Natalie Portman's ballet trainer for "Black Swan" shares her key exercises.
Also: 
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Do You Suffer From Outdoor Deprivation Disorder?
Call it ODD, although according to New York Times health writer Jane Brody, outdoor deprivation disorder is not odd; it's all too common.
Brody reports that a general and widespread disconnect with the natural environment had been linked in a host of studies to obesity and obesity-related diseases in children and adults, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, as well as vitamin D deficiency, osteoporosis, stress, depression, attention deficit disorder and myopia.
Yikes, it that all?
No. It's also linked to lower cognitive function.
The problem is apparently so acute that doctors have begun writing prescriptions for outdoor activity, providing patients with maps, guidelines and programs of gradually increased activity.
The good news is that the treatment is widely available and usually free: all we have to do is get outside.
Brody reports that a general and widespread disconnect with the natural environment had been linked in a host of studies to obesity and obesity-related diseases in children and adults, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, as well as vitamin D deficiency, osteoporosis, stress, depression, attention deficit disorder and myopia.
Yikes, it that all?
No. It's also linked to lower cognitive function.
The problem is apparently so acute that doctors have begun writing prescriptions for outdoor activity, providing patients with maps, guidelines and programs of gradually increased activity.
The good news is that the treatment is widely available and usually free: all we have to do is get outside.
Cloud Computing: Top 25 Myths Busted
Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand. Cloud computing is a natural evolution of the widespread adoption of virtualization, Service-oriented architecture and utility computing.
You are probably already using the cloud. Updating Twitter or Facebook? Adding photos to Flickr? Listing items on Craigslist or eBay? Using Yahoo for email? Yes, you're using the cloud.
Here are 25 cloud computing myths.
FBI Arrests Russian Spammer Behind Notorious 'Mega-D' Botnet
Experts cited by federal investigators reported that Nikolaenko's botnet controlled more than 500,000 infected computers that were capable of sending a total of ten billion spam e-mails a day.
Woman wants to catch burglars with bear trap
An East Texas woman has had it up to here with people stealing her property. Linda Frias of Tyler has come up with an unusual plan to trap a trespasser. She says the only thing stopping her from putting bear traps all over her property are the police. "The bear trap is huge, I mean it is big," said Frias.
But Linda Frias is not talking about trapping a bear. She's talking about people trespassing onto her land, stealing her property. "What I wanted to do was get some bear traps and they sell them around here," she said. "I wanted to hide them underneath that travel trailer right there on those steps and put me some leaves and stuff and let the caretaker know that they were there that way when I heard it go off or heard somebody yell we know we'd caught them."
Frias says she's spotted prowlers rummaging around her property. "It was enough because it was spooky because I saw the guy out in the front yard about 15 until midnight the night before," said Frias. The following night, they returned. Only this time they weren't just looking around. "They broke into my Land Rover, you little skunks and got my Kenwood stereo out," said Frias. "I worked hard you know to save up to pay the guy to put it in."
To trap a trespasser, she says, would not be a pretty sight. At least not for them. "You got your perpetrator because he aint going no where ... you might have his leg left there, but just look for somebody without a leg." For Frias, this is just wishful thinking. Turns out, setting booby traps are illegal. "I don't want to break the law, but what am I supposed to do?" she said.
But Linda Frias is not talking about trapping a bear. She's talking about people trespassing onto her land, stealing her property. "What I wanted to do was get some bear traps and they sell them around here," she said. "I wanted to hide them underneath that travel trailer right there on those steps and put me some leaves and stuff and let the caretaker know that they were there that way when I heard it go off or heard somebody yell we know we'd caught them."
Frias says she's spotted prowlers rummaging around her property. "It was enough because it was spooky because I saw the guy out in the front yard about 15 until midnight the night before," said Frias. The following night, they returned. Only this time they weren't just looking around. "They broke into my Land Rover, you little skunks and got my Kenwood stereo out," said Frias. "I worked hard you know to save up to pay the guy to put it in."
To trap a trespasser, she says, would not be a pretty sight. At least not for them. "You got your perpetrator because he aint going no where ... you might have his leg left there, but just look for somebody without a leg." For Frias, this is just wishful thinking. Turns out, setting booby traps are illegal. "I don't want to break the law, but what am I supposed to do?" she said.
Man gets 21 years for wheelchair bank robbery
A 71-year-old terminally ill man has been sentenced to 21 years in a California prison for rolling his wheelchair into a San Diego bank and holding it up with a replica BB gun.
Criminals using film quality masks during bank robberies
A company that sells "movie quality" silicone masks that incorporate human hair to achieve what its adverts call "ultra high realism" is at the center of a snowballing police investigation after detectives discovered that it had become the favored supplier of disguises to America's most wanted bank robbers. The Los Angeles company SPFX Masks, set up to cater to the film industry, said yesterday that it is "proud" of the fact that its range of hand-painted products look realistic, "but not proud of the way they are being used" after learning that they had been linked to a string of unsolved crimes.
In Ohio, a Polish immigrant called Conrad Zdzierak last week pleaded guilty to using one of the masks to transform himself from a 30-year-old white man into a black character he called "The Player," who carried out a string of robberies in the state. The disguise was so effective that local police mistakenly arrested a young African American for the crimes, holding him in custody for several months. Witnesses, including six out of the seven bank employees who took part in a photo line-up, went so far as to wrongly identify the innocent black man as the culprit. "We showed the picture [of the masked perpetrator] to his mother, and even she thought it was him," the detective in charge of the case, Keenan Riordan, told reporters. After that little misunderstanding had been ironed out, Zdzierak was convicted on six counts of robbery.
Authorities are now starting to wonder if the notorious "Geezer Bandit," an elderly man who has held up a string of banks in Southern California, might actually be a younger person wearing one of the SPFX masks, which retail for between $600 and $1,200 (£760). The products are hand-made by a crew of six craftsmen who use a special variety of silicone that looks and feels like skin, down to its individual pores. They are individually painted, again by hand, and finished with real human hairs which are individually stitched in place. In October a Chinese man seeking asylum in Canada used one of the masks to disguise himself as an elderly male as he negotiated airport security in Hong Kong. "We're very embarrassed this has happened," said Slusser, of his company's sudden notoriety. "We were shocked that this happened."
The masks, which have only been on the market for a couple of years, are particularly effective because they move in synch with facial muscles. Several Hollywood stars have even used them to evade paparazzi, claimed Slusser, though he declined to mention names. Zdzierak can no doubt testify to their effectiveness. He would have got away with his crimes had his girlfriend not gone to the police after finding a large stash of money and one of the masks in his hotel room. When detectives searched Zdzierak's home, they found two masks in a safe, one of a young black man – "The Player" – and another of an aging white man known as "The Elder". A search of his computer hard drive revealed videos of Zdzierak modeling "The Elder" mask and trying to speak like a person of that age. It also turned up emails he had sent to Slusser claiming to be a film producer wanting to know if a white man could pass himself off as an African American in one, and whether the silicone hand coverings sold alongside them might tear in a fight.
In Ohio, a Polish immigrant called Conrad Zdzierak last week pleaded guilty to using one of the masks to transform himself from a 30-year-old white man into a black character he called "The Player," who carried out a string of robberies in the state. The disguise was so effective that local police mistakenly arrested a young African American for the crimes, holding him in custody for several months. Witnesses, including six out of the seven bank employees who took part in a photo line-up, went so far as to wrongly identify the innocent black man as the culprit. "We showed the picture [of the masked perpetrator] to his mother, and even she thought it was him," the detective in charge of the case, Keenan Riordan, told reporters. After that little misunderstanding had been ironed out, Zdzierak was convicted on six counts of robbery.
Authorities are now starting to wonder if the notorious "Geezer Bandit," an elderly man who has held up a string of banks in Southern California, might actually be a younger person wearing one of the SPFX masks, which retail for between $600 and $1,200 (£760). The products are hand-made by a crew of six craftsmen who use a special variety of silicone that looks and feels like skin, down to its individual pores. They are individually painted, again by hand, and finished with real human hairs which are individually stitched in place. In October a Chinese man seeking asylum in Canada used one of the masks to disguise himself as an elderly male as he negotiated airport security in Hong Kong. "We're very embarrassed this has happened," said Slusser, of his company's sudden notoriety. "We were shocked that this happened."
The masks, which have only been on the market for a couple of years, are particularly effective because they move in synch with facial muscles. Several Hollywood stars have even used them to evade paparazzi, claimed Slusser, though he declined to mention names. Zdzierak can no doubt testify to their effectiveness. He would have got away with his crimes had his girlfriend not gone to the police after finding a large stash of money and one of the masks in his hotel room. When detectives searched Zdzierak's home, they found two masks in a safe, one of a young black man – "The Player" – and another of an aging white man known as "The Elder". A search of his computer hard drive revealed videos of Zdzierak modeling "The Elder" mask and trying to speak like a person of that age. It also turned up emails he had sent to Slusser claiming to be a film producer wanting to know if a white man could pass himself off as an African American in one, and whether the silicone hand coverings sold alongside them might tear in a fight.
States people are fleeing
High taxes, manufacturing job losses, and the BP oil spill have sent residents packing.
Also: Even Minor Medical Expenses Cause Problems For Homeowners Who Want To Refinance
By Susie Madrak
It's kind of crazy, isn't it? The high-rollin' cokeheads of Wall Street crash the economy and collect multi-million dollar bonuses, while you can't get a second mortgage because you were a few bucks short on a co-pay. I guess it's your own damned fault for not forking over the dough to Freecreditreport.com!
Two erroneous $11 doctor bills stopped Jeanne White from refinancing her home.
The 49-year-old resident of Colleyville, Texas, pays 7% on the mortgage for her three-bedroom house. In October, she says, she was shocked to learn that the two medical bills, which had been turned over to a collection agency, had caused her credit score to fall to 680 from 757—making refinancing far too expensive.
"I was told I'd have to pay $14,000 in closing costs to get a 5.5% interest rate," Ms. White says, substantially more than she would have paid with a higher credit score. When Ms. White, a retired sales manager, contacted the doctor's office, she found out the bills had been issued in error.
Ms. White's case is hardly an isolated one. Otherwise well-qualified borrowers with good loan-to-value ratios and steady employment are increasingly finding it difficult to refinance because of medical billing mistakes marring their credit, say mortgage bankers and real-estate agents.
Jeanne White of Colleyville, Texas, saw her refinancing costs skyrocket after her credit score was dinged by two disputed $11 doctor bills—and is now in limbo as interest rates rise.
Rodney Anderson, executive director of Supreme Lending, a mortgage bank in Plano, Texas, calls medical debt the single biggest roadblock for would-be refinacers. "People have no idea that they still owe small amounts which later end up on their credit report," he says.
An egg-shaped house
The 24-year-old can live on the sidewalk in this sun-powered structure he designed.
Also: 
Electromagnetic Railgun Shoots Target 100 Miles Away
A railgun is a weapon that uses electromagnets to accelerate a projectile to very high speeds. The US Navy has been developing one for several years. Today they fired a shot at Mach 7 at a target 100 miles away:
An electromagnetic railgun offers a velocity previously unattainable in a conventional weapon, speeds that are incredibly powerful on their own. In fact, since the projectile doesn’t have any explosives itself, it relies upon that kinetic energy to do damage. And at 11 a.m. today, the Navy produced a 33-megajoule firing — more than three times the previous record set by the Navy in 2008.[...]
Ellis says the Navy has invested about $211 million in the program since 2005, since the railgun provides many significant advantages over convention weapons. For one thing, a railgun offers 2 to 3 times the velocity of a conventional big gun, so that it can hit its target within 6 minutes. By contrast, a guided cruise missile travels at subsonic speeds, meaning that the intended target could be gone by the time it reaches its destination.
Furthermore, current U.S. Navy guns can only reach targets about 13 miles away. The railgun being tested today could reach an enemy 100 miles away. And with current GPS guidance systems it could do so with pinpoint accuracy. The Navy hopes to eventually extend the range beyond 200 miles.
How Would NASA Rescue an Astronaut That Floated Away from a Space Station?
When astronauts work outside the International Space Station, they remain tethered to it with a very strong cable. Nonetheless, NASA has made preparations for the unlikely event that the tether breaks. Astronauts have an emergency jetpack that they can use to move back to the station. But what if the astronaut is unconscious or the jetpack fails?
Jim Oberg, a space journalist who worked at the space shuttle’s mission-control center for 22 years and specialized in rendezvous procedures, weighs in on the options for rescue. The station’s robotic arm, he explains, is usually not within range of where the astronauts work and moves too slowly to grab someone. The Soyuz vehicles need a full day to power up and undock. By then, the carbon dioxide filters in the astronaut’s spacesuit would run out, asphyxiating him. And the ISS cannot redirect its positioning rocket quickly enough to catch up to a runaway astronaut.
In a worst-case situation, the only rescue option, according to Oberg, would be for a second astronaut to link together several tethers end-to-end, attach them to the station, and then use his Safer pack to jet over to his crewmate and haul him in. Certain conditions could make a rescue easier, he says. If an astronaut floated away more or less at a right angle from the station’s orbit, orbital dynamics (which require too much math to explain here) dictate that he would float back toward the station in about an hour.
Snow-spectacles
With a major winter storm set to hit much of the U.S., this seems to be an appropriate time to share photos from The British Museum illustrating how mankind has coped with winter in earlier periods.
At the top are Eskimo-Aleut spectacles found at Southampton Island, crafted out of ivory. The center piece was created by Siberian craftsman, using leather, white metal, and beadwork. The bottom one comes from Salekhard, made of “metal, cloth, skin (reindeer, with fur), brass, beads, and buttons (brass).”
Was Stonehenge Built with Balls in Rails?
Andrew Young, a doctoral student at the University of Exeter, has a novel proposal about how ancient Britons built Stonehenge. He hypothesizes that they placed balls in grooved tree trunks to act as bearings for the heavy stones:
Young first came up with the ball bearings idea when he noticed that carved stone balls were often found near Neolithic stone circles in Aberdeenshire, Scotland (map).
“I measured and weighed a number of these stone balls and realized that they are all precisely the same size—around 70 millimeters [3 inches] in diameter—which made me think they must have been made to be used in unison, rather than alone,” he told National Geographic News.
The balls, Young admitted, have been found near stone circles only in Aberdeenshire and the Orkney Islands (map)—not on Stonehenge’s Salisbury Plain.
But, he speculated, at southern sites, including Stonehenge (map), builders may have preferred wooden balls, which would have rotted away long ago. For one thing, wooden balls are much faster to carve. For another, they’re much lighter to transport.
Central Texas city to coexist with coyotes
West Lake Hills has decided against trapping coyotes in favor of teaching the community how to safely coexist with them.
Twenty-one Things You Didn't Know About Honey Bees
The world is full of wonders. The universe expands and contracts, men harness time through the written word and atoms dance under the microscope. Even the most humble of animals - such as the honey bee - are wrapped in a shroud of wonder if you know what to look for.
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Daily Drift
The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:Someone you're close to -- either a friend, family member or romantic partner -- is having a hard time getting started on a new (and very ambitious) project.
You can see exactly what they need to do, so find a diplomatic way to deliver the news without bruising their currently fragile ego.
They may be skeptical at first, but they trust you -- and their gratitude will be a solidifying element in your relationship.
This is the start of a happier phase between you two.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada
as well as Georgia, Mexico, Japan, Peru, Serbia, Bangladesh, Latvia, Greece, Scotland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Wales, Iran, Singapore, Poland, Taiwan, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Belgium, India, Croatia, Pakistan, Romania, Finland, Korea, Argentina, Vietnam, Egypt, Russia, South Korea, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, China, Iraq, Ecuador, Nigeria, Morocco, Chile, Honduras and in cities across the United States such as Round Rock, Los Angeles, Hilo, Wilmington and more.
Today is:
Today is Friday, December 10, the 344th day of 2010.
There are 21 days left in the year.
Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:
Dewey Decimal System Day.
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!
Bullied girl's tale takes turn
A scorned 7-year-old "Star Wars" fan's story sparks unexpected support online.
Also: 
Pfizer 'used dirty tricks' against Nigerian AG to avoid lawsuit
Nothing is too shocking with the Big Pharma industry but exposing it is helpful. Who is Washington finds this offensive? Hmmm, probably those politicians who receive campaign contributions from Big Pharma. In other words, quite a few of them because they all prefer the comfortable relationship of letting that industry pilfer Americans with high costs (even compared to other countries) while the extra earnings conveniently help fuel US campaigns. This happy marriage must be protected at all costs.
But the cable suggests that the US drug giant did not want to pay out to settle the two cases – one civil and one criminal – brought by the Nigerian federal government.
The cable reports a meeting between Pfizer's country manager, Enrico Liggeri, and US officials at the Abuja embassy on 9 April 2009. It states: "According to Liggeri, Pfizer had hired investigators to uncover corruption links to federal attorney general Michael Aondoakaa to expose him and put pressure on him to drop the federal cases. He said Pfizer's investigators were passing this information to local media."
The cable, classified confidential by economic counsellor Robert Tansey, continues: "A series of damaging articles detailing Aondoakaa's 'alleged' corruption ties were published in February and March. Liggeri contended that Pfizer had much more damaging information on Aondoakaa and that Aondoakaa's cronies were pressuring him to drop the suit for fear of further negative articles."
Cyberattacks use new tech
Networks of "zombie" computers are usually behind major cyberattacks.
Also: Poll: Cut the deficit, keep entitlements and tax the rich
Looking at how well the rich continue to make out during the recession, is anyone surprised? Why should the middle class and poor be asked to accept less when the rich keep getting richer? As we see the Wall Street bonus numbers emerge, few Americans are going to be sympathetic to accepting cuts as the bankers shop for their latest articles of conspicuous consumption.
Should the economy continues to stagnate (there's very little reason to see significant growth in the next two years) it will be very interesting to see how the public will view the latest giveaway that the GOP and Obama are hoping to wrap up soon. Outside of White House economists, it's difficult to find anyone who believes in a rapid economic turnaround.
Bloomberg:
Should the economy continues to stagnate (there's very little reason to see significant growth in the next two years) it will be very interesting to see how the public will view the latest giveaway that the GOP and Obama are hoping to wrap up soon. Outside of White House economists, it's difficult to find anyone who believes in a rapid economic turnaround.
Bloomberg:
Americans want Congress to bring down a federal budget deficit that many believe is “dangerously out of control,” only under two conditions: minimize the pain and make the rich pay.
The public wants Congress to keep its hands off entitlements such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, a Bloomberg National Poll shows. They oppose cuts in most other major domestic programs and defense. They want to maintain subsidies for farmers and tax breaks like the mortgage-interest deduction. And they’re against an increase in the gasoline tax.
That aversion to sacrifice is at odds with a spate of recent studies, including one by President Barack Obama’s debt panel, that say reductions in Medicare, Social Security, military and other spending are necessary to curb a deficit that totaled $1.29 trillion in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, or 9 percent of the gross domestic product.
Congress fails to act this week
The country's economic future hangs in the balance as both parties stymie major initiatives.
Also: Gas prices cut into shopping
Families are choosing between mileage and the mall — and that's not what retailers want to hear.
Also: Ultracheap car that few want
A new Nano sells for just $2,900, but even that low price isn't enticing a lot of buyers.
Also: 
Social Security changes rules
The banned strategy allowed retirees to get interest-free loans.
Also: Wow, 119,000 planes in a void
Missing info on a third of the nation's aircraft gives authorities more than one reason to worry.
Also: 
German police seize marijuana Christmas tree
A two-meter (six-foot) marijuana plant decorated as a Christmas tree was confiscated from the home of "an old hippie", who is now facing a drug possession charge, German police said on Wednesday.
In a tongue-in-cheek press release titled "All you need is love or how a hippie celebrates Christmas," police in the western city of Koblenz said they discovered the giant plant in the living room of the suspect.
"The two-meter-tall marijuana plant had been put in a Christmas tree stand and decorated with a string of lights," the police said.
"When asked, the hashish fan told the perplexed officers that he had intended to add more decorations to the 'tree' and place the presents under it, according to tradition." Police seized the plant and another 150 grams (5.3 ounces) of marijuana found in the apartment.
In a tongue-in-cheek press release titled "All you need is love or how a hippie celebrates Christmas," police in the western city of Koblenz said they discovered the giant plant in the living room of the suspect.
"The two-meter-tall marijuana plant had been put in a Christmas tree stand and decorated with a string of lights," the police said.
"When asked, the hashish fan told the perplexed officers that he had intended to add more decorations to the 'tree' and place the presents under it, according to tradition." Police seized the plant and another 150 grams (5.3 ounces) of marijuana found in the apartment.
Bad Cops
Alabama police officer arrested, charged with receiving stolen property
Tennessee police officer fired, charged with felony assault
Former Arizona cop is charged with armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and theft
Fired Missouri policeman sentenced for producing child porn
Hawaii police officer charged with theft
Three New Orleans cops convicted of manslaughter in post-Katrina killing
Gambling nun accused of embezzling $850,000
A Catholic nun with a reputation for gambling trips to Atlantic City was accused of embezzling more than $850,000 from a college where she oversaw the school's finances, officials said Friday.
Busiest mail day of the year
If you hate standing in line at the post office, you should mark this date on your calendar.
Also: Striking photos of urban decay
Ruined buildings that once were vital to their cities are seen in a new light.
Also: The world's oddest hotels
Finland's Hotel Kakslauttanen has glass igloos with views of the aurora borealis.
Also Iconic battle flag nets hefty sum
The only "guidon" to survive Custer's crushing defeat sold for just $54 when it first surfaced.
Also: Test rocket's secret payload?
Cheese
The California rocket company that launched a spacecraft into orbit and successfully returned it to Earth this week has revealed its secret payload a ' a wheel of cheese.
Clues to lost civilization
Bold new findings could "completely rewrite our understanding" of early human history.
Also:
Doctors on Healthcare Reform
It's always good to get your doctor's opinion. And then a second opinion. Here's what medical doctors think of the whole idea of healthcare reform. The Allergists voted to scratch it, and the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.
The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it.
The Neurologists thought congress had a lot of nerve, and the Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception.
The Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted; the Pathologists yelled, "Over my dead body!" while the Pediatricians said, "Oh, grow up!"
The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, the Radiologists could see right through it, and the Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.
The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, "This puts a whole new face on the matter."
The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists felt the scheme wouldn't hold water.
The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no.
In the end, the Proctologists left the decision up to some asshole in Washington.
And Medicare has not come back with a decision.
What makes stomachs growl
There's a scientific explanation for that rumbling sound a hungry belly makes.
Also: Six Shocking Ways TV Rewires Your Brain
Cracked looks at studies that have compared the amount of time people spend watching TV and the differences between those who watch a lot and those who don’t. The results show that watching more TV over years make folks more likely to commit violent acts, gain weight, and have short attention spans. But the news isn’t all bad.Using a combination of four studies, scientists have shown that television shows can instill a sense of belonging in people with low self-esteem who have been rejected by friends or family. This is called the social surrogacy hypothesis, which figures that in order to fill the emotional void of social deprivation, a person will establish relationships with fictional characters (as teenagers, many of us had a similar type of relationship with late-night Cinemax).
One study showed that subjects who were experiencing feelings of loneliness felt better after turning on their favorite television programs. Another had subjects writing essays about either their favorite shows or some other random subject as a control. The subjects who wrote about their favorite shows used fewer words expressing loneliness than the control group.
How TV affects babies' brains
Even limited viewing is linked to delayed cognitive development and language.
Also: Try these optical illusions
This latest batch of illusions will get your eyes — and your brain — working.
Also: 
Ten Huge Prehistoric Cats
When you think of prehistoric cats, you probably think of Smilodon, the saber-toothed tiger. There were plenty of other big cat species you may have never heard of, like the Xenosmilus, the cave lion, or the American lion. Pictured here is Machairodus kabir, which probably resembled a modern tiger with the addition of huge fangs. Oh, and it weighed over a thousand pounds!
Before man became a hunter and made his way to the top of the food chain, the Felidae, or cats, were the most successful, powerful predators in most of the world. Even today, big cats such as tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards keep causing admiration and fear, but these magnificent beasts are dwarfed by some of their extinct relatives.
Here are ten of prehistory's largest, mightiest cats, some of which were seen by humans only a few thousand years ago.
They 'tasted' like Chicken
Imagine this, you walk to the back of your farm and head over towards the chicken coops, you look inside; but instead of chickens you're presented with two tyrannosaur hatchlings.
Shark attacks baffle experts
The "Jaws"-like scenario playing out in the Red Sea takes a series of unsettling turns.
Also: Scorpions glow in the dark to detect moonlight
The mysterious green glow that scorpions emit in ultraviolet light may help them decide when the night is too bright for them to go out safely.
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