| What gives? New series 'Oprah's Big Give'
The new ABC reality series doesn't just push emotional buttons, it pummels them and doesn't let up for one second of the hour. Attaching Oprah's name, the most revered brand in TV, and having her make cameo appearances in addition to the push she'll give it on her daytime program, is overkill.
Think Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with a dash of The Apprentice. Ten people, broken into two-person teams in the pilot, scatter about the country helping worthy people in dire need. Every one of the hearts-and-flowers sagas is designed to bring tears to your eyes. This show could sell more tissues than flu season.
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NFL chat: Hot beats home in playoffs
He didn't travel to New England last weekend to spectate. - - - From e-mail: If the Patriots win their fourth Super Bowl and complete the perfect season, can you start making the claim that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick should be considered the greatest quarterback and greatest coach of all-time? Jason Rick Gosselin: As long as the Patriots keep winning, that argument will be alive. I've still got Unitas atop my list at quarterback and Lombardi atop my list at coach. I have Belichick closer to the top right now than Brady. There are less bodies to climb over. But the more they win, the shorter the climb is for both Belichick and Brady. Four Super Bowls makes a strong argument for them. Five Super Bowls would be the strongest argument.
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As I looked at this upcoming season, I said, I probably could get myself prepared to play. That really didnt have that much of a bearing on my decision. Its tough on everybody. But it was more the in-season strain. And Mike knows this, there were numerous Saturdays (before) home games where I was here at 8:30 at night watching film. I had never done that before. It was never enough for me. And Deanna knows this, after numerous games I would come home and after a couple of hours I had the computer out and I was watching film of the upcoming opponent instead of enjoying the win we just had. At some point, youve got to relax and enjoy and I found myself not enjoying it as much. Its fun to win but youve got to enjoy it and relax a little bit. That more than anything was taking its toll on me. Question: Some guys when they walk away cant get near the team they left.
Charles Stross' dense stories have made him a Singularity sensation
We are, after all, living in a future built on top of other people's dreams. Like Wernher von Braun's, for example. I remember being woken up at some appalling hour of the morning one day, and taken downstairs by my parents, who had the TV (a black and white one) turned on. There was a rather poor, grainy picture on the screen, of a ladder and an indistinct landscape. And then some guy in a big white suit climbed down the ladder and said something indistinct while I was yawning. It was Neil Armstrong on the steps of the Apollo 11 lunar module in 1969, I was five years old, and for about the next two or three years I was sure I was going to be an astronaut when I grew up. When you're convinced you're going to travel to other worlds, science fiction signifies something different to you than the Tales of the Brothers Grimm.
Warriors know who they are, and they dig it
But his appendix took a powder after Wednesday's win over the Boston Celtics, and he is expected to miss anywhere from two weeks to a month, somewhere between eight and 15 games at a time when the Warriors don't need any absenteeism. Yet here the Warriors stand - lacking an impact big man when the chips go into the middle of the table. This looks, frankly, like a job for Don Nelson's pointy wizard's hat. And no, Patrick O'Bryant isn't the answer, and Brandan Wright isn't either, at least not yet. Biedrins' injury leaves the Warriors vulnerable at a time when the Western Conference has begun to separate into a nine-team upper division, and the Warriors are ninth. The Houston Rockets, Golden State's closest rivals and winners of 18 of their previous 21 games, felt good enough about their place in the universe to ship Bonzi Wells to divisional rival New Orleans.
Avis Budget Group: John Turato, VP of Technology
John Turato, Vice President of Technology for Avis-Budget Group talks about managing technical operations for a rental fleet of more than 400,000 vehicles worldwide. Turato also discusses transformation at the rental car operator, and his other role, Chairman of the OpenTravel Alliance, a group of companies developing web 2.0 standards for the online travel industry. #video-player-story{margin:0 30px 15px 30px} .
Google introduces an Apps tool for sending forms via e-mail
In a BetaNews test, we sent an invite to four different e-mail addresses. Each recipient was successfully able to add data to the spreadsheet and respond. The official Google Docs Blog indicates its employees have been using the service in-house for "signups, surveys, and miscellaneous mischief." Google Docs is part of the Google Apps suite, a suite of software including e-mail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, along with Google Docs. Since all of the services are hosted by Google, users do not have to download or install any type of hardware or software. .
Estacada schools announce more closures amid wintry weather
The Estacada School District has canceled all classes and parent/teacher conferences for Thursday as snowy conditions persisted. However, the central office will remain open, and evening athletics will be held Thursday. Friday already was scheduled as having no school or conferences. But again, evening athletics will be held. -- Staff reports .
Hot Topic: WEb
Then the PocketSurfer 2 is exactly not what you're looking for. ASUS M530w The ASUS M530w is a 3G, Windows Mobile PDA-phone with a price tag that'll have CIOs everywhere rejoicing. HP ProCurve 2610 HP's ProCurve 2610-24-PWR is not cheap for a 100kbps switch, even with PoE, but it has plenty of features and is a quality machine. Netgear WNR854T RangeMax Next Wireless-N Router Gigabit Edition The Netgear WNR854T RangeMax Next Gigabit a router that supports Gigabit Ethernet wired networking along with Draft 2.0 of the 802.11n wireless standard. In our testing, the WNR854T proved itself to be a solid performer. Nokia N810 Internet Tablet Its excellent, sleek design doesn't cover for its sluggish performance. Acer Aspire 2920 (302G25Mn) The Aspire 2920 should suit most people who are on a budget, like to stay portable, but still need a bit of grunt.
9-day road trip Down Under, $1,675
The Real Deal: Nine nights' accommodations, six-day car rental, and a wine-tasting tour for $1,675 per person — including taxes. When: April 1-Sept. 30, 2008. The fine print: Included are a midsize automatic rental car for six days with unlimited mileage, private airport transfer on departure, five breakfasts, a wine-tasting class and a tour of Hunter Resort Wine School, hotel taxes, and rental-car taxes. Based on double occupancy; single supplement is $1,560. To enter Australia, U.S. passport holders must obtain an Electronic Travel Authority, equivalent to a visa (just without the stamp), which is valid for up to three months. It can be purchased here for Aus$20 (about US$17). Refer to this code when booking: SWSP5245. Read these guidelines before you book any Real Deal. .
FIFTH ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL, Christchurch:
The rain has lessened but not ceased completely, and the umpires are having a chat with the ground staff. "Wouldn't it be ironic if the England bowling, which has been the weak part of this whole series, turned out to be the winning factor in this match? Not that I want to become too optimistic at this stage... but 'hope springs eternal'..."Paul, another expatriate Brit in Canada (Vancouver area), in the TMS inbox "Oh dear are England doing it again, making us all think it's a lost cause and then coming back giving us hope, only to disappoint? Hope not"Andy, Alberta, in the TMS inbox "We all wake up to doom and gloom, and then suddenly three wickets down. Who says the power of prayer/positive thought doesn't work!"Carol, reading online in Portugal [Someone may have done a rain dance since you sent that e-mail - MM] .
Viafara back for Saints
Jhon Viafara should return for Southampton as life after George Burley begins with an FA Cup fourth-round clash against League Two Bury. Caretaker bosses John Gorman and Jason Dodd have the Colombian midfielder available after a one-match suspension. Youssef Safri is on African Nations Cup duty with Morocco while Saints still have a lengthy injury list. Claus Lundekvam, Nathan Dyer (both ankle), Marek Saganowski (groin), Chris Makin (hip), Cedric Baseya and Adam Lallana (both knee) are all still out. On-loan Aston Villa defender Stephen O'Halloran will be in contention for his debut, having trained for a week with his new team-mates. Alexander Ostlund got 80 minutes under his belt against Plymouth last week after a 10-week absence with a hamstring injury and should continue at right-back.
Willy Northpole and the Phoenix hip-hop scene explode
The George S. May Company is going to join Magedson's corporate advocacy program. (Kushnir declined to say how much he's paying.) Basically, Kushnir will pay Magedson to reveal the complainants against the company, and then Kushnir can do what he would have wanted to do all along address them. Good news for Magedson. But not such good news for the people who had anonymously blasted George S. May. After all, Magedson will be giving them up. And if they're current employees, they're probably going to be in trouble with a capital T. Kushnir says he won't sue anybody he's learned his lesson but if it's a disgruntled secretary who called the founder a pedophile, it's hard to imagine things will end happily for her. Kushnir says he's happy with how things ended. But the incident does raise some ethical questions.
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