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07 Feb 2009 14:14

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Sports: The New York Rangers may pick up the Dallas Stars’ sloppy seconds

That’s right, Sean Avery’s on the market. You know we had to make that joke. source

07 Feb 2009 13:57

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Biz, U.S.: The “Starbucks Dream” is gone, says columnist who doesn’t get it

  • Starbucks was the great American backup plan. The emergency exit. The parachute.
  • Mary Schmich • Chicago Tribune columnist, on the idea that one could start working at Starbucks as a backup plan to their full-time job. With layoffs even at the Green Menace, that backup plan is looking less likely. Personally, we would consider working at Starbucks to be a nightmare that just keeps repeating itself, “Groundhog Day”-style. • source

07 Feb 2009 13:56

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Sports: Was Alex Rodriguez using steroids during his MVP season?

  • 104 MLB players, including A-Rod, tested positive in ’03 source

07 Feb 2009 11:01

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U.S., World: It was a secret trip to Iraq – until a Congressman used Twitter

Rep. Peter Hoekstra, who’s on the House Intelligence Committee, screwed up. source

07 Feb 2009 10:42

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Music: Auto-Tune’s creator: I never intended it to be used T-Pain-style

  • If you set it to 10, that means that the output pitch will get halfway to the target pitch in 10 milliseconds. But if you let that parameter go to zero, it finds the nearest note and changes the output pitch instantaneously. I never figured anyone in their right mind would want to do that.
  • Andy Hildebrand • who created Auto-Tune based on seismic autocorrelation techniques he learned in the oil industry. He designed it to be unnoticeable (in the article, super-producer Rick Rubin says it’s used even more than you think), but producers found creative ways to break it. Now Kanye West uses it to make breakup albums. He should be proud! • source

07 Feb 2009 10:15

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Offbeat: It’s like this guy had an endurance test for traffic violations

  • 50 traffic citations for one lucky Florida man – in one day! source

07 Feb 2009 10:11

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Sports: Life can be unfair sometimes: LeBron James loses his triple-double

  • One of the rebounds wasn’t his. The Cleveland Cavaliers star’s most recent triple-double, against the Knicks on Wednesday, was a show-stopper – he had 52 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Well, that is, until the league gave one of those rebounds to teammate Ben Wallace after a review of the game. It would’ve been the first 50-point triple-double since 1975 had it stood. Do you always have to kill the fun, NBA? source
 

07 Feb 2009 10:04

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U.S.: Diplomacy is the name of Biden’s game – until it’s time to act

  • We will draw upon all the elements of our power — military and diplomatic, intelligence and law enforcement, economic and cultural — to stop crises from occurring before they are in front of us.
  • Vice President Joe Biden • regarding the new administration’s stance on foreign policy. In a 25-minute speech yesterday, Biden laid out the Obama administration’s foreign policy stances. He said that the U.S. plans to do more but will ask more from its allies. At the same time, they will not be afraid of using force if necessary against countries like Iran • source

07 Feb 2009 09:54

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World: “Worst ever” bushfires in Australia have a deadly toll

More than 40 people are feared dead in the fires, located in the state of Victoria. source

07 Feb 2009 09:40

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Tech, U.S.: The Digital TV deadline was extended just in time

  • 3.7 million $40 coupons for converters were printed for the conversion, which might not be enough to get one for everyone source