Beijing’s space post office to put mail into orbit

China’s space program is renowned for its secrecy, but a newly opened “space post office” provides an enticing glimpse into the future, and a lot of novelty stamps.

“As far as I know, we’re the world’s only space post office,” Liu Dong (name changed on request), a clerk at the post office, said. Despite its name, the office is located in Beijing, part of a secretive area known as Aerospace City. When it opened last month, the office was partnered with a “virtual” branch aboard the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft, meaning that in theory the office extended 343 kilometers above the earth. “Any parcels which go on China’s spacecraft will be sent from here.” Liu said. Space-mail services aren’t available for public use yet, though. “We can send mail anywhere in the world but not into space,” Liu said.

Full Article @ SmartPlanet.com

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100-Year-Old Cake

We could call this mummified wonder “Old Spice” — at 100 years of age, the cake qualifies. And there’s definitely a hint of spice emanating from its layers.

The surprise — after the age — may be that it’s a spice cake, not a fruit cake. At least that’s what Pierre Girard, of Golden Valley, thinks, based on its faint fragrance.

His friends found the cake in 1992 on a closet shelf in St. Louis Park. They were doing an estate sale assessment, prompted by the death of an elderly resident, originally from Canada, who had died without heirs. The friends passed it along to him as a gag gift, never expecting that he would hang on to it.

The cake was packed within a six-sided florist box with the handwritten inscription, “XMAS CAKE BAKED IN DEC. 1911” on the lid. On the bottom of the box, there was more handwritten inscription: “Xmas Cake Baked in Year 1911 by my Mother’s Brother Alex died Dec. 27. Was operated on Xmas Day.”

Full StarTribune.com Article

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Fort Lauderdale will buy one-way tickets for homeless to leave city

The Fort Lauderdale Commission approved a $25,000 program yesterday to bus homeless people out of town, with the intent to get them back together with family and friends.

Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the “Homeless Outreach Unification Program,” which uses funding from the state law enforcement trust fund.

As the vote implies, not everyone was on board with this idea.

Vice Mayor Bobby DuBose noted that several other cities around the country have a similar program, effectively setting up a nationwide bus tour for homeless people.

He reiterated that he’s definitely in favor of helping out the homeless, but said, “I think we can do better than just trying to kick the can down the road.”

Full Article

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