Feature News Briefs For August 24, 2005

Feature News Briefs For August 24, 2005

Automatic High Beams Increase Driver Safety

Studies have found drivers use their high beams less than 25 percent of the time they are needed. Many are afraid of blinding oncoming motorists or don't want to be bothered with turning them on and off. Now, Gentex has developed SmartBeam, a system that uses a microprocessor and tiny camera embedded in a computer chip to automatically turn high beams on and off depending on traffic conditions at night, when fatal accidents are three to four times likely to occur, government figures show. SmartBeam is available on two Jeep Cherokee models, the Jeep Commander and Chrysler 300. http://www.gentex.com/.

Full text: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?beat=BEAT_FEATURES&view=LATEST&r esourceid=3017975&packageid=1006764.

Cyclists Take to Road and Air

To bring the term "high-flying biker" to life, John Garwood is offering tours to hopscotch the nation by motorcycle and private jet. Garwood, owner of Ride and Fly Tours, supplies guides, first-class hotels, meals and bike transport. Riders spend a day touring a destination of their choosing on roads picked for a rider's particular style. All tours finish up at an airport, where riders are taken by private jet for the next day's adventure. They could ride, for example, in Georgia's Chattahoochie National Forest one day, across the Hudson River Valley in New York the next, and through Maine's Acadia National Park the day after. http://www.rideandflytours.com/.

Full text: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/search.jsp?searchtype=full&option=headlines &criteriadisplay=show&resourceid=2989389.

Round Homes Stand Up To Hurricanes

There is no such thing as a hurricane-proof home, but one type of prefabricated home aims to come close. Made by Deltec, they are known as round homes, although they are actually a series of flat, eight-foot-wide panels joined at angles. The roof is at an optimal pitch for wind deflection, with minimal surface areas for walls so wind can't build up enough pressure to blow them down. In its 37-year history, Deltec says it has never received a report of one of its homes being lost to high winds. One customer in Arcadia, Florida, endured three hurricanes last year, and said the only damage was a few missing roof tiles. http://www.deltechomes.com/.

Full text: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/search.jsp?searchtype=full&option=headlines &criteriadisplay=show&resourceid=2975508.

Kids in Need Foundation Aids 1.1 Million

An eraser for a student fearful of doing math because he could not correct mistakes, grants to teachers for class field trips or glitter for a poster, are some of the items that come free from the 21 resource centers of the Kids in Need Foundation. Marking its 10th year, the foundation, operated by the School, Home, & Office Products Association, has distributed more than $150 million in school supplies to 65,000 teachers to aid 1.1 million students in all grades. Dr. Frank Till, schools superintendent in Broward County, FL, says: "Giving children the tools to learn enables them to believe in themselves." http://www.kidsinneed.net/.

Full text: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?beat=BEAT_FEATURES&view=LATEST&r esourceid=3014068.

Online Shopping Gets Personal

Face it, going to the mall is not what most people consider fun. Neither is spending hours online comparison shopping in the hunt for the best products and prices. PersonalShopper.com is looking to save time-starved consumers from all that. The site searches through millions of products to proactively offer an unbiased selection of items, based on a user's preferences and interests, not on merchants paying for preferred placement. It also intuitively offers gift ideas for birthdays, weddings and other occasions, based on previous purchases, and continues searching for deals even when a user is not online. http://www.personalshopper.com/.

Full text: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?beat=BEAT_FEATURES&view=LATEST&r esourceid=3011550.

Drug May Modify Alzheimer's

A medication under study may help curtail Alzheimer's disease, which afflicts nearly half of those over 85. Initial trials have shown a drug called Ampakine can reduce memory loss by treating the cause instead of the symptoms. Cortex Pharmaceuticals has found Ampakine compounds can combat weakening of brain-cell connections believed to cause memory loss. They may also strengthen brain cells to curb mild cognitive disorders. Second- generation studies are scheduled to determine whether Ampakine can modify Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and mild to moderate Alzheimer's. http://www.cortexpharm.com/.

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New Carbon Monoxide Sensor Testing Technology

Most carbon monoxide (CO) alarms do not have the capability to test whether the sensor that detects the gas is actually working, according to Kathy Ellington, Marketing Director of Safety for Invensys Controls, and maker of Firex brand CO and smoke alarms. Firex alarms, with a new self-test feature, automatically test themselves to verify the sensor to detect CO -- a tasteless, odorless and colorless gas -- is working and to also provide a warning to homeowners when the sensor is nearing the end of its service life. Firex says CO alarms should typically be replaced every five years. http://www.icca.invensys.com/.

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Math Pushups for the Brain

Go figure. Just as you keep physically fit with exercises, five minutes of simple math exercises daily can help memory retention. Neurologist Ryuta Kawashima, author of "Train Your Brain: 60 Days To a Better Brain" (Kumon Publishing, $12.95), says simple daily math and reading aloud are good for the brain as going to the gym is for the body. It has even been shown to help those with Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Kawashima set out to see if video games were good mental workouts but discovered reading aloud and doing simple math problems quickly achieved greater mental stimulation. http://www.kumonbooks.com/.

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Go Ahead, Lie To Your Kids!

"Sure, sure, it's important to tell your kids the truth. Except when it's better to just flat out lie." Such is the sage and firmly tongue-in-cheek advice from Susan Konig, author of "Why Animals Sleep So Close to the Road (And Other Lies I Tell My Children)." Konig chronicles how, as her brood -- now numbering four -- grew, she and her husband fled Manhattan for the suburbs and acquired a new set of survival skills. That included how to tell her daughter the family cat died and then plan a burial. "Hopefully, she wouldn't make the connection that ... everything I'd attempted to bury in our backyard (daffodils, tulip bulbs) had been dug up and eaten by squirrels." http://www.susankonig.com/.

Full text: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?beat=BEAT_FEATURES&view=LATEST&r esourceid=3004592.

Tattoos For Tees

If you always wanted a tattoo, but thought it would interfere with you making a fashion statement, relax. Now you can have the best of both worlds. Butter nyc has launched a line of tattoo tees for women and girls. Each long- sleeved tee is made from pre-shrunk cotton and comes with a tattoo on the left shoulder, with such designs as hot-pink daisies, rainbows, butterflies, stars and custom initials. Tees come in six colors for women, white for girls, and are priced $32-$68. http://www.butternyc.com/.

Full text: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?beat=BEAT_FEATURES&view=FNS&reso urceid=2996302&packageid=1006655.

Frat Death Sparks Anti-Booze Drive

Student activists at more than 50 colleges are campaigning to warn about the dangers of binge drinking, which run rampant at many schools. The effort is spearheaded by the Gordie Foundation, named in memory of Lynn "Gordie" Bailey, who died of alcohol poisoning during a University of Colorado fraternity initiation. Gordie Awareness Week starts on the anniversary of the 18-year-old freshman's death (Sept. 17, 2004) and aims to make kids aware "that the amount of liquor that makes someone pass out is dangerously close to a level that can kill them," says founder Michael Lanahan, Gordie's stepfather. The program also supplies anti-alcohol teaching materials for grammar and middle schools. http://www.thegordiefoundation.org/.

Full text: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?beat=BEAT_FEATURES&view=LATEST&r esourceid=3014084&packageid=1006754.

PRNewswire -- Aug. 24

Source: PR Newswire

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Profile: Fashion