Daily Archives: August 16, 2003

Daring IT Kidnapping, Theft

The 30-year-old the financial director of a computer distributor was kidnapped and forced to help burglars steal computer equipment worth more then $800,000. Police said the daring robbery resembled an MO previously only seen in bank robberies. This past Wednesday, … Continue reading

Posted in Wacky News | Comments Off on Daring IT Kidnapping, Theft

Unanswered Questions

The powers that be, up and down the line from the President of Con Ed to the President of the United States, were suspiciously quick to declare that there was no evidence or possibility of terrorism involved in the great … Continue reading

Posted in ESL Links | 2 Comments

World-Wide Grid Within Reach

30 years ago, Buckminster Fuller came up with a plan to plug all the world’s continents into the same electrical grid. Energy companies dismissed the notion as pie in the sky – and then proceeded to build such a grid. … Continue reading

Posted in ESL Links | Comments Off on World-Wide Grid Within Reach

Photo of the Day: Eye on the News

TOKYO – Cafe customers giggle as "Medama-man," which translates as "Eyeball-man," reads an English newspaper Aug. 13 in Tokyo. Medama-man was part of a "walking act performance" to mark the opening of Japanese broadcasting company Nippon Television Network’s new headquarters. … Continue reading

Posted in ESL Links | Comments Off on Photo of the Day: Eye on the News

Reminder: Nefertiti Tomorrow

Tomorrow at 9 (ET) is the Discovery Channel show about Nefertiti, legendary beauty of ancient Egypt sometimes called "The Female Pharoh" for her political power as well as her hold over her husband, the Pharoh Akhenaton, known as the "heretic … Continue reading

Posted in ESL Links | Comments Off on Reminder: Nefertiti Tomorrow

Court OKs Fake Drug Checkpoints

US courts have held that it is illegal for the police to set up random drug search roadblocks, exactly because they are random. Law enforcement needs a just cause to search a particular car. Yesterday, however, a Colorado appeals court … Continue reading

Posted in ESL Links | Comments Off on Court OKs Fake Drug Checkpoints

Another Semester Bites the Dust

The end of a semester is always a bittersweet occasion. The students are all bitter and the teacher is looking at six sweet weeks of vacation! No, just joking. The Summer semester LLM Legal English program I teach in ended … Continue reading

Posted in ESL Links | Comments Off on Another Semester Bites the Dust

Travel Channel Does World’s Best

Travel Channel announces a new series: The World’s Best. They should know, I guess. Weekly themes include: Top Ten Places of Mystery Top Ten Fun Food Factories Top Ten Parks for Viewing Wildlife World’s Best Roadside Attractions Top Ten Wonders … Continue reading

Posted in ESL Links | 1 Comment

“Kill the Prez” Prof Defends Himself

Last month we reported that Michael Ballou, who teaches “Introduction to U.S. Government” at Santa Rosa Jr. College, was in hot water with the Secret Service for telling his students to write emails to public officials containing the words “kill … Continue reading

Posted in ESL Links | Comments Off on “Kill the Prez” Prof Defends Himself

Flying Blind in a Microlight

Possibly inspired by Mike Newman, who last week set a world blind driving speed record (144 mph), equally blind Miles Hilton-Barbe is preparing to become the first sightless person to fly unassisted across the English Channel in a microlight plane. … Continue reading

Posted in ESL Links | Comments Off on Flying Blind in a Microlight