Some Things...

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive, anyway.....

Some Things Water...

Ocean Research Going Swimmingly
"Imagine a painkiller up to 1,000 times more powerful than morphine, but without an opiate's addictive properties or side effects. Such a drug is reportedly near the end of its decades-long journey from the oceans -- where it started life as a protein in cone snail venom -- to your pharmacy."

Scientists find new whale species
"There is a new whale in the ocean, Japanese scientists are reporting in the journal Nature. - balaenoptera"

Newton's Penguins
"Newton's Third Law of Motion. Demonstrated by baby penguins."

Ardkore Junglist Fish Rotator
"Mash it up one time now."

New Robotic Gliders Can Soar Under Water
"Researchers are perfecting innovative gliders that can swoop and soar on journeys covering hundreds of miles and lasting for weeks — all deep beneath the ocean waves."

Mediterranean Sea highly polluted by toxic chemicals
"Every year about 55 tons of lindane — a substance forbidden within the EU in the early 1990s — are poured in the sea. Lindane is one of the so-called POPs (persistent organic pollutants), a group of 12 extremely toxic pesticides and industrial chemicals including PCBs, dioxins, and DDT. Reported affects of these chemicals include carcinogenic, immunodepressant, and endocrine disruption activities in both animal and humans."

Dream Surfer
"Sony's innovative bipedal entertainment robot, SDR 4X II has been given a new, friendlier name." Meet Paro, the therapeutic robot seal "Paro is a harp seal stuffed animal robot, developed by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. Engineer Takanori Shibata said Paro prototypes are being tested in Japan and Sweden at nursing homes, and with autistic and handicapped children."

Prawn But Not Forgotten
"On the Mexican coast, little shrimp are causing big trouble."

Driftnets said decimating Mediterranean dolphins
"GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) -- Driftnets are killing tens of thousands of dolphins in the Mediterranean despite bans on the fishing method by the European Union and United Nations, a major environmental group said."

Sea squirts found in Georges Bank
"WOODS HOLE, Mass. - Quite by accident, researchers have found what's believed to be an invasive species of sea squirts on the northern edge of Georges Bank, colonizing a 6½-mile area about 150 feet underwater and about 160 miles off outer Cape Cod."

Robo-lobsters may one day roam the seas for scents
"Lobster-like robots, equipped with highly refined sensors, might one day help people detect sources of pollution and unexploded mines in the ocean."

Bettendorf woman remembers day scuba partner died
"Marilyn Hoover was the only scuba diving partner Katie Vrooman ever had."

Beluga whales are chock full of protein and vitamins
"Here's a miracle meal. An excellent source of protein chock full of vitamins. Extra high in iron and other important minerals and laced with those omega-3 fatty acids that drive down cholesterol and boost overall health."

Jellyfish repellent 'playing with fire'
"MARINE biologist Dr Eric Mitran says he is just six months away from producing a repellent to ward off the sting of the irukandji jellyfish."

Glowing red GM fish to sell in US
"A tropical fish that fluoresces bright red is set to become the first genetically modified pet to go on sale in the US. Alan Blake and colleagues at Yorktown Technologies LP say the GloFish will be available from January 2004."

Fish Off Arctic City Get Drug Cocktail from Sewers
"OSLO (Reuters) - Fish in seas near a Norwegian Arctic city are getting an unexpectedly strong cocktail of caffeine and painkillers from local sewers, a scientist said on Monday."

Tsunami Research Lab Seeks to Save Lives
"CORVALLIS, Ore. - A low rumble broke the silence. Swelling and cresting, large waves slammed into the concrete basin containing them. The powerful waves were quelled when Dr. Daniel Cox signaled the control room to shut off the tsunami simulator."

La. Wonders What to Do With Oyster Shells
"NEW ORLEANS - Oysters get shucked and swallowed by the ton in the French Quarter's busy restaurants, and at day's end trash bags dumped on the narrow streets bulge with oyster shells."

Researchers Try to Save Mekong Catfish
"PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Zeb Hogan plunges into the muddy brown waters of the Tonle Sap River and grabs hold of a 321-pound silvery giant catfish that has just slid out of a blue tarp held by several Cambodian fisherman."

Red sea urchin 'almost immortal'
"The red sea urchin found in the shallow waters of the Pacific Ocean is one of the Earth's longest-living animals."

Whales found dead on Tasmanian beach
"About 100 pilot whales have died on a remote beach on Tasmania's remote south-west coast."

Some Things Computer

TOP500 SUPERCOMPUTER SITES
"A list of the sites operating the 500 most powerful computer systems is assembled and released."

Sharp Notebook Debuts 3-D Screen
"It's the first U.S. product to use the company's proprietary 3-D LCD technology, which displays realistic-looking three-dimensional images without the need for special glasses. Best of all, the technology has no effect on the quality of 2-D text and graphic images."

Apple Offers IPod Battery Tips
"Some IPod owners have complained that new-generation IPods display inaccurate battery charging data, so Apple Computer has posted a brief technical note to help."

Wardriver Moblog"A pictorial version of warchalking where, instead of physically marking a location, a photo is taken and posted online."

Free Downloads

Stardust™ Screen Saver Control™ 2003 (PC)
"Stardust Screen Saver Control™ 2003 is a free taskbar accessory that lets you launch and configure all your screen savers."

Mobydock (PC)
"Have you ever felt the need to have a Mac-like-dock on your Windows machine?"

ObjectDock 1.0 (PC)
"ObjectDock is a program that allows you to have a nice animated launchbar/taskbar on your screen that reacts to your mouse when you mouse over it. In short, it's a task bar and program launcher that does it with style."

Starry Night Enthusiast (MAC)
"Starry Night Enthusiast is perfect for learning your way around the night sky. With it you can view the sky as it will appear from your very backyard or from any planet. See the sky tonight, the sky last week, next year, or when you were born. Have Starry Night Enthusiast automatically identify constellations as you look at them. Use Starry Night's exclusive LiveSky.com connection to bring up more information from the web on thousands of objects. Starry Night Enthusiast includes over a million stars, all the planets, positions of the Messier objects and stick figures of all the constellations. Travel in time from 4713 BC to 9999 AD and even see what the night sky looked like on your birthday. Watch phases of the moon, trace orbits of planets and comets, blast off and visit a planet or star up to 20,000 light years away, make QuickTime movies and more!"

Odd Stops

Cell phone jammer
"This cell phone jammer looks just like a cell phone and is ideal for use when commuting on the bus and train or when eating in restaurants etc, anywhere where you need effective control at close quarters!"

Typewriter Art
"A Sampling of Paul Smith's Typewriter Art"

Rare Solar Eclipse In Antarctica
"(AP) Scientists in Antarctica bundled up Monday against sub-freezing temperatures to watch the first total solar eclipse recorded on the icy continent in a century."

World's oldest kitchen found
"Stone tools 2.6-2.5 million years old and broken animal bones have been found in Ethiopia, making the site the oldest known 'kitchen'."

Pirate goods popular with Australian buyers
"Study finds Australians happy to buy counterfeit goods."

Souls for Sale - 10 Cents Each!
"The Russian Orthodox Church has expressed its outrage at what it claims is a Mormon scheme to buy up the names of dead Russians in order to baptise 'dead souls' in their faith."

Vietnamese boy sold as dog meat
"Vietnamese drug addicts kidnapped a mute teenager, bundled him in a sack and sold him to a dog-meat eatery as a stray canine, state media said on Saturday."

Ky. Law Mandates Bathing Once a Year
"ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) -- A state law mandating that people take a bath once a year is just one of many unusual - some bizarre - statutes that are or have been on the books in Kentucky."

In The Philipppines

Philippine peso drops to record low
"MANILA The Philippine peso has fallen to a record low following the resignation of Finance Secretary Jose Camacho, which raised doubts about the direction of the economy."

Filipinos in denial stage
"FILIPINOS go about life with the notion that things are not as bad as their really are. Psychologists refer to this as a state of being "in denial" -- that human tendency to turn a blind eye to adverse situations as a coping behaviour to escape unpleasant realities."

Three hostages killed in southern Philippines
"Three Muslim men, who were abducted while preying in a mosque in a remote town of the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Sur, have been killed, the local military authority said Monday."

Arroyo faces calls for death penalty
"MANILA - President Gloria Arroyo is facing mounting calls to lift the three-year moratorium on capital punishment amid a spate of kidnappings and heinous crimes."

16th bank robbery hits Metro Manila
"ROBBERS struck again in Metro Manila on Monday and carted away 300,000 pesos in the 16th bank heist in the metropolis this year."

Calls for the Philippines to be included in US visa waiver program
"A politician from Guam wants the United States to include the Philippines in its visa waiver program."

Macapagal to police chiefs:'3 strikes and you're out'
"PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday warned police station commanders and district directors in Metro Manila to be on their toes against heinous crimes, or they would be sacked from their posts."

Captain missing after ship sinks off Philippines
"MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A Philippine ship captain was missing after his cargo vessel loaded with coconut oil caught fire and sank Tuesday off the southeastern town of Barcelona, coast guard officials said."

World War II bomb explodes in Manila
"MANILA, Nov. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- A World War II bomb exploded Tuesday morning at a construction site inside the Philippine General Hospital compound in Manila where excavation work was in progress."

On Health

Waking Up During Surgery
"(CBS) Carol Weihrer's nightmare began in 1998. Not while she was sleeping, but when she woke up.
"I heard, 'cut deeper, pull harder,'" she says."

Easier 'Morning-After Pill' Access
"(AP) Federal health officials are debating if it's time to put emergency contraception — also called the morning-after pill — on pharmacy shelves right next to the aspirin, available without a prescription."

First applicant for SARS vaccine test in Guangzhou
"Guangzhou, Nov. 25, (Xinhuanet) -- A Retired woman has offered to test a SARS vaccine developed in Guangdong."

Fish insulin could treat diabetes
"Indian researchers have found a way to derive insulin from fish that could be used to treat diabetes."

Even 'Good' Cholesterol Can Turn Bad
"MONDAY, Nov. 24 (HealthDayNews) -- HDL cholesterol -- the "good" kind that usually protects arteries -- can turn bad, menacing some heart patients, say researchers who are puzzling out what makes this happen and how its ill effects can be treated."

Study: Morning exercise can make sleep easier
"WASHINGTON (AP) -- Older women who often have trouble sleeping may want to consider a little workout in the morning for a better rest at night, according to new research."

Cinnamon spice produces healthier blood
"Just half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics, a new study has found. The effect, which can be produced even by soaking a cinnamon stick your tea, could also benefit millions of non-diabetics who have blood sugar problem but are unaware of it."

MRI scans 'spot future dementia'
"Brain scans of healthy people may show clear signs that they are likely to fall prey to Alzheimer's disease."

Latex Allergy? Beware Poinsettias
"Nov. 24, 2003 -- If you have a latex allergy, be careful around poinsettia plants. These popular Christmas plants contain a compound similar to that found in rubber latex -- and can cause a severe allergic reaction."

Does bottled drinking water go bad?
"Waterlogged"

In Canada

Bugs crawling back into Canadian beds
"The small, flat insects, which feed on human blood, have been re-appearing in hotels, hostels, shelters, public housing and private homes across the country."

Canada's first space probe may miss its target -- Mars
"OTTAWA -- Canada's first space mission to another planet -- a science instrument riding on a Japanese probe heading to Mars -- is likely doomed as the Nozomi spacecraft is escaping control and may miss Mars completely."