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LOS ANGELES — A hotel tycoon’s dream of building an inflatable commercial space station is taking a step toward reality _ or a reality check _ with the launch of a satellite that will test the technology behind the orbital outpost.

The fact-finding mission scheduled for this week will explore the feasibility of Robert Bigelow’s planned commercial space complex. When finished by 2015, he said, it will consist of balloon-like modules strung together like sausage links and serve as a hotel, laboratory, college or entertainment venue.

The planned liftoff from Russia of Bigelow Aerospace’s privately funded Genesis I spacecraft will mark the beginning of the startup’s attempt to break into the fledging manned commercial spaceflight business.

Story Source

I recall hearing a statistic a while ago that more than 1 in 3 households has a PlayStation or PlayStation 2 in their house, but what about prisons? There’s a group of politicians and others who say that video games should be offered in penetentiaries, if only as a reward for an inmate’s good behavior.

The rationale is that, with prison suicide and murder rates seemingly always on the incline, there should be something that can help with rehabilitation for non-life-sentence prisoners and overall to keep down the level of inmate violence.

A privately-run prison in Florida recently installed PS2 consoles and gave prisoners a selection of 7 games, predominantly sports titles. The money was not used from taxpayer dollars, but if this idea gains more support, your tax dollars could potentially be going to purchase the latest video game consoles for convicted murderers.

It’s not surprising that this policy is met with strong opposition, especially from Republicans, since there are law-abiding citizens who can’t afford things like a PS2.

Personally, I see this new trend having the most potential in white-collar prisons (like the one Martha Stewart went to), if they’re not already in wide circulation there. But I can’t imagine anyone ever putting into place a policy that would charge taxpayers for convicts’ video games.

CNet has an in-depth piece on the way increased computer usage and videogame playing affects kids and their bodies. Many more children are developing repetitive-stress disorders and complaining of sore necks and backs due to sitting in front of a screen for many hours at a time. With kids even doing homework online instead of in books these days, kids have no choice but to become used to long-term computer use. Check out the article for the full investigative report.

Um, Dell? Could you explain exactly what’s going on inside your laptops that could cause them to suddenly blow up, just like the one that exploded earlier today at a conference in Japan? I’ve always assumed the tiny magic hamsters running around underneath the keyboard were given enough synthesized gummiberry juice that they were never tempted to chew on any wires, but I guess things don’t always work as advertised. Apparently no one was hurt, though a reader of the Inquirer snapped a few fuzzy pics of the incident, which was punctuated by plenty of flames spewing from the laptop, and it went on to explode for five minutes. As the reader notes, it’s a good thing this didn’t happen on a plane, though it would make for a novel defense against, say… a bunch of deadly snakes!

Source: The Inquirer

The seven crew members of the space shuttle Discovery arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday to begin training for a spaceflight next month in which each will have a 1-in-100 chance of dying.

Those are the official odds that NASA has long given.

Exactly what the real odds are is a question that looms larger than normal this time.

Full CNN Story

CHICAGO (AP) – Twinkies, they’re not just for dessert anymore. The new “Twinkies Cookbook” has recipes for everything from a Twinkie Burrito to Twinkie Lasagna.

Theresa Cogswell compiled about 50 recipes for the book.

Many were submitted to Hostess, as part of Twinkies’ 75th anniversary celebration last year.

Cogswell tells Illinois’ Daily Southtown newspaper that one of her favorites is a berry-laden Patriotic Twinkie Pie.

It’s red, white and blue.

Cogswell says it makes a great centerpiece for a Fourth of July picnic, which you can also eat for dessert.

It took Vincent Ferrari 15minutes to reach a live person… and then this:

CLOCK READOUT – 00:00

AOL REPRESENTATIVE: Hi this is John at AOL… how may I help you today?

VINCENT FERRARI: I wanted to cancel my account.

AOL: : Sorry to hear that. Let’s pull your account up here real quick. Can I have your name please?

VINCENT: Vincent Ferrari.

CLOCK READOUT – 00:30

AOL: : You’ve had this account for a long time.

VINCENT: Yup.

AOL: : Use this quite a bit. What was the cause of wanting to turn this off today?

VINCENT: I just don’t use it anymore.

AOL: : Do you have a high speed connection, like the DSL or cable?

VINCENT: Yup.

AOL: : How long have you had that…

VINCENT: Years…

AOL: : …the high speed?

VINCENT: …years.

AOL: : Well, actually I’m showing a lot of usage on this account.

VINCENT: Yeah, a long time, a long time ago, not recently…

CLOCK READOUT – 01:47

AOL: : Okay, I mean is there a problem with the software itself?

VINCENT: No. I just don’t use it, I don’t need it, I don’t want it. I just don’t need it anymore.

AOL: : Okay. So when you use this… I mean, use the computer, I’m saying, is that for business or for… for school?

VINCENT: Dude, what difference does it make. I don’t want the AOL account anymore. Can we please cancel it?

CLOCK READOUT – 02:21

AOL: : Last year was 545, last month was 545 hours of usage…

VINCENT: I don’t know how to make this any clearer, so I’m just gonna say it one last time. Cancel the account.

AOL: : Well explain to me what’s, why…

VINCENT: I’m not explaining anything to you. Cancel the account.

AOL: Well, what’s the matter man? We’re just, I’m just trying to help here.

VINCENT: You’re not helping me. You’re helping me…

AOL: I am trying to help.

VINCENT: Helping… listen, I called to cancel the account. Helping me would be canceling the account. Please help me and cancel the account.

AOL: No, it wouldn’t actually…

VINCENT: Cancel my account…

AOL: : Turning off your account…

VINCENT: …cancel the account…

AOL: : …would be the worst thing that…

VINCENT: …cancel the account.

CLOCK READOUT – 03:02

AOL: Okay, cause I’m just trying to figure out…

VINCENT: Cancel the account. I don’t know how to make this any clearer for you. Cancel the account. When I say cancel the account, I don’t mean help me figure out how to keep it, I mean cancel the account.

AOL: : Well, I’m sorry, I don’t know what anybody’s done to you Vincent because all I’m…

VINCENT: Will you please cancel the account.

CLOCK READOUT – 03:32

AOL: : Alright, some day when you calmed down you’re gonna realize that all I was trying to do was help you… and it was actually in your best interest to listen to me.

VINCENT: Wonderful, Okay.

CLOCK READOUT – 03:39

“I’ve never ever experienced anything like that,” Ferrari told CNBC.

Full story here

WAPATO — A motorcycle rider returning from a rally by a group opposing the state’s mandatory helmet law died after crashing into a pickup truck on U.S. 97 outside this lower Yakima Valley town.

Alcohol was suspected in the death of Jason Irvine, 27, of Yakima, who was wearing a helmet while returning from an annual rally at the Toppenish fairgrounds by American Bikers Aimed Toward Education, or ABATE, Washington State Patrol Lt. James W. Keightley said.

A rally representative would not comment to the Yakima Herald-Republic. According to ABATE’s Web site, the group does not advocate riding without a helmet, only that riders be given a choice.

Irvine and another biker were northbound when a Ford F-150 ahead of them pulled to the shoulder to check a possible mechanical problem about 2:20 p.m., Keightley said.

The first rider swung around the truck, but Irvine hit the left rear corner of the vehicle and remained with the motorcycle for about 80 feet before coming to a stop on the roadway.

Irvine, who was pronounced dead at the scene, might have been struck by a second pickup.

Story Source

WASHINGTON — For a governor with a secret hot line to the Department of Homeland Security, the only thing worse than hearing that phone ring, is answering the call and hearing:

“Hello! Are you satisfied with your long-distance service provider?”

“Every time that phone rings, it’s telemarketers,” grumbled Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, whose secret homeland defense hot line sits in her office, ringing occasionally with offers of time share condominiums and great deals on long distance.

“I wonder about the security of that line,” said Minner, noting that other governors have reported similarly unwelcome intrusions on the hot line phones that are supposed to ring only in the event of a national catastrophe.

Read the Ful Story here, story via POEnews.

DEKALB, Ill. Starting today, kids with a passion for Harry Potter can play a “muggle” version of quidditch (KWI’-ditch) at Northern Illinois University.

N-I-U’s holding The Muggle Academy for junior high and high school students. The academic summer camp is modeled after Hogwarts, the fictional school of witchcraft and wizardry in the wildly popular Harry Potter book series by J-K Rowling.

Participants will be pitted against each other in Potter trivia contests, attend a Yule Ball and study the Harry Potter movies. Campers will be sorted into four houses, just like Hogwarts students.

N-I-U faculty members Karley Adney and Caresse John came up with the idea after attending a symposium in Salem, Massachusetts. Adney was a presenter at the meeting which taked about Harry Potter’s effect on culture.

Source: AP