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Doomsday next month?
"Give these billboards credit: They don't hedge their bet," Religion News Service says. "Judgment Day is coming May 21, 2011 - not some time this decade, not some time this year, but precisely on May 21. The hundreds of billboards warning unrepentant commuters of their impending doom are courtesy of a California radio station led by 89-year-old Harold Camping, who initially predicted the world would end in 1994. In New Jersey, about 30 believers paid to erect the signs in hopes of warning and saving their neighbours, said Bob James, a Morristown electrical engineer who organized the grassroots effort. 'Seven billion people are facing their death! What else could I do?' said James … 'When you have this information, with my love for my fellow man, I wanted to tell people.' "
Other long shots
Slugabeds who don't watch tonight's royal wedding on television could be kicking themselves tomorrow if they miss any exciting moments. A few betting Britons, Associated Press reports, have wagered that:
- Kate Middleton will jilt Prince William at the altar;
- The happy couple's car will break down outside Westminster Abbey.
Teenager becomes king
Yesterday at sunset, the fabled "pink city" of Jaipur, India, acquired a new king, The Guardian reports. "The heir to the once independent Rajasthani city and its desert dominions will have succeeded to his throne - and to his heritage of lawsuits, snobbery and palace intrigues - at the age of 13. Maharaja Padmanabh Singh's title is not recognized by law since such feudal remnants were swept away by legislation in the early 1970s, but it still inspires respect in this deeply hierarchical country where the aristocracy is venerated despite rapid social change. … The new monarch was adopted as heir in 2002 by his grandfather His Highness, First Amongst the Rajas of India, Lord of Princes, Great Prince over Princes, Lieutenant-General Sir Sawai Man Singhji Bahadur the Second, Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India, Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, Maharaja of Jaipur." The maharaja, who died last week at 79, was better known to his polo-playing friends as "Bubbles."
Some day your prints will spill
There's a new form of undetectable Web tracking called fingerprinting, The Huffington Post reports. "Fingerprinting does not rely on cookies to track users. Instead, it detects the unique settings of a particular computer - stored fonts, installed software, screen resolution and more - in order to distinguish it from others. 'You can't identify fingerprint collection systems - they're entirely invisible,' said [Rainey Reitman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation] 'Rather than putting a device like a Web bug or a cookie on your computer, they're just looking at your computer when it comes to them and analyzing it.' "
Hushing the hospital
"Health care is noisier than ever," the Chicago Tribune says. "Worldwide, the sound levels inside hospitals average 72 decibels during the day and 60 decibels at night - far exceeding the standard of 40 decibels or less, set by the World Health Organization. The racket is generated by obvious bedfellows: human beings and technology. But the clamour of modern medicine can harm both patients and staff, a growing body of research on noise and health suggests. Unwanted sound wrecks sleep, raises stress levels, induces medical mistakes and contributes to alarm fatigue, which occurs when monitors shriek so often they are ignored or turned off, causing safety issues. In response to concerns, [U.S. hospitals]are launching 'quiet campaigns' that include eliminating intercom paging, replacing metal trash cans, installing sound-absorbing flooring and panelling, and dimming lights at night to remind staff to keep their voices down."
Call us in 2013, ET
"Interstellar radio has lost one of its most avid and high-profile listeners," CNN.com reports. "A collection of sophisticated radio telescopes in California that scan the heavens for extraterrestrial signals has suspended operations because of lack of funding, a spokeswoman said Monday." Funding was cut because of a state budget crisis and reduced federal dollars, said Karen Randall, director of special projects for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute. It will resume operations in 2013.
Thought du jour
"There are persons who, when they cease to shock us, cease to interest us."
- F.H. Bradley (1846-1924), British philosopher