moonbuggy

`Health authorities are clamping down on the Thai teenage fashion fad of wearing fake orthodontic braces by targeting those who sell and make the pseudo-dental gear with steep fines and prison time.

Girls flashing multicoloured metallic grins are regularly featured in teen magazines as braces have become more common in Thailand, transforming the dental gear detested by Western youths into a fashion statement.’

`A professor from chair of quantum and optical electronics of the Ulyanovsk State University in western Russia has patented a method of making things invisible, Interfax news agency reported.

The so-called invisibility cloak, created by Oleg Gadomsky, is called “The method of conversion of optical radiation” in the patent.

Gadomsky had been long experimenting on nanoparticles of gold. Thus, he invented a sub-micron stratum of microscopical colloid golden particles that makes an object placed behind it invisible for an observer.’

`Mexican police hunting the country’s most-wanted serial killer have arrested a female wrestler. [..]

Juana Barraza, 48, was held as she allegedly fled the scene where a woman in her 80s had been strangled with a stethoscope, police said. [..]

She reportedly admitted to Wednesday’s killing, but denied a murder spree in which at least 30 women may have died. [..]

After reports that a woman had carried out the killings, police suspected a man in woman’s clothes.

It meant months were spent detaining and questioning transvestites.’

`University of Pittsburgh scientists say they’ve genetically engineered an avian flu vaccine that has proven 100 percent effective in mice and chickens.

The vaccine was produced from the critical components of the deadly H5N1 virus that has devastated bird populations in Southeast Asia and Europe and has killed more than 80 people.

Since the newly developed vaccine contains a live virus, researchers say it may be more immune-activating than avian flu vaccines prepared by traditional methods. Furthermore, because it is grown in cells, it can be produced much more quickly than traditional vaccines, thereby making it an extremely attractive candidate for preventing the spread of the virus in domestic livestock populations and, potentially, in humans.’

`The USA based mobile operator, Cingular Wireless has managed to get a patent on the concept of using emoticon on mobile phones. While the aim of the patent is to enable the displaying of MSN style graphics on handsets, they also managed to patent the delivery of text based emoticon – so presumably sending :) via an SMS – if selected via a dedicated or softkey, would be a breach of the patent in future.’

` Since I was a little girl, I’ve always been drawn to cemeteries. I’ve been intrigued by the one across the street from where I live and have dubbed it “my” cemetery since the age of five years. As I grew older, my interest in exploring cemeteries expanded into a greater interest in the forgotten, hauntingly beautiful, mysterious and simply unknown, as well as the supernatural. The explorations included on this site are of abandoned places on small and large scales, cemeteries, roadside attractions, the allegedly haunted, just plain weird, and more. The need to photograph these places and things and share their stories is an undying one. And you never know what (or who!) will show up in photographs.’

Be a rockstar..

`The operator of a group home for the mentally ill was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for enslaving its residents, forcing them to work naked and perform sex acts, and his wife was sentenced to seven years.

Arlan Kaufman, 69, was convicted in November of 31 federal charges and Linda Kaufman of 30 counts, including health care fraud, Medicare fraud, forced labor and holding clients in involuntary servitude at their Kaufman House Residential Treatment Center.’

followup to Kansas couple on trial for enslaving mentally ill.

`An Oregon man hurled both of his prosthetic legs at a police officer, striking him with one, after his son was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, police said today.

The incident began when the policeman stopped a vehicle going the wrong way on a highway in southern Oregon.

The officer at first detained only the driver, Adam Kackstetter, 26, after he became aggressive. But then his father, Joel Kackstetter, 53, a passenger in the vehicle, grew hostile, a police spokesman said.’

`In the beginning…

…there was light. And that light was the fuel-propelled explosion of a fighter plane slicing right through a US carrier, which was forced to make an emergency landing on Chinese ground. And following on from the untimely demise of the (unfortunately named) Chinese pilot Wang, due to his dubious collision with an American plane that, as one American Hacker so eloquently put it, had all the agility of “A flying dildo”, so began a “World Hacker War” that has been somewhat lost to the mists of time. I’m looking to put that right.’

`A family on South Australia’s west coast has discovered a rare specimen of whale vomit on the beach that is tipped to be worth over $1 million.

The specimen, known scientifically as ambergris, is sought after by perfume companies and worth about per gram.

The sample found on a beach near Streaky Bay weighs 14.75 kilograms.’

`When twenty-seven year old Henry M. entered the hospital in 1953 for radical brain surgery that was supposed to cure his epilepsy, he was hopeful that the procedure would change his life for the better. Instead, it trapped him in a mental time warp where TV is always a new invention and Truman is forever president. The removal of large sections of his temporal lobes left Henry unable to form any new personal memories, but his tragic loss revolutionized the field of psychology and made “H.M.” the most-studied individual in the history of brain research.’

`British girls are among the most violent in the world, with nearly one in three Scottish and English adolescents admitting to having been in a fight in the past year, according to research.

In a survey of youngsters in 35 countries, child health experts found the average rate of violence among girls in all countries was 23 per cent. Hungary scored worst with 32 per cent, with Scotland and England on 29.2 per cent and 29.1 per cent respectively. Finland had the least violent girls (13 per cent)

Researchers also found high levels of fighting and violence among boys, particularly in Scotland, where nearly two-thirds admitted to having been in a punch-up in the past year.’

`West Virginia, which has one of the nation’s worst obesity problems, is expanding a project that uses a video game to boost students’ physical activity.

All of the state’s 157 middle schools are expecting to get the video game “Dance Dance Revolution,” and officials hope to put it in all 753 public schools within three years. A pilot project began in 20 schools last spring.’

`A Colombian man accidentally shot his nephew to death while trying to cure his hiccups by pointing a revolver at him to scare him, police in the Caribbean port city of Barranquilla said on Tuesday.

After shooting 21-year-old university student David Galvan in the neck, his uncle, Rafael Vargas, 35, was so distraught he turned the gun on himself and committed suicide, police said.’

`Migrant workers in south China are wearing adult diapers on packed trains heading home for the Lunar New Year holiday because they have no access to a toilet, state media said on Tuesday.

About 120 million peasants from China’s vast rural areas swarm the cities for work and all try to make it home for the holiday, filling all standing room on trains and making access to the toilet impossible during trips often lasting 24 hours or more.’

`One of America’s most experienced astronauts has denounced the space shuttle as a deathtrap and accused US space officials of stifling all concerns raised about its safety. [..]

Veteran astronaut Mike Mullane’s outburst therefore comes at a deeply embarrassing time for the Nasa. Apart from dealing with the Challenger anniversary, it is now struggling to save its remaining space shuttles so they can complete the international space station.’

`Being that he’s been exiled to the garage and it’s winter, the lazy fuck absolutely refuses to leave the confines of the garage to do anything. This includes shitting. In fact, I think he actually pisses in his sleep and just lives with it. Maybe he likes that it keeps him a little warmer. Well, he does leave long enough to shit. And he shat all over the garage. Well, Kronix our roommate told my brother that he’d pay him $40 if he agreed to lick the cat shit in the garage. With $40 rounded up (thanks in part by Monkey and me pitching in) we were off to the garage to see the events as they unfolded.

Watch the video!’

I didn’t watch the video. The still pictures are disturbing enough.

`Maybe I’m childish, but Asse has got to be one of the worst and/or funniest names for chocolate candy that I have come across yet (though Crunky and “Must Be Sexy” are pretty funny too). Asse is a Japanese candy made by Morinaga. It comes in a pack of 18 pieces that are shaped like Andes mints only a little larger. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the package because the picture on the package looks a bit like peanut butter in the center. It turns out it’s a nougat-like candy like a 3 Musketeers or Milky Way only a little drier. It’s got a faint flavor I can’t quite make out though – almost malty. The chocolate is a darker chocolate than most candies have so it’s just a little bitter (but tasty). I really liked the Asse a lot – it’s good stuff. My wife tried it too and didn’t like it at all. (Yeah, yeah – fill in your own joke here).’

`Here’s a question for you: what have the Nazi wartime test facility at Peenemunde and the Australian city of Perth got in common? Well, the first thing (and just about the only thing, truth be told) which springs to mind is that they are both next to large bodies of water. This is useful if you’re going to test things which might go bang. Like V-2 rockets and – wait for it – flying cars’

`A prison inmate who shed 31 pounds so he could escape through a narrow hole in a wall has been recaptured after three days on the run in Sydney, the prison department said Sunday.

Robert Cole, 36, who was serving time for sex offenses and armed robbery, escaped from a hospital wing of Sydney’s Long Bay Jail on Wednesday through 6-inch wide hole he had chiseled in the brickwork beside a window frame. He had been undergoing treatment for a psychiatric illness. [..]

He was recaptured in a Sydney shopping mall Saturday disguised with a beard drawn on his face with a pen, The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.’

`More than half of students at four-year colleges — and at least 75 percent at two-year colleges — lack the literacy to handle complex, real-life tasks such as understanding credit card offers, a study found.

The literacy study funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the first to target the skills of graduating students, finds that students fail to lock in key skills — no matter their field of study. [..]

Overall, the average literacy of college students is significantly higher than that of adults across the nation. Study leaders said that was encouraging but not surprising, given that the spectrum of adults includes those with much less education.’

`A die-hard Steelers fan and teacher at Beaver Falls High School made Vannoy, 17, take a midterm test on the floor because he was sporting a John Elway No. 7 jersey. The honors ethnic relations teacher had Vannoy sit in a circle of desks, then instructed his classmates to throw paper at him.

The treatment wasn’t part of any classroom lesson, his teacher says. He had warned students before not to wear another team’s jersey in his classroom.

“I was humiliated and shaking. I couldn’t finish my test,” said Vannoy, a Broncos fan even though he’s a native of Pittsburgh Steelers country.’

`[..] From the transcript of radio communication among Israeli soldiers near Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. The recording was submitted in January 2005 in the trial of the company commander, whose name has been withheld due to a military court order. He faces a maximum of three years in prison. [..]

SENTRY: We spotted an Arab female about 100 meters below our emplacement, near the light armored vehicle gate.

HEADQUARTERS: Observation post “Spain,” do you see it?

OBSERVATION POST: Affirmative, it’s a young girl. She’s now running east.

HQ: What is her position?

OP: She’s currently north of the authorized zone.

SENTRY: Very inappropriate location.

[Gunfire]’

`Retired Russian colonel Stanislav Petrov received a special World Citizen Award at a UN meeting in New York on Thursday. Petrov was honored as the “Man Who Averted Nuclear War”. [..]

Petrov was highly aware that Cold War tensions were acute, as USSR fighters had shot down a Korean airliner on Sept. 1. But he was completely shocked when the warning siren began to wail and two lights on his desk console began flashing MISSILE ATTACK and START. “Start” was the instruction to launch, irreversibly, all 5,000 or so Soviet missiles and obliterate America.

A new, unproven Soviet satellite system had picked up a flash in Montana near a Minuteman II silo. Then another — five, all told.

Petrov recalls his legs were “like cotton,” as they say in Russian. He stared at the huge electronic wall map of the United States in terror and disbelief. As his staff gawked upward at him from the floor, he had the thought, “Who would order an attack with only five missiles? That big an idiot has not been born yet, not even in the U.S.”’

`Dutch police have arrested a thief they dubbed the “salamander man” who talked his way into the homes of dozens of unsuspecting people by saying he was looking for his lost salamander, hamster or iguana.

Police said on Monday they had been hunting the 33-year-old homeless man for months and that he had admitted to about 60 thefts in towns across the country.

Once inside a house, the man stole wallets and loose cash. Police arrested him on Friday after a tip off and found nine empty wallets in his car, which had been stolen the day before.’

`This is just a simple experiment: Post a phone number on the web, and allow people to leave voice messages, which in turn can be downloaded off the website. Who will call,why will they call and what will they say? For anyone hesitant on calling, your phone number will always remain private.’

`Five-year-old giant panda Chuang Chuang (R) and his four-year-old partner Lin Hui mate for the first time at the Chiang Mai zoo in northern Thailand January 17, 2006. The pair were donated to Thailand by the Chinese government. Picture taken January 17, 2006.’

`We hope you enjoy J-Track 3-D. It should appear in its own window and begin loading a database of over 500 satellites.

What you will see (assuming your system supports this JAVA applet) is a plot in 3-dimensions showing the position of these satellites. Be sure to try the “Satellite” pull-down menu to choose which satellite you wish to view.’