Retailers aren’t looking forward to the holidays. Analysts predict sales will be flat, about the same as last year. Last year was bad — the biggest decline in Christmas shopping since 1970. But, once again, I think the analysts are going to be wrong. I think sales will be worse this year. (more…)

A recent study found that 2008’s media coverage of the financial crisis was all about big government and big business. Small-business issues merited just 5 percent of the total.

Newspapers and magazines and television experts were almost entirely focused on the auto industry, bank bailouts, and stimulus plans. And most of the research and reporting was done in New York or Washington. Very little of it was done out here where most of us live and work. (more…)

A few weeks ago, we told you about Eastern European criminals installing “skimmers” to steal personal information from ATMs. Now, it looks like those thieves won’t be trying their scam in South Africa… at least, not for long.

Cameras trained on cash machines detect when somebody tampers with the card slot. And then the troublemaker gets a face full of pepper spray from nozzles on the ATM. The idea is for police to rush to the scene and arrest the incapacitated thief. So far, however, only maintenance personnel on their rounds have been hit.

A promising approach. But some kinks still need to be worked out.

(Source: The Guardian)

With 370,000 industrial workers, Japan has the most robots in the world. But even these tireless workers are not immune to the recession. A 40 percent decline in production in Japanese factories means many robots are dormant, while orders for new robots have fallen by almost 60 percent.

The upside (at least if you’re not a robot)? Employers are eliminating robot positions before laying off human workers.

(Source: Popular Science and The New York Times)

From the annals of unnecessary scientific research and “that’s quite a reach” conclusions…

University of Edinburgh psychologists have determined that you stand the best chance of getting back a lost wallet if there’s a picture of a baby in it. They “planted” 240 wallets on highly trafficked city streets, and were pleasantly surprised to find that almost half of them were returned. Even more surprising, the rate of return appeared to be connected to the photos the researchers had inserted in the wallets. Eighty-eight percent of those with a photo of a baby were returned. Fifty-three percent of those with a photo of a puppy were returned. Forty-eight percent of those with a photo of a happy family were returned. Twenty-eight percent of those with a photo of an elderly couple were returned. And only 15 percent of the wallets with no photos at all were returned.

The researchers believe the overwhelming response to the photos of the baby reflects a compassionate instinct toward helpless infants that evolved in humans to ensure the survival of future generations. (Right!)

(Source: Times Online)

In times of economic uncertainty, people look for an escape from their financial worries – and Hollywood magic has become a popular refuge.

A recent study by the National Association of Theatre Owners showed that movie ticket sales were up in the first quarter of 2009, a 9 percent increase over the first quarter of 2008. Why? The trade group says it’s because going to the movies is a relatively inexpensive entertainment option. (They neglected to mention the $5 tub of popcorn.)

(Source: News & Observer and Kiplinger’s)

Smash your finger with a hammer or slam your knee on a coffee table… and, if you’re like many people, you can’t help but let loose a string of expletives. It turns out the swearing could be beneficial. A new study published in the journal NeuroReport found that spewing out bad language may actually relieve pain.

The researchers asked college students to keep their hands in icy cold water as long as they possibly could. During their “ordeal,” they were told to keep repeating either a swear word of their choice or a neutral word. The “swearers” reported less pain and could stand the water almost a minute longer.

So why does swearing help? The researchers think it might have something to do with the “fight-or-flight” reflex triggered by the brain when we are in danger. This primitive defense mechanism not only makes the heart rate climb (a reaction observed in the students who swore), it makes us less sensitive to pain.

(Source: Scientific American)

Before you turn in a job application, check what you wrote. And check again. A recent survey of senior executives found that more than 20 percent of them would automatically dismiss an application with just one typo. Twenty-eight percent said they would permit one, but not two. Only 19 percent said four or more typos would be okay.

(Source: Reuters)

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon 40 years ago, it was a huge technological feat. Here are a few fun (and little-known) facts about the mission:

• The computers on the mission had less processing power than a cellphone does today.
• Neil Armstrong’s “one small step” was actually a 3.5 foot jump to the lunar surface.
• Planting the American flag (made by Sears, by the way, which got no product placement credit at the time) was a difficult task. The moon’s surface is rock covered by a thin layer of dust. So Aldrin and Armstrong had to jam the flagpole in as far as they could for the pictures.

(Source: Popular Science)

You’re in Paris, snapping a series of pictures as the sun sets behind the Eiffel Tower.

You’re sure you must have captured the perfect image… until you check and notice an “intruder” in every shot: a fellow tourist, the rear wheel of a passing bicycle, a stray bit of debris in the foreground.

And that’s when you break out a new Web application called Tourist Remover. The software removes any unwelcome objects by combining the “clean” parts of multiple photos of the same scene into a composite.

(Source: Boing Boing Gadgets and SnapMania)

Eco-watchers say that traditional wood caskets can have a negative effect on the environment as a result of all the metal, plastic, and other “trimmings” that end up buried in the ground.

Enter the eco-alternative: a casket made of wool on a cardboard frame. The Swaledale coffin – co-produced in England by a coffin manufacturer and a textile company – is completely biodegradable.

(Source: Boing Boing)

You know the five-second rule, yes? If you drop some food on the ground, it’s okay to eat it… as long as you pick it up within five seconds. According to a study by Clemson University, turns out that thousands of bacteria could attach themselves to that errant bit of muffin in just five seconds – and 10 times more than that in a minute. So while it will be less dangerous the quicker you pick it up and put it in your mouth, it could still make you sick.

(Source: The New York Times)

It may surprise you to know that you can thank the U.S. Army for your good dental health – at least, in part.

People in this country didn’t pay much attention to dental hygiene until after World War II. But American soldiers were required to brush their teeth twice a day – and when they returned to civilian life, they brought the habit with them. Before long, it became the “in” thing to do.

(Source: Discover Magazine)

University of Dusseldorf researchers have found that when people are fearful or anxious their bodies release a chemical that others respond to – at least, subconsciously.

Volunteers were hooked up to brain scanners. They were then asked to sniff cotton pads taken straight from the armpits of a group of students. Pads were taken just before the students were about to take an important exam, and then again while they worked out on exercise bikes.

Based on smell, the sniffers could not tell the difference between the pre-exam “panic” sweat and the sweat that had been generated during exercise. But the brain scans showed that when they sniffed the pre-exam sweat, it stimulated a part of the brain that triggers empathy – essentially making the anxiety contagious.

The researchers believe this automatic sensory reaction may have evolved in humans to speed up the spread of fear within a group that’s in some sort of danger. As a result, it would jumpstart a flight to safety.

(Source: New Scientist)

A recent report from industry watcher iSuppli showed that overall computer sales are down 8 percent from last year. But when viewed separately, sales of laptops grew 10 percent over last year, while desktop sales dropped 23 percent.

This is simply the continuation of a longtime trend. Laptops currently account for 80 percent of computer sales in the United States.

(Source: Gizmodo)

Skimmers are small electronic devices that identity thieves attach to ATMs, gas pump card readers, and other places where you swipe credit or debit cards. They are used to steal card numbers, expiration dates, and PINs. And now criminals in Eastern Europe have come up with a new twist: a software skimmer that is inserted in the operating code (usually Windows-based) of the ATM’s computer. The program allows them to access all the personal data for all the cards used in the machine.

Security experts predict that the new skimmers could make an appearance in the U.S. soon.

(Source: Scientific American)

India has long been the go-to country for companies looking for low-cost customer service and software programming. And now Hollywood studios are increasingly looking to India for special effects artists to help make movie magic. Currently, the Indian companies are doing mostly midlevel work. But they hope the higher-end jobs, such as creating entire computer-generated landscapes, will start coming their way as their expertise grows.

(Source: Associated Press)

Consumers who are usually loyal to certain brands when it comes to food, cosmetics, and other products are increasingly shifting to lower-cost alternatives.

A new study from Catalina Marketing Corp. showed that among customers classified as “highly loyal” in 2007 to brands like Coca-Cola, Crest, or Green Giant, 33 percent had switched to other products in 2008. Meanwhile, grocery stores have been expanding their lines of generic brands.

(Source: Reuters)

A new survey from FutureSource Consulting has found that 10 percent of Web surfers in the U.S. and Europe have watched illegally downloaded videos. France appears to have the most violators, with 25 percent of respondents from that country admitting to accessing pirated TV shows, movies, and the like.

(Source: PC Advisor UK)

Wind power is already a growing source of alternative energy. But some researchers (probably the same people who predicted we’d be living in bubble cities on the ocean floor by now) are proposing a whole new model. Instead of land-based “wind mills,” they want to send wind turbines up to 30,000 feet in the air to harness the power of high-altitude winds.

These high-energy “jet streams” are steadier and 10 times faster than surface winds. The turbines would be tethered, like kites, to ground stations in order to transfer the collected power. Theoretically, say the scientists, a network of these devices could meet the energy needs of the entire planet.

(Source: LiveScience)

Great white sharks, it turns out, are calculating hunters. University of Miami researchers have discovered that they use strategy and don’t engage in random attacks. Staying just out of sight, they stalk their victims (seals, for example – we’re not talking Jaws, here), focusing on the most vulnerable prey and waiting until they’re alone before striking from below.

The researchers also found that individual great whites have a “base of operations” from which they hunt – information that could be useful in avoiding shark attacks on humans.

Scientists probing the secrets of “dark matter” will soon have a new home in South Dakota. Crews are building a lab in an old goldmine 4,850 feet below ground (picture six Empire State Buildings laid end to end), making it the world’s deepest science lab. Why go so deep? It shields their experiments from interference from cosmic rays bombarding the surface.

Short explanation of why they’re doing it: There is evidence that dark matter, which emits little or no detectible radiation of its own, can account for gravitational forces that have been observed on many astronomical objects. The scientists are hoping their research could reveal the origins of the universe.

A new study from Tokyo Medical and Dental University has found that stress on the cells in your hair follicles is what causes your hair to turn gray. And no, it’s not the stress of overdue bills or being overworked. Try chemicals, ultraviolet light, and radiation. These environmental stressors affect all the cells in your body – but especially those in your hair follicles.

(Source: National Geographic)

Movie magic goes beyond visual special effects. Foley artists specialize in recreating sounds from the mundane (horses galloping) to the spectacular (explosions) for a movie’s soundtrack. Here are some of the methods they use:

• Birds in flight – flapping leather gloves
• Actors walking in crunching snow – squeezing a leather pouch filled with cornstarch
• A large crowd murmuring – a recording of several people saying “walla, walla, walla”
• Punches –thumping a watermelon

(Source: Discover Magazine)

If you’re looking for a job, a car, or a great deal on a used sofa, the first place you might look is online, specifically on sites like CraigsList, Sell.com, and CareerBuilder. And you’re not alone. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 49 percent of Internet users say they have used online classified ads, compared to just 22 percent in 2005. About 9 percent of users visit these sites on any given day, compared to 4 percent in 2005.

(Source: eMarketer)

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The amount of bacteria in your armpits, belly button, groin, and inside your nose may alarm you. A recent study of volunteers found 205 types of bacteria in those places, which, because they are moist, are perfect environments for microbes.

The Human Microbiome Project is dedicated to identifying and cataloging all of the microbes living on and inside the human body. They will be analyzing their link to various ailments, as well as how to promote the growth of “beneficial” bacteria that help fight disease.

(Source: Discover Magazine)

File this under “freaky science experiments.”

Molecular biologists in Leipzig recently spliced human language genes into lab mice… and they started talking.

Well, maybe they weren’t speaking in any language we humans could understand… but it did alter the brain structure of the mice. Their “language” centers grew more complex. And the way they communicated with other mice – i.e., their squeaking – was different.

The purpose of creating the mutant mice? To discover how this particular gene may have evolved in early humans to give our species the ability to speak.

(Source: Discover Magazine)

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