Getting Even... Or At Least Trying

A California teenager who was paralyzed 10 years ago when a faulty handgun accidentally fired has raised enough money to buy the bankrupt handgun maker. He wants to "melt down 70,000 unassembled guns and close the company for good."

Meanwhile, the supposedly bankrupt founder of the guilty gun company moved to Florida, where he purchased a $500,000 annuity and a $900,000 home and hangar in Daytona Beach. He filed both for personal bankruptcy and bankruptcy for the gun company in Florida, where state law allows debtors to keep their houses.

He also reportedly owns a Lamborghini and other expensive cars and aircraft, which the paralyzed teenager's attorneys are pursuing.

Let's hope they are successful. Read more (+/-)

Government Cheese: Media & Kids

Many of us have wondered how TV and videogames affect kids' health or cause aggression. Now the Senate has passed a bill to spend $90 million to see how media really affects children.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., co-authored the bill aimed at determining the long-term effects of prolonged exposure to mass media.

"The media is such an important part in our children's lives that we need to have the federal government to tell us scientifically what impact it's having on our kids and, therefore, our country," Lieberman said.

Many advocates for children have long believed that electronic media, including the Internet, have detrimental effects on children and that too much exposure can lead to obesity, violence or sexual aggression.

Read more (+/-)

Family Influences Child's Weight

Here is a study that at first seems obvious: children with obese parents have the greatest risk of being overweight. However, the study also found that children with "sensitive" personalities are more likely to become overweight, as well as children who get less sleep.

Online Renting: Like eBay, But Weirder

Have you ever wanted to borrow something from someone you don't even know? (And no, we don't mean "borrow" as in steal.) Well, this site can make those dreams come true.

Moogul says its most popular service so far has been music sharing, with people arranging to borrow CDs from each other. Books and DVDs are also popular trades, but the service also encourages people to put things as diverse as camping equipment or home improvement tools up to share.

With these consumer-to-consumer swaps, members post what they have available, and create wish lists of things they would like to borrow. People can lend only to private networks of friends or to the Moogul community as a whole, and transactions are free or charge or involve a small fee for the lending.

Read more (+/-)

Test Your Taste

Take this fun little home accessory quiz to see what your accessories are saying about you.

The Truck Vs. the Apartment

If you aren't happy with where you live, at least your living room doesn't have a truck in it.

Before the apartment building ended the pickup truck's run Tuesday morning, it barreled over a bus stop sign, sped down an embankment and scraped three parked cars, residents said.

The driver, Michael Gross, 39, blacked out while driving south on Lake Otis Parkway near Dowling Road about 7:40 a.m., police said.

The truck swerved off the right of the road and traveled about 50 yards, dumping debris that included a propane tank, a toilet, a can of paint, and shards of wood, metal and reflector glass.

When it stopped, the front end of the pickup was inside the living room of the one-bedroom apartment in The Club at Eagle Point complex.

Read more (+/-)

Cosby and Education

This isn't even comedy, but he still makes me smile. "The more you study, the better you do now, the more will open up to you later."

Chicken N' Cheese: Rooster With a Death Wish

A rooster has been "hanging around" at a South Carolina Chick-fil-A. "We let him out, but he keeps hanging around," said manager Carlton Beall. Gee, there's a mystery: they don't know why he won't leave?

It's not that hard to figure out. The article says that Beall and his co-workers feed the rooster bread and biscuits. I think that might have something to do with it. Luckily for the rooster, however, the restaurant workers don't feed him any chicken because "it wouldn't be right to feed the rooster his own kind." Read more (+/-)

World's Smallest Folding Bike

British inventor Sir Clive Sinclair has invented the world's smallest folding bike, called the A-Bike, described as "the world's smallest, lightest foldable bicycle".

"My original thought was that if you could have a bicycle that was dramatically lighter and more compact than ones that exist today, you would change the way in which bicycles could be used," said Sinclair.

The mini-bike, unveiled in Singapore this week and set to go on sale worldwide in 2005 at a price of nearly $300, is built for riders as heavy as 247 lbs and is height-adjustable. It takes about 20 seconds to fold or unfold.

Read more (+/-)

Accidental Cheese: Statues or Dead Bodies?

This man was pulled over by police after "several motorists mistook the Nebraska-bound sculptures for dead bodies."

Geological Equipment Closes Airport

Next time, this guy should ship his geological research equipment via FedEx.

I Dream of... Cheese

If you could use this new gadget that helps people shape their dreams, what would you dream of?

Hamburger's 100th Birthday!

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the hamburger. I think we need to celebrate by eating hamburgers with lots of cheese!

Toads For Sale

This reminds me of the woman and the mouse. What are people going to do next, put flies in their soup to try and make a few bucks?

Robots Get a Farmer Tan

What I want to know is, do these "ag robots" also manage the cows and process the cheese?

Giant Burger Challenge

When I hear about people doing this kind of thing, I have to ask myself, 'Why, why, why?'

A New Tennis Ball?

Here are some of the ways that tennis balls might change to slow down the game.

Cough Syrup Vs. Placebo

This study found that cough syrup is no better than sugar water in suppressing night-time coughing in children.