Lofty Matters

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Hello!  I know it’s not quite technically the weekend, but I am almost outta here.  My family and I are hitting the road and I wanted to get this posted before we left.

I have everything in place that should enable me to continue to post to my blog(s), but it’s possible that there may be a little more time than usual between posts here and there.

ANYway…here is this week’s good news! Enjoy!

Tim Haney finally had enough of his guilty conscience about a Halloween prank he participated in 50 years ago.

Haney and a couple of friends took a historical plaque from a tree at the Vrooman Mansion in Bloomington, Illinois. He was 12 at the time and is 62 now.

He recently took the plaque back to the Vrooman Mansion and told innkeeper about his long-ago misdeed. The plaque is now in a vault at the mansion but is expected to go back on display.

The plaque was in reference to Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas giving speeches under that tree.

Hundreds of new marine species have been discovered in Southern Ocean reported Australian scientists.

274 species of fish, ancient corals, molluscs, crustaceans and sponges were found deep among extinct volcanoes.

The discoveries were made in marine reserves 100 nautical miles south of the Australian island of Tasmania.

Scientists said that only a tiny proportion of Australia’s oceans have been explored.

Ford Motor is calling its new safety technology for teenage drivers “MyKey.” It will let parents slow down their kids in the family car.

MyKey allows parents to control teen drivers’ top speeds.

The MyKey feature will be standard equipment on the 2010 Ford Focus and eventually on all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models.

35,000 American teenagers have died in auto accidents over the past five years.

MyKey can sound a chime whenever the vehicle travels above 45, 55 or 65 miles per hour. It can also prevent the driver from turning off safety features like traction control. It can also be set to mute the radio and will chime repeatedly until the driver fastens their seatbelt.

Parents can choose which of the restrictions to use and they take effect whenever a specific key is used in the ignition.

Ford plans to collect data on the effectiveness of MyKey. They are also hoping to persuade insurance providers to give discounts to families who use the system.

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