The Rigged-Up Net

Nevada has Area 51. New Mexico has Roswell. Texas has the Marfa Lights. Mysterious Texas Lights Draw Crowds

They find solace in $325 Christian Dior sunglasses, a shot of confidence in a $600 Louis Vuitton handbag. Never mind that they still live with their parents and earn modest salaries in service jobs. Generation gold-collar lives big, and at home

I always wondered what happened to Earful of Books a few years ago… Earful of Books Inc. founder and Chief Executive Officer Paul Adams Rush was found guilty of 17 counts of fraud and money laundering, federal prosecutors said Friday. Earful of Books CEO found guilty of fraud, money laundering

The lobotomy, once a widely used method for treating mental illness, epilepsy and even chronic headaches, is generating fresh controversy 30 years after doctors stopped performing the procedure now viewed as barbaric. Lobotomy Back in Spotlight After 30 Years

I dunno what to say – I guess I’m glad that its still going strong even tho’ we’ve parted ways. 🙂 ServerBeach was launched in March 2002 by Rackspace founder Richard Yoo in a bid to tap into a market for lower-scale hosting services. San Antonio-based Rackspace was, at the time, beginning to focus on […]

“Apple and the mainstream media are making a monumental mistake,” says Richard Bluestein, who podcasts on YeastRadio.com under the pen name Madge Weinstein. Bluestein argues that people are not looking for repackaged traditional media when they look for podcasts in most cases, and Apple is promoting exactly that. Podcasters Finding Ways to Stay Afloat

Well… Duh! TV advertisers are facing a potential disaster as more consumers buy digital video recorders (DVRs), according to a new study, since about 90 percent of current users fast-forward through ads. Ninety pct of DVR users skip TV ads – new study On a side note, my MythTV box now has four tuners in […]

Nivin talked about Rackspace, a San Antonio-based Web site hosting company, which can’t keep many of its young employees long enough because they’re quickly lured away by Austin’s huge music scene. Cover Story: Culture wars

Looks like HDTV prices will drop like bricks during the Christmas season in 2008. That will be great for consumers, and it’ll also be the time when I finally make the plung towards HDTV. I bet by that time we’ll see 100+ hour HD PVRs, Hi-Def DVD will be figured out, and most shows will […]

Yay! Now perhaps I’ll finally get off my ass and get my license! The FCC has proposed dropping the 5 WPM Morse code element as a requirement to obtain an Amateur Radio license of any class FCC Proposes to Drop Morse Code Requirement for All License Classes

The ever-popular low-carbohydrate diets appear to work because they force people to eat more protein, which consequently suppresses the appetite, not because of a lower carbohydrate intake, according to new study findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. High-protein diets curb appetite

Beginning Sept. 6, PBS will make available – exclusively over the Internet – broadcast television’s first entirely downloadable series, featuring PBS technology columnist and industry insider Robert X. Cringely’s interviews with personalities from the ever-changing world of technology. NerdTV will be available for download from www.pbs.org/nerdtv.

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It was inevitable: Bloggers who previously wrote endlessly about everything from politics to tech tips to how to fry an egg on a hot sidewalk can now take their commentary, advice and random experiments to the next level by filming and broadcasting their work, thanks to the latest web trend — video blogging. Blogging + […]

If you’re on the job, and you’re reading this story, you should probably get back to work. The average worker wastes more than two hours a day, and that’s not including lunch, according to a new Web survey by America Online and Salary.com. That means companies spend as much as $759 billion on salaries annually […]

Drivers using cellular phones are four times as likely to get into a crash that can cause injuries serious enough to send them to the hospital, said an insurance study released Tuesday. Study Sounds Alarm on Driving, Cell Phones Related: Using hands-free cellphone headsets while driving is not risk free. People who chat on their […]

The path to better health and lower blood pressure may be paved with cobblestones. When people over 60 walked on smooth, rounded cobblestones for just a half-hour a day over four months, they significantly lowered their blood pressure and improved their balance, a study showed. Study: Walking on Cobblestones Is Healthy

Everything you ever wanted to know about GSM frequency bands: Two frequency bands are used by GSM services in the US. Two different frequency bands are used by GSM services elsewhere in the world. Ideally, you’d want a phone that can work on all four bands – commonly called a quad-band phone. But these are […]

On the eve of an industry summit to discuss how e-mail authentication can stem the flood of spam, one security firm says that spammers are already using the protocols — to slip their junk mail past filters. Spammers Most Likely Users Of E-Mail Authentication

When Glen Richardson decided to create his own home office, it was done with his four young children foremost in mind. And no, he didn’t build the workspace in a secluded corner of his basement. Instead it was planted in the hub of his home, right next to the living room. Houses evolving to suit […]

The overall quality of Internet phone service still lags behind traditional landlines, according to a study released Tuesday. Vonage tops study of Net phone service

Austin executives have the second shortest commute in the country, according to a new study. Austin execs enjoy one of shortest U.S. commutes

After 15 years fielding the car seen as the pinnacle of Japanese automaking, Honda says it will kill its $90,000, 175-mph Acura NSX late this year. Acura puts kibosh on aging but loved NSX

Possessive cockerels use fake sex to keep their hens faithful. By merely mounting females – without bothering to waste precious sperm – cocks ensure their partners will not go looking for male competitors to fertilise them, a new study suggests. The finding may explain why males of many species – from insects to mammals – […]

Long before smoothies and Frappuccinos there was the Slurpee. The slushy, colorful 7-Eleven brand – and American icon – turns 40 today and is still popular for the same reasons it caught on back then: fun, variety, “brain freeze” and colored tongues. Slurpee celebrates 40 years of ‘brain freeze’ Also, you can get a FREE […]

Want to complain on Dell’s website about its customer service? Too late – the Customer Support Forums, operational until last Friday, have been shut down, apparently to try to quell bad publicity there about Dell products and especially after-care service. Want to complain about Dell? Forget it

The Inquirer’s Charlie Demerjian reports Cingular customer service has admitted to a nationwide problem with their network that manifests itself by intermittently dropping incoming calls right to voicemail, and — worse — without notification of incoming voicemail, either. Apparently, they can fix the problem manually if you ring them… Cingular having US-wide network problems? The […]

Fascinating stuff… I have no idea if they’re doing this in the US, but its good to know: If you are unfortunate enough to either lose or even worse have your phone stolen you should report it to your service provider (your network) immediately! Your service provider can then blacklist the handset so that it […]

July 1, 2005 Dear Time Warner Cable Road Runner Customer: We wish to inform you of a proposed settlement of a class action regarding Road Runner customers. A settlement of this class action has been proposed that may affect the price of your high-speed Internet service if you choose to own your own cable modem. […]

Think Star Trek: You are here. You want to go there. It’s just a matter of teleportation Teleportation: Express Lane Space Travel

General Motors Corp.’s “Employee Discount for Everyone” program sent the automaker’s sales soaring last month to the highest monthly total in two decades and allowed it to unload huge amounts of inventory. Now, Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group are launching pricing schemes of their own. Auto Industry Discounts Have Downside

Allowing ‘morning-after’ contraceptive pills to be sold over the counter does not increase their use, suggesting that easy availability does not lead to an upsurge in unprotected sex, British investigators report. ‘Morning-after’ pill doesn’t increase unsafe sex