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Top news on 7 September 2009 |
Stop Shaking My Movies Like A Polaroid Picture
The shaky cam is so common these days it's cliche. In order to curb this trend we've categorized the good, the bad, and the ugly of the candid cam takes. Not all shaky cams are created equal. The shaky cam, which finds its origins relatively recently, has become synonymous with mockumentaries and "realistic" approaches to fiction.
Eyes see trouble coming before brain notices
Not just a window to the soul, the eye has a few tricks of its own. Newly discovered eye cells can warn us that an object is coming nearer, and do so without the brain's help. This ability may have evolved to speed escape from predators.
Giant rat found in 'lost volcano'
A BBC expedition discovers a new species of giant rat in the jungle of Papua New Guinea, one of the largest ever found.
AmeriJet Pilots Raise a Stink Over Lack of Lavatories
None of the cargo carrier's eight Boeing 727s have lavatories, pilots say, forcing the pilots and crews to use plastic bags for all their elimination needs. "This is what you use for a Number One," one pilot says in a YouTube video, grabbing a small green bag. "And a much bigger bag for a Number Two."
A peek into the future of technology
Wireless electricity, touchable holograms, grown-up slot cars, elevators to space and more: Who knows whether they'll pan out, but they're in the works.
Microsoft attack Linux at the retail level
DesiVideoGamer: "I think I now know why, when I enter BestBuy, the employees say the odd lies that they do."
Could You Do It? Couples Share 1 E-mail Account
Often, spouses have separate work accounts where bad behavior could go undetected. However, the goal isn't policing each other every minute, they say. Instead, they are doing whatever is possible to avoid keeping secrets.
Banksy Mural Destroyed by "Accident"
An infamous Banksy mural was painted over in thick black paint by "workers" - who were hired by the British local government. Owner says: "The workmen were smiling as they did it - they thought it was funny."
Unsavory Food Additions: Frog Found in Diet Pepsi Cola
Finding frogs or toads in a soft drink may not occur often or pose significant health risks, the ick factor can be through the roof. Gastronomic flukes can cause significant emotional distress, but they rarely result in poor health consequences. Cola, for example, is too acidic to support most harmful bacteria..."Anytime there's human involved
Alzheimer's Genes Link Uncovered
Two potentially key genes linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease have been uncovered by UK researchers.
Amazon Deforestation Drops 46% In One Year
2008-2009 was a better year for the rainforests, with logging rates dropping 46%. The lowest it's been since these groups started monitoring in 2004.
India Continues to Argue Against Emission Cuts
The Indian government recently predicted a fourfold increase in CO2 emissions output in the next two decades. But India maintains that its per capita emissions are way below those of the developed countries and thus it would be unfair to ask it to set mandatory emission reduction targets.
Source: Danica Patrick to race in NASCAR's Nationwide Series
Danica Patrick will all but certainly be in NASCAR in 2010, but won't give up IndyCar racing and will limit next year's activity to the Nationwide Series and Trucks, according to a source very close to the situation.
Fire no longer threatening LA-area communities
With one of the largest wildfires in Southern California history nearly half contained, authorities were pressing forward with their investigation to try and determine who set the deadly blaze.
Crack Found In SF Bay Bridge Could Delay Opening
Crews working on a seismic retrofit of the Bay Bridge on Saturday found what officials called a "significant crack" in the eastern span that could keep it closed beyond Tuesday morning's scheduled reopening.
10 Computing Conspiracy Theories Examined
A conspiracy theory's recipe is disarmingly simple: an occurrence, the suggestion of a dark cabal, a wilful disregard for evidence and a creative mind. Once released the tale takes on a life of its own. Here are 10 of the top PC-related theories and whether they are rooted in reality or fantasy
USA Considers $10 'Tourist Fee' to Pay for Promoting Tourism
A proposal currently under consideration in the U.S. Congress may soon charge visitors to the United States a $10 entry fee.
Newfound Moon May Be Source of Outer Saturn Ring
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found within Saturn's G ring an embedded moonlet that appears as a faint, moving pinprick of light. Scientists believe it is a main source of the G ring and its single ring arc.
Is Spell Check Creating a Generation of Dummies?
Since the first spell checker appeared on personal computers in 1980, the tool has caught uncounted misspellings and common usage errors. But, language experts say we?ve grown so accustomed to our trusty spell check button, that we are using it less like a helpful reminder of the grammar rules, and more like a crutch.
Industry-Backed Label Calls Sugary Cereal a "Smart Choice"
A seal meant to flag healthier food has been granted to the likes of Froot Loops and full-fat mayonnaise, alarming nutritionists.
10 Technologies We Stole From the Animal Kingdom
People have been lifting ideas from Mother Nature for decades. Velcro was inspired by the hooked barbs of thistle, and the first highway reflectors were made to mimic cat eyes. But today, the science of copying nature, a field known as biomimetics, is a billion-dollar industry. Here are some of our favorite technologies that came in from the wild.
Chargers' Shawne Merriman arrested for choking Tila Tequila
San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman was arrested early Sunday on suspicion of choking and restraining television reality show hostess and model Tila ?Tequila? Nguyen, according to deputies.
5 girls strip-searched at school
School officials in Atlantic forced five teenage girls to take off their clothing for a search after a classmate reported $100 missing from her purse. Atlantic's superintendent calls the action 'allowable.'
Why not spend $21 billion on solar power from space?
The Japanese government is prepared to spend some 2 trillion yen on a one-gigawatt orbiting solar power station?and this week Mitsubishi and other Japanese companies have signed on to boost the effort.
The Future of our Planet
Hope you don't have any long-term plans...
White House: public health care plan is Negotiable
White House officials said Sunday a government health insurance option is negotiable, signaling a potential compromise on an issue that President Barack Obama's liberal supporters consider do-or-die.
"We Should Be Treating Health As A Condition, Not Commodity"
On Fridays episode of Bill Moyers Journal, Moyers succinctly described the current state of the health care debate: "here we are, wallowing in our dysfunction." After some words about the armed protesters at Town Hall events, Moyers turned to Obama's role in the debate:
Yakuza Gang now Requiring Members to Take Written Exam
Japan's largest and most notorious organized crime group, the Yamaguchi-gumi, is forcing members to take a "gangster exam" in order to reduce costly damages suits, police have discovered.
Greatest Video Game Quotes This Generation
The cake is a lie.
Top 10 Anime movies that surpass Disney by lightyears
Ten anime movies that surpass virtually anything Disney has made, including the Pixar films.
Will a speed bump power the grid?
The Burger King on U.S. Highway 22 in Hillside, N.J., looks no different from any other franchise in the state. Customers pull in and out all day, and at least 100,000 cars visit the drive-thru each year. And now a newly installed, mechanized speed bump...
Pirates Jump on District 9 Torrents
With over a million downloads in less than 24 hours, Peter Jackson?s Sci-Fi thriller District 9 is well on its way to becoming the most pirated movie of 2009. The huge download spike is caused by a DVD quality version of the movie that leaked onto various BitTorrent sites yesterday.
Insane Item Abuse Super Mario World Speedrun
Before complaints start, yes, it's a Tool Assisted speedrun. Yes, it's still pretty freakin' insane, even for a TAS, and I'd like to see you do better.
A Shot Against Cancer: Vaccines vs a Fearsome Disease
We get vaccinated against all manner of diseases; except the one we fear most. But that may be changing
The 3 Most Baffling Fight Scenes in Movie History
The fight scene is the single most important and meaningful expression in cinema. Without it, the inspirational montage would not exist. But while nobody can dispute the value of the fight scene, the great tragedy is that the best are not always the brightest: Here are the most epic fight scenes in the history of films that you've never seen:
Technorati hiring bloggers to compete with blogs they track?
Beginning in October, Technorati will feature original content on the site written by bloggers. What is Technorati planning? Another Google Knol or Mahalo? Whatever their plans are its a risky strategy to compete with the same blogs you are tracking.
Mother Saves Son By Fighting Off Cougar With a Water Bottle
Dawn Impey was on a hike with her two children and her husband when a cougar suddenly appeared and attacked her 5-year-old son. Faced between life and death for her son, she reacted quickly and furiously attacked the animal with a metal water bottle. Dawn's repeated blows with the water bottle finally forced the cougar to retreat into the bush.
Farmers Urged to Get Ready as Climate Change Threatens Crops
Even if global temperatures rise slowly, climate change could slash the yields of some of the world's most important crops almost in half, according to a new study published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Florida Republican Chair politicizes school, attacks Obama
There once was a political operative who loved to tell crowds he had a simple way of explaining to children the difference between Republicans and Democrats. That man is Jim Greer who, as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, claimed school is no place for politics and Obama?s ?indoctrination.? Ah..jokes about Hillary Clinton to schoolkids.
Palin Resignation Costs Alaska
Early estimates put the cost of Sarah Palin's midterm resignation as Alaska governor at a minimum of $40,000, not including a special legislative session partly linked to her departure. The preliminary figures obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request show it cost the state almost $14,100 for the July 26 swearing...
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