Brain in a Nutshell

You might have probably heard this news all over the internet of a girl named Lin Miaoke who sang China’s “Ode to the Motherland” in Bird’s Nest Stadium. The opening ceremony was astounding! the effort given by the Chinese government really led their name high enough to be recognized. They should have gotten all of the nations praises until a news broke through that the young girl who sang the opening ceremony was a FAKE!

7-year-old Yang Peiyi should be the one singing the opening ceremony, she has been chosen originally to sing the song. Its been months since they were rehearsing and practicing the event, until one day, on that last minute, they changed her… why? the officials told her in public that she was not that pretty, her face is fat enough and her teeth were crooked. They chose Lin Miaoke to replace Yang Peiyi because she has the looks, but does she have the voice? NO! they used the 7 yr old girls voice and let Lin Miaoke lip sing the “Ode to the Motherland”. How pathetic this officials are!

How will you feel if they do that to you? you were so prepared and ready to stand on that stage showing the whole world of your talent, then suddenly they would change you, use your voice and let somebody take the praises! they should have thinked about the future of the child, did they think about what will happen to that 7 year old girl? the disappointment she had? the motivation she should have?

They should have let the girl sing, they should be proud of their people, they shouldn’t have let her practice the whole long month for this event.. They shouldn’t have…

By MATTHEW L. WALD

Two California companies said Thursday that they would each build solar power plants that were 10 times bigger than the largest now in service, creating the first true utility-scale use of a technology now mostly confined to rooftop supplements to conventional power supplies.

The solar power will be sold to Pacific Gas and Electric, which is under a state mandate to get 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010. The utility said that it expected the plants, both using photovoltaic technology, which turns sunlight directly into electricity, would be competitive with other renewable sources, including wind and solar thermal, which uses the sun’s heat to boil water.

Solar power is more costly than wind, watt for watt, experts say, but delivers the energy at a time of day when electricity prices are higher and is more valuable even if it is more costly.

OptiSolar, a company that has just begun to make thin-film solar panels — with a layer of semiconductor material thinner than a human hair on the back of a glass panel — will install 550 megawatts in San Luis Obispo County, in central California. And the SunPower Corporation, which uses crystalline cells, will build 250 megawatts in the same county. The OptiSolar plant will cover about nine square miles and the SunPower plant about 3.5, although the actual cell area will be smaller.

They will total 800 megawatts. A megawatt is enough power to run a large Wal-Mart. At peak hours, together the plants will produce as much power as a large coal plant or a small nuclear reactor. But they will run far fewer hours of the year so output will be at least a third less than that of a coal plant of the same size.

The scale of the California announcement makes it “pretty significant,” said Robert J. Thormeyer, a spokesman for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, whose members sit on the state public utility commissions.

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By DEANNA MARTIN, Associated Press Writer

INDIANAPOLIS - A woman who grew to be 7 feet, 7 inches tall and was recognized as the world’s tallest female died Wednesday, a friend said. She was 53.

Sandy Allen, who used her height to inspire schoolchildren to accept those who are different, died at a nursing home in her hometown of Shelbyville, family friend Rita Rose said.

The cause of death was not yet known. Allen had been hospitalized in recent months as she suffered from a recurring blood infection, along with diabetes, breathing troubles and kidney failure, Rose said.

In London, Guinness World Records spokesman Damian Field confirmed Wednesday that Allen was still listed as the tallest woman. Some Web sites cite a 7-foot-9 woman from China.

Coincidentally, Allen lived in the same nursing home, Heritage House Convalescent Center, as 115-year-old Edna Parker, whom Guinness has recognized as the world’s oldest person since August 2007.

Allen said a tumor caused her pituitary gland to produce too much growth hormone. She underwent an operation in 1977 to stop further growth.

But she was proud of her height, Rose said. “She embraced it,” she said. “She used it as a tool to educate people.”

Allen appeared on television shows and spoke to church and school groups to bring youngsters her message that it was all right to be different.

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Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor.com

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has confirmed that the iPhone 3G has a kill switch that can remotely remove software from the devices.

Jobs told The Wall Street Journal that Apple needs the capability in case it inadvertently allows a malicious program — such as an application that steals user’s personal data — to be distributed to iPhones through its App Store.

“Hopefully we never have to pull that lever, but we would be irresponsible not to have a lever like that to pull,” Jobs said.

Switch Not Used

Jobs’ statement reveals Apple hasn’t used the kill switch yet, but the company did remove an application from the App Store last week.

Apple removed the $999 “I Am Rich” application, which had the sole purpose of showing people the owner has money. The program creates a red icon that sits on the iPhone deck with a the words “I Am Rich” underneath. After the user activates the application, it glows on the handset like a ruby.

Apple initially approved the application, which bumps up against the pricing limit for applications sold on its App Store. The company was not immediately available for comment on why it decided to pull the plug.

Disappearing Acts

But the real controversy started when Jonathan Zdziarski, author of the books iPhone Open Application Development and iPhone Forensics Manual, discovered a URL buried in Apple’s firmware. That URL links to a file dubbed “unauthorizedApps” where malicious or simply bad apps might go once they disappear from the App Store.

According to Zdziarski, I Am Rich isn’t the only app to disappear. BoxOffice (renamed to Now Playing) and NullRiver’s NetShare were also removed. But removing the applications from the App Store and removing them from a consumer’s iPhone are two different issues.

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