SPIEGEL Surfs the Web Torturing Troublesome Teens
Most people are aware that the older you get the more likely you are to becoming hard of hearing. But apparently it's not just grandpa who can't hear as well as those young whippersnappers. It seems teenagers have the ability to heard higher frequencies than most adults and one enterprising guy from Wales has decided to exploit that physiological phenomenon to help rid shopkeepers of pesky and troublesome youths. Howard Stapleton has invented the Mosquito -- a sonic device that emits an annoying high-frequency noise that can for the most part only be heard by those under 20. A test unit has successful chased away a pack of surly teenagers that used to darken the stoop of one Welsh grocer. Now if someone can just come up with a device to shoo away those people that stuff our mailboxes full of junk mail. And telemarketers
A Kalashnikov for Christmas
Wondering what to give your friends and family this holiday season? Run out of creative gift ideas? Well, you could always donate a rocket launcher in the name of that special someone. Or how 'bout a Kalashnikov? Perhaps a tank? No silly, we aren't suggesting you get involved in the arms trade. There's a novel
Web site offering to turn swords into ploughshares this Christmas. You can donate money so blacksmiths in war-torn Sierra Leone can make something useful out of the previously mentioned items. The site also lets you buy a
"supergoat" for villages in Africa. And if that's not enough barnyard for you, check out
this place . They've got chickens and sheep on offer. Or perhaps
oxen is more your thing?
Remixing the Washington Post
The Washington Post's online operation has started a new project that will allow users to " remix " the paper's content. People won't be able to change stories, but they can take them and headlines and repackage them for non-commercial use in creative ways across cyberspace. "Why are we doing this? Because we want to foster innovation , and because we want to see your ideas about new ways of displaying news and information on the Web," reads the paper's introduction on the Post Remix site. Dubbed "mashingtonpost.com" by its creators, the project hopes to highlight the efforts of Web developers while getting out the Post's online offerings to a wider audience. The BBC already has a similar project up and running.
