text:
The moment a computer crash nearly caused my car crash
I very nearly had a terrible car accident: my car almost left me stranded on the tracks of my city's light rail transit. The short version of the story is that my car started acting up, of all times, as I was on the way to the mechanic for an oil change. "Acting up" in this case meant refusing to go above 20kph (12.4mph) for …
It's a straight trade-off as I see it, between the number of casualties/fatalities/near misses that used to occur in cars without all the extra safety equipment, versus the same criteria when considering cars fitted with all the safety gear.
I personally think we should go back to dumb cars and improve the practical driving test.
(You don't need ABS/Traction Control/Lane Departure Warning, if you're driving correctly)
ABS is pretty handy, I can't manage the same barking distances without ABS, certainly not in the kind of situations where I actually need to slow down quickly.
(I've never owned a car with ABS mind, just driven a few)
> I can't manage the same barking distances
Get a bigger dog?
I think the point of the OP was that if you need ABS, you're driving too fast / close in the first place anyway. Driving skill and common sense trumps technology any time.
That said, ABS *can* outperform a top driver in braking, but not by much, and certainly not on certain surfaces (which it has no way to detect, like gravel). But then, so would just driving slightly slower.
@Lee Dowling
"if you need ABS, you're driving too fast / close in the first place anyway"
You've obviously never driven onto a patch of black ice and felt the ABS kick in to prevent you from gliding at 5 mph into the van in front of you who has just stopped to let someone out.
Agreed, if I might add -Take away the seat belts, air bags and whatever, then fit solid metal dashboards with sharp edges and stuff - then you will see people slow down and take care of themselves and others on the roads. In effect - Keep it Simple.
Otherwise we remain cocooned in all this needless gubbins and divorced from the real job in hand - driving with due care and attention.
I beg to differ
Traction control - definitely. If you drive sanely you do not need it. The failure described in the article is a classic traction control blooper. I used to have a car with VSA (aka traction control + selective breaking) and I hated it. It was of no use in really slippery situations and it sucked royally in marginal ones - unpredictable acceleration, etc. I am now back to proper "fully manual" fleet and it is a welcome change (especially at this time of the year).
Lane departure warning - definitely. WATCH THE F*** ROAD YOU F*** TWIT!!! If you cannot watch the road you do not belong on it.
ABS - I beg to differ. A well behaved ABS tends to kick in only in emergency situations and is of no consequence to normal driving. If you have gone as far as ABS usually you are in emergency stop mode. While emergency stop is something that is being tested and exercised for the practical driving test it is not something that is practiced regularly. If you drive normally you end up doing it once every 6k+ miles (if not 10k) so you are guaranteed to be a bit rusty on it. There is nothing wrong with some judicious assistance on that. I have had it kick in all in all 3 times in the last year or so and each time it was right, proper, needed and appreciated.
On ice, ABS generally performs no better than a skilled driver. If you don't know how to drive in icy conditions, you probably shouldn't drive on them. For a start, you should NOT be gliding into the vans in front of you (insufficient braking distance, ice or not, ask your insurers) especially if you know to release and reapply the brakes repeatedly in the absence of ABS (in the way everyone was taught to before ABS became standard - but DON'T try it on an ABS car unless you're in gravel or loose earth, where ABS fails miserably) rather than hold it down and hope for the best. Hell, even with ABS usually the best path is to not lock the wheels if you can help it but steer gently away. This pumping or ABS only allows the wheel to regain traction which you can then use to slow yourself further until the wheel skids again. ABS does nothing more than this, it just does it for you and slightly faster.
And, actually, I've hit black ice on motorways several times and watched everyone else careen off the road because they weren't watching in front where all the other cars did the same and either glided to a halt behind them (and ABS cars make a horrible grinding feel when you do that on such a surface) or driven calmly past them while holding the steering wheel for dear life. It's not fun, but it's also not entirely unpreventable in most circumstances.
Spot loss of control of vehicle, release throttle, MAYBE apply brake (depends on circumstances), MAYBE pump brake (depends on car and circumstances), steer ever-so-gently. But ice doesn't magically form on roads with no warning of outside temperatures - I'm not saying you'll *see* it but you're expected to take notice of the possibility of it.
Now, if you'd said "oil spill", I'd be much more inclined to agree with you.
only used it a few times - there are 2 lights that flash on my dashboard 1 for ABS and 1 for traction control. Both times were emergency braking situations, I still did my usual hard pump then softer sharper pumps to avoid skidding but the ABS kicked in anyway.
TC was on perpetually last year in the ice and snow - I was quite impressed by it to be honest.
Everybody thinks that they are...
...Lewis Hamilton. Not everybody is a skilled driver, not everybody knows how to steer into a skid. And as for ABS, suppose a kid runs out into the street? Not your fault, but I'd be willing to bet that ABS will do a better job than most people here.
Not ABS
ABS and TC are different things. And neither of them will work on ice cos you got no traction to start with.
What is described in the article is classic oversensitive TC. The conditions seem to have been fairly poor as there was ice on the road at least in one place - the TC should have been turned off because in these conditions it is not just useless - it will work against you and can be a positive danger. What is needed is TC always off below 30.
Learn about your equipment before you use it.
doesn't actually do much to stopping distances really, it helps you keep control of the car by attempting to prevent the wheels locking up. If at all possible you should try and steer around the obstruction, rarely possible I know.
You do tend to see people lock up quite a lot though, they stamp on the brakes and hope for the best because they panic.
Much like the lady in the brand new golf that slammed in to the back of me yesterday.....
Stop, because she didn't..
For those that are unaware. The purpose of ABS is not to improve straight-line braking, but to provide the driver a measure of steering control while breaking in an emergency situation. The fact that it can improve braking for the average driver in slippery conditions is a bonus.
Bollox to ABS!
Don't talk to me about ABS! I've just shelled out £1100 to have replaced a piece of electro-hydraulics associated with the ABS and traction control system I've never needed to use and, with careful driving should never have to. It wasn't even classed as "show stopping safety" so you might reasonably ask 'Why did you do it?'. 'Cos my wife uses the car more than me and I value her life very highly.
The added technology, without doubt, saves lives and improves drivability for some but at what capital, maintenance and fuel cost to the majority? The biggest safety aid not fitted to cars is a large red-coloured foam rubber spike located in the centre of the steering wheel. A pointed reminder to drive safely.
I'd pay good money to have most of these safety features on the options list so I could select to delete them.
@ Lee Dowling
"For a start, you should NOT be gliding into the vans in front of you (insufficient braking distance, ice or not, ask your insurers)."
Lee, these are UK drivers we're talking about. La Royaume de Jeremy Clarkson. Appeals to reason, safety, legality, morality, insurance liability, sense of shame, responsibility, caring for others' or one's own wellbeing, or any other sense of the boundaries of sanity and proper behaviour - are all useless.
@ phuzz Thursday 15th December 2011 11:22 GM
ABS will not make you stop (a lot) sooner. It will "only" allow you to keep the car under control and not wildly spin around.
I don't know if ABS would have made a difference to my car accident but I wasn't driving at excessive speed for the conditions. Other safety features--seat-belts, airbags, and crumple zones--worked as advertised. ABS should pay off in that OMG-stop! situation.
Something such as traction control seems far less significant. It could be dangerous, even, since it makes it easier to be going too fast in marginal conditions.
I used to drive a Series III Land Rover. No fancy electronics. And the four-wheel drive could get you into some tricky situations. It didn't make the brakes any better.
Not all cars have a TC off button you know.
Not all cars have a TC off button you know. I can think of at least one major make which had dispensed with the TC off button on their major model lines.
The fact that you and me agree that this is a criminally stupid idea does not mean that 10%+ (more for fleet cars) out there are not from said manufacturer.
> [ABS] doesn't actually do much to stopping distances really
Oh yes it does.
A skilled driver who knows about cadence braking may be able to get fairly close to the stopping distance of an ABS system. But very few drivers are that skilled.
What usually happens in an emergency situation is that the driver sticks his hoof on the pedal and locks up most or all wheels. The car then carries on with little or no retardation.
The difference between a car with ABS and one without in such a situation has to be seen to be believed...
> The purpose of ABS is not to improve straight-line braking
Yes it is. It's an Anti-lock system. Locked wheels provide almost no retardation.
That it also permits you to steer is a bonus - but that may not be the best way out of the situation (depending on how badly you've fucked up in the first place).
Don't forget:
On many modern cars, the ABS replaces the brake proportioning valve. This stops the rear brakes receiving too much pressure. If they have full load, the back end can lock up and put you in a spin.
These used to be physical devices which limited pressure.
These days (I'm led to believe) the ABS system takes care of that.
If you've not got it - fine. If you've got it, but it's broken, it could be dangerous.
OK so you are the greatest driver in the world and you don't need ABS.
Come back when you have been rear ended by someone who isn't the greatest driver in the world because you took their ABS away and then argue your case again.
@Oliver Mayes
ABS doesn't work on ice.
This is why you will see many people on the first snowy day of the year driving into the hedges, with their brake lights on, completely unaware that their braking is actually causing the skid to persist.
I largely trust my cars computers... though I did hit a puddle on the apex of a corner once, causing quite a nasty understeer, which I actually caught... then the traction control kicked in, causing it to grip and snap into lift off oversteer. Wasn't really all that impressed with the safety system at that point in time.
In otherwords
Very possible; just drive cars from the 60's and 70's.
When there were far fewer cars, generally not traveling as far or as fast and when much more people died on the roads.
In otherwords, the safety mod-cons work. And work well.
> ABS doesn't work on ice.
Yes it does.
ABS is an Anti-lock Braking System. It releases the brakes when the wheel is locked. Even on ice. Which means it works on ice.
What it is *not* is a Magic Braking System. If the friction is not there between your tyres and the surface, no amount of electrickery is going to help.
> That said, ABS *can* outperform a top driver in braking, but not by much...
But surely the point/purpose of ABS is that it can easily outperform an "average" or "typical" driver.
> the ABS replaces the brake proportioning valve.
Not on any car I've ever looked at. It would be a serious mistake.
The ABS system is designed to disable itself in the event of any failure (e.g. a few iron filings on the sensor). It would be madness to design a braking system that is seriously compromised in the event of an ABS shutdown.
I can't beleive that in this day and age there is still so much ignorance surrounding ABS...
It does not stop you faster in a straight line - in fact it increases the distance from stopping without locking the wheels in the first place. It works by releasing and reapplying the brakes when the wheels stop turning so that you still have control over your car to (as a couple of others have said) to steer around the obstacle rather than careening into the back of it.
Learning how your car reacts on different road surfaces and knowing how hard to hit the brakes in an emergency will improive your stopping distances.
And in my experience it fails on ice... It does 'work' but it doesn't slow you down as the grip just isn't there before you start. Using winter tyres (not an option in the UK due to the stupid insurance companies I know) has a much bigger impact on stopping distances in wintery conditions than the ABS.
And no I don't think I am Dancia Patrick, and yes I have had the front end of my car saved on one occasion by the ABS kicking in and allowing me to keep control. But it isn't something I try to rely on!
I think the saftey systems on modern cars are great (look at the falling death rates on the roads) but people do need to realise that it is not an excuse to drive 1m from the car in front...
Avoid ABS when you think you need it the most
On dry asphalt, ABS is marvelous. I would be very surprised if any driver (regardless of how skilled he thinks he is) could match it in any way.
On snow and ice... It only helps in those situations where you are too lazy to take your foot off the brakes so you can use the steering wheel.
The thing is that you want to lock the wheels on snow, because this increases your chances of digging the wheels deeper so they eventually touch the road surface. Plowing up snow in front of the wheels also helps.
ABS tries to mimic this by allowing the wheels to lock a bit, but the prime directive is to allow the driver the opportunity to steer the car.
F*ck That!
How the hell am I going to make it home in time to watch Beavis and Butthead while I'm hauling ass down the highway at 110km/hr in a 30 if I don't have the safety features.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to drive a car without all the computers when I have my girlfriend on my iPhone and I'm trying to watch the GPS on the console?
I used to have far more problems driving... things like traffic rules and laws that would force me to go slow or yield the right of way to people from the right and shit like that... but then I bought an Audi and am now exempt from those. If I can see the round-about, then I have the right of way now!
Thanks to ABS, I didn't even spill my coffee on mr. happy while I was steering with my knees and talking on the phone with m girl friends sister (who I might add has been much sweeter to me since I go the Audi)... it would have been embarrassing showing up at her place, having burned the whole reason I went to visit in the first place.
ABS is a necessity! Now stop talking this crap about driving safer... just pull out of my way.
Most people misunderstand how ABS works. It is designed to allow the driver to maintain steering control during braking. It does not significantly, if at all, reduce stopping distances and won't stop you ploughing into the back of the car you were tailgating at 90mph (even though people were shown to drive closer in ABS-equipped cars, before all new cars were so fitted).
Conversely, people who learned to drive without ABS don't use it properly. The technique should be to brake as hard as possible, and keep braking, while attempting to steer away from the collision. Instead, people modulate their braking and won't brake and steer at the same time, which is sensible without ABS but negates the benefits of the system if you do have it.
Erm...no. That is a terrifying way to drive. Braking in corners at the edge of the car's performance envelope is very dangerous. Please stop!!! I am sick to fricking death of seeing M3s, Audis and the like pitch into corners, try to brake in them and watching them go all squirrelly.
If turning to avoid a hazard in an emergency situation, the brakes should not be applied at the time, as it restricts your car's grip levels and ability to turn: If you have an evasive path you should follow it as your primary action, any extra braking should not really be of benefit, or should be secondary in import to making that evasion route and maintaining the car's balance. If there is a way of driving out of the problem, then impeding your car's poise to do so is the wrong thing to do. Alternatively, if there is not a way out of the situation, then you need maximum braking effort rather than compramising grip levels by turning, and you need to present your crumple zones and crash protection to the hazard by hitting it head-on, rather than risking going in broadside.
It doesn't matter if you have ABS or not, as regards tyre loading. A tyre can only hold so much load before slipping or locking. ABS does not change that. Tyres can either brake at maximum efficiency or corner effectively. If you ask them to do both at once, the car will skid. Specifically, the front outside will give way, followed by other corners, as the tyres are overloaded.
Granted: ABS acts to allow changes of direction while braking, but it's still grossly sub-optimal and the act of a panicked or unskilled driver, and not the thing that drivers should be educated to do. Steer OR Brake. Simply lift off the brake for a half-second, allow the car to regain front-back balance, make the direction change, allow the car to regain side-to-side balance, then reapply braking efforts. It's far, far safer and better driving.
Stop braking and turning, because it's blisteringly stupid. If this annoys you because you think you know better: Tough. Go and ask a traffic policeman or anyone who does track days. Because at present, you are a danger to ME!
ABS most certainly does 'work' on ice, because it does what it is supposed to do: Unlocks the brakes when they lock. That is most certainly not the problem. The problem is that road tyres and car braking systems do not 'work' properly on ice because of the lower friction. The problem is not ABS: The problem is between the steering wheel and the back of the seat in the driver travelling too fast for the conditions, or not braking early enough.
People crash a lot on ice because they assume that just because modern cars have traction and/or ABS, they can still brake freely. 4x4 drivers are dreadful for assuming that AWD means that they can somehow magically stop just as quickly on ice and regularly tailgate in such conditions. ABS does not change the friction co-efficient of ice. That is not it's job.
A major part of the problem is both not understanding the technology and what it can and cannot do, and not understanding the road conditions.
The time when ABS *is* an issue is at low speed on snow. At very low speed (eg 5mph) locking the brakes allows a pile of snow to form in front of the wheel which helps the car stop. ABS does not do that.
Vic, ABS implementations are not always sane..
The principle behind ABS is PREVENTING brake action for a split second, then re-assert friction when the wheel starts rotating again. There is a mild problem with that in modern car electronics: researchers have already demonstrated remote hacks of car electronics that COMPLETELY DISABLED THE BRAKES - do a search and you'll find it.
Insane, I know. Sadly very, very true :(.
> I can't beleive that in this day and age there is still so much ignorance surrounding ABS...
I would concur with that.
> It does not stop you faster in a straight line
Yes it does.
Go to a skid pan and try it - make sure you know which fuse to pull before you get there.
If you're a *very* good driver, you'll get reasonably close to the ABS stopping distance (but not beat it). And you'll get signed by McLaren. We mere mortals go a lot further.
> in fact it increases the distance from stopping without locking the wheels in the first place.
If you don't lock your wheels, your ABS system does *nothing at all*. It doesn't make any difference whatsoever to an unlocked wheel. So your stopping distance, if you don't lock the wheels, is absolutely 100% identical.
If, however, you *do* lock the wheels, then the ABS does something: it unlocks the wheel. This means that you can get some retardation from the wheel, rather than just sliding across the road. This *dramatically* shortens the stopping distance.
> Learning how your car reacts on different road surfaces and knowing how hard to hit the
> brakes in an emergency will improive your stopping distances.
Perhaps. But ABS isn't there for when you do everything completely right - it's there to pick up the pieces when you make a mistake. Have you ever made a mistake? I certainly have.
> And in my experience it fails on ice...
That is because you fundamentally do not understand what ABS does.
> It does 'work' but it doesn't slow you down as the grip just isn't there before you start.
Even imagining that ABS might generate grip that isn't there shows just how little you understand the technology.
Please - go to a skid pan and *learn*.
"On dry asphalt, ABS is marvelous. I would be very surprised if any driver (regardless of how skilled he thinks he is) could match it in any way."
Really? I think it's pretty simple. I Just don't jam the pedal all the way down. By stopping just short of the skid-point, I get maximum braking ability. ABS is not, and never has been maximum braking ability. The clue's in the operation. It kicks in when the wheels lock. When the wheels lock, you have REDUCED braking force. So when it starts kicking in, you're already behind the curve.
I believe the Michigan State Police experimented with the ABS system during their annual police vehicle tests one year. A braking test is one of the tests they do, and on a non-ABS brakeing, they average about 29ft/s/s deceleration. ABS gives about 23 iirc, which isn't upto the spec they require, which is 24.
The point of ABS is to prevent wheels from STAYING locked into a skid when braking, so that you have steering ability, just as you would if you hadn't caused a lockup to begin with. ABS isn't there to improve braking, but to help with drivers panicking.
Personally, I can't stand it. The one vehicle I had with it, I disabled it. It was a pain. If the wheels lock, it's because I wanted them to. Same vehicle had traction control. It was turned off when the ignition was turned on.
Something really funny though is that 2 years ago, I went to visit a friend who lives on a Mountain in Georgia. It's actually a suburban mountain, just on the edge of Marietta (where the Lockheed Martin plant is, Blackjack mountain is on the flightpath). Anyway, it was snowing. I drove up that place, then had to turn around and drive up the other side, because at the top was a 14 car pile up (with 3 news teams and a news chopper overhead). Every car in the pileup had ABS, most had TC (it's a posh area). Me? I was driving a 20yo american boat (Lumina) which not only had neither, but was a slushbox as well.
ABS/TC are just to make incompetent drivers slightly less dangerous to the rest of us.
Yes and no. The purpose is to prevent the wheels staying locked up, as they would if the driver panicked and over-applied them. If the wheels don't lock the ABS system makes *no* difference to braking distance... well, apart from the extra couple of cm you'll travel, due to having to retard a slightly greater mass, but that's being pedantic.
Granted; cadence braking and an alert, skilled driver will *slightly* outperform ABS braking if there is a lock-up, but that's not the target audience. But there's no point skilled drivers getting arrogant about it and discarding ABS as a concept for them 'because they're too good to use it': I'm into my track days and motorsport, but would still favour ABS on any high performance road car which I intended driving in excess of normal parameters, because there are times when I'm *not* 100% on the game, and might lock the brakes. In that situation, the ABS is a boon.
In short: Even if you ARE Jenson Button... sometimes you're just not concentrating and alert enough to prevent the mistake and to cadence brake properly.
More to the point, what stood out to me in this article was why on EARTH did the author drive over a railway crossing in a car that was evidently malfunctioning and delivering power erratically. This is a blisteringly stupid thing to do! Never mind about 'remember to turn the electronics off if your car does something silly', how about 'remember not to do incredibly risky things in a car behaving erratically'?
@CheesyTheClown You're a loser. You should always, always text the girl in advance - best while you're coming round that roundabout. Use the next roundabout to check if your teeth are properly clean - Audis also have a mirror in the driver side sun shield..
@Vic - please re-read my post...
>If you don't lock your wheels, your ABS system does *nothing at all*. It doesn't make any difference whatsoever to an unlocked wheel. So your stopping distance, if you don't lock the wheels, is absolutely 100% identical.
>If, however, you *do* lock the wheels, then the ABS does something: it unlocks the wheel. This means that you can get some retardation from the wheel, rather than just sliding across the road. This *dramatically* shortens the stopping distance.
That's exactly what I was saying!!!!!! ABS releases the brakes to allow the wheels to rotate, this allows them to regain tracktion. Then the brakes are reapplied until they lock again. Repeat as required. The same as with manual cadence braking, just much, much faster than a human can achieve. Obviously skidding to a stop takes longer than using ABS, but then braking just short of the the point of where the ABS is needed will be better still as your brakes will never be released (at that point you are not slowing down as your brakes are not applied).
>Perhaps. But ABS isn't there for when you do everything completely right - it's there to pick up the pieces when you make a mistake. Have you ever made a mistake? I certainly have
I beleive that I said ABS had saved the front end on my car. I'm human (last time I chekced) so yes I make mistakes.
>Even imagining that ABS might generate grip that isn't there shows just how little you understand the technology.
Again, that is exactly what I was saying. When you try to stop on sheet ice the ABS works perfectly, but the the grip just an't there for it to be efective. And this can happen even at tiny speeds. I never said it would generate grip. In fact I said exactly the opposite.
What I said is that correct winter tyres help more in the winter than relying on ABS to stop you...
So yes, I do have an inderstanding of how it works, and I also know that if I ever use it (not often) then it means I have put myself into a stupid situation where I've had to jam the brakes on too hard.
Vic; I think you're being a bit pedantic. It makes no difference to straight-line braking at all if you do not lock the wheels. That covers 99% of braking situations.
If you're not a skilled driver and lock the brakes, or are a skilled driver who for some reason is not on the ball, then you are correct that it will make a difference.
However, cadence braking is not a skill limited to F1 drivers and would not see you signed to any motorsport team. It is simply a part of competent driving skills.
I can only assume that the 'thumbs down' was placed there by one of the afor-mentioned AWD-owners, who has no idea how their vehicle actually operates, nor how to safely drive in icy conditions...
> researchers have already demonstrated remote hacks of car electronics
> that COMPLETELY DISABLED THE BRAKES
> do a search and you'll find it.
I did a search and found nothing of the sort. Perhaps you'd like to show me what I missed.
>>This *dramatically* shortens the stopping distance.
> That's exactly what I was saying!!!!!!
Nope. What you said was :
>> It does not stop you faster in a straight line
And it does.
> then braking just short of the the point of where the ABS is needed will be better still
You have that sort of control, do you? With wheels on different surfaces?
Maximum retardation depends somewhat on the tyre in question, but for most tyres, it is achieved when the tyre is *just* starting to slip. And that''s what you get from ABS.
> I believe the Michigan State Police experimented with the ABS system
> during their annual police vehicle tests one year.
Perhaps you'd like to give a reference for that; the only MSP info I can find shows ABS-equipped vehicles performing very well, with the sole exception of the Harley Davidsons in the 2007 test. This is hardly a surprise for anyone that's seen a Harley, and nothing to do with ABS...
> cadence braking is not a skill limited to F1 drivers
No, it isn't.
> and would not see you signed to any motorsport team.
It would if you managed to beat the ABS. Go on - actually *try* it.
> It is simply a part of competent driving skills.
You are unable to adjust the position of your foot on the pedal as rapidly as a modern ABS system does. You just don't have the hardware - humans aren't built that way.
So although a very good driver can get close to the performance of ABS, the rest of us are a long way behind it.
crappy testing
But what were you doing crossing a rail line with a car exhibiting unknown errors ?
You're a sysadmin. Would you leave a server in production that was reducing it's performance to a crawl for no apparent reason ?
A computer in a car is just another component. Would you have blamed the brake manufacturer if you had driven on with faulty braking for just a few more blocks ?
"But what were you doing crossing a rail line with a car exhibiting unknown errors ?"
If you read the blog, the answer was "driving to the dealership to get the car looked at"
For an *UNRELATED* problem (i.e. oil change).
would you stay in a burning house while waiting for the fire brigade?
This is exactly why we have breakdown services. When a vehicle becomes a risk to its occupants and the people around it then it should be removed from the road.
What if a train had hit the car, many people could have died. The second things started becoming dangerous he should have stopped and called whoever he is covered by. Not covered, face the costs! Don't risk my friends and families lives because you want to save a buck!
More importantly - think how would you explain it to a police officer (which is always a good exercise in "Should I be doing this?").
"Sorry, officer, I know the car has a fault and even have a garage appointment for it, but I thought I'd drive it there, across 20 blocks of public roads in the ice, knowing it has a fault rather than get a tow truck out."
I doubt a grieving family would be any more sympathetic to that answer, either.
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Just when you thought it was safe to watch a random Monday night Heat versus the Bobcats game, LeBron explodes for 61 points, punting you, naked and riding a unicorn, directly into the sun. Dammit LeBron, my wife is gonna kill me. She loves unicorns. You know you had a good game when the highligh ... More >>
Earlier this week, an insurance company ranked Miami-area drivers as some of the worst in the entire nation. As if to celebrate and confirm the ranking, an SUV promptly lost control and crashed into a backyard pool in Palm Spring North.
A wealthy couple disappears, the slumbering Metro-Dade Police Department awakens, and the ghastly deeds of Miami's Sun Gym gang at last come to an end.
A long-time aide. A few thousand dollars' worth of dubious insurance receipts. A cauldron of allegations. U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey has been . . . scalded
By state law, judges get elected just like politicians -- a system so idiotic it's criminal. Will somebody please reproach the bench?


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Sky Diver Lyrics - Owl City
I stood up and took a breath and threw open the bay doors
Below the clouds I saw the coast and beautiful Hawaii
Leaning back, the pilot smiled and shouted,
"Have a good trip!"
I signed off and closed my eyes.
Then I was falling through the sky
Click here to submit the Corrections of Sky Diver Lyrics
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We'll admit, our spam filters have been a little leaky lately. So when the phrase "hot ass dish" appeared in our inbox yesterday, we had our cursor hovering above the trash can before pausing to take a second look. Tunde Wey. We'd seen that name before. See also: Pork & Pickle, a Meaty Pop-Up, Ta ... More >>
Iggy Azaleawith Walk The MoonTCF Bank Stadium, MinneapolisFriday, October 17, 2014One strange thing about an Iggy Azalea concert is that while it pulls from hip-hop, it also skips blithely past it. At its essence, Australian rap sensation puts on a pop concert, grabbing genre tropes to toy with alo ... More >>
Be sure to check out our constantly updated concert calendar.6
Be sure to check out our constantly updated concert calendar!
St. Paul ranks just ahead of Minneapolis in NerdWallet's list of the "Greenest Cities in America," but both cities crack the top 10.The list ranks the county's 95 largest cities using an algorithm that accounts for the median Air Quality Index, number of parks per 10,000 residents, the percentage of ... More >>
Every once in a while in the rock 'n' roll timeline, a band comes along and blows the lid off the conventional definitions of "loud" and "fast." Most folks remember names like the Ramones, the MC5, and the Stooges but the legendary Tacoma, Washington, garage band the Sonics predated all of them. In ... More >>
Searches for flights from MSP to Denver are up more than searches from just about any other airport recently, and don't kid yourself into believing it's because of skiing or the Broncos.SEE ALSO: Randi Kaye gets stoned on CNN [VIDEO]Instead, the reason is legal weed, or at least that's the conclusio ... More >>
A lawsuit filed by Mary Vandergrift, a former employee of Golden Valley Patch, alleges that higher ups in the AOL-owned company repeatedly hounded her to work from the hospital, regardless of whether she was there because her Crohn's disease was flaring up or because she'd just given birth.SEE ALSO: ... More >>
We know that the Twin Cities have the the country's best parks and fittest people. So it only stands to reason that we'd win another distinction right where those honors intersect: Best city for recreational activity. See Also: - Minneapolis has the best parks in the nation and it isn't even close, ... More >>
Bob Dylan is now a 71-year-old force to be reckoned with on his own. With Tempest, he proved for the umpteenth time that he's still got the mind and the artistic means to topple anyone in the exclusive club of Americana musicians. And, the guy never stops touring, it seems.After he does some dates f ... More >>
Four rap institutions are linking up for the Kings of the Mic tour later this year. Though LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, and De La Soul have wildly different pedigrees and styles (and levels of movie stardom), this is a lineup that just keeps giving. When one ponders the sheer number of hits th ... More >>
Minneapolis police recorded 45 more incidents involving guns in 2012 than the year prior, marking the first uptick in at least six years, according to a new report based on police data. Despite the minor increase, gun incidents are still down by 54 from 2010 and by 643 from 2007, the report shows. ... More >>
What do you do to promote a tour of aging boy bands while still trying to titillate a fan base that has grown older right along with the past-their-prime groups? In the case of the upcoming New Kids on the Block (NKOTB), 98 Degrees, and Boyz II Men joint jaunt through the U.S., you call it "The Pack ... More >>
Back in May, Walk Score, the website that assigns walkability grades to addresses across the country, branched out into Bike Score. For that first phase, Bike Score looked at just ten cities and rated them between 0 and 100. Minneapolis topped the list with a 79, nine points higher than runner-up Po ... More >>
See Also: Atmosphere unveils remaining 2012 U.S. tour datesTop 20 best Minnesota musicians: The complete listTop 20 best Minnesota songs: The complete listToday, hip-hop fans across the globe are wishing our homegrown indie-rap superstar Slug a happy 40th birthday. To mark this momentous occasion -- ... More >>
The prodigal son Owl City will be perform a sold-out show at the Varsity Theater on Friday evening, but if you are older than 14, Hot Chip will rock the First Avenue stage in Downtown Minneapolis. MaLLy will perform a free show at Northrop Plaza, but make sure you show up in time to catch the infect ... More >>
Walk the Moon With Morning Parade First Avenue, Minneapolis Thursday, June 14, 2012 The passing of the face paint has become something of a ceremonial tradition for Walk the Moon fans. Following the example of band members, fans passed blue face paint and decorated their faces with stripes, dots ... More >>
Related:Polica debuts new video for "Lay Your Cards Out" on Jay-Z's Life Times sitePolica's "Amongster" video depicts sex in the woodsPolica has just unveiled another high-concept music video from Give You the Ghost. Much like the sexually charged "Amongster" clip, this is not a showcase of the memb ... More >>
St. Paul: Lots of colleges, but declining literacy. Instead of creating a new food and beverage tax to help fund a Vikings stadium, perhaps the Ramsey County Board should invest in libraries. The annual Central Connecticut State University literacy study ranked Minneapolis as the third-most liter ... More >>
Those of you who didn't get a chance to see St. Vincent's entrancing sold-out performances at the Walker in October (and even those of you who did) now have another opportunity to see Annie Clark and company bring the songs of Strange Mercy to life, as St. Vincent have just announced a stop a ... More >>
If you have been to any kind of Hip-Hop event over the last ten years, pretty great odds you have seen Kevin Beacham. Easily recognizable with his long dreads flirting over his shoulders he could be the Scott Seekins of the hip-hop community with his appearance. He usually rocks a comic book t-sh ... More >>
Last month, we learned that onetime Rhymesayers recording artist and Atmosphere tour partner Mr. Dibbs has been battling liver disease. Unable to work and behind on his medical bills, Dibbs (born Brad Forste) put out a call to the community for help -- and tonight, at Honey in Northeast Minneapol ... More >>
News broke overnight that Mr. Dibbs, a one-time Atmosphere tourmate and friend of the Twin Cities' Rhymesayers label, has been undergoing a series of surgeries after being diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. Though he typically uses his Twitter account to promote fellow hip-hop artists' mixtap ... More >>
Paul McCartney is embarking on a small tour of U.S. outdoor stadiums this summer, but contrary to what was initially reported to us by a concert promoter earlier this month, that tour will not include a stop at Target Field. Officials at the Twins stadium have confirmed that a tweet sent out by t ... More >>
After yesterday's commanding 6-1 victory over the Texas Rangers, our beleaguered Minnesota Twins have won three straight series, and are 9-3 thus far in June. This after taking only three series in the first two full months, and two of them were against a pair of the weakest-hitting clubs i ... More >>
By what I'm reading on everybody's online twits, the cool thing this week for a band to do is to pack up their van and skinny jeans and head south to Austin, Texas to razzle and dazzle the flocks of hipsters at the SXSW attention contest. As an alternative, frenetic spazz rock combo, STNNNG will ... More >>
So, the last part of the trip was a bit rag-tag. That is to say, the shows were set up pretty last minute and were kind of at random places. Like in Lexington, Kentucky I played the reception for a play called Marx In Soho in which Karl Marx comes back from some kind of afterlife (wei ... More >>
Image via WikipediaBed bugs: Snuggle up to one in MinneapolisIn news that may give you hives, Minneapolis is the 15th most bed bug-infested city in the country. That's the word from Terminix, which based its rankings on the volume of calls to its bug assassins this year.
Jimmy Hogg: Appearing at this year's Minnesota FringeThe Cincinnati Fringe Festival opened today and, in addition to reminding us that the Minnesota Fringe is coming in a couple of months, its roster of theatrical shows contains a number of familiar local names. First is local favorites F ... More >>
At their present rate, the Twins are pacing for the fewest errors in the history of the 162-game season.
Someone finally leased the former Goodfellow's space!
Here's what history says about opponents' winning percentage.
Will the Steelers stain our perfect 6-0 record on Sunday? Game preview inside.
Sadly, not every interview invitation I sent out to various companies got back to me as soon as I would've hoped. To remedy this situation, I'm going to ... More >>
Action Taken in Solidarity with Phoenix New Times
Bill Mike's musical journey through R&B roadie work and heavy metal star sightings
Critics fear the MPD's latest spin on community mediation is all about window-dressing--and grooming snitches
Former Minnesotans Say the Twin Cities Cultural Scene Is Insular. Insecure. Unprofitable. Out of Touch. What Does It Mean to Live in an Artists' Paradise If Everyone Wants to Leave?
Creating mindful passage ceremonies for the boys in your life
Why the Minnesota Orchestra can't find a summer home
Art rockers 12 Rods make their musical parents proud
This year, even the patsies make Clem Haskins nervous.


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Narrow your search
One of the best-performing LED-based LCDs we've ever tested, the expensive local-dimming Sony XBR-HX929 competes well with the top plasmas.
Samsung seemingly came out of nowhere with its "LED TV" range. Yet, despite the name, the technology is more familiar than you'd think.
The 46-inch Sony KDL-46XBR4 outperforms any flat-panel LCD we've tested so far, but it's not quite as impressive as the best plasmas.
The Sony KDL46XBR is an excellent example of the LCD art, and includes up-to-date -- and working! -- features, and sumptuous styling.
Typical price: $4,799.00


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1. Starstruck (1998)
directed by John Enbom
featuring Jamie Kennedy, Loren Dean, Clarence Williams III, Bridgette Wilson, Spencer Garrett
A struggling filmmaker trying to climb the show business ladder befriends an actor who's heading down the same ladder at a furious pace in this dark ... More
See all VHS | DVDs | List of all editions
2. Cruel Will (2013)
directed by Arthur Romeo
featuring Arron Kinser, Marissa Pistone, Spencer Garrett, Harry J. Lennix, Doug Jones
A marriage constructed on a foundation of lies begins to crumble in the wake of a mysterious death that yields terrifying repercussions in this ... More
See all DVDs | List of all editions
3. Bitter/Sweet (2009)
directed by Jeff Hare
featuring Kip Pardue, Mamee Nakprasit, James Brolin, Spencer Garrett, Kalorin Nemayothin
A world renowned coffee master is forced to choose between a comfortable future with his devoted fiancTe, and an uncertain romance with a woman who ... More
See all DVDs | List of all editions
4. The Truth About Juliet (2002)
directed by Sean McGinly
featuring Spencer Garrett, Michael Marich, Samantha Smith, Karl Wiedergott, Xander Berkeley, Chad Einbinder, Tripp Reed, Marco St. John
Four Los Angeles friends discover that a triangle isn't necessarily limited to three sides as their lives, loves, and lofty aspirations slowly meld ... More
See all DVDs | List of all editions
5. Below the Beltway (2010)
directed by Dave Fraunces
featuring Tate Donovan, Sarah Clarke, Kip Pardue, Spencer Garrett, Noah Wyle
Get an intimate look at Lobby Industry and its effect on American politics as an ousted Washington D.C. staffer experiences a sobering epiphany while ... More
See all DVDs | List of all editions
6. Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (2011)
directed by Kevin Munroe
featuring Brandon Routh, Anita Briem, Sam Huntington, Taye Diggs, Kurt Angle, Peter Stormare, Kent Jude Bernard, Mitchell Whitfield, Michael Cotter, Laura Spencer, James Hebert, Dan Braverman, Marco St. John, Kyle Clements, Douglas M. Griffin, Kevin Fisher, Garrett Strommen, Brian Steele, Tiffany Reiff
Tiziano Sclavi's wildly popular Italian comic book gets the big-screen treatment in this feature starring Brandon Routh as the eponymous paranormal ... More
See all Blu-Ray | DVDs | List of all editions
7. 21 Brothers (2011)
directed by Michael McGuire
featuring Steve Spencer, Aaron Miedema, Steve VanVolkingburgh, Clayton Garrett, Tom Sinclair
In this World War I drama from director Michael McGuire, Sgt. Reid prepares the Canadian 21st Battalion for the battle of Courcelette while ... More
See all DVDs | List of all editions


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University of Missouri will award degrees to more than 5,000 students during commencement weekend
Published On: May 06 2013 12:28:50 PM CDT
Updated On: May 06 2013 06:06:23 PM CDT
Updated On: May 06 2013 06:06:23 PM CDT
The University of Missouri announced Monday more than 5,000 students will receive degrees during the school's spring commencement weekend.
The university said 5,292 students will earn their degrees May 17-19.
Those degrees include (some students receive more than one degree):
- 4,128 bachelor's degrees
- 1,043 master's degrees
- 278 doctorates
- 36 education specialist degrees
- 99 medical degrees
- 102 veterinary medicine degrees
The university will host several honorees and speakers for commencement exercises, including author and Columbia native Peter Hessler, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, CNN Digital vice president Meredith Artley and Missouri Rep. John Wright.
Copyright © 2013 KMIZ - The Networks of Mid-Missouri. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The views expressed are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms Of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms.blog comments powered by Disqus
BREAKING: Wilson not charged in Brown shooting
More than 80 protesters arrested in St. Louis area
Brown family rejects grand jury process
Students protest Ferguson grand jury decision
Violence in Ferguson after no indictment announced
Streets of Ferguson left smoldering
Shots fired, 29 arrested in Ferguson
Suspects lead police on chase, shoot at them
Prosecutor releases photos of Darren Wilson
Notable food recalls


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Check out the shocking ink on Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie and 11 other stars. By Serena Kappes with Devon Thomas
Credit: BAUER-GRIFFIN; REX USA; Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty
Updated: Thursday Aug 04, 2005 | 06:00 AM EDT
More from PEOPLE
See More News
7 of 14
David Beckham's sons – Brooklyn, 6; Romeo, 2; and Cruz, 5 months – and wife Victoria all have permanent spots on the soccer star. But sharing ink space are religious icons including a cherub, an angel and a winged cross. "He sees them as watching over his kids, protecting them," Beckham's tattoo artist Louis Malloy has said.
Copyright © 2014 Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


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MSR Shop: T -Shirt of the week – A car needs love
Cars needs love according to Rally world champ Walter Rohrl!
Our crew neck, short sleeved men's t shirts are 100% premium cotton in a soft pre-shrunk jersey knit. Our women's t shirts are lighter weight 150g tees made with deluxe 30′s soft style yarns for a soft feel


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[QUOTE=Gastineau99;4491474]I asked a staff member at practice today who gets VIP access and he said it was for season ticket holders. I told him that I was a season ticket holder, and he said that I needed to get an email invite. Anyone get an invite for VIP?[/QUOTE]
Pretty sure its for Club seat season ticket holders.......I was there today - happy to get autographs from Mangold and Keller but Sanchez/Tebow pretty much stayed in the VIP area...didnt see them sign for one kid outside the club zone....then the peons were chased out by security while VIPs mingled with players....class warfare once again for the Jets - my $15K PSL not enough to get access to the exclusive club.


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Love this rug for my beach house that has a tropical print. Hung it on the wall at first as a tapestry, but now it it on the floor.
Different design and ok value. I could have done better if I'd driven all over town to all the d�cor stores, but didn't have the time or inclination, especially since I needed two of the same rug.
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Converse Wool Sneakers: Cool Outdoor Shoes Offer Warmthby Fashion Finds
It's back to school season and that means it's prime time to shop for fall fashions. This year, if you live in a cool climate, you don't need to shop for boots, because a much more fashionable design now offers warmth and protection from the elements.
9 Most Inventive Flip Flops Of Summer 2009by Fashion Finds
Summer's coming to a close, and it's time to start reflecting on all of those fond memories of beaches and margaritas, and while we're at it, let's not forget about the fashion. Summer 2009 brought some truly innovative and inventive fashion. A favorite summer staple, the flip flop popped up in a variety of forms that were fashionable, functional and wacky.
Modern & Whimsical Accessories By Fred Butler: Origami Inspired Fashionby Fashion Finds
Origami has a whimsical quality that can be translated to beautiful fashion, and one designer recently made those creative dreams a reality with accessories that have a modern take on the cultural craft.
Magnum PI Inspired Accessories: The Tom Selleck Moustache Necklaceby Fashion Finds
Moustache necklaces have been the big trend; but until recently, the trend has been small and dainty jewelry pieces, at least until someone came up with the bright idea to create a Magnum PI inspired moustache design.
Hottest Men's Shoe Trend Of The Summer: Sanuk Pick Pocket Sidewalk Surfer Shoesby Fashion Finds
One of the trendiest styles that have hit the streets this summer are the Sanuk Pick Pocket Sidewalk Surfer Shoes that have become extremely popular with celebrities. If you haven't heard about these, you'll want to, because with summer drawing to a close who knows where these trendy shoes will pop up on sale.
Stroke's Extra Leg: Leg Warmers Designed To Protect Your Pantsby Fashion Finds
The leg warmers of the 80's and the most recent decade where the style has made an appearance are designed more for fashion than function, although they do offer some level of warmth as promised by their name. Stroke's Extra Leg is similar in design, but it serves a very different purpose that is more about function than fashion.
Easter Chic: Couture Bunny Ears Hit The Runwaysby Fashion Finds
A new trend is hitting the runways for Fall 2009, and it's one that would have been better suited for spring, because it's pretty Easter chic. Read on to find out what it is, and tell me if it's something that you would wear for more than one holiday season.
Retro Wearable Wrist Computer: Fashion and Technology Faux Pas Of The 80'sby Fashion Finds
This wearable gadget is about to get you thinking "just look at how far we come", and while retro fashions might be becoming trendy in a very big way, this is one design that should have remained in the 80's.
Chic Food Inspired Jewelry Designs Support Food Crisisby Fashion Finds
Your child did it first, making jewelry from cereal like Cheerios and Fruit Loops. Now a designer has taken that trend from preschool to runway, but this time, it's not actually edible so you don't have to worry about your purchases going soggy like this morning's breakfast.
The UNI Watch: Customizable Digital Watch Faceby Fashion Finds
Sometimes it's hard to decide on a look, even when it comes to a watch, but with an innovative new design that's no longer an issue, and you don't even have to go out an invest in multiple styles!
Winkers: Novelty Winking Jeans Use Your Assetsby Fashion Finds
Some of the most innovative novelty fashions combine the body's natural movements with strategically placed designs on the clothing. This design is a little bit cool, but also slightly dirty.
Sexy And Scandalous Lace-Up Leggingsby Fashion Finds
Leggings are all the rage, not that I need to tell you that. But, typically they are a modest trend that lends a level of conservative fashion to what would otherwise be scandalously short dresses and bare legs. But not all leggings are modest; some actually make a sexy fashion statement of their own.
Headphones Become Fashion Accessories: Jet-Set Beaded Earbudsby Fashion Finds
It's rare to see someone walking down the street or sitting on public transportation without headphones or a pair of earbuds attached to their ears, because as a society we've really become iPod addicts. But, headphones and earbuds just aren't fashionable, so to take them from simply a functional necessity, one company has recently turned them into attractive accessories.
12 Fashions Made From Strange, Cool And Innovative Materialsby Fashion Finds
Sometimes the appeal is not the fashion itself, but what it's made from. Check out these strange, cool and innovative fashions which are all interesting for the materials used in the design, but not necessarily about the style of the fashions themselves.
Denim-On-The-Go: Jean Vending Machinesby Fashion Finds
Have you ever found yourself somewhere just thinking, damn I could use a new pair of jeans? Good news, a denim vending machine might just make these desires come true.
Franklin & Gower: Custom Clothing Design For Menby Fashion Finds
Women get all the luck when it comes to customizing their own fashions - from clothing to purses and other accessories - our opportunities to put our own design stamp while someone else works the needle and thread, are virtually endless. Now, one company is allowing men to design their own fashions too.
Fall Office Fashions: Eco-Friendly Designs By Feral Childeby Fashion Finds
Sexy Or Scary For Summer? The Dissolving Bikiniby Fashion Finds
With August drawing to a close, you've only got a few weeks left to hit the beach this summer, but there is one bikini that I wouldn't recommend you wear when you're ready for some sun, sand and sea.
Optimal Vision Contact Lenses Enhance Vision By Filtering Light Like Sunglassesby Fashion Finds
Sunglasses are not always convenient for those who are heavy into sports, because they can easily result in damage, but now there are contact lenses that help filter the sunlight by imitating the way that animal's eyes filter light.
Fun Fashion For Children: The Funky UFO Cap Umbrellaby Fashion Finds
Despite the fact that an umbrella can be an adorable enhancement to a child's outfit when well-coordinated, it can really put a damper on their childhood antics when they lose the use of their hands and are forced to struggle to keep their umbrella upright against the wind. A fun and funky solution helps kids to be kids, and it's a fashion that's totally out of this world!


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|By Business Wire
Article Rating:
|December 10, 2012 09:11 AM EST
Kaspersky Lab released its annual Kaspersky Security Bulletin, which provides the overall malware and cyber-threat statistics for 2012. The data analyzed in the report was obtained using the Kaspersky Security Network (KSN), the cloud-based infrastructure used by Kaspersky Lab products to report telemetry and to deliver instant protection in the forms of blacklists and heuristic rules, which are designed to catch the newest threats. The 2012 report revealed significant growth of Mac-specific malware and an explosive growth in the number of threats targeting the Android platform. Overall, Kaspersky Lab's products detected and blocked more than 1.5 billion web-based attacks in 2012 and more than 3 billion infected files.
At the present time Kaspersky Lab detects and blocks more than 200,000 new malicious programs every day, a significant increase from the first half of 2012, when 125,000 malicious programs were detected and blocked each day on average.
Quick Facts
- In 2012 Kaspersky Lab's products blocked more than 1.5 billion web-based attacks throughout the year, which is 1.7 times greater than the total amount of web-based attacks in 2011.
- Kaspersky Lab successfully blocked more than 3 billion local infections on users' computers in 2012. In total, 2.7 million unique modifications of malware and potentially unwanted programs attempting to launch on users' computers were detected during these incidents.
- In 2012, 99% of all mobile malware detected by Kaspersky Lab was designed for the Android platform. Kaspersky Lab identified more than 35,000 malicious Android programs for the year, which is about six times more than in 2011.
- Mac OS X malware continues to increase as Kaspersky Lab's antivirus experts created 30% more signatures to detect various Mac Trojans this year compared to 2011.
- Oracle Java was the most popular vulnerable application targeted by cybercriminals in 2012. The application accounted for 50% of all detected exploit-based attacks targeting vulnerabilities. Adobe Reader ranked second and accounted for 28% of all incidents.
- Top 5 malware hosting countries: United States, Russia, The Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom
- Top 5 countries with the highest frequency of web attacks: Russia, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan
- Top 5 countries where infected files are most frequently discovered: Bangladesh, Sudan, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda
- Top 5 countries with lowest infection rates: Denmark, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic
2012 Threats Overview
One of the most important news in the beginning of 2012 was the discovery of Flashback, a 700,000 strong botnet comprised of infected Apple computers running Mac OS X. The significant outbreak was caused by a new variant of the Flashfake malware and the security incident put an end to the perception of the Mac OS X platform as being invulnerable to exploitation. In addition to mass-malware, Mac OS X computers also became frequent victims of targeted attacks. The main reason for this is that Apple products are popular with many influential politicians and prominent businessmen, and the information stored in the devices owned by these people is of interest to a certain category of cybercriminals. In total, Kaspersky Lab's antivirus experts created 30% more signatures to detect various Mac Trojans in 2012 compared to 2011.
Another key trend of 2012 is the continued rapid growth of Android malware. The Android platform has firmly established itself as the main point of interest for cybercriminals. Although malicious programs for other mobile platforms, such as Symbian, Blackberry or J2ME, are still being developed, 99% of newly discovered malicious programs targeted the Android platform. Despite attempts by Google to introduce its own anti-malware technology, malicious applications continue to appear in the official Google Play store. In 2012 the first incident with an ambiguous app collecting the address book data and sending spam was recorded at Apple App Store as well. Just like traditional PCs, mobile devices are now targeted with high-profile cybercriminal operations, including targeted attacks and creating "mobile" botnets.
In 2012 Kaspersky Lab's products blocked an average of more than 4 million browser-based attacks every day, with the total number web-based attacks surpassing 1.5 billion for the year. The most frequently used technique for attacking users online is exploiting vulnerabilities in programs or applications. Throughout the year Kaspersky Lab's experts registered both large-scale and targeted attacks utilizing vulnerable software, with Oracle Java being the most frequently targeted (50% of attacks). Adobe Reader ranked second (28%) and Adobe Flash player occupies the fourth place with only 2% share, thanks to efficient automatic updating system that promptly closes security holes. In addition, some of the exploits actively used targeted older vulnerabilities that still existed in various Windows operating systems. One of the explanations for this is that older versions of Windows are still actively used. For example, share of computers with Windows XP in 2012 was 44%, compared to 63% in 2011 – not a significant drop given Windows 7 has been available for three years and Windows 8 was recently released this year.
More than 3 billion malware incidents were detected and blocked by Kaspersky Lab's software on users' local hard drives and external storage. In total, 2.7 million unique modifications of malware and potentially unwanted programs attempting to launch on users' computers were detected during these incidents. The majority of local infections were blocked by Kaspersky Lab's behavior-based heuristic technology. It is notable that different versions of years-old Kido (Conficker) and Sality are still present in the list of the most frequently blocked malware. Overall, the number of new malicious applications has increased rapidly: in the first half of 2012 Kaspersky Lab recorded an average number of 125,000 new malware every day. Toward the end of the year this figure has grown to 200,000.
Servers located in the United States were the most frequently used to host and deliver malicious objects (25.5% of all incidents). Russia occupies the second place with 19.6% followed by the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. This is a significant change compared to years past: in 2010 the majority of malware was hosted in China. Changes in domain registration policies and other regulations taken by Chinese authorities resulted in the rapid decline of malicious hosts originating from the country. On the contrary, the United States, Russia and other European countries have seen a major increase in the number of malicious hosting sites as cybercriminals compromise legitimate online resources in large quantities in addition to registering purely malicious websites.
Based on the number of blocked web attacks and local malicious files, Kaspersky Lab's experts calculated the "risk level" for different countries, defined as the share of attacked users. Russia and former USSR republics occupy the top places in the web attacks chart, but 31 countries (including UK, Australia and Canada) in total have also joined them in the "high risk" group. In these countries at least 41% of users were attacked online in 2012. Bangladesh, Sudan, Malavi, Tanzania and Rwanda form the top five countries where users are most frequently attacked with local malware infections. 7 countries in total were categorized as "maximum risk", where 75% or more users were at least once attacked with a malicious file. Another 41% countries joined the "high risk" group (56-75% of attacked users), including Indonesia, Ethiopia and Kenya. In contrast, Denmark was deemed as the safest country, as the country had the lowest rate of infected computers (15%). Japan, Finland, Sweden and Czech Republic were the other countries listed with the lowest infection rates.
Costin Raiu, Director of Global Research & Analysis Team
Kaspersky Lab
"What 2012 has shown is the strong inclination of cybercriminals to steal data from all devices used by consumers and businesses, be it a PC, Mac, smartphone or tablet. This is one of the most important trends of 2012. We are also observing a strong increase in the overall number of threats, affecting all popular software environments."
Useful Links
- Top Ten Security Stories that Shaped 2012 and Security Forecast for 2013
- Kaspersky Security Bulletin: The overall statistics for 2012
- Previous stories
- Kaspersky Security Bulletin
About Kaspersky Lab
Kaspersky Lab is the world's largest privately held vendor of endpoint protection solutions. The company is ranked among the world's top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users*. Throughout its 15-year history Kaspersky Lab has remained an innovator in IT security and provides effective digital security solutions for consumers, SMBs and large enterprises. The company currently operates in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 300 million users worldwide. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.
For the latest in-depth information on security threat issues and trends, please visit www.securelist.com. Follow @Securelist on Twitter. For the most up-to-date world security news, visit www.threatpost.com.
*The company was rated fourth in the IDC rating Worldwide Endpoint Security Revenue by Vendor, 2010. The rating was published in the IDC report Worldwide IT Security Products 2011-2015 Forecast and 2010 Vendor Shares - December 2011. The report ranked software vendors according to earnings from sales of endpoint security solutions in 2010.
The 3rd International Internet of @ThingsExpo, co-located with the 16th International Cloud Expo - to be held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY - announces that its Call for Papers is now open. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the biggest idea since the creation of the Worldwide Web more than 20 years ago.
Nov. 28, 2014 05:00 PM EST Reads: 1,276
Cultural, regulatory, environmental, political and economic (CREPE) conditions over the past decade are creating cross-industry solution spaces that require processes and technologies from both the Internet of Things (IoT), and Data Management and Analytics (DMA). These solution spaces are evolving into Sensor Analytics Ecosystems (SAE) that represent significant new opportunities for organizations of all types. Public Utilities throughout the world, providing electricity, natural gas and water, are pursuing SmartGrid initiatives that represent one of the more mature examples of SAE. We have s...
Nov. 27, 2014 04:00 PM EST Reads: 1,355
The security devil is always in the details of the attack: the ones you've endured, the ones you prepare yourself to fend off, and the ones that, you fear, will catch you completely unaware and defenseless. The Internet of Things (IoT) is nothing if not an endless proliferation of details. It's the vision of a world in which continuous Internet connectivity and addressability is embedded into a growing range of human artifacts, into the natural world, and even into our smartphones, appliances, and physical persons. In the IoT vision, every new "thing" - sensor, actuator, data source, data con...
Nov. 27, 2014 04:00 PM EST Reads: 1,688
The Internet of Things is tied together with a thin strand that is known as time. Coincidentally, at the core of nearly all data analytics is a timestamp. When working with time series data there are a few core principles that everyone should consider, especially across datasets where time is the common boundary. In his session at Internet of @ThingsExpo, Jim Scott, Director of Enterprise Strategy & Architecture at MapR Technologies, discussed single-value, geo-spatial, and log time series data. By focusing on enterprise applications and the data center, he will use OpenTSDB as an example t...
Nov. 27, 2014 03:00 PM EST Reads: 1,509
How do APIs and IoT relate? The answer is not as simple as merely adding an API on top of a dumb device, but rather about understanding the architectural patterns for implementing an IoT fabric. There are typically two or three trends: Exposing the device to a management framework Exposing that management framework to a business centric logic Exposing that business layer and data to end users. This last trend is the IoT stack, which involves a new shift in the separation of what stuff happens, where data lives and where the interface lies. For instance, it's a mix of architectural styles ...
Nov. 27, 2014 03:00 PM EST Reads: 1,360
An entirely new security model is needed for the Internet of Things, or is it? Can we save some old and tested controls for this new and different environment? In his session at @ThingsExpo, New York's at the Javits Center, Davi Ottenheimer, EMC Senior Director of Trust, reviewed hands-on lessons with IoT devices and reveal a new risk balance you might not expect. Davi Ottenheimer, EMC Senior Director of Trust, has more than nineteen years' experience managing global security operations and assessments, including a decade of leading incident response and digital forensics. He is co-author of t...
Nov. 27, 2014 01:00 PM EST Reads: 1,704
The Internet of Things will greatly expand the opportunities for data collection and new business models driven off of that data. In her session at @ThingsExpo, Esmeralda Swartz, CMO of MetraTech, discussed how for this to be effective you not only need to have infrastructure and operational models capable of utilizing this new phenomenon, but increasingly service providers will need to convince a skeptical public to participate. Get ready to show them the money!
Nov. 27, 2014 11:00 AM EST Reads: 1,320
The Internet of Things will put IT to its ultimate test by creating infinite new opportunities to digitize products and services, generate and analyze new data to improve customer satisfaction, and discover new ways to gain a competitive advantage across nearly every industry. In order to help corporate business units to capitalize on the rapidly evolving IoT opportunities, IT must stand up to a new set of challenges. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Jeff Kaplan, Managing Director of THINKstrategies, will examine why IT must finally fulfill its role in support of its SBUs or face a new round of...
Nov. 27, 2014 10:00 AM EST Reads: 1,258
One of the biggest challenges when developing connected devices is identifying user value and delivering it through successful user experiences. In his session at Internet of @ThingsExpo, Mike Kuniavsky, Principal Scientist, Innovation Services at PARC, described an IoT-specific approach to user experience design that combines approaches from interaction design, industrial design and service design to create experiences that go beyond simple connected gadgets to create lasting, multi-device experiences grounded in people's real needs and desires.
Nov. 27, 2014 08:00 AM EST Reads: 1,282
Enthusiasm for the Internet of Things has reached an all-time high. In 2013 alone, venture capitalists spent more than $1 billion dollars investing in the IoT space. With "smart" appliances and devices, IoT covers wearable smart devices, cloud services to hardware companies. Nest, a Google company, detects temperatures inside homes and automatically adjusts it by tracking its user's habit. These technologies are quickly developing and with it come challenges such as bridging infrastructure gaps, abiding by privacy concerns and making the concept a reality. These challenges can't be addressed w...
Nov. 27, 2014 07:45 AM EST Reads: 1,558
The Domain Name Service (DNS) is one of the most important components in networking infrastructure, enabling users and services to access applications by translating URLs (names) into IP addresses (numbers). Because every icon and URL and all embedded content on a website requires a DNS lookup loading complex sites necessitates hundreds of DNS queries. In addition, as more internet-enabled 'Things' get connected, people will rely on DNS to name and find their fridges, toasters and toilets. According to a recent IDG Research Services Survey this rate of traffic will only grow. What's driving t...
Nov. 27, 2014 07:00 AM EST Reads: 1,531
Scott Jenson leads a project called The Physical Web within the Chrome team at Google. Project members are working to take the scalability and openness of the web and use it to talk to the exponentially exploding range of smart devices. Nearly every company today working on the IoT comes up with the same basic solution: use my server and you'll be fine. But if we really believe there will be trillions of these devices, that just can't scale. We need a system that is open a scalable and by using the URL as a basic building block, we open this up and get the same resilience that the web enjoys.
Nov. 27, 2014 06:45 AM EST Reads: 1,426
Connected devices and the Internet of Things are getting significant momentum in 2014. In his session at Internet of @ThingsExpo, Jim Hunter, Chief Scientist & Technology Evangelist at Greenwave Systems, examined three key elements that together will drive mass adoption of the IoT before the end of 2015. The first element is the recent advent of robust open source protocols (like AllJoyn and WebRTC) that facilitate M2M communication. The second is broad availability of flexible, cost-effective storage designed to handle the massive surge in back-end data in a world where timely analytics is e...
Nov. 27, 2014 06:45 AM EST Reads: 1,362
We are reaching the end of the beginning with WebRTC, and real systems using this technology have begun to appear. One challenge that faces every WebRTC deployment (in some form or another) is identity management. For example, if you have an existing service – possibly built on a variety of different PaaS/SaaS offerings – and you want to add real-time communications you are faced with a challenge relating to user management, authentication, authorization, and validation. Service providers will want to use their existing identities, but these will have credentials already that are (hopefully) i...
Nov. 27, 2014 04:00 AM EST Reads: 1,268
"Matrix is an ambitious open standard and implementation that's set up to break down the fragmentation problems that exist in IP messaging and VoIP communication," explained John Woolf, Technical Evangelist at Matrix, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held Nov 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Nov. 27, 2014 04:00 AM EST Reads: 1,225
P2P RTC will impact the landscape of communications, shifting from traditional telephony style communications models to OTT (Over-The-Top) cloud assisted & PaaS (Platform as a Service) communication services. The P2P shift will impact many areas of our lives, from mobile communication, human interactive web services, RTC and telephony infrastructure, user federation, security and privacy implications, business costs, and scalability. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Robin Raymond, Chief Architect at Hookflash, will walk through the shifting landscape of traditional telephone and voice services ...
Nov. 26, 2014 02:00 PM EST Reads: 1,653
Explosive growth in connected devices. Enormous amounts of data for collection and analysis. Critical use of data for split-second decision making and actionable information. All three are factors in making the Internet of Things a reality. Yet, any one factor would have an IT organization pondering its infrastructure strategy. How should your organization enhance its IT framework to enable an Internet of Things implementation? In his session at Internet of @ThingsExpo, James Kirkland, Chief Architect for the Internet of Things and Intelligent Systems at Red Hat, described how to revolutioniz...
Nov. 24, 2014 07:00 PM EST Reads: 1,745
Bit6 today issued a challenge to the technology community implementing Web Real Time Communication (WebRTC). To leap beyond WebRTC's significant limitations and fully leverage its underlying value to accelerate innovation, application developers need to consider the entire communications ecosystem.
Nov. 24, 2014 12:00 PM EST Reads: 1,646
The definition of IoT is not new, in fact it's been around for over a decade. What has changed is the public's awareness that the technology we use on a daily basis has caught up on the vision of an always on, always connected world. If you look into the details of what comprises the IoT, you'll see that it includes everything from cloud computing, Big Data analytics, "Things," Web communication, applications, network, storage, etc. It is essentially including everything connected online from hardware to software, or as we like to say, it's an Internet of many different things. The difference ...
Nov. 24, 2014 11:00 AM EST Reads: 1,781
Cloud Expo 2014 TV commercials will feature @ThingsExpo, which was launched in June, 2014 at New York City's Javits Center as the largest 'Internet of Things' event in the world.
Nov. 24, 2014 09:00 AM EST Reads: 1,812


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Narrow your search
Don't mistake it for a search engine, but Jelly delivers a fun and more personal information experience.
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Where did the infamous rock that seemed to appear out of nowhere on Mars come from? The explanation, it turns out, is more simple than sci-fi.
A self-described astrobiologist is asking a federal judge to compel NASA to take a closer look at a mysterious Martian object.
A mystery rock wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a doughnut appeared on Mars recently, and NASA's trying to figure out how it got there.
Jelly pairs photos with text to help you get answers.
Android 4.1-3, or Jelly Bean, holds a dominant share in the Android space, besting the latest version, KitKat.
Horizon all but eliminates the possibility of accidentally recording a vertical video with a view screen that automatically rotates to keep you in landscape.
At the same time, KitKat's bite has reached almost 2 percent, while Gingerbread is eating up a 20 percent share.
But Jelly Bean remains the top flavor of Google's mobile OS with a dominant 51 percent of all devices seen on Google Play.
At an event in San Francisco, Google today unveiled the next version of Android, and while it doesn't appear to be a major departure from the last, it does bring its share of improvements, including mult-user restricted profiles.
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The Middle East Channel
Obama Requests $500 Million to Train and Equip Syrian Rebels
U.S. President Barack Obama requested $500 million from Congress to train and equip "moderate" and "appropriately vetted" members of the Syrian opposition as concerns grow over the spillover of the Syrian conflict into Iraq. According to Obama, arming the opposition would "help defend the Syrian people, stabilize areas under opposition control, facilitate the provision of essential services, counter terrorist threats, and promote conditions for a negotiated settlement." Previous U.S. assistance to the Syrian rebels has been focused on non-lethal aid. Though, Obama suggested a plan to increase help for the opposition in May during a speech at the West Point military academy. The request for funding has come as the head of the opposition government, Ahmad Tohme, disbanded the Supreme Military Council over allegations of corruption within the ranks of the Western and Arab supported Free Syrian Army.
Iraq's top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called on political blocs to reach a deal on the country's next prime minister before the new parliament convenes on July 1. Prominent Shiite leaders are considering alternatives to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki due to growing concerns that he cannot lead an inclusive government. Iraqi forces have launched an attack on the city of Tikrit attempting to regain control from ISIL-led militants. Helicopters fired on a university campus, where one was reportedly downed after coming under fire. Human Rights Watch reported it has evidence from satellite images and photos from militants that ISIL fighters executed up to 190 captive soldiers after seizing Tikrit on June 11. Meanwhile, U.S. officials are continuing to evaluate intelligence on the ISIL offensive in Iraq from up to 35 surveillance planes and drones. Noting that it could take weeks to get a detailed picture of the situation, officials said that U.S. airstrikes do not appear imminent.
- Israel has named two members of Hamas as suspects in the alleged kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers.
- Libya's new parliament will convene in the eastern city of Benghazi in efforts to rebuild state authority where institutions have largely collapsed under increasing insecurity.
- Saudi Arabian authorities have reported over 100 more MERS cases dating back to February after analyzing hospital records.
- The Turkish government has submitted a reform package to parliament to revive stalled peace negotiations with Kurdish militants ahead of the August presidential election.
Arguments and Analysis
'Syria Faces an Imminent Food and Water Crisis' (Nouar Shamout, Chatham House)
"The deliberate targeting of water supply networks and related structures is now a daily occurrence in the conflict. The water pumping station in Al-Khafsah, Aleppo stopped working on 10 May, cutting off water supply to half of the city. It is unclear who was responsible; both the regime and opposition forces blame each other, but unsurprisingly in a city home to almost three million people the incident caused panic and chaos. Some people even resorted to drinking from puddles in the streets.
Attacks and counter-attacks have destroyed several waste water treatment and sewage facilities in the country. Damage to the sewage system in Aleppo, for example, has resulted in the contamination of drinking water. Warnings to citizens to boil all tap water were issued in the city this month. But, with the rising prices of black-market fuel, boiled water is itself a luxury that most of the besieged population cannot afford. Disinfection of the water supply system now needs a two-day fresh water flush, during which time the water supply would be inaccessible - making it a an unpalatable action, given the current water shortage."
'Maliki has only himself to blame for Iraq's crisis' (Zaid Al-Ali, The Washington Post)
"The second issue is that Iraq's system of government is parliamentary and not presidential. Personal popularity of specific politicians is in fact totally irrelevant to the question of who should become prime minister. The only legitimate criterion in parliamentary systems is in fact the ability to obtain parliament's confidence. In other words, the parliament and the entire political system must have sufficient trust in the prime minister to allow him to negotiate agreements and offer concessions. Without that reservoir of trust, a parliamentary system cannot function.
Based on that criterion (which is the only one that is applicable), Maliki is perhaps the worst candidate possible to occupy the prime minister's position, precisely because he will not be able to successfully negotiate any further agreements or convince anyone of his good faith. He only has himself to blame: In November 2010, Maliki entered into the Irbil Agreement, which allowed him to start a new term in office in exchange for a number of concessions and reforms, none of which he delivered. His unending series of broken promises have transformed him into the lamest of ducks, unable to convince anyone of his good intentions, even when he genuinely does promise reform. The hostility that he has engendered from those who do not support him will make it impossible for him to lead an effective administration."
-- Mary Casey
Mark Wilson/Getty Images


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2000 Palmyra Rd. Albany, Georgia 31701(229) 434-2000
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FRIDAY, Jan. 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Certain regions in adult brains still have a "childlike" ability to create new connections that can help people learn new skills and form new memories as they age, according to a new study.
Researchers compared gene activity levels in different parts of the brain and from people of different ages. They pinpointed brain regions in adult brains that had higher levels of activity of genes associated with the establishment of new connections between brain cells.
These same genes are highly active in young people's brains, according to the team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle.
It's believed that new connections between brain cells help adults develop new memories and skills long after their brain stops growing, explained the authors of the findings published Jan. 7 in the journal Cell Metabolism.
"We already knew that the adult human brain generally has more activity among these genes when compared with other closely related species, including chimpanzees and monkeys," study first author Dr. Manu Goyal, a fellow in neuroradiology at Washington University, said in a university news release.
"Our new results connect this activity to a form of energy production known to be helpful for building biological structures, such as the new nerve cell branches needed to add connections in the brain," Goyal added.
This form of energy production is called "aerobic glycolysis." The researchers are now investigating whether problems in specific brain cells that use aerobic glycolysis play a role in brain disorders such as autism and Alzheimer's disease.
"The ability to support the metabolic requirements of adult brain cells to create new connections may one day be important for treating brain injuries and neurodegenerative disorders," Goyal said. "We have a lot of work to do, but this is an intriguing insight."
More information
BrainFacts.org has more about the brain and aging.
SOURCE: Washington University, news release, Jan. 7, 2013
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The Annual Extraordinary: Stories from the Class of 2014
Congrats to the entire class of 2014!
Read more about these and some of our other extraordinary 2014 graduates.
Christopher Lionel Calderón of Providence. Civil Engineering. 2010 Valedictorian of Central High School; next up: grad school at URI.
"I have been challenged more than I expected by both my field of study and by the hardships in my life, one of which includes the loss of my parents. Everything is what you make of it. The gift I received from my mother: The importance of preparing for the future."
Sylvia Bogusz of South Kingstown. Communication Studies. Survivor of near-fatal hit from drunk driver in 2007; advocate for tougher drunk-driving laws.
"I don't get too excited about graduating because it's always been my goal to be successful. I'm not scared even when I speak before hundreds, but sometimes I cry because it's still emotional. I persevere. I don't want anyone to pity me. There's more to life."
Maria Briones of East Providence. Civil Engineering and Spanish. Built wastewater treatment facility in Guatemala with student group; next up: grad school, Peace Corps.
"Maybe I'll work for a government agency or maybe I'll establish my own organization to help people get access to drinking water. I understand the technical side of the issue and the health-related aspect, and I know I can help."
Dave Powers of Cumberland. Mechanical Engineering and German. Saxophone player, Ultimate Frisbee competitor, grad school candidate for industrial engineering.
"I don't want to make the motor of a car; I want to make the seats. It's more interesting to make something that has to account for the human, that works the way you want it to. When the average person uses a product, do they have to read the manual first?"
Matt Gusto of Bath, Maine. Master of Oceanography and M.B.A. Boat captain, former lobsterman, will work in maritime-technology and climate-change fields.
"A lot of things are going to be happening in the maritime world, especially with the Arctic opening up. There are so many industries that need people with both a technical and business background, and there aren't a lot of graduate programs that offer that."
Nancy Wilson of East Providence. Human Development and Family Studies. Lost son in street shooting; advocate against gun violence; plans master's in social work.
"People ask, 'You're going to a crack house to talk to kids?' But what's the worst thing that can happen to me? I've already had the worst thing happen. I decided to make something good out of it. URI's staff and teachers see value in my life. That's what keeps me going.''
William Janes Jr. of Newport. Kinesiology. Track and Field star (hammer throw, indoor weight throw, all-academic honors) and team captain; Elks volunteer working with veterans, people with disabilities.
"Some of my favorite times were traveling to meets with my teammates. Team awards are better than individual ones because everyone shares the victory. My dream career is to become a physician's assistant. I want to help patients with getting better."
Brianna Blank of Westbrook, Conn. Journalism. Editor of The Cigar; founder of student talk show on healthy eating, fitness; helped her mother lose weight.
"This is my passion now. You only get one body. You should treat it the best you can. I feel so much more comfortable in my skin now. There are times I look in the mirror and say, 'Wow, I actually did it.' If I can lose 150 pounds, anything is possible."
3 comments to "The Annual Extraordinary: Stories from the Class of 2014"
Nancy wilson comments:
I would like to congratulate all of the extraordinary fellow classmates of 2014. For some of us this journey has been challenging but in the end it was a rewarding experience. In life, obstacles are tools to strengthen us to overcome, so that we can move foreward and enhance our talents and gifts. There are people behind the scenes who have been instrumental in our success, although we, as students, are at the core. I would like to thank the teachers, advisors, and fellow students who bonded together to get us to this point in our lives.--Posted: June 23rd, 2014 at 8:41 pm
Nancy wilson comments:
While pursuing my MSW, I am seeking to lease an office space that will be a safe haven, as well as a learning environment, for disadvantaged youths or juveniles at risk. It will be a place to build self esteem and alternative behavior towards violence. Many of our troubled youths don't have positive role models or incentives that they are worthy of being successful. Sometimes people need someone to believe that their life is meaningful, before they realize the meaning of living.--Posted: June 23rd, 2014 at 9:13 pm
Nancy wilson comments:
Brianna, I am commending you on graduating and your weight loss story. Do you have a weight loss web page? I would like it if you could advise me on losing weight. I want to live.--Posted: June 25th, 2014 at 3:58 pm
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Learning Resources
January 21, 2014
Vexilar News
December 11, 2012
Thank you for your interest in Vexilar Marine Electronics. We hope to keep you up to date with the latest and greatest from Vexilar.
Vexilar Pro Staff at Your Local Retailers!!!
Vexilar Pro Staff will be at various retail locations throughout this weekend. Check with your local retailers for a complete list of schedules and events!! Expect one-on-one seminars and product demos, along with tips and techniques shared by ice fishing professionals and die hards! This will be a great opportunity to talk with leaders in the ice fishing industry!
Don't forget about Ice Fishing Today!
Now is a great time to check out all of the fun Ice Fishing Today episodes. This site a great refresher with a lot of great tips and tricks from many of the ice fishing personalities from the ice fishing industry like Dave Genz, Jason Mitchell, Jim Hudson and many more! IFT will be adding fresh clips throughout the season.
ONLY 3 WEEKS LEFT TO WIN IFT Vexilar PRIZES!!!
Ice Fishing Today prize giveaway only has 3 weeks remaining! Be sue to enter so you have a chance to win. Each week we will pick 5 lucky winners for 3 more weeks. The prize package for each winner includes:
This is a retail value of OVER $40.00 and it all could be yours for FREE if you register and you are the lucky WINNER selected! Register at www.icefishingtoday.com
REMINDER… Vexilar's Great Catch SWEEPSTAKES!!!
The Great Catch Sweepstakes have officially started and Vexilar will have weekly drawings from now through February 10, 2013. Each week there will be 3 lucky winners.
Check out the Vexilar website for more details!!! …
All winners will be posted on Vexilar Facebook and on the Vexilar web site.
Check Out Vexilar on YouTube!!!
We recently updated our YouTube page with a lot of fun and informational videos! Check out www.youtube.com/vexilarinc to watch the videos and learn more about the Vexilar line of products!
Connect more with Vexilar on Facebook!
Don't forget to visit and become a fan of the Vexilar Facebook page! Vexilar has jumped right into the social media network by offering a Facebook page to keep our customers up-to-date on current info and to provide the latest tips and Vexilar strategies!
Visit us at http://www.facebook.com/vexilarinc and join in on the fun!
Here you can send in your fun fishing photo's and participate in some future contests and win some Vexi gear!
Also, Vexilar now has FORUMS!!!
Stop in at http://forum.vexilar.com and register. It's FREE and take advantage of the available info from Vexilar Pro Staff and employees. Check out photos, fishing videos, latest info on products, FAQ topics and much, much more! Vexilar Pro Staff are constantly checking the forums to help answer your questions!