Feeling Superstitious?
Today is 2006's second Friday the 13th, which as you know, means…absolutely nothing.

Or does it?

Whether you're a true triskaidekaphobe (a person with an irrational fear of the number 13) or a paraskevidekatriaphobe (also called friggatriskaidekaphobe, one who suffers from a fear of Friday the 13th) or just mildly suspicious (if not wholly skeptical), consider this:

The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina estimates that in the U.S. alone, $800 or $900 million is lost in business each Friday the 13th because some people are so paralyzed with fear that they will not travel or go to work.

Check out Snopes for a number of theories why Friday the 13th is considered so unlucky.

We Salute You, Brave and Underappreciated Scientists
At this week's Ig Nobels (the bastard child of the Nobel Prizes), awards were presented to scientists for research that "cannot or should not be reproduced." As they have for the 15 years prior, this year's winners all made discoveries that "make you laugh and then make you think."

Finicky eating habits of dung beetles and the attraction of mosquitoes to Limburger cheese were among the findings that garnered researchers 2006 Ig Nobel awards.

Ivan R. Schwab received the ornithology prize for explaining why woodpeckers never have headaches.

D. Lynn Halpern, Randolph Blake and James Hillenbrand, the winners of the acoustics prize, were applauded for their experiments on why humans can't stand the sound of fingernails scraping on a chalkboard.

Francis M. Fesmire, from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, won the prize in medicine for his discovery of a most unusual way to stop hiccups, reported in his "Termination of Intractable Hiccups with Digital Rectal Massage."

The prize in mathematics was awarded to Nic Svenson and Piers Barnes for calculating the number of photographs necessary to almost ensure that no one in a group photo will have their eyes closed.

Last year's winners included researchers who studied the brain patterns of locusts forced to watch Star Wars and the guy who made Neuticles, replacement testicles for neutered dogs.

The awards are given out by real Nobel laureates.

LEGO Ice Cube Tray
You like building stuff while downing a chilled cocktail? Great! That combo has been made much simpler!

The LEGO Ice Cube Tray makes ice cubes with the classic LEGO brick shape. Whether you are building your own LEGO ice sculpture or simply serving the coolest cocktail (or doing both simultaneously…which, come to think of it, could make for sad-looking ice sculpture in the end), the durable silicon LEGO Ice Cube Tray is available online for $7.99.

It is dishwasher safe. (via Cool Hunting)

Setting Aloft a New Sail-powered Wind Generator
Researchers in Italy have high hopes for a new, flying wind-power generator. The Kite Wind Generator, or KiteGen for short, could produce as much energy as a nuclear power plant, reports Wired.

Here's how it works:

When wind hits the KiteGen, kites spring from funnels at the ends of poles. For each kite, winches release a pair of high-resistance cables to control direction and angle. The kites are not your Saturday-afternoon park variety but similar to those used for kite surfing — light and ultra-resistant, capable of reaching an altitude of 2,000 meters.

When the kites twirl, the rotation activates large alternators producing current. A control system on autopilot optimizes the flight pattern to maximize the juice produced as it sails on night and day. A radar system can redirect kites within seconds in case of any interference, such as oncoming helicopters or even single birds.

Research by Sequoia Automation, the small company heading the project, estimates that KiteGen could churn out one gigawatt of power at a cost of just 1.5 euros per megawatt hour, or, nearly 30 times less than the average cost in Europe of 43 euros per megawatt hour.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
DARPA has recently awarded contracts to several companies to develop a micro-miniature, autonomous, hummingbird-sized robot. The salient specifications are that this UAV nanodrone will be capable of searching for a target and delivering a small payload.

The Defense Department aims to create a robot that will think for itself and, more important, kill by itself — that is, requiring no human supervision.

See again this news item's headline.

Dude, I Know I Cut Off My Finger, But the Jets Are Up!
A U.S. study suggests men delay visiting hospital emergency rooms until after televised sports events have ended.

The three-year study by Dr. David Jerrard, associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center, involved emergency department records at his hospital following 796 sporting events, including professional and college football, professional baseball and college basketball games.

Jerrard said he found about 50 percent more men seeking ER treatment following a professional football game than during the contest, and 30 percent to 40 percent more men seeking care following a baseball game.

The study did not address what health concerns prompted the ER visits. Hmm…a guy's favorite ball team, hail Mary passes and seventh-inning grand slam homeruns, beer, chips and sausage; me thinks heart attack shouldn't be ruled out.

Team Player, Deadline-Oriented, Decision Maker…and Bricks-Breaking Karate Chopper
Every so often, it's a good idea to brush up your resume, even if only to keep it up to date should you need to quickly drop it to the person in charge of your dream-job position that just opened up. And, of course, you'll want your resume to stand out from the rest. We don't suggest the following…

Aleksey Vayner last week submitted an 11-page resume and video to UBS' human resources department, reports the New York Sun. The Yale University senior identifies himself on his resume as the CEO of two companies, an investment adviser and a multi-sport professional athlete. His video — sent to prospective employers — shows him lifting a 495-pound weight, serving a tennis ball at 140 miles an hour and ballroom dancing with a scantily clad female. Finally, Vayner emerges enrobed in a white karate suit and breaks six bricks in one fell swoop.

Between athletic bits, Vayner takes the opportunity to opine on success.

An e-mail chain circulated last week shows that Vayner's cover letter, resume and video bounced from bank to bank in New York. Since then, he's become somewhat notorious on Wall Street.

[Story Trumps Any Witty Headline]
"My first thought was, 'Oh crap,'" said Ottawa County, Michigan clerk Daniel Krueger.

A typographical error on Ottawa County's Nov. 7 election ballot — in the text of Proposal 06-02 regarding a proposed state constitutional to ban affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment to individuals or groups based on race, gender and other items — will cost $40,000 to reprint 170,000 ballots. Each ballot costs about 30 cents. The $40,000 cost to reprint the ballots will come from the county general fund.

The error was a missing "L" — in the word "public."

'Nuff said.

Well, actually, no, there is one more thing: yes, $40,000 is a lot of cash…but dropping that much on such an inane goof is still not as bad as the $2 million comma. Dig?

My Sweet Hog
Each year for the past 26 years, the Toyota Engineering Society (TES) has organized a unique event that, to the rest of the world, seems absolutely wacky. Really, the event is a way for engineers to think well beyond their usual limits by "removing the wet blankets of costs and practicality." Known as the Toyota Idea Expo (sometimes referred to as the "Idea Olympics"), the event allows Toyota engineers to give their creativity free rein.

Now just when you thought contraptions couldn't get any stranger, here comes a walking motorbike — with robotic feet in lieu of wheels. (via TechEBlog)

Cheers.