Cell phone Battery explodes in the Night

A New Zealand man awoke when his nokia cel phone battery exploded and burst into flames, the second suh incident this week.
James Niccolai, IDG News Service

A New Zealand man was woken in the middle of the night when his cell phone battery exploded and burst into flames, the second exploding battery incident reported this week.

Norman Sievewright said he was asleep in bed about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday when he woke to a loud bang and found his cell phone battery in flames on the carpet. The phone had been charging while he was asleep.

"It was very scary ... especially the fumes and stuff. The back has been blown off the phone," he told New Zealand's TVONE television news channel.

The phone was made by Nokia, which asked Sievewright to turn over the battery and charger so it can investigate. Until it has done so, "it would be inappropriate to speculate," a Nokia spokeswoman said via email.

In August Nokia issued an advisoryabout faulty batteries in some of its phones. It said 46 million Nokia-branded BL-5C batteries were vulnerable to a short circuit that could cause them to overheat while recharging, and offered to replace them for customers who are concerned.

Nokia did not issue a recall and said incidents had occurred with only a tiny fraction of phones -- 100 out of the 46 million. The batteries were manufactured by Japan's Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. and sold in a wide range of Nokia devices.

Nokia said it didn't know yet what type of battery was inside the phone in New Zealand, and attempts to contact Sievewright Thursday were unsuccessful.

Also Wednesday, police in South Korea said a worker may have died because his cell phone battery exploded in his pocket, the Associated Press reported. The man was found dead at his workplace in a quarry with a melted cell phone battery in his shirt pocket, according to the report.

The doctor who examined the man said the pressure caused by the explosion may have "damaged his heart and lungs" and led to his death, according to the AP, which quoted a local news agency. That phone was made by LG Electronics, reports said.

With close to 300 million cell phones sold in the world last quarter, such battery explosions are considered extremely rare.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140101/article.html?tk=nl_dnxnws

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a traditional North American holiday to give thanks for the things that one has at the conclusion of the harvest season. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada.

First Thanksgiving

The earliest Thanksgiving events were held in the British Colonies, at present day Berkeley Plantation in Virginia in 1619 and at Plymouth in present day Massachusetts in 1621.

A long weekend

In the United States, Thanksgiving Day, always a Thursday, is part of four- or five-day long weekend which usually marks a pause in school and college calendars. Many workers (78% in 2007) are given both Thanksgiving and the day after as paid holidays, and others with leave benefits are allowed to take a vacation day.^[1] The day after Thanksgiving is known as the unofficial holiday of Black Friday: the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Many retailers open very early (typically 5 A.M.) and offer "doorbuster" deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores.

Travel

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day, and the following Sunday, last day of the long weekend, are typically two of the heaviest annual travel days for passengers airlines, intercity rail and bus services, and highway travel.

Traditional celebration

Thanksgiving meals are traditionally family events where certain kinds of food are served. As is evidenced by the tremendous level of travel, significant effort is made by family members to gather for the Thanksgiving celebration. Family participation is notably inclusive ranging from the very youngest to the most senior. First and foremost, turkey is the featured item in most Thanksgiving feasts (so much so that Thanksgiving is sometimes facetiously referred to as "Turkey Day"). Stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn, turnips, rolls, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie are commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner, although it was quite probable that many of these culinary items did not feature in the first Thanksgiving in 1621.^[2]. Often guests bring food items or help with cooking in the kitchen as part of a communal meal.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving

A good friend is my nearest relation."

"A hedge between keeps friendship green."

"God defend me from my friends; from my enemies I can defend myself."

"Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes."

"Love is blind. Friendship tries not to notice."
-Sent in by Angela Kendrick

"The best of friends must part."

"Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friend's forehead."
- Chinese Proverb, (sent by Julio Fung)

"To have a friend, be a friend."
(sent by Julio Fung)

source: http://www.friendship.com.au/

Britney Bourne in L.A., in Paris

At least Britney Spears can let someone else worry about the holiday traffic this weekend.

In light of Friday's court ruling that prohibits her from driving her kids around, the beleaguered pop star is battening down the hatches, although her attorneys didn't detail what sort of new "security measures" the "Oops!…I Did It Again" singer is taking.

"Recent aggressive actions by individuals who have followed [Spears] and blocked her access, with and without the children, have resulted in her decision to take certain security measures which she hopes will only be necessary temporarily, for the protection of the children," lawyer Sorrell Trope said in a statement Monday.

"Ms. Spears hopes that she and Mr. Federline will be able to reach an agreement as to all matters concerning their children. She hopes that by not commenting on court proceedings the media attention in those proceedings will subside, which she requests for the safety and well being of the children."

Trope had no comment on reports that Spears had hired a private investigator to tail Federline.

Federline was awarded full custody on Oct. 1, and Spears is currently entitled to thrice-weekly supervised visits, including one overnight, with two-year-old Sean Preston and year-old Jayden James. She's still required to submit to random drug testing twice a week, and she has one hour to appear after being summoned by the court.

Her chauffeuring privileges were suspended Friday after the court reviewed paparazzi video of her running a red light with her sons in the car. She has also rolled over no fewer than three feet, including one belonging to a sheriff's deputy, over the past five weeks.

The 25-year-old has since employed a driver, who was spotted hauling her and her brood to the Four Seasons hotel over the weekend.

According to a newly released minute order from Friday's hearing, the judge has ordered the paparazzo who filmed Spears' red light run to return to court on Jan. 23. Spears and Federline, or their representatives, are also ordered to appear at that time. (View the minute order.)

As for Turkey Day, TMZ reported Monday that Spears will be celebrating Thanksgiving with her boys a day early, allowing Kevin Federline to take them on Thursday.

And it turns out that this isn't the only type of baggage that's been plaguing the pop princess.

A French civil court has ordered Spears' record label to pay Louis Vuitton more than $117,000 in damages over the pop star's use of one of the famed atelier's signature patterns in the video for her 2004 song "Do Somethin'" off of Greatest Hit: My Prerogative.

The suit named MTV.com, which allowed Francophiles the world over to watch the video, Zomba Label Group, which runs Jive Records, and its parent company Sony BMG as defendants. There was no immediate comment from the Spears contingent.

The video features Spears gliding through a heavenly sky in a pink Hummer tricked out with seats upholstered in Louis Vuitton's Cherry Blossom pattern, which has appeared on the fashion house's ultrapricey handbags and luggage.

But the eighth-most name-checked brand in hip-hop has enough exposure, merci beau coup.

According to the newspaper Le Figaro, the court tribunal, in awarding the damages and issuing an injunction banning the LV-flashing part of "Do Somethin'" in France, ruled that Spears in no uncertain manner spotlighted the brand "so that even a casual viewer would notice."

Louis Vuitton, now a unit of LVMH, argued in its complaint that Spears' association with the brand hurt rather than helped, both in sales and image.

While the ruling was issued in French, Louis Vuitton was basically stating that it didn't want its fancy-schmancy image mixed up with whatever message Spears was trying to send at the time.

And that was then.

(Updated Nov. 20, 2007 at 11:53 a.m. PT.)

source: E! Online (http://www.eonline.com/)