Parting Picture

Lock It Away

Ever wanted to write something, and lock it away?
Keep it somewhere where only you could access it?
iLocker is for you!

Locker Definition: is a compartment for storing personal possessions; usually secure or locked.

iLocker allows you to create a locker containing whatever text you want.
The text you enter is encrypted using your password and a highly secure encryption method.
Your password isn't stored either, so even we can't read your locker.
We don't store any information that can link you to your locker, they're pretty much anonymous.
Get one here.

I can see a lot useful ways to use this, but also a lot of nefarious ways.

Not Just a Halloween Trick

"About halfway through, I bit in and felt something hard and crunchy." That’s what NYU senior Benjamin Jarosch declared after eating part of a found muffin, and he wasn’t talking about a walnut: his innocuous-looking blueberry muffin was stuffed with three razorblades. Jarosch and his buddies had discovered the muffin, along with four others, wrapped in tin foil, upon arriving in the classroom.

It seems they were left over from a previous class and were "props" used by a student to demonstrate "ideas of absurdism and randomness." Professor Heidi White forgot to discard the muffins when class was dismissed, and the professor for the next class knew nothing about the muffin's sharp surprise. (Full story at gothamist)

So wait a second. You mean, it isn't a good idea to eat randomly placed, opened food with unknown origins? No lunch for me today. . .

So No One Could Rip It Off?

CATLETTSBURG, Ky. (AP) - A man who wrapped his head in duct tape to conceal his identity has pleaded guilty to robbing an eastern Kentucky liquor store.

Under terms of a plea agreement, 25-year-old Kasey G. Kazee faces 10 years in prison, the maximum sentence. He pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree robbery.

Police said Kazee entered an Ashland liquor store on Aug. 10 with his entire head, except for openings at his eyes and mouth, wrapped in duct tape.

Kazee told a clerk he had a knife and threatened to harm her if she didn't give him the money from the cash register, police said. The clerk complied and the man left.

Before the "Duct Tape Bandit" could make his getaway, another store employee tackled him in the parking lot, police said. The employee and several other men who came running from a neighboring store detained the suspect until officers arrived.

Police didn't say how much money was taken, but the store manager said the register came up $15 short. Police said no weapon was found on Kazee when he was arrested. (Full Story at wtop)

It doesn't appear that he had a whole lot of time put into creating his mask either.

Save The Animals. Eat Them

SOME people would just as soon ignore the culinary potential of the Carolina flying squirrel or the Waldoboro green neck rutabaga. To them, the creamy Hutterite soup bean is too obscure and the Tennessee fainting goat, which keels over when startled, sounds more like a sideshow act than the centerpiece of a barbecue.

But not Gary Paul Nabhan. He has spent most of the past four years compiling a list of endangered plants and animals that were once fairly commonplace in American kitchens but are now threatened, endangered or essentially extinct in the marketplace. He has set out to save them, which often involves urging people to eat them. (Full Story at nytimes)

You can also go here to see what they are trying to get you to eat/save in your area.

Youthful Stupidity Is Global

Never Sample Your Own Product

MERRIMACK, N.H. (AP) - A family called police to their home to report a fight and ended up being arrested on drug charges. Police said they went to the Roehl family home on Monday after getting a call about a fight, possibly involving baseball bats.

They said that when 17-year-old Karl Roehl was showing them a large clock that had been damaged, they noticed two potted marijuana plants.

Officers said Roehl was arrested when he tried to hide the plants and that his mother, Lee Ann Roehl was arrested after ripping a plant from its pot and throwing it into the yard.

Police returned with a search warrant and said they found more pot and a growing room, so they added more charges to the mother and son and arrested the father, also on drug charges. (Story via WTOP)

If these yahoos were able to successfully grow (for a time), how many other folks out there with half a brain are growing and not getting caught? I would guess a lot.

I'm Smart. I'm a Drummer

People who score high on intelligence tests are also good at keeping time, new Swedish research shows. The team that carried out the study also suspect that accuracy in timing is important to the brain processes responsible for problem solving and reasoning. . .

They stress that the task subjects performed had nothing to do with any musical rhythmic sense but simply measured the capacity for rhythmic accuracy. Those who scored highest on intelligence tests also had least variation in the regular rhythm they tapped out in the experiment. (Full Story at sciencedaily)


How many of you are trying to tap out a rhythm right now?

All White People Look The Same

Humans are exceptionally good at recognizing faces they've seen before. It doesn't take much study to accurately recall whether or not you've seen a particular face. However, this pattern breaks down when faces come from unfamiliar races. A white person who lives primarily among other whites will have more difficulty recognizing Asian faces, and vice versa. . .

When we do learn to recognize other-race faces, do we really know them as well as more familiar races?

While it has been known for some time that we can learn to recognize other race faces as well as our own, this last question hasn't been studied as thoroughly. Maybe in more difficult tests of recognition, we wouldn't do as well with different-race faces.

. . . memory for different-race faces can be trained to work in the same way it does for same-race faces, even in a difficult peripheral-vision test, in a relatively short period of time. It doesn't take years of immersion in a foreign culture, just an hour or so studying pictures (albeit hundreds and hundreds of them!). (Full Story at cognitivedaily)

I don't know. I think I would rather just have more friends of different races rather than studying hundreds of pictures.

Living Green at 125 mph

The first of the long-awaited and much-lauded Tesla Roadsters is rolling off the assembly line as I write this. After a lot of delays, a huge internal shake-up and a couple price increases, the company will finally start delivering Roadsters to customers.

The CEO is quick to point out that this is "the only zero emission electric vehicle in production today," which is pretty much a big lie. There are lots of people making electric vehicles in America. But it is the only one with a top speed of 125 mph.

Though the $100,000 price tag is a bit steep, and Tesla will only be able to produce one or two cars a week (at least at first), 900 people have already reserved a Roadster. Included in that list are Dustin Hoffman, George Clooney, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Full Story at Yahoo)

If 100k is just a little much for your shrinking dollar, check out the Volt.

P2P Is Not Infringement

In its order, the court delivers the most decisive rejection yet of the recording industry's "making available" theory of infringement (i.e., if someone could have downloaded it from you, you've violated copyright, even if no one ever did). Citing to the recent ruling in London-Sire v. Doe 1, the court concludes that "[t]he general rule, supported by the great weight of authority, is that infringement of the distribution right requires an actual dissemination of either copies or phonorecords." (Full Story at EFF)


So it's not illegal, but ethical - that's another question.

What Do You Think His Bed Time Song Is?

Parting Picture

[Photo by Joshua Hoffine. Warning: This is probably the least creepy/disturbing pic on the site]

Pigeon Poacher

Pigeons in Seattle, Washington, are under attack by an unknown assailant with a dart gun, officials say.

Local authorities have received several reports of pigeons found in the city center with 3- to 4-inch (7.5- to 10-centimeter) metal darts through their skulls.

At least three birds, including the one pictured here, have been found alive with the needlelike projectiles lodged behind their eyes. . .

"Someone who would do this to an animal is a short step away from doing this to a human being."

The animal-rights group is offering a U.S. $2,000 reward for information about the attacks. (Full Story at nationalgeographic)

Goodbye Sharky

(CNN) -- A 30-year-old dolphin at Sea World has died after colliding with another dolphin while performing aerial tricks, the Orlando, Florida, amusement park said Monday.

The incident occurred about 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Discovery Cove area of the park, according to a statement by Sea World spokeswoman Becca Bides.

The animals were in the center of the lagoon and not near guests, she said.

The dolphin who died was named Sharky. The other dolphin, Tyler, is being watched by veterinarians but appears to be fine, Bides said.

"This is an unfortunate, random incident," Bides said in a written statement.

"While it is not unusual to have two animals performing aerial behaviors at the same time, we are reviewing the situation to ensure even such a random incident does not occur again." (Story via CNN)

Can you prevent a "random" incident? Can you imagine the parents trying to deal with that one?

Forget Big Wheels

Police say a 7-year-old Florida boy faces grand theft auto charges after taking his grandmother's sport utility vehicle for a joyride. The eight minute trek left a swath of damage in his Palm Beach Gardens neighborhood Friday. The boy smashed mailboxes, hit parked cars and signposts. He was unhurt.

Police say he literally drove until a wheel fell off. The right front wheel, to be exact, which broke off after the boy hit a sign.

Police spokeswoman Ellen Lovejoy says the boy is unlikely to be prosecuted. They arrested him so he can get some help, noting the excursion was "unusual behavior for a 7-year-old." (Story via sfgate)

watch a video of the news story here.

Let's just hope his judgment skills improve, or his future could look a lot like that picture. To be honest, I'm not so sure this isn't normal behavior for a seven year old.

Letters of a Mad Man

In the late '90s, pop-culture historian Bill Geerhart had a little too much time on his hands and a surfeit of stamps. So, for his own entertainment, the then-unemployed thirtysomething launched a letter-writing campaign to some of the most powerful and infamous figures in the country, posing as a curious 10-year-old named Billy. To his surprise, replies soon started pouring in. . . As it turns out, no group hates to disappoint a child more than convicted killers, all of whom responded promptly to Billy's questions about dropping out of school. Their letters, published here for the first time, range from criminally insane to downright sensible, offering snapshots of the personalities behind some of America's most hideous crimes. Recently, Radar asked Billy to follow up with his mentors as a college student. (Full Story and Letters at radar)


For all those serial killer aficionados - you know who you are.

IQ

Can mental training improve your intelligence? No video game or mental puzzle has convincingly been shown to work. But now a group of neuropsychologists claims it has found a task that can add points to a person's IQ – and the harder you train, they say, the more you gain. . .

The exercise involves tracking small squares on a screen that pop into a new location every three seconds. Volunteers have to press a button when the current location is a duplicate of two views earlier.

At the same time, consonants are played through headphones and a button is pressed if the letter is the same as that heard two "plays" earlier.

If participants perform well, the interval to be tracked (n) increases to three or more stages earlier.

Jaeggi's volunteers were trained daily for about 20 minutes for either 8, 12, 17 or 19 days (with weekends off). They were given IQ tests both before and after the training.

The researchers found that the IQ of trained individuals increased significantly more than controls – and that the more training people got, the higher the score. (Full Story via newscientist)

I’ve never fully bought into the IQ test. I think it probably works well as a general gauge of one’s ability to learn, but I think people like Mensa take it too far. It’s too often used to validate someone’s worth and that’s just wrong. So I guess we can now elevate our social status by watching moving squares.

Parting Picture

[Photo by Tony Marin via divinecaroline]

Photography on The Cheaps

Have you ever needed to sell something on ebay but wanted to make sure the picture was good? Well, you can go here see how to take photos like the one below.

What do you need? Mainly, you just need a decent camera and a light box. This thread will show you how to make a cheap light box out of this:

Anyone Got a Bike For Sale?

Oil recently hit an all-time high of nearly $120 a barrel, more than double its early 2007 price of about $50 a barrel. It closed Friday at $118.52.

The forecasts calling for a jump to between $7 and $10 a gallon are based on the view that the price of crude is on its way to $200 in two to three years. . .

[Mr. Gaines] latest prediction of $200 oil is open to question, since it would undoubtedly create considerable global economic distress. Further, just about every energy expert I talk to cautions me to expect a sizable pullback in oil prices, maybe to between $50 and $70 a barrel, especially if there's a global economic slowdown.

While Mr. Gaines thinks there could be a temporary decline in the oil price, he's convinced an overall uptrend is unstoppable. In fact, he thinks his $200 forecast could be conservative, and that perhaps $250 could be reached. His reasoning: a combination of shrinking supply and increasing demand, especially from China, India, and America. (Full Story from NewYorkSun)

I drive a fuel efficient car, but if prices go that high it doesn't matter what you drive. Think about it - it would cost me $90.00 to fill up the tank of my Civic. Oh yeah, you might want to think about investing in one of those locking gas caps. I have a feeling, if prices keep climbing, people will get brave enough to start siphoning out of other people's cars.

Man. The extended family just got a lot further away.

Updates

I have added a new feature to Websessed. There is now a polling area on the right side bar. I plan to have a new poll out every Monday. For the most part I hope to get feed back in order to make Websessed better, but there may be times where I am just interested what my readers think about something.


This weeks poll asks if I should keep doing the "Parting Picture" post. In case you aren't familiar with it: The Parting Picture is a picture that I find interesting, funny, compelling etc. It is also always my last post for the day. So when you see that one come up on your feeder, you know there is no more web-goodness, from me, till tomorrow.

Pee Pee Bottle

February 2007, our then two-year old daughter, Sofia, contracted Rotavirus. Though she recovered within a couple of weeks, I was panicked. I became extremely fearful of all toilets and wanted to make sure Sofia had limited exposure to public restrooms. I was particularly mindful of continued good hygiene and simultaneously desired a simpler, cleaner, and more-efficient way for Sofia to use the potty when we were out. (Visit mypeepeebottle)

From what I can tell this is not a joke. I'll leave the assessment to the rest of you.

Desperation

After being sued by the music industry for stealing songs and winning the case's dismissal, Andersen is now taking the record industry to court. Her case is aimed at exposing investigative practices that are controversial and may be illegal, according to the lawsuit. One company hired by the record industry, she claims, snoops through people's computers, uncovering private files and photos, even though it has no legal right to do so. A different industry-backed company uses tactics similar to those of debt collectors, pressuring people to pay thousands of dollars in settlements even before any wrongdoing is proven. In Andersen's case, the industry's Settlement Support Center said that unless she paid $4,000 to $5,000 immediately, it would "ruin her financially," the suit alleges. . .

Lybeck figures that with all the potential errors in IP addresses collected by MediaSentry, the RIAA has gone after thousands of innocent people. He thinks the addresses could be erroneous as often as 20% of the time, which would mean 8,000 people wrongly accused. He believes that many innocent people have been coerced into paying because they can't afford to fight the RIAA in court. (Although the SSC has stopped operating, an organization called Settlement Information Line Call Center now plays a similar role for the music industry.) (Full Story at Businessweek)


I realize piracy is a big issue for the record labels, but things like this cause people to keep wanting to steal from them. I'm interested to see what the music industry will look like in 10 years.

Synthetic food dyes - long blamed for causing hyperactivity in children - may have a good side: some of them may protect against cancer. . .

"The public perception is that food dyes are bad, but some of them may have good points as well," says Orner, who presented her results at the American Association for Cancer Research in San Diego, California, last week.

While the amounts of dye eaten by the fish could be matched by eating a lot of sweets and soft drinks, Orner advises against this strategy. Instead, she says the next step is to understand the mechanism by which these food dyes exert their anti-cancer effect. (Full Story at NewScientist)

Even though we know a great deal more now than 100 years ago, I believe our scope of knowledge is pretty small. Cancer affects so many people, but preventing and treating it still poses massive problems. I hope they get better at it soon.

Coke and Mentos

Around 1,500 students kitted out in waterproof ponchos discovered exactly what happens when you drop a mint sweet into a bottle of Coca Cola, in an attempt to break a world record. (Full Story)

Back To The Future

For some reason these guys are trying to petition Nike to start making the McFly shoes from Back To The Future. I don't think I'll be needing a pair, but if you would like some sign the petition here.

Getting Ready For The End

Who says protecting yourself from sniper attacks or chemical warfare needs to be ugly business? Certainly not Dutch designer Tim Smit. His “Urban Security Suit” will be all the rage in a war zone near you. Made of stylish neoprene and strategically lined with body molded kevlar, this runway show stopper will be THE must have accessory for your next war, skirmish, struggle, conflict, combat zone or civil strife you find yourself in or starting. Aeon Flux eat your heart out. (From yanko design)



I don't think this is ever meant to be mass produced, but would you buy one if it were? No mention of price by the way. Let's just assume it wouldn't be cheap.

Parting Picture

The Perfect Plan

KIRKSVILLE - A Kirksville man faces a felony indictment after trying to purchase a LCD television for less than $3 by allegedly replacing its UPC code with that of a water bottle.

Reginald Newman, 44, was indicted Monday by the Adair County Grand Jury and has been charged with attempted stealing by deceit.

According to documents filed in Adair County Circuit Court, Newman allegedly tried to purchase a 26-inch Viore LCD television from Wal-Mart, claiming the UPC code valued at $3.16 was the proper code the television, which normally sells for more than $517.

If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000 or any combination of the two. (Full Story)



I have a feeling this guy tried to argue his way out of trouble too. I've worked retail before, and this is that special kind of customer. The kind that argues, "I don't care if it's the right price. It rang up as three dollars so that's all I should have to pay."

Market Station

We live near trains, and I love it. I've always loved the sound of trains rolling by. Sometimes close is too close though. This video won't make much sense unless you watch it to the end (it's less than a minute long). I just wonder how they coordinate this.

JukeFly

A little while back I mentioned Pandora. I now have an additional alternative (to an MP3 player) for you. It's a service called JukeFly. JukeFly is a little bit different in the fact that you are listening to your personal music collection. You first sign up (free) and download their application. From there you point the application to the machine where you keep your music downloads. Now, no matter where you are you can listen to all of your music over the internet streaming. Seems like this would be ideal for people who like to be on the move with a laptop. You get to listen to your whole music library without taking up any of your hard drive space.

No Bread? Eat Cake.

Call it the revenge of Marie Antoinette. The French queen, who on being told that her subjects had no bread suggested they eat cake instead, has gone down in history as callous, unworldly and fully deserving of the guillotine. Last year, however, farmers in Pennsylvania began following her advice. Since standard animal feed had become too dear, they started giving their pigs and cows chocolate - and banana chips and cashews and yogurt-covered raisins, any of which were cheaper than run-of the-mill corn and beans. One farmer even supplied his cattle a special "party mix" of popcorn, pretzels, cheese curls and crisps. This, he told reporters, saved 10% on feed costs. (Full Story)

I wonder about cows. In the past few years "foodies" have been touting the great advantages of grass fed beef, but it has always been more expensive. With grain prices the way they are, will that change? I hope so.

[Story via fanaticcook]

Finders Keepers

NEW ORLEANS -- A local man is actively trying to take possession of hurricane-ravaged houses – and deputies are actively trying to stop him, police said.According to the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office, Jesse Bryant, 47, was booked with burglary and criminal trespassing after posting signs in yards of damaged houses reading "I, Jesse Bryant, take possession of this abandoned property."Police said he went so far as to change the locks in one house at a subdivision – effectively keeping the real owner out of his own house.Deputies said Bryant, who had been living with a daughter, claimed it’s legal to take possession of abandoned property. Deputies emphasized that Bryant is wrong and more charges might be pending regarding other properties.

Does this guy think New Orleans is the wild west or something? The great land grab of '08? You have to admit though, this would make a great COPS episode. We can only hope.

[Story via wdsu]

30 Years of Spam

Thirty years ago next week, Gary Thuerk, a marketer at the now-defunct computer firm Digital Equipment Corporation, sent an email to 393 users of Arpanet, the US government-run computer network that eventually became the internet. It was the first spam email ever.

That commercial message, sent on 3 May 1978, drew a swift and negative reaction. Recipients complained directly to Thuerk, who had made no attempt to hide his identity, and DEC was reprimanded by the Arpanet administrators.

Nevertheless, the email was a portent of things to come. Today, spam makes up 80 to 90% of all emails sent – around 120 billion messages per day – and is a multi-billion dollar industry. . .

But while the cost to spammers remains low, ISPs and their customers pay a higher price because of the bandwidth wasted, and the cost of the filtering technology. Ferris Research, another San Francisco-based firm, estimates that the cost of fighting spam will be $140 billion globally in 2008. (Full Story)

Gmail has a pretty good spam filter, so I usually don’t worry about spam all that much. The 140 billion, however, will make you stop and think about it for a second.

World Malaria Day

Tom has a great post on World Malaria Day that you should go on over and read.

Today, you can do more than just acknowledge the problem of malaria in other countries. At Against Malaria 5 dollars will buy you a treated mosquito net to be sent where it's most needed. All of your 5 dollars goes to the net.

The other organization you can donate to is Africa Fighting Malaria. They are more research and advocacy oriented. They look for low cost, yet effective, ways to control the spread of malaria. They then spurn private organizations and governments to action (currently to use IRS. . . click on the link and read if you want to know what that is).


[Photo of a malaria patient via bairopiteclinic]

Less Than Impressed

So, if you like Spike Lee this is his new project. I can't say I'm too excited about it. Maybe I'm just getting old though. Alright, I won't bash it until it's finished.

The video below is one of the "top collaborations." They want you to "express your mobile creativity in a massively collaborative film about music."



Warning: I had to us IE to get the site to load. . . strike one.

http://promotions.yahoo.com/nokiaproductions/

Parting Picture

[Photo via panhala]

Sticks and Stones

Comedians and church leaders have claimed a victory for free speech after Government plans to ban jokes about homosexuals were rejected in the House of Lords.

In a late night vote, peers inflicted an overwhelming defeat on the Government by amending the Criminal Justice Bill to protect the freedom of speech of comics, rap artists and those who criticise other people’s sexuality. (Full Story)

This stuff is just crazy to me. Don’t get me wrong, accosting (physically or verbally) homosexuals is not OK. But taking away free speech isn’t the way to handle it. I'm glad they rejected the ban.

Maybe We Should Check The Cards Instead

"Good news for rational, level-headed Virgoans everywhere: just as you might have predicted, scientists have found astrology to be rubbish.

Its central claim - that our human characteristics are moulded by the influence of the Sun, Moon and planets at the time of our birth - appears to have been debunked once and for all and beyond doubt by the most thorough scientific study ever made into it.

For several decades, researchers tracked more than 2,000 people - most of them born within minutes of each other. According to astrology, the subject should have had very similar traits.

The babies were originally recruited as part of a medical study begun in London in 1958 into how the circumstances of birth can affect future health. More than 2,000 babies born in early March that year were registered and their development monitored at regular intervals.

Researchers looked at more than 100 different characteristics, including occupation, anxiety levels, marital status, aggressiveness, sociability, IQ levels and ability in art, sport, mathematics and reading - all of which astrologers claim can be gauged from birth charts.

The scientists failed to find any evidence of similarities between the "time twins", however. They reported in the current issue of the Journal of Consciousness Studies: "The test conditions could hardly have been more conducive to success . . . but the results are uniformly negative." (Full Story)

I've never understood the appeal to astrology. It just seems so much, well, like believing Hogwarts is really a train ride away.

6 Word Novel

This is pretty neat for the length of the video, but I don't think I would buy a book of these.



Six-Word Memoir book preview from SMITHmag on Vimeo.

SearchMe

Do you ever Google something wishing you could just scan the actual web pages rather than stare at a bunch of text? Well, even though I'm a huge Google fan I may find myself using this site occasionally. SearchMe is a search engine of sorts (I'm not sure they don't use someone else's engine for the actual search). Type in your search and it will allow you to scroll through screen shots of web pages containing your requested information. It even highlights all of the matching text on the screen shots. Give it a try and tell me what you think. SearchMe.

For Primus Fans

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Parting Picture

[Photo via espn]

What Bill Doesn't Want You To Find Out

"The chocolate pudding family tree originated with custards, which can be baked, steamed or stirred together on the stove like custard sauce or crème anglaise. Without chocolate, custards date at least to the Middle Ages.

Custards usually rely on eggs to thicken a liquid, typically milk or cream. The idea of thickening custard with cornstarch came from Andrew Bird, an Englishman whose wife was allergic to eggs. In 1837 he began marketing his cornstarch-based Bird’s Custard Powder, still a staple in the United Kingdom.

Puddings using cornstarch quickly took hold in the United States, and in 1918 My-T-Fine put out the first boxed pudding mix." (Full Story)

I'm not a chocolate fan but I think I could dig some of this stuff. So instead of using a box next time, give her version of pudding a try. They'll thank you for it.

Fiver

The U.S. recently issued a new 5 dollar bill. If you would like to check out some of its new features go here.

Yes, that really is purple.

Wheat Wars

". . . Last year poppy production actually increased.

But now it seems the message is finally getting through. In parts of Helmand Afghan farmers are this year sowing wheat instead of poppy - not because they have suddenly been converted to the argument that producing heroin is not in the national interest.

Market forces have been the deciding factor - with wheat prices doubling in the past year, and the street price of heroin falling, it is now more cost effective to grow wheat.

At last there are signs of progress being made amidst Afghanistan’s battle-scarred landscape." (Full Story)



You know things are getting bad when people stop making drugs to make food.

[Photo via rawe.info]

Bernie Revisited

Dumb and dumber are free and clear.

A Manhattan judge today dismissed all charges against the two men accused in the "Weekend at Bernie's" stunt of trying to cash their dead friend's check in January.

James O'Hare and David Daloia, both 65, were accused of dressing the corpse in a pair of pants, a T-shirt and sneakers - then loading him into a chair, and trying to cash his $355 Social Security check.

Prosecutors acknowledged that two autopsies were unable to determine Virgilio Cintron's exact time of death, and the case was dropped for lack of evidence. (Full Story)

I understand that you have to let the judicial system work, but I personally don’t think you could miss the fact that the person you’re pushing is dead. Just my opinion.

Chair Balloon

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- A Roman Catholic priest who floated off under hundreds of helium party balloons was missing today off the southern coast of Brazil.

Rescuers in helicopters and small fishing boats were searching off the coast of Santa Catarina state, where pieces of balloons were found. (Full Story)


This was not his first time either. I have to say, it does sound like fun.

Potty Training

So if you ever plan on making a trip to India, it might be a good idea to get a little training. . . on how to use the bathroom. Just stroll on over to here to get some step by step instructions.

Vendomatic

"If the thought of sticking your dirty feet into a new pair of shoes that you bought from a vending machine because you somehow lost your regular pair of shoes doesn’t appeal to you, then maybe this machine’s not for you." (Full Story)

So at what point is the vending machine that much closer than a shoe store?

Parting Picture

[Photo via Hunkabutta]

Without an MP3

MP3 players are great. There are a few things I don't like about them though. They have to use some form of battery. That's not too much of a hassle, but it's still something I have to think about. I also have to put all my music on the player, which means I have to get all of my music onto my hard drive. (At least anything from several years back when CDs were still considered viable). Again, these are small complaints, but it's this last thing that has really made me start using something different: I never get to here new music if I'm always listening to my MP3 player.

Obviously, listening to the radio is not an option. It just isn't. So while at work, I use Pandora. The way it basically works is that you tell it an artist or song that you like. From there it will create a "station" based on that selection. Let's say you create an Iron and Wine station. Whenever you are listening to your Iron and Wine station, it will play songs by them or other songs by artists who are within the same "musical genome." Trust me. You will stumble upon other artist you like that you may have otherwise never found. Also, you can tell Pandora that you do or don't like a song. Before long you train it to your tastes. There are other features, but I'll just let you play around with it and figure them out.

You do have to sign up, but it is free. They don't put you on some stupid spam list. They only send you periodic emails about updates (once a month maybe?). I've been using Pandora for over a year and have had no problems/found any strings attached.

Give it a try.



(No. I am not affiliated with or being compensated in any way by Pandora. . .)

Poculum Mortis Exhaurire = Vitamins

A review of 67 studies found "no convincing evidence" that antioxidant supplements cut the risk of dying.

Scientists at Copenhagen University said vitamins A and E could interfere with the body's natural defences.

"Even more, beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E seem to increase mortality," according to the review by the respected Cochrane Collaboration. (Full Story)

I do have a few questions about this study: What were the dosages in the study? They mention the mortality rate but what were the direct causes of death? Also, the study mentions “increased risk” of mortality – what, precisely, does that mean?