News and Headlines
8/25/2008
Watergun fight broken up by police
Boston Globe
Nearly 100 people took part in Allston Squirt Gun Day, put on by a group of local artists calling themselves The Clone Collective.
"You guys had your fun," the female officer reportedly said. "It's a busy intersection. There are little kids here. We don't want to see anybody get hurt."
This was the second water battle in Boston this month. A week previously, a group of 20-somethings, Banditos Misteriosos, loosely recreated a Revolutionary War battle on the Esplanade, complete with fifes, drums, and blue- and red-clad combatants toting water guns.
"The police were very kind about how they broke it up," organizer Justin Silkwood said. "They were there for 15 minutes, so they could have stopped it before. I actually thank them for letting it go on as long as it did."
Great idea, sounds like fun. Wish I could have been there.
8/21/2008
Emu tasered for resisting arrest
News Herald
Runaway pet emu named Plop-plop tangles with Bay County law enforcement after a storm blew down her fence. Plop-plop took advantage of her temporary freedom to run wild - including chasing cars along U.S. 231 before finding a pasture to take over.
Sheriffs, called by the owner of the pasture, found the bird in a pen with horses and goats. The bird began charging the officers whenever they tried to approach it.
Rather than using lethal force, Bay County Sheriff Deputies Randolph Grob and Derrick Groves chose to use their tasers.
"I think we had exhausted the fact that we weren't going to be able to just corral it up on our own without harming it," he said. "I guess the point was made, 'Well, what do we have other than shooting it with an actual gun to get rid of it?'"
Plop-plop is currently in custody of Animal Control until her owners can fix the fence and pay her bail.
"It's things like this," said Grob, "that you can say, Wow, something funny and fun can happen.'" We all need an emu in the pasture once in a while.
8/8/2008
Day -2
Numerologists are very excited about the Olympics beginning on auspicious 8/8/2008 (at 8 minutes after 8 O'clock). In reality the games have been going on for 2 days.
No one seems to be running the metaphysical consequences of a fake start to the games. Surely there is some karmic law about telling a lie this big?
Maybe not.
8/5/2008
Don't get mad... get even
UPI
Rhett Davis said he used a backhoe and three old cars to construct the fence after neighbors who recently moved into their new homes next to his hayfield started complaining, the Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner reported Tuesday.
Davis said he has made peace with his neighbors and the fence was more of a joke than the product of spite.
"This is just a fun way for me to say, 'Hey boys, I'm still here,' so I started building a fence out of cars," he said. "This is my redneck Stonehenge."
7/31/2008
Motorcycle meets bear
WPTZ TV
Neale Gow of Hinesburg Vermont and his motorcycle collided with a large bear while returning home from work on Sunday. Police say he's lucky to be alive.
Gow said he was driving about 50 mph when he hit the bear and flipped over the handlebars.
You know something is about to happen that you have no control over. You wait and see, and it didn't take long for me to see," Gow said.
Col. Robert Rooks of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says the bear is likely to be alive. "They're just an extremely tough animal."
I can never resist a good bear story
7/29/2008
Florida wins prestigious "party school" title
LA TimesCongrats to the University of Florida for reaching the top of Princeton Review's party list.
Get your school on MTV enough and you are sure to make the top of the list.
What doesn't make the news are the other lists: best professors (Middlebury College), most beautiful campus (Princeton), best classroom experience (Stanford).
Parents can take comfort in knowing that these are student opinions and not always reality. Moreover, there are only so many students who can get into the more exciting schools so chances are that yours will end up somewhere with just enough wildness to scare you.
7/28/2008
No Home for the Homeless
Anchorage Daily News
The Safe Harbor Inn plans to transform a Ramada Inn into a transitional housing facility for Anchorage's homeless.
"I like the idea of what they're trying to do, I just don't like where they're doing it," said neighbor Edward "Tiny" DeSapio.
The new location will increase the number of rooms available to Safe Harbor's clients from 55 to 105 said the project director Lynne Ballew. The current waiting list for transitional housing is 200 people.
70 percent of Safe Harbor's clients have gone on to find permanent housing. Most of the guests - 86% are families. "People here are working hard to get back on their feet. They're not on vacation," says Ballew.
7/24/2008
Serial Pantyhose Litterer
Milford Daily News
Neighbors on Geneseo Circle of Milford Massachusetts have their knickers in knots over the lack of police response to a creepy case of littering. Three or four nights a week pairs of pantyhose are left strewn across the street in front of a school bus stop. The hose are mostly always black and "queen sized," sometimes used, sometimes not, the neighbors say.
"I picked 43 up one day - 43 pair, one day," said one neighbor, Laurie Warich.
The unusual case has been going on for more than two years. Chief Thomas O'Loughlin said police have done some work and talked to a person of interest, but he doesn't have the resources to dedicate to a full investigation over a littering case. The neighbors say they call police every time it happens, which is typically three or four times per week.
The neighbors say they are considering doing an amateur sting using a video camera and walkie-talkies. "It's up to us, should we do a sting? It's pathetic," said Deb Nilan.
Pathetic or not, StartChange.net applauds the neighbors for their vigilance and looks forward to hearing of their success. Stop this guy while it's still pantyhose, who knows what he'll be dumping next!
7/23/2008
Birthday treat boosts moral
UPI
Gilbert Arizona reward town employees with free movie passes on their birthday to boost moral as city budget woes affect workers.
The perks will add $7000 to the annual budget.
"We want to solve a morale problem and we'll do what we can within the constraints we're dealt with," Vice Mayor Joan Krueger said.
Hmmm. Maybe it would work if they throw in the popcorn.
7/22/2008
The new monkey trial
KSPR TV
Debby Rose of Springfield, MO and her 10-year old bonnet macaque (monkey) Richard have been familiar faces throughout her community. Suffering from debilitating agoraphobia and other anxiety disorders, Rose needs Richard to function in public places.
The monkey has been certified as a service animal by 3 different organizations. The state even requires Rose to have Richard as a service animal with her when driving.
However, to protect the rest of us, Greene County health officials have sent out over 1000 letters banning the monkey from any place that serves food -- including hospitals, soccer games, and WalMart. Their action is forcing Rose to sue county health officials, Wal-Mart and Cox Health Systems for refusing to accept her monkey as a service animal.
Richard enables Debby just like a Seeing Eye dog helps a blind person." Roses attorney Jim Arneson said, I'd like her to be treated like a normal person."
In a world where too many people let their disabilities keep them trapped in their homes. We applaud Debby Rose for thinking outside the box and finding a solution to her problem. Health officials who think they are helping keep "us" safe should try to live in her shoes for a few days.
7/21/2008
Pull up your pants
Chicago Tribune
Lowslung jeans will now cost you $25 in the Chicago suburb of Lynwood Illinois. The village leaders passed an ordinance fining people for showing more than 3 inches of their underwear. I guess the solution, boys, is not to wear underwear( - yuck).
7/18/2008
Product Placement?
UPI
Victor Thompson (39) of Laconia New Hampshire is charging $200 per square inch for companies to advertise their products and services with tattoos on his skin.
"I'm getting paid to do what I like to do best," Thompson said. "It's a one-time fee and it's a lifetime advertisement."
Personally I think he's missing the point of advertsing. Imagine what his rate chart could look like if he charged based on WHERE the tattoo was placed. Moreover, imagine the sales pitches he could make for certain parts of his anatomy!
7/16/2008
Minnesota National Guard wants it's helicopter door back
StartTribune.com
Officials say the CH-47 "Chinook" helicopter lost the 150-pound door while flying at about 1,500 feet in the vicinity of Maplewood and Oakdale. The helicopter was on a routine training flight from St. Paul's Holman Field.
There has been no report of any injury or property damage say officials.
"We're very concerned about the community, and we'd like to have the community find this," said Huddleston, who is the Minnesota National Guard's director of army aviation.
I'm of the opinion that all residential neighborhoods should be No-Fly zones.
7/15/2008
Testing the limits of openness (and patience)
Rocky Mountain News
Jeff Peckman is proposing the creation of an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission in the Mile High City, is planning a news conference during the DNC to talk about aliens and the "technologies that they appear willing to offer." Peckman said his proposal for the creation of an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission will be the centerpiece of his news conference.
He said the conference was timed to coincide with the Democratic National Convention to take advantage of the media exposure.
"Having so many foreign media here I think will be a good lesson for the American media about how seriously this subject can be treated and how serious of a subject it is."
7/14/2008
Church forced to cancel gun give-away for teens
KUSA-TV
One of the highlights of Oklahoma City's Windsor Hills Baptist Church's annual youth conference is the shooting contest. The grand prize for this year's event was an AR-15 semi automatic assault rifle. Windsor Hills cancelled the giveaway Friday evening after announcing that Pastor Emeritus Jim Vineyard, who was running the event, had suffered a foot injury and would be unable to attend.
This conference focuses on helping teens find faith with 21 hours of "preaching and teaching". Hundreds of teens are expected to attend.
"You make a lot of new friends down here. You get to meet new people," said Vikki Goncharenko, who attended the conference. "There's a bunch of things going on."
7/11/2008
Man breaks hip while stabbing wife
Daily Herald
66 year old Albert A. DeCArlo of Grayslake, IL is in the hospital facing charges. Police say the incident started over an argument with his wife about money.
During the fight, the two fell. DeCarlo broke his hip as he hit the kitchen floor giving his wife a chance to escape and call for help.
Mrs. DeCarlo suffered multiple stab would and was treated with 15 stitches.
Mr. DeCarlo was charged with aggravated domestic battery and two counts of possession of a firearm and ammunition without proper firearm owner ID (an Uzi semiautomatic submachine gun and a Beretta pistol).
"She is lucky that (DeCarlo) broke his hip or he would have killed her," Cmdr. Matt McCutcheon said. "He expressed his intent to do so. There was quite a bit of blood in the kitchen."
7/10/2008
Library fines & prison term
Denver Post
Thomas Pilaar of Denver Colorado was sentanced to 10 years in state prison and $53,549 in fines for checking out over 1400 books and DVDS then selling them online.
He'll be sorry that he sold so many of the books when he begins serving his sentence. Books on the book cart in most jails around the country are read until they literally fall apart.
7/9/2008
Sock stealing bandit caught - again
Belleville News Democrat
Belleville, Illinois can sleep soundly for the next few years knowing sock theif James Dowdy is back in jail - again.
Notoriously odd, Dowdy was charged with stealing a pair of socks early Monday morning from the victim's basement.
Since 1993 Dowdy has been sentenced to over 16 years in prison for stealing socks: in 1993, 1997 and 2004. He is currently being held in St. Clair County Jail.
Can you imagine how he handles the question, "what you in for?"
7/8/2008
Ohio city dead-heads weed ordinance scofflaws
UPI
Property owners in Canton Ohio must keep their lawns mowed and weeds controled or face fines and jail time. The city's Health Department is responsible for citations and enforcement.
Several area homeowners received letters warning that "Failure to comply with this order may result in the Canton City Board of Health furnishing the materials and labor necessary to abate this nuisance and placing the cost of such abatement as a lien upon your property."
One meticulous gardener, Rose Ward, said she was shocked to receive the letter. "Why wouldn't they check first to make sure you have accurate information before you do something, because my blood pressure went up."
You know, I want my neighbors to mow their lawns and control their weeds but I don't think a weed abatement ordinance would work here in my home town. We're talking about tall grass and ugly dandelions - not killer alien super plants from outerspace.
Uncontrolled intrusion on personal lifestyle is a reason many of us moved out of the midwest to Alaska. Bad enough that property rights can be enfringed like this - worse, the agency responsible is a typically blind bureaucracy. Facts aren't as important as forms.
7/7/2008
Florida man sues Verizon over $9,500 bill
For God sake, check the fine print! Palm Beach Post
11 days of wireless internet cost a family $9,500. Insurance agent Steven Sprague re-upped his two year contract with Verizon after being assured that unlimited use of his wireless card would continue.
After 11 days, Steven's wife dropped the laptop and broke the wireless card. "I was ticked off at her for breaking the card, but she was doing me the biggest favor in the world," said Sprague, 48, of West Palm Beach.
Weeks later the bill for $9500 arrived. It included a 49-cent surcharge for each megabyte over 5 gigabytes of monthly use. Sprague says his hope is to not have to pay the bill, which is now more than $10,000 with additional charges, including a $175 fee for canceling the contract. "This whole thing, I just can't believe it," he said. "I can believe $300 or $4,000 ... but $20,000 a month? I never would have agreed to anything of the sort."
As frustrating as Sprague's situation is - any of us could end up in his position if we aren't careful. If you want to change your family's fortune quickly you can continue to ignore the fine print or make a change for the better and be a smart consumer.
7/3/2008
Ranch dressing on the side please...
WBNS-TV
Rain from last week's storms caused an unusual mess. An Ohio EPA official says creamy ranch dressing mixed with sewage and storm runoff in the flooded basements of at least 10 Columbus, Ohio homes.
"It's creamy-ranch- dressing-looking crap," resident Steven Maiken told the Columbus Dispatch. "It's not toxic waste, but we did have to throw away a lot of stuff. We tried to wash it off over and over again."
The Ohio EPA assessed the damage to basements and said residents should strip and bleach their basements, 10TV News reported.
With all the damage done by this year's flooding, this neighborhood got off lucky. It could have been Blue Cheese!
7/2/2008
Firefox breaks Download Day World Record
Channel Web
In the time since Download Day, over 28 million people have downloaded the browser. The United States leads the world in Firefox 3 downloads with over 7.7 million. Germany ranks a distant second with over 2.4 million users downloading the Mozilla's browser to date.
Not everything went according to plan on Download Day, however, as Mozilla's servers crashed due to the high demand for the software. But after a delay of a couple hours, the servers were up and running again and Firefox was downloaded at a world record setting pace.
In the press-release chortling Mozilla neglects to mention that you don't have a choice. The first time you open Firefox you are given the choice of downloading now or the very next time you open the browser. There is no option to prevent the download. So what kind of record is that? I think it needs an asterisk.
7/1/2008
Chicago area man arrested for possession of deadly puffer fish poison
Mild mannered suburbanite, Edward F. Bachner, was arrested by FBI for ordering 98 milligrams of tetrodotoxin, an amount that one expert said could kill almost 100 people, from a New Jersey chemical company, the FBI said. Using the alias Edmond Backer, he claimed he was a doctor doing research for an Illinois firm, EB Strategic Research, according to the FBI. A suspicious employee at the New Jersey chemical supply company contacted the FBI.
The toxin is normally used by researchers to eliminate nerve signals that interfere with scientist's observations. Voodoo sorcerers in Haiti have used tetrodotoxin to create zombies.
It was unclear Monday why Bachner allegedly tried to buy the poison. Tetrodotoxin is 1,200 times more deadly than cyanide, according to the Food and Drug Administration. "There's probably no legitimate research purpose for having that much on hand," said Robert Zucker, professor of neuroscience at the University of California, Berkley.
The arrest of Bachner stunned the quiet Lake in the Hills community.
"He is a great guy. I was extremely shocked when the FBI showed up at my door this morning and started asking questions about him," said neighbor Jeff Block, who described himself as good friend of Bachner.
How well do you know your neighbors?
6/30/2008
More Bear News
Bear rescued from drowing in gulf - Florida Fish and Wildlife cops shot a 375 lb. bear with tranquilizers and had to rescue the bear from the ocean where it tried to escape.
Bear attacks teen bike racer - A teenager riding in an all-night mountain bike race in Anchorage Alaska was severely mauled by a grizzly bear.
Man killed and buried by bear - Authorities find remains of a man half-devoured by a bear on Russia's Sakhalin island. Since January, bears have killed 3 people on the island.
Man arrested for rescuing bear cub - Ramsingh Munda is arrested in India for violating the Wildlife Protection Act by rearing and domesticating a bear cub.
Aggressive bear swipes at Sandy woman - An Oregon woman received minor injuries after a black bear swiped at her Sunday night, June 29, on her back porch.
It's almost reassuring to know that in today's high tech world - some old fashioned dangers still wait in the woods. Our great-grandparents wouldn't recognize most of our fears, but there are still some that we can share.
6/27/2008
Sneaking a smoke could kill you
My Fox Orlando
18 year old Adam Rice of Orange County Florida was holding a cigarette out of a window during a storm was hit on the hand by lightning Wednesday.
Rice told a local news station that the current traveled through his body and exited between the two smallest toes on one of his feet.
"I called the fire department and I (said), 'I just got struck by lightning and the woods are on fire. Next thing I know my body felt like I stuck a fork in an outlet. I just dove off my bed until it was gone."
Not only did Rice get caught smoking in the house, he got burned.
6/25/2008
Supreme Court Orders Reduction In Exxon Valdez Award
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that punitive damages are allowed but must be reduced from $2.5 billion to $507.5 million.
"The award here should be limited to an amount equal to compensatory damages," Souter wrote. "Our explanation of the upper limit confirms that the one-to-one ratio is not too low."
While it is true that Exxon has already paid $3.4 billion in remediation, fines and other costs it is also true that the damage to Alaska and Alaskans has never been fully fixed.
By limiting the punitive damages in this case the Supreme Court just made our world a lot more dangerous. Corporations can now skirt the edges of safety and responsibility without fear.
Accountablility is now up to us. What kind of industrial development do you want in your back yard when you know the corporation can put profits ahead of all other considerations?
6/24/2008
Protesters out on a limb
NBC11.com
Protesters have been living in a grove of trees on the University of Berkley campus since Dec. 5, 2006, when a UC Board of Regents committee approved a project that calls for tearing down the trees so the university can build a new sports training facility next to the football stadium, which sits on the Hayward earthquake fault. The protesters supplies of food and water are running low according to a spokesman. The situation is calm, compared to recent days but protest supporters are concerned for the health of the 9 remaining tree sitters.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara Miller issued a preliminary injunction on Jan. 29, 2007, which temporarily halted the building project. Legal action continues. A mixed ruling last week keeps the injunction in place for now.
How interesting it is that a group of protesters can squat in the trees, supplied with food and water by their friends indefinately or that some government/university agency could stop the food supplies - even though there is an injunction against the construction project. It would be fascinating to find out what the public process was that left these guys with tree sitting as their only option to slow or stop the building.
It's also revealing to see that according to the media coverage the protest seems to be more about the trees than the earthquake fault that will run directly under the new building.
Are the protesters trying to save trees or save lives?
6/23/2008
Bear barred from bar
Cleveland Plain Dealer
A weeks old black bear cub named "Pooh" became a regular at an Obetz, Ohio bar this winter. Bar owner Melody Pullen also owns a menagerie, needed to bottle feed the cub every three hours. Recognizing a kindred spirit, the bar's customers grew fond of the cub.
"They love that bear," Maverick's patron Mike Wisor said of the regulars. "Everyone still wants him to come in."
Pullen stopped bringing the bear to the bar in May but the village council is planning a law to ban exotic pets from the village.
"It's kind of like common sense," said Councilman James Triplett. "Would you want your neighbor to be able to bring in a lion or something of that nature?"
No, and I don't want to fly next to a woman and her dimond encrusted chihuahua either. On the other hand I'm more afraid of runaway legislation than lions or tigers or bears OH MY!
6/20/2008
Branding the faith
MSNBC
Middle school teacher John Freshwater was fired by the Mount Vernon Ohio School Board Friday. Accused of preaching his Christian beliefs in class and using a device to burn the image of a cross on students' arms the science teacher also taught creationism and kept Bibles and other religious materials in his classroom.
Not everyone was happy to see the insubordinate teacher removed. ""With the exception of the cross-burning episode ... I believe John Freshwater is teaching the values of the parents in the Mount Vernon school district", said one friend.
Freshwater used a science tool known as a high-frequency generator to burn images of a cross on students' arms in December, the report said. Freshwater told investigators he simply was trying to demonstrate the device on several students.
Science teachers have every right to be men and women of faith. Science teachers do not have the right to choose to teach creationism any more than history teachers have the right to teach the kids that the Anunnaki and Lemurians were fact.
And God help the science teacher who thinks it's ok to burn my kid for ANY object lesson!
6/19/2008
Burke and Hare Roll Over
WCAU-TV, Philadelphia
Renting to college students can be a risky venture. Instead of beer cans and other traditional student compost - an apartment manager in Philadelphia discovered a human skull on the kitchen counter of an otherwise clean apartment.
Even though police say there is no evidence of a crime, Spokesman Jeff Moran of the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office said a forensic anthropologist will check out the abandoned headbone to see if he can learn more.
Here's an idea - how about asking the students where it came from? Unless, of course, the medical examiner's office isn't over budget and understaffed like similar departments across the country...
6/18/2008
Don't mess with Dominique
WTHI TV
Dominique Morefield of Terre Haute, and her friends were running a lemonade stand when 18 year old Steven Tryon came up to the stand and demanded their money.
Dominique chased the fleeing thief into a nearby house and called the police with her cell phone.
Cornered by the young entrepreneurs, Tryon holed up for more than 45 minutes while the police tried to coax him out. He is facing a felony robbery case and the children will be getting their $17.50 back.
It just goes to prove that a small business owner has to fight all the forces squeezing their profits.
6/17/2008
The best part of waking up...
NHS Choices
Dr Han-Seok Seo from Seoul National University in South Korea and colleagues from research centres in Germany and Japan studied thirty sleep-deprived rats, finding that brain activity was boosted in those which had smelt roasted coffee beans (Columbian beans, medium-dark) compared to those that had not.
According to the report, the researchers suggest that this study could lead to factory owners pumping the smell of coffee into their building to revive flagging workers.
In other words, workers don't really need coffee breaks - just the smell of coffee. Hmmm, can any one find the shop steward?
6/16/2008
Democracy doesn't work when the people do?
KFYR-TV, Bismark, N.D.
The mayor of Pillsbury, N.D., Darrel Brudevold, kept his job at last week's elections because no one turned out to vote. Mayor Brudevold explained that everyone has a job and was too busy to vote.
No one - not even the candidates or poll workers - voted. How much did the election cost the town? Let's check back when the annual budget is released.
6/13/2008
It Never Happened
Bristol Bay Times Dillingham Alaska.
The town is still buzzing about the prisoner escaping Alaska State Trooper custody during a prisoner transport June 2.
A hot tip to KDLG radio just before the 7:04 AM news broadcast took on a life of it's own. Reporter Adam Kane relied on a "reliable source". Kane attempted to confirm the story but was told by the police that they couldn't comment until the Police Cheif arrived at the police station.
Like all good stories that never happened, this one started with a kernel of truth. A suspected drunk driver was pulled over and ran away before the police could question him. He was not and had not been in custody.
By the time KDLG ran it's retraction the story had gone throught the small town like wildfire frightening many.
"It didn't happen," Dillingham Police Chief Richard Thompson wrote in a series of e-mails to quiet rising concerns about the purported prison break. "It was a relatively quiet weekend. Some folks are genuinely frightened, but perhaps there just hasn't been enough drama lately to take some people's minds off their daily problems."
Wouldn't it be nice to wake up tomorrow and find that most of today's news hadn't happened? Which story would you like to have been an exaggerated rumor?
6/12/2008
Pizza Poisoning Case Solved
Times Herald-Record Pine Bush, N.Y.
Joe Zankl, former school board member objected to activists Connie Squillace and Patti Brown's taping of Pine Bush School Board meetings. Not able to prevent the two from making a public record, he secretly had two cheese pizzas delivered to a school board meeting in December of 2007. The pies were so loaded with hot sauce that Patti had to be treated for chemical burns. Connie, luckily, didn't eat any of the poisoned pie.
After months of investigation, police have arrested Zankl and Villa Gaudio owner, Frank Gaudio. The duo are charged with felonies: assault and tampering with a consumer product.
It's great that education brings out this much passion. Makes the national political scene look dull in comparison. If you are looking for an exciting show, may we suggest attending your local school board meetings?
6/11/2008
Man uses pepper spray to ward off squirrel
UPI
Firefighters had to assist after a man in Rochester, N.Y. used pepper spray to chase a squirrel out of his house.
"When the fire department went in and opened up all of the windows, the squirrel decided to leave. I guess he figured his work there was done," said Scott Williams, deputy fire chief of the Rochester Fire Department.
Did I read that right? He used pepper spray but didn't have a way for the squirrel to get out? Brilliant.
5/29/2008
Green Bombs?
Live Science
Admittedly, toxic clean up from military exercises (or a war or two) can take generations. The chemicals in current weapons are hazardous before, during and long after an explosion. Bombs aren't just for war, they are for practice and they are dangerous at every stage of their existence. So it is kind of nice to know that various universities and military organizations are developing "environmentally friendly explosives".
However altruistic the chemists may believe themselves to be, the motivation isn't quite so straight forward. The new compounds "not only avoids making hydrogen cyanide, but also improved performance" says researcher Thomas Klapötke, a chemist at the University of Munich in Germany.
Cynic alert. Just what we need. More powerful, reliable bombs. Are we so dumb that we'll buy anything with a green lable? What's next? Green acid rain?
5/28/2008
Change That We Can't Change
Space.com
It's not particularly relevant but Jupiter's spots are showing historic change. The Great Red Spot, actually a storm with wind speeds reaching 384 mph, has been raging for hundreds of years. Phil Marcus of UC Berkley suggests that Jupiter is undergoing global climate change.
It's kind of nice to report that no polar bears are threatened by this GCC. We don't have to turn off a single light bulb. Jupiter's storms aren't going to change our lifestyle. Not particularly relevant - just kind of interesting.
5/23/2008
Belgian Brewer Considers Bid on Anheuser-Busch
MSNBC.com
If Begian brewer InBev actually succeeds in taking over Anheuser-Busch very little will change at your local liquor store. You'll still be able to buy one of America's favorite (though I'll never understand why) beers and you'll still enjoy the great commercials.
The interesting part of the beer industries recent mergers are symptomatic of how business is changing in America. Not only are we moving back to the good-ol days of robber baron monopolies but the robber barons aren't even American princes of industry.
We've whined about outsourcing jobs but maybe we should be screaming about outsourcing our wealth. As ownership of major US companies leaves the country, economic opportunity slips through our fingers.
5/20/2008
Cell Phones Linked to Bee Decline
Consumer Affairs
Turns out that British researchers may have solved the mystery of the honey bee populations disappearing. Populations have fallen between 60 and 70% throughout Europe and North America with a suddenness that reminds me of cattle mutilations and crop circles.
Unfortunately the mysterious disappearances are all too real - no aliens needed. If the research is proven true, we cell phone users and our ubiquitous cell towers are to blame.
Neo-luddites may be pleased, but the rest of us may be forced to make a fundamental lifestyle change or go on very sudden diets as our crops disappear with the honey bees.
5/13/2008
Eagle, icon of Exxon Valdez oil spill dies
KTUU TV
Thousands of animals died during the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and it's immediate aftermath. "One Wing" was, despite the amputation that earned his nickname, lucky. Not only were 250 bald eagles early casualties, but scientists estimate that habitats may take 30 years to recover.
If you are lucky enough to visit Prince William Sound on a warm day, it takes little effort to find that the oil spill was only cleaned on the surface. Many beaches look pristine until you kick away some sand and find there are patches of ooze just barely out of sight.
One Wing certainly didn't live the life he was born for. 20 years without his wing, in captivity as a mascot of the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage, One Wing survived to be more than a meaningless statistic. The employees and volunteers privledged to know him won't let that happen.
It's too bad that the Supreme Court never had a chance to meet One Wing. If the death of the people and communities of Alaska don't move them, maybe seeing our National Symbol caged and crippled might have.
5/8/2008
Facebook agrees to child safety plan
BBC
Ultimately, its still down to parental determination to keep our kids safe online but it's nice to see a company like Facebook acknowledge the problem and try to address it. However, I still don't trust a website with 70 million users to be able to implement meaningful changes.
As parents of a large family we have to be vigilant in monitoring the kids and the computers. Some of our rules include:
- Computers must be in common rooms of the house - no bedroom computers.
- We monitor the routers and do know who goes to what websites and when.
- Internet shuts off at 8:30 PM and stays off until 5 AM. No way around it.
Nothing is perfect but this has helped us keep our kids and grandkids safe.
5/7/2008
Cardboard City
Anchorage Daily News
70 people spend the night in a Cardboard City to raise awareness for homeless families. Families with children, senior citizens and others spent a wet, cold night in boxes at Palmer, Alaska's State Fairgrounds to raise awareness and money. Many of the participants were faith-based activists whose churches already provide help for the homeless.
It's great to see that compassion isn't dead in America.
5/6/2008
Middle Aged Mothers Most Stressed
Washington Post, Health Highlights
What a hoot. The APA's survey showed that mothers ages 35 to 54 are more stressed than any other group. As the Mom of 7 from 28 to 16 I could have told them that and explained exactly why. We worry about our kids, our parents, our spouses - about our planet, our government, our schools. We worry about the potholes and our budgets (which sometimes feel like sink holes).
So what do we do about it? How do we change it? How about taking charge of our own lives. Stop spending, stop eating, start playing and praying ... How about voting and reading.
If you want to get rid of the stress you've got to stop stressful behaviors.
Just a thought.
5/1/2008
Low Hanging Fruit
theHill.com
With all the real and percieved corruption in the US government it is interesting to note that flamboyant Republican Congressman, Don Young now faces a DoJ investigation for his involvement in a notorious Florida earmark. Is this change or just pandering?