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Dumb Laws in Michigan. Crazy Michigan Laws. We have weird laws, strange laws, and just ... - 0 views

www.dumblaws.com/...michigan binaryopposition
shared by sirgabrial on 25 Mar 09 - Cached
sirgabrial liked it
  • Dumb Laws in Michigan
  • Persons may not be drunk on trains.
  • It is illegal to kill a dog using a decompression chamber.
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • Adultery is illegal, but can only be punished upon a complaint by the affected husband or wife.
  • No man may seduce and corrupt an unmarried girl, or else he risks five years in prison.
  • The last Sunday in June of every year was named �log cabin day�.
  • A woman isn’t allowed to cut her own hair without her husband’s permission.
  • There is a 3 cent bounty for each starling and 10 cent bounty for each crow killed in any village, township, or city in the state.
  • It is legal for a robber to file a law suit, if he or she got hurt in your house.
  • You may not swear in front of women and children.
  • Any person over the age of 12 may have a license for a handgun as long as he/she has not been convicted of a felony.
  • Willfully destroying your old radio is prohibited.
  • It is illegal for a man to scowl at his wife on Sunday.
  • It is illegal to let your pig run free in Detroit unless it has a ring in its nose.
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Sydney goes dark for Earth Hour - World environment- msnbc.com - 0 views

www.msnbc.msn.com/23856469
shared by barnaby on 29 Mar 08 - Cached
  • Sydney’s iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge went dark
  • as the world’s first major city turned off its lights for this year’s Earth Hour
  • Most businesses and homes were already dark as Sydney residents embraced their second annual Earth Hour with candlelight dinners, beach bonfires and even a green-powered outdoor movie.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • 250 of the 350 commercial buildings there had pledged to shut off their lights completely.
  • 2.2 million people and more than 2,000 businesses shut off lights and appliances, resulting in a 10.2 percent reduction in carbon emissions during that hour.
  • 26 major world cities and more than 300 other cities and towns have signed up for the event.
  • One of the last major cities to participate will be San Francisco
  • “What’s amazing is that it’s transcending political boundaries and happening in places like China, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea,” said Earth Hour executive director Andy Ridley.
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Universe Today » 13.73 Billion Years - The Most Precise Measurement of the Ag... - 0 views

www.universetoday.com/...of-the-age-of-the-universe-yet
shared by sirgabrial on 31 Mar 08 - Cached
  • 13.73 Billion Years - The Most Precise Measurement of the Age of the Universe Yet
  • NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) has taken the best measurement of the age of the Universe to date. According to highly precise observations of microwave radiation observed all over the cosmos, WMAP scientists now have the best estimate yet on the age of the Universe: 13.73 billion years, plus or minus 120 million years (that's an error margin of only 0.87%… not bad really…).
  • Sun-Earth second Lagrangian point (L2)
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • 1.5 million km from the surface of the Earth on the night-side
  • The reason for this location is the nature of the gravitational stability in the region and the lack of electromagnetic interference from the Sun.
  • Constantly looking out into space, WMAP scans the cosmos with its ultra sensitive microwave receiver, mapping any small variations in the background "temperature" (anisotropy) of the universe.
  • 3.3-13.6 mm
  • This microwave background radiation originates from a very early universe, just 400,000 years after the Big Bang, when the ambient temperature of the universe was about 3,000 K.
  • These measurements refine our understanding about the structure of our universe around the time of the Big Bang and also help us understand the nature of the period of "inflation", in the very beginning of the expansion of the Universe.
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Suicide Robot: Man Kills Himself In Australia |Sky News|Technology - 0 views

news.sky.com/...0,,91221-1310084,00.html
shared by sirgabrial on 31 Mar 08 - Cached
  • Man Kills Himself With 'Suicide Robot'
  • An Australian pensioner has reportedly killed himself after building a "suicide robot" from plans downloaded from the internet.
  • The 81-year-old, from Queensland, set up the machine to remotely fire a semi-automatic pistol.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • When he activated it, it fired several shots into his head.
  • The man, who lived alone, left a suicide note saying he was unhappy at being forced by relatives to move into care home.
  • Full details of how the machine worked have not been released.
  • The man explained in his notes that he set the machine up on his driveway as he knew there were builders next door, and they would be alerted by the sound of gunshot.
  • There has been a recent increase in the use of robots for military purposes.
  • "Once the new weapons are out there, they will be fairly easy to copy. How long is it going to be before the terrorists get in on the act?"
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Taking a bath on water tax :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State - 0 views

www.suntimes.com/...861008,CST-NWS-water26.article 7min
shared by sirgabrial on 31 Mar 08 - Cached
  • Taking a bath on water tax
  • BUDGET | Revenue from new fee far below what was expected
  • Are Chicagoans trekking to the suburbs to buy cases of bottled water -- and avoid a new nickel-a-container tax that adds $1.20 to the price of a 24-pack? Or are they making the switch to tap water to save money?
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Revenues from Chicago's new bottled water tax are trickling in -- at a rate nearly 40 percent below projections -- exacerbating a budget crunch that has already prompted Mayor Daley to order $20 million in spending cuts.
  • January collections were $554,000. That's far short of the $875,000-a-month needed to meet the city's $10.5 million-a-year projection.
  • "Since January is generally one of the coldest months of the winter, we don't think January collections are a strong indicator of potential revenue for the remainder of the year," she said.
  • But that doesn't explain away what Vite calls "enormous increases" in suburban bottled water sales, particularly in stores near the Chicago border.
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Revista entre rayas - 0 views

www.entrerayas.com/index.php
shared by barnaby on 09 Mar 08 - Cached
  • The design of the controversial new headquarters for oil giant Gazprom in St Petersburg - which, at 396m tall, will become the tallest tower in Europe and a major new landmark in the Russian city
  • Designed by UK-based architectural company RMJM
  • the building will in fact be one of the most environmentally sustainable high rise buildings in the world
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • prompted fears that the new ‘Okhta Centre’ would impact negatively on St Petersburg’s historic skyline.
  • need for heating is minimal in order to reduce its environmental impact. 
  • In a country where temperatures dip to minus 30 degrees
  • The external envelope of the tower comprises of two double glazed glass skins with an atrium between the inner and outer walls.  The atrium acts as a buffer zone providing both thermal insulation and natural ventilation at different times of the year.
  • pentagram design of the tower maximises access to daylight and allows for spectacular views for the internal offices without losing heat due to exposed surface area in comparison to other structures.
  • design allows for a generous number of social spaces and green ‘breakout’ zones spread out along the floors.
  • access leisure areas without wasting valuable time and energy, in terms of vertical transportation, commuting to ground level.
  • With this project, we thought about sustainability issues right from the start and as such it has been totally integrated into the design, frame and structure
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Dr. Death Kevorkian plans to run for Congress | Politics | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...idUSN2420668220080324
shared by barnaby on 05 Apr 08 - Cached
  • Jack Kevorkian
  • he will run for the U.S. Congress.
  • announced his bid to run as an independent less than a year after being released from prison
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • planned to run against the "tyranny" of the U.S. Supreme Court which he said has robbed Americans of their rights.
  • representing the Detroit suburbs
  • His candidacy will pit Kevorkian against Republican incumbent Joe Knollenberg and Democrat Gary Peters in Michigan's 9th District
  • upscale suburbs of Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham.
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Hype Machine: Searching for ZAP's Fleet of No-Show Green Cars - 0 views

www.wired.com/...ff_zapped
shared by barnaby on 05 Apr 08 - Cached
  • In February 2007, he asked when exactly the company intended to begin delivering the ZAP-X. "Gary Starr told me, Well, it may be two years out, it may be four years out, it may never happen.'
  • ZAP has taken millions from investors and dealers eager to see the company's line of green cars hit the road. But that line has never materialized. Of nearly a dozen groundbreaking eco-vehicles ZAP has promised in public announcements and on its Web site, only the Xebra and its sibling, a truck version, have ever made it to market. As a result, fans of electric cars have grown disillusioned, while individuals like Youssef have been financially devastated. What's more, investment firms around the country have become cautious about financing electric vehicles after being repeatedly misled by one of the industry's most visible companies.
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Former Pentagon official pleads guilty in China spy case | csmonitor.com - 0 views

www.csmonitor.com/...p99s01-duts.html
shared by barnaby on 05 Apr 08 - Cached
  • former Pentagon official pleaded guilty in court Monday to an espionage charge over the disclosure of secret data to an alleged Chinese agent in the US. Gregg Bergersen said he was unaware that the Taiwan-born businessman was passing the information to China.
  • Pentagon revealed that it had sent nuclear fuses to Taiwan by mistake in 2006
  • raised eyebrows over US safeguards on nuclear-related technology
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Associated Press reports that Taiwanese military officials have said that Bergersen's disclosures were damaging but hadn't compromised key defense technology.
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Land reforms could reshape Cuba - Americas- msnbc.com - 0 views

www.msnbc.msn.com/23907266
shared by barnaby on 05 Apr 08 - Cached
  • Communist Cuba is opening up unused land to private farmers and cooperatives as part of a sweeping effort to step up agricultural production.
  • Raul Castro, who vowed when he took over from his brother Fidel to remove some of the more irksome limitations on the daily lives of Cubans
  • Cubans snapped up DVD players, motorbikes and pressure cookers for the first time since the new government loosened controls on consumer goods.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Tourism Ministry announced that any Cuban with enough money can now stay in luxury hotels and rent cars, doing away with restrictions that made ordinary people feel like second-class citizens. And last week, Cuba said citizens will be able to get cell phones legally in their own names, a luxury long reserved for the lucky few.
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AP Wire News - nvdaily.com - 0 views

hosted.ap.org/...UNEASY_ECONOMY_STICKER_SHOCK binaryopposition
shared by sirgabrial on 07 Apr 08 - Cached
    • sirgabrial
      sirgabrial on 07 Apr 08
       
      reduce fat kids? so inflation = thiner healther kids
  • Food price inflation changes how we shop
  • Steadily rising food costs aren't just causing grocery shoppers to do a double-take at the checkout line - they're also changing the very ways we feed our families.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • The worst case of food inflation in nearly 20 years has more Americans giving up restaurant meals to eat at home. We're buying fewer luxury food items, eating more leftovers and buying more store brands instead of name-brand items.
  • For Peggy and David Valdez of Houston, feeding their family of four means scouring grocer ads for the best prices, taking fewer trips as a way to save gas and simply buying less food, period.
  • Record-high energy, corn and wheat prices in the past year have led to sticker shock in the grocery aisles. At $1.32, the average price of a loaf of bread has increased 32 percent since January 2005. In the last year alone, the average price of carton of eggs has increased almost 50 percent.
  • Ground beef, milk, chicken, apples, tomatoes, lettuce, coffee and orange juice are among the staples that cost more these days, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Soaring prices are causing shoppers to rethink long-held habits such as store loyalty.
  • Wal-Mart and other supercenters that sell food now account for 24 percent of the market, according to the most recent annual survey of shopping habits by Hammonds' organization.
  • Nationwide, a family of four on a moderate-cost shopping plan now spends an average of $904 each month for groceries, an $80 increase from two years ago, according to the USDA
  • more canned food instead of fresh produce.
  • Portions are smaller
  • corn, now in high demand because of increased ethanol production, to wheat that has tripled in price over the past 10 months - has some industry observers suggesting that higher food prices aren't a temporary fluctuation but instead may be here to stay.
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Bush proposes financial regulation overhaul - Stocks & economy- msnbc.com - 0 views

www.msnbc.msn.com/23853415
shared by barnaby on 29 Mar 08 - Cached
  • Bush administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul of the way the U.S. financial industry is regulated.
  • to deal with the problems highlighted by the current severe credit crisis, the new plan would give major new powers to the Federal Reserve
  • designate the Fed as the primary regulator of market stability, greatly expanding the central bank's ability to examine not just commercial banks but all segments of the financial services industry.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • proposes consolidating the current scheme of bank regulation.
    • barnaby
      barnaby on 29 Mar 08
       
      monopoly. who needs diversity in economic stability?
  • Fed would become the government's "market stability regulator," given sweeping powers to gather information on a wide range of institutions so that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues could better detect where threats to the system might be hiding.
    • barnaby
      barnaby on 29 Mar 08
       
      terrorists!!!
  • certain to generate intense scrutiny in Congress and within the financial services industry
    • barnaby
      barnaby on 29 Mar 08
       
      thank god
  • Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, a Democrat
  • "He is on the money when he calls for a more unified regulatory structure, although we would prefer a single regulator to the three he proposes."
  • Fed would serve as the market stability regulator and there would also be a financial regulator that would focus on financial institutions that operate with government guarantees such as deposit insurance for banks.
  • also proposes a business conduct regulator
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BBC NEWS | Scotland | Brown criticised over embryo bill - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...7308224.stm
shared by sirgabrial on 31 Mar 08 - Cached
  • Brown criticised over embryo bill
  • The leader of the Roman Catholic church in Scotland has urged the prime minister to rethink "monstrous" plans to allow hybrid human-animal embryos.
  • The prime minister has said the bill would improve research into many illnesses.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Supporters of the bill believe hybrid embryos could lead to cures for diseases including multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.
  • Leading scientists accused the Roman Catholic Church of "scaremongering" over research which had the potential to save many lives.
  • Cardinal O'Brien, who is the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, also wants Catholic ministers serving in the Cabinet to stand down rather than support the bill.
  • The cardinal describes the practice as "grotesque" and "hideous".
  • "There will be a limit of 14 days' development of the embryo, and they cannot be put in a woman or an animal," she added.
  • "This is not about 'creating monsters'. It is purely laboratory research, and is aimed at increasing knowledge about serious diseases and treatments for them."
  • Lib Dem MP Dr Evan Harris
  • "He is entitled to reject any treatment coming from this research on behalf of himself and his more devout followers but the millions of people hoping for medical research breakthroughs using stem cell technology would regard his attempt to veto this for them as well to be 'monstrous'."
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Moses was high on drugs: Israeli researcher - 0 views

www.breitbart.com/article.php
shared by sirgabrial on 10 Mar 08 - Cached
  • Moses was high on drugs: Israeli researcher
  • High on Mount Sinai, Moses was on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments, an Israeli researcher claimed in a study published this week.
  • Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • "As far Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which I don't believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics," Shanon told Israeli public radio on Tuesday.
  • Moses was probably also on drugs when he saw the "burning bush," suggested Shanon, who said he himself has dabbled with such substances.
  • "The Bible says people see sounds, and that is a clasic phenomenon," he said citing the example of religious ceremonies in the Amazon in which drugs are used that induce people to "see music."
  • He mentioned his own experience when he used ayahuasca, a powerful psychotropic plant, during a religious ceremony in Brazil's Amazon forest in 1991. "I experienced visions that had spiritual-religious connotations," Shanon said.
  • He said the psychedelic effects of ayahuasca were comparable to those produced by concoctions based on bark of the acacia tree, that is frequently mentioned in the Bible.
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Last call comes earlier for senior drinkers - Aging- msnbc.com - 0 views

www.msnbc.msn.com/23521949
shared by barnaby on 09 Mar 08 - Cached
  • If you’re older than 65 and enjoy sipping more than one glass of wine with dinner or a few drinks in a single sitting, brace yourself for a sobering thought.That’s too much alcohol for a person your age, according to new research that could put a crimp in senior center happy hours.
  • one in 10 older U.S. adults is an “unhealthy drinker,” according to a study published this week in journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
  • Unless they curb their ways, they’ll be at risk for medical problems, social trouble and falls, all of which make the normal hazards of aging even worse,
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • More than seven drinks in a week or more than three drinks in one day exceed the recommended limits set by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
  • most likely to be white and male, younger than 70, with higher education, higher income and better health,
  • less likely to be depressed than non-drinkers.
  • 6 percent were risky drinkers, while 82 percent said they didn't drink at all.  
  • truth is that many people shouldn’t drink at all as they get older, either because of encroaching medical problems, or the possibility of interaction with medication, Merrick said.
    • barnaby
      barnaby on 09 Mar 08
       
      instead of medical problems let depression take hold so they can live long miserable lives
  • Some people can drink in limited amounts with no ill effects, of course. And she acknowledged that other studies have shown that a drink a day might actually be beneficial, even in the elderly.
  • researchers in South Carolina reported that non-drinkers who started drinking in middle age were nearly 40 percent less likely to have a heart attack or other heart problem than those who never tipped a glass.
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Dear Taxpayer: This letter cost you $42 million - Tax Tactics- msnbc.com - 0 views

www.msnbc.msn.com/23525100
shared by barnaby on 09 Mar 08 - Cached
  • At a cost of nearly $42 million, the IRS wants you to know: Your check is almost in the mail.
  • Internal Revenue Service is spending the money on letters to alert taxpayers to expect rebate checks as part of the economic stimulus plan.
  • doesn't include the tab for another round of mailings planned for those who didn't file tax returns last year
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • "There are countless better uses for $42 million than a self-congratulatory mailer that gives the president a pat on the back for an idea that wasn't even his," Sen. Charles Schumer
  • actual rebate checks are scheduled to go out starting in May, after the IRS has finished separately mailing out routine refunds for the 2007 tax year.
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Google Caves To Pentagon Wishes - Google Blog - InformationWeek - 0 views

www.informationweek.com/...google_caves_to.html
shared by sirgabrial on 10 Mar 08 - Cached
  • Google Caves To Pentagon Wishes
  • The Pentagon said that Google (NSDQ: > GOOG > )'s Street Views is > a threat to national security > and made Google pull images taken on streets near U.S. military bases. >
  • Google complied with the governmental order, even though the images were taken from public streets
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • The government was concerned that the images, which included views of the entrances to military bases, were a threat. Gen. Gene Renuart, head of the military command responsible for homeland defense, said, "It actually shows where all the guards are.
  • It shows how the barriers go up and down. It shows how to get in and out of buildings. I think that poses a real security risk for our military installations."
  • Freedom of information and security butt heads once again.
  • But the images were taken from public streets, where anyone could walk and take the same pictures and/or video and post them to the Internet.
  • The question remains whether the government had the right to request that the images be removed.
    • sirgabrial
      sirgabrial on 10 Mar 08
       
      do you think they did?


  • Street Views has caused controversy from the start. Many privacy advocates claimed that even though images were taken in public places -- where no reasonable assumption of privacy really exists -- people were being exposed doing things they might not wish to have plastered on the Internet for all to see.
  • man was pictured exiting a San Francisco strip club.
  • woman was shown sunbathing
  • Complaints have even included a woman asking that a picture of her cat be taken down, a request Google denied."
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More Expensive Placebos Bring More Relief - New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...05placebo.html
shared by sirgabrial on 10 Mar 08 - Cached
  • More Expensive Placebos Bring More Relief
    • sirgabrial
      sirgabrial on 10 Mar 08
       
      do you think this will cause companies to charge more under the guise of "it will help people more"?
  • In marketing as in medicine, perception can be everything. A higher price can create the impression of higher value, just as a placebo pill can reduce pain.
  • Now researchers have combined the two effects. A $2.50 placebo, they have found, works better one that costs 10 cents.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • The finding may explain the popularity of some high-cost drugs over cheaper alternatives, the authors conclude.
  • It may also help account for patients’ reports that generic drugs are less effective than brand-name ones, though their active ingredients are identical.
  • The research is being published on Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
  • The investigators had 82 men and women rate the pain caused by electric shocks applied to their wrist, before and after taking a pill. Half the participants had read that the pill, described as a newly approved prescription pain reliever, was regularly priced at $2.50 per dose. The other half read that it had been discounted to 10 cents. In fact, both were dummy pills.
  • The pills had a strong placebo effect in both groups. But 85 percent of those using the expensive pills reported significant pain relief, compared with 61 percent on the cheaper pills.
  • corrected for each person’s individual level of pain tolerance.
  • Previous studies have shown that pill size and color also affect people’s perceptions of effectiveness. In one, people rated black and red capsules as “strongest” and white ones as “weakest.”
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Prescription drugs found in drinking water across U.S. - CNN.com - 0 views

edition.cnn.com/...index.html
shared by sirgabrial on 18 Mar 08 - Cached
  • A vast array of pharmaceuticals -- including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones -- have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.
  • To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.
  • But the presence of so many prescription drugs -- and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen -- in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas -- from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit, Michigan, to Louisville, Kentucky.
  • Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found.
  • How do the drugs get into the water?
  • People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue.
  • "Based on what we now know, I would say we find there's little or no risk from pharmaceuticals in the environment to human health,"
  • damaging wildlife
  • male fish are being feminized, creating egg yolk proteins, a process usually restricted to females.
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Vermont towns vote to arrest Bush and Cheney | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...idUSN0454699420080305
shared by sirgabrial on 18 Mar 08 - Cached
  • Voters in two Vermont towns on Tuesday approved a measure that would instruct police to arrest President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for "crimes against our Constitution," local media reported.
  • The nonbinding, symbolic measure, passed in Brattleboro and Marlboro in a state known for taking liberal positions on national issues, instructs town police to "extradite them to other authorities that may reasonably contend to prosecute them."
  • Vermont, home to maple syrup and picture-postcard views, is known for its liberal politics.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • State lawmakers have passed nonbinding resolutions to end the war in Iraq and impeach Bush and Cheney, and several towns have also passed resolutions of impeachment. None of them have caught on in Washington.
  • Bush has never visited the state as president, though he has spent vacations at his family compound in nearby Maine.
  • Roughly 12,000 people live in Brattleboro, located on the Connecticut River in the state's southeastern corner. Nearby Marlboro has a population of roughly 1,000.
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