CAROLINA NATURALLY: May 30, 2015

Saturday, May 30, 2015

The Daily Drift

Editor's Note: We will be lecturing at a seminar on Tuesday June 2nd, so we will be taking what other's have termed a 'Blogcation' for that day with no posts for the day but will return to our regular posting on Wednesday June 3rd.

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Today in History

1416 Jerome of Prague is burned as a heretic by the Cult.
1431 Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by the English.
1527 The University of Marburg is founded in Germany.
1539 Hernando de Soto lands in Florida with 600 soldiers in search of gold.
1783 The first American daily newspaper, The Pennsylvania Evening Post, begins publishing in Philadelphia.
1814 The First Treaty of Paris is declared, returning France to its 1792 borders.
1848 William Young patents the ice cream freezer.
1854 The Kansas-Nebraska Act repeals the Missouri Compromise.
1859 The Piedmontese army crosses the Sesia River and defeats the Austrians at Palestro.
1862 Union General Henry Halleck enters Corinth, Mississippi.
1868 Memorial Day begins when two women place flowers on both Confederate and Union graves.
1889 The brassiere is invented.
1912 U.S. Marines are sent to Nicaragua to protect American interests.
1913 The First Balkan War ends.
1921 The U.S. Navy transfers the Teapot Dome oil reserves to the Department of the Interior.
1942 The Royal Air Force launches the first 1,000 plane raid over Germany.
1971 NASA launches Mariner 9, the first satellite to orbit Mars

Tearful Scenes As Irish Woman Proposes To Girlfriend Moments After Landslide Vote For Marriage Equality

This is why the compassion of liberalism will always win out against the cruelty of conservatism.

Read more

Artist to have second road named in his honor after the first was spelt wrong

A second road is to be named in honor of a celebrated Suffolk painter after a typing error meant the first one was misspelled. Paul Earee, who died in 1968, is considered by some to be the finest Sudbury artist since Thomas Gainsborough.
The town and district councils agreed to name a road after him, however, it was misspelled as Paul Airey Mews. After residents refused to change their addresses, a new location was agreed.
The original road sign was installed in Paul Airey Mews, a development close to where Earee lived, in July last year. "It took until February for anyone to notice the mistake," Jodie Budd, customer services manager at Sudbury Town Council, said.

"It was a simple typing error in an email we sent to Babergh District Council," she added. The district council is responsible for registering new roads in its area. Gary Starling from the district council confirmed a location has now been identified and agreed by both councils and Earee's family.

Armless man denied disabled parking permit because he can walk

A Swedish man has had his disabled parking permit revoked despite lacking both arms and thus unable to pay for a ticket either via phone or at a meter.

Thomas Johansson's request to renew his disabled parking permit was rejected by Örebro municipality in central Sweden due to the fact that he can walk. Mr Johansson, who lost his arms in an accident in 1989, drives a specially designed car which allows him mobility despite his handicap.
The car is important to his family and now he's considering resigning from his job as a motivator for people with addictions. "I'm so disappointed in society. I have tried to help despite my injury," he says. Mr Johansson appealed the municipality's decision but the decision was backed up by both the county administrative board and the Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen).
Mr Johansson has argued that despite his ability to walk he has trouble carrying heavy items for long distances. A disabled parking permit affords the user free use of designated parking places in Swedish cities which are typically located close to stores and public transport links.

Six cyclists arrested after attacking PedalPubs with water pistols

They arrived armed and on bicycles, planning a “Mad Max”-style attack. Their target were PedalPubs in downtown Minneapolis. Their weapons of choice were water pistols (squirt guns) and water balloons. What they didn’t know was that there were off-duty police officers among the passengers.

Two of the people-powered, 16-seat vehicles were hit on Saturday in the late afternoon, said Lisa Stanplin, manager of Twin Cities PedalPubs. In the first attack, the cyclists rode to the front of the PedalPub and squirted the driver in the face. In the second, cyclists approached on both sides, squirted passengers with water pistols and hit one woman in the back of the head with a water balloon.
A potential third attack was thwarted when PedalPub passengers spotted the cyclists’ approach, jumped off and turned the tables on the cyclists. A video showing the aftermath of the third incident shows abandoned bikes littering the street and what appear to be several cyclists being pinned down on the pavement. One cyclist can be heard yelling, “I don’t even have a water bottle!” A woman can be heard telling the cyclists that it was “a PedalPub full of cops.”

YouTube link.

Indeed, Burnsville Police Chief Eric Gieseke confirmed on Sunday that six of his off-duty officers were on board. Minneapolis police arrested six people, who were booked into the Hennepin County jail and released on Saturday night after each posting $78 bail. The jail log lists fifth-degree assault and disorderly conduct, misdemeanors, as probable-cause charges. All have their first court appearances set for June 4.

Man died while 'fooling around' with bulletproof vest and gun

A man has been arrested in connection to a deadly shooting on Friday night on the American River Bike Trail in Fair Oaks, California. According to the victim's brother, the shooting resulted from the victim and his friends playing around with a bulletproof vest and a gun.

Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies said 21-year-old Elijah Lambert faces a murder charge in the death of 19-year-old Miguel Henry Martinez, who was identified by family members. Martinez's older brother, Tom Cline, said Martinez died in the most senseless way. At around 9:45pm, "Miguel was fooling around with his buddies. They were in possession of a gun and a bulletproof vest," Cline said.
Cline said friends encouraged his brother to put on the vest. The three friends with Martinez assured him that he would not be hurt, Cline said. According to the sheriff's department, Lambert fired the gun. "The kid had shot my brother. The bullet penetrated the top of his vest," said Cline. "My brother was hit. My brother said he couldn't breathe." According to Cline, one person ran for help. Two men carried Martinez up the bike path to meet deputies, but Martinez died.
"My brother did not deserve this death," Cline said. "I want everybody to know Miguel Henry Martinez was a good boy." Cline said he believes his brother might have survived the shooting if someone called for help sooner. He said he doesn't know where the bulletproof vest or gun came from. The sheriff's department would not comment. Lambert is expected to go before a judge on Wednesday to answer to homicide charges.

Horrifying Apple Dump In Washington State Creates Human Health Hazard

Millions and millions of rotting apples, dumped by the state’s agriculture industry, are now creating serious problems for Washington residents and business owners.

What Happens When You Donate Your Body to Science

Oh, the places you'll go!

Earth 2.0

Red Dwarf Stars Probably Not Friendly for Earth 2.0

The stellar runts of the galaxy probably aren't so great for nurturing Earth-like worlds, say scientists running new simulations of the formation of planets around a variety of stars.

Mars' Mysterious Methane Spike

Did Rover Cause Mars' Mysterious Methane Spike?

A burp of methane on Mars would indicate that the planet might be more alive than previously thought. But where did it come from?

The Toll Of A Common Household Pest

The Dramatic Psychological Toll Of A Common Household Pest

Wayward seal coaxed back to estuary after relaxing on man's driveway

A seal on the loose in South Auckland, New Zealand, has been rescued by emergency services. The Papakura seal was herded down to the reserve near the estuary by police and firefighters before being monitored by Department of Conservation staff.

"Hopefully will just jump back in and swim home," an emergency services source said. When Danny Yong woke up on Monday morning and found his house surrounded by police and firefighters - he naturally panicked. "I thought I'd got myself into trouble somehow. Then my flatmates went outside and saw a seal in the driveway," he said.
Unbeknown to Mr Yong, the seal had settled into his driveway and was in no hurry to move. "It was very, very cool. We were trapped in the house for about three hours while police tried to move it," he said. "It was just relaxing, doing nothing in the driveway. It was lying down in front of my door."

YouTube link.

Emergency services staff made a makeshift enclosure out of plywood to stop the seal getting away from them, and eventually managed to coax the mammal to the estuary opposite Mr Yong's home. "It's the first time I've had a seal in my driveway," he said. "It was pretty interesting." Nearby residents had been advised to stay indoors until the seal had been caught.
There are additional videos, filmed by Mr Yong, here, here and here.

Town hopes that fake whale will fix their sea lion problem

A community in Oregon is bringing in some unusual help to fix their sea lion problem. They're hoping a fake killer whale from Bellingham, Washington, will do the trick.

"I don't have any idea in the world if it'll work or even should work. It's just kind of a fun, crazy thing to do," said Terry Buzzard, who runs Island Marine Cruises in Bellingham. He owns a life-size mock orca which he's used to promote his business during parades and other events.
Buzzard recently heard about the problems at the Port of Astoria, where hundreds of sea lions have taken over the docks, preventing boat owners from using their slips. He offered up his giant mock orca, which will head south to act as a scarecrow of sorts.

YouTube link.

"If it doesn't look like an orca whale and they call our bluff, then I guess they'll sit there and thumb their noses at us," said Buzzard. The Port of Astoria has tried using electrified mats to deter sea lions, but those didn't work all that well. They've considered putting up fences, but they're worried the animals will just knock them down.