Of Human Interest: News-lite

BOSSES TOP THE TROUBLE LIST

It's not the threat of terrorism that is making some folks unhappy; it's their bosses. The Web site whyyourlifesucks.com says a national Harris Poll survey finds 25 percent of Americans who were asked said their lives are awful because of their boss. Another 19 percent cited family troubles, while 11 percent of those polled said it was the prospect of getting older.

Author Alan Cohen, whose new book, "Why Your Life Sucks" (Jodere Group) hits bookstores later this month, isn't surprised by the poll, which he sponsored. "Despite technology and sociological advances, people sadly complain about the same handful of issues, decade after decade," he said.

Ten percent of those surveyed said their lives were a mess because of money. Only 4 percent said sex contributed to an unhappy existence.

Both men and women in the higher income brackets, however, said their bosses made them unhappy. Those surveyed making $75,000 or more were twice as likely to stress about their supervisors than those making half that salary figure. The level of stress from bosses also was distributed throughout the country, not favoring any geographic area.

A HARRY POTTER TEASER

The wait is over -- well at least for Harry Potter fans. HarryPotter.com has put on the Web a 30-second tease of its teaser trailer for "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," the next installment in Harry Potter series.

The full-length teaser trailer will be in theatres Friday, playing exclusively with the movie "Scooby-Doo." All of the characters from last year's No. 1 grossing film at the box office -- $966 million worldwide -- are reunited for Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

There also are new cast members, including Lucius Malfoy, played by Jason Isaacs, Tom Riddle, played by Christian Coulson, the new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts Gilderoy Lockhart, played by Kenneth Branagh and a mischievous house-elf Dobby.

The second Harry Potter movie has the young wizard and his friends, Ron and Hermione, trying to discover a dark force that is terrorizing the school. The film, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling, is set for a Nov. 15 release date.

SOMEONE WAS BOUND TO INVENT IT: HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER

Someone, somewhere is kicking himself saying, "Hey, I thought of that." But it is Microheat Inc. of Farmington Hills, Mich., that will be the first to produce and market an effective heated windshield washer system.

The HotShot system will be out later this year. It can quickly heat washer fluid on demand, allowing drivers to rapidly remove ice, snow, road grime, insects and other visual deterrents from windshield glass.

Microheat calls it a simple system to operate, yet a technological wonder. It took some time -- 10 years -- to put together a formula that combines liquid quantity, temperature, time and electric current consumption -- and the technology to control it in a small, lightweight design.

The company says it will market the device to carmakers as part of an original equipment package or a replacement unit. It also is designing a rear window system.

WILL THE CAT VOTE LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE?

It's all cat-and-mouse for members of the British Parliament. The British Broadcasting Corp. says MPs are talking about bringing in feline friends to tackle a growing problem with mice in the House of Commons.

Eight Liberal Democrats say a large number of mice live in the Palace of Westminster -- and the problem has reached the MPs' dining rooms.

The BBC reports they signed a motion that says it would be "fiscally prudent for the Sergeant at Arms's department to invest in a House of Commons cat to try to tackle this problem."

MP John Pugh of Southport said the idea came up after a meal at the members' dining room at Westminster during which a mouse appeared under the skirting board. "We noticed a little mouse going backwards and forwards -- it was very brave, very bold and it looked extremely healthy," he told the BBC.