New Blog Layout - Thoughts?

Hmmmm..... what do ya'll think of the new blog layout? Do you love it? Or miss the old one?....Update: Thanks to the two of you for your feedback. While there are definitely some advantages to the new layouts I tried last night, it doesn't provide all the functionality I like (such as being able to easily notice the latest comments, as one of you said), and there are also some technical issues behind the scenes that they still have to iron out... So — for now anwyay — I am going back to the way we had it befo...

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The charming, idyllic towns along Lake Constance in Germany

Lake Constance is Europe's third largest lake, on the gorgeous Rhine, at the foot of the alps. The lake and it's absolutely adorable towns makes for a gorgeous day trip from Ulm. Actually - I wish we had scheduled more time to explore the towns. You can read about Lake Constance on Wikipedia.I love half-timbered buildings...So gorgeous!As always - thanks to my bf Chris for these gorgeous photos.Here's that list again of all my posts from our travels that I've posted -Spain•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra•...

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Around Queens This Weekend

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Mr. Vino In-Store Tasting Tomorrow

One of Mr. Vino's wine suppliers, Vinifera Imports tells me they will be pouring "three wonderful Italian wines" at Mr. Vino on Saturday 10/01 from 5 pm to 8 pm.  It's a free in-store tasting featuring the following wines:2009 Barberani Orvieto Classico Castagnolo2008 Braida Montebruna Barbera2006 ICardi BarbarescoMr. Vino107-02A 71st AveForest Hills, NY 11...

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Learning From Jay-Z's Successes -- And Failures (BLOG)

Six years ago, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter found himself on the verge of finalizing one of the biggest deals of his life. The prize: A Jay-Z branded Jeep Commander that would roll off the lot boasting an audio system preloaded with all of Jay-Z’s songs, an interior swathed in butter-cream leather and an exterior slathered in a coat of patented Jay-Z Blue paint. For his efforts, the rapper would receive a 5-10% royalty on each $50,000 vehicle sold.The Jay-Z Jeep would have been a multimillion-dollar bonanza had it ever hit the streets, but it fell through at the last minute. Through no fault of Jay-Z’s, a change of management at Jeep parent Chrysler...

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Facebook Keeps A History Of Everyone Who Has Ever Poked You, Along With A Lot Of Other Data (BLOG)

Across the pond, European law grants citizens a “right to access,” meaning that companies have to provide a person with all of the personal data they have on them if they request it. An Austrian-based group called Europe v. Facebook has posted a couple of the reports compiled by the social networking giant everyone loves (and loves to hate).Facebook doesn't forget pokesMost of you probably know that Facebook knows a lot about you. But did you know that if you were to print it out, it might take up about 880 pages? I went through one of the lengthy dossiers from Europe v. Facebook. Here are the juicy bits for a female Facebook user with the initials...

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Microsoft Is Said to Add Comcast, Verizon Pay TV to Xbox Live (BLOG)

Microsoft Corp. plans to offer online pay television service fromComcast Corp. (CMCSA) and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)through Xbox Live, in an bid to channel more entertainment to its video-game console, people with knowledge of the situation said.Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, is in talks with almost two dozen providers of music, sports, movies and TV shows in the U.S. and Europe, and may announce an expanded Xbox Live streaming service as soon as next week, said one of the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly.Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer is promoting the Xbox 360 console as a way to switch easily between...

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Reebok Pays $25 Million to Settle FTC Claims of False Ads for Toning Shoes (BLOG)

Reebok International Ltd. agreed to pay $25 million to resolve government allegations it made false claims that its so-called toning shoes helped strengthen leg and buttock muscles.The settlement with the Federal Trade Commission covers advertising starting in 2009 for Reebok’s EasyTone walking shoes and flip flops and RunTone running shoes. The agency said the ads made unsupported claims that walking in EasyTone footwear was “proven” to tone buttocks 28 percent more than other sneakers and build calf muscles by 11 percent more.“We spent a lot of time examining the evidence the company put forward and found it wanting,” said David Vladeck, head...

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This sheep thinks he's a dog (BLOG)

The sheep's name is Jack, and it's not his fault he's confused. Alison Sinstadt and her partner Simon Sherwin, who have a farm in Shropshire, England, brought him indoors when he was just a wee lamb because he was quite small. They raised him with their springer spaniel Jessie, and now Jack is so convinced that he's a dog too that he fetches sticks, walks on a leash, and even tries to bark (though it comes out more of a baa-rk).And putting the 6-month-old ovine in a field with his own flock doesn't help a bit: he just tries to herd them. It's positively unherd-...

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Patient dies outside Calif. hospital after release (BLOG)

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — A California hospital is investigating the death of a discharged patient whose body was found onhospital grounds.Officials at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital said Monday that their investigation into 49-year-old Michael Torres' death is almost complete.Torres' body was discovered on the hospital campus around 8 a.m. Sept. 20. The Press Democrat of Santa Rosa reports (http://bit.ly/p4Ek7e) that he had been discharged about 12 hours earlier after treatment for an undisclosed condition.Hospital officials say Torres was asked to move when, after he was discharged, he was found in part of the hospital that is closed to the public...

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T.I. to be released from halfway house Thursday (BLOG)

ATLANTA (AP) — Rapper T.I. is set to be released from an Atlantahalfway house after spending about 10 months in federal prison on a probation violation.T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, was arrested in September 2010 in Los Angeles on drug charges. He was sentenced to 11 months in prison for violating the terms of the probation he received after he was convicted of federal firearms charges.He was released from an Arkansas prison and sent to the halfway house on Aug. 31, put back in federal lock-up over a dispute withprison officials, and then returned to the halfway house Sept. 15.Attorney Steve Sadow said he wasn't sure what time the...

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Amazon unveils $199 Kindle Fire tablet (BLOG)

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Wednesday showed off the Kindle Fire, a $199 tablet computer, challenging Apple's iPad by extending its Kindle brand into the world of full-color, multipurpose devices.Bezos also took the opportunity at a New York press event to introduce a new line of Kindle e-readers with black-and-white screens and lower prices, further pressuring competitors likeBarnes & Noble Inc. that are trying to break Amazon.com Inc.'s dominance in electronic book sales.The Kindle Fire will go on sale Nov. 15. It's about half the size of the iPad, making it a close match with Barnes & Noble's Nook Color tablet, which came...

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The Dos and Dont's of Kitchen Decorating

Decorating magazines can be a great source of inspiration, but they can often overlook the basics. The problem is that basics are a big deal to the first-timer decorator. Getting your kitchen perfect is no simple process, and we can’t take anything for granted. So in order to help, we’ve assembled the most essential dos and dont's of kitchen decorating.Do's• Invest in a high-quality worktop. It is essential to the aesthetic and for maximizing space.• Allow for numerous electrical sockets. You can’t have too many unless they’re eyesores.• Separate the refrigerator from the grill, oven and similar appliances as much as possible.• Make space for...

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Cantaloupe illnesses and deaths expected to rise (BLOG)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials said Wednesday more illnesses and possibly more deaths may be linked to an outbreak of listeria in cantaloupe in coming weeks.So far, the outbreak has caused at least 72 illnesses — including up to 16 deaths — in 18 states, making it the deadliest food outbreak in the United States in more than a decade.The heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said consumers who have cantaloupes produced by Jensen Farms in Colorado should throw them out. If they are not sure where the fruit is from, they shouldn't eat it.Neither the government nor Jensen Farms has...

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Colo. boy, 13, pleads guilty to killing parents (BLOG)

BURLINGTON, Colo. (AP) — A 13-year-old boy who prosecutors say was playing with toy trucks and planes right before he shot and killed his parents was sentenced Wednesday to seven years injuvenile detention after pleading guilty to murder.The boy was 12 in March when prosecutors say he shot Marilyn and Charles Long with a .357 Magnum revolver in Burlington, a small farming community about 140 miles east of Denver. He also pleaded guilty to attempt to commit first-degree murder and three counts of assault for attacking two of his younger siblings.He could have faced decades in prison if he had been tried and convicted an adult.The light sentence...

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Rays clinch AL wild card with stunning rally (BLOG)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—Down by nine games in early September, down by seven runs on the final day of the season.And yet somehow, these Tampa Bay Rays made it to the playoffs.Evan Longoria(notes) capped a startling comeback by hitting his second home run of the game, hooking a drive barely inside the left-field foul pole in the 12th inning Wednesday night and giving the Rays the AL wild-card spot with an 8-7 win over the New York Yankees.Pinch-hitter Dan Johnson(notes) saved the Rays with a two-out, two-strike solo home runs i the ninth that made it 7-all.Longoria connected shortly after midnight, four minutes after Boston blew a ninth-inning...

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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?

I've been feeling a little frustrated in recent weeks about what is going on with our local food and retail situation. And now comes news that Energy Green, the make-your-own-salad place in the Austin St. Mall has just closed. I haven't confirmed this myself yet because I've been out of town for the past several days. But if it's true, it's really extremely disappointing. Firstly, every salad I ever had from there was really, really good. And secondly, Energy Green represented to me an important trend toward healthier, more moden food offerings in Forest Hills. If it has indeed closed, we have taken a big step backwards and that is a huge shame.At...

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Shanah Tovah !

Happy Rosh Hashanah to all of my Jewish readers. Wishing you a sweet New Ye...

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Surprising Siblings: Black and White Brothers Are Actually Twins (BLOG)

Two brothers, both alike in heritage, but as different as black and white. Ebony and ivory. Night and day. You get it. If one thing's clear about 18-year-old British twins James and Daniel Kelly, it's that they never get confused for one another.James and Daniel are the human version of a black and white cookie. Born to Alyson and Errol Kelly, an interracial couple, they display the unusual characteristic of being a pair of one dark-skinned and one-light skinned twins, reports the Guardian.(MORE: Why DNA Isn't Your Destiny)So how did this genetic anomaly occur?Dr. Jim Wilson, a population geneticist at Edinburgh University, tells the Guardian...

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Milton Bradley Arrested After Allegedly Swinging Bat at His Wife (BLOG)

Your first inclination upon reading the title of this post may have been to think, “Is LBS just repeating old stories?” Sure, it’s a slow news day, but alas, we are not republishing old stories.Former MLB player and permanent hot head Milton Bradley was arrested Tuesday on charges of assault with a deadly weapon. According to TMZ, Bradley’s wife called 911 Tuesday afternoon from their home in LA and said Milton was chasing her around the house with a baseball bat.We always say there are two sides to every story, but would anybody be surprised if this were true? Milty is the same dude who oncecharged a press box after a game to confront a television...

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4 Americans get pot from US government (BLOG)

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Sometime after midnight on a moonlit rural Oregon highway, a state trooper checking a car he had just pulled over found less than an ounce of pot on one passenger: A chatty 72-year-old woman blind in one eye.She insisted the weed was legal and was approved by the U.S.government.The trooper and his supervisor were doubtful. But after a series of calls to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Drug Enforcement Agencyand her physician, the troopers handed her back the card — and her pot.For the past three decades, Uncle Sam has been providing a handful of patients with some of the highest grade marijuana around. The program grew out...

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I Miss My Cat

My cat, Ah Huay, is my family cat that has already passed away.I stumbled upon some old pictures of her a few days ago and started missing her.Ah Huay with Liu Tong behind herThe saddest thing is not that she passed away - She has lived quite an average lifespan of a cat, though I think she might be able to live longer if we had discovered her sickness earlier - but it is that Liu Tong's best friend is no longer around. I know that I did mentioned about this in my past post 'Tribute to my pet cat', but still I'm gonna repeat some of them again.Ah Huay & Liu TongIt's been almost 8 months since Ah Huay left us and everyone expect Liu Tong is...

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