Things I learned this week 7 Jul

• The white mask that Michael Myers wears in the Halloween movie franchise? It was in fact a William Shatner Mask spray painted white.
• The plague that decimated Europe in the middle ages is still around. A man from Oregon got it after being bit by a stray cat that had been in contact with infected mice. Infected fleas are the modern carrier.
• Canada Border Services Agency was installing HD cameras with mics with the capability to eavesdrop on citizens travelling through airports and at border crossings, for the purpose of recording conversations. That just got put on hold pending a privacy assessment, which should have been done before this project even started.
• Honda will be the first car company to recycle rare earth metals from its hybrid batteries.
• Apple store employees use an iPhone app to ensure that each MacBook screen is opened to exactly 70 degrees. This is to encourage customers to adjust the screen to their ideal viewing angle - in other words, to touch the computer.
• Europe's highest court recently ruled that workers who get sick while on paid vacation...get to take another vacation.
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has made an official declaration: “No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.” What? No mermaids?