GM’s Last Fatal Mistake – “A 2008 Suburban 2500 with a 6.0-liter V8, four-wheel drive, automatic transmission and leather sells new for $43,235; a two-year-old model with 24,000 miles in excellent condition can be yours for less than $20,000. A new-generation 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser with a 5.7-liter V8 that gets 13 mpg city and 18 mpg highway runs for $64,785; a two-year-old model similarly equipped goes for between $34,120 and $35,975, depending on its condition.”

Secret treasures of Afghanistan – “In Afghanistan, over 20,000 pieces of ancient gold jewelry and artifacts were discovered in 1979. Mysterious “keyholders” pledged their lives to hide the treasures. Did they succeed?”

The Patriot Missile Failure – “On February 25, 1991, during the Gulf War, an American Patriot Missile battery in Dharan, Saudi Arabia, failed to track and intercept an incoming Iraqi Scud missile. The Scud struck an American Army barracks, killing 28 soldiers and injuring around 100 other people. Patriot missile A report of the General Accounting office, GAO/IMTEC-92-26, entitled Patriot Missile Defense: Software Problem Led to System Failure at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia reported on the cause of the failure…”

This Dream Home comes with a Mouse – “The Dream Home is a modern-day sequel to the Monsanto House of the Future, a Disneyland attraction from 1957 to 1967. The new Dream Home project, in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, includes some futuristic technology concepts, like its predecessor…”

Cement consumption by country – “Cement is mainly used to make concrete, and is sort of the “active ingredient” in concrete – it is combined with sand and gravel in roughly fixed proportions. So cement production can be considered a rough proxy for the total amount of construction going on in a country…”

Facebook ‘dipping’ craze irks pool owners – “Teenagers are using internet satellite images to spot outdoor swimming pools before meeting for late-night dips…”

Internet fraud has taken a sinister new turn – “These days, most internet attacks are much more sinister and are designed for financial gain, not cyber infamy. Organised crime has identified the web as a goldmine – providing opportunities to launch cyber attacks that will earn large amounts of money at a relatively low risk…”

Go Green And Save Green: Expert’s Guide – “These days there’s a lot of talk about “going green.” Some things are easy to do and don’t cost anything. Other things are easy to do….if you’re filthy rich…”

Jellyfish and human eyes assembled using similar genetic building blocks – “Even though jellyfish are the most ancient group of animals to have a well developed visual system, it turns out that their eyes are built with many of the same genetic building blocks that ours are…”

City sneezes at WiFi allergy claims, goes ahead with hotspots – “Late last month, we covered the goings on in Santa Fe, NM, and their plans to introduce free WiFi in a number of public buildings. As you may recall, those plans were being challenged by a group of cranky citizens who claimed that the plan constituted discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as they suffered from an alleged sensitivity to electromagnetic radio frequency emissions. Santa Fe’s city council has spoken, and it seems they think the complaint is a spurious as the rest of us…”

Is it time to revisit the current protein recommendations? – “Current protein recommendations were established with the goal of preventing deficiency, but newer research indicates that many adults may benefit from eating more than the minimum requirement. These findings are presented in a supplement in the May issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition describing the conclusions of a Protein Summit held last spring, which brought together the world’s leading scientists in protein research…”

“Amazing” Dinosaur Trove Discovered in Utah – “In just three weeks of work on federal land near Hanksville, Utah, paleontologists say they unearthed at least two meat-eating dinosaurs, a probable Stegosaurus, and four sauropods—long necked, long-tailed plant-eaters that could reach 130 feet (40 meters) long, making them the largest animals ever to have walked the Earth…”

Land of the Free – “Gas at $4 a gallon? A trip around the country can still be a bargain. These 25 destinations teach a little bit about history, science, nature, and culture — without costing a cent…”

Vista: Tweaked, Tuned, & Hacked

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