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The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Unusual shortage could thwart innovation

Unusual shortage could thwart innovation

Rare-earth elements are necessary for everything from light bulbs to TVs.

Suburbs hard-hit by homelessness

Suburbs hard-hit by homelessness

Women and families are straining shelters in rural and suburban U.S. towns.

World's oldest barber still going strong

World's oldest barber still going strong

Anthony Mancinelli, 98, started cutting hair when Calvin Coolidge was president.

Some cities have more 'snowphistication'

Some cities have more 'snowphistication'

There are reasons why the deluge of snow that crippled D.C. would barely affect Chicago.

Marine walks away from sniper shot

Lucky marine walks away from sniper shot

An insurgent sniper hit Lance Cpl. Koenig in the forehead, but his gear saved him.

Best new guilt-free foods this year

Best new guilt-free foods this year

These new foods on the grocery store shelves are delicious but low in fat and calories.

What happiest U.S. states have in common

What happiest U.S. states have in common

Nine of the top 10 spots are in the West and Midwest — but geography isn't their only connection.

Three worst industries for job losses

Three worst industries for job losses

More than 7 million jobs have been lost in the recession, but these sectors have seen the worst of it.

Failed marriage proposal a hoax?

Failed marriage proposal a hoax?

Thousands at a hockey game thought they saw a big-screen proposal end in embarrassment.

Jordan wants to buy the Bobcats

NBA legend battles to buy team

Michael Jordan makes moves to buy a club, but a former exec may be blocking his shots.

Mystery of King Tut's death solved by DNA

Mystery of King Tut's death solved by DNA

Egypt's famous boy-king suffered from "multiple disorders," an extensive study reveals.

King Tut—plus 10 other royal mummies—recently became the first ancient Egyptians to get their DNA analyzed. The results, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, turned up a treasure trove of new information about the famous boy king, his family and Egyptian royalty in general.

Among the discoveries:

  • Tut had a bone disorder that would have forced him to walk with a cane, and which may have been a result of royal inbreeding.
  • A mummy known as KV55 has turned out to be Tut's father, Akhenaten, a controversial pharaoh best known for his failed attempt at converting Egypt to monotheism. Based on sculptures and art that depict a feminized Akhenaten, researchers had long suspected that he suffered from a genetic hormone disorder called gynecomastia. But the DNA evidence says otherwise. Instead, Akhenaten's feminine features are likely to have been an artistic conceit, added for symbolic, religious reasons.
  • Other previously unidentified mummies are now known to be Tut's grandfather, grandmother and mother.
  • Contrary to speculation, Tut's mother probably wasn't his father's chief wife, Nefertiti. She and Akhenaten are never described as being related, and Tut is definitely the product of brother/sister incest.
  • King Tut had malaria. He likely died from a combination of that disease and complications of his bone disorder. The malarial DNA found in Tut's body is the oldest genetic evidence of the disease ever found.

National Geographic News: King Tut was disabled, malarial and inbred

http://www.boingboing.net/kingtutdna.jpg

Woman faces $555,000 in student debt

Woman faces $555,000 in student debt

Dr. Michelle Bisutti's ordeal shows how school loans can quickly spiral out of control.

Inside incredible 'Crystal Cave of Giants'

Inside incredible 'Crystal Cave of Giants'

Deep below the surface, a deadly-hot chamber is filled with the world's largest crystals.

911 operator saves his own son's life

911 operator saves his own son's life

Chris Scott was training to be a dispatcher when he answered a shocking call.

Teabaggers beware, Scalia says you can't secede

This is going to be make Teabagger Nation very cranky.

As opposed to their 'normal' cranky.

One of 'their own' dashes their dreams!

*****
Don't you just love it when idiots make themselves even more idiotic.

A very wise man once said ...

In the beginning, the universe was created.
This made a lot of people very angry, and has been widely regarded as a bad idea.

~ Douglas Adams

Obama reverts to campaign tactics

Obama reverts to campaign tactics

As criticism mounts, the president's team taps into the strategies that made his campaign famous.

Unusual bank stumbles into spotlight

Unusual bank stumbles into spotlight

A bank with a single location and an odd history is suddenly stirring up big buzz.

Cherokee to add resort to N.C. casino

Since it opened in 1997, Harrah's Cherokee Casino and Hotel has funneled $1.2 billion in gambling profits to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Now, even as its gambling business is wilting, the tribe is investing $633 million in the idea that it can transform the state's only casino into something even more profitable: a classy resort where visitors can not only gamble, but golf, visit a spa and shop.

Full Story

Gorcery shopping ain't what it used to be

For the first time, the Charlotte market's leading grocer by sales isn't a grocery store at all - at least, not exclusively.

It's Walmart.

Science Headlines

"I'm Against It"

We've posted this before but it bears a re-posting:
Groucho Marx sings the repugican theme song.

How to boost happiness on and off the job

How to boost happiness on and off the job

A writer discovers how to feel more satisfied while making less money.

Deductions you can't actually write off

Deductions you can't actually write off

Every year, taxpayers claim deductions for expenses that the IRS does not allow.

Taliban's top military commander captured

More on the capture of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar

Taliban's top military commander captured

A joint CIA-Pakistani raid nabs a close associate of Osama bin Laden.

Man burglarizes Trenton police station

Trenton police say a man sneaked into police headquarters and stole a police radio, a computer monitor and a sergeant's attache case.

Man burglarizes Trenton police station

Libya bars European visitors in bizarre dispute


Libya is refusing to issue visas for visitors from nearly every European country in a bizarre escalation of a dispute that began when Swiss authorities arrested the son of Moammar Gadhafi on suspicion of beating up his servants.

Libya bars European visitors in bizarre dispute

Are macho TV chefs changing your kitchen?

Foul-mouthed TV chefs are beginning to have an effect on the once sedate world of kitchen cookware, according to one department store.

Are macho TV chefs changing your kitchen?

Man sentenced for trying to hack ex-girlfriend's head off with pen-knife

A man who tried to cut off his ex-girlfriend's head after he suffered psychotic delusions that she was planning to kill him will be sentenced today.

Full Story

Cop News

Presidents

Animaniacs

To the point ...

England and America are two countries separated by a common language.

~ George Bernard Shaw

Facebook venting ensnares teacher

In a case of jesus freaks trying to bully others:

Wake County middle school teacher suspended for posts about misdeeds of students.

Caustic remarks on a Facebook page by a Wake County middle school teacher and her friends about her students, the South and christianity could get the educator fired.

Full Story

Reading the comments from the jesus freaks is nauseating - they can do and say what they please but no one else can. The teacher should not be on suspension ... the students should be expelled and their parents fined for being a nuisances.

SEC deal won't end BofA woes

bofa 76 Bank of America shareholders probably won't get rich off any settlement the bank makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but they might get some ammunition for future lawsuits.

SEC Deal

Brand names fight to stay in stores

Don't be shocked if you can't find your favorite salad dressing or mouthwash on your next trip to Wal-Mart. Large retailers are wrestling with having too many types of brand-name products.

Full Story

A lethal business model targets Middle America

Immigrants from an obscure corner of Mexico are changing heroin use in many parts of America.

Farm boys from a tiny county that once depended on sugar cane have perfected an ingenious business model for selling a semi-processed form of Mexican heroin known as black tar.
Using convenient delivery by car and aggressive marketing, they have moved into cities and small towns across the United States, often creating demand for heroin where there was little or none.
In many of those places, authorities report increases in overdoses and deaths.

Full Story

Man gets prison, hard labor for casting spell on neighbor

An African man has been sent to prison with hard labor for casting a spell to block rain from falling on his neighbor's field.

Full Story

Cost-Competitive Algae Jet Fuel Just Months Away

From Treehugger:

fighter jets on fly by photo
Image credit: US Department of Defense

I'm not sure whether the Pentagon's clean energy projects count toward the idea that environmentalism is socialist, or whether they get a free pass because, well, they are the Pentagon and they know a thing or two about the importance of energy independence—but I guess we'll see in the comments that follow. Matthew reported early last year on the Pentagon's investment in algae-based jet fuels. At the time, claims by insiders that the air force could get itself very close to a zero carbon footprint within a decade seemed somewhat optimistic, to say the least. But the Defense Department is reporting that its development of algae-based fuels is well ahead of schedule. In fact, it is claimed that it could be cost competitive with fossil fuels within months.

Family gives up on small-town life

Family gives up on small-town life

A Miami family plans to leave the North Dakota town that drew them in with cash and free land.

Burma sentences four activists as UN envoy visits

The four women were arrested last October after being accused of offering Buddhist monks alms that included religious literature, said Nyan Win, spokesman for the opposition party headed by detained Nobel Peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

Full Story

TSA forces traveling policeman to remove his disabled four-year-old son's leg-braces

In yet another story of the TSA's incompetence:

Philadelphia TSA screeners forced the developmentally delayed, four-year-old son of a Camden, PA police officer to remove his leg-braces and wobble through a checkpoint, despite the fact that their procedure calls for such a case to be handled through a swabbing in a private room. When the police officer complained, the supervising TSA screener turned around and walked away. Then a Philadelphia police officer asked what was wrong and "suggested he calm down and enjoy his vacation."

Ryan was taking his first flight, to Walt Disney World, for his fourth birthday.

The boy is developmentally delayed, one of the effects of being born 16 weeks prematurely. His ankles are malformed and his legs have low muscle tone. In March he was just starting to walk...

The screener told them to take off the boy's braces.

The Thomases were dumbfounded. "I told them he can't walk without them on his own," Bob Thomas said.

"He said, 'He'll need to take them off.' "

Ryan's mother offered to walk him through the detector after they removed the braces, which are custom-made of metal and hardened plastic.

No, the screener replied. The boy had to walk on his own.

Lack of fog hurting Redwoods

http://www.flowersociety.org/images/Essences/Research/Redwood/redwood-trunk.jpg
The California coast has seen fewer foggy days in the last century, threatening the health of the region’s majestic redwood trees.

Over the last century, new research suggests the average daily fog has decreased more than three hours, causing the coast redwoods to lose more water in the dry summer season, leaving them more susceptible to drought.

“Redwoods are an iconic species and we all love them, but I think it’s important to note that lots and lots of species depend on fog,” said climate scientist Phil Duffy of climate central in Palo Alto, California, who was not involved in the study. “So if you really do increase or decrease the fog, then that will have effects on whole entire ecosystems in these coastal hills.”

Full Story

Today is ...

Today is Tuesday, February 16, the 47th day of 2010.

There are 318 days left in the year.

Today In History February 16

Today's unusual holidays and celebrations are:

Paczki Day,

Do A Grouch A Favor Day

and

Mardi gras

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt
London, England, United Kingdom
Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
Richmond, Victoria, Australia
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
Craiova, Dolj, Romania
Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Dresden, Sachsen, Germany

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

They'll sit down across from you, or stand right there in front of you, cross their arms and look you straight in the eye.
Then they'll ask if you'd please share your opinion of the current situation with them -- one-on-one -- as a favor and in confidence.
Try not to be rude.
You were already getting ready to let the world know your take, but it wouldn't hurt to let them think they were responsible for the big revelation.

Oh goodie!