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Kids in idaho are Darwinizing themselves

Are kids in idaho really this bored?!

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A 10-year-old boy was found dead, hanging from a tree, apparently killed while trying to get high by playing the “pass-out game,” authorities said.

Dalton Eby may be the second Idaho child killed in recent months while playing a choking game, trying to cut off the oxygen supply to the brain to achieve a type of “high.”

(…)
“During the course of the investigation it was learned that there is a game that is common knowledge to many of our youth. A game known as the ‘pass-out game,’ the ‘fainting game,’ the ‘tingling game,’ or the ‘something dreaming game’ — to name a few,” the statement added.

So who’s the fine young prodigy who came up with this lovely game? And did he Darwinize himself? I mean, really, as a kid I certainly don’t remember suffocating myself for fun!

Who cut the phones in the tunnels?

As a “security measure” that will probably end up only making the situation less safe, the Port Authority of NY and NJ has “indefinitely” suspended power to the repeaters that provide cell phone service to within the Holland and Lincoln tunnels, two pathways which allow motorists to cross under the Hundosn River from New Jersey into New York and back. They claim the move was a “safety measure,” as they believe terrorists could set off explosives by sending messages over the cell phone network to attached receivers in the bombs. Problem is, if a bomber really DOES want to blow up a tunnel, they can still use a good old timing device; and should a citizen notice something suspicious before a bomb does go off, no one in the tunnel will be able to call 911 and get help.

Also: they insist the shutoff was done at the request of “law enforcement agencies,” but so far, not a single agency, from the police to the NYC Mayor’s Office to the Department of Homeland Security own up to making such a request.

Way to think ahead guys. What’s next; shall all clocks, watches and timing devices be banned from the tunnels too? Or, maybe we should just mandate that time itself is suspended in the tunnels; yeah, that’ll work. Or, we can make the tunnels ultra-uber-super safe, and completely close them, so that no one can get into them at all. That way no one can blow them up EVAR !!!!!1one

A Feline’s Rude Awakening

loki

Name: “Not a Morning Creature”

Subject: Feline

Medium: Nikon Coolpix 7900, Nikkor ED Lens
– f/2.8
– ISO 50
– focal length 7.8mm (35mm equivalent: 38mm)
– Flash: Right. Perhaps you failed to notice the absence of drapes? This is a fully-armed feline. Firing a speedlight at this creature in its depicted demeanor would incite the risk of severe damage to nearby persons and equipment. (Mode 2: Compulsory Flash Suppression)

Date: July 9, 2005

Hope for the Point-and-Shoot crowd

C-4040

Award winning professional photographer Alex Majoli has developed a portfolio of breathtaking photographs from the front lines in Iraq, Congo and various other locales where a photojournalist laden with a heavy SLR camera might be shunned or even left vulnerable. His secret? He doesn’t use SLRs. Instead, he uses good old Olympus point and shoot digital cameras… the same stuff the average joe might buy at the local Best Buy, Circuit City, or (::shudder::) Wal-Mart.

And yet, he’s delivered results that are top notch:

Majoli acknowledges that most of his photojournalist colleagues think he’s crazy, but he’s been shooting with digital point-and-shoots for three years, developing techniques to deal with their shortcomings and exploring their unique strengths, which still intrigue him.

“I was interested in finding a camera that gives me some new way to approach the subject,” says the 34-year-old Majoli, who was born in Italy and now splits his time between there and New York City. His English is clear and delivered with a distinct Italian accent. “This camera, you can shoot in a different way.”

Proof that even the simplest camera can produce great photos, with the right person looking through the viewfinder.