Shortstack

Researchers in Madrid, Spain, designed subtitled glasses for hearing-impaired movie patrons. A mini-display hangs over the right lens and picks up text transmitted wirelessly as the action on screen unfolds. ... Archaeologists discovered the ruins of a 6,500-year-old farming settlement in central Greece. Uncovered were remains of wooden homes, pottery vases, ovens, stone tools and unbaked clay bricks. ... A Beatrix Potter watercolor depicting an unnamed rabbit sold at a London auction for £15,600. ... The world's record for the tallest mohawk was broken in Omaha, Neb.; the 27-inch do took about three hours to create with hairspray and blow dryers. ... Spammers can reportedly profit by getting just one response for every 12.5 million e-mails sent. ... Freedom-2 ink, made of biodegradable, plastic-coated dyes, makes it possible to remove tattoos in only one treatment - good news, given that a reported one in five tattoo recipients regret having gotten them. ... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 20 percent of high school students smoked cigarettes in 2007. ... U.K. scientists stumbled upon a method for capturing fingerprints from surfaces that fingerprints could not be lifted from previously. ... A jury ordered drug maker F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd. to pay nearly $13 million to three patients who claim the acne drug Accutane caused them to develop a chronic bowel disorder. ... A fresh lava flow was recently spotted on satellite images of the Erta Ale Range of Ethiopia's Afar region. ... The 35th anniversary edition of the 1972 classic book Free to Be You and Me by Marlo Thomas and friends was released with new art and a bound-in CD. ... The starburst galaxy NGC 1569 is stuck in the middle of a crowded galactic cluster nearly 11 billion light-years away from Earth. ... A cell phone in the pocket of a Louisiana man reportedly stopped a stray bullet from piercing his chest. It helped that the bullet came at an angle rather than head-on. ... The Espresso (meaning fast, not coffee) Book Machine can produce a 300-page paperback on demand, complete with color cover, in 3 minutes. ... Mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are suspending foreclosures for about 16,000 households during the 2008 holiday season.

ISO-Q test

1. The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council recently disbanded, declaring its mission to secure cardholder data as it flows through every step on the payment chain has been accomplished.

2. TowerGroup expects total gift card sales for the 2008 holiday season to drop nearly 9 percent.

3. The five largest acquirers will phase out relationships with their ISOs over the next three years because they have found a way to completely automate the merchant acquiring and retention processes.

Point here for the answer.

MLScapes

Here's what they're saying on GS Online's MLS Forum:

I think the current economic conditions have created unparalleled opportunities for funding - cash advance and otherwise.

- MTY MSI

It is the time to reflect, to be appreciative and to harvest gratitude this Thanksgiving. Be thankful for what we have, acknowledge the favors and give thanks for the big and small things in our lives.

- DLLB

Remember one thing. A contract is only as good as the people on both sides of the contract.

- Approved

Loopy laws

In Harper Woods, Mich., it is illegal to paint a sparrow and claim it's a parakeet.

Biz bytes

According to Three Types LLC, there are three types of investors:

Savers spend the majority of their lives slowly growing their "nest eggs" to ensure a comfortable retirement.

Speculators forgo the relatively low returns of a slow-growing, diversified portfolio in an effort to achieve higher returns on targeted investments.

Specialists pick a single investing area and become expert in that area.