfoundland.
“In the quiet sky, above the great Gulf of St. Lawrence, traveling over 50mph – in my little yellow rowboat, at 18,000 feet,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
Jonathan Trappe will drop ballast in order to gain altitude, and pop or release balloons to descend.
He is relying on weather data from the same meteorologist who advised daredevil Felix Baumgartner on his record-breaking skydive from space last year.
Jonathan Trappe said it took him “two years of work and years more of dreams” to prepare for his journey.
“My heart could never live a long life the way it is beating now,” he wrote on his website.
“I have been looking at an epic challenge – one that honestly may prove to be beyond me – and I’ve changed my entire life to make it happen.”
But he also spoke of the dangers involved in his record-breaking attempt.
“Five people have lost their lives attempting to cross these waters in a balloon, and two non-pilots were lost into the oceans flying cluster balloons,” he said.
Jonathan Trappe’s flight can be tracked live via satellite.
Afghan Taliban insurgents attacked the US consulate in the western city of Herat.
Two Afghan police and one security guard were killed in the dawn assault, along with seven attackers. The US consulate said its staff was safe.
The Taliban said they carried out the attack, which began with a huge blast at the compound gates, sparking a gun battle near consulate buildings.
Attacks continue despite the planned withdrawal of foreign troops in 2014.
Seventeen civilians, including women and children, were injured in the Herat attack.
Herat sits close to the Iranian border on a vital trade route across southern Afghanistan and it has been relatively peaceful in recent years.
The US consulate in Herat was opened just four years ago in a former five-star hotel.
Afghan Taliban insurgents attacked the US consulate in the western city of Herat
The attack – carried out in the shadow of the anniversary of 9/11 – is a demonstration of the ability of insurgents to disrupt Afghanistan, 12 years after US-led forces toppled the Taliban.
In violence elsewhere, a truck bomb exploded near government offices in the volatile south-eastern province of Paktika, injuring several Afghan security personnel.
The force of the explosions in Herat left the road badly damaged and pieces of twisted metal and rubble could be seen in the vicinity of the consulate, reports say.
An Afghan army spokesman said a huge truck bomb damaged the outer defenses of the US consulate, allowing the attackers to breach the perimeter and shoot at the consulate buildings.
“A truck carrying attackers drove to the front gate, and attackers, possibly firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, commenced attacking Afghan Protective forces on the exterior of the gates,” US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.
“Shortly after, the entire truck exploded, extensively damaging the front gate [to the consulate],” she added.
The gunfire continued for some time, reporters at the scene said.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) tweeted at 04:00 GMT that the consulate was secure “with all enemy forces being killed”. ISAF and Afghan National Security Forces were at the scene, it added.
Earlier this month Taliban targeted the Torkham US base in eastern Afghanistan, sparking a lengthy gun battle in which three insurgents were killed.
Internet & Mobile World 2013 (IMWorld 2013), the second edition, is an event dedicated to digital business solutions. The exhibition and conferences will take place in Bucharest, on October 9th and 10th.
Visitors of the exhibition will have the opportunity to test first hand the intelligent Google Glasses, the latest gadget from Google, that can be activated by voice, acts like a mini-computer and helps the wearer to recognize the people he meets on the street or conferences and make business easier, and to connect to the Internet and social networks. These glasses can take pictures, shoot videos, have an option for videochat, can show GPS guides (Mercedes is testing Door-to-Door Navigation), and can translate in real time any written text that you see or words that you hear.
Google Glasses
“The 2nd edition of IMWorld brings together internationally renowned speakers and exhibitors as our intention is to facilitate the contact between the most important providers of digital solutions and the ones interested in using them for their projects and businesses. That is why we invited Nick Sohnenmann, founder and managing partner Future Candy, to the event; he and the analist Jan-Keno Janssen will present the Google Glasses”, said Cristian Hossu, Managing Partner Universum Events (IMWorld organizer)
Google Glasses’ presentation is scheduled to take place on the 1st day of the event, starting 10 a.m., and, afterwards, the glasses are available for testing in exhibition’s “Future Corner”.
Oculus Rift Glasses
“Other glasses based on a revolutionary technology and that will be also presented at IMWorld are Oculus Rift. Scheduled for launching in the beginning of 2014, the glasses have a 3D stethoscope viewfinder and 9DOF sensors and allow their users to experience video games from a new perspective and to better identify with the game characters”, said Cristian Hossu
[youtube 3b4w749Tud8 640 518]
Leap Motion is another piece of technology that will be unveiled to the Romanian public and allows controlling the computer simply by making different gestures. The device creates a work area of half meter around the computer and the actions in this area (hands, fingers or other objects movements) are sent directly, without needing a touchpad, a mouse or other instruments.
All the gadgets to be presented at IMWorld, along with other tech novelties, will be available for testing in IMWorld’s “Future Corner”.
Access to IMWorld is available by pre-registering and the “Very Early Bird” tickets – available on www.imworld.ro for a 50% discount until September 13th.
IMWorld’s second edition is scheduled for October 9-10, at Romexpo Bucharest; the event is structured on 3 business areas: Marketing Technologies, Mobile and Apps and Business Software, each with dedicated conference scene and exhibition area.
The event is supported by Romtelecom and Cosmote as main partners and Nokia, S&T Romania, Qualysoft, Telcor Communications, Entersoft, Microsoft, Fujitsu, Zitec, MailAgent, Agilio, Safetech, Agile Media, MODE360, Transart, Dynamic Web, Voxility, Mediapost Hit Mail, Mobixera and SEO monitor, Star Storage, Cisco, Bittnet, Pay Pro, as project’s sponsors. The creative partner of the event is Saatchi&Saatchi. The media partners are: Radio Guerrilla, The Money Channel, Getica OOH, Wall-Street.ro, HotNews.ro, AdHugger, Agora, B2B Advertising, Business Review, Business24.ro, Cariere, Comunicatedepresa.ro, Connect, DailyBusiness.ro, Digital Trends, Forbes, Incont.ro, IT Channel, IT TRENDS, Market Watch, Today Software Magazine, Ziare.com and Zona IT.
IMWorld 2013 expects 5,000 visitors and has already 25 confirmed international speakers and 130 digital and software companies. The event is organized by Universum Events, that also organizes “Innovation Summit”.
Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, has shrunk, according to new data released by US geographers.
Mount McKinley, located in the US state of Alaska, measured 83ft shorter than previously understood.
The mountain now stands at 20,237ft. It was last officially measured in 1952, researchers said.
Mount McKinley, located in the US state of Alaska, measured 83ft shorter than previously understood
The US Geological Survey speculated that the reduced height could either be the result of more accurate measurement technology or of “climate differences”.
The US Geological Survey released the data as part of the agency’s effort to update all of Alaska’s topographic maps.
The new measurement was taken in 2012 using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar, a technology designed to digitally track small geographic forms.
The 1952 measurement put the peak at 20,320ft, a figure that has remained on topographic maps since.
Mount McKinley, a popular mountaineering destination also known as Denali, is located in Denali National Park in the US state of Alaska.
Voyager-1 has become the first manmade object to leave the Solar System.
Scientists say the probe’s instruments indicate it has moved beyond the bubble of hot gas from our Sun and is now moving in the space between the stars.
Launched in 1977, Voyager was sent initially to study the outer planets, but then just kept on going.
Today, the veteran NASA mission is almost 12 billion miles from home.
This distance is so vast that it takes 17 hours now for a radio signal sent from Voyager to reach receivers here on Earth.
“This is really a key milestone that we’d been hoping we would reach when we started this project over 40 years ago – that we would get a spacecraft into interstellar space,” said Prof. Ed Stone, the chief scientist on the venture.
Sensors on Voyager had been indicating for some time that its local environment had changed.
The data that finally convinced the mission team to call the jump to interstellar space came from the probe’s Plasma Wave Science (PWS) instrument. This can measure the density of charged particles in Voyager’s vicinity.
Voyager-1 has become the first manmade object to leave the Solar System
Readings taken in April/May this year and October/November last year revealed a near-100-fold jump in the number of protons occupying every cubic metre of space.
Scientists have long theorized such a spike would eventually be observed if Voyager could get beyond the influence of the magnetic fields and particle wind that billow from the surface of the Sun.
When the Voyager team put the new data together with information from the other instruments onboard, they calculated the moment of escape to have occurred on or about 25 August, 2012. This conclusion is contained in a report published by the journal Science.
“This is big; it’s really impressive – the first human-made object to make it out into interstellar space,” said Prof. Don Gurnett from the University of Iowa and the principal investigator on the PWS.
On 25 August, 2012, Voyager-1 was some 121 Astronomical Units away. That is, 121 times the separation between the Earth and the Sun.
Although now embedded in the gas, dust and magnetic fields from other stars, Voyager still feels a gravitational tug from the Sun, just as some comets do that lie even further out in space. But to all intents and purposes, it has left what most people would define as the Solar System. It is now in a completely new domain.
Voyager-1 departed Earth on 5 September 1977, a few days after its sister spacecraft, Voyager-2.
The pair’s primary objective was to survey the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – a task they completed in 1989.
They were then steered towards deep space. It is expected that their plutonium power sources will stop supplying electricity in about 10 years, at which point their instruments and their 20W transmitters will die.
Voyager-1 will not approach another star for nearly 40,000 years, even though it is moving at 100,000mph.
“Voyager-1 will be in orbit around the centre of our galaxy with all its stars for billions of years,” said Prof. Ed Stone.
The probe’s work is not quite done, however. For as long as they have working instruments, scientists will want to sample the new environment.
The new region through which Voyager is now flying was generated and sculpted by big stars that exploded millions of years ago.
There is indirect evidence and models to describe the conditions in this medium, but Voyager can now measure them for real and report back.
Author JK Rowling is to make her screenwriting debut in a new Harry Potter-themed film series, Warner Bros has announced.
The first film of the series will be titled Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Warner Bros said the film series was part of an “expanded creative partnership” with the best-selling author.
The eight Harry Potter films are the largest-grossing film franchise in history.
The new film will feature Newt Scamander, the fictional author of the textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, owned by Harry Potter at Hogwarts school.
Warner Bros has given no indication as to when the film could go into production.
“It all started when Warner Bros came to me with the suggestion of turning Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them into a film,” said JK Rowling.
“I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of Fantastic Beasts, realised by another writer was difficult.
“Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood.”
JK Rowling is to make her screenwriting debut in a new Harry Potter-themed film series
JK Rowling went on: “As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.
“Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 years, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world.
“The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry’s gets underway.”
She added: “I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”
Warner Bros also announced that it would serve as the worldwide TV distributor (excluding the UK) for the upcoming BBC TV adaptation of JK Rowling’s recent adult novel The Casual Vacancy. It is expected to air in 2014.
More than 450 million copies of JK Rowling’s seven Harry Potter books have been sold worldwide.
She also wrote two small volumes, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages – both named after Harry Potter’s schoolbooks within the novels. They were published in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief.
Another Harry Potter spin-off book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, followed in December 2008.
The Harry Potter novels, about a boy wizard who survives the attack that kills his parents, became a worldwide phenomenon and were turned into eight blockbuster Warner Bros films starring Daniel Radcliffe.
The films have grossed more than $7.7 billion to date worldwide at the box office, making Harry Potter the largest-grossing film franchise in history.
At a makeshift court in the company warehouse, Si Robertson failed to make a single basket, despite using a trick shot called “the crane.”
Employee Justin Martin, meanwhile, was bonked by a basketball in a sensitive area and had to take a few minutes to recover. And despite having a new pair of shoes that looked like a cross between vintage Air Jordans and a pair of pogo sticks, Jep Robertson could not manage to sink a single shot.
“These shoes are for training, not for actual dunking in,” Jep Robertson explained after his humiliating display.
But the boys had bigger problems than their basketball skills: They discovered that the warehouse was infested with termites.
Wasting no time, the Robertsons called an exterminator, who promptly covered the entire Duck Commander warehouse with an enormous red and yellow striped tent.
“All of this for some little termites?” asked Jase Robertson.
“I ain’t takin’ no chances,” explained Willie Robertson.
“Anything living or crawling in there, I want to kill. Kill ‘em all.”
Since the boys were unable to work in the warehouse while the exterminator fogged the building, Willie Robertson sent the crew off to John Godwin’s house to work.
Not wanting to miss an opportunity to show off her “successful, good-looking, charming” son, Miss Kay instructs Willie Robertson to take the afternoon off so that he speak at her social club, the Golden ‘60s.
“When you’re the CEO, people look up to you,” Willie Robertson explained.
Duck Dynasty airs Wednesday nights on A&E
“They want to know the secrets to you your success.”
Dressed in a sharp white jacket, Willie arrived at the social club where he met his mother and half a dozen senior ladies.
Looking very uncomfortable, Willie asked Miss Kay if he should begin speaking to the group. Instead, he is ordered to “go get the lunch.”
“Go get the what?” asked Willie, confused.
“I’m not going to get the lunch. I’m speaking.”
Meanwhile, the Duck Commander crew were busy eating popsicles at John Godwin’s house – and occasionally assembling duck calls.
“Let me tell you about my crew,” explained Jase Robertson.
“We will work anywhere, anytime. But we are at our best when we have snacks and air conditioning, and no Willie.”
After finishing their popsicles, Uncle Si Robertson unwraps a package with John Godwin’s “inheritance” from his Uncle Ruben, a stuffed jackalope, which is allegedly “part rabbit and part deer.”
“Godwin, I’m telling you that’s worth some money,” Uncle Si said of the dead creature.
“Let’s go find us a taxidermist,” declared Jase Robertson.
With that, the boys head out to McGough’s Taxidermy get the furry figure appraised.
The dead animal emporium failed to impress Jase Robertson.
“Who gets excited about a building filled with stuffed animals?” he asked rhetorically.
“I certainly don’t. Animals should be eaten, not stuffed. The only animal I stuff is a turkey on Thanksgiving, sometimes Christmas.”
Sadly, John Godwin’s jackalope was appraised at only $50.
Eventually, John Godwin decided to keep his animal as-is and name him “Benjamin Bunny.”
Colorado flooding left three people dead and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of homes.
Many roads are closed because of high water and debris, preventing rescue crews from reaching the stranded.
Up to 7in of rain fell in three hours in the Boulder area on Thursday morning, the third day of rain.
Residents in two areas south-east of the town of Estes Park have been ordered to evacuate after an earthen dam gave way in the area.
Further heavy rainfall is expected on Thursday.
Emergency officials have reported three deaths: one in Colorado Springs; one when a structure collapsed in Jamestown; and another in Boulder.
A 20ft wall of water was reported in Left Hand Canyon, north of Boulder, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Kleyla.
Colorado flooding left three people dead and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of homes
Rescuers in the area were trying to get through debris to reach a firefighter who climbed a tree to escape the water, according to US media reports.
Some 400 students at University of Colorado, Boulder, were evacuated and classes were cancelled on Thursday because of the flooding.
Mandatory evacuations have also been ordered for the Jamestown and Fourmile areas.
Colorado State Patrol Captain John Burt said damage was being reported across several counties, including Boulder, Larimer and Jefferson, north-west of Denver, and El Paso County around Colorado Springs.
Almost all roads to Boulder had been blocked or flooded, according to the Denver Post.
Standing water on a road caused some traffic delays into Denver International Airport, but not to flights.
Officials told NBC that water reached as high as first-floor windows in some parts of Boulder, while cars were seen floating in the streets.
An emergency bulletin from Adams County, east of Denver, warned residents: “Stay away or be swept away.”
Boulder emergency management spokeswoman Gabrielle Boerkircher told AFP news agency the rainfall had been unusual not only for the amount of rain but for how the storm was behaving.
“It’s been a weird storm,” she said, adding it had been “turning back around on itself all night”.
June Shannon is seen getting a shave from her daughter Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon in her hit show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.
Mama June, 34, is shown in the season two finale of the show, preparing for her commitment ceremony with longtime love Sugar Bear.
The bride was keen that everything should be perfect for her big day, including her own personal grooming.
Loyal daughter Lauryn is seen attacking her mum’s “neck hairs” with a razor as the family prepare for the ceremony, which took place back in May.
“Mama still hasn’t shaved her neck hairs for the commitment ceremony,” Pumpkin helpfully points out.
June Shannon is seen getting a shave from her daughter Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon in her hit show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
“And I think I’m gonna help her with that so we can check it off the list.”
Once the shave is complete June Shannon is seen getting her make-up applied, choosing a bright pink lippie and green eyeshadow to get the blushing bride look.
The green makeup coordinated perfectly with Mama June’s unusual choice in wedding gown, a “camo-style” dress, with the entire family later joining the family matriarch in full on camouflage gear.
Honey Boo Boo, now 8, served as flower girl at the ceremony, which took place at the family’s home in Georgia.
Mama June and Sugar Bear met almost ten years ago in an online chat room following relationship break-ups. They hit it off and two years later welcomed the star of the family, Honey Boo Boo.
Honey Boo Boo shot to fame on the fly-on-the-wall pageant show Toddlers & Tiaras in 2009 and scored her own spin-off series last year.
Botox treatment for wrinkles around the corners of the eyes – also known as “crow’s feet” – was officially sanctioned by the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday.
Crow’s feet are thought to be caused by repeated muscle contractions over a lifetime through facial expressions like frowning, smiling and squinting.
“This additional indication will provide people with a new FDA approved treatment option for those seeking a smoother appearance by temporarily minimizing the appearance of crow’s feet at the sides of the eyes,” said Susan Walker, director of the Division of Dermatology and Dental Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in theFDA statement.
Botox has been used for decades by opthalmologists to treat eyelid twitching, or blepharospasm, according to Dr. Jennifer Walden.
The Texas-based aesthetic plastic surgeon, told CBSNews.comthat this is one of the ways doctors discovered it could smooth the skin.
While this new FDA approval for Botox only came Wednesday, Dr. Jennifer Walden said: “Doctors have been using it off-label for years to smooth the crow’s feet.”
FDA approved Botox treatment for crow’s feet and lines
The new FDA approval came following a study of 833 adults conducted by the drug’s manufacturer, Allergan Inc. of Irvine, California, where participants were randomly assigned to receive a Botox or a placebo injection.
People treated with Botox had greater reductions in crow’s feet.
Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) is a protein and neurotoxin and is the most acutely toxic substance known.
However, when injected directly into a muscle in approved doses, Botox prevents muscles from tightening by temporarily paralyzing them, which in turn makes wrinkles disappear – for up to six months.
Botox was first approved as a cosmetic by the FDA in 2002 for temporary improvement of frown lines – the wrinkles between the eyebrows, also known as glabellar lines.
The most common side effect seen was eyelid edema, which causes the eyelids to become swollen due to fluid buildup.
Botox labels contain the strongest warning the FDA offers saying the effects of the toxin may spread from the area of injection to other areas of the body.
However, the FDA said there has never been a confirmed serious case of this happening when Botox is used at recommended doses.
According to Dr. Marco Harmaty, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, Botox has been frequently used for crow’s feet and other unapproved areas of the face, like the side of the nose.
The FDA’s new approval “does give you an added benefit and safety of saying that I’m not doing anything illegal or potentially harmful”, he said to CBSNews.com.
Botox for cosmetic purposes still likely won’t be covered by insurers, given it is used for cosmetic purposes.
Insurers often cover people who have approved medical conditions treated by Botox, including chronic migraines, severe underarm sweating and others.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has appeared on Russian TV to confirm that his country’s chemical weapons will be placed under international control.
Bashar al-Assad’s comments, to Rossiya 24, came as US and Russian foreign ministers prepared to meet in Geneva to discuss the plan, proposed by Russia earlier this week.
He insisted that the move was a result of the Russian initiative and not the threat of US military action.
The US accuses the Syrian regime of killing hundreds in a chemical attack.
Syrian government denies the allegation, blaming rebels for the attack in the Ghouta area of the capital, Damascus, on August 21.
Russia announced its proposal for dealing with the escalating chemical weapons crisis on Monday, as the US Congress was preparing to vote on whether to back President Barack Obama’s moves towards military action against Syria.
Bashar al-Assad has appeared on Russian TV to confirm that Syria’s chemical weapons will be placed under international control
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov outlined three main phases of the proposal:
Syria joins the Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws the production and use of the weapons
Syria reveals where its chemical weapons are stored and gives details of its programme
Experts decide on the specific measures to be taken
In his interview, which has not yet been broadcast in full, Bashar al-Assad told state-run Rossiya 24: “Syria is placing its chemical weapons under international control because of Russia. The US threats did not influence the decision.”
He confirmed that Syria would send relevant documents to the UN “in the next few days” as part of the process of signing the chemical weapons convention.
Bashar al-Assad said Syria would then submit information on its chemical weapons one month after signing.
He also said that Russia’s proposal was “not unilateral”, adding: “Syria will accept it if America stops military threats and if other countries supplying the rebels with chemical weapons also abide by the agreement.”
Bashar al-Assad said only Russia could make the agreement happen as “Syria has neither contacts with, nor trust in, America”.
Sergei Lavrov – who is scheduled to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva on Thursday to discuss the plan – said during a visit to Kazakhstan: “I am sure that there is a chance for peace in Syria. We cannot let it slip away.”
He did not mention the destruction of the weapons, which was part of Moscow’s original proposal but is thought to be a sticking point in negotiations with Damascus.
Before meeting Sergei Lavrov, John Kerry is holding talks with UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi.
Alexei Navalny has launched hundreds of lawsuits contesting Sergei Sobyanin’s victory in Moscow mayoral election.
Alexei Navalny delivered boxes full of complaints of fraud to Moscow city court, and began filing 951 lawsuits with 36 district courts.
The city court refused his request to stop Sergei Sobyanin’s inauguration on Thursday night.
Alexei Navalny has launched hundreds of lawsuits contesting Sergei Sobyanin’s victory in Moscow mayoral election
The courts could take months to consider the lawsuits.
Sergei Sobyanin, the Kremlin-backed candidate, won 51.3% of Sunday’s vote – just above the 50% threshold needed to avoid a second-round ballot – according to Russian election officials.
Alexei Navalny came second with 27.2%.
He called for a run-off and refused to recognize the results, saying they had been “deliberately falsified”.
Alexei Navalny said the count had been marred by “many serious violations”.
Blobfish has won a public vote to become the official mascot of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society.
This gives the fish the unofficial title of world’s ugliest animal.
The Ugly Animal Preservation Society began as a science-themed comedy night and devised its mascot campaign to draw attention to “aesthetically challenged” threatened species.
The winner was announced at the British Science Festival in Newcastle.
The blobfish tops a list that includes the huge-nosed proboscis monkey, the similarly afflicted pig-nosed turtle, an amphibian affectionately known as a “scrotum frog” and pubic lice.
Biologist and TV presenter Simon Watt, president of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society, said he hoped the campaign would draw attention to the threats facing these weird and wonderful creatures.
Simon Watt said he hoped the vote would also bring a lighter side to conservation.
“It’s the most depressing type of science to be involved with,” he said.
“It’s basically working out: What died today?”
Blobfish has won a public vote to become the official mascot of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society
For this campaign, Simon Watt worked with comedians, each of whom created a campaign message on YouTube for their chosen creature. The society asked the public to vote for their favorite.
The blobfish eventually won by almost 10,000 votes.
The bizarre creature lives off the coast of south-eastern Australia and Tasmania, at depths of between 600 and 1,200 m, where atmospheric pressure is several dozen times higher than at sea level.
Blobfish’s gelatinous body is just slightly more dense than water, and it spends its life “bobbing around” in the depths.
It feeds on crabs and lobsters and so suffers a significant threat from fishing trawlers. Although it is inedible itself, it gets caught up in the nets.
Other animals on the shortlist face similar threats to their habitats and Simon Watt hopes that this campaign will highlight the fact that conservation should focus on the protection of habitats rather than specific species.
The remaining animals in the top five were:
The kakapo: The world’s only flightless parrot. This heavy bird evolved in an island “bubble”, with no natural predators. But its New Zealand home now has many mammals, including humans, that have decimated the population of the famously curious kakapo. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there were just 126 of the birds remaining in the wild in early 2012.
The axolotl: This is the salamander that never grows up. The amphibian spends its entire life underwater, unlike other salamanders, which develop the ability to breathe out of the water when they mature. The axolotl’s perpetual state of larval development means that it is able to re-grow lost limbs. It also means the creatures are of huge interest to scientists; the salamanders are studied for their apparent natural resistance to ageing and cancer. They live only in a small cluster of lakes in Mexico that are now becoming dangerously polluted.
The Titicaca water frog: This amphibian lives only in Lake Titicaca in the Andes. It has evolved a reduced lung capacity, so its many skin folds help it to breathe. According to some researchers’ accounts, the frogs do “press-ups” at the bottom of the lake to create disturbances in the water that increase oxygen flow.
The proboscis monkey: As well as a very oversized nose, this primate also has a rotund appearance, which is a by-product of its diet of unripe fruit. Only the males have such large noses and, although they might look odd to us, it is thought that they make the primates more attractive to potential mates.
[youtube qQRV5d8duwg]
Kris Jenner has come under fire for her show once again, this time by comedienne Chelsea Handler, Star magazine reported.
The publication quotes a source claiming Chelsea Handler told Kris Jenner to “shut her pie hole” after she started a war of words with President Barack Obama.
“She said that Honey Boo Boo’s mom has more class [than Kris Jenner]” the insider added.
Chelsea Handler says Honey Boo Boo’s mom has more class than Kris Jenner
Although there appears to be no firm decision on the future of Kris Jenner’s talk show, Radar reported last night that it is close to being cancelled.
“It is a very crowded market and Kris didn’t do anything to set herself apart from the field,” a source told the site.
“Believe it or not, most of America doesn’t want to hear about the Kardashians for an hour every day.”
Capital One Purchase Eraser commercial features Alec Baldwin pretending to be a secret agent and a smoking hot woman rolling up on him on a motorcycle asking if he needs backup.
Ever wondered who that actress is? Her name is Tiffany Dupont from Virginia.
Capital One girl in black leather is Tiffany Dupont
Tiffany Dupont is a graduate of the University of Georgia and has appeared on TV shows such as Hawaii Five-0, Supernatural, Franklin & Bash, Castle, and CSI: Miami and will be in a film in 2013 called Born to Race: Fast Track.
She even has her own Wikipedia page, the true sign of fame.
Tiffany Dupont is active on Twitter and is also on Facebook.
From the creators of the hit series Duck Dynasty, Gurney Productions takes us out of the swamp and into the hills for the comedic Discovery Channel series Porter Ridge.
On the Ridge, playing with bears, holding family demolition derbies and wearing a shirt is optional, but their code of life is simple: respect the lord, love your family and watch each other’s backs.
Meet the folks of Porter Ridge, a tight-knit community of colorful characters that are unlike any other on Discovery channel on Tuesdays at 10:30 PM ET/PT.
Tucked away in the rolling hills of Indiana, far from big city life, this isolated, lawless community lives by its own set of rules. The eccentric band of misfits in Porter Ridge often butt heads but ultimately join together to keep their unique “Hilljack” way of life afloat. Although their lifestyle may not be acceptable by most people’s standards, you can’t help but laugh at all the crazy antics that are an everyday occurrence on Porter Ridge.
The Porter Ridge cast includes:
Terry Porter: CEO and owner of Country Auto Parts, an auto junkyard, Terry is the fast-talking, shirtless, wild man in charge of the most legendary business on the Ridge. Having spent his entire life on the Ridge, he fancies himself the true leader of this backwoods clan but often times proves that he’s not suited to lead much beyond a scrapyard negotiation. For Terry Porter, it’s all about the next race, the next repo, the next get rich quick idea and whatever it takes to beat his longtime rivals from over on Dog Killer Ridge.
The folks of Porter Ridge are a tight-knit community of colorful characters that are unlike any other on Discovery channel
Jeff Watson: The Bear Man, has lived on the Ridge almost 20-years with a backyard full of bears. He has eight, truffle hunting, Brown Bears as companions. Jeff Watson treats his bears like family, and has a genuine affection for these powerful animals. Unfortunately, the other guys on the Ridge don’t always have the same love for these 1,500-pound beasts.
Dirty Andy: The scrappy scrapper, Dirty Andy is a renowned hustler on the ridge. Always looking for a way to make a buck, he and Terry Porter don’t always see eye-to-eye when it comes to doing deals. Whether it’s an old lawnmower or a rusty trampoline, there is nothing that Dirty Andy can’t turn to cash. He may look like Santa Claus, but this heavy-set hilljack definitely doesn’t smell like Christmas.
Kayla Wood: A local ridge girl herself, this country calendar model may look like the girl next door but she is as feisty as they come and negotiates with the best of them. While she’s supposed to be selling parts, Kayla Wood ends up spending most of her days trying to keep Terry Porter from sinking his business like the Titanic.
Danny Bob: The most longstanding employee of Country Auto, a whiz with a blowtorch, and one of Terry Porter’s closest friends. He’s a no-nonsense, wisecracking, ex-Army, guy who can fix just about anything with an engine. Danny Bob also has a handful of ex-wives in his past, including one he married twice – which he says is the definition of “stupid.”
Elvis Larry: The local garbage man, and jack-of-all-trades on the ridge, this Elvis look-alike is a good-natured momma’s boy and an unlikely source of wisdom at times. He will clean your gutters or fix your tractor, and knows all the gossip that’s fit to tell.
Barry Moore: A former tree-climbing and national clogging champion, Barry Moore is everyone’s buddy. He’s a cool character who rarely gets ruffled, and prides himself on his quick wit and first class mullet.
Rusty Porter: Rusty learned from the best, since he’s the 13-year old son of Terry Porter and around these parts he’s the face of trouble as he’s often up to no good. He has every kid’s dream life where instead of Matchbox cars, he gets to drive a full size lifter and crush actual automobiles.
Dog Killer Ridge: The rivals from the next ridge over, the men of Dog Killer Ridge only have one thing in common with what they feel are their inferior neighbors on Porter Ridge, the need for speed in a hunk of junk. They might only live a few miles away, but they are worlds apart. They feel it’s their God-given responsibility to let the Porter Ridge clan know at every opportunity just who is top dog around these parts – DKR (Dog Killer Ridge).
