Saturday, October 20, 2007

PageRank

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

PageRank is a link analysis algorithm that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of "measuring" its relative importance within the set. The algorithm may be applied to any collection of entities with reciprocal quotations and references. The numerical weight that it assigns to any given element E is also called the PageRank of E and denoted by PR(E).

The name PageRank is a trademark of Google. The PageRank process has been patented (U.S. Patent 6,285,999 ). The patent is not assigned to Google but to Stanford University

General description
Google describes PageRank:[1]

“ PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important". ”

In other words, a PageRank results from a "ballot" among all the other pages on the World Wide Web about how important a page is. A hyperlink to a page counts as a vote of support. The PageRank of a page is defined recursively and depends on the number and PageRank metric of all pages that link to it ("incoming links"). A page that is linked to by many pages with high PageRank receives a high rank itself. If there are no links to a web page there is no support for that page.

Google assigns a numeric weighting from 0-10 for each webpage on the Internet; this PageRank denotes a site’s importance in the eyes of Google. The scale for PageRank is logarithmic like the Richter Scale and roughly based upon quantity of inbound links as well as importance of the page providing the link.

Numerous academic papers concerning PageRank have been published since Page and Brin's original paper.[2] In practice, the PageRank concept has proven to be vulnerable to manipulation, and extensive research has been devoted to identifying falsely inflated PageRank and ways to ignore links from documents with falsely inflated PageRank.

Alternatives to the PageRank algorithm include the HITS algorithm proposed by Jon Kleinberg, the IBM CLEVER project and the TrustRank algorithm.


PageRank variations

[edit] Google Toolbar

An example of the PageRank indicator as found on the Google toolbar.The Google Toolbar's PageRank feature displays a visited page's PageRank as a whole number between 0 and 10. The most popular websites have a PageRank of 10. The least have a PageRank of 0. Google has not disclosed the precise method for determining a Toolbar PageRank value. Google representative Matt Cutts has publicly indicated that the Toolbar PageRank values are republished about once every three months, indicating that the Toolbar PageRank values are historical rather than real-time values.[6]


[edit] Google directory PageRank
The Google Directory PageRank is an 8-unit measurement. These values can be viewed in the Google Directory. Unlike the Google Toolbar which shows the PageRank value by a mouseover of the greenbar, the Google Directory does not show the PageRank as a numeric value but only as a green bar.


[edit] False or spoofed PageRank
While the PR shown in the Toolbar is considered to be derived from an accurate PageRank value (at some time prior to the time of publication by Google) for most sites, it must be noted that this value is also easily manipulated. A current flaw is that any low PageRank page that is redirected, via a 302 server header or a "Refresh" meta tag, to a high PR page causes the lower PR page to acquire the PR of the destination page. In theory a new, PR0 page with no incoming links can be redirected to the Google home page - which is a PR 10 - and by the next PageRank update the PR of the new page will be upgraded to a PR10. This spoofing technique, also known as 302 Google Jacking, is a known failing or bug in the system. Any page's PR can be spoofed to a higher or lower number of the webmaster's choice and only Google has access to the real PR of the page. Spoofing is generally detected by running a Google search for a URL with questionable PR, as the results will display the URL of an entirely different site (the one redirected to) in its results.


[edit] Manipulating PageRank
For search-engine optimization purposes, some companies offer to sell high PageRank links to webmasters.[7] As links from higher-PR pages are believed to be more valuable, they tend to be more expensive. It can be an effective and viable marketing strategy to buy link advertisements on content pages of quality and relevant sites to drive traffic and increase a webmaster's link popularity. However, Google has publicly warned webmasters that if they are or were discovered to be selling links for the purpose of conferring PageRank and reputation, their links will be devalued (ignored in the calculation of other pages' PageRanks). The practice of buying and selling links is intensely debated across the Webmastering community. Google advises webmasters to use the nofollow HTML attribute value on sponsored links. According to Matt Cutts, Google is concerned about webmasters who try to game the system, and thereby reduce the quality of Google search results.[7]


[edit] Other uses of PageRank
A version of PageRank has recently been proposed as a replacement for the traditional ISI impact factor,[8] and implemented at eigenfactor.org. Instead of merely counting total citation to a journal, the "importance" of each citation is determined in a PageRank fashion.

A similar new use of PageRank is to rank academic doctoral programs based on their records of placing their graduates in faculty positions. In PageRank terms, academic departments link to each other by hiring their faculty from each other (and from themselves).[9]

PageRank has also been used to automatically rank WordNet synsets according to how strongly they possess a given semantic property, such as positivity or negativity.[10]

A dynamic weighting method similar to PageRank has been used to generate customized reading lists based on the link structure of Wikipedia.[11]

A Web crawler may use PageRank as one of a number of importance metrics it uses to determine which URL to visit next during a crawl of the web. One of the early working papers[12] which were used in the creation of Google is Efficient crawling through URL ordering,[13] which discusses the use of a number of different importance metrics to determine how deeply, and how much of a site Google will crawl. PageRank is presented as one of a number of these importance metrics, though there are others listed such as the number of inbound and outbound links for a URL, and the distance from the root directory on a site to the URL.


[edit] Google's "rel='nofollow'" proposal
In early 2005, Google implemented a new value, "nofollow", for the rel attribute of HTML link and anchor elements, so that website builders and bloggers can make links that Google will not consider for the purposes of PageRank — they are links that no longer constitute a "vote" in the PageRank system. The nofollow relationship was added in an attempt to help combat spamdexing.

As an example, people could create many message-board posts with links to their website to artificially inflate their PageRank. Now, however, the message-board administrator can modify the code to automatically insert "rel='nofollow'" to all hyperlinks in posts, thus preventing PageRank from being affected by those particular posts.

This method of avoidance, however, also has various drawbacks, such as reducing the link value of actual comments. (See: Spam in blogs#rel="nofollow")

Friday, October 12, 2007

Pamela Anderson


Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-born actress, sex symbol, glamour model, producer, TV personality, and author. She holds both American and Canadian citizenship.[1] For a time, she was known as Pamela Anderson Lee after marrying the drummer for Mötley Crüe, Tommy Lee.

Early life
Anderson was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia, 90 km northwest of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, the daughter of Carol, a waitress, and Barry Anderson, a furnace repairman.[2] Her great-grandfather, Juho Hyytiäinen, was Finnish, a native of Saarijärvi, and left Finland in 1908[3] changing his name to Anderson when he arrived as an immigrant. Anderson has Dutch ancestry on her mother's side.[4]

The newborn Anderson won fame as Canada's "Centennial Baby", because she was thought to have been the first baby born on Canada's Centennial Day (she was born at 4:08 in the morning). However, the Campbell River Upper Islander of July 5, 1967 reported a baby born two hours earlier on the same Canada Day.[5] After her birth, her parents and her brother, Gerry Anderson, moved to the town of Comox with Pamela.


Career
After graduating from Highland Secondary School in 1985, Anderson moved to Vancouver and worked as a fitness instructor. During the summer of 1989, Pamela went with her friends to a BC Lions game at BC Place; at some point during the game she was shown on the stadium screen wearing a Labatt's t-shirt, causing the crowd to cheer for the 21-year-old Anderson. She was taken down to the field to get an ovation from the crowd. Labatt's immediately offered Anderson a modeling contract and she accepted. In late 1989, Pamela decided to model for Playboy magazine: she appeared on the October 1989 cover (credited as Pamela Anderson Ilicic) and decided to move to Los Angeles to continue her modeling career. She was the February 1990 playmate and has appeared in Playboy several times in the 1990s and the following decade.


Acting and modeling
After her move to Los Angeles, Anderson bleached her brunette hair blonde and underwent breast augmentation. In 1991, she landed a minor role on the United States hit television sitcom, Home Improvement (1991-1997). Having gained viewer attention, she landed the role of C. J. Parker (1992-1997) on Baywatch, and left Home Improvement after its second season. Anderson was still modeling for Outdoor Life and appearing on the cover of the magazine each year. Her role as C.J. Parker gave her more popularity and gained her attention from international viewers. She returned to Baywatch for the 2003 reunion movie, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding. She also made appearances on The Nanny as Fran's rival, Heather Biblow.

In 1996, she appeared in a feature film, Barb Wire, as a character known as Barbara Rose Kopetski, which was mistakenly thought by some to have been her real name. The movie, a thinly-veiled futuristic remake of Casablanca, failed to achieve commercial success. During the filming of Barb Wire, Anderson suffered a miscarriage. In April 1997, she guest-hosted Saturday Night Live. During the beginning of the show, Anderson said, "You know, if you're nervous on stage, you actually should be naked!" She then began a striptease. Her breasts, however, were covered by a small flesh-colored bra and she also wore a crotch patch that was also flesh colored (though they were still blurred out for the sake of the joke). The segment became fodder for late-night comedians for the following weeks. She also appeared on one of two covers for the September issue of Playboy; the other cover pictured Jenny McCarthy.

In September 1998, Anderson starred in her produced series V.I.P. It was very poorly received and a critical bomb. However, with many people tuning in just to see Pamela Anderson, the show lasted four seasons before being canceled in 2002. Anderson stated that she needed to dedicate her time to raising her children, but many believed that she was retiring.

In March 2001, Christine Evelyn Roth was arrested while sleeping in a guest room of Anderson's home. She was only charged with the misdemeanor of trespassing and not the more serious crime of stalking. Roth pleaded guilty to the charge of trespassing and was deported to her home country, France. In 2004, Anderson returned to the spotlight. In May, she appeared naked on the cover of Playboy magazine. It was the first time she had appeared naked on any magazine cover. Later, she posed naked for Stuff and GQ magazines. Many noticed that her breast size was larger than her pictorials from 2003.

Anderson became a naturalized citizen of the United States on May 12, 2004, while retaining her Canadian citizenship, for the purpose of sponsoring her parents (or at least her mother) for a green card. She has lived in Southern California since 1989. Anderson has often spoken revealingly about her private life. On a visit to the David Letterman show in 2004, she said she had not been dating for some time, and when Letterman asked her how she was coping, she responded, "There's not a square corner left anywhere in my house!" Letterman left that comment unanswered while the audience hooted.

In 2004, Pamela Anderson released the book Star, co-written by author Eric Shaw Quinn, in which she describes a young teenager doing different things in order to reach fame. After this, she began touring the United States, signing autographs for fans at Wal-Mart stores nationwide. Her second book, the sequel Star Struck, released in 2005, is a thinly veiled look at her life with Tommy Lee and the travails of celebrity life.

In January 2005, Anderson confessed that she had new breast implants, claiming not to feel like herself without them. Anderson also claimed that the new breast implants were bigger than her old implants.

In April 2005, Anderson starred in a new FOX sitcom Stacked as Skyler Dayton, a party girl (with implants), who goes to work at a bookstore. Stacked was canceled on May 18, 2006, after two seasons, although some episodes had not been aired on the network. On August 14, 2005, Comedy Central created the Roast of Pamela Anderson to honor the sex symbol for the past decade. During her final speech at the Roast, Pamela referred to her breasts as "Pancho and Lefty".

In December 2005, NBC cut off a video of Anderson pole dancing topless on Elton John's "The Red Piano." NBC said that the footage was inappropriate for primetime. The video was shown on huge screens during the event, while John was playing a song. Anderson was topless, but stars were painted on her breasts. In March 2006, it was announced that Anderson would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame thanks to her many years as a model and actress. She is only the second model to receive a star. In April 2006, Anderson hosted Canada's Juno Awards, becoming the first non-singer and model to do so.

Anderson was repeatedly referenced in the 2006 comedy film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan as the title character seeks to kidnap and marry her. Anderson appears in person at the end of the film confronted by Borat in a staged botched abduction.[6] She has subsequently began filming a comedy, Blonde and Blonder.

She will perform on February 13-14 2008 a Valentine's Day striptease act at the prestigious Crazy Horse cabaret in Paris [7].


Personal life
In addition to her fame from modeling and acting, Anderson has received a great deal of press attention for her well-publicized personal life. Her relationships have made headlines in gossip magazines for years. She married Tommy Lee, drummer of Mötley Crüe, on February 19, 1995 after knowing him for only 96 hours and the couple eventually had two sons, Brandon Thomas Lee (b. June 6, 1996) and Dylan Jagger Lee (b. December 29, 1997). During this time, she was known professionally as Pamela Anderson Lee. Anderson filed for divorce from him twice and reconciled with him twice, before the couple finally broke up for good. On February 25, 1998, Tommy abused Pamela and then was arrested. The next day, Pamela filed for divorce. On February 28, 1998, the divorce was official two days from the filing of the divorce. Tommy was sentenced to six months in jail. In May 1998, he had to go to anger management therapy and pay Anderson's legal fees. In March 2002, Anderson publicly stated that she had contracted the Hepatitis C virus from Lee (supposedly from sharing tattoo needles), and began writing a regular column for Jane magazine. In October 2003, Anderson jokingly said on Howard Stern's radio show that she does not expect to live more than ten or fifteen years,[8] but this was misconstrued and taken seriously by many websites and tabloids. She however admitted to newspapers that she still often had sex with him since their divorce.[9]

A pornographic home video of Anderson and Tommy Lee on their honeymoon was stolen from their home, and made a huge stir on the Internet. Anderson sued the Internet Entertainment Group, the company that was distributing the video. Ultimately the courts awarded Anderson and Lee $1.5 million plus attorney fees for their share of the profits. After this, the company sold copies of the stolen honeymoon tape across the country. It was very popular.[10]

A second tape, which was made before the Tommy Lee tape, involving Anderson and musician Bret Michaels from Poison was later distributed on the internet. Frames of the video first appeared in Penthouse magazine in March 1998. The popularity and profitability of the Anderson and Tommy Lee video sparked a miniature genre within the porn film industry and since then many homemade porn videos of celebrities have been released to the public through home video and web channels (either with or without the participants' co-operation).

Since her divorce, she has become engaged to both the model Marcus Schenkenberg and the singer Kid Rock (Robert J. Ritchie). She broke up with Schenkenberg in 2001, and broke up with Kid Rock in 2003. It was announced on July 18, 2006 that she would marry Kid Rock on July 29, 2006 on a yacht near St Tropez, France. "Feels like I've been stuck in a time warp," said Anderson in her blog entry. "Not able to let go of MY family picture ... it's been sad and lonely and frustrating ... I've raised my kids alone in hope of a miracle. Well my miracle came and went. And came back and back because he knew that I'd wake up one day and realize that I was waiting for nothing." "I'm moving on," she declared. "I feel like I'm finally free ... I'm in love." There was extensive unconfirmed media speculation that the marriage was pregnancy-related, but the theory was based only on Anderson's representative's refusal to comment on the question.[11]

She put her Malibu, California, home up for sale in order to move to a more private location. In an interview with Gavriel Maynard, Anderson stated "I don't know why people consider me stupid, I'm actually really smart."

On November 10, 2006, it was announced that Anderson miscarried while in Vancouver shooting a new film, Blonde and Blonder.[12] Seventeen days later, on November 27, 2006 Anderson filed for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court from Kid Rock, citing irreconcilable differences.[13] Some news reports have suggested that Kid Rock's outrage during a screening of Borat, in which she plays a cameo role, led to the filing for divorce two weeks later.[14]

Anderson told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in September 2007 that she was engaged. On September 29, Anderson and Paris Hilton's ex-Rick Salomon applied for a marriage license in Las Vegas.[15] Anderson married Salomon between her two nightly appearances at the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino in Hans Klok's magic show in a small wedding ceremony at The Mirage on October 6, 2007.[16]


Charitable work and activism
Anderson is a vegetarian, an advocate for animal rights, and an active member of the animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), taking part in several campaigns for animal rights.[17] She became a vegetarian in her early teens when she walked in on her dad slaughtering an animal he had just hunted.[18]

One of Anderson's campaigns as a member of PETA has been against the use of fur. In 1999, Anderson received the first Linda McCartney Memorial Award for animal rights protectors, in recognition of her campaign against fur. In 2003, Anderson stripped down for PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" advertising campaign. On June 28, 2006, Anderson posed naked with other protesters on a window display of the Stella McCartney boutique in London, England. It was a PETA gala event before the PETA Humanitarian Awards. Anderson went inside the boutique and said she would take her clothes off if the event raised enough money for PETA, which it did.

She has also actively campaigned against Kentucky Fried Chicken. In 2001, Anderson released a letter in support of PETA's campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken, stating "What KFC does to 750 million chickens each year is not civilized or acceptable." She later made a video about KFC's treatment of chickens.[19] In January 2006, Anderson requested that the Governor of Kentucky remove a bust of Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, from display but her request was refused even when she offered her own bust in exchange. In February 2006, Anderson decided to boycott the Kentucky Derby because of its support for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

She has also campaigned against seal hunting in her native Canada. In March 2006, Anderson asked to speak to Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the annual seal hunt. Her request was refused. In May 2006, she petitioned random individuals on the street for their opinion on the Canadian Seal Hunt.

Most recently Pam has joined forces with PETA in a campaign calling for the boycott of fruit-juice maker POM. The "Pom Horrible Campaign"[20] has resulted in response to the company's refusal to halt animal tests.

In March 2005, Anderson became a spokesmodel for MAC Cosmetics's MAC AIDS Fund, which helped people affected by AIDS and HIV. After becoming the official spokesmodel, Anderson raised money during events in Toronto, Tokyo, Dublin, and Athens.

Anderson became the celebrity spokesperson for the American Liver Foundation, and served as the Grand Marshal of the SOS motorcycle ride fundraiser.

Work

Filmography
The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991)
Snapdragon (1993)
Raw Justice (1994)
Naked Souls (1995)
Barb Wire (1996)
The Making of Bret Michaels (2002) (documentary)
Scooby-Doo (2002)
Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003)
Scary Movie 3 (2003)
No Rules (2005)
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
Blonde and Blonder (2008)

Television
Home Improvement (cast member from 1991-1993)
Baywatch (cast member from 1992-1997)
Days of our Lives (cast member in 1992)
Come Die with Me: A Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Mystery (1994)
V.I.P. (1998-2002)
Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding (2003)
Stripperella (2003-2004) (voice)
Stacked (2005-2006)
Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson (2005)
8 Simple Rules (2005)
Malibu (Future)

Appearances in Playboy special editions
Pamela Anderson
Playboy centerfold appearance
February 1990
Birth place Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada
Date of birth July 1, 1967 (1967-07-01) (age 40)
Measurements Bust: 36DDD in (91DDD cm)
Waist: 22 in (56 cm)
Hips: 34 in (86 cm)
Natural bust Yes
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight 105 lb (48 kg/7.5 st)
Preceded by Peggy McIntaggart
Succeeded by Deborah Driggs
Anderson's Playboy career spans approximately two decades (1989-2007). During that time, she has graced twelve of Playboy's covers--more than anyone else. She has also made appearances in the publication's newsstand specials:

Playboy's Playmate Review Vol. 7 June 1991 - cover.
Playboy's Nudes December 1991 - cover.
Playboy's International Playmates January 1992.
Playboy's Girls of Summer '92 June 1992.
Playboy's Calendar Playmates November 1992 - cover.
Playboy's Girls of Summer '93 June 1993 - pages 6-7, 44.
Playboy's Wet & Wild Women July 1993.
Playboy's Video Playmates September 1993.
Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 33 September/October 1993.
Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 34 November/December 1993.
Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 35 January 1994.
Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 36 March 1994.
Playboy's Playmates in Paradise March 1994 - pages 38-43.
Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 37 May 1994.
Playboy's Girls of Summer '94 June 1994.
Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 38 July 1994.
Playboy's Nudes November 1994.
Playboy's Hot Denim Daze May 1995 - page 15.
Playboy's Nude Celebrities July 1995 - cover.
Playboy's Pamela Anderson May 1996 - cover.
Playboy's Nude Celebrities March 1997 - cover.
Playboy's Sexy 100 February 2003 - cover.
In the original Playboy spread, one of Pamela's poses was a little more revealing than Playboy normally provides. In subsequent reprintings in Playboy Newsstand Specials, as well as in a mass-market poster, that area was airbrushed.


Pro wrestling
During an appearance at the World Wrestling Federation's Royal Rumble in 1995, Anderson promised that she would accompany the winner of the Royal Rumble to WrestleMania. Pamela returned for her appearance at the World Wrestling Federation's WrestleMania XI on April 2, but as the guest valet for WWF World Heavyweight Champion Diesel and not the Royal Rumble winner, his opponent Shawn Michaels; Michaels ended up being accompanied to the ring by Jenny McCarthy.
The reason she accompanied Diesel instead was that Shawn Michaels had a real life altercation with her then husband, Tommy Lee, backstage.[21][22][23] It was written into the script that Pamela wanted to stay away from Shawn but no official reason was given.
After pinning Michaels, Diesel left with both Anderson and McCarthy.

In anticipation of her appearance at the Royal Rumble, several skits were produced featuring wrestlers fawning over Pamela. One commercial featured Pamela coming home and checking her answering machine. As Pamela strips down behind a curtain, messages from wrestlers such as Shawn Michaels, Diesel, and Doink the Clown can be heard.
At the 2006 Canada's Walk Of Fame, Anderson shared a kiss with WWE diva Trish Stratus.
She appeared on former Pro Wrestling commentator Mark Madden's Pittsburgh-based sports talk radio show in October, 2006.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

'Ponsel Dipakai, Sperma Terbantai'

Cleveland - Pemakaian ponsel kembali dikaitkan dengan masalah kesehatan. Kali ini dinyatakan, kaum lelaki yang menghabiskan waktu berjam-jam melakukan panggilan via ponsel memiliki resiko penurunan jumlah sperma. Bahkan disebutkan, pemakaian ponsel juga meningkatkan kadar sperma yang abnormal.

Kesimpulan tersebut dinyatakan para pakar di pusat kesehatan Cleveland Clinic, Amerika Serikat. Mereka memaparkan, produksi sperma pada pria terpengaruh oleh frekuensi pemakaian ponsel. Semakin lama pria memakai ponsel, semakin besar kemungkinan produksi sperma mengalami gangguan.

Studi ini dipublikasikan di jurnal 'Fertility and Sterility'. Para peneliti melibatkan sampel sebanyak 361 pria dalam kurun waktu satu tahun. Para partisipan itu ditanyai seputar kebiasaan pemakaian ponsel untuk dibandingkan dengan jumlah produksi sperma mereka.

Menurut Dr. Ashok Agarwal yang memimpin penelitian ini, penurunan produksi sperma ini otomatis berpengaruh terhadap tingkat kesuburan pria dalam menghasilkan keturunan. Ia memaparkan, lelaki yang memakai ponsel dalam waktu empat jam atau lebih tiap harinya, mengalami produksi sperma yang sangat rendah.

Dilansir FoxNews dan dikutip detikINET, Sabtu (9/2/2008), penurunan jumlah sperma ini diduga disebabkan oleh gelombang elektromagnetis ponsel. Meski demikian, seperti yang sering terjadi pada penelitian semacam ini, lagi-lagi belum ada bukti yang benar-benar pasti mengenai kesimpulan para dokter tersebut. ( fyk / wsh )