Panama: Day 1: The canal, of course.

We had no intention of going to the Panama Canal. We proud, jaded New Yorkers wouldn't be caught dead at places like the Eiffel Tower, the Tower of Pisa, the Space Needle, or the Long Island Duck. But two things changed our mind: 1) Unlike the aforementioned tourist traps, the Panama Canal actually serves a purpose. It doesn't need to make money off of stupid Americans with fanny packs in order to exist; it makes money off of stupid countries that don't know how to ship things by plane. And, 2) There's not a whole lot to do in Panama City.

I suppose I had a different idea of what Panama City would be like. I booked the Panama trip on a whim, or more accurately, out of panic: I saw a deal for shockingly low airfare and flashing words bordered by flashing lights said the deal wouldn't last. What's an impulse shopper to do?

After clicking submit, I sat back and fantasized about what the trip would be like. Surely, Panama City would be a clean, sun-bleached metropolis peopled by tall men in white suits and thin mustaches, speaking English in a classy accent, punctuating tales of coffee bean prices with long puffs on hand-rolled cigars, while women in yellow flower-print dresses giggled or brought the men lemonade. Of course, everyone would be wearing hats. Panama hats (Ecuadorian-made, actually), fedoras, stetsons, pork pies, maybe the odd bucket cap.

The men would all be named Roberto or Manuel and they'd show me their yachts that once fought back both the Spanish armada and British pirates. Later at the hacienda, the sugarcane workers would come in from the fields to break for dinner. There would be some class tension at first, but then an old worker with gnarled hands would pull out a guitar from behind a tree and begin strumming, singing in a throaty, passionate voice, the guitar and vocals creating a magical sheen of calm surreality to the hazy evening. Soon, an upbeat song would begin, the women would joyfully dance in their yellow dresses, and we'd all be swept up in rum-fueled egalitarian revelry.

In actuality, Panama City is "the armpit of Panama" as one Panamanian put it. It reminded me of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad - a dingy, trafficky, noisy city that somehow encompasses a lot of sprawl within a small space. It's one of the least pedestrian-friendly cities I've been to, and that includes Salta, Argentina, where cars are driven with the intent to maim. Panama City has a number of areas bereft of sidewalks, crosswalks, stop lights and anything else that might help someone strolling around not get flattened into a tortilla. But it makes sense - with Panama's stifling humidity, no one just "walks around" unless you're looking to open a Turkish steam bath inside your boxers.

So cars, cabs, and buses rule the road, giving the searingly hot air a nice, greasy diesel quality. Cabs are embarrassingly cheap - rides around town can be a paltry $3. What's odd though is that the price of gas is comparable to the US. How Panamanian cab drivers make money is a mystery of the universe that still keeps me up at night.

(Another oddity of Panama City is that no one speaks English. Now, I don't go to a foreign country expecting people to know English, and in fact I try to speak/mangle the native tongue of wherever I am, but we're talking about a country that has had a huge U.S. presence for most of the 20th century. And Panama uses U.S. dollars, for crying out loud!)

Anyway, back to the Canal. So we arrived in the afternoon, and set out to see the city by walking around, which was like starring in a live-action adaptation of Frogger. Abandoning that, we cabbed to a couple of destinations that disappointed (I don't even remember what they were). Not knowing how to kill a couple of hours until dinner, we gave in and took a 15-minute, $3 cab ride to the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal.

The Canal is really something. I'm not going to be cliched and call it an engineering marvel. The way I see it, once 27,500 people die constructing something, it ceases to become a marvel and resembles more like grotesque trial and error.

But it is pretty neat. I won't get into the technical aspects of it, but water gets drained or pumped into various sections via artificial lakes, which raises or lowers the water level for one reason or another. Honestly, I don't quite get it and think a heavy-duty conveyer belt would work just as fine. But it's cool watching the water levels flip around, and there's even something oddly transfixing about watching giant cargo boats inch their way through the system. It takes small eternities for each boat to make it through, and it is the absolute perfect way to kill time before dinner.

(Dinner, by the way, was great and in a very cool part of town that warmed me up to Panama City. I'll post about it next time!)

Ship incoming from the Atlantic.



Ship outgoing to the Pacific.



Locks!

China eases media freedoms for foreign journalists.

This is a good sign, right? Why do I feel uneasy and skeptical? From Reuters:

BEIJING (Reuters) - China made a last minute extension of media freedoms for foreign reporters on Friday, enshrining rights originally granted only for the Olympics.

Foreign journalists will be allowed to travel freely across most of the country for reporting, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said at a news conference, unveiling the new rules just minutes before the old ones were due to expire at midnight local time.

The new regulations, approved by Premier Wen Jiabao, came after a day of resounding silence on what would happen to one of the high-profile changes Beijing made as part of its efforts to host the August Games.

Plants cry for help.

Don't read this if you're prone to depression. From LiveScience:

When injured, plants can cry for help via a chemical phone call to the roots.

If under attack by a pathogen, such as disease-causing bacteria, a plant's leaf can send out an S.O.S. to the roots for help, and the roots will then secrete an acid that brings beneficial bacteria to the rescue, scientists announced today. The finding builds on research earlier this year showing that parasitic plants can tap into a host plant's communication system.

"Plants are a lot smarter than we give them credit for," said Harsh Bais, assistant professor of plant and soil sciences at the University of Delaware. "People think that plants, rooted in the ground, are just sitting ducks when it comes to attack by harmful fungi or bacteria, but we've found that plants have ways of seeking external help," he notes.

500 Posts!!

Zoooom! We've sped our way to 500 posts faster than you can say "professional car racing is a waste of fuel and not really a sport." We rule!

Post in the comments and tell us what you'd like to see for the next 500!

Teens saved from sewer after getting lost playing Ninja Turtles.

I LOVE BEING A TURTLE!!!!! From NY Daily News:

Three blockheaded teenagers were busted playing in a sewer Wednesday in Queens - after getting lost while pretending to be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, police sources said.

Schiller Milfort, 16, of Hollis, and Marvin Ottley, 17, of Bellaire, along with an unidentified 15-year-old boy, were shirtless and in their shorts and sneakers when firefighters plucked them out of a sewer in Kissena Park.

The make-believe heroes were crawling around the sewer system when they got confused and lost their way, police sources said.

They were not injured, officials said.

"These three idiots were playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and wanted to go into the sewers," said one police source. "They were never in danger, just goofing off and being stupid."

Coozer-Bits.

Daily Mail: Dubai beach sex couple jailed for three months.

Chicago Tribune: Ohio elections chief asks US Supreme Court to intervene over GOP dirty tactics.

Reuters: Hugo Chavez welcomes Bush as his socialist comrade.

IHT: Rich French guy arrested in NYC for in-flight, crotch-grabbing fracas.

McClatchy: Cheney in hospital for abnormal heartbeat. (Don't worry Dick, it's supposed to beat.)

Moscow Times: Russia seeking law to protect sober drivers from corrupt police.

New Scientist: Read each technology's first message!

Raw Story: Pentagon bans more interrogation techniques.

NSF: Function of dinosaurs' bizarre crests discovered.

Joe the Plumber doesn't have a plumbing license.

I wouldn't let this guy fix a faucet leak let alone influence a presidential campaign. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

HOLLAND, Ohio — Joe the Plumber said Thursday he doesn’t have a license and doesn’t need one.

Joe Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber, the nickname Republican John McCain bestowed on him during Wednesday’s presidential debate, said he works for a small plumbing company that does residential work. Because he works for someone else, he doesn’t need a license, he said.

Wurzelbacher was cited by the GOP presidential candidate as an example of someone who wants to buy a plumbing business but would be hurt by Democrat Barack Obama’s tax plans. Wurzelbacher said he was surprised that his name was mentioned so many other times.

‘‘That bothered me. I wished that they had talked more about issues that are important to Americans,’’ he told reporters gathered outside his home.

Family cremates mom on BBQ, steals her benefits.

This is precisely why I'm not having kids. From Breitbart:

CORNING, Calif. (AP) - The family of a dead elderly woman cremated her remains on a makeshift barbecue and continued collecting her retirement checks amounting to more than $25,000, authorities in Northern California said. Ramona Allmond's daughter and grandson were arrested Sunday on suspicion of embezzlement, elder abuse and disposing of a body without a permit.

Allmond, 84, likely died of natural causes, though investigators were still trying to determine the exact cause of death, said Tehama County sheriff's Capt. Paul Hosler.

Amazingly ancient fossil found behind strip mall.

Hey, my mall has a Fossil! (Designer name brand humor there for ya.) From the Boston Globe:

When it comes to jaw-dropping fossil discoveries, distant places where T. Rex and other prehistoric beasts once roamed come more quickly to mind than southeastern Massachusetts. But yesterday, Tufts University announced the discovery of what may well be the world's oldest fossil imprint of a whole flying insect - found by researchers behind a strip mall in North Attleborough.

Tufts geology senior Richard J. Knecht, working with paleontologist Jacob Benner, uncovered an exquisitely etched impression made some 310 million years earlier by a primitive insect - probably an early form of the common mayfly. The insect lighted on a damp outcropping in what was then a steamy Carboniferous Period flood plain - and in that fleeting moment left a 3-inch-long outline that was captured for eternity in mud that hardened into rock. That was the same rock discovered by the Tufts team.

Lawsuit against God tossed over lack of address.

I'm pretty sure God lives in the North Pole. Bummer they couldn't find Him. From AP:

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has thrown out a Nebraska legislator's lawsuit against God, saying the Almighty wasn't properly served due to his unlisted home address. State Sen. Ernie Chambers filed the lawsuit last year seeking a permanent injunction against God.

He said God has made terroristic threats against the senator and his constituents in Omaha, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."

[...] On Tuesday, however, Douglas County District Court Judge Marlon Polk ruled that under state law a plaintiff must have access to the defendant for a lawsuit to move forward.

"Given that this court finds that there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant this action will be dismissed with prejudice," Polk wrote.

Chambers, who graduated from law school but never took the bar exam, thinks he's found a hole in the judge's ruling.

"The court itself acknowledges the existence of God," Chambers said Wednesday. "A consequence of that acknowledgment is a recognition of God's omniscience."

Therefore, Chambers said, "Since God knows everything, God has notice of this lawsuit."

Mm-Mm Militant: Campbell's attacks Progresso.

Wow, the soup companies are really at it. I don't think I'm ever eating soup again. Story here.

America's top 10 most confusing traffic signs.

Funny piece from Jalopnik. I'm glad I don't drive anymore.

McCain is creepy.

Just a quick aside, but who else felt that McCain in tonight's debate was like that old guy in your neighborhood who walks around shirtless and doughy and curses a lot under his breath and smells faintly of urine and you always wonder if perhaps he is homeless and sorta think he is awesome in his own weird, creepy way?

I have to say this - after tonight's debate, there is no doubt in my mind that I want John McCain to be my cantankerous boxcar hobo pal. Obama could be president all he wants, but me and Johnny Fruitcakes are gonna get drunk on the curb and give you the ol' stinkeye. Joe the Plumber is welcome to join.

After 436 years, Austrian stables take in women.

Women riding horses??! My god... Soon they will want to join the workforce and vote! From HappyNews:

It's no longer a man's world in Austria's most sophisticated stables.

The country's prestigious Spanish Riding School, for centuries a bastion of masculinity, is modernizing: On Wednesday, the 436-year-old institution officially presented its first female riders-in-training.

The school, which was founded in 1572 and is part of Vienna's former imperial Hofburg Palace complex, is known for elegant white Lipizzaner stallions.

Every year, throngs of tourists from around the world watch as the horses, led by male riders in identical uniforms, gracefully perform exercises and jumps.

Allowing women to sit in the saddle marks a distinct break with tradition. But for Elisabeth Guertler, the director, opening up the exclusive club reflects the realities of modern life.

"What speaks against it?" Guertler told reporters. "Today, ladies and gentlemen both have to earn their keep and prove themselves."

25 best songs ever (as per Vanity Fair).

Vanity Fair choosing the top 25 best songs of all time is sort of like... well... my grandfather choosing the top 25 best songs of all time. Though he's actually hipper than these guys. The most modern song is from 1982!

List here.

Sorry, but just about anything recorded after 1982 (except for Aqua's Barbie song) is better than the Beatles "Day Tripper."

(Oh, and Rush got snubbed again.)

Being generous is sexy.

Women like guys who buy them things? No! From the University of Nottingham:

Displays of altruism or selflessness towards others can be sexually attractive in a mate. This is one of the findings of a study carried out by biologists and a psychologist at The University of Nottingham.

In three studies of more than 1,000 people Dr Tim Phillips and his fellow researchers discovered that women place significantly greater importance on altruistic traits that anything else. Their findings have been published in the British Journal of Psychology.

Dr Phillips said: “Evolutionary theory predicts competition between individuals and yet we see many examples in nature of individuals disadvantaging themselves to help others. In humans, particularly, we see individuals prepared to put themselves at considerable risk to help individuals they do not know for no obvious reward.”

Scientists develop cancer-killing compound from salad plant.

I have to quote generously from this one because it's very interesting and sounds promising. From the University of Washington:

Researchers at the University of Washington have updated a traditional Chinese medicine to create a compound that is more than 1,200 times more specific in killing certain kinds of cancer cells than currently available drugs, heralding the possibility of a more effective chemotherapy drug with minimal side effects.

The new compound puts a novel twist on the common anti-malarial drug artemisinin, which is derived from the sweet wormwood plant (Artemisia annua L). Sweet wormwood has been used in herbal Chinese medicine for at least 2,000 years, and is eaten in salads in some Asian countries.

The scientists attached a chemical homing device to artemisinin that targets the drug selectively to cancer cells, sparing healthy cells. The results were published online Oct. 5 in the journal Cancer Letters.

"The compound is like a special agent planting a bomb inside the cell," said Tomikazu Sasaki, chemistry professor at UW and senior author of the study.

In the study, the UW researchers tested their artemisinin-based compound on human leukemia cells. It was highly selective at killing the cancer cells. The researchers also have preliminary results showing that the compound is similarly selective and effective for human breast and prostate cancer cells, and that it effectively and safely kills breast cancer in rats, Sasaki said.

Cancer drug designers are faced with the unique challenge that cancer cells develop from our own normal cells, meaning that most ways to poison cancer cells also kill healthy cells. Most available chemotherapies are very toxic, destroying one normal cell for every five to 10 cancer cells killed, Sasaki said. This is why chemotherapy's side effects are so devastating, he said.

"Side effects are a major limitation to current chemotherapies," Sasaki said. "Some patients even die from them."

The compound Sasaki and his colleagues developed kills 12,000 cancer cells for every healthy cell, meaning it could be turned into a drug with minimal side effects. A cancer drug with low side effects would be more effective than currently available drugs, since it could be safely taken in higher amounts.

Bush's legacy of an "ownership society" not quite working out.

Cutting piece from Newsweek. I had forgotten about all that ownership society mumbo-jumbo.

Remember the ownership society? President George W. Bush championed the concept when he was running for re-election in 2004, envisioning a world in which every American family owned a house and a stock portfolio, and government stayed out of the way of the American Dream.

These families were, of course, conservative, or at a minimum traditional and nuclear, consisting of a heterosexual married couple and at least two kids living in a stand-alone home with a yard, a car or two and a multimedia room with a flat-screen television. The latter was a new addition to this 21st-century simulacrum of the 1950s "Leave It to Beaver" idyll. But the dream was the same.

Such a country would be more stable, Bush argued, and more prosperous. "America is a stronger country every single time a family moves into a home of their own," he said in October 2004. To achieve his vision, Bush pushed new policies encouraging homeownership, like the "zero-down-payment initiative," which was much as it sounds—a government-sponsored program that allowed people to get mortgages without a down payment. More exotic mortgages followed, including ones with no monthly payments for the first two years. Other mortgages required no documentation other than the say-so of the borrower. Absurd though these all were, they paled in comparison to the financial innovations that grew out of the mortgages—derivatives built on other derivatives, packaged and repackaged until no one could identify what they contained and how much they were, in fact, worth.

As we know by now, these instruments have brought the global financial system, improbably, to the brink of collapse. And as financial strains drive husbands and wives apart, Bush's ownership ideology may end up having the same effect on the stable nuclear families conservatives so badly wanted to foster.

Thieves steal 660 pounds of deadly hazelnuts.

Who steals 660 pounds of nuts? (Juvenile delinquent elephants?) From Reuters:

Thieves who stole 660 pounds of hazelnuts in Germany have been urgently warned not to eat them.

Hamburg police spokesman Holger Vehren said the sacks containing the nuts were full of poisonous hydrogen phosphate gas, used to extend their shelf life. The nuts must first be treated to make them safe for consumption.

"We're looking for the perpetrators because they could face a very serious health risk if they eat these hazelnuts," he said. "The gas is even lethal if they inhale it."

New gene found that helps plants beat the heat.

From Science Daily:

Michigan State University plant scientists have discovered another piece of the genetic puzzle that controls how plants respond to high temperatures. That may allow plant breeders to create new varieties of crops that flourish in warmer, drier climates.

The MSU researchers found that the gene bZIP28 helps regulate heat stress response in Arabidopsis thaliana, a member of the mustard family used as a model plant for genetic studies. This is the first time bZIP28 has been shown to play a role heat tolerance. The research is published in the Oct. 6 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Viagra spam emailers busted.

This is precisely why I don't trust any email, unless it's written by a Nigerian prince. From the Chicago Tribune:

The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that it has busted a global spam network responsible for sending billions of illegal messages encouraging consumers to buy unsafe male-enhancement and weight loss pills.

The FTC, which handles the civil aspect of illegal spam cases, asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to issue a temporary injunction against two men in New Zealand and Texas, prohibiting them from sending spam and making false product claims. The court also froze their assets, which may eventually be returned to consumers who bought the drugs.

[...] The spam network, which processed credit card information in Cyprus and Georgia, used servers in China to host its Web sites and also employed a "botnet," which is a network of computers -- including ones in ordinary homes -- that are hijacked to send spam. The FTC said the botnet used by this operation compromised tens of thousands of computers around the world and was capable of sending up to 10 billion spam messages per day. The drugs came from China and India.

Internet use good for the brain.

According to this, I must be the smartest man alive.

For middle aged and older people at least, using the internet helps boost brain power, research suggests.

A University of California Los Angeles team found searching the web stimulates centres in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning.

The researchers say this might even help to counter-act the age-related physiological changes that cause the brain to slow down.

Coozer-Bits.

Science Daily: Baldness gene found. 1 in 7 men at risk.

Live Science: Circadian rhythm affects memory.

New Scientist: White wine might be good for you too!

Computer World: Judge orders Palin to preserve Yahoo emails.

Slashfilm: Ghostbusters' Ecto-1 for sale.

YouTube: McCain supporters spouting scary, vile stuff while queuing up for a rally.

The Hill: Democratic congressman paid mistress $120,000 in hush money.

Bush critic wins Nobel Prize.

Paul Krugman is an economist? From the Boston Globe:

PRINCETON, N.J.—Paul Krugman, whose relentless criticism of the Bush administration includes opposition to the $700 billion financial bailout, won the Nobel prize in economics Monday for his work on international trade patterns.

The Princeton University professor and New York Times columnist is the best-known American economist to win the prize in decades.

The Nobel committee commended Krugman's work on global trade, beginning with a 10-page paper in 1979 that knit together two fields of study, helping foster a better understanding of why countries produce similar products and why people move from the small towns to cities.

Krugman (pronounced KROOG-man) is best known for his unabashedly liberal column in the Times, which he has written since 1999. In it, he has said Republicans are becoming "the party of the stupid" and that the economic meltdown made GOP presidential nominee John McCain "more frightening now than he was a few weeks ago."

But at a news conference, Krugman said he doesn't think he won the prize because of his political views.

"Nobel prizes are given to intellectuals," he said. "A lot of intellectuals are anti-Bush."

Jobseekers duped into getting face tattoos.

From News.com.au:

Two Indonesian jobseekers have been tricked into getting their faces tattooed by a bogus official offering government jobs.

Village chief Sawiyono - who was helping the men find jobs in Jakarta - claimed he had received a text message from a government official offering them work as intelligence officers but saying they would have to be inked first with a dragon tattoo, Antara state news agency said.

Sawiyono realised he had been tricked after checking with the subdistrict chief of the Bojonegoro district of East Java who told him there was no such requirement.

But by then it was too late and the men had already been tattooed, the report said.

British government loses 20,000 cows.

Don't have a cow, man. From Ananova:

Government officials have been forced to admit that they have lost more than 20,000 cows.

Officials at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) admitted in Parliamentary questions that 20,979 of the animals had been mislaid.

The livestock should have been logged on Defra's Cattle Tracing System, devised to protect public and animal health after the BSE and foot and mouth epidemics.

However the cattle have disappeared from the system, while another 1039 are believed to have been loaded onto cattle trucks and never heard of again.

Prince Charles snubs Doctor Who.

Shameful snubbing by the crown prince, considering the number of times the good Doctor has saved Britain. Unless.... he's a Cyberman?!! From Ananova:

Prince Charles has reportedly turned down an invitation to appear on Dr Who.

Russell T Davies wrote to Clarence House asking if Charles would like to make a cameo appearance in the hit BBC drama

Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Mr Davies OBE joked: "He turned us down, the miserable swine."

Green websites' traffic yet to blossom.

One victim of the tanking economy is the environmental movement, as now consumers will be flocking back to cheap production/low cost alternatives. Surprisingly, I haven't seen much written about this. AdWeek today talks about how traffic for green sites have recently plummeted or were nipped in the bud:

In the past year, green-themed Web sites have sprung up like weeds. But perceived consumer enthusiasm for the green movement hasn't translated into major traffic for most publishers in this fledgling space, making some wonder whether the media business overestimated the trend. Meanwhile, publishers said that many consumers' interest in green has shifted this year from, "How can I save the planet?" to "How can I save some cash?"

In 2007 alone, both MSN and Yahoo! unveiled green channels, while Washingtonpost Newsweek Interactive (Sprig.com) and Hearst (The Daily Green) launched standalone green content sites. Meanwhile, Discovery Communications snatched up Treehugger.com, former cable net/Web property Lime.com was sold to green retailer Gaiam, and a handful of green ad nets (Burst, SustainLane) popped up. Thus far, traffic reports for these properties are less than promising.

Coozer Files WILL BE BACK!

Central America calls. And when Central America calls, Adam Coozer answers. Unless they want hurricane relief funds. Then I don't pick up.

Point is, I'm gonna get me some Yellow Fever. And I don't mean that in a creepy otaku way. I mean that I'm probably going to actually contract Yellow Fever.

Anyway, while I'm tromping through the rainforests and avoiding red poison dart frogs, please take this time to read through every Coozer File, leaving comments on each and every one.

Wait - I have an even better idea! Use the comments on THIS File to post news links and other items that interest you. Then everyone can check the comments in this entry and it'll be like we're still updating while I'm away, only you're doing all the work! It's win-win!!

To sweeten the pot, whoever posts the most interesting news items and commentary gets the rest of my malaria pills. I heard they give you horrible psychotropic nightmares! *thumbs up*

Scientists: Women find nerdy guys sexy.

I dunno, I think there's a conflict of interest here. From New Scientist:

Women looking for both one-night stands and long-term relationships go for geniuses over dumb jocks, according to a new study of hundreds of university students.

"Women want the best of both worlds. Not only a physically attractive man, but somebody in the long term who can provide for them," says Mark Prokosch, an evolutionary psychologist at Elon University in North Carolina, who led the study.

To many women, a smart man will appeal because he is likely to be clever enough to keep his family afloat. But he may also pass on "good" genes to his children, say Prokosch and his colleagues at the University of California, Davis.

Rock stars form union.

What the hell do the top-selling artists of the past couple of decades have to complain and unionize about? Are the drugs not pure enough? Limos not stretchy enough? Thom Yorke's facial expressions not pretentious enough? From The Guardian:

Millionaire rock stars are traditionally more synonymous with conspicuous consumption than the workers' struggle. But artists including Robbie Williams, Radiohead and The Verve are among those who might be about to swap sex, drugs and rock'n'roll for banners, braziers and manifestos - having formed a new organisation to stand up for their rights.

Among the dozens of founder members of the Featured Artists' Coalition are Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Red Wedge veteran Billy Bragg, - who did after all record There is Power in a Union - but also former Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, The Klaxons, DJ Paul Oakenfold, Craig David, Iron Maiden and the Kaiser Chiefs.

All argue that the new organisation, to be launched tomorrow at the In the City conference in Manchester, is vital to represent their interests as the music industry is turned on its head by digital distribution. Damon Gough, of Badly Drawn Boy, said: "I think with the digital age and record companies dispersing and disbanding, young bands need a governing voice that will support them and help protect their work."

The organisation will "speak with one voice to help artists strike a new bargain with record companies, digital distributors and others ... by engaging with government, music and technology companies, and collection societies, arguing for fair play and, where necessary, exposing unfair practices".

Man eats wife's passport.

From Ananova:

A Russian man is facing jail after he ate his ex-wife's passport during a row.

Police in Nizhny Novgorod arrested Ivan Volokov, 31, after he tore up ex-wife Anna's passport and then ate all the pieces.

A police spokesman said: "They had just got divorced but the couple remained living in the same flat.

"He wanted to destroy the passport as it was the woman's only official document which proved she had the right to stay living in the house."

Volokov has been charged with destroying official documents and threatening behaviour.

Celebrities tell you not to vote.

Warning: This video may contain reverse psychology.

Trend Spotting: Designer fire extinguishers.

I love this blog. They uncover the hottest trends sweeping Japan. Right now, designer fire extinguishers are all the rage. The stylish colors include "champagne gold" and "platinum silver". Nevermind that fire extinguishers are supposed to be a loud red so that they stand out when you need one.

Microsoft grants Windows XP another reprieve.

From ComputerWorld:

Microsoft has extended the availability of Windows XP on new PCs by six months, the company confirmed today.

Computer makers that "downgrade" machines from Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate to Windows XP Professional will be able to obtain media for the latter through the end of July 2009, a Microsoft spokeswoman said Friday.

The new date is a change in policy. Previously, Microsoft had planned to halt XP Professional media shipments to major computer makers after Jan. 31, 2009.

"As more customers make the move to Windows Vista, we want to make sure that they are making that transition with confidence and that it is as smooth as possible. Providing downgrade media for a few more months is part of that commitment," the spokeswoman said in an e-mail.

How exactly does keeping your old system active instill confidence in the new system? Isn't that like finding out the new girl you're dating has kept her ex on speed dial?

Arkansas mayor in blackface, racist stunt.

What a douche. From ArkCity:

Arkansas City Mayor Mell Kuhn on Thursday issued an apology for his actions during a fundraising event in Winfield that some residents found insulting and racially offensive.

Kuhn met with the area NAACP president in Wichita Wednesday evening in response to mounting controversy about his decision to portray a black woman with a derogatory name for the Men In Tights fundraiser.

The event is held by CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and is a beauty pageant spoof with men dressing as women. This was its 10th year.

After the meeting in Wichita, Kuhn signed the following statement, which is posted on the NAACP's Web site, wichitanaacp.org.

"It has been brought to my attention how offensive this was and I absolutely agree that it was shortsighted of me not to see that in the first place. I am sincerely sorry and I sincerely apologize for the offensive nature of my actions. This was not CASA, this was of my own volition, and I take full responsibility for my actions. The buck absolutely stops here."

The apology is a reversal from statements Kuhn made to the Traveler yesterday, in which he defended naming his character"Smellishis Poon" and painting his face dark for the event.

He said he originally intended to portray an over-the-top black women, but the performance ended up being more of a general "exotic, ethnic" character. In fact the judges awarded him Mr. CASA, and most creative talent, and the audience liked his performance, he said.

But interviews with people there indicated that some found the name inappropriate, even for a cross-dressing event, and were bothered by the racial caricature. Comments on Traveler blogs also were very critical.

Kuhn said yesterday criticism of his actions were PC "bullshit" and "I don't give a damn what anybody thinks."

But after an hour-long conversation with Kevin Myles, president of the Wichita NAACP, Kuhn said he now realizes why some people would be offended. The Wichita chapter represents the Ark City area.

NASA to study dispersal of interstellar life.

This is neat. From Xinhuanet:

The U.S. space agency NASA announced Thursday that it has awarded five-year grants, averaging 7 million U.S. dollars each, to 10 research teams from across the country to study the origins, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.

The interdisciplinary teams will become new members of the NASAA strobiology Institute, located at NASA's Ames Research Center in California.

"The research of these new teams reflects the increasing maturity of astrobiology," said NASA Astrobiology Institute Director Carl Pilcher. "They are focused on fundamental questions of life in the universe, but their work has implications for all of science. The research of these teams, together with that of th efour continuing institute teams, will bridge the basic science of astrobiology to NASA's current and planned space exploration missions."

For example, one of these new team will investigate the habitability of icy worlds, such as Titan, and Saturn moons Europa and Enceladus. They also will investigate how life could be detected in such environments and begin to define related instrumentation for future missions.

Google announces $4.4 trillion clean energy plan.

This is pretty rad. Google solved our energy crisis! From Philanthropy News Digest:

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the Internet search giant, has announced a $4.4 trillion plan to wean the United States off fossil fuels by 2030, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.

The Clean Energy 2030 proposal calls for a 38 percent cut in the amount of oil used for vehicle fuels; raising the automobile fuel efficiency standard from 31 mpg to 45 mpg; increasing the use of plug-in hybrids and electric cars; replacing combustion engine cars in business fleets much faster; and improving electrical energy efficiency. The plan also calls for replacing all power generation plants that use coal and oil and half of those that use natural gas with wind, solar, and geothermal sources of power. Although the cost of the plan is significant, the company estimates that it could save approximately $1 trillion while creating new jobs over the next twenty years.

The plan will build on several commitments already made by Google.org to advance clean energy, including $45 million through its Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal initiative to companies with breakthrough wind, solar, and geothermal technologies. In addition, Google recently announced a partnership with General Electric to lobby Washington lawmakers to do more to support the development of alternative energy sources.

"Right now we have a real opportunity to transform our economy from one running on fossil fuels to one largely based on clean energy," said Jeffery Greenblatt, climate and energy technology manager for Google.org and author of the plan. "Technologies and know-how to accomplish this are either available today or are under development."

Coca-Cola douche wins Ig Noble Prize.

Now I'd really like to buy the world a Coke. From ABC News:

Deborah Anderson had heard the urban legends about the contraceptive effectiveness of Coca-Cola products for years. So she and her colleagues decided to put the soft drink to the test. In the lab, that is.

For discovering that, yes indeed, Coke was a spermicide, Anderson and her team are among this year's winners of the Ig Nobel prize, the annual award given by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine to oddball but often surprisingly practical scientific achievements.

Singing to females makes male birds' brains happy.

This is cute. And maybe it explains why hearing Geddy Lee singing makes my brain happy.

"The melodious singing of birds has been long appreciated by humans, and has often been thought to reflect a particularly positive emotional state of the singer. In a new study published in the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE on October 1, researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have demonstrated that this can be true. When male birds sang to attract females, specific "reward" areas of their brain were strongly activated. Such strong brain activation resulted in a similar change in brain reward function to that which is caused by addictive drugs."

Full article here.

Study: Fat white people eat more at Chinese buffets.

Kind of a redundant study, but some of the subconscious behaviors and stats are pretty interesting.

When dining at Chinese Buffets, overweight individuals serve themselves and eat differently than normal weight individuals. This may lead them to overeat, according to a recent study by Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab. Compared to normal weight diners, overweight individuals sat 16 feet closer to the buffet, faced the food, used larger plates, ate with forks instead of chopsticks, and served themselves immediately instead of browsing the buffet.

"What's crazy is that these people are generally unaware of what they're doing – they're unaware of sitting closer, facing the food, chewing less, and so on," say Brian Wanink, lead author of this study and of the book "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think."

The study was published in the journal Obesity and includes observations of 213 diners at 11 all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant buffets across the country. Study participants included a range of normal weight to obese diners, none of whom were Asian.

Coozer-Bits

NY Times: Top research psychiatrists in the pocket of drug companies.

NY Times: Parents using "dumpster baby law" as a way to abandon teenage kids.

EurekAlert: Small cubes to be flung into space, check out weather.

ScienceDaily: Study: Belief in God makes people more helpful, generous, and honest... under certain conditions.

Rockefeller University: Scientists identify molecule that coordinates the movement of cells.

Reuters: Thieves steal five small planes, fly away.

Reuters: Political candidate in Thailand beats up TV host.

ABC News: Pregnancy bias suit: 72 moms vs. Bloomberg.

CBS anchor looted bombed-out Iraq site.

From the NY Post:

CBS news hottie Lara Logan could be in hot water for swiping souvenirs from the wreckage of bombed-out Baghdad.

In a video profile of the "60 Minutes" star called "Lara Logan's Spoils of War," mementos from Iraq and Afghanistan are shown in her Washington office.

"The prize pieces are . . . pre-Iraq invasion portraits of Saddam Hussein. In one [he's] shown in military fatigues. Logan told us she found it in pieces, in the ruins of the Olympic committee building after it was bombed," reports Marisa Guthrie of Broadcasting & Cable, the media industry publication that produced the online piece.

"A second portrait recovered from the ruins of a shelled palace in Baghdad shows a paternal Saddam surrounded by a group of adoring children, Hovering above the scene is the disembodied head of a stern-looking elderly woman . . . which Logan says is Saddam's mother."

Taking such items out of the country is considered theft under a federal provision designed to protect Iraqi heritage. One former Fox News engineer has already been prosecuted and placed on probation for smuggling paintings from Iraqi palaces. Other journos have been warned.

450-pound pumpkin stolen.

Maybe it's the elusive Great Pumpkin? From Breitbart:

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A massive pumpkin has gone missing from a front yard of a home in suburban Flint, Mich.—and its owner suspects some mighty strong thieves.

The Flint Journal reports Thursday the 450-pound pumpkin had been on display for only a day at the Grand Blanc Township home of Bill Teer. He spent five months growing the Atlantic Giant.

Teer is offering $200 for the pumpkin's return. He figures someone must have seen it—or at least the small team required to steal the colossal squash.

Chinese pandas fed chicken soup for health.

Yeah, I'm posting a lot about animals today. Animals rule. From Breitbart:

The Wuhan Zoo in central China has been feeding its two pandas home-cooked chicken soup twice in a month to reduce stress and give them a nutritional boost, a zoo official said Friday.

He Zhihua said 3-year-old Xiwang and Weiwei—literally meaning "Hope" and "Greatness"—were tired and suffering from a little shock since the start Monday of the weeklong National Day holiday, one of the biggest travel seasons of the year.

On Wednesday, up to 30,000 people swarmed the zoo and about 1,000 tourists packed the panda enclosure, shouting to get the animals' attention, He said. The pandas paced restlessly.

"They had been getting less sleep, and they had to run around more," he said. "We felt it would be good to give them the soup because they were fatigued and had a bit of a shock."

Reflecting the Chinese tradition of drinking slow-cooked chicken soup for health, the zookeepers boiled roosters in water overnight and added a pinch of salt to the concentrated stock.

The pandas were served 2.2 pounds of soup in giant dishes, in addition to their regular diet of bamboo, milk and buns, He said.

It was a hit.

"They drank it all like they drank their milk. They loved it," he said.

I like that their regular diet includes "buns." Red pandas eat more dim sum than I do!

Boy feeds zoo animals to crocodile.

WTF is wrong with this kid and his parents? Holy shit, I'd like to throw HIM to the crocodile. From BBC:

A seven-year-old boy has been filmed going on the rampage at a popular zoo in Australia, killing rare reptiles and feeding live ones to a crocodile.

Footage from the security cameras at Alice Springs Reptile Centre caught the child smiling as he killed a total of 13 animals.

During his 30-minute spree, he was seen hurling the animals over the security fence into the crocodile enclosure.

Zoo officials described the boy's actions as "unbelievable".

[...] Over the next half hour, he bludgeoned some of the animals to death with stones and hurled others over the two fences surrounding the crocodile enclosure.

[...] A turtle, four Western blue-tongued lizards, two bearded dragons, two thorny devil lizards and the zoo's 20-year-old goanna were among those killed. Zoo director Rex Neindorf said many of the animals were rare or mature and would be difficult to replace.

[...] "We'll be looking at suing the parents, who were supposedly in control of him at the time," he said.

Rare white lion cubs born.

"Three rare white lion cubs have been born near South Africa's Kruger National park. The number of white lions being born in the wild has dwindled significantly over the last 16 years."

Video of the cute cubs here.

Who won the Biden-Palin debate?

According to every media outlet, Palin won because she exceeded the extremely low expectation set for her.

Gotta love how that's the standard for winning. Reminds me of when Bush "won" the debates against Gore and Kerry because he was able to say complete sentences without making a single fart joke.

Even the foreign media is breathlessly claiming a Palin win. Am I living in the Bizarro Universe?

Fake pollsters linking Obama with Hamas.

This is pretty low. From The Guardian:

Barack Obama's campaign for the White House is receiving increasing complaints about scam pollsters involved in dirty tricks operations to discredit the Democratic candidate.

Victims claim the fake pollsters work insinuations into their questions, designed to damage Obama. Those targeted in swing states such as Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania include Jews, Christian evangelicals, Catholics and Latinos.

One of those to protest, Debbie Minden, who lives in a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood, Squirrel Hill, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, told the Guardian that the pollster had begun by asking her the usual questions about her background and who she would vote for.

But the pollster went on to ask Minden, who is Jewish, how she would vote if she knew that Obama was supported by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs Gaza and was responsible for most of the suicide bombings against Israel. "It is scare tactics. It is terribly underhand," she said.

The groups behind such polls have not been identified. One of the Republican groups working on behalf of John McCain's campaign, the Republican Jewish Coalition, acknowledges carrying out a survey about Jewish voters' views on Obama and Israel, but insists it was a legitimate exercise intended to test campaign messages on Jewish voters.

200,000 sites hacked.

Hmm, I unintentionally hit a trifecta with three consecutive articles about the post office. Anyway, ComputerWorld reports:

Several criminal gangs have acquired administrative log-in credentials for more than 200,000 Web sites -- including the one used by the U.S. Postal Service -- and have used the compromised domains to attack unsuspecting users' PCs with a notorious hacker exploit kit, a researcher said today.

More than a month ago, Ian Amit, director of security research at Aladdin Knowledge Systems Inc., found and infiltrated a server belonging to a long-time customer of Neosploit, a hacker toolkit used by cybercriminals to launch exploits against browsers and popular Web software such as Apple Inc.'s QuickTime or Adobe Systems Inc.'s Adobe Reader.

On that server, Amit uncovered logs showing that two or three hacker gangs had contributed to a massive pool of Web site usernames and passwords. "We have counted more than 208,000 unique site credentials on the server," said Amit, "and over 80,000 had been modified with malicious content."

Mailmen to carry around anthrax antidote.

This is all sorts of crazy. Are we living in a post-apocalyptic world or something? Anyway, thanks to Louie D for the tip. From Fox News:

If there ever is another anthrax attack in the U.S., the mailman may deliver antibiotics.

U.S. government health officials are beginning a project in Minneapolis-St. Paul to let letter carriers stockpile a personal supply of emergency antibiotics so they are protected and ready to go deliver aid to the rest of the city at a moment's notice.

"These letter carriers are being asked to put their lives on the line to help their communities," Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said Wednesday. By ensuring they are protected first, "the carriers can be ready on short notice to take to the streets."

The project aims to overcome a big hurdle of emergency planning. The government has lots of drugs stockpiled in case of future bioterrorism, but little way to get them quickly to panicked citizens. Leavitt noted that if someone possibly has inhaled anthrax, the chances of survival are best if antibiotic treatment begins within 48 hours.

The U.S. Postal Service came forward, he said, and said "they have people who every day walk to every house." Those carriers could provide "a front-end quick strike," added the Health and Human Services Department's emergency planning chief, William Raub.

Junk mail keeping the US Postal Service alive.

No wonder why my mail carrier is so cranky. From Newsweek:

These are tough times for the U.S. Postal Service. It's being pummeled by high fuel costs. The soft economy is crimping the overall volume of mail, which fell 5.5 percent in the past year. Its business is also falling as Americans opt for e-mail over birthday cards and thank-you notes. Now comes another threat: consumers like Colleen Plimpton of Bethel, Conn. Earlier this year Plimpton became tired of the credit-card offers, catalogs and advertising fliers that clogged her mailbox. So in February she paid $20 to GreenDimes, a firm that helps consumers reduce their inflow of "junk mail" by contacting businesses on their behalf. "[Junk mailers] are cutting down trees willy-nilly, and that has got to stop," says Plimpton.

To the post office, consumers like her are a serious threat. "Efforts to convince people not to receive mail are really going to hurt," says Steve Kearney, a Postal Service senior vice president.

The Postal Service lost $1.1 billion in its latest quarter. That number would be even larger if it weren't for direct mailings, which now constitute 52 percent of mail volume, up from 38 percent in 1990. Revenue from direct mail "is the financial underpinning of the Postal Service—it could not survive without it," says Michael Coughlin, former deputy postmaster.

Man shoots himself after being denied sex.

When I'm denied sex, I usually shoot off by myself too. But not like this. From the Sun-Sentinel:

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Authorities say a Fort Myers man shot himself in the arm after his girlfriend refused to have sex with him.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office reports that 29-year-old Jonathon Guabello and his girlfriend returned home from a bar early Wednesday morning. The girlfriend told deputies that Guabello had wanted to get intimate, but she wanted to go to sleep.

When Guabello became irate, authorities say the girlfriend went to a spare bedroom, and several minutes later she heard two gunshots. She told deputies Guabello came into her room and threatened her. He then stumbled into the kitchen and knocked himself unconscious.

Palin blunders over talks with British ambassador that never took place.

From Daily Mail:

Sarah Palin has committed yet another political blunder after claiming she had held talks with a British ambassador - talks that never actually took place.

In an answer to questions about her foreign policy experience ahead of tonight's make-or-break vice presidential TV debate, her aides listed numerous contacts with foreign officials - including Britain's ambassador to Washington, Sir Nigel Sheinwald.

However the meeting never occurred. Officials at the embassy swiftly contacted the McCain-Palin campaign to inform them of the discrepancy.

Russia loses 215,000 guns.

I think the between-the-lines story here is that the Russian military has been selling hundreds of thousands of guns to criminals. From Breitbart:

Police in Russia say they are searching for more than 215,000 guns that have gone missing from arsenals around the country.

An official police list of "missing firearms" has 215,326 entries, up from less than 1,000 in 1991, Interior Ministry official Sergei Fedkin told the Interfax news agency on Thursday.

Fedkin was quick to stress that his own ministry was not responsible for the losses. "Experts believe the main source of arms in the criminal world is military bases and, above all, the defence ministry," he said.

World's fattest man set to marry.

The coolest thing about this story isn't the fact even a morbidly obese person can find true love, but that he drives around town in an automotive bed contraption. If we could all drive around in our beds, there would be no war... except for maybe pillow fight road rage. From BBC:

The world's heaviest man says he is to marry his girlfriend later this month after losing nearly half his original body weight.

Mexican Manuel Uribe said he and Claudia Solis would wed in his home town of Monterrey on 26 October.

The 43-year-old entered the Guinness Book of Records in 2006 after tipping the scales at 560kg (88 stones).

Manuel, who has lost around 250kg (39 stones), said he would be steering clear of the wedding cake.

[...] Manuel Uribe has attributed his weight loss to the love and encouragement he has received from Claudia, whom he has known for four years. The couple have been engaged for two years.

He is currently only able to leave his house by being towed through the streets on his specially-made bed - and dreams of being able to walk again.

Slow day...

Wednesday was pretty slow. I mean, stuff happened, but not the kind of stuff that warrants a Coozer File. No zombie scares, no sentient robots, no stupid crime story.

This is the best I can do for Wednesday: a banal story about two old women who win a battle over a crab apple tree.

Precocious galaxy's magnetic field is bizarrely strong.

Who does this newbie galaxy think it is? I'd like to see how magnetic it thinks it is a billion years from now. From New Scientist:

A young galaxy has been found with a magnetic field that is 10 times stronger than the Milky Way's. The find could challenge the prevailing idea of how galaxies 'spin up' their own fields.

Large galaxies are spanned by fairly strong magnetic fields. Astrophysicists think these fields are slowly built up from smaller 'seed fields' that surround the charged particles blasted out by supernovae. Over billions of years, the galaxies' slow spin whips up these particles and acts like a dynamo to align and amplify the fields.

But the young galaxy DLA-3C286 seems to have found a shortcut to this slow process. "We never thought we'd find something this strong," says astronomer Arthur Wolfe of the University of California, San Diego.

New Kinky.

Just discovered that Kinky's new album came out today! They really kept it under the radar - even their Wikipedia page doesn't mention it.

Kinky, in case you're not familiar, is a hip Mexican band that plays infectious, revved-up rock and dance, mixing in a little electro, a little record-scratching, and a lot of regional traditional flair.

Their new one, Barracuda, has shaken my booty many times tonight. I'm still most fond of "Reina" and I miss the accordion, but this has serious growth potential. In my pants.

ZombieWatch: Artificial noses created to allow zombies to smell brains.

The heading may be shrill, but what else could "variety of settings" refer to?? From EurekAlert:

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--MIT biological engineers have found a way to mass-produce smell receptors in the laboratory, an advance that paves the way for "artificial noses" to be created and used in a variety of settings.

The work could also allow scientists to unlock the mystery of how the sense of smell can recognize a seemingly infinite range of odors.

"Smell is perhaps one of the oldest and most primitive senses, but nobody really understands how it works. It still remains a tantalizing enigma," said Shuguang Zhang, associate director of MIT's Center for Biomedical Engineering and senior author of a paper on the work appearing online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Artificial noses could one day replace drug- and explosive-sniffing dogs, and could have numerous medical applications, according to Zhang and his colleagues. DARPA recently approved funding for the team's MIT (microfluidic-integrated transduction) RealNose project.

Until now, efforts to understand the molecular basis of smell have been stymied by the difficulty in working with the proteins that detect odors, known as olfactory receptors.

[...] Smell is one of the most complex and least-understood senses. Humans have a vast olfactory system that includes close to 400 functional genes, more than are dedicated to any other function. Animals such as dogs and mice have around 1,000 functional olfactory receptor genes.

That variety of receptors allows humans and animals to discern tens of thousands of distinct odors. Each odor activates multiple receptors and this pattern of activation creates a signature that the brain can recognize as a particular scent.

Put all your money into soup!!

This is interesting. Of the 500 companies on the S&P 500, only one didn't fall - Campbell Soup Co. In fact, the cheap-o, barely-above-generic food company actually went up a little.

Now's probably a good time to invest in instant ramen, Wal-Mart, any hamburger-based restaurant chain that has a dollar menu, and cheese products that spell cheese with a Z.

The '30s had The Depression. We're gonna have The Downgrade.

Falling snow detected on Mars.

This is the coolest thing ever. We totally need to move to Mars.

U.S. Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snow falling from Martian clouds, the U.S. space agency NASA announced on Monday.

A laser instrument designed to gather knowledge of how the atmosphere and surface interact on Mars, detected snow from clouds about 4 kilometers above the spacecraft's landing site. Data show the snow vaporizing before reaching the ground.

"Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," said Jim Whiteway, of York University, Toronto, lead scientist for the Canadian-supplied Meteorological Station on Phoenix. "We'll be looking for signs that the snow may even reach the ground."

New brain disorder: Constantly being lost.

This sounds like a pretty scary disorder. How would you ever get around? The science of spatial orientation is pretty interesting, though. From Science Daily:

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute recently documented the first case of a patient who, without apparent brain damage or cognitive impairment, is unable to orient within any environment. Researchers also believe that there are many others in the general population who may be affected by this developmental topographical disorder.

[...] "Imagine not being able to do the simplest of tasks such as finding your way home from the grocery store," says Iaria, who is affiliated with the Brain Research Centre. "Navigating and orienting in an environment are complex cognitive skills, involving parts of the brain used for memory, attention, perception, and decision-making. It also requires using at least two distinct types of memory systems."

The procedural memory system involves using landmarks, distances, or following stereotyped movements to move between locations. The spatial memory system is more complex. When moving through an environment – familiar or not – a person creates a mental representation of the environment, called a cognitive map. It is the ability to "create" and "read" these cognitive maps that enables a person to navigate by following a route without getting lost.

MI6 terror photos found on camera bought on eBay.

Pretty neat. Too bad this may ruin the eBay buyer's life. From the Daily Mail:

Police are investigating the eBay auction of a digital camera said to have contained MI6 images of terror suspects.

Suspects' faces, names and fingerprints, as well as snaps of rocket launchers and missiles, were discovered by an online bidder who bought the camera for £17, it was reported.

The 28-year-old only found the images when he downloaded his own recent holiday snaps from the Nikon CoolPix.

He told police and was shocked when Special Branch officers arrived at his home in Hemel Hempstead, Herts, days later to seize the camera.

Officers are said to have made five visits to his home in the last week to quiz him and his family.

[...] Among the images which are reported to have been found on the camera is a 'top secret' document giving details of the encrypted computer system used by MI6's agents in the field.

[...] Neil Doyle, author of Terror Base UK, told the Sun the documents related to an operation against al Qaeda in Iraq, adding: 'It's jaw-dropping that they got into the public domain.

'Not only do they divulge secrets about operations, operating systems and previously unheard-of MI6 departments, but they could put lives at risk.'

Coozer-Bits.

NY1: Right-wing NY Sun stops publishing. The Sun's editor says goodbye here.

NY Post: Netflix sponsoring torturous no-sleep film marathon.

Chicago Sun-Times: Mugging turns into blessing.

Chicago Tribune: Beanie Baby guy buys penthouse in the Chicago Spire. (I just like the weird juxtaposition of a super-rich magnate looking down at Chicago and laughing maniacally, and.... Beanie Babies.)

NY Daily News: Brazen thief steals $300,000 from armored truck in broad daylight.

Yahoo! News: Pot-bellied dolphins put on diet.

The Guardian: Birdwatchers face off against hunters in Malta.

HuffingtonPost: Palin stares into space when asked if she can name a Supreme Court case.

LiveScience: Global warming costing starfish an arm and a leg. :(

Robot Uprising Watch: Underwater robot can hover in place.

"MIT researchers have designed a new robotic underwater vehicle that can hover in place like a helicopter -- an invaluable tool for deepwater oil explorers, marine archaeologists, oceanographers and others."

Great, way to create a robot that can hover quietly and strike human swimmers when they least expect it. I'm never going into the ocean or taking a bath again.

World reacts to US bailout rejection.

It's sad and embarrassing how the US' unregulated and greedy fiscal policies damaged the rest of the world.

Some snippets from BBC News:

BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA

Emerging nations, poor nations who have done everything to have a good fiscal policy and to keep their economies stable, should not be paying for the price for the American economy's casino-like policies.

It is not fair to have countries in Latin America, Africa or Asia pay for the irresponsibility of certain sectors of the American financial system.

EU TRADE COMMISSIONER PETER MANDELSON

I feel they've taken leave of their senses and I hope that in Europe we will not see politicians and parliamentarians replicating the sort of irresponsibility and political partisanship that we have seen in Washington.

The American banking system is going to have to reinvent itself... It's going to be consolidated, it's going to operate in a different way, it's going to have to operate with more responsibility, less risk.

JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER TARO ASO

We have to respond appropriately in order not to affect the Japanese economy and to prevent the financial system from falling apart.

Judge shoots down anti-feminist.

Good. This guy is a douche. From Breitbart:

It's closing time for a lawsuit alleging ladies' nights at nightclubs discriminate against men. Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum tossed the lawsuit out of federal court in Manhattan on Monday. She said nightclubs can price their products as they wish because they're not acting as representatives of the state.

The lawsuit was brought by attorney Roy Den Hollander, who has crusaded against feminism and recently sued a university over its women's studies program.

Hollander said ladies' nights at Manhattan nightclubs discriminate against men by offering women free or discounted admission and drinks. He tried to link the state to the discounts because it licenses the sale of alcohol at nightclubs.

He called the judge a feminist and said her dismissal of his lawsuit was consistent with the discrimination embedded in many of America's institutions.

[...] Last month, Hollander sued Columbia University, saying its women's studies program is discriminatory and unconstitutional because the school didn't have a comparable men's program.

Columbia University had no comment on that lawsuit.

Narcolepsy gene discovered by sciezzzzzz....

From ABC Newzzz:

As medical disorders go, narcolepsy has the paradox of being popularly portrayed in comedy, but being a rare, devastating and poorly understood condition in real life.

Only one in 2,000 people have the disease, which means doctors can rarely get enough patients or funding to really study narcolepsy and make advances to treat it. But Sunday, in the journal Nature Genetics, researchers reported that they discovered a genetic variant which increases a person's susceptibility to narcolepsy by 79 percent.

Trend Spotting: Face Shaping!

Is your face and/or head ugly? Of course it is. That is why Japanese face belts are the new hot trend! Check this out:

Unsatisfied with your face? Is your mouth too wide or your head too big? Do you want to change the shape of your face without an expensive operation? If you feel like this, you may not be alone, as it seems that a lot of Japanese people might think the same way.

[...] People thinking to have a too big face or want to get a slimmer cheek, strain skin, or get rid of a double chin could be helped by the Kogao Meiku Beruto (small face make belt). According to the manufacturer, the face will become smaller and slimmer by just stringing the belt around the head while sleeping or relaxing. Sounds easy, right? (Full story here.)

Coozer-Bits.

ABC News: Prosecutor to probe US attorney firings. (I'm glad this never died.)

BBC News: Chinese chemical poison found in Cadbury chocolates.

BBC News: Pirates of Somalia: At World's End.

Breitbart: Brooklyn landlord tries to force out rent-stabilized tenants with rotting cat carcasses.

Breitbart: More than 1,150 arrested in California immigration sweep.

Politico: McCain takes credit for bailout before it fails.

Chicago Sun-Times: Latin American stocks plummet. Trading halted in Brazil.

Chicago Tribune: Father kills home invader attempting to rape daughter.

Daily Mail: Fruits and veggie prices soar by 30% in the UK.

Live Science: Scientists discover "fear factor" gene.

McClatchy: Pentagon's new Africa command raises suspicions about US motives.

Moscow Times: Russia accused of slowing down oil production.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: New "country of origin" food labels go into effect tomorrow.

Capitalism dead. Economy crippled. Lives ruined.

I, for one, am dancing on the ruins. I had the foresight to put all my money into booze and pork rinds.

So... when do you think we'll need to learn the Chinese national anthem?

Cop admits "sexual contact" with victim; rape charges dropped.

How exactly does it happen that you admit to forcing your way into a teen's apartment, having "sexual contact" with her, and then getting off scot-free? Oh yeah, when you're a cop and your wife is a news anchor.

Article here.

Hung jury in case of cat beaten to death.

This is sickening. Who thinks beating a cat to death isn't cruel? From Newsday:

A Manhattan judge declared a hung jury Friday at the trial of a former minor league baseball player accused of beating, stomping and kicking his girlfriend's cat to death during a drunken fury.

Emerging after five days of deliberations, the jurors -- looking haggard -- nodded when the judge asked if it would be pointless to continue.

Juror Doug Collman told reporters that the vote had been 11 to 1 in favor of conviction on aggravated animal cruelty, a felony carrying a prison term of up to 2 years.

Prosecutors said Joseph Petcka complained that his girlfriend loved the cat more than she loved him. The defense said Petcka overreacted when he was bitten, but did not intentionally kill Norman, the declawed feline.

Petcka looked straight ahead when the conclusion was announced.

Coozer-Bits.

NY Daily News: Calls rise among Republicans for Sarah Palin to step down.

Washington Post: World leaders who met with Palin are praising Biden.

Yahoo! Canada: Anti-bear spray closes down Juneau airport.

Yahoo! Canada: Man steals uniform, poses as Dodgers player.

WNBC: Historian gets jail for stealing Washington, Lincoln letters.

Houston Chronicle: Man killed while rescuing dogs on freeway. (This is becoming a trend!)

Japan Times: YMCK has two new albums! w00t!

New Scientist: Horny goat weed may lead to new boner pill.

Top 10 weirdest keyboards.

A neat gallery. I like this one.

Sex shops now outnumber supermarkets in Australia.

Maybe Aussies are only eating edible body paint? From News.com.au:

THERE are now more sex shops in Queensland than Coles supermarkets and even the adult industry's own representative body says enough is enough.

The Courier-Mail reports the EROS Association is calling on the State Government to tighten controls on the number of sex shops in Queensland.

But the Government says it has no plans to cap the number of sex stores or introduce a licensing system to regulate the industry.

There are 180 sex shops across the state – easily outscoring the 155 Coles supermarkets and more than double the number of Blockbuster video stores – and many are concentrated in tourist areas popular with families.

Doctors amputate penis without consent.

I didn't even know there was such a thing as penis cancer. Anyway, this sucks. I don't know anyone without a penis. Except for maybe some girls.

A Tennessee man is suing doctors who amputed his penis without his consent.

Philip Seaton, 61, of Shelby County, was in hospital for a circumcision, reports WLKY.

But when he awoke from the operation, he realised his penis had been amputated.

Surgeons at the hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, said they had to take the drastic action after discovering a life-threatening cancer.

Coozer Prophesy: Jellyfish invasion closing beaches.

This is a lot more serious than people think. Don't say we didn't warn you...

As the summer comes to an end a disturbing sign of environmental imbalance is washing up on many of the world's beaches: a jellyfish invasion.

Swarms of small, not entirely friendly creatures, are forcing beach closings from the Mediterranean to Australia.

[...] Scientists say it is a sign that the health of the oceans is deteriorating and warn that mass extinctions of marine life could be coming.

"It's kind of a canary in a coal mine as to what might be coming next. Are the oceans going to be getting much worse?" Madin asked.

Marine biologists say there are several possible reasons for the ocean's decline. As global warming raises the water's temperature jellyfish breed faster. And they have fewer predators thanks to the fishermen who catch tuna and swordfish. Pollution also plays a role in upsetting the delicate balance of the ocean's ecosystem.

Woman accidentally brews coffee with bat.

Poor bat...

It wasn't just the caffeine that gave an Iowa woman an extra jolt after she had her morning coffee. It was also the bat she found in the filter.

The Iowa Department of Public Health says the woman reported a bat in her house but wasn't too worried about it. She turned on her automatic coffee maker before bedtime and drank her coffee the next morning.

She discovered the bat in the filter when she went to clean it that night. The woman has undergone treatment for possible rabies.

Health officials say that the bat was sent to a lab but that its brain was too cooked by the hot water to determine whether it had rabies.