American Greetings Corp.

The black SpongeBob was a goof in printing, the card company says. Wal-Mart offers refunds but won't stop sales.

American Greetings Corp. calls it a regrettable printing error.

Somehow, boxes of SpongeBob SquarePants Valentine's Day cards are popping up in local Wal-Mart stores -- but the popular cartoon character found inside isn't his traditional yellow color...

AN UN-FUNNY VALENTINE: Greeting card picture evokes race stereotype

QUOTES FROM EITHER
PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES
GEORGE W. BUSH
OR SENATOR/CHANCELLOR/
EMPEROR PALPATINE FROM
THE STAR WARS MOVIES

George W Bush or Emperor Palpatine?

why? why not.

Does it ever end?

badger badger badger!

] WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. %u2013 Purdue University scientists
] have uncovered an unusual material that could lead to
] non-metallic magnets, which might be lighter, cheaper and
] easier to fabricate than magnets made of metal.

Weird.

%u2018Rule-breaking%u2019 molecule could lead to non-metal magnets

] Scientists have recruited an unusual ally in their quest
] to produce safer, cheaper rocket fuel: bacteria.
]
] The microbes help make a key ingredient of a fuel mix
] used in missiles but could also reduce the cost of drugs
] used to lower cholesterol levels.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Bacteria help make missile fuel

One of the teens from PhreakNIC, Michael Kozlowicz (you may know him as "The1"), filled me in on an event recently. In December, during a free period (flex block) at his high school in Carpentersville Illinois, another student asked him about web proxies. Michael explained to the other student how they worked.

A few weeks later, Michael got called in to the Principal's office, who asked him about the conversation. Michael felt he did nothing wrong, and explained in great detail what he'd said to the other student. He even put it in writing and signed his name.

To his surprise, he was then suspended from school, and eventually expelled.

He went up before a review board today, and read them a statement (linked below). After hearing the statement, the board then voted unanimously to make the expulsion permanent.

I have my own thoughts on the efficacy of the statement, but I'll leave it to you to make up your own minds.

Statement from Student Expelled for Recommending Web Proxy at School

] THE GEEK TEST

The Geek Test

] Tim Russert: And we are in the Oval Office this morning with
] the President of the United States. Mr. President, welcome
] back to Meet The Press.

I watched the interview, and listened, but I dunno if it's going to change any minds. I think people who had already made up their mind up to hate Bush, just came out still hating him, and those who already supported the war, still supported it after the show.

In any case, I still think the transcript is worth reading, but do it quick, since it *is* an election year, so of course it's going to be rapidly and thoroughly misquoted by both sides. ;)

NBC -- Meet the Press with George W. Bush

] Walt Disney yesterday agreed to use Microsoft software to
] block the illegal distribution of film and audio over the
] internet in a deal that moves the computer giant closer
] to Hollywood.
]
] It means that Disney, last year's top-earning Hollywood
] studio, will license Microsoft's digital rights
] management technology in a bid to prevent a recurrence of
] the piracy that is plaguing the music industry.

Guardian Unlimited | Online | Disney and Microsoft strike internet deal

]
] FOLED technology "opens a whole new range of
] possibilities for the future," said University of Toronto
] materials science professor Zheng-Hong Lu. "Imagine a
] room with electronic wallpaper programmed to display a
] series of Van Gogh paintings, or a reusable electronic
] newspaper."

Fun.

NewsFactor Network - Science - Researchers on a Roll with Flexible Computers