The Box

Late last year I bought a Simpletech  external hard disk.  This was a great product that worked well and provided the extra storage I needed, up until about six weeks ago.  Then the power supply that was supplied with it had a meltdown – literally, the thing melted and oozed oil all over the place.  So I contacted Simpletech and was really impressed when I was sent an email within 24 hours asking for my address so that they could send me a replacement.  Ha haha hahaha!  Since then I have not heard from them, despite three follow up emails and am still waiting for the replacement power supply!!

Self-proclaimed Jedis Umada and Yunyun, better known as John Wilkinson and Charlotte Law, are calling for the UN to acknowlegde what has become Britain’s fourth largest ‘religion’ with nearly 400,000 followers.

Umada, 27, and Yunyun, 24, both from London, want the UN International Day of Tolerance to be renamed the ‘Interstellar Day of Tolerance’ to reflect millions of people across the globe who have chosen to follow the Jedi code as a religion and truly reflect social diversity.

Link 

People magazine profiles Ben Underwood, a blind 14-year-old who uses echolocation to "see" in a fashion not unlike the Daredevil©. Ben, who has been sightless since the age of 3, makes loud clicking noises with his tongue and then listens for the echo.

From the People profile:

Ben’s ability to navigate in his sightless world is, say experts, extraordinary. "His skills are rare," says Dan Kish, a blind psychologist and leading teacher of echomobility among the blind. "Ben pushes the limits of human perception."

Ben learned how to read Braille and walk with a cane, but when he was 3, he also began teaching himself echolocation, something he picked up by tossing objects and making clicking sounds to find them. His sense of hearing, teachers noticed, was exceptional.  "I said, ‘Okay, my car is the third car parked down the street. Tell me when we get there,’ " she says. "As we pass the first vehicle, he says, ‘There’s the first car. Actually, a truck.’ And it was a pickup. He could tell the difference."

This week:  BBQ down at the Domain

BYO: Meat, Salad & Drink

Also: Don’t forget your togs if you want to swim!  

Organic Consumers Org have an article which reviews three new studies in this month’s issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine showing that the more time children spend watching television, the poorer they perform academically. One study was conducted at John Hopkins University, another in New Zealand, and a third at the University of Washington, wherein, over the course of a decade, 1,800 children participated in the study. Researchers found television leading to poor cognitive development, while access to a computer at home resulted in increased academic performance. Link