Sequential Subsequence of Consequences

SAS (54-26) 23 30 14 18 85
LAL (56-25) 25 28 26 27 106

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Los Angeles Lakers took sole possession of the Western Conference lead Sunday. Keeping it might be a different matter, even if they win their only remaining regular-season game.

MVP candidate Kobe Bryant had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Lakers routed the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 106-85 for their seventh win in eight games.

"It was a big game for us," Bryant said. "It was another step in the right direction. Going into the playoffs is all about momentum. Now, we just have to take it up another notch once the playoffs start."

The Lakers (56-25), who clinched their first Pacific Division championship in four years and at least the No. 3 seed in the West on Friday night, need to beat visiting Sacramento on Tuesday night and have Houston lose at least one of its final three games to earn the conference's No. 1 seed.

Should Los Angeles and Houston tie for the conference title, the Rockets get the No. 1 seed because of a 2-1 record against the Lakers. Houston was scheduled to play Sunday night at Denver and Monday night at Utah before finishing at home Wednesday night against the Clippers.

Should the Lakers tie for the conference lead with Houston and New Orleans, the Rockets would be first, the Hornets second and the Lakers third based on how the three teams fared against each other.

Lamar Odom, the only Los Angeles starter to play in the final period, added 17 points and 14 rebounds before coming out for good with 4:26 remaining. Pau Gasol had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Derek Fisher also scored 14, Jordan Farmar added 11 points and Ronny Turiaf scored 10 for the Lakers, who outscored the Spurs 53-32 in the second half.

"They're the best in the West at this point," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Their rhythm is good, everybody knows their roles, they are playing confidently, defense looks very good. Heck of a team."

The Lakers outrebounded San Antonio 51-36, including 31-16 after halftime, and the Spurs shot just 11-of-37 after halftime after going 22-of-42 in the opening 24 minutes.

Bryant said he believes the Lakers have found their defensive identity.

"It's just like offense," he said. "You have to find out what your identity is. I think we have found that defensively. We are very aggressive. We have a tremendous amount of versatility -- wings and bigs who are fast and athletic and long. We can get after guys."

Parker had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but was held to two points after halftime. Tim Duncan added 16 points and 12 rebounds and Ime Udoka scored 14 for the Spurs (54-26), who lost for just the third time in 13 games.

The Spurs played without leading scorer Manu Ginobili, who missed his second game because of a strained left groin. Robert Horry hasn't played since March 21 because of a bruised left knee.

"Come playoff time, we'll have as good a chance as anybody to do well," Popovich said.

The game was tied at 53 at halftime. Fisher scored 10 points during a 17-6 run to start the third period, giving the Lakers a 70-59 lead, and the Spurs weren't closer than seven after that.

Bryant scored seven points in the last 2½ minutes of the quarter, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer, to make it 79-67 entering the final period. The Spurs missed their first seven field-goal attempts of the third quarter and wound up going 3-for-17 in the period.

The Lakers put the game away by outscoring the Spurs 19-5 to start the fourth quarter for a 98-72 lead.

By Erik Kirschbaum

BERLIN, April 13 (Reuters) - Schalke 04 sacked coach Mirko Slomka on Sunday after the Bundesliga club were eliminated from the Champions League by Barcelona and humiliated by league rivals Werder Bremen 5-1.

Schalke, who slipped from second to third in the league on Saturday after the drubbing in Bremen, announced the decision to part company with Slomka, who was promoted from assistant manager in January 2006, on their Web site on Sunday.

Slomka, 40, has suffered speculation he would be replaced for months even though he had one of the most successful records in the league. Last season he guided Schalke to second place and in 2006 he led them to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup.

General manager Andreas Mueller said in a statement the club had planned to replace Slomka at the end of the season, "but after the Werder Bremen match I decided to pull the plug now."

Mueller said the decision was made with the aim of finishing at least third.

"We've got into a situation now that could have a very negative impact on the team and endanger our goal of qualifying for the Champions League. That's why we moved quickly now."

Schalke, beaten by Barcelona 1-0 in each leg of their Champions League quarter-final, have one of the most expensive lineups in the Bundesliga.

"Mirko did a good job and that's clearly documented by his successful record," said Mueller. "But during the course of this season we got the impression the team wasn't developing further. We came to the conclusion a new coach could do that better."

INTERIM DUO

The club also sacked assistant coach Nestor El Maestro.

Schalke said Mike Bueskens and Youri Mulder, two players on the Schalke team that won the 1997 UEFA Cup, would take over and share interim coaching duties for the remaining six matches.

They said they would hire a new coach for next season.

Bueskens has been coaching a Schalke reserve team since 2005 while Mulder, who won nine Dutch caps, has worked as a television commentator in the Netherlands.

Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported that Schalke has three candidates for one of the most coveted jobs in the Bundesliga: Eric Gerets (Olympique Marseille), Fred Rutten (Twente Enschede) and Dick Advocaat (Zenit St. Petersburg).

Slomka, sometimes criticised for being too much of a "nice guy" at Schalke, reacted angrily to fresh speculation on Saturday that his days were numbered.

"I've had it with defending myself -- either you can see the quality of the team and the work I've done here or you can't," Slomka told Premiere Television.

"The discussion is pretty much limited to certain groups (in the club management) that have something against me.

"We were in second place before the Werder Bremen match and made it to the top eight in Europe and yet there's still a discussion about my future. I don't have any desire to face this discussion every week any more."

(Editing by Clare Lovell and Rex Gowar)

For those who haven't heard about scientologist before, here's a brief description, I stole from Wikipedia.

Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices initially created by American speculative fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. The major organization promoting Scientology is the Church of Scientology, a hierarchical organization founded by Hubbard, while independent groups using Hubbard's materials are collectively referred to as the Free Zone.

Hubbard developed Scientology teachings in 1952 as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics. Hubbard later characterized Scientology as an "applied religious philosophy" and the basis for a new religion. Scientology encompasses "auditing", a spiritual rehabilitation philosophy and techniques, and covers topics such as morals, ethics, Purification (a type of detoxification), education and management.

Hubbard also laid the foundations and policies for the establishment and management of Scientology organizations with the first Church of Scientology being established in December 1953. Today organizations affiliated with the Church of Scientology form a complex network geared towards introducing Scientology into society. Religious Technology Center owns the trademarks and service marks of Scientology. These marks are licensed for use by the Church of Scientology International and its affiliated organizations.

Scientology and the organizations that promote it have remained highly controversial since their inception. Journalists, courts and the governing bodies of several countries have described the Church of Scientology as a cult and an unscrupulous commercial enterprise, accusing it of harassing its critics and abusing the trust of its members. Scientology officials argue that most of the negative press is motivated by interest groups and that most of the controversy is in the past.

Prime among Scientology's beliefs is "that man is a spiritual being whose existence spans more than one life and who is endowed with abilities well beyond those which he normally considers he possesses."

Scientology believes man to be basically good, that his experiences have led him into evil, that he errs because he seeks to solve his problems by considering only his own point of view, and that man can improve to the degree he preserves his spiritual integrity and remains honest and decent. According to the Church, the ultimate goal is: "a civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights."

The Church of Scientology declares that the goal of Scientology is to achieve "certainty of one’s spiritual existence and [of] one’s relationship to the Supreme Being," and says that Scientology's tenets are not a matter of faith but of testable practice: "That which is true for you is what you have observed to be true."

The exact nature of all of existence is said to be stated in Hubbard's Scientology and Dianetics Axioms.

- A person is an immortal spiritual being (termed a thetan) who possesses a mind and a body.
- The thetan has lived through many past lives and will continue to live beyond the death of the body.
- Through the Scientology process of "auditing," people can free themselves of traumatic incidents, ethical transgressions and bad decisions which are said to collectively restrict the person from reaching the state of "Clear" and "Operating Thetan." Each state is said to represent the recovery of native spiritual abilities and to confer mental and physical benefits.
- A person is basically good, but becomes "aberrated" by moments of pain and unconsciousness.
- Psychiatry and psychology are destructive and abusive practices.
- Members study Scientology and receive auditing sessions to advance from a status of preclear to Operating Thetan.

Johnny Depp is set to marry his longtime girlfriend, Vanessa Paradis, on June 14th. The pair have been dating since 1998 and have two children. MSNBC says:

"The Pirates of The Caribbean actor - who was married to makeup artist Lori Anne Allison in the 80s - has previously said of his relationship with Vanessa, "For all intents and purposes, we are married," adding that, "if [Vanessa] ever said, 'Hey, let's get hitched,' I would do it in a second." A source close to the couple said: "Vanessa recently told Johnny that she would love to have a wedding. "Johnny loves Vanessa very much, and he said if that's what would make her happy, then he'd marry her." The summer wedding will be a low-key family affair. The couple's children "are really excited about it," the insider tells Life and Style magazine. "Actually the whole family is excited. "They wanted to make it convenient for Johnny's family in Florida," so the wedding will likely take place in Georgia's Tybee Island, according to the source. "They're going to send out invitations in a few weeks."

Source: IDLYITW

Four days after Naomi Campbell assaulted a police officer and had to be dragged off a plane at London's Heathrow Airport, she has been banned from traveling British Airways. Although the airline will not publicly comment on the details, a BA spokesman said abuse against staff would not be tolerated. Naomi Campbell's spokeswoman said:

"Naomi has been flying with British Airways for nearly 30 years and has been a good customer. She hopes this can be resolved amicably."

Ah, yes. "Amicably." That's how they should handle it. Because that's how Naomi Campbell would want it. She has always lived her life with a quiet dignity, known the world over for amicably resolving conflicts and strife with her tempered ego and sound reason. In times of great distress, she is often sought out by world leaders for her sage wisdom. I hate to throw around comparisons here, but Naomi Campbell? Gandhi? It certainly appears so, my friends. It certainly appears so.

P/s: Pictures of British Airways are shown as it is a better picture for my blog than that of Naomi.

Source: IDLYITW

From the country which brought Benz, Autobahn, SAP to the world, the Germans has been brainstorming quite well to introduce the first automated restaurant... a distinct evolution of the current fast-food concept.



At the Baggers restaurant in Nuremberg, you don't need waiters to order food. Customers use touch-screen TVs to browse the menu and choose their meal.

You can even use the computers to send e-mails and text messages while you wait for the food to be cooked.

Up in the kitchen, it is man, not machine, that makes the food. They haven't found a way of automating the chef, just yet.

Everything is prepared from fresh. When it is ready, the meal is put in a pot and given a sticker and a colour to match the customer's seat.

Then it is put on the rails and despatched downhill to the correct table. Manna from heaven, German-style.

The restaurant is the brainchild of local businessman Michael Mack.

"I wanted to come up with a complete new restaurant system," Michael tells me, "one that would be more efficient and more comfortable".

Replacing waiters with helter-skelters and computers is fun for the customers. It also makes financial sense for the restaurant.

"You can save labour costs," explains restaurant spokesperson Kyra Mueller-Siecheneder.

"You don't need the waiters to run to the customers, take the orders, run to the kitchen and back to the guests."

The restaurant has not completely done away with the human touch. There are still some staff on hand to explain to rather bemused customers how to use the technology.

But what do the punters here think? Do Germans really have the appetite for automated mealtimes?

"It's another art for eating. I like it!" one man raves.

"It's more for young people than old people," a woman tells me. "My mother was here yesterday and she needs my son's help to order."

Watching all this food raining down on the restaurant makes the writer ravenous. He decided that it is his turn to test the system. He ordered steak and salad on the computer and wait for it to appear. A few minutes later, a pot glides down to his table with his "fast food" - and it is delicious.

As he finished the meal and prepared to leave, one final thought crosses his mind. An automated meal doesn't only save the restaurant money, but the customer, too.

After all, in a restaurant without waiters, there is no need to leave a tip....

Source: BBC News

Jay-Z and Beyoncé are probably married. Just days after obtaining a marriage license in Scarsdale, New York, the couple was married in a small private reception Friday in New York City. Friends and family of the couple were seen arriving to the rapper’s Tribeca apartment for a reception later that night. There’s been no official confirmation from the couple yet. A friend of the couple revealed to People magazine:

“It happened earlier [Friday] evening. Jay wanted it to be a really private affair – close friends and family.”

via

In business, anything is possible...even enemies could be friends...

Case in hand, Yahoo's last-ditch efforts to avoid a takeover by Microsoft appear to be setting the stage for a dramatic finale featuring a rich cast of Internet and media stars, includihg a possible takeover by Google, by Yahoo invitation !!!

Eager to frustrate Microsoft in any way possible, Internet search leader Google has already agreed to help out Yahoo by participating in an unusual test that will gauge how much more advertising Google can sell for its struggling rival.

The two-week experiment announced Wednesday will be limited to ads posted alongside a small percentage of Yahoo's online search results in the United States.

Yahoo reportedly hopes to build upon the Google deal by combining its online operations with Time Warner's AOL, which has been struggling to regain its stride after stumbling badly for years. Google already handles AOL's search advertising and owns a 5 percent stake in the Time Warner subsidiary. Time Warner is also the parent company of CNN.

As part of the AOL deal, Time Warner would make a cash investment in return for a 20 percent stake in the combined entity, according to a Wall Street Journal story that cited unnamed people familiar with the matter. Yahoo then would use the Time Warner cash to buy back stock to put some money in shareholders' pockets. Yahoo would pay between $30 and $40 per share for an unspecified amount of stock, the Journal said.

Microsoft's bid was worth about $42 billion, or $29.24 per share, as of Wednesday, when Yahoo shares closed at $27.77.

If Yahoo's maneuvering raises the pressure for a higher bid, Microsoft reportedly may mount its counterattack with a surprising ally -- Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, whose media empire already includes the Fox television networks, The Wall Street Journal and the popular online hangout MySpace.com.

If Microsoft and News Corp were successful in a joint bid, it would unite three of the Internet's most popular Web sites -- Yahoo, along with MySpace and MSN.com.

The New York Times reported Microsoft's discussions with News Corp. late Wednesday, citing people involved in the discussions.

Yahoo had previously been exploring using an alliance with MySpace as one of its escapes from Microsoft.

All the negotiations are at a sensitive stage and still could unravel, according to the newspapers' reports.

Contacted late Wednesday, a Yahoo spokesman declined to comment on the reported AOL talks. Microsoft representatives didn't respond to inquiries.

The complex web of deals faces various complications.

Because Google and Yahoo control a combined 80 percent of the U.S. search market, any long-term advertising alliance between them almost certainly would have trouble getting antitrust clearance, analysts said.

A broader relationship between Yahoo and Google also would face intense political scrutiny, said Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., who chairs a committee overseeing antitrust issues.

A Yahoo-AOL combination probably would have to overcome shareholder skepticism because both companies have been fading in recent years. Before Microsoft announced its bid Jan. 31, Yahoo's market value had plunged by nearly $30 billion during a two-year period. AOL is now believed to be worth about $10 billion, about half of its value when Google paid for a $1 billion stake in 2005.

And Microsoft might alienate one of partners, Facebook, if it teams up with News Corp in an attempt to buy Yahoo. Microsoft last year paid $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook, which is the second largest online network behind News Corp's MySpace.com.

Yahoo has been working for more than two months to put together a package that trumps Microsoft's takeover bid.

Microsoft has set an April 26 deadline for Yahoo to accept its current offer, which was initially valued at $44.6 billion, or $31 per share. The deal's value has eroded because Microsoft wants to pay for half of the acquisition with its recently declining stock.

Analysts have said that Microsoft can afford to pay about $35 per share, or about $50 billion, for Yahoo without undermining its future earnings. Yahoo has indicated it thinks its franchise is worth at least $40 per share, or more than $55 billion.

Yahoo's ad tests with Google make a friendly deal with Microsoft less likely and raises the odds that Microsoft will follow through on a recent threat to lower its bid, said Standard and Poor's equity analyst Scott Kessler.

In a statement Wednesday, Microsoft reiterated its bid is fair and pointed out the antitrust problems likely to prevent Google and Yahoo from working together.

"This would make the market far less competitive, in sharp contrast to our own proposal to acquire Yahoo," said Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel. "We will assess closely all of our options."

Microsoft has said that if things can't be worked out amicably, it is prepared to oust Yahoo's 10-member board in a proxy contest that could prolong the drama into the summer.

If the Google tests were to begin immediately, they would be completed shortly before Microsoft's April 26 deadline.

Yahoo didn't specify when the trial run would begin but said the test doesn't mean it will join the thousands of other Web sites that rely on Google to place text-based advertising links next to search requests or their other content.

Under the deal announced Wednesday, Google will show ads tied to about 3 percent of the queries made in the United States through Yahoo's search engine -- the Internet's second largest after Google's.

Yahoo will still use its own technology -- acquired and developed at a cost of more than $2 billion -- to place ads next to the other search results on its Web site. The Sunnyvale-based company also will continue to distribute search ads to its own partners.

By flirting with Google, Yahoo is trying to prove it has other options besides succumbing to Microsoft, Kessler said. But he doubts most investors will take the Google alternative seriously, given the antitrust obstacles.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense for Yahoo to make an announcement like this when everyone knows a long-term relationship (with Google) can't happen," Kessler said. "It strikes me as somewhat desperate."

Source: CNN News

This particular ad, which ran in Mexico, was based upon historical perspectives and was created with a Mexican sensibility. In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues. Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal.
- By Paula Eriksson, VP Corporate Communications, V&S Absolut Spirits


Perhaps, this is one good reason for the U.S. to invade Sweden, the origin of Absolut vodka and its sprited ads.

via

Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam has jumped onto the cyber bandwagon to get his message across.

His blog at entitled Dari Kacamata Mohd Ali Rustam (Through the Glasses of Mohd Ali Rustam).

He is believed to be the first among the Chief Ministers and Mentris Besar to start a blog. In the aftermath of the March 8 general election in which Barisan Nasional lost its two-third majority in Parliament and five states to the opposition coalition, several Barisan leaders acknowledged the party had underestimated the power of the Internet as an effective means to reach out to voters.

Since then, a few leaders have set up blogs, including former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo.

So, what now...suddenly we can now trust the bloggers, unlike what the BN leaders formerly suggested before...whatever, it the end...it's all about the contents.... and I am not so sure whether that will pull the readers in the long run....!!!