Apple’s corporate image is one of the creative iconoclast; their motto, “Think Different.” Their products look great. Artsy people like graphic designers, photographers, and film directors choose Apples.

Does the ad campaign work? Does the average person-in-the-street think of Apple computers as being more creative? A recent study done at Duke University’s Fuqua school of business provides some evidence that it does. This research has been all over the newspapers and even on NPR, so you may have already heard the take-home message: research subjects were shown an image of either Apple’s corporate logo or IBM’s corporate logo, and immediately afterwards they were given a creativity test. The subjects who’d seen the Apple logo scored higher on the creativity test. Ready-made message for news reporters: Apple really does make people “think different”. I’m sure Apple’s PR department was high-fiving over this free publicity!

Your Amazing Brain

You have been entrusted with the care and feeding of the most extraordinary and complex creation in the universe. Home to your mind and personality, your brain houses your cherished memories and future hopes. It orchestrates the symphony of consciousness that gives you purpose and passion, motion and emotion. 

But what do you really know about it? 

Here you can get to know your brain – the food it likes, the challenges it craves, the rest it requires, the protection it deserves.

Secret Satellites

BERKELEY, California -- For most people, photographing something that isn't there might be tough. Not so for Trevor Paglen. 

His shots of 189 secret spy satellites are the subject of a new exhibit -- despite the fact that, officially speaking, the satellites don't exist. The Other Night Sky, on display at the University of California at Berkeley Art Museum through September 14, is only a small selection from the 1,500 astrophotographs Paglen has taken thus far. 

In taking these photos, Paglen is trying to draw a metaphorical connection between modern government secrecy and the doctrine of the Catholic Church in Galileo's time. 

"What would it mean to find these secret moons in orbit around the earth in the same way that Galileo found these moons that shouldn't exist in orbit around Jupiter?" Paglen says. 

Satellites are just the latest in Paglen's photography of supposedly nonexistent subjects. To date, he's snapped haunting images of various military sites in the Nevada deserts, "torture taxis" (private planes that whisk people off to secret prisons without judicial oversight) and uniform patches from various top-secret military programs.

Test Entry

How To: Set Up An Offshore Bank Account
By Michael Estrin
Financial Correspondent - Every Tuesday



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For some guys, an offshore bank account may sound like something out of a James Bond film or maybe a clever way for an arms dealer to conduct business. But the truth is that lots of guys use offshore accounts for a variety of reasons. It may sound sexy to talk about an offshore account, but for the most part, banking offshore is about saving on tax dollars. 

But if taxes aren’t a concern, liability may very well be -- in which case offshore banking limits a creditor’s access to your funds (different country, different law). Finally, there are some guys who don’t need that Swiss bank account, but open it while on vacation because what better pickup line is there than dropping “my Swiss bank account” into the conversation? 

If any of those reasons sound like they match your own motivations, here’s how you can open an offshore bank account.
Legal issues
If you’re a U.S. citizen, it’s not illegal per se to open an offshore account. If the underlying reason, however, for setting up the account is an illegal act, you might be keeping your money safe, but you could still be in hot water. For example, if you’re accused of tax evasion and you’ve sent the funds abroad, you could still face criminal charges here. The offshore bank account, however, may remain free from the long arm of the law. 
Risk
When you bank in the U.S., you can be secure in the knowledge that your money is insured by the government. No such guarantees exist with offshore banks. In other words, a country could have a coup or a natural disaster or an accounting scandal one day and all the money could be gone the next. Furthermore, you could find yourself scammed; it does happen. Remember, this is a business built on skirting the law, so you won’t always deal with the most honest people (but that varies by country).