Things I learned this week 15 Dec

• Windows XP is still running on around 25% of computers currently in use.
• Looking at all the commercial airline accidents between 1983 and 2000, the NTSB found that 95.7% of the people involved survived.
• Shirley Jones and Shaun Cassidy are the only mother and son to each have #1 records. Shirley Jones is also one of the few women to have both had a #1 record and won an Oscar.
• NASA is planning to establish a manned space station outpost about 38,000 miles from the moon in an area known as the Earth-moon libration point 2, or EML-2. This is a gravitationally stable spot, making it possible to "park" a spacecraft there - in other words, the station would stay put without much help. The station would service as a holding pen for crew members so they could eventually do other things, like land on an asteroid (planned for 2025), visit Mars (planned for the mid-2030s), or head back to the moon.
• Microsoft filed a patent that would allow their Kinect camera (used with a TV) to spy on users of content to determine if too many people were using or interacting with that content and if they were, disable the content or levy a fee against the user.
• The 4 countries that have more small dogs per capita than the US are the Philippines, Mexico, Portugal and Brazil.
• 75% of employers require HR to look at people's online presence. 1/3 turn people down because they see a picture of the person with a glass of alcohol in their hand, even though they're adults and just drinking a glass of wine. Women who have a sexy picture on Facebook or MySpace have been denied custody of their children. The IRS is looking at whether you have expensive items on your Facebook page.
• Neil Young and Rod Stewart were both inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame for their solo work before being inducted (again) as members of their previous bands.