Homeland security knife

Great "urban camo"

These apparently are dangerous times. Terrorists can be living next door... that's why gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson has on its online store an entire section with "homeland security accessories": all kind of knives, camouflage caps and "shooter shirts". I especially liked this homeland security knife "with urban camo serrated blade. Only 35 bucks - and you're ready for a fight with any Al Queda member...

In the headlines

This is what caught my attention from the news. A random selection:

- Google lists 42,800 articles about the acquittal of Michael Jackson. Forbes has some interesting facts regarding the trial. For exemple: In the entire state of California in 2002 (the last year for which statistics are available), there were 236,471 felony charge dispositions and just 766 acquittals - about three-tenths of 1% of all cases.
- More than 1,700 American forces have now been killed in Iraq, in President 'Bush's "Happy Thoughts" Death Trap.' Plus: "The body counts are back." (via Cursor.org)
- Showdown in the capital of France: Rival planemakers Boeing and Airbus have both unveiled big orders for their new planes as the pair square up to each other at the Paris Air Show, the Airbus A380 (detailed information here and here - the world's largest airliner -, and the Boeing 777.
- An earth-like planet has found outside our solar system.
- O my. Destiny's Child will be history soon.
- News.com reports that thrillionaires are the new space capitalists. Microsoft co-found Paul Allen is responsible for SpaceShipOne, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin, British entrepreneur Richard Branson created Virgin Galactic. And Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal, created the rocket company SpaceX, among others.
- After Paris proposed to Paris - can the world survive without the Hilton heiress?
- The weather is the Californian desert is beautiful, the weather in Europe sucks.
- Can European politicians ever agree on something?
- Update: Michael Jackson's website just posted a note trumpeting his courtroom vindication, linking it with such historic events as the birth of Martin Luther King Jr., while his lawyer vowed his client wouldn't be sharing his bed with boys anymore.

Pennsylvania tourism hires bloggers

Rather than rely on travel writers to tout the best Pennsylvania destinations, the state's tourism office is relying on six bloggers to document their travels throughout the state. The authors of the blogs are "real people" who record their visits to prime Pennsylvania locations over the summer in exchange for their expenses paid. "We want to speak to consumers in a voice that they want to identify with," said spokeswoman Carrie Fischer. - This is an interesting move to bypass travel writers completely.

Ask the web - hot or not

There is a web site on the internet that says more about the laws of attraction than a degree in psychology ever can. Called "Hot or Not?" it is based on a devastatingly simple concept. Visitors to the site are invited to post a picture of themselves, which is then rated (out of 10) by other visitors. Next to each submitted picture is the average rating so far, showing with stunning predictability that we are not born equal when it comes to looks and that the more you reveal the greater the admiration you receive. This somewhat tongue-in-cheek site is just another example of how the internet has created powerful new ways of aggregating information for a few pennies and is causing managers to rethink age-old practices of market research and group decision-making. Ken Young from IT Week asks: Why spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on traditional market research when it is increasingly possible to do the corporate equivalent of "Am I Hot or Not?" by scouring internet chatter?
In June the Financial Times reported that several leading pharmaceutical groups are considering such services to find out what weblog authors are saying about their products. The services can also scan newsgroups and forums to look for exchanges of information between patients.
A new book, The Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowieki (and hotly tipped by Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point) focuses on just this point: that large groups can often make better decisions than individuals and small groups.