Why is milk white?
Why do onions make your eyes water?
Why does Swiss cheese have holes in it?
Where do French fries come from?
Is there a difference between jelly and jam?
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Neck Specs
Shaped like popular versions of their eyewear counterparts, Neck Specs offer a bit of stylish wit and humorous decoration.
The World's Smallest Solar Powered Movie Theater
Artist Paul O’Connor and his colleagues at the British art collective Undercurrents built a tiny solar powered movie theater in a 1960s-era travel trailer. Sol Cinema can seat eight adults and generally screens films with an ecological theme. The official website provides additional photos as well as a list of tour dates and locations in the UK.
George and the Dragon
An 18th-century vagabond in England, exhausted and famished, came to a roadside inn with a sign reading, “George and the Dragon.” He knocked.The innkeeper’s wife stuck her head out a window. “Could ye spare some victuals?” he asked.
The woman glanced at his shabby, dirty clothes. “No!” she shouted.
“Could I have a pint of ale?”
“No!” she shouted.
“Could I at least sleep in your stable?”
“No!” she shouted again.
The vagabond said, “Might I please…”
“What now?” the woman screeched, not allowing him to finish.
“D’ye suppose,” he asked, “that I might have a word with George?”
Australian teenager captures footage of alien
Alex Player has captured footage of what appears to be a mysterious alien creature moving in his backyard. The 16-year-old Bilambil Heights resident has captured four different encounters with the alien creature on film and believes the creature has entered his home.
“The first time I saw it was the clearest. It was not that tall – only as high as the grass – and a grey colour with a big head,” Alex said. “It didn’t make a single sound. I’m a believer but I have never seen anything like this before. I’m open to the idea. Who would be out in that area late at night? I don’t think it could be anything else.”
The images were captured on October 5, October 24, November 20 and November 28 on a video camera and mobile phone. Alex said the being entered his home on one occasion.
Contains NSFW language.
“In early November it came into the house. I think it came from my mum’s room and through the house,” Alex said. “My mum and I sat in my room. It moved through the house in two minutes. Then we heard a thud outside, like it was jumping off the veranda.”
“The first time I saw it was the clearest. It was not that tall – only as high as the grass – and a grey colour with a big head,” Alex said. “It didn’t make a single sound. I’m a believer but I have never seen anything like this before. I’m open to the idea. Who would be out in that area late at night? I don’t think it could be anything else.”
The images were captured on October 5, October 24, November 20 and November 28 on a video camera and mobile phone. Alex said the being entered his home on one occasion.
Contains NSFW language.
“In early November it came into the house. I think it came from my mum’s room and through the house,” Alex said. “My mum and I sat in my room. It moved through the house in two minutes. Then we heard a thud outside, like it was jumping off the veranda.”
Humans Behind Deadly Shark Attacks in Egypt
The Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh has been hit by five shark attacks in two weeks.
Photo: Robert Hornung / Creative Commons.
A series of recent shark attacks -- one of them fatal -- on tourists at Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh resort have swimmers scared and authorities scrambling for an explanation. In what is surely the most bizarre theory, the governor of the region has suggested the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad might be involved. But people -- and their environmental negligence -- are behind what is emerging as the most likely actual cause.Article continues: Humans Behind Deadly Shark Attacks in Egypt
Foxes behind brake cable vandalism
Animal experts have warned motorists that fox cubs have developed a taste for brake fluid which could dangerously affect the performance of their cars. A couple discovered the problem when they took their car to a mechanic after noticing “small bits of debris” on the ground under the spot where they park their car. The driver said: “The brake pad warning light came on when we next started up and the local garage cited fox damage.”
The mechanics then remembered a spate of similar problems being reported to them and the damaged parts were sent off to wildlife experts, who found teeth marks similar to those made by a juvenile fox. The driver added that the experts warned “they like the taste of brake fluid and know how to find it”. It is not the first such series of incidents.
A year ago, Kent Police investigated when several motorists said their cars had suffered damaged brake pipes and cables. Professor Stephen Harris, an environmental scientist Bristol University, who studies urban foxes and helped in Kent, said at the time: “They love chewing things. They also love lying under cars, particularly on cold nights. What could be better than resting out of harm's way, next to a large lump of warm metal and playfully passing the time by gnawing on the nearest piece of plastic or rubber?
“I told the police they were almost certainly looking for a young fox, under a year old, which was simply playing the games he had learnt as a cub.” Experts believe the behaviour could be a result of the habits of vixens, which often bring old leather gloves or discarded rubber boots back to the den for her cubs to chew on. Others speculate that foxes enjoy the slightly sweet flavour of brake fluid, a phenomenon which has been reported among stone martens in mainland Europe.
The mechanics then remembered a spate of similar problems being reported to them and the damaged parts were sent off to wildlife experts, who found teeth marks similar to those made by a juvenile fox. The driver added that the experts warned “they like the taste of brake fluid and know how to find it”. It is not the first such series of incidents.
A year ago, Kent Police investigated when several motorists said their cars had suffered damaged brake pipes and cables. Professor Stephen Harris, an environmental scientist Bristol University, who studies urban foxes and helped in Kent, said at the time: “They love chewing things. They also love lying under cars, particularly on cold nights. What could be better than resting out of harm's way, next to a large lump of warm metal and playfully passing the time by gnawing on the nearest piece of plastic or rubber?
“I told the police they were almost certainly looking for a young fox, under a year old, which was simply playing the games he had learnt as a cub.” Experts believe the behaviour could be a result of the habits of vixens, which often bring old leather gloves or discarded rubber boots back to the den for her cubs to chew on. Others speculate that foxes enjoy the slightly sweet flavour of brake fluid, a phenomenon which has been reported among stone martens in mainland Europe.
Brazilian Trees Implanted with Microchips For Forest Management
Photo: Taunting Panda
According to a story on Reuters, trees throughout the Amazon rainforest will be equipped with microchips to gather data in the event they are illegally cut down. Now when a tree falls in the forest and there's no one there to hear it, we'll still know its story.Article continues: Brazilian Trees Implanted with Microchips For Forest Management
Redwood trees eat fog
To obtain sufficient moisture for photosynthesis and growth, redwoods reach into the air with leaves shaped like baseball mitts and capture the fog that rolls in by night and languishes through most mornings. "From 25 to 40 percent of the moisture in the system comes from fog," says Dawson, who has been studying the relationship between the coastal fog and the redwoods for two decades. Some of the fog simply covers the leaves and prevents evaporation. But some of it also enters the stomata, or tiny pores, on the leaves and is drawn down through the branches to the roots. This is the reverse of transpiration, the normal flow of water from the roots to the leaves that exists in most trees. Redwoods are the first trees found to move water in both directions, though others have been identified.
Fog is not just a vital element for the redwoods—it's also crucial to the entire redwood forest ecosystem. Some of the moisture drips off the redwood leaves, landing on the forest floor to water the trees and young saplings. "It's not just a drip, drip, drip," says ecologist Holly Ewing of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, who also worked with Dawson. "The moisture can descend into the ground up to 35 centimeters deep, and that's a lot of water."
More information at Scientific American.
New theory on Saturn's rings
A "death spiral" may have caused one of the solar system's most evocative mysteries.
Also: 
Conjoined ... ants !!
Via Brazilian myrmecologist Rodrigo Feitosa comes this shot of conjoined leafcutter ant sisters. Two fully grown adult ants dorsally fused from abdominal segments 3 onward.
Incredibly, this developmental oddity was observed carrying leaf fragments in a foraging trail.
Xanthopan morgani
AKA: "Darwin's moth"
The spur of the flower is 20–35 cm (7.9–14 in) from its tip to the tip of the flower's lip. The name "sesquipedale" is Latin for "one and a half feet," referring to the spur length... The moth approaches the flower to ascertain by scent whether or not it is the correct orchid species. Then the moth backs up over a foot and unrolls its proboscis, then flies forward, inserting it into the orchid's spur.
Dog has been helping raise kittens for 13 years
George the fox terrier has a rare talent that has been the making of many a Hunter family’s moggy. For 13 years the caring canine has been helping owner Mike Sargent raise kittens for the Australian RSPCA after the Raymond Terrace man noticed his pet’s talent for the job.
‘‘At first we kept the kittens away from him but when they got out he would lie down and they would crawl all over him,’’ Mr Sargent said. Since then George’s nurturing nature has developed and he has kept a watchful eye on about 250 kittens until they were ready for adoption.
Behaving more like a feline than a foxy, George is also dedicated to the kittens’ cleanliness, often grooming them with his tongue. ‘‘It’s incredible to watch,’’ Mr Sargent said.
And George is always on the lookout to make sure his brood of kittens does not stray too far and wide. ‘‘He rounds them up like a sheep dog,’’ Mr Sargent said. ‘‘He’ll bark at them if they go too far away and bark at people if he thinks they are getting too close.’’
‘‘At first we kept the kittens away from him but when they got out he would lie down and they would crawl all over him,’’ Mr Sargent said. Since then George’s nurturing nature has developed and he has kept a watchful eye on about 250 kittens until they were ready for adoption.
Behaving more like a feline than a foxy, George is also dedicated to the kittens’ cleanliness, often grooming them with his tongue. ‘‘It’s incredible to watch,’’ Mr Sargent said.
And George is always on the lookout to make sure his brood of kittens does not stray too far and wide. ‘‘He rounds them up like a sheep dog,’’ Mr Sargent said. ‘‘He’ll bark at them if they go too far away and bark at people if he thinks they are getting too close.’’
Saturday, December 11, 2010
The Daily Drift
The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:Today offers you a great chance to hand the reins over to someone else, which allows you to free up your time and investigate the things that truly interest you.
Your schedule is much more flexible than you realize, and this flexibility might not last much longer.
So act quickly to rearrange or reschedule stuff.
People will be flexible, so go for broke.
This window of opportunity is wide open right now; climb in before it slams shut again.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Sorel, Quebec, Canada
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt
Sittard, Limburg, Netherlands
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
London, England, United Kingdom
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Edithvale, Victoria, Australia
Cadiz, Andalucia, Spain
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
as well as Austria, Georgia, Mexico, Japan, Peru, Kuwait, 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, Paupa New Guinea, Moldova and in cities across the United States such as Montclair, Sun Valley, San Francisco, Delmar and more.
Today is:
Today is Saturday, December 11, the 345th day of 2010.
There are 20 days left in the year.
Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:
International Mountain Day.
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!
President Obama's Weekly Address
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
December 11, 2010
Weekly Address
The White House
December 11, 2010
That’s unacceptable to me. Not when we know that it’s the middle class that was hit the hardest by the recession. And not when we know that taking this money out of the pockets of working people is exactly the wrong thing to do to get our economy growing faster. Economists tell us that this tax hike on working families could actually cost us well over a million jobs.
That’s why I’ve been fighting so hard to cut middle class taxes. And that’s why I brought both Democrats and Republicans to the table – to put together a compromise, and work through our differences, so we could get this done.
Now, the Republicans in Congress strongly favored permanent tax breaks for the wealthiest taxpayers and the wealthiest estates, most of which would go to millionaires and even billionaires. But I didn’t believe that these tax cuts were worth the cost. They’d add to our deficits without really boosting the economy.
I believed that the best way to help the economy, and working families, was to keep middle class tax rates low, and cut taxes for working parents, college students, and small businesses. And I believed that with millions of people looking for jobs, it would be a terrible mistake to end unemployment insurance – not only for people who are out of work, but for our entire economy.
So we hammered out a deal that reflects ideas from both sides. It wasn’t easy, and it’s by no means perfect. And as with any compromise, everybody had to live with elements they didn’t like. But this is a good deal for the American people. The vast majority of the tax cuts in this plan will help the middle class, including a new cut in payroll taxes that will save the average family about $1,000. And as this plan is debated in Congress, what I want to make clear is the real difference it will make in people’s lives.
It’s going to make a difference for a single mom with two kids in Ohio working as a cashier. With this plan, she’d get a new payroll tax cut and a bigger child tax credit together worth more than $2,300.
It’s going to make a difference for a couple in Florida earning about $50,000 and trying to put one of their two kids through college. They’d save more than $4,000 because of the middle class tax cuts – including a $2,500 tax credit to go toward college tuition.
And it’s going to make an enormous difference for people looking for jobs. For many of these families, emergency unemployment insurance is the last line of defense between hardship and catastrophe. And I’d point out, if these folks stop spending money, it will also hurt businesses, which will hurt hiring, which will damage our recovery.
So this plan is going to help millions of families to make ends meet, through tax cuts and unemployment insurance for people who’ve lost their jobs by no fault of their own. And we included tax relief for businesses, too – making it easier for them to invest and expand. All told, this will not only directly help families and businesses. By putting more money in people’s pockets, and helping companies grow, we’re going to see people being able to spend a little more, we’re going to spur hiring – we’re going to strengthen our entire economy.
Now, I recognize that many of my friends in my own party are uncomfortable with some of what’s in this agreement, in particular the temporary tax cuts for the wealthy. And I share their concerns. It’s clear that over the long run, if we’re serious about balancing the budget, we cannot afford to continue these tax breaks for the wealthiest taxpayers – especially when we know that cutting the deficit is going to demand sacrifice from everyone. That’s the reality.
But at the same time, we cannot allow the middle class in this country to be caught in the political crossfire of Washington. People want us to find solutions, not score points. And I will not allow middle class families to be treated like pawns on a chessboard.
The opportunity for families to send their kids to college hinges on this debate. The ability of parents to put food on the table while looking for a job depends on this debate. And our recovery will be strengthened or weakened based on the choice that now rests with Congress.
So I strongly urge members of both parties to pass this plan. And I’m confident that they will do the right thing, strengthening the middle class and our economic recovery.
Thank you.
The 2010 campaign included $132 million in ads from anonymous donors
Great job by the Supreme Court.
They're helping deliver the best system that money can buy.
They're helping deliver the best system that money can buy.
Independent groups that do not disclose the identity of their donors spent $132.5 million to influence elections nationwide this year, accounting for about a third of all spending by outside groups in the 2010 election cycle, a report released Friday found.
The analysis by the office of New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio aimed to quantify how federal campaigns had been affected by the Supreme Court's so-called Citizens United ruling. The ruling, handed down in January, cleared the way for companies and labor unions to spend unlimited funds to influence elections, often using money from anonymous donors.
Madoff's son dead in apparent suicide
Reuters:
Mark Madoff, the elder son of convicted swindler Bernard Madoff, was found hanged in his New York City apartment in an apparent suicide, police said on Saturday.
"He was found hanged in his apartment. It was an apparent suicide," New York City police spokesman Paul Browne said.
Mark Madoff, 46, was found dead on the two-year anniversary of the arrest of his father. Bernard Madoff is now serving a 150-year prison sentence after confessing to running a decades-long Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of millions.
Compare: 1980 prices vs. those in 2010
Despite complaints about rising costs, some items actually cost less in relative terms than 30 years ago.
Also: 
It's time for this ...
You’re a mean one Mr. Grinch …
Boris Karloff sings this best and original version.
Most counterfeited items of the season
There are plenty of impostor Ugg boots and Coach handbags, says one site.
Also: 
Healthy holiday party food
Navigate the buffet wisely, and you'll avoid putting on pounds this season.
Also: Risks of the holiday season
Both live and artificial Christmas trees can be perilous at this time of year.
Also: Get a workout while shopping
It's easy to burn calories while grabbing gifts at the mall or stocking up at the supermarket.
Also: Four moves for a ballerina body
Natalie Portman's ballet trainer for "Black Swan" shares her key exercises.
Also: 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.
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