Link Collection

Two free tacos at Jack in the Box tomorrow! Just print out this coupon and pick up 2 tacos per person:
http://coupon.jackinthebox.com/


From August 3 - August 31, anyone with an August birthday can stop by their local Domino's to receive one FREE Lava Crunch Cake on their birthday!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Dominos-Introduces-Chocolate-prnews-3214503887.html?x=0&.v=1


China seals off a town to try to stop the spread of the aggressive and rare pneumonic plague. Instead of how the bubonic plague ("black death") was spread by flea bits, the pneumonic plague is spread by inhaling bacteria that is airborne from an infected person's cough...and the death rate is about 100%:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/03/chinese_plague/


Somali pirates got $2.7 million in ransom for a German ship, and are counting the money before releasing the ship:
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5721VD20090803?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews


Fire-fighting robots are being used in London, with robots being used in 10 particularly dangerous fire incidents already this year. Acetylene gas and other dangerous chemicals pose a great threat to human fire fighters...so they send in the robots:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8172739.stm


Interesting article about how Israel trains their soldiers to use small robots in combat. It makes sense that soldiers should be specialists in controlling robots just like other soldiers can be radio operator specialists:
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/08/training-the-israeli-armys-robot-squads/


The US military is looking for the ability to instantly repair war wounds:
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/08/miitary-aims-for-instant-repair-of-wartime-wounds/


Airports in Cleveland and Houston are getting the controversial full-body scanners:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/single.php?id=8444


Researchers have been able to effectively treat tumors with the use of nanotubes:
http://www1.wfubmc.edu/News/NewsARticle.htm?ArticleID=2677


Researcher found that malaria came from chimps:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/03/malaria.origins/index.html?eref=rss_latest


Five students and an engineering professor at Central Michigan created a "Smart Cane" that uses RFID to help the blind go between buildings on campus more easily:
http://www.physorg.com/news168533723.html


Math has become increasingly critical to biology research, with research applying Algebra and Differential Equations for breakthrough advances in Biology:
Article link


Researchers found a way to hijack computers on public WiFi networks by tricking them into thinking that they have a software update available, but instead of getting a software update the computer gets a malicious file to download:
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-327706.html


Given the state of the economy, it is not surprising that CEO pay dropped 7% from last year. One thing that people might not realize is that CEO benefits *rose* 7% from last year--perks such as company jets, club memberships, etc. are on the rise:
http://www.infoworld.com/t/business/ceos-rake-in-perks-despite-pay-backlash-975?source=IFWNLE_nlt_daily_2009-08-03


Google's CEO resigned from Apple's Board of Directors, something that had been expected for a long time:
http://www.cedmagazine.com/News-Google-CEO-exits-Apple-board-080309.aspx


Verizon cut almost all of their smartphone prices to $99, with speculation that the are clearing out inventory to prepare for the BlackBerry Storm 2 and the HTC Touch Pro 2. The HTC Touch Pro went from $419 to $99:
http://mobile.blorge.com/2009/08/03/verizon-slashes-smartphones-to-99/


Microsoft's Zune really never made a dent in iPod sales like they had been hoping, with calls for Microsoft to stop making the Zune:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsofts-zune-continues-to-struggle-2009-07-29


Several analysts are saying that Microsoft should give up on the Zune and buy Palm:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-10300823-82.html


Google Voice being rejected by the Apple App Store is causing the FCC to investigate the criteria for Apple to accept or reject applications:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/net-neutrality-debate-spilling-apples-app-store/2009-08-03?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal


Apple is accused of trying to cover up cases where iTouch devices burst into flames:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/mac/apple-accused-hushing-exploding-ipod-touch-claims-002?source=IFWNLE_nlt_daily_2009-08-03


Time Warner will offer WiMAX service in 4 markets by the end of this year, with Dallas and Charlotte launching this Fall:
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=179859&site=cdn


Cablevision providing free WiFi to its cable broadband customers could get a lot more interesting if they offer free WiFi voice calls to their cable customers:
http://www.wirelessweek.com/article.aspx?id=171222


Radio Shack is rebranding itself as "The Shack". Is that really going to catch on with their target audience?
http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/02/radio-shack-rebranding-to-the-shack/


Police were called when a man fell asleep in his car in an automatic car wash...it turns out that the man had stolen that car, so he was arrested:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/02/ap/strange/main5205549.shtml?tag=cbsnewsLeadStoriesAreaMain;cbsnewsLeadStoriesHeadlines


Longtime CBS soap opera Guiding Light is being replaced by Lets Make a Deal:
http://www.thewrap.com/article/good-bye-guiding-light-hello-lets-make-deal_4763


For Lori--Kara DioGuardi signed a contract to be a judge on American Idol next season. This deal was rumored a week or two ago, and soon after that Paula Abdul reportedly dropped her contract demand from $20 million per year to $12 million per year...but maybe she should have taken the $10 million per year offered:
http://www.tvguide.com/American-Idol/Kara-DioGuardi-Idol-1008608.aspx