Gamer Space

YouTuber Jack Maynard - who left I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! when offensive tweets he posted in 2012 emerged - has apologised for saying some "pretty disgusting things". The tweets, which prompted allegations of racism and homophobia, were published in the Sun newspaper while Maynard, 23, was in Australia. He said he was "young" and "careless" when he posted them. In an online video, Maynard added: "I've been really stupid in the past." The show told viewers Maynard - who has more than 1.2m subscribers to his YouTube channel and is the younger brother of singer Conor Maynard - had left the jungle on Tuesday. A spokesman said he had departed "due to circumstances outside camp". In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Maynard confirmed he was back in London. "The least you deserved was for me to come home and sit down and talk to you and explain everything that has been going on," he told

Even though we're basically on the eve of Sony's big launch of the PlayStation 3, we still had a few outstanding questions about some of the minutiae of the console. Yeah, we're dorky sticklers for detail like that. So here are a few interesting facts about the PlayStation 3 you may (or may not) be interested in knowing: After plenty of gameplay the console is cool -- or at worst warm -- to the touch on every surface. In a side by side test with the Xbox 360, the console is comparably virtually silent, and the Blu-ray drive is significantly quieter than the 360's DVD drive. USB keyboards and mice will be plug-n-play, no fuss at all. Who really wants to browse the web with a PlayStation controller anyway? Bluetooth mice and keyboards will not work with the system at launch. Any (A2DP) Bluetooth headset should theoretically work with the system, though Sony will have a recommended hardware list.  http://xsemulator.net The EyeToy is the only USB w

When Zafar Achakzai, a journalist in the restive Pakistani province of Balochistan, heard a loud, insistent knocking on his door just before sunrise on June 25, he did not quite know what to expect. When he answered, he was met by about a dozen armed men, some in Pakistani paramilitary uniforms. "They ordered me to come with them," the 21-year-old reporter told Al Jazeera by telephone. "When we were some distance from my home, they blindfolded me, and then I was held at some unknown place." For hours, he remained in the dark. Eventually, men came to ask him questions, to confirm his identity and take down details about his work. It was then that he asked them why he had been taken. "I was told that I use Facebook quite a lot. That is all that they said." Achakzai was held without charge and interrogated repeatedly over the next three days. His interrogators, who refused to identify themselves, only said that they were concerned about several Fa

Throughout my lifetime I have visited quite a few countries.  While serving in the Foreign Service for over two decades, I was lucky enough to travel to countries around the world that included one country which most of us might not have even thought about or if so was unable to visit due to various reasons. Other countries that I have been to are places which most of us have been and nothing much to say about them. Whenever I mention this country my friends give me a strange look wondering what kind of a person was I to visit this place. http://wherewelive.org  Some even inquired why did I go there or did I enjoy being to this country. My simple answer was I was a civil servant and wherever I was assigned I had to go as I had no choice. This country was Russia. I suppose most of us have no idea about this country or even dreamed of going there. However, I don’t mean all as there might be some fortunate guys like me. As soon as I knew I was assigned to the

The first thought that newly engaged brides-to-be have is starting their search for their perfect wedding dress. Most women have dreamed of their big day all their lives, and the pressure to find the wedding dress that matches those dreams is unreal. Although planning the wedding and finalising the design of the dress is a fun process, for many it can be extremely stressful and confusing. Relax! De-stress and enjoy the experience. The trick is to start planning very early so that you don’t have to run around at the very last minute. Decide on your budget for the dress and whether it will be a readymade one or customised to your taste. Your dress should suit the activities and style of your wedding. Ask yourself questions like, “Do I feel beautiful in this dress?”, “Can I dance and move around all night?”, or “Can I sit down?” http://weddinghairstyless.com Dresses with beautiful trains, and detailing across the hem are great, but don’t forget about the top of your dress as well as

A Partner and Co-Chair of Olshan Frome Wolosky’s Activist & Equity Investment Group, Andrew Freedman is one of the leading attorneys in the U.S. practicing in the area of shareholder activism and advises some of the nation’s most prolific activist investors, including Starboard Value and Elliott. He has been ranked by Chambers USA as a “Leading Lawyer” in the inaugural Corporate/M&A: Shareholder Activism category. According to Chambers USA, Freedman “really understands what his client wants and is creative in figuring out ways to get there." Christopher P. Skroupa:  From the activist perspective, what were the major wins in engagement this past year?  http://wearecephalization.com Andrew Freedman:  After a relatively sleepy 2016 for large cap activism, the top-tier shareholder activists came back with a vengeance in 2017, mounting high-profile campaigns against well-known, large-cap target companies. Most recently, Bill Ackman fell short in his campaign against

For close on a century, researchers have hypothesised that the universe contains more matter than can be directly observed, known as "dark matter." They have also posited the existence of a "dark energy" that is more powerful than gravitational attraction. These two hypotheses, it has been argued, account for the movement of stars in galaxies and for the accelerating expansion of the universe respectively. But -- according to a researcher at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland -- these concepts may be no longer valid: the phenomena they are supposed to describe can be demonstrated without them. This research, which is published in  The Astrophysical Journal , exploits a new theoretical model based on the scale invariance of the empty space, potentially solving two of astronomy's greatest mysteries. In 1933, the Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky made a discovery that left the world speechless: there was, claimed Zwicky, substantially more matter in

A  Bloomberg  interview has revealed Old Mutual Gold & Silver Fund has set aside roughly 11 million USD from its holdings since spring of this year to purchase the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin. It’s another feather in the decentralized currency’s cap, even as debate rages as to whether it will ever supplant gold’s tradition of being a hedge against tough economic times.    http://wabbo.org   Bitcoin Paving Way for Reintroduction of Gold as Global Money Ranjeetha Pakiam reports: “The Old Mutual Gold & Silver Fund, which manages $220 million of mostly precious metal equities, is jumping on the bitcoin wagon.” Fund manager Ned Naylor-Leyland explained to Ms. Pakiam how they’ve been gobbling up bitcoin since April “with a mandate to allocate as much as 5 percent to cryptocurrencies,” Ms. Pakiam writes. A response back in 2015 from the fund manager, to an individual who viewed bitcoin as too volatile. “Bitcoin is paving the way for the reintroduction of

South Punjab comes on top in agricultural economy as it has 96% share in cotton production in Punjab and 80% in the entire country as well as pays more taxes than the industrial hub of Faisalabad, emphasized Malik Asrar Ahmed Awan, President of the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He was giving a briefing to the visiting probationary officers of grade-18 of the 24th Mid-career Management Course of the National Institute of Management, Karachi. Awan pointed out that south Punjab offered great opportunities for investment in the areas of agriculture, dairy products, livestock, fruit and vegetable processing and packaging. He cited the surveys conducted by the World Bank and its financing arm International Finance Corporation that ranked south Punjab second in the country for making investment. However, the region lags far behind upper Punjab in terms of development, which necessitates the need for providing health care facilities and potable water to the people.  

“I get so many emails from people saying they thought the game looked atrocious and they played it just to laugh at how bad it was.” Nelson Sexton has a pretty good attitude towards his game, Unturned [Steam page]. On first glance, the Fisher Price art direction of this Early Access zombie survival sandbox surely wouldn’t trouble old man DayZ and his gang. But it’s had 17.5 million downloads on Steam, with 1.25 million people playing it in the past two weeks. Players  really  like Unturned: its Steam ratings are 92% positive. And Sexton, its sole maker, is just 18. I was really curious who this guy is, so I rang him up. I think you might like him – and maybe Unturned, too.  http://unturneditemid.com Nelson Sexton lives in Calgary with his dad. He’s gently and precisely spoken, self-assured given his years, and has that cute Canadian burr. Continuing that opening quote, he said, “But then – and that’s not to say it isn’t bad, but who knows – they tried it and they actually really

The 2017-18 season is two weeks old, yet the second-ranked Arizona Wildcats already have two losses on their resume following a 66-60 defeat to the SMU Mustangs on Thursday at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Nassau, Bahamas. CBS Sports' Gary Parrish put the Wildcats' start in perspective: SMU 66, Arizona 60. So the second-ranked Wildcats are 3-2 with losses to the teams picked 12th in the ACC (NC State) and 4th in the AAC (SMU). SMU prevailed despite shooting 31.4 percent from the field as a team. The Mustangs also hit just eight of their 22 attempts from beyond the arc.  http://undertale.site Arizona shot itself in the foot with 20 turnovers. The Wildcats also struggled from three-point territory, going 5-of-20. In particular, Allonzo Trier lost his shooting touch for the second straight game. While the junior guard made a solid eight of his 16 field-goal attempts, he was 3-of-9 on three-pointers. He was 0-of-5 from deep in Ariz

Christmas Day couldn’t be the same for me without my carving set and enormous serving plate. A few years ago, while researching my book The Modern Kitchen, I started noticing these huge platters on eBay. They are not by any means beautiful pieces of china. These are thick, coarse ware — made from a rough material not much better than plaster and looking, from their overwrought patterns, to be Victorian or early 20th century. I couldn’t quite fathom why there were so many but found myself oddly drawn to them, bought a few and tried to find out more. The patterns were not the delicately applied enamel and gold leaf of the great potteries but usually some kind of cheap transfer, rarely applied without small tears and folds. Some were rough approximations of traditional Chinese willow pattern, others had strange mottoes or quite random images. Many of the larger versions don’t sit completely flat on the table — they would have been rejected as “second” or “third” quality items at the kiln

ROBERT AND GAVIN PAISLEY’S architectural models have earned a cult following. Leading architect Alex Michaelis of Michaelis Boyd owns several, as does the New York veteran modernist Richard Meier. Each model is a precise replica of a real building, whether it’s a landmark like Battersea Power Station– their bestseller – or a private home. These aren’t just for design buffs, though. They possess the Lilliputian charm of a doll’s house, which holds universal appeal, as their rising popularity–70 per cent year-on-year increase in sales since 2014 – proves. I t was the seemingly limitless potential of 3D printing that spurred the brothers to swap their computer-programming business in Nutley, East Sussex, for modelmaking in 2011.At first they experimented with using purely digital technology to create the models, but they soon decided against it. "Although 3D printing is expensive, the results didn’t feel expensive and the models lacked that luxury c

One in six Virginia children live in families that struggle with hunger. Across the state, schools are ramping up efforts to ensure students are getting the meals they wouldn’t have otherwise — especially breakfast. Through the end of the year, Virginia schools are competing for prizes and recognition through increased school breakfast participation. The second annual Virginia Breakfast Challenge encourages state schools to get more students to eat breakfast through a program — “Breakfast After the Bell” — that aims to break the stigma of eating school breakfast. In the first Virginia Breakfast Challenge last year, 1,325 schools participated and about 25,000 more students had school breakfast compared with when the challenge started.  http://thefoodrevolution.org During the 2016-17 school year, Virginia schools served about 10 million more breakfasts than four years prior. The numbers are improving, but there’s still room for

A few days ago, this 1972 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV was brought to my attention. What made the car remarkable wasn’t the fact that Lamborghini made so few Miuras and seeing one in this beautiful color scheme was an absolute treat. No, it was that the seller, Kulu Motorcar Inc., wrote on its listing that it only had 150 miles on the clock. One-hundred and fifty miles. On a car from 1972. The listing is very light on the details, but for something like this, the mileage is usually that low either because it was only factory-driven up until this point or that its owners just never drove it. I’m not going to pretend to know anything about this Lamborghini or its backstory, but I really hope it isn’t the latter. Because if you don’t drive a car, you are effectively wasting it.  http://the-cars.org This kind of story isn’t new or really unique in our industry, especially when it concerns instantly special cars like a Miura or a McLaren F1. But, even as I went to visit that incredi

Substantial amounts of salt could be removed from food after the government’s scientific advisers recommended that replacing it with potassium-based equivalents instead would improve public health. A committee of experts has urged ministers to ask food producers and supermarkets to look into how they can replace sodium with what is known as “potassium-based sodium replacers”. The scientific advisory committee on nutrition (SACN) has concluded that replacing between 15% and 25% of salt (sodium chloride) in food with potassium chloride would help reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack.  http://sustainablefoodworks.com Potassium is a mineral that is found naturally in fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, nuts, seeds, fish and shellfish. It has been proven to reduce high blood pressure – a key cause of heart problems – and is given to some patients as part of their recovery from cardiac surgery. SACN has spent the last four years looking into potassium-based alternatives to sa

A TOP chef has revealed the simple mistakes that people make when cooking pasta with tomato sauce. It may be a simple and comforting staple dish, but it seems that we’ve been prepping our pasta all wrong. Celebrity chef Scott Conant. One chef believes there’s a very specific method when it comes to prepping pasta with the perfect tomato-based sauce.  http://sofood.me Scott Conant, who runs New York’s Fusco restaurant and who has been dubbed “the Maestro of pasta,” shared his guide to making perfect “pantry pasta” with  My Domaine . The ultimate secret, according to Scott, is adding a splash of the pasta water to the tomato sauce to bring out the “perfect” flavour. A handful of bucatini is perfect for one person, Scott Conant says. Picture: SBS Source:Supplied Conant says a tight handful of Bucatini (thick spaghetti style noodles) is the perfect amount for one person and says that just less than 10 minutes is the optimum time for cooking this type of

Car brand MINI is diversifying into urban development with the MINI Living building in Shanghai, which will see a disused industrial complex transform into apartments, offices and leisure spaces. The announcement of the MINI Living building marks the latest stage in MINI's evolution from a dedicated automobile manufacturer into a multifaceted lifestyle brand, with a focus on maximising quality of life in compact spaces. The brand is working with Chinese developer Nova Property Investment Co on the project, which involves converting a former paint factory in the city's Jing'An district into a space for co-living and working that also promotes engagement with the local community.  http://socoffeela.com Construction work is set to begin before the end of the year. The brand launched the MINI Living project in 2016 to try and apply its "creative use of space" motto to a range of projects that address the effects of urbanisation and the resulting need t