`”It was evening. I was going home, when I saw two very fat rats in the gutter. They were as fat as small cats and not at all scared of the hundreds of people passing by,” said Nurlan, a student.
[,.] Kyrgyzstan is infested with a new breed of large, resilient rat, descendants of rattus norvegicus – albino rats, which were used in laboratory experiments during Soviet times. Some escaped and bred with the local variety, creating the current, bold, adaptable breed that is proving hard to control.’
`NanoHorizons has developed a technique for manufacturing nanoparticles (defined as particles smaller than 100nm) of gold and silver. Both metals are already incorporated into materials because of their antibacterial properties [..]’
`There is a danger in becoming over-involved in D&D, spending a large amount of time, money, and interest in it’
`A schoolboy set fire to a newsagents and then tried to torch a bus after he was told he was too young to buy a copy of Playboy, a court heard today. [..]
The owner made it clear they had a few years to go before they could legally combine nudes with Saturday afternoon shopping.’
`A major breakdown in Southern California’s air traffic control system last week was partly due to a “design anomaly” in the way Microsoft Windows servers were integrated into the system, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
The radio system shutdown, which lasted more than three hours, left 800 planes in the air without contact to air traffic control, and led to at least five cases where planes came too close to one another [..]’
`Scientists working at London’s Imperial College have come up with a way of radically increasing the storage capacity of optical discs. [..]
The upshot is a disc that can theoretically hold a hundred times the data than a current DVD can, though in practice the results yield a lower increase – from 4.7GB to around 250GB.’
`Many people freeze their placentas until they get a special tree or bush in honor of the new baby. After digging an appropriately sized hole, score the sides of the hole so the soil is more amenable to tender roots. Put the placenta in, and cover it with a half to a full inch of soil before placing the plant on top of it. [..]’
`A badly injured man who was hit by a car outside Sydney Hospital in Macquarie Street on Thursday night was refused treatment by its emergency department.
Distraught bystanders were forced to treat the man’s wounds with handkerchiefs as he lay in the gutter drifting in and out of consciousness just metres from the hospital.’
Safe for work if you have headphones. :)
(100k mp3)
see it here »
`By harvesting energy from radioactive specks, nuclear microbatteries could power tomorrow’s microelectromechanical marvels—and maybe your cellphone, too.’
`[..] as they ran into the shop, one of the gang dropped a gun which went off, scaring the other gang members into fleeing.
Terra Noticias Populares says one robber accidentally fired his gun and was hit in the leg as the group tried to escape on motorcycles.
The other gang members then either crashed or fell off their bikes as they looked to see what happened their colleague.’
`Conservative political newcomer Family First wants an annual levy of $7 to $10 on all internet users to fund a $45 million mandatory national internet filtering scheme aimed at blocking pornographic and offensive content at server level.
The party, which holds a state seat in South Australia, is considered a strong candidate for a Senate spot [..]’
also covered by The Register.
`The Australian Taxation Office has dropped plans to sponsor the sex industry’s award night.
The backflip follows anger at the tax office’s plan to put money into the event to encourage strippers and prostitutes to pay more tax.
Industry insiders say sex industry workers are notorious for not declaring their mostly cash income.’
Surely that’s not all they’re notorious for. :)
`The contest involves members of the audience who stand in the arena, inside a small, individual circle drawn around them.
A bull is then agitated and made to run through a chute into the arena.
The last person in his or her circle wins $50.
But it wasn’t luck that struck Charles Davis — it was a bull.’
`The 49-year-old from Newtown was invited to lead a 25-strong team of cavers from Russia and Ukraine on a world-record 1830-metre descent into the Krubera-Voronia cave in Abkhazia, Georgia.’
also with a map of the cave. (via /.)
‘grandmaster flash vs. george bush video mix’
(12meg Quicktime)
see it here »
`A teenager who clandestinely traveled to Scotland last weekend on her parents’ credit card needed to get away from the stress of school, home and extracurricular activities, her father said.’
A very serious vulnerability was found a week or so ago in the way Windows handles JPEG images. Easynews is reporting the first example of this exploit in the wild.
Links to more information on the exploit. There’s also a few [completely unrelated] links to articles about the impending oil problems we’re going to face.
see: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-028
There’s been recent earthquake activity recorded at Mount St. Helens. Here’s the live camera of the mountain, so we can all watch and wait for disaster. It’s just static at the time of post. :)
see it here »
`The World Health Organization said yesterday it was “suspecting human-to-human transmission” of bird flu had occurred in northern Thailand, marking what could be the first such transmission of the lethal virus. [..]
The WHO fears H5N1 could mutate into a highly contagious form that triggers a global human flu pandemic.
When asked if a confirmed viral leap between humans in the Thai cases would mark the first step in such a feared mutation, Rai said “I think so.”‘
`The folks at Comedy Central were annoyed when Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly kept referring to “The Daily Show” audience as “stoned slackers.”
So they did a little research. [..]
Viewers of Jon Stewart’s show are more likely to have completed four years of college than people who watch “The O’Reilly Factor,” according to Nielsen Media Research.’
And oldie but a goodie. Amusing announcements at airports.
`The police officer told Aaron, who is five months pregnant, to lower her voice. She told the officer he had no right to tell her how to speak into her cell phone.
Their verbal dispute quickly escalated, and Saoutis grabbed Aaron by the arm and pushed her to the ground. He handcuffed the 23-year-old woman, called for backup and took her to a cell where she was held for three hours before being released to her aunt.’
‘An US F4 Phantom Jet tests the strength of a concrete wall built to withstand a nuclear blast by crashing into it at 500 MPH. A high rate FPS camera is used to watch the plane literally turn into dust.’
(1.5meg Windows media)
see it here »
`Greek Orthodox and Franciscan priests got into a fist fight yesterday at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Christianity’s holiest shrine, in an argument over whether a door in the basilica should be closed during a procession.
Dozens of people, including several Israeli police officers, were lightly hurt in the brawl at the shrine [..]’
Video reconstruction of MRI and CT slices of the human body.
Pigeon makes a nest in server rack. Stalked by cat.
with pictures.
`The work of M.C. Escher needs no introduction. We have all learned to appreciate the impossibilities that this master of illusion’s artwork presents to the layman’s eye. Nevertheless, it may come as a surprise for some, but many of the so-called ‘impossible’ drawings of M. C. Escher can be realized as actual physical objects.’
with pictures.
`Since about ten years Theo Jansen is occupied with the making of a new nature. Not pollen or seeds but plastic yellow tubes are used as the basic matierial of this new nature. He makes skeletons which are able to walk on the wind. Eventualy he wants to put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives.’
Wind powered walking sculpture, with video.
`Professional secrets from those in the know.’
