The Linkage for July 16th
Here’s a quick look at what I was reading online from July 10th to July 16th:
Weaving the way to the Moon
As Apollo 11 sped silently on its way to landing the first men on the Moon, its safe arrival depended on the work of a long-haired student fresh out of college and a computer knitted together by a team of “little old ladies.”
Tags: history space nasa moon computer
Man blows up apartment while trying to fix mattress
According to local fire officials, a German man managed to blow up his apartment while trying to mend an inflatable mattress.
Tags: germany stupid
Chicagoans ask, “What you talkin’ bout, Willis?”
As of today, that 110-story skyscraper in Chicago – formerly the tallest building in the world – is no longer the Sears Tower. It’s the Willis Tower. And there’s a whole bunch of people who don’t like it.
Tags: illinois chicago architecture business
NASA admits they erased the original moon landing tapes
I thought it was bad when the BBC erased episodes of Doctor Who, but this is probably worse. It’s also worse than taping over your wedding video. I wonder what point it seemed like a good idea to save a few bucks by erasing one of the most important events in the history of mankind.
Tags: nasa space moon
Texas seeks okay to jam cell phones
Unable to keep cell phones out of the hands of prisoners, the state of Texas wants permission to set up electronic jamming devices.
Tags: texas law technology mobile
Glitch adds $23 quadrillion to Visa bills
A technical snafu left some Visa prepaid cardholders stunned and horrified Monday to see a $23,148,855,308,184,500 charge on their statements. And an additional $15 overdraft fee.
Tags: business technology fail
Texas’ web camera border strategy a massive failure so far
An internal report showed that just 17 of 200 cameras — one for every 70 miles of the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border — were installed with a $2 million federal grant received last year. Reports obtained by the El Paso Times indicate that nearly 125,000 people registered as “virtual Texas deputies,” but those extra eyes led to just eight drug busts and 11 arrests. The cameras were expected to generate 1,200 arrests.
Tags: technology texas mexico
Olympic hopeful opens brothel to fund his aspirations
An Olympic hopeful from New Zealand – where prostitution is legal – has opened a brothel in a bid to raise cash for his run at taekwondo glory in 2012.
Tags: new_zealand funny olympics taekwondo
Big Ben rings in 150th birthday
A giant birthday message is to be projected on to Parliament’s clock tower to mark 150 years since the first ringing of Big Ben. The Great Bell struck its first hour on 11 July 1859 and a year of celebrations is taking place for the anniversary.
Tags: uk london history
Stolen Boston memorabilia traced back to dead Yankees owner
A whole bunch of stolen Boston baseball treasures wound up in the clutches of a deceased New York Yankees owner in a case that has the FBI, New York prosecutors and Massachusetts officials all eyeing the matter with interest.
Tags: crime history baseball red_sox yankees
New system will chart baseball’s unseen skills
Offensive stats are easy to quantify, but defensive ability in baseball is harder to break down into raw numbers. Until now, that is, thanks to computers, cameras and a whole bunch of math.
Tags: baseball technology
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