Hiatus

OK,
We've decided to stop posting. It was fun while it lasted, but there doesn't seem to be enough readers to keep going.

Thanks for the 15 minutes of fame, and perhaps with a little encouragement, we will restart this tabloid. =)

Love,
HotfixUpdate Blogger

Computer chips becoming as common as potato chips

Everyday new ways of harnessing computer processors are being created around the world. Crafty inventors are finding new ways of harnessing the power of computers in items as mundane as umbrellas and clothes.

Here's one example from a New York Times article:

The umbrella might be free — if you’re willing to listen to it whisper advertising offers in your ear: “Psst. You know that raspberry-pimento-vanilla coffee you like? The store you’re about to pass just took a fresh batch out of the roaster 12 minutes and 34 seconds ago. Oops. 35 seconds.”

Has the world become so disconnected that people have to hope it rains to get a decent conversation?

Los Angeles residents can drive free and clear through the purple skies

Microsoft plans to introduce a Web-based service for driving directions that incorporates complex software models to help users avoid traffic jams. Using artificial intelligence,

[t]he system is intended to reflect the complex traffic interactions that occur as traffic backs up on freeways and spills over onto city streets.

Now Angelinos can drive 80mph through the purple hazy fog of pollution. Sounds a bit dangerous.

If the residue fit, you must convict

Scientists in Texas are reporting development of a highly dependable, rapid and inexpensive new method for identifying the presence of gunshot residue.

It extracts almost all components of gunpowder residue from particles about 15 times smaller than the width of a human hair, without the use of chemical
reagents.

OJ Simpson is probably loving those double jeopardy laws.

"Say Cheese" will be a thing of the past

New technology from Omron Corp. is able to analyze the curves of the lips, eye movement and other facial characteristics to decide how much a person is smiling.

Sony already has a similar Smile Shutter function for its digital cameras which automatically clicks the shutter when people in the image break into a smile.

The problem is, parents of pouty teenagers will not only face kids who won't take pictures, but will also face cameras that won't take pictures of pouty teenagers!

Free speech is not for all on eBay

In mid-May, only buyers on eBay will be able to give feedback ratings in order to prevent sellers from retaliating against buyers who speak out.

This change has upset many of eBay's 82.3 million active users. But it might also be a lesson for sites trying to encourage strangers to get along.

Seems like just another take on the ol' adage, "good fences make good neighbors."

Hummer greener than Prius

Disclaimer: the source of this entry is an editorial.

But if it is true, the Toyota Prius, the ultimate "green car," is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.

Photo credit: Marcin Rolicki

Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.

Boy, we can just see all the guppies, yuppies, hipsters, and hippies having a ball with this.

Beauty is in the eye of the computer

Scientists have successfully "taught" a computer how to interpret attractiveness in women.

"The computer produced impressive results -- its rankings were very similar to the rankings people gave." This is considered a remarkable achievement . . .

Psychological research has shown that there is less agreement as to what defines "male beauty" among human subjects.

This either means that women are less superficial or that male beauty is more exciting. It's also common knowledge that men never give out "10s." Can this computer program change that?

Goodbye to cheap Chinese goods.

The era of cheap Chinese consumer goods may finally be ending, thanks to irrepressible inflation. In addition to the rise in prices for raw materials and oil,

China is rolling out wage increases around the country and tightening its labor laws.

Don't get too outraged. This means a whooping $160/month for workers there. I don't know about you, but I'd pay an extra dollar or two for my crisp polo shirt so that a few families across the world are fed.

You blink and they're already millionaires

Steven Levy, a columnist for the Washington Post, reports the phenomenon of start-up kids becoming millionaires or even billionaires. A 24-year old kid made his money starting up Auctomatic, a web-based helper that automates the chores of running auctions for power-sellers on eBay.

The Auctomatic story is a parable of the Internet's start-up culture, where it's cheap to begin companies, possible to become a billionaire and fairly common to bail out as a millionaire -- all before you're barely old enough to shave.

Even in the growing popularity of reality TV, Paris Hilton, and prescription drug abuse, it looks like our youth might be pretty darn capable.

Single and want to mingle?

For those scared to flirt in person, there is now another medium (in addition to Facebook, MySpace, etc.) to use. The iFob merges the concept of meeting people at a coffeeshop with the modern trend of making friends through technology.

It sends out a "homing beacon" at wireless hotspots, alerting other users that you're nearby and receptive to socializing. Someone might broadcast a single line, "I love snowboarding" and see if anyone replies. Eventually, the messaging could lead to a conversation. The software allows people to just "listen" at a hotspot.

Soon, Britney Spears' future husbands won't even need to crowd around her; they just need to be within a comfortable radius of her iPhone.

Google to the Rescue!

Whether you've Googled a date to see if he/she is a psychopath or Googled how to stop a leaking toilet, or read a blog on Google to rid you of workplace boredoms (ahem, hopefully this site), you know that Google always comes to the rescue.

Now, Google has created a mapping program that will aid humanitarian operations as well as help inform the public about the millions who have fled their homes because of violence or hardship.

Users can download Google Earth software to see satellite images of refugee hot spots such as Darfur, Iraq and Colombia.

Pretty awesome! With this suckup post to Google, will it start putting our blog higher on the searches? Please? Pretty please?

GWB may have been right about the recession (or lack thereof)

. . . for scientists and engineers, that is. Three newly published reports show increasing supplies of scientists and engineers, as well as a strong labor market.

Overall unemployment for scientists and engineers in the United States dropped to 2.5 percent in 2006.

Maybe scientists and engineers are simply more capable of recognizing a downturn so they weren't as picky when accepting jobs. I guess the question is, has the salary of scientists and engineers decreased?

Shrinking workforce? Ugly receptionist? No problem!

Whether you can't find enough caregivers or would like stunning receptionists, Japan has the answer: robots.

Robots could fill the jobs of 3.5 million people in graying Japan by 2025, a thinktank says, helping to avert worker shortages as the country's population shrinks.

A woman walks by a Japanese-made robot receptionist at Ben-Gurion University in Israel, February 5, 2007.

We may never stop men from hiring hot receptionists, but maybe they'll stop sleeping with them!

Futuristic technology

Here is an article that shows what laptops might look like in the future.

If we have to get old, we might as well have some nice gadgets to look forward to.

What happens when a computer programmer never grows up

Attendees at the annual Game Developers Conference found out what happens when a computer nerd plays like a third grader. The result is an amazing game called Crayon Physics Deluxe.

Why all the love for a game that looks a bit like something your third-grader might ask you to stick up on the fridge?

Just watch the embedded video in the article.

We are wowed by Wii

Occupational therapists are using Wii in a Parkinson's study.

Because the Wii is interactive and you have to do certain functional movements to be successful, it's an effective modality for working with Parkinson's patients.

Now Nintendo should feel even worse if the Wii shortages were in fact intentional.

From blood diamonds to mobile phones

In the aftermath of Kenya's violent political spasm, the mobile phone service provider Safaricom had its initial public offering.

The company's pre-tax profit of $370 million was surprising and upended the

. . . conventional wisdom that sub-Saharan Africans, especially in places like Kenya where income averages out to a dollar a day, had no interest in a mobile phone.

The founders of Safaricom must have heard the ol shoe salesman story. (Two shoe salesmen found themselves in a rustic part of Africa. The first salesman wired back to his head office: “There is no prospect of sales. No one here wears shoes!” The other salesman wired: “No one wears shoes here. We can dominate the market.")

The Satellite Shoot-Down

The United States has decided to mount a $74 million effort to fragment satellite USA 193 before it lands.

So little is known for certain about USA 193. But we do know it was a test vehicle for the next generation of American spy satellites.

Is Tupac still alive? Did LBJ kill Kennedy? What's in this satellite shot down by the US? Some things we will never know.

Dumb criminals on Craigslist

A man returned home to find his house being emptied out and his horse being carted off because scammers posted a phony Craigslist ad claiming everything on the property was free for the taking.

This wasn't just a prank. After stealing some horse saddles, the criminals later posted the "everything must go" ad on Craigslist as a means of covering up what they'd already done.

Unfortunately for them, they posted the ad from their own computer, and working with Craigslist, the authorities were able to track down the perpetrators based on the IP address used for the posting.

Nose hair featured at world's largest invention convention

More than 700 of the world's most creative minds have set up stands at the International Exhibition of Inventions to show off brainchildren ranging from heavy-duty engineering feats to wacky little gadgets like the running alarm clock that will make sure you get out of bed in the morning.

Among the simplest is artificial nose hair. . . . A wacky invention is also an e-mail analyzer to determine whether the person you meet in the chat room is not a man pretending to be a woman or the other way around.

Men who have always worried about balding may now rest easy. . . balding nose hair, that is.

Corporate employees so bored that they seek second life

IBM and the creator of Second Life have started a joint project to run Second Life technology behind corporate firewalls.

Second Life has plenty of corporate users already, more than 100. . . running the gamut from Ben & Jerry’s to Toyota.

Sure the only tan we actually get is from the florescent lights above our office cubicles, but now we can play with our Second Life avator at work (who happens to looks eerily similar to Tom Brady

Job cuts at tech companies

Google announced that it is cutting 300 jobs from the American operations of DoubleClick, the advertising technology company that it acquired recently.

Dell is also "committed" to cutting more jobs than the 8,800 previously announced.

To accomplish the cost cuts, Dell said the company is taking the approach that the company has no fixed costs.

If any laid-off folks want to come work for hotfixupdates.blogspot.com, you can work from home surrounded by warm cookies and milk. Or you could stay unemployed and simply be entertained by our blog. Either way, you're loved.

Public officer exposed to public scrutiny

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), revealed yesterday that he is among approximately 3,000 heart patient whose medical information was potentially exposed to public scrutiny when an unencrypted government laptop was stolen from the car of a National Institute of Health researcher.

Several questions remain:
- Whether the NIH has an adequate system for contacting affected patients
- Why the computer was not encrypted
- Why the NIH's tally of affected patients was initially short by more than 500.

Michael Cronin . . . said the agency had sent him mail in 2006 and that he had not moved since then. "And today they say they had an incorrect address?" he asked.

Surely, whoever stole the laptop has better things to do than look up who has been using Viagra.

Just another thing to blame your parents about

A new study shows that more than 50% of the time, lean body mass can be predicted based on genes.

It may help pave the way for a "skinny gene test," which one day may help women trying to lose weight understand what kind of battle they can expect

Hollywood celebrities have found another way to fit into good jeans despite bad genes: plastic surgery.

Tivo your software crashes

Tivo inspired a group of programmers to create a tool that is useful for helping programmers fix pesky bugs in their applications. The tool records the code that an application executes and provides the ability to replay it back.

Mr. Lindo says he and Mr. Daudel found themselves overwhelmed by bugs they couldn’t find while working together at an Internet start-up in 2002. “We were spending almost all of our time not fixing the issues, but trying to get to the point where we could just see the issue, and we said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could just TiVo this and replay it?”’ Mr. Lindo recalls.

Seems like a pretty useful product. Once they get the fast-forward feature ready maybe we can use it to skip all those pop-up ads and annoying internet commercials.

Gaming Degree?

Gaming is now big business and universities across the nation have started to notice. Game design programs are springing up across the nation at places like Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Tech, and University of Southern California.

Officials at Southern Methodist University have also noticed the trend:

We believe that in 5 to 10 years, every university will have some form of interactive media or gaming education program in their curriculum,” said Ron Jenkins, the deputy director of external affairs and development at Southern Methodist University, where students can earn a master’s degree in interactive technology and video game development. “This is the 21st century’s new media of expression. It’s like making movies or writing books, but done now with pixels.

Seems a bit more interesting than accounting!

Teenager convicted of global cyber crime case

A New Zealand teenager accused of leading an international cyber crime network was convicted of illegal computer hacking after pleading guilty to six charges. The article is reported here.

Owen Thor Walker, 18, known by his online name "AKILL," was involved in a network accused of infiltrating 1.3 million computers and skimming millions of dollars from victims' bank accounts.

We're willing to bet that security software companies will be waiting outside the jail with an employment offer in hand as soon as this kid gets out.

Just don't buy it from a breeder

A new breed of cognitive robot functions like a puppy by combining the classical rule-based artificial intelligence and the artificial neural networks. Read it here.

During the testing, scientists adopted a trial-and-error learning approach

by making the COSPAL robot complete a shape-sorting puzzle, but without telling it what it had to do. As it tried to fit pegs into holes it gradually learnt what would fit where, allowing it to complete the puzzle more quickly and accurately each time.

Next time your child begs you for a puppy, just get him a COSPAL robot!

Border patrol

The nation's giant technology firms are competing this week in the annual government lottery for visas allowing them to hire highly skilled foreign workers, and few are expecting to get what they want. The story is reported here.

Microsoft is petitioning to hire 1,600 foreign engineers. But company
officials said they would be lucky to gain 40 percent of those requests in this
year's contest, which begins today and ends April 7.

If Microsoft set up an all-inclusive office in Mexico, it would not only solve this problem, but Americans would also be lining up to transfer offices.

Where do you fit in?

Now that it's closing in on summertime, you might decide to take advantage of the fact that people are generally happier in the summer and ask your boss for a raise. To help you, we decided to compile this list with rough estimates of average salaries. Where do you fit in?

Museum curators -- $26,000
Police patrol officers -- $40,920
Teacher -- $48,000
Accountant -- $49,000
Trash collector -- $60,000
Mechanical engineer -- $65,000
Pharmacists -- $80,000
Computer scientist -- $70,000
Wedding photographer -- $75,000
Chemical engineer -- $78,000
Physician assistant -- $78,000
Electrical engieer -- $81,000
Veterinarians -- $88,000
News anchor in major city -- $130,000
Lawyer -- $135,000
Airline pilots -- $140,000
Orthodontists -- $369,000
Mutual fund manager -- $400,000
CEO of Fortune 500 co. -- $10 million

No boys allowed

Yahoo launched its "Shine" website for women. It will combine content from bloggers of women's magazines, Yahoo Food, and readers themselves. Read the story here.

We wanted to create a smart, dynamic place for women to gather, get info and connect with each other and the world around them. The important thing wasn't how to talk to a 32.5-year-old with 2.2 kids but how to inspire you [to] laugh, think, get mad, empathize, and be surprised and entertained.

Watch out, men! This will be a fine forum for bored housewives to discuss who has the better looking gardener or mailman.

Your shirt may tattle on you to your doctor

European project BIOTEX has developed clothes that constantly monitor your vital signs. If danger signs are detected, the garment is programmed to contact your doctor - and send a text message telling you to take it easy.

In the first BIOTEX trials, the smart patches will be worn in clothes by people with obesity and diabetes, as well as athletes.

The major question is whether these clothes will be fashionable enough for Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus.

Help for students with ADD: Wireless microphones

Elementary school children are now wearing infrared microphones around their necks. These microphones are designed to raise the volume and clarity of teachers' and students' voices above the distracting buzz of competing noises -- the hum of fluorescent lights, the rattle of air conditioning, the whispers of children and the reverberations of those sounds bouncing off concrete walls and uncarpeted floors. The story is reported by the Washington Post.

"They love it," said Martha Walsh, a second-grade teacher at Maury. "It is kind of like they are movie or rock stars." One of her students, 8-year-old Thora Gibbs, reacted to that idea as insufficiently serious. "It's not like being a rock star," she said. "But it does help project my voice."

Boy these kids have it easy. Back in my days, I had to walk three miles barefoot in snow going uphill both ways!

Local farmer finds mystery space junk

This story reports: A cattle farmer in Australia's remote northern outback said he found a giant ball of twisted metal, which be believes is space junk from a rocket used to launch communications satellites. The farmer says:

I know a lot about sheep and cattle but I don't know much about satellites.
But I would say it is a fuel cell off some stage of a rocket.

All the princes are disappearing

New research from zoologists show that a deadly fungus is killing off frogs. If you want to read the story, be careful because the frog pictured in it is quite scary.

43 percent of known amphibian species in the world are at risk because of a fungus.

"You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your handsome prince" but what if there are no more frogs left?

Was the US planning to sue the Germans if they built the atomic bomb first?

First off, the headline is from a quote in the article. We're not that clever. But NPR reports that the United States patented the atomic bomb in an attempt to get a patent monopoly on an entire brand new industry. Alex Wellerstein, who researched the code name "Manhattan Project," said:

What I really like about the atomic patents is that there is a wonderful banality to it. . . . The bomb, a massive killing machine, is transformed into 'the most boring of engineering feats' . . .

Ok, we're insulted. Everybody knows there is no such thing as a "boring engineering feat," no matter what this article says (it says that science lessons for teenagers are so boring they put kids off the subject for life). Well, duh, that's why you get them to read our blog!

Has McAfee bought an advertising spot for the Hacker Super Bowl?

The CanSecWest security conference opened today as show attendees compete at hacking into three laptops put on display. The ultimate prize money is $20,000, but it drops in half each day. The article is reported here.

With three laptops to chose from, this year, the 2008 contest is a bit of a horse race.

We'd like to place an exacta bet on Charlie Miller, famed hacker of the iPhone, and Dai Zovi, last year's winner.

But how will the bag lady survive?

San Francisco banned single-use plastic bags in grocery stores this week. Instead, the stores will use large, thick, reusable plastic bags. According to the story, the following U.S. cities are considering fees or bans of plastic bags: Austin, Texas; Bakersfield, Calif.; Boston; New Haven, Conn.; Portland, Ore.; Phoenix; and Annapolis, Md.

The catch? The new bags

. . . contain more plastic than the flimsy, single-use bags [and] . . . [o]f couse, those thicker, heavier plastic bags are still plastic.

Hmmm, did the plastic industry lobby for this?

Spiderman's secrets revealed

MIT researchers have unraveled the secret in the strength of a spider's silk. It's complicated and detailed in here. Basically, it has to do with the specific geometric configuration of structural proteins.

If this real life superboy was somehow able to get his hands on the secret, we might have a real superhero!

Daddy, are we there yet?

Parents beware: in only two years, your kids may be asking to go on an amusement park ride . . . in Space!

A small California aerospace company today unveiled a new suborbital spaceship that will provide affordable front-seat rides to the edge of space for the millions of people who want to buy a ticket.

Read the press release here.

That definitely takes family vacations to new heights.

You may have a "sixth sense" . . . for calories

In experiments with mice, researchers found that the brain can sense the calories in food, independent of the taste mechanism. More here.

After researchers genetically altered mice to make them "sweet-blind," lacking taste receptors,

the sweet-blind mice showed a preference for calorie-containing sugar water that did not depend on their ability to taste, but on the calorie content.

(whisper) I see dead people. And calories.

Diamonds are a scientists' best friend

Researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia have made the world's smallest diamond ring - 5 micrometers across and 300 nanometers thick - in order to build powerful computers that use properties of quantum physics. More on the story here.

The scientist explained:

The diamond offers a fantastic platform in order to make qubits because diamonds offer us a gift from nature . . .

5 micrometers? Don't expect a lot of excitement about this from women. Maybe the cut and clarity will make up for it.

Helen Keller would have been jealous.

K-NFB Reading Technology introduced a cellphone software for the blind and disabled. Learn about it here:

The software reads text out loud to the blind. Those with disabilities can use the software to enlarge, track, and highlight content in documents directly on their mobile phone. Documents stored in a phone can also be transferred to and from Braille desktop programs.

Those players out there might want to turn down the volume on their racy text messages! Take note, Mayor Kilpatrick.

PDAs are so 2003.

Palm plans to close its retail stores, because it has struggled over the past couple of years as the smartphone (i.e. Blackberry) market grows. According to PC World, Palm is trying to phase out its PDA (personal digital assistant) business.

Palm may be through with PDAs but Paris Hilton clearly seems fine with PDA (public displays of affection). This article reports:

When Paris saw Benji, she only had eyes for him. She walked over and gave him a huge kiss. It was over the top and lots of tongue was involved!

Don't worry, this blog will not degenerate into talking about Paris Hilton too much. Here is one last story about her only because it has to do with an impressive hacker who breached Facebook to find unflattering photos of partying Paris.

No Grand Theft yet

As reported here, "Grand Theft Auto" publisher Take-Two Interactive told its shareholders today to reject a $2 billion hostile takeover bid from rival video company Electronic Arts. The company said it will explore alternatives

[b]ut it wants to wait until after April 29, when "Grand Theft Auto IV," the latest in the blockbuster series, hits store shelves.

Maybe merger of the companies can bring a merger of the games. We're imagining something involving Peyton Manning trying to steal Tony Romo's car . . .

Techies will take over someday

From this Forbes article on the world's billionaires, we compiled a spreadsheet on the differences between how young billionaires are making their money and how the "establishment" made their money. The first list is ranked in the order of richest to poorest. The second list is ranked in the order of youngest to oldest. Techies are highlighted in red.

Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame: You give so much hope to young single male techies of America. By the way, have you ever thought of becoming the ultimate power couple with Hind Hariri? But Mark would need to be careful not to get beat up by her fellow billionaire brothers, Fahd and Aymin.

Houston, do we have a problem or not?

After receiving a budget cut of $4 million, NASA initially planned to shut down one of the two Mars Rovers, namely Spirit. Shortly after CNN.com published the story, NASA's spokesman Bob Jacobs said:

. . . shutting down of one of the rovers is not an option.

NASA should generate money by selling rover control time to Xbox users for $20/hr.

Please monopolize the industry

Microsoft is opening up its Windows Live platform to allow users to share their contact lists with five social-networking sites (Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, LinkedIn and Tagged). This article reports the story.

What if the Department of Justice relaxed the anti-trust laws solely for mergers of these five sites? Throw in MySpace too, please. We just don't have that many cute usernames and flattering pictures to open so many accounts.

See, here's another social networking site that just opened today.

You need to put an "i" in front of it

The developers of Mozilla Firefox will soon be pushing out a beta of their latest build. Neil McAllister of PC World questions whether Apple's Safari is better or worse than Firefox. He says that Apple is annoying and coercive with Safari and

[t]he shame of it is that Safari is actually a fine browser.

We really like Safari, and think it would do a lot better if only Apple changed the name to iSafari.

Can we upgrade back to Microsoft XP?

Microsoft is giving away free support for users installing Service Pack 1 with Vista, because the transition has been problematic for many users. Suzanne Tindal reports:

The transition to the service pack has not been problem-free for many users, some of whom have seen their computers fall into endless reboot cycles and struggled with broken applications after installing the upgrade.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought service packs were supposed to fix problems. Can we please just all go back to XP?

White noise aids sleep; white space aids internet browsing.

Google has pitched its plan to start using TV "white space" (unlicensed and unused airwaves located between channels 2-51 on TV sets that aren't hooked up to satellite or cable services) to provide ubiquitous wireless Internet access.

Richard Whitt, Google's Washington telecom and media lawyer reports in this article:

As Google has pointed out previously, the vast majority of viable spectrum in this country simply goes unused, or else is grossly underutilized. . . . Unlike other natural resources, there is no benefit to allowing this spectrum to lie fallow.

Do you think the Native Americans ever considered white space a "natural resource?"

P.S. In case you're wondering what white noise is, check its trusty Wikipedia site.

Can Guitar Hero rock on?

Gibson Guitar has sued the makers and distributors of the "wildly popular" Guitar Hero for patent infringement. More details here.

Gibson said the games, in which players use a guitar-shaped controller in time with notes on a television screen, violate a 1999 patent for technology to simulate a musical performance.

Will musicians/gamers have to resort back to DDR? Will "musicians" have to start using a guitar with actual strings? Will guitarists be forced to read sheet music? So many questions remain...

Even those greedy for greenbacks are going green

The Bank of America Tower, a 55-story glass-and-steel tower, opening in midtown Manhattan later this month will be the most sustainable skyscraper in the country. And we mean "sustainable" in terms of the environment.

Architect Rick Cook gave NEWSWEEK an interview. Unfortunately, the rest of NYC doesn't sound so clean. When asked whether the windows in the building can be opened, he says:

. . . the cleanest way to bring in fresh air is to deliver filtered
air.

Skip the airport security lines in the blink of an eye

Fast lanes are not just for those buying 20 or less items of groceries anymore. Reagan National and Dulles airports opened fast-pass security lanes this Wednesday for travelers who carry a "Clear card." Check the story out right here.

Here's how it works: Fliers undergo a Transportation Security Administration background check and have personal data, plus iris and fingerprint scans, put on a card. Although the fliers still have to remove their shoes and get carry-ons X-rayed, at certain airports the cards let them skip the lines that everyone else endures.

Will they start selling these on eBay or Craigslist soon?

Sure, they can't play ball but someday they'll be your boss.

During March Madness, we wonder: how much do brains matter in the game of basketball? This article on the nation's losingest team (losing 273 straight league games), answers our question.

Yang Hai, a 6-ft., 140-lb. player on Caltech's basektball team says:

I'm not that good. The team's not that good. What am I doing
here?

We decided that maybe smart kids should stick to picking out a good bracket.

By the way, shame on you for spending valuable working hours watching b-ball games. You've helped America lose $1.7B in productivity. Read about it here.

Lights out for engineer?

An engineer's goof-up caused a massive power outage in Florida earlier this month. CNN reports:

The employee has been suspended with pay as the investigation continues.

If Homer Simpson can still keep his job, anyone can.

Beauty and the Geek

Where does a billionaire get hitched? Google's Larry Page chose Necker Island to marry his fellow Stanford doctoral grad, Lucy Southworth. If you're wondering whether she was a bridezilla, the following article may answer your question:

The wedding this Saturday of Google co-founder Larry Page on a tiny Caribbean island is a logistical nightmare for planners who are flying in 600 guests on private planes and trying to find deluxe hotel rooms for all the bigwigs.

Nonetheless, I'll put my money on their marriage lasting longer than Britney's next two marriages.

Best Buy sued for $54,000,000 over lost laptop

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, if one was worth a thousand dollars, that would mean that Raeyln Campbell had 54,000 pictures on the laptop she gave to Best Buy for service. A few quotes from Engadget:

We've definitely heard some horror stories about, but it looks like a DC woman named Raelyn Campbell has had enough: she's opening up a big can of America Sauce on the retailer in the form of a $54m lawsuit after it lost her laptop during warranty service.

Campbell says she's not dropping the case until she finds out what happened to her machine -- and she wants ol' Blue to train its employees on privacy issues and revamp its warranty policy. Honestly? We'd say she has a better chance of getting the $54 million.

Raeyln Campbell is also blogging the story.