wug7a Perched in a leather armchair on a San Francisco stage recently, Apple’s Steve Jobs declared a new age of mobile media devices, starting with the new iPad. But for the millions of pedestrians outside in the streets, those distracting gadgets—especially cell phones—are creating some shocking, but mostly unreported, safety risks. The future of computing seems … Read more
“Older driver”—the mere phrase conjures images of Mr. Magoo obliviously driving over fire hydrants and scattering terrified barnyard animals. In real life, frequent news accounts of elderly drivers plowing into pedestrians—such as an 89-year-old who killed a 4-year-old girl crossing a street in Canton, Massachusetts in June, 2009, and an 80-year-old who did not stop after critically … Read more
For many people, the written driving test is the last multiple-choice test of consequence they will ever take in their lives. Too bad that 1 in 4.98 licensed drivers fail it. Perhaps it should be no surprise that 20% of licensed drivers flunk. After all, not everyone is a good test taker. Any surprise probably lies … Read more
There are times when parents lie in bed at night and calculate the odds. Prom night is one of those times. There is that pesky worry about teenage sex—and parental concern is always heightened when high school boys who have showered, shaved, and outfitted themselves in evening attire show up to escort high school girls … Read more
A 4.4 magnitude earthquake rattled the Los Angeles area this morning, striking at 4:04 am. No immediate injuries were reported. This quake follows a 6.6 magnitude quake that hit Tokyo on March 14. This latest series of quakes started with Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake (magnitude 7.0) on January 12. Then an 8.8 monster rocked Chile on February 27, … Read more
What’s the harm in a little spying? Maybe you know the temptation—your significant other’s cell phone is right there on the nightstand while she’s in the shower; it’s just so easy to scroll through the text messages to see if she’s been chatting with her hunky ex. Or his email inbox is left open on … Read more
The plan seemed foolproof, as plans usually do when you’re 17. Several students would stand guard while others used stolen keys to break into the filing cabinets of teachers for algebra, calculus, chemistry, and advanced math honors classes. They would steal copies of exams and distribute them to dozens of students, and all of them would be … Read more
What does the term “objectum sexuality” mean to you? Objectum-Sexuality is a natural inclination to develop meaningful and significant relationships to objects that possess a particular uniqueness in the eye of the beholder. In other words, people who joke about falling in love with a toaster or a pencil miss the point that OS people … Read more
Taking a cruise conjures up images of moonlit romance and high adventure—far from the worry of daily life. Yet cruise ships are no strangers to crime. In fact, executives of the cruise industry told Congress that of the 26 million cruise ship passengers from 2003 to 2005, 178 in North America reported sexual assaults. In addition, … Read more
On September 5, 2009, 23-year-old Shane O’Halloran and his female companion were in a romantic embrace when they tumbled overboard from Lady Brisbane, an Australian cruise ship. The woman was quickly rescued, but O’Halloran’s body was recovered four days later. O’Halloran is not the only person to die from falling off a cruise ship in … Read more