Rotundus.com

North Korean army minister 'executed with mortar round'

His crime? "drinking and carousing during the official mourning period after Kim Jong-il's death."

'I was born a boy, became a girl, and now I want to be a boy again': Britain's youngest sex swap patient to reverse her sex change treatment

I'm a little surprised that the article used "her" to describe a person born male and who now claims to be male again - had undergone hormone therapy but no operation.

The Worst Study Ever?

"WHO actually included immediate deaths from murder or fatal high-speed motor-vehicle accidents in their assessment, as if an ideal health-care system could turn back time to undo car crashes and prevent homicides. Ohsfeldt and Schneider did their own life-expectancy calculations using nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). With fatal car crashes and murders included, the U.S. ranked 19 out of 29 in life expectancy; with both removed, the U.S. had the world’s best life-expectancy numbers (see table above)."

For Hybrid Drivers, a Gas Pump Allergy?

"The surprising finding, however, was that drivers of the Volt, a hybrid that runs on electricity or conventional fuel, suffer from “gas anxiety,” or a fear of having to visit a filling station. Volt drivers even end up charging more often than drivers of the Leaf, which runs only on electric battery power."

Lily Ledbetter, for whom the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 was named was on the Colbert Report last week. Here's how the interview (American version) concluded:

Colbert: Are you presently working?

Ledbetter: No.

Colbert: Will no one hire you because they're afraid you'll sue them?

Ledbetter: You got it.

This seems to illustrate the basic problem of the legislation - it provides corporations a real incentive NOT to hire women.

This is pretty cool. A Stanford project on autonomous race cars, trying to push autonomous vehicles to the limits of performance to help their slower-speed counterparts drive better in the normal traffic conditions. This car was still beaten by a few seconds on the track by an expert human driver familiar with the course, but still interesting.

HT: Silicon Angle

British have invaded nine out of ten countries - so look out Luxembourg

"Britain has invaded all but 22 countries in the world in its long and colourful history, new research has found."

The Wages of Sinistrality: Handedness, Brain Structure and Human Capital Accumulation

"Lefties have more emotional and behavioral problems, have more learning disabilities such as dyslexia, complete less schooling, and work in less cognitively intensive occupations. Differences between left- and right-handed siblings are similar in magnitude. Most strikingly, lefties have six percent lower annual earnings than righties" Being a lefty, should this entitle me to affirmative action in the the hiring process?

Trial of Egyptian Muslim Cleric Accused of Burning Holy Bible Resumes

Not that I'm a particular big fan of it, but it seems kind of silly to prosecute for burning Bibles. Even the US Military seems to be into Bible burning (intentionally and without the apologies accompanying accidental Quran burning). Of course a little consistency is kind of nice every now and then - and this guy's actions seem to consist of a whole lot more than just burning Bibles.

Texas Man Stops Daughter’s Adoption, Barely

"A Texas man stopped the adoption of his daughter, but still plays second-fiddle to the couple who tried to adopt her. They have custody; he has visitation rights and pays them child support. Apparently, so does the mother who tried to circumvent his rights and place the girl for adoption without his knowledge. Not long ago, the California legislature passed a law, subsequently vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown, that would have allowed more than two people to be a child’s “parents.” But Texas has gone them one better. Adrian Ortiz’s daughter has four."