News stories the mainstream media missed 10/10/09

Here are some news stories from this week that I think the mainstream media completely missed out on. All links are from legitimate news sources and not the fringe / wacko sites.

* FBI Director Robert Mueller, the head of the one of the most prominent law enforcement agencies in the US, had to be stopped from falling for a simple phishing scam…. by his wife. Sad. Sad. Sad. The NSA and Air Force must be laughing their asses off right now. [CNET]

* Ever have one of those “ten year” curly bulbs blow out on you in a month? Turns out they’re really not designed for being used “upside down” from the ceiling. To last for a long time, most of these bulbs need to have the screw-part pointing down ad the bulb pointing up, otherwise “they overheat the electronics in the base and burn out early”. Did you know these bulbs also come in different color temperatures? There’s a flowchart to show you how to select the right ones. Oh, and they’re full of mercury and need to be disposed of in a Haz-mat manner. Throwing them in the trash is devastating to the environment. So now the act of purchasing a simple lightbulb has gone from zero thought to very complex. A great example of the cure being worse than the disease. [TREEHUGGER and EPA]

* The CDC has “continues to receive reports of an unexplained skin condition which some refer to as “Morgellons”. Persons who suffer from this condition report a range of cutaneous or skin symptoms including crawling, biting and stinging sensations; granules, threads, fibers, or black speck-like materials on or beneath the skin; and/or skin rashes or sores. In addition to skin symptoms, some sufferers also report fatigue, mental confusion, short term memory loss, joint pain, and changes in vision. At this time, scientists and doctors do not know what causes this condition”. Um…. damn. A link to the investigation is here. A link to the disease is here. [CDC]

* A study by the British Psychological Society confirmed when someone anticipates an interaction with an obese person, they automatically feel socially superior to them. The study says this is probably “based on the activation of obese people’s status in American society today.”  Somebody needs to go watch Shrek and Shallow Hal again. [BPS]

* A Hawaii company in the sugar business for 119 years has had to close its’ doors. Companies go out of business every day, but none I have ever heard of “offer housing for its retirees and employees affected by the shut down.” Epic levels of awesome here. [FOOD BUSINESS NEWS]