Adventure in 60 Seconds: The News

Text by Tetsuhiko Endo and Keith Rutowski 

The BBC reports that the Japanese government is sending navy ships to the Gulf of Aden in order to protect their cargo ships from pirates. Japan has oficially been a pacificist nation since the end of World War II, and their intervention is raising a few eyebrows among people who have apparently never been threatened by pirates. 

Which century-old company started by developing punched card data processing equipment, survived the Great Depression, was an early competitor in PC development, and is now diving into water management? If you answered "IBM," then you're either a history buff or you just read The New York Times technology blogThe New York Times technology blog today. According to the Times, IBM will be present at the World Water Forum in Istanbul on Monday to unveil Strategic Water Management Solutions, a package of research findings and potential answers to some of our water-centric conundrums. The solutions package is the newest component of the company's "smart planet" initiative, which uses information technology to address everything from health care to energy. 

Last Tuesday marked the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan national uprising. Despite harsh words from a Dalai Lama, a heavy Chinese military presence kept civil unrest to a minimum (or at least reports of unrest to a minimum) and the Adventure Blog has announced that some climbing teams are optimistic about their chances to take a shot at the currently closed Tibetan side of Everest in April. 

Six climbs from 2008 have been nominated for the 17th annual Piolets d'Or or Golden Ice Axe Awards that recognize excellence in big mountain climbing. David Turner, the sole American nominee will head to Chamonix in April to see whether or not his ascent of a new route on Chile's Cerro Escudo will snag him one of the most coveted awards in climbing. 

Researchers at Rice University have found that fear has a smell—and it's not very pleasant.