Mind Soup

I was doing some google search a while ago and I was totally struck by  google.com 's front page. Google.com (not even the Lebanese version  google.com.lb  that I don't use because it returns the search in Arabic even though I try to change it all the time) has the Lebanese flag on its main logo to celebrate Lebanese Independences day which falls today (November 22). I'm glad that at least google is giving this day some attention. Personally, I don't care that much since I don't believe that Lebanon is completely independent anyway. Ironically if you press on the link, you would see this leads to a search result for "Lebanon Independence Day". The third result for this search would be:  PressTV - Iran hails Lebanon Independence Day . Could my point BE any more proven? Snap shot from google.com Happy Lebanese Independence Everyone!

I would like to wish all my readers, on Behalf of all the Mind Soup authors, Eid Fitr Mubarak and May the guidance and blessings of God be with you and your families. Dar al Fatwa in Beirut announced on Wednesday night that Eid el Fitr will fall this year on Friday the 10th, making Ramadan this year 30 days. For more information about Eid el Fitr, you can find it here (wikipedia).

Comic by Decomixs I would just like to express my gratefulness that my birth-date was 11 days after the official day of exemption from the obligatory Lebanese army training! :D

LONDON (Reuters) – International hotel chain Holiday Inn is offering a trial human bed-warming service at three hotels in Britain this month. If requested, a willing staff-member at two of the chain's London hotels and one in the northern English city of Manchester will dress in an all-in-one fleece sleeper suit before slipping between the sheets. "The new Holiday Inn bed warmers service is a bit like having a giant hot water bottle in your bed," Holiday Inn spokeswoman Jane Bednall said in an emailed statement to Reuters. The bed-warmer is equipped with a thermometer to measure the bed's required temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit). Holiday Inn said the warmer would be fully dressed and leave the bed before the guest occupied it. They could not confirm if the warmer would shower first, but said hair would be covered. Florence Eavis, Holiday Inn spokeswoman told Reuters that the "innovative" bed-warming method was a response to Britai...

01-02-2010 can be read the same way in both directions. One math geek's really got its number. Professor Aziz Inan has a passion for palindromes. There will be 12 dates this century  that can be read in two directions; today's is the second. (December 31, 2009) Professor Aziz Inan has a passion for palindromes. There will be 12 dates this century that can be read in two directions; today's is the second. (December 31, 2009) Some people are into cars. Some people dig the ocean. Aziz Inan, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Portland in Oregon, loves numbers. "I can relate to them," Inan said. "Each number has its own personality." With this adoration in mind, consider today, Jan. 2, 2010. The day is a palindromic date, meaning the number can be read the same way in either direction: 01-02-2010. There will be 12 palindromic days this century, Inan said, and today is the second. The first was 10-02-2001. (His complete ...

  (CNN) -- It happens only once in a blue moon -- and scientists say a blue moon is exactly what we'll see in the skies this New Year's Eve. Don't expect an azure glow over our lunar satellite, however. The term "blue moon" simply refers to the second full moon in a calendar month, something that hasn't happened on a New Year's Eve for nearly 20 years, NASA says. "December 1990 ended with a blue moon, and many New Year's Eve parties were themed by the event," said Professor Philip Hiscock of the department of folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in Canada. "It was a lot of fun." Most months have just one full moon, because the 29.5-day cycle of the moon matches up pretty well with the length of calendar months. Occasionally, there will be two full moons in a month, something that happens about every 2½ years, NASA says. But a blue moon on December 31 is rare. It is possible for the moon to have a cerulean hue...

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CHICAGO — A Chicago man could be unwrapping the hundreds of Christmas gifts spread around his apartment for days, even weeks. Trouble is, they aren’t really presents. They’re his own belongings meticulously wrapped by friends as a prank while he was out of town. Louie Saunders’ packages contain everything from couch cushions to the beer in his refrigerator. His friend Adal Rifai masterminded the scheme after Saunders gave him a spare key. It took 16 people, 35 rolls of wrapping paper and eight hours to finish the job. Saunders tells the Chicago Sun-Times he’s only been able to unwrap about 10 per cent of the packages. He jokes that the upside is that, with each package he unwraps, he finds something inside that’s just what he needs.

VATICAN CITY — Papal bodyguards overpowered a woman who rushed at Pope Benedict XVI, yanking him to the ground Thursday as he entered St Peter's Basilica to celebrate Christmas Eve mass. Video footage showed the woman, dressed in a red sweatshirt, jumping over a security barricade and rushing at the 82-year-old pope as he began leading the traditional procession of about 30 cardinals to the vast basilica's altar. She was immediately tackled by a security guard, but succeeded in grabbing Benedict's vestments near the neck and yanking him to the ground, according to video footage taken by a pilgrim broadcast on Sky News. Several others fell over in the melee. Prominent French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, 87, broke a leg in the incident though he was "several metres (yards)" from the pope, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told AFP, adding that the prelate was rushed to hospital. The woman is in the custody of the Vatican police, the ANSA news agency reporte...

Yahoo Inc. is closing down for a week over the holidays to save money, but experts said the shutdown is par for the course in Silicon Valley. The Internet company is mandating that most of its employees worldwide, except for those responsible for “essential functions” such as customer service, take off work from Dec. 25 through Jan. 1. In the U.S., employees can either use vacation time for nonholiday dates or take unpaid leave. Workers outside the country will be paid according to local standards, said spokeswoman Dana Lengkeek. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo told its staff about the break in April, and has recommended employees to take the week off in the past, Lengkeek said. “This is nothing new, just formalized a little more,” she said. “It’s fairly standard in the industry, closing down during a traditionally slow week and giving employees time to recharge. A lot of employees tend to take that week off anyway.” In addition to reducing operations, Yahoo will be turning lights and co...