Good Night, & Good Luck

The Pent would like to thank its small (although very devoted) audience for their feedback and traffic to the site. It's been a lot of fun doing it and a great learning process. So, instead of having you check back to this site every few days to see if it's come back to life, the ride ends today. Before doing so, The Pent would like to give a shout-out to the numerous sites scanned each day to bring you its "top highlights."

Consider it "teaching you how to fish" (or showing you The Pent's techniques :-).

Digg
The Drudge Report
Netscape
Newsmap
Business 2.0
Google News

Thanks again for indulging our attempt to be relevant in the www world, maybe we'll try again in the future.

If you would like to leave any comments, The Pent would love to hear from its "public." We will reply to any & all commentary.

B.K. Secret Spice Leads to Arrests?

Well, in this case, Burger King employees were out of line when they sprinkled marijuana on the burgers of unsuspecting NM police officers. full story

A single-engine plane carrying the Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle smashed into a 42-story building on the Upper East Side yesterday, killing Mr. Lidle and his flight instructor. The miracle is that a woman was home in the apartment where the plane hit. She saw the window come out and flames pour in. Luckily, her mad dash out of the apartment was successful. full story

Although many economists oppose a minimum wage--period--these Nobel Prize-winning economists think it's time for another hike. The rationale is that the last rate increase in 1997 to $5.15 has been eroded by inflation. full story

If you're a home owner, you might want to check out which markets are slowing the most. Forbes full story

Don't see this every day... University of Wisconsin put its marching band on probation after receiving reports of "severe misconduct" during last month's trip to Michigan. full story

Watch Stephen Colbert take on George Lucas in a light saber duel! watch video

Taking away recess, it's for the kids?

Schools have been cutting recess for years, and now a quarter of our elementary schools allow for only 15 min of recess a day! I used to get an hour and that was barely enough. Let's focus on quality time in the classroom, not quantity - Let them play! Full Story

"The most compelling part is being able to really focus on features and functionality. . . " A quote from Chad & Steve, the founders of YouTube talking about the Google acquisition. Let's call out the elephant in the room fellas, the most compelling part is 1.65 billion dollars for a company running at a loss! Full Story

This almost isn't news anymore - Saddam expelled from court once again. Although today's twist is that co-defendant Hussein Rashid al-Tikrititook landed a punch on a court bailiff to earn his exit from the courtroom. Full Story

Now that North Korea is acting up, it's time for our government to move into action - and start pointing fingers as to who's the guilty party in foreign policy failures. Full Story

Video of a gun that can shoot 1,000,000 rounds per minute. Is this supposed to help our foreign policy issues, or just help me sleep better at night. . . Watch Video

Call anywhere in the world for free! I don't know if this works, but I'm all for lowering my international phone rates :-) Full Story

Was it a Dud?

The world is clearly upset with North Korea and their recent nuclear test. Today the UN will resume discussions of proposed sanctions, despite some experts saying that the power of the explosion was unusually small for a nuclear blast. full story China is also upset and issued another warning, citing that "the nuclear test will undoubtedly exert a negative impact on our relations. " full story Even Israel fears now that North Korea has proven its nuclear capabilities, it risks collaborating with Iran and accelerating its nuclear program. full story

$1.65 Billion in Google stock was enough to make these two young YouTube co-founders giddy. see video full story The big acquisition is just another step in Google's broader strategy to invest in the emerging online video market. full story Teaming up with Google will also allow users to share in the ad revenue their video posts generate. full story

In a patriotic display, a few small communities of Alaska's natives are refusing free heating oil from Venezuela, telling Chavez to keep his oil. All this despite their poverty and the fact that their heating-oil prices are among the highest in the nation. full story

Insult to injury? Researchers find that excess fat cells could have some direct effect on brain function - with overweight adults scoring lower on tests of memory, attention and learning ability than their thinner peers do. full story

Wine, Cheese, Bread, & Smokes

France without cigarette smoke in the air!?! I thought that was part of the cultural experience. A ban on public smoking is a wonderful step in terms of the public health experience, but I'm thinking enforcement will be a whole other issue. . . Full Story

North Korea claims they tested a nuclear weapon this weekend. They continue to defy any warnings from the US, UN, & others as they strive to build their nuclear arsenal. The question remains - will there be any recourse? Full Story

Can Rosales oust Chavez in the upcoming elections? Doubtful at this point, but this mass rally was a sign that he may mount a competitive opposition - Full Story

OPEC, the one cartel that flies in the face of economic logic, has called for a massive cut in oil output. If only this cartel would act like all the other attempts & fail! Unfortunately, the forecast looks grim for the consumer, expect prices to stagnate or climb again - Full Story

Another critic of the regime is shot dead in Moscow. Anna Politkovskaya, and outspoken critic of Putin & mother of 2 was shot twice outside her apartment. Full Story

Eating disorders - not just for women anymore. "Manorexia" is on the rise, now estimated to effect over 1 million men. Full Story

Reggie Bush scores his first NFL touchdown, & the surprise team of the year continues to roll in New Orleans Full Story

Teaching manual, chalk, pencils, oh, and my GUN

Another stroke of genius coming from the political sphere. This Wisconsin lawmaker wants to arm teachers & principals with guns to counter the recent school attacks. A gun in every classroom, that couldn't be a recipe for disaster, could it? Full Story

Oops, more personal information inadvertently released over this Internet. This time it's the identity of the congressional page that swapped instant messages with Foley. Full Story

Gay marriage ban upheld in California, knocking the gay rights movement back a step. The court warned judges to steer clear of trying to solve the controversy and let the voters and legislators decide. A great move towards a better democracy - the voice of the people, not the judges. Full Story

Google on the verge of purchasing YouTube for a cool $1.6 billion? Nothing has been confirmed, but Google definitely has the cash to do it. Meanwhile AOL set to launch a new software called OpenRide that lets users access their e-mail, instant messaging, search and media on the same screen. Google Story AOL OpenRide Story

This isn't your typical luxury SUV, but looks like a lot more fun & is really what a "utility vehicle" should be. It even drives across water! See Video

At the beginning cell phones were too big to fit into pant pockets, then they slimmed down and we threw them in there with our keys and gum. The latest (but not last) craze is these blue tooth phones attached to the ear & blinking fluorescent blue. The next evolution in cell phones? Time to just implant a chip in your ear! Full Story

Very impressive that the New Orleans Saints were able to sell out their home game seats for the year, especially when there's barely enough people living in the city to fill the stadium! Full Story

Beam me up, Scottie!

Beam me up?! Not quite yet. But scientists have teleported two other objects... full story

Can they do it? Democrats must gain six seats in the November 7 election to recapture U.S. Senate control. full story

Would you want to face "unspecified serious consequences" from China? I doubt it. We'll find out if North Korea does as it seems bent on carrying out its first nuclear weapons test. full story

Forgot your pin number? Maybe you can hotwire a forklift to get your cash from an ATM. Check out what these criminals have resorted to... full story

Criminal assault on the gridiron

Haynesworth - the previously unknown defensive lineman that was powerless to stop a touchdown decided to stomp on the head of an opponent who was on his back, helpless, & without a helmet. Did he stomp once? No, twice. Was he remorseful for his actions? Not initially, he chased after officials trying to intimidate & control the situation following his own out-of-control behavior. Suspended for a few games, how about kick him out of the NFL! Full Story

North Korea won't listen to anybody else as they continue to threaten nuclear warhead testing, so what makes South Korea think the North will listen to them? Unsure, only time will tell as the political posturing continues & North Korea plows ahead seemingly unfazed by the UN's warnings. Full Story

Despite the declaration from Chavez that oil will not fall below $60, the price of a barrel continues to drop, reaching $58 yesterday. Full Story Chavez's remarks

The saga of Foley continues as in the most recent statement by his attorney Roth, Foley claims he was molested as a teen. Full Story

The Dow continues to show signs of improvement as it passed its all-time trading high yesterday. Full Story

Having trouble sleeping? Here's a great site with relaxing music / white noise that you can customize yourself. See Site

How to Get Your Dry Cleaner Spinning

A Michigan dry cleaner finds a murder note in pants pocket. For real, or just an act? full story

Iranians continue to shop for a uranium enrichment partner. Will France capitulate or stand strong? full story

Amish community is rocked by violence, leaving five girls dead and six others in critical condition. full story; fifth girl dies; killer was angry at life & God

Curb spread of AIDS by making syringes easily accessible? New Jersey thinks it's a good idea. full story

With all the technology advances in the world, your local librarian might still be your best search tool. full story

Google buys garage where it was born. full story

A personal set of twin airbags saved this woman's life in a car crash. full story

That's one small step for A man

New technology has uncovered the truth about Neil Armstrong - his statement was grammatically correct. He said, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Now we can all sleep easier. Full Story

Yahoo is taking quite the leap by opening up their email code to the public. This will allow for a lot more mash-ups (hybrid web products in which developers can combine software features from different companies). Will this crush competition or level the playing field? Full Story

Chavez kills two birds with one stone by making two serious claims in one speech: a) he has informants in the White House & b) Bush is trying to kill him. Not sure which seems more outlandish. Full Story

Mother nature chalks up another victory with a burst dam in Nigeria. Fortunately no one was killed. Full Story

Sweet video of an auto-door that only opens to the extent necessary. Worth a look Video

Guy gets attacked by an octupus, or so the headline reads. Of course I don't want to see a guy get taken out by an octopus, but it seems humans are the instigators more often than not. . . Video