Culinary DeLites

Culinary DeLites

Denny's Wants to Kill You As Much As KFC

If you thought KFC’s Double Down was bad, just wait until you get your hands on the new Fried Cheese Melt from Denny’s. The heart-stopping monstrosity combines 4 fried mozzarella sticks and a grilled cheese sandwich. At only $4 with a  an included side of fries, it’s a lot more filling for the price tag than the Double Down. I have to admit, while I found the Double Down to be seriously nasty looking, I am a sucker for cheese, so this actually looks pretty good to me.
Would you eat it?

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Strange Foods That can Kill You

Take, for instance, the Jamaican ackee fruit above:

The ackee is highly nutritious as well as incredibly poisonous, a sick joke played by a cruel and unloving god. The only section of the fruit that is safe for consumption is the white innards, and only after it is ripe. Everything else is brimming with the exotic alkaloid toxins, resulting in a combination of seizures, vomiting and fatal hypoglycemia known as Jamaican Vomiting Sickness. If you’re envisioning this properly then you are now terrified of Jamaicans and their vomit.

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It's the truth ...

Americans detest all lies except lies spoken in public or printed lies.

~ Edgar Watson Howe

Ever seen a $100,000 bill?

World gets peek at rare $100,000 bills

The largest denomination in America was used only for special transactions. 

How much it's worth today 

Also: 

• 2,200-year-old coin found
• Presidents on money
• Hidden trillions in China

Camping sites that actually pamper you

8 camping sites that actually pamper you

"Glampers" can sleep in safari-style tents equipped with king-size beds.  

Cozy yurts have great ocean views

Also:

• Pet-friendly campsites
• Organizing tips for travel
• Incredible beach homes

The Case for Nuclear Power

When you think of nuclear reactors, do you think of the Chernobyl disaster or the Three Mile Island accident?
Nuclear power has gotten a lot of bad rap (deservedly, actually) but given the advances in safety and the ever-growing need for energy, should we reconsider nukes? Dan Hinge of Environmental Graffiti writes:

The WHO at the time estimated that the blast caused less than 50 direct deaths. About 600,000 people were deemed to have been seriously exposed to radiation, of whom it was estimated that 4,000 would die of cancer over the course of their lives as a result of the explosion at Chernobyl. The figures are horrific. However, to put them in perspective, based on UN estimates from 2001-2004, during this period one person would die of starvation every second. That’s nearly 4,000 an hour [2].
Worryingly, with an urgent need for carbon emissions to be cut and a sustainable and cost-effective source of energy desperately needing to be found, Chernobyl is still cited as a reason not to invest in nuclear power. It is true that Chernobyl is not the only accident that has occurred at nuclear power plants: accidents at Three Mile Island in the US and Windscale in the UK both caused small releases of radioactive material, but no deaths resulted. As one commenter pointed out, TMI was the worst nuclear disaster in US history; and yet it led to no injury or death and almost no environmental damage. That was 30 years ago [3].

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One Day On A Desert Island

Freaky Storm Clouds Terrify Beachgoers

The above video was recently shot at Hietaniemi Beach in southern  Finland.  It shows dark storm clouds gathering so quickly that people on  the beach start screaming in terror (1:04).  The last twenty seconds  are particularly impressive.

A longer video of the same storm.

Close Encounters of the Shark Kind

Close encounter with great white sharks

A man on his paddleboard has a wild experience just off the coast of Southern California. 

Captured on video 

Also: 

• More on great whites
• Upset at surfing event
• Stinging jellyfish hit Spain

Fishing Stories

Overmatched angler lands giant halibut

George Levasseur and three partners hook a fish that puts them in the record books.  

 'My arms are just shaking' 

Also: 

• Largest halibut ever
• Huge marlin attacks boat
• Asian carp surprise

Fishermen hook 115 pound catfish

Full story

Here's a story about a big fish that didn't get away. Rick Hastings says he and a friend were fishing on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River Sunday night when a big catfish grabbed his line and took them for a ride.

Non Sequitur

Bad Cops

Bad Cops

Texas cop's videotaped beating of black handcuffed man is ruled "reasonable"

In two cities, questionable use of excessive force, questionable police policies, and racial discrimination, lawsuits and large pay-outs

First member of disbanded Minneapolis "Strike Force" police unit is charged in beating of boy

Former California jailer is arrested for domestic violence

Pennsylvania cop who's charged with intimidation of witnesses and furnishing alcohol to minors says search warrant that led to his arrest was invalid

Florida police officer charged in 7-Eleven confrontation

California police officer arrested on grand theft charges

Indiana sheriff is arrested in theft

Brooklyn cops fake report in arrest of internal affairs officers

Forty years after Los Angeles Times reporter Ruben Salazar was killed, Sheriff's Dept still stonewalls about what happened

Oregon deputy under investigation for alleged relationship with criminal defendant

Genuine jail time for guard in Rikers Island beatings

Florida police officer arrested in domestic dispute

DYI Health for Men

Easy health checks every guy should do

These do-it-yourself checkups can help sort trivial issues from troubling ones.  

For one test, just take a deep breath 

Also: 

• Early memory loss facts
• Science of sound sleep
• How to check skin moles

Something New for that Flesh Wound

From crabs to geckos, when it comes to repairing skin, scientists are finding inspiration in the oddest places. Even sound and electricity are being used to help the human body heal faster. Popular Mechanics has a list of 7 bandages that are on the cutting (or is it healing?) edge of biotechnology.

Their work has lead to wound dressings that dramatically speed clotting, prevent scar formation or encourage healing, as well as new interventions that don’t look anything like your childhood Band-Aids. In many cases, the new bandages look deceptively low-tech. Some of them are already in use, but the incredible new technologies may not even be visible to the patients who wear them.

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Health News

Is picky eating a medical condition?

A new study aims to find the cause and effects of finicky eating in adults.

Over 2,000 participants  

Also:

• More on the study
• Autism, picky eating link
• Belly bulge can be deadly

Weight-loss sites that really work

Research shows that dieters who keep an online diary are more likely to keep pounds off.

Five sites to try 

Also: 

• Belly fat can be deadly
• Free calorie-counter
• 6 super-fattening salads

Grocery store secrets you should know

5 grocery store secrets you should know

Stores are designed to make you wander many aisles before finding the milk. 

Don't forget to look down 

Also: 

• Grocery store coupons
• 4 on-the-go lunches
• Cereals to eat at work

New immigrant child count adds fuel to fire

New immigrant child count adds fuel to fire

A report that one in 15 kids is born to illegal immigrants revives thorny questions.  

Some myths debunked 

Also: 

• Find: 14th Amendment
• Is birthright guaranteed?
• Obama deportation record

This summer was foretold

Summer of weather disasters fuels worries

A 2007 report foresaw catastrophic fires in Russia and increased Asian flooding.  

Trend of 'increasing vulnerability' 

Also: 

• 1 dead in Iowa flooding
• New misery hits China
• Putin tangles with blogger

Oiled Gulf marshes are healing themselves

Oiled Gulf marshes are healing themselves

Flora and fauna are rapidly returning to areas that were recently covered in oil. 

'The marsh is coming back' 

Also: 

• Images of the recovery
• Storm halts relief work
• The Gulf's ecosystem

The National State of Disrepair

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has released its 2009 Report Card for American Infrastructure, and the results are grim. The association gave the most powerful nation in the world an overall grade of D, and stated that it would take a five-year investment of $2.2 trillion to bring the U.S. up to par with the rest of its class—the world’s major postindustrial nations.

State of Disrepair

The 20 worst-paying college degrees

The 20 worst-paying college degrees

College majors that involve children or food are among the worst choices if you want to be well paid. 

See the full list 

Also: 

• Most valuable degrees
• Thriving and dying careers
• Tuition-free colleges

And I Quote

"If you have a car and you want to go forward, you put it in 'D'.
When you want to go backwards, you put it in 'R.'
That's no coincidence.
They are trying to move us backwards, and we need to move us forward."
          ~ President Obama

It's The Economy Stupid

It's The Economy Stupid

Why you should worry about 'stagflation'

An economic expert says stagflation is the "worst of all possible worlds."

Will 'squeeze' American workers 

Also: 

• Meaning of 'stagflation'
• Job openings drop again
• $3 billion for homeowners

What's positive about the recession

What's positive about the recession

For people who still have jobs, the deep downturn has brought some unexpected benefits.

Lower prices, higher pay 

Also: 

• Things getting cheaper
• Why hiring isn't happening
• Stocks in the red for 2010

Fight over $1 trillion pension shortfall

Fight over $1 trillion pension shortfall

Gary Justus is suing to protect his pension as similar battles loom across the U.S. 

Private vs. public workers 

Also: 

• Pensions crisis
• States say, 'Retire later'
• 10 big retirement dangers

Wells Fargo must pay back $203 million

Judge slams Wells Fargo for overdraft fees

There is "no doubt" that the bank is profiteering from its fee policy, a U.S. district judge says.

$203 mil payback 

Also: 

• Banks changing fees
• Pitfalls of debit cards
• More annoying fees

Who's the Alarmist?

Lunatic Fringe

Lunatic Fringe

Otherwise know as the Seditionists

When dealing with wingnuts ... Remember the rule: 

If they accuse someone of something, then they're already guilty of it.

Liars and Fools

Trent Franks (reptile-Arizona) lies: President Obama is the greatest threat to the United States Constitution, and one the nation's worst enemies.
Spoken like the true Nazi he is.

Radio hatemonger Michael Savage lies: "The left will not stop until the country goes up in flames ... they want insurrection".
Wrong, that is what you wingnuts want an what you have always wanted.

Lush Dimbulb lies: "Secession" is "not the rantings of extreme kookism anymore," "some might say the civil war is already on".
Syphilis warps the mind and Lush is the proof.

Talk of secession, a second civil war, and nullification increasingly common among wingnuts.
Hard to imagine such talk 'increasing' as it is all they talk and have talked about for years.

Hate radio's Lush Dimbulb: "This is tyranny".
This from a tyrant is just too funny.

Faux's Glenn Beck lies: The "patterns" of the Weimar Republic "are repeating".
The Nazis are getting more brazen aren't they.

Wingnut media repeatedly and absurdly compare Michelle Obama to Marie Antoinette.
'Clutching at straws' is the appropriate phrase to use here.

Wingnut squawking head Chuck Colson begs people to "understand the severity of the threats to our first freedom" which are coming from all sides and "realize the kind of fight we're in and be prepared for what we may face in the coming months".
Quite correct you are a serious threat you are to our freedom but we are prepared to defend our freedom from you.

Faux's Glenn Beck compares President Obama to Lucifer.
At least Lush has syphilis to blame, but Glenn you're just stark raving mad dog bat shit crazy.

White supremacist site Stormfront promotes Glenn Beck's deleted white power "fave" on Twitter.
 Ah, don't you just love it when Nazis show the love for one another.

Ziggy

Little 7-year-old girl refused ice lolly because she only had pennies to pay for it

This ice cream vendor needs to be whipped in public - Pennies are coin of the realm as well!

A young girl from Gloucester was left in "floods of tears" after an ice cream man turned her away for only having pennies rather than pound coins to pay for her 40p lolly. Seven-year-old Cordelle Hanson had been saving up her pocket money and decided to use it to buy an ice cream from the van when it stopped by her house in West Lodge Drive, Coney Hill last Tuesday.

But when she asked for her treat she was turned away because she only had coppers. Cordelle's mum Lisa Betts said: "I was sat in my car talking to my friend while Cordelle went to get an ice cream from the ice cream man.

"She came back a minute later and was in floods of tears saying that the ice cream man wouldn't give her a lolly because she only had pennies. It was pocket money that she had worked for. She does odd jobs around the house and I give her a penny or two in return.

"She was feeling independent having earned it herself and going to ask for it and she was just turned away. Cordelle is only seven, how can they refuse her when she has the money?"

Farmer creates first ever banana-shaped shallots

A farmer has created the first-ever shallot to be on British soil – shaped like a banana. Dedicated John Rowswell has invested ten years and thousands of pounds into engineering the popular vegetable by painstakingly cross-pollinating plants. But finally the bendy bulb – named the ‘Barrington Banana’ after the village where he lives near Ilminster, Somerset – is ready to hit the shelves.

John, 50, said: ”I love shallots and wanted to create something that was totally unique for British horticulture. There are 32 listed types of shallot and there’s not one like this one. Only two types are grown from seeds, including mine, and ours is female while the other is male. It’s such a useful vegetable – as well as being sweet to taste and really is delicious to eat.

”I want this creation to be something I will be remembered for long into the future.” After cross-pollinating three plants he finally crafted his recipe for the vegetable – a relative of the onion – and created seeds to grow the four-inch golden-brown bulbs, which are said to be sweeter than traditional shallots. He has remortgaged his home and estimated he has spent £7,500 getting the product prepared.

They now need to be given final approval by the final Food and Environmental Research Agency (FERA) before they can be listed on the European Seed Register. And John is hoping someone will help him out with the £1,500 fee. He said: ”I have put so much into this, putting a mortgage on the house, as well as using most of the money in our business. We now can’t afford the final test.”

Sheep Take Over The Lord of The Rings Movie Set

The movie set that was once the Shire in The Lord of The Rings trilogy, has since been taken over by sheep. Although still a tourist attraction, those visiting the former Hobbit homes in New Zealand must take precaution of the new residents.

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U.K. etiquette guide

Blunt advice in new U.K. etiquette guide

Tips warn Britons how to handle hugs, eye contact, and weight insults with foreign Olympics visitors. 

Taboo topics 

Also: 

• Travel tipping etiquette
• No 'cankles' for Oxford
• 'Offensive' radio ad pulled

Odds and Sods

Odds and Sods

Exterminators say dry weather is driving sewer rats up through toilets

More stingray attacks reported at South Padre Island due to warm weather and calm water

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Your big brain is showered with a huge dose of assertive energy as the universe helps you focus on work and responsibilities.
This new synergy is amazing to behold, but the potential for burnout is getting higher!
If you want to avoid it, keep your eyes open, and make sure not to overload on coffee.
Remember that your mind (and body) needs breaks every now and then, so make sure to stick to a schedule.
This way, you can make the most of your abilities without burning out.

Today is:

Today is Wednesday, August 11, the 223rd day of 2010.

There are 142 days left in the year.

Today In History August 11

Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:

There are none.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

Around 7,000 Fish Die In Lake Norman

 

Thousands of fish have died in North Carolina's largest man-made lake.
Nearly 7,000 striped bass have been found floating on Lake Norman since July.
It is the third time in seven years the game fish have died en masse in the lake. About 300 stripers died last summer, while 3,000 died in 2004.
Fish biologists suspect the summer heat, a power plant cooled by lake water and nonnative fish dumped into the lake by fishermen more than a decade ago.
The state stocks the lake with 162,500 inch-long bass yearly.
Striper guide Gus Gustafson says about 16,000 normally grow to catch-able size each year, so the fish kill represents half a year's harvest. He believes even more dead fish sank to the bottom uncounted.

Fish are drowning in water

Thousands of dead Menhaden fish washed ashore on a beach in Fairhaven, MA, a first for the residents living there. The cause, according to marine fisheries, is a lack of oxygen due to warmer waters. This type of fish is particularly sensitive to environmental changes such as these, and may have been dead for days before washing up on the beach. A video report after the jump.

Article continues: Thousands of Dead Fish Wash Ashore in Massachusetts As Warm Water Depletes Oxygen (Video)

Tanks dumped in Gulf of Thailand

A fleet of disused tanks and trucks have been dumped into the sea off the coast of Thailand in a bid to form an artificial coral reef. The unusual move is designed to boost the ecosystem in the Gulf of Thailand.

The rusting collection of trucks and 25 disused Army tanks are intended to form an artificial underwater structure to provide shelter for marine life and boost local fish stocks.

The vehicles were lowered into the sea off the Narathiwat coast by crane on Monday. A wide-ranging marine conservation policy is being enacted in Thailand to preserve fish stocks and keep the seafood industry afloat.

The fertile waters of the Gulf of Thailand are crucial to the nation’s fishermen, but overfishing has left the ecosystem depleted in recent years.

The shallow arm of the South China sea harbours many natural coral reefs and is a popular scuba diving destination.

The Government announced a three-month ban on fishing in parts of the Gulf of Thailand last year in an attempt to improve breeding and replenish fish stocks.

Real-life Donkey Kong plays with his Nintendo

Nintendo appears to have found a new spokesman for their game machines — a giant ape.

At the San Francisco Zoo Friday, it was a gorilla named Bawang, not Donkey Kong, who could be seen playing Nintendo's latest handheld gaming gadget — the super-sized Nintendo DSi XL.

Photographer Christina Spicuzza was watching the gorillas when a boy dropped his game machine into the gorilla enclosure. A gorilla named Bawang was quick to snatch up the device.

"The gorilla was very interested in trying to figure it out," Spicuzza said, explaining that the ape flipped it over and put it up to her eyes several times.

It wasn't long before a young gorilla named Hansai made a grab for the machine. But Bawang is Hansai's adoptive mother and the big ape apparently had no intention of letting the little one play video games at his young age. She kept the machine well out of her child's reach.

Spicuzza managed to shoot several photos of the gorillas with the DSi XL and a short video before her camera battery died.

There's another video here.

The World's Largest Possum

The spotted cuscus.

When first discovered, scientists believed that this was a kind of monkey due to its prosimian-like movements through the tropical rain forest canopy.

However, it is actually the largest possum on Earth. Males are always spotted but females are white or grey with a woolly coat (but no spots).

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Oldest house in the U.K.

A re-play of a posting from yesterday from a different perceptive:

'Fascinating' find: Oldest house in the U.K.

Archaeologists dig up the site of a distinctive circular home that predates Stonehenge by 6,000 years.

Artifacts 

Also: 

• Stonehenge in Texas
• Clues from ancient woman
• Mystery tunnel artifacts

Musée Picasso At Chateau Grimaldi Archaeological Site

The Chateau Grimaldi, constructed during the 12th century, acted as a fortress and was raised on the foundations of what was once the Greek town of Antipolis. The Chateau Grimaldi later became the residence of the Bishops of Antibes.

In 1945, Pablo Picasso visited Chateau Grimaldi to view a children's painting exhibition. Picasso was enthralled by the museum, a wondrous place full of inspiration. He was even asked by the curator for a 'little drawing for the museum' and also to use part of the museum as a studio.

Culinary DeLites

Culinary DeLites

Image from the Atlantic

When your guests ask what's for dinner, you can say marigolds, primroses and violets. Just as the use of fresh herbs has come back into fashion and has proven to be more than a passing fad: edible flowers are all the rage.
The flowers are tasty, fresh and couldn't be more local: straight from the garden. There are some cookbooks out now which show how edible flowers on food are more than just pretty.

Article continues: Fresh Flowers in Food Taste Blooming Delicious

At your local Asian cafe

If you order a chicken, it's $3.70.

If you want a real chicken, it's $6.75.

Four go to prison for mailing pot

From the "Not the sharpest knives in the drawer" Department:

Full story

A federal judge in McAllen has sentenced four illegal immigrants to prison for using the U.S. Postal Service to mail marijuana.

Shoe

How much do you really need to be rich?

How much do you really need to be rich?

For some people, even $1 million is not enough to be considered truly wealthy.

What experts say you need to retire 

Also: 

• Spend less, be happier
• City with most millionaires
• How to save $1 million

The 'vultures' are back

Real estate 'vultures' back on the scene

Investors are buying up foreclosures and short sales for less than $100K in many cases.  

But not looking for a quick flip 

Also: 

• 6 drags on housing market
• Condos for less than a car
• How to do a short sale

It's a Plane, No It's A Bird, No It's SuperBug!

Warning on new superbugs from S. Asia

A gene that makes bacteria resistant to even last-resort antibiotics spreads from India to the U.K.  

'Alarming potential' 

Also: 

• Antibiotic resistance
• Drop in MRSA infections
• Pet food salmonella risk

Dog food may be making children ill

Dozens of salmonella infections in toddlers have been traced to dry pet food, the first time human infections have been linked to dry dog and cat food, health officials say. The infections occurred from January 2006 through October 2008 in 21 states. More than 23,000 tons of pet food were recalled, affecting 105 brands, and the manufacturing plant, in western Pennsylvania, was shut in 2008.

The link between salmonella and dry pet food was described by health officials from several states and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a paper published Monday on the Web site of the journal Pediatrics. Officials referred to the factory only as “Plant X.” Altogether, 79 people were infected, including 32 children age 2 or younger.

Scientists traced the uncommon salmonella strain, called salmonella schwarzengrund, to bagged dry dog food. Many of the infections occurred in homes where pets were fed in the kitchen, and the scientists recommended that children younger than 5 not be allowed to touch or eat pet food or pet treats and be kept away from pet feeding areas.

“The most important thing a person can do is to wash hands right after handling pet food or treats or cleaning up after their pets,” said the paper’s lead author, Casey Barton Behravesh of the C.D.C.

Dilbert

Dachshund runs for help and saves owners life

A Salem man is alive and well, and he can thank his dachshund Missy for that.

Charlie Burdon had open-heart surgery just a month ago. When he collapsed the other day, he was virtually helpless but not actually helpless. That's because he had an unlikely hero in 11-year-old Missy. Normally she won't go anywhere without Charlie, but she had to get help. So she ran to a neighbour who instinctively knew something was wrong.

"I said, 'Missy, Charlie don't know you're here. You better go back home.' She just stood there and looked at me," said neighbour Charles Mitchell.

Missy wouldn't budge until the neighbour followed. The neighbour, also named Charlie, ran to Charlie Burdon's house and then called 911. Missy is so protective of Charlie, she wouldn't let the paramedics near him until Charlie's wife took her away.

There's a news video here.

Man has pea plant removed from lung

There was a problem sprouting in a Massachusetts man's lung. Doctors originally thought the new growth was a tumor, but when they looked closer, they got a big surprise. “I was told I had a pea seed in my lung that had split and had sprouted,” said Ron Sveden. It was not the diagnosis Ron Sveden was expecting. He had prepared himself to hear the words cancer and tumor, but a plant growing in his lung? “Probably about a half-an-inch, which is a pretty big thing of course,” said Sveden.

Ron had been sick for months. He was already fighting emphysema when his health took a turn for the worse. “I was not doing too well, a lot of coughing, I was very listless,” said Sveden. On Memorial Day Sveden’s wife called 911, and he was rushed to the hospital where doctors took x-rays and found his left lung collapsed. For two weeks they ran tests but they all came back negative for cancer, until one doctor found the plant growing in his lung.

“Whether this would have gone full-term and I’d be working for the jolly green giant, I don’t know. I think the thing that finally dawned on me is that it wasn’t the cancer,” said Sveden. Ron said he never felt anything growing in his chest, just a lot of coughing. Doctors suspect he had eaten a pea at some point in the last couple of months and it went down the wrong way, and then began to grow.

“One of the first meals I had in the hospital after the surgery had peas for the vegetable. I laughed to myself and ate them,” said Sveden. His wife Nancy was beyond happy with this strange twist of fate. “God has such a sense of humor. It could have been just nothing, but it had to be a pea, and it had to be sprouting,” said Nancy Sveden, Ron’s wife. Sveden continues to recover at home. In fact, friends and neighbors have had fun with this; they sent him pea seeds and canned peas all in good fun.

Australian judge rules 'N-word' not offensive

A Queensland judge has found the terms "nigger" and "sandnigger" are not offensive to a reasonable person. Magistrate Michael O'Driscoll made the ruling yesterday when he dismissed a case against a Gold Coast retiree charged with sending an offensive facsimile to a local politician. Denis Mulheron, 62, sent the fax to the office of Queensland lawmaker Peta-Kaye Croft on June 30 last year.

It called on the Labor Party to tighten immigration laws against "niggers" and "sandnigger terrorists", and Muslim women with circumcised genitals. Staff member Christie Turner, 28, told Southport Magistrates Court she was deeply offended when she read the one-page document, which also made reference to indigenous Australians as "Abos". Mr Mulheron, from the Gold Coast suburb of Labrador, told the court he had grown up with the slang terms for Arabs and black Africans and did not believe they were offensive.

"I'm not a member of the cafe, chardonnay and socialist set ... to me that is everyday language," he said. He argued in court they were no different to calling a New Zealander a "Kiwi" or an American a "Yank". Mr O'Driscoll ruled that Mr Mulheron's words were not enough to invoke criminal sanctions.

"The words used were crude, unattractive and direct but were not offensive to a reasonable person," he said. But he made it clear the court in no way condoned Mr Mulheron's comments. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said the use of the term "nigger" is highly offensive and has no place in modern Australia. The case comes after a judge in the Queensland city of Townsville ruled last Thursday that it was acceptable for people to tell police officers to "f*** off".

Woman forced to live in a tent after squatter takes over house

A charity worker has been forced to live in a tent by a squatter who took over her house while she was abroad helping homeless people. Suzy Butler and her son are camping in a friend’s garden after the 32-year-old’s former tenant allegedly refused to leave when they returned from Peru.

Ms Butler even required a police escort to get the tent from the home she has owned for five years – because of Carmen Nobre’s ‘squatter’s rights’. ‘I cannot believe my son and I are homeless while this woman is squatting in our house and there is nothing we can do about it,’ said Ms Butler.

‘She told me she had lost a lot of money on the stock exchange and she could not pay rent and would not be leaving. I spend my life helping people who have been made homeless but never thought it would happen to me.’

Ms Butler let the home to Ms Nobre on a short-term agreement in February, before leaving for two months with four-year-old son Bruno. She said the battle for the property in Hove, East Sussex, had cost her £1,000 in legal fees and the council and police had been unable to help. Ms Nobre, who lives at the house with her daughter, has now been given two weeks to leave – but she could remain for months if the matter goes to court.

Believe it or not

New Company Lets College Students Make Bets on the Grades They Will Earn

It all started when Jeremy Gelbart, one of the founders of Ultrinsic, made a bet with Steven Wolf, the other founder, that he would make an A in a college class. After they graduated, they decided to see if this scheme could work on a larger scale:

Ultrinsic, currently in beta form, allows students at 37 colleges to gamble on their grades in each of the classes they take. The student hands over money to Ultrinsic–as well as access to his or her official school records–as a wager that they will attain a certain grade. If they get it, Ultrinsic pays out on a sliding scale.
A pilot scheme in place at both Penn and NYU over the last academic year had some takers, including one guy who won $150, although the serious money is to be made by high schoolers as they head off to university. Then, if you bet $20 on getting a 4.0 GPA, then you’ll walk away with $2,000 should you succeed. That, apparently, is what motivation looks like.

Full Story

Every Rubik's Cube is Solvable in 20 Moves or Less

There are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible varying positions for the Rubik’s Cube. A team of mathematicians and programmers determined that all of them can be solved within 20 moves:

With about 35 CPU-years of idle computer time donated by Google, a team of researchers has essentially solved every position of the Rubik’s Cube™, and shown that no position requires more than twenty moves.
Every solver of the Cube uses an algorithm, which is a sequence of steps for solving the Cube. One algorithm might use a sequence of moves to solve the top face, then another sequence of moves to position the middle edges, and so on. There are many different algorithms, varying in complexity and number of moves required, but those that can be memorized by a mortal typically require more than forty moves.

Full Story