When I say "face recognition software," what do you think of? Terrorist identification? Missing child recovery? ATM transaction security?

How about keeping kids from buying smokes? The Japanese company Fujitaka has developed a cigarette vending machine that employs FRS software to read the face of the would-be purchaser, using wrinkles, sagging skin and the like to judge if they can buy a pack or not. It claims 90% accuracy, and those who look younger than their true age can override the software by inserting a driver's license proving they are of legal age. Not that smokers often look younger than they are.

From our "Solutions in search of a problem department" comes news that the campaign for a metric time system is still alive. Last seen during the bloody days of the French Revolution, where it did for timekeeping what the guillotine did for neck wear, the system divides the day into tenths; 10 hours to a day, 100 minutes to the hour, etc. Defenders might note how the stock market benefited from a move to decimals.

I'm getting a mixed message from the unveiling of the Prius Limo. Perfect for those who want to shade their wretched excess with a veneer of green respectability, I suppose.

Finally, the first item of BloggingStocks' Holiday Gift Guide is a little number from the Kropserkel catalog, the severed horse head pillow. Perfect for the Godfather fan in your family, this plush bed companion comes stuffed or unstuffed. Imagine the squeals of delight when this is unwrapped on Christmas morning!