Sociologists have long known that communes and other cooperative groups usually collapse into bickering and disband if they do not have clear methods of punishing members who become selfish or exploitative.

Study Links Punishment to an Ability to Profit

The Food and Drug Administration approved the first skin patch treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, giving the go-ahead Thursday for Daytrana from Noven Pharmaceuticals (NOVN:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) and Shire (SHPGY:Nasdaq ADR - commentary - research - Cramer's Take).

Is it just me or does expecting kids with ADHD to not peel it off within 5 minutes seem a little optimistic?

ADHD Skin Patch Gets Approved

Federal health officials on Thursday dismissed a recent study suggesting a link between long-term use of cellular and cordless telephones and brain tumors but said they will continue to monitor the safety of the wireless devices.

People have been trying to establish a link between various types of EMR and cancer for decades but so far, the connection has been tenuous at best. It probably doesn't help that some of the most outspoken proponents of the theory are "fluoridation of drinking water is a communist conspiracy"-level crazies.

FDA Knocks Cell Phone-Brain Tumor Study

Caltrain commuter trains struck and killed two people today, causing service delays for much of the morning and into the afternoon.

Wow...

Second person killed by commuter train on the Peninsula today

The price of gold touched $600 an ounce today, rising to a level not seen in 25 years as investors poured money into precious metals.

Gold Prices Reach 25-Year High

The days when children consume two orders of French fries in the school cafeteria and call it lunch may be numbered. A bipartisan group in Congress plans to introduce legislation today that would prohibit the sale in school not only of French fries but also of other fatty or sugary foods, including soft drinks.

Bill Strikes at Low-Nutrition Foods in School

Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill Tuesday that would make Massachusetts the first state to require that all its citizens have some form of health insurance.

Bill Requiring Health Insurance Passes in Massachusetts

The U.S. Air Force would be able to launch satellites or deliver special purpose payloads in as little as 48 hours using a new, rapid-turnaround launch system proposed by Northrop Grumman Corporation. The new concept, called a Hybrid Launch Vehicle (HLV), would also reduce launch costs by approximately two-thirds compared to the cost of using a medium evolved expendable launch vehicle.

Northrop Grumman Proposes Space Missions to Go ... in 48 Hours or Less | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

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Linked from Pogue at NYT.

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Theo de Raadt is the project leader for OpenBSD, a Unix-like operating system. We spoke with Theo about the upcoming release of OpenBSD, 3.9, the financial state of the project, and about companies that profit from free software without contributing back.

de Raadt can be ... difficult. But I can agree with him on the situation with device drivers.

Interview: Theo de Raadt of OpenBSD