US software behemoth Microsoft has doubled a cash reward for information on the whereabouts of a Canadian boy who ran away from home after his father took away his Xbox game console, it said Tuesday.
Brandon Crisp, 15, took off on his bicycle from his Barrie, Ontario home on October 13 -- Canada's Thanksgiving holiday -- and rode east along an old rail line.
He has not been seen since.
The Legend of Jack o' Lantern
October 25, 2008
Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who liked to play tricks on everyone: family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself. One day, he tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. As soon as he did, Stingy Jack Placed crosses around the trunk of the tree. Unable to get down the tree, Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died.When Jack finally died, he went to the pearly gates of Heaven and was told he was too mean and too cruel and had led a miserable and worthless life on earth. He was not allowed to enter heaven. He then went down to Hell and the Devil. The Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell. Now Jack was scared and had nowhere to go but to wander about foerever in the darkenss between heaven and hell. He asked the Devil how he could leave as tehre ws no light. The Devil tossed him an ember from the flames of Hell to help him light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed out Turnip, one of his favortie foods which he always carried around with him whenever he could steal one. For that day on, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place.
On all Hallow's eve, the Irish hollowed out Turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets and placed a light in them to ward off evil spirits and keep Stingy Jack away. These were the original Jack O'Lanterns. In the 1800's a couple of waves of Irish immigrants came to America. The Irish immigrants quickly discovered that Pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out. So they used pumpkins for Jack O'Lanterns.
Happy Halloween!
Trivia Blitz: Barbie
October 22, 2008
The Barbie Doll was named after the daughter of Ruth and Elliot Handler, founders of Mattel Toy Company. They created the original fashion doll in 1959 after noticing that Barbara, their daughter, preferred teenage cutout dolls to the then rampant cooers and burpers. Barbie's design was based on a German doll called Bild Lilli. March 9, 1959 is Barbie's official birthday. Two years later, her brother became the prototype of Ken.
Meet Japan's plant blogger
October 21, 2008
Meet Midori-san - the plant blogger.
"Midori-san," a 40 cm (16 inches) potted plant on a cafe counter in Kamakura, near Tokyo, blogs every day with the help of a sensor that measures electric signals and a computer algorithm that translates them into Japanese. The plant, a hoya kerrii, is commonly called a "sweetheart plant" because of it leaf shape.
"We were initially interested in what plants are feeling and what they are reacting to where we can't see," said Satoshi Kuribayashi, a researcher involved in the project at Japan's Keio University. The strength of electronic signals on the surface of Midori-san's heart-shaped green leaves, which react to light and human touch, are measured by a sensor attached to the plant, and this data is sent to a computer in the cafe.
The computer uses an algorithm to translate the signal data, as well as other factors -- including weather and temperature -- to translate them into words, which are automatically posted on Midori-san's blog (http://plant.bowls-cafe.jp/index.php)
"Today was a sunny day and I was able to sunbathe a lot... I had quite a bit of fun today," Midori-san, whose name means "green" in Japanese, posted on Oct 16.
The latest entry reads: "It was cloudy today. It was a cold day." Kuribayashi said he hopes that in the future, the blog will reflect even more accurately of Midori-san's feelings. -Reuters
UFO sightings online: British archives released
LONDON -(AP) Britain's National Archives have posted a host of UFO sightings online.
The sightings range from 1986 to 1992 and include a near misses with passenger jets as well as claims of alien encounters sent in to Britain's Ministry of Defense.
Monday's release is the second batch of UFO files that Britain's National Archives has made public this year.
It includes an April 1991 sighting by an Italian pilot of missile-like object that passed closed to his plane. The object was picked up by radar but its presence was never explained.
Later that year, the crew aboard a Gatwick Airport-bound flight spotted "a small black lozenge-shaped object" that came within a few hundred feet (less than 100 meters) of the aircraft. That was also never fully explained.
The following was one of the reports in the archives...
Fighter pilot ordered to shoot UFO at height of Cold War
London - An American fighter pilot flying from an English air base at the height of the Cold War was ordered to open fire on a massive UFO that lit up his radar, according to an account published by Britain's National Archives on Monday.
The fighter pilot said he was ordered to fire a full salvo of rockets at the UFO moving erratically over the North Sea - but that at the last minute the object picked up enormous speed and disappeared. The account, first published in Britain's Daily Star newspaper more than 17 years ago and to this day unverified by military authorities, was one of many carried in the 1,500 pages the archives made available online.
The unnamed pilot said he and another airman were scrambled on the night of May 20, 1957 to intercept an unusual "bogey" on radars at a Royal Air Force Station Manston, an airfield at the southeastern tip of England about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from central London.
The sightings range from 1986 to 1992 and include a near misses with passenger jets as well as claims of alien encounters sent in to Britain's Ministry of Defense.
Monday's release is the second batch of UFO files that Britain's National Archives has made public this year.
It includes an April 1991 sighting by an Italian pilot of missile-like object that passed closed to his plane. The object was picked up by radar but its presence was never explained.
Later that year, the crew aboard a Gatwick Airport-bound flight spotted "a small black lozenge-shaped object" that came within a few hundred feet (less than 100 meters) of the aircraft. That was also never fully explained.
The following was one of the reports in the archives...
Fighter pilot ordered to shoot UFO at height of Cold War
London - An American fighter pilot flying from an English air base at the height of the Cold War was ordered to open fire on a massive UFO that lit up his radar, according to an account published by Britain's National Archives on Monday.
The fighter pilot said he was ordered to fire a full salvo of rockets at the UFO moving erratically over the North Sea - but that at the last minute the object picked up enormous speed and disappeared. The account, first published in Britain's Daily Star newspaper more than 17 years ago and to this day unverified by military authorities, was one of many carried in the 1,500 pages the archives made available online.
The unnamed pilot said he and another airman were scrambled on the night of May 20, 1957 to intercept an unusual "bogey" on radars at a Royal Air Force Station Manston, an airfield at the southeastern tip of England about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from central London.
Trivia Blitz: Full House
October 19, 2008
The kings depicted on playing cards represent historical rulers. The king of diamonds is the Roman statesman and general Julius Caesar; the king of clubs, the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great; the king of spades, the biblical King David; and the king of hearts, the Frankish king Charlemagne.
Word opposites
October 16, 2008
The English language is home to a schizophrenic breed of single words with opposite meanings. Here are some examples:
left - departed from/ remaining
clip - fasten/ separate
wind up - start/ end
critical - opposed/ essential
scan - examine carefully/ glance at hastily
temper - soften/ strengthen
bolt - to secure in place/ to dart away
commencement - beginning/ conclusion
sanction - give approval/ censure
moot - debatable/ worthy of debate
fix - mend/ mess
left - departed from/ remaining
clip - fasten/ separate
wind up - start/ end
critical - opposed/ essential
scan - examine carefully/ glance at hastily
temper - soften/ strengthen
bolt - to secure in place/ to dart away
commencement - beginning/ conclusion
sanction - give approval/ censure
moot - debatable/ worthy of debate
fix - mend/ mess
Trivia Blitz: The Black Sheep
October 5, 2008
Since early times black sheeps were considered less valuable than white ones because their wool can not be readily dyed. Shepherds also believed that balck sheep frightened the other sheep. Fortunately, they were rare, as most domestic sheep range from white to light brown. By the late 18th century, the expression black sheep came to be applied to disgraced people.
Fans unite in auction to save Superman's house
October 1, 2008
Superman's home planet Krypton was destroyed, but his house on Earth will live on thanks to loyal fans and an online auction that raised $100,000 to restore the rotting home where the Man of Steel was created.
Everything from original artwork to a role on the hit television show "Heroes" was sold in the month-long auction, which ended on Tuesday, to save the dilapidated Cleveland, Ohio, house where Superman was dreamed up by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster more than 70 years ago.
"This was easily the most humbling spectacular project I've ever been part of, and showed just how much people care about this character and why today Superman still matters," said novelist Brad Meltzer, who organized the auction.
Meltzer said $101,744 was raised in the month-long sale of art, memorabilia and other donated goods, more than double the $50,000 goal. The extra money will allow organizers to fix up not just the outside but also the inside of the Cleveland house where an elderly couple now live.
Everything from original artwork to a role on the hit television show "Heroes" was sold in the month-long auction, which ended on Tuesday, to save the dilapidated Cleveland, Ohio, house where Superman was dreamed up by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster more than 70 years ago.
"This was easily the most humbling spectacular project I've ever been part of, and showed just how much people care about this character and why today Superman still matters," said novelist Brad Meltzer, who organized the auction.
Meltzer said $101,744 was raised in the month-long sale of art, memorabilia and other donated goods, more than double the $50,000 goal. The extra money will allow organizers to fix up not just the outside but also the inside of the Cleveland house where an elderly couple now live.
Bid of $1.75 on eBay gets abandoned Saginaw home
The Saginaw home that hit the housing market at a cut-rate price sold for less than the price of a McDonald's value meal.
The high bidder was 30-year-old Joanne Smith, of Chicago, Ill.
"I am going to try and sell it," she said of the home. "I don't have any plans to move to Saginaw. I don't have any plans of moving from (Chicago)."
Smith moved to the Windy City five years ago from Miami, Fla. She has not seen the property and has not visited Saginaw.
She will pay additional charges, aside from the dollar and change it cost her to win the auction. Back taxes and a trash/weed clean-up will set the final price tag around $850. The fee is due by Tuesday, March 31, or the city will foreclose on the property.
The high bidder was 30-year-old Joanne Smith, of Chicago, Ill.
"I am going to try and sell it," she said of the home. "I don't have any plans to move to Saginaw. I don't have any plans of moving from (Chicago)."
Smith moved to the Windy City five years ago from Miami, Fla. She has not seen the property and has not visited Saginaw.
She will pay additional charges, aside from the dollar and change it cost her to win the auction. Back taxes and a trash/weed clean-up will set the final price tag around $850. The fee is due by Tuesday, March 31, or the city will foreclose on the property.
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