Free Republic

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- Lockheed Martin landed a $3.9 million contract to develop a rifle scope attachment meant to improve accuracy in the U.S. military. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract authorized the development of system using a low-power laser rangefinder that adjusts for wind and other environmental conditions. The system is meant to allow soldiers to accurately view targets at varying distances without changing scopes. Scopes currently focus primarily on a single target range "impacting soldiers' effectiveness and survivability when engaging targets at different distances during a single mission," said Dan Schultz, a Lockheed Martin vice president.

CHICAGO - Harvey Bumpus doesn't like to eat alone. But his wife died more than a year ago and his family is scattered across the country. Most nights, he heats up a simple meal of oatmeal or hot dogs and eats alone. "I don't have much choice," said the 82-year-old retired correctional officer who looks forward to Christmas as one of the few days each year when he gathers with his family. But when the planes, trains and automobiles that brought everyone together take his family away — he, like millions of other elderly people, will be alone again. Now,...

BEIJING (AFP) - A company in south China has developed the nation's first cooking robot, equipping it with the skills to cook thousands of traditional dishes, state media said. The robot, developed by Fanxing Science and Technology Co. in the city of Shenzhen, knows how to "fry, bake, boil and steam, and can perform other special Chinese cooking actions," Xinhua news agency reported. At a recent show arranged by the company, the robot cooked a dish of "beautifully-flavored, attractive-looking" shrimp in five minutes, according to Xinhua. The robot will hit the market in 2007, targeting mainly fast-food restaurants, while a...

MANAMA, Bahrain, April 26, 2006 – Since Sept. 11, 2001, Americans have grown more familiar with the term "actionable intelligence," the type used to track, kill or capture terrorists. Dutch Navy Lt. Cmdr. Leon Scheffer stands at the door adorned with member flags of the Coalition Intelligence Fusion Cell at the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. Photo by Jim Garamone   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Coalition Intelligence Fusion Cell here seeks to give ships of combined task forces the intelligence they can act upon to keep the sea lanes safe for merchants, travelers and...

Researcher Develops Methods to Test Artifacts' Links to the Bible Newswise — A Purdue University professor has invented a system to judge whether ancient inscriptions refer to people in the Bible. Lawrence Mykytiuk (MICK-ee-took) uses the system to test whether archaeological inscriptions refer to ancient Hebrew kings such as David, Omri, Jeroboam II, Uzziah and other Old Testament personages such as Mesha and the high priest Hilkiah. The system and results are detailed in his new book, "Identifying Biblical Persons in Northwest Semitic Inscriptions of 1200-539 B.C.E." (Society of Biblical Literature, $42.95). Mykytiuk's work steps outside the conflict between two...