Saturday News

Texting and Walking: Dangerous Mix (Time Magazine)

“A recent ITN News video in the U.K. shows that some London pedestrians have become so preoccupied with e-mailing and text messaging on their BlackBerrys and cell phones that they can’t make it down a city block without crashing into lampposts or trash bins.

The solution? Wrap Brick Lane’s lampposts with fluffy, white rugby goalpost cushions.”

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A Dutch Antagonist of Islam Waits for His Premiere (New York Times)

Geert Wilders has built a career — and a new political party — on a risky and defiant outlandishness that goes from his hairstyle to his anti-Islamic rhetoric.

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Old Pros Size Up the Game (Wall Street Journal)

“About 50 years ago, a young math instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Edward Thorp, created a strategy for wagering on blackjack that maximized winnings and effectively eliminated the chance of getting wiped out.

The strategy involved getting an edge over the dealer by counting cards, and never making especially big bets. He described the method in a 1962 book, “Beat the Dealer,” then took on Wall Street in “Beat the Market.””