Jockstrip: The world as we know it

Software can grade college student essays

ABERDEEN, Scotland, June 5 (UPI) -- New software, developed by a Scottish professor, can grade college students' written work for style and content, removing the need for human judgment.

The creator of the Schema Extract Assess Report program, Dr. James Christie, a lecturer at the Robert Gordon University, in Aberdeen, Scotland, said it would considerably cut the volume of work of academics, reported the Sunday Telegraph.

"In the past few years there has been a growth in its use and an acceptance of the principle," he said. "We have now moved from simple 'yes or no, true or false' computerized marking into free text -- sentences and paragraphs."

The professor grade some student essays and the computer program analyses elements such as vocabulary, sentence length and grammar to creates a formula by which to grade the remaining essays. To mark content, the professor provides details of the possible texts that could be used to answer the question and the program compares the professor's texts to the essays.

Hot rodding making a comeback

DETROIT, June 5 (UPI) -- U.S. car buyers no longer look at their cars, trucks and sports utility vehicles as merely transportation, they are extensions of their personality.

Souped-up cars, also known as tricked-out or tuner cars, have become popular and an exploding segment of the specialty automotive parts business is selling custom wheels, advanced electronics and performance engine parts, according to General Motors.

Car industry analysts say there hasn't been a young generation -- ages 16 to 24 -- with this much interest in automotive personalization since the original hot-rodders of the 1950s.

"The goal is really about making your car different than the next guy's," Rick Petricca, a 24-year-old construction worker, told the Berkshire (Mass.) Eagle.

Petricca bought his 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra for $10,000 and put about $5,000 worth of upgrades into it to make it a head-turner.

'All the President's Men' a best seller

WASHINGTON, June 5 (UPI) -- Since it was learned W. Mark Felt was Deep Throat, U.S. sales of the both the 1970s book and DVD of "All the President's Men" have skyrocketed.

The book by Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward was a best seller in 1974, when it was originally published, and the movie that followed starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman was also a hit -- and they are again.

The book has been flying off Washington's booksellers' shelves for those who want to review how exactly Woodward was contacted by the second in command of the FBI during Watergate, or for those who want to know what all the fuss about Watergate was, reported the Fredericksburg (Va.) Free Lance-Star.

Amazon.com had the book version of "All the President's Men" in its top 10 selling books last week, but it has dropped to No. 42. However, the movie was ranked No. 8 in DVD sales, Sunday.

Mustang automaker to help wild mustangs

DETROIT, June 5 (UPI) -- The automaker of the Mustang sports car will help save some 2,000 wild mustangs in the western United States.

The Ford Motor Co. is working with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as well as Take Pride in America, a government-sponsored volunteer program, to establish a fund so the public can contribute financial support in the wild mustang effort, CNN/Money reported.

"This new partnership is an example of how the public sector and private industry can work together to help provide for long-term care of these animals, while sustaining the health and productivity of America's public lands," Interior Secretary Gale Norton said in the statement.

The Ford Mustang takes its inspiration from the wild mustang, "a true icon of American freedom," according to Ford Chairman Bill Ford.

Nearly 32,000 wild horses and burros roam public lands in 10 states. The wild animals have virtually no natural predators, and their herd sizes can double about every five years, so mustang adoption programs have been established.