How to pick a lock

Some handy info for everyone:

Earth Hour

Every year, people around the world participate in this event by turning off unecessary lights and appliances in their household to raise awareness in the global climate change. This event was organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This movement first started in Sydney Australia in 2007. For the past three years, this event has happened every last Saturday of March, at 8:30PM to 9:30PM.

Show your support by turning off your lights tonight at the said time.

XroNet Forums up and running again

I don't really know what's up with Forumer, but for the past few weeks getting into the forums was impossible. I'm pleased to announce that we're up and running again, so get your butt in there and post! Here's a link for the lazy guys like me: XroNet Forums

Funny Video: Guy singing in the shower (MUST WATCH)

This guy just HAS to be in our blog. I've been putting him off for months now, but it's about time for his greatness to descend upon us. P.S: Be careful of his stare, it would burn right through you.



Worship him here: XroNet Forums

Can you take the heat?

The Bhut jolokia, also known as "Ghost Chili" is the spiciest or hottest chili pepper in the world! It contains 1,000,000 Scoville units (measurement for chili's spiciness). That's about 200 times spicier than the Jalapeno! (around 2,500 to 8,000 units) This chili is widely used in Indian cuisine. As we all know, this country is famous for their very spicy food. No sane man would probably eat a whole Bhut jolokia chili.

This very spicy chili pepper was recently used as a new military weapon in India. It is used as a tear gas hand grenade to disable the user's target(s). Can you imagine being tear gassed with these?! The best part in using this chili as a weapon is it's non-toxic. Although it's gonna sting.. a lot.

Cheaters Brain Stabbed!

A gamer playing in an internet cafe, was suspected of cheating in a game of Counter-Strike; lives to tell his story about being stabbed in the brain after angry players shish kabobed his head on a knife.

The doctors diagnosed that the knife just by a hair, missed the important arteries. Which failed to deprive the victim of his movement even though it went through certain parts of the brain that should have made him immobile.


The doctors were able to successfully remove the blade. An operation that lasted for 10 hours.

Guess this guy learned a lesson the brain numbing way. Cheating is not cool! But this was just way absurd. Stabbing a guy in the brain.. I guess counter-strike really does have a violent effect on people. But oh well.. That's one guy who'll never cheat again. Hopefully he can remember though. xD

Think this was fair? Share your thoughts here.

Kudos to mangjhokwatro for sharing the info.

Cyril's Bungee jumping magic trick

One of the craziest magic tricks I've ever seen. Even if you say it's just a trick, it's really hard to pull off.



How do you think he did it? Discuss it here: XroNet Forums

Who is Chuck Norris?!

Here's a link I found earlier about the infamous Chuck Norris. It's a parody wiki article from the Uncyclopedia. Although the article doesn't exactly state the 'real facts' about Chuck Norris. It's just that it's a fun read. Enjoy! :D

Chuck Norris - Uncyclopedia

Here's another link to a site with funny Chuck Norris facts.

Random Chuck Norris Facts.com
Thanks to DoodleyDoo for this Link and the idea to post something about Chuck Norris :D

Immortal Jellyfish

Turritopsis nutricula

The Turritopsis nutricula is able to revert back to a juvenile form once it mates after becoming sexually mature.

Turritopsis Nutricula is technically known as a hydrozoan and is the only known animal that is capable of reverting completely to its younger self.

It does this through the cell development process of transdifferentiation.

Scientists believe the cycle can repeat indefinitely, rendering it potentially immortal.

IRON MAN 2 TEASER!!

Iron Man 2 will be showing this May 7 and people can't wait!

So Stark is, again, showing all of that swagger and style as he jumps off a plane and lands with his flashy suite. By suit, I mean his Iron Man suit.. Well he does look good in his regular suit...

A new villain has come to town. Mickey Rourke as Whiplash. This guy has nasty energy charged steel whips that can really dish out the damage. Also, Don Cheadle, who plays James Rhodes and War Machine. The new superhero who aids Iron Man in his battles.

Check out the trailer and see for yourself. IRON MAN 2 is a HARD CORE MOVIE! (Get it? Hard? Iron? :D)

Marriage proposal fail a hoax?

Here's a video of a marriage proposal during a hockey game between Tampa Bay Lightning and the Rangers:



Before you start feeling sorry for the guy, read what Yahoo has to say:

"Andrew Gross of the Bergen Record spoke with an MSG source who confirmed that the couple were paid actors hired through an agency to be part of the in-game entertainment. Michael Obernauer of The Daily News added that the couple were actually engaged in real life."

Well, do you think it's fake or not? Watch the video and let us know what you think here: XroNet Forums

Source

Tennis: Hit for Haiti

Thousands of fans turned out last Friday night, March 12, to watch as some of tennis' biggest names "Hit for Haiti" in an exhibition game at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

The event started off with The Palm Springs High School band and visual chorus, followed by the presentation of colors by Twentynine Palms Marines.

After a coin toss, Women's play began with Justine Henin, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Lindsay Davenport.

Navratilova and Henin won 8-6 over Graf and Davenport.

In this unique exhibition game, all four women were wearing microphones, and seemed to have just as much fun playing as the crowd did watching them play.

Following the Women's play, four of the world’s most renowned tennis players hit the court next for the event: Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal.

The men were also wearing microphones during play, and Agassi took full advantage of his ability to speak directly to the 16,100 fans.

While Sampras and Federer took the match 8-6 to Agassi and Nadal, Agassi provided a lot of entertainment for the crowd with his fast-talking and game playing.

A fundraising goal of $1 million was set for the event, and at the end of both matches, Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle and the owner of the BNP, presented a $1 million check to the Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund. To help meet the fundraising goal, three buses with a total of 150 volunteers from the Riverside and Orange County chapters of the American Red Cross were bused in. They were walking around accepting donations throughout the match.

[Movie] Eclipse

The third installment of the Twilight saga has finally arrived. In Eclipse, Bella finds herself choosing between Edward and Jacob - her decision having the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampires and werewolves. Who would Bella choose?

The 3rd movie of the Twilight saga is expected to be released late June 2010. Watch out for this must see sequel. Watch the trailer here:

IMDb - The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Shrek 4 Ever After

So.. Having a "happily ever after" ending in Shrek the 3rd, leads you to think that it's all over. What more problems could they possibly have? Who could possibly ruin everything? What is up with the cute ogre babies? How are the donkey-dragon babies doing?

Well.. We'll find out this May 21, when Shrek 4 Ever After hits the screens!

Everything seems to be going all good for Shrek. He has a good home, a happy family, good friends. But he just misses being a real ogre. Maybe he misses the life of no responsibilities?

Fortunately for him, a new character in the saga will grant him his desires. And that is, Rumplestiltskin. The new addition in the Shrek series, also the villain in this movie. It'd be interesting to see how everything will play out.

Shrek fans out there, look out for this movie because we all know this won't dissapoint us.

Check out the trailer here and maybe we can all get tips on how to get our happily ever after!



I wonder why Shrek is green.. The Hulk is green.. Is he an Ogre too? Talk about here. xD

The most viewed video in YouTube

...is this guy, with his brother Charlie. These kids have garnered 168,783,742 views so far!



But I think the older champ, The Evolution of Dance (which is a close second now, by the way at 138,942,887 views) is more entertaining:



Which one do you think deserves the top spot? Let us know here: XroNet Forums

Watch the Pacquiao-Clottey Fight via Livestream

For those of you who are dying to watch the Pacquiao-Clottey match but don't have pay-per-view, there's an easy solution for that. All you need is an internet connection and SopCast. SopCast is a free P2P (peer-to-peer) internet TV client that let's you watch certain shows via P2P network. Basically, it's live stream on your PC. :D

To get started, download the SopCast client here: http://www.sopcast.com/download/ (just click on any of the available download links)

• Install the client.
• Run SopCast
• A login screen will pop-up. Just choose 'Login as anonymous' and click Login.
• Now enter this address in the address bar: sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/24267
(This is the MMA-Mixed Martial Arts channel for SopCast. This is where they usually broadcast the Pacquiao matches. A list of other possible channels will be posted below.)

• Click the big arrow next to the address bar.

Enjoy the fight!

Here's a list of other possible channels on SopCast: (These are not guaranteed channels)
sop://broker1.sopcast.com:3912/6002
sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/29629
sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/7524
sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/69756
sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/51813
sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/28233
sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/17525
sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/26342


UPDATE: Apparently, all links are down. Try these links:

• http://supersp0rt.net/
• http://www.atdhe.net/8921/watch
• WORKING SOPCAST LINK: sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/85856

Match updates: Pacquiao-Clottey match is over. Pacquiao wins via unanimous decision.

Idol Judge Turns on the Waterworks

Even the sometimes harsh panel of judges in American Idol have a soft side.

A performance by Michael Lynche moved the American Idol judge, Kara Dioguardi to tears.
Kara seems to link her advice mainly on how the contestants relate and connect to the song they choose. Apparently, the song that Michael Lynche picked, A woman's work, is related to how his life is right now. His wife just had their first baby while he was still in the audition stages. And now in the top 8, he makes his wife proud. As Ellen Degeneres says, he is the one to beat. Randy Jackson thought it was, again, HOT. Simon Cowell almost had nothing to say, he was afterall, next to Kara, hugging her. Just watch it here and listen to what Simon says. xD



Discuss this here.

311 Day 2010

Happy 311 Day! :D

For those who don't know what 311 is.

311 (pronounced three eleven) is an American rock band formed on 1988. Various writers and critics define 311 by a number of genres. They are generally known as an alternative rock band, but they are also classified as rap rock, rap metal, funk rock, funk metal, ska punk, reggae and jazz fusion.

One of 311's most familiar songs would be Amber.

Amber is a 2001 single from their album From Chaos. The song is about Nick Hexum's (311's lead singer) then fiance Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Doll's lead singer). Scherzinger appears briefly in the music video, playing in the ocean with Hexum.

Official music video.

311 website

Discuss this at the Forums.

Add links to your related posts: How to put "You might also like" to your blog posts

Here's a good way to maintain traffic and make sure your old posts don't get wasted/lost in time. You might have noticed that in most blogs (and most recently, our blog), they have a widget with "You might also like" below the post. I've been doing some searching and this is what I got: LinkWithin.

Using the widget is easy, all you have to do is fill out a form on their site. Here's what it looks like:


Email: Your email!
Blog link: link to your blog!
Platform: choose from the drop-down list; Wordpress, Blogger, etc. Of course for this blog it would be Blogger.
Width: How many links in your "You might also like". XroNet has 3 stories.

Make sure you check "My blog has light text on a dark background" if it applies to your blog. It obviously does for our blog.

After you click "Get Widget!", you will be directed to a tutorial on how to use LinkWithin. It's very easy, I got to install it on the blog in under five minutes.

Questions? Comments? Post them here: XroNet Forums

Mercedes-Benz unveils car of the future: The F800

The F800.

The Mercedes-Benz F800 Style concept car that'll debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month is highly-touted by Mercedes-benz's press release scribes for its green-car tech, but what's probably of greater interest to most of you is its styling.

F800's Interior

Mercedes-Benz also touts the concept's flexible powertrain platform. The realistic option is a plug-in hybrid system that's basically an offshoot of the V6 light-hybrid setup found in the S400 sedan. Mercedes says this new plug-in gas-electric system, which is good for over 400 combined horsepower, gives the car an EV-only driving range of 18 miles.

The F800 concept also introduces two new technologies that will doubtless appear in upcoming models. Distronic Plus Traffic Jam Assistant is an enhanced version of Mercedes' active cruise control system, which can now steer the car through curves as long as it's traveling under 25 mph. Neat. Also new is the Pre-Safe 360-degree system, which expands the existing Pre-Safe collision detection/mitigation system to the rear of the car. Now, if Pre-Safe senses that a rear-end impact is imminent, it'll apply the brakes in a bid to keep the car from getting into an additional chain-reaction accident involving other cars or pedestrians.

Here's a video for more details.

Discuss this at the Forums.

82nd Academy Awards

Once again it's awarding time. The 82nd Academy Awards night is going to be held on March 7, 2010, at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST (01:30 UTC, March 8), at the Kodak Theater in hollywood. In a few hours, we shall witness this prestigous awards night (with live telecast). This year, the awards night will be hosted by actors Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. It will be officially televised in the U.S. by ABC Network.

Every year, several blockbuster films and hollywood stars are nominated to receive an academy award for a particular category. Who do you think would garner the most awards this year? What's your bet for best picture? Here are the nominees:

• Avatar
• The Blind Side
• District 9
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up in the Air

Check out the other categories in this article from Wikipedia:
Wikipedia article


Tell us who your bet is! Visit the forum topic now:
XroNet Forums - 82nd Academy Awards

Pacquiao Leg Injury?

The Filipino Champ of seven weight divisions, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, denied that he suffered a leg injury during his rigorous training. He then showed his speedy footwork to prove that he is okay.

During the champs training, he also hurt his coach in the gym. For 15 rounds of training he almost made it look like the real thing. He hit Freddie Roach in the chin and hard on the body. Roach is okay. It's all part of the job and he's gotten used to it.

The pound-for-pound king who will defend his WBO welterweight title on March 13, against Joshua Clottey.

Pacquiao (50-3-1-38 KO) VS Clottey (35-3-20-20 KO)

Watch the match and root for your fighter!

Discuss Here.

UPDATE: Dragon Nest OBT

To view the first post, click here.

Judgement day has arrived.

So what has snooping around gotten us? We just confirmed our speculations that the March 4 open beta release is for Korea. Big let-down for a lot of us. Anyway, you might wanna play the Korean version, I might actually go and do it. On a lighter note, this means that we're coming closer to an english release. Keep your fingers crossed.

In the meantime, here's another video for you guys. This is a warrior gameplay vid.



Source

Discuss this at the forums: XroNet Forums

Mayweather-Mosley getting physical.

A crowd of a few thousand roared as the two stood toe-to-toe in New York City as they began to hype their upcoming fight.

Floyd Mayweather's stand to show that athletes are clean demands drug tests before a fight. Unlike Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley accepted the terms and will fight Mayweather.

Mayweather-Mosley fight will be on May 1st.

Discuss this at the Forums.

[Movie] Alice in Wonderland (2010)

From Walt Disney Pictures comes this newest film 'Alice in Wonderland'. Well not really new but it's a live action version of the famous Disney cartoon movie, Alice in Wonderland (1951). Starring Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen and many more. Directed by Tim Burton. This movie is expected to be released on March 5, 2010.

Full Movie details: IMDb

Watch the trailer here:
Alice in Wonderland Official Trailer [HD] - YouTube.com


Discuss it here:
XroNet Forums

Winter Olympics Results Are In!!

The 16 day multi-sport event has now come to an end. Athletes now get to celebrate their victory and relax as the years of training and hard work paid off. All that time dedicated to that single moment and bring the gold medal home.

The top scoring countries.

Rank	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	9	15	13	37
2	Germany	10	13	7	30
3	Canada	14	7	5	26
4	Norway	9	8	6	23
5	Austria	4	6	6	16
6	Russia	3	5	7	15
7	South Korea	6	6	2	14

The United States brought most of the medals home but Canada really raked in the gold.
Kim Yu-Na, the South Korean figure skating gold medalist, won with her style and finesse.
Also in hockey, Canada defeated the United States 3-2 in an overtime match.

All of the athletes who worked hard in their field. All of the organizers who made it sure everything would work out. All of the supporters of each country who cheered like wild for their athletes. Congratulations!!

Discuss this at forums.

Man dies when 911 fails to respond to his calls

PITTSBURGH - On the snowy morning of February 6, a man named Curtis Mitchell needed to go to the hospital badly because of severe abdominal pain. His partner, Sharon Edge, called 911 to ask for help. They assured her that someone was on their way.

Mitchell died 30 hours after. No help arrived, despite them making 10 calls to 911, four calls from 911, and about a dozen calls from 911 to the paramedics.

What happened? Here's a list of shortcomings as reviewed by the city's officials:

• Details of Mitchell's calls weren't passed on from one 911 operator to another as shifts changed, so each call was treated as a new incident.

• Twice, ambulances were as close as a quarter-mile from Mitchell's home but drivers said deep snow prevented the vehicles from crossing a small bridge over railroad tracks to reach him. Mitchell was told each time he'd have to walk through the snow to the ambulances; in neither case did paramedics walk to get him.

• Once, an ambulance made it across the bridge and was at the opposite end of the block on the narrow street where the couple lived — a little more than a football field's length. Again, paramedics didn't try to walk.

"We failed this person," said Michael Huss, the city's public safety director.

You have to take note that this incident happened right after a storm put the city about two feet under snow, 911 was swamped by calls during this time.

Want a more complete picture? Here's an account from Yahoo on what happened:

Records indicate the first call was made about 2 a.m. on Feb 6. Sometime Friday night, the storm knocked out their power and the couple sought warmth under blankets as the house got colder.

Edge said Mitchell had begun to feel stomach pains during the week, but he tried to deal with it. By Friday morning, he woke up in pain. Still, he tried to manage with medication, she said.

A review of the 911 calls by the Associated Press shows no anger in Mitchell's or Edge's voices. There was no screaming. Conversations with operators were cordial and the couple seemed to understand the difficulties the snow posed.

Still, Mitchell and Edge let them know he was in pain.

"My stomach man, it's real messed up. It's killing me," he tells a 911 operator about 11:15 a.m. on Feb. 6.

About 8 p.m. that night — in the eighth call to 911 — Edge tells an operator: "My boyfriend called for an ambulance. He's in a lot of pain and we've been waiting for a couple hours now."

At one point, Mitchell can be heard exclaiming "Oh man, what?" when Edge relayed to him that they would have to walk to the ambulance because of the snow. It was not clear when that conversation took place.

In all, three ambulances were dispatched at separate times. In each case, Mitchell was told he'd have to walk to them — and he canceled the calls.

As the hours went by, Mitchell's pain intensified and he began to have shortness of breath. Because he complained of abdominal pain, which is generally not considered life-threatening, he was initially ranked as a medium priority. About 11:20 a.m. Saturday, his priority level was upgraded, but not as an emergency.

Mitchell tried to sleep. He took his prescriptions — oxycodone for pain and sleeping pills for his insomnia. Edge gave him the medication and closely followed the dosage, she said.

"All that time, he was dying and I didn't even know it," Edge said.

Shortly before 8 a.m. on Feb. 7, Edge made her last 911 call.

"I think my husband's dead. Oh God, oh God," she sobbed.

The 911 operator told Edge to calm down and asked for the address and phone number.

"I've been trying to get an ambulance here for three days. He's been having stomach pains," Edge said.

The operator talked Edge through a check to see if Mitchell was breathing. Try to get him onto the floor on his back, the operator said.

But Mitchell's body was cold. Edge couldn't wake him.

"Oh God, he can't leave me ... Curtis? Curtis?" Edge said, struggling to move him.

The operator assured Edge that paramedics were on the way.

"He's dead," Edge said.

"No, no, no. You're going to stay with me," the operator said, continuing the checks on Mitchell.

Finally, someone came to the door.

"Who is it?" asked Edge. "Is it the medics?"

"Yes."

"All right," said the operator. "You did a good job. I'm going to hang up now. Let them in. Good bye."

The snow had long since stopped falling. It took firefighters two minutes from being dispatched to reach the couple's home.

They checked for a pulse, but it was too late.

"They said he was gone," Edge said.

It would be five more hours before workers from the medical examiner's office came for Mitchell's body.

A police officer waited with her. Edge sat on the sofa with the body.

"I kissed and hugged him," she said of Mitchell. "But it was all I could do."

Do you think it's 911's fault? Or maybe Edge didn't stress how urgent their situation was? What could have been done to avoid this tragedy? Let's talk about it here: XroNet Forums

Source

Funny Clip: The Man Who Could Sit Anywhere

A funny clip from Cyanide & Happiness. The Man Who Could Sit Anywhere.



He has the most comfortable ass! :D

Credits to pyros of XroNet.

Discuss it here: XroNet Forums

Organic Molecules on Alien World

Methane and Water were found on a planet lightyears away from us.

Could this mean life on an alien planet?

Discuss this at the Forums.

[Granado Espada] Family Level Calculator

Here's another useful tool for all you Granado Espada players out there. The Family Level Calculator. Every character level gives a certain amount of family points to your family level. Your family level increases based on the total points of all the characters in your barracks.

To learn more about the Family Level/Points, click here:
Family Points
Credits to swordofthenewworldwiki.com

Link to Family Level Calculator:
Granado Espada Family Level Calculator

HOW TO USE:
Simply enter your characters' levels on each box (the boxes are your barracks slots) and click 'Calculate Family Level' when done. The total family points and the family level will then be computed and displayed in the calc. Use the Load/Save function to save your data in your browser's cache.

TIPS:
Veteran/Expert levels are level 100~110 and 110~120 respectively.
EXAMPLE: Veteran 6 is level 105, not 106. Expert 3 is level 112, not 113. Vet 10 (0~99%) is level 109; Vet 10 (100%) is 110.

DISCLAIMER: All the links posted above are not properties of Xro Network.

[UPDATE] Tsunami caused by Chile Earthquake

Earlier today, the tsunami caused by the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile has hit the shores of Japan, but dealing only minor damage.


Hawaii has 'dodged a bullet' after experiencing very short and mild waves.


The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center already lifted the tsunami warning for most of the Pacific islands, including Peru, Philippines, Indonesia and Hawaii.

Discuss it here: XroNet Forums