A woman testing the prototype device Google Glass was ticketed in San Diego this week for driving wearing the glasses with a built-in computer and miniature display, in a case that has drawn the focus of technology enthusiasts on social media.

The driver was pulled over on a freeway for speeding. The police officer gave her a second citation for driving “with a monitor” in violation of state law, according to California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Marc Hale.

In a post to social networking site Google Plus, technology entrepreneur Cecilia Abadie said she was the driver stopped by the California Highway Patrol on suspicion of speeding and she displayed her citation online.

“A cop just stopped me and gave me a ticket for wearing Google Glass while driving!” Abadie wrote in the post. (Reuters)

Banksy’s latest New York prank

The renegade graffiti artist Banksy snubbed the art world again when he dropped off one of his paintings at a New York City thrift store.

The Housing Works thrift store, part of a chain that sells donated knickknacks to fund charities for AIDS and the homeless, began auctioning the Banksy original for $74,000 (€54,800) on Tuesday. By Wednesday afternoon, it was already going for $220,000.

“It could go for as high as a million dollars or even higher because there’s so much buzz about,” said Elizabeth von Habsburg, managing director at the art appraisal firm Winston Art Group.

The auction ends next Thursday and Von Habsburg, who has a client that collects Banksy works, said she expects the painting to sell for $600,000 (€44,490) to $1 million (€742,000). (Reuters)

A 12-hour broadcast on knitting

Hoping to take “slow TV” to a new level, Norway’s public broadcaster NRK aired 12 hours of knitting yesterday night, complete with sheep shearing, needle tips, how to knit a cover for a Harley Davidson motorbike and a world record attempt.

NRK is a veteran in quirky programming. In 2011, it broadcast 134 hours non-stop of a cruise ship going up the Norwegian coast to the Arctic, bagging the world record for the longest continuous TV programme. Millions tuned in. (Reuters)

Pumpkins ‘filled with cocaine’

Canada’s border services agency says it has stumbled upon a different kind of Halloween surprise in some pumpkins.

Authorities believe three pumpkins found in a woman’s luggage at Trudeau International Airport in Montreal were stuffed with approximately two kilogrammes of cocaine.

Scanning equipment had detected masses inside the pumpkins which turned out to be bags filled with the chalky substance.

A border agency spokeswoman was not able to say where the passenger was coming from or whether she was a Canadian citizen. (AP)

Baby P’s mum freed from prison

Tracey Connelly – the mother of Baby P – has been released from prison. She is understood to have been released on Tuesday – the same day it was revealed that former child protection boss Sharon Shoesmith will receive a payout of up to £600,000 over her unfair dismissal following the tragedy.

Connelly, who was jailed indefinitely with a minimum of five years in May 2009 for causing or allowing her son Peter’s death, went free after the Parole Board recommended her release on licence following a second review of her case.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: “Offenders on licen­ce are subject to a strict set of conditions and controls. Examples include curfews, restrictions on their movements and frequent meetings with their offender manager. If an offender breaches their licence conditions, they can be recalled to custody.” (PA)