Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/54147
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD Anti-Theft ID Breakthrough: For people who become stressed when asked to prove their identities by biometric scans of fingerprints, hand prints or eyeballs, Japan's Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology has developed a chair frame that authenticates merely by sitting down: a butt-scanner. Professor Shigeomi Koshimizu's device produces a map of the user's unique derriere shape, featuring 256 degrees of pressure at 360 different points and could be used not only to protect vehicles from theft but also, when connected to a computer, to prevent log-ons by those with unauthorized posteriors. [TechCrunch blog via PhysOrg.com, 12-26-2011] Compelling Explanations Mayor Jose Benitez of Huarmey, Peru (population 16,000), speaking at the opening of a water works in November, warned residents about strontium in the water, which he said suppresses male hormones. He reminded residents that nearby Tabalosos, which is lately popular with gays and lesbians, shares the water supply and that Huarmey could turn gay, too. [Daily Mail (London), 11-24-2011] A November report by Muslim scholars at Saudi Arabia's highest religious council (Majlis al-Ifta' al- A'ala), presented to the Saudi legislature, warned that ending the ban on females' driving would cause a surge in prostitution, pornography, divorce and, of course, homosexuality (and the scholars added that, within 10 years, the country would have "no more virgins"). [Daily Mail (London), 12-1-2011] California state legislator Mary Hayashi of Hayward pleaded guilty in January to misdemeanor shoplifting. Police said she had walked out of a Neiman Marcus store in October with more than $2,400 worth of unpaid-for merchandise, caused, said her lawyer, by a benign brain tumor that might have affected her decision-making. (Miraculously, and just in time for the legislative session, the tumor, said the lawyer, is "no longer affecting her concentration or her judgment.") [KPIX-TV (San Francisco), 1-6-2012] Ironies Chuck Sheppard Because this past Christmas fell on a Sunday, nearly one Protestant church in 10 in the U.S. reported having canceled Sunday services that day out of fear of low attendance, as parishioners remained at home with family. (The poll, by Lifeway Research, noted also that other churches, while not canceling, had left services to their second-string clergy.) [Washington Post, 12-23-2011] COPYRIGHT 2011 CHUCK SHEPHERD WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM WEEKLY HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY ARIES (March 21-April 19) Beware of those who believe they are so special that the rules don't apply to them. Someone who has little re- gard for the way things are generally done may seem at fi rst charmingly seductive. This type of troublemaker will eventually make trouble for you, too. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) You never want your friends and loved ones to spend too much energy, attention or money on you. You prefer to be an easygoing presence in their lives. It's OK to be high-maintenance sometimes. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) A day spent thinking of what you don't yet have is a wasted day. However, if you consider your accomplishments, assess your resources and defi ne steps to make your wishes a reality, you can call it a "planning day," which is not only useful, but necessary. CANCER (June 22-July 22) Success seems to come easily to some people, which has a diminishing effect on your affection for them. You're not one to let jealousy stand in the way of friendship, though you may mentally wrestle around a bit before you acquire the poise nec- essary to take the high road. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) If you didn't have any- thing else to do but give your love to a certain person, you would fi ll the hours in devotion, admiration and service. Alas, your life is much too busy and varied for that kind of dynamic. Do what's necessary to keep your scene mov- ing in a good direction. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) You would love it if someone would take initiative on your behalf. Instead, it feels like you have to do it all. For now, appreciate the fact that you are strong and able enough to take on such enormous responsibilities and execute them so well. For the Week of Feb. 5, 2012 LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Your talent will be nurtured and recognized. Knowing this will happen, you can relax and enjoy what's going on around you. What you learn in the process will make your work more valuable, meaningful and on point with the current milieu. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) Over the years, the way these beliefs have manifested has become a kind of trademark. This week you'll be able to look objectively at this aspect of you and appreciate how your character has shaped your life. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) The spe- cial care you take in your physical presentation will be most effective. Even if no one comments or compliments you, you can be sure that the impression you make is felt and that it will make a difference in what people decide to do in the future. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)While you concern yourself with doing what's necessary to cover basic requirements and household ex- penses, someone close to you is thinking about a high-end luxury. There's a way to satisfy both needs and wants if you work together. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Things that worked just yesterday can become quite dys- functional overnight. Instead of worrying about what happened to change the scene or who is to blame, look for fi xes. Problems can be solved easily while they are still quite small. And there is opportunity here, too. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) You don't have all the answers you need, but you will. Knowing this should help you stop searching your mind and environment for indications that you are on the right track. Since you won't get that validation for a while, the best you can do is act in a way that feels good and right and have a little more faith. By Holiday Mathis ADVICE GODDESS Shove They Neighbor My commitment-phobic boyfriend of several years is also my neighbor. I resolved to make it work with him and then caught him on FriendFinder exchanging numerous messages with some woman in Tijuana. He claimed he was just being friendly. I asked if he'd correspond with a guy. He responded, "No. I'm not gay." Humiliatingly, I've let him use me for things he can't afford. (He's been unemployed for two years.) He sometimes showers at his tiny apartment but basically uses it for storage. He refuses to move in with me so we could pay expenses with money his grandma gives him for his rent, but he spends all his time at my place (where I pay for everything). He partakes of my cable TV, Internet, food and beer, and he even eats food I buy specially for my 9-year-old son. Well, he's now my ex-boyfriend. As he's been many times before. What's with him? Is talking to some random woman on the Internet worth losing everything over? — Fuming Amy Alkon Why do you keep taking him back? Packages starting at 49 6516 Dental Ln. Suite B Fayetteville, NC 28314 You're probably engaging in "future discounting," an econ term explaining how we're prone to forgo big benefi ts down the road for a small immediate reward. It helps to recognize that you'll be tempted to go for the quick fi x. To avoid backsliding, don't rely on yourself to gin up self-control in the moment; use tricks like "precommitment" to your goal, a strategy originated by Nobel Prize-winning economist Thomas Schelling and recommended by Dr. Roy Baumeister and John Tierney in their book, Willpower. Precommitment involves setting things up in advance so it's hard to cheat. Research suggests that two of the most helpful measures are recruiting others to monitor your progress and establishing fi nancial penalties for relapse — the higher, the better. It also helps to give yourself small rewards for daily good behavior. Maybe put aside $5 on each day you don't call him and give yourself occasional lump-sum rewards (like at the two months loser-free mark). The website stickK.com can help. (You can confi gure it to forfeit your money to a cause you hate if you fail.) Research from Baumeister's lab also suggests that practicing daily self-discipline unrelated to your goal (say, making yourself a weird green health shake every morning) increases overall self-control. This should increase your self-respect. Which should increase your chances of having a man in your life who sings your praises — stuff like "your lips are like wine," not "your Wi-Fi's, like, free." Amy Alkon all rights reserved. FEBRUARY 1-7, 2012 UCW 23