mordant wit

In 2001 the Hungarian architect Áron Losonczi invented LiTraCon© - the first light transmitting concrete.



LiTraCon© is a concrete stone-block that turns out to be light conducting through its embedded glassfibers. From one side to the other light passes the stone with- out any significant loss and illumi- nates the darker side of the stone. Shadows are transmitted and shown in precise shapes on the opposite surface.

The Golden State has outlawed big SUVs on many of its roads but doesn't seem to know it.

Unless you drive one of the largest SUVs, such as the Chevy Suburban, the Cadillac Escalade, or the Ford Excursion, I'll bet you've watched them thundering down quiet residential lanes and wondered to yourself: Why is that monster allowed on this little street?

Well, here's a surprising piece of news. It may not be. Cities throughout California—the nation's largest car market—prohibit the heaviest SUVs on many of their residential roads. The problem is, they don't seem to know they've done it.

I discovered this secret ban after noticing the signs at both ends of my narrow Los Angeles-area street (a favorite cut-through route for drivers hoping to avoid tie-ups on bigger roads). The signs clearly prohibit vehicles over 6,000 pounds.

I knew a 6K pound limit ruled out a lot of the larger trucks that routinely rumble by my house, unpursued by traffic cops. But then I got to thinking: Could some of those bigger SUVs exceed 3 tons? So I did some research, and I hit the mother lode.

It turns out every big SUV and pickup is too heavy for my street. Here's just a sampling: The Chevy Suburban and Tahoe, the Range Rover, the GMC Yukon, the Toyota Land Cruiser and Sequoia, the Lincoln Navigator, the Mercedes M Class, the Porsche Cayenne S, and the Dodge Ram 1500 pickup (with optional Hemi). What about the Hummer, you ask? Hasta la vista, baby!


the actual article on Slate

Scientists found out why a couple kisses with eyes shut

Why do people close their eyes when they kiss? One scientist from Singapore who had been determined to answer the question, finally proposed his hypothesis on such account on Saturday. Apparently, people behave the way they do due to three reasons.

First of all, people shut their eyelids when kissing in order to avoid getting overwhelmed emotionally. Secondly, they do so in order to avoid seeing amorphous facial features of their partner up close.

"The answer depends how one approaches this issue," says professor Min from the National institute of education, reports Straits Times. "The entire process of kissing triggers sensory overload," notes he. "Shutting our eyes, helps us reduce the emotional load."

There is also another viewpoint in regards to the issue. In the course of a kiss, you get to see blur, non 3D facial features; this can be quite repulsive," says the professor. That is why we instinctively prefer to have our eyes shut while kissing, reports MIGnews.com.

The third reason, which isn't characteristic of everyone, is modesty. "Some assume that people tend to close their eyes while kissing to put their partner at ease, so that he/she will not feel uncomfortable."


they sure don't haf nethin betta to do!!!!

We have selected the hottest movies/ads of the web!

They’re called the Banned Commercials!

Welcome to the orgasmatic washing machine where the spin cycle is saucy and the rinse rampant. Ride your way to an orgasmatic experience, plus, see the very first orgasm ina UK tv commercial.

This paper was turned in by an Oakland High school student who received the highest honors at the school district’s Ebonics translation competition.

Assignment: Please translate the following Rap song lyrics from Ebonics to standard English.

Lyrics:

And my jam knock in the Mitsubishi
Girls pee pee when they see me, Nava-hoes creep me in they tee pee
As I lay down laws like I lay carpet
Stop it - if you think your gonna make a profit

Translation:

I enjoy playing my music loudly on my car stereo. Apparently, women enjoy this also because they become sexually aroused when they see me driving. Oddly enough, when I visit the Native American reservations, some of the more sexually promiscuous Indian women attempt to seduce me in their homes. Their intent is to divest me of my earnings. Such actions are unacceptable.

Deception Detection

"Is he lying?" Odds are, you'll never know. Although people have been communicating with one another for tens of thousands of years, more than 3 decades of psychological research have found that most individuals are abysmally poor lie detectors. In the only worldwide study of its kind, scientists asked more than 2,000 people from nearly 60 countries, "How can you tell when people are lying?" From Botswana to Belgium, the number-one answer was the same: Liars avert their gaze.

by Brian Faler

Ralph Nader, that master of controversy, has a new bete noire: the Anti-Defamation League. The independent presidential candidate has become embroiled in an ugly exchange with the Jewish organization, after he suggested that President Bush and Congress were "puppets" of the Israeli government.

"The days when the chief Israeli puppeteer comes to the United States and meets with the puppet in the White House and then proceeds to Capitol Hill, where he meets with hundreds of other puppets, should be replaced," Nader said earlier this summer. That prompted an angry letter from the league, which complained that the "image of the Jewish state as a 'puppeteer,' controlling the powerful US Congress feeds into many age-old stereotypes which have no place in legitimate public discourse."

Nader is not backing down. In a letter to the group that will be released today, he reiterated his arguments, challenged the league to cite a recent example of when American leaders have pursued a policy opposed by the Israeli government and pointed to Israeli peace groups that he said share his criticism of that country's leadership. "There is far more freedom in the media, in town squares and among citizens, soldiers, elected representatives and academicians in Israel to debate and discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than there is in the United States," Nader wrote.

The longtime consumer advocate's willingness to criticize Israel may win him some votes, since both Bush and Democratic nominee John F. Kerry strongly support Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. But not if Abraham H. Foxman, the national director of the league has anything to say about it. "What he said smacks of bigotry," Foxman said.

The Road to the Hill

Catching up with congressional elections this week: In Georgia, Tom Price, a former state legislator, defeated fellow Republican Robert Lamutt in the state's runoff Tuesday. He will go directly to Congress, since Democrats there were unable to field a challenger. Price will replace Rep. Johnny Isakson (R), who is vacating the seat to run for the Senate.

Connecticut voters picked Democrat Jim Sullivan to challenge Rep. Rob Simmons (R), in a race Democrats consider one of their best chances to unseat a GOP incumbent.

Meanwhile, both parties are still waiting to see who will face Colorado Democrat John Salazar for the House seat of retiring Rep. Scott McInnis (R). Salazar is the brother of Attorney General Ken Salazar, who is the Democratic candidate for Senate. Two of John Salazar's GOP rivals were separated by just a few hundred votes and were waiting for election officials there to count provisional ballots. The district -- the state's third -- is considered a tossup.


the Washington Post Story

The Cost of War

Did you know over 2500 left handed people are killed each year from using products designed for right handed people?

Did you know British singer/songwriter Dido's real name is Florian Cloud De Bounevialle Armstrong?

You better think twice before you decide to stand behind an big airplane when the engine starts.

Bad Poetry

my cell phone doesn't ring anymore
With only pits left in their cherry bowl
Thou wouldst sweat from the ancient lore
my ciruits are overloaded, but I'll try to do better next time

Imagine this: there are two people besides the road wanting to get to the next town by putting their thumb up towards passing cars. If you were in such a car, which hitch hiker would you let inside your car and drop off on the spot where she wants to go?

A Catholic priest and nun have been caught having sex in a car at an airport car park in Malawi.

The 43-year-old priest and 26-year-old nun were caught “in the act” in a tinted saloon car parked at Lilongwe International Airport.

The pair was brought before magistrates where they received a suspended six-month jail sentence with hard labour. “It was a bizarre spectacle, the public alerted airport police after noticing the car shaking in a funny way,” police spokesman Kelvin Maigwa told the BBC.

In a packed and giggling courtroom, both the priest and the nun pleaded guilty to the charge of indecent behaviour in a public place and disorderly conduct.

The nun told the magistrate she regretted her brief lapse in judgement, while the priest said that as a man of God he accepted Satan had tempted him.

Clint Eastwood was once told by a Universal Pictures executive that his future wasn't very promising. The man said, "You have a chip on your tooth, your Adam's apple sticks out too far, and you talk too slow."

Thomas A. Edison, America's most prolific inventor, was granted 1,093 patents by the U.S. Patent office, more than anyone else--yet they included such duds as a perpetual cigar, furniture made of cement and a way of using goldenrod for rubber.

Henry Ford forgot to put reverse gear in the first car he manufactured. Then in 1957, he bragged about the car of the decade. It was the Edsel, renowned for doors that wouldn't close, a hood that wouldn't open, paint that peeled, a horn that stuck, and a reputation that made it impossible to resell.

Liv Ullman, two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Actress, failed an audition for the state theater school in Norway. The judges told her she had no talent.

Albert Einstein did poorly in elementary school, and he failed his first college entrance exam at Zurich Polytechnic. But he became one of the greatest scientists in the history of the world.

That means there's still some hope for all of YOU.

History of Crop Circles

Do you remember the television series Family Matters? It was a long-running "Perfect Strangers" spin-off series centering on the Winslow family and their pesky next-door neighbor, ultra-nerd Steve Urkel.

Maybe you remember the character Judy Winslow too? In real life her name is Jaimee Foxworth



And boy, has she made a career change......

She must be a Rude Beret! Para Private Mandy Curtis breaks ranks to blow us away with her weapons of mass seduction



The Sun revealed last week how stunning medic Mandy, 21, faced a court martial after a forbidden fling with a married staff sergeant. Now the brunette babe has staged her very own parachute drop ’em by posing for a sexy photo shoot.

Mandy, who says she’s set to quit the Army over the fling, said: “It’s every girl’s ambition to go topless in The Sun.

Office affairs is the hot topic following the shenanigans at the FA.

Kamasutra In The Office is the latest work by Russian sex writer Neonilla Samukhina and bosses will be seeing red when they catch sight of the manual. Explicit photographs and X-rated writing tell staff the best way to spice up the working day.



It explains how best to use office equipment as props when making love and suggests locations — such as the boss’s desk, the sofa in reception, a lift or even your own office chair.

And she kept returning to the shop complaining the spacebar on her laptop was too fragile.

Where to put the next 2 dollar bill she will recieve? Maybe it's better to take all that money to the bank.

Michael Jackson's looks are so off the wall that women think he is the ugliest man on the planet, according to a survey.

Competition for the title was fierce, with ginger whinger Chris Evans and pint-sized pop star Peter Andre second and third.

...

UNSEXIEST

1 Michael Jackson 2 Chris Evans 3 Peter Andre 4 Simon Cowell 5 Robbie Williams 6 Justin Timberlake 7 Liam Gallagher 8 David Beckham 9 Gareth Gates 10 Justin Hawkins

SEXIEST

1 Brad Pitt 2 Orlando Bloom 3 Nigel Harman 4 David Beckham 5 Justin Timberlake 6 Colin Farrell 7 Johnny Depp 8 Robbie Williams 9 Jude Law 10 Duncan James

Every guitarist has opinions on what some of the greatest recorded guitar solos are. While there are many that are commonly regarded as "great", there are lots of others that don't get as much attention. Not too long ago, the editors of Guitar World magazine put together a reader's poll, to find out what their readers considered to be the best guitar solos of all time. The results surely reflect the magazine's demographic (no jazz guitar solos, for example), but no one can argue the following 100 selections boast some great guitar work.


Jimmy Page rulezzz!!!!

For those of you who may remember, I posted an article a while back about how to remove Internet Explorer from your system which came as the result of Microsoft refusing to help me with this. Needless to say, thousands of people started flooding the sight to see how I did it and now even Microsoft is wondering how I did it. They have asked my advice on how to remove IE from the system. Read on for more details...