Funny Bone

Glitch's prank. this guy's luck. Google-operated domain service on 29 Sept 2015 sold google.com to MBA student Sanmay Ved, charged his credit card for $12, emailed him the transaction confirmation. For a glitch-created historical minute, a guy owned google.com beyond Google.

Washington Post - Max Schrems, left, and his lawyer Herwig Hofmann, right, at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Oct. 6, 2015. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

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For just $12, he bought Google.com - Babson College student, Sanmay Ved, briefly owns Google.com
For just one brief but unforgettable moment, a Babson College student owned the internet domain for the world's most heavily trafficked website. For just $12, he bought Google.com. Sanmay Ved is getting his MBA, but he used to work for Google. He was playing around with the website registration service, Google Domains. For fun, he entered "Google.com."

"I put in Google.com and it showed it was available," he said.
Much to his surprise, the domain he presumed would be unavailable, actually was. "I thought it was a mistake or something that should not happen, Google.net, is unavailable, but...(shows paperwork) as you see, Google.com is showing as available," he said, referencing screenshots.  read more »

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Texting while driving is a growing trend, and a national epidemic, quickly becoming one of the country’s top killers. Drivers assume they can handle texting while driving and remain safe, but the numbers don’t lie.

Texting While Driving Causes:
1. 1,600,000 accidents per year – National Safety Council
2. 330,000 injuries per year – Harvard Center for Risk Analysis Study
3. 11 teen deaths EVERY DAY – Ins. Institute for Hwy Safety Fatality Facts
4. Nearly 25% of ALL car accidents

Texting While Driving Is:
1. About 6 times more likely to cause an accident than driving intoxicated
2. The same as driving after 4 beers – National Hwy Transportation Safety Admin.
3. The number one driving distraction reported by teen drivers

Texting While Driving:
1. Makes you 23X more likely to crash – National Hwy Transportation Safety Admin.
2. Is the same as driving blind for 5 seconds at a time – VA. Tech Transportation Institute
3. Takes place by 800,000 drivers at any given time across the country
4. Slows your brake reaction speed by 18% – HumanFactors & Ergonomics Society
5. Leads to a 400% increase with eyes off the road

A lot of times, we often wear our technology addictions as a badge of honor. Many people say “Oh, I’m so addicted to my phone. I can’t live without it. It’s like air.”

Here are several reasons why you shouldn’t be addicted to your phone.  read more »

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Car Hacking: What Every Connected Driver Needs to Know - many new cars are equipped with wireless technology that can make a driver's time on the road more stress-free and entertaining, but the technology can also bring a dark side. Two hackers were able to take control of a connected Jeep Cherokee from their living room as a Wired reporter, who agreed to be their test case, drove the SUV down the highway at 70 mph, according to the article.

Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, the two hacking experts behind the stunt, were able to access the SUV's Internet connected computer system and then rewrite the firmware to plant the malicious code allowing them to commandeer the vehicle, including everything from the air conditioning and music to the Jeep's steering, brakes and transmission, according to Wired.

TheGuardian - The problem with self-driving cars: who controls the code? Every locked device can be easily jailbroken
Should autonomous vehicles be programmed to choose who they kill when they crash? And who gets access to the code that determines those decisions? The Trolley Problem is an ethical brainteaser that’s been entertaining philosophers since it was posed by Philippa Foot in 1967: a runaway train will slaughter five innocents tied to its track unless you pull a lever to switch it to a siding on which one man, also innocent and unawares, is standing. Pull the lever, you save the five, but kill the one: what is the ethical course of action?  read more »

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telegraph.co.uk 23 Dec 2015 - Computer glitch frees 3,200 prisoners early in Washington state: the governor of Washington state has admitted that 3,200 prisoners have been released by mistake from his jails, after a computer glitch approved their early discharge.

Since computer systems were updated in 2002, around three percent of criminals have been released early due to an error that incorrectly calculated credit for "good time" served. Some of those who were released early will have to return to prison to finish their sentence, said Jay Inslee, the governor. Five have already been put back behind bars.

"That this problem was allowed to continue for 13 years is deeply disappointing to me, totally unacceptable and, frankly, maddening," said Mr Inslee on Tuesday. "So, when I learned of this, I immediately ordered the department to fix it, fix it fast and fix it right."

Mr Inslee said he had asked the state to work with local law enforcement to identify those people who need to be returned, and 7 of the 3,200 have so far been identified. The state estimates the average number of days offenders were released early is 49, with the luckiest prisoner being released 600 days early.

The state was made aware of the error in 2012 when the family of a crime victim learned the offender responsible was being released too early. But the state says the "coding fix was repeatedly delayed".  read more »

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Prince Harry’s moving Christmas card photo honors World War II Royal Air Force fighter pilot. The touching story behind - Harry recalled meeting WWII veteran Tom Neil as one of his "most memorable moments" of 2015, which is why it felt right to put it on the card. For his annual holiday missive, Harry chose a snap taken of him with a veteran at the Battle of Britain commemorative event he attended in September. (You'll recall his major Top Gun moment striding around in that flight suit).

Prince Harry's Very Touching Official Christmas Card - Harry and Neil, his "most memorable moments" of 2015 meeting a Hurricane ace Tom Neil, 95, in Battle of British, wwii  read more »

*NEW release December 2015*
*Book of L* iii
- Quotable Wit and Wisdom Collection 5
Available via Apple iBookstore/iTunes
Amazon Kindle
Kobo eBooks
Latin: Lumen Ad Viam.
Light would lead life out of darkness into lasting love.
To Light, is our dedication ~
3 lit candles,
3 Books of L,
each consisting of 3 sections:
1) L in Quotation
2) L in Latin Motto
3) L in Poem

other books in this series

"front runner" t-shirt, "relax" backpack, cartoon walrus iphone case...

"trust your instinct" throw pillow, cartoon granny coffee mug, kids apron...

2016 "light steps" / "stay fit" t-shirts, "health is wealth" apron, holiday gift wrapping paper...