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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.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Man towing truck without tires blamed for sparking fires
ne man has been arrested after several fires were sparked in McClain County on Thursday afternoon, according to the McClain County Sheriff's Office. McClain County Sheriff officials said Gary Lee Albertson, 35, was towing a truck without any tyres behind his vehicle. The metal on the road then sparked at least four fires within a couple miles of each other near C.R. 1340 and MacArthur Boulevard about a mile south of Highway 74 B.
"We don't encounter this very often. As everybody knows, cigarettes are our biggest concern," said McClain County Sheriff's Lt. Dan Huff. Dibble police arrested Albertson for driving without an license and possession of a firearm, which as a convicted felon he cannot have.

At least one home was heavily damaged from one of the fires and several other homes were threatened. A few other structures were also damaged. "That makes me feel like he must have been kind of a dummy. You know, he shouldn't have been doing that. He should have knew you know with sparks flying out everywhere that something was going to catch on fire," said Rick Montgomery, whose home was damaged by one of the fires.
Firefighters said they were having a difficult time getting a handle on the fires after they moved into open areas, spreading quickly. Dunn said the winds were about 17-20 mph and conditions were very dry. About 60 acres were burned. No injuries were reported.
"We don't encounter this very often. As everybody knows, cigarettes are our biggest concern," said McClain County Sheriff's Lt. Dan Huff. Dibble police arrested Albertson for driving without an license and possession of a firearm, which as a convicted felon he cannot have.

At least one home was heavily damaged from one of the fires and several other homes were threatened. A few other structures were also damaged. "That makes me feel like he must have been kind of a dummy. You know, he shouldn't have been doing that. He should have knew you know with sparks flying out everywhere that something was going to catch on fire," said Rick Montgomery, whose home was damaged by one of the fires.
Firefighters said they were having a difficult time getting a handle on the fires after they moved into open areas, spreading quickly. Dunn said the winds were about 17-20 mph and conditions were very dry. About 60 acres were burned. No injuries were reported.
Even Babies Know That Size Matters
"Traditional kings and chieftains sit on large, elevated thrones and wear elaborate crowns or robes that make them look bigger than they really are, and subordinates often bow or kneel to show respect to superior humans and gods," says Thomsen, a research fellow in Harvard’s Department of Psychology and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Copenhagen. "Many animals, like birds and cats, will puff themselves up to look physically larger to an adversary, and prostrate themselves to demonstrate submission, like dogs do. Our work suggests that even with limited socialization, preverbal human infants may understand such displays."
Humans Left Trees 4.2 Million Years Ago
- Wrist bones of human ancestors reveal when humans switched from living in trees to on the ground. Read more
Ancient Remains Of What The Giants Left Behind
They were here once, the Giants. Majestic and mysterious were their ways. Yet, despite their mystery, somehow they left us clues as to what their life must have been like back then.
During the time of the Giants, Earth must have been like their one country, their one vast playground. On mornings, they would probably gather to watch the sun rise and thank the heavens for another day. This must have been why they left images of themselves showing us their early morning ritual.
Suicidal woman drives car off cliff with three dogs, two cats, two tortoises and pet parrot
A suicidal woman drove her car off a cliff – with three dogs, two cats, two tortoises and her pet parrot on board.
The driver, 60, suffered broken bones and internal injuries, but her pets escaped unscathed when the car landed on rocks.
She was seen accelerating towards the 30ft drop into the sea in Marseille, Southern France.
A police spokesman said: “We are treating this as attempted suicide. The pets have been handed to an animal charity.”
The driver, 60, suffered broken bones and internal injuries, but her pets escaped unscathed when the car landed on rocks.
She was seen accelerating towards the 30ft drop into the sea in Marseille, Southern France.
A police spokesman said: “We are treating this as attempted suicide. The pets have been handed to an animal charity.”
Iron Age Dog Unearthed Guarding Ancient Treasure

The skeleton of the dog, which is about the same size as a retriever or Alsatian, was discovered at the site of one of Britain's most important Iron Age excavations.
Strange Beastfellows
Let’s just come out and admit it, shall we? The Internet is used to bridge geographical divides, to democratize the spread of information, to create and innovate new ways of entertaining ourselves – and to restore our faith in love by staring for hours at images of cute animals. In that spirit, then, I hereby declare that these twenty unlikely animal pals win at the Internet.
In the Animal Kingdom, friendship often cross the lines of genus and species and results in some oddball inter-special relationships like this.
Defying the laws of nature itself, animal odd couples forge friendships under the most peculiar circumstances. But in the process, they show us that humans aren’t the only members of the animal kingdom to demonstrate complex emotions and traits.
Woman returned rescue dog 'because it clashed with curtains'
A woman returned a rescue dog to a kennels, saying that it clashed with her curtains. The woman, who has not been named, picked up the Jack Russell called Harvey from the Jasmil Kennels and Cattery in Lower Halstow, near Sittingbourne, in Kent - but brought the pooch back 48 hours later.
Barry Shuttleworth, who runs the kennels, said was 'horrified' when the woman, in her late 40s, gave such a trivial reason for returning the three-year-old ginger and white dog. Mr Shuttleworth, 42, said: "In one instance we had a woman come to see us a number of times, who loved a little Jack Russell we had called Harvey. It was perfect for her and she took it home.

"But she brought it back two days later saying it clashed with her curtains and thats why she didn't want it." Mr Shuttleworth's, wife Corrina, 38, said there had been a spate of dogs returned for 'ridiculous reasons'. She said: "In Harvey's case the woman was in the kennels looking for a dog when Harvey was brought in as a stray.
"She fell in love with him straight away and visited him for seven days before being allowed to take him home. The same day she took him home she called us up and said there was a problem with Harvey as his coloring clashed with her lounge curtains. We told her to put him in another room, but two days later she brought him back and said she had spent a lot of money on her curtains and that she didn't want Harvey any more."
Barry Shuttleworth, who runs the kennels, said was 'horrified' when the woman, in her late 40s, gave such a trivial reason for returning the three-year-old ginger and white dog. Mr Shuttleworth, 42, said: "In one instance we had a woman come to see us a number of times, who loved a little Jack Russell we had called Harvey. It was perfect for her and she took it home.

"But she brought it back two days later saying it clashed with her curtains and thats why she didn't want it." Mr Shuttleworth's, wife Corrina, 38, said there had been a spate of dogs returned for 'ridiculous reasons'. She said: "In Harvey's case the woman was in the kennels looking for a dog when Harvey was brought in as a stray.
"She fell in love with him straight away and visited him for seven days before being allowed to take him home. The same day she took him home she called us up and said there was a problem with Harvey as his coloring clashed with her lounge curtains. We told her to put him in another room, but two days later she brought him back and said she had spent a lot of money on her curtains and that she didn't want Harvey any more."
Friday, January 28, 2011
The Daily Drift
The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:If you have ever used the expression 'you've got to fake it 'til you make it', then you understand how attitude can make up for a lack of expertise or experience.
Work your mojo and you'll be able to cast a spell over anyone.
If you need to buy more time, ask for a favor or improve your chances in a competition, then turn on some genuine energy and you'll get what you need.
Stop worrying -- charm will help you bluff your way through even the worst hand.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
San Luis, Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Bilbao, Pais Vasco, Spain
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya
as well as Malta, Bulgaria, Israel, Finland, Austria, Norway, Georgia, Mexico, Peru, Kuwait, Serbia, Bangladesh, Latvia, Greece, Scotland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Wales, Iran, Singapore, Poland, Taiwan, Sweden, Afghanistan, Belgium, Tibet, Croatia, Pakistan, Romania, Paraguay, Sudan, Vietnam, Argentina, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Maldives, Qatar, Brazil, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Slovenia, China, Iraq, Ecuador, Nigeria, Colombia, Chile, Honduras, Paupa New Guinea, Moldova, Venezuela, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Norway, Finland and in cities across the United States such as North Tonawanda, Spearfish, Boise, Egg Harbor Township and more.
Today is:
Today is Friday, January 28, the 28th day of 2011.
There are 337 days left in the year.
Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:
There isn't one.
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!
The Shawna Forde trial
Will the mainstream media even bother to notice?
There's another infamous shooting of a nine-year-old girl that is making headlines this week in Tucson.This time, we wonder if the rest of the media will bother to cover it.
Crooks and Liars has the rest.
Q&A on Egypt's demonstrations as Chaos engulfs Egypt
Dramatic protests could have serious implications for the current government — and the world.
Also: Defending a security crackdown, Hosni Mubarak also calls on his government to dissolve.
Also: ***
WikiLeaks begins to release Egypt-related documents
As you might guess, police brutality is high on the list. The Guardian blog has regular updates on the documents. One interesting release includes alleged remarks by Mubarak about Bush being "naive, controlled by subordinates, and totally unprepared for dealing with post-Saddam Iraq." (Well, Mubarak was correct about the shrub, if he is correct about nothing else ... he was correct in that case).
ElBaradei calls for 'new regime' in Egypt
Yemeni protests continue
Few could have expected such a series of events a few months ago. Mubarak has not been popular for years though few had the courage to confront his regime. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has been vocal in the past and many expect that group to join the protests. Let's hope ElBaradei and the moderates win the day.Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, will face escalating challenges on all fronts tomorrow, with Cairo expecting the biggest day yet of street protests and Mohamed ElBaradei, one of his fiercest critics, calling explicitly for a "new regime" on his return to Cairo.In Yemen, where the US has been actively partnering with the government for deadly unmanned bombing raids, protests have also been growing. The US has chosen and supported a number of unpopular regimes throughout the region. This may only be a scare, but it may be much more. If nothing else, the US needs to make demands of greater freedom with its allies in the region.
Redoubling the sense of crisis for 82-year-old Mubarak, who has ruled for the past three decades, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most potent opposition force, said it was backing the latest call for demonstrations scheduled to follow Friday prayers.
ElBaradei, the former UN nuclear inspector who plans to join tomorrow's marches, arrived tonight at Cairo's airport to a media scrum and a heavy presence from the country's state security. He said he had come because "this is a critical time in the life of Egypt and I have come to participate with the Egyptian people".
The country has done what many experts once thought was impossible.
Also: ***
Nice photo essay on political bloggers in Egypt
Apparently the political blogosphere is quite developed in Egypt.And some interesting observations about the events unfolding in Egypt today (all hell is basically breaking loose).
'Day of Anger' erupts in Egypt
Opposition leader ElBaradei under house arrest
It's the "Day of Anger" in Egypt and the situation is deteriorating rapidly. CNN is now reporting that opposition leader/Nobel Prize Laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, who returned to Egypt yesterday and joined the protest, has now been placed under house arrest. A curfew is in effect -- and Mubarak, the target of the protests may speak soon.CNN's Ben Wedeman and NBC's Richard Engel are reporting and tweeting (when possible) from Egypt.
From Reuters:
Dozens of people were wounded as police and demonstrators fought running street battles in Cairo on Friday in unprecedented protests against President Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule.Al-Jazeera is providing live coverage here.
Security forces fired rubber bullets, teargas and water cannon at the crowds and baton charged them. The protesters hurled stones back and shouted "Down, Down, Hosni Mubarak."
Witnesses saw dozens of Egyptians bruised, bloodied and fainting. Al Jazeera television said at least one person was killed in a square in central Cairo, although the report could not be confirmed.
Tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets after Friday prayers in by far the biggest of four consecutive days of protests by people fed up with unemployment, poverty, corruption and the lack of freedom under Mubarak.
***
The Guardian Reports: 'Cairo in flames'
And now for something funny
A spot of humor after the previous posts ...
An Arab student sends the following e-mail to his dad:
Beloved Father,
Berlin is beautiful, the people are very friendly and I love being here.
But Dad, I'm a little embarrassed when I arrive at College in my solid gold Ferrari 599GTB, while all my teachers and fellow-students arrive by train.
Sincerely,
Your son Nasser.
The father sends back this answer:
My Dear Son,
I have transferred 20.000.000 US $ to your account.
Please stop whining and buy yourself a train, just like the other students!
An Arab student sends the following e-mail to his dad:
Beloved Father,
Berlin is beautiful, the people are very friendly and I love being here.
But Dad, I'm a little embarrassed when I arrive at College in my solid gold Ferrari 599GTB, while all my teachers and fellow-students arrive by train.
Sincerely,
Your son Nasser.
The father sends back this answer:
My Dear Son,
I have transferred 20.000.000 US $ to your account.
Please stop whining and buy yourself a train, just like the other students!
Repugicans being their usual selves
Screaming match erupts in Pa. House
Apparently the cozy feelings of bipartisanship from the president's State of the Union address didn't carry to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Wednesday.Maine's teabagger Governor plans to use state employees for his reelection
Gerald Weinand at DirigoBlue has posted a really damning document from a top aide to Maine's new teabagger Governor, Paul LePage.
Sure sounds like the Governor's team is planning to use state workers -- and the staff of Olympia Snowe -- to build his political profile and work to elect repugicans.
Hmm.
Problem is, that's illegal.
Teabaggers, like LePage, are always trashing government.
But, it sounds like LePage's aide, Dan DeMerritt, actually thinks government employees exist for their political benefit.
How Tammany Hall of him.
Might have worked in 1911, but it won't in 2011:
What a bunch of hypocrites.
Sure sounds like the Governor's team is planning to use state workers -- and the staff of Olympia Snowe -- to build his political profile and work to elect repugicans.
Hmm.
Problem is, that's illegal.
Teabaggers, like LePage, are always trashing government.
But, it sounds like LePage's aide, Dan DeMerritt, actually thinks government employees exist for their political benefit.
How Tammany Hall of him.
Might have worked in 1911, but it won't in 2011:
I'd like to connect the week before Christmas with you and key staff. If you are not in town, we can hopefully get some of your staffs putting together some of the resources / information we are going to need to get rolling. Once we take office, Paul will put 11,000 bureaucrats to work getting repugicans re-elected.These people are so dirty - the stench of corruption is overwhelming.
What a bunch of hypocrites.
Lush Dimbulb backlash grows
This is a good thing ... a very good thing, indeed.
Asian-American lawmakers demand an apology for the host's provocative on-air riff.
His 'comic genius' defense
There is no defense.
His 'comic genius' defense
There is no defense.
In The News
The bomb found at the Spokane, Washington MLK Day parade may have contained poison
There are reports of police massacres of civilians in Egypt
There are reports of police massacres of civilians in Egypt
Online life helps kids learn social skills, boost self-esteem
Despite alarmist reports on cyberbullying, sexual misdeeds and real-life social isolation, the Internet is really an important training ground for adolescents to build their identities and learn crucial social skills that can strengthen their real-life relationships, according to a new review of the research to date.
Odds and Sods
Mayor wants to broadcast bird songs
It may sound like a bird-brained idea, but the mayor of a Mojave Desert city wants to brighten the streets by broadcasting recorded bird songs.
A judge in Beaumont has barred a woman from getting more tattoos or plastic surgery until she repays $15,000 to the government.
A Buddhist monk could face five years in prison after becoming the first casualty of a stringent anti-smoking law in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which vows to become the first smoke-free nation.
A judge in Beaumont has barred a woman from getting more tattoos or plastic surgery until she repays $15,000 to the government.
A Buddhist monk could face five years in prison after becoming the first casualty of a stringent anti-smoking law in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which vows to become the first smoke-free nation.
Culinary DeLites
In a taste test, Jacques Torres cocoa is called a "good mix of sweet and dark chocolate."
Also: The Colonel's Secret Recipe Revealed!
Internet Today has published the list of Colonel Sanders’ 11 secret herbs and spices, the recipe to KFC’s stranglehold on America’s fried chicken addiction.
Oh snap, it’s the biggest internet leak of all time! The KFC secret 11 herbs and spices recipe has been revealed! Now get out there and start making delicious fried chicken! But don’t forget your pressure fryer since that ingredient is probably more important than any of these.Oh snap, it’s the biggest internet leak of all time! The KFC secret 11 herbs and spices recipe has been revealed! Now get out there and start making delicious fried chicken! But don’t forget your pressure fryer since that ingredient is probably more important than any of these.
What not to buy at supermarkets
You'll save time by purchasing toiletries at the grocery store, but you’ll pay a premium.
Also: Tax documents not to miss
By law, employers and banks must put these statements in the mail by Jan. 31.
Also: Eight credit card thieves
A waiter is one of eight types of people who could use the card in dangerous ways.
Also: Home sale snarled by 6-cent water bill
Mere pennies are holding up an Ohio home sale, frustrating a couple in their 70s who are trying to move on.
Contaminated town demolished
An Oklahoma town ravaged by lead is being demolished, but one store owner refuses to go.
Also: How China will create a mega-city

City planners in south China have laid out an ambitious plan to merge together the nine cities that lie around the Pearl River Delta. The "Turn The Pearl River Delta Into One" scheme will create a 16,000 sq mile urban area that is 26 times larger geographically than Greater London, or twice the size of Wales...
Over the next six years, around 150 major infrastructure projects will mesh the transport, energy, water and telecommunications networks of the nine cities together, at a cost of some 2 trillion yuan (£190 billion)...
Twenty-nine rail lines, totalling 3,100 miles, will be added, cutting rail journeys around the urban area to a maximum of one hour between different city centres...
In the north, the area around Beijing and Tianjin, two of China's most important cities, is being ringed with a network of high-speed railways that will create a super-urban area known as the Bohai Economic Rim. Its population could be as high as 260 million...
As the process gathers pace, total investment in urban infrastructure over the next five years is expected to hit £685 billion, according to an estimate by the British Chamber of Commerce, with an additional £300 billion spend on high speed rail and £70 billion on urban transport.
More at the Telegraph.
Ten cities with bad commutes
Commuting in one city will cost you an estimated $1,738 a year in wasted time and gas.
Also: How Ken is wooing Barbie
From the "You're just kidding us, right" Department:
Ken woos Barbie back in odd ad campaign
Mattel hopes to boost sales by rekindling the famous dolls' romance.
Also: Fun with trick photography
This snapshot appears to show a sunny day at the beach — but that's only half right.
Also: Frozen Bubbles
Photographer Tom Falconer creates and captures images of frozen bubbles. Goli Mohammed of Make interviewed Falconer and asked him how he does it:
For frozen bubbles I usually wait until it is (at the warmest) 10 below freezing (22 F) and even at that temp they will take a few minutes to freeze. Again it needs to be extremely calm, because you’ll need to blow the bubble then catch it on the wand or some kind of wet surface and wait for it to freeze. As it freezes the thick swirls in the bubble will stop moving, and little fingers of ice crystals will creep across the surface. They don’t freeze into something that will shatter, they tend to be somewhat rubbery and will eventually collapse on itself.
Race to drill hidden polar lake
With about 50m left to drill, time is running out for scientists drilling into a lake hidden deep below the Antarctic ice.
Will Climate Skeptics Change Their Tune When They Feel the Heat?
Article continues: Will Climate Skeptics Change Their Tune When They Feel the Heat?
States' risky education move
Officials in Florida and Utah consider mandatory digital classes as a way to cut costs.
Also: Highest Student Stress Level in College in 25 Years
“Students know their generation is likely to be less successful than their parents’, so they feel more pressure to succeed than in the past,” said Jason Ebbeling, director of residential education at Southern Oregon University. “These days, students worry that even with a college degree they won’t find a job that pays more than minimum wage, so even at 15 or 16 they’re thinking they’ll need to get into an M.B.A. program or Ph.D. program.”
Other findings in the survey underscore the degree to which the economy is weighing on college students.
“Paternal unemployment is at the highest level since we started measuring,” said John Pryor, director of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program at U.C.L.A.’s Higher Education Research Institute, which does the annual freshman survey. “More students are taking out loans. And we’re seeing the impact of not being able to get a summer job, and the importance of financial aid in choosing which college they’re going to attend.”
“We don’t know exactly why students’ emotional health is declining,” he said. “But it seems the economy could be a lot of it.”
Surgery for obstructive sleep apnea reduces daytime drowsiness
Patients with obstructive sleep apnea who undergo surgery to improve their breathing get a better night’s sleep and therefore are less drowsy during the day, according to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
Protect against Alzheimer's
Sticking to a healthy weight preserves brain volume, which is linked to memory.
Also: Researchers discover root cause of blood vessel damage in diabetes
A key mechanism that appears to contribute to blood vessel damage in people with diabetes has been identified by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Blood vessel problems are a common diabetes complication.
Humans Would Beat Neanderthals in Marathon
- It turns out Neanderthals may have had more brawn, but modern humans could run -- and run. Read more
Test shows dinosaurs survived mass extinction by 700,000 years
University of Alberta researchers determined that a fossilized dinosaur bone found in New Mexico confounds the long established paradigm that the age of dinosaurs ended between 65.5 and 66 million years ago.
Astronomical News
An international team of astronomers say they've glimpsed the earliest galaxy yet, a smudge of light from nearly 13.2 billion years ago - a time when the cosmos was a far lonelier place.
Mind-bending black holes
Researchers need to invent new physics to describe what happens inside mature black holes.
Also: Bomb-detecting Plants
Picture this at an airport, perhaps in as soon as four years: A terrorist rolls through the sliding doors of a terminal with a bomb packed into his luggage (or his underwear). All of a sudden, the leafy, verdant gardenscape ringing the gates goes white as a sheet. That’s the proteins inside the plants telling authorities that they’ve picked up the chemical trace of the guy’s arsenal.So far, plants have been produced that react to the presence of TNT, but other factors, such as light and movement, interfere with the process. Medford thinks a working plant is still three or four years away.
It only took a small engineering nudge to deputize a plant’s natural, evolutionary self-defense mechanisms for threat detection. “Plants can’t run and hide,” says June Medford, the biologist who’s spent the last seven years figuring out how to deputize plants for counterterrorism. “If a bug comes by, it has to respond to it. And it already has the infrastructure to respond.”
That would be the “receptor” proteins in its DNA, which respond naturally to threatening stimuli. If a bug chews on a leaf, for instance, the plant releases a series of chemical signals called terpenoids — “a cavalry call,” Medford says, that thickens the leaf cuticle in defense.
Ten Creepy Plants That Shouldn't Exist
The folks over at Cracked spend a lot of time pointing out horrors of nature that slither on the land and lurch through the sea.
But staying under the radar in nature's landscape of nightmares is the twisted carnival of things that grow out of the ground.
How Did The Elephant Cross The Road?
Walk Like A Man
Video of a silverback gorilla walking upright like a man has become a smash hit on the internet.
A 500-pound gorilla named Ambam has become a sensation at a British animal park.
Also: How The Seahorse Got Its Shape
See how the seahorse's curiously curved trunk, bent head and long snout help it to catch its dinner.
Seahorses evolved from straight-bodied swimmers like pipefish.
A new study published in the journal Nature Communications shows why a straight body might become S-shaped.
Seahorses evolved from straight-bodied swimmers like pipefish.
A new study published in the journal Nature Communications shows why a straight body might become S-shaped.
Dog is wolf in jackal's clothing
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