by MATT BURNS Feb 8, 2012 TechCrunch

Click here for the full article.

Anti-consumer legislation SOPA and PIPA might be all but dead, but there isn’t time to rest. There is a seemingly never-ending flow of proposed legislation, statutes and bills queued up, ready to bust down doors and storm living rooms. One of the latest involves the forced transition from analog to digital cable — something I wrote about back in 2008. If the FCC caves to massive lobbying from the cable companies, the days of unencrypted cable stations in the US will be numbered. Cable subscribers would be required to have a cable box (which will likely cost money) or CableCard-compatible box to receive even local network stations.

Boxee just recently started taking an active role in this fight. The Boxee Box has always been uniquely positioned as a legitimate cable alternative, but it wasn’t until Boxee Live TV launched last month that the company has gone against cable companies face-to-face. But if this proposal passes, it will stifle products not only from Boxee, but also products from El Gato, Silicon Dust and others — and let’s not forget about the likely millions of cable TVs currently enjoying living a box-less life.

Right now most cable providers are required by a 1996 FCC rule to provide a basic set of unencrypted stations. These are most often just local broadcast stations also available through an OTA tuner (think ABC, PBS, and a random religious station). Under the current rules, cable companies are not allowed to encrypt these stations, therefore allowing them to work with any TV, tuner, or as the FCC calls them, navigation devices like the Boxee Live TV. As cable providers started transitioning to a more efficient digital signal, these channels remained, able to work with older TVs most often found in guest bedrooms, garages and the like. But soon even those stations might go dark.

This process started several years back when Cablevision became the first provider to petition the FCC for a waiver

Mike Scott of NOLA.com has released his Top 10 Films made in Louisiana list last Monday. Now these are films that were shot, or had a company that had significant screen cred in the film. Oh and have already been released. So, here we go:

Yesterday, I started my annual rundown of year-end lists with the top 10 documentaries of 2011. For the next week – leading up to the release of my list of the top 10 films of the year on Friday (Jan. 30) – I’ll post a different list each day.

In order for a movie to be considered, it must have played at least once in a local theater during 2011. In addition, for this category – as the title suggests – it must boast significant local connections.

To be honest, there were a lot to choose from, as 2011 was a productive year for locally linked movies.

My list is below, as are links of reviews to those films that made the cut. Is your favorite on the list? Sound off in the comments section below, and be sure to check back for the rest of my 2011 list of lists:

The Top 10 Hollywood South Movies of 2011

10. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” — The latest, Baton Rouge-shot chapter in the vampire-romance series was exactly the movie we thought it would be. You decide what that means.

9. “Battle: Los Angeles” — Shot in Shreveport and Baton Rouge, it was one of the biggest, loudest Louisiana-shot movies of 2011. Beyond big and loud, though …

8. “Super” — Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page star in this darkly comic superhero story, shot in Shreveport. It’s flawed, but it also is oddly compelling.

7. “Flypaper” — This surprisingly fun Baton Rouge-shot comic caper — released last month on DVD — saw only a very limited release after struggling to land a distributor. It deserved better.

5. “Straw Dogs” and “The Mechanic” (tie) — Both are dark, brooding remakes — the first shot in Shreveport, the second in New Orleans — and both are reasonably well-made films.

4. “The Big Fix” — This documentary, co-directed by Mandeville High School graduate Josh Tickell, does a nice job of explaining why the BP oil spill is anything but over.

3. “Green Lantern” — Perhaps the most maligned big-studio film of 2011, this New Orleans-shot superhero adventure is more fun than people give it credit for.

2. “Bury the Hatchet” — Aaron Walker’s film on the Mardi Gras Indian culture does what all great documentaries do: It shows us a side of something we wouldn’t have been able to see otherwise.

1. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” — It wasn’t shot here, but a visual effects firm in Lafayette earned a spot in the credits. Good enough for me.

I have mixed opinions of the 2011 production. While technically awesome, I thought the 2010 was better. Anyhow, take a look at the whole thing.

Celebrate With Family 2011 from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

Mark your calenders: Subject: 2-2-2012

In the coming New Year, 2012, both Groundhog Day and the State of the Union address will occur on the same day.

This is an ironic juxtaposition of events.

One involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to an insignificant creature of little intelligence for prognostication.

The other involves a groundhog.

By Marilyn L. Van Driesen

1. Be especially patient with your humans during this time. They may appear to be more stressed-out than usual and they will appreciate long comforting dog cuddles.
2. They may come home with large bags of things they call gifts. Do not assume that all the gifts are yours.
3. Be tolerant if your humans put decorations on you. They seem to get some special kind of pleasure out of seeing how you look with fake antlers.
4. They may bring a large tree into the house and set it up in a prominent place and cover it with lights and decorations. Bizarre as this may seem to you, it is an important ritual for your humans, so there are some things you need to know: a) Don’t pee on the tree … b) Don’t drink water in the container that holds the tree … c) Mind your tail when you are near the tree … d) If there are packages under the tree, even ones that smell interesting or that have your name on them, don’t rip them open … e) And Don’t chew on the cord that runs from the funny-looking hole in the wall to the tree.
5. Your humans may occasionally invite lots of strangers to come visit during this season. These parties can be lots of fun, but they also call for some discretion on your part: Not all strangers appreciate kisses and cleans. Don’t eat off the buffet table. Beg for goodies subtly. Be pleasant, even if unknowing strangers sit on your spot on the sofa — they don’t know any better. Don’t drink out of glasses that are left within your reach unless you can get away with it …
6. Likewise, your humans may take you visiting. Here your manners will also be important: Observe all the rules in #4 for trees that may be in other people’s houses. (4a is particularly important) Respect the territory of other animals that may live in the house. Be nice to the kiddies. Turn on your charm big time.
7. A big man with a white beard and a very loud laugh may emerge from your fireplace in the middle of the night. DO NOT BITE HIM!

By Steven Sande

It’s no secret that the iPad is a hit in the healthcare industry, but doctors love more than just the sleek tablet. A study earlier this year showed that a full 75 percent of US physicians owned some sort of Apple device. In a post Wednesday on MedPage Today, blogger Iltifat Husain tabulated the reasons that doctors love their Apple products, and why they mourn the passing of Steve Jobs.

Husain listed three main reasons: Simplicity, solid build quality and uniformity. In terms of simplicity, Husain mentions that so many medical devices and systems are functional, but poorly designed and often difficult to use. Having Apple devices in their lives gives them something to appreciate, not only because doctors are working around complex devices the rest of the time, but because their profession is so complex as well.

When it comes to solid build quality, Husain said Apple devices extend the solidity of well-built medical equipment into the personal devices carried by physicians. Husain’s word about Apple products sound like a love letter: “The feeling of a Macbook Pro confers this; just compare the aluminum unibody hardware build to the majority of plastic casing laptops — it’s a completely different experience. This type of comparison extends into the smartphone and tablet arena as well. The iPad and iPhone 4 have a clearly superior build quality compared to their competitors.”

The third reason, uniformity, deals with the user experience — if you know how to use an iPhone, you immediately know how to work with an iPad. Husain notes that physicians don’t have a lot of free time to sit around and figure out how to use new devices and “We don’t want to root a mobile phone (Android), just so we can take off the silly skins that a manufacturer throws on so that we can get a better user experience.” Doctors want something that just works, and that’s something that late Apple CEO Steve Jobs intuitively understood.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Bacak

I dont know where these originated. But thought they held undeniable truths. Enjoy.

1.  Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know the time. 

2.  Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong. 

3.  I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger. 

4.  There is great need for a sarcasm font. 

5.  How on earth are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? 

6.  Was learning cursive really necessary? 

7.  Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood. 

8.  Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died. 

9.  I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind-of tired. 

10.  Bad decisions make good stories. 

11.  You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day. 

12.  Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection…again. 

13.  I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to. 

14.  I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call. 

15.  I think the freezer deserves a light as well. 

16.  I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Light than Kay. 

17.  I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option. 

18.  I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger. 

19.  How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said? 

20.  I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters! 

21.  Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever. 

22.  Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time. 

23.  The first testicular guard, the “Cup,” was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.