Diapers Back on Top

Women in NASA Triangle Face Each Other in Court - Capt. Lisa Nowak, the astronaut accused of trying to kidnap her love triangle rival, is back in the news and sharing the courtroom with her intended victim during a pretrial hearing. Capt. Nowak wants to stop wearing her ankle bracelet because it's inconvenient and expensive (the accused gets to pay for her own house arrest accessories, nice touch). The prosecutor had a sympathetic suggestion, fire your media consultant and then you can afford the bracelet. Detective William Becton was questioned at length in the hearings. The legal issue - did Becton advise Nowack of her rights. The real point - what else - the diapers. Detective Becton found three used diapers in the back of Nowak's car. Becton says Nowak acknowledged that she used the diapers so she could drive non-stop on her kidnapping mission. Nowak has an alternate version - some cock and bull story about the diapers being left over from a hurricane two years before, but every stand up comic in America stands squarely behind Detective Benton - Astronaut Uses Diapers In Non-Stop Cross-Country Love Triangle Kidnap Journey - that's our story and we are sticking to it - yech - don't take that "sticking to it' too literally. Note that this story about Capt. Nowak's hearing is featured directly above a second NASA story, one with no photo and half the column space of the diaper piece. NASA has determined what caused foam to fall, damaging heat shields, on the last shuttle mission. The falling foam story has no love triangle, no diapers, just the safety of the astronauts on future missions at stake. Did Rupert Murdoch buy the Wall Street Journal or the NY Times?

Companies Agree To Pay To Settle SAT Error Suit - College Board and NCS Pearson, Inc. agreed to pay $2.85 Million to settle a class action involving mistakes in the SAT scores reported to over 4,400 students in 2005. The settlement averages about $646 per student, College Board got off easy. Imagine, the difference between lifetime income for an Ivy League grad versus a community college grad, multiply times 4,400 then add on the damages for the mental anguish of the students times 4,400, then add on the damages for the mental anguish of the parents times 8,800. Good thing for College Board the error was discovered before the admissions decisions were final, although it did effect the choice of some students on where to apply.