This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime events. A woman is taking video of a rainstorm from her balcony when she is struck by lightning. She survives, and posts the video on Flickr.

Several strains of bacteria in the soil can make a meal of the world's most potent antibiotics, researchers said in a startling finding that illustrates the extent to which these germ-fighting drugs are losing the war against superbugs. - Reuters

A post on an online forum now claims to have first-hand knowledge of the passing of Gary Gygax, known to many of us gamers as the father of Dungeons and Dragons. Many other sites have now picked up the story.

In the middle of the Democratic political "horse race" for the nomination, there have been many claims and counter claims as to who has done what, and which candidate would be better able to lead. One citizen decided to check their records for herself.

The LA times, today, reported that Blue Cross of California is sending physicians letters asking about pre-existing conditions of their patients. The doctors are not happy about being asked to become informants.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) passed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in network tallies of the number of delegates the candidates racked up last night. The Obama camp now projects topping Clinton by 13 delegates, 847 to 834. -- politico.com

We can expect some tax rebate checks around June. A friend of mine asked: "Does anyone else see this as a band-aid solution that won't help the economy in the long run and will in fact make things worse...?" To which I replied:

An exciting scientific study has just been published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation which demonstrates improvement within minutes following the (off-label) delivery of a drug approved to treat a number of immune-mediated disorders.

Hushmail is a company that promises to keep your email encrypted, and safe from prying eyes. They have two versions of their service, one more secure, and one less. Turns out that "less" means "able to hand over clear-text."

Given all of the doping scandals in sports recently, and the fad of undetectable designer drugs, what if there were a performance-enhancing substance that was perfectly legal and totally undetectable? How would sports officials deal with it?

The Los Angeles Times created a Google Maps "mash up" to show the progress of fires and fire containment in southern California. This is a fascinating (and useful) example of how technology can be leveraged to inform the public about important events.

Some folks have trouble falling asleep. Some need music, or total silence. I need some form of white noise to cover up ambient, distracting sounds. Last week, I made it a project to record some suitable noise. It turned out well.

A research team led by Montreal neuroimmunologist Dr. Amit Bar-Or tested the effectiveness of a vaccine, called BHT-3009, that incorporates the DNA sequence of myelin basic protein into cells, which then start to make the protein.

The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House and V.P's office for documents about President Bush's warrantless eavesdropping program. Also named were the Justice Department and the National Security Council who have until July 18 to comply.

It's been happening for years. It's pervasive, deep, goes against the very first and most basic premise of democracy and is a concerted effort by many individuals and organizations.The story is election fraud, gaming the electoral system from the inside.

The deep track that the wheel leaves behind churned up patches of bright soil, which are extremely high in silica, meaning that Mars was once much wetter than it is at present,

Google today introduced an other tool for those who want to know what others are looking for.

A British Columbia teenager's dream trip to Africa turned into a nightmare when bacteria began eating her eyes. Trasey Plouffe, 18, lost her sight three weeks ago and nearly had to have her right eye removed after bacteria destroyed both her corneas.

The flat, flexible display screen you can roll up and put in your pocket or purse might finally be here. Hearst Corp., owner of the Post-Intelligencer and an investor in the technology, plans to test it in Seattle and elsewhere.

The first trains between North and South Korea...have crossed the heavily fortified border between the two countries. South Korea's unification minister, who was on board...said the event was a symbolic step towards reconciliation on the peninsula.