Pleasant surprise for DonorsChoose.org, schools	the "other" pile
Link #151498 submitted by Mac on Sep 2, 2010 05:45pm.   (+100XP) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2010%2F08%2F...
Out of the blue, in the middle of a recession, the phone rang.     What would it cost, the caller asked the founder of DonorsChoose.org, to fund every California teacher's wish list posted on the Web site?     The founder, Charles Best, thought perhaps the female caller would hang up when he tossed out his best guess: "Something over $1 million," he told her.     Twelve hours later, the woman, Hilda Yao, executive director of the Claire Giannini Fund, sent Best an e-mail.     It said, in short, OK. Comments: 0   Hits: 27   Points: 236836   Vote Now!   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

Stephen Hawking: God did not create Universe	blinded by science
Link #151497 submitted by pneum0nic on Sep 2, 2010 01:10pm.   (+150XP) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11161493
There is no place for God in theories on the creation of the Universe, Professor Stephen Hawking has said.     He had previously argued belief in a creator was not incompatible with science but in a new book, he concludes the Big Bang was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics.     cc: some dude/some chick Comments: 0   Hits: 42   Points: 233614   Vote Now!   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

U of Florida Gives Up, Gives Credit for Playing Starcraft	fun & games
Link #151496 submitted by AB on Sep 2, 2010 05:32am.   (+150XP) http://gammasquad.uproxx.com/2010/08/university-of-florida-gives-up...
So, there’s a class, at the University of Florida, that’s called "21st Century Skills in Starcraft". How the hell do they justify that? Well... Comments: 0   Hits: 67   Points: 228209   Vote Now!   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

Drunk baboons plague Cape Town's exclusive suburbs	vices
Link #151495 submitted by j d ess on Sep 2, 2010 04:06am.   (+100XP) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/sout...
The sun is setting over South Africa's oldest vineyard and the last of the wine-tasting tourists are climbing onto their buses. But one large family group has no intention of leaving – and there is little the management can do about it. Comments: 0   Hits: 57   Points: 227172   Vote Now!   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

Canada's Cannabis Car	the "other" pile
Link #151494 submitted by pneum0nic on Aug 31, 2010 05:31pm.   (+230XP) http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/08/24/canadian-cannabis-car
As we're faced with an increasingly large world population and ever-dwindling resources the race is on to produce cars that not only produce zero tailpipe emissions, but ones that are green to manufacture too.     But what is the ultimate material for cars? Steel is strong, but hardly light enough to make ultra-efficient vehicles. Many plastics are based on oil, and composite materials like carbon fibre are difficult and costly to manufacture and repair.     Enter the Kestrel. Designed and engineered by Motive Industries, a Canadian firm based in Alberta, the fully electric car features a body shell made of hemp--which may be better known as Cannabis Sativa L. Comments: 0   Hits: 149   Points: 202739   Rating: 9.3 / 3   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

Student's nipples explode, but not with delight; school sued	the "other" pile
Link #151493 submitted by LinusMines on Aug 31, 2010 04:35pm.   (+400XP) http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view/20100831st...
The family of the Dover [New Hampshire] High School student shocked in his electrical trades class last school year has filed a lawsuit alleging negligence on the parts of the teacher, school district and City of Dover.     Documents filed...Friday indicate Robert and Sandra DuBois, parents of 18-year-old Kyle DuBois, are seeking compensation for medical expenses, lost income due to time away from work and other damages related to their son being shocked in his electrical trades class on March 11. The lawsuit claims DuBois critically injured himself because of his teacher Thomas Kelley’s failure to properly warn of the dangers of electrical currents.     DuBois was hospitalized after receiving a serious electrical shock while in class on March 11. On a dare, DuBois clipped alligator clips to his nipples and received a severe shock that caused him to stagger and collapse, the lawsuit says... Comments: 0   Hits: 156   Points: 202111   Rating: 10.0 / 6   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

What does a 142-day-old Happy Meal look like?	health
Link #151492 submitted by cornpone on Aug 31, 2010 04:32pm.   (+450XP) http://www.thestar.com/living/article/854355--what-does-a-142-day-o...
The McDonald’s burger and fries that artist Sally Davies has been photographing every day for 142 days is sitting on a plate in her living room.     It hasn’t changed, other than to turn rock hard. Even her two dogs won’t go near it. Comments: 0   Hits: 246   Points: 202179   Rating: 10.0 / 7   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

Koala Hit By Car Walks Away Without a Scratch	Woodgie Woodgie Woodgie
Link #151491 submitted by pneum0nic on Aug 31, 2010 01:36pm.   (+350XP) http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/08/lucky-koala-hit-by-car-walk...
Not only is this koala bear one of the cutest animals on the planet, it just may be among the luckiest too. Defying the odds normally stacked against wildlife in an encounter with a fast moving vehicle, this koala bear survived being hit by a car travelling upwards of 50 mph -- and miraculously, without sustaining any injury at all. Comments: 1   Hits: 98   Points: 199916   Rating: 10.0 / 4   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

Tumbling Dice: Rolling Stones Unveil Monopoly Edition	entertainment
Link #151490 submitted by humandoing on Aug 31, 2010 10:45am.   (+230XP) http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/News/rolling-stones-0830
Now, you can keep on rolling with the Stones… but only if you get doubles. The legendary rock band have announced their version of the classic board game Monopoly. In Rolling Stones Monopoly, the famous streets and avenues of the original edition are replaced with Stones releases. Baltic Avenue becomes Sticky Fingers and Park Place turns into A Bigger Bang. Comments: 1   Hits: 87   Points: 197865   Vote Now!   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

Why Do Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers?	hobbies & diversions
Link #151489 submitted by pneum0nic on Aug 30, 2010 04:27pm.   (+420XP) http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2014332,00.html
A new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that — for reasons that aren't entirely clear — abstaining from alcohol does actually tend to increase one's risk of dying even when you exclude former drinkers. The most shocking part? Abstainers' mortality rates are higher than those of heavy drinkers.     cc: blinded by science, just add bacon? Comments: 1   Hits: 231   Points: 185056   Rating: 9.5 / 6   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

RIP David Hillel Wilson - Curator of the New England Synthes	gadgets
Link #151488 submitted by angrydroid on Aug 30, 2010 01:25pm.   (+310XP) http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2010/08/rip-david-hillel-wilson-cur...
David Wilson past away this past weekend suddenly from a heart condition. He was the proprietor of the New England Synthesizer Museum, a place I always wanted to visit. Comments: 0   Hits: 101   Points: 182758   Rating: 9.2 / 5   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

Sound Design of Star Wars	entertainment
Link #151487 submitted by humandoing on Aug 30, 2010 12:00pm.   (+340XP) http://filmsound.org/starwars
Sound designer Ben Burtt's responsibility on Star Wars was to create specifically unusual sounds - weapons, vehicles, character and key backgrounds. Comments: 0   Hits: 154   Points: 181807   Rating: 9.8 / 5   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

Raytheon's 'Silent Guardian'	blinded by science
Link #151486 submitted by spoon on Aug 29, 2010 07:05am.   (+240XP) http://bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1277664&...
In a letter to Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy D. Baca, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California called the Assault Intervention Device - which focuses a softball-sized beam that makes inmates feel “intolerable heat” - a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s protection against “cruel and unusual punishment.”     The new device, according to Osborne and Raytheon, penetrates only 1/64th of an inch into the skin, causing “controllable pain” but no injury. As soon as the heat beam is switched off, the pain stops, they say, leaving no lasting burns or physical damage. The test device’s range is 85 feet, compared to 800 feet for the truck-mounted Active Denial System developed for the military.     Company link to pdf / short video on Silent Guardian Comments: 0   Hits: 138   Points: 161242   Rating: 9.6 / 3   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

Laser beam creates microbe shadow play	blinded by science
Link #151485 submitted by kingskyprawn on Aug 29, 2010 04:48am.   (+330XP) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aK_a-jr-tI
[YouTube Link]     Someone took a drop of water that had microbes in it and shot a 250mW green laser beam through it, causing a magnified real-time shadow play of swimming translucent critters. A cat is intrigued.     Originally described here:   teravolt.org/Laser_Microscope.htm     ... but the site crashed from views, so the explanation is mirrored here:   www.redditmirror.cc/cache/websites/teravolt.org_d6g04/teravolt.org/Laser_Microscope.htm     [via Miss Cellania] Comments: 1   Hits: 187   Points: 159676   Rating: 9.5 / 4   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

Cook Arrested In Beef Over Bacon	just add bacon
Link #151484 submitted by spoon on Aug 28, 2010 07:33pm.   (+260XP) http://www.courant.com/community/west-hartford/hc-west-hartford-bac...
Police weren't sure on the details of what caused the dispute between two cooks at the Wendy's on South Road Friday afternoon, but they knew the result: one pulled a knife on the other and threatened to stab him.     Derron Christopher Cooke, 25, of Sisson Avenue in Hartford, was charged with attempted second-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, threatening and breach of peace for allegedly pulling out a folding knife and threatening to stab his colleague.     [with video] Comments: 0   Hits: 164   Points: 153088   Rating: 9.0 / 4   [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ]

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