blog.vanillacokehead.com

• shakes his head: cap gun triggers SWAT team response at WA state elementary school. http://bit.ly/cgmrFU #fb #
• loves this list of 10 types of mommies who just don't get it (via @jenniascher) – good stuff. http://bit.ly/cFqAuO #fb #
• loves this great NYT piece about holding one's emotional ground during marital strife. http://nyti.ms/cVXdQV #fb #
• is home from work and trying to relax – have kids 1.0 and 2.0 – along with 3 other kids. The house is unsettlingly unkempt. #fb #
• loves this proposal to change the Washington State logo: a tapeworm sucking the blood out of taxpayers. http://bit.ly/bDaj9H #
• thinks officials in Bristol, CT need to worry about other things than a tax service using "Statue of Liberty" wavers. http://bit.ly/bpGjkm #
• still has five kids in the house and #
• @SeanGilbow and I hit send prematurely. :) The kids are finally down to just EG and J…. in reply to SeanGilbow #

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• Moregasm: Babeland’s Guide to Mind-Blowing Sex: Babeland’s Good-Looking Sex Advice
  by Paul Constant

  Let's be honest here, authors: Unless you've discovered a brand-new gender, you're probably not going to bring anything new to the field of sex-instruction manuals. The only difference between the hundreds of how-to books in your average bookstore's sex section, generally, has to do with the design of the book. Besides that, they all have the same "there's nothing wrong with masturbation" pep talk; the same section about how to bring role-playing, costumes, and toys into the bedroom to revive…

  [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

• ‘Madness’ sought in attack
  He goes by the name Madness, and police want to talk to the 6-foot-2, 225-pound man about an incident that left a homeless person in a medically induced coma at University Hospital.
• Seattle man convicted of hate crime for racist outburst
  A Seattle man charged last year after he launched into a racial tirade at a parking lot attendant has been found guilty of a hate crime.
• eBay scammer convicted; consumers lost $717,000 in 5,500 bogus auctions
  A decade ago, Nilton Rossoni’s export business tanked along with the Brazilian economy. Ever the entrepreneur, Rossoni would soon concoct a brilliant cash-making scheme on eBay. The former resident of Sunny Isles, Fla., “sold” everything from airline tickets to DVD collections to rotisserie grills on the Internet auction site. But in reality, it was all a scam. He never shipped a thing to thousands of winning bidders who had paid him.
• Ball State Immersion Program Creates Next Generation of Sports-Production Pros

  In 2008, Ball State University launched an innovative TV-sports-production program called Sports Link. To gain real-world experience in all aspects of sports production, university telecommunications students rotate among different disciplines from one production to the next in an effort to prepare for a career. Less than two years later, the program is an unqualified success, giving students an advantage in a competitive job market, the athletic department greater exposure, and local and national media outlets access to highlights, feature stories, game coverage, and more.

  “Within a short amount of time, the number of students signing up for the program grew, and, when we began this past fall semester, the students knew they were part of something special,” says Chris Taylor, instructor in Telecommunications/Sports Immersion and Media. “This immersive learning experience is a real cornerstone and differentiates us from other telecommunications programs. It’s unique for students to be able to earn college credits while working on sports productions.”

  Taylor was hired last year on a full-time basis to run a program that, this semester, will produce 13 live sporting events. Currently, 16 students are signed up for the spring semester, up from 10 in the fall. Students have a chance to sample a number of job duties, working the same position for two consecutive productions. That allows them to get their feet wet on one production and have a chance to apply lessons learned to a second.

  “The challenge is scheduling the remotes so there is an opportunity for proper learning in class between the events,” says Taylor. “The students meet as a class twice a week for two hours and then pull together story ideas, schedule guests, cover press conferences, and work on the remotes.”

  Priceless Experience
  Producing all that content gives the students a tremendous amount of real-world experience. Last semester, the 10 students logged more than 5,000 hours during the 14-week program.

  Rick Johnston, a senior telecommunications major currently in the program, says the experience has been priceless, giving students a chance to work in such diverse positions as EVS replay, cameraperson, audio mixer, and more. His career goal is to be a play-by-play announcer, but his skill set has him ready for any potential opening.

  “When I graduate in May, I am going to be head and shoulders above others who are graduating, no questions asked,” he says. A typical live-remote day involves getting on-site at 7 a.m. for pre-production and to set up cameras. Then, it’s off to class and back to the venue at 3 p.m. to begin working on the show.

  “We can also practice as much as we want out at the truck and build up our comfort level and work experience,” he says. “We really have the outlets to do what we want.”

  Taylor says it isn’t only the program’s students who learn. Because the athletes get interviewed on camera more often, they become more accustomed to answering questions, an important skill for future professional athletes. “The experience this provides our students on a daily basis and the exposure it creates for the athletes and university make it worth any school to try and figure out how to do a sports program.”

  The exposure extends well beyond campus, with content seen across Indiana and across the country. Content is streamed via the Internet nationally, but the local campus PBS station broadcasts programming. Content is also available on-demand via the local Comcast system. And a network of TV stations across the state receive highlight reels via FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and audio reports are heard on 18 radio stations in Indiana.

  “Students learn that this is a deadline-oriented profession as they work late making melt reels for local TV stations,” Taylor adds.

  And even ESPNU has tapped into the Ball State program. On Jan. 14, The Malik Perry Story, a program produced by Ball State Sports Link seniors Seth Tanner and Nick Yeoman and sophomore Ben Wagner, aired on the network.

  “We’ve built a strong relationship with ESPN, and, from the production side, we can send them and any of the networks events as needed,” says Taylor. ESPN on-air talent, including Linda Cohn and Andy Katz, have also stopped by to teach students about a career in broadcasting.

  Starting a Program
  He believes that every college or university with a telecommunications department and an athletic department could offer a similar program. The key is finding believers at the top ranks of the school.

  “You need an AD who sees this as important and also a dean and a president who think it is important,” he explains, noting, “Sports is one of the most consistent PR and marketing tools a school has throughout the entire year.”

  Taylor’s background working in an athletic department makes him a believer in the power of electronic media. As more and more departments move towards electronic online media guides, for example, video and audio content will become a necessity.

  “With the exception of the majors and a few mid majors, most schools don’t have the resources or a video department that can create that content,” he explains. “But we’ve been able to put together 60 athlete profiles that have been viewed more than 10,000 times.”

  In most cases, Taylor believes it is best for the Athletic Department to reach out to the educational side because it is ultimately the Athletic Department that has the need for content.

  Perhaps most important, there is a revenue component to a properly run program. First Merchants Bank has stepped up as a corporate sponsor, and the students support the effort by building video billboards and other content.

  “First Merchants Bank has been blown away by what the students do for them,” says Taylor. “And that makes the athletic department look great but also fulfills the academic mission. It’s a win-win, and we see that continuing as a number of other corporate sponsors are interested in getting involved.”

• Comcast Rebrands Itself as Xfinity. Seriously? That’s… That’s All You Got? [Comcast]

  So, Comcast has some public image issues. And what do you do when you want to fix the perception but not the underlying problems? Change your name! Change it to the worst, pseudo-pornographic, retro-futuristic garbage marketing dollars can buy.

  Do you get it, people? It’s infinity, which is awesome, and X, which is dangerous. It’s, like, dangerously awesome.

  The overhaul will apply to Comcast’s technology platform and products, which means all you malcontent Comcast cable, internet, and phone customers will soon be malcontent Xfinity cable, internet, and phone customers. They’ll start rolling out the rebranding next week in about a dozen markets, with the rest of the country getting the Xfinity treatment later this month.

  This comes at a time, conveniently enough, when Comcast would just possibly want to divert the conversation away from its upcoming merger with NBC. It’s working, at least on the offical Comcast Blog, where they’re positively GUSHING. Well, I guess someone has to. [Comcast Blog via Consumerist]

  
  

  

  

• Monster buys Yahoo’s HotJobs for $225 million
  Another divestiture for Yahoo will result in an upfront cash payment and three-year exclusive deal with Monster to supply job search listings on Yahoo’s home page.
• It’s About Time: A Drill-Free Fix For Cavities [Teeth]

  If bacteria settle in between your teeth and form a cavity, your dentist must drill through your tooth just to get at it. But now dentists can trade their drills for a simple treatment that stops early-stage cavities.

  The Icon system lets dentists halt decay between teeth. Usually when a dentist spots an early cavity-when bacteria have eaten away enough tooth such that it’s a weak lattice but hasn’t yet degraded into a true cavity’s sinkhole-he prescribes an enamel-strengthening fluoride rinse and hopes the tooth heals itself. If that doesn’t work, the only option is drilling through healthy tooth to get to the problem spot.

  Icon, developed by dental-materials manufacturer DMG, does away with both the drill and the waiting time. A dentist simply slides a thin plastic applicator between the patient’s teeth and squirts the cavity with hydrochloric acid, which etches away the enamel to access the tooth’s deeper layers. Using a fresh applicator, he then injects a low-viscosity resin into the gaps in the tooth’s lattice and hardens the resin with a quick flash of high-energy blue light to fortify the tooth.

  DMG is working on a version that could hold up to the wear and tear of a tooth’s chewing surfaces, which company president George Wolfe hopes to have ready in a year. The sooner the better, he says: “One of my greatest fears is having to hold down my scared kid for a filling. Hopefully, I’ll never have to.”

  Popular Science is your wormhole to the future. Reporting on what’s new and what’s next in science and technology, we deliver the future now.

  
  

  

  

• Suspect angered by pre-pay gas pump
  PINSON, Ala., Feb. 3 (UPI) — Police in Alabama said a man who allegedly drove his truck into a gas station because he was angry about a pre-pay-only pump was charged with attempted murder.
• From Underwear To Kids’ Toys: Gender Segregation In Shopping [Child's Play]

  The toy industry magazine Playthings poses an interesting question: if Chinese department stores don’t segregate their underwear section by gender, why must we segregate our toys?

  In a post for the magazine’s Out of the Toy Box blog, Richard Gottlieb writes,

  [T]he notion of gender in toys is so ingrained in our thinking that we never stop to think that maybe it’s not a fact of nature but rather a cultural outlook that we impose.

  That was the thought that I had when coming upon an underwear department in a Chinese department store. To my surprise, the women’s and men’s underwear were merchandised in one department: The underwear department.

  Obviously, in this culture (or certainly that department store) the western notion of merchandising by gender did not prevail. Wouldn’t it be interesting if we took a step back and stopped merchandising by gender?

  Wouldn't it, indeed? While the store Gottlieb visited may not represent all Chinese department stores, his observation does show that even underwear — something we think of as extremely gender-specific — isn't always separated by gender. As Gottlieb notes, this raises the question of what would happen if we stopped dividing toy stores into pink and blue aisles. But it also made me wonder why stores make gender divisions in the first place.

  In the case of underwear, stores might fear that women would be uncomfortable shopping alongside men — although the few men usually browsing the Victoria's Secret racks make clear that we can usually handle it. Perhaps managers also think men won't want to shop around girl stuff, like bras, which is possible — but this is probably culturally determined. I doubt that men are congenitally unable to open their wallets in the presence of lingerie — strip clubs are a testament to that. Most likely, store managers and merchandisers just feel most comfortable breaking down customers into demographic groups, and one of the main groups is gender.

  You’d think that the rise of online shopping would fix this problem, but as we noted last holiday season, gender categories for toys persist on the web. And if I want to buy, say, a button-down shirt with no goddamn darts, I usually have to go to the men's section of the e-commerce site of my choice. I don't mean to say that all items should be marketed equally to men and women — moobs aside, for instance, women will always be the main consumers of bras. It's just that in many cases, stores might be more interesting and consumer-friendly if they came up with smarter divisions than gender. As Gottlieb says, this is especially true when it comes to toys. Just as there's little actual difference between action figures and dolls, there's little reason to suspect that kids want their toy stores separated into boys' halves and girls' halves — except insofar as everyone tells them that's what they want. Of course, the commercialization of gender may benefit retailers, by allowing them to sell essentially the same product in two different, gender-"appropriate" packages. And department stores are unlikely to be on the forefront of social change. Still, there's a certain power in knowing that it doesn't have to be this way, that alternative modes of merchandising exist — even if they're half a world away.

  Underwear And The Toy Department [Playthings: Out of the Toy Box Blog]

  
  

• Thieves swipe Twinkies, leave tracks in snow
  Thieves swipe Twinkies
• Grass Valley Gear Gets the Call for Super Bowl XLIV

  High-definition production technology from Grass Valley will once again play a major part in bringing all of the excitement of the NFL’s biggest game to viewers around the world. Several mobile-production companies will have trucks on-site at Dolphin Stadium in Miami with Grass Valley production equipment, including cameras, production switchers, and signal routers to produce coverage of Super Bowl XLIV, live in HD, on Sunday Feb. 7.

  NEP Supershooters will send its SS24 HD production truck — one of the largest in the country — to cover the live game activities. Comprising two 53-ft. double-expando trailers, it features a Grass Valley Kalypso HD production switcher as well as Grass Valley Trinix and Concerto Series routing switchers to handle the hundreds of digital video and audio signals being used for the main game broadcast.

  NEP Supershooters will have seven additional trucks at the game: Denali Silver will handle production of the halftime show for CBS with a Kalypso and Trinix; SS25 will produce the World Feed for NFL Films with a Kalypso, Trinix, and LDK 8000 cameras; ESU will be on hand to support the CBS telecast with Trinix and Series 7000 routers; SS11 will be handling ESPN Sports Center with a Kalypso and Trinix; SS17 will be using a Kalypso and Trinix for DirecTV’s Bash, and Yes 1 will be at South Beach for the NFL Network; and SS9 will serve as additional facilities for the game with a Kalypso.

  NEP Supershooters’ sister company New Century Productions (NCP) will have NCP VIII on-site to handle production of the Super Bowl XLIV pre-game and post-game telecasts for CBS with a Grass Valley Kalypso DUO switcher.

  In addition, Lyon Video, based in Columbus, OH, will have two of its mobile-production trucks at the game, using up to 14 Grass Valley LDK 8000 Elite WorldCam HD cameras in handheld configuration to capture the sights and sounds of the event for the NFL Films Media Center.

• Police will blitz Greater Cleveland on Super Bowl Sunday to intercept drunken drivers
  Free kits are being offered to people hosting Super Bowl parties. The kits contain a football-shaped bowl to collect guests’ keys as they arrive, recipes for non-alcoholic drinks, a $5 Giant Eagle gift card for drink ingredients and a $5 taxi voucher.
• Mel Gibson keeps it classy, calls reporter an a**hole
  Even though it has been nearly four years since Mel Gibson’s notorious anti-semitic tirade, he still isn’t ready to talk about it just yet. While promoting his latest film ‘Edge of Darkness,’ Dean Richards, an entertainment reporter for Chicago’s WGN-TV interviewed the actor but the exchange turned sour when Richards asked the following: “Do you think the public will perceive you any differently after all that’s been in the news about you?”

  Gibson responds defensively, “That’s almost four years ago, dude … I’ve done all the necessary mea culpas. Let’s move on.” Of course, the interview quickly wraps up — but not before Gibson mutters, “bye bye, a**hole” under his breath. Watch:

  Awkward!

  PopEater

• Emotionally Unstable Woman Weeps at Every Movie [Emotions]

  Some guy has created a website all about how his wife blubbers like a crazy person at the end of pretty much all the movies. He films her sobbing after watching tear-jerkers like Back to the Future III and 2012.

  The whole thing is supposed to be adorable, and it is, sorta. In the same kind of funny/sad way that this video was cute but also quietly unsettling. Though the husband assures us in the site’s FAQs section that his wife is perfectly mentally fit and doesn’t bawl uncontrollably at everything in life, just silly movies, we just don’t know, man. This lady is a liiiittle wacky. What happens when she watches, like, Night and Fog? Does her face just fall off? Another scary fact: Apparently she “used to cry at the end of The Little Mermaid when she was 4.” So this person is 25-years-old, tops. Unless the guy’s talking about the weird Richard Chamberlain version where she turns to sea foam at the end. Is that the one? We doubt that’s the one. Point being: What happens when she has kids? This, we guess.

  [via Cinematical]

  

  

• Duggars help save life.
  Two of the Duggar sons, Joshua and John, are being hailed as heroes, after family members said they helped save the life of a 6-year-old girl injured in a car crash last week.

  The crash happened right in front of Joshua’s car dealership on Thompson Street last Thursday afternoon.

  Three cars rear-ended each other that day, and Joshua quickly came to their aid.

  “I thought fender bender, no big deal, happens quite often here actually. And then I realized there was a little girl,” said Joshua.

  Joshua said the girl was sitting in the front seat, airbags had been deployed and she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

  He immediately called 911 and brought her into his office.

  “The little girl was unconscious. She was not breathing,” said Joshua.

  He and his brother, John, immediately started CPR.

  “My brother — he started doing chest compressions on her. I was helping elevate and tilt her head back some,” said Joshua.

  Minutes later, paramedics showed up. And with the Duggars’ help, they were able to revive Maddye.

  “They realized there was something blocking her airway. She had been eating chicken nuggets when the accident happened and it caused the blockage of the airway,” said Joshua.

  Maddye is still in the hospital being treated for her injuries, but family members say little Maddye wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for Joshua’s quick thinking.

  “He is the hero here. He deserves a lot of credit for what he did and I thank him from the bottom of my heart,” said Joshua.

  But Joshua isn’t taking all the credit. He said he just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

  “The Springdale paramedics did a phenomenal job. I was just a piece of the puzzle, a very small piece at that, that really helped to saved Maddye's life. And I'm just really grateful to be a part of it,” said Joshua.

  Maddye was flown to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock — the same hospital where the 19th Duggar, Josie Brooklyn, was born nearly three months prematurely.

  Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar paid a visit to Maddye’s room Tuesday night, and they said she is in critical condition but expected to do OK.

  there’s a video at the SOURCE

• Lesbian Albatrosses Successfully Incubate Their Chick

  When two female royal albatrosses at a New Zealand breeding colony embarked on a lesbian relationship, there were some raised eyebrows. But when the pair successfully incubated a chick, wildlife experts were delighted — and surprised.

  More on Animals

  

  

• Charles Warner: CBS's Priorities Stink

  The week after CBS Television accepted an anti-abortion 30-second advocacy commercial in the Super Bowl featuring Heisman-Trophy-winning Florida State quarterback Tim Tebow, CBS News was reported to be on the verge of laying off an estimated 100 people in its news operation.

  More money from controversial advocacy commercials, but less money for CBS News, which includes its crown jewel “60 Minutes.” These priorities stink.

  And the last reported compensation for CBS’s CEO Les Moonves was almost $21 million in 2008. Lay off news people and take a controversial ad from a conservative anti-abortion group so it can afford to pay the boss $20 million? That must make people who work at CBS really want to hold their heads up high and motivate them to work ever so much harder – to win one for the Gipper.

  No wonder that in the February 8 issue of FORTUNE in which it publishes its annual list of “The 100 Best Companies to Work For” there are no old-line media companies on the list. A new media company, Google, is number four on the list (down from number one last year).

  According to FORTUNE, most people in America would rather work at Wegman’s Food Markets, SalesForce.com, Whole Foods, Starbucks, or Nordstrom than old media companies such as Disney (ABC and ESPN), CBS, NBC Universal, News Corp. (Fox), Viacom, Time Warner, or any movie company, entertainment company, or music company.

  These old media companies treat their line employees like they treat their audiences – like dirty dogs – and it makes their employees and audiences mean and ungrateful.

  Americans hate and distrust the media almost as much as they do used car salesmen and politicians. The media they hate refers mostly to news media that don’t mirror their point of view and the politicians they hate applies to those who don’t reflect their views.

  If media companies want to get back their reputations and their audiences, they might think about changing their priorities, starting with how they treat their employees and their audiences. How about beginning by respecting them both? Putting audiences and employees ahead of profits or CEOs’ salaries?

  More on CBS

  

  

• Southern California Man Posed As Marshal To Deport Woman

  HEMET, Calif. — A Southern California man posed as a U.S. marshal to kidnap a distant cousin's wife and falsely deport her to the Philippines, police said Tuesday.

  Police arrested Greg Raymond Denny Jr. of Riverside County last month on suspicion of impersonating an officer and kidnapping Cherriebelle Hibbard.

  Police said Denny, 37, barged into Hibbard’s Hemet home on Jan. 15 wearing a fake badge and a shirt that said “U.S. Marshal.” Denny handcuffed the woman at gunpoint and forced her husband to buy her a plane ticket. He then used a fake badge to get through San Diego airport security and put her on a plane to her home country, according to a police report.

  Craig Hibbard said he called the U.S. Marshals Service three days later and officials there told him Denny wasn’t an agent.

  Police said they arrested Denny after he came to the station for questioning wearing a fake badge and a replica pistol. Denny claimed he was a federal marshal but later admitted he impersonated a marshal and confirmed the family’s account, Lt. Mark Richards said. No motive was released.

  Denny told The Press-Enterprise newspaper Monday that the kidnapping claims were false, but he provided no further details.

  Cherriebelle, who is five months pregnant, wed Craig Hibbard three years ago. She canceled her immigration documents and said she wanted to go home after the two fought last year, Craig Hibbard said.

  She later renewed her green card and was waiting for it to be processed when Denny abducted her, Craig Hibbard said. Immigration officials in San Bernardino told her she was allowed to stay in the United States in the meantime, he said.

  Denny said Craig Hibbard’s father told him Cherriebelle was in the country illegally and the couple was having problems at home, The Press-Enterprise reported. Denny and Craig Hibbard are distant cousins, but Hibbard said they met only twice before.

  Hemet police said they forwarded the case to the San Diego FBI.

  The Riverside County district attorney’s office could file charges or refer the case to the U.S. attorney’s office. The U.S. Marshal’s Service is investigating and the Transportation Security Administration is reviewing the incident, officials said.

  In a phone interview from Manila, Cherriebelle Hibbard told the newspaper she had never met Denny and didn’t realize he was related to her husband. She said she was afraid of going to jail when he pounded on the door.

  “I’m pregnant and don’t want to take the kids away from my husband,” she said.

  Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lori Haley said federal marshals do not carry out deportation orders. Only ICE or FBI agents can make arrests for immigration violations. The defendant then gets a hearing before a deportation order is issued.

  Denny is free on $50,000 bond.

  ___

  Information from: The Press-Enterprise, http://www.pe.com

  

  

• Jesus Luz Dumps Madonna

  

  Madonna and Jesus

  Madonna’s boytoy, Jesus Luz, has dumped the super megastar after realizing the two have nothing in common.

  Duh!

  Jesus, 23, reportedly broke off the relationship with Madonna, 51, after a year of dating. Madonna and Jesus hooked up as she was dating New York Yankee, Alex Rodriguez.

  The break up between Madonna and Jesus was also possibly brought on by the fact that Jesus’ mother wasn’t happy about her son dating the aging pop star. For the record, Jesus’ mother is 14-years younger than Madonna. Ouch.

  Will Madonna and Alex Rodriguez hook up again? It remains to be seen. But as far as we know, Alex has been single since he and Kate Hudson broke up in December. The rumor’s been that Alex still has feelings for Madge, so stay tuned. If she ends up wanting him back, my guess is that he’ll go running from his mirror and back into her jerky arms.

  Related Smacks

  • Jesus is Their Homeboy
  • Madonna 50 Going on 15
  • Madonna and Guy Ritchie are Definitely Divorcing
  • Taylor Swift & Taylor Lautner Break Up
  • Susan Sarandon & Tim Robbins Split Up

  
  
  
  
  
  

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