Welcome to ...

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, September 15, 2009

Rare Grasshopper

Boy discovers rare grasshopper

Daniel Tate thought he had spotted a pretty pink flower — until it began to hop around.

Liars and Fools

Liars and Fools

And I Quote

New York now leads the world's great cities in the number of people around whom you shouldn't make a sudden move.

~ David Letterman

Wilson rebuked

Wilson rebuked over 'You lie!' outburst

Colleagues vote to formally rebuke Joe Wilson.

Lawsuit says Hulk Hogan was overcharged $1 million for Rip-Off attorneys' fees

Hulk Hogan's legal bills have now piled so high that he has hired attorneys to sue his attorneys.

Hogan, who was sued after his son's highly publicized 2007 car crash in downtown Clearwater, began shoveling out so much cash to a law firm that even he couldn't afford it, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court.

The wrestling icon and television star was paying Zuckerman Spaeder's lawyers as much as $550 an hour, as much as $300,000 at a time. He shelled out more than $1.5 million, just to that firm.

But earlier this year, the lawsuit states, he learned something new: His insurance company had tried to provide him a better-qualified attorney for free.

It means, according to the lawsuit, that Hogan — whose real name is Terry Bollea — spent more than $1 million in unnecessary fees for a team of defense attorneys that did not produce a single deposition, for a civil case that has still not gone to trial.

Zuckerman Spaeder denied the lawsuit's claims in a statement released through its press agent: "We are proud of the work our lawyers performed for Terry Bollea and for his son, Nick Bollea. The charges being made by Terry Bollea are simply baseless."

The problems began in August 2007, when Nick Bollea crashed his Toyota Supra into a palm tree during a street race in downtown Clearwater. His friend and passenger John Graziano suffered catastrophic injuries, and was in the hospital until last week.

Nick Bollea eventually pleaded no contest to reckless driving and served 166 days in the Pinellas County Jail.

Lawyers have cropped up everywhere in this saga: Lawyers in Nick Bollea's criminal case, lawyers in a civil case filed on behalf of Graziano, lawyers in a murder-for-hire case against Graziano's father, lawyers in Terry and Linda Bollea's divorce case and now, lawyers suing other lawyers.

The latest dispute started with a negligence lawsuit filed in March 2008 for Graziano, naming Terry and Nick Bollea, and a family friend, as defendants. The lawsuit is designed to provide money for Graziano's long-term care.

As is common in auto negligence cases, Terry Bollea's insurance company was required to offer him a defense attorney. And Progressive Insurance tried to do so, selecting Bryan Reynolds, a board-certified civil trial lawyer.

But Zuckerman Spaeder never told him that, according to the lawsuit. Instead, it sat on the information about Reynolds and maneuvered to keep its own local attorneys, Lee Fugate and Morris "Sandy" Weinberg, on the case, according to the lawsuit. Neither is board-certified, and the lawsuit claims they had little expertise in the type of law they would be practicing in this case.

The legal malpractice lawsuit also claims that Bollea was charged at attorneys' rates for work that actually was performed by paralegals.

In addition to working on the civil case, Zuckerman Spaeder had a role in the criminal case, along with an outside attorney, Kevin Hayslett, who is not a defendant in the lawsuit.

Surveillance video of insurgents in Afghanistan blowing themselves up while planting a bomb

Iedbomb
Surveillance video of insurgents in Afghanistan accidentally blowing themselves up while planting a bomb. What an explosion!

Young Couple Says NO to a Mortgaged Life

From Treehugger:

dirt-house.jpg
image via vela creations

Amidst the Chihuahuan Desert, Abe and Josie built a home out of dirt, designed a wind turbine from scrap parts, and raised their newborn without diapers and other conveniences. When their first hand sculpted house went up for sale a couple of years ago in Far West Texas, I was one of many people interested in the real estate deal of a lifetime. But like others who have met this young couple and heard their story, I was inspired to start from scratch, rather than to take out a mortgage, even for their one of a kind, self powered, adobe oasis in the desert. Their website, Vela Creations, is an online, off-grid, informational handbook based on their experience and continued success in the alterlife.

Read further for more of their story and look for an in depth interview with Abe and Josie in the coming weeks.

Abe and Josie have the smarts to survive well in the big city, but they have chosen a different life, a remote life, off grid, debt free, and on their own terms and timeline. What is refreshing about this couple is that they are not rebelling against modern times. On the contrary, they are embracing it, and are in a sense early adopters of a lifestyle that was not possible until very recently. That is because their off grid, pay as you go lives are dependent on emerging technologies such as affordable DIY energy harvesting, satellite internet, and other modern advances. While off grid systems can be a costly investment, Abe and Josie have found the lo-fi, affordable route, proving that there is no reason to wait for off grid technology to improve or become more affordable. Anyone can do this now. It is a simple choice to opt out of an enslaving, over priced, city life.

chispito-layout.gif

Abe and Josie, without tens of thousands of dollars to spend on state of the art solar arrays and other expensive off grid requirements, designed their own wind turbine out of a treadmill motor and PVC piping, capturing free energy at virtually no cost. They also built a battery bank out of discarded, but still good batteries, from golf courses, and stitched together solar panels from broken and dumpstered solar panel fragments. Their wind turbine, which they named the Chispito, has been a big hit on the internet. The schematics are shared online for free, and hundred of people of have chosen to build them.

When I first visited Abe and Josie, they were doing laundry, by hand, in a wash tub. Two years ago, I thought that this was unusual, and even a bit regressive. But after living off grid myself for the last couple of years, I know that this is by far the most appealing option, as a front loading washing machine is not only expensive, but also requires an enormous amount of energy, especially for an off grid setup.

Abe and Josie recently moved to a new location to build their 2nd hand sculpted house. They are keeping a detailed blog as they go. They are also developing their latest and best creation, a new baby human named Leo, who doesn't require diapers.

An interview with these young pioneers is coming soon! In the meantime, check out their very informative site, velacreations.com.

Further Reading:

Cob House Built For Less Than $3,000

How To: Build Your Own 1000 Watt Wind Turbine

200909151557

It's all so complex it's simple

Complex emotions may have emerged from basic physical sensations like cold or disgust.

Icy stares and dirty minds: Hitch-hiking emotions

All things Saturn

Marathon Saturn storm is longest in solar system

Saturn's eight-month-long thunderstorm has become the planet's longest-running lightning display.

Saturn's moon Titan has a foggy bottom

The sighting of methane fog in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan shows Earth is not the only solar-system body with a 'hydrological' cycle.

Better World

Better world: Take Friday off… forever

The four-day week could boost employment, save energy and make us happier.

Better world: Generate a feed-in frenzy

Paying people who generate green energy and feed it back to the grid is the best way to boost uptake of renewable energy.

Better world: End the pillaging of the high seas

We must put a stop to the free-for-all out on the oceans to have any chance of saving their riches from the ravages of climate change

Methane mining could trigger killer gas cloud

Congolese people carry buckets of water on the bank of Lake Kivu in Goma. The lake contains a vast reservoir of dissolved methane (Image: Jose Cendon/AFP/Getty)A rush to extract methane from the depths of Africa's Lake Kivu could trigger a huge upwelling of suffocating gas, potentially affecting over 2 million people.

Methane mining could trigger killer gas cloud

The Big Picture

From BBC-Science:
Click to reveal

And I Quote

It's the 8th anniversary of 9/11, and Americans today stopped doing whatever they were doing to sit there, reflect, do nothing, say nothing, just like Bush did eight years ago when he got the news.

~ Bill Maher

Beck's 9/12 Bomb

So Glenn Beck's hate rally produced about 60,000 fuckheads to march on Washington.
Sounds like a lot?
Well, on Saturday, Sept. 5, Alabama and Va Tech sold out Atlanta's Georgia Dome to the tune of 71, 500 fans.
So this outpouring of Beck's special brand of douchebaggery produced less interest on a national scale than a college football game played in Georgia.

~ Mark in Morehead City, NC

*****

Mark has a good head on his shoulders.

Science News

After three years of mystery surrounding the deaths of millions of bees — colony collapse disorder — some scientists now suspect it's being caused by a virus.

Dimbulb Spews

10,000th post

Well, we made it to 10K.
Let's all have a party.

Man honored for 50 years of service at McDonald's

From the "Some people never got a life" Department:

A 68-year-old man who still works at the first McDonald's restaurant in Missouri has been honored for 50 years of service.

Full Story

Interview and Autograph on the Block

A 1966 magazine signed by John Lennon containing his remark that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus is being auctioned by a New Hampshire company.

Autographed John Lennon Interview Is Being Auctioned Off

Cattle Wander Into Convenience Store

A handful of steers participating in a cattle parade in Puyallup, Washington, veered off course on Sunday and wandered inside a convenience store, forcing cowboys on horseback to enter and herd them outside.

SEC - BofA Deal is NO Deal

A judge's condemnation of the Securities and Exchange Commission in rejecting its $33 million settlement with Bank of America over bonuses at Merrill Lynch dealt a stinging rebuke to an agency seeking to mend its image after its failure to detect Bernard Madoff's fraud scheme.

Judge's rejection of SEC deal with BofA deals setback to embattled agency and its chairman

Just a Remnder ...

When you can skip the ER visit

When you can skip the ER visit

Learn what can be treated just as well at an urgent care center or an in-store clinic.

To the moon, Alice, to the moon.

Workers' health care costs skyrocket

Premiums for job-based health care shot up steeply over the last decade, a study shows.

Reject Cash

How to get cash for your rejects

Here are some easy ways to sell old books, CDs, DVDs, or small electronics online.

Reykjavik sure has alot of gas

The waste generated by households in Iceland's capital city of Reykjavik has the potential to be a valuable power source.

Iceland Homes Generate Tons Of Methane Gas

More TSA paranoid antics

Nick George, a California college student, was handcuffed and detained for five hours at the Philadelphia airport because ... he's studying Arabic, and had Arabic-language flash cards in his backpack.

Mr George should sue and win enough money to retire young.

In Decline

U.S. global power 'in decline'

The U.S. only has one alternative to losing its place on the world stage, a think tank says.

Man loses stepson while trying to buy drugs

They don't call it DOPE for nothing you know!

Philadelphia police said a man out buying drugs flagged down officers after he couldn't find the car he'd parked with his 6-year-old stepson inside.

Full Story

Pink Slipped

Bank fires exec over housing scandal

A senior vice president at Wells Fargo is fired for holding parties in a foreclosed beachfront home.
'It's shocking'
Also:

Into the light

Secret society thrust into spotlight

For centuries, the Freemasons have cultivated mystery and inspired fear.

Can I afford it?

Most and least affordable U.S. cities

Home prices are down dramatically, but these five cities still command top dollar.

Like saving $3,000

New mpg rules may save owners $3,000

The Obama administration proposes higher fuel economy standards starting in model year 2012. What will change
Also:

Space shots on the cheap

$148 camera takes photos from space

Two students launch a camera high enough to capture amazing images of Earth.

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

Come on, people! There are no holidays or celebrations on September 15th?!

We have to remedy that. Any Suggestion for a holiday or celebration for today?

Daily Almanac

Today is Tuesday, September 15, the 258th day of 2009.

There are 107 days left in the year.

Today in History, September 15.

Our Readers

Some of our readers to day have been in:

Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Minsk, Minsk, Belarus
Warsaw, Mazowiekie, Poland
Lisbon, Lisboa, Poland
Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia
Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
Saint Catherines, Ontario, Canada
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
London, England, United Kingdom
Angers, Pays De La Loire, France

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

Controversy will be a helpful shield for you today.
It will create a nice loud, distracting noise that will keep everyone busy -- and out of your hair!
Today is the perfect day to put your new ideas to work, so you will need all the elbow room and autonomy you can muster.
Get in any research, planning, or organizing you need to do as early in the day as possible.
By late afternoon, people could be hovering around you again, looking for answers only you can give.

Ain't it always that way?!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Heritage is a treasure, commitment

The 75th anniversary celebration of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was truly something to behold.

The Smokies: Heritage is a treasure, commitment

The Debtor's Revolt Starts Here, Says California Woman

The mortgage meltdown was bad enough, but a credit card debt meltdown has been forecast by some analysts.
It doesn't help when creditors arbitrarily raise interest rates, and that's what's happening here.

Full Story

Numerous Rewards Await Shrub Shoe Thrower

Muntadar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw both of his shoes at the shrub during a press conference in Iraq in December of 2008 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday.
He was sentenced to one year, six months for each shoe, but he is being released early.

Full Story

As of this moment ...

As of this Moment 4344 Brave Men and Women will not be returning from Iraq - ALIVE.

Women die in Pakistan food stampede

Eighteen Pakistani women and children have been killed in a stampede to get free food in the Pakistiani city of Karachi.

Perfume can cure AIDS

A Kazakhstan scientist claims he can cure HIV/AIDS by injecting patients with perfume.

Full Story

If it works - more power to ya.
But in the meantime I have this property just three miles east of Miami I can let you have cheap.

Teens rob girls of baggie filled with oregano

The idiots couldn't tell their 'Herb' from their herb ...

Two Tennessee girls on their way home from school were robbed at gunpoint of a bag of oregano thought to be marijuana.

Full story

... that is unless the were going to make Lasagna to eat after toking the 'herb' they thought they had.

Some Showerheads Full of Bacteria

You might think you take a shower to get clean, but in reality, you might be getting a face full of germs instead, according to a study released Monday by the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Full Story

Darwin biopic can't find a distributor in the US, producer blames creationists

And the troglodytes pervert and pollute the air even more.
When will we be shed of them? We pushed the puritans (now there is a misnomer for you) out of Europe. So let's push them out of America. The Marianas Trench would be a good place for them ... at the bottom.


The Oscar-winning producer of a celebrated biopic about Charles Darwin says that the reason his movie -- which is being shown all around the world -- can't find a US distributor is that evolution is still too controversial in the USA.
US distributors have resolutely passed on a film which will prove hugely divisive in a country where, according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution...

Movieguide.org, an influential site which reviews films from a Christian perspective, described Darwin as the father of eugenics and denounced him as "a racist, a bigot and an 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder". His "half-baked theory" directly influenced Adolf Hitler and led to "atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and genetic engineering", the site stated.

The film has sparked fierce debate on US Christian websites, with a typical comment dismissing evolution as "a silly theory with a serious lack of evidence to support it despite over a century of trying".

Dinosaur auction

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This real Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton will go to the highest bidder at an incredible natural history auction to be held on October 3 in Las Vegas. Expected to sell for $2 to $8 million dollars, the female T. rex is just one of 50 lots on the block, including a 7-foot-long fossil shark and a 28-foot-long duck-billed dinosaur.
Bonhams' Natural History auction

Joe Wilson's proper Wiki page

As it was before the bastards altered it.

Handjob never gets it correct

Insurance executives don't do this because they're bad people; they do it because it's profitable.
~ President Obama, on why insurance bastards deny proper claims.

Link

When he said tonight that insurance executives are bad people, it was so harsh ...
~ Hannity (excuse me - Handjob), lying again.

Link

Doctors prefer the Public Option

70% of American Doctors prefer the Public Option.

In this piece in The New England Journal of Medicine we find the overwhelming majority of Doctors are of the same mind as the overwhelming majority of Real Americans.

Nudists protest to keep their beach 'clothing-optional'

Joelle Budzynowski wants to preserve what she calls her "Eden before the apple."

"The water is like 70 degrees and the sun feels warm on my body," the 47-year-old said, wearing nothing but a straw hat. "The wind plays in my hair. The sea rocks me. Some of my happiest moments are here."

That's why the Escondido woman and her husband, Robert, felt compelled to make their voices heard at a rally Sunday at San Onofre's Trail 6.

"To not make my voice heard … it would be cowardly," she said.

The rally comes nearly a week after officials started enforcing a ban on nudity. For more than a year, the state Department of Parks and Recreation said they would start citing nude sunbathers after Labor Day weekend at the traditionally clothing-optional beach.

The state's move came after more than a year of legal wrangling and an appellate court ruling in its favor. The nudists have appealed to the state's Supreme Court, asking the court for a hearing.

More than a hundred people gathered on the beach Sunday with signs denouncing the state's crackdown on public nudity at Trail 6.

When asked whether the protest may make an impact, the group's leader answered.

"It shows the Parks Department that we're not willing to go away," said Allen Baylis, who is a Huntington Beach attorney.

Veronica Carlson, who enjoyed the beach with her husband, 3-year-old twins and 18-month old, said she sees nothing wrong with nudity at Trail 6.

She said her children are not fazed by the naked body.

"You're born that way. There's nothing wrong with it," the 35-year-old Lake Forest woman said.

Carlson said she goes nude at the beach but keeps her children's clothes on because she's afraid of the sun's toll on their sensitive skin.

"I think it's small-minded," she said of the nudity ban. "It doesn't hurt anyone and if it's something you don't want to see, don't come here. There are 4 miles of beach. … If we get a ticket, we get a ticket. We'll fight it."

State rangers didn't issue any citations last Tuesday – the first day of enforcement. While state parks spokesman Roy Stearns said officials have the authority to cite nudists at the 1,000-foot stretch of beach, some of the nudists at the beach Sunday said they hadn't heard of a ticket being issued all week.

The nudists' attorney Elva P. Kopacz contends the state would violate California law by issuing citations. She said a Superior Court ruling that sides with the naturists will stand until the state's Supreme Court decides to hear an appeal.

Stearns disagreed. The state Attorney General's office says rangers are within their rights to start writing citations, according to Stearns.

Still, he said, park rangers will attempt to seek voluntary compliance before handing out citations at the beach.

Health Care Winners

Who wins and loses in new health care plan

The latest draft may have the best shot yet — but not everyone is smiling.

No amesty for tax cheats

Tax evaders rush to get amnesty

U.S. citizens with assets hidden in tax havens must come forward soon or face prosecution.

What you need to know ...

What you need to know for flu season

Here are answers to questions about who's most at risk in the new flu season.

Self-erasing

Self-erasing paper created

The invention prevents photocopying and makes messages easier to share securely.

Let's just forget about it

Town's fiery way of forgetting

Santa Fe, NM, has a spectacular way of ridding itself of the memories of a bad year.

Tires to get more expensive

Just what the repugicans and their corporate handlers wanted:

Tires to get more expensive soon

Your next set of new tires could cost as much as 30% more in the next few months.

Hybrid car with attitude

BMW builds hybrid car with attitude

This hybrid gets 62 miles per gallon, has up-swing doors, and—oh, comes with night vision.

Looking for a good time?

Best cities to visit for a good time

New York ranks first for entertainment, but only because the runner-up city has one big drawback.

Top 5
Also:

Patrick Swayze dies

Actor Patrick Swayze dies at 57

Patrick Swayze, who starred in films such as "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost," has died of cancer.

Hey, we want out

The town that wants to disappear

The 140 people left in one Midwestern town beg the government to buy them out.

Health News

In Health News:

Master gene creates armies of natural-born killers

A gene has been discovered that allows the body to make cells which are the lynchpin of the immune system.

Plumbing Antartica

The first complete map of the lakes beneath Antarctica suggests the icy continent's secret water network is more active than we thought.

Antarctica's hidden plumbing revealed

Science News

From BBC-Science:
generic picture of sunset over sea Now you see it... has the Bermuda Triangle mystery been 'solved'?

Welcome Sign Delivers Unsettling Message

Members of the police union unveiled a new billboard along a Florida highway annoucing that crime is up because of layoffs.

Full Story

Snake with foot found in China

From the "Now, that is something you just don't see everyday" Department:

Dean Qiongxiu, 66, said she discovered the reptile clinging to the wall of her bedroom with its talons in the middle of the night.

Who else smells fish

The unarmed fire chief who was shot by a cop during a court appearance over tickets has been charged with battery.

He is shot in the back and he will be the one to see the inside of a holding cell!

Something is smelling awful fishy in Jericho, Arkansas!

Lehman Brothers on the inside

'Some really weird things were going on'

A top Lehman trader reveals the inside dynamics that led to the firm's collapse.

Jupiter's Moon

Jupiter's unusual temporary moon

Astronomers reveal that Jupiter snagged an enigmatic satellite, only to release it 12 years later. Rare event
Also:

Possible financial catastrophes

10 possible financial catastrophes

These overheated economic markets could be headed toward a crash.

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

None noteworthy for today.

So let's just call it Dabba-Do Day and figure out something to celebrate to go along with it, shall we?

Daily Almanac

Today is Monday, Sept. 14, the 257th day of 2009.

There are 108 days left in the year.

Today In History September 14

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Leeds, England, United Kingdom
Friedrichshafen, Baden-Wurttemburg, Germany
London, England, United Kingdom
Dordrecht, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Sham Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Milano, Lombardia, Italy
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nykoping, Sodermanlands Lan, Sweden
Delft, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Tirane, Tirane, Albania
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

as well as Scotland, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

The universe has temporarily bestowed super powers on you.
What kind?
Well, take a peek in your cosmic utility pack.
There's even more of the ability to organize, categorize and systematize.
Scary, huh?
Just don't get crazy with it.
If you find you're making lists of your lists, it might be time to lie down for a while.

It's time to lie down now.