We shall fight on the seas and oceans. We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall never surrender!

Sir Winston Churchhill

Last weekend Wifey and I decided to reward our 5 year old daughter with a cupcake for being so patient as we shopped across the street for curtain fabric at MacFab on Queen Street East. It had been 3 years since I had been in the neighbourhood and 10 years since I had sold my first home just off Degrassi Street. After years of being told the strip would never gentrify, Queen seemed more vibrant than ever — and out of the corner of my eye I spy this shop.

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Our eyes never remain perfectly still, even when staring at one spot. Researchers in Arizona picked up a Where’s Waldo? book and recorded the eye movements of subjects searching for the lanky bespectacled nerd. It turns out, the more complicated the scene, the more twitchy we get. And when something stands out in the scene, our eyes shake it like a Polaroid picture, helping tell our brain that we’ve found what we’re looking for.

It turns out, the twitchiness has a deeper purpose. Our peripheral vision is obscured when we focus on one thing, and the twitch helps “fill in the blanks” of our field of view. This is why optical illusions make a static image appear to be moving. One of the most common examples is “The Enigma” by Isia Leviant. Click here to view it. The lines appear to “twitch” as we stare at the circle in the center.

Here’s the analysis of a subject searching for Waldo:

We could extrapolate the results to daily life situations. Our visual system evolved to spot moving targets. If we want to look at a stationary scene in detail, we need to perform miniature movements to optimize vision.

The research suggests those of us with twitchier eyes are better at finding a friend in a crowd, a landmark in the distance, or our lost car keys.

Researchers at Boston Medical Center re-asked 286 patients who had undergone a lengthy previous test this question, suggested by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The answer appears to accurately detect those previously singled out as being an alcoholic about 79% of the time. The article doesn’t explicitly explain what it means if the answer is “once” versus “every weekend.”

So who are these people? Wikipedia states the NIAAA funds 90% of American research into drinking. Since 1970, it's been part of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, a government umbrella agency overseeing US$28B in biomedical research. The predecessor to the NIH was set up in 1887 as the Laboratory of Hygiene.

While asking a single question isn’t perfect, we’re told it’s a lot better than the alternative — not being screened at all. The NIAA believes that in a hospital setting, the traditional screening method is such a pain in the ass, doctors don’t bother with it. Asking a single question that gives an accurate assessment most of the time is better than a highly accurate assessment that isn’t given at all.

The gist of the study? You can better care for a patient if you know they’re a boozer.

1 out of every 10 elderly adults on Medicare is a drinker. Brandeis University concludes 9% engage in “unhealthy drinking” — more than 30 drinks per month or 4 or more a day. The NIAAA believes seniors haven’t clued in: you can’t drink like you used to. It suggests once you enter your silver age, ease up, bucko: from two drink minimum to two drink maximum. That’s because the body’s ability to metabolize booze decreases in your senior years.

Tip: don't type "drunk girls on campus" into Google Image Search with "SafeSearch" off.

Meantime, Loyola Marymount University researchers conclude college chicks drink heavily to impress the boys, but the guys aren’t impressed. 71% of women overestimated what it takes.

The upshot? Back off by 1.5 drinks, ladies, and not only will the boys be still impressed, but you’ll still be standing.

Wired Magazine offers a fascinating story about the man who orchestrated the 2003 $100M break-in of the Antwerp Diamond Center’s Titanic-like vault.

(1) Combination dial, (2) keyed lock, (3) seismic sensor, (4) locked steel grate, (5) magnetic sensor, (6) external security camera, (7) keypad for disarming sensors, (8) light sensor, (9), internal security camera, (10) heat & motion sensor. Illustration by Joe McKendry

The vault itself was 3 feet thick and protected by 10 layers of security — including infrared heat detectors foiled by oily hairspray and a magnetic field tricked by double sided tape. The foot-long duplicate key made to help open the safe wasn’t necessary thanks to foolish human nature. It was The Heist of the Century.

In the end, famed jewel thief Leonardo Notarbartolo may have been set up by the very diamond dealers from whom he was hired to rip off. It’s a story fit for a Hollywood movie, or a Shakespearian play. He trusted his friend. His accomplices did not. But in the end, it all unraveled over a panic attack and a crusty old man tired of punks littering on his property.

“I think someone’s coming,” Speedy said, looking panicked.

Notarbartolo glared at him. The forest was quiet except for the occasional sound of a car or truck on the highway. It was even possible to hear the faint gurgling of a small stream. Speedy was breathing fast and shallow—the man was clearly in the midst of a full-blown panic attack.

One of the accomplices was busted after carelessly tossing away a receipt for a salami sandwich. That’s some fine police work there, Lou.

Update: Biggest Diamond Heist Suspect Found With Rough Stones – Wired.com

Source: The Untold Story of the World’s Biggest Diamond Heist – Wired.com

Today’s kids would call him a couch surfer. My Dad’s generation would have called him a wander. And my grandfather would have called him a hobo.

You can call him Josh Sullivan. The 27 year old has ditched his day job to document the 52 weeks he’ll staying with 52 different people in 52 different cities. But he’s not just going to be sitting on their couches playing their xBoxes.

The artist is helping pay for his year long adventure by selling $10 painted light switch plates, subscriptions to his self-produced art magazine ($150/yr), and various illustrations he creates along the way. Despite the nomadic lifestyle, Sullivan is far from disconnected from the 21st century. He has a MySpace page, a Facebook account, and updates his status via Twitter, and posts videos to Youtube.

Before you write Josh Sullivan off as a total nerd for his high tech wanderlust, it’s clear from the following photos that he’s having a very. good. time.

Four of Sullivan's 52 "friends."