The main difference between http:// and https://

THIS IS IMPORTANT................................

What is the difference between http and https?

FIRST MANY PEOPLE ARE UNAWARE OF

**The main difference between http:// and

https:// is it's all about keeping you secure**

HTTP stands for HyperText Transport Protocol,

which is just a fancy way of saying it's a protocol

(a language, in a manner of speaking) for data to

be passed back and forth between web servers and

clients. The important thing is the letter 'S' which

makes the difference between HTTP and HTTPS.

The S (big surprise) stands for "Secure".

If you visit a website or web page, and look at the

address in the web browser, it will likely begin with

the following:=2 0http://.

This means that the website is talking to your browser

using the regular 'unsecure' language. In other words,

it is possible for someone to "eavesdrop" on your

computer's conversation with the website. If you fill

out a form on the website, someone might see the

information you send to that site. This is why you

never -ever- enter your credit card number in an

http website!

But if the web address begins with https://, that

basically means your computer is talking to the

website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop on.

You understand why this is so important, right?

If a website ever asks you to enter your credit card

information, you should automatically look to see

if the web address begins with https://.

If it doesn't, there's no way you're going to enter

sensitive information like a credit card number.

WELCOME 2009

WELCOME 2009

NEW YEAR TRADITION

Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

The Tournament of Roses Parade dates back to 1886. In that year, members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers. It celebrated the ripening of the orange crop in California.

Although the Rose Bowl football game was first played as a part of the Tournament of Roses in 1902, it was replaced by Roman chariot races the following year. In 1916, the football game returned as the sports centerpiece of the festival.

The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.

Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to reevaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year with a baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus.

The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century.

Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.

Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.

Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.

22 wounded in GenSan blast

MANILA, Philippines--(UPDATE) An improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in General Santos City on New Year's Eve, wounding at least 22 people, an army spokesperson has said.

The IED exploded at Oval Plaza, General Santos City, South Cotabato at around 9:10 p.m. Thursday, said Army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner Jr. The victims were taken to different hospitals in General Santos City for medical treatment.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said that the explosion happened at around 9:20 p.m. and was caused by a hand grenade and not an IED.

Police also said that the explosion had injured 23 persons.

Both the PNP and military said that they have not identified any suspects behind the bombing as investigations are still ongoing.

Security forces have been on heightened alert for possible attacks by Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels who have been locked in intense battles with troops since August.

A grenade attack Tuesday on a police outpost in General Santos wounded a policeman and two other people.

The same day, a suspected militant transporting an improvised explosive device was killed when it went off at a police checkpoint near the town of Esperanza, also on Mindanao island.

BLOGGING

Blogging is something you can write what you want and feature different stories or interest that you may have. It is also a way or interacting with other people around the world and just by exchanging different ideas with them, you will learn a lot. Blogging is also a form of advertising to where you promote something. It could be a product, food, movies, songs and some other things that you are interested with. You can do blog advertising in a certain company's product on your blog and get paid or just simply make a buzz on it and very easy to do. Have you ever thought of that? Well, if not this is your time to start a new career online by way of blogging.

There are lots of website on the internet that offers online job but be aware of scam websites that will only use you for their own interest. Make sure that you are engage to a website that is trustworthy and has the capability to pay you from your hard work and Snapbomb is one of them. It is a new website that offers online job by way of advertising on your blog. You may find it so complicated to start but it's not. All you have to do is create your own blog and as soon as your done with your set up, go to http://www.snapbomb.com/bloggers.html?acp=7551 and register your blog. In fact you can enter as many blogs as you want. Once your blog is approved, you can now take opportunities to blog then get paid once your post is reviewed by the advertisers. It is very easy right and could generate income to your household.

Advertising on blog is a fun thing to do because you are not only earning but at the same time, it enhances your skills and could improve your writing. It is a great opportunity because you were given a chance to advertise a certain product. Blogging is also a way of blog marketing. It is something that you will learn in the long run of advertising because when it comes to blog marketing it means you are selling your blog to advertisers that you can work on.

Does it sound interesting to you? Join now and start your new career online by way of blogging and start earning some cash from your hard work and dedication. Happy blogging!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I JUST WANT TO GREET EVERYONE MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Philippines rejoices at Pacquiao's victory over De La Hoya

Filipinos watching the fight all over the country erupted in celebration De La Hoya's corner threw in the towel before the start of the ninth round.De La Hoya's left eye was closed shut after the eighth round, prompting the ring doctor, referee and his cornermen to decide that he had enough."You're still my idol," Pacquiao told De La Hoya after the fight in Las Vegas.

"No, you're my idol," De La Hoya said.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called Pacquiao to congratulate him immediately after the fight, according to deputy spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo.The president and the Filipino people would like to extend our profound congratulations to Manny Pacquiao," she said. "His boxing fit is testament to the spirit of the Filipino, our resiliency and strength to ace the challenges that come our way."

Press secretary Jesus Dureza added that while Pacquiao was the underdog in pre-match analysis, the local boxing icon showed "true Filipino grit and grace" in his triumph over De La Hoya.

"Manny indeed is making boxing history," he added. "We are all truly proud of him."

Cinemas and restaurants showing the fight live were packed with boxing fans despite the steep entrance fees, while thousands more jammed sports complexes and public gyms for free showings.

Even the military's main headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo showed the fight for free.

The streets of Manila were clear of traffic as most Filipinos were watching the fight, and police reported a decline in crime during the hours of the fight.

In Pacquiao's home city of General Santos in the southern Philippines, his mother led thousands in cheering for the boxing icon.

"I thank the Lord for he has been very kind to me and my son," Dionesia Pacquiao said. "I thank everyone who prayed for my son. Thank you all."

An exciting new development - what will they think of next?

Announcing the new Built-in Orderly Organized Knowledge device (BOOK).
It's a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric
circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so
easy to use even a child can operate it. Just lift its cover. Compact and
portable, it can be used anywhere-even sitting in an armchair by the
fire-yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM
disk.

Here's how it works: Each BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered
sheets of paper (recyclable) , each capable of holding thousands of bits of
information. These pages are locked together with a custom-fit device
called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. By using
both sides of each sheet, manufacturers are able to cut costs in half.
Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into
your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet. The BOOK
may be taken up at any time and used by merely opening it. The "browse"
feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or
backward as you wish. Most come with an "index" feature, which pinpoints
the exact location of any elected information for instant retrieval.

An optional "BOOKmark" accessory allows you to open the BOOK to the exact
place you left it in a previous session-even if the BOOK has been closed.
BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus a single BOOKmark can be
used in BOOKs by various manufacturers.

Portable, durable and affordable, the BOOK is the entertainment wave of
the future, and many new titles are expected soon, due to the surge in
popularity of its programming tool, the Portable Erasable-Nib Cryptic
Intercommunication Language Stylus...(PENCILS)

mp3 player buying guide

Finding the perfect MP3 player is harder than you'd think. Considerations of size, color, capacity, features, price, and compatibility, all need to be weighed before making a decision. Unfortunately, there's no perfect MP3 player for everyone. Even the most popular MP3 player option, Apple's iPod, is offered in a dizzying amount of colors, sizes, and configurations.

In this buying guide, we'll broadly define the two types of MP3 players on the market, and spend the following pages explaining what features to look for, different uses to consider, music compatibility, and the kinds of accessories you may want to purchase in addition to your music player.

First, let's look at the differences between hard-drive MP3 players and Flash-based models.

Types of players: Hard-drive-based | Flash-based |

Hard-drive-based players

Most likely, a high-capacity player can accommodate every song you've ever purchased or ripped from a CD. Hard drives run from 20GB on up, and large players such as the 120GB Apple iPod Classic can hold about 30,000 songs.

Hard drive MP3 players such as the Microsoft Zune can hold a luxurious amount of music and video.

Pros: They store all your music on one device. They also tend to have more features and larger screens and are overall easier to use. High-capacity players give you the best bang for your buck in terms of price per gigabyte (for example, $250 120GB iPod versus $200 for 16GB iPod Nano).

Cons: These players are usually built around a 1.8-inch hard drive; thus, they are larger and heavier than the others. Also, hard drives have moving parts, so these players aren't ideal for strenuous physical activity. Finally, most use rechargeable batteries (usually lasting 9 to 45 hours per charge) that you can't replace yourself, so after several years, you might have to pay for a new model or pay to get the battery replaced.

WALL - E 2008

Watch the Trailer

After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, Wall-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named Eve. Eve comes to realize that Wall-E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, Wall-E chases Eve across the galaxy.

Also Known As:	Wall E Walle
Production Status:	Released
Logline:	A young robot looks for a home in outer space.
Running Time:	1 hr. 37 min.
Release Date:	June 27th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating:	G
Distributors:	Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Production Co.:	Pixar Animation Studios
Studios:	Walt Disney Feature Animation
U.S. Box Office:	$223,280,427
Filming Locations:	Los Angeles, California, USA
Produced in:	United States

THE BATTLE IS ON

BOTH Golden Boy Promotion and Top Rank top executives are now downsizing and downplaying their earlier huge forecast on pay per view (PPV) buys for the December 6 (December 7 Philippine time) fight between Oscar dela Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. From a high estimate of topping or equaling the 2.15 million buys generated by the Dela Hoya-Mayweather Jr. ticket last year, the promoters of the Dream Match are now saying 1.5 million PPV buys would already be a 'smash hit' given the recession that is hitting the US economy.

Scalpers who anticipated to make a killing earlier cornered the live ticket sales are now reportedly having a hard time moving tickets valued at $1,500 where before these could command a pricey tag of up to $35,000 each.

That is why this corner has always prodded Pacquiao lawyer Jeng Gacal, a fellow 1977 graduate of the Marist Notre Dame school system in General Santos, to always include in the fight contract proviso of Manny a guaranteed purse clause.

For the Dela Hoya tiff, a $10 million dollar guaranteed pay slip plus substantial share on the upside of the PPV and other sales (live and close circuit television tickets and cable and free TV proceeds) were broached.


After all, it was money above all that made Team Pacquiao decide to take on Dela Hoya's offer aside from a shot at boxing immortality.

Dela Hoya's initial offer to Manny was a flat out 70-30 split on PPV buys that was promptly rejected by Team Pacquiao and which turned out to be a good decision.

The first generation of Chevy

1958–1960

First generation

The Impala was introduced in 1958 as a new, upmarket, sporty trim package created for Bel Air coupes and convertibles. Unique to the model were its six taillights, which set it apart from lower trim levels with only two lights on a side. This classic styling cue would become its trademark. The Impala became a separate model in 1959 in both two- and four-door versions and became the best-selling car in the Chevrolet lineup. For 1960, it became the best-selling automobile in the United States and held that position for the next decade.

The Impala featured body-on-frame construction, using the "X" frame used on other Chevys, as well as Cadillac. The exception for the six-taillight rear end styling was the 1959 model, which used the "teardrop" taillight shape as all other Chevy models had.

1958 Chevrolet Impala

1958 Chevrolet Impala convertible

1959 Impala convertible

1961 Chevrolet Impala

Chevrolet Impala Convertible 1963

The Chocolate Hills in Bohol

The Chocolate Hills are probably Bohol's most famous tourist attraction. They look like giant mole hills, or as some say, women's breasts, and remind us of the hills in a small child's drawing. Most people who first see pictures of this landscape can hardly believe that these hills are not a man-made artifact. However, this idea is quickly abandoned, as the effort would surely surpass the construction of the pyramids in Egypt. The chocolate hills consist of are no less than 1268 hills (some claim this to be the exact number). They are very uniform in shape and mostly between 30 and 50 meters high. They are covered with grass, which, at the end of the dry season, turns chocolate brown. From this color, the hills derive their name. At other times, the hills are green, and the association may be a bit difficult to make.

Legend has it that the hills came into existence when two giants threw stones and sand at each other in a fight that lasted for days. When they were finally exhausted, they made friends and left the island, but left behind the mess they made. For the more romantically inclined is the tale of Arogo, a young and very strong giant who fell in love with an ordinary mortal girl called Aloya. After she died, the giant Arogo cried bitterly. His tears then turned into hills, as a lasting proof of his grief.

However, up to this day, even geologists have not reached consensus on how they where formed. The most commonly accept theory is that they are the weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of a impermeable layer of clay. If you climb the 214 steps to the top of the observation hill near the complex, you can read this explanation on a bronze plaque.

How to get there

Plenty of tourist guides and tour operators will be happy to bring you to the chocolate hills, either as a separate trip or as part of a day tour. However, if you want to go here on your own, from Tagbilaran, you will have to go the integrated bus terminal in Dao and catch a bus going to Carmen. If you look like a stranger, you will have a hard time not finding one. At the entrance of the bus terminal people will point you to the right bus. Make sure it is the first one to leave, and ask the driver to drop you off at the Chocolate Hills complex, about 4 kilometers before the town of Carmen. From there it is a 10 minute walk along a road winding up to the complex.

To get back to Tagbilaran, you will have to walk back to the main road, and wait for a bus to pass by. The last bus from Carmen to Tagbilaran leaves at four P.M. Alternatively, you can use the services of the motorcyclists who often wait here for tourist, and ride 'habal-habal,' or motorbike taxi.

If you're coming from Tubigon (arriving from Cebu by boat), a few buses go to Carmen daily, but sometimes you'll have to wait for some time for the bus to fill up. When you arrive in Carmen, you can catch the next bus or jeepney in the direction of Bilar, Loay or Tagbilaran, or ask a 'habal-habal' driver to bring you to the Chocolate Hills Complex.

Where to stay

If you would like to stay in the Chocolate Hills, you have very little choice. The only facility is the Government run Chocolate Hills resort. Currently, this hotel is undergoing renovation and extension, but, since funds have run out, work on this is suspended, and you'll have to deal with the mess of a half-completed resort. However, the staff are friendly, and if you stay here overnight, seeing the sun rise over this bizarre landscape is worth the inconvenience. The place also has a still functional and maintained swimming pool, which is behind the unfinished building, a little bit downhill.

Unmatched Beauty

Unmatched Beauty

Getting Here

Sarangani can be reached by air and sea travels from Manila and Cebu via General Santos City. By land, Sarangani’s countryside is easily accessible. A paved national highway connects General Santos City to the eastern coastal towns of Alabel (15 min), Malapatan (25 min), and Glan (45 min); to the west, Maasim (30 min), Kiamba (1:10 hrs), Maitum (1:30 hrs), and Malungon (40 min).

Sarangani is a province whose unmatched beauty has yet to bediscovered. Few places are as splendidly endowed with natural resources that promise opportunities for development as this predominantly coastal province in the southernmost tip of the Philippines. Most of its treasures have remained untapped to this day including its 230-kilometer coastline strewn with awe-inspiring coves and rock formations.

Sarangani is full of wondrous surprises. Motoring across the province is as pleasurable as taking a breeze in one’s own paradise. A golf course in the valleys of Malungon offers some of the most challenging fairways in the region. It is also here where asparagus and tropical fruits are grown and dried flowers are made for the export market.

A sense of discovery overwhelms one when approaching the eastern municipalities of Alabel, Malapatan and Glan, which face the tranquil waters of Sarangani Bay. These towns have beaches wonderfully preserved by protective coves, and shipwreck diving sites dating back to Spanish times. The bay is more popularly known to be the home of the Sarangani Bay bangus (milkfish). Turn over another stone and one will find that the bay is also home to simple village folk who have lived their lives carving and painting their dreams in the boats they build.

While the province is intersected by General Santos City, the discoveries that await in the three western municipalities of Maasim, Kiamba and Maitum are as countless as the golden sunrises of the Celebes Sea. In 1991, anthropomorphic jars were found in Ayub cave at Maitum which have come to be known in world history as Maitum Jars. A sanctuary of the largest bats in the world can also be found in the same site. Endemic to the Philippines, over 180,000 giant golden-crown flying foxes can be seen dangling in the branches of forest trees during daytime.

With its back to the Daguma Range, the lush mountains of this province hold many of nature’s wonderful creatures including the tarsier, the smallest monkey in the world and its predator, the Philippine eagle. From its bosom also flows the purest freshwater sources and pristine waterfalls unsettled only by short dips of its native dwellers and a few daring adventurers.

It is amazing how one can still uncover treasures of the old world in a place like Sarangani. Let its limitless wonders unravel before you.

SARANGANI'S SEASCAPE

Plunge in deeper into Sarangani’s underwater world! A tank, mask, snorkel and fins are all what it takes to delve into that fantastic view of multihued coral ecosystem and marine fauna that abound.With the changing weather conditions, every snorkeling and scuba diving would certainly be unique from each previous engagement.

So experience that invigorating vibes while knitting through Sarangani’s haven of dolphins, whales, marine turtles, and the endangered sea cow (dugong) and make it a lasting glimpse to remember.The impressive covering of Acropora (branching corals) filling the seascape of Tuka Marine Park of Kiamba will certainly captivate you to no end.

Archaeologists at work in Maitum.

PREHISTORIC CAVES
Maitum Caves

Exploring through Ayub cave is like traveling back to the metal age of the Philippines, circa 500 BC to 500 AD. A unique and fascinating assemblage of archeological find (human faces and figures in earthenware medium) that depicts Sarangani’s cultural wealth was excavated here.

These potteries were used as secondary burial jars. Its coverings were molded as human heads emulating different facial expressions of happiness, contentment, and even a trace of desolation. Such were shaped artistically tracing the most conservative detail of the human face that can still be seen in the broken fragments of the jars outside the cave... retaining their natural color even up to now.

Some of the artifacts collected are now displayed in the National Museum while others are kept by some of the residents nearby the cave.

Ayub cave is made up of Miocene limestone formation. The opening is about two meters wide and two meters high, sloping downward to at least 20 degrees angle and extending a length of 11 meters from the entrance. But earthquakes, which cropped up sometime in 1970s to 1990s widened the cave’s opening.

Ayub cave is located at Barangay Pinol in Maitum, about 50 meters away from the national highway and approximately 30-minute ride from the Poblacion. Surrounding plants have, however, made this cave unnoticed.

CENTURY-OLD HOUSES

Set in seemingly-classical downtown Glan are several ancestral houses mostly built in the early part of 1900s. The imposing balconies, canopies, and walls of “kalados” and concrete stepboards leading to wide wooden staircases will certainly awe-inspire antique trippers.

Some of them even hold striking collections of prized oriental sets and other precious antiques displayed right in the drawing room. The municipal government of Glan preserves the ancestral houses taking pride of its ancestors’ birthright.

CAPITOL PARK

Visiting travelers cannot help but marvel at the grandeur of the Provincial Capitol Building, which also houses offices of national line agencies. They say it is unrivaled. Some of them even dubbed it the reenacted “White House” in Southern Mindanao.

To see the imposing Provincial Capitol Building becomes, in most cases, the object of some visitors in going to Alabel, the capital town of the province.

Equally drawing attention is the Kasfala Hall that accentuates even more the beauty and the value of the park. True to its Blaan name, which means “deliberation,” the well-designed edifice serves as a sheer witness to the many issues and concerns deliberated and resolved in seminars, trainings, conferences, consultations and the like.

Strategically enclosed in a 26-hectare lot, the capitol park is a huge landmark of untiring devotion and excellence by concerned leaders who were instruments of unification and development of its people.

Other facilities like the FVR rest house and pool, cultural center and gymnasium, training center, and sports complex complete its almost pronounced coziness.

SARANGANI GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB

The 18-hole Golf Course and Country Club at Sitio Pulatana, Malandag, Malungon lies in a well-landscaped of verdant grasses and trees. It is only a 30-minute leisure-drive from the town proper of Sarangani’s capital town Alabel and 40-minute from neighboring city of General Santos.

For golf fanatics, the place is just right to unwind.

Its two-story native-inspired refreshment cottage can provide an outright vista of the golf course’s backdrop, Mt. Matutum.

WINDCHIMES

WINDCHIMES

Wind chimes or Aeolian chimes are often hollow or solid metal, glass, or wooden tubes which are usually hung outside of a building and are intended to be played by the wind, which causes the chimes to strike each other or metal, wood, or rubber balls which may be hung in the centre.

Wind chimes produce inharmonic (as opposed to harmonic) spectra, although if they are hung at about 1/5th of their length (22.4%), the higher partials are dampened and the fundamental is brought out. This is common practice in high-quality wind chimes, which are also usually hung so the center ball strikes the center of the wind chime's length. Frequency is determined by the length, width, thickness, and material. There are formulas that help predict the proper length to achieve a particular note, though a bit of fine tuning is often needed. Wind chimes are thought to be good luck in parts of Asia and are used in Feng Shui. In Japan they produce pleasant ringing sounds and are hung by the windows during hot humid summers in order to bring cooling relief.

Chimes are also made of materials other than metal or wood and in shapes other than tubes or rods. Many people accept bamboo, stones, horseshoes, mechanics tools, PVC pipe, glass, seashells, old silverware, etc., as chimes. Every material makes a different sound. The sounds these make are not tunable to specific notes and range from pleasant tinkling to dull thuds. The idea seems to be that if it is moved by the wind and makes a noise, it is a wind chime.

The tone will depend on the material (steel, aluminum, brass, the exact alloy, heat treatment and so on), whether you are using a solid cylinder or a tube, and if a tube, the wall thickness. It may also depend on the hanging method. The tone quality will depend on how you strike a tube (with a hard object or a soft one, for example).

Note that with a whistle, such as an organ pipe, the pitch is determined primarily by the length of the air column. It is the air that vibrates. The pipe material helps determine the "timbre" or "voice" of the pipe, but the air column determines the pitch. In a wind chime, the pipe itself is being struck and the air column has little to do with things.

Chimes may be used to observe changes in wind directions. For instance, if a chime is positioned on the north side of the house only a north wind will move it. It may alert the inhabitants to a weather change. Conversely, for a south wind a chime is mounted on the south side.

A Brief Mystery: What are Short Gamma-ray Bursts?

October 20, 2008: For decades it was baffling. Out of the still night sky, astronomers peering through their telescopes would occasionally glimpse quick bursts of high-energy light popping off like flashbulbs at the far side of the universe.

These bursts seemed impossibly powerful: to appear so bright from so very far away, they must vastly outshine entire galaxies containing hundreds of billions of stars. These explosions, called gamma ray bursts (GRBs), are by far the brightest and most energetic phenomena in the known universe, second only to the Big Bang itself. Scientists were at a loss to imagine what could possibly cause them.

Right: An artist's concept of a gamma-ray burst.

Astronomers now know what the longer-lasting GRBs are: the collapse and explosion of an ultra-massive star to form a black hole at its core, an explanation first proposed by Stan Woosley of the University of California in San Diego. But there’s a second category of GRBs that still remains a mystery.

"The short-lived ones are very poorly understood. It's where the frontier [of research] is now," says Neil Gehrels, principal investigator for the GRB-detecting Swift satellite at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Gehrels and other researchers have gathered this week at the Sixth Huntsville Gamma Ray Burst Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., to discuss progress on this and other mysteries surrounding GRBs. Short gamma-ray bursts are a hot topic at today's sessions: agenda.

"We have had good evidence since the 1990s that the short bursts and long bursts were different classes," Gehrels explains. "It had to do with their gamma ray properties." Not only do the short bursts last less than about 2 seconds, the spectrum of light they emit is distinct. Gamma rays from short bursts lean toward the high-energy end of the spectrum, while long GRBs emit lower-energy gamma rays.

The differences were highlighted in 2005 when, for the first time, telescopes caught sight of short GRB afterglows. The fading debris contained no supernova, arguing against the collapse of a massive star. George Ricker of MIT, principal investigator of NASA's HETE (High Energy and Transient Explorer) satellite, famously likened a short burst on July 9, 2005, to "the dog that didn't bark."

Ultimately, the cause of short bursts is unknown. But scientists do have some good guesses.

Above: An artist's concept of a neutron star-neutron star collision.

The leading theory is that these bursts are extremely violent collisions between pairs of neutron stars. These stars aren't gassy, wispy giants like other stars — a neutron star is more like an atomic nucleus that's 12 kilometers across. Since the atoms that make up normal, "solid" matter are mostly empty space, a star made almost entirely of tightly packed neutrons is extraordinarily dense: a fingernail's worth of a neutron star would have a mass of more than a trillion kilograms. A neutron star's density and gravity is second only to a black hole. "When you have these two hard stars that run into each other, it's a very rapid fiery explosion. It's kind of like a crash."

So how could scientists know whether this explanation is true?

One way could be to detect gravitational waves. Before the two neutron stars collide, they would orbit each other as a binary system. Because their fields of gravity are so intense, the stars ought to send waves rippling outward in the fabric of space-time: gravitational waves. As the neutron stars spiral in toward each other, the frequency of those waves would ramp up in a characteristic pattern called a chirp signal.

"Scientists are trying to [detect] that now," Gehrels says. "It's the ultimate way of verifying the model."

Scientists at the Huntsville symposium are discussing the progress of gravitational wave detectors such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) located in Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana. By using lasers to carefully measure the distances between pairs of mirrors at these observatories, LIGO scientists can notice tiny changes in these distances that would occur if subtle gravitational waves were passing through the Earth.

Other possible explanations for short GRBs exist as well, but only hard data from experiments such as LIGO can settle what is the real cause of these mysterious celestial bursts.

Magnetic Portals Connect Sun and Earth

Oct. 30, 2008: During the time it takes you to read this article, something will happen high overhead that until recently many scientists didn't believe in. A magnetic portal will open, linking Earth to the sun 93 million miles away. Tons of high-energy particles may flow through the opening before it closes again, around the time you reach the end of the page.

"It's called a flux transfer event or 'FTE,'" says space physicist David Sibeck of the Goddard Space Flight Center. "Ten years ago I was pretty sure they didn't exist, but now the evidence is incontrovertible."

Indeed, today Sibeck is telling an international assembly of space physicists at the 2008 Plasma Workshop in Huntsville, Alabama, that FTEs are not just common, but possibly twice as common as anyone had ever imagined.

Right: An artist's concept of Earth's magnetic field connecting to the sun's--a.k.a. a "flux transfer event"--with a spacecraft on hand to measure particles and fields. [Larger image]

Researchers have long known that the Earth and sun must be connected. Earth's magnetosphere (the magnetic bubble that surrounds our planet) is filled with particles from the sun that arrive via the solar wind and penetrate the planet's magnetic defenses. They enter by following magnetic field lines that can be traced from terra firma all the way back to the sun's atmosphere.

"We used to think the connection was permanent and that solar wind could trickle into the near-Earth environment anytime the wind was active," says Sibeck. "We were wrong. The connections are not steady at all. They are often brief, bursty and very dynamic."

Several speakers at the Workshop have outlined how FTEs form: On the dayside of Earth (the side closest to the sun), Earth's magnetic field presses against the sun's magnetic field. Approximately every eight minutes, the two fields briefly merge or "reconnect," forming a portal through which particles can flow. The portal takes the form of a magnetic cylinder about as wide as Earth. The European Space Agency's fleet of four Cluster spacecraft and NASA's five THEMIS probes have flown through and surrounded these cylinders, measuring their dimensions and sensing the particles that shoot through. "They're real," says Sibeck.

Now that Cluster and THEMIS have directly sampled FTEs, theorists can use those measurements to simulate FTEs in their computers and predict how they might behave. Space physicist Jimmy Raeder of the University of New Hampshire presented one such simulation at the Workshop. He told his colleagues that the cylindrical portals tend to form above Earth's equator and then roll over Earth's winter pole. In December, FTEs roll over the north pole; in July they roll over the south pole.

Right: A "magnetic portal" or FTE mapped in cross-section by NASA's fleet of THEMIS spacecraft. [Larger image]

Sibeck believes this is happening twice as often as previously thought. "I think there are two varieties of FTEs: active and passive." Active FTEs are magnetic cylinders that allow particles to flow through rather easily; they are important conduits of energy for Earth's magnetosphere. Passive FTEs are magnetic cylinders that offer more resistance; their internal structure does not admit such an easy flow of particles and fields. (For experts: Active FTEs form at equatorial latitudes when the IMF tips south; passive FTEs form at higher latitudes when the IMF tips north.) Sibeck has calculated the properties of passive FTEs and he is encouraging his colleagues to hunt for signs of them in data from THEMIS and Cluster. "Passive FTEs may not be very important, but until we know more about them we can't be sure."

The Sun Shows Signs of Life

Nov. 7, 2008: After two-plus years of few sunspots, even fewer solar flares, and a generally eerie calm, the sun is finally showing signs of life.

"I think solar minimum is behind us," says sunspot forecaster David Hathaway of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

His statement is prompted by an October flurry of sunspots. "Last month we counted five sunspot groups," he says. That may not sound like much, but in a year with record-low numbers of sunspots and long stretches of utter spotlessness, five is significant. "This represents a real increase in solar activity."

Above: New-cycle sunspot group 1007 emerges on Halloween and marches across the face of the sun over a four-day period in early November 2008. Credit: the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

Even more significant is the fact that four of the five sunspot groups belonged to Solar Cycle 24, the long-awaited next installment of the sun's 11-year solar cycle. "October was the first time we've seen sunspots from new Solar Cycle 24 outnumbering spots from old Solar Cycle 23. It's a good sign that the new cycle is taking off."

Old Solar Cycle 23 peaked in 2000 and has since decayed to low levels. Meanwhile, new Solar Cycle 24 has struggled to get started. 2008 is a year of overlap with both cycles weakly active at the same time. From January to September, the sun produced a total of 22 sunspot groups; 82% of them belonged to old Cycle 23. October added five more; but this time 80% belonged to Cycle 24. The tables have turned.

At first glance, old- and new-cycle sunspots look the same, but they are not. To tell the difference, solar physicists check two things: a sunspot's heliographic latitude and its magnetic polarity. (1) New-cycle sunspots always appear at high latitude, while old-cycle spots cluster around the sun's equator. (2) The magnetic polarity of new-cycle spots is reversed compared to old-cycle spots. Four of October's five sunspot groups satisfied these two criteria for membership in Solar Cycle 24.

The biggest of the new-cycle spots emerged at the end of the month on Halloween. Numbered 1007, or "double-oh seven" for short, the sunspot had two dark cores each wider than Earth connected by active magnetic filaments thousands of kilometers long. Amateur astronomer Alan Friedman took this picture from his backyard observatory in Buffalo, New York:

On Nov. 3rd and again on Nov. 4th, double-oh seven unleashed a series of B-class solar flares. Although B-flares are considered minor, the explosions made themselves felt on Earth. X-rays bathed the dayside of our planet and sent waves of ionization rippling through the atmosphere over Europe. Hams monitoring VLF radio beacons noticed strange "fades" and "surges" caused by the sudden ionospheric disturbances.

Hathaway tamps down the excitement: "We're still years away from solar maximum and, in the meantime, the sun is going to have some more quiet stretches." Even with its flurry of sunspots, the October sun was mostly blank, with zero sunspots on 20 of the month's 31 days.

General Santos City

The City of General Santos (abbreviated G.S.C. or Gensan.; Filipino: Lungsod ng Heneral Santos, Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Heneral Santos) is a city in the Philippines. Situated in the southern part of the country, in the province of South Cotabato. The city has a population of 411,822 as of the 2000 census, making it one of the more populous cities in the Philippines. It is nicknamed as the "Tuna Capital of the Philippines".

General Santos City is bounded by three municipalities of Sarangani Province and two municipalities of South Cotabato, namely Alabel, Malungon, Maasim, Polomolok and T'boli. The city's economy is primarily agro-industrial. As a component of the SOCCSKSARGEN growth area, it has contributed much to the area's emergence as the country's leading producer of major commodities. Due to its rich soil, good rainfall and typhoon-free climate, the area is the largest producer of corn, coconuts, copra, pineapples, asparagus and rice. The area also produces other high value crops such as exotic fruits, potatoes, vegetables, cut flowers and okra. It accounts for the largest total daily fish landings in the country and is the leading producer of sashimi grade tuna. Residents boast that fish and seafood do not come fresher than in their city.

The Alphabetical: College Football, Week 12

A is for Altitude. Your one sentence summary for the weekend:

Blue-chip superpowers rage comfortably through the weakest slate of games this season.

Texas Tech and Oklahoma kept their respective points-machines in the garage this week. Alabama left no fingerprints in a heartless and clinical dissection of Mississippi State, a team that had won two straight against the Crimson Tide. Southern Cal let talent missiles loose against Stanford at the Farm. Florida staged a four-quarter mortification of their former coach at the Swamp. Ohio State pulverized a mistake-prone Illini team on the road.

Goliath had a good weekend, and Team Under Armour will have to wait until next week to stage plucky upsets. Steady state dynamics for the moment ruled, something the next two weeks should cure in short order.

B is for But! Minor ripples of interest, though, persist: Michigan sealed the worst season in its 129 history in a snowstruck loss to Northwestern, Steve Spurrier suffered his worst loss ever as a head coach in the Florida game, Maryland continued to play ACC Roulette by beating UNC, South Florida flopped spectacularly, LSU had to score 30 in the fourth quarter to beat Troy (the ones from Alabama,) Oregon State remained on the Rose Bowl track, and Boise State and Utah remained undefeated in lopsided fashion. This was a pig of a weekend, but you cannot prevent us from putting it in a tuxedo and calling it a gentleman nonetheless.

C is for Courtesy. Cincy head coach Brian Kelly is full of sportsmanship and good cheer. For evidence, please see the 7:45 mark in the video, where players hoist the keg of nails, shout some huzzahs, and then a grumpy man marches across the screen from right to left waving off some unseen, off camera person dismissively.

The man off-camera is Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe, who denied the traditional post-game handshake after a pre-game argument over Cincinnati having a prayer at the 50 yard line on the Louisville logo. Kelly was furious over the tiff after Cincy won 28-20 and took the inside track to the Big East championship. I'm sure he's a delightful man at parties, especially after you beat him at a game of Cranium or something.

D is for Deflated. USF's season, post-Kansas win: a proud, floating piece of engineering filled with explosive hot air. The October 2nd 26-21 loss to Pittsburgh: a man smoking carelessly on the foredeck. The result:



Or put in a mathematical sense, a 1-4 skid through the Big East with only a win against conference garbage scow Syracuse as comfort. Please put the reminder not to get too excited about South Florida into the electronic pal of your choice, and schedule it to go off somewhere around October 1st, 2009. We'll all need it again next year, too. From a friend who was at the game: "USF should have arrived to the game in a clown car." Six turnovers merit some big shoes and rainbow wigs, methinks.

E is for Excellence in Play-calling. Needing a TD late in the fourth quarter with 8 minutes left, Auburn opted for the following play sequence.

1st-10, UGa28 6:08 B. Tate rushed to the right for 3 yard gain
2nd-7, UGa25 5:41 B. Tate rushed up the middle for 4 yard gain
3rd-3, UGa21 5:12 B. Tate rushed to the left for no gain
4th-3, UGa21 4:13 K. Burns incomplete pass to the right

Two cardinal sins in one series occurred here. First, the hot hand, Mario Fannin, who rushed for 107 yards and had 2 TDs on the day, sat on the bench for the final drive. Why? The math-deficient answer from Tommy Tuberville:

"Ben was running the ball pretty good," Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said afterward.

Tailback Ben Tate finished with 37 yards on 14 rushes. He averaged 2.6 yards per carry compared to Fannin, whose average was 7.4 and whose big-play ability gave the Tigers a chance in the first place.

He was not running the ball well, and also was not running the ball with any sense or hope thanks to the offensive play-calling by the Auburn coaching staff, who attempted three straight runs into a keyed-in Georgia defense before hopelessly flailing away with Burns on fourth down. Tony Franklin was a problem at Auburn, but not the problem.

F is for Fat, and Occasionally Charming. He is so insufferably arrogant he is likely making the joke just to hear himself talk, but Charlie Weis did give quality quote after Navy pulled off two onside kicks in a 27-21 victory over Navy.

''I'm looking to see if anyone wants to be on my hands team next week,'' Weis said after Navy recovered two late onside kicks. ''Any volunteers?''

Weis also stubbornly ran 51 times against the 96th ranked pass defense in college football. Hey, a win's a win!

G is for Gutted. Losing by fifty is definitive enough, but all but conceding the game with a throwback play to go down 21-0 turned a romp into comedic farce for South Carolina. It was car-crash bad, a slow-motion disaster, so bad you had to laugh, and had "Yakety Sax" playing behind it even though no music was playing at Florida Field. Daring converted to lunacy becoming farce = this game.

H is for HBCU. Kudos and due plaudits forwarded to ESPN for taking a lackluster slate of national games and ditching them for a trip to FAMU in Tallahassee, giving some much-needed pub for HBCUs and their thumping football traditions including -- yes, obligatory mention -- the furious Marching 100 of the FAMU band.

Getting this nightmare fuel out of your head, though, will be a very difficult task.

MAKE ITS DEAD EYES STOP LOOKING AT ME -- deep breath happy place deep breath happy place ....

I is for Ice Station Zebra. In his crazy reclusive Vegas penthouse stage, Howard Hughes watched the film Ice Station Zebra over 150 times. The film focuses on competing Soviet and American submarine recovery teams attempting to find a satellite that crashes to earth in the Arctic in appalling conditions.

Forgive me for having Hughes flashbacks watching Northwestern/Michigan, a fight between three teams: the Wildcats, the Wolverines, and the elements. Snow fell throughout the second half, covering camera lenses and reducing the screen to a foggy haze of green, white, and sludgy browns.

The little bits of purple and white running around won 21-14 on two late passes by C.J. Bacher. While every account of the game will focus on Michigan officially locking up the worst season in the 129 season history of the program, please note the eight wins for Northwestern this season, and that their coach is 34 years old, and that these are all very cuddly and heartwarmings things for a program whose head coach dropped dead two years ago and could have taken the program's success with him if not for the work of a young and tenacious coach bent on keeping Northwestern alive. Triumph despite the elements is Northwestern football under Pat Fitzgerald. Let it snow.

J is for Jealousy. To the points-poor around the nation -- Hello, Auburn! -- direct all jealousy to Houston. Case Keening threw for six touchdowns in a 70-30 defeat of fellow blowout artists Tulsa. Tulsa coach Todd Graham had no comment on the game afterward, as he was in the bathroom talking to his agent on his cell phone.

K is for Kismet. Da'Rel Scott really was ready in his way in Maryland's 17-15 victory, but Chris Turner and his beautiful Little Lord Fauntleroy curls deserve mention for grabbing fate's coattails and not letting go on the final drive against North Carolina.

Down 15-14 late, Maryland embarked on the kind of drive you knew in your bones would score: 19 grinding plays, several invented from thin air by Turner, including a nine yard scramble on 4th and 5 and a 3rd and 11 reception pulled down by Ronnie Tyler on 3rd and long. The ACC is frustrating, but it is never boring in the fourth quarter. (Attention Gameplan: a "fourth quarter alert" for all ACC games would be a nice feature for next year.)

L is for Limpid. As in "absolutely serene and untroubled," and just the word to describe Jarrett Boykin as he uses his Tyree hand (e.g. his head) to catch this pass against Miami Thursday night.

Dez Briscoe of KU made a nearly identical catch in third quarter of KU/Texas, as well. Both deserve notice for outstanding circus catches made in service of middling squads, a.k.a the Calvin Johnson Award for Outstanding Service in the Name of 7-5ish Teams.

M is for Muddle. If you're wondering who's going to win the ACC, it's simple in that everyone and no one are basically alive for a title. Maryland leads the Atlantic Division right now, and Miami leads the Coastal after UNC's loss to Maryland. If both of these teams win out, they meet in the ACC Championship game in Tampa. See, isn't that easy? This is the ACC, and both teams will fail to do this, but it is a nice, tidy thought, isn't it?

N is for Name. Your name of the week: Cooter Arnold, wide receiver for North Carolina. That he and Tennessee quarterback Jim Bob Cooter never got to play on the same team and thus establish the legendary "Cooter to Cooter" connection is one of life's great crimes against you. Never forget this.

O is for Onslaught. Florida and USC both hit a point in their games Saturday where their talent differential kicked in and did the work for them. In SoCal's case, it was C.J. Gable galloping loose on a kickoff return against Stanford; in Florida's case, it was a simple Percy Harvin run turning a 28-3 rout with some competitive hope left into a travesty. Talent takes three yard gains and turns them into 70 yard game-breakers. It turns 17-17 into 45-23 in the span of a half. At its best, it is both horrifying and awesome at the same time to watch in action.

[Editor's Note: We assure you, Spencer did include a 'P' here, but we were asked to remove it. You will spend the rest of your life wondering what was written here originally.]

Q is for Quarkbacks, Unite. Subatomic particle-sized running backs are your new bicycle, and you love it. Florida's three-headed wonder midget of Rainey/Demps/Harvin tallied 265 yards and four TDs against South Carolina. Self-described "little dude" Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 144 yards and a score against a stout Cal defense. BC's Montel Harris, generously listed at 5'10", gouged 121 yards out of FSU's hide and scored a TD in showing them that yes, perhaps they should have recruited him out of Jacksonville. This is the era of the Quarkback, and Murray Gell-Mann will tell you all six flavors are delicious (unless you're an opposing defense, of course).

T is for Tim Brando Never Lie, Yo.

"America can't wait for that matchup, can they?" -- Tim Brando in reference to a possible Rose Bowl matchup between Oregon State and Penn State, who fought to a thrilling 45-14 victory over the Beavers earlier this season at Happy Valley. Sarcasm is the tastiest of rhetorics.

U is for Unpunctual. LSU was late and did not appear for their scheduled game with Troy University until the fourth quarter, where they scored 30 points to finally overcome a 31-10 3rd quarter deficit and save the Mad Hatter from extreme embarrassment at home. Most fans missed the comeback, as the stands were reportedly half-empty when the Tigers exploded to prevent the upset. Christmas gifts for LSU: we recommend a defensive coordinator, a colorblindness test for Jarrett Lee (who threw another pick six in this game), and that old reliable for Miles, white hat polish. (Never fails to please.)

V is for Victory Hurts. Blake Gideon, outstanding freshman safety for the Texas Longhorns, learns that sometimes even victory can involve getting knocked out by a rampaging running back like Kansas' Angus Quigley.

The arms twitching: that's the queasy part there. For the record, Texas is describing it as a hard hit and is "evaluating" Gideon's condition. (Meaning: it's a concussion, because when you take a walloping helmet to helmet hit and ride the invisible motorcycle like that, you're concussed, and will likely play next week anyway.)

W is for Walloped. With a shovel, specifically. Miami ripped six sacks out of Virginia Tech, doing it the way they do it in the 305: nastily with four down linemen bent on inflicting pain and humiliation on all they see before them. Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor ran like confused antelope all night, surrendering three sacks to Marcus Robinson alone. The game ended with Taylor being sacked by Allen Bailey, who once killed an alligator with a shovel. (Note: each time Allen Bailey's name is uttered, I will mention that he once killed an alligator with a shovel.)

Y is for Your Comeback is Due Any Day Now. Florida State's return to greatness -- the one promised under De Facto Coach Pro Tempore Jimbo Fisher and nails-hard offensive line coach Rick Trickett -- is once again postponed. We apologize for the delay, but Boston College ran for 176 yards on our vaunted defense despite the fact everyone was wearing black shirts because Nike asked them to for a "blackout." (The black out is 1-2 this year, BTW: Georgia, loss against Alabama at home; Utah, win over TCU.) We also promise not to lose homecoming to Boston College in the future if this is a preventable scenario, and thus not blow yet another shot at making the ACC championship game this year. Thank you for your patience. Signed, the Florida State University football program.

Z is for Zaniness. It is the official stated policy of the Alphabetical that watching Jim Tressel call an offensive game is like watching an old man attempt to break into a house in that is both wrong and poorly done. I'd rather get my teeth cleaned by someone in the grips of delirium tremens than have him call the plays for my football team. This is not because it is ineffective, but because it is suicidally boring.

Ohio State saves us from this in two ways. Beanie Wells sometimes does this ...

... and because Terrelle Pryor thinks college football is easy, and flipped lids once again with dextrous improv against Illinois in proving his own assessment of the game correct. Imagining Pryor's exploits in an offense capable of fully exploiting his assets- - like the one run by Chip Kelly at Oregon, for example -- will have us distracted for the rest of the year. For me this idea is like having Vida Guerra doing squats next to you at the gym, but in a non-lecherous football sense, of course.

Johnson wins record-tying 3rd Cup title

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Nothing could stop Jimmie Johnson's drive into the NASCAR record books. Not even a final, furious push by Carl Edwards.

Edwards led a race-high 157 laps, ran out of gas as he crossed the finish line, but still won Sunday's season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Still, his series-high ninth win of the year wasn't enough to wrest away the Sprint Cup title.

Johnson locked up his third consecutive championship with a solid 15th-place run, beating Edwards by 69 points to join Cale Yarborough as the only drivers in NASCAR history to win three straight titles.

"It's the ultimate reward. We worked so hard to put ourselves in this position," Johnson said. "It's just total teamwork and dedication. There were times this year when things were dark, but we buckled down and got to work and that's what it was really all about."

Yarborough won his three titles 30 years ago, under a different scoring system and in a very different NASCAR. He accomplished his feat when drivers scraped together the cash they needed to race, and the champion was the guy on top at the end of a long grueling season.

Johnson's titles have been won in the glitzy new Chase to the championship format, where the best 12 drivers compete over a 10-race sprint to the title.

Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team have mastered the system, proving themselves unbeatable in their pursuit of Yarborough's mark. They've won their titles with consistency — he finished outside the top 10 just twice in this Chase, a 15th-place finish at Texas — and by winning eight of the last 30 Chase races.

They've also gotten very rich along the way: Johnson has won more than $2 million in the 10 Chase races this year. Yarborough earned a combined $1.63 million in all three of his championship seasons.

Although the industry was keenly aware of its front row seat to history, the celebration seemed subdued because of the economic crisis that's finally found its way to NASCAR. The Big Three automakers are crumbling, car owners are struggling to find sponsorship, and widespread layoffs are expected Monday, when teams could combine to let go up to 1,000 employees.

Just this weekend, NASCAR said it would suspend all testing next year to help teams save millions in their 2009 budgets.

Had the crisis hit earlier, and the testing ban was in place this season, Johnson very well might not have won the title. He struggled at the start of the year in adapting to the full-time use of NASCAR's current car, so he and crew chief Chad Knaus embarked on an aggressive testing schedule that helped them catch the competition by late summer.

By the time the Chase began in September, Johnson drove right past them.

"It's what we work for, it's what we do," said Knaus, the first crew chief to win three consecutive titles. "We don't want to do anything but race and win races and win championships."

When Edwards won back-to-back races at Atlanta and Texas to take a bite out of Johnson's points lead, Johnson rebounded with a win at Phoenix last week to make Sunday's drive a mere formality. He needed only to finish 36th or better to win the title, but got off to a rocky start when he qualified 30th.

But Johnson moved to the top of the speed charts in Saturday's practices, then wasted no time driving through the field at the start of the race. He picked up at least one position a lap at the start, and was running inside the top-10 as the race neared its conclusion.

He stopped for gas and tires with 13 laps to go, leading to his 15th-place finish.

Edwards pushed it to the limit, knowing he had to win the race, lead the most laps and pray for Johnson to have some trouble to win his first title. But he was a gracious runner-up, and after his trademark celebratory backflip, he walked over to Johnson's passing car on the track to congratulate him.

"At least we can lay our heads down tonight and know we won some races and just got beaten by a true champion," Edwards said.

It was the second straight night Edwards won the race, yet still came up empty in the championship bid. He won Saturday night's Nationwide Series event, but came up 21 points short of champion Clint Bowyer.

Edwards' win Sunday chopped 72 points off of Johnson's margin and he was optimistic as he crossed the finish line, radioing his Roush Fenway Racing team "we'll definitely get them next year."

Kevin Harvick finished second and was followed by Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon, who finished the year winless for the first time since his 1993 rookie season. But the four-time series champion didn't let his own struggles dampen his Hendrick teammate's celebration, as Gordon walked to the victory stage to offer his congratulations.

Bowyer finished fifth and was followed by Kasey Kahne, Travis Kvapil and Casey Mears.

Tony Stewart, in his final ride for Joe Gibbs Racing after a successful 10-year run, wound up ninth after giving up the lead late in the race to pit for fuel.

"We didn't win the race, but they knew we were here and we showed why we've been champions and won 33 races with this team," said Stewart, who is leaving to run his own race team next season.

Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top 10.

Matt Kenseth, who won the 2003 series championship in the final year of the old points system, led late but ran out of fuel and finished 25th in his first winless season in seven years.

"We just can't seem to get things to go our way," said Kenseth, who was frustrated teammate Edwards could stretch his gas but he could not. "I don't understand how he can make power and still get that much better fuel mileage than us. I had such a big lead, I was just riding around."

The Classic Car Era

The Classic Car Era came after World War II, when men and machines were once again available and technology was at an all time high. Classic cars are generally thought of as vehicles built before 1970, when pollution control, economy and safety regulations had yet to become design and production issues. The Cold War, the Communist threat in Cuba, civil rights and Vietnam brought new strife to the American people in the 1960's, and new concerns for Detroit. As foreign automakers imported a new breed of compact, more efficient cars American automakers responded by dropping their trademark fins. Consumers eagerly accepted GMs' all new Corvair, Fords' Falcon and Chryslers' Valiant. The smaller cars went faster and the introduction of the Big Block V-8's assured Americans that the horsepower war was still on.

1955 Chevrolet Nomad

The American automobile industry began about 1900 and drove the US into the Industrial Revolution in the 1920's with replaceable parts and the assembly line. The first fifty years was an unruly time with an "anything goes" attitude by manufacturers and consumers alike. These were the years of The Great Depression, two World Wars, and the birth of labor unions. There were no government regulations and little regard for pollution or vehicle safety and today we think of it as the Antique Car Era.

As the American people recovered from World War I they embraced the assembly line techniques of Henry Ford and the Industrial Revolution was born. And for the next ten years, until the Great Depression in 1929, a new breed of pioneers like Ford, Daimler, Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge, Studebaker, Olds and Hudson led the way in a winner-take-all frenzy that created hundreds of limited production and one-of-a-kind vehicles, without standards or regulations, during the Vintage Car Era.

By 1964 the Big Three had stuffed V-8 engines into their mid-size cars and the Muscle Car was born with names like Camero, Firebird and Barracuda. Throughout this new profusion of speed and visual marketing AMC managed to hold on to a distant fourth place but in 1966 Studebaker closed its doors.

The American automobile industry was knocked to its knees in the 1970's by two significant events. First, the Clean Air Act of 1970 practically killed the use of high performance engines over the next few years. And then the oil embargo in the winter of 1973 encouraged consumers to conserve gasoline. By 1978 Congress had passed the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rule and Detroit was scrambling to comply. The gas-guzzlers of the past were replaced by smaller, more efficient vehicles modeled after the ever-present imports and an all new race for fuel economy supremacy began - marking the end of the Classic Car Era.