Our Times: October 2005
October 1, 2005
60 Years Ago in SIGNS
SIGNS OF THE TIMES of October 22, 1945, in the context of the return of the millions of servicemen world-wide, posed the question: “Will our homes be places of inspiration and rest they anticipated? Shall we, the inmates who have longer for their return be able to live up to their expectations of us?” it asked. Then, further into the article, “Will they find restoration and healing instead of wounds and heartahces?”
Unforunately, homes are often war zones themselves, with battles occuring daily. But, as the article says, our homes “should be a place…of love and fellowship.”
Bryan Craig looks at the realities of love, marriage and home in the contemporary world, a world with its own challenges, suggesting what partners can to do restore peace on the home front.*
Camel Milk Chocolates
An Austrian chocolate maker has joined forces with an Arabic camel farm to create a new delicacy—camel milk chocolate. Company head Johann Georg Hochleitner said camel’s milk is a good alternative to cow’s milk, as it was lower in fat and sweeter. A proposed manufacturing plant will produce some 40 tonnes of camel chocolate per month.
Creative Accountants
Extreme accounting is the latest (and unlikeliest) adrenaline sport. Accountants visit challenging locations like mountaintops, seabeds, caves and rollercoasters. And, inspired by the “extreme ironing” craze, they take their work with them. A spokesman for the Chartered Institute of Management Accounting said: “It’s a phenomenon that pushes accountants to their limits—and beyond.”
Cleaning With Force
Mini “light sabres” could one day replace toothbrushes in the battle against gum disease and tooth decay. Emitting a blue light, it takes just two minutes of treatment each day to prevent, control or treat gum disease, making these super sabres more effective at eradicating harmful bacteria than antiseptic mouthwash.
Fine In Theory
A £450, 000 ($A1m) rant has been awarded to a scientist developing a pill, w chih it is suggested, might add up to 30 years to a person’s life. The theory is that it will increase levels of the hormone thyroxine in the body, which in turn altherns an individual’s metabolic rate. The leads to the production of fewed free radicals, which can damage body tissue.
Eyelid Zoom
Japanese electronics giant Sharp has designed a camera that allows you to zoon simply by partially closing your eyelid. Sharp’s automatic zoon technology uses an optical sensor just below the viewfinder to detect how much of the white of the eye – the sclera – is visible. Partically closing your eye for longer than a blink activates the zoon.
Fast Message Service
A Scottish factory worker has been acclaimed as the world’s fatest phone message texte, texting “The rzon-tooth piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human” in just 48 seconds.
Anti-Youth Day
An eight-year-old “Spiderman” jokes with policemen as he tries on riot gear during an anti-World Youth Day demonstration in Germany in August. Protesters against the Catholic relgious jamboree, which was attended by Pope Benedict XVI, were calling for a “religious-free zone”. The next such event is scheduled for Sydney.
– AFP/ Joe Klamar
