Mayor faces recall over sexy MySpace pics

Carmen Kontur-Gronquis, mayor of a small Oregon town, caused quite a stir when she posted pics of herself on her (public) MySpace account posing on the town's fire engine wearing nothing but her bra and panties. Now she's facing a recall election -- though most observers think the real motivation has less to do with Internet naughtiness and more to do with boring political questions like water issues and the town golf course. ...read more

The Internet's strangest communities

"There's a lid for every pot," the old saying goes, and the Internet sure allows the oddest-shaped lids and pots to find one another and discuss lid-pot relations at great length. Many of the communities discussed here will probably be old hat to you by now (Second Life? please) but then there are the ice chewers -- and the "boytaurs." Not for the faint of heart! ... read more

Rubik's Cube-solving robot still can't beat humanity's best

Supercomputers may routinely beat human grandmasters at chess, but, as this video shows, there's one game of skill where the best organic brain can still beat a machine: the Rubik's cube. We think perhaps a bit too much effort was put into the robot's flashing lights and not enough into its AI. ...read more

Woman posts ad on Craigslist for hit man

They say you should be cautious when you meet anybody new online. For instance, if you're soliciting for someone to kill your Internet boyfriend's wife you probably should get to know that person before you tell them exactly what sort of "freelance" job you're advertising. Otherwise, they might go to the cops. And that wouldn't work out well for you, trust us. ...read more

5 ways not to use tech in real estate

...or any other line of work, really. (The cell-phone-in-the-back-pocket one too many have learned from grim experience.) ...read more

Geek comic of the week: Heroes Happen Here

Are you ready for a corporate Webcomic? This strip, featuring superhero IT staff hunting down a rogue computer virus, is being launched by Microsoft, with a name to match its launch campaign for the latest version of SQL Server, Windows Server, and Visual Studio. Artwork is done by DC Comics alum Jordan Gorfinkel, and readers can submit their own tales from the trenches for future storylines. ...read more

Top 10 useless inventions

Just because you can get a patent on it, doesn't mean it's a good idea. Still, sometimes I feel I could use some mustache or lip guards. ... read more

Poll: What's the dumbest thing you've ever done with your cell phone?

- Dropped it in the toilet
- Accidentally hurled it across the room
- Found out the hard way that it was still on during a movie or play
- Stepped on it
- Ran over it
- Drunk-dialed
- Bought one in the first place -- I used to have privacy!

Vote now!


LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Who owns [your last name].com?

14.1% - Me! I was quick on the draw in the '80/'90s and/or I have an obscure last name
3.8% - Someone in my family
21.8% - An individual I don't know
37.2% - Some company or other organization that has my last name as part of its name
15.4% - Some company or other organization that owns the domain for puzzling reasons
2.6% - A porn site, shamefully
5.1% - Who cares? The important thing is that I own [my last name].org, [my last name].net, and [my last name].info!

Answer another poll