New Scientist Letters
Birds don’t have receptors for capsaicin? I had no idea. It seems seasoning your bird seed with chili powder will deter squirrels while not adversely affecting the birds.

BusinessWeek|online

Why is it that so many Americans — both leaders and average citizens — are so out of touch with reality when it comes to war and military-related matters? For example, when I opposed the invasion of Iraq, many readers castigated me in e-mails for supporting “appeasement” of Saddam Hussein, a la Neville Chamberlain’s approach to Adolf Hitler.

This guy makes some good points. Of course, he is preaching to the choir. The crux of the problem is the very question he poses: Why is it that so many Americans are so out of touch with reality when it comes to war and military-related matters? Hell, I will throw in History as a whole for good measure. Reading this article I see several points that most Bush supporters would bold-facedly deny as truth. The majority of Bush supporters still believe Iraq had WMD, that Iraq was connected to Al Qaeda, that Iraq is responsible for 9/11, that we are justified in torturing insurgents, etc etc… I reached my wits end Nov 3. It only pains me to stay on top of current events these days. I suppose I have largely disconnected myself. I wonder if there are more like me out there who, having been so confounded by the general stupidity of my fellow citizens, has tuned out. I suppose I am becoming as disconnected as George W. Bush. Then again, he receives only filtered or spun media and has only filtered or spun interaction with ‘real people’ (a la highlights of the last ‘town hall’ I caught on CSPAN). Perhaps by disconnecting I am only rewarding Carl Rove and the whack-o religious fundamentalists who are currently re-writing our text books and re-designing our society to create a population as ill informed and ignorant as they are.

BusinessWeek|online

A few years ago, the editors of Advertising Age came up with a ranking of the top slogans of the 20th century. At the top of the list: “Diamonds are forever,” for DeBeers. Others included Nike’s (NKE ) “Just do it,” Coca-Cola’s (KO ) “The pause that refreshes,” and Miller Lite’s “Tastes great, less filling.” These verbal icons are likely to be recognized by almost every American consumer.

…

THREE RULES. Rule No. 1 in slogan-making is…

State Farm’s “Like a good neighbor” came in at 70% recognition, that’s pretty good. Personally, I had no idea Coke’s new slogan is ‘Real.’

New Scientist Breaking News

The robot probe Huygens has beamed its first discoveries back to Earth, after successfully landing on Saturn’s giant moon, Titan.

The first actual data from the European Space Agency’s Huygens probe, relayed via NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, reached ESA’s control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, at 1618 GMT, prompting cheers and embraces in the control room.

“We are the first visitors of Titan,” said Jean-Jacques Dourdain, ESA’s director general. “The scientific data we are collecting now will unveil the secrets of this new world.”

“The descent through Titan’s atmosphere and down to its surface appeared to be perfect,” Administrator O’Keefe said. “We congratulate ESA for their spectacular success.”

Another small step in W’s plan to populate and exploit the moon. First other planet’s moons and then our own.

LogiGamer.com

LogiGamer is a utility that allows you to create different mouse button profiles for different applications, typically games, and then apply these mouse buttons settings for use with an application.(A profile is a collection of mouse button settings and other information specific to an application.)

LogiGamer also allows for the profile to be automatically applied when the associated application is launched, and for the default profile to be applied when the associated application exits.

The answer to my Logitech MX 1000 prayers.

Discovery Health :: HealthScout News

The “Get Smart” campaign features a series of print and radio ads meant to raise awareness about proper antibiotic use and to correct mistaken perceptions that antibiotics cure everything.

“Taking antibiotics when they are not needed can cause some bacteria to become resistant to the antibiotics,” Dr. Richard Besser, director of the campaign, said in a prepared statement.

Do you want to make an impact on the grotesque overuse of antibiotics which will invariably lead/has led to a super-germ(s)? Take the antibiotics out of our cattle’s feed! This is a no-brainer.

eWeek

The Mac mini will help Apple Computer increase its market share, and the iPod shuffle will solidify the company’s firm grip on digital media players. That’s the consensus among many analysts who watch the technology industry for a living. But while the cheaper Apple products look like winners, some believe they aren’t for everyone.

“Apple continues to show strategic flexibility with its lowest-priced Mac ever and an iPod at $99 with more capacity than I expected,” said Merrill Lynch analyst Steve Milunovich. “I continue to think Apple is building a sustainable consumer electronics franchise rather than just getting lucky with hot products.”

Agreed.

Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.com

The rising iPod sales are now clearly translating into higher sales of the company’s signature Macintosh computers, a trend that’s been dubbed the “halo effect,” analysts and Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said.

“In selling more than 1 million Macs, we’re clearly seeing it,” Jobs said in a telephone interview. “We’re thrilled.”

I have to say, those Mac Minis are awfully cool too.

Eweek

The Identity Resolution product accepts data from multiple sources and databases and melds it together, using built-in heuristics techniques such as name stemming and address variations, to compare disparate renditions and let you know who’s really who.

NORA, on the other hand, analyzes non-obvious relationships to identify who’s associated with whom or with what other organizations. For example, if your felonious Richard Smith of Maple Street shares an address with a job applicant named Mary Smith, NORA is designed to point out the potential relationship and its potential risk to an organization.