Make Money on MySpace

[January 30, 2008 (Computerworld) MySpace Inc. has started allowing developers to sign up for its new developer platform program that's set to launch next week.

MySpace, which in October announced plans to provide developers with APIs that will let them build applications for the social network, is set to launch the effort on Feb. 5, according to numerous published reports.

Developers also will be able to make money from advertising associated with their applications," he noted.]

Get money in everything you do! With an audience of over a reported "200 Million". . . . not such a shabby market to move applications on.

Fed slashes U.S. interest rates by half point

[WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve cut U.S. interest rates by a hefty half-percentage point on Wednesday as part of an aggressive effort to halt a sharp slowdown in an economy hit by a housing slump and a credit crunch.

"Today's policy action, combined with those taken earlier, should help to promote moderate growth over time and to mitigate the risks to economic activity. However, downside risks to growth remain," the Fed said in a statement outlining its decision.]-Reuters

So Mandatory.

Hungry Haitians Resort to Eating Dirt

[PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti
With food prices rising, Haiti's poorest can't afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies.

Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau.

Food prices around the world have spiked because of higher oil prices, needed for fertilizer, irrigation and transportation. Prices for basic ingredients such as corn and wheat are also up sharply, and the increasing global demand for biofuels is pressuring food markets as well.

"When my mother does not cook anything, I have to eat them three times a day," Charlene said. Her baby, named Woodson, lay still across her lap, looking even thinner than the slim 6 pounds 3 ounces he weighed at birth.

Still, at about 5 cents apiece, the cookies are a bargain compared to food staples. About 80 percent of people in Haiti live on less than $2 a day and a tiny elite controls the economy.]-AP

Makes me re-think my outlandish statements about being a "starving college student". Tough Deal for the people who experience this on a daily basis.

"Oceans 1" : 7.15 Billion dollar bank fraud

London

"A lone "rogue trader" masterminded one of the world's largest banking frauds and cost the giant French bank Societe Generale a breathtaking $7.15 billion.

It is one of the biggest frauds in banking history and believed to be the largest by a single person. It is almost five times the amount lost by Barings Bank trader Nick Leeson, who famously brought down the entire bank in 1995 after concealing losses that amounted to $1.4 billion."-ABCNEWS

Never good.

Semi-Pro = Will Ferrell

Team Will Ferrell. Whooooo!!!

I saw this trailer and I cried. Its just too good. Food for the soul.

2.29.08

Cali Rain

Whenever it rains in Cali the dinosaurs come out. . . . Or at least thats how people start driving.

Such a good movie by the way.

H. Ledger

Of course its on every blog and everywhere period that Heath Ledger has passed. I always thought he was a rad actor. It’s a spooky deal and its super sad anytime someone dies so young. I think it has the affect that it does because it most likely reminds you of someone you knew who died way too young or just the mere thought of this happening to someone you know is totally insane. God Bless him and may he rest in peace.

$1 Addiction

"Today it was reported that the chain is selling small (or in Starbucks lingo, “short”) cups of coffee for $1 apiece, as well as offering free refills. Yes, it’s just a test so far and the deal is currently only available in Seattle."-BWeek

With all this news about Heath Ledger dying I’ve been a little unmotivated to blog about anything. But I did see this in the news. And being that im so exhausted and the only thing I can actually wrap my brain around is coffee I think this is rad. I normally don’t go to Starbucks unless I have an active gift card or unless my boss is treating (Which happens 89% percent of the time so I should admit I too am an addict). Lets migrate towards Seattle.

Bernanke "substantive" rate cuts

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke threw his support behind quick and temporary tax breaks, combined with the possibility of "substantive" rate cuts, in testimony before Congress. But he did little to reassure Wall Street the central bank has the wherewithal to steer the U.S. economy out of a possible recession.

One problem Bernanke may not be able to overcome: He lacks the swagger and devout following of his predecessor, Alan Greenspan. Combined with worse-than-expected earnings and economic data, the markets are having a tough time taking Bernanke at his word.

"He doesn't have the street cred yet," said David Wyss, chief economist of Standard & Poor's, which like BusinessWeek is owned by The McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP). "Bernanke is still saying he thinks the U.S. will escape recession; most people on the Street think we are already in one. Maybe nobody's sure Bernanke is wrong, but the markets think he is." - BWeek

The BusinessWeek Action figure is a knee slapper.

Going once,? Going Twice? SOLD! to thee gentlemen in white for 1 BILLION Dollars

"Sun put its money where its mouth is Wednesday, with the announcement that it would buy open source database vendor MySQL for a whopping $1 billion.

For his part, MySQL CEO Mårten Mickos has repeatedly denied that his company's aim is to displace high-end databases such as Oracle's. And that's only appropriate; for those customers who demand Oracle's most advanced features, no other product will do. But Mickos's protestations verge on false modesty. On the low end, MySQL is an absolute pandemic, and it's already making headway into the mid-tier territory traditionally owned by the likes of Microsoft. That trend is only likely to accelerate with Sun's backing."-PCW

Cupcakes to Millions

Thee office was and is phenomenally busy today. Its always dope to have a second to actually read rad articles. This one is pretty rad. I love reading about start-ups that have been around for a few years. . . . Indulge

“Johnny: It is really important to just have fun. It is just a cupcake and it is almost unbelievable that its turned into a multimillion dollar business without a college education, investors, or crazy loans. We just keep moving forward and try to come up with new crazy ideas and have fun with it.”-[highsnobiety.com/features]

"Twiinnnnsssss Basil"

"After years of debate, the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday declared that food from cloned animals and their progeny is safe, removing the last government hurdle before meat and milk derived from copies of prize dairy cows and superior hogs can be sold at grocery stores.

The F.D.A. ruling was a major victory for cloning companies, which hope to use the cloned animals primarily for breeding purposes, selling copies of prize dairy cows, steers and hogs. The company putting the most effort into developing the technology is ViaGen, of Austin, Texas. That company and others have already produced scores of clones that live on American farmsteads, though the F.D.A. has asked the farmers to honor a voluntary moratorium on the sale of clone meat and milk." NYT

Oprah BillionaireFrey

[NEW YORK (Reuters) - Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications said on Tuesday they will build a new cable television network, describing the venture as dedicated to inspiring viewers to "live their best lives."

"OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network" will be owned jointly by Winfrey's Harpo Productions and Discovery. The network will debut in 2009 in more than 70 million U.S. homes, appearing on what is now the Discovery Health Channel.]

Great example of never losing sight of THEE PRIZE, no matter how successful one already is.

ITs a Bird . . . Its a PLANE. . . ITS MACBOOK AIR

Glory all day. Im a MacHead. My MacBookPro might turn into woody. This is thee new BuzzLightYear

Marion Jones Sentenced to Six Months in Prison

"WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Marion Jones was sentenced Friday to six months in prison for lying about using steroids and a check-fraud scam, despite beseeching the judge that she not be separated from her two young children "even for a short period of time."-ESPN

India

Tata Nano: The World’s Cheapest Car

"Over the past year, Tata has been building hype for a car that would cost a mere 100,000 rupees (roughly $2,500) and bring automotive transportation to the mainstream Indian population. It has been nicknamed the “People’s Car.” Over the course of the New Delhi Auto Expo, which began this week, anticipation had grown to fever pitch.

The four-door Nano is a little over 10 feet long and nearly 5 feet wide. It is powered by a 623cc two-cylinder engine at the back of the car. With 33 horsepower, the Nano is capable of 65 miles an hour. Its four small wheels are at the absolute corners of the car to improve handling. There is a small trunk, big enough for a duffel bag."-NY TIMES

Touchless touchscreen TV

I wish I was out at thee Consumer Electronics show with thee rest of my fellow Geek's. ::Sad Face::

"LAS VEGAS - Imagine using a touchscreen that you don’t have to touch. Samsung’s 57-inch LCD functions like a touchscreen by recognizing a person’s motion from a short distance."-FORTUNE

Wall Street to Dubai

One of the latest books im reading. Very “Suspenseful” to say thee LEAST! LOL Check it out. . . .

Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai

Book Description:
From the author who brought you the massive New York Times bestseller Bringing Down the House, this is the startling rags-to-riches story of an Italian-American kid from the streets of Brooklyn who claws his way into the wild, frenetic world of the oil exchange.

After conquering the hallowed halls of Harvard Business School, he enters the testosterone-laced warrens of the Merc Exchange, the asylumlike oil exchange located in lower Manhattan. A place where billions of dollars trade hands every week, the Merc is like a casino on crack, where former garbagemen become millionaires overnight and where fistfights break out on the trading floor.

This ordinary kid has traded Brooklyn for the gold-lined hotel palaces of Dubai. He keeps company on the decks of private yachts in Monte Carlo—teeming with half-naked girls flown in by Saudi sheiks—and makes deals in the dangerous back alleys of Beijing.

But the Merc is just a starting place. Taken under the wing of another young gun and partnering with a mysterious young Muslim, the kid embarks on a dangerous adventure to revolutionize the oil trading industry—and, along with it, the world.

Rigged is the explicit, exclusive, true story behind the headlines that dominate the world stage.

100 Billion Dollar woman

MELINDA GATES In the new issue of FORTUNE for her first ever profile. Dope. Im a fan of making BILLIONS and giving them away to glorious causes. Absolute best way to do it! Thats whats its ALLLL ABOUT!


"Of all the tricks that life can play, it's hard to imagine any stranger than what befell Melinda French. Today she is living in a gargantuan high-tech mansion on the shores of Lake Washington, married to the richest man in America - and giving billions of dollars away. When she married Bill Gates 14 years ago, she bought into a complex bargain. On the one hand, she became half of what has turned out to be the world's premier philanthropic partnership. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has assets of $37.6 billion, making it the world's largest. In that total is $3.4 billion that Warren Buffett has already given, and still to come are nine million Berkshire Hathaway B shares, currently worth $41 billion, that he has pledged to contribute in coming years. Assuming that Berkshire (BRKA, Fortune 500) shares continue to rise and that the Gateses continue to bestow their own wealth on their foundation, Melinda and Bill will very likely give away more than $100 billion in their lifetimes. Already the foundation has disbursed $14.4 billion - more than the Rockefeller Foundation has distributed since its creation in 1913 (even adjusted for inflation).

Early on she and Bill agreed to focus on a few areas of giving, choosing where to place their money by asking two questions: Which problems affect the most people? And which have been neglected in the past? While many philanthropists take the same tack, the Gateses, who love puzzles, apply particular rigor. "We literally go down the chart of the greatest inequities and give where we can effect the greatest change," Melinda says. So while they don't give to the American Cancer Society, they have pumped billions into the world's deadliest diseases - most importantly AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis - and failing public high schools in the U.S. "-FORTUNE