Warning of Bad Hair Days
Today's forecast for frizz-prone hair in New York City calls for possible light frizz and flyaway hair.

According to AccuWeather's Frizz Index:

The weather can have a dramatic effect on how well people's hair looks and holds it style. The Frizz Index uses a proprietary algorithm especially developed by AccuWeather.com that combines measurements of atmospheric humidity with other weather factors that create hair frizz.

Based on various frizzy conditions, AccuWeather's index correlates to the level of frizz that can be expected: Frizz Watch, Frizz Advisory, Frizz Warning and, most devastating, Frizz Emergency.

Let's be safe out there, folks. And well-kempt.

Ask Me Why I'm Naked. . .
. . . Is what the aprons worn by store workers urged late last month, when employees of LUSH Cosmetics stripped at 27 stores across the United States to protest excessive packaging of products. The protest urged shoppers to "go 'naked' by purchasing products free of packaging," Packaging Digest reports.

The shop workers, clad in nothing but aprons, informed passers-by about the environmental impact of packaged goods sold in cosmetic shops, supermarkets and other retailers.

Stunt Helicopter: Human-Machine Cooperation
This stunt robot at Stanford University learned some previously impossible maneuvers (for a robot helicopter) by essentially observing a human.

"The Stanford researchers had tried the traditional approach — writing a program instructing the robot what to do — but failed because the aerodynamic problems were so complicated," notes the New York Times' TierneyLab Blog. "So they relied instead on 'apprenticeship learning' and turned for help to a non-electronic brain: a human expert who had already figured out how to do these stunts with a radio-controlled helicopter.

"[B]y using a learning algorithm to analyze the signals sent in a series of flights, the computer was able to figure out a strategy for performing the stunts without crashing the helicopter," John Tierney writes.

Two Houses for the Price of One
How lousy is the real estate market right now? Consider this marketing idea from one Michigan couple whose house has been on the market for a year: Buy a miniature replica of the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home for $169,000 and get the real thing thrown in for free.

The homeowner told the Battle Creek Enquirer (via Obscure Store), "After a year [of the house being on the market], I was thinking, I don't know, I have this dollhouse sitting in my basement, let me see if I can do some creative marketing."

2008 Best Lemonade Stand in America
For Inc.com's 2008 Best Lemonade Stand in America Contest, kids of all ages shared their stories about running lemonade stands. Veterans and first-time sellers alike "experienced a thrill of starting a business and the commitment it takes to make it succeed."

Inc.com's editorial staff and readers viewed and commented on entries during the contest period and contributed to the selection of winners, and the Inc.com staff made the final decisions of the winners. The Grand Prize Winner in the video below, a team of two 11-year-old boys, was chosen based on criteria like creativity in design of the lemonade stand, interesting story in the essay and overall excellence in running the stand. Two runners-up were chosen based on the most aesthetically pleasing lemonade stand and the coolest story about a lemonade stand.

Congratulations to the winners and all the other young beverage entrepreneurs.

Cheers.