March 18, 2005

Ontario's deficit balloons after accounting change CBC Calgary - Ontario's deficit for 2004 is likely to be about three times what the government predicted in the budget, the finance minister said on Friday, blaming a change in accounting for the difference. 1:15:56 PM

A chewing gum which the makers say can help enhance the size, shape and tone of the breasts has proved to be a big hit in Japan. B2Up says its Bust-Up gum, when chewed three or four times a day, can also help improve circulation, reduce stress and fight ageing. The gum works by slowly releasing compounds contained in an extract from a plant called Pueraria mirifica. In theory, this helps to keep the muscle tissue in good order. Pueraria mirifica, also known as Kwao Krua, is a species found in Thailand and Burma. It has long been used by indigenous hill tribe people as a traditional medicine.  UPDATE: You can buy B2Up Bust-Up gum here. 1:03:37 PM

Columbine copycats Boys plotted to hit Saint John High, police say Three teenage boys have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to seize control of a school and methodically murder some of its students and teachers. 12:39:07 PM

Ruling puts all of us in danger San Jose Mercury News - Consider the following scenario. A drug company's research determines that one of its drugs already on the market is dangerous. The company decides the research results are proprietary trade secrets and bottles them up. It's clear that the public would be served by a conscientious insider leaking the research data to the media. But after a ruling that could limit the public's access to vital information, insiders may now be reluctant to leak that kind of information. That's because Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg said a reporter's promise of confidentiality may not be worth anything when the leak involves trade secrets. That wrongheaded decision came in a case in which Apple sought to compel several Web sites that published leaked information about upcoming products to reveal their sources. The ruling flies in the face of First Amendment guarantees and the California Shield Law, which allows journalists to keep sources confidential. 7:42:44 AM

Google courts open-source developers CNET News.com - Google has launched a new site intended to serve as a central resource for developers working on applications related to the popular search engine. 7:37:06 AM

LiveScience.com Star Trek replicator one step closer VNUNet.com - Bath University has unveiled a machine that could manufacture household objects to order in the home of the future. Adrian Bowyer envisions a common manufacturing device that could make Wal-Mart practically obsolete. Instead of running out to buy a set of goblets or plates, you'd simply design them on your make-it-all machine and push a button. Poof, whatever you want comes out. A countertop manufacturing device might make dishes and bowls out of plastic with personalized designs. Fine. But everyone knows what we really could use is the ability to replace temperamental toasters. Won't happen. Special alloys that melt at low temperatures might be employed to allow construction of electronics, Bowyer says, but toasters are out because of the intense heat they must withstand. Bowyer likens the development process to natural evolution. As the machines replicate, users would tweak them to suit individual needs. The idea is not new. Bowyer's device, if he succeeds, would be a techno-child of the never-built Universal Constructor, proposed theoretically in the 1950s by mathematician John von Neumann. 7:25:43 AM