Vlad the Inhaler

That’s a nyet, Vladimir: President Barack Obama declined the invitation of Vladimir Putin to meet one-on-one with the Russian premier during a wider economic summit in Russia in September.

Russia’s decision to give NSA leaker Edward Snowden a temporary visa no doubt was a factor, but Obama also said he didn’t want to risk losing his wedding ring by being in the same room as Putin.

What happens when it jams? The latest innovation in manufacturing is 3-D printing, in which computer-designed items, such as iPhone cases and action figures, are assembled layer by layer from plastic particles by a laser printer.

IPhone cases and action figures are fine, but we would use ours for something more practical, like more ink cartridges for our regular printer.

Something to look forward to: A new medical study says that chocolate may increase blood flow in the brains of the elderly and improve their thinking skills. Now the bad news: The researchers hope to isolate the chemical in chocolate that improves blood flow so they can put it in a pill.

Of course, you can do what we plan to do in our dotage: Wash our pills down with a glass of chocolate milk.

—Jon Bauer, Herald staff

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