Angry Bird Playing Costs Employers $1.5 Billion

More like angry bosses? Finding ways of injecting a little humanity into the workplace may be the current rage, as the digital revolution has ushered in a 24/7 work schedule for some. Employers may be hesitant to go so far as to install nap rooms in the office, but the merits of allowing workers to catch a short nap have long been made plain -- a 1995 NASA study that found a 26-minute nap improved performance 34 percent and alertness 54 percent. Such constructive work/life balance offerings are one thing. But endless "Angry Birds" playing, however, is quite another. Struck by prior studies that investigated the workplace time (and therefore money) suck that is the annual ritual of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Alexis Madrigal,...

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Crews weigh pumping fuel from battered ship off New Zealand

88 containers fall off vessel's deck; oil coats 37 miles of beach The Librarian-flagged container ship Rena TAURANGA, New Zealand — A cargo ship that has already spilled hundreds of tons of oil stayed perched on a New Zealand reef Friday morning while salvage crews debated whether the remaining fuel can be pumped from the vessel before it breaks up. Environmentalists have warned of a disaster for wildlife if all the ship's 1,870 tons of oil and 220 tons of diesel spill into the ocean. Rescue crews have to stabilize the ship that is slowly being battered to pieces by pounding waves before any transfer of oil can start — but its severe structural damage is making the task harder. The Liberian-flagged container ship Rena is seen...

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Unmasked Seattle superhero vows to keep fighting crime

Ben Fodor, a self-styled superhero who goes by the name "Phoenix Jones,"  Phoenix Jones appears in court; no charges filed SEATTLE — The self-proclaimed Seattle superhero who goes by the name Phoenix Jones unmasked himself Thursday morning at a court hearing. Prosecutors have filed no charges, but Jones, 23, whose real name is Benjamin John Francis Fodor, appeared in a court wearing a charcoal-colored mask and a superhero uniform under a black and gray striped shirt. A court officer asked him to remove the mask and he complied but put it back on after the hearing to speak with reporters — at which point, he dramatically removed it again to reveal his true identity. Fodor was arrested Sunday after police say he pepper sprayed...

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Moon and Jupiter to shine close together

 But the eye-catching duo performs Thursday night, so be ready to scan the dark sky The two most brilliant objects in our current night sky will make for an eye-catching duo tonight (Oct. 13), weather permitting. Looking low to the east-northeast around 7:30 p.m. local daylight time, you’ll see a nearly full waning gibbous moon. Sitting just to the right of the moon will be the lordly light belonging to the largest planet in our solar system : Jupiter.  Jupiter will hover about 5 degrees from the moon's right. Your clenched fist held at arm's length covers about 10 degrees, so moon and Jupiter will be separated by about half a fist.  The sky map of the moon and Jupiter here shows how they will appear together...

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