Crop Circle in Indonesia

Crop circles in Indonesia have some locals fearing an alien invasion.

The design, measuring nearly 230 feet in diameter and consisting of several circles and triangles, was discovered in a rice field in Sleman, Yogyakarta, earlier this week.

It is believed to be the first time a crop circle has appeared in the Asian country. Explanations have ranged from it being the work of extraterrestrials, to the sign of a higher being.

"I think they were left by an alien spaceship, like one I saw in TV," Krasakan resident Cahyo Utomo told The Jakarta Post on Monday. "It is impossible that this was made by the wind or any animal."

"Whether a UFO has indeed landed here, I don't know precisely," a resident named Madurejo told the Indonesian news website, Kompas.com. "What is clear is that this is a sign of God's greatness."

Whatever the cause, the mysterious circles have now appeared in at least 30 countries, according to crop circle expert Freddy Silva.

"The phenomenon has been going on since 1680," he told the Daily News, with eyewitness accounts of their creation being recorded "since the 1880s."

The author of "Secrets in the Field," he has been researching crop circles for more than two decades, and said there are always tale-tell signs if one is for real, or just a joke.


Investigators inspect crop circle in Indonesia. (AP) CLICK to see more photos of the world's greatest mysteries.

"With the real circles, the plants are not damaged, they are bent over about inch from the soil," Silva explained. Plus, "the plants, their cellular structure, have been altered."

However, hoax crop circles have grown more and more common in the past two decades.

"From the 1800s to 1991, at least 99% were genuine," Silva said. From 1992 to 2000, that number fell to "about 70%."

Since the turn of the century, he said, "95% are hoaxes ... The real ones have gone quiet."

A dedicated group could conceivably create a manmade crop circle in a short period of time, Silva admitted. Some have paid off farmers and picked isolated locations in order to make their creations.

"In two or three days, a group of 14 people who have been doing this for years [could] create a coherent design," he said, but felt that it would likely be harder in a wet rice field.

"It would be more difficult to hoax something in a rice field, because there's so much mud," Silva said.

The Indonesia crop circles may prove to be just another of those hoaxes. The Jakarta Post reports Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University investigators are looking into claims that a group of local college kids may have been behind the elaborate design.

Netflix Shares

Netflix Inc.'s video subscription service topped 20 million customers during the fourth quarter to help push its earnings beyond analyst expectations and burnish its reputation as a stock market star. Its shares surged nearly 9 percent on the news.

The results announced Wednesday are the latest evidence of Netflix's increasingly important role in the distribution of home and mobile entertainment. As Netflix's influence has risen, so has its stock price. The shares tripled last year to give Netflix a higher market value of nearly $10 billion — more than some of the studios that supply the content for its DVD-by-mail and Internet video streaming service.

The lofty valuation has intensified the pressure on Netflix to keep attracting subscribers at a rapid pace.

Netflix delivered in the fourth quarter by reeling in 3.1 million subscribers, by far the most during any three-month period since its service launched in 1999. The performance also exceeded the most optimistic predictions of its own management.

The company, based in Los Gatos, Calif., believes the current quarter could be even better. It expects to gain as many as 3.7 million more subscribers in the U.S. and Canada by the end of March.

Netflix shares soared $16.07 to $199.10 in Wednesday's extended trading after the results were released. The stock finished the regular session at $183.03, down $3.71.

In a departure from its past practice, Netflix didn't provide a full-year forecast, partly because executives say it's becoming more difficult to accurately forecast the company's rate of growth over such an extended period. For instance, Netflix began 2010 with a projection calling for the addition of 3.6 million subscribers during the full year and wound up picking up 7.7 million.

Another variable clouding the outlook: Netflix unveiled plans to enter its second international market during the second half of this year after expanding into Canada last fall. The company didn't identify which new market it's targeting, but said it anticipates an operating loss of about $50 million on its international operations in the second half of the year.

The Canada service is supposed to start making money during the third quarter.

Netflix Inc. earned $47.1 million, or 87 cents per share, during the final three months of last year. That was a 52 percent increase from $30.9 million, or 56 cents per share, last year.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of 71 cents per share.

Geting a New for for 0 Down

ne of the more popular internet search phrases is “Zero Down Auto Loans”. I would image the meaning of this to mean that the consumer wants an auto loan but does not want to use any of their own cash as a down payment. Customer cash is not the only form of down, there are two others; trade value and rebates.

If you have bad credit there are only a few true no down auto loan programs, and most of these I would not recommend. The repayment terms for these no money down auto loan programs are less favorable than lender programs that require money down.
Forms of Money Down:
Customer Cash

When most people hear “money down car loans” they relate this to “cash down”; there are a few car loan programs that require cash as a down payment, most, however, do not specify between cash down and trade value as down payment.
Vehicle Trade in Value

Most auto financing programs allow trade value as down payment to meet their minimum required down payment. Car dealers us this as a tool to help people meet the minimum required down payment. Here is how it works:

A consumer has a high mileage 2000 Ford Escort with a blown engine. Other than to a junk yard, the vehicle has no value. The dealership appraises the vehicle, sight unseen, at $100.

The consumer wishes to purchase a used 2007 Dodge Caravan for $15,000 with no cash money down. The most favorable auto financing terms that the car dealer was able to find is with a car loan lender that requires a minimum of $1,000 as down payment.

The car dealership structures the deal with a selling price of $15,900 and gives the consumers $1,000 for the trade. The net difference in the transaction is $14,900. The same as it would have been if the dealer sold the car for $15,000 and gave the customer $100 for the trade.

New Car Rebates

Many lenders allow new car rebates to meet their minimum required down payment. So if you looking to buy a car with no money down and do not have a vehicle to trade, consider a new car with a rebate as a zero down alternative.
Summarize

There are auto loan programs available with zero money down. If you have zero cash down, however, you will most likely get more favorable terms from lenders if you have a vehicle to trade in or buy a new car with a rebate.

Flying Cars

Flying cars, also known as 'roadable aircraft' and Personal Air Vehicles (PAV), are vehicles capable of both being driven on standard roads and being flown through the air. In concept, they are regarded as Integrated Flying Cars if the transition from road to flight and back requires no change to the vehicle’s parts, and Modular Flying Cars if the parts required for flight are stored (at an airport, for example) and added on as necessary.

The availability of flying cars is extremely limited but the idea of such a dual-purpose vehicle remains a popular idea for both James Bond fans and inventors. The majority of flying cars exist as either prototypes or concepts in development.

Typically, a flying car is a small airplane converted into a road-capable car. Because of their adaptive nature, there is no specific technology that applies to flying cars as a class. There are, however, certain strategies, such as vertical take-off and landing, favored by designers.

Ford Car 2011

Alan Mulally insisted Ford resurrect the Taurus namplate, then turned the Explorer into a midsize crossover sport/utility. Can he, will he, name the sleek new Vertrek -- an obvious hint for the 2013 Escape replacement -- the Escape?

The Vertrek concept, unveiled at the North American International Auto Show, goes on sale in early 2012 and is Escape in size and European Kuga in its use of Martin Smith's sleek "kinetic design" language. Like the Focus and C-Max with which it will share its front-drive platform, the Vertrek's profile features a "Zorro Flip" with converging Z-shaped accents between the front quarter-panel, the doors, and the rear quarter-panel.

Ford Vertrek Concept Side
Click to view Gallery
The hood's center bulge, with its unusual cutout pattern just ahead of the windshield, is said to be production-ready, though the skylight-style glass roof panel behind it isn't. The deeply drawn lower-profile accents also are a good indication of production. Don't count on the sequential LED taillamps and certainly not the sleek, low sideview mirrors, which help create a "wing" look by connecting with the dashboard.

The deep-bucket 2+2 seats are pure concept, but the interior materials give good hints at the level of attention Ford's interior designers paid to the inside. From the outside, add a thick B-pillar, remove the power-operated foldout running boards, and you've got a good look at the next Escape.

"We've pulled the A-pillar forward" and made a sleeker roofline, with a sport coupe-like rear roof resembling the current Kuga's, says J Mays, Ford's group vice president for design and chief creative officer. "People actually think we've lowered the car, but we haven't."

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/future/concept_vehicles/1103_ford_vertrek_concept_first_look/index.html#ixzz1BqBDt3it

Royal Wedding

There have been reports that Prince William and Kate Middleton may forgo gifts entirely, directing their wedding attendees to donate to a few select charities. However, our inside source from Brides Magazine tells us that the couple may also be planning to do a gift registry at the mid-range Peter Jones store in London's Sloane Square. "It's a department store that all other young middle-class brides want to register at," we're told. "Makes William and Kate seem 'normal.'" Kate has been known to shop at Peter Jones: recently, she and mother Carole were snapped browsing the post-holiday sales at the store.

Our friends over at Lonely Planet have reviewed Peter Jones, writing "...Upmarket china, furnishings and gifts are its forté, though it stocks accessories and cosmetics, too. The Top Floor (and that's where it's at) is a restaurant-café-bar with stunning views."

A reviewer at the British Yelp site says, "The great thing about Peter Jones is that it is classic and slightly boring...This is not where you go for cutting edge, but rather for sharp knives, washing machines and light bulbs, not to mention spare buttons and all the little things which fashionable shops just don't have."

Stop Heavy Drinking

People who drink regularly, especially heavy drinkers, may be more likely than teetotalers to suffer atrial fibrillation, a type of abnormal heart rhythm, according to a research review.

In an analysis of 14 studies, a team led by Satoru Kodama at the University of Tsukuba Institute of Clinical Medicine in Japan found that the heaviest drinkers were more likely to be diagnosed with the condition than people who drank little to no alcohol.

Though definitions of "heavy" drinking varied, it meant at least two or more drinks per day for men, and one or more per day for women. In some studies, heavy drinkers downed at least six drinks per day.

While doctors have long known that a drinking binge can trigger an episode of atrial fibrillation (AF), the findings -- reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology -- suggest that usual drinking habits may also matter.

"What we revealed in the current (study) is that not only episodic but habitual heavy drinking is associated with higher risk of AF," said Hirohito Sone, a colleague of Kodama's, told Reuters Health by email.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common abnormal heart rhythm and is not in itself life-threatening, but patients with it are at significantly higher risk of strokes. It may also result in palpitations, fainting, chest pain or congestive heart failure.

When all the study results were combined, heavy drinkers were 51 percent more likely to suffer atrial fibrillation than either non-drinkers or occasional drinkers.

Overall, the risk edged up 8 percent for every increase of 10 grams in participants' daily alcohol intake.

More than 2.6 million U.S. citizens will suffer from atrial fibrillation this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition becomes more common with age and additional risk factors include high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

Since coronary heart disease is much more common cause of death than atrial fibrillation, Sone said moderate drinking -- up to one or two drinks per day -- is probably still a heart-healthy habit for most people.

A better way to show a connection is with studies that measure people's drinking habits, then follow them over time to see who develops atrial fibrillation, said Kenneth Mukamal of Harvard University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who led two of the studies included in the analysis.

One of Mukamal's studies found a connection only between heavy drinking, with men who had five or more drinks a day having a higher risk of developing the condition over time than occasional drinkers.

Old Dog same tricks

Maine – Nearly 10,000 years ago, man's best friend provided protection and companionship — and an occasional meal.

That's what researchers are saying after finding a bone fragment from what they are calling the earliest confirmed domesticated dog in the Americas.

University of Maine graduate student Samuel Belknap III came across the fragment while analyzing a dried-out sample of human waste unearthed in southwest Texas in the 1970s. A carbon-dating test put the age of the bone at 9,400 years, and a DNA analysis confirmed it came from a dog — not a wolf, coyote or fox, Belknap said.

Because it was found deep inside a pile of human excrement and was the characteristic orange-brown color that bone turns when it has passed through the digestive tract, the fragment provides the earliest direct evidence that dogs — besides being used for company, security and hunting — were eaten by humans and may even have been bred as a food source, he said.

Belknap wasn't researching dogs when he found the bone. Rather, he was looking into the diet and nutrition of the people who lived in the Lower Pecos region of Texas between 1,000 and 10,000 years ago.

"It just so happens this person who lived 9,400 years ago was eating dog," Belknap said.

Belknap and other researchers from the University of Maine and the University of Oklahoma's molecular anthropology laboratories, where the DNA analysis was done, have written a paper on their findings.

The paper has been scientifically reviewed and accepted, pending revisions, for publication in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology later this year, said editor in chief Christopher Ruff. He declined comment on the article until it has been published.

Dogs have played an important role in human culture for thousands of years.

There are archaeological records of dogs going back 31,000 years from a site in Belgium, 26,000 years in the Czech Republic and 15,000 years in Siberia, said Robert Wayne, a professor of evolutionary biology at UCLA and a dog evolution expert. But canine records in the New World aren't as detailed or go back nearly as far.

For his research, Belknap — who does not own a dog himself — had fecal samples shipped to him that had been unearthed in 1974 and 1975 from an archaeological site known as Hinds Cave and kept in storage at Texas A&M University. The fragment is about six-tenths of an inch long and three- to four-tenths of an inch wide, or about the size of a fingernail on a person's pinkie.

He and a fellow student identified the bone as a fragment from where the skull connects with the spine. He said it came from a dog that probably resembled the small, short-nosed, short-haired mutts that were common among the Indians of the Great Plains.

Judging by the size of the bone, Belknap figures the dog weighed about 25 to 30 pounds. He also found what he thinks was a bone from a dog foot, but the fragment was too small to be analyzed.

Other archaeological digs have put dogs in the U.S. dating back 8,000 years or more, but this is the first time it has been scientifically proved that dogs were here that far back, he said.

Darcy Morey, a faculty member at Radford University who has studied dog evolution for decades, said a study from the 1980s dated a dog found at Danger Cave, Utah, at between 9,000 and 10,000 years old. Those dates were based not on carbon-dating or DNA tests, but on an analysis of the surrounding rock layers.

"So 9,400 years old may be the oldest, but maybe not," Morey said in an e-mail.

Morey, whose 2010 book, "Dogs: Domestication and the Development of a Social Bond," traces the evolution of dogs, said he is skeptical about DNA testing on a single bone fragment because dogs and wolves are so similar genetically.

Belknap said there may well be older dogs in North America, but this is the oldest directly dated one he is aware of. For many years, researchers thought that dog bones from an archaeological site in Idaho were 11,000 years old, but additional testing put their age at between 1,000 and 3,000 years old, he said.

Home Business

usiness success starts off with "never say never." Anyone can succeed in a business no matter their background or education, so get out of the way any doubts you have right now. Rather than doubt, you just figure it out. Many have started their business with far less advantages than you have. They just go out and do and succeed. So do not think you have to be smart, and especially do not be too smart. Some of those with the greatest obstacles were too dumb to think that they cannot succeed. Because failure never entered their mind, it never entered their life. You can actually do much better in your own business than you can working for someone else. Two qualities you need are to be a stickler for stingy and the emboldened self-determinedness to go out on your own. A home business is the way to go because of the low overhead. You have home expenses you already pay, so you just convert your current space to the place where you also generate income. The icing on the cake is the tax advantages you will get. Find out about them by researching and educating yourself on any and every kind of advantage you can get as a businessperson. Be shrewd and responsible and your dreams become possible.

Ipad

t's impossible to walk the floor at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show without stumbling across a multitude of keyboard-less touch-screen computers expected to hit the market in the coming months. With Apple estimated to have sold more than 13 million iPads last year alone, the competition is clearly for second place, but even that prize is worth pursuing.

Technology research firm Gartner Inc. expects that 55 million tablet computers will be shipped this year, most of them still iPads, but there will be room for rivals to vie for sales of the remaining 10 million to 15 million devices.

A bevy of consumer electronics makers, including major names such as Motorola Mobility Inc., Toshiba Corp. and Dell Inc., showed off their tablets in Las Vegas at CES, betting 2011 will be the year the gadgets finally take off.

Companies tried for years to popularize tablets, but the frenzy began only with the release of the iPad in April. Now companies whose names don't include the word "Apple" are doing everything they can to differentiate themselves from the tablet front-runner.

They're adding bells and whistles the iPad doesn't yet have — such as front and back cameras for video chatting and picture taking and the ability to work over next-generation 4G data networks — in hopes of taking on the iPad, or at least carving out a niche.

Motorola's Xoom sports a screen that measures 10.1 inches diagonally — slightly larger than the iPad's — and dual cameras for video chatting and taking high-definition videos.

It will also include the upcoming Honeycomb version of Google Inc.'s Android software. Honeycomb has been designed for the larger touch screens on tablets; current versions of Android, used in many of the tablets at CES, are meant more for the smaller touch screens on smart phones.

For example, Gmail on a Honeycomb tablet shows a list of e-mails in one column and the body of the one you're reading in a second column. On a current Android phone, you'd only see one column at a time.

Motorola, at least, is confident that its offering is more full-featured than the iPad.

spectacular caves in Vietnam

For decades, geologists have known that Vietnam is home to some of the world's most spectacular caves, many of them largely unexplored. Now husband-and-wife cavers have documented perhaps the world's largest: Hang Son Doong, big enough in places to accommodate a New York City block of skyscrapers.

The cave in the Annamite Mountains contains a river and jungle (its name translates to "mountain river cave") and even its own thin clouds, and its end remains out of sight. It's part of a network of about 150 caves in central Vietnam near the Laotian border.

Click image to see more photos of the giant cave



Howard and Deb Limbert of England led the first expedition to enter Hang Son Doong in 2009, but they were stopped a couple of miles in by a huge calcite wall. The team returned recently to climb the wall, take measurements and try to find the cavern's end.

[Related: National Geographic's award-winning amateur photos]

Many more photographs taken in Hang San Doong and other newly explored caves have been published in the January issue of National Geographic and on its website, where you can view larger images. The site also has an interactive graphic of the river cave's path