Sweden orders fire alarms in hotel made of ICE -

Sweden orders fire alarms in hotel made of ICE - 



If a reindeer-skin blanket should burst into flames at Sweden's famous Ice Hotel, guests can count on regulation fire alarms in addition to the built-in sprinkler system that would certainly kick in. 

The hotel is built from scratch every year from snow and giant blocks of ice in the small arctic town of Jukkasjarvi. But this year, installation included fire alarms.

Sweden’s National Housing Board couldn't have missed the irony when it ordered the luxury igloo to install alarms in the water-based structure to ensure the safety of guests.

"We were a little surprised when we found out," hotel spokeswoman Beatrice Karlsson told Swedish newspaper The Local. "But we do understand. Safety is a primary concern for us. There are indeed things that can catch fire, like the reindeer skins, the mattresses, and the pillows," Karlsson said.

Cold-loving tourists come from all over the world to sleep in thermal sleeping bags perched on ice beds in temperatures as low as 17 degrees.

Karlsson says the staff isn't concerned about the new changes. "Every hotel is brand new anyway, there is always something new to think about. And this year is no different, we actually have a few surprises in store," she told The Local.

The Ice Hotel has been a popular tourist attraction since it opened in 1990. Cool customers fork over rates ranging from $200 to $500 a night for the opportunity to freeze.  

Read more -

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/11/15/fire-alarms-wont-cool-staff-spirit-at-sweden-ice-hotel/?intcmp=latestnews

Passengers protest after blind man with guide dog kicked off US Airways plane - and then the flight was canceled -

Passengers protest after blind man with guide dog kicked off US Airways plane - and then the flight was canceled - 



A US Airways Express flight from Philadelphia to Long Island was canceled Wednesday night after passengers rallied behind a blind man who was removed from the flight after his service dog became restless. 

Albert Rizzi said the argument began when a crew member told him to put his service dog under the seat in front of him as they waited for the US Airways Express flight to leave Philadelphia International Airport for the airport in Ronkonkoma, N.Y.

Rizzi, who is legally blind, told MyFoxTwinCities.com that the flight attendant became aggressive after noticing his service dog, Doxy, laying in the aisle. He said the dog became restless after 45 minutes on the tarmac.

"The flight attendant comes over and says, 'I need you to get that dog stowed again,'" Rizzi told the station. "She comes back and gets in my face again. 'I told you that dog needs to be under a seat or we are not taking off.'" 

Flight attendants described the dog as agitated and expressed concern that Rizzi was not controlling it, airline spokeswoman Liz Landau told The Associated Press.

Rizzi became verbally abusive, and the crew decided to remove him, Landau said. That decision caused some of the other 33 travelers to become upset, she said, and the flight was canceled. US Airways then arranged for a bus to drive passengers to Long Island. 

"My comfort level with my blindness was totally rocked," Rizzi said. "I felt like a useless, unappreciated loser."  

One passenger told MyFoxTwinCities.com that he was so concerned about Rizzi that even before the protest took place, he was ready to offer to get off the plane, rent a car and drive Rizzi and Doxy to New York.  

Fellow passenger Frank Ohlhorst told WPVI-TV, which first reported the encounter, that Rizzi wasn't being disruptive. 

"We were like, 'Why is this happening? He's not a problem. What is going on?'" said Ohlhorst.

Landau told the AP that crews are very familiar with the protocol for service animals, but that the airline is reviewing how the situation was handled.

Rizzi said he later learned there had been open seats on the plane. "She never tried to move me or anybody else to secure the aircraft the way she said needed to be secured," Rizzi said of the flight attendant.

He told MyFoxTwinCities.com that he was grateful other passengers supported him. 

"When I heard those people coming off the plane saying what they said, I felt like a million dollars and more humble than I have ever felt in my entire life," Rizzi said.  

Read more - 

Herpes Virus Found on Library Copies of 'Fifty Shades of Grey' -

Herpes Virus Found on Library Copies of 'Fifty Shades of Grey' - 



Two Belgian university professors recently decided to submit the 10 most borrowed books at the Antwerp library to bacteriology and toxicology tests. 
Traces of cocaine were found on all 10 books. The traces were small enough that readers would not feel the effects, but significant enough that they could test positive for cocaine.  
But the real case of life imitating art was revealed when the scientists discovered traces of the herpes virus in the pages of the erotic tale Fifty Shades of Grey. 
In order to prevent a public panic, professors assured readers that the concentrations of the herpes virus were minimal and that the virus could not be contracted simply by touching the book.
They also suggested that books are for reading. 

Read more - 

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/11/15/Herpes-Virus-Found-on-Library-Copies-of-Fifty-Shades-of-Grey

Fugitive captured after he posted comments on 'Most Wanted' FACEBOOK page... -

Fugitive captured after he posted comments on 'Most Wanted' FACEBOOK page... - 



Authorities have arrested a man in New Hampshire who is wanted in Maine on violations stemming from his conviction and sentence of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

A warrant was out for Nicholas Emond, 27, who had addresses in Maine and New Hampshire. He was arrested Friday morning in Somersworth, N.H., by members of the U.S. Marshals and the Maine Violent Offender Task Force.

A "Fugitive of the Week" broadcast and story on Emond were featured Thursday in local media and resulted in numerous tips.

Emond was featured in WMUR's "Most Wanted Wednesday" online slideshow. He commented several times on a Facebook post linking to that slideshow.

Read more: - 

http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/man-featured-on-most-wanted-wednesday-arrested/-/9857858/22989312/-/40vabiz/-/index.html

REPORT: Hackers accessing info via baby monitors... -

REPORT: Hackers accessing info via baby monitors... - 



Parents purchase baby monitors to protect their children, but now hackers are using computers to get inside them.

It can happen without parents ever knowing, but it also can be prevented.

In Houston, a hacker gained access to a 2-year-old girl's baby monitor in August, harassing the child and calling her names.

Hackers are targeting the devices and it may surprise you just how much information they can get from one image.

"Most people have no clue how much info is inside a photo and how much detailed info they can draw from you based on your surroundings," said Joe Boy, a computer security expert with Computer Solutions.

Boy knows how to hack into a computer system and has advice about how to keep software protected.

He also worries about keeping his 2-year-old son Tiberius safe.

"As a father, I look into who has access into info about my son," Boy said.

So how do people know which monitors are secure?

"I've found most monitors $100 to 150 or less don't have adequate security," Boy said.

Boy says security comes at a cost, and baby monitors with the proper security options featuring Wifi ability run about $200 or more.  Most, however, will a password.

And because hackers are using computers, it's important to make passwords longer, not more complex.

"A 16-character password will take about 40 years to break with decent software," Boy said.

Cliff Zou, a computer science professor at the University of Central Florida says parents should change the default passwords for all the products. He also says make sure you're using encrypted Wifi.

"Anyone driving outside your house cannot access your Wifi," Zou said.

Zou said manufacturers will make some changes in the future, including a mandatory changes of passwords, which would prevent hackers from getting in.

Read more -

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/hackers-accessing-info-via-baby-monitors/-/1637132/22915318/-/jg4vbk/-/index.html

Scientist: Quantum physics proves death an illusion... - that there IS an afterlife -

Scientist: Quantum physics proves death an illusion... - that there IS an afterlife - 



Most scientists would probably say that the concept of an afterlife is either nonsense, or at the very least unprovable.
Yet one expert claims he has evidence to confirm an existence beyond the grave - and it lies in quantum physics.
Professor Robert Lanza claims the theory of biocentrism teaches that death as we know it is an illusion created by our consciousness.

'We think life is just the activity of carbon and an admixture of molecules – we live a while and then rot into the ground,' said the scientist on his website.
Lanza, from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina, continued that as humans we believe in death because 'we've been taught we die', or more specifically, our consciousness associates life with bodies and we know that bodies die. 

His theory of biocentrism, however, explains that death may not be as terminal as we think it is.
Biocentrism is classed as the theory of everything and comes from the Greek for 'life centre'. 
It is the believe that life and biology are central to reality and that life creates the universe, not the other way round. 
This suggests a person's consciousness determines the shape and size of objects in the universe.
Lanza uses the example of the way we perceive the world around us. A person sees a blue sky, and is told that the colour they are seeing is blue, but the cells in a person's brain could be changed to make the sky look green or red.

LANZA'S THEORY OF BIOCENTRISM AND THE AFTERLIFE
Biocentrism is classed as the Theory of Everything and comes from the Greek for 'life centre'. It is the belief that life and biology are central to reality and that life creates the universe, not the other way round.  
Lanza uses the example of the way we perceive the world around us. 
A person sees a blue sky, and is told that the colour they are seeing is blue, but the cells in a person's brain could be changed to make the sky look green or red. 
Our consciousness makes sense of the world, and can be altered to change this interpretation.
The universe is a construct of our minds, claims Lanza
By looking at the universe from a biocentric's point of view, this also means space and time don't behave in the hard and fast ways our consciousness tell us it does. 
In summary, space and time are 'simply tools of our mind.'
Once this theory about space and time being mental constructs is accepted, it means death and the idea of immortality exist in a world without spatial or linear boundaries. 
Theoretical physicists believe that there is infinite number of universes with different variations of people, and situations taking place, simultaneously. 
Lanza added that everything which can possibly happen is occurring at some point across these multiverses and this means death can't exist in 'any real sense' either.  
Lanza, instead, said that when we die our life becomes a 'perennial flower that returns to bloom in the multiverse.'


'Bottom line: What you see could not be present without your consciousness,' explained Lanza. 'Our consciousness makes sense of the world.'
By looking at the universe from a biocentric's point of view, this also means space and time don't behave in the hard and fast ways our consciousness tell us it does. In summary, space and time are 'simply tools of our mind.'
Once this theory about space and time being mental constructs is accepted, it means death and the idea of immortality exist in a world without spatial or linear boundaries. 
Similarly, theoretical physicists believe there is infinite number of universes with different variations of people, and situations, taking place simultaneously.

Read more: - 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2503370/Quantum-physics-proves-IS-afterlife-claims-scientist.html

Janet Yellen: I Am a Major League Money Printer -

Janet Yellen: I Am a Major League Money Printer - 



Janet Yellen will say the US economy is performing “far short” of its potential at her confirmation hearing this morning  in prepared remarks that justify continued monetary stimulus, reports FT.

“We have made good progress, but we have farther to go to regain the ground lost in the crisis and the recession,” the nominee for chair of the US Federal Reserve will say, according to prepared testimony.

“Unemployment is down from a peak of 10 per cent, but at 7.3 per cent in October, it is still too high, reflecting a labour market and economy performing far short of their potential,” she will say.

“For these reasons, the Federal Reserve is using its monetary policy tools to promote a more robust recovery. A strong recovery will ultimately enable the Fed to reduce its monetary accommodation and reliance on unconventional policy tools such as asset purchases.”

Read more - 

http://www.blacklistednews.com/Janet_Yellen%3A_I_Am_a_Major_League_Money_Printer/30337/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Scientists kill world's oldest creature trying to determine its age... - was 507 years old at the time of its demise -

Scientists kill world's oldest creature trying to determine its age... - was 507 years old at the time of its demise - 



In 2006, climate change experts from Bangor University in north Wales found a very special clam while dredging the seabeds of Iceland. At that time scientists counted the rings on the inside shell to determine that the clam was the ripe old age of 405. Unfortunately, by opening the clam which scientists refer to as "Ming," they killed it instantly. 
Cut to 2013, researchers have determined that the original calculations of Ming's age were wrong, and that the now deceased clam was actually 102 years older than originally thought. Ming was 507 years old at the time of its demise. 
According to the Mirror, Ocean scientist Paul Butler from Bangor University said: “We got it wrong the first time and maybe we were a bit hasty publishing our findings back then. But we are absolutely certain that we've got the right age now.The nice thing about these shells is that they have distinct annual growth lines, so we can accurately date the shell material.That’s just the same as what archaeologists do when they use tree rings in dead wood to work out the dates of old buildings.”
The 507-year-old clam shattered the previous unofficial title holder for world's oldest creature held by a 374-year-old Icelandic clam in a German museum.
No information was given as to which scientist murdered the former record holder. 

Read more - 

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/11/14/Scientists-Confirm-World-s-Oldest-Creature-But-Kill-it-Determining-Its-Age

Computers and phones in children's bedrooms 'can cause anxiety and sleep loss' -

Computers and phones in children's bedrooms 'can cause anxiety and sleep loss' - 



Parents have been urged to take televisions, computers and mobile phones out of children’s bedrooms as they cause anxiety and prevent sleep which ruins school performance, a study has suggested.
Researchers have found that having televisions and games consoles in the bedroom teaches the brain to see the room as an entertainment zone rather than a place for quiet and rest.
While playing violent video games in the bedroom sets up to the brain to see it as a place of danger and where it should be on edge.
It comes a year after a study by consumer watchdog Ofcom found teenagers sent an average of 193 texts every week, more than double the number they sent in 2011.
It also found than 70 per cent of teenagers have television sets in their rooms.

Now parents have been warned technology should be taken out of children's rooms to ensure they get the rest they need.
Losing as little as an hour’s sleep can ruin a child’s performance at school, according to the study published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.
Pupils who have late nights find maths problems harder to solve and have poorer memory skills.
However, bringing bedtime forward – even by 60 minutes – makes youngsters calmer and better able to concentrate,
The paper’s lead author, psychologist Dr Jennifer Vriend, of Dalhousie University in Canada, said: “One of the biggest culprits for inadequate and disturbed sleep is technology.
“Many teenagers sleep with their phones and they are awakened regularly by it ringing or vibrating throughout the night when they get a text, email or Facebook message.
“Having televisions and games consoles in the bedroom is also a problem. It sets up the brain to see the room as an entertainment zone rather than a quiet, sleepy environment.
“So when a teenager is playing a violent video game regularly in his bedroom, his brain starts to associate it as a place where he should be on edge and ready for danger; the brain becomes wired to not want to sleep in that environment.”
Dr Vriend added: “Adequate sleep leads to better emotional stability, more positive mood and improved attention, which are all likely to improve academic success.
“Furthermore, when we sleep, what we learned during the day gets consolidated so children are losing out on two levels.”
The latest study focused on 32 children aged between eight and twelve who averaged nearly nine hours’ rest per night.

Read more - 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10448123/Computers-and-phones-in-childrens-bedrooms-can-cause-anxiety-and-sleep-loss.html

Russian Lawmaker Proposes Bill Outlawing U.S. Dollar... says 'Collapse will take place in 2017'... -

Russian Lawmaker Proposes Bill Outlawing U.S. Dollar... says 'Collapse will take place in 2017'... - 



Predicting the imminent collapse of the U.S. dollar, a Russian lawmaker submitted a bill to the country’s parliament on Wednesday that would ban the use or possession of the American currency.
Mikhail Degtyarev, the lawmaker who proposed the bill, compared the dollar to a Ponzi scheme. He warned that the government would have to bail out Russians holding the U.S. currency if it collapsed.
“If the U.S. national debt continues to grow, the collapse of the dollar system will take place in 2017,” said Mr. Degtyarev, a member of the nationalist Liberal Democrat Party who was a losing candidate in Moscow’s recent mayoral election.
“The countries that will suffer the most will be those that have failed to wean themselves off their dependence on the dollar in time. In light of this, the fact that confidence in the dollar is growing among Russian citizens is extremely dangerous.”
The bill would partially revive a Soviet-era ban on the dollar. It would prohibit Russians from holding dollars in the country’s banks, and banks also would be unable to carry out transactions in the dollar.
However, Russians still would be able to buy or sell dollars while abroad, as well as hold dollar accounts in foreign banks.
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the government would be exempt from the law.
Russian financial experts were largely critical of the bill, which they suggested was more about making political capital on the back of rising anti-U.S. sentiments in Russia than protecting the country’s economy.
“The American financial system, despite all its existing problems, remains the most stable and low-risk in the world,” financial analyst Andrei Shenk said.
He also warned that the bill would harm Russia’s investment climate.
Another expert warned that the bill would strip Russians of the ability to flee the country to seek greater political and social freedoms.
“The right to the free exchange of currencies is a fundamental element of capitalism,” said Moscow-based economics expert Igor Suzdaltsev. “It allows citizens to leave the country when a dictatorship is imposed by selling their property and exchanging their assets for the necessary currency.”

Read more: -

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/13/bill-would-outlaw-us-dollar-russia/