Watercooler Stories

'It's been a bad week for the government'

LONDON, April 28 (UPI) -- Several members of Prime Minister Tony Blair's government were trying to operate "under the radar" Thursday after a series of scandals and missteps.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott managed to avoid the front door of No. 10 Downing St., the building that serves Blair as both home and office, and its waiting reporters. Prescott, who has just admitted to an affair with a member of his staff, used an internal corridor from the cabinet office to get to a cabinet meeting, The Times of London said.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke is under fire after admitting that hundreds of foreign nationals were released from British prisons without any steps taken to deport them. Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt was booed Wednesday when she gave a speech to the Royal College of Nurses.

Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton kept a stiff upper lip in an interview with the BBC, acknowledging "it's been a difficult week for the Government -- and it's only Thursday." He called Prescott's troubles a private matter and defended Clarke and Hewitt.

Prescott left No. 10 by the front door, smiling at reporters and keeping his mouth shut. Clarke emerged 20 minutes later with a grin and a greeting.

Library for new century to open

MINNEAPOLIS, April 28 (UPI) -- Minneapolis' new central library is designed for the 21st century, with some touches that are even more futuristic, and virtually no card catalogs.

The amenities include a theater, a room where kids can draw on the walls and fireplaces on every floor, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Librarians, equipped with walkie-talkies that look like something out of the original "Star Trek," will roam around helping patrons instead of remaining trapped behind desks.

The library has miles of bookcases and 300 computers -- and self-service checkout for borrowers.

Plans call for a user-friendly library where books and computers can mesh.

While most of the collection in the old library was kept in closed stacks, the new library is all open stack. Card catalogs are gone, except for one that will be kept in special collections.

The library is scheduled to open May 20.

Prayer time an issue for Muslim astronaut

BANGI, Malaysia, April 28 (UPI) -- Malaysian scientists are working on computer software to help future Muslim astronauts know when to pray, and how to face Mecca at 17,000 mph.

With plans to send a Muslim astronaut to the International Space Station next year, about 150 scientists and scholars met at a conference outside Kuala Lumpur to establish proper behavior for an orbiting Muslim, The Telegraph reported.

Among other issues is how to maintain the kneeling prayer posture in weightlessness, eating halal -- Islamically permissible -- food and proper washing.

A computer program called "Muslims in Space" is being developed to factor in the station's 17,000 mph velocity, which constantly changes the station's orientation in relation to Mecca. With 16 Earth orbits a day, and the timing of five daily prayers determined in relation to sunrise and sunset, devout Muslim astronauts could find themselves praying 80 times in 24 hours.

New purse nags forgetful women

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 28 (UPI) -- Six university students in Canada who were tired of rummaging through their purses to make sure they brought everything have developed a bag that knows.

Dubbed the "Ladybag," the device uses radio frequency identification tags, a tag reader and an LED screen to detect whether any pre-determined items are missing from the bag.

"As each item is put in, the corresponding LED pattern shuts off," Lillian Tam, one of the developers from Simon Fraser University, told the Daily Mail. "When no LEDs are shining, everything is in the bag."

Fellow designer Huma Zaidi said the user can specify which items are "must-have," such as keys, palm pilot, laptop, cell phone or almost anything.

"We've got a lot of attention from older women," Zaidi said.