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NEWINGTON, Conn. -- On a recent evening in this quiet suburb, Matthew Fiddler hunched over a door lock, jiggling it with a pick and poking it with a wrench. In just a few moments, it popped open. Mr. Fiddler wasn't locked out and he isn't a thief. Instead, the 36-year-old father of four, clad in khakis and a blue button-down shirt, was seated around a table with a handful of people who pick locks for fun. The group, a chapter of Locksport International, gets together monthly to poke and prod everything from padlocks to dead-bolt cylinders. They swap tips, hold...

Too late to give my son the Airfix fix http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/09/01/do0102.xml http://tinyurl.com/h8gzw By Tom Leonard (Filed: 01/09/2006) Although he is only four, it is already clear that my older son has inherited two character traits from me: a fascination with militaria — ships, planes, tanks and soldiers, especially soldiers — and an unfortunate impatience, specifically a tendency to hurl stuff across the room when things don't go right. Or glue right. For if there was one area where these two facets of my personality clashed most spectacularly, it was when I turned my hand to the fiddly task of putting together...

Kevin Costner has been revealed as the celebrity accused of performing a sex act while having a massage at a prestigious hotel in Scotland, after a tribunal ruled there was not a strong enough reason to keep his name suppressed. The Hollywood star was accused of taking off his towel during the massage at The Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, Fife, in October 2004, exposing himself and then performing a sex act. An earlier legal ruling had prevented his identity being revealed, but the tribunal chairman Nicol Hosie ruled that following widespread newspaper and magazine reports outside Britain, as...

Gnawing leisurely on the remains of a moose carcass, the wolf pack's alpha male seemed unaware that mortal danger was coming ever closer. Suddenly the eight-member rival pack burst into view. The alpha scrambled to his feet, but too late. Howling and barking, the enemy chased him down and mercilessly attacked, killing the hapless victim within a couple of minutes. It's not unusual for the gray wolves on Isle Royale National Park to target each other, said John Vucetich, a Michigan Tech University wildlife biologist who witnessed the carnage from an airplane in January. But the rival pack's brazen invasion...

Thursday, March 16 at 8/7c "Episode 101" SERIES PREMIERE This exciting series from Simon Cowell and the producers of American Idol about the biggest search ever for America's best new invention will premiere with a two-hour special, with coverage of open casting calls in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Viewers will see inventors all of all ages present their most prized inventions, featuring everything from the wacky to the heart warming.

Well, since this is going to show that I am a newbie here, I expect to be smacked for general cluelessness. Anyway, I was perusing some websites regarding one of the hobbies I enjoy (Watching Japanese animation - anime.) when I stumbled upon a link to the following website: Voices for PeaceWhich is publicizing a war protest album which, judging from the list, seems entirely filled with songs from the Vietnam era: War Pigs Eve of Destruction War Again For What It's Worth Masters of War Sunday Bloody Sunday War, One Tin Soldier Blowin' in the Wind Fortunate Son Where...

Battle Over Model War Planes RESTON, Va. , Sept. 27, 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (CBS) What's happening down in this suburban Washington basement could be a threat to the Military Industrial Complex. CBS News correspondent Rich Schlesinger reports that the threat warning comes from defense companies that build the real planes and say thousands of model lovers, such as 14-year-old Matt Jackson, are freeloading off their hard work. Matt's working on an EA-6B Prowler – a Navy jet. Schlesinger asks Matt if he thinks he's ripping off the Navy in his basement. "That's what I'm trying to do, yeah," says Matt. The...

It's True: PEZ Collectors Hold Convention Email this story Printer friendly format By Associated Press March 7, 2005, 10:25 AM EST DE PERE, Wis. -- For most people, PEZ is just a candy, but Barry Umbs calls his addiction to collecting PEZ dispensers "a bit of an illness." Umbs, an engineering manager for Rockwell Automation in Milwaukee, joined some 60 other self-described "PEZheads" at a convention in De Pere on Saturday. The man has been a feverish PEZ dispenser collector for the past 15 years, and seeks not only each kind of dispenser, such as ones featuring Bugs Bunny, but...

VIDEOS: (Windows Media Format) - First Test taxi - VIDEO1(3.4MB) - First Video of Takeoff - VIDEO2 (2.1MB) - Long video of flying - VIDEO3 (29.2MB) - Video of the Crash - VIDEO4 (4.6MB) B-52 Specs: Builder: Gordon Nichols Contributing Team Members: Lance Bell (Co-constuctor, plans) Neil Dare (Undercarriage systems design and build) Dave Biddington (Engine pod design and moulding) Bob Everitt (Tail cone and rear armament construction) Wingspan: 23' Length: 23' Speed: Range: Dry Weight: 297 lbs Fueled Weight: 330lbs (inside the CAA 150kg limit) Fuel Capacity: 22 litres Jet A1 Kit Manufacturer: N/A Kit Availability: N/A Servo/Usage List:...

Feb 5, 2005 Guys in US are taking up knitting CHICAGO - ERIC Garcia and Matthew Kane are holed up in a classroom corner, chatting casually as they each knit a sock for a school project. They ponder the thought that their actions might be a little, well, unexpected. 'Girls can be truckers,' said 11-year-old Eric. 'Yeah, girls can be truckers,' echoed Matthew, who's also 11. 'So why can't guys be knitters?' A lot of guys are taking up knitting today, especially as the hobby surges in popularity on college campuses, in coffee shops and at the many yarn stores...

January 31, 2005: For over half a century, kits have been sold that enable military history buffs to assemble scale models of military ships, aircraft and vehicles. But that era is coming to an end, as the manufacturers of the original equipment, especially aircraft, are demanding high royalties (up to $40 per kit) from the kit makers. Since most of these kits sell in small quantities (10-20,000) and are priced at $15-30 (for plastic kits, wooden ones are about twice as much), tacking on the royalty just prices the kit out of the market. Popular land vehicles, which would sell...

Screen shot from Celestia with PSE2 post work.

Since most FReepers are personally responsible, hard-working, well-prepared, self-sufficient individuals, I thought it would be nice for us to get to brag about the fruits of our labor--whether it be traditional county-fair fare (canning, crochet, quilting, crops, cheeses) or FReeper-oriented fare (political slogans, FReep posters, FReep ideas, breaking news, opus posts, FR handles, FR profiles, posts-of-the-day, etc.) I'm not sure who the judges will be, but you all are welcome to post your entries here.

The Persian Wars may be famed in history, but few artifacts and material remains have emerged to shed light on how the ancient Greeks defeated the Asian invaders and saved Europe in what scholars call one of the first great victories of freedom over tyranny. It is well known that a deadly warship of antiquity, the trireme, a fast galley powered by three banks of rowers pulling up to 200 oars, played a crucial role in the fierce battles. Its bronze ram could smash enemy ships, and armed soldiers could leap aboard a foe's vessel in hand-to-hand combat with...

My Dragon Fly and Me If I could be a Dragon Fly and wing my way through the sky I would never be shy just me and my Dragon Fly! By moonlight we ride the wind chase the comets tail for fun by day we would hide from the sun our fragile wings would come undone On darkest nights we would use fireflies as our guides we would dip and we would glide through the heavens open wide and scatter diamonds in the night sky my Dragon Fly and I... And we would wing past our lovers silent in...

My Dragon Fly and Me If I could be a Dragon Fly and wing my way through the sky I would never be shy just me and my Dragon Fly! By moonlight we ride the wind chase the comets tail for fun by day we would hide from the sun our fragile wings would come undone On darkest nights we would use fireflies as our guide we would dip and we would glide through the heavens open wide and scatter diamonds in the night sky my Dragon Fly and I... And we would wing past our lovers silent in...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A bill to loosen federal restrictions for model rocket enthusiasts drew fire Tuesday from senators from New York and New Jersey, who said the proposal would give terrorists access to dangerous explosives. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the measure by Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., to change the Homeland Security Act to allow rocket enthusiasts to buy black powder and another form of high-powered rocket propellant without submitting to a background check. The act was passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Standing next to a seven-foot tall rocket, Schumer said the legislation effectively would allow would-be terrorists...

Nesting urge won't remove cause of fears Women should fight for real control, not hide behind knitting needles Tonya Jameson Experts call it "nesting" or "cocooning." I call it revenge of the home-ec teachers. Women in their 20s and 30s are knitting, sewing, cooking and embracing all kinds of do-it-yourself projects. But knitting is the hottest in this craze. Young women are doing it on New York subways, Los Angeles movie sets and in Charlotte homes. Cultural experts say the current frenzy feeds a desire to feel safe after the Sept. 11 attacks rattled Americans' sense of security. But the...

“It is the heart of the problem we face. Because if manufacturers like Estes can’t get rocket motors delivered to stores, the hobby is completely dead,” Van Milligan said. © 2003 Space.com. All rights reserved

THREAD 032 Dregs and Flakes Posts since 1/29/02 34,258