Huge Defunct Satellite Falling to Earth Faster Than Expected, NASA Says

(source: space.com)

NASA space junk experts have refined the forecast for the anticipated death plunge of a giant satellite, with the U.S. space agency now predicting the 6 1/2-ton climate probe will plummet to Earth around Sept. 23, a day earlier than previously reported.
The defunct bus-size spacecraft is NASA's Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS), which launched in 1991 and was shut down in 2005 after completing its mission. The satellite was expected to fall to Earth sometime this year, with experts initially pegging a weeks-long window between late September and early October, then narrowing it to the last week of this month.
That window, NASA now says, has been trimmed to just three days.
"Re-entry is expected Sept. 23, plus or minus a day. The re-entry of UARS is advancing because of a sharp increase in solar activity since the beginning of this week," NASA officials wrote in a status update today (Sept. 16). The projection is a day earlier than a previous forecast released by NASA yesterday.
NASA spokeswoman Beth Dickey confirmed with SPACE.com earlier today that the reason UARS is expected to fall early in its re-entry window is because of the sharp uptick in solar activity. Solar effects from the sun can create an extra drag on satellites in space because they can heat the Earth's atmosphere, causing it to expand, agency officials have said.



Star Smile mad

Blazing UFO sparks panic as it shoots across 250 miles of night sky above California

(source: dailymail.co.uk)

When a streak of fire blazed through the air above southern California, people could have been forgiven for thinking the Earth was under attack. Thousands saw it from Phoenix in Arizona to Las Vegas and Los Angeles and local authorities were swamped with reports of ball of flame in the night sky. One witness said: 'It was huge. It had a green glow in front of it and a white tail. It looked like green fireworks going across the sky.' But experts have revealed the phenomenon was most likely a fireball - a fragment of an asteroid that entered Earth's atmosphere.
The light was seen shooting quickly from west to east at around 7.45pm PDT, or 2.45am GMT.
Many reported it as bluish-green and others as yellow and orange. Some captured video of the object.
NASA scientist Don Yeomans, who runs the agency's Near-Earth Object Program, said: 'We can't say 100 per cent, but it's almost certain that the object was a fireball or very bright meteor the size of a basketball or baseball that likely disintegrated before it hit the ground.'
According to Mr Yeomans, the bluish-green colour suggests the object had some magnesium or nickel in it.
He added that orange is usually an indication it is entering earth's atmosphere at several miles per second, a moderate rate of speed.
'They make an impressive show for such a small object,' Mr Yeomans said.
Yeomans said fireball events are much more rare than shooting stars, but they happen on a weekly basis somewhere on Earth, usually over the ocean.
'It's a natural phenomenon and nothing to be concerned about.'
Astronomer Dennis Mammana, from Borrego Springs, said: 'Apparently this one put on a big show.
'The color of the object can tell you about the chemical composition of the meteor. The bluish-green color could mean it was nickel.'
At Maricopa County Sheriff's Office police fielded more than a dozen calls about sightings.
Sheriff's deputies at Deer Valley Airport in north Phoenix reported a sighting themselves, Lieutenant Justin Griffin said.
'It took an unusually long time to get across the sky,' Lt Griffin said. 'It's like a meteor. It's not like we had any flying objects with little green men or anything like that.'
Sergeant Steve Martos, of the Phoenix Police Department, said his agency received four calls 'regarding the light in the sky'.
He added: 'Myself and other officers observed it as well. We all made our wishes and went back to work. Nothing more to report. Have a safe night.'
The burning object also created a stir on Twitter.
One witness tweeted: 'I saw a lot of red in it from my vantage point in Phoenix, as well as the blue and green tail.
Another tweeted: 'It was CRAZY! Green and going fast & then it just burned out.'
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor has confirmed there were no aircraft incidents reported in the Western region.




Star Smile mad

A Naked Man Eating a Fudgesicle Broke Into Nicolas Cage's Bedroom

(source: vancouversun.com, google news & YouTube)

Nicolas Cage has KO'd a dude dressed in a bear costume. He's jumped out of a plane while dressed like Elvis, swapped faces with John Travolta, hallucinated a break-dancing ghost. And in Drive Angry he angrily drove a muscle car directly into hell . . .while Meat Loaf was blaring on the stereo.
And yet, the old adage remains true: Truth is stranger than fiction. Even when you're Nicolas Cage.
We'd share a few dozen examples, but we're just going to stick with the latest one - a home-intrusion anecdote Cage shared with reporters while talking up his new film Trespass at the Toronto International Film Festival yesterday.
"It was two in the morning. I was living in Orange County at the time and was asleep with my wife. My two-year old at the time was in another room. I opened my eyes and there was a naked man wearing my leather jacket eating a Fudgesicle in front of my bed," said Cage, Reuters reports.
``I know it sounds funny ... but it was horrifying."
Cage explained he stayed cool as a frozen snack treat during the ordeal, however, and managed to talk the stranger into leaving the house, just as the cops arrived to take him away. (Reuters notes that Cage declined pressing charges, since the man was suffering from mental health issues.)
After the incident, Cage explained he was so disturbed he couldn't bear to remain in that particular house.

Star Smile mad

Did Selena Gomez Get Justin Bieber's Name Tattooed On Her Wrist

(source: huffingtonpost.com)

Ever since Selena Gomez, 19, and Justin Bieber, 17, decided to go public with their relationship, they've been open with the PDA's, kissing on camera, surprising each other on tour and now it seems like they might be taking things to the next level -- permanently.
Gomez took the stage at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Saturday, revealing what looks like a new tattoo. The singer and actress had the name "Justin" written in black ink on her right wrist.
If the ink is permanent, this seems like a big commitment for the very, young couple. But perhaps it's just the beginning if the couple plans to one day make their relationship more permanent as well.
Bieber recently told reporters that while he wasn't looking to get married now, by the time he 25 or 26-years-old he'd like to be married and starting a family.
More signs that that Gomez' tattoo could be real; she seems have an interest in body art. The starlet has a squeaky clean image but has recently been spotted with a tiny tattoo of a cross on her left wrist and recently got a large henna tattoo of her nickname "Sels" on her shoulder. This, coupled with Bieber's affinity for ink, means Justin's name could be a permanent accessory to her wrist.





Star Smile mad

First Look at What’s New in Windows 8

(source: lifehacker.com - video:YouTube)

Microsoft showed us a more in-depth look at Windows 8 today, from the previously mentioned tablet interface to the traditional mouse-and-keyboard desktop. Here's what it looks like.
Microsoft's "re-imagining" of Windows 8 is focused very heavily on a new, Metro-style touch-based interface. However, they make a big deal of saying that it's just as usable with a mouse and keyboard—and no matter what device you're on, you can switch between the simple Metro interface and the traditional Windows desktop to fit whatever your needs are at that given moment.

Performance Increases

One of the issues that's been on our minds since they previewed this new interface was whether this will keep bogging Windows down with more running processes, and whether running a full Windows desktop on a low-powered tablet was really a good idea (after all, we've seen Windows run on netbooks).
Performance was the first thing they addressed today: Windows 8 actually has better performance than Windows 7, even with this metro interface running on top of a desktop. Tablet users and netbook users should notice a fairly significant performance increase with Windows 8. What it really "feels" like in real-world usage remains to be seen, but you can see a comparison between a task manager running on both operating systems to the right—which makes us pretty hopeful. Furthermore, any of your tablet-based apps will suspend themselves when you jump into the traditional desktop, so they don't take up any of your resources.

The Lock Screen

Windows 8's lock screen is pretty much what you'd expect: it's got a beautiful picture along with a few little widgets full of information, like the time, how many emails you have, and so on. However, after swiping to unlock, Windows 8 shows off some pretty neat touch-based features, particularly a "picture password" feature. Instead of using a PIN or a lock pattern to get into your system, you swipe invisible gestures using a picture to orient yourself (in the example they showed, the password was to tap on a persons nose and swipe left across their arm). Android modders might find this similar to CyanogenMod's lock screen gestures.

The Home Screen

The home screen is very familiar to anyone who's used Windows Phone 7. You've got a set of tiles, each of which represents an application, and many of which show information and notifications that correspond to the app. For example, your email tile will tell you how many unread emails you have (and who they're from), your calendar tile will show upcoming events, your music tile will show you what's playing, and so on. You can also create tiles for games, contacts, and even traditional Windows apps that will pull you into the Windows desktop. The tablet-optimized apps are all full screen and "immersive", though, and you can rearrange their icons on the home screen easily (just as you would on any other tablet platform).

Running Apps

Running a basic app works as you expect—you tap on its home screen icon and it goes full screen. The browser has lots of touch-based controls, like pinch to zoom and copy and paste, and apps can also share information one another easily. To do so, you just need to select text in the browser or choose a photo in their cloud-based photo app and hit the "Share" button—you'll then be able to pick an app to which you want to send that text or picture, and work with it from there. For example, you can share photos to Facebook, send text from a web page in an email, and so on.
None of this is brand new to touch-based platforms, but what is new is the ability to not only multitask, but run these apps side by side. Say you want to watch a video and keep an eye on your news feed at the same time. Just like in Windows 7 for the desktop, you can dock an app to one side of the screen while docking another app at the opposite side, which is a seriously cool feature. Imagine being able to IM and play a game at the same time, or browse the web while writing an email. It's a fantastic way to fix one of the big shortcomings of mobile OSes, thus allowing you to ignore the full desktop interface more often and stay in the touch-friendly, tablet view.

The App Store

The Windows App Store looks much like the home screen, with tiles that correspond to different categories and featured apps. From there, you can look at a more detailed list of the available apps in a given section. And, the store contains not only touch-based apps for the tablet interface, but some of the more traditional desktop Windows apps you're used to, so you have one portal to discover all your Windows apps no matter what interface you're using.

Windows Live's Cloud Syncing

Windows Live is taking center stage as the backend for all of Windows 8's cloud syncing abilities. Your address book, photos, SkyDrive data, and even data within third-party apps can sync up to the cloud with Windows Live. The address book also syncs with other services like Facebook and Twitter as well. You can even sync all of your settings from one Windows 8 PC to another. Just sign onto your Windows 8 with a Windows Live ID and you'll get all your themes, languages, app settings, taskbar, and other preferences will show right up. It's a pretty neat feature if you have multiple Windows 8 PCs and don't want to set them all up separately—just a few taps and you've got all your preferences ready to go.

A New Task Manager

Microsoft's finally redesigned the task manager, and it looks pretty great. You have a very simple task manager for basic task killing, but if you're a more advanced user, you can bring up the detailed task manager filled with information on CPU and RAM usage, Metro app history, and even startup tweaking—so you can get rid of apps that launch on startup without going all the way into msconfig

Windows Explorer

They didn't show us a super in-depth look at the new Windows Explorer, but we did get a little peek. Most of it isn't new information: we'll have native ISO mounting in Windows Explorer, a new Office-style ribbon, and a one folder up button like the old days of XP (thank God). It also has a really cool "quick access" toolbar in the left-hand corner of the title bar, that gives you super quick access to your favorite buttons from the ribbon.

Other Features

Along with these cool features, Windows 8 also comes with other features we've come to know and love in our mobile OSes. It's got system-wide spellchecking, so you don't have to rely on a specific app to keep your writing top-notch, as well as a system-wide search feature, that lets you search anything from your music library to your contacts to the web itself. It also has a really cool feature for desktop users that lets your run the Metro UI on one monitor while running the traditional desktop on the other.
It also has a really cool feature called "refresh your PC", where you can do a clean install with the tap of a button. Whether you're selling your machine or just want a cleaner, faster installation of Windows, you can do it all in one click. You can even set refresh points, similar to restore points, so you can refresh your PC to the way it was at a certain point in time.




Star Smile mad

Miss Universe 2011 winner: Miss Angola Leila Lopes tops Miss Universe 2011 contestants

(source: ledger-enquirer.com)

Miss Angola Leila Lopes was crowned Miss Universe 2011 during a pageant that aired Monday night on NBC.
Miss Ukraine Olesia Stefanko was the first runner-up in the pageant, which took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil and was hosted by Andy Cohen and Natalie Morales. (Side note: Miss Ukraine's name is also often spelled Olesya Stefanko. I saw it both ways online.)
The 2010 Miss Universe was Jimena "Ximena" Navarrete, who hails from Mexico.
Which interview answer will likely dominate post-pageant headlines?
That honor probably goes to Miss China Luo Zilin, who at the top five stage was asked about nude beaches and the appropriateness/inappropriateness of public nudity. She gave a pretty vague response.
Miss China ultimately placed fifth, or fourth runner-up.
Alyssa Campanella represented the United States and advanced to the top 16.
Here's a full recap of Monday's pageant:
***
The top 16 contestants are:
Miss France, Miss Kosovo, Miss Colombia, Miss China, Miss Angola, Miss Australia, Miss Puerto Rico, Miss Brazil, Miss Netherlands, Miss USA, Miss Ukraine, Miss Panama, Miss Costa Rica, Miss Portugal (won most votes from online fans), Miss Philippines and Miss Venezuela.
As far as predictions go, I'm leaning toward France and Australia. And, of course...USA! USA! USA! Share your picks in the comments section. This will be fun.
Pretty random assortment of judges. My favorite member of the panel: Adrienne Maloof from "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."
Swimsuit competition time. Apparently we don't get to see the judges' scores this year. What's up with that? Instead, we get some stupid fan score, which has absolutely no bearing on the contest's outcome. The fan score is based on people voting from home.
For what it's worth, Miss Venezuela got the highest fan score. Do you agree?
On a side note, Miss Montenegro won Miss Congeniality and Miss Sweden won Most Photogenic.
The top 10 contestants are:
Miss Australia, Miss Costa Rica, Miss France, Miss Ukraine, Miss Portugal, Miss Panama, Miss Philippines, Miss Angola, Miss China and Miss Brazil.
Wow, I'm pretty satisfied with my predictions. Too bad about Miss USA, though.
Evening gown competition. Once again, we don't see the judges' scores. Miss Angola had the highest fan vote, which has no bearing on the ultimate outcome.
Also, what did you think of Miss Australia's gown? Classy, or too much like lingerie?
The top 5 contestants are:
Miss Ukraine, Miss Philippines, Miss China, Miss Brazil and Miss Angola.
OK, looks like I need to find a new favorite. My favorites are China and Philippines.
Time for the dreaded FINAL QUESTION. Woo hoo! They have 30 seconds to answer. Here are their questions and excerpts from their answers.
Miss Ukraine Olesia Stefanko: If you could trade lives with anyone in history, who would you choose and why? She uses a translator and says she's "very satisfied" with her life. But if she had to choose someone she would pick Cleopatra because she's a "powerful and strong woman who is very much worthy of respect...and I think a woman can also be a leader like Cleopatra."
Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup: Would you change your religious beliefs to marry someone with an opposite view? She says no, "because the first person I love is God, who created me...if that person loves me, he should love my God too."
Miss China Luo Zilin: Lots of places have nude beaches. Is public nudity appropriate or inappropriate? She uses a translator and says, "Every country has its rules and regulations...We should respect them and be more understanding." Um, huh?
Miss Brazil Priscila Machado: How would you avoid fighting a war you don't agree with? She uses a translator and emphasizes the importance of respect. "No war is based on respect...It's always based on misunderstanding, it's always based on a lack of education."
Miss Angola Leila Lopes: If you could change one of your physical characteristics, which one would you choose and why? She uses a translator and says, "I wouldn't change a thing." She says she was "endowed with inner beauty." She adds, "I have my principles. I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family." Then, she wants to offer a piece of advice: "Respect one another." Unfortunately, she runs out of time.
Which answer was your favorite? Least favorite?
Judgment time.
Fourth runner-up: Miss China
Third runner-up: Miss Philippines
Second runner-up: Miss Brazil
First runner-up: Miss Ukraine
Winner: Miss Angola!



Star Smile mad

Vanessa Hudgens And Arnold Schwarzenegger Find New Thrillers

(source: mtv.com)

Vanessa Hudgens broke her "High School Musical" mold with this year's "Sucker Punch," and now she'll branch out even further by standing on "Frozen Ground."
Deadline reports that the actress has been cast opposite Nicolas Cage and John Cusack in the thriller based on Alaska's most notorious serial predator, Robert Hansen, who abducted and murdered over 24 women over 12 years. Hudgens will play the one victim who escaped. Cage plays the Alaskan State Trooper who works to bring Hansen (Cusack) to justice.
Catch the rest of today's casting news after the jump!

Schwarzenegger Is Taken "Captive"
The Schwarzenegger come back story continues, as Arnold has added yet another project to his continually growing plate. He's in talks to star in "Captive," an indie thriller about an American real estate tycoon (Schwarzenegger) living in Brazil who gets kidnapped and held for ransom, while a detective searches to find him. Why not just go all in and get Russell Crowe for the detective part — it would be like "Proof of Life" on crack!
Wilde Is The "Longest" One
"Tron Legacy" and "Cowboys & Aliens" leading lady Olivia Wilde is leading the cast of "The Longest Week," director Peter Glanz's comedy about an affluent New Yorker who loses his inheritance and falls in love all in the span of just one week, reports Variety.
Reilly Takes "Flight"
Now that Robert Zemeckis and Denzel Washington are set to take "Flight" — the movie about an airline pilot whose drug and alcohol addiction is secretly responsible for the tragedy behind his most heroic deed — it's time to turn to additional casting. Deadline reports that the female lead could well go to "Sherlock Holmes" actress Kelly Reilly, who is currently negotiating for the part.
Brolin Goes Into "Labor"
Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet are top lining the cast of "Labor Day," director Jason Reitman's next movie for Paramount Pictures, according to a press release. Based on the novel by Joyce Maynard, the movie tells the story of an escaped convict who finds shelter with a single mother and her son over a long Labor Day weekend.



Star Smile mad

Pamela Anderson Enters The 'Big Brother' House

(source: huffingtonpost.co.uk)

The 14 new Big Brother housemates can look forward to the "ride of their lives" when they join the camera-lined house tonight.



That’s the view of former Playboy model, Pamela Anderson, who has already made herself comfortable in the house.
Purring in a silver mini-dress the former Baywatch star sat in the diary room chair and promised to give the housemates a unique experience, before charmingly adding: "I'm going to leave a skid mark on every one of them."
We're not sure how much they are going to appreciate her 'kind' offer though, as it's rumoured Pammy's views could decide who remains in the house.
Big Brother host Brian Dowling announced her arrival on last night's Celebrity Big Brother live final, as viewers watched her enter the diary room in typically over-sexualised Pammy style, flicking her hair and pouting her best 'look I'm still sexy' look.

Star Smile mad

Americans mark 10th anniversary of September 11 attacks

(source: reuters.com)

Americans Sunday remembered the horror of September 11, 2001, and the nearly 3,000 people who died in the hijacked plane attacks as authorities worked to ensure the emotional 10th anniversary was peaceful.
Law enforcement authorities in New York and Washington were on high alert against what was described as a "credible but unconfirmed" threat of an al Qaeda plot to attack the United States again a decade after the toppling of the World Trade Center's twin towers by hijacked airliners.
Security was especially tight in Manhattan, where police set up vehicle checks on city streets as well as bridges and tunnels coming into the city.
President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush, who was president at the time of the attacks, were scheduled to be among the dignitaries at the Ground Zero site in New York.
They were set to join victims' families to hear the reading of the names of those who died on September 11. Bells will toll across the city.
In the attacks, 19 men from the Islamic militant group al Qaeda hijacked airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon outside Washington and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
To mark the attacks, Obama was set to visit all three sites.
"Thanks to the tireless efforts of our military personnel and our intelligence, law enforcement and homeland security professionals, there should be no doubt: today, America is stronger and al Qaeda is on the path to defeat," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.
U.S. forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May.
Sunday's Ground Zero ceremony was set to include moments of silence marking when planes hit the twin towers as well as when they collapsed. Other moments of silence will mark when a plane hit the Pentagon and another crashed in Shanksville after passengers fought back against the hijackers.
Bush, who has kept a low profile since leaving office, was in Shanksville Saturday. "The memory of that morning is fresh, and so is the pain," Bush told a crowd at the site.
'THEIR LIVES MATTERED'
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie spoke Saturday at the opening of a monument to the 746 residents of his state killed in the attacks. The "Empty Sky" memorial in Liberty State Park, across the Hudson River from the World Trade Center, has the names of the dead etched on two 30-foot tall walls, each 208 feet and 10 inches long -- the exact width of the twin towers.
"Their lives mattered," Christie said at the ceremony, which began late because security slowed traffic. "That's why we built this memorial and that's why we come here today."
Security concerns were high in Washington, too. Authorities shut down part of Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia outside the U.S. capital Saturday because of a suspicious object but later said no explosives were found.
New Yorkers, accustomed to heightened security and alerts that have become commonplace over the past decade, appeared to take the increased police presence in stride.
A decade later, after a faltering start, there are signs of rebuilding progress at the World Trade Center site. The new One World Trade Center skyscraper rises more than 80 stories above the ground as it inches to its planned 1,776 foot height -- symbolic of the year of America's independence from Britain.
The memorial plaza is ready and the neighborhood has enjoyed a revival, making it a trendy Manhattan place to live.
The 2001 attacks were followed by U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the latter of which Obama opposed. The United States still has thousands of troops deployed in both countries.
But the weak U.S. economy has become the biggest concern for many Americans. Obama said, "After a hard decade of war, it is time for nation building here at home."



Star Smile mad