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Federal arson investigators have been called in to help determine the source of a fire inside the cabin of an American Airlines jet last month en route to Zurich from New York, according to U.S. government and industry officials. ... * flight attendants used several fire extinguishers to put out a lavatory blaze * air-safety investigators and law-enforcement officials are still trying to determine the cause * The probe is unusual and has created a stir among air-safety experts, these officials said, because the airline initially asked U.S. law enforcement to get involved when mechanics failed to find the source...

New red spot appears on Jupiter Feature may be an indicator of global climate change on the planet. In what's beginning to look like a case of planetary measles, a third red spot has appeared next to its cousins — the Great Red Spot and Red Spot, Jr. — in the turbulent jovian atmosphere. This spot, which is a fraction of the size of the two other features, lies to the west of the Great Red Spot in the same latitude band of clouds. The new spot was previously a white, oval-shaped storm. The change to a red color indicates...

The co-founder of Matchbox Toys, Jack Odell, has died, aged 87. The engineer moved into the toy trade after joining a die-casting company that had moved into toy production. His daughter inspired the creation of his most famous invention in 1948 after her school only allowed her to take in an item that would fit into a matchbox. The miniature green and red road roller he developed for her to show off to friends became the forerunner of the Matchbox Toy empire. Among the firm's most famous designs was a miniature Coronation coach, made to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's succession to...

Temporary No Parking Signs Have Been Put Up in Front of the Hilton's Hollywood Hills Home LYNWOOD, June 25, 2007 (CNS) - Paris Hilton is to be released from jail sometime Tuesday, according to the Sheriff's Department, but paparazzi were camping out at the Lynwood jail overnight just in case the heiress is released sooner. A media madhouse was expected to ensure whenever "The Simple Life" star is sprung from the lockup, and temporary "no parking" signs have been set up in Hilton's Hollywood Hills neighborhood in an attempt to keep the paparazzi at bay. Over the weekend, mom Kathy...

The Wolfram 2,3 Turing Machine Prize Home Page Background Tehcnical Details ----------------------------------------------- Rules and Guidelines Wolfram Research and Stephen Wolfram are offering a $25,000 (US) prize to the first individual or group to successfully determine whether or not the 2-state 3-color Turing machine with the rule depicted below is universal, and submit a full proof of such claim to the satisfaction of the Prize Committee in accordance with these Rules and Guidelines. The invitation to participate, and eligibility to win the Prize, is extended to everyone. Each submitter must agree to be bound and abide by the rules, decisions and...

Smallville Planning Major Death Attention Smallville fans: This news might make you feel like you have butterflies made out of Kryptonite in your stomach, so read at your own risk. Inside sources tell me exclusively that one of the main four castmembers—Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack or Kristin Kreuk—will be killed off before the season ends. Although all of these castmembers are under contract for one more season (they initially signed seven-year deals), producers have decided to have one of their characters meet an untimely end, in a shocking plot twist. Naming exactly who is going six feet under...

My Little Cthulhu to Arrive in 2007 Production on My Little Cthulhu will start in December 2006 and the toys should arrive at the distributor by April of 2007. For wholesale inquiries please contact DKE Toys or look for a solicitation through Diamond Comics/Alliance Distribution. My Little Cthulhu is an 8" vinyl figure and has a suggested retail price of $29.99. There will also be set of six Little Victims & Little Minions ™ that will retail for $14.99. Oh, and stay tuned for details on an exclusive limited edition My Little Cthulhu.

"In this uncomfortably humorous survival guide, Wilson, a Ph.D. candidate at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, reminds readers that "any machine could rebel, from a toaster to a Terminator," and though the forms our future robot enemies may take are manifold, they each have exploitable weaknesses that, fortuitously, match our natural human strengths. So, if a two-legged android gives chase, seek out a body of water, as "most robots will sink in water or mud and fall through ice." It also may be a good idea to carry around a pair of welder's goggles, as lasers will likely...

Just as reports of Britney Spears entering and exiting rehab began to die down, local ABC affiliate KABC aired video of a bald Spears getting a tattoo last night in Sherman Oaks. There are stills of Britney shaving her head at celebvids.co.uk. Apparently every move the woman makes is photographed in some way. Spears doesn't look drunk in the photos... or very happy.... Although we sorta like the new 'do as it reminds us a little G.I. Jane action, some of the fans who sped down to "Body and Soul" to catch a peek of the pop star weren't...

We are D-Wave Systems, Inc. The Quantum Computing Company. D-Wave is the world’s first — and only — provider of quantum computing systems designed to run commercial applications. Please join us in February as we demonstrate a technological first: an end-to-end quantum computing system powered by a 16-qubit quantum processor, running two commercial applications — live. For your convenience, we will host this event in two locations: Silicon Valley and, two days later, in Vancouver, B.C. near our home offices. We look forward to seeing you. -------------------------------------------------------------------- BOARD Haig Farris, LL.D., Chairman Dr. Farris is one of Canada's most well...

MOSCOW - A former software developer at Microsoft could make a trip to the international space station next year aboard a Russian rocket ship, the RIA news agency reported Monday. Hungarian-born Charles Simonyi, who was one of the key developers behind applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel, would become the world's fifth paying space passenger. (MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.) ... Simonyi, a Seattle-area resident, is an experienced pilot. He has also been romantically linked with domestic magnate Martha Stewart in the gossip columns. Simonyi accompanied Stewart on a recent zero-gravity flight, and in a narrated video of...

"Tennis player Anna Kournikova is 25"

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Seeing the Big Picture By Frank Lacombe “Here at the Visualization Center, we’re not interested in building something just to see if we can do it,” says Dr. Graham Kent, research geophysicist and director of the Visualization Center at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). “A successful technology project for us is one that yields immediate and tangible results for our scientists. We support the scientists at SIO by providing the tools they need to do better collaborative science among themselves and with scientists elsewhere, and to share scientific information with the larger community.” The...

CUPERTINO, California—April 5, 2006—Apple® today introduced Boot Camp, public beta software that enables Intel-based Macs to run Windows XP. Available as a download beginning today, Boot Camp allows users with a Microsoft Windows XP installation disc to install Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac®, and once installation is complete, users can restart their computer to run either Mac OS® X or Windows XP. Boot Camp will be a feature in “Leopard,” Apple’s next major release of Mac OS X, that will be previewed at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in August. “Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support...

Anger Antisocial Behavior Anxiety Appetite Disturbances Avoidance Body Image Problems Compulsions Confusion Cravings Deceitfulness Delusions Denial Depression Dissociation Euphoria Fatigue Fears Flashbacks Grandiosity Grief Hallucinations Histrionics Hyperactivity Identity Confusion Impulsiveness Intoxication Jealousy Learning Difficulties Mania Memory Loss Mood Swings Movement Problems Nonsense Obsessions Oddness Physical Complaints and Pain Panic Paranoia Psychosis Religious Preoccupations Self-Esteem Problems Self-Mutilation Sexual Performance Problems Sexual Preoccupations Sleep Problems Sloppiness Speech Difficulties Stress Suicidal Thoughts Trauma

Indian Wells, CA (Sports Network) - Third-seeded Maria Sharapova and former champion Martina Hingis scored straight-set quarterfinal wins on Wednesday to reach the semifinals at the $2.1 million Pacific Life Open. Sharapova, of Russia, easily disposed of Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-1, 6-3. Groenefeld, the seven seed, converted just one break points and was broken by Sharapova five times. Sharapova will next face the 19th-seeded Hingis, who beat 10th-seeded Russian Dinara Safina, 6-3, 6-4 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The former world No. 1 Hingis captured this prestigious hardcourt event back in 1998. The five-time Grand Slam champion Hingis upset...

Sun Java Enterprise System Provides Reliable, Secure Messaging Infrastructure Santa Clara, Calif. - June 8 2005 -- Sun Microsystems, Inc., the creator and leading advocate of Java technology, has been chosen by the Holy See to provide a secure end-to-end infrastructure to manage its Internet Office activities. The Sun Java Enterprise System, an integrated, open standards-based software system, along with Sun Fire servers running the Solaris Operating System and connected to a Sun StorEdge array create the foundation of this collaborative infrastructure. "E-mail is one of the most important IT services we provide at the Holy See -- enabling our...

Hingis sets up quarterfinal meeting with Sharapova 22.02.2006 Martina Hingis beat Anastasia Myskina at the Dubai Open on Wednesday to set up a quarterfinal with Maria Sharapova. Hingis defeated the sixth-seeded Russian 6-4, 6-3 in the second round to fix up the meeting with an opponent she beat in straight sets in Tokyo this month. Sharapova, seeded third, downed Vera Dushevina 6-1, 6-0 in 60 minutes. "I do not have revenge on my mind, but I don't like losing to the same player twice in a row," Sharapova said. "Martina played some amazing tennis in Tokyo, but it is a...

Will Apple adopt Windows? By Jack Schofield / Apple/ Windows 01:15pm "The idea that Apple would ditch its own OS for Microsoft Windows came to me from Yakov Epstein, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University, who wrote to me convinced that the process had already begun. I was amused, but after mulling over various coincidences, I'm convinced he may be right. This would be the most phenomenal turnabout in the history of desktop computing," writes PC Magazine columnist John C. Dvorak. Dvorak predicted Apple moving to Intel chips before that happened, but ... Way back then, Apple was trying...

Millennium Problems In order to celebrate mathematics in the new millennium, The Clay Mathematics Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts (CMI) has named seven Prize Problems. The Scientific Advisory Board of CMI selected these problems, focusing on important classic questions that have resisted solution over the years. The Board of Directors of CMI designated a $7 million prize fund for the solution to these problems, with $1 million allocated to each. During the Millennium Meeting held on May 24, 2000 at the Coll¨¨ge de France, Timothy Gowers presented a lecture entitled The Importance of Mathematics, aimed for the general public, while John...