Great government information on the medical efficacy of various non-traditional health-care techniques.

Treatment Information by Treatment or Therapy

] On May 19, 1995, I received a standard-sized gray
] envelope, stuffed with what looked like, through a small
] cellophane window, a check for $95,093.35.

] The documents I had expected to make me cry actually
] made me laugh out loud. First Interstate Bank of
] California was abbreviated throughout as FICAL. An acronym
] pronounced as fecal, not fical, I thought. This is a fecal
] matter.

I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks!

Bank Error In My Favor: Collect $95,000: Man 1, Bank 0

Looks like its official: Cartoon Network will start airing
.hack//sign this Saturday at 3:00pm. I've heard about this
anime but haven't had a chance to see any of it yet. Looks
like it should be cool.

.hack//sign to air on Cartoon Network

] PERTH is one of two spots in the world being considered
] for development of a space elevator, a new concept in
] space travel which it is claimed would make possible
] tourism on the Moon.
]
] A space elevator - an alternative to rockets and shuttles
] - would consist of a 100,000km ribbon of super-strong
] carbon-based material.

The West Australian

Scroll down a ways for the true story of where the One-Ring has ended up...

Frodo Fails...

St. Johns is a small Episcopal parish, a little gem of a church in a tough corner of the Mission District. For two decades, it has been a predominantly gay congregation that sees itself as "a community of faith welcoming all colors, cultures and sexual orientations."

But that has not stopped a bitter fight between the old pillars of the church and the Divine Rhythm Society, a group of mostly young and straight seekers with roots in the ecstasy-fueled rave scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Fight over dances and drugs tearing S.F. church apart

This is a pretty creepy use of Macromedia Flash. :)

Look Into The Eyeball

] The U.S. government has asked Internet users and
] businesses to practice "safe computing" online and
] promised to bolster its own cyber-defenses in a much-
] anticipated online security plan released Friday.
] More than a year in the making, the National Strategy to
] Secure Cyberspace seeks to protect the nation's myriad
] computer networks from damaging attacks like the
] "Slammer" virus that knocked out wide swaths of the
] Internet last month.

] The report advocates increased spending on cyber-security
] research and a greater degree of coordination between
] high-tech firms and government agencies like the FBI that
] could track down cyber attacks.

Wired News: U.S. Plans for Online Defense

quoted:
====
Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was in the passenger seat of her grandson's car when she was severely burned by McDonald's coffee in February 1992. Liebeck ordered coffee that was served in a Styrofoam cup at the drive-through window of a local McDonald's.

After receiving the order, the grandson pulled his car forward and stopped momentarily so that Liebeck
could add cream and sugar to her coffee. (Critics of civil justice, who have pounced on this case, often charge that Liebeck was driving the car or that the vehicle was in motion when she spilled the coffee; neither is true.) Liebeck placed the cup between her knees and attempted to remove the plastic lid from the cup. As she removed the lid, the entire contents of the cup spilled into her lap.

The sweatpants Liebeck was wearing absorbed the coffee and held it next to her skin. A vascular surgeon determined that Liebeck suffered full thickness burns (or third-degree burns) over 6 percent of her body, including her inner thighs, perineum, buttocks, and genital and groin areas. She was hospitalized for eight days, during which time she underwent skin grafting. Liebeck, who also underwent debridement treatments, sought to settle her claim for $20,000, but McDonald's refused.

During discovery, McDonald's produced documents showing more than 700 claims by people burned by its coffee between 1982 and 1992. Some claims involved third-degree burns substantially similar to Liebeck's. This history documented McDonald's knowledge about the extent and nature of this hazard.

FACT SHEET: MCDONALD'S SCALDING COFFEE CASE

Darwin wrote:
] quoted:
] ====
] Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was in the
] passenger seat of her grandson's car when she was severely
] burned by McDonald's coffee in February 1992. Liebeck ordered
] coffee that was served in a Styrofoam cup at the drive-through
] window of a local McDonald's.
]
] After receiving the order, the grandson pulled his car forward
] and stopped momentarily so that Liebeck
] could add cream and sugar to her coffee. (Critics of civil
] justice, who have pounced on this case, often charge that
] Liebeck was driving the car or that the vehicle was in motion
] when she spilled the coffee; neither is true.) Liebeck placed
] the cup between her knees and attempted to remove the plastic
] lid from the cup. As she removed the lid, the entire contents
] of the cup spilled into her lap.
]
] The sweatpants Liebeck was wearing absorbed the coffee and
] held it next to her skin. A vascular surgeon determined that
] Liebeck suffered full thickness burns (or third-degree burns)
] over 6 percent of her body, including her inner thighs,
] perineum, buttocks, and genital and groin areas. She was
] hospitalized for eight days, during which time she underwent
] skin grafting. Liebeck, who also underwent debridement
] treatments, sought to settle her claim for $20,000, but
] McDonald's refused.
]
] During discovery, McDonald's produced documents showing more
] than 700 claims by people burned by its coffee between 1982
] and 1992. Some claims involved third-degree burns
] substantially similar to Liebeck's. This history documented
] McDonald's knowledge about the extent and nature of this
] hazard.

I remember when I first heard about this case. I thought that the woman was over exaggerating her injury. Everything I read was from terrible news sources (The local Phoenix paper). It wasn't until recently that I discovered just how much she actually had to go through because of her burns. Their coffee really is too damn hot.

RE: FACT SHEET: MCDONALD'S SCALDING COFFEE CASE