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15 Mar 2010 23:37

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Offbeat: Chatroulette’s first star: Merton, the piano-improv supergenius

  • We went back and forth on posting this. Not because it’s not HILARIOUS, but because we were afraid we missed the viral boat on it already. Now, if we saw more guys with pianos and fewer guys with their hands on their (#&(@(&, Chatroulette would be a cool place. Please tell us this guy is actually Ben Folds pretending to be someone else.

15 Mar 2010 23:29

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Politics: One option to get Obamacare through: Sleight-of-hand

  • It’s more insider and process-oriented than most people want to know. But I like it, because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi • On an option she’s considering to ensure the passage of the health-care bill. With this process, the bill would fall under a “self-executing rule,” which would assume the bill passed while a more popular piece of legislation was voted on. The idea would be to allow for passage of the Senate bill without pinning anyone’s name on the legislation. Even though this is a commonly-used tactic, Republicans are crying foul, calling it unconstitutional. Pelosi, BTW, wants the bill passed by the end of the week. Good luck with that; you’re gonna need it. source

15 Mar 2010 23:15

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World: Thai protesters try out a different kind of blood donation

  • 1,000 liters of blood on the streets; whoa source

15 Mar 2010 20:39

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Tech: Feel that breeze? It’s wind caused by the FCC’s blustery broadband plan

  • 4 Mbps the average speed of the current broadband option in U.S. homes; 100 million don’t have broadband
  • 100 Mbps the speed the FCC’s new program strives for in 100 million homes by 2020 *whoooosh* source

15 Mar 2010 20:31

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Culture: Rielle Hunter’s sexy GQ photos not what Rielle Hunter expected

  • You hear that? It’s the sound of immense regret crashing down on a woman who’s saying to herself, “I’ve made a huge mistake.” Rielle Hunter’s GQ interview and photo spread, which is nearly as skeezy as anything Eric Massa told Glenn Beck a week ago, was not supposed to be anything like that, she told Barbara Walters. Hunter also wasn’t wearing John Edwards’ shirt, but the photographer’s. She called the photographs “repulsive,” according to Walters, who regaled the tale on “The View.” She seemed comfortable during the shoot, though! source

15 Mar 2010 20:16

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Biz: It’s official: The runaway Prius incident is a complete media circus

Look at that runaway Toyota Prius fly! It’s like going so fast it’s not gonna stop! Press down on that brake! Oh. It stopped. Would you look at that? source

15 Mar 2010 20:15

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Tech: The sagest words of advice you’ll ever read, fresh from Google

  • You can either be a #(&@ funnel or a #*#( umbrella.
  • Gmail product manager Todd Jackson • Describing his job using, uh, common terminology. Jackson, see, uses his job to essentially protect the engineers working on the ultra-popular e-mail program from loads of crap from both the public and the Google bureacuracy, so they can focus on their job of making Gmail better. We want to be a @(&# umbrella, too! It sounds like a lot of fun. source
 

15 Mar 2010 18:50

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Offbeat: Dear morbidly obese woman: What you’re doing isn’t honorable

Meet Donna Simpson, who’s TRYING to become the world’s fattest woman. At 12,000 calories a day, her svelte 600-pound frame should be up to 1,000 in no time flat. source

15 Mar 2010 11:18

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Biz: Online news readers fairly loyal, not willing to give you money

  • 35% of news readers have a favorite news site
  • 57% of readers use between two and five sites
  • 7% are willing to pay to read the news online source

15 Mar 2010 11:12

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Tech, World: Hugo Chavez says that the Internet needs national regulation

  • The Internet cannot be something open where anything is said and done. Every country has to apply its own rules and norms.
  • Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez • Saying the kind of thing that makes us want to throw stuff at the dude. He doesn’t want an open Interweb – he wants to block it to his standards. He’s not alone, obviously, but it’s not exactly the kind of thing that we want to see MORE support for. source