First up...
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Computer geeks learn to flirt
Reuters
Fri Jan 9, 1:24 pm ET
BERLIN (Reuters) Even the most quirky of computer nerds can learn to flirt with finesse thanks to a new "flirting course" being offered to budding IT engineers at Potsdam University south of Berlin.
The 440 students enrolled in the master's degree course will learn how to write flirtatious text messages and emails, impress people at parties and cope with rejection.
Philip von Senftleben, an author and radio presenter who will teach the course, summed up his job as teaching how to "get someone else's heart beating fast while yours stays calm."
The course, which starts next Monday, is part of the social skills section of the IT course and is designed to ease entry into the world of work. Students also learn body language, public-speaking, stress management and presentation skills.
"We want to prepare our students with the social skills needed to succeed both in their private life and their work life," said Hans-Joachim Allgaier, a spokesman for the institute at Potsdam University where the course is being offered.
(Writing by Anna Brooke; Editing by Nick Vinocur)
Well now ... not sure if I would be insulted by such a course beeing offered in my program or first in line to sign up ...
Char Site | My DeviantArt
Global=@Thornster
Ok, this one:
Mantyhose: Not your moms pantyhose
A growing number of men are proudly sporting body-shaping legwear
By Vidya Rao
TODAY staff
For more than a decade, Mack wore women's pantyhose under his clothes to keep him warm while he worked as a landscaper. But four years ago, Mack, 35, discovered "mantyhose" pantyhose for men.
"It's nice because they are specifically made for men, so I felt less weird about it," said Mack, who declined to give his last name (because his wife does still feel weird about it). "They are tougher, less delicate than women's pantyhose, but not as bulky as long underwear."
He says that he enjoys the fit and feel of the "mantyhose" so much that he wears them year-round, even though he now holds an office job.
Mack is one of a growing number of men from construction workers to athletes and businessmen who've found a passion for pantyhose, claiming they wear the hosiery for support, comfort and aesthetic purposes. Luckily, there are now pairs made specifically for men so that they don't have to ravage their wives or girlfriends dressers to nestle into a pair of nylons.
Coming to America
European men have been sporting hose for several years, but the trend has been slow to catch on in the U.S. (It is important to note that the trend has no connection to men who wear hose to cross-dress, since they prefer to wear pairs that are more feminine.) The "mantyhose" is also part of a larger trend of untraditional men's underwear designed to lift, sculpt and suck in that beer belly from the "mirdle" (man-girdle) to Australian designer Equmen's Core Precision Undershirt, touted as the "Spanx for men." A small group of male pantyhose enthusiasts from America, Canada and Europe even set up a Web site, the U.K.-based e-mancipate.net, "to speed up the mainstreaming process of male pantyhose" for men all over the world.
Atlanta-based Luxelegwear.com, which makes European hosiery brands available around the world, has sold 75 to 80 percent of its products to men since it started in 2005, according to managing director Deborrah Ashley.
Steven Katz, co-owner of Ohio-based Comfilon, which creates and distributes men's pantyhose, says that while the market for men's pantyhose in the U.S. is "tiny," 2008 has been "our best year ever."
The "mantyhose" comes in a variety of colors and designs, but, Katz says, basic black holds the title as most popular.
Katz came up with the idea for creating men's pantyhose after surfing the Internet and finding complaints from men who were frustrated about their lack of options.
"Men were being told by their doctors that they needed compression legwear for knee problems," Katz said. "So they were sent to buy women's hosiery, and that was embarrassing for them."
One such man was 55-year-old Steve, who suffers from restless leg syndrome; he declined to give his last name for publication. "My legs would ache at night and I wouldn't be able to sleep," he said. "I thought they would help with my circulation, so I ordered a couple pairs, and my legs haven't bothered me since."
Four years later, Steve, a coffee shop manager from Greenville, S.C., can't imagine life without wearing men's pantyhose.
Not your mothers pantyhose
Katz, who was looking for a way to boost his company's sales, said he wanted to fill a void in the market and cater to men like Steve. He began designing pantyhose styles that had masculine proportions and fly openings, and in 1998, Comfilon's Activeskin Legwear for Men was born. The company now sells hosiery and intimate apparel for men only through the Internet, and also distributes a men's pantyhose line from the mainstream French hosiery company Gerbe.
Comfilon's sales tagline? "This is NOT your mother's pantyhose."
That's what Dave Andrews, 40, found when he first tried a pair of "mantyhose" in 2006, after he had worn women's pantyhose for six months.
"The benefits were there you can't argue with the muscle support when you're on your feet all day," said Andrews, a sales representative from Indianapolis, Ind. "Plus, it's made for the male anatomy, so there's added comfort, and the control top makes you look better."
Katz says his Activeskin line isn't sold in stores because there is continued stigma about men wearing pantyhose.
"There are a lot of guys who like wearing the product because of the benefits the support, the warmth but the gender hang-ups about pantyhose are still so pervasive," he said.
Many men who wear "mantyhose" say it isn't them or even other guys who are embarrassed it's mostly their wives and girlfriends.
"My wife was really uncomfortable at first she was nervous about going out with me in public when I had them on," said Andrews. "But then we went out and she saw that no one noticed or had any adverse reaction."
Mack says his wife still isn't keen on the world knowing about his hosiery.
"I understand how people can be taken aback by it, but men used to wear this legwear before women ever did," he said. "No one's gonna stop me from wearing what I need to wear."
Andrews often gets positive reactions from people when they see that he's wearing "mantyhose." And for those who are still turned off by men wearing hosiery, Andrews responds with a couple of clichés.
"Don't knock it till you've tried it, and don't be afraid to take the leap," he said.
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Well now ... not sure if I would be insulted by such a course beeing offered in my program or first in line to sign up ...
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Same here. That's one geek stereotype that I, sadly, fulfill completely. I am utterly terrible at flirting. I couldn't be more awkward if I tried. 
@Arwen Darkblade
Proud Member of Hammer of the Gods and Sanguine Syndicate
Arc ID #86194 "Cry Havoc"
Arc ID #103934 "Dr. Thomas' First Day"
[URL="http://tobyfife.blogspot.com/"]Hero Girl[/URL] - my geek culture blog
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Well now ... not sure if I would be insulted by such a course beeing offered in my program or first in line to sign up ...
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Same here. That's one geek stereotype that I, sadly, fulfill completely. I am utterly terrible at flirting. I couldn't be more awkward if I tried.
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Whenever I'm faced with an awkward situation, and there appears to be no escape.....
I usually make a maniacal giggling sound-
Fart loudly-
Then jump my way out of the room in a form much like a Rikti monkey. 
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Well now ... not sure if I would be insulted by such a course beeing offered in my program or first in line to sign up ...
[/ QUOTE ]
Same here. That's one geek stereotype that I, sadly, fulfill completely. I am utterly terrible at flirting. I couldn't be more awkward if I tried.
[/ QUOTE ]
You're terrible at flirting, eh? Is that a fact?
Well, beautiful, meet me at the bar at seven. I'd be happy to show you a thing or two.
*wink*
For more than a decade, Mack wore women's pantyhose under his clothes to keep him warm while he worked as a landscaper. But four years ago, Mack, 35, discovered "mantyhose" pantyhose for men.
They make thermal underwear...
Mantyhose?
Kind of wishing I'd known about this product before Christmas.
Oh, check it out! They come in thigh highs...and some of them have garters!
ahhhhhhhh my eyes T.T
Volt Sentinel Reference
Thunder is good, thunder is impressive, but lightning does the work.
......
But..
.....
"His Imperial Majesty's Minister of Restraints and Leather" -LHF
Two naughty acronym teams / Ascension / Convenient / Artic and the Chillz / Fap / Other teams I can't remember (sorry.. mind is goin')
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They make thermal underwear...
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But you can't stop the signal!
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Preach on, sister! Preach on!
*waves hands*
"His Imperial Majesty's Minister of Restraints and Leather" -LHF
Two naughty acronym teams / Ascension / Convenient / Artic and the Chillz / Fap / Other teams I can't remember (sorry.. mind is goin')
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Oh, check it out! They come in thigh highs...and some of them have garters!
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Oh man that is soooo not floating my boat!
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[ QUOTE ]
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Well now ... not sure if I would be insulted by such a course beeing offered in my program or first in line to sign up ...
[/ QUOTE ]
Same here. That's one geek stereotype that I, sadly, fulfill completely. I am utterly terrible at flirting. I couldn't be more awkward if I tried.
[/ QUOTE ]
You're terrible at flirting, eh? Is that a fact?
Well, beautiful, meet me at the bar at seven. I'd be happy to show you a thing or two.
*wink*
[/ QUOTE ]
Plas on the other hand is quite the flirter - beware! Or enjoy!
I personally go for the enjoy option - way to go hottie!
New York Times article concerned about the hackability of presidential Blackberrys and pants.
The High Security Risk Attached to Obamas Belt
Why cant the most powerful person in the world keep his BlackBerry?
President-elect Barack Obama, who will take the oath of office next week, has repeatedly acknowledged a strong attachment to his Verizon BlackBerry 8830 World Edition smartphone, a k a the BarackBerry. But in an interview last week, Mr. Obama lamented that the Secret Service and his lawyers appeared to be winning the battle to deny him this electronic link to friends, family and news of the larger world.
Im still clinging to my BlackBerry, he said. I dont know that Ill win.
No doubt millions of e-mail-addicted thumb jockeys can sympathize. But there are several compelling reasons to separate Mr. Obama from his beloved device.
The first is security. Research in Motion, the Canadian company that makes the BlackBerry, boasts that its devices and network were designed from the bottom up to protect the data that passes through them.
When companies (or the White House) install R.I.M. servers on their internal e-mail networks, their employees BlackBerry messages are heavily encrypted before they are sent to one of R.I.M.s network operations centers and passed on to other devices or networks.
This means that if someone were to intercept a message, it would be virtually impossible to unscramble the contents, R.I.M. says.
The F.B.I. feels comfortable enough with the technology to give BlackBerrys to its employees, although it does not allow agents to transmit classified information over them. The National Security Agency, which is responsible for evaluating device security, said last week that nobody was available to discuss whether it had approved the use of BlackBerrys to send classified military information.
But Mr. Obama would be an extraordinarily juicy target for hackers, spies and other snoops who could try to exploit any kind of error made in configuring the device or the White House BlackBerry server to read Mr. Obamas e-mail.
Bruce Schneier, an expert on encryption and security, does not believe that the security systems at R.I.M. or at any other company are completely safe, because of the inherent limitations of the humans who design and use them. If the BlackBerry was completely secure, it would be the first time in the history of mankind, Mr. Schneier said.
Then theres the question of whether Mr. Obamas BlackBerry could give away his location perhaps to people trying to harm him. Every mobile phone continuously contacts the nearby towers in its wireless network when it is turned on, so that calls and data can be routed to the phone.
It is technically possible that someone with access to a cellphone companys systems could use those contacts to roughly track Mr. Obamas movements, although this would not be easy.
Of course presidents, with their large entourages, do not move about with much secrecy anyway. The biggest security vulnerability of the BlackBerry and of any technology, for that matter may be the people who use and administer it.
Mr. Obama is unlikely to leave his BlackBerry in a taxi or choose Michelle as his password. (And even if he lost the device, it could be remotely shut down and erased.) But with so much interest in the president-elect and his communications, privacy invaders would be poised to capitalize on any security slip.
The president-elects next set of BlackBerry naysayers are the pesky lawyers, who worry that Mr. Obamas impromptu thumb-tapped conversations could become subject to legal battles.
Lawmakers, historians and open government groups routinely request all presidential communications under federal laws like the Freedom of Information Act. Under the 1978 Presidential Records Act, administrations are required to turn over their communications to public archivists, who make them public starting five years after the end of a presidents final term.
The Bush administration made a novel effort to avoid disclosure by using Republic National Committee e-mail accounts for some of its communications, which a judge in Washington recently called an apparently flagrant violation of the Presidential Records Act.
Since Richard Nixon and his infamous tapes, all presidents have argued for their right to withhold some governmental communication under the mantle of executive privilege, and have resisted disclosure of their personal and political correspondence.
But these privacy claims can be hotly disputed, and judges may decide them on a message-by-message basis.
In this day of inevitable investigations, any time you have written documentation of what the president is saying on any particular subject, then in that investigation, these records may be requested and could be obtained, said Elizabeth A. McNamara, a lawyer at Davis Wright Tremaine in New York. Then youve got the president in the thick of it.
All this bodes rather poorly for the president-elects continued relationship with his BlackBerry, but perhaps that is not so bad. After all, do we really want the leader of the free world taking time off from the problems of climate change and economic collapse to manage his spam, or play a quick game of BrickBreaker?
Then there is the fashion concern. Mr. Obama is known to sport his BlackBerry in a holster on his belt, which to many is the sartorial equivalent of wearing socks with sandals. Ridding the president of the phone could avoid legitimizing that look.
The BlackBerry no doubt endears Mr. Obama to one element of his core constituency: hard-working, tech-obsessed professionals whose fingers are painfully cramped from trying to type on small keys. In a sense, then, the BlackBerry is no different from the accessories that other presidents used to help them relate to their political base, like Ronald Reagans cowboy hats and jeans.
But those fashion statements seem less risky than a BlackBerry; it's harder to hack pants. 
@Arwen Darkblade
Proud Member of Hammer of the Gods and Sanguine Syndicate
Arc ID #86194 "Cry Havoc"
Arc ID #103934 "Dr. Thomas' First Day"
[URL="http://tobyfife.blogspot.com/"]Hero Girl[/URL] - my geek culture blog
*haxxorz the Prez's Blackberry*
*then haxxorz his pants*
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a k a the BarackBerry
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I fell out of my chair laughing at that! XD
-Castle Approved Since March 2009!
-Off the Cape is CURRENTLY RECORDING NEW CONTENT! Once edits, templates, and the new site are up we'll be back to bi-weekly podcasts complete with rampant, wild, unfounded CoH speculation!
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They make thermal underwear...
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Yeah... he said they are too bulky, but many companies make thermals that aren't bulky. Personally, I can't stand wearing pantyhose (Binding! Ugh!) and I can only imagine how uncomfortable they'd be with legs covered with hair. (More Ugh!) And while I dread the idea of men wearing "mantyhose" with garters, I've long men jealous of men's sock garters and would love some of those.
~Missi
http://tinyurl.com/yhy333s
Miss Informed in 2016! She can't be worse than all those other guys!
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But those fashion statements seem less risky than a BlackBerry; it's harder to hack pants.
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Not really. I know plenty of pants that can be hacked with a "Hello" and a nice smile.
~Missi
http://tinyurl.com/yhy333s
Miss Informed in 2016! She can't be worse than all those other guys!
[ QUOTE ]
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But those fashion statements seem less risky than a BlackBerry; it's harder to hack pants.
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Not really. I know plenty of pants that can be hacked with a "Hello" and a nice smile.
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See Bill Clinton for hacked presidential pants.
BigRedOne - I do all my own stunts!!!
Honor Guard of the Big Red Ball
To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.
- Gustave Flaubert
"THESE ARE LEVEL 70!"
--NT
They all laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a comedian.
But I showed them, and nobody's laughing at me now!
If I became a red name, I would be all "and what would you mere mortals like to entertain me with today, mu hu ha ha ha!" ~Arcanaville
<3 Clinton.
"His Imperial Majesty's Minister of Restraints and Leather" -LHF
Two naughty acronym teams / Ascension / Convenient / Artic and the Chillz / Fap / Other teams I can't remember (sorry.. mind is goin')
A buddy sent me a link to this article. I had the privilege to visit Mr. Littlefield's collection on several occasions. One time he even gave us the tour himself, so it was awesome to hear the stories about some of his acqusitions first-hand. (i.e. the SCUD missile launcher customs SNAFU & the incredible stroke of luck in acquiring the Panther.)
"Tanks" for the Memories; Jacques Littlefield Passes Away
Jim Goldman, CNBC
Tue, Jan 13; 2:48pm ET
Silicon Valley is no stranger to legendary figures: Apple Inc.'s Steve Jobs; Intel's Gordon Moore; Hewlett and Packard.
And there was Jacques Littlefield, a 59-year old bon vivant who used a big chunk of his massive, Utah International mining inheritance to amass one of the world's greatest private collections of military vehicles.
And he housed his 230 tanks, missile launchers, armored cars and personnel carriers on the Pony Tracks Ranch, his sprawling, 430 acre compound atop his very own hilltop in bucolic Portola Valley, California.
I made several visits to his home preparing a profile about him for our program "High Net Worth" last year, even taking my 7-year old son Jeb with me on my last visit, because how could you not take your kid along for a private tour of the ultimate toy collection. Jacques was kind enough to indulge Jeb and his endless questions about the tanks, particularly the rocket launchers, and he could not have been more gracious. Jeb asked adult questions; and Jacques treated him like one. Jeb likes to learn; Jacques loved to teach and it was fun to watch.
Jacques Littlefield died last Wednesday after a decade-long battle with cancer, leaving behind his huge collection, and lots of questions over what will happen to it next. He joked with me that he had signed a pre-nuptial agreement with his wife that spelled out that if they were to get divorced, it wasn't a question of whether she would get any of his collection: Instead, she would have to take the ENTIRE collection!
When I asked him whether he was "obsessed" by tank collecting, he told me that, "Obsession would be way over 230 vehicles. 230 vehicles will be just a start. When I get serious about this, I would lose my amateur status," he laughed.
You can't really appreciate the scope of Jacques' collection, its magnitude, until you see it in person. He's got 45,000 square feet of custom-built garage space, and he'd already outgrown it. He had a full-time crew of five restoring these vehicles back to their original luster, tanks that he'd collect from scrap heaps all over the world, spanning warfare throughout the 20th century. And because so many of them are so old, and, well, they're real tanks, finding replacement parts to get these things operational again, is hardly an easy chore, he said.
"Did Michelangelo tell you how many hours the Sistine Chapel would take? Time to go home now. Let's punch the clock! If I can pick up the phone and order parts, I can just go to Toy's 'R Us and buy something and assemble it. But part of the challenge is figuring out what it was, having the difficulties of finding the original parts."
Jacques spent his life living his childhood dream, and had the means to do it right. He started building models as a kid, and quickly developed a passion for rebuilding real tanks. He spent anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000 on the vehicles, and when he's done restoring them, they can be worth millions. He told me back then that he was in it for the history, not the money, and that he was having a blast with his hobby, though not literally.
"Why would you waste money on food or clothes or vacation when you can have this really wonderful piece of machinery," he asked me.
His most recent project: a German tank found in a Polish river, submerged for 40 years, and now brought back to working condition after five years and 10,000 man hours. It's striking; the restoration logistics almost as complex as the logistics to get this hulking mass of machinery from Europe to Silicon Valley. He had even more issues when he tried to import a real SCUD missile launcher after the first Gulf War, which made his neighbors a little wary until he reassured them he wasn't going to be running live-fire exercises on his property.
Jacques lit up that day when I asked him about that first time he got in the cockpit of his first restored tank. "My mouth was sore from smiling. I remember that very well." And Jacques will be remembered well too. His collection may be headed to the George S. Patton Museum at Fort Knox, KY, though no formal arrangements have been made yet.
The tank referred to in the article going out for it's first drive.
It seems that my Random News Story of the Day thread met a most tragic end in the last forum cleaning. I should have remembered to ask the community team to mark it safe against deletion.
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But you can't stop the signal!! Post your weird, random news stories here...Manoa's Random News Story of the Day (part 2)!
The rules!
<ul type="square">[*] Since some folks have firewall restrictions at their works, please post the full body of the news article directly in your post so they don't have to wait to get home to see your cool news story.[*] Respect copyrights! Please give proper credit and include a linkie to the article in your post .[*] Any weird, random news is welcome, but please remember follow the Forum Rules and Guidelines[*] Discussion and debate is also welcome, but please keep it civil! We don't want this thread to get locked or posts to get deleted, so please do your best to avoid flame wars.[*] Have fun!