“A nuclear blast is an explosion with intense light and heat, a damaging pressure wave and widespread radioactive material that can contaminate the air, water and ground surfaces for miles around.” The Homeland security apparatus suggests taking cover in the event of a nuclear blast, assessing the situation, and taking appropriate action. I hate to be alarmist or anything, but I’m pretty sure I’ll just die and get it over with.

Strikingly weird: “If there is a significant radiation threat, health care authorities may or may not advise you to take potassium iodide.” May or may not? Whatever.

Extreme sports aficionados (and fans of tidiness) will be thrilled to see this new entry in the games.

Is your WiFi LAN here? Mine isn’t. Yet. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time, though. There are several wide-open LANs walking distance away, if I ever decide I need one.

Here’s the homepage of the clever fella behind infobreakfast, Ronan Cremin. Take a look at NewsQuakes, the site that makes it look as though all United Statesians live in San Francisco.

If I watched more British courtroom dramas, this accusation from a British court might sound less strange and stilted: “The same day while on a British registered aircraft you had in your possession a dangerous article. That was a hand grenade” I can almost make it into a Canadianism with appropriate punctuation- “The same day? While on a British registered aircraft? You had in your possession a dangerous article? That was a hand grenade.”

I saw this courtesy of infobreakfast, as mentioned by the lovely Bruce Sterling. Though I may need a long vacation before I can get back to his new book, Tomorrow Now. I really liked what I’ve read so far, but I’m totally losing my ability to concentrate.

Always on the lookout for kissing-related research, we here at FP Labs were pleased to find this piece on head-tilt orientation. Researchers wanting to apply for grants to further study the phenomenon are welcome to submit applications. Please include photos.

It looks like there will be lots of Text Valentines sent this year. From what I see, volume is about 25% higher than a typical weekday; all the more impressive, given that Fridays are usually relatively light.

BBC piece on Picture messaging. Vodafone is suggesting various “creative” ways to use everyday objects to convey messages. Based on what I know of the text messages people send each other on their phones, I predict there will be (or already are) a lot of pictures of genitalia flying across the network, meaning everything from “I’m looking forward to seeing you” to “Here’s what you’re not getting any of.”

I was interested to note that the Terrorism Preparedness stuff is really good advice for going on a date, too: 1) Be aware of your surroundings; 2) Be aware of conspicuous or unusual behavior; 3) Do not be afraid to move or leave if you feel uncomfortable or if something does not seem right; 4) Learn where emergency exits are located; 5) Assemble a disaster supply kit; 6) Be familiar with different types of fire extinguishers, and know where to find them (and hard hats). Okay, so the last one’s just generally good advice, but you never know when familiarity with fire extinguishers and hard hats will be useful on a date.

On a semi-related note, I never really took the airplane emergency briefing seriously until I was flying on an AWACS and got the real briefing: “The lights on the floor won’t work; count the number of seats between you and the exit, and feel your way by seat back, because you won’t be able to see through the smoke. Better yet, just follow one of us; but don’t be slow, because we won’t wait.” I still mostly ignore the flight attendants’ spiel, but I do note far more carefully where the nearest exit is now.

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