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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.


Monday, September 10, 2012

The Daily Drift

'Nuff Said!

Some of our readers today have been in:
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Cheras, Malaysia
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Johannesburg, South Africa
Keningau, Malaysia
Vancouver, Canada
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Santiago De Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Makati, Philippines
Sevastopol, Ukraine
Karachi, Pakistan
Manila, Philippines
Baku, Azerbaijan
Jakarta, Indonesia
Roseau, Dominica
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Fermont, Canada
Odessa, Ukraine
Berlin, Germany
Naples, Italy
Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
Athens, Greece
Cebu City, Philippines
Kiev, Ukraine
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
Zagreb, Croatia
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Islamabad, Pakistan
Binan, Philippines
Lagos, Nigeria
Ankara, Turkey
Comayogua, Honduras
Sofia, Bulgaria
Sampaloc, Philippines
San Jose, Costa Rica

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Today in History

1419 John the Fearless is murdered at Montereau, France, by supporters of the dauphine.
1547 The Duke of Somerset leads the English to a resounding victory over the Scots at Pinkie Cleugh.
1588 Thomas Cavendish returns to England, becoming the third man to circumnavigate the globe.
1623 Lumber and furs are the first cargo to leave New Plymouth in North America for England.
1813 The nine-ship American flotilla under Oliver Hazard Perry wrests naval supremacy from the British on Lake Erie by capturing or destroying a force of six English vessels.
1846 Elias Howe patents the first practical sewing machine in the United States.
1855 Sevastopol, under siege for nearly a year, capitulates to the Allies during the Crimean War.
1861 Confederates at Carnifex Ferry, Virginia, fall back after being attacked by Union troops. The action is instrumental in helping preserve western Virginia for the Union.
1912 J. Vedrines becomes the first pilot to break the 100 m.p.h. barrier.
1914 The six-day Battle of the Marne ends, halting the German advance into France.
1923 In response to a dispute with Yugoslavia, Mussolini mobilizes Italian troops on Serb front.
1961 Jomo Kenyatta returns to Kenya from exile, during which he had been elected president of the Kenya National African Union.
1963 President John F. Kennedy federalizes Alabama's National Guard to prevent Governor George C. Wallace from using guardsmen to stop public-school desegregation.
1981 Pablo Picasso's painting Guernica is returned to Spain and installed in Madrid's Prado Museum. Picasso stated in his will that the painting was not to return to Spain until the Fascists lost power and democracy was restored.

Non Sequitur

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New Gallup poll, the bounce continues: Obama gains another point

 

A Florida supporter, a repugican, gives Obama a big embrace - and more

By Jim Kuhnhenn


President Barack Obama, right, is picked-up and lifted off the ground by Scott Van Duzer, left, owner of Big Apple Pizza and Pasta Italian Restaurant, during an unannounced stop, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in Ft. Pierce, Fla.

If President Barack Obama was looking for a lift in Florida, he got one from Scott Van Duzer.
The 46-year-old, six-foot-three Republican gave Obama a bear hug, raising him off the ground as Obama marveled at the man's strength — and enthusiasm.
Van Duzer owns the Big Apple Pizza and Pasta Italian Restaurant where Obama stopped on Sunday during a Florida bus swing. He also runs a foundation that helps collect blood for the ill; he has received White House commendations for his work.
As he entered, Obama admired Van Duzer's biceps, saying "Look at these guns!"
Said Obama: "The guy's just got a big heart, along with big pecs."
Of his embrace, Van Duzer said: "I was overwhelmed when I saw him."
He said Obama had his vote.

Out and Out Treason!


The truth be told


Paul Ryan thinks America is in decline, wants to close Romney's tax loopholes

Two things.

1. I think it's fascinating that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan think America is no longer great, but rather, is a country in decline.
During a campaign event yesterday in Kissimeee, Fla., Obama rejected the repugican assertions that America is in decline.

"Now, I don't know whether they're saying that just because they want to win some votes, or because they actually believe it," Obama said, before touting American workers, entrepreneurs, scientists and educators "But either way, they're wrong."
2. I'm also fascinated that Paul Ryan is complaining about rich people who shelter income via tax loopholes when his running mate, Mitt Romney, is rumored to not have paid taxes for ten years, because of such loopholes. Yet Romney won't release his tax returns, like every other presidential candidate has done for decades, including Romney's father.
While Ryan stressed that the repugican presidential ticket would close loopholes used by high-income earners, he declined to specify which would be closed to make the tax system fairer.
"Now the question is, not necessarily what loopholes go, but who gets them. High-income earners use most of the loopholes. That means they can shelter their income from taxation," Ryan said on ABC.

"But if you take those loopholes, those tax shelters away from high income earners ... that allows us to lower tax rates on everybody," Ryan said.
And of course, Ryan can't say which tax loopholes they'd plug, because Romney/Ryan have zero details about what they actually plan to do. They simply have no ideas.

Congress returns for short pre-election session

By Andrew Taylor
 
FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2011 fie photo the U.S. Capitol building is seen in Washington. Fresh off a five-week vacation, lawmakers return to Washington on Monday, Sept. 10, 2012, for a brief pre-election session in which Congress will do what it often does best: punt its problems to the future. At issue is a six-month temporary spending bill to finance the day-to-day operations of the federal government.
 
At issue is a six-month temporary spending bill to finance the day-to-day operations of the federal government.  

Fresh off a five-week vacation, lawmakers return to Washington on today for a truncated pre-election session in which Congress will do what it often does best: punt problems to the future.
They face a slew of deadlines and the prospect of a debilitating "fiscal cliff" in January, yet are expected to take a pass on the big issues of taxes and spending cuts. Their focus seems to be on the bare minimum, preventing a government shutdown when the budget year ends Sept. 30.
Democrats controlling the Senate and their House repugican rivals also will also try to set up votes intended to score political points or paint the other side with an unflattering brush two months before the election. Their efforts are sure to be overshadowed by the presidential campaign.
More

Did you know ...

There is a vast right wing conspiracy of stupidity

About atheism plus: the new atheists

The 10 things the repugican platform hates about you

A look at 81 parodies of the Sgt. Pepper album cover

Woman Finds Original Renoir at a Flea Market


It could be worth as much as $100,000, but the 5.5-inch-by-9-inch Renoir painting purchased at a flea market cost less than $50 and came with a Paul Bunyan doll. The buyer liked the look of the frame and took it to an auction house to have it assessed. And that's when art experts realized that the tiny little oil could be Renoir's Paysage Bords de Seine, which has been missing since sometime after 1925. There's little doubt that the work is a forgery. "You just see it and you know it’s right," said one art expert working at the Virgian auction house. More

The increasingly desperate quest to find photos to illustrate news stories about Eurozone crisis

In Der Spiegel, Friederike Ott polls Europe's photographers on their increasingly desperate quest to find compelling images to use in illustrating stories about the Eurozone crisis. Taking pictures of distressed Euro coins isn't cutting it anymore.
"It is difficult to keep finding a new approach," he says. "I'm glad the euro coins have different designs in each country. That makes it possible to vary things at least a bit."
Lighting effects can help. "A euro coin that is half in shadow immediately looks far more dramatic," he says. When Spain and Italy came under pressure in financial markets a few weeks ago, Stratenschulte lit sparklers and placed them behind two euro coins standing on their edges. The head of King Juan Carlos and the Leonarda da Vinci's Vitruvian Man stood in a sea of sparks.
Update: In the comments, Sagodjur nails it:
To paraphrase Orwell:
"If you want an illustrative photograph of the European debt crisis, stage a scene involving a one-percenter's Testoni dress shoe stamping on an impoverished human's face - forever."
The Absurd Quest for Euro Crisis Images

HMS Ark Royal to be sold for scrap

HMS Ark Royal saw action during the Bosnian War in 1993 before being sent to lead the British fleet during the invasion of Iraq a decade later Former Navy flagship HMS Ark Royal will be sold on as scrap metal for A 3 million as part of a move that the Ministry of Defence has described as "difficult but necessary". An announcement in Parliament is ...

Daredevil Yves 'Jetman' Rossy flies with jetpack alongside Spitfire

Swiss daredevil Yves 'Jetman' Rossy has once again taken to the skies to fly his winged jetpack, this time flying in formation with a vintage Spitfire.

Daily Comic Relief


Discount airline CEO calls customer "stupid" for not printing ticket

Keeping in mind that Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary is known for making noise (including when he talked about including blowjobs on their planned long-haul flights) but he's also been on the leading edge with many airline trends such as add-on fees. When you fly Ryanair, if you fail to print out your ticket at home, they slap on extra charges which are not insignificant.
The day when the big airlines do the same may be coming, so the story is very relevant to those who travel a lot. I completely stopped printing my own tickets after it took me days to make a simple change. Because I had already printed my ticket at home (rather than via a kiosk at the airport) it was a long, painful process to make what should have been an easy change to my ticket. Once that ticket is printed at home, it presents problems for the airline (and security) since in theory, it should get you through the initial entry at the airport.

Most of the airline industry still hasn't figured out how to make money so the day of charging to print tickets at the airport may not be too far off. As long as the political class lets them get away with it, the industry will continue nickle-and-diming customers, because they can.
The Ryanair chief executive recently admonished passengers, who fail to print boarding passes before arriving at the airport.

The issue came to a head after a mother of two — Suzy McLeod — paid about $380 at the airport in August so her family could get the paperwork to fly home to Britain from Spain. Upset about the fee, she vented on Facebook and received hundreds of thousands of "likes," according to an NBCNEWS.com report.

O'Leary responded. "We think Mrs. McLeod should pay 60 euros for being so stupid," he told The Telegraph. (McLeod was charged 60 euros each for five boarding passes, or about 300 euros total.)

Kentucky man accused of killing lawman who arrested him

Authorities are investigating whether a long-running grudge led to the shooting death of an 82-year-old retired lawman.

They had crossed paths before: the career lawman and the man known around their small Kentucky town for having a mean streak.

Now authorities are investigating whether a slow-burning desire for revenge that began with an arrest a decade ago was behind last month's death of Herbert Proffitt, 82, who was gunned down in his driveway while he went to fetch the mail.
Charles Hammer, 81, is accused of killing the former police chief and sheriff, who arrested him in 2002 on charges of harassment, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
More

Assaulted Indian female police officer lodges complaint

Pramila Padhi, a female constable from Bhubaneswar City Police who was beaten up during a clash between police and Congress workers at Mahatma Gandhi Marg on Thursday, lodged a police complaint on Friday alleging that a mob molested her and misbehaved with her during the rally. Padhi is admitted to a private city hospital with fractures and injuries. Police said basing on Padhi's complaint, a case had been registered at Capital police station under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt), 333 (causing grievous hurt), 336 (endangering lives of others), 337 (causing hurt), 353 (assault), 354 (outraging modesty), 431 (mischief by injury), 437 (mischief to destroy), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and section 3 and 4 of Prevention of Destruction of Public Property (PDPP) Act.


Recollecting Thursday's horrible experience, 39-year-old Padhi said, "I was left alone amidst the mob when about 30 men dragged and pushed me. They started misbehaving with me and hit me on my private parts. They kicked me and slapped me. I looked for help but could not find any cop around. Then I tried to run away, but they followed me with sticks and bamboos." Padhi's husband Girdhari Panda said, "Doctors say she is out of danger but her injuries will take about a month to heal."


Asked whether the tortured female officer was molested by the mob, ACP (zone-1) Nihar Das said, "The way she, along with some other woman police personnel was pushed and nudged, amounts to outraging modesty (section 354 of IPC). We have lodged cases accordingly." Meanwhile, chairperson of the State Commission for Women (SCW) Jyoti Panigrahi took suo motto cognizance of the incident and visited Padhi in the hospital. "We have started a probe into the mater. The manner in which the woman police person was heckled when she was doing her duty and assaulted is really condemnable. We would suggest strict action against those who are directly and indirectly responsible for misbehaving the woman," Panigrahi said, adding she would submit a report to the government on the matter soon.



"Police should have sent male police personnel to face the mob," Congress whip Prasad Harichandan said, while regretting the attack on Padhi. AICC general secretary Jagdish Tytler, too, condemned the attack on Padhi, but said: "It was Congress workers, not policemen, who rescued the woman constable." Police officers said they deployed female cops as a large number of Women political workers also participated in the rally. President, Biju Mahila Janata Dal, Pramila Mallik, in turn, accused Congress men of molesting Padhi. "It is highly condemnable. If they had come for a peaceful protest, why did they indulge in such vandalism? Most of them were drunk. We demand stringent action against the culprits," said the Binjharpur MLA.

Man accused of shooting golfer who accidentally broke his window

A golfer was shot on a course in Nevada after he shanked a ball into a man's house and broke a window. Jeff Fleming, 53, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and battery with a deadly weapon for spraying two golfers with a shotgun after one of them accidentally hit his house on Thursday.

Fleming lives near the 16th hole of Lakeridge Golf course in southwest Reno, police said. He came charging out of his house at around 3:30 p.m. after a stray ball broke through his window, authorities said. After arguing with the two golfers, the angry resident fired the weapon, grazing one in the leg and the arm, police said.


The 33-year-old was taken to a local hospital and later released. His injuries weren't life threatening. The golfers weren’t identified. Fleming fled his house after the shooting but was later arrested at his lawyer's office.

The golf course stayed open after the shooting, though the 16th hole was shut down. Golfers said Fleming's reaction was way out of bounds. "I think buying a house on the course you got to be prepared for golf balls to come into your property," said golfer Dan Dooley.

There's a news video here.

Modern Freaks

Fort Detrick Receives US Grants For Brain Research

Fort Detrick is receiving $100 million in federal grants to fund research into post-traumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injury.

Nine pregnancy myths busted

Do you really have to give up caffeine and stop working out? Find out what's fact and fiction when it comes to what you can and can't do during pregnancy.

Ten fatty foods that can actually be healthy

We've heard it before -- fatty foods are bad; they'll make a person fat and cause heart disease. But research is finding that this is not entirely true. accident lawyer in Philadelpia . Since the inception of the low-fat diet craze in the 1980's, obesity, diabetes and heart disease statistics have shown that the low-fat diet trend has not been entirely helpful, leading researchers to look more closely at dietary fats.
 More

Did you know: Carrots Used To Be Purple Before The 17th Century

Before the 17th century, almost all carrots cultivated were purple. The modern day orange carrot wasn't cultivated until Dutch growers in the 16th century took strains of the purple carrot, including yellow and white carrots and gradually developed them into the sweet, plump, orange variety we have today.

Some think that the reason the orange carrot became so popular in the Netherlands was in tribute to the emblem of the House of Orange and the struggle for Dutch independence. This could be, but it also might just be that the orange carrots that the Dutch developed were sweeter tasting and more fleshy than their purple counterparts, thus providing more food per plant and being better tasting.

Beer festival organizers oppose sale of fake cocaine

Beer festival bosses are opposed to the sale of fake cocaine by barmaids in low cut traditional dresses at this year's Oktoberfest in Germany.


Businessman Wolfgang Stanek says he invented 'Wiesnkoks' - or festival cocaine - specially for the event in Munich, which opens later this month. The sealed £5 sachets contain nothing stronger than sugar and menthol, which Stanek claims give a natural high when punters snort it through a supplied straw.

He'd planned to sell the concoction to festival goers using busty models dressed in traditional dirndl dresses with tightly laced corsets. But organizers want to ban the product, claiming it would distract from their beer and cause problems for stewards and police looking for real drug users.


"We don't want cocaine, nor do we want a sugar mixture which looks like cocaine. We just want guests to enjoy our beer nothing else," said a spokesman. Stanek said: "We are anti drugs. Our mixture just gives drunks a little shake to wake them up."

Awesome Pictures


Hiking Mount Rainier’s sunny side

The mountain’s best weather is on the east side, where hikers find Glacier Basin Trail 
By Tan Vinh
 
 It was cloudy and drizzling on other parts of Mount Rainier, but the world was all sunscreen and sunglasses from where I stood, on the east face of the mountain. Hikers were smearing sunscreen, some sporting shorts. I was squinting.
A minute after pulling into the parking lot at the White River Campground, I discovered the first of many high points of hiking the nearby Glacier Basin Trail. The weather doesn’t get any better around Mount Rainier than on the east side. Clouds come in from the west, break around the mountain and head north and south, which explains why visitors were getting clouds and fog at Paradise while campers here were dressed like they were vacationing in Mexico.
Things were off to a good start.
I was here to check out a trail that took about four summers to rebuild after the flood of 2006. After Paradise, the Glacier Basin Trail is the second-most popular starting point for Rainier climbers.
My goal was less ambitious. I had out-of-town guests with children who wanted to see Mount Rainier up close and hike around the park. Glacier Basin Trail made sense. I checked the topography. It’s an easy hike. You won’t find another trail around Mount Rainier National Park that’s this long (7 miles round-trip) with only 1,280 feet of elevation gain.
It’s a good trail around which to build a family-friendly Mount Rainier itinerary. All within about a 25-minute drive, you can hit Sunrise, the park’s highest point reachable by car; check out scenic Chinook Pass, with memorable views of the iconic mountain to the west; or visit the Tolkien-like landscape of the Grove of the Patriarchs, filled with ancient hemlocks, Western red cedars and Douglas firs. For an overnight, you can car-camp near the Glacier Basin trailhead in one of 112 campsites.
And the sunny weather. The wildflowers bloom and the snow melts here earlier than the other side of the mountain.
On my hike, my guide was Alan Mortimer, of Washington Trails Association, who helped lead an army of volunteers to work on this trail’s reconstruction.
The old trail paralleled the Inter Fork of the roaring White River, affording a close-up view of the water. But it was too close apparently, since part of the trail washed out.
We headed up the valley on the new trail. You can still see the water through the hemlocks and cedars.
Tons of boulders were blasted and dozens of cedar were sawed to make way for this trail, a Herculean task for hundreds of volunteers and workers using pulleys and harnesses.
Bridges were built, and the blasted rocks were used to build walls and lay the foundation for the trail. “A 2,000-pound rock took us two days to remove,” said Mortimer, strolling along the dirt path.
The work was done in the first 1.5 miles, where the trail either needed to be rerouted out of the flood plain or just needed sprucing up.
“The (new) trail is easier for families to use. It’s a pretty steady-grade trail. Nice and wide, not a lot of obstacles … nice for families to walk side by side,” Mortimer said. On level of difficulty, several Mount Rainier hiking veterans rate this an “easy” hike, less rocky than the old trail.
A mile in, the trail gives hikers the option of steering left over two bridges to Emmons Moraine Trail, to view what park rangers bill as “the largest glacier in the 48 contiguous United States.”
We stuck to our route, and a couple hundred yards up, were rewarded with a better view: snowcapped Mount Ruth and Little Tahoma Peak rising over the Emmons Glacier on a clear, sunny day.
When we started, the dense evergreen forest sandwiched our walkway. But more than a mile in, short willows rimmed the path. The sun penetrated through, reminding us we were on the dry side of Mount Rainier. It was as if someone had turned on a light switch.
We continued hiking, zigzagging up. The temperature felt 10 degrees cooler as we climbed under a canopy of firs and cedars.
Hikers have more options. You can take the trail all the way to Glacier Basin and circle back for a good 7-mile hike. Those looking for a more strenuous workout can follow the Burroughs Mountain Trail sign and hike up to the south side of Sunrise.
You’ll see rusty scrap iron along the way, a remnant of this trail’s mining past. Around the start of the 20th century, investors were convinced copper and silver ore here would make them rich. Tunnels were dug. Power plants and aerial tramways were erected. Even a hotel was built. But the ore turned out to be worthless.
It explains how the park was blessed with such a family-friendly hiking trail. Miners needed a route wide enough for trucks but not too steep.

Random Photo

Nicaragua evacuates 3,000 as volcano spews ash


Residents reported hearing three powerful explosions in the volcano as the cloud began billowing skyward and ash drifted over nearby villages.
  More

Krubera Cave

The deepest known cave on Earth is currently the Krubera Cave, (sometimes known as the Voronya Cave.) The cave is located in the Arabika Massif of the Gagrinsky Range in the country of Georgia. Kubera cave acquired the title of ‘deepest cave’ in 2001 when Ukrainian explorers were able to reach a depth of 1710 meters. The main branch reaches a depth of roughly 2191 meters. There is a
second branch that could possibly reach deeper than this; however a subterranean waterfall 1500 meters down floods this branch system with freezing water.
The Arabika Massif is one of the more outstanding limestone massifs in the world. With karst topography, the potential for deep cave structures and groundwater circulation is great. Krubera Cave is located at 2256 meters above sea level in the mountainous region. So while the cave is nowhere close to being a ‘deepest’ point on the planet, (its lowest known point technically not even below sea level), it is still the deepest point underground that has been explored.
Throughout the past 10 years, the exploration of Krubera Cave has increased greatly. In 2004 the “Call of the Abyss” project pushed to the ‘Game Over’ point at 2080 meters below the surface. This was the first time humans had reached a point below the 2000 meter line. The depth of the cave was then extended further past the Kvitochka point discovering a new branch in July 2005. This branch was further explored until 2007 when a dive down ‘Blue Lake’ measured it at 2191 meters.
Multiple new endemic fauna has been discovered within the cave, including spiders, scorpions, beetles, as well as shrimps and amphipods. Some of these species have been seen at all levels of the cave.

Astronaut Touching the Sun

For all of you who've held up the Leaning Tower of Pisa in clever forced-perspective photos, take a look at this photo and weep:
NASA spacewalker Sunita Williams looks as if she's reaching out to touch the sun in this picture, which is one of the coolest views ever sent down from the International Space Station. Of course, the sun is actually about 93 million miles behind her. This is one of those joke pictures like the ones that show someone plucking up the Eiffel Tower — only it was taken in outer space.
In addition to the Suni vs. sun angle, this picture is special because the photographer is mirrored in Williams' shiny helmet visor. If you look closely at the full-resolution image, you can catch sight of Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide holding up the Nikon D2Xs camera that took the picture, with one of the space station's solar arrays behind him. The setting reminds me of Neil Armstrong's famous Apollo 11 picture of Buzz Aldrin, which similarly shows the photographer's reflection.
More

Why All Hurricanes Look The Same From Space

Every satellite photo of a hurricane looks a lot like the last one. The striking similarity has to do with how hurricanes form. Hurricanes are a type of tropical cyclone, a rotating system of thunderstorms and heavy winds. They form over warm ocean water near the equator.

When warm, moist air rises, it creates a low-pressure area in its place, which sucks in more warm air from nearby. The moist air cools as it ascends, condensing to form clouds. The warm air keeps cycling upward like a giant chimney, coiling the clouds into a swirling mega-storm.

The Lion Tickler

Dog died while trying to save suicidal, drunken owner from train

A dog was run over by a train moments after it managed to pull its drunken suicidal owner off railway tracks in the city of Karaganda in Kazakhstan.

The 48-year-old owner, who later said he wanted to commit suicide, drank a bottle of vodka and fell asleep on railway tracks on Thursday.


“Upon seeing the train, the dog started pulling its owner away. When train drivers saw the dog on the rail tracks, they used the emergency brake,” said Aida Muldasheva, an investigator with the local transport police department.

The dog managed to rescue the owner, but the train ran over its hind paws. The animal died instantly. The drunken man regained consciousness in the hospital. He was diagnosed with two fractured ribs and a shoulder injury.

Search and Rescue Cockroach Cyborg

You may say "yuck" today, but if you are ever unfortunate enough to be trapped inside the rubble of an earthquake-damaged building, you'd be glad to see this cockroach search and rescue cyborg!
Alper Bozkurt of the North Carolina State University worked up a way to remotely control cockroaches:
Their remote control system consists of two parts: antennae stimulators and another on their rear end.
Cockroaches use their antennae to feel their way around the environment. “What we do is we insert tiny electrodes to the antennae and we send low-power pulses [to them],” Bozkurt said.
The pulse simulates the antenna feeling an obstacle, such as a wall, causing the cockroach to turn the other direction. Buzz the left antenna, the cockroach turns right; buzz the right one, the bug turns left.
Spurring the cockroaches to scurry forward comes via a sensor on their rear end called cerci “which senses if there is a predator trying to reach from behind. When they feel something, they just go in the forward direction to run away from the predator,” Bozkurt explained.
“So, we use that to make the insect go forward and antenna electrodes to make it go left and right.”
John Roach (really) has the story over at Future of Tech: Here.

Runaway horse in railway line drama

A horse narrowly avoided an oncoming train after wandering on to a railway line. The horse got on to the tracks from a nearby field at Castleton station in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

A signalman frantically pulled on warning signs as a train was about to pass through the station at 60mph. The train managed to make an emergency stop.


An eyewitness said the horse then calmly trotted back to its field. He said: “The horse just appeared out of nowhere just as the train was due. The train almost ploughed straight into it. It was a close call.

“It was certainly quick action by the signalman that prevented what would have been an awful mess.” A Network Rail spokesman said the incident had caused a delay of around 20 minutes to services.

Hermit Crab Migration


Millions of hermit crabs were observed on the move, carrying their homes on their backs at Nanny Point in the Virgin Islands. The music makes their trip seem like an epic quest! Where are they going? What do they hope to find there? I had no idea, so I looked around and found an article that explained:
Take the hermit crabs in the Virgin Islands. The adults are terrestrial, but the larvae develop in the sea. The adults must migrate to the waters edge in order to reproduce and release their eggs into the water.

Smarter Than the Average Bear?

A 300-pound black bear wandered down suburban streets, played on a high school football field and crossed the freeway three times before he was caught and tranquilized on Sunday.
By Sharon Bernstein
Smarter Than the Average Bear?
A three-year-old black bear that had been wandering through La Crescenta on Sunday morning has been tranquilized and is being transported back to the Angeles National Forest, officials said.
The bear was first spotted on Henrietta Ave. in La Crescenta at about 7:20 a.m. Sunday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lt. Angela Shepherd said.
It wandered on to the Crescenta Valley High School football field, crossed the 210 freeway three times and then went south into the community of Montrose, where officials of the California Department of Fish and Game caught up with the animal and tranquilized it, Shepherd said.
The bear caused no injuries or property damage, she said. Like other bears during this hot, dry summer, it probably came out of the forest to look for food, Shepherd said.
Officials have not yet said whether the bear is male or female. It will be tagged so it will be recognizeable if it comes back down from the forest again.
Another bear, dubbed "Meatball" by some and "Glenbearian" by others, has been taken to an animal sanctuary because it repeatedly came down into suburban neighborhoods.

Seal twice rescued from busy road‎

A young fur seal, that was ushered into the water after taking over Melbourne's busiest beachside strip, has been taken to Melbourne Zoo after a second dramatic road crossing. In the first hour-long rescue, police and Wildlife Victoria were able to coax the agitated Australian fur seal back into Port Phillip Bay, after it dangerously camped on Beaconsfield Pde, Middle Park at about 7am yesterday.


Police were forced to sporadically stop traffic on the busy six-lane road and hold back pedestrians and cyclists as it waddled itself from the beach side of the road - stopping to sunbathe on the asphalt and middle median strip before lying in the gutter in front of houses. It lunged and snapped at police when they tried to approach it, with one policewoman needing her arm bandaged after falling as she tried to keep clear of the aggressive pup.

South Melbourne acting Sgt Nitsa Tsilfidis and Wildlife Victoria volunteer rescuer Amy Amato held a sheepskin blanket as a shield and successfully guided the seal back to the beach. The seal was initially reluctant to jump the stone wall separating the footpath from the beach, but 10 minutes later it launched itself onto the sand before waddling into the water. But about two hours later, the seal again jumped the stone wall and made a second attempt to cross the road.


Police and wildlife rescuers were joined by Melbourne Zoo's marine mammal team about 11.30am, using nets to catch the pup for it to be taken to the zoo for a health check. Senior keeper Adrian Howard said the pup was at the age where it would start to play and practice swimming away from its family. "It's about a year old and they start to get independent at this age, so we deal with this a bit at this time of year,'' he said. "It might have been its first time away from its mum, struggled in these rough seas and wanted a break.'' Mr Howard said if the animal was healthy it would be returned to the bay in the next couple of days.

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