"It's not yet very precisely determined but this is one of the instances in which Planck will make a real difference, " explained Prof Bruce Partridge of Haverford College, Philadelphia.

BBC: The first fractions of a second after the Big Bang

Apparently prodded by the once-great Bruce Bartlett, little-known Bentley College economics professor Scott Sumner is the latest self-proclaimed intellectual in the world of tenure to take on the notion of a gold-defined dollar.

FORBES: Scott Sumner, Gold, the Dollar, and Anti-intellectualism

Bruce Milne has led the project for the Scottish Police College.

BBC: Scottish police officers guide Sri Lankan counterparts

"There will be some thunderstorm activity, but the risk of severe weather has pretty much disappeared on the East Coast, " said Bruce Terry, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Md.

NPR: Out With A Whimper: Storms Over In East, South

I'm a bright enough guy, but all the great books I'll ever read I read in college and graduate school, and my musical tastes are straight down the middle: Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Mostly Mozart, the Brandenburgs, a little cool jazz, a few show tunes.

NPR: Excerpt: 'The Practice of Deceit'