News In Brief

Own a piece of history ...

One of the many sideshows in Florida's presidential election dispute (as cited in this space last week) was the Ryder truck that ferried thousands of ballots to a Tallahassee court. But that was not, as it turns out, the end of the episode. Budget Group Inc., which operates Ryder truck rentals, has received "numerous" offers to buy the vehicle. So the company is putting it up for auction via a Yahoo Web page - with proceeds to go to the Red Cross. Bidding, which remains open through Thursday, was at $40,100 and counting.

... Or something to wear

Other moneymaking ventures also are emerging out of the Florida dispute. Example: the "election collection" by Internet company Enjewel and designer Thomas Kurilla. Among the designs, all in sterling silver, are dimpled chad earrings for $100 and a butterfly ballot with hanging chad pendant ($125). There's a 15 percent discount for Florida residents ... "if they can fill out the order form correctly."

Preteens in US already are eager 'consumers' of media

It is referred to - in this era of technospeak - as the "inter- penetration of media consumption behavior." Or, in more user-friendly English, the tendency of people in age groups to watch, listen to, or otherwise use some form of communication each day. In fact, data on this phenomenon as they relate to American preteens are so highly prized that researchers build entire studies to obtain them. One, the KidPulse survey conducted quarterly by Harris Interactive for Nickelodeon Online, has found that in an average day, the overwhelming majority of 8- to 12-year-old online users already make heavy use of various media - often more than one at the same time. What respondents said they do most often, and the percentage in each category:

Watching TV 93%

Listening to radio 63

Playing a video game 46

Watching a video or DVD 43

Surfing the Internet 37

Reading a magazine 31

- Business Wire

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