cindy blackman

ENGAGED: Carlos Santana Proposes to Cindy Blackman on Tour

cindy blackman
 

Grammy-winning musician Carlos Santana proposed to his girlfriend, acclaimed drummer Cindy Blackman, during a concert stop on his Universal Tone Tour this past weekend in Tinley Park, Ill.

The 62-year-old guitarist popped the question to the 50-year-old drummer onstage after the fourth song in his concert set, 'Corazon Espindo.'

Blackman had just performed a drum solo on Santana's song before the Arista Records artist asked her to be his wife. After she accepted, the couple locked lips, and the audience broke out into cheers.

"Cindy and I are blessed to have found each other. Being in love is a gift from the universe, and the spirit and vibrations that come with it are infinitely powerful. I look forward to expressing that incredible energy through my music, and in helping to tip the balance toward more love in the world with what Cindy and I share," said Santana said in a statement to BV Buzz.

Santana, who is best known for hits like 'Smooth,' 'Maria Maria,' 'Nothing at All,' 'Oye Como Va' and 'Black Magic Woman,' will play a string of late August/early September performances of 'Supernatural Santana: A Trip Through the Hits' at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.

Blackman is a jazz and rock drummer who has recorded and toured extensively with Lenny Kravitz and played with a wide range of artists, including Pharoah Sanders, Cassandra Wilson, Angela Bofill and Bill Laswell.

Santana was previously married to Deborah King, the daughter of the late blues singer and guitarist Saunders King. The couple, who divorced after 34 years in 2007, have three children: Salvador, Stella and Angelica.

10 Search Engines to Explore the Invisible Web

No, it’s not Spiderman’s latest web slinging tool but something that’s more real world. Like the World Wide Web.

The Invisible Web refers to the part of the WWW that’s not indexed by the search engines. Most of us think that that search powerhouses like Google and Bing are like the Great Oracle…they see everything. Unfortunately, they can’t because they aren’t divine at all; they are just web spiders who index pages by following one hyperlink after the other.

But there are some places where a spider cannot enter. Take library databases which need a password for access. Or even pages that belong to private networks of organizations. Dynamically generated web pages in response to a query are often left un-indexed by search engine spiders.

Search engine technology has progressed by leaps and bounds. Today, we have real time search and the capability to index Flash based and PDF content. Even then, there remain large swathes of the web which a general search engine cannot penetrate. The term, Deep Net, Deep Web or Invisible Web lingers on.

To get a more precise idea of the nature of this ‘Dark Continent’ involving the invisible and web search engines, read what Wikipedia has to say about the Deep Web. The figures are attention grabbers – the size of the open web is 167 terabytes. The Invisible Web is estimated at 91,000 terabytes. Check this out – the Library of Congress, in 1997, was figured to have close to 3,000 terabytes!

How do we get to this mother load of information?

That’s what this post is all about. Let’s get to know a few resources which will be our deep diving vessel for the Invisible Web. Some of these are invisible web search engines with specifically indexed information.

Infomine

Infomine has been built by a pool of libraries in the United States. Some of them are University of California, Wake Forest University, California State University, and the University of Detroit. Infomine ‘mines’ information from databases, electronic journals, electronic books, bulletin boards, mailing lists, online library card catalogs, articles, directories of researchers, and many other resources.

You can search by subject category and further tweak your search using the search options. Infomine is not only a standalone search engine for the Deep Web but also a staging point for a lot of other reference information. Check out its Other Search Tools and General Reference links at the bottom.

The WWW Virtual Library

This is considered to be the oldest catalog on the web and was started by started by Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the web. So, isn’t it strange that it finds a place in the list of Invisible Web resources? Maybe, but the WWW Virtual Library lists quite a lot of relevant resources on quite a lot of subjects. You can go vertically into the categories or use the search bar. The screenshot shows the alphabetical arrangement of subjects covered at the site.

Intute

Intute is UK centric, but it has some of the most esteemed universities of the region providing the resources for study and research. You can browse by subject or do a keyword search for academic topics like agriculture to veterinary medicine. The online service has subject specialists who review and index other websites that cater to the topics for study and research.

Intute also provides free of cost over 60 free online tutorials to learn effective internet research skills. Tutorials are step by step guides and are arranged around specific subjects.

Complete Planet

Complete Planet calls itself the ‘front door to the Deep Web’. This free and well designed directory resource makes it easy to access the mass of dynamic databases that are cloaked from a general purpose search. The databases indexed by Complete Planet number around 70,000 and range from Agriculture to Weather. Also thrown in are databases like Food & Drink and Military.
For a really effective Deep Web search, try out the Advanced Search options where among other things, you can set a date range.

Infoplease

Infoplease is an information portal with a host of features. Using the site, you can tap into a good number of encyclopedias, almanacs, an atlas, and biographies. Infoplease also has a few nice offshoots like Factmonster.com for kids and Biosearch, a search engine just for biographies.

DeepPeep

DeepPeep aims to enter the Invisible Web through forms that query databases and web services for information. Typed queries open up dynamic but short lived results which cannot be indexed by normal search engines. By indexing databases, DeepPeep hopes to track 45,000 forms across 7 domains.
The domains covered by DeepPeep (Beta) are Auto, Airfare, Biology, Book, Hotel, Job, and Rental. Being a beta service, there are occasional glitches as some results don’t load in the browser.

IncyWincy

IncyWincy is an Invisible Web search engine and it behaves as a meta-search engine by tapping into other search engines and filtering the results. It searches the web, directory, forms, and images. With a free registration, you can track search results with alerts.

DeepWebTech

DeepWebTech gives you five search engines (and browser plugins) for specific topics. The search engines cover science, medicine, and business. Using these topic specific search engines, you can query the underlying databases in the Deep Web.

Scirus

Scirus has a pure scientific focus. It is a far reaching research engine that can scour journals, scientists’ homepages, courseware, pre-print server material, patents and institutional intranets.

TechXtra

TechXtra concentrates on engineering, mathematics and computing. It gives you industry news, job announcements, technical reports, technical data, full text eprints, teaching and learning resources along with articles and relevant website information.
Just like general web search, searching the Invisible Web is also about looking for the needle in the haystack. Only here, the haystack is much bigger. The Invisible Web is definitely not for the casual searcher. It is a deep but not dark because if you know what you are searching for, enlightenment is a few keywords away.
Do you venture into the Invisible Web? Which is your preferred search tool?

 

uganda news

Uganda News : American killed in Uganda bombing

uganda news

An American national was killed in a twin bomb explosions which also killed more than 30 others in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, on Sunday night, the U.S. embassy said.

“At this time we can confirm that one American has been killed,” said an embassy official.

Hundreds of local people were watching the World Cup final at the Kyadondo Rugby Club as the first blast occurred shortly after 11 pm local time (2000 GMT). The second blast was reported at an Ethiopian restaurant.

2010 Mercedes E550 Review

2010 Mercedes E550 Review
With so much improved about the all-new 2010 E-Class, hold on to your wallet, because there’s more to come 

Mercedes-Benz is in the midst of a product renaissance. The CLS started the ball rolling, while the revamped C-Class, SL, new GLK and SLS AMG have kept the world buzzing. However, the new E-Class is the one that matters the most. 

Available as a coupe, convertible or sedan, the E hits the broadest point in the company’s line-up. And while the four-door E350 and E63 AMG offer either great value or massive performance at either end of the spectrum, it’s the E550 that tries to balance those two attributes.

FAITHFUL 5.5L V8 DELIVERS THE GOODS

As expected, the E550 differentiates itself by its engine: in this case, a 5.5-liter V8 that produces 382 hp at 6000 rpm and 391 ft-lbs of torque from 2800 to 4800 rpm. It’s still reasonably competitive compared to its rivals and the standard seven-speed automatic transmission allows for a quick 0-60 mph sprint of just 5.2 seconds. The sound doesn’t have the sharp, muscle car roar of the AMG cars, but it is throaty enough.
Fuel efficiency isn’t bad either, with 16/24-mpg (city/highway) being above average in the class. Because of some creative construction techniques, curb weight is relatively svelte at 4,034 lb.

MUCH IMPROVED DRIVING DYNAMICS FOR NEW MODEL

When it comes to putting that power to the road, the E-Class is a willing partner. It banishes the waftiness that came standard with every previous generation car. What’s left is a machine that’s much more controlled on every surface. It doesn’t have the right-now reflexes of a sharpened BMW 5-Series, but it’s not sloppy either. The standard 17-inch wheels are stylish, and the low-ish profile tires don’t beat you up over rough pavement.
The steering is responsive and offers a decent level of feedback through the wheel. And the brakes are fuss free, backed up by standard ABS and brake assist.

SPORTY OR LUXURIOUS? YOUR CHOICE

Other than cheating by looking at the badges, it’s difficult to spot the differences between the lesser V6 models and the more powerful ones. Regardless of engine, the E550 features chiseled flanks with ‘those’ rear arches, and it is miles more attractive than the bland-new 5-Series or over-the-hill Audi A6.
This brings the potential buyer to a serious decision: you can have your E550 in two flavors, regular or spicy, with no extra cost. The Luxury Styling is the more traditional, with the smaller wheels, wood-lined interior and softer settings. The Sport Styling throws on deeper sills, 18-inch AMG wheels, aluminum accents instead of the lumber, and a three-spoke AMG steering wheel. The changes are subtle – but the driving experience is so good to start with. And the sport suspension settings firm things up nicely.
One other mechanical option is the company’s 4MATIC all-wheel drive, which adds $2,500 to the bottom line. 4MATIC also adds just over 100 lbs. of weight and makes it slightly slower to 60 mph (5.3 sec), but adds a big measure of stability in harsher climes.

TRUE LUXURY APPOINTMENTS, WITH NO END OF OPTIONS

Speaking of harsher climes, the E550’s cabin gives you plenty of space required to get away from the crush of everyday hassles. The seats are comfortable and supportive, the gauges are clear and bright, and the dash mimics the no-nonsense style of the C-Class, but with better materials. The rear seats won’t make passengers feel unwanted either.
But, since this is a very German car, the list of options and packages is lengthy. The Premium 1 package adds a hard-drive based navigation system with voice control, a harmon/kardon audio system, a rear-view camera, power rear sunshade, and heated and cooled front seats, all for $4,400. Stump up another $2,200 to upgrade to Premium package 2, and you get active bi-xenon headlights, LED running lights, heated headlight washers and Keyless-Go.
For those who don’t like paying attention to traffic, the $2,900 Driver Assistance Package includes Distronic active cruise control with Pre-Safe braking, along with blind spot assist and lane keeping assist. Further standalone options include anything from Parktronic, to split-folding rear seats, to a night-vision pedestrian-detection system.

THE VERDICT

Start adding any of those to the E550’s base price of $56,300 and without much trouble, you’re looking at the nearly $70,000. Hardly a value proposition. With the new twin-turbo V8 5-Series and 400-plus horsepower Infiniti M56 rolling into dealerships soon, the E550 will be outgunned for at least a year while Mercedes-Benz rolls out its new twin-turbo 4.7-liter V8 to fight fire with fire.
Until then, the E550 still delivers more than its badge promises, which reflects the company’s positive change in attitude towards building great products. And it does successfully straddle the line between performance and panache.

josh childress

Report: Suns to Acquire Hedo Turkoglu, Josh Childress

josh childress

The Suns are wasting no time in attempting to fill the gaping hole in their lineup left by the loss of Amar'e Stoudemire to the Knicks in free agency. The question is, are they doing it with the right pieces?

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic is reporting that Phoenix is "on the verge" of sending Leandro Barbosa to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Hedo Turkoglu. The Suns will give up part of the trade exception they received for Stoudemire to make the numbers work, since Turkoglu has four years left on his contract at about $11 million a season.

Phoenix is also working out a sign-and-trade with Atlanta to acquire the rights to Josh Childress, who played four seasons for the Hawks before leaving to play in Greece in 2008. The Suns are said to be parting with a second-round draft pick to acquire Childress, who is expected to be signed to a five-year, $30 million deal in Phoenix.

The benefits of the Turkoglu deal are difficult to envision from the Suns' standpoint, especially if they're penciling him in as their starting power forward next season. Turkoglu has always been more of a playmaker type who has done well with the ball in his hands, which is great and all -- unless Steve Nash is your point guard. 

 

Turkoglu isn't exactly going to be working that pick and roll from the top of the circle with Nash the same way that Stoudemire could; Hedo simply doesn't have the quickness or the athleticism to do so. What Turkoglu does provide is yet another three-point shooting threat for teams to deal with, and another Phoenix option beyond Nash who can create offense for both himself and for others.

Defense and rebounding were things that Stoudemire was often criticized for during his time in Phoenix, and Turkoglu seems to be worse than Amar'e in both of those areas. He doesn't have the frame to bang down low with opposing teams' big men, and his rebounding numbers will make Stoudemire's average of almost nine per game seem gaudy by comparison.

Now, Turkoglu was a key component of the Magic's run to the Finals two seasons ago, and had played well enough in Orlando to make the Raptors believe he was worth that big contract. Turkoglu wasn't happy in Toronto, so maybe a change of scenery -- along with playing in the Suns' high-octane system -- will enable him to get back to the level he was playing at before last season. Right now, though, on the surface, it simply doesn't seem like the best fit.

Childress, on the other hand, should fit in with Phoenix's system quite nicely. He shot over 52 percent from the field during his four seasons in Atlanta, and can hit from three-point range at a better-than-decent clip. His length and athleticism should allow him to add a little something on the defensive end as well.

The Suns have already signed Hakim Warrick; with the additions of Turkoglu and Childress, that's three new players that are all likely to see some pretty substantial playing time next season ... on a team that was two games from making it to the NBA Finals. The loss of Stoudemire is devastating to what this Suns team had evolved into last season. It will be interesting to see if the pieces the Suns are adding to replace him will be the right ones to keep them competing deep into the playoffs again next year.

The Rape -Axe: the Anti rape Condom

This is so brilliant! An anti-rape female condom invented by Sonette Ehlers… A South African women working as a blood technician with the South African Blood Transfusion Service, during which time she met and treated many rape victims.
The device, known as The Rape-aXe, is a latex sheath embedded with shafts of sharp, inward-facing microscopic barbs that would be worn by a woman in her vagina like a tampon. If an attacker were to attempt vaginal rape, their penis would enter the latex sheath and be snagged by the barbs, causing the attacker pain during withdrawal and (ideally) giving the victim time to escape. The condom would remain attached to the attacker’s body when he withdrew and could only be removed surgically, which would alert hospital staff and police. This device could assist in the identification and prosecution of rapists.

the glades

What's On Tonight: 'Hannah Montana,' 'The Glades,' 'Big Brother,' 'Kate Plus 8'

the glades

Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.



Another big Sunday night, with premieres of 'Hannah Montana Forever' and 'The Glades.' Plus, more crazy Gosselin antics on 'Kate Plus 8.'

7:00 to 8:00
CBS: '60 Minutes'
FOX: 'Sons of Tucson'
NBC: 'Dateline NBC'

8:00 to 9:00
CBS: 'Big Brother'
Cartoon Network: 'Unnatural History'
Disney: 'Hannah Montana Forever'* and 'Good Luck Charlie'
Food Network: 'Food Network Challenge'
NatGeo: 'Drugs Inc.'
Style: 'The Dish Presents Weddings Gone Wild'

The rest of the schedule after the jump.



9:00 to 10:00
ABC: 'Scoundrels'
PBS: 'Masterpiece Mystery!' -- 'Murder on the Orient Express'
Disney: 'Jonas L.A.'
Food Network: 'The Next Food Network Star' -- 90 minutes
Lifetime: 'Drop Dead Diva'
History: 'Ice Road Truckers'
HBO: 'True Blood'
HGTV: 'House Hunters' and 'House Hunters International'
MSNBC: 'Caught on Camera'
NatGeo: 'Drugs Inc.'
SyFy: 'Inside Secret Government Warehouses: Shocking Revelations' -- 2 hours
TLC: 'Kate Plus 8'
TNT: 'Leverage'
VH1: 'Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch'* -- NFL player Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson tries to find love among a group of 85 women. Ninety minutes
We: 'Bridezillas'

10:00 to 11:00
ABC: 'The Gates'
A&E: 'The Glades'*
Cartoon Network (via Adult Swim): 'Children's Hospital'* -- 10:30 start
Comedy Central: 'Kevin Hart: Seriously Funny'
E!: 'Holly's World'
Food Network: 'Kid in a Candy Store'* -- 10:30 start
HBO: 'Hung' and 'Entourage'
HGTV: 'Design Star'
History: 'Top Shot'
NatGeo: 'Expedition Great White'
Lifetime: 'Army Wives'
Showtime: 'The Real L Word'
TLC: 'Bakery Bunch'
truTV: 'Las Vegas Jailhouse'*
VH1: 'The T.O. Show'*
We: 'My Fair Wedding With David Tutera'