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Golfers at Risk of Going Deaf?

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Jan 6th 2009 at 9:06AM

Clubs 3

Golf is not considered a dangerous game. If anything, it is the sport over-protective mothers make their children play so they never get hurt. Those moms may want to re-think that strategy after they read this...

Experts are warning that thin-faced titanium drivers, those popular behemoths that give you an extra 1000 yards off the tee, may actually make the user go deaf. The drivers are so powerful that they actually create a mini sonic boom when they make contact with the poor, defenseless, little white ball. One 55 year-old man is believed to have damaged his hearing after using one of the clubs frequently over an 18-month span.

Earplugs are suggested for repeat users, but don't forget to take the plugs out after your tee shot -- you don't want to miss that "fore!" call from the group behind you!

Swing safely, world. [From: DailyMail]

Man Calls OnStar for Help, Gets Arrested for Drunk Driving

by Tim Stevens, posted Jan 5th 2009 at 12:01PM

Man Calls OnStar for Help, Gets Arrested for Drunk DrivingIf you've ever been in an accident you've probably wished that you had someone there to help you get everything figured out -- call the police, line up a tow truck, etc. That's exactly the sort of help that GM's OnStar service offers, all conveniently piped through a friendly blue button on the rear-view mirror. The service connects you directly to an operator. But, when one man called for help on January 1st after getting stuck, he got more than he bargained for -- he got arrested.

22-year-old Paul W. Sinker III of Stroudsbourg, PA got his car mired in the mud early on New Year's Day after an evening of partying. He called OnStar for assistance and, after the police were called, things went downhill for him. He was given a field sobriety test and subsequently arrested. Next time, we hope he'll just call a cab -- or a tow truck. [From: Autoblog]
Engadget

Steve Jobs Discusses His Health in Open Letter

by Paul Miller, posted Jan 5th 2009 at 11:26AM


A mere day before the big shindig at the Moscone, Steve Jobs has come clean about his much-discussed weight loss in a open letter to the Apple community, saying that a hormone imbalance is to blame. "The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I've already begun treatment," says Steve. Doctors expect it to take him until late Spring to regain the weight and body mass, and Steve will stay on as CEO during his recovery. Oh, and if you hadn't guessed, Steve isn't so big on the personal stuff: "So now I've said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this."

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

8-Wheeled Electric Car Accelerates Faster Than a Porsche

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Jan 3rd 2009 at 4:33PM


Most of us want to be eco-friendly and help save the planet, we just wish there was a fun way to do it. Well Hiroshi Shimizo, professor at Keio University in Japan wants you to have fun too, so he has introduced an electric car capable of out-running a Porsche 911... Yowza!

The Eliica is an eight wheeled, lithium ion battery-powered beast that giddy-ups to 100km/hr in four seconds. If its neck-snapping acceleration isn't enough to get your attention, its top speed will. The Eliica tops out at 370 km/hr. This tree-hugging hotrod has eight wheels, each of which is powered by a 100hp electric motor.

The Eliica is raising the eyebrows of inventors and investors alike, and that is a very good thing for Mother Earth. [From: independent.co.uk]

Internet Explorer Continues to Tumble in Market Share

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jan 2nd 2009 at 4:21PM

IE Continues to Tumble in Market Share
Ok, maybe it's a bit early to start playing 'Taps' over the corpse of Microsoft, but there is reason to believe that a little thing called "the Internet" is slowly hacking away at the computing giant.

Stats for November show browser behemoth Internet Explorer taking another hit in browser market share, dipping below 70-percent, while Firefox held on to more that 20-percent of global market share for the first time ever. A 50-percent market share gap may seem like an unquestionable dominance, but consider that only five years ago Microsoft's browser accounted for 90-percent of global Internet traffic.

Browsers like Safari, Firefox, and even upstart Chrome spank IE when it comes to speed, features, and standards compliance, but the real reason users are defecting from IE probably has to do with its terrible record on security. Years of advice from security experts, blogs (like this one), and geeky nephews have prompted more and more people to start using other browsers at home and in the workplace.

The battle is far from over, but it seems pretty clear to us that Firefox, and companies like Google, are leading us into a post-Microsoft world. [From: Silicon Alley Insider]

How to Cook Up a Super Mario-style 1UP Mushroom Burger

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jan 2nd 2009 at 3:32PM

Give Yourself Extra Lives with 1UP Mushroom Burger
We haven't figured out if eating these 1UP burgers will actually give us extra lives, but we can guarantee that we will be cooking up plenty of these in the Switched kitchen in the coming days.

Potential genius, Karen Chu, has posted instruction on the DIY resource Instructables.com detailing how to create a mushroom burger that looks like the life-giving 1UP mushroom from 'Super Mario Bros.' Creating the burgers takes a little time, but they don't seem particularly difficult to make. Of course, you could make it even easier by simply using ground chuck (accept no substitutes!) to make nice round burgers of your own instead of the veggie patties included in this recipe.

All you need is some mozzarella, green food coloring, and some nice big round buns. Now get cracking, and let us know if you come right back to life the next time you have a run-in with a goomba. [From: Instructables, Via: Neatorama]

New Study Reveals GPS Navigation Systems Often Give Poor Directions

by Tim Stevens, posted Jan 2nd 2009 at 12:01PM

British Automobile Association Recommends Caution while Using GPS
Do you have an in-car GPS navigation system? If so, do you find yourself relying on the thing a little too much? Maybe watching its LCD when you should instead be looking out the windshield? You're not alone, with a recent study from the British Automobile Association finding that 55-percent of GPS users find the devices distracting, and a similar number have been given poor directions.

Do you use a GPS unit in your car?



The survey was among 7,380 U.K. motorists, among whom 40-percent have a satellite navigation system in their cars. Because of the poll's less than stellar findings, the association is recommending caution when people use the devices, lest you wind up adrift in a river, or playing chicken with a freight train. [From: Mail Online]

Scientists Hope to Birth Tiny 'Star', Achieve Fusion

by Lee Bains, posted Jan 2nd 2009 at 8:30AM


It is the stuff science fiction is made of.

In Livermore, California, at the National Ignition Facility, scientists talk of creating a star small enough to fit in a large barn, laser beams 1,000 times more powerful than all of the United States' electrical output put together, and -- with hopeful, anxious tones -- a seemingly endless supply of energy.

In the spring, researchers in Livermore will -- with the aid of that high-powered laser, mirrors and lenses, a 32 foot wide 'reaction chamber' and billions of dollars -- set out to initiate nuclear fusion, the Telegraph reports.

Continue reading Scientists Hope to Birth Tiny 'Star', Achieve Fusion

Georgia Sex Offenders Must Hand Over Passwords

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jan 1st 2009 at 4:30PM

Georgian Sex Offenders Must Hand Over Passwords
From our "well intentioned, but crossing the line" file comes the tale of a law that will go into effect January 1, 2009 in Georgia that requires registered sex offenders to hand over usernames and passwords for any online service they subscribe to.

The law is aimed at ensuring that sex offenders do not use the Internet to prey upon children or in other inappropriate ways. Of course, there are privacy and security concerns. Critics say that the law violates the privacy of sex offenders who have served their time in prison, and that it will put an untenable burden on law enforcement official to track the online activities of thousands of registrants.

Continue reading Georgia Sex Offenders Must Hand Over Passwords

Gangsters Finding Fans on Facebook

by Tim Stevens, posted Dec 31st 2008 at 1:46PM

Gangsters Find Fans on Facebook
Do you have friends on Facebook? Sure, we all do. How about fans, though? If you're a person of some notoriety, you can create what's called a "Page" on the site dedicated to yourself, and other Facebook users can sign up to show their adoration for all things you. All sorts of people have created pages for themselves and for others -- including some shady characters, like mafiosos who have become unusually popular on the site.

One such person is Italian Salvatore "Totò" Riina, who is serving 12 life sentences after being convicted of over 100 counts of murder. Yet this man has nearly 3,000 fans on his Facebook page. Other shady figures are similarly popular. Disconcerting? Yes, a bit, but we're happy to report that Mother Theresa is also quite popular on the site, having nearly 100,000 fans. [From: The New York Times]

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