Pet Cemetery Uprooted To Make Way For A Motel. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Pet cemetery dug up to clear way for Hampton Inn, "In Raleigh, NC, Jerry Rogers has accepted $750,000 and promised to clear the land along Brier Creek of thirty-plus years of pet burials, so American Asset Corp. can build a Hampton Inn. Or should we say a Haunted Hampton Inn? Staff are digging up lovingly inscribed monuments, dogtags, collars, favorite blankies and the kinds of bones puppies aren't supposed to gnaw on, contacting owners when they know where to find them, and hoping the nightmares don't start."

Happy Halloween

This very haunted, privately owned, mansion can be found at 476 Summit Avenue, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on a street that showcases other "grand," old Victorian mansions, built around 1883 or thereabouts.

Description: The Griggs Mansion has the dubious
reputation of being the most haunted house in Saint Paul. This huge, 4
story, Victorian, well-kept sandstone mansion has 24 rooms, described
as "cavernous," because of their high ceilings. Each floor has
its landing, and a staircase leading up to the next floor. Dark, beautiful
woodwork can be found throughout the mansion. There is a large room, just
off the 4th floor landing, that has a beautiful, vast skylight, that was
installed in 1939, when the mansion was being used as an art school. Behind
the mansion there is a comfortable carriage house. Large trees around
the mansion provide shade, and a sandstone wall that surrounds the mansion
and its grounds provides privacy. It is privately owned by people who
don't want to be bothered with ghost hunters, so please respect their
privacy.

History: In 1883, a wealthy wholesale grocery
businessman, Chauncey Griggs, built this lovely mansion, but lived in
it for only four years, before moving onto greener pastures on the West
coast, where he expanded his business interests to include the lumber
and transportation markets. Over its 100+ years, the mansion has been
a private residence, and at one time was divided into apartment units
as well. Many families/ individuals, who moved in, spent a lot of money
on upkeep, furnishings, servants, etc., but wound up leaving after only
a few years.

Also, as mentioned above, the mansion
became an art school in 1939, and stayed there for 25 years, until the
new Arts and Sciences Center was built. Many students and teachers were
glad that the new building was built, because now they didn't have to
share their school with seen and unseen presences.

Manifestations: While a lot of "supernatural
activity" seems to be centered around the 4th floor, many parts of
the house have been visited by entities as well. Six or seven entities
have been felt, heard, made their existence known by various means and
have actually been seen throughout the years. The mansion's spiritual
occupants are a young maid, a gardener, a child apparition, a thin man
in a black suit, a teenager, Amy, and a Civil War general, perhaps Chauncey
Griggs himself. The 7th sighting could've been any of the male apparitions,
because only the head of an unclear, male apparition appeared.

1) One of the most strongly felt presences
is that of a young maid, who in 1915, hung herself off the 4th floor landing,
suffering from depression over an ended romance. Earlier in the 20th century,
she appeared to a young servant and a butler in the 4th floor hallway.
Her presence has been felt strongly by many people throughout the years.
She perhaps is one of the entities that climbs the stairs to the fourth
floor, to her unseen rope on the landing there. While climbing this staircase,
and standing in the hall as well, people during the day have felt a "sense
of foreboding," anxiety, and feelings of distress, that could be
quite strong, as three newsmen found out one night, when they came to
gather information for a series on ghosts. After setting up camp in the
big room on the top floor, and armed with two cameras; one regular and
one with infra-red aimed at the well-lighted, top of the stairs and 4th
floor hall, and a tape recorder, the men each went out to the hall, but
scooted back to the room when they were filled with an overwhelming sense
of fear. They heard heavy footsteps coming up those stairs. One brave
newsman went though the hall to the stairway, and though he saw nothing,
he felt a strong presence on the stairs. They left in a hurried manner
together down the stairs, feeling nothing was worth staying a night there.

2) The gardener - Charles Wade, who
was an intense, fanatical worker, took great pride in keeping the gardens
in magnificent shape, and would often use books in the mansion's well-stacked
library to help him in his work. Various people have heard an unseen presence
frantically, flipping through the books. Perhaps this distressed entity
died before he was finished with his latest gardening project, and feels
he has unfinished business.

3) The thin man, dressed in a black
suit and top hat - This apparition visited people in many rooms of the
mansion, but two eye-witness accounts are given below.

A) A Dr. Delmar Kolb in the early 1950's,
joined the art school's teaching staff, and moved into the front basement
apartment in the mansion. He awoke one night by the pressure of two
dead, cold fingers on his forehead, and found himself in a cold sweat.
After turning on the light, he saw a blue flash that disappeared. Two
nights later, he was again awakened to find an clear, detailed apparition
of a man dressed in a black suit and top hat, who was standing at the
foot of his bed. At first, the alarmed Dr. Kolb thought it was a prowler
dressed in costume, but realized it was a ghost when the apparition
dissolved into the brick wall.

B) In 1964, a Mr.Weschke bought
the mansion with the idea of using the place as both an office and his
home. He published books on the occult. In 1967, Mr. Weschke was working
at the desk in the library. When he stopped to take a break, he saw
visually in the doorway of the library, a thin, long-faced man with
white hair, dressed in a black suit, who was studying him. The apparition
faded away after about 30 seconds.

4) A Child apparition. - In 1959,
two college students moved into the front basement apartment. One night,
something woke up one student, who usually was a sound sleeper. H e looked
up and saw the head of a child floating above his bed.

5) A teenager, Amy, and a Civil War
general, perhaps Chauncey Griggs. When a St. Paul spiritualist/medium.
By the name of Roma Harris came to visit the mansion, He felt the "shadowy
presence" of a teenage girl, who calls herself Amy. She had had many
happy moments playing the mansion's piano. She died young, and perhaps
hangs around the mansion where she was happy making music. Perhaps she
lived during the art school days of the mansion. Roma also "saw"
a Civil war officer, dressed in a general's blue uniform, with the gold
trim. As the original owner, Chauncey Griggs, was a Civil War officer,
it is theorized that this entity is Chauncey, who likes to keep an eye
on his mansion. It also could be another earlier, former owner, who didn't
want to leave his mansion.

6) Many unexplained, but typical incidents
common in haunted houses have been reported, though no specific entity
has been found to be responsible for the noises, annoying behavior that
makes the living uncomfortable or befuddled. Windows that had been firmly
closed, even nailed shut, have been found open in the morning. Footfalls
have been heard traveling up and down the staircases. Shadowy presences
have been seen. Unsuspecting students who rented the apartments, have
been shaken awake, to find an undistinguished apparition head floating
above their beds. Doors open and close by themselves. "Rasping coughs"
have been heard coming from empty rooms. Light bulbs suddenly shatter,
paper bags have been known to jump off the shelves, and jump across the
floor. People in the mansion have felt presences walk by them. Some of
the presences happen to appreciate art. While working in the art studio
room , with the skylight on the top floor, students had felt presences
peering over their shoulder to get a good look at their drawings in progress,
perhaps studying with interest the student's efforts.

Still Haunted? Yes. Just ask the St. Paul Pioneer
Press. When investigating this widely known haunted house, they got first
hand confirmation when they themselves came in contact with ghostly manifestations.

Is Your Office Haunted?

Many people describe their place of employment as a horror story. But some try to claim it's the work of a ghost. Maybe the spirits have decided that spooky mansions and creepy battlefields are passé. Maybe they want to cash in on the glamour of corporate life. Maybe they just wanted the sushi. In Orlando, Fla., a landlord is in court battling his tenant, a Japanese restaurant, for backing out of a lease. According to the landlord's complaint, the eatery's owners decided not to move in because they heard the premises "were allegedly haunted by ghosts, unworldly characters, ungodly spirits and apparitions." Too hard a story to digest? Well know this: The landlord offered to exorcise the premises, but the restaurant owners declined. The case is ongoing. Not even lawyers are spared. Gloria McCary, a deputy district attorney in Socorro, N.M., says that her former office had a ghost. She says she and some of her colleagues heard noises and voices they couldn't explain. Once when preparing for a felony trial, McCary heard a chair and files being moved in the office next door--but no one was there. Another time she heard typing coming from a keyboard that wasn't being used. McCary enjoyed the experience. "It would be really cool to know who it was," she says. "I thought working in a haunted office was incredibly interesting." Interesting until closing time, at least--when the ghost became a good reason to high-tail it home. "The building was so frightening after dark that I took work home," says McCary. The district attorney's office has since moved to a newer building. McCary's account will be published in a book about workplace hauntings due out next year from Atriad Press. Some of the book's other stories, which are still being collected, are about seemingly paranormal activity at an embassy building, a toy store, a university building and a horse stable. Ghosts, it seems, are not often spotted in modern offices. Paranormal investigators offer several theories as to why. Ghosts might not like new buildings' "environmental conditions"--such as metal and concrete construction or fluorescent lights, says Vince Wilson, author of Ghost Tech and president of the Maryland Paranormal Investigators Coalition. Rosemary Ellen Guiley, author of The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, says ghosts hang out in places that had a high emotional content--not that offices aren't the site of strong emotions, she says, but "it's a different consciousness than what people engage in at home." Lingering spirits seem to turn up a lot at restaurants and bed and breakfasts, two business types that are able to capitalize on ghost sightings. Moss Beach Distillery in Moss Beach, Calif., advertises its ghost, nicknamed "The Blue Lady," on its Web site. The restaurant let General Electric-owned NBC's Unsolved Mysteries run a story on her, a paranormal paramour who employees believe was a young, married woman who had an affair--possibly with the restaurant's piano player--before dying in a car accident. Susan Broderick, an accountant at the distillery, says that one night when she was working, the printer--or the Blue Lady--mysteriously spewed out a nearly blank page with only a heart on it. She says every time Unsolved Mysteries reruns the episode, curious customers show up. Leave it to lawyers to see potential differently. Loyd Auerbach, director of the Office of Paranormal Investigations, and author of A Paranormal Casebook, says ten years ago a ghostly figure was frequently spotted walking in a hallway near law offices at an older building in San Francisco. Auerbach believes the figure had no consciousness but was a "repeating phenomenon," like a videotape of a past event. One of the attorneys there thought it would be fun for a local television station to report on the apparition, Auerbach says, but another partner was afraid that the resulting publicity could lead to lawsuits from employees alleging a hostile work environment. "People sue over the strangest things in workplaces," says Auerbach. "It would take an attorney to think of that." Auerbach says that the ghostly figure was never publicized and that the law firm has since moved to a different building.

THE OLDEST CREATURE ON EARTH

HER skin is wrinkled and she's carrying a few extra pounds, but there's still a twinkle in the old girl's eyes. In fact she's in uncommonly good shape for someone who was born before Victoria came to the throne. Harriet, a giant Galapagos Land tortoise and the world's oldest living creature, celebrates her 175th birthday on November 15. LONG LIFE: Harriet may live for another 20 yearsAnd as she settles down for another snooze ahead of her milestone birthday next month, she can look back on a fascinating life packed with excitement, adventure and intrigue. Or whatever passes for excitement among giant tortoises... She has travelled extensively, emigrated twice and come through a difficult period as a somewhat reluctant lesbian. In her sprightlier days, she was an inspiration to English naturalist Charles Darwin, author of On The Origin Of Species. But this dear old lady has also known heartbreak - confusion over her gender has meant she has never known the love of a good tortoise nor had any offspring. Experts at her home in Australia Zoo, Brisbane, Queensland, reckon she will still be going strong in another 20 years. "There's really not much of a precedent for such long-living reptiles, so we're basing our estimate on the fact that she really shows no signs of slowing down," says Richard Jackson, head reptile keeper. And with no little pride, he adds: "There are some zoos out there - especially in America, that claim they have or have had tortoises that are older than Harriet. But they don't have records like we do!" When Harriet was hatched on one of Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador in 1830, William IV was still on the throne and Victoria was a flighty teenager. The story really begins in 1835, when Harriet was just five and about the size of a dinner plate. She was discovered by Charles Darwin when he landed at the Galapagos archipelago. Darwin was fascinated by the Galapagos tortoises, especially when he noticed that the different islands apparently contained distinct sub-species adapted to each island's particular conditions. This was one of many observations that led him to formulate his theory of evolution. But even the great naturalist wasn't up to the task of sexing giant tortoises - and "Harry" and two of her friends, Tom and Dick, found themselves aboard HMS Beagle headed for England as subjects of scientific research. They were miserable times - freezing winters and a lack of sunshine sent them into a state of virtual hibernation. So in 1837 Tom, Dick and Harry were put back aboard the Beagle, this time bound for Australia. Five years later, the 12-year-old Harriet was donated to Brisbane Botanical Gardens in Queensland, where she began her new life. Sadly, Dick died in the late 1880s while Tom passed away in 1949. And for the next 100 years, Harriet lived a confused, frustrated and unfulfilled life as a male tortoise called Harry because she was too heavy for anyone to take the time to flip her on to her back and check her gender. For several unhappy decades, keepers tried in vain to mate "Harry" with female Galapagos land tortoises. Not surprisingly, Harriet was denied young of her own, and when she wasn't being coaxed into same-sex encounters with female tortoises, she gave piggyback rides to human children. When the zoological part of the gardens closed in 1952, Harry was moved to a wildlife sanctuary on Australia's Gold Coast. Then, in 1960, a visiting director of Hawaii's Honolulu Zoo examined Harry - and found he was a she. "Apart from Tom and Dick when she was a nipper, Harriet has never had a mate," says her keeper, Kelly Jackson - Richard's wife. Harriet made her last journey in 1988 to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo where she will laze away the rest of her days. Despite being the main attraction and something of a national icon, she is enjoying a quiet retirement - apart from occasionally being disturbed by the frenzied noise of the crocodiles feeding. Weighing more than 23 stone, she takes sluggish steps, having grown to the size of a large dinner table. And nothing makes her happier than a bunch of flowers and a good scratch. Harriet dines on a diet of aubergines, courgettes, string beans, parsley, squash, endives, carrots, tomatoes, bok choi and her favourite morning treat - pink hibiscus flowers. She has a daily soapy bath because passing birds with no respect for her age use her back as a perch and leave their calling card. Lizards too bask on her back in the scorching heat and leave their droppings. Like many old ladies, she's set in her ways. "We're taking good care of her," says Richard. "We even built her a special cave with a heating pad inside so she could stay warm on cooler days. "Of course, she never uses the cave. She just decided to sleep outside. That's our Harriet." Today, she spends much of her retirement dozing under shady trees in the pond of her pen and is sometimes mistaken for a large boulder by visitors. But she is unusually affectionate for a reptile, and enjoys a good scratch along her shell and under her legs. Surprisingly, she does have feeling in her shell. The top part - or carapace - and bottom part - the plastron - are actually an extension of her ribs. "She's certainly earning some downtime," said Richard. "When she was in the gardens, she had to put up with people riding her. "You can still see the scars on her shell where people used to engrave their names on her back. I think she was even painted a couple of times by soldiers coming home from wars." But there are still a few niggling doubts about Harriet's background. British scientist Paul Chambers who has researched her story believes she wasn't one of Darwin's tortoises, but was actually picked up by whalers. And DNA analysis shows she is almost certainly from Santa Cruz island in the Galapagos while the Beagle's tortoises were taken from Espanola, Santa Maria and San Salvador respectively. Paul Chambers has also shown that the man who was said to have imported her into Australia had probably arrived there some time before her. What is not in doubt, however, is Harriet's impressive age. She is believed to be one of only about a dozen of her kind left in the world. During the 19th and 20th Centuries, hundreds of thousands were killed by fisherman who valued the tortoises as a ready source of food and water, thanks to the animals' huge bladders. The introduction of goats and rats to the Galapagos also proved disastrous. Goats eat the tortoises' food and rats eat their soft eggs. While Harriet is currently the oldest living being on earth, she isn't the oldest living animal ever. According to the Guinness Book Of World Records, a Madagascar radiated tortoise called Tui Malila presented to the Tongan royal family by Captain James Cook in the late 1700s, was either 188 or 192 when it died in 1965. Harriet is likely to outlive Tui - and this November 15, like every year, local schoolchildren will organise a birthday party for her. "It's amazing," says keeper Kelly Jackson. "The second you tell people Harriet's age they just fall in love with her. When you look at Harriet, you are looking at history."
A (VERY) SLOW MARCH THROUGH HISTORY

1830: Harriet is born - and her home country Ecuador becomes independent and elects its first president.

1834: Aged four, the young tortoise is basking in the Galapagos sun when the British abolish slavery and the Tolpuddle martyrs are banished to Australia.

1843: She is just a teenager when Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol is published.

1852: When Harriet hits 22, Australia's gold rush kicks off after a half-ounce nugget is found in Queensland and thousands of prospectors flood the area.

1865: As she reaches 35, the world is shocked at the assassination of American president Abraham Lincoln at the hands of actor John Wilkes Booth.

1868: Harriet is 38 - and the last British convicts arrive in Australia.

1880: As Harriet turns 50, the infamous Aussie outlaw Ned Kelly hangs in the Old Melbourne Jail.

1882: The Aussies achieve the unthinkable - and beat England at cricket on home soil for the first time, giving birth to The Ashes.

1901: At 71, Harriet is already a pensioner when her adopted country is unified and the Australian flag flies for the first time.

1915: Gallipoli, the First World War battle against the Turks, claims the lives of 7,600 Australians as Harriet reaches 85.

1945: Harriet is pushing 115 when the atomic bomb obliterates the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

1953: The grand old lady is 123 when Queen Elizabeth II is crowned in Westminster Abbey in London.

1956: Dame Edna Everage makes her first appearance, courtesy of Australian comic Barry Humfries. Harriet is 126.

1967: Aborigines are finally given citizenship when Harriet is 137 after 90 per cent of Australians vote Yes in a referendum.

1968: When she reaches 138, Australia's most famous export, Kylie Minogue, is born... and a year later man first sets foot on the moon.

2000: She's 170, and Australia hosts the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, the most successful ever.

Scientists Uncovered Zombie Snot Worm

You’ll often find this marine worm in the deep waters of the Pacific. But now they’ve been spotted in the North Sea. It has been suggested that the worms are using whale-oils inside the bone as a fuel source, with specialised bacteria inside their roots breaking down the oils to release energy. The marine worm, which lives off whale bones on the sea floor, was found on a minke whale carcass in relatively shallow water close to Tjarno Marine Laboratory on the Swedish coast. A UK-Swedish team reports the new species has been named Osedax mucofloris, which literally means ”Bone-Eating Snot-Flower”. Dr Adrian Glover, a researcher at London’s Natural History Museum, and Thomas Dahlgren ,who is affiliated to Gothenburg University, says they look like ”flowers poking out of the whale bone..... the part of the animal that is exposed to the seawater is covered in a ball of mucus, so they are quite snotty”, probably as a defence mechanism. Osedax worms are about 1-2cm in length. Certainly in the case of the Pacific Osedax - their reproductive system is extraordinary. Dr Glover explains that ”the female Pacific worms keep males inside their tube as a sort of little harem that fertilises eggs ”. But he’s not sure what’s happening with the reproductive biology of the Swedish worms yet, as oddly only females and no males have been found yet. Glover and Dahlgren, are planning further lab studies of these North Sea worms.

Nanotechnology Takes A Test Drive

It's the smallest thing on four wheels this nanocar is made from a single molecule. They measure just 3 by 4 nanometres: a million of them parked bumper to tail would cover the length of a flea. And they are stripped down to the absolute basics: just a chassis and two axles with wheels at either end. But they move. Using a powerful microscope, James Tour and his coworkers at Rice University in Houston, Texas, have watched their 'nanocars' trundle over a layer of gold. The axles and chassis are made primarily of carbon atoms linked into rigid rods that form an H shape. At each axle tip, the researchers attached a ball-like wheel made from the football-shaped carbon molecule C60. The key question was whether these diminutive vehicles truly roll over a surface, or just skitter about because of their thermal energy, as many molecules do. Tour and his colleagues claim that the wheels must indeed be turning. When they used the fine tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope, a device normally used for imaging at the atomic scale, to attract the nanocars and pull them along, the cars moved forward but not sideways. That's just what you would expect to happen if the C60 molecules were rotating on an axis. Occasionally the cars pivoted and took off in a new direction, making zigzag paths. Three-wheeled nanocars with tripod axles could only turn in circles, again as would be expected if the wheels were revolving. "This is really exciting", says materials scientist Henry Hess of the University of Florida in Gainesville, who has used biological molecular motors to drive nanoscale objects over surfaces. Show me the programs ... Climate and Global Change PostDoc Program NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab Naval Research Laboratory PostDoc Program PhD Training Program for Chinese Students. Hess believes that it may become possible to use synthetic molecular motors, which other researchers are developing, to power nanovehicles like this. "If you put these things together, you can see how they might be actively driven," he says. If he's right, Tour's idea of using 'nanotrucks' and 'nanotrains' to transport materials for nanotechnological construction may one day get on the road.

Deer Not Trick-Or-Treating

Elizabeth Laatsch had to reassure the operator her call was no Halloween prank. A deer came through her backyard Friday with a pumpkin stuck on its head. At least, it looked like a pumpkin to the South Middleton Township woman. “It sounds very far-fetched,” says Laatsch, who moved into the Stonehedge Drive house with husband, Jerry, about a month ago. Her husband was on the back porch about 11:15 a.m. when something walked through the yard. “He did not know what it was at first,” Laatsch says. “He called out to me.” She looked outside and saw the deer moving slowly, unable to see where it was going. The animal disappeared into a wooded area and gully. Forty-five minutes later, the deer meandered back and Laatsch took its picture. Concerned for its welfare, she called the Pennsylvania Game Commission and found out she was the third person to report the animal in as many days. The first call came on Wednesday, says Eric Horsh, wildlife conservation officer for Cumberland County. And Horsh came within 20 yards of capturing the deer in the vicinity of Rockledge Drive and Old School Road in South Middleton. The deer seems to have a large brown or gold plastic ball stuck on its head — a lawn ornament or possibly a Halloween decoration, Horsh says. “From the size, it may be a yearling.” He adds, “I’ve never seen anything like it” in five years as a wildlife conservation officer. The second sighting was Thursday behind East Gate apartment complex. Again, Horsh responded, with no luck. Every report is within the same general area behind Kmart along Walnut Bottom Road. While the deer appeared healthy, Horsh is concerned about its ability to eat or drink with the ball over its head. A healthy deer could survive without water for up to a week. Horsh suspects the deer came across the ball, poked its head in to investigate, but could not pull out. He hopes to get close enough to grab or rope the deer. A tranquilizer gun is not an option since the drug would make the deer unfit for human consumption for up to 30 days should it be harvested legally during hunting season. Upon receiving the call from Laatsch Friday, Horsh followed the deer until its tracks intermingled with those of other deer. Horsh is the only conservation officer on duty and it can take up to 45 minutes to reach the area of the sighting. By that time, the animal has moved on. The Pennsylvania Game Commission asks anyone who has seen a deer with a pumpkin head to call 1-814-643-1831. Wildlife Conservation Officer Eric Horsh says people should not try to catch the deer but should keep their eyes on it as long as possible so commission officials can better track it.

Icy Dione Captured In Close-Up

The Cassini spacecraft has captured a stunning image of Saturn's moon Dione against the golden hue of the ringed planet. Cassini captured Dione on the gold and blue background of SaturnImaging scientists used the blue, green and infrared filters to approximate the colours as the eye would see them. The spacecraft was nearly in the same plane as Saturn's rings when the view was obtained on 11 October. Cassini arrived in orbit around Saturn on 1 July 2004 on a four-year mission to explore the planet and its moons. The $3.2bn mission is a joint venture between the US space agency (Nasa), the European Space Agency (Esa) and the Italian Space Agency (Asi). Dione orbits about 337,400km (about 234,500 miles) from Saturn. The moon has a diameter of 1,118km (695 miles). The heavily cratered body is the second densest satellite of Saturn.

A Bloody Inking Foretold Death In Eerie Tattoo Irony

A Brooklyn father getting a tattoo called "Last Rites" inked into his flesh passed out and crashed headfirst into a glass counter yesterday, killing himself, police and witnesses said. Joaquin Laguer, 27, nearly was decapitated during the horrific accident inside Buzz Tattoo, an unlicensed parlor in East Williamsburg. Joaquin Laguer (above) fainted and fell through glass, killing himself, after getting the tattoo (below) entitled "Last Rites"."There was nothing I could do," said shaken tattoo artist Julio Ramos, 36. "I was kneeling next to him, praying to God. My assistant said, 'He's gone.'" Laguer, an aspiring model and rapper, felt faint soon after Ramos finished inking the outline of an abstract, wizardlike tattoo onto his right forearm. Saying he was hungry, Laguer walked over to a glass counter where he'd placed a Spanish takeout meal of half a chicken, fried plantains and rice. But before he could reach the food, he passed out and slammed into the front of the counter at 2 p.m. The shattering glass sliced deeply into his neck, Ramos said. "There was no saving him," said Ramos' assistant, Wilson Fernandez, 24. Laguer, who had a 2-year-old daughter, was rushed to Woodhull Hospital, where he was declared dead at 2:22 p.m. His grieving girlfriend, Shanequa Neal, said Laguer had eight tattoos and wanted another featuring a picture of their daughter, J'lynn. When he couldn't afford it, he chose another tattoo out of a catalog. Neal was stunned by the irony of the name of the "Last Rites" image he had selected. "It was like it was his time," she said. Laguer's mother, Ruthie Stewart, said her son had been plagued with frequent fainting spells throughout his life. The cause of the fainting was never diagnosed, largely because he did not have health insurance and couldn't afford to go to a specialist, his mother said. "If he had fallen anywhere else, he would be here now," said Stewart, who has two teardrops tattooed under her left eye. Laguer worked as a security guard to pay bills but had done professional modeling and dreamed of a music career. While at Paul Robeson High School in Brooklyn, he amassed a roomful of trophies for baseball, basketball and football. His heartbroken girlfriend could not bring herself to tell J'lynn of her dad's death last night. She said she wished she had answered his phone call from the parlor shortly before the deadly accident. "Maybe he wasn't feeling good, and I could have got him to go home," she said. "I just wish I could hear his voice." Ramos, who said he has done tattoos for Knicks star Stephon Marbury and Los Angeles Laker Lamar Odom, was slapped with three violations for failing to have or post a license and for not maintaining proper records. "I just wish it had never happened," he said, while mopping up blood last night. "I wish he'd gone home to his kid."

Prisoner Sues God

A Romanian prisoner is suing God for failing to save him from the Devil. The inmate, named as Pavel M in media reports, accused God of “cheating, abuse and traffic of influence”. His complaint reads: “I, the undersigned Pavel M, currently jailed at Timisoara Penitentiary serving a 20 years sentence for murder, request legal action against God, resident in Heaven, and represented here by the Romanian Orthodox Church, for committing the following crimes: cheating, concealment, abuse against people’s interest, taking bribe and traffic of influence.” The inmate argued that his baptism was a contract between him and God who was supposed to keep the Devil away and keep him out of trouble. He added: “God even claimed and received from me various goods and prayers in exchange for forgiveness and the promise that I would be rid of problems and have a better life. “But on the contrary I was left in Devil’s hands.” The complaint was sent to the Timisoara Court of Justice and forwarded to the prosecutor’s office. But prosecutors said it would probably be dropped and they were unable to subpoena God to court.

$1MILLION PUT ON HEAD OF NESSIE

A $1Million dollar bounty has been put on the head of the Loch Ness Monster. A leading American scientist said the reward would go to anyone who produced a photo which led to Nessie's capture. Loren Coleman, of the University of Southern Maine, said the bounty would be paid out by a US firm with an interest in cryptozoology - the study of hidden, rumoured or unknown creatures. The booty is on the table for the live capture of the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman. Coleman said: "We don't want people running around trying to kill something to get the money. "It's not a contest, either. It's a specific bounty that depends on the capture of a live specimen, with emphasis on "live"

Pope In A Pancake

In the often mundane of everyday life, some tend to look for extra meaning. That can come in many forms, whether it be a voice, a gesture, or a vision. And sometimes these things can take on a greater meaning. This story started with a picture from a viewer. But really, it started with breakfast. One Sunday morning, Myrna Kincaid's life changed with the flip of a pancake. "Look at my pancake," she reflects. "It looks like, looks like the pope." "I thought it could very well look like him," said Jay, her husband. Instead of eating the pancake bite by bite, they stored it in the freezer and scurried to church. But, what to make of this, they thought. Luke Galen is a Grand Valley State University professor who teaches a course on psychology in religion. "That one's pretty accurate as far as these pictures go," said Galen. The Kincaids aren't the first to see religion in an everyday item. The Virgin Mary has been spotted in a tree, Baby Jesus in a pretzel, demons in the smoke billowing from the towers on Sept. 11, 2001, and the Lady Guadalupe salt stain in Chicago. There was even a Virgin Mary that appeared on a toasted cheese sandwich. It sold for $28,000 on Ebay, according to Galen. Galen says something like this is nearly always pure coincidence with a scientific explanation. Simply put, the pope was randomly burned in by butter. "If you were God, would you appear in a pancake or put it up in a cloud for everyone to see it like skywriting?" asks Galen. Dr. Robert Marco is the Chair of Theology at Aquinas College. He says the pope in a pancake picture looks pretty accurate. But, he doubts it has religious meaning. He adds it is probably a fluke. "We may see something in the very ordinary that relates us to something beyond us," Dr. Marco said. The thought is that can be good for the individual, but probably not of God. The Kincaids in Jackson don't really know why the picture appeared. But, three weeks to the day after the Father's Day revelation, they were blessed. Myrna had a baby boy who they decided to name John. And, John, they say, never cries. As for the pancake, they plan to hang onto it because, they say, how often does that happen?

Cat Born With 2 Tongues

A cat in Dobson, N.C., is believed to be the only cat in the world with two tongues. The cat, named Five Toes, was born with two tongues and five toes on each paw. Owner Bill Whittington told a North Carolina TV station that he noticed the cat's second tongue in December. He said he yelled when he saw the tongues flicker. He also said people laugh when he tells them about the cat -- until they see the tongues. Whittington said Ripley's Believe It Or Not will feature Five Toes in its 2006 guide.

New Organism Caught In The Act Of Kidnapping Plant

A one-celled creature found on a sandy beach may be in the process of kidnapping and incorporating an even tinier plant to use as a living energy source, Japanese researchers reported. They said the newly discovered organism seems to be in the process of endosymbiosis -- in which one creature incorporates another, creating a new form of life. Scientists believe this is how many modern plants and animals evolved. They believe the chloroplasts, the green solar power factories inside plants, were originally separate organisms. Similarly, they believe components of the cells that make up all animals were originally captured microbes. Writing in the journal Science, Noriko Okamoto and Isao Inouye of the University of Tsukuba said they may be seeing this process in action. The new creature, which they have dubbed "Hatena" for "mysterious," is a flagellate -- a small organism with a tail that it uses to propel itself. These creatures can resemble plants or animals, but during one phase of its life it resembles a predator. At another stage, Hatena carry a green, photosynthesizing alga inside. It divides during that phase, giving rise to two daughter cells -- one green and one colorless. The colorless daughter develops a feeding tool and eventually engulfs another green alga, the scientists wrote. The green cell, called the symbiont, belongs to a fairly well-known genus of algae called Nephroselmis, and is "abundant in the habitat," the researchers wrote. It has a flagellum too, but loses this when it is engulfed, and also loses its outside structure, the exoskeleton. "The symbiont cell retains its nucleus," as well as other key cell components such as mitochondria and the chloroplast, they added. The green part then enlarges and seems to nourish the predator half, which loses its complex feeding apparatus, the researchers said. They captured some of the clear, predator-like offspring and fed them other, related strains of Nephroselmis algae. "Although the prey was engulfed and remained undigested, it did not undergo the modifications described above, suggesting a highly strain-specific interaction," they wrote. Now they have to see if the two species have traded genes, considered an important step in the evolution of modern plants and algae.

Visitors Flock To See Image Of Dead Priest

The image of what appears to be a priest holding a child has mysteriously appeared on the wall of a church in Chile. Visitors from all over the country are flocking to see the figures at the Christo Rey de Tome Church in Santiago, reports Las Ultimas Noticias. They believe it is the figure of Father Hurtado, who looked after needy kids when he was alive and who's due to be canonised at the end of the month by the Pope. According to local priests, the figures started to appear five weeks ago. Priest Hernan Henriquez said: “We don’t know what’s happening, we can’t be 100% sure but it appeared out of nowhere.”

Christopher Columbus & The Lunar Eclipse

About 500 years ago, Christopher Columbus was on his fourth voyage to the New World. His earlier voyages were the stuff of legends. Unfortunately there's an end to every good luck streak and on this voyage, bad luck would strike in the form of worms.In the days of wooden boats, worms would attack and bore holes in the wood which eventually would cause leaking and ultimately sinking if repairs were not made. Columbus had no choice but to beach his leaky ship on St. Anne's Bay, Jamaica, and make repairs. Columbus and his sailors spent over a year there, most of it waiting for his lieutenant's ship to come and help him. The local Jamaican natives were quite fascinated with Columbus and his men and were very nice to them. They provided Columbus and his sailors with food and other supplies and helped them build shelters. In fact, the Natives treated Columubs better than his own men treated him. The sailor's on this voyage were a pretty rough bunch and had repeatedly argued with Columbus, coming close to mutiny on several occasions. Unfortunately, the sailors gave no better treatment to the Jamaicans, and took advantage of them whenever they could, even cheating and stealing from the Natives. Eventually the Natives grew tired of being treated so badly and decided to make a point and cut off the food supply to Columbus and his crew. The sailors were more than willing to try and fight with the natives to get what they wanted and they even argued with Columbus about it. But Columbus thought there was a better way to deal with these issues and he asked the native chiefs to attend a meeting with him just before sunset on February 29, 1504. Columbus opened the meeting with a somber announcement, "The Almighty was unhappy, He didn't like the way the natives were treating Columbus and his sailors. The Almighty would now show his disapproval by removing the Moon from the sky." One can only imagine the natives sniggering over this announcement. No one, in their opinion, could control the sky. Shortly thereafter, the full moon began to appear over the eastern horizon. As the Sun set, the full moon rose, and the sniggering probably continued. And then, ever so subtly, the moon began to change. Sniggers were replaced by an uneasiness. The Moon began to dim and turn a blood red colour. Soon all eyes were riveted on the dimming orb. Clearly, as it rose, there was something wrong. Not only was the Moon the colour of blood, by the time the lunar disk was completely above the horizon, the lower half of the Moon was missing! Over the next few hours, little by little the Moon became harder and harder to spot. A dim red orb hung in the sky where once the brilliant Moon had bathed them in moonlight. It looked as if the Moon had been reduced to a dim ghost of its former self. Supposedly, the natives were terrified. It is doubtful that they had never observed a lunar eclipse before, but they likely believed the gods controlled such events, and now, here was a mere human who could not only communicate with the gods but could predict his actions as well! Clearly they were frightened by this display of power. The natives pleaded with Columbus to return the Moon to its former self. They promised food and anything else Columbus or his men wanted. They begged for forgiveness With high drama, Columbus told the natives he would just nip inside and seek a bit of counsel with the Almighty and see if he was in the forgiving mood. In this particular case, "the Almighty" was most likely an hourglass clever Columbus was using to time the 48 minute duration of totality. Strolling casually back out from his ship, Columbus reappeared just before totality ended and announced that the Almighty Power was indeed in a forgiving mood and if the natives would thusly promise to provide food for Columbus and his crew, the Almighty Power would have the Moon reappear. Of course the Natives agreed and with much nodding, smiling and posturing, the deal was sealed and quite soon thereafter, the Moon was its former brilliant self. Thereafter, it is doubtful that Columbus had much trouble with the Natives. He probably even gained a bit more respect from his sailors but one thing is for sure, Columbus did have a good bit of knowledge from Persian, Greek, Islamic and European science. He reportedly had an almanac which he used to schedule the meeting with the Natives based on eclipse times!

Was A Diplomat The 'Real' Shakespeare

"To be or not to be: that is the question," but the new question could be "Who is the real Shakespeare?", according to a new book by two British academics. The Truth Will Out: Unmasking the Real Shakespeare, claims that the author of such plays as Macbeth and Hamlet was a little-known politician and aristocrat called Sir Henry Neville, not William Shakespeare. The book's authors, Shakespearian scholar Brenda James and historian William Rubinstein, are claiming that the historical Shakespeare was not educated or well-travelled and couldn't have written the plays. James apparently stumbled onto her theory while using a 16th century code-breaking technique to analyze portions of Shakespeare's writing. Then she went on to answer the question: "How could a man who left school at 13 and apparently never left England have authored complex poetry or so enigmatically describe Renaissance Venice?" According to a Globe and Mail article by David Keys, Neville "was a relative of William Shakespeare, he practised the thespian's signature and was best of friends with his patron and mentor." "We correlated the chronology of the plays with Neville's life and found that they match perfectly in a way that illuminates the evolution of the plays," Prof. Rubinstein told Keys. Neville was sent as ambassador to France to the Court of Henri IV, and sat in British parliament most of his adult life. Anthony Dawson, Professor of English at the University of British Columbia, says there have been a lot of theories about Shakespeare's authenticity but the evidence is pretty weak. He disputes the new book's claim that Neville's life correlates closely to the works of Shakespeare. "One of the problems with that is that author's lives and works in general don't always correlate," Dawson told CTV Newsnet on Friday. He also disputes the book's argument that Shakespeare didn't have the education or life experience to have written his body of work. "He was educated like a lot of other young people of his time and the plays do not demonstrate any great knowledge," said Dawson. "They basically are the kind of knowledge open to any reasonably literate Elizabethan person." This is not the first book to question the authorship of Shakespeare's works. Other alternatives have included Francis Bacon, the Earl of Oxford, and even Queen Elizabeth I.

Vampires Run Amuck

Man Sentenced For Biting Girls In 'Vampire' CaseAn 18-year-old man accused of biting two teenage girls and telling them he was a vampire was sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation. Steven RogersSteven Rogers had pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual misconduct. He was arrested in June and was accused of biting two teenagers on the neck. One incident, in May, involved a 15-year-old girl at the Oakridge Manor mobile home park, police said. Rogers has been ordered to continue mental health treatment.

Canadian Vampire Sentenced To Prison
A self-proclaimed vampire is sentenced to 11½ years in prison, for attacking homeless people to take their blood. Dominic Landry pleads guilty to one charge of manslaughter and three charges of assault. Landry was under the influence of drugs and alcohol during the incidents. He says, in the Canadian Press, that he needed his victims' blood to live.

Call A Clue To Vampire MurderAn anonymous tipster could hold the key to the murder of a Melbourne male prostitute and self-proclaimed vampire, police believe. Shane Chartres-AbbottTwo men gunned down Shane Chartres-Abbott, 28, in front of his girlfriend and father outside his home at Reservoir, in Melbourne's north, on June 4, 2003. When he was murdered, Chartres-Abbott was part-way through a trial in the Victorian County Court on charges he raped and attacked a woman client after telling her he was a vampire who drank blood to survive. He was accused of severing part of the woman's tongue and biting her thigh. Victoria Police today said an unidentified caller contacted CrimeStoppers on September 28 about 2pm with information about Mark Andrew, a man police want to speak to over the killing. Homicide detectives are appealing to the tipster to make contact again. Homicide squad Detective Inspector Bernie Rankin said police wanted to interview Mr Andrew - a name he said could be an alias - who they believe is still living in Melbourne. "We need to speak to Mr Andrew to see if he's in possession of any information or facts which may provide a breakthrough in relation to this investigation," he said. "We'd be able to better ascertain his level of complicity or non-complicity in this after we've spoken with him." Police have released an image of Mr Andrew, who is aged in his 30s, of medium build and average height. Earlier this year, police revealed that the two men they believed shot Chartres-Abbott were seen near the dead man's home the day before the murder.

Laser Trick Is A Quantum Leap

Physicists in Australia have slowed a speeding laser pulse and captured it in a crystal, a feat that could be instrumental in creating quantum computers. The scientists slowed the laser light pulse from 300,000 kilometers per second to just several hundred meters per second, allowing them to capture the pulse for about a second. The accomplishment marks a new world record, but the scientists are more thrilled that they were able to store and recall light, an important step toward quantum computing. "What we've done here is create a quantum memory," said Dr. Matthew Sellars of the Laser Physics Centre at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Slowing down light allows scientists to map information onto it. The information is then transferred from the light to the crystal, Sellars said. Then when the scientists release the light, the information is transferred back onto the beam. "Digital information can be expressed with pulses of light," Sellars said. "If we can store the light pulses for a very long time, we have a memory that operates on a quantum scale." To slow down the light, the researchers used a silicate crystal doped with a rare-earth element called praseodymium. Laser light pulses fired at the crystal are normally absorbed and don't pass through, Sellars said. But when a secondary laser was directed at the crystal, it became transparent, allowing light from the first laser to move through. To store the light, the secondary laser was switched off, so the original light pulse was trapped. The secondary laser was directed onto the crystal once again to release the pulse. Scientists can map information onto light beams using photons, which, like all elementary particles, have "spin." Spin gives them a natural orientation, similar to a compass needle. The spin can be oriented up or down, representing a one or zero. Flipping from up to down has the same effect as switching a tiny transistor on or off. In the spooky world of quantum mechanics, particles like photons behave in mind-bending fashion, and can actually be oriented up and down simultaneously, until they are observed or measured. This arrangement is known as quantum superposition, and results in a unit of information known as a qubit (quantum bit), instead of the traditional bit. The processing power of a quantum system -- and it is formidable -- is a direct result of the superposition state. Since the qubit can represent several values at once, a quantum system is exponentially more efficient than its classical counterparts. Just 40 qubits would equal the power of today's supercomputers. "We're at the borderline from going from a few qubits to many more," said Raymond LaFlamme, director of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. "But from a conceptual point of view, we're learning a new force of nature." Quantum computers will exploit quantum mechanics to perform complex mathematical operations -- like cracking the most complex codes cryptography can dream up -- at blistering speed. "The process of decryption and modifying information security will be a large application," said LaFlamme. "Entities such as the National Security Agency are very interested in building a quantum machine." While acknowledging that quantum technology is still in its infancy, LaFlamme described the success of ANU's quantum memory experiment as "a milestone," and envisions steady progress in the future. "The 19th century was the Industrial Age," he said. "The 20th century was hailed as the Information Age. I believe the 21st century will be the Quantum Age."

Stevie Wonder Could Be Candidate For Pioneering Sight Surgery

Blind soul legend Stevie Wonder could get his sight back - thanks to new microchip technology. The 55-year-old singer has been blind since infancy, but is in negotiations to become a guinea-pig for pioneering sight surgery. He says, "I've been tested and there was some possibility that I could maybe be a candidate."

Brothers Fined For Keeping 'Pet Ghost'

A village council in eastern India has fined two brothers for keeping a pet ghost. Iswar and Haripada Murmu, of Akshaypur in West Bengal, were accused of owning a ghost after one of their wives died. An exorcist summoned by villagers claimed the brothers' pet ghost was "responsible for a recent outbreak of disease in the locality". Village elders said they were bringing evil to the village and fined them the equivalent of £360, reports the Deccan Chronicle. The paper reports that the brothers had to mortgage their agricultural land to raise the money. They now risk losing everything unless they can pay the money back within two months. District magistrate Mukul Sarkar said: "I will immediately inquire into the matter and if there is any truth to it, the district administration will take the necessary action."

The Ghost In The Shop

Televisions crews, psychics and paranormal investigators have been flocking to a store in Gloucester that seems to have video proof of the existence of a ghost. Is this really a ghost captured on camera? Watch the video footage from a shop in Gloucester, which some people say shows a ghostly apparition knocking over a pile of boxesAfter finding the store a mess one morning staff at Poundstretcher on Eastgate Street examined CCTV footage of the night before. What shocked them was the sight of a ghostly figure of a Victorian woman pushing a whole pallet of goods to the ground. A bit of research shows that the shop stands on the site of an old Theatre - The Theatre Royal, later known as The Palace. It was first opened in 1791 and closed in 1922. There have been previous stories of a haunting in the building. One such tale tells of a young woman who, it's said, took her own life, and was found hanging from a piece of theatre equipment beneath the stage. Do you think this is a ghost?It's the ghost of this poor woman who staff claim to have captured on camera. The deputy manageress of Poundstretcher, Sue Cooper, told us it's not the first time she's come into close contact with the apparition. She said, "You can often feel her presence, sometimes you can feel an icy cold. You can feel a gagging or choking, especially downstairs in the cellar." What do you think? Click on the link below to watch the CCTV footage. You can also listen to Sue Cooper's interview on BBC Radio Gloucestershire about the "Ghost in the Shop"
Deputy Manager, Sue Cooper

Listen to the ghostly interview with Sue Cooper

Play video of the ghost in the shop

Extraordinary Recording Of An Actual Exorcism

A sixteen-year-old girl sits in a chair in a Russian Orthodox Church. She is being held down by her mother. Light filters in from high windows and the air is thick with tension and the smell of holy incense. A priest stands over her reading the rite of exorcism. The girl squirms in her mother’s arms, groaning and growling as if the priest’s words were a torment to her mind and soul. The girl struggles violently, her groans becoming inhuman howls and deep, guttural moans of psychological pain. Then she lashes out at the priest, and in a voice that seems not to be her own, spits words of defiance. This is not a scene from a Hollywood production. This is a partial description of an actual exorcism that took place in a Russian parish on May 1, 2004. You can hear an actual recorded excerpt from this exorcism here! (Windows MediaPlayer required)
WARNING: Do not listen if you are easily upset or disturbed by such things. Although there is no foul language, in English anyway, the sounds may be disturbing to some.
This recording was made by Eugene Safronov, who is an assistant to one of the exorcists in the Russian Orthodox Church. Although he did not assist in this particular case, he was a witness, and has assisted another priest in many other instances.

Eugene Safronov (assistant to one of the exorcists) did not know the girl in this case personally, but as an assistant to an exorcist in the diocese he attends many of the “deliverance services” that take place in various parishes across Russia. This is how he came to record this exorcism, which was conducted by Father Basil. The deliverance ministry in Russia, Eugene explains, is relatively new, but growing. It is similar to such ministries in the Anglican Church in England, which has a long tradition. In Russia, these ministries are becoming more organized, working with open-minded psychiatrists and other medical professionals for people who come to them (or are brought to them) with significant problems. How the girl came to be possessed is not known. Eugene did not have an opportunity to speak with the girl or her mother, but as he understood it, she had some involvement with the occult, either in practice or she consulted with an occult practitioner. The people who go to such practitioners go for personal advice, much as people go to storefront “psychic readers” in the U.S. They claim to be able to rid their customers of curses and such. “The problem is,” Eugene says, “things go wrong and can make a problem much worse” for someone who might have a psychological problem. It may be an entry point for the diabolic.
After this exposure to the occult, the girl’s mother noticed a radical change in her daughter’s behavior and brought her to the deliverance service. (It is not known what kind of medical or psychiatric treatment, if any, was sought first.) Besides individual exorcisms, Russian parishes offer open deliverance services to which any number of people can come. A less formal rite is conducted at these services. There are similar ministries in the U.S., such as Bob Larson Ministries among others, whose exorcising services are even televised. During the ceremony, audience members who supposedly have demons in them spontaneously jump up, begin shouting, babble in incoherent language or go into spasms until the minister casts the demons out (and then asks for donations, of course). In Russia, Eugene has witnessed unusual things at these open deliverance services. He says he has seen demons speaking [through people] to one another in the church. "The demons use the people's voices and speak to one another in the church and also discuss things that the people in which they live could not possibly know," Eugene says. In the case of the sixteen-year-old girl, she was in a one-on-one session with Father Basil. Watching from just several feet away, Eugene could see that the girl possessed extraordinary strength as her mother struggled to keep her seated. As can be heard on the recording, her voice changed radically. Her face contorted and displayed “total hate” for the priest as she cursed at him. Toward the end of the recording, the girl, with an unearthly voice, shouts something in Russian at the priest. The translation, Eugene says, is, “I am not leaving her! I am not!” The demonic voice sounds like something right off the soundtrack of The Exorcist. Was the girl imitating the Linda Blair character in the movie? Eugene, who has been assisting in these exorcisms for several years, does not think so. Those movies are not well known in Russia, he says. Although the exorcism lasted about a half hour, Eugene says that it was not a success, and he didn’t know if the girl and her mother would seek further treatment.

The $100 Laptop Computer

One man in Boston has a plan that he hopes will bridge the world's gaping digital divide - and quickly. The visionary is Nicholas Negroponte, director of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his idea consists of a new kind of laptop computer that will cost just $100 to buy. It will also be a little different in design from the sleek machines some of us in the west have learned to love or covet. It will be foldable in different ways, encased in bump-proof rubber and will include a hand-crank to give it power in those corners of the globe where electricity supply is patchy. The first prototype of the machine should be ready by November and Mr Negroponte - who was one of the first prophets of the internet before most of us understood the word - hopes to put them into production next year. In fact, he expects to churn out about 15 million of them within one year, shipping most of them at first to children in Brazil, Egypt, Thailand and South Africa. Describing the unusual design of his sub-laptop yesterday, Mr Negroponte insisted that it would "have to be absolutely indestructible". The mission is to create a tool that children almost anywhere can use and can easily carry between their classrooms and their homes. For that reason, for instance, the AC adaptor cable will double as a shoulder strap. Support is also coming from closer to home. The Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, has also committed to buying half a million of the machines for distribution to lower-income school students in the state. The inspiration of the project, which has backing from US companies including Google, came to Mr Negroponte when he was travelling recently with his wife in Cambodia. He spotted children in a rural area carrying laptops - which the couple's foundation had donated - from school to their homes. To cut costs, the machines would have a 500-megahertz processor provided by Advanced Micro Devices, which is a little slow by today's lightning-speed standards. However, it would be set up for wireless connectivity, known as wi-fi, to give users the greatest chance of hooking up to the internet. It would run on a Linux platform, which is freely available, rather than Microsoft's more expensive Windows. It is not the first time that someone has attempted to develop a rock-bottom price device to feed the potentially monumental market in developing countries for laptops. Part of the problem has been stopping donated machines leaking onto the commercial market. Mr Negroponte said that his laptops would be so distinctive in design and look that stealing and re-selling them would be akin to stealing furniture from a church. People would recognise where they come from. The look of the devices, he said yesterday, meant there would be "socially a stigma to be carrying one if you are not a student or a teacher". Consequently, he imagines that no more than 2 per cent of the devices would fall into that murky "grey market". Other features of the device include being able to switch from a full colour screen to a monochrome alternative, which will much more easily viewed in bright sunlight. In the first models, turning the crank for one minute will provide 10 minutes of power. Mr Negroponte says that rather than getting more expensive, as some brands do, he hopes that his machines will get cheaper through economies of scale. He pointed out that $100 was still expensive in many parts of the world. And he also expects the technology to improve.