Army mom recalled to duty will be discharged

The North Carolina mother who reported for Army duty with her two young children will be discharged from the military, her attorney said Monday. Attorney Mark Waple of Fayetteville said it wasn't yet clear if Lisa Pagan would receive an honorable discharge or ageneral discharge under honorable conditions. It also wasn't certain when she would be discharged.

Read the rest here.

Teen caught carrying more than 20 bags of marijuana

Authorities say a Dover Street teen was carrying more than 20 bags of marijuana when he was arrested Sunday afternoon.

Jimmy Dean Robbs Jr., 19, was charged with possession with intent to sell or distribute marijuana, resisting arrest and littering, according to a report by Shelby, North Carolina Police Officer M.C. Bridges.

Police seized 11 small bags and 15 large bags of marijuana during the arrest.

Feather Bluster

Foghorn Leghorn from 1958

Raul Castro ousts top Cubans loyal to Fidel Castro

So much for the love between brothers ...

President Raul Castro abruptly ousted some of Cuba's most powerful officials Monday, remaking the government in the biggest shakeup since he took over from his ailing brother Fidel Castro a year ago. The changes replaced some key Fidel loyalists, including the longtime foreign minister, with men closer to Raul. They also reduced the enormous powers of a vice president credited with saving Cuba's economy after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Read the rest here.

Liars and Fools

Today's Liars and Fools include:

repugican chairman apologizes for Dimbulb remarks

BofA's Lewis: bailout request a 'tactical mistake'

Oldest Fossil Brain Find Is 'Really Bizarre'

From LiveScience:

Reconstruction of large iniopterygian Sibyrhynchus denisoni. Paleontologists uncovered a 300-million-year-old fossilized brain from one of these specimens. Credit: P. Janvier

Image from movie showing 3-D, side-on view of skull of 300-million-year-old fish. Paleontologists found a fossilized brain within this specimen. Credit: Alan Pradel

Image for a movie showing the 3-D, side-on view of the fossilized brain found in a 300-million-year-old fish. Credit: Alan Pradel

Most fossil specimens can only wish they had a brain. But paleontologists recently discovered the oldest known example nestled within a 300-million-year-old fish fossil from Kansas.

The rare find provides an unusually detailed view of brain structure in prehistoric life. It similarly sheds light on the extinct relatives of modern ratfishes, also known as "ghost sharks" or chimaeras.

"Soft tissue has fossilized in the past, but it is usually muscle and organs like kidneys because of phosphate bacteria from the gut that permeates into tissue and preserves its features," said John Maisey, paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. "Fossilized brains are unusual, and this is by far the oldest known example."

These chimaera relatives, called iniopterygians, represented bizarre beasts that sported massive skulls with huge eye sockets, shark-like teeth in rows, tails with clubs, huge pectoral fins that were almost placed on their backs, and bone-like spikes or hooks tipping the fins. They typically averaged 6 inches in length.

The remarkably preserved fossil brain shows details such as a large vision lobe and optic nerve stretching to the proper place on the braincase, which fits with the fish's large eye sockets. But unlike typical ear canals that have three big loops to regulate orientation and balance, the ear canals of the extinct fish only exist on a horizontal plane. That meant the fish could detect only side to side movements, and not up or down.

"There is nothing like this known today; it is really bizarre,” Maisey said. "But now that we know that brains might be preserved in such ancient fossils, we can start looking for others. We are limited in information about early vertebrate brains, and the evolution of the brain lies at the core of vertebrate history."

The fossilized brain shows little connection with the shape of the braincase, which may force researchers to rethink earlier assumptions about the missing brains of previous specimens. The team will next look for possible brains of spiny rayed fish found in the same fossil beds from Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

"For a long time, paleontologists have used the shape of the cranial cavity to research the general morphology of the brain—because soft tissue was not available until today," said Alan Pradel, a paleontologist at the Museum of Natural History in Paris.

Researchers used CAT scans and an X-ray synchrotron in France to examine several other braincases, which represent the first 3-D fossils from this group of extinct fishes. The full discovery is detailed in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

*****

Things like this make Science fun!

Where Do I Begin?

Andy Williams singing the theme from the film Love Story.

Pink dolphin appears in Lake Calcasieu

The world's only pink Bottlenose dolphin which was discovered in an inland lake in Louisiana, has become such an attraction that conservationists have warned tourists to leave it alone.

'Pinky' the rare albino dolphin has been spotted in Lake Calcasieu in Louisiana.

Charter boat captain Erik Rue, 42, photographed the animal, which is actually an albino, when he began studying it after the mammal first surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in southwestern USA.

Capt Rue originally saw the dolphin, which also has reddish eyes, swimming with a pod of four other dolphins, with one appearing to be its mother which never left its side.

He said: "I just happened to see a little pod of dolphins, and I noticed one that was a little lighter.

"It was absolutely stunningly pink.

"I had never seen anything like it. It's the same color throughout the whole body and it looks like it just came out of a paint booth.

"The dolphin appears to be healthy and normal other than its coloration, which is quite beautiful and stunningly pink.

"The mammal is entirely pink from tip to tail and has reddish eyes indicating it's albinism. The skin appears smooth, glossy pink and without flaws.

"I have personally spotted the pink dolphin 40 to 50 times in the time since the original sighting as it has apparently taken up residence with its family in the Calcasieu ship channel.

"As time has passed the young mammal has grown and sometimes ventures away from its mother to feed and play but always remains in the vicinity of the pod.

"Surprisingly, it does not appear to be drastically affected by the environment or sunlight as might be expected considering its condition, although it tends to remain below the surface a little more than the others in the pod."

Regina Asmutis-Silvia, senior biologist with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: "I have never seen a dolphin colored in this way in all my career.

"It is a truly beautiful dolphin but people should be careful, as with any dolphins, to respect it - observe from a distance, limit their time watching, don't chase or harass it

"While this animal looks pink, it is an albino which you can notice in the pink eyes.

"Albinism is a genetic trait and it unclear as to the type of albinism this animal inherited."

A close relation of dolphins, the Amazon River Botos, called pink dolphins, live in South America in the Amazon.

Hare Force

Bugs Bunny from 1944

Science News

Today's Science News finds:

Gutsy bloodworms pump out laughing gas

Tunguska-sized space rock buzzes Earth

Fish numbers outpace human population

Biggest sand dunes set to grow as Earth warms

Real Time

Bill Maher's Opening Monologue for February 27th, 2009

New Rules

Real Time with Bill Maher

The 30 Best Careers for 2009

According to U.S. News and World Report:

* Audiologist
* Biomedical equipment technician
* Clergy
* Curriculum/training specialist
* Engineer
* Firefighter
* Fundraiser
* Genetic counselor
* Ghostwriter
* Government manager
* Hairstylist/Cosmetologist
* Health policy specialist
* Higher education administrator
* Landscape architect
* Librarian
* Locksmith/Security system technician
* Management consultant
* Mediator
* Occupational therapist
* Optometrist
* Pharmacist
* Physical therapist
* Physician assistant
* Politician/Elected official
* Registered nurse
* School psychologist
* Systems analyst
* Urban planner
* Usability/User experience specialist
* Veterinarian

Full Story in U.S. News and Report

Top ten cities for job growth in 2009

According to Forbes that is:

Madison, Wisconsin
Washington, D.C.
Boston, Massachusetts
Richmond, Virginia
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Baltimore, Maryland
Seattle, Washington
Houston, Texas
Dallas, Texas

Full Story in Forbes

New Devices Aid Deaf People By Translating Sound Waves To Vibrations

This could be a huge help to some with hearing difficulties:

Lip reading is a critical means of communication for many deaf people, but it has a drawback: Certain consonants (for example, p and b) can be nearly impossible to distinguish by sight alone.

Tactile devices, which translate sound waves into vibrations that can be felt by the skin, can help overcome that obstacle by conveying nuances of speech that can’t be gleaned from lip reading.

Researchers in MIT’s Sensory Communication Group are working on a new generation of such devices, which could be an important tool for deaf people who rely on lip reading and can’t use or can’t afford cochlear implants. The cost of the device and the surgery make cochlear implants prohibitive for many people, especially in developing countries.

“Most deaf people will not have access to that technology in our lifetime,” said Ted Moallem, a graduate student working on the project. “Tactile devices can be several orders of magnitude cheaper than cochlear implants.”

Full Story in Science Daily

Unhappiest Cities in America

Here is a listing of the twenty unhappiest city in America:

Portland, Oregon
St. Louis, Missouri
New Orleans, Louisiana
Detroit, Michigan
Cleveland, Ohio
Jacksonville, Florida
Las Vegas, Nevada
Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee
Cincinnati, Ohio
Atlanta, Georgia
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Sacramento, California
Kansas City, Missouri
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Memphis, Tennessee
Indianapolis city, Ind.
Louisville, Kentucky
Tucson, Arizona
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Seattle, Washinton

Full Story in Business Week

The secrets of OJ

"Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice" is a forthcoming secret history of the orange nectar. For example, I didn't know that OJ's popularity was seeded by its use as a Vitamin C delivery system for World War II troops. Or that the whole Florida imagery surrounding the drink is mostly a myth these days and that the majority of it comes from Brazil.
The Boston Globe interviewed the author, Alissa Hamilton (photo by Bart Nagel):

What isn't straightforward about orange juice?

HAMILTON: It's a heavily processed product. It's heavily engineered as well. In the process of pasteurizing, juice is heated and stripped of oxygen, a process called deaeration, so it doesn't oxidize. Then it's put in huge storage tanks where it can be kept for upwards of a year. It gets stripped of flavor-providing chemicals, which are volatile. When it's ready for packaging, companies such as Tropicana hire flavor companies such as Firmenich to engineer flavor packs to make it taste fresh. People think not-from-concentrate is a fresher product, but it also sits in storage for quite a long time...

So parse the carton for us. For example, what is the phrase "not from concentrate" really about?

HAMILTON: In the '80s, Tropicana had a hold on ready-to-serve orange juice with full-strength juice. Then this new product, reconstituted orange juice, started appearing in supermarkets. Tropicana had to make decisions. Storing concentrate is much cheaper than full-strength juice. The phrase "not from concentrate" was to try to make consumers pay more for the product because it's a more expensive product to manufacture. It didn't have to do with the product being fresher; the product didn't change, the name simply changed. Tropicana didn't want to have to switch to concentrate technology.

Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice.

Teen girl beaten by sheriff's deputy

I wonder why ...

For some reason, the King County Sheriff's department tried to block the release of this video showing Officer Friendly beating up a 15-year-old girl.

"We had argued strenuously that the videotape released to the media this morning not be released because it does not tell the whole story of the incident," attorney Anne Bremner said in a statement.

"As we argued to the judge, it will inflame public opinion and will severely impact the deputy's right to a fair trial."

The video shows Schene and Brunner as they escorted the girl into the holding cell. Schene had asked her to remove her basketball shoes, and, as she slipped out of her left shoe, she appeared to kick it at Schene.

Schene then lunged through the door and kicked her, striking either her stomach or upper thigh area, court documents say. He pushed her against a corner wall before flinging her to the floor by her hair. He then squatted down on her and made "two overhead strikes," although it's unclear where the blows landed.

Beating caught on police video: Tape shows officer kicking, striking teenager.

Of course they don't want a tape of them committing a crime to be made public!

Idiot stuffs cat into bong

An Omaha, Nebraska gentleman has been cited on suspicion of animal cruelty and other charges after police discovered he had put a cat inside this homemade bong. According to the humane society, the cat appears to be OK but will be tested for lung damage.

Off the news wire:

The (20-year-old) man told sheriff's deputies the 6-month-old female named Shadow had been hyper and that he was trying to calm her down...

Deputies discovered the cat trapped in the device after responding to a domestic disturbance call at a residence the suspect shares with his grandfather, Sgt. Andy Stebbing said.

Deputies resolved the dispute and left the house, but they returned minutes later after discovering there was an arrest warrant on the suspect for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Upon re-entering the house, Stebbing said, deputies saw the suspect smoking marijuana through a piece of garden hose attached to the duct-taped, plastic glass box, in which the cat had been stuffed.

"Nebraska deputies say man stuffed cat inside 'bong'".

I hope he gets 'stuffed' in a 'bong' of his own for this ... and I am no lover of cats!

Speaking of the juice

Even if you got Juice, when you ain't got juice, you got no juice.
Last evening's heavy snowfall knocked out the electricity so it has been a long day and a little on the chilly side away from the fireplace, as well.

And I Quote

History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.

~ Mark Twain

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Bergamo, Lombardia, Italy
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Milano, Lombardia, Italy
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
New Dehli, Dehli, India
London, England, United Kingdom
Copenhagen, Kobenhaven, Denmark
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Stouffville, Ontario, Canada
Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium
Davo, Davo City, Philippines

as well as Poland and Israel.

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

You know how to set your own parameters and come up with something extraordinary, and that kind of creativity does not come along very often.

Cool Beans!