Pantless Skier

There is no doubt in my mind that this severe wardrobe failure, and safety flaw, was not anticipated by the Vail, Colorado lift designers:

A skier at Colorado’s luxury Vail ski resort was left suffering from a double case of exposure after a freak accident left him dangling upside down and pantless from a ski lift.

Freak accident? One too many beers the night before? How would you test for someone falling through a chair? Needless to say there were plenty of people nearby to take out their cameras and document the situation…poor guy.

The story is that he was suspended only by his right ski, and it took more than fifteen minutes to reverse the lift and disentangle him before he could put his pants back on.

Gives new meaning to “bear tracks”…

Love drug

The BBC explores whether love can be put in a bottle:

So, if love really is just a complex chemical reaction, could that most powerful of human emotions be manipulated?

“Oxytocin increases eye gaze, increases our ability to recognise emotions in others,” Professor Young said.

“It may actually enhance our ability to form relationships, and so it is a very real possibility that something like oxytocin could be used in conjunction with marital therapies to bring back that spark.”

Mmmm, oysters as therapy. I know I should probably think about this in terms of the cosmetics and therapy industries but it also reminds me of Kelly’s Heroes when the tanks are led into combat by the hippie Sargent Oddball. He plays music and fires red paint to subdue the Nazis without hurting anyone. Imagine if he could have fired love paint, or sprayed it from airplanes.

FBI cracks Skype in Mumbai

Due to the deaths of American citizens in Mumbai, the US FBI has been authorized to partner with Indian authorities to investigate. Evidence is mounting that the attackers were not only from Pakistan but the operation was orchestrated from there as well:

Controllers in Pakistan watched live television and warned the gunmen of the arrival of Indian commandos, the report said, citing evidence amassed by the FBI and handed over to the Pakistani government.

The FBI had decoded Skype calls over the internet that were made between the gunmen in two five-star hotels and a Jewish centre in Mumbai with their LeT controllers in Pakistan, identified as Shah, Abu Hamza and Abu Qafa, it said.

Interesting to read they have cracked the skype calls although it was already known that US agents have greater access to GPS (e.g. Garmin) keys for decrypting the satellite communication. Although the attackers operated with very non-technical methods as well, this news will surely add to the controversy about news reporting, mobile technology tracking and monitoring.

Cold Cold Heart

by Hank Williams

I tried so hard my dear to show that you’re my every dream
Yet you’re afraid each thing I do is just some evil scheme
A memory from your lonesome past keeps us so far apart
Why can’t I free your doubtful mind and melt your cold cold heart

Another love before my time made your heart sad and blue
And so my heart is paying now for things I didn’t do
In anger unkind words are said that make the teardrops start
Why can’t I free your doubtful mind, and melt your cold cold heart

There was a time when I believed that you belonged to me
But now I know your heart is shackled to a memory
The more I learn to care for you, the more we drift apart
Why can’t I free your doubtful mind and melt your cold cold heart

as performed by Norah Jones