] Researchers believe manatee voices could help them
] develop a visual warning system that would reduce the
] number of sea cows killed and injured by boats.
]
] Deke Beusse, a University of Florida veterinarian who
] heads the Marine Mammal Medicine Program, has performed
] experiments using hydrophones underwater listening
] devices at Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park
] in Citrus County.
]
] The research was prompted by the soaring number of
] boat-related deaths, which reached a record 95 last year.
]
] "We thought if we could pick up the sounds of manatees,
] we could warn boaters of their presence," Beusse said.
] "When we played it back, they started vocalizing more
] %u2014 three times as much as normal and
] approached the speakers."
]
] Beusse hopes that in the wild, speakers can be placed in
] channels, where they would prompt and intensify manatee
] vocalizations.
]
] "The sounds would send a signal to a beacon that would
] begin flashing, letting boaters know they're there," he
] said. "Boaters wouldn't have to put anything on their
] boats."

Research aims to save manatees using tech

] Sex.com, widely believed to be the most valuable URL in
] the world, has been returned to its rightful owner after
] a six-year custody battle.
]
] The US Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of
] cyber-squatter Stephen Cohen who had been using the
] domain name as the flagship product in an online porn
] empire which made him his fortune.
]
] It is believed that the sex.com site brought in around
] $500,000 per month in advertising.
]
] However, Cohen acquired the domain through unfair means
] when he wrote a letter to registrar Verisign asking it be
] signed over to him, and transferred from its original
] owner Gary Kremen, who had the original foresight to
] register the name.
]
] Kremen, outraged at Verisign's compliance with this
] request, then embarked on a lengthy legal battle to
] regain control of the domain.
]
] However, Cohen's failure to overturn a $65m damages award
] is far from the end of the story. Cohen is holed up in
] Mexico and appears to be understandably loath to re-enter
] the US and honour the pay award to Kremen.

Proof that pr0n hawkers are scumbags.

Silicon.com - Sex.com returned to its rightful owner

] A lottery winner who scooped a jackpot worth almost £2
] million has failed to come forward in time to claim the
] life-changing prize.
]
] A luckless south Wales winner missed last night's 11pm
] final deadline, despite efforts over six months to trace
] the owner of the winning ticket.

This story shortly to be followed by a suicide report somewhere in south Wales.

Of all the dumb luck...

Ananova - Lottery jackpot winner misses deadline

] Ikea has apologised after accidentally naming a child's
] bunk bed after an obscene German expression.
]
] The Swedish firm didn't realise the problem until after
] the £110 bed went on sale across Europe.
]
] The wooden bed is called the "Gutvik" which means "Good
] f***" in German.

Why market research is so important.

Ananova - Ikea's new bed shares name with German obscenity

] More than 7,000 people have taken part in Spencer
] Tunick's largest nude art installation to date - a sea of
] bodies stretching across a Barcelona street.

You just have to see it. People are a lot of funny colors.

Ananova - 7,000 pose for nude art installation

Laughing Boy wrote:
] ]An American doctor has claimed that cheese can be as
] addictive as
] ]morphine.
]
] ]Dr Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee on
] ]Responsible Medicine, says cheese is addictive because it
] contains
] ]small amounts of morphine from cows' liver.
]
]
] THATS IT! Thats what was wrong with the cheese-heads I lived
] among in Wisconsin - they were all morphine addicts! And here
] I just thought they were inbred morons.
]
] Laughing Boy

Hey, I LIKE cheese. A lot.

[Hey man, know where I could score some gruyere? Aw, come on, just a little brie won't hurt...]

RE: Cheese can be as addictive as morphine

] The Earth has become significantly greener over the past
] two decades, the result of climate changes that have
] furnished plants with more heat, light, water and carbon
] dioxide, according to a new Science magazine report.
]
] The overall plant bulk went up about 6 percent over much
] of the planet, with spikes in the tropics and high
] latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere accounting for 80
] percent of the gains, researchers said.

Good news. Too bad the rain forests continue to be clear-cut for live stock. :/

Laughing Boy

Climate changes making planet greener

I feel cruel just because I watched this.

Darth Fatty?

] NEW YORK, June 4 %u2014 A grand jury indicted Martha
] Stewart on federal charges of securities fraud and
] obstruction of justice Wednesday in an insider stock
] trading scandal that could bring big fines or even a jail
] term for the home styles guru known for impeccable taste.

Of course now we're hearing stories "Martha is a victim of those jealous of her success!" Right. And if she were black, it would be a "racist witch hunt" yada yada yada. *YAWN* Why is it ALWAYS discrimination with so-called "minorities" when they screw up? It's as if some people think they can do no wrong; that they walk between the rain drops. Hellooo?? Insider trading is ILLEGAL. If she broke the law (and even without phone records of her talking to her broker, the timing of her sell off is a MIGHTY big red flag) then she pays the consequences - just like Joe and Jane Average would. I'm tired of celebrities getting off easy for crimes because they are famous.

Laughing Boy

Martha Stewart indicted

] For those of you who are tired of Washington-based career
] politicians raising millions of dollars from special
] interests, ignoring their day jobs representing their
] consitutuents while they fly around the country to
] fundraisers, debates, and photo-ops, consider the story
] of Michael Badnarik (http://www.badnarik.org):
]
]
] He's running for President because his friends asked him
] to, because they consider him an excellent communicator,
] an expert on the US Constitution, and an honorable man.
] With limited funding, he is driving across the country
] with a buddy, staying with campaign supporters and eating
] $5 meals. To survive, he teaches day-long classes on the
] US Constitution for $50 to anyone who is interested.
]
]
] Coming from nowhere (sorry, Austin, Texas), he is
] currently in a two-man race with a much better funded
] opponent, talk radio host Gary Nolan
] (http://www.garynolan.com) for the Libertarian Party
] nomination in 2004.
]
]
] Does he expect to win? Is he qualified to be President,
] if he does win? Maybe not, but he should make supporters
] of the Republican and Democratic parties wonder why they
] settle for the uninspiring candidates they are offered
] year after year, who appear to neither understand nor
] respect the Constitution they are expected to protect,
] uphold, and defend, if they are elected.

I would laugh until I passed out if this guy won the next election. Maybe he's qualified, maybe he's not - but regardless, it's the kind of campaign I'd love to see make it.

A Different Kind of Campaign