RTFA: http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/17/prosthetic-limb…

Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee sprinter, has been denied a shot at the Olympics… for being too fast. The runner — who uses carbon-fiber, prosthetic feet — was reviewed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (or IAAF), a review which found the combination of man and machine to be too much for its purely human competitors. According to the IAAF report, the “mechanical advantage of the blade in relation to the healthy ankle joint of an able bodied athlete is higher than 30-percent.” Additionally, Pistorius uses 25-percent less energy than average runners due to the artificial limbs, therefore giving him an unfair advantage on the track… or so they say. Oscar is expected to appeal the decision, saying a lack of variables explored by the single scientific study calls for deeper investigation into the matter.

We need a new special olympics. I vote for calling it “ultimate olympics”.

RTFA: http://lifehacker.com/343595/trick-automated-phone…

Automated phone bots keep interrupting your dinner with their pre-recorded marketing messages? Play the U.S. Special Information Tone signal for “vacant circuit” when you pick up the phone. Our brother site Consumerist says a reader who kept getting automated debt collection calls added the tone to the beginning of his voicemail greeting:

The next time the robot called, it thought it was getting a dead line and dutifully erased the number from its system. Voila, automatons be gone. Some places have autodialers that dont or have been tweaked to respond to SIT tones, but if youve got a persistent unwanted robot caller, its worth a shot.

Phreakin cool