Lifestyle

Texting juror tossed in jail

It was the glow that gave him away.

Benjamin Kohler, 26, a jury member at a trial in Oregon, was sitting through testimony.

You might imagine that the testimony was interesting to a 26-year-old man. For the defendant was accused of armed robbery.

Indeed, the lights dimmed to show a surveillance video. That would surely have a mesmerizing element.

It may not have been mesmerizing enough. Or, perhaps, Kohler is a very adept multitasker.

For the dimmed lights revealed his illuminated face. Like a character from the "Blair Witch Project," the rays shone from below.

Benjamin Kohler appeared to be texting. … Read more

The 404 1,252: Where we rock the couch with Ben Hoffman (podcast)

- Check out The Ben Show tonight at 10PM on Comedy Central for the season finale! Then watch his clips on ComedyCentral.com!

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Episode 1,252

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The 404 1,251: Where we find the cipher in the sound (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Did 4chan just find the Boston Marathon bomber?.

- 4chan's Boston bombing Google Doc culls photos, speculation, and accusations.

- Internet tough guys and girls already pointing fingers at the Middle East. Response: "Please don't let it be a Muslim."

- Beating conspiracy theorists at their own game.

- Using Microsoft Photosynth to recreate a panoramic photo of the bombsite.

- Encode hidden messages in your Facebook pics with "Secretbook" extension.

- Demonic portraits and other evils lurking beneath waves of musical spectrograms.… Read more

Find local yoga classes with Om Finder for iOS

I think most people who have tried yoga would agree: it's a great way to improve flexibility and blood flow, increase stamina and strength, and even reduce back and muscle pain.

OK, but how can you find nearby classes, especially if you're traveling or you've just moved to a new town?

Yep: there's an app for that. Om Finder for iOS locates nearby classes, studios, and instructors wherever you happen to be in the world. It needs a few tweaks, but it's definitely a handy tool for the om-minded.… Read more

App lets Icelanders know if they're about to bjork a cousin

At just 320,000, Iceland's population is tiny -- and apparently that can be a real problem, since, as every Icelandic native is descended from the same family tree, everyone is related to everyone else.

Luckily, there's enough distance between most people so that inbreeding isn't a serious concern, but it seems that enough Icelanders end up in bed with their cousins without knowing it for it to be a bit of a problem. So much of a problem, in fact, that in 2010, the Islendingabok (book of Icelanders) Web site was launched, containing a database of … Read more

Reading on treadmill no sweat with ReadingMate

No diversion can divert me from the fact that treadmills are boring. Even if the weather is bad, I'm not much of a TV viewer -- on or off the treadmill. And I often find the most energizing music to also be the most annoying. Reading on a treadmill can be downright nauseating.

But thanks to an experimental system out of Purdue University, I soon may be able to catch up on my backlog of New Yorker digital issues while clocking time on the dreaded tread.… Read more

Judge holds himself in contempt for his cell phone

Michigan Judge Raymond Voet doesn't like phones interrupting court proceedings. It's fair enough; court is very serious business, and the last thing you need is someone's wacky ringtone right at the moment of sentencing. Voet, therefore, decided that offenders are liable to be held in contempt and fined, a policy that's stated in a clear sign hanging in Voet's courtroom.

So when, in the middle of court, his own phone started asking him to give it voice commands, he had no choice but to hold himself accountable.

"The prosecutor was in the middle of his closing arguments," Voet, an Ionia County 64-A District Court judge, told ABC News. "He lost his train of thought and looked at me. I felt my face starting to burn red." Voet turned off his phone and allowed the prosecutor to continue. During a break in proceedings, however, he fined himself the $25. … Read more