Can You Fix a Scratched DVD with a Banana?

 Watch the video here: http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/blogs/upgrade-your-life/fix-scratched-dvd-banana-175918542.html

I have two children; they have their favorite DVDs; and sometimes mommy needs them to be watching those DVDs.  So when the favorite DVDs get scratched and stop playing, it's a problem!

Whether it's DVDs, CDs, or game disks for your Xbox or Wii, there are ways to fix and buff out scratches. The Internet is full of solutions — claims that handy products you might have around the house will fix those scratches. So here are the unscientific results of my attempts to fix disk scratches with common household substances  — from best (#1) to worst (#4).

Methodology: I used two forms of scratched disks, ones that had small scratches resulting in a few skips or pixilation points on the disk, and then seriously scratched disks that wouldn't play at all in my DVD player.

#1 Car Wax
I took a fingernail file to a Barney disk (boy was that satisfying), and when I placed it in my DVD player, the screen read "invalid disk" (again, wonderfully joyful).

I put Turtle car wax (liquid form) onto a soft cloth and buffed the disk in an in-to-out motion (not wax on wax off /Mr. Miyagi style).  I rinsed the disk thoroughly and let it dry.

I placed the disk back into the player and, amazingly, it went straight to the menu and played flawlessly. The purple dinosaur rides again, and car wax did the job!

[Related: Worst Ways to Clean Your TV]

#2 Furniture Polish
I have always used Pledge furniture polish on scratched DVDs, and when I tried it on a minimally scratched disk, Pledge brought it back to life easily. But with a seriously scratched disk that wouldn't play, I had to polish twice with Pledge for it to come back to life. It was a close second to the car wax  — and it smelled better. I think any furniture polish would work; I just used what I had under the sink.

#3 Banana
WHAT? A banana? Yep, this was advised by multiple sites online, so I had to try it. First, I rubbed the banana itself all over the disk, then I finished by rubbing the waxy interior of the peel all around the disk's surface.  I cleaned it well with water, polished with a soft cloth, and let it dry.

The results were pretty good, especially considering I had such low expectations. The minimally scratched disk was good as new after the banana treatment. It does make some sense: that waxy stuff on the peel is pretty slippery — as I'm sure you know from all those years watching cartoon characters slip on banana peels.

But apparently, it wasn't waxy enough to fix the seriously scratched and unplayable disk.  Even after multiple banana cleanings including soft-cloth buff-outs in between, I couldn't get the unplayable disk back from the dead with just the Chiquita treatment.

#4 Toothpaste
Toothpaste, especially the abrasive baking soda kind seems too rough for removing scratches; I was worried it would add scratches of its own to the disk, but I gave it a try. On the minimally scratched disk, I rubbed very gently with Colgate as I tried to clean off scratches and scrapes. When I put the disk in the player, the area where the disk previously skipped was still skipping. So I tried again and this time used baking-soda paste and really rubbed it in hard. When I tried again, the skipping area played straight through — no problems. Turns out there is a fair amount of extra poly-carbonate layered over the data pits on the disk, so buffing can take a top layer off and minimize the scratches.

But when I tried the toothpaste trick on the seriously scratched and unplayable disk, it was completely unsuccessful at resurrecting it. I tried three separate times to buff with toothpaste and then rinse/dry, but it just didn't fix the disk.

Alternate Solutions

SKIP Dr.
If you have a lot of scratched or unplayable disks, it might be worth investing in something like the Skip Dr., which I bought for $30 online. You place your disks into it, crank the handle, and it uniformly takes the top layer of polycarbonate off the disk. It's a more abrasive solution than the toothpaste, and it worked on both my minimally scratched disks and the unplayable disk.

Trade-in your scratched DVDs
Both Walmart and BestBuy have trade-in programs for DVDs. At Walmart, you bring in a DVD, pay $2 per disk, and they give you access to that title via their Internet streaming service Vudu.  At BestBuy, you trade in a physical disk and they give you a $5 coupon towards the purchase of a Blu-Ray movie. Neither store says anything about scratched or unplayable disks, but they do have stipulations about original packaging and other limits, so do read the fine print.

Finally, whenever I write a story that mentions a brand-name product, I see in the comments that people think I'm being paid for the promotion. But no, I'm not sponsored by Pledge any more than I'm getting a lifetime supply of Chiquitas for this article; I personally tested each of these products and give you my honest recommendations.

We'd love to hear your crazy solutions for fixing DVDs. Post them on our Facebook page. If your idea is crazier than the banana, I'll be seriously impressed.

First look: Georgina is Ginebra's newest calendar girl

MANILA, Philippines – Model, host and product endorser Georgina Wilson is finally reaching out to the masses.
Following in the footsteps of her celebrity best friends Anne Curtis and Solenn Heussaff, Wilson appears on the 2013 calendar of Ginebra San Miguel, which sells alcohol-based products.
In a press conference on Friday where she was officially launched as Ginebra’s newest endorser, the Filipino-British model said she considers her newest project as a “milestone for my career.”
Wilson was selected based on a survey conducted by Ginebra.

Georgina Wilson was styled by Pam Quiñones for this shoot.

 

“I can’t believe na parang I’m number one in the lineup to be selected especially because I don’t have movies out,” she explained as she compared herself to the previous calendar girls.
“The fact that they feel that I can represent their brand, that the masa is aware of me and knows me, parang it’s really surreal and a huge honor,” added Wilson, who is a regular fixture in high-end fashion magazines.
Styled by Pam Quiñones and wearing sexy swimsuits that she chose herself, Wilson appeared in five photos shot by ace lensman Marc Nicdao for the 2013 Ginebra calendar.
A beach in the north, believed to be Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte, is used as a backdrop for the shoot, which had the theme of water sports.
“We went to a location up north which, as you can see, is not the usual terrain even if there are beaches and stuff. We wanted to shoot something different kasi usually down south ‘yung mga shoots,” she said as she points to one of her photos.
“I was very hands-on in choosing the outfits para maging sexy, like ‘yung mga bikinis that I like wearing,” she added. “And I like the theme of water sports because I think that to have that fun spirit and a body that you can be happy with, you have to be active in sports, you it was something na talagang fit sa calendar.”

Georgina Wilson in one of the photos shot by Marc Nicdao.

Asked how long she prepared her body for the shoot, Wilson said: “Two months. And it wasn’t easy.”
“As in wala nang sweets, dinedma ko ang rice, lahat-lahat na and I worked [out] every single day. So [for me] it was something that was a big project, both physically and mentally. And an honor, all in all.”
The new calendar will be available in supermarkets, groceries and sari-sari stores starting next month.
On showbiz
While she made a number of TV guestings over the past months, Wilson believes that her stint as a calendar girl is her first showbiz outing of sorts.
Now that she has made the first step, is she ready to venture into acting, similar to Curtis and Heussaff?
“If ever the right movie comes along or there’s a project or teleserye na bagay sa akin, I’ll be very willing to take it,” she said.
Asked if she is open to competing with her celebrity friends, the Filipino-British model said: “I really respect the careers of my friends… Anne and Solenn share their experience with me. They give me tips.”

Source:  http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1847239271191173881#editor/target=post;postID=8883186106139256390

Apple opens biggest Asian store in Beijing

BEIJING - Apple on Saturday opened its biggest Asian store yet in Beijing, with hordes of shoppers descending on the three-floor complex that highlights the growing importance of China to the US tech giant.

The shop, on the major shopping street of Wangfujing in the heart of the capital, covers an area of 2,300 square metres (24,750 square feet), according to Chinese media reports.

China is now the second-biggest market for Apple after the United States but the company has also faced frequent criticism for the conditions in which its products are produced in China.

The enthusiasm for the company's gadgets among the country's fast-growing consumer class was clear Saturday as shoppers quickly packed out the new shop shortly after it opened at 9:00 am (0100 GMT).

Around 100 people also waited outside to enter the store, Apple's sixth official outlet in mainland China, according to an AFP journalist at the scene. Many other shops in China are also licensed to sell Apple products.

The popularity of Apple in China is such that the launch of new iPhone models has in recent years led to huge crowds jostling to get their hands on the smartphones and spawned a black market in the gadgets.

The latest criticism to hit a company linked to Apple came earlier this week when Taiwan's Foxconn, which makes products for the US tech giant, admitted employing children as young as 14 on assembly lines at a plant in China.

It was the latest in a string of problems to beset Foxconn, which has frequently been targeted for its labour practices following a spate of suicides in 2010 that activists blamed on tough working conditions.

Apple has seen its sales soar in China.

The company took in $12.4 billion in China in the first half of the current fiscal year to March, putting the company easily on course to eclipse the $13.3 billion in Chinese sales in the prior 12-month period.

© 1994-2012 Agence France-Presse

Donaire arrives in Manila

ABS-CBNnews.com

Posted at 10/20/2012 9:50 AM | Updated as of 10/20/2012 10:07 AM

MANILA, Philippines – World super bantamweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire arrived in Manila on Saturday morning.

Donaire was happy to be back in Manila after his technical knockout victory over Japanese fighter Toshiaki Nishioka last week in California.

“I was trying to set up my punch. He was very defensive di niya ako binigyan ng pagkakataon until ma-upper cut sa 6th round nagiging offensive siya and then in 9th round became the last punch,” Donaire said.

Donaire admitted that he did not anticipate the fight to be that difficult.

“He was very defensive and when he becomes offensive magaling din siya. So di ko akalain na its going to be that difficult. But kung sa tv, parang easy,” Donaire said in an interview with dzMM.

The Filipino Flash said he was really on the lookout for the Japanese boxer’s powerful left straight.

“Alam ko na kapag magja-jab yung itatapon niya yung left straight niya yung pinakamalakas niya,” he said.

Donaire retained the World Boxing Organization and International Boxing Federation super bantamweight titles, while annexing Nishioka’s World Boxing Council diamond belt and the vacant RING super bantamweight title.

Donaire is not yet sure of what’s going to happen next after his recent fight.

“Hindi ko pa po alam for now pero sinasabi nila sa December daw or kung di magawa yun, next year,” he said.

Donaire will be busy promoting his Visayan movie, “Pala ta ang Nagbuot” (Our Fate Decides) in Manila.

Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/20/12/donaire-arrives-manila

Japanese Katana VS European Longsword - Samurai sword VS Knight Broadsword

Quick vegetable curry

If your aubergines are young and small, they may not need salting which makes this dish even quicker to make.
Ingredients
2 large aubergines, cut into quarters, thickly sliced
salt
good glug groundnut oil
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
3 large, juicy garlic cloves, peeled, chopped
finger-length piece fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into fine shreds
6-8 cardamom pods
1-2 good pinches dried chilli flakes
1-2 tsp ground turmeric
1-2 tsp cumin seeds
6-8 tomatoes, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
few good dollops natural yoghurt
dollop crème fraîche
small handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
small handful fresh mint leaves
Preparation method
Place the aubergine slices into a colander set over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 minutes to draw out the moisture from the aubergine.
Meanwhile, to a large pan over a high heat add the groundnut oil with the onions, garlic and ginger. Cover with a lid, lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes or so, until the onions have softened.
Crush the cardamom pods, extract the black seeds and lightly crush them in a mortar with a pestle. Add them to the same pan, along with the chilli flakes, turmeric and cumin seeds, and stir to lightly toast the spices (discard the empty cardamom pods). Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan, pour in enough water to cover the vegetables, and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a simmer, then cover and leave to cook while you cook the aubergine.
Rinse the salt off the aubergine and brown the pieces lightly on a hot griddle, working in batches if necessary. Add the griddled aubergine slices to the pan with the onions, tomatoes and spices, cover and simmer until the aubergine is very soft, about 25 minutes. Taste the curry, turn off the heat then adjust the spice-level by adding natural yoghurt and crème fraîche, to taste. Sprinkle over the chopped coriander and mint and serve.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/quickvegetablecurry_92583