TampaYankee

I don't know if they soaked them or not. I suspect they did, now that I know something about preparing them in general. However, I can testify that I saw the spuds, huge Idaho, peeled and sliced on the premises. None of that frozen stuff back then.

Keanu Reeves’ ‘47 Ronin’ Bombing: Universal Prepares for Major Loss By Dave McNary9 hours ago Universal Pictures has acknowledged that “47 Ronin” is a loser, disclosing that it’s taken the ususual step of writing down some if its $175 million cost prior to the current quarter. The samurai tentpole, starring Keanu Reeves, opened Christmas Day in the U.S. with a soft $7 million at 2,688 locations, finishing sixth. Internationally, the film has opened in 14 territories for a total of $10 million through Wednesday. Though the film’s opening two weeks ago in Japan was dire, it finished first in its Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan openings. More of this obit can be found at: http://movies.yahoo.com/news/keanu-reeves-47-ronin-bombing-universal-prepares-big-002627942.html

Metadata Not Anonymous at All, Stanford Researchers Show By Tom's Guide / Marshall Honorof11 hours ago If you're not concerned about government surveillance of your phone because the National Security Agency (NSA) only collects metadata, think again. A study from Stanford University shows that connecting "anonymous" metadata to compromising personal information is trivially easy. Documents leaked in June by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the organization was collecting metadata about calls placed to and from Verizon telephone lines. Although this revelation was potentially troubling, metadata collection is, in theory, not cause for concern. The metadata about your phone calls does not reveal your name or identity, or the content of your conversations, but it does track the numbers you call, how long the calls last, and which other companies have your phone number in their directories. Although the specific documents leaked in June concerned Verizon landlines, the NSA has since admitted that it collects metadata about mobile telephone calls and text messages as well. MORE: 13 Security and Privacy Tips for the Truly Paranoid Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, has said that collecting metadata is "not surveillance." Because the information, by itself, cannot identify individuals, Feinstein and the NSA hold that it is practically harmless for the government to collect it. A research team operating out of Stanford University disagrees, and hopes to prove its point with a new Android app called MetaPhone. By accessing your phone number and your Facebook page, this app does what any NSA program could do: It acquires your metadata, then correlates it with your social-media information to see how much it can learn about you. "Phone metadata is inherently revealing," wrote Jonathan Mayer and Patrick Mutchler, the app's designers, on a Stanford Law School blog. By using MetaPhone, you can submit your information to a Stanford research project so that Mayer and Mutchler can determine how easy it is for organizations to glean personal information from your supposedly non-revealing metadata. When Tom's Guide tried the app, we found that the results supported Stanford's assertion: Dozens of different organizations had the phone number we tried on file. The NSA — or worse, a cybercriminal — would be able to find our name, our geographic location, our bank, our medical facilities and even our eating habits with just a simple cross-check online. Whether the NSA is actually cross-referencing individual metadata is another question. The process is simple, but by no means efficient. Uploading and cross-checking data takes time, and to find more complex information, like a home address, would likely take some human oversight. Like most NSA surveillance programs, you probably have nothing to worry about unless you're conspiring with terrorists or planning some kind of criminal activity. The question of whether the NSA should have access to such revealing data from everyday citizens, though, is a legitimate privacy concern. Aside from participating in the MetaPhone study, there are a few things the average user can do to protect him or herself. Not listing your phone number on your Facebook or Twitter profile makes you harder to track down. If you're really paranoid, ditch your smartphone and use a new disposable phone every month. Forget about landlines; they're even easier to track than cellphones. See original article at: http://news.yahoo.com/metadata-not-anonymous-stanford-researchers-222037555.html

I'll leave the cores to the connoisseurs and tightwads. I'm with the rest of you deep into potato skins. Lovem.

I would like to know where the original McDonald's fries would fall on this list. I'm pretty sure where they would fall in taste -- never been anything like it to cross my lips.

Unhealthiest Fast-Food Fries in America By Elsa Säätelä18 hours ago It's highly likely that the menu at a fast-food restaurant will include french fries, and it's also quite likely that you will order them. French fries might have a French name, but they are a quintessential fast-food staple in America. The simple recipe of sliced potatoes that are deep-fried and salted is one of the most common side dishes served in fast-food establishments. Though they're often thought of as the perfect companion to a burger, they can also be enjoyed on their own as a snack or even used to perk up another dish (like on pizza or in a sandwich — yes that exists). Click here to see the Unhealthiest Fast-Food Fries in America (Slideshow) People tend to have strong opinions about which fast-food chain really serves the best fries, and what a "good fry" really is — some prefer them crispy and thin, others like them thick and more "potato-y," some like them straight as a stick, and others like their fries curly. But while scooping up ketchup with a pile of those favorite fries can definitely be a feel-good moment, it might be worth remembering that — even if a potato is a vegetable — fries are not healthy. It shouldn't be a surprise that fries are packed with fat, calories, and sodium. Deep-fried and often heavily salted, french fries might not be the best choice for a side to an already fat-oozing burger. But in the wonderful world of fast-food fries, there actually is a difference in how much calories, fat, and "bad fats" (saturated and trans) your serving of french fries will contain, depending on where you buy it. [slideshow:784400] In order to find out which fast-food restaurants serve the "worst" fries, nutritionally speaking, we dug through the nutritional information of some of America's top chain restaurants, comparing the amount of calories, fat, and sodium in a small serving of french fries. As some restaurants had the same amount of calories, we split up the ranking by the difference in amount of fat. Nutritionist Keri Glassman, M.D., of the website Nutritious Life, explains that in general, potatoes cooked with the skin on — a method used by Wendy’s and Chick-fil-A, among others — are healthier, as most of the nutrients in a potato come from the skin. But Glassman also stresses that the health benefits that might have come from skin-on preparation unfortunately get outweighed by high fat and sodium content. It is also worth remembering that the type of fat makes a difference, Glassman says, and that one should limit their intake of saturated fats, as an excess of this fat type can lead to a rise in cholesterol levels. In order to help you make your choice, we also included the saturated fat amount in our comparison. And fries are often loaded with sodium, even if their calories and fat are on the lower end. The reason for this is often heavy seasoning, such as the flavoring on Arby’s curly fries. Besides salt, fast-food fries often contain several more ingredients that one might think, including artificial flavorings and preservatives. McDonald's fries, for example, contain a total of 17 ingredients, and most other fast-food chains show similar, long, ingredient-lists in their nutritional information profiles. When comparing the (un)healthiness of fries, note that the serving size of a "small portion" also varies — from McDonald's' 71 grams to Five Guys' massive 227 grams. It's a good reminder that a "small" is not always so small, and that it is good to check the portion sizes if you're looking for ways to eat better. Some fast-food restaurants, like Burger King, also offer healthier fry options, with their new "Satisfries," crinkle-cut fries with 40 percent less fat and 30 percent calories. But according to a report by BusinessWeek, the fries aren't yet a permanent menu item, as the fast-food chain does not want to commit — yet — to serving the healthier fries as a long-term menu option. Curious to see how your favorite fast-food fries ranked in terms of healthiness? Click through our slideshow of the Unhealthiest Fast-Food Fries in America to find out! The original article can be seen at: http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/unhealthiest-fast-food-fries-america-151019973.html

If Davey really had the balls he could have draped them over a limb so that we could all admire them and his tree.

Great news, not much meat to the article. It makes a Reader's Digest Short Story look like War and Peace. Like I said, Great News!

I hate shows with a continuing soap opera under-theme. Red John bored me to death after the third appearance of that theme. Some years back Jag had a continuing theme of a missing brother captive in the USSR. Dump the never-ending angst that goes nowhere and hangs like an albatross around the neck of the main character. I feel like I'm watching Sisyphus doomed to failure rolling that bolder uphill. Enough already. If screenwriters want to write character development then develop the damn character and stop using a crutch to roll out his angst ever other week.

The whole modern world owes him a debt of gratitude, not just Britain. He laid the fundamental groundwork for modern computing much as Newton did for Mechanics and Optics. Turings work is essential to everything that has a logic circuit in it. That's just about everything that isn't grown in a field or caught in the sea. Who knows what other contributions he would have made if his life had not been abruptly curtailed by the establishment and ultimately depression.

It always pays to read auto reviews from multiple sources. It can save you from a clunker like this one.

'Consumer Reports' picks worst new car values Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY The Nissan Armada gets only 13 miles a gallon, has terrible scores on the reliability survey and costs $1.20 a mile to operate. It's that record that earned the big SUV and nine other vehicles spots on Consumer Reports' list of worst automotive values. While the magazine combed through its reviews and surveys to pick the nation's best, it also reserved a special place at the bottom for the worst in each automotive category. Read the rest of the article here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/driveon/2013/12/24/consumer-reports-worst-value-cars/4192281/

Too little too late. The only British award or honour bestowed on him was Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his work at the 'Foreign Office' -- probably a cover for his work at Bletchley Park. From a reading of the recent history to get Turing pardoned and honored it's pretty clear, if said history is presented accurately, that the Brits were shamed into doing this rather than rushing over themselves to right a wrong. So don't wait for an avalanche of more pardons for others convicted of 'Gross Indecency'. This attitude from a society where probably a majority of the upper class males have probably buggered or been buggered multiple times in their life. British public schools are notorious a bastion of 'wide ranging education'.

The only one I watch is Dracula, which I believe is done extremely well and would hate to see it canceled. Putting almost any show on Friday night pretty much guarantees it will be DOA because the prime demographic that ratings and sponsors care about is the 18-39, many of whom go out in Fridays or rent movies by the more sedate.

14 TV Shows Likely to Get the Axe After this Season Thomas Mentel Google+ | More Articles December 23, 2013 Page 1 of 15 view all It’s not easy to avoid the chopping block when it comes to primetime television. Whether it’s a returning series or a new show, livelihood is purely a numbers game, and when the numbers go south, cancellation is not far behind. TV by the Numbers runs a series of articles outlining which shows from the major networks are trending downwards using what it calls the “Renew/Cancel Index” — a ratio that takes into account a show’s 18-49 age group ratings relative to the performance of other shows. Per the site, the specifics behind the numbers are as follows: “The Renew/Cancel Index is the ratio of a scripted show’s new episode adults 18-49 ratings relative to the new episode ratings of the other scripted shows on its own network. It’s calculated by dividing a show’s new episode Live+Same Day adults 18-49 average rating by the Live+Same Day new episode average of all the new scripted show episodes on the show’s own network. The network’s average ratings in the calculation are not time weighted (ex. hour long shows are not weighted twice what 30 minute shows are).” In general, a score less than 1 puts a show at considerable risk of cancellation, while a score greater than 1 puts a show in safe territory. Shows approaching 2 on the scale are more or less untouchable — pretty much assured for an early renewal — while shows trending around 0.5 are generally in big, big trouble as networks decide what to cancel. Using TV by the Numbers’ Renew/Cancel Index, here are the shows from each of the five major broadcast networks — ABC, Fox, CBS, NBC, the CW — that seem destined for the chopping block. Page 1 of 15 View the list at: http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/14-tv-shows-likely-to-get-the-axe-after-this-season.html/?ref=YF

10 discontinued cars we're going to miss Last week we looked at cars that deservedly got the axe in 2013. This week we'll be a lot kinder because we're looking at the models that are disappearing altogether or making way for generation 2014, but that we'd love to have in our garage. By Michael Frank at Popular Mechanics http://autos.yahoo.com/photos/10-discontinued-cars-we-re-going-to-miss-1387848982-slideshow/

The 13 Most Underrated Movies of 2013 By Kevin Polowy 8 hours ago Yahoo Movies http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-news/13-most-underrated-movies-2013-233927968.html

http://news.yahoo.com/2013-remembering-those-we-lost-183012995.html?vp=1

Canada's Anti-Prostitution Laws Struck Down By Supreme Court By CHARMAINE NORONHA 12/20/13 11:12 AM ET EST TORONTO (AP) — Canada's highest court struck down the country's anti-prostitution laws in their entirety Friday, including against keeping a brothel. The 9-0 Supreme Court ruling is a victory for sex workers seeking safer working conditions because it found that the laws violated the guarantee to life, liberty and security of the person. But the ruling won't take effect immediately because it gave Parliament a one-year reprieve to respond with new legislation. Prostitution isn't illegal in Canada, but many of the activities associated with prostitution are classified as criminal offences. The high court struck down all three prostitution-related laws: against keeping a brothel, living on the avails of prostitution, and street soliciting. The landmark ruling comes more than two decades after the Supreme Court last upheld the country's anti-prostitution laws. The decision upheld an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling last year that struck down the ban on brothels on the grounds that it endangered sex workers by forcing them onto the streets. Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, writing on behalf of the court, said Canada's social landscape has changed since 1990, when the Supreme Court upheld a ban on street solicitation. "These appeals and the cross-appeal are not about whether prostitution should be legal or not," she wrote. "They are about whether the laws Parliament has enacted on how prostitution may be carried out pass constitutional muster. I conclude that they do not." A Vancouver sex worker who was part of a group that brought the case applauded the court's decision. "I'm shocked and pleased that our sex laws will not cause us harm in a year," Amy Lebovitch said in a news conference. Katrina Pacey, a lawyer for the group of downtown Vancouver prostitutes, called it "an unbelievably important day for the sex workers but also for human rights." "The court recognized that sex workers have the right to protect themselves and their safety," she said. In 1990, the two women on Canada's Supreme Court dissented on the ruling upholding the ban on street solicitation. This time, all six men on the court justices sided with their three female colleagues. "The harms identified by the courts below are grossly disproportionate to the deterrence of community disruption that is the object of the law," McLachlin wrote. "Parliament has the power to regulate against nuisances, but not at the cost of the health, safety and lives of prostitutes." Sex-trade workers argued that much has changed since the high court last considered prostitution, including the horrific serial killings of prostitutes by Robert Pickton in British Columbia. See article at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/20/canada-anti-prostitution-law_n_4480105.html

Michael Fassbender pissing on the set of new movie.

This just verifies that the two wings of the probability distribution do exist -- at least one of them anyway.

No one can deny he had a big impact on society and our laws. We are the better for it IMHO.

No caption, just a preference. I'd like him a hole lot better if he wasn't facing the wall and he was on the floor, not that table.

Tom swimming in bubbly... or did he make it?

Where is Richard Simmons?