"Holy grail" cancer vaccine blasts tumors without damaging other cells.

From Daily Mail:

Scientists have developed a new jab which they hope will be a 'holy grail' cancer cure.

The treatment, which will be tested on British patients over the next few months, can reverse and even cure malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer.

If it proves successful in large- scale trials, there are hopes that new forms could be developed to fight other forms of cancer, such as breast and prostate.

Experts say it may even stop people getting cancer in the first place.

Lead researcher Professor Lindy Durrant, of Nottingham University, said:

'This is huge. We could now have a vaccine that can target a tumour and kill it without damage to surrounding healthy tissues or cells.

'In the short term, this could cure some patients with the disease, and in the long term it could be used to prevent people developing it in the first place.'

Professor Karol Sikora, a leading cancer expert, said: 'This is a very clever vaccine and I believe it will increase the cure rate for patients in the future.' More than 10,000 people are diagnosed with malignant melanoma every year in Britain.

Numbers have quadrupled over the past 30 years as more people enjoy sunshine holidays abroad or use tanning booths.

Dead: Ronnie James Dio.

Heaven, not Hell. RIP, Dio. From the Houston Chronicle:

Ronnie James Dio, legendary vocalist for Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell and Dio, has died after a battle with stomach cancer, according to his wife, Wendy Dio. He was 67 years old.

The heavy metal singer died early this morning. He was being treated at M.D. Anderson in Houston.

A rumor circulated Saturday night on Twitter about Dio's death. His wife quickly shot that down: "He is not doing well, but he is not dead."

His wife released a statement to blabbermouth.net today:

"Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45 a.m. [on Sunday] 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private goodbyes before he peacefully passed away.

"Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all.

"We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us.

"Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss.

"Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever."

Arizona governor signs bill banning ethnic studies.

From Raw Story:

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has signed a bill targeting a school district's ethnic studies program, hours after a report by United Nations human rights experts condemned the measure.

State schools chief Tom Horne, who has pushed the bill for years, said he believes the Tucson school district's Mexican-American studies program teaches Latino students that they are oppressed by white people.

Public schools should not be encouraging students to resent a particular race, he said.

"It's just like the old South, and it's long past time that we prohibited it," Horne said.

Brewer's signature on the bill Tuesday comes less than a month after she signed the nation's toughest crackdown on illegal immigration — a move that ignited international backlash amid charges the measure would encourage racial profiling of Hispanics. The governor has said profiling will not be tolerated.

The measure signed Tuesday prohibits classes that advocate ethnic solidarity, that are designed primarily for students of a particular race or that promote resentment toward a certain ethnic group.

The Tucson Unified School District program offers specialized courses in African-American, Mexican-American and Native-American studies that focus on history and literature and include information about the influence of a particular ethnic group.

For example, in the Mexican-American Studies program, an American history course explores the role of Hispanics in the Vietnam War, and a literature course emphasizes Latino authors.

Subway restaurant tells other eateries to stop using word "footlong."

I hope they don't sue my shmeckle too! From NY Daily News:

It's a controversy that has grown more than a "footlong."

The Subway restaurant chain has mailed cease-and-desist letters to mom-and-pop eateries nationwide that use the term "footlong" to describe menu items.

"I saw that and I said, 'You gotta be kidding me,'" said Blair Hensley, 31, the owner of the Coney Island Drive Inn in Brooksville, Fla., who received one. He said his shop has been advertising footlong hot dogs since 1960.

Subway officials have applied to trademark the term "footlong."

A spokesman for the sandwich giant said the company is recanting the threat made to hotdog stand owners such as Hensley. But it's still targeting shops advertising footlong sandwiches.

Scientists invent DNA robots.

What could go wrong? From Technology Review:

Its precise structure and ability to bind with other molecules makes DNA an attractive scaffolding material for nanotech researchers. Scientists have already used DNA to construct two-dimensional patterns, three-dimensional objects, and simple shape-changing devices. Now two teams of researchers have separately made complex programmable machines using DNA molecules.

Researchers from Columbia University, Arizona State University, and Caltech have made a device that follows a programmable path on a surface patterned with DNA. Meanwhile, researchers from New York University, led by DNA nanoarchitecture pioneer Ned Seeman, have combined multiple DNA devices to make an assembly line. The nano contraption picks up gold nanoparticles as it tumbles along a DNA-patterned surface.

The two machines, described in today's Nature journal, are a possible step forward in making DNA nanobots that could assemble tiny electrical and mechanical devices. DNA robots could also put together molecules in new ways to make new materials, says Lloyd Smith, a chemistry professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Robots might have the ability to position one molecule in a particular way so that a reaction happens with another molecule which might not happen if they randomly collide in solution," he says.

Coozer-Bits: Goldblum Edition.

Lame: Kate Gosselin is making the moves on The Goldblum.

Lame: The Goldblum is in another bland Jennifer Aniston rom-com - and he's not even the hunky male protagonist.

Duh: TV.com's top 10 horror remakes includes The Fly.

Awesome: Adam Resurrected gets a good review!

Walgreens to sell DNA tests.

From NY Times:

Genetic tests that assess a person’s risk of getting various diseases are heading to the corner drug store.

Pathway Genomics, a start-up company, is expected to announce on Tuesday that it will sell such a test through most of the nation’s 7,500 Walgreens stores.

The tests sold by Pathway, and others by its competitors, look at specific variations in a person’s DNA to derive information about their risk of getting diseases like diabetes, heart disease and various forms of cancer. Such tests have until now been sold directly to consumers through the Internet or through doctors’ offices.

By capitalizing on the foot traffic in drug stores, Pathway hopes to gain an edge on rivals 23andMe and Navigenics, which are older and better known.

“It’s more consumer awareness than we could get from advertising online,” said Jim Woodman, vice president for corporate strategy at Pathway, which is based in San Diego and is privately held.

The personal genomics companies appear to have garnered fewer than 100,000 customers combined since starting nearly three years ago. Pathway, which started last summer, will not say how many customers it has.

The tests, which generally cost $300 or more, have also stirred controversy. Some genetics experts say the tests cannot provide accurate or significant information because not enough is known yet about the genetic causes of disease. Some critics say doctors should be involved in interpreting the tests.

New York State considers these medical tests, not consumer information, and requires a license. Pathway does not yet have one, so its test will not be carried by Walgreens in New York.

Chicago cops mistreated half a million people.

From the Chicago Tribune:

More than half a million people could be eligible for cash awards in a proposed $16.5 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit accusing Chicago police of mistreating suspects, city officials said.

The City Council Finance Committee on Monday recommended approval of the settlement in the federal civil rights case, filed in 2004 on behalf people who claimed they were subjected to an "institutionalized system of police torture" that included being deprived of adequate food and water.

If approved this week by the full council, up to 514,000 people could be eligible for awards between $90 and $3,000. The amounts could be reduced if too many people apply.

Some one-time suspects might be eligible for three separate awards totaling $5,090, according to case documents. The city would pay the first $15 million in costs, and an insurer would cover the rest, said Mara Georges, the city's top lawyer.

At one point, plaintiffs sought far more, Georges said. "In a case where you have a demand of over $100 million, to settle it for $16.5 million is a good result," she said.

Loevy & Loevy, a civil rights law firm, could receive legal fees of up to $5 million from the $16.5 million settlement fund, out of which administrative costs also would be paid, according to court documents. Attempts to reach the firm's attorneys were not successful.

According to the lawsuit, people were arrested without warrants, shackled to a wall or metal bench and given infrequent meals, few bathroom breaks and no bedding in a manner "consistent with tactics of 'soft torture' used to extract involuntary confessions in other parts of the world."

Mets to become Quidditch team.

I suppose this is good; I don't think that whole baseball thing was working out for them. From the NY Daily News:

When Brooklyn middle-schooler Olivia Wargo invented a game inspired by Quidditch, she never dreamed she'd see a professional athlete play it.

So she was thrilled when Mets pitchers Jonathon Niese and Fernando Nieve turned up at her school to give it a whirl.

The Amazin's appeared as part of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign to help kids get fit.

Olivia, an eighth-grader at Mark Twain Intermediate School in Coney Island, dubbed the experience "really cool." But she admitted she was nervous explaining the rules to the two Mets and others there to record the moment.

"It was really nerve-racking talking in front of all the cameras," Olivia said. "I was shaking."

Niese and Nieve took to the game like Harry Potter, which was fortunate because the kids are admitted to the school based on their athletic talent. And the youngsters already knew how to play.

"It was fun to watch the kids going 100 per cent," Niese said. "I hope they take away that they can have fun in school as well as get in shape. But the main thing is having fun."

Olivia figured out a way to play the wizarding world's signature game without flying broomsticks.

She taped three goals made of hula hoops to the walls at each end of the gym and had players bounce a small ball within the circles to score.

The Mets' "School Is Amazing" program, co-sponsored by EmblemHealth insurance, also brought players to schools in Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens yesterday and today.

Topless woman battles blaze, saves neighbors.

It's Kekko Kamen! From NY Daily News:

One moment she was tanning herself by the pool, the next Tash Bennett was saving her fellow neighbors from a fire - while topless.

The Australian fitness instructor had been enjoying the afternoon sun when she noticed a palm tree had caught fire, Australia's Northern Territory News reported.

"I was just lying there when some ash fell on top of me," she said. "I wasn't really paying attention because I was listening to my iPod."

Fearing it could ignite the building, she snapped into action. Bennett quickly ran to the reception area for help, then went back to the pool to use a hose to battle the blaze.

She didn't realize until several minutes later that she had failed to put her top back on.

"I was sunbaking. I wasn't exactly prepared," Bennett said. "But you've got to put out the fire before you deal with that."

She may not have noticed her missing bikini top, but that didn't stop others from seeing the half-naked woman putting out a fire for several minutes.

Woman attacks husband for being bad in bed.

From News.com.au:

A US woman has been accused of stabbing her husband with scissors because she was unhappy with his performance in bed.

Michelle Thomas, 26, was arrested on Tuesday after police were called around 1am to the couple’s house in the east Texas town of Hudson, Lufkin Daily News reports.

The man told police Ms Thomas became angry with him after a sex session left her unsatisfied.

He said Ms Thomas grabbed a pair of scissors and began slashing him, according to court papers.

The court affidavit states police found the man with superficial cuts to his chest, thumb and knee.

Ms Thomas alleges her partner was drunk, threw her onto the bed and began choking her.

But police found no injuries on Ms Thomas, according to the affidavit.

The man said he only touched Ms Thomas during the sexual encounter.

Ms Thomas was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, although the man told officers he didn’t want to press charges, according to Lufkin Daily News.

Ms Thomas faces up to 20 years in jail.

New blanket saves stinky marriages.

From Orange:

A viral ad for a blanket made with activated carbon fabric to absorb the odour of flatulence has become an online hit.

The campaign for the so-called Better Marriage Blanket has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube.

The ad claims that the blanket, designed by Denver science teacher Francis Bibbois, is a "real solution to a very real problem".

Mr Bibbo apparently got the idea for the blanket when he was hunting in a suit made of similar materials and realised he could break wind undetected.

He created the prototype more than 15 years ago but the world is only now getting wind of it.

The machine washable blanket is said to completely absorb the smell of flatulence - and only needs washing every four years.

The product's website claims the blanket contains the same type of fabric used by the military to protect against chemical weapons.

Phone software can now detect a broken heart.

Sounds cute, but companies are now using this against you when you call them, or they call you. From ABC News:

Less than two minutes into a cell phone conversation, a new computer program can predict a broken heart -- literally and figuratively.

An Israeli company called eXaudios has developed a computer program, known as Magnify, that decodes the human voice to identify a person's emotional state.

Some companies in the United States already use the system in their call centers. eXaudios is even testing the software's use in diagnosing medical conditions like autism, schizophrenia, heart disease and even prostate cancer.

"When agents talk with customers over the phone, they usually focus on content and not intonation, unless the customer is screaming," said Yoram Levanon, President and CEO of eXaudios, which recently won a $1 million prize at the Demo 2010 conference. "If a customer is screaming, you don't need the software. But if we can identify the other emotions of a customer, we can save customers and companies money."

When Discovery News' technology correspondent's voice was decoded using the Magnify software, the output read like a psychologist's notebook: "Struggling to contain an inner excitement. Keeping emotions and/or creativity in check. Warm and fuzzy."

Advertisers to rebrand beef as health food.

I wish I could go on a beefscape.... From AdWeek:

The nation’s beef producers want consumers to think "lean protein," as they launch a major ad campaign this week.

Known as the Beef Checkoff Program, the group is running print ads that pitch beef as a good source of protein and the variety of lean cuts it offers. Appropriately, the ads will carry the tagline: “29 lean cuts. One powerful protein.”

An ad for T-bone steak, for instance, shows a mouthwatering shot of the beef alongside grilled vegetables. “When all the steaks get together, they call this one boss,” the ad copy reads. This ad, along with others touting beef filets, ground beef, and top round, appear in this month’s issues of magazines like Bon Appetit, Cooking Light, Men’s Health and Self. Radio spots are also launching mid-month.

The Chicago office of Publicis Groupe-owned Leo Burnett handled advertising duties. Starcom is the Beef Checkoff Program’s media buying agency.

This is the first major campaign for the Beef Checkoff Program since its 2008 effort, dubbed “Beefscapes,” which touted beef as a good source of protein. Now, the group is focused on educating health-conscious consumers, said Kim Essex, svp, marketing at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the organization that manages and executes the Beef Checkoff Program’s marketing plans.

“We’re on a storytelling journey with our ‘Beef. It’s what’s for dinner [campaign],’” Essex said, referring to the group’s iconic tagline. “We’re keeping those equities that are really recognizable to us,” but at the same time, stressing the lean side of beef, she said.

Chicago!

Hi guys, sorry I haven't posted lately, but I was vacationing in lovely Chicago - home of the generous definition of "pizza" and the unholy marriage between hot dogs and celery salt. I'd post pictures but left my camera at home. Suffice it to say, there were buildings and nice neighborhoods and the occasional park. Anyway, updates to recommence.

Prisoner hacks off own ear, escapes during trip to hospital.

From the Daily Mail:

A prisoner cut off part of his ear so he could escape from an ambulance on the way to hospital, Greater Manchester Police said today.

Michael O'Donnell, 28, told staff at Forest Bank prison in Salford at around 1.30am yesterday that he had been injured in his cell.

An ambulance was called to take him to Hope Hospital, also in Salford, but on the way four masked men pulled up in a stolen BMW.

They smashed the ambulance windows with baseball bats and bolt-cutters and O'Donnell, who was escorted by three prison guards, escaped.

He was handcuffed to one officer, who released him during the ambush.

O'Donnell was waiting to be sentenced for conspiracy to rob and commit burglary.

Johnny Depp foils mugger.

From the NY Post:

Johnny Depp isn't just a swashbuckler on screen.

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" star rescued a friend who was getting mugged in Los Angeles.

And when the bandit saw who had jumped into the fight, he said, "I ain't stealing from Captain Jack," The Sun in Britain reported.

The mugger, armed with a broken bottle, approached Depp's pal, British singer, Stephen Jones, and demanded money.

After Depp intervened, the thief dropped the weapon and the actor gave him some money -- and some advice: "Straighten up your life," the paper said.

Rush documentary wins Tribeca audience award.

It's a great doc. Everyone should see it - you, your loved ones, your goldfish, your evil robot arch-nemesis, EVERYONE. From a press release.

The ninth annual Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), co-founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, and presented by founding sponsor American Express, announced the winner of The Heineken Audience Award – “RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage” – tonight at The Altman Building in New York City. The film’s directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn will receive a cash prize of $25,000.

Throughout the Festival, which kicked off on April 21, audiences have been able to vote for The Heineken Audience Award by completing nomination ballots upon exiting screenings of TFF films. Final results were tabulated and announced during this evening’s Festival wrap party.

“RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage” – a mesmerizing music documentary of the legendary Canadian band Rush – made its world premiere at this year’s Festival, capturing the hearts of fans and newcomers. In the film, directors McFadyen and Dunn embark on a comprehensive exploration of this extraordinary power trio, from their early days in Toronto through each of their landmark albums to the present day. Audiences were able to sit back and revel in the words, music and wonder of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.

“The best documentary films are just great stories with characters who jump off the screen, and that is certainly the case with ‘RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage,’” said Nancy Schafer, Executive Director of the Tribeca Film Festival. “Scot and Sam have told a great story with their film, which is insightful and entertaining to audiences whether or not they are part of the band’s formidable fan base. An intimate but energetic portrayal of one of the most prolific rock bands, ‘RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage’ highlights the juxtaposition of music and film as an art form and we hope that Rush fans and audiences around the world embrace the film the way Tribeca audiences have.”

"Receiving the Heineken Audience Award at Tribeca means a lot to us as RUSH has always been a band of the people,” said directors McFadyen and Dunn. “It was great to see RUSH fans and non-fans enjoy the movie together.”

“What wonderful recognition for the hard and diligent work Sam and Scot did to bring this film to the public. We are so thrilled that they have received such a prestigious honor from the Tribeca Film Festival,” said Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart of RUSH.

Rush on their new tour, new music, and documentary.

Awesome interview with Geddy. Thanks Mike! From MSNBC:

This summer, Rush will be hitting the U.S. and Canadian concert trail on their “Time Machine Tour,” which will see the trio perform their 1981 classic “Moving Pictures” in its entirety. They'll also be road-testing new material they're working up for their 19th studio effort. Frontman Geddy Lee tells Rolling Stone the fresh tracks are "upbeat, hard rocking songs" with a Rush trademark: "typically absurdist arrangements."

Will you release some new songs to coincide with the tour?
I'd imagine — because we don't have time to do more than two at the moment — we'll probably release one as soon as it's ready, before the tour starts, and then probably release the second one as the tour starts. But our hope was to really get something down on tape, so we could play these songs live and road test them in a way. We're still kind of throwing titles back in forth, but one is called "Caravan."

Why tour in the middle of recording an album?
Everybody was kind of itching to get on the road and try and get in "peak playing form" before we recorded the bulk of the record, just to see what that effect is. In a way, we have this tendency to take a long period of time off, and then we kind of get our chops together and then go record. We thought it's kind of ass-backwards really, because when you finish a long tour, you're in such amazing playing shape that really, that's the time you should go in and start laying down tracks. But of course, you're exhausted by then, so we're trying to figure out if there's another way of attacking it.

[...] How has the forthcoming Rush documentary, Beyond the Lighted Stage, turned out?
It's hard for me to watch myself up on the screen, talking for two hours. It's really kind of funny to look at a lot of the old stuff — they found some amazing, really obscure photographs and movies. It's kind of nice to see other people talking about us in a kind of objective sense. I was pretty amazed that certain people were Rush fans, like Billy Corgan, for example. He was very well-spoken in the film, and seems to really understand where we're coming from. That was quite a surprise for me.

Texas governor kills coyote while jogging.

Goddamn, Texas is scary. From the Washington Post:

Pistol-packing Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a message for wily coyotes out there: Don't mess with my dog.

Perry told The Associated Press on Tuesday he needed just one shot from the laser-sighted pistol he sometimes carries while jogging to take down a coyote that menaced his puppy during a February run near Austin.

Perry said he will carry his .380 Ruger - loaded with hollow-point bullets - when jogging on trails because he is afraid of snakes. He'd also seen coyotes in the undeveloped area.

When one came out of the brush toward his daughter's Labrador retriever, Perry charged.

"Don't attack my dog or you might get shot ... if you're a coyote," he said Tuesday.

Perry, a Republican running for a third full term against Democrat Bill White, is living in a private house in a hilly area southwest of downtown Austin while the Governor's Mansion is being repaired after a 2008 fire. A concealed handgun permit holder, Perry carries the pistol in a belt.

San Francisco bans city worker travel to Arizona.

From Raw Story:

In a bold move, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that he'd banned city workers from traveling to Arizona for official business after the state enacted a draconian immigration law.

The moratorium on city travel to Arizona will except law enforcement employees investigating crimes. The mayor is facing pressure to respond strongly to the new law, which orders police to determine the immigration status of anyone they "reasonably" suspect to be in the country illegally.

Boy Scouts introduce Video Game merit badge.

Talk about Achievements... From HuffingtonPost:

Boy Scouts of America seems to have come to terms with just how important video games are to some of today's young men.

The Boy Scouts have added a "Video Games" belt loop and pin to the organization's list of awards. The Scouts' more than 100 merit badges, another type of award, recognize mastery over carpentry, camping, canoeing, cooking, and even sculpture.

Only Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts are eligible for the "Video Games" badge, which they can earn if they "teach an adult or a friend how to play a video game" and play a video game for an hour, among other tasks.

NY lawmaker wants state to harvest organs.

This is what happens when we elect zombies to positions of power. From Raw Story:

A New York assemblyman whose daughter is alive because of two kidney transplants wants his state to become the first in the nation to pass laws that would presume people want to donate their organs unless they specifically say otherwise.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky believes the "presumed consent" measures would help combat a rising demand for healthy organs by patients forced to wait a year or more for transplants. Twenty-four European countries already have such laws in place, he said.

If he succeeds, distraught families would no longer be able to override their loved ones' decisions to donate upon their death. And eventually, hospitals would be able to assume the deceased consented to have his or her organs harvested, unless the person refused in writing.

Huge laser aims to create star on Earth.

Aren't there enough self-destructive stars in California? From CNN:

Livermore, California (CNN) --Scientists at a government lab here are trying to use the world's largest laser -- it's the size of three football fields -- to set off a nuclear reaction so intense that it will make a star bloom on the surface of the Earth.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's formula for cooking up a sun on the ground may sound like it's stolen from the plot of an "Austin Powers" movie. But it's no Hollywood fantasy: The ambitious experiment will be tried for real, and for the first time, late this summer.

If they're successful, the scientists hope to solve the global energy crisis by harnessing the energy generated by the mini-star.

The lab's venture has doubters, to be sure. Nuclear fusion, the type of high-energy reaction the California researchers hope to produce, has been a scientific pipe dream for at least a half-century. It's been pitched as a miracle power source. But it hasn't yielded many results.

To make matters worse, the U.S. Government Accountability Office this month released an audit of the lab's work that cites delays and mismanagement as reasons it's unlikely the scientists will create a fusion reaction this year.

But researchers in Livermore, about an hour's drive east of San Francisco, say it's not a matter of if but when their laser-saves-the-Earth experiment will be proved successful.

"We have a very high confidence that we will be able to ignite the target within the next two years," thus proving that controlled fusion is possible, said Bruno Van Wonterghem, a manager of the project, which is called the National Ignition Facility.

That would put the lab a step closer to "our big dream," he said, which is "to solve the energy problems of the world."

Dead: Etiquette expert Elizabeth Post.

If only I knew the proper thing to say in these situations.... From NY Daily News:

Elizabeth Post, who wrote more than a dozen books on etiquette and was spokeswoman for the Emily Post Institute in Vermont, has died.

Post's daughter-in-law, Peggy Post, says the the 89-year-old died on Saturday in Naples, Fla.

Elizabeth Post became the spokeswoman for the Emily Post Institute in 1965 and for decades, wrote a column on manners and etiquette for Good Housekeeping magazine.

She was the granddaughter-in-law of the country's foremost etiquette expert, Emily Post.

Elizabeth Post revised the manual "Emily Post's Etiquette" five times, helping keep it current as social norms have changed since its original printing in 1922.

Heavy metal-loving model / astrophysicist wins millions in poker game.

I'm in love... From Orange:

A British model with a love of heavy metal and a degree in astrophysics has won £1.1m in a poker tournament.

Liv Boeree, 25, beat 1,240 contestants to scoop the European Poker Tour top prize in San Remo, Italy, reports The Sun.

She only had a pair of fives in the final hand - but held her nerve against Swede Jakob Carlsson's ace high and a six.

She said: "I can't believe it, I'm still pinching myself that I've won a million pounds. I don't feel like a millionaire because I'm still wearing my grubby old clothes.

"But I'm sure when I've bought a little place in Las Vegas, a big house in the English countryside and a brand new car I will feel a bit more minted!"

Miss Boeree, dubbed the Iron Maiden for her love of heavy metal music, only began playing competitive poker four years ago.

Millionaire leaves daughters $1.50 each.

From News.com.au:

A former mayor has bequeathed her three daughters "30 pieces of silver" - or $1.50 - each from her $3.5 million estate because she believed they conspired over the death of her mother.

Valmai Roche left the same amount to her ex-husband, John Roche, a former property developer who was Adelaide City Council Lord Mayor from 1975-77.

Two of Ms Roche's daughters say their mother was "delusional" and they are challenging her will in the South Australian Supreme Court, The Advertiser reports.

Before her death, Ms Roche's mother, Dorothy Maud Haber, was being cared for in a nursing home. The documents do not say how or when she died.

Ms Roche, who died last year aged 81, left "30 pieces of silver of the lowest denomination of currency" - or 30 five cent pieces - claiming it was "blood money due to Judas" to each of her daughters.

The daughters - Deborah Hamilton, Fiona Roche and Shauna Roche - were also left equal shares in their mother's jewellery, on condition they read and correctly answered questions relating to her personal diaries from January, 1974, until the date of her will, which was signed in October 1981.

The will left the remainder of her estate to the Knights of the Southern Cross - a Catholic charity for men.

Eco-terrorists plot to blow up IBM headquarters thwarted in routine traffic stop.

From the Daily Mail:

A routine traffic-stop in Switzerland has allegedly thwarted eco-terrorists from blowing up the site of the £55million nano-technology HQ of IBM in Europe.

The three members – two men and a woman – of the Italian terrorist group Il Silvestre were stopped just a few miles from their target with their explosive device primed and ready to go.

Italians Costantino Ragusa and Silvia Guerini, together with Italian-Swiss Luca Bernasconi, were arrested and jailed after a search of their vehicle revealed the bomb.

Guerini and Constantino – the 33-year-old leader of Il Silvestre - already have convictions for eco-terrorism offences and have served jail terms.

The group describes itself as anarchist and is opposed to all forms of micro-technology as well as nuclear power and weapons.

Swiss police said today that their car was halted on the night of April 15 at Langnau en-route to the technology centre at Rueschlikon, near Zurich.

The site is due to be opened next year and already has some of the most complex and advanced computer equipment in the world installed in it.

'A large quantity of explosives was found,' said a police spokesman.

He said the amount of explosive would have caused far more devastation than the Ruetli explosions of 2007. The Ruetli meadow near Lake Lucerne was the scene of small bombs detonated near the homes of politicians in that year.

Astronomers use Lucifer to see into darkness.

This is so metal. From PopSci:

A new instrument with an evil-sounding name is helping scientists see how stars are born. Lucifer, which stands for (deep breath) "Large Binocular Telescope Near-infrared Utility with Camera and Integral Field Unit for Extragalactic Research," is a chilled instrument attached to a telescope in Arizona. And yes, it's named for the Devil, whose name itself means "morning star." But it wasn't meant to evoke him, according to a spokesman for the University of Arizona, where it is housed.

The instrument is chilled to -213 Celsius, about -351 F, to allow for near-infrared observations. That wavelength is important for understanding star and planet formation, as well as observing very distant and very young galaxies. Lucifer has three interchangeable cameras for imaging and spectroscopy in different resolutions. It has a large field of view and high-res capabilities, which allow a wide range of observations.

Lucifer is part of the Large Binocular Telescope, which happens to be right next to the Vatican Observatory on Mt. Graham in Tucson. That's right, the Vatican has an observatory in Arizona, manned by Jesuit astronomers. Now its next-door neighbor is named for the Devil.

Scientists at five German universities designed the instrument, and they came up with the name, according to Daniel Stolte, a spokesman for the University of Arizona. Stolte -- who is German -- explained that the team was tossing around names, looking for an acronym that would fit all the technical terms.

"In Germany, they wouldn't have the same hesitation that Americans would have, since it's a very secular country," he said. "I may be completely off, but that's just my hunch -- for us Germans, Lucifer just sounds cool. It's more historical than emotional." No matter your religion, the photos are certainly cool.

Japan wants mind-controlled robots within 10 years.

Has Japan learned nothing from Neon Genesis Evangelion?? From PopSci:

Japan's insatiable love for robots and mind-reading technology has converged in the form of a new government-industry partnership. That means Japanese consumers can look forward to robots and electronics controllable by thought alone within a decade, according to Agence France-Presse.

The Nikkei daily first reported on this development yesterday by citing unnamed government sources, and so technical details remain a bit murky. Any such devices would supposedly use sensor-mounted headsets to analyze the electrical signals and brain blood-flow patterns of users.

The lack of specs has not prevented the collective sci-fi imagination of said sources from running wild. Future mind-controlled devices would include television sets and smart phones which compose text messages by thought. That's not unlike some brain-interface devices already slated to hit the market, but presumably they'd be much less expensive for daily-use items.

Toxic sofa customers to receive millions.

It's a sad day when even our sofas attack us. From the Independent:

Hundreds of customers who were injured after buying "toxic" sofas look set to receive a total payout of up to £20 million, the High Court heard today.

An agreement has been thrashed out by lawyers which paves the way for "swift" payouts for many victims, a judge in London heard.

Mr Justice MacDuff was told that a "claims handling agreement" had been reached which could "potentially benefit" between 1,500 and 2,000 claimants.

He heard that the agreement did not resolve the whole of the litigation surrounding the purchase of the sofas, but that it would "open the way to swift compensation for many hundreds" of people.

A statement issued by lawyers after the hearing announced that around 1,650 victims of "toxic sofas" manufactured in China, which caused "serious burns", would receive "combined payouts totalling up to £20 million".

They are expected to receive between £1,175 and £9,000, depending on the severity of their symptoms.

Legal action is still ongoing in 3,000 cases where liability remains in dispute.

Ancient artifacts revealed as northern ice patches melt.

Well, I guess that's a silver lining. Too bad polar bears can't eat arrowheads. Item.

High in the Mackenzie Mountains, scientists are finding a treasure trove of ancient hunting tools being revealed as warming temperatures melt patches of ice that have been in place for thousands of years.

Tom Andrews, an archaeologist with the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife and lead researcher on the International Polar Year Ice Patch Study, is amazed at the implements being discovered by researchers.

"We're just like children opening Christmas presents. I kind of pinch myself," says Andrews.

Ice patches are accumulations of annual snow that, until recently, remained frozen all year. For millennia, caribou seeking relief from summer heat and insects have made their way to ice patches where they bed down until cooler temperatures prevail. Hunters noticed caribou were, in effect, marooned on these ice islands and took advantage.

"I'm never surprised at the brilliance of ancient hunters anymore. I feel stupid that we didn't find this sooner," says Andrews.

Ice patch archeology is a recent phenomenon that began in Yukon. In 1997, sheep hunters discovered a 4,300-year-old dart shaft in caribou dung that had become exposed as the ice receded. Scientists who investigated the site found layers of caribou dung buried between annual deposits of ice. They also discovered a repository of well-preserved artifacts.

Stephen Hawking: Aliens are out there and they could kick our ass.

Maybe probing is their way of shaking hands? From News.com.au:

British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking says aliens are out there, but it could be too dangerous for humans to interact with extraterrestrial life.

Professor Hawking claims in a new documentary that intelligent alien lifeforms almost certainly exist, but warns that communicating with them could be "too risky".

With the universe made up of some 100 billion galaxies each containing hundreds of millions of stars, it was unlikely the Earth was the only place where life has evolved.

"To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational," he said.

"The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like."

The 68-year-old scientist says a visit by extraterrestrials to Earth would be like Christopher Columbus arriving in the Americas, "which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans".

"We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet," he said.

2112.

Just realized that the last item was post # 2112! Great leaping Neil Pearts!

Speaking of Rush, I just saw the new documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage. Amaaaaaaazing! Loved it.

We have assumed control.....

Hero dog leads state troopers to injured owner.

Hero animals rule! Item.

Alaska State Troopers are presenting a special award to Buddy, a German Shepherd that led authorities to a fire at his owners' property near Willow.

Buddy will receive the engraved silver-plated dog bowl Friday afternoon in Anchorage.

Troopers say Buddy and his owner, 23-year-old Ben Heinrichs, were in the family workshop on the Caswell Lakes property April 4 when a heater ignited chemicals.

Heinrichs, who sustained minor flash burns on his face, dashed out as the fire grew. He then told Buddy "we need to get help."

The dog took off and eventually found a trooper responding to a call about the fire. Buddy led the officer through winding back roads to the house and the trooper guided firefighters to the scene.

Bush special counsel pleads guilty to withholding evidence.

From the Washington Post:

Scott J. Bloch, the former director of a federal office in charge of helping shield government whistleblowers from unfair treatment, plans to plead guilty to withholding information from congressional investigators after he had his office computer files professionally deleted in 2006.

U.S. prosecutors filed papers in federal court Thursday that accuse Bloch, who led the Office of Special Counsel through much of President George W. Bush's administration, of failing to truthfully answer questions about whether he arranged for private computer technicians to "scrub" his office computer and that of other political appointees. This type of filing, known as an information, is made public when a suspect is about to plead guilty to allegations.

Bloch came under criticism early in his tenure as special counsel for ordering that all mention of workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation be removed from the office's Web site and printed materials. Bloch said his office lacked the authority to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

He was abruptly removed from his post and barred from returning to his office in October 2008 after a meeting with White House officials.

The FBI began looking into allegations that he scrubbed his computer out of concern that he was trying to stop an inquiry into whether he violated the Hatch Act by mixing political activity with his official job.

Prosecutors said Bloch withheld information from the House oversight committee when it began investigating complaints about his office and allegations he was not properly protecting whistleblowers.

Ninja slug discovered in Borneo.

Gotta love a scientist who names a slug after his girlfriend. From LiveScience:

An eccentric bunch of species have recently come out of hiding in the rainforests of Borneo, including the world's longest known stick insect — think two skinny pencils end-to-end, a slug that shoots "love darts," and a color-changing frog, scientists announce today.

[...] Ninja slug – This green and yellow slug (Ibycus rachelae) was discovered on leaves in a mountain forest at altitudes up to 6,233 feet (1,900 meters) in Sabah, Malaysia. The slug sports a tail that's three times the length of its head, which it wraps around its 1.6-inch-long (4 cm) body as if a pet cat. In fact, its discoverers initially planned to name the slug Ibycus felis, after its feline inspiration. Instead, they named it after the girlfriend of one of its discoverers, Menno Schilthuizen of the Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity 'Naturalis.'

Maybe there's more to the name than meets the eye: The slug species makes use of so-called love darts. Made of calcium carbonate, the love dart is a harpoon-like structure that pierces and injects a hormone into a potential mate. The dart could increase the slug's chances of reproduction.

Crocodile shows up at water aerobics class.

This is precisely why I don't exercise. Item!

A water aerobics class in northern Australia had a good reason to skip the morning workout: a crocodile was busy using its pool.

The 5-foot-long invader was spotted by workers Tuesday at the Howard Spring Holiday Park, outside Darwin, while they were cleaning the trailer park's pool for a class frequented by tourists, Australia's Northern Territory News reported.

"I bent down to the water and there it was, staring at me, less than 3 meters (10 feet) away," the park's manager, Geoff Thompson, told the newspaper.

At least one person did manage a workout.

"The crocodile gave one of the crocodile management rangers a bit of a runaround, having to chase it around the pool," Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife senior ranger Tom Nichols said in a statement.

Rangers believe the croc slipped in under a fence.

Painting whale makes a splash in art world.

Some cuteness for your Monday morning. Item!

A Beluga whale is making a big splash as an artist after picking up a paintbrush at an oceanarium in China.

Keepers at the Qingdao Polar Ocean World say Xiao Qiang started out when he simply grabbed a paint brush left behind buy a visitor and started playing with it.

Now the seven year old star's paintings are changing hands for hundreds of pounds among fans.

"He showed a lot of interest in painting right from the start so now all we have to do is give him the brushes and hold the paper while he paints with his mouth," said trainer Zhang Yong.

"His favourite colour seems to be blue and he's best of all at seascapes. His people always look like seals."

Experts say that dolphin-like Belugas - known as the sea canary because of their high pitched squeaks and twitters - have more soft tissue around their mouths than other whales which allows Xiao Qiang to manipulate a brush.

"He enjoys what he does and this turning of the head to paint is a natural movement that these whales perform in the wild when they are cleaning their food of sand," added Yong.

"They are brighter than other whales and he loves to play jokes on his keepers. Sometimes he deliberately paints them instead of the paper."

Outrage over cookbook's "black people" typo.

From Orange:

An Australian publisher has been forced to reprint thousands of cookery books after a pasta recipe calling for "salt and freshly ground black people" prompted outrage.

Bob Sessions, Penguin Group Australia's head of publishing, acknowledged the proofreader for the Pasta Bible should have picked up the error, but said it was nothing more than a "silly mistake".

The Pasta Bible recipe for spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto was supposed to call for black pepper.

"We're mortified that this has become an issue of any kind and why anyone would be offended, we don't know," he told The Sydney Morning Herald.

"We've said to bookstores that if anyone is small-minded enough to complain about this... silly mistake, we will happily replace (the book) for them."

Penguin has said it would reprint 7,000 books, at a cost of £12,000, but books already in stores would not be recalled because doing so would be "extremely hard," Mr Sessions said.

Why we can't do three things at once.

From LiveScience:

For those who find it tough to juggle more than a couple things at once, don't despair. The brain is set up to manage two tasks, but not more, a new study suggests.

That's because, when faced with two tasks, a part of the brain known as the medial prefrontal cortex (MFC) divides so that half of the region focuses on one task and the other half on the other task. This division of labor allows a person to keep track of two tasks pretty readily, but if you throw in a third, things get a bit muddled.

"What really the results show is that we can readily divide tasking. We can cook, and at the same time talk on the phone, and switch back and forth between these two activities," said study researcher Etienne Koechlin of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France. "However, we cannot multitask with more than two tasks."

Dead: Peter Steele of Type O Negative.

From NY Daily News:

Peter Steele, the frontman for the heavy metal band Type O Negative, has died.

After a morning of speculation, the band's spokesperson confirmed Thursday afternoon that Steele had died Wednesday at age 48.

"Peter passed away last night. As of now it appears to have been heart failure," Mike Renault wrote in an email to CBSNews.com. "That's all the details we have right now."

The official type O Negative Web site posted the following message to its fans this morning, "The forums have been re-opened. Please play nice and expect statements from the band and family later today. Thank you for your understanding and support."

Steele had a history of medical problems since 2004. That year the band announced they were cancelling their U.S. tour so that the singer could be tested for "undisclosed anomalies" found during a medical exam.

NYC to charge homeless people for rent.

From NY Daily News:

Nothing's free in New York - not even a stint in a city shelter.

Homeless people with jobs are going to have to start paying the city rent to stay in shelters, officials said Tuesday.

"Open-ended handouts, we know, don't work," Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs said. "This is not a moneymaker. We're not doing this to close budget gaps. It's really the principles ... involved."

A 1997 state law requires New York to charge rent to the homeless who can afford it. The city never did, but has been pressed to do it since a state audit last year.

Shelter residents would have to pay as much as 44% of their income in their first year in the program.

Critics say the plan penalizes people who are struggling.

"It makes far more sense to allow those families to save their meager funds in order to be able to get out of the shelter system sooner," said Steven Banks, chief attorney of the Legal Aid Society, which may sue to block the plan.

"This is an extreme policy that has no discernible benefit, that will end up hurting the families and costing the taxpayers money," Banks said. "If necessary, we'll certainly go to court."

Coozer-Bits.

List: 30 ways you can spot fake online reviews.

Gross: HIV-like virus found in illegally imported meat.

Awesome: Escaped convicts disguised as sheep. (Not a baaa'd idea!)

Yipes: Southern Iceland evacuated due to volcanic activity.

Eats: Why many people hate cilantro (and its soapy bug smell).

Man creates evil clown business.

I would kill my parents in their sleep if they did this to me. Item!

A Swiss actor is carving out a new career as a sinister-looking clown - terrifying children's birthday parties.

Dominic Deville had the brainwave after watching his favourite horror movies and set up his Evil Clown service in Lucerne.

And he says his unlikely new venture is going so well that he's laughing all the way to the bank.

After he is hired to scare a birthday boy or girl, he first contacts his 'victims' to tell them they're being watched.

Then he taunts them with texts, phone calls and booby-trapped letters warning them that at sometime in their party he's going to smash a cake into their face.

"It's all in fun and if at any point the kids get scared or their parents are concerned we stop right there," he explained.

"But most kids absolutely love being scared senseless."

Drunk horseman rides into crowd on Mule Day.

From AOL News:

COLUMBIA, Tenn. -A Middle Tennessee horseback rider was jailed after being charged with running into a crowd of people at the Mule Day festivities in Columbia. The man, 32, was charged with two counts of reckless endangerment and public intoxication.

According to The Daily Herald of Columbia, witnesses told investigators that the man rode the horse Saturday into a restricted area that had been closed to animal traffic at the county park and was asking pedestrians for beer. A Maury County sheriff's report said the man dismounted and then attempted to get back on, spooking it.

Two people were then hit by the horse, and one required hospital treatment.

Bond was set at $10,500.

Climategate scientists cleared of any wrongdoing.

From Daily Mail:

The scientists embroiled in the Climategate email scandal have been cleared of 'deliberate scientific malpractice' by an independent review.

The University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) has been under attack since hacked emails were leaked online last year, which sceptics claimed showed scientists were manipulating data to support a theory of man-made global warming.

But a detailed review of 11 scientific papers from CRU published over 20 years found 'absolutely no evidence of any impropriety whatsoever', according to Lord Oxburgh, who headed up the inquiry.

Lord Oxburgh said the scientists at the research unit arrived at their conclusions 'honestly and sensibly'.

The review did not analyse whether those conclusions were correct, but gave the scientific processes at CRU a 'clean bill of health', he said.

He said the reviewers found that the scientists could have used better statistical methods in analysing some of their data, but that it was unlikely to have made much difference to their results.

Man drove drunk to prison for DUI sentence.

From Breitbart:

SPRINGFIELD, Vt. (AP) - Police said a Massachusetts man headed to a Vermont prison to serve a two-day sentence for driving under the influence was intoxicated when he drove himself to prison.

Vermont State Police say that staff at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield noticed that a 42-year-old man was intoxicated when he arrived late Tuesday afternoon and that he had driven himself there.

So prison staff called police.

Police said the man was then processed for DUI second offense and released back into the custody of the Department of Corrections.

The man was due to appear in court later this month on the latest charge.

Stronger magnetic material discovered, may overturn laws of physics.

From Minnesota Daily:

Iron cobalt is known as the most magnetic material on Earth today, but a professor at the University of Minnesota was able to show that this may no longer be true.

Dr. Jianping Wang, a graduate faculty member in the department of physics, said he was able to show an iron and nitrogen compound is 18 percent more magnetic than iron cobalt. The claim may disprove the accepted physics limits set for magnetization in a substance.

“We found there is a new physics behind the materials we study right now,” Wang said.

In his iron and nitrogen compound material, Wang said he found electrons in a form that have never been addressed in traditional theories behind magnetization — localized electrons, which differ from the free-flowing electrons that are typically seen in magnetic moments.

“With the presence of localized electrons, you have to throw out all traditional understanding [of magnetism],” Wang said.

It is these localized electrons that lead to the high magnetization, according to Wang.

Wang said his study goes against traditional theories found in textbooks that set limits on how magnetic a substance can be.

Burglar mailed himself to victims.

From Orange:

Police in Poland have arrested a man for a series of raids in which he allegedly climbed into large parcels and posted himself to businesses.

Stanislaw Muchy, 39, would then apparently climb out at night after staff had clocked off and burgle the premises, reports Metro.

He made his getaway by sealing both himself and his loot into another box addressed to his Warsaw home, say police.

His scheme came to an end after he fell out with an accomplice, whose job was to deliver him to courier firms, who contacted police.

After being tipped off, police said: "We arranged a special delivery of our own."

Brewery workers strike for more on-the-job drinking.

From Orange:

Warehouse staff at Carlsberg are on strike in protest at a company decision to limit beer drinking at work to lunch breaks.

Workers claim they're entitled to three beers a day - on top of any drinks they consume at lunch, reports Sky News.

The strike in Denmark follows a move last week to change the rules for on-site drinking at the world's fourth-largest brewer.

Carlsberg spokesman Jens Bekke said: "We think times have changed and we need an alcohol policy that is accepted by society - 93% of Danish companies have an alcohol policy.

"There has been free beer, water and soft drinks everywhere. Beers were removed from all refrigerators. The only place you can get a beer in future is in the canteen, at lunch."

Mr Bekke said Carlsberg drivers claim a "very old right" to have up to three beers per day outside lunch hours.

The warehouse workers say they share that entitlement - a claim the brewer disputes.

"Because of that, the warehouse staff went on strike yesterday, with other staff striking in sympathy," Mr Bekke said.

50,000 British women warned that their breasts may explode.

From Daily Mail:

Nearly fifty thousand women in the UK have been warned by health chiefs that their breast implants could explode.

The best-selling silicone implant made by the French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), are thought to be twice as likely to rupture.

A government health agency is urging women with this type of implant to contact their plastic surgeons to consider having the implants removed.

They run the risk of developing toxic shock syndrome or gangrene if the implants explode.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has also ordered cosmetic surgeons to stop using these implants.

It follows a nation-wide ban in France of the best-selling implant after it found the implants had been filled with a silicone gel with a composition different from that approved since 2001.

They are now carrying out urgent testing to see if the unapproved material is safe.

Inkjet device prints cells over burns.

Cool, maybe soon dentistry can be done via fax! From the National Post:

Inspired by a standard office inkjet printer, U.S. researchers have rigged up a device that can spray skin cells directly onto burn victims, quickly protecting and healing their wounds as an alternative to skin grafts.

They have mounted the device, which has so far only been tested on mice, in a frame that can be wheeled over a patient in a hospital bed, they reported on Wednesday.

A laser can take a reading of the wound's size and shape so that a layer of healing skin cells can be precisely applied, said the team at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

"We literally print the cells directly onto the wound," said student Kyle Binder, who helped design the device. "We can put specific cells where they need to go."

Tests on mice showed the spray system, called bioprinting, could heal wounds quickly and safely, the researchers reported at the Translational Regenerative Medicine Forum.

Rush announces 2010 tour, will perform Moving Pictures in its entirety!

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG.

More info and tour dates here. OMG.

Rush - Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart - is without question one of the most inventive and compelling groups in rock history, equally famed for both its virtuoso musicianship and provocative songwriting.

Announced today, The Time Machine Tour is an evening with Rush, where they will perform their classics, give a taste of the future - and for the first time ever - feature the Moving Pictures album live in its entirety.

The band is currently working on their 20th studio album with producer Nick Raskulinecz (co-producer from 2007's Snakes & Arrows) and in addition to their classics plan to showcase a few new tunes live this summer.

"We were off for a year and a half, and now it's just pouring. Everything is totally crazy and there's not a minute left in the day. We've got these half-dozen songs, and we'll probably go in the studio and work on a couple of them and see how it goes, perhaps release something - and I say perhaps - and then we plan on being on the road," says guitarist, Alex Lifeson.

This summer's Live Nation promoted tour will visit approximately 40 cities throughout North America beginning June 29th in Albuquerque, NM and finishing October 2nd in West Palm Beach, FL with stops along the way in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Holmdel, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington, and more along the way (complete tour itinerary follows).

Rush has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and garnered untold legions of devoted and admiring fans. According to the RIAA, Rush's sales statistics place RUSH third after The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for the most consecutive gold or platinum studio albums by a rock band.

Released in 1981, Moving Pictures was their most successful album, certified 4x Platinum and features some of Rush's most well known songs and perennial radio favourites Tom Sawyer, Limelight and the Grammy-nominated instrumental YYZ.

Ryanair going ahead with on-flight pay toilets.

From the Consumerist:

Almost a year after announcing their plans to charge passengers for using toilets on their planes, discount airline Ryanair is finally pushing ahead with not only installing the pay potties on their jets, but cutting down the number of toilets available to passengers.

Or as the very British Daily Mail puts it: "Spending a penny on a flight will soon cost as much as a pound."

Ryanair is currently redesigning their cabins to install the pay toilets on 168 of their planes, which will cost about $1.40 per trip to the loo. Additionally, they are cutting the number of toilets on the plane to make room for extra seats.

Venomous purple jellyfish invading Britain.

From Daily Mail:

Swarms of a highly venomous jellyfish that turns beaches into no-go areas are invading Britain's coastal waters for the first time, scientists said.

The growing number of mauve stingers - fist-sized creature that packs a hefty sting - is being linked to the rise in sea temperatures over the last few years.

The pink and purple jellyfish may be small, but they can cover hundreds of thousands of square miles of ocean in a single 'bloom'.

Until a few years ago, they were rarely seen in British waters, preferring the warmer conditions of the Mediterranean and Mid Atlantic.

But over the last three years, hundreds of millions of them have appeared in the north east Atlantic -and they are getting closer to our shores.

However, in 2007 a 10-mile square bloom of mauve stingers killed 100,000 salmon at a fish farm in Northern Ireland causing damage estimated at £1million.

Baker hacks off apprentice's arm for "bad apples."

How do you like them apples? From News.com.au:

A baker almost severed the arm of a trainee during a "blind rage", hacking him with a meat cleaver during an argument over apples, an Australian court was told today.

The Brisbane District Court was told Vietnamese national Hoe Thai Nguyen attacked his uncle, who he was training, with such force he severed through the largest bone in his forearm. The incident occurred at a Maryborough bakery, 250km north of Brisbane, on April 4 last year.

The court was told Nguyen, who had been in Australia on a work visa since late 2007, attacked Cuong Ngoc Pham, aged in his 30s, for choosing the "wrong apples" for use in pastries.

Nguyen, 31, was today jailed for eight years after pleading guilty to one count of causing Mr Pham grievous bodily harm during an intentional malicious act.

Court rules against net neutrality.

From the NY Times:

A federal appeals court on Tuesday dealt a sharp blow to the efforts of the Federal Communications Commission to set the rules of the road for the Internet, ruling that the agency lacks the authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks.

The decision, by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, specifically concerned the efforts of Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider, to slow down customers’ access to a service called BitTorrent, which is used to exchange large video files, most often pirated copies of movies.

After Comcast’s blocking was exposed, the F.C.C. told Comcast to stop discriminating against BitTorrent traffic and in 2008 issued broader rules for the industry regarding “net neutrality,” the principle that all Internet content should be treated equally by network providers. Comcast challenged the F.C.C.’s authority to issue such rules and argued that its throttling of BitTorrent was necessary to ensure that a few customers didn’t unfairly hog the capacity of the network, slowing down Internet access for all of its customers.

But Tuesday’s court ruling has far larger implications than just the Comcast case.

The ruling would allow Comcast and other Internet service providers to restrict consumers’ ability to access certain kinds of Internet content, such as video sites like Hulu.com or Google’s YouTube service, or charge certain heavy users of their networks more money for access.

Scrabble to allow proper nouns.

Awesome, now I can use "Jay-Z" to get rid of crappy letters! From BBC:

The rules of word game Scrabble are being changed for the first time in its history to allow the use of proper nouns, games company Mattel has said.

Place names, people's names and company names or brands will now count.

Mattel, which brings out a new version of the game containing amended rules in July, hopes the change will encourage younger people to play.

Until now a few proper nouns had been allowed which were determined by a word list based on the Collins dictionary.

Coozer-Bits.

Eats: The most and least sustainable fish to eat.

Hero: Inventor of box wine dies at 92.

WTF: Secret video shows US troops laughing as they kill unarmed journalists, children in Iraq.

Cthulhu Watch: Giant undersea bug terrorizes robo-sub, Internet.

Creepy: Two women try smuggling dead guy onto plane, a la Weekend at Bernie's.

Pizza delivery man fights off armed robbers, still makes delivery.

From Huffington Post:

A New York City pizza deliveryman outwitted an armed robber trying to make off with his pies and still managed to deliver them to his customer.

Assami Semde, 19, a student from Burkina Faso who has been in the U.S. six months, was working at Famous Famiglia 125 pizza in East Harlem and was making a delivery to an apartment Friday evening when the robbery attempt occurred, his boss said.

"He's just the greatest, most polite guy you'll ever meet," said his boss, Frank Grecco, who owns the pizza shop. "He wasn't expecting this, he was just doing his job."

As Semde headed to the 27th floor, he came across two men in a hallway who started harassing him, saying they wanted a slice of pizza. Semde said no, that he had a delivery to make. But one of the men pulled out a gun and told him and Semde dropped the pies on the ground. As gunman reached down, Semde said he lunged at him, and toppled him off balance. The 6-foot-4 Semde scuffled with the men as building security making a routine check came by and the two fled.

[...] The security officers called the police who responded within minutes. But before Semde went to the precinct to file the report, he delivered the pizzas.

British couple jailed in Dubai for public kiss.

From Daily Mail:

Two Britons today lost their appeal against a conviction for kissing in public in Dubai.

Ayman Najafi, 24, and Charlotte Adams, 25, were given a one-month prison sentence by the Gulf resort's authorities.

They were allegedly seen kissing on the mouth in a restaurant, breaching Dubai's strict decency laws.

They were arrested by police in November last year and appeared in court last month.
According to reports, a judge at Dubai's Misdemeanours Court heard written evidence from the 38-year-old mother who complained to police.

She said she was offended by their behaviour at the Jumeirah Beach Residence, where she was dining with her daughter.

The judge dismissed Mr Najafi's claim he had merely kissed Miss Adams on the cheek and sentenced both to a month in jail followed by deportation.

The pair were bailed pending today's appeal against the sentence and have now said they will appeal again.

It is understood the Dubai authorities are holding their passports so they cannot leave the country.

Employee suicides spike at Disneyland Paris.

From The Independent:

Disneyland Paris is investigating after two park employees committed suicide in the past six weeks, under working conditions which a trade union described as "humiliating".

A Eurodisney chef hanged himself at his home near Paris last Friday, on the same day he was due to return to work after a period of sick leave. According to the Disneyland branch of the trade union federation, Force Ouvrière, the worker, in his 40s, had told colleagues he wanted to leave his job because he was struggling with demands to "increase figures with fewer resources".

Disneyland Paris directors have denied the suicide was work-related and said that it should not be made "a symbol of something it isn't." It added that the chef had been "highly appreciated by his managers" and well-integrated with fellow employees.

The company has organised a meeting with the chef's fellow employees to discuss the suicide and its possible causes.

Trade union representative, Mary Lyn Lesueur, acknowledged the man's personal problems contributed to his death but insisted that, "it's certain that there is a real management problem at Disney".

The worker was not the first Disneyland chef to commit suicide in recent weeks. On 21 February a 30-year-old chef de partie (line cook) from the park threw himself in front of a train after working in conditions which a trade union spokesman called "humiliating".

Physics professor writes open letter to Hot Tub Time Machine.

Great letter from a real professor. Click here to read the whole thing.

Dear Sirs:

As a noted time-travel expert, I looked forward to your new film, "Hot Tub Time Machine" with great anticipation. Of course, one expects a fair amount of artistic license in movies. For example, even in 1985, the most energy efficient flux capacitors could be powered at far less than 1.21 Gigawatts of electricity. It is also wholly understandable that you have ignored (or are perhaps ignorant of) the vast literature on time machine design and have therefore built yours around a hot tub, which has been shown to be unstable, rather than around the more conventional wormhole. Further, you exhibit an admirable attention to detail on many particulars. Following on the Terminator model, you correctly realize that time travel may only be undertaken while in the nude.

However, I cannot stand idly by as you subject your characters to a number of inviolable paradoxes. Considered from least to most egregious:

1. Predestination Paradoxes. In models of time travel with a single timeline, a traveler who has already experienced the past has no choice but to repeat his/her actions. It is troubling to me that you address predestination in matters of only the most trifling detail, such as whether John Cusack is destined to get a fork in the eye or the fate of Crispin Glover's arm, all while allowing gross details of history to be changed with impunity. Tinkering with history isn't a matter of "close enough." Once things are changed, however slightly, they're changed for good.

Your characters, showing better temporal intuition than you, yourselves, comment on this point, and warn of the "Butterfly Effect." A couple of observations are in order. First, the movie of that name was unspeakably terribly, and you do yourself and your characters a disservice to speak of it approvingly. Secondly, the changes wrought in the past would have so changed the future that any foreknowledge would quickly become worthless. If you don't make your fortune in the first couple of days, it's already too late. The alternate future you will have created will likely have everyone running around in goatees and building doomsday devices.

Adorable laundry-folding robot to kill us all.

Just wait until it starts folding our fleshy bodies. From PopSci:

This laundry-folding robot may not find many fans at the local laundromat, but only because it takes so long in holding up each towel for scrutiny before folding. Still, its fussiness speaks to a special care for laundry -- or painstaking programming routines -- that has won our hearts. You see, folding isn't a chore for this robot. It's an art.

The special PR2 bot is the result of a collaboration between University of California-Berkeley researchers and the gadget guys at Willow Garage. A first video shows the robot very carefully inspecting and then folding a pile of five unfamiliar towels of various sizes on a table, sped up 50 times.

Federal judge: Bush wiretapping program was illegal.

From Raw Story:

In a repudiation of the Bush administration's now-defunct terrorist surveillance effort, a federal judge ruled Wednesday that government investigators illegally wiretapped the phone conversations of an Islamic charity and two American lawyers without a search warrant.

U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker said the plaintiffs provided enough evidence to show "they were subjected to warrantless electronic surveillance" by the National Security Agency.

The judge's 45-page ruling focused narrowly on the case involving the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, touching vaguely on the larger question of the program's legality.

Nonetheless, Al-Haramain lawyer Jon Eisenberg said the ruling had larger implications.

"By virtue of finding what the Bush administration did to our clients was illegal, he found that the Terrorist Surveillance Program was unlawful," Eisenberg said.

Sugar gliders at the mercy of stupid Americans.

From News.com.au:

Australia's iconic sugar gliders are being bred and traded as domestic pets in the US where they sell for about $US220 ($A240) each.

Vets are treating malnourished gliders for broken bones and chronic lethargy as clueless owners feed the creatures classic American fare - soft drink and hotdogs - instead of insects.

Companies are charging a small fortune for glider accessories and spruiking the tiny marsupials as Easter pets.

"Sugar gliders are exploding right now but wild animals generally are not recommended as pets," Humane Society captive wildlife specialist Beth Preiss said.

"It's difficult caring for wild animals in captivity."

Florida is the commercial breeding hub, fueling a sophisticated trade that is booming online.

News Limited found dozens of examples of caged gliders being fed unusual foods such as ham, hotdogs and soft drinks.

Feds probe 2nd report of Mexican military helicopters in US airspace.

From the Houston Chronicle:

The U.S. Department of Defense said it was investigating the second sighting within three weeks of a Mexican military helicopter flying in U.S. airspace over rural Zapata County.

“The incident did occur and it's still under investigation,” department spokeswoman Maj. Tanya Bradsher said, confirming that the copter, believed to belong to the Mexican navy, was seen Sunday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Rick Pauza earlier in March confirmed a Mexican military helicopter hovered as long as 20 minutes on March 9 over a residential area near Falcon Lake, a reservoir on the Rio Grande.

He said CBP officials who lived in the neighborhood were among those who saw it.

Pauza said the helicopter crossed back without incident and that once the sighting was reported up the chain of the command “that was the extent of it.”

Man nabs burglar by sealing door with nailgun.

From the Daily Mail:

A DIY hero stopped a burglar from robbing a disused factory by sealing the only exit with a nailgun.

Night watchman Simon Jayne noticed someone lurking inside the former textile mill while he carried out a routine check on the premises.

But when the thief attempted to run away, Mr Jayne used his nail fun to fire 12 nails into a wooden door to seal it firmly shut.

As the door was the only way out of Albion Mill in Ewood, Blackburn, Iulian Mihociu, 29, was trapped in the factory until police arrived to arrest him just minutes later.

Mr Jayne, whose quick thinking was praised by local officers, said: 'I only acted on instinct and thought nothing about it as I trapped him.

'I had my nail gun with me to do some maintenance tasks on the building but never believed I would need it to catch a burglar.'

April Fools "news" items across the web...

The Guardian: Labour Party to rebrand Gordon Brown as tough alpha male.

PC World: Sudden PC acceleration causing injuries.

Starbucks: Responding to consumer demand, Starbucks introducing two new sizes: the Plenta and Micra.

ThinkGeek: Some funny new products. (I would totally buy "My First Bacon")

ReadJunk: James Cameron to helm Batman 3.

Marvel: Introducing... Hulkpool.

SF Chronicle: Obama clears way for oil drilling off US coasts. Oh wait, that's true.

Cigarettes may contain pig blood.

I wonder if cloves contain cloven hoofs. From News.com.au:

Cigarettes may contain traces of pigs' blood, an Australian academic says with a warning that religious groups could find its undisclosed presence "very offensive".

University of Sydney Professor in Public Health Simon Chapman points to recent Dutch research which identified 185 different industrial uses of a pig - including the use of its haemoglobin in cigarette filters.

Prof Chapman said the research offered an insight into the otherwise secretive world of cigarette manufacture, and it was likely to raise concerns for devout Muslims and Jews.

Religious texts at the core of both of these faiths specifically ban the consumption of pork.

"I think that there would be some particularly devout groups who would find the idea that there were pig products in cigarettes to be very offensive," Prof Chapman said today.

"The Jewish community certainly takes these matters extremely seriously and the Islamic community certainly do as well, as would many vegetarians.

"It just puts into hard relief the problem that the tobacco industry is not required to declare the ingredients of cigarettes ... they say 'that's our business' and a trade secret."

The Dutch research found pig haemoglobin - a blood protein - was being used to make cigarette filters more effective at trapping harmful chemicals before they could enter a smoker's lungs.