Artie Lange, the famous sidekick on The Howard Stern Show doing better says Rosie O'Donnell. A guest on Late Night with Craig Ferguson, last week, Rosie O'Donnell said "He's doing better. He's got a lot of trouble with addiction and depression in his life, and his dad when he was young and he tried to take his own life, and it really really was so painful to everyone who loved him including Howard (Stern)."
Artie Lange tried to commit suicide in January, although the news of his attempt wasn't immediately reported until the New York Times Page 6 article surfaced. Artie Lange's friends and co-workers have expressed love and support for Lange and he's welcome back on The Howard Stern Show.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Toyota Prius recall has Toyota in big legal trouble
The Toyota Prius recall has Toyota in big legal trouble. It was announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation is now looking into the braking problems surrounding the Toyota Prius recall issue as the problem of "uneven breaking" is now reported Worldwide.
Now, reports of Prius problems are surfacing in Australia. The Toyota brand, once associated with safety, quality, and reliability, has taken a massive beating.
Before the Prius braking problem, Toyota was already the focus of a massive recall effort. Toyota recalled the RAV4, Corolla and Matrix 2009-2010, Sequoia 2008-2010, Tundra 2007-2010, Avalon 2005-2010, and 2010 Highlander, and stopped sales of those cars.
Toyota has issued the following statement:
"Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company. This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We’re making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible."
Now the Prius, its new flagship, is being recalled. Before that, over 2 million Toyota cars were impacted. Now the number is much higher.
Stay tuned.
Now, reports of Prius problems are surfacing in Australia. The Toyota brand, once associated with safety, quality, and reliability, has taken a massive beating.
Before the Prius braking problem, Toyota was already the focus of a massive recall effort. Toyota recalled the RAV4, Corolla and Matrix 2009-2010, Sequoia 2008-2010, Tundra 2007-2010, Avalon 2005-2010, and 2010 Highlander, and stopped sales of those cars.
Toyota has issued the following statement:
"Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company. This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We’re making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible."
Now the Prius, its new flagship, is being recalled. Before that, over 2 million Toyota cars were impacted. Now the number is much higher.
Stay tuned.
Scott Brown can wait his turn; Scott Brown supports can wait too
Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown is scheduled to be officially sworn in February 11th and after a long process that includes overseas vote counting and Governor and Secretary of State Certification, that date is set for February 11th.
Even with this, there's the irresponsible idea that all of the official procedures should be skipped over and Scott Brown should be seated today. The Scott Brown backers are still a bit too drunk with the cocktail of special-election victory over Democratic challenger, Mass Attorney General Martha Coackley and need a major dose of reality: Brown is a U.S. Senator that is now bound by traditional legal procedure; Brown didn't just win a city council seat. It's bigger than that.
That then is the problem. The emergence of "activism creep" and Couch Potato Conservatism has battled against intelligent thinking and statesperson discourse. With organizations like Fox News and at times CNN helping, and add to that Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, that dangerous and rouge fringe point of view has a voice much louder than it should be.
Still, such intellectually vapid voices are dampened by procedure. Scott Brown's title is Senator-Elect, and it's clear he and his office understand their new role in Washington. It's just too bad his supporters can't do the same.
Stay tuned.
Even with this, there's the irresponsible idea that all of the official procedures should be skipped over and Scott Brown should be seated today. The Scott Brown backers are still a bit too drunk with the cocktail of special-election victory over Democratic challenger, Mass Attorney General Martha Coackley and need a major dose of reality: Brown is a U.S. Senator that is now bound by traditional legal procedure; Brown didn't just win a city council seat. It's bigger than that.
That then is the problem. The emergence of "activism creep" and Couch Potato Conservatism has battled against intelligent thinking and statesperson discourse. With organizations like Fox News and at times CNN helping, and add to that Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, that dangerous and rouge fringe point of view has a voice much louder than it should be.
Still, such intellectually vapid voices are dampened by procedure. Scott Brown's title is Senator-Elect, and it's clear he and his office understand their new role in Washington. It's just too bad his supporters can't do the same.
Stay tuned.
Hayward and Calpine will get first plant with Greenhouse Gas limit
Hayward, California and Calpine will have the first the plant with a Greenhouse Gas limit, ending years of talks, battles, and controversy. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District approved a "Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit" which is the final federal regulatory approval needed for the Calpine energy plant to be built.
"Once again California is demonstrating leadership on greenhouse gas related issues. We applaud the BAAQMD and Calpine for going beyond existing federal law and being the first in the nation to require an enforceable greenhouse gas limit," said Linda Adams, California State Secretary for Environmental Protection. "This action furthers efforts at a statewide level to balance our economic needs while meeting our environmental challenges. Aggressive and early action like this is needed to fight global warming and is critical to our economic recovery."
Hayward, California will get a new energy plant that will result in 650 union construction jobs, a number of part-time and permanent jobs, and an estimated $30 million in one-time tax revenue and $5 million annually in property tax revenue.
This is a project I've long advocated for because we have never seen a plant that was created from the start with a Federal Greenhouse Gas Limit. The Calpine Russell City Energy Center will be a supplier of energy and jobs to the San Francisco Bay Area.
The approval ends a process that saw the California Energy Commission grant a license for the plant in September 2007, California Public Utilities Commission approval of a 10-year power purchase agreement in April 2009 under which PG&E will purchase the electricity generated by the plant, and a major public hearing on the plan on September 2, 2009:
But what's more, the natural gas powered plant will reportedly use 100 percent reclaimed water from the City of Hayward’s Water Pollution Control Facility for cooling and boiler makeup. The process conserves water and prevents nearly four million gallons of wastewater per day from being dumped into San Francisco Bay.
It's also a process that was first used on a major scale at Walt Disney World in Florida, when its power plant systems were built.
Calpine reports that Russell City Energy Center also will donate $10 million to help build a new library for Hayward.
Stay tuned.
"Once again California is demonstrating leadership on greenhouse gas related issues. We applaud the BAAQMD and Calpine for going beyond existing federal law and being the first in the nation to require an enforceable greenhouse gas limit," said Linda Adams, California State Secretary for Environmental Protection. "This action furthers efforts at a statewide level to balance our economic needs while meeting our environmental challenges. Aggressive and early action like this is needed to fight global warming and is critical to our economic recovery."
Hayward, California will get a new energy plant that will result in 650 union construction jobs, a number of part-time and permanent jobs, and an estimated $30 million in one-time tax revenue and $5 million annually in property tax revenue.
This is a project I've long advocated for because we have never seen a plant that was created from the start with a Federal Greenhouse Gas Limit. The Calpine Russell City Energy Center will be a supplier of energy and jobs to the San Francisco Bay Area.
The approval ends a process that saw the California Energy Commission grant a license for the plant in September 2007, California Public Utilities Commission approval of a 10-year power purchase agreement in April 2009 under which PG&E will purchase the electricity generated by the plant, and a major public hearing on the plan on September 2, 2009:
But what's more, the natural gas powered plant will reportedly use 100 percent reclaimed water from the City of Hayward’s Water Pollution Control Facility for cooling and boiler makeup. The process conserves water and prevents nearly four million gallons of wastewater per day from being dumped into San Francisco Bay.
It's also a process that was first used on a major scale at Walt Disney World in Florida, when its power plant systems were built.
Calpine reports that Russell City Energy Center also will donate $10 million to help build a new library for Hayward.
Stay tuned.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Draeger Construction Set to Help Haiti
Draeger Construction is going on a big push to let everyone know it's involved in Haiti. The earthquake damaged country has a problem in that many of its buildings were far less than quake safe.
Now, faced with what could be the largest private construction project in the World, Haiti needs to remake its country. That's where Draeger Construction comes in.
Draeger Construction is a San Francisco Bay Area builder. The SF Bay Area is one of the World's most active quake zones. What Draeger Construction will do, with the introduction of something called "The Freedom Builders Initiative" is announce their interest in rebuilding Haiti where they've already been involved for years.
More on Draeger Construction's new Haiti "FBI" effort soon.
Posted by Cat of SomeRedCat.tumblr.com
Now, faced with what could be the largest private construction project in the World, Haiti needs to remake its country. That's where Draeger Construction comes in.
Draeger Construction is a San Francisco Bay Area builder. The SF Bay Area is one of the World's most active quake zones. What Draeger Construction will do, with the introduction of something called "The Freedom Builders Initiative" is announce their interest in rebuilding Haiti where they've already been involved for years.
More on Draeger Construction's new Haiti "FBI" effort soon.
Posted by Cat of SomeRedCat.tumblr.com
ESPN robs Cal Football on National Signing Day with sloppy work
According to Rivals.com, The University of California had the 11th best recruiting class in America on National Signing Day, but to read ESPN, you'd think Cal did totally nothing.
There's no mention of the switch Keenan Allen, the nation's best defensive back, made from Alabama to Cal. But what's weird about ESPN's post rankinga by Tom Luginbill is that he states "One way to climb in the ranking is to surprisingly land an impact player."
Keenan Allen is just that, which makes ESPN's work on National Signing Day questionable at best. Or maybe Rivals.com just does a better job of giving justifiable data on players signed by colleges.
And they don't make mistakes. Keenan Allen's ranked as the best DB in the USA but ESPN reports Cal did not sign a five-star player. Keenan Allen is just that.
This is an outrage. Rankings on signing day are the way America knows how well college football programs are doing. They help command alumni donor dollars and sell season tickets. What ESPN did was borderline criminal. I wonder if ESPN's Tom Luginbill is punishing Allen and Cal because Allen snubbed Alabama? And if that's the case, why does Luginbill care?
Keenan Allen is a five-star player. Scout.com and Rivals.com say so; ESPN has no reason to go against them and others and should explain its answers. ESPN has the bigger broadcasting reach so it should handle National Signing Day more responsibly.
This must be explained.
Stay tuned.
There's no mention of the switch Keenan Allen, the nation's best defensive back, made from Alabama to Cal. But what's weird about ESPN's post rankinga by Tom Luginbill is that he states "One way to climb in the ranking is to surprisingly land an impact player."
Keenan Allen is just that, which makes ESPN's work on National Signing Day questionable at best. Or maybe Rivals.com just does a better job of giving justifiable data on players signed by colleges.
And they don't make mistakes. Keenan Allen's ranked as the best DB in the USA but ESPN reports Cal did not sign a five-star player. Keenan Allen is just that.
This is an outrage. Rankings on signing day are the way America knows how well college football programs are doing. They help command alumni donor dollars and sell season tickets. What ESPN did was borderline criminal. I wonder if ESPN's Tom Luginbill is punishing Allen and Cal because Allen snubbed Alabama? And if that's the case, why does Luginbill care?
Keenan Allen is a five-star player. Scout.com and Rivals.com say so; ESPN has no reason to go against them and others and should explain its answers. ESPN has the bigger broadcasting reach so it should handle National Signing Day more responsibly.
This must be explained.
Stay tuned.
Demar Dorsey, snubs Florida State for Michigan on signing day
Star high school players Demar Dorsey and Christian Green go to Michigan and to Florida State on National Signing Day, pushing Florida State to the rank of best recruiting class in the country while being snubbed at the same time.
Coming off a season which saw the loss of legendary Head Coach Bobby Bowden to retirement, Florida State came back strong with Demar Dorsey and Christian Green, but then Dorsey switched today. Demar Dorsey is a Miami Boyd Anderson star defensive back who decided he was more comfortable away from home. But I think there's something more to this unprecedented wave of big school snubs that I will explore later.
Christian Green was penciled in at Georgia, but then dropped the Dawgs for Florida State. And Georgia feels like it's being picked clean: Da'Rick Rogers dumped them for Tennessee and DB Nickell Robey was reportedly headed to USC.
More on this crazy National Signing Day. Stay tuned.
Coming off a season which saw the loss of legendary Head Coach Bobby Bowden to retirement, Florida State came back strong with Demar Dorsey and Christian Green, but then Dorsey switched today. Demar Dorsey is a Miami Boyd Anderson star defensive back who decided he was more comfortable away from home. But I think there's something more to this unprecedented wave of big school snubs that I will explore later.
Christian Green was penciled in at Georgia, but then dropped the Dawgs for Florida State. And Georgia feels like it's being picked clean: Da'Rick Rogers dumped them for Tennessee and DB Nickell Robey was reportedly headed to USC.
More on this crazy National Signing Day. Stay tuned.
Cal's Tosh Lupoi credited with getting Keenan Allen to Cal from Alabama
Ask how the University of California managed to get the nation's best defensive back Keenan Allen to commit to Cal, when as recently as at the Shrine Game Allen was all set to go to Alabama, and ESPN will point to Tosh Lupoi.
Lupoi's Cal's second year defensive coach and 2005 Cal graduate, is considered an ace recruiter and has the numbers to prove it. Lupoi's landed six commitments, two of them, including Allen, are five-star players. (The other was defensive end Chris Martin in 2009 who put down Notre Dame for Cal.).
In addition to Allen, Lupoi basically mined the state of North Carolina. Cal landed QB Zach Maynard, Keenan Allen , and Linebacker Chris McCain. All from Greensboro, NC.
As I write this, Coach Tedford's holding his press conference, which you can view live here:
Tosh Lupoi (BearInsider photo)
Lupoi's Cal's second year defensive coach and 2005 Cal graduate, is considered an ace recruiter and has the numbers to prove it. Lupoi's landed six commitments, two of them, including Allen, are five-star players. (The other was defensive end Chris Martin in 2009 who put down Notre Dame for Cal.).
In addition to Allen, Lupoi basically mined the state of North Carolina. Cal landed QB Zach Maynard, Keenan Allen , and Linebacker Chris McCain. All from Greensboro, NC.
As I write this, Coach Tedford's holding his press conference, which you can view live here:
National Signing Day: Cal Football gets Keenan Allen, best defensive back in USA.
Not to be outdone by its San Francisco Bay Area NCAA college football rivals The Stanford Cardinal, the University of California has formed what Rivals.com calls the 11th best recruiting class in America and got the best defensive back in the country.
The star of the class is Keenan Allen, a 6-3 195 lbs defensive back from Greensboro, NC. He' considered the best defensive back in America by Rivals.com and is the fifth best player in the country. Allen runs a 4.56 40 and is described as a tall, rangy athlete with the moves of a jungle cat.
Keenan Allen dropped the Alabama Crimson Tide to sign with Cal. Here' a video on Allen:
More soon on Allen's jump from Alabama to Cal.
The star of the class is Keenan Allen, a 6-3 195 lbs defensive back from Greensboro, NC. He' considered the best defensive back in America by Rivals.com and is the fifth best player in the country. Allen runs a 4.56 40 and is described as a tall, rangy athlete with the moves of a jungle cat.
Keenan Allen dropped the Alabama Crimson Tide to sign with Cal. Here' a video on Allen:
More soon on Allen's jump from Alabama to Cal.
National Signing Day 2010: Stanford lands 4th best QB in Nottingham
National Signing Day 2010: the Stanford Cardinal lands the 4th best high school QB in America in Brett Nottingham. In doing so, The Cardinal is in the same conversation as BYU, Alabama, and Texas, all of which secured the top three quarterbacks in the U.S.A according to Rivals.com.
Fresh off a 2009 season that saw the Cardinal go to its first bowl game since 2001 and present a Heisman Trophy runner-up in Running Back Toby Gerhart, Stanford is poised to have its best recruiting class in years.
Brett Nottingham is 6-4, 210 lbs and is a local-to-Stanford San Francisco Bay Area product from Monte Vista High School in Danville, CA. Barry Every of Rivals.com compares him to Tim Tebow in size and build. (Let's hope he doesn't cry after big bowl losses!)
Here's a video view of Stanford's newest QB:
Stay tuned.
Brett Nottingham
Fresh off a 2009 season that saw the Cardinal go to its first bowl game since 2001 and present a Heisman Trophy runner-up in Running Back Toby Gerhart, Stanford is poised to have its best recruiting class in years.
Brett Nottingham is 6-4, 210 lbs and is a local-to-Stanford San Francisco Bay Area product from Monte Vista High School in Danville, CA. Barry Every of Rivals.com compares him to Tim Tebow in size and build. (Let's hope he doesn't cry after big bowl losses!)
Here's a video view of Stanford's newest QB:
Stay tuned.
Will Comcast fire NBC's Jeff Zucker? Ad execs hope so
The word on the street, according to Nikke Finke, is that Comcast will fire NBC NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker "within minutes" of Federal approval of the Comcast takeover of NBC.
That news could not come sooner for advertising executives, who are still really in a snit over Zucker's decision to green-light the failed Jay Leno Show, and the awful way Zucker handled Leno and Conan O'Brien.
On AdAge, the ad industry news publication, negative articles about Zucker are common, the most recent one calling for President Barack Obama to fire Jeff Zucker. And this article has bite:
Ad execs blame Jeff Zucker for what they refer to as the "destruction of NBC" and most important what they see as the terrible Jay Leno Show. When it was announced that NBC would move Leno back to his old place, AdAge reported that anyone would be better than Jay Leno at 10 PM.
Ouch.
And MediaLife doesn't pull any punishes either. In a blog post that is a view of NBC from an ad buyer's perspective, Louisa Ada Seltzer writes:
The post is followed by an unflattering survey and quotes of media buyers telling Zucker to resign or calling him an idiot, and all for his bungling of the Jay Leno Show.
But in fairness, all of this is happening in the storm of a terrible, and just recovering, economy which has been weak for two years. Zucker's actions would have been judged critically in a good economy, but in a bad one, they look like career suicide.
Stay tuned.
That news could not come sooner for advertising executives, who are still really in a snit over Zucker's decision to green-light the failed Jay Leno Show, and the awful way Zucker handled Leno and Conan O'Brien.
On AdAge, the ad industry news publication, negative articles about Zucker are common, the most recent one calling for President Barack Obama to fire Jeff Zucker. And this article has bite:
...the man who engineered this fiasco and the general demise of NBC, Jeff Zucker (president and CEO of NBC Universal), still, bizarrely, has his job. In fact, he doesn't even really seem to fully grasp that he's at fault. When the New York Times, in a page-one, above-the-fold story, declared that "the network is in shambles" and that its "overall finances are crumbling" (from $1 billion in profit less than a decade ago, to a projected $100 million loss this year), Zucker offered the paper this defense: "We live in a society today that loves a soap opera. Three months ago it was David Letterman. Six weeks ago it was Tiger Wood's problems. Today it's NBC's problems."
Um, sure, Jeff. Tell yourself that. All of us who think you're blindingly incompetent, and have been for years, are just serial bitches and bullies who pick our targets for sport. It's merely NBC's turn, is all; this, too, will pass. Suuuure.
Ad execs blame Jeff Zucker for what they refer to as the "destruction of NBC" and most important what they see as the terrible Jay Leno Show. When it was announced that NBC would move Leno back to his old place, AdAge reported that anyone would be better than Jay Leno at 10 PM.
Ouch.
And MediaLife doesn't pull any punishes either. In a blog post that is a view of NBC from an ad buyer's perspective, Louisa Ada Seltzer writes:
The pain NBC has suffered through its mismanagement of the entire mess will remain a scar on the brand, and in the end it's really accomplished nothing in the way of fixing its primetime problem by moving Leno from the 10 p.m. timeslot, where his weeknight strip had done so poorly.
The post is followed by an unflattering survey and quotes of media buyers telling Zucker to resign or calling him an idiot, and all for his bungling of the Jay Leno Show.
But in fairness, all of this is happening in the storm of a terrible, and just recovering, economy which has been weak for two years. Zucker's actions would have been judged critically in a good economy, but in a bad one, they look like career suicide.
Stay tuned.
Oscar Nominations: Hitler's pissed off about Star Trek
Oscar Nominations: Hitler's pissed off about Star Trek.
Star Trek, Director J.J. Abrams widely acclaimed "reboot" of the popular television and movie science fiction series, was widely expected to be one of ten Oscar "Best Picture" nominees. Instead it was snubbed for the competition, causing a loud, Worldwide outcry from Star Trek fans. The movie was marketed as "Best Picture Material."
Still, it didn't win. Avatar, Hurt Locker, District 9, and the surprise entry, The Blind Side, were named to compete for Oscar, Best Picture.
What happened and why Star Trek didn't get a nominations is anyone's best guess. But one thing is clear: Hitler's not happy. Just as he was unhappy about a number of life's happenings, lets just say he was more than a little worked up about Star Trek's miscue:
Stay tuned.
Star Trek, Director J.J. Abrams widely acclaimed "reboot" of the popular television and movie science fiction series, was widely expected to be one of ten Oscar "Best Picture" nominees. Instead it was snubbed for the competition, causing a loud, Worldwide outcry from Star Trek fans. The movie was marketed as "Best Picture Material."
Still, it didn't win. Avatar, Hurt Locker, District 9, and the surprise entry, The Blind Side, were named to compete for Oscar, Best Picture.
What happened and why Star Trek didn't get a nominations is anyone's best guess. But one thing is clear: Hitler's not happy. Just as he was unhappy about a number of life's happenings, lets just say he was more than a little worked up about Star Trek's miscue:
Stay tuned.
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