Utah Cops Arrest Yogi Bear, Notorious Basket Thief, On Variety Of Charges

On the heels of a KFC Double Down sandwich getting booked in Florida, Yogi Bear was purportedly collared yesterday in Provo, Utah.
 
The Hanna-Barbera character was detained yesterday on a variety of counts, including fishing without a license and an immigration charge, according to the Utah County Sheriff's Office Corrections Bureau web site.
 
As seen above, the mug shot of Bear--who is described as 60 years old and 490 pounds--is sandwiched between suspects arrested for pot possession and vehicular infractions. A second page on the sheriff's web site provides additional details about Bear's bust.
 
However, while suspected of prior thefts involving picnic baskets, Bear's reported arrest Tuesday morning apparently did not actually happen. The entry on the sheriff's web site was done as part of a training or testing exercise.
 
 
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/utah/utah-cops-arrest-yogi-bear-notorious-basket-thief-variety-charges-100223201101
 
 

"Eye on the Road, Hand off the Phone "

from a friend:

 

I read an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer entitled Eye on the Road, Hand off the Phone that highlighted a new government website that warns against the perils of driving while distracted. 

 

I went on the site this morning, and I encourage all of you to do the same. 

 

Watch the videos. They are short but powerful.  Show them to your kids, your spouse, your friends. 

 

I know I'm not perfect, but I am certainly going to try to be better.  Not only because I'm afraid, but because our kids are watching.  I fear that until, as a society, we take a stand and start to tell others "I'm sorry I won't be available/reachable" during times when we are driving, we will only hear more of these kinds of stories. 

 

It will be hard to adjust our behavior patterns, but most things worth doing are hard. 

 

http://www.distraction.gov/faces/joe-teater.html

 

 

 

World's first skyscraper was a monument to intimidation

World's first skyscraper was a monument to intimidation

Published: Thursday, February 17, 2011 - 12:54 in Paleontology & Archaeology

 

Discovered by archaeologists in 1952, a 28-foot-high stone tower discovered on the edge of the town of Jericho has puzzled scientists ever since. Now, eleven centuries after it was built, Tel Aviv University archaeologists at the ancient site Tel Jericho are revealing new facts about the world's first "skyscraper." Recent computer-based research by doctoral student Roy Liran and Dr. Ran Barkai of Tel Aviv University's Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at the Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities sheds light on who built the 28-foot-high tower — and why.

The researchers note that this is the first instance of human beings erecting such a tall structure, even before the transition to agriculture and food production in the region. Liran and Dr. Barkai now believe that the tower, which required about ten years to build, is an indication of power struggles at the beginning of the Neolithic period, and that a particular person or people exploited the primeval fears of Jericho's residents in persuading them to build it. The new revelations about the ancient tower were recently published in the journal Antiquity.

"In the newly published article, we present a new and exciting discovery," Liran and Dr. Barkai said in a joint statement, "which is connected to the exact position of the tower on the edges of the village of Jericho, and the shadow that covers the site when the sun sets on the longest day of the year."

A stairway (and tower) to Heaven
"Reconstruction of the sunset revealed to us that the shadow of the hill as the sun sets on the longest day of the year falls exactly on the Jericho tower, envelops the tower and then covers the entire village," the researchers explained. "For this reason, we suggest that the tower served as an earthly element connecting the residents of the site with the hills around them and with the heavenly element of the setting sun." Its construction may be related to the primeval fears and cosmological beliefs of the villagers, they note.

Tel Jericho, located in modern day Jericho in the West Bank, is one of the most ancient sites in the world. The eight and half meter tower, which was built with a steep flight of stairs approximately one meter wide, rises above a four-meter wall that probably encompassed the city. The existence of the tower led to Jericho's identification as the first city in the world, even though it was in fact a settlement of pre-agricultural hunter gatherers.

"This was a time when hierarchy began and leadership was established," Dr. Barkai told the Jerusalem Post. "We believe this tower was one of the mechanisms to motivate people to take part in a communal lifestyle."

Debunking old theories
Some researchers have proposed that the tower and wall together comprised a system of fortification and a defense against flooding. Others have suggested the tower and wall as a geographical marker, defining the territory of the early residents of Jericho, and a symbol of the wealth and power of the ancient village.

In a 2008 article, the Tel Aviv University researchers proposed that the tower and wall of Jericho should be seen as cosmological markers, connecting the ancient village of Jericho with the nearby Mount Qarantal and sunset on the longest day of the year. The new paper fortifies their hypothesis.

This idea is based on the fact that the axis of the flight of stairs in the tower was built at a precise angle to the setting of the sun on the longest day of the year behind the highest peak overlooking Jericho, Mount Qarantal. They believe that it is humanity's first skyscraper, however small, and also the world's first public building.

Source: American Friends of Tel Aviv University

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2011/02/17/worlds.first.skyscraper.was.a.monument.intimidation

 

 

Be your own BFF on Facebook

Wonkette has figured out that Sarah Palin appears to have created a separate account with her personal Gmail address (contained in the scathing tell-all that leaked over the weekend).

With this account, someone who calls herself "Lou Sarah" (Palin's middle name is Louise) gushes with praise for—you guessed it—Sarah Palin.
 
"Lou" regularly "likes" items on Palin's official page; once she wrote "amen" on a Palin post.

She also has lots of nice things to say about Bristol Palin's turn on Dancing With the Stars.  "Hi bristol! I love how respectful and gracious you are to the judges and reporters. You are the very, very best," "Lou" wrote in October.
 
 
http://wonkette.com/438825/is-sarah-palin-commenting-on-her-own-facebook-fan-page

New Hacking Tools Pose Bigger Threats to Wi-Fi Users

New Hacking Tools Pose Bigger Threats to Wi-Fi Users
 
You may think the only people capable of snooping on your Internet activity are government intelligence agents or possibly a talented teenage hacker holed up in his parents' basement. But some simple software lets just about anyone sitting next to you at your local coffee shop watch you browse the Web and even assume your identity online.
 
"Like it or not, we are now living in a cyberpunk novel," said Darren Kitchen, a systems administrator for an aerospace company in Richmond, Calif., and the host of Hak5, a video podcast about computer hacking and security. "When people find out how trivial and easy it is to see and even modify what you do online, they are shocked."
 
Until recently, only determined and knowledgeable hackers with fancy tools and lots of time on their hands could spy while you used your laptop or smartphone at Wi-Fi hot spots. But a free program called Firesheep, released in October, has made it simple to see what other users of an unsecured Wi-Fi network are doing and then log on as them at the sites they visited.
 
While the password you initially enter on Web sites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Amazon, eBay and The New York Times is encrypted, the Web browser's cookie, a bit of code that that identifies your computer, your settings on the site or other private information, is often not encrypted. Firesheep grabs that cookie, allowing nosy or malicious users to, in essence, be you on the site and have full access to your account.
 
More than a million people have downloaded the program in the last three months (including this reporter, who is not exactly a computer genius). And it is easy to use.
 
The only sites that are safe from snoopers are those that employ the cryptographic protocol Transport Layer Security or its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer, throughout your session. PayPal and many banks do this, but a startling number of sites that people trust to safeguard their privacy do not. You know you are shielded from prying eyes if a little lock appears in the corner of your browser or the Web address starts with "https" rather than "http."

 

 full @ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/technology/personaltech/17basics.html

 

 

27 Unique WiFi Network Names

most of these are pretty funny

http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/27-unique-wifi-network-names
 
 
 
 

Who Am I?    by Demetri Martin

February 28, 2011

Who am I? That is a simple question, yet it is one without a simple answer. I am many things—and I am one thing. But I am not a thing that is just lying around somewhere, like a pen, or a toaster, or a housewife.

 

That is for sure. I am much more than that. I am a living, breathing thing, a thing that can draw with a pen and toast with a toaster and chat with a housewife, who is sitting on a couch eating toast. And still, I am much more.

 

I am a man.

And I am a former baby and a future skeleton, and I am a distant future pile of dust. I am also a Gemini, who is on the cusp.

I am "brother" and I am "son" and I am "father" (but just according to one person, who does not have any proof but still won't seem to let it go). Either way, I am moving very soon and not letting her know about it. I am asking you to keep that between us.

I am trustworthy and loyal, but at the same time I am no Boy Scout. No, I am certainly not. I am quite the opposite, in fact. And by opposite I do not mean Girl Scout. No. I mean Man Scout. And by that I do not mean Scout Leader. In fact, I am not affiliated with the Scouts at all. Let's just forget about the Scouts and Scouting altogether, O.K.?

I am concepts and thoughts and feelings and outfits. And I am each of these all at once, unless I am in the shower. Then I am not outfits, because that would be uncomfortable.

To some I am known as Chief. And these are usually people who work in Radio Shack or try to sell me shoes. To others I am known as Buddy. These are people who dwell in bars and wonder if I've got a problem or what it is that I am "looking at." And to still others, who are in that same bar, standing just off to the side, I am "Get Him!"

I am he and I am him. I am this and I am that. And I am, from time to time, Roberta, if I am in a chat room.

People have known me by many titles. In high school, I was Student and Key Club Vice-President and Queer Bait. In college, I was Pledge and then Disappointed and then Transfer Student. I am still amazed at how picky certain so-called "brotherly" organizations can be. And I am actually glad that they didn't choose me for their stupid fraternity.

To some I am fantasy, and to others I am Frank, mostly because I have told them that this is my name—even though it is not even close to my name. I am a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a pita. Why the pita? That counts as another mystery.

I am everything and I am nothing. I am just kidding; I am not everything and nothing. That would be ridiculous. I am just everything.

I am what I eat. And I am this especially when I bite my nails.

I have been called Hey, You! and Get Out of the Way! and Look Out! And then, some time later, Plaintiff.

I am my own worst critic. I am going to give you an example. "That's not me enough" is the kind of thing I am prone to say about myself. See what I mean? I am sure you do.

I am the silent majority.

I am a loud minority.

I am not talking about Puerto Ricans when I say that, because I am not a racist. I am just clearing that up. In fact, I am pretty sure I have at least one friend from each of the races (Hi, Guillermo).

I am friend. I am foe. I am fo' sho'. What up, y'all?

I am sorry about that. I was just talking to one of my race friends, a black one. I am white and I am black. And I am both of these when I am dressed as a mime. And then I am sh-h-h.

I am Batman, but only on Halloween. And then I am not invited to many parties. But I am fine with that, because that just makes me an even more accurate Batman (because Batman does not go to parties as Batman but only as Bruce Wayne). I am right about this.

I am someone who likes to go to the park. But I am not the guy with the Labrador retriever and the tennis ball and the tattered book under his arm, who is wearing fleece and is kind of tan. No. I am not that guy. I am sick of that guy and all the women who talk to him.

I am the Walrus, but not the one you're probably thinking of. I am the Other Walrus, the one who is less the Walrus in the sense of legendary music and more the Walrus in the sense of his tendency to lie around on a beach for too long.

I am bravery. I am courage. I am valor. I am daring. I am holding a thesaurus.

I am the sun. I am the moon. I am the rain, I am the earth. I am these when I am taking mushrooms with Kevin. I am good friends with Kevin. I am not sure what Kevin's last name is.

I am sometimes referred to as Excuse Me in an annoyed tone of voice, because apparently I am in the way. I am so sorry. I am supposed to be some sort of mind reader, I guess. I am moving out of the way now as slowly as I possibly can. I am doing this and there's nothing you can do about it.

I am often the one they call You but I am no more You than you. I am me. And I am more Me than you are or can ever be. And one time I was Corey for almost five minutes while I was talking with a stranger, until she realized that I was not her friend Corey.

I am neither here nor there, but there—a little to the left. Yeah. That's me.

I am waving at you. I am waving right at you now.

I am looking right at you.

I am sensing that you don't know me. I am starting to feel awkward.

I am getting out of here.

  http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2011/02/28/110228sh_shouts_martin

DIGITAL ETERNITY : "ETEWAF"

Stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt coined the acronym ETEWAF in an article in Wired Magazine on 27 December.
 
It expands to "Everything That Ever Was - Available Forever".
 
It refers to the power of digital recording and the online world to make anything, from any era, instantly available. He is concerned about the potentially adverse implications for creativity:
 
"ETEWAF  doesn't produce a new generation of artists - just an army of sated consumers. Why create anything new when there's a mountain of freshly excavated pop culture to recut, repurpose, and manipulate on your iMovie?"

The need to speak clearly

During the recent devastating floods in Queensland, Australia, the front page of the Morning Bulletin of Rockhampton on 6 January included the headline "30,000 pigs swept away in flood".
 
The next day, the paper featured this correction:  "What Baralaba piggery-owner Sid Everingham actually said was '30 sows and pigs', not '30,000 pigs'."

 

from World Wide Words -- TITULAR ODDITIES

TITULAR ODDITIES
 
Yesterday, the Bookseller magazine announced its shortlist for the Diagram Prize, which showcases the strangest book titles of the year.
 
A Mills & Boon bonkbuster, an examination of the ongoing debate surrounding organ procurement, and a guide to managing a dental practice are among the titles.
 
The literary award was conceived in 1978 to avoid boredom at the annual Frankfurt Book Fair and has been held in all but two years since.
 
The shortlist is:
 
What Color Is Your Dog?;
Managing a Dental Practice the Genghis Khan Way;
Myth of the Social Volcano;
The Generosity of the Dead; 
the 8th International Friction Stir Welding Symposium Proceedings;  and
The Italian's One-night Love-child.
 

 Public voting is now open at http://www.thebookseller.com/.
The winner will be announced on 25 March.
 

Bownessie photo

New photo of 'English Nessie' hailed as best yet
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8332535/New-photo-of-English-Nessie-hailed-as-best-yet.html

 

Hmmm, if you squint a bit, and turn it upside down, you can practically see Nostradamus and Bigfoot in a UFO.

 

BECK VS. GOOGLE

Fox News' Glenn Beck has new advice for his minions: stop using Google.
 

"Who are they? Are they right? Are they left? Are they clean? Are they dirty? Are they front groups? I don't know. May I recommend if you're doing your own homework, don't do a Google search. It seems to me that Google is pretty deeply in bed with the government.   "Remember, maybe this is explaining why Google is being kicked out of all the other countries. Are they just a shill now for the United States government? Who is Jared Cohen? Is he a private citizen or government operative? And isn't this the second Google guy we've found? This is the second Google executive now being exposed as an instigator of a revolution."

 

 

Let me add:

Do I ask a lot of questions?

Do I prove anything?

Warning: Major Time Sink

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage
 
What is this about?
This wiki is a catalog of the tricks of the trade for writing fiction.
 

Tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations. On the whole, tropes are not clichés. The word clichéd means "stereotyped and trite." In other words, dull and uninteresting. We are not looking for dull and uninteresting entries. We are here to recognize tropes and play with them, not to make fun of them.
 
The wiki is called "TV Tropes" because TV is where we started. 

We are not Wikipedia. We're a buttload more informal. We encourage breezy language and original thought. 

Go on, have fun!
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage
 
=====
 
examples of "Action Adventure Tropes";
Elements used for exciting sequences, or primarily only found in stories about adventure
 
Absurdly Sharp Blade
A blade that is somehow so sharp that it can cut through almost anything, and never get dull
 
Casual Danger Dialog
Where heroes in danger will crack jokes or speak casually rather than gibbering in terror.
 
Disney Death
The hero appears to have suffered a fatal wound during the final battle, only to get up a few moments later.
VERY common in family action movies.
 
Drool Hello
The first inkling that a monster is above you? That yucky liquid splashing over your shoulders...
 
Exploding Fish Tanks
If an aquarium is shown at any point, the aquarium will inevitably be destroyed.
 
and many many more...

 
AND that's just a tiny sample of the "Action Adventure" category
There are also Science Fiction tropes, War tropes, sound effect tropes, Horror tropes, etc etc

 
 

Don't touch *my* pork

Boehner shrugged about the fact that Republican spending cuts could eliminate a million jobs ("so be it").

But he sang a very different tune about the F-35 engine, which was creating more than 1,000 jobs near his Ohio district.

Scientists Connect Global Warming to Extreme Rain

NY Times (excerpt)
 
Researchers found that global warming more than doubled the likelihood of that flood occurring. Similar studies are now under way to examine whether last year's deadly Russian heat wave and Pakistan floods — which were part of the same weather event — can be scientifically attributed to global warming.
 
For years scientists, relying on basic physics and climate knowledge, have said global warming would likely cause extremes in temperatures and rainfall. But this is the first time researchers have been able to point to a demonstrable cause-and-effect by using the rigorous and scientifically accepted method of looking for the "fingerprints" of human-caused climate change.
 
The scientists took all the information that shows an increase in extreme rain and snow events from the 1950s through the 1990s and ran dozens of computer models numerous times. They put in the effects of greenhouse gases — which come from the burning of fossil fuels — and then ran numerous models without those factors.
 
Only when the greenhouse gases are factored in do the models show a similar increase to what actually happened. All other natural effects alone don't produce the jump in extreme rainfall. Essentially, the computer runs show climate change is the only way to explain what's happening.
 
full @
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/02/16/science/AP-US-SCI-Climate-Floods.html
 
 

... and sometimes not so mysterious ways

A man is in his house when horrendous rains come up. The water starts rising, and before you know it, we're talking major flood. Roads are covered. And the flood waters keep rising.
 
Pretty soon, a boat comes along. The guy in the boat yells, "'Come on - we're here to save you. Get in the boat."

The man in the house says, "No, I've got faith that God will save me."

The boat leaves. The water keeps rising. The man is forced up the second floor of his house by the flood waters. Another boat comes along. The guy in the boat yells, "Come on! It's getting worse. If you don't get in the boat, you're going to drown."

From the second floor window the man says, "No thanks. I'll be ok. I've got faith in God. He'll save me."

The boat leaves. Water keeps rising. The man scrambles onto his roof. A helicopter hovers overhead and the pilot shouts out, "This is your last chance. Climb up the ladder. If you don't, you're going to drown."

The man says from the roof, "No, thanks. God will save me."

The pilot shrugs his shoulders and flies off.
 
The water covers the top of the house and the man drowns. 
 
He ascends to the Pearly Gates. He asks St. Peter, "What happened? I've been devoted to God all of my life and had absolute faith that He would save me. Why did He let me down?"

And St. Peter tells him, "What the more do you want? God sent you two boats and a helicopter!"

If Historical Events had Facebook Statuses

http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/if-historical-events-had-facebook-statuses/

Makin' Whoopie (pies): A Pie Fight Starts Over a Cream-Filled Cake

.
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa.—At the weekly Root's Country Market here in Pennsylvania Dutch country, everyone seems sweet on whoopie pies.
 
The frosting-filled, hamburger-size sandwiches sell like crazy. More than 1,000 are sold at the Burkhart's Bakery stand every day it's open.
 
They originated here," says owner Judy Burkhart.
 
The whoopie lobby in Maine begs to differ. Though better known for blueberries and lobster, Maine is hoping to lay claim to the pies with a proposal to anoint them the official state dessert. A legislative committee may vote on it Monday.
 
The result is an interstate whoopie pie fight.
 
"Save Our Whoopie!" reads a digital petition and video posted last week on the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau's website. It calls the Maine bill a "confectionary larceny."
 
full @
 http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704132204576136593240752596-lMyQjAxMTAxMDEwNTExNDUyWj.html

Image site hits back at spammers

BBC news:
 
 

Spammers are being thwarted by finding that their junk messages unexpectedly contain warnings urging recipients to delete the e-mail.

 
The alerts are issued by ImageShack, in an effort to stop spammers using its services.
 
It is replacing pictures, known to have appeared in spam, with warnings such as "Do not buy".
 
ImageShack's system is capable of swapping thousands of the spammers' images for warnings within an hour of them being reported.
 

full @ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12450348

 

I was RIGHT !

Shibboleet: XKCD's clever code word explained
  http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2010/1015/Shibboleet-XKCD-s-clever-code-word-explained

 
see http://silent3.blogspot.com/2010/10/xkcd-does-tech-support.html for the analysis I posted on my blog
 
 

There's always something scary in Australia

From my friend Paul
 

---

 

Australians hit by Cyclone Yasi warned to stay away from deadly giant birds

 

Residents of communities around Mission Beach, on the north Queensland coast, which was almost flattened by the category five cyclone earlier this month, have been advised to beware of the 6ft tall birds, which are known to attack if they feel threatened.

 

Famed for their long talons – their dagger-like middle claws measure 12cm long – and powerful legs, the birds, which are unique to the rainforests of northern Australia, are said to be able to disembowel humans, dogs and horses with just one kick.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/8318367/Australians-hit-by-Cyclone-Yasi-warned-to-stay-away-from-deadly-giant-birds.html

 

Milton M. Levine, Inventor of Ant Farm, Dies at 97‏

Milton Levine's Eureka moment came in 1956, when he spotted a mound of ants during a Fourth of July picnic at his sister's poolside in Southern California.
 
Recalling how as a boy he had collected ants in jars at his uncle's farm in Pennsylvania, he told his brother-in-law and business partner, E. J. Cossman, "We should make an antarium."
 
The resulting product — Uncle Milton's Ant Farm — has been a staple in children's bedrooms ever since. It offers a bucolic panorama of a farmhouse beside a winding path to a barn and windmill above a warren of ant tunnels, all encased in plastic. More than 20 million have been sold.
 
Mr. Levine died Jan. 16 in Thousand Oaks, Calif., his son, Steven, said. He was 97.
 

full @ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/business/30levine.html
 
 

Not exactly "News"

Former Employee Calls Fox News "a Propaganda Outfit"
 
News flash: Fox News is not an unbiased purveyor of information. Not news, you say? OK, it's true that Steve Benen and Conor Friedersdorf say exactly that on almost a daily basis.
 
What is news is that the latest criticism comes from a former employee of the network itself. Roger Ailes runs a famously tight-lipped ship, and ex-staffers tend to be reluctant to talk about their work at Fox, even anonymously. But Media Matters obtained some comments from an anonymous former employee who says flatly that Fox is "a propaganda outfit."
 
When asked what people would be most surprised to learn about the network, the source said, "I don't think people would believe it's as concocted as it is; that stuff is just made up." He or she says Fox has gotten more and more partisan over the years: "For the first few years it was, let's take the conservative take on things. And then after a few years it evolved into, well it's not just the conservative take on things, we're going to take the Republican take on things. ... And then two, three, five years into that it was, we're taking the Bush line on things."
 
With Bush out of the news, producers have had to find other things to be worked up about. "If one controversy faded, goddamn it they would find another one," the source said. "You always have to seem like your values are under attack. The brain trust just knew instinctively which stories to do, like the War on Christmas."

 
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201102100007
 
 

Google celebrates Jules Verne's birthday!

Check the Google logo on their homepage - the lever to the right lets you go up, down, forward & back

See what's at the bottom of the ocean

 

Google has a special logo up today on all Google properties for the author who wrote Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Jules Verne was born today, February 8th, 183 years ago. Google wanted to wish him a happy birthday and thank him for all the people has inspired going forward.
 
 Google said:
 

Today's doodle, celebrating Verne's 183rd birthday, tries to capture that sense of adventure and exploration. Using CSS3 (and with help from our resident tech wizards Marcin Wichary and Kris Hom), the doodle enables anyone to navigate the Nautilus down (nearly) 20,000 leagues with the simple pull of a lever. And for those using devices with built-in accelerometers and the latest versions of Google Chrome or Firefox, it's even simplerjust tilt your device in the direction you want to explore and the Nautilus will follow.

Everyone uses Google. Even Bing.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/microsofts-bing-uses-google-search.html


 
 

British Border Agent Fired for Putting Wife on Terrorist Watch List

 
A UK border agent lost his job after authorities discovered he'd placed his wife on a terrorist watch list in an attempt to rid himself of her.
 
The woman was left stranded in Pakistan for three years because she was unable to fly back to the UK after visiting relatives, according to the Daily Mail.
 
The agent's act was only detected after he applied for a promotion, and a background check revealed that his wife was on the watch list. He was reportedly sacked for "gross misconduct."
 
The unidentified agent worked at the UK Border Agency's headquarters in South London. He worked with a unit that was responsible for maintaining the watch list. His promotion would have given him an even higher security clearance.
 
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/02/uk-border-fired/
 
 

Washington Post: Rush is on for custom domain name suffixes

Rush is on for custom domain name suffixes
By Ian Shapira
Monday, February 7, 2011; 8:04 AM
 

The pillar of the basic Web address - the trusty .com domain - is about to face vast new competition that will dramatically transform the Web as we know it. New Web sites, with more subject-specific, sometimes controversial suffixes, will soon populate the online galaxy, such as .eco, .love, .god, .sport, .gay or .kurd.
 
This massive expansion to the Internet's domain name system will either make the Web more intuitive or create more cluttered, maddening experiences. No one knows yet. But with an infinite number of naming possibilities, an industry of Web wildcatters is racing to grab these potentially lucrative territories with addresses that are bound to provoke.
 
Who gets to run .abortion Web sites - people who support abortion rights or those who don't? Which individual or mosque can run the .islam or .muhammad sites? Can the Ku Klux Klan own .nazi on free speech grounds, or will a Jewish organization run the domain and permit only educational Web sites - say, remember.nazi or antidefamation.nazi? And who's going to get .amazon - the Internet retailer or Brazil?
 
The decisions will come down to a little-known nonprofit based in Marina del Rey, Calif., whose international board of directors approved the expansion in 2008 but has been stuck debating how best to run the program before launching it. Now, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, is on the cusp of completing those talks in March or April and will soon solicit applications from companies and governments that want to propose and operate the new addresses.
 
 
full @ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/06/AR2011020603940.html

Milton M. Levine, Inventor of Ant Farm, Dies at 97

Milton Levine's Eureka moment came in 1956, when he spotted a mound of ants during a Fourth of July picnic at his sister's poolside in Southern California.
 
Recalling how as a boy he had collected ants in jars at his uncle's farm in Pennsylvania, he told his brother-in-law and business partner, E. J. Cossman, "We should make an antarium."
 
The resulting product — Uncle Milton's Ant Farm — has been a staple in children's bedrooms ever since. It offers a bucolic panorama of a farmhouse beside a winding path to a barn and windmill above a warren of ant tunnels, all encased in plastic. More than 20 million have been sold.
 
Mr. Levine died Jan. 16 in Thousand Oaks, Calif., his son, Steven, said. He was 97.
 
Selling for $1.98, the original 6-by-9-inch ant farm was an immediate hit, soon selling thousands a week by mail order to children persuaded by commercials on after-school television shows. They were entranced by the idea of staring at Pogonomyrmex californicus — red ants from California — digging those tunnels in boxed-in sand.
 
But the plastic cases, which two years later included a 10-by-15-inch version, arrived uninhabited. A coupon had to be mailed back to the company so that a vial containing 25 worker ants could arrive several weeks later. Because federal law prohibited shipments of queen ants across state lines, no mating ensued on the farms, so another vial of ants had to be ordered within several months — unless the owner dug some up outside.
 
For maturing ant farmers, the company later introduced "Executive Antropolis," a mahogany-framed farm-cum-desk-set with a black and gold Manhattan skyline. It never sold as well as the original models.
 
Still, Mr. Levine once said of his company's success: "Most novelties, if they last one season, it's a lot. If they last two seasons, it's a phenomenon. To last 35 years is unheard of." That was in 1991.
 
Today, the original-size ant farm sells for $10.99, something of a bargain in the world of children's toys.
 
 
full @ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/business/30levine.html

Lyric Malfunction

Christina Aguilera Flubs National Anthem

Pop princess Christina Aguilera added to the growing list of Super Bowl entertainment debacles by forgetting the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner at the NFL final on Sunday, reports the Washington Post.

 

The singer was doing all right until she substituted "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming," with a variation on the earlier "What so proudly we hailed" line, singing: "What so proudly we watched at the twilight's last gleaming." (The Guardian reports it as "twilight's last reaming.")

 

Aguilera explained her mistake in a statement: "I got so caught up in the moment of the song that I lost my place. I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through."

 

watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMHffUXbLV8&feature=player_embedded

 

 

Breaking News on Breaking Wind

BBC news item
 
 
Malawi row over whether new law bans farting

Two of Malawi's most senior judicial officials are arguing over whether a new bill includes a provision that outlaws breaking wind in public.

 

Justice Minister George Chaponda says the new bill would criminalise flatulence to promote "public decency".
 
"Just go to the toilet when you feel like farting," he told local radio.
 
However, he was directly contradicted by Solicitor General Anthony Kamanga, who says the reference to "fouling the air" means pollution.
 
"How any reasonable or sensible person can construe the provision to criminalising farting in public is beyond me," he said, adding that the prohibition contained in the new law has been in place since 1929.
 
The Local Courts Bill, to be introduced next week reads: "Any person who vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the public to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way shall be guilty of a misdemeanour."

Mr Chaponda, a trained lawyer, insists that this includes farting.
 
"Would you be happy to see people farting anyhow?" he asked on the popular "Straight Talk" programme on Malawi's Capital Radio.
 
He said that local chiefs would deal with any offenders.
 
When asked whether it could be enforced, he said it would be similar to laws banning urinating in public.

 

 

Tasty Tweets

from my friend Steve
 

---

 
Many people were offended by Kenneth Cole's tweet :
 "Millions are in an uproar in #cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is available on line."

One person sent this fake Cole tweet:
 "Jeffery Dahmer would have eaten up our Spring Collection."

 

Comcast kills the NBC peacock

One of Comcast Corp.'s first acts, as it takes control of NBC Universal this week, was to pluck the colorful peacock from the corporate logo.
 
The peacock, which has been NBC's mascot since 1956, will continue to unfurl on air as the symbol of the NBC broadcast network and cable news channels MSNBC and CNBC. So most viewers won't recognize the bird's abrupt downgrade.
 
Since 2004, when NBC acquired the Universal assets, the NBC Universal logo has been a peacock within a circle to signify the merged companies: NBC (the peacock), and the spinning planet that has long been Universal's logo.
 
"It seemed kind of busy," NBC Universal Chief Executive Steve Burke told employees during a town-hall meeting Thursday afternoon in New York, which was moderated by NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams.
 
Outgoing NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker struggled to deemphasize the importance of peacock broadcast network as its fortunes plummeted during the last six years. But that was always difficult, in large part, because NBC was part of the company's name and heritage and was the logo.
 
Now it looks like the Peacock may be slowly shuffled off to the retirement home where it can reminiscence about the glory days with Nipper, the dog that was the mascot of RCA, a former owner of NBC.

Trolls Pounce on Facebook’s Tahrir Square

Cairo's Tahrir Square is a warzone, thanks to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's goon squad. But the crackdown isn't limited to physical spaces where the protest movement congregates.
 
Ever since Mubarak restored Internet service on Wednesday, the most important dissident Facebook page has seen a curious flood of pro-regime Wall posts, sowing disinformation.
 
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/trolls-pounce-on-facebooks-tahrir-square/
 
 
 

acronym finder

http://www.AcronymFinder.com/

More WORDS OF THE YEAR ("gate rape"?)

from World Wide Words;

 

 

WORDS OF THE YEAR

 

As every year, the granddaddy of these annual votefests, the one from the American Dialect Society, took place in January) at its annual conference.

 

Winners were elected in various categories.

 

Most Useful Word of the Year: NOM

(a popular online term for yummy food, borrowed from the noise that the Cookie Monster character on Sesame Street makes as he devours another cookie)

 

 Most Creative: PREHAB

(the pre-emptive enrolment in a rehab facility to prevent relapse of an abuse problem, invented in February after Charlie Sheen checked into a clinic)

 

 Most Unnecessary: REFUDIATE

(an easy winner, the notorious blend of "refute" and "repudiate" that was used by Sarah Palin on Twitter)

 

 Most Outrageous: GATE RAPE

(a pejorative term for an invasive new US airport security pat-down procedure)

 

 Most Euphemistic: KINETIC EVENT

(the Pentagon term for violent attacks on troops in Afghanistan)

 

 Most Likely to Succeed: TREND

(a term particularly of Twitter, meaning to exhibit a burst of online buzz)

 

 Least Likely to Succeed: CULTUROMICS

(a statistical approach to word research using a set of about five million books digitised by Google, the value of which many linguists are deeply sceptical about)

 

 Fan Word of the Year: GLEEK

(a fan of the television show Glee)

 

And finally - drumroll, please, maestro - as the overall Word of the Year for 2010 the American Dialect Society voted for APP

(an abbreviated form of "application", a software program for a computer or phone operating system, which has been around for ages but which burst into renewed vigour in 2010 because of the vast number of little applications that have become available for smartphones).

WORDS OF THE YEAR

from World Wide Words:

 

 

WORDS OF THE YEAR

 

As every year, the granddaddy of these annual votefests, the one from the American Dialect Society, took place in January) at its annual conference.

 

Winners were elected in various categories.

 

Most Useful Word of the Year: NOM

(a popular online term for yummy food, borrowed from the noise that the Cookie Monster character on Sesame Street makes as he devours another cookie)

 

 Most Creative: PREHAB

(the pre-emptive enrolment in a rehab facility to prevent relapse of an abuse problem, invented in February after Charlie Sheen checked into a clinic)

 

 Most Unnecessary: REFUDIATE

(an easy winner, the notorious blend of "refute" and "repudiate" that was used by Sarah Palin on Twitter)

 

 Most Outrageous: GATE RAPE

(a pejorative term for an invasive new US airport security pat-down procedure)

 

 Most Euphemistic: KINETIC EVENT

(the Pentagon term for violent attacks on troops in Afghanistan)

 

 Most Likely to Succeed: TREND

(a term particularly of Twitter, meaning to exhibit a burst of online buzz)

 

 Least Likely to Succeed: CULTUROMICS

(a statistical approach to word research using a set of about five million books digitised by Google, the value of which many linguists are deeply sceptical about)

 

 Fan Word of the Year: GLEEK

(a fan of the television show Glee)

 

And finally - drumroll, please, maestro - as the overall Word of the Year for 2010 the American Dialect Society voted for APP

(an abbreviated form of "application", a software program for a computer or phone operating system, which has been around for ages but which burst into renewed vigour in 2010 because of the vast number of little applications that have become available for smartphones).

annual List of Banished Words

from World Wide Words

 

 

The long-established annual List of Banished Words published by Lake Superior State University came out in January.

    

As every year, the public voted for their most-disliked words and phrases, a wonderful opportunity for grumblers about the declining state of the language to vent some spleen, and for the University to obtain much-needed publicity.

 

This year, the overall winner was VIRAL, in the online sense of passing news of something from person to person; this has become a term of art in marketing and is solidly established in the language.

 

Other words and phrases in the list that voters particularly hated include EPIC, FAIL (and EPIC FAIL), WOW FACTOR, MAN UP, REFUDIATE and YOUR CALL IS IMPORTANT TO US.
 
 

The Day the Music Died

Feb 3, 1959:  Rock singers  Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and Big Bopper died in a plane crash.

Tom Cruise joins the Chinese Air Force ?

China Central Television showed footage of what they claimed was an air force training exercise conducted on January 23.
From the looks of things, they were actually just playing clips from Top Gun.
 
http://m.gizmodo.com/5745307/did-china-try-to-pass-off-top-gun-as-air-force-footage?

Vintage Posters Highlight a Century of Innovation

For a peek inside 100 years of cutting-edge inventions, take a look at this gallery of 20th-century advertisements.
 
They show how products that we take for granted today, like bicycles, electric trains and radios, were once strange and wonderful enough that they needed bold, artistic introductions.
 
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/02/vintage-posters/
 
 

Too perfect not to pass along

from my friend Sam:
 
 
In case you haven't seen (or couldn't have guessed),
apparently Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge isn't safe to eat.

 http://www.nbc11news.com/home/headlines/FDA_Toxis_Waste_Nuclear_Sludge_is_not_safe_to_eat_114831059.html

 

 

 

Paper planes released from upper atmosphere reportedly spotted from Winnipeg to Berlin

• Planes launched 36,500m above Earth
• Carrying messages on memory cards
• Reports some found in Canada, South Africa

 

http://www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/paper-planes-released-from-upper-atmosphere-reportedly-spotted-from-winnipeg-to-berlin/story-fn5fsgyc-1225996175781