Reg Taylor's News Room

The bug is going around again.  It makes me glad I got a flu shot this year.  There is nothing worse than going to work during ratings period when you are sick.  The good folks here at FOX handed out germ-X and "wet ones" to help us out, but the coughing continues here.

I guess you just have to wash your hands and hope for the best.  I know what would be worse...being sick in space!

German astronaut Hans Schlegel was pulled off the first spacewalk of the mission shortly after he arrived at the international space station Saturday aboard Atlantis. Managers bumped the spacewalk and Columbus' hookup to the space station to Monday.

NASA declined to discuss the medical problem beyond saying it was not life-threatening, but a European flight controller confirmed Sunday that Schlegel had been ill and wished him a quick recovery.

The European Space Agency's Web site later said the illness was not contagious and probably would not prevent Schlegel from performing his other scheduled spacewalk.

(AP) This image provided by NASA, shows a slight protrusion of a thermal blanket on the starboard...

Full Image Schlegel, 56, a two-time space flier, sounded OK on Sunday morning when he spoke to Mission Control after waking up to music from fellow German Herbert Gronemeyer.

"Greetings to everybody in America, in Europe and in Germany, and especially of course to my close family and my lovely wife, Heike," he said.

He spent the morning helping his crewmates prepare for the spacewalk and looked fine as he floated around the station.

Someone always has it worse than you!

Ken White (our illustrious News Director) is usually pretty good about bringing in food on nights when we have to do extra shows.  You know, like a Sunday news cast after a Panthers' football game or a NASCAR race.  I think that is kinda cool.  It's like a bit of a perk.  We do extra work...they feed us.  Is this a ploy to keep us in the building? 

What would you like as a perk where you work?  Chair massage comes to mind!  No! That is not rubbing down a chair!  Or you could bring your pet to work...with a diaper on of course, unless your pet is a lizzard, then that would look funny with a diaper on!

Employers realize the best way to retain prized employees among the current talent crunch is to make them want to stay, often through first-rate perks. In addition to the standard comprehensive benefits package, some companies are taking things a step further, offering unique perks to keep current employees happy and new employees eager to stick around.

The company perks I came across ran the gamut from widespread to unique to downright unfair. Check out how companies, big and small, across the country are keeping their employees happy.  Here are a couple of them:

1. Barkley; Kansas City, Mo.
Great perks: This advertising agency has an annual “Kidnap Day,” when the company shuts down for the day and workers are taken to an undisclosed location, like an arcade. Additionally, there are break-time activities, like pool and ping-pong tournaments, and free Boulevard beer on tap after 4 p.m. To top it off, employees are given birthdays off (with $25 spending money); on-site yoga; and a rooftop observation deck with gardens, Wi-Fi access and barbecue grills.

2. SAS; Cary, N.C.
Great perks: Along with amenities like an on-site hair salon, massage therapy and car detailing, this software company also features subsidized day care centers and a free on-site healthcare center, complete with doctors, nurse practitioners and nutritionists.

 All "food" for thought!  What do you think?

I've always (secretly) wanted x-ray vision.  Ever since I was a kid and I saw those glasses that said x-ray vision on them I wanted to try it.  Well this may not be what I was thinking, but researchers may be closer to giving us something like it.  Maybe I could watch the weather channel -sans all the stupid shows- 24/7.  I could finally watch TV with out the kids jumping in and changing it to that stupid Disney channel!

Movie characters from the Terminator to the Bionic Woman use bionic eyes to zoom in on far-off scenes, have useful facts pop into their field of view, or create virtual crosshairs. Off the screen, virtual displays have been proposed for more practical purposes – visual aids to help vision-impaired people, holographic driving control panels and even as a way to surf the Web on the go.

The device to make this happen may be familiar. Engineers at the University of Washington have for the first time used manufacturing techniques at microscopic scales to combine a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights.

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