Bitcoin under pressure

All currencies involve some measure of consensual hallucination, but Bitcoin, a virtual monetary system, involves more than most. It is a peer-to-peer currency with no central bank, based on digital tokens with no intrinsic value.

Rather than relying on confidence in a central authority, it depends instead on a distributed system of trust, based on a transaction ledger which is cryptographically verified and jointly maintained by the currency’s users.

Transactions can occur directly between the system’s participants at almost zero cost, without the need for a trusted third party or any other intermediary, and are irreversible once committed to a permanent and fully public record.

Bitcoin’s mathematically elegant design ensures that the money supply can increase only at a fixed rate that slows over time and then stops altogether. Anonymity, while not assured, is possible with the right precautions and tools. No wonder Bitcoin is so appealing to geeks, libertarians, drug dealers, speculators and gold bugs.

Source: economist

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Coment Ison likely didn't survive sun encounter

Comet Ison likely didn't survive its graze past the sun early this afternoon, astronomers say.

"It's not looking good for Ison in my opinion," said Phil Plait, an astronomer who writes for Slate's Bad Astronomy blog, during a Google Hangout organized by NASA Thursday.

"That's kind of my assessment too," agreed Karl Battams, an astrophysicist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., who runs the NASA-funded Sungrazing Comets Project.

Images from NASA's SOHO spacecraft at 1:12 p.m. ET showed long tails that appeared as though they could be fading toward the sun, and the head of the comet was no longer visible.

By 2 p.m. ET, images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft did not show the comet at all, to the surprise of Dean Pasnell, project scientist for SDO, who said the rocky material from the comet wouldn't be expected to evaporate that quickly.

Source: cbc

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Sharkeisha: sucker-punching teen turns viral sensation

If you've been on the web at all in the past 24 hours, chances are you've seen the name "Sharkeisha" pop up.

She's gone viral on Facebook, has hit the top of Google's search results, and on Wednesday evening her name was at the top of Twitter's trending topics list, leaving many to ask: Who isSharkeisha and why is she so popular?

Unfortunately, her story is not a happy one.

Sharkeisha is the name of a young woman who appears in a violent Instagram video that started going viral on Tuesday night.

In the short clip, Sharkeisha is seen sucker-punching another young woman whose name appears to be Shay. 

"Sharkeisha, no!" friends call out repeatedly from behind the camera as the young women continues to fight. Eventually, bystanders intervene and pull the women apart as Sharkeisha screams obscenities at Shay.

Source: cbc

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Is Urban Outfitters Worth the Premium?

Things are actually starting to look up for some US fashion retailers, which can be interpreted as a good sign for the economy. Clothes, while generally seen as essential items, can also be viewed as a discretionary category depending on their price. Urban Outfitters, which offers a diversified range of consumer goods, recently came out with a very solid earnings beat. However, the stock is trading at a significant premium to the industry and peers such as Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch . Is it worth the money?

Urban Outfitters' most recent numbers look good. The company reported earnings of $0.47 per share for the third quarter, up from $0.40 a year ago and beating by $0.02. Revenue of $774 million was up 12% year-over-year and beat the consensus by around $3 million. The news sent shares up about 1.3% in after-hours trading on Nov. 18.

Much of the 18% rise in quarterly profit was due to a strong performance from the Anthropologie and Free People chains. Free People recorded a very impressive 30% increase in comparable-retail-segment net sales, with Anthropologie's figures up 13%. Overall, comps were up 7%, which is fairly impressive in the current spending environment.

Aside from these record earnings, the profit rate is also looking pretty good. The gross profit rate increased 11 basis points for the quarter, and by 99 basis points for the nine-month period ended Oct. 31. Management attributed this increase primarily to a reduction in markdowns and improved margins at Free People and Anthropologie in particular. Contrary to many of its competitors, Urban Outfitters seems to be having a better time navigating the tough teen market at the moment.

Source:fool

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Mega Millions' changes pay off in $230 M jackpot

Mega Millions is back in the big-jackpot game, thanks to some recent changes.

The annuity jackpot for Friday’s drawing is up to $230 million -- the biggest amount in 20 months -- while the cash is up to $125 million.

Tuesday’s drawing also produced the game’s first-ever $5 million winner, on the heels of a $3 million winner on Friday – larger amounts than any secondary prize in Powerball.

No one matched all the numbers drawn Tuesday night -- 27, 44, 59, 74 and 75, with a Mega Ball of 3 -- but five tickets matched the first five.

A Texas ticket won $5 million for also having the $1 Megaplier prize-multiplier option. Since the Megaplier came up 5, the usual $1 million prize was multiplied by 5. New York had two $1 million winners, and Florida and Illinois had one apiece.

Friday night, a North Carolina ticket won $3 million.

Source: philly

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'Frozen' review

Disney Animation attempts to emulate their classic animated musicals with “Frozen,” an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” but comes up a little, well, cold.

“The Snow Queen” is prime real estate for a Disney adaptation, and this musical features a few unexpected plot twists, but it is dimmed by lackluster humor and a rushed structure not as cohesive as previous Disney films. 

However, “Frozen” does modernize the Disney princess meme by turning the vulnerable princess and prince charming story on its head. All the stereotypes are here, but “Frozen” puts them on ice. Rather than focusing on a princess who can only be saved by a prince, the film tackles a different type of love-- the power of a sisterly bond.

Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) are sisters gifted with the magical ability to create and manipulate ice. As young girls they innocently use their magic to play games, until an accident almost kills Anna. To save young Anna, a pack of trolls removes her magic and memories, giving her a new lease on life. Elsa, though, is confined to a life of solitude to protect herself and her family from her reckless powers, a decision that keeps her from seeing Anna for many years.

Source:foznews

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Meet the woman named for the holiday

On Thursday, the family of a Minnesota woman will be wishing a happy birthday to Happy Thanksgiving.

That's Dr. Happy Thanksgiving Reynolds of Minneapolis, to be precise, who will be celebrating her 43rd birthday on Thanksgiving, the holiday that inspired her colorful name. 

“It's exactly like every other time of the year for me, surprisingly,’’ Reynolds told TODAY.com. “It winds up being something of an afterthought, so shockingly it's never that crazy around this time. As much as I'm sure there should be giant floats and sparklers and perhaps a juggler, no, it's pretty normal on my birthday.”

Her parents, Thora and Kelly Reynolds, were part of the counterculture in the 1960s and chose her unorthodox name when she was born on Thanksgiving. She noted that she narrowly missed out on being named Snow because it also snowed on the day of her birth.

“Yes, we were hippies,’’ Reynolds told TODAY.com. “We made our own tofu, our own goat cheese, our own sauerkraut. My parents founded a co-op. They were into it.”

Reynolds got used to people’s reactions to her name while attending 13 different schools during a childhood spent in Minnesota and California.

“We were already ostracized because we were hippies in a small town, so it was one more layer of reasoning to be like, 'You people are weird,’’’ she said. “To be totally frank, I think people were like, 'Dude, there's so much there that we could make fun of, that there's just no point. It's almost cruel to make fun of Happy.’

Source: today

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