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Top news on 6 August 2009 |
21 Drinking Rituals From Around The World
Here are 21 of the most interesting drinking rituals from around the world.
The Truth About Mac OS X User Stats
Net Applications has changed the way it measures market share to take into account geographical variations. The revised figures are a catastrophe for Apple. Far from breaking into double digits, Apple's market share estimate has been slashed by more than 50 percent to well under 5 percent of the operating system market.
Hackers turn Wii controller into tool for disabled at Defcon
At last week's Defcon hacking convention in Las Vegas, a group of inventive students from the University of Delaware showed off the gentler side of their hobby by hacking a Wii Controller for the disabled
Iowa 911 Call Center is first to accept text messages
An emergency call center in the basement of the county jail in Waterloo, Iowa, became the first in the country to accept text messages sent to "911," starting Wednesday. "I think there's a need to get out front and get this technology available," Black Hawk County police chief Thomas Jennings said.
Little Known Weird Laws From Around The World
Ignorance Of The Law Is No Excuse.
Man Serenades SF Supervisors Every Week For Four Years
Every week, when SF Board President David Chiu asks for public comments, Walter Paulson waits patiently in line. Soon comes his turn at the podium. "Good early evening, Board of Supervisors," he says. Then he bursts into a rendition of Barry Manilow's "Mandy."
Mac OS X 10.5.8 now available
Apple's just unleashed its latest 10.5 update on an unsuspecting (well, totally suspecting, actually) crowd, so go ahead and fire up Software Update and see if Cupertino's left you any 10.5.8-flavored presents under the tree.
Seriously Incredible Water Slide Jump: Please Be Real
This video shows a crazy man launching himself off an epically-large water slide and landing perfectly in a kiddie pool very far away from it. Is it fake? I suspect so, but I really want it to be real.
Laura Ling Talks About Her Release From North Korea
Laura Ling gives a speech after she lands in the United States again after being held prisoner in North Korea since March 2009.
Despite Banning Twitter, 92% of China Uses Social Media
According to a recent report, Chinese netizens are twice as likely to use chat and three times more likely to micro-blog, blog and use video conference than Americans.
Healthcare: the road to robotic helpers
Robots are whirring away in factories all over the world, building cars, phones and cookers. Yet they can do so much more. Robotics for healthcare has been tipped as the next big wave, and Europe should be poised to ride it, according to a European road-mapping study.
Did This Mother Poison her Son for Attention?
A young mother named Judy Pickens told doctors that her children had fallen ill. In reality, she had been poisoning her son all along. And her daughter's condition only improved once she was removed from her mother's care. Pickens was convicted of 6 felonies. The bizarre story of a mother with Münchausen by proxy syndrome.
Kill IE6 campaign grows to 10,000 signatures
The campaign to kill Internet Explorer 6 gained momentum this week when a California site builder led nearly 40 Web start-ups to urge their users to ditch Microsoft's eight-year-old browser.
Hank Aaron: Reveal All Names on Drug List, & Reinstate Rose
Hank Aaron wants the names on the 2003 list of players who flunked drug tests to be released and thinks Pete Rose should be reinstated and voted into the Hall of Fame
Coolest find on Craigslist? Mansion in Seattle, $650/month
The mansion had been languishing on the market for two years until the owner, web entrepreneur and indie-film financier Garr Godfrey, gave up and decided to rent it out at a loss. Celene Ramadan spent months wrangling 10 tenants, enough to cover the rent -- and writing Garr a heartfelt letter expressing her appreciation for his house.
Organic Food No Better For You Says Influential UK Agency
The Food Standards Agency in the UK has declared that, ?? there are no important differences in the nutrition content, or any additional health benefits, of organic food when compared with conventionally produced food.?
Arena Football League Bids Farewell
After more than 20 years of high-scoring indoor football, the AFL is declaring bankruptcy and closing shop. Can you miss a sport you never cared about in the first place?
Hotel Bed-Bug Infestations Increase by 71%
Bed bugs have become a big problem. Reports of infestations have increased 71 percent since 2001. Hotels and apartments, where numerous people are passing in and out, are some of the most susceptible locations.
Researcher developed A toilet that Tweets!
?It started as a joke,? says Seth Hardy, a researcher for an anti-virus company who modified his toilet to tweet. ?I don?t like Twitter much and think everyone puts up very mundane stuff on Twitter. I thought, ?Why not have my toilet in there, too?
NASCAR Goes Solar At Pocono
NASCAR, the people that think carburetors are high tech, have just announced that they are going solar.They?ve announced a big new solar installation for one of their most beloved tracks. Soon, the Poconos will not only hear the thunder of V8s, but will also see the glint of scores of solar panels.
Chronic City: How To Ignore the Voters and the Law
One by one, across California, the lights are winking out. In city after city, town after town, patients who had dared hope they would at last have safe access to the medicine recommended by their physicians are having those hopes dashed by political cowardice, inertia, and the status quo.
17 Actors Who Played Themselves in Movies
Actors who played themselves in movies sometimes it?s as a cameo, but other times, it?s as prominent as the lead character, like in Paul Giamatti?s case in Cold Souls. There?s definitely been some notable appearances over the years, so take a look at 17 actors who played themselves in movies.
Microsoft Discontinues the Xbox360 Pro SKU
Picture proof that the Pro will be no more!
Veterans & Obama Hail GI Bill Expansion - CNN
The new G.I. legislation was opposed by many Republicans. The legislation significantly expands education benefits. It provides as much as a full scholarship at in-state public universities for eligible veterans, service members, reservists, and National Guard members.
Dog Gives Birth To A Record Number Of Puppies (w/ PICS)
The four-year-old Rottweiler started to give birth and didn't stop until she had produced 18 pups - the biggest ever litter in Britain. The incredible feat smashed the previous record of 13 and doubled the traditional litter size of eight or nine dogs.
Starcraft 2 Officially Delayed to 2010, Battle.net Blamed
Activision today announced that Blizzard's anticipated RTS sequel StarCraft II has been delayed into 2010. "As we prepare for next year, we have moved the expected release dates for two games, Activision Publishing's Singularity and Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft II, into 2010," said Activision CEO Bobby Kotick in a release.
City Of Phoenix Cuts Water Usage By 20%
According to the city's Water Resource Plan, individual and business conservation efforts made for a 20 percent reduction in water use since 1980. Everything from leveling agricultural fields with lasers ? on an angle to collect runoff ? to developing an EnergyStar-like rating for consumer appliances that conserve water.
Elephants Pass Self-Awareness Test
Now, we can add elephants to the very short list of animals besides apart form humans with self-awareness. Researchers working with Asian elephants at the Bronx zoo, conducted a test. Sure enough, the elephants demonstrated that they understood they were looking at themselves (and not another elephant).
Low-Budget Fusion Reactor Could Generate Energy By 2020
Currently, most nuclear fusion power plants are large, expensive projects that will take decades to benefit from. But a startup company in Vancouver, Canada, called General Fusion is taking the fast track to fusion, with a plan to build a working prototype fusion power plant within the next decade at a cost of less than a billion dollars.
Digitized Stalking Is the New World Order
You're being followed. Stalkers are everywhere, even in your pocket. That's the warning Wednesday from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Dinosaur Creationism Theme Park Seized By The Government
You'd think that dinosaur-loving creationists would be law-abiding citizens. Not so. Last week a South Carolina judge ordered the government to seize control of Dinosaur Adventure Land creationist theme park after its owners were convicted of tax fraud.
Warren, OH Renames street "Dave Grohl Alley"
Dave Grohl has seen plenty in his days as a drummer for Nirvana and the frontman of the Foo Fighters. ?This means a lot to me. I?m very, very proud to have this, and you guys?, Grohl remarked. Grohl also talked about his roots to the Mahoning Valley and how his grandfather worked at Republic Steel.
How Netflix gets your movies to your mailbox so fast
The Netflix warehouse in Carol Stream does not appear on any map. Your odds of finding it are slightly better than your odds of stumbling upon a rare insect in a field of weeds.
'Clunkers' Pile Up On Auto Dealer's 'Death Row'
The federal government requires auto dealers to disable a vehicle's engine in order to get a refund from "Cash for Clunkers" program. Critics say the engine is the most valuable part of a junked car so destroying them is wasteful.
Suspected U.S. drone kills Pakistan Taliban chief's wife
The wife of Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud was killed on Wednesday in a missile strike by a suspected U.S. drone in the South Waziristan tribal region, a relative told Reuters. It was...
AP, other news outlets omit killer's racist diary rants
The Associated Press and other news outlets have omitted references to President Barack Obama, the election of ?The Black Man? and remarks that black men have ?their choice of the best white girls? when republishing excerpts of the diary by a Pittsburgh-area man who killed three women and himself at an LA Fitness gym Tuesday evening.
10 Movie Sequels We?re Excited to See
The word "sequel" is typically a four letter word for moviegoers. However, we?ve found 10 follow ups that have a shot at being good, and we?re excited about their prospects.
Can You Capture a Laser In Your Hands? - Laser sound
Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Yes, if you're demoing this remarkable laser/sound prototype that turns a laser pointer into...well...just watch the clip. It's really fun stuff.
Plague Vaccine for Prairie Dogs Could Save Endangered Ferret
The same ?Black Death? that devastated Europe during the Middle Ages is still alive and well in wild rodents across the western United States. Researchers have developed a vaccine cocktail that can be mixed with food and given to wild prairie dogs, protecting better than a vaccine given by shot.
Apple Rejects Dictionary App for Containing Swear Words
Apple said no way to a dictionary app because it contained swear words.
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