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Switched Follows: Football Coaches Who Tweet (and Those Who Should)

Sports teams have a dubious relationship with Twitter. The LPGA loves the darn service, while the NBA penalizes on-court micro-bloggers. The NFL and college football are still feeling out their roles in the Twitterverse, and coaches are leading the way. For some, the service is tougher to figure out than the spread offense, while others excel in the limelight, like Tom Brady in a Manhattan bistro. Here, we've compiled a list of five coaches you should follow on Twitter and five who's wit we'd love to see in 140-character missives. After a grueling search (like, 1983-Chicago-Bears grueling), we have our exhaustive list. Now, are you ready for some football?

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New York Jets' David Clowney's Twitter Account Hacked

After he heard the latest news about one of his players and Twitter, we're sure that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, from his towering New York office building, gave out a great barbaric yawp: "I told you so!" According to Mashable, New York Jets wide receiver David Clowney has had his Twitter account hacked within the past 24 hours. Unlike when hackers took over a number of high-profile celebrity accounts earlier this year, the tweets sent from Clowney's account aren't funny. They're downright mean and vulgar. Although Clowney has apparently regained control of his account and has issued an apology to his fans, the damage is done. The hacker directed a number of expletive-filled tweets at some of Clowney's 6,700 followers.

Aside from the tweet above, Clowney hasn't yet commented on the attack. According to an Associated Press report on ESPN, the Jets confirmed Monday that his account was hacked, but team officials didn't comment further. Seeing as he was benched earlier in the year for complaining about his playing time via Twitter, we'd suggest that Clowney just cut his losses and give up on the service, altogether. [From: Mashable and ESPN]

Facebook Bikini Worm Hits Spreads via Scantily Clad Woman

Facebook Worm Speads Thanks to Scantily Clad Woman
Good rule of thumb when browsing the Internet: If it looks lurid, promises nudity, or displays scantily clad women, don't click on it.

For some reason or another, many out there haven't yet figured this out and have helped to spread around Facebook a nasty worm that tells users to "Click Da' Button" if they "Wanna C Somthin' HOT." Of course, some men, being the hapless idiots that so many of us are, clicked on the button that sat next to the beautiful, thong-clad woman. As a result, a link to the same infectious page was instantly posted on their Walls, continuing the cycle of misdirection.

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Google Apologizes for Offensive First Lady Image, Twitter Could Go Public

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....
  • Our beloved freedom of speech obviously entitles people to criticize government officials without fear of reprisal, but it also entitles people to be racist morons. Google has posted an apology over such behavior -- specifically for an offensive and juvenile photograph of the First Lady that wound up in the site's image search results. [From: Search Engine Land]
  • Twitter's monetary worth was recently valued at an astounding $1 billion, so it seems that it's probably time for the three-year-old site to actually start making some money. Co-founder Biz Stone says that while he has no plans to sell the site, going public is certainly an option. [From: The New York Times]
  • Roger Avary, the screenwriter behind 'Pulp Fiction' and numerous other hits, is currently serving time in prison on vehicular manslaughter charges. He also seems to be tweeting about his stay. Although impostors abound on Twitter, Wikipedia says it really is him, so it must be true. [From: The Los Angeles Times]
  • The unofficial rules of the Internet already exist, but the U.N. is apparently investigating the implementation of the Net Ten Commandments. The organization is currently laboring on the intense and grueling project from Sharm el Sheik, one of the most beautiful resort towns on the Red Sea. Must be nice. [From: Ars Technica]
  • Wikipedia claims to be the "free encyclopedia that anyone can edit." The site, though, has reportedly trimmed 50,000 editors from its ranks, leading to a flood of complaints about the editing process. Apparently, the remaining editors are also, by and large, white males. Someone needs to give Howard Zinn a call. [From: Gawker]
  • The University of Stirling in Scotland recently conducted a survey which found that adults are fooled by optical illusions more often than kids. This, the researchers think, is because kids don't recognize visual context to the same degree as adults. If you'd like to experiment with your own susceptibility, you can check out these trippy illusions. [From: Wired]
  • Automotive services like OnStar and SYNC have been around for years, but the technology is steadily and significantly evolving. The Economist recently profiled that evolution, highlighting one particularly impressive instance of a thwarted car-jacking. [From: The Economist]

Man Crashes Into FBI Building to Destroy 'Mind-Reading' Device

It seems James Kromer had it all figured out. He was gonna do it, once and for all. The FBI had been controlling his brain with a mind-reading device for far too long. Kromer had to put an end to it. And he almost did -- until he messed up the address.

The 36-year-old Minnesotan crashed his car through what he believed to be the FBI building in Minneapolis. As it turns out, it was just the University of Minnesota Public Health building, which incurred $20,000 worth of damages from the incident. The entire case of mistaken location can be traced back to an extra zero that Kromer tacked on to the building number. (We're not sure whether it was GPS, or Google Maps, or what.) The real FBI building is at 111 Washington Ave. S in Minneapolis. The Public Health building, on the other hand, is at 1110 Washington Ave. S. Oops.

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The Daily Engadget: Older Androids Get Google Nav, Apple Strikes Back

Our friends over at Engadget obsessively cover everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics, which is why we compile this daily roundup of their top stuff (or, at least, what we think is tops). For more details on any of these stories, click on the Engadget links in each story below. Google Brings Navigation to Android 1.6 Just a few weeks after the impulsive members of the Android ...

Extreme Gear for 'Star Trek' Home Makeovers

So, you just shelled out 2,700 big ones to relax in a replica of Captain's Kirk's space throne, but, as you bask in your geeky glory, you abruptly realize that the rest of the apartment is unacceptably barren of other 'Star Trek' accoutrements. Making your own paraphernalia is always an option, but in order to stand out from the hordes of amateur fans, hardcore Trekkies will seek out more ...

Facebook and 'South Park' Blamed for Anti-Redhead Assault

Police in Calabasas, California are investigating the assault of a 12-year-old boy that, they believe, may have been inspired by a Facebook post declaring this past Friday, November 20th "Kick a Ginger Day." "Kick a Ginger Day" began in 2008, borne out of a 'South Park' episode that satirically featured pale, redheaded, freckled children, or "gingers," as being singled out for abuse. While the ...

How to Really, Truly Uninstall Old Programs

You'd think uninstalling applications, games, and the rest would be as simple as dumping the icon into the recycling bin, but the truth is that computer programs distribute their files all over your PC. While that may not seem like a big deal, after a while those bits and pieces add up and cause conflicts, errors, and registry issues. Check out Revo Uninstaller -- a free, easy-to-use utility ...

Best of the Rest: Gadgets of the Decade, Carl Sagan Auto-Tuned v.3

There's a load of great tech news happening out there every day, and, unfortunately, we just can't cover it all. Here are a few of the other noteworthy things we saw today on our never-ending journey through the wild, wild Web. Net memes and mashups rarely get us excited, but the series of Carl Sagan Auto-Tune videos is a special type of genius. The latest, featuring Richard Dawkins, just ...

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