Filed under: Google
Ebony Keck was given up for adoption when she was two-years-old, and has wondered about the family from which she was separated ever since. Almost 20 years later, the young Pennsylvania woman is set to reunite with her birth family, all because of a simple, instant Web search. Keck currently lives with a friend’s grandmother, and one day, because she was “just bored,” she decided to google herself.
Keck told CNN that after clicking on one of the first search results, a link to adoption.com, “My full name, my birth date, my mom’s name, my birth certificate” all popped up. “I just screamed,” she said. Keck’s sister had been searching for her since 2006, but had experienced no luck until Ebony whimsically decided to search herself. Ebony called her previously unknown family members and learned that, even though her birth mother had recently passed away, she had the one sister, two older brothers, and a crew of nieces and nephews — all of whom she plans to meet in person very soon.
In 2007, separate studies revealed that about half of all US citizens have at some point googled their own, or an acquaintance’s, name, but that number has surely increased by now. If anyone remains who hasn’t typed their own name into a search bar, Ms. Keck’s heartwarming story should certainly provide adequate inspiration. [From: CNN]
Our Favorite Fictional Elements
With
the discovery of a new and unnamed element 112, German scientists are scrambling to come up with a title for the recent periodic addition. To inspire our Deustchland comrades, we’ve compiled a list of of our favorite fictional elements, which range from the sublimely silly to the ridiculously over-thought. Perhaps scanning the best in movie, television, and comic book alloys and materials will give the creatively stumped professors inspiration…
Always Turn Off Stolen GPS Units
It was only a matter of time before some numbskull criminal stole a GPS-equipped car or phone, but we didn’t expect someone to steal live GPS units. A group of crooks in Lindenhurst, NY swiped 14 functioning GPS devices from the Town of Babylon Public Works. Understandably, authorities had no trouble tracking them down.
Security Cam Catches Tattooed Thief
We’re not going to pass judgement on the type of tattoo you get, but you might want to think about what it says before you start getting into crime. Aaron Evans, a 21-year-old U.K. repeat offender, was caught stealing a car’s GPS unit because the nearby CCTV captured the tattoo on his neck. It revealed his birthday and name…
Laptop Auto-Uploads Photo of Thief to the Web
This guy may be the unluckiest thief ever. Several laptops disappeared from a Vancouver, BC company; fortunately, one particular laptop was loaded with software that snapped photos when opened. The images of this guy were uploaded to Flickr. As a result, the man became a mini-Internet sensation, and he turned himself in, claiming he bought the laptop from a friend, at a local police station.
Things Not to Do After Stealing a Cell Phone
Gary Walker, an Ohio resident, stole a woman’s phone while she had temporarily stepped out of her car to check a street sign. He proceeded to snap a shot of himself with the hot phone’s camera. Later, when the victim went online and downloaded her data to transfer it to a new phone, Gary’s mug popped up. The rest, as they say, is history.
HighTube
This 25-year-old Brit cultivator of cannabis decided to post videos — under his real name — of his cash crop on YouTube. English police saw the clips and he was soon tracked down and arrested.
Girl Recovers Stolen Mac By Remotely Activating Its Webcam
A White Plains, New York girl was the victim of burglary; over $5,000 worth of electronics, including iPods, a flatscreen TV, and a new Macintosh computer were stolen. A few days later, a friend noticed that the burglary victim appeared to be online, but called her to make sure. Because the stolen Mac was running Back to My Mac, the victim was able to log into the computer remotely and snap a picture of the thief. Turns out the thieves were “friends” who had visited the victim’s apartment several weeks earlier.
Teen Arrested After Bragging About Arson on Security Cameras
A pregnant Los Angeles teen was arrested earlier after allegedly starting seven fires near her home. 19-year-old Amanda Gessner was caught after convenience store cameras caught her chanting, “The fire company is gonna be
mad at me!” She was certainly right about that!
Would-Be Voyeur Puts Spy Cam in Restroom, Leaves Video of Himself
An upstate New York man installed a camera in a unisex bathroom. The camera was discovered soon after installation, and police found he’d left a video of himself on the camera. Police are still looking for the man.
Forklift Tricks on YouTube
If you’re going to show off your sweet forklift driving skills to your buddies, it’s probably best to just do it in person. 20-year-old Australian Matthew Garry Ward uploaded a video of safety-violating forklift tricks to YouTube, and was reported to authorities after a coworker passed the video along to the boss.
Laser Pointer Shenanigans
Remember those time-sucking high school pep rallies where some loser would whip out a laser pointer and temporarily blind people in the bleachers? This 15-year-old genius from California, was arrested after shining his laser beam at a police helicopter.
Woman Reunites With Birth Family After Simple Google Search originally appeared on Switched on Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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After months of back and forth and hand wringing, it looks like the strange tale of the Lower Merion school district may finally be coming to a close. In advance of the new school year, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger has announced that the federal government will not be filing charges against the district or its employees over the controversial use of tracking software on school-issued laptops that snapped webcam photos of students. Memeger says that an investigation turned up no evidence of criminal intent. Still, if we were students in the district, we might choose to turn down the offer of a free, school-issued laptop. [From: Google/AP]
Feds Not Filing Charges in Pennsylvania School Spying Controversy originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
A U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday that schools can legally suspend students for creating fake 
A U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday that schools can legally suspend students for creating fake 
Facebook is great for staying in touch with people or reconnecting with lost friends or family. Apparently, though, it’s the perfect forum for incestuous innuendo, too. 
On the list of stupidest all-time things to post online, a plot to commit 