Back on How 2010 Changed Our Lives (INFOGRAPHIC)

As we come to a closer to ending the year 2010, we can’t help but look back and think about how our lives changed in a matter of 365 days. Technology and social media applications started to really explode, and it just keeps on growing. We’ve teamed up with Online Schools to take a trip down memory lane, remembering the good times, and the bad times of this event filled year.

(source:forkparty.com)

2011:Year you weren’t expecting

What does 2011 hold in store? It may well start with a flashback. Remember the Y2K bug, when the world’s computers were expected to shut down because they couldn’t handle the “00” in 2000? There’s another one expected this year. It’s known as the Y1C problem, and although equally serious, it’s confined to the island of Taiwan, which uses a calendar that dates year 1 from the founding of the Republic of China in 1912. For many computers in Taiwan, 2011 is the year 100, and with the “00,” chaos may ensue.

f you’re writing that down, make sure your marker is honeysuckle, which Pantone has designated the color of 2011. The year has also already been proclaimed the year of forests and the year of chemistry by the United Nations. You’ll be able to book tickets to two places you’ve never been able to visit before: a massive new Legoland in Dubai and the abandoned city of Chernobyl, which opens to tourists this year. If you’re Canadian, you’ll be able to pay for these using Canada’s new plastic money, set to be released in the second half of this year.

What’s that? You didn’t have any of that on your calendar?

When looking forward to a new year, all too often we focus on the big and the obvious: elections, royal weddings, Harry Potter movies. But a year is much more than that: It’s one enormous landscape of exciting events you had absolutely no idea were about to occur. What follows is the Ideas guide to the year in the obscure and unexpected.

January Chernobyl begins to offer official tours for the first time since April 26, 1986, when the worst nuclear reactor explosion in history devastated the region and made the Ukrainian city a byword for techno-dystopian disaster. Tourists can see both the nuclear plant and the abandoned nearby towns. It’s reachable as a day trip from Ukraine’s capital, Kiev.

January Van Halen is expected to begin recording an album with, for the first time in more than 25 years, original singer David Lee Roth.

January 9 The world will gain a new nation if voters in Southern Sudan choose independence in a referendum that begins today. The youngest countries in the world currently are Curacao and the Republic of Kosovo.

January 11 The Dali Museum opens in St. Petersburg, Fla. It will be home to more works of Salvador Dali than any other museum in the world. Costing $36 million, it will house 2,140 pieces of art and is designed to withstand a category 5 hurricane.

January 12 A new $1 coin debuts in Plymouth, Mass., depicting the hands of Governor John Carver and Supreme Sachem Ousamequin Massasoit exchanging a peace pipe. It joins more than 1 billion dollar coins already minted. Though most Americans rarely see them in circulation, they are very popular in Ecuador, which began using the US dollar as its currency in 2000.

(source:boston.com)

Top 11 stories to watch in 2011

1. Arlington's really big game

The yearlong drumbeat is reaching a crescendo with the final countdown to Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Feb. 6. This will be the biggest single event held in North Texas, with almost 300,000 visitors expected, half from outside the state. Out-of-town visitors are expected to create a sales tax bonanza for local merchants.

The National Football League has only praise for the work of the North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee, which has orchestrated this regional effort through unprecedented cooperation among the four major cities -- Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving and Dallas.

An allocation of $31.2 million from the state comptroller's Major Event Trust Fund is expected to ensure that taxpayers can enjoy all the worldwide attention created by the Super Bowl and not pay for any of it.

The only disappointing note is that the Cowboys won't be the first team to play a Super Bowl in its home stadium. They failed to make the playoffs.

2. Gas drilling concerns

The question of whether to impose stronger environmental regulations on natural gas drilling in the Barnett Shale -- to reduce air emissions and protect groundwater supplies from potential contamination -- is expected to be on the front burner again.

The Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state's oil and gas industry, has scheduled a Jan. 10 hearing in Austin on an order that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed against Fort Worth-based Range Resources. The EPA contends that Range natural gas wells drilled in 2009 contaminated two residential water wells in far south Parker County.

Range has said it doesn't believe its wells are the source of the contamination.

Fort Worth will spend an additional $402,000 to complete a study on the effects of natural gas drilling on air quality.

The Arlington City Council will vote to strengthen the city's 7-year-old drilling ordinance, such as limiting the number of years drillers can tie up a piece of land and setting other requirements to minimize effects on infrastructure, the environment and residents.

And in Southlake, city leaders have yet to give XTO Energy the OK to drill the first well site in the city. Another vote is scheduled for this month.

3. Tea Party momentum builds

The first Tea Party rally in Tarrant County took place in 2009, but the movement showed its political clout in 2010.

Different activist groups played a role in several Republican primaries and general election races. Now comes the hard part. At the state level, lawmakers will tackle a budget shortfall likely to top $20 billion.

Activists are calling for cutting spending and keeping taxes low, which could affect a wide range of popular state services. Tea Party activists have promised to field primary opponents in 2012 for Republicans who don't act like "true conservatives." But it remains to be seen whether the disparate groups can stick to the same message once debates flare over where to cut and how much.

The drama will likely begin in earnest Jan. 11, when some conservative groups plan a rally at the Capitol to coincide with the first day of the legislative session.

4. Will the school finance system get fixed?

While redistricting and a multibillion-dollar shortfall will take center stage during the legislative session, local educators are calling on politicians to change the way public schools are financed.

Officials with the Carroll, Grapevine-Colleyville and Keller school districts plan to collect letters and deliver them in person to legislators. And dozens of other districts statewide have followed the lead of Aledo and joined the grassroots Make Education a Priority campaign.

School districts have slashed budgets for fiscal 2010-11, and many have had to dip into savings to cover shortfalls. Deeper cuts are expected for 2011-12.

5. Grapevine-Colleyville investigation continues

The Tarrant County district attorney's investigation into theft and mismanagement allegations in the Grapevine-Colleyville school district should conclude this year, according to David Lobingier, investigator with the district attorney's economic crimes unit.

"The investigation is ongoing, and we want to take our time with it and be thorough," Lobingier said.

The school district launched an internal investigation into misdeeds in its facilities services department in March, resulting in the resignations of Scott Monaghan, the department's director; and two departmental employees. The district's relationship with primary job-order contractor Paul Hamilton was also severed. The investigation involved about $10,000 in missing district equipment, mismanagement of job order contracts and payroll discrepancies.

6. Pension changes loom in Fort Worth

At some point this year, the Fort Worth City Council will act to save the city's troubled retirement system from insolvency by voting on modifications to the pension formula for new general-fund employees. The vote could become the basis for the city's position when contract negotiations with police officers begin in late 2011. The Fort Worth Police Officers Association has vowed that it would never accept a two-tier retirement system for the force.

Two systems would divide the police force, said Rick Van Houten, president of the police association, and be demoralizing. "That's not good for my officers, and that's not good for our citizens," Van Houten said.

7. Be prepared to stop

Tarrant and Johnson county motorists will be dodging a lot of orange barrels in 2011 and beyond.

The $1.6 billion Southwest Parkway/Chisholm Trail Parkway toll road gets under way from downtown Fort Worth to Cleburne. The road is expected to open in the second half of 2013.

In Northeast Tarrant County, the $3.3 billion North Tarrant Express project -- including the revamping of Loop 820, Texas 121/183 and Interstate 35W -- starts this year and is scheduled to be complete in 2017.

And in Grapevine, the $1.02 billion DFW Connector project, which began in early 2010 on the Texas 114/121 corridor, is expected to take four years to complete.

8. Arlington Heights scandal lingers

There were allegations of students cleaning and doing work at the school for class credit, record tampering, an improper sexual relationship between a teacher and an assistant principal, unreported thefts and racial tensions.

All came to light last year during an investigation at Arlington Heights High School, which resulted in the resignations of Principal Neta Alexander and Assistant Superintendent Chuck Boyd.

The Tarrant County district attorney's office is investigating the use of booster club funds at the school, and the Texas Education Agency is conducting an attendance audit.

Meanwhile, Joseph Palazzolo, a former assistant principal, has filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against the district, saying he was fired for alerting officials to the wrongdoings.

Stayed tuned -- this one is far from over.

9. Reshaping downtown, Trinity River

More than four years after construction began, classes will begin this fall at Tarrant County College's Trinity River East Campus. The striking downtown facility, which features an outdoor classroom, will allow students to enjoy downtown and river views as they move through the campus.

Despite cost overruns and design changes, TCC officials have promised that the project will be completed under the $203 million that has been budgeted.

The campus will include a sunken plaza and a water feature that stretches from Weatherford Street toward the Trinity River.

And by the end of the year, just to the west, one of the first visible signs of the Trinity River Project, the Henderson Street bridge, is scheduled to begin.

This bridge will not replace the existing bridge over the Trinity River. Instead, it is being built to span the flood control and economic development project's bypass channel, which is projected to start construction in 2013.

10. M.D. program needs approval

Money has been raised and regents have approved a proposed M.D. program at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

All that's left is an OK from the Texas Legislature, which convenes this month.

UNT regents voted to proceed with plans for the program in August. The project has received many financial commitments, including $2.5 million from the JPS Health Network. About $25 million had been raised for startup costs by the fall, according to the health science center.

Despite that support, the M.D. program has also drawn critics who say it will detract from the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Classes are expected to begin in 2013.

11. Legislative redistricting

When Texas legislators return to work Jan. 11, one of their main tasks will be redrawing congressional boundaries to add four districts based on population growth registered in the latest U.S. census.

State lawmakers must determine where those new districts go and configure other districts to make sure that each has at least the required 710,767 constituents.

Many believe that at least one new district will wind up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

State representatives and senators will also redraw their own district boundary lines and those of the Board of Education. The Democratic-appointed Justice Department must review and sign off on the new maps. The new districts will be in place for the 2012 elections.

Staff writers Pete Alfano, Eva-Marie Ayala, Aman Batheja, Jessamy Brown, Gordon Dickson, Bill Hanna, John Henry, Shirley Jinkins, Susan Schrock, Jack Z. Smith and Anna M. Tinsley contributed to this report.

(source:star-telegram.com)

From dragon-shaped fireworks to prayers, globe greets 2011

MADRID — Dazzling fireworks lit up Australia's Sydney Harbour, communist Vietnam held a rare, Western-style countdown to the new year, and Japanese revelers released balloons carrying notes with people's hopes and dreams as the world ushered in 2011.

In Europe, Greeks, Irish and Spaniards planned to party through the night to help put a year of economic woe behind them. And in New York, nearly a million New Year's Eve revelers were expected to cram into Times Square to watch the midnight ball drop, just days after the city got clobbered by a blizzard.

Below's a rundown of some of the key events and traditions.

Australia

Multicolored starbursts and gigantic sparklers lit the midnight sky over Sydney Harbour in a dazzling fireworks show witnessed by 1.5 million enthusiastic spectators who camped out all day to ring in the new year.

Luxury yachts and smaller boats filled the harbour to party on the water, while others crammed into pubs, clubs and balconies with a view of the fireworks show.

At the Opera Bar Beach House, hundreds of people paid up to $500 for the view and a party with a beach theme.

"This has got to be the best place to be in the world tonight," said guest Marc Wilson, 41.

New Zealand

A few hours earlier, New Zealand and many South Pacific island nations were first to see in new year.

New Zealanders sang and danced their way into 2011, with firework displays and sold-out concerts entertaining revelers.

In the biggest city, Auckland, explosions of red, gold and white burst over the Sky Tower while tens of thousands shouted, danced and sang in the streets below.

In the southern city of Christchurch, thousands of partiers shrugged off a minor 3.3 earthquake that struck just before 10 p.m. and celebrated in Cathedral Square. The city has rumbled with thousands of aftershocks from a powerful 7.1-magnitude quake that damaged buildings across the city on Sept. 4.

Hong Kong

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered along Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor to watch fireworks explode from the roofs of 10 of the city's most famous buildings. Shoppers bustled among the glittering malls and hotels on both sides of the harbor as they waited for the midnight countdown in a night of cool, clear weather.

Taiwan

At midnight in Taipei, fireworks formed a spiraling dragon climbing up the city's tallest skyscraper.

Japan

New Year's Eve here is generally spent at home with family but those who venture out go to temples to pray for good luck in the new year. At Zojoji, a 600-year-old Buddhist temple in central Tokyo, thousands released balloons at midnight carrying notes with their hopes for 2011.

United States

In New York City, nearly a million revelers were expected to cram into the streets around Times Square to watch the traditional midnight ball drop. The 20-inch snowstorm that blanketed the city will be just a memory thanks to work crews and warmer temperatures.

At midnight Thursday — with just 24 hours to go — hundreds of people milled around Times Square as crews finished preparing TV sets for New Year's Eve broadcasts and vendors sold hats and noisemakers.

Among the tourists were students from Grand Valley State University near Grand Rapids, Mich., who were scoping out a good location for Friday night and marveling at the preparations.

"For sure, we're going to be here," said Ahmed Lachheb, 23, from Sfax, Tunisia.

"I'm going to be here near the closest restroom just in case," added Mohamed Azuz, also 23, from Tripoli, Libya.

Vietnam

This year marks the first time Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, officially celebrated the new year with a countdown blowout, complete with a light show and foreign DJs in front of the city's elegant French colonial-style opera house.

(source:msnbc.msn.com)

2011

2011 (MMXI) is a common year starting on Saturday in the Gregorian calendar and is the current year in Oceania, East Asia including China, and Eastern Russia, while the rest of the world is in 2010. It is the 2011th year of the Common Era/Anno Domini designation; the 11th year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century, and the second year of 2010s decade.

The United Nations has designated 2011 the International Year of Forests and International Year of Chemistry.

Predicted and scheduled events

2011 January

January 1 – The Y1C Problem will occur.

January 1 – Start of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union.

January 1 – Estonia is set to adopt the euro.

January 1 – Inauguration of Dilma Rousseff as President of Brazil, making her the first woman to hold that office.

January 1 – Civil partnerships will become legal in Ireland

January 2 – Conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus at 13:41 UTC, with Jupiter 34 minutes of arc to the south; the third conjunction of a triple conjunction.

January 4 – Partial solar eclipse visible over most of Europe, the Arabian peninsula, North Africa, and Western Asia.

January 9 – Southern Sudan will hold a referendum on independence.

2011 February

19 February – 2 April – 2011 Cricket World Cup will be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

2011 March

March 18 – NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft is scheduled to arrive in orbit around Mercury.

March 18 – NASA's Pluto probe New Horizons will cross the orbit of Uranus, after a five-year journey. This will be faster than Voyager 2, which took eight years.

2011 April

April 1 – The Space Shuttle will undertake its final mission before retirement.

April 29 – 2011 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships will start in Slovakia.

April 29 – The wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton will take place in Westminster Abbey on St. Catherine's Day.

Pakistan will launch its first space satellite.

The Universal House of Justice will announce the new Five Year Plan.

2011 May

Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, and Mars all visible within a roughly 6° area of sky.

2011 June

June 1 – Partial solar eclipse in the Arctic.

June 15 – Total lunar eclipse, mainly visible in Africa, India, and the Middle East.

2011 July

The Dawn spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the minor planet 4 Vesta during July. The exact date remains uncertain.

July 1 – Start of the Polish presidency of the European Union.

July 1 – Partial solar eclipse off the coast of Antarctica.

July 6 – The International Olympic Committee will decide the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

July 10 – Neptune completes its first full orbit since its discovery in 1846.

2011 August

August 15 – The comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková will pass within 0.0601 astronomical units (about 5,589,300 miles (8,995,100 km)) of Earth.

August 15–21 – XXVI World Youth Day will be held in Madrid, Spain.

2011 September

September 9 – October 23 – New Zealand will host the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

2011 October

2011 November

November 25 – Partial solar eclipse in Antarctica.

2011 December

December 10 – Total lunar eclipse, visible mainly in Asia, Australia and Alaska.

December 31 – All United States troops are scheduled to leave Iraq

2011 Unknown dates

California will open the world's largest solar power plant.

Several electric vehicles are expected to enter the U.S. market, perhaps most notably the Tesla Model S and BYD e6.

Predicted solar maximum (also predicted by other research groups for 2012).

The IPv4 unallocated address pool is projected to be exhausted.

The Nord Stream natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany will be completed.

Blue Waters, a petascale supercomputer being designed and built as a joint effort between the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and IBM is expected to be completed in this year.

A new definition of the kilogram, based on universal constants, is likely to be announced at the 24th General Conference on Weights and Measures.

Computer games on the subjects of climate change, medical innovation and women's rights will be developed in 2011.

Major holidays

January 1 – New Year's Day.

January 7 (6 in Armenia) – Orthodox Christmas.

January 14 – Makar Sankranti, Hinduism & Pongal, Tamil New Year - Says Thanks to Sun.

February 2 – Imbolc, a Cross-quarter day.

February 3 – Chinese New Year.

March 8 – Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras, end of Mardi Gras / Carnival season.

March 9 – Ash Wednesday (first day of Lent).

March 20 – Holi.

March 21 – (Northern hemisphere) Vernal equinox, also known as Ostara & Persian New Year

April 4 – Ugadi or Telugu New Year.

April 18 – Passover begins at sundown.

April 24 – Easter (Western and Orthodox).

May 1 – Beltane, a Cross-quarter day.

June 7 – Shavuot begins.

June 21 – Summer solstice (northern hemisphere), also known as Midsummer or Litha. Winter solstice (southern hemisphere).

August 1 – Ramadhan Begins — Islam.

August 1 – Lammas, a Cross-quarter day.

August 31 – Eid al-Fitr.

September 23 – (Northern hemisphere) Autumnal equinox, also known as Mabon.

September 28 – Rosh Hashana begins at sundown.

October 7 – Yom Kippur begins at sundown.

October 26 – Diwali, a religious holiday in India.

November 1 – Samhain, a Cross-quarter day and Neopagan new year.

November 6 – Eid al-Adha.

November 26 – Islamic New Year.

December 20 – Chanukah.

December 22 – Winter solstice (northern hemisphere), also known as Yule. Summer solstice (southern hemisphere).

December 25 – Western Christmas.

In fiction

2011 Film

Killer Tattoo (2001)

Millennium Mambo (2001)

2011 Television

In the television series FlashForward episode "Future Shock", the date March 14, 2011 is seen on a note during a blackout.

The Heroes television series visits 2011 in several different potential futures.

In the Aeon Flux film, 99% of the world's population is wiped out by a mysterious virus in the year 2011.

In Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles television series "Judgment Day" is predicted to take place on April 21.

2011 Computer and video games

Heavy Rain (2010)

Persona 4 (2008)

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (2010)

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)

2011 Literature

In K. A. Applegate's Remnants book series, 2011 is the year life on Earth becomes extinct after a 73-mile-wide asteroid nicknamed "The Rock" impacts Portugal. Eighty other humans are placed in a shuttle named the Mayflower mere hours before impact and put into artificial hibernation, while a handful of humans in shelters survive the impact on Earth.

(source:wikipedia)

Five Fearless Predictions for 2011

In Washington, 2011 is opening with a mixture of anticipation and dread. Things are going to be different than 2010, but we can't be sure exactly how.

In this moment of uncertainty, I can offer five sure things for 2011.

Media Steeped in Tea

Some of the very same reporters and commentators who spent much of 2010 pondering whether the members of the Tea Party movement were racists, corporate-backed phonies or militia nuts will find a strange new respect for the small-government enthusiasts.

It's won't be because the New York Times will suddenly be taken by the spirit of the Founding Fathers but for the same reason that conservatives so often find mainstream acceptance: for criticizing Republicans. As Tea Party activists complain about wishy-washiness of Republicans in Congress in 2011, they will find the doors to the media establishment thrown open to them.

It might be hypocritical for pressies who once discerned dark motives in the movement to suddenly be trumpeting its message, but that won't make it any less dangerous to Republicans looking to keep their base on board.

A Republican in the White House

As President Obama looks to recover his standing with disenchanted moderates and independents, look for him to find a GOPer to bring into his administration.

Obama appointed four Republicans to top jobs in his first three years.

He tapped Sen. Judd Gregg to head the Commerce Department, but Gregg walked away citing policy disagreements. Obama made former Illinois Rep. Ray LaHood secretary of Transportation, but LaHood's limited portfolio has kept him out of view. Obama also chose New York Rep. John McHugh secretary of the Army, another job with a low public profile. Obama sent Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman to China as ambassador, but the faraway posting did little to burnish Obama's reputation for bipartisanship.

As he continues his pivot to the center in the run up to 2012, Obama will need to show that there are Republicans with whom he can work.

Many have put forward former Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, an apostate Republican, as a replacement for Defense Secretary Robert Gates, expected to retire sometime in 2011.

Hagel is widely reviled on the right and had bitter disagreements with his fellow Senate Republicans, so it wouldn't do much in the way of bridge building. And since Hagel endorsed him in 2008, Obama wouldn't be seen as stretching very far. Plus, Hagel is famously headstrong and not known as a team player.

Other potential candidates would have to include Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe. Snowe faces reelection in 2012 and will surely suffer the wrath of conservative Mainers for supporting key parts of the Obama agenda. Plus, with her in his cabinet, Obama would enhance the chances of Democrats picking up her Senate seat.

Dems Break Away on Afghanistan

While President Obama has a large coalition of Republicans and moderate Democrats behind his Afghan war effort, he is on the brink of losing the mainstream of his party on the conflict.

The nation-building effort showed modest progress in 2010, but has also been beset by rising violence and weak allies. A series of reports on corruption in the Karzai government in Kabul and the instability of key ally Pakistan have reinforced Democratic doubts about the Obama surge strategy.

America's main ally in the effort, Britain, has will soon be reducing its presence and the aid from other NATO allies will similarly shrink as brutal austerity measures take hold on the continent. Europeans won't accept cuts to social programs and continued spending on the American-led war.

With tough going ahead and an increased share of the financial burden, liberals in Congress will increasingly buck Obama on his central foreign policy initiative. It's not likely to lead to Congress defunding the war, but it will further fracture Democrats. In fact, with Republicans at the helm in the House, the consequences of opposition will be lower and Democrats will have a freer hand to attack the war and Obama's strategy.

This division will complicate Obama's other efforts that will require Democratic support, including a possible deal with Republicans on tax simplification and entitlement cuts. It will also tend to dampen the hopes for change among the president's political base, much of which was drawn to him for his opposition to the Iraq war and Bush surge there.

Energy Back to the Fore

One of the consolations of a lousy economy has been low energy prices, but as a weak dawn of recovery breaks across the land, that comfort is disappearing.

Big demand for energy in fast-growing nations like China and Russia is driving up costs around the world, as are new regulations from the Obama administration, particularly on the coal industry.

Add to that increased domestic demand and you have the recipe for sky-high prices.

Economists worry that the energy spike, particularly if coupled with inflation in other areas, could kill off the tenuous recovery. But the politics will be interesting, no matter what.

On one hand, higher prices will strengthen Democratic arguments for energy alternatives. But they will also strengthen Republican arguments against any limits on existing sources, particularly President Obama's hard line on offshore oil exploration and new coal mining permits.

A Sordid Sex Scandal

Why should this year be any different than any other in Washington?

Happy New Year.

(source:foxnews.com)