An article from BBC News states that the British Food Standards Agency is suggesting that the salt intake of youngsters be curtailed.

So, yesterday lots of people were towing the line that Microsoft wanted you to believe that the iLoo was a hoax perpetrated by MSN UK. But, since the AP claimed to have confirmed this with officials, I cast some doubt on that yesterday. Today, Wired agrees with me, and Microsoft …

According to an article on Canada.com, the most recent census in Canada has 20,000 respondents that report their religion as "Jedi".

BBC News is reporting that a rogue badger attacked five people, leaving one requiring two skin graft procedures. The animal was put down by local authorities.

Microsoft is saying that the supposed iLoo (covered in an article here) is a hoax perpetrated by their UK organization. However, an article in the San Francisco Chronicle raises some questions about how the release was confirmed. Personally, I think it's just Microsoft trying to cover up a silly project …

An announcement on the website of the Texas Department of Public Safety (the same organization that implements the Amber Alert protocols) states that the legislature of that state is recalling 53 state legislators to the capitol, under a provision in the State's Constitution.

Microsoft has announced that they will be providing a paid radio service (without commercials) for $29.95/year. An article on CNET describes the upcoming service and its origins in MongoMusic (a company that Microsoft acquired in 2000). The reported unique feature is the ability to search for music based …

An article on BBC News recounts the story of Maria Harding from Wales, who received an apology from pension officials after they finally admitted she wasn't dead.

After a 5 hour plane ride, 3 kids in the 3 rows in my section of business class (one about 6 weeks, one about 6 months, one about three -- only one crying at any given time), and a harrowing taxi ride at over 80MPH, I finally made it to the …

Yes, you read that correctly. According to an article on CNN, there is a high enough incidence of mental patients only willing to speak Klingon in Multnomah County, Oregon that the state wants to hire an interpreter to talk to them.

A study published by research firm Jupiter Research is showing that adding copy protection to a CD cuts its sales by nearly 76%.

A report from the BBC recounts the story of 2 copies of the upcoming Harry Potter book being found in a field just north of the printing plant where the book is being printed in England. Four people were subsequently arrested for the theft.

I went searching for this information this morning and found an excellent table from The Vaults of Erowid containing comparisons of the amount of caffeine in various beverages and drugs. Important safety tip, espresso is about 3 x the amount of caffeine as diet cola.

If you use the MSN Photos service, you better be an MSN member ($21.95/month), or get your pictures downloaded before May 21. A notification on the Photos main page indicates as much. Read more about it in this article from CNet.

I received an interesting call today from my father, who is currently looking for a new car. It appears that the local dealership near them was getting a substantially lower value for his trade-in than he was expecting (20% or so). When asked, they indicated their source was Kelly's Blue …

This article from the BBC News Service is well worth a read if you want a chuckle.

With the recent support of Cuba's dictator Fidel Castro by such celebrities as Danny Glover and Naomi Campbell, there is little doubt that the leader is still up for some debate (at least in some circles). Here is an interesting article on the subject of celebrity support for Fidel. Particularly …

Thanks to Amanda for pointing me at the following article on FreshMeat that describes perhaps the most significant issue in the free software movement, quality. The barrier to entry being as low as it is (relatively), many free software providers would rather build it themselves than coordinate with other groups …

An article from Reuters (appearing on Yahoo) details the findings of an LA Circuit Court Judge who decided yesterday to throw out the case of a man who has sued eBay for libel over negative feedback on their service. The case involved an eBay user who claims that eBay should …

An article on CNN tells the story of an Israeli police officer who was mistaken for a stripper when on duty. Apparently, the women of the rowdy party he came to tone down thought he was part of the entertainment and got as far as pulling off his shirt before …