Simple Halloween Pumpkin Carving Patterns Feature

Simple Halloween Pumpkin Carving Patterns Feature

Despite Hurricane Sandy, Americans are still determined to celebrate Halloween and continue the tradition. Many have already downloaded their printable Jack-O-Lantern patterns and stencils and are probably getting ready to carve them today.

We've scouted some Halloween pumpkin carving patterns online and here are some simple templates that we've found.

Despite being simple, these are nevertheless creative and very much into the season. Anybody can just do them without much skills as long as you follow the stencils available.

Below is a simple cat face pumpkin carving.

And a cat profile pattern, which looks difficult but actually easy to do.

And of course, for Twilight fans, here's a special Twilight pumpkin carving pattern feature.

Okay, the last one's not exactly simple and easy, but if you're a Twilight fan - I'm sure you'll have fun trying to do that one.

Have a safe and dry Halloween everyone.

Apple Launches New iPad, iPad Mini and More

Apple Launches New iPad, iPad Mini and More

The Apple announcement at the California theater in San Jose has drawn mixed reactions from people but the general sentiment has been positive, specially with the official launch of the iPad Mini.

We're giving you below the most important announcements that was given at the press conference, including the prices and specs of the iPad Mini.

The event started with Tim Cook giving some statistics on the iPhone 5 release and iOS 6 launch. Standard part of any Apple event.

The first news bit is the coming of a new version of iBooks which now has continuous scolling reading option and iCloud integration. There's sharing features of passages on Facebook and Twitter.

Next to be announced was the new 13-inch Macbook Pro now with Retina display and weighing at only 3.3 pounds. No optical drive on this one though. Price is at $1,699 and starts shipping today.

Up next is the new Mac minis which is now available at 21.5 and 27-inch versions. Then comes the new iMac, which is incredibly thin at 5mm along the edges. New iMacs will start at $1,299. Shipping starts in November.

And then we have the 4th generation iPad, which now comes with the Lightning connector and A6X processor. Looks like this is the "new iPad" and the iPad 3 that was launched last March is now the "old" one.

Then the iPad Mini with 7.9-inch non-Retina screen. The iPad Mini price will start at $329. Pre orders start October 26. Wifi versions ship from November 2 while 4G versions roll out two weeks later.

In summary, there's an iBooks update, new Mac Minis with updated processors, a new 13-inch retina MBP, new really thin iMacs, a new iPad, and of course, the iPad Mini.

Specs Summary of the iPad Mini

Specs Summary of the iPad Mini

Definitely the product that will bite out a big chunk of the Amazon Kindle and Google Nexus 7 market is the newly launched iPad Mini.

But what exactly are its specifications and how does it compare to the regular iPad, aside from its size.

Below, we've summarized the most important specs of the iPad Mini.

For starters, it's slim and lightweight, weighing at 0.68 punds, that's about 50% lighter than the 10-inch iPad. The new iPad can easily be held with one hand which is 7.2 mm thick.

The inside specs is very similar to the iPad 2, which runs with the A5 dual-core chipset. The display is 1024 x 768 at 163 ppi - so no retina display there... something we think is reserved for the next iPad Mini.

Physically, it's exterior is the same as the iPhone 5, which skinny bezel, the 8-pin Lightning connector and will come in either black or white with anodized aluminum case - just like the latest iPhone.

It will have 802.11 a/b/g/n wi-fi, with Bluetooth 4.0 and optional 4G LTE connectivity, with 10 hours rated battery life.

Moreover, the new iPad Mini will come with a front-facing FaceTime camera at 720p resolution and a rear-facing camera with 1080p video or 5-megapixel photo capabilities.

Like all iPads, it will ship with a 3-axis gyro, accelerometer, compass and ambient light sensor - making it backward compatible to all apps in the market.

It will ship with iOS 6, the updated version of iBooks and Siri.

The prices for the iPad Mini starts at $329 for the 16GB wifi, while the 4G LTE capable version will be at $649 for the 64GB version. Others specs will be in between those two prices.

So are you buying an iPad Mini? Do you think this will replace the Amazon Kindle as the most gifted electronic gadget during the holidays?

Easy To Make Halloween Costume Ideas 2012

Easy To Make Halloween Costume Ideas 2012

Last weekend saw several Halloween costume parties from around the world, but the celebration of Halloween is not yet over as the official date comes this October 31st.

If you attended a party last weekend, you probably already have several Halloween costume ideas which you can do for this midweek.

But of course, nobody really wants to spend that much on a costume, and there's very little time left to make an elaborate one.

Thus, we're giving you some cheap, easy to make last minute Halloween costume ideas for college students and adults, both men and women.

Idea 1: American 1920's costume. Go for that vintage look - sophisticated and classy. If you watch Mad Men, then you already have your basic peg.

Idea 2: For college students, it will be fun to come in your rival school's uniform or sport jersey. And just to make sure nobody will give you stern looks, stick a fake knife behind you and you'll get the approval of your fellow school mates.

Idea 3: What about dressing up as your favorite television character for Halloween? Everyone would probably be a zombie after The Walking Dead fame so we suggest going for Game of Thrones.

Idea 4: For women, put on a crazy, colorful wig and be a Nicki Minaj. She's probably the most recognizable celebrity fashion style today, next to Lady Gaga.

Remember that the most basic rule of Halloween costumes is to dress to impress and not so much as to scare people - specially if you're going to a party.

Look smart, witty and amusing and try not to look gross, morbid or ugly. You're all there to have fun and not to turn off people.

Weather Channel and YouTube Offer Hurricane Sandy Live Video Streaming

Weather Channel and YouTube Offer Hurricane Sandy Live Video Streaming

The U.S. East Coast is getting a beating right now as Hurricane Sandy churns out fierce wind gusts throughout the area and many are getting concerned of how this will affect them in the coming days.

To make matters more alarming, Hurricane Sandy is seen to join two other weather systems which could add to its power and possible affect around 50 million people in the East Coast.

At present, the superstorm is being felt in 19 states, namely, North and South Carolina, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.

The Weather Channel, together with YouTube, has provided a live video streaming of the latest developments to Hurricane Sandy which you can watch below.

PSEi Ends Flat As Country Prepares for Long Weekend

PSEi Ends Flat As Country Prepares for Long Weekend

Stocks traded higher for most of the day as month-end window dressing helped keep the PSEi in the green. However, sell-offs of index names during the last few minutes of trading pushed the index into negative territory.

The PSEi ended the day flat, drifting down 2.16 points or -0.04% to close at 5,424.51. Sectoral indices ended mixed with property (+0.80%) and holding firms (+0.46%) managing to eke out gains while mining oil (-0.56%), financials (-0.43%), and industrials (-0.20%) ended lower.

Services (-0.04%), on the other hand, ended flat moving down less than a point. Top index gainers include MPI (+2.99%), FGEN (+2.53%), and EDC (+1.99%), while URC (-4.00%), MER (-2.08%), and GLO (-0.87%) were the day’s laggards. Market breadth was skewed positively with 87 advances versus 75 declines and 48 issues unchanged. Value turnover was at Php 6.35 billion.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) reported that its net income as of September amounted to Php13.2 billion, with net interest and non-interest income combined surging by 17.6%. The unibank registered a 19.2% return-on-equity and 2.1% return-on-assets. Note that net interest income increased by 7.8% year-on-year, despite the prevailing low interest rate environment. The bank attributes this to the expansion of its asset base by Php50 billion, or +6.4%.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) has earmarked Php2.5 billion in capital expenditure for next year. This is for its expansion projects and road maintenance. According to MPTC Chief Financial Officer Christopher Daniel C. Lizo, this will be funded mostly by internal cash. Mr. Lizo added that the 2013 capex would include the Php600 million budget for the integration of Northern Luzon Expressway (NLEx) and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), though these would depend on the President’s approval.

Local government securities prices increased, still buoyed by the country's credit rating upgrade awarded by Moody's this week. In general, yields declined by an average of 4 basis points, led by the short-end and the belly of the curve which lost 10.8 and 1.1 basis points respectively.

The Philippine peso strengthened against the US dollar for a second day following an increase in remittances from overseas workers. News of monetary easing in Japan also boosted investor sentiment, increasing demand for emerging market assets. The local currency gained 2 centavos to close at 41.180.

Grand Theft Auto V Game Set For Spring 2013

Grand Theft Auto V Game Set For Spring 2013

The much anticipated Grand Theft Auto V game is set for a global release by spring 2013 as announced by developer Rockstar Games.

The new installment is set to launch for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and will be available for pre-order "everywhere" as early as next week, November 5, 2012.

From the past few months, Rockstar Games have been giving the public teaser screenshots of what GTA V would look like, which only added to the curiosity of the followers of the genre.

Moreover, Rockstar has not yet mentioned if the game will have a PC version, saying "We're currently focused on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game and don't have any details to share about a PC version at this time." through a press release.

Star Wars Episode 7 Set for 2015

Star Wars Episode 7 Set for 2015

Who knew there would be more? Indeed, the Star Wars saga is far from over as Walt Disney bagged the official rights to do the next installation of the George Lucas classic sci-fi movie.

Star Wars Episode 7 has been announced to be released by 2015 as Disney accquires Lucasfilm Ltd. after a $4.05 billion deal.

This now makes Disney home to the two most anticipated movies in the next few years, Marvel's The Avengers sequel and the continuation of the Star Wars epic.

Lucas shares, "For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next."

"It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime."

"I'm confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney's reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products."

Fans of the movie should expect not just Episode 7, but Episodes 8 and 9 as well every two to three years.

Looking For Last Minute Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas?

Looking For Last Minute Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas?

It's officially the day of All Hallow's Eve and our daily routine might have taken too much of our time to allow us to think of a good Halloween costume.

Nevertheless, costume ideas are all around and all you need is some fun attitude and creativity to get you through the parties going on around tonight.

Below now are some last minute Halloween costume ideas you can do at home for those who would like to join the fun without having to exert much effort.

Remember, as an adult in costume, you're probably dressing up because you're going to attend a Halloween party - which means there's no need to be scary, only creative, sexy or funny.

Easy Halloween Costume Ideas:

• Little "Dead" Riding Hood: Simply wear a red cape or sheet. Carry a basket and then, add some scars, gashes and blood make-up; then tell people that the Big Bad Wolf got you.
• Refrigerator Magnet: Great for the very last minute... simply paint a shoe box black or wrap it with a black paper or garbage bag; then attach it to your back.
• Kissing Booth: For guys who wants to meet girls, simply construct a booth using a box, with the opening of the top box facing forward. Add straps and make the box sit on your shoulders. Then spray paint the box and write “Kissing Booth”.

Again, it's a mistake to limit yourself to the scary stuff. Look around and get your inspiration from what's around or from pop culture.

Simple Halloween Party Food Ideas

Simple Halloween Party Food Ideas

Throwing a Halloween party tonight? Here are some food ideas you can serve to your guests.

The first thing you have to know is that there's really no special menu for Halloween parties. And in the end, it's all just about the presentation of your regular party food.

The secret to serving simple Halloween food is food coloring. So stock up on the colors of the season like orange, green and black and let your imagination take you to that spooky place.

For example, serve some "swamp juice" by simply adding black food coloring to your beverage, but from experience - orange juice works best with this.

The same can go for your pasta, which would look unique in black or grey sauce when you serve your "brain spaghetti".

Lastly, remember that in serving party food - your priority is to make sure that they actually taste good.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Anderson Live Not Coming Back For Third Season

Anderson Live Not Coming Back For Third Season

Anderson Cooper is neither sad nor happy when news broke out that his syndicated daytime talk show, "Anderson Live" won't be coming back for a third season.

According the Telepictures, a Warner Bros. division which produces the show, "We are extremely proud of Anderson and the show that he and the entire production team have produced."

"While we made significant changes to the format, set and produced it live in its second season, the series will not be coming back for a third season in a marketplace that has become increasingly difficult to break through."

Thus, the show is now just set to complete it's current second season run which ends in the summer of 2013 before finally going off air.

This news doesn't mean, however, that Cooper is losing his television charm. His news show, "Anderson Copper 360" still remains as the most watched evening show on CNN.

When asked about the news that "Anderson Live" is ending, Copper says, "I am very proud of the work that our terrific staff has put into launching and sustaining our show for two seasons."

Traditional Roasted Pumpkin Seed Recipe

Traditional Roasted Pumpkin Seed Recipe

One of the things you end up with when you carve a pumpkin are pumpkin seeds. And while those Jack O Lanterns will look beautiful outside your garden or in your living room, your kitchen will surely be a bit of a mess with these pumpkin seeds.

That's why, as a tradition, people learn how to make roasted pumpkin seeds which makes up for a nice snack at home or during Halloween parties.

Some prefer toasted than roasted, but we think they're just the same. But you can choose to make them salty or sweet, chewy or crunchy. And below, we have a simple and easy to prepare roasted pumpkin seed recipe.

Your first step is to clean the pumpkin seeds, making sure that all the pulp are removed. You can rinse it with cold water afterwards and let dry, preferably overnight.

Next, you season them in a bowl by pouring olive oil, salt, pepper and other preferred seasoning. Some like putting sugar, garlic powder or sugar along with those.

Toss the seeds and the ingredients in the bowl until the pumpkin seeds are well-coated and put it in an oven, a microwave or a skillet, if you prefer it toasted.

If you're using an oven, roast the seeds at 300F until golden brown. For the microwave, toast the seeds at high temperature for 3 minutes, then stir and repeat the process until it becomes light brown.

The more traditional roasted pumpkin seed recipe requires a large skillet where you just toast the seeds and constantly stir until the skin turns golden brown.

Photo credit: tinybanquet

Eurozone Unemployment Hits Record 11.6 Percent

Eurozone Unemployment Hits Record 11.6 Percent

Unemployment figures for the Eurozone hit a record high, clocking in 11.6 percent for September from a previous figure of 11.5 percent in August.

The 17-country economy, experts say, is showing signs of slow decline due to the three-year debt crisis which has plagued the region.

Currently, five countries are already in a state of recession - Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Cyprus â€" other nations are predicted to join them in the coming months.

"With surveys suggesting that firms are becoming more reluctant to hire, the eurozone unemployment rate looks set to rise further, placing more pressure on struggling households," says Ben May of Capital Economics.

Watch Air New Zealand Flight Safety Video: An Unexpected Briefing

Watch Air New Zealand Flight Safety Video: An Unexpected Briefing

People who frequently fly probably don't listen anymore to the safety instructions before the aircraft takes flight.

But if you're flying Air New Zealand, you'll probably wouldn't want to miss this one.

Just yesterday, this video was uploaded on YouTube showing a rather unique flight safety instruction video for the ANZ, through a partnership with WETA Workshop.

Entitled, An Unexpected Briefing #airnzhobbit, this video is inspired by the upcoming movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey which is set to premier worldwide on November 28, 2012.

Watch An Unexpected Briefing #airnzhobbit, Air New Zealand's safety video below.

Twitter Adding Instagram-Like Photo Filters

Twitter Adding Instagram-Like Photo Filters

Twitter has announced that it will roll out in the coming months, a new feature to its mobile app which will allow photo uploaders to use image filters.

In the past couple of years, many have used Instagram to share photos across various social networks, including Twitter. The simple but effective way that Instagram enhances often poor quality mobile photos, have catapulted the company to fame.

With Twitter, one may no longer need to use Instagram, or other photo apps, because you can now apply filters within the app.

While this is not the core strength of the micro blogging site, many say that this direction could prove to be a positive step towards engaging more users on Twitter.

In fact, since most smartphones nowadays have high-resolution cameras already, there's now a new need for users to simply add effects and filters to the photos and not necessarily turn them into lomography which forgives minor blotches and blurs in the photo.

As of the moment, it's still unknown when exactly these Twitter photo filters will roll out and what would be the official name of this feature within the app.

Apple iOS 6.0.1 Update Now Available

Apple iOS 6.0.1 Update Now Available

Apple today has launched the first bug fix update to its latest mobile operating system, the iOS, and rolled out iOS 6.0.1.

This version is a free update which fixes several bugs, particularly one which produces errors when installing software updates over-the-air for the iPhone 5.

The solution includes a special "iOS updater" app which will be installed for the update, then removed automatically once everything is done.

The full change log has been posted on the Apple website, below is a snippet of the announcement:

Fixes a bug that prevents iPhone 5 from installing software updates wirelessly over the air.

Fixes a bug where horizontal lines may be displayed across the keyboard.

Fixes an issue that could cause camera flash to not go off.

Improves reliability of iPhone 5 and iPod Touch (5th generation) when connected to encrypted WPA2 Wi-Fi networks.

Resolves an issue that prevents iPhone from using the cellular network in some instances.

Consolidated the Use Cellular Data switch for iTunes Match.

Fixes a Passcode Lock bug that sometimes allowed access to Passbook pass details from lock screen.

Fixes a bug affecting Exchange meetings.

New York City Marathon 2012 Cancelled on Wake of Hurricane Sandy

New York City Marathon 2012 Cancelled on Wake of Hurricane Sandy

The annual New York City Marathon, scheduled for Sunday morning, has been cancelled due to criticisms that the event would affect the city's efforts in recovering from Frankenstorm Sandy.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg first wanted the to push through with the marathon, saying that it would be a good way to tell the world that the city is moving forward strong from the recent superstorm.

However, other elected officials said that there are still a lot of cleaning up and aid that needs to be done, and holding the marathon could only take away manpower and energy which could otherwise be used to focus on helping the hard-hit residents of the city.

"We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, and so we have decided to cancel it," Mr. Bloomberg finally announced during a press conference.

"We cannot allow a controversy over an athletic eventâ€"even one as meaningful as thisâ€"to distract attention away from all the critically important work that is being done to recover from the storm and get our city back on track."

Reactions to the news are mixed, many are obviously disappointed that the marathon had to be cancelled. Many participants have come to New York from different cities and countries just to be in the event.

Set Your Clocks Back: Daylight Savings Time 2012

Set Your Clocks Back: Daylight Savings Time 2012

Daylight Saving Time or DST is officially ending this November 4, Sunday. For most Americans, that's at exactly 2:00 AM.

At that point, states who practice DST should set their clocks back 1 hour to 1:00 AM to accommodate the new time for the coming of the fall season.

Exempted from Daylight Savings Time are Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas Islands.

For those who don't know, the fall back for DST always happens during the first Sunday of November.

So be sure to update your clocks and watches this coming Sunday, or if you're going to bed early, just before you sleep.

Country Music Awards 2012 Winners Named

Country Music Awards 2012 Winners Named

The 46th annual Country Music Association Awards or the CMA Awards 2012 has recently concluded Thursday in Nashville.

Among the winners, Blake Shelton, Eric Church and Miranda Lambert came out on top with Church, taking home the most coveted trophy for album of the year.

Below are the list of winners for the 2012 CMA Awards:

Entertainer of the year: Blake Shelton

Female vocalist of the year: Miranda Lambert

Male vocalist of the year: Blake Shelton

New artist of the year: Hunter Hayes

Vocal group of the year: Little Big Town

Vocal duo of the year: Thompson Square

Single of the year: "Pontoon" - Little Big Town

Album of the year: "Chief" - Eric Church

Song of the year: Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton - "Over You"

Musical event of the year: Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw - "Feel Like a Rock Star"

Music video of the year: Toby Keith - "Red Solo Cup"

Musician of the year: Mac McAnally

Skyfall Movie Gives Bond Deeper Character

Skyfall Movie Gives Bond Deeper Character

Millions have flocked the cinemas to watch Skyfall and online reviews are generally positive for the latest James Bond film.

Many say that this is no longer the action flick that you've probably grown watching in the past decades of Bond movies.

According to movie critics, there's less tech and gadgets here, which has been a signature James Bond style, but more in-depth look at how a 007 agent thinks and feels.

However, the lack of gadgets doesn't mean there's less tech to see here. Although one thing we've noticed, there's no cheesy "Bond Girl" on this one, and very little CGI as well.

Which made Skyfall a great cinematic experience of raw action and sophisticated class.

That's our movie review for the latest Bond installment, so if I were you, I'd go now and definitely make some free time to watch Skyfall.