OverTheLimit

Microsoft’s ‘Bing’ search engine continues to gain market share against the big global search engine industry, but still trails Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. considerably.

Bing, who had their full launch last Wednesday though was usable to some for a few days before that, took 11.1% of U.S. Internet searches between Tuesday and Saturday, up from 9.1% in the comparable period the week before.

Bing search results will include Twitter, the person’s name, latest tweets in real time, along with an easy link to “See more tweets” from the person. The new feature came out slowly on Wednesday. Microsoft picked a “few thousand people to start based primarily on their follower count and volume of tweets.”

Bing was first of the three major Internet search engines to include this functionality, Bing’s move demonstrates the value Internet companies are giving to “real time” blogging services like Twitter, and possible forecasts an arms race as digital marketers try to make money searching through this content.. Real-time search, which is in its infancy, is viewed by Internet marketers as a likely source of future advertising revenue, due to the increasing popularity of services like Twitter.

It was reported earlier this week that Microsoft was planning a $80 million to $100 million ad campaign to promote Bing. Microsoft declined to comment on the report.

Global warming has resulted in a flock of wild sheep on a remote northern Scottish island to become smaller, according to an strange investigation published on Thursday.

On the average, wild Soay sheep on Scotland’s island Hirta are 5 percent smaller today than they were in 1985, according to a team of researchers led by Tim Coulson of Imperial College London.

He explains: “In the past, only the big, healthy sheep and large lambs that had piled on weight in their first summer could survive the harsh winters on Hirta. But now, due to climate change, grass for food is available for more months of the year, and survival conditions are not so challenging - even the slower growing sheep have a chance of making it, and this means smaller individuals are becoming increasingly prevalent in the population.”

The research, published in the July 2 issue of Science, says global climate change as a likely reason. Survival conditions on Hirta are becoming less difficult, which means slower-growing, smaller sheep are more likely to survive the winters than they once were.

The research team also says a ‘young mum effect’, whereby these smaller, younger animals are having relatively smaller offspring, because they are unable to produce large lambs.

“Sheep are getting smaller. Well, at least the wild Soay sheep living on a remote Scottish island are. But according to classic evolutionary theory, they should have been getting bigger, because larger sheep tend to be more likely to survive and reproduce than smaller ones, and offspring tend to resemble their parents,” said co-author, Tim Coulson of Imperial College London.

A new study released by two health advocacy groups proves that American adults and child are continuing on the path of obesity, with rates higher than those of last year’s.

Not one state was able to make a decrease in the obesity rate, and worse, three of every ten children living in 30 states are considered obese, said Jeff Levi, PhD, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health, which compiled the “F as in Fat” report with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The report also shows that the rate of obesity, throughout the U.S., is higher among 55-to-64-year-olds than among those 65-years-and-older.

Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity at 32.5 percent, taking the price for the fifth year in a row that the state topped the list. Four states currently have rates higher than 30 percent, West Virginia (31.2 percent), Alabama (31.1 percent) and Tennessee (30.2 percent). 8 of the 10 states with the highest percentage of obese
adults are in the South. Colorado continued to have the lowest percentage of obese adults at 18.9 percent.

With the high obesity rate, the U.S. government will miss its goal of halving the overall obesity rate to 15 per cent by next year, the report’s authors note.

Not only is this not good for our own wellbeing as obesity can lead to elevated cases of diabetes and other health-related problems, but it almost certainly will mean more problems for our health-care system.

“Our health-care costs have grown along with our waistlines,” said Jeff Levi, Ph.D., executive director of Trust for America’s Health. “The obesity epidemic is a big contributor to the skyrocketing health-care costs in the United States. How are we going to compete with the rest of the world if our economy and workforce are weighed down by bad health?”

Sorry ladies but Kevin Jonas has announced his engagement to girlfriend Danielle Deleasa.

Kevin surprised everyone Danielle as he proposed on her door step in fine romantic style. Close associates of Kevin says that he was bent on one knee while proposing to Danielle. The singer asked the question while presenting the former hairdresser with a cushion-cut diamond ring he co-designed with Jacob & Co.

“She said yes, yes, yes like 500 times super fast in a row,” Kevin - the oldest Jonas Brother at just 21 - said proudly.

“It was tough performing last night, knowing that I was going to ask the biggest question in my life to the most amazing girl in the world,” Kevin told People.

The newly engaged couple have been together for over two years, after meeting while on holidays in the Bahamas.

Kevin’s parents Denise and Kevin Sr said their hearts are filled with joy and that it will be a blessing to have Danielle join their family.

The other band-members younger brothers, Joe and Nick, have used Twitter to congratulate the happy couple saying “Congrats big brother…..Dani welcome to the family, we can’t wait to have you join us on the road!”

“She claims I am the one, but the kid is not my son,” as the lyrics of the popular song Billie Jean, resound again and again, perhaps this was a message that had more truth in it than we might have suspected.

As new investigation surfaces, reports are alleging that Michael Jackson did not biologically father any of the children who are now under temporary custody of Jackson’s mother. The reports clam that Michael Jackson’s dermatologist is really the father of the children.

The reports also claim that Debbie Rowe who worked for the dermatologist as a nurse in his office is also not the biological mother of the children, Michael who is 12 and Paris who is 11.

The newest reports of the children’s parentage come amidst the already tangled web of allegations that Michael’s death may have been the result of foul play. Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael’s personal physician, is a major player in the suspicions surrounding the allegations of how and why the 50 year old succumbed.

Michael’s father, Joe Jackson, alluded to the fact that his son would be bigger in death than he was in life, and as long as these investigations go on revealing more and more hidden facts about the superstar’s odd life and the confusion surrounding his death and its causes, he may very well be correct.

The private funeral service for former Charlie’s Angel Star and longtime lover of Ryan O’Neal, will take place on this coming Tuesday, June 30th, at 4PM PT at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles. Fawcett fought long and hard to overcome her bout with cancer, her faith in God, an enduring, strong hope for survival. She did experience a remission of the anal cancer for a short time in 2006, only to have it return a few months later.

Over the years of their relationship since 1982, Ryan O’Neal had proposed to Farah Fawcett several times, but it was his recent marriage proposal that she finally accepted that will unfortunately never come to fruition. They share a 25 year old son, Redmond O’Neal, who in April visited his ailing mother in prison shackles due to a drug charge for which he faced imprisonment. His arrest came after his mother’s diagnosis, so one must wonder whether turning to drugs might have been the result of his distress over the devastating news. The strain of the lawsuit had to have been difficult for Farrah during this critical period. As former co-star of Charlie’s Angels, Jaclyn Smith said, “Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith. And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels.”

Michael Jackson is dead and that’s a sad fact for many of his millions of fans and even many of those who were not fans. That, however, is the only thing about the reclusive pop star’s life that is a fact at this time. Everyone from close family to fanatic fans are at a loss for what happened and what was actually going on inside the music icon’s life at the time of his death. It would seem that those who worked closely with Mr. Jackson should know but if they do as individuals as a group it is as confusing a message as any—mixed signals, jumbled statements, and accusations fly from every direction. Will the world ever really know what was going on with Michael Jackson or the events leading up to his unexpected death only a few weeks before his huge comeback concert series was set to kick off? It’s doubtful. Like in life, in death Michael Jackson remains reclusive and mysterious.

Along with the millions of questions of how and why he died there are questions about his estate, and most important of all what will become of his three small children. He left behind 2 sons and a daughter, Prince Michael I, Paris Katherine, and Prince Michael II (often known as Blanket). The eldest two are children of his second marriage to Debbie Rowe and it is thought she still has her parental rights and could seek custody. There is a double tragedy in that if it were to occur: first the children, by all accounts, are not that familiar with Ms. Rowe, and second it would split up the siblings leaving the youngest most likely in the hands of his grandparents Katherine and Joseph Jackson. Michael’s parents and his extensive family support the children staying with their grandparents whom they know well and are now being consoled by as they grief their father.

Michael Jackson was known to the world as many things, but primarily as a master of music and dance who transformed the art and the industry in ways it will always be impacted by. To his family he was so much more, a son, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend. To his children he was simply: daddy. He was a man of many talents, secrets, and inner demons but he will always be a shining star.

The iconic Farrah Fawcett, has died of cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 62. She had been battling the disease since 2006

Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in September 2006 and, despite going into remission and going through extensive chemotherapy and surgery both in the U.S. As well as Germany, it was confirmed earlier this year that the cancer had spread to her liver. She stopped taking treatment in May.

Fawcett’s early film career had many ups and downs due to bad choices such as “Logan’s Run” and “Sunburn,”
Fawcett’s body of work was small, but her roles as a serious actress in the 1980s dramas “Extremities” and “The Burning Bed” earned her award nominations, transforming her from Hollywood pin-up to an acclaimed actress.

With Fawcett at the time of her death was longtime companion Ryan O’Neal. Ms. Fawcett had at long last agreed to marry him, however died before being able to do so.

“Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends,” O’Neal said, “we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world.”

“I will miss Farrah every day,” said Kate Jackson, a longtime friend and “Angels” co-star. “She was a selfless person who loved her family and friends with all her heart, and what a big heart it was. Farrah showed immense courage and grace throughout her illness and was an inspiration to those around her. When I think of Farrah, I will remember her kindness, her cutting, dry wit and, of course, her beautiful smile.”

Fawcett’s troubled son Redmond O’Neal has been given permission by prison officials to attend his mother’s funeral, according to U.S. reports. Commissioner Jane Godfrey has signed a removal order which allows O’Neal to attend his late mother’s funeral

Farrah Fawcett has certainly become an inspiration and symbol of bravery for all. Her ’spirit for survival’, ‘never say die’ attitude and courage will be discussed by many generations to come.