PowerLabs Microwave Experiments + May Postings Reprised

   1. PowerLabs Microwave Experiments
      < http://www.powerlabs.org/uwavexp.htm >

   "PowerLabs here presents what *NOT* to do with your Microwave oven!"


   2. May Postings Reprised

   [Vintage Products 4]
   Some real-life gizmos with a vintage look
   * The ElectriClerk"
      < http://www.ahleman.com/ElectriClerk.html >
   * Panasonic CQ-TX5500D Vacuum Tube CD Reciever [sic]
      < http://www.audiocubes.com/product_info.php?cPath=61_78&products_id=722 >
   * Predicta: art deco-style TV sets for the 21st Century
      < http://www.predicta.com/ >
      < http://www.predicta.com/gallery.html >

   [There's A ... In My Food]
   * "Waiter eats fly found in diner's food"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_969509.html >
   "A waiter in a restaurant in China ate a fly after a customer found the dead
    insect in her food"

   [Man Bites Dog!]
   * "Woman bites snake's head off"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_969497.html >
   "A Florida woman's been arrested for allegedly biting the head off a friend's
    pet python"

   [Falling Down - Lucky Escapes]
   * "Woman, 102, survives fall from window"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_951901.html >
   "Doctors in Turin have hailed a 102-year-old woman a 'miracle' after she fell
    out of a fourth-floor window and survived with just a few scratches"
   * "Toddler survives 26ft fall"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_960266.html >
   "A German toddler escaped without injury after falling 26 feet from a house"

   [Celebrity News - Divas and Crooners]
   * "Avril on the attack: The punk-pop princess may be girlier now, but she's
      still taking swipes"
      < http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/195700p-169101c.html >
   "'I'm wearing a dress,' says the famously tomboyish singer"

Till Debt Us Do Part

   I watched an interesting documentary on Four Corners last Monday: "Till
   Debt Us Do Part".  It examined the question:
     "Where will the credit binge end for the many thousands of Australians
      who now live in permanent and growing debt?"

   If you missed it the ABC has archived material on its web site:
      < http://abc.net.au/4corners/content/2004/20040524_debt/default.htm >

   "We owe more than we earn. We borrow to buy, we borrow to invest. Our level
    of personal debt against income is now one of the highest in the world.
    It's so different from our parents' or grandparents' days when debt was a
    dirty word."

   Transcript:
      < http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2003/transcripts/s1115159.htm >

   Includes the observation that:
   "Consumption today consists of people spending money they don't have to buy
    goods that they don't want to impress people they don't like"

   Which is a variation on:
   "Some people are funny. They spend money they don't have on things they don't
    need to impress people they don't like"
      < http://www.wilcherish.com/cardshop/humor/funny.htm >

Frankenfish

   Frankenfish: genetically-engineered fish, intentional or accidental.  Sometimes
   used to describe naturally-occurring freaky fish.

   1. "Attack of the Frankenfish"
      < http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,21831,00.html >
      "Frankenfish furor"
      < http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/14/tech/main536529.shtml >
   "Battle lines are being drawn as the Food and Drug Administration considers a
    request to commercially market a genetically-engineered variety of salmon that
    grows twice as fast as its country cousins and is furthermore resistant to the
    effects of freezing temperatures"

   2. "Genetically altered pet faces challenge"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/12/02/274952-ap.html >

   3. "Genetically engineered fish"
      < http://www.newmoanyeah.com/2003-reviews/080403_genetically_engineered_fish.php >
   (Taiwan) "started selling the first genetically engineered fluorescent fish"

   4. Blinky from The Simpsons
      < http://www.emerchandise.com/images/p/SMP/pdTSSMP0066.jpg >

   5. "Taiwan scientists accidentally develop two-headed fish"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_856411.html >

   6. "Return of Frankenfish"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/30/1083224547111.html >
   A US lake will be drained "after the discovery of voracious 'walking' fish"

   7. Deep-Sea Bestiary
      < http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/abyss/life/bestiary.html >
   "The ocean depths are home to a phantasmagoria of bizarre creatures, ranging
    from the footballfish to the 'vampire squid from hell'"

   8. "Create a Frankenfish"
      < http://act.greenpeace.org/ecs/s2?card_id=5&sk=fish >

   (a John West post)

Celebrity News - Divas and Crooners

   1. "Atomic cat fight"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_877281.html >
   "Atomic Kitten's Jenny Frost has launched a counter-attack on Kerry McFadden
    by claiming she can't sing a note"

   2. "'Posh is an evil, conniving little cow': Jordan"
      < http://in.news.yahoo.com/040220/139/2blfs.html >

   3. "'I'm better than Beyonce'"
      < http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13004702,00.html >
   "Kylie Minogue has ignited a new battle of the pop babes by claiming she is
    better than chart rival Beyonce. And she did not stop there: Minogue thinks
    both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera are too raunchy in their videos"

   4. "Palace dinner date for Beyonce and Jay-Z"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_920501.html >

   5. "None in the oven"
      < http://www.megastar.co.uk/ents/news/2004/03/04/sMEG01MTA3ODM5OTkxNDY.html >
   "Brain-cell challenged TV cheeselet Jessica Simpson has admitted she believed
    she was up the duff simply because she read it in a gossip mag"

   6. "Britney getting real for TV series"
      < http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4730871/ >
   "Britney Spears would narrate and even wield a digital camera to chronicle her
    adventures with her dancers, bodyguards and managers from the tour bus to the
    stage on her new reality series"

   7. "Dido has monopoly on board games"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_918171.html >
   "Dido has admitted she used to play Monopoly alone when she was growing up"

   8. "Barry Manilow breaks nose"
      < http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6547742%255E1702,00.html >
   "Barry Manilow is trying to get the feeling again after walking into a wall in
    his bedroom and breaking his nose"

   9. "Ozzy Osbourne seriously injured in accident"
      < http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/09/osbourne.accident/ >
   "Osbourne's publicist said pills had nothing to do with accident"

   10. "Teen pop band Menudo is being revived"
      < http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4872945/ >

   11. "Le Bon used to enter Duran Duran lookalike contests"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_846103.html >

High-Priced Cuisine

   1. "Hotel charges $1,000 for an omelette"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/05/17/463363-ap.html >
   "It's not made of gold - just eggs, lobster, caviar and a few trimmings"

   2. "Gold-topped pizza goes on sale"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_764036.html >
   "A German restaurant is selling pizzas with a topping that includes 22-carat
    gold"

   3. "£600 salad on the menu"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_795872.html >
   "Ingredients include golden caviar, truffles, Kreel caught langoustines, Cornish
    crab and lobster, Jabugo ham and white bait wrapped in gold leaf and Florette
    Baby Leaf salad"

   4. "Truffle lover"
      < http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/20/1077072827471.html >
   "Apart from the distinct perfume, much of the fuss relating to this luxury food
    is its price: white truffles can sell between $180 to $250 per 100 grams"

   5. "Tasmania's saffron gold"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/landline/stories/s556192.htm >
   "With all that labour no wonder the spice which wholesales in Australia for
    $31.60 a gram is by weight, worth more than gold"

   6. "Tin of spaghetti worth £710"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_854129.html >

   7. "Man pays more than $2,500 for a beer"
      < http://www.rednova.com/news/stories/5/2003/11/05/story101.html >

Polygamism

   I'm not sure "polygamism" is an actual word, but I'm using it anyway to group
   these news stories about polygamists, including serial polygamists and
   accidental ones.

   1. "Indian man aiming for 100th marriage"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_950449.html >

   2. "Man weds 15 times in three years"  [Nicaragua]
      < http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6729296%5E1702,00.html >

   3. "Woman 'had 27 husbands'"  [USA]
      < http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,7874220%255E1702,00.html >

   4. "Alleged serial groom nabbed in Cyprus"  [Cyprus]
      < http://www.paksearch.com/br2002/Oct/14/Alleged%20serial%20groom%20nabbed
          %20in%20Cyprus.htm >

   5. "Man marries two sisters"  [India]
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/26/1069825836470.html >

   6. "Bride discovers she is already someone's wife"  [South Africa]
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_787562.html >

   7. "Bridegroom discovers he's already married"  [England]
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_705057.html >

   8. "Forbidden nuptials on hold: He's married"  [USA]
      < http://www.cincypost.com/2002/12/11/wed121102.html >

   (a John West post)

SMS Alerts II

   1. "Britons using text to break up more often"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/05/12/456740-ap.html >
   "Nine per cent of Britons admit to dumping a partner by sending an SMS text
    message on a cell phone - possibly signalling the beginning of the end for
    the 'Dear John' letter"

   2. "Need a prayer? Just SMS Ganesh in India"
      < http://in.tech.yahoo.com/030903/137/27gs2.html >

   3. "Poets compose text message love poems"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_863531.html >

   4. "Couple to exchange vows by SMS"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_833785.html >

   5. "Errant Valentine text message nearly causes split"
      < http://bigblueball.com/news2/article.asp?id=498 >

   6. "Mis-sent text ends MP's marriage"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3119480.stm >
   "A South African member of parliament is getting divorced after he inadvertently
    sent an amorous text message meant for his mistress to his wife instead"

   7. "Mswati fired PM by SMS, claim angry MPs"
      < http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=qw1082556901376B224&set_id=1 >
   "Swaziland's King Mswati fired former prime minister Sibusiso Dlamini last year
    via a text message on his cellphone"

   8. "Murder predicted in text message"
      < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/07/ntxt07.xml >
   "A mother wrote a text message predicting her own murder on the day she was
    stabbed to death by her former husband"

   9. "Man sends 'sorry' SMS for shooting"
      < http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,7032384%255E1702,00.html >

   10. "Crashed cars to text message for help"
      < http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994565 >

   11. "Marathon runners can send texts from course"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_914304.html >

Pac-Mania

   1. Pac-Manhattan
      < http://pacmanhattan.com/about.php >
   "Pac-Manhattan is a large-scale urban game that utilizes the New York City
    grid to recreate the 1980's video game sensation Pac-Man"

   2. Pac-Man - Flash
      < http://www.neave.com/games/pacman/ >

   3. Pacelman: Pacman for Excel
      < http://www.geocities.jp/nchikada/pac/ >
   There's also CellVader - Space Invaders for Excel

   4. Pacman Emulation Universe
      < http://home.online.no/~mrroboto/pacmania/index.htm >
   A site dedicated to all-thing Pac-Man.

In Search Of ... Mysterious Creatures

   1. "Japanese team to leave on quest for Yeti"
      < http://www.n2.net/prey/bigfoot/articles/japanese_quest03.htm >

   2. "China's version of ape-man Bigfoot reportedly spotted again, report says"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/06/30/123419-ap.html >

   3. "Big plans to catch bigfoot"
      < http://www.smdailyjournal.org/article.cfm?issue=01-16-04&storyID=27359 >

   4. "'Bunny Man' haunts Virginia"
      < http://www.msnbc.com/news/987376.asp?0cl=c3 >

   5. "Mythical lake monster lands on endangered list"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/05/03/445741-ap.html >

   6. "Nessie makes appearance in China"
      < http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=986 >

   7. "PNG hunts giant mystery creature"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1064948.htm >

   8. "'Lithgow Lion' hunter claims new evidence"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1071512.htm >

   9. "Tassie tigers 'as likely as Elvis'"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/victoria/news/200308/s928073.htm >

   10. The Enigma Cryptozoo: Bigfoots and Nessies and Chupas, oh my!
      < http://www.parascope.com/en/cryptozoo/ >
   "a sanctuary for strange species located in the land of the lost... a museum
    of mad menageries that Linnaean taxonomy forgot!"

Falling Down - Lucky Escapes

   1. "Woman survives fall from parking garage"
      < http://www.wesh.com/news/3279242/detail.html >
   "A shortcut through a downtown Orlando parking garage could have cost a local
    woman her life"
   With link to video clip describing what she tried to do.

   2. "Teen somersaults to safety after fourth-floor fall"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_915064.html >
   "A British junior gymnast fell from a fourth-floor hotel window - and performed
    a somersault on the way down to land feet first"

   3. "Teen survives 20-storey fall"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/05/1075853985390.html >
   "A 15-year-old boy miraculously survived after leaping 20 storeys to escape
    taunts by his older brother for losing in a computer game"

   4. "Man catches girl as she falls 3 floors"
      < http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/1-03252004-270760.html >
   "A 2-year-old girl fell three stories from a resort walkway and safely into
    the arms of a man who had been reading a book by the pool and raced to save
    her"

   5. "Girl's fall broken by stray dog"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_934748.html >
   "A four-year-old girl who fell from a third floor balcony was saved after
    she landed on a stray dog"

   6. "Toddler survives four-storey fall"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_920987.html >
   "A three-year-old boy has escaped without serious injury after falling from
    a fourth floor window in Russia"

   7. "Girl survives 45-foot fall"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/03/16/384387-ap.html >
   "12-year-old girl was catapulted through a window in the family's SUV during
    a two-vehicle crash, and survived a 45-foot fall from a freeway overpass"

   8. "Two women injured when car falls into sinkhole"  [registration required]
      < http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-sinkhole0428,1,7080142.story >
      Photo - no registration required
      < http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-sinkholesm0428,0,1784416.photo
          ?coll=bal-home-headlines >
   "Engineers examine a sinkhole today in Owings Mills after two female passengers
    of a car that fell into the hole were rescued and hospitalized with non-life-
    threatening injuries"

   (a John West post)

Man Bites Dog!

   A journalistic cliche:
      "Its not news when dog bites man, but its news when man bites dog".

   Today's post provides actual news stories where man (or woman) bites
   dog (or some other animal).

   1. "Man bites dog to flee police"  [South Africa]
      < http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_739115,0005.htm >
      "A man fleeing police in the South African city of Durban bit the dog
       and police officer ordered to apprehend him"

   2. "Man bites dog to death"  [China]
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/11/1081326986806.html >
      "A man has bitten a dog to death in eastern China after it attacked him
       as he walked home with friends after a night out"

   3. "Syracuse police say man bites dog"  [NY state, #1]
      < http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/5682163.htm?1c >
      "33-year-old man faces charges that he bit a police dog during a
       disturbance outside a downtown bar"

   4. "Man bites dog"  [NY state, #2]
      < http://www.guardian.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,758022,00.html >
      "Richard Robbins, a dog owner in New York state, decided that attack
       was the best form of defence when his Siberian husky, Gina Marie, was
       set upon by a pit bull terrier while out on a walk at the weekend: he
       bit the pit bull"

   5. "Woman bites dog - twice"
      < http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=ct2001061821400829D213112&set_id=1 >
      "A 73-year-old woman in the US state of Tennessee saved her young
       Scottish terrier by biting an attacking pit bull"

   6. "Man bites dog"  [Florida]
      < http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=qw1009055521288B225&set_id=1 >
      "An inebriated man arrested after a hit-and-run accident is in the  
       doghouse in Pompano Beach, Florida, for biting a police dog coming  
       after him

   7. "Man bites dog in case of drunken drug deal assault"  [Canada]
      < http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/CalgarySun/News/2004/04/29/440320.html >

   8. "Dog bites you never hear about"
      < http://www.dogsinthenews.com/issues/0108/articles/010820a.htm >
      Three stories:
       * Man bites dog
       * Woman bites dog
       * Man bites man (dog is puzzled)

   9. "Man bites crocodile"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2565827.stm >

   10. "Baby bites snake"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_860201.html >

There's A ... In My Food

   Sometimes when you eat out you get a little bit more "value" with your meals.

   1. "Woman sues over tooth in soup"
      < http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?nid=5&sid=48718 >

   2. "Woman sues restaurant over condom in soup"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_837458.html >

   3. "Piece of severed thumb found in Ohio salad"
      < http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2004-03-05-thumb-salad_x.htm >

   4. "Airline passenger finds frog in food"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_942969.html >
   "An airline passenger on a flight from Melbourne to Wellington got a surprise
    when she found a live frog in her salad"

   5. "Woman reportedly finds bloody band-aid in fries"
      < http://www.local6.com/news/2884551/detail.html >

   6. "I found a tooth in my happy meal"
      < http://xo.typepad.com/blog/2004/03/woman_finds_too.html >

   7. "Woman gets the bullet from hotdog"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_945824.html >
   "A woman in California swallowed one bullet and bit another she found in a
    hotdog"

   An interesting side-note is that, in each case, the "victim" is a woman.
   Perhaps men are less fussy about what's in their food?

Eviction Notices

   1. "'Neighbour from hell' is evicted"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/3403797.stm >

   2. "Man evicted over Bing Crosby"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_860690.html >

   3. "Stanwell man evicted for behaving badly"
      < http://www.stainesguardian.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.478742.0.
          stanwell_man_evicted_for_behaving_badly.php >

   4. "Evicted again from the House of God"
      < http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=1722256&nav=3YeXLdhq >
   "A couple who claimed their Plainfield home was legally owned by God and
    refused to move has been evicted again"

   5. "Arizona caveman evicted from home in U.S. national forest"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/09/10/182482-ap.html >

   6. "Man evicted after living on golf course for 40 years"
      < http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/01/12/golf.squatter.ap/index.html >

   7. "Man, 54, being evicted because he's not 55"
      < http://www.wftv.com/news/3013627/detail.html >

   (a John West post)

Vintage Products 4

   Worth1000.com Photoshop Contest: Vintage Products 4
      < http://www.worth1000.com/cache/contest/contestcache.asp
          ?contest_id=2752&start=1&end=10&display=photoshop >

   Current products in a vintage light.

   One of my picks:
   * "Hits of the 19th century"
      < http://www.worth1000.com/view.asp?entry=109414&display=photoshop >