It sounds like the plot of a farfetched science fiction movie. Unfortunately for the residents of Texas, it is very much a reality: billions of tiny reddish-brown ants have arrived onshore from a cargo ship and are hell-bent on eating anything electronic.

Computers, burglar alarm systems, gas and electricity meters, iPods, telephone exchanges – all are considered food by the flea-sized ants, for reasons that have left scientists baffled.

VATICAN CITY - Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.

The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, was quoted as saying the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.

"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" Funes said. "Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation."

In the interview by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes said that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom, he said.

The interview, headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother," covered a variety of topics including the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and science, and the theological implications of the existence of alien life.

Funes said science, especially astronomy, does not contradict religion, touching on a theme of Pope Benedict XVI, who has made exploring the relationship between faith and reason a key aspect of his papacy.

The Bible "is not a science book," Funes said, adding that he believes the Big Bang theory is the most "reasonable" explanation for the creation of the universe. The theory says the universe began billions of years ago in the explosion of a single, super-dense point that contained all matter.

But he said he continues to believe that "God is the creator of the universe and that we are not the result of chance."

Funes urged the church and the scientific community to leave behind divisions caused by Galileo's persecution 400 years ago, saying the incident has "caused wounds."

In 1633 the astronomer was tried as a heretic and forced to recant his theory that the Earth revolved around the sun. Church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe.

"The church has somehow recognized its mistakes," he said. "Maybe it could have done it better, but now it's time to heal those wounds and this can be done through calm dialogue and collaboration."

Pope John Paul declared in 1992 that the ruling against Galileo was an error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension."

The Vatican Observatory has been at the forefront of efforts to bridge the gap between religion and science. Its scientist-clerics have generated top-notch research and its meteorite collection is considered one of the world's best.

The observatory, founded by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, is based in Castel Gandolfo, a lakeside town in the hills outside Rome where the pope has a summer residence. It also conducts research at an observatory at the University of Arizona, in Tucson.

<amz> I thought that you had been an atheist since forever
<Batou> My Dad is massively religious.
<TheShadowZero> your mother is massively multiplayer, though

<JoshtheRipper> Brad do you have any issues with " burn in " on your plasma?
<KnaveBrad> nope
<JoshtheRipper> kool
<JoshtheRipper> How well does it handle blacks
<KnaveBrad> I have it bolted to the wall, so they can't really take it without some serious work

sterano: Whats the difference between Raid_0 and Raid_1?
Steve: In Raid_0 the zero stands for how many files you are going to get back if something goes wrong.

<Taki> I swear I just took a dump with well defined anatomical features
<Taki> a long smooth tail and a bunch of little hardened pellets making up a complex head
<Taki> I didn't want to flush it, it's probably the closest thing I'll have to a son
<bryant> I think in the 3 days I've seen you in this channel you've done a better job keeping me in school and off drugs than every authority figure I've met in my entire life.
<Taki> I do what I can

<Crucial> whats a quick way to push ipconfig /release, ipconfig /renew to 50 or so workstations
<Mo> cycle power to the building

(+ColdPie) my lesbian coworker's partner is having twins
(@uguu) is she hot
(+ColdPie) no, she's a real life lesbian
(@uguu) oh right

Amul Muzz said:
Why do I get the feeling that this is really a mob, just waiting for someone to say something they do not agree with?
chrismjr said:
That's the best description for the internet I've ever heard

<Skail[IRON]> I get a girlfriend-free evening, tonight.
<Skail[IRON]> All evening.
<Skail[IRON]> :D
<Skail[IRON]> I'm thinking I'm going to sit on the couch in my underwear, drink beer, and watch porn.
<Driedsponge> You don't do that WITH your girlfriend?
<Skail[IRON]> No, she makes me drink wine.

<gaarie> who the fuck names a lake winnipesaukee
<DX|laptop> indians
<ch> yep
<gaarie> truth
<DX|laptop> and not the tech support kind
<ch> the casino kind

<DRPONEOS> pretty soon nike will open a shoe factory here if the dollar gets much more worthless

<BurntAsh> you know what was funny
<BurntAsh> when aalyiah died
<BurntAsh> man i hated that bitch
<BurntAsh> she wont be dusting herself off and trying again anytime soon

<user> when I can figure out how to compile sex, we're going to be rich
<someone> so true
<someone> geeks everywhere will be so happy
<user> "download the latest binary of sex for Linux, or build it from source"
<someone> ummm
<someone> build from source with my options
<user> I'd have the longest configure line you've ever seen
<someone> --swallow=yes
<user> ./configure --with-toys --
<user> damnit..I wasn't done
<user> --enable-plugins
<someone> oh yah
<someone> --outside=yes
<user> --set-max-users=10
<someone> --set-max-female-users=10

< Cronos Gabliani > I personally belive that in any situation that you expect a kick in the balls, and you get a slap in the face, thats a victory.

Cambridge (MA) – A pair of Harvard researchers say violent video games don’t turn children into killers.  According to a newly published book, ‘Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do’, psychologists Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson dispel common myths about violent games.  In their two-year study, they found that there was no data to support any causation between games and real-life violence.

Kutner and Olson studied 1200 middle-school children in a $1.5 million federally funded study.  Instead of studying the children in the laboratory, like other studies, the pair actually sat down and talked to kids after long bouts of game playing – sometimes in excess of 15 hours a week.  The lucky kids played a variety of games from the very non-violent The Sims to grandma shooting, pedestrian bashing Grand Theft Auto.

They discovered that children who played violent video games – those rated Mature or above – were just relieving stress.  Some children did exhibit some playful fighting after playing games, but this was similar to what children have always done after watching action or Karate-type movies.

51% of male children who played 15 hours or more of violent games per week were involved in fights in the past year compared to 28% who played regular video games.  For girls, 40% of the violent game players were in fights compared to 14% of the non-violent players.  Despite the figures, Kutner and Olson say this is just a correlation and that the fighting was probably due to an underlying psychological problem that children had before playing the video game.

Perhaps the most startling finding (at least for people the likes of Jack Thompson) is that boys that don’t play any video games at all are now considered to be socially inept.  A danger sign for boys is “not playing video games at all, because it looks like for this generation, video games are a measure of social competence,” says Kutner and Olsen.

I wonder if Kutner and Olsen will now do a follow-up study to find out if the children who play GTA4 will have increased carjacking skills.

LAND 'O LAKES, Fla. -- A substitute teacher in Pasco County has lost his job after being accused of wizardry.

Teacher Jim Piculas does a magic trick where a toothpick disappears and then reappears.

Piculas recently did the 30-second trick in front of a classroom at Rushe Middle School in Land 'O Lakes.

Piculas said he then got a call from the supervisor of teachers, saying he'd been accused of wizardry.

"I get a call the middle of the day from head of supervisor of substitute teachers. He says, 'Jim, we have a huge issue, you can't take any more assignments you need to come in right away,'" he said.

Piculas said he did not know f any other accusations that would have led to the action.

The teacher said he is concerned that the incident may prevent him from getting future jobs.

Dear Bulk Mailer,

Please find attached to your no-postage-necessary envelope, this brick. I figured with all these great junk mails you send me every month, you'd like something in return! I know it costs twenty cents for every ounce I mail to you, so I hope it doesn't weigh too much more than an ounce.

-Resident or Homeowner
http://www.dearbulkmailer.com/

A comparison of peoples' views in 34 countries finds that the United States ranks near the bottom when it comes to public acceptance of evolution.

Only Turkey ranked lower.

Among the factors contributing to America's low score are poor understanding of biology, especially genetics, the politicization of science and the literal interpretation of the Bible by a small but vocal group of American Christians, the researchers say.

"American Protestantism is more fundamentalist than anybody except perhaps the Islamic fundamentalists, which is why Turkey and we are so close," said study co-author Jon Miller of Michigan State University.

TOPEKA, Kan. - Kansans will be able to own machine guns, other fully automatic weapons, sawed-off shotguns and silencers starting July 1.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed a bill Monday to legalize the possession of such weapons. The state banned owning machine guns in 1933, but some legislators said a change was necessary because legal questions threaten to keep dealers from delivering weapons to law enforcement agencies.

Supporters believe the bill will benefit mostly collectors because machine guns typically cost at least $20,000. Also, anyone wanting to own such weapons must undergo two federal background checks.

"I can't even afford them," said Sen. Phil Journey, a Haysville Republican who is a strong gun-rights advocate and championed the bill. "There may be some very happy collectors who have significant disposable income."

The bill had bipartisan support among legislators and passed both chambers with more than the two-thirds majorities necessary to override a veto.

"I suspect that the governor knows that it's not good public policy for the state of Kansas, but she has to pick and choose the battles she takes on," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman John Vratil, a Leawood Republican who opposed the measure.

In announcing her action, Sebelius didn't elaborate on her reasons for signing the bill. Her past actions on gun issues had raised questions about whether she would.

In 2006, she vetoed a bill allowing qualified Kansans to carry concealed handguns, only to see the Legislature override her. Last year, she rejected a bill preventing local governments from imposing additional restrictions on concealed guns, and legislators once again nullified her veto.

But spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said Sebelius didn't receive numerous calls from law enforcement officers asking her to veto this year's measure, as she did with the concealed carry bill two years ago.

"Governor Sebelius carefully reviewed this bill, which is similar to the laws of 30 other states that require compliance with extensive federal guidelines," Corcoran said.

Those federal guidelines not only will require two background checks, but the approval of a prospective gun owner's local sheriff or police chief.

"It takes about six months to go through the process before you're approved to receive the firearm," Journey said. "It is a very difficult process."

The bill was a response to a legal opinion in December from the attorney general's office, dealing with the state's ban on owning silencers. The attorney general concluded that only law enforcement agencies can possess silencers - meaning no dealer can have them in Kansas, even to deliver to those agencies.

Journey said the same issue clearly applied to machine guns, other automatic weapons and sawed-off shotguns.

"That's what required a change," he said.

Vratil acknowledged that anyone wanting to own such a weapon faces the background checks and getting approval from local law enforcement. But he added, "I just don't see any reason why private citizens should own those."

"It encourages the ownership - and therefore, the use - of weapons that have no real legitimate purpose in the hands of a private citizen," he said.

Asked why someone would want to own a machine gun, Journey suggested the same question could be asked of anyone who collects expensive items.

"Why do you need a Corvette?" he said.