04 June 2008

Random news roundup!

First off, in the way of Things That Are Bad But Are Really Good News, we have: Surgeons: Man's 'Tumor' Turned Out to Be 25-Year-Old Towel

Surgeons in Japan thought they were removing a tumor from a 49-year-old man who was suffering from abdominal pain in late May.

Instead, they found a 25-year-old surgical towel that had crumpled into what looked like a softball-shaped tumor, Agence France-Presse reported.

Well, nobody likes to find out they've had a towel in their guts for 25 years, but if you're having a tumor removed, I think the relief would be almost enough to force the thought of a lawsuit out of your mind.

And in Big Brother Is Watching news, we have: Researchers Secretly Tracked 100,000 Cell Users Outside U.S. for Six Months
Researchers used cell-phone towers to track individuals' locations whenever they made or received phone calls and text messages over six months.

In a second set of records, researchers took another 206 cell phones that had tracking devices in them and got records for their locations every two hours over a week's time period.

The study was based on cell phone records from a private company, whose name also was not disclosed.

I guess the moral of the story here is, if you're headed toward the Mexican border with all possible speed and The Man on your tail...pull that little card out of the back of your phone, or, better yet, yank the battery out and chuck the whole thing into a ditch.

And, finally, in Why Paying Attention in Science Class is Important news, we have: Thieves take Jesus statue from church cross
DETROIT, Michigan (AP) -- Thieves who stole an 8-foot statue of Jesus Christ off a crucifix in Detroit may have been seeking copper to sell as scrap. Problem is, it's made of plaster.

The Rev. Barry Randolph said Wednesday that the statue at the Church of the Messiah is green and looks like copper...

[sigh]

Let's hear it for Michigan's public schools, hey?