82% of best-in-class companies use signal integrity tools as compared to 38% for laggards, says a “Weekly Research Recap” eNewsletter from Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Co., citing a “Printed Circuit Board Design Integrity: The Key to Successful PCB Development” benchmark report. www.aberdeen.com/summary/report/benchmark/3973-MainDesInt.asp.

2 inputs are sought on the AT&T “International Voice Service Related Additional Resources International Dialing Guide” Web page: country you’re calling from and country to which you’re calling. Results show international “dialing” codes. (Funny we still call them that; when was the last time you dialed?) www.business.att.com/bt/dial_guide.jsp

100th system integrator firm was named a Certified Member by the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) at the end of July. Control Technologies Inc., a Fort Smith, AR, firm earned the title following a successful audit that assessed its compliance with CSIA’s Best Practices and Benchmarks. CSIA is the world’s largest association for control system integrators, with members in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and Asia. www.controlt.com, www.controlsys.org

14 Oct. 2007 is World Standards Day. International Electrotechnical Commission (www.iec.ch), International Organization for Standardization, and International Telecommunications Union (www.itu.org) say the Global Village brings a broad range of rights and obligations to citizens, including safety, security, health, and access to information. Obligations include protecting the environment and respecting the safety, property, and privacy of others; standards help. Get a free poster. www.iso.org/iso/en/commcentre/wsd/2007wsdindex.html

1924 was the year the Linguistic Society of America (LSA) was founded to advance the scientific study of language. www.lsadc.org

19 components of motion in sunfish fin movement have been analyzed to improve performance of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), robotic submarines. Bio-Instrumentation Systems Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with help from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, built prototypes of a mechanical fin that mimics the sunfish fin, the most recent of which is made of a cutting-edge polymer that conducts electricity. MIT says when an electric current is run across the base of the fin, it sweeps forward, like a sunfish fin; changing the direction of the electric current makes the fin curl forward at the upper and lower edges. Simultaneous fin sweep and curl remains a challenge, MIT says. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/robofin-0730.html

5 fold expansion in the size of the Lewis and Clark expedition have lead historians to understand that “mission creep” (growth in project size and scope of a project beyond adequate resources or original intent) has been around awhile. Learn more at www.lewisandclark200.org; also search mission creep at www.army.mil

55 Speed Limit on the sign actually is supposed to be an upper setpoint, although by observation, it seems to be a de facto minimum. Learn more money-saving driving tips at www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml.